Hong Kong: Northbound travel for HK vehicles set

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today that, upon an agreement between the governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong, the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles scheme will be open for application from eligible Hong Kong private cars starting at 9am on June 1.

Approved Hong Kong private cars will be allowed to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) starting from 0.00am on July 1.

Chief Executive John Lee expressed his gratitude for the staunch support of the central government and the Guangdong Provincial Government in taking forward and realising the scheme which will inject further impetus for growth in the economic, trade, social and cultural links between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

The scheme provides a convenient way for Hong Kong citizens to self-drive to Guangdong via the HZMB for business, visiting families or sight-seeing on a short-term basis, thereby embracing the opportunities brought by the HZMB and facilitating further connection among cities in the Greater Bay Area.

The scheme also marks another important milestone in the economic integration and development of the bay area, Mr Lee said.

The Guangdong Provincial Government has announced today the schemes regulations, details of which can be found on the Peoples Government of Guangdong Province official website.

To ensure that the scheme is implemented in an orderly manner, the Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments agreed to set a cap on the number of applications to be accepted, which will be allocated through computer balloting, at the initial stage of launching the scheme.

Upon the application commencement, 200 applications will be accepted per working day in the first week, followed by 300 applications to be accepted per working day from the second week onwards.

The application situation will be reviewed and the number of applications to be accepted will be increased progressively.

Applicants will need to first register for computer balloting through the schemes designated website. The first round of ballot registration is from May 29 to 30 and the result will be released on May 31.

Successful applicants of balloting can submit applications for the scheme within the designated date and time randomly allocated by computer system starting from 9am on June 1.

For those interested in applying for the scheme, after submitting the application, they should allow time for completing various relevant procedures in accordance with the Mainland departments requirements.

To ensure better northbound travel experience for the approved applicants, the Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments have also agreed to set a daily cap on the number of northbound vehicles.

Applicants who have obtained the relevant licences for the scheme from the Transport Department and the Mainland departments may book for travelling within a designated period in the subsequent month via the online booking system, starting from the middle of each month.

Subject to the number of booking, there may be a need to allocate designated dates for northbound vehicles through computing balloting.

If the number of applications has not reached its cap, applicants may make the booking via the system on a first come, first served basis.

This story has been published on: 2023-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese, Greek scholars hail Chinese Language Day

Xinhua) 09:24, May 01, 2023

ATHENS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Officials and scholars from both China and Greece hailed the United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day with an event dedicated to the dialogue between Chinese and Greek languages and civilizations on Saturday evening.

They agreed that the increased bilateral exchanges in recent years in this field benefited both countries and the world.

"China and Greece are joining hands to create a model of mutual learning among civilizations, effectively showing the way towards a symbiosis of various civilizations in a century full of challenges and turmoil," Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng said at the event.

Earlier this year, the centers of Greek and Chinese ancient civilization were formally established in the two countries, aiming at promoting exchanges of scholars and students to advance the study of the two civilizations.

"Learning each other's language and understanding each other's history have shortened the distance between our countries and our two peoples," Xiao added.

In recent years, the teaching of Greek and Chinese languages has become the most dynamic area of China-Greece education cooperation, he said.

Four Confucius institutes and the world's first online Chinese classroom have been established at Greek universities, while six universities in China are offering full-time undergraduate Greek language programs, he added.

"We strongly believe that education is one of the best ways to increase mutual understanding and peace. And the dialogue between our civilizations is at the center of this endeavor," said Odysseas Zoras, secretary general for higher education at Greece's Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and former guest professor at Shanxi Medical University in China.

Stelios Virvidakis, president of the Center of Greek and Chinese Ancient Civilizations outlined the projects underway in the center. Greek and Chinese scholars also gave mini-lectures on Greek and Chinese languages history and development, the origin of Greek and Chinese civilizations and other topics.

Apostolis Dimitropoulos, former secretary general of higher education at Greece's Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, said dialogue between the two countries representing two ancient civilizations is a unique opportunity, providing the basis for a better understanding of modern cultures, something extremely important in an era of globalization.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 every year since 2010.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
It is a falsehood to assert that "Tibet is forced to use the standard Chinese language," and the plot to slander China by distorting facts and fabricating the lie is doomed to fail, a Chinese Tibetologist said.

According to Liang Junyan, a researcher with the China Tibetology Research Center, the use of the standard spoken and written Chinese language by China's 56 ethnic groups is not only a responsibility and obligation outlined by the Constitution and laws but also a concrete manifestation of the people's love for their motherland.

It is also a necessary path to promote ethnic equality, unity and shared prosperity and development, Liang wrote in an article recently published in the Global Times.

It is stipulated by law that the right of ethnic minorities to learn and use their own ethnic languages and scripts must be fully respected and protected, the Tibetologist said, adding that in ethnic autonomous regions and areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities, both the standard Chinese language and the local ethnic minority languages can be used.

Liang said that the Tibetan language is widely used in areas such as legal services, healthcare, postal services, communication, transportation, finance and technology.

The region now has 16 periodicals and 12 newspapers in the Tibetan language and has published more than 40 million copies of 7,185 Tibetan-language books.

The Tibetologist emphasized that enhancing proficiency in the standard Chinese language is essential for the development of various initiatives in Tibet, which, in turn, will empower Tibetan individuals by providing them with greater employment and income prospects.

"By fabricating the lie and opposing the use of the standard Chinese language with the inheritance of Tibetan language, the Dalai clique and some Western governments intend to make Tibet return to a society under theocratic feudal serfdom," Liang wrote.
Aerostat seen outside hangar in china

Private satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence firm BlackSky has released a photo showing what appears to be a teardrop-shaped airship or aerostat in front of a huge hangar in northwestern China. In 2021, The War Zone published an in-depth feature regarding this facility and ties to Chinese work on high-altitude airships able to act as intelligence-gathering platforms, early warning systems for missile defense, and more.

China's interest in these capabilities came to the fore earlier this year when the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy balloon in February after it spent days passing through U.S. and Canadian airspace. American fighter jets then destroyed three other still-identified aerial objects flying over the United States and Canada in the space of as many days the following week.

BlackSky released the image showing the apparent airship/aerostat outside the hangar in China's western Xinjiang Autonomous Region, seen at the top of this story and below, earlier today, but it was taken on November 4, 2022. The company says it caught the craft again there two days later. In August, one of its satellites also spotted a large rectangular cradle on the paved access strip in front of the hangar, a device that's been seen a the site before, as The War Zone reported on two years ago. CNN was the first to report on the new BlackSky images.

BlackSky

CNN estimated the airship/aerostat to have a length of around 100 feet. This is far smaller than the hangar and the cradle it houses. At some 1,150 feet long and 450 feet wide, the hangar is one of the largest anywhere on Earth and is big enough that you could slip a Nimitz class supercarrier inside and still have around 100 feet on either side to spare.

A satellite image taken on November 25, 2020, showing the cradle right in front of the hangar. PHOTO  2021 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

The lighter-than-air craft likely seen in the BlackSky imagery is also not nearly as large as various stratospheric airships that organizations in China say they tested over the years. This includes a design called the Yuan Meng with a stated length of 75 meters (approximately 246 feet) and another known as the BNST-KT-02, which was reported to be 100 meters long (around 328 feet), both of which you can read more about here.

Story continues

A Chinese-language infographic regarding the Yuan Meng airship. Chinese internet

Interestingly, the apparent airship/aerostat seen in the BlackSky images does seem to align, at least to a degree in terms of general shape and size, with those seen in a picture reportedly showing the inside of a hangar at a separate site in Alxa League, a region in northeastern China, that was taken sometime between 2013 and 2014. Other satellite imagery shows that facility was in an advanced state of disrepair by 2016.

A picture reportedly taken inside a hangar at an airship base in Alxa League sometime between 2013 and 2014. Xinhua

Construction of the huge airship hangar in Xinjiang appears to have begun in 2013 and looks to have been completed around 2015. In 2022, our Downlink team analyzed then-new imagery from Planet Labs showing significant expansion at the site, including a possible annex to the hangar, as seen below. The hangar and its adjacent facilities are part of a much larger high-end test complex, which includes sites linked to work lasers, high-powered microwaves, and electromagnetic pulses, as you can read more about here. It is also relatively close to the secretive Malan Air Base, a major People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) test and evaluation hub.

PHOTO  2022 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION / @SimTack

Whatever the specifics might be surrounding the apparent airship/aerostat seen in BlackSky's November 2022 imagery, it's clear that the hangar in Xinjiang was built to house something much larger. This was already indicated by the existence of the large cradle. The paved section in front of the hangar appears to be a taxiway of sorts for personnel to move large airships and aerostats in and out to the launch area using the cradle.

For CNN's story today, BlackSky provided an apparent drawing from a Chinese patent for that exact cradle showing it to be designed around a larger lighter-than-air design.

"A number of patents involving airship technologies were recently reassigned to a new PLA [People's Liberation Army] group  Unit 63660," CNN reported, citing Eli Hayes, a China researcher at the Middlebury Insitute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey who has long delved in the country's lighter-than-air developments. "A CNN review of Chinese patents confirms that the new unit holds a number of other patents relating to airship technology and storage, and that they were recently reassigned from a previous PLA unit."

The War Zone has reached out to BlackSky for additional information about this particular patent drawing, as well as its imagery of the site in Xinjiang.

It is worth pointing out that hangars of this size can be, and typically are, used to house multiple lighter-than-air craft. It would make good sense that the Chinese facility in Xinjiang would be used to support multiple airship/aerostat/balloon programs, among other things. The relatively recent work to expand the facility further highlights that this particular site is of current significance.

A picture of a hangar belonging to U.S. firm TCOM showing multiple aerostats of different sizes inside. TCOM

As already noted, interest in this topic has surged since the U.S. military disclosed that it was tracking what was assessed to be a large high-altitude Chinese spy balloon passing through U.S. and Canadian airspace in February. That balloon was notably a spherical design with a payload suspended underneath, which is unlike the teardrop-shaped airships/aerostats associated with the site in Xinjiang. Furthermore, the sites where balloons like that are known to be launched from are different in their design from the hangar and the rest of the facility in northwestern China.

A satellite image of a Chinese balloon launch site and associated facilities on Hainan Island that was taken on February 16, 2023. PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION A satellite image of another Chinese balloon-related facility in the country's northeast Dorbod Banner region that was also taken on February 16, 2023. PHOTO  2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

On February 4, a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter shot down the Chinese spy balloon that had been traversing North America, after which portions of it were recovered. Three more objects flying over the United States and Canada were then brought down by Air Force fighter jets, as well. The U.S. government insists that those still-unidentified objects were likely benign, but nothing was recovered in those instances and no imagery of them has been released to date to support this assessment.

A picture of the Chinese spy balloon taken from a U.S. Air Force U-2S Dragon Lady spy plane over the midwestern United States in February 2022. DOD

As an aside, the incidents in February underscored the very real possibility that at least a portion of reported sightings of so-called unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP) by U.S. military pilots and other personnel in recent years are actually lighter-than-air craft, as well as drones, that foreign countries are using for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and other purposes. An unclassified U.S. Intelligence Community report published in January 2023 said that there had been 366 newly-cataloged UAP incidents in 2022 and that 163 of them were assessed to be balloons or balloon-like.

Pictures of, and other details about, the Chinese spy balloon, including from documents leaked online by Airman 1st Class Jack Douglas Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, show that it was solar-powered and self-propelled. It appeared to be fitted with a number of sensors, possibly including a synthetic aperture radar capable of capturing imagery in any weather, as well as communications systems that would allow controllers elsewhere to maneuver it and receive collected intelligence data.

A close-up of the payload hanging underneath the Chinese balloon that flew over the United States in February 2022. DOD

Since February, it has also emerged that very similar balloons had been previously detected flying over or near multiple U.S. states and territories, including unspecified parts of Florida, Hawaii, and Guam, as well as various other locations all over the world. Some of these incidents had been previously reported, but not explicitly linked to a Chinese government high-altitude surveillance program. Documents from the Teixeira leaks indicate that another balloon was assessed to have passed over a U.S. Navy carrier strike group operating in an unknown part of the world and another was determined to have crashed while flying over the highly strategic South China Sea.

Same balloon was spotted over Japan on June 17th, 2020 in Hachinohe City, and September 3, 2021 in Miyagi Prefecture pic.twitter.com/NDyjstXp7B  Balloon Science by Dan (@BalloonSciDan) January 6, 2022

A lighter-than-air craft with an airship-like design, also possibly of Chinese origin, was spotted close to Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines and home to the country's capital, and near the South China Sea, last year.

This was taken recently in Pangasinan, Phillipines. Posted by Redditor gagsti02: pic.twitter.com/sr7TBaYtGJ  Spacecowboy78 (@Spacecowboy781) December 18, 2022

It has been no secret that organizations in China have been very actively working on more modern high-altitude airship, aerostat, and balloon designs for years now. Though much of this work, at least that we know of, has been carried out by ostensibly civilian research institutions and commercial enterprises, they have done so with a clear eye toward potential military applications. In addition, in China, state-run research organizations and advanced technology companies in various sectors have long had very close ties to the PLA. When it comes to the Chinese government's high-altitude surveillance balloon program, more concrete links between civilian research entities, especially Beihang University, and the PLA have been more closely scrutinized since February. Beihang University is known to have been involved in stratospheric airship projects that could be connected to the hangar in Xinjiang, as The War Zone previously reported.

Beihang University has also been involved directly in work on the possibility of employing high-altitude lighter-than-air systems as platforms for launching drones or deploying other expendable payloads, including remotely-operated sensors on the ground. You can read more about this work, and similar projects the U.S. military and others have been conducting, in this recent feature of ours.

A graphical depiction contained in a Chinese research paper of a general concept for launching drones from a high-altitude balloon, as well as employing a satellite to relay information from them to a control node thousands of miles away. Chinese Academy of Sciences via International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles

Though they may seem anachronistic, more modern high-altitude airships and balloons with the ability to navigate across long distances to a designated location and then hold station persistently there against prevailing winds, offer very useful platforms for intelligence-gathering and other missions. The U.S. military, along with China and others, is very seriously testing lighter-than-aircraft craft like this in a number of roles, including acting as launch platforms for loitering munitions and drones, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and communications relays.

BlackSky's newly released satellite imagery of the site in Xinjiang provides additional evidence of that facility's role in China's high-altitude airship and balloon efforts and underscores the very real utility of these platforms in various capacities to modern military forces and intelligence agencies.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
TOKYO (Reuters) - Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma has been invited to be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new organization run by the University of Tokyo, the university said on Monday.

The appointment term for China's best-known entrepreneur finishes at the end of October, but the contract is renewable on an annual basis, the university said.

At the college, Ma will be engaged in areas including advising on important research themes and giving lectures on management and business start-ups.

The announcement came after Ma returned to China in March, ending a stay overseas of more than a year that industry viewed as reflecting the sober mood of the country's private businesses after a tough two-year regulatory crackdown.

The Tokyo College was founded in 2019 to serve as an interface between the University of Tokyo and overseas researchers and research institutions.

(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Sonali Paul)
The Biden administration promised 2023 would be the most transformative year for U.S. force posture in the Indo-Pacific region in a generation. With a trio of major political announcements and a proposed budget boost, 2023 is off to a strong start. But there is no time for a scenic overlook of recent accomplishments. To achieve the transformative effect needed to bolster deterrence against China, the Biden administration needs to keep its foot on the gas.

In January, the United States and Japan agreed to keep the U.S. 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa (instead of Guam) and to replace it with the new 12th Marine Littoral Regiment in 2025. The two countries also agreed to share ammunition storage at Kadena Air Base.

In February, the United States and the Philippines agreed to designate four new sites as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA, which provides access for U.S. forces.

In March, the United States agreed as part of the AUKUS security partnership to increased U.S. submarine port visits to Australia and to rotate up to four Virginia-class submarines by as early as 2027.

Also in March, the Pentagons budget request included $2.3 billion for military construction west of the international date line  a $400 million increase from the prior year.

So far so good. But overcoming a decade-long say-do gap on Indo-Pacific posture and keeping pace with a rapidly evolving Chinese military threat will require sustained urgency matched by robust investment.

Building on recent political momentum is critical. With Japan, we need ambitious defense diplomacy to secure new access for U.S. forces and to make shared use of bases, ports, airfields and other facilities the rule, not the exception. And after years of legal and political challenges, the U.S. and the Philippines need to make up for lost time and maximize the potential of EDCA sites through accelerated investment and expanded combined training and operations.

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Seaman Semajia Marshal heaves a mooring line on the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Antietam near the Philippines. (MC2 William McCann/U.S. Navy)

More posture dollars should be focused directly on achieving a more distributed and resilient posture. Most investment in the Indo-Pacific is dedicated to maintaining existing facilities or executing legacy posture initiatives, some of questionable relevance to the current or future threat. That investment is also geographically concentrated. West of the international date line, the Pentagon plans to spend 75% of fiscal 2024 military construction funds in Japan and Guam  up from 66% the previous year. Going forward, more investment is needed in the second island chain, Oceania and Southeast Asia.

Beyond politics and budgets, achieving a transformative effect on Indo-Pacific posture requires actually moving forces. The Obama administrations pivot to Asia was matched with two additional destroyers and fifth-generation fighters in Japan; an additional submarine and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in Guam; and rotational littoral combat ships in Singapore, among other moves. The Biden administration needs to demonstrate similar follow-through, and theres plenty of options to do so.

The Air Force has operated fifth-generation aircraft for nearly two decades, but it has no plan to permanently station its most advanced fighters in the Indo-Pacific. The Air Force has promised to maintain a continuous fighter presence at Kadena Air Base in Japan, including fifth-generation aircraft, as it withdraws and retires F-15C/D aircraft. Beyond that, it has offered no specifics. Basing F-35As at Misawa Air Base in Japan would be a strong next step.

The Multi-Domain Task Force is central to the Armys contribution toward joint operations in the Indo-Pacific. But while it has based MDTFs in Washington state and Hawaii, the Army does not yet plan to station an MDTF west of the international date line. The Army chief of staff recently hinted this may change. The Biden administration should ensure it does, including by prioritizing access for an MDTF in defense diplomacy with Japan.

The Navy has long pledged to send its most advanced ships and aircraft to the Indo-Pacific. However, of the Navys 20 commissioned Virginia-class submarines  critical to the U.S. militarys advantage over China  the Navy has sent 14 to Atlantic ports and just six to Pacific ports. And none of the Navys most advanced attack boats are homeported west of the international date line. While keeping pace with Russias submarine threat is critical, the Biden administration should rebalance that laydown by stationing Virginia-class submarines in Guam and San Diego, California.

The Biden administration should also accelerate investment in the logistics network that is essential for credible deterrence and effective warfighting. Fuel storage and distribution is critical, especially with the planned closure of Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. But the Pentagon is kicking the fuel can down the road. The Defense Logistics Agency plans to spend at least $360 million over the five-year Future Years Defense Program in projects for fuel facilities and storage west of the international date line. But it has requested no funding for those projects in next two fiscal years, and punted most projects to FY27 and FY28. Working with Congress, the Biden administration should accelerate these projects as able.

The weaknesses of U.S. force posture in the Indo-Pacific have contributed to the erosion of credible deterrence. But with sustained diplomatic urgency, robust investment and more advanced capabilities, a transformation of U.S. force posture can help restore and preserve credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

Dustin Walker is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think tank. He was previously a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee and an adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
American Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly in favour of striking, despite claims from the airline that negotiations are still in progress.

The vote was announce Monday. However, no walk-offs are imminent. Federal law makes airline worker strikes difficult to pursue, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Allied Pilots association, which represents more than 15,000 American Airline pilots, 99 per cent of the vote was in favour of authorising a strike, with 96 per cent of its membership participating in the vote.

American Airlines told the paper on Monday that it believes it can come to an agreement with the pilots union soon. It said the strike vote was indicative of the pilots sense of urgency heading into negotiations.

The finish line is in sight, a spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results.

Ed Sicher, the union president, offered similar sentiments, saying that his members are ready to strike if necessary, but noted that reaching a new contract agreement is still in the realm of possibility.

The pilots are asking for amendments to scheduling and work practices that they believe will improve their lives and make air travel more reliable.

The best outcome is for APA and management to agree on an industry-leading contract  achieved through good-faith bargaining, he said.

American Airlines has agreed to match pay with increases won by Delta Air pilots earlier this year.

Many of the contract negotiations happening now are continuing discussions that began years ago and were halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Airlines encouraged pilots to retire during the pandemic due to the sharp decline in air travel, but a rebound in post-pandemic travel has left airlines with a shortage of pilots.

Pilots for Southwest Airlines are likely to begin voting on a similar strike authorisation later this month.

US labour laws governing airline workers require that both workers and management exhaust all avenues of negotiation before they can legally strike. The National Mediation Board would have to concur that no path forward exists and offer both sides arbitration before they are forced into a month long cool off period before a strike can be called.
South Carolinas Warren Peay is a top 10 contestant on American Idol.

The results were announced at the end of the live show Sunday night.

Also in the top 10 were Colin Stough, 18, from Mississippi; Haven Madison, 17, from Tennessee; Iam Tongi, 18, from Hawaii; Marybeth Byrd, 21, from Arkansas; Megan Danielle, 20, from Georgia; Oliver Steele, 25, from Tennessee; Tyson Venegas, 17, from Canada; We Ani, 23, from New York; and Zachariah Smith, 19, from Mississippi.

The judges saves from last week  Lucy Love and Nutsa  were eliminated this week.

It was rock n roll night on Idol. Peay sang the Animals song House of the Rising Sun. He told Adam Lambert, the 2008 Idol runner and Sunday nights mentor, that he related to the song because he had been in dark places in his life.

Singing about it, Lambert said, is like therapy.

But there was nothing dark about Peay Sunday night. He announced he and his girlfriend Sarah Elizabeth were engaged. He said he asked her to marry him at the beach at sunset.

She announced it on Instagram, saying Happy 9-year anniversary Warren! Im so excited to announce we got engaged last Saturday! I love you and Im so excited to call you finally my fiance and to start planning a wedding!

Their wedding hashtag is #twopeaysinapod.

And he also explained why he didnt wear his signature lucky hat last week. It was because Sarah was in the audience. On Sunday night, she wore the lucky hat and he donned another.

Judges had high praise for Peays performance.

Lionel Richie said, Your voice resonated with it. It was really great.

Katy Perry said, Your voice is like a bottle of grit. It was a compliment.

Luke Bryan said it was a great choice that showed his range.

I love it when you get to that gritty place, he said.

Before he auditioned for American Idol last fall, Peay was an appliance repairman and worship leader in Bamberg, South Carolina.

On Mondays live show, the top 10 will perform songs suggested by the judges. The top seven will be chosen.
Cooper Harris Andrews

Cooper, 26, was a former U.S. Marine and had volunteered to help Ukraine, the journalist said.

Read also: US volunteer aid worker killed in Bakhmut while helping civilians

He was part of the Foreign Legion and later the Resistance Committee, Hanrahan tweeted.

He was ambushed by Russian forces while defending evacuees.

The Popular Front community, of which both Andrews and Hanrahan are members, noted that they didnt know he was out there and are shocked by the news.

Condolences from all of us go out to his family and friends, Hanrahan added.

Read also:

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

The full-scale war started by Russia has shown that decentralization in Ukraine works. It was local authorities ability to make rapid, essential decisions independently that helped many cities withstand the first attacks and coordinate the lives of their citizens  in one way or another.

We saw examples of such resilience both in the cities that came under direct Russian attack and those that were in the deep rear. Russian authorities have demonstrated that not a single city is really safe  anywhere in Ukraine can be a target of Russian attacks.

Security has become a priority for all Ukrainian municipalities. It was a need for greater security measures that primarily influenced cities to increasingly conceal information about their work. While such actions were justified at first, this argument has grown weaker over time.

Moreover, the war has not only affected the work of local self-government but also highlighted previously existing problems  including those related to transparency.

We are witnessing a global paradox: As Ukrainians have shown an increasing desire to engage with decision-making in the community, local authorities, which have focused their efforts entirely on the protection of their residents this past year, have distanced themselves from their constituents with each month of the war.

When the full-scale war started, local authorities transparency suffered a noticeable setback, despite clear successes achieved by Ukraine in the past.

What does this mean for millions of brave hearts, and how do we fix this situation? Lets figure it out.

Andrii Borovyk: Why liquidating ARMA will not solve seized property issues Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. Almost every day for the past six months, we have seen headlines that the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Kyiv IndependentAndrii Borovyk

Story continues

How transparent are Ukrainian cities during the war?

New research by Transparency International (TI) Ukraines Transparent Cities program has found that only three of 70 cities could be identified as transparent. Ten have been labeled partially transparent.

TI Ukraines Transparency and Accountability Rankings of Ukrainian Cities from before the full-scale war showcased quite decent results. Over a period of five years, cities average transparency increased by 62.2%.

Ukraine was also considered one of the worlds leading countries for cities openness of data. Ukrainian cities battled for the top spot in the Transparency Ranking, and healthy competition stimulated development and peer exchange to improve peoples lives.

This year, however, Transparent Cities conducted a study with new indicators adapted to the conditions set by martial law. Cities average compliance is 37.5% and requirements set by Ukrainian legislation were 47.8% fulfilled. Essentially, over half of the legal demands were not addressed by local authorities amid the war.

The graphics below show the indicators that were followed by local councils, and the ones which were disregarded:

The issue of transparency was put on the back burner at the beginning of the full-scale war, and Ukrainian authorities have not ensured the same degree of transparency in their work. This is influenced by numerous war-related factors, like the fact that local governments have had to work under round-the-clock pressure and focus on the main task of resident safety.

The protection of people is not something that can be postponed or delayed. These are tasks that require a lot of involvement and resources, and such conditions are not conducive to a comprehensive approach to increasing transparency.

At the same time, Ukrainian city councils should stay on the path toward transparency as much as possible. This is what their voters and international partners expect, especially as their interest in Ukrainian authorities transparency has only increased following the full-scale invasion.

Lobby X: Promoting modern and effective military recruitment in Ukraine Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are estimated to have more than tripled its personnel since the full-scale war began on Feb. 24, Kyiv IndependentYana Lukashuk

What should we strive for?

In June 2022, Ukraine was officially designated a candidate to join the EU  a valued signal to the entire country, especially during the war.

We understand that this also entails multiple requirements. Among them are the continuation of initiated reforms, the establishment of the principles of good governance, and the fight against corruption. To get closer to EU membership, Ukraine should take real action to achieve European standards.

An important prerequisite for cooperation with international partners during post-war reconstruction is, as expected, the transparency and accountability of authorities. This becomes only more critical since it directly affects investments and the implementation of joint reconstruction projects. Like potential investors, local residents are also interested in understanding the procedure for restoring their cities.

When post-war reconstruction starts, transparency and accountability will become key factors in cooperation agreements. Between Security and Transparency, a study of city councils work during the war, analyzed the steps necessary for cities to reach this goal.

At a minimum, the requirements for cities include:

Adapting their work to the challenges of war by creating and updating services to help the population

Publishing as much open data as possible

Distributing and accounting for humanitarian aid transparently

Olga Moloko: Civil society plays critical role in helping Ukrainians survive Russias war Editors Note: This story was sponsored by East Europe Foundation (EEF), a Ukrainian non-profit charitable organization that helps Ukrainians affected by Russias all-out war. Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused a tremendous humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that the number of p Kyiv IndependentOlga Moloko

How can Ukrainian cities become stronger before victory?

Today, our cities need support. Knowing how ready citizens are to get involved in Ukraines recovery, we also need help from other enthusiasts and experts from across the world.

With the war raging at the front line, local authorities are fighting for desperately needed resources. How quickly Ukraine will overcome the Russian onslaught also depends on coordinated work in the rear, which includes receiving aid from abroad. We have to destroy the enemy together, or it will come back stronger in the future.

By supporting Ukrainian communities, cities abroad can make a direct contribution to future peace, the victory of Ukraine, and European stability. Establishing contacts and mutual understanding between countries and communities will also support Ukraines path to the European Union, which remains one of Ukrainians greatest aspirations today.

During the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian cities already had time to learn more about partnerships and find sources of basic aid. However, they still need financial support, equipment, and medication. Ukraine also critically needs cultural, educational, and scientific exchanges with its peers, as well as the involvement of foreign specialists in reconstruction.

How can you help Ukrainian cities?

Register your community on Cities4Cities . This online platform combines the requests and needs of Ukrainian cities with the knowledge, experience, and capabilities of European cities. Its completely free and, most importantly, its open and transparent.

Sign a partnership or twinning agreement with Ukrainian cities directly. To do this, find out about potential areas of cooperation and develop a draft agreement.

Donate to UNITED24 , a platform that serves as one of the main channels through which to raise funds for Ukraine.

Support Ukraine with humanitarian aid through its official portal . The website outlines Ukrainian regions needs, provides instructions, and has a dashboard showcasing the assistance already provided.

Contact the Transparency Cities program, which can help you deliver the necessary aid or communicate with Ukrainian municipalities directly.

Ukrainians will persevere and overcome. To help these brave people become part of the big European family, you can start with a partnership between cities right now. We are ready for cooperation and, with the help of our international friends, we can overcome the challenges faced by every Ukrainian city.
Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

I am laying flowers on the coffin of my former colleague, journalist-turned-soldier Oleksandr Bondarenko, who was killed on the front line near Kreminna in Luhansk Oblast a few days ago.

We worked together briefly in 2014 at the news bulletin of a popular Ukrainian TV channel. A junior reporter at the time, I always regarded him, experienced and professional, with admiration.

Originally from Luhansk, which Russia illegally occupied in 2014, Bondarenko volunteered to join Ukraines military when Russia unleashed its all-out war in February last year.

So did my former partner Oleksandr Makhov, also a journalist and Luhansk native, who joined the army and was killed on May 4, 2022, near Izium in Kharkiv Oblast. I will lay flowers on his grave in a few days to mark the first anniversary of his death.

I had known Makhov for almost 10 years, for two of which we dated. He, loud and bright, meant a lot to me.

Kate Tsurkan: One war, multitudes of pain Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. One of the first things I noticed in Kharkiv, besides the boarded-up windows and shrapnel holes in the sidewalks, were the street signs Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan

Russia keeps taking away my loved ones, friends, and colleagues. I have lost seven of them to Russias war, and I cant help but to ask myself: how many more, and whos next?

As the EU member states struggle to negotiate joint ammunition procurement for Ukraine, which is preparing to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive, I am thinking about the human toll it will have.

The equation is as follows: The more ammunition Ukraine has, the more soldiers lives will be saved.

Those attacking tend to experience much heavier losses than those defending, and require at least three times as many troops as the opponent and much more ammunition. Delays in its supply are measured in human lives.

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I want top-ranking decision makers to remember that, as they fail to achieve unanimity regarding ammunition procurement and arms supplies, Ukraine loses its people  and I lose my friends and colleagues.

Czech President Petr Pavel recently said that Ukraine will only have one chance for a major counteroffensive, as it will be difficult to maintain the current level of assistance. If this is true, European politicians should commit to speeding up their negotiations.

If you are a world leader who is having trouble understanding why to rush, think about the mass graves unveiled after the liberation of Bucha, Borodianka, and Izium. Torture, rape, and killings  this is what Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories face.

Saving their lives will inevitably cost Ukraine the lives of its soldiers. The more ammunition and arms Ukraine has, the more soldiers will return to their families alive.

Editorial: Todays Russia is fascist. Its time to start calling it that Editors Note: Editorials are articles that present the opinion of the editorial team of the Kyiv Independent. We went and killed everyone. There were women, men, seniors, and children. These were the words of Azamat Uldarov, an ex-fighter of Russias Wagner mercenary group who personally admit Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent

I always remember the first friend, a soldier, that I lost.

It was the winter of 2014-2015  almost a year into the initial phase of Russias invasion. By then, Russia had already occupied Crimea and the eastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, and heavy fighting was raging in Donbas.

I, then a 20-year-old reporter, was on the front line in search of adventure.

My friend Oleksandr, a former policeman, was primarily stationed there to counter the advance of Russian troops, but also to prevent journalists like me from ending up in situations that would prove fatal.

I would arrive at his checkpoint  the last one before the heavily targeted segment of the highway leading to Russian-occupied Luhansk  and ask him to let me go forward to report on the fighting.

Whenever he was on shift, he would always refuse. Coffee first, he would say. The same rule applied to the other reporters. I know he cared about the journalists, and didnt want us to be put at too much risk.

Russian troops then advanced, moving the front line even closer to Oleksandrs position. I learned that his checkpoint came under heavy fire and he was killed, just days before his planned rotation.

I called him in disbelief. His phone was out of service. A usual thing on the front line, I thought.

An automated text message from Oleksandrs phone says in Ukrainian: I am available again! Call me, please. (Courtesy of Anna Myroniuk)

Later the automated text message came: I am available again! Call me, please. Mutual friends told me that his phone had been given to his wife. I kept this message for many years.

I have since lost many soldier friends on the front line.

Captain Volodymyr Kiyan hit a mine in Shchastia, Luhansk Oblast, on Sept. 3, 2015. Senior Sergeant Dmytro Hodzenko fell due to fatal shelling in Zaitseve, Donetsk Oblast, on March 31, 2016  one day before his demobilization. Captain Denys Khilchenko came under artillery fire in Marinka, Donetsk Oblast, on Aug. 4, 2022.

After Russias full-scale invasion, I lost colleagues, too.

Yevhen Sakun, a cameraman I used to work with, was killed on assignment next to the Kyiv TV tower on March 1 of last year, in the first days of Russias full-scale invasion. Then, Oleksandr Makhov, my former colleague and boyfriend. Days ago, former coworker Oleksandr Bondarenko.

Neither Makhov nor Bondarenko were professional soldiers. They were journalists who took up arms to help defend Ukraine.

Makhov never wanted to pursue a military career. He loved hiking, snowboarding, and cinematography. He dreamed of writing a book and visiting Portugal. If not for Russias war, I am sure he would have achieved his goals.

I know it's impossible to bring them back, but it is possible to save the lives of people like them, and to allow them to see their dreams through.

For that, Ukraine needs arms and ammunition.
Air Command Tsentr (Centre) has posted photos of the wreckage of destroyed Russian missiles with which the invaders attacked Ukraine on the night of 1 May.

Source: Air Command Centre on Facebook

Quote: "An effective night hunt from our heroic gunners of the anti-aircraft missile brigade from Air Command Centre.

Background: During a massive missile attack on the night of 1 May, Ukraines air defence forces destroyed 15 out of 18 Russian cruise missiles.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration will continue to allow tens of thousands of Afghans who fled Taliban control more than two years ago to stay and work in the U.S., as congressional efforts have stalled that were meant to permanently resolve their immigration status, according to two people familiar with the plan.

As soon as this summer, eligible refugees will be able to renew temporary work permits and protections from deportation for another two years, according to two administration officials, who spoke to The Associated Press condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss plans that havent yet been released. The protections were initially given in 2021, and renewed last year.

The effort is a temporary fix for more than 76,000 Afghans who arrived in the U.S. following the military's chaotic and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops, some of the darkest moments of Biden's presidency. Many of those who arrived in the country have worked with U.S. officials, some for many years, as translators, interpreters and other partners.

Details of the renewal were first reported by CBS News. An official announcement is expected by the Department of Homeland Security later this week.

Immigrant advocate groups and veterans who have been working alongside the government trying to find a more permanent pathway for Afghans called the move a bandaid  but better than nothing.

 Afghans have been languishing on our shores awaiting a long-term answer and Congress continues to play games with their future, said Shawn Van Diver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts. But he said he was happy the Biden administration would allow them to stay as Congress can't find a solution.

The U.S. government admitted the refugees temporarily as part of Operation Allies Welcome, the largest resettlement effort in the country in decades, with the promise of a path to life in the U.S. for their service.

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress had hoped to resolve their immigration status as part of a year-end government funding package in December. The proposal would have enabled them to apply for U.S. citizenship come August, when their temporary status was set to expire, as was done for other refugees from other nations in the past, including those from Cuba, Vietnam and Iraq.

But that effort failed over some Republican opposition, most notably Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who argued last year the bill went too far by including evacuees beyond those who were our partners over the last 20 years, and providing a road to residency without the proper screening required.

Some lawmakers are hopeful that with advanced screening measures added to the bill, it can gain the support needed to pass a Republican-controlled House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate.

"It cuts to the core question of whether the U.S. keeps its promise of protection to its allies, said Helal Massomi, an evacuee from Afghanistan and Afghan policy advisor at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, in a statement Monday. Congress needs to keep our nations promise and make it clear to Afghans that this country is more than their temporary safe haven  its their home.
 Flash

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's latest U.S. trip was "the most hostile, aggressive and provocative, dangerous trip for a nuclear war," the state news agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Sunday.



In a commentary, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) voiced harsh criticism and a stern warning, lashing all out at the documents and rhetoric coming out of the recent U.S.-South Korea summit talks in Washington.

The commentary began by putting the Washington Declaration, a signature document on upgrading "extended deterrence" against the DPRK, in its crosshairs, reprimanding it as "a typical product of the heinous hostile policy towards the DPRK," designed to make "a nuclear war against the DPRK a fait accompli."

"There is no precedent that they (U.S. and South Korea) designated the DPRK as a target for a nuclear attack publicly to the world and nakedly stated regular and sustained deployment of strategic nuclear assets to the Korean Peninsula," it added.

The commentary then blasted the South Korean leader, saying his "treacherous and submissive acts to the U.S. are turning South Korea into a U.S. arsenal and advanced base for a nuclear war and hurting the security and interests of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the region."

South Korea and the United States issued the Washington Declaration on Wednesday, which announced the establishment of a new Nuclear Consultative Group and the upcoming visit of a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine to South Korea for the purpose of strengthening the so-called "extended deterrence."
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq, according to a statement issued after a landmark meeting on Monday of Arab diplomats developing a roadmap to end Syria's 12-year conflict.

The foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan met in the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss how to normalise ties with Syria as part of a political settlement of its war, which has shattered and divided the country.

The talks are the first between Syria's government and a group of Arab countries since a decision to suspend Syria's membership of the Arab League in 2011 after a crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

A final statement issued after the meeting said the officials had discussed pathways for the voluntary return home of millions of displaced Syrians and coordinated efforts to combat drug trafficking across Syria's borders.

It said that Damascus had agreed to "take the necessary steps to end smuggling on the borders with Jordan and Iraq" and work over the next month to identify who was producing and transporting narcotics into those two countries.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad.

Syria is accused by Arab governments and the West of producing the highly-addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon and organizing its smuggling into the Gulf.

Top Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have been put on sanctions lists in recent months in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union over the trade.

'STEPS ON THE GROUND'

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said the meeting was "a start, and the process is ongoing" to secure an end to the conflict.

"There must be steps on the ground that lead to an improvement in the reality in which Syria and the Syrians live," Safadi said.

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Asked whether they had discussed Syria's return to the Arab League, Safadi said the decision would have to be taken by the body itself. He did not say whether it was on the agenda for the next League summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.

Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours.

Mekdad met bilaterally with Safadi before the group meeting to discuss refugees, water issues and border security, including the fight against drug smuggling, according to Jordan's foreign ministry.

Amman has been fighting armed groups smuggling narcotics from Syria, including captagon, for which Jordan is both a destination and a main transit route to the oil-rich Gulf.

On Monday, Jordan's state television said the military had thwarted a drug smuggling operation from Syria, leaving one smuggler dead and the rest fleeing back into Syrian territory.

The meeting comes two weeks after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah between the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, where some countries said Syria's return to the Arab fold was premature before Damascus agrees to negotiate a peace plan.

Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on the pace of normalising ties with Assad, whether to invite him to the Arab League summit and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

Regional superpower Saudi Arabia long resisted normalising relations with Assad but said after its rapprochement with Iran - Syria's key regional ally - a new approach was needed with Damascus.

(Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Monday as part of efforts to ease friction between the South Caucasus rivals.

Tensions have flared anew after Azerbaijan installed a road checkpoint at the start of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but home to mostly ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan committed to keeping the route open as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 2020 that ended a six-week war between the two countries.

Azerbaijan said it had established the checkpoint in response to what it said were Armenian weapon supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan denies that charge.

The talks - bilaterals between Blinken and each foreign minister as well as a three-way discussion - were not expected to yield a breakthrough.

A senior State Department official said Washington's "goal is to make sure that the ministers are able to sit down and talk to each other ... But it's most important that the two of them are able to continue their negotiations."

Washington previously said it was "deeply concerned" by Azerbaijan establishing the checkpoint.

The official also said the United States was disappointed Russia had taken a negative view of the meeting taking place in Washington.

The stand-off is seen as a test of Russia's resolve to mediate disputes in the region. Armenia - formally an ally of Russia through a mutual self-defence pact - has repeatedly called on Moscow to use its peacekeeping force to stop what it calls Azerbaijan's "gross violation" of the peace deal.

The parties have agreed to hold talks in Moscow at some point in the future, though no date has been set yet.

Negotiations over a longer-term peace deal between the two sides after another military flare-up last year quickly stalled as Armenia pushed for the European Union and France to have a bigger mediating role, but Azerbaijan rejected.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington D.C., and Jake Cordell in Tbilisi; Editing by Nick Macfie and Hugh Lawson)
Editors Note: This article was published first published in The Fayetteville Observer. It has been updated with additional information from the ceremony.

FORT BRAGG  The U.S. Army Special Operations Command has its first female command sergeant major, while the outgoing top enlisted soldier will be the next sergeant major of the Army.

With more than 30,000 soldiers and civilians, USASOC is the higher command for the 1st Special Forces Command, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Army Special Operations Aviation Command and 75th Ranger Regiment

During a ceremony Monday at Fort Bragg, Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann assumed responsibility from Command Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Weimer.

Naumann most recently served as the senior enlisted leader for Special Operations Command-Korea.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command change of responsibility ceremony on Monday, May 1, 2023, on Fort Bragg. (Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer)

She enlisted in the Army in February 1996 as a voice language analyst. She completed the Arabic Basic Course at the Defense Language Institute and Advanced Individual Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas.

Naumanns assignments include serving as the Joint Special Operations Commands senior enlisted advisor, command sergeant major for the 15th Military Intelligence Battalion and command sergeant major for the Joint Special Operations Command Intelligence Brigade. She has completed 14 deployments throughout CENTCOM and AFRICOM.

In an Army interview last year, Naumann said shes been with special operations since 2002.

When I came into the SOF (special operations forces) community in 2002, there were very few women, Naumann said.

Ahead of Mondays ceremony, Naumann told The Fayetteville Observer that being in special operation forces is more about capability.

We have all different military occupation specialties in our formation, she said. We have genders and races and everything. Everyone is represented in our formation, and its about putting everybody on the same playing field and then selecting the best athlete.

Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, USASOSs commander who oversaw Mondays ceremony, said hes known Naumann for decades and described her as a trailblazer.

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During Naumanns most recent assignment, Braga said, she worked with Korean forces that dont really have females, in its special operation forces.

Naumann, Braga said, showed the Korean forces that she would jump with them, go to the range with them and was a value.

Talk about changing cultures and adding to strategy and international partnerships through sheer perseverance and commitment and leading by example, he said.

Prior to the ceremony, Naumann said the best advice she received was when she was a staff sergeant and a sergeant major told her shes done her job when her soldiers dont need her anymore

It is about developing our people ... Its not about me here today, but its about whos going to be here behind me and whos going to be here in 10 years and growing those future leaders, she said.

Naumann said shes honored to lead the Armys special operation forces at an inflection point, when the Army is challenged by new adversaries and rapidly advancing technology.

She thanked Weimer for his guidance.

New Sergeant Major of the Army

Weimer is leaving his position as command sergeant major of USASOC to become the 17th sergeant major of the Army in August, a position currently held by Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston.

Meet the next Sergeant Major of the Army

Ahead of the ceremony, Weimer told The Fayetteville Observer that he didnt start his Army career thinking hed become the senior enlisted leader of USASOC or the Army.

He said mentors have taught him to focus on being he where is in that moment in time.

We have a tendency to always be thinking about the next step or the next thing, and it absolutely can be distracting, especially in our line of work, Weimer said.

Braga said Weimer will be the first Special Forces noncommissioned officer to hold the Armys top enlisted spot.

Braga recognized Weimers wife and daughters for their support and described Weimer as having courage, candor and commitment, along with vulnerability and humility.

Weimer, Braga said, is similar to the explorer Ulysess in the poems The Iliad and The Odyssey and also written about by the poet Alfred Tennyson.

Ulysess, Braga said, lived life to the fullest, and did not look for wealth, position in life or fame after death.

Weimer came to work to make it better, from advocating for child development centers and new barracks on post to talent management.

He left his mark, Braga said.

Weimer challenged the soldiers to never settle or compromise and to refuse to be comfortable.

According to his official biography, Weimer joined the Army in 1993 and completed Special Forces Assessment and Selection in 1994. He completed the Special Forces Weapons Sergeant Course and earned his Green Beret in 1996.

Weimer previously served as the senior enlisted leader at the U.S. Special Operations Command Central at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from August 2020, until assuming his current role with USASOC in August 2021.

Hes also had previous assignments as command sergeant major for the Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan, the 7th Special Forces Group and numerous tours in the U.S. Central and U.S. Southern Commands area of responsibility.
The Scotland County jail was supposed to be a temporary hold for Ricardo Jones, a 31-year-old aspiring rapper from Florida. During a traffic stop, police in the county discovered a bench warrant on drug charges in his home state.

Jones, the father of four children with another on the way, never made it back to the Sunshine State. A week after he entered the jail, he was found dead on a mattress on the floor of a cell. An autopsy concluded that Jones was killed.

Jones family say they dont understand why no one has been charged 10 months after his death. Jones was locked up in a relatively small jail that is supposed to limit inmates movements and has security cameras, including at least one that was trained on his cell.

They want authorities to charge any inmates involved in Jones death. They also want jail staff held accountable for failing to keep a watchful eye.

I dont want my sons death to be in vain, said his mother, Celestine Mitchell. I want my sons death to be helpful to other people, so they dont leave this world the way my son left.

A state Department of Health and Human Services investigation found shortcomings with how closely inmates were monitored at the Scotland County jail while Jones was confined there.

As a result, his death marks the fourth time in four years that state investigators found detention officers in a county jail didnt regularly check on an inmate hours before a violent death.

Killed in custody?

How Jones died is not clear. But public records shed some light.

At noon on June 18, jail staff observed other inmates walking into Jones cell via a surveillance camera, according to a medical examiners report.

When jailers entered the cell, the report said, they found Jones lying on a mattress on the floor, wet from a shower. Jones said he didnt need help, the report said.

After officers observed numerous inmates continue to enter Jones cell, they returned. This time Jones did not respond so officers summoned emergency medical technicians.

Story continues

By the time EMTs arrived, Jones was not breathing and had no pulse. An autopsy concluded he had been struck in the head, a blow so powerful that he was seen struggling to stand, sweating excessively and gasping for air, says the report, without specifying who saw Jones in that state.

His death is attributed to complications of his reported involvement in a physical altercation with another jail inmate, the autopsy report said.

The medical examiner also found that Jones had sickle cell trait, carrying just one of the mutated gene that causes sickle cell disease, a disorder that hinders red blood cells ability to carry oxygen throughout the body.

People with the trait often dont know they have it, but strenuous physical activity can trigger sickled blood cells. Thats what happened during an altercation in this case, the medical examiner found, calling it a contributing factor in Jones death.

Family left in the dark, they say

Jones family say theyve heard little from Sheriff Ralph Kersey, who runs the jail, or a State Bureau of Investigations agent assigned to investigate Jones death. They were not aware, for instance, that state regulators found the detention center did not check on people confined within as frequently as is required while Jones was locked up here.

State jail regulations require jailers to check inmates in person at least twice an hour. Its a standard meant to protect inmates and staff. If inmates becomes ill or infirm, jailers have a better chance at rescuing them. It also helps ensure control of a facility so that inmates looking to do harm to others are less likely to attack.

The 109-bed jail in Laurinburg has electronic check points that detention officers scan to document that they make their security rounds. But the day before Jones was struck and died, a detention officer had failed to do those scans four times at one checkpoint and two times at another that covered the unit he was housed in, the DHHS report said.

Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLUs National Prison Project, said jailers need to regularly perform rounds to keep jails under control.

You shouldnt have a jail housing unit where people are just coming and going from one anothers cells and theres no officers watching things, said Kendrick, whose organization advocates for safer jail and prison conditions.

Jones mother said she has spent time behind bars, so she knows firsthand what happens when jailers arent regularly patrolling.

When you know how officers operate in a facility you have control to do what you want to do, Mitchell said. By them not doing their duties, the inmates knew they had time to do what they wanted to do.

Three weeks before Jones died at the Scotland County jail, another inmate, Robert Stamper Jr., 46, died by suicide there shortly after being admitted. He and Jones are among a record number of jail inmates in North Carolina who died last year.

The DHHS investigator found evidence that officers did not perform required checks during the five hours prior to Stampers death.

The lack of checks is one of several concerns Jones family discussed in interviews.

Jones uncle, Derek Ned, doubts his nephew could have spoken to the detention officers when they first checked on him.

If he had a contusion and there was brain damage, according to the medical examiner, he cant tell someone hes OK, Ned said.

He and Jones mother say their calls to the authorities have largely gone unanswered. Sheriff Kersey, they said, didnt call them until after a television station news reporter in Florence, S.C., broadcast an interview with them seeking answers three days after Jones death.

At that point, the sheriff had only made public that Jones had died and the SBI was investigating Jones death. His office has yet to announce the death was a homicide.

Kersey did not respond to The N&Os request for interviews. The N&O also received no response to a request for an incident report or for any video capturing what occurred inside the jail the day Jones died. The SBI did not respond to requests for comment either.

People running the Scotland County jail idid confirm to the DHHS that officers did not conduct required checks the evening before and the day that Jones died. The officers carry devices that log checkpoints in the jail during their rounds.

Jail seeks to fix supervision issues

A shift supervisor at the jail was demoted as a result, DHHS records show. The sheriffs office also said the jail would purchase more tracking devices so that all jailers have them when making rounds.

Reece Saunders, the district attorney for Scotland County, confirmed that the SBI was assigned to investigate Jones death and provided limited information on Jones arrest. He cited North Carolina State Bar rules limiting how much prosecutors can discuss on open cases to avoid prejudicial statements.

If the criminal investigation confirms the autopsy report, Jones would be the fourth inmate to die in North Carolinas jails in the past four years after confrontations with other inmates.

In 2019, an inmate in the Cleveland County jail and another in the Craven County jail died after being struck by other inmates, authorities said. The following year an inmate died after being attacked in the Orange County jail, deputies said. In the other deaths, the state DHHS also cited the jails with failure to properly check on the inmates.

The family of the Cleveland County inmate, Jeffery Todd Dunn, sued the sheriff and several employees. They received a $347,500 out-of-court settlement in 2021.

Ricardo Jones grew up in the Fort Myers area. He was a running back in high school and attracted some college interest, his family said, but that opportunity faded when a girlfriend became pregnant shortly after he graduated.

Amid the odd jobs to pay child support, Jones sought to make it as a rapper with the stage name Shotta Suppa.

He learned he was a father a fifth time while in the Scotland jail, his family said.

Mitchell said the fifth child, a son named Ricki, was born in February.

So now he has to grow up without a father, she said.
Bam Margera's attorney said the "Jackass" star is "in good health" ahead of court date for criminal charges against him. (Todd Williamson / Invision / Associated Press)

Bam Margera's attorney refuted reports that the "Jackass" personality is near death ahead of his next court hearing as he faces criminal assault and harassment charges.

"He seems to be in good health and good spirits preparing for his defense in this case," Margera's attorney Michael van der Veen told The Times, adding that he spoke to the former professional skateboarder as recently as Monday morning.

The health update conflicts with comments from Margera's older brother, Jesse Margera, 44, who shared on his private Instagram account that Bam "is dying and there is nothing I can do about it," according to numerous outlets including Daily Mail.

"I hope none of you have to hurt as much as me right now," the older Margera, a drummer with rock band CKY, also wrote in the post.

The former MTV star has repeatedly received treatment at rehabilitation centers for addiction over the last decade, including several recent stints. Margera had celebrated "one year of treatment" in early 2022, but relatives and friends began to express concern again about his substance use in recent months, including former "Jackass" cast mate Steve-O, who has publicly urged Margera toward recovery.

Last Thursday, Bam, whose real name is Brandon Margera, 43, turned himself in to authorities at a state barracks in Avondale, Penn., after a warrant was filed for his arrest, according to court documents. That same day, Margera appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to one count of misdemeanor simple assault, another count of harassment and four counts of misdemeanor threats with intent to terrorize another.

He was released on unsecured bail, meaning he was not required to pay his bail up front, common for misdemeanors in Pennsylvania. Margera is due back in court on May 25.

Van der Veen, who also defended former President Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial and the Trump Organization in its tax dodging trial, also said reports of Margera fleeing authorities were false.

Story continues

"He learned of a warrant, hired a lawyer right away (van der Veen), and we made arrangement for state troopers' schedule, the court's schedule, my schedule to make sure he could be surrendered in a secure way," van der Veen said over the phone.

Police said Margera had threatened several people including his brother, Jesse  whom he allegedly hit in the head  and his father, Phillip Margera Jr. Police said Jesse sustained minor injuries," according to a report obtained by The Times.

Pennsylvania State Police claimed that Bam Margera fled into a wooded area before authorities arrived at the scene.

Margera, who was born in Pennsylvania, has had several run-ins with law enforcement in recent months. In March, he was arrested in Escondido, Calif., on suspicion of corporal injury after a woman claimed he kicked her, TMZ reported. Weeks later, he was reportedly arrested in Burbank and charged with public intoxication.

Margeras mounting legal issues come months after his wife, Nicole Margera, filed for legal separation in February. Nicole is seeking physical and legal custody of their 5-year-old son, Phoenix.

The separation request also asks to cut off any spousal support for Bam and requests the 43-year-old TV personality pay Nicoles legal fees.

Nicole filed for separation after claiming Margera had spent time with their son while under the influence, TMZ reported.

Margera first found fame as a professional skateboard in the late 1990s. He was an original member of the cast of daredevil pranksters on "Jackass," which debuted on MTV in 2000. Along with cast mates such as Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O, the group entertained audiences by risking their lives with wild stunts. The series led to several feature films, such as "Jackass Forever," many of which Margera co-wrote and co-produced.

Many scenes in the show, and the subsequent MTV spinoff, "Viva La Bam," were filmed in West Chester, Penn., where Margera grew up and where much of his family still lives.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

STATE AUDIT FINDS CDPH FELL SHORT ON COLLECTING LGBTQ DATA

Last week, California State Auditor Grant Parks released a new report finding that the California Department of Public Health has missed several opportunities to collect and report Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data.

We determined that Public Health has been slow to adopt and enforce standardized guidelines to ensure the consistent collection and reporting of SOGI data, which has limited its ability to identify and address health disparities among those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning population, Parks wrote in a letter to the governor and legislative leaders.

According to the audit, out of 129 forms reviewed, 105 of them were exempt, but not prohibited, from collecting SOGI data. Only 17 forms collected such data in a complete manner, while seven did so in an incomplete way.

California law requires CDPH to collect voluntary SOGI information from people when it collects ancestry and ethnic origin information.

The audit makes several recommendations, including calling for the Legislature to amend the SOGI data collection law to require CDPH to collect that data from third-party entities, such as local health jurisdictions, on any forms or electronic data systems unless prohibited from doing so by state or federal law.

News of the audit was greeted by concern from Equality California, the states largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

Despite the advancements we have made in creating a more just and equal society for LGBTQ+ Californians, by virtually every measure of success, our community remains at the bottom  including when it comes to health care outcomes, Executive Director Tony Hoang said in a statement.

It also was greeted by a call to action from Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who called the findings extremely concerning.

In a statement, Wiener said that CDPH continues to use an overly narrow approach to SOGI data collection.

Story continues

The department needs to institute a centralized, comprehensive approach to collecting this data, update its data collection and analysis systems, and require data collection from third parties. Im seriously considering legislation to implement the Auditors recommendations, Wiener said.

NFIB RAILS AGAINST FAILURE OF RETAIL SHOPLIFTING BILLS

With one bill to undo part of Proposition 47 in order to address repeat retail shoplifting dead and another in limbo, the National Federation of Independent Business is crying foul.

The Senate Public Safety Committee defeated SB 316, by Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, while AB 1708 from Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, awaits a future Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing after being granted reconsideration.

Both measures sought to make modest modifications to Prop. 47 that would not have threatened the main goals of the ballot measure that passed in November 2014, and both enjoyed bipartisan support, John Kabateck, NFIB California director, said in a statement. What is it about the highly flawed and mis-sold Proposition 47 that has turned so many of Californias legislators into cult-like worshipers of it? They willfully and stubbornly will not recognize any flaw in their criminal creed.

A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll in 2022 showed support across the political spectrum for amending Prop. 47, which reduced several theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and raised the threshold for felony theft from $400 to $950.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Im sorry. But if Newsom really gave a rip about fentanyl he would have engaged before the hearing yesterday. You know, the one where all the important bills were killed or punted?

 Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:
A federal judge sentenced the owner of a Charlotte auto shop Monday after he pleaded guilty last year for cheating on emissions tests.

The federal judge sentenced Jamal Saymeh to 12 months and one day in prison. He must pay more than $1.2 million in fines and more than $82,000 in restitution to the state.

PAST COVERAGE: Auto repair shop owner accused of lying about emissions tests pleads guilty

Federal and state agents swarmed Friendly Auto Repair on North Tryon Street in January 2022.

Prosecutors say he purposely coded more than 15,000 vehicles wrong. Those vehicles would have failed emissions tests.

The repair shop sometimes did county swaps, which was when they falsified the county the vehicle was registered in so it appeared that it didnt need an emissions inspection, prosecutors said.

Saymeh also changed the classification of thousands of trucks from light duty to heavy duty, which would omit them from testing.

Saymeh had customers pay him cash that far exceeded what customers would have paid to have an emissions inspection in exchange for falsifying the records, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Its not clear if those customers are in any trouble.

The office also says Saymeh only paid the state of North Carolina a fraction of what he should have for certain inspections, investigators said.

Saymehs lawyer said the repair shop owner accepts responsibility for his decisions and was prepared to face the consequences.

VIDEO: Auto repair shop searched by federal, state authorities
Pathologists in Malindi will need about a week to autopsy the 109 bodies, the government says

The first autopsies Monday on corpses found in mass graves linked to a Kenyan pastor suspected of inciting followers to fast to death confirm starvation as the cause of death, although some victims were asphyxiated, the authorities said.

Experts carrying out the first post-mortems on more than 100 bodies unearthed in a coastal forest examined nine children aged one to 10 as well as one woman.

"Most of them had features of starvation," chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said after the autopsies took place in a hospital morgue at the town of Malindi.

"We saw features of people who have not eaten -- there was no food in the stomach, the layer of fat was very small," he said.

"We have had a look at all their bodies and all their organs were intact. None was missing so far."

But, Oduor added, "From what we are hearing, there was some indication that they were being smothered, that can be one of the causes of asphyxiation. It was in two children. "

In a case that erupted last month, horrifying a deeply religious nation, cult leader Paul Mackenzie Nthenge is accused of urging followers to find God through starvation.

The provisional death toll stands at 109, which includes a small number of people who were found alive but died on their way to hospital.

"The process of exhumation was temporarily stopped because the experts advised us (that) when it is raining, that process cannot continue," Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said earlier.

- 'Other methods' -

Investigators will also take DNA samples to help identification, though the full results may take months, Oduor said.

"Generally, all the bodies are decomposed and this makes it very difficult for us to calculate the time of death," he said.

Kindiki had said on Friday that preliminary reports suggested "some of the victims may not have died of starvation. There were other methods used, including hurting them."

Story continues

A former taxi driver, Nthenge created a Christian-based cult called the Good News International Church.

Investigators suspect he has links with a prominent televangelist, Ezekiel Odero, head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, who was arrested last Thursday.

Odero is suspected of crimes including murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud and money laundering.

Prosecutor Peter Kiprop said last week there was "credible information" linking bodies found in Shakahola forest to the deaths of several "innocent and vulnerable followers" of Odero.

Odero and Nthenge share a "history of business investments" including a television station used to pass "radicalised messages" to followers, Kiprop said in court documents.

- Ruto pledge -

The two pastors are currently in detention and are to appear in court in different towns on Tuesday.

Newly elected President William Ruto, in remarks on April 24, said there was no difference between rogue cult leaders and "terrorists".

"I have instructed the agencies responsible to ... get to the root cause ... of the activities of... people who want to use religion to advance weird, unacceptable ideology," he said.

More than 4,000 churches are registered in Christian-majority Kenya.

But efforts to weed out crooks and charlatans through regulation have been thwarted by accusations that this would violate constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion.

"In the course of the week," the interior minister said, "the president (will) be announcing members of a presidential task force to deal with generally how we govern religious activities in our country and how we make sure we don't infringe on the sacred right of the freedom of worship, opinion and belief.

"But at the same time we don't allow criminals to misuse that right to hurt, kill, torture and starve people to death."

ho-sva/ri/bp
Student behavioral problems that spiked with the return of in-person learning after the coronavirus pandemic are getting even worse, educators say.

Seventy percent of teachers, principals and district leaders said in a recent EdWeek Research Center survey that students are misbehaving more now than in 2019, up from 66 percent in December 2021. One-third in the new poll said students are misbehaving a lot more.

Experts say the culture shock and whiplash from the extended period of remote classes are only one of the psychological and academic factors behind the problem.

More than 200,000 students have lost a parent to COVID-19, and several states reported an increase in youth suicide during the pandemic. Scholastically, the Nations Report Card 2022 found students had lost decades of learning.

I think one of the things that we really talk to school leaders about is, you know, really understanding that you cannot push your way through. If a student is not emotionally available to learn, youre never going to make the academic gains that you want, said Tali Raviv, associate director of the Center for Childhood Resilience at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago.

But educators who are being proactive are reporting some success.

Crystal Thorpe, the principal of Fishers Junior High School in Fishers, Ind., said her faculty had to come together last year to come up with a game plan to tackle student misbehavior.

Thorpe said it was the worst year for student behavior she had seen in her school, with more fights and aggressive behavior than ever.

In response, Fishers Junior High implemented measures such as making teachers more present in the hallways, having an app that allowed students to anonymously report concerning behavior and talking to students as soon as a problem arose and not waiting for violence to break out.

Thorpe said this academic year has been better.

I think its because we just  we paid more attention to it because I think as a staff, we were all exhausted last year, and we were talking about OK, whats going on? How do we better address this? How do we handle this? And I think for this year, weve actually got a much better handle on it because we knew that it was a problem last year, she said.

Story continues

Experts say it is also important to acknowledge that teachers perceptions of student behavior could be skewed by their own mental burnout.

There are surveys of kids, and what weve found around the world is that teacher perceptions do not always map onto student behaviors or things that happen to students, said Ron Avi Astor, professor at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA.

During the pandemic, teacher stress soared as educators struggled to switch instruction to online learning and manage all the changes thrown at them.

Adults are kind of at their worst, so to speak. We as adults also experienced a lot of exhaustion, fatigue and trauma, Raviv said.

We know that their rates of teacher burnout and teacher stress are at an all-time high, and think about you when youre stressed and youre anxious and your patience for behavioral challenges, whether theyre in the classroom or whether theyre with co-workers, she added. Youre really not responding always kind of with patience and in a way that de-escalates but, in fact, might be responding in a way that escalates that.

A Gallup poll in 2022 found 52 percent of teachers felt burned out while they were in the classrooms.

In EdWeeks survey, 68 percent of educators said student morale is lower than during the pandemic.

In a December EdWeek poll, however, 86 percent of students said they were motivated, and 82 percent were feeling hopeful about the future, up from 69 percent in 2020.

While student misbehavior accelerated over the pandemic, it corresponds with the youth mental health crisis over which experts have been sounding the alarm the past decade.

I think the problems have always been there with students struggling. I think theres been a combination of a lot of things, the increase in the use of social media among our young people and I think the pandemic also brought about some issues, Thorpe said.

Thorpe said her school had a part-time social worker on staff last academic year, and this year, they were able to hire a social worker full-time.

Research shows in the 2021 to 2022 school year, 28 percent of districts made changes to their calendars to help students and faculty address mental health concerns.

Schools have continuously pushed for more resources to ensure all students have what they need to work on their academic and mental health.

Young people are demanding things like mental health days in schools, and, you know, supports and theyre talking about mental health in a much more open way, Raviv said. And I think that gives me hope that this might be a peak that we can kind of recover from, but if we do nothing and just think things are gonna go back to normal by themselves, I think were fooling ourselves. I dont think this is something thats just going to get better with time if we dont really allocate resources.

Astor, meanwhile, is optimistic that the wave of behavior problems could prove to be a smaller blip in the larger 20-year period.

Its important, and its significant as it was the first time we really had a big uptake, he said, adding we all anticipated it would happen when students came back.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mattel is honoring Chinese-American actor Anna May Wong with a new Barbie doll as part of the Barbie Inspiring Women series, which recognizes iconic women in history.

Wong is considered the first Chinese-American movie star.

Frustrated with being typecast in stereotypical roles, she founded her own production company in 1924 and continued breaking barriers throughout her career, Mattel wrote in its product description.

Anna May Wong Barbie Doll (Mattel)

Sculpted to her likeness and wearing a red gown with a golden dragon design, this collectible Barbie doll honors a trailblazing icon.

Known as a trailblazing star, Wong dazzles as if under the lights of a camera with her signature chic bangs and smoky eye, Mattel added in the description.

In October 2022, it was announced that Wong would become the first Asian American to appear on American currency when her likeness would be featured on the quarter.

Anna May Wong Barbie Doll (Mattel)

Anna May Wong Barbie Doll (Mattel)

Born Wong Liu Tsong in 1905, Wongs breakout role was in 1922s The Toll of the Sea, one of the first movies to be made in color. She was 17. She also appeared in notable titles such as The Thief of Baghdad and Shanghai Express.

Wong worked throughout her career to dispel the kind of beliefs that led to stereotypical roles for Asian American performers. She left America in 1928 and settled in Europe where her career blossomed in German, French and English films. She later returned to the United States, appearing in more films.

Anna May Wong Barbie Doll (Getty Images)

I was so tired of the parts I had to play, she said in a 1933 interview explaining why she moved to Europe, according to a 1987 article in the Los Angeles Times. Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villain  murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. We are not like that.

Wong received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and died the following year.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
 Flash

Western Australia (WA) has reported two shark attacks over the weekend, which injured two male swimmers.



On Sunday afternoon, the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development issued a warning for Yallingup in the City of Busselton, after a shark incident was reported by a member of the public at about 11:20 a.m. local time during the day.

The department noted that a male swimmer suffered minor injuries after being bitten by a one-meter unknown species of shark at about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The incident occurred when the swimmer was in the shallows, about 15 meters offshore from the beach.

Also on Saturday, another shark bite, reported at approximately 3:00 p.m. local time, sent shock waves through the country, as an 11-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after the incident.

The boy encountered an unknown species of shark while snorkeling in waters off the Kurrajong Campground, Cape Range National Park in the Shire of Exmouth.

"A spokeswoman at Perth Children's Hospital said the boy was still being treated on Sunday morning but was stable," local media outlet Perth Now reported.

According to the report, the 11-year-old received treatment at the scene after sustaining deep cuts to parts of his body, but his injuries are said to be non-life threatening.

The attack came after Australia's professional surfer Max Marsden survived a shark bite at Lucys Beach in Greenough, south of the City of Greater Geraldton.

While surfing with his friend on the early morning of April 23, Marsden found a shark, which was believed to be a 1.5-meter bronze whaler, pinning his right arm to the surfboard. He punched it a few times before managing to escape.
The new Barbie doll pays homage to the iconic actress Anna May Wong. Public Domain; Mattel

Barbie announced a new Anna May Wong doll in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month.

Wong fought to break stereotypical roles offered to Asian American actors in Hollywood.

In 1935, MGM turned Wong down for a leading role in a film, instead casting an actress in yellowface.

Mattel is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with its new Anna May Wong doll, paying tribute to the iconic actress who broke stereotypes in Hollywood.

Wong is widely regarded to be the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood. During the silent film era, she acted in one of the first films made in color, "The Toll of the Sea," and in Douglas Fairbanks' "The Thief of Bagdad." By 1924, she had become a fashion icon  known for her arched, pencil-thin brows, signature blunt brows, and flapper style  as well as an international star.

Frustrated by the stereotypical supporting roles offered to Asian American actors, Wong fought to expand representation in Hollywood. In 1935, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer refused to consider Wong for the leading role of O-Lan, a Chinese slave in the film adaptation of "The Good Earth." MGM instead cast Luise Rainer as the lead in yellowface.

But Wong persevered, and made history as the first Asian American actress to lead a US television show, "The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong," in 1951.

Wong also became the first Asian American featured on the US quarter.

Mattel worked with Wong's niece, Anna Wong, to design the doll, which is part of Mattel's ongoing efforts to make its line of dolls more inclusive.

"I've always been proud of my aunt's impact on Hollywood and her strength to break down roadblocks in the way of her goals," Anna Wong said in a statement. "She helped more Asian American[s] see themselves on screen, leading to other incredible feats for the AAPI community."

The Anna May Wong doll from Barbie. Mattel

The doll wears a rich red gown embellished with a golden dragon and sheer cape, and features her trademark bangs and smoky eyeshadow. It's part of Barbie's "Inspiring Women" series, which pays tribute to historical and present-day role models like Madam C.J. Walker, Ida B. Wells, and Frida Kahlo.

Story continues

As part of its celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, Barbie will be donating $25,000 to Asian American LEAD, a non-profit organization that supports low-income AAPI youth, in Wong's name.

"We're thrilled to share the journey of an incredible icon who was at the forefront of inclusive progress in Hollywood. In commemorating her legacy with an Inspiring Women doll in her honor, we are proud to continue to increase representation in the toy aisle," Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and Dolls at Mattel, said in a statement.

Read the original article on Insider
The Barstow Police Department is investigating after video circulated of an officer striking a man with a baton even as he he fell to the ground. (Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

The Barstow Police Department said it was investigating after video circulated of an officer hitting a man  whom authorities said was resisting arrest  with a baton, even as he fell to the ground.

In the video, shared with Fox 11, an officer swings the baton as a man backs away, before eventually falling to the ground. Once the man is on the ground, the cop appears to swing at him three more times.

The Police Department said in a Facebook statement that it was "aware that a resident captured a portion of this incident on video." Police said they had a copy of the video and would conduct an investigation to determine if the force used by the officer was within policy and current law.

Police said an officer had observed Gary Christian  who they said "was wanted for an outstanding felony, no bail probation violation warrant"  at about 4 p.m. in the 1200 block of East Main Street.

The officer tried to arrest Christian, police said, but he "refused to comply with the officer's orders and physically assaulted the officer." Police said the officer then deployed his Taser, which was ineffective.

"Christian then physically assaulted the officer a second time, causing the officer to deploy his baton," police said. "[T]he officer struck Christian with his baton while attempting to arrest him."

Additional officers arrived and took Christian into custody, according to police.

Melissa Navarrete, who took the video, told Fox 11 that she and her friend hadn't seen a Taser being used and said Christian "wasn't resisting."

"The guy had his hands up and hes moving backward, like hes not trying to fight the cop," Navarrete told the outlet. "Hes not trying to resist anything. ... [H]es just moving and the cop is just swinging and swinging."

Christian, 43, was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for minor contusions and abrasions to his right leg, police said. He was booked for allegedly resisting arrest and an outstanding felony warrant.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A man police accused of killing a 19-year-old Michigan woman more than three decades ago was arrested Sunday in Beaufort, according to the Beaufort Police Department.

Robert Odell Waters, 53, of Beaufort, was being held Monday at the Beaufort County Detention Center on a fugitive from justice charge, jail records show.

Waters is awaiting extradition to Michigan, where he will be charged with open murder, which permits a jury not only to decide whether the person is guilty or not but also to say which degree of murder the case involves.

Although we were a small part in this investigation, we are honored to be a part of the apprehension, Beaufort Police Department Chief Dale McDorman said Monday in a news release.

Investigators with the Three Rivers Police Department in St. Joseph County, Michigan, announced Monday in a news release that they had used forensic genetic genealogy on DNA found at the scene. From the DNA, police were able to narrow down suspects to a family they interviewed and fingerprinted, officials said in the release. Investigators then identified Waters as a suspect and traveled to South Carolina to interview him.

Waters turned himself in to police Sunday, said Chief Deputy Stephenie Price, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Police Department.

Cathy Swartz, 19, was found murdered on Dec. 2, 1988, in her apartment. An autopsy determined she died from stab wounds and was beaten and strangled before her death, according to previous reporting from WSBT 22, a local news station. Swartz was found by her boyfriend. Her 9-month-old daughter was in an upstairs bedroom and was not injured.

While nothing can replace the loss of Cathy Swartz and the impact this senseless tragedy has had, we hope the identification and arrest of a suspect will bring some long-awaited closure to her family and friends, Three Rivers Police Department officials said in a statement Monday.

When we publish mugshots

The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette publishes police booking photos, or mugshots, in the following instances:

In situations where a public figure or someone in a position of public trust is arrested

In cases where there is an immediate and widespread threat to public safety

In cases where the arrested person is accused of a crime reporters have evidence to believe involved numerous, unknown victims

Reporters will avoid using mugshots as lead images for online articles in order to limit their circulation on social media, except in cases where the public is served by the immediate identification of the accused. Reporters and editors may use discretion in situations that dont meet the criteria outlined in this policy but still present a compelling reason to publish a mugshot.
Archaeologist Richard Hansen, right, shows a limestone frieze found at the El Mirador archaeological site in northern Guatemala on March 7, 2009. (Moises Castillo / Associated Press)

A little more than a year ago, I accompanied archaeologist Richard Hansen on one of his frequent expeditions to the El Mirador region, in the Peten jungle of Guatemala bordering Mexico, which Hansen believes was the cradle of ancient Mayan civilization. It was a fascinating, occasionally terrifying, trip, and I went with him a second time last December.

On those occasions I learned how, by using LiDAR technology, Hansen and his research team had uncovered more than 964 archaeological sites and located 417 cities that were connected to each other by a complex network of roads. But today the sites are threatened with becoming engulfed by illegal activity: poaching, logging, and drug and human trafficking.

His team's concern, Hansen told me, "is how to protect El Mirador without it falling into the hands of the big interests that roam the area, and we believe that the best way to do it is by declaring it a bi-national natural sanctuary."

Last weekend, Hansen came from Guatemala to take part in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC campus. I had invited Hansen to have a conversation with me about his research so that Angelenos, including our local Mayan community, could learn about his research, including the lessons that he believes the possible fate of the ancient Maya hold for our warming planet.

"The fate of that archaeological zone is linked to the protection of the forest," Hansen said.

But on April 23, when we been been talking for barely three minutes, a local group of masked demonstrators who claimed to be members of the Mayan community rushed the stage, seized our microphones, threw chairs, knocked over the loudspeakers and hit one of the stage crew.

The message that Hansen came to deliver was drowned out by the demonstrators, who shouted at Hansen while unveiling a banner that read, Gringo colonizer fuera del Mirador." The protesters accuse Hansen of trying to appropriate the cultural heritage of the Guatemalan people in order to personally profit by turning the impoverished region into an archaeological theme park.

Story continues

"There is nothing more false than that," Hansen told me as we waited behind a wall of policemen who had quickly arrived on the scene to shield us from the demonstrators. "My proposal is the exact opposite of what these people say."

When I accompanied Hansen and his team to El Mirador last December, I asked him about previous, similar accusations by his opponents that he wants to turn the Mayan complex into a touristic Disneyland. He laughed out loud.

They have misrepresented everything," Hansen told me. On the contrary, Hansen fears that big capital investment in the region "must be avoided at all costs." Not only would it interfere with his own work, but he is convinced that an invasion of new highways, airports, hotels and recreation areas would destroy the surrounding jungle.

By contrast, Hansen said, he is proposing to create an environmentally sustainable sanctuary that would generate jobs for the local Indigenous communities and diminish the influence of the mafias that are destroying the area.

According to Hansen's research, the El Mirador-Calakmul Basin has an extension of 3,500 square kilometers (about 1,350 square miles) in Guatemala and a similar extension in the state of Campeche in Mexico and currently the only way to access the archaeological sites is by taking a helicopter from Las Flores, or walking almost three days from the community of Carmelita.

To reduce the environmental impact, we proposed that a light rail be built, like the one at Disneyland, that allows access for tourists with a minimum of environmental impact," Hansen said. "We also proposed that the communities themselves be in charge not only of the light rail, but also of all the infrastructure needed to serve tourists.

That proposal  which was nothing more than a proposal  has earned him many enemies and spawned verbal attacks and even some death threats.

"There are many interests that have their eyes on that area, and they don't want the area to be protected," he told me.

I asked specifically who has threatened to kill him. I prefer not to say," he replied, "but there have been specific death threats against me and my family in 2001 and in 2020."

I have toured the El Mirador area on two occasions and the lack of surveillance by the Guatemalan government is notorious. There are only a handful of armed guards paid by the Guatemalan government to patrol the vast area.

On my last trip, one of the government guards who asked not to be identified told me that he and his colleagues frequently see aircraft unloading drugs in the area, but that they can't do anything. We have neither weapons nor authority to intervene," he told me. Hansen's archaeological team maintains a group of 16 guards in the area to try to protect the site and reduce the impact of illegal activities.

Hansen also believes that the jungle's natural resources could be sustainably developed for the benefit of the local communities without having to decimate the forest. Estuardo Labbe, director of the Guatemalan Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES), told me that, to preserve the forest, FARES even offered to buy trees from the logging companies operating in the area. But those offers were rejected.

"They have not wanted to, despite the fact that there is a large market in Europe and the United States for natural products from the forest," Labbe said.

Last weekend, news of the Los Angeles demonstration spread quickly across social media. Among the commentators was the Italian Guatemalan archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli, who has long been critical of Hansen's work. He tweeted, apparently in reference to the protests, That happens when you try to subvert the conservation of forests and the livelihoods of local communities in #Peten, #Guatemala proposing a bill in the US Senate (S.3131) to fund your plan through the back door.

The U.S. Senate bill that Estrada-Belli referred to was the "Mirador-Calakmul Basin Maya Security and Conservation Partnership Act of 2019," sponsored by Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.). Its stated goal was "to foster collaborative research efforts between the United States and local entities to create a sustainable tourism model that provides controlled, low-impact access to the archaeological sites of the Mirador-Calakmul basin in Central America, with an emphasis on providing economic opportunities to communities in and around the basin.

Hansen told me that, There was nothing hidden or under the table in that negotiation."

"When we spoke with members of the United States Senate, they were 13 Guatemalan representatives and the Minister of Culture of the government of President Jimmy Morales," he said.

The bill, if it had been approved, would've allocated $144 million that could've been used by public or private entities to finance infrastructure projects to help preserve the jungle and sustain scientific research. To access these funds, any entity would have had to go through an open and transparent bidding process.

"It's a real tragedy that it didn't pass, because it would have benefited thousands of people living in very poor communities without jobs," Hansen said.

Among those who support Hansen's proposals are some of the people who would be most directly affected by them: members of the various Maya communities in Central America and the United States. Centuries after Spanish colonizers arrived in the Western Hemisphere, the Maya continue to struggle against poverty, discrimination and brutal oppression. They were the main targets of the civil war that devastated Guatemala between 1960 and 1996, in which hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people died.

One day before the incident at the book festival, Hansen and archaeologists Enrique Hernandez, an expert on the El Mirador causeways, and Beatriz Balcarcel, a specialist on the Acropolis, met with a group of approximately 300 people of Mayan origin in Los Angeles to publicize their proposals.

Edgar Leonel Chaj, vice president of Maya Vision and secretary of the Los Angeles Mayan Cultural Committee, told me, "We had doubts, and we wanted to hear from Hansen himself the details of what he is proposing and we agreed with him that it is the Mayan peoples who must decide how to protect that area and how to benefit from that cultural legacy."

Chaj lamented the acts of violence committed by the protesters, who he believes are either uninformed or were paid by someone so that Hansen could not deliver his message. "They probably didn't want his message of creating a sanctuary to get out."

I also spoke with Nesha Xuncax, secretary of Maya Vision, and who also attended Hansen's conversation with the Mayan leaders.

We openly asked Hansen if there was a hidden agenda in his development proposals for El Mirador, and he answered that of course not, and I believe him, because he has made each of his proposals public, Xuncax said.

She added that in the Peten region there are many hidden interests. Corrupt governments, those that keep the Guatemalan people in poverty, are the ones that have allied themselves with those interests," she continued. "Hansen's proposal at least takes into account the Mayans and their needs. It would be absurd not to support it."

In her opinion, there is a disinformation campaign against Hansen, intended to discredit him and prevent the El Mirador area from being safeguarded.

Meanwhile, Hansen told me, another group, the Mayan Cultural and Natural Heritage Foundation (Pacunam) "has already presented concrete investment projects."

"There is already a proposal to build highways, gas stations, hotel chains, restaurants and airports on a large scale," he said. Actually they are accusing me of what the big investors want to do. Unfortunately, the protesters in Los Angeles apparently do not know about these projects and are lending themselves to the exploitation of the Mayan people once again."





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Around Kentucky, the first Saturday in May is known for horse racing. But at the University of Kentucky, theres another event taking place: graduation ceremonies.

Planning for the ceremonies starts at the beginning of each semester with committee meetings, said Abby Franklin, associate director of university events. While the main parts of the ceremonies stay the same from semester to semester, the events team works to finish up final details as graduation day approaches.

The team plans for thousands of additional people on campus during the two days of graduation ceremonies, looking at everything from parking to shuttles to signage on campus.

We want them to feel welcome, Franklin said. The family may or may not have been on campus much during the tenure of their students career, so this is kind of like a welcome back and a pretty big deal for all of the families that are visiting. We want to make sure that campus is welcome and easy to navigate, and they know what to expect.

Ceremonies will be held on May 5 and 6 at Rupp Arena in the Central Bank Center. Those are long days for her team, Franklin said, showing up before 7 a.m. Friday and working until 9 p.m., then coming back the next day for the final ceremony. They work on everything from how chairs are arranged at the ceremony, to making sure graduates have what they need before walking across the stage.

At this point in the semester, Franklin is now focused on setting the order of the ceremonies and communicating with graduates and speakers about how to prepare. That also includes answering questions from families and students about the day of ceremonies, like (unsurprisingly) where to park or even dinner recommendations, she said.

The best part is seeing how excited graduates are before they walk across the stage, ending one chapter at UK but beginning another, she said. Franklin will be to the side of the stage, guiding graduates before their names are announced and they start to walk.

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My favorite part is standing there listening to the students, being so excited or nervous to walk, Franklin said. Its just that anticipation of Oh my gosh, this is finally happening, or talking with their friends, asking How does my hair look? Were just reminding them to enjoy the moment, and be in the moment before you cross the stage.

Have something that should be considered for next months higher education round-up? Contact reporter Monica Kast at mkast@herald-leader.com.

UK College of Medicine has largest-ever class

Later this month, UK will also be celebrating its largest-ever graduating class of medical students, with 190 graduates from the College of Medicine.

The graduates come from all four sites of the UK College of Medicine: Lexington, Morehead, Bowling Green and Northern Kentucky. This comes as Kentucky is facing a shortage of health care workers, including doctors.

The physician shortage in Kentucky is severe, said Charles Chipper Griffith III, M.D., acting dean for the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. There are counties without a single physician, and even in parts of Lexington and Louisville, there are areas that are under-served.

UK said it has put an emphasis on enrolling in-state students in the College of Medicine, with 70-75% of medical students coming to the university from Kentucky. More UK students are also matching with a residency based in Kentucky, the university said.

The biggest factor for a physician practicing in Kentucky is both going to medical school and doing a residency in Kentucky, Griffith said. Nearly 9 of 10 physicians who do both will remain in-state to practice when residency is finished.

UK receives largest single donation for College of Engineering

Stanley and Karen Pigman donated $34.5 million to the UK College of Engineering, which the board of trustees accepted on Friday. It is the largest single gift given to UK.

To honor their support of engineering, the college will now be named the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering.

Because of their continued commitment, students now and for generations to come will fuel their passions, reach their potentials and discover what is possible because of the investments made in them by these remarkable people, UK President Eli Capilouto said.

They also mentor and financially support students through the L. Stanley Pigman Scholarship Program, and sponsor two endowed faculty positions in power engineering. More than 120 undergraduate engineering students currently receive Pigman scholarships, which provides money to selected first-generation students graduating from high schools in 32 Eastern Kentucky counties.

Karen and I know that producing more engineers and computer scientists will change not just this generation but generations of many families to come, and we are specifically invested in helping students with unmet need, first-generation students and students from Appalachia become engineers and computer scientists, Stanley Pigman said.

Research: Opioid alternatives for teen pain management

Faculty from the UK College of Dentistry and College of Pharmacy are working together to look at opioid prescriptions for teenagers and young adults after major dental surgery to find potential alternatives.

Researchers are implementing an intervention strategy with dentists and dental providers to reduce the amount of opioid prescriptions written after surgery.

Many of us personally know someone who has been affected by a substance use disorder and have seen how devastating these can be not only to the individual, but also family members and the community, Marcia Rojas-Ramirez, assistant professor of dentistry. So, acknowledging and observing that, knowing the role of dentistry in this opioid epidemic has been a factor leading to the development of this proposal.

The goal of the study is to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions written for young people, instead looking at effective alternatives.

We are working with many of the largest oral surgery practices in Kentucky to try to implement strategies that can help them revise the way theyre prescribing pain medication, said Doug Oyler, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and science. So, we are trying to understand how dentists make these decisions and help them realize that medications like Tylenol and ibuprofen seem to work just as well as opioids.
Bellingham Police have named two of the suspects in a months-long vandalism investigation and announced stronger charges against the men they believe were plotting to paint graffiti across the downtown area.

Jack C. Toillion 18, and Garrison P. Bonds, 19, both of Bellingham, were booked Wednesday on suspicion of criminal conspiracy and first-degree malicious mischief, police Lt. Claudia Murphy said.

From the investigation, it appears they were working in concert as part of a common scheme or plan to commit malicious mischief to tag and graffiti locations within the city of Bellingham, Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email Saturday, April 29. Based on that, there was probable cause for the criminal conspiracy charge.

Both were released after their arrest Wednesday, according to online jail records..

Students by those two names are registered at Western Washington University, WWU spokesman Jonathan Higgins told The Bellingham Herald.

First-degree malicious mischief is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine, or both. Criminal conspiracy is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Toillion also faces 282 counts of third-degree malicious mischief with a cumulative damage assessment of $27,582, police said last week on the departments social media accounts.

Bonds also faces 381 counts of third-degree malicious mischief with a cumulative damage assessment of $38,262, police said last week.

A pedestrian walks past a graffiti-covered wall on East Chestnut Street west of North Garden Street in downtown Bellingham, Wash., on Monday, May 1, 2023.

Two other vandalism suspects have not been arrested and their names were not released, Murphy told The Herald.

Police have been working in recent months with downtown merchants and city officials to put a stop to a rash of graffiti vandalism with damages that amount to nearly $100,000.

Statements last week on the Police Departments social media pages indicated that four people had been arrested, but Murphy clarified that statement Saturday to say that only two men were arrested, Toillion and Bonds, and they were facing more serious charges than originally described.

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Photos of several graffiti tags were uploaded to the departments Facebook and Twitter pages, all taken in the downtown area.

Those graffiti tags included Home, Maze/Ezma, Rhizo, and Noid, according to the social media posts.

City officials have been focused on reducing graffiti and other forms of vandalism in the downtown core over the past several months, and the city began an initiative last year to remove graffiti and add private security to bolster the Police Department, which has been understaffed in recent years.

In its social media posts, Bellingham Police said the investigation is continuing.

(Our) lead investigator wants to know if you were a victim of the four below tags and have not reported, the department said.

Graffiti victims were urged to take a digital photo and report damage at www.cob.org/reporting or contact Deputy Chief Don Almer at dalmer@cob.org if they have information about the graffiti tags involved in the recent arrests.
Tortilla chips and salsa are common fare when dining out in a Mexican restaurant throughout the 50 states, and most restaurants pride themselves on serving up freshly made, spicy salsas that they make in-house to add to flautas, tacos, enchiladas, burritos and more. Some places even have their own salsa bar including options ranging from mild to super spicy  in which case youd better make sure you have a cold beverage nearby.

This Mexican condiment is a versatile staple that youll want to have on hand, whether youre cooking up a Mexican dish, spicing up your plate of eggs, adding more zest to whatever youre preparing or using as a dip for tortilla chips as a snack.

But have you ever wondered what Mexican chefs use or rely on in a pinch when they dont have the time to make fresh salsa? HuffPost spoke to Mexican chefs and culinary professionals about what they reach for when they need salsa fast. You may be surprised at some of the items on the list!

What Chefs Look For In A Jarred Salsa

Salsa is an integral part of Mexican cooking. Its a condiment that is part of our familys table, said Yanni Sanchez, a Mexican-born chef whos the executive chef at the Michelin-rated Takito Brands Restaurants in Chicago. Excellent Mexican salsas include these three items  think three colors of the Mexican flag (green, white and red): green (jalapeno), white (onion) and red (tomato).

Youll also want to pay attention to the ingredients list for some clues. I look for the closest taste to homemade salsa, so I look for low amounts of thickeners and preservatives, said Katsuji Tanabe , executive chef of aVerde in Cary, North Carolina. If a salsa seems to stand out for the color and not the ingredients, that may be a sign its not one you want to use. When they look too bright in color, there is usually something wrong, Tanabe said.

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.

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Herdez Mild Guacamole Salsa

Amazon

Herdez Mild Guacamole Salsa

If youre searching for a salsa that meets the expectations of many Mexican chefs, Herdez is the one. When I am in a pinch, my go-to salsa is the Herdez brand, with my personal favorite being the Guacamole Salsa Mild," said Dudley Nieto, the executive chef at Fat Rosie's in Illinois. "It is a universal, quality brand of salsa that uses a lot of ingredients that just make sense  with its homemade, roasted char flavoring, and the combination of tomatoes and peppers  it compliments anything.



I enjoy it on its own with chips, I use it on steak and chicken, and even put it on top of my pizza," Nieto said.



Fernando Renteria, a culinary professional at La Monarca Bakery in California, loves using Herdez Guacamole Salsa to dollop on chicken taquitos, his favorite dish. The salsa "makes the dish," he said. "There are never any leftovers."

$3.99 for 15.7 ounces at Amazon

La Costena Medium Home Style Mexican Salsa

Walmart

La Costena Medium Home Style Mexican Salsa

Renteria said this brand has great just-like-homemade flavor and packs a punch. Many of us lead busy lives and don't have the time to make salsa from scratch, but my favorite salsa tastes just as good as if I had made it myself," Renteria said. So next time youre browsing the salsa options, consider this recommendation.

$2.57 for 16.7 ounces at Walmart

Herdez Roasted Poblano Salsa Cremosa

Walmart

Herdez Roasted Poblano Salsa Cremosa

Looking for an all-around salsa to use for an array of dishes? Consider Herdez Roasted Poblano Salsa Cremosa. Katsuji Tanabe , executive chef of aVerde in Cary, North Carolina, loves the versatility of this salsa. We tend to use it as a quick fix with scrambled eggs or chicken quesadillas at home, he said. It has oil, so its richer than other salsas and we use it when we are in a rush to add something spicy. Tanabe also adds this salsa to dishes that aren't complicated, because this salsa will make a dish stand out.

$3.17 for 15.3 ounces at Walmart

Tostitos Medium Salsa

Amazon

Tostitos Medium Salsa

Yanni Sanchez, the executive chef at the Michelin-rated Takito Brands Restaurants , makes fresh salsa for her restaurant but decided to do an unscientific blind taste test of eight different jarred salsas with her staff. The team was surprised when they found out Tostitos brand salsa was the winner. It was chunky, had Mexican spice flavors as one would expect, a good balance of salt and garlic, and easy to eat, Sanchez said. The tomatoes tasted ripe  a perfect amount of zest, with a generous blend of onion, garlic and jalapeno.

$3.84 for 15.5 ounces at Amazon

Mission Medium Chunky Salsa

Walmart

Mission Medium Chunky Salsa

Curious what the runner-up was to Tostitos in the blind taste test? Mission Chunky Salsa. The tomatoes had a zesty grip with the right amount of spices and salt, Sanchez said. It had a full-body density and was easy to enjoy, she said. And the most surprising aspect about this salsa? "What impressed me most was that there was a rustic bite with a zesty finish that wasn't felt with other salsa."

$3.18 for 16 ounces at Walmart

Related...
Prime drinks stacked for sale

Congo LLC, an employee service company that works with drink brands, is expanding its Louisville presence.

The company currently employs 95 people in the Louisville area, but recent growth in its energy and hydration drink brands means the company needs more employees and space.

Congos explosive international growth and strong product development and marketing have propelled them to international acclaim and the city of Louisville is proud to support this homegrown headquarters with this latest expansion, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a press release. Congo Brands demonstrates Louisvilles unique value to all types of beverage companies looking to develop products, grow market share and ultimately transform the industry.

The company, which is headquartered in Louisville, will soon begin work on an $8.25 million project that will expand its Louisville headquarters and create 500 high wage jobs over 10 years.

Companies like Congo trust in the resources and the opportunities Kentucky provides, which shows that this state really is the best place to do business, said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in a press release.

Congo Brands which includes 3D Energy Drinks, Alani Nu and Prime, will relocate and expand its headquarters from 7201 Intermodal Drive in Louisville to a 110,000-square-foot space at 13551 Triton Park Blvd.

You may like: Louisville Ford worker wins case alleging union dues wrongly taken

The expansion of Congo Brands headquarters will bring hundreds more well-paying jobs to our city and continue to bolster our reputation as a hub for beverage development expertise, Greenberg said.

Congo Brands has entered a 10-year incentive agreement with the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority under the Kentucky Business Investment Program  a program intended to encourage business growth in the Commonwealth. According to a press release from the Governors office, the performance-based agreement can provide up to $7.5 million in tax incentives.

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To earn these incentives, Congo Brands is expected to create and maintain 500 jobs across 10 years and pay an average hourly wage of $49.80 including benefits for these jobs. Congo can also receive recruitment and job placement services at no charge from Kentuckys workforce providers such as the Kentucky Career Center.

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Congo Brands expands Louisville headquarters, creates 500 new jobs
Beyonces Renaissance World Tour wont be her only tour stop in Charlotte.

Shell perform Aug. 9 at Bank of America Stadium, but also is making Charlotte one of the luncheon stops along the Black Parade Route that helps small businesses affected by the pandemic.

Beyonce has committed $1 million to support businesses through her nonprofit BeyGOOD Foundation, and in partnership with the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Its more than just a check that people will receive because we have heard from them, we have listened, we have stayed in contact to understand what are your needs. And we know that small businesses support and are a backbone of their economy, Ivy McGregor, BeyGOOD Foundations executive director, recently told CBS Mornings.

Beyonces support of Black-owned small businesses

Beyonce Knowles-Carter started the Black Parade Route to highlight and support Black-owned small businesses in the U.S. and around the world.

These were businesses that intended to stay open, to keep the grocery stores open, to help those communities, so she gave grants to over 900 small businesses of over $10,000 and then elevated them socially, McGregor said.

Along with Charlotte, this years Black Parade Route small business luncheon stops will be held in London, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans and two more international cities to be named, according to BeyGOOD.

The luncheons are held the day before the tour stops to give entrepreneurs an inspirational afternoon, with networking opportunities and the potential to be a grant recipient from $100,000 funds allocated to each luncheon. In each city, 100 Black entrepreneurs will be chosen to attend the Black Parade Route luncheons.

McGregor was mum about whether Beyonce will attend the luncheons.

Another $1 million will be dispersed among 10 colleges along the tour route through the foundations Renaissance Scholarship Fund. Each school will receive $100,000 to give to students.

Story continues

Founded in 2013, BeyGood Foundation promotes economic equity and education in marginalized and under-resourced areas, according to a news release.

Black Restaurant Week comes to the Carolinas soon  heres what you should know.

Shes 16, in high school and making $100K per year opening a new Charlotte soul food restaurant
Budget Fight Explainer (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Joe Biden will convene a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss how best to stave of a catastrophic default on Americas sovereign debt by raising the governments statutory debt limit.

The White House said Mr Biden invited Mr McCarthy and Mr McConnell  the top Republicans in the House and Senate  to the meeting in separate phone calls to each GOP leader on Monday.

The meeting, which is set to take place on 9 May, was announced by the White House just hours after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to House and Senate leaders warning that the US could suffer an unprecedented default on its debt as soon as 1 June.

Ms Yellen urged Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible to raise the statutory debt limit, which was first enacted more than a century ago to make it easier for the government to issue bonds without needing specific congressional authorisations each time it does so.

In recent years, Republicans have attempted to repeatedly weaponise the need to raise the debt limit periodically as a way to force Democratic presidents to adopt unpopular positions by threatening to allow the US to stop paying its bills, a scenario economists say risks a worldwide financial crisis.

Many Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, have demanded that the GOP use the possibility of a default on Americas soveriegn debt as leverage to extract concessions from the Democratic-controlled White House and Senate.

Prominent GOP figures frequently claim that raising the statutory debt limit to enable the US to continue meeting financial obligations  a practice that was once routine under presidents of both parties and met no objections when it was done under Mr Bidens predecessor  is akin to authorising new spending.

That claim, however, is not how the debt limit works. Raising the debt limit does not increase or decrease the amount of money that is spent on programs that have already been authorised by Congress and have had funds allocated to them in appropriations legislation.

But experts say a failure to raise the debt limit would force the government to default on its debt and precipitate a worldwide financial crisis. The last time the US flirted with that disastrous outcome was 2011, when Republicans controlled the House and Democrats controlled the Senate and the White House. Mr Biden, then the vice president under Barack Obama, led the negotiations with congressional leaders that headed off a default, but not before the US had its credit rating decreased for the first time in history.
 Flash

As South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol wrapped up his week-long visit to the United States on Sunday, there is growing criticism here that Seoul is taking the lead in strengthening a new Cold War in Northeast Asia and beyond.



Yoon has decided to make South Korea a loyal partner of the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy" aimed at containing China, Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said in an editorial, questioning whether the government's "value-centered diplomacy" will bring tangible benefits to the country.

Shin Jin-wook, professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University, said in a Hankyoreh newspaper column that South Korea became a "new Cold War facilitator" for politics on the peninsula, in East Asia and even the world.

Shin said the Yoon government was taking the lead in strengthening and completing a new Cold War, rather than seeking to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula.

The Yoon administration gave everything the U.S. and Japanese hardliners wanted, turning South Korea into a weak country without any control, participation, or autonomy, according to the column.

The Hankyoreh warned in another article that if the United States deploys more "strategic assets," including nuclear-capable submarines, to the Korean Peninsula, tensions on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia are feared to rise.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and US President Joe Biden walk up the West Wing colonnade on their way to the Oval Office

Responding to Beijing's aggressive expansion into the trade routes and strategic islands of the South China Sea headlined talks Monday between President Joe Biden and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos at the White House.

Marcos is on a four-day trip that follows last week's state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a White House meeting in January between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Greeting Marcos in the Oval Office, Biden underlined the "ironclad" US commitment to defending the country.

Marcos referred to "difficult times" and said the Philippines finds itself in a region with "arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now."

"So it is only natural for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen, to redefine, the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific," he said.

A senior US official said the Marcos visit -- which began with a military honor guard outside the White House -- was the first "at this level and intensity" between the two countries for decades.

"It is clear that we're in a deeply consequential period in terms of our Indo-Pacific engagements," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

- Ships in near collision -

Alarm bells are ringing for Washington and its Asian allies as China moves ever more confidently to assert claims to sovereignty over almost the whole South China Sea -- ignoring an international ruling that this has no legal basis.

The tension, combined with constant saber rattling over Taiwan -- the democratically run island that Beijing claims but Washington vows to help defend -- has prompted the Biden administration to rapidly bolster its military capabilities.

The Philippines, which lies close to key sea lanes and Taiwan, is of particular interest.

Story continues

Marcos signaled as he left for Washington that he is wary of being caught between the superpowers, telling reporters: "We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action."

However, this month, the Philippines identified four military bases -- in addition to five existing sites -- where US forces will be given access, including one located near the tense Spratly Islands.

The two allies also carried out their largest-ever military maneuvers in recent weeks.

That has alarmed China, which accuses Washington of trying to drive a wedge between Beijing and Manila.

In a reminder of how diplomatic tensions can quickly echo in the real world, a Chinese ship on April 23 narrowly missed colliding with a much smaller Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the Spratly Islands.

- New military muscle -

The focus of talks between Biden and Yoon last week was on another regional flashpoint: nuclear-armed, communist North Korea.

Expressing disappointment that China has not done more to rein in North Korea, US officials announced that a US nuclear submarine would make a visit to South Korea soon -- the first in decades.

During Kishida's visit, Biden also underlined the US treaty commitment to defend Japan. Tokyo is meanwhile on a shopping spree to buy an arsenal of US-made Tomahawk missiles.

The senior official briefing journalists ahead of Marcos's visit said Manila is likewise "looking for reassurance and a strong desire to maintain peace and stability in this complex period."

"Recent events have caused much greater focus in both capitals on taking the necessary steps to up our game, to improve engagement on the security side between the United States and the Philippines."

Although giving few details, the official said new "bilateral defense guidelines" would see "a series of steps to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization."

In an acknowledgement of Philippine sensitivities about the US troop presence, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the sites slated to be used by the United States remain part of the Filipino military and "every single step of the way will be done in complete coordination."

"It's about our ability to be better allies to one another and meet our commitments to each other," he said.

The shifting geostrategic situation in the Asia-Pacific region will be a major topic when Biden visits Japan for a G7 meeting later in the month.

The US official said Biden would also meet separately during that trip in a trilateral format with the leaders of Japan and South Korea. He then heads to Australia for a session of the Quad group: Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

sms/bfm
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden, following a meeting with Philippines leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said any attack on Philippine armed forces or vessels would trigger American defense commitments, a message intended to reassure a key ally in the face of heightened tensions with China.

Most Read from Bloomberg

President Biden reaffirms the United States ironclad alliance commitments to the Philippines, according to a joint statement from the leaders issued Monday by the White House, which cites the two nations 71-year-old mutual defense treaty.

The leaders also underscored their unwavering commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and affirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity.

Marcos on Monday made his first visit to the White House since he took office as Philippines president last year, amid strained relations with China over the South China Sea as well as Taiwan. His talks with Biden were dominated by defense and economic issues as the two sought to strengthen the alliance between their countries.

Read more: What to Watch as Biden Meets Marcos Amid Elevated China Tensions

Other highlights from the meeting include:

Manila and Washington look forward to establishing trilateral modes of cooperation that include Japan and Australia.

The US and the Philippines also agreed on the adoption of bilateral defense guidelines, which is intended to clear ambiguities in their defense treaty.

The two nations will co-host the 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila to further establish the Southeast Asian nation as a regional supply chain and investment hub.

The two countries will pursue cooperation on wind, solar and geothermal energy and enhance cooperation to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Story continues

Planes, Trade

Last week, the US accused China of harassing Philippine ships after a near collision in those waters. The episode occurred as Washington and Manila conducted their biggest ever joint defense drills.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday that the US would announce new efforts to modernize the Philippine military including providing additional C-130 planes and patrol vessels.

Earlier this year, the American military secured greater access to Philippine military bases near Taiwan and the South China Sea, an agreement that was denounced by Chinese officials.

The Biden administration is also sending a presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines to bolster cooperation, including on clean energy, critical minerals and food security.

Together were deepening our economic cooperation, said Biden before the meeting with Marcos. I think its mutually beneficial.

Marcos, whose father ruled the Philippines until his ouster in 1986, highlighted the security challenges facing the country.

It is only natural for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have, Marcos said. The Philippines is possibly, arguably in the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.

The two leaders meeting showed that both nations are determined to modernize ties by including other regional allies and by tackling economic issues, said Professor Renato de Castro from the De La Salle University in Manila. Its very clear that theres a concerted effort to widen the alliance, and that is something very significant, he said.

--With assistance from Andreo Calonzo and Manolo Serapio Jr..

(Adds more details from meeting, analyst comment.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden told his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally was "ironclad," including in the South China Sea where Manila is under pressure from China.

Marcos, on the first White House visit by a Philippines leader in 10 years, stressed the importance of the United States as his country's sole treaty ally in a region with "arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now."

The two countries reaffirmed their decades-old security alliance in a trip that marks a dramatic turnaround in U.S.-Philippine relations as both countries seek ways to push back against what they see as China's increasingly aggressive actions near Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials said the leaders would agree new guidelines for stronger military cooperation, as well as stepped up economic cooperation.

"The United States remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea," Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office.

A joint statement said this meant that any armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

Washington sees the Philippines as key to any effort to counter an invasion of Taiwan by China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. Manila recently agreed to allow the United States access to four more of its military bases under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, but the two sides have not said what U.S. assets will be stationed at those.

The joint statement said the leaders "affirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity."

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Under Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos' predecessor, U.S. relations soured as he turned the Philippines sharply away from its former colonial ruler and built closer ties with China.

Biden has invested in courting Marcos, who still faces a U.S. court judgment connected with $2 billion of plundered wealth under his father's rule.

U.S. officials said the new guidelines focused on military coordination across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, while the U.S. administration would also transfer three C-130 aircraft and look to send additional patrol vessels to the Philippines.

"It is only natural for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China, Asia Pacific and Indo-Pacific region," Marcos said.

The summit is the centerpiece of a four-day U.S. visit by Marcos that started on Sunday.

Marcos has sought warm relations with both the United States and China, who are vying for influence in the Indo-Pacific. The Biden-Marcos joint statement did not name the Chinese government.

Experts say Washington considers the Philippines a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan.

However, Marcos told reporters on his plane China had agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea and also that he would not allow the Philippines to become a "staging post" for military action.

TRADE MISSION

The joint statement said Biden would send a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines to enhance investment in clean energy transition, the critical minerals sector, and food security.

The two countries would also co-host in Manila the 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum  the marquee U.S. commercial event in the region - which would further establish the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains.

The statement also said the countries looked forward to establishing trilateral cooperation with Japan and Australia.

With many Filipinos frustrated by China's actions in the South China Sea, including the harassing of Philippine ships and fishermen in parts that both countries claim, popular support has grown in the Philippines for a tougher stance toward Beijing.

Biden was the first official to reach out to Marcos after his election and has made strengthening economic and military ties in the Indo-Pacific region a cornerstone of his foreign policy.

Before the summit, U.S. lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter to Biden calling on him to raise what they called the worsening human rights "crisis" in the Philippines.

They said there were well-documented violations under Duterte but recent reports showed "ongoing impunity." They cited reports from the Karapatan Human Rights Alliance of 17 extrajudicial killings, 165 illegal arrests from July to December 2022, and a total of 825 political prisoners. A White House summary said human rights were among the topics being discussed by the two countries.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom in Washington and Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell and Richard Chang)
WASHINGTON (AP)  Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat-turned-Independent long known for his centrist views, voted for Joe Biden in 2020. But as Bidens reelection campaign begins, Lieberman is preparing to recruit a third-party candidate capable of defeating the Democratic president.

Centrists and moderates feel that hes governed more from the left than they hoped, Lieberman, a leader of the group, No Labels, said of Biden in an interview. He hasnt been able to be the unifier that he promised to be.

Bidens political challenges are not confined to voters in the middle. In the days since he formally launched his 2024 campaign, key members of the sprawling political coalition that lifted him over former President Donald Trump in 2020 are far from excited about the prospect of four more years. That underscores the test confronting Biden as he aims to motivate the coalition of African Americans, Latinos, young people, suburban voters and independents to show up for him again.

John Paul Mejia, the 20-year-old spokesman for the progressive Sunrise Movement, says Biden has simply not done enough to ensure the young voters who rallied behind him in 2020 would do so again.

Young people are starving for more, Mejia said, pointing to Bidens recent decision to approve two controversial fossil fuel projects in Alaska. Biden has to demonstrate the extent to which hes willing to be a fighter. Weve seen this sort of two-step on the promises he made to young people.

Biden has also struggled to fulfill key promises to Black voters, perhaps the most loyal group in his political base. While he tapped Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, he has been unable to follow through on pledges to protect voting rights against a wave of Republican-backed restrictions or enact policing reform to help stop violence against people of color at the hands of law enforcement.

Theres work to be done, said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a 42-year-old African American former civil rights attorney who joined Congress in January. Im not going to sugar coat it.

Story continues

Crockett recalled the palpable excitement among the Black community for Barack Obamas reelection. With Biden, theres a number of people who are concerned and scared largely because of his age, while others are indifferent and waiting, despite what she described as Bidens overall strong record of achievement.

Nearly 18 months before Election Day 2024, however, its unclear how much this lack of enthusiasm will weigh on Bidens reelection prospects. For all the concern, no high-profile Democratic primary challengers have emerged, and none are expected to. To date, only progressive author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are mounting symbolic challenges to Biden, who has the official support of the Democratic National Committee.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Bidens chief rival in the 2020 primary, told The Associated Press just hours after Biden announced that he was endorsing the president and encouraged other progressive leaders to do so as well.

I intend to do everything I can to see that he is reelected, Sanders said in an interview.

Instead of excitement for the 80-year-old presidents reelection, leaders from key factions in Bidens coalition report a serious sense of duty  and fear of the alternative. Trump is currently considered the favorite to claim the Republican presidential nomination, although hes facing opposition from a half dozen rivals.

It would be a mistake to underestimate Trump or whoever the Republican candidate might be, Sanders said. Theres a lot of discontent in this country. Theres a lot of anger in this country.

Indeed, 74% of U.S. adults believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted a week before Bidens announcement.

The poll found that only about half of Democrats think Biden should run again. Despite their reluctance, 81% of Democrats said they would probably support Biden in a general election if he is the nominee. That includes 41% who said they definitely would and 40% who said they probably would.

The warning signs in the Biden coalition are clear.

Just 41% of Black adults want the Democratic president to run again, and only 55% said they are likely to support him in the general election if he is the nominee. Among Latinos, only 27% want Biden to run again in 2024 and 43% said they would definitely or probably support him.

Younger Democrats also remain a reluctant part of Bidens coalition, the AP-NORC poll shows.

Just 25% of those under age 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats.

Still, an additional 51% of younger Democrats say they would probably vote for Biden in a 2024 general election.

Meanwhile, just 14% of independents  adults who dont lean toward either party, who represent a small percentage of the American electorate  want Biden to run again. And only 24% said theyd support him in the general election if he is the Democratic nominee.

Bidens team dismisses the numbers, yet acknowledges that in a party as diverse as the Democrats, some may have other preferred candidates for president. Its just that none of those other people can win, they say, adding that while Biden might not be someones first choice, hes often everyones second.

Meanwhile, Lieberman said he would likely soon begin interviewing potential candidates for No Labels third-party alternative, but he said the group would only field a candidate if polling suggested the so-called unity ticket had a viable path to the presidency.

If No Labels does not run a bipartisan unity ticket, and the two candidates are Trump and Biden, to me, its an easy choice, Lieberman said. I will vote for Biden.

___

Peoples reported from New York. AP writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed.
Tim Hill, a real estate developer and chairman of Knoxville-Knox County Planning, continues to raise substantial money in his race for an at-large City Council position, with major contributors including University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd and wife Jenny.

In the latest financial disclosure covering Jan. 16-March 31, Hill reported raising $30,230. With $128,585 on hand at the beginning of the report and spending $6,857, he reported having $151,959 left for the campaign. The city primary in the nonpartisan elections is Aug. 29 and general election, Nov. 7.

The Boyds contributed $1,600 each, for the primary and general elections.

Hill is seeking the position held by incumbent Amelia Parker, who holds the at-large Seat C post. Matthew Best, executive director of the Change Center, also is running against Parker.

Other $1,600 contributors to Hills campaign are Randy Gibson, CEO of Lawler Wood; Rodney Lawler, chairman of Lawler Wood; investor Jim Bookstaff; Raja Jubran, CEO of Denark Construction, and his wife, Michelle, and retired investor David Martin.

Tim Hill asks a question during an update meeting of the Old City multiuse stadium construction at the Knoxville Public Works Center on July 26, 2022. According to the latest financial disclosure covering Jan. 16-March 31, Hill, a real estate developer and chairman of Knoxville-Knox County Planning, reported raising $30,230 in the race for an at-large City Council position.

The largest expenditure is $5,325 to Pavlis Public Strategies, run by former Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis.

Parker reported raising $5,660, which included her own contribution of $600 and $500 from Women for Tennessee's Future, which supports progressive, pro-abortion-rights candidates. With expenditures, she has $1,159 on hand for her reelection campaign.

Best reported raising $11,815, with Lindsay Brazier contributing $1,800; Janet Lawson, self-described homemaker, $1,600; and Rick Kuhlman, who runs a leadership development program for youth, $1,000. He also received contributions from a number of Democrats, including Knox County Democratic Party Chairman Matt Shears and wife Lauren, who contributed $100. Best had a balance on hand of $6,307.

Other positions up in this years city elections are mayor, at-large Council Seats A and B, 5th District Council Seat and city judge.

Story continues

Incumbent Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon reported having $137,638 on hand for the campaign after raising an additional $28,839 and spending $14,088 since the last report. Her major contributors include Pete DeBusk, owner of DeRoyal Industries, with a total of $2,000 for the primary and general election; Doug Horne, real estate developer, $1,800 total; and Jonathan Wimmer, controller at Smokey Mountain Food Service, $1,800.

Connor Coffey is coordinating the mayors campaign at $1,050 monthly while Standing Tall Strategies, run by Sara Fischer, is campaign manager and receives $1,150 monthly.

Picking up petitions to run against Kincannon are activist Constance Every; mortgage lender Jeff Talman; and Kerry Williams, a South Knoxville resident.

Lynne Fugate, seeking reelection to at-large Council Seat A, reported having $28,740 on hand for campaigning in the latest disclosure. Fugate, who votes Republican in partisan primaries, is being opposed by Cameron Brooks, well-known Democrat who has become a Realtor after a career in labor relations.

Kincannon is among the contributors to Fugates campaign, giving $250. Others include businesswoman Sharon Pryse, $1,600; David Martin, $1,600; and former Vice Mayor Finbarr Saunders and wife Ellen Bebb, who contributed $200.

Eddie Mannis, a former mayoral candidate who served one term as a Republican legislator from Knox County, has contributed $500 to both Fugate and Brooks.

Brooks reporting having $36,494 on hand at the end of the reporting period, which includes an outstanding loan of $11,600. He reported raising $11,565 from 120 individual donors, many of whom are Democrats.

Debbie Helsley, another Democrat who ran against Republican Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs last year, is the most active candidate seeking to replace incumbent Janet Testerman, at-large councilwoman representing Seat B. Testerman is not seeking reelection.

Helsley had $22,028 on hand at the end of the reporting period. She raised $13,652 from 122 individual donors and spent $11,746. Her campaign consultant is Jack Vaughan, a member of the state Democratic Executive Committee from Knox County, who is being paid $2,500 monthly.

Two others have picked up qualifying petitions: Scott Schimmel, a businessman, who has since decided not to seek the position, and Wade Seifert, a residential housing director at UT, who said he is still trying to decide whether to be a candidate.

Candidates have until noon May 18 to return qualifying petitions to the Knox County Election Commission. The candidate list on the commissions website is incomplete in one respect: if the candidate did not pick up the qualifying petition, the name is not listed. Hill is an example of such a candidate, with someone else picking it up for him.

In cases like these, Chris Davis, elections administrator, said they will be listed once candidates have signed the petitions.

 REMEMBERING SGT. EDMONDS: Another attempt is being made by members of Tennessees congressional delegation and others to award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to East Tennessee native Master Sgt. Rodrick "Roddie" Edmonds, who put his life on the line to protect Jewish-American soldiers during World War II.

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced bipartisan legislation to honor Edmonds. A marker telling his story is installed on Market Avenue at the East Tennessee History Center.

Roddie Edmonds showed incredible bravery that should make every American proud," Burchett said in a press release. "He fearlessly faced down Nazi soldiers during World War II and saved hundreds of Jewish lives when he refused to turn in his fellow Jewish service members, even at gunpoint. This Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting way to honor his legacy."

Blackburn said in a press release, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds embodied true American heroism in the face of indescribable evil and intimidation. His resiliency, courage, and leadership saved over 200 Jewish lives. Awarding Roddie Edmonds with Congress highest expression of national appreciation is an appropriate way to honor his actions and legacy.

Eight senators, including the ailing Dianne Feinstein, D-California, are joining Blackburn in sponsoring the legislation. Feinstein can introduce legislation while she is away from Congress and recovering from complications of shingles at home in San Francisco, a Blackburn aide explained.

The other senators, Blackburns press release said, are Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Rafael Warnock, D-Ga.

Burchetts bill is cosponsored by the following House members in Tennessee: Steve Cohen, D-Memphis; Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah; Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport; Scott DesJarlais, R-Sherwood; John Rose, R-Cookeville; David Kustoff, R-Germantown; Andy Ogles, R-Culleoka; Mark Green, R-Clarksville; and the following from outside Tennessee: Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, Mont; Bruce Western, R-Hot Springs, Ark; Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nancy Mace, R-Charleston, S.C.; Jeff Jackson, D-Charlotte, N.C.; Patrick Ryan, D-Gardiner, N.Y.; Carlos Gimenez, R-Miami, Fla.; Brandon Williams, R-Sennett, N.Y.; and Tracey Mann, R-Salina, Kan.

Roddie Edmonds was a noncommissioned officer in charge of a prisoner-of-war camp after being captured by Nazi forces. He was an evangelical Christian who lived in the West Haven area of Knoxville after the war and died in 1985. The story on his heroics became known only after his death.

The House will require 270 sponsors and the Senate 60 for the act to become law.

 SPEAKING OF FEINSTEIN: Sen. Marsha Blackburn was among members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who objected to the Democrats attempt to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein to solve political and tactical problems caused by her extended health-related absence. The Judiciary Committee is tied beween Democrats and Republicans with her illness, making it difficult for President Joe Biden to get judicial nominees who dont have Republican support through the committee.

Feinstein on April 12 asked that another Democratic senator be allowed to serve, but the votes werent there. Blackburn suggested sexism and ageism were behind calls for Feinstein to resign after her absence.

Here's the thing: The Democrats would never have done this to a man, Blackburn said in an interview with the Washington Examiner on April 18. Maybe its age discrimination, maybe its sex discrimination, but I think that this is something that does not serve Democrats well in the long run.

 BURCHETT VOTES NO: U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett was one of four Republicans who did not support a bill that passed the House on Wednesday to increase the nations debt ceiling while cutting federal government spending.

I have never voted to raise our debt limit no matter who was in charge. Our country is nearly $32 trillion in debt right now. Thats a debt neither we, nor our kids or grandkids can pay, said Burchett. We need to do whatever is necessary to get back to a balanced budget and meaningful debt reduction so this issue doesnt keep coming back to haunt us.

National pundits are debating whether the proposed legislation will force negotiations with the Democratic Senate and President Joe Biden. The final vote was 217-215. The other Republicans against the bill were Ken Buck of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at gvpolitics@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Big names donate to Knoxville mayor and City Council candidates
While more white people were released from prison, more Black and brown people were going to prison in the year after the pandemic started.

COVID-19 highlighted the racial disparities in the U.S. justice system, according to a new report.

The Black population in U.S. prisons increased while the overall population decreased by record numbers, according to a recently published study by researchers at Yale University and Northeastern University.

The report shows that in 2020, the overall prison population decreased by 17.3%. However, the percentage of Black incarcerated people increased during the summer months of 2020 and peaked in December 2021 at around 1% higher than 2019.

Essentially, while more white people were being released from prison, more Black and brown people were going to prison in the year after the pandemic started.

Inmates exercise in the maximum security yard of the Lansing Correctional Facility on April 18, 2023, in Lansing, Kansas. The Black population in U.S. prisons increased while the overall population decreased by record numbers, according to a recently published study by the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. (Photo by John MooreGetty Images)

People look at the [percentage] increase and can say its not a big deal but we know that 1% is tens of thousands of Black individuals that are affected by this, Elizabeth Hinton, a professor at Yale and the lead author of the study, told theGrio.

The study noted the increased racial disparity, exists across prison systems in nearly every state and reverses a decade-long trend before 2020 and the onset of COVID-19, when the proportion of incarcerated white people was increasing amid declining numbers of incarcerated Black people.

Several states were in the midst of a significant decline in their Black prison population but experienced an increase after March 2020. In Kentucky, it went up 6.5%. In Washington and Texas it went up 3.4% and 2.3%, respectively. In Florida, that same population went up 1.8%.

Candice Jones, who runs the Public Welfare Foundation, which provides funding for grassroots and community-led criminal justice reform programs, recalls the level of anxiousness and fear some of the organizations that work with the prison population had.

One of the fastest rates of [COVID-19] spreading was in congregate care settings and we know prison is a big congregate care setting, Jones told the Grio. This was before the vaccination. There was no way to control the spread in those settings. We were not adequately protecting peoples lives in congregate care. A congregate care setting is where a large group of people must gather in close proximity.

Story continues

The increase in the Black population inside prisons during COVID-19 is interesting to analyze compared to what happened on the outside as well. When social distancing guidelines were in place, data shows that Black people were disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for violating those rules as well as other alleged crimes.

Researchers for the study found sentencing to be the driving force behind the disparities. The public policy implications really lie in the way that we sentence and the fact that we know that Black defendants receive on average 20% longer sentences for the same crimes as their white counterparts, Hinton said. This study is the result of massive data collection that reveals the consequences of that.

Hinton notes that the numbers are beginning to stabilize and the incarceration rates are on a downward trend. Still, the slight increase likely undid some of the progress that was being made in the years prior to the pandemic.

Jones said the study shows the overall failure of the American prison system and adds that Theres still work to be done as far as reform.

Editors Note: TheGrio has updated this story to reflect researchers who authored the study.

TheGrio is now on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post The Black prison population increased during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, report finds appeared first on TheGrio.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  The wide empty spaces in pews between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolinas capital highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches nationwide.

At its heyday in the 1960s, more than 1,500 parishioners filled every seat at Zion. But membership at the historic church  a crucial meeting point for many during the Civil Rights Movement  dwindled over recent decades.

The trend has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected and killed Black Americans at a disproportionate rate. Zions attendance dropped from 300 parishioners before the outbreak to 125 now.

Founded in 1865  the year Abraham Lincoln was assassinated  Zion still has a choir capable of beautiful singing, but it too has shrunk by more than half. The stomping of feet and the call-and-response of the leader and congregation have subsided from what they were before the pandemic.

It saddens my heart, said Calvernetta Williams, who has worshipped at Zion for 40 years. What I really say to myself is, Lord, the pastor has a lot of outreach to do, and so do we  because itll never be the same.

Zions shrinking attendance is in line with a recent Pew Research Center survey; it found a significant attendance drop among Black Protestants that is unmatched by any other major religious group. The number of Black Protestants who say they attend services monthly has fallen from 61% in 2019 to 46% now, said Pew, and they are the only group in which more than half (54%) attend services virtually.

Zion broadcasts services online, produces digital content and is active on social media. But the Rev. M. Andrew Davis said his churchs virtual experience cant match in-person interactions, including the smiles of children, and how sometimes older congregants share testimonials about how God healed them.

Davis sermon on a recent Sunday was titled: Trust during times of trouble. He recalled the pandemic as one the most challenging times in his churchs history  and offered words of hope.

Story continues

We may not ever go back to the way it was, but we can do better, Davis told parishioners.

Black Americans  two-thirds of whom are Protestant  attend church more regularly than Americans overall, and pray more often, surveys show. But patterns of worship are shifting across generations: younger Black adults attend church less often than their elders, and those who attend are less likely to do so in a predominantly Black congregation.

Its imperative that we get our young people back, said Donnie Mack, a deacon at Zion. As we say in old churches  if you dont see any young people, if you dont hear any babies crying, then, youre at a dying church.

Several Black church leaders said its proved difficult to convince members to return for in-person worship. They note that many congregants are older, have inadequate access to health care, and hesitate to return to church for fear of catching a contagious illness.

A history of systemic racism and lack of economic opportunity made many Black Americans far more vulnerable to the virus. Black adults also suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma, making them more susceptible. They are also more likely to be uninsured.

Additionally, many Black working people had jobs deemed essential and were less able to work from home during the pandemic, raising concerns about exposing others in their often crowded households to the virus.

The pandemic exasperated that, said the Rev. Quardricos Driskell, pastor at Beulah Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

Attendance at his 160-year-old church dropped from a peak of more than 200 people who met in two Sunday services in the early 2000s, to less than half that at a single service.

Were lucky if we have 100 on any given Sunday, Driskell said.

Driskell tries to reach young people by talking openly with them about issues including race, sexuality and gender identity.

What does it mean to be gay, Christian and single? he said. How do we live out our lives authentically as human beings, but yet still maintaining levels of faith  those are messages that are resonating with younger people.

Although his congregation has been welcoming to the LGBTQ community, Driskell said that historically that has not been the case for the Black church.

The Black church is kind of grappling with and struggling with this idea of religious progressivism.

Despite the attendance drop, academics, pastors and parishioners agree that churches remain fundamental to Black communities, providing refuge and hope, especially during times of challenge.

No pillar of the African American community has been more central to its history, identity, and social justice vision than the Black Church, Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote in The Black Church, his companion volume to the PBS series.

For a people systematically brutalized and debased by the inhumane system of slavery, followed by a century of Jim Crow racism, the church provided a refuge: a place of racial and individual self-affirmation, of teaching and learning, of psychological and spiritual sustenance, of prophetic faith, he wrote.

Although theres broad respect for the historical role of Black churches, including their crucial role fighting for racial equality, polls show that theres also a perception among Black Americans that they have lost influence in recent decades.

It still functions in the same way: Its a source of hope for people who cannot hold on to political promises, they cant necessarily go to the law and get the things that we need and give them the safety that we need, said Tamura Lomax, professor of religious studies at Michigan State University who specializes in the Black church.

But attendance had been dwindling  even before the pandemic and the 2020 protests over racial justice  because the way people connected to the church had changed, Lomax said.

A pivotal moment came when the Black Lives Matter movement was founded. Its members, she said, embraced some of the African spirituality and religious practices that were taken from their ancestors during enslavement and rejected the Christ-centered movement that had been pivotal to the civil rights struggle.

They didnt want to carry the patriarchal kind of Black masculinity leadership model, Lomax said.

During the pandemic, Black pastors used their influence to encourage vaccinations from the pulpit, while hosting testing clinics and vaccination events in church buildings.

It has impacted our community pretty substantially, said the Rev. Hewitt Clifton Sawyers at West Harpeth Primitive Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee. Attendance at the church dropped from about 150 people before COVID to about 80 now. The people are just really, really afraid to come back.

Sawyers said his church benefited from a rise in virtual attendance and online donations, which have financed a building renovation. Still, he lamented that many congregants have not returned in person.

Theyve really gotten to the place that they can turn over in bed and flip on the television or their phone and watch the services, press a button, send their offerings and go back to sleep, he said. Its hard to get them to want to come back to church.

Although in-person numbers dropped, some Black Protestant churches have grown if one counts a rise in virtual attendance. Thats the case of Enon Baptist Tabernacle Church, which at 5,000 seats is one of Philadelphias largest Black churches.

I believe it has shifted for the better, said its pastor, the Rev. Alyn Waller. Many of us have come up with the concept of virtual membership. I have people who belong to my church that dont even live in Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Eldren D. Morrison of Shaw Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Georgias Cobb County, said in-person attendance plunged by half  from 400 to about 200  since the virus outbreak. But the pandemic helped pastors like him rethink how to connect with their congregation.

Its teaching us that were not necessarily looking for numbers, but were looking for engagement, Morrison said. Whether thats virtual, or whether thats people in pews or whether its through some type of ministry involvement throughout the community, people are involved with the church and are growing their faith. And thats what the mission is in the end anyway. ___

Associated Press visual journalist Jessie Wardarski contributed.

___

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.
In a prison cafeteria, the head of a gang is warned rivals are coming to get him. He seems nonplussed  for good reason, it turns out. The moment the shiv-carrying rivals appear, the prisoner pulls out a very large gun, shoots all of his would-be attackers plus some extra, and then calmly waits to get tackled by the guards.

The question, of course, is where did a prisoner get an automatic weapon?

Over in Cooper's (Harry Lennix) kitchen, Agnes is giving Red (James Spader) a rundown on the online game Among Us. When she leaves for school, Cooper immediately goes in on Red about the events of last week. In case you were unsure, he's still mad.

Red is unapologetic about the way events played out, but does offer a Blacklister up as a nice gesture. Filling Cooper in on the prison shooting, Red explains he believes the gun was delivered by the Postman. The smuggler is known for being able to sneak contraband into prisons.

The Blacklist

Will Hart/NBC James Spader on 'The Blacklist' season 10

Cooper asks Red if he knows the Postman's real name, and Red says it's Lawrence Nelson (Robert Neary). Red keeps speaking but it's clear from the shock on Cooper's face that he's stopped listening. Flashback time!

It's 1993, we're in a jury room, and we're about to watch a very weird production of 12 Angry Men.

The case is Maryland v. Lawrence Nelson. Nelson has been accused of killing his boss at the convenience store and 11 members of the jury are immediately down to convict. There is one holdout  a very young Harold Cooper (Ruffin Prentiss).

Cooper finds holes in the case, especially regarding some suspicious testimony from an ex-girlfriend, but over time is worn down by the others. He gets convinced of Nelson's guilt and the future Postman serves 25 years.

The Blacklist

Will Hart/NBC Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper

Back at TFHQ, Cooper fills the team in on their latest target. Ressler and Malik (Anya Banerjee) are also still mad about last week and complain about getting the mission from Red, but that's where every mission comes from? For all their protesting, you'd think this is the first time Red lied to them and killed some people! Reader, it most certainly is not.

Story continues

It will not surprise you that Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq), who knows and loves Red best, says nothing during this exchange. I bet Dembe is mostly mad Chuck got to be at the showdown and he didn't.

Cooper explains the depth of Nelson's crimes, including outfitting an entire prison with secret wi-fi so drug cartels could operate from inside. Look, I want to hate bad guys and all, but that sounds so much better than dealing with Comcast.

Cooper is in the middle of pontificating about danger and protecting the world and whatnot, when an actual Skype call appears on the big screen. It's Herbie (Alex Brightman), of course, dialing into the meeting late on his first day working with the Task Force.

"Did I miss anything?" he asks. Cooper is not amused. "Just your first morning of your trial employment period?"

Malik is curious about this work from home option, but Cooper sends her and Ressler off to the prison to interview the shooter and leaves Dembe on Herbie duty.

At the prison, Lou Fernan (Jose Soto) refuses to give up the Postman, responding to Malik's threats with "Or what? You gonna lock me up for a long time?" Touche, bad guy!

Meanwhile, another prisoner is in his cell doing a full-on Bill Nye the Science Guy impersonation. He's got a dropper, a ventilator mask, test tubes, goggles and when the experiment doesn't seem to work the way he wants it to, he's got a cell phone he uses to call the Postman.

Nelson is working in his own lab space when the call comes in. Eugene, the prisoner, says he needs more materials to get the "compound" pure enough. He needs another delivery. The Postman promises to deliver the next day.

Okay, the Postman has already one-upped Comcast and now he's coming for Amazon. I'm impressed!

Malik is tracking down the payment for the gun and runs into trouble getting the bank to help. Red does a classic Red: Walks into the office of a low-level manager, mentions an astounding amount of detail about their personal life, and inserts a sly bribe (in this case, a quality nursing home for an aging mother-in-law).

Usually that works beautifully. This time, the bank manager is too dumb to get it. So Red pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot his kneecaps. That works too!

The banking information leads to the Postman's personal shopper, who reveals that there's been an awful lot of chemistry supplies on the to-do list recently.

At Herbie's, Dembe drops by for a sandwich and some information on the security footage from the prison. Cranking up the sound, Herbie has cracked the case  the hum of a drone is in the background. The drone is high-tech enough to be undetectable and we get to see it in action delivering a vial to Eugene.

Cooper visits the prison warden, learning that Nelson was inspired by his chemist roommate to earn his electrical engineering degree. He also always maintained his innocence. Cooper is unnerved.

Herbie finally makes it into the office, so Baby Sue must be feeling better. He's gone over the list of supplies bought for the Postman and has some bad news to share - whoever is getting these supplies is making abrin. Which is 75 times more lethal than ricin, so that's fun!

Dembe figures out the numbers on the orders are actually inmate numbers. Since Cooper is already at the prison, he's able to put two and two together to get Eugene. It's too late, though; Eugene has already smuggled the completed abrin back out to the Postman.

Luckily, while going through the trial files, Cooper remembers that 30 years ago Nelson claimed to be at a family cabin during the murder. It's a long shot, but it's what they've got, so Ressler and Malik head out.

They arrive just a moment too late to nab their suspect, but they do find the blueprints to a building in Baltimore. Back at TFHQ Cooper spots something in Nelson's file that reveals the target: the attorney general's office.

The current AG was the prosecutor on the Nelson case and a document in the file makes Cooper certain Nelson was innocent and framed by a corrupt prosecutor. This is a revenge abrin-ing!

Knowing Nelson will have to sneak the toxin through the pipes or HVAC, Red volunteers to reach out to the plumbers and steamfitter's union. Red sets off to re-bribe whoever was pre-bribed to help the Postman deliver himself to the building.

So when Nelson puts on a gas mask, gets into a large crate alongside his toxin, and expects to emerge inside of the AG's office building he is instead unwrapped inside TFHQ.

In interrogation, Cooper reveals what he learned in Nelson's file: the ex-girlfriend was threatened by the prosecutor and lied on the stand. Nelson was innocent. Cooper is going to get Nelson's conviction expunged and go after the prosecutor, but Nelson seems rightfully dismissive. Nothing is going to get his 25 years back.

Malik congratulates Herbie on his first day of work, but she and Ressler are absolute grinches and turn down his offer of foosball and beer. Luckily, Dembe is smart enough to realize that sounds like a delightful time and our adorable duo head off.

The Blacklist

Will Hart/NBC Sami Bray as Agnes

We end on another adorable duo: Red and Agnes. He's sent her a chess board, all the better to learn strategy that will pay off in Among Us. Cooper warns her that "Pinky" can be pretty sneaky, but just like him, Agnes is still willing to play.

The Back-list:

Ressler is now the AA sponsor for government employee Jonathan Pritchard (Mackenzie Astin). His recovery is rocky, but Ressler seems to be doing a great mix of encouragement/tough love. There is no way this relationship is not going to be the linchpin of a future episode.

Red's response to Agnes's concern about him beating her at chess: "Yes. I'll trounce you. It'll be very dispiriting."

Red claims members of Local 4809 cheat at bowling and for the life of me, I have no idea how that's possible. Fake pins? Vibrating floor lanes? Bowling balls with tiny firecrackers? You tell me.

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The Met Gala is returning tonight in New York City. This year, celebrities have been asked to dress in honour of Karl  ie, Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion designer and former Chanel creative director, who died in 2019.

Anna Wintour, who oversees the event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is welcoming Roger Federer, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Dua Lipa as her co-chairs.

The benefit accompanies the Mets Costume Institutes fashion exhibit Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which opens to the public on 5 May.

While the Met Gala guest list is typically the subject of much secrecy  and a healthy dose of speculation  at least three celebrities have confirmed they will not be in attendance this year. Rumours are swirling around another few.

Here is a breakdown of the confirmed and rumoured absences from the 2023 Met Gala red carpet:

Confirmed

Blake Lively

Much to her fans chagrins, Blake Lively told People she would not attend this years event. Lively is typically one of the events best-dressed guests, and she even co-chaired it last year.

Asked whether people would spot her on tonights red carpet, Lively replied: You will not. But I will be watching.

Blake Lively at the 2022 Met Gala, with the theme: Gilded Glamour (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Law Roach

The celebrity stylist, who announced his retirement in March, said in an interview with The Cut that his decision to step away from the industry extends to the Met Gala.

I feel so free, Roach told the magazine. I feel a freedom that I dont remember ever feeling. And no matter what, if I come back, which I dont have plans on coming back 

Lindsay Peoples, The Cuts editor-in-chief, interjected to ask: So no Met Gala?

No Met Gala, Roach confirmed.

Law Roach and Zendaya at the 2019 Met Gala, with the theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion' (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Jonathan Majors

The actor was arrested in March in New York, on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment, The Associated Press reported at the time. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The following month, Deadline reported that Majors and the fashion house Valentino had mutually agreed that the actor would not be attending this years Met Gala as one of its guests.

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Rumoured

Katy Perry

There is a chance that Katy Perry, a Met Gala veteran who famously attended the 2019 after-party dressed as a burger, wont appear at this years event.

According to Just Jared, she wont be able to make it because of a live taping of American Idol  on which she is a judge  on Monday evening.

However, Perry was spotted in New York City as celebrities started making their way towards the Big Apple ahead of the gala, as noted by Page Six. Perry is also scheduled to perform at King Charless coronation on 7 May, an event for which American Idol  which is also airing that day  would presumably contingency plans.

Perry remained vague when ET quizzed her about both events.

You'll just have to tune in and wait and see. The hologram is finally real! she said of American Idol.

As for the Met Gala, she joked: I'm sending Zooey Deschanel in my place. Hi, Zoe. I love you!

Katy Perry at the 2019 Met Gala, with the theme: Camp: Notes on Fashion' (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Anne Hathaway

The last time Anne Hathaway attended the Met Gala was in 2018. Prior to that, she attended the event with some regularity, in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010, and 2009.

Hathaway did not attend in 2019. The following year, the Met Gala was canceled due to the pandemic. When it returned in 2021 and 2022, Hathaway did not show up at either event. Whether she breaks her streak this year remains to be seen.

Anne Hathaway at the 2013 Met Gala, with the theme: Punk: Chaos to Couture' (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

Harry Styles

Styles made his most recent appearance  which was also his first  at the Met Gala in 2019.

The celebrity updates account DeuxMoi suggested that Styles might not attend this years event either, as he appears not to be in the US at the moment, although that remains to be confirmed.
Blake Lively has shared a photo of herself pumping breast milk after confirming her absence from the 2023 Met Gala.

On Monday 1 May 2023, the Gossip Girl star, 35, joked about her plans for the infamous date of the annual fashion extravaganza on Instagram, where she posted a photo of herself pumping in a bathroom.

First Monday in May, she captioned the photo.

The post from Lively, who recently welcomed her fourth child with husband Ryan Reynolds, comes after the Deadpool star revealed the reason that he and Blake Lively will not be attending the 2023 Met Gala is only partly due to the expansion of their family.

Lively, who has become a staple at the annual fashion extravaganza, confirmed that she would not be in attendance while speaking to reporters at the re-opening of the Tiffany & Co Fifth Avenue in New York City on Thursday.

After she was asked whether fans would see her on the red carpet-covered Met Gala steps on 1 May 2023, Lively said: You will not.

However, the actor promised she wouldnt be missing out on the festivities completely, as she said she would be watching.

Lively then joked about the outfit shed be wearing at home on the first Monday in May after a reporter complimented her on the gown shed worn to the 2022 Met Gala, with the A Simple Favor revealing shed be wearing the New York City-inspired Atelier Versace dress again.

Thank you, thats very sweet. Ill be wearing that on my couch, she joked.

For last years Met Gala, which celebrated the theme: In America: An Anthology of Fashion, with the dress code Gilded Glamour, Lively arrived on the red carpet in a strapless copper gown with a large bow inspired by the Statue of Liberty.

As fans, fellow attendees, and her husband Ryan Reynolds watched, Livelys gown then underwent a colourful transformation, with the unveil revealing a teal-coloured train inspired by the constellation decor in Grand Central Station.

On 30 April, Reynolds also confirmed the news of his and Livelys absence while speaking to Access Hollywood, with the actor revealing the couple would be in the UK celebrating Wrexham, after the team won promotion to the English Football League for the first time in 15 years.

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I think were off to  well be in the UK, Reynolds said, adding: We have Wrexham business to deal with.

(Blake Lively / Instagram)

Lively, who co-chaired the event alongside Reynolds last year, is no stranger to the Met Gala red carpet, as she has been attending the event since 2008.

Her fashion choices for the night are also some of the most-anticipated, as Lively has been known to match her gowns to the colourful stairs that cover the iconic Met Gala steps on the first Monday of each May.

On social media, the news has been met with disappointment from fans, who were still hoping to see the actor posing on this years red carpet.

Whats the point of the Met Gala if theres no Blake Lively? one person tweeted, while another said: A Met Gala with no Blake Lively is NOT the same.

Although Lively will not be in attendance at the annual fundraiser for the Met Galas Costume Institute, she did recently make her return to the red carpet, when she attended the Barnard College Annual Gala in New York City.

This years Met Gala, which will take place on 1 May, will celebrate late designer Karl Lagerfeld with the theme Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, while the official dress code for the event will be: In Honour of Karl.
"We are very happy to have the Chinese back in Italy and all over Europe. I believe everyone is very happy."

The Italian tourism sector is welcoming the return of Chinese visitors around the May Day holiday.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
World War I's first U.S. soldier to die, Cpl. James Bethel Gresham, was from Evansville, a Hoosier. The first American Red Cross nurse to die overseas, Lottie May Berry, was from Henry County, Indiana. One of the most decorated Indiana soldiers was an African American, Aaron Fisher, from Lyles Station, Indiana. One of the country's most decorated soldiers, Sam Woodfill, from Madison, became Indiana's only World War I Medal of Honor recipient. (Fisher should have received it also, but at that time, that award was never awarded to Black soldiers.)

Bloomington flmmaker Jo Throckmorton interviews historian Burt Caloud at Aisne Marne Cemetery in France.

"Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War" is a new one-hour documentary that explores these and three other Hoosiers who served in what was known as the Great War. Jo Throckmorton, Emmy Award-winning producer and director from Bloomington, was at the helm directing.

We forget heroes because time passes; other heroes are born. To keep their memories upfront, we build monuments, erect plaques and name streets.

The most effective way to remember heroes, however, might be by turning their stories into plays and films. The human brain likes stories. Stories stick in our minds. They help us visualize what happened.

"Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War" released to PBS stations

This month, Throckmorton released Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War to the Indiana PBS Broadcast Station Network, as well as to stations in Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois.

The film highlights six soldiers and one nurse from Indiana who served in World War I. It contains historical footage and artifacts as well as real-seeming reenactment footage.

Pvt. Laurens Bennett Strain grave

Pvt. Laurens Bennett Strain

There are two people who were first to serve and die overseas, as well as five other stories of sacrifice and bravery. Two soldiers are from Bloomington: Pvt. Laurens Bennett Strain was killed in action on June 7, 1918, by a machine gun bullet to the head; Sgt. Ernest Finley Duncan was killed on June 10, 1918. The VFW Post 604 in Bloomington is named in honor of Strain. Duncan received the Croix-de-Guerre and Silver Star for his distinguished service. Ultimately, the film honors all people who chose to serve in the Great War.

Story continues

Sgt. Ernest Finley Duncan

Many who have worked to bring the film to production are Bloomington area locals, including its music composer Alex Tedrow.

About the Hoosier soldiers honored in the documentary

Maj. Sam Woodfill was the only World War I Medal of Honor recipient from Indiana. Not only did he survive the war, he was a favorite soldier of Gen. John Pershing.

"Major Sam was a very modest person, seldom spoke, and always told the truth," said his great nephew Robert Woodfill in an email. "I tried to pattern my life after his character. He was a soldier and only doing what a soldier should do while in the military. He was a straight-arrow, a soldiers soldier, and would follow the Armys orders to the T. Because of his modesty, his exploits and accomplishments are not known nor celebrated, and that is just the way that he would want it."

Jo Throckmorton and Kaleb Throckmorton at Meuse Argonne Cemetery in France while filming in 2022.

Second Lt. Aaron Fisher is not only an example of a courageous and loyal person but also an embarrassing example of racial discrimination.

"Here is a man, a kid when he enlisted, actually, who volunteered to join the U.S. Army to fight for his country despite that country not really seeming to care for him as a person," Throckmorton said in an email. "Fisher's influence, both in leading his fellow soldiers while under attack at the Saales Pass in St. Die, France, to his teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio, to finishing his career working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, was immense."

Fisher's actions near Lesseux, France, saved lives and were, to many who have done the research, worthy of the Medal of Honor.

"This film does not advocate for an interpretation, but rather explains his actions which are part of the official U.S. Army and French Army records, and lets the viewer decide."

Historian Burt Caloud talks with filmmakers Jo and Kaleb Throckmorton at Chateau Thierry Monument in France in 2022.

Throckmorton makes it a point to provide clear imagery to propel the story.

"Could we have done the film without going to France? Yes. But we would not have seen the very woods these people walked through, the towns they helped retake from the Germans, the places they were injured and the very spots they were killed and buried."

He said the locations where they filmed in France look eerily similar to Indiana.

"It makes it more visceral, more real and more relevant."

A demanding component of historical documentaries that date back more than 100 years is to find first-hand accounts. That was not possible on this film; all except one of those with first-hand knowledge have died. So Throckmorton and his staff relied on two things: official U.S. Army documents and family stories.

Three soldiers  including Pvt. Charles Harrison Forrest of Veedersburg, Sgt. Louis Carl Rupholdt of Goshen  included in the documentary were Killed in Action (KIA). For two, interviewers spoke with direct dependents.

Family members integrated records that the film's staff provided from the National Archives with the stories the families had heard growing up. This brought up forgotten memories and facts about the soldier or nurse.

"The family members also provided the most important element of humanizing the soldier, allowing us to remember they were not unlike any of us. Just ordinary people called upon to do extraordinary things," Throckmorton said.

James Silberstein served as producer and a donator for the film. He said the crew would have liked to include additional soldiers and nurses but, for time, had to stop at seven.

The historical footage, he said over the phone, is in the public domain. For part of his research he visited the National Archives in St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

For the reenactment scenes he said Throckmorton acquired unused footage after gaining permission. This part of the action takes place in Pennsylvania with actual soldiers, not actors.

"We also used real battle tanks from World War I," Silberstein said.

According to the website theworldwar.org/learn/women, thousands of women participated in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps. By mid 1918, more than 3,000 American nurses served in more than 750 British-managed hospitals in France.

Lottie May Berry

Silberstein talked about the sad case of Indiana nurse Lottie May Berry, who contracted pneumonia on the voyage overseas: "Lottie died four days after she got to France."

When stories have time limits, painful cuts must be made.

"We have so much more we could tell," Throckmorton said. "Maybe someday those stories will be told. Visit the film's website to view some of the cutting room floor material.

About the documentary "Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War"

WHAT: "Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War," the new film from Emmy Award winning producer and director Jo Throckmorton

WHERE TO SEE IT: Available now on PBS stations. View the trailer at https://vimeo.com/394514225. Visit the film's website at www.hoosierheroesofwwi.com

MORE INFO: Jo Throckmorton has been nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. He produced and directed a major film for a museum installation at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France, in 2016. That led to the production of "Over There: Hoosier Heroes of the Great War." He also has received the award for best documentary by the Society of Professional Journalists for his work on Hard Life. Find Throckmorton at blueacemedia.com/ and at facebook.com/JoThrockmortonFilmworks/.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Local filmmaker's 'Hoosier Heroes of the Great War' documentary on PBS
Assistant farm manager Joe Shepard grabs a handful of finished compost produced at the Potawatomi Farm.

LAONA - Food sovereignty has long been a goal in Indian Country ever since the U.S. government forced Native American tribes onto reservations in places considered poor for farming in the 1800s.

Using advanced farming techniques, such as aquaponics and hoop houses, one tribe in northern Wisconsin is increasingly able to reach that goal of feeding its people.

The Forest County Potawatomi Community owns and operates a 126-acre farm near Laona that produces vegetables, honey, maple syrup, eggs and meat from cattle, chicken, tilapia and bison without using chemical fertilizer or pesticides.

The farm, called Bodwewadmi Ktegan, was established in 2017.

Assistant farm manager Joe Shepard looks over the Potawatomi Farm's bison herd.

The food is distributed through the tribal elder food box program serving all 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin and sold at several tribally owned stores in Forest County, which is considered a food desert because of its lack of grocery stores.

In rural Forest County, such healthy, unprocessed food had been once hard to come by.

This year, the tribe received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin distributing food boxes to tribal members besides elders.

Making sure that our tribal members have healthy food options is the first step to ensuring that they can live healthy lifestyles, said Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford in a statement. This new partnership will help us bring more locally sourced, healthy food products to our tribal members which will encourage better lifestyles and better living.

Farm operators believe the food produced here can help address some of the top killers of Indigenous people, which are heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Heart disease and cancer each caused 20% of Indigenous deaths in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Indigenous people in Wisconsin are also more than three times likely to die from diabetes than the white population, according to the state agency.

Sign up for the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter Click here to get all of our Indigenous news coverage right in your inbox

Story continues

Farm manager Dave Cronauer said more than 100 boxes will start to be distributed through the new program to tribal members every month starting some time in the second half of May.

Besides the raw meat and vegetables that will be packed inside the boxes, jams, jellies and salsas are also canned at the farm and will be included in the distribution program.

Potawatomi Farm assistant Manager Joe Shepard collects eggs from the farm's mobile chicken coop.

The grant money will pay for the product while the tribe will take care of distribution and administrative costs, Cronauer said.

But he hopes programs like this can help build capacity, build more markets and create more demand so Bodwewadmi Ktegan can eventually expand.

Besides being a tribal entity, workers pride themselves on the farms circle of life techniques.

For example, at the aquaponics facility, waste from the tilapia is converted into nutrients for plants and helps produce up to 4,700 heads of lettuce every 55 days year-round.

Vegetables are grown from water and nutrients from a nearby tank of tilapia at the Potawatomi Farm.

Its a whole symbiotic system, said aquaponics technician Stephanie Rosio. Nothing goes to waste. Everything is used.

Any produce or other waste that is not used is transformed into compost that is sold at local stores or used at the farm.

Even manure from the grassfed livestock is used to help fertilize the pasture for grazing.

These tilapia are raised in a pool at the Potawatomi Farm in Laona as part of its aquaponics system.

The Forest County Potawatomi Community currently has 12,000 acres of tribal land in Forest County and includes about 1,400 tribal citizens.

The tribe, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, is the largest employer in Forest County and is also one of the largest employers in Milwaukee County, where it owns about 7 acres in Milwaukee.

Of its 800 employees in Forest County, about 60% are non-Indigenous and of its 1,900 employees in Milwaukee County about 90% are non-Indigenous.

Residents in Forest County learned how important the Potawatomi Farm was during the pandemic.

We realized how important (food sovereignty) was in 2020, Cronauer said. When grocery stores around the country were running out of meat and other food, we were still able to keep product on our shelves during the entire pandemic.

Read more:

Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin tribe uses advanced farming to grow food sovereignty
Body-camera footage obtained by The News Tribune shows how a Pierce County Sheriffs Department SWAT operation last year instantly turned violent and chaotic, resulting in the deaths of a deputy and the suspect whom authorities had under surveillance.

Seconds after six SWAT team members rushed out of an unmarked white van, which had accelerated to a bumper-to-bumper stop in front of suspect Jeremy Daytons parked Cadillac DeVille, a barrage of gunfire rang out in an otherwise quiet trailer park in Spanaway.

Deputy Dom Calata, 35, was killed. So too was Dayton, 40, who was thought to be armed and had skipped the first day of an assault trial that could have resulted in a life sentence for him. Then-Sgt. Rich Scaniffe, the SWAT team leader, suffered a life-threatening gunshot wound to his femoral artery. He recovered after surgery and has since been promoted to lieutenant.

The often graphic footage from body-worn cameras of six deputies shows how the incident unfolded on March 15, 2022, and how the SWAT team members were caught off guard by Daytons immediate gunfire and hampered by poor visibility into the Cadillacs dark-tinted windshield and windows. Investigative documents showed that the team had hoped to catch Dayton by surprise from the rear, but his car was backed up against a fence. Scaniffe decided to modify the plan to approach the car from the front. Within moments of the SWAT van hitting his bumper, Dayton began firing.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas Quinlan in March ordered the city of Tacoma  which held the records as part of its independent investigation into the incident  to release the videos with some redactions in response to a public records request by The News Tribune. Calatas wife and Scaniffe had objected in court to the disclosure of certain footage based on privacy concerns.

In his ruling, Quinlan weighed what footage constituted legitimate and substantial public concern related to Washington law and the state Constitution.

Story continues

It is never our intent with a public records request to cause harm or trauma to those involved, but to shed light on what exactly happened in this tragic event, Stephanie Pedersen, President and Editor at The News Tribune, said in a statement. The public has a right to see what happened that day.

Members of Daytons family asked for the footage to be released with minimal redactions, including images of his body.

I dont think [deputies] did their job right, Daytons brother Eric Kimbrough, who filed a records request for the video footage, told The News Tribune earlier this year. He questioned the urgency of Daytons medical care and whether the SWAT team could have avoided a gun battle using different tactics.

Police work the scene after two Pierce County sheriffs deputies were shot during a SWAT operation on March 15, 2022 in Spanaway.

Sudden shift

Much of the footage reflects the harrowing details of the operation that were reported in November by The News Tribune after poring over hundreds of pages of investigative documents. The body-cam videos also provide new first-person accounts of the speed in which the operation shifted into a fight for survival.

In late December, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett, who said the footage revealed how chaotic, yet controlled, the scene was, laid out the significant challenges that deputies faced in the operation as she concluded their use of force was justified in response to Dayton firing four rounds from a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol. The handgun had more ammo, but Scaniffes return fire disabled the weapon.

Robnett noted the SWAT deputies did not don helmets and wore light gear as a part of a Mobile Arrest Team operation which prioritizes speed and surprise to arrest a suspect in a vehicle; their vision was obscured by the dark-tinted windshield and windows on Daytons car; and a flash-bang grenade thrown by a deputy during the gunfire malfunctioned.

A 24-minute recording from Sgt. Robert Shaws body-worn camera shows him exit the van after Calata briefly struggled with the rear door, and then run along the drivers side to get a view of Daytons vehicle as gunfire erupted. Shaw throws a flash-bang grenade near the passenger side of the Cadillac, but it does not emit a blinding flash and disorienting bang as expected. He then fires several times into the cars windshield. After the gunfire from the Cadillac stops, Shaw advances on the car and shoots into the windshield from close proximity.

In the footage, its difficult to make out a suspect inside the vehicle.

Hes in between the two seats, can you see him? Shaw can be heard asking after returning to cover by the van, to which another deputy confirms he can.

Sheriffs deputy Dom Calata, left, and then-Sgt. Rich Scaniffe, right, were shot during a SWAT operation in 2022. Calata died of his injuries.

Uncertainty lingers

In a 36-minute recording captured by the body camera of detective Patrick Dos Remedios, who drove the van, Dos Remedios can be heard yelling, Gun! several times just seconds before the shooting begins. After gunfire has subsided, Dos Remedios is heard saying, I cant see nothing, as he and others maintain cover on both sides of the van with their weapons aimed at the cars windshield.

The gunfire lasted 35 seconds, beginning nearly immediately after the van pulled to a stop in front of the suspects car, according to body-cam footage. Deputies who werent attending to Calata and Scaniffe continued to keep their eyes and weapons trained on Dayton, who they said they could see was still breathing, and repeatedly ordered him to put his hands up.

Just before the shooting stopped, deputy Tyler Seavey is shown pulling Scaniffe behind the van from along its rear passenger side only seconds after Scaniffe falls and repeatedly yells, Im hit!, according to Seaveys 37-minute body camera recording, which redacts images and certain audio. Seavey then fires four rounds at the car before quickly turning to Calata, who is down further up on the same side of the van.

Grab the shield, I need to grab, Dom, Seavey is heard telling another deputy.

Slightly more than a minute after Calata goes down, Seavey follows shielded deputies to Calata and drags him backward to cover behind the van, Seaveys body-cam footage shows. He and other deputies whove arrived on scene begin immediately performing emergency aid on the two injured deputies as sirens ring in the background. Within about six minutes of the shooting, Calata and Scaniffe are rushed into separate patrol SUVs to meet paramedics at a nearby staging area for transport to a hospital.

Seavey returns to confront Dayton, joining other deputies who are in cover on both sides of the vans front side and unsure of whether Dayton will try to shoot again, according to body-cam footage.

At one point, Shaw throws four large, landscape-style rocks at the Cadillac in an effort to improve visibility. Three of the throws result in the sound of glass breaking but its not visible from the footage which car window they strike. Another deputy hurls a brick that also breaks glass.

Nearly seven-and-a-half minutes after the shooting began, Shaw  who had moved to new cover behind a tree with a direct view of the cars driver-side door  fires a single shot through the driver-side window.

Dont move! hes heard yelling three times before shooting.

About 15 minutes after the opening barrage of gunfire, Shaw and other deputies  including at least one whos among those whove arrived on scene as backup  pull Dayton out of the car to the ground by his right arm. The lead deputy is holding a shield. Dayton, who is unresponsive and obviously gravely injured, is then handcuffed behind his back.

Hey, we have medical aid coming up quick? Shaw is heard asking. Medical aid now!

In Seaveys body camera recording, deputies can be seen attending to Dayton, who has been placed onto his side and has agonal breathing. A deputy holds gauze to a wound on Daytons head and asks if theres a chest seal available. Seavey cuts Daytons jacket and other deputies provide more bandages to apply to Daytons body as one calls out the injuries he sees.

Paramedics arrive on scene to attend to Dayton roughly seven-and-a-half minutes after he has been pulled out of the vehicle and announce no pulse and that his injuries were consistent with a cause of death. He had seven distinct gunshot wounds, including two to the head, and died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, citing his autopsy.

Dayton was pronounced dead at 12:29 p.m., according to the Prosecuting Attorneys Office. Based on the time stamp on Seaveys body-cam, the pronouncement came nearly 20 minutes after paramedics had found no pulse.

Four SWAT team members ultimately fired more than 60 times at Daytons vehicle, investigative documents showed.

Calata, an Army veteran, was shot in the head by Dayton within seconds after running out of the back of the van and around to its passenger side at the beginning of the operation. He died the following day. Scaniffe, who had been riding in the passenger seat, was struck in the pelvis, destroying his femoral artery, according to a declaration he made in court.

A color guard member passes the casket of Dom Calata during a celebration of life ceremony for the slain sheriffs deputy at Church For All Nations in Parkland on March 25, 2022.

You ready?

Calata and Scaniffe are among nine Pierce County Sheriffs deputies involved in the SWAT operation who will be honored with the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor on May 5. The medal recognizes police officers who were killed in the line of duty or distinguished themselves by exceptional meritorious conduct, according to the Washington Attorney Generals Office. The ceremony will be held in Olympia.

Additionally, Calata will be recognized at the Eastern Washington Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Spokane on Tuesday and the sheriffs department will be traveling to Washington D.C. to honor Calata at the Law Enforcement Memorial during the weekend of May 12, the department said.

Roughly 2,000 people attended Calatas funeral in a Tacoma church less than two weeks after the Spanaway confrontation, remembering the only deputy to ever be killed during a Pierce County SWAT operation as someone with a generous spirit who always offered a smile and kind word.

Scaniffe, who had recently been released from the hospital at the time, was greeted by a standing ovation when he walked to the podium.

When this gun battle started, I knew I was in grave danger. Dom rushed to my side to fight shoulder to shoulder. He was determined, he was heroic and he was brave, Scaniffe said during the funeral. I would give anything to have Dom here today. I am heartbroken and I am sorry. I wish more than anything Dom was still here laughing.

The body-cam footage released to The News Tribune, which by court order redacted imagery and certain audio of Scaniffe and Calata after theyd been shot, also revealed Calatas sense of humor, even during tense moments.

In video from Shaws body camera before the shooting, SWAT team members are riding in the van, not far from their destination. Calata is heard joking about his clear glasses being so dark he thought he was wearing sunglasses.

Then, Shaw asks, You ready?

Calatas response: Always.
A coroner held a mans body for more than 3 1/2 months before notifying his family that he had died, according to a lawsuit filed by the mans brother in California.

Njawa Pendar died at a hospital and was taken into the custody of the Santa Clara County coroners office on Sept. 9, according to the lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on April 10.

On Dec. 26, 108 days later, one of Pendars brothers received a call from an investigator at the coroners office notifying him that his brother was dead, the lawsuit says.

When Pendars brother asked why it had taken so long to be notified, the investigator said, Were sorry. Somewhere along the line we dropped the ball, the lawsuit says.

The county did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Two of Pendars brothers went to the coroners office in San Jose on Dec. 27 and asked to see their brothers body but werent given permission, the lawsuit says.

His body had decomposed beyond recognition, and his family wasnt able to embalm him or hold a funeral service for him, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, one of Pendars brothers, Samuel Pendar, said his brothers body could have been forgotten due to his race because he was Black.

He also accuses the coroners office of intending to hold his brothers body indefinitely so that it could unlawfully dispose of it or use it for other unlawful purposes.

There are implications here that go beyond gross negligence, the lawsuit says. That is, lack of care, dignity and compassion for a human being and his loved ones.

Njawa Pendars body had also been erroneously classified as having no next of kin, according to the lawsuit.

Samuel Pendar did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

The negligence of the coroners office caused Pendars family extreme emotional distress, including mental suffering, mental anguish, fright, grief, humiliation and worry, the lawsuit says. The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages of more than $500,000.

Story continues

Santa Clara County is in the Bay Area of California, and the county seat is San Jose.

Mortuary mistakenly cremated woman against her familys wishes, Arizona lawsuit says

82-year-old woman dies waiting for AC repairs in sweltering home, Nevada lawsuit says

Funeral home left 11 bodies to rot and mummify, California officials say. Monstrous
Human remains discovered by a hiker in a wooded part of Wyandotte County were confirmed to be a man who disappeared from Kansas City, Kansas in 2021, according to police.

Justin Siwek, 32, had been reported missing since Fathers Day, June 20, 2021, from the Days Inn motel at 7721 Elizabeth Avenue. His family provided DNA samples to police that positively identified his remains, which were found April 16, Kansas City, Kansas police said.

Detective Bryan Minich of KCKPD said in a statement that there is still much work to be done to determine what led to his death.

We know that his family has been through a great deal in the nearly two years since Justin went missing, and hope that this discovery brings them a small degree of closure, Minich said.

Nancy Chartrand, a department spokeswoman, said Kansas City, Kansas detectives have considered the possibility of foul play since Siwek vanished nearly two years ago. She said Monday that possibility remains open, though the department awaits further information from the autopsy.

Siweks death is being investigated by the departments Major Case Unit. Kansas City, Kansas police continued to ask anyone who might have information about the case to contact the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.
By Lais Morais

RIBERAO PRETO, Brazil (Reuters) -Former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro stole the show on Monday at Brazil's largest agribusiness fair where he was acclaimed by supporters from the country's strong farm sector.

It was Bolsonaro's first encounter with supporters since he returned from the United States one month ago, and he was mobbed by an excited crowd that applauded him wildly when he climbed on top of a combine harvester.

Organizers of the annual Agrishow withdrew an invitation for the current agriculture minister in leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, which complained they had turned the fair into a campaign event.

"We are a great nation and we have everything to be a great power," Bolsonaro, a populist nationalist told the crowd, touting Brazil's position as a top global producer of food.

"What does agriculture need? You need politicians who don't get in your way," he added, speaking alongside Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, his former infrastructure minister.

Bolsonaro criticized the decision by Lula to recognize new Indigenous reservations based on ancestral lands, a constant source of complaint by farmers in Brazil's expanding agricultural frontier.

He said it was too much land for too few people, and he had tried unsuccessfully to allow Indigenous communities to engage in commercial agriculture, which is currently not legal on protected lands.

The deep-pocketed and powerful farm sector was a major supporter of Bolsonaro's 2018 election. In office he relaxed environmental controls, took the farmers' side in land disputes with Indigenous communities and passed legislation allowing farmers to arm themselves to protect their properties.

Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat to Lula in the October election, faces investigations for his attacks on Brazil's election system and alleged role in inciting the storming of government building in Brasilia on Jan. 8, one week after Lula took office. Bolsonaro faces legal risks that could ban him from running in the 2026 election.

Story continues

It was the first time since the farm fair in Sao Paulo state started in 1994 that no representative from the federal government was present on the opening day of the event, which showcases advances in agricultural technology. Organizers said they expect 190,000 people to attend the five-day fair.

Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro wished the farmers success and said he looked forward to attending next year.

(Reporting by Lais Morais and Carla Carniel; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
Peacock

Lyle and Erik Menendez claimed that they killed their parents in 1989 because they feared for their safety following a lifetime of sexual abuse perpetrated by their father, Jose, an RCA Records executive, and condoned by their mother, Kitty. That defense earned them separate mistrials in 1993 but didnt succeed in their subsequent 1996 retrial, which concluded with convictions and life sentences without the possibility of parole. In the ensuing 30 years, theyve maintained their victimization story, and now, a new Peacock docuseries purports to have evidence that might corroborate their allegations against Joseand it comes from the unlikeliest of sources.

Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed (May 2) boasts a bombshell in store for viewers who may have (naturally) assumed that the Menendez saga was over. Roy Rossello, a key member of the Puerto Rican boy band sensation Menudo, asserts that, throughout the course of his 1983-86 tenure in the group, he was habitually abused by its creator and manager, Edgardo Diaz. Moreover, he contends that he was raped by Jose Menendez, who signed Menudo to its RCA contract and who was a close associate of Diaz, whom he entertained (along with the band members) at his Beverly Hills home. During one of those visits, Roy says he saw Erik and Lyle, after which he was drugged and assaultedand he implies that this crime took place as an implicit means of sealing Menudos RCA deal.

Their father was a child molester. He was a sexual predator, Roy says about Jose at the outset of Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, thereby supporting Lyle and Eriks story about the cruelty they suffered at their dads hands. This comes as explosive news to journalist and author Robert Rand and his colleague Nery Ynclan, who have spent years working to exonerate the Menendez brothers because theyre convinced that the siblings were wrongly convicted of first-degree murder rather than manslaughter, which would have saddled them with a lighter prison sentence. Peacocks docuseries basically assumes that same viewpoint, sometimes to a fault, skimming past discussions of the prosecutions case against Lyle and Erik (other than to say that they were portrayed by the district attorney as greedy rich kids) in order to avoid addressing any complicating (i.e., less flattering) details, and to guarantee that they come across as railroaded innocents.

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Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed plays a somewhat rigged game, and yet it does intriguingly suggest that Lyle and Eriks abuse accusations would have been treated far differently today, when accounts of powerful men heinously exploiting their powerbe it Catholic Church priests, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, or Michael Jackson, whose tainted-legacy shadow hovers over this talehave become commonplace. The publics understanding of childhood trauma and the scars it leaves is significantly greater than it was in the 90s. Its not unfathomable, then, to think that in the present climate, Lyle and Eriks charges would have sounded more plausible than they did at the timeand that no judge would have dared limit testimony about their alleged sexual abuse, as was the case in their second trial, when they were found guilty.

Ex-Menudo Singer Makes Shock Claim About Menendez Brothers Dad

Still, such notions are undermined by the sense that Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed is deliberately avoiding a comprehensive reexamination of the case. In fact, its primary focus turns out to be not Lyle and Erik, but Roy, whose first-person interviews dominate the proceedings. In them, he discusses the abuse that prefaced his joining Menudowhose roster was constantly turned over, since members couldnt be older than 16and which continued afterward in brutal fashion. When on tour, Roy always slept in Diazs bedroom, and if he stepped out of line, he was physically attacked. In one horrific anecdote, Roy recalls getting caught trying to see a girl and being locked in a bathroom, nude, for the entire night, only to be viciously raped and beaten upon his release from captivity.

Much of Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed involves Roy speaking candidly and tearfully about his arduous ordeal, the multiple suicide attempts it instigated, and his hunger for justice. It also features him visiting former Menudo associatesNew York Post photojournalist and Menudo merchandise distributor Bolivar Arellano; recently deceased Menudo member Ray Reyes brother Raul; the bands record producer and composer Papo Gely; and ex-Menudo star Ash Ruizwho all validate his experiences in different ways. These men didnt just know about Diazs pedophilic conduct, but in some cases, theyd spoken out about it previously, only to be ignored and/or persecuted by the powers that be on behalf of Diaz, a highly influential and respected Puerto Rican celebrity. Alongside Roys own sincere commentary, their testimony (including Rauls admission that he once saw Roy and Diaz in bed together, naked) is shocking and persuasive.

Ive Been a True Crime Buff Since I Was Old Enough to Read

Unfortunately, though, Roys encounter with Jose winds up being an afterthought for long stretches of Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. Part of the reason for that sidelining, it appears, is that Roy doesnt fully remember what took place. After riding in a limo with Diaz and Jose, who looked like he wanted to devour me, and then being served wine that he now assumes was laced with a narcotic, Roys memory goes hazy and then outright blank. When he awakened in his hotel room the next morning, he discovered physical evidence that hed been violated, but couldnt 100 percent ascertain who had been the culprit. Despite Rand bringing this to the attention of Lyle, Erik, and their attorney Cliff Gardnerand he and Ynclan making excited and optimistic pronouncements about what itll mean for the Menendez boys fateits not clear that this is enough to move the legal needle. No matter how hard the final episode strains to paint this revelation in a momentous light, considerable skepticism remains.

Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed thus plays like the tip of a potential iceberg that has yet to be fully assessed. As with more than a few recent docuseries, its so eager to be first with its headline-grabbing imputations that it jumps the gun, leaving viewers to speculate about a sensational future that might come to pass should further substantiation eventually materialize.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Francisco Garduno remains in his post as head of the National Institute of Migration (INM)

The head of Mexico's migration authority, Francisco Garduno, has been charged in connection with a deadly fire at a migrant centre in Ciudad Juarez on 27 March.

Forty migrants from Central and South America died behind bars when smoke filled a cell they were being held in.

CCTV footage appeared to show the guards walking away as the fire spread without opening the locked cell door.

Mr Garduno is the most senior official to be charged over the fire.

The deadly blaze caused outrage and raised questions about the handling of the treatment of migrants by the Mexican authorities.

A court in Ciudad Juarez ruled on Sunday that there was sufficient evidence to charge Mr Garduno with "unlawful exercise of public office".

The 74-year-old has not been arrested but has been ordered to regularly report to the authorities.

Prosecutors argue that his failure to act led to the death of the migrants who were being held at the centre run by the National Institute of Migration (INM) just south of the US-Mexico border.

The prosecution has been given four months to build its case against Mr Garduno before the trial starts.

Mr Garduno said he could not comment on the ongoing case.

Last week, more footage of the minutes leading up to the fire were shared by local newspaper El Diario de Juarez.

In it, guards appear to walk away from the room which is quickly filling with smoke without seeming to take any action to free the migrants who were locked in the cell where the fire started.

Mexican officials say a migrant caused the fire by setting a mattress alight in protest at the poor conditions they were being held in.

The migrant suspected of starting the fire and as well as four guards have been arrested and are being investigated for possible homicide.
A double shooting Saturday morning near the Brandywine Hundred community of Westloo has been ruled a murder-suicide by Delaware State Police.

The victim's names have not been provided, but police said the incident began about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when emergency operators received a 911 call from the 1800 block of Veale Road in Brandywine Hundred.

Troopers dispatched to the home entered the structure through an unlocked side door and found two people who had been shot.

One was an 87-year-old man, the other was an 86-year-old woman.

Rehoboth Beach shooting: 1 dead, another hospitalized in Rehoboth Beach shooting Sunday

Delaware tornado: Here's why Sussex tornado victims didn't get cellphone emergency alerts April 1

Both lived at the home were pronounced deceased at the scene.

Troopers said they found a handgun on the man.

Detectives are asking that anyone with information regarding this incident contact detectives at (302) 741-2821. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware police: Brandywine Hundred fatal shooting was murder-suicide
SAO PAULO (AP)  Brazil's federal police said Sunday they are investigating a shooting that killed one and wounded two Yanomami Indigenous people, saying the main suspects were illegal gold miners working in that area of Roraima state.

A police statement said in a statement that the incident took place Saturday and added that the government sent members of the Air force and the Indigenous issues agency FUNAI to help with the probe.

Earlier this year, Brazil's government pushed illegal gold miners out of Yanomami territory, saying their mining had caused widespread river contamination, famine and disease for one of the most isolated groups in the world.

Brazil's government estimated about 20,000 people were engaged in illegal mining in February, often using toxic mercury to separate out gold. Since then, several federal police and military raids have made it harder for gold miners to reach that area.

An estimated 30,000 Yanomami people live in Brazils largest Indigenous territory, which covers an area roughly the size of Portugal and stretches across Roraima and Amazonas states in the northwestern corner of Brazils Amazon.
Thailand is seeing a surge in the number of Chinese tourists during the May Day holiday, the first long holiday after the Spring Festival holiday in January.

The influx of Chinese tourists has provided a boost to Thailand's tourism industry, which has been eagerly awaiting the return of international visitors.



From January 1 to April 23, over 737,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand, marking a 30-fold increase from the same period last year, according to Bangkok-based think tank Kasikorn Research Center.







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate released a new photograph of Princess Charlotte, the granddaughter of King Charles, on Monday, the day before her eighth birthday.

Sat on a chair, Charlotte, the third in line to the British throne after her father and brother Prince George, flashed a beaming smile for the picture in a white, frill neckline frock designed with tiny pink and blue flowers.

Kate took the photo in Windsor this weekend, Kensington Palace said in a brief statement.

Charlotte, born in London on May 2, 2015, is William and Kate's second child and only daughter. George was born in July 2013 and the princess' younger brother Prince Louis was born in April 2018.

The princess' birthday celebration this year falls just days before King Charles' coronation on May 6, which is set be a grand ceremony full of pomp, pageantry and religious significance.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Josie Kao)
Tens of thousands of people have already fled from Sudans borders to neighbouring countries over the past two weeks - AFP

More than 800,000 people are expected to flee Sudan to neighbouring countries as the humanitarian situation there deteriorates into a full blown catastrophe, said the United Nations.

Some 73,000 people have already fled Sudans borders to neighbouring countries over the past two weeks, causing chaos as they scramble to obtain visas.

Without a quick resolution of this crisis we will continue to see more people forced to flee in search of safety and basic assistance," Raouf Mazou, a UN official, told a member-state briefing in Geneva.

"In consultation with all concerned governments and partners we've arrived at a planning figure of 815,000 people that may flee into the seven neighbouring countries."

That figure includes around 580,000 Sudanese as well as refugees from South Sudan and other war-torn countries.

It came as the Foreign Office said on Monday that further flights were expected from Port Sudan supporting British nationals including Sudanese doctors working in the NHS. It said it had evacuated more than 2,100 people so far from Sudan, the largest and longest evacuation of any Western country.

HMS Lancaster will remain at Port Sudan and her crew will continue to help provide support, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary said.

Fighting has been raging in the north-east African country since the middle of last month following a vicious power struggle between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The army interpreted a move by the RSF to redeploy members around the country as a threat, leading to shooting and explosions in the capital Khartoum.

On Monday air strikes pounded Khartoum again in another violation of a ceasefire designed to allow civilians to seek safety. The intense fighting has made it impossible for the millions of people still trapped in parts of the city to flee while staying put remains equally perilous as medical supplies, food and water run critically low.

Story continues

A family boarding an RAF Plane during the evacuation from Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan - Royal Navy

Abdalla Sholami, 85, a retired businessman from north London, and his wife were down to their final bottle of water a couple of weeks ago after their home was looted by RSF soldiers, The Times reported.

On Monday his granddaughter Azhar implied in a tweet he had been shot dead.

My grandfather unfortunately got shot & my disabled grandmother who is also diabetic has been alone for 5 days now. Were still trying to get her out. We have tried everything. Trying my luck here, she said.

Azhar, who lives in New York, said that multiple groups had attempted to reach them but had been unable to do so because of the fighting. The British Embassy left Khartoum without responding to the familys request to send the elderly couple water.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented," said Martin Griffiths, the UNs relief chief.

Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the country's army, and RSF head Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, have been under pressure to enforce a ceasefire and give safe passage for aid. But though they have nominated representatives for talks on monitoring the ceasefire they have agreed, both are also digging in for what could be a protracted battle.

Gen Burhan has said he would never sit down with Hemedti. The RSF leader said on Monday he would either hand Gen Burhan over to justice - or to the cemetery.
A Lawrenceville man has been sentenced to prison for burglarizing vehicles near a Georgia national park.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Park rangers at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area began investigating a string of car burglaries occurring in Aug. and Sept. 2022.

Officials said the rangers began noticing a pattern, where the cars passenger door would be pried open with a special tool, and credit and debit cards left in the car were stolen.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the cards would then be used almost immediately at local malls to make expensive purchases including jewelry and Apple products.

During the investigation, rangers noticed two cars that would be present when the burglaries were reported.

TRENDING STORIES:

In Sept. 2022, while patrolling the area, a park ranger reportedly notice, Mihail Ilie, crouching between vehicles, and appeared to be tampering with another car.

Officials said Illie used a then, 12-year-old girl as a lookout. As park rangers searched Illies car, they reportedly found receipts for jewelry and Apple products, including some out-of-state purchases and burglary tools.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

On October 4, 2022, a grand jury indicted Ilie with two felony violations for possession of burglary tools and attempted car burglary. He was convicted on December 12, 2022, after he pleaded guilty.

This case is an example of the importance of citizens reporting property crimes. Without the reports from other visitors to the park who were victims of car burglaries, rangers would not have identified and arrested Ilie in the act of committing another offense, Buchanan said.

Story continues

Ilie was sentenced on Friday to one year and a day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Hes been ordered to pay $802 in restitution.

IN OTHER NEWS:




A bystander was hospitalized and a 23-year-old man was arrested Sunday after fleeing from Fort Worth officers in a chase that ended in a crash, according to police.

Cameron Offor faces charges of evading arrest or detention, unlawful carrying of a weapon, possession of marijuana and another charge of evading arrest from Euless police, according to police records. A second suspect fled the scene and escaped, police said.

According to a police report, Fort Worth officers were notified around 5:30 p.m. Sunday by camera system that reads license plates that Offor, while driving a gray Dodge Charger, fled from Euless police and had a warrant issued for his arrest. The reader identified the vehicle by its paper temporary license plates.

An officer tried to perform a traffic stop on the car in the 4300 block of Miller Avenue but the driver fled, according to police.

Officers chased the Charger into Hurst, where it crashed, injuring a bystander who was in another vehicle, and Offor and a passenger attempted to flee the scene, according to police. Offor was captured and arrested but the second person, who has not been publicly identified, escaped the scene, according to police.

Officers searched the car, where they found a rifle, two handguns and between 2 and 4 ounces of marijuana, according to police.

A spokesperson with MedStar did not immediately respond to a Star-Telegram request for information, but the Dallas Morning News reported the bystander was hospitalized.
Californias attorney general is suing the city of Elk Grove for denying a contentious affordable housing project in the citys Old Town.

You cant ignore the law because it doesnt suit you, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday, adding later, Theyve resisted the law time and time again. They have left us no choice.

This day was threatened for months, ever since Elk Grove leaders denied the Oak Rose affordable housing project on Elk Groves historic east side last July. Developers of the project first sued the city to allow Oak Rose to go forward. State housing officials followed days later with a scathing report that mirrored the developers lawsuit, saying denying the project violates state laws that require streamlining of affordable housing construction.

The 66-unit development, a three-story structure on Elk Grove Boulevard near Kent Road in east Elk Grove is near a bus line, shopping and a planned new library.

The building, developers said, would have been the first in Elk Grove to provide permanent housing and services for low-income families who had been homeless. The Elk Grove City Council argued the project was too dense and said plans for ground-floor residences did not comply with Old Towns zoning requirements. Leaders called on project applicants Oak Rose LP to work with the city to find alternate sites.

Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and city leaders have repeatedly denied that Elk Grove broke the law, Singh-Allen said in March: Elk Grove remains committed to providing housing for all. We reject the notion that Elk Grove is engaged in unlawful discrimination. We remain committed to supporting solutions that balance the needs of all in the community.

Singh-Allen on Monday again maintained that her city has broken no laws.

The City of Elk Grove is not a bad actor, Singh-Allen said Elk Grove has a strong track record for supporting affordable housing projects and continues to engage in good faith discussions with the Oak Rose Apartments applicant in hopes of reaching a mutually agreeable solution.

Story continues

In the same statement, city officials point to more than 1,100 new affordable housing units, including permanent supportive housing units, that are currently in some form of development in Elk Grove. The projects include the 387-unit Poppy Grove Apartments, the citys largest, on Bruceville Road south of Elk Grove Boulevard. The proposed 236-unit Pardes Project planned for Poppy Ridge Road and Big Horn Boulevard also received an initial approval at last weeks city council meeting.

Meanwhile, Oak Roses developers Monday said in a statement they welcome any action or support the state can provide that will allow us to build permanent housing and support for unhoused residents who need it, in Elk Grove and throughout California.

(Elk Grove) refused to approve the design of Oak Rose Apartments by claiming it did not meet local standards and wrongfully stating the city was unable to waive those standards, said Dana Trujillo, CEO of affordable housing developer Excelerate Housing Group. After months of hearings, we exhausted every avenue with the city to get the project approved. We had no choice but to ask for the courts assistance to get this project the green light that it legally deserves.

The lawsuit marks the latest salvo in Gov. Gavin Newsom administrations fight against cities rejecting of state policies meant to increase access to affordable housing across California.

Last month, Bonta sued Huntington Beach after years of battling over the states right to enforce housing laws to ease the housing crunch. Huntington Beach fought back, arguing in a countersuit that the state overreached on the citys constitutional right to make its own local land-use decisions.

It was the second such lawsuit between the state and the Orange County city after then-Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued in 2019, accusing local leaders of ignoring a state law mandating that cities and counties identify enough properties to accommodate new residential development. The city agreed to settle the case a year later by adding an amendment to its housing plan, making it easier for developers to build multi-family housing.

Bonta in 2021 created a team within the California Department of Justice dedicated to enforcing state housing laws. Newsom has repeatedly stated that a top priority of his second term is to hold local governments accountable for reducing the states homeless crisis and increasing its affordable housing stock.

At the end of the day, the state vision as it relates to housing cannot be realized anywhere else except locally, Newsom said at the time. At the end of the day, were all in this together, and we have a responsibility to one another.

For Elk Grove, Bonta wrote last month to Singh-Allen that legal action was coming if the city did not approve the project: Were committed to enforcing the law, and we will not stand idly by in the face of housing discrimination. I urge Elk Grove to reconsider its unlawful denial of the Oak Rose Apartment project, or face the legal consequences.

On Monday, those consequences became official.

Its wrong, its illegal, its discriminatory. They shouldnt have done it. Thats why were taking them to court, Bonta said during a news conference Monday. After discussion and multiple efforts, they continued to flout the law and here we are.

The Bee Capitol Bureaus Maggie Angst contributed to this story.
As fentanyl overdoses continue to kill Californians, Democrats in the state Capitol searching for solutions are caught between grieving families and communities still recovering from the states failed war on drugs.

Emotional Capitol committee hearings have forced lawmakers to confront the pain of both groups.

The relatives in attendance hold large photos of loved ones who died from overdoses. They tell lawmakers of rushing to emergency rooms and opening college acceptance letters their children will never celebrate.

The families urge action. They want stronger punishments for those who sell fentanyl, sometimes killing customers who think theyre consuming a different, less-deadly drug.

On the other side are activists who hold signs that say, No new war on drugs. They talk about the harm caused by punitive drug sentencing laws from the 1980s and 1990s, which disproportionately locked up Black and brown Californians and caused generational trauma.

They say the state should fund education, community engagement and public health efforts to the same extent it funds prisons.

Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, on Thursday tried to consider the concerns of both sides after agreeing to hear fentanyl bills in a special meeting, reversing his previous decision to block them from moving forward.

Its really time to unite the fight against fentanyl and drug abuse, Jones-Sawyer said. Its time to unite our efforts and not divide our efforts. We can no longer be in partisan camps anymore. We can no longer sit with one side against the other. Weve got to have an honest dialogue with one another.

A bag of evidence containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl disguised as Oxycodone is shown during a press conference led by U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott at the Fresno County Sheriffs Office on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Fentanyl cut into or sold in place of other drugs can kill customers who think theyre consuming a different, less potent substance.

Debating fentanyl policies

Thousands of Californians fatally overdose on fentanyl every year. The drug is stronger than heroin and morphine, and sellers also cut it into other substances. This means some people intend to buy one drug, and unknowingly ingest fentanyl.

More than 6,800 Californians died from opioid overdoses in 2021, and nearly 84% of those deaths were fentanyl-related, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Story continues

While Democrats try to find a way to deal with the crisis, Republicans are using the moment to their advantage.

The Public Safety committee on Thursday advanced a handful of bills, but those aimed at enacting stiffer penalties for fentanyl dealers did not move forward.

This prompted Assembly Republicans to send out a news release claiming radical Democrats are (siding) with drug dealers.

This is not like all the other drug circumstances that weve faced in our society before, said Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, during the committee hearing. This is a poison, and most users have no idea what they are ingesting. Thats a completely different matter. And we need to focus on this behavior in a very serious way. And adding consequences is not too much to ask for.

To many Democrats, more punitive sentencing laws would represent a backslide. The state has spent the past decade-and-a-half working to reduce severe prison overcrowding and reform the harsh sentencing laws that led to mass incarceration.

I cant support any measures today that feel like aimless, patchwork solutions rooted in failed strategies of the past when people are calling for comprehensive and innovative solutions, said Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles.

Chris Didier speaks Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, to the media about his son Zachary Didier, who was 17 when he died of fentanyl poisoning, after Virgil Xavier Bordner was sentenced in Placer Superior Court to 17 years in prison for selling the fatal drug.

CA Democrats advance some bills, block others

To Californians such as Laura and Chris Didier  whose 17-year-old son, Zachary, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020  the drug is a new and unique enemy. The Rocklin teen, who the Didiers say didnt have a history of drug use, bought what he thought was a Percocet pill from a dealer on social media app Snapchat.

The pill turned out to contain fentanyl, which killed Zachary. The man who sold him the pill is serving a 17-year prison sentence.

The parents attended the Public Safety Committee hearing, where Chris testified in favor a bill.

Its not OK when so many people are dying, Laura Didier said after the hearing. This is a different crisis than weve had before. We didnt have teenagers dying in their bedrooms with deceptive practices and social media dealers in everybodys pocket.

Even so, Assembly members on Thursday did not advance three more bills to add crimes and increase penalties related to fentanyl dealing. Two of the bills came from Democrats, showing the party is not entirely in agreement when it comes to fentanyl.

One measure from Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego, would have added a three- to five-year prison enhancement for fentanyl dealers who cause great bodily injury to customers.

A bill from Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, would have increased penalties for those in possession of certain amounts of fentanyl.

The committee held for further study a bill from Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, that would have made selling fentanyl on a social media platform a crime.

Members did advance three bills from Democrats Jasmeet Bains of Delano, Freddie Rodriguez of Pomona and Carlos Villapudua of Stockton.

Bains bill creates a fentanyl task force, and Rodriguezs measure directs the State Threat Assessment Center and the California Office of Emergency Services to support local efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.

Villapuduas bill would apply sentencing enhancements that already exist for those convicted of other drug possession crimes to fentanyl.

Members conditionally advanced a bill from Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, that would prohibit fentanyl possession for a person armed with a gun. Jones-Sawyer told Soria she needs to continue working with committee members to iron out details before the bill continues through the legislative process.
A homicide investigation is underway after an inmate was found unresponsive in his state prison cell Monday. California corrections officials said another inmate is suspected in the death.

Both involved inmates were serving life sentences at California State Prison, Sacramento, for murder convictions.

Prison staff just before 11:40 p.m. Sunday found Edward C. Bergman, 53, unresponsive in his cell, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release. Staff transported Bergman to an on-site medical facility, where he was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m. Monday.

CDCR identified inmate Taylor Cervantes as the suspect in Bergmans death. Cervantes, 27, has been moved to a restricted housing unit at the prison while the death is investigated.

An inmate-manufactured weapon was recovered at the scene, authorities wrote in the news release.

The investigative services unit for California State Prison, Sacramento is investigating, and the Sacramento County Coroners Office will determine the official cause of death, corrections officials said. Family has been notified, as well as the Office of the Inspector General.

Bergman was sentenced in May 1997 out of San Diego County to life without the possibility of parole on a conviction of first-degree murder, according to CDCR. Cervantes was sentenced in October 2021 out of Los Angeles County, also to life without parole, for second-degree murder.

It is at least the second death this year at California State Prison, Sacramento. A fight between two inmates in January led to one of them, identified as 42-year-old Joseph D. Horne, being pronounced dead in the facilitys treatment and triage area.

The prison, also known as New Folsom to distinguish it from nearby Folsom State Prison, houses more than 1,900 inmates.
In the latest development in a legal battle that has gone on for over a decade, the California Supreme Court ruled that the controversial lease-leaseback contract between Fresno Unified School District and Harris Construction that built Gaston Middle School was illegal.

Now the question is whether the construction company, owned by prominent Fresno developer Richard Spencer, will have to pay back Fresno Unified the $36 million it received under the agreement, plus interest.

The saga began with a 2012 lawsuit from contractor Stephen K. Davis, who alleged Fresno Unified wrongfully used a lease-leaseback agreement with Harris Construction to build Gaston Middle School.

Unlike the traditional bidding process, which awards contracts to the lowest bidder, lease-leaseback agreements allow school districts to handpick developers who will front at least some of the construction costs and accept repayment from the district over time. Its intended to help cash-strapped districts finance construction projects.

But as the state Supreme Court opinion, authored last week by Justice Martin Jenkins last week notes, the district had the money from bond measures passed by voters in previous election cycles to pay for the construction project.

In the latest development in a legal battle that has gone on for over a decade, the California Supreme Court handed down an opinion in late April finding a lease-leaseback contract between Fresno Unified School District and Harris Construction was illegal. (Bee file photo)

In a news release, Kevin Carlin, an attorney for Davis, said the case will now return to Fresno County Superior Court in pursuit of a judgment requiring Harris Construction to pay Fresno Unified back the $36 million, plus an additional $3.6 million in interest.

Plaintiff Stephen Davis is not seeking payment of a single penny to himself, he said. Davis has continually asked FUSD throughout 11 years of litigation to stop paying their lawyers to oppose his efforts to recover FUSDs money from Harris. Now that there are two Court of Appeal decisions and one Supreme Court decision against Harris, Davis again asks FUSD to help him get their money back.

A Fresno Unified spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation.

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Myron Moskovitz, an attorney for Harris Construction, said in an interview with the Ed Lab that their team was disappointed with the ruling but said the legal battle isnt over.

Now it goes back to the trial court, and Davis might try to get a trial on this case, he said. We might try to get the case dismissed. Its not clear whats going to happen now.

He added that while the case has dragged on, the Harris construction completed its work on Gaston.

Harris was very surprised by all this. They did a good job. They came in under budget. They came in on time. Kids are delighted to be going to a new school, and along comes this guy, he said, alluding to Davis, that wants to undo everything. Its just very unfortunate.

In a news release, Harris Construction President Michael Spencer said the company would take the latest ruling into account when contracting with school districts in the future.

Essentially, the Court has provided more direction for public agencies on lease-leaseback financing, he said of the Supreme Court opinion. This was a very narrow legal issue before the court  and we look forward to our next lease-leaseback project with this additional clarity the California Supreme Court has provided.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bees Education Lab at its website.
The Central Bucks School District has been ordered to turn over the transcript of an interview its attorneys did with a middle school teacher as part of an estimated $1 million internal investigation into anti-LGBTQ student discrimination claims.

Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy Savage on Monday also encouraged attorneys on both sides to work out a de facto gag order allegedly preventing teacher Andrew Burgess from speaking out against allege "false accusations" made against him in an April 20 public presentation before the school board.

Savage scheduled a May 17 hearing on the matter if the parties do not reach an agreement, said ACLU of Pennsylvania Legal Director Witold Walczak, who represents Burgess.

On Monday the ACLU filed a petition in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania asking the court to intervene with an order preventing Burgess from discussing the investigation allegations that was part of a district letter he received follow an undisclosed April 21 change in his employment status.

Walczak has declined to say what action was taken against Burgess citing the letter which the ACLU also believes applies to his attorneys.

District spokeswoman Angela Linch did not responded to an email Monday morning seeking comment on the court filing. District solicitor Jeffrey Garton said he is not involved in the Burgess matter.

Burgess also sought a copy of the 204-page transcript of his Jan. 12 interview with Duane Morris attorneys as part of the internal investigation involving alleged anti-LGBTQ environment allegations against the district. The district posted roughly 84 pages of the Burgess interview on its website, and Walczak said the district had refused to provide his client the full transcript. .

Burgess, who is suing the district for retaliation, and his attorneys allege the district has warned it would take additional discipline including termination if he talks about the findings in its 151-page report which contends that Burgess manipulated LGBTQ+ students as part of an alleged campaign to force the school board to retract policies he disagreed with.

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Duane Morris attorney Michael Rinaldi gave a presentation on the $1 million ACLU complaint investigation

CBSD teacher says he can't give his side Central Bucks teacher, his lawyers ordered not to talk about $1M internal investigation

The ACLU contends the district publicly vilified their client, then threatened him, if he spoke out about issues that go to the heart of his lawsuit: The districts handling of LGBTQ+ related issues and its ongoing retaliation against Burgess for his advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ+ students.

The First Amendment does not tolerate such a prior restraint on Burgesss speech. He must be permitted immediately to address and respond to  both in and out of court  CBSDs retaliatory conduct and allegations against him to set the record straight and allow the public to accurately judge the actions of CBSD, the petition said.

In the filing, Burgess said he wants to respond to the allegations contained in the Duane Morris report, as well as the alleged retaliatory acts the district continues to take against him.

This will allow the public to accurately evaluate the actions of CBSD, and its handling of LGBTQ+ issues, the petition said.

The ACLU also alleges the gag order restrains its ability to advance their clients case because it prevents them from amending the retaliation lawsuit to include additional relevant information without risking Mr. Burgess employment.

More on the $1M CBSD internal probe Central Bucks investigation into alleged LGBTQ student discrimination is out. What it says

The district maintains that Burgess, a social studies teacher and teacher union vice president, was suspended with pay for three months last year for allegedly failing to report bullying allegations to administrators and interfering with district efforts to review the appropriateness of certain books in classroom libraries.

His suspension last May resulted in four days of student protests at Lenape Middle School where Burgess worked for 14 years. Burgess, a vocal LGBTQ+ student advocate, and his supporters believe the suspension was related to his filing a discrimination complaint with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights on behalf of a transgender student who alleged unaddressed bullying.

In his interview with Duane Morris, Burgess stated that he told a transgender student that he planned to file the bullying allegations as student behavior reports, but the student did not want them reported to administration because he feared retaliation.

The CBSD reporting system does not accept anonymous reports, but the Office of Civil Rights does, Burgess said. He claimed the student and his mother decided to file the federal complaint, which was closed without investigation.

In his lawsuit filed last month, Burgess alleges the district has retaliated against him including an involuntary transfer to Unami Middle School a week before the start of the school year where he was assigned a new grade and a larger class size than other teachers.

The Duane Morris report concluded that there is no evidence the district has created a "hostile environment" for LGBTQ+ students and that its administration has quickly and appropriately handled the "few" complaints involving student harassment and bullying.

Duane Morris alleged in its report that evidence showed Burgess manipulated LGTBQ students into not reporting bullying allegations to administration, as part of a conspiracy to derail efforts of a new Republican-majority school board that took office last year.

The district has been embroiled in controversy over the last 18 months over allegations it discriminates against the LGBTQ+ student community and other marginalized groups. Board majority members and their supporters have denied they are anti-LGBTQ and blamed the discord in the community on misinformation spread by community activists.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Central Bucks teacher wants 'gag order' lifted in LGBTQ investigation
A Fayette County judge has reduced a Lexington mans murder charge to manslaughter after a police detective testified in court Monday.

Corry Jackson, 37, is no longer charged with murder and his bond has been cut from $500,000 to $100,000 after Fayette District Judge Denotra Spruill Gunther ruled the evidence in the case was only strong enough to support a manslaughter charge. Gunther made the decision at the end of a preliminary hearing, which was the first time prosecutors and the defense had the opportunity to question an investigator on the stand.

Jacksons initial charges were murder, assault and possessing a gun as a felon. His assault charge was dismissed, court records show.

He was arrested after a shooting that killed two people at the 400 block of Chestnut Street on April 20. Lakeisha Hill, 32, and Timonte Harris, 43, both died as a result of the shooting. Jackson was arrested one block away from the scene of the shooting, and a witness later identified him as the shooter, according to court documents.

But Jacksons attorney, Daniel Whitley, suggested during Mondays hearing that his client may have been defending someone else.

Police: One victim shot another

Lexington police Detective Jeremy Adkins said investigators believe Harris shot and killed Hill before dying. Harris was found with a 9 mm gun at the scene, and Hill had wounds that matched a 9 mm gun, Adkins said.

Adkins said Hill also had one gunshot wound from what was referred to as a 300 blackout weapon. He said Harris was also shot with the 300 blackout.

(A blackout) is going to be an AR platform, but it is used as a pistol so it is going to be held with one hand, Adkins testified. He added the firearm is about 15 inches in length.

Whitley questioned why Jackson was charged with murder if he was defending someone else.

He just saw a shooting where a person murdered someone in the street  wouldnt that be defense of others? Whitley asked. But hes still being charged with murder?

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Adkins said Jackson never told police he was acting in defense and could not put words in his mouth. Whitley also questioned if the incident could be considered justifiable homicide.

Another person of interest is tied to the case

Whitleys questioning during Mondays hearing also suggested there was no evidence supporting Jacksons involvement in the shooting despite witness testimony. Adkins said police have another person of interest in the case.

Adkins said police didnt find Jackson with a weapon when they arrested him. There was only video surveillance from a corner store showing Jackson walking on a street nearby at the time of the shooting. Police tested Jackson for gunshot residue, but said the results from the Kentucky State Police lab were backlogged.

Whitley said the backlog can present flaws in the system and harm those who are innocent. Whitley and the family believe the result of the gunshot residue test will exonerate Jackson.

Now imagine being that person waiting in a jail cell, by yourself, its understaffed, you arent getting the proper treatment you need, Whitley told media after the hearing. No one cares about how this individual is treated, but when he comes out exonerated when theres no gunshot residue there, that is four months of your life is gone. How do you get that back?

That is the danger when these test results and laboratories are all backed up. These are human beings who are being treated less than for a system that cant put its money where its mouth is.

Members of Jacksons family  his mother, brother and cousin  told media members after the hearing they believe Jackson is innocent, and prosecutors dont have evidence against him.

Jacksons brother, Dwayne Jackson, said his brother should be released.

All we can do is keep doing what we are doing, and go through the justice system, Dwayne Jackson said. Yall know he is free, we know he is free.

While doubt was cast on Jacksons involvement, his case was still sent to a grand jury for manslaughter and handgun possession charges. A grand jury will determine if theres enough evidence to indict him, which would send his case to Fayette Circuit Court.
LANZHOU, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Muhammad Ali Raza, a Pakistani doctor, has recently been working on an experiment on the utilization of plastic mulch and drip irrigation in cereal-legume intercropping systems at a water-saving agricultural research station located in the city of Zhangye in northwest China's Gansu Province.

"The crop straws are processed into mulch and used in soybean-corn compound planting fields," Raza explained, adding that the technology can not only avoid resource waste and effectively save water but also improve soil fertility and reduce evaporation at the soil surface.

Raza, 33, came to the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) to pursue his postdoctoral studies after the GAAS signed a memorandum with a university in Pakistan in 2022 to carry out cooperation in modern agricultural technology transformation and personnel training projects.

In recent years, GAAS has signed cooperation agreements with institutions in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Malaysia and other countries participating the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to conduct extensive cooperation in agricultural science and technology.

Lettuce grown in water and chili on the substrate are thriving in an intelligent greenhouse at the GAAS, thanks to the efforts of Ma Zhongming, the head of the organization.

Ma has dedicated himself to the research and promotion of soilless cultivation technologies, resulting in these impressive outcomes.

"Soilless cultivation is suitable for arid regions and holds great potential for agricultural cooperation with some Belt and Road countries," said Ma, who is also Raza's professor.

"I'm excited about the research. My study area is related to dry farming and facility agriculture in China, and I am looking forward to introducing relevant technologies in Pakistan in the future," Raza said.

Xiong Youcai, a professor at Lanzhou University's College of Ecology, has led a team dedicated to dryland agriculture research and technology promotion since 2011 in East Africa.

The all-film double-furrow sowing, an agricultural technology originating from China's arid Loess Plateau, has now been applied to agricultural production in Kenya and other countries based on local conditions to help relieve the impact of severe drought on food production.

In 2022, Xiong's team, with the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, launched an international cooperation project involving the efficient utilization and adaptive management of rainwater resources in dryland agriculture in the East African Plateau.

The project was designed to further expand the adaptability and benefits of dryland agricultural technology.

"Take Kenya as an example. If the technology of all-film double-furrow sowing is effectively promoted in the country, one-third of Kenya's land can feed the whole population of Kenya," Xiong said.

"BRI agricultural cooperation has seen continuous progress, and it will be further advanced in the area of agricultural technology, personnel exchanges and agricultural policy," Ma said. 
Cheryl Roach says her debut solo exhibition will feature oil paintings she has compiled over several years

A model who nearly died when she suffered a brain aneurysm is staging her first solo art exhibition.

Cheryl Roach, 46, of Hopton, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said her love of art had helped her to "take charge of her life" after three brain operations.

The grandmother-of-one, who has spent years battling ill health, will host her show at Harrods of Hingham from 1 to 31 May.

"The key message from this exhibition is to live your life," she said.

The show will feature about 25 large oil canvases, with Ms Roach juggling preparations while struggling with severe side effects from treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Ms Roach's mother, also an artist, compiled a photo diary of her daughter's life-threatening illness as a way of explaining to her grandchildren what was happening

It is one of a string of health problems Ms Roach has suffered since collapsing the day before her 32nd birthday in 2009.

Doctors diagnosed a burst brain aneurysm and told her mother she might not survive.

The single parent spent five weeks in a coma, but on waking up said she was determined to live for her children, Ashleigh and Leo, now 26 and 19.

The close call also reignited her childhood passion for art.

"I was so worried about my daughter when I nearly died - her father had passed away due to mental health problems the year before," said Ms Roach.

"I thought - she's nearly lost two parents in two years.

"But it also fuelled this passion to achieve anything I wanted in this life that is so short."

Ms Roach pictured recently with her daughter Ashleigh and mother Sharon (left to right)

Following the life-threatening bleed, the photographer's model underwent two unsuccessful brain operations.

Then a year to the day after her aneurysm, Ms Roach had open brain surgery, with doctors telling her she had just a 30% chance of surviving.

She said she clung to the message her dying grandmother told her a few months earlier: "Live your life and be happy".

It is now a central theme of her art.

With art one of the only physical things she could do afterwards, she enrolled on a course, eventually ending up with two degrees.

She said her studies also led to her becoming a muse for Norfolk artist Bruer Tidman.

Story continues

While Ms Roach has posed countless times for photographers and artists, she said she had now come to embrace images of her body in her own art.

She said her newfound purpose had made her reset her life following several abusive relationships while younger.

Ms Roach, whose father is originally from Trinidad, said her illness had also made her reflect on growing up as mixed race in a predominately white town and never feeling "good enough".

Ms Roach, who is now writing a second book, said she felt it was an "opportunity and honour" to have her own art exhibition

She credits her partner of three years for being her "biggest strength" and giving her the confidence to secure her solo show.

"I can't put into words what it means for me to have this exhibition - it's such an opportunity and honour," she said.

"I'd feel lost without the painting: it's a release, it's therapeutic... it's helped me enormously."

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
As the newly elected mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson just inherited what is arguably the worst teacher retirement plan in the country.

Thats a big claim, so lets walk through some numbers.

First up is the cost side. Next year, Chicago will contribute more than $1 billion toward the citys teacher pension plan. A large portion of that money will come from the state, and another $550 million will come from a dedicated property tax levy the state authorized in 2018.

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And yet, all this money is not enough. The chart below comes from the Public Plans Database from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. As the chart shows, Chicagos pension contributions have risen substantially over time (the blue bars), but not once in the last 20 years has it contributed as much as what its actuaries recommended (the red bars). In 2021 alone, that gap amounted to about $350 million.

These gaps have added up over time. The result is that the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund is in worse financial health than it was a decade ago, despite the ramp-up in contributions and a very strong decade of investment returns.

A few statewide teacher pension plans  notably the rest of Illinois, Kentucky and Connecticut  are in similarly dire financial straits. But Chicago is different because its a city. Its dependent on city taxpayers to fill any budget gaps.

There are a few other cities that, like Chicago, offer their own teacher pension plans rather than participating in a statewide system. New York City, Kansas City and St. Louis are notable examples, with challenges similar to Chicagos. What brings Chicago to the bottom of the heap is on the benefits side.

Related: The Difficult Work Begins: New Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Faces Enrollment Crisis, Pension Debt

Facing their own state pension problems, in 2010, Illinois legislators created whats called Tier 2. Its new rules applied to Chicago as well as state employees. The state raised the age at which new employees could retire from 55 or 60 to 67, added a new cap on the maximum benefit an employee could earn and reduced cost-of-living adjustments for retirees.

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The new Tier 2 also imposed a longer vesting period for new workers: Employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2011 would need to serve for at least 10 years before qualifying for any retirement benefits at all.

How many Chicago Public School employees make it to 10 years of service with the district? Not many. The pension plan conducts regular experience studies based on its own data, and it estimates that 30% of new employees will leave the district in the first year and less than 1 in 3 will make it 10 years.

In other words, the majority of Chicago employees in Tier 2 wont qualify for any pension from the system.

Of course, some long-term employees will still qualify. But on average, the city estimates its not spending any money at all on Tier 2 member benefits.

This may sound incredible, given the cost figures cited above, but its all spelled out on page 23 of the pension funds latest actuarial report. For Tier 2 members, the total normal cost of benefits is 8.99% of salary. But each member contributes 9%. In other words, Tier 2 members are putting in more toward their benefits than theyll get back. Theyre getting negative 0.1% in retirement benefits.

Related: Teacher Pension Pac-Man: How Rising Costs Are Eating Away at Education Budgets

Oh, and Chicago teachers are part of the 40% of educators nationwide who also dont get Social Security. Someone could teach for nine years in Chicago and have no retirement benefit at all, outside of any personal savings.

This would be illegal in the private sector, where federal law requires that employees qualify for retirement benefits after no more than five years. Theres no such protection for public-sector workers. Similarly, Congress attempted to guarantee minimum benefits for public-sector employees without Social Security coverage, but a loophole allows Chicago to offer these meager benefits to workers without any consequences.

I dont envy Mayor-elect Johnson. The latest actuarial valuation report also notes that contributions would need to increase if the citys payroll declines as student enrollments continue to fall. These are not problems of Johnsons making, and they cant be easily solved from the mayors office. But they are now his problems to deal with.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop shipping busloads of migrants to Chicago, saying the city does not have the resources to absorb more.

Your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way," said Lightfoot, a Democrat who is set to leave office in May, in the letter to Abbott, a Republican.

Saying she had been informed that Texas meant to resume sending migrants on May 1, Lightfoot added: We simply have no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level, with little coordination or care, that does not pose a risk to them or others.

The transporting of migrants from the Southwest to cities led by Democrats  some have been dropped off at Vice President Kamala Harris residence in Washington  has become a hot button issue, particularly when migrants show up in communities that have not had prior warnings about when they would arrive. New York Mayor Eric Adams has been particularly outspoken about the hardships his city is facing, though he has also been sharply critical of President Joe Biden for not dealing with the situation at the border.



Officials in border states have blamed the Biden administration for the influx of migrants and said they are trying to distribute the burden of having to accommodate all these people. In discussing sending migrants to Washington in 2022, Abbott said: We are sending them to the United States capital, where the Biden administration will be able to more immediately address the needs of the people that they are allowing to come across our border.

Abbotts press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Lightfoots note.

In her letter, Lightfoot complained that some migrants have arrived in dire need of food, water, and clothing and echoed criticism that these migrants are being used as political pawns.

I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created, she wrote. But I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity that they deserve.

Lightfoot recently lost her bid for a second term, finishing third in the election Feb. 28 out of nine declared candidates. Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who subsequently defeated Paul Vallas in a runoff, is to be sworn in as mayor May 15.


Parents and students in some South Carolina counties could see a significant reduction in the number of public school districts if lawmakers agree to a proposal that aims to consolidate districts into one per county by 2025.

That would include Lexington and Richland counties, which have five and three districts, respectively.

Under a bill  H. 4100  filed this year by state Rep. Heather Crawford, R-Horry, each county in the state would have a single school district beginning in 2025. The proposal would shrink the number of districts from more than 70 to 46.

Counties having multiple school districts can create a top-heavy approach, and it can place a strain on budgets, Crawford told The State last week, referring to the amount of money thats spent on district-level administration. So, this is about making sure that we are able to educate children in the best way possible and that were able to put as much money into our classrooms as possible.

Crawford represents Horry County, which is the fourth-largest county in the state and has only one school district.

Horry has one school district, is a top-performing school district, and we have very different areas from the coast to rural Horry, and (one school district) works quite well here, Crawford said.

This is Crawfords second attempt at statewide consolidation, following a similar effort in 2021.

Currently, 11 counties in the state have two or more school districts, including in Anderson, Barnwell, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Greenwood, Laurens, Lexington, Richland, Spartanburg and York counties.

The push to consolidate South Carolina schools stretches back several years.

Gov. Henry McMaster centered his 2019 State of the State address around the issue, saying he was in favor of education reform by, in part, consolidating school districts.

In 2021, he signed off on a proposal to merge all three school districts in Clarendon County. And, in March of that year, the S.C. Department of Education announced plans to merge Florence 1 and Florence 4, effective July 1, 2022, following recent consolidation efforts in Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon and Hampton counties.

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Advocates of merging some of South Carolinas 79 school districts say it would improve the quality of student education by, chiefly, diverting money from administration into classrooms.

Its a rare issue that has attracted support from some South Carolina Republicans and Democrats, McMaster, conservative think-tank Palmetto Promise Institute and the S.C. School Boards Association. In previous years, teacher advocacy groups, such as grassroots group SC for ED, have endorsed the plan, arguing that 79 school districts are far too many for a state the size of South Carolina.

But Scott Price, executive director of the School Boards Association, said district consolidation is best decided at the local, not state level.

We would not be supportive of a bill that would force consolidation of all school districts in the countywide districts, Price said. If you look at some of the districts, particularly in the Upstate, you got some large and some growing districts up there, and it just would not be a good fit for them to try to consolidate into a countywide district.

State vs. local issue

Consolidating school districts is a good conversation to have, and its a good opportunity to take a look at our state, the diversity of our state and the sizes of our schools because our population is growing, said former state Rep. Rita Allison, who for years chaired the Houses Public Works and Education Committee.

Allison, a former school board member whose House seat included part of Spartanburg County, which has seven school districts, agrees with Price.

In considering the diversity of school districts around the state, Allison said while over the House education committee, policymakers found that district consolidation worked best when decided locally.

I know that across Spartanburg, where I come from, weve had a need for more and more schools as more people move into the area, Allison said. So, (district consolidation) is something that you have to do a lot of research on in looking at whats best for not only South Carolina, but those students were serving.

Other lawmakers, particularly those who represent counties with one school district, say the pros outweigh the cons.

State Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, said having a single school district in Charleston County has proved effective.

I would rather have too many problems under one umbrella than too many problems under many umbrellas, Gilliard said. Working under one umbrella (or school district) has made us more productive and more expedient in Charleston.

Crawford challenged concerns over school district diversity, arguing theres probably no other county that is more diverse than Horry, and said having one school district there works quite well.

In Richland County, where there are three school districts, lawmakers say consolidating those districts would be a logistical nightmare.

House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, said a statewide district consolidation approach is not a good idea.

There are certainly smaller counties with very small school districts where combining them would do a great deal of good, but I just simply believe Richland has gotten to the point where their school districts are way too big to try to combine them at this point, he said.

State Sen. John Scott, a Democrat who also represents Richland County, echoed Rutherford.

Consolidating school districts is a lot more work than you anticipate, Scott said. Im pretty conservative when it comes down to spending money, but it has got to make sense, and consolidating districts in Richland doesnt make sense.

Other critics of the measure say reducing the number of districts may result in layoffs.

But Crawford said she isnt advocating for mass firings or layoffs.

Counties with multiple school districts require multiple district offices stacked with high-salaried superintendents.

Crawford said fostering high-paying administrative salaries could severely restrict the amount of money going directly to the classroom and, in return, to the student.

South Carolina superintendents on average earn $161,686, according to the latest data from the S.C. Department of Education.

Were not closing schools, Crawford said. Were simply realigning the top, realigning the administration. What you do is you phase people out over time, if they retire, and you dont need them in the new combined district office, then you dont rehire for that position.

State lawmakers have been trying to encourage school district consolidation by offering financial incentives to pay for consolidation costs, such as technology, salaries, transportation and more.

Others have been forced into consolidation under a measure that allows the state superintendent of education to merge school districts if one has fewer than 1,500 students, is in financial disarray or faces threats to accreditation.

For example, Florence 4 in Timmonsville had come under increasing scrutiny from state officials over education, staff and financial issues. In 2016, the S.C. Department of Education began providing intensive support for the district. And, two years later, the department declared a state of emergency because of district financial issues, low student performance, high staff turnover and more. As a result, Florence 4 was consolidated into Florence 1.

One characteristic common among recently merged school districts is theyre in rural areas and are losing residents to cities such as Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and Charlotte.

A 2017 study commissioned by the S.C. Department of Education found that small districts, especially in poor, rural areas, tend to be worse off than urban districts in staffing, training, funding, equipment and efficiency.

Thats because a more limited staff and a smaller tax base prevents schools from competing with larger districts teacher pay; a smaller staff means administrators are less specialized and must do several jobs; smaller districts are less likely to afford software that can increase efficiency in transportation or finance; and small districts often have less cash on hand, according to the study by the consulting group Alvarez & Marsal on behalf of the education department.

But Price, who advocates for local control over consolidation, said the issue isnt so black and white.

Sometimes youll hear legislators, in particular, that will say, Well, you can get rid of five superintendents and have only one superintendent and well just save billions of dollars, but thats not always the case, Price said. You have to look at what the debt service differences are between the districts because somebody is going to have to make that up,  and you also have to look at teacher salaries, theyre going to have to be equalized, and thats going to cost money.
A Columbus police cruiser

A man was killed and a woman was severely injured when both were reportedly shot in front of some of their children during an apparent home invasion late Sunday on Columbus' Northeast Side, according to police.

Officers were dispatched at 11:53 p.m. Sunday after a shooting was reported at a home on the 6100 block of Laurelwood Court in a residential area west of Cleveland Avenue, according to a media release from the Columbus Division of Police.

Gun violence in Columbus: Northeast Side continues to be deadliest area in city, despite 2022 decline in total homicides

Brandon Gilliam, 28, was pronounced dead at 12:04 a.m. at the scene. A 28-year-old woman, who police did not identify in the media release, was taken by medics to a nearby hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Police determined during an initial investigation that Gilliam and the woman were at their home with their five young children when an unidentified suspect forced entry into the home. Some of the children witnessed the shooting, and helped their mother call 911 to summon help after she was shot, police said.

Police have not identified a suspect in the fatal home invasion.

Read the series: Under Fire: A look at how gun violence has taken a toll across Columbus

All five children were placed in the custody of Franklin County Children Services following the shooting, said Terry Kelley, a detective with the Columbus Division of Police Homicide Unit.

Anyone with information can call the Columbus Division of Police's homicide bureau at 614-774-7810 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

Eric Lagatta is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, with a focus on in-depth coverage of social justice issues and crime trends.

elagatta@dispatch.com

@EricLagatta

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus parents shot in front of children during home invasion
The flag of China

Read also: China and Putin working together on Moscow-favorable peace plan, says political scientist

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe with 122 votes, including China. Several other Russia-friendly countries, such as Kazakhstan, Armenia, India, and Brazil, also voted in favor.

In particular, the document refers to the unprecedented challenges facing Europe after Russian aggression against Ukraine, and before that against Georgia, and calls for compensation of the damage sustained by the victims of Moscows aggression.

Five well-known human rights activists, including Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, Syria, and North Korea, voted against the resolution, said Kyslytsya.

Read also: Brazils Lula declines invitation to visit Ukraine, sends aide instead

At the same time, according to Radio Libertys Russian service, Russias war against Ukraine is not the main subject of the resolution, so it remains unclear whether Chinas vote singlas a shift in Beijings stance regarding Russias war against Ukraine.

Read also: Zelenskyy speaks with Chinas Xi, Russia blocking grain corridor, whats up with agro ban?

On April 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since the start of Russias full-scale invasion.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying, Ukraine requested the conversation. China plans to send a government envoy to deepen communication around the political settlement of the Russian war, which Beijing refers to as the Ukrainian crisis.

On the same day, Zelenskyy appointed former Minister for Strategic Industry, Pavlo Ryabikin, as Ukraines new Ambassador to China.

Read also: China using Russia to technologically rearm the Chinese military  ex-Ukrainian FM

On Feb. 24, China published a document outlining its position on the settlement of Russias war against Ukraine, including a call for a ceasefire and negotiations, but not a withdrawal of Russian troops.

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
Military drills and saber-rattling between the U.S. and China may give the image that conflict is just around the corner, but military experts argue that the important role played in deterrent shows of force should not be overlooked.

"I favor robust exercises with all U.S. bilateral treaty partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and we do that," James Anderson told Fox News Digital. "That is a good and positive thing, and to the extent that we can combine exercise with other partners, that's also beneficial."

"In other words, the more clearly that the PRC (People's Republic of China) is able to see the U.S. resolve and capabilities with our allies in the region the better because that will make them think twice before doing anything reckless and rash," he added.

Beijing's threats have increased since former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., visited the island nation last year.

Philippine and U.S. soldiers fire artillery during a joint military exercise at Zambales in the Philippines on April 26, 2023.

BING CENSORED MORE SEARCH RESULTS IN CHINA THAN DID DOMESTIC RIVAL PLATFORMS, NEW STUDY FINDS

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China earlier this month executed military drills around Taiwan in what appeared to be a dry run of its plan to take the island, with dozens of aircraft and ships gathering near Taiwan and seeming to surround it.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Taiwan reported as many as 70 fighter aircraft near the island, with half of the fighters detected as having crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entering Taiwans self-declared air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Destroyer Jinan from the Chinese navy, front, and cruiser Varyag from the Russian navy sail in formation after a joint naval exercise in the East China Sea on Dec. 27, 2022.

The exercise, which Beijing claimed was part of general "combat readiness patrols," occurred following a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles around the same time a U.S. delegation visited Taiwan.

Anderson described Chinas "large-scale provocative military exercises" carried out following Pelosis visit as "problematic and inherently risky" as they carry "the risk of miscalculation" tantamount to "dress rehearsals" for a blockade or attack on the island.

Story continues

CHINA BLOCKS YELLEN'S SPEECH ON US NATIONAL SECURITY, BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP

The U.S. then executed its largest-ever joint military drills with the Philippines, which had been planned for months ahead of time, but military officials said the timing only helped reaffirm that the U.S. views Chinas threat to Taiwan as "a big deal."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center left, poses for photos after receiving the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, Taiwans highest civilian honor, from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, center right, at the president's office.

Anderson said he views such drills as "positive" as long as they remain "clearly a defensive exercise." The drills take months to organize with "extensive coordination" of "quite complicated" maneuvers.

"Theres also a messaging component that goes with these exercises to convey to allies and partners," Anderson said. "A message of assurance that were doing this to be able to better protect our interests in the region  and a messaging component to the PRC that we are doing these exercises to protect our allies."

The drills, then, can play a positive role in deterring Chinese ambition, even if it appears that each country is inching closer to all-out conflict.

HOUSE PASSES BIPARTISAN BILL STRIKING DOWN BIDEN'S CHINESE SOLAR HANDOUT

"I think it's important for us to demonstrate military capability and will to potentially use force to defend our interests and our interests with our allies, so the military tool has to be fundamental to our efforts," Matt McInnis, a senior fellow for the Institute for the Study of War's China Program, told Fox News Digital.

But McInnis said military might is not the only tool in play, nor should it be: Shows of force occur in tandem with economic and political components, all of which the U.S. has utilized as it seeks to maintain Taiwans independence.

U.S. and Philippine troops fire rocket artillery during joint drills on March 31, 2023, in Laur, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

"I think that the more the U.S. can do to help investment in our partners in the region, especially in the South Pacific, in Southeast Asia and even into the Indian Ocean basin, to be competitive with China's investments because we know China develops economic ties in part to create those political relationships that can then translate into support in potential military or crisis scenarios," McInnis said.

Anderson again noted the importance of not only displaying military might but also helping arm and train Taiwanese military personnel so they can mount their own defense.

"That's what deterrence is all about. It's making sure your would-be aggressor has a clear picture of what they would face in the event they decide to attack. So, helping Taiwan arm itself and exercising robustly in the Indo-Pacific region are things that we need to continue to do," Anderson said.

Fox News Digitals Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
[Source]

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has accepted an invititation to become a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new research institute run by the University of Tokyo in Japan.

On Monday, the university announced that Ma will share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation with students and faculty from May until the end of October.

The 58-year-old Alibaba Group founder is expected to conduct research on sustainable agriculture and food production and hold lectures on management and business start-ups.

Founded in 2019, Tokyo College connects the University of Tokyo with overseas researchers and institutions.

More from NextShark: Asian American-founded circus troupe says Silicon Valley exec left his $50,000 bill unpaid

Mas visiting professorship at the college is not his first experience as a teacher.

He was reportedly an English teacher for several years before he co-founded Alibaba, a multinational technology company. In May 2019, Ma said he wanted to return to teaching after retiring from Alibaba in September of the same year.

Since 2021, the billionaire has visited research institutes to learn about food production and food-related technology.

More from NextShark: Ann Coulter to GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley: Go back to your own country

In Japan, where he lived for several months, he studied tuna farming due to his interest in the food industry and sustainable agriculture. In Thailand, he studied farming and fishery technologies.

In January, Ma relinquished control of Ant Group, the financial tech company he founded in 2014. His teaching position is the first public role he has assumed since maintaining a low profile after angering the Chinese government for criticizing the nations financial-regulation system in 2019.

More from NextShark: Japanese Princess Mako's fiance racks up millions of views on TikTok for all the wrong reasons

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

K-pop video addiction and poor school performance led to teenager's suicide, Indian police say
Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord and Chris Evans as Captain America. (Photos: Marvel Studios)

As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3  the last leg in a series that has already grossed more than a billion dollars, teamed up with Marvels Avengers and Thor and launched a holiday special on Disney+  nears theaters, franchise lead Chris Pratt is opening up about his tough road to superhero stardom before nabbing the role of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

Last week, Pratt revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that after bombing auditions for early MCU entries Captain America and Thor, he was ready to swear off Marvel movies for good.

Sure, many actors might have been excited simply being on Marvels radar. But Pratt tells Yahoo in an unfiltered new interview that he wasn't there for moral victories.

No, Pratt says emphatically. Back when I used to audition for The WB [network], I remember my manager at the time, Bonnie Owens, may she rest in peace, she said, Hey, you're getting so close on these. It's just a matter of time, kid. I know they love you over there. (Pratt was eventually cast on WBs Everwood, and appeared on 89 episodes between 2002 and 2006.)

And with Marvel, it was like, Did you get any feedback? No.

Pratt then asked Owens if they said anything at all. They said you were kind of sweaty, she told him. Im like, Son of a bitch! I wasn't getting any closer. I was getting further away. I was like, I'm done. I'm done auditioning for these people.

Pratt says he scored an audition for the title role of Captain America (which ultimately went to Chris Evans), but he says he never a shot for the lead of Thor (which went to another Hollywood Chris, Hemsworth).

I didn't even audition for Thor. I auditioned to be like one of his sidekicks or something like that. And I still didn't even get a callback.

Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy. (Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

And it wasnt just Marvel turning down Pratt, whose biggest fame at that point had come playing Andy Dwyer on NBCs Parks and Recreation from 2009 to 2015.

I auditioned for everything. And not just Marvel, every movie, everything where they needed some guy that looked like me who had the it factor. Theyre just like, Eh. Id just see their eyes glaze over the minute I walked in the room.

Story continues

He was frustrated. But he decided to keep plugging away when he met Guardians writer-director James Gunn in 2013.

I just wasn't ready then like I was when I met James. But hey, consider it all a blessing when you go through hardships, cause it builds up your perseverance.

Pratt hasnt had to face much rejection since, with franchise-fronting roles in The Lego Movie, Jurassic World and the reigning box-office blockbuster, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Asked how playing Peter Quill over the past decade has changed his life, Pratt comes back to his early-career challenges.

It was the last thing I auditioned for, he says. So for 10-plus years I've been able to just get roles based on the fact that I had done that role. I didn't have to audition for anything. That's pretty cool.

Guardians of the Galaxy  Vol. 3 opens Friday, May 5 in theaters.

Watch the trailer:
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed back on House Republicans' debt ceiling legislation.

He said the Senate will hold hearings on the narrowly-passed package, and it has no hope of becoming law.

That means that both parties will likely have to go back to the drawing board to avert a crisis.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is ready to put House Republicans' debt ceiling legislation on blast.

In a dear colleague letter, Schumer said that Senate committees will start holding hearings this week "to expose the true impact of this reckless legislation on everyday Americans." That includes a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Thursday.

Schumer also made explicit that the bill is essentially dead on arrival. Schumer, like House Democrats, is referring to the legislation as the "Default on America Act."

"The Republican Default on America Act does nothing to actually resolve the looming debt crisis, and it has no hope of ever becoming law," Schumer wrote. "If anything, the MAGA House Republicans actions have increased the likelihood of default."

Senate Democrats are showcasing that the the debt ceiling fight is far from over, a precarious situation as the country is mere months away from a potentially catastrophic default. Last week, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy just barely passed his Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 after making last-minute concessions to some members of his party. Even so, that package  which, among other cost reduction measures, would ban student-loan forgiveness and increase work requirements for access to welfare programs  didn't have every GOP member on board. No Democrats voted for the bill.

Democrats have pointed to the potential economic negative impact that the GOP's plan could have, even if it prevents a technical debt default. Schumer called it "hastily drafted," and said that the package would "gut" Medicaid for over 20 million Americans and leave over a million Americans without SNAP benefits, which have already been reduced in the wake of the pandemic.

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And Moody's Analytics finds that the country could shed 780,000 jobs by the end of 2024 under the GOP bill, and that the bill's one year expiration provision could only exacerbate economic uncertainty by setting up another round of debt ceiling fighting just months before the 2024 elections. President Joe Biden has said he'll veto the bill if it ends up on his desk.

But more back and forth over how to raise the debt ceiling means the country is steadily creeping towards an unprecedented economic catastrophe. Even a short default could mean that nearly a million Americans lose their jobs and the country plunges into a mild recession by the end of the year, according to Moody's. A longer breach could cost 2.6 million jobs.

"As Democrats have been saying for months, the real solution is bipartisan support for a clean bill to increase the debt limit and avoid default," Schumer wrote. "Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA House Republicans have moved the process backwards through their far-right ransom note. We cannot move forward as long as Republicans threaten our country with default."

Read the original article on Business Insider
AMMAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad on Monday underlined the Arab world's leading role in finding a political solution to Syria's crisis.

Safadi met Mekdad in the Jordanian capital of Amman before attending a consultative meeting on Syria that brings together the foreign ministers of member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and those of Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed issues that include border security, water, refugees and the fight against the smuggling of narcotics, it added.

The larger meeting, which was attended Arab foreign ministers and their Syrian counterpart, focused on ways to find a political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict. It follows up a consultative meeting of the Arab ministers hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on April 14. 
A Mexican national  reported to be an illegal immigrant  wanted for the Texas shooting of five neighbors including a young boy, remained at large Monday morning.

More than 48 hours after the massacre in Cleveland, Texas, outside Houston, authorities are offering an $80,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of Francisco Oropesa.

Neighbors had allegedly asked Oropesa to stop firing his rifle in his yard late Friday so that a baby could sleep. The 38-year-old suspect, who authorities identified from video at the scene and by a Mexican consulate card, then entered the neighboring home and opened fire on five of the 10 people inside, allegedly killing the victims execution-style.

FBI Houston, which has taken over updates from the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, said Sunday evening that more than 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen agencies were actively searching for Oropesa.

TEXAS FUGITIVE ACCUSED OF KILLING 5 WAS ILLEGALLY IN US; DEPORTED 5 TIMES

"FBI Houston and other local, state, & federal agencies will not stop assisting SJSO until he is captured and justice is brought on behalf of the five victims," they said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

FBI Special Agent in Charge James Smith announced Sunday an additional $25,000 FBI reward in connection with the investigation.

That increased the total reward amount to $80,000, up from the combined $55,000 being offered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office and multi-county crime stoppers.

"My heart is with this 8-year-old little boy. I don't care if he was here legally. I don't care if he was here illegally. He was in my county. Five people died in my county. And that is where my heart is. In my county, protecting my people to the best of our ability," San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters in an update Sunday afternoon.

Capers said that he was supposed to escort the widow of a constable who died about a year ago to a Texas police officers' memorial Sunday night but explained to her why he could not.

Story continues

"My main intent and focus is 100% on capturing this suspect," Capers said. The sheriff also said he would not be at the vigil for the slain boy held at Northside Elementary in Cleveland. "Once again, I would love to be there, but I'm going to be here looking, searching for the suspect," Capers added.

Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of Oropesa is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips.

MEXICAN NATIONAL WANTED IN DEADLY TEXAS SHOOTING OF 5 NEIGHBORS COULD BE ANYWHERE, SHERIFF SAYS

"We're asking everyone for your help so we can bring this suspect  or this monster, I will call him  to justice," Smith said at the same press conference Sunday. "Right now we just don't know because if we did we would have him in custody. We do not know where he is. We do not have any tips right now where he may be."

"I can pretty much guarantee you, he's contacted some of his friends. We just don't know which friends they are," Smith added. "That's what we need from the public, any type of information, because right now we're just  we're running into dead ends."

Capers told reporters that two women were found lying on top of and trying to protect three surviving children inside the home Friday night. The three children were loaded into an ambulance and brought to a hospital, where it was discovered they had not been physically injured. Four adults were found deceased at the scene: Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18. Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, age 8 or 9, was airlifted to a hospital, where he was declared deceased.

Another survivor, Wilson Garcia, whose wife Sonia and third-grade son were murdered, spoke to reporters at a vigil hosted Sunday afternoon at the school the boy had attended.

"My wife died, and my 9-year-old son died," Garcia said in Spanish. "What can I say, I am trying to stay strong for my children. My daughter kind of gets, understands things. It's hard when she comes to me and starts asking for her mom and her brother."

Garcia said another woman in the house told him to save himself.

"She told me to throw myself out of a window because my children were already without a mother," he said.

The deceased victims are said to have been from Honduras, according to local reports.

A source with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News that Oropesa has been previously deported, has "multiple" illegal re-entries on his record, and was last encountered by ICE in 2016. A second source, within the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News that Oropesa had been deported five times between 2009-2016.

Oropesa was previously ordered removed by an immigration judge on March 16, 2009, and subsequently removed by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston to Mexico on March 17, 2009, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News. At an unknown time and location, Oropesa unlawfully reentered the United States, and was apprehended and removed several more times by ICE ERO in September 2009, January 2012, and July 2016.

Oropesa, who sometimes uses the additional hyphenated surname Perez-Torres, has also been previously convicted in Montgomery County, Texas, of driving while intoxicated in January 2012, and sentenced to serve time in jail, the spokesperson said. As a result of the April 29 incident, the Cold Spring Texas Sheriffs Office issued an arrest warrant for Oropesa for homicide. He is wanted by the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office in connection to the suspected shooter incident in Cleveland, Texas.

Fox News's Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
BRANCH COUNTY  Jacob Ward was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison Monday on a charge of operating while intoxicated causing death.

Bicyclist Era Denna Hall, 25, died on April 12, 2021, on South Angola Road near Nye Road just north of Kinderhook.

Jacob Ward apologized to the family of Denna Hall before he was sentenced to prison for her death.

Circuit Judge Bill OGrady sentenced the 30-year-old Coldwater man after he entered a no-contest plea on March 20 in an agreement to set the minimum prison term to two years.

Blood tests confirmed admissions by Ward to Michigan State Police troopers that there was marijuana and methamphetamine in his blood when he was southbound on Angola Road at the time of the crash.

The mother of Era Denna Hall with victim's advocate Denise Mack addressed Judge Bill O'Grady before he sentenced Jacob Ward in the traffic death.

Halls mother, Annie Hall, told OGrady the death impacted the entire family.

It is hard for me to lose my baby. And it is every day. I am a widow twice. Ive lost everything," she said.

Ward apologized during the court hearing.

This is a very tragic accident. It wasnt like I went out intentionally did it. Im just very, very, very sorry, from the bottom of my heart," he said.

Prosecutor Zack Stempien pointed out Ward did intentionally use drugs and drive.

Investigators suggested Ward was also distracted. Cellphone data confirmed Ward viewed information about radio-controlled toy cars shortly before the crash.

The accident reconstruction by MSP specialist Sgt. Brandon Davis verified Hall was nearer the middle of the southbound lane when the front of the truck hit the back of her bike squarely.

MSP matched the impact point of the bike and Jacob Ward's vehicle at the scene of the fatal crash in April 2021.

Prior story Coldwater man pleads no contest in crash that killed bicyclist in April 2021

Subscribe Follow local court news. Subscribe to the Daily Reporter.

Stempien said he offered the plea because of a court of appeals case that prevented him from using police officers as expert witnesses to show intoxication from drugs from officers observations.

---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater man sentenced to prison in fatal 2021 bicycle crash
Hagan Everett Fredette was 14 years old when he repeatedly shot and stabbed his fathers girlfriend, leaving the 37-year-old mother of two sitting dead in a lawn chair in her carport.

Now 17, Fredette was set to be tried for murder when he accepted a plea deal Friday.

He pleaded guilty but mentally ill as Judge Arthur Smith III sentenced him to life in prison with possible parole, meaning hell serve at least 30 years before he eligible for release.

Before the sentencing, Emily McDaniels family tried to explain how her murder on Sept. 19, 2020, had affected them, and what they thought of her killer.

Superior Court Judge Arthur Smith III presides over a plea hearing for Hagan Everett Fredette in Columbus, Georgia.

He is evil and soulless and does not care about anything he did to anyone, said Suzie Talley, McDaniels mother. He has no remorse or feelings.

I believe if he ever gets out, hell kill again, Talley said.

Said Skipper McDaniel, the victims ex-husband and father of her two boys: I hope when he gets where hes going, hes haunted for the rest of his life.

In the deal negotiated by prosecutor Victoria Novak and defense attorney Anthony Johnson, Fredette pleaded guilty to malice or intentional murder. Other charges he faced were dropped.

Johnson told Smith that Fredette has five mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder. His mother died from an overdose when he was five or six years old, and he and his father both have had substance abuse issues since, Johnson said.

Noting his client was 14 at the time of the crime, Johnson said Fredette lacked the maturity to deal with his mental illness.

I struggle to call him Mr. Fredette, the attorney said. His actions are what made him in the eyes of the law an adult.

Defense attorney Anthony Johnson answers questions after his client Hagan Everett Fredette pleaded guilty Friday morning. 04/28/2023

Judge Smith noted that an evaluation showed Fredette had serious psychological issues, but it also concluded that he knew right from wrong at the time of the crime.

I cannot imagine what was going through your head as you committed this evil act, Smith told him.

The son is the second Fredette headed to prison in McDaniels murder.

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His father, Joshuah Larry Fredette, also pleaded guilty for his role in the slaying. His murder charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter in a plea deal on Jan. 23, when he was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 15 to serve and the rest on probation.

The father pleaded guilty also to evidence tampering, for collecting the bullet casings at the crime scene and hiding them.

What happened?

When McDaniel was found dead about 10 p.m. in the carport of her Rosewood Drive home, off Buena Vista Road east of I-185, she had been stabbed 23 times with a kitchen knife and shot six times with a .25-caliber pistol.

He wanted her gone, Novak said, when asked what incited such violence.

Victoria Novak, prosecutor in the Hagan Everett Fredette case, answers questions Friday morning.

Johnson said Hagan Fredette wanted McDaniel out of his fathers life, fearing he would lose his fathers affection after growing up without his mother.

Novak said that on the day of the murder, Hagan Fredette was carrying a pistol he stole from his employer. He searched online for information on how many shots it would take to kill someone with a .25-caliber.

That evening, when his father took McDaniels two sons ages 8 and 11 around the corner to a Burger King on Buena Vista Road, the son joined them, but jumped out of of the truck at a stop sign and cut through a neighbors yard back to McDaniels house.

The neighbors security cameras recorded him passing through, Novak said. When he got back, neither he nor McDaniel spoke as he shot her, he told police, but she apparently did not die from those wounds.

Hagan Fredette briefly left the scene then, walking out into the street.

The father later told investigators that his son called his cell phone to say McDaniel still was breathing, a detective testified at the suspects 2020 Recorders Court hearing.

At that point, Fredette said he said something to his son to the effect of, Well, if youre going to kill her, you need to kill her because otherwise youre leaving a witness, the officer said.

Joshuah Fredette, right, appeared in Columbus Recorders Court Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing. Fredette and a 14-year-old male juvenile have both been charged with murder in the death of Emily McDaniel. The juvenile also appeared at the hearing.

Novak said police found a record of calls from that time span on the Fredettes phones.

The son then went back and used a butcher knife he found on the ground to stab McDaniel repeatedly, before washing the blade and putting it in a cabinet, authorities said.

Novak said the knife still was wet when police confiscated it, and tests showed it had McDaniels DNA on the blade.

Hagan Fredette afterward took the keys to McDaniels Chevrolet Suburban and drove it to a nearby house being renovated, and parked there.

McDaniel was dead in the lawn chair when Joshuah Fredette came back from Burger King.

The aftermath

During Fridays sentencing, a victims advocate read a statement on behalf of the boys father, who said both sons were traumatized by what they experienced.

One has nightmares from which he wakes up screaming hysterically, crying that zombies are under his bed trying to get him, the dad wrote.

The other child has anger issues, and falls into his fathers arms crying, because he misses the best part of his life, his mother, Skipper McDaniel wrote. He needs intensive therapy just to stay normal.

A cousin also sent a statement, writing of Hagan Fredette, I know he never liked Emily, but he has taken a mother away from her children.... She loved her boys, and always put them first.

Superior Court Judge Arthur Smith III listens to a victim impact statement Friday morning before sentencing Hagan Everett Fredette. 04/28/2023

McDaniel had a special love and bond with her boys, said McDaniels mother, who lost her only child: I have pictures of her in my house, and it only takes a look at them, and I just fall apart.... Its just too much to take in.

A flawed indictment

Novak dropped Hagan Fredettes other charges because of flaws in his indictment, which a grand jury delivered under a previous district attorneys administration.

Besides murder, he was indicted April 21, 2021, on charges of aggravated assault, using a firearm to commit a felony, and theft by taking for stealing the pistol.

But on the counts other than murder, the indictment had the wrong date, stating the offenses occurred on or about the 19th day of September, 1920.

Because Hagan Fredette at the time was a juvenile charged as an adult, he had to be indicted within 180 days, under Georgia law. Novak feared that were he re-indicted to correct the errors, after the 180 days had passed, the case would have been kicked back to juvenile court.

Had that happened, the maximum sentence he would have faced was five years in confinement, and that would have been unacceptable, she said.

McDaniels mother told Judge Smith the family needed some resolution.

We just need to get some closure, she said. There is no way we will ever get justice.
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo finally got a chance to defend himself against allegations that he mounted a political retaliation campaign to punish two Little Havana business partners  and it didnt take long for him to live up to his famously combative reputation.

U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith cut off Carollo more than a half dozen times as the commissioner went on tangents while being grilled by Jeff Gutchess, an attorney representing William Fuller and Martin Pinilla. Their civil lawsuit claims Carollo weaponized code enforcement and police against their establishments after they backed another candidate.

In one particularly fiery exchange before the lunch break on Monday, Carollo bristled at a question that injected the issue of racism into already tense proceedings. It was about a mural in Little Havana showing a group of Afro-Cubans, which three members of his staff had testified earlier in the trial that the commissioner thought was scary.

For you guys to try and accuse me of something like that, shame on you, Carollo told Gutchess, who then asked him why three former staffers would lie about the commissioners words.

Because they all have gripes, replied Carollo.

Monday marked the start of the fourth week of Carollos federal trial at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Federal Courthouse in Miami. The trial has high stakes, both political and financial, for the long-time commissioner. The business partners are seeking $2.5 million as well as potential punitive damages for what their lawsuit argues are violations of their First Amendment Rights.

The men claim Carollo pressured code enforcement and police to try and harm their businesses, including the iconic nightclub Ball & Chain, in the Calle Ocho business corridor. A string of witnesses  including three former police chiefs, several aides and a former city manager  have all testified about Carollo pressing for action, from late-night stakeouts to attempts to pull liquor licenses. The lawsuit says the harassment campaign began shortly after they announced support for Carollos political opponent, Alfonso Alfie Leon, in a runoff election he lost to the commissioner in 2017.

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Carollos defense team has previously argued that the businesses had not done enough to correct code problems at aging buildings and that the commissioner was acting properly to protect residents.

The trial has had a number of unusual twists. It began April 10 in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, then was quickly moved to Miami after historic rains caused flood damage. That seemed to be a harbinger of things to come. The next week, one former police chief reported being tailed by private detectives from court to a Coral Gables restaurant and a former Carollo secretary claimed the commissioner forced her to lied about sexual harassment from two of his former aides.

Read More: Carollo relentless in campaign to shut down Calle Ocho business, attorney tells jurors

Carollos attorney also have request mistrials, one based on allegations that a business partner of the plaintiff had spoken to a juror in a parking garage. They were also admonished by last week when the commissioner was a no-show in court for the first time  on a day he was expected to testify. He said he fell ill with asthma.

On Monday, as Carollo took the stand for the first time, the questioning was tension-filled from the start. When Gutchess opined that Carollo had a hard time telling the truth, despite being obligated to do so under the penalty of perjury, the commissioner replied quickly.

Im here to say the truth, the whole truth, Carollo told jurors.

Gutchess asked Carollo about previous testimony that he had he instructed former office liaison Steve Miro and office administrator Tanjha Quintana to lie on depositions.

Thats absolutely not true. Thats ridiculous, Carollo told jurors.

Next, Gutchess insinuated Carollo was being hypocritical claiming the city doesnt target businesses with code enforcement, because he had earlier said that former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez had used code enforcement to target Carollos private residence in Coconut Grove for not having proper permits for construction and carports.

Mr Gutchess, I know its a trick question. The city does not target. This is Emilio Gonzalez having a personal vendetta against me, Carollo said.

Carollo was expected to continue his testimony after lunch Monday. The plaintiffs are expected to rest their case early this week.
Abortion rights supporters march outside the U.S. courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, in February over lawsuit that would lead a judge there to try to pull mifepristone off the market. (Justin Rex / Associated Press)

Among the dubious points that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk makes in his recent ruling suspending the Food and Drug Administrations authorization of mifepristone is that abortion is part of the now-reviled practice of eugenics.

That clinical-sounding word refers to the appalling and scientifically incorrect theory that was promoted in the past by government and prominent civic leaders  and even the U.S. Supreme Court  to justify the forced sterilization of women and men deemed feeble-minded, mentally ill, criminal or poor to prevent them from bearing offspring who might sully the gene pool.

In his decision, now blocked by the Supreme Court, Kacsmaryk quoted a 2019 opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas noting that abortion has proved to be a disturbingly effective tool for implementing the discriminatory preferences that undergird eugenics.

Kacsmaryks reference to eugenics came out of the blue near the end of his opinion, apparently in response to a declaration from economist Jason Lindo  submitted as part of the governments court filings  that taking easily accessed medication abortion pills off the market would make it more difficult for poor women to get an abortion, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.

As a result of the impacts on their parents, Lindo wrote, these children are expected to do worse in school and have an increased likelihood of criminal involvement.

Of course, no government lawyer stood up in court and suggested women wanted to abort their pregnancies because they feared they would otherwise give birth to future criminals. Nor did the abortion opponents mention eugenics.

Kacsmaryk "is bringing it up to delegitimize access to abortion for anyone, said UC Davis law professor Mary Ziegler, a historian of the U.S. abortion debate. Youll see more of that.

Linking such an evil philosophy with abortion distorts everything about the personal right to control your own body and decide whether to terminate a pregnancy.

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Kacsmaryk is obviously not the first judge or abortion opponent to raise the specter of eugenics as a reason to restrict or ban abortion. In addition to Thomas, conservative 7th U.S. Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook warned in 2018 that using abortion to promote eugenic goals is morally and prudentially debatable. Both Thomas and Easterbrook were responding to a case challenging an Indiana ban on abortions for reasons of sex, race or disability diagnosis, which has since been struck down.

Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last year, laws limiting abortion on the basis of sex, race or a diagnosis of a disability were one way lawmakers could chip away at access. Now they are moot, and states can just pass a total ban on abortion. But the idea that all abortions are a practice of eugenics will likely be embraced by abortion opponents pushing for national bans, Ziegler speculates.

There is a long, horrible history of eugenics policies in the United States. Here in California, laws in effect from 1909 to 1979 allowed the forced or coerced sterilization of women and men who were considered mentally defective or were thought to have criminal tendencies. (Some 30 states would eventually have similar laws.) Particularly targeted were people of color and those who were poor.

The Nazis embraced the eugenics movement and even looked to California for ideas on how to implement it. Harry Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times from 1917 to 1944, was a prominent supporter of the movement  something the paper has since acknowledged. And some supporters of reproductive rights in the first half of the 20th century, including Margaret Sanger, a pioneer of birth control, also believed in eugenics. The California Legislature in the last decade has approved reparations for survivors who were sterilized against their will.

But these are not the values of the reproductive rights movement of the 21st century, which has concentrated on empowering women to make their own choices. Contraception and abortion should be part of basic, undeniable healthcare. The fight for reproductive rights today is not about encouraging or forcing women to abort pregnancies as part of some governmental or societal effort to weed out possibly "defective" babies.

In fact, abortion bans are more akin to the old eugenics movement in that both rob women of their choice of whether to bear children, and fall disproportionately on poor women, particularly women of color, with the least resources to travel to get an abortion.

A woman should have the right to have  or not have  a baby for whatever reason she chooses. Any ban on abortion for a certain reason (aside from viability) is always someone else's reason  a states, an organizations, a nations. And that violates what should be a profoundly personal right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy or terminate it.

Rather than spending their time trying to outlaw abortion, lawmakers ought to focus on addressing the conditions that make some women seek to terminate their pregnancy: lack of affordable child care, a dearth of resources to support families taking care of severely disabled children, and jobs that pay too little to support a household, for example.

At a time when the antiabortion movement is looking for anything to help further its cause to end access to abortion everywhere, we should object when antiabortion activists, judges and lawmakers conflate the procedure with the eugenics movement, which was about coercion and intimidation.

The right to an abortion is just the opposite  the ability make a personal choice about one's own body.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Community Health System board chair Farid Assemi has stepped down from the hospitals governing body, but community members remain concerned with the makeup of a board that continues to be filled with several members tied to the influential developer and farmer.

And now there is an additional concern for some.

Assemis departure means that the board that governs the regions largest health care provider is being led by someone who lives 2,000 miles away.

The new hospital board chairman is Roger Sturdevant. Sturdevant owns a home in Clovis, but he lives in Michigan, where he voted in the most recent November 2022 elections, public records show.

Sturdevant assumed his role as chairman on April 12. Sturdevant didnt respond to multiple inquiries by The Bee seeking comment, either to address concerns about his residency or the direction he would like to lead Community Health System, which has been under scrutiny in the wake of a Fresno Bee investigation into CHS and its board members. Many still refer to CHS as Community Medical Centers, its former name.

Roger Sturdevant

The investigation revealed that CHS used federal and state funding generated by the downtown Fresno hospital for treating Medi-Cal and uninsured patients to fund a massive expansion of its Clovis campus in an affluent area. Less than a mile away from the Clovis hospital sits California Health Sciences University  a for-profit medical school owned by Assemi and Flo Dunn, another longtime CHS board member who continues to sit in on CHS board meetings as a guest.

Community members who spoke with The Bee, including a local elected official, said changes on the board have only exacerbated concerns that the nonprofit hospital corporation is not serving the interests of Fresno. The ascension of Sturdevant only furthers these concerns, they say.

Dr. Ren Imai, who resigned as a board member for CHS in December 2020, said having a person who doesnt live in the community lead the hospital board is problematic. His concern has been echoed by others, including Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, who said it is alarming that the future of the hospital is in the hands of an out-of-state retired banker.

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I think it raises questions about the governance of the board to have someone who is not even a resident of the area, Imai told The Bee. What does he care about health care here?

When The Bee did not hear from Sturdevant, efforts were also made to reach him through Michelle Von Tersch, a spokeswoman for CHS, and through a number listed for one of his sons businesses. Von Tersch didnt acknowledged The Bees email, a subsequent call and a voicemail.

Previously, on April 12, Von Tersch said neither bylaws or IRS rules require trustees to be full-time residents of Fresno County.

Former board member Kevin Follansbee said he doesnt believe the bylaws or rules require board members to be local residents. There can be non-local people on the board, he said, especially if they bring a specialty or certain experience other board members dont have. Sturdevant is a retired Bank of the West executive.

Follansbee said that during his service on the board all members were local citizens from Fresno and nearby communities that are served by the hospital.

During my tenure on the board, he said, there was never someone from out of the area serving on the board.

Sturdevants position on the board also fuels another ongoing concern among community members that too many board members are either real estate developers, have deep ties to Assemi or do business with the hospital. Sturdevant oversaw Bank of the Wests farm lending division in Fresno. CHS board member Susan Abundis, who is Assemis former banker, worked in the same bank division.

Susan Abundis

Dunn is also Assemis former banker, but she worked at different banks.

In 2009, the hospital contracted The Governance Institute to review its board. At the time, several board members had concerns about those on the board who had personal agendas or interests in certain projects.

Three developers join board while Assemi served as chair

Three of four new board members who joined under Assemis tenure as chair are developers, and at least two of them are closely connected to Assemi. Thats in addition to CHS board member Karen McCaffrey, who is vice president of McCaffrey Homes, and other sitting board members tied to him.

Councilman Arias, whose district covers Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno, said since The Bees investigation was published, his office has been in touch with federal healthcare officials, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, state representatives and CHS leadership on the alarming findings.

CHS operates four medical facilities: Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital, Community Behavioral Health Center, Clovis Community Medical Center and Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno.

Instead of addressing the legitimate community concerns, Arias told The Bee, their leadership has doubled down on its strategy to stack the board with special interest development instead of independent medical expertise and community stewards with a commitment to the underserved and the most vulnerable patients in our city.

About 11 of the 13 current CHS board members either have a connection to Assemi or the physician board members do business with the hospital or are a provider in the hospitals health insurance plan, or work under the hospitals newly established medical foundation.

The Bee made an effort to contact Assemi directly, outside of the hospital, after CHS didnt respond to questions about what prompted him to step down, and whether he would still be allowed to sit in on board meetings. However, an email to an assistant at the Assemi Group was answered by Von Tersch, saying Assemi wasnt available for an interview.

Farid Assemi

Von Tersch on April 12 chose not to answer specific questions by The Bee related to the makeup of the board, but provided this general written statement.

The questions about the percentage of developers or connections to the Assemi family on our Board are based on inaccurate assumptions, she said in the statement. The Board also follows specific IRS rules for non-profit hospitals regarding physician trustees.

Those who have been critical of the direction CHS has taken under Assemis leadership are most concerned with what they believe is a lack of commitment to the downtown Fresno hospital that largely serves the citys most vulnerable residents. Instead, they see much-needed resources diverted to the affluent Clovis campus near Assemis for-profit medical school.

For several years, CHS had plans to build two new patient towers at its downtown hospital in order to bring its aging facilities into compliance with earthquake standards, The Bees investigation found. But those towers were never built there.

The new patient towers were built at the Clovis campus as part of the explosive expansion. Meanwhile, the downtown Fresno hospital now risks losing 90% of its acute care beds if its deteriorating buildings dont see major upgrades by 2030.

If the (CHS) Board continues down this path unchecked, it will lead to a structural or financial collapse, and ultimately closure of our downtown Fresno hospital, Arias warned. Our city residents, (CHS) staff, and patients deserve better.

Von Tersch again denied conflicts of interest on the board, and said the board ensures the hospitals resources are used in the communitys interest. She said the boards bylaws and related policies follow state and federal law, such as when conflicts of interest arise.

Von Tersch wouldnt release to The Bee a copy of its board bylaws, nor would she say whether those bylaws have been updated, and if so, when.

Trustees serve three-year terms, she said, and may be reappointed for up to four consecutive terms, meaning 12 years. This was Assemis 14th year on the board.

Von Tersch also did not answer specific questions about the process undertaken to recruit and select board members or if there is a public application involved.

The Board recruits new members as positions come open, she said in the statement, always seeking to maintain a robust mix of backgrounds, such as physicians, farmers, finance experts, education leaders, lawyers, public administrators, business leaders and others to offer diverse and independent perspectives.

Imai said hes also concerned the hospital has been hurting financially under the current makeup of the board and administrative leadership.

Thats just going to continue, he said, unless theres a change in the board structure.

Many of the board members still tied to Assemi

Assemi, Dunn  who also serves as president for the for-profit osteopathic medical school she owns with Assemi  and Abundis had gained control of the hospital board over the years, multiple sources have told The Bee.

Flo Dunn serves as president of California Health Sciences University.

They fear that despite Assemi stepping down, he and his allies will still have control over board decisions.

Even though Farid resigned, its not going to change anything, I dont believe, Imai said. I think that he has still a lot of sway on the people on the board, and I think that their interest is not in line with taking care of the community, I dont believe. Their underlying interest, anyway.

Von Tersch also wouldnt answer questions about whether Dunn is still allowed to sit in on board meetings as a guest. Dunn is Assemis friend and former banker.

Abundis, who is also Assemis former banker, has been on the hospital board for nearly two decades and appears to still hold a seat this year. Abundis took a year off the board in 2014. She continues to also sit on the board for Assemis for-profit medical school as its vice chair.

Plus, three more developers joined the board in the last year Assemi was the board chair. Mark Coelho and Leland Parnagian joined the board earlier this year. Late last year, another developer, Joshua Peterson, joined the board, along with Lori Bennett, who recently retired from her post as president of Clovis Community College.

The developers join board member McCaffrey, who is also a developer.

Karen McCaffrey

Kristen Savelle, co-executive director for the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at the Stanford Law School, said nonprofit board members, like any other board members, owe fiduciary duties to the nonprofit, including a duty of loyalty.

Duty of loyalty means that officers and directors must act in a manner that they deem to be in the best interest of the nonprofit when making decisions, and cannot use their position in the organization to further their own personal interest, Savelle told The Bee in written responses. Personal interests can include outside business, professional or financial interests, interests arising from involvement in other organizations, the interests of family members, and so on.

Developer and board member Coelho is no stranger to Assemi and Dunn. He worked for Assemi before.

Mark Coelho

Coelho is listed as a manager for the Coelho Land Company, LLC, according to filings with the California Secretary of States Office.

Coelho currently serves on the governing board for AMOR (Alliance for Medical Outreach and Relief), along with Darius Assemi, other Assemi family members, and Tod Cook, among others, including Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp. Farid Assemi and Dunn serve on AMORs advisory council.

AMOR is a nonprofit started by the Assemi family, and under its umbrella, it runs a hospital in Afghanistan.

From July 2012 to April 2015, Coelho served as a project manager for Granville Homes, owned by the Assemis, according to his LinkedIn profile. Coelho didnt answer multiple calls by The Bee, but he provided a written response.

I think its important to support organizations and causes you care about, Coelho told The Bee in a written response via Von Tersch. As someone who has grown up in the Valley, I cant think of another organization that does more good or is more essential to this area than Community and Im proud to serve on its Board.

Developer and board member Peterson is also well-known to Assemi and his family because he works for them. Peterson is listed as the chief executive officer and chief financial officer for Wathen Castanos Peterson Homes, Inc., according to filings with the Secretary of States Office. The address listed for this company appears to be right across from Assemis for-profit medical school. Wathen Castanos Peterson Homes, Inc. is owned by the Assemis, according to a description of the Assemi Group, despite no mention of their names on state filings.

Peterson is also connected with two other companies with a similar name and is listed as a manager for WCP Developers, LLC. The mailing address listed in state records for WCP Developers is the same as one of two addresses listed for the Assemi Group, according to state records.

And other Assemi family members own a company with a similar name, the Assemi WCP, LLC, records show.

Peterson didnt respond to inquiries by The Bee seeking comment.

Joshua Peterson

Developer and board member Parnagian is chief executive officer and chief financial officer for the G3 Development Company, which focuses on real estate development, according to state records.

He also serves as the president of Fowler Packing Company, where hes worked since 2005, according to his LinkedIn profile. The Parnagian family has another company, G4 Enterprise, which is building a second Amazon fulfillment center in Fresno.

Parnagian and some of the Assemi family members tend to donate to some of the same political causes or candidates, such as to Fresno City Mayor Jerry Dyers One Fresno Foundation.

Motivated by my strong belief in creating a healthcare system that is inclusive and accessible to all individuals in our region, I felt compelled to pursue a board seat, Parnagian told The Bee in an email. My experience with the on-site medical clinic at Fowler Packing has allowed me to witness the transformative effects of accessible and preventative healthcare.

Leland Parnagian

Bennett, who is also one of the newest board members who joined in late 2022, retired in January as the president of Clovis Community College.

In 2016, Bennett replaced Deborah Ikeda, who had been hired in 2013 to serve as the first president for the college. Ikeda is currently the chair for Assemis for-profit medical schools board.

Lori Bennett

Unfortunately, Arias saId, it is clear to me that CMC continues to be committed to spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in Clovis while exacerbating the overcrowding and declining quality of care in their downtown Fresno flagship hospital that serves the sickest, poor, and uninsured.

A fiduciary duty

Savelle, with the Center for Corporate Governance at the Stanford Law School, said typically, the attorney general should be able to sue directors of a nonprofit organization for breach of fiduciary duty. But she said she didnt know what laws, if any, California has passed to limit the liability of nonprofit directors and officers.

Follansbee, the former board member, said he has noticed that the boards conflict of interest rules might have changed.

You need to be independent with the respect to your position on the board, he said, and not have conflict of interest either by owning or controlling businesses that are impacted by (Community Health System) either favorably or unfavorably or ...that the board members themselves are so closely affiliated that they cant make good, independent decisions.

As a board member, he said, you have to be independent not only in fact, but also in appearance. For example, if he was considering auditing a company owned by one of his friends, and he was truly independent and had no financial connection to the business, but people knew he was affiliated or had a friendship with the owner, that would preclude him from auditing the company because his independence could be challenged.

The hospitals board, he said, has put itself in that situation by choosing board members who have the appearance of at least not being independent, but they may be independent.

If you take it to great extremes, you know, for conspiracy thinking you can say Oh yeah well, Farid is in control of everything so he can get everybody to vote his way, I dont think thats possible, he said. Thats not really how the world works, but theyve certainly created an environment where the independence may be in question because of all the, you know, affiliations there are between Farid and these peoples other business interests, he said.

Board members out, others do business with the hospital

Among other changes, developer Jerry Cook and attorney John McGregor are no longer on the CHS board this year. Von Tersch said both of their fourth terms  12 years  ended on Dec. 31, 2022. However, Cook joined the board in 2012, which means his fourth term would have been up in 2024.

Developer and landowner Jerry Cook serves on the board of Community Medical Centers.

The Bees investigation revealed that Cook sold land to the hospital for a little more than $3 million in 2013 amid the explosive expansion of the Clovis campus. The property Cook sold to the hospital is adjacent to the Clovis hospital.

Cook paid a total of just under $800,000 for the property and sold it seven years later to the hospital for more than $3 million. CHS did not disclose this transaction in its tax filings with the federal government as required.

For The Bees investigation, Von Tersch said the purchase of the land from Cook followed an independent appraisal and the hospital hired an outside law firm to ensure the transaction was in compliance with state and federal laws. But the hospital denied a request by The Bee to see records associated with the sale by saying it didnt want to set a precedent of sharing Board minutes or materials with the public.

A sign along Herndon Ave just across the street from Clovis Community Medical Center marks the location of a planned skilled nursing facility. The land was sold to CMC by Jerry Cook, who also serves on the CMC board.

McGregor joined the CHS board in 2011, and his fourth term should have technically ended this year. He continues to sit on the board for Assemis for-profit medical school.

Additionally, all of the doctors currently serving on the hospital board either do business with the hospital, practice at the hospital or are a provider in the hospitals insurance plan for employees and their families. According to a review by The Bee of old hospital tax filings, CHS in the past had some doctors serving on its board who had no affiliation or connection to the hospital.

For example, board member Dr. Ronald Bierma in May 2021 registered a new company, Community Medical Anesthesia Consultants, Inc., a month before Community Regional Anesthesia Medical Group, Inc., which used to do business with the hospital, filed for bankruptcy in June 2021, records filed with the Secretary of States Office show.

Ron Bierma

Carolyn Larsen, executive director of the company that was forced to file for bankruptcy, at the time said her company had worked with CHS for over 20 years, and it took great pride in providing excellent services.

It is very disappointing that CRAMG has gotten caught up in the political battle raging in Fresno, and that (CHS) elected to allow the contract to lapse, Larsen said in a statement at the time.

During an interview with CHS Chief Executive Officer Craig Castro in the fall of 2021, he confirmed to The Bee the hospital is now doing business with Biermas company. Bierma didnt respond to inquiries by The Bee seeking comment.

Castro, said the previous providers had approached hospital officials and told them they were concerned they werent going to have a contract when it expired. The contract with the previous provider was set to expire in the summer of 2021.

We had to go out and bid that contract which hadnt been bid before. We felt that we were paying too much, Castro told The Bee. So, when we went out to bid, CRAMG (Community Regional Anesthesia Medical Group) refused to bid. They used the ruse that Community had an inside board member that was guiding the decision.

Savelle said a potential conflict of interest doesnt automatically prohibit a transaction, or subject the directors to liability for a breach of loyalty claim if certain key steps are taken.

State law, she explained, may dictate that a transaction is valid if the director or officer discloses the conflict to the board, recuses themselves from deliberations and the vote on the transaction, and if the disinterested directors approve the transaction in good faith and reasonably believe it was fair to the organization.

But in Biermas case, hes the one who established a new company in advance of his competitors contract with the hospital expiring, making it impossible for him not to have been involved in the planning and negotiations.

Other CHS board members who are doctors, such as Dr. Wagih Ibrahim, Dr. Chandrasekar Venugopal, and Dr. Keith Boone, are either employed or participate in the hospitals recently created medical foundation or are a provider in the hospitals insurance plan for employees and their families. Being a provider in the hospitals health insurance plan is a potential conflict because the hospital refers patients to those providers, and the providers make money from the insurance claims.

Only two of the 13 current board members appear not to have direct ties to Assemi or the hospital. Although one of them is in the ag business  an industry that Assemi is also involved in.

CHS board member Greg Estep is the managing director and chief executive officer for Olam spices.

CHS board member Ruth Quinto is assistant city manager for the city of Fresno.

Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White said when Quinto accepted her position with the city, she immediately informed her and Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz that she served on the hospital board.

She was notified at that time that due to a common law conflict, she would need to recuse herself from any involvement of business dealings between the city of Fresno and CHS, White said in an email through the citys spokeswoman. Common law conflicts of interest are common in municipal governance and do not prevent the individual in question from serving on outside boards so long as there are appropriate recusals.

Ruth Quinto

Its difficult to know which board members have recused themselves, if any, from items tied to them since the hospital has refused to release to The Bee board materials. Board meetings are private and votes are neither publicly recorded nor are any meeting minutes made available to the public.

As a member of the CHS Board, Parnagian said, his aim is to foster progress within the system by implementing cutting-edge technologies and providing compassionate care to our diverse community, with the ultimate goal of delivering exceptional patient care.

Nonetheless, Arias remains skeptical. He believes, given the makeup of the board, CHS will continue to prioritize care for patients in Clovis  providing private rooms  while patients at the downtown Fresno hospital are relegated to declining care in crowded hallways and outdoor tents.

Their actions are creating an emergency in care in an emergency hospital, he said, and growing an alarming inequity of care for too many of us.

The Fresno community, Follansbee said, also needs to better understand the purpose of CHS. The community needs to realize, he said, that CHS is a jewel, a real treasure that should be operated for their benefit.

This is really a treasure asset, he said, that the community needs to appreciate and take care of.
GoFundMe

A 19-year-old man was arrested for going on a deadly rampage at an after-prom party in Mississippi in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to police. Six teenagers were wounded by gunfire in the shooting, and two later died of their injuries.

The two victims had not been named by police by Sunday night, but friends and family in the city of Bay St. Louis were quick to identify them as Haeleigh Stamper, 16, and DeArreis Smith, 18, on social media, as well as two fundraising pages for funeral costs.

Tori Jones, a 17-year-old friend of Haeleighs, spoke to The Daily Beast by phone as she returned home from a memorial ceremony held by the community on Sunday evening.

Everybody released white and pink balloons for Haeleigh, and black and red for Dee Dee, she said. We were all crying Everybody misses her. She was the light in everybodys life. You couldnt have a bad day when she was around.

Jones, who was not at the party, said she learned that Haeleigh had been shot when Haeleighs mom called her before 7 a.m. on Sunday. For the first hour, all I could do was just shake. I was convinced that she was gonna text me and be like, Im not dead. It was a prank, she said.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid022xq6upJMdCcG5bqJqV8UDMYXzybDx2a4R3vjiEe6dyP5oV5pz2onjZ87hQJb1Rr9l&id=100085646263414

Those who had known Haeleigh gathered at someones house later on Sunday, where they all cried together as they remembered their friend.

Everybody said that she was the light in everyones life and she had a pure soul, Jones said. And she has so much going for her. She was not meant to die. All she wanted was to have fun in life. That was her main goal in life: she wanted to have fun.

Jones said she and Haeleigh had talked about running an animal sanctuary together one day, raising their own kids as third-generation best friends. (The girls parents grew up together.) Haeleigh was also thinking about studying to become a lawyer, but wasnt sure where she wanted to go to college yet.

Story continues

I think she was just really nervous about growing up. She was going to graduate this year, a year early, Jones explained. And she changed her mind at the last minute, she just said, Im not ready to grow up yet.

DeArreis Smith had been preparing to graduate in May, according to Kecia Sams, who told NOLA.com that she considered him an adopted member of her family. He was an amazing soul, a loyal friend, brother and uncle, Sams said. He was loved by many and will be missed so very much by his family.

Smiths grandmother, Jackie Gordon, told WLOX that he had been a good kid, and for this to happen, I have no words for that.

Gordon said Smith had loved music, and was planning on enrolling in the military. She said she was speaking out in an attempt to get accountability for his murder.

I dont want it to be swept under the rug. I dont want to say I dont want justice for DeArreis, but I want accountability, because justice would be him being here with me, she said.

Both Stamper and Smith were students at Hancock High School, which addressed the tragic loss in a statement. Our hearts are with their families, friends, and the school staff during this incredibly difficult time, the school said.

Of the four other victims wounded in the shooting, two were also from Hancock and two were from Bay High School, police said. All are between 15 and 18 years old.

Bay St. Louis Police Department

Cameron Everest Brand, the 19-year-old suspect, was charged with murder and aggravated assault after being arrested at his home on Sunday. A motive remains unclear, with details of the moments leading up to the shooting still hazy.

An 18-year-old junior at the party told NOLA.com that he had seen Brand talking to some people and then walking away. Brand then returned and started shooting, the teen said.

Jones said shed heard that Brand was looking for someone at the party, and began shooting indiscriminately shortly after.

The senior who hosted the party at her home spoke to the Biloxi-based Sun Herald on the condition that her name not be used. I just wanted everybody to have a good time, the 18-year-old explained.

We were having a good time, she added, until he started shooting. He just started shooting and left without remorse.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Walt Disney Concert Hall. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Molly Grant was enjoying the Los Angeles Philharmonics performance of Tchaikovskys Fifth Symphony on Friday at the Walt Disney Concert Hall when she heard what she described as a "scream/moan" erupt from the balcony.

"Everyone kind of turned to see what was happening," Grant, who was seated near the person who allegedly made the noise, told The Times on Sunday in a phone interview.

"I saw the girl after it had happened, and I assume that she ... had an orgasm because she was heavily breathing, and her partner was smiling and looking at her  like in an effort to not shame her," said Grant, who works for a jewelry company and lives in Los Feliz. "It was quite beautiful."

Multiple people who attended the L.A. Phil concert on Friday reported hearing a woman making a moaning noise during the symphony's second movement.

One attendee, composer and music producer Magnus Fiennes, described the sound on Twitter as that of a person having a "loud and full body orgasm."

An alleged audio recording of the moment  where someone can be heard crying out during a quiet beat in the music  was making the rounds on social media. Attendees who spoke to The Times said that the clip was similar to what they'd heard.

"[F]riends who went to the LA philharmonic last night are reporting that in the middle of the show some lady had a SCREAMING orgasm, to the point where the whole orchestra stopped playing," tweeted journalist Jocelyn Silver. "some people really know how to live..."

However, people in attendance said that the musicians played through the disturbance without stopping. Classical pianist Sharon Su tweeted that she "checked with someone who works at the LA Phil and they confirmed" that the orchestra continued playing through the commotion.

The Times has since confirmed that the orchestra kept performing and that there were no further disruptions.

It is still unclear what exactly occurred in the audience. The Times has contacted the L.A. Phil for comment but has not been able to identify or contact the person who made the sound.

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Other audience members disputed the orgasm theory, offering that the woman could have made the noise while waking after having fallen asleep. Some worried that it could have been related to a medical condition or emergency.

One attendee who was seated in the row directly behind the person who made the noise said it appeared as if the woman was waking up from a sleep attack when she made the sound.

"Pretty quickly, she sort of fell onto her partner's shoulders, and then onto his lap. And then her body went limp," recalled the audience member, who requested anonymity to discuss the incident. "Maybe like five seconds later, she kind of awoke, and that's when she let out a scream."

The audience member who was seated in the row behind the person said she had previously witnessed a person with narcolepsy experience a sleep attack, and what she saw at the L.A. Phil seemed similar.

After the woman made the noise, her partner and another woman seated next to her asked if she was OK, and she replied that she was, according to the audience member, who reported overhearing the exchange.

"I know someone else mentioned she was smiling, but I'm pretty sure she was just really embarrassed because other people were looking at her," the audience member told The Times.

Another concertgoer emailed The Times to say he heard the noise but did not think it was a sound of ecstasy.

Friday's program, led by conductor Elim Chan, also included a performance of Thomas Ades Concentric Paths Violin Concerto.

The L.A. Phil's online program notes include this description of the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5:

"The ... luscious main theme was adapted for a popular love song; Tchaikovskys skillful orchestration, however, lifts the mood from sentimentality to high Romanticism. The movements principal melody is presented in a memorable solo by the horn, followed by other appealing woodwind solos."

Silver Lake resident and music agent Lukas Burton said the sound from the audience member was "wonderfully timed" to a "romantic swell" in the symphony.

"One can't know exactly what happened, but it seemed very clear from the sound that it was an expression of pure physical joy," Burton said. "A sort of classical-music equivalent of that scene in a movie where someone is talking loudly in a party or a nightclub, and then the record suddenly stops and they say something that everyone hears."

While the outburst was clearly an unusual and surprising moment for a classical music concert, Burton described it as "rather wonderful and refreshing."

"There was a sort of gasp in the audience," Burton said. "But I think everyone felt that was a rather lovely expression of somebody who was so transported by the music that it had some kind of effect on them physically or, dare I say, even sexually."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation in the House and Senate on Monday to permanently authorize a law allowing the president to implement punishing sanctions on Irans economy.

The Solidifying Iran Sanction Act, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is intended to permanently extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) of 1996, which is set to expire in 2026.

The ISA, which must be continuously renewed by Congress under a mandatory sunset provision, allows the U.S. executive branch to impose sanctions on Irans energy sector to cripple its attempts to procure a nuclear weapon, an effort Tehran has accelerated toward in recent years.

The Iran Sanctions Act is one of the most important tools in U.S. law to compel Iran to abandon its dangerous and destabilizing behavior, McCaul said in a statement.

This bill takes the long overdue step of striking the arbitrary sunset from the law, so that sanctions will only be lifted if Iran stops its threatening behavior. Iran cant run out the clock on U.S. law, he added.

The bill is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 24 lawmakers, including Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).

Steel said Iran has made clear it has no interest in participating in the international community or working towards peace.

The rogue state continues to make threats against democracy and actively sponsors terrorism around the world, the lawmaker said in a statement. Through this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, we can prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and further jeopardizing global peace.

A companion piece of legislation will also soon be introduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have soared after Iranian-backed militia groups have carried out rocket attacks against U.S. bases in Syria and Tehran has provided explosive drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

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The Biden administration has also failed to reach a deal reviving a nuclear deal with Iran.

The indirect talks were intended to ease up sanctions on Iran in return for the Middle Eastern nation to never develop nuclear weapons.

With the deal effectively scrapped, United Nations atomic energy regulators have warned Iran is enriching uranium at facilities to the capabilities needed to make a bomb.

The Pentagon warned last month that Iran has enough material to develop a nuclear bomb within 12 days.

Under the ISA, the president has the authority to impose restrictions on Irans energy industry, which makes up a large share of the countrys gross domestic product, but over the years the authority has grown to include other Iranian industries.

The ISA is enforced by triggers that impose sanctions on firms that violate the law.

Congressional efforts to permanently extend the ISA have been introduced before but have not yet passed both legislative chambers.

The Solidifying Iran Sanction Act introduced Monday is backed by advocacy organizations the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Action and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The Solidifying Iran Sanction Act is an important bipartisan effort to solidify critical sanctions on the Iranian regime at a time when Tehran is dangerously advancing its nuclear program and targeting U.S. troops, said AIPAC Spokesperson Marshall Wittman in a a statement.

This story was updated at 9:52 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
GREENLAND  Theres history. Theres heritage. And theres Great Bay Farm in Greenland, which embodies all of it. A family-owned farm passed down generation to generation since the 1800s, Great Bay Farm is as iconic as it gets. One of the few remaining working dairy farms on the Seacoast, the sprawling property is as rich in cultural and community cachet as it is in conservation value  and thats saying something as both are colossal in their quantity.

Its late morning in Greenland. Intermittent snow patches dot Great Bay Farm. Mainly its just petrified mud tracks and slush, the signposts of a winter that traded precipitation for icebox temps. Two generations of Smiths circle around: Cynthia (the matriarch) and two of her sons, Allen and Steve. Theres a lot of character and personality at play here, and the Smiths are quick to crack jokes laced with their vintage acerbic wit. Theyre New England farmers through and through.

Great Bay Farm in Greenland, N.H.

And those values, hewn into their DNA for six generations, are what led them to this point: the decision to conserve their legendary property for all time.

It all started in 1899. Originally owned as a summer residence by a doctor from Boston, the property was purchased by Cynthias great-grandfather, who moved his modest cow-milking operation from Pittsfield, literally marching his herd down the turn-of-the-century New Hampshire back-roads to Greenland.

And thats how Great Bay Farm was born: 15 dairy cows producing local milk and an apple orchard that once produced apples for the Frank Jones Brewery to make hard cider. The next 100-plus years saw the farm expand its herd and transform into a full-fledged milking operation: and one of the few dairy farms to remain standing in the region.

Because, lets face it, being a dairy farmer is not the easiest way to make a living. Just ask Allen Smith.

Dairy cows at Great Bay Farm in Greenland, N.H.

Whats the challenge of the day? he says. I was an electrician this morning, then I was a plumber, and then I had to weld something. The other day was bitter cold, so I went inside to do paperwork. Id toss wood in the stove, do paperwork, toss more wood in the stove, do more paperwork, and so on.

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One of the main reasons so few farms remain in the region is the unyielding economic pressure that comes with the dairy industry.

Costs keep going up and the price of milk has pretty much been stagnant for 40 years, Allen says. You have to creatively think of ways to save a buck or two here or there.

Recently, Allen transitioned the farm from strictly a milking operation to a hybrid dairy and beef operation. Several years ago, he sold most of his dairy herd and began to raise Holsteins crossed with beef breeds like Herefords and Angus. Milking continues at Great Bay Farm however, generating milk primarily for local specialty artisan cheese shops.

Tractors at Great Bay Farm in Greenland, N.H.

In addition to the 154 acres of their own land, the Smith family also manages an additional 235 acres of productive fields in the surrounding community, many of which are owned by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and managed for wildlife habitat. Add to that, Great Bay Farm connects to more than 1,740 acres of existing protected land, including the nearby Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

The combination of the property used as a working farm and the immense natural resource inventory made the conservation of Great Bay Farm a priority for SELT, the local land trust that serves Rockingham and Strafford counties. Last year, SELT and the Smiths reached an agreement for the sale of a conservation easement at significantly less than its fair market value. This easement - once completed - will ensure Great Bay Farm remains undeveloped and available as an agricultural and community resource for generations to come.

Greenland voters wholeheartedly endorsed the project, adding their commitment to public funding programs like the US Natural Resources Conservation Service, NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, and NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).

Great Bay Farm features an incredible array of conservation benefits, says Jeremy Lougee, Conservation Project Manager and Farmland Coordinator for SELT. Besides the idyllic fields with their backdrop to Great Bay, the farm sits on prime agricultural soils, provides critical wildlife habitat for migratory waterfowl and other native species, and helps to protect the public water supply for Pease Tradeport and the Town of Greenland.And then you have the intangible community values of the farm. As a stalwart piece of Seacoast civic culture, Great Bay Farm is adored as a destination for a multitude of audiences.

Almost every kid in town used to come here on a tour with the school, Allen says. Twice a year, vet tech students come over for practicums, checking temperatures, listening for heartbeats, you know, actually seeing what a cow looks like in person!

Theres not much of that around, Steve adds. Where else are they going to do it?

And hes right. Theres not much of that around. Farms have blinked out of existence in New Hampshire at an alarming rate. Since 1925, the state has lost over 90% of its farmland. Great Bay Farm represents just one of four commercial dairy farms remaining in all of Rockingham County.

Protecting Great Bay Farm will secure prime farmland necessary for local food production in one of the state's most rapidly developing regions, Jeremy says. The importance of protecting some of our best farmland for future food production cannot be overstated, suggesting that a time will come when supermarket shelves alone cannot sustain us.

Allen puts it a slightly different way: If you want to have your sliced cheese come all the way from California, go for it.

SELT needs to raise the final $15,000 to complete the conservation of Great Bay Farm. Information: seltnh.org/greatbayfarm.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Conservation of Great Bay Farm preserves an iconic Seacoast fixture
Zimbabwean evacuees from Sudan arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe, April 30, 2023. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)

by Tafara Mugwara

HARARE, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The terminal building at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare has witnessed countless affectionate hugs, but Sunday evening was unlike any other day as emotions ran high when families received their loved ones evacuated from Sudan.

Tears of joy ran down their faces as a group of 21 evacuees who had been caught in the middle of the crossfire emerged from the exit gate of the arrivals terminal.

The first group of 44 evacuees from war-torn Sudan arrived in Zimbabwe on Friday.

Susan Mukando, an evacuee, could not control her emotions as she narrated the ordeal she went through with her son from the time when they left their apartment amid a barrage of bullets for Port Sudan to the time when they managed to board a ship to Saudi Arabia.

She recalled the devastating situation of helpless Sudanese trapped in their homes, with dwindling supplies of food, water and other life necessities.

"We had a painful experience ... it's not pleasant to relate as I am doing now, it's very painful to narrate," Mukando said.

Another evacuee, Pride Mubaiwa, also looked back on the horrors his family went through when battles broke out in the North African country.

"I am traumatized, my wife is traumatized, I don't even know what my son is going through," Mubaiwa told Xinhua.

"It was gunfire 24-7. Gunfire, bombings -- all different types of ammunition that were being used ... so we just feel happy to be home right now," Mubaiwa added.

Anna Madekubveni, a mother who came to pick her daughters among the evacuees, could not hold back tears of joy.

"I thought my family was going to perish, considering what was happening -- the situation was dire, I had completely lost faith," she said.

Sudan has been embroiled in an armed conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 15.

According to the Zimbabwean government, arrangements for the evacuation of over 100 of its nationals from Sudan were made after the warring parties agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire to allow foreigners to leave.

More than 500 people have been killed and over 4,000 others wounded since the outbreak of the conflict, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. 

Zimbabwean evacuees from Sudan arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe, April 30, 2023. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)

Zimbabwean evacuees from Sudan arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe, April 30, 2023. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)
Downtown Solvang, the self-described Danish Capital of America, along Alisal Road. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

This little tourist town in the Santa Ynez Valley is best known for its Danish windmills, aebleskivers and Viking-themed tchotchkes.

In the self-described Danish Capital of America, friendliness is part of the brand, with Solvang so outwardly idyllic it was the setting for the saccharine Lifetime TV movie "A Very Charming Christmas Town."

As one city councilman declared: "This is the friendliest goddamn town I've ever been in."

But lately  if you're queer  something smells rotten in this wannabe outpost of Denmark.

Matthew and Kiel Cavalli are the fathers of four and own a children's toy and bookstore in Solvang. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

For the last several months, the townsfolk of rural Solvang, population 6,000, have been waging an ugly battle over just how visible its LGBTQ+ community should be.

The City Council shot down a proposal to hang pride-themed banners downtown  and both critics and supporters now say they've received death threats.

The husbands who proposed the banners were harassed online, called groomers and pedophiles. People posted the names and photos of their four young children.

This spring, prosecutors filed charges against two young men for stealing a pride flag from a church a few miles outside town and burning it. Then high schoolers walked out of class in protest after school administrators ordered rainbow-colored crosswalks to be painted over.

And the councilman who acclaimed Solvang's friendliness  Robert Clarke  made some of the most heated and unfriendly comments of all.

In now-public text messages, he called his critics "Chardonnay Antifa" and wrote that "for every butt hurt person" who spoke out at a City Council meeting, he would donate $10 to Gays Against Groomers, a far-right group that protests drag queen story events.

It got so ugly in this land of Scandinavian pancakes and sausages that the mayor of Copenhagen stepped in, admonishing the U.S. town for bragging about its Danish heritage while snubbing its LGBTQ+ community.

The uproar in Solvang comes at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are center stage in the U.S. culture wars.

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ONEderChild, the Cavallis' toy store, displays an LGBTQ+ pride flag along Copenhagen Drive. The flag has been stolen several times. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Walt Disney Co. is suing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleging a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" for lashing out at the company after it spoke out against the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law. Bud Light sales tumbled amid right-wing furor over its marketing campaign involving a transgender influencer. Conservative politicians nationwide are trying to ban drag shows where kids might be present.

In Solvang, much of the fury revolves around streetlight banners.

Earlier this year, husbands Kiel and Matthew Cavalli came before the City Council with a proposal to display LGBTQ+ pride-themed banners downtown and paint some crosswalks rainbow colors for the month of June.

They figured it would be no big deal. The City Council last year officially declared June to be Pride Month in Solvang, and the town, just a few years ago, had a gay mayor.

But in February, the City Council rejected the Cavallis' banners by a 3-2 vote.

Window art at the Cavallis' toy store in downtown Solvang. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

"I'm going to get called a bigot tomorrow. I've been called a bigot before. I don't care," said Clarke, who voted no.

In an email to The Times, Clarke, who has described himself as "a redneck Republican," said he voted last year to approve the town's first pride parade  but a whole month of banners and painted crosswalks went too far.

"It is not Solvang's brand. ... I would not want MAGA or NRA banners in Solvang either," he wrote.

This strait-laced hamlet of thatched roofs, wine tasting rooms and chocolatiers is obsessed with its image as a charming Danish village.

But the feuding has prompted LGBTQ+ people in and around Solvang to speak out about how difficult, lonely and, sometimes, dangerous it feels to be queer in rural America.

At the February City Council meeting, Kiel Cavalli said that, growing up gay in Solvang, he never saw "anything that resembles who I am," which "leaves a pretty sad void in one's heart."

The comments infuriated Clarke.

"When people want to disparage anything about this damn town, I take offense to it," he said.

Cash Whitney, 15, who is pansexual and gender fluid, speaks about growing up queer in Solvang during a community workshop last week at the Rainbow House. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

It was just last June when the newly formed Santa Ynez Valley Pride put on the town's inaugural pride parade, with unanimous support from the City Council.

Organizers prepared for pushback. But the rainbow-colored floats rolled down Copenhagen Drive without a hitch.

Then, in July, two teenagers stole a rainbow flag from St. Mark's-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church in Los Olivos, a 10-minute drive north. They posted a video of the flag burning on social media.

"Oh, wait. This fire's a little gay," one of them said.

"Clearly their future, bro," the other added with a laugh.

"Ash to ash," the first said.

The Santa Barbara County district attorney has charged Avi Stone Williams, now 19, and Joshua Jerome Eligino, 20, with misdemeanor counts of petty theft and violations of civil rights.

Williams and Eligino, who pleaded not guilty, could not be reached for comment.

Hundreds gathered outside the church to re-raise the pride flag.

Leaders of Santa Ynez Valley Pride are planning their second parade, and "those in opposition are now feeling the need to push back at our visibility, our success and our presence," said the organization's president, Lauren Lastra, who moved to the area from Santa Barbara with her wife and children in 2020.

"We really want to ensure and communicate that we're doing positive things in the community," said Alyce Barrick, the organization's vice president, who moved here in 2020 from Glendale. "If that could be highlighted in bold and written in clouds across the sky ... we're here to celebrate the community."

Members of Santa Ynez Valley Pride were in communication with organizers for Copenhagen Pride  who eventually reached out to the mayor when things took a dark turn in Solvang.

The dispute in Solvang drew a written rebuke from the mayor of Copenhagen. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Denmark is one of the most progressive countries in the world, Lord Mayor Sophie Hstorp Andersen wrote in an open letter to Solvang's mayor.

Solvangs opposition to Pride does not reflect the genuine warmth and acceptance of Pride that can be seen across Denmark and especially in Copenhagen, she said.

In a statement to The Times, Andersen added: "I was informed that the local opposition to put up Pride flags around town was justified with regard to Danish values and traditions. Thats why I think it was incredibly important to kindly make aware that these are not values we can answer for in Copenhagen."

For Kiel and Matthew Cavalli, the vitriol has been terrifying.

Theres a culture here that you need to fit in," said Kiel, 41, who grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley and didn't come out as gay to his family until he was 25. "It's that white cisgender culture that everyone kind of expects you to just fall in line with. Being out wasnt something that I could do."

He and Matthew, 43, have been together for 15 years. Their four children are ages 4 to 11.

They opened ONEderChild, a Solvang toy store, in 2017. They hung a rainbow flag out front. It's been stolen several times. People have spat on the windows.

Last year, the Cavallis started the Rainbow House, a nonprofit that will provide counseling, workshops and other resources for LGBTQ+ people and their allies.

In December, the Rainbow House planned to host a teatime event for families, with drag queens reading storybooks to children. It was to be a week before Christmas. They didn't sell enough tickets, so they canceled.

But they stepped right into the culture wars.

When the husbands went before the City Council in February, Clarke grilled Kiel Cavalli from the dais about the drag event.

The event, he claimed  incorrectly, according to the Cavallis  wasn't canceled because of scheduling issues, but because of "a lot of heat from the GOP."

Two weeks ago, a man with an unlisted phone number called the Cavallis and told them, "Watch your back, or you're going to get hurt," they said.

The couple revised their proposal and pitched it again. The banners  which would read "Solvang Pride / All Welcome" with a rainbow-colored windmill  would hang for two weeks instead of a month. They nixed the rainbow crosswalks.

Before the vote, scores of emails and text messages from Clarke were published on the city's website in response to a public records request.

He wrote that he was "getting hammered by the woke left" and that "50% of these assholes would not stand for the pledge to the flag."

In a March 10 email, Clarke wrote: "When I voted to approve the Pride parade last year, I received many angry comments from the far right. Now I deny a month long banner and sidewalk painting and the far left is going nuts.

"The difference was the far right were civil. The left want me 'gone' and want to damage my home."

On April 24, the banners were back before the City Council. A sheriff's deputy monitored an overflow crowd. Supporters held signs with rainbow-colored letters: "We See You / We Hear You / We Support You."

Detractors' signs read: "Go Woke Go Broke" and "Keep Politics Out of Solvang."

Jessie Bengoa, a brand marketing executive and fifth-generation Solvang resident whose grandfather was mayor, told the council that "anyone who dares voice an opposition to pride banners or the denied rainbow crosswalks is vocally harassed as a bigot and a homophobe."

She said that after speaking against the banners earlier this year, she was flooded with profanity-laced text messages.

Vote this proposal down," she urged, and "protect the brand of our town."

One man used his two minutes of public speaking time to read Bible verses and said, "Pride is a celebration of sin." In the crowd, someone muttered: "Jeee-sus" in annoyance.

Maria Belle, 37, who is gay, choked up as she addressed the council.

"My family is not a political matter ... and having those banners up shows, for us, that this valley is an accepting place, when there's so many loud voices, especially sitting on this council, that are not."

Belle, who owns a Solvang art studio with her wife, said that when she moved here 17 years ago, she was hospitalized with suicidal ideations because she could not accept that she was gay  something she hid in town for a decade.

Aria-Vue Daugherty, 17, a junior at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School who is queer, said that although people claim to be protecting young people, they should talk to them more often.

At her school, "a vast majority of them are absolutely unbothered by rainbows and would really appreciate representation for everyone and inclusivity for everyone," she told the council.

Aria-Vue was part of a student leadership team at the high school that  with the principal's approval  arranged to have four crosswalks on campus painted rainbow colors for a week as part of an anti-hate campaign this spring.

But school administrators had the crosswalks repainted white several days early after hearing complaints, sparking a student walkout.

After nearly two hours of public comment, the banners, again, came to a vote.

Councilman David Brown said he didn't want another "Budweiser fiasco" and voted no, along with Clarke.

Mayor Mark Infanti, who previously opposed the proposal, flipped his vote. The banners passed, 3-2. The crowd gasped  then many people broke out in cheers.

Infanti told The Times he voted no the first time mostly because local equestrians told him the rainbow-colored crosswalks could spook horses pulling carriages because they do not see colors like humans do.

If they passed the banners, he figured, "well get past this and can go back to running a city."

And back to its brand.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Experts say sloths appear to be infection resistant

The fur of Costa Rican sloths appears to harbor antibiotic-producing bacteria that scientists hope may hold a solution to the growing problem of "superbugs" resistant to humanity's dwindling arsenal of drugs.

Sloth fur, research has found, hosts bustling communities of insects, algae, fungi and bacteria, among other microbes, some of which could pose disease risk.

Yet, experts say, the famously slow-moving mammals appear to be surprisingly infection-proof.

"If you look at the sloth's fur, you see movement: you see moths, you see different types of insects... a very extensive habitat," Max Chavarria, a researcher at the University of Costa Rica, told AFP.

"Obviously when there is co-existence of many types of organisms, there must also be systems that control them," he said.

Chavarria and a team took fur samples from Costa Rican two- and three-toed sloths to examine what that control system could be.

They found the possible existence of antibiotic-producing bacteria that "makes it possible to control the proliferation of potentially pathogenic bacteria... or inhibit other competitors" such as fungi, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

- 'No infection' -

The sloth is a national symbol in laid back Costa Rica, and a major tourist attraction for the Central American country.

Both the two-toed (Choloepus Hoffmanni) and three-toed (Bradypus variegatus) sloth species have seen their populations decline, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

They live in the canopies of trees in the jungle on the Caribbean coast, where the climate is hot and humid.

American Judy Avey runs a sanctuary in the balmy jungle to care for sloths injured after coming into contact with humans or other animals.

She treats and rehabilitates the creatures with a view to releasing them back into the wild.

"We've never received a sloth that has been sick, that has a disease or has an illness," she told AFP.

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"We've received sloths that had been burned by power lines and their entire arm is just destroyed... and there's no infection.

"I think maybe in the 30 years (we've been open), we've seen five animals that have come in with an infected injury. So that tells us there's something going on in their... bodily ecosystem."

Avey, who established the sanctuary with her late Costa Rican husband, Luis Arroyo, had never even heard of a sloth back home in Alaska.

Since receiving her first sloth, whom she named "Buttercup," in 1992, she has cared for around 1,000 animals.

- Penicillin inspiration -

Researcher Chavarria took fur samples taken from sloths at the sanctuary to examine in his laboratory.

He began his research in 2020, and has already pinpointed 20 "candidate" microorganisms waiting to be named.

But he said there is a long road ahead in determining whether the sloth compounds could be useful to humans.

"Before thinking about an application in human health, it's important to first understand... what type of molecules are involved," said Chavarria.

An example of this is penicillin, discovered in 1928 by British scientist Alexander Fleming, who discovered that a fungal contamination of a laboratory culture appeared to kill a disease-causing bacteria.

His discovery of the world's first bacteria-killer, or antibiotic, earned him the 1945 Nobel Prize in medicine.

However, microbial resistance to antibiotics has been a growing problem, meaning some medicines no longer work to fight the infections they were designed to treat.

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon, but the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and plants has made the problem worse.

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, resistance to antibiotics could cause 10 million deaths a year.

"Projects like ours can contribute to finding... new molecules that can, in the medium or long term, be used in this battle against antibiotic resistance," said Chavarria.

apg/fj/bc/mlr/caw
Utah State Capitol building Monday, October 8, 2001. As Utah becomes increasingly more diverse, state and local governments are faced with how to best serve residents with little to no English skills. | Jason Olson, Deseret News

Editor's note: This is part of a KSL.com series looking at the rise of artificial intelligence technology tools such as ChatGPT, the opportunities and risks they pose and what impacts they could have on various aspects of our daily lives.

Utah Driver License Division Director Christopher Caras was terrified when the state first floated the idea of translating the driver's license test into multiple languages.

Other states had already undertaken the endeavor and estimated the project would cost $50,000 per language, per iteration of the test. Caras had sticker shock. Meanwhile, a 2022 law directing the division to offer the test in five new languages by 2023 only allotted $60,000 total (and individuals do not pay more to take the test in a language other than English).

Artificial intelligence translation technology became the division's saving grace, allowing it to translate the test into five languages at the cost other states were paying for a single language.

The division uses a combination of two technologies from Amazon, except for a few languages that aren't available through the service. In those cases  or when a test question appears to be off based on data from test takers  the division will pay a human translator. So far, the division has translated the test into Spanish, Tongan, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Portuguese. It hopes to add another five languages each year.

"When you're talking languages, there's so many dialects and nuances that you're really never going to get everybody to agree, even if you ask all the certified translators to come in," Caras said. "Our aim is to get as close to that as we can by utilizing the technologies so that the cost is fiscally responsible to the state and the agency."

The Driver License Division is a leader among state agencies when it comes to using AI translation technology to better serve residents with little to no English skills. Other state and local government entities appear to only have options to translate webpages into another language or have the content spoken aloud for those who are visually impaired. The state is also looking into American Sign Language translation, which would take the form of a video of an ASL interpreter translating on screen.

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Exploring such options may become necessary as the state becomes increasingly more diverse, as evidenced by the fact that over 120 languages are spoken in Utah.

"As a state, we are kind of at the strategic level, focusing on analyzing appropriate use cases and separating facts from fiction when it comes to the claims about the dependability of AI versus what really is safe and secure to use," said Rich Saunders, Utah's first chief innovation officer. "We are literally right now focused on a broad strategic level about how to use AI  and there's a particular interest in closing the language gap."

Data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services 2022 language report. | Sydnee Gonzalez, KSL.com

Saunders added that the lower cost of AI translation, as well as increased speed compared to human translation, are some of the biggest benefits of using artificial intelligence. Nubia Pena, the governor's senior advisor on equity and opportunity, said closing the language gap is an important part of the state's commitment to creating a climate that is inclusive and welcoming.

"In addition to contributing to Utah's economic success, our multicultural and linguistically diverse Utahns are enhancing the cultural vibrancy of our state," she said over email. "Integrating languages into service delivery models allows us to increase engagement opportunities with our constituents, helps improve services offered by creating greater accessibility so we can strive to better reach underserved communities."

How does AI translation technology work?

Adam Youngfield, a translation expert with over a decade of experience, said there's often a lack of understanding about how AI actually works.

"There's the general kind of folk understanding of what AI is, which is the sense that it's almost a human-like thing that can think and it can reason and it can come up with ideas and creations," he said. "That's not AI as it is right now."

Two of the most prominent types of AI technologies in the translation industry are neural machine translation, such as Google Translate, and large language models, like ChatGPT.

The first large-scale neural machine translation system was adopted in 2015 and it's had a big impact on translation ever since. These types of neural networks can produce  especially when it comes to more sophisticated technology than Google Translate  very accurate translations and have the ability to "learn" and improve over time. However, neural machine translations can also lack fluency.

In contrast, large language models are fluent but may not be very accurate. Although ChatGPT can understand and generate text in a variety of languages, it was primarily designed to understand and generate text in English.

The practical uses of neural machine translation range from on-demand translations of websites to live translation of text or speech (although Youngfield said speech-to-speech translations are still being developed).

The applications of large language models could be much broader. Not only could a user translate a webpage, but they could also ask follow-up questions or request additional resources in their preferred language.

"It's much more conversant," Youngfield said. "We're barely beginning to scratch the surface on what ChatGPT is capable of. ... As the technology continues to expand, you could envision the government even making their own version and deploying that from their website. From that point of view, it could even become like a virtual assistant for users of the website."

A number of Utah startups are exploring the intersection of AI and translations, said translation/localization professor and consultant Adam Wooten. He pointed to Addavox  which uses AI for automatic transcriptions, captioning and voice dubbing in over 100 languages  and OneMeta AI  which includes live translations in 82 languages.

Ethical concerns of governments using AI for translation

Both Wooten and Youngfield cautioned against using AI indiscriminately and without human checks. The two experts encouraged governments to think through what types of materials can be machine-translated and which require a human to either interpret directly or at least edit a machine translation.

"If you or I were to go to ChatGPT and rely on it for information, maybe in some cases that might be innocuous and maybe it's not like going to pose a real threat or danger to us. But if we were to ask it for information that might have an impact on our health or our well-being and it misled us in some way that caused us harm, then that poses an ethical challenge," Youngfield said. "For most publication purposes  especially where you want to maintain credibility and you want to have a high-quality product  you're not just going to publish raw machine translation, you're going to want to have someone review it."

Wooten pointed to a recent court case where police used a translation app to interrogate an individual who only spoke Russian. The defendant was acquitted. Wooten expects that a combination of human and machine translation will become more and more common, although he added a machine translation alone may be better than nothing at times.

"You definitely want to evaluate  whatever it is that we're translating  how much risk is there here? How much of a chance is there that if we mess something up, it's going to cause some hurt, pain, loss of liberty or loss of life?" Wooten said. "You want to be very wary of using that in these more risky situations. Sometimes risky situations are even created out of nothing, so it's often good to make sure that you have professionals advising you."

Caras, the Driver License Division director, recommended that other government entities engage the community as they explore translation options. In identifying which languages to prioritize for translation, for example, Caras said the division met with Pacific Islander leaders who expressed that the greatest need in the community was Tongan.

"Work with them when you get to those areas where you're kind of splitting hairs," he said. "Our experience was very positive. They were willing to step up and say, 'If anybody has to wait, we'll wait because we see a larger need here.' And that was immensely helpful."

Wooten added that politicians and government leaders also need to consider the limitations of AI when it comes to cultural fluency and how the sole use of AI translations might come across.

"Certain constituents, perhaps bilingual immigrants, might say, 'Oh, this politician, they don't really care about us. They're just using a machine. We're not good enough for them to hire one of us as a human translator or interpreter,'" Wooten said. "Politicians who wish to support their diverse constituencies might consider supporting actual human translation and interpreting services as this industry is, by nature, a very diverse industry employing a lot of bilingual immigrants."
JAMAICA-UK-PROTEST-ROYALS

People calling for slavery reparations, protest outside the entrance of the British High Commission during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Kingston, Jamaica on March 22, 2022. Credit - (Photo by Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images)

King Charles IIIs May 6 coronation will be a moment of celebration for the British royal family. But for many of the 14 Commonwealth realm countries still tied to the British monarchy, it could be a time where calls to drop the monarchy resurface, given the death of the popular Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen kept a lot of these attachments to the Commonwealth and the monarchy alive for so many generations after independence, says Matthew Smith, director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London. Now that we have King Charles III, its a very different relationship.

Nowhere is that more true than in the Caribbean, where Britains history of colonization and slavery is leading to transitions out of the modern Commonwealth, which some believe is a form of neo-colonialism. In 2021, Barbados became the first country to transition to a republic since Mauritius in 1992. Officials in at least six other Caribbean countries have signaled they intend to remove the monarch as their sovereign. Heres which countries could be next.

More from TIME

Read More: Heres the Full Schedule for King Charles IIIs Coronationand What to Expect

The pressures of going it alone

More than a dozen countries are part of the commonwealth realm, including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, and New Zealand, though the monarchys role in these nations is mostly symbolic. Over 40 additional countries are part of the Commonwealth of Nations, many of which do not officially recognize the royal family as sovereign.

The British commonwealth formed after World War II, as former territories of the British Empire sought to become independent. The connection allowed countries to be self-governed, while still maintaining access to resources such as scholarships and preferential trade with Britain.

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When the empire dissolved, it posed new challenges for the colonized countries that had become dependent on Britain for a variety of resources. The Commonwealth affiliation offered support for countries still navigating their new independence, along with cooperation on international goals. Being part of the Commonwealth as conceived could alleviate pressures of going it alone as an independent nation, Smith says.

This was a draw for many of the Caribbean nations who were early in their development when the Commonwealth formed, Matthew says, and virtually unknown on the global stage. As theyve become a lot more assertive and have a presence that is not just an addendum to the Empire, there is a view that that should be sufficient to carry them through.

Further still, some believe that the Commonwealth is essentially a form of neocolonialism, a modern continuation of civilizing missions in which Western forces aimed to bend Indigenous cultures into their own images.

Royal insignia used across the Commonwealth employed racist iconography, and education opportunities in Britain were promoted as better than those available locally. Its continued a certain kind of genocidal approach to Indigenous knowledge, explains Jahlani Niaah, a lecturer in the Institute of Caribbean Studies at The University of the West Indies.

It is one of the lingering touchstones of the colonial past that continues the farce of a civilizing mission as a necessarily good, post-colonial institution for political cooperation and cultural good, says Niaah.

Many of the benefits first promised by the Commonwealth have not materialized, Niaah says. Were relying on those arrangements to bring us serious socio-political transformation, but they have just made us more financially imbalanced.

Members of Australia and New Zealands governments have both hinted at transitioning into republics in the near future. Following Queen Elizabeth IIs death, Adam Bandt, a member of Australias Green Party, shared his condolences on Twitter, along with a call for Australia to move forward away from the monarchy.

We need [a] Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic, he said. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has previously said she expected a transition to happen in [her] lifetime.

Read More: King Charles Ancestors Owned Slaves, New Documents Reveal. Heres Everything We Know

The legacy of slavery in the Caribbean

The calls for change are loudest in the Caribbean, where the monarchys legacy is deeply entangled with slavery. Anti-monarchist sentiment has grown alongside racial justice movements, Smith says.

During the period of imperialism, colonialism, and slavery, the African heritage elements to the Caribbean were significantly undermined by the dominant imperial structure, Smith says. Now were at a moment in time where consequences and motivations of thatprofit and human exploitationare much more widely known and understood. And that brings that entire relationship into sharper focus and greater questioning.

Rising calls for change confirm this. Last spring, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge faced widespread protests during a visit to the Caribbean spring that was widely condemned.

The couples first major engagement in Belize was canceled before they arrived, after locals staged a protest against their visit. A government committee in the Bahamas called for the royals to issue a full and formal apology for their crimes against humanity. Photos from the tripwhich showed the couple shaking hands with Jamaican children through wire fences and looking into a crowd from a Land Rover during a military paradewere viewed by many as a callback to colonialism.

During a meeting with the Duke and Duchess, Jamaicas Prime Minister informed them that the country would be moving on from the monarchy. The visit stimulated a conversation about relevance, Niaah says. It provided the perfect gauge for checking the mood of the region.

The transition process varies by nation. Both Australia and the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines held failed referendums on becoming republics in 1999 and 2009, respectively.

Jamaica looks closest to following Barbados next. The move would add significant momentum for the Caribbean, given that Jamaica was once one of Britains largest colonies in the region.

Niaah says its clear the relationship is not mutually beneficial, describing how certain trade arrangements have made it so that Jamaican sugar is more affordable in the U.K. than in Jamaica itself.

Its that kind of absurdity that shows how the rules seem to only favor one side.
International air travelers will no longer be subject to Covid-19 vaccination requirements once the US public health emergency ends on May 11, 2023

The White House on Monday announced a May 11 end to Covid-19 vaccine requirements for travelers to the United States and for government employees across the world's biggest economy.

"Today, we are announcing that the administration will end the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the Covid-19 public health emergency ends," a statement said.

More than a million people died from Covid-19 in the United States. However, the White House noted that the pandemic had been all but stopped, leading to the government lifting restrictions dating back from when the disease was ravaging entire communities and forcing crippling economic shutdowns.

"Since January 2021, Covid-19 deaths have declined by 95 percent and hospitalizations are down nearly 91 percent. Globally, Covid-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic," the statement said.

According to the White House, "vaccine requirements bolstered vaccination across the nation, and our broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives."

While demanding proof of a Covid vaccination for foreigners boarding US-bound flights mirrored the practice of many countries, the domestic government vaccination mandates sparked sometimes fierce political backlash at home.

In addition to ending the vaccine rules, President Joe Biden announced in April he was officially calling an end to the national health emergency that for more than three years had underpinned a series of extraordinary government measures.

These included lavish funding for free Covid testing and vaccinations across the country.

sms/bfm/sst
Attorney Robert Sykes comforts Marjorie Charles-Scott, the mother of Shandon Nicole Scott, who was killed two years ago Monday. Charles-Scott and others filed a lawsuit claiming violent offenders who should remain in prison were being released and not properly supervised once they were out. | Pat Reavy, KSL.com

Farrell Bartschi was 82, but his daughter says he was still very healthy and his family has a history of living well into their 90s.

Kimberlie Dixon has no doubt her father would be alive today if he hadn't been gunned down while taking his morning walk by a person he had never met before who was on parole from the Utah State Prison after already serving time for attempted murder. That man, Noel Munoz Lopez, tested positive for using methamphetamine while on parole, she said.

"He should have gone back into prison for that. But they're not doing their job," she said Monday about Adult Probation and Parole and the Utah Department of Corrections. "I just wish that they were doing what they were supposed to, and we would still have him."

Dixon isn't the only one who feels they were failed by the state. On Monday, nearly a dozen people  representing victims in six separate violent crimes  filed a civil lawsuit in 3rd District Court claiming serious violent acts were committed against them or their loved ones because of the "gross negligence" and "willful misconduct" of the Utah Department of Corrections and Adult Probation and Parole.

Among that group are relatives of four victims who were killed by people either on parole or probation.

The 47-page lawsuit against the corrections department its Adult Probation and Parole agency and several of the department's individual leaders and officers, claims that violent offenders who shouldn't be released from prison are getting out, and then are not being properly supervised once they're released.

In 2015, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative was created in Utah and is designed to "reduce incarceration time for nonviolent individuals who pose little risk and who successfully complete approved programs." The lawsuit says the program, however, is not designed to release violent offenders.

But according to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and their attorney Robert Sykes, since 2018, the Utah State Prison has "released multiple individuals under the direction of the JRI program who should not have been released because of the 'risk or a threat to the community.' These individuals were violent offenders who did not qualify for this program, or committed offenses for which their parole should have been terminated."

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Once these people were released on parole, Adult Probation and Parole lacked the ability to properly watch over them, the lawsuit contends.

"Since at least 2019, AP&P's difficulties in maintaining proper supervision and oversight of paroled offenders under their correctional jurisdiction has been known by state legislative leaders and other public officials. Since at least 2019, AP&P has known or should have known that it was unable to keep track of paroled offenders under their correctional jurisdiction" and "has actively sought to conceal and mislead the public regarding its inability to keep track of paroled offenders as well as its lack of proper supervision over such paroled offenders," the lawsuit states.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they have evidence provided by whistleblowers that corrections officials engaged in "willful misconduct and deceit" and an "astonishing cover-up" to prevent information about the shortfalls of the Department of Corrections and Adult Probation and Parole from becoming public.

The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to KSL.com's request for comment about the lawsuit.

Attorney Peter Sorensen says he spoke personally with a whistleblower who "told me very, very scary stories about the meetings he was in where he was directly and indirectly threatened, as well as everyone in that meeting, that if they told what AP&P had not been doing or had been lying about doing, there would be serious ramifications  and possibly they would never be heard from again. This is a very serious situation."

The group further claims in the lawsuit that "the gross negligence and willful misconduct of (the Utah Bureau of Prisons) and AP&P allowed plaintiffs' loved ones, including children and parents, to be murdered, sexually assaulted, or assaulted by unmonitored or improperly monitored violent offenders who never should have been released or who should have been reincarcerated earlier."

Attorney Alyson McAllister says the situation is more than something caused by a staffing crisis at the prison.

"It goes far beyond that in this case. There may be some of that. But we know, largely through these whistleblowers and through the investigation that has gone on, that even if there is some of that, there's way worse going on. There's lies, there's evidence being destroyed, there's evidence being fabricated, records being made up. This isn't a situation where, 'Hey, we don't have enough people. Our bad. We own up to that and admit it.'

"This was deceit and willful misconduct," she said.

Attorney Christina Isom says some of the cover-up, according to information Sykes' office has found, include parolees wearing ankle monitors  meant to keep track of them  but the monitors actually weren't working.

"Our knowledge that these people who committed these crimes were either on ankle monitors that didn't work or on ankle monitors that weren't monitored," she said, while adding that officials then went in "after the fact and changed their records to saying they have been monitoring them when in fact they have not been monitoring them."

McAllister said the lawsuit has been in the work for months, and additional plaintiffs and defendants may be added as more information is uncovered.

As of Monday, the plaintiffs include:

Amanda Wood, the daughter of Linda Nemelka. Nemelka was a Millcreek mother of five who was shot to death in her car on March 11, 2020, after having dinner with a friend. The case went unsolved for a year until James Dekota Brunson and Anika Celeste Thorpe were each charged with murder in 2021. The lawsuit contends Brunson and Thorpe violated their paroles prior to the shooting and should have already been back in prison, but Adult Probation and Parole did not look for them.

Marjorie Charles-Scott, the mother of Shandon Nicole Scott. Shandon Scott was the girlfriend of Terrence Trent Vos, a former Public Enemy No. 1 who was released from prison in 2020. Vos was required to wear an ankle monitor as part of his parole, but Adult Probation and Parole "did not use the monitor to check his location or try and make contact with Vos once he was released," the lawsuit states. He was then arrested for DUI in 2020 and allegedly assaulted Scott in October 2020. "During periods of his parole, specifically between February 2021 and April 2021, there were outstanding warrants for his arrest of which AP&P was fully aware. AP&P did not investigate or contact Vos concerning these outstanding warrants," according to the suit. On May 1, 2021, police say Vos shot Scott multiple times, killing her.

Chris and Cindy are the parents of a teenage girl who was kidnapped at knifepoint while walking home from Hunter High School on Jan. 27, 2020, duct taped and sexually assaulted by a man who was released from prison in 2015 after serving time for attempted murder. Creed Cole Lujan eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and forcible sodomy. The lawsuit contends that Lujan was not being properly supervised by Adult Probation and Parole at the time of the kidnapping and had already committed "several parole violations" that should have resulted in him already being incarcerated.

Wilfredo Robles and Sandra Cecilia Moguel are the parents of Sandra Fiorella Robles. Robles was strangled to death by Daniel Padilla-Ang during an argument that started over a vape pen. Padilla-Ang pleaded guilty to murder in August and was sentenced to up to life in prison. The lawsuit contends that he was already a "violent offender" when he was released from the Utah State Prison last time and "should have been subject to strict parole and careful supervision by AP&P" but wasn't.

Kimberlie Dixon is the daughter of 82-year-old Farrell Bartschi. Bartschi was shot three times and killed in front of a residence near 3800 South and 4200 West on Oct. 4, 2021 in a random attack. Noel Munoz Lopez, of Kearns, was on the run for nine months before being arrested in Mexico. The lawsuit claims Lopez "had assaulted multiple individuals many times while on parole" but was not properly supervised by Adult Probation and Parole.

Bethany Schumaker, Clarence Newman, and Herman Schumaker lived in the same home in Centerville. On July 21, 2022, police say Ammon Jacob Woodhead entered their house through an open garage door while carrying a can of gasoline and told the residents that he had a knife and intended to set the house on fire with them inside. He is accused of then assaulting the elderly couple in the house before setting their home on fire. The lawsuit contends that the attack "occurred after several parole violations were reported to authorities" but Woodhead was not properly supervised by Adult Probation and Parole.

At a press conference on Monday to announce the lawsuit, all of the plaintiffs were in attendance. One by one, they told their stories of how they had been let down the by the Utah Department of Corrections system.

Clarence Newman was emotional as he recalled Woodhead entering his house with a gas can and attacking him and his wife.

"He came down the hallway, found me in the bedroom, still had the gas can, was pouring gas all over my bed, all over our bed and all over me," he recalled.

"I have been OK since the incident, trying hard to forget all about it. Spending every day of my life at the house trying to clean it out and rebuild it. Beth has been the one that has had the struggles with the damage he did to her mentally. She hasn't been able to work and still can't."

Bethany Schumaker suffered a serious internal head injury and still has not been able tor return to her job as a certified public accountant. Furthermore, she says their grandchildren are now scared to go to their house.

"They were so traumatized by what we looked like and the house burning that they're afraid. When we rebuild this house, are we going to have family time there? I don't know," she said.

"I just hope that the state will make it so this will never happen to anyone ever again. Somebody that was on parole, had been a violent offender, was able to come out and enjoy his freedom and try and do this to someone else. Because it's a day I'll never forget," Newman added.

It was an especially trying day for Charles-Scott as Monday was the second anniversary of her daughter's murder. She vividly remembers that morning when two officers came to her door.

"Hearing that knock on the door, the hard knock on the door, and then seeing two individuals outside my door. they immediately said, 'Are you Marjorie Scott?' And I said, 'Yes.' And they said, 'Are you related to Shandon Scott?' As soon as they said that, that's when I said, 'Oh, no, no no, what happened?' And that's when they told me. And the first words that came out of my mouth was, 'Terence did it. Terence did it.' And then the indiviudal told me, 'We have him in custody.'"

Charles-Scott, who was wearing a T-shirt with her daughter's picture on it, says there are memories of Shandon Scott all around her house.

"To this day I have not cleaned out her closet. I haven't gotten rid of her clothes. Her cat is there, sits right there by the closet, and will stay there," she said.

But some of those memories are still painful. The kitchen reminds her of the times of cooking and playing music with her daughter. It reminds her of the last meal her daughter cooked for her before she went to work  steak and potatoes, her favorite. But now, Charles-Scott says it has been two years since she cooked and she no longer will eat meat.

"I just can't do it, because it brings back that memory of that last meal she made for me," she said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
For decades, the images of thousands of Cubans, even a million at times, filling Havanas Revolution Square during the May 1 parade were used by the Cuban government to convey the impression to foreign audiences of the populations support of communism.

But in another signal of the islands economic distress, the countrys leadership canceled Mondays event because of a gasoline shortage.

Rain and some flooding on Sunday in Havana and other provinces in western Cuba also complicated things, and smaller events to make up for the canceled major parade were rescheduled for Friday, May 5.

Over the years, Cuban authorities have touted May 1 rallies, where people chant Patria o Muerte (Homeland or Death), slogans and carry banners with photos of Fidel Castro as a show of the populations support. In reality, citizens are coerced into attending or face retaliation. State workers and students are usually carried on government buses from distant municipalities to fill public squares in Havana and other provinces.

But after weeks of hours-long lines at the countrys gas stations, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy confirmed in March that the island has a fuel shortage that is not going to be resolved soon  though he added the country was not going to reach a zero distribution level.

Cuban officials have given different explanations for the gas shortfall.

The countrys appointed president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, said the fuel crisis mainly stemmed from international providers unable to meet their commitments.

Shipments from Venezuela, a close Cuba ally again mired with production issues and shipment delays linked to a corruption investigation involving state oil company PDVSA, have been unstable in recent months. Cuba has received oil from Mexico and Russia but not enough to fill the gap.

Part of Cubas diesel fuel also had to be redirected for use to generate electricity, and an oil tanker was damaged at the Santiago de Cuba port, further complicating distribution, Diaz-Canel said.

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Blaming U.S. sanctions, De la O Levy also said the cash-strapped island had trouble paying the high prices of supplies needed to refine oil.

For several months now, we have had limitations on imports of refined crude and derivatives of diesel and gasoline, said Nestor Perez Franco, director of the state oil company CUPET. This reality has not allowed our refineries to keep processing as they should and to guarantee the demand of the economy and the population.

Jorge Pinon, an oil expert from the University of Texas at Austin, said the Cuban government could also be exporting more gasoline, at the expense of the local demand, to generate much-needed hard currency. Perez Franco has denied the government was doing so.

At its core, the fuel shortages are just another part of the governments financial troubles in affording food, fuel and goods and guaranteeing essential services.

There were other tough times when the parade was suspended: in 1970, after the failed campaign to produce 10 million tons of sugar; in 1994 and 1995, in the middle of the economic crisis known as the Special Period, which followed the end of Soviet subsidies; and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Labor-rights violations in Cuba

On paper, the parade is organized by the Workers Central Union of Cuba, the single legal labor entity in the country, to celebrate workers rights and achievements under socialism. But labor activists and international organizations have for decades denounced the trampling of workers rights on the island.

In a report released last month, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous agency of the Organization of American States, identified systemic violations of workers rights in Cuba. Those violations include the lack of free access to work and lack of job stability; poor working conditions and lack of fair wages,  harassment in the workplace,  discrimination and persecution for political opinions, among others.

The report also notes the nonexistence of freedom of association in the workplace because independent unions are prohibited. Workers are also not allowed to benefit from collective bargaining or to go on strike.

Accounts gathered by the commission show that the State, as the largest employer, controls wages, limits the participation of the private sector in the labor market and imposes the labor conditions of the workers, the report says. The commission observes with concern how the labor situation of the working people of the island has become more precarious.

The report notes that Cuban legislation violates the United Nations International Labor Organizations Convention, which prohibits illegal retention of salaries by employers. According to the report, thats a standard practice in Cuba, where state agencies negotiate salaries and control staffing in tourism and other sectors. Cuban doctors who have abandoned official medical missions abroad have also complained about similar practices.

Echoing concerns expressed by the. U.S. State Department, the commission said workers in those medical brigades could find themselves in a situation of forced or mandatory work, concepts related to modern slavery.

The commission urged the Cuban government to cease salary retention, end acts of repression against Cuban workers, provide working protection gear, increase minimum salaries, remove the ban on the private sector in certain professions and businesses, and end gender- and race-based job disparities.

Cubans interviewed for the report also highlighted how the low state salaries have made stealing at the workplace a widespread practice.

Despite carrying out a complex job as an administrator, the salary I receive only allows me to survive with the basics for seven days, one Cuban state worker told the commission. Planning vacations, saving, or eating in a restaurant once a year is impossible. It is impossible for me to live without committing illicit acts to support myself and my family. ... Despite the fact that the company receives large benefits in local currency, there are no salary increases, so I, and most workers, have to steal small [portions] of necessary products like oil, flour, chicken and some pork.
As Ive said, perhaps more than once, these are dark and dangerous times for democracy. So dark that the threat to our form of government and our meaning as a people frames our age. Historian Heather Cox Richardson puts it like this: This is not the only story from today, but it is the only story that historians will note from this era  did Americans defend their democracy?

And there is ground for pessimism, Id concede, on virtually every front. Astonishingly, the Republican Party seemingly prepares to nominate a supremely dishonest, narcissistic, seditious insurrectionist  who claims an authority to suspend the Constitution and to be freed from the obligations of law  for president of the United States. Its hard to imagine a stronger justification for the utter abandonment of a political party. Can you think of a reason more absolutely disqualifying?

Gene Nichol

And, on the home front, the defection-bolstered Republican General Assembly continues to dismantle the constitutional safeguards of democratic government  now concentrating on the destruction of traditional hallmarks of executive authority  and publicly tormenting the most marginalized and imperiled members of the Tar Heel community. Meantime, the new Republican N.C. Supreme Court has formally enlisted in support of the lawmakers war on democracy. So matters horrify. Literally.

But my economist friends sometimes talk about green shoots. I think this refers to something like signs, or maybe even sprigs, of economic recovery during an otherwise bleak downturn. Enlivening sprouts, perhaps. Evidence of possible turn of fortune. Even if scant. Strands of hope.

I can be a doomsday type, Ill concede. But Im not beyond seeing the hint of a silver lining; a counter-current, nascent perhaps, but capable of producing powerful tides. And even an old geezer, these days, is hard pressed to deny the appearance of political green shoots. The possible, admittedly longed for, emergence of democratic resurrection.

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Think of Kansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Montana.

In August, there was the sweeping rejection of an abortion ban by Kansas voters. Kansas voters. Women from outside traditional channels of politics  and allies who love them  flooded the streets, meeting halls and polling booths to demand the equality of reproductive freedom. Not to ask for it, but to require it. As a 23-year-old activist stirred by the battle beamed: Its never looked like this in Kansas before. Who knew regular folks, especially young ones, would steel their backs and fight? Apparently Kansans did.

In early April, Janet Protasiewicz, an avowedly liberal judge running overtly to secure abortion and voting rights, won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court  tipping the majority  by a whopping 11 points. In a state where four of the last six presidential contests had been decided by less than one percent, she prevailed by over 200,000 votes. Her incumbent Republican opponent fumed in indignation. She didnt seem to care.

Weeks later, two young, Black lawmakers in Nashville, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, would teach the nation and the planet what it means to lead. Rising even higher than their almost pitiable Tennessee legislative colleagues could go low, they defied  saying effectively, were not here at your sufferance. Weve got work to do. Were not interested in your permission or approval. Step aside.

And last week, in Montana of all places, Zooey Zephyr, a transgender lawmaker, rebuked her colleagues from the House floor after they voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Montana legislators voted to censure her, deploying the sanction for the first time in 50 years. Good God. They might as easily have voted to censure the 21st century.

Green shoots. All around.

Contributing columnist Gene Nichol is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Rachel Simner, the mom of a 13-year-old child in Illinois, said she took her child to a local emergency room last September at the urging of her child's school officials, who had done a suicide risk assessment.

Simner, a mom of two, told "Good Morning America" that when her child was discharged from the emergency room several hours later, her only guidance was a list of pediatric mental health providers that were said to specialize in autism, a condition with which her child has been diagnosed.

"It turns out a lot of them weren't pediatric or they didn't deal with autism or they had waitlists, so it took a while to find anybody and this is a kid who was suicidal, so it was urgent," Simner said. "Four or five days later I went to the mental health hospital itself instead of the ER to try to get them admitted directly, and we were turned away again."

Simner said her child, who also uses they/them pronouns, has for the past several months relied on a patchwork of providers and an at-home tutor provided by the school district while she and her husband continue to search for a more permanent treatment plan.

"We get bad information. The providers aren't adequately trained. There's such a shortage of space and beds for inpatient treatment," Simner said. "In the meantime, my child is falling through the cracks and not getting the help that they need."

Several states away, in the Washington, D.C., area, Ann, a mom of two, estimates that she and her husband have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get mental health care for their oldest child, a high school student.

"We've been paying basically out-of-pocket since she was in third grade for weekly therapy," Ann, who asked that her last name not be used, told "GMA," noting that is even with her family being lucky enough to have health insurance.

Around eighth grade, Ann said her child, who uses they/them pronouns, began to self-harm and experience suicidal thoughts, which led to years of searching for and bouncing between inpatient and outpatient treatment programs.

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"At one point I switched to half-time in my job to take care of my child because we were too scared to leave them alone physically," Ann said, adding of the financial toll, "We've spent anything that they had for college, and possibly everything that their sibling had for college and possibly our retirement, just so that they could do all of this so that they could survive enough to decide what they wanted to do after high school."

In addition to the financial burden, Ann said the logistical burden of finding treatment for their child has fallen squarely on her and her husband.

After one 10-hour stay at a local emergency room following their child's suicide threat, Ann said they left with little more than a list of mental health care providers to try to call for an appointment.

"Everyone is just trained to say, 'Call 911,' and then you get discharged from the hospital and you're like, what do I do now?" Ann said. "It's like a state of crisis for a parent to be constantly like, how do I manage that someone will be home 24/7 with my child and still work and still be able to pay our bills and still have another child who is supposed to be able to function like a normal person?"

A mental health crisis of care for kids

Mental health experts say what Simner and Ann described experiencing is part of a larger crisis across the country, where a record number of kids in need of mental health care are crashing up against a lack of access to care.

"I think out of the 100,000 psychologists [in the U.S.], there are around 4,000 adolescent clinicians, and most of those are in urban areas," Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, told "GMA." "You tell a family, 'Here's what you need to do,' but then what? If you've got a six-month waiting list, that isn't helpful for a family in crisis, particularly for a child in crisis."

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that when it comes to child and adolescent psychiatrists -- medical doctors who are able to prescribe medicine -- there are just over 10,000 currently practicing in the U.S., at a ratio of 14 per 100,000 children.

Two years ago, the AACAP joined with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association -- which collectively represent more than 77,000 physicians and over 200 children's hospitals -- in declaring children's mental health a "national emergency."

Practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists in the US (ABC News Photo Illustration, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

Last year, a report from U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy warned of a growing mental health crisis among young people. The report, issued during the coronavirus pandemic, cited statistics including a 50%-plus-increase in emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts among girls and a doubling of anxiety and depression symptoms reported across genders.

On Thursday, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention painted an even starker picture: According to the agency, the number of high school female students seriously considering suicide jumped from 24% in 2019 to 30% in 2021.

The percentage of those who made a suicide plan increased from 19.9% to 23.6% in that same time frame. There was also an increase in suicide attempts, from 11% to 13.3%, according to the CDC.

"So many people that I've worked with have had to make the choice where they know that their child is imminently suicidal, and they just can't afford to bring them somewhere to get treatment," said Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Psychological Association, noting that many parents struggle to find treatment at all. "So they come home every day from work, hoping and praying that their child is still alive."

Prinstein described kids as moving targets who develop so quickly that a delay of any time in mental health treatment can set them on a different life course.

"If a kid has to wait six months until they get an evaluation or they get better, that means they're missing, potentially, a significant portion of their school year," Prinstein said. "When they are able to start functioning again, they're now on a whole new trajectory and where they end up might be miles away from where they would have been had they been able to get minimal disruption where they did not lose a school year and they did not have major conflicts with teachers, parents and peers."

MORE: Suicide can be contagious for teens, research shows. Here's how parents can help

Prinstein and other experts point to data showing the mental health crises among kids has been a long time coming, and was both exacerbated and highlighted by the pandemic, a time when kids faced everything from loss and isolation to economic uncertainty at home.

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a policy-focused nonprofit organization, determined that in the absence of a "focused strategy" for help post-pandemic, "a generation of young people will enter adulthood with worse mental health," particularly those in low-income communities.

"Just because [COVID] is not like it was three years ago, doesn't mean that it has completely disappeared from the lives of our children," said Gurwitch. "Those concerns that arose during COVID -- those that were often coupled with grief and loss issues, with changes in their family due to housing or food or job insecurity -- we couldn't just turn those off and put them back into the learning environment."

Gurwitch said a silver lining of the increased focus on mental health care post-pandemic is the expansion of the government-backed 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which people can call or text 24/7 for help. A federal funding bill passed in January included $506.1 million to support and expand services provided by the lifeline.

Both Gurwitch and Prinstein said the lasting impacts of COVID are piled on top of what is an already stressful time to be a child in America. Kids today, they said, feel the weight of school shootings, natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, economic uncertainty, social justice, climate change and war, on top of social media and academic pressures.

PHOTO: In this undated stock photo, the silhoutte of a young woman is shown sitting alone in a hallway. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)

At the same time, according to Prinstein, they are not prepared emotionally to cope, despite a renewed public discourse on mental health that came out of the pandemic.

"We have basically an almost complete lack of any prevention right now," Prinstein said. "When it comes to physical health, there's all kinds of prevention that we teach kids about -- how to eat well and exercise and avoid unhealthy practices -- but there's just remarkably little prevention that's built into the way that we raise kids or that we talk about at the family and community level."

'We need a mental health moonshot'

Prinstein said if the U.S. wants to make any significant progress towards ending the mental health crisis among kids, there needs to be substantial change.

"We made a big investment in building a whole mental health infrastructure in our country after World War II, for the veterans, but we've made no meaningful changes to the mental health infrastructure in this country since that time 70 years ago, and that system already was built for adults, not for kids," he said. "So we're just sitting on a whole bunch of solutions that could work if we developed a system that reflected the science."

He added, "All of that is just going to waste because everyone is making these tiny, incremental, ultimately meaningless changes that don't address the heart of the issue."

Just as President Joe Biden last year outlined a new "American Moonshot" aimed at eradicating cancer, Prinstein said the U.S. needs a "mental health moonshot."

"We should be thinking about mental health in the exact same way we do physical health. People should be aware of their options, they should know about the scientific approaches to treatment that are likely to work and they should be able to access that treatment," he said. "We should be building mental health resilience and competencies into every kid, K-12, in every community."

Prinstein applauded the Biden administration's $1 billion in funding to increase the number of school-based health professionals, but described that effort and others as "tiny band-aids" being placed on the problem, instead of a necessary "systemic fix."

"Right now, the government pays billions of dollars every year to make sure as a national priority that we have a sufficient number of physicians with the right specialties in the right parts of the country so that everyone has access. There is no such effort being made for mental health care providers," he said. "It really is that substantial and that big of a concern that we're talking about the need for a major, systemic federal commitment, and we haven't been doing that for decades."

Last year, when the Biden administration's funding increase was announced, Education Department Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Roberto Rodriguez, told ABC News there's never been an effort of this magnitude by the federal government to distribute mental health professionals to schools. The recent spending, according to Rodriguez, also helps President Biden inch closer to his goal of "doubling" school-based mental health practitioners.

"We are making a big bet on supporting, attracting, developing and retaining our school psychologists, social workers, [and] counselors to really work in support of our students," Rodriguez said.

MORE: Our son died by suicide. This is why we want mental health resources in schools.

Anne, a mom from Rockville, Maryland, who asked that her last name not be used, said she wonders what would have happened with her own 16-year-old child if mental health was treated differently in the U.S.

In one instance, the child -- whom Anne asked not be named -- experienced suicidal ideation, and Anne said they waited several days in a local hospital's emergency department trying to be admitted to a mental health treatment center.

"Immediately, you are depersonalized, put in a space that has nothing that can be used as a hazard and you sit there, and you sit there, waiting to be assessed," Anne said of her family's experience in the ER.

"Ultimately, the psychiatrist, in meeting with my child, she determined that there was a lot of a lot of stuff my kid was having to deal with, and the thought of suicide and the plans for suicide were the only things that my child knew to go to, to cope, because they hadn't learned coping strategies anywhere."

Training pediatricians to be first responders for children's mental health

With schools also facing a stark shortage of mental health professionals -- at a ratio of 1,162 to 1 compared to the 500 to 1 ratio recommended by the National Association of School Psychologists -- one organization is working to train another population that reaches children daily: pediatricians.

To date, the REACH Institute, a New York-based nonprofit organization, has trained more than 6,000 pediatricians and primary care providers in delivering scientifically proven mental health care, according to Lisa Hunter Romanelli, Ph.D., CEO of REACH and a licensed clinical psychologist.

"Unfortunately, the typical pediatrician, through medical school and their training, they don't get a lot of training on mental health, but increasingly, because of the children's mental health crisis, that's where families are turning," Hunter Romanelli told "GMA." "So REACH's training program aims to increase the knowledge and comfort of pediatricians so that they are able to to spot early signs of children's mental health illness and manage and help those kids within the scope of their pediatric practices."

PHOTO: Medical providers are trained to provide mental health care for children at a REACH Institute training. (The REACH Institute)

The scope of REACH's training, according to Hunter Romanelli, extends from learning to identify mental health struggles in kids to treating them, whether by helping the patient and family learn different skills to alleviate symptoms or, if indicated, prescribing medication.

"We're not trying to turn [pediatricians] into therapists," Hunter Romanelli said, adding, "Our training empowers them to do something that they are already being asked to do and gives them more comfort and confidence in being able to help the kids in their practice."

Hunter Romanelli said REACH, which is funded by donations as well as grants and fees for its training programs, estimates that training one pediatrician can help 250 kids with mental health issues, meaning the need is still great.

"Today, our impact has been that we've trained 6,000 pediatricians, which means they are helping 1.5 million kids, which is good, but there's still a crisis," Hunter Romanelli said. "We'd love to make sure that every pediatrician has gone through our training program because obviously that would make a dramatic impact on the number of kids to have access to to mental health services."

What parents can do now

Hunter Romanelli, as well as Prinstein and Gurwitch, stressed that there are steps parents can take to try to protect their child's mental health.

First, parents should know that they have the right to ask questions of providers about the mental health treatment their child is receiving, according to Prinstein.

"It's really, really important that folks, when they go to get help, that they're looking for a licensed professional and also asking, 'Did you go to an accredited institution,?' and, 'What is the kind of therapy that you're providing? Is there science to demonstrate that therapy works,?'" he said. "Parents have every right to ask."

Second, parents should be sounding boards for their kids, and be proactive in speaking to them about mental health, including suicide, according to Prinstein.

"Talk with your kids about suicide because there is a big misconception that we're going to somehow put an idea in our kids' heads and it's going to make them more likely to do something risky or bad. That is absolutely incorrect," he said. "You're not putting an idea in their head, but what you are doing is communicating when they talk with you about it, they're going to feel safe and they're going to feel like they can open up to you."

Gurwitch echoed Prinstein's advice, saying simply, "Talk to your kids."

"Check in with them about how they're doing when events happen," she said. "Whether it is another shooting, whether it's a disaster, whether it's the impact of climate change, whether it's the war in Ukraine, check with your kids about how they're doing and they can know that you're available to talk to about the tough things."

Likewise, Gurwitch said parents should feel comfortable talking to their child's pediatrician and school officials about mental health.

"You know your child better than anybody else, so if you see a change in their behaviors and their functioning and how they're doing in school or with peers or with you, talk to somebody to see, 'Should I be concerned?'" she said. "Children don't come with a manual, so it's unfair [for parents] to think, 'I know what to do.'"

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises please call or text 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org or dial the current toll free number 800-273-8255 [TALK].

ABC News' Arthur Jones II and Kelly Livingston contributed to this report.

As new data shows kids in a mental health crisis, parents ask, where is the help? originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
The daughter of a man critically injured after he was caught in crossfire during a downtown Fort Myers altercation is relieved she didn't have to mourn the loss of another parent in a shooting.

Sinsere Rudlaff, 19, said in an online fundraiser her father, Adam Rudlaff, 39, of Cape Coral, had just left his job Saturday in downtown Fort Myers and was walking past The Lucky Screw bar, 1527 Hendry St., when he was caught in the crossfire.

Fort Myers Police continue to review footage and witness statements.

"I have a son, and my son obviously will never get to meet my mom," Sinsere Rudlaff said. "And I'd like for him to meet my dad."

Sinsere Rudlaff, who lives in Tennessee, said her mother died in a shooting 15 ago, when she was a toddler. She received a phone call about her father's shooting as she prepared to take an online exam for a life insurance license.

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Wrongful death lawsuit: Naples father sues woman accused in drunken driving death of Charlotte County deputy.

"I couldn't answer the first time because I have a baby so I thought he was gonna ask me about the baby," Sinsere Rudlaff said. "Then he texted me that he got shot."

Her mother was fatally shot in Detroit, Michigan, in 2008.

Sinsere Rudlaff, who's also lived in Cape Coral, said it was "pretty scary, like PTSD reliving that moment."

While she can't return to Florida yet, Sinsere Rudlaff said she's trying to keep in touch.

"I wish I could go see him, but we've just been FaceTiming," Sinsere Rudlaff said, adding that it'd be a 16-hour drive.

While she plans to visit this summer, her brother and uncle rushed to his bedside. She added her father will remain in the hospital for at least a week.

Two bullets struck Adam Rudlaff as he was walking back from his shift at Cabos Cantina Taco & Tequila Bar, 2226 First St., she said  one in front and the other behind his heart in surrounding tissue.

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Rudlaff said surgery poses a threat.

"Even with these bullets ... One's in front of his heart and one's behind," Sinsere Rudlaff said. "He can't have surgery to have them removed due to being too close to his heart."

The News-Press couldn't immediately reach Adam Rudlaff or his fiancee, Nicole Womack, for comment.

Kristin Capuzzi, spokesperson for Fort Myers Police, said they continue to investigate leads and take witness statements.

"We still seek any additional information regarding the incident and urge people with information to contact us or Crime Stoppers," Capuzzi wrote.

Capuzzi said the incident is isolated between a group and an individual known to them.

"It is unfortunate that due to this, someone was injured," Capuzzi wrote. "We remain committed to the safety of downtown Fort Myers for all."

Adam Rudlaff was the only victim wounded.

They urge anyone with information to contact the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700 or Southwest Florida CrimeStoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

Tipsters may also be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000 in cash if their tip leads to an arrest.

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: Cape Coral man shot in Fort Myers will live with two bullets in chest
SYDNEY, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A 13-year-old boy was charged with dangerous driving following a fatal car crash that caused three deaths overnight in Australia's state of Queensland.

Around 10:45 p.m. local time Sunday, an allegedly stolen Mercedes-Benz was traveling south on Saltwater Creek Road near Sydney Street when it allegedly collided with the rear of a Holden. The Holden then collided with a Mazda headed towards Hervey Bay, according to a statement from Queensland Police on Monday.

The driver and passenger of the Holden, a 17-year-old girl and a 29-year-old woman, as well as the driver and sole occupant of the Mazda, a 52-year-old woman, all died at the scene.

A 23-year-old woman traveling in the Holden was airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in critical condition.

The driver of the Mercedes-Benz, the 13-year-old boy, sustained minor injuries to his foot. The police alleged that the car was stolen from a Maryborough residence at 8:40 p.m. on Sunday.

The boy, who is due before the local children's court at a later date, has been charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle. 
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging Congress to act 'as soon as possible'

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the US may run out of cash by 1 June if Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt ceiling.

Reaching the debt ceiling would mean that the government is unable to borrow any more money.

On Monday, Ms Yellen urged Congress to act "as soon as possible" to address the $31.4tr (25.12tr) limit.

President Joe Biden has called a meeting of congressional leaders on the issue on 9 May.

The debt ceiling has been raised, extended or revised 78 times since 1960.

In this instance, House Republicans have demanded drastic spending cuts and a reversal of some aspects of President Biden's agenda - including his student loan forgiveness programme and green energy tax credits - in exchange for votes to raise the debt ceiling. This, in turn, has prompted objections from Democrats in the Senate and from President Biden, who said last week that the issue is "not negotiable".

The president, however, is coming under increasing pressure from business groups - including the US Chamber of Congress - to discuss Republican proposals.

A default - which would be the first in US history - could upend global financial markets and shatter trust in the US as a global business partner.

Experts have warned that a default could also see the US head into a recession and lead to rising unemployment.

It would also mean that the US would be unable to borrow money to pay the salaries of government employees and military personnel, social security cheques or for other obligations, such as defence contractor payments.

Even weather forecasts could ultimately be impacted, as many rely on data from the federally-funded National Weather Service.

In a letter to members of Congress on Tuesday, Ms Yellen said that "We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States."

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Ms Yellen added that it is impossible to know for sure when exactly the US will run out of cash.

Her announcement came on the same day as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that there is a "significantly greater risk that the Treasury will run out of funds in early June".

"The projected exhaustion date remains uncertain, however, because the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the coming weeks are difficult to predict," the CBO report said.

The Treasury plans to increase borrowing through the end of the quarter ending in June, totalling about $726bn - about $449bn more than projected earlier this year. Officials have said this is partly due to lower-than-expected income tax receipts, higher government spending and a beginning-of-quarter cash balance that was lower than anticipated.

In a joint statement on Monday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that the US "does not have the luxury of waiting until June 1 to come together, pass a clean bill to avoid a default and prevent catastrophic consequences for our economy and millions of American families."

"Republicans cannot allow right-wing extremism to hold our nation hostage. For generations, Congress has made spending and revenue decisions as part of the annual budget process, which is currently underway," the statement said. "That is the appropriate place to debate and discuss our nation's fiscal picture - not in a hostage-situation in which extreme MAGA Republicans try to impose their radical agenda on America."

On the Republican side, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused President Biden of having "refused to do his job" and "threatening to bumble our nation into its first ever default".

"The clock is ticking," Mr McCarthy said in a statement. "After three months of the Biden administration's inaction, the House acted, and there is a bill sitting in the Senate as we speak that would put the risk of default to rest. The Senate and the President need to get to work  and soon."

In another letter sent to members of Congress in January, Ms Yellen said that the Treasury Department had begun "extraordinary measures" to avoid a government default.
Three-term Senator Ben Cardin (D., Md.) announced on Monday afternoon that he will not be seeking reelection in 2024.

I am proud of all I have done for Maryland. I have given my heart and soul to our great state, and I thank Marylanders for trusting me as your representative for all these years. Thank you, Maryland, Cardin wrote on Twitter in a video statement featuring his wife, Myrna.

I am proud of all I have done for Maryland. I have given my heart and soul to our great state, and I thank Marylanders for trusting me as your representative for all these years. Thank you, Maryland.https://t.co/3SVbOSKn86  Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) May 1, 2023

You know, Myrna, its been the honor of my life to represent the people of Maryland first in the Maryland General Assembly, then as speaker of the House, later as a member of the House of Representatives, and now as a United States senator, Cardin said. When this term ends, it will be my last year as an elected official. I will not seek re-election.

Republicans greeted the news as an opportunity to turn the seat in 2024. Democrats are quickly realizing that the Senate wont be any fun for them when Republicans retake the majority in 2024, Tate Mitchell, the National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson, told Fox News following the announcement.

Larry Hogan, a former Maryland governor, is speculated to be among the leading Republican challengers bidding for Cardins seat.

Cardin chairs the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in the Senate and serves as the second-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Among the Maryland Senators notable accomplishments include the passage of the Global Magnitsky Act, a bill co-authored with then-Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.), which sought to sanction individuals accused of serious human-rights violations around the world.

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In the midst of the pandemic, in March 2021, Cardin was caught in a hot-mic conversation with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg admitting that Democrats would likely require budget-reconciliation procedures to pass President Joe Bidens infrastructure bill, known as the American Rescue Plan.

Ultimately, its going to be put together similar to how the American Rescue Plan was put together, Cardin furtively said in reference to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus-relief package. Most likely, were going to have to use reconciliation.

The budget-reconciliation process, which the bill ultimately relied upon to pass legislative hurdles, permits the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority rather than with the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster.

Cardins announcement makes him the third Democratic Senator  alongside Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.)  to retire ahead of the upcoming elections. He was recently mentioned by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as a potential temporary replacement for the former on the Judiciary Committee although Republicans have vowed to block such efforts.

Cardin entered the Senate in 2006 following a nearly two decades long career in the House of Representatives as Marylands 3rd Congressional District representative.

I am an optimist but also a realist. I was taught that its OK to compromise  dont ever compromise your principles  but find a path to get things done. Inspire trust in those around you. Keep your word and, again, listen. Thats civility and it has been central to all I have done over these many years of elected office, Cardin concluded.

More from National Review
In March, 20 tenants of an East End Boise apartment complex were told they had to leave their homes due to inadequate heat in the buildings.

Nearly a month later, the group is suing Commercial Northwest Property Management, which runs the apartment complex, for the mass eviction and the companys failure to maintain proper heat in the apartment complex.

Wrest Collective, a community-funded nonprofit law firm, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the tenants of the Cambridge Dorchester Apartments last month. The lawsuit, according to a news release from Wrest Collective, seeks damages for the landlords alleged breach of the families leases, failure to provide safe and healthy housing, and unlawful attempts to cancel the tenants lease agreements.

Company sends mixed messages to tenants

Commercial Northwest Property Management, which operates dozens of apartment complexes across the Treasure Valley, sent mixed messages to the tenants of the Cambridge Dorchester Apartments, beginning March 1, about what they needed to to do leave the 52-unit apartment complex, located at 300 S. Straughan Ave, south of Warm Springs Avenue. According to Wrest Collective and Idaho Statesman interviews with the tenants, the company told tenants in an evening email on March 1 that they had a 30-day notice to vacate their homes. The emails said the move out date was non-negotiable.

Wrest Collective said the notice had no valid or legal basis under their lease agreements or Idaho law.

Over a week later, Commercial Northwest Property Management rescinded the 30-day notice, saying the renters could continue to live in their homes. But the next evening after 6 p.m. on Friday, March 10, the company sent a final email explaining that the heating in the apartment building was inadequate, and that their lease agreements were canceled immediately. They would need to return their keys three days from then, the company said.

Wrest Collective said the three-day notice again had no valid basis in the lease agreement or Idaho law.

Story continues

In a YouTube video posted March 14, Commercial Northwest CEO Natalie Hernandez said no tenants were being evicted.

No one is being forced to leave without suitable accommodations, she said in the video.

Commercial Northwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Idaho Statesman.

We just want what were owed

The affected tenants were left completely uncertain with respect to the stability of their housing, what efforts Commercial Northwest Property Management would take to provide them with adequate housing, or what would happen next, said Casey Parsons, attorney for Wrest Collective, in the news release.

Some tenants secured stable housing and have moved out of the Cambridge apartments, Parsons said. But many still live there with few other affordable housing options, like Nate Barnes and his family.

Barnes is a disabled veteran with a spine injury, and he relies on his monthly disability check to pay his familys rent. He lives with his wife, Alaina Russell and 10-year-old daughter in a two-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment, for which they pay about $1,650 a month.

When Barnes first got the email asking tenants to leave, he tried to relocate to a different Commercial Northwest property. Moving into another Northwest-managed apartment building is the only option for Barnes family because they do not have money for a new security deposit, he told the Statesman in March. But they had not yet been able to relocate.

We just want what were owed, Barnes said. We want the company to pay to move us, especially the disabled who cant move themselves, and we want the housing that we are owed.

Parsons called Commercial Northwests actions a deplorable demonstration of landlord greed in the news release.

The families involved in this litigation coming together to ensure that Commercial Northwest Property Management is held to account for its failure to provide safe, habitable housing is a powerful demonstration of the efficacy of collective tenant organizing, Parsons said. I think anyone in Boise can understand how scary it is to have their landlord decide to just take away their housing one day.

What new report says about Idahos worsening housing shortage for those who need it most

How much does it cost to rent in Boise? Check all local ZIP codes with our interactive map
Gov. Ron DeSantis hand-picked oversight board fired back at Walt Disney World on Monday, authorizing its legal team to represent board members who were sued by the company last week and file a counter suit in a Central Florida court.

Disney, chairman Martin Garcia said, sued the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board to stop it from bringing new and better ideas ... because innovation is the American way. He outlined some of the boards actions since taking over, such as hiring new staff and promoting increased state oversight on the district.

READ MORE: Disney fires back at DeSantis, files suit claiming retaliation

In essence, Disney is asking a federal court in Tallahassee to wrestle back the hands of time to 1967, while this board is instead charged legislatively with bringing the district into the 21st century with new and better policies and practices, he said.

The board, Garcia said, didnt enact the laws Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis are at odds over. It simply follows the laws enacted by the Legislature.

This district will seek justice in state court here in Central Florida where both it and Disney reside and do business, he said. Well seek justice in our own backyard.

The board filed its counter suit in a state court in Orange County on Monday. Disney filed its lawsuit last week in the federal court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee.

The lawsuit by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board alleges that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., through the boards predecessor, the Reedy Creek Improvement District board, previously:

 Failed to provide notice of public hearings;

 Unlawfully delegated governmental authority to a private entity;

 Lacked authority to enter into a development agreement;

 Violated the Florida Constitution and state statutes.

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors chairman Martin Garcia, left, consults with board member Brian Aungst, Jr., before the passing of a resolution to invalidate Disneys final agreement with the previous board the Reedy Creek Improvement District Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis handpicked the new board in an ongoing dispute with Disney Co. over who controls the special taxing district that manages the municipal infrastructure at Walt Disney World. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Joe Burbank/AP

Board member Ron Peri, the only other person to speak at Mondays meeting in Lake Buena Vista, took a few minutes to attack the media. The board members, he said, arent political individuals trying very hard to force an agenda that ... is the governors.

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The reality is that there did need to be a change, Peri said. People may not be happy by the way it came about. They may have political views that convinced them that it shouldnt have come about.

The DeSantis-Disney feud

The battle between DeSantis and Disney 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.

Over the two-year feud, the governor tried and failed to dismantle the longstanding 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.

In February, DeSantis sought again to wrest control of the Disney-controlled district but that effort was preempted to a degree when the Disney-backed board approved agreements that freeze existing regulations in place for decades, undercutting the authority of the new board appointed by the governor.

READ MORE: A legal mess: Disney districts DeSantis-appointed board voids previous agreements

At the companys recent annual meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke up against the governors actions, calling the move anti-business and anti-Florida. The DeSantis-appointed board voided the previous boards development agreements and restrictive covenants last week, the same day that Disney sued DeSantis.
(Bloomberg) -- The Ron DeSantis-appointed board of the municipal authority overseeing Walt Disney Co.s Florida parks sued the company Monday, claiming Disney violated state law in trying to ward off the boards efforts to govern park operations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The legal fight is the latest twist in a political drama that began when Disney criticized DeSantis-backed legislation last year that limited what schools can teach about gender and sexuality. DeSantis appointed the districts board to replace another one that had been in place for decades and allowed Disney to govern itself.

Last week, Disney sued after the oversight district voted to halt a development agreement and related covenants signed by the company, which employs 75,000 people in Florida. Disneys lawsuit claimed in federal court that the governors actions were retaliatory, anti-business and unconstitutional after the company exercised its free speech rights.

But on Monday, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District hit back, suing in state court in Orange County.

Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh-hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government that reek of a backroom deal, the board said in its complaint. The arrangements were passed without proper public notice and were not discussed by a compliant Disney-controlled board, the new board claims.

But perhaps out of haste or arrogance, Disneys deals violate basic principles of Florida constitutional, statutory, and common law, the board claims. As a result, they are null and void  not even worth the paper they were printed on.

DeSantis, a Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, sought to seize control of the local governing district set up in 1967 that gave Disney great autonomy to manage to day-to-day operations of Disney World and its other theme parks in central Florida.

Story continues

But Disney sought to outmaneuver the governor by quietly pushing through changes that weakened the municipal authority chosen by DeSantis. The legality of those moves are at the heart of the lawsuit filed Monday.

Disney is one of the largest taxpayers in central Florida, contributing more than $1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year. Disney is also one of the largest employers in the state. The company emphasized its economic importance to Florida in its suit.

The federal case is Walt Disney Parks and Resorts v. DeSantis, 23-cv-00163, US District Court, Northern District of Florida (Tallahassee.) The state case is Central Florida Tourism Oversight District v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Florida.

(Updates with details of lawsuit against Disney)

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Gov. Ron DeSantis said he doesnt expect to lose his battle against Disney World after the board he appointed announced it would countersue the amusement park.

"I said very clearly they're going to live under the same laws as everyone else," the Florida Republican said at a press conference on Monday. "They're not going to have their own government."

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board announced its countersuit Monday, responding to a lawsuit Disney filed against the board, its members and DeSantis last Wednesday. Disneys suit alleges that the governor was waging a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" after the board nullified an agreement between the entertainment giant and a previous board.

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

"They're just trying to pursue an agenda and trying to pursue a narrative," DeSantis said about Disney's supporters.

"The reality is there's a lot of people who always used to criticize this arrangement that Disney had as being corrupt, as being unfair and then the minute I was the one to come in to help unwind it, then they flipped just because they wanted to go against me," he continued, blaming partisanship.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

A summons was issued against DeSantis by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida last week while he was in Israel for a state trip.

DIS-NEY WORLD: TRUMP TAKES AIM AT DESANTIS FEUD WITH CORPORATE KINGDOM

"You're seeing people shill for a multinational corporation to have special benefits and corporate welfare, as if that is something that is really important," DeSantis said. "The issue is more than just one company. I think the issue is about who governs in our society."

The DeSantis-appointed board claimed it had "no choice now but to respond" to Disney's suit and passed a motion to take legal action in state court to ensure it has oversight of design and construction in its district.

Story continues

Shortly before DeSantis signed a bill in February revoking Disneys self-governing power, the Reedy Creek Improvement District that oversaw the Disney transferred much of its power to the park. This action left the incoming Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board without significant oversight powers on Disney when it took over.

DESANTIS STRIKES BACK: FLORIDA GOVERNOR CALLS FOR PROBE INTO MOVE LETTING DISNEY RETAIN SELF-GOVERNING POWER

Disneys lawsuit challenges the legality of the DeSantis-appointed board to govern the district and asks the judge to nullify his efforts to take it over.

DeSantis accused Disney of opposing Florida voters who supported reining in the parks power.

"For them to act like they have the ability to veto that basically is putting their thumb in the eye of the voters of the state," he said, calling the agreements invalid.

He also said he believes the Florida legislature will invalidate the agreements made by the previous board.

CORPORATE KINGDOM: DESANTIS-BACKED PLAN TO TAKE CONTROL OF DISNEY'S LAND ANNOUNCED

"I do think the legislature is going to pass a bill that I'll sign that will also, from the legislative perspective, revoke it," he said. "All they're trying to do is uphold the will of the people in terms of what we did to make sure that nobody's governing themselves as a major corporation."

DeSantis has sparred with Disney ever since the corporate giant came out against the Parental Rights in Education legislation.

DeSantis last month asked Floridas chief inspector general to investigate the previous board's move to forfeit its power.

"Disney is again fighting to keep its special corporate benefits and dodge Florida law," DeSantis' deputy press secretary, Redfern Jeremy, said at the time. "We are not going to let that happen."

Disney did not immediately return a request for comment.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned capital punishment in such cases.

DeSantis, a Republican, also signed two other components of his criminal justice legislative package during a ceremony at a policing museum in a city outside Orlando.

The governor, who is expected to announce a run for president in the coming weeks, has leaned into an aggressive conservative agenda on crime and other issues ahead of his expected candidacy as he seeks to bolster support among the Republican base.

The signings came as DeSantis has faced widespread criticism over his battle with Disney and marked his first appearance after an overseas trade mission, with the routinely on-message governor returning to practiced rhetoric about his ability to implement conservative policy.

We're really delivering a big agenda, he said. So this is one important  but admittedly very small part  of an overall large agenda and very bold agenda that's really setting the terms of the debate for the country, quite frankly.

The death penalty law DeSantis signed is intended to get the conservative-controlled U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a 2008 ruling that found it unconstitutional to use capital punishment in child sexual battery cases.

Florida is among a handful of states with existing laws that allow for capital punishment on child rape convictions but has not used the punishment given the high court ruling. The Florida Supreme Court has also ruled against the use of capital punishment in sexual battery convictions.

The legislation, which goes into effect Oct. 1, would authorize the state to pursue capital punishment when an adult is convicted of sexually battering a child under 12 and provides a framework in the states capital punishment laws for prosecutors to do so. It was approved in the Florida Legislature with bipartisan support.

Story continues

DeSantis said he believed the the Supreme Court's decision was wrong, adding, This bill sets up a procedure to be able to challenge that precedent and to be able to say that in Florida we think that the worst of the worst crimes deserve the worst of the worst punishment.

Late last month, DeSantis also signed a bill to end a unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing, allowing capital punishment with jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution.

The governor on Wednesday also signed into law a bill to enhance criminal penalties around the selling of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs that are packaged or disguised in the form of candy or other food products.

The third bill DeSantis signed requires the Florida Supreme Court to develop a uniform bond schedule for state courts to follow and bars a chief judge from setting bond below the schedule. It also forbids a person from being released before his or her first court appearance if charged with a violent or heinous crime. The law is part of DeSantis' criticism of so-called bail reforms in liberal jurisdictions.

The Republican supermajority in the Florida statehouse has focused heavily on the governor's legislative priorities this year, with DeSantis expected to use the raft of new conservative laws as the foundation for his 2024 presidential run.
Can you imagine getting arrested and spending time in jail for a crime you never committed?

Well, that is exactly what happened to a Detroit man named Robert Williams after facial recognition technology misidentified him in a criminal case.

With the meteoric rise of Artificial Intelligence, which is defined as the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems, according to Tech Target, its no surprise that its becoming increasingly common to use facial recognition technology when it comes to solving crimes, right?

Well, in 2018, a Shinola stores security cameras captured a person stealing watches, Newsweek reported. Then, a couple years later on Jan. 9, 2020, a Black man named Robert Williams was arrested in front of his wife and two young daughters for the crime  but he had nothing to do with it. Even worse, he wasnt informed of the reason for his wrongful arrest, leading him to spend 30 hours behind bars.

The day I was arrested, I had no idea it was facial recognition, Williams told Newsweek. I was arrested for no reason.

Following Williams wrongful arrest, James E. White, chief of the Detroit Police Department, issued a statement that in part read: There are a number of checks and balances in place to ensure ethical use of facial recognition, including: use on live or recorded video is prohibited; supervisor oversight; and weekly and annual reporting to the Board of Police Commissioners on the use of the software.

Despite the police departments statement, Alex Najibi at Harvard University shared that advocates worry facial recognition programs are not always fair, especially when it come to Black people: In 18th century New York, lantern laws required enslaved people to carry lanterns after dark to be publicly visible, Najibi wrote. Advocates fear that even if face recognition algorithms are made equitable, the technologies could be applied with the same spirit, disproportionately harming the Black community in line with existing racist patterns of law enforcement.

Story continues

This case recently became a hot topic again as it was used as an example of face recognition mishaps happening across the country. In March, lawmakers introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act to stop government officials from using AI technology to solve crimes.

In June 2020, the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union took on the case and called for police to stop using AI technology to solve criminal cases.

We know that facial recognition technology threatens everyones privacy by turning everybody into a suspect, Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, said in a press release. Weve repeatedly urged the Detroit Police Department to abandon its use of this dangerous technology, but it insists on using it anyhow. Justice requires that DPD and its officers be held accountable.

Williams was released ahead of his trial, which was scheduled two weeks later, though it isnt clear exactly when it occurred. During the court hearing, the judge dismissed his case without prejudice, meaning the case could be opened again in the future.

The father of two is now suing the Detroit Police Department in an attempt to seek justice for the traumatizing and embarrassing experience he endured.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

First published in NV Magazine April 2023. Reproduction is prohibited

The war is still ongoing, and nothing is more important than victory. Every day we work to bring it closer. We gather weapons for the army from all over the world. We strengthen the international coalition in support of Ukraine. We set fire to the ground under the feet of the Russians in their every stronghold. We lower the iron curtain around their borders. We are stifling the enemy's economy with sanctions.

Victory is still ahead, and the path is not easy. But one fundamental breakthrough has already happened. Ukraine became a leading state with global prospects, and a new star of the global community. There are myriad opportunities to project our strength, to build powerful partnerships, and to promote our national interests in all corners of the world.

Read also: I Believe this Year is a Year of Victory  opinion

We all live in the present day and for our immediate needs. But acting on future prospects and playing the long game is no less critical. This is what Ukraine has always lacked. Therefore, today we are implementing several strategic initiatives that not only bring the Ukrainian victory closer, the liberation of our people and territory, but also lay the foundations of Ukrainian leadership in the post-war world.

Firstly. The expansion of the coalition which supports Ukraine, with an increased focus on the Global South:

We only need part of the world as our allies to win. We need a club of influential and loyal friends, and we have it. But it is worth going outside of our comfort zone. Thanks to this work, Ukraine already has new voices in international organizations in supporting fundamental decisions. The latest votes in the UN General Assembly clearly demonstrated that the diligent work of Ukrainian diplomats has borne fruit.

We should consolidate Ukraine's new status as a leader, a legend, a defender of the Euro-Atlantic world, and a growing power.

Story continues

Africa, Latin America, and Asia are growing in importance. Therefore, we are thinking strategically and increasing our diplomatic presence in the Global South. These are new economic partnerships, new opportunities for Ukrainian businesses and citizens. This could even aid in Ukraines recovery.

Secondly. Effective deterrence of current and potential allies of Russia:

Ukrainian diplomats systematically work with partners to increase pressure on those whom Moscow contacts for support. In addition, they are conducting preventive work with those who vacillate between evil and neutrality.

Thirdly. Strategic strengthening of military support to Ukraine:

Its volume, nature, and speed should be relevant to our shared goals on the battlefield and with our allies. We work 24/7 to meet the needs of the military. This means securing ammunition for various types of weapons, both Western and Soviet, armored vehicles, modern air defense systems, and medium and long-range missiles. The latest goal is to source modern fighter aircraft.

Read also: Ukrainians still committed to victory, staying in Ukraine  new survey

Ukraine needs as many weapons and ammunition as possible. Together with its Euro-Atlantic allies, we are building joint partnerships in the defense industries of our Euroatlantic allies. We already have a joint production of 155-caliber ammunition, which 19 EU member states and Norway have joined.

Every opportunity is used to give the defense forces enough artillery shells. In particular, a visit to Kyiv by the owner of the German arms concern Rheinmetall, Europe's largest ammunition manufacturer, was organized to negotiate both rapid and strategic deliveries.

After the war, Ukraine will be the most potent military power on NATO's eastern flank, and our Armed Forces will be a model of a high-tech, modern, and hardened army. Moreover, we will be able to export security, military technology, weapons, and peacekeeping solutions to Europe and other parts of the world.

Fourthly. Obtaining concrete prospects for Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO:

In preparation for the NATO summit in Vilnius, our allies have a chance to correct the mistakes of the 2008 Bucharest summit.

Read also: We have reached unprecedented levels of interoperability  Reznikov on Ukraine joining NATO

Finally. Reforming the diplomatic service according to meet the challenges of the times.

It is about a new level of openness, an open search for ambassadors, and special recruitment and training program for talented youth. It is a diplomacy of actions and results. The door is open to those who can make a concrete contribution to victory.

Russia's full-scale aggression changed the international system forever and will define the image of the new world order for generations to come. The mission of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps is to win and to carve out a worthy place in the global influence architecture. We should consolidate Ukraine's new status as a leader, a legend, a defender of the Euro-Atlantic world, and a growing power. The formation of the foundations of the new world order is already underway. This is the diplomacy of global opportunities for Ukraine, the diplomacy of our victory.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Tuesday Morning announced Saturday that all of its stores will be closing. The Dallas-based franchise discount store is going out of business.

Tuesday Morning made a post on Facebook that read, "Thank you for 49 years of loyalty and support."

In 1974, Tuesday Morning began after founder Lloyd Ross had the idea to sell leftover big brand inventory. Ross hosted a large garage sale in a warehouse in Dallas, Texas on a Tuesday morning.

The sale proved to be successful, and the company grew, eventually opening nearly 500 stores across the United States.

What happened to Tuesday Morning?

Before the company's announcement, it had closed more than 250 stores following filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to Dallas Morning News, Hilco Merchant Resources bought the chain out of bankruptcy in late April for more than $32 million.

The company is having a going-out-of-business sale with all stores offering 30% off the lowest ticketed price.

Tuesday Morning locations in Louisiana:

Alexandria

1460 MacArthur Blvd.

Baton Rouge

12694 Perkins Road

3735 Perkins Road

6632 Jones Creek Road

Lafayette

3605 Ambassador Caffery Parkway

Lake Charles

3517 Ryan St.

Mandeville

2985 Hwy 190

Metairie

1801 Airline Drive

Monroe

1703 North 18th St.

Shreveport

4800 Line Ave.

Slidell

176 Gause Blvd. West

Bed Bath & Beyond store closings: Retailer increases projected closures to 60

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Tuesday Morning is closing all stores. Here are Louisiana locations
Pic story of "Tibetan Craftsman" in field of Tibetan medicine

Xinhua) 09:40, May 01, 2023

Buchung Tsering and his students learn about the policies related to developing Tibetan medicine in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 20, 2023.

Buchung Tsering has been engaged in the field of Tibetan medicine for about 20 years. He is the manager of the production department of Tibet Ganlu Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd.

Tibetan medicine, known as "Sowa Rigpa" in Tibetan, dates back 2,500 years. It has absorbed the influences of traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicine and is mainly practiced in Tibet and the Himalayan region.

Since 2008, Buchung Tsering has been committed to making use of modern science and technology to boost the production of Tibetan medicine.

He launched a specimen gallery for Tibetan medicine in the company, and invited well-known experts to identify and fix the weak links in medicine production.

Buchung Tsering has also compiled some instruction manuals of Tibetan medicine. In 2021, he was awarded the title of "Tibetan Craftsman." (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Sen. Raffy Tulfo on Monday urged the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to conduct an in-depth probe on the ongoing rotational power outages on Panay and Negros islands.

The senator said this was after he received clashing statements from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Ceneco) regarding the power situation on the islands.

Tinawagan na namin ang DOE at ERC para paimbestigahan ang problema at kung sino talaga ang pinag-ugatan dahil nagtuturuan ang NGCP at Ceneco, he said.

[Translation: We have called the DOE and ERC to investigate the problem and who is really at the root because NGCP and Ceneco are pointing fingers on each other.]

The NGCP placed the Visayas grid  which includes the Panay, Cebu, Negros, Leyte, Samar, and Bohol island grids  on red alert on Thursday due to some disturbances detected in the transmission system.

It was later downgraded to yellow alert the following day. The alert means that a grid's "operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid's regulating and contingency requirements."

On Saturday, the NGCP said some areas of Panay Island will continue to experience power outages as system disturbances continue to plague the Visayas grid.

READ: Panay island still facing power outages  NGCP

Whos to blame?

Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, said he immediately created an investigation and monitoring team to look into the power interruption on Panay and Negros islands.

According to the senator, NGCP denied claims that they are the one responsible for the power outages, stressing that the tripping or line fault allegedly originated from the line of Ceneco.

Meanwhile, Ceneco argued that there was voltage fluctuation and frequency imbalance in the 69kV line that is under the management of NGCP.

Ceneco also reported that Panay and Negros electric cooperatives issued a unified stand pointing to the NGCP as the root of the problem.

Tulfo said he is continuously monitoring the situation.
Less than a week after Disney filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the newly appointed board at the center of the ongoing feud is suing the theme park giant back.

The chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, the members of which were handpicked by the governor to replace Disneys Reedy Creek Improvement District board, announced Monday that the board is suing Disney back in state court.

Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond, Chairman Martin Garcia said.

Garcia said the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board called Mondays meeting to authorize the legal action against Disney after Disney announced its lawsuit against the state last week.

Read: Disney v. DeSantis: Heres a timeline of the battle between Floridas governor, theme park giant

Disneys lawsuit claims DeSantis launched a targeted campaign of government retaliation against Disney after Disney officials spoke out against Floridas Parental Rights in Education legislation, called dont say gay by its critics.

Read: Disney sues DeSantis alleging targeted campaign of government retaliation

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.
Less than a week after Disney filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the newly appointed board at the center of the ongoing feud is suing the theme park giant back, our sister station WFTV in Orlando reports.

The chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, the members of which were handpicked by the governor to replace Disneys Reedy Creek Improvement District board, announced Monday that the board is suing Disney back in state court.

Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond, Chairman Martin Garcia said.

Garcia said the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board called Mondays meeting to authorize the legal action against Disney after Disney announced its lawsuit against the state last week.

Disneys lawsuit claims DeSantis launched a targeted campaign of government retaliation against Disney after Disney officials spoke out against Floridas Parental Rights in Education legislation, called dont say gay by its critics.

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Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
zhengshun tang - Getty Images

A Chinese study says that tracking the H3N2 canine influenza virus for 10 years has shown adaptions that allow the dog flu to recognize a human-like receptor.

The virus originally spawned from the bird flu and has stabilized within canines, although theres still no jump to humans.

Continued adaptation in mammals could mean an eventual threat to humans.

The so-called dog flu may be moving ever closer to infecting humans, according to a new Chinese study.

The H3N2 avian influenza virushighly contagious and lethal in the bird populationsuccessfully jump to dogs around 2006. And it hasnt gone away. Instead, according to a study published in eLife by scientists at the China Agricultural University, it is stabilizing and adapting to better recognize human-like receptors.

Our results showed that canines may serve as intermediates for the adaption of avian influenza viruses to humans, the study says. For a human population that lacks immunity to the canine version of the virus, thats cause for concern, the study warns.

The bird flu spreads quickly in avian populations, but without the ability to effectively infect mammals, the concern over human-to-human transmission has as yet remained relatively low. While it is still a risk for humans that encounter the avian flu, the receptor molecule infected by the virus doesnt pass the virus to other humans beyond the initial infection. That could all change with a successful adaption of the virus into a mammal, especially if that mammal is showing additional adaptation toward human transmission.

The changes in the canine virus apparently are making it better adapted to transmit within mammals, as you might expect after such a long period in dogs, James Wood, head of the department of veterinary medicine at the University of Cambridge, told The Telegraph. The virus does not seem to pose particularly worrying health threats to dogs. But Wood adds that, even though it may be good news that the virus has not yet hopped from dogs to other mammals, it might also mean that the virus just hasnt hit on the right mutation yet. One might be more concerned about the longer-term pandemic potential in other species, such as humans.

Story continues

The study tested 4,000 sick dogs and found that one in 20 had the H3N2 virus, although it was a version of the virus that had mutated to better match the genome sequence of a human virus.

Ian Jones, University of Reading professor of virology, tells The Telegraph that the adaption into a more mammal-like virus is natural because of the time it has spent in the canine population. At the moment, he says, I judge this data warrants attention but that the case for a threat is not clear.

The study calls for continuous surveillance and risk assessments related to the canine flu, citing no pre-existing human immunity. Jones, though, says humans may offer up some defenses against the virus. And Wood notes that even as the dog flu numbers increase, albeit slowly, theres no case of a human infected with the dog flu.

Just where the bird flu-turned-dog flu may go next isnt a sure thing, but scientists will be watching.

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The Charles Lind Brown Center  a county-run recreation center in Beaufort where basketball, swimming and pickleball are popular  is getting $182,000 in renovations, with the improvements closing its doors for several weeks.

The building, constructed in the 1970s, is old and needs repairs, said Chuck Atkinson, assistant county administrator of development and recreation.

Ceiling tiles have been popping out and water is leaking into the building.

Its just a safety issue, Atkinson said. When we have ceilings pop open, we cant have the public in there like that.

The center at 1001 Hamar St. in the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood has indoor and outdoor basketball courts, an outdoor swimming pool and meeting space. It will be closed until May 22.

Celings are being replaced at the Charles Lind Brown Center in Beaufort. The county-run recreation center has indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a swimming pool and meeting space. Its closed for $182,000 in remodeling and drainage repairs.

Interior renovations and exterior drainage fixes are planned including:

 Remodeling the community room, including the kitchen and restrooms, so they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 Replacing ceilings and painting throughout the building.

 Installing a rubberized floor in the weight room.

 Replacing the drainage system between the back of the building and the pool to prevent water from entering the building, a long-time problem.

Over the past year or so, a group of residents calling themselves Friends of the Charles Lind Brown Center have lobbied the county for improvements to the building and programming for neighborhood residents.

I am pleased with anything and everything they can do to make that center a more representative place to do community activities, whatever that may be, said Mitch Mitchell, a member of the group and a Beaufort City Council member.

Inside the facility, work on the ceiling and paint should be done within the next week, allowing portions of the building to reopen. Work in the community room is expected to take an additional three weeks, while the improvements to the remaining restrooms and weight room will continue through June 30.

Bids for the drainage work are due in May, but an award will not be made until after July 1.

The pool and building will be open during the work, which will take about six weeks.
Two building renovation projects in downtown Milan have been awarded funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

State funding is supporting work at 49 E. Main St. that will restore the historic facade of the building, make interior improvements and create two new residential units.

Five Penny Properties LLC plans to rehabilitate 49 E. Main St. and 25 E. Main St. for new housing and shopping options, a news release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said. The 49 E. Main St. project will restore the historic facade of the building and make interior improvements including new electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. When completed, the development will maintain the current tenant, The Graceful Smile dental clinic, on the first floor. The second floor will include two new residential units.

A project to renovate the building at 25 E. Main St. to allow for a business to move in is receiving state funding.

The 25 E. Main St. project will renovate a one-story building, activating a vacant storefront, the release said. The exterior will have full brick restoration, a new storefront and a new roof.

The entire project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $1.59 million with the support of a $595,000 Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based grant, the release said. The city of Milan is supporting the project with a 10-year Commercial Rehabilitation Act abatement valued at $98,600. Milan is a Michigan Main Street community and is engaged with MEDCs Redevelopment Ready Communities program.

MEDC funding makes possible what would otherwise be financially unworkable, Five Penny Properties Developer Dave Snyder said in the release. Historic downtown buildings are a key part of our communities, but their maintenance is difficult and costly. MEDC helps preserve our heritage and makes the buildings that served us in 1890 ready for service well into the future.

Im very pleased to see the investment in Milans downtown," state Rep. Reggie Miller, D-Van Buren Township, said in the release. "Milan is one of our states hidden gems and this grant will help the city continue to flourish. I look forward to seeing the benefits that this project will bring"

Story continues

The Milan projects were among a group of developments in six communities across the state that recently received MEDC funding to create new housing and create additional business space. The projects are expected to create 14 new full-time jobs and retain three current full-time jobs as well as generate a total capital investment of nearly $18 million in Milan, Sturgis, Calumet, Otter Lake, Ypsilanti and Ionia, the governor's office said.

These projects will support construction jobs, build more affordable housing to lower costs, and drive commercial growth in downtowns across the state, supporting small businesses and regional economies, Whitmer said in the release. In the first 100 days of 2023, we have hit the ground running. I signed two bipartisan bills making record investments in affordable housing and community development projects that will make our cities and towns more attractive places to live, work, and invest. Todays six projects across Michigan reimagine underutilized, often historic places into productive housing or storefronts. Together, we are going to make Michigan the best place to raise a family or start a business. Lets keep getting it done.

These placemaking investments reflect our continued focus on regional impact and supporting vibrant community spaces that lay the foundation for long-term economic wins and greater opportunity for all Michiganders, Matt McCauley, MEDC senior vice president of regional prosperity said in the release. We are grateful to the Governor and legislators for their continued support of the Michigan Community Revitalization Program among other efforts. By working with local partners to focus on traditional downtowns and increase much-needed housing options, Team Michigan is building on our strong sense of place while supporting vibrant, unique places where current Michiganders and those we will attract can live, work, visit, and play.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Downtown Milan building restoration projects receive state funding
An image of the fake driving licence was posted on the Instagram account of Netherlands's Police Groningen Centrum - AFP/AFP

Dutch police have revealed that a man arrested on suspicion of drink driving was found to have a driver's licence identifying him as Boris Johnson.

The fake Ukrainian document, complete with the former British prime minister's picture and correct birth date, was issued in 2019 and valid until the end of the year 3000.

Police spokesman Thijs Damstra said the discovery came after officers investigated a crash shortly after midnight on Sunday in which a car hit a pole near the Emma Bridge in the northern city of Groningen.

The car was abandoned but officers were later told that the driver was standing nearby on the bridge.

The person could not identify himself and refused to undertake a breathalyser test, Mr Damstra told news agency AFP.

The 35-year-old man, from the small town of Zuidhorn west of Groningen, was arrested and police searched his car.

Inside, police found a fake driver's licence belonging to Boris Johnson, Mr Damstra said.

Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery, Groningen police added on its Instagram account.

Police could not say where the forged document was made but public broadcaster NOS journalist and former Russia correspondent Kysia Hekster wrote on Twitter that fake driver's licences could easily be bought in tourist shops in Ukraine.

Mr Damstra added: As far as I'm aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.
Two weeks of early voting in the Duval County General Election is underway today.

Voters will be deciding who will become Jacksonvilles next mayor between democrat Donna Deegan and Republican Daniel Davis.

LISTEN: Jacksonville Mayoral Candidate Forum

Other county-wide races will decide are the Duval County Property Appraiser between Joyce Morgan and Jason Fischer and the Group 5 At-Large City Council seat between Charles Garrison and Chris Miller.

VOTER GUIDE: Early voting locations, candidate spotlight

There are six other city council seats to be decided. Anyone registered to vote in the State of Florida and living in Duval County may vote at any early voting site during early voting.

Early voting times at the Supervisor of Elections Main Office will be 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday and 10 am - 6 pm Saturday and Sunday. All other early voting locations will be open 10 am - 6 pm all days.

VIDEO: Jacksonville Mayoral Candidate Forum

A poll released on April 17th by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab showed Donna Deegan leading Daniel Davis by one percentage point.

Registered Duval County voters who are likely to vote in the May 16 election were asked their vote choices from April 10 - 11. Deegan has 48% support and Davis has 47% support. 5% of likely voters were undecided.

The margin of error on this poll is +/- 3.8%.
















EAST BRUNSWICK  An unsuccessful Republican Township Council candidate, who allegedly threatened to "light up the Mayor and Town Council" because he believed the election was stolen from him, is facing a weapons charge after police found 17 large-capacity ammunition magazines at his house.

David Herrera, 32, has been charged with the fourth-degree crime of possessing a large capacity ammunition magazine.

Though he was the high Republican vote-getter in the 2022 race for three seats on the Township Council with 6,950 votes, Herrera was still 1,700 votes shy of the low Democratic candidate.

In 2021, he also ran unsuccessfully for an unexpired Council seat, getting 7,281 votes but losing by four percentage points to Dinesh Behal.

The investigation into Herrera started on Feb. 15 when the FBI received an anonymous online tip of a threat of shooting against the East Brunswick municipal government, court papers say.

The tipster reported that a former co-worker, identified as Herrera, had made a threat to "light up the Mayor and Town Council," according to court papers.

More: East Brunswick-raised Brian Selznick plants seeds with new children's book 'Big Tree'

The tipster said that Herrera believed the election had been solen from him, court papers say.

The tip was forwarded to the East Brunswick Detective Bureau for investigation.

After police were able to validate specific information in the anonymous tip, officers went to Herrera's last known address on Cosgrove Court to speak to him.

While standing in front of the door, court papers say, the officer saw what appeared to be a rifle magazine on top of a chair on the front porch and a clear bag with white and black writing indicating it had held ammunition.Detectives on the scene determined that the two magazines were 25-round high-capacity rifle magazines capable of holding ammunition for an AK-47, court papers say.

After no one answered the door, the officers left with the two magazines and contacted the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office which obtained a search warrant for Herrera's residence from Superior Court Judge Benjamin Bucca.

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Authorities found 15 additional high-capacity rifle magazines, which are illegal under state law, court papers say.

Herrera's next court appearance is scheduled for June 9 before Superior Court Judge Sheree Pitchford.

Herrera's arrest report says he was unemployed.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: East Brunswick GOP candidate arrested for alleged gun threats
EAST LANSING  The city's police oversight commissioners are preparing to publicly discuss for the first time reports pertaining to officers shooting a man in the Meijer parking lot last year, and a consequent review of possible department violations.

Members of the Independent Police Oversight Commission are set to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road. On the agenda is a 363-page document that includes various reports about the April 25, 2022, shooting of DeAnthony VanAtten.

Names of witnesses and other information are frequently redacted but, at one point, an investigator concludes: "After reviewing all the statements, documents, audio, videos provided by Meijer, and the body-worn cameras of the officers involved in this incident, I find that the officers involved in this incident allegedly violated ELPD policy and procedures."

Commission Chair Erick Williams said Friday that he and the other commissioners received the document recently and needed time to review its conclusions.

Three officers are accused of department violations.

Williams said he had heard that, but his understanding is that the worst issue officers are accused of is not wearing their seatbelts when driving to the Meijer store.

Williams said Wednesday's discussion most likely will be the first of many to come, but he considers the report a potential guide for possible changes that could prevent a similar shooting.

Discussions may continue at City Council, since Councilmembers Noel Garcia Jr. and Dana Watson serve as the commission's council liaisons, Williams added.

The shooting happened more than a year ago, on April 25, after police responded to a report of a man with a gun at the Meijer store on Lake Lansing Road. A caller told 911 operators she saw a Black man get out of a vehicle, run toward a store entrance, then return to the car to retrieve a gun before running back to the store, according to evidence released by East Lansing police.

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After locating VanAtten inside the store, officers chased him and then pursued him into the parking lot, where officers Jose Viera and Jim Menser fired a total of eight shots after an officer said VanAtten had a gun.

VanAtten was shot in the abdomen and leg. Officers rendered first aid, and VanAtten was treated at Sparrow Hospital before being transferred to the Ingham County Jail on a warrant for a probation violation, according to Michigan State Police, who investigated the shooting.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel said in August that Viera and Menser would not face charges.

"During the driving to the Meijer store, it can be heard in Officer (Austin) Nelson and (Jeff) Horns BWC that the indicator for the seatbelt is going off, indicating that both officers were not wearing their seatbelts," the report stated.

Horn is accused of violating department policy on wearing seat belts and/or shoulder harnesses while driving or riding in a department vehicle and not wearing protective work clothing or equipment; Nelson is accused of violating department policy requiring seat belt use, prohibiting tobacco use on duty and using the Axon recording system.

A sergeant Wachowski, whose first name is not included in the report, is accused of not wearing his body camera or following seatbelt requirements and was given a non-disciplinary counseling prior to his retirement, according to the records.

VanAtten is awaiting trial on charges that include four counts of assaulting or obstructing police, as well as charges of carrying a concealed weapon, receiving and concealing a stolen firearm, and felony firearm possession. He also faces one count of third-degree retail fraud, a misdemeanor, the records indicate.

Commission Vice Chairperson Christine Root said at the time Nessel cleared the two officers of charges that it was important for the department start an investigation into whether the officers involved violated any of the department's policies.

"I cannot predict what action ELIPOC might take at its meeting on May 3," she told the State Journal in an email. "I expect that there will be considerable discussion. I think it wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak before the Commission meets."

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing Police Oversight Commission to review Meijer shooting
(Bloomberg) -- A crucial economic lifeline for Ukraine is being jeopardized by eastern European governments contending with the limits of public support for Kyiv as the war stretches into its second year.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Nowhere is the shift more vivid than in Poland, a stalwart ally of Ukraine that has led the European Union in denouncing the Russian invasion. Warsaw issued a surprise ban on Ukrainian grain imports last month after weeks of street protests by Polish farmers over a grain glut that triggered a collapse in prices. Restrictions quickly followed in Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

Polands ban was meant to ensure that solidarity with Kyiv doesnt alienate voters, according to an official familiar with the governments thinking. It's a rare admission of mounting anxiety within the ruling Law & Justice party that it risks losing a key part of its base six months before a tightly contested election.

Even as Law & Justice has maintained a lead in polls ahead of the vote slated for October, a fragmented landscape could loosen the partys grip on power. Long the bastion of Polands staunchly Catholic conservatives, its base in the countryside has been crucial to electoral success since the party swept to power in 2015. The prospect of leaving angry farmers in the lurch isnt part of a winning agenda as officials swing into campaign mode.

Read More: The Pope Returns to Polish Politics From Beyond the Grave

One shift spurring action is the recent gain in opinion polls by a far-right, anti-European Union alliance, Confederation, which has channeled public wariness over an influx of Ukrainian refugees and unlimited military aid to Kyiv.

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Law & Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski  Polands de-facto leader  spelled out the anxiety even as he put a positive spin on the grain embargo, saying the tough decision would ultimately help Kyiv.

Its not in the interest of our friends that Poland is plunged into a crisis  and that we see people coming to power here who will change the policy of radical support for Ukraine, Kaczynski told a crowd, some clad in traditional outfits in a school auditorium last month in the village of Lyse in northeastern Poland, about 150 kilometers (94 miles) north of Warsaw.

The European Union, which issued a rebuke for the move for potentially violating the blocs trade policy, has since forged an agreement with eastern members who imposed the ban, securing transit of goods to other member states. The deal, which Romania has joined, subjects the measures  now including wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower and sunflower oil  to a deadline in June, which can be extended until the end of the year. But the blockade remains in place.

Polands initial unilateral action came little more than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to Warsaw on a state visit on April 5, a display of lockstep unity as Kyiv seeks ammunition and hardware. Polands president, Andrzej Duda, said in a speech that nothing would divide the two neighbors.

But the embargo puts Ukraine, which is already grappling with a shaky deal with Russia to allow shipments from Black Sea ports, in a bind  some 7% of its corn and wheat exports have gone to Poland this season.

Zelenskiy decried the restrictions during a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel and demanded their removal.

The artificial and illegal restriction of trade with the European Union is hitting Ukraine, resisting Russian aggression, both economically and politically, Zelenskiy said.

Meanwhile, Polish farmers continue to stage protests at border crossings, lashing out at the flood of Ukrainian grain pushing down prices. Robert Winnicki, one of Confederations leaders, has joined the protesters, pinning the blame on Law & Justice for allowing the tide of low-quality product.

Polish farmers suffer because they cannot sell their grain, Winnicki told reporters after he met with farmers gathered at the Ukrainian border at the village of Medyka in March. Ukrainian grain is mixed with Polish and as such is then sold to shops, to factories, for consumption by Poles.

Skepticism among the public is born out in some polls. About a quarter of people surveyed in a poll commissioned by newspaper Rzeczpospolita ahead of the first year mark of the war said their view of Ukrainian refugees had dimmed over the previous six months.

Law & Justice led the main opposition Civic Platform, headed by former European Council President Donald Tusk, 35% to 27%, according to an April 14-19 Kantar poll. Both parties gained 5 percentage points respectively. Confederation held steady at 7%, the poll showed, while some 15% were undecided.

Polands government had responded taken aim at a favorite enemy, the European Commission  with which its had a running conflict over rule-of-law standards  saying the EUs executive has failed to assist farmers.

Tusk accused the administration of deflecting blame in the crisis.

A year ago, we still had a serious chance to solve the problem of Ukrainian grain together with the EU in a way that would have helped Ukraine and not threaten Polish interests, Tusk told a rally in Lipsko, eastern Poland, last month.

--With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(CNN)  Since SpaceX's inaugural test flight of the most powerful rocket ever constructed, the company's engineers, federal regulators and environmentalists have been trying to assess the aftermath of the spacecraft's explosion and what happens next.

"The outcome was roughly in (line) with what I expected and, maybe slightly exceeded my expectations," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a Twitter Spaces chat on Saturday evening.

The April 20 liftoff of Starship, as the vehicle is called, was tremendously powerful, causing some damage to SpaceX's launchpad in South Texas.

Musk said he was "glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small," though it would take "six to eight weeks" to get the infrastructure prepared for another launch. He later added that when the rocket's engines  30 out of 33 of which fired on for the flight test  reached "full thrust," it "probably shattered the concrete."

The explosion in midair also prompted a federal investigation that could take weeks or months to complete.

In the test mission, SpaceX's Starship launched toward space atop a Super Heavy rocket booster.

Minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft was expected to separate from the rocket booster, but the Super Heavy "vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble," according to SpaceX.

The company described what happened as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly"  its oft-used euphemism for an explosive mishap.

The vehicle's flight termination, or self-destruct, feature was triggered, exploding the spacecraft and booster over the Gulf of Mexico. Musk said that feature took longer than expected to blow up the rocket, ensuring it didn't careen off course, and that the flight termination system would need to be re-certified. That could be the determining factor in how long it takes the company to get a new Starship on the launch pad.

But there was some good news: "The vehicle structural margins appear to be better than we expected," Musk said. "As we can tell the vehicle is actually doing somersaults towards the end and still staying intact."

Here's what the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and other agencies have had to say since then.

The FAA

The FAA is charged with overseeing the mishap investigation. The agency licenses commercial rocket launches and gave the green light for the launch attempt after more than a year of back-and-forth.

Such investigations are routine and have taken place after previous  but smaller-scale  Starship test launches in South Texas.

The FAA's review "will determine the root cause of the event and identify corrective actions the operator must implement to avoid a recurrence," the agency said in an emailed statement Friday.

SpaceX is not permitted to make another launch attempt of a Starship vehicle until that review is complete. And it's not clear how long it will take.

"We aren't going to speculate on timelines," the FAA said. "Safety will dictate the timeline."

Cameron County, Texas, which encompasses SpaceX's facilities near Boca Chica Beach, the city of Brownsville, as well as South Padre Island and Port Isabel  alerted the public to contact SpaceX if any debris is found.

"If you believe you have found a piece of debris, please do not attempt to handle or retrieve the debris directly," a notice on Cameron County's website reads.

A hotline to report debris has been set up at 866-623-0234, or officials can be reached by email at recovery@spacex.com.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service

The US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement that it's working with SpaceX, the FAA and other involved parties to "provide on-the-ground guidance to minimize further impacts and reduce long-term damages to natural resources."

That activity includes ensuring that SpaceX is complying with the Endangered Species Act  which became the subject of concern after reports that debris from the launch or explosion may have reached nearby protected wildlife areas.

"Following the launch and mid-air explosion, Cameron County closed Boca Chica Beach and State Highway 4 for 48 hours due to launch pad safety concerns, which prevented Service staff from accessing refuge-owned and managed land," the agency's statement reads. "Once the closure ended, Service staff began their assessment of the launch impacts at 10 a.m. April 22, 2023."

The agency also cataloged some of the impact:

- "Numerous large concrete chunks, stainless steel sheets, metal and other objects hurled thousands of feet away along with a plume cloud of pulverized concrete that deposited material up to 6.5 miles northwest of the pad site," according to the statement. Locals in Port Isabel reported a strange dust settling over the community after launch.

- "Although no debris was documented on refuge fee-owned lands, staff documented approximately 385 acres of debris on SpaceX's facility and at Boca Chica State Park, which is leased by the Service and managed as a component of the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge," the statement reads.

- "Additionally, a 3.5-acre fire started south of the pad site on Boca Chica State Park land. At this time, no dead birds or wildlife have been found on refuge-owned or managed lands," the agency said.

NASA

The US space agency was not directly involved in the Starship flight test, but it has a major stake in Starship's overall success. NASA is counting on Starship to provide transportation for its astronauts to the lunar surface on a mission dubbed Artemis III, slated to take off as soon as 2025.

"I have asked so I could report to you as of today that SpaceX is still saying that they think it will take about at least two months to rebuild the launchpad," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a Thursday budget hearing before a House committee. "And concurrently about two months to have their second vehicle ready to launch."

Nelson noted the test flight "blew a hole in that launchpad," referring to SpaceX's infrastructure near Boca Chica Beach.

Nelson also admitted that "a lot of work needs to be done" if NASA and SpaceX are to attempt to hit their 2025 launch date for Artemis III.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Starship could be ready to launch again in 'six to eight weeks,' Elon Musk says."
Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, who led the department through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw an overhaul of the states K-12 funding structure, announced Monday that she will leave the position on June 1.

Schwinn, one of Gov. Bill Lees first-term cabinet appointments in 2019, led the state's education department through seismic changes, including school closures and learning loss brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, implementation of a controversial school voucher program, natural disasters like flooding and tornadoes that destroyed school facilities, and the overhaul of the state's education funding formula set to take effect in July.

My North Star is kids. It has been from day one and it will be for the rest of my career, Schwinn told The Tennessean in an interview Monday morning. Whether I'm driving down the road and see a kid in a car or at my kids soccer game or in a Kroger, I know that I'm personally responsible for that child's education and that I take that very seriously.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn listens to students as they work on English language arts assignments during summer school at Whitthorne Middle School in Columbia, Tenn. in 2021. Schwinn said Monday she will leave the department June 1.

Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, who currently serves as the vice president of policy at Florida-based ExcelinEd, will take Schwinn's place on July 1, Lee announced in a news release. Reynolds' career "reflects a deep commitment to school choice, assessment and accountability," the governor's office said.

"Lizzette's significant education policy experience and leadership make her well-suited to continue our work to deliver a high-quality education and expand school choice for Tennessee students," Lee said in a statement. "I welcome her to Tennessee and appreciate her service to students, families and teachers across the state."

Funding plan: In win for Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee lawmakers pass major education funding overhaul

ExcelinEd was founded by then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2008 and advocates for a wide range of student-centered policies, according to its website. Reynolds, a lifelong Texan, specializes in assessment, accountability and school choice. She previously worked as then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush's deputy legislative director. She also served as chief deputy commissioner for the Texas Education Agency  a role Schwinn took on in 2016 after Reynolds left.

Story continues

Deputy Commissioner of Operations Sam Pearcy will serve as interim commissioner in June.

While Schwinn did not say where she is going next, she did say she plans to stay in Tennessee.

I'm going to be cheerleading for the entirety of her time here, Schwinn said of Reynolds. There will not be a bigger supporter of her  good days, bad days or otherwise  than me.

In response to Schwinn's resignation, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said her tenure was "defined by a strategic and purposeful scheme to undermine the integrity" of public schools, and "steer precious resources from underfunded schools to private entities."

Clemmons cited the governor's Education Savings Accounts program, charter school expansion, establishment of the state Charter School Commission, the state's funding overhaul for K-12 schools, and the new third grade retention policy.

"Perhaps no administration has done more to harm our schools and students and strategically undermine teachers than Schwinn and Lee," Clemmons said in a statement. "Once we finally get rid of Lee and hopefully elect someone who truly values public education, it will take years to undo the damage these two have intentionally caused to Tennessees public education system. Unfortunately, an entire generation of students, including my own children, will have been irreparably and adversely impacted by these conspirators immoral motives.

Of Schwinn's departure, JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said the group wishes Schwinn well, and "although her accomplishments have been mixed, the results will ultimately be determined over time."

"Governor Lee now has an opportunity to shift the Tennessee Department of Education in a new direction. A new leader needs to look inward, as well as outward," Bowman said in a statement. "The TDOE needs to rebuild and fill critical positions in the Department to serve the needs of parents, pupils, educators, and school districts. Outwardly, the TDOE needs to reconnect with the stakeholders here in Tennessee. We look forward to working with the Lee Administration and the new Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds to continue making Tennessee the best place to raise a family and educate all children.

Leading through upheaval

Sworn in February 1, 2019, Schwinn has helped lead the state through a global pandemic, flooding and tornadoes and calls for additional school security in the wake of shootings.

"During her years of dedicated service, Penny has played a key role in our administration's work to ensure educational opportunity for Tennessee students and secure the next generation of teachers, while navigating historic learning challenges," Lee said in a statement.

But it all started with upheaval of a different kind: five troubled years of technology and delivery issues with the state's testing system, TNReady.

The No. 1 thing I was told to do on my first day in this job by the governor and the General Assembly was to get the assessment working and  knock on wood, weve still got a couple days more  but that thing is working, Schwinn said.

During the pandemic, Schwinn led the state's school districts through controversies over school closures and reopening and school mask mandates, a consistent face of the state's response alongside Lee and former Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey.

If given the opportunity to handle pandemic response differently, Schwinn said she would be mindful of communicating with the wide variety of school districts in the state  something she said the department became more focused on later in the pandemic.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn led the department during the COVID-19 pandemic. She announced Monday she is leaving on June 1.

"During COVID, it was such a difficult emotional time for everyone and people felt very strongly in whatever they were doing, whatever their belief system was, however they were approaching it," Schwinn said. "I would go to one district, let's say Metro Nashville  very, very different than if I go an hour and a half down the road to Lincoln County. Literally, there wasn't social distancing or masks and it was just two different communities handling something in two different ways."

Schwinn also spoke to the tragedy at the Covenant School in March when a shooter killed three children and three adult staff members. She said she lives in the neighborhood where the private Christian school is located and that her son attends school just a half-mile away.

More: State guidance on masks, virtual learning to schools is confusing. This timeline will help.

More: Tennessee schools chief: State committed to keeping 'propaganda like critical race theory' from classroom

We drop our kids off at school and the biggest promise that we expect is that we get them back at the end of the day, Schwinn told The Tennessean.

Schwinn said its not the first time a school shooting has hit close to home, citing the 2018 school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, that left 10 dead and 13 injured. She said the commitment to school safety is "very real" among state leaders  especially those who are parents.

Its not just an operational challenge, its a personal one because we are parents of children, and they are our most precious resource, Schwinn said. We should do whatever we can to keep our kids safe.

She stopped short of detailing how, saying shes not law enforcement and cant speak to the issue, but emphasized finding common ground.

Our common ground is a deep belief in protecting our kids and educating them well, and if we can get to that as the common ground as our purpose forward, we will find the best solutions for Tennessee, Schwinn said. That's how we got literacy passed. It's how we got TISA passed. Its how we do big things.

Policy changes

During her four years at the helm of the department, Schwinn led the department to significant policy changes, establishing the early literacy-focused Reading 360 program, an apprenticeship program to train new teachers while offering classroom experience, establishing permanent summer school options, and initiating an overhaul of the state's system for funding K-12 education.

The big things that I'd hoped we'd be able to do as a state we've gotten done faster and at a bigger scale than I had expected, Schwinn said. Weve stayed the course on things like literacy and acceleration and a new school funding formula and an apprenticeship program, and all sorts of wonderful things."

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn joined the state from Texas. She announced Monday she will be stepping down June 1.

Schwinn said she is proud of what her department, along with districts, teachers, kids and families, have accomplished in the last four years, praising them for navigating complex issues like the pandemic and the politicization of education.

More: Tennessee Supreme Court rules in favor of Gov. Bill Lee's controversial school voucher program

Tennessee schools chief: 'We're in a really difficult time in public education'

Schwinn played a key role in formulating policies after the COVID-19 pandemic to address learning loss and literacy achievement  something she views as a key accomplishment during her tenure.

I'm really proud of our work of literacy and know that we'll keep our foot on the gas pedal there, Schwinn said. Its so important.

Work to equip quality teachers, and increase minimum salaries is another highlight, she said, citing the legislature's recent approval of policy to make teacher pay a minimum of $50,000 by 2027.

Tennessee's voucher fight

This year, Schwinn also led the department through implementation of Lee's school voucher program, known as education savings accounts.

The program offers more than $8,000 in state funding to low-income students to attend a non-public school of their choice in Shelby and Davidson counties.

The program was an early legislative win for Lee, seeing narrow approval by the legislature in 2019, but it stalled for several years during lengthy court battles. Beginning last fall, the department was in the clear to implement the program, and so far a few hundred students are enrolled in private schools.

The program remains one of the most controversial education initiatives of the Lee administration, with critics arguing to drains valuable resources away from traditional public schools.

Overseeing implementation of the program this year, Schwinn said the departments focus is giving parents quality data about the school options available.

Having a first year pilot implementation, that allowed us to really understand from a parent perspective, how do we give families accurate, good quality information so that they can make the best decision for their kids, Schwinn said. It is not about pushing kids into any one type of pathway. It's about saying, if this is an option, we want to make sure parents know all of their options.

Schwinn said she anticipates more action on school choice in the coming years, noting Reynolds' past work on school choice initiatives.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn and Gov. Bill Lee held a news conference on the state's efforts to revamp how it funds education on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. Schwinn announced Monday she will step down June 1.

She really has a very, very strong, significant background in school choice policy. I think that's one of the things that really spoke to the governor's office, Schwinn said. I anticipate that she will really take that school choice platform and that will be one of her big legacies.

In response to Reynolds' appointment, Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, criticized the governor's school choice agenda.

"Gov. Bill Lee wants to end public education as we know it by diverting tax dollars to private academies and his extreme friends who run charters," Campbell told The Tennessean in a text message. "The last commissioner rubber stamped his ideological agenda, and it looks like the new one is ready to double down on these corrupt policies."

Schwinn also oversaw formulation and policy decisions to overhaul the state's funding formula for schools and school districts. In 2021, alongside Schwinn and her team garnered feedback from 18 committees of lawmakers, stakeholders, and school administrators, held town halls across the state, and fielded 1,300 public comments to formulate a school funding policy to replace the state's outdated Basic Education Program funding plan.

I think our TISA process showed here's what it can look like when you actually want to listen to all stakeholders, Schwinn said. It was a fast process, but we brought in so many people  a much more robust policymaking, I think, framework than we've seen before.

Lawmakers approved the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding structure in 2022, which assigns a set amount of funding to each child, and additional funding for specific needs. Overall, the state has made 20% more state dollars for public education.

What I've learned is that when you have more voices, you get to a better outcome, Schwinn said. You just have to make sure that you know how to actually include everyone, make sure they're heard, and be very transparent about  these are the non-negotiables and this is the sandbox we're playing in, but let's build the best product for our kids.

But TISA also has its critics, who say the state still isn't adequately funding K-12 education. The state remains in the bottom in overall K-12 spending per pupil.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Penny Schwinn out as Tennessee Education Commissioner; replacement set
A journalist from the Al Jazeera network has been freed in Egypt, four years after he was arrested, the Qatari media organisation says.

Hisham Abdel Aziz was detained in 2019, reportedly on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group. He was subsequently freed then rearrested.

The broadcaster quoted Mr Aziz's family as saying he was back at home in Cairo.

He is one of several Al Jazeera staff arrested in Egypt since the current leadership came to power in 2013.

In July of that year, the then-Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, was overthrown by the military following mass protests.

Rights groups say that since then tens of thousands of people have been arrested in a crackdown on dissent. Many have been accused of links to the banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, which Egypt has accused Al Jazeera of supporting.

According to Al Jazeera, Mr Abdel Aziz was arrested at Cairo airport on his arrival from Qatar, where he was based. He was on his way to see his family, it said.

A relative told the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that Mr Abdel Aziz had been charged with membership of a terrorist group.

Al Jazeera said his detention had been repeatedly extended on "baseless allegations" and that his health had suffered.

It said two more of its journalists, Bahaa Eldin Ibrahim and Rabie el-Sheikh, arrested in 2020 and 2021 respectively, are still being held in Egypt.
Jack Reid (Reid family)

An elite New Jersey boarding school has admitted its failure a year after a bullied pupil died by suicide.

Jack Reid, 17, attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School and took his own life last April after being bullied over false rumours that he was a rapist.

The school, which charges an annual fee of up to $76,000 for its 830 students, issued a statement on Sunday recognising its own role in the teenagers death.

The school acknowledges that bullying and unkind behaviour, and actions taken or not taken by the school, likely contributed to Jacks death, Lawrenceville officials wrote in a statement posted on the schools website.

The statement was part of an agreed settlement between the school and Reids family.

Jack Reid (Reid family)

The teenager joined the school in the fall of 2020, but in the following spring semester, a rumour that he was a rapist began to spread among students. But despite the rumours, Reid returned to the school in September 2021 and was elected president of the school housing where he lived.

His parents told the New York Times that they believe this exacerbated the bullying and he continued to be harassed by students at the school and also online.

The newspaper says that during a Secret Santa gift exchange, he was given a rape whistle and a book on how to make friends.

The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey (Facebook/ The Lawrenceville School)

His father, Bill Reid, also said that his son at one point asked him if the bullying and false accusations would ever go away.

Before he died by suicide, his parents say that Reid asked school officials to intervene and they launched an investigation into both the bullying and sexual assault allegations.

The school found no evidence to support the allegations but did not acknowledge that privately or publicly, says the Times.

Reid and his parents were never told that he had been cleared by the investigation before his death.

There were steps that the School should in hindsight have taken but did not, the school wrote in its statement. And it added: We recognize that in Jacks case, we fell tragically short.

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Jack was universally regarded as an extremely kind and good-hearted young man, with an unwavering sense of social and civic responsibility and a bright future. We continue to mourn this loss.

The night of Reids death, his family says that he put a Bible in his gym shorts and left a note directing his parents to a document in which he outlined his feelings of helplessness.

He had to escape the pain from the humiliation he was feeling, his father told the newspaper.

And his mother, Dr Elizabeth Reid, a clinical psychologist, added: We feel like we both have life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The only thing Id love to change here is to get Jack back. I cant. I do know if he were alive, he would want me  both of us  to try to make something good out of this and honor him in the way he lived his life.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone free of charge over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Joe Saunders, a former Democratic state representative and the senior political director for LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, announced Monday that he will run next year against Republican state Rep. Fabian Basabe, a socialite-turned-politician who has had a tumultuous first session in the Legislature.

Saunders, 40, will look to unseat Basabe in the 2024 election for House District 106, which includes Miami Beach and other coastal communities.

Saunders has been an outspoken critic in recent weeks of Basabe, who is under investigation for allegedly slapping an aide and has come under fire for voting alongside fellow Republicans on bills related to LGBTQ issues, abortion and gun control, despite campaigning as a moderate who was willing to cross party lines.

This session has been one of the most devastating for LGBTQ rights in Floridas modern history, and Republicans have effectively banned abortion  all while ignoring the skyrocketing costs of living, housing, and healthcare, Saunders said in a statement. This Legislature is broken and we need a new one.

After almost a decade as Equality Floridas field director, Saunders was elected to the Florida House to represent the Orlando area in 2012, when he and Miami Beachs David Richardson became the first openly gay members of the Florida Legislature. He narrowly lost his reelection campaign two years later to Rene Plasencia.

Saunders then worked on legislative and election efforts for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization, before returning to Equality Florida in 2017.

He is registered to vote in Miami Beach, where he owns a home.

As Basabe has faced increasing backlash from constituents  he was booed at the Miami Beach pride parade last month  Saunders has made him a focus of Equality Floridas activism. Saunders helped lead a protest outside Basabes office in North Bay Village and has posted regularly on social media about Basabes voting record.

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HD 106 deserves a leader who knows that theres strength in our diversity, Saunders wrote on Facebook after Basabe voted for a bill targeting diversity initiatives and classes on systemic racism in higher education. Dont be fooled, hes an extremist.

Fabian Basabe waves to an angry crowd during the Miami Beach pride parade on April 16, 2023.

Basabe, 45, defeated Jordan Leonard by just over 200 votes to win his legislative seat in November, buoyed by support from some prominent local Democrats.

The son of a wealthy Ecuadorian businessman, Basabe has a long history of controversial headlines dating back to his days as a New York socialite.

In 2019, a publicist told Page Six that Basabe called her the N-word and a whore after she didnt let him into an Art Basel party. He denied using the language.

The following year, Basabe faced a criminal charge after he grabbed a neighbors phone and threw it into the bay during a dispute over COVID-related restrictions at his condos pool area, according to a police report. Basabe said the neighbor was trying to film his 11-year-old son.

He was later arrested by U.S. marshals on a boat in South Carolina after he allegedly failed to address the charge in Florida. Basabe has said he wasnt fleeing and told the Miami New Times last year that he had no reason to believe a warrant for my arrest was issued.

In 2021, Basabe sought to run for Miami Beach City Commission but was disqualified for failing to meet the citys residency requirements.

Now, he is embroiled in a scandal involving a 25-year-old aide who claims Basabe slapped him and told him to stand in a corner during a January event hosted by a Tallahassee lobbying firm.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner has hired an outside attorney to investigate the allegation.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida warned on April 6 that his battle with Walt Disney World wasn't over. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images and Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The DeSantis-appointed board that oversees Disney's district has sued the company.

The move comes after Disney filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee.

The board lawsuit was filed in Central Florida, where Disney World is.

A district board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis countersued Walt Disney World on Monday in state court, escalating a bitter feud over control.

The 188-page lawsuit asks the 9th Judicial Circuit in Central Florida to render "void and unenforceable" the loophole Disney created to maintain control of its land, calling it "riddled with procedural and substantive defects."

The lawsuit specifically targets an arrangement Disney set up with the former board on February 8, in which the company invoked an obscure property law about King Charles III. The agreement essentially would have given Disney control of its land virtually in perpetuity.

The counter-lawsuit comes after Disney sued the governor and the board in federal court last week, alleging that DeSantis and his office have engaged in "a targeted campaign of government retaliation" against Disney that was "orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech."

"We have no choice now but to respond," Martin Garcia, chairman of the board for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said of the motion to file a lawsuit that he put forward during an emergency board meeting on Monday. "We will seek justice in state court here in central Florida where both it and Disney do business. Yes, we'll seek justice in our own backyard." All five board members supported the motion to file a lawsuit.

The choice by the board to file the lawsuit in in the 9th Circuit in central Flordia stands in contrast to where Disney's decision to file its own lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee. That case was assigned to Judge Mark Walker, an appointee of President Barack Obama who previously blocked a DeSantis-backed law that restricted how workplaces instituted diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

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In an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph, DeSantis accused Disney of "forum shopping" for a judge "who rules against us all the time." DeSantis is widely expected to launch a presidential campaign in May or June, and the feud with one of the world's biggest entertainment brands will likely feature heavily in the race.

The board overseeing Disney's district has met four times, and hired attorneys and financial advisors as they consider changes to Disney's special self-governing privileges in Florida. They also started a search for an urban planner and an economic consultant, among other measures.

On Monday, Garcia expressed frustration about Disney's escalation of the fight.

"In essence, Disney is asking a federal court in Tallahassee to wrestle back the hands of time to 1967, while this board is instead charged legislatively with bringing the district into the 21st century with new and better policies and practices," Garcia said.

Disney, currently facing a wave of layoffs, mounted a lawsuit after DeSantis threatened changes to Disney's special tax district, with help from the Florida legislature and the board he appointed to oversee the district. He even floated the idea of building a state prison on the 40 square miles of land that borders the resort and theme park.

Under a decadeslong arrangement with the state, Disney doesn't have to run its plans by zoning commissions or building inspection departments. Last week, DeSantis' newly appointed board said "nothing is off the table" as it took on a major overhaul of the area. In the mix were higher taxes, more regulations, building workforce affordable housing, and exploring the sale of utilities the district owns.

DeSantis was outside the country when Disney filed its lawsuit. Speaking in Jerusalem last week, the governor called Disney's lawsuit "political."

Asked about the board's lawsuit during an unrelated press conference on Monday, the governor said it was "wrong for one corporation to basically corrupt the local government, run it as their own fiefdom, be exempt from laws, and have all kinds of benefits nobody else has."

He maintained that he was clear about his intentions regarding Disney when he ran for reelection in November and accused the company of trying to "veto" the will of voters.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in April 2022. AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

No end in sight over land control

The governor has sparred with Disney since its executives publicly pledged to work to repeal a DeSantis-backed school-curriculum law that Democrats and Disney termed "Don't Say Gay."

The law initially at the center of the dispute, officially called the Parental Rights in Education Act, banned classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation for up to third grade. Last month, the DeSantis administration expanded it to 12th grade, limiting discussions to sex-education classes or those "required by existing state standards."

In addition to the lawsuit, the Florida legislature plans to double down to try to nix Disney's agreement, and DeSantis said Monday that he'd sign the bill into law.

The ongoing battle has been heavily fraught at the board meetings, where members of the community and local businesses have been invited to speak. Before the lawsuit announcement on Monday, the board kicked off its meeting with a public comment period in which the lone speaker, Douglas Dixon, expressed dismay about the new leadership.

"I really hope that you just resign or actually do your job, which is to do what's in the best interest of your district, not in the best interest of the governor," Dixon, who has a Disney timeshare, said. "I was for DeSantis until he started this stupid war and is destroying us."

DeSantis appointed the board in February, and it included political allies who have insisted at meetings that they weren't seeking a political agenda. Board member Ron Peri, an Orlando-based former pastor and the CEO of The Gathering, a Christian ministry, urged attendees at Monday's meeting to give the new board a chance.

"I have loved Disney World," Peri said. "My kids have enjoyed it. The Magic Kingdom, it's wonderful. I think there are so many positives. It's my hope  and I know it's the hope of the board  that the actions we take will wind up being better for everyone, Disney included."

May 1, 2023: This story has been updated to include a copy of the lawsuit and its details.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Eric Adams is the mayor of New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday the city will hand out 500 free Apple AirTags to New York residents.

Adams said it's part of the city's efforts to help reduce the thousands of car thefts every year.

AirTags are intended to help people track their belongings if they go missing.

New York will hand out hundreds of free Apple Air Tags in a bid to cut the number of auto thefts in New York, mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday.

He called the $29 GPS tracking devices a "really amazing piece of ingenuity," and said the city would give many of them away in The Bronx especially, where residents had been the most affected.

"The aggravated number of grand larceny autos continues to drive up crime in our city," Adams said at a press conference. "This simple device, this simple AirTag, hidden in a car location that a person is not aware of, is an excellent tracking device."

He added: "It's easy to monitor. You can see in real time where the vehicle is located."

Apple

The Association for Better New York, a local nonprofit, donated 500 AirTags to the city and police will give them to residents. The city will also fundraise to buy more.

Thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles have skyrocketed following a TikTok trend. It started in 2021 when a TikTok user posted a video showing how a thief could start a Kia by turning an internal switch with a simple tool.

The New York Police Department received reports of 104 Hyundais and 99 Kias stolen in December alone, according to data reported by The New York Post.

NYPD Chief of Department (@NYPDChiefOfDept) April 30, 2023

However, the device has raised some concerns about unauthorized tracking. In June last year, an Indiana woman tracked her boyfriend whom she suspected was cheating on her, using the tracking device, and then killed him.

Apple released a statement in February 2022: "AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person's property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products.

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"Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag. Incidents of AirTag misuse are rare; however, each instance is one too many."

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The ongoing fight against illegal drugs and the dangers they pose to individuals and communities extends beyond hunting down sources, making arrests and prosecuting those responsible for supplying them, say those involved in the battle.

It also involves offering help to those in the throes of addiction, law enforcement officials said in announcing Erie County's inclusion in a statewide program designed to help people with substance use disorders get into treatment.

The Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative, which the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General launched several years ago, connects individuals suffering from substance use disorder with treatment options, District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said as she and others gathered in the Erie County Courthouse on Monday morning to announce the initiative's local launch.

More: Erie man charged with supplying fentanyl that caused 2 fatal overdoses

The program also provides law enforcement with a new tool to help break the cycle of drugs and addiction by guiding people into treatment and away from the criminal justice system when treatment, rather than punishment, is a more effective option, Hirz said.

Mark Serge, left, chief deputy in the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, joins Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz and others in announcing on May 1, 2023, Erie County's inclusion in a statewide initiative aimed at aiding those seeking treatment for substance use disorder.

Community stakeholders will also play a role in the initiative by distributing information about the program to others and providing that information to people who may need treatment, officials said during Monday's news conference.

"We are losing an alarming number of our community to addiction, and we ask for your help to promote this program to save lives and make our community safer," Hirz said.

More: Erie man charged in suspected fentanyl delivery as authorities warn of blue pill dangers

Erie County has seen its number of drug overdoses and drug-related fatalities skyrocket in recent years. The county saw a record-high 124 drug-related deaths in 2017. The numbers dropped slightly in the years following that mark, but in 2022 Erie County came close to matching it with 122 drug-related deaths, according to the Erie County Coroner's Office.

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Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said Monday that his department, which covers a city with nearly one-third of Erie County's population, responded to 246 overdoses and 35 drug-related deaths in 2021, with those numbers climbing to 286 overdoses and 54 deaths last year.

City police administered 226 doses of the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan in 2022, up from 194 doses in 2021, Spizarny said.

More: Suspected dealer charged in OD death of Fairview's Taylor Miller, an advocate for addicts

With the initiative, which will run through the District Attorney's Office, police will become proactive in addressing issues of drug addiction, Spizarny said.

"We don't need to wait for an overdose to occur. Individuals who wish to seek treatment for drug or alcohol abuse can ask for help without fear of arrest or prosecution of minor drug offenses," he said.

Erie County is now one of 22 counties in Pennsylvania involved in the initiative.

Mark Serge, chief assistant district attorney in the state Office of Attorney General, said an interesting thing about Erie is that it is a distribution hub, where drugs come in from other areas and disburse from there. He also noted that dealers are turning to new substances to cut their drugs, such as the animal tranquilizer xylazine, which is immune from Narcan.

Part of the role of the Office of Attorney General and other law enforcement agencies is to enforce the law and go after those poisoning people with the drugs they sell, Serge said. But police and prosecutors can't arrest their way out of the problem, he said.

More: Law enforcement warns of deadly drug batch suspected of killing at least 4 in Erie area

Police and prosecutors see the same individuals getting arrested, and for a lot of those people they are just selling drugs because they are addicted to drugs, so arrest isn't always the answer, Serge said.

"A lot of times these people feel they don't have help, they don't know where to go, don't have treatment, don't know how to find treatment," he said.

The initiative, Serge said, is about removing barriers and increasing access to treatment for these people.

"The opioid epidemic is killing upwards of 14 Pennsylvanians every day. We want to bring LETI to as many counties and towns as possible to help those people, to provide an access point, an entryway into treatment," he said.

Those needing assistance with a substance use disorder can call the Erie County Office of Drug & Alcohol Abuse at 814-451-6877.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County joins initiative offering aid to those battling addiction
Thirty years ago Ireland was about to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the second year in a row when the cameras rolled into the small County Cork town of Millstreet.

But the 1993 contest almost did not go ahead at all because of a "bomb scare" just minutes before it was to begin.

A new programme reveals that Fionnuala Sweeney - the Belfast-born presenter of that year's contest - only found about the what had happened after the show had ended.

She tells her story to BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds for Eurovision: This Is Belfast Calling.

Sweeney, who fronted the 1993 show by herself, tells the programme that the security alert was raised about an hour before she was due to go live to millions of people across Europe.

"It was something I was glad I found out about afterwards because I think I would have been a lot more nervous than I was," she says.

"Obviously the right determination was made - that it was a scare and it wasn't anything other than a scare.

"There would have been no exciting moments in the voting; there would have been no Ireland winning - it would have been such a real shame.

Former Eurovision singers Linda Martin and Niamh Kavanagh join presenter Barra Best for Eurovision: This Is Belfast Calling

"People forget that Northern Ireland wasn't at peace and bomb scares were not unusual on occasion in the Republic.

"Gardai (Irish police) had to make a determination about whether they were going to pull the whole show."

But the show did go on and Niamh Kavanagh, who now lives in Carrickfergus in County Antrim, took home the trophy when her winning song In Your Eyes beat the UK's Sonia into second place by 23 points.

Coincidentally, due to the violent conflict know as the Troubles and the heightened security risk in Northern Ireland at the time, it was decided that the Irish and UK entries had to stay in separate locations.

"I have met Sonia once in my entire life, which is bizarre as we're so interlinked," says Kavanagh.

"We met once during the week of Eurovision because we weren't allowed to stay in the same hotel.

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"It was pre-Good Friday Agreement and the UK and Ireland, for security purposes, had to stay in separate hotels."

Campaigning for a Belfast Eurovision

The programme also hears from Belfast's Linda Martin who represented Ireland twice - first in 1984 when she came second with her song Terminal 3, before winning with Why Me in Sweden in 1992.

She was a strong advocate for the 2023 contest to be held in Belfast before Liverpool was selected as the host city on behalf of Ukraine.

The BBC's promotional image for the documentary "This is Belfast calling" featuring a Harland and Wolf crane and The words 'BBC Eurovision'

"I was campaigning that Eurovision would come to Belfast because I genuinely felt that everything was here," says Martin.

"I thought it was a God-given thing as I knew the people would open their arms wide and welcome the nationalities.

"It just didn't happen and I can't figure out why."

Ukraine's Timur Miroshnychenko famously commentated from a bomb shelter last year because of the war against Russia in his country.

He tells the programme that he looks forward to the day when Ukraine wins the contest again and is able to welcome Eurovision fans from around the world.

Timur says: "It was a dream for us even to compete and participate in Eurovision and have the opportunity to broadcast even from a bomb shelter.

"It was like a breath of fresh air for all of us and we saw the tremendous support from all the countries and it was priceless."

Eurovision: This Is Belfast Calling is available now on BBC Sounds and features special guests Sam Ryder, Katrina from Katrina and The Waves, Eurovision superfans and of course music, fun and craic.
[Editors Note: The following review contains spoilers for Barry Season 4, Episode 4, It Takes a Pscyho.]

Open Mike Eagles 2020 album Anime, Trauma, and Divorce has a great track, The Black Mirror Episode. It details a couple deciding to separate after watching the Netflix show together. When Eagle (who confirmed the song is largely autobiographical) sing-shouts the one-line chorus The Black Mirror episode ruined my marriage, you believe what hes saying and feel the dark, absurd edge to the truth beneath it.

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Its the same sentiment explored in It Takes a Psycho. Episode 4 of Barry Season 4 is filled with people running away from relationships that seem to be working and running toward ones that appear doomed. People get what they claim to want and find that what theyve acquired is rotted from the inside. Its a half hour of delicately crafted misery, something thats become a Barry calling card.

Barry has been slowly deconstructing the idea of a partnership  Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Cristobal (Michael Irby) are the latest in a line of self-delusional betrayals by people who endanger some of their most prized relationships out of ignorance, or arrogance, or a fundamental misunderstanding of what ties them to each other.

It seemed like they might be the two people who escape the Barry (Bill Hader) vortex with their lives and dreams intact. (For a while, in New Mexico, it seemed like they already had.) But one fateful trip to the top of their newly acquired sand silo alters the prospects of their shared business and their shared lives. A selfies-and-sand-angels session devolves into a mass execution once Hank flips the switch and sends all of the Bong support team to suffocate inside the product they were hired to protect. In a panic attack-inducing bit of camera movement, sound design, and sensory deprivation, Cristobal gets caught with them.

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Even before that sequence, Hanks eyes show that something has changed. Carrigans always been so precise in showing the vacant stare of someone who knows trouble is on the horizon. Sensing an imminent threat from Barry, Hank makes a covert deal with his old Chechen colleagues to swap his current ragtag band of karaoke-loving henchmen for protection and control over the LA smuggling operation.

Cristobal manages to survive his accidental inclusion in that plan, but his rescue only leads to more problems. He doesnt even get enough time to wash the sand off his face before finding out that Hank was an orchestrator of the group hit. By the time theyre back at their place, hosting Andrei (Michael Ironside) and his crew, things have shattered. Hank has gone Full Barry, morphing from deeply flawed and outwardly amiable to fully embracing the mindset that shows of strength trump all.

When Cristobal tries to leave, Hank does his best to manipulate Cristobal into staying. When that doesnt work, Hank faces the panicked realization that Cristobal isnt just walking out on their partnership but walking to his death. Whether or not Cristobal shares that same realization, it ends in goodbye, then tragedy.

Michael Irby in Barry - Credit: Merrick Morton/HBO

Merrick Morton/HBO

Once again, Barry Season 4 underlines one of its themes: Love used in desperation can be a nasty weapon all its own. Andrei puts just as much, if not more, genuine belief in saying that Hank and Cristobal love each other than Hank does in saying I love you as an attempt to get Cristobal to stay. That last Hank/Cristobal fight is vicious for the speed at which the two diverge before one of them even realizes it. It ends with Hank sobbing, drowning out the sound of gunshots right outside. (Its a subtle and brutal costume design choice to put Andreis henchman in an outfit just similar enough to Cristobals so that, for a second, it seems like everyones avoided disaster.) The front door closes and, in the span of just a few minutes, both men meet a fate worse than drowning in construction-grade silicate.

Sallys (Sarah Goldberg) also gets everything she wants while underestimating the physical and psychological price. For the second time in as many weeks, Barry calls on a Best Picture director, this time enlisting Sian Heder (CODA) for another round of pointing fingers at the industry from the inside. MCU parodies are plentiful in the comedy world these days and, while Taofik Kolades script does add the specific angle of the indie director to franchise behemoth conveyor belt, the scope of this fake project is more designed to put Sallys last-ditch efforts in full context.

Sallys acting-class teardown of Kristen (Ellyn James) in last weeks episode didnt end her career; it got her an invite to the set of franchise blockbuster Mega Girls. (Its probably not a coincidence that Kristens costume is just as much Queen Maeve from The Boys as it is anything from a movie set on Themyscira.) When Kristen goes up on her lines during the monologue that sent her to Sally in the first place, her new instructor steps in with some unconventional shows of support. When sense memories dont do the trick, Sally delivers Kristens monologue to her face before spinning around and finishing those sentences directly to Heder. The director is stunned before damning Sally with faint praise: Now if I could just get that to come out of that.

Its more than the industrys callous nature of referring to actresses as objects, or that Kristens agent later telling Sally that there are other roles that she would be appropriate for. Actor-director Hader frames director-actor Heder as literally moving her hand past the camera. Sally wanted to be a star, but now shes become a literal physical obstacle to the more valued performer and face behind her.

Last season brought Sally a major rejection from network TV; this smaller rejection in the blockbuster world proves to be Sallys final straw. When Barry emerges, Marley-like, from Sallys kitchen, she doesnt have to hear an apology. Shes ready for the two of them to get out of town.

Barry - Credit: Merrick Morton/HBO

Merrick Morton/HBO

The bumbling, blunt-object policing we see in It Takes a Psycho includes LAPD cars slamming into each other outside Genes (Henry Winkler) place and an inept raid on the Dave & Busters. Contrast that with the careful patience of Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom) staking out each new location, waiting for any trace of Barry at homes of former friends. He waits out Barrys return the same way that Hader directs this season: steady, purposeful, and presenting each characters waking nightmares in an unadorned, unsparing way. Amidst a sea of bold character swings and disastrous outcomes, Jims particular brand of revenge suddenly seems the most competent.

Meanwhile, Fuches (Stephen Root) cries echo throughout the prison, being punished in exchange for trying to sound the alarm on the Barry assassination plot. Gene arms himself, a self-proclaimed sitting duck up at the Big Bear cottage, believing that Barry is destined to return to one of his crime scenes. That anxiety results in him shooting his son Leo (Andrew Leeds), who was trying to bring him comfort food all the way from the Valley. More kindness repaid with pain.

After putting Barrys psyche front and center for the first three episodes, It Takes a Psycho is an episode-long misdirect. Barrys hardly there but he casts a long shadow, especially in how his manipulative ways seem to have transferred to Hank. (That last Cristobal goodbye has chilling echoes of Barrys attempts to keep Sally in his life.) But Barry is just fine even without Barry.

Until, in a disorienting episode button, he is. It starts out like a replay of Barrys early-season daydreams, with a young boy escaping a fight and retreating to a home in the middle of an empty field. Inside, Barry and Sally wait. The reveal that its them in that unidentified, remote location is shocking, but not exactly surprising. If this isolated house really is their future and not another peek into Barrys subconscious, its another example of someone getting what they claimed to want and feeling pretty disaffected by the results. The only move now is to wait and see if the pattern of misery holds.

Grade: A-

Barry Season 4 airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO.

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Click here to read the full article.
Its been almost a year since the Supreme Court repealed the Roe v. Wade decision. Lets take a look at the history of the case itself as well as its repeal and the fallout.

Last year, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that secured the right to an abortion in the United States. Since that time, the question of abortion access has fallen to the states, with laws across the country varying widely.

As we approach the anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned, lets look back at the original case as well as the effects the repeal has had in the past few months.

A pro-choice sign is held up on a hanger, a symbol of pre-legalized abortion, during a May 2022 demonstration in Boston. Members of the Boston Red Cloaks gathered at the State House to protest the Supreme Courts then-pending ruling on overturning Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)

The 1973 case of Roe v. Wade

In Texas in the 1960s, abortion was only legal if a mothers life was in danger. So when Norma McCorvey, who would be referred to in her later lawsuit as Jane Roe, became pregnant after having already given up two babies for adoption, she tried to find an illegal abortion. Failing that, she sued Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, with the help of attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.

McCorvey found initial success in a Texas district court, which ruled that abortion bans violated citizens right to privacy. But Wade was still going after doctors who performed abortions, and so the case found its way to the United States Supreme Court.

In the case of Roe v. Wade, Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote in the majority opinion siding with McCorvey that banning abortions did violate the right to privacy. The court noted, however, that states could argue that they had a compelling interest in the life of any fetus that had reached viability. Thus, the court made abortion bans illegal before viability while also upholding abortion access when a mothers life was in danger.

Roe v. Wade and the implied right to privacy

In arguing for the right to an abortion, the Supreme Court outlined a right to privacy. Although this right isnt enumerated in the Constitution, Blackmun argued that this right is implied in the 14th Amendment. This amendment grants a right to due process, which keeps states from controlling the private lives of their citizens.

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Backlash and attempts to repeal

Almost as soon as Roe v. Wade had been decided, groups opposed to abortion access began their attempts to repeal the decision. Within three years, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment prohibiting government funds from being spent on abortions, barring exceptional circumstances such as rape or danger to the life of the mother. The exceptions that the Hyde Amendment outlined became the basis for future attempted abortion bans.

Anti-abortion activists gather at the National Mall in Washington on Jan. 19, 2018, ahead of the annual March for Life rally. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Later, in the case of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, the standard of abortion access set by Roe v. Wade was again limited by an undue burden principle. The Planned Parenthood case allowed for abortion bans as long as those bans did not place substantial obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability.

Abortion continued to be a galvanizing issue, with multiple states attempting to enact bans that would pass the undue burden litmus test. The abortion question was such a polarizing issue that, when President Barack Obama was trying to pass the Affordable Care Act, he specifically compromised to allow abortion to be banned under ACA plans.

The fight to appoint Supreme Court justices

As the attempt to repeal Roe v. Wade became a rallying cry politically, it was common for politicians to focus on the Supreme Court. Because Supreme Court appointments are for life, every time a seat opened up, the appointment process became increasingly contentious.

Things came to a head, then, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced in 2016 that he would not allow a confirmation hearing on President Obamas nominee to the Supreme Court. McConnell claimed that he wanted to wait until the 2016 election was over, but in 2022, he admitted that this decision directly led to the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

President Barack Obama met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (right) and other Senate leaders in the Oval Office on Feb. 1, 2016, to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the seat but McConnell refused to hold hearings on the nomination. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump swore to nominate judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade. When he took office in 2017 and, during his four-year term, was able to nominate and get confirmed Neil Gorsuch for the empty seat Obama had tried to fill plus two other Supreme Court justices, abortion rights activists braced themselves.

The 2022 repeal of Roe v. Wade

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court heard the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. The case started in Mississippi, which in 2018 adopted the Gestational Age Act, banning abortions after 15 weeks. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which was the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, sued the state after the act was passed, and the case eventually ended up before the highest court in the nation.

In a 6-3 majority, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority that the Roe decision was egregiously wrong. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the three liberal justices on the court, wrote a joint dissent.

With sorrow  for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection  we dissent, the three wrote.

Backlash and protests

Abortion-rights activists had been preparing for this ruling for over a month. A leak from within the Supreme Court revealed that the court was planning to overturn Roe v. Wade; a draft of the majority opinion circulated quickly online once it was leaked.

Immediately after the leaked draft surfaced, protests erupted, including some at the homes of the justices themselves. The protests continued after Roe was overturned, though many protests have since moved to the states as the question of abortion has fallen to them to decide.

In Boston, a protester holds up a sign as she takes part in a Rally to Defend Abortion Rights on June 24, 2022, after the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

States that have banned abortion since the repeal of Roe v. Wade

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, states have seized the opportunity to limit access to abortion. Already, 14 of them have banned abortions, with limited exceptions, and even more states have passed laws that set gestational limits on when abortions can be performed.

According to The New York Times, which keeps track of where abortion is banned or limited, the 14 states with near-complete bans are: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Very few of those states have exceptions for even cases of rape and incest.

Arizona and Florida have banned abortions after 15 weeks, Utah after 18 weeks and North Carolina after 20 weeks. The strictest ban based on gestational age is Georgias, which starts at six weeks, though Florida is attempting to pass a similar law.

What does life in a post-Roe state look like?

While these abortion bans are considered victories for those who opposed Roe, after a year of watching states enact abortion bans, the residents of those states are now seeing the repercussions of a lack of abortion access.

For example, doctors and medical students are fleeing states where abortions have been banned. The flight has been so dramatic that one hospital in Idaho was forced to announce that it could no longer provide labor and delivery services. And as medical professionals leave, citizens in those states are left with worsening care.

A nurse holds a newborn in a maternity hospital. As doctors flee states with strict abortion bans, maternal and infant health care in those state suffers. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Those who do find care are facing worse outcomes, too. A study published by the Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI) found that patients living in a state that had banned or restricted abortion statistically had much worse outcomes in maternal and infant health than patients in states where those restrictions werent in place. And with 7 in 10 Black women living in a state with abortion restrictions, the study found that Black women were almost three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women were.

Abortion bans are even affecting where people decide to go to school. A study from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that 72% of students looking ahead to college said that abortion laws in the state affected whether or not they wanted to attend college there.

Now that Roe v. Wade has been repealed, we will continue to see states deciding the question of abortion access and will also see how those states fare in the long term. For now, as the possibility of a nationwide abortion law remains likely out of reach in a split Congress, advocates on both sides of the debate will focus their attention locally.

The post Everything you need to know about Roe v. Wade appeared first on TheGrio.
(CNN)  Red Cross aid landed in Sudan for the first time since fighting broke out between rival military forces three weeks ago, some rare good news in a conflict that shows little sign of ending.

Eight tonnes of medical aid arrived on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement, offering relief to Sudan's hard-hit medical facilities.

Thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sudan and thousands of local families have fled the capital Khartoum amid the clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces .

Fresh gunfire was heard on Sunday near the closely contested presidential palace in the capital Khartoum, witnesses told CNN.

A ceasefire agreed Friday has always been shaky and is due to expire on Sunday evening. The RSF says it will extend the truce for another 72 hours but there has been no immediate word from the army.

This weekend, the Sudanese police were deployed in Khartoum for the first time since the outbreak of the clashes to "maintain security" amid heavy looting.

Among those deployed were combat-trained police personnel from the Central Reserve Forces.

Residents on the ground have told CNN that markets and shops have been heavily targeted by looters in the past few days.

Hatem Awadallah, a German citizen of Sudanese origin who lives in Khartoum told CNN in a phone call that he had been the victim of looting by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"I woke up at 1:30 a.m. to the sound of a Kalashnikov weapon that was placed on my head and a group of armed RSF men... demanding that I give them any amount of money -- or I would be killed," Awadallah said.

He added that his 83-year-old mother and family had also been threatened with guns by thieves who demanded money.

The family ended up surrendering $14,000 while thieves also stole another $5,000 and destroyed two iPhones and an iPad by shooting them.

"They looted a new car -- a Toyota truck -- and then left the house," Awadallah said. "Three of our house guards who were tied up, told us that those who looted them came in four armed cars belonging to the RSF," he said.

Thousands evacuated

The fighting came as several countries reported the evacuation of thousands of foreign nationals.

The UK says it has evacuated more than 2,000 people so far, the vast majority British nationals and their dependents.

The government said it would run another evacuation flight to help British nationals to leave Port Sudan on Monday, although it was not immediately clear where the flight would go to.

China, meanwhile, said it had evacuated 940 Chinese citizens and 231 foreign personnel from Sudan to Saudi Arabia between Wednesday and Saturday.

"In order to protect the lives and property of Chinese citizens in Sudan, the Chinese military has been ordered to evacuate Chinese personnel in Sudan," said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei.

General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Defense, told CNN Sunday that 5,197 people from 100 nations had so far been evacuated with Saudi ships from Port Sudan.

The first US-led effort to evacuate private American citizens was completed on Saturday, with a convoy organized by the US government reaching Port Sudan after a long journey from the capital Khartoum.

The effort came amid mounting anger from Americans in Sudan who felt abandoned by the US government, which had maintained for more than a week that conditions were not conducive to a civilian evacuation despite all US government personnel being evacuated in a military operation last weekend.

Families flee capital

But while many foreign nationals have now been evacuated, on the ground many Sudanese remain stuck in deteriorating and deadly conditions.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting broke out.

Experts say the country is now at risk of a humanitarian disaster, as those still trapped in their homes face shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity.

Thousands of families that have fled Khartoum have headed to the city of Shendi, where citizens have launched an initiative to open their homes to help them.

CNN journalists in Sudan have been told that more than 10,000 families have made the journey to Shendi, 172 km north of Khartoum, in the past two weeks.

Those that do not have family in Shendi are being offered housing for free by homeowners in Shendi and nearby villages such as Al-Musayyab, Al-Musayyab, Al-Shaghalwa.

The organizers of the initiative told CNN that they greeted arrivals with food and drinks and have offered medical assistance. Those at risk of kidney failure are being housed closer to hospitals.

All medical care and housing is being offered free of charge.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Thousands of foreign nationals evacuated amid fighting and looting in Sudan despite truce."
At least some of the 5-inch Zuni air-launched rockets pledged to Ukraine by the United States have now been delivered, according to new photos. The unguided rockets appear to be in use with the Ukrainian Air Forces Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, which have so far been extensively used for attacks on Russian positions using Soviet-era rockets, supplies of which are apparently now running low.

-25  127    Zuni pic.twitter.com/TcwsOi0267  MilitaryAviationInUa (@Ukraine_AF) May 1, 2023

The photos in question began to circulate on social media today and show a weapons cart loaded with live Zuni rockets, in front of a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 in distinctive digital camouflage as well as blue and yellow identification panels.

The rockets nearest to the camera have had morale-boosting Ukrainian-language slogans applied, something we have seen on other air-launched weapons in the past. In this case, one rocket carries the words This is the answer for the kids in Uman and all Uman people, while the other reads Rusnya, burn in hell for your crimes! The first slogan almost certainly relates to the Russian airstrike on an apartment block in the city of Uman last Friday, which killed at least 23 people, suggesting the photo is very recent.

Interestingly, two stores under the aircrafts wing have been censored, obscuring the type of rocket pods used, as well as how many of the Zunis each Su-25 might typically be loaded with. It also means that we dont yet know how the launcher was integrated with the aircraft (the pylon adapter is also hidden), although rocket pods are fairly simple overall, so it may have been a relatively easy adaptation.

A Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 in digital camouflage, seen prior to the full-scale Russian invasion launched in February 2022. Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

Story continues

The transfer of 4,000 Zuni rockets to Ukraine was first confirmed back in January, as part of a $3-billion Pentagon aid package that was headlined by 50 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, which have also now started to arrive in Ukraine. You can read more about that particular arms package in our original report here.

The Zuni itself is essentially a sort of a system consisting of a standardized rocket motor/main section onto which different warheads can be attached. While the importance of the basic Zuni rocket in the U.S. inventory gradually diminished following the arrival of more precision-guided ordnance (including laser-guided rockets), ending in its final withdrawal, the history of this weapon is long and its combat record is impressive.

The U.S. military began using 5-inch rockets to arm tactical aircraft back in World War II, with the first air-launched weapon of this caliber being a development of an earlier 3.5-inch air-launched anti-submarine rocket used by the U.S. Navy. The 5-inch Forward-Firing Aircraft Rocket, or FFAR, combined the motor from this anti-submarine weapon with the warhead from an anti-aircraft shell, producing the 5-inch FFAR. This entered service in late 1943.

Five-inch FFARs being loaded under the wing of a U.S. Marine Corps F4U Corsair on Okinawa, Japan, circa June 1945. U.S. Marine Corps

The 5-inch High-Velocity Aircraft Rocket, or HVAR, was an improved weapon, with a larger motor ensuring greater speed and destructive power and it also saw use in World War II.

These weapons served as the progenitors of the Zuni, developed by the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s. The major change was the introduction of folding fins, which meant that multiple examples could be carried in more streamlined external pods. With this, the designation of the weapon was amended to Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket, also FFAR.

A U.S. Marine Corps A-4M Skyhawk launches a Zuni rocket in the 1970s. U.S. Navy

The modular nature of the Zuni FFAR means that many different warhead types, fuzes, and motors have been fielded since the weapon entered service in the second half of the 1950s. Broadly speaking, however, an individual Zuni rocket is roughly 110 inches long and weighs a little over 100 pounds.

During the U.S. war in Vietnam, the Zuni became something of a signature weapon, arming a wide range of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft but also gaining notoriety for its role in the devastating fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in July 1967, when one of the rockets was inadvertently launched on the deck.

A U.S. Navy A-7 Corsair II with a four-round Zuni pod. Courtesy of the A-7 Corsair II Association

More recent versions of the Zuni include the Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket, or WAFAR version, which uses a new nozzle/fin assembly together with a smokeless Mk 71 motor (very likely the type supplied to Ukraine). In its later use, the Zuni was mainly fired from four-round pods in the LAU-10 series, although its unclear at this point what types of launchers have been provided to Ukraine.

Four-round LAU-10 launchers for Zuni rockets aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway, circa 1975. U.S. Navy

With a large assortment of warhead types and fuzes available, its very likely that Ukraine has received different types which can then be employed against various targets (armored vehicles, troops, etc.) as required. Illumination and smoke warheads are other options, for targeting.

Accounts of Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 operations in the conflict so far, supported by numerous photos and videos that have become available, show that these attack aircraft are using unguided rockets on a significant scale. Indeed, evidence of these jets using freefall bombs or air-to-ground missiles is extremely scarce in comparison.

Until now, the Ukrainian Su-25s have been using three primary types of Soviet-era aircraft rockets, all of which are unguided, and which were developed in the 1970s. These are the 80-millimeter (3.15-inch) caliber S-8, the 122-millimeter (4.80-inch) S-13, and the 266-millimeter (10.50-inch) S-25. Only the first of these is launched from a pod, with each B-8 launcher carrying up to 20 rockets.

The larger and more powerful S-13 (as seen in the video embedded below) and S-25 rockets are carried individually and are suitable for attacking larger and more hardened targets.

UA pilot fin_foin works 



Glory to the heroes  pic.twitter.com/FNpSoUb9u0  International Observers Ukraine (@INTobservers) April 23, 2023

As such, the Zuni is likely intended to supplement the S-8 and S-13 rockets, stocks of which are also being used up through extensive use by Ukrainian Army Aviation helicopters, chiefly the Mi-24 Hind and Mi-8 Hip series of rotorcraft.

Low level Ukrainian Mi-8 operations, each armed with a pair of B-13L rocket pods for five 122mm S-13 unguided rockets. pic.twitter.com/diCOxvf19G  OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 23, 2023

Compared to the S-8 and S-13, the Zuni also offers a greater range. When fitted with an anti-armor/fragmentation warhead, for example, the S-8 has a range of around 2.5 miles, while other rockets in the series, depending on warhead type, dont even reach this distance. An S-13 with a penetrating warhead also has a range of 2.5 miles. The Zuni, by contrast, has a typical range of around 5 miles.

An inert Zuni rocket preserved at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, with its folding fins deployed. Cliff/Wikimedia Commons

This range advantage may also lead to changes in the way that Ukrainian Su-25s employ their rockets. In the conflict so far, both Ukrainian and Russian fixed-wing attack aircraft and helicopters have often fired unguided rockets in a pop-up maneuver. This involves approaching the target at a very low level and then lobbing the weapons toward the objective, with the aim of minimizing exposure to hostile ground-based air defenses. Using tactical airpower as airborne multiple rocket launchers may be critical for survival, but the effectiveness achieved is questionable, at best, other than against unprotected area targets.

Ukrainian Su-25s launch rockets using a typical attack profile:

Ukrainian Su-25 destroys the invaders in the east of Ukraine pic.twitter.com/5zTwC9LO5A  Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) April 12, 2023

The additional range offered by the Zuni should allow targets to be engaged more accurately from a greater distance, putting the launch aircraft outside the range of many very short-range air defense systems (VSHORADS) including man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

This is potentially even more significant for Ukraines slower-flying and more vulnerable rocket-armed helicopters. Although we dont know yet whether these have received Zunis, integration of these unguided weapons also shouldnt pose a significant problem. Its notable that, so far, we have seen very little evidence of Ukrainian helicopters using anti-tank guided missiles, which would be able to hit targets accurately from longer ranges, meaning they are very much reliant on unguided rockets that expose them to much greater danger. A rocket with roughly twice the range of the current S-8 and S-13 would clearly be a big deal in this context.

A Ukrainian Mi-24 employs S-8 rockets in a pop-up maneuver:

Eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian Mi-24 makes a low level attack run with unguided S-8 rockets. pic.twitter.com/6LnswY2mpX  OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) December 23, 2022

With 4,000 Zuni rockets headed to Ukraine, this represents a significant boost to the countrys aircraft rocket stocks. It may also speak to the fact that Ukraine is using up stocks of Soviet-era weapons that cannot be readily sourced in large numbers anywhere else, at least outside of Russia.

Theres also the possibility that we might see Ukraine adapting Zunis for ground launch, something that it has done in the past with its S-8 rockets, in particular. On the other hand, its easy to imagine that the advance in capability that the Zuni brings will see it earmarked for exclusive use by the Ukrainian Air Force and Army Aviation.

An S-8 rocket launcher typically found on helicopters seen firing towards Russian positions while mounted on a trailer.



Technically a technical? pic.twitter.com/HpHwFHwayT  Task & Purpose (@TaskandPurpose) June 18, 2022

Despite its age, the Zuni remains a very useful weapon, especially for an air force that is now well-versed in using unguided rockets as one of its primary means of battlefield assault. There remains the possibility that Ukraine might even get its hands on a guided version of the Zuni, although there is no evidence of that so far.

A laser-guided conversion of the Zuni was at least demonstrated to the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy in the late 2000s and may also have been tested in some capacity on the OV-10 Bronco turboprop attack aircraft that were later used in Iraq by the U.S. Special Operations Command. A laser-guided Zuni would require either an operator on the ground with a laser designator, to illuminate the target, or integration with the fire-control system of the launch aircraft  the Su-25 incorporates an internal laser rangefinder/target designator. While self-designating would make the launch aircraft vulnerable to ground-based air defenses, laser designation by troops on the ground would not require the Su-25 to engage at higher altitude, making attacks of this kind more survivable.

This would not necessarily be a quick or straightforward modification but could be of interest in the longer term and, with the U.S.-supplied AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile, or HARM, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range, or JDAM-ER, more complex weapons integrations have been achieved by Ukraine in the past.

#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Air Force has released video showing for the first time ever US-supplied AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles being fired from their MiG-29 jets.



They seem to be fired in pairs from the inboard pylons where R-27 AAM would otherwise be carried. pic.twitter.com/o0OMTiwnow   Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) August 30, 2022

As its stands, even a fairly antiquated unguided rocket is still useful for Ukraine, particularly against known Russian positions, something that would be of considerable importance as part of any upcoming offensive. In this way, volleys of air-launched rockets would likely be a very useful adjunct to conventional artillery. At the same time, this is yet another example of weapon improvisation on the Ukrainian battlefield, something we are likely to see more of as weapons stocks, more generally, run low.

We will watch further developments with interest, especially to see if and how the arrival of this enduring weapon changes the way that Ukraine conducts airstrikes, whether by Su-25 attack jet, or other aircraft.

Special thanks to Ilona Bulankova for her assistance in preparing this story.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
Former GOP Rep. Will Hurd of Texas on Sunday reminded voters that Donald Trumps no spring chicken, either. (Watch the video below.)

With much of the negative focus on President Joe Bidens age  he would be 82 at the start of a possible second term  Hurd said Trump will also face questions for being long in the tooth.

Whether we like it or not, age is going to be a factor in this campaign because, guess what, Donald Trumps no spring chicken, either. And so this is something thats  that both candidates are going to have to deal with through their primaries and, and, and President Biden in the general election, he said on ABCs This Week.

Biden, 80, is the oldest serving president. Trump, 76, would be 78 to begin a second term.

Trumps chaotic and gaffe-plagued presidency raised questions about his mental acuity. He famously bragged about passing a cognitive test that involved reciting Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. Its still brought up by Republican supporters.

Trump and Biden, who officially announced his candidacy last week, are the front-runners for their parties nominations. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 44, looms as a strong potential challenger on the GOP side.

GOP contender Nikki Haley, 51, has made age a focus of her campaign, suggesting cognitive tests for candidates in signaling whats likely to be a major Republican attack on Bidens age.

Recent polls indicate that Bidens age is a major concern, but one noted 57% of voters also called Trumps age a concern. In another poll, 65% said Biden would be too old for another term, while 45% said Trump would be too old.

Meanwhile, investigations into Trumps incitement of the Capitol insurrection, his plot to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia, his hoarding of classified documents at his resort and his hush-money payoff to a porn star have not aged well at all.

H/T Mediaite

Related...
Central State Hospital (left); Irvo Otieno (right) Parker Michels-Boyce/The New York Times and Ben Crump Law/Getty Images

Three hospital employees were charged with murder after the death of Irvo Otieno in Virginia.

One day after Otieno died, one of the men charged struck another patient, records show.

State data shows 64 substantiated allegations of physical abuse and neglect over five years.

The March 6 death of Irvo Otieno at a Virginia psychiatric hospital after seven sheriff's deputies and three hospital employees smothered the shackled and handcuffed patient drew national scrutiny and prompted murder charges against a total of ten people.

Records obtained by Insider show that just one day after 28-year-old Otieno died in the 11-minute ordeal at Central State Hospital, one of the employees charged in his death repeatedly beat another patient who was in crisis at the hospital.

Special management technician Wavie Jones struck a patient's back and upper thigh with a closed fist multiple times while restraining the man, according to an internal investigation report obtained by Insider. Jones was a hospital employee in charge of controlling access to a maximum security unit where patients from the criminal justice system are assigned for psychiatric treatment.

Jones and two hospital employees, along with seven sheriff's deputies of the Henrico County Sheriff's Department, were each indicted on one count of second-degree murder on March 28.

Otieno's death, the incident of abuse the next day and state hospital data obtained by Insider show there is a history of mistreating patients at the state-run facility.

Over the past five years, Central State Hospital investigators substantiated 31 complaints of physical abuse against patients, 33 for patient neglect, 9 for verbal abuse and 3 for patient exploitation.

The number of unsubstantiated allegations, though, is higher. Over the last five years, there were 230 unsubstantiated claims of physical abuse, 228 for verbal abuse, 123 for patient neglect, and 56 for sexual abuse.

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which provided the data to Insider following a records request, and Jones's lawyers did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on Wednesday or Thursday.

Story continues

Attorneys for all but two of the defendants didn't return calls or emails on Thursday.

Attorney W. Edward Riley IV, who represents one of the deputies, Kaiyell Sanders, said his client did not murder Otieno and intends to plead not guilty in the case. Russell Stone, representing Dwayne Bramble, said he does not believe a criminal case is warranted and Bramble also intends to plead not guilty.

Wavie Jones was a Central State Hospital employee. Daniel Vogl/picture alliance via Getty Images

A Central State Hospital employee said Jones' striking of a patient "seemed unnecessary"

Central State Hospital, a state-operated mental health facility, launched an investigation into the March 7 incident after a security staff member and a nurse reported that she witnessed physical abuse by Jones.

The hospital's internal investigator said in an investigative report that the patient denied he was injured during the incident and showed no signs of physical trauma.

Three hospital employees said they witnessed the abuse. One man  who held the same job as Jones  said the strikes "seemed unnecessary," according to the investigative records.

Insider was not able to reach the witnesses and is withholding their names until it does.

The March 7 incident was caught on surveillance video, which was reviewed by the internal investigator. It shows the interaction was initiated when a male patient repeatedly punched a nurse, according to the report.

The patient was escorted to "the Seclusion Room" by security, according to the video described in the report. When he charged at a hospital employee moments later, nursing staff and Jones entered the room to separate the patient and the employee. They worked together to hold the patient down for an intramuscular injection, according to the internal report based on the video.

As security tried to leave the room, the patient used his legs to hold down Jones' leg, according to the report. As staff re-entered the room to separate them, Jones struck the patient's back five times with a closed fist, after which the patient released Jones.

As Jones, along with security staff, attempt to place the patient in restraints, Jones is seen striking the patient in the upper thigh two times. The patient was left alone in the Seclusion Room after his restraint.

The hospital investigator questioned Jones directly about striking the patient and he claimed he had a prior surgery to his ankle and was afraid it was going to break from the patient's hold on him. He told the investigator he didn't remember striking the patient's thigh.

Darian Blackwell, another hospital employee charged in Otieno's death, was also involved in the March 7 incident. When he was interviewed during the investigation, he said he did not recall seeing Jones striking the patient. The accounts of three other witnesses, in conjunction with the video, however, led the investigator to find that the abuse was substantiated.

Irvo Otieno died in police custody on March 6, 2023. Ben Crump Law

Wavie Jones and his 9 co-defendants are awaiting trial in Virginia

Sheriff's deputies first took Otieno into custody on March 3 while police investigated a suspected burglary, according to local outlet WTVR.

A spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, which is investigating Otieno's death, told the station that deputies accused Otieno of attacking them. When deputies took him from jail to a local psychiatric hospital, he was "restrained and later died," the State Police spokesperson told WTVR.

Otieno's family is represented by Benjamin Crump, a lawyer who specializes in cases of police brutality.

Crump described what he saw in the video of Otieno's death as "inhumane" and "unjustifiable."

Crump said during a March press conference that the video shows seven deputies smothering Otieno  who was wearing handcuffs and leg shackles  to death with the weight of their bodies. He said they took turns pushing their knees into his neck in an encounter that lasted more than 11 minutes.

Hospital employees Wavie Jones, Darian Blackwell, and Sadarius Williams are awaiting trial.

They have been charged along with sheriff's deputies Randy Boyer, Dwayne Bramble, Jermaine Branch, Bradley Disse, Tabitha Levere, Brandon Rodgers, and Sanders.

None of the defendants have entered pleas in the case. The defendants have court appearances scheduled in May at the Dinwiddie Circuit Court.

Read the original article on Insider
Ukrainian reconnaissance officers identified the location of Russian military headquarters in the occupied village of Mykhailivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Ukraines defence forces struck the headquarters.

Source: Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol, on Telegram

Details: Ivan Fedorov, the Mayor of the nearby city of Melitopol, said that explosions rocked the Russian headquarters around 14:30 on 1 May.

He explained that Ukrainian reconnaissance officers identified the headquarters location, and "handed over the coordinates" to another unit of defence forces once more Russian military personnel gathered at the location.

Quote from Fedorov: "There was no barbecue, but the occupiers got fried."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Countries have conducted one of the biggest international evacuations in years as their nationals flee the sudden outbreak of fighting in Sudan.

Some foreigners have been airlifted out while others have travelled about 800 km (500 miles) by road from the war-torn capital Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea to board ships. Here is where the efforts stand:

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia, across the Red Sea from Sudan, has evacuated 5,197 people of 100 nationalities, its foreign ministry said on Sunday. Evacuees included 184 Saudi citizens, it added.

UNITED STATES

U.S. forces evacuated American and some foreign diplomats on April 22.

By Sunday nearly 1,000 Americans had left Sudan, with another convoy having arrived at Port Sudan to travel onwards via Saudi Arabia.

BRITAIN

Britain said it has evacuated 2,122 people, mostly British nationals and their dependents and had arranged an extra flight from Port Sudan on Monday after announcing its last flight from Khartoum on Saturday, citing a decline in demand and volatility on the ground.

The government had estimated there were about 4,000 Britons in Sudan. It evacuated its diplomats and their families on April 22.

Cyprus said it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism at Britain's request to let third countries use it for reception and repatriation of foreign citizens evacuated from Sudan. Cyprus is home to two large British military bases.

EGYPT

Egypt has evacuated a total of 6,399 Egyptians, 1,072 of them on Friday. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday around 16,000 people had crossed from Sudan to Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens.

GERMANY

Germany said on Wednesday it had ended its operation to evacuate people from Sudan, with more than 700 people flown out, including around 200 German citizens. Germany's evacuation mission brought out people from more than 30 countries, including Belgian, British, Dutch, Jordanian and U.S. citizens.

FRANCE

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The French government said on Thursday it had so far evacuated 936 people, including Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes as well as French nationals.

The United Nations Secretary-General thanked France for its "vital assistance" in transporting 400 U.N. personnel and their dependents out of Sudan.

ITALY

Italian military planes flying from Djibouti evacuated 83 Italians and 13 others, including children and the Italian ambassador. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said some Italian NGO workers and missionaries had decided to stay in Sudan, while 19 others had been taken to Egypt.

NETHERLANDS

About 100 Dutch nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since April 23, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said. Half left on four Dutch evacuation flights to Jordan, which also carried about 70 people from 14 other countries.

The Netherlands aims to evacuate a total of around 150 Dutch nationals and has supplied two military planes to the international effort, which are also available for other nationalities.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland has shut its embassy and evacuated all Swiss staff and their families.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The United Arab Emirates evacuated its citizens, other nationalities and humanitarian cases from Sudan by plane on Saturday. Around 128 evacuees, including British and U.S. citizens, landed in the capital Abu Dhabi.

RUSSIA

Russia has not yet announced any evacuation of its embassy or its nationals from Khartoum. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russians in Sudan were in close contact with Moscow.

JAPAN

All Japanese people who wished to leave have been evacuated, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

INDONESIA

A further 363 Indonesian citizens evacuated from Sudan arrived home on Sunday on a second flight by the country's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the foreign ministry said.

A first group of Indonesian evacuees arrived back in the country on Friday, and a total of 748 citizens have been evacuated from Sudan as of Sunday.

CHINA

China said most of its nationals have been safely evacuated in groups to neighbouring countries. The defence ministry deployed naval ships to pick up and evacuate citizens on Wednesday.

The foreign ministry said between Tuesday and Thursday, nearly 800 people were transferred by sea and more than 300 travelled to neighbouring countries by land.

The Chinese consulate-general in Jeddah issued a notice on Wednesday advising citizens who planned to evacuate to Saudi Arabia to enter through the Jeddah Islamic Port.

INDIA

More than 1,200 Indians evacuated from Sudan had arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as of Thursday, and would soon be repatriated to India, junior foreign minister V. Muraleedharan said.

CANADA

Canada ended its evacuation flights on Sunday after airlifting almost 550 people including about 400 Canadians and permanent residents. About 230 Canadians remain seeking assistance in Sudan.

Canada conducted its first evacuation operation on Thursday, airlifting more than 100 people, including Canadians and other nationals on two flights, senior government officials said.

Canada would deploy about 200 troops to coordinate evacuations, Defence Minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday. About 180 Canadians had already been evacuated with the help of other countries.

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa said it had removed all 77 nationals who were stranded in Sudan. Of those, 62 were repatriated in two flights over the weekend.

CHAD

Chad conducted its first evacuation flights from Sudan carrying more than 200 people, including dozens of children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

UKRAINE

Ukraine said it had rescued 87 of its citizens - most of them pilots, aircraft technicians and their families - among a total of 138 civilians, who also included citizens of Georgia and Peru.

KENYA

Kenya's foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday the government had evacuated 342 people who arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from Port Sudan.

IRAN

Iran's foreign ministry said on Saturday 65 Iranian citizens had left from Port Sudan, through Jeddah, to Iran.

(Compiled by Reuters editors)
Two people were recently arrested in Fairburn after stealing Kias out of Atlanta.

At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Fairburn police officers were alerted about a stolen vehicle traveling south from Union City on Highway 29 towards Fairburn.

Officers quickly staged at Highway 138 and Highway 29 where they found two stolen cars, a black Kia Rio and a white Kia Rio.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Both of the drivers were immediately arrested. Police said the two thieves were found with guns, one of which was reported stolen out of Clayton County.

The officer said both of the drivers were taken to the Fulton County jail.

Police did not identify either driver.

TRENDING STORIES:

Channel 2 Action News has covered the rash of Kia thefts around the metro area in recent months.

Atlanta Police tell Channel 2 Action News that theyve made many arrests for stealing Kia. Police said the thieves believe theyre easier to steal.

In November 2022, police estimated that about 40% of all stolen cars in the city were either Kias or Hyundais.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
This Tuesday, July 16, 2013, file photo shows signage at eBay headquarters in San Jose, Calif. | Ben Margot, Associated Press

The grandson of a famous Southern Baptist leader who died in April apologized over the weekend for responding to his grandfathers death in a controversial way.

Matt Broderson, 29, took to YouTube to share his regret about trying to sell some of the Rev. Charles Stanleys former belongings on eBay, noting that family members, as well as anonymous commenters, helped him see the error of his ways.

A lot of people I love, a lot of people I care about, a lot of people who are very close to me have pointed out that this is disgusting behavior. ... So, I just want to go on the record to say I admit I shouldnt have done that, he said, according to the Christian Post.

Who is Charles Stanley?

Broderson had listed two of his grandfathers former possessions  an engraved pocket watch and framed portrait  for sale on eBay less than one week after the Rev. Stanley passed away.

In the video announcing the listings, Broderson described going through his grandfathers house with other family members and choosing keepsakes to take home.

He said he would cherish many of the items he selected, but wanted to make the watch and painting available to the public.

If you want to bid on these items, the links are in the description below, he said in the video.

Broderson likely assumed the market would be strong for his grandfathers possessions, since the Rev. Stanley was a celebrity preacher. He twice served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and, for many years, hosted a popular show on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

The author of dozens of books was recognized by people in the grassroots as well as in the highest echelons of American society, Religion News Service reported after his death.

President George W. Bush once said he read the Rev. Stanleys devotionals each morning along with the Bible, the article noted.

The Rev. Stanleys items on eBay

In his Sunday video, Broderson apologized for attempting to capitalize on his grandfathers fame, as the Christian Post reported. He said he had just been thinking about himself and hoping to make a quick buck.

Story continues

I was thinking about me, me, me, and, Can I get some money please so that I can pay my bills, he said.

Despite the public apology, Broderson did not remove the items from eBay.

People already started bidding on the items and I dont want to take that opportunity away from them to get those items. So yes, Im gonna leave the auction up. Theres like a day remaining of time. So, if you want to get those items, you better hurry, he said, per the Christian Post.

With one hour left to go in the sales on Monday afternoon, the pocket watch was set to sell for $1,475 and the portrait for $2,425, according to the eBay listings.
A lake in the city center of Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway republic of Transnistria, wedged between Moldova and Ukraine. (Anton Polyakov / Getty Images)

The hammer-and-sickle still flutters proudly over the park-lined thoroughfares in this capital of a country that doesnt exist. The top of City Hall bears the Soviet star. And the street names  Strada Karl Marx, Strada Yuri Gagarin  hark back to bygone days of Soviet glory.

When you visit Transnistria, the unrecognized breakaway republic carved out of a strip of land between Ukraine and Moldova, the first impression is of a Soviet Union in the smartphone era, a place where couples take selfies near giant Lenin statues, and paeans to Communist leaders hang near billboards advertising Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Its one of the reasons why Transnistria, often portrayed as little more than a Soviet time capsule, has become a popular destination among travel bloggers and adventure tourists. But beneath the Communist kitsch lies a real affinity with Russia among the region's 300,000 or so people, which up to now has been to their advantage.

Families stroll through one of the many parks in Tiraspol, Transnistria. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times)

People here feel Russian, said Anatoly Dirun, a Transnistrian political scientist in grandly stodgy Tiraspol. Not just as a nationality, but as a people who love Russia and want to belong to Russian civilization.

That loyalty comes from Transnistrias short history. In 1992, Russian troops helped people here beat back nationalists from next-door Moldova and establish the region as a sort of Rhode Island-sized Russia, run by pro-Moscow Russian speakers, defended by a Russia-funded army and security services, and kept afloat economically by a Russia-style currency and dirt-cheap Russian gas  all of this some 400 miles from the nearest Russian border.

The self-declared Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic's status as a de facto protectorate of Moscow  including its peaceful, if not totally friendly, modus vivendi with Moldova, which officially regards Transnistria as part of its territory  has largely worked for the last 30 years or so.

Up until Feb. 24, 2022, that is, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, being so heavily identified with and reliant on its big brother to the east became a lot more complicated for Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester. Since then, the territory  which no country, not even Russia, recognizes  has had to adjust to some uncomfortable new realities, such as increased distrust from its neighbors and a greater dependence than ever on Moldova for its economic survival.

Story continues

When the war began, suspicions immediately fell on Transnistria as another possible staging ground for invading Russian forces, prompting Ukraine to seal off their shared border. Then, when Moldova's president condemned the invasion, natural gas supplies from Russia  which were delivered virtually free of charge via a pipeline running through Ukraine and which Transnistria used to produce electricity and iron for export  came under threat.

It was a quadruple whammy for Transnistrias economy. The territory lost its role as a passageway for legal (and illegal) goods in and out of Ukraine, and no longer had a source of cheap gas. Import costs more than doubled. Visitors, alarmed by what was now considered a geopolitical powder keg, stayed away.

I survived the war in 92, so people like me arent afraid of conflict, but its been difficult for businesses, said Alexander Kalish, 41, who owns the Back in the U.S.S.R. cafe in the border village of Bender. Since the invasion, his restaurant has drawn in half as many customers as usual.

With Ukrainian ports no longer accessible, all Transnistrias exports now pass through Moldova, its ostensible adversary, with three-quarters of them either remaining there or going on to the European Union. Since Russia cut the gas supply by up to half, Moldova has been giving its supply of Russian gas virtually free of charge to Transnistria, whose power plants then convert it to electricity to sell back to Moldova at a cheaper price than the Moldovan government can get elsewhere.

The cooperativeness is a far cry from initial fears among some Transnistrians that Moldova would use the war in Ukraine as a pretext to retake their region by force and then merge with Romania to the west. (Ethnic Romanians make up the largest proportion of the Moldovan population.)

Everyone was predicting war between Transnistria and Moldova. But Transnistria and Moldova have never been so close, said Alexandru Lesanu, an independent researcher focused on post-Soviet quasi-states. Thats the paradox of the situation.

Transnistria has managed to avoid embroiling itself in the Ukraine war, despite the billions of dollars in subsidies it receives from Moscow, the 1,500 Russian peacekeeping troops on its soil and the occasional rumblings from the Kremlin that it will mobilize to protect Russian speakers in the region just as it claims to be doing in Ukraine. A Russian ammunition depot on Transnistrias edge with Ukraine in the village of Cobasna, said to be Eastern Europes largest stockpile, remains untouched.

"Tiraspol authorities are not interested in being involved in this conflict," said Dirun, the political scientist.

A visit to Tiraspol shows the war to be a distant concern. On a recent weekend, families enjoyed the early spring sun, some stopping to pick toys from street stalls or heading to a nearby market for pickles and preserved fruit. In one of the capital's many parks, children coerced parents into giving them a push on rusty swings or going on carnival rides that had seen better days. Russian soldiers, young men in fatigues and masks covering half their faces, stood guard in some places, but overall maintained a low profile.

Some see in the increased economic cooperation with Moldova an opportunity to further push Transnistria into a political settlement that would see the two sides unify. But many here are wary of such ideas, insisting that the issues go beyond economics to thorny matters of identity.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the territory  a 1,600-square-mile enclave of mostly ethnic Russians and Ukrainians on the eastern bank of the Dniester River  opposed Moldovas attempts to merge with Romania and declared itself a Soviet republic in 1990.

Moldova became independent a year later, and a brief but bloody war ensued, with Russia helping Transnistrians win their separatist bid. Despite lacking international recognition, the territory maintains its own border, currency, passports, pension scheme, national anthem and industrial economy, all underpinned by Russian largesse.

Everyone respects Russia, and it couldnt be otherwise. In 1992, only Russia extended a helping hand, said Kalish, the cafe owner.

A serving of nostalgia is on the menu at the Back in the U.S.S.R. cafe in Bender, Transnistria. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times)

His restaurant, on the second floor of a building near Benders downtown district, attests to that appreciation. Inside, customers eat under the gaze of busts of Lenin, posters of Soviet-era movie stars and a jovial bear donning Soviet regalia. The menu offers Soviet comfort food, with sausages, potato salad, soups including borscht and sour cream, and dessert with cherry and sour cream dumplings, all shining under a heat lamp.

Kalish opened the restaurant, he said, because the U.S.S.R. signified a pleasant memory for him and others of his generation.

If you ask them, they say, I had everything I needed in life. The U.S.S.R. was stability, he said.

Though he didnt consider Moldovans his enemy, the fact remained that they had a mentality more geared toward Romania, he added.

Thirty years ago, integration with Moldova might have been feasible, but "today, it is impossible  we are different people, Kalish said. Theres a whole generation who do not know anyone else except Russia.

The result of that can be seen in the streets. The Russian tricolor is omnipresent, as is the Cyrillic alphabet. Russian is the lingua franca here. You can even spot the occasional Z sign, a reference to the marks painted on Russian materiel ahead of the Ukraine invasion.

For the young, the matter is more complicated. Though they werent born during the Soviet era, their education system is based on Russias, and many take on Russian passports for ease of travel and employment opportunities. But that means they could be drafted for Moscows war effort, said 26-year-old Sergei, who declined to give his last name to avoid reprisals.

I don't care about Russia or Putin, but there are people here who do. The problem is that it's someone like me who would be mobilized if something happens, and I don't want that, he said, adding that four of his friends had already moved to Russia for work.

Andrei, a 22-year-old photographer from Bender, went the other direction, moving to Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, a few years ago.

He left Transnistria to avoid army service (which was why he didn't give his last name), and he appreciates the freedoms he has in Chisinau, which aren't matched at home. His photographic artwork would never be accepted there.

As a result, he feels caught in limbo  like so much about Transnistria, itself literally an in-between place.

People in Ukraine can now say, 'We're Ukrainians,' and live in Ukraine. People in Russia can say the same. But in Transnistria? We can't say who we are," he said.

"It's not a country."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Following his election to the Coral Gables City Commission last month, Ariel Fernandez has stepped down as editor of the popular watchdog blog and newsletter, Gables Insider.

Since our founding, our mission has always been to keep this publication free from political influence and focused on factual reporting of the actions taken by our government, Fernandez wrote in an open letter. To be faithful to this mission, today, I am stepping down as Editor of Gables Insider and ceasing all reporting.

Fernandez told the Miami Herald that several people have expressed interest in taking over the role, and that he might choose a successor within the next several weeks. For now, the outlet is on a hiatus.

Fernandez said he is planning to start another newsletter called Commission Insider. He does not plan to automatically transition the approximately 30,000 Gables Insider subscribers to the new newsletter, but will instead start from scratch. Commissioners Kirk Menendez and Rhonda Anderson, who are halfway through their four-year terms, also have newsletters that residents can subscribe to.

Last month, Fernandez won against Alex Bucelo in the race for City Commission Group V. Melissa Castro won against Ivette Arango ODoski in the Group IV race. Both the losing candidates, Bucelo and ODoski, had been endorsed by Mayor Vince Lago, as well as Anderson and Menendez.

Fernandez and Castro were sworn in on Friday. The pair are hosting a resident town hall from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. next Monday at the police and fire headquarters. Their first official City Commission meeting will take place the following day, May 9.
A Lexington man has filed a lawsuit against Fayette County Public Schools claiming the district is wrongly denying his young daughters their educational rights in order to gain additional revenue from the state.

Parent Barry Saturday said the core of his lawsuit claims the school district is intentionally violating laws and state regulations that protect childrens and parents educational rights.

School district officials say in court records that they have acted appropriately in providing gifted and talented services and that the lawsuit should be dismissed.

Saturday says he has been sidelined as a parent while the school system violates his childs legal rights, leaving him unable to intervene.

It is inhumane, barbaric and cruel, said the lawsuit filed in Fayette Circuit Court by Saturday. To force her parents to stand idly by, unable to intervene to help their child, and powerless to the schools authority is an incredibly callous, evil act undeserving of an institution entrusted with the care of children.

In an April 27 response in Fayette Circuit Court, attorneys for the school district said, Mr. Saturday brought the lawsuit and now asks the Court to enter a temporary injunction requiring FCPS to immediately allow his younger daughter to skip a grade.

This immediate relief, if granted, would diminish the true status quo regarding the effective provision of GT services by FCPS and effectively resolve the case in Plaintiffs favor on an incomplete record just a week and a half after the case was filed, the court record said.

District officials are not commenting on the case outside of court records.

In 2021, when Saturdays 5-year-old daughter was a Kindergarten student, Saturday asked the district to evaluate her to see if she was eligible to skip a grade, according to Saturdays lawsuit.

Saturday was advised in late April 2022 his daughter had passed all formal and informal components to that point, including very high (95th percentile or higher) scores in her grade-level standardized tests, and 97.7th percentile score in general intelligence which equals a 130 IQ, or top 2%, the lawsuit said.

Story continues

She was denied , however, the ability to skip first grade based on the results of a test called the Iowa Assessment, a multi-subject exam. Districts are barred from using tests to disqualify primary students from gifted services. The version of the test district officials gave Saturdays 5 year old was actually designed for 8-year-old children. The lawsuit claims use of the advanced testing to deny students gifted services like grade-skipping violates state regulations.

District policy in the 2021-22 school year did not require the use of a test two grade levels ahead, as district officials claimed, according to the lawsuit.

Saturday is asking for an injunction preventing the Fayette school district from using unfairly advanced tests in order to disqualify his child from gifted services.

Saturday argues that the motive is money. For each student, Kentucky school districts gain both federal and state tax dollars each year, Saturday said. Districts gain an additional pot of state dollars every year for each gifted child. This means that if gifted kids skip a grade, the district loses a years worth of funds from all three pots.

FCPS appears to believe that allowing gifted kids to skip a grade is a bad deal for the district financially and damaging these childrens futures so FCPS can keep the money is a better deal for them. Saturday said. I also argue the districts not spending state gifted funds received for middle and high school students on student services like theyre supposed to.

My complaint in circuit court is designed to stop the district from continuing this process that, whatever their motive, is not about kids, he said.

Saturday provided the Herald-Leader with a December 2022 letter that Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins sent him, which denied his request for his daughter to skip a grade, but said Saturdays daughter was already receiving gifted services, including accelerated subjects and enrichment.

Liggins said the Iowa test, which was two levels above his daughters current grade level, was an appropriate measure, and that a committee had reviewed the evidence.

I can assure you the Fayette County Public Schools are committed to providing your student with a high quality education and will continue to provide educational rigor for her, Liggins said in the letter.

Saturday is representing himself and his daughters in the lawsuit, rather than having an attorney.

The lawsuit said Saturdays older daughter, a seventh grader, was also denied services.

She was formally identified by the district as gifted in math, science and social studies in the third grade, and in math and drama the following year, the lawsuit said.

The district has refused to provide such services lawfully to his seventh grade daughter and likely other Fayette County middle and high school students for at least the past two years in order to fraudulently commingle gifted funds from the states gifted allocation with other funds, the lawsuit said.

Saturday unsuccessfully ran for the Urban County Council District 4 seat in 2022.
(CNN)  The Vatican is part of a peace mission to end the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis said Sunday.

"The mission is in the course now, but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it," Francis told reporters.

The pontiff made the remarks as he returned to Rome following a three-day trip to the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

During his visit, Francis met with a representative from the pro-Kremlin Russian Orthodox church, Metropolitan Hilarion, and separately with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Asked if the meetings could accelerate peace, Francis said: "I believe that peace is always made by opening channels; peace can never be made by closure."

Also asked if he was willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia, the pope said: "The Holy See is willing to act because it is right, it just is."

At a meeting with the pope last week, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal asked for his assistance with the children's return.

Francis also heard testimony from refugees  many from Ukraine and appealed to the importance of charity during his Budapest visit.

On Sunday, the pontiff also told reporters that he was feeling better after being hospitalized in late March with a respiratory infection.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Pope Francis says the Vatican is involved in a peace mission to end the war in Ukraine"
The FBI on Sunday distributed a photograph of a man who lives in Fort Worth whose name is the same but for one letter as the fugitive suspect in the killings of five people near Houston.

The agency later said the image did not show Francisco Oropesa, the suspect in the Friday shooting deaths of his neighbors, and that it had released the photo in error.

The FBI then publicly issued photos of the suspect, whose last name is spelled with an S, rather than the Z used by the Fort Worth resident. The first photo the FBI released was not of the suspect, according to Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the agencys Houston field office, The Houston Chronicle reported.

Oropesa used a rifle to shoot to death his neighbors, killing an 8-year-old and four others, after the family asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said.

A search continued on Monday for 39-year-old Oropesa in connection with killings in Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston.

REWARD: There is a combined reward of up to $80,000 ($25,000 from the FBI) for information leading to the arrest of Francisco Oropesa.



If you have information about Oropesa or the #ClevelandTXshooting, submit tips via https://t.co/G7iWD3Yw4f or 1-800-CALL-FBI (press option 1). pic.twitter.com/TYac8vYapb  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) May 1, 2023

The erroneously identified mans sister-in-law told KDFW-TV that Oropeza called the FBI to alert the agency of the error.

What if somebody sees the tweet and sees a Facebook share and sees the picture, and then they see him? she said.

James Smith, the special agent in charge of the FBI Houston field office, discussed the error at a press conference.

We went back, looked at what we had, and now we are 100% confident we have the right photo out there, but it was, it was a mistake. We will own up on it, Smith said.
The FBI in Houston has said investigators have zero leads in their search for a Texas man who allegedly shot and killed five people, including an 8-year-old.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters.

Francisco Oropesa, 38, fled after the shooting on Friday night and is considered armed and dangerous. The FBI and local authorities have jointly offered $80,000 in reward money for information that could lead them closer to the suspect amid a multi-agency search.

The FBI has circulated photos of the suspect but warned that he should not be approached.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said after the shooting that he could be anywhere now.

Authorities have said the shooting occurred after Oropesas neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds into his yard at night.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle they believe Oropesa used in the shootings, but its not clear whether he was carrying another weapon when he fled. Other weapons were reportedly found in his home.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A school district in Pennsylvania must allow students to convene an After School Satan Club, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

In a victory for free speech and religious freedom, a federal court has ruled that the Saucon Valley School District must allow the After School Satan Club to meet in district facilities, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced.

In a Monday filing, issued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and shared by the ACLU, a judge found that here, although The Satanic Temple, Inc.s objectors may challenge the sanctity of this controversially named organization, the sanctity of the First Amendments protections must prevail.

The school district must allow the After School Satan Club, which is sponsored by The Satanic Temple, to meet during the school year on three previously agreed-upon dates, but it wont have to distribute permission slips for the club for students to take home, according to the filing.

The national ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Dechert LLP filed the suit against the school district on behalf of The Satanic Temple in March, arguing the district violated the First Amendment by prohibiting the club from meeting in the districts facilities.

The district argued that it prohibited the club because permission slips didnt make it clear that the club wasnt district-sponsored.

When confronted with a challenge to free speech, the governments first instinct must be to forward expression rather than quash it. Particularly when the content is controversial or inconvenient. Nothing less is consistent with the expressed purpose of American government to secure the core, innate rights of its people, Judge John M. Gallagher wrote in the Monday ruling.

An After School Satan Club was allowed to meet earlier this year in Virginia following a similar controversy that made headlines.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Niagara County Sheriffs Office

A 74-year-old Florida man is facing federal charges for allegedly groping a flight attendants crotch during takeoff, lustily telling the creeped-out woman, Oh, I smell that perfume.

When Gary Matthew Sorichetti boarded American Airlines flight 5062 from Sarasota to Charlotte, North Carolina on Feb. 28, 2020, he almost immediately began acting inappropriately, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast.

Sorichetti, who was assigned to seat 23C, stood up a few moments after getting on the plane to let the passenger assigned to 23A sit down, the complaint states.

As it was very crowded on the airplane during this time, and Sorichetti is a large man, [flight attendant] SJ opened the lavatory door to provide a bit more room in the aisle for Sorichetti to move and allow 23A to be seated, it explains. As Sorichetti stood up, he backed up into SJ and multiple times stated, Am I squishing you, are you squishing me? in a playful, not concerned tone.

Once Sorichetti was reseated, he asked SJ for a seatbelt extender, the complaint says. SJ helpfully told Sorichetti that he could move to a vacant seat once boarding was complete. But when he went to move, he stood up... and Sorichetti placed both of his hands on SJs hips for approximately 3-4 seconds, according to the complaint.

SJ told her coworker FS that Sorichetti was being a bit weird, the complaint continues. She then saw Sorichetti was not sitting in the vacant seat shed directed him to but a seat beside her jump seat.

Sorichetti did not move and instead stated, Oh, I'm happy and lucky to sit back here with you, it says. SJ again suggested Sorichetti move to seat 23F, or another vacant seat, but Sorichetti again declined and stated he was happy where he was.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

When SJ was preparing for takeoff, Sorichetti said to her, You look scared, according to the complaint. SJ denied being frightened, to which Sorichetti told her, I love the smell of your perfume, the complaint states.

Story continues

Sorichetti then attempted a clumsy bit of small talk, telling SJ again that he loved the smell of her perfume, and reiterating how lucky he was to be sitting next to her. When he asked where SJ lived, she lied and said, Georgia.

The flight was delayed due to a visit to the area by then-Vice President Mike Pence, and Sorichetti asked SJ, Did you vote for Pence? to which SJ said she didnt want to talk about politics. The captain made an announcement telling the passengers that they could get up to use the lavatory, if necessary. SJ took the opportunity to once again walk up front to tell her coworker that Sorichetti was being creepy, according to the complaint.

SJ then began assisting passengers throughout the cabin, prompting Sorichetti to stop her and ask, Why do you keep walking around, why dont you sit down? She ignored him but when the captain eventually said the flight was ready to take off, SJ went back to her jump seat, next to Sorichetti.

Oh, I smell that perfume, he said, according to the complaint.

As the plane lifted off, Sorichetti stretched his left arm across SJs legs, over the down positioned arm rest, touched her left knee and dragged his hand up her thigh to her crotch area, it continues. SJ was wearing a skirt. Sorichettis thumb was on SJs inner thigh as he slowly moved his hand up her inner thigh and touched her crotch. SJ told Sorichetti, Dont do that, and Sorichetti quickly moved his hand.

The flight crew notified authorities on the ground, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department contacted the FBI, which has jurisdiction over U.S. aircraft. An agent interviewed FS, who said he observed the grope.

An arrest warrant for Sorichetti, on one count of abusive sexual contact, was issued on March 4, 2021. He was taken into custody on April 27, more than two years later, and freed the next day. The conditions of Sorichettis release remain sealed, and its unclear why it took so long to arrest him.

The FAA fielded nearly 2,500 reports of unruly passengers in 2022, with 831 of them being referred for investigation. Thats up from 146 investigations in 2019, but down sharply from just under 1,100 in 2021. This year, the agency has dealt with nearly 20 in-flight incidents, including sexual assaults, inappropriate touching, and threats of violence.

If you act out on a plane, you should just stay at home because we will come after you with serious consequences, acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said in a statement last month. We have zero tolerance for unruly behavior.

If convicted, Sorichetti, who does not have a lawyer listed in court records and was unable to be reached for comment on Monday, faces up to two years in prison. American Airlines did not immediately respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Bondo elders pass on traditions to young women and girls in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa and it can sometimes end in tragedy. BBC Africa Eye has been hearing from one man who believes his girlfriend died after having her genitalia cut.

Short presentational grey line

Fatmata Turay was 19 years old when her mother called her to come home to their village.

She was to be initiated into the Bondo society, a centuries-old tradition involving music and dancing where young women are prepared for adulthood.

Thirty-six hours later, Fatmata was dead.

From the day of her funeral on 18 August 2016, her boyfriend, journalist Tyson Conteh, took out his camera and started filming.

In a later recording he looked straight down the barrel of the lens to explain why he wanted to document what was happening.

"I want to use this film, which is so much passionate to me, to create a debate. Fatmata does not want to see another girl, a woman, die. That's her wish."

He said Fatmata had been speaking to him in his dreams, and wanted him to expose the truth of her death and put an end to the practice of FGM.

In his film, Tyson Conteh shows images of his late girlfriend Fatmata Turay

FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, often focusing on the clitoris.

The United Nations Population Fund has documented the practice in 92 countries, but it is most prevalent in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

In countries like Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti, a form of FGM called infibulation is practised where the labia is removed and then used to almost completely seal the vaginal orifice, leaving a small opening for urine and menstrual blood. When the woman marries, they must be cut open before they can have sex.

There are no health benefits to FGM. The World Health Organization warns it can lead to urinary, vaginal and menstrual problems, as well as complications during childbirth and death.

In Sierra Leone, it is estimated that 83% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM.

One of the main reasons for the procedure is to tame a women's sexual desire. If they are "cut", it is thought it will protect their virginity and once they are married, they will remain faithful to their husband.

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"An uncut woman loves sex more than a cut woman. That's why we reduce the urge in them," said Aminata Sankoh, a soweis, the name given to the women who perform the cutting in Sierra Leone.

'It took me a week to urinate'

Conteh got rare access to film the all-female Bondo society, an age-old bedrock of beauty, art and culture.

It is a celebration where the traditional role of a wife and mother is conferred from Bondo elders to young women.

It is seen as an expected and necessary rite of passage.

However, part of the initiation process is undergoing FGM. Conteh was not allowed to film this.

Soweis Ngaima Kamara sees FGM as a central part of her culture

"In our culture, our people have for a long time been initiated into the society," said Ngaima Kamara, a leading soweis.

"If you are not initiated, you will be ashamed of washing with me at the stream. If I pass by you, I will blank you. If we meet somewhere I can tell you I do not talk to an uncut woman. Like you are sick."

In his documentary, Conteh recounted what happened to Fatmata just over a day after attending the Bondo ceremony.

"We met her body laid on a mat, just outside the house in the floor. And it was wrapped in white," he said.

"You see the blood coming out. You see like there is blood and we realised that she had died in the Bondo society after she was mutilated."

The police arrived and Fatmata's body was taken to the mortuary in Makeni.

Her mother and the soweis were arrested.

Six days later, a post-mortem was carried out by Sierra Leone's only pathologist at that time, Dr Simeon Owizz Koroma.

Rugiatu Turay, who has campaigned against FGM, says she was lucky to have survived being cut when she was 11

Also present was Dr Sylvia Blyden, the then minister for social welfare, gender and children's issues.

Dr Blyden is a supporter of the right of consenting adult women to practise FGM but is strongly against underage and forced FGM.

In a public statement, she released details of the post-mortem and said FGM had nothing to do with Fatmata's death. The soweis and Fatmata's mother were released.

Conteh investigated the possibility of whether his girlfriend's death was covered up to protect the Bondo society. Dr Blyden maintains she would never substitute the truth over the reputation of the Bondo society.

Rugiatu Turay, no relation to Fatmata Turay, was Dr Blyden's deputy minister at the time and is a long-time campaigner against FGM.

She founded and runs the Amazonian Initiative Movement, an organisation in Sierra Leone focused on ending FGM.

She said she was lucky to survive after she was cut when she was 11 years old.

"Plenty people have died. We know, we all know. We should be honest,' she said.

"I almost died. If I wanted to pee. It took me a week to be able to urinate. One week. Even after initiation ended, my vagina swelled."

'Bondo will end'

Ms Turay questioned why Dr Blyden was present at the post-mortem.

"Why do you allow your minister to go into a mortuary to do a post-mortem? Even if she is a doctor, she has no business there.

"She stood with the soweis. That shows that she already took sides. We believe that the result, which we never saw, was changed. We believe that. We cannot bargain the lives of women for votes."

Dr Blyden denied speaking publicly about Fatmata's cause of death but stands by her claim that Fatmata did not die as a result of FGM, saying the findings of the post-mortem matched Fatmata's medical history.

She said any suggestion of a cover-up was false and malicious and added that the autopsy was conducted in full view of family, human rights organisations, police and medical personnel.

She argued that it was her duty as a minister to attend the autopsy and denied she was there for any political gain.

BBC Africa Eye approached Dr Owizz with the allegations in the film, but he declined to respond.

Four years ago, Ms Turay set up the first Bondo society without FGM, called Alternative Rites or Bloodless Bondo.

She believes that the Bondo itself could end if women do not stop practising FGM.

"If women or anybody continues to advocate the cutting in Bondo, it will reach a point when Bondo ends. It will reach a point where Bondo will stop."

You can watch the full BBC Africa Eye documentary, FGM: For the love of Fatmata here.
ROCHESTER  Vouchers for Veterans and the city announced they will once again put heroism on display this Memorial Day weekend. Field of Honor will be held at the Rochester Common with 550 full-size American flags on display around and within the 1/3-mile oval park.

The event is free to the public, will open in the morning on Saturday, May 27 and remain in place until Tuesday, May 30. Each night at 7 p.m. a bugler will play taps to commemorate the memory of members of all branches of the armed forces. Like last year, 550 flags will be erected with 200 of them dedicated specifically to New Hampshire and Maine veterans who died while serving in Vietnam. The multi-day event expects to draw thousands of visitors who will come and pay their respects to the men and women who have served our country, with many making the ultimate sacrifice.

Vouchers for Veterans and the city of Rochester will be putting heroism on display this Memorial Day Weekend.

Flags are available to dedicate at vouchersforveterans.org. Each flag is three feet by five feet and costs $40. You may choose to purchase and pay securely online or print a form and mail it along with a check. You may also choose to honor a specific veteran, living or deceased, or allow Vouchers for Veterans to choose a Vietnam veteran who died in service.

If you purchase multiple flags, they will be located together within the display. Volunteers will be on site throughout the weekend between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to help you locate your flag(s). Each flag will be identified with a laminated card containing the name, branch, and rank of the veteran. Those who died in action will be denoted with a black cross and each card is attached to the flagpole with a yellow silk ribbon.

After the event you may keep your flag, or you may donate it back for future events. If you choose to keep your flag, it must be picked up on Saturday, June 3, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the American Legion Post 7. You may also choose to have your flag mailed to you for $12. All sales end May 15, or when flags are sold out.

On Monday May 29 the Rochester Memorial Day Parade will end at the Rochester Common at approximately 10:45 a.m. and a Memorial Day ceremony will take place immediately after at 11 a.m. The American Legion Post 7 will open the ceremony with the presentation of colors followed by the laying of the wreaths for each branch of the military. Mayor Paul Callaghan will welcome all in attendance and provide opening remarks.

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Jeanne Grover, founder of Vouchers for Veterans, is excited to bring this event back for a third year.

Last years event was very emotional for many visitors Grover said. I witnessed several people wiping away tears as they strolled among the field of flags, reading the names on the cards. We are so grateful to the city of Rochester partnering with us so that this display may be brought back once again to the community."

Vouchers for Veterans thanked the volunteers that come together to help set up and dismantle this moving display. Without them, there would not be a display. It also thanked the city of Rochester, Holy Rosary Credit Union, Rochester Elks, Woodsmen RC, Rochester Rotary, American Legion Post 7, ROTC, Spaulding High School and American Legion Post 7 Auxiliary.

Vouchers for Veterans' mission

Since 2016, Vouchers for Veterans has provided vouchers to local veterans for the purchase of fresh locally sourced food directly from the growers at local farmers markets. At our indoor winter farmers markets running January through April, veterans may pick up vouchers the first Saturday of each month at the Stratham farmers market, the second Sunday of the month at the Berwick, Maine, farmers market, the third Saturday of the month at the Rollinsford farmers market and the last Saturday of the month at the Portland, Maine, farmers market. Veterans may also pick up vouchers once a week in September and may choose from nine participating markets.

Grover said the program helps three different groups of people simultaneously. The veterans receive the fresh food and thanks for serving, the farmers, growers, and food preparers receive the face value of each voucher redeemed and the money stays in the community.

"We are grateful for all the support we receive from each community with a special thanks to our two largest contributors Iron Tails Saloon and Swim with a Mission," she said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Field of Honor returning to Rochester NH in 2023
American nationals are searched by the U.S. soldiers before boarding a ship in Port Sudan, Sunday, April 30, 2023. Sudans army and its rival paramilitary say they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire another 72 hours as of midnight. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but also comes after days of continued fighting despite the earlier truce. | Smowal Abdalla, Associated Press

As fighting continues in Sudan, evacuating foreign nationals has been difficult. The U.S. has managed to evacuate a total of nearly 1,000 people since the fighting began two weeks ago.

An evacuation mission took place Sunday from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Port Sudan and back. Two convoys carried U.S. citizens, as well as staff from the U.S. embassy to Saudi Arabia out of the country Sunday, CNN reported.

We continue to assist U.S. citizens and others who are eligible with onward travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where additional U.S. personnel are positioned to assist with consular and emergency services, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement, per NPR.

According to CNN, Saudi Arabia has been involved in the evacuations and says it has evacuated 5,197 people of 100 nationalities from Sudan.

The assets and the capabilities  both military and civilian  in Saudi are involved in taking civilians from Sudan, Saudi Arabian Defense Ministry spokesman General Turki Al-Maliki told CNN. As long as its safe, well keep doing our role.

What caused the conflict in Sudan?

Fighting began April 15, as tensions between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces rose after working on plans to return the country to civilian rule. Both sides blame the other for initiating the fighting, and it remains unclear what first started it.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been wounded from the conflict, largely taking place in the capital city of Khartoum.

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of Sudans armed forces, claims he would never sit down with RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who in turn said he would talk only after the army ceased hostilities, according to Reuters.

There are no direct negotiations, there are preparations for talks, U.N. special representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, told Reuters.
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Fiji's former attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also general secretary of the Pacific island nation's main opposition party Fiji First, was taken into custody on Monday after being charged with abuse of office, police said.

The charge relates to a complaint lodged by an election official in February, Fiji police said in a statement.

"Mr Sayed-Khaiyum remains in custody and will be produced in the Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow," the statement said.

The criminal charge was approved by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it added.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of office hours.

On its Facebook page, Fiji First showed a video of Sayed-Khaiyum emerging from a police station and declining to answer media questions as he was taken away. Fiji First could not be reached for comment.

Fiji's former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama pleaded not guilty in a Suva court in March on charges of abuse of office, and will face trial.

Bainimarama led Fiji for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December to a coalition of parties led by current Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

Police Chief of Intelligence and Investigation Sakeo Raikaci said in the statement that police called for "patience with regards to the conduct of investigations of these high profile cases".

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Jan Harvey)
Fire decimated a boat during a celebration to kick off shrimping season along the South Carolina coast, photos show.

The boat caught fire during the Blessing of the Fleet, an annual event that includes a water parade to honor people who work in fishing and shrimping, according to online event descriptions.

A captain, the only person on the boat at the time, tried battling the blaze and beached the burning boat. He then jumped off the boat before firefighters rescued him near a dock, Matt Tidwell, battalion chief of the Mount Pleasant Police Department, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The man was taken to a hospital for fire-related injuries after the April 30 blaze. Crews said they responded at about 1 p.m. and pulled him from the mud near Bennett Street, in the Charleston area.

Photos and a video posted on social media show flames leaping as smoke billows from the ship.

As of May 1, the cause of the fire was unknown. The fire was extinguished, and the U.S. Coast Guard is tasked with recovering the sunken boat, Tidwell said.

Boat crash throws 4 into SC river, seriously injuring 1, officials say. Boater charged

Stranded boater holds on in harsh NC waters for hours. Then good Samaritans step in
The search firm hired to assist Richland School District 2 choose a new superintendent says it has one consultant in South Carolina: Baron Davis, who resigned as the districts superintendent earlier this year.

The district announced on Monday it would be hiring McPherson & Jacobson LLC, a Nebraska-based superintendent search firm to look for its new leader. The company website lists only Davis as a South Carolina consultant.

Davis abruptly resigned from his post in January following a six-hour, closed door school board meeting. The board unanimously accepted the resignation, and agreed to pay him more than $600,000 in a settlement agreement days later. He had spent six years as superintendent.

McPherson & Jacobson could not be reached for comment about whether Davis would be involved in choosing Richland 2s superintendent.

Richland 2 schools superintendent Baron Davis will stay with the district until mid-2025 and will receive a 4% raise after the school board approved changes to his contract Sept. 22, 2021.

But hiring a search firm that only lists Davis as its South Carolina consultant has caused an uproar on a district Facebook group.

Isnt that a conflict of interest??? one person commented on a post.

This is unbelieveable and unacceptable! wrote another.

This either was a lack of due diligence on the part of our board or a lack of understanding what conflict of interest is, another group member commented. No business would ask a fired employee to return to participate in his successors job interview.

Board member Joe Trapp commented on the post, saying the board cant check everything and promising to discuss the issue at Monday nights board meeting.

The last thing I would have ever thought was out of all the firms in this country that do this kind of business that one of them would hire our former superintendent and conceal that from us, Trapp said in a Facebook comment. I will find out tonight how much information I can share with the public about all of this because I for one am tired of the public being in the dark.

Trapp then said that had the district released the final search firms under consideration before choosing McPherson & Jacobson, the public may have flagged the potential conflict of interest sooner.

Story continues

Another board member, Lashonda McFadden, also expressed concern about the firm on Facebook.

Transparency and accountability is what I am after, McFadden said in a Facebook comment. ... Call it piss poor if you want to, but piss poor might be why this firm was selected.

McFadden told The State she was unable to comment further on the firms hiring because she was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Trapp and board chair Lindsay Agostini could not be reached for comment.

Davis referred all questions to the firm, but said he is excited and honored to be the South Carolina consultant for McPherson & Jacobson.

According to a Richland 2 news release, the school board is hoping to hire a its next superintendent by July 1. The newcomer will succeed interim superintendent Nancy Gregory, who took over the position in January.
(CNN)  In the dark of night, the nightmare is nearly over for the lucky few gathered on the quayside in Port Sudan.

Under floodlights, a tugboat docks and picks up dozens of evacuees from a quiet street near the busy jetty. Saudi soldiers wearing balaclavas check their passports and let them through, bringing them one step closer to safety.

They are among thousands who have fled since deadly fighting erupted in Sudan between rival military forces more than two weeks ago, making the treacherous 830-kilometer journey from the capital to the eastern port in the hope of boarding a ship to safety.

CNN joined a Saudi evacuation mission Sunday from Jeddah to Port Sudan and back across the Red Sea -- a route that's become a lifeline for those whose lives have been upended by the conflict, some of whom left with just a passport and a few personal items.

Sudanese-American businessman Adil Bashir was one of just 52 evacuees who boarded the Royal Saudi Navy ship HMS Al-Diriyah on Sunday. He told CNN he fled Khartoum after his car dealership was attacked and some of his vehicles were stolen and others burnt. "There are a lot of dead bodies on the street," he said.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded in the fighting. Thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from the country, while many Sudanese remain stuck in ever more deteriorating and deadly conditions.

And as fighting has driven more people out of Khartoum, Port Sudan has become a key evacuation hub.

The UN's internationally-recruited staff have relocated to the eastern city and thousands are in a holding pattern, hoping for flights out. At least two convoys of private US citizens and local staff of the US Embassy arrived over the weekend, adding to the numbers.

As of Sunday, the Saudis said they had evacuated 5,197 people of 100 nationalities from the country.

"The assets and the capabilities -- both military and civilian -- in Saudi are involved in taking civilians from Sudan," Defense Ministry spokesman General Turki Al-Maliki told CNN. "As long as it's safe, we'll keep doing our role."

Voyage to safety

The evacuees were welcomed aboard the HMS Al-Diriyah with flowers, chocolates, bottles of water and packed orange juice.

"It's very hard and very painful for me [to leave] because Sudan is like a second home," Pakistani migrant worker Hamza Navid told CNN.

He acted as the unofficial translator for his colleagues on the team, listening to instructions in English from the crew and relaying it in Urdu. Others in the group were from countries including Oman and Nepal, all connected in a sad goodbye to Africa's third- largest nation.

The journey from Port Sudan to Jeddah can take up to 12 hours depending on sea conditions. Though the Saudi Royal Navy fleet is shuttling back and forth across the Red Sea, demand far outstrips supply.

But every new arrival in Jeddah is a ceremony with uniformed officers lining up outside a vessel to welcome the evacuees and officials on hand for photo opportunities. It is also a well choreographed media spectacle with dozens of cameras pointed at weary travelers as they disembark. Sometimes, there are tears -- equal parts relief and survivors' guilt.

Ahead of the ship's arrival in Saudi Arabia, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) said Sunday it had agreed to extend a US-Saudi mediated ceasefire for 72 hours after its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), earlier agreed to extend the truce.

Despite multiple ceasefires however, sporadic clashes between the two groups have continued and gunfire was heard on Sunday and Monday near the closely contested presidential palace in Khartoum, witnesses told CNN.

Eight tons of medical aid arrived in Sudan on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement, offering relief to the country's hard-hit medical facilities.

But experts say the country is at risk of a humanitarian disaster, as those still trapped in their homes face shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity.

"The number of dead bodies scattered around the streets is mounting, and this is creating an environmental catastrophe," the Sudan doctors' union said in a statement Sunday.

The statement by the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors called for a stop to the "war" and the establishment of humanitarian corridors for medical aid, ambulances, patients and health personnel.

There is also dire situation at the Walfa Hadia border crossing between Egypt and Sudan, with several deaths reported from dehydration, it added.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Thousands are trying to escape from Port Sudan. Only a few can make it."
Five adorable baby foxes were spotted on a persons Ring camera dashing across a front patio in Colorado.

The camera captured the animals and their mom April 28 in Castle Rock, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said on Twitter.

Foxes begin to leave their dens with their babies in April and May, wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told McClatchy News.

So sightings of babies foxes arent uncommon during these months, she said.

Were in baby fox season! Even though the kits are adorable, their moms have it covered and know how to raise them. The best thing you can do is leave them be and say awwww at doorbell camera footage of foxes in Castle Rock. pic.twitter.com/EqBC5pt1yl  CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) April 29, 2023

Although the baby foxes are cute, the wildlife agency advised people to keep their distance from them.

Were in baby fox season! Even though the kits are adorable, their moms have it covered and know how to raise them, the agency said in a tweet.

In the Ring video, one fox is heard squealing. But this shouldnt cause alarm for anyone, Hoose said.

They can emit a piercing scream, which sounds like they need help, but this is a common sound for baby foxes, she said.

The wildlife agency said it believes these animals are red foxes.

Red foxes live in the open woodlands in Colorado as well as in urban areas, according to the wildlife agency.

Adult red foxes typically have four to five kits each year but that number can reach as high as 15.

Baby foxes leave their den after they reach 4 to 5 weeks old, and they are fending for themselves once they are about 4 months old.

These animals shouldnt be approached, fed, harassed or captured, wildlife officials said.

Abandoned baby animals

Many other animals are born during springtime, too, and sometimes these animals may appear to be abandoned.

Story continues

If someone spots an abandoned baby animal, the best thing to do is to leave it alone, McClatchy News previously reported.

Its mom will be back soon to take care of it. Babies are often left unattended to keep predators attention away from it, according to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

But one exception is if a baby bird without feathers falls out of its nest. The fallen bird can be placed back in the nest, New Mexico officials said.

And if it seems like the animals mom isnt returning, do not feed it, the agency said. Food can make the baby animal sick or cause death.

Those who see young wildlife should enjoy a quick glimpse, leave the animal alone and keep pets away from it, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.

If 24 hours go by and the parent does not return, it is possible the newborn was abandoned or the parent is dead (hit by a car, for example), Jenny Campbell, customer service expert with CPW, said on the agencys website. Call our office and we will work with certified wildlife rehabilitation center to get aid for the wildlife if possible. Dont move the animal yourself!

Castle Rock is about 30 miles south of downtown Denver.

Adorable baby animals that look abandoned dont need your help. Heres what to do

Unlikely roommates spotted sharing shady crawlspace in New Mexico desert, video shows

Humpback whales rolling off Australian coast, photos show. Experts might know why
Railway in tunnel. Toshiro Shimada/Getty Images

Floods trapped two teens in an abandoned train tunnel over the weekend.

The boys were inside the tunnel for about two hours before they were finally rescued by boat.

The tunnel is linked to local legends and is a popular destination for adventurous explorers.

Floods trapped two teens inside an infamous abandoned train tunnel for hours during a severe rainstorm in New Jersey over the weekend.

Officials were notified that the teens were stuck in the tunnel in Edgewater at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, NBC New York reported. The duo had been exploring the tunnel when the water started pouring in.

"They said they were in the tunnel for about two hours. They'd seen something on the internet where they wanted to explore the tunnel," Lt. Robert Jacobsen of the local fire department told the outlet.

The Edgewater-Fairview Train tunnel is considered one of the "weird" attractions in the state, WABC-TV reported. It closed in the 1960s and has ever since been connected to all kinds of local urban legends.

As it filled with water on Sunday, firefighters had to use a boat to rescue the teens, according to the local news station.

Officials said the boys entered the location during a major rainstorm that caused widespread flooding in New Jersey and New York and that, when they arrived, there was already three feet of water in the tunnel, according to WABC-TV, a local news station.

The teens were transported to a local hospital and reportedly did not suffer from any injuries due to the incident.

"Just think before you do things, especially with the weather outside," Jacobsen said, per NBC New York.

In March, a California woman was stranded on top of her submerged car during a massive flood for over an hour before she was rescued by law enforcement.

Read the original article on Insider
By Dawn Chmielewski and Tom Hals

(Reuters) - A district board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oversee development around Walt Disney Co's Florida theme parks sued the company on Monday to void "backroom deals" favorable to the entertainment giant.

The state court lawsuit escalates tensions between Disney and the Republican governor and likely presidential candidate. It comes in response to a case Disney filed last week in federal district court against DeSantis and members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight district board.

Disney accused DeSantis and his supporters of illegally using state government to punish the company for exercising its free-speech rights last year when Disney criticized a state measure banning classroom discussion of sexuality and gender identity with younger children. DeSantis who is expected to soon declare his candidacy for U.S. president, has repeatedly attacked "woke Disney" in public remarks.

"Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond," board Chair Martin Garcia said at a Monday meeting.

The lawsuit in state court in Orange County, Florida, seeks to invalidate an agreement prior board members made with Disney, arguing it amounted to a one-sided deal that was rubber stamped.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board maintained that Disney rushed through the agreement before the new board assumed oversight of municipal services and development within the 25,000 acres of land in and around Walt Disney World.

In an effort to stymie Floridas elected representatives, Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh-hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government, the lawsuit alleged. Disney hoped to tie the hands of the new, independent Board and to preserve ... its own government in the District for at least the next 30 years."

The lawsuit argues that Disney worked with its "puppet board" to "perpetuate its stranglehold" over the district, insulating itself from the new board by adopting a developers agreement and restrictive covenants.

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The DeSantis-appointed board said the agreements were "riddled with procedural and substantive defects" that render them void and unenforceable. The lawsuit argues the prior board failed to provide adequate public notice or follow proper procedures.

Disney's lawsuit argued that the company did what any prudent developer would do: use tools to secure its future development plans. The company said the oversight board, then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, complied with public notice requirements and held public meetings.

Florida lawmakers passed legislation that ended Disney's virtual autonomy in central Florida where the Disney World theme parks attract millions of visitors each year.

In its lawsuit, Disney also took issue with the DeSantis-appointed board's assessment that development contracts Disney reached with its predecessors were "void." Those deals laid the foundation for billions of dollars of future investment in its Walt Disney World resort.

"The government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional," Disney said in its filing.

Martin said the oversight board is merely following laws enacted by the Florida legislature, through actions taken to promote the public good.

"The district will seek justice in state court here in central Florida where both it and Disney reside and do business," Martin said.

There was a chance the two lawsuits would run simultaneously in state and federal court, where Disney sued DeSantis and the board, said Mary-Rose Papandrea, a professor at University of North Carolina School of Law.

One possible outcome would be for the first case to reach a resolution that then might then be applied in the other court, said Papandrea. However, the claims in the cases differ, making that difficult.

DeSantis weighed in on the Disney dispute at a press conference on Monday.

"It is wrong for one corporation to basically corrupt the local government and run it as its own fiefdom, be exempt from laws, have all kinds of benefits that nobody else has," DeSantis said.

The Florida governor said he is carrying out the "will of the people," and Disney is "putting their thumb in the eye of the voters of the state."

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

DeSantis clash with Disney has been a centerpiece of his speeches around the United States ahead of his expected presidential bid. But his political risks have mounted as the battle has intensified.

Former President Donald Trump, favorite for the Republican nomination, has said on social media that DeSantis "is being destroyed by Disney" and has warned the company would reduce its investments in Florida.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis, Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)
After what they called the smoothest budget negotiations in years, House and Senate leaders on Monday finished working out details of a spending plan that is expected to top $116 billion.

The plan for the fiscal year that will start July 1 would be more than $6 billion larger than the budget for the current year. The budget, which will be published Tuesday, includes such things as Gov. Ron DeSantis starting to get $4 billion he wants to speed up a series of highway projects.

As other examples, $850 million is headed to a planned statewide wildlife corridor, and state employees will receive 5 percent raises, with additional pools of money set aside for incentives intended to keep valuable workers from seeking new jobs.

Meanwhile, more than 250 spending items sought by individual lawmakers were littered throughout the package. They range from $15 million for a crane replacement at JaxPort in Duval County to $250,000 for forensic genetic genealogy testing in Collier, Orange, Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, said proposals put forward by senators focused on such issues as hurricane relief, universities, mental-health initiatives, seniors in nursing homes and graduate medical assistance to keep doctors from leaving Florida.

Details released Monday included $3.8 million for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for protective operations. The agencys duties include overseeing security for the governor.

Also, the plan includes $19.03 million to cover $5,000 hiring and retention bonuses for correctional officers at 15 Department of Corrections facilities with high vacancy rates. Another $8.5 million would go to raise the salaries of correctional officers in privately operated facilities.

Broxson and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, also agreed to provide $300 million for efforts to combat rising sea levels. The House had initially sought $400 million for sea-level measures, while the Senate was at $179.

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The Senate also agreed to a House proposal to spend $100 million for purchasing conservation easements, which are a way to limit development on agricultural land while allowing ranchers and farmers to continue operating. The Senate had proposed $400 million for the program, which is within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The department received $300 million for land-preservation programs in the current year, with most of the money going to conservation easements.

The House and Senate also agreed to spend $382.5 million during the upcoming 2023-2024 fiscal year for Everglades restoration.

Among the deals reached over the weekend was the creation of a drone replacement program within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A state directive last month ordered an immediate halt to the use of certain drones from a foreign country of concern, primarily China, and limiting the future use to drones made by a list of approved manufacturers.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

The budget would require drones that are turned in to be sent for analysis at the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida.

To be eligible for replacement, drones must still be in working condition. Funding would be provided based upon the drones current value.

We know were going to have to retire thousands of dollars of drones, Broxson said Saturday.

DeSantis in January announced what he dubbed the Moving Florida Forward plans to speed construction on 20 road projects. With DeSantis seeking $4 billion, the new budget will initially provide $2.5 billion.

The Joint Legislative Budget Commission, which is made up of House and Senate members and can make mid-year budget decisions, would be able to release the remaining $1.5 billion when road plans are advanced, Broxson said.

Lawmakers are flush with cash this year, in part because tax revenues have repeatedly topped estimates.

Conference committees began negotiating the various areas of the budget early last week. Unresolved issues moved Friday to Broxson and Leek.

The two spent much of Saturday and Sunday working on the remaining differences.

We have had about the smoothest budget process, certainly the smoothest Ive ever seen, and maybe one of the smoothest weve ever had, Leek said as talks opened on Saturday. And thats a credit to our friends in the Senate and to the staff and everybody working together.

Broxson agreed with the assessment that the talks havent been as contentious as in prior years.

Chairman Leek has really only hollered at me twice. And he did it without profanity, Broxson said.

The budget is on target for votes Friday, the last scheduled day of the regular legislative session. State law requires a 72-hour cooling off period before lawmakers can vote on the budget. That would be met if the budget is published Tuesday.

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Kristin Stewart addresses the Sarasota County Commission on May 24, 2022. Later that meeting, the commission approved a $5.95 million settlement with Stewart. The Florida Legislature just passed a bill that will allow Stewart to be awarded all of the settlement money.

Sarasota County resident Kristin Stewart is one step closer to receiving settlement money that will improve her quality of life as she recovers from a catastrophic accident three years ago.

Stewart, a second-grade teacher at the time, was jogging on a May afternoon in 2020 when a Sarasota County utility truck hit her from behind.

The Florida Legislature passed a bill that will allow Sarasota County to award Stewart $5.75 million in damages. The bill will have to be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis for it to take effect.

This is an absolutely terrible situation, and were going to make her life a little bit better with the passage of this, state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, said when presenting the bill on the Senate floor.

Previous coverage: Sarasota County agrees to $5.95 million settlement with schoolteacher injured by truck

Other news: Dick Longo will not seek full term on Venice City Council

In Florida, when an individual seeks more than $200,000 in damages from the state or from a local government, the Legislature must pass a claim bill allowing the payment.

The 2020 accident

At the time of the accident, Stewart was Southside Elementarys second-grade team leader. She had taught in Sarasota County School District for 14 years.

On May 13, 2020, Stewart was crossing Witmarsum Boulevard at Bahia Vista Street, when, according to a memo by County Attorney Frederick Elbrecht, a county worker driving a Ford F550 truck made a legal U-turn on Bahia Vista Street and didnt observe Stewart.

After hitting me from behind, the county truck dragged me 65 feet up a concrete sidewalk, ripping the flesh from my arms, both hips and entire abdomen, she told county commissioners last May.

Besides breaking several broken bones, the accident tore Stewart's liver in half, lacerated her right kidney, bruised her colon and caused other injuries.

Her doctors have said that she cant work anymore because of her injuries.

I am unable to run or enjoy the activities that were a part of my daily life, she said in her address to the commissioners. I suffer from constant pain.

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Settlement with Sarasota County

Stewarts legal counsel and the county attorney agreed to a $5.95 million settlement right before a trial that was scheduled. The County Commission unanimously approved the settlement last May.

Sarasota County has already paid Stewart $200,000 of the total sum, as it's allowed to do so without the Legislature's approval.

Florida Legislature OKs the settlement

In Florida, sovereign immunity protects governments from paying large sums even when they're at fault. To exceed the liability limits, the Legislature and governor must approve a special bill that allows residents like Stewart to receive the total payment.

The Senate approved Stewarts settlement in a 37-1 vote on April 18. Gruters sponsored the bill.

Republican State Sen. Joe Gruters after he won his race for Senate District 22 in August 2022.

What this bill does is this tries to make her whole so that she can continue on with her life and have some type of a life, now that she cant have a job  she has a family, and she has to continue to live, Gruters said on the Senate floor.

The House version of the bill was sponsored by state Rep. James Buchanan, R-Osprey. The House heard the Senate version of the bill on Friday, and approved it in a 105-0 vote.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Legislature OKs $5.75 million for Sarasota resident injured by county
The local governing board that oversees much of Walt Disney World voted Monday to sue the company as part of an ongoing political feud fueled by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The five-person Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board voted unanimously to sue Disney in state court less than a week after the company filed its own lawsuit against both DeSantis and the board, among a handful of other officials.

The company sued after the board voted to invalidate an agreement the previous board passed allowing it to keep control of much of its operations just as DeSantis and his Republican allies were preparing to pass legislation allowing him to appoint a new board.

Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel via Getty Images file)

When I explain the idea that this board is trying to bring new and better ideas to the district, it makes all the sense to all my friends on the right and left, board chairman Martin Garcia said.

A Disney spokesperson did not return a request for comment.

The fight, which has been going on for more than a year, stems from then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek issuing a statement last March opposing DeSantis-championed legislation banning the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms up until the third grade. Opponents branded the bill Dont Say Gay.

The companys opposition prompted DeSantis to eventually get the GOP-dominated Legislature to pass a bill giving him the power to appoint a new board, which he has since stocked with political supporters.

Disney sued DeSantis in a Tallahassee-based federal court after the DeSantis-appointed board voted to nullify a development agreement the previous board had agreed to. It was passed with the aim of keeping company operations in the hands of Disney rather than the DeSantis-appointed board, out of fear the new board would be hostile toward its interests.

Garcia noted that the boards lawsuit, which is not yet filed, will be in state court in central Florida, which he said is in our backyard, a reference to the company filing its lawsuit in Tallahassee.

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Board member Ron Peri said he does not like that the board has been portrayed as a political weapon used by DeSantis, or how individual board members have been covered publicly. He specifically referred to a story with an old quote from him that implied he thought drinking tap water could make people gay.

The former pastor, who is the CEO of a Christian ministry focused on outreach to men, was referring to a CNN article in March that reported on a since-deleted YouTube video in which Peri seemed to make the connection between the two.

So why are there homosexuals today? There are any number of reasons, you know, that are given. Some would say the increase in estrogen in our societies. You know, theres estrogen in the water from birth control pills. They cant get it out, Peri said last January, according to CNN. The level of testosterone in men broadly in America has declined by 50 points in the past 10 years. You know, and so, maybe thats a part of it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Floridas two Republican senators are staying out of the emerging 2024 GOP presidential primary for now, even as a growing number of their states Republican House delegation are lining up behind former President Donald Trump.

The silence from Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) underscores the tightrope two of Floridas most prominent Republicans will have to walk as the rivalry between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to heat up.

Republican strategists and operatives say theres little benefit for either man to get involved in the nascent presidential primary just yet. Rubio already has preexisting alliances with other 2024 contenders, like Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), while Rick Scott is facing reelection next year, meaning hell likely be on the ballot with the eventual nominee, regardless of who it is.

I think both of them would like to take their time, Ford OConnell, a Republican strategist, said. And theres no pressure to do anything right now. They can feel things out on their own.

Its still exceedingly early in the 2024 nomination process. DeSantis is still weeks away, at least, from formally launching a White House bid, the first Republican presidential debate isnt until August, and the Iowa caucuses are more than nine months out.

Rubio, who unsuccessfully sought the GOPs presidential nomination in 2016, said hes taking his time when it comes to his partys 2024 presidential contest, noting hell begin taking a closer look at the field sometime this summer.

I just set for myself a timeline, but Ill start thinking about the presidential race in the summer, Rubio said when asked whether he had made up his mind on the 2024 presidential race. Everybody has their own timeline. Thats just mine.

Rubio has publicly praised both DeSantis and Trump. But despite early polls suggesting the 2024 GOP nominating contest is shaping up to be a binary choice between the two Floridians, Rubio has also pointed to other hopefuls, including Tim Scott, a friend of Rubio who endorsed the Florida senators 2016 presidential campaign.

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Tim Scott has already launched an exploratory committee and is expected to formally launch a campaign on May 22.

Weve got a bunch of other people. My colleague Tim Scott might get in the race and others like that, Rubio said during an interview on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. So I think thats good. We got a successful president, a successful governor, a bunch of people that I think are very appealing candidates.

Rick Scott, meanwhile, has indicated hell stay out of the 2024 race for the foreseeable future, saying repeatedly that hes focused only on his reelection bid.

I dont get involved in primaries. Ive got my own race. Im up for reelection next November, Scott said during an appearance on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. late last month. So Im going to focus on my job right now representing the 22 million people who live in the state, and then next November winning reelection.

Asked by The Hill last week whether he had made up his mind on who he wants to see win the GOP presidential nod next year, Scott was blunt: No.

Republicans said theres little chance Scott comes down on the side of DeSantis in the presidential race, given their distant  and often icy  relationship. On the other hand, Scott has been a close ally of Trump, and the former president endorsed his bid last year to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate minority leader.

Still, the most likely scenario for now is that Scott waits until the end of the nominating process to make an endorsement, multiple Republicans said, describing Scott as deliberative and detail oriented. While Scott endorsed Trumps 2016 bid for the GOP nomination, that was only after the now-former president won Floridas primary.

Yet Scott and Rubios collective silence on the 2024 race has set them apart from many of their fellow Florida Republicans, who have eagerly weighed in on the contest in recent weeks. Trumps team has already rolled out endorsements from more than half of Floridas 20-member GOP House delegation, including a handful of members that were seen as DeSantis allies.

So far, one member of Floridas congressional delegation, first-term Rep. and former Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), has come out in support of DeSantiss presidential aspirations. Two other members, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), are also backing DeSantis.

And while Republican senators have so far been a bit more reluctant to involve themselves in the primary, nearly a dozen have already thrown their support behind Trump. One Republican familiar with the Trump campaigns endorsement efforts said there are likely more in the pipeline.

Of course, endorsements dont necessarily translate to votes; Trump racked up few endorsements in 2016 and went on to win the GOP primary anyway. Still, one Republican consultant whos worked in Florida politics said that winning the support of elected officials and party luminaries can help campaigns drive a narrative  and that has worked to Trumps advantage so far.

The House members bought Scott and Rubio some time because essentially the Trump folks wanted to make the point that even in DeSantiss own backyard, people are defecting from him, the consultant said. Frankly now, if you dont see pressure from the Trump camp, you can sit there and take your time.

Caroline Vakil contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Florida serial killer admitted to four murders and will spend the rest of his life in prison, officials said Monday.

Howell Donaldson was 24 when he gunned down four people in 2017 in the Seminole Heights section of Tampa. Donaldson maintained his innocence until now, when he pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, the Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit said.

"There is no question this is and always will be a death penalty case," State Attorney Suzy Lopez said. "This coward committed unspeakable acts and wreaked havoc on our community for weeks on end. He will now be locked in a prison cell for the rest of his life where he will make no more headlines. We do this with the blessing of the victims' family members who can now move forward without a lengthy trial or appeals process."

The families of the victims had previously agreed with prosecutors pursuing a death penalty in the case, CBS News reported in 2018. The killer instead now faces four consecutive life sentences.

Donaldson killed three of the victims, 22-year-old Benjamin Edward Mitchell, 32-year-old Monica Caridad Hoffa and 20-year-old Anthony Naiboa, in October 2017, police said at the time. Naiboa was shot after taking the wrong bus home from his new job.

The serial killer fatally shot Ronald Felton, 60, the next month. Felton was crossing a street when Donaldson came up behind him and fired.

All four deadly shootings happened in the early morning over the course of 51 days, officials said.

Donaldson did not live or work in the Seminole Heights neighborhood where the shootings happened.

He was arrested in November 2017. On the day of his arrest, Donaldson went to the McDonald's where he worked and gave a co-worker a bag for safekeeping while he ran an errand, according to the arrest report. The co-worker opened the bag, saw a gun inside and alerted her manager, who contacted police.

Story continues

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As the coronavirus pandemic begins its fourth year, albeit less severe than its first three years, Florida has been at the forefront of the national conversation about masks, vaccines and quarantines.

How the state has fared under the virus thats killed millions worldwide  and more than 87,000 people in Florida  is largely due to the rules and recommendations that Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and the Florida Department of Health, under Ladapos purview, have instituted. While DeSantis appointed Ladapo in September 2021  19 months into the pandemic, and he wasnt confirmed until February 2022  he has been a key figure in the states COVID policies for more than a year.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Florida has recorded 7,542,869 COVID-19 cases and 87,141 deaths, the 12th highest in cases and deaths per 100,000 people among the 50 states and Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. In terms of vaccine rates, Florida ranks 45th out of 50 states, plus Washington and Puerto Rico, among those whove completed a two-shot or single-dose COVID-19 vaccine and had one booster.

As Ladapos first term as surgeon general concludes  the Florida Senate is expected to confirm him for a second term by Friday, the day the Florida Legislative Session is scheduled to wrap up, heres a look at how the state compares to the rest of the country regarding COVID-19 cases, deaths and vaccines.

Florida has not reported COVID-19 case or death data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since April 6 due to ongoing technical improvements in Floridas surveillance system, according to a footnote on the CDCs website.

All data used for comparisons was last logged on March 22.

But, medical experts caution, the rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths is affected by myriad of factors. State government policies, a communitys willingness to vaccinate, population density, economics, income levels, language barriers and other circumstances can all play a part in the number of COVID cases, hospitalizations, vaccine rates and deaths.

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Heres a look at how Florida has fared in COVID-19 cases, deaths and vaccines:

COVID-19 cases

Since the pandemic began in March 2020 through March 22, 2023, Florida had the 12th-highest case rate per 100,000 people when compared to all 50 states and Puerto Rico, according to Miami Herald calculations of COVID-19 data. However, it had the second-highest case rate, behind New York, when compared to the countrys five largest states  California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

As of March 22, Florida had a rate of about 33,908 COVID-19 cases for every 100,000 people since the pandemic began. For the week ended Feb 22, 2022  the week before Ladapos tenure began as surgeon general Floridas COVID-19 case rate was about 25,982 cases per 100,000 people.

COVID-19 deaths

Since the pandemic began in March 2020 through March 22, 2023, Florida had the 12th highest COVID-19 death rate, per 100,000 people, when compared to all 50 states and Puerto Rico, according to Miami Herald calculations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Among the countrys five largest states  California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania  only New York had a higher death rate than Floridas.

From March 2020 through March 22, 2023, Florida had a rate of about 392 deaths per every 100,000 people, according to Miami Herald calculations. For the week ended Feb. 22, 2022  the week before Ladapos confirmation as surgeon general  Floridas rate was about 310 deaths per 100,000 people. Ladapo was confirmed by the Florida Senate on Feb. 23, 2022.

COVID-19 vaccines

Florida lags behind many states in the percentage of its population who have received vaccines  from having at least one dose to being up-to-date on booster shots.

As of April 26, 82.9% of Floridas vaccine-eligible population  ages 5 and up  received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This ranked 22nd when compared to all 50 states and Puerto Rico, according to CDC data.

Similarly, Florida ranked 23rd for the percentage of residents who completed a two-dose or single-dose vaccine, with 69.7% of its population falling into this category as of April 26

Florida ranked 45th in the percentage of its population whove completed a two-shot or single-shot vaccine and then had a booster. Only 44% of Florida residents have received a booster.
The Raisin Capital of the World has had a significant Oaxacan presence since the 1990s that has held its own festivals and religious ceremonies with music and dance away from the rest of the city.

They need to be embraced, said Oscar Hernandez, by the city of 25,000 where Latinos account for 85% of the population.

That is why Hernandez, founder/director of Centro de Folklor, opted to showcase four dances from the southwestern Mexican state during the groups 6-minute performance at the recent Danzantes Unidos Festival.

Selma has a big and beautiful and thriving Oaxacan community, said Hernandez. But I feel that many times as a community they feel like theyre living in the shadows of our city.

Centro de Folklor has many students that are of Oaxacan descent, said Hernandez, and we really wanted them to be able to present the beauty of their state.

It was a little bit of a dream come true for us, he said.

Centro de Folklor from Selma paid tribute to Oaxaca during its performance at the March 31, 2023 Danzanes Unidos Festival showcase at the Wilson Theatre. Here, they dance Jarabe Mixteco.

The Selma group ended with Flor de Pina (Pineapple Flower), and gave away the fruit to the audience at the Wilson Theatre.

The reaction was positive, from Centro de Folklor dancer Carmen Zarate to Danzantes Unidos CEO/President Maria Luisa Colmenarez.

Experiencing other regions and cultures is really fun, said Zarate, a 15-year-old freshman at Selma High School. For Flor de Pina, it was hard to do the line and stay straight going forward.

Zarate describes the Oaxacan dances as really beautiful.

Lizette Salgado, who choreographed the performance, said the group has been looking forward to adding Oaxaca to its staple of dances.

Its so authentic and still very pure, Salgado said of the Oaxacan dances. Some of these other (Mexican) dances already have more influences, like American influences. But Oaxacan dances have stayed true to the choreography and the costuming.

Centro de Folklor from Selma paid tribute to Oaxaca during its performance at the March 31, 2023 Danzanes Unidos Festival showcase at the Wilson Theatre.

For the costumes, Centro del Folklor relied on its seamstress in Guadalajara. The group also borrowed some dancers from other groups.

In Oaxaca alone, theres over 200 dances, and this is only like a taste of it, said Salgado.

Story continues

For Colmenarez, whose parents are from Oaxaca, the Centro de Folklor performance just makes me feel very, very proud.

Growing up in Sacramento, she felt alone because the majority of other dancers were from the Mexican states of Jalisco or Michoacan.

I defended myself and said, Well, if theres only one of me here, maybe theres something wrong with our town. Why are you all here now? Colmenarez asked them.

That is why her parents got her into folkloric dancing, to show others that Oaxaca existed and had its own dances.

Centro de Folklor from Selma paid tribute to Oaxaca during its performance at the March 31, 2023 Danzanes Unidos Festival showcase at the Wilson Theatre.

They wanted Oaxaca to flourish culturally as ajenos (foreigners), said Colmenarez.

Seeing groups like Centro de Folkor perform dances from Oaxaca translates into acceptance for that community, said Colmenarez.

Hernandez said the performance is a way to unite the community.

Selma is a small town, but its still kind of divided into regions, he said. The west side has historically been called El Barrio.

Centro de Folklor is located in downtown Selma. Pioneer Village, where the group usually performs, is just east of Highway 99.

We really wanted to present something that would bring them into the city and not feel like they had to be marginalized, or on the outskirts of the city, said Hernandez.
The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department named an interim fire chief weeks after its former leader resigned following allegations of retaliation.

Dennis L. Rubin will take over as temporary head of the fire department  overseeing 18 fire stations and managing areas from emergency medical services to special operations  beginning June 1, according to a news release from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Rubin previously served as fire chief in Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and most recently, in small towns in Wisconsin and Virginia.

Since retiring in 2017, Rubin has been on a lecture circuit, published books related to fire management and has worked as adjunct faculty at numerous state rescue training agencies.

Rubin, in a news release Monday, called the new responsibility over KCKFD a personal and professional honor.

I am looking forward to working alongside of the women and men of this great fire department to protect the lives and property of our community, Rubin said in the news release. Fire Administration and our firefighters essentially have the same vision and that is to prevent harm and to serve our citizens and visitors in their time of need.

A permanent fire chief will not immediately be selected, County Administrator David Johnston said in a statement , though he didnt give an exact timeline. Thats why, Johnston said, it was important for him to select an interim chief with a wealth of experience.

The former chief, Michael Callahan, announced his resignation on April 14 after five years leading the department. Previously, he spent 38 years with the Chicago Fire Department. His last day as chief was April 28.

His resignation marked the fourth reported Wyandotte County department head to leave their position over the last year. In September, both the Unified Governments economic director and director of development coordination left their posts within two days of one other.

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Atlanta, D.C. and Kansas City

Rubin began his firefighting career in Washinton D.C., where he was born and raised, he told the Green Bay Press Gazette in 2014. The father of three first served as fire chief in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2001, before leading the Atlanta Fire and Rescue from 2003 to 2007.

From there, he returned to D.C. where he served four years as fire chief before resigning in 2011, after the mayor who hired him lost his bid for re-election, according to WRIC, a TV station in Richmond.

While in D.C., Rubin responded to a fire at the Old Executive Office Building, the site of the office of then-Vice President Dick Cheney, Rubin told the Press Gazette. He and his colleagues rescued a U.S. Marine trapped on the fifth floor, earning them a lunch invitation at the White House.

In 2014, Rubin moved to De Pere, Wisconsin, where he stayed for a few years as chief. In spring 2017, he took over the Petersburg, Virginia, fire department, but resigned 15 months later.

(Rubins) many years of experience and leadership will offer Kansas City, Kansas firefighters and the Wyandotte County community great insight, administration, and strategic planning tactics, according to the unified governments news release.

Controversy surrounded former KCKFD chief

In his resignation letter, former KCKFD chief Callahan  who at times was viewed as a controversial leader  urged Kansas City, Kansas, fire crews to continue keeping each other safe and lauded the department for its talent and competency, according to the letter obtained by The Star.

Callahan in mid-April told The Star he was proud of his work, which included implementing a policy to respond to collapsing high rise buildings and a defensive fire policy. He said his crowning achievement was that no firefighter responding to a fire he was in command of was seriously injured or killed.

President JJ Simma of the International Association of Firefighters Local 64 chapter, which represents Kansas City, Kansas, firefighters, has been critical of Callahans leadership, and told The Star last month that his resignation would be a positive step forward for the department.

Simma alleged Callahan and other leading members of the department destroyed morale and caused serious workforce retention and recruitment issues. Policies and procedures written by Callahan put both firefighters and the publics safety in danger, Simma said.

But, according to Callahan, he inherited a department where people were complacent and lacked discipline.

Orders are given and orders are followed. Otherwise theres chaos, he said, later adding: Theres a culture here where people believe if you ask a question, youre disciplining them.

Callahan said his leadership team should be remembered for providing more money to firefighters recruited to the service with a degree, increasing access to educational resources and promoting high ranking Black and Hispanic firefighters. But the administration was also accused of retaliating against employees reporting racial discrimination in a previous lawsuit.

In December 2021, the local IAFF chapter representing Kansas City, Kansas, firefighters, wrote a letter to former Mayor David Alvey and the Unified Governments Board of Commissioners asking for the immediate removal of Callahan due to alleged bullying tactics and the departments alleged mismanaged response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department Chief Michael Callahan announced his resignation Friday after serving for almost five years.

The union also issued a vote of no confidence in Callahan on January 2021. A letter announcing the vote added that Callahans vindictive personality, had been a distraction to the members of the fire department and called for an independent investigation into both the chief and deputy chief Jack Andrade.

Callahan was accused of retaliating against his employees in a June 2022 letter, where the national firefighters union threatened legal action if Mayor Tyrone Garner failed to rectify the problems within the department.

In the letter, president of the organization Edward A. Kelly cited concerns over unanswered HR complaints, multiple discrimination allegations against department leadership... and reckless policy decisions that put both the public and firefighters at unnecessary risk.

A 20-year veteran of the department, Leejamahl A. Washington, similarly criticized leadership in a January lawsuit, where he alleged senior officials sought to retaliate against him for raising concerns about discrimination at the department. Over the years, the lawsuit said, Washington had been threatened repeatedly for conduct that white employees did without reprimand. Near the beginning of his tenure, Washington said, he once saw co-workers wear Nazi memorabilia in a break room, and found a noose hanging in front of his locker.

Callahan previously denied retaliating against anyone.

Did I change things when I got here? Absolutely. Did they need to be changed? Absolutely, he said.
This time last year, Tim Yakteen wasnt giving much away.

Yakteen was at the center of the biggest story in horse racing, as Bob Baffert transferred two top Kentucky Derby contenders, Messier and Taiba, from his barn to Yakteens, while Baffert served the first of his two-year Kentucky Derby suspension.

This meant Yakteens Derby debut as the trainer of record would be covered in controversy, and it forced the man himself into the uncomfortable position of having to answer questions about whether the horses he brought to Churchill Downs were truly his horses.

That narrative has largely gone away this year.

Armed with a year of experience, Yakteen has again descended upon Louisville with two horses set to make Saturdays Derby starting gate.

Practical Move (second on the Derby qualifying leaderboard with 160 points) is considered a top contender for the Run for the Roses. Reincarnate (17th with 45 points) has finished in the money in three straight graded stakes races, and figures to hold his own.

The spotlight is squarely on Practice Move ahead of the Derby, and you can undoubtedly refer to him as Yakteens horse.

That question is more complicated with Reincarnate, who was trained by Baffert for his first five races  including a win in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes in January at Santa Anita  before moving to Yakteens barn in February.

Both Practical Move and Reincarnate flew in to Louisville from their home base of Santa Anita on Saturday, and the pair jogged a mile Sunday at Churchill Downs in their first on-track appearances of the week.

The reserved Yakteen spoke with media members Monday morning, and said both horses shipped well.

And as his horses have settled in, so has Yakteen, with his second go-around at horse racings biggest prize just days away.

To have a second opportunity to run in the Kentucky Derby, I mean, I feel exceptionally fortunate, Yakteen said last week during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association media teleconference.

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I feel very fortunate. Im very happy for my team, my clients that have supported me.

Tim Yakteen will saddle Practical Move and Reincarnate in Saturdays 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Practical Move is expected to be among the favorites as the winner of this years Santa Anita Derby.

Practical Move presents Yakteen with top Derby contender

For all the talk that swirled around Yakteen and his two Kentucky Derby horses in 2022, the end product was disappointing.

Taiba ran 12th. Messier was 15th.

It was a dismal showing for Yakteen, whose own personal story makes for compelling reading.

Born to a German mother and a Lebanese-born father who became a U.S. citizen and joined the Army, Yakteen spent his first 18 years in Germany.

He began in the horse racing industry by mucking stalls, and eventually linked up with Baffert and made the jump to Thoroughbred training in 1988.

This is to say Yakteen has been a longtime presence in horse racing, even if he wasnt a household name.

But now he is, and he could be an even bigger one if Practical Move runs the Kentucky Derby hes capable of.

The son of Practical Joke (second in the 2017 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and fifth in that years Kentucky Derby), Practical Moves seven-race career has all been based in California, although he was raised at Dell Ridge Farm in Lexington.

Once he hit the racetrack, plenty of winning followed.

Since December, Practical Move is a perfect 3-for-3 in graded stakes: His victories came in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, Grade 2 San Felipe and most recently in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, where Practical Move won at the line just ahead of Japan-bred Mandarin Hero.

What makes him special is hes performed, his record, Yakteen said Monday morning. He has what it takes to win races.

To this point, Yakteen praised the fact that Practical Move showed another racing dimension in that hard-fought Santa Anita Derby win.

Hes a horse that can get in a dogfight, and keep giving it to you, Yakteen added Monday.

Taiba, one of the horses that shifted from Baffert to Yakteen ahead of last years Derby, won last years Santa Anita as well.

Yakteen has been the trainer of record for all seven of Practical Moves races, dating back to last August.

The last three outings have seen Practical Move win after being guided along the rail by jockey Ramon Vazquez.

Its actually an advantage that your horse is comfortable down on the inside, and doesnt need the outside, Yakteen said on the teleconference. But I dont feel that he would have any challenges running on the outside. Its just how the races came together.

Be it circumstance or happenstance, Practical Move (who was co-bred by trainer Chad Brown, who also trained his sire, Practical Joke, and dam, Ack Naughty) is also a perfect 3-for-3 with Vazquez aboard, although his Derby experience is extremely limited.

Vazquez ran 13th in his only past Derby appearance in 2015 with Mr. Z.

On Monday afternoon, Practical Move was given post No. 10 for Saturdays race, and assigned morning-line odds of 10-1. This came after he spent the morning galloping about a mile.

The lack of significant past Kentucky Derby experience for Practical Moves connections extends to his ownership group: The New Mexico-trio of Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr., Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley will all get their first Derby experiences with the horse.

But Vazquez  the person who will ultimately control much of the potential success that Practical Move could have Saturday  has quickly built a rapport with the bay-colored horse.

As hes gotten older  hes always been a big horse  hes learned how to use himself. I think hes always shown and demonstrated the raw ability that were seeing today, Yakteen said on the teleconference of Practical Move. And as hes matured, hes now become more efficient at using himself and developed that desire to win and compete.

Practical Move has finished in the money in all seven of his races and has won the last three  the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby.

Since replacing Drayden Van Dyke as Practical Moves jockey, Ramon Vazquez has ridden the colt to three consecutive victories.

Reincarnate is a former favorite turned underdog

If Practical Move is viewed as a top contender in a Derby with a clear, yet beatable, favorite, then Reincarnate runs the risk of being an afterthought in a weak Derby field.

The son of Good Magic (winner of the 2018 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and second in that years Kentucky Derby to Justify), Reincarnate is coming off consecutive third-place finishes under Yakteens direction in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, both at Oaklawn Park.

Those two performances didnt come equally, though.

The Rebel Stakes was run in sloppy conditions, and Reincarnate lagged well behind the leaders for most of the race.

Yakteen desired a more uneventful trip in the Arkansas, and thats what happened.

Reincarnate  who Yakteen has compared to both Messier and Taiba due to his desire to sit close to the pace  stalked near the front for the whole race before another top Derby contender, Angel of Empire, took over in the stretch.

Hes shown us versatility, Yakteen said Monday of Reincarnate. His last three races, he showed us three different races. I think if you can call on all of that and put it together... I think thats what youre looking for.

Jockey John Velazquez has been aboard Reincarnate for four of his seven career starts, including for both the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby under Yakteens watch.

I think both of those efforts were great learning experiences for my team. ... Its just a matter of picking and having the opportunity to have the ideal spot for (Reincarnate), Yakteen said on the teleconference. A mile and one-fourth  is that in his wheelhouse?  I think it should be well within his wheelhouse.

On Monday, Reincarnate was given post No. 7 for the Derby, and assigned morning-line odds of 50-1. This tied Continuar (JPN) and also-eligible King Russell for the longest morning-line odds ahead of Saturdays race.

But, few people in horse racing should be able to benefit from Reincarnates versatile learning experiences like Velazquez, who has won three of the last 12 editions of the Kentucky Derby.

The Derby is a tough race, its a really hard race to ride, for jockeys and horses actually, Velazquez said last week. It all depends on how you break, you get a position that you would like and the horse is comfortable with. Then, if the horse is comfortable and handles all the pitching around, if you will, well see where we go.

Between the sloppy surface in the Rebel Stakes and weather patterns that interrupted Reincarnates training in California, Velazquez sees reason for optimism for the horse come Derby Day.

I think this horse is really well rounded, and the things that have been happening to him going into the races, hes been a little unlucky, said Velazquez, who was aboard Messier in last years Derby for Yakteen.

So I think if we get a little bit of luck, if we get a good position, I think the distance wont hurt him at all.

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Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty

Spiro Pantazatos doesnt seem to mind that his research interests lie off the beaten path.

Ive always been fascinated by research topics that dont tend to get a lot of attention or funding for whatever reasonif theyre considered taboo, for instance, the clinical neurobiology researcher told The Daily Beast.

For the most part, his citations would be considered par for the course for any scientist who studies the brain. His work includes a bevy of papers showing the brains role in everything from depression to obesity. Theres nothing peculiar about these avenues of researchits well-established that such links exist, even if the specifics are still being pieced together.

But there are a few clues into Pantazatos penchant for the unconventional.

Take his 2014 paper published in the journal NeuroImage: Looking at birthdates and brain scans, Pantazatos related a persons birth season to specific differences in their brains structure and function, when separated by sex. At the time, Wired called the results intriguing.

Heiress Used Fake Psychics to Scam Mom Out of $140 Million in Art, Say Police

The project sparked a more ambitious idea to validate these trends more thoroughly. Datasets of American patients do not contain birthdates, since theyre considered a form of protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). But perhaps, Pantazatos thought, he could source brain scans and personal information directly from volunteerscut out the middleman, he said.

By 2021, Pantazatos, then a faculty member at Columbia University, had set up the project with $10,000 in funding from NYC Media Lab, an accelerator for early-stage media and technology startups. A new organization called IONS, based in Novato, California, had joined the research, helping recruit participants and guiding its direction. Called My Brain and Me, the project asked a range of survey questions from people who submitted their brain scans, including a specific set designed in collaboration with IONS.

Story continues

In a post titled, Columbia University to Study the Neuroanatomy of Psychic Abilities, IONS described the newest goal of the project. There is an ever-growing body of evidence that psychic abilities like telepathy, psychokinesis, astral projection, and channeling are not only realtheyre quite common, the post read. My Brain and Me would help answer the question of whether psychic experiences could be mapped to certain regions of the brain.

Spiro Pantazatos. Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty / Photo by NYC Media Lab Combine

But theres a massive problem with this premise, Yale School of Medicine neurology researcher Steven Novella told The Daily Beast: It is completely not true.

There is no growing body of evidence for any of these phenomena, Novella added. In fact, after 100 years of study, theyve made no progress whatsoever.

My Brain and Me meant that Pantazatos had leapt from the unconventional to the outright controversial. The study of psychic abilitiesoften called psi or noetic sciences by its believers, and parapsychology or even simply pseudoscience by mainstream scientistsis undoubtedly a fringe topic. Yet its reach, demonstrated by researchers like Pantazatos and an organization like IONS, has moved off from the fringe. Experts told The Daily Beast that growing frustrations in scientific publishing and academic freedom got us here, and it will take a substantial reform of both systems to separate fact from fiction.

Extraordinary Claims

The founding focus of IONS, according to the nonprofit organizations website, is to reveal the interconnected nature of reality. This aim might appropriately be described as otherworldly: the late Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences in 1973, two years after he became the sixth man to walk on the moon. He described having an epiphany about universal interconnectedness as his spacecraft headed back to Earth, and would cite this experience as a major reason for starting IONS.

With this general goal in mind, the organizations priorities have significantly shifted in the past several decades, IONS Director of Research Helane Wahbeh told The Daily Beast. Its research arm, launched two decades ago, is a relatively new addition to IONS broader programming of education and eventsyet it has taken over as one of the organizations marquee enterprises. From June 2020 to 2021, research expenses totaled more than $760,000, nearly 20 percent of IONS annual expenditures. An additional $100,000 research prize for work in the noetic sciences was announced on March 29.

IONS really prides itself on being the trailblazer and the front of the pack in terms of frontier science, Wahbeh said.

What exactly this area entails can span a range of experiences and extended human capacities, Wahbeh said. Decades ago, IONS was a prominent supporter of mindfulness meditation when people in the West were skeptical of it; today, the institute invites people to share specific and remarkable experiences they have had, like telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance.

Its the organizations parapsychological endeavors that elicit real criticism from its skeptics today. IONS recruits participants for research studiesrating photos to be used in a remote viewing study, or teaming up with a partner who could be miles away and guessing if youre both viewing the same photograph. Pantazatos study is highlighted on the website, too. Wahbeh said the research question that IONS is most interested in is whether specific brain regions can be linked to any of over a dozen different noetic experiences.

How Joseph Dispenza Seduced America With Pseudoscience

In line with Mitchells epiphanic experience with universal interconnectedness, IONS overarching research aim is to find evidence for big-C consciousness, Wahbeh said. Neuroscientists are always studying consciousness, but thats about whether were awake or not, she said. Consciousness, to IONS, represents a fundamental feature about the physical world, and a phenomenon that does not just happen in the brain.

Novella, the co-founder of the New England Skeptical Society, approaches these parapsychological elements (e.g., psychic experiences) with a high degree of what he calls scientific skepticism, which he defines as a rigorous application of scientific methodology, critical thinking, and media-savvy scientific literacy, to all factual questions. Essentially, the scientific method on steroids.

We dont have to spend a lot of our effort dealing with mainstream scientific questions because there are scientists that are doing that, Novella added. But for those questions that are more out on the fringe, we pay particular attention because they generally lack scientific rigor.

A perfect example of why this skepticism is necessary, Novella said, is a series of contentious studies called Feeling the future, published by Cornell University social psychologist Daryl Bem. Beginning with a 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Bem presented results that he interpreted as evidence of precognition, an ability of the body to recognize events before they occur. In the first set of studies, he showed 100 Cornell undergraduates a computer screen with two sets of curtains, one of which contained an image behind it. He asked the students to select the curtains they believed contained a pre-selected neutral, negative, or erotic image.

Helane Wahbeh, director of research at IONS Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty / Photo by In Her Image Photography

Analyzing the results of 36 trials per participant, Bem found that the students accuracy at identifying neural and negative images was no better than random chance, but that they chose the correct curtain obstructing an erotic image 3.1 percent more often than pure guesswork would predict. He calculated a statistical p-value that showed the results were significant, which scientists take to mean that the findings are unlikely to be due to random chance.

This statistical maneuverseparating out the nonerotic and erotic images, and pointing to one measure of significance as evidence for precognitiondrew criticism from other academics. They pointed to Bems research and other studies claiming to validate the existence of psychic abilities as prime examples of p-hacking, or cutting up data to achieve a statistically significant p-value.

Equally concerning, Novella said, was that several researchers independently tried to replicate Bems findings and failed. When they approached the same academic journal that published the first Feeling the future study, however, the new paper was rejected, even though it followed the same methodology. On a large scale, this odd phenomenon is known as publication bias and explains why research that reaches inconclusive or negative conclusions is less often published than studies that present new or surprising results.

The series of events here, said Novella, indicates a deeper problem: Fringe research can capitalize on the biases built into for-profit scientific publishing, in order to turn unserious scientific findings into mainstream ideas.

The system really isnt optimized for the quality of the research itself, its optimized for the business model of what's putting the journal out there, he said. We need to think very carefully about how to remove some of the blatant perverse incentives, and we need to figure out ways of setting the bar a little bit higher for saying, This is a published, peer-reviewed study.

Wahbeh said she is surprised by the passion that some critics of the noetic sciences bring to discussions about it. She argued their skepticism might come from a number of places, such as an unwillingness to question established scientific paradigms and a history of religious persecution for those reporting psychic experiences.

Or perhaps, she said, those critics fear a world in which psychic abilities exist.

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Theyre afraid of their own potential, and theyre afraid of what it would mean if humanity actually fully expressed these potentials, Wahbeh said. Lets say Im just fully telepathic, and I know exactly what you're thinking right now. That would make you feel really uncomfortable.

On the other hand, she said she doesnt think of concepts within the noetic sciences of being purely correct or incorrect. The evidence might come to support certain aspects, like precognition, channeling, or telepathy, more strongly than others. But she advocates for more study into reported psychic abilities, even if research disproved its existence.

If people find definitive proof that intuition is not real, but Susan gets intuitive hits every day that support her in her lifethat allow her to feel happy, fulfilled, connected in her relationships, and allow her to make decisions to feel supported by her communityto me, that deserves studying, Wahbeh said.

An Unlikely Partnership

Before Pantazatos began collaborating with IONS, he had already successfully presented My Brain and Me at an NYC Media Lab event and gotten positive feedback on the idea. In addition to crowdsourcing information and brain scan data from participants, he taught himself how to code and created a tool that created an easy-to-understand brain visualization out of uploaded scans, revealing participants neural similarities and differences from one another. With the collected scans, Pantazatos could start to look at different characteristicshistory of neurological illness or birthdate, for instanceand see how any brain structures or activity might be associated.

Even so, it had been difficult to secure funding for My Brain and Me. The NYC Media Lab award was nice, but his grant applications to the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health had been rejected. After learning about IONS, Pantazatos approached the organization about collaborating on the project in some capacity. The two parties created a survey to ask participants about reported psychic experiences. Once they collect enough data, Pantazatos will use the questionnaire responses to test any neurological underpinnings of reported psychic experiences, he said.

IONS has been helping to recruit participants for My Brain and Me by posting about it on its website and sponsoring Facebook ads, Wahbeh said. Spiro has the platform where people upload their scans, and IONS has the networking power to put the word out about it.

But theres reason to believe that IONS may get something from this partnership too, Kavin Senapathy, an independent journalist who covers pseudoscience, told The Daily Beast. Being associated with a Columbia University faculty member may lend undue credibility to IONS mission.

Asked about the IONS blog posts title, (Columbia University to Study the Neuroanatomy of Psychic Abilities,) Pantazatos agreed that Columbias prestige may have played a role in the projects framing. I think that is probably a decision that they made to maybe sell the project a little bit more, and add credibility, he said.

But, he added, Im the person who's leading the project. That he didnt ask for the universitys permission before collaborating with an organization like IONS is an example of academic freedom and free inquiry that Columbia encourages in its student body and community members, he said.

Pandemic Grifters Are Here to Stay

Too often, however, academic freedom crosses the line into university-endorsed pseudoscience, Novella said. In the 1990s, John Mack, an award-winning Harvard University psychiatrist, made headlines after he announced he believed the claims of patients who said they had been abducted by aliens. Macks tenure and the issue of academic freedom all but ensured he would remain at Harvard, even as colleagues questioned his extraordinary claims.

What are they going to do? Theyre going to fire somebody whos got some weird hobby? They usually dont do that, Novella said. Of course, then that leaves people like you to ask the question, Well, how is this guy affiliated with an actual university when he's doing pure pseudoscience?

Academia, in general, needs to be better at requiring a higher level of scientific rigor and critical thinking, he added, because they do lend their name and their institutional reputation to a lot of nonsense.

Its not just the university at fault for edging pseudoscience closer to the mainstream. Senapathy said that its often difficult for the public to recognize that a person lacks expertise in one field when they have prominently excelled in another. Mitchell, the founder of IONS, is a perfect example, she said.

The conjectures of Edgar Mitchell were granted legitimacy because hes a member of this prestigious club of folks who have walked on the moon, Senapathy said. Even in science, mediocrity often comes packaged with what we see as greatness in the same individual or within an organization.

Unboosted

IONS participation in My Brain and Me was announced at the end of June 2021, but by December, a pressing concern began to bubble up for Pantazatos. The university sent out a note to faculty, staff, and students updating its guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines and mandating that eligible community members receive a booster dose. Months earlier, Pantazatos had sent emails to Columbias leadership advocating against booster mandates and warning about adverse events. (Some vaccine trials have suggested that there is a possible increased risk of inflammation of the heart muscle or outer lining of the heartcalled myocarditis and pericarditis, respectivelyfollowing COVID-19 vaccination in young adult and adolescent males. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone six months and older get vaccinated for COVID-19, as the risks of the illness far outweigh any rare reaction to the vaccine.)

After voicing these concerns, Pantazatos said that he was retaliated against by university administration. He wrote in an opinion piece published this January in the Columbia Daily Spectator that his paychecks and insurance were inexplicably paused in January 2022, only to be reinstated months later. Then, in August 2022, his Columbia faculty page was removed, and he was asked to move out of his office in September.

Savannah Sparks Is TikToks Most Polarizing Medical Misinformation Sleuth. She Doesnt Care.

Pantazatos said that he received a medical exemption and submitted a reappointment package in February of this year, but had not heard back about its status as of late April. A Columbia University spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast that Pantazatos is no longer affiliated with Columbia Psychiatry, but did not respond to specific questions about Pantazatos work and relationship with IONS by the time of publication.

The whole series of events has even inspired Pantazatos to add a new facet to My Brain and Me. Soon, he said, hell be crowdfunding to expand the platform to study the neurological basis for vaccine injuries.

On some level, Im taking it in stride and enjoying having to be creative, he said. I never wanted to be completely reliant on the university as a main source of income because I knew at some pointI think its inevitable someone's going to say something that gets them canceled.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A former Massachusetts deputy police chief has been indicted Monday on child rape charges stemming from repeated alleged assaults against a 15-year-old victim while he was assigned as a school resource officer, prosecutors say.

John Porter, the 54-year-old former Hopkinton Deputy Chief of Police, is now facing three counts of Rape of a Child after being indicted by a grand jury, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

"The incidents allegedly occurred during 2004 and 2005 while the victim was a 15-year-old student," the DAs office said Monday, describing how Porter had worked in the Town of Hopkinton school system. "During that time the defendant allegedly assaulted the victim on multiple occasions off school property."

The Hopkinton Police Department, which is located between Worcester and Boston, declined comment to Fox News Digital when asked about the matter.

MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE PARTY SHOOTING LEAVES 1 DEAD, 5 INJURED

As of Friday, Porter was let go of his position in the department, the attorneys office said. No arraignment date has been set yet.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Porter previously was placed on administrative leave last August, with no reason given at the time, according to the Metrowest Daily News.

"As there is an active ongoing investigation, no additional information can be released at this time," the newspaper had quoted police as saying.

The month before, the Hopkinton Police Department honored Porter for 30 years of service, adding his name to a "plaque in recognition of the milestone," police said in a blog posting on the departments website.

ANA WALSHE MURDER: HUSBAND BRIAN WALSHE THREW OUT HACKSAW WITH POTENTIAL KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTS SAY

"We were thrilled to recognize Deputy Chief Porters years of service... and all he has achieved during his 30 years with the department," said Chief Joseph Bannett. "He has shown a true commitment to bettering this department and serving the Hopkinton community, and we are fortunate to have him as a member of the Hopkinton Police command staff."

Story continues

The department said Porter joined its ranks in 1992 "serving as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant and lieutenant before being appointed deputy chief in October 2021.

"He was also the departments first school resource officer and built the foundation for the program as it is today," according to the post.

"He is also the only member of the department to receive the Medal of Valor, which recognized his work taking into custody an apparently suicidal person armed with a knife who had doused a home with gasoline and attempted to light it on fire," police also said, adding that Porter has "been selected as the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Officer of the Year four times."
In a surprise move this last week, Republican House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox announced that he would step down from his leadership role effective immediately.

One of the things that I think makes me ready to do this is that I really have a good caucus and easily the highest quality one Ive ever been a part of, Wilcox told reporters in his office that day.

Wilcox had said publicly that he would step down if Republicans didnt pick up any seats in the 2022 election, and he said this decision had been weighing on him since the election. Additionally, as his resignation letter pointed out, he had said it was time for a change if his leadership didnt result in better results and a more balanced Legislature for Washington.

I dont go back on my word easily. One of the good reasons for doing this today is that it was a promise, Wilcox said. The only way you can have accountability is to have people that are accountable. I like this job, but it was more important to do what I said.

Wilcox has not yet decided if he will run for re-election to his legislative seat, he told McClatchy.

As the leader of the minority party for the last five contentious, challenging years, Wilcox was the target of much criticism.

In 2019, for instance, Wilcox and other House Republican leaders ousted former Rep. Matt Shea from the House caucus after an investigation outlined Sheas role in a 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Wilcox said he thinks anyone who was involved in that decision to expel Shea is forever branded.

It was important for me to take the blame and credit for that, and not let the caucus get damaged by that, but everyone had to answer for it, he said. I wanted to do it in such a way that the bad stuff stuck to me.

Despite criticism from both those within the Republican party and a large group of folks outside the Legislature for expelling Shea, other caucus leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, appreciated the way that situation was handled.

Story continues

One of the things I respect J.T. for is standing up to even people within his own party if he thinks theres something that he doesnt agree with, or that isnt right, Billig told McClatchy. That takes a lot of political courage to stand up to your own party and Ive seen him do that a few times, notably with Matt Shea.

COVID-19 and the response to it also put strain on Wilcox and the caucus, Wilcox said, although he acknowledged that his Democratic counterparts also were under a lot of pressure at that time.

Billig told McClatchy that he and Wilcox both came into the Legislature at the same time, alongside now House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma.

Ive known him for 13 years and always had a positive relationship and enjoyed the time that we spent together and I really respect him, Billig said. Even if we disagree sometimes on the strategies to reach a goal, I think we have similar goals to help our communities be prosperous and safe and allow opportunities for people to succeed. We have shared interests and goals regardless of policy differences that we might have.

Billig told McClatchy that he was surprised to hear that Wilcox would be stepping down, but that he understands his reasoning and respects it.

New minority leader announced

On Monday, April 24, it was announced that Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, was elected to serve as the new House Minority Leader.

Stokesbary told McClatchy that he too was surprised to learn that Wilcox would step down. He said a number of caucus members then approached him and asked him if he was interested in taking the leadership position.

He said he has enjoyed his time working with Wilcox, and that he appreciates his approach to politics.

I think it would be fair to say that both of us care more about getting things done than getting attention for things we dont get done, Stokesbary said.

While Stokesbary thinks he and Wilcox agree on most things, he said there will be a generational shift. Wilcox is 60, Stokesbary is in his late 30s.

Wilcox said he believes Stokesbary will be good for the role as House Minority Leader because he has a really good political brain and understands the job more than most people. He also knows policy better than everyone, Wilcox said.

A, hes a unifier inside our caucus, and B, generationally hes part of the demographic that we need to do better with and I think he reflects voters in Puget Sound well, Wilcox said.

For Stokesbary to be successful in the role, Wilcox said there are several things he could do.

The Republican party is very fractured and theres not one person that can appeal to all parts, Wilcox said. As a result, Stokesbary should focus on being himself and being authentic.

That will get you the support of all the sincere people, said Wilcox. You shouldnt have to reflect every opinion that they have, but if theyre sincere theyll understand that youre with them on most things. People that think that hes the face of the Republican party in Washington  thats just not what that job is. I never aspired to be the face of Republicans in Washington.

While the minority party is limited in what it can do, he said Republicans use every tool at their disposal to move policy in the directions that they think are best for the people they represent.

When asked by McClatchy if it will be weird for him not to be in leadership, Wilcox said he is really good at putting things behind him

I happened to draw the cards that were the most tumultuous years politically in Washington history, he added.

Wilcoxs legacy

Wilcoxs leadership has undoubtedly changed the way some issues are handled, Stokesbary told McClatchy.

One of his lasting legacies in the state is going to be how the Legislature and how the state thinks about issues involving Tribal sovereignty, Stokesbary said. And I think J.T. s leadership there is going to reverberate for a whole generation.

The Wilcox family farm, where the lawmaker still lives, is on the Nisqually River, and as such the family has worked with the Nisqually Tribe for generations. Wilcox frequently tells the story of how his grandfather and Billy Frank Jr. came to an agreement regarding property and water rights. He often says thats a big part of why he approaches things the way he does.

I think both his family business and the Nisqually Tribe think that theyre probably better off for having worked together than having fought each other, Stokesbary said. So I think Wilcox took that approach to the Legislature and through his leadership taught several classes of new Republicans who came in after him that you dont have to agree with the Tribes on every issue, but just because you dont doesnt mean you have to be antagonizing them on every issue as well.

This year, he noted, three Tribes and agriculture groups came together to testify on a riparian buffer bill, although it ultimately did not pass. The only person to testify against the legislation in public hearings was someone from the Governors Office.

That culture of trust and cooperation and a desire to achieve mutually beneficial results I think is a culture that Wilcox helped create, and without Wilcox I dont think Republicans and farm groups would have taken that approach, Stokesbary said.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Danny Johnston/AP Images

Prosecutors allege that a former mortuary worker sold dozens of dead body parts.

Prosecutors allege that she connected with her buyer through Facebook.

The body parts were used for medical research before they were sent to the mortuary.

A former Arkansas mortuary worker made nearly $11,000 selling boxes of dead body parts to someone she met through an "oddities" Facebook page, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas allege that 36-year-old Candace Chapman Scott, who worked at a mortuary in Little Rock, Arkansas, stole body parts of cadavers that had been donated to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, according to indictment documents unsealed on Friday and viewed by Insider.

Lawyers for Scott, who according to court documents no longer works at the mortuary, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

According to court documents, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences sent donated body parts to the mortuary where Scott worked once researchers were finished with them.

But, instead of cremating the body parts, prosecutors allege that Scott sold dozens of body parts to a man in Pennsylvania who she met through an "oddities" Facebook group. Court documents did not name the specific Facebook page where Scott first met the man.

According to court documents, prosecutors allege that Scott first reached out to the Pennsylvania man in October 2021, telling him she "LOVED" his Facebook page and asking him, "Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully in tact [sic], embalmed brain?"

Prosecutors allege that over the next nine months, Scott and the man communicated via Facebook Messenger, where she is accused of selling the man embalmed body parts, including hearts, brains, genitalia, chunks of skin, ears, hands, heads, fetuses, and nipples, according to court documents.

Prosecutors allege that Scott shipped him the body parts through the United States Postal Service and made $10,975 total, which the man sent to her through 16 separate PayPal transfers, according to the indictment.

Story continues

The Pennsylvania man intended to re-sell the body parts on a Facebook page called "The Grand Wunderkammer," NBC News reported, citing police and Facebook posts featuring images of bags and bones. Admins for the group did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before involving our program and it's not something we ever could have imagined," a spokesperson for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences told Insider. "We consider donors to the anatomical gift program to be true heroes and we are saddened and shocked at these thefts."

The university said it has not been able to identify the identities of the deceased to whom the body parts belonged because the embalming process damages DNA.

Scott faces 12 criminal charges, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to court documents. She has pleaded not guilty, court documents seen by Insider show.

Scott is currently in jail, with a bail hearing scheduled for Tuesday, NBC News reported.

The Pennsylvania man has been charged with a misdemeanor count of abuse of a corpse, a felony and a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property, and a felony count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, according to court documents filed in Pennsylvania. He is currently not in jail, according to NBC News.

Read the original article on Insider
Esteban Ocon pitted with people on pit road during the final lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula 1 said it would make changes to the way access to pit road at the end of races is governed after people were in the middle of the pit lane during the final lap of Sundays Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Esteban Ocon entered.

Ocon had to make his mandatory pit stop on the races final lap since he hadnt made a pit stop during the race. As Red Bull mechanics made their way over to the wall separating pit lane from the track to celebrate Sergio Perezs impending victory, photographers and others were also granted access to the pit lane ahead of Ocons pit stop.

After the race, Ocon said that it could have been a big, big one today given the number of people who were in his way. The pit road speed limit was 80 KMPH.

Race stewards released a statement after the race and said they determined that the relevant representatives took steps to set up the parc fermi area and also permitted media and other personnel to gather in the start of the pit lane and the pit wall during the last lap of the race while the pit lane was open and before the final pit stop of Ocon.

We noted that it was not unusual for the representatives to allow such persons into the pit lane just before the end of the race in the usual course of preparation for parc ferme and the podium ceremony. However, in this case, there was one driver that had to pit in the last lap and this created a very dangerous situation for those that were in the pit lane at the time.

Stewards also said that FIA representatives had been required to take immediate steps to reconsider these procedures and protocols with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that this situation does not occur again.

Any changes would have to be implemented quickly. F1s next race is in Miami on Sunday and is the second race of a stretch that includes four races in five weeks.
The local group in charge of federal transportation money will grow. So will Fort Mills input in those decisions.

Given population change from the 2020 Census and increasing road needs throughout urbanized York and Lancaster counties, the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study will expand its policy committee. Fort Mill will gain influence, as will the area of public transit.

It is going to be more important in the years ahead, RFATS administrator David Hooper said of transit.

What is the policy committee?

Public officials and transportation experts make up the policy committee that decides how to allocate federal transportation dollars throughout Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie and Indian Land. The group updates its membership after and based on decennial census data.

Prior to Fridays vote, the committee had 12 members. The mayors of Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Tega Cay serve. Two York County Council and one Lancaster County Council members serve. So does the Catawba Indian Nation chief, plus two state legislators and one representative from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

Rock Hill had two additional representatives, both Rock Hill City Council members. One served a dual role as a transit representative when federal requirements changed in recent years to require one.

Historically, areas like Tega Cay, the Catawba Indian Nation and even Fort Mill havent had the population figures to warrant a full seat on the committee. Larger areas like Rock Hill and York County ceded some of their already multi-seat representation to bring in voices from those smaller areas.

The committee decides RFATS decisions that, along with groups like Pennies for Progress and the state infrastructure bank, fund many of the largest and most expensive road jobs in York (or Lancaster) county.

What changes?

A decision Friday will expand voting membership from 12 to 15 seats. Fort Mill, York County and Lancaster County each add a representative. SCDOT loses its voting seat and becomes an ex-officio member, so Fort Mill can have a second seat despite population figures that still put it closer to one.

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Hooper said separate federal changes mean public transit decisions moving forward will be made out of the Rock Hill metro rather than a combination of Rock Hill and Charlotte, as it most recently was.

Thats fundamentally different, Hooper said.

The added Fort Mill seat comes in part due to geography, not just population counts.

Theres a strong argument for doing that, outside of these numbers, Hooper said.

Fort Mill road impact

Massive York County population growth in the past decade can be misleading, Hooper said, as its largely concentrated in unincorporated Fort Mill. Areas like Baxter, the Carowinds corridor and the I-77 area between Fort Mill and Tega Cay are drivers of the extra county seat on the policy committee.

Plus, Fort Mill is central to the planning area for federal resources. Its between the massive Charlotte area and Rock Hill, the most populous area in York County. Traffic from Tega Cay on one side and Indian Land on the other puts pressure on Fort Mill.

Fort Mill, whether it wants it or not, is going to have through traffic traveling through its jurisdiction, Hooper said. Its a daily reality.

Fort Mill has three major interstate interchanges. It has the U.S. 21 corridor, identified by planners as the likeliest route for future mass transit to connect the Charlotte and Rock Hill metros. Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage said population counts strictly within town limits dont account for all those factors.

It doesnt take into account trip counts, Savage said. And trip counts (through Fort Mill) are excessive.

Catawba seat, plus York and Clover

There were options presented that wouldve created further change, from Tega Cay not having a full vote on the committee to Catawba India Nation having none at all. That plan gathered no support. Policy members said partial votes arent preferable and the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina is significant to the area beyond its sole population count.

Chief Bill Harris said similar discussion happened in past decades when the group reorganized its membership.

The consensus came down to, the Catawba does bring something to the table, Harris said.

In recent months theres been discussion related to Clover and York. Both have population bases now that could warrant their inclusion in the RFATS planning area. Yet, Hooper and other said, there are reasons Clover and York may not want to participate.

They operate now in a similar road funding setup, but for rural areas. Clover and York roads would likely fare better on prioritized lists with similar rural projects, the thinking goes, than they would in comparison to much larger projects in Rock Hill or Fort Mill.

There was some concern from the committee about growing membership. State Sen. Michael Johnson recalled times when he served as a York County representative, and there were proxy votes from certain areas as member didnt make all the meetings.

I worry that growing the group is going to create further problems, Johnson said.

Hooper said participation is a concern, given the type of transportation decisions that likely await in coming years.

The decisions are going to get harder at this point, Hooper said, not easier.
Four people were shot to death in a recreational vehicle on this property on H Street in Mojave. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Tina Hayden took in the scene. A dirt lot. Mounds of scrap metal and trash. A trailer and two decaying recreational vehicles, inside of which three women and a man had been shot to death 12 hours earlier.

Theyre all on crystal meth, Hayden said. This is all part of drugs, sad to say.

Hayden had come Monday morning to the end of H Street in Mojave to see the place where her friend's daughter had been killed.

Kern County sheriff's deputies had been called to the barren property around 11:20 p.m. Sunday. Inside an RV, they found four people shot: a man and two women who were already dead and a third woman who would die at a hospital, said Lori Meza, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.

The victims were not identified Monday. Apart from stating they had not arrested anyone or found the gun used in the shooting, law enforcement officials said little about the mass killing, which rattled the desert community about 60 miles east of Bakersfield.

I dont even want my kids outside," Hayden said Monday morning. "I kept my granddaughter home from school today.

Four people were shot to death in a recreational vehicle on this property on H Street in Mojave late Sunday night. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The killings come several months after a series of mass shootings that left California reeling. In the span of two weeks, six people were killed at a home in Goshen, Calif., 11 at a Monterey Park dance studio and six on a Half Moon Bay farm. The incidents and others have heightened debates about gun control.

About 20% of Mojave's 4,700 residents live below the poverty line, according to census data. Most of its businesses are on the main drag, Highway 14, and cater to people who are only passing through: Gas stations and truck stops, fast-food restaurants and liquor stores, motor court-style motels.

East of Highway 14 are tracts of weather-beaten single-family homes. On some street corners are wooden signs with Scriptures written in white. "Judge not lest ye be judged," one read. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble," said another outside what was once a library, converted to a doughnut shop that has since closed.

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Anna Saavedra supervises the East Kern Family Resource Center in Mojave, which offers a food pantry, emergency clothing services and parenting training. Saavedra has noticed more people coming to the desert in recent years, pushed out of cities by job losses or other economic hardship.

"Maybe they had a bad experience in one of the big cities, she said. They come out here, and theyre passing through. But then they end up staying."

For the most part, Hayden said, Mojave is a tightknit community where people look out for each other. "We all know each other, and if we don't, we get to know you."

But in recent years, she could not help but notice a surge of drug abuse  seemingly all methamphetamine  that has relegated a growing population to the citys fringes.

Ive seen kids graduate and just go straight down. And its the crystal meth, Hayden said.

One was her friend's daughter, a mother of at least five children who was in her late 30s, Hayden said. Addicted to methamphetamine and cycling in and out of jail, she lived in the RV where she was killed, she said.

Two of the other victims, a couple, were also homeless, Hayden said. They split time between an RV parked in an alley and the dirt lot where they were shot, she said.

Relatives of one of the victims, gathered outside a home in Mojave, declined to speak to a Times reporter.

The lot where the mass shooting occurred is west of Highway 14, separated from the center of town by railroad tracks. Bicycle parts and other debris were heaped near the makeshift dwellings. Spray-painted on a trailer were the words: "Keep out! Private property under surveillance."

In the fields surrounding the property, trash clung to scrub brush. It fluttered in the wind that blew the turbines in a field of windmills to the west. Parked nearby was an abandoned semi-trailer, its hood propped open, insides gutted for parts.

As Hayden spoke to a Times reporter, a couple pulled up in a battered pickup truck with scrap metal piled in the bed. A woman in the passenger seat asked, "Are you the property owner?"

A hauler, Hayden explained, among those trawling the city for metal to salvage and sell.

Kenny Heller, 62, whose property abuts the lot, heard the shots through a back window hed left open to catch the night breeze: four in quick succession, he said.

The first RV showed up on the lot on H Street about a year and a half ago, Heller said, drawing on a cigarette in his front yard. The grandmother of the RV's occupant once lived in a house next to the lot. But she fell behind on taxes, Heller said, and lost the house. It has since been fenced off, its windows and doors covered with plywood.

Police would come every once in a while and red-tag the RVs that gathered there, Heller said. People from the real estate company that owned the lot told the occupants to leave. But they stayed, the mounds of junk growing, syringes cast off in the dirt, he said.

Theres people in and out of there every day, all day," he said.

Asked to describe Mojave, the 15-year-resident had a quick reply: "Getting worse."

Times staff writer Alexandra E. Petri contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Tottenham Hotspur will always cherish memories of injury-time drama and Lucas Moura. Just not from the 94th minute at Anfield in 2023. Next Monday will mark the fourth anniversary of arguably Spurs greatest moment of the 21st century, the 96th-minute, hat-trick strike against Ajax in Amsterdam that sent Mauricio Pochettinos team into the Champions League final.

Four years on, it came down to the Brazilian again. This time, Moura was in his own half. This time, he lost his nerve. As Alisson punted the ball forward, an ersatz wing-back tried to cushion a pass to Cristian Romero, instead picked out Diogo Jota and saw a substitute score. Liverpool 4 Tottenham 3 and, in a season when Moura has not scored, he has arguably cost Spurs three points in two April cameos on Merseyside. They were leading 1-0 at Everton before a needless, dangerous challenge saw him sent off and them draw. His return from suspension came at Anfield. In a different way, it went just as badly. Maybe Moura should never visit Liverpool.

He will leave in the summer and this season has been a sad coda to his Tottenham career. There were 15 goals in 2018-19, none now. Four years on, a team has fallen apart: there are tales of decline, some due to ageing, some fast-tracked. There are the ones who got away. There is the one who may yet get away. Tottenham may have the worst kind of closure to the Pochettino era when, instead of welcoming back their most beloved manager for many a decade, they may see him appointed by Chelsea.

If the 2019 team stood on the brink of greatness, their individual fates help tell a tale of where it has gone wrong for Tottenham in what feel like four wasted years. Two of Mouras trio in Amsterdam, including the winner, were assisted by Dele Alli: at 27, he could be a 100m player by now. Instead, he left Spurs on a free transfer and languishes unwanted at Everton, with Besiktas ending his loan early. He scored a mere three goals this season. His has been an extraordinary, almost inexplicable slide.

Others have faded fast. At 32, Danny Rose is already retired. At 31, Victor Wanyama has spent the last three years playing for Montreal. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen were already in their thirties in 2019; now Spurs dont have a defender as reliable as either was in his prime, while they are back in their homeland. So is Moussa Sissoko, now of Nantes. Hugo Lloris may be nearing the end, too, and his most recent action for Tottenham was to concede five goals in 21 minutes at Newcastle before being substituted at half-time.

Lucas Mouras mistake led Spurs to heartache against Liverpool (REUTERS)

But Kieran Trippier, sold to Atletico Madrid in 2019, is a far better right-back than any of those Tottenham bought to play in his stead, whether Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty, Emerson Royal or Pedro Porro, whose defensive deficiencies were exposed at Anfield. Spurs have spent 100m downgrading the position.

Christian Eriksen left for a cut-price fee in January 2020 and Spurs have no creativity in midfield now: the 100m duo of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, supposed to add another dimension, are out on loan now.

Some of it feels like financial mismanagement. Spurs will get no money for Moura when his contract expires, just as Alli, Rose and Vertonghen left on free transfers. They only recouped small fees for Wanyama and Sissoko. The majority of a team that reached the Champions League final will bring in less than 10m; Spurs neither had success by keeping them nor sold them for fees that funded a rebuild. Eriksen, meanwhile, went on the cheap before his contract expired.

There are two others to consider, potentially the last survivors of the 2019 team, certainly the figureheads of the post-Pochettino side. Son Heung-min has had a troubled season but was terrific at Anfield, scoring one goal, making another, hitting the woodwork twice. He has 78 goals since the Champions League final.

Harry Kane is one of the last effective survivors of that 2019 Spurs side but may be on his way out of the club (PA)

Harry Kane, who missed the Ajax semi-final and was semi-fit for the final, has 111 in the same time. There was a point when Moura, Eriksen and Alli contributed to a formidable attacking armoury of players all able to score and create. Since then, they have become hugely over-reliant on two men, achieving less even as they have scored more than virtually anyone else.

In a four-year period ending in 2019, Spurs finished third, second, third and fourth. Since then, they have come sixth, seventh, fourth and are now sixth which, as Brighton have three games in hand, feels in effect seventh now.

Mouras exit will come laced in nostalgia, but the loss of another of the class of 2019 would harm the team rather more now. Kane fell a long way short of pledging his future to Spurs. I live in the moment and give 110 per cent every day and every place I am, said their record scorer. If he goes it would be a definitive break with the past. But Moura illustrates how Spurs recent past is infinitely preferable to their present.
(Bloomberg) -- Anger over President Emmanuel Macrons pension reform spilled into the streets of Paris as more than half a million people marched across France to challenge a law raising the retirement age.

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The May Day protest marks a rare event since World War II when labor unions in France have come together. It points to the degree of discontent toward a decision borne out of economic necessity but that has been deeply unpopular and will test Macrons mettle in his final legacy-building term.

As of 5 p.m. local time, about 180 people had been arrested across the country, 68 of them in Paris, according to the latest figures available from the authorities. More than one police person was wounded, with one cop suffering serious injuries after being burned by a thrown Molotov cocktail. In Paris, activists spilled buckets of orange paint in front of the Justice Ministry.

Some 782,000 people protested across France, 112,000 of whom were in Paris, the Interior Ministry said. The numbers were much higher according to labor union CGT, which tallied a total of 2.3 million people in the country. Unions are meeting Tuesday to decide on the next steps.

Symbols of corporate power, such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the outskirts of Paris, were defaced. In Montbard, a town in Burgundy, people were banging on saucepans, a tradition that dates back to the overthrow of the French monarchy back in 1789.

The revolt stems from Macrons determination to raise the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62, and there is nothing that the protests can do to overturn something that is now enshrined into law even if its cost him a majority in parliament.

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Macron has attempted to burnish his international image with some high-profile trips abroad, including China. Back home though, hes so unpopular of late that Le Point reported that no images of him were retransmitted on big screens at the Stade de France stadium during the Football Cup Final on Saturday.

The protests have captured global attention.

In Washington, at a weekend event with President Joe Biden present, a famous comedian noted the protests in his skit and quipped: Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work.

In France, it has inflamed passions and led to evocations of the past, including by those who ran against Macron.

You have to work less, far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Monday. You have to work less and to work better.

Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin responded to the mounting violence with a tweet, saying that the police face extremely violent thugs who came with one objective: to kill cops and attack the property of others.

Francois Lecuyer, a retired resident who used to work for the Bank of France and voted for Macron twice, says hes had enough of the pension reform and Macrons style of government.

Lets throw technocrats to the trash bin, he said. Working conditions are not good enough to work longer, whether it is in a bakery, in a factory or just clicking on a mouse all day.

It remains to be seen if this marks a turning point in what has been a months-long wave of protests. The strikes had waned in recent weeks but could galvanize on the back of brewing resentment against the imperial image of Macron, who at one time compared himself to Jupiter, the king of Roman gods.

The sticking point is that he availed himself of a constitutional provision to pass the pension reform without a full parliament vote.

Macron says raising the pension age is vital to boost employment rates and halt the build-up of deficits in the massive public retirement system as the population ages. Unions say changing the age thresholds to claim a full pension will damage the least well-off and that there are other options to balance the system, including higher taxes on business and the wealthy.

Some 60% of French voters support the call to demonstrate on May 1, with backing especially strong among those who say theyre close to left-wing parties and the far-right movement of Marine Le Pens National Rally party, according to an Ifop poll for Sud radio.

In recent days Macron has sought to convey a conciliatory tone, acknowledging people havent accepted the retirement age hike.

He traveled outside Paris to talk about health care and education, but in most trips hes been met by demonstrations including people banging those revolutionary saucepans.

Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported on Sunday that some ministers have stopped communicating planned events on their agendas to avoid aggressive crowds.

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Alfredo Freddy Ramirez III, Miami-Dade Countys police director and a Democrat, announced Monday he will run for sheriff in 2024 in a bid to retain his role as the countys top law enforcement official.

His candidacy gives Mayor Daniella Levine Cava the chance to turn over the county police department to a top deputy in her administration and for the Democratic Party to have a high-profile law enforcement administrator and former Republican as a candidate for an elected position that hasnt existed in Miami-Dade for decades.

Im running for Miami-Dade County sheriff because keeping our neighborhoods safe and having the trust of our community is deeply personal for me, Ramirez said in a statement. As a husband and father, making sure our streets are safe has been my lifes mission  so our seniors, children, and all families know they have trusted law enforcement looking out for them.

READ MORE: Miami-Dades police director left the GOP and became a Democrat. Is sheriff run next?

Ramirez, 52, was named county police director in 2020 under Levine Cavas Republican predecessor, Carlos Gimenez. At the time, Ramirez was a Republican too. He was promoted by Levine Cava, a Democrat, in 2022 to oversee both the police department as director and fire rescue as interim chief of public safety. Levine Cava later made the appointment permanent.

He joined the county police department in 1995 and worked his way up from patrol duty to deputy director before assuming the top job.

Miami-Dade is the only Florida county where the elected mayor also holds the powers of sheriff, an independently elected position everywhere else in the state.

A constitutional amendment Florida voters approved in 2018 changes that, mandating Miami-Dade elect a sheriff, along with an independent elections supervisor and tax collector  two other positions with powers currently held by Levine Cava.

The voters of what was then called Dade County eliminated the post of sheriff in the 1960s after a string of corruption scandals.

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Under state rules, the positions must be elected in partisan contests, meaning Ramirez would need to win the August Democratic primary and then face the Republican nominee in November.

Two other candidates have filed for the 2024 sheriff race: Republican Ruamen Delarua, a Miami police officer; and Democrat Rickey Mitchell, a retired Miami-Dade police officer.

Levine Cava is running for her second term next year but in a non-partisan contest that would be decided in August if a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.

She has fought to retain most of her current law enforcement authority, with county commissioners last year backing her plan for most of the Miami-Dade police department to remain under the mayors control. Under that plan, the new sheriff would be limited to the duties spelled out under Florida law, such as serving warrants and eviction papers.

The Florida Sheriff Association objected and sued, calling the plan an unconstitutional effort to weaken the office of sheriff. The Legislature is lining up against the plan, too. A bill that passed the House of Representatives last week and the Senate on Monday strips Miami-Dades county government of its police department and transfer it to the new sheriff.

Ramirez has tapped Christian Ulvert to run his campaign. Ulvert is also Levine Cavas 2024 campaign manager after running her successful mayoral bid in 2020.

Ramirez had already confirmed his interest in running for sheriff, which would be his first elected office. He left the GOP for the Independent Party in early 2022. He switched his partisan registration from Independent to Democrat in January as he prepared a run.

In a video in English and Spanish, Ramirez highlighted his long career in Miami-Dades police department. In an interview, the Miami Sunset Senior High graduate said he had no plans to leave his county post while campaigning and planned to run as a familiar face from Miami-Dade law enforcement.

Im going to continue doing what Im doing. Im Freddy, he said. Thats how this community knows me. Thats how Im going to run.
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When I talked to teens for my book iGen in 2015 and 2016, most were skeptical about transgender identities. Theyre just confused, said one. Another said, They werent born that way. I feel like theyre denying their previous existence. Theyre not true to themselves and I kind of dont like it.

Those beliefs, it turns out, were so mid-2010s. In a 2019 poll, two-thirds of U.S. young adults said they had become increasingly supportive of transgender rights over the last five years. Todays teens not only support transgender rights, but arrive home from school excited when one of their friends comes out as trans.

But how much have things really changed? When I started writing a new book about generational differences (Generations), I knew it would be important to revisit Gen Zs views around gender, including nonbinary and transgender identities.

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Samuel Rae Bernstein (b. 2002), then a 15-year-old California high school student, gave a TEDx talk in 2018 titled Transgender Is Not a Scary Word. He described growing up as a girl, and thinking he was not allowed to be anything else. By 13 he was so unhappy with his body he started cutting himself. Then he read about being transgender online, realized who he was, and began to feel whole again. Transgender should not be a scary word. No identity should ever be scary, or weird, or shameful, he said. We need to focus less on what makes us different and more on what makes us the same.

For Gen Z (those born 1995-2012), the whole concept of gender is more fluid. Not only can people be transgender, identifying with a gender different from their sex assigned at birth, but they can identify as neither male nor female (often called nonbinary, sometimes shortened to enby, the phonetic of N.B.; theres also gender fluid, gender queer, demiboy, demigirl, and many other terms describing self-definitions of gender). Gen Z speaks a whole language of gender often barely understood by their Gen X and even Millennial parentsor by most people just a few short years ago. Theres cisgender (or cis, someone whose gender identity is congruent with their sex assigned at birthwhos not transgender). Theres AMAB (assigned male at birth) and AFAB (assigned female at birth), terms meant to express that sex is assigned by others. Theres also agender (someone who doesnt identify with having a gender at all). This rainbow of identities is why Gen Z thinks it is important to state your pronouns (for example, she/her, he/him, they/ them), as it may not be obvious which set(s) someone prefers. And if everyone states their pronouns, that makes it easier for non-cis people or friends to then say their pronouns without having to be the first to say it, a young woman told the authors of Gen Z, Explained.

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In late 2020 and early 2021, Gen Z was the only U.S. generation in which a majority believed there are more than two genders. As recently as the first half of 2020, this was a minority opinion even among Gen Zersa remarkable amount of change over just six months. In contrast, there was only a small uptick in this belief among older generations.



Notes: Figure shows percent who disagree with the statement There are only two genders, male and female. Late 2019 data were collected July 18 to December 26; early 2020 data were collected January 2 to June 25; late 2020early 2021 data were collected July 2, 2020 to January 12, 2021.

Audrey Mason-Hyde (b. 2005) was assigned female at birth but likes wearing bow ties and other clothing typically associated with men (in interviews, Audrey has said she/her pronouns are fine, though she doesnt like to be referred to as a girl or a boy). For a while, Audrey identified as a tomboy, but didnt feel that captured who she really was. At 12, Audrey gave a TED talk about being nonbinary. For me, gender is a spectrum. My gender identity and expression is entirely about me, and not about how other people perceive me. I dont know how we deal with that in a world so desperate to define by gender, she said. In a later interview, she shared, Now, being nonbinary, I feel so comfortable to just be that, and so uncomfortable to be a girl or a boyits just not who I am.

Until recently, it was unclear just how common being transgender or nonbinary was, and whether there were any generational differences in the number who identified this way. With most estimates suggesting transgender people were less than 1% of the population, a large sample is necessary to get accurate numbers.

That type of data is finally available. Starting in June 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau offered four options on its Household Pulse Survey question about gender: male, female, transgender, and none of these, the last a rough gauge of those who identify as nonbinary, gender fluid, or another gender identity. With more than a million respondents, the survey is large enough to provide accurate estimates.

The results are clear: Gen Z young adults are much more likely to report identifying as either trans or nonbinary than other generations. While only 1 out of 1,000 Boomers report they are transgender (one-tenth of 1%), 23 out of 1,000 Gen Z young adults (2.30%) identify as trans20 times more. By this estimate, there are now more trans young adults in the U.S. than the number of people living in Boston.

Fewer than 1% of Boomers identify as non-binary, compared to more than 3% of Gen Z young adults. Combined with the more than 2% who are trans, that means 1 out of 18 young adults identified as something other than male or female in 2021 and 2022. With 39 million 18- to 26-year-olds in the U.S., about 2 million young adults identified as trans or nonbinarymore than the population of Phoenix, the fifth-largest city in the country.



Notes: Data collected between July 21, 2021 and October 17, 2022. Based on 1,050,222 respondents

Theres another key difference among the generations when it comes to transgender or nonbinary identity. Most Boomer and Gen X people who identify as transgender were assigned male at birth. Among Gen Z, however, most transgender people were instead assigned female at birth.

The same generational shift toward those assigned female at birth appears among nonbinary people. Boomer, Gen X, and Millennial nonbinary adults were about equally likely to have been assigned male or female at birth, but among Gen Z young adults, two-thirds of non-binary people were assigned female at birth. Thus, the largest generational differences in identifying as either trans or nonbinary appear among those assigned female at birth.

Is this anything new, or are young people just more fluid with gender identity than older people? The Household Pulse survey was done over a short period of time, in 20212022, so it is possible that the differences in transgender and nonbinary identification could be due to age in- stead of generation. Perhaps young adults five to seven years before (when this age group was more Millennial than Gen Z) were also identifying as trans or nonbinary at similar rates.



Notes: Data collected between July 21, 2021, and October 17, 2022. Terms are from the BRFSS survey, though they are increasingly considered outdated and are replaced with transgender women and transgender men, respectively.



To figure out whether the difference is due to age or generation, we need a survey that asked about gender identity for several years, ideally including a very large number of people. Beginning in 2014, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, administered by the CDC, asked about 200,000 Ameri- can adults every year (1.7 million total) whether they were transgender, and I analyzed that data with my co-authors Brooke Wells of Widener University and Nic Rider of the University of Minnesota.

The changes are striking. The number of young adults reporting they identified as transgender quadrupled between 2014 and 2021, while the number of transgender people in older age groups stayed about the same. Transgender identification was virtually identical across age groups in 2014, but by 2021 four times more young adults than older adults identified as transgender.

So as 18- to 26-year-olds shifted from Millennials to Gen Z, the number who identified as trans skyrocketed. The population of transgender young adults in the U.S. grew from about 220,000 in 2014 to about 900,000 in 2021, an increase of 680,000 people. In seven years, the number of young adults identifying as transgender increased by the size of the population of Las Vegas. This is a true generational shift, and not just about being young.



Notes: The question asks, Do you consider yourself to be transgender? with options of yes and no. Dont know/not sure and refused considered missing data. Age groups derived from the ages of each generation in 2021 (for example, Gen Z adults were 18 to 26 in 2021).

The sharp increase in transgender identification from 2020 to 2021 suggests the change is accelerating. The Household Pulse Survey confirms this: Among young adults born in the 2000s, identifying as transgender jumped 48% between late 2021 and late 2022, and identifying as nonbinary leapt 60%in one year. By late 2022, with more than 3% identifying as transgender and nearly 5% identifying as nonbinary, 8% of 18- to 22-year-olds (1 in 13) were either transgender or nonbinary.

The increase in young adults identifying as transgender between 2014 and 2021 occurred almost exclusively among gender nonconforming people and those assigned female at birth, with little consistent change among those assigned male at birth. The number of gender nonconforming people increased by a factor of 10 since 2014, and the ranks of trans men more than quadrupled, with an acceleration between 2020 and 2021. As recently as 2016, there were more trans women than trans men among young adults, but in 2021 there were twice as many trans men as trans women. That is all the more striking because discussions of transgender identity in medicine and popular culture historically focused much more on trans women, from Christine Jorgensen in the 1950s to Caitlyn Jenner in the 2010s. Now the more common experience is going from female to male, like actor Elliot Page (b. 1987), who came out as a trans man in 2020. Despite feeling profoundly happy right now . . . I am also scared, he wrote. Im scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the jokes and of violence.



Notes: If respondents identified as transgender, they were also asked, Do you consider yourself to be male-to-female, female-to-male, or gender non-conforming? Although these are the terms used in the survey, male-to-female and female-to-male are increasingly considered outdated and are replaced with transgender women and transgender men, respectively.

If these generational differences are real, they should be reflected in behaviorsand they are. Several studies have reported increases in the number of people coming to transgender medical clinics. For example, an article in Pediatrics reported that the number of youth seeking treatment at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California pediatric transgender clinic increased from 30 in the first half of 2015 to 154 in the first half of 2018an increase of five times in just three years. Over these years, 3 out of 4 patients were assigned female at birthalso consistent with the survey data.



Why is Gen Z, particularly those assigned female at birth, more likely to identify as transgender? There are no clear answers, only theories. It could be that Gen Z young adults are more likely to know the term transgender than older generations, but youd expect that older people who identify as a gender different from that on their birth certificate would know the term, even if cisgender older people didnt.

Perhaps the increasing societal acceptance of transgender identities has allowed more people to come out as transgender. If growing acceptance were the only factor, though, the number of transgender people should have increased among older generations as wellbut it didnt. Its possible that a sizable number of older people feel trans but do not want to come out when they have built an entire life around their sex assigned at birth. However, it would take a very large number of trans people 27 and older who are unable or unwilling to make such a change to explain the huge generational difference.

In addition, several older transgender people have been highly visible, which at least in theory might have encouraged older people to come out as transgender. Laverne Cox (b. 1972), known for her acting work in Orange Is the New Black, had just turned 42 in 2014 when she appeared on the cover of Time for the story The Transgender Tipping Point: Americas Next Civil Rights Frontier. Caitlyn Jenner (b. 1949), whose transition in 2015 is often identified as a catalyst for more awareness and acceptance of transgender individuals, is a Boomer who did not transition until she was 65 years old. Greater acceptance also doesnt explain why the change is so much larger among trans men and gender-nonconforming people than among trans women. One would think greater acceptance would increase all types of transgender identity, not just some.

Some have theorized that the increase in trans identification is mostlyor even exclusivelyoccurring in liberal, big-city, blue-state areas. The data tell a different story: Trans identification increased nearly as much in 20142021 among young adults in red states like Ohio, Wyoming, and Texas as it did in blue states like California, New York, and Oregon.

Rural vs. urban location also didnt make much difference. In the 2021 2022 Household Pulse Survey, the percentage of trans Gen Zers was about the same in rural areas (2.2%) as in urban/suburban areas (1.9%). There was also no difference in the percentage of transgender young adults in liberal big cities (like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco) versus the rest of the country.

Thus the rise in trans identification seems to be national rather than regional, killing off yet another theory.



Notes: Red states are those whose electoral votes were awarded to Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and blue states are those whose electoral votes were awarded to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

No matter what the cause, its clear that the culture around gender has shifted, and Gen Z is at the forefront of that change.

Gen Z is also leading political activism around transgender rights. In 2021, 16-year-old Stella Keating became the first transgender teen to tes- tify before the U.S. Senate. She spoke in support of the Equality Act, which proposes to bar discrimination based on gender identity. My name is Stella Keating and my pronouns are she/her, she began. Its the honor of my lifetime to be here. She went on to note the challenges she faces given the patchwork of laws in different states. As a high school sophomore, Im starting to look at colleges, she said. And all I can think about is this: Less than half of the states in our country provide equal protection for me under the law. What happens if I want to attend college in a state that doesnt protect me? Right now, I could be denied medical care or be evicted for simply being transgender in many states. How is that even right? How is that even American? She sees Gen Z as the generation that will fight for transgender people. My generation is creating a country where everyone belongs, she said. Every young person . . . regardless of who they are or who they love, should be able to be excited about their future.

What will these changes around gender identity mean going forward? It has become common to cite the statistic that only a half of 1% of people are transgender. Although that is true for older adults, it is no longer true among 18- to 22-year-olds in the U.S., where 3%six times as manyidentify as transgender, and nearly 5% identify as nonbinary. The last few years have seen increasingly contentious debate around transgender rights, and these numbers suggest that the topic is unlikely to fade in importance. In particular, the large generational difference in gender identity suggests an intensifying need for empathy, understanding, and communication across the generations in the years to come.

Jean M. Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silentsand What They Mean for Americas Future, from which this essay is adapted.
Supreme Court Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

U.S. Supreme Court justices can legally only earn outside income from certain sources, primarily writing books, investments, and teaching. George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School has made a deliberate effort to hire conservative justices as teachers  and "strategic assets" it its campaign to make Scalia Law "a Yale or Harvard of conservative legal scholarship and influence," The New York Times reports, citing internal records it obtained through freedom of information requests and other documents.

George Mason, a public university in northern Virginia, established its law school in the late 1970s, and it always had a conservative bent, the Times reports. But it jump-started its campaign to become a central cog in the conservative judicial ecosystem when it changed its name after Scalia's death in 2016. The rebranding was "the result of a $30 million gift brokered by Leonard Leo, prime architect of a grand project then gathering force to transform the federal judiciary and further the legal imperatives of the right," the Times notes.

Internal documents show that the law school considered "building a strong relationship" with Scalia's replacement, Justice Neil Gorsuch, "a game-changing opportunity." Gorsuch was invited to help pick the Italian city where he would teach a two-week seminar during the summer of 2017  they chose Padua  and by the winter of 2019, Justices Clarance Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh were also on Scalia Law faculty, the Times reports. Kavanaugh was flown to England for his teaching job. Thomas teaches at the Virginia campus.

"For teaching summer courses that generally ran for up to two weeks, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh each made salaries that approached the legal cap on certain outside income, roughly $30,000 in recent years," the Times reports. The university covered at least travel and housing for the justices and their families. "Some of this sounds like all-expenses-paid vacations, with a little teaching thrown in," Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in legal ethics, tells the Times.

Story continues

Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Thomas also regularly used Supreme Court employees to prepare for their outside teaching, violating an advisory the justices say they voluntarily comply with, the Times reports. And a number of their co-professors have filed amicus briefs that the justices sometimes cite in oral arguments or opinions. Read more about this peek behind the Supreme Court's tightly drawn curtains at The New York Times.

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Its finally May in Georgia, which means sunshine, grilling out and the end of school for many residents.

However, it also means an open burn ban.

The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) issued a burn ban for more than 50 Georgia counties and it will be in effect from May 1 through Sept. 30.

What is a burn ban?

A burn ban prohibits people and businesses from burning yard debris, land-clearing debris and garbage during the summer ozone, which runs May 1 to the end of September. During the summer months, Georgia begins to heat up fast and air can reach unhealthy levels; burning can increase these unhealthy levels if it is done too frequently.

What can you do and not do?

Burn bans prohibit the burning of debris and trash.

Campfires, recreational use and grilling outside are still fine.

Is the burn ban really necessary?

Burn bans not only protect the atmosphere, but they also protect people with certain conditions.

Small particles are released into the atmosphere during open burning. In addition, other air pollutants are released that can form ground-level ozone in the summertime. Particulate pollution can cause chronic heart diseases and ground-level ozone can cause inflammation of the lungs, especially in children and people with asthma, said James Boylan, Chief of the EPD Air Protection Branch.

What happens if I burn during the burn ban?

Burning an open fire during the burn ban could result in fines from EPD.

Counties included and contact information for the corresponding EPD office are below:

Mountain District Office (Atlanta): 404-362-2671; Carroll, Clayton, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Rockdale and Spalding counties.

Northeast District Office (Athens): 706-369-6376; Banks, Barrow, Butts, Clarke, Hall, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Putnam and Walton counties.

East Central District Office (Augusta): 706-667-4343; Columbia and Richmond counties.

West Central District Office (Macon): 478-751-6612; Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Jones, Lamar, Monroe, Peach, Pike, Twiggs, Upson, Meriwether and Troup counties.
A two-state crime spree came to a violent end when a Florida robbery suspect crashed into a Georgia convenience store and was shot eight times by the clerk, according to the Flagler County Sheriffs Office.

Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan, 32, survived the gunshots but remains in critical condition at a hospital, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

Jordan is suspected in a series of crimes that began around 3:30 a.m. Friday, April 28, with the robbery of a Circle K store in Palm Coast, 60 miles south of Jacksonville, officials said.

A car chase began and continued north along Interstate 95 across Flagler, St. Johns, Duval and Nassau counties before Georgia officers took over at the state line.

The crime spree began around 3:30 a.m. April 28 with the robbery of a Circle K gas station in Palm Coast, officials said.

About 96 miles and 50 minutes later, police in Kingsland, Georgia, managed to puncture the cars tires, officials said.

The suspect fled on foot ... then entered a nearby convenience store, brandished a firearm, and demanded the clerks car keys, Flagler County police said.

The suspect then took the clerks vehicle and started to flee but then crashed the vehicle through the front of the convenience store. The suspect then exited the vehicle and chased the clerk and a customer through the store and a struggle ensued. The clerk, who was now armed, shot the suspect approximately 8 times.

Kingsland police say Jordan first robbed the Friendly Express store clerk at gunpoint before taking the clerks car. The crash that followed was not an accident, officials said.

Jordan drove off but returned, ramming the vehicle into the stores entrance, Kingsland police said in a news release.

Flagler County investigators later learned Jordan was a fugitive wanted on an armed robbery charge in Coffee County, Georgia. Jordan lives in the Coffee County community of Douglas, Kingsland police said.

At this time, it is unknown why the suspect was in Flagler County, police said.

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General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra took home slightly less money last year than she did in 2021, largely because her bonus shrank. But she still remains the highest paid CEO of the Detroit Three automakers.

GM's CFO Paul Jacobson and President Mark Reuss both saw a hike in total compensation due in part to receiving more stock options. But other top brass came in either flat against or slightly below their 2021 total compensation.

All the executives earned smaller bonus payments due to increased aggressive financial targets set by the board of directors at the end of 2021. GM spokeswoman Colleen Oberc said the executives hit their targets, but because the targets were so much higher, the percentage difference between the yearly results shrank, so the bonus payouts were smaller.

GM CEO Mary Barra outlines GM's future for investors during a virtual presentation at GM Investor Day in New York City on Nov. 17, 2022.

In its annual executive compensation report that GM filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, GM reported that Barra made a total of $28,979,570 in 2022 compared with $29,136,780 million in 2021 for running the company and chairing the board of directors. For 2020, Barra took home $23.7 million in total compensation and $21.6 million in 2019

How Barra compares to other CEOs, average Joe

In GM's filing, the automaker lists Barra's 2021 base salary as $2.1 million, flat when compared with 2021. This is the third consecutive year Barra topped her crosstown rivals.

At Ford Motor Co., CEO Jim Farley received total compensation of $21 million last year, according to filings with the government last month. Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands, reported in February that its CEO Carlos Tavares had total compensation of $24.8 million (23.5 million euros) in 2022.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra, seated to the right of Ford CEO Jim Farley, listens during an event on clean cars and trucks, on the South Lawn of the White House Aug. 5, 2021.

But none of the CEOs topped what Stellantis paid last year to Mike Manley, the former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, as part of an agreement inked before the merger with Peugeot maker PSA Group, which created Stellantis in 2021. According to the annual SEC filing, Manley, who retired as Stellantis' head of Americas in November 2021 to become CEO of AutoNation, was paid $54.1 million (51.2 million euros).

Story continues

Meanwhile, the ratio of Barra's total compensation to the median of all GM employees' total compensation is 362 to 1. The median pay for GM's global employees in 2022 was $80,034, according to GM, up from $69,433 a year before.

What the company pays Barra

$2.1 million in salary

$14.6 million in stock awards

$4.9 million in option awards

Nearly $6.3 million in incentive plan compensation

$1.1 million in other payments

How other executive leaders did

GM President Mark Reuss speaks at the Mackinac Policy Conference Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 about GM's EV plans and the importance of vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In GM's filing, it also listed the 2022 total compensation of other key GM officers:

President Mark Reuss : $14,349,551, up from $12,535,747 in 2021.

CFO Paul Jacobson : $10,235,938, up from $9,578,648 in 2021.

President of North America Steve Carlisle : $8,794,966 down from $8,980,204 in 2021.

Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain Doug Parks: $8,779,236 down from $8,835,477 in 2021.

More: GM CEO Mary Barra's rare, behind-the-scenes interview: Who she relies on in 'lonely job'

More: GM looks to put government decoding expert on its board of directors

Contact Jamie L. LaReau at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM CEO Mary Barra's 2022 compensation revealed
Geoffrey Hinton, whom many call the Godfather of AI, slammed the New York Times following a profile that allegedly misinterpreted his decision to leave Google as one borne of anger for the firms disregard for the potential dangers the technology poses to humanity.

In the NYT today, Cade Metz implies that I left Google so that I could criticize Google. Actually, I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google. Google has acted very responsibly, Hinton tweeted on Monday morning.

In the NYT today, Cade Metz implies that I left Google so that I could criticize Google. Actually, I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google. Google has acted very responsibly.  Geoffrey Hinton (@geoffreyhinton) May 1, 2023

The article, which has remained on the Times homepage throughout Monday, framed Hintons decision to leave Google as an ethical necessity. On Monday, Metz writes, Hinton officially joined a growing chorus of critics who say those companies are racing toward danger with their aggressive campaign to create products based on generative artificial intelligence, the technology that powers popular chatbots like ChatGPT.

Dr. Hinton said he has quit his job at Google, where he has worked for more than [a] decade and became one of the most respected voices in the field, so he can freely speak out about the risks of A.I. A part of him, he said, now regrets his lifes work, Metz added.

Google released a statement reaffirming the companys commitment to an ethical approach to AI. We remain committed to a responsible approach to A.I. Were continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly, Googles chief scientist Jeff Dean told the Times. The firm acquired the company, DNNresearch Inc., that Hinton and two graduate students from the University of Toronto created for $44 million in 2012.

Story continues

The article comes just weeks after Elon Musks accused the tech giant of similarly ignoring the threat of AI.

Google and DeepMind together had about three-quarters of all the AI talent in the world. They obviously had a tremendous amount of money and more computers than anyone else. So Im like were in a unipolar world where theres just one company that has close to a monopoly on AI talent and computers, Musk told Tucker Carlson on Fox News. And the person in charge doesnt seem to care about safety. This is not good.

Musk singled out Google co-founder, Larry Page, for being responsible for the companys policy on AI. Hes made many public statements over the years that the whole goal of Google is whats called AGI artificial general intelligence or artificial super intelligence, Musk said.

Some influencers in the technology and AI space have downplayed the article, insisting that Metzs treatment was not misleading.

I read and interpreted Care Metz NY Times article the way you meant: you left Google to speak more freely about AI and its potential dangers, and at no point, I felt you criticised Google. For what its worth, Spiros Margaris, a venture capitalist, responded to Hinton.

The comment prompted Hinton to clarify: Maybe I over-reacted. When I read it I thought it could easily be interpreted as implying that I left so that I could criticize Google and that is certainly not the case.

Geoffrey Hinton, an AI pioneer, quit his job at Google, where he has worked for more than decade, so he can freely speak out about the risks posed by AI. It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things, he said. https://t.co/DJ9m6ilgvi pic.twitter.com/ZwtCMEQGrb  The New York Times (@nytimes) May 1, 2023

Hinton further defended the Times after another user denounced the outlet as garbage. NYT is definitely not garbage. It has great reporters. I was just correcting a nuance, the technologist concluded.

The AI researcher has been a leading critic of the uncritical embrace of AI, often warning of the technologies shortcomings. Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now, Hinton told the Times. Take the difference and propagate it forwards. Thats scary.

It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things, he added.

Metz has yet to officially address the criticism publicly.

More from National Review
REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Google celebrated the career of Alan Rickman with a doodle featuring the beloved actor.

Rickman, known for his roles in "Harry Potter," "Die Hard," and "Galaxy Quest" died in 2016.

On this day in 1987, Rickman launched his career in a Broadway performance of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses."

Today's Google Doodle celebrates the iconic actor Alan Rickman  but not for his infamous role as Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

Instead, seven years after the tragic passing of the beloved actor, the daily homepage doodle focuses on the anniversary of one of Rickman's lesser-known roles: his 1987 performance of anti-hero Vicomte de Valmont in the Broadway play "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," which was instrumental in launching his career.

Rickman originated the role in 1985 with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but the Broadway performance debuted on this day 36 years ago. The production ran for 149 shows, earning the writer Christopher Hampton a Tony nomination for Best Show and the director Howard Davies a Tony win for Best Direction.

He may not have been nominated for his acting in that particular role but from there, Rickman's career launched into the stratosphere after he accepted the villainous role of Hans Gruber in the 1988 film "Die Hard," which was followed by a series of antagonistic characters and leading roles in "Galaxy Quest" and "Sense and Sensibility" before he accepted a role as Snape in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 2001.

"Over the course of his career, Rickman received numerous acting nominations and awards and even directed three plays and two films," according to the Google Doodle. "He's remembered for his iconic roles on-screen, his philanthropy, and his kind and sensitive nature off-screen."

Read the original article on Insider
MADISON - Wisconsin children with accounts on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok would be barred from using the apps after 10 p.m. and need parental permission to create accounts under a new bill released Monday.

Republican Rep. David Steffen of Green Bay is seeking support for a proposal that would require social media companies to adhere to new rules for Wisconsin users under the age of 18, including a requirement to verify account holders' ages.

Steffen said in a memo to lawmakers the proposal is aimed at curbing use of social media among young Wisconsinites to prevent harmful mental health effects of such exposure.

"The evidence is clear  social media companies benefit from unrestricted access to our children and it comes at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our kids. Whats more, both children and parents want more to be done to regulate this unfettered online environment."

Under the bill, parents could access their child's social media accounts and also could opt out of the bill's requirements. Social media companies would also be required to obtain parental permission and perform age verification within 21 days of the creation of an account or from when the account was last accessed under the bill.

If social media companies did not adhere to these rules, it could be fined $100 per day.

Lawmakers across the country have been pushing to limit childrens access to social media. Nearly half of states nationwide have recently banned the popular video-sharing app TikTok from state-owned devices, in many instances with bipartisan support. Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers banned the app in January.

Steffen announced his plans last month to propose more precautions for all social media platforms.

Steffen said in a statement that he modeled the measure after a law Utah lawmakers passed in March. Questions have arisen about whether and how that law will be enforced, and its likely to face legal challenges. Arkansas lawmakers also passed a bill last month modeled after the Utah legislation that will offer another test of the enforceability of social media limits for kids.

Story continues

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin GOP lawmaker's bill seeks curfew on social media use by kids
Saying "it's time to take the final step," Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will formally jump into the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race.

Scott said Sunday at a political event in Charleston, South Carolina, that hell make a "major" 2024 announcement on May 22. That announcement, in North Charleston, South Carolina, is expected to be Scotts formal declaration of candidacy and launch of his White House campaign.

"Tell your friends. Be in attendance," Scott said. "We will have a major announcement, and youre going to want to be there."

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, kicked off a "Faith in America" listening tour in February. That tour has taken the senator twice the past couple of months to Iowa  the state that leads off the GOP presidential nominating calendar  and once to New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second in the Republican schedule. The senator has also held campaign style events in his home state of South Carolina, which holds the third contest in the GOP primary and caucus lineup.

FIRST ON FOX: TIM SCOTT ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE

Earlier this month, Scott launched a presidential exploratory committee. Saying that he will "never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional," Scott announced his exploratory committee in a video that was first reported by Fox News.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Scott has been offering voters what he calls an "optimistic, positive message anchored in conservativism" as he spotlights this modest upbringing, noting that he "was raised by a single mother in poverty."

The senator has showcased that "individual responsibility leads to the American dream. Ive been on both sides of the tracks and I am so thankful that my story  which is a rare story around the world  isnt so rare in America. Made in America is a story of those who start in one place and end up in a much better place."

Story continues

Asked by Fox News last weekend during a stop in Iowa about the reception he was receiving from voters, Scott said "so far, so good. I am excited about where we. I am excited about the response to the message."

SCOTT, PENCE, SPOTLIGHT THEIR DIFFERENCES WITH TRUMP AS THEY MOVE CLOSER TO LAUNCHING 2024 BIDS

Scott, who cruised to re-election last November to what he has said will be his final six-year term in the Senate, is expected to court evangelical Christian voters, who play an outsized role in GOP politics in Iowa and his home state.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina addresses the audience at a gathering of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, on April 22, 2023, in Clive, Iowa

Hell join a GOP White House field that includes former President Donald Trump, who announced his third straight presidential run in November and remains the clear front-runner in the Republican nomination race.

Scott will also face serious competition from Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former two-term South Carolina governor who launched a 2024 presidential campaign two months ago. Haley, whos spending plenty of time on the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Scott share many of the same allies and donors.

Former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched a Republican presidential campaign last week. Among the other candidates in the race are multi-millionaire entrepreneur, best-selling author and conservative commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced his bid in February, Michigan businessman and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson, who launched his campaign last month, and conservative radio talk show host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, who declared his candidacy a week and a half ago.

WHO'S IN AND WHO'S ON THE SIDELINES  YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remains on the 2024 sidelines but is expected to launch a presidential campaign after the conclusion next month of his states legislative session. And former Vice President Mike Pence, whos made numerous trips the past two years to the early voting states as he moves towards launching a presidential campaign, said recently that hell have a 2024 decision in weeks.

Asked last weekend if his message is receptive to Republican primary voters or if theyre hungering for a fighter, Scott told Fox News "I think people want a fighter and thats good, but we also want to win, and thats better.The real question is how do we do that? And one of the ways we do that is make sure that our message is in synch with what voters want and what the nation needs."

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on April 27, 2023, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Trump, who is currently dealing with a growing number of legal cases against him, is the Republican front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Scotts comments appeared to be a swipe at Trump, who continues to relitigate his 2020 election loss to President Biden as he repeats his unproven claims that his defeat was due to an election "stolen" through "massive voter fraud." The former presidents listing of his legal grievances has also become a campaign staple, and at a rally last month in Texas Trump stressed that "for those who have been wronged and betrayed I am your retribution."

Scott, taking aim at Trump without mentioning the former presidents name, told reporters that "I believe that our nation has a decision to make  are we going to be the country that focuses on grievance or are we going to be the county that allows the seeds of greatness to germinate. Im voting for germination, greatness."

While Scott doesnt have the same national standing with conservatives that Trump and DeSantis enjoy, hes known as a ferocious fundraiser who had roughly $22 million in his campaign coffers at the end of March, which could be transferred to a presidential campaign. The fundraising war chest could give Scott a head start over some of his potential rivals.
Jennifer Michalke with her husband and two daughters. Courtesy of Jennifer Michalke

Jennifer Michalke is 51 years old and has two toddlers.

She used donor eggs to conceive both her daughters.

People assumed she wouldn't have children because she married at 45.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jennifer Michalke. It has been edited for length and clarity.

During my 20s, I was going out and having fun. When I hit my 30s, I knew I wanted a family but didn't have a partner, so I focused on my work as a nurse, first in obstetrics and then at New York University's fertility clinic. By the time I met my husband and married at 45, most people assumed I wouldn't have children.

Still, I wanted to have a family. Because of my professional background, I knew it was a possibility. The first step was to convince my husband. He has two grown children, one biological and one adopted. He'd long ago had a vasectomy and wasn't sure he wanted to start over again.

The day he said he was willing to talk to a doctor about a reversal, I booked an appointment immediately. We talked to a fertility specialist at NYU, where I used to work. It was far from our home in Vermont, but I knew firsthand that the clinic provided top-notch care. I figured I would have one child, and I wanted the best odds.

I used donor eggs to have my daughters

In my late 40s, I knew I couldn't get pregnant using my own eggs, but I was comfortable with donor eggs. I grew up proud of my Irish heritage, so I chose a donor who shared that. The process had some silver linings. My family has many health concerns, including mental illness, diabetes, and kidney disease. Using donor eggs, I could avoid those and give my children a better chance at characteristics I wish I had, like taller stature and blue eyes.

It took three donors and three rounds of in vitro fertilization to get pregnant. During that time, we heard many opinions. People asked why we didn't adopt  it's not that easy, plus I wanted to be pregnant and raise an infant. Others said I was selfish for having a child later in life because we might not be around long enough for our kid, but when is tomorrow ever guaranteed?

Story continues

Throughout it, I knew that my husband and I were making the right choice for our family.

My first pregnancy, at 48, was very complicated

My pregnancy with Sadie, who is now 3, was very difficult. Some of it was age-related, and some of it wasn't. I had a subchorionic hemorrhage, or bleeding behind the placenta. It's more common in people who have undergone IVF, regardless of age. I bled heavily at six weeks and every day between 14 and 19 weeks. Doctors said there was nothing we could do except see if the pregnancy stuck. I was terrified.

The complications continued. I developed gestational diabetes, which becomes more common with age. I had a three-day induction and then needed a cesarean; both long inductions and C-sections are more common in moms over 40.

Every time I went to the doctor, I saw the words "geriatric mother" stamped across the top of my file. I wished they could use something a bit kinder, even if it was "advanced maternal age."

In public, I got some strange looks. Yet a lot of my pregnancy was normal.

My pregnancy at 50 was much easier

When Sadie was 1, we got a letter from our fertility clinic asking whether we wanted to pay the annual fee to store our five remaining embryos. I didn't want to pay, but I just couldn't bring myself to let them be discarded.

Age played a role in our decision to have a second child together. Sadie will have aging parents at a relatively young age. I didn't want her to have to deal with that alone.

My husband agreed to one last IVF cycle. That was fine because the NYU clinic also had a policy of not implanting embryos in people 50 or older. I had enough time for just one cycle before my birthday. Luckily, it took.

My pregnancy with Alice was so different. It was healthy and relaxed. My providers had me come in more often because of my age and my complicated pregnancy with Sadie. I wasn't labeled geriatric, at least that I could see. Throughout, I felt well cared for.

I want others to know it's OK to have kids later

Today, my husband and I are 53 and 51, respectively, while the girls are 3 and 1. Most of our friends are waiting for grandchildren. Sometimes they invite us out, and we have to remind them we still have toddlers.

I've also made a new set of friends who have children the same age. I dye my hair a little more often to hide the grays, but when we're at PTA sales or playgroups, my age isn't a factor. It comes up only if I mention a band or cultural reference that my friends don't know. I could be a mother to some of them, but we're bonded because we share this part of life.

It's important to think about your biological clock, but it's not like an alarm goes off and, all of a sudden, it's too late to have a family. Financially and emotionally, I'm a better parent in my 50s than I would have been in my 20s. True, my body didn't bounce back from pregnancies, and I'll have to work a bit longer before retiring. All of that was worth it for the family I dreamed of.

Read the original article on Insider
Setting the stage for a possible legal battle, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that would allow the death penalty for people who commit sexual battery on children under age 12.

The bill (HB 1297) conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court precedents that have barred death sentences for rapists, including a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

But DeSantis and legislative supporters of the bill have been upfront about challenging the rulings, with DeSantis office saying in a news release Monday that he is prepared to take this law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule judicial precedents which have unjustly shielded child rapists from the death penalty and denied victims and their loved ones the opportunity to pursue ultimate justice against these most heinous criminals.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The Senate last month voted 34-5 to pass the bill, which had earlier been approved 95-14 in the House.

In Florida, we stand for the protection of children, DeSantis said during a bill-signing event Monday in Brevard County. Unfortunately, in our society, we have very heinous sex crimes that are committed against children under the age of 12 years old. These are really the worst of the worst. The perpetrators of these crimes are often serial offenders.

In Florida, we believe its only appropriate that the worst of the worst crimes deserve the worst of the worst punishment. pic.twitter.com/pOg4UYe92m  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 1, 2023

Under the bill, defendants could receive death sentences based on the recommendations of at least eight of 12 jurors. Judges would have the 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.

Story continues

RELATED: Florida lawmaker seeks to make it easier for juries to recommend death sentences

The bill 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.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Florida has put to death 99 inmates.

Governor Rick Scott signed off on the most death warrants at 28.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Dallas, Friday, May 4, 2018. Sue Ogrocki/AP

Authorities are searching for the shooter who killed 5 people in a Cleveland, Texas, home on Friday.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced a reward for information and offered condolences to the victims.

But the governor is getting criticized for identifying the victims as "illegal immigrants."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is getting criticized for identifying the victims of a Friday mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, as "illegal immigrants" in the same statement in which he offered condolences to their loved ones.

On Friday evening, a drunk man shot and killed five people, including an 8-year-old boy, after the neighbors asked the man to stop firing his AR-15-style weapon in the air, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.

Abbott released a statement on Sunday offering a $50,000 reward for information regarding the shooter, who authorities say "could be anywhere" by now. The governor also offered condolences to the families, but not before the statement identified the victims as "illegal immigrants."

Police identified the victims as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the victims' citizenship status.

"Governor Greg Abbott today announced a $50,000 reward for a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) top 10 fugitive who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants in a shooting Friday night in Cleveland, Texas," a statement from Abbott's personal Twitter account said.

Actors, former politicians, and immigration rights organizations quickly denounced Abbott's statement.

"This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong," George Takei, the "Star Trek" actor who lived with his parents in internment camps during World War II, wrote on Twitter.

Story continues

"Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them 'illegal immigrants,'" Julian Castro, the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary, said.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center said Abbott's statement included "dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric."

A San Jacinto County Sheriffs' spokesperson said the agency could not release further information. A spokesperson for Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Monday that he will not be seeking a fourth term.

Inslee was most recently re-elected in 2020. He is only the second Washington state governor to serve three consecutive terms.

Serving the people as governor of Washington state has been my greatest honor. During a decade of dynamic change, weve made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation. Im ready to pass the torch, he said in a news release.

Inslee highlighted some of his achievements since 2013 which included, in part:

Passing climate policies to drive down emissions, such as the states Clean Energy Fund and the Clean Energy Transformation Act to achieve 100% clean power by 2045.

Improving equity across Washingtons legal justice system with more diverse judicial appointments, placing a moratorium on Washingtons death penalty  which was recently affirmed by the State Supreme Court.

Fully funding the states K-12 education system for the first time in a decade.

Strengthening legal protections for abortion providers and patients and expanding access.

Our last decade of Washingtons storied history is one of growth and innovation. I am proud to have played a role in our states leadership on so many fronts. Weve passed the nations best climate policies, the most successful family leave benefits, the best college scholarship programs, a more fair legal justice system, and the most protective actions against gun violence. Weve shown that diversity is a strength worth fighting for. This has been ten years of dynamic success, Inslee said.

Read Inslees full statement at this link.

Thank you @GovInslee for your years of dedicated service to Washington and its residents. From bold action on the climate crisis, championing commonsense gun legislation, and supporting an ever innovative economy, your leadership has helped build a stronger state for us all. https://t.co/fpgEHfd7N8  Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) May 1, 2023








A judge sentenced a Georgia woman who was was high on methamphetamine as a dog attacked and killed her 7-month-old great-granddaughter.

Serenity Garnett died in the attack at a home off Columbia Drive in Martinez, Georgia last year. The Columbia County Sheriffs Office said the babys great-grandmother Migdelia Guadalupe was also injured in the attack.

Deputies later arrested and charged Guadalupe in connection to the babys death after she was released from the hospital.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

On Thursday, WRDW in Augusta reported that Guadalupe received 10 years in prison on contributing to the dependency of a minor charge and another three years for methamphetamine possession charge.

We want to thank everyone for all the prayers and support you have shown us. With great pleasure, I am able to say that justice has been served! Nothing will bring our precious Serenity back, but we are content with knowing the person responsible for this horrific incident will be punished to the full extent. Long live Serenity, the family said in a statement to WRDW.

TRENDING STORIES:

The attack happened on March 22, 2022 at a home where prosecutors said Guadalupe was renting a room. Guadalupe moved from New York to Georgia to help care for Serenity while her parents attended school, WRDW reported.

Instead, investigators said the great-grandmother and another man got high on meth when the American bulldog-Great Pyrenees mix attacked her and the 7-month-old.

At the sentencing hearing Thursday, prosecutors said Guadalupe had a history of drug use in New York. At least six years of Guadalupes sentence will be served in prison.

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IN OTHER NEWS
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is a Democrat from New York. Will Varner/Insider; Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Democrats say Hakeem Jeffries is a better listener and is more consensus-oriented than Pelosi.

He's forged strong bonds with swing-district Democrats who voted against Pelosi's speakership.

But the real test for Jeffries, progressives warn, will come when their party retakes the majority.

Hakeem Jeffries has officially been their new leader for just four months, and House Democrats are still trying to figure out what the future holds for their caucus.

The New York Democrat, who rank-and-file lawmakers have described as a gifted orator, a highly attuned listener, and a dogged consensus builder, is enjoying a period of goodwill following the end of Nancy Pelosi's 20-year tenure as the House Democratic leader.

There's one big reason for it: House Democrats can't pass any of their own bills right now. And interviews with more than a dozen of those lawmakers revealed that the real test for the House Minority Leader will be how he leads the caucus when his party holds the majority again.

"I think it's good that he gets to start out with the minority," said Rep. Scott Peters of California, who arrived in Congress alongside Jeffries in 2012. "There's less pressure. You know you're going to lose every vote."

"Hakeem is still building his alliances here," said Rep. Angie Craig, who represents a Minnesota swing district. "He's figuring out who he wants, around him, to take guidance from."

Perhaps the biggest early coup for Jeffries has been winning over the party's politically vulnerable, intermittently restive "front-line" members  including those who had long had an adversarial relationship with Pelosi, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

"He's always receptive to people's opinions, he will always hear people out," said Spanberger as she described the "significant differences" between Jeffries and Pelosi. "He's encouraged dialogue."

Story continues

But while progressives spoke warmly about their new leader, there's a history of distrust between Jeffries and members of the party's furthest-left flank. And when it's time to elect him to the position of Speaker, progressives are likely to demand hard commitments from him, including on committee assignments and scheduling floor votes on bills regarding Medicare For All and tuition-free public college, in exchange for their votes.

Pelosi and Jeffries on the House floor after she announced she would step down from party leadership on November 17, 2022. Elizabeth Frantz/The Washington Post via Getty Images

"The fact that he didn't have to go through an election, the fact that there was sort of a coronation, I think that he's gonna have to make real concessions to that wing," said one progressive lawmaker who was granted anonymity to speak freely about internal party matters.

Still, don't expect a Kevin McCarthy-level meltdown from his caucus or any of the personal, vitriolic infighting that took place among House Republicans during the first week of this year.

"It won't be 14 ballots, but it won't be easy," the lawmaker added.

Jeffries declined to be interviewed for this article. Pelosi's office did not respond to repeated inquiries.

'He gets it'

Jeffries, 52, has enjoyed a rapid ascent to the top of the Democratic caucus.

Born in Brooklyn to a social worker and a substance-abuse counselor, Jeffries graduated in 1992 from Binghamton University, where he was active in campus politics.

Jeffries speaks during impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump in the Senate chamber on January 23, 2020. Senate Television via Getty Images

He later broke into elected politics in 2006, when he was elected to the New York State Assembly after an unsuccessful attempt six years earlier.

He then ran for and won election to a Brooklyn-based US House district in 2012, and just four years later, he joined party leadership as a co-chair of the party's messaging apparatus.

In 2018, Jeffries was elected as the party's caucus chair, a messaging-centric role that serves as a stepping-stone to the top job. He defeated Rep. Barbara Lee of California  an iconic progressive known for her lone vote against authorizing the use of military force in the wake of 9/11  in a contentious and close election marred by rumors that Lee had backed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's insurgent primary campaign earlier that year.

His chief legislative accomplishment is the First Step Act, a bipartisan package of criminal-justice reforms that former President Donald Trump signed into law in 2018. He then served as an impeachment manager during Trump's first impeachment in 2020, playing a high-profile role that naturally suited his skills as a communicator.

In November, when Pelosi announced that she would step down from leadership, Jeffries immediately announced his bid to succeed her  and faced no opposition. He was formally elected to the job as House Democratic Leader just two weeks later, becoming the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.

"I take great pride in calling him 'Leader Jeffries,'" said Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who also first arrived in Congress at the same time as Jeffries. "I believe he's the best communicator that we have in our party."

"I don't want to come across as disrespectful, but he's like a brother," said Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York. "He's from New York, he's of the hip-hop culture, just like me  we were both raised in the culture."

"When I mention Hakeem's name, particularly to Black audiences in the Bronx, it elicits a palpable enthusiasm," said Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York. "There is immense pride in what he represents and what he has achieved."

For others, such as Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio  who has served under six different House Democratic leaders since her election to Congress in 1982  Jeffries represents a return to the party's working-class roots, particularly after 20 years of having a leader from San Francisco with an estimated net worth of over $100 million.

"He comes from the working class," said Kaptur. "You have to grow up in it to properly relate, and to understand, and he has that depth."

The long-serving Ohio lawmaker, who maintains a chart that lists every US House district by median income, said Jeffries "pored over" the document when she first gave him a copy.

According to that chart, Pelosi's district is the seventh-wealthiest in the country. Jeffries' is the 371st.

"So he gets it," said Kaptur, rapping her fist on the table for effect. "He gets the struggle."

An 'unusually gifted listener'

After taking the reins from Pelosi, Jeffries is earning plaudits for his ability to listen closely to his members and foster understanding between Democrats of different stripes.

"It's the secret of his success," said Torres. "He is an unusually gifted listener."

Some saw Pelosi, by contrast, as less accessible to the rank-and-file members and less interested in taking the time to work through disputes  maintaining a "pretty centralized model," according to Peters.

"There was a formality and a seniority to her office that gave it kind of this vaunted quality," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a swing-district lawmaker now running for US Senate in Michigan. "You could ask for a meeting, but you weren't always going to automatically get it within the time that you needed. Hakeem is just much more approachable for a pull-aside on the House floor, for a quick text exchange, for a quick phone call."

Reps. Spanberger and Slotkin have both offered high praise for Jeffries  after refusing to support Pelosi's speakership bid in both 2019 and 2021. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images

"It'd be hard to say she was a consensus builder," said Craig. "She just understood what buttons to push across the ideological spectrum in order to get things done with a very slim majority."

Over the last several months, Republicans have held floor votes on bills that have, at times, put Democrats in tough spots, including a resolution denouncing the "horrors" of socialism and nullifying an overhaul of Washington, DC's criminal code.

That's forced swing-district Democrats, in particular, to vote for the Republican-proposed bills.

But intraparty feuding about those measures has been at a minimum, lawmakers have said, because the new leadership team has done more to foster trust and understanding between members.

Spanberger, elected in December as the party's "battleground leadership representative," recalled an instance in the early weeks of the year when Jeffries' leadership team asked her to address the caucus and explain to other House Democrats why some front-line members might be about to vote for a GOP bill.

"There were always very different views within the Democratic caucus on people who voted their district," said Slotkin. "Some people understood it but didn't like it  and told you that. Some people never understood it, particularly people who are from deeply blue districts."

Spanberger, for her part, said the discussion contributed to an atmosphere of mutual understanding that she felt had been lacking before, allowing members to "generally understand each other or generally be on the same page, even if they don't agree."

Jeffries appears to have even applied those same principles toward his chief congressional adversary, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, including reportedly texting with his Republican counterpart and holding regular meetings with McCarthy to keep lines of communication open.

'He's going to have to build that trust'

Four years after Jeffries defeated her, Lee  who's now running for California's open US Senate seat  said it's all water under the bridge now. "I think we're the grown-ups in the room," she said.

But tensions remain between Jeffries and some of his ultra-progressive colleagues, even as he remains a co-sponsor of Medicare For All and remains a member of the Progressive Caucus. In 2021, he told The Atlantic that there would "never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism."

That same year, he cofounded "Team Blue PAC," an effort to protect Democratic incumbents from progressive primary challengers. Though the group's expenditures ended up being minimal by the standards of electoral politics, the mere presence of the PAC and its endorsements drew accusations of "bullying" from the insurgent left.

"I think there are places where he will have to work hard to build relationships," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, adding that she feels "he has that willingness" based on her own interactions with Jeffries.

While the official progressive caucus currently accounts for nearly half of the broader Democratic caucus, a key group for Jeffries to focus on will be the eight or so "Squad" members, some of which consider themselves to be Democratic Socialists.

Jeffries and Ocasio-Cortez speaking on the House floor on January 3, 2023. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

"He's going to have to build that trust with everyone, and that doesn't exclude progressives," Jayapal added. "There are going to be things that members of our caucus disagree on. I think what's important is: Does he respect, and does he work to build the relationships?"

In November, as Jeffries faced no opposition to becoming the Democratic leader on the heels of Pelosi's retirement, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times there was "a lot of healing that needs to be done in our caucus."

When Insider asked in March how she assessed Jeffries' tenure as leader so far, Ocasio-Cortez  who is said to have once mulled backing a primary challenger to the new leader  declined to speak about it at length.

"You know, I think it's so early," she said. "I don't think there's been any catastrophes, so we're proceeding in good faith."

'Hard commitments once we're in the majority'

As McCarthy struggled to win the votes to become Speaker of the House in early January, Jeffries managed to hold the votes of all 212 members of his caucus for 15 straight ballots, something several Democrats noted with pride when speaking with Insider.

But the Democrats' failure to hold their majority in the House made that feat easier.

"Hakeem, I've got to warn you," said McCarthy after finally winning the gavel. "Two years ago, I got 100% of the vote from my conference."

Coming just a handful of seats short in 2022, Democrats are exuding confidence in their ability to win back the majority next year. But progressives openly acknowledge that holding that majority  particularly if it's slim  will bring new challenges.

"We haven't had any actual moments that have called for a display of leadership yet," said Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the deputy chair of the progressive caucus.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman said Jeffries is "like a brother" to him. But he also said progressives like him will "absolutely" be making demands when their party retakes the majority. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

"There hasn't been that much contention, because it's sort of opposition to crazy Republican proposals on the floor," said Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a longtime ally of the insurgent progressive wing of his party. "It's a much harder task when you're having to say: what should the agenda of the party be if we're in the majority?"

And that agenda, according to progressives, will include certain demands.

"I don't know what those demands are going to be," said Bowman. "But absolutely, yes."

Jayapal, for her part, identified "getting progressive bills on the floor" and "representation on key committees" as key priorities in future negotiations with Jeffries. "The relationship is incredibly important, but so is the action," she said.

"I mean, the spectrum [of demands] is huge, I think," said Omar. "I can tell you; those conversations are not easy."

"I think the question is still: How will we advance our progressive priorities on Medicare For All, free public college, and a Green New Deal?" Khanna added. "Progressives will want hard commitments once we're in the majority."

When the day arrives, it will be Jeffries' job to steer a fractious ship  and prevent the intraparty enmity that defined McCarthy's first days in the majority.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley called for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign in an op-ed on Monday, citing what she said is the need for term limits and competency tests for politicians older than 75.

Whats incredible is how the Washington establishment continues to cover for those who likely lack the mental acuity to do their job, Haley wrote in an op-ed for Fox News.

Haley referred to Feinstein, 89, as a trailblazer whos made an indelible mark in public service, before adding, But its been obvious for quite some time that shes in significant mental and physical decline.

Shes missed months of votes and clearly can no longer do her job. I agree with several congressional Democrats who say Feinstein should resign immediately and let someone else who is able to do the job take over, Haley continued. At 89 years old, she is a prime example of why we need mental competency tests for politicians.

The former South Carolina governor also dismissed criticism that calls for Feinstein to resign were sexist, pointing to President Biden, who at 80 years old launched his reelection bid last week.

Haleys latest comments illustrate how she has made age a key message of her presidential campaign.

In March, Haley called for mandatory mental competency tests for elderly politicians during a speech launching her campaign, which was seen as a jab at Biden and former President Trump, who is 76 years old. Both men are seen as leading contenders in the 2024 race for the White House.

Last week, Haley continued to make headlines when she told Fox News she did not believe Biden would live to make it to 86 years old, which would be his age at the end of his second term.

Haley, 51, has also fielded criticism about her age, mainly from former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who argued earlier this year that Haley was past her prime. Lemon was met with criticism across the board for what many said were sexist and ageist comments. Haley has raised funds off of Lemons comments since he made them in February.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted four passengers from three different cruise ships off the coast of California over the weekend using helicopters. The aircrews evacuated the Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises passengers over a 24-hour period that started Friday night because the travelers suffered from various ailments.

According to a Coast Guard news release, the passengers were all women. They included a 47-year-old who reportedly had a progressive acute illness aboard the Carnival Panorama ship; a 74-year-old who reportedly was having stroke-like symptoms" on Majestic Princess; and another Majestic Princess passenger, 77, who reportedly experienced kidney failure. The fourth traveler, 84, was sailing on the Carnival Spirit and reportedly had symptoms related to a stroke.

Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli said he could not confirm any medical information and did not have any more to share. Princess did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

While major cruise lines' ships are equipped with medical facilities, there are limits to the health care they can offer on board.

Heres what travelers need to know about coping with a health crisis while cruising:

Cruise ship overboard detection systems: Why doesn't every ship have them?

From the Big Apple to the Caribbean: MSC Cruises launches year-round service from NY

What happens if you get sick on a cruise ship?

Cruise ship medical facilities can treat a wide range of ailments, from earaches to heart attacks.

Dr. Joe Scott, senior director of fleet medical operations at cruise line operator Carnival Corp., told USA TODAY in February that its ships' facilities are generally set up like a typical emergency department. Scott oversees day-to-day operations for the company's North American brands, including Carnival, Princess and Holland America Line.

The facilities are staffed by doctors and nurses, and the company's bigger ships may also have medical administrators, paramedics and health care assistants. When a guest gets sick, Scott said, "There really isn't (anything) we can't treat, at least for the first few hours.

Story continues

Doctors on board can prescribe medications to be dispensed and taken while on the ship, and treat serious medical issues until passengers improve or as a stopgap measure until a passenger can be brought ashore, depending on the situation. For example, in the case of a heart attack, they can give patients thrombolytics  or "clot-busting drugs"  on board until they can get them to a cardiac catheterization lab, which the vessels do not have.

What is a medical evacuation on a cruise?

The way cruise ships get sick or injured passengers to shore depends largely on "the weather, the location and the assets available," Scott said.

If the ship is nearing a stop, they may wait until they get to a port. If not, they consider what is close by, or if the U.S. Coast Guard (or equivalent officials in other countries) are available to them, who can provide an evacuation by helicopter, or by boat if they are closer to shore.

Scott said they remove sick or injured passengers at ports most of the time, which is the "safest way to do it." Even if there arent medical facilities near a port, there may be an airstrip, which would allow the team to schedule a medevac aircraft to come meet the ship, according to Scott.

Do you have to pay for medical care on a cruise ship?

Many health insurance plans do not cover medical costs travelers incur at sea or in foreign countries, Scott said. Carnival Corp. requires passengers to pay for those services, and they can then submit the receipts to their insurance company.

He said he is "not aware" of any cruise line that accepts insurance in its medical facilities and highly recommended passengers purchase travel insurance, which he said is more likely to cover those bills.

Comprehensive travel insurance plans that cover the cost of travel as well as a variety of unforeseen circumstances can generally cost between 4% and 10% of the overall trip cost, according to Meghan Walch, Director of Product at InsureMyTrip.

Travel insurance for cruises: Where you should buy it

Antarctica via Fort Lauderdale: Holland America Line launches new pole-to-pole cruise

How much does it cost to be medically evacuated from a cruise ship?

Evacuations from a cruise ship are typically covered by the Coast Guard or similar entity, Walch said.

"Evacuation arranged and covered by the travel insurance typically comes into play once you are already hospitalized and need to be moved in order to get more appropriate care," she said in an email.

Scott said a medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of dollars, though the amount varies depending on the circumstances and where travelers are at the time.

Walch said travelers should read the details of a policy to find out what is and isn't covered.

"If an incident does occur where medical attention or an evacuation is needed, the traveler would want to get in touch with the emergency assistance provider associated with their policy," she said. That way, "the necessary care can be arranged once at port. ... Failure to notify the assistance provider could affect what is covered."

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Medical evacuations on cruises: What to know
The study found that U.S. counties with more Black physicians had a greater life expectancy for Black patients, while counties with fewer saw an increase in mortality rates and discrepancies between Black and white patients.

A Black primary care physician can significantly increase the life expectancy of Black patients.

KIVI-TV reported that authors of a study published on JAMA Network Open discovered the connection as they set out to see if there was any correlation between the number of Black primary care doctors at the county level and the incidence of mortality-related outcomes.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborated with the Association of American Medical Colleges for a longitudinal cohort study that examined over 3,700 counties nationwide in 2009, 2014 and 2019. They reduced those statistics to a combined sample of 1,618 counties based on whether at least one Black primary care physician practiced during one or more of those years, excluding counties with no Black physicians.

A recent study has concluded that having a Black primary care physician can significantly increase the life expectancy of Black patients. (Photo: AdobeStock)

The data demonstrated that having more Black physicians in a county resulted in greater life expectancy for Black patients, while counties with fewer saw an increase in Black mortality rates and discrepancies between Black and white patients. When considering an adjusted mixed-effects growth model, the study found, patients also had an increase in life expectancy of 30.61 days in conjunction with a 10 percent increase in the representation of Black physicians.

This study has brought to light the importance of Black PCP representation to public health outcomes among Black populations across the U.S., wrote study co-author Monica Peek, KIVI-TV reported. Increasing this representation must become a multifaceted national strategy to improve health and increase equity among Black populations in the U.S.

Despite lacking a cause-and-effect connection, the studys findings highlight the systemic underrepresentation of minorities in the healthcare industry and the racial health disparities across America. The authors said the study indicates the need to increase the structural diversity of the health workforce.

Story continues

Medical prejudice, the use of pulse oximeters and the differential in Black maternal mortality rates are examples of the prejudice and mortality hazards Black people experience.

Sade Lewis of Queens, New York, nearly missed a lifesaving diagnosis because of medical rules about textured hair. Recently, Lewis, who has experienced migraines since childhood, was advised to obtain an MRI and an electroencephalogram, EEG for short, to ensure her brain was operating normally.

Lewis initially received instructions to remove all hair extensions, braids, cornrows and wigs before her EEG. She was also told not to use conditioners, hair creams, sprays, oils or style gels the night before the session and to wash her hair with a gentle shampoo.

Lewis eventually spoke with an EEG technician at the facility  a Black woman  who gave her the thumbs-up to wear mini-twists for the test.

The technician, I think overall, they just made me feel safe, Lewis recalled, KFF Health News reported. Because I felt like they could identify with me just from a cultural standpoint, a racial standpoint.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Having Black primary care doctors extends life expectancy for Black patients, study finds appeared first on TheGrio.
Update: The suspect is in custody, sheriffs Sgt. Luke Schwartz told The Bee just before 7:30 p.m. The SWAT team moved in after a warrant was signed, he said, and investigators were preparing to take over the case.

Original story: Law enforcement is asking people to stay out of the area of Dallas Street and Butte Avenue, where a perimeter has been set up as deputies try to locate a possibly armed man who apparently is hunkered down in the neighborhood.

About 1:50 p.m. Sunday, a report was called in about a family disturbance on the 1700 block of Dallas, said Stanislaus County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz.

The preliminary investigation determined it was a case of weapons brandishing and criminal threats, he said. Deputies tried to make contact with the possibly armed man, who eventually was located by the sheriffs helicopter crew.

Initially, deputies thought they were being fired upon, Schwartz said, but that turned out not to be the case. The suspect discarded a weapon, which law enforcement retrieved, but he has not surrendered. Shortly after 5 p.m., Schwartz said it had not been determined if the man has any other weapon.

We are encouraging members of the community to stay out of the area, Schwartz said. We are working in tandem with Modesto police, Ceres police, the Modesto CHP, using air support and the armored vehicle. He said the SWAT team had not been activated.

While there has not been an evacuation order, law enforcement is helping clear some residents from the area.
Students at a public high school in Texas allegedly formed a mob and attacked an assistant principal, landing her in the hospital with head injuries.

"Three or four other kids jumped in on her. Just pummeled her to the ground, and they started kicking her and pulling her hair," a teacher at Westfield High School in Spring, Texas, recounted to Click 2 Houston under the condition of anonymity. "She loves those kids. She is the nicest person, and shes the best administrator that we have at Westfield High School."

The assistant principal, who has not been identified, was reportedly attacked by a group of students on Thursday at the school's 9th Grade Center. Westfield High is located about 20 miles north of Houston.

The family of the assistant principal said the woman was rushed to a hospital following the attack and was left unable to speak. The father of the victim said the family is unsure how long she will remain in the hospital and noted she is suffering from serious head pain.

FLORIDA STUDENT WHO ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED TEACHER FOR TAKING NINTENDO SWITCH HAS THREE PRIOR CHARGES

"It broke my heart. It makes me want to cry," the unidentified teacher who is speaking out about the attack said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The Spring Independent School District released a statement last week confirming a staffer at Westfield had been transported to a hospital following "an altercation" that "occurred between multiple students at Westfield High School 9th Grade Center."

GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER HOSPITALIZED AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK BY STUDENT: 'WE NEED ZERO TOLERANCE'

"School administrators were able to intervene and stop the fighting quickly. As a result of the incident, a staff member was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. That staff member was treated and released the same evening," a school district official said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Monday.



"We are currently conducting a full investigation of all students involved, some of whom already have been identified for disciplinary action. We take these issues very seriously as the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. There will be no tolerance for any altercations or disruptions to learning."

Story continues

CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH SHOT AFTER BREAKING UP FIGHT: POLICE

The school district previously said in comment to local media that both "school administrators and police officers" helped stop the fighting.

The teacher who spoke to Click 2 Houston, however, said the school district's statement is not true, arguing teachers do not feel safe and that there are only two police officers for the entire campus.

"When you call for help to the front office, nobody ever shows up," she said. "We dont feel safe. Faculty dont feel safe  if the parents knew how unsafe the inside of the school is, they would be upset."
It is nearly five years since work started to boost golden eagle numbers in southern Scotland

When a golden eagle was found dead on a south of Scotland estate in February it was cause for great concern.

Over the past five years, a project has been ongoing to try to boost numbers of the bird from its base near Moffat.

Extensive tests failed to find any conclusive cause of death but found no evidence of poisoning or avian flu.

Numbers of the bird in the area are at their highest level in centuries - but it underlined some of the difficulties facing the scheme.

How it all began

Prior to the release of the chicks only two to four breeding pairs remained in the south of Scotland

The first chicks from the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) were released in the area in August 2018 more than a decade after the idea was initially hatched.

They had been brought to a secret location in the Moffat Hills from the Highlands.

At the time, there were between two and four breeding pairs in the south of Scotland.

Cat Barlow, project manager, described it as a "very significant" moment.

"We are trying to boost the dwindling population and make sure that we are seeing a bird that should be here in the skies of the south of Scotland," she said.

An early setback

The project was just a year old when one bird apparently attacked another, causing its death.

Scotland's natural heritage agency NatureScot said the incident was "distressing and extremely surprising" and was behaviour it had "not observed before".

A female bird released in 2018 appeared to have turned on a male bird introduced the following year.

The eagle, named Beaky, had returned to its release site and was witnessed being "aggressive and domineering" towards three birds.

However, NatureScot said it remained determined to see the project achieve its goals.

Doubling up

Despite the loss of one of the young golden eagles, more were brought from the Highlands and by August 2021 eight more chicks had been successfully moved south.

It took the total number relocated to 12 and nearly doubled the local population in the space of three years.

Story continues

The project had suffered some delays due to Covid but it said it was "absolutely amazing" to see so many birds "soaring majestically" across south of Scotland skies.

NatureScot chief executive Francesca Osowska described the scheme as a "vital part" of efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and combat the climate emergency.

Record levels

By 2022 the number of golden eagles in southern Scotland had hit its highest recorded level in 300 years with the population reaching 39.

Although the project began by bringing chicks, it had started to introduce older birds making it the first scheme in the UK to move golden eagles aged between six months and three years from one part of the country to another.

Among the latest additions were seven birds caught in the Outer Hebrides and then transported and released.

Ms Barlow said the success of moving the older eagles would be monitored closely by similar projects.

Meanwhile, thousands of people had got involved in the SSGEP through a range of initiatives and a festival celebrating the golden eagle has also been staged in Moffat.

Turbine protection

A wind farm was scaled back in size in the area amid concerns over its impact on the eagles

Plans for a major wind farm near Moffat were scaled back in January this year amid concerns they could have an impact on the golden eagles.

Community Windpower initially wanted to build 75 turbines at Scoop Hill but cut that back to 60 following consultation.

The RSPB objected to the original proposals due to concerns about the collision risk and habitat loss for the birds.

The company said it hoped the changes being proposed could address those issues.

Mystery death

When a bird was found dead earlier this year it prompted a lengthy investigation into the cause with concerns it could have been poisoned or have been a victim of avian flu.

Both of those have been ruled out and it was concluded the bird - named Sula - had been "very fit" prior to its death.

The SSGEP said it showed that golden eagles, like any species, could die suddenly for a variety of reasons including natural causes.

However, it said the survival rate in southern Scotland remained high and it hoped that would continue in the years to come.
A hiker discovered human remains while walking through a forested area, California authorities said.

The hiker was at Holiday Lane and Rim of the World Highway in Running Springs when they came across a human skeletal remains and called police at about 8:05 p.m. on April 28, according to a news release by San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.

Deputies came to the scene, along with detectives from the Specialized Investigations Division, the release said.

After investigating, authorities determined the skeletal remains appeared to be in an advanced stage of decomposition, according to the release.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, deputies said.

As this is an ongoing investigation, anyone with information is asked to call 909-890-4904.

Running Springs is about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The mountain town is in the San Bernardino National Forest.

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A man hiking with friends died after collapsing on a California trail, according to a fire department.

The 27-year-old was trekking the El Capitan Trail in Lakeside with three others on April 30, Jeremy Davis, a spokesperson for the Lakeside Fire Protection District, told McClatchy news in a phone interview.

He told his friends that he was feeling hot, tired and thirsty before he collapsed, Davis said.

After the man fell unconscious, his friends called 911 and followed a dispatchers CPR instructions until first responders arrived, according to Davis.

Upon arrival, first responders continued CPR for 30 minutes before declaring the man dead on scene, Davis said.

The man, who has not yet been identified, likely died from a heat injury, Davis said.

El Capital Trail, which has little shade along the way, is considered strenuous and can easily take up to 6 hours to complete, according to the County of San Diego Parks and Recreation.

Lakeside had cloudy skies with a high of 72 degrees on April 30, according to The Weather Channel.

Davis advised others to not be fooled just because its a cloudy day.

You need to stay hydrated if youre gonna go out for a hike, Davis said. If youre not hydrated, youre running the risk of a heat injury illness.

Annually, the fire department gets between three to six distressed hiker calls from the El Capitan Trail, according to Davis.

Those, though, are typically for physical bodily injuries, like a hurt ankle, Davis said.

But to have a death on the trail, that is kind of unheard of, Davis said. Thats outside the norm.

Lakeside is about 20 miles northeast of San Diego.

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A Hingham police officer is accused of brandishing a gun while off duty during a verbal altercation with another man on Main Street in Stoneham, the district attorney said.

Joel Salituri, 43, of Stoneham, who was placed on administrative leave by the Hingham Police Department per department policy, was arraigned in Woburn District Court on Wednesday on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement on Monday.

The alleged altercation occurred on Dec. 26, 2022, at approximately 4:52 p.m., Ryan said.

The victim, a Stoneham man, were allegedly traveling on Interstate 93 northbound, Ryan said. After both vehicles got off the highway, Salituri, who was off duty at the time, allegedly followed the victim until he pulled over into a parking lot on Main Street.

Prosecutors allege Salituri then pulled up alongside the victim and began yelling at the victim and making derogatory statements while brandishing a gun. The victim also reported that Salituri stated he was a police officer, Ryan said.

The victim reported the incident to police and a criminal complaint for the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon was issued after probable cause was found at a show cause hearing, Ryan said.

Salituri was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from and have not contact with the victim.

Ryan said the nature of the derogatory statements include allegations of racial slurs and additional charges are possible.

Hingham Police Chief David Jones issued the following statement regarding Salituris arrest:

An incident occurred in Stoneham in December of 2022 involving one of our personnel, Officer Joel Salituri. It is alleged that Officer Salituri brandished a firearm and used racially insensitive language during a verbal altercation. As a result, and after an investigation by the Stoneham Police Department, he was arraigned on April 26 in Woburn District Court on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. We have been in contact with both the Stoneham Police Department as well as the Middlesex County District Attorneys Office and are fully cooperating with both agencies. An internal investigation will be conducted independent from the criminal case. As required by law, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission has been notified, the statement said.

Story continues

Any threat of violence against a member of a marginalized community by any officer goes against our core values and standards that we are bound to uphold as a professional law enforcement agency, the statement said.

Any allegation of misconduct by a member of our agency will be taken seriously and investigated fairly and thoroughly. We are committed to being open and transparent during this and any other internal investigation, the statement said.

Hingham strives to be a welcoming and accepting community and we will continue to work with our local stakeholders to ensure that our town is safe and inclusive for everyone. The Hingham Police Department is committed to protecting all members of our community in a respectful and dignified manner and has a dedicated Civil Rights Officer, Lieutenant John Marquardt, who can be reached at civilrights@hpd.org, the statement said.

Salituri is due back in court on May 24.

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A house that was once a bank has landed on the real estate market in Charlotte, Iowa, for $119,900  and it comes with a few perks from its former life.

That includes a massive safe.

What used to be the Charlotte Savings Bank is now a 2 bedroom, one bathroom, one VAULT, single-family home  zoned residential, the listing on Zillow.com says.

This property absolutely oozes charm! Much of the original bank has been preserved - items like solid marble walls, marble baseboard trim, lion statues flanking the front steps, cashiers window, globular chandeliers, solid hardwood in the primary bedroom, intricate mosaic tile floor, and YES even the bank vault. This unique property is a perfect blend of modern amenities and eclectic charm.

Amenities include:

Large kitchen

Storage space

Bar seating

Open concept living area

Bathroom/laundry combo

The 2,348-square-foot residence was featured on Friday Night Zillow, a Twitter segment created by Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis, and people had some words to share  especially about the cool-looking vault.

One of my favorite #CheapZillow finds is back on the market, Dennis tweeted. $119K gets you an Iowa Bank thats been converted to a beautiful home. Still has the VAULT! Sold last year for $85K.

Story continues

I do not understand how this can be so cheap, one person said.

For all the doomsday preppers, you have your own safe room - literally a safe room, another joked.

The ultimate safe room! someone tweeted.

Built in storm shelter! one person said.

Charlotte is about 75 miles east of Cedar Rapids.

Grain bins have become a surreal steel mansion for sale in Washington. Check it out

Converted church for sale in NJ comes with a grave surprise. See it for yourself
Blanca Coreas, who has a host of health problems related to her dental issues, in the Bronx, July 19, 2022. (Sarah Blesener/The New York Times)

Matthew Adinolfi, who has no top teeth and had no love life for more than a decade, will be able to get implants so that he can kiss a woman without fear of his dentures falling out.

Blanca Coreas, who cant eat anything firmer than mashed potatoes without her gums bleeding, will be able to take a bite of grilled meat.

Lillian Velazquez has now gotten the root canal that was denied for nearly five years.

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A class-action suit that was settled Monday will bring about a change that is as potentially transformative as it is mundane: coverage of common but costly dental procedures for the 5 million adults in New York state who are on Medicaid, including implants, root canals and replacement dentures.

The suit, filed in 2018 in federal court against the state Health Department, which oversees Medicaid in New York, charged the state with denying thousands of low-income New Yorkers medically necessary treatment.

Medicaid programs, which vary from state to state, are not required to cover dental care; several states do not. But under federal law, if a state Medicaid program does cover an optional category of care  such as dentistry, prescription drugs or optometry  it must cover all medically necessary care in that category.

The suit argued that dental health was essential not just to overall physical health but also to psychological well-being and the ability to find or keep a job.

You need to have teeth to function in our society, said Belkys Garcia, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society, which filed the suit. It impacts everything in your life  your relationships, how people see themselves, how others see you.

For decades, Garcia said, New Yorks coverage rules for Medicaid were structured to pull your teeth rather than save them. And because one of the main jobs of a tooth is to hold its neighbors in place, an extraction often has a domino effect: Losing teeth leads to losing more teeth.

Story continues

Once you start missing one tooth, the teeth start shifting, said Victor Badner, chair of dentistry at Jacobi Medical Center, a city-run hospital in the Bronx borough of New York City. Badner filed a declaration in the case describing the dental needs of one of the plaintiffs.

Under the newly covered benefits, he said, The vast majority of patients who otherwise would end up losing more teeth may instead be able to save them.

New York already had one of the more generous Medicaid dental programs in its range of services covered, said Colin Reusch, director of policy for Community Catalyst, a health care consumer advocacy group. But he added: The devils in the details in terms of how these policies come into play for people who are in urgent need of specific care.

Under the old rules, root canals and crowns on back teeth were covered only if a diseased tooth was essential to anchoring a denture or if extracting it was medically inadvisable. Replacements for broken or lost dentures were covered only if the dentures were at least 8 years old. Implants were not covered at all.

The suits lead plaintiff, Frank Ciaramella, died in 2020. In 2018, his dentures were destroyed after he sneezed; they fell out and were run over by a car. Under the old limits, he was not eligible for new dentures until 2024.

Adinolfi, 65, a former New York City cabdriver who is on disability for a back injury and lives upstate near Plattsburgh, had all but three teeth pulled around 2010 after contracting a mouth infection so severe doctors feared it would spread to his organs.

It was either pull the teeth out or die, he said.

The dentures he received through Medicaid never fit and would not stay in place, making them impossible to eat with. He eventually paid for a permanent bridge for his lower front teeth, but could not afford one in back. Years of using his upper gums to chew down on his bottom denture have left the gums damaged. He needs implants to hold his upper denture in place, but Medicaid did not cover them.

As bad as the discomfort and difficulty eating have been, the effect on his social life has been at least as bad.

He did not have a relationship for more than 10 years because I just get to a point where you want to take it to the next level, and then thats it, Adinolfi said. If I take the denture out you can notice how sucked-in my face is  its just very embarrassing on my part. (He now has a girlfriend for the first time since his teeth were pulled.)

The settlement obligates New York Medicaid to cover implants, replacement dentures and most root canals if a dentist authorizes the procedures.

The settlement also does away with a rule that denied coverage for many procedures to people who still had four matched upper and lower pairs of back teeth, which the state had considered adequate for functional purposes.

Mary Eaton, a lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which joined Legal Aids suit, said the dental problems addressed by the rules were issues that everybody faces, regardless of your economic status.

But Medicaid recipients tend to have more, and more complex, health problems than the population at large, often the result of lifelong poverty and inadequate medical care. Garcia said she had seen many clients take on terrible credit card debt to pay for basic dental procedures.

The gaps in Medicaids dental coverage also worsened racial health disparities. Garcia said that Black and brown adults suffer from untreated dental disease at nearly twice the rate as white adults.

The state Health Department, which twice attempted to get the case dismissed, said in a statement Monday afternoon that the settlement recognizes the importance of oral health and affirms the states commitment to people on Medicaid.

Wesley R. Powell, a lawyer with Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which also joined Legal Aid in the suit, said that in the long run, because so many teeth will be saved from extraction, the changes may well save the state money.

Coreas, 62, an ex-cafeteria worker in the Bronx, is another plaintiff in the lawsuit. Her dental problems have led to digestive problems, vitamin deficiency, frequent oral bleeding and depression, according to the lawsuit. She said she isolated herself socially because people sometimes made fun of her appearance.

In 2019, when Medicaid rejected a request for implants, which she needs to effectively wear dentures, she thought about suicide. I felt like I had no support from anyone, she said.

Velazquez had had an upper molar filled a number of times, but the filling kept falling out. Her dentist said the tooth needed a root canal and crown but Medicaid would not cover it, noting that extracting the tooth would still leave her with four matched pairs of back teeth.

For years she avoided eating on the left side to preserve the delicate tooth. She went through tube after tube of over-the-counter tooth cement. Under an agreement reached before the settlement, Medicaid covered her root canal.

Adinolfis path to dental functionality will be more arduous. He has lost so much bone above the gum that he may need a graft of bone from elsewhere in his body or implants anchored into his cheekbone. He faces months of surgeries and many hours in the dentists chair.

I cant wait, he said. I cant wait.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The former deputy chief of the Hopkinton Police Department has been indicted on child rape charges in connection with alleged assaults on a student that occurred while he was working as a school resource officer in the town, officials announced Monday.

John Jay Porter, 54, was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on three charges of rape of a child, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

The alleged assaults happened while Porter was assigned as a school resource officer in the towns public schools system, Ryan said.

The incidents allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2005 while the victim was a 15-year-old student. Porter is accused of assaulting the victim on multiple occasions off school property.

In August 2022, the department placed Porter on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. He was officially relieved of his department duties on April 28.

Porter had been with the department since 1992. He started out with the department as a patrol officer before eventually rising to the rank of Deputy Chief in October of 2021.

State troopers assigned to Ryans office have been leading an investigation into Porters alleged behavior.

An arraignment date hasnt been set.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Last fall, Mylissa Farmer spoke in an ad for former Missouri Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine about her experience being denied a life-saving abortion due to the states ban.

In October, Mylissa Farmer came forward with her story of being forced to travel to Illinois in August, after being denied a life-saving abortion by two hospitals in her home state of Missouri and in Kansas due to its near-total abortion ban, which only has an ambiguous exception for threats to the life of the pregnant person. Farmers water broke at 17 weeks, and because the pregnancy had already been high-risk, doctors told her she faced increased risk of sepsis, loss of her uterus, and even death. Due to delays from being denied care from hospitals, by the time she reached a hospital in Illinois with the help of an abortion fund, Farmer was already in labor.

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that the Health and Human Services Departments Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opened an investigation into the two hospitals that turned Farmer awaythe University of Kansas Hospital and the Freeman Health Systemand determined that they had violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires health care workers to provide life-saving medical care to stabilize a patients emergency medical condition. Last summer, shortly after the fall of Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration issued a reminder to hospitals that EMTALA requires them to offer life-saving abortion care and that the law supersedes state abortion bans.

Read more

CMS hasnt announced fines or penalties the hospitals will face. AP reports that the hospitals received notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal investigators will visit the hospitals before closing the ongoing case.

Freeman Health Services couldnt be reached at its media hotline and didnt immediately respond to request for comment via its online contact form. A spokesperson for the University of Kansas Hospital told me in a statement that the care the hospital provided to Farmer was in accordance with hospital policy and met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law.

Story continues

Michelle Banker, an attorney for Farmer who works at the National Womens Law Center, helped her file her EMTALA complaint to CMS last fall. Banker notes that Farmers complaints led to the first investigations launched by the agency since the fall of Roe.

This is such an important first step for getting justice for Mylissa, although nothing can take away the trauma she experiencedfrom losing a wanted pregnancy, to her life being put in jeopardy because of these hospitals actions, Banker told Jezebel. The ruling from CMS, she says, offers necessary clarification as we keep seeing this same situation happening again and again, across the country, of patients who are miscarrying or facing life-threatening complications being forced to wait until theyre on the brink of death before hospitals will let doctors intervene.

Hospitals, nationwide, really must take heed and know there are consequences for violating EMTALA, she added.

In a statement to AP, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said it was fortunate Farmer survived, and that she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place. Becerra pledged to continue to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority.

Farmers story is part of an alarming pattern of hospitals turning away patients experiencing pregnancy complications after weighing their legal risks, as doctors face the threat of prison-time for providing abortion careeven in emergency cases, due to lack of clear guidance from states on what an emergency entails. Across the country, the consequences of this uncertainty and the threat of criminalization have been steep: Last week, an Oklahoma woman with a cancerous pregnancy said she was told by one hospital to wait in the parking lot until she was on the brink of death for an emergency abortion. Five Texas women currently suing the state say that being denied emergency abortion care almost killed them. Ohio women with cancer who became pregnant were forced to travel out-of-state for abortion care before they could begin life-saving cancer treatments. And hospitals in Idaho have shuttered their entire labor and delivery departments over a dwindling medical labor force citing fear of prison-time for helping pregnant people.

Now, Banker says, hospitals should know HHS and CMS will take action for those who fail to provide care, and that when a patient comes to them with a condition like Mylissas, they do not need toand must notwait until the patient is on the brink of death to provide care.

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Daniel Cameron, the attorney general of Kentucky who is vying for the Republican nomination for governor, in Guston, Ky., April 25, 2023. (Jon Cherry/The New York Times)

As he spoke to about a dozen voters in a dimly lit Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, Daniel Cameron, the states popular attorney general, explained how he viewed the tightening battle for the Republican nomination for governor.

Some folks in this race have been running on ads, and Ive been running on a record, said Cameron, who has long been seen as a rising Republican political talent and is a close ally of Sen. Mitch McConnell. He was taking a clear swipe at his top rival, Kelly Craft, a former ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration who is married to a coal billionaire and has pumped more than $4.2 million into TV advertising.

About 50 miles south, in a packed room at Jeffs Food Mart in Campbellsville, Kentucky, Craft was not shy about wielding her wealth as a political weapon.

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This may be one of the most expensive gubernatorial races in this cycle, and I have the personal resources, she said.

The unsettled race and escalating hostilities are unwelcome developments for Kentucky Republicans as they search for the strongest nominee to bring down Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat whose party loyalties in a crimson state have not stopped him from becoming one of the nations most popular governors. Even Republicans concede that he will be difficult to beat in November, and the contest has quickly become the most closely watched statewide election remaining this year.

The Republican primary on May 16 is pitting two pillars of the states party apparatus, Cameron and Craft, against each other, with a third, well-liked Republican, Ryan Quarles, the agricultural commissioner, acting as an amiable wild card. Polling has been scant, though the few public surveys suggest that Camerons once-dominant lead is shrinking.

This churning political mixture has largely frozen the party and its major supporters in place. No one wants to be on the wrong side of the Craft family, collectively one of the biggest Republican donors in the country. And few are eager to damage Cameron, with his ties to McConnell, his early endorsement from former President Donald Trump and what some in the party view as his potential to rise to powerful positions within the GOP.

Story continues

It is not total war: The divisions fall short of the infighting between far-right and establishment candidates that consumed Michigan and Pennsylvania Republicans last year. Instead, Kentucky Republicans, broadly similar in ideology, are jockeying for conservative primacy on issues such as the border, education and vaguely defined wokeness, maneuvering that resembles the early contours of the Republican primary for president.

The closeness of the race and the negative tone of the ads have caught many by surprise in Kentucky.

When Trump endorsed Cameron last June, the attorney general seemed poised to cruise to the nomination. He is the first Black attorney general in Kentucky history, and the first Republican to hold the post in about 70 years, with strong name identification and rising political celebrity that stem in part from his prime-time speech during the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Craft did not enter the race until four months after Camerons announcement. On Wednesday, she explained to voters in Campbellsville that she had waited to get in this race because I didnt see anybody that could get the job done.

Soon after in December, Craft began an aggressive ad campaign, airing a mix of biographical spots to help increase her name recognition and numerous ads attacking Cameron. Commonwealth PAC, a super PAC supporting her candidacy that is partly funded by $1.5 million from her husband, Joe Craft, has aired exclusively negative ads against Cameron, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm.

One of the ads from the Commonwealth political action committee sought to tie Cameron to Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney leading the indictment of Trump, by quoting them both as supporting a bail overhaul. Beyond that, they share little in common  other than being Black law enforcement officials.

In an interview last Tuesday, Cameron called the ad laughable on its face.

He added, I hope that Kelly Craft, once this primarys over, will decide to spend some of that money helping me when Im the nominee.

Craft defended her ads in an interview last Wednesday.

What Im focused on is pointing out truths and giving Kentuckians facts, she said. So you may think its negative. Im looking at it as telling the truth.

From December to late March, Craft, with help from her allies, was the only major candidate for governor with ads broadcast across Kentuckys seven media markets.

Quarles, who has spent slightly less than his two main competitors, has aggressively campaigned in rural stretches of the state, racking up more than 235 endorsements from local officials, including county judges, mayors and magistrates.

His first ad, released Wednesday as part of an initial six-figure purchase, highlights how he grew up on my family farm in rural Kentucky. Known in Frankfort for a decade, Quarles has capitalized on long-standing relationships for support.

A celebrity versus the resources versus old school, said Scott Jennings, a Republican operative in the state, summing up the contest between the three top contenders.

Cameron is the front-runner, but theres no doubt this race has gotten close and remains fluid, added Jennings, who like many other Republicans has remained neutral.

Indeed, many of the major forces in Kentucky Republican politics are staying on the sidelines. McConnell has not issued an endorsement and does not plan to do so, according to people close to him, and his vast network of operatives in the state has largely not picked sides. Sen. Rand Paul is also not endorsing a candidate. And most of Kentuckys congressional delegation  except Rep. James Comer, who endorsed Craft  has stayed out of the race.

For Republicans, part of the challenge of defeating Beshear has to do with the GOP dominance of the state. Republicans hold supermajorities in the Legislature, making it difficult for the governor to wield much power without a veto. Yet that has kept Beshear from contentious showdowns with Republicans on hot-button issues, and has let him focus on using state resources to help repair infrastructure and improve the economy.

Lacking the money of Craft, Cameron has tried to emphasize his endorsement from Trump. In an eight-minute interview, Cameron mentioned the endorsement four times.

He is quick to point out that Craft, whose stump speech focuses heavily on her tenure in the Trump administration, does not have the former presidents backing.

Despite what some others might tell you, Cameron told a crowd at a Lincoln Day dinner in Meade County, President Donald J. Trump has endorsed this campaign for governor.

On the issues, Cameron and Craft have little daylight between them. Education is a central tenet, with both pledging to fire the current commissioner of education, and deriding what they call a woke agenda in schools. Both embrace nationalized issues such as the southern border despite living in a state nearly 1,000 miles from Mexico.

They have also made combating the opioid epidemic, and fentanyl in particular, key planks. Cameron often notes that his office is working to bring in just under $900 million from settlements to address the drug scourge and empower law enforcement. Craft has told the emotional story of her daughters struggle with addiction and has called for harsher penalties for drug dealers.

Craft also offers ardent support to the states coal industry, and her placards pledge to beat back Joe Bidens EPA.

In his remarks in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, last Tuesday, Cameron highlighted his many battles with Beshear.

When Gov. Beshear decided to shut down churches, I went into federal court and, after nine days, got churches reopened in Kentucky, Cameron said, referring to early pandemic regulations.

At her stop in Campbellsville, Craft held aloft a copy of All Boys Arent Blue, a memoir about growing up Black and queer, as an example of books she wanted banned in the classroom.

Weve got to take the woke out of the schools, she said.

John Allen, 74, of Taylor County, who came to see Craft at Jeffs Food Mart, spoke approvingly of such positions.

What she said in her speech today is exactly the way I feel, he said. Im tired of all this woke agenda stuff. Im just tired of it. And I think everybody else is, too, and Im tired of somebody telling me what I can say and cant say. Theyve got to understand what the First Amendment really is.

But some voters are still making up their minds.

Rose Greene, 62, of Meade County, said she had initially leaned toward Cameron over Craft. She had friends who had gone to church with him, and she liked his economic positions.

But then Ive been seeing her commercials, she added.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., became the second U.S. speaker Monday to deliver remarks before the Israeli Knesset, the national legislature of Israel, where he reinforced U.S.-Israeli relations and announced the formation of a House-Knesset parliamentary friendship group.

McCarthy led a bipartisan congressional delegation to the country to celebrate its 75th anniversary of independence.

McCarthy, who received a standing ovation for his remarks, said the newly formed friendship group will allow the House to engage more directly with the Israeli Parliament, travel to Israel to strengthen existing relationships and host Knesset members traveling to the U.S.

"This will be part of a new chapter of U.S.-Israel relations," he said.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy attends a special sitting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem on May 1, 2023.

On Sunday, McCarthy and the delegation arrived in the country and had dinner with Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana. The Knesset speaker took to the stage after their dinner to play his electric guitar to "Hotel California" by the Eagles, a nod to McCarthy's home state.

McCarthy emphasized Israel's efforts to achieve independence in his speech to the parliament, calling the nation's rebirth "nothing less than a modern miracle."

"If we remain united, then the forces of freedom and democracy will always prevail," he said. "This is the foundation of our special relationship."

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Why are lawmakers in Israel?

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy arrives alongside his Israeli counterpart Amir Ohana to an honour guard welcome ceremony to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem on May 1, 2023.

Lawmakers traveled to Israel, one of the country's Middle East allies, to celebrate the its 75th anniversary and Yom HaZikaron, the nation's memorial day.

The trip is McCarthy's first foreign trip as House speaker and marks the second time a sitting speaker traveled to Israel since Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., in 1998.

The group consisted of 20 lawmakers.

McCarthy: U.S.-Israeli relations 'serve as foundation for greater peace'

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks during a joint statement with his Israeli counterpart, Amir Ohana, Israel's Parliament or Knesset Speaker, for his visit to the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Monday, May 1, 2023.

McCarthy told the Israeli legislature the United States and Israel are the only two countries "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are equal."

Story continues

"My greatest hope is that our special relationship can serve as a foundation for greater peace across the Middle East," he said. "The progress towards peace in the past few years have simply been remarkable."

The speaker said Congress will work with Israel to achieve sustainable peace and cited a bipartisan resolution passed in the House that encourages the United States and Israel to expand cooperation on economic, security and civilian issues. It also encourages expanding the Abraham Accords, agreements to improve relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

"Congress stands ready to work with Israel to broaden and deepen those accords, working for sustainable peace with all of Israel's neighbors," he said.

McCarthy says Iranian regime threatens democracy

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy sits with his Israeli counterpart, Amir Ohana, Israel's Parliament or Knesset Speaker, during a session of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Monday, May 1, 2023.

The House Speaker said the Iranian regime is the main threat to peace in the Middle East.

"Most of the turmoil in this region, the violence and instability, can be traced back to that source," he said.

As long as he is speaker, McCarthy said, the United States will continue to fully fund security assistance for Israel and ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

"We cannot allow the Iranian regime's evil campaign to succeed," he said.

Expanding economic cooperation

The speaker referenced Israel's "thriving democracy" in the Middle East, citing its innovative high-tech sector, and said the two countries must expand economic cooperation.

He referenced a congressional working group that formed in 2021 for bilateral military research and development to benefit from both nations' innovation in military technology.

"I look forward to working with you as we strengthen this unique and indispensable bond," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visits Knesset, the Israel parliament
By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The U.S. should invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for an official visit, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Monday, as a customary invitation has not been extended in the five months since Netanyahu's election.

"I expect the White House to invite the prime minister over for a meeting, especially with the 75th anniversary," McCarthy, who is leading a bipartisan delegation to Israel, told a press conference in Jerusalem, referring to Israel's marking the 75th anniversary of its independence this year.

Netanyahu and his far-right coalition entered government after a sweeping win in November elections. Most prior Israeli leaders met the U.S. president by this point in their tenure, according to a Reuters review of official visits dating to the late 1970s.

President Joe Biden has sought to make clear he opposes Netanyahu government plans that would strip Israel's highest court of much of its power, but Biden has taken care to avoid an acrimonious public confrontation.

The planned legislation has propelled Israel into a national crisis with massive protests.

In the last few months, Biden and senior members of his team have also expressed alarm about Israeli plans for settlement expansion on the West Bank and about violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Biden administration was aware of McCarthy's comments, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday, but a visit by Netanyahu had not yet been scheduled.

"Israeli leaders have a long tradition of visiting Washington. President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu have known each other for a long, long time. I expect the prime minister will visit at some point," Kirby said.

Netanyahu has long had close ties with the U.S. Republican Party, at times seeming to work with them more than Democrats. For example, he visited Washington in 2015 to address Congress after an invitation from Republicans, who did not consult Democrats or then-Democratic President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president, violating long-standing custom.

Story continues

In an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper on Sunday, McCarthy said that if the president does not invite Netanyahu to the White House, the speaker will invite him to Washington for his own visit.

"He's a dear friend, as a prime minister of a country that we have our closest ties with," McCarthy told Israel Hayom.

McCarthy also made clear on Monday that Israel's president, which is largely a ceremonial role, will be visiting the White House very soon.

"I know the President (Isaac) Herzog will be coming soon for a joint session," McCarthy said.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson and Steve Holland; Editing by Christina Fincher and Cynthia Osterman)
Houston County School District has been recognized by Solution Tree for increasing student achievement by implementing Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work practices.

It is one of only three school districts in the state and one of 500 schools and districts throughout the United States and Canada to achieve this status.

The certification was granted to Houston County earlier this month by Solution Tree, a professional development company that publishes educational materials and provides workshops, conferences, consultations, and online courses.

The PLC at Work method is described by Solution Tree as a way in which educators are able to raise student achievement, including test scores, by implementing three main ideas.

The first one is a focus on learning, and that is for the adults and the students, said Lazunia Frierson, Assistant Superintendent of District and School Effectiveness in Houston County. Were all learning in order to meet the needs of students and to establish a growth mindset in our students so that theyre achieving at their highest levels.

The second guiding principle of a PLC at Work is having collaborative culture and collective responsibility.

We emphasize and allot time for teachers to collaborate, Frierson said. Nobody works in isolation; everyone works as a team to ensure the success of our students. So theyre not your students or my students, theyre everybodys students.

The third core concept of a PLC is a results orientation.

Which is probably one of the most important because sometimes in education we focus on our actions, but we have to focus on the results of those actions and practices, Frierson said. A Professional Learning Community focuses on the data to determine yes, we introduced the students to the content in the curriculum, we taught the content in the curriculum, but did the students learn it?

How Houston earned its accolade

In order to be recognized as a PLC at Work, the school district had to submit an application to the PLC Review Committee that demonstrated its practices, structures and culture. It also had to show that the districts implementation of PLC concepts has improved student learning by providing data and assessments.

Story continues

For a district to be recognized as a model PLC at Work district, we have to provide evidence of practices that have been pervasive throughout the district, said Frierson. So in every school in our district, there is a commitment to the PLC process.

Data on student achievement must be updated every three years and show positive student growth in order to maintain this certification.

Houston County, Bartow County, and Catoosa County are the only three school districts in Georgia that have this recognition. Of the three, Houston is the largest with over 30,000 students.

Though Houston County Schools were just notified of this recognition on April 5, becoming a PLC district has been in the works since PLC practices were first implemented in district schools in 2016. Since then, the district has invested in sending teachers to PLC institutes and conferences in and out of state, as well as bringing Solution Tree presenters to Houston County.

Frierson told the Telegraph that in the years since the district has applied PLC principles, it has seen improved student testing scores and overall achievement.

All of our learning is focused on our mission, vision, values, and goals for the district, Frierson said. And our mission is to produce high achievement for all through continuous growth.
HOUSTON (AP)  Houston Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

Urquidy left Sunday's start in the sixth inning after feeling discomfort in the shoulder.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said after Monday night's game against San Francisco that Urquidy had inflammation in his shoulder and will be shut down indefinitely.

Hell be out a while, Baker said.

Urquidy is 2-2 with a 5.20 ERA in six starts. He allowed three hits and two runs to get the win Sunday night against Philadelphia. In his previous start, he gave up seven hits and six runs over 2 2/3 innings.

Houston recalled right-hander Brandon Bielak from Triple-A Sugar Land to take Urquidy's roster spot. Baker said Bielak would pitch out of the bullpen.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
A visitors takes pictures of the "Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The Italian artist's $160,000 piece, known as the "Comedian," was displayed in a South Korean museum.

The famous artwork features a ripe banana duct taped to the wall.

The student who ate the banana said he was hungry but later added he thought the act was a form of art itself.

The long trek through a museum can make anyone hungry, but most people refrain from eating the work on display.

On Thursday, a South Korean art student, who said he had skipped breakfast, was too hungry to resist the temptation of a banana taped to the wall, the Strait Times reported.

The ripe banana was part of the "Comedian," an artwork valued at $160,000 by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It is now on display at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul.

The museum promptly replaced the banana with a new one. It had bananas on hand because the fruit art is typically refreshed every few days.

"The student told the museum he ate it because he was hungry," a museum spokesperson told CNN. The spokesperson said the artist had been informed but didn't expect any charges to be filed against the student.

Eating Cattelan's banana artwork has become something of an artistic act in itself. The South Korean student  dressed in a dark suit  was filmed casually peeling the tape off the wall, and then peeling the banana, before facing the camera as he ate it.

The student, whose name wasn't revealed, told a local news outlet that he thought eating the banana could be considered art in itself, The Philippine Star reported. "Damaging a work of modern art could also be (interpreted as a kind of) artwork," he said.

The student isn't the first to eat Cattelan's famous art for the sake of art. Back in 2019, performance artist David Datuna also ate the "Comedian."

At the time, Datuna called his act the "Hungry Artist."

"I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork and I really love this installation. It's very delicious," Datuna said in an Instagram post after the incident.

Read the original article on Insider
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, appeared in person in an Arkansas courtroom Monday for a hearing in the child support case of his unclaimed 4-year-old daughter born out of wedlock.

Lunden Roberts, the mother of 4-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, had reached an agreement with Hunter Biden in 2020 for the child's paternity and child support payments.

The case was reopened when Biden requested adjustments to the child support payments. In December, Roberts's lawyers filed a motion to have the girl's last name changed to Biden.

During Monday's hearing, Biden's new attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the president's son is paying $20,000 a month to the plaintiff.

HUNTER BIDEN ORDERED TO APPEAR IN-PERSON FOR ARKANSAS PATERNITY CASE HEARING FOR UNCLAIMED 4-YEAR-OLD-DAUGHTER

Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer set deadlines for attorneys to submit discovery and begin depositions.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I expect this case to move," she said. "So, get it done."

In court, Biden appeared to blankly stare ahead and had no interaction with Roberts.

Hunter Biden appeared in person in an Arkansas courtroom with regard to a paternity case.

Roberts family sat behind her along with Garrett Ziegler, whom Bidens other attorney, Brent Langdon, described during a hearing last week as a potential expert witness in the case involving the contents of Biden's laptop, which reportedly includes some income tax records.

The judge on Monday said the ability to redact information is "being abused" by the Biden team.

Langdon cited last weeks Daily Mail article on the case, claiming it included redacted information in violation of a protective order in exposing income tax records. Meyer disagreed and said what the press comes up with is out of her control, remarking, "I cant gag the whole world."

Roberts attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the court he has not talked to the Daily Mail, explaining to Ziegler the doom and gloom that would come on him if he discussed the case.

Story continues

BLINKEN AND WIFE EMAILED FREQUENTLY WITH HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT ROLE IN LAPTOP COVER STORY

From the Biden team, Lancaster requested information on the value of Bidens art, his salary/employment for the past five years, estates/funds from foreign persons/domestic persons/family members, flight/hotel payments, the reason for a promissory note from top Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, and documents on business done with a Chinese firm.

In response, Langdon said his team has already turned over more than 490 documents. Bidens attorney also requested Roberts tax returns, information on "fringe benefits" from her employer father, bank statements and Zieglers witness statements.

The deadline for discovery was set for May 12 at 5 p.m.

Zieglers deposition is to take place on May 22 at Lancasters office in Little Rock.

A status conference hearing will be held on May 23 to address discovery requests, any contempt filings and a potential request to push back the trial date. Deposition for both parties and witnesses will take place June 13-16 at Lancaster's office.

As of now, the trial start date is set for July 24.

Last week, the judge ruled that Biden and Roberts must be present for every future hearing in the case.

" The Biden name is now synonymous with being well-educated, successful, financially acute, and politically powerful," Roberts' attorneys wrote in the December name-change motion.

In rebuttal, Bidens attorney demanded "strict proof thereof that such request is in the best interest of the child."

In a January 2020 order, Meyer declared "with near scientific certainty" that Biden is the father of the girl, referred to in court documents as "Baby Doe," following a DNA test.

The girl was born in August 2018, and a paternity suit was initially filed in May 2019.

President Biden has refused to acknowledge the granddaughter born out of wedlock. Last Christmas season, first lady Jill Biden hung stockings for six of their grandchildren at the White House, excluding Navy. Those recognized were Naomi, 27, Finnegan, 21, Maisy, 20, Natalie, 17, Robert Hunter Biden II, 15, and Beau, 1.

Fox News' Lindsey Reese contributed to this report.
Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in March signed a bill that made school and public libraries criminally liable for giving obscene material to minors.

The bill removed schools and libraries from a law that exempts certain institutions from prosecution for giving a minor material thats claimed to be obscene. If that sounds familiar, its because Idaho lawmakers tried to do the same thing last year.

House Bill 666 would have removed a similar exemption for librarians in Idaho code, but the legislation failed. House Bill 314, from this year, would have made librarians liable for civil lawsuits for handing out harmful material. It also failed, after Idaho Gov. Brad Little vetoed it. A House attempt to override the veto fell one vote short.

The Idaho effort is part of a broader push to restrict access to library books  many with LGBTQ+ themes  or target the people responsible for collecting them.

Republicans in 19 other states have proposed legislation similar to Idahos, according to EveryLibrary, the Chicago-based political action committee for libraries. The group typically helps local libraries with ballot measures, like bond elections, but lately it has focused on fighting onerous legislation that targets books and librarians, executive director John Chrastka said.

While much of the effort to restrict library materials has been homegrown, several states have proposed similar legislation, Chrastka told the Idaho Statesman by phone. And even in states, like Idaho, that have yet to pass a bill targeting libraries, the charged atmosphere has had a significant chilling effect on librarians and the broader culture of reading.

If youre feeling like every decision is going to be not just second-guessed but dragged out in front of the public, for reasons that are really more about the culture war than they are about the content of the title, it does chill things, he said.

How library bills are similar in other states

Every state is responsible for its own criminal code, so efforts to criminalize librarians or restrict books have looked different.

Story continues

Proposals in Iowa and Minnesota included civil penalties similar to the provision in Idahos House Bill 314 that would have allowed parents to sue their childs library for $2,000.

The proposals are coming from several directions, Chrastka said. Some are backed by anti-education, anti-union or anti-government groups that may have narrow views on LGBTQ+ identities and outdated thoughts on race, he said. Other proponents of the restrictions are sincerely panicked by sex education and gender studies, he said.

Many states that are pursuing library laws have also produced other types of legislation that target LGBTQ+ and abortion rights or support school vouchers amid a broader push to privatize education, Chrastka said.

It seems to be a whole-cloth approach, he said. While the structure of the bills between the states has similar goals, theyve tended to actually be much more homegrown than I would have thought.

Coalitions of parents, like Utah Parents United, Purple for Parents of Indiana and Moms for Liberty in Florida, are leading efforts to limit access to books in their libraries.

Some states  like Florida  have limited which books are available in schools, making it nearly impossible to buy a book as a school librarian, Chrastka said.

The collections are already old. School libraries are not well-funded to begin with, he said. It just becomes further and further away from useful for the kids, both for reading for enjoyment as well as for research and for scholarship.

In Idaho, the Family Policy Center, a religious lobbying group, urged state lawmakers to pass House bills 314 and 666. But there have been local efforts, as well. Dozens of Meridian residents recently petitioned to dissolve their library district after the library board rejected their calls to remove books.

While calls for book restrictions have come from various groups and individuals across the country, the goals have been similar: Either limit access to the collection for the public, Chrastka said, or put a target on the back of librarians and educators who are responsible for the books.

Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, and Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, who co-sponsored House Bill 314, didnt immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

Idaho library issue is unsettled

The issue isnt going away in Idaho. There will bill another library bill next legislative session, Little recently told reporters.

Before that surfaces, lawmakers should work with librarians to see what we can do collectively to not have this come back, Little said earlier this month.

We shouldnt have pornography readily available in the kids section in libraries, he said. If the libraries do the right thing, hopefully it wont come back with the velocity it had this year.

Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, who co-sponsored House Bill 314, said there probably is a reasonable solution, but he doesnt know what it is.

I havent heard anybody talk about wanting to censor or remove books, per se, Winder told the Statesman by phone. They just want them more age appropriate, more adult supervision.

The Idaho Library Association celebrated Littles veto of House Bill 314. Lance McGrath, president of the association, told the Statesman that he hasnt met with lawmakers yet regarding a future bill. But the association is urging its local library officials to meet with their lawmakers to discuss concerns about material.

Thats what we said all along during the legislative session, and we havent changed that position at all, McGrath said by phone. (Its) always better to handle that locally, if you can, and avoid that unnecessary legislation.

Meanwhile, discussions at the Legislature have spurred school and library officials to preemptively limit access to books.

In February, the Kuna School District placed 25 books on its behind the shelf policy, which means that students need parental permission to check them out.

Last week, Ada Community Librarys board voted to remove from its collection six books that Idaho law would classify as harmful to minors, even though libraries are exempt from the law. The decision later was nullified because board members voted in violation of Idahos open meeting law.

The Library Association is recommending that libraries review their practices, but claims that libraries are distributing pornography are unfounded, McGrath said.

LGBTQ or sexual content thats age appropriate is not porn, its not obscenity, he said. I heard this said the other day and I agree with it wholeheartedly: Identities are not obscenities.
FIRST ON FOX: An Idaho judge has scheduled a new hearing on a court-ordered gag order in the ongoing murder case against Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old criminology Ph.D. student accused of attacking four undergrads in their sleep on an early Saturday morning in November.

The court set a motion hearing over the weekend for May 25, roughly a month before the Pennsylvania native is due in the Latah County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing, in which his defense is expected to challenge the evidence against him.

"That is the date for the court to address my motion on the gag order," Shanon Gray, the attorney for Steve and Kristie Goncalves, told Fox News Digital Monday. The court later confirmed that information.

Their 21-year-old daughter Kaylee Goncalves was one of the victims killed in a home invasion ambush around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13.

IDAHO MURDERS: ETHAN CHAPIN'S PARENTS BREAK SILENCE ON LAST TIME THEY SAW SON

Bryan Kohberger escorted to court in Pennsylvania prior to his extradition back to Idaho to face charges in the deaths of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Inset: Kohberger's WSU portrait and the last known image of the victims together.

Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall had previously said she would not address the motion on the gag order until after the Idaho Supreme Court issued a decision on an appeal from a media coalition led by The Associated Press.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The state's highest court last week dismissed that appeal, finding that it should have been filed in a lesser court.

Latah Prosecutor Bill Thompson's office on Monday told Fox News Digital it was not able to comment on the nature of the hearing. Kohberger's defense attorney, Anne Taylor, did not respond to a request for comment.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one of felony burglary.

IDAHO MURDERS: BRYAN KOHBERGER DA CALLS IN BIG GUNS FROM STATE TO JOIN DEATH PENALTY CASE

The victims of Nov. 13 University of Idaho massacre, from left to right: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen.

Moscow, Idaho, police have alleged that he stalked an off-campus rental home before slipping inside around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, after the occupants had been out partying ahead of the Thanksgiving break, and killing four students, some of them in their sleep.

Story continues

Authorities identified the victims as Goncalves and two housemates, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and the latter's visiting boyfriend Ethan Chapin, also 20.

Each of them suffered multiple stab wounds from a large knife, according to the county coroner, and detectives found a Ka-Bar sheath next to Mogen's body which they say contained DNA that linked Kohberger to the crime scene.

The Goncalves family attorney, Shanon Gray, leaves Latah County Courthouse with the family after Bryan Kohberger's initial court appearance in Moscow, Idaho on Jan. 5, 2023. It was the first time they had come face-to-face with the suspected killer of Kaylee Goncalves and three of her friends.

IDAHO SUPREME COURT DISMISSES APPEAL OF BRYAN KOHBERGER GAG ORDER, DECIDING IT BELONGS IN LOWER COURT

Through phone records and surveillance video, police said they were able to link Kohberger's white Hyundai Elantra to the crime scene.

They arrested him at his parents' house in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, after he made a cross-country road trip home with his dad riding shotgun in the suspect vehicle.

Bryan Kohberger appears in court beside Kootenai County Public Defender Anne Taylor on Jan. 12, 2023.

Police seized the car, DNA samples and dozens of other items when they searched the home, court records show.

Two housemates survived the home invasion massacre.

One overheard a scuffle and crying or whimpering and told police she saw a masked man with "bushy eyebrows" leaving out the back door.

The other, defense investigators claim, may have "exculpatory information," however they dropped a subpoena request after she agreed to meet with them in her Nevada hometown instead of traveling back to Idaho for the June hearing.

Kohberger was a Ph.D. student at Washington State University at the time of the attack. The school is less than 10 miles down the road from the University of Idaho, where the four victims were undergraduate students.
Yoon's U.S. visit "a dangerous trip for nuclear war": KCNA

Xinhua) 09:52, May 01, 2023

SEOUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's latest U.S. trip was "the most hostile, aggressive and provocative, dangerous trip for a nuclear war," the state news agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Sunday.

In a commentary, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) voiced harsh criticism and a stern warning, lashing all out at the documents and rhetoric coming out of the recent U.S.-South Korea summit talks in Washington.

The commentary began by putting the Washington Declaration, a signature document on upgrading "extended deterrence" against the DPRK, in its crosshairs, reprimanding it as "a typical product of the heinous hostile policy towards the DPRK," designed to make "a nuclear war against the DPRK a fait accompli."

"There is no precedent that they (U.S. and South Korea) designated the DPRK as a target for a nuclear attack publicly to the world and nakedly stated regular and sustained deployment of strategic nuclear assets to the Korean Peninsula," it added.

The commentary then blasted the South Korean leader, saying his "treacherous and submissive acts to the U.S. are turning South Korea into a U.S. arsenal and advanced base for a nuclear war and hurting the security and interests of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the region."

South Korea and the United States issued the Washington Declaration on Wednesday, which announced the establishment of a new Nuclear Consultative Group and the upcoming visit of a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine to South Korea for the purpose of strengthening the so-called "extended deterrence."

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
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Wilmington police are investigating a fatal shooting that happened Sunday morning on 26th Street.

A Sunday morning 911 call released by officials reveals what happened after a woman allegedly shot her boyfriend at a home in the Princess Place neighborhood.

According to reports from the Wilmington Police Department, 55-year-old Annie Lou Bradford was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Rufus Singletary, 51, of Wilmington.

"Oh God," the caller said after calling around 6:48 a.m. The caller is not identified by name in the recording provided, but reports she shot her boyfriend during an argument. She requested an ambulance and said the victim charged at her before pulling the trigger.

"Please hurry," the caller said while talking to a dispatcher from the New Hanover 911 Center. "I'm so sorry."

More: Wilmington woman arrested in Sunday morning fatal shooting

The dispatcher asked if the victim was awake or breathing during the incident. The caller said they were scared to touch the person as the victim was bleeding in a bedroom. A 911 dispatcher instructed the caller to grab a cloth or towel to stop the bleeding by pressing firmly on the wound, which appeared to be on the victim's side, according to the conversation with the dispatcher.

A few minutes later, emergency workers came to the house on North 26th Street. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said this shooting was domestic in nature.

On Sunday, Bradford was sent to the New Hanover County jail without bail. She made a court appearance for the charges on Monday. District Court Judge Melinda Crouch set Bradford's bond at $500,000. Her next court date is scheduled for May 18 according to Samantha Dooies, assistant to the district attorney.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest news by signing up for the StarNews newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: 911 call from Sunday morning fatal shooting in Wilmington released
State Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the first openly transgender woman elected to Montana's legislature, is suing Republican leadership after they voted to censure her for comments she made criticizing her colleagues over a bill restricting gender-affirming health care.

"I'm suing," she tweeted Monday. "The recent actions violate my first amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation. Montana's State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, along with several attorneys, filed the lawsuit on her behalf in state court Monday against the state of Montana, House Speaker Matt Regier and Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt. The lawsuit alleges House leadership's actions are a violation of Zephyr's first amendment rights.

This is performance litigation  political activism masquerading as a lawsuit," said Emily Flower, the press secretary for Montana Department of Justice Attorney General Austin Knudsen. "The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans. Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.

State Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, alone on the house floor, stands in protest as demonstrators are arrested in the house gallery, Monday, April 24, 2023, in the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont.

Zephyr was silenced on the floor of the state house for a comment she made directed toward Republican colleagues if they voted for a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors.

I hope the next time theres an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands, she said, referencing the chamber's opening prayer.

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Zephyr silenced

Rep. Zooey Zephyr poses for a photo at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., on April 26, 2023.

House leadership refused to recognize Zephyr over the course of four days. Following protests from her constituents demanding she be allowed to speak, Regier and House Republicans voted to formally censure Zephyr.

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This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, she said in a statement.

Zephyr criticized the bill and its supporters when it was first introduced and as the House debated amendments to the legislation.

The Montana Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers, accused Zephyr of "hateful rhetoric."

Regier, the House Speaker, declined Zephyr the opportunity to speak about a bill that would put definitions of male and female into the states code. He also barred her on two additional occasions from speaking during discussion on a bill seeking to prevent minors from seeing online pornography as well as when she wanted to address a measure on student and parent rights in schools.

The censure excludes her from being on the State Capitol grounds and denied her entry to the House chamber.

More: A lawmaker told colleagues there would be blood on your hands. Shes been silenced for 3 days.

Supporters: 'Let her speak'

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, waves to supporters during a rally on the steps of the Montana State Capitol, in Helena, Mont., Monday, April 24, 2023.

A group of supporters outside the statehouse gathered to wave flags and chant "let her speak."

I was sent here to speak on behalf of my constituents and to speak on behalf of my community," Zephyr said. "Its the promise I made when I got elected and its a promise that I will continue to keep every single day."

Attorneys also filed the lawsuit on behalf of constituents they say are being denied a right to representation.

Contributing: Marina Pitofsky

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr sues Republican leadership for censure vote
Man.

On March 30, 2023, the journal Science unveiled the collaborative work of an international team that united 87 scientists across 66 institutions around the world to begin to refine the history of the horse in the Americas  this time with Indigenous scientists and knowledge keepers leading the way. This work, which embeds cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research between western and traditional Indigenous science, is a first step in a long-term collaboration.

Horses have been part of us since long before other cultures came to our lands, and we are a part of them, states Chief Joe American Horse, a leader of the Oglala Lakota Oyate, traditional knowledge keeper, and co-author of the study. The continent of North America is where horses first emerged. Despite the ancient and deep ancestral relationship many Indigenous Peoples of the Americas had  and have  with the Horse Nation, until this point there has been no place for the original Peoples of the Americas  or their horses - in this conversation. The global narrative was written around them, without them.

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This is very much a first-step of a long-term collaboration. The narrative that all horses in North America come from Spaniards is a paradigm, states Mario Gonzalez, Oglala Lakota tribal attorney and co-author of the study. He said the study intended to use Western genomics, Indigenous sciences and archeology to broaden that model. We need to be innovative. Just because the Spanish brought horses, does not necessarily mean that we did not already have horses here, and it does not negate the Peoples who cared for those horses before they came to be known as Spanish.

Lakota, French and American collaborators at the March 27, 2023 press conference for the release of the Science Journal piece titled Early Dispersal of Domestic Horses into the Great Plains and Northern Rockies at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. (Photo/Courtesy)

The purpose of this study was to test a narrative that features in almost every textbook on the history of the Americas that is based off of early European historic records. These accounts contend a recent adoption of horses by Indigenous Peoples across the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, an uprising of Indigenous Peoples against Spanish religious, cultural and economic control.

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Using both new and established practices from the archaeological sciences, our team identified evidence that horses were raised, fed, cared for, and ridden by Indigenous Peoples decades before the Pueblo Revolt, states William Taylor, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, who performed this archeological analysis on the specimen samples together with a large team of partners, including his Lakota, Comanche, Pawnee and Pueblo collaborators. Direct radiocarbon dating of discoveries ranging from Paako Pueblo in New Mexico, southern Idaho to southwestern Wyoming and northern Kansas showed that horses were present across much of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains conclusively before 1680.

Horse and rider petroglyph at the Tolar site, located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. This depiction was likely carved by ancestral Comanche or Shoshone people. (Photo/Pat Doak)

Importantly, this earlier dispersal and societal integration validates many traditional perspectives on the origin of the horse from project partners like the Comanche and Pawnee, who recognize the link between archaeological findings and oral traditions. Comanche Tribal Historian and study coauthor Jimmy Arterberry states: These findings support and concur with Comanche oral tradition. Archaeological traces of our horse culture are invaluable assets that reveal a chronology in North American history, and are important to the survival of Indigenous cultures. They are our heritage, and merit honor through protection. They are sacred to the Comanche.

This genomic collaboration between the Lakota team and the French team at the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse and Paul Sabatier University, led by Prof. Ludovic Orlando, proved invaluable, in that it acknowledged Indigenous scientific systems. For example, Lakota science focuses on the more than 99 percent of genomic relationality that was shown across global horse samples, while Western science tends to focus on the less than 1 percent genetic variance. These divergent viewpoints were published side by side in an unprecedented manner. Perhaps most importantly, the team is committed to future research together.

Western genomic analysis demonstrated that the horses surveyed in this study for many Plains Nations were primarily of Iberian ancestry, but not directly related with those horses that inhabited the Americas in the Late Pleistocene more than 12,000 years ago. Likewise, they were not the descendants of Viking horses, despite Viking establishing settlements on the American continent by 1021. This collaborative team is excited about what future steps will mean for Indigenous sciences and the world.

For the Lakota, scientifically investigating the history of Sungwaka, the Horse Nation, in the Americas is a perfect starting point to begin a global discussion in science, as it will necessarily highlight the places of connection and disconnection between Western and Indigenous approaches, states Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin, a traditional Lakota scientist who is also trained in ancient genomics and serves as a co-author of the study. Our elders have been clear from the start: working with our relative the horse will provide a roadmap for learning how to combine the power of all scientific systems, traditional and western alike.

Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin extracts ancient horse DNA at Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse (CAGT). (Photo/Northern Vision Productions)

The genome analyses did not just address the development of horsemanship within First Nations during the first stages of the American colonization. These analyses demonstrated that the once dominant ancestry found in the horse genome became increasingly diluted through time, gaining ancestry native from British bloodlines. Therefore, the changing landscape of colonial America was recorded in the horse genome: first mainly from Spanish sources, then primarily from British settlers.

In the future, this team is committed to continue working on the history of the Horse Nation in the Americas to include the scientific methodologies inherent in Indigenous scientific systems, as well as a greater contribution regarding migratory patterns and the effects on the genome due to climate change. This study was critical in helping to bring Western and Indigenous scientists together so that authentic dialogue and exchange may begin. It made me a better scientist who does not necessarily take for granted what western science takes for granted based on one line of evidence, Prof. Orlando said. It opened my mind to new perspectives, new ways to frame problems, and I hope new ways to answer questions. It showed me the complexity of reality. How much all things are related. It was a two-way street and I hope I did the same for them.

The challenges that our modern world faces are immense. In these times of massive biodiversity crisis and global climate warming, the future of the planet is threatened. Indigenous Peoples have survived the chaos and destruction brought about by colonization, assimilation policies and genocide, and carry important knowledge and scientific approaches centered around sustainability. It is now, more than ever, time to repair history and create more inclusive conditions for co-designing strategies for a more sustainable future. This study created a collaboration between western scientists and many Native Nations across the United States, from the Pueblo to the Pawnee, Wichita, Comanche, and Lakota.

We expect to be joined by many more soon. Our Horse Nation relatives have always brought us together and will continue to do so. As this collaboration develops, we invite all Indigenous Peoples to join us. We call to you, states Dr. Antonia Loretta Afraid of Bear-Cook, a traditional knowledge keeper for the Oglala Lakota and a study co-author.

About the Author: "Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany  When U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brings together the defense chiefs of more than 40 nations here in southwest Germany each month, the hours-long gathering typically ends the same way: Celeste Wallander, the Pentagons head of international security affairs, calls on each participant to read out what weapons their nation is ready to donate to Ukraine.

Its a question  perhaps the question  that will help determine Ukraines future more than a year following Russias invasion.

And it's made the monthly closed-door grouping of leaders  known by the anodyne bureaucratic title of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group  an under-the-radar yet central force in equipping the Ukrainian military with everything from precision rockets to main battle tanks. It's also helped the nation create an ad hoc yet astonishingly modern military that would be capable of outgunning some long-standing NATO members.



But on the sidelines of the group's April 21 meeting in a cavernous, wood-paneled ballroom here at the American-run Ramstein Air Base, it was clear that staying united  which the group has succeeded at for more than a year  will be an increasing challenge.

A number of fissures have emerged recently in the group, particularly over whether and when to send Western fighter jets to Ukraine, and delays in certain weapons shipments  most pressingly, German and Spanish tanks. Meanwhile, the mass transfer of weaponry to Kyiv has left donor nations worried about their own stockpiles, and recent meetings have started to turn to the issue of NATO allies reequipping themselves as well as sustaining the weapons donated to Ukraine for the long haul.

We have done a lot already in terms of the donations, but now the question is more on sustainability, Esa Pulkkinen, the permanent secretary, or deputy, in Finlands defense ministry, said as military leaders gathered at Ramstein last month.

Besides supporting Ukraine, we also need to replenish our own stocks, right? one European diplomat said.

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Austin, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov sit at a head table draped in white tablecloths, flanked by American and Ukrainian flags. Crystal chandeliers hang over their heads. Aides sip coffee and mingle in hushed voices on the sidelines.

The meeting starts, as always, with a battlefield update from the Ukrainians. The other members sit at two narrow tables perpendicular to the leaders table, forming three sides of an open rectangle. Each country is represented by a miniature flag next to its members microphone.



Austin leads the discussion, making opening and closing comments, but typically spends more time listening to the presentations. Wallander emcees, moving each presenter along. During the latest meeting, members devoted one 90-minute block to discussing sustainment and industrial base challenges; the entire meeting can last more than six hours.

The impetus for the Ramstein gatherings came about without fanfare early on in the conflict. While readying a secret trip to wartime Ukraine just a month after the Russian invasion, the people attending Austins daily 6:30 a.m. staff meeting on the third floor of the Pentagon  called a policy op sync and modeled off the twice-daily meetings he chaired during the Afghanistan evacuation  realized a major problem was brewing.

Kyiv had survived Russias initial onslaught, yet it was becoming clear that the U.S. and other countries would need to overcome past misgivings about arming Ukraine and commit for the long haul. In those early days, no one was coordinating the equipment that countries were quickly beginning to pledge, risking a serious miscalculation for the Western nations aiding Ukraine.

I did a lot of phone calls talking to countries, can you send this, and I think it was at that point that the idea developed that the secretary had, no, we need to bring the key contributors to Ukraine together so we can understand what the scope of this is, said Wallander in an interview at the Pentagon.



Austin named it the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which met on April 26, 2022, at Ramstein. It was the meeting  which was conceived and planned in about a weeks time  that kick-started the process of saving Ukraine.

Although disputes do break out between the participants, the sniping typically stays outside the room  a remarkable feat that members say is due to Austins steady leadership, calm presence and deep military knowledge. Austins attention to bilateral relations  including always giving countries public credit for their donations  has won him credibility, according to officials involved in the Ramstein meeting.

POLITICO spoke to 17 people directly involved in the discussions for this story, many of whom were granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings.

Tensions brewing

The Ramstein meetings are typically scripted affairs, during which ministers read from prepared notes. But the orderly gatherings mask significant differences between the governments working to arm Ukraine. Eastern European countries such as Poland and Estonia have leaned forward in providing aid, while Germany and France often lag. The United States  specifically Austin  at times must straddle the two sides.

Meanwhile, Kyiv is constantly asking for more  and better  equipment. The ink was barely dry on the decision to send Abrams main battle tanks in January, for example, when Ukrainian officials renewed a push to receive F-16 fighter jets.

The fighter jet question is still a live issue, and the split between the various participants over whether to send Western warplanes was on display at the most recent Ramstein meeting. While Austin and other U.S. officials have been clear that they do not believe F-16s are necessary for the current fight, others say that the group is still debating the issue.

There's an ongoing discussion about also other types of jets, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters on the balcony while participants stretched their legs during a break in the meeting.

Still, others seemed sure that Western jets will be heading to Kyiv at some point.

Western fighters will be a part of the Western military integration of the Ukraine armed forces, whether the time is now or perhaps later, Pulkkinen said.

President Joe Biden has at times called on Austin to use the Ramstein meeting to appeal to his counterparts directly to do more to help Ukraine. In January, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to send Leopard tanks without the U.S. first sending its own Abrams tanks, the president turned to Austin to make one final appeal to his brand-new German counterpart, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, at that months gathering.



Biden had reason to hope Austin could clinch a deal. Throughout the conflict, the defense secretary has consistently managed to turn his relationships into concrete aid for Ukraine. Early in the war, Austin personally brokered a deal with Slovakias defense minister for the eastern European country to send one of its Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, in exchange for the U.S. repositioning one of its Patriot missile systems to Slovakia.

But this time, Austin could not break through Berlins hesitation. Ultimately, Biden ended up greenlighting the Abrams, paving the way for Germany to send the Leopards.

Some nations are still frustrated with the slow pace of Berlins donations.

Germany should be sending more weapons, sending more ammunition, and giving more money to Ukraine, because they are the richest and the biggest country by far, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told POLITICO. He added that the Germans were not as generous as they should have been with Ukraine since the start of the war.

Collectively we have to, and we can, do more. We all understand what is at stake, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told POLITICO at Ramstein. Referring to his own government, he said, we have done a lot definitely.

Despite differences between the various countries, participants said Austins consistency and attention to personal relationships keeps each gathering running smoothly and is the reason the members return to Ramstein time and again to discuss new ways to support Ukraine.



Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand recalled how Austin encouraged her to donate some of Canadas 82 Leopard 2 tanks. Parting with those tanks was no small thing, she said. Her personal relationship with Austin  who she calls a constant gentleman"  was crucial in Ottawas decision to ultimately send four tanks.

This is why we have to gather. This is why we have to come together and that's to say why we have to help Ukraine, Pevkur said.

But the tensions over the tank decision could foreshadow more angst in the months ahead as Ukraine continues to suck up billions in munitions. Replacing all of that takes time, planning and significant investments.

New challenges

The last several meetings of the Ukraine group have seen allies starting to think hard about how to find the money  and the industrial capacity  to replace the gear sent to battle the Russians.

It still is the only effective format when it comes to coordination of deliveries but also of the needed materiel, one senior European diplomat said. Regardless [of] the differences in opinion.



Plus, they need to wade through a thicket of parochial interests and find a way to do something even more difficult: jointly manufacture ammunition and other materiel as the war in Ukraine grinds on and individual production lines reach their breaking point.

Another divisive issue is how defense spending is split among allies. NATOs annual report released in March showed that despite an entire year of pledging increased defense spending, only seven countries out of 30 have met the nine-year-old goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense  two fewer countries than hit the mark in 2021.

Other trends have emerged at the Ramstein meetings that have also frustrated some participants. According to the two European diplomats, a handful of countries have consistently promised equipment that never seems to arrive but is recycled at each meeting with no timeline attached.



They somehow never mention when that will happen, and then we have another Ramstein format happen and you are still claiming the same thing, one of the officials said.

Despite these emerging fissures, sticking with Kyiv for the long haul has been a talking point for all NATO allies since the start of the war, and even with some delays in promised equipment, donations continue to flow over the border to Kyiv. And 14 months in, with new spring and summer offensives on the way, there has been no change in that rhetoric.

We cannot let war fatigue in our societies and politics take hold, Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece said while visiting Washington just before the latest Ramstein meeting. We must grab this momentum and do everything possible to make the spring and summer Ukrainian offensive successful. We can't lose this moment.

Lili Bayer in Brussels contributed to this report.


On a spring morning in Solana Beach, 22 miles north of downtown San Diego, 20 fighters wake in a Holiday Inn. They make their way through the hotel, past the reception, and out onto the street, where their coach Marc Fiore awaits with a message. This morning, there will be no training on the sand, under the sun; with rare rain pouring down, the fighters training session instead starts under the concrete shelter of a parking garage.

When the aspiring mixed martial artists gratefully accepted an invitation from Graham Boylan, CEO of Europes leading promotion Cage Warriors, to take part in a life-changing fight programme in California, there would have been more daydreams of palm trees than parking lots. Then again, every fighter here dreams of being locked in a cage to compete, so the confines of a greyscale, underground, makeshift training space will suffice. After all, this is little more than an inconvenient disruption from a typical day at MMA Fight Academy.

Order is restored with a session at the chic BXNG Club next door, before sparring ensues at jiu-jitsu gym Studio 540 across town. There, Fiore  former coach of UFC legends Matt Huges and Robbie Lawler  oversees the group alongside black belt Jake Buracker, who studied under UFC icon BJ Penn. Under the tutelage of Fiore and Buracker, and the management of Boylan  who also works with UFC stars Paddy The Baddy Pimblett and Molly McCann  the MMA Fight Academy members are preparing for what they hope will be long, illustrious careers in the sport.

The 20 fighters here represent the remains of nearly 700 trialists from around the world. Four Britons, four Italians, and nine Indonesians are joined by one Tajikistani fighter, one from Moldova and one from Afghanistan. Some of the 20 are already pros, early in their careers, and others are amateurs. All are two months into a 12-week camp in San Diego, where their expenses are covered by the Academy, which is designed to give up-and-coming fighters a clearer pathway through MMA. Boylans Cage Warriors promotion is known as a feeder system to the UFC, with Conor McGregor, Pimblett, McCann and more having held its titles before taking their next steps. Now, MMA Fight Academy can be seen as a feeder system to Cage Warriors; most of the Academys fighters will feature on upcoming Cage Warriors cards, while others will compete at a Road To UFC event. For some, a contract with Cage Warriors will follow.

Story continues

Clockwise from top left: Liverpools Francis Breen and Connor Wilson; Indonesias Eperaim Ginting; and Italys Francesco Mazzeo (Mola)

The fighters progress will also be documented in a series produced by Mola, which will highlight how the Academy differs from a project familiar to most MMA fans: UFCs Ultimate Fighter. Whereas that programme pits two sets of aspiring fighters against each other, MMA Fight Academy was designed to build one team  a group of athletes to motivate and aid each other in progressing as combatants.

Boylan, his Irish accent infiltrated by an American intonation after five years living in California, tells The Independent: On day one, a lot of people were on edge, looking around the room, sizing each other up. But when we told them, Youre not gonna fight each other, the atmosphere changed within seconds. I said, Were gonna become a unit, youre gonna become inseparable. Weve taken 20 strangers from their homes, their families, and stuck them in a hotel. Theyve gotten to know each other by punching each other in the face twice a day, and theyve become a family. Five to 10 years from now, youre talking about a super team.

Teddy Stringer, 22, is one of four Britons on the MMA Fight Academy team (Mola)

The British side of the family comprises former Diversity dancer Jimmy Quinn from Dagenham; long-time friends from Liverpool, Connor Wilson and Francis Breen; and Chesterfields Teddy Stringer. Meanwhile, Afghanistans Milad Ahady fights out of South Shields, while Moldovas Marin Vetrila is based in Northampton. All are in their early-to-mid-20s. Ahady talks of the bullying he suffered upon first moving to England, due to his lack of English, and how he would seek haven in his local library, watching UFC fights and working on his language skills. By now, his accent is clearly that of a South Shields native.

Wilson, motivated by the need to provide for his young son back home, is a standout in sparring, while Stringer is a standout on the microphone when the athletes take part in their first press conference. I remember getting called to go to the tryouts, that was on Christmas Eve, he tells The Independent. I was out with my friends actually, down at the pub.

Im 22, I live with my mum back at home, Ive got a beaten up Vauxhall Corsa on my driveway  thats literally all Ive got going on. I love the UK, Im sure when I go back Ill be fond of things, have a digestive biscuit and a cup of tea, but the opportunity to stay out here is more attractive than that. I can get out of my comfort zone, push myself.

Edoardo Caiazza was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage at 17 years old but is now on track for a promising fight career (Mola)

Many of the combatants have compelling stories. Italys Edoardo Caiazza was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage at 17 and was unable to fight for the best part of four years. Compatriot Francesco Mazzeos father suffered from drug addiction, and the next man his mother met was the devil, as the 25-year-old puts it. Meanwhile, Khadim Dia, also 25, was sent away to Senegal by his family due to his own problems with drugs, before he found fighting. The Italians, stereotypically, stand out as the most fashionable on stage at the Academys press conference.

Most of the Indonesians speak little English, but Boylan, Fiore and Buracker hold many an anecdote about their antics. Yoga Prabowo was earning $20 per month as a PE teacher back home, and Ronal Siahaan is an active member of the Indonesian military. Meanwhile, Frans Sormins backstory is altogether darker, but it is the most inspiring of them all. The 26-year-old was abandoned by his father as a child, later survived a car accident but served time in jail, and even lost his home to a fire. More so than with any of his Academy colleagues, MMA saved his life.

And while Sormins story has a tragic beginning, Rheza Ariantos time at the Academy has come to a tragic end. A knockout in sparring has left the Indonesian unable to compete in China at the end of May, meaning his work in San Diego will have to be put towards a new goal.

It is a signifier that the Academy is an opportunity of a bright future in the sport, but not a guarantee of one. For all the assets available to the fighters here, the sports inherent risk cannot be removed.

The reward, however, may be unrivalled.

MMA Fight Academy has been created and is funded by entertainment company Mola as part of its commitment to invest in the future talent of the sports it broadcasts.
An international partnership, which is creating a new force for First Amendment education, has opened its doors on Vanderbilt Universitys campus and is taking on a slew of global free speech issues.

Justitia, a nonpartisan independent judicial think tank based in Copenhagen, Denmark, that focuses on issues of justice and human rights, opened its first office in the United States on April 17 on the Nashville campus as part of the universitys new project, entitled The Future of Free Speech.

The university must be a proving ground for free expression and civil discourse, said Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, in a statement announcing the partnership. In this moment of political polarization in the United States and around the world, universities might be the last best place where people can learn to converse and cooperate with those who see things differently.

The initiative, which is a collaboration between Justitia, Vanderbilt University and researchers from Aarhus Universitys Department of Political Science, will seek to answer three major questions through research, polling and outreach, according to the news release:

Why is freedom of speech in global decline?

How can we better understand and conceptualize the benefits and harms of free speech?

How can we create a resilient global culture of free speech that benefits everyone?

Vanderbilt University's new Chancellor Daniel Diermeier stands outside Kirkland Hall on campus in Nashville on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

Jacob Mchangama, the founder and executive director of Justitia, will be leading the project as it begins growing roots in Nashville. A recent transplant to America, Mchangama moved to Nashville just a day before the tragic Covenant School shooting.

Moving here with my kids was a shock to the system, he said. But I think there is some really amazing work to be done here.

Mchangamas interest in the First Amendment started abruptly, following the 2005 controversy in Denmark surrounding a series of editorial cartoons that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammed and resulted in mass protests and deaths globally.

Story continues

Denmark was a secular, very liberal country where everyone took free speech for granted, Mchangama explained. And then suddenly everyone was wondering  what does free speech mean when you have a minority who feels like their free speech is under attack? Suddenly, free speech was under serious threat from terrorist groups, and that was not the norm. So I dedicated my life to better understanding free speech.

Mchangamas drive resulted in creating Justitia and is leading him to make this partnership the most ambitious it can be.

Its basically our ambition to foster a resilient global culture of free speech, he said. And we do so by advocacy that is informed by robust, cutting-edge research and data, and an interdisciplinary approach. (Diermeier) has a very ambitious goal of making Vanderbilt University the leading U.S. university regarding fostering a culture of free speech and open dialogue.

Mchangama explained a number of projects the group will be tackling in the near future, including an interactive map of restrictions on free speech across the world, as well as a toolkit for organizations to combat misinformation.

We have researchers in about 20 countries, including the U.S., looking at laws and regulations restricting free speech for our map, he said. Were hoping this will give us a picture of how many laws and other habits that drive free speech restrictions. And were working on toolkits that can be used by civil organizations to counter hate speech and misinformation.

Mchangama said hes incredibly excited to bring these efforts to Tennessee  both because of the enthusiasm from Vanderbilt regarding the matter, and the sheer magnitude of First Amendment related issues occurring across the state.

Free speech really relies on an underlying commitment to tolerance, which is necessary for a thriving culture of free speech, he said. For one example, it seems that the Tennessee drag law is a prime example of how U.S. culture wars translate into restrictions on free expression for narrow partisan gains.

Overall, Mchangama says he hopes this effort will encourage people to consider free speech issues outside the box they normally inhabit.

Were nonpartisan and non-ideological, but one of the big problems in the U.S. is that commitment to the First Amendment  due to polarizations and tribalism  collapses along tribalist lines, he said. We hope to be able to come up with well-argued and thought-provoking ideas and opinions that will provoke people on both sides and persuade them that they rely on free speech  and when you undermine it, you are only ever a political majority away from being the target of those same restrictions.

The USA Today Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 731-343-5212 or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: International First Amendment partnership comes to Vanderbilt University
A 71-year-old man known as one of the best doctors in the country drowned while fishing in the Ozarks, Missouri police say.

Richard Brasington was fishing in the North Fork River in Ozark County and drowned Sunday, April 30, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

He was wading in the river when, for unknown reasons, he went underwater at 10 a.m., troopers said. His body was pulled out of the river at 2:15 p.m.

Brasington, from St. Louis, was a nationally and internationally known clinical rheumatologist, according to Memorial Hospital. The Chester, Illinois, hospital welcomed Brasington to its specialty clinic team in 2022.

He had been honored in the Americas Best Doctors list for many years, the hospital said.

Brasington also was a member of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis faculty, which he joined in 1996. In 2015, he received the universitys Distinguished Educator Award.

Medical students say that Brasingtons passion for teaching and talent for giving pivotal career advice make him a stand-out, the university said at the time. Students have honored him with two Clinical Teacher of the Year awards and two Distinguished Service Teaching Awards.

Brasington was the initial honoree of the Dr. Richard Brasington Mentorship Award, which his fellows awarded him in 2019.

Lacey Feigl-Lenzen, who worked with Brasington at Washington University, said words cant describe his impact on rheumatology.

Whether its faculty, fellows or staff, Dr. B was a champion of rheum education & patient care, Feigl-Lenzen said. Im lucky enough to call him my friend. You leave behind an incredible legacy & we love you forever, Rick.

Man fishing with friends drowns when their boat sinks in river, Georgia officials say

Dad, daughter swimming with family drown when rip current pulls them away, Florida cops say

Man dies surfing Oregon coast. His friend helped pull him to shore, rescuers say
Police are sworn to protect and serve but what happens when someone you think is an officer, turns out to be a fake? Action News Jax Investigates found fake police pulling people over in Jacksonville.

You were just driving down a road like this minding your business? Action News Jax Ben Becker asked Derrick Bell.

Pretty much. A guy pulled up behind me flashing his lights, he said.

Bell took video of someone in a black Chevy Impala who tried to pull him over near Interstate 295 and Collins Road.

Im looking. Im like, Thats not a police car, Bell said. So, he comes around me and Im like, Roll your window down. Roll your window down.

INVESTIGATES: Local homeowners sunny outlook on solar panel company turns cloudy

Bell took off after the car, got the license plate number, and then flagged down an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office.

Body camera video showed part of the encounter:

Officer: He was trying to pull you over?

Bell: Trying to pull me over.

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Officer: I can tell you hes going to be in trouble.

Eventually, JSO caught up with the driver, 32-year-old Willie Ramp, who was slapped with multiple charges including impersonating a law enforcement officer. He was eventually sentenced to 18 months of probation and two days in jail.

Becker went to Ramps home. There was no answer, but the same black Chevy Impala was parked in the driveway.

If you impersonate an officer, you plan to do something intentionally bad, Bell said.

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IMPERSONATING LAW ENFORCEMENT

In an Action News Jax investigation, Becker uncovered more than a dozen cases involving people impersonating JSO officers in the past three years.

In one case, Anthony Mack was arrested after attempting to assist a JSO officer during a traffic stop. He said in the police report that he was armed and had laminated ID cards that stated he was a law enforcement officer. Mack pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and received time served although he claims police lied about the encounter.

Story continues

In another case, Donna King was arrested after declaring I am the police during a failed stop where police discovered a firearm under the drivers seat loaded with a bullet chambered. She also pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and received time served. She could not be reached for comment.

INVESTIGATES: Jacksonville driver dead after being involved in two fatal crashes; 3 hospitalized

Law enforcement is on edge and civilians are on edge, Action News Jax law and safety expert, Dale Carson said. He said police impersonators erode the publics trust more now than ever.

If it played out properly, you are put in back of a car and taken to other locations and a parade of horrible things can occur, Carson said. It amounts to a kidnapping; youve been restricted. You cant leave.

INVESTIGATES: New documents reveal former Douglas Anderson teacher had several complaints prior to recent arrest

BUYING POLICE GEAR

Our investigation shows while these suspects used their own gear, Becker discovered the City of Jacksonville sells old JSO gear online, raising the question of whether or not it jeopardizes your safety.

Since 2020, Becker learned the city has sold 369 decommissioned JSO cars, SUVs, trucks, vans, and motorcycles for approximately $800,000 on the Govdeals.com website where you can bid on government surplus and unclaimed property.

Javier Alvarez is with Public Safety Supply which is a company that builds vehicles for numerous law enforcement agencies, including the Florida Highway Patrol.

Sources: DeSantis ally killed self amid JSO probe asking teen to undress for Taylor Swift tickets

If you want to just put a light bar on top and a couple of lights in front and the back, a lot of people could do that? Becker asked.

Anybody could do that, Alvarez said.

Alvarez said do-it-yourself lights are legal, as long as they arent blue or red, but if someone buys a stripped-down JSO cruiser, it can still look marked mainly because of the factory police wheels.

SEND BEN: Jacksonville business vs. customer big problem in small claims court

The department is making some money, but its making it affordable for someone to have a car, Alvarez said.

But could it be dangerous? Becker asked.

It can if it gets in the wrong hands and they want to rebuild it yes, it is dangerous, Alvarez said.

Since 2020, the city has also sold more than $10,000 worth of JSO uniforms and gear including helmets, and even gas masks, on Govdeals.com.

All the decals and logos are removed from the cars and clothing but a simple search on eBay reveals you can buy JSO patches for as little as $9.99.

INVESTIGATES: Tim Tebows father victim of extortion, arrests made in undercover sting

WHAT DO YOU DO?

So, what do you if you think youre being pulled over by a police impersonator?

Consider if did you do something to get pulled over like speeding or running a red light

If the situation doesnt feel right, call 911 and lock your windows, doors and pull over in a well-lit area if possible

Tell the person approaching your car that you have called a dispatcher to verify their identity. Most traffic stops are conducted by police in uniform. Its rare an officer will stop you in plain clothes. Officers are required to carry identification, a business card, and of course, a badge.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Becker received statements from both JSO and the City of Jacksonville.

JSO STATEMENT:

Impersonating a police officer is a serious offense which poses a heightened level of concern, and each incident is thoroughly investigated when such reports are received. When JSO gets rid of old uniforms, all insignia is removed prior to being sent back to the City, making them nothing more than blue pants and shirts. While being able to purchase law enforcement insignia online has potential to be problematic, it is not illegal. Being able to purchase police insignia online is no different than any other item you can purchase in that it is not the item itself, but what the person does with it that creates the criminal act.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

CITY OF JACKSONVILLE STATEMENT:

Obviously, impersonating a Law Enforcement Official is a serious concern. Our JSO and other Law Enforcement personnel swear an oath of office to protect and serve the Jacksonville community. Someone violating that trust and that oath by impersonating an officer is not only a blow to our community but is a serious crime in the eyes of the law. Impersonating an officer is a Felony in the state of Florida.

While we cannot control everything happening at every moment in our city, we continue to work hand in hand with JSO to prevent, identify, and address all manner of crime in our community. Maintaining the respect and sanctity of the JSO uniform and office is a critical part of ensuring the safety of our community. If someone is impersonating an officer, they are breaking the law, and will be held accountable for their actions.

Almost every major city in the country participates or has participated in reselling old uniforms. Reselling stripped uniforms and vehicles helps fund law enforcement, while decreasing the burden on the taxpayer. It reduces waste, boosts the economy, and ensures a stable supply of funding for law enforcement. The uniform collection and stripping occurring in Jacksonville are handled solely by the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office. During this time, all identifying markers and modifications are completely removed from the items. They are then listed by the JSO to partner websites for sale as blank items. The only part of the process that the City of Jacksonville is involved in is listing these items on the government website you cited. Ultimately, this is a very common practice, and helps reduce the footprint of our organizations, recoup funding, and remove the burden of that funding from the taxpayer. This recouped funding is used to ensure legitimate officers are on the streets, and that our law enforcement officers can best protect and serve our community. While we cannot control what a buyer does with their purchase, if they choose to use that purchase to commit a crime, for example the felony of impersonating an officer, they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
A federal investigation found that two hospitals violated federal law by denying a Joplin woman an emergency abortion when her water broke at 17 weeks.

Mylissa Farmer is a Joplin woman who was turned away from both hospitals in August 2022 after her water broke 18 weeks into her pregnancy. Farmer, who eventually traveled to Illinois to terminate her pregnancy after it was deemed "not viable," said she was unable to get help in Missouri, which about a month earlier had instituted a broad ban on abortion.

In early November, the National Women's Law Center, representing Farmer, requested an investigation into whether Freeman Hospital in Joplin and University of Kansas Medical Center violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.

First reported by the Associated Press Monday morning, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed via email Monday morning that an investigation had taken place and the hospitals were informed of the steps needed to comply with EMTALA.

More: After Missouri banned abortions, she was left 'with a baby dying inside.' Doctors said they could do nothing.

Federal law, which requires doctors to treat patients in emergency situations, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.

"Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. "We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts."

Freeman Hospital in Joplin has not returned a request for comment.

"The care provided to the patient was reviewed by the hospital and found to be in accordance with hospital policy. It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law. There is a process with CMS for this complaint and we respect that process," said a statement from the University of Kansas Health System. "The University of Kansas Health System follows federal and Kansas law in providing appropriate, stabilizing, and quality care to all of its patients, including obstetric patients."

Story continues

More: Rep. Crystal Quade requests records of MO investigation into Joplin woman, hospital

"We're incredibly glad that the Biden-Harris administration took decisive action here to protect the rights of pregnant patients needing emergency abortions. This enforcement action makes it loud and clear that no one should be refused emergency health care, including when that health care is an abortion," said Alison Tanner, NWLC's litigation senior counsel for reproductive rights and health. "EMTALA has been around for 40 years, but the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs has created a public health crisis, so these enforcement actions are necessary to help guide hospitals in making sure that no other patient experiences what our client Mylissa Farmer experienced in August of 2022."

The NWLC complaint launched one of two investigations into the hospitals. The other investigation was authorized on Oct. 20 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and was into Freeman Hospital in Joplin, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

I am pleased with this decision, but pregnant people across the country continue to be denied care and face increased risk of complications or death, and it must stop, Farmer said. I was already dealing with unimaginable loss and the hospitals made things so much harder. Im still struggling emotionally with what happened to me, but I am determined to keep fighting because no one should have to go through this.

Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said in a statement that health care providers "have a legal and ethical obligation" to provide care, and that no one should have to travel out of state to receive necessary medical procedures.

"Although Missouris dangerous abortion ban excludes 'medical emergencies,' emergency room doctors and hospital lawyers are frightened to provide abortion care because of the bans medically fraught definition of medical emergency and an overzealous attorney general," Rodriguez said. "Abortion 'exceptions' are only serving to harm people who need care and are leading medical authorities like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to warn against any and all governmental interference in the practice of medicine.

If hospitals don't comply, they won't be able to participate in Medicare

Hospitals that don't abide by CMS guidelines are at risk of not receiving Medicare funding. When deficiencies are identified, hospitals must make corrections "in a timely manner" and then have the corrections verified onsite by surveys, according to CMS.

"CMS is committed to investigating allegations of noncompliance with EMTALA. The agency acted promptly to investigate and identify the violations at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and the University of Kansas hospitals in Kansas City, Kansas, said a CMS spokesperson.

"CMS is committed to investigating allegations of noncompliance with EMTALA. The agency acted promptly to investigate and identify the violations at Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and the University of Kansas hospitals in Kansas City, Kansas, said a CMS spokesperson.

While the violations have been identified, CMS cases aren't closed until a hospital is verified to be in-compliance. According to CMS, the organization will work closely with the hospitals as they take steps toward compliance and verification.

This story contains reporting from the Associated Press. Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: CMS: MO, KS hospitals violated law by denying Joplin woman abortion
Iowans must be present to participate in the state's caucuses under a bill the House passed Monday  a bid by Republicans to fend off the threat of New Hampshire jumping the line to become the first presidential nominating contest.

This is my best way to compromise and to give the parties the flexibility to do what they want without allowing either party to endanger Iowas first-in-the-nation status," said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton.

The bill would require in-person participation for caucuses that select delegates for the presidential nominating process. State law requires Iowa to hold the first presidential nominating contest in the country.

Iowa Democrats have said they are committed to providing a mail-in option for their 2024 caucuses, but the exact details of the party's plan have not been released. Republicans have criticized the plan, which Gov. Kim Reynolds has called "by definition a primary and not a caucus."

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said the Iowa Democratic Party will be releasing its delegate selection plan soon. She expects Democrats will still be able to offer alternative options for caucus participation.

"I don't think this bill does anything to preclude the Iowa Democratic Party from continuing with our plan to make the caucuses more inclusive, early and a great representation of who the country should have as our nominee," Konfrst told reporters.

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, said last month that his state would move to preempt Iowa on the presidential nominating calendar if Iowa Democrats move forward with a caucus-by-mail plan.

More: Iowa Democrats say they're forging ahead with caucus-by-mail plan despite GOP in-person bill

The Iowa House voted 61-32 Monday afternoon to pass House File 716. The measure must still pass the Iowa Senate before it could go to the governor to be signed into law.

Rep. Amy Nielsen said the bill was "overreach and micromanagement" of the caucus process.

Story continues

Our caucuses have plenty of integrity," said Nielsen, D-North Liberty. "They run pretty decently when our national parties stay out of it."

Iowans would have to be present in person to caucus. What else would the bill do?

Iowans would be required to be physically present to participate in a political party's presidential caucuses, if the bill becomes law.

"It does require in-person voting, but only if the purpose of that caucus is to select delegates to your national convention, which is the trigger and the threshold that New Hampshire sees as us being a primary versus a caucus," Kaufmann told reporters before debate.

Current Iowa law requires the caucuses to be held no later than the fourth Monday in February and at least eight days earlier than any other presidential nominating contest.

The in-person requirement would apply only if the caucuses are held in accordance with the date that is currently required by Iowa law.

But Iowa Democrats' position in the presidential nominating calendar is in flux after the Democratic National Committee voted in February to remove Iowa from its first-in-the-nation spot and instead make South Carolina the first contest.

More: Iowa GOP advances bill requiring in-person caucusing, pre-registration

Scott Brennan of Iowa speaks in opposition to proposed changes to the presidential nominating calendar during a Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting to discuss President Joe Biden's proposal at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington.

The bill would also allow political parties to set their own deadlines for when Iowans have to be registered members of the party to participate in the caucuses. That would allow Republicans, for instance, to require Iowans to be registered as Republican voters in advance before they can caucus.

Currently, Iowans can register with a political party at the time they go to caucus and still participate.

The original version of the bill would have required anyone wishing to caucus to register with their chosen party at least 70 days ahead.

The bill would not affect Iowa's existing same-day voter registration for voters participating in federal, state and local elections.

The bill also changes the mechanism for choosing a political party's nominee in the case of a primary election tie for state representative or state senator.

"The current law says that, if two people tie in a primary, the winner gets drawn out of a hat. That, to me, seems to be a little ridiculous," Kaufmann said. "So what this amendment does is it puts the respective parties' folks in charge of deciding who that nominee is in the event of a tie."

The bill would change the process so that party committee members from the precincts within the legislative district would meet to choose between the tied candidates.

Democrats and Republicans have long acted in unison to protect the Iowa caucuses. What changed?

Iowa Democrats and Republicans are usually in lockstep when it comes to defending Iowa's first-in-the-nation status, but the two parties face competing interests that have made it increasingly hard for them to cooperate this year.

The Democratic National Committee voted in February to make South Carolina the first state in the party's 2024 presidential nominating process, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan, removing Iowa from the leadoff spot it has long occupied.

More: New Hampshire says Iowa Democrats' new caucus plan would trigger 2024 calendar fight

Iowa Democrats are under intense pressure from the DNC to change their caucus process to make it more inclusive and allow more Iowans to participate. Iowa Democratic Party leaders say that if they move to a mail-in caucus, they hope Iowa can remain in the early window of the presidential nominating calendar, even if its no longer first.

Meanwhile, Iowa Republicans are set to lead the Republicans' 2024 nominating calendar, but they face the possibility that New Hampshire will jump ahead of Iowa if Iowa Democrats move forward with a process that too closely resembles a primary.

New Hampshire voters have been participating in the first-in-the-nation primary for more than a century.

New Hampshire officials have said they intend to hold the first Democratic primary, which would incur sanctions from the DNC. Reshuffling the Republican nominating order would likely spark a reaction from the Republican National Committee as well, although how the party would respond is unclear.

"Just because the Democrats choose to not make Iowa first in the nation, I don't think that Republicans in the state of Iowa should be punished for that," House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters Thursday. "And as legislators, I think we have a responsibility to protect our first-in-the-nation status."

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.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa GOP to require in-person caucuses in bid to stay first in nation
A Des Moines woman was sentenced Monday to five months in prison for her involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Deborah Sandoval, 56, was arrested in February 2021 along with her son Salvador Sandoval Jr., of Ankeny. Both traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 6 rally organized by supporters of then-President Donald Trump and were part of the mob that broke through police lines and stormed the Capitol, according to prosecutors.

On the day her trial was scheduled to start in December, Deborah Sandoval instead pleaded guilty to a single charge of entering a restricted building.

According to court filings, she admitted that prior to Jan. 6, she sent Facebook messages about planning to travel to D.C. and that "if the electors don't elect we will be forced into civil war."

More: Iowan Deborah Sandoval pleads guilty to Capitol riot charge; son convicted at trial

Once in D.C., she traveled from the rally to the Capitol, entering through a door that had already been forced open. Another rioter captured video of Sandoval shouting "get her a-- out here," referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sandoval remained in the building for about 24 minutes.

Several other charges were dropped due to her guilty plea, according to the plea agreement.

After a two-day trial in December, Salvador Sandoval Jr. was found guilty on 12 counts by D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas Hogan, according to online court records. He is set for sentencing Aug. 7 for charges including:

One count of civil disorder

Four counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers

One count of obstruction of an official proceeding

One count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds

One count of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds

One count of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds

One count of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building

One count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building

One count of act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building

Story continues

The Sandovals are among eight Iowans so far to face charges related to the riot. One, Doug Jensen of Des Moines, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, 36 months supervised release and $2,000 of restitution. The only other case still outstanding is that against Leo Kelly of Cedar Rapids, who is scheduled for trial May 1.

More: Who is Doug Jensen? Tracing a QAnon believer's path to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the charges against Salvador Sandoval Jr.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowan Deborah Sandoval faces prison time in January 6 US Capitol riot
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli parties have made no progress towards a compromise over the government's bitterly disputed judicial overhaul package after a month of meetings, Benny Gantz, head of one of the largest opposition parties, said on Monday.

The planned overhaul, which would give the government control over naming judges to the Supreme Court and let parliament override many rulings, was paused after some of the biggest street protests ever seen in Israel.

President Isaac Herzog has overseen meetings between various political parties, aiming to overcome divisions. The government says the overhaul is needed to rein in activist judges and restore balance between parliament and the courts.

However, Gantz, defence minister in the previous government, said the talks were "not really progressing on any of the issues". In particular, he pointed to a standoff over one of the central issues, the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee, which appoints judges and would be controlled by members from the government camp under current plans.

"We set out with a number of principles, first and foremost that there will be no politicization of the judicial system. It hasn't changed and it won't change," he said, as the Knesset parliament returned from its spring break.

Opponents say the proposals would remove vital checks and balances and give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition free rein, threatening minority rights and undermining Israel's democratic foundations.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets every week since the start of the year, with opponents including most of the business establishment, lawyers, academics and significant numbers of military reservists.

The dispute drew in the army, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warning that the divisions were threatening national security and calling for a halt. The comments prompted Netanyahu to fire Gallant before reversing course after an outcry.

Story continues

The government and supporters have said they hope for compromise but have vowed not to back down and have organised large counter demonstrations.

(This story has been corrected to show that Gantz's party is not the largest opposition party, in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Whats poppin? Louisville native and rapper Jack Harlow stopped by eight different Jefferson County Public Schools on Thursday, according to JCPS spokesperson Carolyn Callahan. As hes been coined, the hometown hero offered advice, answered questions and took selfies with stunned students.

It was a really great experience for students to have Jack Harlow come back to JCPS, Callahan told the Courier Journal. He told them to always work hard and push themselves to keep getting better at what they love to do.

She said some cried, others screamed, and one student even dropped her lunch tray at Waggener High School.

 SURPRISE VISIT | Wed say students and staff were just a little excited when @jackharlow visited his old middle school, @HighlandPROUD this morning! #WeAreJCPS pic.twitter.com/5hmlP0R0FL  JCPS (@JCPSKY) April 27, 2023

It didnt take long for photos and videos of his visits to flood social media.

Everybody texting me saying they saw Jack Harlow at their school im actually boutta cry  Liz. (@HeatSznlol_) April 27, 2023

The other six schools were Jeffersontown High School, Fern Creek High School, Waggener High School, Central High School, Ballard High School and duPont Manual High School.

 SURPRISE VISIT | JCPS grad @jackharlow visited 8 schools today to say hi to students and staff. He shared the advice to work hard and always push yourself to be your best. #WeAreJCPS pic.twitter.com/EavjKCDi88  JCPS (@JCPSKY) April 27, 2023

duPont Manuals School of Journalism and Communications posted videos of the rapper taking selfies and talking with students on Twitter. In one video, Harlow tells students he caught a vibe and knew he had to come to their school.

Theres good energy in here, the Louisville native told students.

For him to come back and speak to the kids and give them some motivation, was fantastic. Mario Wales, a Highland Middle School student support staff member who got to know Harlow, told Wave3.com.

Highland administrators said the 25-year-old came through a back door and went on to meet with seventh graders at the school. Staff were impressed by his motivational message to students.

Very empowering words about where he started in middle school, how to hold on to your dream and just keep grinding it out, Wales told WDRB.

Across Twitter, people also asked Harlow to come to their school.

@jackharlow please come to my school Ill give u a dollar   StarGirl (@wakeupjournee) April 27, 2023

The school visits come on the heels of Harlows new album, which he announced on Wednesday. Jackman is already sparking a lot of conversation, especially as the cover picture was taken in the Deer Park neighborhood of Louisville.

Ten songs make up the album, which dropped Friday, including Common Ground, They Dont Love It, Ambitious and more.

Harlow will also make his acting debut in White Men Cant Jump, which debuts May 19 on the streaming service Hulu.

He planted some seeds somewhere in this building today, Vanessa Green, the Highland principal, told WDRB.

Were just hoping that comes to fruition, she added.
The Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma is now a visiting professor at Tokyo College. Firdia Lisnawati/AP

The Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma has joined Tokyo College, which is run by the University of Tokyo.

Ma will be conducting research and teaching about sustainable agriculture and food production.

A former English teacher, Ma has been lying low for two years after he angered regulators in China.

Jack Ma, the cofounder of Alibaba, has taken up a teaching position in Japan, one of the first public roles he has assumed since disappearing from the spotlight in 2020.

In his new role, Ma, who was once China's richest man, is expected to conduct research on sustainable agriculture and food production, Tokyo College said in an announcement on Monday.

The announcement says that Ma will also "share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation" in seminars at the college, which is run by the University of Tokyo.

Ma's term as a visiting professor starts on May 1. It marks the 58-year-old's return to teaching after his retirement from Alibaba in September 2019. Ma was an English teacher for several years before he cofounded Alibaba.

Ma said in May 2019 that he would go back to teaching after retiring from Alibaba in September of the same year. At the time, he said he was returning to his roots because of his love for the profession.

Ma's return to a public-facing role comes more than two years after he angered Chinese authorities in October 2020 during a speech in which he criticized China's financial-regulatory system and claimed that Chinese banks were operating with a "pawnshop" mentality.

Days later the $37 billion float of his fintech business, Ant Group, was canceled.

The cancellation of Ant's IPO triggered a wider crackdown on tech firms in the country.

This pressured Alibaba's share price, which fell by more than 70% from its 2020 peak. Ma's wealth plummeted from a high of $61 billion in October 2020, to an estimated $33 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Story continues

Since then, Ma  who was once a high-profile jet-setter  has been lying low, spurring intense speculation about his whereabouts.

In November 2022, Ma was spotted in Japan where he socialized mainly within several private members clubs, according to the Financial Times. In January, he was seen in Bangkok, Thailand, where he visited a Michelin-starred street-food restaurant and watched a Muay Thai fight. He also popped up in Hong Kong in January.

Ma has been getting more time in the limelight since March when returned to a school he founded in his hometown of Hangzhou in east China. In April, he was appointed an honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Jack Ma, pictured here in 2014, was one of the most high-profile targets of China's tech crackdown

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma on Monday took up a visiting professor position at a Japanese university, another new academic role for the founder of tech giant Alibaba.

Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo, said Ma would "share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation" in seminars for students and staff.

The 58-year-old has kept a low profile since his fall from grace during a Chinese government crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago.

But he recently accepted an honorary professorship from the University of Hong Kong's business school, reportedly for a three-year term ending in March 2026.

On its website, Tokyo College said Ma would "conduct joint research and projects" with faculty members, "especially in the field of sustainable agriculture and food production".

As visiting professor, the magnate is also expected to "provide advice and support" on research topics.

Before launching Alibaba -- whose operations span e-commerce, cloud computing, media and AI -- Ma taught English for eight years at Hangzhou Dianzi University in eastern China.

He was one of the most high-profile targets of a crackdown on alleged anti-competitive practices by some of China's biggest names in tech from late 2020.

Driven by fears that major internet firms control too much data and expanded too quickly, regulators issued Alibaba with record fines and scrapped the IPO of Ma's Ant Group.

Ma has largely been absent from public view over the past two years, but was spotted on a Spanish island and was reportedly living in Japan for much of 2022.

He made a rare public appearance in China in March, when he visited a school founded by Alibaba partners in the city of Hangzhou.

kaf/dva
Jamie Dimon is CEO of JPMorgan. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan bought First Republic after the US government asked it to "step up."

The bank picked up most of First Republic's assets, including about $92 billion in deposits.

First Republic was taken over by regulators days after revealing the extent of its run on deposits.

Jamie Dimon said JPMorgan's acquisition of First Republic came after the US government asked the bank to "step up" in a deal that will "modestly" benefit America's biggest bank.

JPMorgan acquired a substantial majority of First Republic's assets after the regional lender was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The bank's stock price jumped as much as 4.2% in pre-market trading following the announcement early Monday, with JPMorgan saying it would pick up $92 billion in customer deposits.

"Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did," JPMorgan CEO Dimon said in a press release.

"Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop a bid to execute the transaction in a way to minimize costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund.

"This acquisition modestly benefits our company overall, it is accretive to shareholders, it helps further advance our wealth strategy, and it is complementary to our existing franchise."

First Republic was caught up by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in early March as investors cast doubt on its loan book, wiping out most of the bank's stock market value.

While a $70 billion credit line from the likes of JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve kept the wolves from the door, last week's first-quarter earnings release revealed the extent of the run on the San Francisco-based bank.

Deposits fell 41% in the first three months of 2023 to $104.5 billion, sending its share price plummeting further. With no white knight riding to its rescue, First Republic fell into FDIC receivership at a cost of $13 billion to the regulator.

Story continues

JPMorgan was reported to be in contention with competitor PNC Financial Group to take control of First Republic following its collapse, after being heavily involved in attempts to help rescue the ailing lender.

In addition to most of First Republic's deposits, JPMorgan will pick up about $173 billion in loans and about $30 million of securities. It said it won't assume First Republic's corporate debt or preferred stock.

JPMorgan said it will record a post-tax gain of approximately $2.6 billion, which doesn't reflect a $2 billion restructuring bill anticipated over the next 18 months.

On a private call with journalists heard by Insider, Dimon was quizzed about whether JPMorgan was now considered too big to fail following the acquisition of First Republic, and whether the acquisition might cause discontent.

"We bank countries, we bank the IMF, we bank the World Bank," Dimon responded as he talked up the capabilities JPMorgan enjoyed thanks to its size.

"You need large successful banks, and anyone who thinks it would be good for the United States not to have that should call me directly."

First Republic's shares slumped more than 40% to $2.10 in pre-market trading, while JPMorgan rose 2.5% to $141.70.

Dimon will host a call with reporters at 8 a.m. ET to give more details of the acquisition.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Jamie Oliver shared a photo with Jock Zonfrillo and the other MasterChef Australia judges just hours before the 46-year-olds death.

The Scottish chef and restaurateurs family announced the news of his death on Monday (1 May).

Promoting his upcoming appearance on the Australian version of the cooking competition staple, Oliver had posted a selfie with Zonfrillo on Instagram right before his death was announced.

Just hanging out with my new buds @zonfrillo, @andyallencooks and @fooderati on the set of @masterchefau! Oliver wrote.

So excited for you all to see the first episode of Masterchef Australia! Aussie friends, its on TONIGHT at 7:30pm on @channel10au !! Yours truly is in it and theres some pretty amazing dishes I get to taste!

The Naked Chef star has since deleted the post and replaced it with another paying tribute to Zonfrillo.

Sharing a different selfie with the chef, Oliver wrote: Im in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this years master chef [sic], I cant tell how good it was to work with him!

Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really gratefulMellisa, Andy & Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have there very own unique view and style

He continued: Jock will be so very missedI cant believe Im writing this.Sending heart felt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family the master chef team and contestants xxx. Love jamie.

The news of Zonfrillos passing was announced on the day the 2023 season of MasterChef was scheduled to air.

However, the network has since confirmed that the shows 15th season will no longer air as planned.

This is a terribly sad day, Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president of the networks parent company Paramount ANZ, said in a statement.

Jock was an extraordinary man. He was a wonderful colleague and friend, and we feel very privileged to have had him play such an important and impactful role in MasterChef.

Story continues

Despite all his notable professional milestones, nothing brought him more joy or happiness than his family. Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.

Zonfrillo worked under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in his early career before establishing himself in Australia as the head chef at Restaurant 41 in Sydney in 2000, going on to open his own Restaurant Orana in 2013.

He is survived by his wife and four children. In 2021, Zonfrillo spoke about the unusual item he was hoping to normalise after viewers spotted him carrying around while on MasterChef.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the government could run out of money as soon as June 1.

In a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Yellen urged Congress to raise the debt ceiling.

Democrats have torpedoed a GOP proposal that would raise the ceiling for a year and make massive cuts.

The US could fall into an unprecedented economic crisis that will cost millions of jobs and roil the global economy as soon as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

In a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Yellen said that the government will default on its obligations by early June if Congress does not step in to raise or address the debt ceiling.

The looming X-date  which refers to the projected day the government runs out of money  comes after House Republicans narrowly pushed through a package that would pair a one-year debt ceiling hike with massive spending cuts, including banning student-loan forgiveness and strengthening work requirements for welfare programs.

"Given the current projections, it is imperative that Congress act as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit in a way that provides longer-term certainty that the government will continue to make its payments," Yellen wrote.

But Congressional action still seems like a far-off reality, as Democrats pronounce House Republicans' plan dead on arrival. Moody's Analytics found that the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023  which narrowly squeaked by in the House, with some Republicans still not on board  would cost the country 780,000 jobs by the end of 2024, and its short-term raise could further exacerbate economic uncertainty. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that that legislation has "has no hope of ever becoming law," and, if anything, it means that "MAGA House Republicans actions have increased the likelihood of default."

President Joe Biden has also vowed to veto the legislation if it lands on his desk, pushing instead for a clean increase without caveats and addendums.

Story continues

A default would plunge the US into an unknowable economic crisis, destabilizing both the country and the worldwide economy. Even if the breach is short-lived, that could cost Americans nearly a million jobs and a mild recession by the end of the year, per Moody's; a longer crisis could result in 2.6 million jobs lost.

"If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests," Yellen wrote. "I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A city in Japan has decided to remove a street piano after officials concluded too many people were displaying poor manners while playing.

The local council in Kakogawa placed a piano inside the area's main railway station in November.

Authorities hoped residents would respond to a global trend that has seen a huge rise in street pianos.

But officials were disappointed by apparent rule-breaking, such as people playing for too long or singing.

In law-abiding Japan, some directives were laid out for the piano's use. Officials insisted that users should disinfect their hands before playing, that performances should be kept to 10 minutes and that people should avoid voice accompaniment.

But they decided to pull the plug on the grounds that too many people used the piano for longer, or sang loudly while playing.

Some budding musicians stand accused of practising the same sounds, over and over - for up to an hour - while others provoked complaints by continuing to play during station announcements.

Officials said they had issued warnings, but saw no improvement.

But there is hope for local music lovers. Officials say they might place the offending piano in a different public location, away from the station loudspeakers.
The Jefferson County Commission last week voted to offer a settlement totaling $7.5 million to Floyd Bledsoe, shown in the checkered shirt, who served 16 years behind bars. Bledsoe was convicted in that county of a murder and sexual assault he didn't commit.

Jefferson County now faces the challenge of budgeting in a manner that will free up $7.5 million for it to pay to Floyd Bledsoe, wrongfully convicted there of murder, its county commission chairman acknowledged Monday.

"We're still trying to figure out how we're going to do some things," Chairman Richard Malm told The Capital-Journal.

Commissioners voted last week to offer the settlement to Bledsoe, 46, who was released from prison in 2015 after DNA evidence proved he couldn't have killed his sister-in-law, 14-year-old Camille Arfmann, in 1999 in Oskaloosa.

Bledsoe will be paid $1.5 million initially, with the rest coming over the next 10 years. The commission would have had to propose a bond if Bledsoe hadn't agreed to accept that arrangement.

Jefferson County's 2023 budget authority for expenses totals about $26.9 million, according to a State of Kansas website.

Malm said reaching the settlement was important because it enables Jefferson County officials to put the situation behind them.

"This has been hanging over our heads for quite a while," he said.

More: Four Shots in Oskie - Part 1: The confessions of Tom Bledsoe

Why did Floyd Bledsoe go to prison?

The agreement ended a nearly seven-year legal battle over a federal lawsuit Bledsoe filed in 2016 alleging the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department fabricated evidence against him and suppressed evidence in his favor.

Bledsoe was 23 when he was convicted in May 2000 of the murder of Camille, 14, who had been shot four times, including once in the back of the head.

Camille had been living at the time with Bledsoe; her sister, Heidi Bledsoe, who was then married to Floyd Bledsoe; and Floyd and Heidi Bledsoe's two young sons. Heidi Bledsoe later divorced Floyd Bledsoe.

Floyd Bledsoe was a hired hand at a McLouth dairy at the time at Camille's death. His brother, Tom Bledsoe, then 25, was a security guard at Lawrence's Farmland Industries.

Story continues

Camille was a student at Oskaloosa High School. Soon after she was killed, Tom Bledsoe confessed to the crime.

But Jefferson County officials responded by staging a "false recantation," said the lawsuit petition Floyd Bledsoe filed in 2016.

"In the weeks that followed, the defendants continued to fabricate and shape Toms story to fit facts emerging from the criminal investigation and silenced Tom when he repeatedly tried to come clean," it said.

Floyd Bledsoe was convicted after a trial that court records said "included recitations of statements made by Floyd's 2-year-old son, Cody, which implicated Tom and Floyd alternatively."

While the boy didn't testify at trial, Heidi Warren testified there that he initially told her he saw "Tom" kill Camille, then changed that to say he saw "daddy" commit that crime.

Floyd Bledsoe was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

How was Floyd Bledsoe exonerated?

During his years in prison, Bledsoe was kept in "harsh, dangerous and isolating" conditions, his lawsuit petition said.

"Plaintiff had been convicted of a horrific crime  sexually abusing and killing a young girl  and had to endure the humiliation and injustice of being wrongly branded a 'sex offender' and a murderer," it said. "Because Floyd had been sentenced to life in prison, he feared that he would die alone inside the prison walls."

The Project for Innocence commissioned new DNA testing done in 2015 that showed Tom Bledsoe, had likely killed Camille and that Floyd couldn't have been the killer.

As Jefferson County sheriffs officials reopened the case, Tom died of suicide by asphyxiation in November 2015 in Bonner Springs and confessed to the murder in three suicide notes.

Who did Floyd Bledsoe sue?

Floyd Bledsoe was released from prison in December 2015.

He filed a lawsuit in May 2016 alleging his constitutional rights had been violated by Jefferson County and 11 named defendants.

Those were the following:

 Roy Dunnaway, who was Jefferson County sheriff in 2000. Dunnaway died in 2017.

 Jeff Herrig, who was Jefferson County undersheriff in 2000 and is now the county's sheriff.

 Randy Carreno, Troy Frost, Orin Turner and Robert Poppa, who were all employed at the time by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

 Jim Vanderbilt, then-Jefferson County attorney.

 Mike Hayes, who was Tom Bledsoe's criminal defense attorney.

 George Johnson, Jim Woods and Terry Morgan, then officers for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

 An unspecified number of unnamed officers for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and KBI.

The settlement agreement arranges for all defendants who were Jefferson County employees to be removed as defendants in the lawsuit, Malm said.

The state of Kansas in 2019 acknowledged Bledsoe had been wrongfully convicted and granted him total compensation of $1,038,526.95.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Floyd Bledsoe wrongfully convicted in Jefferson Co. murder to get $7.5M
Sangamon County Historical Society logo

John Buddy Kapp served four terms as Springfield mayor, from 1931 to 1947, the longest mayoral tenure in city history. One of his secrets? Kapp never forgot a name, according to a newspaper profile written when Kapp died, at age 90, in 1978.

When youre the mayor of a town for 16 years, you have to know an awful lot of names, the story said. But, to hold office for 16 years, you had to know more than peoples names. You also had to know what they wanted you to do for them.

Kapp, a World War I veteran and partner in a mine supply business, had no elective experience when he sought the mayors office for the first time. He was encouraged to run by his partner, William Ryan, and a group of dissident Republicans called the Wentworth Club (after the middle name of one of its leaders, Dr. Charles Wentworth Compton).

Kapps bid was aided by the fact that the incumbent mayor, Hal Smith, had been appointed by the city council after the previous mayor resigned. But the key factor was Kapps endorsement by the highly regarded city utilities commissioner, Willis J. Spaulding. (Kapp and Spaulding worked closely together for most of the next 12 years, including during construction of Lake Springfield. However, they eventually had a falling-out, which may have contributed to Spaulding losing office in the 1943 city election.)

The late Hugh Dobbs, a city attorney in the Kapp administration, said Kapp aggressively sought federal help to combat the Great Depression in Springfield.

We ended up with 92 WPA, CWA or PWA projects, Dobbs said in 1978. Some of the WPA stuff was small, just a sidewalk or something. but these were useful projects  nothing for people just leaning on their shovels and collecting their pay.

Among the biggest projects were the conversion of Reservoir Park into the Lanphier High School campus and removal of rails after street cars were abandoned in the late 1930s. The steel rails were sold  some of them to Japan, just prior to World War II, Dobbs said  and the proceeds paid for the material needed to repair the streets.

Story continues

Kapp also initiated clearance of the old Badlands slum neighborhood north of downtown. A new housing complex, the John Hay Homes, was built on the site. The Hay Homes were rated the best housing complex in the Midwest when they were completed, Dobbs said. (The Hay Homes later became a slum of their own and were replaced in turn in the 2000s.)

Other major relief projects took place around Lake Springfield, where federal money helped pay for a new waterworks, the Lakeside power plant and lake roads.

Kapp was less diligent about enforcing laws against gambling, Dobbs said in 1978.

The gamblers didnt have slot machines in Springfield High School, exactly, he said. But they did put them in the building next door.

Kapp retired in 1947 and underwent lung surgery a year later. He recovered well enough by 1951 to announce his candidacy for city commissioner. However, his condition relapsed, and Kapp never seriously campaigned. He finished last.

Kapp is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Originally published on SangamonLink.org, the online encyclopedia of the Sangamon County Historical Society.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: John Buddy Kapp served four terms as Springfield mayor
John Mulaney. Marcus Russell Price/Netflix

Yes, The Comeback Kid is back. After a highly watched hiatus from comedy  one that included a two-month stint in rehab for addiction to cocaine and alcohol, a very public divorce from artist Anna Marie Tendler, and a child with actress Olivia Munn  John Mulaney has returned to the standup stage with his latest Netflix special, Baby J. Forged from the fires of his From Scratch tour, which first kicked off in 2021, Baby J deconstructs the bubbly versions of Mulaney's past and exposes the darker, more unsavory parts of his psyche in an intelligent way.

Gone is the spry young guy who jokes about his continued sobriety. In his place stands a visibly aged man poking fun at the celebrity of his life-saving and "star-studded" intervention, an event that featured the likes of Nick Kroll and Seth Meyers, among other well-known standups.

"All comedians yet no one said a funny thing the entire night," says Mulaney of the guest list. "Before I got there, they'd promised each other that they wouldn't do bits. I was going psychotic. I am sitting there in an awful chair, crashing from cocaine. No one will let me go to the bathroom to freshen up, and the funniest people in the world are staring at me, refusing to do jokes. It was maddening!"

And so continues the positively reviewed special. Expertly careening from joke to joke, Mulaney recounts the intricacies of his post-intervention friendships, his time in rehab, and his altered reputation among fans unsure how to treat the man who once made his love for his now ex-wife a cornerstone of his comedy.

But whether Mulaney succeeds at cracking open his polished persona  one best known for jokes about horses in hospitals and charming Bill Clinton anecdotes  appears up for debate. Sure, the man has a self-admitted obsession with likeability, so much so that even feigning a conceit of unvarnished introspection feels like a departure from his usual style, but did he actually pull it off?

Story continues

For Lili Loofbourow, the television critic for The Washington Post, Baby J was "terrific," but it was not the "warts-and-all" special she was anticipating. "The show in its current iteration is extremely funny, but traces remain of a version that dug a little deeper," i.e. the one with which he toured.

For Esquire's Abigail Covington, who agrees that Baby J falls short in areas of reflection, the special is "simply an hour's worth of jokes and stories about Mulaney's desperate addiction to cocaine, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin, and Percocet  or as he refers to it in a smart Boston-friendly joke, 'a Providence special.'" (The project was filmed inside the city's Symphony Hall.) There are pockets of great material, she concedes, but it's clear the comic's "self-awareness may only be skin-deep right now." Indeed, "small, promising flashes of insight," like those related to his "need to be liked and his obsession with attention," prove he's "capable of more and better material. He just needs to keep learning about himself."

IndieWire's Proma Khosla reads things a bit differently. Not only is Baby J "80 minutes of gut-busting catharsis," it also sees Mulaney lay "his struggles as bare as he can, noting more than once what it means for him to be sharing anything in the first place." For years, the comedian has been framed as a "nonproblematic, charming figure," but this new show is surely a "definitive wakeup for anyone who hadn't already made the leap to imagining him complexly." In Mulaney's own words: "Likability is a jail."

To The Atlantic's David Sims, it's apparent the comic is trying throughout the special to underscore his asshole tendencies, something he must work extra hard at seeing as he remains "an incredibly winning and relatable figure onstage." In the end, though, reputation has little place here. "Nice guy or no, Mulaney will remain appointment viewing whenever he decides to open up next."

In a similarly positive review for The New York Times, Jason Zinoman describes the Saturday Night Live alum's material as "spikier, pricklier, sometimes slower while remaining as funny as ever, like he's a pitcher who learned to mix up speeds," before soon alluding to the same guiding truth as Khosla. As it turns out, "we, the audience, can be naive about our entertainers."

Moreover, we can be disrespectful, even dismissive, of those entertainers when they try to mount a comeback. Watching Baby J, "it's hard not to think of the famous women whose public breakdowns no one has let them forget, especially those raised into adolescent stardom," says Izzy Ampil in The Daily Beast. While Mulaney benefits from a certain race, class, and gender advantage, allowing him to rely on the "potent dramatic irony" of calling himself a "junkie" while still existing "at a safe remove" from the conditions the word calls to mind, many other high-profile women (take Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, for example) weren't afforded the same degree of privacy or safety when their personal lives took a turn.

Mulaney gets to "stage a successful comeback because he is exactly the kind of celebrity to whom audiences are most likely to extend forgiveness: a mild-mannered rich white guy, well-groomed and seemingly trustworthy." Of course, he's "also a gifted comedian," she says, but "in some ways, that hardly seems to matter."

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NEW YORK  With the last-minute purchase of First Republic Bank, JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon are once again at the center of an American economic debate.

Some have hailed Dimon as a savior for taking on yet another imploding bank as he did during the 2008 financial crisis. Others like Sen. Elizabeth Warren are castigating the deal as emblematic of weak regulation and of an unfair concentration of power and wealth.

"The failure of First Republic Bank shows how deregulation has made the too big to fail problem even worse," Warren (D-Mass.), who has long criticized Trump-era deregulatory moves, tweeted after the announcement. A poorly supervised bank was snapped up by an even bigger bankultimately taxpayers will be on the hook. Congress needs to make major reforms to fix a broken banking system.

While Warren didnt fault the Biden administration  the deal was facilitated solely by the FDIC, an independent agency  it presents an awkward problem for a White House focused on challenging concentrated corporate power.

President Joe Biden officially launched his reelection campaign last week by casting himself as a friend to working people and unions and an opponent of corporate dominance. He has stocked his administration and agencies with aggressive trust-busting regulators  like Lina Khan at the FTC, Gary Gensler at the SEC and Rohit Chopra at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  who are challenging the long reach of tech and Wall Street giants.

Biden himself defended the deal on Monday, arguing that it would shore up the banking system without costing taxpayers money. These actions are going to make sure the banking system is safe and sound, and that includes protecting small businesses across the country," Biden said. Depositors are being protected, shareholders are losing their investments and, critically, taxpayers are not the ones who are on the hook."



Much of the criticism focuses on anger at corporate power, with the nations biggest, most dominant bank now becoming even larger under Bidens watch in a deal assisted by the federal government.

Story continues

JPMorgan Chase is now being allowed to purchase First Republic Bank, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, Pam Martens and Russ Martens wrote on the Wall Street on Parade blog. They said this flies in the face of his 2021 executive order promising to guard against excessive market power.

Dimon  a frequent lightning rod who in the past has explored running for president while also offering dour commentary about a hurricane ahead for the economy  defended the acquisition on Monday, rebuking critics.

I don't really care about gossip from other people, he said in response to a reporters question about unnamed critics charging that the purchase was unfair. We need large, successful banks in the largest and most prosperous economy in the world. We have capability to help our clients who happen to be cities, schools, states, hospitals, governments. We bank countries, we bank the IMF, we bank the World Bank. You need large, successful banks, and anyone who thinks it would be good for the United States of America not to have that should call me directly.

Under the terms of the deal, the FDIC will backstop 80 percent of any losses incurred on First Republics residential mortgage and commercial loans for the next five to seven years. JPMorgan will also not assume First Republics corporate debt and will receive $50 billion in financing from the FDIC to finalize the transaction.

In return, JPMorgan is taking on all of First Republics deposits, both insured and uninsured, relieving the FDIC of the need to bail out depositors as it had to following the failures of Silicon Valley and Signature banks.

The bank said it would record a gain of $2.6 billion from the deal but expects to spend $2 billion on restructuring through the end of next year.

This isnt the first time Dimon and JPMorgan have swooped in during times of turmoil. During the 2008 crisis, JPMorgan bought failing investment bank Bear Stearns for $1.4 billion with assistance from the Federal Reserve and much of the assets of troubled lender Washington Mutual for $1.9 billion.

While some progressives complained about the deals at the time, Dimon has argued that JPMorgan took on most of the problems of both institutions and wound up paying billions to settle disputes with regulators associated with the transactions. Following the Bear Stearns acquisition, he said he would never do another deal on such terms again.

This time around, market watchers and some financial historians praised JPMorgan for having the capacity and willingness to absorb a potentially major threat to the banking system.

"Banks are seldom if ever heroic. Thats not their job," said John Steele Gordon, a historian of American finance. "So theyll always demand a deal that will keep them whole.  Banks have been getting fewer in number for decades now, and thats a good thing, up to a point, as large banks are much safer than small ones."
A federal judge in New York denied a motion by Donald Trumps lawyers to declare a mistrial in the civil battery and defamation lawsuit filed against the former president by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.

The denial was made on Monday shortly after Trumps attorney, Joe Tacopina, submitted an 18-page letter accusing U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of making pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings.

Kaplan did not make any comment explaining his decision before allowing testimony to resume that morning, the New York Post reported.

Tacopina had requested that either a mistrial be declared or that the court correct the record for every instance that evidence was mischaracterized to the New York jury. He also requested greater opportunity to cross-examine Carroll and her witnesses.

Judge Lewis Kaplan addresses attorney Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, in a courtroom sketch on April 26.

Judge Lewis Kaplan addresses attorney Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, in a courtroom sketch on April 26.

Here, despite the fact trial testimony has been underway for only two days, the proceedings are already replete with numerous examples of Defendants unfair treatment by the Court, most of which has been witnessed by the Jury, the letter read.

In his letter, Tacopina accused Kaplan of having bolstered Carrolls testimony and argued that some of the criticized cross-examination methods used by Trumps team, which the judge called argumentative, are well-established and accepted.

Tacopina has been admonished by the judge several times during his questioning, as The New York Times previously reported.

Carroll sued Trump, accusing him of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and then defaming her when she went public with her claim. Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused her of making it up to boost sales of her book.

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EVANSVILLE  Last year, Nick Hermann and Dave Wedding left two of the highest-paid public jobs in Vanderburgh County.

Wedding, the retiring Vanderburgh County Sheriff, and Hermann, the former prosecutor who was defeated in the Republican primary, made more than $330,000 combined in 2022.

It was enough to put them alongside judges and a University of Southern Indiana professor in the bottom half of the 20 highest-paid public employees in the county.

The Courier & Press published the top 10 last month. It was dominated by local education administrators such as USI President Ronald Rochon and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Superintendent David Smith.

All figures are taken from Indiana Gateway, a database of public money and salaries in Indiana. The list only includes public employees, which means administrators at the University of Evansville, a private institution, arent included. Private business leaders dont qualify, either.

If we missed anyone who should have been included, let us know.

11. Zane Mitchell

Job: Dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education at USI

Compensation: $173,319

Former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann.

12. Nicholas Hermann

Job: Former Vanderburgh County prosecutor

Compensation: $167,590

Hermann was ousted from the prosecutor's office after 12 years on the job when Diana Moers defeated him in the May 2022 primary. She went on to beat Democrat Jon Schaefer in the general election.

Hermann entered the campaign shrouded in multiple scandals.

In August 2021, the county and state paid $75,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against him brought by a former prosecutor's office employee. The employee accused Hermann of making unwanted advances, handcuffing her, and displaying a firearm while they were in a hotel room alone at a 2013 conference in Chicago. Hermann denied any wrongdoing.

There were also questions about spending practices in the office. Two months before the election, the Courier & Press reported that official prosecutor's office credit cards were used to purchase lingerie and more than $10,000 in staff lunches, among other expenses.

Story continues

And since Hermann left office, the office's former nonprofit, My Goals Inc., has also come under scrutiny. It was ostensibly a nonprofit for at-risk youth funded by forfeiture cash. But according to bank statements obtained by the Courier & Press, that money was used for thousands of dollars in random spending, with purchases going toward everything from fast food to women's clothing to hypnotists.

Three people were authorized to access the account: Hermann, Evansville police detective Brian Turpin, and former prosecutor's office aide Regene Newman.

In a statement, Hermann called the purchases "unauthorized." Turpin didn't return previous requests for comment from the Courier & Press. Newman left the prosecutor's office in 2021 to become the business director for Vanderburgh County Community Corrections. After the spending was made public this spring, she was fired.

Even though they believe VCCC finances weren't affected, Judge Wayne Trockman and current Sheriff Noah Robinson have since asked for an "evaluation" to make sure there are no improprieties.

The state and Vanderburgh County both contributed to Hermann's compensation, with $162,590.23 coming from the former and $4,999.80 from the latter.

Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely.

13. David Kiely

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Circuit Court

Compensation: $166,890

Kiely is one of the defendants in a federal class-action lawsuit against ABK Tracking. He, the company and Vanderburgh County at large are accused of conspiring to "extort" money from poor residents.

ABK had an exclusive, no-bid deal with Kiely, who oversees the countys probation department and is friends with ABK president Danny Koester. The company and its practices were the subject of a Courier & Press investigation. The paper's work is frequently cited in the lawsuit.

In January, the Vanderburgh County Community Corrections Advisory Board voted to replace ABK as its electronic home detention provider. That has since sparked an internal investigation of the board to ensure Trockman and VCCC Director James Akin didn't unduly influence the board before the vote.

More: Former prosecutor to investigate Vanderburgh County board's move away from ABK Tracking

14. Mary Margaret Lloyd

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

15. Thomas A. Massey

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

16. Brett Niemeier

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

17. Robert Pigman

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

18. Gary Schutte

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

19. Wayne Trockman

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Superior Court

Compensation: $166,890

Former Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding.

20. Dave Wedding

Job: Former Vanderburgh County Sheriff

Compensation: $165,667

2022 capped off years of raises for Wedding, who saw his compensation rise by almost $40,000 in his final six years on the job.

Contact Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Ex-officials are among Vanderburgh County's best-paid public employees
On April 1, 12-year-old Kain Heiland was shot and killed in Red Lion.

He'd had a disagreement with another neighborhood boy  the boy, according to court documents, had insulted Kains mother and Kain objected  and the other boy, 13 years old, climbed up a balcony railing to his home in the first block of First Avenue in Red Lion, fetched his fathers laser-sighted .380 Kel-Tec handgun and shot Kain in the back.

On Monday, one month to the day after Kain was murdered, his grandmother, joined by several family members and friends, stood vigil outside the York County Judicial Center, seeking justice for Kain and asking why the 13-year-old has not been charged with murder.

The coroner says it was a homicide, said Linda Arvin, Kains maternal grandmother. Theres no question who did it. Why hasnt he been charged?

Linda Arvin, grandmother of Kain Heiland, holds a protest in front of the York County Judicial Center Monday seeing justice for the shooting death of her grandson.

Previously: Red Lion boy was fatally shot by acquaintance, 13, state police search warrants allege

More by Argento: York County man star witness against Jehovahs Witnesses in PA probe of child sexual abuse

The York County District Attorneys office would not comment on the case, saying only that it remains an ongoing investigation.

Arvin said the apparent delay has left Kains family hanging in limbo. She said, Its the only thing you can think of, the questions you have in your mind, and there are no answers.

We realize that it will take a long time for the hearings, she said. But (the 13-year-old) should be in custody.

She said, I wouldnt want him sleeping in the same house as me. Id be scared to death. He shouldnt be free to do whatever he wants. My grandson is not free to do anything.

Nakia Schiavi, of Red Lion, helps protest in front of the York County Judicial Center to help bring attention to the murder of Kain Heiland.

She believes that the 13-year-old should be charged as an adult, citing Pennsylvania law that mandates juveniles accused of murder be charged as adults. It doesnt matter what age, she said.

She also believes that the 13-year-old's father should be charged with something, as was the mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia. Kids shouldnt have access to guns, Arvin said.

Story continues

The shooting, she said, is crazy. She cited a number of recent shootings and killings, including the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher, the shootings of people who rang the wrong doorbell, or approached the wrong car in a parking lot, or pulled into the wrong driveway, or was using a leaf blower in his own yard.

This is insanity, she said. I dont understand it. Whats this world coming to?

Kains family is struggling with the loss, she said. I dont understand, she said. His younger brothers, 10, 4 and 5, dont understand either. She said the 10-year-old brother is angry and Kains younger brothers only know that Kain got shot by a bad guy and died, Arvin said.

Linda Arvin wears a t-shirt honoring her grandsonKain Heiland.

Kain was a good kid, she said. He stood up to bullies. He always made people laugh and liked making funny noises, his grandmother said.

The vigil  she sat on a folding chair, holding a sign, painted in Kains favorite colors, blue and orange, that read Justice for Kain  is intended to keep Kains story alive. It hasnt been in the news, except for a couple of days after, she said. We dont want people to forget.

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Family calls for charges in killing of 12-year-old Red Lion boy
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the subject of who pays for workers who gather valuable data aboard commercial fishing boats.

Justices announced Monday that they will take the case, which stems from a lawsuit by a group of fishermen who want to stop the federal government from making them pay for the workers. The workers are tasked with collecting data on board fishing vessels to help inform rules and regulations.

The fishermen involved in the lawsuit harvest Atlantic herring, which is a major fishery off the East Coast that supplies both food and bait. Lead plaintiff Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey and other fishing groups have said federal rules unfairly require them to pay hundreds of dollars per day to contractors.

"Our way of life is in the hands of these justices, and we hope they will keep our families and our community in mind as they weigh their decision, said Bill Bright, a New Jersey fisherman and plaintiff in the case.

The high court announced its decision to take the case via an order list that made no comment on the merits of the lawsuit. The fishermen previously lost in lower court rulings. Their lawsuit over fishing monitors is part of a long-standing fight between commercial fishing groups and the federal government over who pays for data collection and regulatory compliance.

Fishermen have argued that Congress never gave federal regulators authority to require the expense of paying for monitors.

Fisheries in the U.S. are regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A representative for NOAA declined to comment on the case. The agency does not typically comment on pending litigation.

Attorneys for the fishermen have said the case will directly confront the future of so-called Chevron deference, which is a legal principle that compels courts to defer to a federal agencys interpretation of an unclear law. Conservative groups have long sought to challenge Chevron deference at the Supreme Court level.

Story continues

The plaintiffs are represented by Cause of Action Institute, which advocates for limited government. They said in their petition to the high court that the monitors take up valuable space on their vessels and oversee their operations, and the payments make commercial fishing unsustainably expensive.

That is an extraordinary imposition that few would tolerate on dry land, the petition states.

The U.S. haul of Atlantic herring has fallen dramatically in recent years. Fishermen caught more than 100 million pounds of the fish as recently as 2017, but the 2021 catch was less than 11 million pounds. Much of the industry is based in Maine and Massachusetts.

NOAA has described the Atlantic herring stock as overfished. Fishermen of herring have been subject to quota cuts for the fish in recent years.
The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners on Monday said allegations made by a former police department lawyer that the department purposely hid evidence in criminal cases and withheld public records were not accurate.

The statement comes months after KCPDs former assistant general counsel Ryan McCarty laid out a plethora of alleged wrongdoing in a December letter in which he claimed the departments general counsel closed records that should be available to the public under Missouris open records law.

It is now clear that the former employees allegations are not accurate, the police board, which oversees KCPD, said in its statement. The allegations, which were written on falsified letterhead, are based on incomplete facts and misconstrue the KCPDs practices.

The board did not name McCarty in its statement or provide specific evidence of why the information was inaccurate.

But the boards five members said the former employee widely disseminated privileged and sensitive information in violation of the persons ongoing ethical and other duties.

Tom Porto, an attorney for McCarty, said he believes the boards statement is a further attempt to retaliate against McCarty and unduly influence an investigation by the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel into his clients conduct. That office is the Missouri Supreme Courts agency that investigates complaints about attorneys.

Porto said he believed that investigation, which will seek to determine if McCartys actions were ethical under the professional rules for Missouri lawyers, was opened at the urging of the police board. Porto described his client as a whistleblower against a public, governmental entity and said they have started the process of pursuing an employment-related lawsuit against KCPD.

My client and I choose to litigate our employment lawsuit in a court of law  not the press, as is commonly done, Porto said in a statement. We also choose to let the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel do its job to determine what is and is not ethical behavior without outside influence  political or otherwise.

Story continues

Days after McCartys letter was made public, Mayor Quinton Lucas said he and other police board members agreed to hire a law firm to investigate the allegations.

The letter, written on what looked like KCPD letterhead, contained nearly 400 pages of email correspondence, internal KCPD documents and legal correspondence. The letter was sent by email to several officials and agencies, including the Jackson County Prosecutors Office, members of the U.S. Department of Justice, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Lucas.

McCarty alleged Holly Dodge, KCPDs general counsel who left the department earlier this year, hid evidence and closed documents that should be open by claiming they were part of an ongoing investigation. McCarty also said he heard top KCPD leaders propose that all emails be destroyed after 180 days.

McCarty said his concerns began shortly after he started at the department.

Over the course of the ensuing six months, the red flags kept coming with seemingly accelerating rapidity, he wrote. The more I spoke up, the more I was shut out. The more I expressed concern about abuses, improprieties and illegalities, the more I was blackballed, ostracized and shunned.

McCarty also claimed Dodge wrongly stepped in to choose which KCPD records to hand over to prosecutors in response to requests for material in criminal cases that could cast doubt on the credibility of witnesses, including officers. He called it the prosecutors job to decide what evidence is relevant in such requests, which are referred to in legal terms as Brady and Giglio material.

Defense attorneys called McCartys claims very disturbing because, if true, it meant prosecutors were not receiving full investigative files. Separately, Lucas said if the allegations were true, hundreds of criminal cases could be reopened.

On Monday, the police board said KCPDs practices have and continue to meet its obligation to assist prosecutors in identifying Brady and Giglio information.

The board called it an unusual step for it to issue a statement about the allegations, but said it was doing so to provide transparency to stakeholders, including the judiciary and others who are involved with the criminal justice system.

John Picerno, a criminal defense attorney who was among the lawyers whose names appeared on documents that McCarty attached to his letter, said he hopes McCartys allegations are not true but he remained skeptical.

A police department that routinely fails to submit probable cause statements of officer involved incidents to the prosecutors office and fails to discipline officers for wrongdoing, in a timely manner, if at all, does not inspire confidence in their internal processes, Picerno said.

Michael Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, said Monday that their office has met with McCartys attorneys but have not communicated with the police board.

We are continuing to monitor the situation and look for any information from the police board, Mansur said.

Dodge left the police department in March and told The Star that she was now working at Lauber Municipal Law LLC in Lees Summit. She had joined the department in August 2021, and was appointed as KCPDs top legal adviser months later.

At that time, KCPD spokesperson Sgt. Jacob Becchina said its not uncommon for the general counsel to change when a new police chief takes over. Stacey Graves took over as police chief in December.

Since then, Jenny Atterbury, who previously served as the departments general counsel, has served in that role on an interim basis until a permanent general counsel is named.
Karl Lagerfelds pampered cat Choupette has confirmed that she will not be attending Monday nights Met Gala in honour of her late owner.

On Monday, the designers beloved pet revealed via a post to her Instagram that she would not be walking the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 1 May 2023, where Lagerfeld will be honoured through the theme: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully and cosy at home, the Choupette Lagerfeld account said in an post shared to her Instagram, where she has more than 165,000 followers, on Monday. We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him.

(Choupette is represented by a pet marketing agency, which likely penned the post on her behalf.)

The announcement came just days after Kim Kardashian posted a selfie with Choupette in Paris, with the reality star revealing that she was visiting Lagerfelds pet while gaining some inspiration for the Met Gala.

The white Birmin with blue eyes and creamy markings was born 15 August 2011. At 10 weeks or so, she was given to Baptiste Giabiconi, one of Lagerfeld's model friends in Paris.

It was Giabiconi who named the cat Choupette, a nickname in French for cute girls. Giabiconi asked Lagerfeld to care for the cat for two weeks while he was on holiday. As Lagerfeld described to New York magazine in 2018: When he came back, I told him that the cat was not returning to his house, and I kept it, this kind of genius creature.

I think Choupette made me a better person, Lagerfeld told the Scottish author Andrew OHagan in 2015. Less selfish.

Lagerfeld later turned Choupette into an international star in her own right, with the pet boasting her own maids, bodyguards, custom Louis Vuitton carriers, silver bowls and a jet-set lifestyle. She also had her own jewels and nannies.

Story continues

Choupette, which literally translates to sweetie, also travelled often via private jet with Lagerfeld, who died in 2019.

In addition to her pampered lifestyle, the cat also served as a muse for Lagerfeld, who published a book of her images, created clothes in Choupette blue for Chanel and put out a line of handbags with the cats face on them for his own eponymous brand.

Choupette also appeared in photo shoots and advertising campaigns for Chanel, the German carmaker Opel and the Japanese cosmetics brand Shu Eumera.

Following his death in 2019, Lagerfeld left the beloved feline to her most prominent caretaker Francoise Cacote.

In June 2021, Cacote told Lagerfeld biographer William Middleton that Choupette was doing well living with in Paris:She is happy. And I tell myself that if Monsieur sees us from above, that he can be happy because this is just what he wanted for Choupette.

On social media, the news that Choupette would not be attending has been met with disappointment from fans of the cat, with one person writing: You will be missed tonight. Stay cosy.

However, others assured Lagerfelds pet that she had made the right decision. We understand Choupette, a beautiful cat like you needs her beauty rest at home, plus the flight from France to New York is a long one, someone else wrote.

Additional reporting by AP.
When Karl Lagerfeld died in 2019, at the age of 85 and having spent over 60 years helming various brands including Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, and Jean Patou, there was a sense that one of the worlds great creative forces had suddenly vanished. There was a cultural shift. Though controversial in some of his views, Lagerfeld was a true original, especially in an era of derivative social media copycats. In fashion, he was constantly searching for the new trend or look, but through his forays into interiorsfor both his own residences and for commercial projectshe engaged with design in a different way. Lagerfelds fashions inherently reinvented themselves time and time again, but his interiors sought to capture something longer lasting.

Karl Lagerfeld's Paris Apartment Photo: Horst P. Horst

Karl Lagerfeld's Paris Apartment Photo: Horst P. Horst

He certainly had plenty of opportunities to experiment with interior design. Lagerfelds personal real estate holdings over the years were significant, with each one decorated differently from the next. In the 1970s, he redid a 19th-century apartment on Pariss Left Bank into all Deco-inspired black and white. Ten years later, he entered a maximalist phase, collecting the technicolor building block style furniture of Italys postmodernist Memphis movement. Then came a cavernous apartment inside the 1707 Hotel Pozzo di Borgo near the Musee dOrsay, filled with Louis XV gilt-wood antiques. After that was a spaceship-modern apartment with stainless steel and glass furniture in a 200 year-old building on the Quai Voltaire in Paris. And, of course, there was the Belle Epoque hilltop summer house in Monte Carlo, of which the late Andre Leon Talley famously said that houseguests on vacation were expected to change at least twice, if not three times a day. Surprisingly, it was reported in October 2008 that Lagerfeld purchased a Greek Revival brick home on Vermonts Lake Champlainand based on his *Mad Libs*style penchant for unexpected design pairings, the imagination runs wild with what he could have possibly been doing inside a home on the states Historic Registry.

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Karl Lagerfeld at home Photo: Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

Those were just his personal homes. In addition to collaborating with Peter Marino for over 25 years on Chanel boutiques around the world, Lagerfeld was known to dabble in the occasional one-off corporate project, including the pool at Monacos Hotel Metropole in 2013; a collection of textured grey suites at Paris legendary Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel; the lobbies of The Estates at Aquilina, a luxury development in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, the final phase of which debuted this spring; and the new Karl Lagerfeld Macau, set to open in June.

A design universe as broad and deep as this invites Lagerfelds admirers to search for clues, connect the dots to try and understand how such a prolific mind worked: Art Deco one moment, followed by Greek antiquities, then 1980s Italian maximalism? Take a step back from the jarring singularity of his various design obsessions, and a few through lineslike striations in marblebegin to emerge.

First, the man was a prolific collector and lover of books. He was said to be a top customer of the rue de Rivolis famed Librairie Galignani bookstore. His collection, reportedly over 300,000 strong, permeated each one of his properties, not merely as objets dart but baked into the architectureentire rooms lined with meticulously stacked, floor-to-ceiling shelves of books (always stacked horizontally and almost never vertically; some believe this was so one could scan the titles quickly without needing to tilt the head in order to read sideways). Youd see a book on Le Corbusier next to Nabokov novels next to Kants philosophies. That was Karl: the man of everything, his longtime friend and collaborator Lady Amanda Harlech told Vogue in 2022. Those close to him have said that despite his collections ample size, he could remember the location of individual titles with automatic precision.

Second, while Lagerfeld admired and collected an enormous range of furniture, from Art Deco shell sofas to 18th-century French antiques, there seems to be a particular emphasis on desks and statement tablessurfaces you could work on, surfaces you could display your work on. In that same interview with Vogue last year, Harlech explained Lagerfelds love for desks, where he would sit, drawing fashion sketches with Shu Uemura makeup palettes as colors. From his 2018 collaboration of pieces with Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris, one piece stands out: a black and white marble table, inspired by antiquity and executed in the golden ratio. Its not as high as a dining table and its not a coffee table, said Lagerfeld in a video interview promoting the collection. Its very practical. Its easy to imagine him seated at this surfacein his coordinating, iconic black and white suitingsketching and sketching for hours on end.

Karl Lagerfeld's Paris Apartment Photo: Horst P. Horst

Knowledge and hard work appear to have been the pillars of Lagerfelds creativityand why he was able to float between diametrically opposed design sensibilities with ease. Lagerfeld loved to switch things up. Perhaps thats why he was so good at fashion, and why each one of his interiors has such a spellbinding effect. He wasnt a steward of institutional memory; he was institutional memory.

In that same video promoting his Carpenters Workshop Gallery collaboration, Lagerfeld talks about how in Germany, 100 years ago, a married woman never sat on a sofa with a man who wasnt her husband, and that was why communal areas from that period seldom featured sofas. Sofas were for the boudoir. Its a detail you would hardly imagine one of todays designers speaking about, but that completely changes the way you look at something that is today found in every American living room. And what more can we ask of our greatest designers, that they might impact the way we think about something as spectacular as haute couture or as ordinary as a couch?

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

More Great Stories From AD
Kate Middleton and Prince William just shared a never-before-seen photo for their 12th wedding anniversary  and Kate's favourite sneakers are on display (photos via The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram & Shopbop).

Kate Middleton and Prince William just shared a never-before-seen photo to mark their 12th wedding anniversary; however, royal watchers will recognize their well-photographed outfits.

The snapshot  taken by royal family photographer Matt Porteous and shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales's official Instagram account  shows the couple embracing whilst donning the same outfits as their 2022 Christmas card.

Sitting atop bikes, Will and Kate pose with their arms wrapped around each other in coordinated laidback attire. For his part, Will wears a navy blue button-down and jeans, while Kate opts for an M.i.h. Mabel Broderie Shirt, blue jeans and her go-to pair of Superga 2750 Cotu Sneakers.

Superga 2750 Cotu Classic Sneakers (photo via Shopbop)

$94 CAD/$69 USD at Shopbop

Captioned "12 years ," the photo is likely part of a series of pictures Porteous took of the family last year. The first is the family's 2022 Christmas card, followed by a snap of Kate and her children for U.K. Mother's Day in March.

In all the photos, Kate is wearing her Superga sneakers, a wardrobe staple since 2016, when she was spotted wearing them in Victoria, B.C.

Since their Canadian debut, Kate has been photographed in the affordable sneakers on several occasions, including the couple's royal tour of the Caribbean in March 2022.

Perhaps due to the "Kate effect" or their affordable price tag (or, more realistically, a combination of the two), finding your size in Superga's 2750 Cotu Classic Sneakers can be a bit like tracking down a needle in a haystack.

If you're willing to search, you can find the royal-approved shoe at these retailers in Canada and the U.S.

Where to buy Superga in Canada

According to Kate Middleton, this is the only sneaker you need (Photos via Getty)

$94 CAD/$69 USD at Shopbop

Where to buy Superga in the U.S.

On Nordstrom, the sneakers have earned more than 1,100 reviews and an average rating of 4.3 stars.

"Finally, I have found my perfect sneaker," writes one Nordstrom shopper. "I wear these with shorts, yoga pants, jeans, and skirts. Get some now!"

These affordable sneakers are one of Kate Middleton's go-to shoes (Getty).

'A staple item'

"These shoes are a classic," says another. They're "great for every season of the year because they go with any outfit. A staple item for every girls wardrobe."

"What's not to love?" asks a third Nordstrom shopper. They're "pretty, comfortable [and] look great with jeans."

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Former White House adviser and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said her nephew was nearly struck by a stray bullet that entered his bedroom over the weekend.

According to Bottoms, someone fired a gun in the air and the bullet penetrated the wall of the house  coming "inches away" from hitting her nephew who was lying in bed.

"We are grateful that God protected him. If you have a gun, please act responsibly," she wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "This could be you or your child."

It's unclear who the home belongs to or where it is located.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE FROM WHITE HOUSE ROLE

Bottoms previously lost a nephew to gunfire on June 13, 2014, when Darius Bottoms, 18, was shot in his car in a case of mistaken identity, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

His murder was featured in an episode of "The Real Murders of Atlanta" on the Oxygen channel.

EX-FALCON WILLIAM MOORE ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING INTO A CAR WHILE CHILDREN WERE INSIDE

Keisha Lance Bottoms said a stray bullet fired near her nephew's house over the weekend came into his bedroom and nearly hit him.

Bottoms, a Democrat, last served in the Biden administration as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. She announced in February she would be stepping down from the role, which she had held since June.

She officially left the White House on April 1 and was replaced by former Columbia, South Carolina, mayor Stephen Benjamin.

Bottoms also served as the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, but decided not to seek re-election. She was hired as a political commentator at CNN after her departure from the mayor's office and before joining Biden's team.
FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith speaks during a news conference, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. The suspect fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including a young boy. | David J. Phillip, Associated Press

The manhunt for the suspect in a mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, that left five people dead  including a 9-year-old  has entered its fourth day.

In a press conference Sunday, authorities stated that they have zero leads in the manhunt so far, The Associated Press reported.

As the manhunt continues, U.S. border patrol officers are on the lookout for the suspect, Francisco Oropesa, in case he attempts to flee into Mexico, a law enforcement source told CNN.

What happened in the Cleveland, Texas, mass shooting?

On Friday night, the suspect was asked by the neighbors to stop shooting his gun in his front yard, to which he responded, Ill do what I want to in my front yard, according to CNN.

Footage from a doorbell camera shows the suspect entering his neighbors home with a rifle, allegedly shooting and killing five people.

The victims were identified as:

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25.

Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21.

Julisa Molina Rivera, 31.

Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9.

All five of the victims were Honduran, Wilson Paz, director general of migrant protection for Honduras, told CNN.

Who is the suspect in the Cleveland, Texas, mass shooting?

The suspect in the shooting was identified by authorities as 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa. Authorities originally spelled his last name Oropeza, but updated the spelling to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems, FBI Houston tweeted.

Here are the newest images of Francisco Oropesa and a prominent tattoo on his left forearm.



Going forward, the subject's last name will be spelled "Oropesa" to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. This remains a fluid investigation. #ClevelandTXShooting pic.twitter.com/ZWUu0FqoMF  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) April 30, 2023

Oropesa is a Mexican national who has been deported from the U.S. four times since 2009, The Associated Press reported.

Story continues

What we know about the manhunt for the suspected killer

A massive police search is currently underway for Oropesa, but authorities have run into a dead end with no leads in the search.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, said Sunday, per AP.

Smith announced that there is an $80,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot offered a $50,000 reward for his capture, while other counties have offered $5,000 and the FBI offered $25,000, totaling $80,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbot faces backlash

Abbott faced backlash after he referred to the the victims as illegal immigrants in his statement announcing a reward, according to The Independent.

Immigrant rights activist Carlos Espina stated that the husband of Velazquez Alvarado told him that she was a permanent resident and posted a photo of her ID on Twitter.

I just spoke to the husband of one of the victims. He confirmed to me that his wife was a permanent resident of the US. He even sent me a picture of her ID confirming this.



But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an ilegal immigrant. Shameful. https://t.co/O2AphCodlh pic.twitter.com/YjGLdBMtRl  Carlos Eduardo Espina (@cespina1998) May 1, 2023

Weve since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze stated, perThe Washington Post. We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.
A teacher in the US who sat two of his students together was invited to officiate at their wedding years later.

Kevin McClintock, an educator at a private Christian school in San Diego, regularly posts wholesome content about his life at The Rock Academy.

On Friday (28 April), McClintock shared a real-life love story which began as a result of his class seating arrangements, adding they can change [the] course of your whole life.

You sit two students together and they talk, McClintocks caption read.

In the video, set to Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae, the Southern California-based teacher said he noticed his students continued talking after the class.

Years after graduation, they come back to visit you... and ask you to officiate their wedding, he captioned the final slides of his TikTok, which has been viewed over 21 million times.

Commenting on McClintocks video, some users said they met their partners after being seated next to each other as well.

My new teacher sat me next to the class clown because he would pay attention better. Four years later and three kids here we are. He wanted to impress me, one person wrote.

Another said: A seating chart in 10th-grade history is why I am married to my husband now, thank you Mrs Asko!

YOU ARE A MATCHMAKER. You have the power. I knew a teacher responsible for 10 marriages, one comment read.

Some people also revealed that these seating arrangements could become uncomfortable in the aftermath of a breakup.

My teacher put us together and we started dating and NOW WERE BROKEN UP. AND SHE HASNT CHANGED THE SEATING, one user exclaimed.

McClintock first went viral on the social media app in 2020, after he began creating wholesome content as a way to connect with his students.

He now has over 2.6 million followers on TikTok.
Air-raid warnings were issued in Kyiv and all the regions of Ukraine in the early hours of 1 May. The all-clear started to be given at 06:32.

Source: an air-raid warning map; Kyiv Oblast Military Administration; Ihor Taburets, Head of Cherkasy Oblast Military Administration

Details: The air-raid warnings started after 03:00 from Kharkiv and southern regions and subsequently spread to other parts of Ukraine.

When an air-raid warning is in force, there is a danger of strikes, and citizens are advised to take shelter or follow the two-walls rule [safety rule whereby a person keeps two walls without windows between them and the street during attacks - ed.]

Update at 04:13: The air-raid warnings were also issued in western oblasts.

Update at 04:35: Residents of Kyiv Oblast were warned about the threat of a missile attack.

Taburets reported that there was an increased danger in Cherkasy Oblast.

Update at 06:32: All-clear started to be given throughout Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
On 1 May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with security forces and civil service officials discussing the actions of the Russians, the consequences of Russian strikes on Ukraine, and the issue of ammunition.

Source: Zelenskyy in his evening video address

Direct speech: "I started this Monday and the new week with an hour-long meeting with all levels of government and defence. The head of government, ministers, the Office [of the President  ed.]. The Commander-in-Chief, the heads of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Foreign Intelligence Service, the head of the Security Service, and the National Security and Defence Council Secretary delivered reports.

The first issue is the consequences of Russian strikes, including missile attacks. Last night alone, from midnight to seven in the morning, we managed to shoot down 15 Russian missiles. But, unfortunately, not all of them. Not all of them yet. We are working with our partners as actively as possible to make the protection of our skies even more reliable.

At the morning meeting, we discussed the enemy's likely actions in the near future and coordinated our defensive steps."

Details: In addition, during that meeting they discussed the issue of weapons and ammunition for Ukrainian soldiers and the situation in the occupied territory and Russia's countermeasures.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
AP

Antonin Scalia Law School at the Virginia-based George Mason University was renamed in 2016.

The renaming was part of a plan to help its reputation by getting closer to the Supreme Court.

Justices were given notable benefits to teach there, emails obtained by The New York Times reveal.

A conservative law school looking to rebrand into a powerhouse institution buttered up conservative Supreme Court Justices with excessive benefits and good pay, documents obtained by The New York Times show.

Because justices are legally allowed to make money outside of the court in limited ways, including through teaching opportunities, Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, which was renamed after the late judge in 2016, offered justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas teaching roles in remote locations like Iceland and Italy, as well as salaries sometimes upwards of $30,000 for two weeks of teaching, the NYT reported.

According to the NYT, the judges were treated well, with lodging and trip planning arranged by the school. University officials told Gorsuch in 2017, before a teaching trip to Italy, that he would only be required to teach in the mornings, leaving the rest of the day to explore the country, according to the emails obtained by the Times. Upon hearing this news, Gorsuch replied, "Fantastico!"

Even liberal justices were enamored by the treatment, according to the Times, with Justice Elena Kagan, who once spoke at the university, saying the law school "seems like a really good place to be."

Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, spoke with the NYT and described the teaching jobs as appearing to be "all-expenses-paid vacations, with a little teaching thrown in."

The law school began its relationships with the court following a renaming ceremony  planned by the school's dean and Republican megadonor Leonard Leo  in 2017, where multiple justices attended and spoke. According to internal emails from university leadership, these relationships were explicitly made to help build the school's reputation.

Story continues

"Establishing and building a strong relationship with Justice Gorsuch during his first full term on the bench could be a game-changing opportunity for Scalia Law, as it looks to accelerate its already meteoric rise to the top rank of law schools in the United States," one email from the university law school read, according to the NYT.

The law school's staff, many of whom worked directly with the justices, often filed amicus briefs with the court, and court staff helped to handle school duties  despite not being allowed to do so  revealing how the justices' jobs frequently entwined with their outside work at Scalia Law.

This desire to keep Supreme Court leadership on their roster even superseded scandals the judges faced. Following the sexual misconduct allegations Brett Kavanaugh faced right before he was appointed, Butler assured the justice protests from students against the soon-to-be law professor on campus had nothing to do with the law school, according to the NYT.

The NYT story comes at a time when the lives of the often-secretive Supreme Court have been scrutinized following a ProPublica report that Justice Thomas had been taking lavish secret vacations on a private jet and superyacht paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for years without disclosing them.

A new report from Insider's Mattathias Schwartz found that the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts made millions as a legal recruiter for law firms, according to a whistleblower who worked with him.

Despite this extra scrutiny over conflicts of interest, legal experts told Insider there isn't much that can be done to hold justices accountable.

The Antonin Scalia Law School and a spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Ismail Shakil

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Michael Chong, a lawmaker with Canada's main opposition Conservative party, said on Monday that the country's spy agency did not inform him about threats against him and his family from China that were reported in a Canadian newspaper.

Chong said he was "profoundly disappointed" to find out about the potential threat to his family in Hong Kong from a newspaper, which cited intelligence reports from 2021.

The Globe and Mail reported on Monday that Beijing had sought information about a Canadian lawmaker's relatives who may be in China in a likely effort to "make an example of this MP and deter others from taking anti-PRC positions."

The lawmaker, who was not named in the report produced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), is Chong, the newspaper reported on Monday, citing a national security source.

"While I have been briefed by CSIS about foreign interference threat activities, these briefings did not provide any information about this individual and specific threats to me or my family," Chong said in a statement.

Chong said the government should have informed him of the CSIS report, and that the diplomat responsible for the "intimidation campaign" should be expelled from Canada.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chong had been sanctioned by Beijing in 2021 after his motion passed the Canadian parliament declaring China's treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority genocide.

"It is absolutely unacceptable to see anyone being intimidated, especially a member of parliament in this house," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Monday.

Trudeau said he had asked officials to follow up on the report, and to "get to the bottom of this."

Canadian media outlets have published several reports, citing anonymous intelligence sources, alleging schemes run by the Chinese government to interfere in Canada's last two elections. Beijing has denied those allegations, saying it has no interest in interfering in Canada's internal affairs.

Trudeau has previously said China attempted to meddle in the 2019 and 2021 votes, but did not change the outcome. He has appointed an independent special investigator to probe the allegations.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
[Source]

K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM released their first studio album, as well as a music video for the album's title track, on Monday.

The title track "Unforgiven" features guitar riffs from legendary musician and producer Nile Rodgers of the band Chic. It also samples the soundtrack of the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by iconic Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone.

In a video posted on LE SSERAFIM's YouTube channel on April 18, the K-pop quintet chatted with Rodgers via a video call, with the musician praising their new collaboration.

Even though I was working on another record, I just said, 'Let me just play through this real quick, just to see what I get.' Just vibe off the feeling, because it sounded so cool, Rodgers can be heard saying.

More from NextShark: How the new Minions movie scored rare approval to release in China

The first thing I did was decipher the track, and I was like, Wow, this sounds really cool.' ... Then, I just started jamming and started to figure out, How do I make it funkier?

Released just a day before LE SSERAFIM'S first anniversary, Unforgiven contains 13 tracks in total.

The album features revamped versions of "The World is My Oyster, Blue Flame and Fearless from their debut mini-album Fearless. Numbers from their second mini-album Antifragile, namely The Hydra, Antifragile and Impurities, are also featured on the album.

More from NextShark: Japan Made a Live-Action 'Joker' Porn Parody

New songs include Burn the Bridge, No-Return (Into the Unknown), Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeards Wife, FEARNOT (Between you, me and the lamppost), Flash Forward and Fire in the belly.

All five members of LE SSERAFIM  Sakura, Kim Chae-won, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha and Hong Eun-chae  contributed to writing the lyrics of FEARNOT (Between you, me and the lamppost).

"Unforgiven" achieved 1.38 million pre-orders, a career-high for the group.

Story continues

More from NextShark: J-Hope to begin military enlistment, tells fans 'don't worry'

At a press conference on Monday ahead of the albums release, LE SSERAFIM shared that Unforgiven is about carving their own paths with no apologies.

We thought that there were some things that felt unfair, and we did and followed things because Thats the way its done. ... We wanted to break away from those things and aim higher, Hong said.

More from NextShark: Ashs Japanese voice actor of 25 years performs viral remix of original Pokemon theme song
Thailand's main opposition frontrunner, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has given birth two weeks before general elections

An opposition frontrunner in Thailand's upcoming general elections has given birth two weeks before the polling day, her party confirmed on Monday.

The kingdom is entering the final stretch before the May 14 election with reformist groups, including Pheu Thai and Move Forward, surging ahead of establishment parties.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of billionaire former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, is one of Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidates and has been polling strongly.

A near-constant presence on the campaign trail, for the past week she has ralliedvirtually, appearing by video link at an event on Saturday in Thailand's eastern Si Sa Ket province.

"She gave birth this morning," Rinthipond Varinvatchararoj, Pheu Thai acting spokeswoman, told AFP.

It is unclear how long Paetongtarn will rest, she said, but Rinthipond was confident that she would be present at Pheu Thai's final rally in Bangkok on May 12.

On her official Instagram page, Paetongtarn said the baby boy would be named Prutthasin Sooksawas and nicknamed "Thasin".

The news was also shared by her father, who said on Twitter that he would return to the kingdom to care for his seventh grandchild.

Ousted in a 2006 coup, Thaksin lives in Dubai to avoid corruption charges he says are politically motivated.

"All of my seven grandchildren were born while I lived abroad. I will go back to raise my grandchildren," he wrote, without specifying when he might return.

It is not the first time Thaksin has promised to return to Thailand.

tp-rbu/dhw/sco
Outgoing Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday criticized Randi Weingarten and the influential teachers union she runs for delaying school re-openings after the pandemic.

Obviously, every union should advocate for its members, but its gotta be in the context of an organization, Lightfoot said Monday on CNN This Morning.

Chicago Public Schools demonstrated that it had implemented a number of Covid-19 mitigation measures to make it safe for kids to return to the classroom, Lightfoot said, but the union needed to work with us and they never did that.

Schools are about children. We demonstrated over and over again that our schools were safe. We put $100 million into retrofitting classrooms, making sure that they had the PPE, making sure that every single classroom had filters to make sure that the air was safe. Deep cleaning of every single building, she said. But fundamentally, we know that where children learn the best and where they are safest is in the classroom, and in-person learning, and none of our parents signed up to be homeschoolers. And the learning loss is real.

In testimony before Congress last week, Weingarten attempted to rewrite her pivotal part in the prolonged school closures that led to massive education disruption nationwide. We spent every day from February on trying to get schools open, she claimed. We know that remote education was not a substitute for opening schools.

Throughout the pandemic, the AFT fought to postpone reopening schools, calling such an idea reckless, callous, cruel in the fall of 2020. Weingarten made other arguments to keep schools shuttered through the spring and summer of 2020. Her union aggressively lobbied the CDC to adjust its school-reopening guidance. Two of its language recommendations were adopted verbatim.

The CDC in February and March basically asked all sorts of different organizations to sit down with them and give them comments about what they thought was important. They talked to parent organizations, they talked to the two unions, and one of the things that we didnt see in the CDC draft is that there were variants that were right around the corner, Weingarten said in May 2021.

Story continues

On Monday, Lightfoot disputed Weingartens revisionist account of the school reopening debates.

Thats not the reality that was happening on the ground in cities like Chicago, like Los Angeles and other places, Lightfoot said. We needed to get our kids back in school, and Im unapologetic about the fight to make sure that we put our kids and our parents first.

AFT affiliate unions like the Chicago Teachers Union, which Lightfoot battled well into 2022 to reopen schools in the city, in December of 2020 said that the push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism, and misogyny. In January 2022, Chicago students missed multiple days of instruction due to the union striking against in-person school and allegedly inadequate Covid-19 safety protocols.

Speaking to lawmakers last week, Weingarten doubled down in her justification for consulting with the health arm of the government before reopening schools.

It made sense to consult with the CDC and it was not only appropriate for the CDC to confer with educators, it would have been irresponsible not to, she said during the hearing.

Lightfoot is set to turn over the mayoralty to Brandon Johnson later this month after failing to advance to the final round of the runoff in February.

More from National Review
Florida legislators are poised to block one of the most effective tools local governments say they have to protect water quality in their communities in the face of red tide and blue-green algae outbreaks by banning rainy season restrictions on fertilizer use.

A measure quietly tucked into a budget proposal over the weekend, would prohibit at least 117 local governments from adopting or amending a fertilizer management ordinance during the 2023-24 budget year, requiring them to rely on less restrictive regulations developed by the University of Florida, which are supported by the states phosphate industry, the producers of fertilizer.

Legislative leaders tentatively agreed to a $116 billion budget on Monday and, with no public debate or discussion, included the fertilizer language that emerged late Sunday.

It is the latest proposal to emerge in a legislative session that has fast-tracked industry-friendly bills aimed at removing local control and public input over emotionally-charged environmental and development issues.

Lawmakers took no testimony from local government officials or environmental advocates who are now warning that the measure could dramatically impede efforts to curb toxic algae outbreaks that feed on nitrogen and phosphorus rich runoff.

Supporting this change would allow more fertilizer runoff into Floridas waters, period., said Eve Samples of Friends of the Everglades. That doesnt benefit anyone except big fertilizer companies.

Fertilizer control is a key tool for local governments grappling with water quality problems, said Gil Smart, executive director of VoteWater, an advocacy group. If this stands, it just opens the door to even more nutrients in our waterways and more problems. Its unconscionable.

Rainy season move to limit tainted runoff

For years during the wet seasons, Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough and other counties, as well as dozens of cities throughout Florida, have banned the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen or phosphorus on residential or commercial landscapes during the rainy season in an effort to reduce the nutrients that cause harmful algal blooms and red tide.

Story continues

Fertilizer runoff, along with rising temperatures and lack of oxygen, were found to be among the principal contributors to a 2020 fish kill in Biscayne Bay, prompting Miami-Dade to ban fertilizer use from May 15 to Oct. 31.

But the reduction in fertilizer has taken a toll on phosphate industry revenues.

In 2014, Harvey Harper III, a University of Central Florida civil engineering professor and president of Orlando-based Environmental Research & Design, used state data to determine that fertilizer use in Florida had been on the decline since 2000.

He told the Florida Stormwater Associations annual conference in 2014 that the Florida Department of Agriculture attributed the decline in fertilizer use to the local ordinances and estimated the cost of the loss of fertilizer sales then at about $33 million.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has adopted a model ordinance for fertilizer on Florida landscapes that was developed by UFs Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) with the support of the phosphate industry.

Harper calls the model ordinance just a common sense approach that really is nothing special.

It doesnt go very far in terms of limiting fertilizer use, he said Monday. And the reason that you have seen local government taking more strict action is they are attempting to limit fertilization during the wet season months so that you have less runoff of fertilizer that is not included in the model ordinance.

He said that IFAS has a stated objective to produce the greenest, healthiest lawn turf that you can get.

IFAS is also heavily sponsored by fertilizer industries, and a lot of their recommendations are based on green research that theyve done for fertilizer companies, Harper said.

No more seasonal adjustments at the local level

If the proposed language becomes law, local governments will no longer be allowed to impose seasonal fertilizer bans or stricter limits and be limited to only the model ordinance.

To justify using the budget to pass such a major shift in policy, legislators also included $6.2 million for the IFAS to study the impact of preempting local fertilizer regulations for the next year.

Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the House Democratic leader from Tampa, criticized the decision and said it likely violates the governors 2019 executive order aimed at expediting Everglades restoration efforts.

I dont know why we would want to take away one of our most cost effective solutions to the water-quality issues faced here in Florida, Driskell said. This is brand new policy language. It has not been vetted in any committee, and it makes profound changes to water quality standards and would impact at least 117 local governments who have these types of regulations.

Asked to explain the rationale for the budget proposal on Monday and why the measure wasnt debated and given a hearing this session, Floridas legislative leaders could not provide an answer.

Its something the House wanted, said Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, suggesting that it was part of a trade during budget negotiations. Theres a lot of things we wanted that the House agreed to. Thats the give and take of the process.

Passidomo, whose own county has imposed rainy season fertilizer bans, said she took comfort in the fact that the restriction on local governments would last only a year as IFAS studies it. Then it just goes away, she said.

Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, the House Appropriations Committee chair, defended the idea.

All that language does is give us a period of time to study it so we could make thoughtful decisions, he told reporters.

Harper, who has given numerous presentations on Floridas local fertilizer ordinances, said that after he used the state data to calculate the decline in fertilizer use, FDEP stopped publicly reporting it and it is no longer available.

Tampa Bay Times reporter Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas
Miami-Dade Countys local government would lose its police department to a newly elected sheriff under a bill that passed the Florida Legislature on Monday despite objections by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Backed by the Florida Sheriffs Association, the legislation would kill the Levine Cava plan backed by the county commission to retain most of the police department under the mayors authority after a sheriff takes office in 2025 as mandated by a recent amendment to the Florida Constitution.

While Levine Cava wanted to surrender limited county policing duties to the sheriff, the bill heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature requires Miami-Dade to hand over its entire police department.

READ MORE: A new sheriff is coming, but Miami-Dade County wont turn over its police force

Miami-Dades police union backed the legislation that bars the county from retaining police officers once the sheriff takes office in January 2025. Steadman Stahl, president of the local Police Benevolent Association union, said a powerful sheriff assures voters can make a clear choice when it comes to public safety.

You will have a sheriff who will be responsible for crime, whether its good or bad, said Steadman Stahl, president of the local Police Benevolent Association union. If its not working out, the voters will remove them.

Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida where the mayor also holds the powers of sheriff, an arrangement forced to end after voters statewide approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 requiring independent sheriffs.

Backers of Miami-Dade retaining a police force argued the county should be allowed to have officers assigned to areas outside of city limits that would operate independently from the sheriff. Municipalities can maintain their own police forces under Florida law, while the sheriff has countywide jurisdiction.

The Florida Sheriffs Association sued, saying state law gives a sheriff exclusive policing authority in a countys unincorporated areas outside of municipal limits. The legislation that passed the Senate on Monday clarifies the law in favor of the sheriffs.

Story continues

The legislation (House Bill 1595) allows for a gradual shift in what the public will see from county law enforcement once the new sheriff takes office in January 2025. The bill allows a three-year transition to shift MDPD squad cars to the sheriff motif, including deputy badges with stars and a color scheme dominated by dark green.

Three municipalities that use county police for municipal services  Cutler Bay, Miami Lakes and Palmetto Bay  would have their contracts taken over by the sheriffs office under the legislation. The bills sponsor said the legislation is the most logical result from the passage of the amendment requiring an elected sheriff.

This is an implementation of the will of the voters, said Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin, a Republican who represents West Kendall. This is very simple and not complicated. Its one police department.

READ MORE: Florida Legislature is close to declaring a winner in Miami-Dades sheriff war

The bills passage came the same day that Miami-Dades current police director, Freddy Ramirez, filed to run in the Democratic primary for sheriff in 2024. Though allied with his boss and fellow Democrat, Levine Cava, Ramirez said he supports the legislation letting the sheriff take command of the entire Miami-Dade police force.

We have to make sure there is continuity with the Miami-Dade Police Department, he said in an interview. And that the transition is seamless. So nobody is left behind.
Hearing the word "Hawaii" may drum up visions of ocean waves, soft sand and, of course, colorful flower necklaces, known as lei.

A fresh flower lei is synonymous with a Hawaiian greeting and is part of daily life across the Hawaiian Islands.

"Lei is worn every day in Hawaii," Luana Maitland, director of cultural experience at Outrigger Resorts, tells TODAY.com. "(It can) celebrate birth, marriage, graduations, promotions (or) the celebration of life."

Maitland says she grew up learning to make lei, "just like learning how to read."

"By age 2, I was given a lei needle to make a lei. I wasnt given instructions, and just had to watch my tutu (grandmother) as she made lei to give someone," Maitland says. "She was always making lei."

The making and giving of lei is so special in Hawaii that there is an entire day dedicated to it each year on May 1: Lei Day.

What is Lei Day  and why is it celebrated in Hawaii?

In 1927, American poet Don Blanding wanted to celebrate the idea of making, giving and wearing lei.

"He proposed the idea to Honolulu Star-Bulletin editor Grace Tower Warren who loved the idea," Maitland explains. "She suggested the celebration."

May Day became Lei Day in Hawaii in 1928 with a celebration in Honolulu.

Lei Day received official recognition in 1929 by Governor Wallace R. Farrington, who declared May 1 of each year as "May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii."

Blanding expounded on the importance of the holiday in his book, Hula Moons, which published in 1930.

The custom of weaving and wearing flower leis originated with the Hawaiians so long ago that they have no record of its beginning... When tourists discovered Hawaii, they loved the charming gesture and they spread the word of it until the lei became known around the world.

Hawaii observed all of the mainland holidays as well as those of a number of the immigrant nationalities in the Islands. But there was no day that was peculiarly and completely Hawaiis own; that is none that included all of the polyglot population there, he wrote.

Story continues

In 2001, Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka, the first Native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate, called Lei Day "a nonpolitical and nonpartisan celebration."

Why is Lei Day important?

Lei Day celebrates the spirit of aloha and proves that the meaning of a lei goes beyond flowers on a string.

Maitland tells TODAY.com the tradition of lei making spans decades.

My dad was the eldest of thirteen kids. Many times he and his siblings were invited to a party, so grandma had them pick flowers from the yard and make a lei to be gifted, Maitland says, adding lei represent love, friendship and celebration. If she knew the elder of the person celebrating, she would have a second lei made for that elder as respect to the host.

Its a tradition that continues today in her family and many others.

I was babysitting my granddaughter, who was 1 at the time, and needed to make a lei for a dinner I was going to, Maitland says. I had her in her highchair while sewing lei and put some flowers on her tray. She picked up the flower and took it to her nose, not her mouth. I knew then that she will love making lei. I took video of her stringing her first pikake lei at 3 and now at 6, she is learning how to care for the pikake plant she is growing in her yard.

Lei Day celebrations are held across the Islands, as well as in schools for children and at hotels for tourists. On Oahu, this years 95th Annual Lei Day Celebration will be held at Queen Kapiolani Park, and will include music, lei-making, hula, parades and introductions of the Lei Court, as well as the Lei Day Queen.

Maitland tells TODAY.com that Lei Day also offers an opportunity to gather lei makers from all over the Islands to come share their technique in lei making.

Awards are given to the best lei in various categories, sorted by color theme, scent, lei haku, lei wili, lei hulu (feathers), lei for the papale (hat), she says.

"Aunty Luana" as she is known in her role preserving Hawaii's culture, tells TODAY.com the best thing to remember about Lei Day is, "Make a lei, wear a lei and give a lei.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Law enforcement officers search for the suspect near the scene of a mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, where five people were killed April 29. (Go Nakamura / Getty Images)

To the editor: As law enforcement hunted for the suspect in Texas' latest mass shooting, did this atrocity prompt Gov. Greg Abbott to consider enacting more effective gun-control laws?

Not likely. Who can forget Abbott's demagogic sloganeering in last year's gubernatorial campaign? An article published in The Times' print edition on July 20, 2022, had a photo showing him smugly posing beside signage with a curt, alliterative message: "God, guns, Greg."

It was as if the GOP's preferred deity himself had blessed Abbott and his push for virtually unrestricted possession of ultra-lethal firearms.

So sad that Abbott and his fellow Republicans pander to vacuous masses rather than propose realistic solutions to the gun violence epidemic.

M. Edward Alston, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: Abbott is being rightly criticized for identifying the victims of a mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, as "illegal immigrants" in the same statement in which he offered condolences to their loved ones.

What is wrong with him? This is beyond the pale, a completely disrespectful and un-Christian act. Where is his heart?

Texans, it is time for a major change. This is outrageous and totally unacceptable.

Richard A. French, Pasadena

..

To the editor: Abbott's response to the recent mass killing in Texas is not as egregious as the fact that he continues to be voted into office. The first step in achieving responsible gun control is to stop electing politicians who don't view gun violence as a plague upon our nation.

It is no longer shame on them, but rather shame on us as Americans for not taking a stance through our votes.

Doris K. Reed, Palm Desert

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
President Biden speaks during a news conference outside the White House on April 26. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Age absolutely needs to be a consideration for the most important job in our country. ("Is Biden too old to run again? Is Feinstein too frail to stay? Its not about age," column, April 25)

The minimum age for president is five years more than that for a senator and 10 more than a member of the House. Why? Because maturity and good judgment are essential for this most important of jobs, and those develop (usually) as one racks up life experience. We all mature at different ages, and we all decline at different ages. But we still set age requirements for a lot of important jobs.

I was alive, and so was columnist Steve Lopez, the last time a sitting president died. Granted, it was sudden and violent, but it threw the country into confusion and chaos for a period of time. I believe the same would happen today if a sitting president suffered a heart attack.

President Biden looks and sounds fit now, but take a look at photos of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in 2018, when she was last reelected. My sweet spot for a new president is between 50 and 72 years old  old enough for wisdom and maturity, yet young enough to be statistically healthy.

I don't care about a maximum age for members of Congress, but this old lady definitely wants one for president and vice president.

Diane Scholfield, Vista

..

To the editor: While I agree with Lopez that people age differently, two individuals who insisted on serving despite their advanced age have helped create the havoc we are experiencing on abortion.

One was the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, whose decision not to retire when Democrats controlled the White House and the Senate allowed then-President Trump to make his third Supreme Court appointment in 2020.

Now, Feinstein's absence due to health problems prevent her from voting to confirm Biden's judicial nominees.

Age may not be the biggest factor, but a stubborn insistence on staying on in the face of poor health is a selfish indulgence that has resulted in harm. Of course I will vote for Biden, but it will be with hope for his continued good health.

Story continues

Michael Peretzian, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: As an age peer of Biden, I must disgree with Lopez.

About one-fifth of adults ages 85 to 89 suffer from dementia, and this is precisely the age bracket Biden will enter should he get reelected. Perhaps dementia may spare Biden, but why take the risk?

Yes, the president can still give a speech with only minor stumbling while reading from a teleprompter, but his staff have issued clarifications on statements made during his rare news conferences.

We really need to ask if we are better off now than we were a few years ago. If the answer is no, why would we want another term for Biden? By announcing his reelection campaign, Biden is sucking out the oxygen from potential candidates who may be in a better position to beat Trump and run our country.

John T. Chiu, Newport Beach

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A walrus who was controversially euthanized last year in Norway after becoming a viral sensation for videos of it enjoying itself in an Oslo fjord last summer now has its own statue in the Scandinavian capital.

The walrus, named Freya, was notable for its seeming lack of fear of humans, but Norwegian authorities made the decision to kill the beloved 1,300-pound animal for public safety reasons, saying fans of the walrus hadnt kept their distance from it as officials had recommended.

Astri Tonoian, the artist who made the life-size, crowd-funded sculpture unveiled in Oslo Bay on Saturday, said it is called "For Our Sins."

"This is how humans treat wild nature, but it is also how humans treat humans," she said, according to BBC News. "This is how we treated Freya. And so, I will call the statue For Our Sins."

WILD ON ICE EUTHANIZED AFTER SUFFERING INJURY DURING TRAINING FOR KENTUCKY DERBY

Erik Holm, the sculptures crowdfunding organizer, told AFP news agency he "started this because I'm furious about the way the [Norwegian] Fisheries Directorate and the state handled this situation."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

LOS ANGELES MOUNTAIN LION NICKNAMED HOLLYWOOD CAT EUTHANIZED AMID BEHAVORIAL CHANGES, DECLINING HEALTH

Frank Bakke-Jensen, director of Norways Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement before Freya was euthanized, "Through on-site observations the past week it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus. Therefore, the directorate has concluded, the possibility for potential harm to people was high and animal welfare was not being maintained."

The euthanization fueled public outrage in the country.

Freya was often seen basking on boats, sometimes sinking them, and at times was within touching distance of gawkers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Sunday urging him to not bus any more migrants to Chicago, calling his move inhumane and dangerous.

Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with County, State, and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way, Lightfoot wrote in the letter.

Lightfoot said that Texas was planning on sending more migrants to Chicago starting Monday, which she argued against, noting that Chicago does not have the resources to house more migrants. She said in the letter that since Chicago has responded to the arrival of migrants sent by Texas in August 2022, the city has cared for more than 8,000 people.

She wrote that Chicago has no more shelters, spaces, or resources to address another influx of migrants to the city.

She said that many of those migrants arrived in need of food, water and medical care, all of which she said Texas failed to address. She also pointed out that some of the migrants who arrived in Chicago were victims of sexual assault or in active labor and reiterated that those urgent needs were not addressed in Texas.

I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created, Lightfoot wrote. But I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity that they deserve. To tell them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely

bus them here is an inviable and misleading choice.

This is not the first time Lightfoot has called on governors to cease bussing migrants to her city. She has previously blasted Abbotts move to send migrants to Chicago, saying in September that the migrants sent from Texas were treated with a lack of respect and lack of dignity.

Story continues

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has also criticized bussing migrants to Democrat-led cities, saying earlier this year that it is unfair that local governments need to bear the burden of what he called a national obligation.

Lightfoot also emphasized that immigration is a national challenge, not a local one in her letter on Sunday.

Governor Abbott, this is not a state v. state or city v. city problem. The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national collaboration. For the good of our country and the individuals who are seeking safety in refuge, lets work together to find a real solution. And that real solution will never be the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago, she concluded.

The Hill reached out to Abbotts office for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An Ada County judge has denied the request of former City Council Member Lisa Sanchez to force the City Council to stop functioning until she is returned to her seat.

On Monday, 4th Judicial District Judge Derrick ONeill denied Sanchezs request for a preliminary injunction, ruling that the merits of key arguments that would have allowed an injunction were still in dispute.

A preliminary injunction is a request for a court to require that something happen  or not happen  while the issues in dispute make their way through court. Under Idaho law, such an injunction can be issued if a judge finds a plaintiff very likely to succeed in the case, and if the plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm if the request is not granted.

In this case, ONeill ruled that Sanchez had not proven she is substantially likely to win her case and denied the request before considering whether she would suffer irreparable harm.

When Sanchez moved to an apartment she didnt realize was outside the boundary of her district in January, Boise city lawyers concluded that, under Idaho law, she had vacated her seat. Last month, Mayor Lauren McLean appointed Latonia Haney Keith to fill the District 3 seat, which covers the North End and Northwest Boise. Sanchez applied to be appointed but was not selected.

Sanchez followed up on the decision days later with a lawsuit, and in an expedited proceeding her attorney, Wendy Olson, asked the court to prevent the City of Boise from conducting business without plaintiff Sanchez and ordering the City of Boise to reinstate plaintiff Sanchez to the City Council position from which she was unlawfully removed.

To issue an injunction, the court has to find a plaintiff substantially likely to prevail on their claims, according to the ruling. At issue in this request were the circumstances under which Sanchez lost her seat and the interpretation of a state law explaining how elected vacancies occur.

At a hearing on April 26, Olson argued that the city removed Sanchez, did not have the right to do so, and would have needed to initiate some kind of proceeding to determine that she had lost her seat. An attorney for the city, Daniel Williams, has countered that the statute governing how seats are vacated is a self-executing state statute requiring nothing more than (Sanchezs) act of moving outside of District 3, according to ONeills ruling.

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In his ruling, ONeill wrote, Based on the language of the statute and the absence of any provisions detailing the additional removal proceedings that would be required upon vacancy, it cannot be said that (Sanchez) is clearly entitled to the relief sought or substantially likely to prevail on her claims.

ONeill wrote that whether the statute applies to this case is still undetermined, and that his decision is not rendering any opinion as to whether (Sanchez) is entitled to relief on her remaining claims.

Sanchez has also argued that the citys actions deprived her of due process and that she has suffered harm from losing her income, health insurance and retirement benefits. Sanchez was elected to a second term in 2021 and has indicated she plans to run for a council seat again in November.

While Ms. Sanchez is disappointed that the court did not grant preliminary injunctive relief, she also noted that the court made clear that its decision is not dispositive, Olson told the Idaho Statesman in an emailed statement. At this point, the court has decided neither that Ms. Sanchez is right on the law nor that the city of Boise is right on the law.

A spokesperson for McLean, Maria Weeg, declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Editors note: Wendy Olson also represents a group of media outlets, including the Idaho Statesman, in a case challenging the gag order in the Bryan Kohberger case.
After a cautious return to in-person events in 2022, the Little Haiti Book Festival is gearing up for a major comeback this year. The annual event takes place on Sunday, May 7, at three locations, Libreri Mapou Book Store, the Caribbean Marketplace (Mache Ayisyen), and the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

The book fair, which takes place during Haitian Heritage Month, is a celebration of the literary arts and cultural heritage of Haiti and the Little Haiti community in Miami.

Its Haitian Heritage Month! Celebrate throughout May at these events around Miami

The organizers have lined up several authors, publishers, and booksellers to participate in addition to a range of activities, including book readings, panel discussions, and music and dance performances.

After a cautious return to in-person events in 2022, the Little Haiti Book Festival is gearing up for a major comeback this year. Inset: Book festival founder and Libreri Mapou bookstore owner, Jean-Marie Willer Denis. (Photos courtesy of Miami Book Fair and Jean Mapou)

We view this as a unique opportunity for community members to reconnect in person after being separated by the pandemic, and for our children to engage with, and learn about, the vibrant cultural heritage of Haiti, says Jean-Marie Willer Denis, aka Jean Mapou, founder of the festival and Libreri Mapou bookstore owner.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the book fair was held mostly virtually for three years.

COVID-19 has strongly impacted our community, and for the past three years, people were afraid to participate in public events. So, we held the festival on Zoom in 2020 and 2021, says Mapou, adding that although the event was successful online, it still missed what he says was a sense of togetherness. Most especially, readers couldnt meet the authors in person.

Last years event saw some attendees, but not to pre-pandemic levels. However, with the lifting of pandemic restrictions this year, festival organizers are optimistic about a robust showing.

Were definitely back, with a hybrid festival that combines in-person and online programming, says Mapou. The festivals initiator also confides that book production has surged during the pandemic, both in Haiti and in the diaspora. Were seeing more and more new writers and works coming out, and the book fair provides an excellent opportunity for the community to connect with these new voices and their messages.

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The Little Haiti Book Festival, which was launched officially in 2014 by Jean Mapous Sosyete Koukouy, an advocacy group dedicated to preserving Haitian culture in the United States, has provided a platform for notable Haitian authors such as Edwidge Danticat, M. J. Fievre, Lyonel Trouillot, Marc Exavier, to showcase their work to Miamis Haitian community. The adventure started with Mapous idea to open a bookstore promoting Haitian literature and culture. The festival founders vision was also to combat negative stereotypes and misconceptions about the Haitian community.

Acclaimed Haitian American author Edwidge Danticat, a frequent guest at the fair, will be at the 2023 Little Haiti Book Festival. (Photo courtesy of Miami Book Fair)

People were saying terrible things about Haitians  notably that we were illiterate. I wanted to challenge those ideas and show the world the richness and beauty of Haitian culture, he says.

The creator of Sosyete Koukouy (The Fireflies Society) started the bookstore with a small library in the Caribbean Marketplace in an effort to educate people about Haitian culture through books. The bookstore quickly became a hub for the Haitian community in Miami, attracting Haitian intellectuals, non-Haitians, and students. Thats how Libreri Mapou started.

The idea for the Little Haiti Book Festival sparked after Mapou attended the annual Haitian book fair called Livres en Folie during a trip there. Inspired by the event, Mapou, who already had some experience as a Miami Book Fair board member, decided to launch a book fair in Little Haiti.

We started timidly, but over the years, our festival has grown and become more popular, drawing in a larger audience, he says.

After five years, the Miami Book Fair joined forces with the Haitian book fair to provide logistical support, becoming a supporter and is now co-organizer of the Little Haiti Book Festival.

This partnership exemplifies the power of collaboration to achieve extraordinary results, says Fievre, coordinator of ReadCaribbean, a Miami Book Fair program focusing on Caribbean-specific events.

Both Miami Book Fair and Sosyete Koukouy work together to plan every festival aspect, from logistics to programming. These organizations pool their resources, skills, and passion for literature and culture to finance the event, she says.

As a result, over the years, the festival has grown significantly in size and scope, attracting a more comprehensive range of authors, publishers, and attendees, according to Fievre.

While the primary focus remains on Haiti and the Haitian diaspora, we now welcome authors from various Caribbean and non-Caribbean countries, enriching the events diversity and fostering cross-cultural connections.

It is worth noting that this year, the organization of the Little Haiti Festival is particularly significant as it takes place amidst the ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood.

Its important to organize this festival in this context to make the world know that we are not going anywhere. We are here to stay, exclaims Mapou.

NSL Dance Ensemble will perform during the 2023 book fair. (Photo courtesy of Miami Book Fair)

Fievre says that the gentrification of Little Haiti makes it even more crucial to have a Haitian book festival that preserves and celebrates the communitys rich cultural heritage.

The festival counters the erasure of Haitian culture and history from the neighborhood by providing a space for Haitian and Caribbean authors, artists, and community members to share their stories and experiences, she says.

Millien-Faustin, author of a collection of short stories in Haitian Creole (Tim Tim: Jaden Kreyasyon and Eli Fet Leyogan), says it is heartbreaking what Little Haiti is facing.

In this time of despair, gatherings such as the Haitian Book Festival become more important to keep the community together and stronger.

This years Little Haiti Book Festival promises to cater to diverse interests and age groups. A primary focus of the festival will be author readings and book signings.

Almost 100 authors will be present, showcasing their latest works and conversing about their creative processes and literary journeys, says Fievre, who is coordinating this part of the festival.

Festival organizers have also scheduled two panel discussions for attendees to spark thought-provoking conversations. The talks will explore relevant topics, such as Chaos and Community: The Impact of New Immigration Laws on Haitian Refugees in the US and Building a Healthier Future: A Panel Discussion on Environmental Sustainability in Haiti.

Among the panelists: Gepsie Morisset-Metellus, co-founder of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center; Edwidge Danticat, Haitian American author; Paul Novack, former mayor of Surfside; Leonie Hermantin, director of communications and development at Sant La; Philippe Mathieu, agronomist, and CEO of Agroconsult Haiti, and Florentin Maurrasse, Ph.D., a geologist at Florida International University.

These conversations will allow attendees to engage with the issues and themes that resonate with the Haitian and Caribbean communities, according to Fievre.

Bilingual writer and storyteller Marie Ketsia Theodore Pharel will read aloud two books, one in Creole and the other in English, at the Little Haiti Book Festival. (Photo courtesy of Miami Book Fair)

Various workshops are also planned including sessions on contemporary Haitian dance (NSL Dance Ensemble), music, Haitian theater, and film project management by filmmaker Yanatha Desouvre (The Sweetest Girl, Fragmented Scars). The workshops will be led by industry professionals, providing valuable insights into Haitian culture.

The festival will feature special events and activities for children and young adult readers, such as storytelling sessions and hands-on activities including artmaking with GO GO MOAD and Haitian artist Asser Saint-Val.

Bilingual writer and storyteller Marie Ketsia Theodore Pharel will read aloud Tanga (in Creole), a legend about a magical fish, and Dumb Boy in Hot Water (in English), the story of the Haitian occupation with a twist on dumpling soup.

In addition to writing books, I am committed to preserving the oral storytelling tradition that is so precious and cogent to Haitian culture, the author says.

WHAT: Little Haiti Book Festival

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, May 7. Online events Sunday, May 21 and Sunday, May 28

WHERE: Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami

COST: Free

INFORMATION: 305-757-9922 or miamibookfair.com/littlehaiti

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit source of theater, dance, visual arts, music and performing arts news. Sign up for their newsletter and never miss a story.
Over the last four weeks, the prosecution has called roughly four dozen witnesses in the Lori Vallow Daybell criminal trial.

Vallow Daybell, and her husband, Chad Daybell, are accused of the first-degree murder of her two children: 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.

To be convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the jury will need to conclude that they killed, encouraged or commanded someone else to kill Vallow Daybells children.

Theyre also accused of conspiring to murder the two children as well as Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybells former wife.

Chad and Lori Daybell  who had a months-long affair  got married on a Hawaii beach two weeks after Tammy Daybells body was buried in a Utah cemetery, according to witnesses throughout the trial.

READ MORE: Lori Vallow Daybells case spans 3 states, 4 deaths. Here are all the key people involved.

Lori Vallow Daybells trial began early April and could last another three weeks. Chad Daybell  who is also charged with first-degree murder in Tammy Daybells death  has a hearing scheduled Thursday.

Authorities said they believe Vallow Daybells brother Alex Cox also conspired to kill JJ, Tylee and Tammy Daybell, according to the indictment filed by prosecution teams from Madison and Fremont counties. Cox died of natural causes in 2019.

Vallow Daybell also faces a felony charge for allegedly conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, with her brother.

3 p.m.  Medical examiner says Tammy Daybell had bruising on upper body

Utahs Chief Medical Examiner Erik Christensen said during his testimony Monday that Tammy Daybell had several bruises on her body that occurred around the time of death.

He pointed to bruising on Tammy Daybells arms and chest, including her left upper chest, right bicep and right forearm. Images shown in court confirmed the bruising on Tammy Daybells upper body.

Then-Fremont County Deputy Coroner Cammy Willmore during her testimony last week said she noticed some bruising on Tammy Daybells bicep but said it didnt look new.

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Christensen said that during Tammy Daybells autopsy, he made an incision under the skin to examine her tissue.

He said the bruising likely occurred before Tammy Daybells death. Sometimes bruising can occur once someone has died, he added, but its difficult for a bruise to form once an individuals circulation stops.

Tammy Daybells organs were normal, but Christensen found a frothy dried foam in her airway, he said. A pink-reddish foam, which was a mixture of blood and fluids, surrounded Tammy Daybells mouth, according to the witnesses and autopsy photos presented in court last week.

Christensen said the foam could occur from pulmonary edema but clarified that pulmonary edema is not a cause of death. Fremont County Coroner Brenda Dye ruled that Tammy Daybell died from pulmonary edema because of a seizure-like episode.

Dye said she initially decided not to perform an autopsy, in part because of information Chad Daybell and his daughter gave her. They also did not want an autopsy performed, she said.

Christensen said Tammy Daybell died at least a couple of hours before 6 a.m. Dye said during her testimony Tammy Daybell died around midnight to 2 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2019.

1:45 p.m.  Utah chief medical examiner testifies

Christensen confirmed Tammy Daybell died by asphyxiation.

Several witnesses  including Dye  have previously told the court about Tammy Daybells cause of death, but Christensen performed the autopsy on Tammy Daybell. The 49-year-old mother died in October 2019. Dye during her testimony said she didnt perform an autopsy.

Tammy Daybells body was exhumed from a cemetery in Springville, Utah, and Christensen performed the autopsy in December 2019. Christensen said exhumations arent common. He added that out of the 7,200 autopsies hes performed, roughly one dozen to two dozen have been exhumations.

Christensen explained that asphyxiation is a broad case of death that means an individual was deprived of oxygen. He said some of the explanations of an asphyxiation death could include drowning, suffocation, smothering or a chemical asphyxiation like carbon monoxide.

Tammy Daybells autopsy was a negative autopsy, Christensen said, because there was nothing else that could explain her death. He said the autopsy ruled out other factors such as seizures, heart disease, poison or drugs.

It would also be quite unusual for women of her age to develop seizures, Christensen said. He added the only evidence that showed Tammy Daybell had seizure-like episodes was from statements Chad Daybell told investigators in Rexburg.

He added Tammy Daybell had bruises that could be consistent with someone being restrained.

Christensen said examiners also searched for drugs, but they found nothing aside from a medication Tammy Daybell had been taking for years. There was no blood to perform a toxicology panel because shed been embalmed, so instead, Christensen said examiners used liver samples.

1 p.m.  Cox on Chad Daybells property for 17 minutes

Cellphone records  including GPS data  showed Coxs cellphone at a Latter-day Saints church roughly 2.5 miles from Chad Daybells property the night before Tammy Daybell died, former FBI Special Agent Rick Wright said during his testimony.

Coxs phone was located at the church from around 10:45 a.m. Oct. 18, 2019, to 11:53 a.m. Oct. 19, 2019.

Vallow Daybells defense attorney John Thomas during his cross-examination also questioned the length of time Cox was on Chad Daybells property on Sept. 23  which was 17 minutes.

Thomas asked Wright whether someone would be able to bury JJ in 17 minutes.Wright said hes seen JJs grave site, and based on his knowledge, it would take a lot more more time.

Authorities said they believe JJ was killed on Sept. 22 or 23.

The prosecution asked Wright whether the burial could have gone faster if more than one person assisted. Wright said yes, but added that based on the cellphone data, he has no way of knowing how many people were on the property.

10:30 a.m.  Cellphone records placed Cox on Chad Daybells property

Roughly 10 minutes after cellphone records showed Cox leaving Chad Daybells property  where the childrens bodies were located  Chad Daybell texted his then-wife Tammy Daybell about shooting and burying a raccoon in their propertys pet cemetery, according to evidence presented by Wright.

Well I had an interesting morning. I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms, Chad Daybell texted Tammy Daybell on Sept. 9, 2019. While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick.

He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times! the text continued. Tylees remains were found burned in Chad Daybells fire pit and placed into a melted bucket, which was buried in the pet cemetery, according to witness testimony and evidence presented throughout the trial.

READ MORE: Cell records show Alex Cox in Chad Daybells backyard, where kids were found

Wright during his testimony Monday said cellphone evidence, which included data from cellphone towers and GPS, showed Coxs phone was in Vallow Daybells Rexburg apartment in the early hours of Sept. 9, 2019.

Wright said Coxs phone was back at his apartment before 12 a.m., according to data from the first week of September, when Vallow Daybell and Cox first moved to Idaho.

A few hours later, the records showed Cox at Chad Daybells property from 9:22 a.m. to 11:42 a.m. Chad Daybell texted Tammy Daybell at 11:53 a.m., according to evidence presented by Wright.

Authorities said they believe Tylee was killed on Sept. 8 or Sept. 9, 2019.

It certainly sent up some red flags for us, Wright said.

Wright added that Coxs phone was on Chad Daybells property two additional times in September 2019, on Sept. 6 and Sept. 25. But it was only on the property for less than 20 minutes during each visit, and it was closer to the front door.

When Cox was on the property on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23, the data showed him in the propertys backyard, Wright said.

8:30 a.m.  DNA expert says hair sample found on duct tape matched Vallow Daybell

Investigators said they found JJs body bound in duct tape, and during their search, they also found a partial hair sample on a piece of duct tape.

DNA analyst Keeley Coleman, who works for Bode Technology, a private lab that works with law enforcement, said Monday during her testimony that the hair sample belonged to Vallow Daybell. Coleman was sent the hair sample and tested them for investigators.

The hair sample, Coleman said, was tested against three DNA profiles: Vallow Daybell, Tylee Ryan and Vallow Daybells former friend Melanie Gibb.

Coleman said most of the DNA samples they tested in criminal investigations are partial profiles. A partial sample, which is missing part of the DNA profile, typically occurs when evidence is degraded.

Idaho State Police Forensic Biologist Katherine Dace during her testimony last week said she collected a hair sample from the duct tape on JJs body and sent it to a lab.
Longtime Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin said he won't seek reelection, clearing a path for a new face to join the Senate.

"I am proud of all I have done for Maryland. I have given my heart and soul to our great state, and I thank Marylanders for trusting me as your representative for all these years. Thank you, Maryland," Cardin tweeted Monday, sharing a video of his retirement announcement.

In video message with his wife, Myrna, Cardin recalled its been 56 years since he first ran for office.

"You know, Myrna, its been the honor of my life to represent the people of Maryland first in the Maryland General Assembly, then as speaker of the House, later as a member of the House of Representatives, and now as a United States senator," Cardin said. "When this term ends, it will be my last year as an elected official. I will not seek reelection."

DEM SENATOR ACCUSES TRUMP OF LEAVING BIDEN WITH BAD OPTIONS FOR DISASTROUS AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL

Ben Cardin says he will not seek another term in the Senate.

"Its time," Cardin, 79, told the Baltimore Sun in an interview at his Pikesville home. "I always knew this election cycle would be the one I would be thinking about not running again, so its not something that hit me by surprise. I enjoy life. There are other things I can do."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Democrats are quickly realizing that the Senate won't be any fun for them when Republicans retake the majority in 2024," National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Tate Mitchell told Fox News.

Cardin has served in the Senate since 2006, when he won a seat to replace retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes. Before that, he was a congressman who represented a large part of Baltimore and several nearby suburbs, winning his first U.S. House race in 1986.

Monday's announcement sparked speculation that former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, could run for Cardin's seat.

But a source close to the former two-term governor reiterated to Fox News on Monday afternoon that Hogan "has never been interested in the Senate."

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Longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and his allies encouraged Hogan to campaign for the Senate in 2022 - when Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen successfully ran for re-election - but the then-governor resisted the aggressive recruitment push.

LARRY HOGAN SLAMS TRUMP AFTER DECLINING 2024 BID: GOP MUST AVOID 2016-STYLE CANDIDATE PILEUP

Democrats hold a razor-thin 51-49 majority in the Senate but are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs next year - including three in reliably red states and a handful in crucial general election battlegrounds. But that's not the case in Maryland, a heavily blue state.

"Democrats are quickly realizing that the Senate won't be any fun for them when Republicans retake the majority in 2024," National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Tate Mitchell said in a statement.

During his tenure in the Senate, Cardin has taken a mostly liberal stance in advocating on health care, retirement security, the environment and fiscal issues. The senator has also been a leading advocate for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay, the nations largest estuary, which flows through his home state.

He helped write the Paycheck Protection Program that helped small businesses in Maryland and nationwide endure the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also created the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance Grant program to quickly get cash to small businesses in need.

His legislation to expand Medicare to include preventive benefits such as colorectal, prostate, mammogram and osteoporosis screening was also enacted.

"I salute my friend and our states senior Senator Ben Cardin on his extraordinary public service to Maryland and our country," Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in a statement Monday. "It is a privilege to serve alongside him and in partnership every day for the people of our great state."

Cardin also has worked in foreign affairs, supporting the integration of anti-corruption, transparency and respect for human rights into foreign policy. He chaired the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

Cardin counts among his achievements the passage of his legislation to increase the amount Americans can put into their 401(K) plans and IRAs, which was enacted in 2001.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and the Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Rexburg Police Department

A piece of Lori Vallows hair was found stuck on duct tape used to wrap the body of her 7-year-old son before he was buried in her soon-to-be husbands Idaho backyard, a DNA expert revealed in court Monday.

Keeley Coleman, a senior DNA analyst at Bode Technology in Virginia, told Ada County jurors on Monday that she tested three DNA profiles in connection with Vallows murder case, including Lori, her 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, and her friend Melanie Gibb. She also received several items to test, including a piece of hair that was attached to an adhesive.

The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided from Lori Vallow Daybell, Coleman said about the hair, according to East Idaho News. The probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile is 1 in 71 billion.

Last week, prosecutors revealed that a piece of hair was found on duct tape used to wrap Vallows young son, JJ, after he was fatally strangled with a white plastic bag in September 2019. Vallow is on trial for the murders of JJ and Tylee, as well as conspiring to kill husband Chad Daybells first wife; she faces life in prison. Chad, a Doomsday author, will be tried separately and faces the death penalty if convicted.

Flesh and Blood: Ghastly Evidence Might Doom Lori Vallow

Authorities say that JJ was found buried in a pet cemetery with duct tape over his mouth, ankles, and hands. He was also found with a black plastic bag wrapped around his bodywhich another expert revealed contained a fingerprint that matched Vallows late brother, Alex Cox.

JJs older sister, Tylee, was found dismembered and buried in a fire pit nearby. A forensic pathologist said she died by unspecified means.

Vallow has pleaded not guilty to several charges in connection to the murders, as well as conspiring to slay Tammy Daybell, the first wife of Chad Daybell, in October 2019. The DNA match marks the first piece of physical evidence that directly ties Vallow to the childrens murders.

Story continues

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A piece of Lori Vallow's hair was apparently stuck to a piece of duct tape wrapped around her murdered 7-year-old son's body, a witness testified Monday, according to local reports.

Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, are accused of killing Vallow's son, J.J. Vallow, along with her 17-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, around September 2019. She and Daybell are also accused of killing Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell, in October 2019.

"The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided for Lori Vallow Daybell," DNA analyst Keeley Coleman testified Monday of the hair stuck to a piece of adhesive. The adhesive had been wrapped around J.J.'s body when investigators found him buried on Daybell's property in June 2020, according to East Idaho News reporter Nate Eaton.

Coleman added that "the probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile 1 is 71 billion."

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: HEAR CULT MOM AND HER SISTER SPEAK AFTER VALLOW'S CHILDREN FOUND DEAD

J.J. Vallow's cause of death was revealed Wednesday during Lori Vallow's murder trial.

The analyst later testified that the "the hair had been found on duct tape that was in the presence of decomposition fluids," Eaton reported.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: IDAHO CORONER REVEALS JJ VALLOW AND TYLEE RYAN'S CAUSES OF DEATH

When investigators dug up J.J. and Tylee's remains on Daybell's rural Idaho property in June 2020  nearly 10 months after the children went missing  they found J.J.'s body wrapped in tape with a plastic bag over his head and Tylee's body dismembered and badly burned.

Lori and Chad Daybell are accused of killing 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, right, and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019.

The Ada County coroner testified last week that J.J. died of asphyxiation by a plastic bag, and Tylee died of homicide by unknown means. It was the first time the public had heard the children's causes of deaths since they were found dead three years ago.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: IDAHO INVESTIGATOR DETAILS GRUESOME FINDINGS AT BURAL SITE WHERE CHILDREN'S BODIES WERE FOUND

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Vallow and Daybell, who married in November 2019 quickly after their children's disappearances and Tammy's death, are also accused of stealing Tylee and J.J.'s Social Security benefits.

The defense team for Lori Vallowwho allegedly killed her two children with help from her husband, Chad Daybelldoes not believe she "actually participated" in the murders.

The pair share apocalyptic religious beliefs and apparently believed they were destined to marry each other upon meeting at a religious convention discussing the end of the world.
A bill that would allow Louisiana school districts to appoint school protection officers that could carry concealed firearms was voluntarily deferred on Thursday after the bills author called it a duplication of what we already have.

Senate Bill 158 would allow school districts to designate people as school protection officers who would be allowed to carry concealed firearms at the districts schools. Anyone designated as a school protection officer would have to go through the states Peace Officer Standards and Training program required to become a peace officer.

Louisiana education board wants more school resource officers. Are they effective?

State Sen. Eddie Lambert, a Republican from Gonzales and the bills author, told the Senate Education Committee he wanted to defer the bill after discussions with legislative staff. He said he initially wanted to give schools more options to protect students in the wake of the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, that left three students and three adults dead.

Lambert said after reviewing the current laws on the books, he believed the bill was not necessary.

It would be a duplication of what we already have, Lambert said.

The legislature will likely have further discussions about school protection, particularly with the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education requesting the legislature provide funding for districts to form partnerships with local law enforcement agencies to provide school resource officers.

Are letter jackets included in Lafayette school board dress code? Changes bring confusion

BESEs request came after a wave of high-profile school shootings in recent months. According to Education Week, there have been 14 school shootings in 2023 that have resulted in someone being injured or killed. Ten people have been killed in school shootings this year, including six students or children.

The National Association of School Resource Officers recommends that each school have at least one carefully selected, specially trained officer. The organization claims that school resource officers prevent some instances of violence and crimes, citing a 2019 study that Canadas Carleton University looked at the SRO program in one municipality.

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The organization also cites data from the Averted School Violence Reporting System, which is maintained by the National Policing Institute. The data shows that of 55 averted instances between 1999 and 2017, at least 30 had a security officer or police officer on campus.

Education groups, such as the National Education Association, have been more skeptical about officers effectiveness.

Data analysis from the Center for Public Integrity and USA TODAY in 2021 appears to back that up. During the 2017-2018 school year, nearly 230,000 students were referred to law enforcement. In 46 states, Black students were referred more often than the student population overall.

Another study, one by researchers at the University of Albany, analyzed data from schools nationwide from 2014 to 2018 and found that SROs do effectively reduce some forms of violence in schools, but do not prevent school shootings or gun-related incidents.

CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING TODAY: Help support journalists like William Taylor Potter

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana bill that would create 'school protection officers' deferred
Scott Heath, the only Black professor in the English department at Loyola University, sent his students a letter informing them the school declined to renew his contract for the fall semester.

Students at Loyola University are advocating for the retention of the schools lone Black professor in the English department.

Campus publication The Loyola Maroon reported that Scott Heath, an African-American studies professor, recently sent his students a letter informing them that the New Orleans university declined to renew his contract for the fall semester for reasons the department did not specify.

Many of Heaths students joined forces with Loyola-based chapters of the Young Democratic Socialists and the NAACP to push for the professors reinstatement.

At Loyola University in New Orleans, students are advocating for the retention of the only Black professor in the schools English department. (Photo: Adobe Stock)

Together, they drafted an open letter and produced a social media-shared petition to support Heaths reinstatement. Over 600 people have signed the petition, including residents of the greater New Orleans area and students.

How are we, as a Jesuit institution, going to claim that we fight for the poor and oppressed, freshman Olivia Zachary wondered, according to The Maroon, when we are outlawing and silencing Black educators?

Organizers shared the petition with Loyolas English department and higher management. Carson Cruse, president of the Loyola branch of the Young Democratic Socialists, said the university did not respond, which prompted students to stage the rally, which was held Wednesday.

The Loyola branch of the NAACP convened a listening session with Kedrick Perry, the vice president of equity and inclusion, academic affairs personnel and other campus leaders to express their concerns about Heaths dismissal.

However, organizers lamented the absence of any English department faculty who could have listened to their issues.

Akilah Toney, a junior psychology major and secretary of Loyolas NAACP branch, said she believes it is unfair that Black students must struggle for the institution to prioritize their academic interests. She noted she had never felt more at home and informed in a classroom than in Heaths class.

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If the university can use [Black students] for their pictures, to plan their events, to increase their diversity, Toney said, then we deserve an education where Black students can feel welcome.

Senior Cynthia Russell claimed the universitys actions are part of a trend that rewards and supports professors who lack enthusiasm and care only about themselves while punishing those who are the opposite.

Loyola uses their Black, Indigenous and Latino students as trophies, she said, accusing the university of getting rid of professors who actually care and try to push us forward.

Following the protest, the Rev. Justin Daffron, Loyolas interim president, met with the student activists. Freshman history major Olyvya Boatright warned that organizers wanted a response or theyd raise some more hell.

Our education is not negotiable, Toney said, The Maroon reported. We wont take no for an answer because we need an African-American studies department in a majority Black city.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Loyola students fight for Black English professors job appeared first on TheGrio.
In the past decade, school attendance in the Chapin and Irmo areas has flipped on its head.

Ten years ago, the Dutch Fork High School cluster was the largest of the three in Lexington-Richland 5, with 38% of enrolled students in schools compared to 36% for Irmo High School and just 25% for Chapin. This school year, those numbers are nearly reversed; the Chapin cluster now enrolls 39% of the districts in-person students, versus 31% in Irmo and 29% in Dutch Fork.

That change has left the Lexington-Richland 5 school district considering how best to handle shifting attendance patterns across the districts 22 schools. Last week, district Superintendent Akil Ross laid out a plan for how the fast-growing district can deal with shifting population patterns around the district.

One step will be to simplify the structure of the district. Currently, students go through intermediate schools that serve as a transition point between the traditional elementary and middle schools. CrossRoads Intermediate School takes students from both the Dutch Fork and Irmo attendance areas for a year before sending them back to their middle schools.

Rosss proposal would streamline the attendance structure, doing away with the intermediate stage. The plan would also allow the district to accommodate a growing number of students by re-purposing existing school buildings instead of building new ones.

In the restructured district, CrossRoads would be turned into a new middle school alongside Dutch Fork and Irmo middle schools. Students from Leaphart and Seven Oaks Elementary would attend the new CrossRoads Middle, while Dutch Fork, H.E. Corley, Oak Pointe and River Springs Elementary will continue to send students to Dutch Fork Middle, and Irmo and Nursery Road Elementary students would graduate to Irmo Middle.

Harbison West students going forward would split between CrossRoads and Irmo depending on their attendance zones, with students living north of Interstate 26 going to CrossRoads and south of the interstate going to Irmo.

Story continues

Meanwhile, Chapin Intermediate would turn into the new Chapin Middle School and take students from Chapin and Piney Woods elementary schools. The old Chapin Middle campus would become a new Spring Hill Middle School and take students from Lake Murray and Ballentine elementary schools, which would move to the Chapin cluster from the Dutch Fork cluster.

But the student body at Ballentine will change as well, Ross said, with a renewed attendance area for Ballentine to include more of the Chapin area, reducing population growth at the other three elementary schools. Some areas currently attending Ballentine would be redistricted into other Dutch Fork area elementary schools after the current crop of Ballentine students passes through.

Spring Hill High School would remain a magnet school under this proposal.

The plan would also create a new 3K-4K program for the Chapin area, hosted at one of the Chapin elementary schools.

That doesnt mean Lexington-Richland 5 will completely avoid having to build any new facilities. Ross said the districts alternative programs  the Academy for Success at Spring Hill High, the adult education program at Irmo High and the Five online program at Piney Woods  would have to move out of their current homes so that every square foot is turned over to students enrolled at those schools.

Instead, those programs would need to go into a purpose-built building or move into the current Dutch Fork Elementary School, necessitating the construction of a new elementary school, Ross said. The extra space at Spring Hill will create more room for a feeder program at Spring Hill Middle, lessening the strain on Chapin High without taking away spots in the magnet program for the Dutch Fork and Irmo areas.

The superintendent said he estimates about 200 students a year would move from Spring Hill Middle to Spring Hill High.

Ross said he welcomes community responses to the proposal at 5yearplan@lexrich5.org.
The calendar has flipped from April to May, and the Miami Marlins have found themselves in a solid spot in the standings to begin Skip Schumakers first year as manager.

After sweeping the Chicago Cubs this weekend, the Marlins close the first full month of the season with a 16-13 record. Their 15 wins in April  Miami went 1-1 in March  are tied for the second-most wins in April in franchise history, behind only the clubs 16-9 record in 2011.

How did they get here, and how sustainable is this start? Lets take a look.

The Marlins record when...

 Playing any team not named the Atlanta Braves or New York Mets  13-5. The Marlins have won six of nine series so far this season, sweeping the Chicago Cubs this weekend and taking two of three against the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians. The Diamondbacks and Twins lead their respective divisions. The Cubs and Phillies also have a winning record.

The Marlins will need to figure out how to scratch a few wins against the Braves and Mets, the standard bearers of the NL East who both won 101 games last season, but being competitive (and winning) against the middle-of-the-pack teams is a solid sign to start to the season.

 A game is decided by one run  10-0. Miami went 24-40 in one-run games last season. This year, they have won each of their first 10 contests with such results. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only the 1972 New York Mets are the only team with a longer stretch of consecutive wins in one-run games to begin a season, going 11-0 in such contests.

 When Marlins are tied or trailing after six innings  6-12: Miami has won one-third of its games so far when it was either tied or behind with three innings left to play. A couple reasons for that: Miamis offense has shown up the most late in games and its bullpen has stepped up in high-leverage situations.

With the offense, the Marlins have a .279 batting average (87 for 312) in the seventh inning or later this season, which is the third-best mark in MLB behind only the Houston Astros (.286) and Cubs (.280). They have scored 41 of their 99 runs in that span as well.

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Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez (3) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a run against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning of an MLB game at loanDepot park on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Miami, Fla.

Luis Arraez hits his way into record books

The Marlins knew they were getting a steady, professional hitter in Luis Arraez when they acquired him from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez and two prospects in January.

But this? They couldnt have imagined this.

Through April, Arraez is hitting a blistering .438 (39 for 89) over 25 games played. Its the highest batting average in Marlins history through April, breaking Dee Strange-Gordons mark of .409 set in 2015.

Even more, only nine players have had a batting average higher than that through April while having at least 80 plate appearances: Barry Bonds (.472, 2004), Pete Rose (.466, 1976), Larry Walker (.456, 1997), Tony Perez (.455, 1970), John Olerud (.450, 1993), Rod Carew (.449, 1983), Darin Erstad (.449, 2000), Paul ONeill (.448, 1994) and Ivan Rodriguez (.442, 1998).

Arraez, the reigning American League batting champion, also leads the team with a .500 on-base percentage, is tied for the team lead with 12 runs scored and is tied for third with 11 RBI. He hit for the first cycle in franchise history on April 11 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He has multiple hits in 12 of his 23 starts.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of an MLB game at loanDepot park on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Miami, Fla.

A mixed bag of pitching

Pitching was supposed to be once again be the Marlins backbone this season.

But results on the mound have left a lot to be desired. Miamis 4.41 ERA is 17th in MLB, its 1.31 walks and hits per inning pitched is 18th and its .244 batting average against is 16th.

Injuries and underperformance in the starting rotation has played a heavy part in this. Two starting pitchers are sidelined in Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who has been underwhelming, also had a start skipped due to biceps tendinitis. Overall, Marlins starting pitchers have averaged just 4.89 innings per start and have made it through the sixth inning in just seven of 29 outings.

That puts a lot of extra pressure on the bullpen.

That said, the Marlins revamp relief pitcher corps has stepped up in key situations. Marlins pitching has held opponents to a .207 batting average and a 1.01 WHIP in late-and-close situations, defined as plate appearances in the seventh inning or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck. Those are the 11th- and fifth best marks in the league, respectively.

A.J. Puk and Dylan Floro have asserted themselves as the Marlins top high-leverage relievers, but Schumaker has several options to turn to  Tanner Scott, Matt Barnes, Steven Okert, Huascar Brazoban and, when he returns from injury, JT Chargois  if either or both of them are unavailable.

Whats next

May is when things fell apart for the Marlins last season. Miami went 7-19 in May during the 2022 season behind a combination of poor clutch hitting and injuries.

Miamis schedule this May includes matchups with the following teams: Home against the Braves (Tuesday through Thursday), a road trip to the Cubs (Friday through Sunday and Diamondbacks May 8-10), a homestand against the Cincinnati Reds (May 12-14) and Washington Nationals (May 16-18), a three-city road trip to the Giants (May 19-21), Colorado Rockies (May 22-25) and Los Angeles Angels (May 26-28) and a series against the San Diego Padres (May 30-June 1) that starts a three-team homestand.
The Bulgari store in Place Vendome, Paris, after being attacked by thieves in September 2021. Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Luxury jewelry store Bulgari in Paris has been robbed for the second time in two years.

Video footage shows the three armed suspects making their getaway in broad daylight.

The shop was robbed in September 2021, where thieves stole $11 million worth of jewellery.

A luxury jewelry store in Paris was robbed in broad daylight, and the thieves' getaway was captured on video.

Designer brand Bulgari, which has a flagship store on the prestigious Place Vendome in central Paris, was targeted by armed robbers on the afternoon of Saturday April 29.

Bulgari is owned by LVMH and is worn by celebrities including Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Miley Cyrus.

Police are investigating the robbery and searching for the suspects, according to Reuters. The value of the stolen items was not immediately disclosed.

Videos taken by passers-by and posted on social media show one person wearing a helmet standing by the store holding a gun. Two people then emerged from inside, and the group made their getaway on two mopeds.

The Bulgari store was also robbed in 2021

This was not the first time the Bulgari store has been robbed  it was also targeted by armed thieves who stole jewellery worth 10 million ($11 million) in September 2021, The Guardian reported.

One of the thieves was shot in the leg by police at the time and then arrested, convicted, and imprisoned, as per the BBC.

Two further suspects were later arrested and charged too, according to Le Monde.

Similar robberies have also been seen at Apple's flagship store in London and at a high-end jewellers on the city's famous Regent Street.

Read the original article on Insider
A bus fare hike that was set to take effect this summer is off the table  at least for the next year.

The Macon Transit Authority board voted Tuesday evening to nix the increase to fares it approved in February. Regular fare was set to be bumped up for the first time in 15 years July 1 from $1.25 to $1.75. The cost of a paratransit ride would have gone up from $2.50 to $3.50.

Macon-Bibb County Commissioners voted unanimously last week to pay the transit authority up to $375,000 in hopes it would help the authority stave off the fare increase for at least one more year. That amount is about $14,000 less than revenue the transit authority anticipated after one year of the fare increase in effect.

The countys money is part of the $75.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds it received from the federal government meant to help address negative impacts of the pandemic.

Macon Transit Authority President and CEO Craig Ross said Mayor Lester Miller called March 8 and asked how Ross felt about the county approving some of the federal money to cover a year of the fare increase.

I told him I have no problem with that, I dont care where it comes from, Ross said.

The transit authority will bill the county on a monthly basis based on the authoritys ridership report, Ross said. If the authority doesnt use all the money, the county will keep the remainder.

Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas, a vocal critic of the authority and its planned fare increase, implored the authority board at recent meetings to reconsider a change she said would harm some of the countys most financially vulnerable residents.

I wanted to let you know there was a unanimous vote of the Macon-Bibb County Commission because they shared these concerns, Lucas said at the authority board meeting Tuesday. It seems youve grabbed the bull by the horn and went to work.

Bus fares hikes take effect and last in perpetuity, so it is possible the authority board could vote next year to increase the bus fare.

Story continues

New bus shelters coming

In other business, the transit authority is set to unveil six downtown bus shelters containing public art installations next month. The artistic bus shelters result from the Community Foundation of Central Georgias Downtown Challenge 2.0 grant program funded by the Knight Foundation and Peyton Anderson Foundation.

The unveiling is set for May 5 at a bus shelter in the 900 block of College Street, between the bridge over the railroad tracks and the roundabout.

To contact Civic Journalism Fellow Laura Corley, call 478-301-5777 or email Corley_le@mercer.edu.
WARREN COUNTY - A man turned himself in to Hamilton Township police over the weekend for allegedly killing his wife in North Carolina, Police Chief Scott Hughes confirmed.

Jeffrey Lacortiglia, 43, walked into the police station and claimed he shot and killed his wife in Spring Lake, North Carolina, Hughes told Cincinnati.com media partner FOX19 NOW.

According to Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats, deputies were dispatched to a home in Spring Lake, North Carolina for a well-being check.

Upon arrival, deputies found 37-year-old Blanca Lacortiglia dead, Coats said.

Prior to turning himself in, The Daily Record, a newspaper located in North Carolina, reported that the suspect went to his mothers home in Ohio and told her he did not know what to do.

The newspaper said she reportedly told him to go to the local authorities.

Hughes confirmed that Lacortiglia has family in Ohio.

He is currently being held in the Warren County Jail where he is waiting to be extradited.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man accused of killing wife in North Carolina turns himself in in Ohio
Authorities believe a man suspected in a North Carolina deputys shooting death escaped from a Virginia jail with help from his sister. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are offering a combined reward of up to $70,000 for his capture.

The #FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 in the search for Alder Marin-Sotelo. He escaped from the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, VA. Call 911 if you see him. He is believed to have left the jail in an early 2000 red or burgundy Ford Mustang. https://t.co/fAwWcoZRaa pic.twitter.com/kGlvUlegi4  FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) May 2, 2023

According to a criminal complaint, Adriana Marin-Sotelo is accused of conspiracy to instigate or assist escape between April 29 and May 1. WTVD reports she is the sister of Alder Marin-Sotelo, who is one of the men accused of killing a North Carolina deputy.

According to the Prince Edward County Sheriffs Office, Alder Marin-Sotelo broke out with another inmate from the Piedmont Regional Jail over the weekend. The facility is about 90 minutes west of Richmond.

Deputies told WTVD they first noticed Alder and 44-year-old Bruce Callahan of North Carolina were missing from the jail at 4 a.m. Monday. The jails superintendent said he believes Marin-Sotelo and Callahan manipulated the lock on the rear exit door.

READ PREVIOUS:

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As of Wednesday, they are still on the run.

U.S. Marshals are adding up to $20,000 to the current FBI $50,000 reward in the search for Alder Marin-Sotelo.

Marin-Sotelo and his brother, Arturo, are accused of killing Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd in August 2022. The deputy was shot multiple times while responding to a call on a dark stretch of Auburn Knightdale Road near Battle Bridge Road on Aug. 11, 2022.

Byrd, a K-9 deputy, was found dead when the sheriffs office sent other deputies to check on him, the sheriff said. He joined the sheriffs office in July 2009 as a detention officer and was sworn in as a deputy in March 2018.

The brothers were arrested on Interstate 40 in Burke County and then indicted on murder charges, WTVD reports. The pair pleaded not guilty to their charges.

Arturo Marin-Sotelo is still in the Wake County jail, WTVD reported.

According to court documents, Alder Marin-Sotelo pleaded guilty in December to possession of a firearm by an unlawful alien and was at Piedmont Regional Jail while awaiting his sentencing.

Investigators said on Sunday, Marin-Sotelo was seen on surveillance video around 1:40 a.m. climbing over the jail fence and escaping, leaving the parking lot in a red Mustang.

Agents looked through calls he made in the days prior and discovered Adriana Marin-Sotelo was instructed to arrange a car for Alder to escape in. She was working with two other co-conspirators who have not been indicted, one of whom is an inmate at the jail, authorities said.

Investigators interviewed one of the co-conspirators, who said Adriana bought the Mustang and gave it to the other co-conspirator to drop off at the jail. That second accomplice said they met Adriana at an auto repair shop in High Point and got the Mustang from her. They said she had just bought the car for $3,000 and brought a paper license plate to place on it.

Adriana Marin-Sotelo was arrested Tuesday morning, investigators said.

Deputies in Prince Edward County asked anyone who sees Alder Marin-Sotelo to call 911 immediately. The U.S. Marshals are leading the investigation into the escaped inmates, according to WTVD.

The FBI released new photos from a video jail call made within hours of Marin-Sotelos escape. Authorities said hes a 26-year-old and is 5 feet, 6 inches tall. He weighs 150 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. He was wearing a grey prison sweatsuit when he escaped but may have changed clothes or could be wearing a disguise, the FBI said.

Authorities said he has ties to both North Carolina and Mexico.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH PREVIOUS: Sources: Federal authorities help Wake County deputies with 2 arrests in Burke County)
Kinsley White, 6, shows reporters a wound left on her face, Thursday, April 20, 2023 in Gastonia.

A man accused of injuring three people, including a child, will make his first appearance in Gaston County court Tuesday morning.

According to police, Robert Louis Singletary opened fire in his Crowders Mountain neighborhood. Jamie White was struck with one of the bullets, his wife was grazed by another, and his 6-year-old daughter had a piece of shrapnel strike her cheek.

White was hospitalized but has since been released. Singletary reportedly fired at another man but missed.

The incident happened at 7:44 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, in the 4800 block of April Drive south of the Gastonia city limits.

According to neighbors, Singletary was annoyed with children playing in the neighborhood when he allegedly opened fire. The 24-year-old man left the area after the shots rang out, and warrants were issued for his arrest, police say.

Two days later, investigators took Singletary into custody in Tampa, Fla., where he turned himself in to police.

Over the weekend, detectives with the Gaston County Police Criminal Investigations and Special Investigations Units traveled to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office in Florida and returned him to North Carolina.

Singletary was taken before a Gaston County magistrate where he was placed on a hold.

He is charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, possession of a firearm by a felon and interfering with an electronic monitoring device.

He is scheduled for his first appearance in court Tuesday morning.

Singletary was released from jail on an unsecured bond in December for allegedly beating his girlfriend with a miniature sledgehammer and holding her captive. He has a court date later this month on those charges.

Police say though Singletary is in custody, the investigation is ongoing, and they ask anyone with information about the incident to call Det. J. Brienza at 704-866-3320 or Crimestoppers at 704-861-8000.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Man accused of shooting at a child extradited back to Gaston County
WINCHESTER, Ind.  If allegations in court documents are true, a man's first day of work at a local business did not go well.

Todd Adrian Mapp, 50  listed at an Indianapolis address  was arrested Friday after he allegedly struck an employee of a local wrecker service in the face and then pointed a handgun at his accuser's head.

The man said after Mapp  a new hire for another towing service  threatened him while they were in the cab of a tow truck, he drove to the Randolph County Sheriff's Department, prompting Mapp to get out of the vehicle and flee on foot.

An official at the wrecker service that employed the victim said Mapp had gotten into several arguments with other workers before the incident with the gun, according to a court document.

The Indianapolis man was found by Winchester police and captured, after a foot chase, in the 400 block of South Oak Street.

A loaded 9mm handgun was found in a yard along the path that Mapp had traveled after leaving the truck, police reported.

On Monday, Randolph County Prosecutor David Daly's office filed six charges against Mapp  unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, unlawful carrying of a handgun, criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm, resisting law enforcement and battery.

The most serious of the charges, the unlawful possession of a gun count, is a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison.

Prosecutors on Monday asked that an initial hearing in the case not be held for 72 hours.

Mapp is set to stand trial May 17  in Brownsburg Town Court in Hendricks County  on three misdemeanor charges filed against him last October.

Mapp is a former resident of North Carolina, and a website for that state's prison system reflects he has a criminal record that includes convictions for crimes including breaking and entering, child abuse, communicating threats, larceny, possession of a firearm by a felon and robbery.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Man's first day of work at Winchester business results in his arrest
A man was taken to the hospital in critical condition Sunday night after exchanging gunfire with an off-duty Memphis police officer near an East Memphis strip mall.

The Memphis Police Department said in a Twitter statement that an off-duty officer saw three or four people attempting to break into a car in a parking lot of the 4800 block of Poplar Avenue. Gunfire broke out, according to the statement, after the officer identified himself.

"The off-duty officer approached the suspects and identified himself as a Memphis Police officer," the statement read. "One of the armed suspects fired shots at the off-duty officer, at which time the off-duty officer returned fire."

One person was shot and originally taken to St. Francis Hospital, MPD said. He was then taken to Regional One Hospital and was listed as being in "critical but stable condition" Sunday night.

The injured person was not identified by MPD, and the statement said officers were looking for the other people believed to have been involved.

The off-duty officer was not injured during the shooting, MPD said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation told The Commercial Appeal Monday that they had not been requested to investigate the shooting.

It is unclear if the off-duty officer was in plain clothes or uniform at the time of the shooting, and MPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

MPD also did not respond at the time of publication when asked about the status of the other people believed to have been involved in the car break-in.

The shooting took place in a parking lot near the Poplar Avenue Huey's, and the local restaurant chain said in a Monday morning social media statement that nobody at the restaurant was hurt and the officer was leaving when coming across the people accused of breaking into the car.

"No one inside of Huey's was harmed or confronted [Sunday night]," the Huey's statement said. "We know that it is always unnerving to hear of any type of violence in our city. We want to thank our employees at this location, who responded quickly and diligently to ensure customers inside our store took cover and remained as safe as possible until the situation outside cleared up. Our team will continue to take precautions to ensure our stores safety and to preserve the atmosphere were known for."

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: Off-duty Memphis police shooting: Man in critical condition
Anurag Chandra was convicted of murdering three teenage boys who played a doorbell ditch prank at his Corona home in 2020. (Riverside County Sheriff's Department)

A Corona man was convicted of murder on Friday for the deaths of three teenage boys who played a doorbell ditch prank at his home in 2020.

Anurag Chandra was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder after authorities said he intentionally rammed into a 2002 Toyota Prius filled with teenagers and forced it off the road. The jury deliberated for about three hours before announcing they had a verdict.

The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice, Riverside County Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin said in a statement.

Chandra's attorney, David Wohl, called the conviction of first-degree murder "a complete overreach." Wohl said he planned on filing a motion for a new trial.

"I think that we felt worst-case scenario would be voluntary manslaughter, but we also thought we had made a great case for an acquittal outright," Wohl told The Times on Sunday. "The battle has just begun as far as I'm concerned."

The deadly encounter unfolded on Jan. 19, 2020.

Six teenagers were having a sleepover, and one of them dared their friends to pull a ding-dong-ditch prank  ringing a doorbell and quickly driving away  at a nearby home, according to an investigation conducted by the California Highway Patrol.

One of the boys rang the doorbell of Chandras home and ran back to the waiting Prius while Chandra chased after them.

As the Toyota and Chandras 2019 Infinity Q50 approached Squaw Mountain Road, authorities said, Chandra struck the back of the Prius, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a tree.

Jacob Ivascu of Riverside died at the scene. Drake Ruiz and Daniel Hawkins, both of Corona, died after being transported to a hospital, according to the Riverside County coroner.

Firefighters freed the three other teens trapped in the car: the 18-year-old driver, a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old, according to a CHP news release.

Story continues

Wohl said media outlets had reported it as a simple prank but that a teenager had pounded on Chandra's door at 10:30 p.m. and "exposed himself, with pants pulled down below his rear end."

Chandra's wife and two daughters were inside the home, Wohl said, and "he was in extreme fear for their safety."

"It was much more serious than a ding-dong-ditch," Wohl said.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that family members and friends of the victims gathered in court Friday, many of them sobbing as the verdicts were read.

We are happy to see justice was served even though in this day and age it is hard to come by, Alex Ivascu, the father of two of the teens in the car, told the news outlet. But we had a reasonable jury that looked at the facts and realized that the facts speak louder than words."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A 31-year-old man from Newark has been charged in connection with a 2009 armed robbery that left a 19-year-old man dead.

Last week, a New Castle County grand jury indicted Ricardo Vega on two counts of first-degree murder for the March 17, 2009, shooting of Justin Trnka. Vega would have been 17 at the time.

The Delaware Department of Justice said Vega was not charged with robbery due to Delaware's statute of limitations. State law says prosecution for felonies  except murder and other class A felonies  must begin within five years of the date the crime occurred.

First-degree robbery is a class B felony.

READ: A man was shot dead in Elsmere. This truck 'could be the key' to solving the home invasion

According to previous reports by Delaware Online/The News Journal, Trnka was found slumped over the wheel of his car just before 10 on the night of his death. The vehicle, which was in the back parking area of BJ's Wholesale Club off Route 72 in Ogletown, was still running.

A security guard had been patrolling the area and noticed the car.

At the time, detectives theorized that the shooting was a drug deal gone wrong. They described Trnka as a "low-level marijuana dealer."

Two years after his slaying, Trnka's father told Delaware Online/The News Journal that while "there were a lot of things he was doing that I didn't agree with," he "loved him for who he was."

An obituary said Trnka "lived life passionately and adventurously."

State police arrested Vega on Wednesday.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings said she was grateful for the "dogged persistence" of prosecutors and state police investigators in solving the cold case.

"I know how challenging these cases are, and its a testament to the skill and professionalism of the Delaware State Police that we could crack this case after 14 years and bring it before a grand jury," Jennings said.

If convicted, Vega faces a mandatory life sentence.

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 man charged in 2009 cold case killing of 19-year-old man
Multiple law enforcement agencies are asking for the public's assistance in locating a man wanted in connection to a homicide last week in Union County.

Authorities say they are searching for Alfredo Castellanos-Rosales, a 39-year-old white/Hispanic male who is 5-feet-8-inches tall, weighing approximately 220 pounds. Castellanos-Rosales has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen in Sioux City, Iowa, according to the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

The man has an active no-bond arrest warrant for murder in the first degree after Jordan Beardshear, 23, of Dakota Dunes, was found on April 26 in a residence. DCI determined the cause of death to be a homicide. A young child was also found safe by law enforcement at the time.

More: No indication of arson in southeastern Sioux Falls house fire, police say

We are seeking the publics help in finding this individual, said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. Please do not approach this individual who is considered dangerous. We request you contact law enforcement immediately with any helpful information.

People with information on Castellanos-Rosales whereabouts can contact the Union County Sheriffs Office at 605-356-2679.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Law enforcement asks for help finding man tied to Union County homicide
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MANILA (Reuters) -Regular power supply has been restored at the main Philippine airport's Terminal 3, the airport authority said on Monday, after an almost nine-hour outage led to the cancellation of 48 Cebu Pacific domestic flights.

Cebu Pacific also confirmed that electricity had been restored at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, in a notice on its Facebook page. Only Cebu Pacific flights to and from the capital Manila were affected.

Emergency power backup enabled critical facilities at the terminal, such as airline and immigration computers to function partially during the outage, which came as many Filipinos were returning home from a three-day weekend.

Cebu Pacific offered its passengers departing to and from Terminal 3 an option to rebook or to request refunds to be put in a travel fund for future use.

The outage, initially blamed by some airport engineers on a "fault current" affecting the electrical system, caused congestion at check-in counters and stranded passengers, some of them expressing dismay and frustration on social media.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said authorities will look into the cause of the outage. In a media briefing, he said he was not discounting the possibility of sabotage.

The outage came about four months after Philippine authorities halted hundreds of flights as they shut down the country's airspace on New Year's Day, also due to a power outage that caused the air traffic control in Manila to malfunction.

Six of the Southeast Asian nation's largest conglomerates have made a fresh 100 billion peso ($1.79 billion) bid to the government to upgrade and operate the ageing gateway, which has been ranked among the world's worst travel hubs due to regular flight delays and outdated facilities.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Kenneth Maxwell and Sharon Singleton)
A Manx site chosen to be part of a 38m rainforest restoration scheme will see a "whole ecosystem be built", conservationists have said.

Creg y Cowin in East Baldwin has been named as one of the first places to benefit from the recovery project being rolled out by the Wildlife Trusts.

Over the next five years, broadleaf trees will be planted with the hope of encouraging the return of wildlife.

Manx Wildlife Trust's Leigh Morris said the site was "perfect" for the scheme.

The conditions were "ideal" for an Atlantic rainforest to be brought back at the site as it sees even temperatures and a consistent level of annual rainfall, he added.

The project to increase rainforests in the British Isles will see native tree species planted on 70 acres (28 hectares) in conjunction with the Isle of Man Woodland Trust.

Mr Morris said mosses and liverworts were then expected to develop, which would encourage the return of birds such as wood warblers, pied flycatchers and redstarts.

A further 20 acres (8 hectares) will be left to regenerate naturally.

Mr Morris said it had cost 315,000 to acquire the land, with extra funding set aside for legal fees and and planting.

The figure was "less than 1% of the project's 38m project, so the potential impact of the funding across Britain was "pretty cool", he added.

The Wildlife Trusts' chairman Craig Bennett said the island was "right in the epicentre of the restoration of this incredible habitat", which could see rainforests return to the western fringes of the British Isles from Cornwall to Scotland.

He said not only will the Manx rainforest store carbon and aid flood prevention, but the project could also be seen as "proof of concept" for future schemes to restore habitats such as peat bogs and seagrasses.

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to IsleofMan@bbc.co.uk
A group of Martin County marine business leaders filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday afternoon demanding changes in the regulation schedule planned for the railroad bridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart.

The lawsuit, filed by Cohen and Seglias Law Firm in Philadelphia, is suing the Florida East Coast Railway, the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of 13 plaintiffs.

More plaintiffs are expected to and encouraged to join the lawsuit as sales and property values decline, said Joe Walsh, owner of Indiantown Marine Center, one of the suit's plaintiffs.

Wait some more: Army Corps delays LOSOM for another federal agency's input five years into the process

New bridge coming: Work set to begin May 1 on new $111.5 million North Causeway Bridge in Fort Pierce

Boater-geddon: Good news: Sandsprit repairs to begin. Bad news: Same time as Stuart drawbridge closure

Who is suing FEC, Army Corps, Coast Guard over Brightline?

A Brightline train can be seen crossing the St. Lucie River railroad bridge in February 2023.

Marine business leaders fear the Coast Guard will grant Brightline's request calling for the railroad drawbridge to be in the down position for up to 45 minutes every hour. That would allow boat traffic just 15 minutes per hour to travel through the bridge channel.

Brightline told the Coast Guard it needs the closure to allow for the passage of up to 32 passenger trains, added to as many as 24 freight trains per day. The length and frequency of closures could cost marine interests in Martin and St. Lucie counties millions of dollars in lost revenue each year, the lawsuit says.

The 13 plaintiffs include:

Indiantown Marine Center, LLC

Indiantown Marina, Inc.

Willis Custom Yachts, LLC.

MarineMax, Inc.

Mobro Marine, Inc.

Ferreira Construction Co., Inc.

McCulley Marine Services, Inc.

Beyel Brothers, Inc.

DL Milling Family, LLC

Atlantic & Gulf Dredging & Marine, LLC

AC Meridian Marine, LLC

HMY Yacht Sales, Inc.

Simply Yachts, LLC

More plaintiffs could join the lawsuit, Michael Payne, attorney with Cohen and Seglias told TCPalm.

Story continues

The marine businesses seek an injunction in how Florida East Coast Railway plans to allow Brightline, a passenger train planning service from Miami to Orlando and expected to begin operating through the Treasure Coast in June, to close the bridge for 32 crossings a day between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9:45 p.m.

The lawsuit is asking the court to declare it unlawful for the FEC Railway to obstruct free navigation of the St. Lucie River, which is also a federal channel known as the Okeechobee Waterway. The plaintiffs say changing the way the bridge is presently operated, it will obstruct the waterway since no boat with more than 6 feet of vertical clearance can pass through the area. Many of the businesses in the lawsuit either repair, build or sell large boats.

Mast, Rubio support lawsuit to stop Brightline

Boat traffic travels through the open railroad bridge (left) and the Old Roosevelt draw bridge in the St. Lucie River on Monday, July 25, 2022, in Stuart. For more than an hour boaters protested for keeping he 100-year-old railroad drawbridge open for 30 minutes of every hour of future Brightline train traffic.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fort Pierce, questioned Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan April 21 during a U.S. House Coast Guard and Maritime Subcommittee meeting in Washington, D.C. Mast has long worried that if the Coast Guard grants Brightline's wish, the bridge could be in the down position for as long as 90 minutes if the two 45-minute periods were back to back.

Over a 15-hour window of the day ... theyre closing off the waterway 9 hours of the day out of 15 hours. Is that equitable to the community whose resource that is? Mast asked Fagan.

Mast and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio have expressed support for the lawsuit, according to Walsh. The business leaders should not expect support from U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, however.

In 2014, Scott pledged $215 million of state taxpayer funds to build a train station at Orlando International Airport, according to an Orlando Sentinel story. It was later revealed a Scott ex-staffer worked for the train company at the time, according to a 2014 Naples Daily News story. It was reported that Scott and his wife had invested in Fortress Investment Group, which is the parent company of the rail company that operates Brightline, and made $150,000 in income from the investment, according to 2018 articles by the Miami Herald and Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Stuart drawbridge over the St. Lucie River

Cars line up as a Brightline train prepares to pass through the intersection of SE Walton Road near Savannas Preserve State Park, during a test reaching speeds of 110 mph on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.

The lawsuit was not filed to address the work schedule requiring the drawbridge to be in the down position May 1 to May 22 for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No boats requiring more than 6 feet of vertical clearance will be able to pass beneath the bridge during that time.

After the full-time closure, the bridge will be in the down position from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily from May 22 to May 27. Text "STL" to 888-384-0037 for updates.

Ed Killer is a columnist with TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: FEC, Army Corps, Coast Guard sued over Brightline, Stuart drawbridge
Sen. Ben Cardin said Monday he will not seek reelection at the end of his third term, likely triggering a competitive primary to replace the Maryland Democrat in 2024.

I am proud of all I have done for Maryland. I have given my heart and soul to our great state, and I thank Marylanders for trusting me as your representative for all these years, Cardin said in a statement.

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Cardin, a longtime Maryland lawmaker, was first elected to the Senate in 2006, replacing retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes. Before that, the 79-year-old represented Marylands third congressional district  including a large part of Baltimore and several surrounding suburbs  in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 2006.

I salute my friend and our states senior Senator Ben Cardin on his extraordinary public service to Maryland and our country, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said in a statement Monday. It is a privilege to serve alongside him and in partnership every day for the people of our great state.

Throughout his Senate career, Cardin has been a leader in issues of health care, retirement security, the environment and the economy as well as a leading advocate for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay  the U.S.s largest estuary.

More Push to add long-sought Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution fails in the Senate

Cardin, the chairman of the Senates Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, also helped write the Paycheck Protection Program, which helped small businesses in his home state and those nationwide face the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I have run my last election and will not be on the ballot in 2024, but there is still much work to be done, Cardin said. During the next two years, I will continue to travel around the state, listening to Marylanders and responding to their needs.

Cardin also highlighted his top priorities during the remainder of his term, including continuing his work with the Chesapeake Bay, addressing the needs of people in Baltimore City and the permanent expansion of telehealth, mental and behavioral health opportunities.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sen. Ben Cardin is not running in 2024, leaving Senate seat open
The city of Pavlograd was struck by a Russian missile attack.

The massive explosion and ensuing shock wave seen in video from the Ukrainian city of Pavlograd in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was most likely the result of a giant secondary detonation. What seems to have been hit, although not confirmed as of yet, was a plant that is used for missile fuel and other highly volatile explosive applications. The facility has been a cause of great concern for locals in the past.

Ukraine claims it downed 15 of 18 Russian cruise missiles launched by Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers, but three missiles apparently evaded air defenses. Videos posted on social media after the Russian barrage show explosions and their aftermath brightly lighting up the night sky.

https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1653034719502643202 https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1652771900198723593 https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1652762984727429127

Ukrainians say a residential area and an industrial complex were hit while Russians claim that Ukrainian supplies for its looming counteroffensive were targeted.

An industrial enterprise was damaged in Pavlograd," Serhiy Lysak of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration said Monday on his Telegram channel. A fire broke out there, which the rescuers have already put out. In the residential area, 19 high-rise buildings, 25 private houses, six schools and pre-school education institutions, and five shops were mutilated.

There were also dozens of buildings in the surrounding communities damaged as well, Lysak said, including almost 40 residential buildings In Verbkivska. It was the second devastating Russian missile strike on Ukraine in the past several days. More than 20 civilians, including at least four children, were killed Friday in the first mass Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month, officials in Kyiv said last week.

More than 30 people were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged or destroyed by a Russian missile strike on Pavlograd. (Serhiy Lysak Telegram channel photo)

Story continues

The Russians, meanwhile, say they were targeting military facilities.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a long-range high-precision air and sea-based missile strike against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) reported on its Telegram channel Monday. The goal of the attack has been reached. All the assigned targets have been neutralized. The enterprises producing ammunition, weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces have been disrupted.

The city is strategically located in an area through which that counteroffensive drive toward Crimea could take place, a route we examined in December.

Pavlograd is located on one possible route for a Ukrainian counteroffensive toward Crimea. (Google Earth image)

But it is also home to the Pavlograd Chemical Plant. Thats where fuel for Ukrainian missiles is produced, according to Euromaidan Press.

"The plant participates in tests of the rocket firing system with corrected 'Alder-M' [guided rockets] and anti-ship cruise missile Neptune," according to the Ukrainian Dnipr Bridge media outlet. Domestically produced Neptune missiles were used to sink the Russian Navys Project 1164 Slava class cruiser Moskva. You can read about the Alder-M, known by its Ukrainian name Vilkha-M, in our deep dive here.

The plant is also where old Soviet-era SS24 ICBMs were stored and ultimately supposed to be dismantled as part of the Defense Departments (DoD) Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program. Also known as the Nunn-Lugar program, the CTR was created for the purpose of securing and dismantling weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their associated infrastructure in the former states of the Soviet Union, according to the U.S. State Department.

found a youtube clip of a ukrainian TV channel's report on the facility that seemingly got struck: https://t.co/3WHl1clNy2  Matthias R (@MatthiasReitner) May 1, 2023

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency said it completed the provision of technical assistance to the State Space Agency of Ukraine and Pavlograd Chemical Plant in December 2018 to: safely store SS-24 loaded solid motor cases; support the safe removal of propellant; and deliver and commission a complex Eisenmann incinerator to eliminate empty motor cases.

In 2020, the BBC reported on local residents concerns about what would happen if the plant were to explode, with some people calling it a ticking time bomb where more than 1,800 tons of expired rocket fuel was stored.

"If we already have a strategic facility in the city with a large amount of explosive fuel, then under no circumstances should the disposal process be stopped, Svitlana Shaperenko told the BBC at the time. We're just a ticking time bomb. If there's an explosion, that's the end.

The administrative building of the Pavlograd Chemical Plant as photographed in 2020. (Mykola Miakshykov / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Old ICBMs arent the only explosive items stored at Pavlograd.

The facility is also used to store part of the 55 million stockpiled antipersonnel landmines designated for destruction under the Mine Ban Treaty, according to the International Campaign to Band Land Mines (ICBL).

In Ukraine, we regret that has been no stockpile destruction since 2020 and the end of an agreement between Ukraines Ministry of Defense and NATOs Support and Procurement Agency to destroy the remaining stockpiled mines at the Pavlograd Chemical Plant, ICBL stated in November 2022.

What appears to be a large storage facility to the north of the town could have been targeted, although the plant has extensive facilities in the city. We are working to clarify this. (Google Earth)

Whatever the case, the explosions in the town of Pavlograd were remarkably powerful. Obviously, any production capability for rocket propellant would be a prime target for Russian forces, but a storage area with large decommissioned rockets could have presented a huge secondary explosive potential that Russia specifically pursued.

As of now, cloud cover has made commercial satellite imagery impossible to obtain, so we can't see exactly what was struck or the extent of the damage. We will update this post when we find out more.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Jock Zonfrillo (centre) with his fellow MasterChef Australia hosts

Award-winning chef and MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo has died suddenly, aged 46.

The Scotsman worked in renowned restaurants around the world before opening his own in Australia.

His death was confirmed by broadcaster Network 10 on the day the 2023 season premiere of MasterChef was set to air.

Zonfrillo is survived by his wife Lauren Fried and four children, who said in a statement their hearts were "shattered".

"For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky," the family said.

Zonfrillo was found dead at a house in Melbourne when police conducted a welfare check in the early hours of Monday morning. Victoria Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.

His death has sparked an outpouring of grief from figures in the culinary and entertainment world.

Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, as well as a host of former Masterchef contestants led the tributes.

Oliver, who had been due to appear in the season opener posted a picture to Instagram of him with Zonfrillo and the two other judges, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, on set.

"I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of [Jock].. we had the best time working together for this year's MasterChef," he wrote.

Ramsay wrote on Twitter: "Saddened by the devastating news... I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia".

Network 10 also paid tribute to the star, saying Zonfrillo's charisma, passion and wicked sense of humour had inspired a nation of home cooks. MasterChef - which is pre-recorded - will not air this week as planned, it said.

Born in Glasgow in 1976, Zonfrillo began working in kitchens at 12. At 15, he became one of the youngest-ever apprentices to work at luxury Scottish resort, The Turnberry Hotel.

Two years later he started working for Michelin-starred British chef Marco Pierre White at his famous Hyde Park Hotel.

Story continues

But despite his burgeoning career, Zonfrillo said he became broke, homeless and addicted to heroin in his teenage years. He wrote at length about his struggles with drug addiction in his 2021 memoir, Last Shot.

He said he turned a new leaf with a move to Australia in 2000, and went on to open several restaurants. His most successful was Adelaide's award-winning Restaurant Orana, which opened in 2013.

In 2019, the presenter was announced as part of an all new host line-up for MasterChef Australia.

But Zonfrillo's career was not without controversy. Orana closed in 2020 with debts of millions of dollars, and Last Shot was criticised as inaccurate by former colleagues, including Marco Pierre White.
MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo has died at the age of 46, according to a message from his family and a statement from the broadcaster of the show. Zonfrillo, a Scottish-Australian father of four who was a judge on the popular TV cooking competition, was found dead by police in Melbourne in the early hours of Monday.

"With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away," his family said in a statement on social media.

Jock Zonfrillo attends the Good Food Guide Awards at Crown Palladium on October 8, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. / Credit: Photo by Sam Tabone/WireImage via Getty

"For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky."

No cause of death was given but Victoria state police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Police said they were preparing a report for the coroner.

MasterChef Australia broadcaster Network 10 and production house Endemol Shine Australia said they were "deeply shocked" at his sudden death.

"Talented and with plenty of grit", Zonfrillo  born in Glasgow to an Italian father and a Scottish mother  was heavily influenced by his parents' cultures, they said. "Jock's charisma, wicked sense of humour, generosity, passion and love for food and his family cannot be measured. He will be greatly missed."

MasterChef will not be airing this week following Zonfrillo's death, the broadcaster said.

Scottish-born Australian rock star Jimmy Barnes said on social media he had lost a "dear friend."

"Jock was like a brother to me and we made each other laugh and cry. My heart goes out to his family," Barnes wrote.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver also reacted on social media, calling Zonfrillo's death a "total shock."

Chef Gordon Ramsey also took to social media to send his condolences.

"Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing," he wrote. "I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time."

Story continues

Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time Gx  Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) May 1, 2023

Authorities search for Texas mass shooting suspect

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Manhunt underway for Texas mass shooting suspect, as Cleveland community mourns victims
"Comedian", pictured here in Beijing in 2021, is currently being displayed in Seoul

A South Korean art student ate a banana that was part of an installation by artist Maurizio Cattelan, saying he was "hungry" after skipping breakfast.

The artwork called "Comedian", part of Cattelan's exhibition "WE", consisted of a ripe banana duct-taped to a wall at Seoul's Leeum Museum of Art.

After eating the banana, the student, Noh Huyn-soo, taped the peel to the wall.

The museum later placed a new banana at the same spot, reported local media.

The incident, which lasted more than a minute, was recorded by Mr Noh's friend.

The Leeum Museum of Art did not respond to an email inquiry by the BBC. However, it told media that it will not claim damages against the student.

The banana on display is reportedly replaced every two or three days.

In videos posted online, shouts of "excuse me" can be heard as Mr Noh takes the banana off the wall. He does not respond and starts eating as the room goes quiet.

He then tapes the peel to the wall and poses for a moment before walking off.

Mr Noh later told local media that he saw Cattelan's work as a rebellion against a certain authority. "There could be another rebellion against the rebellion," the Seoul National University student told KBS.

"Damaging an artwork could also be seen as an artwork, I thought that would be interesting... Isn't it taped there to be eaten?"

When told about the incident, Mr Cattelan said, "No problem at all".

This is not the first time bananas used for Mr Cattelan's work have been eaten by a visitor.

In 2019, performance artist David Datuna pulled the banana from the wall after the artwork was sold for $120,000 (91,000) at Art Basel in Miami.

The banana was swiftly replaced and no further action was taken.
WASHINGTON  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Sunday said he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington if President Joe Biden doesn't do so.

"If that doesnt happen, Ill invite the prime minister to come meet with the House," McCarthy said, referring to a visit to the White House, in an interview with Israel Hayom during an official trip to Israel.

McCarthy has already invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to speak before Congress in June to mark the Jewish state's 75th anniversary, the report said.

McCarthy tied his lack of talks with the president about lifting the U.S. debt ceiling to the lack of discussions between Biden and Netanyahu about a visit.

President Biden hasnt talked to me about the debt ceiling for the last 80 some days, so I think he, the prime minister, might be in good company if he treats me the same way, he told the Israeli outlet.

Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister in December, a return to the role he last held in June 2021, just a few months into Biden's administration.

In late March, soon after Netanyahu agreed to pause a divisive plan to overhaul the country's judicial system until the next parliament session, Biden expressed concern about the health of Israel's democracy.

"Like many strong supporters of Israel, Im very concerned. And Im concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road," Biden told reporters. "Hopefully, the prime minister will act in a way that he is going to try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen."

Asked if he planned to invite Netanyahu to the White House, Biden said, "Not in the near term."

The Israeli leader appeared to respond to Biden's remarks in a series of tweets, writing that he has known Biden for more than 40 years and that the U.S.-Israel relationship is "unbreakable" and "always overcomes the occasional disagreements between us."

Story continues

"My administration is committed to strengthening democracy by restoring the proper balance between the three branches of government, which we are striving to achieve via a broad consensus," Netanyahu continued. "Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends."

Their relationship has also been on shaky ground over other diplomatic issues. Biden and administration officials, for example, have voiced frustration with Netanyahu and his far-right government over their efforts to expand Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Biden previously hosted then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House in August 2021 and visited Israel soon after Yair Lapid took over that role last July.

McCarthy's visit to Israel was his first trip abroad as House speaker. He delivered a speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday, reaffirming U.S. support for the government.

"America is grateful for our friendship with Israel. We are a better nation because of it. And we must never shy away from defending it," he told the Israeli parliament. "I believe the best days for Israel and our unbreakable bond are ahead of us."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) projected bipartisan support for Israel in a speech to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden.

McCarthy underscored the unity among Republicans and Democrats who traveled to Israel as part of a bipartisan delegation.

I choose to come here today to celebrate the bond between our two countries and to reaffirm the bipartisan support for Israel in Congress, McCarthy said, calling congressional support the foundation for our truly special relationship.

The Speaker earlier in the trip said he would invite Netanyahu to Washington if Biden doesnt  just days after the president said he had no immediate plans to do so.

Biden has spoken out against Netanyahus pursuit of a plan to overhaul Israels judiciary, which U.S. lawmakers have also been watching with deep concern. The overhaul is vehemently opposed by much of the Israeli public.

McCarthy, responding to a reporters question after his speech, said he expects the White House to invite Netanyahu for a meeting, in particular to mark Israels 75th anniversary. He said the only leader so far invited for a joint session of Congress is Israels President Isaac Herzog.

If McCarthy does invite the prime minister to Washington, it could serve as a replay of Netanyahus 2015 speech to a joint session of Congress rejecting the Obama administrations pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran.

That speech helped exacerbate the split between Republicans and Democrats on Israel, with the GOP establishing itself firmly as an ally supporting Netanyahus vision of confrontation with Iran and with the Palestinians.

McCarthy did not endorse a two-state solution with the Palestinians in his speech, but he said the U.S. and Israel stand shoulder to shoulder against Irans regional aggression.

We cannot allow the Iran regimes evil campaign to succeed, he said.

Story continues

The California Republican, who has pressured Biden to make spending cuts as a condition of Congress raising the federal debt ceiling, also pledged to fully fund security assistance for Israel. The U.S. approved $3.8 billion in military assistance and missile defense for fiscal 2023.

To deter Irans dangerous behavior, our nations must continue to stand together. We, the United States, integrated Israel into our central command and are continuing to carry out military exercises together. As long as I am speaker, America will continue to support fully funding security assistance for Israel, he said.

McCarthy also announced the creation of a House Knesset parliamentary friendship group, which will allow House members to engage more directly with the Israeli parliamentary body and host members of the Knesset who wish to travel to the U.S.

Our values are your values. Our heritage is your heritage. Our dreams are your dreams, McCarthy said. America is grateful for our friendship with Israel. We are a better nation because of it, and we must never shy away from defending it.

McCarthy highlighted that he traveled to Israel with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House Majority Leader, to mark the nations 75th anniversary.

In a press conference following McCarthys speech, Hoyer endorsed the speakers remarks.

Mr. Speaker, it was an excellent speech. And you delivered it well. And it expressed the sentiment of our country.

While McCarthy largely centered his speech on support for Israel and standing up against Iran, he did raise concerns about Israels relations with China.

Today, however, our innovation is at risk from a new threat: The Chinese Communist Party. While the CCP may disguise itself as promoters of innovation and truth. They act like thieves. We must not allow them to steal our technology, McCarthy said.

Im glad that Israel has put into place a process to review foreign investments. I strongly encourage Israel to further strengthen its oversight of foreign investment, particularly Chinese investment, building on the steps that you first took in 2019.

McCarthy is only the second House Speaker to address the Israeli Knesset following a 1998 address by then-Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to mark the nations 50th anniversary.

Its another milestone for McCarthy in establishing his foreign policy priorities as House Speaker, following a precedent-setting meeting with Taiwans president in California last month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday called for Israel to scrutinize Chinese investments in the country, issuing a stark warning to Jerusalem that Beijing acts as thieves.

McCarthy, in a historic address to Israels parliament, raised the sensitive issue of Israels relations with China, which the U.S. has long warned raises security concerns in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem.

The speaker called for Israel to strengthen its oversight of Chinese investment in Israel, following Jerusalems 2019 establishment of a foreign investment oversight mechanism under pressure from the U.S. over concerns that Beijing was inserting itself in key areas of Israels infrastructure and technology industry.

While the [Chinese Communist Party] may disguise itself as promoters of innovation, in truth, they act like thieves. We must not allow them to steal our technology, McCarthy said.

Im glad that Israel has put into place a process to review foreign investments. I strongly encourage Israel to further strengthen its oversight of foreign investment, particularly Chinese investment, building on the steps that you first took in 2019.

McCarthy, becoming only the second House Speaker to address Israels Knesset, underscored in his speech unity among Republicans and Democrats supporting Israels sovereignty and security marking its 75th independence day.

American politicians are also in broad agreement on China being the greatest challenge facing the U.S.  economically, diplomatically, and militarily  and leaders of both parties have worked to bring allies and partners on board toward pressuring Beijing to adhere to global, democratic norms.

McCarthy, whose tenure as speaker began in January, has prioritized confronting China as one of his key foreign policy priorities, establishing in Congress a special committee focused on identifying the greatest risks of U.S. ties with China.

The speaker also hosted Taiwans president in California last month, in a move that drew a strong rebuke from Beijing, including sanctions against U.S. institutions and individuals, and provocative military maneuvers around the democratic island.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) insists he will not come up with a rescue plan this time as Republicans and a Democratic president battle over the debt limit.

McConnell has a long history of negotiating with President Biden on high-profile issues, such as extending the Bush tax cuts at the end of 2010, avoiding a national default in 2011 and avoiding the fiscal cliff at the end of 2012.

The Senate GOP leader also supported the bipartisan infrastructure package and big new investments in the domestic semiconductor industry, two big Biden agenda items.

But McConnell says Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) need to work out a deal on the debt limit among themselves, arguing any proposal that originates from the Senate cant pass the House.

The president knows how to do this.  Until he and the Speaker of the House reach an agreement, well be at a standoff, McConnell told reporters. We have divided government. The president and the Speaker need to come together and solve the problem.

Republican aides say McConnells strategy has the advantage of also keeping Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), whom Republicans see as a tougher negotiator than Biden, out of the talks.

A Senate Republican aide says Schumer also has more leverage than House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who is in the minority and was recently elected to the House Democrats top leadership job.

McConnells insistence that he wont step in at the last moment to cut a deal with Democrats to extend the nations borrowing authority is being met with widespread skepticism, however, even from fellow Republican senators.

McConnell is probably just sitting there waiting for it to all fail, so he can be asked to come in and be the savior, said one Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment on what to expect from McConnell in the debt limit fight.

Other GOP senators say they expect talks between Biden and McCarthy to stall and then for the ball to be in McConnells court.

Story continues

I think [McConnells] position is, Lets see what the House can do that makes sense. But heres the reality, the likelihood of the House being able to propose something seems to be questionable. Eventually, Schumers going to bring up a bill to increase the debt ceiling, a clean debt-ceiling increase, and were going to have to vote on it [in the Senate], Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill earlier this year.

A Senate Republican aide disputed that speculation.

There is no secret McConnell plan out there. Thats key. Democrats are suggesting that, the aide said. That requires Biden and McCarthy to have conversations.

McCarthy earned a victory last week when the House voted 217-215 to pass his proposal to raise the debt limit through March 2024 and cut $4.5 trillion in spending.

Democrats say its dead on arrival in the Senate.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said she doesnt see McCarthy as a credible negotiator given how unpalatable she believes his proposal is to Democrats on Capitol Hill and the broader American public, and she suggested McConnell could step in to find a way through the impasse.

Maybe he will, she said of McConnell possibly taking over as the GOP point man in the talks.

Democrats are also trying to keep pressure on Biden not to negotiate with McCarthy over spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit.

Our caucus is unified, the president is unified and his group is unified, Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic House members are unified. Clean debt ceiling, Schumer insisted at a recent press conference.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said he doesnt think Biden will negotiate with McCarthy on the debt limit.

I think hes always willing to talk about next years budget but not talk about conditions for preserving the full faith and credit of the United States, he said of what Senate Democrats expect from Biden.

McConnell put together the compromise proposal that avoided default in 2011, the last time there was a prolonged standoff between a Democratic president and a newly elected House Republican majority over the debt limit.

And he came to the rescue again in 2021, when Democrats controlled the White House and both branches of Congress, but the overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans didnt want to vote to raise the debt limit. McConnell crafted a proposal that allowed Democrats to advance debt-limit legislation without having to face a Republican filibuster.

Democrats put heavy pressure on McConnell to round up Republican votes for advancing legislation to raise the debt ceiling in the fall of 2021.

Biden said in October of that year that a national default would be up to Mitch McConnell.

McConnell insisted for months that Republicans would not help Democrats raise the debt ceiling after they passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan shortly after Biden took office.

But with a national default looming, McConnell, members of his leadership team and retiring senators provided 14 Senate Republican votes to set up a special process to allow Democrats to advance debt ceiling legislation without having to overcome a filibuster.

Some Senate Republicans accused McConnell and his allies of capitulating at the last moment.

I believe Democratic Leader Schumer was on the verge of surrendering, and then unfortunately yesterday, Republicans blinked. I think that was a mistake. I think that was the wrong decision, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said at the time on the Senate floor.

Former President Trump also attacked McConnell and his allies over their votes.

Trump declared in a statement that McConnell had conceded, for absolutely nothing and for no reason, the powerful Debt Ceiling negotiating block, which was the Republicans first-class ticket for victory over the Democrats.

Some of that criticism could be another reason McConnell is publicly taking a back seat in this years talks.

Members of McConnells leadership team acknowledge McConnell has been at the center of many of the most important bipartisan deals struck in Washington over the past 12 years, but they warn that Democrats shouldnt count on the Kentucky senator to undercut McCarthy on the debt limit.

He obviously has a lot of experience negotiating some of these tough deals. But of course, as weve said before, its between the House and the White House, said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.).

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to the Senate leadership, sounded even more definitive in ruling out a possible debt limit deal between McConnell and Biden.

Its not going to happen, he said. I dont think anything that is generated by the Senate would ever pass the House. An agreement between Biden and McCarthy will.

The Senates going to sit this one out.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
After Twitter deleted posts by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, in which he demanded the severance of diplomatic relations with Poland, Medvedev said Elon Musk was "not up to the task" and the social media platform had "caved in" to the Ukrainians.

Source: Medvedev on Telegram

Quote: "Twitter has caved in to the State Department and the Khokhols [a derogatory Russian term for Ukrainians  ed.]. Hes done the same thing that he once did with Trump. Unfortunately, Elon was clearly not up to this task."

Details: Medvedev admitted, however, that the Russians have been using Twitter entirely cynically "to promote our propaganda goals".

Since Twitter has started to block his posts, Medvedev has said he can do without this particular social media platform.

Background:

On 26 April, the Russian embassy [in Warsaw] said that the Polish authorities had confiscated all the money from the accounts of the Russian diplomatic mission and trade office.

On 29 April, it was reported that Poland had taken over a building at 45 Keletska based on a court order. Russias ambassador to Poland called this a violation of the Vienna Convention and promised retaliation from Moscow.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Private jets at Switzerland's Agno-Lugano Airport in September, 2022. Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Private jet use has become more popular than ever. But who are the owners of the luxury aircraft?

Members of the "jet-owning oligarchy" have a median net worth of $190 million, a new report says.

The typical private jet owner is a North American male over 50 who works in finance or real estate.

When the pandemic shut down commercial travel, it triggered a private aviation boom. The number of US-based business jet flights hit a record high in 2022, per FAA data.

But as Insider previously reported, flying private isn't for the mere millionaires among us. The cheapest private jets list around $3 million while maintenance, fuel, and labor costs easily rack up to over $1 million a year. In 2022 alone, there were over 3,000 private jet transactions totaling $34.1 billion.

So who are the mysterious owners of these luxurious aircraft? According to the 2023 High Flyers report  from The Institute for Policy Studies research center and the progressive activist group, Patriotic Millionaires  private jet owners represent .0008% of the world's population.

The report describes typical private jet owners as "overwhelmingly male," North American, and over the age of 50. Typically they work in banking, finance, or real estate, the report said, noting that the industry has seen a wave of younger, first-time buyers in recent years.

In addition to owning an aircraft outright, wealthy travelers can fly private through fractional jet ownership, membership programs, and on-demand chartering.

Full private jet owners have a median net worth of $190 million while fractional jet owners have a median net worth of $140 million, the report says, citing data from Credit Suisse and Wealth-X.

It's a profile closely mirrored by billionaire Elon Musk, who the report describes as "one of the most prolific private jet users in the country" due to his frequent and closely-monitored flight activity. But beyond tech moguls and celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift, members of the so-called jet-owning oligarchy can obscure their identities through complicated private trust structures.

Are you a flight attendant or pilot who works on private jets? Email this reporter at htowey@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
Lizzie Cundy doesnt recognize the American starlet she once knew.

The British model and TV presenter told Fox News Digital she first met Meghan Markle in 2013 when the future Duchess of Sussex was starring in the legal drama "Suits." At the time, the Hollywood actress seemed eager to revamp her career across the pond.

Meghan Markle attends the UK Premiere of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" at Odeon Leicester Square Nov. 11, 2013, in London.

"I met Meghan way before Harry," said the socialite. "She came to a charity event, and she really didnt know anyone.  No one knew what [Suits] was really. No one had watched it. The guy that was hosting the event said, Lizzie, can you look after this American actress?

MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY ARE 'TOXIC' FOR EACH OTHER, ACCORDING TO SISTER SAMANTHA

"'She doesnt really know anyone, and we need someone to take care of her. I was a little bit cheesed off to be honest with you because I wanted to be with my friends [at] the table. And its difficult when you dont know someone.  But we actually got on like a house on fire."

Lizzie Cundy (left) said she met Meghan Markle (center) in 2013.

"She talked all about her career," Cundy shared. "She wanted a career in England. She loved the British life and would love to have worked here. There was a show here called Made in Chelsea that she really wanted to be on. I knew the producers and people, so we were talking [about] that. And she wanted an English boyfriend. So I was going through my phone thinking, Maybe I could help her out with everyone that I know. We got on very well, and it was sort of a girly chat, doing selfies and having a few giggles. But she was great fun. She loved the English life."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Meghan Markle starred as Rachel Zane in "Suits" from 2011 to 2018.

Cundy claimed that Markle was eager to immerse herself in English society. Being single, she was ready to mingle on the red carpet. When Markle saw Cundy at an event, she excitedly asked her new pal to interview her on camera.

"She was in awe," Cundy claimed. "I just thought, what a lovely, young, fresh-faced American actress [who] loved London. She loved the whole red carpet scene, loved the glamour and celebrities."

Story continues

Meghan Markle attends the London Global Gift Gala at ME Hotel on Nov. 19, 2013, in London.

But the blossoming friendship ended quickly, she alleged. Cundy claimed Markle "ghosted" her in 2016 after Markle met Prince Harry that summer.

"I understood it," Cundy explained. "I was a little sad because I thought we got on very well, and there was no one more happy than me for her to meet Harry. I mean, look, she won the lottery. He was the most popular royal. We all loved Harry, and we were so happy he met the love of his life. Everyone in England embraced them and loved them."

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry met in 2016. That's when Lizzie Cundy claimed the former American actress "ghosted" her.

"A Hollywood princess is very different from being a royal princess," she shared. She couldnt have the same friends that were hanging around the celebrity circuit doing the red carpet events. Its a very different life. So, I got it.

"And I soon saw that she [did] this to a lot of people.  [But] I think, looking back, people served a purpose in her life. When you served your purpose, she moved on to the next. I think thats what shes like. Meghan gets what Meghan wants. But, look, I just wished her happiness. I was very happy that she met Prince Harry."

Lizzie Cundy attends the London Global Gift Gala at ME Hotel Nov. 19, 2013, in London.

The couple said "I do" in 2018, but a happily ever after behind palace doors wasnt meant to be. In 2018, the couple announced they were stepping back as senior royals. The couple alleged that the Duchess of Sussex, who is biracial, faced racist attitudes from both the palace and the U.K. press. The treatment contributed to their decision to leave the country and move to the U.S.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex married May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England.

"To be honest, I was quite shocked at that," said Cundy. "Its a privilege to be in this royal family. She knew what she was getting into before she married Harry.  Ive got a feeling that it just wasnt exciting enough. Its hard work being a royal.  Its not the Hollywood lifestyle. And I think, for Meghan, it was too much for her. So she wanted out, which I thought was very sad. She could have been the next Princess Diana.  Its a real shame and a real waste."

But the couple didnt merely fly off into the California sunset. Since moving to the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken out about their struggles with royal life. Most notably, in 2021, they gave a televised interview to Oprah Winfrey, which was viewed by nearly 50 million people globally.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2018.

They continued to air their grievances in a six-part Netflix docuseries that premiered in December 2022. Then, in January of this year, Harry released a memoir, "Spare," which included details of private conversations with his father, King Charles, and his brother, Prince William. It continued to fan tensions between the couple and the royal family in the public eye.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex detailed their struggles with royal life in a six-part Netflix docuseries.

In March, the couple confirmed they were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their home in the U.K. The Sun newspaper reported that the king started the eviction process a day after the book was published.

In April, Buckingham Palace announced that Harry, 38, would attend his fathers coronation on May 6 solo. Markle, 41, will stay behind in California with the couples two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

MIA FARROW SAYS SHE 'REGRETTED' TWEET SAYING SHES 'TIRED' OF PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE THAT DREW BACKLASH

Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Harry will attend his father's coronation solo.

Cundy called the decision "a shocking shame."

"She should be supporting her husband," said Cundy. "[And] its a chance for her children to have time with their grandfather. Theyre going to miss out on this huge historic day. Its living history. Her children are going to have to say to her, Mummy, why werent we there?

"They could have been with their cousins watching the coronation. And, sadly, shes stopped them from doing that. I think its very sad for King Charles.  It was a wonderful time to just make things right again and maybe clear the air.  [And] the children could see their grandfather on his biggest day.  Its very sad."

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned May 6 at London's Westminster Abbey.

Cundy said shes also disappointed Harry will reportedly make his visit to his home country brief. It is understood that Harry will be heading home swiftly in time for Archies birthday, which also falls on the same day as the coronation.

Meghan Markle will stay in California with her son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet.

"Hes got a chance now to make amends with his family," she said. "This is about his father. This isnt about Harry, and its not about Meghan.  I think its very disrespectful, and I think its the wrong move. I think its a move hell look back on and regret.

"Its hurtful to our king. Its hurtful to his wife, our queen. I just think its disrespectful in every sense of the word.  I think, in a way, King Charles should have been tougher and stronger with them.  But he offered an olive branch for his son."

MEGHAN MARKLE MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE SINCE REVEALING SHE WON'T ATTEND KING CHARLES' CORONATION

Lizzie Cundy said King Charles offered an olive branch to his son Prince Harry.

Cundy is adamant that the biggest mistake the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have committed since making their royal exit is "talking about their family endlessly."

"Weve got more books, more interviews coming, Im sure," she claimed. "Its disloyal. It feels to me like theyre trying to bring down the monarchy. And we love our king. We love our royal family here in the U.K.

"It just feels like it could have been so different for them. Theyre great at doing charity work  but this is all wrong. [Theyre] tarnishing the royal family . [which] has made everyone turn against them."

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Athletics Competition during the Invictus Games April 17, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands.

Cundy said theres still hope the couple could revamp their image. But the road ahead of them will be "quite difficult."

Lizzie Cundy said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can expect a difficult road ahead of them.

"Theyve got to find their own identity," she said. "They cant keep talking about the royal family, trashing the royal family.  Theyve got to find something else to talk about  and do amazing charity work. But, please, leave the royal family alone. We are sick to death of it. I dont think they could say anymore.

"But then I say that, and there'll be another book coming out, or another interview. And well have the next chapter be, I was left out of the coronation. Or, Why I didnt go to the coronation.' And Harry, this is your flesh and blood.  I just think they need to find their own purpose and focus in life and move on."
The biggest night in fashion is back  and its theme may cause claws to come out. Literally and figuratively.

The Met Gala, Vogues annual fashion extravaganza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, traditionally takes place on the first Monday in May. Throughout the years, weve seen celebrities show up in some of their most viral looks, including Katy Perry dressed as a giant cheeseburger and Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroes famed Happy Birthday gown.

But unlike at previous Met Galas, when celebrity guests sometimes didnt quite get the assignment (were looking at you, Kylie Jenner), this years theme is pretty black and white: Its in honor of Karl  the notorious but influential fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019 at age 85.

Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian had two of the most talked about looks at the 2022 Met Gala.

Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian had two of the most talked about looks at the 2022 Met Gala.

Lagerfeld, who began his 65-year career in 1954 at age 17, is widely known for his work at Chanel, but he was also the creative director at Fendi and his eponymous Karl Lagerfeld label. He worked for other famed fashion houses as well. An accomplished fashion photographer, he also shot a numberof campaignsfor the labels he led.

Yet the designer, remembered for his signature white ponytail, dark sunglasses and love for his cat Choupette, also generated outrage throughout his career with actions that ranged from pedaling Islamophobia to sending flowers to an accused rapist.

He criticized the #MeToo movement and routinely slammed female celebrities bodies in relentlessly cruel ways, calling Adele a little too fat and Heidi Klum simply too heavy to be a runway model, to name a few instances.

Still, despite the controversy surrounding Lagerfeld, plenty of celebrities showed up on Monday to honor him  as well as the Costume Institutes exhibit Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which features 150 looks from Lagerfelds career curated by Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu and longtime Lagerfeld collaborator Amanda Harlech.

Story continues

Bolton recently told The Business of Fashion Podcast, via The Washington Post, that the Mets decision to focus on the work rather than the words or the man was a deliberate choice. (It should also be noted Lagerfeld was close friends with Vogues editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.)

Because, yeah, he was problematic, Bolton said. There were things he said that were, yeah, difficult. And, again, did he mean it? Or was it a deflection? I dont know, its hard to know.

And I thought the one thing that was authentic, Bolton added. The one thing that was real, and tangible, was his output, his creative output.

For its part, Vogue said Lagerfeld would provide Met Gala attendees with a rich trove of materials, eras, and aesthetics to mine for inspiration.

The magazine encouraged guests to interpret the theme in one of three ways: by wearing an archival look from one of the labels Lagerfeld led, by sporting modern-day Chanel or Fendi, or finally, to dress like Lagerfeld or Choupette, which seems like the purrfect invitation for some truly cat-astrophic couture.

Check out how celebrities embraced the polarizing theme  and their best, worst and most hiss-terical looks below.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky

Kim Kardashian

Billie Eilish

Keke Palmer

Doja Cat

Bad Bunny

Kristen Stewart

Kerry Washington

Sydney Sweeney

Lil Nas X

Halle Bailey

Serena Williams

Anne Hathaway

Jared Leto

Florence Pugh

Pedro Pascal

Bella Ramsey

Jenna Ortega

Kylie Jenner

Kendall Jenner

Emma Chamberlain

Anok Yai

Janelle Monae

Jessica Chastain

Penelope Cruz

Margot Robbie

Amanda Seyfried

Naomi Campbell

Phoebe Bridgers

Pete Davidson

Olivia Rodrigo

Maya Hawke

Lizzo

Dua Lipa

Harvey Guillen

Taika Waititi

Gisele Bundchen

Cardi B

Emily Blunt

Rita Ora

Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin

Brian Tyree Henry

Aubrey Plaza

Emily Ratajkowski

Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson

Quinta Brunson

Nicole Kidman

Michaela Coel

Chloe Fineman

La La Anthony
A rescue dog and its handler abseil down a ravine during an emergency simulation in Mexico's central state of Puebla

A rescue dog and its handler abseil down a ravine during a drill in Mexico aimed at preparing for international emergencies like the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey in February.

Another member of the canine unit, a black Labrador retriever called July, locates a paramedic and an injured man in need of help, and also allows herself to be transported in an ambulance with a bandaged paw.

They were among 18 dogs that took part in the training organized by the Mexican Red Cross in the central state of Puebla.

Earthquake-prone Mexico has significant experience in disaster rescue and its canine unit is often sent abroad on emergency missions.

July found six bodies in the rubble after the February 6 earthquake in Turkey that claimed more than 50,000 lives -- her first international deployment.

The work "alleviated the human suffering of people waiting to receive their relatives" who died, said rescuer Anneth Lopez, 35, who has trained July since she was a puppy.

"We can't be without each other," she said proudly.

Alberto Pena, a 36-year-old veterinarian, said that the drill was crucial for honing communication skills.

"The important thing about this type of exercise is that all the personnel with whom we are preparing every day speak the same language on the subject of rescue," he said.

The stakes are high since the work can be deadly.

One member of the canine unit, a German shepherd called Proteo, was killed while searching for survivors buried under the rubble in Turkey.

Proteo was one of more than a dozen rescue dogs dispatched by Mexico along with 130 military personnel following the massive earthquake.

Another Mexican rescue dog, Frida, gained international fame sniffing through earthquake rubble in her home country in protective goggles and booties.

The labrador retriever stole hearts searching for survivors in a school in Mexico City that collapsed after a 7.1-magnitude quake in 2017 that killed around 370 people.

Her death in November of age-related illness, after retiring from a decade-long career during which she was credited with saving a dozen lives, prompted an outpouring of tributes.

jo-jg-dr/caw
Less than two weeks after Miami-Dade School Board Vice Chair Danny Espino and Roberto Alonso were criticized by fellow members for attempting to block the most senior board member from attending their two-member meeting, an action she likened to attending school in Alabama as a child, Espino is calling for a second meeting to discuss Florida in the Sunshine meeting procedures.

The meeting, which was posted Monday to the districts master calendar, is scheduled for 3 p.m. May 9, one day before the boards monthly committee meetings.

Its unclear what exactly will be discussed during the meeting. Espino, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in November to replace Christi Fraga, who ran successfully for Doral mayor, did not respond to requests for comment from the Herald.

Espino has also proposed an agenda item for the next board meeting on May 17. Details of the item, however, titled Strengthening the Sunshine notice requirements for board member conferences, were not available.

Danny Espino is sworn in at the Miami-Dade County School Board Administration Building in Miami, Florida on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. Gov. DeSantis appointed him to the School Board when Christi Fraga stepped down to run for Doral mayor.

Generally, what the law requires is that if theres an elected or appointed board, any gathering of two or more members to discuss something that may come before the board has to be noticed, said Edward Birk, general counsel of the Florida First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee and private practice lawyer in Jacksonville. As such, the meeting would be open to all.

The law doesnt specify what is considered adequate notice, but at least seven days is recommended, he said, and guidelines suggest the notice have a time, place and agenda and displayed where the public is likely to see it. Moreover, if theres a certain place where meetings are noticed, future meetings should be noticed in the same place, he said.

READ MORE: About 4,000 Miami-Dade seniors at risk of not graduating get help from House bill

The May 9 meeting comes after Espino and Alonso, who was successfully endorsed by DeSantis in last years August primary, met on April 18 to discuss minority participation in School Board contracts. The meeting, while noticed, was not highly publicized, according to Local News 10, which first reported on the meeting.

Story continues

Some raised concerns about the two-member meeting and why a conversation about minority procurement failed to have participation from Black and minority business owners.

But the issue that propelled some board members to call out the meeting the following day was the exchange between Espino and Alonso and School Board member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, who showed up to the meeting shortly after it began.

Bendross-Mindingall, who was first elected to the board in 2010, said upon arrival she was informed she was not invited and could not participate. During the board meeting the next day, Bendross-Mindingall, who is Black, said she had flashbacks to going to school in Alabama and said she would never forget what happened.

I went to school in Alabama and I dont have to say anything else. What was legal wasnt right, she told the board during the April 19 meeting. Please make no mistake because I respect this office, this building ... This is not resting well in the community. I was elected, not appointed. This is what were doing in 2023.

In August, Bendross-Mindingall won reelection with more than 75% of the vote.

Miami-Dade School Board member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, who was told by Miami-Dade Schools Vice Chair Danny Espino and board member Robert Alonzo, that she could not attend their April 18 meeting, even though the meeting had been noticed and was open to the public, as required by Floridas Sunshine Law.

Read more: Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Daniel Espino to the Miami-Dade County School Board

Board member Steve Gallon III, who initially raised the issue at the School Board meeting, saying hed received calls from constituents and said the meeting was an opening for significant division.

On Monday, when asked about the newly posted meeting, he said it wouldnt be prudent for me to speculate on my colleagues intent for calling another meeting, although it is clearly allowable in policy. He would prefer for such a matter to be raised at a committee or board meeting, where all board members are present and able to weigh in.

He has no plans to attend the May 9 meeting. However, he said, he has also filed a board agenda item to address issues that recently arose from the prior conference meeting held to ensure that any and all ambiguity is clarified and that is no repeat of some of the things that occurred.

Chair Mari Tere Rojas apologized to Bendross-Mindingall on behalf of the board and called the event unfortunate.

Alonso, for his part, responded to the criticism directed at him and said he was disappointed with the legal process of the meeting and that there was confusion as it relates to how municipal sunshine meetings operate.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade becomes nations third-largest school district, surpassing Chicago

Espino had left the meeting by the time the issue was raised by Gallon, but in a statement sent to the Miami Times days later, he argued Bendross-Mindingall should have known that her intervention in the meeting violated board policy and possible state law.

School board attorney Luis Garcia during the two-member meeting said any member can attend a meeting once its been publicly noticed.

In his comments to the Miami TImes, Espino said he would be convening a board conference to Ensure that the board is fully aware of the tools available to each member in fulfillment of their duties.

Editors note: This story has been updated to clarify board member Steve Gallons position and plans regarding the May 9 meeting.
Micaela Erlanger is an author, entrepreneur, and fashion stylist for stars like Lupita Nyong'o.

She's regularly worked on Met Gala fashion over the past 10 years, styling over a dozen looks.

Speaking with Insider, she shared the backstories of 13 of those red-carpet outfits.

Micaela Erlanger is a celebrity stylist, author, and entrepreneur who has regularly worked on Met Gala fashion over the past 10 years.

Celebrity stylist and author Micaela Erlanger. Micaela Erlanger

Speaking with Insider ahead of this year's event, Erlanger shared the stories behind more than a dozen red-carpet looks she's styled for the annual gala.

She first worked on a Met Gala look in 2013, dressing Michelle Dockery in a black Burberry number.

Michelle Dockery attends the 2013 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

According to Erlanger, it was common a decade ago for celebrities to work directly with fashion brands and designers who invited them to the Met Gala as guests.

But because she and the "Downton Abbey" star had then started working together, Erlanger was brought in "midway through the process" to help complete Dockery's look, she said.

The actor wore a sleeveless, leather dress made with an "embossed, patent-python technique," as Erlanger described it, and a statement necklace for the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" theme.

"I remember discovering this designer who had made a lot of the jewelry for 'Downton Abbey,' and he happened to have a collection that felt kind of edgy and cool. And that's where that necklace came from," she said.

Erlanger went on to style two stars the following year, including Lupita Nyong'o.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2014 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

When shown a photo of Nyong'o wearing Cartier jewels and her green-and-brown Prada ensemble, Erlanger quickly said: "I love this look."

"We were inspired by Josephine Baker  she was kind of our style reference," the stylist said. "This was for the 'Charles James: Beyond Fashion' theme, and we took it in a different direction. She really stood out!"

Olivia Munn wasn't far behind her in another example of Erlanger's work.

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Olivia Munn attends the 2014 Met Gala. George Pimentel/Getty Images

Munn wore a yellow, long-sleeved gown with a plunging neckline that was custom-made for her by Diane von Furstenberg.

Erlanger said she worked "very, very closely" with the brand to co-design the dress, which was partly inspired by photos she'd seen of vintage gowns with a similar yellow-and-blue color story.

Erlanger thought the end result was "beautiful" and "really special," especially when paired with a broach in her hair and orange-red lipstick.

Erlanger styled multiple stars in 2015 for the "China: Through the Looking Glass" event. Jaime King was one of them.

Jaime King attends the 2015 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

"Jamie was in Jason Wu for Hugo Boss," Erlanger recalled. "She was so glamorous, so beautiful. She was dripping in DeBeers Forevermark jewelry. It was such a sleek look."

The actor was also pregnant at the time, and Erlanger "could not believe she was in heels."

Common was the first male celebrity Erlanger styled for the gala.

Common attends the 2015 Met Gala. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

He wore a chocolate-brown, custom-made tuxedo from Calvin Klein, and accessorized with a Fred Leighton jabot, commonly known as a lapel pin.

"Common really made rocking jewelry on the red carpet his thing," Erlanger said. "The pin was just so exquisite and so cool. And the chocolate color of his suit was so unique. Normally, you see a sea of black tuxedos."

And Olivia Munn made another fashionable appearance.

Olivia Munn attends the 2015 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Erlanger told Insider that she worked with couture brand J. Mendel to bring this custom dress  a multicolored gown with a sheer top, bodice slit, and open balloon sleeves  to life.

"It was a beautiful, hand-pleated, hand-painted gown," she said. "That entire ombre motif was all hand-painted. It was so exquisite."

"But I'll never forget that they cut the hem in the final fitting with a pair of shears," she added. "It was so precise, and they were just cutting the raw fabric to the correct length. My heart rate was so high, but they had such a steady hand. It's true couture craftsmanship, being able to do that."

For accessories, Erlanger and her team chose to put orchids in Munn's hair, creating a look that was both elegant and cool, she said.

In 2016, Erlanger styled Jared Leto for the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" Met Gala.

Jared Leto attends the 2016 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

It was his first Met Gala, and he wore Gucci. Describing his look simply, Erlanger said: "We went tails; we didn't go tux."

"The fitting and making of a custom tailcoat is a whole other ball game. It's a very different craft and technique," she said.

But that detail  and his standout accessories  made Leto's outfit "very cool," she said.

"He wanted a walking cane  something that felt a little magician-inspired," she said. "It had this beautiful Gucci lion's head as the handle. It was so major."

Erlanger also sourced vintage Cartier pieces for the outfit, putting a woman's broach in place of a bow tie at his collar.

"Men can wear jewelry too," she said.

Erlanger describes Jennifer Hudson's white ball gown that year as "an amazing example of designer and stylist collaboration."

Jennifer Hudson attends the 2016 Met Gala. Karwai Tang/Getty Images

The strapless dress, which was fitted up top and extended into a tulle skirt, was crafted by H&M.

"When you think of H&M, you do not think of evening wear," she said. "Like, let's be real. You think of fast fashion and more wearable pieces. So it was really fun to collaborate with them on a dramatic, showstopping gown."

Erlanger noted that Hudson was also involved in the design process, and was "so excited" any time she saw a sketch.

Lupita Nyong'o attended the Met Gala for a second time in 2016, and Erlanger styled her in another green gown.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2016 Met Gala. Larry Busacca/Getty Images

"The cool thing about this gown actually was that for the after-party, instead of changing, we cut it," Erlanger said. "We took scissors to her dress and she went out dancing that night and had a great time."

But while Erlanger thinks the sparkling, Calvin Klein dress was "beautiful" and "very cool," she admits that the actor's hairstyle  a tall updo inspired by African culture  "stole the show."

"The ways that a hair and makeup team collaborate with a stylist is really important," she said. "Vernon Francois and Lupita make such a great team."

When Nyong'o returned to the Met Gala in 2017, she donned a vibrant orange gown.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2017 Met Gala. Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The night's theme was "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between," and Nyong'o wore Prada. But the dress she donned on the red carpet wasn't their original choice.

"We had designed a different dress, and then in the fitting, we changed our minds! Sometimes that happens," Erlanger said, explaining that they only had a few days to create a new one. "She went with this, and it was really all about the neckline and the makeup."

Makeup artist Nick Barose had "pulled references of birds of paradise," she added, and they agreed that "the colors were amazing."

Together, the makeup and dress made for a vibrant moment that Erlanger still thinks is "really beautiful."

"I don't think she had worn orange before  and orange on the red carpet is quite a statement," she said.

Diane Kruger's blue gown for the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" gala in 2018 is Erlanger's "all-time favorite" that she's worked on.

Diane Kruger attends the 2018 Met Gala. John Shearer/Getty Images

Not only was the dress custom-made for Kruger by Prabal Gurung, but she also had a full set of custom accessories.

"I commissioned a special, custom headpiece from Philip Treacy," Erlanger said. "We did custom shoes with Gianvito Rossi. Everything was just very, very thoughtful."

She added: "I'm so proud of this look. This is the Met."

Erlanger said she and Nyong'o have a lot of fun working with Versace. That was never more clear than in 2019 at the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" event.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2019 Met Gala. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

In one word, Erlanger described this colorful look perfectly: "major."

"They sent through the sketches and we were having such a hard time choosing," she said of working with the Versace team. "But there were a number of things we loved about this. One is that the top came off. Oftentimes what you see on the red carpet  these very elaborate gowns  they do come apart because you can't really sit for dinner in something like that."

Equally important were Nygong'o's accessories, which Erlanger credits partially to the actor's makeup artist Nick Barose.

"This is the power of collaboration. Nick was like, 'Micaela, you need to ask them to make a fan.' And so we had them make a fan at the 11th hour," Erlanger recalled. "We made this ridiculous fan so that when the shoulder piece came off, she still had this fan to play with and carry the theme of camp through the night."

Most recently, Nyong'o attended the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" event in 2021 wearing Versace.

Lupita Nyong'o attends the 2021 Met Gala. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The strapless gown Nyong'o wore might have been designed by an Italian fashion house, but it had American flare largely thanks to Erlanger.

"The most American fabric I could think of was denim, and I was thinking about Gianni Versace," she said. "He lived in Miami for many years, and he had Versace jeans as a sub-brand of Versace. It was huge in the '90s, like huge. So I kind of really started playing with this idea."

Donatella Versace and other designers at the fashion house "loved the concept," according to Erlanger, who pulled references from old Versace campaigns to help design the look.

And because this gown was created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, every part of the creative process  from designing to fitting the dress  was done virtually.

"I can't believe it turned out this well. It's bonkers," she said.

Overall, Erlanger is proud of the work she's done at the Met Gala over the past decade.

Lupita Nyong'o attends Rihanna's 2021 Met Gala after-party. Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

"I'm really proud of myself, my team, my clients, and the designers who work so tirelessly to create these things," she said. "It really is so collaborative, and I also love the Met because it happens in my city. This isn't out in LA  it's a celebration of art and design, right here in New York."

"The range of photos you just shared with me really makes me smile," she continued. "It's a testament to the diversity of topics the Met Gala touches on. The various themes are so broad, and it's challenged me in a very positive way as a stylist to get to work on the Met Gala each year."

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama is a lawyer, podcaster, and an acclaimed author. On Friday, she gave rock star a try with the help of music legend Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.

Video of Obama singing on stage with The Boss at his concert in Barcelona, Spain, quickly spread on social media over the weekend. In the clip, the 59-year-old is seen playing a tambourine and providing backup vocals for Springsteens famous hit Glory Days with Springsteens wife, Patti Scialfa, and actor Kate Capshaw. Are you ready for a Barcelona house party? Springsteen asked the audience, leading to the surprising performance.

The former first lady was also seen dancing offstage with her husband, former President Barack Obama, in a separate video.

Why Were the Obamas in Spain?

Getty Images

According to The Los Angeles Times, the Obamas were actually visiting Spain with Capshaw and film director Steven Spielberg, who are married.

On Thursday, Springsteen, Spielberg, and Barack Obama surprised the staff of the restaurant Amar in Barcelona by showing up for dinner together. They posed for a photo with the chefs and wait staff and sampled an array of seafood dishes, according to head chef Rafa Zafra.

According to the BBC, the Obamas and Spielberg also visited some of the Spanish capitals most popular tourist sites like the Picasso Museum, home to a collection of works by the famous painter, and the Sagrada Familia Basilica.

Then, of course, the group was in attendance as Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off the international leg of its 2023 tour later that evening. The 73-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer played again at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on Sunday and is set to make stops in Dublin, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, London, Munich, and other major European cities through late July.

How Do the Obamas and Springsteen Know Each Other?

According to The Los Angeles Times, the Obamas have developed a close friendship with Springsteen since the legendary rocker endorsed Barack during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns and even performed at his rallies.

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Shop Now Renegades: Born in the USA $26.13 amazon.com

The former commander-in-chief awarded Springsteen the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the pair collaborated on the Renegades: Born in the USA podcast in 2021. Across eight episodes, the two discussed their musical influences, families, and enduring love of Americadespite all its challenges. Renegades was also released in book form in October 2021.

Over the years, what weve found is that weve got a shared sensibility. About work, about family, and about America, Barack Obama wrote in the book. In our own ways, Bruce and I have been on parallel journeys trying to understand this country thats given us both so much.
Ed Franciosa will retire as general manager of the Modesto Irrigation District after 14 months in the post.

The May 26 departure was announced in a news release Friday from the utility. Franciosa, an electrical engineer, has worked there since 1997.

The MID board had appointed him in March 2022. He informed the nearly 450 employees of his retirement on Thursday.

Im grateful for MID and the wonderful employees and fellow water and power industry professionals I have had the privilege to work with throughout my 36-year public service career, Franciosa said. Im honored to have had many opportunities at the district, including serving as general manager, and Im proud of my contributions to providing the excellent services MID is known for.

The district delivers Tuolumne River water to about 58,000 farmland acres and to a treatment plant that supplements city wells in Modesto. It has about 131,000 power customers.

Franciosas tenure has included the first water and power rate increases in several years, based on a November report about the cost of providing the services. Critics long have complained that electricity rates subsidize the water side.

MID also has made progress toward a compromise with the state on increased reservoir releases for lower-river fish. The Turlock Irrigation District and San Francisco are parties to it.

Franciosa joined MID as an engineer and went on to serve as an interim trouble-shooting supervisor and electrical engineering manager. He became an assistant GM in 2014, overseeing electric engineering, substations, metering, line construction and maintenance, and trouble-shooting.

Franciosa was interim GM in 2020, between the tenures of Scott Furgerson and Bill Schwandt. The board has not yet discussed the process for hiring a successor.

Franciosa also has worked for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the California Energy Commission.
Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., kept building roads in his Altoona-based congressional district, even when there was no place left to go. Shuster, who died last week at the age of 91, was best known as the powerful House Transportation Committee chair, a throne from which he was given the sobriquet The King of Asphalt, in a way that was not always meant as a complement.

The congressmans Macadam Opus is Interstate 99 which bisects Pennsylvania north to south, and is a godsend to motorists made skittish by truck traffic on Interstate 81, because it is only a slight exaggeration that you can drive on it for miles without seeing another car.

Shuster, who has been called the last of the great power barons in the American Congress, was rife with the complexities that power barons almost always possess. Hold Shuster up to the light and what you see depends on the angle of the rays.

Tim Rowland

His background is faintly Santosesque, as even his own autobiographical notes dont always jibe. In some ways he seems the pupa stage of modern political rancor. He rode into office on the coattails of Richard Nixon, defending the embattled president for firing Archibald Cox.

Calling Cox a cheat, Shuster called for an investigation of the Special Prosecutor's Office "to determine the extent of criminal violations," adding that "(t)his pompous, pious, self-righteous, supposedly independent special prosecutor is far worse than just political."

Sound familiar?

Before becoming fixated on transportation, he dabbled in the FBI trope of communists beyond every curtain, most notably in the feminist and civil rights movements. Yet Shuster was no fool. Seeing a better lane, so to speak, he traded in the abrasive partisanship and conspiracy theories for a fiefdom in American transportation.

Certainly it was a more lucrative path. Because he held the purse and regulatory strings, he was beloved by people in the industry. On learning of his death, Railway Age praised Shuster for victoriously moving high-dollar transportation authorizations through the House and fending off captive shipper attempts to dial back rail regulatory freedoms 

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When Shuster was shepherding through the $217 billion Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act (BESTEA), wags who had read the fine, project-awarding print, suggested BESTEA really stood for the Bud E. Shuster Transportation for All Eternity Act.

Millions of dollars flowed into his re-election warchest, even as he generally ran unopposed. His last serious opponent was Nancy Kulp  Miss Jane on the Beverly Hillbillies  in 1984, whom Shuster destroyed after bringing in Jed Clampett (Buddy Epsen) to record a radio spot calling Culp too liberal for me.

This was a different time, and if you wanted to make money in excess of your government salary, you couldnt just post to social media grubbing for thousands of small-dollar donations because the liberals were out to get you. If politicians wanted to get paid, they had to provide something of value in return.

And if you delivered the goods, no one really cared about your ethics, not in the industry, anyway. When Shusters live-in former aide and lobbyist Ann Eppard was indicted in 1998 for financial crimes, no one outside of government saw the problem.

"Frankly the indictment did not affect our business relationship at all," Pennsylvania transportation consultant Joseph W. McMahon said at the time. "She helped us to get to visit with a number of legislators  Chairman Shuster, of course."

Of course. Within a few years, the case against Eppard and the ensuing ethics investigation of Shuster had largely fizzled and life went on.

Not knowing what the future held, many of us felt Shuster represented all that was wrong with Washington: wasteful spending, money politics, questionable ethics.

What we didnt understand was that for better or worse, this slipperiness was the oil, dirty as it might get, that kept the engine running. When Shuster lorded over the Transportation Committee and Sen. Robert Byrd prowled Appropriations, they were careful to see that everyone got a share. Even the lowliest opposition-party back-bencher would have something to take home for the district, because thats what the people expected and meeting these expectations was key to re-election.

Consequently, no one got too far out of line and no one was above putting ideology on hold long enough to get a new bridge.

Is this an argument for more graft and sleaze in politics? Not exactly. But show me a politician whos selling access, passing out pork and looking the other way while his squeeze is on the take, and Ill show you a politician whos not urging his followers to take up arms and overrun the Capitol of the United States.

Tim Rowland is a Herald-Mail columnist.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Shuster's scandals didn't matter, so long as he brought home the bacon
An alternate view of the dining table, their plant shelf, and the living room. Amanda Goh/Insider

Jasmine Wong and Rainier Ng have been living in their 5-room apartment for more than eight months.

They bought the 1,350-square-foot home in Singapore for $450,000 and designed it on their own.

The couple showed Insider around their farmhouse-style home, which is influenced by wabi-sabi.

Jasmine Wong and Rainier Ng have lived in their 5-room flat in Tampines, in the eastern region of Singapore, for the past eight months.

The exterior of their apartment block. Amanda Goh/Insider

The couple's home is about a 15-minute walk from the nearest subway station, and a 25-minute drive from the city center, per Google Maps.

High-rise public-housing apartment blocks are a key feature of Singapore's skyline, and they're home to about 80% of the country's resident population.

Constructed by the country's Housing Development Board, these public housing apartments are also known as HDB flats by locals.

The first HDB flats were built in 1960 and new estates are still being constructed today. They are considered leasehold properties and each new flat is sold on a 99-year lease.

HDB estates typically consist of a few identical apartment blocks clustered together.

Wong and Ng's block is painted black and white, like the others in their estate. The only detail differentiating each building is a small sign with the building's block number.

Despite Singapore  tied with New York  topping the list of most expensive cities in the world to live in, public housing is still an option for most citizens as long as they meet specific requirements.

But living in an HDB flat does come with its own rules. Technically residents are not supposed to own cats, rent their home out on Airbnb, or add a mezzanine floor to their apartment.

The couple bought their home in January last year but only got their keys in March. They paid 602,000 Singapore dollars, or $451,300, for their 1,350-square-foot apartment.

The view of the dining table, their plant shelf, and the living room, as seen from the kitchen. The main entrance of the home is to the right, outside of the frame. Amanda Goh/Insider

The couple designed their 1,350-square-foot home in a farmhouse style, with strong wabi-sabi influences.

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Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept that's difficult to translate directly; it loosely describes the idea of seeking beauty in rawness and imperfection.

This can be seen in the neutral color palette being used across the apartment, made up of sandy beige, warm brown, and the occasional pop of green and blue.

An arched display nook, filled with small, leafy plants and ceramic sculptures, is located right by the dining table.

"I think it's just our way of living that inspired us. My husband is a chef by profession, and I've been in facilities management for the longest time," Wong told Insider. "We've always liked nature and natural, raw-looking materials."

The couple started renovating their home in May last year, and completed it in September. Wong estimates that they spent SG$75,000 on the project, excluding white goods.

The wooden fluted panels in the back of the living room hide two doors that lead to the bedrooms. The main entrance of the home is to the right, outside of the frame. Amanda Goh/Insider

HDB flats come in a variety of sizes, including one-bedroom and two-story maisonette apartments. The couple's house is considered a five-room flat, by HDB's definition.

The first thing that anyone sees upon entering the couple's home is the open-concept dining and living area.

The study is to the left of the main entrance, while the kitchen is located off the dining area.

A wall of fluted panels in the living room hides two doors that lead to three rooms, including the primary suite.

Instead of working with an interior designer, the couple decided to design the home on their own and work with the contractors directly.

"We got quotations from various IDs, and they all came out to at least SG$120,000," Wong said. "I know that in the market, your renovation is probably 25% more expensive if you get an ID. So we decided to bite the bullet and just do it ourselves."

The first hidden door along the fluted-paneled wall leads to a cozy guest room filled with wood and rattan furniture.

Beyond the first hidden door is the guest room. Amanda Goh/Insider

"We haven't had a lot of people staying over here yet. It's just been my sister whenever she has to pet-sit for us while we're away," Wong said.

Most of the furniture was brought from the couple's previous home  a rental unit in a conservation house along Rowell Road, which is in the central region of Singapore.

Many conservation homes in the country are state-owned properties managed by the Singapore Land Authority. These are leased out via a bidding system for residential and commercial uses.

The couple decided to move because their rent was increased, Wong said.

"We stayed there for three years during the pandemic," Wong said. "And then the SLA decided to increase our rent. I think now the minimum bid is SG$2,500 but we rented at SG$2,000."

The other hidden door opens up to another bedroom that the couple turned into a playpen for their pet bunny.

A playpen for their pet bunny. Amanda Goh/Insider

There's a handmade cardboard bunny house, along with a rabbit tunnel and some chew toys in the pen. A plastic pet gate seals off the entrance of the room to prevent their bunny from escaping out to the other areas of the home.

"She's a granny in rabbit years. She's already almost 10 years old," Wong said. "We adopted her from our friend who moved to Oslo."

The layout of the couple's home is slightly unusual because their master bedroom can only be accessed via a connecting door from the room with the bunny pen.

The master bedroom. Amanda Goh/Insider

There isn't a door that leads to the master bedroom from the living room, Wong said.

"The previous owner had already converted it like this," she said. "But in his configuration, his study room was our bedroom, while his bedroom was the bunny room."

When the couple bought their apartment last year, their block was 27 years old, Wong said. With the 99-year lease, the couple owns the home for another 72 years  unless they choose to sell it. That said, they're only the second owners of this unit.

"The previous owner, he's the first owner. Design-wise, everything was very old-school. The furniture and flooring were probably the styles from years before," she added.

There are two bathrooms in the apartment. Even the common bathroom is spacious enough to fit a free-standing bathtub.

One of the bathrooms in the apartment. Amanda Goh/Insider

One of the reasons why the couple was drawn to this unit was because of the size of the common bathroom, Wong said.

The highlight of the bathroom is the stone basin, which the couple got from a local stone supplier.

"It's so heavy, we tried to bring it home ourselves but it wasn't possible," Wong said. "They usually do bigger projects, like for hotels but they agreed to deliver it for us if we bought two."

Metal rods were placed under the bathroom counter shelf in order to support the weight of the stone sink, which was about 20 kg, or 44 pounds, she said. The other sink is in their master bathroom.

"My niece and nephew came over one day, and they told me that it looked like a hotel," she added.

Designing and overseeing the renovation of the home wasn't easy, because the couple had some difficulties conveying their ideas to the contractors.

The dining area. The kitchen is in the back while the balcony is on the right. Amanda Goh/Insider

Because the two of them didn't have any design background, they weren't able to create the same kind of mock-ups as a professional designer would.

"I made a PowerPoint presentation with references to how things should roughly look, but my main contractor was just looking at me cluelessly," Wong said. "I think the lesson learned is we need to have a very specific idea of what we want and tell him that. And in return, he should be able to tell us if there are going to be changes."

As part of their DIY experience, the couple also painted the walls on their own.

"We decided to do it ourselves because we were quoted SG$3,000 just to paint the living room," Wong said. "I was like, nope, I'm going to save that money and do it myself."

The couple's home wouldn't be complete without their farmhouse-style kitchen.

The farmhouse-style kitchen. Amanda Goh/Insider

The wooden counters on the left are from Ikea and were brought over from their previous house. The sage green cabinets with black marble countertops are custom-made, Wong said.

"We wanted to reuse our kitchen counter, so we told the contractor to measure out a space to fit them in and build the rest," Wong said.

Since the couple cooks quite often at home, they chose the standalone stove because of its design and functionality.

Other furniture items are DIY projects. The couple even turned a vintage sewing machine and used wine crates into a mini table for their balcony.

A vintage sewing machine that the couple turned into a mini table for their balcony area. Amanda Goh/Insider

"This sewing machine belonged to my aunt  it's probably older than us," Wong said. "We refurbished it by screwing up the old wine crates and putting them over."

The couple also turned old lampshades and wine crates into side tables and display shelves for their living room.

A collage showing a side table that they made out of old lampshades and another made from old crates. Amanda Goh/Insider

"It's actually two lampshades combined into one," Wong said. To make the side table, the couple flipped one rattan lampshade upside down and glued it to the other.

They also had an old Ikea tabletop that managed to fit perfectly into the opening of the lampshade.

The couple shares photos of their space and other snippets of their lives on Instagram, with an account dedicated to their home.

The plant shelf. Maison de Bam

"I don't have the brains of a content creator, so I just took pictures based on what I like and posted it," Wong said of their Instagram account.

The couple's cozy home has also been featured in a few local home and living publications.

"I think if people really enjoy seeing pictures of my house, naturally I definitely want to continue doing it. But we still don't know what kind of direction we would want for our account, for now, it's really just for fun," Wong said.

Read the original article on Insider
An activist stands next to a sign as they protest in front of the Supreme Court during a rally for student debt cancellation in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2023. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on Biden's student-debt relief by the end of June.

It will determine whether borrowers have to resume payments this year with or without relief.

From a potential backup plan to targeted repayment reforms, here's what's at stake.

A critical Supreme Court decision for millions of student-loan borrowers could come by the end of next month. There's a lot at stake.

On February 28, the nation's highest court heard oral arguments in two cases that paused the implementation of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year. The relief was halted in November due to two conservative backed lawsuits: one was filed by two student-loan borrowers who sued because they did not qualify for the full $20,000 amount of relief, and the other was filed by six Republican-led states who argued the relief would hurt their states' tax revenues, along with the revenue of student-loan company MOHELA.

As Insider previously reported, conservative and liberal justices were largely split in their lines of questioning. While conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett did join the liberals in questioning the plaintiffs' standing to sue in each of the cases, the conservative justices  the majority on the court  appeared skeptical of Biden's authority to use the HEROES Act of 2003 to cancel student debt, which gives the Education Secretary the ability to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency.

So, at this point, it's not clear how the Supreme Court will rule  but Biden's administration has continued to express confidence in the legality of its debt relief plan.

"The demand for this relief is undeniable," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement leading up to the Supreme Court arguments. "In less than a month, 26 million people applied or were deemed automatically eligible for relief. And 16 million were fully approved. They could have debt relief right now if it weren't for these lawsuits."

Story continues

For now, millions of borrowers are waiting to find out if they will see a reduction to their balances this year  a decision expected by the end of June. Here's what else is on the line.

Student-loan payment resumption this fall

In light of the two lawsuits that paused the broad debt relief, Biden in November extended the student-loan payment pause through 60 days after June 30, or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues its final decision, whichever happens first. And it looks like the Education Department is planning for those payments to resume with or without relief.

According to documents obtained by Politico via a public records request, the department has started issuing guidance to student-loan companies to prepare for the repayment resumption. Per the documents, companies should prepare to resume charging interest on borrowers' loans in September, and the department expects the first monthly payment for borrowers will be in October.

Additionally, SoFi Bank  a student-loan refinancing company  filed a lawsuit last month to end the payment pause, and at the very least, return borrowers ineligible for Biden's broad debt relief back into repayment. While it's highly unlikely the lawsuit will end the current payment pause given the legal timeline, it could prevent a further extension of the payment pause.

The implementation of targeted debt relief reforms

The Education Department has some other things in the works, aside from broad student-debt relief. In October, the department announced some permanent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and income-driven repayment plans to ease the debt relief and repayment processes.

That included a one-time account adjustment to give borrowers another shot at ensuring their payments are up to date. Additionally, alongside its August announcement of broad debt relief, the department announced plans to create a new income-driven repayment plan that would require borrowers to pay no more than 5% of their discretionary income monthly on their undergraduate student loans  down from the current 10%.

These reforms are a big undertaking for the department, and on Monday, it announced it awarded five student-loan companies new contracts to overhaul the repayment system and facilitate "the most affordable repayment plan ever" when the contracts go into effect next year.

But, as the department noted in the press release, congressional funding is essential to effectively implement those reforms. The deadline for borrowers to see the results of the one-time account adjustment has already been delayed, and Biden's budget requested $2.7 billion for Federal Student Aid  a $620 million increase over the 2023 spending level  to carry out the reforms the department has announced. But with a Republican majority in the House, it's unlikely Biden's budget request will be approved at his requested levels, meaning further delays in relief reforms are likely.

U.S. President Joe Biden, joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, speaks on student loan debt in the Roosevelt Room of the White House August 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden announced steps to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year and cap payments at 5 percent of monthly income. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A potential Plan B for broad student-debt relief

Since the Supreme Court arguments in February, the White House has maintained confidence in the legality of Biden's debt relief plan and has said on numerous occasions that it is not deliberating a backup plan right now should the relief get struck down.

"We feel confident in our authority under the HEROES Act to take the action that we have taken," Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told reporters in January.

"Obviously, the Supreme Court will weigh in on that soon," he added. "But we are not deliberating or considering any other kind of alternative approach. We're fully committed to the approach that the Secretary of Education used in this case, and we're confident in our legal authority."

But some Democratic lawmakers have previously expressed support for another legal route to cancel student debt using the Higher Education Act of 1965, which does not require the existence of a national emergency for relief. Biden's administration has not commented on whether it would consider going that route  but a Supreme Court decision signaled the justices could be open to it.

In a separate lawsuit unrelated to broad student-debt relief, three schools challenged a settlement the Education Department agreed to that would forgive student debt under the borrower defense to repayment, which allows a borrower to file a claim if they believe they were defrauded by a for-profit school, and if approved, their loans would be discharged.

The schools argued that Biden did not have the authority to enact that relief under the Higher Education Act  but the Supreme Court rejected their appeal, meaning that law could potentially succeed in another broad debt relief plan.

Are you feeling nervous about the Supreme Court decision? Do you have faith the relief will be upheld, or you're not really banking on it? Share your student debt story with this reporter at asheffey@insider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has called on residents of the temporarily occupied territories not to accept Russian passports and not to cooperate with the invaders in any way.

Source: Vereshchuk on Telegram

Details: The minister recalled that last week the Russians adopted another decree aimed at further restricting the rights of Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories.

According to Vereshchuk, the occupiers want Ukrainians to either become Russians or leave the temporarily occupied territories. But she is convinced that firstly, it is impossible to turn Ukrainians into Russians even with forced passportisation, and secondly, the occupiers will not stay in Ukraine for long.

Quote from Vereshchuk: "My recommendations to Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories remain the same:

do not accept Russian passports;

do not cooperate with the invaders;

leave if possible;

wait for the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

Details: The minister also added that on 1 May, the Ministry of Reintegration once again asked the Russian side and the International Committee of the Red Cross to open humanitarian corridors so that Ukrainians from the temporarily occupied territories could leave for government-controlled territory.

Background:

On 27 April, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed into law a decree allowing residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine who have not accepted Russian citizenship to be deported.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, has advised Ukrainians in the occupied territories either to accept Russian passports in order to survive, or to flee the occupied territory in any way they can.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk called on Ukrainians who remain in Russian-occupied territories not to take Russian passports, which contradicts a recent statement by Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

"My recommendations to Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories remain the same: do not take Russian passports, do not cooperate with the occupiers, leave if possible, wait for the Armed Forces," the minister wrote on May 1.

On April 27, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the deportation of Ukrainians in occupied territories who refuse to take Russian citizenship. Those Ukrainians who choose to retain their Ukrainian citizenship can be deported after July 1, 2024.

Lubinets has advised Ukrainians who currently live in Russian-occupied regions to "make a decision to survive" and take Russian passports or leave such territories "in any possible way."

General Staff: Russia forces doctors in Berdiansk to register for military service Russian forces in occupied Bediansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast are forcing local doctors who have received Russian passports to register for military service, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported on April 24. Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

In her May 1 statement, Vereshchuk said that by implementing the decree, Moscow wants Ukrainians "to either become Russians or leave the temporarily occupied territories."

"If they want to deport Ukrainians who do not want to take Russian passports from the occupied territories, there's no problem. Because the Russians themselves do not let Ukrainians leave for Ukrainian-controlled territory, violating international law and contrary to basic humanitarian considerations."

Vereshchuk added that she had appealed to the Russian side and the International Committee of the Red Cross with a demand to open humanitarian corridors so that Ukrainians from the Russian-occupied lands could leave for the government-controlled territory.

Story continues

The Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center reported on April 7 that Moscow-installed proxies in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine had increasingly forced civilians to obtain Russian passports, using threats and physical violence against those who refused to do so.

On July 13, European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the EU wouldn't recognize Russian passports issued to Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories. Russia has distributed around a million Russian passports on Ukrainian territory since 2019.
Critics say some of Mirziyoyev recent moves carry echoes of the country's despotic past

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is credited with leading Central Asia's most populous country out of isolation, but his appetite for change may be waning now that he has consolidated power.

His country has just voted for constitutional changes allowing him to stay in office until 2040, in an election observers said lacked pluralism and competition.

Mirziyoyev's reforms -- including ending infamous forced labour in the cotton industry -- have been hailed both by long-suffering citizens and foreign observers.

The bar was set low by his hardline mentor and predecessor Islam Karimov, who gained a reputation for torturing opponents including by boiling and freezing them.

Mirziyoyev, born in 1957 in the east of Soviet Uzbekistan, served in Karimov's government for 13 years.

When Karimov died in 2016 after ruling for more than a quarter of a century, Mirziyoyev's role as heir quickly became clear.

He took control of Karimov's funeral arrangements and outmanoeuvred the head of Uzbekistan's notorious security service, Rustam Inoyatov, to become leader.

He launched changes unthinkable under his predecessor, but his critics say some recent moves carry echoes of the country's despotic past.

- Out of isolation -

The grey-haired 65-year-old opened up the country's economy and trade, as well tourism and foreign investment.

Ties with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- countries Karimov once threatened with war over hydropower projects -- have improved.

Mirziyoyev has advocated pragmatic ties with the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, while trade with Russia and China has grown -- although he has stopped short of rejoining a Moscow-led security bloc.

His tenure has also seen controls loosen over Islam -- followed by more than 90 percent of the population but viewed with suspicion by Karimov.

Mirziyoyev's most celebrated achievement has been his clampdown on forced labour in the cotton fields, where wages for up to two million pickers have increased year-on-year.

Story continues

Authorities hope Western firms will now end a long-standing boycott after the International Labour Organisation heralded the end of systemic child labour and forced labour.

Mirziyoyev once boasted that under his leadership, Uzbeks had learned to "live free, without fear".

But his critics say there is more continuity than change, suggesting Mirziyoyev might not be the man to totally overhaul Uzbekistan's reputation as a rights abuser.

- Bloody protests -

Less than a year into Mirziyoyev's second term, protests broke out in the country's Karakalpakstan area in July 2022 over a move to remove the region's right to self-determination.

The unrest left at least 21 dead and forced Mirziyoyev to make a rare about-turn and walk back the proposed changes.

Human Rights Watch said in November that the authorities "unjustifiably used lethal force... to disperse mainly peaceful demonstrators" after verifying dozens of videos and photos of the protests.

In total, 171 people face charges over the protests and in late January, 16 people were sentenced to terms between three and 16 years in prison.

Human Rights Watch said that "a trial of some of the protesters opened... but there remained a lack of accountability for the 21 people killed and dozens who were seriously wounded."

Mirziyoyev is also facing accusations of nepotism.

The public prominence of the eldest of his two daughters, Saida Mirziyoyeva, 36, who held a post in the state communications agency until last year, has drawn comparisons with Karimov's eldest daughter, Gulnara Karimova.

Karimova, referred to as a "robber baron" in leaked US diplomatic cables, is currently jailed on embezzlement and criminal conspiracy charges after falling foul of her father's regime while he was still alive.

bur/giv
After a federal agency cited a pair of hospitals in Missouri and Kansas for refusing to provide an emergency abortion to a Missouri woman, state lawmakers are blaming the vagueness of the medical exception language in Missouris strict abortion ban.

The problem here is less about what the law says and does and more about how the vague language causes a chilling effect on care for folks who are in the most desperate need like this, said state Rep. Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found Monday that the Freeman Health System in Joplin and at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas violated federal law when they denied care to Mylissa Farmer, a Joplin woman, in August 2022.

The investigation has offered renewed scrutiny of Missouris abortion ban  a 2019 law that went into effect minutes after Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. While abortions are still allowed in medical emergencies, some lawmakers say the emergency provision is poorly defined and could be interpreted differently by certain doctors.

Since it went into effect, the ban has cast a pall over women and the medical community as critics warn that Republican state legislators were making medical decisions instead of trained physicians.

Aune said Democrats had warned lawmakers that confusion about the vague language in Missouris abortion ban would jeopardize womens health in emergency situations. She said the abortion ban is scaring providers into denying care for women whose lives are in danger.

Farmer, the Joplin woman, went into labor just before 18 weeks of pregnancy, and doctors told her the fetus would not survive and she was at great risk of infection. She was unable to get an abortion despite her condition, and eventually went to a clinic in Illinois to receive the care.

She told The Star on Monday this ordeal has been traumatic and definitely slowed her healing and grieving process for the loss of her daughter.

Story continues

Farmer said she was terrified when the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned in June, and she knew hers would be one of the first cases to deal with the new laws. She said a doctor told her in the emergency room that women were going to die because of the new abortion bans.

It really kind of set something off in my heart of how horrible it was what we were going through, that I did not want this to happen to any other woman, Farmer said. Nobody should ever have to face losing their child and their own life when something can be done.

The National Womens Law Center filed a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of Farmer with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in January, alleging the two hospitals violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which allows for emergency medical care despite conflicting state laws.

State Rep. Jamie Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat, said Farmers case should prompt lawmakers to revisit the 2019 law.

To make this more complicated and more tragic and more traumatic for her because she cant terminate that pregnancy, which is going to terminate on its own, without threatening her life is absolutely egregious, Johnson said.

State Rep. Doug Richey, an Excelsior Springs Republican, said he doesnt think Missouris law on abortions is vague, and attorneys can always try to make that care when it suits their client.

I think the law is pretty clear that elective abortions are illegal, and medical procedures that are necessary to save the physical life of the mother are not elective abortions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found the Missouri and Kansas hospitals violated federal law in Farmers case because the abortion was emergency health care, the Associated Press first reported Monday.

In an emailed statement, Jill Chadwick, a spokesperson for the University of Kansas Health System said they follow federal and Kansas law to provide quality care to all patients, and the care provided to the patient was reviewed by the hospital and determined to be in accordance with their policy.

It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law, Chadwick said in the email.

The Freeman Health System did not respond to phone calls Monday.

According to a Monday news release, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent letters to hospitals across the country reminding them of their duty to provide emergency care, and CMS will ensure hospitals are in compliance with the law before closing the case.

Farmer told her story in TV ads last year, criticizing then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt during the U.S. Senate race in Missouri for his support of the states abortion ban. Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate in November.
Models are protesting the controversial decision to honour Karl Lagerfeld through the theme for the 2023 Met Gala.

On Monday 1 May 2023, the annual fashion extravaganza returns to New York Citys Metropolitan Museum of Art for the opening of the Costume Institutes exhibit Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will honour the full work and life of the late German designer.

However, not everyone is supportive of the theme chosen and announced by Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, as many have pointed to the designers history of controversial comments.

Ahead of Mondays event, which saw the star-studded guest list make its way to the Met Gala steps, some models took the opportunity to protest the theme due to Lagerfelds past treatment of those in the industry.

The choice to honour Lagerfeld embodies the dissonance of an industry that claims to be progressive, that celebrates body positivity and survivors on the one hand, and then reveres figures like [Lagerfeld] without even acknowledging their regressive views, Sara Ziff, the founder of the Model Alliance, told Jezebel.

The Model Alliance, which was founded in 2012 and advocates for models rights and safety, made its displeasure with the theme known with an in-person protest on the iconic Met Gala steps on Sunday, a day before the annual gala.

For the protest, the Model Alliance was joined by a number of notable individuals, including LOreal Global Ambassador Nidhi Sunil, models Ambra Gutierrez, Mame Adjei, Rozi Levine, and Roberta Little, and New York state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, according to Jezebel.

Lagerfelds contentious past, which included frequent derogatory comments about marginalised groups and public figures, also included criticism of women.

Jameela Jamil condemned the decision to honour Lagerfeld with the Met Gala theme shortly afer it was announced last year, with the actress recalling the distinctly hateful way the designer used his platform.

This man... was indeed, supremely talented, but used his platform in such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women, so repeatedly and up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked... there was no explanation for his cruel outbursts, Jamil wrote.

More follows
Modesto is teaming up with an affordable housing developer to purchase a North Ninth Street motel and convert it into permanent housing with services through Project Homekey, the state initiative to house people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The City Council on Tuesday is expected to approve applying with Fresno-based RH Community Builders to the California Department of Community Development and Housing for $17 million in Project Homekey funding.

The projects total cost is $23.2 million, according to a city report. That covers acquiring and renovating the Travelers Motel and such other costs as an operating subsidy for the project and relocating the people who now live at the motel, according to the report.

The report states the project would provide 54 units of permanent housing, with about two-thirds for homeless youth and the remaining for anyone who is homeless. The report does not define homeless youth or provide an age range. The services include case management, mental health services and connections to other service providers.

California released what is called a notice of funding availability March 29, saying it has $736 million for Project Homekeys third round.

The NOFA states $43.3 million of that has been set aside for projects in the San Joaquin Valley (which includes Modesto) as well as $75.8 million for projects that target homeless youth and $73.6 million in discretionary funding. Homeless youth can include a child, youth or current or former foster care youth as old as 25, according to the NOFA.

Project Homekey grants are not competitive, but the state encourages applicants to submit their requests as soon as possible because of the limited funding. The state will fund a project as long as its application scores high enough and funding is available. An applicant will know within 60 to 90 days of applying whether the state will fund its project.

In scoring applications, the state looks at such factors as an applicants track record in developing and operating similar projects, whether the proposed project serves people who are chronically homeless and-or young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and a projects proximity to such services as public transportation, grocery stores and pharmacies.

Story continues

RH Community Builders states on its website it has received three Project Homekey grants to convert motels.

Modesto and its nonprofit partners were awarded two grants in Project Homekeys second round in 2022.

The grants were $1.7 million for the purchase of a newly constructed seven-unit apartment building for Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Service clients and $3.9 million for the purchase and conversion of a Ninth Street office building in downtown into 14 apartments for young people 18 to 25 years of age.

The city report states that in addition to the $17 million in Project Homekey funding, Modesto would lend RH Community Builders nearly $2.3 million of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development funding it receives and would receive nearly $1.8 million from the Stanislaus Community System of Care  a group of homeless service providers, including the city  for the project.

The report states Modesto has preliminary approval from local Medi-Cal providers for $2.15 million from a state program to cover the cost of relocating the people who now live at the Travelers Motel. The report states that number is 38 households.

The Travelers Motel manager said in an interview last week that she is concerned about what will happen to the people who live at her motel if the project becomes a reality. The manager, who declined to give her name, said about 40 of the motels rooms are occupied by long-term guests. She said the motels other rooms are not occupied.

Travelers Motel on 9th Street in Modesto, Calif., Thursday, April 27, 2023.

The woman said some of them have lived at Travelers during the nine years she and her husband have managed it. She declined The Bee access to the motels residents for interviews. The property includes the Kickin Boots bar, but the manager said it is closed.

Public records list the owner of the Travelers Motel as MRVK Hospitality Group in Sloughhouse in Sacramento County. A request for comment made last week through a family member was not returned.

The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.
Molly Ringwald and Julia Roberts. Arturo Holmes/WireImage/Getty Images; Touchstone Pictures

Molly Ringwald turned down the lead role in "Pretty Woman" because she thought the story was "icky."

"Julia Roberts was wonderful in it," Ringwald said in a recent interview with The Guardian.

In 2012, Ringwald said she was in casting talks in the film's early stages, but didn't recall turning it down.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Molly Ringwald told reporter Zoe Williams that she turned down Julia Roberts' role in the 1990 classic "Pretty Woman" because she thought the story was "icky."

In the film, Roberts plays prostitute Vivian Ward, who is hired by businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to be his escort for some work events. Eventually, the pair fall in love and Vivian's life is changed forever.

Ringwald told The Guardian that she was originally offered the part that effectively launched Roberts' career as a leading actor, but she declined it.

"Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn't really like the story," Ringwald said. "Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it."

This isn't the first time the "Sixteen Candles" star has spoken about nearly being involved in the classic '90s rom-com. In a 2012 Reddit AMA, she said she received an early script of the film but didn't recall rejecting it.

"I think I saw an early draft and it was called '$3,000.' I don't specifically remember turning it down," she commented in the AMA. "The script was okay but I gotta say, Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part. Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that."

In the new interview, Ringwald also named parts in other classic movies that she was considered for but didn't end up starring in. "I didn't really feel like darker roles were available to me," she said.

Ringwald in "Pretty in Pink." Paramount Pictures

She recalled being turned down for roles in the 1988 film "Working Girl" and the 1991 film "Silence of the Lambs" when she was in her early 20s because directors thought she was "too young."

Story continues

Ringwald was clear that the height of her fame in the 1980s was a different time in Hollywood, so even some of her movies could be considered problematic in 2023.

She also told The Guardian that she can't watch her 1985 film "The Breakfast Club," about teenagers from different social groups who bond while in weekend detention together, with her daughter Adele because of the sexist, outdated tropes it promotes.

"She's very liberal. I mean, I'm very liberal, but she's another level. Which she should be, and I'm glad," she said of her 13-year-old.

Read the original article on Insider
Interview: Establishing relations with China most important diplomatic decision, says Dominican Republic minister

Xinhua) 10:05, May 01, 2023

SANTO DOMINGO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Establishing relations with China "has been the most important diplomatic decision" for the Dominican Republic in the past 25 years, Minister of Policies for Regional Integration Miguel Mejia has said.

Mejia made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua prior to the fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Beijing and Santo Domingo which falls on May 1.

"In China, the Dominican Republic has an infinite market to develop favorable trade for both countries. Everything we produce for export, both in goods and services, is in demand in China," he said.

The official noted that in the past five years China has become the Dominican Republic's second-largest trading partner and a win-win relationship has been established.

Mejia also recalled cooperation with China during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Beijing sent health supplies to Santo Domingo and made Chinese vaccines available to the Caribbean nation.

"If today the Dominican Republic is an example of the good management of the pandemic, much is due to the generosity of China," he said.

Highlighting the benefits that the Belt and Road Initiative has brought to his country's development, Mejia said that the Dominican Republic has "a privileged geographical location" which makes this initiative very beneficial.

Having made a number of visits to China since the 1990s, the official commented that China's foreign policy is based on mutual respect and equality.

China does not seek hegemony, nor is it selfish, Mejia noted, adding that this is contrary to how the West acts with its domineering vision.

"China has different principles, based on mutual respect, equality of conditions and a win-win proposition," he said, while also commending China's contributions to multilateralism.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
DENVER (AP)  When Tomas Beauford was arrested after getting into a fight at a group home for intellectually disabled people in 2014, a device he wore around his wrist to help regulate his seizures was confiscated as if it were jewelry when he got to jail, according to a lawsuit filed by his mother. When he refused to take an array of medications there for his epilepsy and mental illness, he was allowed to skip them even though he had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, the lawsuit said.

Nearly a decade after Beauford was found dead in his cell after allegedly suffering multiple seizures behind bars, lawyers for Tiffany Marsh announced Monday that she won a $2 million settlement with Mesa County and the health care company which the county had hired to provide medical care for people housed at its jail.

Her lawsuit alleged that jail workers did not provide Beauford medical attention after witnessing his seizures during a six-week stay in jail. He was found dead on April 16, 2014, his body on the ground and his head wedged inside the bottom shelf of a desk in his cell, after deputies had witnessed him having seizures in the hours before, according to Marsh's lawsuit.

It's just like they gave up on my kid completely, said Marsh, who had urged jail staff to try offering her son Sprite or root beer to coax him take his medications, as she had.

One of her lawyers, David Lane, said Beauford, who had an IQ of 52, should never have been put in jail in the first place. He said police should have just diffused the situation at the group home and then allowed staffers to handle things.

Once the machine gets turned on, stopping the machine is almost impossible, he said, referring to the criminal justice system.

Under the settlement, no one was disciplined for Beauford's death, Lane said. The county did not admit any wrongdoing but did agree to place a plaque with Beauford's photo on it in the lobby of the jail so those who work there will see it every day. The county has also promised to provide annual trainings on inmates who refuse to take medication, intellectually disabled inmates and recognizing and treating seizures.

Story continues

The current Mesa County sheriff, Todd Rowell, also wrote a letter of apology to Marsh as part of the deal.

We take our responsibilities seriously and while it may be difficult to find any positive from the loss of a loved one, please know we have examined and will continue to look for ways to improve ourselves, our policies and procedures to make sure that all life is respected and cared for to the best of our ability, he wrote.

Mesa County agreed to pay $1.6 million under the settlement and Correctional Health Care Companies, Inc., which is now part of Wellpath, paid $400,000.

The county referred questions to the sheriff's office. Spokesperson Wendy Likes said the office regretted the loss of Beauford's life but said that it does not comment on litigation.

Wellpath did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the settlement.
logos of social media applications Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Messenger, Hyperlapse and Telegram Buda Mendes / Staff/ Getty Images

Katie Sorensen, a self-described "mom influencer," has been convicted of falsifying a police report over two years after she made a viral video claiming a Hispanic couple attempted to kidnap her children, The Washington Post reports.

Sorensen filed the police report in December 2020 after visiting a Michael's craft store in Petaluma, California, with her two children, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said in a press release. After making her purchase, she returned to her car with her children and drove out of the parking lot. "A few minutes later, she called police to report that a couple had tried to abduct her children," the Post summarizes. Sorensen then posted Instagram videos about the alleged incident, adding "significant details" she didn't share with police, prosecutors said. She also shared her story on a local news channel, KTVU.

Sorensen's public accounts of the incident prompted police to re-interview her, which is when "she identified a couple in Michael's surveillance footage as the would-be kidnappers," the Post adds. But the police later determined her story to be a fabrication that was "resoundingly contradicted" by the couple she accused and the surveillance footage. In April 2021, she was charged with "three misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting a crime to government officials."

After a week-long trial in Sonoma County Superior Court, during which prosecutors claimed she made the whole thing up, jurors found Sorenson guilty of one count of filing a false police report. She was acquitted of two other counts of false reporting to government officials and "faces up to six months in jail when she is sentenced in June," the Post summarizes.

Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said the verdict would hold Sorensen accountable while also exonerating the falsely accused couple. "The case is also important in that it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly," she said.

Story continues

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First Republic Bank Shares Plunge Over 50 Percent One Day After Earnings Report

A pedestrian walks by a First Republic bank on April 26, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Credit - Justin SullivanGetty Images

The San Francisco-based First Republic Bank recently became the third U.S. bank to close its doors in just two months, after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that most of the banks assets would be acquired by JPMorgan following a weekend sale. All locations opened as JPMorgan Chase branches on Monday.

Hot on the heels of the public failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, the move might raise alarm bells for depositors on the reliability of the banking industry. However, experts say government protections safeguard most depositors in the event of a bank failurean event that is far more unlikely than recent headlines might make it seem.

Read More: First Republic Bank Seized by Regulators and Sold to JPMorgan Chase

We have thousands of banks in the U.S., and very few of them fail. says Morris Pearl, former managing director of BlackRock, who worked with the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and FDIC to assess the cost of the Citibank bailout in 2008. And we have an excellent record of the government taking care of depositors in the banks that do fail.

What happens if my bank closes?

Despite the macro implications of a bank failure, a banks closure doesnt have much impact on most individuals pocketbooks. With the exception of IndyMac, which failed in 2008 and left over 8,000 depositors at a loss of nearly $266 million according to the LA Times, Pearl says that all deposits from failed banks have been protectedin part because the FDIC changed regulations swiftly after IndyMacs failure to ensure any future depositors wouldnt be hung out to dry.

In the case of First Republic and other FDIC-insured banks, customers have not had much to mourn save the personal relationship they might have had with a smaller bank, Pearl says. People at First Republic Bank are not even going to be out of their money for an hour, he says. So it didnt really affect them at all.

Story continues

How do I protect my money?

There are a few ways to keep track of how your bank is doing. A banks stock price, and whether theyre trying to raise money through a share offering or sell off stock, might be an indicator of problems. Taking a look at the banks balance sheets can also point to the kind of investments theyre making and their viability.

Check very simple things like is the bank making a profit? Pearl recommends. If the bank is losing money, you have a problem.

But for those unlikely to find themselves digging through financial reports, the key thing is to check if your bank is covered by FDIC insurance, which will ensure that any deposit under $250,000 is recovered in the event of a failure. If your bank is covered by the FDIC, your money is protected without any action on your part. (Its important to note that some products that banks offer, like stocks and bonds, are not covered by FDIC insurance.)

There are several ways to check if your bank is coveredlook for the FDIC sign at your bank, ask a bank representative, call the FDIC at 877-275-3342, or use the FDICs BankFind tool.

Those with deposits at big banks like JPMorgan Chase, which holds roughly 10% of the nations bank deposits, are likely safe, given that the banks are considered too big to fail.

Keep your money in an FDIC-insured bank if you have $250,000 or less. If you have more than that I would go with one of the big banks, he says. The government is not going to let them fail, he says.

What other options are there?

For individuals or businesses with more than $250,000 in deposits, Pearl says its possible to divide funds between banks. One way to do this is through an Insured Cash Sweep, which distributes funds across banks to keep funds below the FDIC insurance limit.

You can also put your money in a money market funda mutual fund which invests money into safe investments such as Treasury bonds. Even if the people who manage the fund go bankrupt, the fund itself would still be safe, he says.

Pearl advises against pulling your money from the banking system entirely. Whatever you do with your money, there is some risk. If you have your money in cash in your desk drawer at home, your house might burn down. If you have your money in your pocket, someone might mug you, he says.

I would contend that having your money in an FDIC-insured bank has less risk than most other things you could do.
Fort Worth incumbents are flush with cash with days to go before Saturdays election for mayor and City Council.

Mayor Mattie Parker has the most cash on hand with $437,506, followed by unopposed District 3 council member Michael Crain with $335,935, according to a Star-Telegram review of campaign finance reports submitted April 28.

The reports cover money donated to the campaigns between March 28 and April 26.

Parker raised a little over $200,000 during that period with 10% of those donations comping from the Accountable Government Fund, a political action committee based in Dripping Springs.

That groups biggest funder is Sundance Square co-owner Ed Bass, who donated $100,000 on March 6, according to reports submitted to the Texas Secretary of States Office.

Crain raised a little under $40,000 during the month of April, including $5,000 from the Accountable Government Fund.

Two challengers, attorney Pamela Boggess running in District 9, and small business owner Italia de la Cruz running in District 6, each received over $100,000 in in-kind contributions, or contributions of goods and services rather than straight cash.

Most of this support came from the Fort Worth Excellence PAC, which contributed $107,481.97 to Boggess and $95,484.40 to De La Cruz, according to campaign finance reports.

The group is funded heavily by Don Woodard Jr., who runs the businesses services firm Western Commerce Group. It gained attention recently for campaign mailers attacking the records of incumbent city council members Elizabeth Beck in District 9 and Jared Williams in District 6.

Woodard has donated $230,000 of the $234,950 the group has raised this election cycle, according to reports submitted to the Texas Secretary of States Office.

He also donated $25,000 of the roughly $29,000 Boggess raised between Jan. 20 and March 27, according to campaign finance reports filed with the city of Fort Worth.

He did not respond to a text message Monday requesting comment on his donations.

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Becks largest donor in her most recent campaign filing was the Fort Worths firefighters union, which contributed roughly a third of the $94,916 she raised in April.

She also received $10,000 from Lee Bass, brother of Ed Bass and co-owner of the City Center Towers downtown.

Williams largest donor in his most recent filing was the Accountable Government Fund, which donated $5,000 of the $24,532.82 he raised in April.

In District 7, nonprofit executive Macy Hill continued her fundraising strength bringing in just over $96,000 in the month of April, according to her most recent campaign finance report.

Hill is running to replace outgoing council member Leonard Firestone, who is serving as Hills campaign treasurer.

Early voting continues through Tuesday.
Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat censured last week by Republicans in the state House, is suing her state and its House speaker over her punishment.

Zephyr, along with three of her constituents who are also a part of the suit, argues the Legislature took retaliatory and unlawful action against her for engaging in speech protected under federal law.

Montana House Republicans last week voted to censure Zephyr, barring her from the House floor, anteroom and gallery for the remaining nine days of Montanas legislative session. She has the option to participate remotely, but only by voting.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in state court, argues House Republicans, including Speaker Matt Regier, violated her rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and disenfranchised the 11,000 Montanans Zephyr was elected to represent when they voted to prevent Zephyr from participating in legislative debate.

Voters elect their Representatives to do more than simply vote on bills, Mondays lawsuit states. Representatives also are elected to use of the floor of the House to pursue their constituents interests and views  using the platform provided by the Peoples House to educate and persuade their colleagues and the public through speech, debate, and lobbying.

Defendants lawless silencing and Censure of Representative Zooey Zephyr extinguishes a vital part of the job her constituents elected her to do, the lawsuit adds.

Zephyr, one of the states first openly transgender lawmakers, has faced calls for her censure since late last month, when she said lawmakers who voted to pass a bill to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youths would have blood on your hands.

If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture. This body should be ashamed, Zephyr said last month on the House floor. The bill, Senate Bill 99, was signed into law late last week by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, three days after Zephyr was censured.

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State House and Senate Republicans immediately following Zephyrs remarks demanded she be censured for attempting to shame members of the Legislature by using inappropriate and uncalled-for language.

In the week leading up to Zephyrs censure, Regier refused to recognize Zephyr for debate on a single bill and deactivated her microphone.

This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, Zephyr said Monday in a statement released by her attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana.

House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself, she said. By doing so, theyve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government. The Montana State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.

Regier did not return a request for comment.

The vote to censure Zephyr comes just over a month after Republicans in Oklahoma voted to censure Democratic Rep. Mauree Turner, the nations first openly nonbinary state legislator, after Turner allowed a protestor at the capitol to use their office following an arrest.

In Nebraska last week, Democratic Sen. Megan Hunt, the mother of a transgender child, said she was being investigated for a potential conflict of interest after she voted against a bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors.

Two Black Democratic state lawmakers  Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson  were expelled from Tennessees GOP-controlled legislature in March after they joined a protest at the capitol calling for stronger gun laws.

Both legislators have since been reinstated. State Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white and protested alongside Jones and Pearson, was not expelled.

This is performance litigation  political activism masquerading as a lawsuit, said Emily Flower, press secretary for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen in criticizing the suit.

The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans. Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.

Updated at 3:37 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Zooey Zephyr, a transgender Montana lawmaker who was barred from the state House of Representatives for criticising a slate of anti-trans bills, has filed a lawsuit against the bodys top Republican officials.

The suit, brought alongside the ACLU of Montana, alleges that the Montana House leadership violated Ms Zephyrs First Amendment rights.

This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, Rep Zephyr, the first transgender representative elected to the legislature in Montana history, said in a statement.

House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself, she added. By doing so, theyve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government. The Montana State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.

It also seeks the Missoula Democrats reinstatement to the legislature.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 2,200 people will attend the coronation of Britain's King Charles, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, including international representatives from 203 countries as well as community and charity workers.

The congregation at London's Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, will also comprise Nobel Prize winners, religious representatives, and heads of state and foreign ministers, the palace said in a statement.

In addition to those guests, 400 young people representing charitable organisations will be able to watch the coronation service and processions from inside St Margaret's Church, next to the Abbey, the statement said.

The palace has been steadily releasing details of Charles' coronation, which is set to be smaller in scale than that of his mother Queen Elizabeth in 1953 but still replete with pomp and pageantry, reflecting traditions dating back 1,000 years.

More than 8,200 guests attended Queen Elizabeth's coronation ceremony, which also took place at Westminster Abbey, according to the royal family's website. Elizabeth died last September aged 96.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The United Nations is warning that more than 800,000 people could flee Sudan to neighboring countries amid the ongoing conflict between rival military factions.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office, along with other governments and partners, is preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighboring countries, tweeted UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.

We hope it doesnt come to that, but if violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety, Grandi said.

In Sudan, two former allies are battling for power in a conflict thats killed more than 400 civilians since fighting began last month in Khartoum, according to Sudan Doctors Syndicate.

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of Sudans armed forces is clashing with Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.

The two forces extended a humanitarian cease-fire on Sunday, but the move has not appeared to quell the conflict.

The fighting has prompted many to flee the conflict. More than 100 American citizens on Monday reached Saudi Arabia from Sudan, making up about 1,000 citizens that the U.S. government has been able to evacuate from Sudan since the fighting started.

On April 28, the UNHCR estimated that more than 50,000 people had already fled Sudan to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, including both Sudanese citizens and refugees forced to return to their countries.

Sudan hosts over one million refugees from the region. Like all civilians, they are impacted by violence and cut off from humanitarian aid. More than 3000 South Sudanese are now fleeing back daily to their fragile country, Grandi tweeted.

The scale & speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented in the country, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday, upon dispatching the U.N.s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator to the region.

I once again call for the protection of civilians & respect for humanitarians, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville seized more than 900 pounds of marijuana last week, according to the regional Customs office.

The marijuana was vacuum-sealed and packaged in 36 boxes on three pallets, officials said. The drugs would have had a street value of more than $2.27 million, according to U.S. Customs.

The shipment was from Canada and it was headed to a corporation in California, Customs officials said. The marijuana was discovered after officers took an x-ray and spotted an organic anomaly inconsistent with the manifested items and inspected the shipment, Customs officials said in a news release.

Our officers are focused on their mission to protect the United States, LaFond Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the Chicago Field Office, said in a press release. Smugglers constantly try to send illegal drugs into the country, but our officers are there to stop these narcotics from reaching our communities.

While medical marijuana is legal in several states, the sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana is illegal under U.S. federal law. U.S. Customs said the information was handed over to Homeland Security, which is conducting an investigation.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  More than 100 U.S. citizens finally made it to the safety of a port in Saudi Arabia Monday after evacuating the deadly fighting in Sudan. Some were aboard a second convoy of buses that left Sudan's battle-scarred capital of Khartoum on Friday, making the 500-mile drive to reach Port Sudan on the country's east coast.

Sunday night, along with about 200 more civilians from 16 other countries, they left the port on board the U.S. Navy fast transport ship Brunswick. Monday morning, after a 200-mile, 12-hour Red Sea crossing, they reached Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

2 Sudan generals are at war with each other. Here's what to know.

There was celebration and relief among the weary people coming ashore. They were among about 1,000 U.S. civilians the American government has managed to evacuate from Sudan after more than two weeks of chaos unleashed by Sudan's two most powerful men battling for power.

Civilians disembark from the U.S. Navy transport ship Brunswick at the port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after being evacuated from Port Sudan amid clashes in the east African nation, May 1, 2023. / Credit: CBS News

The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, led by rival commanding generals, has left more than 500 people dead according to the United Nations, which expects that to be a low preliminary estimate.

Despite another formal extension of a ceasefire between the sides over the weekend, the sound of shelling and gunfire were still heard Monday morning, and Sudan's two largest cities, neighboring Khartoum and Omdurman, were littered with overturned, burnt-out vehicles and rubble-strewn roads.

It's a new normal that has driven a frantic exodus of not only foreign nationals, but Sudanese desperate to escape their own country. The sporadic violence continuing despite almost a week of ceasefires has complicated the international evacuation efforts and led to crowds and confusion at Sudan's border crossings.

After a Turkish evacuation flight came under fire earlier in the week outside Khartoum, U.S. officials said the bus convoy carrying Americans on the harrowing drive from Khartoum to Port Sudan was defended from overhead, presumably watched over by drones.

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Even after they made it to Port Sudan, the Americans were stuck there for more than 24 hours before they could board the Brunswick to escape the country.

"I feel relieved," Brooklyn, New York resident Mohamed Farag told CBS News as he came off the ship in Jeddah on Monday. Despite difficulty receiving emails due to communications outages in Sudan, Farag lauded the efforts of the U.S. Embassy staff from Khartoum, who had to orchestrate the exodus largely in exile after American diplomats and their families were evacuated more than a week ago.

"Thank God the ones [emails] we did get, we used it, and we're here," he told CBS News.

Norvibi, just 11, said she was exhausted and afraid after the ordeal of reaching Saudi Arabia.

"It was very scary, because I was scared of the army," she said.

Another American evacuee, Melez Khaled from Queens, New York, said she was also "relieved," adding that she felt "way better than how I felt in Sudan."

Walking along the port in Jeddah, she said she was "terrified" back in Sudan's capital, where it was "scary to hear gunshots outside your house."

Khaled said she had seen dead bodies on the streets of Khartoum, and the fear as their bus convoy trundled toward the coast was getting stopped by armed factions, as they "might take you off the bus You really don't know, because they all have the same uniform."

She planned to fly straight back to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia.

"I feel relieved," she said. "I'm happy."

But not every American who wanted to escape has made it out of Sudan. There is no confirmed count on how many U.S. nationals remain in the county, but U.S. officials said Sunday that fewer than 5,000 Americans had sought guidance on how to get out.

Two U.S. nationals, including a doctor who lived in Iowa City who was stabbed to death the day he and his family tried to leave, have been killed amid the chaos.

Overnight, more anxious people crowded into holding areas at Port Sudan, waiting for the next ship to spirit them and their families to safety.

If and when they do escape, they will leave Sudan behind, teetering on the edge of all-out civil war.

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Fighting began in Sudan on April 15

Read also: Ukraine evacuates 138 people from conflict-stricken Sudanese capital  HUR

The operation in Sudan was much more difficult than that in Afghanistan in 2021 since there was no protected American airbase, aviation, or armored vehicles in Sudan. Also, a limited number of people were directly involved in the operation.

A special forces group of less than 10 people took part in the operation, said Yarema, a participant in the operation.

Compared to the rescue operations of the United States, which involved helicopters, armored vehicles, and special forces; (compared to the) French, Qataris, Saudis. The Saudis even had a missile cruiser stationed near Port Sudan. We acted alone, without armored vehicles and heavy weapons, since all our forces are engaged at the front.

The HUR said that the mission had been complicated by the geographical location of Khartoum as it is in the heart of the country.

The Ukrainian military had to travel 900 km through the territory that passes through many hands, and one route could have more than 40-50checkpoints. In addition, there was no contact with the Ukrainians.

It is still forbidden to disclose the details of the operation but, according to journalists, many other countries have already used the Ukrainian intelligence officers route.

The HUR reported on April 25 that Ukraine had evacuated 138 people, including 87 Ukrainians, from Khartoum.

Ukraines Foreign Ministry announced on April 26 that 91 Ukrainians had already been evacuated from Sudan. Most were aviation specialists  aviation engineers, pilots and flight attendants.

Fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudans Armed Forces began on April 15, and has resulted in over 300 deaths.

The battles have caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, resulting in problems such as access to water, electricity, fuel, food, and medicine.

The sides agreed on a temporary ceasefire on April 25.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
CCTV - Krisanapong Detraphiphat/Moment

Two in five people have turned to DIY security measures including doorbell cameras and alarms in the past year because of fears over crime, polling has found.

More than half of all Britons have acted to make themselves safer while 40 per cent have added a camera, alarm or another measure at their home.

Market researcher Savanta asked 2,181 adults between April 21 and 23 what they had done in the past year as a result of worrying about crime in their area.

One in five (21 per cent) said they avoid leaving their home when it is dark, while 19 per cent installed a doorbell with a camera, such as a Ring doorbell.

Seventeen per cent have installed CCTV cameras on their home, rising to 30 per cent among those aged 18 to 24. Among the wider population, 11 per cent invested in stronger door locks while seven per cent became members of their local Neighbourhood Watch.

Six per cent of respondents said they had even bought a dog in the hope their new pet acted as a deterrent to would-be criminals. A further eight per cent said they had either changed the route they take to work or to the shops, suggesting they feared for their safety otherwise.

Creating padlock neighbourhoods

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats leader, who commissioned the polling said: By leaving our streets unsafe the Conservatives are creating padlock neighbourhoods where millions of residents are having to take security into their own hands.

It is a scandal that millions of Brits are turning to DIY security because the Conservative Government has completely failed to tackle crime on our streets.

People pay their fair share and at the very least expect proper community policing, where officers are visible on their streets.

But a spokesman for the Conservatives accused Sir Eds party of having a shameful record.

They pointed to Lib Dem opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which introduced tougher sentences for child murderers and sex offenders.

Story continues

The spokesman said: Time and time again, the Liberal Democrats have voted against tougher sentences for the worst crimes and they want to go further to strip our police officers of the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

Forces let offenders off

The Government last week met its manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 police officers in England and Wales, bringing the total number to 149,572. However, critics point out that forces are either routinely letting offenders off or not attending crime scenes.

In April, data showed that police were failing to attend more than three in five antisocial behaviour incidents, covering 4.3 million reports in the past four years.

A separate analysis of crime statistics showed that police failed to solve more than a million thefts and burglaries in the year to the end of June 2022, with more than 3,000 investigations closed every single day because no suspect could be found.

Major political parties have stepped up their focus on crime in recent weeks, with both the Conservatives and Labour launching high-profile policies themed around antisocial behaviour as part of the local election campaign.

Rishi Sunak in March set out plans to ban both the sale and possession of laughing gas, while police will also be stationed at antisocial behaviour hotspots with graffiti vandals required to clean up their mess within 48 hours as part of the crackdown.

One of Sir Keir Starmers five missions for a possible future Labour government is safer streets, which has seen him commit the party to halving serious violent crime, as well as raising confidence in the police and the court system to its highest levels on record.
A pickup truck drives along a gravel road in front of badlands formations in southwestern South Dakota.

Steam rose from snow puddles hours after melting across southwestern South Dakota over Easter weekend.

Deer are changing their migration patterns because of drought; magpies have nearly disappeared from the prairie, Native American elders observe.

This is the shifting landscape of the Rosebud Reservation, home of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, or the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Scientists with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center in Colorado partnered with the tribe for a multi-year study of how the reservations environment will change in the next century.

The changes threaten the tribes economy, such as ranching cattle and bison, and tribal members lives with worsening storms like the December 2022 storms that killed six people, including a 12-year-old child. The changes prompted the tribe and scientists to create a Climate Adaptation Plan, which was released in 2022 and will be implemented beginning this year.

The plan urges the tribe to expand food sovereignty and local processing facilities, promote habitat conservation, plant trees and native plants, and build a climate center, among other recommendations.

Each generation born is responsible for the next seven generations, said Phil Two Eagle, executive director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council and leader of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe climate change working group. The Lakota concept of a generation is 72 years, so if you multiply that by seven thats 504 years we are responsible for today.

A summer storm rolls through the plains of western South Dakota.

What do scientists predict will happen?

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe was awarded a nearly $1.7 million federal grant in 2022 to implement the adaptation report and build the Sicangu Climate Center. The center will track environmental changes and store data. Tribal leaders expect itll be operational within five years.

But already, preliminary findings highlight the urgency to act, Two Eagle said.

The region is seeing a steeper increase in precipitation than the rest of the world, yet hotter temperatures and worsening droughts in the summer with higher potential of wildfires.

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In the last 30 years, only six years saw annual precipitation totals less than the 20th century average on the reservation, said Robin OMalley, retired director of the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center who worked on the report, during a webinar presentation.

Thats leading to the steam rising from puddles, or evapotranspiration, which is when moisture is evaporated from the ground and air. Its happening to a degree not seen before, OMalley said, and its leading to wet springs and falls but dry summers.

The notion of drought just being a lack of water is no longer how we think about it, OMalley said. Its a combination of lack of water at higher temperatures and lower relative humidity that actively sucks water out of the air.

Precipitation changes will change what grows in the area, OMalley added. The report suggests the grassland will shift to a shrub-covered landscape, which will affect not only what grows in the area but what livestock and wildlife can survive.

Spiky yucca plants grow on rolling plains in western South Dakota.

Protecting the Oyate

Once the climate center is operational, thatll give Rosebud Sioux bulletproof and court-quality data to defend their rights as a sovereign nation and gain partnerships, OMalley said, including water right claims.

Weve seen people come after the resources the tribes have before and take them away, so they need to be watchful of that, he added.

The report highlights the risk to communities and Indigenous culture and knowledge. Paula Antoine, director of the Sicangu Oyate Land Office, is encouraging tribal members to forage and harvest native plants, such as sage, to encourage growth. Such plants and medicine central to Lakota culture must be protected and their importance documented, she said.

The tribe has also been in the process of planting thousands of trees in the last few years, following a series of 2012 fires that burned over 45,000 acres of forested land in the southwestern part of the reservation.

Proposals in the report include ensuring all homes have reliable sources of heating and cooling, improving substandard housing and considering rooftop solar energy. It also encourages the tribe to strengthen food sovereignty and produce energy in the community to sustain its own grid  produce what we consume, according to Two Eagle.

Were thinking about the survival of our people, protecting our lives and property  our homes, our land, our water, our resources, he said.

While the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is the first tribal nation in the northern great plains to create a climate adaptation plan, the tribe plans to share its knowledge with other tribes in South Dakota and other governmental entities, Antoine said.

Just because we have a reservation boundary or a state or county boundary, doesnt mean climate change is going to stop there, Antoine said. We need to work together and combine our efforts to help the people of our region and help our neighbors.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Rosebud Sioux Tribe to implement climate adaptation plan
UCLA students Georgia Lavery Van Parijs, left, and Julianne Lempert stand for a portrait in the archways of Royce Hall on the Los Angeles campus. The friends have helped sponsor a bill in the state Legislature that would require all California colleges to offer transportation to the nearest sexual assault forensic exam after students are assaulted. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Weeks before UC Irvine opened its sexual assault forensic exam site, a student needed it.

She walked into the nearest emergency room after her attack only to find out that it did not offer rape test kits. By the time she was rerouted, it was 2 a.m., and the student, exhausted in the throes of trauma, declined to make the trip to Anaheim to the nearest facility offering an exam  more than 19 miles off campus.

"It really hit me hard," said Eli Pascal, director of UCI's Campus Assault Resources and Education office, who helped direct the student to services. "What if we had just been open? Would this student had been OK to come back to campus and let us take care of her there?"

Eli Pascal, director of UCI Care, stands for a portrait in the exam room at UC Irvine's forensic exam. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Most colleges in California  and across the country  do not offer rape kits on campus, and some school officials and healthcare experts are resistant to demands to do so, pointing to a slew of financial and logistical concerns including a shortage of qualified nurses to administer the specialized exams.

The exams include DNA collection key to prosecuting rapists and often provide other medical care such as sexually transmitted infection testing and emergency contraception.

Prior attempts at state legislation to require forensic exams on college campuses have failed, but student advocacy groups aren't giving up. They are lobbying politicians and putting pressure on university administrators to create more on-campus treatment for sexual violence, pointing to research that shows college students are both more likely to be sexually assaulted and less likely to report the assault to police.

The new exam room at UCI, which opened in April, is a potential model for better systemic access. The private space  the only of its kind on any college campus in the state  offers amenities such as a shower and new T-shirts and underwear, as victims' clothing often becomes evidence. Every detail is "trauma informed," Pascal said, down to the soft lighting and calm shade of sage green painted on the walls.

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"It's been designed with the idea that if I were experiencing one of the worst things that could happen in my life, and I walked through this space, what do I want to see and how do I want to feel?" Pascal said.

Forensic nurse Malinda Wheeler, at the UC Irvine forensic exam site, demonstrates the use of a light source that is used to identify physiological fluids on sexual assault victims. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Items from a standardized sexual assault forensic evidence collection kit are photographed at UC Irvine's forensic exam site. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The UCI site is proof that it can be done, but it took years of planning, a $350,000 grant and many conversations with local health experts and law enforcement to make happen, Pascal said. An on-call nurse certified in sexual assault exams will report to the campus space when needed.

While California has among the strongest sexual assault protections in the country and was the first to implement college campus standards such as a law that requires "affirmative consent," many students must travel several miles to forensic exams.

According to a recent analysis by the social justice group GENup, the average distance for a University of California student to a sexual assault exam is nearly 12 miles, and 9.5 miles for California State University students.

Schools in rural parts of the state face longer distances. At UC Merced, students are referred to a treatment center in Fresno, a drive that takes nearly an hour. In El Dorado County, Lake Tahoe Community College students are typically referred to a medical center in Reno, 42 miles away from campus.

Officials for both colleges told The Times that they either offer students an option for free rides to care or refer them to police for transportation.

But student groups including GENup and Ignite National are sponsoring a bill making its way through the state Legislature that could make dedicated transportation a requirement of all colleges  a move they hope will push more victims to seek exams and report their assaults.

Even students who face short distances to exams report being reluctant to seek care off campus.

Last year, around 1:30 a.m., a UCLA student got into an Uber alone in the same clothes that she was raped in an hour earlier. During the 20-minute ride from her part of campus to the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, she felt paralyzed with fear alone in a car with a male driver, but a friend had convinced her she should get an exam.

She remembers passing by the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on campus, ranked among the best in the country, and wondering how it was possible that they couldn't give her a sexual assault forensic exam that night.

Left, toiletry items are available inside the inclusive, ADA-compliant restroom at the facility. At right, UC Irvine's forensic exam site team  from left, nurse Malinda Wheeler; Tierney Anderson of UCI's Title IX Office; Eli Pascal, director of UCI Care; and Vanessa Reyna, program director of sexual assault victim services at Waymakers. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

A UCLA spokesperson said that the university offers 24/7 transportation to the Santa Monica treatment center, including by way of university-owned vehicles and through a contract with a taxi service.

But the 21-year-old student, who asked not to be named, citing privacy and safety concerns, said she didn't know that. The UCLA hotline she called didn't mention it. Care on campus is the best solution, she said.

"To get there, even with transportation, is a mental hurdle that you have to overcome," the student told The Times in an interview. "If the administration cant acknowledge these issues and try to meet the students halfway, then they don't actually care about the needs of the students."

While the treatment center is only about five miles away from some UCLA dorm rooms, the student almost didn't make the trip. She credits the renowned Rape Treatment Center with saving her life, in part because of the mental health follow-up appointments she was offered.

UCLA spokesperson Bill Kisliuk said in a statement that the university is "fully committed to the well-being of our students, including offering compassionate and complete healthcare and support resources." The Santa Monica center is the most "well equipped" resource for sexual assault care, he said, as the hospital on campus is "a busy regional trauma center."

Legislation by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa) would require most colleges to provide free transportation to and from a sexual assault forensic exam.

Drivers could include a campus health center employee and would protect student confidentiality "to the extent possible," according to Assembly Bill 1138. Universities would also be required to report annually to the Legislature the transportation services provided.

UCLA students traveled to Sacramento last month to lobby for the bill.

"Sexual violence is everywhere on college campuses. I wish I could move on. I wish I could put that time in my life behind me, but I cannot," Kate Rodgers, a UCLA student and collegiate director of policy for GENup, said outside the Capitol steps as she shared about her own assault. "The current system places the burden of coordinating care on survivors in crisis."

Weber said AB 1138 is crucial to adequately shift the onus of post-assault care to universities and away from struggling students. But details, including how much the plan would cost the state, and how to best maintain student confidentiality, are yet to be determined.

While law enforcement may seem like an obvious solution, some students, including those who are resistant to filing a police report but still want medical care, could be deterred by that option, supporters of the bill said.

The bill faces no official opposition, but universities have posed questions including whether they would be required to pick up any student who calls, even if they aren't located on campus.

According to a bill analysis by the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, the proposal continues "Californias efforts to remove barriers to reporting sexual assault," but implementation is "fraught with questions."

Still, the bill is the most tangible option for getting students better access to care, said Weber, an obstetrician and gynecologist.

She echoed concerns about calls to provide exams on campuses. She worries that the goal is unrealistic for already stretched thin healthcare workers and that such a plan would take away from crisis centers that serve the whole community  not just students. Even some hospitals are unable to provide a full-time forensic examiner.

"The important thing is making sure these patients get seen and get cared for by the appropriately trained individuals in a timely manner," Weber said. "These kids are at college to learn and shouldn't have to worry about being assaulted on campus. I don't think putting one of these forensics specialists on campus is the best answer, but we do know that they need access to this."

Lake Tahoe Community College spokeperson Diane Lewis called demands for on-campus care a "truly commendable" suggestion for a "clear problem" but warned of hurdles for colleges like hers with small budgets and no medical center on campus.

"Smaller community colleges (and even the larger ones) will struggle to have trained staff necessary to offer this service," she said in an email.

Eli Pascal, director of UCI Care at UC Irvine, says that every detail of the center design is "trauma informed," down to the soft lighting and calm shade of sage green painted on the walls. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Former Democratic Assemblymember Cristina Garcia tried to pass a bill in 2020 that would have required colleges to provide exams on site if the nearest test was at least five miles away from urban campuses and at least 10 miles away from rural campuses.

The bill failed, with detractors pointing to potential costs as one issue, but Garcia said the opposition is misguided as colleges grapple with "pervasive" sexual violence. Nearly 26% of undergraduate women reported experiencing "nonconsensual sexual contact by force or inability to consent," according to a report issued by the Assn. of American Universities in 2020.

University budgets  and the state's budget  are a reflection of values, Garcia said.

"At the end of the day, you have the students themselves telling the administration that this is what they need, and they're being consistently ignored and pushed aside," she said. "It makes me question the commitment to these victims."

Malinda Wheeler, a registered nurse and president of the California Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners Assn., said the state needs to do better at getting information about existing services into the hands of students. She estimates that she performs less than 20 exams a year on college students even though hundreds of thousands are enrolled in schools in the region of Southern California she serves.

Many students don't realize that you can seek a sexual assault exam without initiating an investigation with police, she said.

Training for examiners is crucial to preventing patients from being retraumatized by what can be an invasive exam, Wheeler said. No corners should be cut when it comes to who is allowed to administer the exams, she said.

"I think the bigger issue for colleges is not about having an examiner on campus, it's about why don't people report? I think there should be more awareness," Wheeler said.

Students like Julianne Lempert, a UCLA student and policy chair for Ignite National, have been pushing the issue for months and have no plans of stopping.

UCLA students Georgia Lavery Van Parijs, left, and Julianne Lempert want all college campuses to provide sexual assault forensic exams. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

They have done extensive research, logging exact distances from campuses and factoring in traffic or whether public transit is an option. They have called rape treatment centers affiliated with colleges across the state and peppered them with questions: How many nurses are on call? Are the police involved? Do students get first priority?

"She had absolutely no idea what I was talking about," one student wrote in a description of a call seeking information on exams. "Very nice and trauma informed," one student wrote of another.

"You're just surviving one of the most traumatic things that can happen to a person and you're being met with logistical and administrative issues. It discourages survivors from starting their healing journey," Lempert said.

Lempert sees AB 1138 as a "great first step" but believes that the state should find a way to make on-campus care a priority.

"The schools we're talking about are powerhouses. They have the brain power and the money. How dare they say it's not possible," she said. "It's a choice."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
You're definitely going to want a pair of these comfy sandals! (Photo: Amazon and Zappos)

Everyone knows that the right pair of shoes can make or break your day. Youve likely already found you favorite pair of comfortable walking sneakers but with summer on its way, if youre looking to let your feet breathe, finding a comfy pair of sandals is key.

While there are thousands of sandals in stores that claim to be comfortable, youve probably found out the hard way that most are more painful than they look. So instead of wasting money on options that give you blisters, pinched toes and achy feet, we turned to podiatrists to find out exactly how to shop for the perfect pair of comfy sandals.

What should you look for when shopping for a comfortable sandal?

As with any shoe, the most important part of finding a comfortable sandal is finding one that fits just right. The sandal should support your entire foot. If too big, your foot will slide, if too small, your foot will hang off the sides or the back. Sandals should provide the proper support for your feet. I tell all patients to avoid the flat, inexpensive flip flops said Dr. Alan L. Bass, DPM, CPC, of Central Jersey Foot and Ankle Care. Dr. Hillary Brenner, DPM at NYC Private Medical agreed saying you want to make sure the width and the length of the sandal perfectly match your foot. For example, the sandal should be as wide as your foot to provide proper support.

You also want to make sure the sandals soles are sturdy and wont bend in half like a burrito, said Dr. Brenner as that can cause some serious damage. Melissa Lockwood, DPM, a podiatrist at Heartland Foot & Ankle Associates in Bloomington, Ill., tells Yahoo Life, if you can easily bend the base of a sandal its not giving you the support you need and "its almost like you're walking barefoot.

Are there any features or materials to look for?

When it comes to the upper part of a sandal, youll want to look for materials that are soft against the foot and wont cause unwanted blisters. Dr. Brenner recommends looking for options made from vegan leather, soft leather or suede material and adds you to make sure there aren't any straps going over bony prominences to prevent any uncomfortable rubbing.

As for the bottom, the sole should be made from a durable rubber that provides excellent traction on different types of surfaces. Dr. Brenner also added for the midsole it's good to have a material called EVA which helps with shock absorption or polyurethane, which is lightweight resilient, flexible and helps with shock absorption.

With these tips in mind, we scoured the internet to find the most comfortable sandals for women available, across multiple categories. Whether youre looking for supportive slides or hiking sandals with good traction, there's an option on this list for just about everyone. Read on to find the pair that's best for you.

Birkenstock Arizonas have been known as one of the most comfortable sandals around for decades. The classic slides boast a deep heel cup that keeps the natural padding of your foot in place and helps distribute your body weight more evenly. The suede-lined footbed molds to your feet over time for added comfort, while the raised toe bed gives you grip so your feet arent sliding around. Even better, the two straps are adjustable so you can find a custom supportive fit. Most comfortable shoe ever - These sandals are to comfort shoes what mashed potatoes are to comfort food. Year after year, this is the one that works, raved one shopper.

Vionic Most Comfortable Podiatrist-Approved Sandal Vionic Amber Adjustable Sandal Every pair of shoes from the brand has been specially designed by a team of podiatrists to provide you with the support and comfort you need for a full day on your feet. $90 at Vionic$90 at Nordstrom

Dr. Brenner is a big fan of the podiatrist-designed brand because they are the most supportive out of a variety of sandals and they have good arch support. This cute pair is one of Vionics most popular pairs of sandals and its easy to see why. Not only do they have a Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association, but they have also been biomechanically designed to hug your arches and support your feet in comfort, The sandals have a built-in orthotic that is effective in helping to treat heel pain like plantar fasciitis) and its flexible EVA midsole absorbs shock and reduces stress on your feet, ankles, and knees. Plus, shoppers love how versatile they are. I wore the sandals out of the box walking 12,000+ steps a day and all over Old San Juan during a vacation without a single problem! They look great as well with both pants and skirts, wrote one.

I first bought the Teva Sport Sandals for a trip to Morocco and they have since became my go-to sandals. Not only do they provide me with pain-free wear but the sleek, minimalist design allows me to pair them with everything from cute dresses to flowy linen pants. The cute kicks feature polyester straps that are super soft against the skin and didn't dig in or give me blisters once, even when I was walking around for 20,000+ steps a day sightseeing. The sandals are fully adjustable thanks to the hook-and-loop straps, so I was able to find my perfect fit and not worry about them slipping or sliding. They also have a contoured footbed for comfort, a durable rubber sole and they are quick-drying so I was able to wear them to the beach and pool without worrying about getting them wet.

Another pair from the podiatrist-designed brand Vionic, these strappy leather sandals feature a sturdy thong that helps your toes get a comfortable grip and a second thicker strap behind that for even more support. There is a heel height of 1.5 inches to give you a slight boost while still making them completely walkable and they boast the brands signature Vionic technology that helps support the natural alignment of your foot from the ground up. Even people with foot issues find them incredibly comfortable and supportive. I own this sandal in every color! Extremely comfortable. I had a partially torn tibial tendon and I thought I could never wear flip-flops or sandals again until I tried these, said one.

Zappos Most Comfortable Waterproof Sandals Sperry Windward Float Slide Another one of my favorite pairs of sandals this Sperry pair. Not only are they extremely comfortable but they're waterproof, too. $45 at Zappos

Sperry has been producing high-quality footwear since its origination in 1935, and these waterproof slides are no different. Ive had a pair for over a year now and wear them every time I hit the beach or pool. In addition to being incredibly cushioned and lightweight, they are made from a durable rubber material that molds to my feet. They are on the narrow side which helps keep them in place when I wear them both in and out of the water. Even better, they have a treaded sole that gives them top-notch traction on slippery surfaces.

Another one of Dr. Brenners picks these FitFlop flip-flops are made from 100% rubber and have a APMA Seal of Acceptance for footwear found to promote good foot health. I like the FitFlop brand as the majority of their shoes have a rubber outsole (which helps with friction) and the arch is thick with a wide chunky heel giving extra support, she said. The biomechanically-engineered sandals are slip-resistant and have a soft jelly upper micro-bubble foam ergonomic footbed that is ultra-comfortable. One happy shopper wrote, These flip flops are great! They have a nice arch and a cushioned heel. I can wear them all day they are that comfortable!

These Oofos sandals are as cute as they are comfortable. The sleek slides are odor-resistant and waterproof, and they feature extra cushioning, which helps reduce stress on your feet, knees and lower back. They are approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association and come in six easy-to-match colors. One Zappos customer wrote, I cannot say enough about this shoe - best slide out there. I feel like I am walking on bouncy clouds. The only con is that it makes me hate all my other shoes.

Zappos Most Comfortable Sandals for Work Munro Pisces These supportive sandals are so sleek you can wear them anywhere  including the office. $150 at Zappos$150 at Nordstrom

If youve been on the hunt for a pair of sandals that are comfortable enough to wear all day and stylish enough to wear to work, look no further than this pair by Munro. The sandals suede-covered cork and latex footbed is super soft against your feet and provide ample cushioning, while the stretchy slingback straps provide extra support around the ankle. They have a 1-inch heel height, but shoppers say they are still incredibly comfortable to walk in. Stylish, very comfortable, and well-cushioned sandal that can be worn with capris as well as casual dresses, wrote one. This sandal is great for business travel as it packs well, is very comfortable and has the versatility of being dressed up or down. Loved this sandal so much that this is my second pair.

Looking for a sandal that you can walk in for miles in? Thousands of shoppers recommend this option from Chaco. The criss-crossing straps and toe loop keep your foot in place, while the brands patented Luvseat technology provides durability, daylong comfort, and arch support. The ChacoGrip outsoles have 3.0 mm lug depth, so you dont have to worry about slipping and sliding and they have an adjustable lock buckle at ankle, so you can find your perfect fit. Chacos never disappoint. Great sandals to wear all day. Sturdy shoes that are great for outdoor activities. Great to walk in all day, one five-star reviewer noted.

Powerstep Most Comfortable Sandals with Arch Support PowerStep Arch Supporting Thong Sandal Dr. Bass is a consultant for the brand so you know it gives you the all-day support you need. $68 at Amazon

These sleek sandals are Dr. Bass top pick because They provide a contoured arch, with shock absorbing cushioning and they have a deep heel cradle to provide stability. The orthotic sandals also have a non-slip grip on the bottoms and a soft thick thong strap that feels good against the foot. These flip flops felt perfect from the first moment I stepped into them. Good fit at the heel, great fit between the toes, and the arch support is wonderful, said one customer.  These flip flops allow your foot to remain relaxed while walking.

Its easy to see why these waterproof sandals are so in-demand. Not only do they feature a metatomical footbed that offers ample arch support, they also boast a molded EVA midsole that customers say is as comfortable as their favorite pair of running shoes. The cushioned sandals also have a closed-toe design to protect your feet from the elements, a bungee lace capture system to help you create a custom fit, and a durable rubber outsole that provides excellent traction. Shoppers also love the breathable mesh fabric straps that contour to their feet and the fact that the supportive sandals are machine-washable. These are the best sandals I have ever bought anywhere. They can get wet and it's OK! They can go with slacks, jeans, dresses, hiking, to dinner, anywhere. And if you are a clutz like me you will NEVER stub your toe, raved one.

OOFOS Most Comfortable Sandals for All Day Support Oofos Oolala Luxe Sandal These sturdy sandals have an APMA Seal of Acceptance for promoting good foot health and being of exceptional quality. $75 at Amazon$75 at Nordstrom

This flip-flop features the brands signature Oofoam technology that helps cushion your foot while you walk. The brand's special tech also absorbs 37% more impact than regular footwear foam. A patented footbed cradles your arches to minimize stress on your feet, knees and back. "These are my latest favorite," Dr. Lockwood says. "They last a long time and have a great footbed." Whats more, the flip-flops are machine-washable for easy cleanup. No wonder they have nearly 3,000 five-star ratings on Amazon. One shopper said they feel like walking on a cloud, before adding, Very comfortable flip flop but with amazing support. I have flat feet so really need the arch support and these have it. And they seem like they will last a long time as they are very well made.

These Hoka sandals were specially designed as a super comfortable shoe to wear after grueling workouts. They boast perforated detailing on the upper to increase air flow and keep feet cool, and they have a molded sugarcane EVA midsole that offers the perfect amount of bounce and cushioning. Even better, there are 13 stylish colorways to choose from. I bought these as I had read that they are great for plantar fasciitisI Now I put these on when I get up and rarely take them off my feet. If I could only wear them to church!! LOVE LOVE LOVE these and will be purchasing in multiple colors, raved one customer.

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
A North Carolina mountain community has the priciest homes in the state.

A recent report from CashNetUSA, an online lender, ranked Linville as the most expensive neighborhood in North Carolina, with an average home price of about $3.7 million.

Thats roughly 12 times the cost of the average home in North Carolina, according to Zillow.

The ranking is part of a list of the most expensive neighborhoods in every state based on Zillow data.

To compile the rankings, CashNetUSA used Zillow real estate data to group together neighborhoods of towns and cities in all 50 states. It then calculated the average price in each community by adding house prices in each area and dividing them by the number of properties.

A map of the most expensive neighborhoods in all 50 U.S. states, according to CashNetUSA.

About Linville

Linville is a small resort community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Avery County, 110 miles northwest of Charlotte. It has a population of 321, according to the latest U.S. Census data.

The community is adjacent to Grandfather Mountain home to one of North Americas largest Highland Games, an event that celebrates the Scottish ancestry of many pioneers who settled in the area.

The Linville Historic District, which includes nearly 100 buildings constructed between 1892 and 1940, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

10 most expensive U.S. neighborhoods

Below is a list of the 10 most expensive neighborhoods in the U.S. and their average house prices, according to CashNetUSA.
AKA is currently the most popular movie on Netflix, according to the streaming services public ranking system.

Released on April 28, the gritty French action film follows a special ops agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a crime syndicate and forges a bond with the boss son. AKA has received mixed reviews, with many noting its brutal violence.

The second most popular movie of the moment is Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a musical biopic about the icons early life and rise to superstardom. Starring Naomi Ackie as the titular Whitney Houston, the movie joined Netflix on April 22 after a theatrical run in December.

"AKA" on Netflix.

An original Netflix rom-com also made the ranking. Released on April 21, A Tourists Guide to Love stars Rachael Leigh Cook as a travel industry professional who visits Vietnam and falls for her tour guide, played by Scott Ly.

The majority of the other titles in the top 10 are family-friendly flicks, including animated movies like Sing 2 and Shark Tale, as well as the live-action 90s classic Matilda.

Check out the full list of the top 10 movies below. And if you want to stay informed about everything joining Netflix each month, subscribe to the Streamline newsletter.

Related...
Students at a yoga training exercise in Chennai - India's population is projected to grow for several decades

India's population has reached 1,425,775,850 people, surpassing the number of people in mainland China, according to the UN's estimates.

India's decennial census - scheduled to be held in 2021 - has been delayed, so there's no official population data. China's most recent - and seventh census - was conducted in 2020.

To estimate and project populations of both India and China, the UN relies on information about levels and trends in fertility, mortality and migration acquired from records, surveys and administrative data.

What is clear is that both India and China have more than 1.4 billion people each, and for over 70 years have accounted for more than a third of the global population.

China's population is likely to begin shrinking next year. Last year, 10.6 million people were born, a little more than the number of deaths, thanks to a rapid drop in fertility rate. According to the UN, the Chinese population will continue to fall and could drop to below a billion before the end of the century.

India's fertility rate has also fallen substantially in recent decades - from 5.7 births per woman in 1950 to two births per woman today - but the rate of decline has been slower. India's population is virtually certain to continue to grow for several decades - the UN expects the population to peak around 2064, and then decline gradually.

So what does India overtaking China as the most populous country in the world mean?

China reduced its population faster than India

China reduced its population growth rate by about half from 2% in 1973 to 1.1% in 1983.

Demographers say much of this was achieved by riding roughshod over human rights - two separate campaigns promoting just one child and then later marriages, longer gaps between children and fewer of them - in what was a predominantly rural and overwhelmingly uneducated and poor country.

Investments in public health and increased education for women and their participation in the workforce, among other things, also contributed to the decline in fertility.

Story continues

India population

India's population more than trebled in the six decades after independence - from 361 million people in 1951 to more than 1.2 billion in 2011.

India saw rapid population growth - almost 2% annually - for much of the second half of the last century. Over time, death rates fell, life expectancy rose and incomes went up. More people - especially those living in cities - accessed clean drinking water and modern sewerage. "Yet the birth rate remained high," says Tim Dyson, a demographer at the London School of Economics.

India launched a family planning programme in 1952 and laid out a national population policy for the first time only in 1976, about the time China was busy reducing its birth rate.

But forced sterilisations of millions of poor people in an overzealous family planning programme during the 1975 Emergency - when civil liberties were suspended - led to a social backlash against family planning. "Fertility decline would have been faster for India if the Emergency hadn't happened and if politicians had been more proactive. It also meant that all subsequent governments treaded cautiously when it came to family planning," Prof Dyson says.

East Asian countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand, which launched population programmes much later than India, achieved lower fertility levels, cut infant and maternal mortality rates, raised incomes and improved human development earlier than India.

India no longer fears a population explosion

India has added more than a billion people since independence in 1947, and its population is expected to grow for another 40 years.

But its population growth rate has been declining for decades now, and the country has defied dire predictions about a "demographic disaster".

So India having more people than China is no longer significant in a "concerning" way, say demographers.

Rising incomes and improved access to health and education have helped Indian women have fewer children than before, effectively flattening the growth curve.

Fertility rates have dipped below replacement levels - two births per woman - in 17 out of 22 states and federally administered territories. (A replacement level is one at which new births are sufficient to maintain a steady population.)

India population

According to Pew Research Center, all religious groups in India have shown major declines in fertility rates, based on data available in India's decennial census and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

As a result there have been only "modest changes" in the religious make-up of the people since 1951.

India population

Fertility rates among all religious groups have declined, according to official data.

The decline in birth rates has been faster in southern India than in the more populous north. "It is a pity that more of India could not have been like south India," says Prof Dyson. "All things being equal, rapid population growth in parts of north India have depressed living standards".

However, overtaking China could be significant

It could, for example, strengthen India's claim to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, which has five permanent members, including China.

India is a founding member of the UN and has always insisted that its claim to a permanent seat is just. "I think you have certain claims on things [by being the country with largest population]," says John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The way India's demography is changing is also significant, according to KS James, director of the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences.

India population

Despite drawbacks, India deserves some credit for managing a "healthy demographic transition", by using family planning in a democracy which was both poor and largely uneducated, says Prof James. "Most countries did this after they had achieved higher literacy and living standards."

More good news: one in five people below 25 years in the world is from India and 47% of Indians are below the age of 25. Two-thirds of Indians were born after India liberalised its economy in the early 1990s.

This group of young Indians have some unique characteristics, says Shruti Rajagopalan, an economist, in a new paper. "This generation of young Indians will be the largest consumer and labour source in the knowledge and network goods economy. Indians will be the largest pool of global talent," she says.

But there are serious challenges

India needs to create enough jobs for its young working age population to reap a demographic dividend. Only 40% of India's working-age population works or wants to work, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

More women would need jobs as they spend less time in their working age giving birth and looking after children. The picture here is bleaker - only 10% of working-age women were participating in the labour force in October, according to CMIE, compared with 69% in China.

Then there's migration. Some 200 million Indians have migrated within the country - between states and districts - and their numbers are bound to grow. Most are workers who leave villages for cities to find work.

"Our cities will grow as migration increases because of lack of jobs and low wages in villages. Can they provide migrants a reasonable living standard? Otherwise, we will end up with more slums and disease," says S Irudaya Rajan, a migration expert at Kerala's International Institute of Migration and Development.

Demographers say India also needs to stop child marriages, prevent early marriages and properly register births and deaths. A skewed sex ratio at birth - meaning more boys are born than girls - remains a worry.

Political rhetoric about "population control" appears to be targeted at Muslims, the country's largest minority when, in reality, "gaps in childbearing between India's religious groups are generally much smaller than they used to be", according to a study from Pew Research Center.

Ageing deserves more attention

Demographers say the ageing of India receives little attention.

In 1947, India's median age was 21. A paltry 5% of people were above the age of 60.

Today, the median age is over 28, and more than 10% of Indians are over 60 years. Southern states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu achieved replacement levels at least 20 years ago.

India population

In Kerala, for example, the rise in population between 2001 and 2011 was lowest (4.9%) among states. A newborn in the state can expect to live for 75 years, against the national average of 69. Smaller families here ensure that children are educated well. This leads to the young migrating quickly within and outside the country for opportunities, leaving their parents at home.

The UN estimates that between 2023 and 2050, the number of people aged 65 and above is expected to nearly double in China, and to more than double in India, "posing significant challenges to the capacity of healthcare and social insurance systems".

"As the working-age population declines, supporting an older population will become a growing burden on the government's resources," says Rukmini S, author of Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India.

"Family structures will have to be recast and elderly persons living alone will become an increasing source of concern," she says.

Charts by Shadab Nazmi

BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.

Read more India stories on population from the BBC:
Five years ago, 13-year-old Hania Aguilar stood outside her familys mobile home in Lumberton, waiting for a ride to junior high, when a stranger in black clothes tossed her in an idling SUV and sped away while she screamed.

The world soon knew Hania by the missing person reports flooding the Internet. They waited anxiously through a massive manhunt led by the FBI, which confirmed the worst after 22 days.

Investigators found Hania in a swamp 11 miles from home, her body covered by a plastic door. She had been raped and most likely asphyxiated. Her funeral drew nearly 1,000 mourners dressed in purple, Hanias favorite color.

I have been living a nightmare, her mother Celsa Hernandez said on Thursday, and Im feeling like its time for justice to be served.

Since then, the unthinkable horror that struck Hanias family remains as sharp as it did on day one, largely because they are still waiting for a murder trial to begin in rural Robeson County.

A mother begs for closure

The case against Hanias accused killer, already delayed, got set back again at least until early 2024  meaning a full 5.5 years will have passed before a jury gets chosen.

Wearing a purple shirt, Hernandez stood before a Superior Court judge Thursday and begged for some closure, asking that the case go ahead in September as scheduled.

Im here to ask for justice, she said in Spanish, speaking through a translator. I believe theyve had enough time. If the defendant didnt give my daughter enough time to live, why should he be given a chance to continue?

She will wait until next year.

The most recent delay added a fresh entanglement in a case that already ranks among North Carolinas most infamous tragedies.

Celsa Maribel Hernandez Velasquez , mother of Hania Aguilar, stares at Michael Ray McLellan, 34, during his first appearance for the kidnapping and murder of Hania Aguilar on Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in Lumberton, N.C.

Suspect shouldnt have been free

Agonizing as it was, Hanias death cut even deeper because Michael McLellan, the 38-year-old man charged with murder, shouldnt have been walking the streets anywhere in the fall of 2018.

On the day Hania disappeared:

 Robeson County sheriffs deputies had evidence from the state crime lab connecting him to a separate 2016 rape. They never acted on it in more than a year.

Story continues

 police in neighboring Fairmont had a warrant for McLellans arrest for robbery and kidnapping in a carjacking gone wrong. It wasnt served.

 the state Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission had a second warrant for McLellans arrest because he had violated terms of his recent release from prison. Nothing happened.

In the days after McLellans arrest, as the state sorted through the mess, then-District Attorney Johnson Britt said Hania might be alive if authorities hadnt overlooked DNA evidence.

But now attention shifts to McLellan, still sitting in Central Prison.

Michael Ray McLellan, 34, sits in court for his first appearance on charges of the kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar on Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, in Lumberton, N.C.

Delays from defense team

On Thursday, his attorney Harold Butch Pope said COVID-19 had severely limited contact with his client, and that experts on the defense team were both restricted and reluctant to visit during the pandemic. Though Pope has been on the case from the beginning, his co-counsel joined only a year ago after another of McLellans attorneys withdrew.

On top of that, the defense is contending with McLellans two unrelated felony cases on top of the 10 charges stemming from Hanias death.

We are just not going to be able to effectively represent Mr. McLellan, Pope said Thursday.

However, Pope said almost exactly the same thing two years ago when asked for a status update.

In addition to the capital case, there are two unrelated rape cases in 2019, he said in 2021, according to ABC 15 news. We are nowhere near prepared for trial just yet. In addition to COVID delays, there are some delays with experts.

Anyone familiar with Lumberton and the Robeson County courthouse, both about 100 miles southwest of Raleigh, is accustomed to justice unfolding slowly.

Robesons slow justice

The violent crime rate there consistently ranks among the highest in the state, but Robeson has the legal resources of a rural outpost because more people live in Cary than its vast swampland.

Superior Court Judge Greg Bell noted Thursday that a murder case in Robeson normally takes three years on average, and post-pandemic, it takes closer to five. He spoke sympathetically to Hernandez, telling her hed rather delay now than days before a trial in September, or make a mistake and have to do it all again.

I understand yall want justice as quick as possible, he said. We just want to do it right the first time.

Hernandez left the court in tears, a tissue pressed to her face, thinking of the daughter who never got to grow up.

A photograph of Hania Aguilar was included on her headstone, pictured here on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. The community raised the funds to pay for the headstone, which is now surrounded by purple and pink decorations.

So much time has passed since Hania died that a friend who came to court on Thursday stood taller than the principal who accompanied her.

Some of the friends who showed up in support wore purple T-shirts with Hanias face on the front, a pair of wings beside her head. In those pictures, she remains the girl who played viola and loved science, who had a dog named Pedro, who wasnt old enough to have a cell phone or hang around with boys.

She would be a high school senior now.
Ukrainian army from the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fire the German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, called Tina by the unit, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Spring conditions have limited mobility for both Ukrainian and Russian troops.

Ukraine's recently obtained German-made self-propelled howitzers are particularly vulnerable to mud.

Soldiers have to be very clean and careful when entering the vehicles, The New York Times reported.

Springtime mud is plaguing the war-torn battlefields of eastern Ukraine, creating mobility issues for Russian and Ukrainian forces, slowing down their respective operations. It's also affecting some weapons.

The state of the terrain is proving to be a hurdle for Kyiv's troops assigned to a specific piece of military hardware acquired from Germany during winter  German-made 155mm howitzers that are extremely sensitive to the dirty and grimy conditions.

Germany has sent 14 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, according to an inventory of its military support to Kyiv. These weapons contain electronics that are so vulnerable to dirt and moisture that soldiers have to wear slippers or booties when they enter the vehicles so they don't track in any mud, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Each howitzer even comes with a vacuum cleaner, and the barrels sometimes have to be cleaned with a long brush. "The Panzer really loves cleanliness," an artillery commander named Mykola told the Times, referring to a nickname for the Panzerhaubitze. "If you fire off two full loads of ammunition, you need to spend a day servicing it."

Serhii, a lieutenant with the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade, even decided to recall the howitzers from the field out of fear that should the machines come under Russian fire, mud will prevent them from escaping the bombardment, the Times reported. In Germany, these vehicles were kept in climate-controlled garages.

That said, the Ukrainian forces operating the German-made howitzers have reportedly seen some successes against Russian tank and infantry units despite the current conditions on the ground.

Story continues

Ukrainian soldiers from the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade drive the German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, called Tina by the unit, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

It's not the first time that Ukraine's forces have dealt with the challenge of weaponry getting stuck in the mud. Units have reported that their Soviet-era T-64 tanks were getting trapped in the sludgy terrain  one of several issues troops found with the decades-old tanks.

Britain's defense ministry shared in a recent intelligence update that mud was likely impacting operations on both the Russian and Ukrainian side in the wake of the cold winter months, although the surface conditions were expected to improve within a few weeks as the weather gets better.

"With soft ground conditions across most of Ukraine, severe mud is highly likely slowing operations for both sides in the conflict," the April 21 update read.

Ukrainian forces have been gearing up to launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia after receiving a massive influx of heavy armor and advanced military hardware from the US and its Western partners. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters last week that nearly all the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have been delivered, and Ukraine's defense minister said his country was nearly ready to hit with an "iron fist."

"That means over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, including vast amounts of ammunition," Stoltenberg said of the deliveries. "In total we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armoured brigades, this will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Oyster River High School music students display talents at Classical All-State Festival

Ten Oyster River High School students performed in the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Classical All-State Festival.

DURHAM  Ten Oyster River High School students performed in the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Classical All-State Festival.

The students showcased their talents in the annual festival, held in Concord on March 30 and April 1. Students, under the guidance of Oyster River strings teacher Andrea von Oeyen and music teacher Marc LaForce were selected following statewide auditions in November.

Oyster River students who performed were:

Grade 12: Mary Jeong (violin), Shashu Srivatsan (viola), and Siddhu Srivatsan (viola)

Grade 11: Micah Bessette (tenor voice), Courtney Giroux (piccolo), Ella Higginson, (oboe), and Peter Wierda (double bass)

Grade 10: Cole Norris (violin), and Elena Pavlik (violin)

Grade 9: Issac Williams (viola)

Bessette performed in the mixed choir. Other students performed in the festival orchestra, directed by Ann Danis, Professor Emeritus of Music and the former Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rhode Island.

Monarch School of New England hires Jeanette Souther as next executive director

Jeanette Souther, left, is the incoming Monarch School executive director and Diane Bessey is the current executive director, retiring June 30, 2023.

ROCHESTER  The Monarch School of New England announced Jeanette Souther has been hired as the next executive director, effective July 1, 2023. Souther succeeds Diane Bessey, who will retire at the end of the current school year following 40 years of service in special education and 25 years with the Monarch School of New England.

Souther was selected by the school's board of directors after a year-long process. Board President Jean Parsons said, Jeanettes extensive special education and leadership experience impressed our hiring committee. She also demonstrated a strong alignment with the schools philosophy that every student has potential, and every student can learn. We look forward to working with her when she joins the school community in July.

Souther joins the Monarch School of New England from the Portsmouth School District, where she has served as the director of pupil support for eight years.

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Great Bay Community College announces winners from 2023 Campus Compact Presidents Awards

PORTSMOUTH  Campus Compact for New Hampshire, a statewide consortium of college and university presidents and private sector partners, recently held an event in Concord to honor the 2023 CCNH Presidents Award recipients from colleges and universities from across the Granite State.

The Great Bay Community College honorees were:

Presidents Leadership Award: Timothy Warroka, business student, Class of 2023

The Presidents Leadership Award went to Great Bay Community College business student Timothy Warroka, seen with Cheryl Lesser, the school president.

According to GBCC, since becoming a student in 2021, Timothy has become involved with the International Club and the Student Government Association. He also serves as the student representative on the Presidents Cabinet where he effectively advocates for his peers and is the conduit of change. Through fostering a strong sense of belonging for students, he has helped to impact their persistence and completion of their academic programs."

Presidents Good Steward Award: Brittanie Mulkigian, director of student life

The Presidents Good Steward Award went to Great Bay Community College Director of Student Life Brittanie Mulkigian.

According to GBCC, Brittanie has become a leader in the colleges partnership with Gather, the largest food provider to those experiencing hunger on the Seacoast. Focusing at first on a food pantry, the partnership has grown to include the development of an on-campus cafe as well as access to a food kitchen that Gather uses to provide food service for both GBCC students, the public and the Gather Community. Today, the Cooking 4 Community program uses the kitchen to feed over 5,000 individuals a month in the greater community and the Gather Cafe has fed over 2,700 students at a 50% discount and an additional 360-plus students for free."

Presidents Community Partner Award: Gather

The Presidents Community Partner Award winner was Gather, represented by Tania Marino and Anne Hayes.

According to GBCC, Gather has significantly enhanced the quality of the lives of Great Bay Community College students since 2019, by providing supporting Great Bays Curbside Food Pickup program during the pandemic, and most recently, opening the Gather Cafe."

Newman Civic Fellowship: Louis Fowler, student

According to Campus Compact, the Newman Civic Fellowship is a year-long program that recognizes and supports student public problem solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. For 2023, the group includes 154 students from 38 states and Mexico.

According to GBCC, Louis is a founding member and president of Pride Alliance, a club to give LGBTQ+ students a space to foster queer friendship and promote education and representation at the college. He has led the charge on recruitment, and education about LGBTQ+ issues to the wider student body and is forging connections in the larger queer community, including working with Seacoast Outright to participate in Portsmouth Pride."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Music students display talents, Presidents' awards: Education news
SUSANNAH IRELAND - Getty Images

An ancient stone, housed in Scotland and dubbed the Stone of Destiny, has been used in the coronation of kings since around 840 AD.

The origins of the stones prominence remain unknown.

New research has revealed never-before-seen markings on the stone, which will be used during King Charles IIIs coronation in May.

Theres a special stone used in the coronation ceremonies of monarchs in the United Kingdom. Its been this way since around 840 AD. And now we have found, for the first time, hidden markings on the red sandstone slab that will be a part of King Charles IIIs May coronation.

An oblong block 25 inches long, 15 inches wide, and about 10 inches thick, the stones earliest origins are a mystery. But it has long held a special place in the royal history of the United Kingdom, and is considered by many to be a sacred object.

Believed to have been moved to Scone about 840 AD by Kenneth I from western Scotland, this blockalso called the Stone of Sconebecame part of the coronation tradition for Scottish rulers. It didnt remain in Scotland forever, though, as King Edward I of England pillaged it in 1296 and moved it to Westminster. It was officially returned to Scotland in 1996with some theft now a part of its historyand is currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. It remains part of the United Kingdoms coronation tradition, however, and Scotland has agreed to allow it to be used as part of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey come May 6.

Due to the remaining ambiguity in the Stone of Destinys very early history, the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has renewed its investigation into the red slab ahead of the big royal event. Using a newly created 3D model, researchers now have access to fresh angles and details, showing off what appear to be Roman numerals on the stones surface for the first time.

Its very existing to discover new information about an object as unique and important to Scotlands history as the Stone of Destiny, Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland, says in a news release. The high level of detail weve been able to capture through the digital imaging has enabled us to re-examine the tooling marks on the surface of the stone, which has helped confirm that the stone has been roughly worked by more than one stonemason with a number of different tools, as was previously thought.

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Digital imaging done with the help of Engine ShedScotlands national building conservation centershowed off cross bedding, something HES calls indicative of the geological conditions in which the sandstone was formed and which is characteristic of sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation. Prior and current research likely places the geologic origin of the stone in the Scone Sandstone Formation, near Perth.

The scan also shows off various tooling marks, degradation, and signs of repair. The digital scan was turned into a 3D-printed replica, which also helps with the coronation chair preparations.

Those new markings, thoughwe just dont know what theyre all about. The discovery of previously unrecorded markings is also significant, and while at this point were unable to say for certain what their purpose or meaning might be, Hyslop says, they offer the exciting opportunity for further areas of study.

Additional X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed copper alloy traces on the surface, meaning the stone was likely used to house some sort of bronze or brass object. The finding of microscopic traces of gypsum plaster means a cast of the stone could have once been made.

We may not have all the answers at this stage, Hyslop says, but what weve been able to uncover is testament to a variety of uses in the Stones long history and contributes to its provenance and authenticity.

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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his six-week abortion ban and remarked that his effort isnt the way to change hearts and minds on the topic. (You can watch her remarks below.)

CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday asked Mace whether a Republican candidate who supports a six-week abortion ban can pull off a successful presidential campaign.

People who are in Republican districts have to make this calculus, Brennan added. You say youre in a purple one, so you have to compromise.

Signing a six-week ban that puts women who are victims of rape and girls who are victims of incest in a hard spot isnt the way to change hearts and minds, Mace replied. Its not compassionate. The requirements he has for rape victims are too much, not something that I support. Its a non-starter.

DeSantis abortion ban  signed into law last month  bars abortion after six weeks, a time when most people arent aware theyre pregnant.

The law has yet to go into effect as it awaits a state Supreme Court ruling on Floridas 15-week abortion, which was heavily criticized by two women in the state last month during an MSNBC appearance.

The South Carolina Republicans remarks appear to reflect the opinion of a majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, who are opposed to six-week abortion bans, a recent NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist poll found.

Mace has recently cautioned her party about its abortion messaging, as well.

She called on Republicans to find some middle ground on the issue of abortion during an appearance on ABC News last week.

As Republicans, we need to read the room on this issue because the vast majority of folks are not in the extremes, she said.

H/T Mediaite

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A Rutherford County man pleaded guilty Monday to giving his 16-year-old girlfriend a pain pill laced with fentanyl, leading to her September 2022 death.

In return for his plea, Nicholas Gage Ivey, 19, of Spindale, will serve up to three years in prison. He also has agreed to testify against his co-defendant, Deontae Jaquise Miller, 24, of Rutherfordton.

Both were arrested in connection with the death of Abigail Saunderson, 16, of Gaston County.

At his arraignment Monday, Ivey pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to sell/deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, and felony conspiracy, District Attorney Travis Page told The Charlotte Observer. He received consecutive sentences of 10-21 months and 6-17 months.

As a condition of his plea, Ivey is expected to testify against Miller, Page said.

The victims mother, Tracy Saunderson-Ross, told Observer news partner WSOC that Abigail asked for a pain pill from Ivey, never knowing it contained fentanyl, a powerful narcotic responsible for thousands of deaths in the Carolinas and across the country.

The number of fentanyl-related fatal overdoses in North Carolina has risen from 442 in 2016 to 3,163 in 2021, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

On Sept. 26 just before 7 a.m., officers with the Gaston County Police Department found Abigail unconscious near Bessemer City, 10 minutes from Gastonia. Ivey and Miller were arrested in December.

Abigails mother told WSOC that she brought a strand of her daughters hair to court with her on Monday.

(Abigail) was a little light in everybodys life. Anybody that met her, she said.
Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Neighbours star Alan Fletcher has given fans an idea of what to expect from the upcoming revival series, promising that the new storylines will be "fantastic".

Speaking to TV WEEK about the restarted show, Fletcher revealed that returning to set felt like a homecoming of sorts.

"Neighbours has always been a family," he said. "When people see it [Neighbours], it will be like coming back to a familiar friend. There are lot of things for fans to be excited about. Neighbours will pull out all the stops to surprise audiences."

Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Related: Neighbours confirms returnee in official picture

Fans around the world were surprised by the news of the iconic Australian soap's return last November, following the show's cancellation after 37 years on air. The show's final episode aired in July and saw stars such as Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan return to say their goodbyes.

The show will be moving to a new home of Amazon Freevee in the UK and US and Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Previous episodes will also be available across the streaming platform.

Filming has already begun, with the soap returning to its Ramsay Street home at Pin Oak Court in Vermont South, Australia.

Fremantle

Related: Neighbours legend discusses future as Harold Bishop

Several stars have already been confirmed to be returning to the soap, with Jackie Woodburne, Stefan Dennis, Ryan Moloney amongst the actors reprising their roles. The OC and The Hills star Mischa Barton has also been confirmed to be joining the show.

Following the revival announcement, Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD original content and programming for Amazon Studios, revealed the site was looking forward to bringing the show to a new audience.

"Neighbours has captivated its audience for nearly 40 years," she said in a statement. "We look forward to immersing the audience in new Ramsay Street experiences when we relaunch the show [in 2023] for Amazon Freevee and Prime Video customers."

Story continues

Neighbours returns in the second half of 2023 with new episodes streaming free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the new series.

Read more Neighbours coverage on our dedicated homepage

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HOLLAND  "The people deserve to know what we're doing and how we're doing it."

That's the message Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is promoting as she continues to conduct workshops across the state to help residents understand the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act  two pieces of legislation crucial in facilitating greater public oversight.

More: AG: Ottawa Impact violated spirit of OMA, stronger transparency laws needed

Nessel, who will be in Holland next week for Tulip Time, will present information on the state's "sunshine laws" at a public seminar at 1 p.m. Friday, May 12, in the auditorium at Herrick District Library. The Sentinel is hosting the event, aimed at helping the public (and its officials) better understand FOIA and OMA.

The Open Meetings Act and its counterpart, the Freedom of Information Act, were written in 1976 and became law in 1977. The laws were designed to make government processes and information more open to the public (both were written in the post-Watergate, post-Vietnam war era).

Under OMA, public bodies must hold meetings open to the public, provide notice of those meetings, post agendas and keep minutes (records) of meetings. OMA also requires that officials not discuss or decide the publics business in private if a quorum  the minimum number of voting members  of the board is present.

There have been several attempts to reform the Michigan laws since their inception. In 2016, after the Flint water crisis, a 10-bill package passed the House overwhelmingly, but was stopped in the Senate, where then-Sen. Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof  an Ottawa County Republican  failed to bring them forward in the committee he chaired. The bills died at the end of that legislative year.

Similar attempts were also unsuccessful in 2017 and 2019.

Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law House Bill 4705, which expanded OMA to require public meetings of state licensing boards, state commission panels and state rule-making boards to be recorded.

Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law House Bill 4705, which expanded OMA to require public meetings of state licensing boards, state commission panels and state rule-making boards to be recorded.

Story continues

Michigan is one of only two states in the country that still wholly exempts the governors office from sunshine laws, and is among nine states where lawmakers are explicitly exempt. The state regularly receives one of the lowest grades by transparency watchdog organizations.

Nessel said the spirit of OMA is to ensure transparency in government by shedding light on official acts of public bodies and enhancing responsible decision making and promoting government accountability.

On Jan. 4, Nessel announced her office was reviewing actions taken during the inaugural meeting of the new Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, after the Ottawa Impact majority made sweeping changes to how county government operates without prior acknowledgment on an agenda.

Ottawa Impact is an upstart far-right political group borne from clashes over the countys COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020. Its founders, Joe Moss and Sylvia Rhodea, were unsuccessful in suing the previous board of commissioners and the county's former health officer.

In response, they targeted seats on the board in 2022, recruiting like-minded candidates who agreed traditional Republicans werent enforcing true conservative policies. They successfully defeated enough incumbents in the August primary to carry a majority on the 11-member board.

That majority meant Ottawa Impact was able to enact significant change without public notice by altering board rules, allowing a simple majority vote to place new action items on the agenda during a meeting. The original Jan. 3 agenda had no indication of OIs plans  and OMA doesnt have any language preventing last-minute changes.

Despite Ottawa Impact's promises of transparency on the campaign trail, the group notoriously avoids giving interviews to local media and has removed commissioners' ability to freely comment on non-agenda topics at the end of meetings.

After a nearly six-week review, Nessel announced Feb. 16 that, although the OI commissioners' conduct on Jan. 3 was a blatant violation of the publics trust and the tenets of government transparency, it didn't technically violate state law.

More: Michigan AG reviewing shakeup in Ottawa County, possible Open Meetings Act violations

Nessel said she planned to urge state lawmakers to view Ottawa County as a reason to strengthen OMA and FOIA.

"Theres no question that there were things that occurred involving this county commission that were really disturbing, Nessel told The Sentinel. However, what we found is that theres no actionable violation of OMA or any other relevant laws at this time. To me, it really has to do with the fact that OMA requires some significant strengthening.

Nessel's office reviewed more than 40 citizen letters and emails  the most her office has received in connection with a single public body since she took office in 2019  as well as each Ottawa County board meeting since January.

Nessel said, in the more than 70 public comments at the Jan. 24 meeting, the phrases lack of transparency and compliance with the boards rules and policies dominated the discussion.

Nessel added Ottawa County residents can still pursue legal action, which could set new precedent for what commissioners can and can't do before taking office.

A citizen group is doing just that in a lawsuit filed against the board March 8, alleging the new majority violated OMA by communicating and making decisions behind closed doors. The lawsuit names the board as an entity, rather than individual commissioners.

Another lawsuit is also ongoing.

Ottawa County Health Officer Adeline Hambley looks over her shoulder as she takes her seat in the courtroom Friday, March 31, 2023, at the Michigan 14th Circuit Court in Muskegon.

Ottawa County Health Officer Adeline Hambley filed her lawsuit Feb. 13 in Ottawa Countys 20th Circuit Court, claiming commissioners overreached their authority by attempting to limit her state-authorized health duties, including standing in the way of critical contracts the county has with local health providers.

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

Muskegon 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny L. McNeill granted Adeline Hambley a preliminary injunction April 18, allowing Hambley to remain in her position until a trial can take place later this year over the myriad claims she made that Ottawa Impact-linked commissioners have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job.

 Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Nessel, Sentinel to host seminar on Michigan's 'sunshine laws'
[Source]

There's been a lot of talk lately about who will take on the iconic movie mantle of James Bond.

With Daniel Craig completing his run as the titular British spy in 2021 with "No Time to Die," fans have been clamoring for any news regarding his replacement.

As rumors have continued to circulate into 2023, we've put together a list of seven actors we think would be perfect for the role.

Henry Golding

The name that is most often uttered when James Bond casting rumors arise is Henry Golding. Having made his mark as a heartthrob in Crazy Rich Asians and proven that he has the action chops to match with Snake Eyes, Golding is a clear contender for the 007 mantle.

More from NextShark: Arden Cho, original Cabbage Merchant join cast of live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender'

Although the 36-year-old British and Malaysian actor recently shut down rumors that James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli had spoken to him about auditioning for the role, he expressed a desire to still be a part of the Bond universe  if it were up to us, it would be in the lead role.

John Cho

John Cho is another actor who frequently appears in online fan casts for Bond, including the popular 2016 hashtag #StarringJohnCho, which saw netizens reimagining the actor as the lead in various films. The 50-year-old Korean American actor even expressed interest in the role in response to an image of himself photoshopped in Daniel Craigs place on the poster for Spectre.

More from NextShark: 'The Wandering Earth II' earns $69.7 million on first day of Lunar New Year

When asked which of the roles featured in the fan-made posters interested him the most, Cho responded, They all seem good to me  maybe the James Bond one? I mean, James Bond is a pretty good gig: youre dressed in fine suits, driving around in an Aston Martin. Seems like a good one."

Story continues

View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Cho (@johnthecho)

Dev Patel

Although Dev Patel said back in 2020 that he isnt interested in the role, were holding out hope that the Lion actor will change his mind. The 33-year-old British actor has proven to be an incredibly versatile actor with a variety of acting credits since his breakout role in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, including action thrillers Hotel Mumbai, Chappie and The Wedding Guest. Not to mention, the guy is a real-life hero, having broken up a knife fight in Australia last year.

Dont agree with us? Then you probably havent seen A24s 2021 film The Green Knight, starring Patel as Sir Gawain  a mistake you absolutely should correct. According to our most recent Bond, Agent 007 could stand to be more chivalrous. And whats more chivalrous than a Knight of the Round Table?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by DEV PATEL (@_dev.patel__)

Lewis Tan

Lewis Tan is a certified ass-kicker, with numerous action roles like AMC's "Into the Badlands," "Wu Assassins" and "Mortal Kombat" to back up his skills.

The 36-year-old British martial artist has also recently made waves in more dramatic roles, namely Amazon Prime Video's "About Fate," which topped the streaming service's Top 10 Movies list less than a week after its premiere. Although Tan played a supporting role in the film, fans flocked to social media to share their excitement about his performance, with some expressing an interest in seeing him take on more romantic projects as a lead. Action star plus romantic lead  starting to get the picture?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by LEWIS TAN (@lewistanofficial)

Riz Ahmed

From his breakout performance in "Four Lions" to his Emmy-winning turn in "The Night Of," Riz Ahmed has proven himself to be a very competent actor who can handle complex characters. The 40-year-old Brit also won his first Oscar for the short film "The Long Goodbye," which he co-wrote and starred in.

With his smoldering good looks and charisma, he could definitely pull off a suave spy role  there's even an online petition for him to be cast as the next 007.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riz Ahmed (@rizahmed)

Harry Shum Jr.

Best known for his roles in Crazy Rich Asians, "Glee," "Shadowhunters" and his appearances in the "Step Up" franchise, Harry Shum Jr., 41, is a talented actor with undeniable charisma. We believe his dashing good looks, sophisticated air and worldly background could definitely give James Bond a run for his money. The Costa Rican-born American actor's ability to blend action and romance could be just what the Bond franchise needs.

Harry Shum Jr. is all James Bond meets Samurai and I am loving this fusion! #Oscars2023 pic.twitter.com/JqSLRJKWIC  Teresa Reichek (@tscgirl98) March 12, 2023

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harry Shum Jr (@harryshumjr)

Benedict Wong

Best known for his role as Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Benedict Wong, 51, is a versatile actor with a commanding presence. The Brits effortless charm and ability to balance humor and gravitas could add a layer of complexity and nuance to Bond that we haven't seen before. Aside from his take as the Sorcerer Supreme, he also had memorable performances in Ridley Scotts The Martian (2015) and Danny Boyles Sunshine (2007).

In addition to his acting chops, Wong is also a skilled martial artist, which could come in handy in the high-stakes action sequences that are a hallmark of the James Bond franchise.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Benedict Wong (@wongrel)

Special mention: Gemma Chan

Why not a female version of 007? Gemma Chan is the definition of beauty and elegance, as proven by her role as Astrid in Jon M. Chu's 2018 film "Crazy Rich Asians." The 41-year-old British actor has also proven to be quite the badass in her own right in films like Marvel's "Eternals" and "Captain Marvel," as well as "Transformers: The Last Knight."

We'd like to see Chan, the special mention of our list, expand her action chops by dropping the superpowers in favor of 007's signature Walther handgun. We've seen that she is capable of espionage in Amazon's "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," so there's really no excuse to exclude her from the conversation when she checks all the essential boxes of what makes the iconic British spy so captivating.
Maryland's Deonte Banks was a strong first-round pick for the New York Giants. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Overall New York Giants grade: A

General manager Joe Schoen seems to have his finger on the pulse of the draft. This is two years in a row that hes put together an impressive haul. Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks is the perfect cornerback for defensive coordinator Wink Martindales system and they only had to move up one spot to get him at 24th overall. Hes got massive upside as a man coverage corner and will get a ton of those opportunities in this defense. Banks, John Michael Schmitz, Jalin Hyatt and even fifth-round rookie running back Eric Gray have a chance to be immediate contributors for this team. Theyre not at the level of the Eagles yet, but this should get them closer to competing for the second spot in the division with the Dallas Cowboys.

Favorite pick: John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota (57th overall)

Schmitz could have gone in the first round and nobody would have blinked an eye. Hes an older, polished center prospect that should fit right in as the Giants starting center, giving them a strong nucleus of young offensive line talent, particularly if Evan Neal can take a step forward as a rookie. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley will benefit too from the increased quality in center play, which can be an underrated facet of building a strong offensive line.

Least favorite pick: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee (73rd overall)

This isnt so much about Hyatt as it is the receivers the Giants already have on the roster. This is a pretty small receiver room that couldve used some size, but Hyatts ability to be a deep-ball threat has a chance to separate him from an incredibly crowded group at the position on the Giants' roster. Hyatts skill set does feel a little bit redundant with Darius Slayton remaining, but this was the appropriate range for Hyatt and the Giants needed to get a longer-term contract at wide receiver.

Full Giants draft

Maryland CB Deonte Banks (R1, 24th overall)

Minnesota C John Michael Schmitz (R2, 57th)

Story continues

Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt (R3, 73rd)

Oklahoma RB Eric Gray (R5, 172nd)

Old Dominion DB Tre Hawkins III (R6, 209th)

Oregon DT Jordon Riley (R7, 243rd)

Houston S Gervarrius Owens (R7, 254th)
A sign at a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, reads "Hang the blasphemer Sana." Sana Ullah was arrested in April for claiming to be an Islamic prophet. (K.M. Chaudary / Associated Press)

Its not nice to insult someone's religion. Its offensive to deny, denigrate or mock peoples gods or prophets, beliefs or rituals. I shouldnt do it and neither should you.

But lets say we do. We should not be imprisoned, lashed or put to death for it.

That seems like a pretty basic rule of thumb, built on established, widely accepted principles of human rights and freedom of expression.

But try telling that to officials in Pakistan, who in mid-April arrested a Chinese man working on a dam project and imprisoned him on charges of blasphemy for insulting God and the prophet Muhammad. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

That sounds utterly crazy to me. But in Pakistan, a Muslim country that has been growing more deeply conservative and religious in recent years, it has long been the law.

Some reformers have sought to moderate that zeal. But instead, Pakistan recently toughened its rules.

Under a new law passed in January by the countrys National Assembly, if youre deemed to have insulted the prophet's wives or companions or close relations, you can be sentenced to 10 years in prison  with a possible extension to life in prison  and fined several thousand dollars. Bail is no longer an option. That goes well beyond what the previous statutes allowed for.

These draconian, anachronistic blasphemy laws have been used as a pretext to persecute Pakistans religious minorities, especially Christians. Theyve been used to settle personal disputes. Theyve gone hand in hand with vigilante justice. Theyve been wielded by politicians against their opponents.

Charges are rarely brought against foreigners, which is why attention is being paid to this latest arrest. The alleged blasphemer, identified only as Tian, is a transportation supervisor at the Dasu hydropower project, led by a Chinese engineering company.

Tian allegedly made his insulting remarks and gestures while criticizing two workers for taking too long to pray, according to the Associated Press. Then a crowd of hundreds of local residents and workers rallied to demand his arrest.

Story continues

Good luck to him is all I can say.

Also last month, Pakistani police arrested Sana Ullah in Punjab province on charges of blasphemy for claiming she was an Islamic prophet. She was taken into custody after a mob gathered outside her house demanding she be lynched, police said.

During the period from January 2014 to December 2018, Pakistan led all countries in enforcing laws against so-called blasphemers, bringing a total of 184 cases, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Although the state has not executed a person convicted under the blasphemy laws, some have spent years in prison, including in isolation.

But blasphemy laws are not just an issue in Pakistan. During the same period, Iran prosecuted 96 cases, Russia 58 and India 51.

According to a Pew Research Center report released last year, 79 countries had laws on the books in 2019 prohibiting blasphemy  which Pew defined as speech or actions considered to be contemptuous of God or of people or objects considered sacred  and 22 had laws against apostasy, which is the act of abandoning ones faith.

The laws are most common in the Middle East and North Africa, and punishments are toughest there and in Asia. But Pew found laws against blasphemy in all the regions of the world, including Europe and the Americas. (Obviously, enforcement and punishment varies widely by country; some blasphemy laws aren't enforced at all.)

In recent years, some countries have sought to repackage their blasphemy laws as hate speech laws. Thats a marketing gimmick designed to reassure the rest of the world that, no, this is not ancient tribalistic repression and intolerance  its merely modern anti-bigotry that we all should support.

Dont believe it. Flogging and imprisoning people who speak disrespectfully about religion is not a move toward tolerance.

Blasphemy has a long history going back to ancient Greece, and it was ferociously punished in the medieval world with mutilations, stoning and banishments. Jesus was tried and condemned for blasphemy.

In modern times it began to fade of its own accord, but not everywhere. In the last 10 years, a number of countries have amended or added blasphemy laws, including Nepal, Morocco, Oman and Kazakhstan, according to the Commission on International Religious Freedom.

In 2018, just to give a sense of how the ancient concept is being retooled for the modern era, officials in Indonesia introduced a new smartphone app to make it easier for people to report cases of heresy, including blasphemy. Google accepted the app, but there was an outcry and the app was eventually removed.

Until well into the 20th century, blasphemy was punishable in the United States, though such laws seem in obvious conflict with the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.

These days, there are rising challenges in the U.S. to free speech rules, increasing censorship of controversial books in schools, and new laws governing what may be taught in class  such as the Republican-approved statutes in Florida restricting lessons on gender identity or those that smack of critical race theory.

But troubling as those moves are, were not even edging close to Pakistans level of intolerance.

It's wrong to disrespect the beliefs of others. But there should be no law in any country against doing so.

Neither lashings nor executions will make believers out of dissenters.

@Nick_Goldberg

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California Getty Images

2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said absentee Sen. Dianne Feinstein should resign now.

Nancy Pelosi and other defenders have said Feinstein's being held to a sexist double standard.

Haley maintains that removing Feinstein is necessary because she's no longer "up to the job."

2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has joined the chorus of voices telling 89-year-old Dianne Feinstein to end her Senate career now, writing that ousting the longstanding California Democrat isn't sexist because "she's in significant mental and physical decline."

Haley, 51, has made phasing out aging politicians  including 76-year-old GOP frontrunner Donald Trump  a cornerstone of her nearly 3-month-old White House bid. She took the shot at Feinstein, which included a dig at delegation mate and defender Rep. Nancy Pelosi, both online and in an op-ed piece she wrote for Fox News.

"Sorry @SpeakerPelosi: @SenFeinstein should resign. And that's not sexist," Haley tweeted in response to Pelosi and others rallying to Feinstein's side during her months-long absence from Capitol Hill.

Feinstein has missed dozens of votes in the narrowly divided Senate while recovering from a shingles outbreak, prompting members within her own party to call for the veteran lawmaker to immediately retire rather than serving out the rest of her term as she had planned.

While she praised Feinstein as a political trailblazer, Haley said that's ancient history. "It's been obvious for quite some time that she's in significant mental and physical decline," Haley wrote online, billing Feinstein as "a prime example of why we need mental competency tests for politicians."

"This is not about whether someone is a woman," Haley added. "It's about whether they are up to the job."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Crimea

Some skeptics question if Ukraine has the military capabilities to successfully liberate the Russian-occupied peninsula; others claim Crimeas personal importance to Putin make it a red line for the Russian dictator that could spark a nuclear escalation. These concerns are understandable but shortsighted. Crucially, they fail to recognize Crimeas status as the decisive battlefield in the current war. Put simply, there can be no lasting peace with Russia until Ukraine liberates Crimea.



Read also: Management of Russian state companies in Crimea told to evacuate, Kyiv says

Todays debate over Crimea reflects the success of Russian efforts since 2014 to convince the international community that the occupied Ukrainian peninsula is a special case and not directly related to Russian aggression on the Ukrainian mainland. Indeed, prior to last years full-scale invasion, long-running international efforts to resolve the war in eastern Ukraines Donbas region had excluded any discussion of Crimea, fueling perceptions that the ongoing occupation of the peninsula was a separate issue entirely.

In the years following the military occupation of Crimea, Putin regime officials frequently declared the issue to be closed. Meanwhile, Kremlin propagandists insisted that the occupied Ukrainian province was now an indivisible part of the Russian Federation. These efforts proved effective. Even after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many international observers have persisted in affording Crimea a different status to other occupied parts of the country.

Putin knows Western leaders cannot completely ignore his nuclear blackmail, particularly as Russia has repeatedly emphasized that it views Crimea as Russian sovereign territory.

Those who view Crimea as a red line for Vladimir Putin often stress the symbolic importance of the peninsula. They note that the seizure of Crimea ranks as by far the most significant achievement of Putins entire reign and therefore plays a key role in his claim to a place among Russias greatest rulers. Many also believe continued Russian control over the peninsula is necessary in order to soften the blow of looming military defeat on mainland Ukraine. As long as Putin has Crimea, they argue, he can still convince domestic audiences in Russia that the core objectives of his invasion have been reached.

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The other most frequent argument against the de-occupation of Crimea is fear of provoking a Russian nuclear response. Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has frequently engaged in nuclear saber-rattling. This has included specific threats to use nuclear weapons in defense of Russian territory, with Putin stating in September 2022, Im not bluffing.

Read also: Occupiers ramp up efforts in search of guerrillas in occupied Crimea  NRC

While the impact of this saber-rattling appears to be diminishing, Putin knows Western leaders cannot completely ignore his nuclear blackmail, particularly as Russia has repeatedly emphasized that it views Crimea as Russian sovereign territory. If the possibility of a Ukrainian military campaign to liberate Crimea becomes more realistic in the coming months, the Kremlin is likely to dramatically increase its nuclear rhetoric.

At present, there appears to be a lack of consensus among Ukraines Western partners over how best to react to Russias nuclear intimidation tactics. While senior figures from NATO, the US, and the EU have all publicly warned Moscow of grave consequences, separate statements from various European capitals indicate some Western governments are eager to avoid a further escalation in nuclear tensions at almost any price. This is a fundamental miscalculation that risks legitimizing nuclear blackmail as a foreign policy tool. If Russian nuclear threats succeed in preventing the liberation of Crimea, the Kremlin will inevitably employ the same approach to consolidate control over other regions of Ukraine currently under Russian occupation. A dangerous precedent will have been established with disastrous consequences for the future of international security.

Read also: Crimean Tatar leader Chubarov predicts how Ukraine will liberate Crimea

Ukraines political and military leaders have been extremely clear that without the liberation of Crimea, no sustainable peace with Russia is possible. They argue that as long as Crimea is under Russian occupation, it will serve as a base for future military operations and pose a threat to the whole of southern Ukraine. Even if Ukraine succeeds in de-occupying all of the regions currently under Russian control in the south and east of the country, Russian-occupied Crimea would continue to represent a dagger pointed at the heart of Ukrainian statehood.

Furthermore, free navigation of the Black Sea cannot be restored while Crimea is under Russian occupation. Using Crimea as its base, the Russian Navy has imposed a Black Sea blockade that has had a devastating impact on the Ukrainian economy. This blockade prevents the resumption of vital merchant shipping from Ukraines Black Sea ports, while also undermining the security of other Black Sea countries. Moscows current efforts to manipulate the terms and conditions of the UN-brokered grain agreement illustrate the futility of negotiating any compromise deals with Russia while the Kremlin retains the ability to impose its will by force. As long as Russia occupies Crimea, Black Sea shipping will be severely restricted and Ukraine will remain trapped in economic crisis.

It is worth noting that the de-occupation of Crimea could take a number of different forms and may involve a combination of military and diplomatic tools. One of the possible alternatives to a large-scale Ukrainian land operation would be the methodical destruction of Russian logistical chains and military infrastructure in Crimea along with precision strikes on military storage facilities and bases across the peninsula. This could render the continued occupation of Crimea unfeasible and force Russia to retreat. Similar tactics have already succeeded in forcing Russia to withdraw from Kherson and the right bank of the Dnipro River, despite Putins loud declarations that Russia had come to the region forever.

Read also: How Putin is Trying to Outplay Us in Liberating Crimea  opinion

If Ukraines international partners are serious about securing a lasting peace, they should first acknowledge the central importance of de-occupying Crimea and provide Ukraine with the tools to do so. This is the only way to decisively defeat Russia and end the war. It is also the best way to prevent further reckless nuclear blackmail.

Kyiv is determined to complete the de-occupation of the whole country including Crimea, and Ukrainian military planners are convinced this is a realistic objective. However, a bloody land campaign to liberate the peninsula could still be avoided if Ukraines spring offensive achieves its immediate goals on the mainland, and if the Ukrainian military receives long-range missile capabilities from its international partners that would enable them to strike targets throughout occupied Crimea. This would leave a weakened Russia with little choice but to begin serious negotiations. At present, that is not the case. Until Russia recognizes the need to withdraw from Crimea and the rest of Ukraine, peace will remain elusive.

This story was originally published by the Atlantic Council. NV is republishing it with permission.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Nordstrom shoppers love the CozyChic Lite Ribbed Travel Wrap.

Have you ever caught a chill on a plane and wished you had an extra layer? That's where the Barefoot Dreams Travel Wrap, available at Nordstrom, comes in handy.

This luxurious rib-knit wrap is ideal for rushing through the airport and needing your hands free  and it's currently on sale right now.

Made with machine-washable microfibre yarn, it doesn't shrink or pill and fits women's sizes 0-14.

The only complaint reviewers have is that their favourite colours sell fast, so add it to your shopping bag before it's gone.

Read on for all the details about this travel-ready wrap.

You can save $24 on the "driftwood" Barefoot Dreams Travel Wrap, but hurry - this colour is selling fast.

$94 $118 at Nordstrom

'Love love love this'

While this wrap only has a handful of reviews, Nordstrom shoppers are praising its comfort and style.

"Ive taken this to travel to London and Florida already! Its begin soft and super comfy while being flattering," one reviewer said. "Ive gotten so many compliments on it already! Would absolutely recommend!"

Other shoppers gushed about what a lovely Mother's Day gift the Barefoot Dreams Travel Wrap is:

"Bought this as a gift for my mom. Im ordering another one for myself," said another reviewer. "It is warm but I prefer a little warmth  especially on a chilly airplane."

Nordstrom shoppers are loving this cozy travel wrap for themselves and for Mother's Day gifts.

$94 $118 at Nordstrom

One reviewer even asked of the Barefoot Dreams Travel Wrap, "Where have you been all my life?"

"I travel often (including international). I generally bring a cashmere wrap but this takes the cake," they wrote. "So soft, it feels like I am wearing a blanket. If I dont need the warmth, I fold it up like a pillow. Ridiculously cozy."

The Barefoot Dreams Travel Wrap also comes in classic black, but either colour is extremely versatile.

$118 at Nordstrom

Verdict

This cute and cozy wrap is perfect for travel  and is also great to keep at your office for summer days when the AC is cranked.

Some shoppers do say the wrap is quite warm  so if you live in a hotter climate or don't like being toasty, you might want to pass on this.

If you're looking to snag the brown Travel Wrap, act fast  we have a feeling it'll sell out soon.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
North West has surprised her mother Kim Kardashian with the ultimate gift before the 2023 Met Gala: a spa day.

Ahead of this years Met Gala, which takes place on Monday 1 May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the nine year old surprised the Skims founder with pre-Met Gala massages.

How sweet is North for surprising me tonight with this for us to relax before the Met, Kardashian wrote over her Instagram Story on Sunday. She also shared a glimpse of the relaxing set-up, which included massage tables, candles, bouquets of white roses, and silver balloons that spelled out, Karl Lagerfeld Met Gala.

The silver balloons were in line with this years Met Gala theme  Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty  which pays tribute to the legendary German designer.

Massages before the big day, Kardashian said in the video. How beautiful!

While the elaborate spa day was a kind gesture from the nine year old, many social media users wondered how she could plan such a luxurious surprise. There is no way North did this, said one fan on Reddit.

Maybe she meant that North arranged for it to happen, said another Reddit user.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

Others wondered whether the post meant that North West will attend the annual fashion event with her mother. So its confirmed, North is Kims date for The Met? one Reddit user asked.

While its unclear whether North will be joining her mother at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, previous reports suggested the Kardashian-Jenner family had not received an invite to the gala. A report from Page Six in March claimed that the reality stars have not received an invitation to the 2023 Met Gala because Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour  who is in charge of the guest list  was allegedly cracking down on who can attend the exclusive event.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

However, Kardashian confirmed her attendance at this years Met Gala in an Instagram post featuring none other than Karl Lagerfelds cat, Choupette. Had a date with @choupetteofficiel in Paris, she captioned the post, which featured photos and video of Kardashian with Lagerfelds famous feline. We then spent some time at @karllagerfelds office to get a little inspiration for the Met.

Story continues

The Instagram post also showed Kardashian preparing for her Met Gala look, which is likely to be inspired by Lagerfelds archival looks from his time as creative director of Fendi or Chanel.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

Another report suggested Kardashian will attend the annual fashion event alongside another unnamed member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, which many assumed to be supermodel Kendall Jenner. Although, it wouldnt be the first time North West has walked the Met Gala red carpet. In 2013, Kardashian attended her first Met Gala alongside her then-husband, Kanye West. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was pregnant with her eldest daughter at the time.

On Monday evening, celebrities and fashion influencers will gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to honour the late Karl Lagerfeld. In September 2022, Vogue announced that the theme of the 2023 event will be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will examine the life of the late designers fashion legacy.

Along with Vogues editor-in-chief Wintour, there will be four co-chairs of the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer.

Fans can tune in to the Met Gala 2023 red carpet livestream on Monday 1 May at 6.30pmET on the Vogue website or its social media platforms.
Record rains this winter may have dampened Northern California, but wildfire season is still coming  and certain regions will see it sooner than others.

Temperatures in the region are warming up, teetering in the high 80s and low 90s in Sacramento, slowly drying up land drenched in early 2023 storms.

According to the states Department of Water Resources, California is experiencing one of the largest snowpacks in history, with about 126 inches of snow depth and 54 inches of snow water as of April 3, the last official measurement.

Typically, peak Northern California fire season begins in June or July and can run through November, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

Ken Pimlott, retired chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said because of the snowpack, the onset of this season could be delayed a number of months compared to the last several years.

Predicting any fire season is always a challenge, said Pimlott, who now works with El Dorado County Fire Safe Council on wildfire preparedness and prevention projects.

You cant pin down exactly what will happen because weather patterns and things can change over the course of the summer.

While there might be a delay, parts of the region are more at risk for fires than others  and the threat isnt going away.

Where are fires more likely this year?

The likelihood of wildfires in an area will depend on the landscape.

With the winter rain and snow, certain ecosystems in Northern California may be spared of some of the ravenous fires that usually spark in late spring to fall, said Dr. Andrew Latimer, professor of plant ecology at the University of California, Davis.

Areas with more trees and shrubs, such as conifer forests in the mountains and redwood forests, may have less fire activity in the summer compared to the last two years, said Latimer, who researches how forests and grasslands respond to drought and fire.

This is due to the snowpack, which will likely last longer into the summer, giving fires less time to start and spread, he said.

Story continues

There are also more speed bumps for fires in the mountains, Latimer said, such as streams, wet soil and plants that have moisture in their leaves.

Pimlott said that fire season will be off to a later start, and mid and upper-elevation forest lands, specifically, will take longer to dry out this year.

However, its not looking great in lower areas.

Last seasons wet weather resulted in a lot more grass growth in parts of the Central Valley and foothills, Latimer said.

While this is good for grazing cattle, it has also created more fuel for burning.

I would expect more fire activity in grassland areas this year, especially later in the summer, he said.

When will fire season start in 2023?

It depends on weather conditions and when vegetation starts to dry out and become flammable.

Pimlott said he thinks its possible that fires may start burning in the lower elevations from the valley floor all the way up into the foothills in May and June, due to the grass growth and drying, but it depends on the upcoming weather patterns.

He said grassland areas will start to dry out over the next two months with the recent high temperatures and windy conditions.

Thats where youll start to see your fire activity, he said. (It) will be in the lower elevations over the next several months.

While people may be focused on the snowpack melting and potential flooding, Pimlott said we cant lose sight of wildfires  and the delay gives you time to prepare.

It is California and so we will very quickly turn into fire season conditions, he said. Although those may be delayed, they will come.

He advises people to follow the states Ready, Set, Go fire preparedness guide, which includes making sure their homes can defend against fire embers and having an evacuation plan. Residents should also make sure their homes are clearly marked with addresses and ensure vent openings and roofs are up to standard.

Your guide to preparing your home and emergency kit for California wildfire season

For the most part, experts are saying fire potential in Northern California will be normal.

According to an April outlook from the National Interagency Fire Center, limited fire activity typically occurs in April and May, with less than one large fire. The agency forecasts that June and July will have near to below normal fire activity. In June, typically there are one to two large fires and in July, there are one to three.

There are no active wildfires in California as of Friday, Cal Fire reports. So far in 2023, as of April 28, 131 acres have been burned with 408 wildfires in the state. But there have been no fatalities or damaged structures.

Lightning fires remain a concern this season

Its hard to be sure of what kind of weather California is heading into this summer.

Latimer of UC Davis recalled the lightning storms that started multiple fires at once in California in 2020.

From August to early September, almost 14,000 lightning strikes sparked 900 fires and burned more than 1.5 million acres in California, according to NASA. This included the August Complex fire that ravaged Willows and the Mendocino National Forest.

If that happens again, late in the summer, Latimer said, we could still have a lot of fire.

But those are kind of rare events, he added. ... Its unlikely that would happen, but its always a risk.

According to the fire centers outlook, lightning that may occur in April to June is not likely to be impactful and is unlikely to be very impactful across the higher elevations during July other than creating some small, multistrategy fires.

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.
US President Joe Biden is failing to show true climate leadership by greenlighting new fossil fuel development, says one of the worlds leading climate activists.

Mr Biden, who recently announced he would seek re-election, has seen his approval rating on climate issues slump among the 18- to 29-year-old voters who propelled him to the White House in 2020.

Climate-conscious voters have been particularly angered by the presidents decision to approve new oil and gas drilling like the vast ConocoPhillips Willow project in Alaska.

We dont want President Biden to sit on the table of fossil fuels and also on the table of renewable energy, Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate told The Independent, in an interview on the sidelines of the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York, last week.

I think that he needs to make a choice whether to go one way, or the other way. And we hope that its the pathway to a just transition to renewable energy.

Ms Nakate recently penned an op-ed with Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, and Sofia Kianni, an Iranian-American activist, on the Willow project, which they described as a betrayal of Bidens campaign promise to halt drilling on federal lands.

Its a betrayal of our generations future and of the millions of people suffering the impact of the climate crisis, they added.

The activists demands are based in science: the influential and independent International Energy Agency has warned that there can be no investment in new fossil fuel projects if the world is to meet its 2050 net-zero target. That finding was reinforced by the latest UN climate science report which called for rapid cuts in fossil fuels across the board, and no new infrastructure for oil, coal and gas.

In just a few years, the 26-year-old has become one of the worlds most recognisable climate justice activists. She founded the RiseUp Movement, aimed at amplifying the voices of African climate activists, along with Vash Green Schools which provides schools in Uganda with solar panels and eco-friendly cookstoves to reduce their reliance on firewood.

Story continues

She is also a respected voice on the global stage, where, alongside world leaders and Hollywood stars, she drives home the message that the climate crisis is not a future problem for Africa  but happening in the here and now.

From left to right: Barbados PM Mia Mottley, Vanessa Nakate, and Dr. Rajiv Shah attend Global Citizen NOW on April 27, 2023 in New York City (Getty Images for Global Citizen)

Last Thursday, she joined Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Rockefeller Foundation president Dr Rajiv Shah to discuss how the climate crisis impacts the worlds most marginalised communities.

She pointed out that Africa, home to 1.3 billion people, accounts for less than 4 per cent of global emissions but is seeing some of the worst climate impacts.

We are seeing all this imbalance not just in Uganda but across Africa, she told The Independent, referencing the recent catastrophic flooding in her home country, which killed dozens of people and left hundreds more displaced, and Cyclone Freddy which left more than 1,000 people dead in Malawi.

Ms Nakate, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, also recalled visiting the Kenyan region of Turkana last year. The Horn of Africa is in the grips of a severe drought which has killed tens of thousands and left millions of people on the brink of famine. A recent study found that drought in the region is now around 100 times more likely due to the climate crisis.

Mothers are trying to keep their children alive, Ms Nakate said. I remember one of the children I met, by the time the sun had set that evening, he had passed away. He was suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

She added: The climate crisis is an existential threat. It is not coming in the future, it is robbing people not just of their present but [of] their very survival.

Activists like Ms Nakate have been scathing of events like the UN climate summits and Davos gatherings, which they see as paying lip service to meaningful action. But she says that young people, particularly those from the Global South, cannot afford to become disheartened.

We need to survive right now, she said. We need our communities to thrive right now. I think the urgency of the crisis leaves us with no choice but to keep fighting.

From right: Climate activists Greta Thunberg of Sweden, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda, Helena Gualinga of Ecuador, Luisa Neubauer of Germany, and Fatih Birol, Head of the International Energy Agency, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

While they continue to push for political and business leaders to take greater accountability, youth activists have been successful in drawing more people into climate action and raising awareness of the crisis.

Three in four people now view climate change as a major threat, according to a 2022 survey of more than 24,000 people in 19 countries by the Pew Research Center.

They have also targeted media organisations, demanding that they increase and improve their climate coverage. Analysis of nearly 5,000 newspaper articles on climate change, written from 2005-2019 in English-speaking countries, found that 90 per cent accurately represented the issue. Accuracy was found to improve over time except in right-leaning newspapers like Canadas National Post, Australias Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and the UK Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

But even as climate impacts become more severe, the shift by some governments, including the UK, US and Australia, has been to crackdown on peaceful protests. Governments have latched on to the civil disobedience to introduce harsher, punitive measures.

In authoritarian states, the consequences are even more chilling. Ahead of the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh this past November, more than 300 anti-government protesters were rounded up and arrested by Egyptian authories.

And more than 1,700 environmental defenders have been killed around the world in the last ten years, according to a report last year by human rights non-profit Global Witness.

The risks to activists is something that Ms Nakate is keenly aware of in Uganda where authorities continued to criminalise protest without legal basis, according to Amnesty International.

We've not been the kind that has been able to organize big marches or big strikes, she said. We've had to find different ways of doing activism  reaching out to communities, carrying out education, reaching out to schools running different projects.

For us, it was really understanding what will ensure that activists are kept safe, especially those who are young and students.

She said that it left her saddened to see activists, along with environmental defenders in indigenous communities, being arrested or even murdered.

Theyre trying to hold leaders accountable, not just for future generations, but also for the present generation, she said.

Its really sad that those who are trying to ensure that we have a better world are seen as the enemies and yet we are not.
The Russian occupiers launched a missile attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region on the night of May 1

The youngest girl injured in the Russian attack is eight years old.

Read also: Russian missile strike at Dnipro destroys family, kills three-year-old and her young mother

Two women aged 45 and 55 are in intensive care, while the rest of the injured are being treated as outpatients, he added.

People have bruises, fractures, cuts and lacerations, concussions, and poisoning by combustion products, Lysak said.

Russia launched another massive missile attack on Ukraine on May 1, the second in three days. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 15 out of 18 cruise missiles.

Read also: Search and rescue operation completed in Uman  23 dead, including six children

The Russians managed to hit an industrial enterprise, 19 high-rise buildings, 25 private houses, six schools and kindergartens, and five shops in Pavlohrad.

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
[Source]

New York City police are looking for a man who allegedly made anti-Asian remarks and spat on a staff member of Councilmember Gale Brewer.

The incident reportedly took place outside Brewers office at 563 Columbus Ave. at around 1:05 p.m. on March 14.

The man first approached the 23-year-old aide and asked her a question, according to police.

When her answer did not satisfy him, the man allegedly hurled an anti-Chinese slur before spitting on her.

More from NextShark: 3 men falsely accused of sexual assault by Eleanor Williams testify they attempted suicide

The victim called the authorities after the man fled southbound on Columbus Avenue, according to reports. She did not declare any injuries.

Police released a surveillance image of the suspect on Saturday.

He is described as Black, standing at about 5 feet and 10 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds.

More from NextShark: 'Its official like a referee with a whistle': Snoop Dogg reveals upcoming collaboration with BTS

The suspect was last seen wearing a face mask, a dark jacket, dark pants and white sneakers.

He also carried a bright backpack and a brown paper bag.

More from NextShark: Kenneth Mejia makes history as first Asian American elected to citywide office in LA

The incident reportedly prompted City Council to install a lock and buzzer at the district office.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, submit tips via the Crime Stoppers website or message @NYPDTips on Twitter.

More from NextShark: Newcomer Olivia Rodrigo Smashes Records With 3 Singles in Top 10 of Billboards Hot 100 Chart
Karl Lagerfeld and a sketch of his cat Choupette. Picture Alliance/Getty Images

Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat Choupette will not attend the 2023 Met Gala.

Representatives for the cat shared the news on Instagram, and thanked the late designer's fans.

This year's Met ball and adjacent exhibit will honor Lagerfeld's work and legacy.

Despite speculation among fashion fans, Karl Lagerfeld's cat will not be a guest at the 2023 Met Gala.

In an Instagram post on Monday, representatives for Choupette  Lagerfeld's beloved Birman cat  addressed the late designer's fans who were hoping to catch the feline at the event, which is honoring Lagerfeld's work this year.

"Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home," the Instagram post said.

It continued: "We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him."

The post, which was written in English and French, also shared a message of thanks to those who wished to see Choupette on the red carpet.

"A million thanks to all of you my fans, animal lovers & Daddy's admirers," the post said. "You have all shown the kindest enthusiasm and unconditional support, I say MERCI!"

This year's Met Gala theme has been dubbed "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," and the dress code is "in honor of Karl."

The event will celebrate his life and career, and the museum's adjacent Costume Institute exhibit will include more than 150 pieces, many of which will be displayed alongside sketches from the designer, Vogue reported.

Read the original article on Insider
Kenny Robinson knows the value of a second chance.

After serving a 10-year federal sentence, the father of five struggled to find work. His experience led him to start his nonprofit Freedom Fighting Missionaries in 2020 to help other formerly incarcerated individuals.

Its why he smiled and beamed with pride when he announced the names of the first 15 graduates of his nonprofits reentry program. Rain did not deter some 50 people from gathering last Thursday evening at Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte to see the graduates who gained employment and housing through the program.

Those celebrated tonight are the trailblazers for many who will come behind them, Robinson said. They are the ones who sacrificed along with us.

Robinson said the program aims to help formerly incarcerated people become self sufficient. This includes connecting them with housing and employment, he said. But it takes an exercise in trust for participants to believe in the budding program, he said.

The program is tailored to the needs of individuals, he said. Some participants take over a year while others take months.

Lifelong friendships and partnerships were formed over the last three years, Robinson said. The programs participants are the communitys peers and neighbors, he added.

We are in this struggle together, Robinson said.

Kenny Robinson, executive director of Freedom Fighting Missionaries, speaks at a graduation ceremony, Thursday, April 27, 2023 at Caldwell Presbyterian Church, where 15 participants in his nonprofits reentry program graduated with housing and a job.

Melvin Quick, a graduate who did 16 years in federal prison, said this program helps those who are looking to forge a new path. He said he met Robinson in 2012 while they were both in a halfway house in Charlotte. At that time, Robinson was already formulating a way to help those in a similar predicament.

This brother went on to help me get housing, Quick said.

Ricky Brown, another graduate, said the program provided hope for those looking to improve their lives after incarceration. Brown said he bounced from one friends couch to another after leaving prison in 2020 until he found stable housing. The programs focus on housing and jobs for people who were once incarcerated was a major help, Brown said.

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Individuals who found jobs shortly after exiting prison were less likely to return within the next two years than those without jobs, a 2022 North Carolina Department of Commerces Labor and Economic Analysis Division study showed.

The study said this adds to growing evidence that employment is an important determinant of recidivism outcomes.

The focus on jobs and housing comes from Robinsons lived experienced, Brown said. Its why his role in shaping the program was important, he added.

Kenny been through the fire, Brown said. He told me in the end it would be worth it, but its a process.

Reducing recidivism

Robinson said when he left prison, the lack of a collective effort from nonprofits made it difficult to access resources. Nonprofits were spread out across the city, he said.

It caused individuals like myself to bounce around on buses and trains, Robinson said.

Thats why his nonprofit takes a collaborative approach, he said. Nonprofits Erikas Closet and the Just Do It Movement are some of the partners Freedom Fighting Missionaries works with through its reentry program. This assistance ranges from helping participants find birth certificates and social security cards for employment, to court support.

Traletta Banks, who heads Erikas Closet in Charlotte N.C., looks through clothes that were donated on Monday, March 13, 2023. Robinson coordinates with other nonprofits, such as Erikas Closet, to better assist individuals with reentry.

Programs like this help reduce recidivism, Tiffany Moses, program director for Freedom Fighting Missionaries, said. It lets individuals know there is a support system out here and people that care.

Freedom Fighting Missionaries does an intake form when they first connect with individuals, she said. A lot of the nonprofits clients have come through word of mouth. People contact the nonprofit to help relatives and friends. As the nonprofits name has grown more people have reached out, she said.

The program is a process, she said. They work with participants to get mental health assessments, proper documentation to start looking for employment before facing the biggest hurdle  housing.

Moses said they are fortunate to partner with landlords who have been receptive to receiving their clients. It was heartwarming to see the first graduate class of the nonprofits reentry program, she said.

Ricky Brown, a graduate of Freedom Fighting Missionaries reentry program, on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at Caldwell Presbyterian Church. Brown said the program has helped to change the lives of its participants. It also shows there are those in the community looking to help and can provide hope for others, he added.

I just wish there were more programs to help, Brown said.

The graduation gives participants the encouragement to keep striving, said Jessica Gibson, executive director of Just Do It Movement. This celebration can serve as a reminder that difficult times do not last, she said.

When life happens again they have something to reflect on, Gibson said. They can say I made it through this then surely I can make it through the next.
Louisiana principal David Schexnaydre has a unique way of communicating with students and fostering a sense of community at his school  creating viral TikTok videos.

Whether hes hopping on the latest dance trend or filming a PSA to encourage students to take care of their Chromebooks, Schexnaydre uses TikTok to improve school culture at Harry Hurst Middle School as students recover from pandemic learning loss.

With over 2 million views, one of which garnered 212,000 likes, Schexnaydre has been able to leverage his social media presence to build trust with students.

Whether its academics, test scores or mental health, your initiatives will not work unless the school culture is right, Schexnaydre told The 74.

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Schexnaydres strategy has not only strengthened his connection with his students, but has also helped him retain and recruit new teachers.

With a 95% teacher retention rate, Schexnaydres TikTok videos have created a positive learning environment for the 107 faculty members at Harry Hurst Middle School.

However, when there are vacancies, Schexnaydre often uses his social media presence as a way to entice prospective teachers.

Schexnaydre said his TikTok often became the conversation starter, noting that his videos engaging with students and faculty give applicants a clear picture of the school community theyd be joining.

Its been a good tool for us, Schexnaydre said. Weve had really good applicants where four or five schools want them but they pick us because they saw our TikTok and how great of a school we are.

Story continues

Katie Martinez, a 7th grade English teacher at Harry Hurst Middle School, said teachers rarely ever leave.

Hes definitely a fun boss and just fabulous all the way around, Martinez told The 74. He even involves the teachers in his TikToks and really brings together this school culture and community that people want to come work at.

Martinez noted how much her students adore Schexnaydres TikTok videos.

It might seem like a silly thing and it might seem like no one cares, but the buy-in from the kids is monumental and it means the world to them, Martinez said.

They idolize David because he takes the time to figure out whats important to them and it makes them more willing to do whats important to him.

Martinez also said Schexnaydres initiatives show how useful TikTok can be in schools.

Theres definitely a way to use TikTok effectively and David has shown that it can grow a positive school culture among students and faculty, Martinez said.

Brandy Dufrene, a 6th grade science teacher at Harry Hurst Middle School, agreed with Martinez.

Especially in the middle school environment, students already think their teachers arent cool and we dont understand them at the social-emotional level, Dufrene told The 74. So I feel like if we can relate to them and build those relationships through their interests, TikTok can be helpful.

Jenny Bouler, the parent of a 6th grade student at Harry Hurst Middle School, supports Schexnaydres TikTok presence as a way to connect with students.

Bouler said Schexnaydres TikTok video encouraging students to take care of their Chromebooks by chasing after one he tossed in the air is one of many examples of the positive effect it can have on students.

My initial thought was that it was brilliant and hes a very creative principal, Bouler told The 74. He brings topics that can be a little bit bland or dry or boring and really puts a spin on them that catches the kids attention and gets them more engaged.

Jane Chauvin, the parent of a 7th grade student at Harry Hurst Middle School, agreed with Bouler.

Are there things on TikTok that are inappropriate for children? Absolutely. But our kids are smart and canny and denying access will make them want to use it more, Chauvin told The 74.

Chauvin said Schexnaydres TikTok videos, such as his lighthearted tease of students who forget to bring their school IDs, reflects how other school administrators should approach the social media platform.

His videos help him connect with our students in this digital world, Chauvin said. Our kids need to know that their teachers and administrators know whats relevant to them.

Schexnaydre believes having access to TikTok is ultimately up to students parents.

Im not trying to encourage students to make a TikTok, but a lot of them have it already, Schexnaydre said. So if you really want to reach people you have to go where they are, and thats where our kids are.

Because of the overwhelmingly positive response, Schexnaydre said he has more TikTok ideas in the works.

Just being able to do that extra little thing has made such a big difference, Schexnaydre said. And if I can get the kids to be happy and excited to come to school on a Monday morning, the proof is in the pudding.
By Khushi Mandowara and Leroy Leo

(Reuters) - Almost a third of the nurses in the United States are considering leaving their profession after the COVID-19 pandemic left them overwhelmed and fatigued, according to a survey.

The survey of over 18,000 nurses, conducted by AMN Healthcare Services Inc in January, showed on Monday that 30% of the participants are looking to quit their career, up 7 percentage points over 2021, when the pandemic-triggered wave of resignations began.

The survey also showed that 36% of the nurses plan to continue working in the sector but may change workplaces.

"This really underscores the continued mental health and well-being challenges the nursing workforce experiences post pandemic," AMN Healthcare CEO Cary Grace told Reuters in an interview.

The survey showed there are various changes needed, with 69% of nurses seeking increased salaries and 63% of them seeking a safer working environment to reduce their stress.

This comes at a time hospital operator and sector bellwether HCA Healthcare Inc indicated a recovery in staffing situation.

While a shortage of staff in hospitals has been an issue for a couple of years, it gained traction globally in late 2021 and hit a peak early last year following a large number of resignations due to burn out.

The staffing crisis drove up costs at hospital operators, while boosted profits at medical staffing providers such as AMN Healthcare.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf in August 2013. US Navy/MC3 George J. Penney III

In April, the Navy published a notice announcing the beginning of planning to scrap the USS Nimitz.

USS Nimitz entered service in 1975 and has spent nearly 50 years operating all over the world.

But Nimitz will be only the second nuclear-powered carrier to go through deactivation and defueling.

For the US Navy, the tiny atom has been a big friend. Nuclear power allows the Navy's aircraft carriers and submarines to stay at sea for extended periods, limited only by the endurance of their crews.

But there's a downside to nuclear-powered vessels: How do you dispose of them when they're no longer needed? While most ships eventually end up in the scrapyard, breaking up a radioactive power plant is a different matter  specially when it's in a giant aircraft carrier.

In early April, the Navy published a pre-solicitation notice announcing that Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding division would formulate requirements for scrapping the USS Nimitz. The Nimitz was commissioned in 1975 as the first of the 10 Nimitz-class vessels that comprise most of the current US carrier fleet.

The Nimitz would only be the second American nuclear-powered carrier scheduled to be scrapped. The first is the USS Enterprise, which was commissioned in 1961 and was also the world's first nuclear-powered carrier. Though the Enterprise was decommissioned in 2017, the Navy is just beginning a years-long process to safely dispose of it.

USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf in June 2003. US Navy/PM3 Kristi J. Earl

"The bulk of the Navy's past dismantlement and disposal work is comprised of comparatively low-cost projectsparticularly submarineswith limited resource demands compared to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier like CVN 65 [USS Enterprise], a multi-year project with a cost that will potentially exceed $1 billion," noted a 2018 Government Accountability Office report. A nuclear sub cost about $26 million to scrap, GAO estimated.

The problem isn't that the Navy doesn't have experience dismantling nuclear-powered ships. The US Navy launched the first atomic submarine  the USS Nautilus  in 1954. (The first nuclear-powered surface ship was the Soviet icebreaker Lenin, launched in 1957.)

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Since 1990, the Navy has inactivated  which entails removing the nuclear fuel and reactor compartment  more than 130 nuclear-powered ships, according to the GAO. In addition to carriers and subs, the Navy also built nine nuclear-powered cruisers in the 1960s and 1970s. The last of them, USS Arkansas, left service in 1998.

But scrapping a 100,000-ton aircraft carrier is a much more ambitious project. To say the process is complicated  both technically and bureaucratically  would be an understatement.

A disposal site with reactors from cruisers and Los Angeles-class subs in Hanford, Washington in November 2009 Department of the Navy

The Environmental Protection Agency has an entire webpage describing how the process should work.

The Department of Defense "maintains and monitors the radioactive parts," according to the EPA. The parts are shipped by barge  under Navy or Coast Guard escort  to a disposal site, while complying with Department of Transportation regulations. Some reactor parts will be stored in special vaults by the Department of Energy at its facility in Hanford, Washington.

"There is no reason civilians should ever encounter any exposure risk from nuclear submarines or the disposal sites that store the dismantled reactor compartments," the EPA says reassuringly.

As ships built almost two decades apart, the Enterprise and Nimitz are different designs. Their disposal requirements will be different, a Navy spokesman told Breaking Defense. But how the US government handles their demise will serve as a template for other nuclear-powered warships. The Navy has nine other Nimitz-class and one newer Ford-class carrier in service, and they will have to be scrapped eventually.

Yet six years after decommissioning the Enterprise, the Navy can't even decide who will scrap it. Navy shipyards are so overworked that they can't provide required maintenance for active warships, let alone take apart obsolete ones.

USS Enterprise is gutted before its official decommissioning at Naval Station Norfolk in May 2013. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

In 2022, the Navy announced that the Enterprise would be scrapped in a private shipyard rather than at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The private shipyard will probably be in Alabama, Texas, or Virginia, according to a draft environmental impact statement posted on a special Navy carrier disposal website.

However onerous or complicated it is, the Navy will have to devise a workable process for scrapping giant nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In addition to its 11 active carriers  six of which, including Nimitz, have been in service for more than 30 years  the Navy plans to build at least four more Ford-class ships, one of which will be also be called Enterprise.

Whichever way the scrapping process for Enterprise and Nimitz goes, it will be a goodbye for two of the most storied warships in American history.

Enterprise symbolized US technological prowess as the Cold War heated up in the 1960s. The USS Nimitz was an icon of the 1980s and the first of a class of carriers that has served all over the world in the post-Cold War era. Their passing will mark the end of an era.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Kerbal Space Program screenshot

The rockets engine roars to life, and moments later, it slides up, up and up and away from the launchpad. An embedded video of the flight deck shows a worried, bug-eyed face behind the helmet visor  the astronauts pulling some Gs. Hes gone positively green. But wait  because this is a launch in Kerbal Space Program, a rocketry video game  the color isnt a function of his stomach. No, hes a Kerbal, and hes literally green.

Hes also a star in Ben Adlers 8th-grade science unit on gravity and kinetic energy at Oakland, Californias Downtown Charter Academy, a middle school in the citys East Peralta neighborhood. Students are designing, building and launching rockets on Macbook Air laptops around their classroom  and trying to keep their Kerbonauts on track (and intact) for various space missions.

Its clever, engaging and far more typical in 2023 than it was before the pandemic. Lessons like these mark a genuine shift in American schools. Indeed, though many campuses reopened in part during the pandemic because they concluded that children were not learning enough using digital tools during virtual learning, late pandemic schooling today is positively saturated with these devices.

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Americans have spent huge chunks of the past three years thinking and talking about schools in binary terms  open or closed, in-person or virtual. But with schools all but universally open and back to a normal state (however imperfect), though, these dichotomies have gotten somewhat blurrier.

Truth is, we didnt reopen schools back to normal in-person learning over the past few years  so much as we brought daily virtual learning into real-world classrooms.

Kerbal Space Program

Its the new normal in U.S. public education  and its complicated. Ive visited nearly 100 public school classrooms across three states in the past six months. I dont recall seeing a single one without a computer screen projected onto the board at the front of the room. Lessons reliably include videos from curriculum vendors and/or the internet. On several occasions, I watched early elementary schoolers hold up badges hanging from lanyards around their necks to unlock laptops to play. Written assignments and quizzes  including Adlers on rocketry  are often conducted on laptops and submitted online. As students type, teachers frequently project online timer videos with animated graphics and sound effects.

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Theres no question that the pandemic shifted schools digital infrastructure. The extraordinary pressures of the past three years of crises forced significant new public investments in closing digital divides. Policymakers and schools poured emergency funding into purchasing devices like laptops, tablets, Chromebooks and internet hotspots so that all students would be able to access online lessons  so much so that supply chains couldnt keep up. This made a real dent in longstanding digital divides, even if it didnt wholly close them. Indeed, in January 2021, a survey of teachers still found 35% reporting that few of their English-learning students had reliable internet access.

Its far from clear what this means for the present and future of U.S. public education. Teachers Ive spoken with express ambivalence about the degree to which digital technology has permeated campus. Most say that its created both exciting skills and pernicious challenges.

Related: Ex-Teachers Mission: Making Sure Ed Tech Really Works in the Classroom

When Downtown Charter Academy closed on March 13, 2020, it sent students home with two weeks of assigned work. As it became clear that the crisis was serious, DCA acquired digital devices and hotspots to ensure that all families could access distance learning. Within a few weeks, the school had moved its pre-pandemic schedule online. It was 20 hours per day at first, says Director Claudia Lee. But it got easier.

But closing device and internet access gaps was just a first step. Many DCA students and families lacked the digital literacy to use and manage these new tools. This was also true across the state. A fall 2020 survey of linguistically diverse California families found that nearly one-third of participants did not understand the pandemic learning instructions they received from their childrens schools. Further, fully one-third of participants responded that they did not have email accounts they could use.

DCA teachers say that the logistics of the transition were relatively smooth. They also confirmed that they faced many of the problems that plagued virtual learning across the country. Student engagement was a struggle, with some students attending only sporadically and others switching off their cameras under the pretense that their connection was too slow to bear the video. We visited some homes, says Lee, and found some situations that were hard. Kids were trying to learn in kitchens, for example, or other places with lots of noise and distractions around. So we brought a small number of kids back to campus to log on virtually  but socially distanced.

The school reopened for full-time in-person learning in fall 2021, but it was hardly a return to normalcy. By the end of that school year, DCA students academic outcomes were significantly stronger than peers in the surrounding school district, but that was only part of the story. In discussions during a daylong professional development session this January, many teachers noted that students were prone to online distractions and  worse yet  had become increasingly adept at using digital tools and resources to avoid doing their classwork themselves. Students brought these virtual learning habits back to their in-person classrooms.

We need to help them understand that your choices become your identity, said one teacher who asked not to be quoted by name. Like, If you always lie, youre gonna eventually be known as a liar. If you always cheat, youre gonna eventually be known as a cheater. George Santos is a great example of why you shouldnt make lying a habit.

And yet, these costs have attached benefits. Teachers are wrangling with new digitally infused questions around academic integrity, yes, but thats also because they have continued to use Google Classroom and other platforms as part of their courses. These streamline student assignments, teacher grading and subsequent data analysis  and offer the potential for more effective and timely communication with students families. Indeed, teachers reported that, at this stage of the pandemic, many more of their families have and can use online communication tools like email, school communication apps (for example), and video conferencing to stay linked up to whats happening on campus. In particular, Zoom parent-teacher conferences are much easier and more equitable than the old in-person-only model.

Related: Boyd & Briggs: As Schools Return to in-Person Learning, They Must Keep Parent Engagement Going. Our Family Guides Can Help

As such, teachers spent much of the family engagement part of the January professional development session discussing how to unlock families new digital literacy abilities. Members of the 8th-grade team admit to one another that they arent meeting their initial goal of reaching out to at least five families each week through the schools official communication app  and brainstorm ways to reset and hold one another accountable to that expectation. The 7th-grade team agrees that they could do more to engage students families, and devises a process for making and sending a two-minute Friday video explaining what 7th graders will learn in the coming week. Almost everyone agrees that the school needs a meeting to help get families familiar with  and logged on to  the schools different digital platforms.

Kerbal Space Program

As for the little green Kerbals in their spaceships, Adler emails, Across all three days, no students were caught running any other program or browsing. A notoriously disengaged student became enraptured, and even turned in good marks on the follow-up assessment. Students scored reasonably well on a subsequent quiz, with  for example  majorities of the 8th graders correctly identifying apoapsis as the highest point in an orbit, even though the term did not appear in any of the instructional materials other than the Kerbal Space Program missions.

So: is digital literacy a key skill (or a skill set)? Or are digital tools a crutch for students? Or some murky mixture of both? These are potent questions for this moment, as worsened teenage mental health, public launches of artificial intelligence tools and concerns about the state of the humanities are creating a national discussion about technology and education.

I truly dont know. But I think were long overdue for a collective rethinking of just what we want from education technology. As we clamber out of three years of pandemic-steeped K12 education, it presently feels like were drifting to a sleepy acquiescence of any and all digital learning tools without regard for their actual purpose. Its time for educators, policymakers and families to adopt a more intentional, active stance when making education technology choices  with an eye to avoiding unreflective reliance on these tools.
Residents, students and Alhambra and San Gabriel city leaders at a 2021 march to denounce anti-Asian sentiment, racism and hate crimes, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When I was young, I visited Taiwan every summer. I spoke Taiwanese at home, and we often ate Taiwanese food at home. My parents emphasized that they were from Taiwan and that we were a Taiwanese family with roots that extended several generations on the island, to before Chiang Kai-shek fled there in 1949.

Indeed, my identity as a child was very much as a Taiwanese American. Having a distinct name of clearly Asian origin only reinforced that. And while no one in North Carolina (where I was born and lived for the first six years of my life) could pronounce my name, being Taiwanese American wasn't so unusual once we moved to Rowland Heights, a suburb in the San Gabriel Valley, where many could trace their heritage to Taiwan.

But as I got older and went from middle school to high school, I became less wedded to my Taiwanese identity. For ease, I even began to tell people I was Chinese, since some I encountered would confuse Taiwan with Thailand. I then went to college, met classmates who embraced their Asianness and was introduced to pan-Asian ethnic affiliations and organizations. Whether I was Taiwanese or Chinese didnt seem to matter so much. We were all Asian Americans who were developing our own identities separate and apart from whatever our specific heritage or ethnicity was.

Over the last few years, however, Ive become a lot more conscious of my identity as a Taiwanese American. But not for the same reasons as when I was young. Instead, its because being perceived as Chinese in America has become so much more challenging with the sharp increase in geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Former President Trump then made matters worse by calling COVID-19 the China virus or the kung flu and maligning his own secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, because of her heritage. Ironically, though, many older Taiwanese Americans supported Trump because of the skepticism he expressed toward China and the policy steps he took to bring the U.S. and Taiwan closer.

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The challenge was heightened when I entered the public arena last year as a candidate for California state controller. During that campaign, I consistently self-identified as Taiwanese American and emphasized my negative impressions of the Chinese Communist Party, how it governs China, and the constant threat it poses to Taiwan. These have long been my views, but my emphasis of them was certainly influenced by the environment we find ourselves in today.

Still, I have found it difficult to watch how some Americans of both Chinese and Taiwanese descent have had their loyalties called into question or been deemed somehow un-American because of business, cultural or personal ties to China. Regardless of the significant contributions they have made to the communities they live in, these colleagues and friends have been subjected to innuendo, assumptions and unsubstantiated narratives. In some cases, these attacks have come in very public forums.

Of course, we should not dismiss some of the broader concerns about the Chinese governments efforts to ramp up its influence activities in the U.S. Unfortunately, no sector of American society  business, academia, politics and beyond  is immune from the CCPs efforts to shape opinion here.

Because of this, Americans of Chinese descent can feel pressure to prove that they are more loyal to our country. But the latest examples of such activity have not even involved people of Chinese descent. A former Harvard professor, Charles Lieber, was sentenced last week for making false statements to federal agents and failing to declare money he received as part of a contract with a Chinese university. And last week, former Fugees rapper Prakazrel Michel was convicted in a federal case that included accusations of trying to influence U.S. officials on behalf of the Chinese government. These recent cases show that ethnic identity or heritage isnt a proxy for patriotism.

As a Taiwanese American, I dont believe the current Chinese government is particularly interested in improving relations with the United States. At the same time, I take pride in the strong friendships I have with Chinese Americans who dont shy away from their heritage and connections to China as a society, not a government. Ill continue to participate in organizations and endeavors that honor and celebrate the many contributions that Americans of Chinese descent have made to creating a more perfect union.

Ive come full circle when it comes to my own Taiwanese identity. And while there surely are differences between those who are Taiwanese and those who are Chinese, one thing is for certain: As Americans, we share one fate, and were better together than we are apart.

Lanhee J. Chen is a fellow in American public policy studies at the Hoover Institution and the director of domestic policy studies at Stanford University. He was a candidate for California state controller in 2022.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Authorities in Moldova on Monday detained a leading figure in long-running opposition protests calling for the resignation of the pro-European government as she attempted to leave the country, the anti-corruption prosecutor's office said.

Marina Tauber has spearheaded street protests denouncing President Maia Sandu, who has championed the rapid integration into the European Union of Moldova, an impoverished ex-Soviet state lying between Ukraine and EU member Romania.

Tauber is a senior member of Moldova's second largest opposition party led by Ilan Sor, who lives in exile in Israel and was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison in connection with a bank fraud.

Sandu and other officials say Tauber's role in the often noisy protests are part of attempts to disrupt public affairs in Moldova and act in the interests of Russia.

"Every person is obliged to abide by the legal norms of the Republic of Moldova and any action in violation of these norms is subject to punishment ... by law," presidential press secretary Irina Gotisan said in a statement.

Tauber faces fraud charges over party financing and was arrested while attempting to leave for Israel in violation of court orders. She remained in custody on Monday evening, according to the prosecutor's office.

Moldova has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accuse the Kremlin of attempting to destabilizes the country.

Sandu won election in 2020 by a landslide and her PAS party, which upholds her pro-European policies, holds a majority in parliament. The protests have posed little threat to her authority.

Tauber is also expected to play a role in an election being held in the Moldovan region of Gagauzia, which is populated mainly by ethnic Turks who adhere to the Orthodox Church and favour close ties with Russia.

All eight candidates for the post of "bashkan" were pro-Russian. Tauber was expected to campaign on behalf of one of the two hopefuls who will contest a run-off later this month.

Story continues

Sandu and her PAS party have been criticized for failing to field a candidate on that grounds that any such hopeful would suffer a crushing defeat in the region.

Another Moldovan region, Transdniestria, broke away from Moldova in the 1990s and is propped up by 1,500 Russian "peacekeepers" in place since a brief war in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse.

(Writing by Ronald Popeski; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced Monday she has terminated her contract with private marijuana company Veriede Holding  a contract that will be the focus of an ethics investigation demanded by Gov. Tina Kotek.

Fagan in a statement said she owed the people of Oregon an apology and welcomed any investigations.

"I look forward to the findings of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission because they will confirm that I followed Oregon ethics rules and laws," she said in the statement. "I am also eager for the Department of Justices review of the OLCC audit because the review will verify that hard-working auditors in the Oregon Audits Division conducted their work with independence and integrity."

New: Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigns amid cannabis controversy

Top Republicans called for Fagan's resignation Thursday.

She must resign, Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp and House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson said in a joint statement. This appears to be an ethics violation, and if it isnt, then Oregons ethics laws are broken. An elected official cannot take funds for personal use from someone they regulate.

Late Friday, Kotek called for the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to investigate Fagan's actions and for the Department of Justice to take a look at the newly released cannabis audit.

Its critical that Oregonians trust their government, Kotek said in a statement. That is why I am urging the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to immediately investigate this situation. Additionally, I am requesting that the Oregon Department of Justice examine the Secretary of States recently released audit of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) and its cannabis program.

Details of the contract

Fagan on Monday released the contract she signed with Veriede Holding.

According to the contract, Fagan was receiving $10,000 a month and would have received $30,000 in bonuses for "successful acquisition of license(s)" Veriede and its affiliates obtained outside of Oregon or New Mexico.

Story continues

Further specifics about the consulting work was not clear from the released contract but Fagan in a short news conference Monday said her consulting work involved "research," compiling information about the laws and regulations in the industry in other states and territories.

Fagan's Oregon state bar status is inactive but Fagan said she is actively in the process of becoming an active bar member again. If the contract had continued outside of its early stage and once she was an active member of the bar, she would have performed legal analysis, she said.

Veriede never asked her to do anything other than research and did not expect her to use her relationships as secretary of state to benefit their business, she said.

Fagan admitted, however, that she had conversations "at lunch and stuff" about cannabis including at least one with Connecticut's lieutenant governor Susan Bysiewicz about who a cannabis company should talk to "if they wanted to get a lay of the land."

Byseiwicz's office sent an emailed statement to the Statesman Journal in response to questions surrounding the conversation.

"It was a one-time communication by phone call," according to the statement. "Approximately three weeks ago, the lieutenant governor received a phone call from Shemia Fagan inquiring about Connecticut's cannabis license process for a client Fagan had as part of her consulting business. The lieutenant governor pointed Fagan to public information of the appropriate state agency contact to learn Connecticut's lottery process. There was no further communication beyond the one phone call."

Campaign contributions

Willamette Week first reported Thursday that Fagan had entered a contract with Veriede Holding in February. The Oregon company is an affiliate of La Mota, a cannabis chain whose owners, Rosa Sazares and Aaron Mitchell have reportedly failed to pay millions of dollars in cannabis and federal income taxes and faced workplace complaints.

Fagan said she was not aware of the "troubling allegations" about the owners before signing the contract and announced she would be redirecting remaining political contributions made by La Mota's owners. Fagan said she would empty her PAC and donate its entire balance to the Oregon Humane Society.

Campaign records show Mitchell in 2020 and 2021 donated $30,000 to the Committee to Elect Shemia Fagan. The account currently has bout $16,000 in it.

Sazares and Mitchell have become major Democratic funders.

According to Fagan, she met the owners of La Mota at a breakfast when she first began her campaign for secretary of state. She and the couple both have children around the same age and the two have met socially since the initial 2020 meeting, she said.

She became a consultant, she said, after a social catch-up in February where she mentioned she was excited to teach a class at Willamette University for supplemental income and Sazares mentioned the company was looking for contractors as they explored expanding outside the state.

Salary 'isn't enough'

In response to criticism surrounding Fagan's decision to take on a consulting gig outside of her commitment as secretary of state, Fagan said "to put it bluntly, my secretary of state salary isn't enough to make ends meet."

Her salary from the state is about $77,000 a year.

She is "starting over financially" after a divorce, law school and as a renter and sole income earner in her household, she said.

She emotionally repeated her apology for exercising "poor judgment."

"Clearly this contract raises questions and upon painful reflection, taking that contract was poor judgment. I made a mistake and I own it," she said

Questions about recusal

Fagan recused herself from an audit the Secretary of State's Office was conducting into how the state is handling marijuana-related businesses five days before she reportedly began consulting work for Veriede Holding on Feb. 20.

In the email she sent to staff Feb. 15, Fagan announced her deputy secretary, Cheryl Myers, would oversee the audit as she would "soon be consulting for a company involved in the cannabis industry in multiple states." And while Fagan has said the ethics commission did not advise her of any actual or potential conflict, the Oregonian reported that she did not ask for anything in writing surrounding the position.

Fagan during the news conference said she didn't seek a written opinion from the ethics commission because staff had told her to do so if she wanted to avoid recusing herself.

"An opinion would have gotten me out of recusing myself. I chose instead to voluntarily take the most restrictive limitation on myself and to recuse myself from the OLCC audit," she said.

According to a news conference Friday, Fagan attended two meetings about the audit before her recusal, and the audit was substantially finished by the time she had recused herself.

Meeting notes mention Fagan specifically asked the audit team if they had interviewed Cazares.

"I exercised poor judgment by contracting with a company that is owned by my significant political donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my Audits Division," Fagan said in her statement Monday. "I am sorry for harming the trust that Ive worked so hard to build with you over the last few years, and I will spend the next two years working hard to rebuild it."

When asked if rebuilding trust would include releasing her tax returns, Fagan said the move was "not customary" for the secretary of state.

"I've released the contract and I'm letting you know that I was paid for two months of it," she said. "I am here because I'm owning a mistake that I made and that's why I'm here today."

The news conference was ended after thirty minutes even as reporters still attempted to get questions answered.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan ends consulting contract
OTTAWA COUNTY  The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has filed an emergency appeal after a judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing the group from firing its health officer.

Muskegon 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny L. McNeill granted Adeline Hambley a preliminary injunction April 18, allowing Hambley to remain in her position until a trial can take place later this year over the myriad claims she made that Ottawa Impact-linked commissioners have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job.

Ottawa County Health Officer Adeline Hambley leaves the courtroom Friday, March 31, 2023.

Hambley filed her lawsuit Feb. 13 in Ottawa Countys 20th Circuit Court, claiming several commissioners overreached their authority by attempting to limit her state-authorized health duties, including standing in the way of critical contracts the county has with local health providers.

A key dispute was whether Hambleys appointment is binding to the new board, which is now controlled by Ottawa Impact, an upstart far-right political group borne from clashes over the countys COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020.

More: Judge: Ottawa health officer will remain in place until trial on broader issues

More: Judge to consider whether Ottawa County health officer was properly appointed

Its founders, Joe Moss and Sylvia Rhodea, were unsuccessful in suing the previous board of commissioners and the county's former health officer, Lisa Stefanovsky, who retired in March.

In response, they targeted seats on the board in 2022, recruiting like-minded candidates who agreed traditional Republicans werent enforcing true conservative policies. They successfully defeated enough incumbents in the August primary to win the majority.

Now, Moss and Rhodea are among the defendants in the lawsuit.

Ottawa County Board Chair Joe Moss sits as a defendant in a lawsuit Friday, March 31, 2023, at the Michigan 14th Circuit Court in Muskegon.

On Monday, May 1, Kallman Legal Group, representing the commission, filed with the Michigan Court of Appeals, asking that McNeill's ruling be reversed, dissolving the injunction and granting the commissioners a summary dismissal of the entire proceedings with prejudice  meaning Hambley would not be able to bring forward another action on the matter.

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Kallman reargued a claim made during a hearing March 31, that former Board Chair Matt Fenske and current County Clerk Justin Roebuck altered the unanimously approved written resolution appointing Hambley the new health officer by the old board in December.

"The Trial Court erroneously held that a County Board of Commissioners (BOC) can make a motion and vote publicly at a meeting, record that motion and vote in the official BOC minutes, but then allow the Chair and Clerk to sign a resolution after the meeting and outside of public view that contradicts the BOC motion and vote. This blatantly violates the Open Meetings Act, which requires that all decisions of a BOC be made in public," attorney Stephen Kallman wrote in the appeal application.

"If the Trial Courts wrongful decision is upheld, it would permit all public bodies in Michigan to openly tell the public and record in their official minutes one thing, and then privately do another."

The OI commissioners argue the resolution approving Hambleys appointment "did not accurately reflect the actual motion and vote that took place at the meeting" because there were wording discrepancies between the written resolution and the verbal motion made by one of the commissioners prior to the unanimous vote to appoint Hambley. At issue  a belief the verbal motion required a second vote from the board to officially hire Hambley, something multiple then-board members have said was never the intention.

Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck

Roebuck has denied Kallman's allegations.

"I categorically deny the allegation that I or any member of my team violated the Open Meetings Act, or acted unethically in any way in the conduct of our normal business while processing this resolution," Roebuck wrote in an emailed statement to The Sentinel.

Fenske did not respond to The Sentinel's request for comment.

Kallman also claims McNeill violated the "separation of powers in granting Hambley's injunction," saying the board was erroneously stripped of its oversight of the health officer position.

Hambley's attorney, Sarah Riley Howard, has repeatedly asserted the health officer position is unique in that its powers and responsibilities are granted through the Michigan Department of Health of Human Services. Howard said the board has no right to fire Hambley without providing "just cause," or evidence that she has abused or neglected her duties.

Howard's position has been supported by Ottawa County's former attorney, Doug Van Essen, as well as former state attorney general Mike Cox. She said she plans to oppose any stay  delay  to the circuit court's ruling while the Court of Appeals evaluates the case.

In her April ruling, McNeill said there was no case law provided by the defendants to show the December resolution was invalid.

Circuit Court Judge Jenny McNeill speaks to Adeline Hambley's lawyer, Sarah Riley Howard, on Friday, March 31, 2023.

"The motion passed. The board had the resolution in front of them. The court has not been provided any authority for this argument. There is no logical reason for the board to vote twice on this issue," McNeill wrote. "A common sense reading of the motion and resolution are that the Plaintiff was appointed as the Health Director."

She denied both sides' requests for summary judgments in their respective favor  with the exception of the preliminary injunction  because there are disputes over the facts that surround the case.

McNeill denied Kallman's request to sanction Hambley, saying her lawsuit was not frivolous. McNeill also denied Kallman's request for a stay of the proceedings.

David Kallman addresses the judge during proceedings Friday, March 31, 2023, at the Michigan 14th Circuit Court in Muskegon.

A trial date has not yet been scheduled.

The case was the first of at least two lawsuits filed against the county.

The second lawsuit from a citizen group was filed against the board March 8, alleging the Ottawa Impact majority violated OMA at its inaugural meeting by communicating and making decisions behind closed doors beforehand. The lawsuit names the board as an entity and doesn't identify individual commissioners.

The suit seeks to nullify decisions made by the board Jan. 3, arguing Ottawa Impact commissioners were a de facto public body and required to adhere to OMA beginning Nov. 9  the day after the general election  because, during that time, they knew they'd hold a majority on the board, discussed county business, made decisions affecting the county and gave instructions to county staff, which were followed.

Kallman, again defending the commission, responded to the lawsuit on April 5 asking the case be dismissed. He said the complaint "fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted" and argued a de facto official is not a legally recognizable label nor position under the law.

"Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel thoroughly investigated Defendants actions complained of in the above complaint and determined that Defendant committed no violations of the Open Meetings Act," Kallman wrote.

On Jan. 4, Nessel announced her office would review the actions taken during the previous day's meeting to determine if OMA was violated. After a nearly six-week review, she announced Feb. 16 that, although the OI commissioners' conduct was a blatant violation of the publics trust and the tenets of government transparency, it didn't technically violate state law.

Nessel planned to urge state lawmakers to view Ottawa County as a reason to strengthen "sunshine laws," which include OMA and the state's Freedom of Information Act.

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

"Theres no question that there were things that occurred involving this county commission that were really disturbing, Nessel told The Sentinel.

In an interview with The Sentinel, Nessel said Ottawa County residents could still pursue legal action, which could set new precedent for what commissioners can and can't do before taking office.

A hearing on the matter has not been scheduled yet.

 Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa commissioners file emergency appeal in health officer lawsuit
The 2023 season opened May 1 for pikeminnow, the fish that earns anglers a bounty if they register first and catch them in the Columbia or Snake rivers of Washington and Oregon.

Catch cash, save salmon, says the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program. Pikeminnow are voracious eaters, feeding on young salmon and steelhead in those rivers.

Last year the top angler in the bounty program earned nearly $70,000 for turning in northern pikeminnow from May through September.

The top 20 payouts in the program were $20,000 or more in 2022, according to the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The program pays $6 each for the first 25 pikeminnow; $8 each for 26 to 200 pikeminnow; and $10 for each after 200 for the entire year. Amounts paid for fish increased in 2022.

In addition, specially tagged pikeminnow are worth $200 to $500.

In all, the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program paid out $1.4 million for pikeminnow caught and turned in last year.

Register daily for the Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program and turn in pikeminnow caught for a cash reward.

The mouth of the Yakima River is one of the best places in the Tri-Cities to fish for pikeminnow, particularly in May and early June, according to the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A registration station for the program opened Monday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Columbia Point in Richland. Also opening Monday were the station at the Columbia River Vernita Bridge rest area from 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. and a new station at Hood Park in Burbank near the mouth of the Snake River from 3 to 6 p.m.

On June 1, the Windust Park station by the Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River will open. The Ringold station near Pasco will not open this year because of lack of angler interest there.

To participate, register before fishing each day with forms available at boxes 24 hours a day at registration stations. Fish caught must be returned to the same registration station during operating hours on the date stamped on the registration form.

When pikeminnow at least 9 inches long are turned in, a voucher is issued that can be mailed off for payment.

Story continues

How to catch pikeminnow

The Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program recommends fishing in rocky areas with fast current near dams, islands, stream mouths, points, eddies, rows of piles, and ledges or bars in the river.

Most fish are caught in 7 to 25 feet of water where they are feeding on smolts, freshwater clams and crayfish.

They move to find prey and if you dont have good results in 30 minutes to an hour, the program recommends moving up or down stream.

The top angler in the 2022 Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program was paid nearly $70,000 for their catch from May through September.

Fishing usually is best during low-light conditions, such as sunrise and sunset.

Information on fishing for pikeminnow with bait, plastic grubs or lures is posted at bit.ly/3LlfpaL.

Since the Bonneville Power Administration began paying for the program in 1990, the number of young salmon and steelhead devoured by pikeminnow has decreased about 40%.

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife collaboratively manage the program.

Full details  including where to register, tips for identifying and catching pikeminnow and how to get a $10 bonus coupon  are posted at pikeminnow.org. Information also is available by calling 800-858-9015.
Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Celebrate the coronation with King Charles official recipe.

Brent Hofacker / Getty Images

For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II reigned over England, but on May 6, 2023 a new monarch is taking over  her son, now known as Charles III. And to celebrate the occasion the soon-to-be King ordained an official coronation recipe for quiche lorraine.

This historic occasion has attracted attention from Americans too (many more of whom have been closely following the royal family since Meghan Markle joined). A great way to take part in the festivities is by baking King Charles quiche, perhaps for the coronation watch party youre planning to host. But first, youre going to need the perfect pan  and this one with more than 3,000 perfect ratings is only $10 on Amazon.

Amazon

To buy: Wilton Nonstick Quiche Pan, $10 (originally $12) at amazon.com

According to the British royal familys official Twitter account, the King and Queen Consort (his wife Camila) released the recipe in honor of the Coronation Big Lunch, from May 6 to 8. During this time, communities all over the United Kingdom are encouraged to host block parties (or even just a cup of tea with a neighbor) celebrating the coronation where tea, drinks, and food will be served  including this quiche.

Whether you want to host a Coronation Big Lunch in your neighborhood, or are planning a more lowkey celebration at home, this spinach and tarragon-flecked quiche is a crowd pleaser (Great British Baking Show host Prue Leith called it really good).

One of the most important aspects of great quiche is a flakey, firm  never soggy  crust with a crimped edge. And to get that, you need this pan. Its 9-inches in diameter, the perfect shareable size, with a scalloped design. Its nonstick, so no pieces of your crust get stuck to pan. And, crucially, the bottom is removable, so you can seamlessly remove it from the pan for serving with no damage to the crust or filling.

Story continues

This pan has earned so much praise thanks to the fact that its sturdy and easy to wipe clean. One reviewer thinks that this quiche pan is the same quality as those sold by a more expensive retailer, writing that it makes a fantastic fluted crust while baking evenly, and that its a must for perfect sized, tasty brunch quiches.

My quiche slid out with no damage to the crust, wrote another reviewer who reported seeing the same quality product sold for as much as $40 at speciality kitchen stores.

Quiche is the ideal brunch dish any time of year  not just during the coronation. For just $10, this quiche pan is a great deal, and youll use it throughout King Charles reign.

At the time of publishing, the price was $10.



For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.
By Lucinda Elliott

ASUNCION (Reuters) - News of Santiago Pena's election victory in Paraguay will be cheered by officials in Taiwan, which faces an uphill battle against China's economic muscle to keep its remaining 13 allies worldwide, including its last in South America.

Pena, who scored a sizeable win in Sunday's presidential ballot, pledged throughout the election campaign to defend Paraguay's almost 70-year diplomatic relations with democratically-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

Opposition rival Efrain Alegre, however, indicated his preference would be to switch ties to China to gain access to the country's huge markets for Paraguay's soy and beef farmers, the main drivers of its exports and economy.

"This is a relief to Taipei," a senior European diplomat told Reuters in Asuncion asking not to be named. "It gives them the easier option."

Taiwan's embassy in Paraguay congratulated Pena for winning the election and said it would continue to work on the two countries' "fruitful relationship".

However, pressure inside the South American nation to shift allegiance is likely to keep rising, especially from its powerful agricultural lobby that wants to open up China's lucrative markets to Paraguay's soybeans and beef.

"We will continue to make our position known because the numbers talk. We are making potential losses," Pedro Galli from Paraguay's Rural Association told Reuters shortly after the result, adding the group's pro-China stance remained firm.

Pena's victory - and a strong performance in congressional elections by the ruling conservatives - has dampened hopes of a swift foreign policy shift, Galli said. "Our next president wants to strengthen relations with Taiwan further."

Some analysts have said Pena's support for Taiwan may come under pressure as Paraguay needs to shrink a large fiscal deficit and rev up the economy. He may also not have the same bond with Taiwan as current President Mario Abdo, whose father was involved in establishing ties in the 1950s.

Story continues

Ruben Ramirez, a former foreign minister for Paraguay told Reuters that discussions over the Taiwan relationship must remain a priority when the new government is sworn in.

"There has to be a degree of consensus among the private sector, farm producers and the political class," he said.

Wang Ting-yu, a senior lawmaker with Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party who sits on parliament's foreign affairs committee, wrote on social media that Pena's win was a victory for Taipei, but that it "could not lower its guard".

"After all, the severing of diplomatic relations with Taiwan and turning to China has caused discussion in Paraguayan society and there is considerable support for it," he wrote.

"China will inevitably find cracks to expand its influence. Taiwan's diplomacy has no cause to relax."

(Reporting by Lucinda Elliott; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Barbara Lewis)
Why Democrats must defend deviancy

By Mark Alexander

web posted May 1, 2023

It must be spring!

Rainbow-colored virtue-signaling yard signs are sprouting up in front of some homes in wealthy suburbs, an indication they are occupied by affluent white privilege Democrats. Many of these leftist protagonists are inheritance welfare liberals, the effluent of generational wealth and privilege, who choose to live in the safety and comfort of suburbia, with their enclaves of clubs and finer eating establishments.

These truly enlightened Demo elitists harbor fear of and contempt for grassroots Americans, in part because they have little social intersection with those who form the backbone of our nation. They arrogantly deride the foundational family and faith values that are common among grassroots folks. And they certainly don't understand our embrace of American Liberty, the antithesis of the statist government power they advocate.

Despite their confident facade, these suburban lefties are an insecure lot who are quick to embrace the latest virtue identity fad.

When Donald Trump was president, they displayed their Hate Has No Home Here yard signs, expressing their disdain for We, the [Deplorable] People. Ahead of the 2020 election, they put out their phony Black Lives Matter signs while dispensing barrels of their BLM elixir, thinking it would ingratiate them with those off-color minorities who mostly loathe rich liberals.

They would never acknowledge that black lives don't matter to the Demo hate hustlers they put in power  those who long ago betrayed the legacies of Frederick Douglass, Booker Washington, and Martin King in order to keep poor black and brown people their dependents.

After the virtue signalers elected Joe Biden, who promptly enabled Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, they laughingly replaced their Biden yard signs with plastic Ukrainian flag signs.

The vast majority of these suburban leftists have never raised their hand to to support and defend our country, or anything else. They depend on the grassroots folks for their protection, whether from gangbangers who venture into their neighborhoods or despots in foreign lands.

One of the virtue-signaling signs that reemerges once the other signs have worn out their usefulness is the Rainbow Mafia version  you know, variations of rainbow colors that also adorn the backs of vehicles. That theme, in support of the Left's gender-confusion cult, has become the most prolific of the Demo virtue projections, an excessive emphasis that at first glance seems curious.

Amid all the issues that Democrats should focus on if they're serious about lifting up their constituents, why do their national, state, and local leftist cadres expend so much highly visible political capital defending abject gender deviance?

That deviance now increasingly includes the most offensive of the aberrant offenders, including transgender men competing as women in sports, trans groomers infiltrating elementary schools as teachers, drag queen kindergarten groomers, and now, even the most grotesque of the bunch, child gender mutilators who are profiting from cutting body parts off of children.

Democrats are even passing legislation to remove children from parents who won't allow their child to be chemically or physically mutilated.

Defending even these absurd outlying manifestations of gender confusion is critical to the Demos' gender cult agenda, which struck deep into the heartland of normalcy when Biden signed the so-called Respect for Marriage Act  which is anything but. Last week, every House Demo voted against a bill to restrict men from competing as women in sports. Biden had already signaled he would veto it.

So, what is the political strategy behind the Demo defense of their most deviant and delusional constituents? Why expend so much political time and energy on this defense?

So quick are Demos to defend these special constituents that after a gender-confused assailant murdered six people at a Nashville Christian school, they pulled out all the stops to deflect attention from the assailant's gender pathology, including by promoting yard signs that note Protect Kids, Not Guns. Ironically, those signs include rainbow lettering.

The Nashville case provides the evidential trail exposing the Demo deviant defense political strategy. Hint: It's all about female voters.

Follow along...

After the attack, Nashville Police Chief John Drake announced, We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we're going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident, including a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place. He added that the assailant was prepared to do more harm than was actually done.

Drake indicated the writings would be released to the public, but as I wrote at the time, I doubted that would happen because that manifesto might connect the dots confirming this was a hate crime.

Recall that the Nashville attack occurred just ahead of the Trans Day of Vengeance. And on that day of vengeance, a gender-confused Colorado Springs man was arrested after the discovery of his hate manifesto detailing his plans to attack schools and churches. (Notably, information about that case was not released to the public until six days after the suspect was arrested for reasons not explained.)

Now, four weeks after the Nashville assault, the assailant's writings indicating her motive have still not been released. No dots to connect here; move along.

As for why her sociopathic rants have not been released, professor Joseph Giacalone of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice speculated, I think what the FBI is really concerned here with ... is that if there is something in there that is truly damaging for the transgender community, I think they are hesitant to do it because they are afraid of a violent backlash against that protected class of people.

Actually, there is most definitely concern about a backlash, but against that protected class is not the backlash Biden and his Demos are worried about.

And herein lies the answer to the question of why Democrats expend enormous political capital defending deviance.

The delay in releasing the assailant's writings is because she is among the Left's prized protected class of gender-confused constituents. If the release of her rantings indicated that the motive for her attack was hatred for those who disagreed with her identity and ideology, thus fitting the criterion for a hate crime, the Department of Justice would be obligated to classify it as such.

The Biden administration will vigorously reject any effort by the DOJ to do so.

Why?

Because that would result in an immediate political backlash from their Demo base  those who support the whole LGBTQ+++ ad nauseam spectrum of gender deniers, especially if that hate crime declaration implied a connection between her gender confusion and mental illness.

Democrats know they can give no ground regarding defense of their deviant gender-outlier constituents because that connects the dots to the 5% of their constituents who are in the gay and lesbian category, and that group is supported by a majority of the Democrats' largest and most critical voting bloc, women.

Yes, another irony being that a large number of leftist biological women support the tiny but very vocal nonbinary miscreants. Democrat strategists believe their female voters are emotionally incontinent idiots who can be manipulated into dependably voting Democrat by promoting emotionally provoking issues.

As reported in National Review's gender gap analysis: In 2022, men voted Republican by a 14-point margin, while women voted Democratic by an 8-point margin. That's a 22-point gender gap.

Got that?

So, rather than risk offending women voters, make the issue about guns instead of gender pathology. And then give all those emotionally incontinent white privilege virtue signalers Protect Kids Not Guns yard signs. Throw in some statehouse protests to bolster that diversion.

Of course, we ALL want to protect kids from the rising generation of sociopathic killers, the vast majority of whom are killing each other, not schoolchildren. And fortunately, most school kids are protected by resource officers with guns.

If those enlightened suburban leftists were really concerned about children, they would be posting yard signs that read: Protect Kids, Not Groomers. Tag team that with Protect Kids, Not Failed Demo Social Policies.

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP)  Paraguayans voted overwhelmingly to keep the long-ruling Colorado Party in power for five more years, backing its presidential candidate and giving it majorities in both houses of Congress.

Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist, had 43% of the votes in a preliminary count from Sunday's election, with nearly all voting places reporting. That was far ahead of the 27% held by his closest challenger, Efrain Alegre of the Pact for a New Paraguay, a broad-based opposition coalition that had united in an effort to bring to an end Colorados seven-decade stranglehold on power.

The conservative Colorado Party also had a strong showing in other races, winning 15 of the 17 governorships up for election and getting majorities in both the Senate and the lower house.

Led by Alegre, the opposition coalition had been optimistic it was going to be able to win votes due to widespread unhappiness over high levels of corruption and failures in the health and education systems, which took center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet a significant number of non-Colorado voters instead supported Paraguayo Cubas, a right-wing populist outsider who received 23% of the vote with a strong anti-establishment message, a larger share than had been expected.

There were 13 candidates in all, but Paraguay doesn't require a presidential candidate to get more than 50% of the votes, giving the victory to whomever gets the most votes.

Pena celebrated a showing that on Aug. 15 will make him Paraguays youngest president since the return of democracy in 1989.

Today were not celebrating a personal triumph, were celebrating the victory of a people who with their vote chose the path of social peace, dialogue, fraternity, and national reconciliation, Pena told a crowd of supporters Sunday night. Long live Paraguay! Long live the Colorado Party!

Alegre acknowledged defeat soon thereafter.

Today, the results indicate that perhaps the effort we have made was not enough, Alegre told reporters, adding that divisions among the opposition prevented us from reaching the goal of being able to bring about the change that the majority of Paraguayans are asking of us.

Story continues

The first to congratulate the president-elect was the outgoing president, Mario Abdo Benitez. Congratulations to the Paraguayan people for their great participation in this electoral process, and to the president-elect Santiago Pena, he said on social media. We will work to initiate an orderly and transparent transition that strengthens our institutions and the countrys democracy.

Before the vote, analysts had predicted a close contest for president, saying Alegre could have a chance of unseating South Americas longest-governing party, which has essentially ruled Paraguay uninterrupted since 1947.

But many voters preferred to stay with the familiar, an unusual turn in a region where incumbents have not done well in recent elections.

An unexpected result, very unexpected. I think even the Colorado Party members are shocked by such a wide margin, political consultant Sebastian Acha said. It gives him enormous legitimacy due to the size of the difference and that makes Penas victory indisputable.

The results also appeared to mark a victory for former President Horacio Cartes, who governed in 2013-2018, and who the U.S. State Department recently accused of being involved in significant corruption as well as having ties to terrorism. He has denied the allegations, while Pena called them groundless.

Cartes, a local magnate who is also the president of the Colorado Party, is a powerful figure in Paraguayan politics and members of the opposition had characterized Pena as a frontman for Cartes to hold power.

Cartes stood next to Pena as he gave his celebratory speech Sunday night.

I want to be a tool for you, Cartes told Pena. I want you to be sure that the Colorado Party is going to be your best tool.

Pena was finance minister in the Cartes government and, until recently, a member of the board of Banco Basa, a local bank owned by the former president.

The U.S. Embassy posted a statement on social media congratulating Pena. We will continue to work together in strengthening our excellent bilateral relations and promoting transparency and inclusive democracy, it added.

The election in the country of almost 7 million people also had geopolitical implications as Paraguay is the only remaining country in South America to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and those ties became an issue in the campaign.

Alegre had called for the landlocked countrys relationship with Taiwan to be reviewed, saying they are too costly. Pena defended Paraguays relationship with Taipei, though he said he would seek more trade with China, without explaining how that would come about.

We have a diplomatic and historic relationship with Taiwan of more than 60 years, based on principles and democratic values that we believe are fundamental for a society like Paraguay, Pena said.

The Taiwanese Embassy posted a message on social media congratulating president-elect Pena.

Congratulations to the Paraguayan people, who showed the world the democratic power of citizens through their votes, the embassy said.

Brazil's left-of-center president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also congratulated Pena.

Good luck in your mandate, the Brazilian wrote on social media. We will work together for even better and stronger relations between our countries, and for a South America with more unity, development and prosperity.

Alegre, a lawyer who heads the Liberal party, the second-largest political force in Congress, was making his third bid for the presidency, though this time he represented a mix of political parties.

Penas presidential campaign was hampered by U.S. sanctions on Cartes for alleged bribery and ties to Hezbollah, which Washington designates as a terrorist group. The sanctions blocked Cartes from the U.S. financial system and cut off funding and loans for the partys campaign.
By Lucinda Elliott and Daniela Desantis

ASUNCION (Reuters) - Paraguay's President-elect Santiago Pena, a clean-cut former central bank director, will need all his wits and cool to steer the South American nation through economic headwinds hurting voters and rising pressure from farmers to cut ties with Taiwan.

The former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist, who was hand-picked by the powerful head of the country's dominant political force, the conservative Colorado Party, scored a strong victory in presidential elections on Sunday.

Pena, 44, fended off center-left opposition challenger Efrain Alegre with around 43% of the vote to some 27.5%, according to preliminary results from the nation's electoral court. He claimed victory and Alegre acknowledged the result.

"We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party," Pena said in his victory speech, calling for "unity and consensus".

"The time has come to postpone our differences to prioritize the common causes that unite us as a nation."

Pena, who takes office on Aug. 15, will face pressures to shrink a ballooning fiscal deficit, appease farmers calling for the country to ditch Taiwan and open relations with China, and navigate corruption allegations from the U.S. Treasury that have rattled the powerful party leader and close ally Horacio Cartes.

Still, Pena will be able to keep a cool head amid the tumult, his supporters say.

"I think what characterizes him is that he has infinite tranquility," said Lea Gimenez, who served as Pena's deputy when he was finance minister and was later finance minister herself.

"Even during this election campaign, which has been so long because we have been in the process for almost a year and a half, I have not seen him once lose his temper."

"Santi," as he is often known, has pledged business-friendly policies that focus on job creation, keeping taxes low and attracting foreign investment.

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Throughout the campaign the Colorado Party candidate has vowed to extend Paraguay's decades-long diplomatic relations with Taiwan, despite pressures to open up to China and its huge consumer demand for soybeans and beef. Paraguay is one of only 13 countries globally to recognize Taiwan.

Those who know Pena described him to Reuters as "clean cut," "decent" and with "good ideas." Critics say he is a member of the out-of-touch elite who lacks political experience and is acting as a puppet of party leader and main backer Cartes.

"He is not a politician who wants a revolution, he wants evolution," said a businessman with investments in Paraguay who knows Pena personally, asking not to be named.

'LIFE EXPERIENCE'

Pena's political career took off when protests in 2016 forced then-President Cartes to abandon plans to seek an extra term by amending the constitution and to hand-pick Pena as his intended successor.

Members of the Colorado Party, however, were unconvinced that Pena's slick city appearance and time in Washington would go down well with voters and he lost out to current president Mario Abdo Benitez in the 2018 primary election contest.

This time around Pena is the party's man. He is backed once more by Cartes, who some see as the power behind the throne, but who is facing U.S. sanctions over corruption allegations that have hurt his reputation.

Pena married his childhood sweetheart and became a father for the first time at 17. He studied economics in Paraguay and later attended New York's Columbia University.

He worked as an economist at the central bank in Asuncion and then with the IMF in Washington, before returning to Paraguay on the central bank board. He became finance minister in 2015.

"He matured very quickly, being a young father... he became an adult very quickly," a former colleague told Reuters. "Santi has a lot of life experience and is a natural negotiator."

(Reporting by Lucinda Elliott and Daniela Desantis; editing by Diane Craft)
The parents of a baby born with dwarfism were paid a $15m settlement from Boston Children's Hospital after their son died during a sleep study.

The baby, Jackson Kekula, died after nurses left him without oxygen for 20 minutes, according to the Boston Globe.

Becky and Ryan Kekula, Jackson's parents, brought him to the hospital for a sleep study and car seat test, which are commonly done for children with his condition. His specific type of dwarfism, called achondroplasia, can cause sleep problems.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health investigated the death and found the hospital at fault after it made a series of errors that led to the child's death.

The procedure occurred in 2022. The child suffered catastrophic brain injury that required him to be put on life support after he was left without oxygen for 20 minutes, according to the family's attorney Robert Higgins.

The family was paid $15m to settle the matter but refused to sign an NDA, arguing that Jackson's story should be used to help prevent future incidents.

After Jackson was born, he spent time in a NICU where doctors learned he had sleep apnea, which causes breathing interruptions during sleep. He also had trouble breathing while he was strapped into his car seat.

Breathing problems can be common for babies born with achondroplasia because they are typically born with larger heads. The babies lack the strength to hold their heads up, causing them to hang forward and potentially disrupt their airways.

Mr Higgins said the hospital failed to properly monitor Jackson's breathing and heartbeat during the study. He said the staff was distracted by what they believed to be an equipment malfunction.

Ms Kekula said she could not say how families facing similar health issues should act, but wanted them to be aware of her story.

"There are a lot of families [in the little people community] that go to that place," Ms Kekula said about Boston Children's Hospital. "I can't say what to do or not to do. But it's important for them to know what happened."

After the incident Jackson spent 12 days on life support before his parents made the decision to end the care after he showed no signs of improvement.
PATERSON  The state appellate court last week decided city police detectives conducted an illegal search when, during an October 2017 patrol, they entered a Manchester Avenue house where one of them allegedly saw a man with a gun run aside.

In its ruling, the New Jersey Superior Court's Appellate Division determined that the detectives should have gotten a warrant before searching the house because the officers did not know whether the man legally owned the gun and he had not given any indication that he was a threat to fire it at anyone.

As a result, the court said, the prosecutors should not have been allowed to use as evidence the two guns and various drugs the detectives seized during the search in the trial against Michael Goodwin, the Paterson man they followed into the building. The court set aside Goodwins 2019 convictions for resisting arrest along with weapons and narcotics crimes.

What comes next

The Passaic County Prosecutors Office now must decide whether to appeal the courts illegal search ruling, pursue the charges without the evidence from the house, or drop the charges.

Goodwin  who has an extensive criminal record that included two attempted murder indictments in shootings before the case in question  has spent 5 years in prison since he was arrested at the Manchester Avenue house. He was not going to be eligible for parole until October, state Corrections Department records show.

Goodwin, now 36, had attempted during his trial to get the evidence from the warrantless search dismissed, but the Superior Court judge overseeing that proceeding ruled against him. He also had filed a civil lawsuit in December 2017, two months after his arrest, alleging the search was illegal. But Goodwin was pursuing that civil complaint without a lawyer and the case ended up being dismissed over his lack of responses while he was in prison to various correspondence from the court.

Goodwins lawyer in the successful appeal could not be reached for comment.

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What happened in 2017

On the evening of Oct. 17, 2017, four Paterson narcotics detectives were patrolling the Manchester Avenue area. They spotted a man they believed was homeless coming from the rear of the house at 58 Manchester and stopped to question him, the appellate court decision said.

One of the detectives, Jason English, heard a noise and saw Goodwin come out of the rear of the house next door, 56 Manchester. English testified that he looked through a hole in the fence and spotted a silver handgun in Goodwins right hand, the court decision said.

Gun. Theres a man with a gun, English yelled, allegedly causing Goodwin to run back inside. English then hopped the fence, kicked in the back door of the house and found a gun on a kitchen counter. He allegedly saw Goodwin run through the living room and exit through the door, into the apartment buildings common hallway, the court ruling said.

The detectives apprehended Goodwin at a third-floor apartment entrance, where they allegedly seized a silver gun from the suspects waistband as well as heroin and marijuana, the ruling said.

Frustration simmers: Advocacy group calls for DOJ to consider consent decree for Paterson Police Department

City Hall drama: 'What a disaster!': Paterson council holds raucous meeting that lasts more than nine hours

Why the search was ruled illegal

The appellate court gave two reasons for finding the warrantless search illegal:

First, the court said English had no probable cause for being in the backyard of 58 Manchester when he allegedly saw Goodwin with the gun on a porch at 56 Manchester.

Therefore, the court said, Englishs presence in the yard was illegal and anything he saw while there could not be used as evidence.

But the court also ruled that if English had probable cause to be in the yard at 58 Manchester, the search of the house next door still would have been improper.

As noted, the detectives justified their search of 56 Manchester Ave. based on Detective English's observation of defendant holding a handgun on the porch and retreating into the house when he heard Detective English call out about a man with a gun, said the court ruling. Those two facts, individually or in combination, failed to establish probable cause.

First, the mere possession of a weapon on the porch of a home, without more, does not support the trial court's finding that defendant was engaged in illegal activity, the court continued. The only activity Detective English observed was not per se illegal, and thus could not establish probable cause.

The appellate court cited a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that said possession of a gun is not always and everywhere criminal.

The court said the decision to allow the guns and drugs found during the illegal search to be used as evidence in Goodwins trial was clearly capable of producing an unjust result.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police conducted illegal search in 2017, court says
KISS singer Paul Stanley spoke out over the weekend about acceptance of transgender people versus normalization of gender transition in children. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

Paul Stanley of KISS, who hasn't hesitated with self-expression as the rock band's "Starchild," on Sunday shared his thoughts about the difference between teaching acceptance of trans people and "encouraging" children to question their own gender as a matter of course.

The rhythm guitarist and vocalist, who has four children ages 11 to 28, posted a statement Sunday on several social media platforms under the title "My Thoughts on What I'm Seeing."

"There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance," Stanley wrote, "and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game and then parents in some cases allow it."

Stanley continued, saying that treating pronouns and gender identity as a game for children risked confusing some adults.

"With many children who have no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the 'fun' of using pronouns and saying what they identify as," he wrote, "some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad."

It was unclear what prompted Stanley's statement. Most recently, he has been memorializing the South American leg of KISS final tour, and prior to Sunday, his most recent statement online was a January 2022 post marking his 70th birthday.

But the musician, 71, may have been referring to teaching methods that were, for example, banned last year in Florida under that state's Parental Rights in Education law  framed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" legislation for its restriction on "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner." The law, which went into effect in July and covered students through third grade, was expanded last month by the Florida Board of Education to include grades 4 through 12.

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Among other things, the law  which does not include or prohibit the use of the word gay  also prohibits schools from "discouraging or prohibiting parental notification and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical well-being" and offers parents an opportunity to opt out of any "healthcare services" a school district might offer.

Meanwhile, a California bill that proposed requiring prompt parental notification in writing if a child was "identifying at school as a gender that does not align with the childs sex on their birth certificate" was rejected for a hearing by the state Assembly's Education Committee, effectively stopping it in its tracks.

Stanley allowed in his statement that "There ARE individuals who as adults may decide reassignment is their needed choice," but cautioned about normalizing gender transition as "some sort of natural alternative." A boy or girl liking to "play dress up" in their opposite-gender siblings' clothing is no reason for adults to "lead them steps further down a path that's far from the innocence of what they are doing," he wrote.

Comments on Stanley's Instagram post included both praise ("Finally someone says what Ive been thinking!") and criticism ("Nobody is pushing their kids to be LGBTQ+ Paul. Children playing dress up is one thing, but no parent in their right mind would push their child into transitioning because of any agenda.")

"Whether you agree or disagree, a lot of people have forgotten that this is a country in which youre allowed to speak your mind freely," one commenter wrote. "Love it or hate it, very few celebrities and performers have the guts to speak about how they truly feel on 'woke' subjects due to being canceled. Just because someone disagrees with you or has a different stance does not mean you have to get offended or be so sensitive about it."

Dee Snider of Twisted Sister quoted-tweeted Stanley and wrote in response, "You know what? There was a time where I 'felt pretty too. Glad my parents didn't jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive." Actor Kevin Sorbo tweeted, "Good for Paul Stanley. He is right. Let kids grow up and decide at a more mature age."

But Noodles from the Offspring  real name Kevin Wasserman  challenged Snider's logic, tweeting in response, "My parents couldnt get me to eat vegetables but Dee & Paul think that parents are convincing their kids to change genders as part of a widespread 'sad & dangerous fad.' In fact, the current trend is to vilify & dehumanize trans kids & their parents."

Meanwhile, musician and music journalist Steve Albini went the ad hominem route, tweeting at Stanley, "I remember when punk rock came along and made you irrelevant the first time."

A UCLA analysis in June 2022 estimated that more than 1.6 million people in the United States identify as transgender. The percentage of people ages 13 to 17 and 18 to 24 identifying as transgender was triple the percentage of people ages 25 to 64 and 65-plus identifying similarly.

Youths age 13 to 17 are 8% of the nation's population, according to the analysis; that age group accounted for 18% of the transgender population in the 2022 study, compared with 10% coming from that age group in the researchers' 2015-16 report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Philadelphia man was found guilty of killing two people in a Warminster home more than 15 years ago.

On Monday afternoon, jurors convicted Alfonso Sanchez of killing Lisa Diaz, 27, and Mendez Thomas, 22, in Warminster in 2007. He was also found guilty of trying to have a witness killed while he was awaiting a retrial.

The same Bucks County jury that found Sanchez guilty will now decide if he should be sentenced to death. The penalty phase starts Tuesday.

In his closing arguments Friday, District Attorney Matt Weintraub said the surviving victim has always maintained since that Sanchez was responsible for the attack that claimed the life of her sister and boyfriend.

She told us who the murderer is: His name is Alfonso, Weintraub said, playing the 911 call where she repeats the statement to a dispatcher.

The DA described the home as a killing zone. Weintraub said, he turned this tiny apartment into his own shooting gallery in his murderous rampage.

Co-defendant, Anthony Sparango, of Souderton, was initially scheduled to be tried next with him, however his trial was continued to a later date. County detectives allege Sparango had helped Sanchez while he was in prison.

Sanchez, now 41, had been found guilty in 2008 of killing. In 2017, Sanchez was granted a new trial after it was discovered that DNA lab reports were not handed over to his attorneys during his initial trial, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said at the time.

Prosecutors said at the time that the failure was "inadvertence and oversight," in which both sides went to trial under the belief that no DNA testing was done.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Lannetti told jurors during his opening statements on April 24 that Sanchez went to Mendez's Bucks Landing apartment home on Street Road the night of Oct. 17, 2007. Sanchez, along with Steven Miranda and Alexander Martinez went to Mendez's home under the guise of purchasing marijuana from him, according to Lanetti.

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Miranda had some issue with Mendez, Lanetti said. When they arrived, they found Diaz, who was babysitting Mendez and his girlfriend's children. Mendez and his girlfriend showed up shortly after.

Sanchez goes to trial: District Attorney Weintraub to join prosecutors as Warminster double-murder retrial begins

Sanchez charged again: At Bucks County District Attorney's request, judge orders new trial in 2007 Warminster killings

Sanchez given a new trial: At Bucks County District Attorney's request, judge orders new trial in 2007 Warminster killings

Miranda and Sanchez had some brief altercation, prompting Sanchez to get in between them, according to Lanetti. They were broken up by Diaz, and Sanchez ran after Mendez as he walked away and shot him, he said.

"He kills him instantly," Lanetti said.

Sanchez then fatally shot Diaz for witnessing the killing, the deputy district attorney said. He shot Mendez's girlfriend, but she survived, Lanetti said.

The prosecutor said Miranda fled the apartment before the first shot was fired. Martinez fled shortly after.

Miranda and Martinez turned themselves in the next day. Sanchez was found hiding in a home in Montgomery County a week later.

Martinez, now 36, agreed to testify against the men in order to get a lesser sentence. He pleaded guilty to burglary in the case, and was paroled last year. Miranda, now 35, was found guilty of second-degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Lanetti told jurors that Sanchez, while in prison, tried to have a witness killed in the incident.

"Do people who are not guilty of crimes try to have the witness against the murdered?" he said. "The answer is no."

A Bucks County Detective testified that he listened to thousands of hours of prison calls, in which Sanchez used coded language to arrange the hit. In the calls, Sanchez ordered others to find the home or work address of the witness and have her removed from the playing field.

In defending the credibility of prosecution witnesses who had been involved in other crimes with Sanchez, Weintraub told the jury, Crimes conceived in hell do not have angels for witnesses. But they do have witnesses."

Sanchez's defense attorney Francis Genovese told jurors the evidence would show that it was Miranda, not Sanchez, who was responsible for the killings. The men weren't at Mendez's home to hurt him, but to get more drugs, he said.

Miranda, he said, killed the two and injured a third in the shooting.

Genovese also told jurors that said some negative things about the witness while he was in prison, but never wanted to try to kill her.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Alfonso Sanchez convicted again in Warminster killing of two in 2007
MANILA (Reuters) -Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said China has agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea, as he pushed for a "direct communication line" with Beijing on maritime differences.

China has agreed to "sit down" and talk about Filipinos' fishing rights in the South China Sea, Marcos said, adding he has asked the Philippine Coast Guard and the Department of Foreign Affairs "to put together...a map of these fishing grounds" that will be presented to Beijing.

In remarks made to reporters while on board a plane to Washington, Marcos also said a Philippines-China "direct communication line" must be finally adopted, when asked about his thoughts on a recent maritime confrontation between the two countries.

"The overall priority is to safeguard our maritime territory," he said, in remarks issued by his office on Monday.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines accused China's coastguard on Friday of "aggressive tactics" following a recent incident during a Philippine coastguard patrol close to the Philippines-held Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint for previous altercations located 105 nautical miles (195 km) off its coast.

The United States has urged China to stop harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, while Beijing said it was willing to handle maritime differences with countries of concern through friendly consultations, while warning Washington against interference.

"This is the kind of thing that we're hoping to avoid, that this time it was a little more dangerous because they were close," Marcos said. "That can cause casualties on both sides."

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, with a "nine-dash line" on maps that stretches more than 1,500 km (930 miles) off its mainland and cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. An international arbitral ruling in 2016 dismissed that line as having no legal basis.

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Ahead of his May 1 meeting with President Joe Biden in Washington, Marcos also said he would not allow his country to become a "staging post" for military action.

China has said Manila was stoking the fire of regional tensions after it recently granted Washington access to more military bases in the Philippines, as Beijing accused the United States of interfering in its affairs with Taiwan.

(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport had a record-setting first quarter of 2023 as a combination of snowbirds, spring breakers and a dazzling slate of concerts and sporting events brought more passengers to the airport than in any quarter in its history.

Sky Harbor Airport set these records in the first quarter of 2023:

Its busiest day ever was Feb. 13, when more than 200,000 passengers flew after Super Bowl 57 and the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament ended. The previous high was 175,000 passengers on Feb. 2, 2015, the day after the last Super Bowl in Arizona.

It set a record for its busiest month ever in March, with 4,615,127 passengers. That beat its previous busiest month, March 2019, by almost 2%.

And Sky Harbor had more passengers in the first quarter of this year than in its previous record quarter of January-March 2019. A total of 12,283,577 passengers flew from January to March 2023, up about 4% from 2019. Sky Harbor surpassed its 2019 traffic in all three months of the quarter.

Super Bowl Monday: Phoenix airport did an 'excellent job' preparing

Why Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was so busy in early 2023

January to March is typically the busiest time of year for Sky Harbor because of snowbirds and spring breakers who come to escape the winter weather.

People traveling for sports and concerts also contributed to the heavy traffic during the quarter.

In addition to the Super Bowl and Phoenix Open, the first quarter of 2023 saw MLB spring training, the Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park with headliners Green Day and Eddie Vedder and the two sold-out opening dates of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour: 5 magic moments at State Farm Stadium that Arizonans saw first

It also helped that airlines introduced several new routes during the quarter, including service to Monterrey, Mexico, via American Airlines. Sky Harbor's total number of nonstop destinations is now 140, the most ever, Sky Harbor spokesman Eric Everts said.

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Sky Harbor's ongoing efforts to improve the customer experience driving the growth as well, Everts said.

"Completing recent projects such as the PHX Sky Train extension to the Rental Car Center and beginning others, such as constructing a new taxiway, make for an improved overall experience which encourages new and old visitors alike to travel through PHX," he said in an email.

Passport wait times are up: How to get or renew yours as fast as possible in Arizona

What does the summer look like at Sky Harbor?

People enter Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on March 23, 2023, in Phoenix.

Typically, the spring and summer months are busy  last year ranged from 3.4 million to 3.9 million passengers per month at Sky Harbor  but not as bustling as January to March.

But Sky Harbor's current success may be an indicator for how the rest of the year might look, pending no significant disruptions. If passenger traffic patterns continue to match or beat prepandemic levels for the rest of the year, 2023 is on track to be Sky Harbor's best year since 2019. That was the airport's biggest year ever, with 46.2 million passengers, according to economic development statistics on the airport's website.

Increasing population growth in metro Phoenix, favorable economic conditions and Arizona's strong appeal as a destination all contributed to a record year of airport traffic in 2019, Everts said.

That appeal continues to build as airlines add routes at Sky Harbor. New routes expected in the coming months include Frontier Airlines service to Tampa and Houston and Allegiant Air flights to Asheville, North Carolina.

"Sky Harbor expects to continue the busy first quarter into the summer and beyond," Everts said. "Weve already seen multiple records broken this year including the busiest day and now the busiest month ever. The release of the March statistics show that travel has continued to be an area of high demand and even record-breaking here in Phoenix."

New routes: Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport added these 11 flights so far this year

Reach the reporter at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salerno_phx.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How the Phoenix airport smashed 3 travel records in 2023 already
Following four years of negotiations and protests at Miami International Airport, American Airlines pilots voted on Monday to authorize a strike for the first time in more than 25 years at the biggest carrier at Miami International Airport.

American Airlines pilots were shown on social media doing informational picketing at MIA, where the carrier ha more than 14,000 locally based employees and more than 2,500 pilots.

An American Airlines spokesperson said the company is committed to quickly reaching an agreement with its pilots.

Travelers visit the American Airlines check-in area at the Miami International Airport on Monday, May 1, 2023, in Miami, Fla. Following four years of negotiations, the Allied Pilots Association agreed upon a strike authorization on behalf of American Airlines pilots.

The strike authorization is the first in more than 25 years. In February 1997, 9,300 American Airlines pilots went on strike. President Bill Clinton responded with an emergency suspension of the strike and creating a board to oversee a resolution.

Of American Airlines 13,000 pilots, 12,480 voted and almost all of them agreed to strike if it became necessary.

KNOW MORE: If American Airlines pilots go on strike, can ticket holders get refunds?

Allied Pilots Association Communications Director Gregg Overman emphasized that the decision for strike authorization was about more than seeking increased pilot salaries. American Airlines pilots have unpredictable work schedules and travel times that extend their work trips from three to four days, often placing them in cities they were unprepared to be in, leading to a lower quality of life, he said.

It isnt just about the money, Overman said. The money or pay raise for professional pilots at major carriers has been more or less established by other airlines and their pilot groups. All airlines are in intense competition to hire the next generation of pilots. Thats not the primary focus. Its other behind the scenes aspects that make a big difference.

Travelers visit the American Airlines check-in area at the Miami International Airport on Monday, May 1, 2023, in Miami, Fla. Following four years of negotiations, the Allied Pilots Association agreed upon a strike authorization on behalf of American Airlines pilots.

An American Airlines spokesperson said the company was working on reaching an agreement with its pilots.

We remain confident that an agreement for our pilots is within reach and can be finalized quickly, the spokesperson said in a statement. The finish line is in sight. We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results.

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In order for a strike to happen, Overman said that a National Mediation Board would have to declare an impasse between the APA and American Airlines in mediation. Currently, the two sides are not in federal mediation

Its a symbol that all is not well, he said of the strike authorization vote. Its not really normal to be walking around all 10 of our big airports saying were ready to strike.
A report warning cities against the use of PVC pipes in water systems sparked swift and resounding criticism from the plastics industry, its advocates and at least one leading scientific expert.

Representatives of several trade groups, including the Plastics Pipe Institute, the Vinyl Institute and Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association, claimed falsehoods and fear-mongering littered the report that a coalition of U.S. environmental advocacy groups released last month.

There is so much wrong with it, it is hard to know where to start, said Bruce Hollands, executive director of Uni-Bell, a national nonprofit organization that touts itself as the authoritative source of information" on PVC pipe for water and sewer use.

Industry leaders told USA TODAY there is no credible evidence that PVC pipes, which have been used for decades, are unsafe for use in drinking water systems and that multiple studies have shown they're more environmentally friendly than metal pipes. They said the recent report was biased and "confused."

What the report said about PVC pipe dangers

Spearheaded by the nonprofit Beyond Plastics, based at Bennington College, Vermont, the 56-page report raised concerns about the health consequences of chemicals in PVC pipesleaching chemicals into drinking water, as well as the environmental impact of their production.

Stacks of PVC piping. While it is commonly used for drinking water, a new report claimed it can pose dangers. The industry says science doesn't support those conclusions.

It cited research that documented as many as 50 chemicals released into the water by PVC pipes and their fittings, and it called the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment in February the latest in a string of environmental disasters connected with PVC production. The train was carrying vinyl chloride, which is used to make PVC and CPVC  or polyvinyl chloride and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride.

The report also criticizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for allowing cities and states to use $15 billion in federal dollars from its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to replace lead water service lines with PVC pipes. It recommends cities use copper or stainless steel for service line replacements.

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A lead water service line from 1927 lays on the ground on a residential street after being removed on June 17, 2021, in Denver. The federal government is providing $15 billion to communities to replace lead service lines due to concerns about lead contamination in the water.

Paid for by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, the report is based largely on an extensive review of research that formed the basis of its key findings and recommendations.

Beyond Plastics President Judith Enck said the group stands by its report.

We anticipated these industry attacks, said Enck, a former regional EPA administrator, as we've seen the plastics and petrochemical industries attack environmental groups for alerting the public to the potential harms of their products over and over again.

PVC pipe safe to use for drinking water, industry says

The plastics industry didn't specifically criticize earlier scientific research, but it contradicted the conclusions reached by Beyond Plastics, citing numerous other studies that counter its claims.

Chris DeArmitt, one of the worlds leading independent plastics scientists, issued his own 16-page rebuttal of the report in which he argued Beyond Plastics cherry-picked research that supported its anti-plastics view instead of examining a wider body of work.

For example, DeArmitt said, the report cites concerns about chemical leaching from PVC and CPVC pipes, but he cited other sources  including the World Health Organization  showing concentrations so low as to pose no health concerns.

"Things can leach out of pipes, but its all been measured and thats what NSF 61 is," DeArmitt said, referring to the national standard for drinking water products, components and materials and ensuring minimum health effects for chemical contaminants and impurities.

The NSF stands for the National Sanitation Foundation, an independent organization authorized by the EPA to develop public health standards and certify the safety of products, including those used in drinking water systems.

Enck accused the plastics industry of cherry-picking research, too. And the Beyond Plastics report questioned the independence of the NSF, saying it receives industry funding and relies on manufacturers to self-report data for certification. It likened the process to the coal industry developing its own air pollution standards.

While manufacturers do submit product materials information, said Dave Purkiss, vice president of NSFs Global Water Division, the organization verifies everything. He told USA TODAY that NSF conducts independent inspections of production facilities and does extensive testing at its own laboratories.

Even after a product is certified, Purkiss said, the NSF conducts unannounced, on-site audits to inspect the raw materials, review records and verify that production continues to meet all requirements.

"Our products undergo extreme scrutiny with respect to what comes out of the product and gets into drinking water," said Dick Church, executive director of the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association. We meet basically the same standards that copper or steel have to meet through NSF. Theyre testing for everything thats in the formulation of a product ... and if that doesnt pass, they cant use the material in the product.

Is PVC pipe bad for the environment?

In addition to touting the safety of PVC and other plastic pipes, Church and his peers pointed to numerous "life cycle assessments" that show plastic pipes have fewer environmental impacts and a lower carbon footprint compared with pipes made from materials like copper, stainless steel and ductile iron.

Life cycle assessments generally measure the total energy and environmental resources required, as well as total waste generated, in the production and installation of the pipes. Some studies found that, from cradle to grave, PVC pipes produced just a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions ofcopper or iron pipes.

Look at the energy it takes to make copper, ductile iron or concrete, said David Fink, president of the Plastics Pipe Institute. I cant believe all their energy is coming from wind and solar to fire up that plant and melt metal at thousands of degrees versus melting plastics at 200 degrees. Theyre using more energy. They're using more water. They're heavy, so theyre using more diesel on the trucks to get it to the job site. At the end of the day, if we want to move away from plastics, were going to be less environmentally friendly than if we stay where we are.

Enck criticized those findings and said the plastics industry typically funds its own life cycle analyses to support its claims of environmental friendliness. Independent studies, she said, have shown the opposite.

But DeArmitt said only 14 such analyses exist and  even when excluding the two funded by the plastics industry  the studies found that plastic pipes are greener than metal pipes.

"These life cycle assessments are based on science, and there are standards in place to prevent any skewing of the data to make one product look better than another, said Tad Radzinski, a former environmental engineer for the EPA and current president of the Sustainable Solutions Corporation, which conducts life cycle assessments for clients, including one on PVC pipes that was paid for by Uni-Bell.

We are an impartial entity, Radzinski. In fact there are a lot of times we do life cycle assessments, and companies we work for are not excited about the results, but thats the reality where we are. We let them know theres no guarantee.

The East Palestine train derailment gave critics another opportunity to highlight their concerns. More than 5 tons of vinyl chloride, en route to a plant that makes plastic for PVC flooring, was released and burned. The material is a known carcinogen. The crash and fire led to a rash of health complaints from people living nearby.

Church called the Feb. 3 wreck "very concerning" but said it has more to do with the safety of rail transportation than plastics production.

"We probably do need to tighten procedures, if not specific requirements, with regards to trains and train safety," Church said. "Everybodys got to be for train safety. Were no different."

Whose funding supports the argument for or against PVC?

The Beyond Plastics report is the latest in a long series of efforts by environmental advocates to get communities and consumers to ditch plastic  from single-use grocery bags to underground water pipes.

And the billions of dollars in federal funding now available for communities to upgrade underground infrastructure makes the plastic pipe industry an especially vulnerable target, said Mike Cudahay, regulation and sustainability specialist for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association.

Right now its anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion to do this work, Cudahay said. I think thats why there is a lot of noise coming to the surface again.

Pipes made with plastic  including PVC, CPVC and other materials like high-density polyethylene  have outpaced metal pipes as the material of choice in community water systems, according to numerous market analyses. And they are forecast to comprise nearly 80% of the nation's water pipe inventory by 2030, according to Bluefield Research, a firm that provides data and insights on global water markets.

Several plastics industry representatives questioned whether the metal pipe industry paid Beyond Plastics to write the report.

The answer to that is no, said Enck, adding that "Beyond Plastics does not receive and has never received any funding from the metal pipe industry. She said the report is entirely based on independent research.

"We're talking about human health here," Enck said. "It's important to ensure the facts are coming from independent scientific experts like the ones cited in our report, not the people trying to sell more plastic.

Hollands of Uni-Bell echoed those comments  albeit from a different perspective  in his advice to consumers and communities wanting to make an informed decision.

"Examine the facts and get information from well-established, and reliable institutions," said Hollands of Uni-Bell. "Beware of organizations like Beyond Plastics with an obvious bias against PVC and plastic piping."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are PVC pipes toxic? Manufacturers blast new report claiming dangers
Drivers who take Interstate 29 to Kansas City International Airport or other popular Northland destinations might want to consider leaving early or taking a different route as a bridge replacement project is expected to cause delays this summer, a Missouri Department of Transportation spokeswoman said.

The project is entering its next phase this week and will change the flow of traffic, said Lairyn McGregor, a spokeswoman for MoDOTs Kansas City District in a press release.

Heres what drivers can expect:

Crews will close one lane of both northbound and southbound I-29 at Northwest 72nd Street beginning at 7 p.m. Monday until October.

Various lanes and ramps of I-29 will be closed overnight at Northwest 72nd beginning Monday through Wednesday.

Crews will close the ramps from Northwest 72nd to northbound and southbound I-29 until August.

Crews will close Northwest 72nd between Northwest Prairie View and Northwest Roanridge roads beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday until October. Westbound traffic will be detoured on Northwest Roanridge to Northwest Barry Road to Northwest Prairie View Road. Eastbound traffic will be detoured along Northwest Prairie View to Northwest 64th Street to northbound I-29.

Crews are replacing the twin bridges that carry I-29 over Northwest 72nd. The bridges, which carry six lanes of traffic, have reached the end of their service lives. The $6.9 million project to replace the bridges is funded through both state and federal funds.

During the project, I-29 will be reduced to two lanes in both directions. Crossovers will shift traffic during multiple phases of construction.

In addition to replacing the bridges, MoDOT is looking at improvements to Northwest 72nd, including five-foot bike lanes in both directions and a six-foot sidewalk along the eastbound lanes.
Andrzej Duda

Poland will preside over the council in the first half of 2025. In addition to Ukraines and Moldovas EU accession, Warsaw will focus on strengthening Euro-Atlantic ties and cooperation with the United States during its tenure, according to the president.

Read also: Latvia urges speedy negotiations on Ukraines EU accession

"I and the (Polish) Prime Minister (Mateusz Morawiecki) know well what it means to wait for a long time, what it means to want to be part of a free West," Duda said.

Read also: European Commission and five EU countries agree on Ukrainian food imports

He emphasized that Ukraine and Moldova's accession into the EU is a momentous modern-day challenge for the bloc.

Read also: Ukraine sends notes to Poland and EU decrying restrictions on Ukrainian food imports

On April 3, media reported that the European Commission will recommend starting negotiations regarding Ukraine's membership in the EU as early as October.

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 Cincinnati Police homicide unit investigates the scene of a fatal shooting near an apartment building on Highland Avenue, between East McMillan and Shea Place in the Corryville neighborhood of Cincinnati on Monday, May 1, 2023. The victim was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to police.

Police have identified the man killed Monday in Corryville shooting.

Kevonne Howze, 28, was found shot just before 11:30 a.m. near the intersection of East McMillan and Highland Avenue, police said.

He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died.

No information on a possible suspect has been released.

Homicide detectives are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 513-352-3542.

The Cincinnati Police homicide unit investigates the scene of a fatal shooting near an apartment building on Highland Avenue, between East McMillan and Shea Place in the Corryville neighborhood of Cincinnati on Monday. The victim was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to police.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Police ID man killed in Corryville shooting
Wichita police arrested a man in connection with a shooting that killed another man Saturday in north Wichita.

Adonis Andrews, 47, of Wichita, was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of first degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and criminal possession of a weapon, police spokesperson Kristopher Gupilan said in a news release.

Officers found 36-year-old Christian Santiago of Wichita dead in the front passenger seat of a white SUV in the 2800 block of East Stadium, according to police. They had originally been dispatched around 3:50 a.m. to the 2800 block of East Shadybrook Lane, then learned the shooting took place on East Stadium.

He was reportedly shot multiple times. The SUV was also damaged by bullets, police spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in a previous news release.

Detectives identified Andrews, who knew Santiago, as a suspect. He was found Sunday in the 4300 block of Wood Hollow, Gupilan said.

Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Andrews had previous drug-related convictions in 2021. He was released from prison and placed on parole in December 2022.
Police arrested a man on Sunday after an incident involving a knife and a gun ended with a woman shot.

Witnesses called 911 around 12 p.m. to report a shooting in the 4500 block of 42nd Avenue Southwest, said the Seattle Police Department.

When police got there they found out there was a disturbance with a knife and gun involved. A 24-year-old was found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Officers gave them aid until Seattle Fire arrived and then they were taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Police recovered a semi-automatic handgun and evidence at the scene.

A 29-year-old man was arrested for alleged assault and will be booked into the King County Jail.
The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office reported a man fatally shot inside a Brentwood neighborhood garage at 3300 North Laura St.

According to JSO, at around 6:15 p.m., Officers responded to the Brentwood neighborhood due to a reported shooting.

When arriving at the scene, officers found an adult man inside a garage of a home suffering from at least one fatal gunshot wound. The victim was declared deceased at the scene.

At this time there is no information on a possible suspect.

JSO encourage anyone with information to call the JSO non-emergency number at 630-0500, or they can call CRIMESTOPPERS at 866-845-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted via jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org

This is an ongoing investigation and will be updated when details arrive.

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Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to an arrest in the assault of a man using a motorized scooter in a parking lot.

According to Columbus police, officers were called around 1:40 p.m. on April 16 to the Kroger located at 3633 S. High St., on the city's Far South Side, for a report of shots being fired.

Officers found a man, identified as 68-year-old Terry Childs, laying in the parking lot. Childs told officers he fired his gun at a vehicle that had tried to run him over. Childs was treated at the scene by paramedics.

A man in this vehicle is believed to have struck a man in a motorized scooter with his vehicle. Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information.

Childs told officers that he had come out of the Kroger on a motorized scooter and the suspect called Childs a "derogatory name." As Childs continued toward the bus stop, he told officers the vehicle then drove toward him and stopped.

Police said Childs told them the suspect got out of the vehicle with a "large, Bowie-style knife" and Childs, who has a valid license for carrying a concealed weapon, pulled a firearm. The suspect, according to Childs, then got back into the vehicle, reversed and then "revved up the engine and drove straight at" Childs.

"Mr. Childs stated he was in fear for his life thinking that he was going to be ran over so he fired at the vehicle," police said.

The suspect, seen in a blue shirt pushing a grocery cart, is suspected of striking a man on a motorized scooter while in his vehicle. Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.

Childs was unsure if he struck the vehicle, however, the vehicle struck him, knocking him to the ground and destroying the scooter.

The man's vehicle, which was captured on surveillance footage, is a dark-colored four-door sedan with the front driver's side tire missing a hubcap.

Anyone with information is asked to call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS, use the free P3 Tips mobile application or provide information online at www.stopcrime.org. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and a special coding system is used to provide the cash reward.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crime Stoppers offering cash reward after man on scooter hit by car
A community is mourning the death of a 27-year-old woman who was engaged to a police officer in North Carolina.

Hannah Maria Walker drowned Friday, April 21, while on a boating escapade with her family, McClatchy News previously reported. Walker was with her 5-year-old son, 5-week-old daughter, a family friend and her fiance during the incident.

Walkers fiance was later identified by the Asheville Police Department as senior officer Joey McKee, an APD spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.

Our hearts go out to McKee family during this difficult time, the APD spokesperson added in an email to McClatchy News.

McKees community started a fundraiser to support the officer.

The unexpected death of Hannah has left the McKee family with a tremendous sense of loss and sadness, the familys GoFundMe said. Hannah was a devoted full-time stay-at-home mom. Joey, while grieving, now carries with him the overwhelming responsibility of being the sole provider for his family.

Now law enforcement colleagues are sharing their condolences online for McKee and have already helped raise more than $22,000 for the grieving family as of May 1.

Joey and I have been together from the very start of our time at APD, Amy Stapanowich, a family friend, wrote on the Asheville Police Departments Facebook page. Hes always been such a tough guy-but Ive watched that guy transform and soften with the love of HannahThey balanced each other outThey both adored each other, and those near them knew it full well.

Walker had an asthma attack while swimming with her family at Lake James, McClatchy News reported.

McKee gave her an inhaler, but Walker quickly fell unconscious and was taken back to the boat, which was a challenge given the boats size, police told media outlets.

Walker was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after emergency crews attempted life-saving measures, McClatchy News reported.

At least 4,000 people die from drowning every year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and drowning is a leading cause of death for children.

Story continues

Some factors can make drowning more likely, including not knowing how to swim, a lack of close supervision, not wearing a life jacket and drinking alcohol while recreating near or in water.

The National Drowning Prevention Alliance said there are tips to help keep you safe in the water, including checking local weather conditions, never swimming alone and choosing the right equipment.

Dont hesitate to get out of the water if something doesnt feel right, the group said on its website. Whether its that the current is getting rough, rain has started to fall, or your body is just not responding like you would like it to due to fatigue or muscle cramps, then just leave and return to the water another day. Its always a good thing to trust your instincts.

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Poland will make every effort during its presidency of the EU Council to ensure Ukraine and Moldova become members of the bloc, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on May 1 during a joint speech with the country's prime minister.

According to Duda, cited by RMF FM, Ukraine and Moldovas potential accession to the EU would be one of Poland's main priorities when it chairs the Council in the first half of 2025.

"Prime Minister (Mateusz Morawiecki) and I know perfectly well what it means to wait a long time to want to be part of the free West," Duda said. "This needs to be redressed, which is why I believe that no one else but us - Poland - should say firmly and very strongly that we must finally admit them to the EU."

Italian President voices support for Ukraine joining EU as soon as possible Italian President Sergio Mattarella voiced his support for Ukraine joining the EU as soon as possible, Italian news outlet Ansa reported on April 26. Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

The Polish president called the two countries' possible EU admission "the historical requirement of the moment." Duda also voiced his support for the EU accession of the Western Balkans' countries, saying, "These are societies that have been waiting for over a dozen years to become part of the European community."

The President of Poland recalled that in February 2022 he had initiated the presidents' letter calling on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership, which was initially met with skepticism.

"Today, Ukraine is a candidate. We will do everything to ensure that Ukraine becomes part of the EU as soon as possible ," said Duda.

Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022, just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, and was granted candidacy status in June 2022.

On Feb. 11, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine wants to become a member of the EU in two years and a member of NATO following its victory against Russia.

Story continues
Pope Francis confirmed Sunday that the Vatican is involved in a secret peace "mission" aimed to return Ukrainian children who were moved to Russia during the war between the two nations.

"Im available to do anything," Francis said during a press conference. "Theres a mission thats not public thats underway. When its public, Ill talk about it."

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday he asked the pope for assistance in this effort to bring his country's children back home.

"I asked the Vatican and the Holy Father for help in getting back children taken by force by Russia," Shmyhal told reporters.

UKRAINE'S PRIME MINISTER ASKS POPE FRANCIS TO HELP FACILITATE THE RETURN OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN FROM RUSSIA

POPE FRANCIS GIVES WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE AT MEETING OF BISHOPS

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Thursday he asked Pope Francis for assistance in this effort to bring his country's children back home.

Francis said Sunday that the Ukraine children's rescue efforts were a topic of discussion during his visit to Hungary, where he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest.

"In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood," Francis said. "We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace."

POPE FRANCIS EYES 2024 VISIT TO NATIVE ARGENTINA

"The Holy See is willing to do this because it is the right thing," Francis said of the secret mission. "All human gestures help, but gestures of cruelty don't help. We have to do all that is humanly possible."

Shmyhal said he invited Francis to visit Ukraine. The pope has previously said he wishes to visit Ukraine and Russia to help establish peace.
On the 335th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution -- the historical significance of the English Civil War (Part One) By Mark Wegierski

web posted May 1, 2023

William of Orange being welcomed to England in 1688. William and his wife, Mary, were crowned king and queen of England in the Glorious Revolution The persons who are likely to read ESR are hopefully very atypical of the prevailing, contemporary North American ethos: profoundly concerned with history and culture, and able to read articles requiring a large degree of cerebral effort and long attention-span. This series is written with the audacious thesis that the now very distant-seeming English Civil War of 1642-1648, and its real aftermath, the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688, constitute one of the critical defining experiences of the new cultural identity that can be termed Anglo-Americanism, which has increasingly defined the shape and substance of all subsequent world-history. The English Civil War, which is really the first great modern revolution, has set the pattern for subsequent revolutionary upheavals in the entire Anglo-American cultural sphere, and especially in America itself. As the war which set the trajectory of so many future developments, the English Civil War can be seen as one of the most crucial social, political, and cultural struggles in human history. As in the American Civil War/War Between the States, with which it can offer many parallels, the forces in the conflict are unevenly matched, because of the economic predominance of the Northern and Parliamentary sides, respectively. The Royalists, centered in the rural hinterlands of the country, with virtually no navy, and poor sources of munitions and supply, find themselves fighting a losing war against the increasingly powerful forces paid for by the enormous resources of London and other trading-centers. The panache of the Cavaliers is no match for the iron drill and discipline of Cromwell's New Model Army. The sense of the historical inevitability of Cromwell's victory, and the onward rush of successive events, has a certain profoundly tragic dimension to it. It is the historical significance of the English Civil War as it actually occurred that is described below. A large part of the essay, however, looks at the alignment of social and political forces on the eve of the conflict, to show what is really at stake in this struggle. The very mention of the English Civil War must seem obscure to virtually all contemporary Americans, yet, in a sense, much of the essential history of this society and its way of life would have probably been made impossible by a Royalist triumph. Whether this would have turned out to be a more positive or negative thing for human history as a whole is not yet known, in the strictest sense; however, this essay argues from a basically pro-Royalist perspective, a largely existentialist position given the context of contemporary late modernity. The pro-Royalist perspective is somewhat more understandable for a person rooted in authentic Canadian conservatism  as opposed to someone embracing the typical U.S. conservatism  whose traditions are anti-monarchical and republican from the very founding of the U.S. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
Pope Francis Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images

Pope Francis on Sunday said the Vatican is engaged in a "not yet public" mission to end the war in Ukraine and doing "all that is humanly possible" to return children taken from the country and moved to Russia.

Speaking to reporters, the pope revealed that during his recent three-day visit to Budapest, he discussed the matter with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Metropolitan Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Church's representative in Budapest. "In these meetings, we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood," Francis said. "We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace."

Francis said he also met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday, and they talked about a "peace formula." The pope added that he believes "peace is always made by opening channels."

Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, and at the time, Francis did not want to address Russia's aggression "in part because he hoped that keeping the Vatican's traditional neutrality could put him in a position to broker a cease-fire or peace," The New York Times' Jason Horowitz writes. He has since condemned Russia and compared its actions to massacres carried out by Joseph Stalin.

The 86-year-old pontiff also gave reporters an update on his health. In late March, he was hospitalized, with the Vatican saying it was due to a respiratory infection. Francis shared that he felt "a strong pain" at the end of a public audience, and while he "did not lose consciousness ... I had a high fever." Doctors determined he had an "acute and strong" pneumonia, the pope said, adding, "the body responded well to the treatment, thank God."

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WORCESTER  Damage to the outside of Worcester's only Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen location on Park Avenue remained visible Monday following reports that two customers became agitated and vandalized the inside of the restaurant Saturday because the restaurant was out of an item they ordered.

The smashed drive-thru window was boarded up Sunday at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen location on Park Avenue after two customers became agitated and vandalized the inside of the restaurant Saturday evening.

Employees at the Popeyes did not comment Sunday or Monday. Calls and emails to Popeyes' media contact was not immediately returned.

Worcester police spokesperson Lt. Sean Murtha said officers were dispatched to Popeyes at about 4:30 p.m. for a report of two men damaging restaurant equipment.

Witnesses told police that the men were in line at the drive-thru and were told a food item they asked for was not available. The men responded by threatening the clerk and entering the restaurant. WBZ-TV reports witnesses said the men became angry over missing jalapenos in their order.

The men began throwing food at the employees and began damaging equipment including a computer, register, a TV and a printer.

According to police, the employees felt threatened, as the suspects were verbally threatening them and throwing things at them.

After they left the restaurant, the two men are reported to have thrown a rock at the drive-thru window shattering it.

Popeyes temporarily closed Saturday.

Monday afternoon, only the smashed and boarded up drive-thru window was open for take-out orders. The inside dining space, which still had the benches and chairs on top of the tables as of noontime, was not open for walk-in food orders and was only accepting Grubhub and online order pickups.

The incident is still under investigation. No arrests were made as of Monday afternoon.

Employees posted a sign on the drive-thru speaker that reads "We are Closed Goodnight," at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen location on Park Avenue after two customers became agitated and vandalized the inside of the restaurant Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Enraged customers vandalize Park Ave. Popeyes over out-of-stock item
Kelley Kitley, 45, thought her family was complete with two sons and a daughter.

Then, after realizing she was a few days late getting her period, she took a pregnancy test. It was positive.

"I was in shock," Kitley, who lives in Chicago, tells TODAY.com. At the time, she had an IUD to prevent pregnancy. "I knew I needed to go to emergency room because I did have the IUD," she says. "They confirmed the pregnancy."

When doctors told her she could risk a miscarriage by removing the IUD, she opted to remove it and embrace however this is supposed to turn out.

She wasn't sure how she felt. It was me surrendering to this idea that whatever is meant to be, will be.

Erynn Kerrigan, 31, can relate. After finding out she was pregnant 10 months after giving birth to her second child, she says she felt very mixed emotions.

Im very Christian, so I didnt want to be upset because usually youre very excited when a new kid is about to be born, Kerrigan, who lives in Utah, tells TODAY.com. So I wasnt super negative but I wasnt super positive at the same time.

Financially unstable and living in her parents basement with her husband and children, Kerrigan says at one point in her pregnancy she started to think: If this ends up in a miscarriage, I wouldnt be mad.

I felt so awful saying that, she adds. I felt like that it was a horrible thought and horrible thing for a mom to say.

Both women carried healthy pregnancies to term and are now grateful for their additional children, but the guilt of feeling ambivalent about their pregnancies lingers.

Im a devoted mom, Kerrigan says, but I still struggle.

When you feel 'ambivalent' about pregnancy

Both women were experiencing a pregnancy ambivalence, a feeling that's much more common than people realize.

Reactions to a confirmed or even possible pregnancy are often depicted as either absolute joy or immediate despair. A third, and what experts say is a more common reaction, exists: Ambivalence. Sometimes, these feelings can also be described as indifference.

Story continues

"I think it's the default that women feel somewhat ambivalent about a pregnancy," Dr. Veerle Bergink, director of Women's Mental Health Program and professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai hospital, tells TODAY.com.

One 2010 nationwide study found that one in four women feel "OK either way" about the possibility of a pregnancy. Another 2017 study of 84 pregnant women found that 55% "described feelings of ambivalence" about their pregnancy.

Parallel feelings can both exist  youre looking forward to being a mother and want children in your life, but there is a part of you that wants to be free and not committed to 18 years of caregiving," Bergink continues. "Concerns about being a good mother can feel so overwhelming to the point that a person wonders if they should have became pregnant."

Kelley Kitley with her husband and kids. (Courtesy Kelley Kitley)

Steph Herold, 35, started trying to conceive and quickly got pregnant in 2017.

Herold suffered from "horrible morning sickness" almost immediately, adding that she "didn't have a lot of time to get used to the idea of being pregnant."

"It was just a really quick onset of debilitating disgust, ambivalence and horror," adds Herold, who lives in New York. "I felt so bad about it, because I wanted to be pregnant."

At one point, Harold says she wasn't sure if she would choose to carry the pregnancy to term.

"Yes, I had intended to get pregnant, but ... I had hoped the experience would be very different than it actually was," she says.

Erynn Kerrigan with her kids. (Courtesy Erynn Kerrigan)

Dr. Vanessa Vitiello, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health, says anyone can feel ambivalent about pregnancy, whether their pregnancy is planned, unplanned or even medically assisted.

"Individuals who go through a painstaking process to become pregnant are often the ones who can experience a lot of ambivalence or the most ambivalence," Vitiello tells TODAY.com. "Getting pregnant becomes such a mission that once they find that they're pregnant, it brings up all these other emotions."

Rossi Elliott-Airy, 35, who lives in Oregon, started IVF treatments in 2018 and months later had a successful embryo transfer.

"A week or so after I got that initial call, I got an ultrasound and things were looking good  I thought that would be the time that I felt really excited," Elliott-Airy tells TODAY.com. "But I was super nauseated. That's when it set in ... like: 'Oh, this actually kind of ... sucks."

Elliott-Airy says she started to resent her pregnancy and how miserable it made her feel.

"I thought: 'I had worked so hard for this, maybe this was my body trying to tell me that I never should have tried,'" she says. "Maybe this wasn't the right thing for me."

Rossi Elliott-Airy with her baby. (Courtesy Rossi Elliott-Airy)

When Elliott-Airy hit 23 weeks gestation, she says she "could be appreciative of the pregnancy," but adds that she "never felt overjoyed."

"I never felt like I was that person who was glowing or so happy to be pregnant," she adds. "To this day, and my son just turned 3, I don't remember what fetal movement felt like. I was that distant."

Does feeling ambivalent about a pregnancy make you a 'bad parent'?

Experts stress that feeling ambivalent about a pregnancy does not indicate what type of parent a person will become.

"Actually exploring ambivalence and making space for that ambivalence  being able to talk about it  can actually help a person bond if the pregnancy results in a baby," Vitiello says.

Herold, now a mom of two, says her ambivalence toward her pregnancies "released" her from "feeling guilty about how hard so much of parenting is."

"It really normalized just how central ambivalence is to the parenting experience," she says. "It is normal for it to coexist with misery and joy and boredom and exhaustion."

Terri Huggins (Courtesy Terri Huggins)

Pregnancy ambivalence helped Terri Huggins, 34, maintain a sense of self. The mom of two says she was "excited about being a mom, but not so much excited about the pregnancy" when she found out she was expecting in 2015.

"They're two separate things," Huggins, from New Jersey, tells TODAY.com. "Now, people ask me what I identify with more  being a wife or a mother. I say I identify with being me."

During her first pregnancy, Huggins says she was afraid something was "wrong" with her because she didn't feel strongly about her pregnancy.

"I was wondering, does this mean I am going to have postpartum depression?" Huggins says. "My OBGYN said no, and explained that some women just don't get that (excited) feeling about their pregnancies, and that's OK."

While feeling ambivalent about a pregnancy does not automatically. mean someone is or will become depressed or anxious, Vitiello says that ambivalence exists on a spectrum and, sometimes, can lead to perinatal mood disorders.

Bergink agrees, adding that "there is a group of women who struggle with depression, anxiety or mental health problems" which can add to their feelings of pregnancy ambivalence.

How to support someone who feels ambivalent about their pregnancy

Experts say feeling ambivalent about a pregnancy can be isolating and cause feelings of shame and guilt.

"It helps if you can vent your ambivalence and be open about it," Bergink says. "It helps to know it's normal and that you don't have to be 'perfect.'"

Herold notes, Pregnancy is such a precarious state of being, maybe its odd not to be ambivalent.

One 29-year-old mom living in Washington, who asked that her name be withheld to protect her family's privacy, says she "didn't want everyone to know how scared I was or judge me for how I felt" when she felt ambivalent about finding out she was pregnant with her second child just four months after giving birth to her first.

"I had no idea it was such a normal thing to feel," she tells TODAY.com.

The mom of two says speaking with others who shared similar feelings helped.

"Knowing that I wasnt alone in how I felt gave me a sense of peace and solidarity and allowed me to not feel so ashamed and guilty," she says.

Vitiello says that in addition to listening to someone's feelings about their pregnancy without judgment, it's important not to assume how anyone feels about their pregnancy: "Leave space for the grey area."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Princess Diana made her one and only Met Gala appearance in 1996. Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images

Princess Diana made her only Met Gala appearance in 1996, shortly after divorcing Prince Charles.

She wore a lingerie-inspired silk slip dress designed by John Galliano.

Diana reportedly was worried that the dress would embarrass Prince William, who was 14 at the time.

Fashion's biggest night is here, which means it's the perfect time to dive into the Met Gala archives.

As celebrities prepare for Monday's theme celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," we wanted to look back on one of the only Met Gala appearances made by a British royal.

Princess Diana made a splash at her one and only Met Gala in 1996.

Princess Diana wore a gown designed by John Galliano. Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Diana's debut came shortly after she finalized her divorce from Prince Charles in August 1996, a story that made headlines around the globe.

But Princess Diana wasn't afraid to go bold as she arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on December 9, 1996.

The year's theme paid tribute to Christian Dior, so Diana opted for a dress designed by John Galliano, who had just become head designer of the legendary French fashion house.

Diana wore a lingerie-inspired silk navy-blue slip dress with black lace and paired the ensemble with a matching silk robe.

She accessorized the outfit with sapphire earrings and a sapphire choker necklace that matched her engagement ring.

Princess Diana at the 1996 Met Gala. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Eloise Moran, author of "The Lady Di Look Book: What Diana Was Trying To Tell Us Through Her Clothes," told Yahoo! that Diana's Met Gala ensemble was definitely a "revenge" look following her divorce from Prince Charles.

"That was one of her most shocking dresses," Moran told the site. "But I thought she looked fabulous. She just looks so happy and confident."

"I think she was embracing it and enjoying it," Moran added. "She knew she could never get rid of the attention and the spotlight on her, but I think she was positioning it in a different way, as a kind of international megastar, Marilyn Monroe-type icon rather than a member of the royal family. And I think the dress really reflected that."

Story continues

Royal biographer Katie Nicholl, who wrote "William and Harry," revealed that Diana did have some reservations about the daring dress  worrying that it might embarrass 14-year-old William.

But the gown is now part of fashion history, even going on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Read the original article on Insider
Jens Stoltenberg and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, April 20, 2023

The Ukrainian leadership has already officially sent an application for the countrys North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership.

Read also: Main statements and photos of NATO chief Stoltenbergs visit to Kyiv

In his appeal on April 20, President Zelenskyy mentioned: "Neither the majority of Ukrainians, nor the majority of Europeans, nor the majority of residents of the entire NATO space will understand the leaders of the Alliance if a well-deserved political invitation for Ukraine to the Alliance wont be issued at the summit in Vilnius. Ukraine did everything to ensure that our request is satisfied."

During a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke quite diplomatically on this topic: "President Zelensky raised the issue of membership and security guarantees. This will be an important element of the agenda at this meeting, and NATO is preparing for it. Ukraine chooses its future in the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine's future in NATO, and the Alliance members agree with this."

The next NATO summit will be held in Vilnius in July this year. What should we expect from this forum? Many people in Ukraine believe that Ukraine will already be able to join NATO, or at least can start the process of joining. Unfortunately, these expectations are much too high. Accession to NATO is not instantaneous.

Now Ukraine wants to join NATO in an accelerated way

Ill go over the general process for joining NATO. The first step is a declaration of wishing to join NATO. Then, normally, most countries seeking to join NATO should undergo a series of reforms to meet the Alliances equipment and training standards. And that's the second step. This typically occurs within a Membership Action Plan (MAP) framework. This is like the status of "candidate for EU membership," when the candidate country must prepare its military forces and political structures to meet the standards and requirements of NATO.

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After fulfilling the requirements of the MAP, the candidate country submits an official application to join NATO. NATO evaluates the application and prepares a report on the candidate country's readiness for accession. Then the candidate country negotiates with NATO member countries on the terms of accession and compliance with NATO standards. If these negotiations are successful, then the NATO members should decide on the accession of the candidate country during the meeting of the NATO Council. After that, all NATO member countries must ratify the accession agreement of the candidate country to NATO through their relevant legislative bodies. When all NATO member countries ratify the agreement, the candidate country becomes a full member of NATO. The membership agreement is finally signed at NATO headquarters.

Read also: There can be no lasting peace with Russia until Ukraine liberates Crimea - opinion

Ukraine, together with Georgia, tried to secure NATO membership through a MAP fifteen years ago. But then we were denied this status at the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, instead only being made an abstract promise that it could happen someday. Some NATO countries, especially Germany and France, feared that even providing Ukraine and Georgia with the MAP would provoke Russia into aggressive actions. The effect of this weak measure turned out to be precisely the opposite - Russia attacked Georgia in 2008, seized and annexed Crimea and launched a hybrid war against Ukraine in Donbas in 2014, and it launched a direct full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. And this is a lesson for the future, not for us, but for NATO. Putin's concessions do not stop Russia's aggression. Instead, they create favorable opportunities for it.

Now Ukraine wants to join NATO in an accelerated way, using the precedent of Finland and Sweden. These two countries applied to join NATO last May. On June 29 last year, at the NATO summit, Sweden and Finland were officially invited to join NATO without fulfilling the transitional requirements for membership (ie, without a MAP). Finland became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023. Sweden is still waiting for the consent of the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary. I will pay special attention to this circumstance. Even a single NATO member country can block (or significantly slow down) a candidate country's entry into the Alliance.

Read also: Estonia becomes 10th country to sign declaration of support for Ukraine's NATO membership

Theoretically, we could expect to be officially invited to NATO membership (as Sweden and Finland were invited a year ago) at the Vilnius NATO summit, but let's be realistic - while the current big war between Russia and Ukraine is going on, this wont happen. Members of the Alliance - from the United States to the Baltic States - are ready to help us with weapons, ammunition, and finances. Still, at the same time, they seek to avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia and not to provoke a global nuclear war.

Another problem is the lack of consensus in NATO regarding Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. After a visit to Kyiv and at the beginning of the eleventh meeting of the international Ramstein meeting, which coordinates the supply of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated: "Ukraine's rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. The legal place of Ukraine is in NATO. And subsequently, our support will help make it possible." He also added that all NATO allies agree that Ukraine will eventually become a member of the alliance after the end of the war. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban reacted to this statement almost instantly on his Twitter with only one word: "What?!" And this is a reaction from a country that will almost certainly block (or at least slow down) our entry into the Alliance.

Today there is allegedly only one clear opponent of Ukraine's accession to NATO within the Alliance - Hungary. But several countries are still swaying and have traditional fears about Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. In particular, its about Germany. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on April 20 (during the NATO Secretary General's stay in Kyiv) that NATO should consider "carefully" any move to include Ukraine in the alliance. "The door has opened a little bit, but now is not the time to solve it. You must decide with a cool head and a hot heart, not the other way around." At the same time, the head of the German Ministry of Defense noted that Ukraine's future lies in the Euro-Atlantic family, and all allies agreed with it (almost word by word what Jens Stoltenberg said the next day).

Read also: Ukraines military capabilities exceed two-thirds of NATOs in Europe, says expert

What, then, can Ukraine count on during the Vilnius NATO summit? I think our goal at this forum is to publicly and sufficiently concretely formalize our "engagement" with NATO, which implies a clear confirmation by NATO not only of Ukraine's right to membership in the Alliance, but also the readiness to accept Ukraine under an accelerated procedure. It is also necessary to declare specific security guarantees for Ukraine for the period before joining NATO. This is a maximum plan for us.

But in which form and with what wording will Ukraine's "engagement" will NATO be presented is a subject of coordination with our partners. It is necessary to understand that certain compromises must be sought. Don't wait for specific dates. As with the issue of a counteroffensive, so with the issue of NATO membership, the emphasis should be placed not on the date, but on the result. In both cases, the result will likely be achieved not at once, but in stages. And these processes will be interconnected. The more successes Ukraine will have on the battlefield, the more chances there will be to acquire membership in NATO immediately after the end of the war with Russia. But at the same time, there should be targeted diplomatic work with those countries which are hesitating about our membership in NATO, as well as a coordinated neutralization of the "Hungarian obstacle" with our partners.

In conclusion, I would like to note that NATO membership for Ukraine is not an end in itself, not some whim of pro-Western politicians. It is the only effective guarantee against the even more Russian attacks in the future. Not only is NATO trying to avoid a direct military conflict with Russia, but Russia is also afraid of a war with NATO. Russia will lose a conventional war with NATO, and a nuclear war will also be a total disaster for Russia. Therefore, Ukraine's membership in NATO should also be considered as a factor in deterring Russia from repeating aggressive experiments. In this context, it is also a critical component of the new European security architecture.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The United Nations kicked off a two-day, closed-door meeting in Qatar on Monday, aimed at helping the international community figure out how to save lives in Afghanistan without bolstering the Islamic hard-liners of the Taliban movement currently in control of the country.

In a statement on Sunday, the U.N. said the meetings' objective was to "achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban" on issues including "human rights, in particular women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking."

Are U.S. taxpayers helping to fund Afghanistan's Taliban regime

But even before the meeting in Doha, Qatar got underway, it was the subject of a fierce backlash by Afghan women who see themselves as unrepresented in the talks, and who fear the meetings could lead to something the Taliban has failed to attain since it retook control of Afghanistan when the U.S.-led military coalition pulled out in August 2021: Recognition.

The Taliban has stripped away virtually every basic right that Afghan women had embraced during two decades of Western-backed governance, barring them from most jobs and girls over the age of 12 from school. Their draconian crackdown on basic rights has led to a freezing of millions of dollars in financial assets held in other countries, and not a single other country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The Taliban itself fumed on Monday about being excluded from the talks in Doha, with the head of the regime's office in Qatar telling CBS News that any meetings without its participation would be "unproductive, and even sometimes counterproductive."

"How will they implement decisions while we are not part of it? Issues can be solved through pragmatic approach, not one-sided decisions," said Suhail Shaheen.

U.S. to let Afghan evacuees renew temporary legal status

Story continues

But Afghan women who feel their very existence has been erased by the Taliban voiced very different concerns.

Defiant protests in Kabul

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was set to convene the meeting on Monday after a weekend of protests against the gathering by the very people its intended to help.

A group of Afghan women, braving the threat of a harsh response from Taliban security forces, took to the streets of Kabul over the weekend to demand their fundamental rights of work and education and to strongly criticize the U.N. for holding discussions they believe could lead to new levels of recognition for the Taliban.

In an image shared with CBS News, Afghan women stage a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 29, 2023, calling on the U.N. to deny the country's Taliban rulers any formal recognition ahead of a U.N.-hosted conference in Doha, Qatar, on how the international community should

The protests, which were mirrored by mostly-women gatherings in Pakistan, the United States and several European nations, saw protesters chanting: "We will fight, we will die to get back our basic rights."

Clips shared with CBS News of the Saturday protest in Kabul showed one protester addressing Guterres directly, saying: "Antonio Guterres, stop supporting the Taliban. The Doha meeting is a repeated mistake. Recognizing the Taliban is equal to murdering women in Afghanistan."

"Any attempt to recognize the Taliban is unacceptable to the people of Afghanistan in the current situation," said another.

An Afghan woman holds a placard during a rally against any international recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government, in Barcelona, Spain, April 30, 2023. / Credit: Ximena Borrazas/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty

Fawzia Koofi, who served as the first female deputy speaker of the Afghan Parliament and worked a peace negotiator with the Taliban, criticized the U.N. for not including women activists in the meeting this week.

"Women are being erased from all social and political process in Afghanistan," she told CBS News. "We have always campaigned to international agencies to include women meaningfully in all the process, because we believe meaningful inclusion of women will send a strong signal to the Taliban that the world is serious about women and human rights in Afghanistan."

Why the backlash to the U.N. meeting?

To be clear: The United Nations leadership does not formally recognize the legitimacy of any nation's government, as that assessment is left to individual member states. The U.N. General Assembly does, however, have a committee made up of representatives from different member states that votes on whether to grant credentials to any party in control of any given member nation.

So far, the nine countries currently sitting on that committee, which include the U.S., China and Russia, have all declined the Taliban's request for credentials.

In the meantime, the U.N., under the auspices of its many aid and advocacy agencies, has tried to continue carrying out its work in Afghanistan over the last couple years. That work is of particular importance amid the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding under the Taliban regime.

What angered many Afghan women were remarks made on April 19 by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who suggested that some recognition of the Taliban government could be on the table in Doha.

"Out of that [Doha meeting], we hope that we'll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition, [of the Taliban] a principled recognition. Is it possible? I don't know," Mohammed told the Princeton Review. "That discussion has to happen The Taliban clearly want recognition, and that's the leverage we have."

The U.N. later walked back her remarks, but the U.N. has stressed that it does intend to keep running its vital humanitarian relief operations in Afghanistan, if possible. After other remarks by U.N. officials suggesting the entire global body could pull out of Afghanistan, many see the two-day meeting in Doha as a way to determine how that work can go forward, despite some very serious challenges.

What's at stake, and opportunities

Hours before the Doha conference began, the U.N.'s head of humanitarian relief, Martin Griffiths, said doing that life-saving work in Afghanistan required $4.6 billion in international funding for 2023 alone, and "at the moment, we are begging governments to give us the money that we need to do that, because that program is hugely underfunded."

Afghanistan is at the highest risk of widespread famine in 25 years, but U.N. says it has only managed to collect 5% of the $4.6 billion required. And the funding shortfall isn't the only challenge.

Last month, the Taliban banned all female U.N. staff from working in the country. The move was condemned in a rare, unanimous vote by the usually-divided U.N. Security Council, showing the high stakes for the Taliban as it seeks global credibility.

"In Doha, the provision of humanitarian assistance will take center stage for the U.N.," veteran regional analyst Torek Farhadi told CBS News. "The real problem for the U.N. is that it has a serious of shortfalls of funding for its activities in Afghanistan  a failed state under the Taliban's harsh rule that no country in the world has recognized."

He said despite the "rare show of common voice [at the U.N. Security council, as] China, Russia, and the United States called on the Taliban to fall in line the prospects of the Taliban's recognition as the official government of Afghanistan are dim, and the world community has accepted to live with Afghanistan as a failed and unrecognized state under the Taliban."

Pakistan's former Ambassador to Afghanistan and to the U.N., Mansoor Khan, told CBS News that simply abandoning efforts to work with the Taliban would do nothing to improve the situation on the ground for the Afghan people.

"During the past year or so, the gaps in engagement of the Afghan interim government and the international community have increased. This is causing more suffering to the Afghan people, hindering their contacts and connectivity with the world," Khan said, adding that the Doha talks could provide an opportunity for the various countries taking part "to review the situation and explore steps that can help address some of this isolation in the coming months."

"I don't think the Doha conference is about recognition of the Afghan interim government," Khan stressed. "Recognition is a decision each sovereign country must make on its own. But it's important to find ways to relax economic sanctions, remove banking restrictions and unfreeze Afghanistan's foreign exchange assets with a view to convey a signal that the international community wants to assist the Afghan people. But the Afghan interim government also needs to show flexibility and accommodation for responding to the needs and rights of the Afghan people, including education for girls, the working environment for women and inclusive governance."

CBS News' Tucker Reals, Sami Yousafzai and Pamela Falk contributed to this report.

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Like Rome, Providence was built on seven hills.

But it didnt stay that way.

In a recent What and Why RI about how Federal Hill was named, the article mentioned the seven hills of Providence that were all still standing during the Confederation Era of American History. This little nod caused a few people to write in though.

You created another question, one reader wrote. I only know of six hills.

It's easy to only know of six hills because that is how many there have been for the last 100 years or so. Here's what happened to the missing hill.

What are the seven hills of Providence?

The Rhode Island State House on Providence's Smith Hill dominates the mostly empty landscape surrounding it shortly after its opening in 1904. [Arthur B. Ladd]

The seven hills of Providence are not names you hear every day. In fact, in 1914, The Providence Journal published an article lamenting that the latest maps had stopped putting the names of hills on them, and carefully recording the history of each of them. These are the seven hills and a bit about them:

The long version: How did Federal Hill get its name? There was almost bloodshed.

Federal Hill is on the west side of town along Atwells Avenue. Its best known as an Italian neighborhood, but the name comes from an incident where Federalists wanted to celebrate other states ratifying the constitution, but the dominant political party of the day in Rhode Island did not.

College Hill , also called Prospect Hill , is home to Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design. The nomenclature comes from Brown.

Constitution Hill is a tiny one, which is based at the intersection of North Main Street and Mill Street, and was described by The Journal in 1892 as nothing more than a slope of Prospect. Its name comes from the Revolutionary War.

Tockwotten Hill is in the Fox Point neighborhood. Tockwotten was a Narragansett name for the hill, according to the 1914 article, and it was used as an overlook of the harbor. One of the earliest histories of the city called the highest point Foxes Hill which is likely how the neighborhood was named. (A quick aside, this hill was also briefly called Corkey Hill, during a period when it was a neighborhood with little homes of characteristic squatter type and no end of pig pens. Once the city passed a referendum to clean it up in the 1870s, they rebranded and went back to the Native name.)

Smith Hill was named after one of Roger Williams companions, a miller named John Smith. Its the hill that the State House was built on, hence its other name, Capitol Hill.

Christian Hill is at Hoyle Square, where Westminster Street and Cranston Street intersect. It is believed to be named after the churches that were built there, though not all of the churches exist today.

Weybosset Hill is the one that disappeared. It used to be at the lower end of Weybosset Street in downtown. It was described as a small mound of land.

Story continues

What and Why RI: Why do Rhode Islanders say bubbler when most people don't? Here's what we found out

Why was Weybosset Hill leveled in Providence?

The small mound was leveled in the late 1800s to make way for highway improvements and the Turks Head Building.

The Turks Head Building, built by the Brown Land Company, opened in 1913 and was the tallest building in Providence at the time of its construction.

How did the Turks Head Building get its name?

To not leave you with another question, the Turks Head Building was named in honor of the original Turks Head in Providence.

In the early days of the city, there was blacksmith Jacob Whitman. Its not exactly clear why Whitman mounted a ships figurehead of an Ottoman warrior and set it out in front of his store as a navigational marking, though there is a theory it had to do with his trading with Turk Island Salt, but it works and soon everyone called the corner by his shop The Turks Head.

In 1815, it came down in a storm, but people were still talking about it nearly 100 years later. Whitman's house was where the Turks Head Building now stands.

What and Why RI: What's happening at the Albion Dam on the Blackstone River? We found out

When it came time to build the tallest skyscraper in the city, they decided the city should have a real Turks Head in the city once more. They carved one out of granite, put it on the building, and it works just as well today as it did in the 1800s as a navigational point.

What and Why RI is a weekly feature by The Providence Journal to explore our readers' curiosity. If you have a question about Rhode Island, big or small, email it to klandeck@gannett.com for her to add to her growing spreadsheet.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence's 7 hills: Why one was flattened for Turks Head Building
Editors note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police reports.

He was prowling a cop car

An off-duty Gig Harbor police officer called 911 to stay he had a theft suspect at gunpoint around 6 a.m. on April 11 near Stinson Avenue and Foster Street.

Another officer arrived and detained the suspect.

The suspect said another man had asked him if he wanted to go to work and break into cars if they saw something they wanted. In exchange for his help, the man told him he would be paid in blues.

Blues are also know as opiate drugs or fentanyl.

The suspect had blood on his hands, and told officers it was from being cut by glass.

The off-duty officer said he saw the suspect shining a flashlight inside his unmarked police car as well as several other cars in the residential parking lot.

When the responding officer searched the suspect, he found mail addressed to a couple who live on Cascade Avenue.

Another officer went to search that area and found three different mailboxes that looked damaged.

Police booked the suspect into the Kitsap County Jail.

Items missing from YMCA locker

A man put a change of clothes and his wallet into a locker while visiting the YMCA on Harbor Hill Drive on April 16.

When he came back to his locker he saw it was cut open and his wallet was missing.

His bank alerted him that someone was trying to use his credit cards at Fred Meyer at 5502 Point Fosdick Dr. in Gig Harbor. All transactions were declined.

Surveillance video at the YMCA showed two men enter the gym. One stopped at the front desk to talk to staff, the other went around the desk without checking in.

He had a backpack and went into the locker room.

A YMCA employee told officers he had seen the men before and believed they had stolen from the locker room in the past.

Fred Meyer surveillance video showed the same two suspects trying to buy gift cards at self checkout.

When the credit cards were declined, they left the store.

Another YMCA visitor also reported that his locker was broken into at the same time, but the only things stolen were his clothes and a knife.

Story continues

Car missing from repair shop

The owner of Gig Harbor Automotive Services located at 4101 Harborview Dr. told officers a customer dropped off a 2006 Ford Taurus for repairs at around 8 p.m. on April 17.

The customer put the keys to the car in the after-hours garage door slot.

The next day the customer called the shop to get an idea of when shed be able to pick up her vehicle.

The owner of the shop noticed the vehicle was gone, informed the customer and called the police.

Surveillance video showed a man arriving at the shop just after midnight.

He pried open the garage door just enough to grab the customers car keys.

Police entered the car into the system as stolen.
Dr. Carolina Reyes, a Harvard-trained physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, got into medicine to help women obtain health care, especially underserved or marginalized people who face systemic racism. Shes seen progress, albeit slow, over three decades, yet the number of maternal deaths each year continues to rise.

Luckily, shes got the ear of President Joe Bidens health secretary.

Reyes, 64, is married to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who is championing the administrations initiative to require all states to provide Medicaid coverage to mothers for a year after giving birth. In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing a 40% increase in U.S. maternal deaths from 2020 to 2021. The mortality rate among Black women was 2.6 times that of white women, no matter their economic status.

Over the years, Becerra has spoken highly of his wifes expertise, but she downplays her influence, saying her husband of nearly 35 years had it in him to begin with to improve health care for women and to demand fewer pregnancy-related deaths. She, too, describes the nations high maternal mortality rate as unacceptable and preventable.

Reyes, a Latina who grew up as one of eight children in Californias agricultural heartland, now practices perinatology at UC Davis Medical Center. She is a member of a California Department of Public Health panel that reviews cases of maternal deaths and recommends improvements. And she chairs the board of the California Health Care Foundation, a nonprofit that works to increase health care access. (KFF Health News produces California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.)

Her work has been a blend of medicine and advocacy, and she worries recent federal court rulings will erode hard-fought victories regarding the safety of pregnant women and their babies. She discussed the nations maternal health crisis and health care disparities; the interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Story continues

Dr. Carolina Reyes, a maternal-fetal physician and wife of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, says the rise in maternal mortality is unacceptable when most of the deaths are preventable.

Q: When did you first realize there are disparities in the health care system?

A: When I was in high school in the Fresno Unified School District, we were under a consent decree to desegregate. And I was, at the time, student body president at Roosevelt High School. I was asked to be on this unified school district desegregation task force, where the district had to come up with a plan.

It was a time when I really had incredible exposure to how policies are made at a larger level, societal level, that really determine where people live, where they can seek health care, where they go to school. That experience had a tremendous impact on my life in terms of what I wanted to do in a career and how to give back.

Q: The U.S. has one of the best health care systems in the world, yet the maternal mortality rate is high compared with other developed countries. Why do think that is?

A: What we know by the CDC and maternal mortality review committees is that about 60% of maternal deaths are considered preventable. And thats really been a lot of what Ive tried to focus on: What can we do to reduce the severity of disease? Or what can we do within the role that we play in maternal health that can reduce that?

We know that there are societal issues absolutely that increase womens risks and there are public health issues. But theres a role that hospitals play in helping reduce that risk. Ten years ago, I was on the maternal mortality review committee for the state of California when we started reviewing cases of women who died within hospital systems to see, Is there a role that we can play in a hospital system to reduce that risk?

We recognized that sometimes there were conditions that were not recognized early enough so that there was a delay in the care. Sometimes there was a misdiagnosis. Or in some hospital systems, especially rural systems where there arent as many resources, sometimes there was the lack of specialists available. So, weve identified these risks and said, We can do something about them.

Q: You served on a federal panel 20 years ago that published a groundbreaking report identifying racism in health care. It seems as if we could be much further along.

A: The purpose of that committee was to really answer the question: Do patients receive a different level of care based on race? Looking back, we knew there was something there, but we really didnt know. And it took months for the committee to come to that agreement, that there was a difference. I mean, that was honestly monumental, because we just didnt have that level of consensus before. And so just to say That treatment is unequal and its unacceptable was really profound.

We thought that the 700-page report was going to be a time period where there was going to be tremendous movement, and I think Ive learned over 20 years that change doesnt happen quickly, especially when providers and health systems dont see that they play a role. Its like ... OK, so maybe it exists, but not for me.

We all saw George Floyd and how he was treated. And during COVID we saw a tremendous difference in who was dying, right? Underrepresented minorities  certainly much higher. It was that culmination that made us realize the elephant in the room. We cant ignore that this does exist, that there is a difference in how people are treated, even in our health care system.

Q: When addressing racism in health care, you talk about diversifying not just the health care workforce, but also the boardrooms of hospitals and health systems. Why is that important?

A: At the board level, change is hard. But we all play a role because leadership really helps determine much of whats carried out. So, to have a leadership that is understanding and representative of the communities they serve, I think it has been demonstrated that we do make a difference.

Q: As a health care provider, do you have a wish list of policies youd like the government to take up?

A: There was tremendous effort around offering preventive health services as a part of what was covered under the Affordable Care Act. And individuals exhaled, finally thinking this is a tremendous win, especially for women in pregnancy. Because we fought for preventive health services to help them have access so they can prepare for their pregnancy. So, for women, this was huge. But now with the Texas federal court ruling that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force didnt have any authority, it is a tremendous step backward.

We have culturally, linguistically appropriate standards in place, but its a matter in terms of how theyre carried out by state and by individual hospital systems. My wish list is that we really do listen to our patients, speak to them in a language of their choice, and provide them written materials in the language of their choice. We dont fully do that.

Q: You mentioned one Texas ruling on the ACA. Whats your take on the ruling by another Texas judge suspending the abortion pill? And the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade?

A: As a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who tries to help women plan for pregnancies, those rulings are a tremendous setback.

Q: And what about women of color? Will they find access to abortion services more difficult?

A: Oh, absolutely. When we speak of underrepresented minorities or those with less resources, they have less resources to then seek the appropriate care. Some women may have the opportunity to go to a different state or seek care elsewhere if their state doesnt provide it. Many women just dont have those resources to devote to them and dont have a choice. So, we will see that disparity widen.

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Shaw University will once again be before city leaders this week, asking to rezone its historic downtown campus.

Last months public hearing drew hundreds to the Raleigh Municipal Building, with the Raleigh City Council agreeing to continue the case until Tuesday night (May 2).

I think it comes back to both sides being able to come to the table and have a conversation about what they would like to see, Mayor Pro Tem Corey Branch said after the April 5 meeting. I understand there might be some mistrust of themes that happened over a number of years, but weve got to start at some point and move forward.

On Friday, Branch said he hopes the City Council makes a decision Tuesday.

Whats happening Tuesday?

The April public hearing will resume at the councils 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting.

The council could close the public hearing and vote on the rezoning request. It could also take no action and keep the hearing open until a future meeting. It could also refer the case to a council committee for more discussion.

Groups against the rezoning, like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), are urging community members to attend the meeting.

Shaw University is also encouraging supporters to attend.

Whats in the rezoning?

Shaw University wants to rezone its 26.5 acre campus to allow up to 30-story buildings on parts of the campus and to remove historic overlays that limit what can be built.

This rezoning plan is the first step in that initiative to leverage our one great asset, and that is the real estate that Shaw has, university President Paulette Dillard said during the last meeting, and so to begin to address that long term sustainability.

The current zoning allows up to three stories to 12 stories.

Shaw says it doesnt plan to move its campus out of downtown or sell any of its core property in downtown.

Instead, using a long-term ground lease structure, Shaw will maintain fee simple ownership of its land to preserve its real estate portfolio while also receiving fair market value for development projects, including upfront value, and potential opportunities for long-term participation in the projects success, according to Shaws website for the rezoning case.

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Shaw is required to preserve several historic buildings including Estey Hall, Tupper Memorial Hall, Leonard Hall and Tyler Hall, according to the zoning conditions. Vibration-sensitive equipment will be installed inside the halls when new development occurs within 100 feet. Those buildings could only be removed if more than 50% of the buildings are destroyed or damaged. The zoning conditions also call for the retention or relocation of the Rogers-Bagley-Daniels-Pegues House and the Charles Frazier House.

Some Shaw alumni against the rezoning say they dont trust the university after what they say is years of mismanagement. Some neighbors are concerned about the redevelopment spurring greater gentrification in the nearby downtown neighborhoods and others worry about the campus losing its historic buildings.

What about the mosque?

Also against the rezoning are those worried about the future of the King Khalid Mosque. Some community members have argued that the university has not reopened the mosque to the public as a stalling measure while it seeks (the) rezoning, The News & Observer has previously reported.

Many of the people who attended the last meeting were area Muslims looking for the mosque to reopen after Shaw restricted access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shaw University officials have made it clear that the reopening of the mosque to the public was a separate issue from the rezoning application, according to a news release from CAIR. In other words, they are not willing to guarantee the mosques existence on campus and intend on moving forward with a rezoning application that could permit the mosques sale and destruction.

In a previous interview, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the mosque was a separate issue and one the council couldnt consider as part of the rezoning request.
Does the recent Jordanian smuggling incident reflect a dangerous development with Amman? By Amb. Alan Baker and Lenny Ben-David

web posted May 1, 2023 With the blessing and encouragement of the Iranian leadership, radical Palestinians used the presence of thousands of worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount to incite and generate tension and violence by repeatedly broadcasting the false accusation that Israel intends to destroy the Mosque. This, in turn, led to waves of violence and terror against Israelis and Jews throughout the area, requiring Israel's police to act to restore order. Jordan's Irresponsible Official Statements No less regrettable is the reaction by the Jordanian leadership, which, despite being fully aware of the false basis for such incitement and the fact that groups of fanatics armed with clubs, fireworks, and rocks initiated violence within the holy Mosque, chose to join the choir of political elements condemning Israel. Such Jordanian statements included an accusation by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi alleging unprovoked aggression against peaceful Palestinian worshippers, adding, "Israel is pushing us into the abyss of violence and undermines the peace treaty with Jordan." In a similar statement, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sinan al-Majali threatened: "Should the Israeli police assault worshipers again, in an attempt to empty [the mosque] of worshipers, in preparation for major incursions into the mosque," it would "push the situation towards more tension and violence, for which everyone will pay the price." "The Israeli government bears responsibility for the escalation in Jerusalem and in all the occupied Palestinian territories and for the deterioration that will worsen if it does not stop its incursions into the holy Al Aqsa Mosqueand its terrorization of worshipers in these blessed days." Jordan faces a tough internal predicament navigating between its majority Palestinian population, on the one hand, which constantly exerts political pressure to act with hostility towards Israel, and, on the other hand, its ruling Hashemite minority, Bedouin tribes, and aristocracy, which looks at the Hashemite kingdom's broader strategic and global interests, as well as the welfare of its population. However, even considering that, there can be no excuse for Jordan's irresponsible official statements, which falsely accused Israel of "violating the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by police forces, and attacking worshipers in an attempt to empty it of worshipers ahead of major invasions of the mosque." The Libel that Israel Sought to Prevent Christian Worship In similarly false and exaggerated allegations, Jordanian officials have accused Israel of preventing Christian access to holy sites in Jerusalem. The implication that Israel sought to prevent worship during the Orthodox Christian Easter festival at the holiest Christian sites is not merely false, but deliberately distorts the actual reasoning behind Israel's concern. Church officials, including its safety engineers, warned of the safety and fire dangers inherent in an overly large number of people gathered in the relatively limited space in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Jordanian leadership is fully aware of the Palestinian strategy, directed from Tehran and transmitted via the Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah terror organizations, to artificially manipulate the Ramadan period to generate situations of violence, unrest, and chaos on the Temple Mount. Yet despite this awareness and the open and collegial diplomatic relationship it enjoys with Israel, the Jordanian leadership nevertheless allowed itself to join the fanatical Islamic bandwagon and be drawn into echoing the false propaganda and hostility towards Israel, in clear violation of its peace treaty obligations with Israel. In its 1994 peace treaty with Israel (Article 9), Jordan enjoys special, preferential status on the Temple Mount concerning the Muslim holy shrines. However, neither Jordan nor any other country has been granted preferential status regarding Jerusalem's Christian holy sites. In fact, in the peace treaty, both parties undertook to "act together to promote interfaith relations among the three monotheistic religions, with the aim of working towards religious understanding, moral commitment, freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace." Jordan's official statements are aimed at achieving precisely the opposite. The Power of One Jordanian to Destroy the Peace Such behavior by the Jordanian leadership, replete with false and exaggerated statements against Israel, is unwarranted, unjustified, and threatens to undermine the integrity and mutual trust inherent in its peace relationship with Israel. Jordan's leaders bear direct responsibility for inciting the foray of Member of Parliament Imad al Adwan to arm Palestinian terrorist cadres, smuggling some 200 assault rifles and automatic military-grade handguns to terrorists in the West Bank. Moreover, Jordan's vaunted intelligence services failed to uncover al Adwan's plot, but was it an issue of nonfeasance or misfeasance? If Jordan enjoys preferential status based on an official and beneficial political and diplomatic relationship of bon-voisinage with Israel, it cannot at the same time unfaithfully undermine this relationship by espousing false, fake, flawed, and manipulative accusations against Israel. The resultant incitement to violence was directly translated into the murderous actions of a Jordanian member of parliament to arm terrorist attacks against Israel's citizens. Jordan's delicate strategic status  internally and in the intra-Arab context  should not serve as a cover and pretext for echoing knowingly false and flawed accusations against its neighbor, Israel. In doing so, Jordan risks prejudicing the extensive benefits in many spheres that it enjoys from its peace treaty with Israel. King Abdullah II would be well-advised to exercise his authority to stem this dangerous threat to peace with Israel. Amb. Alan Baker is Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center and the head of the Global Law Forum. He participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, as well as agreements and peace treaties with Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. He served as legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Israel's ambassador to Canada. Lenny Ben-David worked for AIPAC for 25 years in Washington and Jerusalem. In 1997, he left to open an independent consulting firm, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped him to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff in Israel's Washington Embassy. He is the author of the book American Interests in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs, and he is completing his next book, Secrets of World War I in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs. He is the Director of the Institute for U.S.-Israel Relations at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Home
Rapper YNW Melly rose to fame in 2018 for having murder on his mind. Now, a Broward jury will soon decide whether the Treasure Coast natives lyrics were more than him exercising artistic license  and played out in real life.

Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of gunning down his childhood friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr., in an alleged drive-by cover up on Oct. 26, 2018 in Miramar. Confidant Cortlen Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, was also arrested and charged with the murders.

READ MORE: Florida rapper charged with two counts of murder faces the death penalty, records show

Melly, 24, best known for hit song Murder on My Mind that captivated the internet, was arrested on two counts of first-degree murder on Feb. 13, 2019. Since then, hes been in the Broward main jail, despite efforts to get released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His codefendant Henry, 24, pleaded not guilty and is currently out on house arrest. Court records indicate that Henry, who is facing two additional counts of accessory to murder, will not face trial at the same time as the rapper.

In 2022, prosecutors updated Mellys indictment to include that the murders were committed to benefit, promote and further the interests of a criminal gang.

Heres what to know about the case  and the upcoming trial  as a panel of jurors was selected in late April.

A staged drive-by shooting?

In the early morning hours of Oct. 26, 2018, Henry rushed into Memorial Hospital Miramars emergency room, according to court records. He told medical staff that two men were shot inside his 2018 Jeep Compass.

A Miramar police officer found Williams, 21, in the front passenger seat with gunshot wounds to his head and torso and Thomas, 19, in the right rear passenger seat with gunshot wounds to the back and head.

They were already dead.

Henry, court records say, recounted their whereabouts that night. He told police that the trio had left the New Era Recording Studio in Fort Lauderdale when a car pulled up next to them on Miramar Parkway and opened fire. Williams and Thomas, both aspiring rappers, went by YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.

Story continues

Amid the gunfire, Henry lowered his body, he told police, to shield himself. He sped toward the nearest hospital the moment he knew his friends were struck by the spray of bullets.

Police scavenged the area where Henry said the shooting took place, but didnt turn up any evidence matching Henrys account, according to court records. They came across a witness who said he was at the recording studio with Henry, Thomas, Williams and Melly that night. Surveillance video captured all four men hopping into the Jeep, with Melly sitting in the left rear passenger seat. Thats where police later uncovered a single .40 caliber shell casing tucked inside a white plastic bag, court records reveal.

After looking at the pools of blood inside the bullet-riddled Jeep, police began to suspect that Williams and Thomas were shot inside the SUV, according to court records. Cell phone data also placed Melly, Thomas and Williams together throughout the night.

Defense lawyers David Howard (far left) and Stuart Adelstein flank their client Florida rapper Jamell Maurice Demons known as YNW Melly, who is accused of killing two friends in October 2018, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale.

Court records show investigators located evidence, including another .40 caliber shell casing and glass matching the Jeep, on an isolated patch of Pembroke Road. Projectile analysis determined it to be unlikely for the barrage of bullets to have hit the SUV while in motion, according to court records. The autopsies suggested that the shots came from the left rear passenger side, where Melly was caught on tape sitting earlier that night.

Police believe that Henry and the rapper drove around with Williams and Thomas bodies for a while before entering the hospital. At some point, Melly got out of the Jeep. According to court records, Mellys girlfriend and mother told investigators that he called them via FaceTime that night and said he was the victim of a drive-by shooting that left two of his friends dead. The mother of Mellys girlfriend, who was present during the FaceTime, said it looked like he was hiding and waiting to be picked up.

Rumors and suspicion

During the investigation, officers came across a December 2018 documentary posted on YouTube.

In the 21-minute film, Melly shares his background story growing up in Gifford, a small community on the Treasure Coast. Hes sitting around and smoking with friends, including Thomas and Williams, as they reminisce about their past admiration for Chris Brown.

Mellys mother, who was 14 when she was pregnant with the rapper, gleamed with pride as she packed for their move to South Florida and detailed her sons lifelong love for music. The rapper even greeted a group of children from his hometown interested in the arts and vowed to help them as he furthered his career.

The documentary, however, also touched on Mellys interest in guns and the cutthroat nature of the industry. One of Thomas messages echoed an ominous sentiment:

Make you not know who to trust, you know what Im saying?

The video ends with Thomas voice as Melly faces the splashing ocean. Then, white text appears on the screen: Four days after the completion of this film, YNW Melly and his friends were targets of a drive-by shooting in Miami, Florida, a statement that police argue links the rapper to the scene.

Defense lawyer David Howard (left) talks to his client Florida rapper Jamell Maurice Demons, known as YWN Melly, who is accused of killing two friends in October 2018, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale.

Investigators also analyzed a series of Snapchat messages between Melly and his girlfriend sent two weeks after the killings, according to court records. They argue that the rapper is alluding to the murders  and Henrys loyalty to him.

Dis n**** saved my life he koming everywhere wit me kuz if dem crackers come grab him its my fault u forgot??? the rapper wrote. I keep Bortlen wit kuz at da end of the day he did one of a realist shit in my life.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Melly addressed rumors about his arrest as he was preparing to turn himself in.

...A couple months ago I lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice.. unfortunately a lot of rumors and lies are being said but no worries god is with me and my brother @ynw.bortlen and we want yall to remember its a ynw Family I love you @ynwsakchaser1 and @ynwjuvy #freeus

They Took My Brothers From Me Over Jealousy I know yall watching over me its #ynw4l and after , they wanna see me break down and stop or in jail or a box but my niggas still need me they parents need me they family need me till we meet again my slimes pic.twitter.com/wuKuhulqAW  Melvin & Melly 2 Face (@YNWMelly) October 27, 2018

After the slayings, fans and critics alike have dissected the lyrics of his best-known song Murder on My Mind, which features a grim retelling of an unintentional homicide over a blend of emotional piano riffs and hip-hop beats.

Yellow tape around his body, its a f****** homicide

His face is on a T-shirt and his family traumatized

I didnt even mean to shoot him, he just caught me by surprise

I reloaded my pistol, cocked it back, and shot him twice

His body dropped down to the floor, and he got teardrops in his eyes

He grabbed me by my hands and said he was afraid to die

I told him, Its too late, my friend, its time to say goodbye

And he died inside my arms, blood all on my shirt

Though internet sleuths claim the song is a confession or evidence of Mellys guilt, the lyrics were written in 2016 while he was behind bars for other charges  years before the double murder.

Mellys a savage, no he not no amateur

In 2015, the rapper was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and a count of discharging a firearm after shooting at three people near Vero Beach High School. The then-16-year-old spent a year in jail before being arrested again on a probation violation in 2017. He was behind bars until March 2018.

After his 2019 arrest, Melly and Henry were being considered possible suspects in the 2017 Gifford shooting death of Garry Chambliss, an off-duty Indian River County sheriffs deputy, according to local news source VeroNews.

What to expect from the trial

The trial, which is estimated to run through all of June and July, will likely include weeks of witness and expert testimony. Court records show ballistics, forensics and gang experts listed as potential state witnesses. The trial was slated to start in 2022 but was ultimately pushed back.

As rap lyrics have been used in hundreds of trials, many following the case online have hypothesized that Mellys lyrics, specifically those in Murder on My Mind, will be discussed during the trial. In court, rap songs are treated as confessions, proof of intent or threats, whether written before or after the crime, Erik Nielson, a professor at the University of Richmond, told Genius in 2016.

Melly is also facing the death penalty after several challenges  and years of legal limbo. The issue was raised to the Florida Supreme Court this year, but it declined to exercise jurisdiction. The death penalty case comes after Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a law allowing juries to recommend a death sentence with an 8-4 vote instead of a unanimous vote as previously required. The push to reduce Floridas death penalty threshold was inspired by the Parkland school shooter not receiving the states highest punishment due to a split jury.

Florida rapper Jamell Maurice Demons known as YNW Melly, who is accused of killing 2 friends in October of 2018, is seen during a jury selection hearing presided by Judge John J. Murphy III, at the the Broward County Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale, on Wednesday April 12, 2023.

YNW Melly came into the public eye in 2018 with his double-platinum song Murder on My Mind, which he initially released on Soundcloud. He would go on to collaborate with several popular artists such as Kanye West, Juice WRLD and Trippie Redd and released his debut album Melly vs. Melvin while locked up.
The "Real Housewives of New York City" is back with an all new cast!

On May 1, Bravo announced that the long-running reality series will return for its 14th season on July 16, following Season 13's finale in 2021.

The network teased the reboot with a short promo video showing a woman's well-manicured hand grabbing  what else?  a big red apple. The sound of someone taking hearty bite from the apple could be heard over instrumental music.

"Start spreading the news. #RHONY Season 14 premieres July 16th!" the network captioned the clip, adding an apple and stars emoji.

Who is in the cast of 'RHONY' Season 14? Meet the new 'Housewives'

The RHONY reboot features six new cast members: Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jessel Taank, Brynn Whitfield and Jenna Lyons.

cast of The Real Housewives of New York City season 14 (Courtesy Bravo TV)

Fans got their first peek at the new stars during a taping of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at BravoCon in October 2022. (A seventh cast member, Lizzy Savetsky, was also announced at the time, but Savetsky exited days later after facing what she called a torrent of antisemitic attacks.)

A Bravo press release on Monday described the six women, who all "run in the same social circles, thriving in one of the most diverse and electric cities in the world."

Sai De Silva

Born and raised in New York, De Silva is the creative director of Scout the City, which chronicles her adventures of "chic parenting" from the Brooklyn home she shares with her husband, David Craig, and their two children, London and Rio.

Ubah Hassan

A Somalian model and philanthropist, Hassan fled to Kenya with her dad and brother at an early age, later moving to Canada, where she was discovered by a photographer and signed by a modeling agency. Ubah is also the founder of UBAHHOT, a hot sauce company.

Erin Dana Lichy

Lichy is a "funny, confident and candid" New Yorker, raised in Manhattan as one of five children in a close-knit Israeli family. The "super sociable" Lichy became a real estate agent at 19 and owns her own home renovation and design firm, Homegirl. She shares three kids with her attorney husband. They live in Tribeca.

Story continues

Jessel Taank

Taank is an "outgoing and unreserved" fashion publicist and brand consultant who's known for her fresh ideas. Taank, who is of British-Indian descent, met her husband, financier Pavit Randhawa, after they were introduced by a friend at a bar. The pair were platonic friends for years before romance blossomed. They married in Mexico in 2014 and share twin boys.

Brynn Whitfield

Whitfield is a brand marketing and communications professional. A trophy wife in training, Whitfield loves interior design, fashion and hosting dinner parties from her small but gorgeous West Village apartment. She grew up in a small town in the Midwest, where she was raised by a grandmother who taught her "invaluable lessons about navigating life, owning her narrative as a biracial woman and the true meaning of hard work."

Jenna Lyons

Lyons is the former president and executive creative director of J.Crew Group, where she was celebrated as the creative force behind the American retail chains phenomenal rise from catalogue chain to one of the most popular fashion brands in the U.S. Lyons is now the co-founder and CEO of direct-to-consumer beauty brand, LoveSeen. She lives in New York City with her son Beckett.

cast of The Real Housewives of New York City season 14 (Courtesy Bravo TV)

When does 'RHONY' Season 14 premiere?

The new Real Housewives of New York City returns at 9 p.m. July 16 on Bravo.

This "RHONY" reboot arrives nearly two years after the premiere of the show's problem-plagued 13th season, which was affected by the COVID pandemic and featured an unusually small cast.

After suffering low ratings all season, the show's planned Season 13 reunion episodes were scrapped, which a Bravo spokesperson said at the time was due to scheduling challenges around taping.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Hey, everyone! Drew here. Happy Monday and happy May!

We asked you to nominate people who work in Charlotte-area K-12 schools who make a big impact in the lives of students.

Its down to the top 8! Voting in this round will continue until May 3 at 5 p.m.

Heres your news.

Kyle Kepley, who died in the Rockingham County jail on May 3, 2022.

The dramatic rise in the number of deaths and the violations show a broken detention system that needs reform.

77 inmates in North Carolina died in 2022. Thats more than double the total when compared to 2017 when 36 inmates died.

Deaths inside jails have accelerated since 2020 while the average number of people locked inside jails dipped due to the pandemic.

Dan Kane breaks down the numbers behind the alarming death rates in NC jails.

Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown runs through defensive drills before the game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, October 24, 2021 in Rutherford, NJ.

A busy weekend for the Panthers has already turned into a busy week.

The team made a pair of decisions today, announcing it picked up defensive tackle Derrick Browns fifth-year option and declined the same option on cornerback CJ Henderson.

Brown, the seventh overall pick in 2020, is considered a cornerstone player for the Panthers. Henderson was acquired via trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.

Mike Kaye analyzes the latest moves by Carolina.

Beyonce has committed $1 million to support businesses through her nonprofit BeyGOOD Foundation. Charlotte is one of the cities chosen for the Black Parade Routes luncheon.

Beyonces Renaissance World Tour wont be her only tour stop in Charlotte.

The Grammy-winning recording artist is making the Queen City one of the luncheon stops along the Black Parade Route that helps small businesses affected by the pandemic.

Beyonce has committed $1 million to support businesses through her nonprofit BeyGOOD Foundation, and in partnership with the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Catherine Muccigrosso shares more on the local philanthropic efforts by Beyonce.

Cornelius Karis Stucker was one of nine contestants competing on the most recent edition of The Great American Baking Show.

Karis Stucker loved watching The Great British Baking Show the last few years.

Story continues

She even credits it for teaching her how to bake. So she decided to take a chance.

A couple of interviews, a casting audition and a monthlong trip to London later, shes one of the nine contestants on the latest season of The Great American Baking Show.

Jodie Valade spoke with Stucker about her experience.

5. Some more stories to read

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Find more updates at charlotteobserver.com, and follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok to see more from us. Enjoy your day!

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up here.
Kyle Kepley of Reidsville had been hearing voices and experiencing panic attacks, his mother said. He knew he needed help, but feared telling others he was mentally ill. At one point, his girlfriend drove him to a mental health facility in nearby Greensboro, but he was too afraid to seek admission.

Not long after that, the couple was involved in a minor car accident. Police arrested Kepley after seeing he had a warrant for failing to return to court on a traffic violation, his mother said. A magistrate set his bond at $25,000 cash, an amount the part-time electrician who struggled with bipolar disorder and drug addiction couldnt meet.

So Kepley, 35, was brought to Rockingham County jail, where four inmates had died the previous year  three of them after jailers failed to check on them at least twice an hour as state regulations require. Two died by suicide.

That pattern repeated itself just two days after Kepley was locked up, state Department of Health and Human Services officials found. Detention officers failed to check on him for stretches as long as three hours prior to the early hours of May 3, 2022, when Kepley used a bed sheet to hang himself.

Its sickening, said his mother, Melissa Efird.

Kepley and two other inmates who died inside the Rockingham jail last year are among 77 inmates in North Carolina jails who died in 2022, the sixth consecutive year of record-high deaths in this states county detention centers.

Its terrible, its skyrocketing and its shocking, said Susan Pollitt, a supervising attorney with Disability Rights North Carolina, a nonprofit advocacy group.

A News & Observer review of jail deaths in 2022 showed several grim trends:

Deaths among inmates locked in county jails more than doubled when compared to 2017, when 36 inmates died. Deaths inside jails have accelerated since 2020 while the average number of people locked inside jails dipped due to the pandemic, state records reviewed by Disability Rights NC show.

More than half of the deaths occurred at jails where inspectors found staff failed to comply with state rules for supervising inmates, state records show. In previous years, DHHS investigators found supervision violations in roughly a third of the deaths.

Suicide accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths, with supervision lapses documented in state investigations of 14 of those 23 deaths. In McDowell County, video footage did not back a claim that an inmate who died of suicide had been checked on.

The opioid abuse epidemic played a lethal role. Eighteen deaths were tied to overdoses or complications from opioid withdrawal, autopsies show. In some cases, inmates accessed the drugs inside jails.

For the fourth time in four years, an inmate killed another inmate, one autopsy reported. No one has been charged in that death.

Story continues

The overall death toll is likely higher. Jails reported 13 additional inmate deaths but told DHHS officials those happened out of custody in hospitals or at state-owned Central Prison. Autopsies show some of those inmates who died in the hospital had become infirm in jails.

But since judges released the inmates from custody, their deaths were not investigated, a loophole The N&O exposed in the 2017 series Jailed to Death. After the investigation was published, lawmakers required sheriffs to report inmates who died at hospitals while still in their custody, but not inmates released from custody.

Two jails failed to notify DHHS of deaths in 2022 within five days, as regulations require. The Hoke County jail took several weeks to notify DHHS of two deaths.

In the Triangle area, DHHS cited Durham, Harnett and Wake county jails for missed checks after an inmate death. Staff at all three told DHHS that they were taking steps to make sure detention officers made checks in a timely manner.

Advocates, sheriff see different causes

The dramatic rise in the number of deaths and the violations show a broken detention system that needs reform, say those monitoring the loss of life. In death after death, DHHS investigators found repeated violations of supervision regulations, but the result is almost always the same: Jail officials say they are taking corrective actions and DHHS accepts the promises.

It just shows the consequences of a lack of a regulatory system that works and can enforce the jail rules, said Luke Woollard, a staff attorney with Disability Rights NC.

State jail regulations require detention officers to check inmates in person at least twice an hour. Its a standard meant to protect inmates and staff. If inmates becomes ill or infirm, jailers have a better chance at rescuing them. It also helps reduce the risk that inmates will try to harm others.

Detention staff can be charged with misdemeanor criminal negligence under state law, but DHHS officials have said they lack the authority to use it. The State Bureau of Investigation often investigates jail deaths at the request of sheriffs, but their findings are not made public and rarely lead to criminal charges against jail staff.

Family and friends attended the funeral and burial of Shaquille Polk in September 2022. His family said Polk showed signs of serious illness and begged Anson County jail staff for medical care for days without receiving it. A DHHS investigation into his death found jail staff did not check on Polk as frequently as is required.

DHHS has the authority to close a dangerous jail, a last-step option. The department needs other mechanisms, such as fines, to force jails to take the actions necessary to be in compliance, powers the department has when adult homes and psychiatric facilities fail to meet state requirements, Woollard said.

Sheriffs, however, point to traits among people brought to their jails and to challenges in finding enough staff to supervise them.

In email responses to questions, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood, president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, said a growing number of people with drug addictions and mental illness behind bars contributes to the rise in death toll. This is happening while jails are struggling to find enough detention officers to do the required inmate checks.

One death in the Rutherford County detention center shows how that can be a deadly combination. The day before inmate Andrew Hodge, 34, died from a fentanyl overdose, jail staff intervened in four other inmates overdosing. DHHS found 10 missed checks of Hodge over the 20 hours leading up to his death on Jan. 12, 2022.

Rutherfords sheriffs office told DHHS that the 208-bed jail was 12 detention officers short and had increased pay by 10% to try to fill positions. Sheriff Aaron Ellenburg, who was elected in November, did not respond to requests for comment. Foothills Catalyst, an online news site, previously reported the supervision issues.

We know that the best way to reduce jail suicide is to have an adequate number of staff to care for the facilities population, said Blackwood, the sheriff association president. We also know that factors which lead to suicide across our nation include but are not limited to; mental health issues, alcoholism, depression, anxiety, drug misuse, isolation, a feeling of loneliness, and most importantly folks simply looking for an escape from the situations they find themselves faced with. Do you think any of those factors might exist within our detention facility?

Considering all this Im left to wonder why the numbers are not higher than they are, said Blackwood.

Suicides and overdoses

DHHS cited Mecklenburg County for missed checks in four of five inmate deaths in one of its jails last year, the most of any county in the state. One was a suicide, two involved inmates with chronic health issues and what caused deaths in the other two cases has yet to be determined.

Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden said the hidden story amid the rising death toll is the number of inmates who county jail staff save from suicides and overdoses.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden

McFadden said in an interview that his staff performs roughly 2,200 checks in the jails per day. At times, jailers are dealing with a medical emergency or a fight and that can cause them to fall behind.

Fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can kill in very small amounts, has infiltrated jails, he said. In recent weeks, detention officers prevented two inmates from overdosing on it, he said.

How do we stop fentanyl from coming in? he said. Nobody knows. Nobody can answer that.

State officials could help by providing funding to help jails instead of adding punishments, McFadden said.

If the state sees a problem why dont we fund a remedy to solve these problems? he asked.

Infrastructure investment?

This year, state lawmakers may be ready to spend more on county jails.

Republican state Sens. Danny Britt of Robeson County, Jim Burgin of Harnett County and Democratic state Sen. Julie Mayfield of Buncombe County have filed Senate Bill 451. It would create a $10 million fund intended to help sheriffs comply with the state health and safety standards.

The money, which counties would have to match, must cover repairs and improvements to bring jails into compliance. A Disability Rights NC investigation into jail inspections prompted the legislation, Mayfield said.

The money could be spent on infrastructure such as electronic systems that document inmate checks, but not personnel, she said.

I dont disagree that many of the deaths  perhaps most or all  are due to insufficient staffing, but we dont have objective standards about staffing in the way we do about the condition of jails, she said in an email.

The House budget would expand drug treatment in jails under a $2 million competitive grant program to include addiction inhibitors such as methadone and buprenorphine. Many jails are not deploying them, DHHS records show.

And after balking for a decade, lawmakers in the Republican-led General Assembly approved a Medicaid expansion plan this session. The expansion, which the sheriffs association supported, could provide health care to drug addicts and the mentally ill, potentially preventing downward spirals that often land people behind bars.

Budget proposals from Cooper and the House also include money to add two more DHHS jail investigators to the three on staff charged with keeping up with twice-yearly inspections at more than 100 jails and the growing number of death investigations.

Disability Rights NC supports all the proposed measures, Pollitt said. But their passage is not guaranteed.

One familys investigation

No lawmaker has proposed legislation that would penalize jails for serious violations. The harshest penalty county detention facilities face now is when surviving family members file lawsuits.

That may be the next step for Kyle Kepleys family. They have hired an attorney, David Ventura of the CR Legal Team in Greensboro, who is investigating his death.

The Rockingham jails track record over the past two years is a target for scrutiny, Ventura said. The DHHS found that the two inmates who died in the jail after Kepley in 2022 also lacked required supervision. An autopsy found one overdosed on fentanyl nine months after being admitted to the jail; the other inmates cause of death hasnt been released.

Rockingham County jail

All told, DHHS has flagged supervision failures in its investigations of six of the seven deaths in the Rockingham jail in 2021 and 2022.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page declined to talk about the 2022 deaths. In an interview last year about deaths of inmates, he acknowledged staffing issues. His jail had added electronic reminders to detention officers and supervisors so that checks arent overlooked and two clinicians and a nurse, he said then.

In correspondence with the DHHS after Kepleys death, a Rockingham sheriffs captain said the jail was adding alerts to the devices detention officers carry to document the checks they make.

When a second inmate died after Keplers suicide, a captain told DHHS the jail began sending an email report documenting checks to supervising sergeants. After a third inmates death, a captain wrote: We have met with each shift and stressed the importance of making rounds. Each shift was told that rounds are their number one job and everything else comes second and can wait.

Kepleys mother said the repeated supervision failures inside the jail that once confined her son show a dangerous situation that must be corrected. It would dishonor her sons memory to do nothing, she said.

I know there are hardened criminals that need to be put somewhere, Efird said. But its not a death-row prison, and their lives shouldnt be in jeopardy.
Memorial Day holiday is about four weeks away and soon-to-be travelers are already gearing up for their next exodus. However, with so many tourists booking for their next destination, prices and availability may start to go up. To help with your travels, News Center 7 collected tips to keep your vacation stress-free and easy on your wallet.

>> TRENDING: Miami Valley sees record-breaking low temperatures today

More travelers are booking international flights and accommodations this year, which AAA said is up 200 percent compared to 2022. The TSA is now warning tourists that summer airline passenger levels are expected to be comfortably above pre-pandemic numbers.

Despite airline ticket prices running 20 to 30 percent higher than 2022, Delta Airlines reported a record number of advance bookings for summer travel, a spokesperson for AAA stated.

As a result, the auto club warned travelers to prepare for busy roads, rails, and skies this summer.

No surprise, for travelers who want the best choice of options for their vacation, now is the best time to book a summer trip, AAA Public and Government Affairs Manager Kara Hitchens said. Waiting too long could mean sold-out cruises or tours and limited availability for hotel rooms.

However, there are opportunities for people who have flexible schedules and are not set on a destination to save money. Travelers can also find last-minute deals this summer if they do not mind flying during off-peak days and hours.

AAA offered the following tips for this summers vacation:

When booking, aim for the first morning flight. Its more likely to depart on time because mornings have less air traffic congestion and fewer weather delays, especially in the summer. Early flights also give you more flexibility if there is a delay or cancelation and you need to reschedule.

Reserve airport parking ahead of time to save time on your departure day.

With the TSA projecting pre-pandemic numbers this summer, its key to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before domestic flights, 3 hours before international flights. Remember, international hubs will be extra packed with passengers this season.

Sign up for TSA PreCheck or Clear to speed up the security process. AAA Mid-Atlantic locations regularly host pop-up TSA Pre-Check Sign up events. You can check here for an upcoming event near you.

Avoid checking a bag. Carry-on luggage allows you to be more flexible if theres a delay or cancelation.

Make sure your phone is fully charged. Download the airlines app to receive notifications and use FlightAware to track your aircraft the day of departure.

Know your passenger rights. Read the airlines Condition of Carriage online to understand how you are protected in case of delays, cancelations, and misconnections.

Have your confirmation number or record locator handy, in case theres a delay or cancelation and you need to rebook quickly. If youre trying to reach the airline by phone, try their international numbers or rewards numbers, which can sometimes answer faster.

Weather is an Act of God  not the fault of the airline - and travelers may be on their own to rebook flights. An advantage of working with a trusted travel advisor is that they can help you with rebooking options. AAA offers complimentary emergency travel assistance for travelers who worked with an advisor.

If a flight is canceled due to what is in the control of the airline, like a mechanical issue, the airline is responsible for rebooking passengers and providing some amenities, like food or lodging. For info, see the DOT website: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights.




WAHPETON, N.D. (AP)  A man accused of intentionally running over an 18-year-old at a street dance in North Dakota had his charges reduced from murder to manslaughter, according to court documents filed Monday.

Shannon Brandt, 42, of Glenfield, North Dakota, initially said he hit and killed Cayler Ellingson in McHenry, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Bismarck, after a political argument in September 2022.

The case drew attention on social media after Brandt told authorities Ellingson was a Republican extremist and that he was afraid that Ellingson was calling people to come and get him, according to court records.

But investigators have since said the case was not political and there is no evidence to support Brandts claim that Ellingson was a Republican extremist.

Brandt was first charged with criminal vehicular homicide but the charge was later upgraded to felony murder. He has also been charged with leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in death.

Foster County State Attorney Kara Brinster was not available Monday afternoon to discuss why the charge was reduced to manslaughter.

Brandt's attorney, Mark Friese, said in an email that Brinster chose to reduce the charge and it was not part of a plea deal. The case is still scheduled to go to trial on May 30.

As we have pointed out since the beginning, there is no evidence to support the misplaced allegation of intentional homicide, Friese said. The state and defense forensic experts have provided comprehensive reports confirming this tragedy was an accident. Misplaced media hype and community conjecture is no substitute for evidence. Mr. Brandt is anxious for the truth to be told to a jury at trial.

Instead of life in prison for a murder conviction, Brandt could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years if found guilty of manslaughter.

A probable cause affidavit said Brandt left the scene and was visibly intoxicated when authorities found him at his home in Glenfield.

Ellingson was on the ground when he suffered his fatal injuries, which indicates the injuries werent caused from being struck by Shannon Brandts vehicle and were caused by being run over, according to an autopsy.
A First Republic Bank branch in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the troubled San Francisco-based First Republic Bank early Monday and sold "substantially all" of its assets to JPMorgan Chase, the FDIC said in a statement. First Republic's 84 branches in eight states will open Monday morning as JPMorgan branches, and customers will have full access to their deposits. First Republic had been teetering since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sparked a run on deposits, and federal regulators had scrambled over the weekend to find a buyer before the start of business on Monday.

"Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. First Republic's sale involved a "highly competitive bidding process," the FDIC said, though the final sale price was not disclosed. JPMorgan will assume all of First Republic's $96 billion in deposits, insured and uninsured (above the FDIC limit of $250,000), and most of its assets, including roughly $173 billion in loans and $30 billion in securities, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The FDIC said First Republic's failure will cost it about $13 billion from its insurance fund, and JPMorgan said it would receive $50 billion in financing from the FDIC. Eleven of the country's largest banks, including JPMorgan, threw First Republic a $30 billion lifeline in March, allowing it to limp along for weeks after SVB and Signature collapsed and First Republic lost $100 billion in deposits.

First Republic's seizure and sale marks the second-biggest banking failure in U.S. history, following the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008, the Journal reports. Dimon's JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, bought the remains of Washington Mutual as well. "Many banking experts said First Republic's travails were a delayed reaction to the turmoil in March rather than the opening of a new phase in the crisis," The New York Times reports. "As First Republic's stock plunged anew last week, other bank stocks barely budged."

Story continues

"This is the last stages of that initial panic" that "started as a result of SVB and Signature," Steven Kelly, a senior researcher at the Yale Program on Financial Stability, tells the Journal. "This isn't the story of 2008, where one bank went down and investors focused on the next biggest bank, which would wobble."

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Asian American leaders in Wausau, Wisconsin, have signed an open letter expressing their outrage over the reinstatement of a high school band teacher accused of homophobic and racist speech.

Last month, Robert Perkins was removed from the Wausau East High School after students claimed he used homophobic and anti-Asian racial slurs in class.

According to the open letter, which was posted on Facebook, Perkins has had six complaints filed against him since September 2022 regarding his alleged gross misconduct and use of racist slurs.

Perkins has repeatedly violated multiple [Wausau School District] policies. Instead of holding him accountable for his behavior and rhetoric, [Wausau School District] condones teachers calling our children chink, monkey, f*got [sic], ching chong and attacking their sexual orientation when its done under the guise of fun. More from NextShark: A boy dancing to celebrate his classmates birthday is the cutest thing you'll see today

Perkins was reinstated after an internal investigation was completed by the school district.

On April 26, Wausau School District Superintendent Keith Hilts sent a letter to parents that said Perkins language does not rise to the level of discrimination or harassment.

While a preponderance of the evidence shows that Mr. Perkins did not engage in harassing or discriminatory behavior, he did engage in insensitive and unprofessional conduct. Witnesses indicate that he did use language that could be insensitive to students of different protected classes, including race and sex, but that language does not rise to the level of discrimination or harassment. More from NextShark: 24-year-old who recently earned his master's from University of Chicago is shot, killed in Hyde Park

The district's compliance officer interviewed Perkins, students and their parents before determining that Perkins used insensitive language that caused the children to feel unease.

Story continues

Perkins, who was named Teacher of the Month in January, has not publicly commented on the issue.

Thavone Vongphakdy, the father of a student who was affected by Perkins comments, expressed disappointment regarding the investigation, noting that his son has not attended school in weeks due to the teachers actions.

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When I saw it in my son's eyes as he's crying on the floor, it broke my heart that a grown man can do this to my son, Vongphakdy told WAOW.

Asian American leaders wrote in their letter that the districts decision sends a strong message that using racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs are permissible, so long as they are made in good faith."

Leaders are demanding the school do more to reprimand the alleged behavior, noting that Perkins use of racial slurs can have a "long-lasting" and "detrimental" impact on the affected students.

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In a press release last week, the school district described the case as an educational opportunity.

According to Hilt, the district will hire a consultant to improve its staff and schools for the students.

Wausaus population is 81% white, but has a large Hmong-Lao community, according to census data.
Human remains were discovered in an Illinois junkyard, bringing an end to a monthslong missing person investigation and prompting an arrest, police said.

Randall Robinson II, a 49-year-old man from Manteno, was reported missing March 22, according to an April 27 news release from the Bradley Police Department.

After several weeks on the case, detectives followed a lead to a Kankakee County salvage yard April 26, police said.

While there, they discovered human remains on the property.

A body was found wrapped in a rug inside a trailer, according to the Daily Journal. A foot and a hand appeared to have been severed.

Blunt force injuries, skull fractures and arrow wounds were among the causes of death, the Kankakee County States Attorney Jim Rowe said, according to the outlet.

The Kankakee County Coroners Office later identified the remains as those of Robinson, and his family was notified, police said.

A 37-year-old Kankakee man was then arrested in connection to the investigation and charged with homicide and concealment of a death, among other charges.

During a search of his home, police located a firearm and a crossbow, according to the Daily Journal.

The man is jailed at the Jerome Combs Detention Center, police said.

Neither the Kankakee County States Attorney nor the mans attorney immediately responded to requests for comment from McClatchy News.

Kankakee County is about 60 miles south of Chicago.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin did not appoint a single commander of troops at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, because he hoped for a quick victory which he wanted to take credit for; the Russian dictator later began to constantly change the Russian military leadership, thereby trying to shift responsibility for failures in Ukraine to the appointed generals.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report, in which analysts delve into the changes in the Russian military command from 24 February, 2022

Quote: "Putin may have been reluctant to appoint a commander for this invasion to avoid crediting a military commander with the military victory in Ukraine  a dynamic similar to the one between Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov during World War II. Stalin had limited and outdated wartime experience and was reportedly jealous of Zhukovs military exploits and fame. Putin has no military experience, which may have further contributed to his decision not to appoint a commander for his invasion who could have upstaged him by claiming credit for the expected dramatic victory."

Details: Putin likely sought to portray himself as the commander-in-chief and mastermind of the successful invasion of Ukraine, ISW analysts said.

According to intercepted Russian military plans, the Kremlin expected Kyiv to be captured in a matter of days. Putin therefore likely wanted to declare this swift invasion a personal geopolitical victory.

Analysts believe that Putin's reluctance to appoint a theatre-wide commander for his invasion of Ukraine has had trickle-down consequences for the Russian military. Such actions have specifically contributed to intensive fragmentation and disorganised command structures, and have fueled unattainable expectations.

Putin appointed the first commander of the theatre of war, Army General Alexander Dvornikov, in April 2022. This was in response to Russia's failed attempt to advance on Kyiv. But at the end of May, Putin replaced this general because of Dvornikov's inability to meet the high expectations of the Russian dictator in the first months after the retreat from Kyiv.

Story continues

Thereafter, Putin began to change military leaders constantly.

Analysts believe that such a regular change of command has led to an increasing fragmentation of the Russian armed forces and disorganisation of command structures,which further worsens the ability of the Russian armed forces to conduct a coordinated campaign in Ukraine.

It is also noted that the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Kremlin have deliberately failed to report most of these command changes.

The chronology of the changes which the ISW cites in its report is based on official Russian statements, as well as on the analysis of unconfirmed statements and reports from Russian, Ukrainian and Western sources.

Analysts believe that the Kremlin and the Russian Defence Ministry are trying to use changes in command to create desirable information effects to compensate for the increasingly worse results on the battlefield.

"Putin and the MoD have either obscured or carefully announced command changes throughout the war in Ukraine to shield themselves from criticism, set up scapegoats for military failures, appease certain voices within the Russian information space, or compound efforts to sell marginal territorial gains as operational victories to the Russian public," says the ISW.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
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.
[Source]

Hawaii Representative Jill Tokuda (D, HI-2) used her time on the House floor to congratulate drag queen Sasha Colby, the winner of RuPauls Drag Race" Season 15, on Wednesday.

Noting Colbys role in authentically representing the Hawaiian and LGBTQ+ community as a trans woman and the first Native Hawaiian queen to compete on the hit reality competition show, Tokuda declared that her first-place finish gives us all hope and was "well-deserved."



I rise today to congratulate Hawaii-born Sasha Kekauoha, more famously known as Sasha Colby, on being crowned the winner of RuPauls Drag Race Season 15. I am so proud that a fellow windward girl, hailing from the homesteads of Waimanalo, has earned the title of Americas next drag star.

Tokuda also noted Colbys dedication to [drawing] upon her ethnic heritage and childhood trauma as sources of inspiration since the beginning of her presence on the show.

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Throughout Drag Race, she authentically represented her Hawaiian culture, talking about the legacy she is building for our home state and about being Mahu, said Tokuda.

Story continues

Mahu, which translates to in the middle, represents individuals of a third gender who take on spiritual and social roles in Native Hawaiian culture.

Historically, Mahu were considered extraordinary individuals of male and female spirit who brought their healing powers to Oahu from Tahiti, Tokuda shared.

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Amidst ongoing attacks on our LGBTQ+ rights that particularly target trans people and drag queens, her win is not only well-deserved, it gives us all hope. Congratulations to Sasha Colby. You are a leader, you are a proud Mahu, and every drag queens favorite drag queen.

Tokudas congratulatory message took place nearly two weeks after Colbys win on April 14.

Colby, who currently lives in Los Angeles, was born in Waimanalo as the youngest of seven children and was raised as a conservative Jehovah's Witness before coming out as a trans woman.

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Colby, who won the prestigious annual drag queen pageant Miss Continental in 2012, told Hawaii News Now during the second week of filming for "Drag Race" that she was excited to "represent all the things I love about Hawaii."

I love taking that on and representing all the Hawaii queens I grew up loving and admiring. So Im just so happy to be the one that gets to at least push the conversation further in trans rights, equal level playing field for everyone, she said.

Representative Tokuda's powerful message on the House floor regarding LGBTQ+ attacks also comes as Republican lawmakers  specifically in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia  are actively pursuing anti-drag bills.
(Bloomberg) -- Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia said the Republican Party has a future beyond Donald Trump if it focuses on common-sense solutions to problems that President Joe Biden and Democrats arent solving.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Youngkin, the former co-CEO of Carlyle Group Inc. who was elected in 2021, was asked in an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California whether theres a way forward for the Republican Party without the former president, the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2024.

I think theres a future for the Republican Party for sure, and it doesnt necessarily depend on Donald Trump, Youngkin said.

The Virginia governor said Republicans must focus on the best policies and common-sense approaches in areas such as education and the economy because policies championed under the Biden administration havent worked.

This is a moment, I believe, as Republicans where the common-sense approach to so many of these challenges resonates, and in Virginia, weve demonstrated that it works, Youngkin said.

Youngkin is often mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024 but he said in response to a question that hes not running this year and is focused on Virginia elections to keep Republican control of the state House and take the state Senate from Democrats.

Youngkins appearance comes as Virginia Democrats criticize the first term governor as excessively partisan. The governor has vetoed a record number of bills sponsored by Democrats  even those with broad bipartisanship support  during his first term as governor.

Youngkin met last week with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei and announced that Virginia would establish an office for economic development there. In his appearance at the Milken conference, Youngkin defended his decision in January to take Virginia out of the running for a proposed electric-vehicle battery plant by Ford Motor Co. because he believed the projects Chinese partner made it a Trojan horse that would undermine policy efforts to strengthen the US auto industry.

Story continues

Were going to need to build trusted supply chains in these most critical industries if were going to have an economic future that we decide upon, he said. But if we run towards these sectors that are currently dominated by Chinese supply chains, were only running into trouble.

--With assistance from Christian Hall.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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House GOP Leadership Hold News Conference To Discuss Situation At Southern Border

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during a news conference with House Republicans outside the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2021 in Washington, DC. Credit - Drew AngererGetty Images

House Republicans passed a debt ceiling bill last week with a provision to enact new work requirements for those seeking federal assistance, claiming the measure would help cut federal spending.

Although the bill is unlikely to become law, it would require millions of low-income Americans who receive food stamps and health insurance from the federal government to work longer hours in order to qualify for benefits. The proposed provision is among several demands Republicans are making in exchange for raising the nations borrowing limit for about one year.

House Republicans say that the work requirements would reduce government spending and increase employment, but some economists are skeptical that they will result in significant savings for the federal government. Its going to cost a ton of money to implement these work requirements, says Lily Roberts, acting vice president for inclusive economy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy institute. They are going to have to hire hundreds of bureaucrats to manage the process of documenting all of those work requirements now.

Republicans have not budged in their refusal to raise the debt limit unconditionally. Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden and lawmakers to reach an agreement to raise or suspend the debt limit, with the Treasury Department warning on Monday that the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills as early as June 1, a few weeks earlier than expected. Soon after the Treasurys announcement, the President extended an offer to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, reversing his previous stance to not negotiate with Republicans.

Read More: Previous Debt Ceiling Fights Offer Clues to How This One Will End

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan agency, said last week that the stricter work requirements proposed by the House GOP would reduce federal spending by $120 billion over the next decade, a small portion of the roughly $4.8 trillion in savings the bill would generate. About 600,000 Americans would lose health insurance, while about 275,000 Americans a month would lose access to food stamps, the CBO said.

Story continues

Under the GOP package, childless, able-bodied adults ages 18 to 55 could get food stamps for only three months out of every three years unless they are employed at least 20 hours a week or meet other criteria. Currently, that mandate applies to those ages 18 to 49, though it has been suspended during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Republican debt ceiling package would also require certain adult Medicaid recipients to work, perform community service, or participate in an employment program for at least 80 hours per month or earn a certain minimum monthly income. It would apply to those ages 19 to 55, but not those who are pregnant, parents of dependent children, those who are physically or mentally unfit for employment or enrolled in education or in substance abuse programs, among other exceptions.

For many Americans, the new work requirements could make the situation worse, says Claudia Sahm, an economist and senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute. The people who would lose their benefits because of a work requirement are some of the most vulnerable adults, she says. Its often homeless people who werent working before, or people whove faced serious barriers to work that are the ones that will lose their benefits.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is one of the lawmakers who called publicly for tougher, longer work requirements for the recipients of food stamps and Medicaid. I dont think hard-working Americans should be paying for all the social services for people who could make a broader contribution and instead are couch potatoes, he said at a news conference last month.

Despite these claims, economists warn that the government can incur additional costs when low-income people lose access to federal benefits, particularly access to health care. If folks lose Medicaid, it becomes an issue of uncompensated care, Roberts says. The government will pick up those costs often in another way.

Economists who oppose the work requirements often point to past examples as evidence that work requirements for welfare are ineffective. When Arkansas introduced a work requirement for Medicaid in 2018, about 18,000 peoplenearly a quarter of those subject to the mandatelost coverage over about 10 months before it was struck down in court. Some beneficiaries who had jobs were dropped because they were unaware of the requirement or were not able to report their hours to the state agency.

Still, a handful of GOP-led states have been quietly advancing their own work requirements. Kansas lawmakers on Thursday voted largely along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys veto of a bill that puts new limits on state residents enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP. The new law, set to take effect in July, tightens work requirements for older Kansans to keep or qualify for SNAP benefits, extending the age limit of those legally considered to be able-bodied adults without dependents from 18-49 to 18-59. As a result, most food assistance recipients ages 50-59 will soon need to work at least 30 hours per week or attend mandatory job training to qualify.

Even if work requirements for federal aid do not make it in the final debt limit bill, Republicans are likely to keep pushing the issue, says Matt Weidinger, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. I have no doubt this will come up again in future debt limit bills or reauthorization bills, he says. The federal government is going to be searching for ways to come up with policies that cut the costs of some of these programs.
Nearly a year after a Johnston County commissioner was charged with indecent liberties with a child, a group of residents is calling for accountability and his removal from office.

About 15 people met Monday night outside of the Johnston County Courthouse with signs in support of and condemning Richard Dickie Braswell. They gathered before the scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting began at 6 p.m.

Braswell, 74, was arrested last June after a 13-year-old girl told officers at the Johnston County Sheriffs Office that she had an inappropriate interaction with an adult male acquaintance. The incident reportedly occurred on April 18, 2022, according to court records.

Braswell made his first court appearance on June 30, 2022, and was released from jail after posting a $35,000 bond. He was also ordered to have no contact with the girl.

Monday, the gathering of both supporters and critics stood mostly silent along the sidewalk in front of the courthouse facing East Market Street in Smithfield.

Some held signs reading Abusing kids is a crime, Braswell must resign and Whos grooming who?

Many on Monday said they think Braswell should resign or be removed, but they were reluctant to publicly voice their opinions.

After Braswells arrest, he remained on the Board of Commissioners and continued his run for election. He ran unopposed in November and secured over 50,000 votes.

Some residents say calls for Braswell to resign are timely as lawmakers across the country and in North Carolina consider measures to ban forms of expression that some believe to be harmful threats to children.

Braswells supporters were more vocal about why the commissioner shouldnt step down. Bonnie McKenna, a Johnston County resident, said the commissioner is good for Johnston County.

Adam Stroud held a sign reading Pro Braswell as he stood with two children. He said he was there to support a great man.

Braswell serves the countys District 3, which covers the areas of Princeton and Bentonville. He was initially appointed to the board in 2021.

Story continues

Butch Lawter, the chairman of the Johnston County commissioners, told The N&O in a statement that they respect the seriousness of the charges and accusations against Braswell. Lawter said the board is following the states general statutes regarding the qualifications of a county commissioner. There is currently no recall process.

We continue to have trust in the process of the judicial system, Lawter said. I also recognize that regardless of the outcome, there will be children and families whose lives are forever changed.

Not a godly man

Three residents spoke against Braswell during the public comment period of the commissioners meeting. Each were given three minutes to speak.

The seven-member Board of Commissioners is made up of six men and one woman. All attended the meeting.

Braswell sat quietly in his seat as each speaker came up to the microphone.

Martha Neal, a resident of Pine Level, share her personal story as a victim of child abuse.

His crimes were covered up and he was harbored by the priest of the Roman Catholic Church, she told the commissioners. Much like the leaders of Johnston County are doing today harboring a pedophile amongst us.

Neal said victims are often blamed for abuse instead of the perpetrators.

Dickie Braswell, you are not a godly man, as your followers profess you to be, Neal told the commissioner. Sitting arrogantly before us, having stolen the innocence of a child.

She ended her time urging the commissioners to convince Braswell to resign.

Erika Hall, a Clayton resident, said the commissioners should be commended for their positive impact on the county but there needs to be accountability.

Conversely, any misstep or wrong-doing by an individual member of the board of commissioners could cause mistrust between taxpayers and this board, she said. The current generation is watching and experiencing how you govern Johnston County. What we witness today could be the future benchmark for our children and grandchildren.

Allen Hall, a resident of Clayton, called for Braswell to resign. Hall told The News & Observer he was concerned about Braswells tenure on the board and the silence from other officials. Even if Braswell cannot be removed from office, Hall said he believes the commissioner should recuse himself or step down.

It disgusts me to have to stand there in that room with him, Hall said. I really feel like its a conflict of interest. Hes a county commissioner. Hes in charge of people that are in this county and I feel like (commissioners) positions are influential, theyre powerful and with the charges brought against him, he shouldnt be able to have that power.

What we know about the allegations

According to divorce documents filed last month by Braswells wife, Loretta, the alleged incident involving the child happened at Braswells office. He allegedly took the victim and her brother with him to work under the pretense of having them do some work for him, then sent the victims brother on an errand, the documents read.

According to state law, incident liberties with a child is categorized as a Class F felony and has a maximum punishment of nearly 5 years in prison.

A person can be found guilty of the crime if over 16 years of age or older and at least five years older than the child and willfully takes or attempts to take any immoral, improper, or indecent liberties with any child of either sex under the age of 16 years for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.

This includes any lewd or lascivious act upon or with the body or any part or member of the body of any child of either sex under the age of 16 years.

Other allegations of abuse

Court documents show Richard and Loretta Braswell separated last June before his arrest.

Loretta Braswell filed for divorce on the grounds of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional district and breach of fiduciary duty.

The case is pending in a Wake County District Court.

The divorce documents also allege that Richard Braswell first made sexual advances toward Loretta when he was 39 and she was 16. Loretta Braswell is now 51. They married in 2013, six years after their second child was born.

After learning about the allegations against Richard Braswell, Loretta Braswell left home with their daughter. Richard Braswell later sold their house for $1.5 million, the documents read.

Jack OHale, Richard Braswells Smithfield attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The N&O on Monday.

Next steps

Court documents show the case against Braswell is pending. An administrative hearing is scheduled for May 2 in the Johnston County Courthouse and a jury trial date is set for Oct. 23.

After the meeting, Lawter told The N&O that he understood the residents concerns, saying that it was an emotional issue.

Some residents asked commissioners to pass a motion to remove Braswell from office. They used the example of a commissioner in New Hanover County who was found in contempt of court for failing to provide financial records.

Lawter said that they have found that action to be ineffective.

For us, we havent seen that to be a successful option so were not going to pursue that at this time, Lawter said.
Step into the courtyard behind Mon Paris Coffee Shop and Bakery in Fort Myers and if feels almost as if youve been transported to a side street in a European village. That feel was one of the things that attracted Andreas Maier to the shop in Reflection Lakes Commons on Cypress Lake Drive.

He and wife Katharina liked it so much that they bought it and relocated their family from Stuttgart, Germany, in 2021.

The Maiers had vacationed in Southwest Florida and even bought a home in Cape Coral. But things shifted in 2018. It was May. May, and I was still in a bomber jacket with a cap over my ears, he remembered. I went home and said we have to change this.

Mon Paris owners Andreas Maier, Katharina Maier, along with manager Tanya.

The couple decided to purchase Mon Paris in 2019 but COVID travel restrictions kept them in Germany so they did not complete the deal. Two years later, the restaurant was on the market again and the Maiers made their move.

April was their two-year anniversary at the 10-year-old bakery and coffee shop. Since taking over, Maier has added an in-house baker. Previously, pastries were outsourced. The change has enabled him to triple the number of items offered, while adding sweet treats from Germany and Italy to the predominantly French menu.

The cases are stocked with pretty pastries, cakes, buttery croissants, macarons, tarts, and a cream filled Bavarian that is Maiers favorite. Warm it up in the convection oven and people go crazy for it, he said. My father always taught me, if you have a good dish, eat it warm.

Mon Paris serves classic coffee creations like this cappuccino.

Mon Paris makes the full range of specialty coffees from decaf to breve to chai latte and everything in between. Mon Paris Iced Coffee is a signature. It has a double shot of espresso, French vanilla syrup, milk, whipped cream, and instead of ice, it has three small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Breakfast is served all day and includes traditional American fare such as eggs and bacon. Croissants can be filled with both, along with a variety of cheese. So can the crepes. The crepe mix is slightly sweet, ideal for the fruits and chocolate spreads they are often filled with.

Story continues

Cinco de Mayo plans: Favorite Mexican restaurants in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and beyond

Restaurant news: Doughnut shop reopens in Fort Myers; deli to close and food trucks battle in Cape Coral

Quiche is made whole and cut into quarters to consume in the cafe or take home. Beside the standard Florentine and Lorraine, Mon Paris also makes lox quiche with onions capers cream cheese and the star of the show, smoked salmon.

For lunch, house-baked banquettes are sliced in half lengthwise and layered with meats, cheeses and spreads.

Maier has slowly been adding more German dishes to the lunch menu and says regulars are not just catching on but wanting more.

Savory crepes at Mon Paris are served with a salad.

Leberkaee semmel is a Bavarian meat served on ciabatta with mustard. Sour herring comes on sourdough bread. There are Bavarian white sausages, goulash soup and warm potato salad that has become extremely popular.

Sometimes, his 86-year-old grandfather helps make the schnitzel which is served open-faced as well as in sandwiches. Other times, he can be found busing tables. Maiers 10-year-old son Sasha often helps as well. On weekends, he pitches in to deliver food when the kitchen gets backed up.

In Germany, Maier was an entrepreneur and a craftsman. He painted the murals that cover the cozy coffee shop. He also owned a hotel so is no stranger to the hospitality industry. But feeding people in Southwest Florida is a little different.

I never had friends in Germany like I have here, he said as traces of emotion came through his strong German accent. I love the sun, I love the flowers that bloom all year, but I love my friends here.

Although there is a dinner section on Mon Paris menu, dinner service has not been added yet.

Gina Birch writes about food, wine and spirits for The News-Press and at thebirchbeat.blogspot.com. Follow her as @ginabirch on Twitter and find her on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Restaurant serves up crepes, coffee & more for 10 years in Fort Myers
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad discussed a 'political solution' to Syria's conflict

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Amman to discuss Syria's long-running conflict agreed Monday the return of Syrian refugees was a "top priority", according to a communique released after the talks.

The talks in Jordan's capital brought together foreign ministers from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, in the latest regional engagement with the long isolated government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The voluntary and safe return of refugees to their country is a top priority, and the necessary steps must be taken immediately to implement it," the closing statement said.

According to the United Nations, about 5.5 million Syrian refugees who fled since the conflict began in 2011 are registered in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

The communique called for increased cooperation between Damascus, host countries and the United Nations to organise repatriation operations in a "clear time frame".

The ministers also agreed to "support Syria... in any legitimate efforts to extend its control over its territory, impose the rule of law, end the presence of armed and terrorist groups... and stop foreign interference in internal Syrian affairs".

The 12-year civil war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives, and nearly half of its population are now refugees or internally displaced.

Although the Assad regime clawed back much ground lost earlier in the war, swathes of territory still remain outside government control.

Syria, backed during its war by Iran and Russia, was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

But while Assad has been politically isolated since the conflict began, recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity after Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed diplomatic ties in March, shifting regional relations.

- Safe return -

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi noted the talks in Amman followed a "consultative meeting" in Saudi Arabia last month.

Story continues

That meeting saw nine Arab countries including Gulf states meet in Jeddah to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness and its possible return to the 22-member Arab League.

Safadi said the Amman meeting "was good and positive", and focused "on humanitarian aspects and on potential steps to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people".

"We focused on the refugee issue and agreed on mechanisms to start the voluntary return of refugees in coordination with the United Nations," he said.

"The current situation in Syria cannot continue, and previous approaches to managing the crisis have not and will not produce anything but more destruction."

The communique called on Damascus to "improve public services in the areas" refugees would return to and lay out measures that would ensure their safety, such as an amnesty.

Ahead of the talks, held at a hotel in Amman under tight security, Safadi met in private with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, and they discussed Arab involvement in reaching "a political solution to the Syrian crisis", the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement.

This was the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to neighbouring Jordan since the war started.

Days after the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus, also a first since 2011.

While some Arab nations have moved to re-establish ties with Damascus, the reintegration of Assad's government remains a divisive issue in the region.

Assad is hoping full normalisation of ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and other Arab states will help to finance the reconstruction of the country's war-ravaged infrastructure.

msh/ami/it
Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, by Jeffrey Toobin (Simon & Schuster)

In the nearly three decades that have passed since the Oklahoma City bombing, one of the most chilling aspects of the attack is how Timothy McVeigh was radicalized into the domestic terrorist he became.

The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building that killed 168 people occurred long before 4chan, Twitter or Facebook. Instead, McVeigh and coconspirator Terry Nichols connected with extremist voices through much simpler means such as gun shows, right-wing publications and radio programs.

In Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin provides the most authoritative and compelling history of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to date.

But what makes it such a gripping read is how Toobin puts the attack in context of an extremist, anti-government movement that has accelerated in the Internet age and eventually led to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The book revisits a story Toobin first chronicled in 1997 as he covered the trials of McVeigh and Nichols for The New Yorker magazine. Homegrown benefits from fresh interviews from figures such as former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who oversaw the prosecution of McVeigh and Nichols.

It also provides many new details through documents that McVeigh's lead attorney donated to the University of Texas that include summaries of conversations and letters between the bomber and his lawyer.

The materials offer a detailed history of McVeigh, how he connected with Nichols and how he planned and carried out the bombing. The themes that emerge are familiar ones for anyone who's followed the Jan. 6 cases and other right-wing extremist incidents in recent years: an obsession with guns, antigovernment views and racist beliefs espoused in writings such as the novel The Turner Diaries."

Those themes are why Toobin writes at the outset that the bombing has had a lasting and sinister legacy. His account of the bombing serves as a warning sign as much as it does a history of that legacy.
This article was originally published in Alaska Beacon.

Parents of Alaska public school students would be required to OK every lesson taught by their childs teacher under newly revised legislation approved Wednesday by the House Education Committee.

Without permission, the student would be held out of field trips, extracurricular activities, and even basic lessons on algebra, biology and history.

The revised bill also requires school districts to make single-person restrooms available to students.

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A prior version, proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, would have prohibited transgender students from using their preferred bathroom if it didnt match their biological sex. That idea was removed by the committee after hours of public testimony that saw a majority of speakers opposing the idea.

Under the new version, no one would be required to use a particular restroom.

An additional provision in the rewritten bill requires parents to give school districts a list of all the names and pronouns that can be used to refer to a student.

This would prevent a transgender student from using a different name without their parents knowledge and permission.

The bill is not yet final; it awaits further committee hearings and has yet to pass either the House or Senate.

The new language advanced on a 4-3 vote after committee members amended House Bill 105, which originally stated that parents would have to opt into sex-education classes. The governors office labeled the measure a parental rights bill, and its details resembled those debated in majority-Republican states across the country.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, is seen during a Wednesday, April 26, 2023, meeting of the House Education Committee. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, revised the bill after consulting with the governors office, he said. The revisions followed hours of public testimony, mostly against the original bill.

I think it was pretty clear from the testimony  especially the testimony that we received in written form  that parents really do want to know, and feel connected to, what their kids are learning at school, he said.

Story continues

Given that the governors original idea was for parents rights legislation, he said, if were going to hear a bill and do work on a bill about parents rights, we should really talk about it in its entirety.

He envisions parents being presented with a syllabus and being asked to approve it.

Heres the plan for the next three or four months, heres the books were going to read and the categories were going to discuss. Please let me know if this sounds good to you, he said, describing a hypothetical process. And then if theres any changes to that  a permission slip goes out.

Its just not practical, said Lon Garrison, director of the Association of Alaska School Boards, which represents local school districts in the Capitol.

He said it would create a huge administrative burden for school administrators and raises questions about what will happen to students whose parents opt them out of lessons.

Then, theres the practical considerations  requiring parental approval for any changes would prevent teachers from incorporating new material during the school year.

Right now, the curriculum is approved by the school board; its available for everybody to review. But theres also additional materials that teachers can bring in as long as its aligned with the curriculum. And so every time that would happen, theoretically, if you read this bill, youd have to get permission to do that, he said.

On the seven-member education committee, four Republicans  Reps. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River; Mike Prax, R-North Pole; Tom McKay, R-Anchorage; and Ruffridge  voted for the changed bill.

Three non-Republicans  Reps. Andi Story, D-Juneau; Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka; and Rep. CJ McCormick, D-Bethel  voted against it.

Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, speaks against House Bill 105 during a meeting of the House Education Committee on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Allard, co-chair of the education committee, called the bill much-needed and said she expects more changes to come when it reaches the judiciary committee.

Now that its moving to Judiciary, it will give us more time to work, she said.

Prax said he thinks it was a mistake for states to mandate school attendance, a practice that began with Massachusetts in 1853.

That was the original mistake, he said in committee, adding afterward that a bill like Wednesdays proposal helps restore teaching authority to parents, rather than government officials.

We should have asked ourselves: What crime did parents commit by allowing their children to turn 7, that they have to be sent to school? Prax said.

McCormick, the youngest member of the Legislature, grew passionate as he spoke against the bill. He graduated from high school in 2015 and said he ran for office to make life easier for kids like him. Wednesdays bill does the opposite, he said.

I feel like this bill strips our states young people of the ability to make choices for themselves, he said. It denies them the ability to live with dignity.

Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com. Follow Alaska Beacon on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters

Dont look now, but anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is polling close to 20 percent in some Democratic primary surveys.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll published on April 19 had him at 14 percent, with New Age guru Marianne Williamson garnering 5 percent support. Since then, a more recent Emerson College poll has him at 21 percent, while Williamson is at 8 percent. And a Fox News poll has him at 19 percent, with Williamson at 9 percent.

Americas Tragedy Is Its Culture of FearArmed With Millions of Guns

While it seems highly unlikely that Kennedy, who recently launched his campaign to challenge President Joe Biden, will play a decisive role in the 2024 election, he could potentially embarrass the president (probably not to the degree his famous uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, embarrassed then-President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 primarybut surely no incumbent president wants to find a Kennedy in the primary soup).

As such, its worth examining why Kennedy is currently polling so well, and what this might mean for the future of the Democratic Party.

The obvious reason for Kennedys success is simple: his name. But in 2023, that only gets you so far. The Kennedy dynasty may be famous, but its also ancient. John F. Kennedy has been dead for six decades. RFK Jr.s dad, Bobby Kennedy, has been dead for 55 years. Ted Kennedys early and influential 2008 endorsement of Barack Obama (over Hillary Clinton) was probably the last time a Kennedy will ever truly move the needle in Democratic politics.

But while the quintessentially establishment Kennedy dynasty is old and musty, an anti-establishment, unconventional ethos has always had a certain perverse appeal. And if that was true in the past, it is certainly true in 2023.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers a speech announcing his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in Boston, Massachusetts on April 19, 2023. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Enter RFK Jr.

Though he lacks anything close to his fathers resume, he has spent decades as an influential conscience of the leftpromoting the worst kind of left-wing environmentalism. Most recently, this involved helping convince his former brother-in-law, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to shut down a nuclear plant, which predictably led to New York state burning more carbon.

Story continues

There are a lot of left-wing activists who toil in obscurity, but Kennedys idiot activismand his famewere both boosted by a mainstream liberal media that spent years elevating him (in this regard, Kennedy is similar to Donald Trump) and his crackpot ideas.

If you have HBO Max, you can currently watch RFK Jr., appear in his sister Rorys amateurishly produced 2004 documentary, Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable, which warns about a 9/11-style aerial attack on the nuclear plantlocated about 40 miles north of Manhattan. Although wildly alarmist, the documentary was generally taken seriously and even praised by the fawning MSM. And eventually, the Kennedy scion took credit for advocating for the plants shuttering.

Arguably even more damaging than his radical environmentalism (that has ironically led to the burning of more fossil fuels), Kennedy also promoted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. Once again, respected liberals helped him spread his message.

As the American Council On Science and Health recalled, On July 20, 2005, Jon Stewarts guest was none other than Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Stewart not only gave RFK Jr a platform to spew his anti-science rhetoric on vaccines, but Stewart commented that he appreciated his guests work for getting the word out about how vaccines cause autism.

Stewart, as far as I know, has never apologized.

While Stewart, Bill Maher, and others were boosting his vaccine skepticism, the right despised RFK Jr.

But since COVID-19, Kennedys anti-vaxxer message has been embraced by the likes of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who reportedly spent months encouraging Kennedy to challenge Biden.

Joe Bidens First 2024 Campaign Ad Is a Smart Play for Middle America

This is to say that while RFK Jr., may be an imbecile with no real qualifications, both sides of the American political spectrum have embraced him, at different pointswhen he told them what they wanted to hear.

This brings us back to his current quest for the Democratic nomination. How on Earth can a guy who is currently cheered by Steve Bannon be garnering nearly a fifth of the Democratic primary vote?

When it comes to the polls, the usual caveats apply. Surveys are a snapshot. Robert F. Kennedy is a great brand name. Democratic voters may simply be registering a protest about an 80-year-old Biden running again. A handful of polls can simply be outliers. Its early. Things can change I could go on.

Still, we have to grapple with at least the possibility that some percentage of Democratic voters actually are RFK Jr.s constituency. (Keep in mind, if you add Kennedys current numbers with Marianne Williamson, you start to approach 30 percent of the vote.)

Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is surrounded by supporters as he departs New York State Supreme Court after a hearing challenging the constitutionality of the NY State Legislature's repeal of the religious exemption to vaccination in Albany, New York on August 14, 2019. Mike Segar/Reuters

I mean, I was stunned to discover that the percentage of Republican primary voters in 2016 who were willing to embrace a populist, nationalist, conspiracy-laden candidate was so large.

Could it be that the Democrats are about to find out the same thing?

Dont get me wrong. Donald Trump (a former Democrat) chose to target the Republican Party for a reason. It was ripe(r) for a hostile takeover.

There are many reasons for this, but the fact that Democrats settled on Joe Biden, while Republicans are poised to nominate Donald Trumpagain! proves the point.

I dont think RFK Jr., is about to defeator will likely even do serious damageto Joe Biden in 2024. My concern is about the post-Biden future.

The sort of conspiratorial populism that Kennedy embraces is on the rise in America. Thats where the energy is. To some degree, we are now seeing that even in Democratic polls.

Nobody Sold Out Harder Than Tucker Carlson

Trump has already taken over the GOP. What happens if the Democratic Party also falls to the siren call of the populist zeitgeist?

In recent years, the Democratic Party has become effectively the institutional establishment governing party in America, but there is no reason to assume that Democrats are immune from the seductive lure of conspiracy theories.

It wasnt long ago that the Democratic Party was the preferable home of an anti-establishment ethos, including 9/11 trutherism, anti-vaxxer sentiment, etc. So what happens when the Joe Bidens of the Democratic Party have packed it in?

Its hard to imagine an America where both major parties are (albeit in different ways) effectively Trumpified. Heres hoping we never have to find out.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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President Biden Addresses The North America's Building Trades Unions Legislative Conference

President Joe Biden, hours after formally launching his re-election bid, addresses an event hosted by h the North America's Building Trades Unions at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Credit - Chip SomodevillaGetty Images

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.

President Joe Biden closed out his first week as an official 2024 candidate with plenty of reasons to feel good about the launch. On the eve of his declaration, he met with the so-called Tennessee Three for a photo-op that reminded Black voters of the White Houses efforts to protect democracy and encourage younger voters. He promoted his massive infrastructure and climate laws that boosted the struggling ranks of union members and tradesmen. A state visit from the South Koreans yielded new assurances meant to calm fears about a nuclear North. Bidens turn before the White House Correspondents Association also went well enough with plenty of chuckles as Biden roasted himself from the dais.

Biden World may be riding high, but there is one nagging nuisance that has the potential to do more damage than they may appreciate. Two weeks ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the 1968 presidential hopeful and nephew of the 35th President announced his own plans to win the White House. Most serious Democrats have dismissed Kennedy as an inconvenience whose past flirtation with vaccine misinformation would eventually prove disqualifying. Those sage insiders are probably correct in their diagnosis. Only one incumbent elected President has ever lost re-nomination, and that was Franklin Pierce in 1852. Four other Vice Presidents who rose to President had been denied the nomination in their own right, and the last time that happened was 1884. (President Lyndon Baines Johnsons 1968 bidand his presidency, reallyeffectively ended after he had a shaky showing in New Hampshires primary.)

Story continues

But past serious primary challengers have proven popular enough to throw incumbent Presidents off their game. Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1976 primaried incumbent President Gerald Ford, who got the job only when Richard Nixon resigned. Sen. Edward M. KennedyRFK Jr.s uncleprimaried Jimmy Carter four years later. And in 1992, activist Pat Buchanan tried to take out President George H.W. Bush. All of those challengers failed, but exposed intra-party divisions that helped to make each incumbent a one-term President.

Now, at least at this point, RFK Jr. is no Reagan, who won 24 primaries against Ford and amassed about 46% of the primary vote. But amid Bidens listless support within his own party, polling shows Kennedy hitting double-digits. In fact, polls consistently show Democrats dont want Biden, the oldest person ever to do the job, to seek a second term; if re-elected, Biden would leave office at age 86. A stunning 52% of Democrats told AP-NORC pollsters Biden shouldnt run again, and among all voters that sentiment reaches 73%. The findings are in line with other surveys. Add in there this inconvenient fact: Biden himself is effectively barred from competing in Iowa or New Hampshire, historically lead-off contests but this time falling afoul of Democratic Party rules and thus turning into media-based events. Biden pushed the Democratic National Committee to start the clock running in South Carolina, meaning he could be arriving in the Palmetto State with his face stained by scrambled eggs made in Des Moines or Manchester diners.

Biden, nonetheless, on Tuesday made his plans official. The slick online video and subsequent comments didnt change voters mind, at least not yet in public surveys or private chats in Washington. RFK Jr.s standing in the Fox News poll showed him on the eve of Bidens entrance at a staggering 19%hardly enough at this point to do any real damage to Biden, but sufficient to be a piece of gravel in Bidens loafers. (Author Marianne Williamson is polling at 9%.)

Now, the fact that roughly 1-in-4 Democrats are pulling for someone other than Biden doesnt matter all that much on its own. But it may be an early sign of troubles to come, even if RFK Jr. never poses a serious threat to Biden securing the partys nomination. Kennedy does his best among womenwhite women, specificallyand a nagging 15% of people who voted for Biden in 2020 are now backing his upstart challenger.

Protest votes dont really matter in politicsuntil they do. Even after Hillary Clinton earned enough delegates to become the nominee in 2016, Bernie Sanders supporters continued to cast ballots for himand won caucuses in Montana and North Dakota, and still racked up between 21% and 49% of the votes in five other contests even after it was obvious the nomination was not his. Clinton to this day believes that how Sanders chose to wind down his own campaign and back hers ultimately cost her votes in the general.

Eight years before she lost to Trump, Clintons earlier White House bid continued to pick up support42% in Montana, 55% in South Dakota, 68% in Puerto Ricoeven after it was clear she couldnt earn the majority of pledged delegates. But her convincing endorsement of Barack Obama took the sour grapes out of enough of her loyalists pusses to help Obama winand her to become his top diplomat.

There are plenty of other examples of protest votes amounting to early warning signs, though. In 2004, John Kerry effectively captured the nomination on March 11, before 21 contests had even been held. Kerry continued with the pro forma march, picking up between 27% in rival John Edwards home turf of North Carolina and, even on the final day of balloting, only 92% in New Jersey, where Dennis Kucinich had an oddball base. Four years before that, Al Gore effectively captured the nomination on March 14, yet still was losing between 5% and 27% of the delegates after that. Both Kerry and Gore lost their bids as Democrats just never really got jazzed about either.

All of which is to say that while Biden is on safe turf for re-nomination, that alone may not be the bar he needs to clear. The National Review rightly notes that no incumbent has ceded so much polling ground to a challenger and survived. A YouGov poll found RFK Jr. enjoying a 48% favorability rating overall and 49% among Republicans; it doesnt stretch the imagination to assume the Kennedy brand and nostalgia are doing a lot of the work there. (Biden stands at 47% in that poll overall, but lagging with anemic 16% favorability among Republicans.)

And then there is the Republican hype behind Kennedy, whom many right-wing media forces have identified as a potential frenemy in their shared interest in dinging Biden before he even has a Republican nominee. Kennedy may end up a useful foil and proxy for conservative trolling of Biden. And the sitting President may end up unable to control his own frustrations that any fellow Democrat would dare challenge his commitment to the job, let alone someone whose uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, was a man Biden called a big brother and eulogized.

So its unlikely were going to see a Biden-Kennedy debate any time soon. If ever they spar, it will be clear among Democratic voters that Biden has the obvious advantage. After all, Kennedys views on the jabs inside a party that vaunts vaccines is far from helpful. Kennedys own kin have for years called out his views as dangerous and fact-challenged. And as much as Kennedys work on the environment may be alluring, he is frankly untested in direct politics, and the prospect of nominating a neophyte to face either Trump or another nominee is reason enough to get sober. The risk of sending Howard Dean to debate George W. Bush in 2004 forced a lot of frank conversations about electability ending, of course, with milquetoast Kerry. That didnt work out for Democrats, but it at least gave them a candidate who was flawed but not a flameout.

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Interview: China's modernization drive very impressive, says Turkish expert

10:24, May 01, 2023 By Burak Akinci ( Xinhua

Guven Sak, managing director of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Trkiye (TEPAV), receives an interview with Xinhua in Ankara, Trkiye, on April 28, 2023.

China's long-term plan towards modernization has proven successful and the result is very impressive, said Guven Sak, managing director of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Trkiye (TEPAV).(Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China's long-term plan towards modernization has proven successful and the result is very impressive, said Guven Sak, managing director of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Trkiye (TEPAV).

The Turkish economist from TEPAV, an Ankara-based think tank, told Xinhua in a recent interview that China's modernization has changed the global political and economic landscape, and provides inspiration for other nations, especially developing ones, including Trkiye.

"China had an impressive performance in terms of growth, job creation, and structural transformation in the last 40 years," he stressed.

Sak pointed out that China has utilized the global environment for driving growth by opening up and getting more and more foreign direct investments in the context of a long-term plan by using all those means that globalization is providing.

"I think that China has achieved an impressive transformation process," Sak said.

Over the past several decades, China has been modernizing a country home to 1.4 billion people or one-fifth of the global population, to become the world's second-largest economy, said Sak, who also hailed the high-quality development of the Chinese economy through the deepening of opening-up.

"The planned modernization of China is a great success...as a result of this transformation process China has become a higher middle-income country," Sak stressed.

By going on this path, Sak noted, China has created an environment that is harmonious and sustainable between the state and its citizens.

"The Chinese modernization is an experiment that has produced results perfectly, continuously over the years," he said, praising the country for pushing forward for the well-being of its citizens.

"When I went to China about 10 years ago, I saw a developing country that has solved all of its infrastructure problems in such a short span of time. It was very impressive," he said.

"Now what we are seeing in this whole region are Chinese investments, and now China is a country that is investing more outside of China," Sak said.

China has learned how to produce many things, and now it is producing these things in other countries by making direct foreign investments in other countries, including Trkiye, he said.

The expert said that Chinese modernization provides a source of inspiration for the world, noting that it is important for different countries to pursue their own development paths with their own features.

Guven Sak, managing director of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Trkiye (TEPAV), receives an interview with Xinhua in Ankara, Trkiye, on April 28, 2023.

China's long-term plan towards modernization has proven successful and the result is very impressive, said Guven Sak, managing director of the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Trkiye (TEPAV).(Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
Roughly four months after the resignation of its previous superintendent, the Richland 2 school board has hired a search firm to help find the districts next leader.

The board has retained McPherson and Jacobson LLC, a national superintendent search firm, to help with the search, the district said in a Monday morning news release. With the assistance of that firm, the board plans to hire a new superintendent by July 1, the release said.

McPherson and Jacobson is based in Omaha, Nebraska. Per its website, it has been conducting national searches for boards of education since 1991 and has placed over 750 superintendents and other officials in public and non-profit organizations across the United States.

Previous Richland 2 Superintendent Baron Davis resigned in January following a six-hour, closed-door school board meeting. The board unanimously accepted his resignation. Davis had been in the role since 2017.

The district paid Davis more than $600,000 following his abrupt resignation. A settlement agreement with Davis provided a lump sum of $415,518.68, along with $124,481.32 for accrued sick days and vacation leave and another $75,000 for all disputed claims, which was not further defined in the agreement.

In the settlement, Davis and the school board also mutually agreed to not make disparaging comments about each other or the district.

Interim Superintendent Nancy Gregory currently is leading the district, a role she has had since shortly after Davis resignation.
A recent bill introduced by U.S. lawmakers aimed to strengthen Taiwans cyber defenses signals how the U.S. is shifting its focus from the Russia-Ukraine war to the China-Taiwan conflict as tension continues to rise in the Indo-Pacific region.

China, which has become an emerging power in cyberspace, is alleged to have launched about 20 to 40 million cyberattacks every month in 2019 against Taiwan, with some later being used against the U.S., lawmakers said.

The bipartisan legislation, called the Taiwan Cybersecurity Resiliency Act, would require the Department of Defense to broaden and strengthen cybersecurity cooperation with Taiwan by conducting cyber training exercises, defending the countrys military networks, infrastructure and systems, and leveraging U.S. cybersecurity technologies to help defend Taiwan against Chinese cyberattacks.

I think that this is one way to try to be proactive in terms of ensuring that if something were to happen  and knowing that cyberspace is going to be vulnerable  that were going to try to bolster up defenses as much as we can early on, said Alexandra Seymour, an associate fellow for the technology and national security program at the Center for a New American Security, a non-partisan think tank.

Seymour added that cyberspace is increasingly being integrated into military operations and suspects that this bill was introduced in part because of increasing fears that China may invade Taiwan at some point.

The bill, which was introduced last week, comes as tension mounts between the U.S., China and Taiwan. Earlier this month, China ordered naval and air drills over Taiwan following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wens trip to California, where she met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other U.S. lawmakers.

McCarthy said Tsais visit provided greater peace and stability for the world, disregarding previous objections from China to the meeting.

In disregard of Chinas repeated representations and firm opposition, the United States allowed Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the Taiwan region, to transit in the U.S. and engage in political activities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the meeting.

Story continues

The trip also prompted China to issue sanctions against the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank, for hosting and giving Tsai a public platform.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), one of four lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill, said that strengthening Taiwans military cyber capabilities is one of multiple measures needed to build Taiwan into a well-armed porcupine, adding that Taiwans security is vital to our own national security.

James Turgal, vice president of cyber consultancy Optiv, who supports the bill, said that Taiwan has been a target of Chinese cyber operations over the years.

Just last year, Taiwans presidential office and defense ministry were hit with cyberattacks following a visit from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), adding to the rising tensions over the island.

China is probably the number one prolific offensive cyber nation state out there, Turgal said, adding that the east Asian country is likely taking a page out of Russias cyber playbook and applying it to its own situation with Taiwan.

U.S. Cyber Command Director Gen. Paul Nakasone has also stated that China is becoming a growing and persistent threat in cyberspace, describing the country as a very capable force and a very formidable foe in this domain.

Turgal said that publicly, China will continue to voice their opposition against the growing relations between the U.S. and Taiwan, and warn the U.S. not to violate its One China policy since it considers the island as part of its sovereign territory.

But privately, it will probably increase its cyber operations against both Taiwan and the U.S.

Turgal also said that board members at companies are also shifting the conversation from the Russia-Ukraine war and are now asking him how the China-Taiwan conflict could impact their businesses in China from a cyber standpoint.

What are the implications when China goes into Taiwan? the board members asked him, he said.

Drawing parallels with the Russia-Ukraine war

As the U.S. shifts its focus to the Indo-Pacific region, it will be armed with a slew of lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, particularly the way the Russians launched several disruptive cyberattacks against Ukrainian critical infrastructure prior to invading the country, and how they have use them in conjunction with their military operations on the ground.

Turgal said the U.S. has learned a lot from its assistance in Ukraine, including in cyberspace, and doesnt anticipate its support in Taiwan to be any different.

I think all of those lessons learned and everybody that came together with defending Ukraine, I think it will be the exact same situation in Taiwan, he said.

However, he said the main difference the U.S. will have to keep in mind as they prepare to provide support is that their IT infrastructure will be different, as the Ukrainian system was built by the Russians while Taiwans was built by the Chinese.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks in February 2023. Getty/Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Rita Wilson shared a touching photo with Tom Hanks to mark their 35th wedding anniversary.

"35 years of marriage. April 30 1988. Love is everything," she wrote.

Wilson and Hanks first met on the set of ABC sitcom "Bosom Buddies" in 1981.

Actor Rita Wilson shared a sweet post on Instagram to mark her 35th wedding anniversary with her husband, actor Tom Hanks.

On April 30, Wilson posted a photo of the couple with a cake that had "happy anniversary" written on it in frosting. In the caption, Wilson wrote: "35 years of marriage. April 30 1988. Love is everything."

The post received over 140,000 likes, and congratulatory comments from many of Hanks and Wilson's celebrity friends.

Writer Cheryl Strayed wished the pair a happy anniversary, as did actors Jennifer Garner and Julianne Moore, and former First Lady of California Maria Shriver.

Wilson and Hanks have one of the longest-lasting relationships in Hollywood

Wilson and Hanks met on the set of the ABC sitcom "Bosom Buddies" in 1981. Hanks was married to his college sweetheart Samantha Lewes at the time, but they finalized their divorce in 1987.

After Hanks separated from Lewes, he started dating Wilson, and the couple married in 1988, going on to have two children together, Chet and Truman.

Their marriage is one of the longest-lasting in Hollywood, as Insider's Talia Lakritz reported.

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks in March 2019. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Wilson told The Guardian in 2022 that she and her husband are not the same people that they were when they first met over three decades ago: "Marriages are multiple relationships, really, between two people who are always changing," she said.

Her advice to others who would like to emulate their longstanding relationship?

"You have to allow each other to evolve and grow; you need communication and curiosity," Wilson said. "Stay interested in your partner, and make sure to really listen."

Story continues

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in 2001, Hanks said that the success of their relationship came down to "a matter of timing, maturity, and our willingness to have an intimate connection," Lakritz reported.

"When I married Rita, I thought, 'This is going to require some change on my part,'" he said.

"I won't deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn't magic  the way it's shown in movies. In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn't come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we'll be with each other  and we'll get through it," he added.

Read the original article on Insider
Rita Wilson is gushing about her love for husband Tom Hanks in honor of their 35th wedding anniversary.

On April 30, the 66-year-old actor uploaded an adorable picture to Instagram of Tom Hanks, also 66, presenting her with a cake. The dessert had Happy Anniversary written on it in purple letters.

35 years of marriage, she said in the caption. April 30 1988.

Love is everything," she added.

Celebrity friends celebrated the couples marriage milestone in the comments.

Jennifer Garner cheered, Happy anniversary, Rita! Congratulations! with three black heart emoji.

Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson said, Happy Anniversary you two!!!!! and added four red heart heart emoji.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! So happy for you both, actor Sean Hayes commented with two red heart emoji.

Julianne Moore, Leslie Odom Jr. and Maria Shriver also left congratulatory messages.

The longtime pair frequently pay tribute to their love for each other on social media.

When they celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in 2020, she shared a cute snap of the two hugging in front of a snowy mountain on Instagram.

32 years with this guy! Wilson wrote. @tomhanks Happy Anniversary, my love. Lets go 32 more and then some!

Tom Hanks and Wilson share two sons, Chet Hanks, 32, and Truman Hanks, 27. The Forrest Gump actor is also a father to 45-year-old son Colin Hanks and 40-year-old daughter Elizabeth Ann Hanks with ex-wife Samantha Lewes, who died in 2002.

Last year, Colin Hanks stopped by TODAY and revealed what his father and Wilson are like as grandparents.

It would be great if they paid attention to the kids bedtime, the Life in Pieces actor joked during his appearance, referring to his own daughters, Olivia and Charlotte.

He also shared that his two daughters are not a fan of their grandparents cooking.

Story continues

Despite being one of the famous couples in Hollywood, Colin Hanks said the two act like regular grandparents.

They need like good ugly sweater vests, he teased at the time. Like if they both had those and just some glasses and complained about the temperature, I think wed be good.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
There's one less competitor in the robot vacuum world. Neato Robotics is shutting down as the company hasn't reached its "self-defined economic goals" for years, parent company Vorwerk Group tells TechHive. The firm's sales haven't met expectations, in other words. Vorwerk is promising cloud and repair support to Neato customers for "at least" five years, so your robovac should continue to run for a while longer.

The move will affect 98 jobs, Vorwerk says. Users started worrying weeks ago, when users noticed a broken customer sign-in page. Neato's Facebook and Twitter accounts vanished, and support staff fell silent. Vorwerk is fixing the login issues and says they're not connected to the shutdown.

Neato emerged in 2005 and soon became one of the main competitors to iRobot's Roomba series. It stood out by pushing the limits of robot vacuum technology, such as by adding WiFi in 2011 and LiDAR mapping in 2020. Vorwerk bought Neato in 2017, but continued to run the brand independently. Neato ran into trouble, and restructuring efforts didn't turn the company around.

The closure isn't surprising. iRobot has long dominated robovacs, and claimed 46 percent of the market in 2020 according to Statista. Neato, by comparison, had roughly 3 percent in preceding years and was already fading away by 2020. Competitors like Anker's Eufy brand, Roborock and Shark have entered the field and sometimes undercut Neato on price.

A shutdown may not be good news for iRobot, though. American politicians are already concerned about the potential harm of Amazon's proposed iRobot acquisition to the competitive landscape, and European regulators are reportedly close behind. Neato's demise further reduces that competition, even if it hasn't been a heavyweight for a while.
A royal expert has said that he is intrigued to hear what William will say about King Charles and Queen Camilla at the coronation tribute.

Prince William is expected to make a heartfelt and loving tribute to his father King Charles III and step-mother Queen Camilla after the coronation concert at Windsor Castle on Thursday (7 May).

Appearing on Mondays instalment of Good Morning Britain, Dickie Arbiter, 82, who was assistant press secretary to the late Queen Elizabeth II, said that William is very close to his father and step-mother, so he will likely use the tribute will reflect their relationship.

Hes very close to his dad and hes close to Camilla, said Arbiter.

The former palace aide admitted that the family had experienced turmoil, but William and his father remained close.

Yes, there were frosty times, but we have frosty times with families throughout life. Whats new?

Arbiter added that William is focused on keeping his dad happy.

As far as [Williams] concerned, if his dad is happy, he is happy too, Arbiter said.

Dickie Arbiter was assistant to the late Queen Elizabeth II (PA Images)

Im interested to hear what he has to say and we will have to wait until Sunday.

It comes as plans to ask the public to pledge their allegiance to the King during the coronation have been branded tone deaf by some commentators.

Charless coronation will include the first Homage of the People  a modern addition to the ancient ceremony that will see people across the UK and overseas realms invited to swear an oath of allegiance to Charles.

Lambeth Palace said it hoped the newly introduced Homage of the People will result in a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King from those watching on television at home, in community spaces, or online.

During the ceremony, the Archbishop will ask all persons of goodwill in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of the other Realms and the Territories to make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all.

Follow the latest coronation updates here.
A Ukrainian trench in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 5, 2023. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

UK officials on Monday noted extensive Russian defense far from the current front lines.

Some are even behind Russia's own borders, suggesting it is worried about Ukraine attacking there.

Ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive, but it isn't clear that could invade Russia, or wants to.

Russia is building defenses hundreds of miles away from its borders with Ukraine, fearing a counteroffensive so sweeping it could push into Russian territory, according to British intelligence.

The UK Ministry of Defence posted an update on Twitter Monday morning, noting the presence of trench networks "well inside internationally recognised Russian territory including in the Belgorod and Kursk regions."

Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) May 1, 2023

The reason, per the update, was "Russian leaders' deep concern that Ukraine could achieve a major breakthrough."

Anticipation is building around a long-promised counterattack from Ukraine, which has for the past months been building its strength while trying to hold back the grinding advances of the Russian military through winter.

Ukraine's defense minister last week said that the counteroffensive was mostly ready to go. Ukraine has been organizing new brigades and has recently received powerful new weapons from Western allies, including the Leopard, Challenger, and Abrams tanks.

The extra troops and firepower could help achieve a breakthrough in countering the invasion, which has been mostly static for months.

However, a serious effort to invade Russia is beyond what most observers consider feasible for Ukraine, which has far fewer resources than Russia and has been focused on defending its own territory.

Ukraine hasn't made any attempts so far to occupy Russian land, and its stated aim in the war is to restore control over Ukraine's internationally-recognized territory, including the Crimea peninsula, which Russia has held since 2014.

Story continues

The UK update noted that the defenses far from the front line might be more of a propaganda effort to harden the population's resolve by making them think the Ukrainian military could come close to their homes.

"Some works have likely been ordered by local commanders and civil leaders in attempts to promote the official narrative that Russia is 'threatened' by Ukraine and NATO," the update said.

The UK update noted that Russia has also been fortifying defensive lines inside occupied Ukrainian territory, much closer to the fighting.

Some of those, including the town of Medvedivka in Crimea, have been documented in photographs, including those analyzed in an April 3 article from The Washington Post.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sean Gallup - Getty Images

Russias T-14 Armataan alleged super tank that was the star of Kremlin propaganda circa-2014has finally joined battle in Ukraine, if you believe reports from Russias RIA state media agency.

A decade ago, Moscow claimed it would field 2,300 T-14s by 2020, though all that has been visible to date are a few dozen prototypes reportedly totaling 40 by 2021. Though a fixture at Moscow parades for many years, these notably played no role in Russias massively costly new invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 and has, by April of 2023, resulted in at least 1,900 Russian tanks destroyed, abandoned or damaged. This has forced Russia to reactivate obsolete T-54 and T-62 tanks.

Rumors that Russia was finally going to send T-14s into combat began increasing in January-February of 2023, though visual evidence remained elusive.

Now, Russian state media asserts that the new tanks have begun providing fire support from a short distance behind the frontline, but have not been used to push forward towards Ukrainian positions in direct assaults where risk of loss would be much higher.

These T-14s were reportedly also up-armored with additional side and, possibly, top armorperhaps a reference to some form of cope cage intended to protect against grenade-armed drones and (less promisingly) Javelin top-attack missiles.

The new T-14 claim, though from official sources, should still be treated with caution as it lacks confirming visual evidence. There may be an incentive to claim T-14s are in combat for a bump in reputation without having to risk losing them. But, on another level, its arguably surprising that its taken even this long for a combat test to materialize.

Not a game-changer

Before we delve into the T-14s advancements, lets get one thing clearRussia has built so few T-14s that combat-testing some in Ukraine cannot impact the overall course of the war.

Thats not a comment on the T-14s capability, or lack thereof. Its simply meant to state that, despite what your favorite fiction might suggest, battles and wars cant be won by a small handful of wonder weapons.

Story continues

To put it in perspective, Ukraine is receiving several hundred highly capable Western tanks and infantry fighting vehiclesand even then, Western military analysts fear that the quantity may not be enough to be decisive.

Russia likely hopes that combat testing the T-14 will boost morale, shore up the designs faltering reputation, and perhaps provide valuable insight into the types strengths and weaknessesinsights which can be used to tweak an eventual series production model. That could inform Russias tank procurement decisions in the mid- to long-term, which have focused on producing the interim T-90M tank rather than the T-14.

ALEXANDER NEMENOV - Getty Images

But such a move has risks, too. Because T-14s are so few and the design has yet to enter regular operational service, the type will likely impose a high logistical burden in the field due to unique maintenance, training requirements, and the risk of frequent breakdowns. A British military report claimed reliability issues were serious enough that Russian commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat.

And should Russia lose a T-14 to Ukrainian fire, the damage to the countrys military reputation would be considerable after years of hype.

Russias military is allegedly minimizing that risk by deploying the T-14s for fire support, as opposed to offensive maneuvers where they would be exposed to short-range anti-tank weapons and flanking attacks. Any direct fire attacks at a T-14, then, would likely come from head-on, where the tank has the best odds of surviving.

Its even possible theyre being used as artillery deployed even further behind the frontlinethough that would be a wasteful use of gun barrels designed for high-velocity direct fire.

Ukrainian forces would likely make a special effort to destroy T-14s if their presence were detected in a sector. Already, Ukraines troops have managed to disable even T-90M tanks with anti-tank grenades dropped by overflying commercial drones. The T-14s new sensors and defenses dont appear configured to detect and defeat threats from directly above.

There will also be the risk that T-14s undergoing maintenance/repairs could be abandoned should Russian forces be abruptly compelled to retreat in response to a Ukrainian offensive. During World War II, Nazi Germany lost many of its vaunted Tiger and King Tiger heavy tanks when it had to abandon broken-down or fuel-exhausted vehicles while retreating.

Whats new in the T-14?

On paper, the T-14s biggest innovations relate to defense and survivability, crowned by its avant-garde crew-less turret. This allows maximized kinetic armor protection for the crew in the hull, supposedly peaking at around 1 or 1.1 meters RHA equivalent versus kinetic attacks. Though the T-14 stores shells in a carousel auto-loader in the turret like prior Russian tanks, the separate hull compartment may reduce risk to the crew in event of a turret pop when a hit causes ammo to combust.

Its possible that the turret itself may be only lightly armored to save weight and focus on crew protection. That might make disabling a T-14s offensive capability (a mission kill) not very difficult, even if harming the crew is. The unmanned turret does also means crew is heavily reliant on external cameras for situational awareness.

The other big defensive upgrade on the T-14 is its Afghanit active protection systemwhich includes radars that detect an incoming projectile and dispensers that automatically launch a counter charge to shoot down, or at least degrade, the incoming munition. While the T-14 isnt the first Russian/Soviet tank with a hard-kill APS, if it works better than predecessors, it could greatly reduce the effectiveness of long-distance anti-tank guided missiles approaching from the covered arcs. However, the radar and charges dont appear angled to defeat near vertical attacks, like a plunging Javelin missile or an overflying drone.

Oleg Nikishin - Getty Images

Additionally, between the Afghanit and the T-14s steel-ceramic composite armor is a layer of next-generation explosive reactive armor called Malachite. Unlike most predecessors, Afghanit and Malachite supposedly can help degrade even kinetic anti-tank shells, not just HEAT munitions using shaped charges. Other defenses include infrared signature minimization, technology to increase mine resilience, and laser warning receiver.

Due to its lighter weight, the T-14 is meant to be faster than most Western tanks at 50 miles per hour.

On the offensive side of things, the T-14 also has a new 2A82 125-millimeter gun with a higher muzzle velocity than the 2A46 on most Russian tanks. Its loader can, furthermore, employ air-bursting Telnik fragmentation rounds (used against infantry) and high-performance tungsten or depleted-uranium Vacuum anti-tank shells, unlike its predecessors. To engage distant targets or helicopter, the gun can also launch the 3UBK21 Sprinter anti-tank missile out to a range of 5 miles.

YURI KADOBNOV - Getty Images

Both Vacuum and Sprinter seem like they should be effective against Western main battle tanks on paper, but Russias ability to produce and field these new munitions in quantity is unclear. The firepower boost could matter, should T-14s ever engage heavily armored Western-supplied Leopard 2 or M1 tanks in Ukraine. But, realistically, tank duels remain relatively rare (though not unheard of) in Ukraine.

More important are the sights and fire control system, which include both a gunner and commanders independent sights with 4x and 12x magnification. These allegedly can detect tanks 4.6 miles away during the day, or 2.2 miles at night. However, Russias most modernized tanks formerly relied on thermal sensors sourced from France for its best tank, and there is reason to doubt its indigenous substitutes (notably the PNM-T sight) are of equal quality.

While the T-14, in principle, promises an upgrade to Russias combat capabilities, the fact that it has languished so long without entering full-scale production hints at a combination of persistent teething issues, production challenges perhaps related to importing sanctioned microelectronic components and, above all, higher cost than Russia has been willing to shell out per tank.

Reports suggest that each T-14 may cost up to $5 million or more to produce. Thats not bad compared to modern Western tank prices, but its a tough swallow for Russia. How the T-14s combat trials proceed in Ukraine (if they are even substantively occurring) may help Russia decide whether to boost production of the T-14, or if the type will remain the relic of a military modernization effort which became unaffordable after the onset of the first wave of Western sanctions in 2014.

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Fire and smoke raise after artillery shelling near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 29, 2023. | Libkos, Associated Press

Early Monday morning, air raid sirens sounded in Ukrainian cities for the second time in three days, as Russia fired 18 more missiles at the country, wounding at least 34 people in Pavlohrad.

The attack follows the missile strike from Friday that killed at least 19 in the central city of Uman.

The Ukrainian military was able to combat 15 of the 18 missiles fired on Monday, including the ones that targeted the capital, reported The Associated Press.

What damage did the missiles cause?

The top official of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhii Lysak, said that the eastern city of Pavlohrad was hit the hardest, per AP.

A logistics hub of the country erupted in an explosion of heat and flames, which damaged 19 apartment complexes, 25 private houses, six schools and five shops, and injured 34 people, reported AP. Herman Haluschenko, Ukraines energy minister, said it will take several days to repair the damage done to the power network, leaving residents without power for a couple of days.

What will Ukraine do next?

Before the strikes, Ukraine had planned an offensive pushback to take place this spring against Russian forces, per The Wall Street Journal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told AP that in the counteroffensive, Ukraine would seek to reclaim the Crimean Peninsula.

The Journal said the arrival of Western weapons  like the American-made Patriot missiles and air defense system  has long been promised by Ukraines allies and recently delivered to the country, where military teams are training on the new systems to use in the counterattack.

Recently, Moscow has blamed Ukraine for several attacks made on the annexed peninsula, per the Journal.

Related
A military honor guard at the funeral of Oleksandr Polivodskyi, a Ukrainian soldier who was killed in Dibrovs, Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 1, 2023. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

KYIV, Ukraine  Russia launched a broad pre-dawn aerial assault at targets across Ukraine on Monday, the second wide-ranging attack in four days, as fighting appeared to intensify before an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

At least 34 people, including five children, were wounded in Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Pavlograd, according to local officials. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dneprotrovsk region, which includes Pavlograd, said dozens of buildings, including schools and homes, were damaged in the strikes, which set off a massive fire that lit up the night sky.

Explosions also echoed in the skies above the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other parts of the country before dawn as Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 of 18 Russian cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian military. Russias Ministry of Defense said that it had launched a long-range high-precision air and sea-based missile strike against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities.

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Herman Galushchenko, Ukraines energy minister, said the overnight strikes did not impact power generating facilities but caused significant damage to distribution networks in and around the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine, cutting scores of people off from the power grid.

The missile barrage came as Ukrainian forces stepped up efforts to strike Russian targets behind the front lines before an expected push to recapture lost territory with the support of newly delivered, powerful weapons from Western allies. Ukraines defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said Monday in an appearance on national television that the military was reaching the finish line in preparations to launch a counteroffensive and that commanders would decide how, where and when.

Both sides have reported escalating attacks in recent days. After firing a rocket into an apartment block in central Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 23 people, Russia bombarded Ukrainian towns and villages along the front line over the weekend while a series of explosions also took place deep behind Russian lines.

Story continues

The flurry of strikes could signal the start of a shift in a conflict that has for months settled into a grinding war of attrition, with tens of thousands of soldiers killed and wounded in heavy fighting across eastern Ukraine but little territory being gained by either side.

Across the north, east and south of Ukraine, regional authorities over the course of 24 hours reported Russian artillery, mortar, rocket or drone strikes in 11 regions, killing at least three people and destroying more than 100 residential buildings. Ukrainian officials said Moscows forces shelled the Kherson region in southern Ukraine 39 times Sunday, killing at least one civilian and injuring several others. The militarys northern command said in a Facebook post that a teenager was killed when Russian aircraft bombed the Chernihiv region Monday.

Russia-appointed officials in the occupied Crimean peninsula said air defenses had fended off a drone attack Monday, two days after a drone was blamed for an explosion at an oil depot in Sevastopol, the home to the Russian navys Black Sea Fleet. Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Ukraines southern military command, said the depot fire had been part of preparations for the broad, full-scale offensive that everyone expects Ukraine to launch soon.

The Ukrainian military said Monday morning that it had launched four strikes on concentrations of Russian troops over the preceding 24 hours but provided no details.

Residents of the occupied southern city of Berdiansk reported overnight that a strike hit a Russian airfield, according to Ukrainian media and Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the exiled mayor of the nearby city of Mariupol. The extent of any damage was unclear.

While Russia continues trying to mount attacks in and around ruined towns and cities of eastern Ukraine, they have moved into defensive positions in the south, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.

Britains defense intelligence agency said Monday that Russian forces had constructed some of the most extensive systems of military defensive works seen anywhere in the world for many decades not only near the front line but also deep inside areas Russia currently controls. In a Twitter post, the agency said the extensive network highlights Russian leaders deep concern that Ukraine could achieve a major breakthrough.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Russia has already lost 190,960 soldiers, 3,700 tanks, 7,192 armoured fighting vehicles and 2,921 artillery systems in its war of aggression against Ukraine.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Details: Total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 1 May 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

190,960 (+450) military personnel,

3,700 (+1) tanks,

7,192 (+3) armoured combat vehicles,

2,921 (+7) artillery systems,

544 (+0) multiple-launch rocket systems,

295 (+0) air defence systems,

308 (+0) aircraft,

294 (+0) helicopters,

2,476 (+1) operational-tactical UAVs,

932 (+0) cruise missiles,

18 (+0) ships/boats,

5,845 (+3) vehicles and tankers,

359 (+2) special vehicles.

The data is being confirmed.

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The new product line was named

Photos of the product were posted by the Russian media outlet SOTA on Twitter on April 30.

The idea comes from the Avikomp company, which makes a variety of household goods.

The new product line is called ZOV and refers to the symbols of Russias aggression against Ukraine.

The company promises that every Russian ruble from the sale of the garbage bags will be donated to the families of Russian soldiers.

At the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Russia to take at least take custody the corpses of its soldiers.

Read also: Bodies of Wagner Group mercenaries packed in bags, taken from Horlivka to unknown destination

Instead of properly organizing this process, however, the Kremlin regime sent only black plastic bags, which have since become the most eloquent symbol of Russian invading armys failure in Ukraine.

There is a special process, Zelenskyy said in March 2022.

We want to pass them (the corpses) on; we want to give them away. We dont want to keep the corpses, and you understand that quite well. At first they refused, then they made up something else. Later, they offered us some bags. It all looks, well, I dont even know... These are garbage bags.

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STORY: There is always danger here, but over time you get used to it, and all your senses seem to get sharper. And you no longer feel the fear that you had at the beginning. Artem and his comrades have been on Ukraine's southeastern frontlines for months. They watch and wait.They clear away the endless mud and check the machine guns provided by the United States and Germany.Despite the regular thud of artillery, and the whirring of a Russian helicopter overhead, things have been quiet lately in these trenches and bunkers dug into the black earth near Donetsk. Ukraine is planning a major counteroffensive in the coming weeks, which it hopes will shift the momentum.We have a place to eat, to sleep, we have a roof over our head. I dont think we need much more here, once you have the necessities covered. You can sleep, you can eat, and you find yourself in an illusion of safety."Two of their machine guns killed about 30 Russian troops in a recent attack, the groups commander told Reuters during a reporting trip to the frontline. Reuters couldn't independently confirm that. Artem has been based in the Donbas region for about six months. He and his comrades, mostly volunteers, rotate through the trenches: four days on, four days off.The trench cat and her seven kittens help with the mouse problem. The cramped dugouts give shelter from artillery shelling, mortars and weapons dropped from drones - a threat to both sides along all 750 miles of eastern and southern frontline.Artem's home city of Chernihiv in the north came under siege soon after Russia's invasion. I woke up in the morning (24.02.2022) with the sound of explosions, and I understood that my city would be surrounded, and my parents and my girlfriend live there. There had to be people that were ready to act immediately, and who would think about problems that may develop only later.The 30-year-old soon joined up. Once his loved ones were safe, it became "just a job," he says. Oleksandr is also from Chernihiv city. He's waiting for Kyiv to launch the counteroffensive - and change the dynamics of a war that has slowed into a bloody battle of attrition.We expect that the counteroffensive allows us to retake some part, conquer and hold (enemy) positions, and that our assault units will advance further, encircle (troops), and maybe take some prisoners. Then, we might retake some positions. Well keep up the defenses and attack further until we push them to their borders.Ukraine has vowed to take back all the territory seized by Russia. Artem hasn't been home on leave for some time but says he'd rather wait till it's over. I don't want to come back here after vacation or go home with a feeling that nothing is over here and that I will have to come back again. Let's hope that some events will speed up with us in the very near future and then it will be clearer when the next time will be that I can go home, to see my loved ones.
The Russian occupation forces carried out an attack on the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, causing private houses to go up in flames and injuring at least one civilian. Russian aircraft also dropped bombs on a village in Kherson Oblast.

Source: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Kherson Oblast Military Administration on Telegram; anonymous Telegram channels

Quote from Prokudin: "Private houses [in Kherson] caught fire after a [Russian] attack, firefighters were deployed to the site. There is one civilian casualty: a 30-year-old man sustained an injury to his arm and was hospitalised."

Details: Prokudin added that Kherson was still under attack at the time of writing and urged the residents of the city to remain in shelters or comply with the rule of two walls [safety rule whereby a person keeps two walls without windows between them and the street during attacks  ed.].

Update: The Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported that Russian occupation forces dropped two guided bombs in the vicinity of the village of Kizomys in Bilozerka hromada in Kherson Oblast. [Hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.]

The Office of the Prosecutor General later reported that Russian occupation forces appear to have deployed tubed artillery to shell the city.

As told to Suspilne by Tolokonnikov, Head of the press office of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, a second man was injured in the shelling of the city. He was hospitalised with a chest wound.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Politicians, scientists, journalists and activists who left Russia called the war in Ukraine criminal, and demanded the elimination of Putin's regime as well as the release of political prisoners and prisoners of war.

Source: Mikhail Khodorskovsky on Facebook, Deutsche Welle

Details: Russian opposition figures and activists who left the Russian Federation adopted a new joint statement. On the evening of 30 April, 68 representatives of the opposition publicly signed a declaration in which they declared their commitment to fundamental positions, the first of which is the criminal nature of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Quote: "Russian troops should be withdrawn from all occupied territories. Russia's internationally recognized borders must be restored, war criminals brought to justice, and victims of aggression must be compensated."

In addition, the declaration recognised the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin as "illegitimate and criminal", and stated that for this reason it "must be eliminated".

The activists further pointed out the inadmissibility of "imperial policy at home and abroad".

In addition, they demand the release of political prisoners and prisoners of war, the return of forcibly displaced persons and abducted Ukrainian children.

The declaration states that its signatories "refrain from public conflicts in democratic and anti-war movements".

Activists called on Russians to join their declaration and pledged to support it until the achievement of these strategic goals.

Among the signatories of the document are politicians in exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Ponomarev and Leonid Gozman, political scientists Kirill Rogov and Ivan Preobrazhensky, entrepreneurs Evgeny Chichvarkin and Boris Zimin, economists Sergey Guriev and Andrei Illarionov, lawyers Mark Feigin and Elena Lukyanova, gallery owner Marat Gelman, activists Evgenia Chirikova and Anastasia Shevchenko, as well as representatives of Russian anti-war movements in different countries. The meeting of opposition activists took place at the initiative of Khodorkovsky and several other political opposition figures living outside the Russian Federation.

Story continues

According to available information, the associates of Alexei Navalny did not take part in the meeting.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!










Russian Federal Security Service officers on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine dress in plainclothes to find out about Ukrainian partisans.

Source: National Resistance Center

Quote from the National Resistance Center: "There have been cases of [Russian] Federal Security Service officers working in crowded public spaces in plainclothes to track down members of Ukrainian resistance on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

[The Federal Security Service officers] in the guise of ordinary civilians ask shopkeepers, [public transport] conductors, and others about people who complain about the Russian government. They often initiate conversations [about those topics] themselves. This is the tactic enemy forces are using to find disloyal citizens."

Details: The National Resistance Center said that those who take the bait are forced to continue to collaborate with the Russian occupation regime.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Fuel base in Sevastopol

It appears that they have increased their presence in the Black Sea, but they are doing so by maneuvering without entering those bays which they previously referred to as home ports, said Humeniuk.

According to her, Russian ships are now more frequently entering the port of Novorossiysk (Russias Krasnodar Krai) to resupply, rather than the bay of Sevastopol.

Read also: There can be no lasting peace with Russia until Ukraine liberates Crimea - opinion

The naval group consists of ten units which are currently maneuvering, dispersed as much possible in the region which they consider safe  closer to the southeastern coast of Crimea in the Black Sea, she added.

Humeniuk noted that the Russian fleet continues to steer clear of Ukraine-controlled Black Sea coast, fearing long-range anti-ship weapons.

Read also: Photos and videos from Uman strike, fire in Sevastopol, friction with Hungary

Early in the morning on April 29th, explosions were heard at the Kozacha Bay near Sevastopol. Afterwards, a massive fire broke out at a local oil depot, marked with a pillar of thick black smoke.

Russian occupation authorities acknowledged that four fuel tanks were damaged, with the fire consuming 1,000 square meters of area. As of 2:00 PM, they fire was reportedly extinguished.

Read also: Fire in Sevastopol destroys over 10 tanks with fuel for Russian Black Sea Fleet  Ukrainian intelligence

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have not commented on their potential involvement in the events in Crimea. However, Ukraines General Staff noted that April 29 is the 105th anniversary of Ukrainian flags being hoisted on the Black Sea Fleet ships and Sevastopol Fortress  in the aftermath of the fall of the Russian Empire.

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
After a Satanic clubs presence at a Pennsylvania middle school prompted outrage from some parents and posed a security risk, according to school officials, the school district banned the club from meeting on campus.

Now, a federal judge has ruled that the club must be permitted to meet at Saucon Valley Middle School, located in Hellertown.

The sanctity of the First Amendments protections must prevail, U.S. District Court Judge John Gallagher wrote in a May 1 decision, court records show.

Neither representatives for Saucon Valley School District nor the Satanic Temple immediately responded to requests for comment from McClatchy News.

The case dates back to February, when the Satanic Temple applied to host the After School Satan Club at the schools facilities, according to court records.

The temple is a religious organization that does not worship Satan but instead considers him to be a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny, championing the human mind and spirit, and seeking justice and egalitarianism for all.

The district permitted the club to meet on campus, court records said, and a sample flyer was shared with district officials that said, Hey Kids! Lets Have Fun at After School Satan Club! A disclaimer in small print made clear that the district did not sponsor the club.

Several days later, in response to several complaints, the superintendent wrote an email to the district community clarifying that the club had been permitted to meet at the school but that it was not a district approved club.

The next day, an unknown individual left a voicemail at the middle school regarding kids that have fun at the School Satan Club saying he was going to come and shoot everybody, court records show.

As a safety precaution, the schools in the district closed the next day, around which time district officials received a flood of calls and letters from concerned community members.

At what point do we prioritize the safety and education of our students over a club that is allowed to meet after school? wrote one parent in an email, court records show.

Story continues

You should be ashamed for bowing to woke policy instead of standing up for whats right, another email said.

Around the same time, district officials noticed social media posts publicizing the club that did not disclaim the districts lack of sponsorship as is required by district policy, according to court records. Due to these posts, the clubs access to the school facilities was revoked.

Our community has experienced chaos, the superintendent said in a Feb. 24 statement regarding the decision to ban the club. Our students, staff and teachers have had to endure a threat to their safety and welfare. The gravity of feelings of instability, anxiety and fear have been profound.

The district told the Satanic Temple it could apply to use the facilities in the future, according to court records, but not at this time.

In response, the Satanic Temple filed a complaint against the school district on March 30, arguing that the club was barred from the school because of an unconstitutional hecklers veto arising from community members

Oral arguments were held on April 20, where both parties presented their cases and submitted evidence.

In his May 1 decision, the judge sided with the Satanic Temple, ruling that the After School Satan Club must be permitted to meet at the school.

When confronted with a challenge to free speech, the governments first instinct must be to forward expression rather than quash it. Particularly when the content is controversial or inconvenient, the judge wrote in his decision. Nothing less is consistent with the expressed purpose of American government to secure the core, innate rights of its people.

On one matter, the judge sided with the school district, denying the temples request to require the district to distribute take-home permission slips for the club.

Hellertown is about 60 miles north of Philadelphia.

After-School Satan Club planned at Illinois elementary school. District explains why

2 cars left teetering on guardrail after big pileup leaves one dead, Louisiana cops say

Driver plunges 500 feet off cliff and gets wedged against broken tree, CA cops say
Schools in Montgomery County, Texas secured their doors and brought students indoors on Monday (1 May) after there were reported sightings of Francisco Oropesa, the man suspected of killing five people over the weekend.

A person matching the description of Mr Oropesa was apparently seen in the area of Crockett Martin and FM 2090 on Monday afternoon.

We have no confirmation that this Oropesa, the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office said in a statement posted on Facebook.

But out of an abundance of caution local, state and federal law enforcement agencies searched the areas.

As they did, Caney Creek High School, Moorhead Junior High School, Grangerland Intermediate School, Milam Elementary School, Hope Elementary School and Creighton Elementary School all secured their campuses.

All students and staff are safe. Please avoid the area and remain indoors, Montgomery County Sheriffs Office wrote.

The sheriffs office urged people to contact the police if they see someone matching the description of Mr Oropesa.

Mr Oropesa is suspected of shooting five people, including a nine-year-old boy, on Friday (28 April) after entering his neighbours home armed with an assault rifle-style firearm.

The shooting occurred after Mr Oropesa was asked to stop shooting his gun in his yard because it was keeping his neighbours baby awake.

The victims include Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31 and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

More follows
Supreme Court justices Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

George Mason University funded a series of plush trips for Supreme Court justices in recent years.

A legal-ethics expert told The New York Times that the trips were concerning.

The financial affairs of SCOTUS justices have been under deep scrutiny in recent weeks.

Justices on the Supreme Court benefitted from lavish teaching trips funded by the conservative Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, The New York Times reported.

Per The Times, the law school sent justices on trips to European tourist spots as part of teaching programs.

The revelations add to the scrutiny of the financial affairs of the highest court. Leading that conversation have been favors received by Clarence Thomas by the billionaire Harlan Crow, as well as reporting from Insider that the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts made in excess of $10 million working her legal connections as her husband led the court.

As Insider's Hannah Getahun reported, the Times article showed how, over the course of years, the Scalia law school intensified its links with serving justices  including the overseas trips

Neil Gorsuch went to Padua, Italy, in 2018 and to Iceland in 2021, where he was joined by Elena Kagan. Brett Kavanaugh taught in the picturesque countryside of Runnymede, England, in 2019, the report said.

Teaching gigs are a permitted way for justices to earn extra money on top of their salaries of around $280,000.

But the overseas postings drew scrutiny for the perks that came with them, covering flights, food, drink, and plush accommodation.

From The Times's investigation, informed by a cache of internal George Mason emails:

Gorsuch was hosted in an "aristocratic" old-town apartment in Padua at the school's expense in 2018.

He was flown there at a cost of $3,771.

Gorsuch was asked to help pick which Italian city would host his teaching trip.

He only had to teach in the mornings.

Gorsuch's accommodation in Iceland in 2021 cost $5,250.

The school paid thousands of dollars more to bring in friends and colleagues of Gorsuch as guest speakers, Kagan among them.

Kavanaugh was taken to Runnymede, England, in 2019 and supplied "a nice cottage" in the countryside.

Story continues

The Times spoke to a legal-ethics expert, Amanda Frost of the University of Virginia's law school, who said the arrangements raised issues.

"Some of this sounds like all-expenses-paid vacations, with a little teaching thrown in," she said.

A photo montage from the Iceland trip, from July 19 to 30, 2021, interspersed classroom shots with top Icelandic sites.

They included the striking Hallgrimskirkja church in Reykjavik, waterfalls and ocean scenes, and what appears to be the famed Blue Lagoon.

The National Security Institute (@MasonNatSec) August 9, 2021

A publicity image from the 2018 Padua trip showed Gorsuch posing with students, and a news release described the group. The Times said the trip also took in excursions to Bologna and Florence.

Insider could find little detail on Kavanaugh's time in Runnymede. The town is famed for being the venue for the signing of the Magna Carta of 1215, limiting the king's power and underpinning the legal system of England and, later, the US.

The law school defended its arrangements in an emailed statement to Insider, hailing the close links to the Supreme Court as a mark of its success. Its students' exposure to the justices is, it said, "on par with that of the nation's top 10 schools."

The statement did not address questions from Insider about the trips, including whether it chose destinations specifically to entice the justices, and whether it operates according to any ethical guidelines.

A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court declined to comment to The Times. Insider sought comment from the court as well but did not immediately hear back.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Photo : DANIEL DUARTE / AFP) (DANIEL DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Paraguay's conservative ruling party candidate Santiago Pena leads the presidential election against center-left opposition Efrain Alegre with half the votes tallied.

Paraguay's Santiago Pena leads the presidential election against Efrain Alegre, with half the votes tallied

The conservative ruling party's candidate had 45% of the votes, while the center-left opposition candidate had 28% of the vote

The election comes as officials are divided on whether or not to support Taiwan's democracy continuously

Paraguay's conservative ruling party presidential candidate, Santiago Pena, was found to be leading the elections against his center-left opposition Efrain Alegre as half the votes were tallied on Sunday evening.

Pena had 45% of the votes, while Alegre had 28% of the votes after half of the votes were already counted. Despite polls officially closing at 4:00 p.m., people could still see long queues and delays, which meant some polling places were still open.

Santiago Pena Leads Paraguay's Presidential Election

In a statement, one observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission noted that they had seen high levels of participation all day, noting that voting centers were continuously full.

On top of deciding who the country's next leader of roughly 7 million people would be, voters were looking to determine who would become the following members of Congress and governors, as per Reuters.

One voter, Ramona Oddone, was one of the first in the line to cast her ballot at the Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez school in the region's capital, Asuncion. She said that she was surprised with all of the young people who were taking part in the vote, which she argued showed how much people wanted change.

The 79-year-old retired schoolteacher added that these people were in dire need of jobs, and she needed a better pension. Another resident, 65-year-old Eugenio Senturion, said he remained loyal to Pena.

Maria Jose Rodas, a 34-year-old mother of three, said that she was still undecided on who to vote for because she was worried about crime. She argued that all of the candidates were the same as her and that they would not be able to bring any change to the country. Her remarks came as a busload of voters arrived at a polling station.

Read Also: Alleged Drone Attack Sets Crimea Oil Tank Ablaze Amid Ukraine Conflict

Paraguay Voters' Desire for Change

Since the 1950s, the Colorado Party, which is the one that Pena is associated with, has dominated Paraguay politics and has ruled for all except five of the last 75 years. However, the party's popularity has begun to drop over a slow economy, and allegations of corruption as the country is now 137th out of 180 nations on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, according to Aljazeera.

Alegre said that Pena's mentor and former president, Horacio Cartes, was the country's equivalent of Pablo Escobar. One reporter with Aljazeera, Lucia Newman, noted that Cartes is one of the country's wealthiest and most powerful individuals.

The United States Treasury Department previously sanctioned Cartes for what American officials said was "rampant corruption that undermines democratic institutions." Newman added that he was accused of having ties to drug trafficking and Hezbollah. However, Cartes has denied all of the corruption allegations, said DW News.

Related Article: Sudan's Ceasefire Fails as Death Toll Rises

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The search for a 7-year-old missing from Eastwood MetroPark transitioned to a recovery mission before being formally suspended Monday afternoon.

Lucas Rosales was last seen fishing with his family at Eastwood MetroPark Saturday evening. He is listed as three feet tall, 60 pounds with brown and brown eyes.

Photo from: Dayton Police

>>PHOTOS: Search for missing 7-year-old boy enters 3rd day at Eastwood MetroPark

Dayton Fire Captain Brad French said Monday evening that due to the timeline of the incident and the information available, the operation was transitioned from a search and rescue to a recovery operation.

Over the past three days, crews have been actively searching on land and in the water for approximately 21 hours, French said. At this time, the child has not been located.

Lucas father, Agustin Rosales, and sister, DaNajiah Wakefield, spoke to News Center 7s Taylor Robertson at the park Monday. They said said they were fishing with Lucas Saturday. Agustin said they were warning Lucas to not too close to the water. He then left his father and sister to join other members of his family because he was being too loud and scaring the fish.

Agustin then went to go find Lucas, another daughter and a family friend and the Wakefield said they dont really know what happened after that.

>> RELATED: I just hope they find him; Search continues for missing boy at Eastwood MetroPark

My sister said she heard something fall and someone crying, and she said she saw splashes in the water and after that, we just dont know, she explained.

French noted that more than 100 people, including multiple rescue crews, boats, trained volunteer search groups, K-9s, have searched the areas surrounding where Lucas was last seen. As News Center 7 previously reported, detectives expanded their search today to include the Stillwater and Great Miami rivers. A nearby pond was also drained as part of the search.

There was no reason to suspect foul play, a Dayton Police spokesperson said Monday morning.

Story continues

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff

Taylor Robertson/Staff
Okmulgee County Sheriffs Office

Two teen girls who went missing over the weekend in rural Oklahoma were found dead on Monday afternoon, alongside the bodies of a convicted rapist and four others, authorities reported.

An Amber Alert was reportedly blasted out to phones on Monday morning after Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 16, vanished. They were deemed at-risk and believed to be with the convicted rapist, 39-year-old Jesse McFadden, who was facing a new sex-crimes trial.

Authorities on Monday afternoon went to a property owned by McFadden with a search warrant, Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said.

Weve located seven bodies, Rice said. We believe to have found everything we were seeking this morning. As for a motive, he said, We have no idea.

While cops didnt clarify the relationship between Webster, Brewer, and McFadden, or provide the identities of the other four victims or causes of death for the group, relatives provided further details.

McFaddens mother-in-law, Janette Mayo, told the Associated Press that the sheriffs office had notified her that the other four victims were her daughter, 35-year-old Holly Guess, who was married to McFadden, and Mayos three grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13.

Erin Christy, a reporter at News 2 Oklahoma, posted to Facebook that shed spoken to Ivy Websters mom. The mom, who was not identified, said shed given her daughter permission to stay at McFaddens house so she could sleep over with his daughter, Tiffany. But since Webster had left home, no one had heard from the trio of friends, nor from Tiffanys two brothers, her mother, or McFadden himself.

There were mixed reports on when Brewer and Webster first went missing. An endangered missing advisory from the Oklahoma State Patrol stated that the friends were last seen together at 1:40 a.m. Monday. However, a news release from the sheriffs office said Webster was reported as missing from rural Henryetta, an hour south of Tulsa, when she didnt arrive home from the McFaddens place at 5 p.m. Sunday as planned.

Story continues

In a heartbreaking interview on NewsNation, Brittany Brewers mother, Malaina Schabell, said she and her ex-husbandBrittanys fatherwere unaware of McFaddens criminal past and that their daughter had previously spent time staying with Tiffany. When Brittany didnt call her for their usual Saturday chat, Schabell said she knew something was amiss.

I knew something was wrong cause she wasnt answering myI mean, I tried to call. I got online on her Facebook and I tried calling her, video calling her, and I messaged her and she wouldnt respond, and it showed she was online andbut she wouldnt respond, so I knew something was wrong.

Nathan Brewer, Brittanys father, told News On 6 that his daughter was outgoing.

She actually was selected to be Miss Henryetta... coming up in July for this National Miss pageant in Tulsa. And now she aint gonna make it because shes dead. Shes gone, he said.

Mayo expressed grief and anger, apparently at her son-in-law, on Facebook.

That man had her fooled, she wrote. My daughter didnt help him... he killed her and 5 children.

Her sister posted a photo of some of the victims and the message, I miss you all so much already. I love you all so very much. Replying to a commenter, she added, Its like a horrible nightmare I cant wake up from.

Jesse McFadden. Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Tulsa World, citing court documents, reported that McFadden was scheduled to have a court hearing on Monday. He faced charges of soliciting sexual conduct and possession of child pornography. News On 6 reported that McFadden served 16 years in prison after he was convicted of rape.

The mysterious deaths are the second grim tragedy to rock Okmulgee County recently. Last October, a group of four friends was murdered, and their dismembered bodies were dumped in the Deep Fork Rivernot far from where Ivy Webster was last seen alive.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
A second convoy of American citizens arrived at the coastal city of Port Sudan on Sunday as part of an evacuation effort organized by the U.S. government. The convoy comprised about eight buses carrying American evacuees from Khartoum amid clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.

The U.S. government, in concert with its allies, has now facilitated the departure of nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Fewer than 5,000 U.S. citizens have sought guidance from the government, Miller added.

Sunday's eligible evacuees will travel by boat across the Red Sea to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where U.S. officials will assist them with consular and emergency services. A U.S. naval craft with military personnel seen on deck also arrived at Port Sudan on Sunday, CBS News foreign correspondent Ramy Inocencio reported.

American nationals arrive for evacuation from the port, as clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army continue, in Port Sudan, Sudan, April 30, 2023. / Credit: STRINGER/REUTERS

The first civilian convoy of American evacuees arrived at Port Sudan on Saturday. It included 18 buses carrying several hundred U.S. citizens.

Security around the first convoy was described as "tight." Passengers were instructed not to use their cellphones. The 12-hour drive to the coast was confirmed to be under "top cover" protection, likely from U.S. military drones.

The U.S. had faced questions about why it hadn't organized evacuation efforts for civilians, while other countries, including Britain, Germany and France, did so. The U.S. evacuated its diplomats from the country and shuttered its embassy a week ago.

At least two American citizens have died amid the fighting, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed on Wednesday. Kirby said the second American died Tuesday but did not confirm their identity. However, the Sudanese American Physicians Association named the American as Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a doctor who practiced medicine in the U.S. for a number of years before returning to Sudan. The Associate Press reported that Sulieman was stabbed to death in Khartoum in front of his family by looters who were robbing him.

Story continues

Civilians wait at sea port to be evacuated by Saudi Arabia from Sudan to escape the conflicts, in Port Sudan, Sudan, April 30, 2023. / Credit: MOHAMMED BENMANSOUR/REUTERS

The death toll from the crisis in Sudan has climbed over 500, according to the World Health Organization, with thousands more wounded, leading to an exodus from Africa's third largest country. Khartoum, a city of some five million people, has been transformed into a battle zone in the grinding conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudan's military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful Rapid Support Forces, which has dashed once-euphoric hopes for Sudan's democratic transition.

"We reiterate our warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan," Miller said in a statement on Saturday.

Future King Charles in 2005: "I'm determined to make the most of it" | 60 Minutes

Mason Cox: The 60 Minutes Interview

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Harbor seal pupping season begins in Seacoast

Harbor seal pups are born in the spring and come on to the shore to rest, nurse and soak up the sun. If you see a seal on the beach, keep back and call the Seacoast Science Center Marine Mammal Rescue hotline at 603-997-9448.

RYE  Harbor seals bear their young from late April to June. As a result, the chance of seeing seals on our beaches, more specifically seal pups, increases during the late spring and summer months.

The Seacoast Science Center Marine Mammal Rescue urges residents who see a seal on the beach to keep back and call the its hotline at 603-997-9448. MMR responds to all reports of marine mammals (seals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises) that haul out or strand on the shore in New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts (from Essex, Mass. to the Maine border), alive or dead.

For information and to donate, visit seacoastsciencecenter.org/marine-mammal-rescue.

Portsmouth offers paperless water, sewer and property tax billing option

PORTSMOUTH  The city is offering taxpayers and water and sewer customers the option of paperless billing. Customers may opt-in to this completely voluntary service to receive the next bill electronically via the citys InvoiceCloud system.

There is no fee to sign up for paperless billing and there is no fee to pay electronically from a checking or savings account (ACH/e-check). There is a processing fee for debit or credit card payments on property taxes, water and sewer bills using Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express. This fee is charged and retained by the third-party processing vendor.

Information: portsnh.co/paybill

Pro Portsmouth reveals the 2023 Childrens Day logo

2023 Children's Day logo created by Rye student, Regan Stephan.

PORTSMOUTH  This years Childrens Day logo celebrates Portsmouths 400th anniversary.

Created by Rye student Regan Stephan, the 2023 logo features an image of the gundalow. The logo artwork will be featured on the volunteer T-shirts, the Childrens Day map, social media and the Pro Portsmouth website.

The event, which takes place on Sunday, May 7, from noon to 4 p.m., kicks off at the Block Partys Performance Area on Pleasant Street. Using the activity map and legend, families follow the alphabet all over downtown where they can enjoy a variety of crafts, games, and interactive activities.

Story continues

The Childrens Day map is available at proportsmouth.org/childrens-day-map.

The quilts are coming

DOVER  From tragedy can come beauty, and that is what can be witnessed at First Parish Church May 10 from 2 to 4 p.m., May 11 from 6 to 7 p.m., with a documentary film viewing about the making of the quilts called Stitch, Breathe, Speak: The George Floyd Quilts by New Hampshire filmmaker Chris Owen from 7 to 8 p.m., May 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. and May 13 from 10 a.m. to noon. The Sacred Ally Quilt project will be available to view at the church at 218 Central Ave. in Dover.

Viewing the quilts is free, but the church welcomes donations to help cover the expense of hosting them. For information, call the church office at 603-742-5664.

Moms On The Run 5K to benefit Zebra Crossings

DOVER  Zebra Crossings will be hosting the 16th annual Moms On The Run 5K Race/Walk on Sunday, May 14 starting at 9 a.m. This is the fourth race in the Dover Race Series and will start and finish at Dover High School. Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are invited to join this family friendly event to celebrate moms.

Information: zebra-crossings.org/run.

Pre-register: raceroster.com/events/2023/71690/moms-on-the-run-5k-runwalk.

Proceeds benefit Zebra Crossings, a local nonprofit offering empowerment programs for youth and teens with chronic medical conditions.

New Hampshires LCHIP announces opening of 2023 Grant Round

CONCORD  The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program opened its 22nd grant round on May 1. Letters of intent will be due by May 17 and full proposals by June 21. Funding will be made available to assist municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and community groups in carrying out land conservation and historic preservation projects across the state.

LCHIP grant recipients are required to match each dollar contributed by LCHIP with a minimum of one additional dollar. This years awards will be announced in early December.

Information: LCHIP.org or call 603-224-4113.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: What to do you if you see a seal at beach: Community news updates
Senate Lawmakers Are Briefed On Capitol Hill On The Recent Downings Of Flying Objects

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, walks to a classified briefing for Senators at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. Credit - Anna MoneymakerGetty Images

Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, plans to announce his retirement from the Senate in the coming days, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME, setting up a potentially crowded and fierce primary fight to succeed him in one of the bluest states in the nation.

Cardin, who has spent the last 36 years in Congress, told his staff last week he was not running for reelection, the sources say. Hes likely to request Senate floor time this week to inform his colleagues and the country about his departure after three terms in the upper chamber, where he became known as a behind-the-scenes workhorse and foreign policy leader, the sources add. Before joining the Senate in 2007, Cardin served for 20 years in the House of Representatives.

The Senators office did not respond to a request for comment for this story. (He later confirmed his retirement plans in a video posted online midday Monday.)

The grandson of Russian Jewish immigrants, Cardin has been one of the Democrats key players on foreign affairs on Capitol Hill, where he was seen by the left as one of the more hawkish members of his party. He was one of the few Democrats to oppose the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. During the Trump years, he was the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Since Democrats took back Senate control after the 2020 elections, he has held the gavel as chair of the Senate Small Business Committee.

Cardins retirement is expected to trigger a political dogfight in Maryland, where U.S. Senate seats dont open often. Two of the most recent former SenatorsPaul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulskiserved in their seats for 30 years. The prominent state Democrats expected to run for Cardins seat include Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Rep. David Trone.

Story continues

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin has also been eyeing a Senate bid. A Democratic star in the House who served on the Jan. 6 Committee last year, Raskin was recently appointed ranking member of the Oversight Committee. Last week, he announced that he has entered remission after chemotherapy treatment following a lymphoma diagnosis last year.

Read more: How the Jan. 6 Committee Turned Their Hearings into Must-See TV

More from TIME

Cardin, 79, had been expected to retire by much of the Annapolis political class as early as April. A Democratic Maryland source suspects that one reason for a delay has been Cardins involvement in an ongoing competition between the Maryland and Virginia congressional delegations to secure the new FBI headquarters.

The race to replace Cardin could take shape quickly, with many of the potential candidates jumping in shortly after Cardins announcement. Trone, who made a fortune building the Total Wine and More retail chain, has a history of self-funding his campaigns, potentially putting pressure on other candidates to get their fundraising started quickly. Trone has told associates that hes plans to spend as much as $50 million of his own money if he enters the race, according to sources familiar with the matter. Raskin defeated Trone in a primary for Marylands Eighth Congressional District after Van Hollen vacated that seat to replace Mikulski.

There may also be a Republican push to recruit former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to launch a candidacy. GOP establishment figures, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, attempted to convince Hogan to challenge Sen. Chris Van Hollen in 2022, but he declined.

At the same time, there could be a residual effect to Cardins announcement if Trone runs for the Senate as expected. That would open up a seat for Marylands Sixth District, which could be competitive. Trone, who spent millions of dollars of his own money on his reelection last year, won by nine percentage points. The district was recently redrawn to include swaths of GOP-friendly rural enclaves.

One potential candidate for that seat, Maryland sources say, is Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, who ran against Trone in the 2018 primary and lost. She has since served on the Maryland State Ethics Commission before being sworn in as Gov. Wes Moores second in command in January.

Cardins retirement will mark the end of an era. The Cardin name has been a staple of Maryland politics for generations. The Senators father, Meyer Cardin, served in the Maryland House of Delegates and was later a member of the Baltimore City Supreme Bench. Cardin would later serve in the same legislature as his father, eventually becoming the states youngest Speaker of the House of Delegates before making his first run for Congress in 1986.
By Ngouda Dione

DAKAR (Reuters) - In a small beachside shack in Senegal's capital Dakar, Pape Diouf spends hours on each surfboard he makes, shaping its foam surface with an electric planer to create the perfect curve.

Diouf, 27, is the first surfboard maker in the West African country, which has attracted surfers from around the world for decades due to Dakar's position on a spit of land that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean, creating world-class waves.

The surf scene is dominated by locals, many of whom surf on old boards donated or passed down from older surfers. But Diouf, who is also a surfing instructor, aims to change that by increasing the availability of locally made boards.

"Ever since I was a little boy, I have dreamed of making my own board," said Diouf, who opened his business "Sunugal Surfboard Repair" in 2020 with funds he earned from participating in an entrepreneurship competition.

Although he also repairs boards, making them is now his focus.

"Board making really needs to pick up," said surfer Aita Diop, who competes with a board made by Diouf.

"Thank goodness we have one person making them, but there should be more so we can show that we are capable of making good boards," she said.

Diouf's boards sell for about 250,000 CFA francs ($422), which includes the cost of materials such as fibreglass that he has to import from Europe. He personalises some by decorating them with African fabrics.

"Currently it is only on site that you can have a Sunugal surfboard, but the goal of the project is not to stay in Yoff (the neighbourhood)," said Diouf, adding that he is working to open branches in other parts of Dakar and the country.

"Tomorrow, I hope we will see Sunugal surfboards all over the world."

($1 = 592.7500 CFA francs)

(Reporting by Ngouda Dione; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
One day about a year ago, Karis Stucker happened to log into Instagram for the first time in months. Somehow, that was also minutes after her childhood friend had forwarded a post she saw from The Great American Baking Show.

The show was asking for contestant applications. We should totally apply, her friend, also a baker, wrote.

Stucker, 27, thought about it for a bit. The Cornelius resident had only been baking seriously for about three years, but it had become her passion. Shed loved watching the British version of the show for years, and even credits it for teaching her how to bake. She decided to take a chance.

A couple of interviews, a casting audition and a monthlong trip to London later, Stucker still cant quite believe what happened.

The 2018 Davidson College grad is one of nine contestants on the latest season of The Great American Baking Show. The show debuts on The Roku Channel on Friday.

I had never had an experience where I felt so out of body for such a long period of time, Stucker said. Sometimes you have those out-of-body moments and youre like, Oh, OK, that was a weird hour. But this was weeks. I still dont feel like whats happening is actually happening.

Modeled after the wildly successful The Great British Baking Show, the American version is technically in its sixth season, but this is the first since 2019. British judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith join first-time American hosts, actors Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry in searching for the best amateur baker in the country through three challenges in each episode: a signature bake, a technical challenge and a show-stopper.

Stucker recently talked with CharlotteFive about how she ended up on the show, her experience with the famously anti-competitive competition and what it might feel like to receive a coveted Hollywood Handshake  though she wouldnt share any spoilers on what actually happened in the show.

The full cast of 2023 version of The Great American Baking Show.

The following has been lightly edited.

Story continues

On how she started baking:

Ive always loved being in the kitchen. I would bake with my grandma. My mom would always make Christmas cakes in the shape of Christmas trees for all of my teachers growing up. My great-grandma was a baker.

In 2019 was actually when I started taking baking more seriously. I started baking cakes, decorating cakes and really just learned by watching YouTube videos, watching Instagram reels. And I would just watch and then go experiment in the kitchen.

I realized back then that I could be in the kitchen all day and be so happy. I love it. I just find it so therapeutic. Just the physical act of just mixing batter together is so soothing. I also really enjoy exercise and working out, and I can compare it in the sense that you just have this one task in front of you and your mind is focused fully on that.

On being a fan of The Great British Baking Show:

My mom and I would watch it together all the time. It finds its way to so many peoples households because its such a feel-good show; its not a cutthroat competition. People genuinely are there to encourage each other and cheer each other on.

And honestly, it taught me how to bake. I would watch the show and then I would make a long list of all the things that I learned and say, Im gonna make that. Whats creme pat (patissiere)? Whats choux pastry?

So when I found out that I was going to be on the show, I was ecstatic because its the very show that taught me how to bake.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith share a chuckle when discussing contestants bakes. Cornelius Karis Stucker said both were kind and encouraging to every baker.

On arriving in London, meeting Hollywood and Leith, seeing the tent for the first time and overcoming nerves:

Of course it was so surreal, getting to see the iconic tent (where contestants bake). And meeting Paul and Prue was incredible. They really are kind, and I really got the sense right away that they were really there to better us.

On the first filming day, youre just so jittery and nervous. But they didnt put anyone down or say, Whyd you do that? That was terrible! It was really always like, Well, this is what I would do. And, Ive learned in my experience that this happens when you do this. They were really, really kind-hearted.

On one unexpected challenge:

When we get over to London, they tell us we have a few days to kind of prepare. And of course were all new to this. Like, what do you mean, prepare? Am I preparing my heart and my mind? They said, Were going to go to these British grocery stores. And we learned there are some differences between British and American ingredients.

Theres the single-cream/double-cream conundrum. We all had issues with cream cheese there  we found that their cream cheese was a lot softer than what were used to over here.

So, we always joked with each other that this is our little added challenge. No one really knows, but theres the added challenge of working with these British ingredients that really do make a difference. It could make or break your bake because theres so many variables in baking all the time.

I did have to make some recipe adjustments. Nothing major. Just, Maybe thats a little too much butter, because Im tasting that this British butter is a little bit stronger, or Let me cut back on sugar, or whatever it may have been.

On what it might feel like, hypothetically, to receive a Hollywood Handshake  the move that Hollywood bestows on a candidate who has excelled at a challenge:

Im sure that it would feel good.

I will say when theyre judging you, its terrifying. They capture it really well on the show  that nervousness in the persons face, and what its like when Paul takes a moment and hes just silently staring down at your bake and you dont know if hes going to reach out his hand or tell you its awful.

When they came up to me, Im like, OK, here we go. What can I do now? Run away? Ive gotta face it.

The Great American Baking Show is judged by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, and hosted by Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry (left to right).

On forming friendships with fellow contestants:

Were all very close. We have a group chat. We talk all the time  almost every day, actually. I think the reason that we got so close, too, is because when youre there, no one else quite has that experience.

We couldnt tell anyone in London why we were there. We just really baked and slept. It was just such a unique bonding experience that even coming back  actually, especially coming back home  no one really understood what we were going through, either.

Just trying to adjust back to like, Whoa, what just happened? That whole thing was surreal.

On what shes looking forward to most in the watching the show:

Im just excited, personally, to see how it all comes together. And they told us, youll see the show will be a completely different experience than what you experienced there. Because theyre filming way more than is actually going to go into the show.

Also, the fact that it was almost a year ago now, Im certain there are things Ive kind of forgotten that happened. So I might watch something on the camera and be like, Oh, I said that?

And obviously Im just excited for my family to see it, too. Especially my mom because she and I are the ones who really watch the show together.

On whats next:

I do a million things. I have my own private Spanish tutoring business, and I also nanny during the day. So, I bake in between. Im just trying to be more present on social media (@karisscorner on Instagram), talking to people, answering questions, and just engaging. We did all work so hard, so its exciting to finally see the project come out.

I have my blog, too, (www.karisbakes.com) where I test recipes, write them and rewrite them, getting them as perfect as I possibly can. Thats my main baking hobby right now. If that goes somewhere, that would be great because its my biggest passion.



How to watch: The first of six episodes is available Friday, May 5. Stream The Roku Channel for free on Roku devices, the web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs. No subscription required.
A mysterious shipwreck that emerged off Daytona Beach, Florida, is three times larger than initially described, according to marine archaeologists.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum came to that conclusion after sending a team to examine the wreck, which appeared around April 20 in the 3200 block of Daytona Beach Shores.

Volusia County officials estimated it may be a 25- to 30-foot ship, but archaeologists say a lot more is hidden below the sand. The team of experts included the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research.

We have almost 75-feet-long exposed wreckage, so the wreck was probably closer to 100 feet long, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program archaeologist Chuck Meide said in an April 28 news release.

It has iron deck supports, which were introduced to wooden ships in the 1830s and (were) probably more common in the second half of the 1800s. The wood is very well preserved and the lowermost portion of the hull seems to be preserved beneath the sand.

That means the ship could date to about the same time the original version of Daytona Beach was founded in 1870.

Daytona Beach officials told WESH theyve long known there was some kind of debris field at the spot where the new wreck was discovered. They just didnt know what caused it.

The wreck is one of two that have emerged from sands off Daytona Beach since December, officials said. The other was examined by the museum and found to be an 1800s cargo ship, officials said.

Archaeologists say extensive hurricane erosion (from Ian and Nicole)in September and November resulted in the ships being found.

Search is on for WWII shipwreck that poses environmental dangers off Florida coast

Search underway for key WWII battlefield hidden on Pacific seafloor off Guam, team says

14-foot hammerhead shark found dead on Alabama beach was hiding bittersweet surprise
In agriculture classes at the Career and Technical Education Academy, the curriculum is more than just whats in students horticulture and animal science textbooks. Its hands-on.

Students learn by doing, whether its raising piglets, feeding chickens and quails, harvesting or raising eggs, or growing houseplants, flowers and produce, and much more. Right now, the students are growing peas, lettuce and tomatoes with aquaponics.

On Monday morning, students had a short math lesson from ag teacher Andrew Jensen. He asked them to solve a problem of how much feed they would need to purchase to keep their livestock fed  a bit of algebra with tons of corn and soybean material needed, and prices fluctuating with inflation in the future that they would need for future careers.

Students at the Career and Technical Education Academy in the Sioux Falls School District look after a dozen piglets on Monday, May 1, 2023.

Then, they had various chores to do:

Clean the quail pens of feces, give them fresh water and poultry food.

Check the chicken coop for eggs, fluff up their hay and give them fresh feed and water.

Fluff up the guinea pigs pen and feed them.

Check on the piglets.

Sweep the floor.

More: Sioux Falls School District talks future elementary school, community campus, ag program

These classes have helped students like junior Bree Koepke, 17, learn more about the profession she has always had an interest in: veterinary medicine. Shes applying to pre-veterinary programs for college now.

Koepke always wanted to be a vet because she loves working with animals, but taking these classes has helped her find interest in both large and small animals. And joining the FFA (Future Farmers of America) club has helped her gain experience in her field, she said.

One of a dozen piglets cared for by students at the Career and Technical Education Academy on Monday, May 1, 2023.

For some students, like senior Gage Sharping, 18, who has been around his familys farm in Kimball his entire life, the classes have reaffirmed his passion for agriculture. And hes also learned a couple of surprising things, he said.

It takes a lot to be able to take care of animals. I want to take responsibility in case I want to farm, he said, adding hes interested in raising show pigs when he grows up.

Story continues

More: Lennox High School hosts annual 'Bring Your Tractor to School Day,' highlighting local ag

All the piglets will also be cared for by three different students over the summer after getting a supervised ag experience application approved by Jensen. They will raise the piglets until theyre about 300 pounds each and they will have an opportunity to show and sell them to raise money. The piglets mom, a sow named Dolly, was just taken to market.

Eggs produced by the chickens are also used in the CTE Academys culinary program, Jensen said, and the quail eggs are incubated. He said its a pretty extensive field to table experience for the students.

A couple of hens feed on hay at the Career and Technical Education Academy in the Sioux Falls School District on Monday, May 1, 2023.

This is Jensens first year in the Sioux Falls School District. He taught in Chester for six years before this, and in Fort Pierre for a while before that. In January, his classes saw interest from 23 students, and the FFA program had eight students. A lot of Jensens students want to go into veterinary technology or veterinary medicine, he said.

Jensen grew up in production agriculture and walked into the teaching profession, which was the best thing that happened for him, he said. He still farms with his father on the weekends near Vermillion, where they raise show pigs.

More people should realize that the food theyre eating and the clothes theyre wearing had to be produced by somebody, Jensen said, pointing to agricultures importance in society.

A quail sticks its head out of its cage at the Career and Technical Education Academy in the Sioux Falls School District on Monday, May 1, 2023.

Having an agriculture program in an urban environment shows students they can do all these different activities in the city while still being part of the agriculture industry, Jensen said.

Its a great opportunity to bridge the gap between the industry and Sioux Falls, he said. Sioux Falls was built on agriculture. (Students can) dive in and see what, and how, the city was created with the ag industry.

More: Get to know the 2 remaining Sioux Falls school board candidates after one dropped out

Getting a variety of animals and plants to the CTE Academy has taken some grant funding, in addition to private donors and community support. Jensen also hopes to see the program get horses and cattle in the future.

An assortment of houseplants, flowers and produce grow in an aquaponics garden at the Career and Technical Education Academy on May 1, 2023.

Grants to the ag program include $10,000 from CHS Foundation for a high tunnel and hog farrowing pens, $225,000 from the South Dakota Department of Educations Workforce Development Grant for a veterinary clinic setting in the ag lab, $62,275 from the DOE's Workforce Education Grant for equipment to support the animal husbandry and veterinary science technical training program, and more.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls agriculture program sees growth with 'field to table' approach
The home of Dr. Devon Hoover in the 100 block of West Boston Boulevard in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood. Dr. Hoover's body was found wrapped in a blanket in the upstairs crawlspace of his large home. His death has been ruled a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office. A person of interest in the killing of Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover is in custody, Detroit police announced on Friday.

Editor's note: This story is corrected to say Devon Hoover's burial service was planned for a later date.

The night before loved ones were to celebrate the life of slain Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover, his home was broken into.

Detroit police said an unknown suspect broke into Hoover's home in the Boston-Edison Historic District overnight, sometime between Saturday and Sunday.

No one was home during the break-in, and its unknown at this time whether items from the house were stolen, according to police.

Police did not say whether the break-in was connected to the killing, due to the active investigation.

The current estimated value of Hoover's home, according to Zillow, is a little over $1.2 million.

More: Person of interest in custody in killing of Detroit neurosurgeon

More: Mystery looms around death of beloved Detroit neurosurgeon

Hoover, 53, was a beloved doctor and worked as a neurosurgeon in Detroit for over 20 years. His funeral was held Sunday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. A burial service was planned at a later date.

Hoover was discovered dead in his home on April 23. He was found wrapped in a sheet and stuffed in an attic crawl space, WJBK-TV (Fox 2 Detroit) reported.

Beloved Detroit neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover was found dead in his Boston-Edison home on April 23, 2023.

Hoover's killing was ruled a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

A person of interest in the killing is currently in custody, Detroit Police Chief James White announced on Friday.

The individual is being held on charges unrelated to the slain doctor's death, White said. He and Hoover knew each other, White said, but declined to comment further on the nature of their relationship.

"We're confident this person has information about what transpired," White said. "This was not a random act."

White declined to comment on a potential motive.

White said a member of Hoover's family, who lives in Indiana, had called police because he did not show up to an event where he was expected. Officers went to Hoover's home on a welfare check and were "quickly concerned about some of the things that they saw and went into the home," White said, declining to comment further.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Slain Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover's home broken into
(Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Texas man suspected of killing five neighbors, Wisconsin man sentenced for shooting a Doordash driver, a California preschool teacher was arrested - all in today's HNGN crime stories!

In Texas, the manhunt for a 38-year-old man suspected of killing five of his neighbors has intensified.

While a man from Washington County, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to five years in prison after shooting a Doordash driver in February 2022. And this week, a preschool teacher who worked on the Stanford University campus and her companion were detained for murder. Here's the latest crime news around the US!

Texas Man Kills 5 Neighbors

On Sunday, more than 200 law enforcement officers in Texas searched for a man accused of killing five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas after being requested to cease firing a semiautomatic rifle.

Francisco Oropesa, 38, is accused of opening fire on neighbors after being asked to cease firing an AR-15-style rifle late Friday night because it was keeping a sleeping infant conscious. Among the victims is an 8-year-old child.

Per Reuters, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith told reporters, "At this time, we have no leads."

Over 200 law enforcement officers are going door-to-door in San Jacinto County, according to Sheriff Greg Capers. They are searching for the suspect or any information that could lead them to him. Officials are offering a $80,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect.

Capers stated that police had previously responded to the suspect's residence on multiple occasions due to complaints about gunshot in his backyard.

The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. According to the FBI, they were not members of a single family despite residing in the same residence.

Read Also: Paraguay's Presidential Election Update

Wisconsin Shooter Sentenced to 5 Years

According to reports, a man from Washington County, Wisconsin, who pleaded no contest to discharging a shotgun at a food delivery person in February 2022, was sentenced to five years in prison and the same amount of extended supervision.

John Norman, 33, entered into a plea agreement in January, pleading no contest to first-degree recklessly jeopardizing safety. As part of the agreement, the felony parole jumping allegation against Norman was dropped, as per Fox News.

On February 16, 2022, the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to allegations that a customer fired at a DoorDash employee who was delivering pizza.

An investigation revealed that Norman ordered pizza via DoorDash, and when the courier arrived with the food, the suspect discharged a shotgun explosion through the door. Norman told investigators he ordered the pizza and discharged the shotgun inadvertently when the 46-year-old female West Bend delivery driver arrived.

According to court documents, Norman was out on bond for a 2021 incident involving second-degree recklessly endangering safety

California Preschool Teacher Arrested

Officials say a preschool teacher at prestigious Stanford University was apprehended for homicide while her pupils were napping.

According to The Stanford Daily, 22-year-old Diana Ornelas was arrested for the murder of 24-year-old Oliver Waterfall while she worked at the daycare center of the top California university.

The corpse of Waterfall was discovered along a Santa Cruz County highway on April 11. He had been fatally wounded approximately one month prior, according to officials.

Police believe Ornelas was acquainted with both the victim and Dennis Novoa, 27, who was also charged in connection with the gunshot death of Waterfall, according to the news source. The intent was not immediately discernible.

Related Article: Texas Shooting Tragedy Leaves 5 Dead

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On May 1, 2023, National Geographic premieres A Small Light, which centers on the real life story of Miep Gies. The limited series stars Bel Powley as the often unsung hero that hides Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam. The limited series opened to rave reviews, holding fresh at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The ensemble cast includes Liev Schreiber, Joe Cole, Billie Boullet, Ashley Brooke, and Amira Casar. Read our full review round-up below.

The series pilot and Welcome to Switzerland premiere on NatGeo May 1, with two new episodes airing weekly. Each can be streamed the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

More from GoldDerby

SEE A Small Light: Nat Geo series heralds heroes who hid Anne Frank and family

Maggie Lovitt of Collider writes, The series is blatant in its condemnation of people who reap the benefits of prejudice and hatred, blindly focused on their own small joys and creature comforts. Therein lies why there is a certain degree of unsteadiness deeply embedded in the harrowing story that unfolds. She adds, Miep Gies (Powley) story unravels in a non-linear fashion throughout A Small Light, and sometimes, in hindsight, the audience is able to see that the facts are occasionally provided by unreliable narrators, often through the lens of Anne Franks (Boullet) unwavering optimism. Powley does well at playing Miep as a doe-eyed, yet head-strong woman who is forced to grow up in an unimaginable time. Lovitt concludes, A Small Light is a beautiful and heartbreaking reminder of what helpers are capable of doing.

Story continues

Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies says, I would not recommend watching this series as a binge. What I would do is watch a few episodes at a time. National Geographic is smart to be rolling out two episodes a week. One, it leaves zero episodes hanging prior to the end of Emmy nomination deadline and rightfully so because Bel Powley is phenomenal in her performance. Meanwhile, Liev Schreiber disappears into the role of Otto Frank. This is not Schreibers first time portraying a Holocaust survivor, having previously portrayed Zus Bielski in 2008s Defiance. But still, every time hes on screen, I did not feel like I was watching Schreiber but Otto Frank himself.

SEE Miep Gies is poised to become the face of Holocaust resistance with A Small Light

Matt Roush of TV Insider praises the drama, noting, that the cast is excellent. He adds, We all know how its going to end, which doesnt make the dramatization of the raid in August 1944 any easier to watch or the sorrow any easier to bear when Otto returns after the liberation as the sole survivor. Miep is resolute in her stubborn belief that she could have done more. Roush concludes, History tells us that saving young Annes diary was miracle enough.

Sarah Jane of Austin Chronicle applauds the limited series, noting, A Small Light depicts Miep a party girl, with no direction in life. Forced by her adoptive parents (she was originally from Austria) to stop being shiftless, she lands a job with Otto Frank, a German immigrant who had moved with his family to Amsterdam to open an office of the company he worked for, Opekta. He, of course, was also fleeing to escape the rise of the Nazis, but when the Germans invade he asks Miep to hide him and his family: Without hesitation, she says yes. Jane adds, The creators said they didnt want to play the end, meaning, yes, everyone knows what happens to the Franks in the end, but they are telling the story about the events that lead up to the tragedy. When asked about how to balance the tone of the show (as there are definitely moments of humor shown), the creators said what happened in the Annex has been frozen in history. They wanted to depict the story showing that everyone involved werent living a reverent life: they were just living life, period.

PREDICTthe 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Dont miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

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Ashley Brooke, left, and Bel Powley in <i>A Small Light</i> Credit - Dusan MartincekDisney

Miep Gies did not realize, when she started working as a secretary for pectin manufacturer Opekta, that she was destined for heroism. Twenty-four and directionless, the Austrian-born Gies still lived with the Dutch family that had adopted her as a sick child. In an early scene from Nat Geos historical drama A Small Light, Mieps (Bel Powley) parents urge her to wed her brother Cas (Laurie Kynaston), who isnt a blood relative but does happen to be gay. The worst thing about it, she reflects, is thats all they think Im capable ofmarrying my brother.

How wrong they were. The man who hired Gies to be his secretary, in 1933, was Otto Frank, who had just moved his family from Germany to Amsterdam to escape Hitler. Nearly a decade later, when the Nazis marched into the city and started rounding up Jews, she helped the Franks hide, for more than two years, in a secret annex above the Opekta offices. When the Nazis finally raided the place and deported the eight people living there to concentration camps, Gies saved Anne Franks diary. A Small Light, premiering May 1, tells her storya bracing, emotional but not excessively sentimental account of a regular womans resistance to fascism.

Liev Schreiber in A Small Light Dusan MartincekDisney

Created by Greys Anatomy alums Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, the miniseries spans more than a decade in the lives of Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole), and the Franks. For most of its eight episodes, Otto (played with decency and gravitas by Liev Schreiber), his wife Edith (Amira Casar), and their daughters Anne (Billie Boullet of The Worst Witch, perfectly cast) and Margot (Ashley Brooke) are confined to close quarters with the family of Ottos employee Hermann Van Pels (Andy Nyman). Mieps Jewish dentist, Dr. Pfeffer (Noah Taylor), moves in early on, after she makes a passionate case to Otto that they cant in good conscience turn him away. Miep is the groups sole conduit to the outside world. They rely on her, not just for fooda constant headache at a time when groceries are rationed and seeking out extra rice or potatoes raises Nazi hacklesbut also for news of the war and a connection to life beyond the annexs walls.

This might sound like the setup for the kind of harrowing slog that we associate with Holocaust stories. After all, we know how Annes tragically short life ended. Yet A Small Light is true to its title. By centering the Gieses, Phelan and Rater illuminate the quotidian realities of the Nazi occupationand particularly the courageous risks that regular Dutch people took to thwart the Reichs genocidal mission. Although shes also helping to keep Opekta afloat in Ottos absence, hiding the Franks becomes a full-time job for Miep; she charms butchers into stretching rations, mediates conflicts between her cooped-up friends, plays dumb with German soldiers convinced that Otto is still in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Jan joins a Dutch Resistance cell headquartered at a gay bar. Through the Gieses eyes, we see Jewish children smuggled into rural hiding with hair dyed blonde and underground plots to bomb buildings that house information of vital importance to the Nazis. The couple takes in a fugitive student who refused to comply with the new regime.

Billie Boullet, left, and Bel Powley, in A Small Light Dusan MartincekDisney

But if A Small Light isnt misery porn, neither is it inspiration porn. From episode to episode, the creators filter the characters extreme circumstances through such universal human experiences as religious tradition and romantic love. Miep and Jans relationship struggles under the stress of their secrets. And while they rearrange their lives around saving as many people as possible from the camps, theyre constantly confronted with friends and neighbors who cant be bothered. Some profess to stay out of politics. Others become passive sympathizers or even full-on Nazis. Resistance work isnt all feel-good fellowship, either. Most of the time, it requires separating husbands and wives, parents and children, in hopes of ensuring their survival.

The series is not without stagy monologues or dialogue that presses harder than it needs to on the moral imperatives at play. But since the credits rolled on the finale, its been the quieter ways in which A Small Light fleshes out the difficulties and dangers of being a good person in horrific times that have lingered in my mind. Key to this subtlety is the exquisite lead performance from Powley, a versatile English actor who broke through in the U.S. with an equally memorable turn as the title character of 2015s The Diary of a Teenage Girl and has since gone on to roles in The Morning Show and the under-appreciated British import Everything I Know About Love. Here, she balances bravery, kindness, ingenuity, and an infectious liveliness with moments of sanctimony and echoes of childhood trauma. Miep is a hero, but before that a humanwhich also makes her an ideal embodiment of the cause for which her antifascist cohort is fighting.
Soloveyko's installation is a songbird in Liverpool

One element that has already begun is the installation of 12 large-scaled art installations. The first to go up is Soloveiko Songbird, named for nightingale, a national symbol of Ukraine, and for the name of the hit single Eurovision tune by Ukraines Go_A.

Read also: King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla light up Eurovision 2023 stage in Liverpool

All 12 illuminated birds represent different regions of Ukraine. Each will have its own appearance and sound and will reside in various locations throughout the city.

The first was recently installed at the Royal Albert Docks.

REUTERS/Molly Darlington

Ukrainian director Svitlana Reynish, sound producer Anton Dehtyaryov, and Kyiv animation design studio BlckBox helped design the project.

Also at the Royal Albert Docks, artist Luke Jerrams Floating Earth installation has been unveiled.

REUTERS/Molly Darlington

Many art projects related to Ukraine are expected in Liverpool as part of the Eurovision festivities.

Read also: Rock legends Scorpions looking to give concert on Maidan after Ukraines victory

The Protect the Beats solidarity project will see the General Nelson statue covered with 2,500 sandbags to remind people how Ukrainians protect their important monuments from bombings and missile attacks.

REUTERS/Molly Darlington

During the filming of the Eurovision postcards in Liverpool, the famous Beatles statue was dressed in vyshyvankas, the traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with 37 participating countries, will be held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine on May 9 and 11 (first and second semifinals) and May 13 (grand final).

Ukraines Tvorchi will sing Heart of Steel in the grand final, having automatically qualified thanks to Kalush Orchestras victory for Stefania at Eurovision 2022.

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
Perhaps in a hurry or perhaps planning ahead, someone buried a treasure trove but never returned. A metal detectorist in Romania just found it 1,700 years later.

The metal detectorist stumbled upon the buried treasure while searching in Dolj county, according to an April 25 news release from Cosmin Vasile, president of the Dolj County Council.

The hidden stash contained 1,168 silver coins from ancient Roman times, the release said. Photos show the piles of tarnished, blue-green discs. One cleaned coin, silvery and shiny, gleams against the surrounding pile. The coin has a central figure holding something in each hand and a ring of text around the edge.

Some of the Roman silver coins unearthed in Dolj county.

Modern-day Romania was known as Dacia during ancient Roman times and primarily occupied by the Dacians, according to Britannica. Dacian society was divided into upper-class priests and nobility and lower-class soldiers, artisans and agricultural workers.

The Dacians and ancient Romans antagonized each other beginning around 100 B.C. and continuing into the first century A.D., according to Britannica. After several unsuccessful or partially-successful conflicts, the Romans won a decisive victory over the Dacians in 88 A.D., making Dacia a border region for their empire.

Dolj county was part of Roman Dacia, according to UNESCOs World Heritage Centre. The Roman empire built hundreds of forts, watchtowers and other fortifications across the region as part of their border defense system.

Still, tensions along the border remained high and the limits of Roman territory were probably never clearly defined, per Britannica. The Romans ultimately abandoned Dacia around 270 A.D.

The Roman coins like those found in Dolj were commonly used in ancient Dacia, Radu Dumitrescu, an expert with the Oltenia Museum, told the Romanian news outlet Gazeta de Sud. The coins are at least 1,700 years old and were likely buried amid the devastating conflicts in third century Dacia, he said.

An expert holds a cleaned silver coin.

Experts will work on determining the value of the coins as they are cleaned. Afterward, the finds will be preserved at the Oltenia Museum, the release said.

Story continues

Dolj county is about 150 west of Bucharest and along the Romania-Bulgaria border.

Facebook Translate and Google Translate were used to translate the news release from Cosmin Vasile of the Dolj County Council. Google Translate was used to translate the article from Gazeta de Sud.

Urine flasks  for smelling and tasting pee  found in 400-year-old dump in Italy

Rare sculpture of Mayan god found in path of train construction, Mexican officials say

Someone buried treasure 2,000 years ago and never returned. A hiker just found it
Credit - Illustration by Nikki Scioscia for TIME

A year after having my first baby, I had my first abortion. (My only abortion, maybe, but theres no way to be sure of that yetour reproductive lives are long, if were lucky, shifting and changing like a landscape we travel as we age.) My husband and I knew, as soon as that pregnancy test returned a positive resultour son having not yet taken his first stepsthat neither my health nor our finances could bear another pregnancy, birth, or child so soon.

As an abortion doula and a clinic worker, I was intimately familiar with the mechanics of abortion, and had supported many people through their own processes, but that didnt make the experience unfolding within my body and life any less intense, confusing, or emotional. Knowledge and experience didnt slow the bleeding, or ease the cramping, or remove the logistical stressors. It didnt mean I could go it alone, pretending I had the flu or a bad period, or just white-knuckling through my work and social commitments with a smiling mask of Nothing much! or Im fine, you? as it was unfolding inside me.

Before and after I took the pills that would end my pregnancy, friends and neighbors dropped off big pots of soup, home-baked brownies and ice cream, a small stuffed rabbit for the infant resting in my lap. When I ended up needing an aspiration procedure, flowers and care packages and bottles of wine arrived, as if by magic. The days and weeks following my abortion were reminiscent of the days and weeks that had followed my sons birth, when a constellation of community members had rallied for a postpartum mother and her family.

Read More: What Nine Months Means to a Pregnant Person

I was (and am) lucky, in more ways than I can name. I had access to funding and care. I could safely and honestly share what I was going through with people close to me, without prosecution or (overt) social judgment. I could speak openly with friends and familyand even with coworkers and providersabout my decision: my grief, my physical discomfort, my resolve. Im lucky my husband could show up at his workplace and say, Im leaving early today and I wont be in tomorrow. Hannahs having an abortion, and be met only with compassion. In short: Im lucky to have received not just the care and support I needed, but the care and support that any of us would dream of. But Im also lucky that people in my life understood that this was not a moment for silence or pretending that nothing was happening. This was a moment for gifts.

Story continues

Ive always been a punctual and enthusiastic gift-giver (and, to my mothers chagrin, a delinquent thank-you-note sender). I love to mark an occasion or a transition with something tangiblea letter in the mail with a dried flower pressed between its pages, or a succulent plant left on a doorstep. A book that made me think of the recipient, my notes scrawled in the margins, or a bottle of nice champagne when my bank account will allow it. A meal, a coffee, a gift card, a blank journal, a heating pad and fuzzy socks. The gifts themselves, of course, depend on the persontheir sense of humor, their current health and abilities, what theyre going through and how theyre feeling about it. (And if I dont know that last part, I certainly dont guess or assume.) And so when I was going through an experience of my own, I was grateful for the generosity and creativity of those who showered me with presents both large and very small.

These were not performative, one-dimensional offerings. The intent was neither to celebrate my decision, nor was it to help me mourn my loss or to extend that dreaded, white-lilies-and-angel-statues declaration of sympathy. After an abortion, someone may be grieving deeply, someone may be buzzing with relief and contentment, someone may be physically exhausted, financially stressed, hormonally fluctuatingand someone may be all of these things, depending on the moment or the day. The gifts I received told me that no matter how I felt about my abortion, and no matter whether my loved ones could relate to those feelings, they honored them. The givers wanted to make this complicated moment of my life a little brighter, a little warmer, a little easier, a little less lonely.

Read More: Abortion Access Is Affecting Where College Students Decide to Study

In the wake of the Dobbs decision, amid the escalating aggression of state bans and restrictions and their enforcement mechanisms, and as the powerful anti-abortion lobby pushes to strip us of our rights to reproductive autonomy, we are working to fill these systemic and institutional gapsas quickly and as safely as we canwith community care. Doulas, anonymous hotlines and textlines, self-managed abortion support, independent clinics, legal defense organizations, mail-order pills, and information passed between friends are, increasingly, the care we can give one another. We are paying for each others abortions, or crowdfunding, or connecting each other to the funds. Were giving each other rides to the clinic or hospital or airport. Were babysitting each others kids. Were covering for each other at school and work and helping each other stay safe from parents, partners, police. Were brewing pots of tea, and braiding each others hair, and holding each others hands. Were running to get the heating pad, the Tylenol, the anti-nausea medications. Andas humans often do in our lifelong quest for pleasure, love, belonging, and dopaminewere exchanging gifts.

After Erika Christensens third-trimester abortion, a college friend she describes as very Christian came through, unexpectedly, with a celestial show of support: she registered a star in the name that Christensen and her husband had been using to refer to their maybe baby, as she says now. It was a gift that acknowledged the grief and the beauty, that recognized the gravity of Christensens loss and the intensity of her love and strength.

T.S. Mendolas mother-in-law stress-bought dressers from IKEA while Mendola and her partner were traveling to another state for their procedure. The Mendolas children, 2 and 5 at the time, got a fresh and lovingly rearranged new bedroom; Mendola got a constant physical reminderheavy and tangible, and as real and undeniable of multiple large pieces of new furniture can bethat she was not alone.

Read More: I Had an Unplanned Pregnancy and a Choice

A woman who has asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons told me that the day of her abortion was like one big gift: her next-door neighbora generation older than her, and the only person shed told about her pregnancycame over, cleaned her apartment, and spent hours in her tiny kitchen, singing and cooking her iron-rich collard greens, baked beans, and steak. When the neighbor left, counters wiped down, fresh flowers in a vase shed brought, and leftovers in the freezer, the woman realized that shed been there for most of the dayand that she must have secured her own childcare and work coverage to do so.

Abortion is common and safe, and it has always existed on the same spectrum as birth, miscarriage, infertility, and so many other human experiences. And yet, weve all received and internalized the suppressive messageculturally, socially, and in many places and communities, legallythat its a separate, secret thing. That we shouldnt acknowledge its presence in the room with us, its physical or emotional realities, its very real and nontheoretical place in our lives and families and communities. Thatoutside of political or academic debates, maybe, or philosophical and spiritual questions of ethics and lawswe shouldnt speak about it at all.

Whether you believe, as I do, that abortion can be a powerful act of lovefor ones self and ones own future, for ones existing children and family, for the pregnancy being released and thus spared from the circumstances informing the pregnant persons decision, and often for a combination of all these thingsor whether you dont, know this: When I trusted my community to show up for me as I ended my pregnancy, cared for the child I already had, and processed the experience in order to heal and move forward, I wasnt asking for anything but to be seen and known. I wasnt asking for anything other than friendship and support, for the space to share our experiences and to tell each other our stories, in order to better understand ourselves. But when the gifts began to arrive, I suddenly realized just how necessary those extra expressions of solidarity and love were, how crucial to my survival of that moment and my perception of my inherent worth and goodness. However you feel is OK, each of those gifts said to me, more clearly than any words their givers could speak or write. We see who you are, and what youre going through. Weve got you. Were here.

When someone shares with you that they are having, or have had, an abortion, they are inviting you to take a step closer to them and a step into your own humanity. Take that step, andjust as you would when accepting any other sort of invitationbring a gift with you when you come.
South Africa will invite Russian president Vladimir Putin to attend the BRICS summit via Zoom rather than in person after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president.

Source: Sunday Times

Quote: "President Putin will be asked by South Africa to attend a key summit via Zoom and not in person after Pretoria sought legal advice about its obligations to arrest the Russian leader, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court."

Details: Putin was invited to the summit of the leaders of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and the hosts, South Africa.

The latter refused to support sanctions against Russia or condemn its aggression in Ukraine.

The recent issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin by the ICC, which accused him of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territory, has put South Africa's ruling party in an awkward position.

South Africa is one of the countries that signed the Rome Statute, which obliges it to comply with the decisions of the International Criminal Court.

Last week, president of South Africa, appointed a special government committee headed by the country's vice president, which is supposed to study options for actions by the authorities due to the issuance of a warrant for Putin's arrest.

According to the outlet's source, the committee will not be able to find any other options, except for Putin's participation in the video conference summit from Moscow.

South African officials have confirmed that Pretoria is negotiating with Moscow about this.

Background:

At a press conference with President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the ruling party had decided that South Africa should withdraw from the International Criminal Court, which last month issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This is not the first attempt by South Africa to leave the ICC. The state attempted to do so in 2016 after ignoring a 2015 arrest warrant for Sudan's former president, Omar al-Bashir.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, finding him guilty of the illegal deportation of thousands of children from Ukraine. The issuance of the warrant means that Putin could be arrested if he goes to any member country of the International Criminal Court.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Vladimir Putin and Cyril Ramaphosa

Pretoria is negotiating with Moscow and invites Putin to participate in the BRICS summit via video conference. Should the dictator and wanted war criminal travel to South Africa, local authorities are obliged to arrest him based on the International Criminal Court warrant.

"We have no option not to arrest Putin," a government official said. If he comes here, we will have to arrest him.

Last week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a special government committee headed by the country's vice president to study the government's Vladimir Putins international arrest warrant, the newspaper reported.

This committee will not be able to find "any options that would allow Putin to come," the papers sources said. "The only option we have is for [Putin] to participate in the summit via Teams or Zoom from Moscow."

Last week, South Africa's Presidency officially confirmed that the country has no plans to withdraw from the Rome Statute, denying Ramaphosa's own statements.

The Kremlin said it had not yet decided whether Putin would attend the Durban summit.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsperson Maria Lvova-Belova.

They are accused of illegally deporting children from Ukraine to Russia since Feb. 24, 2022.

The leader of the aggressor state can now be arrested in 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute.

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
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave a heated rebuttal to a Russian reporter in Israel on Monday, rebuking Russia's invasion and reaffirming his support for Ukraine.

McCarthy, R-Calif., made the statement during a press conference in Israel after addressing the country's Knesset on Monday. McCarthy and other members of the House of Representatives visited Israel to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the country's founding.

A reporter representing a Russian news agency asked McCarthy about U.S. support for Ukraine and referenced McCarthy's past comments about not being in favor of giving Ukraine a "blank check."

"We know that you don't support the current unlimited and uncontrolled supply of weaponry and aid to Ukraine, so can you comment? Is it possible in the near future the U.S. policy of sending weaponry to Ukraine will change?" the reporter asked.

ISRAEL COMMEMORATES MEMORIAL DAY WITH PUBLIC STANDSTILL, MOMENTS OF SILENCE

"No, I vote for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine," McCarthy responded after clarifying the question. "I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine. I do not support your killing of the children either."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I think from one standpoint you should pull out, and I don't think it's right. We will continue to support, because the rest of the world sees this just as it is," he added.

House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., also spoke on the issue after McCarthy and likened America's support for Ukraine to its support for Israel.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited Israel to celebrate the country's 75th anniversary on Monday.

"I share the speaker's view," Hoyer said. "What is happening in Ukraine is criminal. Women, children, the elderly, men are being slaughtered by a very large and very powerful country meeting a courageous people who, in my view, must win this war."

"I believe the United States of America, as it is committed to Israel's freedom and security and sovereignty, it is committed to Ukraine as well, and I believe that will remain a consensus among Democrats and Republicans," he continued.

Story continues

ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN HOLDING SECRET TALKS FOR WEEKS: REPORT

Both McCarthy's and Hoyer's statements received rounds of applause. The Russian reporter did not ask any follow-up questions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received condemnation from U.S. officials in Israel on Monday.

The trip to Israel was McCarthy's first visit to a foreign nation as speaker.
Emergency workers cannot pull people out from under the rubble in the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast because they need special vehicles to clear the debris. Emergency workers cannot enter the city because of the Russian attacks.

Source: Vitalii Barabash, Head of the Avdiivka City Military Administration, in an interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Hromadske

Details: Barabash said an 81-year-old woman had been trapped under the rubble since Friday, 28 April. At that time, Russian troops hit a five-storey building, and the woman was in the basement.

A 61-year-old man was trapped under the rubble due to an airstrike on 30 April. He was a utility worker, particularly a power engineer.

"Unfortunately, there are no signs of life in either case," Barabash said.

He said a phone and a jacket were found on 30 April during the rubble clearance. However, it is impossible to continue the work without special equipment.

Quote: "We worked with the State Emergency Service and the head of the oblast on Saturday, 29 April, to figure out [how to do it], and the State Emergency Service rushed out, but before reaching Avdiivka, they came under fire and returned. It is impossible to enter [the city]".

Background: On 30 April, Avdiivka came under fire seven times, with hits to the residential area and the territory of the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant. The attack on the neighbouring cities of Marinka and Krasnohorivka has been recorded. Three people have been injured in the city of Bakhmut. Houses in the settlements of Toretsk and Vasiukivka have been damaged.

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The Springboro Police Department has issued a warning about a recent phone scam targeting the community.

>>RELATED: Area sheriffs office issues phone scam warning; What you need to know

The department says it has received multiple reports of scammers calling businesses and attempting to defraud the person of money who answers the phone, police said on social media.

Scammers are posing as either Springboro Police or the court.

>>RELATED: Centerville Police Department issues warning about recent phone scam

The department says they and the courts will never call attempting to collect fees, fines, bond, or any money.

It is also reminding people to stay vigilant and report the incoming number to them if possible.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak shows off an upcoming redesign for the clamshell foldable device once it debuts later this year. A recent render of the mobile device showcases the much-awaited larger cover display.

Rumors and leaks about the successor of the upcoming phone have sprouted like mushrooms online, giving consumers a glimpse of what they could expect from the next-gen foldable.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Leak Renders

As per a report by XDA Developers, the foldable devices of Samsung, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4, are selling like pancakes. In fact, these mobile phones are the most popular devices in the burgeoning foldable phone market.

Despite that, other phone makers like Oppo and Motorola are trying to take the throne away from the South Korean phone maker.

The Chinese tech firm, Oppo, launched its first-ever clamshell phone early this year with the Find N2 Flip. Meanwhile, the Lenovo-owned Motorola is set to launch its next-generation Razr. These two phones are expected to compete against the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5. Now, Samsung seems to be gearing up to step up the competition.

New leaked renders of the Flip 5 put the shimmer of the spotlight on its redesigned cover display.

A well-known leaker, who goes by Onleaks on Twitter, reveals what the upcoming clamshell phone looks like when it sees the light of day sometime this year. The renders he shared showcase what sets the next-generation Galaxy Z Flip apart from the previous Samsung clamshell phones.

Read Also: AI Now Writes VentureBeat News Articles Using Bing Chat: Is It Accurate?

Redesigned Cover Display

It looks like the Korean phone maker got tired of the older outer look of the foldable device. And as such, the tech behemoth redesigned the cover display, making it a lot bigger than ever.

9to5 Google points out that the external display now predominantly covers the outer part of the device. The screen roughly spans about 3.4 inches. It is a striking upgrade from the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 since the two iterations of the clamshell phone are only 1.9 inches.

The larger overall display should enable Samsung to expand the functionality of the outer screen, potentially introducing new widgets. With that, users no longer have to flip open their phones to access some simple features.

Besides the larger estate, it also adopts a new overall shape. The leaked renders by Onleaks showcase an odd form for the display. It resembles a file folder as the screen gives way to the two rear cameras of the device.

According to Sam Mobile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is likely to debut before July ends. However, Samsung has yet to confirm its release date.

Related Article: Bing to Replace Google on Samsung Phones? Analyst Says Microsoft Should Spend Whatever it Takes

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Stanislaus County will receive $28.7 million from a court settlement with an opioid drug manufacturer and distributors, and expects to get other allocations from cases related to the drug crisis.

State and local governments plagued by the opioid epidemic joined in lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and drugstore chains, charging that they misrepresented the risks for patients and failed to prevent misuse of the addictive drugs.

Proposed settlements with Janssen Pharmaceuticals and distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen were announced in July 2021, with California expected to receive $2.05 billion.

Stanislaus will get 1.5% of that as a participant in the lawsuit against Janssen and the distributors, according to a county staff report released Friday. The $28.7 million will be paid to the county over 18 years.

The state Department of Health Care Services is overseeing the funds paid to jurisdictions, specifying that the money be used to recover costs of the epidemic and limit damage from the ongoing crisis.

The county is seeing a rising tide of opioid drug overdoses and accidental poisonings caused by street fentanyl, a drug 50 times more potent than heroin.

Accidental fentanyl poisoning resulted in 127 deaths last year in the county, while 14 other people had fatal overdoses from other opioids such as heroin.

The countys annual mortality rate related to opioid overdoses was 19.2 per 100,000 population in 2021, a 133% increase over the 2019 rate. Stanislaus also has one of the highest rates of nonfatal overdoses in the state.

The continued loss of life and other impacts on the health and well being of the community due to opioids underscores the need for increased efforts to expand access to substance use disorder treatment services, says the report on the agenda of the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

A smaller monetary settlement with Mallinckrodt PLC will pay about $1 million to the county.

Story continues

Stanislaus officials still are waiting to hear about the countys share of a settlement from multi-state lawsuits against drug manufacturers Allergan and Teva and pharmacies CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. The proposed settlements total $18.72 billion for California and its participating entities, the county report says.

The county will take in $1,725,000 annually from the Janssen and Mallinckrodt settlements as a funding source to help support expanded substance use services. The county anticipates that some local cities may receive settlement funds from the multi-state lawsuits that also could support expansion of substance use services for county and city residents.

County staff could make funding requests to cities that receive settlement allocations, the county report says.

County BHRS has a plan to expand access to treatment services for those addicted to drugs. The opioid epidemic has heavily impacted the homeless.

Vision for treatment services

The departments vision includes access to substance use services 24/7, regardless of the persons insurance, with treatment slots available for all levels of care. Partnerships with treatment providers will ensure comprehensive services and sustained recovery for clients.

The plan includes a respite and stabilization center to help people recover from the effects of alcohol or drugs; a drop-in center open Monday through Friday to connect with resources and attend support groups; and a clinic for evaluations and medication access.

The county also hopes to expand teams for care coordination, outreach and engagement.

Expanded programs for young people may include residential drug treatment and services for safe withdrawal from addictive drugs. Those services dont exist in the county.

In addition, adults in the county jail could be provided medication-assisted treatment for addiction to narcotic drugs.

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St., Modesto.
Stanley Tucci has opened up about how his wife, the literary agent Felicity Blunt, helped him through his treatment for oral cancer.

The Devil Wears Prada actor, 62, who was diagnosed with the illness in 2017, told Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown that it was terrifying when he first learned he was sick.

Tucci reflected on how he and his late wife, actor Kate Spath-Tucci, had travelled all over the world trying to find a cure for her before she died from breast cancer in 2009. So when I got it, I was completely shocked, he said. I was terrified, absolutely terrified.

Speaking about the high-dose radiation and chemotherapy he underwent, Tucci described the treatments as brutal and awful, saying: I lost 35 pounds. I couldnt eat. I had a feeding tube for six months and everything tasted like you-know-what and smelled like you-know-what.

And it took months and months and months for me to finally be able to eat again and then taste properly again.

I was so afraid, but Felicity was very insistent, he said. I mean that she had to drag me, kicking and screaming, but now, I wouldnt be around if I hadnt done that [treatment].

He said: She was incredible. Still is incredible.

Blunt is the sister of Tuccis The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt.

Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt (Getty Images)

Tucci completed his treatment in 2018 and has been in remission since.

He is currently appearing in the Prime Video show Citadel, and is preparing for season three of his travel show Searching For Italy, a show exploring the countrys cuisine that he started making after he was able to enjoy food again.
Auditors in Oregon said the state needs to make legal and regulatory changes to its marijuana industry to better compete with other states in the event of a national legalization of the drug.

Oregon, which was one of the first states in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana in 1998 and recreational marijuana in 2014, has a stockpile of marijuana. If weed was legalized nationally, it would be in competition with other large-scale producers, like California and Colorado, for exports.

But a report by state auditors this month said the regulatory framework in the state, developed quickly by state lawmakers after voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana almost a decade ago, is catered too much to trying to ensure the federal government does not intervene and punish the state.

The auditors said the states rules for the industry, which produced $311 million in tax revenues between 2019 and 2021, provide unnecessary barriers for production.

The report said the regulations  like fining a marijuana licensee thousands of dollars if its security system fails; requiring cannabis companies to purchase land before being considered for a license; and spending as much as $100,000 a year for product tracking  can be costly for businesses. But the auditors argued that the risk of federal intervention in the state, while still present, is now considerably lower than in 2014. Yet the expensive regulations have remained in place.

Given federal regulations, marijuana businesses are also unable to use most banking services, meaning they must accept and use cash almost exclusively. The cash makes them a vulnerable target for criminals.

Along with considering changes to the regulations in the state, auditors said policymakers should consider stimulating growth in the industry by establishing grants, tax incentives and other financial advantages to creating a cannabis company.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Steve McFadden, right, sits with his lawyer Bill Kutmus during a hearing at the Polk County Criminal Court, Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Des Moines bar owner Steve McFadden apologized at his sentencing Monday for using a GPS tracking device to track a woman he said he loved and wanted to marry, telling a judge he realized it was selfish and wrong.

I mostly want to apologize to her, he said.

District Associate Judge Brendan Greiner gave McFadden probation as part of a plea agreement arranged between the Polk County attorneys office and McFaddens attorneys.

He received a suspended sentence of a year in jail on a charge pleaded down from stalking to the unauthorized use and placement of a GPS tracking device, as well as 30 days for third-degree harassment.

More: Des Moines bar owners Steve McFadden, Edwin Allen III plead guilty in GPS stalking case

McFadden could face up to 180 days in jail if he violates the terms of his one-year probation, which includes taking a seven-week, one-on-one intentional living class offered by the Iowa Department of Corrections. A restraining order will remain in effect for five years.

The harassment charge against McFadden, an owner in the Tipsy Crow and Grumpy Goat bars and Dough Mama's Pizzeria, involved the same woman. He admitted previously in court that after their breakup, he called her and made comments he described as "annoying."

McFadden, 53, has another hearing Friday in another case involving an ex-girlfriend. In that case, he and Victoria Davis violated a no-contact order he initiated after the two went to Florida together over the New Years holiday.

McFadden received a deferred judgment in a previous assault-causing-injury case in 2022 involving Davis, a former waitress at one of his bars that he dated for years.

In January 2022, McFadden took a plea deal in that felony case, allowing him to be convicted of misdemeanor assault causing injury. He was accused of beating and injuring Davis so badly she lost consciousness.

More: Woman allegedly beaten by bar owner describes going back to him, says it was a mistake

Story continues

On Monday afternoon, McFaddens friend Edwin Allen III, owner of Zora Bar and Rooftop, was also sentenced in connection with the stalking case, which he also pleaded down to a lesser charge under a plea agreement with prosecutors that also involved another outstanding harassment case.

In the stalking case, Allen was accused of tracking McFaddens ex-girlfriend to Paws and Pints, a dog park on the west side of Des Moines, while McFadden was in Florida. Allen received a conviction for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in an unrelated harassment case for using abusive and threatening language with the children of a tenant in a rental property he owns.

An earlier plea agreement was jeopardized after Des Moines police cited Allen for serving underage women at Zora while awaiting sentencing.

But Allens attorney, Nick Sarcone, said his client had no criminal record, that he had volunteered as treasurer for the Food Bank of Iowa, as well as Habitat for Humanity, and that a new plea was appropriate because Allens current cases were out of the ordinary for him.

Sarcone said Allen plans to move to Florida to move on with his life when the cases conclude.

However, Judge Greiner said he was disturbed by what Allen did to McFadden's victim by aiding and abetting him.

I think you can understand why the victim was bothered by what you did  and you told me what you did, Greiner said.

Greiner also said during the sentencing he heard Allen make offensive comments about ethnic minorities during a previous court hearing and that bothered me a great deal. Given the facts and circumstances of the harassment case, Greiner said, he didnt believe a fine alone was appropriate.

So he sentenced Allen to a 30-day suspended prison sentence as well as probation for a year in both cases. He also ordered Allen to partake in an assaultive behavior class and undergo a substance abuse evaluation. In addition, the judge prohibited Allen from being discharged from probation early and ordered him to pay a $605 fine in both cases.

If Allen violates the terms of his probation, he faces a maximum of 180 days in jail.

Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham said the victims interests were taken into account in both the plea agreements for McFadden and Allen. It is critical that we listen to victims when negotiating case outcomes, she said in a press release.

Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham

In McFaddens case, our office refused to agree to a deferred judgment. We also insisted that he admit guilt in placing and using the GPS device, rather than entering an Alford plea where he would not admit guilt yet still accept the plea agreement. He will now have a criminal record. It is critically important that this outcome extends the no-contact order for five years, Graham said in the press release.

This case highlights what modern stalking looks like in the technological age, and we encourage other victims to come forward. We will continue to fight for survivors of domestic violence and partner abuse, as well as for efforts to strengthen Iowas laws in this area. Under current law, we cant charge defendants for every instance in which they track a victim with a GPS device.

Graham said she was pleased the Iowa Senate and House passed Senate File 84, which includes increased penalties for stalking while utilizing a technological device. I also support House File 112, which allows prosecutors to look back more than 12 years when determining whether a domestic violence arrest is a second or subsequent offense, she said in the release.

Allen, who is also a landlord, still faces a civil lawsuit filed in February by a former tenant who said he demanded sex for a break on her rent.

Last week, he was sued in civil court by a former Zora employee who alleges he discriminated against her because she was Black and that his vision for Zora was to have white servers and customers.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8549, on Twitter at @leerood or on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Steve McFadden, Edwin Allen get probation in GPS tracking case
Two boaters were rescued from a marshy island in Virginia after they were stranded in poor weather, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The boaters were rescued on the same day a tornado devastated parts of the Virginia coast.

Rescuers got a call for help from the boaters on the afternoon of April 30, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.

A boat captain and his passenger were stuck on Mink Island, nearly two miles offshore  and the weather was worsening, the release said. The boaters were beached on the island due to deteriorating weather and couldnt get back out to the waters to return home, according to the Coast Guard.

Mink Island is a popular area for hikers, fishers and bird watchers, according to the Explore Our Seaside organization, which is partnered with the Virginia Department of Conservation. The island is speckled with marshes, channels, creeks and mudflats. Visiting remote parts of the island is only advised for the most experienced boaters or paddlers, the organization says.

Rescuers from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City helped hoist the stranded boaters out of the marshy island via helicopter and transported them to the Virginia sector of the Coast Guard, the release said. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, dozens of homes along the coast of Virginia Beach, which is within about 25 miles of Mink Island, were decimated by a tornado during the severe weather on April 30, the Virginia Beach government reported on its website.

A Virginia sector of the U.S. National Weather Service reported a slight risk for severe weather zone on April 29, which included Virginia Beach, Mink Island and other parts of southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina.

Among destroyed homes, Virginia Beach residents also reported gas leaks, downed trees and localized flooding, the Virginia Beach City Government shared on Facebook. The city manager declared a local state of emergency following the tornado.

In 2021, tornadoes killed more than 100 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hundreds more were injured.

Story continues

While tornadoes are always dangerous, experts say there are several things you can do to be more prepared:

Use a battery-operated TV, radio or other device to listen to weather information.

Have a plan for getting to a safe shelter.

Have an emergency kit prepared with water, nonperishable food and medication.

Keep a list of important information, including relevant phone numbers.

Tell your children what a tornado is and what to do if one strikes.

Once a tornado hits, experts say you should follow these steps to help you and family members stay safe:

Watch for a dark- or green-colored sky, a large, low-lying cloud, hail or a roar that sounds like a freight train.

Go to a basement or inside room without windows if possible.

Get under something sturdy and cover your body with a blanket.

Protect your head with anything available.

If you live in a mobile home, leave the home immediately and find a building.

If youre in a car, leave the car and head to the nearest building.

Policemans fiance drowns, devastating NC community. They both adored each other

Firefighters rescue unconscious swimmer from gorge  then hear more calls for help

High winds send 30-foot sailboat crashing into Florida bridge, where it sinks

Unexpected discovery of coral reef teeming with life reveals thriving ecosystems
Columbus police officers were fired upon Saturday night when responding to a report of a group of street racers on Indianola Avenue.

Columbus police officers who responded late Saturday to an area of Indianola Avenue where a large group of street racers had reportedly amassed quickly said they were shot at as the group broke up.

Dangerous driving: East Side man who crashed car into concrete wall on Columbus' South Side dies at hospital

By the time the officers arrived shortly after 11 p.m., the scene of the 4100 block of Indianola Avenue near Cooke Road had devolved into chaos, according to a media release from the Columbus Division of Police. Spectators had gathered in the middle of the road blocking traffic, and some of them were stopping and vandalizing passing vehicles, police said.

When officers exited their cruisers to settle things down, they said they heard several gunshots ringing out. And many of the gunshots were aimed in their direction, police said.

Operation Wheels Down: ATV riders say police, helicopter are daily presence amid crackdown

No one was injured, but the racers and spectators rapidly fled the scene before the officers could speak with anyone or make any arrests. It was unclear whether the gunfire came from one or multiple suspects, but police did report recovering bullet casings at the scene.

Columbus leaders have in the past taken action to crack down against street racers and those recklessly operating loud ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles on city streets.

Last year, City Council indicated it would consider an additional noise ordinance, and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein pledged to not accept plea bargains for cases where someone has been charged with recklessly driving an ATV, dirt bike or other similar vehicle not permitted on city streets. Columbus police, meanwhile, began recovering and impounding such vehicles through a targeted enforcement effort known as "Operation Wheels Down."

Anyone with information can call the Columbus Police Felony Assault Unit at 614-645-4141 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

Story continues

Eric Lagatta is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, with a focus on in-depth coverage of social justice issues and crime trends.

elagatta@dispatch.com

@EricLagatta

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Police: Street racers on Indianola Avenue shoot at officers
Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest types of brain cancer , with the average patient living only eight months after diagnosis, according to the National Brain Tumor Society, a nonprofit.

Two ambitious high school students  Andrea Olsen, 18, from Oslo, Norway, and Zachary Harpaz, 16, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida  are looking to change that.

The teens partnered with Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based medical technology company, to identify three new target genes linked to glioblastoma and aging.

They used Insilicos artificial intelligence platform, PandaOmics, to make the discovery  and now, they plan to continue researching ways to fight the disease with new drugs.

CHATGPT AND HEALTH CARE: COULD THE AI CHATBOT CHANGE THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE?

Their findings about target genes were published on April 26 in Aging, a peer-reviewed biomedical academic journal.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

A third high school student, Christopher Ren from Shanghai, China, also contributed to the research.

Olsen, who attends Sevenoaks School in the U.K. , has been studying neuroscience since 2020.

Two high-school students  Andrea Olsen, 18, from Oslo, Norway, and Zachary Harpaz, 16, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida  used Insilico Medicine's AI tech to identify genes linked to glioblastoma and aging.

She began an internship in 2021 with Insilico, where she learned to use AI to uncover new genetic targets to treat aging and cancer.

"It was there that I started this big investigation into glioblastoma and using AI to research it," she told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Meanwhile, at Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale, Harpaz  who had been focusing on computer science and biology  was looking to get into medical research.

He chose to study glioblastoma in part because a childhood friend of his had the disease.

CHATGPT FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS: CAN THE AI CHATBOT MAKE THE PROFESSIONALS' JOBS EASIER?

"I saw how long studies like these take  in the lab, target discoveries can take five years  and I thought to myself, 'There's definitely a way to use artificial intelligence to speed up the study and also make an impact as a high schooler,'" he told Fox News Digital.

Story continues

Harpaz came across Insilico Medicine and reached out to the CEO, Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, in Dubai  who connected him with Olsen.

The two students began collaborating on the glioblastoma project. Ultimately, they discovered the three new target brain tumor genes  CNGA3, GLUD1 and SIRT1.

The genes inside the brain tumors are called "targets," which are areas that the drugs would hone in on to stop the disease.

"Basically, a target is some driving factor for a cancer or a different disease, where if you can inhibit it or turn it on or off, you can stop the cancer growth and cure the disease," Harpaz explained.

AI AND HEART HEALTH: MACHINES DO A BETTER JOB OF READING ULTRASOUNDS THAN SONOGRAPHERS DO, SAYS STUDY

"Thats really awesome compared to a normal chemotherapy, where it attacks every fast-growing cell and is really damaging to other parts of the body other than the cancer."

Zach Harpaz, 16, presented his findings at the International Forum on Research Excellence (IFoRE) in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2022. The two teenagers plan to build on their findings with continued research into new drugs to fight glioblastoma.

The teens presented their findings at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) conference in Copenhagen last fall.

The students now plan to build on their findings with continued research into new drugs to fight the disease.

Zhavoronkov, Insilico Medicine's CEO, explained to Fox News Digital how the PandaOmics system uses generative AI to identify therapeutic targets associated with any given disease.

Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, the CEO of Insilico Medicine, helped to connect Olsen and Harpaz in their research.

"It finds these new disease targets by analyzing trillions of data points, including human biological data and data from scientific publications, clinical trials and grant applications," he said.

FLORIDA MEDICAL TECH COMPANY LAUNCHES NOVEL AI TEST FOR PROSTATE CANCER THERAPY

"It scores the targets on factors like novelty (how unique is it?), druggability (can it be easily drugged?) and safety  so scientists know immediately which targets are best to pursue."

Insilico has used the AI system to identify new targets for cancer, fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), among other diseases, Zhavoronkov said.

The company also has 31 AI-designed drugs in the pipeline, including one for COVID-19 and another for pulmonary fibrosis.

Andrea Olsen, 18, of Norway presented her work at the Aging Research & Drug Discovery Meeting in 2022 at the University of Copenhagen. Glioblastoma is one of the diseases for which researchers have the least amount of data, she said.

To find the new therapeutic targets, the students used Insilicos AI platform to screen data from the Gene Expression Omnibus, a repository of data that the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland, maintains.

"Its all about data," Harpaz told Fox News Digital. "And I think that's one of the most important uses for data  sharing diseases and making people's lives better."

Glioblastoma is one of the diseases for which researchers have the least amount of data, said Olsen.

"Thats why it's so hard to analyze and come up with new therapies," she said.

"Therefore, a really good call to action would be to get more patients to submit their medical information so that their genetic sequences can be analyzed to help prevent such diseases in the future."

Cancer disproportionately affects older people.

More than 50% of people who have cancer are 65 or older, according to data from the World Health Organization .

That link inspired Olsen and Harpaz to focus their efforts on target genes for both aging and glioblastoma.

Zach Harpaz, 16, from Florida presented his findings at the Aging Research & Drug Discovery Meeting in 2022 at the University of Copenhagen. "As you age, your risk for cancer grows, along with many different diseases," he told Fox News Digital about his work.

"Aging is the leading cause for tons of diseases like cancer," Harpaz said.

"As you age, your risk for cancer grows, along with many different diseases. So if we can figure out a way to prevent all the negative effects of aging and keep you in your prime as you age, that could prevent a lot of diseases and increase the quality of life in general."

Insilico founder Zhavoronkov said he is optimistic that AI can transform nearly every facet of health care and medicine.

That includes disease prediction, disease identification, target discovery and the development of new drugs, he said.

"In traditional drug discovery, it takes over 10 years and costs around $2 billion to bring one drug to market  and 90% of drug candidates fail during human trials," he told Fox News Digital.

"This high cost and slow speed is preventing new life-saving medications from reaching patients."

AI is already used to help screen patients to identify diseases, to make predictions and to monitor progress, the doctor said.

"Eventually, I expect AI to play a major role in advancing personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored to a specific patient based on their individual profile," he added.

Although he is optimistic about AIs potential to improve the speed and quality of health care, Zhavoronkov recognizes that technology cannot replace humans contributions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

"Even as AI can take on more tedious and repetitive work, allowing us to accelerate the pace of discovery, human scientists are essential," he told Fox News Digital.

Andrea Olsen, 18 (far right), attends The Longevity Forum at the University of Oxford in 2022.

"Humans are the real brains behind the machines."

He also said, "There is a lot of fear and speculation about AI and robots replacing humans, but in reality, humans are harnessing the power of technology to do specific tasks more quickly and efficiently, just as we always have."

"The only difference is that with AI, the level of complexity of the tasks it can accomplish has increased exponentially," said Zhavoronkov.
At least 100 students at Loyola University in New Orleans last week protested the firing of the director of its African and African American Studies program. The protests came after the universitys decision last fall not to renew the contract of assistant professor R. Scott Heath, a move many students and staff advocating for Heath call unjust.

This is a clear attack on DEI at Loyola, Carson Cruse, a sophomore and president of the universitys Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, said during the rally, using the abbreviation for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Students marched on campus to the administration building and protested for almost two hours, demanding that university officials reconsider dismissing Heath, a faculty member for four years and the English departments only Black professor. Students and other faculty members say Heaths dismissal puts the future of the Universitys Black studies program in doubt, because he is its sole faculty member.

Heath teaches about culture, music, literature, film and the African diaspora. Some of his courses include Octavia Butler Now! Reading Race, Gender and Critical Futures, Reading Black Public Culture, and American Playlist: Black Writing and Sound.

R. Scott Heath (Courtesy R. Scott Heath)

The administration confirmed last November that Heaths contract would not be renewed but did not give him a straight answer why, Heath told NBC News. One fellow professor said he was told that there were student complaints, but he said the details of those claims were not shared with him.

The university cannot comment on specific personnel matters, Rachel Hoorman, Loyolas vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement to NBC News. Each department is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations on their colleagues tenure and contract renewals.

Heath said he learned he lost his position with a 3-2 vote from within the English department. He suspects the decision was prompted by an emergency trip to North Carolina in September to coordinate the funeral of a lifelong friend, Brian Horton, a director of jazz studies at North Carolina Central University.

Story continues

Loyola University students protest outside the administration building in New Orleans. (Carson Cruse)

My friend, he had no immediate family, Heath said. His mother and father had passed years ago. His sister had passed years ago  and I was the closest person.

Heath said he immediately notified the English department and students of the situation and kept in touch with my students remotely while he was away. But while he was in North Carolina for 10 days, Heath said he missed the deadline to renew his contract, which he must do annually. The English department did offer Heath an extension but did not provide a new deadline. Heath said he tried submitting his materials to the department in October and January, but they just didnt respond, he said.

Heath learned his contract would not be renewed by the English department in late October. That decision was confirmed in early November in a letter sent from the dean, Maria Calzada. Heath said he believed it is possible that his dismissal was planned. Calzada did not provide a comment to NBC News, but pointed to the universitys statement from Hoorman.

This experience is just a reminder that there are a lot of institutional bodies that see Black people, Black faculty as disposable  replaceable, Heath said. Its one thing to be uncomfortable in a workspace. But there are some people who have gone to lengths to let me know that Im unwanted.

Loyola University students during a rally for Scott Heath. (Camilla Johnson)

One of the two professors who voted in Heaths favor is Mark Yakich, who has taught at Loyola for 16 years.

During the first faculty meeting the English department had about Heath last year, Yakich said the department chair, Timothy Welsh, wanted the group to submit a decision to the dean, despite not having Heaths contract renewal materials. The dean, Yakich said, called an informal formal meeting in March with Yakich and four other English professors and provided a list of things Heath had done or not done with respect to his job and performance. However, Yakich said he never saw the alleged complaints from students about Heaths teaching performance and that there was always some kind of excuse for why we couldnt see these things, Yakich said.

Welsh told NBC News that he could not comment on the matter beyond the statement Hoormann provided.

Sophomore sociology major Camilla Johnson took Heaths Reading Black Public Culture class while he taught remotely from North Carolina. Johnson, 20, said that during that period, Heath was on top of communicating with students about the lessons for each day.

I truly believe that he made the best possible decision as a professor as he could as someone in that situation, Johnson said.

Having witnessed Heaths passion for teaching, Yakich said he voted for his contract to be renewed and also signed the petition demanding that the university keep him on staff.

I want to support the students, too, and whats most beneficial for them, Yakich said. And him leaving doesnt seem like it.

Students like Crow Carson, a sophomore English major, soon learned that Heath did not have any classes scheduled for next semester. Carson said that when Heath confirmed he was let go, the news incited a lot of feelings in me, Carson, 21, said.

Carson, who is white and uses they/them pronouns, said they chose to attend Loyola because of its racially diverse student body, the opposite of what they experienced growing up in Connecticut. Heath is also the first Black teacher Carson has had.

He shouldnt be the only Black professor in the department to begin with, they said. He shouldnt be the only professor teaching African American studies. Him  getting fired is only, you know  its a symptom of a problem that has been ongoing at the school.

Loyola University students protest outside the administration building in New Orleans. (Carson Cruse)

Carson took several of Heaths classes, including one about Afrofuturism titled Hashtag Africa: Speculative Fictions of the #Black Diaspora.

Hes so passionate about teaching Black culture, Carson said. When you have a passionate professor, its so much easier to learn from them.

Hoormann said the universitys commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our faculty remains strong, and Loyola is conducting several searches with the goal of continuing to add to the diversity of the faculty and expanding the African and African American Studies program, starting in the fall of 2023.

Last week, Carson, Cruse, Johnson and other students signed an open letter calling for the university to reinstate Heath, which garnered over 600 signatures.

In an email sent to students on Friday morning, the universitys president, Justin Daffron, said that he is reviewing Heaths case, including interviewing all key leaders involved in making the current recommendation. He added that as part of that assessment, I am taking extensive steps and consulting with experts to ensure that we are acting in a manner that is true to our values and equity-minded.

Heath said he filed an appeal with the universitys conciliation committee to reverse the English departments decision. He said the experience has had a negative impact on both his mental and physical health, including his diabetes.

In all of this, Heath also said he has not had the opportunity to grieve the loss of his friend. I feel like it is an insult to my loss, he said. While he didnt tell his students to get involved in the situation, Heath said he appreciates them standing up for him. Theyre more fearless than I am.

Aside from his appreciation for his students, Heath said teaching Black studies is necessary, especially in a time when Black people are under attack across the nation.

Black studies are also not just for Black students, he added, but benefits all students who learn the history of Black people.

I dont think you can understand whats happening in the United States right now, or in the world, without understanding it through a Black lens, he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Succession

A photo from the production of episode 406 of Succession. Photo: David M. Russell/HBO 2022 HBO. All Rights Reserved. Credit - David M. RussellHBO

Spoiler alert: This article discusses in detail season 4, episode 6 of Succession.

With Logan dead and the Matsson deal all but signed, it looks as though the Roy children are just about ready to take their money and run from Waystar Royco, ATN, Sandy and Stewy, Jeryd Mencken, and all the other various ghouls who define their dads legacy. Just kidding! Of course theyre too damaged to simply golden-parachute into Pierce without seizing one more chance to prove they deserve a kiss from (the kilt-clad corpse that used to be) Daddy. In this episode of Succession, the opportunity is a product launch for a real-estate venture called Living+. Kendall introduces it to investors as physical social media in the real world, which sounds even worse than Shivs prison camps for grannies description; as far as I can tell, its The Villages curated by Fox News. In other words, its an abomination. Also, Matsson hates it.

Last week, the striking Viking maneuvered around CEBros Ken and Roman by treating each of them, and their sister, the same way Logan might have. This week, the particular ways in which the late patriarch messed up his kids sort of come back to bite Matsson. Sundays episode is actually titled Living+, but Freuds Revenge would be an equally apt title. Whether its in their actual romantic relationships or in front of a crowd of VIPs, each member of the Roy triumvirate gets to indulge their particular kink. Is this some heretofore unknown stage of grief?

Shiv loves power play

Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen in Succession season 4, episode 6 "Living+" Claudette BariusHBO

Why does Shiv make Matsson visit her on the tarmac instead of strolling over to his plane? For the same reason that Matsson made Shiv, her brothers, and the whole clown car of Waystar execs fly to Norway for negotiations a few days after Logans deathbecause it shows who has the upper hand. And now he has a favor to ask. He wants her to shut down the launch. Were buddies, he says, calling her my girl on the inside. Nothing could be less appealing to Shiv. She wants to be a co-conspirator, not a subordinate. She has to assert her power. The Living+ launch is on.

Story continues

After playing power bottom to a (fellow) billionaire, she finds herself sobbing on the shoulder of the man she used to dominate. (Saddest line of the episode: Sarah has sometimes found me somewhere that I can have a moment to cry.) Yes, Tom Wambsgans is back in the picture. And hes starting to realize that he has to show some backbone in order to keep Shiv interested. They go back and forth over who screwed up the other one more, but theres no question that in this marriage, she has historically been the aggressor. Tom surprises her, though, when she challenges him to biteya sort of lo-fi game of chicken in which the two players bite each others arms until one cries uncleand he chomps her flesh so hard she has to surrender. Shivs deliciously evil response: Tom Wambsgans finally made me feel something.

This is all foreplay, of course. After the sex comes another Wambsgans power move. When Shiv needles him about betraying her to Logan, he replies with one of his finest monologues to date. It seemed to me that I was going to be caught between you and your dad, Tom explains. And I really, really, really love my career and my money If you think thats shallow, why dont you throw out all your stuff for love? Throw out all your necklaces and jewels for a date at a three-star Italian, yeah? Come and live with me in a trailer park, yeah? Are you coming? Id follow you anywhere for love, Tom Wambsgans, she deadpans, and they both crack up because obviously shes no more idealistic than he isshes just never had to consider what it would be like to be anything but obscenely rich. Hes also communicating that, while he may care about Shiv more than she cares about him, theres no one Tom loves more than Tom.

We know hes succeeded when a metaphorical love triangle takes shape. Tom is the voyeur in the office when Shiv is playing hardball with Matsson on a video call. She even riffs out a scenario where theyre a throuple. By the end of the episode, husband and wife have negotiated a truce. It has to be strictly party and strategy, says Shiv. Tom: I cant help it if I find strategy sexy. That makes two of them. Maybe they are meant for each other.

Roman craves punishment

Annabeth Gish, left, and Kieran Culkin in Succession season 4, episode 6 "Living+" Claudette BariusHBO

Just like Ken and Shiv, Roman has a human side and a monstrous side. This season, hes often been a voice for sensitivity and compassion, at least when compared to the other vultures circling Logans grave. Hes the one mourning hardest after his fathers death; hes the only one who questions the Roys cruelty to Kerry and helps her pick up the contents of her spilled purse. But in Living+ hes like a 30-something Joffrey Baratheon. What happened?

Matsson broke him, I think. Its fascinating to see the way Roman, whos still anxious to tank the GoJo deal, mischaracterizes the Swedes behavior up on the ridge; if anyone had a meltdown, its him. Now hes lashing out in classic hurt people hurt people fashion. Studio head Joy gets the axe for questioning Waystars political stances; or for wanting to have a real conversation with her new boss instead of just obeying his order to get that hit pump pumping; or something. Then he knifes Gerri for pointing out what a terrible move that was andworse stillreminding him that hes no Logan. You are a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum, she warns Roman. You cannot win against the money. The money is gonna wash you away. Your dad knew. Tech is coming. We are over. This is a pretty shrewd analysis of the situation!

But Roman doesnt really want to make good decisions. He wants peopleand especially Gerri, whose air of buttoned-up authority hes always found attractiveto lavish him with their anger, just as his abusive father used to do. The same semi-conscious wish to be punished that made him send a lewd photo apparently meant for Gerri to Logan instead is driving this reign of terror. Are the writers laying it on a bit thick by closing out Romans arc this week with Ken sending him an edited-together video of their dad saying Im convinced that Roman Roy has a micro-dick and always gets it wrongand Roman playing it on repeat to self-soothe? Absolutely. But you know what, who cares? I chuckled.

Read More on Succession:

Kendall gets off on public humiliation

Jeremy Strong in Succession season 4, episode 6 "Living+" David M. RussellHBO

Consciously, Kendall strives to be seen as a thought leader, an innovator, a force to be reckoned withwhat Logan wouldve called a serious person. But on an unconscious level, he must seek out opportunities to make a fool out of himself in public; recall not just his infamous L to the OG rap, but also last seasons abortive late-night TV appearance and the absurd spectacle that was his 40th birthday party. As entertaining as Kens humiliations can be, theyre also tragic. This battle of id vs. ego has left him in some pretty dark places over the years.

The conflict reignites in this episode, as he seizes control of the product launch, demanding just a day before the event that his minions construct a Living+ home on the stage. Like Roman ordering Joy to keep the pump pumping, Ken has no idea what actually building something entails because hes never worked in anything less than a high-level supervisory role. So, when that plan fails and Roman bails on what was supposed to be their first CEBros presentation, he dons a sad custom bomber jacket tricked out with Waystar flair and does it himself.

Its a credit to Karolina that the launch goes surprisingly welland to Successions writers, who showed restraint in resisting the temptation to give us yet another Kendall Roy fiasco. Ken has managed to edit pre-existing footage of Logan into a posthumous video dad who says exactly what Ken wants to hear. He even deftly defuses a question about Matssons Living+/Holocaust tweet (one seemingly inspired by Shivs work camps crack). Its been so fun sharing this with you, he proclaims before heading offstage to be hailed as a hero by the Waystar inner circle.

Ken excels at playing the clown; he radiates cheesy sincerity. Its the one thing hes really good at, but it has nothing to do with the intelligence or dynamism or business prowess that are crucial to his self-image. Which is probably why, instead of celebrating, he ends up alone on a gray beach, drawing a 1 in the sand with his foot and swimming out into the waves. Weve seen him flirt with death by drowning more than once. We dont have to know the outcome of this particular incident to understand that what shouldve been a triumph has left him feeling as low as ever.
Tucker Carlson trashing Fox News streaming platform, Fox Nation, in a leaked video obtained by Media Matters (screengrab/Media Matters)

Tucker Carlson reportedly based Fox News digital streaming platform, Fox Nation, prior to his firing, according to a recent report.

A video has emerged of Carlson complaining about the unbelievable failings of the streaming platform around the time the network was holding water for alleged sex trafficker and social media influencer Andrew Tate.

Carlson said that nobody watches Fox Nation because the site sucks, and frequently doesnt work, Media Matters reports.

He said the site was a betrayal of our efforts and that he would rather just post his content to YouTube.

In the video, Carlson is speaking on the phone while on the set of his Tucker Carlson Today streaming show. He tells the individual on the other end of the call that he is about to be acting as a representative of the American media now, speaking to an exile in Romania and welcoming him back into the brotherhood of journalists, referring to Tate.

Carlson is reportedly asked to wear a suit because his interview subject, Tate, was panicking about having to wear a suit. Carlson reportedly bristles at the idea, saying he wants the interview to look official and not like bro talk.
(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images)

House Republicans slam Democrats for "shamelessly lying" that GOP-led debt limit bill would include cuts to veterans' benefits.

Republicans slam Democrats for "shamelessly lying" about veterans benefits cuts

The GOP-led bill seeks to cut spending across the federal government

Democrats and the Department of Veterans Affairs claim the bill would result in a 22% cut to the VA's budget

House Republicans slammed Democrats over the latter's alleged lie about the scope of the GOP's debt limit bill, including a cut to veterans' benefits.

Senate Democrats and the White House have argued that the GOP-led bill is a non-starter because it cuts budgets across the federal government. The bill would return non-defense spending to 2022 levels.

House GOP Clash with Dems Over Debt Limit Bill

However, Democratic lawmakers and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said this would result in a 22% cut to the VA's budget. This claim comes as the Republican legislation does not specify any targeted spending cuts to the VA or its program. It also provides no safeguard to ensure that the bill would not affect the agency's budget, per the Washington Times.

In a statement on Sunday, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said that United States President Joe Biden and other Democratic lawmakers were now desperate. She argued that this covered the president's "weakness and absolute failure on the debt ceiling negotiations."

Stefanik said that Biden and his Democratic allies were now "shamelessly lying" about veterans' benefits and were politicizing the VA. Illinois Republican and House Committee on Veterans' Affairs chairman, Rep. Mike Bost, reassured citizens that the GOP-led bill would not affect the VA.

He said that no veteran would lose their benefits, arguing that these benefits are owed to them. Boat added that in his nine years as a member of Congress, this was the first time an agency that is so vital to so many people was used as a political weapon to deliver a false message.

Read Also: White House Correspondents' Dinner: Biden Throws Jabs at GOP Candidates

A Cut to Veterans' Benefits?

Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia also suggested that House Republicans should investigate the VA for violating federal false statements statutes. Furthermore, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland suggested that they should cut funds for the VA's communications department, according to The Hill.

Bost spoke with VA Secretary Denis McDonough on Sunday morning, expressing his frustrations regarding the issue. He noted that he wanted to calm down before talking to the official, who he believes only took orders from his boss.

House Republicans are hoping that their debt limit and spending cut bill passed last week would force Biden to agree to begin negotiations. It includes only allowing for 1% annual growth for discretionary spending limits.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the passage of the bill in the House would force Biden to negotiate, or only the GOP would have made any attempt to raise the debt limit. Discretionary spending would include weapons programs, servicemember pay, school grants, rental assistance, and funds for research on cancer and other life-threatening diseases, said the Associated Press.

Related Article: Republicans Override Kansas Governor to Pass Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill

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Black smoke rises over Khartoum in this image from AFPTV video on April 28, 2023

Fierce fighting broke out again Monday between Sudan's army and paramilitaries despite the formal extension of a truce, after the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation reached "breaking point".

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.

"Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it," said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing "loud gunfire" in the area.

Burhan and Daglo have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Millions of Sudanese are trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, humanitarian facilities have been looted, and foreign aid groups have been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said Sunday he was heading to the region to help "bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said. "Goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum."

"The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas."

- 50,000 flee overland -

Some 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, said the UN refugee agency.

Story continues

The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching frantic evacuations by land, sea, and air.

Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

The RSF had warned police against joining the fight.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

- UN facilities looted -

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 people wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has also spread across Sudan, especially in the long-troubled Darfur region, where witnesses reported intense conflict and looting.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organisation, with many facilities shelled.

On Sunday, a first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting and has served as an evacuation hub.

The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the "situation in Sudan".

bur/fz/hkb
A schoolgirl from Ballymena whose father is in Sudan has described it as a "terrifying time" for her family.

Hamza Edris, who is an Irish citizen, was visiting the country following the death of a family member when the fighting broke out.

His daughter, Rayann Edris, said Mr Edris is eligible to be evacuated but he did not want to leave his relatives.

Fighting in the African country broke out on 15 April amid a power struggle between rival generals.

More than 500 deaths have been reported so far in the fighting but the true number of casualties is believed to be much higher.

Millions remain trapped in country's capital, Khartoum.

Ms Edris, 17, told Good Morning Ulster: "He lives here in Ballymena but he left recently for my grandmother's funeral.

Rayann Edris says she has not spoken to her father for a week

"My aunt was my grandmother's primary carer, but after her death my dad couldn't leave my aunt unsupported."

Mr Edris was due to come back for Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, the holy month in the Muslim calendar.

Khartoum on Sunday: Shelling continues and normal life has collapsed

Ms Edris was able to make daily contact with her father when the conflict first started but communication has become increasingly difficult and she hasn't heard from him for a week.

"This is a terrifying time. We're all terrified, we're extremely worried for him. We've really been on edge," she said.

"Every phone call that goes off is terrifying. Just the other day in school I got called out of class for good news; I was told I was a senior prefect.

"But as soon as my name was called I thought it was bad news. I thought they were coming to tell me that something happened to him. I'm extremely on edge."

Ms Edris said she is also fearful for other family members within the country.

She added: "My dad is a brave man, he is staying there by choice, but just hearing his voice would break your heart."

Story continues

Ms Edris urged the international community to "show the same empathy" that has been expressed for those in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Some 1,888 British nationals have been rescued from Sudan, the government said

Thousands of people, including foreigners in the country, are attempting to flee the country.

The UK and other countries have been facilitating evacuation flights for eligible citizens during a temporary ceasefire.

The majority of the 209 Irish people evacuated from the country were carried on UK flights via Cyprus.
With temperatures soaring to more than 40C at this time of the year, I normally sleep outside in my garden, but I am too scared to do that now, as fighter jets roar over my home in Sudan's Omdurman city - despite the latest ceasefire.

I live with my mother and siblings in the centre of Omdurman, just over the River Nile from the capital, Khartoum.

The fighter jets are a constant reminder that Sudan is now in a state of war. I cannot get used to their terrifying sound.

The fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is all around us - to our north, south, east and west.

It came close to our home on Monday afternoon, when a bullet ripped through the roof of my neighbour's house, hitting her leg while she was asleep. Fortunately, she was not seriously wounded.

We heard loud noises - boom, boom, boom - a short while earlier. We think it was anti-artillery fire, but are not sure. We hid in our homes, as it is too dangerous to even look out of our windows.

From morning to evening, ceasefire or no ceasefire, fighter jets fly past our neighbourhood, coming from the same military airport from where foreign nationals have been evacuated, and heading towards Khartoum to strike at positions of the RSF.

From all the reports I have received, most of Khartoum is controlled by RSF fighters, with hardly any army soldiers - or police officers - on the streets.

The RSF fires anti-aircraft artillery to try and bring down the fighter jets, but I am not aware of any aircraft that has been shot down.

Three days ago, some of the projectiles landed in an open field in my neighbourhood. Luckily, they missed a nearby mosque and homes.

The RSF has its origins in the war that broke out in Darfur two decades ago, and is made up of the Janjaweed militiamen who helped the government crush a rebellion there.

It had around 20,000 men before the fall of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019, but has since turned into a force with an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 fighters.

Story continues

It built a strong presence in cities and towns across Sudan, but many of its fighters have now been deployed to Khartoum as RSF commander Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, fights army commander Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for power.

The city is dotted with checkpoints, manned by RSF fighters in pick-up trucks.

Hamid Khalafallah, from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told the BBC's Newsday programme that people risk their lives every time they have to negotiate their way past.

"It's basically a gamble. Sometimes they let you through, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they shoot at you, sometimes they steal your things and it's very random," he said.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Sudan following the outbreak of conflict more than two weeks ago

The fighting has been most intense around the international airport, presidential palace, and the military headquarters.

All my friends who lived in these areas have fled - some of them making a long and arduous road journey to Egypt, not lucky enough to be evacuated, like foreign nationals, in specially chartered planes.

I have decided to stay, as my neighbourhood is one of the safest, but I do not know for how long.

A relative of mine, in her early 30s, has died of dengue fever. She was supposed to have got married this month, but died because she could not get treatment as hospitals were either shut or treating only those with gunshot wounds.

The Omdurman Teaching Hospital is one of the biggest in Sudan, but it is operating at minimal capacity.

Many doctors are unable to get to the hospital, as it is too dangerous for them to travel.

Along with the breakdown in health services, there is a water and electricity crisis.

Some residents have not had water in their homes since fighting broke out on 15 April, forcing them to rely on the wells of neighbours for their supply.

We are all hoping that the war ends soon, but our biggest fear is that former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok could be proven right, with Sudan descending into a civil war worse than those in Syria and Libya.
(This May 1 story has been refiled to fix a typographical error in paragraph 17)

By Maggie Michael

ARQEEN, Egypt (Reuters) - Eight months pregnant, Malaz Omar left behind everything to flee with her husband, two toddlers and an elderly aunt from the fighting that has swept across Sudan's capital for more than two weeks.

By the time the 34-year-old arrived in Egypt she hadn't eaten or showered for four days, passing through the Qustul border crossing where people slept on the ground and had nothing to cover their heads from the scorching sun.

Her plight reflects that of thousands of others who have paid high prices to journey north to Egypt on buses and trucks, only to get stuck at crossings for days.

"We just took pain killers on an empty stomach," said Omar as she ate fried fish at a restaurant in Abu Simbel, just north of the border. "It was very difficult. Our country has been destroyed but we will go back and rebuild it."

The fighting that erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has brought air strikes and artillery battles to Khartoum and its adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri, emptying the streets of civilian life.

"This war hit the centre and the heart of the country," said Mohamed al-Noaman Ahmed, a 46-year-old Sudanese merchant who was at Egypt's border when he heard that fighting had broken out on April 15. He raced to Khartoum to pick up his mother, wife and four children and bring them to the border. "All security collapsed," he said, speaking near Qustul where he had crossed after returning to pick up an uncle with cancer.

Some in Khartoum fear leaving their homes or possessions unprotected or attempting a gruelling journey with sick or elderly relatives.

Those who depart have sought safety in regions of Sudan outside the capital or headed for Sudan's western, southern and northern borders. Some have left by boat from Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia.

Story continues

Egypt said on Monday that 40,000 Sudanese had crossed its border, and the United Nations warned that more than 800,000 may flee Sudan, which has a population of 46 million, if fighting continues.

'MERCHANTS OF WAR'

As numbers surged and fuel became scarce, prices of buses to Egypt rose to about $500 per person.

Those who can afford the trip are relatively wealthy, but many arrive through the Arqeen and Qustul crossings either side of Lake Nasser in a reduced state.

"There are merchants of the war who exploit the crisis to make profit," said Leem al-Sheikh, a 23-year-old dentist who took nearly a week to reach Abu Simbel from Omdurman.

"We are privileged," she added. "There are many who couldn't afford to flee the war."

One group of female and elderly relatives with children could be seen emerging onto Egyptian territory at Arqeen with faces and clothes covered with dust, dragging trolleys piled with bags before they boarded a bus for Cairo.

Since adult males need visas to enter Egypt, men generally lag behind. Many wait in Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan to apply for visas.

Some have complained of a lack of food, water, shelter and washrooms at the crossings. They say they have slept on buses or rubbish strewn roads, or inside a sealed zone between the two border posts.

'VERY DIRE'

Farid Mahgoub Taha, a 77-year-old who fled from Khartoum, said he had found a "very dire" situation at Arqeen, though services were better on the Egyptian side.

"It was not suitable for humans, not even animals," he said.

Sheikh said that people were subjected to lengthy and aggressive questioning by Egyptian officials.

"They are humiliating us. They yell and say if you don't wait, we will send you away," she said.

An Egyptian border guard said staff were working around the clock to deal with the influx. Egypt's Foreign Ministry said authorities were providing relief and emergency services at the crossings and trying to speed up entry procedures by reinforcing border staff.

One Khartoum resident who gave only his first name, Khaled, said he had decided to stay in the capital because he was worried about how his ailing grandmother and a sister who sometimes has seizures would cope, as well as the cost of the journey.

"I've seen a few fellow friends of mine who have already travelled. They're still in the border, stuck in the streets," he told Reuters on a video call. "I can't put my family through that."

(Reporting by Maggie Michael and Sayed Shesha in Arqeen; additional reporting by Eleanor Whalley; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a case which could see an end to Chevron deference, in which courts defer to a federal agencys interpretation of an ambiguous statute.

The Court limited its grant of certiorari to the second question presented  namely, whether the Court should overrule Chevron or at least clarify that statutory silence concerning controversial powers expressly but narrowly granted elsewhere in the statute does not constitute an ambiguity requiring deference to the agency.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recused herself because she heard arguments in this case when she was on the D.C. Circuit. Jackson did not participate in that courts final opinion, being replaced by Judge Sri Srinivasan after President Joe Biden nominated her to fill Justice Stephen Breyers seat.

The case involves Loper Bright Enterprises, a familyowned herring fishing company that operates in New England waters. A National Marine Fisheries Service regulation requires that herring fishing boats allow an additional person on board to serve as a monitor, tracking compliance with federal regulations. The monitors salary must be paid by the fishing company being monitored, reducing fishing profits in a business where margins are tight.

Loper Bright Enterprises and other fishing companies sued to challenge the rule, saying the Magnuson-Stevens Act doesnt mention payment of the monitor, but the district court ruled against the industry.

A divided panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the agency had appropriately interpreted the statute, deferring under the Chevron framework.

Judge Justin Walker dissented, arguing Congress did notauthorize the National Marine Fisheries Service to make herring fishermen in the Atlantic pay the wages of federal monitors.

The Biden administration had urged the Supreme Court not to take up the case in an amicus brief, arguing it is an unsuitable vehicle in which to modify or overrule Chevron.

Story continues

The plaintiffs and their legal representatives celebrated the Supreme Courts move.

The Supreme Court has an opportunity to correct one of the most consequential judicial errors in a generation. Chevron deference has proven corrosive to the American system of checks and balances and directly contributed to an unaccountable executive branch, overbearing bureaucracy, and runaway regulation, Cause of Action Institute counsel Ryan Mulvey said in a statement obtained by National Review. Counsel of record Paul Clement concurred and said: We look forward to our day in court.

Bill Bright, a New Jersey fisherman and plaintiff in this case, explained that the justices hold his way of life in their hands.

We hope they will keep our families and our community in mind as they weigh their decision, Bright said in a statement to National Review.

After examining over 140 recent appellate cases, the Cato Institute, which filed an amicus brief in this case, concluded that courts of appeals still defer under Chevron with regularity, despite the Supreme Courts increasing reluctance to invoke the doctrine.

Chevron will not fade away completely until the Supreme Court overrules it, the group added.

More from National Review
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider overturning a nearly 40-year precedent by taking up a challenge to a regulation affecting fishing vessels in a case that is the latest conservative-led attack on federal bureaucracy.

The court will weigh whether to overturn a much-cited 1984 ruling, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which said courts should defer to federal agencies in interpreting the law when the language of a statute is ambiguous.

Attempts to overturn the ruling, which the court has rarely invoked in recent years, is just one avenue of attack by conservative groups and business interests as part of what has been dubbed the war on the administrative state.

"The Supreme Court has an opportunity to correct one of the most consequential judicial errors in a generation," said Ryan Mulvey, a lawyer at the Cause of Action Institute, a conservative group that represents the challengers. The Chevron ruling "has proven corrosive to the American system of checks and balances and directly contributed to an unaccountable executive branch."

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is skeptical of broad assertions of federal agency power.

The case itself is a challenge to a government regulation that requires fishing vessels to help fund the collection of scientific data to assist with fishery conservation and management. The court could still rule in favor of the challengers by limiting the scope of the Chevron decision without overturning it entirely.

The court took up an appeal brought by Loper Bright Enterprises and several other operators of fishing vessels that are active in the herring fishery off the Atlantic coast, which challenged the 2020 rule applying to New England fisheries.

The challengers say the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal body that oversees ocean resources, did not have authority to issue the regulation under the relevant law, the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Story continues

The rule implements a monitoring program that vessel operators are required to fund. As the challengers put it, operators have to pay up to $710 a day at certain times for independent observers to board their vessels and monitor their operations. The cost is a significant burden on small owner-operators, the challengers say.

The case, backed by conservative groups, is the latest attempt to undermine the power of federal agencies. Lawyers for the fishing vessel operators say a lower court that upheld the rule gave too much deference to the federal agency in interpreting the 1976 law.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the vessel operators' claims in a decision in August, upholding a similar ruling a federal district judge issued the previous year.

The brief Supreme Court order noted that liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is not participating in the case. She was originally part of the appeals court panel that decided the case before President Joe Biden appointed her to the high court. She heard oral arguments but was not involved in the ruling itself.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Supreme Court is facing the most public scrutiny it has seen in decades, following revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas hid lavish gifts he received from a billionaire conservative donor  revelations that in turn have snowballed into stories about other justices ethically dubious financial arrangements.

In response, Democrats in Congress, led by Senate judiciary committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), have sent letters to Chief Justice John Roberts politely requesting that he appear before a committee (or send another justice in his stead), and asked for answers on a range of ethics-related questions. Roberts has largely rebuffed Congress with separation-of-powers claims, saying the court will continue to police itself.

Late Monday afternoon, Roberts provided a brief reply to questions Durbin posed about the courts lack of a binding ethics code after the chief justice refused to testify.

A Senate judiciary committee hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform is set for Tuesday. But it will be only the second hearing Congress has held over the past two years on the subject, even as a steady flood of corruption scandals and ethical lapses have emerged from the court.

The slow movement by Democrats on Capitol Hill raises questions about whether they actually want to challenge the courts power grabs and ethical failures, even as public opinion on the court and its decisions plummets.

The Senate Judiciary Committees scheduled hearing is a step in this direction, but we need to see more consistent oversight and strong action to [rein] in the Courts emperor has no clothes approach to ethics and address the Courts legitimacy crisis, Russ Feingold, president of the American Constitution Society and a former Democratic senator from Wisconsin who served on the judiciary committee, said in a statement to HuffPost.

Chief Justice John Roberts (at right) declined to testify to the Senate judiciary committee after reports revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas (left) failed to report gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow.

Chief Justice John Roberts (at right) declined to testify to the Senate judiciary committee after reports revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas (left) failed to report gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow.

Story continues

There is a lot that Congress could investigate. Over the past two decades, Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of luxury gifts from the billionaire conservative donor Harlan Crow. Thomas also failed to disclose his sale of a property to Crow, who has helped fund efforts to push the court to the right. Justice Neil Gorsuch, meanwhile, failed to report that the head of a major law firm with business before the court purchased more than $1 million in property from him.

These disclosure failures follow the May 2022 leak of Justice Samuel Alitos decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization that ended womens federal right to an abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade. Roberts ordered an internal investigation, which failed to find the leaker. A final report revealed that the investigation only lightly probed the justices about their possible role and did not make them sign sworn affidavits like all other staffers.

Later, Rev. Rob Schenck, a former evangelical leader who ran a lobbying campaign to influence the court to overturn Roe, alleged that Alito previously leaked his 2014 Hobby Lobby decision to a supporter.

The House judiciary committee held one hearing featuring Schencks testimony in 2022, before Democrats handed the gavel to Republicans. The Senate judiciary committee is set to hold a hearing on the courts ethics on Tuesday. Durbin has also exchanged letters with Roberts, as has Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chair of the judiciary subcommittee that covers the courts.

They need to investigate Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow and all the related corruption, Sarah Lipton-Lubet, president of the Take Back the Court Action Fund, said. They need to pass ethics legislation that will mean for the first time the Supreme Court has an actual binding code of ethics.

As with a lot of issues in the Democratic Party at the moment, Democrats in Congress may be kicking the wheels here in part because of the partys generational divide.

Older and long-serving Democratic elected officials came of age in the warm afterglow of the Warren Court, a rare period when the court expanded rather than restricted rights, and who thus cling to the outdated view of the Supreme Court as a force for good, Harvard Law School Professor Maya Sen theorized after Roberts declined Durbins invite to testify.

This attitude could impede an actual investigation into the court, as older Democrats still believe that the courts legitimacy is owed, not earned.

Senate judiciary committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has taken a go-slow approach to oversight of the Supreme Court.

Senate judiciary committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has taken a go-slow approach to oversight of the Supreme Court.

Old habits die hard, Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice, a progressive legal group, said. Theres still an instinctive urge among Democrats of a certain age to defend even a broken institution because of the lessons they learned in fifth grade civics class.

There is also a pervasive cynicism that afflicts many long-serving lawmakers who come to believe that its not worth the effort to use their power to force legislative or interbranch fights, Fallon said.

Just look at how Democrats have handled the situation of judiciary committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been absent from the Senate since February due to illness and age. Durbin asked Republicans to show a little kindness and allow Democrats to replace her on the panel. But Republicans refused to support a new organizing resolution to switch Feinstein out on the committee, because that would help Democrats confirm more judges.

The reaction to the aftermath of the Republicans predictably blocking it is like, Well, we tried, Fallon said.

This doesnt mean the investigation into the courts ethical morass wont be serious, even if Democrats cant pass legislation to require the court to adopt a code of conduct. There is increased support from judiciary committee members, including Whitehouse and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), to fully investigate the court. The court should consider subpoenas for not only Thomas and Roberts, but also Crow, Blumenthal told MSNBC last week.

A charitable explanation for Durbins slow-walking and deference to the court is that he would like to lay a marker down that he gave Roberts repeated opportunities to clean up his own house and hes sort of reluctantly being pressed into conducting his own investigation because the judicial branch wont tend to its own affairs, Fallon said.

Instead of declining to call Clarence Thomas to testify because you think he wont comply, call him to testify, Lipton-Lubet said. Let him refuse. Let the people see that. Doing that can illustrate the problem better than half a dozen sternly worded statements.

But if the committees efforts turn into a box-checking exercise that just looks to toss the hot potato into Roberts lap, Fallon says, that would be a failure.



Related...
A legal doctrine long despised by conservatives for giving federal regulators wide-ranging power is making yet another march to the gallows at the Supreme Court.

The high court announced Monday that it is taking up a case squarely aimed at killing off the nearly-four-decade-old precedent that has come to be known as Chevron deference: the principle that courts should defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous provisions in congressional statutes and judges should refrain from crafting their own reading of the laws.

Overturning the doctrine would have major implications for the Biden administrations climate agenda. It would complicate the administrations efforts to tackle major issues such as climate change via regulation, including possibly derailing the Environmental Protection Agencys push to mitigate carbon emissions from the electricity and transportation sectors  the two highest polluting industries in the United States.

The Supreme Courts move is another signal that the courts conservatives have not tired in their efforts to weaken the administrative state. The top target is the case that played a pivotal role in expanding the powers of federal agencies after it was handed down in 1984: Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Chevron doctrine has been in a coma for a while, so well see whether they want to revive it or take it off life support, said David Doniger, who in 1984 argued that case before the Supreme Court for the NRDC.

The NRDC technically lost that case when the Supreme Court upheld a Reagan administration pollution rule as a reasonable interpretation of the law.

But over the subsequent decades, the Chevron doctrine became a central pillar of administrative law and a key part of the legal defense for any number of environmental and other rules by both Democratic and Republican administrations. Although agencies did not win all the time, studies have shown more often than not the courts used it to uphold regulations.

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This would have the potential of being one of the most destabilizing decisions that this court has issued, if it chooses to go there, said James Goodwin, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform.

The challenge the justices just agreed to take up involves the power of a Commerce Department unit to require herring fishing operations to pay for federal monitors on their boats.

In announcing its decision to review the case, the court excised the question of what powers Congress gave the Commerce Department to regulate fisheries. That leaves the potential demise of Chevron deference as the only issue to be briefed and argued in the case, known as Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

In recent years, the high court has taken up a series of cases that seemed to spell doom for Chevron deference, but has stepped back from the brink each time. However, most of the cases managed to brush back the regulators by rejecting their legal interpretations.

Last June, for instance, the court decided a case involving Medicare reimbursements in which some conservatives and business groups had urged the justices to overturn Chevron. In a narrow and unanimous opinion, the court ruled against the Medicares managers  but without even mentioning Chevron.

The Supreme Courts decision to hear the fishing case, which is likely to be argued this fall or winter with a decision in the first half of 2024, indicates that at least four justices wanted to grant review  and that those who want to overturn Chevron feel they may now have five votes to do so.

Several justices have railed against Chevron in recent years, sometimes openly bridling at their colleagues unwillingness to deliver the coup de grace and overturn the case that critics say displaces judges from their usual role of determining what the law means.

Just last fall, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the court had flinched too many times.

At this late hour, the whole project deserves a tombstone no one can miss, he wrote as the court passed up a Chevron-related case in November. We should acknowledge forthrightly that Chevron did not undo, and could not have undone, the judicial duty to provide an independent judgment of the laws meaning in the cases that come before the Nations courts.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in 2020 that Chevron is in serious tension with the Constitution, repudiating one of his own majority opinions from 2005 concluding that the Federal Communications Commission could invoke Chevron deference to justify decisions regulating internet services.

The new case on regulators powers will also test the high courts continuing willingness to overturn longstanding precedents rather than quietly whittle away at them. Last June, the court took the momentous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on a 5-4 vote, unleashing a wave of criticism that the justices were disrespecting the legal principle that precedents should only be reversed under extraordinary circumstances.

The Supreme Court in recent years has moved away from Chevron, the Cato Institute noted in a survey of recent rulings it described in a "friend of the court" brief urging the justices to overturn Chevron.

In the past six years, agencies lost 70 percent of Supreme Court cases that addressed Chevron, Cato found. Instead, the high court increasingly "has been applying the rules of statutory interpretation even more closely," Cato wrote. That includes last year's ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, which strengthened and for the first time named the "major questions" doctrine as a way to strike down regulations.

The lower courts, however, continue to apply Chevron since it is still Supreme Court precedent. In 2020 and 2021, Cato found 142 rulings involving Chevron. Agencies won almost 60 percent of the time in those cases, Cato said.

Some judges have already found ways to reach outcome-oriented decisions, argued CPRs Goodwin. Releasing the lower courts from having to apply Chevron could accelerate that trend.

I think it does free up activist judges to base their review of regulations upon their policy preferences, Goodwin said.

Undoing the Chevron doctrine would also throw a wrench into Congress legislative agenda. In recent decades, lawmakers have increasingly chosen to draft broad guidelines and delegate the technical details to the agencies. Supporters of Chevron deference say its appropriate to give agency experts breathing space to craft granular policies to respond to problems that Congress might not anticipate or fully understand. Critics contend that shifting so much policymaking power to bureaucrats violates the separation of powers.

In many instances, gridlock has left Congress unable to pass anything at all, leaving aggressive interpretations of decades-old statutes as the only vehicle for presidents and agencies eager to take action.

Climate change is one major area where that approach has been brought to bear. Although Democrats passed major clean energy investments in recent years, Congress has been unable to agree on almost any significant new regulatory power for EPA on climate change.

That has left the agency to try to craft sweeping regulations on greenhouse gases. EPA recently proposed a rule for cars and trucks that would require two-thirds of new vehicles be electric in 2032, and in the coming weeks is expected to float a new regulation for power plants.

The Biden administration is trying to craft those rules carefully to avoid another loss under the major questions doctrine. But undoing Chevron doctrine could also make justifying powerful climate regulations under old laws more difficult.

Biden's environmental and energy agencies were already facing a heavily tilted playing field in the federal judiciary, Goodwin said. I think eliminating Chevron, like officially eliminating Chevron, would make the prospects of surviving judicial review all the more daunting.

Much will depend on whether the Supreme Court gives the lower courts any new guidance on deference, Goodwin noted. One silver lining for proponents of climate rules: The Clean Air Act requires lawsuits over most air regulations to go straight to the D.C. Circuit, preventing the Biden administrations foes from easily seeking a more favorable venue before other courts.

"We are delighted that the Court took this case not only to potentially deliver justice to these fishermen, but also to reconsider a doctrine that has enabled the widespread expansion of unchecked executive authority," said Paul Clement, the former solicitor general and Supreme Court advocate representing the challengers.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who led a coalition of red states in urging the Supreme Court to take the case, called it "an important extension" of his victory last year in the EPA climate case.

"Congress should pass laws, judges should construe them, and unelected bureaucrats should stick to their job of just implementing those lawsnot rewriting them," Morrisey said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department, which had urged the justices not to take up the fishing case, declined to comment Monday on the high courts move.

One member of the court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, has already heard arguments in the fisheries dispute. In her former role as a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge, she was on the panel that initially considered an appeal in the case last year. Jackson has recused herself from the Supreme Court appeal.

Jackson was replaced on the appeals panel following her elevation to the Supreme Court last June. The D.C. Circuit ruled last summer, 2-1, that Chevron applied and the National Marine Fisheries Services conclusion that it had the power to require industry-paid monitors on fishing boats was reasonable. The dissenting judge said it was clear that Congress never authorized such a requirement.


Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., at a demonstration calling for the impeachment of Justice Clarence Thomas, July 28, 2022. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

A series of revelations about alleged ethical conflicts is raising questions about the credibility and independence of the United States Supreme Court.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative, lamented what he believes are unfair attacks on the court and a lack of defense from other legal elites.

We are being hammered daily, and I think quite unfairly in a lot of instances, Alito said. And nobody, practically nobody, is defending us. The idea has always been that judges are not supposed to respond to criticisms, but if the courts are being unfairly attacked, the organized bar will come to their defense.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who has been critical of the courts rightward shift for years, is pushing his proposed Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act in response to the recent stories. The legislation would require the court to adopt more rigorous disclosure rules in line with those required of members of Congress.

In a statement to Yahoo News on Monday, Whitehouse said, Im not surprised that a hard look at the court has revealed a torrent of ethical lapses by the justices.

A noxious cocktail of creepy rightwing billionaires, phony front groups, amenable justices, large sums of money, and secrecy has been brewing at the Supreme Court for years now, Whitehouse continued. To repair the American publics trust in our highest court, the justices need to implement a transparent and enforceable process for investigating misconduct. If the court wont act, Congress must, and passing my SCERT Act would be the right place to start.

Heres a roundup of the recent reporting on the court.

Luxury vacations and real estate deals

Thomas, left, with Chief Justice John Roberts in October 2022. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The most high-profile example of alleged Supreme Court impropriety involves Justice Clarence Thomas, whose ties to conservative billionaire Harlan Crow were revealed in a series of reports last month. First, ProPublica reported that Crow took Thomas on luxury vacations, then revealed that Crow had bought property from Thomas in deals the justice did not disclose. Days later, the Washington Post reported that Thomas had been claiming income from a real estate firm that hasnt existed since 2006. Additionally, Thomass wife, Ginni, was an active participant in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, including attending the Stop the Steal rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

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Last week, Politico reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch had sold a property nine days after being confirmed to the Supreme Court to the head of a law firm with business before the high court, but failed to report that fact on disclosure forms.

Gorsuch reported between $250,000 and $500,000 of income on a property he co-owned that was sold to Bryan Duffy, the CEO of multinational law firm Greenberg Traurig. Since being appointed to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch has heard more than 20 cases argued by lawyers with Greenberg Traurig, Politico reported. Of those for which his opinion was recorded, Gorsuch has sided with the firm eight times and gone against it four.

Successful people have successful friends

Roberts at the Capitol for the first impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump, Jan. 16, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

On Friday, Insider reported that Chief Justice John Robertss wife, Jane, made $10.3 million in commissions between 2007 and 2014 working as a recruiter for elite law firms and corporations. The documents revealing the commissions were part of a whistleblower complaint filed to Congress in December. That whistleblower, Kendal Price, worked with Jane Roberts at Major, Lindsey & Africa and told Insider, I was discouraged from ever raising the issue.

And I realized that even the law firms who were Janes clients had nowhere to go, Price continued. They were being asked by the spouse of the chief justice for business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and there was no one to complain to. Most of these firms were likely appearing or seeking to appear before the Supreme Court. Its natural that theyd do anything they felt was necessary to be competitive.

In a 2015 arbitration hearing, Jane Roberts defended her work, saying that clients come to me and Successful people have successful friends.

Conservative pipeline

Members of the Supreme Court soon after the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Oct. 7, 2022. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via Getty Images)

On Sunday, the New York Times published a report about the ties between the George Mason University law school and the conservative justices on the court, including Gorsuch and Thomas. The law school is named for Antonin Scalia, the conservative justice who died in 2016. The $30 million donation to rename the school after the originalist justice was organized by Leonard Leo, whose work with the Federalist Society has been a leading driver in getting conservative judges appointed throughout the federal system.

The law school has developed an unusually expansive relationship with the justices of the high court  welcoming them as teachers but also as lecturers and special guests at school events, read the report. Scalia Law, in turn, has marketed that closeness with the justices as a unique draw to prospective students and donors.

Code of conduct

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, at a hearing on April 19. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

With the integrity of the court under fire, Roberts declined an invitation last week to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the request of Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill. In his letter to Roberts, Durbin said he hoped the chief justice would speak regarding the ethical rules that govern the justices of the Supreme Court and potential reforms to those rules.

Roberts was not swayed, however.

Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence, he wrote in response.

Last year, a group of legal scholars wrote to Roberts urging him to adopt a code of conduct for the court. Polling has shown waning trust in the Supreme Court in recent years, especially in the wake of the repeal of Roe v. Wade last June, which resulted in millions of Americans losing access to abortion services.

Last summer, public confidence in the Supreme Court reached a record low, and in September a Marquette Law poll found a slim majority of Americans favored expanding the court beyond nine justices, a move Republicans and some Democrats have described as extreme. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll last month found that only 12% of Americans had a lot of faith in the Supreme Court, versus 25% who had none. Forty-four percent of respondents said they approved of how the court was handling its job, versus 45% who disapproved.
A man who narrowly survived after losing his wife and young son in a deadly shooting in Cleveland, Texas, spoke out about what prompted a neighbor to open fire on the family.

Wilson Garcia spoke to reporters Sunday afternoon at a vigil hosted at Northside Elementary Sunday. That's where his son, Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, attended the third grade before the boy was murdered at home Friday evening. It was Garcia's wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, who was the first to be fatally shot, allegedly by 38-year-old suspect Francisco Oropesa, according to authorities.

"My wife died, and my 9-year-old son died," Garcia told KHOU in Spanish on Sunday. "What can I say, I am trying to stay strong for my children. My daughter kind of gets, understands things. It's hard when she comes to me and starts asking for her mom and her brother."

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

CLEVELAND, TEXAS, SHOOTING SUSPECT REMAINS AT LARGE; $80K REWARD OFFERED FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TURNED FUGITIVE

So, Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbors house to "respectfully" ask that Oropesa shoot farther away from their home.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted," Garcia said Sunday.

Garcia called the police after Oropesa rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. In the neighborhood of homes on one-acre lots, Garcia could see the man on his front porch but couldnt tell what he was doing. His family continued to called police  five calls in all, Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.

And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Garcia had walked back from Oropesa's house, the man started running toward him, and reloading.

"I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,'" Garcia said. "My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman."

Story continues

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, was at the front door.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Garcia said.

TEXAS FUGITIVE ACCUSED OF KILLING 5 WAS ILLEGALLY IN US; DEPORTED 5 TIMES

Two women who died  Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, and Julisa Molina Rivera, 31  were killed while shielding Garcias baby, 2-year-old daughter and a third child. Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, was also killed.

Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window "because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them."

"This tragedy that unfolded. He had no right. We never offended him. We never disrespected him," another survivor, Jefrinson Rivera, told FOX 26 Houston in a separate interview.

Garcia, seated on a couch beside Rivera, later told FOX 26 he soon came back to the house where he encountered the gunman.

"Thats when the suspect shot at me. He shot at me five times in the house. When he didnt catch me, he returned to gun them down again, and he shot them in the head," Garcia said.

"I looked to my left, and he was pointing his gun at me," Rivera recalled. "He told me, I was looking for you. Im going to kill you."

The men said they threw a machete at Oropesa and were able to run to safety.

Wilson Garcia and Jefrinson Rivera spoke to FOX 26 after five others were killed in Cleveland, Texas.

"Five people died. Diana and Julisa died covering the children. They died defending the children," Rivera said. "Im scared because he can come back and look for us, but were hoping that police do their job and arrest him."

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers has said the surviving three children were covered in blood and brought to a hospital by ambulance, but were physically unharmed.

FBI Houston said Monday morning that Oropesa remained at large. More than 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen local, state and federal agencies are actively searching. Garcia and the deceased victims were from Honduras. Oropesa, a Mexican national, was reportedly in the U.S. illegally and had been deported at least five times.

Oropesa was previously ordered removed by an immigration judge on March 16, 2009, and subsequently removed by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston to Mexico on March 17, 2009, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News. At an unknown time and location, Oropesa unlawfully reentered the United States, and was apprehended and removed several more times by ICE ERO in September 2009, January 2012, and July 2016.

Oropesa, who sometimes uses the additional hyphenated surname Perez-Torres, has also been previously convicted in Montgomery County, Texas, of driving while intoxicated in January 2012, and sentenced to serve time in jail, the spokesperson said. As a result of the April 29 incident, the Cold Spring Texas Sheriffs Office issued an arrest warrant for Oropesa for homicide. He is wanted by the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office in connection to the suspected shooter incident in Cleveland, Texas.

Fox News' Bill Melugin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York City is now giving free Apple AirTags, a GPS tracking device, to crack down on the rampant car thefts these days, Mayor Eric Adams announced in a press conference on Sunday, Apr. 30.



The city is launching its latest safety initiative as it attempts to combat the alarming increase in car thefts, turning to modern technology.



New York City Gives Free Apple AirTags to Fight Rising Car Thefts

According to CBS News, NYC Mayor Adams disclosed that they plan to deploy hundreds of Apple AirTags to various car owners in the city. The giveaway is part of the efforts to significantly tame the surge of car theft, which has been growing in the past few years.

The New York Police Department revealed the alarming car theft rate in the Big Apple. The New York Post reports that the cases continue to rise, with roughly a 13% bump from last year. On Apr. 23, auto theft cases increased to 4,492. In the same period in the previous year, it was nearly 4,000.

With the continued surge of auto theft cases in NYC, the city is now turning to more innovative ways to kick off the decline.

Mayor Adams says that the AirTag tracking device enables car owners to hide it on their vehicles, making it elusive to criminal minds. Besides that, he notes that its users could track their automobiles easily. The GPS gadget allows them to check the real-time location of their vehicle straight from their phones.

Given that, the NYC Mayor dubs the Apple accessory a "really amazing piece of ingenuity," urging residents in the city to get their hands on it.

In the joint conference with the NYPD, the Mayor announced that they are giving away 500 AirTags. He shares that the Association for Better New York donated hundreds of GPS tracking devices to be given away.

Read Also: New York Woman Driven to Wrong Address Shot Dead by Homeowner

How to Get Free AirTags?

As per Fox News, the NYC mayor said they would be distributing the free AirTags on the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx. But besides that, the Crime Prevention Unit of NYPD is also planning to give away the device in other precincts with an alarming rate of auto theft.

Mayor Adams further notes that they are raising more funds to get their hands on more GPS tracking devices, which they plan to hand out to more car owners in these crime-ridden locations.

CBS News points out that the NYPD assures Big Apple folks that they do not have access to the location information of the free AirTags they will hand out.

It is worth noting, though, that AirTags exclusively works with iPhones. So if you are an Android user, you might have to buy a compatible GPS device yourself for car theft protection.

Related Article: New York City Considers Installing Electric Bicycle Charging Stations, Promoting Green Transportation

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Law enforcement officials work Sunday, April 30, 2023, in the neighborhood where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The suspect in the Texas mass shooting was a Mexican national unlawfully in the US, officials said.

He was forced to leave the country four previous times between 2009 and 2016, according to ICE.

Five people, including a child, were slain in Friday night's massacre in Cleveland, Texas.

The man wanted by authorities in connection to the Texas mass shooting that left five people, including a child, dead is a Mexican national who unlawfully entered the United States and was forced to leave the country four previous times, according to federal immigration officials.

The suspect in Friday night's shooting in rural Cleveland, Texas, was previously identified by police as 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency identified him as Francisco Oropesa Perez-Torres to Insider on Monday.

Perez-Torres was initially ordered removed by an immigration judge on March 16, 2009, and was ultimately removed by Houston's ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and sent back to Mexico the next day, ICE told Insider.

At an unknown time and location, Perez-Torres "unlawfully reentered" the US and again was apprehended and removed several more times by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in September 2009, January 2012, and July 2016, the federal agency said.

Additionally, according to ICE, Perez-Torres was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in Montgomery County, Texas in January 2012. He was sentenced to serve time in jail, the agency said.

It is not clear when Perez-Torres last entered the country.

The shooting suspect fled in the wake of the massacre, and authorities have launched a massive manhunt to find him. The FBI described him as "armed and dangerous."

In the aftermath of the shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott identified the victims as "illegal immigrants" in a statement in which he offered condolences to their loved ones, sparking an onslaught of criticism.

Story continues

Abbott also said the suspected gunman was in the country illegally. ICE confirmed to Insider that Perez-Torres was in the US without legal permission at the time of the shooting.

Following Abbott's comments, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center said the governor's statement included "dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric."

Reports in recent years, meanwhile, have shown that US-born citizens are more likely to commit crimes than undocumented immigrants.

A 2018 report by the Washington DC-based think tank Cato Institute found that undocumented immigrants in Texas committed fewer crimes than native-born Americans.

"The homicide conviction rate for illegal immigrants was 16 percent below that of nativeborn Americans in Texas in 2015," while the "conviction rates for illegal immigrants were 7.9 percent and 77 percent below that of nativeborn Americans for sex crimes and larceny, respectively," the report said.

A survivor of Friday's shooting whose wife and 9-year-old son were slain said that his family called 911 five times in the minutes before their neighbor opened fire.

But by the time authorities arrived at the scene, it was too late. Five people had been fatally shot "almost execution-style" in the rampage, police said.

"I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people," survivor Wilson Garcia told local news outlet KTRK-TV.

The shooting unfolded after Garcia asked the gunman to stop firing his AR-15-style rifle near Garcia's family home.

Garcia said that he and two others walked over to his neighbor's house on Friday night to "respectfully" ask that the man shoot his gun farther away from the home because his newborn baby was trying to sleep, according to the Associated Press.

"He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted," Garcia told the AP on Sunday after a vigil.

Read the original article on Insider
Update, 9:36 a.m.: Its expected that law enforcement will remain in the area for several hours while police work to obtain a search warrant for the home where the suspect was barricaded, according to Puyallup Police Department.

Update, 8:26 a.m.: Police said the man came out of the home and surrendered shortly after 8 a.m. The woman thought to be inside with him was not there. No injuries were reported.

Original story: A SWAT team response is underway Monday morning in Puyallup after an early-morning call for suspicious activity led officers to try to take a man with multiple warrants for his arrest into custody, according to police.

The SWAT team was negotiating with a 37-year-old man who was thought to be armed and barricaded in a home near Forest Green Boulevard and Forest Park Court North, a residential area about a mile-and-a-half east of Wildwood Park, Puyallup Police Department spokesperson Capt. Ryan Portmann said.

Portmann said about 30 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies had arrived, and residents on Forest Park Court North had been evacuated from their homes. A short stretch of Forest Green Boulevard was shut down, and police asked people to avoid the area.

Forrest Green Blvd is CLOSED between Forrest Ridge Ct N and Forrest Rim Ct N due to police activity in the area. All residents on Forrest Park Ct N need to shelter in place until further notice. pic.twitter.com/9Gue4W66WP  Puyallup Police (@PuyallupPD) May 1, 2023

No gunshots have been fired, Portmann said. He said police were first called to the area at about 4:30 a.m. for suspicious activity, and officers developed probable cause to arrest a man who has warrants for assault and weapons violations.

Portmann said the man is believed to be inside with his girlfriend, and he said she also hadnt been cooperative with police.

At 6:45 a.m., an incident commander arrived at the scene, Portmann said. He said he believed thats when the SWAT team was called to respond. According to a tweet from the police department, it was the Metro Tactical Response Team, a multi-agency squad for Pierce County.
By Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian refugees detained by security forces in Lebanon and deported have been subject to arrest and forced conscription upon return to their war-ravaged homeland, their relatives and rights advocates have told Reuters.

Some said their loved ones were being held by the Syrian army's Fourth Division, which is headed by President Bashar al-Assad's brother and has been sanctioned for rights violations.

Amnesty International says the deportations are a "clear violation" by Lebanon of international law under the principle of "non-refoulement," which prohibits nations from forcibly returning anyone to a country where they risk persecution.

The Syrian government did not respond to a request for comment. The Lebanese army, which has been carrying out the deportations according to Amnesty International, aid workers and witnesses, declined to comment.

Lebanon is home to some 800,000 Syrians registered with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) who have fled since the war erupted in 2011. Lebanese authorities say the real number of Syrians in their country is 2 million.

One refugee told Reuters he and his three brothers were detained in a raid on a camp in Lebanon in late April. Because his brothers did not have legal residency, they were deported.

"They managed to get in touch with me from inside Syria, saying they were being held by the Fourth Division. I still don't know if they're alright," he said, asking to speak anonymously because of fear of reprisals.

Another refugee said he was briefly held by the Fourth Division after being deported but paid smugglers to return to Lebanon.

The Access Center for Human Rights (ACHR), a rights organisation, said it had documented the detention of at least two deported Syrians by the Fourth Division. It called on the Lebanese government to immediately halt the deportations.

'NO EXCUSE' FOR DEPORTATIONS

A senior humanitarian source said more than 450 Syrians were arrested in more than 60 raids by the Lebanese army or at ad hoc checkpoints in April. More than 130 were deported.

Story continues

Lebanese security sources told Reuters that the raids were targeting Syrians who did not have valid residency papers and were being deported as there was no space in Lebanese prisons.

Lebanon's caretaker social affairs minister last week asked security forces to tighten restrictions on those with invalid residencies but said returns would be "voluntary".

Another senior humanitarian source confirmed that Syrians registered with the United Nations had been deported, including unaccompanied minors. The Norwegian Refugee Council said a beneficiary of one of its youth programs was deported.

Ismail told Reuters his three sons Hassan, Imad and Mohammad were taken by Lebanese security forces during a raid on their home and deported because they did not have valid residency papers.

"Imad and Mohammad are wanted by the Syrian army for not completing their military service. They're in hiding at a family friend's house but have to begin their service within the week," Ismail, who only wanted to give his first name, told Reuters.

"Hassan is just 15 and is so scared he's having heart palpitations."

The U.N.'s Commission of Inquiry said in March that Syria "is still not a safe place to return to," partly because of ongoing detentions and rights violations by security forces.

Amnesty International said it had documented at least four cases in which Syrians were arrested following their deportation from Lebanon, in addition to separate cases of conscription.

"There is absolutely no excuse for the Lebanese state to violate its international legal obligation by summarily returning refugees to a country where they fear persecution," said Amnesty's regional deputy director, Aya Majzoub.

Majzoub said the April deportations were accompanied by a wave of hate speech, restrictive measures by municipalities hosting Syrians and comments by officials that created a "coercive environment" that pressured refugees to leave.

Youssef, a Syrian refugee and single father-of-two, said he was so afraid of being deported and conscripted that he had stopped leaving his home in Lebanon.

"This permanent discrimination creates a state of fear of meeting anyone new  even interacting with your neighbour or the local shopowner downstairs," he said.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Issam Abdallah; Editing by Ros Russell and Alex Richardson)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Taiwan's president told visiting ex-U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Monday that her country is willing to deepen cooperation with the U.S. and "other like-minded partners to safeguard peace, as the self-governed island faces increasing military threats from China.

President Tsai Ing-wen also expressed hopes to Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, for more military and security exchanges and economic cooperation between the two sides, her office said in a statement.

Bolton began his weeklong visit to Taiwan last Wednesday and has called for deeper interaction between the two sides' national security teams. His visit reflects the importance of the democratic island as an issue in the U.S. presidential election amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Later Monday, Tsai said at a separate event that China's military exercises have affected the stability and peace of the Indo-Pacific region.

But we will stay calm and firmly safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, she said.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the Communist Party in control of the mainland. The island has never been part of the Peoples Republic of China, but Beijing says it must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The U.S. remains Taiwans closest military and political ally despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between them. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, though it remains ambiguous over whether American forces would be dispatched to help defend it.

Last Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said Chinas military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan. That was the most since a large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off Taiwan in response to an April 5 meeting between Tsai and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China opposes any meetings between officials of Taiwan and other governments.
The Florentines made good on their promise to give Hope Carrasquilla a heros welcome to the Italian city because thats how many here view her. They see a woman in faraway Florida having fallen on her sword for a subject Florence feels passionately about. Renaissance art.

The Tallahassee principal was forced to resign earlier this spring after a few parents complained that their sixth-grade children at a classical charter school had seen a little too much. An art teacher showed them pictures of Michelangelos David and Botticellis Birth of Venus which celebrate the human body in its most natural  ie naked  form and one parent even likened the 15th and 16th century masterpieces to pornography.

The Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella was quick to express outrage that anyone could describe these pieces of art as porn and that a school administrator could lose her job over them, so he invited her to the Renaissance city. Carrasquilla took him up on the offer and has spent the last few days enjoying the David, modeled on the Biblical David who fought Goliath, and taking in the sights of Florence.

"This trip has been really wonderful," Carrasquilla told me in Florence this past weekend. "I was touched by Mayor Nardella asking me to come. It made a difficult situation not quite so difficult, knowing we had something to look forward to. The people of Florence have been gracious and hospitable."

The Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella presented Hope Carrasquilla with a traditional parchment recognizing her commitment to teaching younger generations beauty and harmony through art.

MAYOR OF FLORENCE WELCOMES AMERICANS BACK TO 'ONE OF THE SYMBOLS OF HUMANITY'

The trip was arranged and facilitated by the Friends of Florence, a U.S. non-profit that raises money from people around the world for the restoration of monuments and art and does what it can to promote the rich heritage of the city. They covered Carrasquillas flight over and family members, she says, joined her on their own dime, making a bit of limoncello out of their Florida lemons.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

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She and the head of her school board had differences of opinion on a few matters in the relatively short time she was in post and the art controversy (and what it really boiled down to, she says, was that letters she had wanted to go out to parents giving them a heads-up about what their kids would be seeing in the art class for some reason never got sent) was the last straw. But Carrasquilla says she thinks politics in her politically charged state played a role in her particular story.

Overview of the City with a statue of Michelangelo's David on July 22, 2014 in Florence, Italy.

"Im in Tallahassee the capital (of Florida). DeSantis lives there. His children are there, his family is there," she said alluding to the whole debate around school choice in Florida and the simmering culture wars going on.

She said she believes in school choice and just feels teachers should be able to follow their curriculum once choice is made. Carrasquilla said it is her feeling parents have become somewhat more micro-managing since COVID lockdowns when remote learning brought the entire classroom into peoples homes.

FLORIDA PRINCIPAL FORCED TO RESIGN AFTER SHOWING STUDENTS MICHELANGELO'S 'DAVID' STATUE

Hope Carrasquilla and Florence Mayor Dario Nardella stand under the David statue in Florence.

Carrasquilla said that on top of enjoying the charms of Florence, she has thought a good deal about education on her trip. She and the mayor discussed education and how to keep the history of art alive in the age of high technology.

"He said in education now here in Italy there is less emphasis on teaching art and music Right now there is emphasis on teaching our children skills. And I was like, this is the same debate we are having in Florida, in our country. Do we teach a certain skill like technology that is the wave of the future? Or do we teach a more liberal arts type education where we open peoples minds, expose them to classics and music and arts and then with that background they can do whatever they want?"

Restorer Cinzia Parnigoni cleans Michelangelo's masterpiece "David" during restoration work at the Galleria dell'Accademia October 6, 2003 in Florence, Italy. Michelangelo finished the five-meter (16 feet) marble nude, which depicts the Biblical hero who killed Goliath, in 1504. Work on the statue has been the source of controversy as critics say that the cleaning methods used are causing harm to the work.

Carrasquilla said that she may have lost her job, but she has gained a voice she never had before with all the attention she has received. And she thinks debate and curiosity sparked in the aftermath of the whole controversy may very well have a positive outcome.

"What Ive heard is more people, more children are looking up what is going on. All of a sudden they are like, What is Renaissance art? Great! Please go study Renaissance art! People are looking up classical education. If I can raise awareness, then Im okay with what happened to me."
Tarrant County leaders are working through glitches as they launch a long-awaited courts software program, district clerk Tom Wilder wrote in a press release Monday afternoon.

And Wilder answered the question that has popped up over and over since the new commissioners took the bench: TechShare.Courts is working.

But, not as well as theyd like, Wilder added. He told the Star-Telegram Monday afternoon his staff hoped to have glitches knocked out in the next week.

Tarrant County has been working to launch TechShare.Courts, an online document system, since 2011. Taxpayers have spent more than $26.6 million on the program.

The launch date was set for May 1 after being pushed from October, to New Years Day and to the end of January.

Tarrant County originally signed onto TechShare.Courts with Travis and Dallas counties to develop software they could sell to other counties.

Travis hopped ship in 2016 after spending $3.3 million on the program. Dallas left in 2020 after spending $35 million.

Wilder wrote in the release that any new software implementation presents real life challenges for users.

TechShare Court is no exception, Wilder wrote.

He wrote that the informational technology staff is working with TechShare to address the problems.

All staff worked all weekend to do final testing but that is not in a production environment with volume data from all courts, he wrote.

Wilder asked for patience as the county replaced a 1980s system with a modern version built to use our business processes that have proven to be very efficient.

Wilder said Monday the program launch was like whack-a-mole and that his staff was catching issues as they pop up.

The countys online system for accessing court documents was down Monday morning. As of Monday afternoon, it was back up and running.

During their April 18 meeting, county commissioners began discussions about exploring other software options if the program did not launch Monday as planned.

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May 1 is your drop dead date, commissioner Roy Brooks told a TechShare representative.

Tarrant County clerk Mary Louise Nicholson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Commissioners are expected to hear updates on TechShare.Courts during their Tuesday meeting.
Has your child received a diagnosis of ADHD? Theyre not alone. CDC data from 2016-2019 shows that 6 million children ages 3-17 have an ADHD diagnosis. Thats almost 10% of the population in that age range.

Because these numbers are so high and consistently rising, there has been sustained worry about ADHD being overdiagnosed in kids who are simply exhibiting age-appropriate behaviors such as trouble sitting still.

At the same time, advocates say that ADHD is actually being underdiagnosed in some groups of children, such as girls, potentially because they dont exhibit the same hyperactive symptoms that many boys do, which we are quicker to attribute to ADHD. Girls tend to be diagnosed later than boys. Women who didnt receive their diagnosis until they were adults have expressed frustration that they had to wait so long to get the treatment they needed.

Because ADHD is a neurological condition, it is different from other medical diagnoses common to childhood. An ear infection, for example, is something that you want to treat in order to make it go away. But you cant get rid of ADHD; its how your childs brain is wired.

When separated from stigma, having a diagnosis can come as a relief. It also opens doors to medical and educational services that can help your child struggle less. So while parents can view an ADHD diagnosis as an opportunity rather than a setback, its often a challenge to communicate this nuance to a child.

HuffPost asked medical professionals who work with kids who have ADHD how they talk about the diagnosis with their patients and their families.

Frame it as a difference, not a disorder.

The first thing that I always say is that everybodys brain works a little bit differently and everybody learns a little bit differently, Dr. Janine Zee-Cheng, a pediatrician who practices in Indiana, told HuffPost.

Zee-Cheng tells patients to imagine their brain as an engine that runs at its own unique speed.

If your engine runs high, theres nothing wrong with that. Its just that maybe its running a little too high for sitting in school and being still. Other signs of an engine running on high might include fast-moving thoughts and talkativeness.

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Dr. Larry Mitnaul, a child and adult certified psychiatrist who practices in Kansas, says that he always leads with the childs strengths: I describe how distraction and jumping into action are great qualities, Mitnaul told HuffPost.

He continues by explaining that their unique strength in these areas can make certain activities feel harder to them than their peers. He might mention focusing on adults instructions or staying in their seats at school. Mitnaul then tells the patient, We have a term to describe brains that work this way.

Mitnaul says he also sometimes compares the childs strengths to a superpower, like Elsa from Frozen or The Hulk, which we can help them learn to manage and use for good in the world.

Dr. Helen Egger, a child psychiatrist and co-founder of the online pediatric mental health provider Little Otter, agrees that its important to emphasize what a childs strengths are. Many children with ADHD have strengths in social skills, and creativity, and are adventurous, she told HuffPost. Even traits that could be seen in a negative light, like squirming or fidgeting, could be recast in a more positive way. You could instead describe a child as bouncy, for example.

Its also important to remind kids that there is so much more to them than their ADHD symptoms. We focus on distinguishing between the diagnosis and the child, said Egger. ADHD is something that the child has, but it doesnt define who they are.

When we help our kids understand that every single brain is unique and different (including our own brains as parents), it takes away the stigma of a child thinking something is wrong with them.Katie Severson, speech-language pathologist

The Childhood Collective is a group of two child psychologists and a speech-language pathologist specialized in ADHD. Katie Severson, the speech-language pathologist, told HuffPost that they also emphasize the idea of ADHD as a difference that is helpful to know about.

ADHD is a term to describe the way their brain works. Its not bad or wrong, but different! And this helps us better understand them and why some things come easily for them and why other things may be more challenging, said Severson.

Using your childs specific experiences can be helpful. Severson suggests saying things like, For some kids, like you, focusing on boring or hard tasks is really, really hard. But you may find it really easy to focus on video games or things you love, or, Your brain and body really love to move! You know how you like to stand while you color or do homework? For some kids with ADHD, moving while they work can help them focus.

Severson also recommends ADHD expert Dr. Edward Hallowells description of ADHD as a turbo charged mind  like a Ferrari engine, but the brakes of a bicycle.

This helps kids understand why their brain can feel like its moving so quickly, while also being unable to stop themselves from doing things impulsively ... and reaffirms that we know they dont want to be bad, but impulsive things do happen with ADHD brains, said Severson.

Egger extends the famous Ferrari metaphor into the realm of treatment. She offers: Most people cant just jump into a race car and drive it well and safely without training and practice. So, the driver of your race car brain needs special strategies and support to learn how to drive and stay in control of the race car. Caregivers and teachers are like the pit crew that help keep the race car running smoothly!

Have an ongoing series of conversations, and broaden your focus from only ADHD.

Instead of explaining everything about ADHD in one fell swoop, focus on having brief, meaningful conversations about the many ways that peoples brains are different. You can use yourself as an example, mentioning that you need to take notes or draw a diagram in order to understand something, for example, because thats the way your brain works.

By talking regularly about our own brains and our kids brains, we can have open dialogue about where they really shine, where they might need more support, and what is or isnt working for them. When we help our kids understand that every single brain is unique and different (including our own brains as parents), it takes away the stigma of a child thinking something is wrong with them, explained Severson.

Explain that medication is to help them, not fix them.

Zee-Cheng uses a lemonade metaphor to talk about medication with her patients. Most kids understand what lemonade is supposed to taste like, and that its made from sugar, water and lemon juice. But its not just about having those three ingredients. You could drink a big glass of water with some lemon juice and a few grains of sugar, but it wont taste as good as when the ingredients are more optimally proportioned.

When you have ADHD, the chemicals in your brain are kind of like that lemonade, theyre not present in the right proportions, she said. When we give medication for ADHD, then all were doing is bringing all of the ingredients into the right quantities.

Its not about fundamentally changing who your child is but shifting things around to help make certain experiences easier for them.

Another metaphor she uses when talking about medication is footwear for mountain climbing: Some people have hiking boots already and they walk up the mountain with no problem. Some people are wearing flip-flops  its still possible to walk up the mountain, but its really tough. So were giving you a pair of shoes that is a little bit better so you can get up the mountain the same way that your peers do.

Ask for help.

You and your child deserve time with an expert who has a deep understanding of ADHD and experience talking about it with people of all ages. If they dont offer, ask your doctor or therapist to meet with you and your child together to talk about the diagnosis and come up with an action plan.

This way, the family gets to ask questions together and receive a common language that they can use at home and perhaps school or other parts of the community, said Mitnaul.

There are lots of resources out there to help you understand ADHD and advocate for your child, including Understood.org, ADDitute magazine, and CHADD. Mitnaul recommends the book Taking Charge of ADHD.

Childrens picture books can reflect your childs experience so they feel less alone and help them understand their condition. There are many, including Cory Stories, Get Ready for Jetty  which features a girl  and This Morning Sam Went To Mars. The Childhood Collective recommends My Busy Busy Brain  which also features a girl  and The Boy With the Faster Brain.

Related...
A proposed project from technology manufacturer Han's Laser could be coming to Manor, and it could act as an anchor for more growth in the city.

The project, which was first reported by the Austin Business Journal, has yet to be formally announced. Plans are still being finalized, but if successful, it could add a major employer to the Austin suburb.

Hans Laser purchased 262 acres at 12429 W. Kimbro Road in Manor, a sale that was first announced in April by Gold Tier Real Estate LLC in a LinkedIn post that did not name the buyer but described it as a company that supplies both Samsung and Tesla. In the post, Gold Tier said the project would start with a 400,000-square-foot building but would eventually total 1.6 million square feet of industrial space and additional employee homes.

Travis County records show the deal closed in late March, with the land being sold to Suntrend Investment LLC. California property records connect the company to Silicon Valley-based Hans Laser Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of China-based manufacturer Han's Laser Technology Group Co., which makes laser cutting and laser welding machinery. The company also has a location in Katy, near Houston.

More: Elon Musk's net worth drops $12.6 billion amid chaotic week for Austin-based Tesla

Technology manufacturer Han's Laser has bought land and is planning for a project in Manor that could add a major employer and lead to more growth in the city.

Both the city of Manor and Gold Tier said the company has discussed its plans for the site, which would be in Manor's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The proposed factory calls for hundreds of workers and could eventually grow to about 1,000 jobs. Han's Laser supplies a number of industries, including automotive, textile, hardware, semiconductor and solar energy, and its clients include Samsung, Flextronics and Infineon, which have Austin-area facilities.

Though he said the project is not yet set in stone, Manor Mayor Christopher Harvey hopes it could lead to more retail and residential growth for the area. He expects some aspects of the project could be announced as soon as May.

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The city's goal is to continue a conversation, to be a support," Harvey said.

Han's Laser's project could add hundreds of jobs. Mayor Christopher Harvey said the company would fall in line with Manor's comprehensive goals for growth.

Colin Tierney, owner of Gold Tier Real Estate, said Hans Laser expressed interest in the land last year and has since presented the city a preliminary vision of a project that would be anywhere between 400,000 and 1.6 million square feet of industrial space over four phases.

The initial 400,000-square-foot industrial center, as proposed to us, is supposed to be for their facility, in the supply chain to Tesla and Samsung, Tierney said.

He said the additional phases of the project are supposed to be sister companies that also help the supply chain.

All in all, we're very early on in this process, and a lot of things could change. But from what we're told, (Han's Laser is) trying to get started as soon as possible, Tierney said.

Harvey, who considers Manor to be the "golden triangle of opportunity," said the city has had a plan to secure a major employer.

Residents want more job opportunities, higher pay and investments that allow us to invest more into retail, roads, infrastructure, public transportation, public facilities, like libraries and rec centers, or something like that, Harvey said. These types of opportunities really serve as catalysts for the other things we're trying to do.

Harvey said Manor has a lot to offer, including being well-positioned to get to a number of destinations quickly, such as Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin-Bergstrom Internaional Airport, as well major companies such as Tesla and Samsung. He added that it also is on a working rail line.

More: Central Texas factory output booming while Texas economy shows flat to modest growth

Harvey said the city's commitment to workforce development and housing opportunities for middle-class and lower-income people also make it an attractive place to live and work.

We're actually in a good space for companies that want to participate in the manufacturing boom, Harvey said. We're in a good location to attract those companies because we have proximity to a lot of their clients, and then we also have homes that are still under cost in comparison to our neighbor Austin.  So it's a good place to move to and a good place to relocate small, medium or large businesses.

Harvey said the city has been communicating with the company and working out details related to infrastructure, water and wastewater for the project, as well as talking through the jobs it could bring. He said no incentives have been discussed or given to the company.

Harvey said the project falls in line well with Manors first comprehensive plan, which set goals for what the city will look like in 2050, including ones focused on transportation, infrastructure, land use, library, recreation, parks, economic development and community branding.

He added that the plot where the facility would be built was sold by one of the landowners the city approached who were interested in furthering the plan's goals.

Tierney said Manor is well-positioned from a real estate perspective to see growth in the next several years, especially if this project is built.

For whatever reason, Manor has been looked over, in our opinion, Tierney said, adding that the city is very pro-growth."

There's still a lot to be figured out, but the city of Manor is very receptive and very excited about projects like this, he said.

More: Texas aims to attract semiconductor investment amid national boom

Ed Latson, CEO of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, said the project would be good for Manor and would add to the advanced manufacturers moving into Central Texas.

They fit well in an ecosystem that already includes numerous companies making complex equipment, he said.

Latson said Central Texas remains a hot area for industrial investment in the United States.

Han's Laser establishing a facility in Manor continues the stream of advanced manufacturers moving to Central Texas, many settling on the northeastern crescent of the region, he said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Han's Laser factory could be built in Manor. Here's what we know
Texas residents were warned by the FBI that a week-long nuclear incident training exercise will happen in Houston starting Monday.

FBI Houston alerted the public that the exercise will last from Monday to Friday this week.

"A large-scale, multi-agency nuclear incident TRAINING EXERCISE will take place May 1-5 in southeast Houston and Harris County. The training exercise will NOT pose risks to area residents. Please do not be alarmed by training-related activity," FBI Houston tweeted Friday.

The training exercise will take place from in and around NRG Park/SH 288 to SH 146 to I-10 E to Hwy 225 and in and around Ellington Field.

UNITED STATES AGREES TO HELP FINANCE POLAND'S NUCLEAR ENERGY PLAN

Traffic moves past the Houston skyline. FBI Houston said a multi-agency nuclear incident training exercise will pose no danger to the public.

"Please do not be alarmed by training-related activity, including presence of military personnel/aircraft and people in protective equipment," the FBI added.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Last May, the U.S. Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration led a similar "major radiological incident exercise" in Austin, Texas.

More than 30 local, state and federal agencies were said to have taken part in the exercise called "Cobalt Magnet 22" from May 16-22.

The exercise took place at various locations around Austin and was meant to simulate a radiological attack, enabling response personnel to practice protecting public health and safety, providing emergency relief to affected populations, and restoring essential services.

The Houston skyline. FBI Houston said a multi-agency nuclear incident training exercise will take place from May 1-5, 2023.

PUTIN'S TROOPS FORTIFY ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR REACTORS AS RUSSIA GROWS WORRIED OVER UKRAINIAN OFFENSIVE

The FBI public advisory Friday came before the same FBI Houston field office began assisting in the manhunt for a Mexican national accused of murdering five people in Cleveland, Texas.

What the FBI described as a multi-agency search for 38-year-old suspect Francisco Oropeza, a Mexican national, continued Sunday morning more than 24 hours after he allegedly shot and killed five people, including an 8-year-old boy, in an unincorporated part of San Jacinto County before midnight Friday.

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FBI Houston is assisting the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office in the multi-agency manhunt for a suspect accused of murdering five people in Cleveland, Texas.

Next door neighbors reportedly had asked him to stop firing his rifle because a baby was trying to sleep. Authorities said video showed Oropeza then head toward the front of their house.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Departments of Homeland Security and State Sunday for more information on the immigration statuses of the suspect and murdered victims.
A suspect on the run in Texas after allegedly killing five neighbors execution-style Friday night when they complained about him firing a rifle on his property has been deported from the country five times, a source from ICE told Fox News Digital.

The FBI said Sunday afternoon authorities have "no leads" in the search for Francisco Oropesa, 38, a Mexican national who is accused of the quintuple murder in Cleveland, Texas, outside Houston.

The Texas governors office, state agencies and the FBI are offering a combined $80,000 reward for tips leading to his capture.

"We do not know where he is, thats why weve come up with this reward," FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith told reporters on Sunday, adding that hes sure Oropesa has contacted friends since becoming a fugitive, but they need to know who.

FBI RELEASES NEW PHOTOS OF FUGITIVE IN COUNTRY ILLEGALLY, ACCUSED OF FATALLY SHOOTING 5 NEIGHBORS IN TEXAS

Francisco Oropesa is accused of killing five of his neighbors after a noise complaint.

Oropesa was in the country illegally at the time of the shooting and had previously reentered the country illegally "multiple" times following his deportations, another ICE source told Fox News Digital.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The source added that Oropesa was last encountered by ICE in 2016.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he wouldnt "comment" on Oropesas immigration status after Todd said there was a question about him having a "consulate card, meaning he was here legally, but perhaps he had overstayed?"

Mayorkas replied, "I wont comment on it because it is an active case. The tragedy that occurred is  just absolutely horrific."

MEXICAN NATIONAL WANTED IN DEADLY TEXAS SHOOTING OF 5 NEIGHBORS COULD BE ANYWHERE, SHERIFF SAYS

The FBI released four new photos of Oropesas face, including one of a large tattoo of a woman wearing a headdress on one of his arms.

"He could be anywhere now," San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Saturday night, adding that investigators have widened their perimeter from about five or six square miles to "as much as 10 or 20 depending on whether or not he crossed the highline wire."

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Authorities found an abandoned cellphone and articles of clothing lying around, and tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Correction "picked up a scent and then  lost that scent in the water," according to the sheriff.

The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Wilson Garcia, who lost his wife and son in the shooting, told local news station KTRK-TV they were preparing to call the police after they asked Oropesa to stop shooting his AR-15 because it was late and their 1-month-old baby couldn't sleep.

But Oropesa entered their home and started shooting before they could.

"I never thought that he would shoot," Garcia said, adding that Oropesa had also tried to shoot him but missed. "Then he went room to room, looking for people."

Two women were also found lying on top of three children who survived in an apparent attempt to shield them from the bullets.

Garcia said he'd never had a problem with Oropesa previously in the three years his family had lived there.

"I can't believe what he did," he added.
(Photo : MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as concerns over China's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea intensified.

President Marcos is set to urge Biden to protect Philippines

China reportedly harassed Philippines' navy and coast guard patrols

The Philippines and the US are slated to address the security situation and other initiatives

As China flexes its muscle on its doorstep in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to urge President Joe Biden on US obligations to safeguard the island country and strengthen economic relationships.

Marcos has been asked to bilateral discussions by the White House to reaffirm Washington's "ironclad commitment" to the Philippines, but he will ask for specifics.

Biden-Marcos Meeting

He stated in a radio interview days before the trip that the Mutual Defense Treaty "has to alter according to the changes in the circumstances we are confronting in the South China Sea, Taiwan, and North Korea," The Washington Times reported.

The Philippines gave the United States access to new military outposts. Recently, the countries held their largest-ever combined military drills, even shooting at a dummy enemy ship in the South China Sea.

The two presidents will address "regional problems and collaborate on measures to maintain international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," in addition to sustainable energy, climate change, and human rights.

The summit comes after the United States and the Philippines conducted their largest war rehearsals last week in Filipino seas near the South China Sea. Per The Hill, the two countries will conduct their first combined fighter aircraft training in the Philippines since 1990 on Monday.

Amid increased US-China tensions and pressure over Taiwan, the democratically ruled island Beijing claims as its own, the US has moved to enhance ties with the Philippines and extend its presence in the area.

China has also increased its military display, conducting large-scale maneuvers surrounding Taiwan. In a Saturday statement, the US State Department also stated that it stands with the Philippines in the face of China's "continued infringement on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea," accusing Beijing forces of "harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they conduct routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

Marcos stated ahead of the meeting with Biden that he was "determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests."

Meanwhile, China has irritated the Philippines by harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but claimed by Beijing.

Read Also: Japanese Montevideo Maru Shipwreck Found in South China Sea

US-China Tensions

The meeting in the White Office on Monday is Biden's latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders as his government deals with China's rising military and economic aggressiveness and concerns about North Korea's nuclear development. Marcos' journey to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in over a decade.

As part of Marcos' four-day visit to Washington, the two sides are slated to address the security situation and announce new economic, education, climate, and other initiatives, according to a senior administration official, as per ABC News.

According to the individual, who spoke anonymously to discuss the upcoming visit, Biden administration officials aim to recreate "habits of alliance building" with the Philippines since portions of the historically contentious relationship have "atrophied" over the years.

The increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has given the visit a new significance. On April 23, journalists from the Associated Press and other news organizations were onboard the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship barred the Filipino patrol vessel from entering the disputed shoal. Since last year, the Philippines has lodged over 200 diplomatic objections against China, including at least 77 since Marcos assumed office in June.

According to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the incidents are a "stark reminder" of Chinese "harassment and intimidation of Filipino boats while they conduct normal patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

When Marcos took office, close US-Philippine relations were not given. The late Philippines strongman's son and namesake appeared set on following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who sought deeper relations with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, the White House National Security Council's coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, acknowledged that "historical considerations" could pose "challenges" to the relationship with Marcos Jr.

Related Article: Paraguay's Santiago Pena Leads Presidential Election

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Francisco Oropesa, a fugitive suspected of killing five people in Cleveland, Texas, including a child, was reportedly deported from the U.S. five times before committing the massacre.

The suspect was in the country illegally at the time of the shooting and had previously reentered the country illegally multiple times following his deportations, an ICE source told Fox News.

Oropesa, 38, was approached by one of his neighbors because he was firing rounds in his yard. The suspect was asked to stop firing as the noise was disturbing an infant sleeping next door.

The suspect responded that it was his property and later walked up to his neighbors front door with a rifle and started shooting, moving from room to room. The five victims were Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Police reported that the killings had been carried out execution-style and two female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children. The suspect was reportedly under the influence of alcohol.

Here are the newest images of Francisco Oropesa and a prominent tattoo on his left forearm. Going forward, the subjects last name will be spelled Oropesa to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. This remains a fluid investigation. #ClevelandTXShooting pic.twitter.com/ZWUu0FqoMF  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) April 30, 2023

The manhunt for Oropesa continues and there were no leads as of Monday morning.

We do not know where he is, James Smith, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in the Houston area, told reporters at a news conference. We do not have any tips right now as to where he may be. Right now, we have zero leads.

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The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was asked about Oropesas immigration status on Sundays Meet the Press. The host, Chuck Todd, cited reports that Oropesa was here legally on a consulate card from Mexico, but had perhaps overstayed.

Mayorkas declined to comment because its an open case. The secretary confirmed that the FBI is the lead agency handling the investigation, but said DHS is monitoring the situation closely.

On the other hand, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott was widely criticized for bringing up the immigration status of the victims when he announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to Oropesas arrest.

In a press conference Sunday, San Jacinto County sheriff Greg Capers explained he cares about justice for the victims.

My heart is with this eight-year-old little boy, explained Capers. I dont care if he was here legally. I dont care if he was here illegally. He was in my county. Five people died in my county. That is where my heart is.

You can just say people. They were people, wrote director of the UNLV Immigration Clinic Michael Kagan in a tweet.

The reward was later increased to $55,000 and the FBI are independently offering $25,000.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also sent a letter to Abbott Sunday asking him to stop sending buses of migrants and individuals seeking asylum seekers north.

I am, yet again, appealing to your better nature and asking you to stop this inhuman and dangerous action, Lightfoot wrote. The national immigration problem will not be solved by passing on the responsibility to other cities.

Appearing on CNN This Morning, Lightfoot added that the citys resources are severely strained.

We are completely tapped out. We have no more space. We have no more resources, Lightfoot said.

More from National Review
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called the victims of a mass shooting in Texas over the weekend "illegal immigrants," drawing searing backlash for "dehumanizing" them.

Abbott announced on his personal and state Twitter accounts a $50,000 reward for the person who used an AR-15 rifle to kill five neighbors execution-style, including a 9-year-old boy, in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night. The suspect, Francisco Oropesa, was at large Monday afternoon.

Abbott, a Republican, said the reward was for a fugitive "who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants."

The post drew immediate backlash on social media from critics and a "community note" that adds context from readers who said the original tweet is misleading. The note said that at least one of the victims was a legal resident of the U.S. and added their names.

The youngest victim was Daniel Enrique Laso, who officials originally said was 8, but NBC News confirmed was 9. The other four were identified by police as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Ive announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout.



I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond. pic.twitter.com/SpkUgKqKGe  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 30, 2023

Its below the dignity of the governor to impugn the victims of a mass shooting about their legal status," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "All of the victims are Latino and so is the suspected gunman. This is a tragedy that involves another serial killing and a weapon for war that was used in the killing. Thats the issue, not the legal status of the victims."

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Maritza Wong, a volunteer with Texas Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for stricter gun laws, said: The first statement out of Greg Abbotts mouth is to turn this tragedy into a dog whistle. Meanwhile our governor refuses to make the most basic changes to Texas gun laws that would make our families safer and every day he does so he is abdicating public safety.

Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of the immigration advocacy group Americas Voice, said in an email that "the only thing that should matter to the Governor is that this was "another mass shooting that killed innocent people" living in Texas.

Shame on Governor Abbott for turning a horrific family and community tragedy into another in his relentless effort to dehumanize immigrants and demonize immigration," she said. "Not only is it an obscene distraction that compounds one familys grief, but of all people, Greg Abbott should understand the power of words and the responsibility of his public rhetoric.

Renae Eze, a spokeswoman for the governor, blamed the federal government a statement Monday afternoon for providing the state incorrect information about the suspect and the victims.

"We've since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally," Eze said. "We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal," she said.

The office also said "any loss of life is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the families who have lost a loved one."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to an email Monday morning inquiring about the immigration status of the victims.

ICE said a man by the name of Francisco Oropesa Perez-Torres, 38, a Mexican citizen, had been ordered removed from the U.S. on March 16, 2009, and then removed from the country by ICE in Houston on March 17, 2009.

ICE said he re-entered the U.S. and was apprehended and removed several more times in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016.

The agency said Oropesa has also been convicted in Montgomery County, Texas, of driving while intoxicated in January 2012 and sentenced to serve time in jail.

Texas authorities said all of the victims were Honduran but did not release information about whether they are U.S. citizens or legal residents, have temporary protected status or visas, or are in the country illegally. The FBI and the state Department of Public Safety did not respond to requests for records or data to verify the governor's description of the victims.

The Privacy Act requires that information of legal permanent residents be protected from unauthorized disclosure and allows for civil and criminal penalties for violations.

David Leopold, America's Voice's legal adviser, said it is speculation to say people are undocumented unless it is known that a judge has ordered them removed from the U.S. or they have volunteered to leave. Even if they are undocumented, they may have some form of permission to remain in the country, Leopold said.

The shooting is one of a string that have occurred under Abbott, including the school massacre in Uvalde on May 24, in which 19 elementary school children and two teachers were killed.

Parents in that shooting have been pleading with Texas legislators to send to a bill to the governor for his signature that would raise the age for purchasing certain assault-style rifles from 18 to 21, with some exceptions. Law enforcement officers who were at Uvalde have said that the weapon's firepower was part of the reason there was a 77-minute delay in going into the school to stop the shooter.

Abbott has invested more than $4 billion and the Legislature is providing millions more on a border security project in which he has used state troopers, the National Guard, state prisons and state trespassing laws in a state-operated immigration enforcement program known as Operation Lone Star.

Texas has seen jumps in apprehensions of people crossing the border from Mexico, many of whom turn themselves in and ask for asylum. With the return of warm weather and the anticipated lifting of a pandemic-era law known as Title 42, which made expelling people easier, a jump in the current numbers is anticipated.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Photograph: David J Phillip/AP

As he announced a reward for the capture of a 38-year-old Texas man accused of fatally shooting five people after some of them complained about his firing a rifle in his yard, the states governor, Greg Abbott, went out of his way to describe Francisco Oropeza and those he allegedly murdered as illegal immigrants.

The Republicans words drew ire from immigration advocates, state and federal lawmakers and other politicians as Abbotts words hewed closely with his track record of using anti-immigrant rhetoric in the wake of mass shootings.

They decried Abbotts rhetoric as dehumanizing and indicative of an attempt to deflect attention from the role Republican lawmakers played in shaping Texass lax gun laws that Democrats say have created an unsafe environment for residents.

Related: Texas shooting suspect still at large as father says family called 911 five times

As of Monday, law enforcement authorities had not confirmed the immigration status of the five people killed. The victims, which included a young boy and two women who were shielding children from gunfire, were all from Honduras. Oropeza, who remained at large on Monday morning as federal and local enforcement frantically searched for him, was a Mexican national who had reportedly been previously deported from the US.

Political discussions of those facts prompted the local sheriff, Greg Capers of San Jacinto, to say they were irrelevant to investigators.

My heart is with this  boy, Capers told reporters. He was in my county, five people died in my county, and that is where my heart is  in my county, protecting my people to the best of our ability.

In his statements, Abbott also noted that he would tell state officials to alert Operation Lone Star soldiers and troopers to be on the lookout for the criminal and any attempts to flee the country after taking the lives of five people. The operation, which started in 2021, enabled Abbott to declare a security crisis at Texass border with Mexico  where crossings have risen in recent years  and deploy the states national guard there.

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Critics have decried how the operation has cost Texas taxpayers millions of dollars weekly while its participants make arrests that are physically distant from the border, not related to crimes there, and involve law enforcement agencies not directly part of Operation Lone Star, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune, ProPublica and the Marshall Project.

Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio who served as secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development before he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, criticized Abbott for using anti-immigrant rhetoric when five human beings lost their lives.

State senator Roland Gutierrez  a Democratic lawmaker whose district includes Uvalde, where 19 elementary school students and two of their teachers were shot to death by an intruder last year  went on Twitter to call Abbotts statement a new low.

Abbott, Gutierrez maintained, continued to do nothing to keep #Texas safe from #GunViolence.

Gutierrez, who is likely to run against the Republican Ted Cruz for his US Senate seat, told MSNBCs Alicia Menendez on Sunday that the states GOP members were responsible for loosening gun laws, noting that there were more than 20 pieces of gun control legislation that have not moved.

They dont get to have an immigration narrative today, Guiterrez said. They need to own the narrative that they have made this state more dangerous  An undocumented person was able to buy an AR-15 illegally somewhere because of their lax gun laws.

State Republicans have routinely rejected more gun restrictions, including in the wake of a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso that killed 23 and at the Uvalde school. Instead, they have loosened them, despite initially signaling they were open to some restrictions.

In 2021, two years after the El Paso shooting, Abbott signed a so-called constitutional carry law that allows Texas residents to carry handguns without a license or training.

Texas joins more than half the US in allowing the permitless carrying of firearms. In April, Floridas Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law making his state the latest to allow the carrying of concealed firearms without a license or training, less than seven years after a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Despite calls from the families of Uvalde victims for tougher gun laws, Republican Texas lawmakers have refused to act, and the states gun laws have gotten looser. Last August, a federal judge struck down a Texas law that raised the legal age for people to carry handguns from 18 to 21.

Those acts came even as a poll commissioned by Fox News, whose viewers are largely Republican, found that American voters favor gun control measures and worry that firearms violence will victimize them.

Police recovered an AR-15-style rifle that they say Oropeza used in Fridays shooting. It is unclear how he obtained it.

The Immigration Legal Resource Center tweeted that Abbotts rhetoric amplified a specific narrative rather than focusing on the people involved.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus tweeted that Abbott, by centering the victims unconfirmed immigration status, decided to dehumanize and delegitimize their lives. Congressperson Chuy Garcia of Illinois, one of the caucuss members, added that Abbott would take every chance he gets to dehumanize migrants. Even if they were murdered in a mass shooting.

Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso in Congress, called Abbotts rhetoric a disgusting lack of compassion and humanity.
Jon Herskovitz/Reuters

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) did not miss an opportunity to label the victims of his states most recent high-profile shooting illegal immigrants, making the tone-deaf characterization in a statement on Sunday.

Abbott also referred to the suspected gunman in the case, Francisco Oropesa, as someone who is in the country illegally as he announced a reward for information leading to his capture.

Oropesa, 38, is believed to have gunned down five people, including an eight-year-old boy, after he was asked to stop firing a weapon in his front yard last week.

Ive announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout.



I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond. pic.twitter.com/SpkUgKqKGe  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 30, 2023

Ive announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday, Abbott tweeted alongside the statement, in which he was quoted as saying, Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence.

I continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crimes, he continued.

I thank the men and women in law enforcement who are tirelessly working to ensure this criminal is caught and brought to justice.

The governors statement drew immediate criticism, including from Star Trek actor George Takei, who has previously spoken out in favor of gun control.

This is despicable, he wrote. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong.

Story continues

Abbotts offer of $50,000 comes in addition to the $80,000 reward currently being offered by the FBI, which admitted over the weekend that investigators do not know where [Oropesa] is.

We do not have any tips right now as to where he may be, said James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge in the Houston area. Right now, we have zero leads.

More than 200 law enforcement agents were actively searching for Oropesa on Sunday.

The five victims killed in the shooting have been identified as Sonia Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Juliza Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. All were from Honduras, according to officials.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The defining experience of Jordan Zamora-Garcias high school career  a hands-on group project in civics class that spurred a new city ordinance in his Austin suburb  would now violate Texas law.

Since state legislators in 2021 passed a ban on lessons teaching that any one group is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, one unprecedented provision tucked into the bill has triggered a massive fallout for civics education statewide.

A brief clause on Page 8 of the legislation outlawed all assignments involving direct communication between students and their federal, state or local officials. Educators could no longer ask students to get involved in the political process, even if they let youth decide for themselves what side of an issue to advocate for  short-circuiting the training young Texans receive to participate in democracy itself.

Zamora-Garcias 2017 project to add student advisors to the City Council, and others like it involving research and meetings with elected representatives, would stand in direct violation.

Since 2021, 18 states have passed laws restricting teachings on race and gender. But Texas is the only one nationwide to suppress students interactions with elected officials in class projects, according to researchers at the free expression advocacy group PEN America.

Practically overnight, a growing movement to engage Texas students in real-world civics lessons evaporated. Teachers canceled time-honored assignments, districts reversed expansion plans with a celebrated civics education provider and a bill promoting student civics projects that received bipartisan support in 2019 was suddenly dead in the water.

A screenshot of the law regarding civics education; it reads, in part, "a school district, open-enrollment charter school, or teacher may not require, make part of a course, or award a grade or course credit for a student's work for, affiliation with or service learning in association with any organization engaged in lobbying for legislation... social policy advocacy or public policy advocacy... political activism, lobbying, or efforts to persuade members of the legislative or executive branch at the federal, state, or local level to take specific actions by direct communication.

By the time we got to 2021, civics was the latest weapon in the culture wars, state Rep. James Talarico, sponsor of that now-defunct bill, told The 74.

Texas does require high schoolers to take a semester of government and a semester of economics, and is one of 38 states nationwide that mandates at least a semester of civics. But students told The 74 the courses typically rely on book learning and memorization.

Story continues

Courtesy of the office of State Representative James Talarico

Talarico, a former middle school teacher and the Texas legislatures youngest member, came into office during a statewide surge in momentum to deepen civics education. A 2018 study out of the University of Texas highlighted dismal levels of political participation  the state was 44th in voter registration and 47th in voter turnout  and Democrats and Republicans alike were motivated to reverse the trend. Meanwhile, academic research found lessons directly involving students in government could activate future civic engagement.

So when the freshman legislator proposed that all high schoolers in the state learn civics with a project-based component addressing an issue that is relevant to the students, colleagues on both sides of the aisle stamped their approval as the bill sailed through the House. Although the legislation then stalled in the Senate, Talarico said he came away very optimistic the policy would become law next session.

But in the two years before the next legislative session, he watched as the political tides turned. Flashpoint issues like George Floyds murder and the Jan. 6 insurrection brought on a disagreement over democracy itself, he said. And when his conservative colleagues passed a 2021 bill limiting school lessons on race and gender, he mourned as a few brief clauses dashed all his hopes for project-based civics.

Students are now banned from advocating for something like a stop sign in front of their school, Talarico said.

A battle over civics

The sections of the 2021 law limiting civic engagement pull directly from model legislation authored by the conservative scholar Stanley Kurtz, whose extensive writings seek to link an approach called action civics  what he calls woke civics  with leftist activism and critical race theory. Critical race theory is a scholarly framework examining how racism is embedded in Americas legal and social institutions, but became a right-wing catch-all term for teachings on race in early 2021.

Kurtz argues the practice is a form of political indoctrination under the deceptively soothing heading of civics, a cause long celebrated on both the right and the left.

The action civics model was popularized by the nonprofit Generation Citizen and is used in over a thousand classrooms across at least eight states. It teaches students about government by having them pick a local issue, research it and present their findings to officials.

The central philosophy is that students learn civics best by doing civics, Generation Citizen Policy Director Andrew Wilkes said.

Generation Citizens method has been studied by several academic researchers who found participants experienced boosted civic knowledge and improvements in related academic areas like history and English.

Kurtz, however, contends the projects tilt overwhelmingly to the left.

Political protest and lobbying ought to be done by students outside of school hours, independently of any class projects or grades, he said in an email to The 74.

Texas Rep. Steve Toth, a sponsor of the statewide legislation restricting students communication with elected officials. (Jon Mallard, Wikipedia)

Civics experts, however, argued otherwise.

The notion that its activism happening in classrooms  thats just so far from the truth, said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University in Boston.

Rep. Steve Toth and Sen. Bryan Hughes, the GOP lawmakers who sponsored the 2021 anti-CRT legislation, did not respond to requests for comment.

The 74 reviewed over three dozen action civics projects in Texas from before the 2021 legislation and found that the vast majority dealt with hyperlocal, nonpartisan issues.

Students most often took up causes like bullying, youth vaping, movie nights in the park or bringing back student newspapers. A handful in Austin and nearby Elgin could be considered progressive, including projects dealing with gun control or school admissions prioritizing diversity, topics educators said students selected based on their own interests.

Under the 2021 law, all of those projects now must avoid contact with elected officials. The restrictions have resulted in initiatives more contained to schools themselves like advocacy for less-crowded hallways or longer lunch periods, educators said.

This particular legislation  ties [students] hands as to how involved they can get while in high school, said Armando Orduna, the Houston executive director of Latinos for Education.

Texas State Capitol in Austin (Getty Images)

His own political awakening, he said, came three decades ago growing up in Texas when a teacher assigned him 10 hours of volunteering on a political campaign of his choice. He opted to work on the 1991 Houston mayoral campaign of Sylvester Turner, then a young state representative who lost his bid that year but went on to become the citys mayor in 2016.

Back then, the attitude was how to fight teenage apathy regarding politics and now its quite the other way around, Orduna said. Now politicians are working to tamp down the next generation of leaders.

Young progressives have become a considerable force in American politics, fueling recent electoral wins in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Chicago mayoral race and a base-rousing standoff in the Tennessee legislature. In the eyes of some members of the GOP, their activism is seen as a threat.

Students in Texas Generation Citizen courses now must pick projects that pertain no wider than their campus. (Megan Brandon)

A student explains a project with the title "We need longer lunches"

Everything got turned upside down

Though some project-based civics lessons in Texas continue with a pared-down scope, others have disappeared altogether.

One school district north of Dallas decided out of an abundance of caution to reverse years of precedent and stop offering course credit to students involved in a well-regarded national civic engagement program, The Texas Tribune first reported.

And Generation Citizen, too, has seen its footprint in Texas dwindle.

After a 2017 launch in the state, the organization underwent several years of steady growth, with more than a half dozen districts using its programming or curricula. At the time, districts in San Antonio, north Texas, the Rio Grande Valley and several rural regions had expressed interest in beginning programming, former regional director Meredith Stefos Norris said. She spent most of her days criss-crossing the sprawling state meeting with interested school leaders. Austin schools expanded their contract with the nonprofit to $58,000, according to records The 74 obtained from the district through a Freedom of Information request. And Dallas said it wanted to bring Generation Citizen programming to every high schooler in its 153,000-student district, Norris said.

It felt at the time that we were just going to keep going and keep growing and there was no reason that we werent going to be a statewide organization, the former Texas director said.

Then came the 2021 legislative session and everything got turned upside down, said Megan Brandon, Generation Citizens current Texas program director. It zapped their efforts and districts backed out of partnerships.

The organization now primarily works with just three Texas districts, including an updated contract with Austin schools for $3,000  a tiny sliver of the sum from a few years prior. The other two are Bastrop Independent School District and Elgin Independent School District.

State legislators on the House floor during a September 2021 special session. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, across the states northern border in Oklahoma, where Generation Citizen also operates, lawmakers passed a classroom censorship bill around issues of race and gender, but one that did not limit students contact with elected officials. The organization has been able to maintain all its programs while following the letter of the law, Oklahoma director Amy Curran said.

This isnt organizing about big culture wars, national stuff, she said. This is, literally, the sidewalks are unsafe around our school.

Brandon, a former social studies teacher herself, grieves not just for the Texas branch of her organization, where the nature of the projects are similar, but for the youth in her state. Her former students in Bastrop ISD outside Austin, most of whom did not have parents who attended college, never had access to civic engagement opportunities before her class, she said.

Students in Texas need civics more than students in many other states, she said. It feels like were going backwards in time.

Opportunity cost

Zamora-Garcia remembers striding to the dais of the Bastrop City Council in 2017 with seven of his peers  the boys clad in too-big blazers and bow ties, the girls in dresses and laced-up heels. For a project they began in Brandons civics class, the team sought to boost youth voices in their local government. After meeting with officials, researching models and drawing up bylaws, the students eventually made history by passing a city ordinance in the Austin suburb to add student advisors to the City Council.

It made me feel more important and more involved, actually being able to have a voice that can make a change, said Zamora-Garcia, now a junior at Texas State University studying business.

The course activated his potential in class and in the community, he said. Before the experience, school had felt more like being a cog in a machine, he said.

Brandons students present to the Bastrop City Council. Zamora-Garcia stands second from right. (Megan Brandon)

Mabel Zhu, who took the same class two years later, said the experience was life-changing, igniting her passion for civic engagement for years to come.

After the class, she began working with a local nonprofit, then organized a youth summit bringing awareness to the issues of mental health and substance abuse. She eventually joined the Youth Advisory Council that Zamora-Garcia and his classmates helped launch and worked with the Cultural Arts Board to put up a new mural that will define her citys downtown space for years to come. A waving flag on the painting proclaims, The future is ours!

Without [the class], I wouldnt have been able to make such an impact within my community, Zhu said.

Bastrop Youth Advisory Council members, including Zhu, worked with the Cultural Arts Board to put up a mural downtown. (Megan Brandon)

The loss of such opportunities are what Rep. Talarico calls the unseen opportunity cost of the culture wars.

What are we missing out on that we could be doing if we werent playing political games with our students education? the Democratic lawmaker asked.

Many students in Texas either learn how to engage with the political system in school or not at all, teachers said. Kyle Olson, an educator at an East Austin high school that serves predominantly immigrant families, taught his students that, as constituents, they could write letters to their elected representatives.

They didnt know that that was even something that was possible, he said.

Neutering those lessons flies in the face of American democracy itself, argues Alexander Pope, who leads the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Marylands Salisbury University.

Part of the job that schools have in this country is to help prepare people for democracy, he said. The idea that, in a representative democracy, youre going to literally ban  people from writing their elected representatives is just backward.

The risk, believes Tuftss Kawashima-Ginsberg, is that a generation of Texans may grow up with a stunted sense of citizenship.

Its going to really damage their idea of what democracy is, she said.
By Ted Hesson and Rich McKay

(Reuters) - A Texas man accused of killing five neighbors after being asked to stop shooting his assault-style rifle because of the noise had been deported from the U.S. four times since 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday.

The suspect in the shooting in the rural community of Cleveland, Texas, Francisco Oropesa, 38, is a Mexican who was deported in March 2009 after being ordered removed by an immigration judge, ICE said in a statement. He was apprehended and deported again in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016, ICE said.

Oropesa was convicted of driving while intoxicated in January 2012 in Montgomery County, Texas, and sentenced to jail, ICE added.

Law enforcement had not updated the media on the progress of their search by late afternoon Monday, but the trail had apparently gone cold on Sunday.

"We do not know where he is," FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith told reporters on Sunday. "Right now, we have zero leads."

Officers were going door-to-door in a search that involved more than 250 law enforcement officers from a dozen agencies, said San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers. Officials are offering an $80,000 reward for information that will lead to the suspect's apprehension.

Capers said on Saturday that the suspect stepped out of his house on Friday night and started shooting off rounds with an AR-15-style rifle in his yard. That was when neighbors in Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Houston, asked him to stop because the firing was keeping a baby awake.

Capers said police have recovered the weapon used in the shooting, but the suspect might be armed with a pistol. Police have also recovered other guns in the suspect's home as well as a cellphone.

A survivor of the shooting, Wilson Garcia, who is the father of the 1-month-old baby, told ABC News affiliate KTRT Houston that he escaped out of a window after several shots almost hit him.

Story continues

We asked him to be quiet" because the noise was scaring the baby, he told KTRT.

Instead of stopping, the suspect barged into the home with his rifle and starting shooting.

The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. They were all believed to be living in the house, but were not members of a single family, according to the FBI.

Mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, with at least 176 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 Ted Hesson in Washington and Rich McKay in Atlanta; editing by Donna Bryson and Jonathan Oatis)
The man on the run after killing five people in Texas was deported at least four times, US media report.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, is a Mexican national who had reportedly been deported twice in 2009, then again in 2012 and 2016.

Police say he killed five of his neighbours, including a child, after an argument about him practice-shooting with a semi-automatic weapon nearby.

A reward of $80,000 (64,000) has been announced for information.

A man who survived the shooting in which his wife and son died has tearfully recalled the details of the tragedy at a vigil held in Texas on Sunday.

Wilson Garcia said the noise of a neighbour's gunfire made his one-month-old son cry, so he and two others asked the man to move farther away.

The suspect, Francisco Oropeza, later fired indiscriminately on Mr Garcia's home, killing five people inside, say police

Mr Garcia said he "respectfully" asked his neighbour in the small town of Cleveland, San Jacinto County, to shoot his gun farther away so his infant son could sleep.

"He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted," he told Associated Press.

Mr Garcia called the police five times and was reassured each time that help was on the way. Then he saw Mr Oropeza running toward his home and reloading his weapon.

His wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, told him to go inside because he wouldn't fire at a woman, he recalled. But she turned out to be his first victim as he shot at the house.

There were 15 people in the house at the time of the shooting - many of them reportedly there on a church retreat.

Also among the dead was Mr Garcia's son, Daniel Enrique Laso, aged nine, and two women who died while protecting Mr Garcia's infant and two-year-old daughter.

Mr Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window to stay alive, in order to take care of his surviving children.

The victims were all from Honduras. The others include Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Story continues

"I don't have words to describe what happened," Mr Garcia told local news. "It's like we're alive but at the same time we're not. What happened truly was horrible."

Three children present during the shooting who were injured and taken to the hospital were released on Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reported.

An aerial view of the search

A manhunt continues for the suspect. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Authorities have announced an $80,000 (64,000) reward for information leading to Mr Oropeza's arrest, funded by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, the FBI and local authorities.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said at least three weapons were discovered inside the suspect's home, CNN reported.

"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads," FBI special agent James Smith told reporters. "We do not know where he is. We don't have any tips right now to where he may be. Right now, we're running into dead ends."

Following the shooting, more than 150 officers gathered in a wooded area near the site to search where authorities initially believed Mr Oropeza had fled on foot, finding clothes and a phone.

Tracking dogs eventually lost the suspect's scent, Mr Capers said, but the search involving over 200 officers continued on Sunday.

The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Texas Public Safety Department are all involved in the manhunt - which has some law enforcement on horseback.

When asked about the response time to Mr Garcia's multiple calls for help, he said officers got there as quickly as possible and that he had only three officers patrolling several hundred square miles.

Honduras' foreign minister, Enrique Reina, tweeted: "We demand that the full weight of the law be applied against those who are responsible for this crime."

The incident came days after nine people were injured at a shooting during a teenagers' party in eastern Texas.

Two weeks ago, four young people were shot dead during a 16th birthday party in Alabama.

Firearm incidents are the top cause of death for US children and teenagers, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By Juarawee Kittisilpa

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's leading prime ministerial candidate, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, gave birth on Monday to a baby boy two weeks before elections in which she hopes to return to power the populist movement her father and aunt led before army coups ousted them.

Paetongtarn, 36, announced the birth on her official Facebook and Instagram accounts with a photo of the newborn.

"Hi, my name is Prutthasin Sooksawas, nickname Thasin," read the post. "Thanks for all the support. In a few days, wait for my mum to recover first, then I will meet the press."

Paetongtarn, who goes by the nickname Ung Ing, has been first or second in polls for voters' favourite prime ministerial candidate throughout the campaign for the May 14 election, trading places with Pita Limjaroenrat of the progressive opposition Move Forward Party.

The imminent arrival of Paetongtarn's second child had not kept her from the campaign trail until very recently.

Her family's name recognition and her party's enduring popularity that has brought it a string of election victories could again bring it back to power.

Recent polls showing opposition parties with big leads could spell trouble for incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who first came to power in a 2014 coup that ousted an elected government that had been led by Paetongtarn's aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn's father and Yingluck's brother, former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra was himself toppled in a 2006 military coup. Both Thaksin and Yingluck live in self-imposed exile to avoid prison convictions their allies say were designed to prevent their political comebacks.

Prayuth, who became a civilian prime minister after 2019 elections, trailed in fourth place in a mid-April poll for favourite prime ministerial candidate with 13.72%.

However, Prayuth may have help from the 250-seat upper house Senate, whose appointed members were approved by the military junta Prayuth led for five years.

The Senate also votes for prime minister, so it is possible that the leader of the biggest party in the 500-seat elected lower house could be denied the top job if the Senate votes with minority parties.

(Reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa; Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Robert Birsel)
The Biden administration is preparing to examine how companies use artificial intelligence to monitor and manage workers. According to Bloomberg , the White House will publish a blog post later today that invites American workers to share how automated tools are being used in their workplaces.

While these technologies can benefit both workers and employers in some cases, they can also create serious risks to workers, the post states, per Bloomberg. The constant tracking of performance can push workers to move too fast on the job, posing risks to their safety and mental health. Citing media reports, the White House adds the technology has also been used to deter workers from organizing their workplaces and to perpetuate pay and discipline discrimination.

The blog post calls for input from a variety of stakeholders, including researchers, advocacy groups and even employers. Notably, the Biden administration says it wants to know what regulations and enforcement action the federal government should implement to address the economic, safety, physical, mental and emotional impacts of workplace surveillance tech.
Three convoys carrying American citizens and organized by the U.S. government have now successfully arrived at Port Sudan.

The third convoy reached the coastal city on Monday, following the arrival of two convoys over the weekend, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed. The evacuees included American citizens, their family members, and nationals from allied and partner countries.

The three convoys assisted a total of about 700 people, amid clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces that have led to a crisis in Sudan. This number doesn't include the roughly 1,000 U.S. citizens that have already left the country. Approximately 5,000 U.S. citizens in Sudan have sought the American government's guidance, Patel said, adding, "We have sent and responded to more than 25,000 emails and 1000s of phone calls and text messages providing information coordination and assistance to US citizens."

American nationals are searched by the U.S. soldiers before boarding a ship in Port Sudan, Sunday, April 30, 2023. / Credit: Smowal Abdalla / AP

The safe arrival of the third convoy comes after more than 100 U.S. citizens finally made it to the safety of a port in Saudi Arabia Monday. Some were aboard a second convoy of buses that left Sudan's battle-scarred capital of Khartoum on Friday, making the 500-mile drive to reach Port Sudan on the country's east coast.

Eligible evacuees arriving at Port Sudan will travel by boat across the Red Sea to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where U.S. officials will assist them with consular and emergency services. The State Department has transferred personnel from Washington, in addition to Djibouti, Nicosia, and Nairobi, to assist the Americans fleeing Sudan. A U.S. naval craft with military personnel seen on deck arrived at Port Sudan on Sunday, CBS News foreign correspondent Ramy Inocencio reported.

TOPSHOT - Smoke billows over buildings in Khartoum on May 1, 2023 as deadly clashes between rival generals' forces have entered their third week. / Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Patel said he wasn't aware of private vessels that were serving as alternative modes of evacuation.

"I will note that our conveys were not a hundred percent full either, just given the ongoing fluid security situation," he said.

Story continues

The death toll in Sudan has climbed to more than 500, according to the World Health Organization, with thousands more wounded, leading to an exodus from Africa's third-largest country. Sudan's warring generals agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, Volker Perthes, the top U.N. official in the country, told the Associated Press on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

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The United States Department of Defense (DOD) introduced a groundbreaking wearable device that uses AI technology to detect disease infections in real-time.



The AI-powered wearable or smartwatch technology allows for early intervention and prevention of outbreaks.

US Defense Department's New Wearable Detects Disease Infections

In a recent press release, the US Defense Department says that the RATE project used "powerful" and "predictive" AI technology, which uses data from hospitals that monitored the cases of COVID-19. The DOD started developing revolutionary tech during the pandemic brought about by the coronavirus.

The Program Manager for the RATE Project, Jeff Schneider, says that the Defense Department aims to also use wearable tech in detecting other infectious diseases in the long run.

Schneider further touts that RATE should enable the Defense Department to monitor infectious diseases using commercial wearables or smartwatches. In other words, they could detect possible infections in real-time sans any invasive process.

And as such, they could monitor the health of their members even before the disease spreads to their colleagues.

The Dutch tech firm, Philips, worked hand in hand with the US Defense Department to make the revolutionary technology possible. The giant company was responsible for developing the AI-powered algorithm of the RATE project.

Read Also: Ron DeSantis Japan Visit: Florida Governor Lauds Tokyo's Defense Efforts Ahead of Expected US Presidential Run

RATE Program: Here's How It Works

The US DOD reveals that the AI-powered algorithm of the new wearable tech detects diseases even before symptoms suggest that a person got infected. It notifies users 48 hours before symptoms start showing up. But in some cases, the detection is pretty advanced, spanning up to less than a week or a total of six days before the onset of the infection.

According to Interesting Engineering, the Defense Department is now looking to pursue the expansion of wearable tech.

The DOD has already raised enough funding to cater to more people. They can now expand the smartwatch users by roughly 4,500, allowing members from various departments to get their hands on it. Our friends from Tech Times note that the Defense Department received a whopping $10 million to kick off the expansion.

The Head of Integrated Technology Solutions at Philips, Navin Natoewal, says that the tech firm is open to offering the wearable technology to other watchmakers. It should allow them to include new features in their products, bringing infectious disease detection to commercial smartwatches.

With that, it might not take long before AI-powered disease detection debuts in various wearables.

Meanwhile, the Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Gradel notes that the new technology should assist first sergeants in monitoring their health. Such devices are crucial for them as they prioritize their people rather than themselves. He says that RATE should help improve the wellness and health of first sergeants.

With the additional funding, the US Defense plans to expand the AI-powered wearable technology to the 360 first sergeants of the Air Combat Command.

Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War: Putin Puts New Line of Defense by Spreading Spy Balloons Across Kyiv

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Thomas Markle Sr has said he will not allow his daughter, Meghan Markle, to bury him while he is still alive.

The Duchess of Sussexs father, 78, claimed in the Australian news programme 7News Spotlight that his daughter had not called him in four years.

He said that he suffered a debilitating stroke last year and expressed disappointment that she did not reach out.

If she doesnt turn up for a stroke, if that doesnt move her, what would? he said.

The Independent has contacted representatives of the Sussexes for comment.

It comes after Prince Harry wrote in his tell-all memoir Spare that Meghan was mourning the loss of her father.

Thomas told the programme: She killed me and then mourned me.

He added: I refuse to be buried by her.

Meghan and Thomas have a strained relationship, which came to a head after Thomas collaborated with paparazzi to stage several photo shoots before her wedding to Harry in 2018.

Thomas did not attend Harry and Meghans wedding and leaked part of one of her private letters to Associated Newspapers Limited in 2018.

Meghan later sued the publisher for reproducing parts of the letter.

Thomas Markle, father of Meghan Markle, speaks to Good Morning Britain about his daughters interview with Oprah Winfrey (Good Morning Britain)

In their Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan, the duchess spoke about learning her father wouldnt be attending her wedding from a TMZ report.

The unravelling happened that week when he wouldnt pick up my call, Meghan said. And instead youre talking to TMZ. And Im finding out that youre not coming to our wedding through a tabloid.

Elsewhere in the interview with the Australian broadcaster, Thomas said that he wishes he and Meghan could work out their differences and sit down and talk.

He also said that he regretted posing for the paparazzi photos and that he leaked the letter Meghan sent him.

Meanwhile, Meghans half-sister Samantha claims that Meghan and Harry have a toxic relationship.

The programme sees clips of Harry and Meghan walking together at various points in their relationship shown alongside a voiceover from Samantha, who said: They are really unhealthy for each other.
Russian troops carried out airstrikes on the town of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 1 May, injuring three civilians.

Source: Zaporizhzhia Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Details: The investigation stated that the Russian military carried out airstrikes on the town of Huliaipole, Polohy district, in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on 1 May, at around 11:30. Three civilians were injured.

Private houses and outbuildings have been partially destroyed. The blast wave shattered windows, smashed glass panes and damaged a car.

Law enforcement officers have launched a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings regarding the violation of the laws and customs of war.

The criminal case materials will subsequently be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Office of the Security Service of Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Springfield Public Schools recently announced three leadership changes, all internal promotions, including new principals for Jeffries Elementary and Campbell Early Childhood Center.

The changes take effect July 1.

Tammy Flowers

Tammy Flowers, principal of Campbell, will be the assistant director of early childhood education. She will work closely with the director, Christy Davis.

In announcing the promotion, SPS noted the recent expansion of early childhood programs. Wonder Years is now offered at multiple elementary schools including four early childhood centers. Those programs emphasize literacy, math, social interaction and language development.

Flowers has been principal of Campbell since 2018.

She previously served as coordinator of early childhood in St. Joseph, overseeing early childhood special education, Title 1 preschool and Parents-as-Teachers. She has also taught at Missouri Western State University and Baptist Bible College.

Her undergraduate work was at Missouri Western State University and her graduate work was from William Woods University.

Kayla Hollister-Graham

With Flowers moving into the new role Kayla Hollister-Graham was named the next principal of Campbell, where she has most recently served as a behavior interventionist.

She was hired by SPS in 2018. Before that, she taught fifth grade in the Avilla district.

Hollister-Graham is a graduate of Central High School, where she earned an International Baccalaureate diploma. She completed undergraduate work at Missouri State University and graduate work at Northwest Missouri State University.

Campbell Early Childhood Center holds a special place in my heart, she said, in a news release. I am excited for the opportunity to continue serving our early childhood students and their families in this new role.

Christen Glenn

Christen Glenn, assistant principal at Delaware Elementary, was named the next principal of Jeffries Elementary. She will replace Sabrina Francis, who previously worked in Marshfield, who was only in the role for one year.

Story continues

Hired by SPS in 2012, Glenn initially worked as a fifth-grade teacher. Later, as a learning specialist, she worked with principals to align training with their school action plans and helped develop newer teachers.

Glenn was a principal for the district's summer program, Explore. She taught in Marionville before joining SPS. Her undergraduate and graduate work was at Missouri State and she has a doctorate in educational leadership from Southwest Baptist University.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Three SPS leadership changes including Jeffries, Campbell principals
At least six Harris Teeter stores across Raleigh and Durham were evacuated and investigated at different times on Monday afternoon due to anonymous bomb threats, according to police.

The threats were deemed not credible, the Raleigh and Durham police departments confirmed to The News & Observer.

Police first responded to a threat at the Harris Teeter grocery store in the Hope Valley Commons shopping center on 1125 West N.C. Highway 54 just before 12:30 p.m., the Durham Police Department confirmed.

An individual made threats by phone from a blocked number to the store demanding money and claiming that an explosive device was put inside the store.

The Durham Police Departments bomb squad investigated the threats.

According to Durham police, officers responded to the Harris Teeter just before 12:30 p.m. Monday on 1125 West N.C. Highway 54 in the Hope Valley Commons shopping center.

Durham police responded to a second threat of the same nature at a Harris Teeter on 1501 Horton Road just 30 minutes later at 1 p.m.

Both stores have resumed operations after authorities investigated the threat as of 3 p.m., Durham police spokeswoman Crystal Price confirmed.

Raleigh Harris Teeter stores received threats

Four other Harris Teeter stores in Raleigh received similar bomb threats, which were identified as not credible, spokesman Lt. Jason Borneo confirmed.

The first Raleigh store to receive threats and be evacuated is located on Creedmoor Road near Millbrook Road, Raleigh police said.

The other Harris Teeter locations where threats were reported were at the 9600 and 6024 addresses on Falls of Neuse Road and another on 14520 John Rex Boulevard.

Police are investigating the threats and have not yet identified and charged a suspect.
A content creator is drawing back the curtain on how Chinese influencers are partaking in trending American culture and pretending theyre in the U.S.  while being on an entirely different continent.

Dr. Candise Lin (@candiselin86), a cultural commentator and Cantonese/Mandarin tutor with more than 1.3 million TikTok followers, shared a video discussing the artful ways in which Chinese girls pretend they are in the U.S. and the revelations are surprising.

How do Chinese girls pretend they are in the U.S., Lin begins. They take pictures on this commercial street in a housing community in the city of Changsha. Changsha is the capital of Chinas Hunan province.

Netizens on Xiaohongshu called this American street style,' she continues. The entire street is only the length of a swimming pool, but its decorated with things that Chinese think of America. These supposedly American things include a bus station, street signs written in English, signs for fast food restaurants and graffiti.

Also, Xiaohongshu, for those unfamiliar, is a social media platform thats recognized as Chinas answer to Instagram.

Fascination with the western world isnt exactly new. In fact, IKEA China allegedly banned influencers from posing in front of store lockers to emulate American high schools. Similarly, Chinese influencers have also been known to pose outside of Costco in an effort to make it seem as though theyre actually in Los Angeles, Calif. American farm style also made its rounds on social media in late 2022.

So why the fascination with western culture?

The influence of western culture on Chinese youth is pervasive. Yang Gao, a sociologist at Singapore Management University, suggests that American television, in particular, is massively popular among young Chinese for its authenticity.

This fascination is coinciding with the rise of the new golden age of quality television in America, with complex characters and unconventional storytelling, Gao told Eric Fish of Foreign Policy. By comparison, Chinese TV can feel uninspired with relatively predictable plotlines and unambiguous characters. Heroes are heroes and villains are villains.

Story continues

Gao also found that traditionally American themes of spontaneity, nonconformity, and self-realization resonated with young Chinese fans of American television. The television drama Boston Legal, for example, influenced one of Gaos subjects, a 21-year-old undergraduate student, to pursue a career in law.

Some netizens arent very familiar with U.S. geography, Lin continues. The caption of an influencers social media post, according to Lin, says checking in at the Manhattan district even though there arent any high rise office buildings in sight. The same caption also says finally came to Los Angeles in Changsha, which Lin argues is indicative of the fact that some content creators cant make up their mind whether this place gives a New York or California vibe.

They are just fronts telling the posers to dont crazy, dont happy, Lin says of the English-language storefronts and signage on the aforementioned commercial street.

While its not necessarily confirmed, its then possible that Chinese influencers have taken a liking to American culture because its so disparate from their own. In addition to the American inclination to challenge authority and promote ideas of individualism, it seems Chinese nationals have a sort of rose-tinted perception of many things American. Famous cities like Los Angeles and New York, for example, are where these influencers aspire to live. Being regarded as a resident of a bustling, aesthetically recognized major American city is somewhat of a dream they could only hope comes true.

I will never get over how American Core is a real thing

Commenters, presumably ones with U.S. citizenship, are surprised that American culture is as sought-after as it is. American Core, one user notes, is perplexing as a desired aesthetic.

Honestly it doesnt look like either new york or Los Angeles, @bunnyzaychik said.

I will never get over how American Core is a real thing, @ali.londy admitted.

Too clean for American street, @automatedresponsebot shared.

Its interesting how some ppl here have Japan core or chinese core and then there theres American core, @elys_iqn added.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post TikTok creator reveals how Chinese influencers take photos to pretend theyre in the United States: I will never get over how American Core is a real thing appeared first on In The Know.

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(Bloomberg) -- Tim Scott, the US Senator from South Carolina whos expected to make a run for the White House, said hell have an announcement on the final step on May 22.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A person familiar with Scotts plans previously said his goal was to formally announce a bid by the end of May, after launching an exploratory committee in April.

The only Black Republican currently in the Senate, Scott has visited early GOP primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. On Sunday, he posted a video of himself telling supporters to prepare for an announcement on May 22 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Scott, 57, would join a 2024 Republican field including former President Donald Trump, fellow South Carolinian and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and conservative radio host Larry Elder. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the runner-up to Trump in most polls, is eyeing early June for his formal entry into the race.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
 Read the full article on Motorious

These are enjoyed by more than just kids

Like a lot of people, you likely have fond memories of playing in the backyard with your Tonka trucks as a kid. Maybe you still do with your children or grandchildren, demonstrating the unifying nature of the iconic toys. Now theyre getting a proper tribute at the Woods' Farming and Heritage Museum.

Learn about the new Hot Wheels museum in Maryland here.

Located in Rupanyup in western Victoria, Australia, the museum recently put on display 850 Tonka trucks for patrons to enjoy. Some likely are from the 50s and 60s, while others are from the modern era. However, all the toys bring out the kid in even the oldest visitors.

The collection was amassed by one man, Noel Funcke, a retired farmer who decided to start restoring Tonka trucks as a hobby and for some side cash. Some of the refurbished toys he would sell at swap meets, however he held on to enough over the space of a quarter century to fill up his garage.

Looking for a better storage solution, Funcke came to an agreement with the local agriculture museum to put them all on display for the public. However, the man passed away not too long after, although he was able to see the former storage area converted into a publicly-accessible room with all his beloved toys on shelves.

Funckes son Warren told Australia Broadcasting Corporation that his father had done minor fixes on his farm equipment, so fixing old Tonka trucks was just an extension of that to a degree.

For many visiting the museum, the narrow room crammed full of Tonka trucks is a way to walk back in time to when things were simple and a backyard dirt pile was full of endless possibilities.

Image via Woods' Farming and Heritage Museum

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Geoffrey Hinton, a leading pioneer of artificial intelligence, has resigned from his role at Google after more than a decade, The New York Times reported.

Hinton said he left in part because he wanted to warn about the dangers of AI. He has joined a growing list of critics who fear AI could create unintended consequences, like using it to create disinformation or as a replacement for human jobs.

Rising fears: AI wild west raises national security concerns

It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things, Hinton told the Times.

In 2012, Hinton and two graduate students at the University of Toronto built tools that helped lead to the creation of AI systems, something he said he partly regrets.

I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadnt done it, somebody else would have, Hinton said.

Hinton was a vice president and an engineering fellow at Google where he designed machine-learning algorithms.

In a statement to The Hill, Jeff Dean, Googles chief scientist, said: Geoff has made foundational breakthroughs in AI, and we appreciate his decade of contributions at Google.

As one of the first companies to publish AI Principles, we remain committed to a responsible approach to AI, he added. Were continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.

More than 1,000 technology researchers have signed an open letter asking for a six-month pause on the expansion of AI, citing profound risks to society and humanity, the Times reported.

Hinton told the news outlet he did not sign the letter because he didnt want to publicly condemn his employer before he resigned.

AI has also faced criticism from the Biden administration, which announced last week it would crack down on automated systems that can cause harmful business practices, including unlawful bias and discrimination.

Several federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, pledged in a joint statement they will uphold core principles of fairness, equality, and justice as emerging automated systems  become increasingly common in our daily lives  impacting civil rights, fair competition, consumer protection, and equal opportunity.

Story continues

Catching up: Heres how Washington is racing to get a grasp on AI technology

The agencies added that although AI can be beneficial in terms of providing insights, breakthroughs, efficiency and lower costs, it also has the potential to perpetuate unlawful bias, automate unlawful discrimination, and produce other harmful outcomes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi

I informed him about the situation along the whole front line, said Zaluzhnyi.

Read also: Ukraine needs F-16 fighters for its defense, says Zaluzhnyi

I emphasized the need to augment (Ukraines) air defense system capabilities. Separately, I touched upon manning our units and the provision of materiel and supplies.

Read also: US training of Ukrainian troops begins in Germany, Gen. Milley says

Zaluzhnyi and Milley discussed the situation on all fronts, particularly in Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Mariinka where the enemy has been concentrating its efforts on offensive operations. The commander also shared details about missile strikes conducted by Russian strategic aviation and daily bombings of civilian targets with guided air-dropped bombs near the frontline.

According to Zaluzhnyi, the conversation also covered the issue of equipping Ukrainian military units and the importance of timely supply of Ukraine with weapons, military equipment, and ammunition in sufficient quantities.

Read also: Zaluzhnyi meets with NATO SACEUR Cavoli to discuss Ukraine's defense capabilities

On April 25, U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan Ukraine Victory Resolution in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The resolution affirms that it is the policy of the United States to see Ukraine victorious against the Russian invasion, holds that the peace brought by victory must be secured by integrating Ukraine into NATO, and declares that the United States must work with its allies and partners to secure reparations, reconstruction, justice for Russian war crimes, and accountability for Russian leaders

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
This is part of an occasional Herald-Leader series, Trail to 23, to catch readers up on all the latest from this years crowded governors race (and occasionally other races). Earlier editions can be found online. There are less than three weeks left until the May 16 primary that will decide who among several GOP candidates will take on presumptive Democratic nominee Gov. Andy Beshear.

Keeping up with the Kentucky governors race this time of year is like drinking from a fire hose, so lets get right to it because theres a lot of ground to cover.

Ad wars escalate

This contest is getting expensive  and were still in primary season.

Weve already reported that GOP hopeful Kelly Craft loaned her campaign $7 million and her husband, Joe, gave a PAC backing her another $1.5 million. But according to Medium Buying, which tracks political ad spending, the Kentucky governors race has already seen more than $8.4 million in TV and radio ad buys.

#KYGov: Total TV/radio ad spending in the GOP primary is now more than $8.43M  Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) April 27, 2023

With the primary so close, Republican candidates are dropping new commercials like crazy, including the first television ads from Somerset Mayor Alan Keck and Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles.

Keck, whos trailing far behind the front of the pack in recent polls, positions himself as an alternative for anyone tired of the same ol politics. The ad opens with snippets of the Craft and Daniel Cameron camps going after one another.

Quarles plays up his rural roots in his commercial, called Born and Bred. It shows him in a barn surrounded by hay bales and on a tractor. (No feature of his Big Red Truck, though!)

Craft, Cameron tout police support

Craft and Cameron are out with dueling ads about who backs the blue more.

Story continues

Cameron, the attorney general, opens his ad with footage of Breonna Taylor protesters on the front lawn of his Louisville-area home in 2020. Police arrested 87 people during that protest, though felony charges were later dropped.

Cameron came under national scrutiny that year when his office declined to prosecute the officers who fatally shot Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman killed in her apartment by Louisville Metro Police officers. That scrutiny was renewed in 2022 when the Department of Justice indicted four officers in connection to the shooting and the falsified warrant that led police to her door  a warrant that Camerons office didnt probe.

They tried to intimidate me and my family, Cameron says in the ad. I stood strong then, and I wont back down now.

The new ad from Craft, the former ambassador to Canada and the United Nations under then-President Donald Trump, tries to tie Cameron to Democratic President Joe Biden. Bidens woke DOJ asked to take over the Louisville police department and Daniel Cameron let them.

While its true that the DOJ did conduct a patterns and practices investigation into LMPD  the results of which were damning, especially in regards to racial disparities in policing  its not clear how Craft believes Cameron could have stopped the federal investigation.

Additionally, a liberal group was quick to spot that one of the officers featured in Crafts ad, Alex Payne, was previously scrutinized for authoring police training materials advocating for the controversial warrior mindset.

Oklahoma!

One of the most recent attacks against Craft centers around claims that she doesnt meet Kentuckys residency requirement to be governor. Weve already reported that Crafts bombastic fellow GOP candidate Eric Deters is planning to challenge her residency in court, but now a PAC backing Cameron has launched a new website: OklahomaKelly.com.

Bluegrass Freedom Actions website proclaims Kentuckians cant trust Kelly Craft because she puts Oklahoma over Kentucky, is buddies with Beshear, an absentee ambassador and is misleading Kentuckians.

Crafts campaign has dismissed the residency complaints, saying Craft is a Kentuckian through-and-through.

Debates. So many debates.

Four of the Republican candidates for governor  Keck, Quarles, Deters and Auditor Mike Harmon  debated in Northern Kentucky last Wednesday evening. The debate covered a lot of ground, but spent a fair bit of time focusing on regional issues. (Catch a Twitter thread of live coverage here.)

While Craft and Cameron were noticeably absent from that debate, theyve both been invited to participate in the KET debate May 1. Keck, Quarles and Deters were also invited. That will air at 8 p.m. Monday.

And because we still, somehow, havent had enough debates, WDKY-Fox 56 will also host a debate May 9, though we dont know the full lineup just yet.

Reminder: the primaries are May 16. Secretary of State Michael Adams said he is anticipating turnout between 15 and 19% of voters.

#NEW | @KYSecState projecting a low voter turnout for Kentuckys May 2023 primary election.



Adams says the likely statewide turnout will be around 15% of registered voters, but hopes it is closer to 19% (like in 2019 - during the last statewide primary election cycle) pic.twitter.com/JfhwnZDny9  Mario Anderson (@MarioAndersonTV) April 28, 2023

Jack Harlow name-drops Beshear

Amazingly, this isnt the first time we mention the Louisville rapper Jack Harlow in our Trail to 23 roundup. (Remember that time Kelly Craft posted sneaky shots standing next to a very unamused-looking Harlow?)

Harlow released a new album Friday, on which he casually mentions hanging out with... Gov. Andy Beshear?

Yes, really.

It cant be that I simply make ear candy/ Especially when the industry could just plant me/ Especially when I didnt grow up on Brandy/ Especially when Im havin dinner in Frankfort with Andy.

The shout-out is included on the song It Cant Be.

The governors spokesperson confirmed the two have shared a meal: Yes. The Governor and his family have had dinner with Jack Harlow in Frankfort. They had a great time listening to and getting to know Jack.

She added, tongue-in-cheek: The Governor is now considering launching a rap career after his second term.

While the Kentucky Democratic Party loved the line, were here to be the bearer of bad news for them: public records show Harlow is registered to vote in Georgia and has not donated to Beshears re-election campaign (at least not as of the last filing period).

Beshears at State Dinner

Beshear had a high-profile week even before the Harlow feature.

The governor and first lady were in Washington, D.C., Wednesday for a state dinner honoring President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea. (Other invited guests included Chip and Joanna Gaines of house-flipping fame, Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox Jolie-Pitt and a looong list of political movers and shakers, and prominent Asian Americans.)

It was the Beshears first state dinner, which the governor attributes to the multi-billion dollar BlueOval SK battery manufacturing project in Glendale. SK is a South Korean company.

Beshear told C-SPAN his election wont be about whats going on in the White House, but in the houses around Kentucky. He said the race would be very personal and will center around creating good jobs, expanding health care and public education.

Speaking at the Team Kentucky update in Frankfort the next day, Beshear said he does believe we could see some economic development opportunities coming out of connections made at the dinner. He did not, however, comment on the South Korean Presidents viral rendition of American Pie.

(You can see the Beshears at the seven-minute mark in this C-SPAN video.)

Poet laureate featured in attack ad

The Republican Governors Association crafted a video targeting Beshear for appointing famed Kentucky writer, Silas House, as the commonwealths new poet laureate.

The video shows Beshear talking about how proud he is to select House for the honor while overlaying tweets from openly gay, progressive Eastern Kentucky native.

All Trump fans/defenders: you can kiss my gay country ass, one of Houses tweets reads.

Just another indication Beshear is WRONG for Kentucky, the RGA tweeted with the video.

But the pushback against the video was strong, with Kentucky liberals quick to chime in defending House.

Another notable response from another Southern liberal: Grammy-award winning musician Jason Isbell.

Silas is my friend and hes a wonderful person and yall can just stay mad, Isbell tweeted.
(Photo : ELIZABETH RUIZ/AFP via Getty Images)

A bus carrying Mexican tourists crashed into a ravine in the Mexican state of Nayarit, killing at least 18 and injuring about two dozen others.

(not the actual photo)

A bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico

The tour bus accident resulted in deaths of 11 women and seven men

The cause of accident remains unknown

A local official said on Sunday that at least 18 Mexican tourists were killed and another two dozen were injured when their tour bus plunged into a ravine in the western state of Nayarit.

The bus was transporting visitors from Guadalajara in the neighboring state of Jalisco to the seaside destination of Guayabitos in Nayarit, according to civil protection official Pedro Nunez.

Mexico Tour Bus Crash

Per The Strait Times, the accident's cause remains unknown. Nunez stated that all of the passengers were Mexican nationals.

The prosecutor's office in the state of Nayarit, where the accident occurred, reported that the vehicle plummeted approximately 15 meters (49.21 feet) down a ravine on Saturday night, on a highway that connects the state capital of Tepic to the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta.

In a statement shared on Twitter, the prosecutor's office said, "From the very start, we have worked in cooperation with federal and state authorities to provide immediate attention to victims."

According to authorities, 11 women and seven men were slain. At least eleven minors have been transferred to hospitals for medical care.

Nunez stated, "The incident occurred while the bus was transporting passengers on a 220 km journey from Guadalajara, in the neighboring state of Jalisco, to the beach town of Guayabitos, in the state of Nayarit." He further stated, "The bus belonged to a private company."

Read Also: HNGN Crime Stories: Texas Man Kills 5 Neighbors, Wisconsin Gunman Shoots Doordash Driver, California Preschool Teacher Arrested During Children's Nap Time

Mexico Road Accidents

The Attorney General's Office of Nayarit has initiated preliminary investigations based on information provided by passengers and information compiled by the Criminal Investigation Agency, according to a statement.

Pablo Lemus, the mayor of Guadalajara, stated that his office ''remains attentive to the needs of the families affected by the accident'' and that he is working in coordination with the authorities of Jalisco ''to attend to and transport those affected by the traffic accident''.

On December 31, 2022, 15 people perished and 47 were injured when a bus transporting holiday season tourists overturned on a highway in Mexico's Pacific coast state of Nayarit, according to authorities. The rescue team in the adjacent state of Guanajuato reported that all of the passengers were from the same city, Leon.

The passengers have reportedly returned from Guayabitos, a coastal community north of Puerto Vallarta, as reported by the local media. Per Republic World, such accidents were frequently caused in the past by poor maintenance of rental vehicles, poor weather or road conditions, or excessive speed.

Meanwhile, a single-vehicle mishap in Sierra County resulted in multiple fatalities and shut down traffic in both directions between mile markers 59 and 63 for several hours. The New Mexico State Police confirmed that the vehicle contained illegal immigrants. It is unknown how many people were inside the vehicle when it crashed.

Related Article: Sudan's Ceasefire Fails as Death Toll Rises: Latest Updates on Khartoum's Ongoing Conflict

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The Biden administration's Justice Department is hurting children by challenging a Tennessee state law that bans sex reassignment procedures for kids, according to a prominent online influencer who recently de-transitioned after identifying as transgender.

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee last month signed into law a measure that prohibits hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and other medical procedures designed to change one's sex if they identify as the other gender from being used on minors under 18. The law is set to take effect on July 1.

This week, however, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in federal court against the recently enacted law, accusing Tennessee of discriminating against transgender youth by violating he 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Demonstrators protest in support of rights for transgender youth.

FORMER TRANS INFLUENCER BLAMES TIKTOK STARS FOR RISE IN GENDER IDEOLOGY: A TREND THAT DESTROYS LIVES

The Justice Department also asked the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee, where the suit was filed, to issue an immediate order preventing the law from going into effect on July 1.

But according to a social media influencer and de-transition activist, the Justice Department will only harm kids if it pushes ahead with its suit.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"The DOJ is claiming that the law specifically discriminates against transgender people and targets them because of their gender identity. But this new law is not an attack on the LGBT and trans community in any way  it's simply about protecting children," Oli London told Fox News Digital. "Children cannot consent to life-altering and harmful medical procedures. They cannot consent to taking body- and mind-altering hormones."

London, author of "Gender Madness" and spokesperson for Fairness First PAC, last year de-transitioned back to a man after identifying as a woman for several months. He went on to list potential problems that come along with gender surgery.

Story continues

Author and activist Oli London

FLORIDA SENATE PASSES DESANTIS-BACKED BILL BANNING TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

Kids "cannot begin to comprehend the long-term ramifications that transitioning has on their body," said London. "This includes sterilization, incontinence, problems with bone density growth, and fertility issues affecting girls' abilities to have their own children in the future."

The Justice Department countered that sex reassignment procedures are necessary medical care for children who don't want to identify as their biological sex.

"No person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. "The right to consider your health and medically-approved treatment options with your family and doctors is a right that everyone should have, including transgender children, who are especially vulnerable to serious risks of depression, anxiety, and suicide."

The Civil Rights Division "will continue to aggressively challenge all forms of discrimination and unlawful barriers faced by the LGBTQI+ community," added Clarke.

CALIFORNIA LEADS BLUE-STATE ATTACK ON ABSURD WEST VIRGINIA LAW BANNING BOYS FROM GIRLS' SPORTS

U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee echoed that sentiment, arguing in a statement that Tennessee's law is both unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The law "violates the constitutional rights of some of Tennessee's most vulnerable citizens," said Leventis. "Left unchallenged, it would prohibit transgender children from receiving health care that their medical providers and their parents have determined to be medically necessary. In doing so, the law seeks to substitute the judgment of trained medical professionals and parents with that of elected officials and codifies discrimination against children who already face far too many obstacles."

Tennessee isn't the first state to push legislation banning sex reassignment procedures on minors.

Oli London

STATES ADVANCE BILLS PROTECTING GIRLS' SPORTS AS BIDEN SAYS NO AT FEDERAL LEVEL

Indeed, state lawmakers nationwide have been pushing a number of bills affecting transgender individuals. This year alone, legislators have introduced more than 400 such bills, dwarfing numbers from recent years. Many of these measures, especially those placing restrictions on gender transition procedures for children and the teaching of gender identity in the classroom, have triggered protests across the country.

At least 21 states have also now imposed restrictions on transgender athletes, primarily with the intention of protecting girls by prohibiting biological males who identify as female from competing against them. And many additional states may soon join that list or expand their restrictions.

Such measures are necessary to protect kids, according to London, who argued the Biden administration needs to stop trying to block Tennessee's law from being implemented.

"Children should be protected at all costs," said London. "It is of paramount importance that the Tennessee law goes into effect on July 1 without any stalling or interference from the Justice Department."
A descendant of 19th Century aristocrat Sir Charles Trevelyan has said if the Irish government asked her family to pay compensation over the Irish famine they would consider the request.

Laura Trevelyan accepts that her great, great, great-grandfather was among those who "failed their people" while governing Ireland during the famine.

The Irish folk song The Fields Of Athenry singles him out for blame.

But she does not believe her family should be held personally responsible.

Ms Trevelyan, a former BBC journalist, said this is because Sir Charles was involved in his capacity as a British government official during the famine.

In the 1840s, he was the senior British civil servant in charge of Irish famine relief.

More than a million people died and another two million emigrated during the famine, the result of potato blight and exports of food to Great Britain, which ruled the entire island of Ireland at the time.

Slave trade

The Fields Of Athenry is a ballad about a man prosecuted for stealing "Trevelyan's corn".

The Trevelyan family recently agreed to donate more than 100,000 to the Caribbean island of Grenada to compensate for their ancestors' historic role in the slave trade.

Asked why the Trevelyan family would pay compensation to Grenada over slavery and not to Ireland over the famine, Ms Trevelyan said her ancestors were personally profiting from the sale of sugar cane harvested by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, while Sir Charles was carrying out government policy.

She added: "If the Irish government said the Trevelyan family are liable for what Sir Charles Edward did, then of course that would have to be considered."

After 30 years in the BBC, in the UK and America, Ms Trevelyan left the corporation last month to become a full-time slavery reparations campaigner.

After her family issued a public apology in February over their historic links to slavery, the Irish novelist Katherine Mezzacappa asked Ms Trevelyan on Twitter: "Any word on Charles Trevelyan's catastrophic handling of famine relief in Ireland?"

Story continues

Good. Any word on Charles Trevelyan's catastrophic handling of famine relief in Ireland?  Katherine Mezzacappa (@katmezzacappa) February 4, 2023

Ms Trevelyan told BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show that the Fields Of Athenry had been sung at her, and she had been directly challenged about her family link to the famine by Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness in the 1990s.

She said: "A quarter of a century ago, when I was a BBC reporter covering the Good Friday Agreement, I tripped over my own history.

"I well remember Martin McGuinness saying to me, 'Is this a coincidence that the British have sent a Trevelyan for the BBC, a state institution, to cover these negotiations?'.

"I assured him it was a coincidence but he didn't think it was at all and that's when I tripped up against Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan.

"And I remember so clearly being in Crossmaglen in south Armagh and speaking to a member of Republican Sinn Fein who looked at me in horror and said, 'How can you be driving around south Armagh with the blood of the Irish on your hands?' And to my embarrassment I didn't even really understand what either of them were talking about.

"When I got back to Britain I began to read up on Sir Charles."

Laura Trevelyan as a young BBC reporter in the historic town of Carrickfergus, County Antrim

'Massive human tragedy'

Amid all the recent publicity about her family's connection to the slave trade, she expected questions to be also asked about what happened during the Irish famine.

In the 1830s, after the abolition of slavery, the Trevelyan family received about 34,000 in official compensation, the equivalent of about 3m in modern money.

Asked for her personal view of Sir Charles Trevelyan, she said: "When I wrote a book in 2006, A Very British Family, I'd read everything that had been written about him to that point.

"Where one ends up is, as [the then prime minister] Tony Blair said in 1997, those who governed in London at the time of the Irish famine failed their people by standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive human tragedy.

"He [Sir Charles] was the Treasury official in charge of the famine relief so he is an absolutely central character in this and as I reflected in my book in 2006, he's a providentialist, he's a laissez-faire economist. He feels that private charity in Ireland should be leaping to the rescue.

"It is hard to interpret his writings in some ways because they're so Victorian and convoluted and open to interpretation in some ways. But he both says the people cannot under any circumstances be allowed to starve - and they do starve, so he's failed by his own point.

"And he also seems to suggest that in some ways this is the divine punishment of God for a one-crop economy. It's very hard to defend any of it."

In her book, she said there was a debate over the extent of the role played by Sir Charles, with some historians being more critical than others, and at least one defending him.

As for the song, The Fields Of Athenry, it has become very familiar to Ms Trevelyan.

Written by Pete St John, it has grown in popularity in recent years and is often sung at Irish sporting occasions, including by fans supporting the Ireland rugby team.

"It's been sung to me many a time," Ms Trevelyan said.

"I was once trying to park a car outside the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Dublin and somebody came and helped me get into the spot. I said, 'Thanks very much', and he said, 'What's your your name?' and I said 'Laura Trevelyan'.

"He looked at me and began singing The Fields of Athenry.

"And I when I got into the Irish Ministry for Foreign Affairs I was shown around as though I was an historical artefact - 'she's related to Sir Charles' - all of which was pretty extraordinary. What I was embarrassed about at the time was that I didn't know the history of my family and here I was meeting all these people who knew it intimately.

"It made me realise that the past defines the present you realise that more and more, how the past is not really the past."

On the issue of reparations for Ireland, Ms Trevelyan expanded on her position.

She said: "To the best of my knowledge there isn't an inter-government request from the Irish government to the British for reparations to be paid for the famine because of the action of officials like Sir Charles.

"I guess the distinction I would make is that in the Caribbean my ancestors were acting for private profit whereas Sir Charles was acting as an official for the British government, and the British government did in 1997 acknowledge his failures and the failures of others."

After three decades of telling the stories of other people, Laura Trevelyan is now at the centre of her own.

From anchoring BBC World News America, the broadcaster has turned into a campaigner.

While finding the sudden switch "truly weird", she says she has no regrets and is now fully focused on her new role.

Listen to the full interview with Laura Trevelyan on The Nolan Show on BBC Sounds.
The trial for an East Naples man accused in the Capitol insurrection has entered a brief pause with some adjustments and is set to resume May 11.

The trial for Christopher Worrell, 52, took a break because of U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's scheduling, a spokesperson said.

Lamberth on Friday approved a motion that sought to modify conditions of Worrell's release. His home detention condition was also revoked, although Lamberth has set a curfew between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Search for clues: Collier County deputies ask for help identifying a man who approached a schoolgirl.

Video voyeurism: Target employee arrested on video voyeurism, petty theft charges, Collier Sheriff says

Worrell continues to be subject to electronic location monitoring in Florida until he returns to Washington, D.C.

Lamberth also OK'd Worrell's request to return to Florida and then back to Washington, D.C., by car.

The bench trial for Worrell began Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Court records have revealed that prosecutors may exhibit hundreds of documents including maps, clothing, FBI photos and videos during the trial. The list includes 346 items.

Worrell is a self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist group that advocates for and participates in politically motivated violent events.

Worrell is accused of attacking police officers with pepper spray gel during the Jan. 6 incident.

Worrell pleaded not guilty to 19 counts linked to the incident.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Capitol insurrection trial for Christopher Worrell paused
IQVIAs logo may still hang atop one the Triangles most prominent office towers overlooking Interstate 40 in Durham, but no one is actually working there.

Most employees emptied out of the towers top four floors after the company put its 260,000-square-foot space up for sublease last October, shifting headquarters to downsize.

In fact, the entire building is empty. The rest of its space  106,286 square feet  has been up for sublease since late 2021, as the rise of hybrid work, surging interest rates and tech layoffs push sublease vacancy rates to record highs.

Roughly 4.4 million square feet of office space is vacant across the Triangle, according to CBRE Raleigh Researchs first-quarter market report.

Thats roughly 8.3% of overall market inventory and a new record high, surpassing the previous high-water mark of 5.3% witnessed in the aftermath of the dot-com bust and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In a balanced market, sublease availability is typically closer to 2% of inventory, the report said.

Overall, office vacancy rose to 13.4%, up 50 basis points quarter over quarter.

This graph shows net absorption and vacancy rates for the Raleigh-Durham office market based on CBRE Raleigh Researchs first quarter market report released this month.

Its a trend hitting metro areas nationwide. And while some analysts are calling it the beginning of the office apocalypse, Elizabeth Gates, a CBRE Raleigh senior analyst, wouldnt go so far. However, the sheer volume of space on the market in the Triangle is reason for significant concern, she said.

Among the largest new offerings: UNC Health, which placed 324,874 square feet of administrative space on the market at 1025 Think Place and 5221 Paramount Parkway in the RTP/I-40 corridor earlier this year. In downtown Raleigh, Citrix placed its 153,000-square-foot headquarters building on the market for sublease.

A correction is likely, but the severity will vary greatly by location, Gates said. Even within our market, there will be areas that perform well and others that will face more challenges. The reality is, its going to take some time to work through the current glut of space.

Story continues

Gary Woodhill, a senior leasing agent with Avison Young and landlord of the newly developed South Green Shopping Center in Chapel Hill, agreed. He said the region isnt at a crisis point  yet. But are we in a good spot? No. Until some sublease space gets taken off the market, things wont start to recover. Its not going to be a quick fix.

A view of Quintiles old logo, which the company used until this year, when it became IQVIA.

Some bright spots

Its not all bad news, however.

Tenants are also continuing their flight to quality, where newer properties, particularly those in walkable, amenity-rich settings, have attracted the lions share of interest. That demand remains strong.

For example, GFL Environmental leased 92,300 square feet and Summit Design and Engineering Services leased 30,171 square feet at 1000 Social in Midtown Raleigh. Currently under construction, the building is now 50% leased.

And just this past week, engineering firm WithersRavenel and co-working space Cary Founded confirmed theyll be the future anchor office tenants of the 50,000-square-foot Rogers buildings coming to downtown Cary this fall. That building is now 100% leased, according to its developers, Northwood Associates and Chatham Street Commercial.

To compete, building owners are stepping up efforts to attract tenants, offering broker incentives and concessions. While trophy buildings remain the exception, rent growth is beginning to slow, the report said.

The hardest hit

Meanwhile, older suburban properties, particularly buildings built between 1980 and 2009 and lacking amenities, are getting the hardest hit.

In some instances, opportunities could emerge to redevelop under-performing properties, a separate CBRE study found, such as allowing for more mixed-use development in traditionally office-centric locations. But analysts also warn of inaction, with languishing properties increasing the chances of falling property values.

If we witness a widespread reduction in property values, the resulting impact on local tax revenues could become a challenge, Gates said.

In the meantime, more than 2.2 million square feet of office space is under construction across the Triangle. Thats down roughly 44% from two years ago.

The pipeline includes Bandwidths new 533,889-square-foot headquarters in West Raleigh, which will occupy the entire building. The rest of the space under construction across the market  1.7 million square feet  is being built on a speculative basis. To date, developers have secured tenants for 13% of the speculative space under construction. The rest is still available.

The positive is that were in a high-growth market. Were far better positioned than many areas, but there will be some pain to work through to get there, said CBRE Raleigh executive vice president Brad Corsmeier.
Michael Allen from Bodmin was killed in an attack outside Eclipse nightclub in the town - Devon and Cornwall Police

Tributes have been paid to a much-loved 32-year-old rugby club member who was stabbed to death near a nightclub.

Michael Allen, 32, was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning near Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin, Cornwall, following a serious altercation.

Seven other men and women were injured and taken to hospital for stab wounds. Five have since been released, with the two others remaining in hospital as they recover from surgery.

A tribute from Mr Allens family read: Mike was simply a much-loved son, brother, grandson, and uncle who loved his dogs.

His family would like to respectfully request privacy at this time.

Devon and Cornwall Police have arrested a 24-year-old man from Bodmin on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

On Monday the force was granted a magistrates extension to allow officers extra time to detain the suspect.

Police forensics officers search Castle Canyke, Bodmin after Michael Allen was stabbed to death and seven others injured - Daniel Dayment/SWNS

The incident happened outside Eclipse nightclub but police believe that some of those involved had been in the club prior to the alleged murder - Daniel Dayment/SWNS

Detective Inspector Ilona Rosson from the Major Crime Investigation Team said: Our investigation continues into this matter, and we continue to ask the public for their help.

If you have any information relating to this murder and have yet to have spoken with the police, please come forward immediately. The information you have, no matter how small you may feel it could be, could be vital to our investigation.

If you witnessed the incident or have any information, including footage that could help with enquiries, please contact police via the Major Incident Public Portal.

Eclipse nightclub has also released a statement, which said: Everybody from the Eclipse are deeply saddened by the incident on Castle Canyke Road in the early hours of Sunday and our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this time.

The incident happened outside Eclipse nightclub but police believe that some of those involved had been in the club prior to the alleged murder.

Supt Rob Youngman said on Monday that the relationship between the deceased and the man arrested is currently unknown.

Story continues

At this moment in time we are working to continue to understand the motivation behind this incident, he said. The relationship, if any, between those involved is not clear at this stage.

A 24-year-old man from Bodmin has been arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent - Daniel Dayment/SWNS

We believe some members of the group who were injured had been in Eclipse nightclub. They were then outside in Castle Canyke Road when the incident happened.

A tribute site has been set up at Bodmin Rugby Club where people can gather to remember Mr Allen.

Teammates at the club paid tribute, saying: It is with great sadness that we can now announce the passing of our player and friend Mike Allen (Chabel).

Mike came to the club earlier this season and quickly became a big part of our squad. His humour and kindness have left a mark on us all and we will miss him dearly.

Our thoughts are with Mikes family at this devastating time.

There is a memorial set up outside the rugby club where people are welcome to come to pay their respects and lay flowers.

Fly high brother.

Rival rugby clubs also paid their respects to him.

Camelford RFC said: We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Bodmin RFC, and all family and friends, after the tragic news of the passing of Mike Allen.

Helston RFC added: The thoughts of everyone here at Helston RFC are with Bodmin RFC today. The tragic loss of Mike Allen will be felt by all. Our condolences to his family, friends and club.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Astrid Riecken/The New York Times)

WASHINGTON  A vote by House Republicans last week to lift the nations debt limit in exchange for deep spending cuts was the first step in what is likely to be a protracted battle over raising or suspending the borrowing cap to avoid defaulting on United States debt.

But while Republicans and President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats are gearing up for a fight, a key question is beginning to sow unease in Washington and on Wall Street: How much time is there to strike a deal?

The United States technically hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit in January, forcing the Treasury Department to employ accounting maneuvers known as extraordinary measures to allow the government to keep paying its bills, including payments to bondholders who own government debt. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the time that her powers to delay a default  in which the United States fails to make its payments on time  could be exhausted by early June. She cautioned, however, that the estimate came with considerable uncertainty.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

With June now just a few weeks away, uncertainty around the timing of when the United States will run out of cash  whats known as the X-date  remains, and determining the true deadline could have huge consequences for the country.

Tax receipts will be key to the X-date.

Determining the X-date depends on a complex set of factors, but ultimately what matters most is how much money the government spends and how much it takes in through taxes and other revenue.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, which tracks federal revenues, projected in February that lawmakers would need to raise or suspend the debt limit sometime between summer and early fall to avoid a default. The specific date would largely depend on how quickly tax revenues are coming into the governments coffers.

There are signs that 2022 tax receipts are trickling in too slowly for comfort. Economists at Wells Fargo wrote in a note to clients last week that because tax collections appear to be weaker than expected, there is a chance the X-date could be as soon as early June. However, they continue to believe early August is the most likely default deadline.

Story continues

A low but not insignificant probability of a U.S. default is still very concerning, and we would think the last thing Treasury officials want is an X-date that sneaks up on Congress, they wrote.

Tax day payments are still arriving. Goldman Sachs economists projected last week that by the second week of June, the Treasury Department could have around $60 billion of cash remaining, which would allow the government to keep making its payments until late July.

Natural disasters could fuel a debt disaster.

There is a surprising factor that could cause the X-date to arrive sooner: the weather. Severe storms, flooding and mudslides in California, Alabama and Georgia this year prompted the IRS to push the April 18 filing deadlines in dozens of counties to October.

The IRS said this year that, because of the storms, individuals and businesses in the affected areas could file their returns late. They were also given more time to make contributions to retirement and health savings accounts.

Farmers, who often file their tax returns by March 1, also have received a reprieve until Oct. 16, and estimated payments that normally would have been made in January were allowed to be pushed back to that date.

It is not clear how much tax revenue has been delayed by the storms, but the extensions have given the Treasury Department less wiggle room to keep paying the bills.

An update could come this week.

The Treasury Department is expected to send a letter to Congress in the coming days with a more precise estimate of when it could start running out of cash. It could also lay out new measures intended to stave off a default. This year, Yellen announced that she would redeem some existing investments and suspend new investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.

In a speech last week, Yellen warned that a default would have real consequences for the economy.

Household payments on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards would rise, Yellen said in remarks to the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce in California. And American businesses would see credit markets deteriorate.

She added, On top of that, it is unlikely that the federal government would be able to issue payments to millions of Americans, including our military families and seniors who rely on Social Security.

Heres what the X-date means for negotiations.

As the X-date approaches, it will put more pressure on lawmakers to take action.

Analysts at Beacon Policy Advisors predicted that if a default could really happen as soon as June, that would increase the likelihood that Congress will pass a short-term suspension of the debt limit through October. If the X-date is expected to hit in July, that might compel lawmakers to file legislation by early May so they have sufficient time to deal with procedural obstacles in Congress.

Although markets have broadly remained calm about the prospect of a default, there are some signs that investors are becoming nervous.

They have sold government bonds that mature in three months  around the time policymakers have said the United States could run out of cash  and snapped up bonds with just one month until they are repaid.

The cost of insuring existing bond holdings against the possibility that the United States will default on its debts has also risen sharply. Still, analysts say the market reaction would need to be much more pronounced to force a fast deal.

This has caused some heartburn among policymakers but not enough to move the negotiating needle in a meaningful way, the Beacon analysts wrote. There needs to be a bigger market response and a more definitive X-date to get negotiations going in full.

That has yet to happen, however. While Biden has indicated he is open to talking with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about ways to get the nations fiscal situation on a better track, the two have yet to schedule a meeting after the House passage last week.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Donald Trump. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

An attorney representing Donald Trump has requested a mistrial in an ongoing rape case against the former president, citing what he has deemed "pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings" from Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The attorney, Joe Tacopina, says Kaplan is acting in a biased manner toward his client, who is currently defending himself against assault claims brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Carroll says the former president assaulted her in a dressing room in the 1990s, then defamed her when he denied it happened and suggested she made up the story for publicity. Trump has continually maintained his innocence.

"Here, despite the fact trial testimony has been underway for only two days, the proceedings are already replete with numerous examples of defendant's unfair treatment by the court, most of which has been witnessed by the jury," reads Tacopina's letter.

Though "frequently requested," mistrials are "rarely granted," notes The Associated Press. In asking for one, "Tacopina was more likely hoping the judge would grant a version of his alternative requests," which include allowing Tacopina more room to question Carroll and to "correct the record for any rulings that mischaracterized the evidence," AP summarizes.

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Trump asks for mistrial in E. Jean Carroll suit, citing bias from judge
Former President Trumps legal team has requested a mistrial in E. Jean Carrolls civil suit against him, citing unfair rulings.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina argued in a letter, filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, that a mistrial should be granted based upon pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by the Court.

Carroll, 79, has accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in the 1990s. Carroll, a longtime columnist for Elle magazine, is suing for battery and defamation, claiming Trump defamed her when he denied the allegations.

In the 18-page letter, Tacopina lays out a number of alleged reasons for a mistrial, including arguments that the court, led by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, has mischaracterized evidence in Carrolls favor and sustained improper objections from the plaintiffs team.

If a mistrial isnt granted, Tacopina argued in the Monday filing, the court should correct the record and give Trumps team more latitude to cross-examine Carroll and other plaintiff witnesses.

Trial opened with jury selection in the case last week.

Im here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didnt happen, Carroll began her testimony, according to The Associated Press. He lied and shattered my reputation, and Im here to try and get my life back.

Carrolls suit is one of a number of court battles now facing the former president. He was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by the Manhattan district attorney last month for his alleged role in a 2016 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump was denied a mistrial in the civil sexual assault case against him, after he made the request over what he called unfair and prejudicial rulings giving his accuser an advantage in front of the jury.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The former presidents lawyer Joe Tacopina said in a letter Monday to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan that the court should grant a mistrial  with the trial declared invalid, potentially resulting in a new one  or correct the record to address a series of rulings he claims gave an unfair boost to E. Jean Carroll, the New York author who claims Trump raped her in the 1990s.

Read the letter here

The judge denied the request Monday morning from the bench, without explanation, as the trial got back underway. A written ruling is likely to follow.

Tacopina also asked for greater latitude to cross-examine Carroll when she returned to the witness stand on Monday. He argued that Kaplan improperly shut down his lines of questioning last week about details of the alleged attack and its aftermath. Its the second week of the trial, which Trump hasnt yet attended.

Carroll, a former advice columnist with Elle magazine, claims Trump raped her in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996. She sued last year under a New York law that temporarily lifts the statute of limitations on assault claims that are decades old.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in the case, as in all the cases and probes he faces, calling them part of a partisan effort to take him down. The trial of Carrolls suit, the latest of his travails, has brought new attention to past claims about his treatment of women that failed to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, as he runs in the 2024 race.

Story continues

Security Footage

Tacopina argued the judge improperly stopped him from questioning Carroll about whether she ever asked the department store for security video footage of her and Trump near the entrance to the store, where she claims they ran into each other before deciding on a whim to shop together. The lawyer said her failure to seek such footage is evidence that the attack didnt happen.

Read More: Trump Lawyer Presses E. Jean Carroll on Details of Alleged Attack

The lawyer also claimed the judge improperly bolstered Carrolls testimony when Tacopina questioned her about a line in her 2019 book What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, in which she suggested men should be sent to Montana and retrained.

You understand that was said as satire, Carroll testified.

Ah, OK, Tacopina said.

The judge then weighed in to say it was a reference to Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal, and Carroll agreed. Tacopina said the exchange was inappropriate.

Favoritism Before Jury

It was not for the court to provide evidence from the bench to corroborate plaintiffs position in a way that suggested to the jury favoritism of any one party, Tacopina said in his letter.

Read More: Trumps Fate in Rape Lawsuit in Hands of Librarian, Janitor

Trump, 76, has long argued that Carrolls allegation that he assaulted her was impossible to believe given her age and because she was not his type. He also argues there would have been witnesses and that she would have screamed, or reported him to the police afterward.

Carroll, 79, says the sixth-floor lingerie department where she alleges the attack occurred was unstaffed and all but deserted on the midweek evening when they were there, and that she didnt report the incident because she was ashamed and because she feared Trump would try to destroy her if she spoke up.

The case is Carroll v. Trump, 22-cv-10016, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Read More

Trump Accuser Gives Jury Graphic Testimony of Rape He Denies

Trump Lawyer Tacopina Has a Lot in Common With His Client

LinkedIn Co-Founder Defends Funding Trump Rape Accuser Suit

--With assistance from Patricia Hurtado.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
MANCHESTER, N.H.  In a Republican presidential nomination race currently dominated by former President Donald Trump, Michigan businessman and long shot GOP White House candidate Perry Johnson says hes "Trump without the baggage."

Johnson, who made a fortune through his successful companies in the quality control industry, described himself as "Yankee frugal" and touted in an interview Monday with Fox News in New Hampshire that "none of my companies have any debt. None of my companies have ever gone bankrupt."

That appeared to be a swipe at the former president, a real estate and business mogul before winning the White House in 2016. Six of Trumps companies over the years filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which means a company can stay in business while wiping away many of its debts.

"The reason I say Im Trump without the baggage is that we both are businessmen. We both started companies. Both became successful. But I spent a lot less money," Johnson emphasized.

2024 WATCH: PERRY JOHNSON SAYS HE'S GOING DINER TO DINER IN IOWA

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, speaks at a campaign rally on April 27, 2023, in Manchester, New Hampshire.

And pointing to the nations exploding debt during Trumps tenure in the White House, Johnson argued that "he spent so much money, nobodys ever spent that much money in four years. I think we went from $19.9 trillion in debt to something like $28 trillion in debt in those four years and right now were at $32 trillion in debt."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

After crisscrossing Iowa  the state that leads off the GOP presidential nominating calendar  Johnson on Monday kicked off a swing through New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican schedule.

WHO'S IN AND WHO'S ON THE SIDELINES  YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

After a brief visit to shake hands with customers at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester  a must stop for decades for White House hopefuls  Johnson headed to the nearby New Hampshire Institute of Politics to showcase his "Two-Cents Plan to Save America" budget proposal.

Story continues

Republican presidential candidate and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson speaks at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on May 1, 2023.

"Were going to cut two cents out of every dollar in discretionary spending. Were going to do that year after year," he explained to Fox News. "Some departments were going to close. I say get rid of the Department of Education. Its a waste of money."

And he emphasized "lets make sure we keep America the greatest country ever and well do that with my two-cent plan."

Johnson ran last year for the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination in Michigan and was considered a top contender before he and four other Republican hopefuls were disqualified because of invalid signatures. Johnson poured millions of his own money into his campaign  and he vows to do it again as he runs for the White House.

WHO'S THE NEXT REPUBLICAN TO JUMP INTO THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE?

"I do intend to self-finance," he pledged. "It may cost $50 million. Whatever."

Johnsons already dished out nearly $2 million to run ads in Iowa and New Hampshire. But he faces a steep uphill climb in a race where Trump is currently the overwhelming front-runner for the GOP nomination. The field also includes other Republican candidates and likely contenders  including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina  who enjoy much higher name ID than Johnson.

But Johnson says hes "all in  in Iowa and New Hampshire," and teases that a national strategy will be unveiled in a couple of weeks.

And he optimistically says hell make the stage for the first GOP presidential primary debate in August.

"I think were doing well in Iowa and now were in New Hampshire and I think Im going to do well here. And then well use that strategy across the entire country," Johnson said. "All I need to do is get on that debate stage and I think Im going to win this race. That is the key. But keep in mind, at this point nobody ever really knows whos going to be the nominee."
Feature: China-Laos Railway cross-border passenger service marks great leap forward in transport links

10:29, May 01, 2023 By Chanthaphaphone Mixayboua, Zhang Jianhua, Lin Hao ( Xinhua

VIENTIANE, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The cross-border passenger service on the China-Laos Railway marks a great leap forward in the provision of transport links and the promotion of tourism.

The first cross-border passenger service between the Lao capital Vientiane and Kunming, the capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province, started on April 13, a move that is expected to boost regional connectivity.

The first group of Chinese tourists traveling on the train was warmly welcomed by Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket.

Speaking at the launch of the cross-border train service, Suanesavanh said the direct train service is another symbol of Laos-China friendship in the modern era and serves the Lao government's ambition to transform the landlocked country into a regional land link.

Lao government hopes that the China-Laos Railway will create an economic corridor that generates income for the nation, as well as bring more tourists to Laos from within the region and beyond.

"We now have a high-speed train connecting Laos and China. This offers important potential for international travel and represents the opening of a Laos-China high-speed rail route, connecting Lao capital Vientiane with Kunming and giving more tourists the chance to visit the two countries," Suanesavanh said.

The launch of the cross-border passenger train is an important historical event in the cooperation between the governments of Laos and China, which always encourage and help each other to bring strength and prosperity to their countries.

The train helped fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the Lao people for greater regional integration.

The railway will now become a "golden key" for Laos to connect with China and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will greatly benefit the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation.

Saiy vilayvong, a 32-year-old woman living in northern Laos' Luang Prabang province, told Xinhua on Saturday that the cross-border passenger train serves to raise the profile of Laos in the international arena, by integrating passenger transport services with neighboring countries.

"The cross-border passenger train is of great significance to promoting the development of tourism and economy in Laos. The railway will help the economy, transportation, and tourism in Laos."

"In my opinion, the cross-border passenger train has greatly facilitated travel and sightseeing for the people of Laos and China. There will be more people coming and going using the railway," she said.

The launch of the cross-border passenger service has also made the headlines on social media in Laos, with some netizens have shown their appreciation and expressing their excitement about the news.

"Traveling to China will be more convenient now. China will be my next destination," said a Lao netizen.

"I'm so excited that I can take a train to China! It's so convenient and cheaper!"

The journey between Lao capital Vientiane and Kunming covers a distance of 1,035 km, with stops at eight stations and a total travel time of 10 hours and 30 minutes.

The China-Laos Railway is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The aim of the Lao government is to turn the China-Laos Railway into an economic corridor that generates substantial income for Laos, helping to ease the current woeful economic situation and bring more foreign tourists to the country.

The vital transport link provided by the railway has the potential to place Laos at the center of efforts to link ASEAN countries to China.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
(Photo : YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands of firearms were turned in across New York in exchange for gift cards as part of the state's buyback program.

Thousands of firearms were turned in across New York

A gun buyback event was hosted by Attorney General Letitia James and law enforcement agencies

Participants were given $500 for the first handgun and $150 for each additional one.

Thousands of firearms, including assault-style rifles and "ghost guns," were surrendered daily across New York over the weekend in return for gift cards.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office sponsored and managed the program, described it as a "landmark event."

New York Gun Buyback Program

James said more than 3,000 weapons were surrendered at nine buyback locations around the state, including two in New York City. Community citizens handed up seven hundred fifty-one weapons in Syracuse, New York, where police crime figures show a 133% increase in killings in the first four months of this year compared to last year's time frame.

Compared to the weekend's gun buyback program, Syracuse police officers have seized and removed 76 weapons from the community this year, up from 55 during the same period last year, according to Walsh. He claims that 90% of the firearms collected by police are from out of state, ABC News reported.

Authorities say 90 weapons were surrendered in the first three hours of the buyback program at Brooklyn's All Saints Catholic Church.

Participants were offered $500 gift cards for turning in assault-type weapons and untraceable "ghost guns" in return for firearms with no questions asked. People who surrendered handguns received a $500 gift card for the first weapon surrendered and a $150 gift card for each additional handgun surrendered.

The repurchase scheme set up businesses at nine different places around New York, including Family Life School in the Bronx and All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez tweeted that 90 weapons were seized at the chapel alone.

The campaign comes just days after Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh condemned the city's gun culture, claiming that firearms fuel a wave of violent crime, as per NY Post.

Read Also: Mexico Bus Plunges Off Cliff, Killing 18, Injuring Dozens of Tourists

Where to Surrender 'Ghost Guns'?

Individuals who turned in assault-style rifles and "ghost guns," which are guns built from unassembled firearm parts, were given $500 gift cards. Participants who surrendered handguns received $500 for the first weapon surrendered and another $150 for each additional handgun surrendered.

Nine buyback locations were established around the state, including two in New York City. Officials reported receiving 90 weapons in only three hours at one of the buyback locations in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, was "particularly thrilled" with the number of smaller guns surrendered.

According to Walsh, 90% of the weapons collected were out of state. The police department in New York City has developed a Cash for Guns initiative, in which the NYPD will provide $200 to anyone who surrenders a gun.

Per The Guardian, individuals who choose to surrender their firearms are not required to identify themselves and will not be questioned by officials. According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of 30 April, 13,839 people had died due to gun violence in the United States this year. Suicide claimed 7,920 lives, while homicide, murder, or unintentional gunshots claimed 5,919 lives.

Related Article: New York City Gives Free Apple AirTags to Fight Rampant Car Thefts

@YouTube

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters

E. Jean Carroll acknowledges that there are two different versions of herself: the empowered and resilient advice columnist whos always doing fabulous, and the self-effacing writer who says shes never recovered from her alleged rape at the hands of Donald Trump.

The former presidents lawyer spent Monday morning cross-examining Carroll to expand the divide between them both, flipping through her messages and TV appearances to portray her as an attention-seeking journalist who reveled in the spotlight after accusing Trump of a heinous crime.

Its a clear attempt to lean into the very defenses Trumpwho is not present at his own trialhas raised publicly: that Carrolls accusation is a political swipe and an attempt to get a payout.

Trump Lawyers Shameful Cross-Examination of E. Jean Carroll

Trumps lawyers zeroed in on the way Carroll testified last week that her life is in shambles ever since she went public in 2019, despite her repeated comments that shes been doing great.

I always say my life is fabulous, Carroll responded on the stand.

Except in this courtroom, defense lawyer Joe Tacopina shot back.

Carroll, who acknowledged the irreconcilable differences between her public persona and private self, explained that the difference is that, in court, I have to tell the truth.

So when you go on television and podcasts, Tacopina exclaimed, theyre all lies?

Jurors already saw Carrolls emotional testimony about how Trump allegedly attacked her inside the fitting room inside the luxury Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman sometime around 1996.

Monday marks the second full day that Carroll was questioned by Trumps lawyer, a cross-examination that only intensified as it went on.

On Thursday, Tacopina spent considerable time probing an odd email between Carroll and a friend where they discussed the need to stop Trumpand said they had a scheme in mind. He also repeatedly questioned why Carroll didnt scream when the alleged rape took place, or why there was no one around to witness the incident.

Story continues

The civil trial, which threatens to brand Trump a rapist and could cost him millions, resumed this week. Jurors got a much wider view of the fight between Carroll and Trump, with the former presidents legal team playing TV news clips that showed how Carroll described the encounter during live interviews. Jurors also heard more about other traumatic incidents in Carrolls life, with Trumps lawyers probing why Carroll never told police about the way disgraced former CBS Chairman Les Moonves kissed and groped her in an elevatorand other instances of sexual misconduct by other men.

Judge Denies Trumps Request for Mistrial in E. Jean Carroll Rape Case

I was born in 1943. I am a member of the silent generation, Carroll said on the stand. The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for someone my age.

Tacopina responded by bringing up how Carroll had reached out to police when kids damaged a mailbox at a historic home she was staying at on Halloween.

So youll call the cops on a mailbox, but not if youre personally attacked or sexually assaulted? Tacopina asked.

Her responsesand the questions Trumps lawyer keeps asking herserve as examples of how this trial has become a showdown for the national reckoning that started with the #MeToo movement, which Carroll said inspired her to come forward.

Trumps lawyer also noted that Carroll never sued Moonves, forcing the writer to draw a distinction between Moonves denialon the record in New York magazineversus Trumps she's not my type comments from the White House. Tacopina framed both as men calling her a liar, while Carroll countered that Trumps response was far worse.

Tacopina presented a clip from her deposition in October in which she said she thought Trump would just say it didnt happen that way that it was consensual.

Another Trump lawyer who questioned Carroll during that testimony, Alina Habba, asked if that would have essentially counted as him calling her a liar too. Carroll said no.

The day took an odd turn when Trump's legal team drew the jury's attention to the fact that, in 2012, the TV show "Law & Order: SVU" aired an episode with uncanny similarities. It dealt with the idea of a rape in a changing room at the lingerie department of none other than Bergdorf's.

Tacopina presented the courtroom with an email that Carroll got immediately after she went public with her own accusation against Trump, one from a friendly reader who warned that Carroll's story sounded very similar to TV fiction that aired five years earlier.

"Trumpsters will use against you," the reader wrote.

"I'm surprised this sort of plot is not seen more often," Carroll responded.

Tacopina, sounding incredulous, repeatedly asked Carroll to explain the eerie parallels.

"I hadn't seen it, and I have yet to see it," she said on the stand. "It's amazing."

"Amazing coincidence?" Tacopina replied.

"Yes, it's astonishing," Carroll said.

When questioned by her own lawyers, Carroll stressed that she didn't make up details based on a TV show.

As Tacopina's questions wore on, the federal judge overseeing the trial felt compelled to keep coming to her rescue, sometimes stopping Trump's lawyer dead in his tracks and not even waiting for Carroll's team to object. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sternly lectured Tacopina on his line of questioning, particularly when the gruff Brooklynite seemed to flip a switch and go into attack mode.

When Tacopina revisited the many reasons Carroll gave for failing to scream during her encounter with Trumptoo much adrenaline, his chest was in the way, she feared making a sceneKaplan cut him off.

"You understand that is not an appropriate line of questioning," the judge interjected.

Carroll's legal team tried to highlight the offensive tones of the Trump team's questions. Her lawyer, Michael Ferrara, teed it up when he asked Carroll why Tacopina's questions affected her so.

"It was startling to me that in 2023 a woman would be asked if she would scream," Carroll responded.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Credit - Courtesy of CNN

The western media has shown strange mixes of courage and cowardice, as well as naivety and cynicism, in their parroting of Putin disinformation. On the one hand, the Murdoch-controlled Wall Street Journal has pursued the truth on Russias economic implosion to the peril of its kidnapped Moscow based reporter Evan Gershkovich. Paradoxically, in the aftermath of Tucker Carlsons firing from the Murdoch-controlled Fox News last week, perhaps the loudest laments came from, of all places, the Kremlin, with Kremlin commentators mourning the loss of an anchor who consistently echoed Putins talking points to the point where Russian state media often used re-runs of Tuckers show.

In fact, CNNs Erin Burnett just showed how false declarations from Carlson that if there is any single American who deserves scorn and indeed blame for the invasion of Ukraine, it is Joe Biden and Ideologues within the Biden Administration did not want a negotiated peace in Ukraine, they wanted a regime change war against Russia literally echoed, word-for-word, prior commentary from Kremlin spokespeople and Russian state media. Even worse, Carlson repeated, verbatim, doctored and false intelligence that there were seven Ukrainian casualties for every Russian casualty when in reality these numbers were invented, the product of a pro-Putin former Navy technician named Sarah Bils digitally altering leaked documents from the Discord trove and posting them online.

But Tucker Carlson is not the only western journalist to repeat Russian propaganda. Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitzs Newsguard has found more than 350 news sites promoting 100 false narratives about Russias war in Ukraine. One pervasive but false propaganda myth hits particularly close to home.

More from TIME

In recent days, Putins personal press secretary Dmitry Peskov has picked up a line of attack against the authors of this piece, arguing that we are frauds and that we brazenly invented the exits of over 1,000+ western multinationals from Russia, citing a provably false research study authored by individuals who called for our criminal indictment. us.

Story continues

Putin did not have to invent this line of attack, as he got it straight from naive western media who even now continue to cite the debunked, fraudulent research as if it were credible fact, even though it has been thoroughly disproven.

Putins goal as he loses the military, diplomatic, and economic wars is to win the information war to erode allied unity. It has become progressively harder for him to pretend that he is winning the diplomatic war as his top diplomat faced open laughter and jeers when he claimed in New Delhi that Ukrainian aggression started the war.

Similarly, it has become more difficult for Putin to pretend that the military war is going smoothly when his troops are visibly getting ground into the dust, though Putin did still try  laughably claiming six Ukrainian casualties for every Russian casualty, which was universally dismissed. But sadly, on the economic war, western media remains strangely naive to Putins economic disinformation in perpetuating a prevalent but false myth of Russian economic resilience.

But that resilience is a Potemkin facade. For instance, can it be a coincidence that the list of 1,404 western companies featured in the disproved research study is actually a list of mainly Russian companies and Russian oligarchs who can hardly leave Russia and are not capable of divesting, as we have shown, and that TASS and Russian state media instantaneously and prominently showcased it on the day of its release. In reality their research has been thoroughly discredited by The Wall Street Journals data analysis expert Josh Zumbrun who was unable to replicate their findings and by other major objective outlets ranging from the Swiss National Radio, Semafor, and many more.

Yes, we are serious  they actually substituted Russian people and Russian companies masquerading as western corporations! Could the FSB actually be that clumsy or is this just a sheer accident and the researchers meant to stuff the list with Argentine, Icelandic, or Zambian companies?

Meanwhile, neglected from their study were hundreds of bona fide western multinationals such as Airbus, American Express, Amazon, American Airlines, BCG, Boeing, Commerzbank, Citigroup, Deloitte, DeutscheBank, DeutscheTelekom, EY, Honeywell, International Paper, JPMorgan, Marriott, McKinsey, Otis, Raytheon, Wells Fargo, and hundreds more, as we chronicle here.

Yet inexplicably, respected western journalists such as Jamil Anderlini and Doug Busivine at Politico EU, and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany of The Financial Times continue to cite this debunked research uncritically, echoing Putin crony Peskovs triumphant recitations. As one particularly galling example, a formerly Moscow-based correspondent from the Washington Post unethically exploited our list as a misleading foil to argue that companies are not really exiting  without ever contacting us for comment or insight.

This misguided journalist argues erroneously that companies many companies have done less than promised, breathlessly, scandalously citing examples such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi. But the truth is that neither company ever pledged to fully exit Russia and only pledged partial exits to begin with, which is why they have ranked as C  partially scaling back, on our publicly posted list of exits. We too wish that Coke and Pepsi had announced a full pull-out but they didnt. That is why they are NOT graded as A or B firms.

No one has questioned the A and B companies on that list, available for public inspection, though we did have to downgrade a few companies on our own for returning to Russia such as Heineken, Carlsberg, and Pernod Ricard. The fact some companies have partially withdrawn amidst a small handful of downgrades does not erode the inspiring historic milestone of over 1,000 major multinational companies fully pulling out of Russia, six times the prior historic record of the highly effective, 200 companies exiting South Africa in protest of the Apartheid regime.

Other journalists also mistakenly set up our list of carefully-researched companies as an inferior foil to misleading studies, including some who repackage our list without any scaled rubric of gradations of exits, joining an echo chamber of simplistic dichotomous in vs. out categorizations which does not capture the more complicated reality of scaled exits and different degrees of exit. They are also confused by phantom accounts which Putin has retained in the names of these companies, when in reality these companies have written off their assets completely. Other critics use questionable sourcing, such as relying upon Putin economic advisers such as Chris Weafer, a strategist at sanctioned, scandalized Sberbank to attack the legitimacy of our work  perhaps not the most objective source!

Furthermore, some journalists misleadingly set our list up as a foil against the impressive database maintained by our colleagues at the Kyiv School of Economics, when in reality our work is complimentary as their list includes smaller, local proprietorships while our list is focused on multinational corporations. We work closely with them, with weekly exchanges of data and in-person collaboration visits for the past year, towards our commonly shared goals and in fact even co-authored with them critiques of the deceptive attacks on our work.

We wish we could say that the above facts should finally put to rest these fallacious cynical narratives, but unfortunately, at this point, even though anyone can access our list of 1,000+ companies, the myth that we somehow invented the Russian business retreat may not be put to rest so easily. But it is not just about businesses pulling out of Russia. Like the conquering of a recurring villain in a Stephen King horror movie, we again have to address the insidious Putin propaganda unfortunately channeled by western media that somehow the broader Russian economy is resilient, and that business exits combined with western sanctions have barely made any dent  especially thanks to pernicious IMF economist forecasts repeating Putins propaganda.

Putin has kept ironclad control over the release of economic statistics since the start of the war, selectively tossing out unfavorable metrics. Prior to the war, these statistics were released on a monthly basis but now, the Kremlin withholds statistics relating to exports and imports, particularly with Europe; oil and gas monthly output data; commodity export quantities; capital inflows and outflows; financial statements of major companies; central bank monetary base data; foreign direct investment data; lending and loan origination data; and even Rosviastsiya, the federal air transport agency, abruptly ceased publishing data on airline and airport passenger volumes. Last week, Russia started withholding all data related to oil for the indefinite future.

Yet the IMF somehow predicts that the Russian economy will grow more than that of Europes this year, based on Putins false GDP numbers, while practically every peer organization from the World Bank to the UN to investment banks have negative economic contraction in Russia this year. Even the Russian Central Bank predicts a negative 1% economic contraction while the IMF predicts a positive 0.7% growth.

In fact, we have the IMF economists admitting to us in recorded conversations that they are flying blind, as Putin has concealed the national income statistics required to be a IMF member and required for the IMF to verify Russias economic statistics, and the IMF plainly confesses to having zero visibility into what is happening in Russia as their own economists have evacuated and they are no longer in contact with Russian government sources.

Furthermore, if it werent tragically echoed by western media, it would be amusing that IMF economists confuse top-line energy revenues with bottom-line profits, or in this case, losses. In defense of their growth forecast, the IMF says Russian crude oil export volumes are not expected to be significantly affected, with Russian trade continuing to be redirected from sanctioning to non-sanctioning countries. Perhaps their calculus is too sophisticated and they forgot arithmetic. $45 a barrel to extract oil plus $10-$12 to transport to India and China equals $57. The current Urals oil pricing is ~$55, nothing for the IMF or Putin to celebrate. Maybe the IMF economists needed MBAs with their PhDs to explain you cannot make up losses in the volume, as the old retailing quip goes.

These lies from the IMF buttress a media narrative spread by the likes of august commentators such as Fareed Zakaria, Larry Summers, Anton Troianovski, The Washington Post, and Politico EU which purports sanctions are having little effect on Russia when in reality these cynics are falling for Putins fake stats hook, line, and sinker.

The same western media that would wince at the idea of 83 Russian journalists that lost their balance on windowsills under Putin and 36 oligarchs who questioned Putin somehow ran in the path of cars or off of balconies by accident, accept uncritically Putins similarly fallacious economic machinations.

The courageous journalists who do report on Russias crumbling economy get to the critical truth, which is the impact of business exits from Russia, combined with powerful sanctions and price caps, have badly crippled Putins economy. All objective economic data suggests Russias economy is becoming increasingly undone at the seams, with economic activity in many sectors down upwards of 60% to 95%, and with Putin losing $500 million a day in energy sales relative to his windfall profits last year.

Yes, more economic pressure is needed to end Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the job is far from finished. A group of researchers led by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Andriy Yermak have put together a roadmap for further sanctions that are needed to choke Russias war machine. But the fact more work remains should not detract from the fact that sanctions and business retreats are taking a heavy toll on Russias economy  which is the truth no matter what media narratives spin.

Perhaps the most cynical Moscow beat reporters should spend less time in Moscows cafe society with their crumbcakes and more time in the factories with crumbling industrial supply chains.
Tucker Carlson as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2006.

Fox News and Tucker Carlson parted ways last week.

Carlson drove ratings at the network with what his critics say was a particular formula: right-wing, populist, often xenophobic and racist; an appealer, his detractors say, to our worst instincts.

He also had a soft spot for Russia, a country Carlson often mentioned during his broadcasts and on which he expressed a variety of opinions. These opinions often ended up being used for propaganda purposes by Russian state media, which may account for why the anchor appeared to receive job offers from state-run Russian news channels in the wake of his ouster. He also received praise from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Tucker Carlson He breaks his silence after Fox News departure: 'See you soon'

Here's (almost) everything Tucker Carlson said about Russia

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson: What the Fox News anchor said about Russia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Sunday that Turkey's MIT intelligence agency had "neutralized" the head of the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria on Saturday. ISIS has not confirmed the death of Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, who took over the group in November after his predecessor, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, was killed in October by the Free Syrian Army rebel coalition, according to the U.S.

The ISIS leader before that, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, killed himself and his family as U.S. forces surrounded him in February 2022. ISIS founding caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a 2019 U.S. raid.

Erdogan said Turkish intelligence had been following Qurayshi for a "long time," adding, "We will continue our struggle with terrorist organizations without any discrimination." ISIS is believed to have 6,000 to 10,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, and it remains a threat in Syria and in regions where its affiliates are active, including Afghanistan and Somalia, BBC News reports. But it is a shadow of the terrorist organization that controlled 34,000 square miles in Syria and Iraq.

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Sunday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday.

Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations without discriminating against any of them, Erdogan said in the interview.

A member of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces military police told The Associated Press that the MIT clashed with IS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, Al-Qurayshi, who was hiding in a building on the farm, blew himself up. Investigators were searching the hideout for evidence and other information.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor added that Turkish drones flew over the area, as Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups closed off roads leading to the area where the clashes took place after Ankara put them on high alert.

There was no immediate confirmation from the IS group.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants. The country controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State.

He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

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Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022. He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa.

None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be related. Al-Qurayshi is not their real name but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islams Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and al-Qurayshi serves as part of an IS leaders nom de guerre.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq. 

Sewell reported from Beirut.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to suspend his election campaign events on Wednesday after abruptly falling ill during a live television interview.

Erdogan tweeted after the appearance, "Today I will rest at home upon the advice of my doctors with Gods permission, we will continue our campaign from tomorrow onwards."

His sudden illness forced him to cancel a live appearance for the opening ceremony of a Russian-owned nuclear power plant in southern Turkey and comes amid a high-stakes Turkish election that is expected to come down to the wire.

An election triumph by a former civil servant dubbed the "Turkish Gandhi" on May 14 over Turkeys strongman leader Erdogan  who has controlled the levers of power for 20 years in the strategically important country that straddles the Mideast and Europe  would have far-reaching implications for U.S. foreign policy interests.

TURKEYS ERDOGAN CANCELS ELECTION RALLIES AFTER FALLING ILL ON LIVE TV

Elections polls show a razor-close race between Erdogan and his social democratic Republican Peoples Party competitor Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who recently declared that he is a member of the persecuted Alevi Muslim minority community within a country dominated by Sunni Islam.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu, who heads an opposition group of six parties, had recently been slightly ahead of Erdogan in recent polling. However, two polls last week showed Erdogan ahead.

Michael Rubin, a Middle East expert for the American Enterprise Institute, who has written extensively about Erdogan, said if Kilicdaroglu dislodges Erdogan, "It would absolutely be a good thing" for the security interests of the U.S. and American allies.

Rubin said, "The sooner Erdogan is gone, the quicker Turkey can recover. The danger is that so many diplomats and security officials believe simplistically that the problem in Turkey is just Erdogan rather than a much broader ideology and twisted historical narrative. The United States must base its policy on Turkey's behavior, not wishful thinking or the assurances of retired American diplomats who have a personal financial interest in Turkish businesses and close ties."

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The 69-year-old Erdogan has picked major fights with the U.S. over the decades, ranging from barring American troops from utilizing Turkish soil as an entry point to invade Iraq in 2003 to launching Turkish military strikes on the U.S.-allied Kurdish forces who helped America oust the Islamic State.

LAWYERS CALLS FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED HUMAN RIGHT CRIMES COMMITTED BY TURKEY

Turkey claims that the Kurdish forces in Syria are linked to the Turkey and U.S.-designated terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meet on April 4, 2018, in Ankara. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

In 2020, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkey for its purchases of Russian S-400 air defense systems. Turkey is a member of the U.S.-led North American Treaty Alliance (NATO) that was designed to blunt Russian expansionism and military power.

Erdogan has caused political headaches for the U.S. by initially blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO. Finland recently gained admission and Sweden is waiting on its bid to be approved.

Uzay Bulut, a Turkish analyst and research fellow for the Philos Project, sees an uphill battle to repair American-Turkish relations. Erdogans attacks on U.S. foreign policy have generated intense anti-Americanism in the nation of just over 85 million people.

TURKEY DEMANDS NATO HOPEFULS 'HAND OVER YOUR TERRORISTS' BEFORE IT APPROVES MEMBERSHIP: REPORT

Bulut told Fox News Digital, "More than 94% of the people who spoke to the Areda Survey in 2021, for instance, said they do not believe that the U.S. is a friend to Turkey. According to various polls, the United States leads the list of most hated countries among Turks."

She added, "Expecting the opposition to implement a pro-U.S., pro-NATO or pro-EU foreign policy would not be very realistic. Just like Erdogan, they will do whatever they believe their national interests require them to do. And this includes supporting China or other authoritarian regimes"

Questions abound about a new Turkish policy to the Syrian dictatorship of President Bashar Assad and whether Erodgans autocratic-style of leadership will permit a free and fair election.

Bulut said, "There has been no major objection to Turkey's military presence in Syria from the opposition alliance. The only party who seriously objects to Turkey's criminal actions in Syria is the Kurdish political opposition in Turkey."

She added, "I don't think a free and fair election is really possible in Turkey. Erdogan seems capable of doing anything to stay in power, including stealing the elections or causing violence in society in the event of his defeat in elections."

Rubin echoed Buluts view about a Kilicdaroglu government withdrawing Turkish troops from Syria, stating, "Wishful thinking about Turkey is a chronic disease among American diplomats, and epidemic among Turkish expatriate journalists."

TURKISH MILITARY VEHICLE RUNS OVER WOMAN AND CHILD IN SYRIA, SPARKING PROTESTS

Rubin said, "Erdogan is no democrat. Period. He will cheat. He will manipulate. He will deny. He will calculate that the European Union will eventually give in, whether because many countries fear a wave of refugees pouring across the Turkish frontier or because Germany knows Erdogan can activate terror cells among the Turkish diaspora in that country. As for the United States, Biden's record at holding firm suggests a serious need for diplomatic Viagra his advisers are not willing to prescribe."

In an April, 18 column in the pro-Erdogan newspaper The Daily Sabah, Burhanettin Duran, a professor at Social Sciences University of Ankara, tackled the "Difference Between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu." Duran wrote that "Under Erdogans leadership, Turkiye has been among the most active countries in this new global and regional chapter."

Duran, who is a member of the Turkish Presidency Security and Foreign Policies Council, continued, "By contrast, Kilicdaroglu remains unimpressive, mainly in foreign policy, national security and national defense. His party has not made any severe pledges except dialogue with Syria and launching a new regional organization in the Middle East."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Turkish government about the election and its foreign policy.

The soft-spoken Kilicdaroglu secured a reputation for rooting out corruption during his time running the countrys Social Security Institution.

STUNNING TURKEY EARTHQUAKE RESCUES: TEEN, NEW FATHER SAVED 11 DAYS LATER IN TRUE MIRACLE

Kilicdaroglus striking resemblance to the Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi, along with his low-key demeanor, earned him the nickname "Turkish Gandhi" or "Gandhi Kermal." When he was assaulted in the Turkish parliament in 2014 via punches to the face causing bruises, he told his fellow MPs to relax, declaring, "The path to democracy is full of obstacles."

Erdogans handling of the horrific earthquakes in February that killed more than 50,000 Turkish residents has placed question marks over his role in construction safety in a region long vulnerable to earthquakes. The combination of alleged lax safety standards during Erdogans building boom and a reportedly defective relief effort after the earthquake are burning campaign topics.

Rubin, the Turkey expert who is a fierce critic of Erdogan, argues that "after 20 years of Erdoganism, the problem is no longer one man but the entire system. Erdogan has both reshaped the bureaucracy (in) his own image, and he has also demonstrated to the opposition what a potent tool unhinged Turkish nationalism can be. Erdogan has left an economy in tatters, one that won't be easily fixed."

Ragip Soylu, the Turkey bureau chief for Middle East Eye, who previously worked for the Daily Sabah, outlined why Erdogan remains a formidable candidate and his recent achievements in an April policy article for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Soylu notes that Erdogan "has repaired damaged relations with Arab heavyweights over the past couple of years. One result was that, in 2021, the United Arab Emirates agreed to a $5 billion currency swap with Ankara and pledged to invest $10 billion in Turkeys start-ups and high-tech industry."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APP

Erdogan is seeking to be somewhat more inclusive in a shift away from his brass-knuckle style of power politics. "Erdogan invited opposition representatives and his media critics to the event held to promote this concept, calling on them to acknowledge all his government has done in the service of Turkish society," wrote Soylu.

The confluence of perhaps the most pivotal election in Turkeys history, coupled with the100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, has electrified commentators, Turks and observers of the Ankaras complex politics. The stakes are high for the U.S., NATO, the volatile Middle East and Europe.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Fox News Digital, "Turkiye is a long-standing U.S. ally and partner. We will continue to work together with the government chosen by the Turkish people to deepen cooperation around shared priorities."

The new spelling of Turkey as declared by Erdogan's government is Turkiye.
Authorities announced on Monday theyve arrested two men in connection with a shooting at a Lawrence house party over the weekend that killed one man and injured several others.

Saul Enrique Morales Espinosa, 22, of Lawrence, and Joshual Ramirez, 20, of Lawrence, were each charged with two felony counts of carrying a firearm without a license and carrying a loaded firearm. They both pled not guilty during remote arraignments held at Lawrence District Court. Both men remain hospitalized with gunshot wounds, with Espinosa in Boston and Ramirez in Lawrence.

The Essex DAs Office says a call for a disturbance at 5 Royal Street on Sunday morning around 3 a.m. resulted in six victims suffering from gunshot wounds. All six were transported to Lawrence General Hospital but 18-year-old Desiderio Arias succumbed to his injuries.

Espinosa and another person were flown to Boston hospitals for additional treatment, according to officials. None of the other survivors conditions were made available.

Espinosa and Ramirez were both held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on May 9.

The shooting remains under investigation by Lawrence Police and the Essex DAs Office. Anyone with information is asked to call police.

The shootings are not believed to be a random act of violence, authorities say.

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Two teenagers, ages 16 and 18, have been arrested and charged for attacking a woman at an MBTA station, dumping her bag of groceries and hurling food in her face in a random assault, the district attorney said.

Saul Diaz, 18, of Jamaica Plain, was charged with unarmed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement Monday.

A 16-year-old juvenile female, who was not identified because she is a juvenile, was also arrested in the incident and faces similar charges.

Judge Michael Bolden released Diaz on personal recognizance but ordered him on weekday home confinement from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m., for the purpose of attending school, and home confinement without conditions on Saturdays and Sundays.

Bolden also ordered Diaz to not loiter at the Broadway MBTA station.

Prosecutors allege that Diaz and several other youths last week snatched a grocery bag from a woman riding the Red Line, dumped the items and then pelted the woman with them, injuring her nose, Hayden said.

On Thursday, at about 3:38 p.m., MBTA police saw the victim, a 21-year-old woman, sitting on a bench at the Broadway station platform, crying, Hayden said. The victim told police she had been on an outbound Red Line train and saw a group of teenagers arguing with someone. One of the juveniles, a female, turned to the victim and said What the (expletive) are you looking at?

As the female juvenile got off the train at Broadway station, she and a second member of the group, later identified as Diaz, pulled a bag of groceries from the victim and dumped its items on the platform. They then picked up items and threw them at the victim, Hayden said.

The victim told police she was hit in the nose with a pear. Police noted that the victims nose was swollen and bleeding. The victim was taken to Tufts Medical Center for treatment.

Using descriptions provided by the victim and footage from surveillance cameras, police identified Diaz and the female juvenile. The two were arrested on Friday.

Story continues

This is inexcusable conduct that can undermine the publics confidence in its ability to use public transportation safely and efficiently, Hayden said. Public transportation is crucial to the economic viability of our region, and when something like this happensa passenger being set upon, unprovoked, and wounded in the processits an assault not just on them, but on the entire system.

Diaz is due back in court on June 21 for a probable cause hearing.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
A U.S. Coast Guard air crew from Miami saved three men from a sunken boat off the Dry Tortugas National Park on Sunday afternoon.

A person contacted Coast Guard Sector Key West when they saw Mrs. Sandy  the 45-foot longliner vessel  taking on water with people on board, the agency said in a news release. Ground crews then used Mrs. Sandys radio beacon position to locate the vessel.

At around 2 p.m., the helicopter crew arrived, hoisted the men into the aircraft and took them to Key West International Airport in good health.

According to the National Weather Service in Key West, Sunday was a windy and stormy day. A top wind gust of 45 mph was recorded at Naval Air Station Key West on Boca Chica Key at around 10 a.m. and a small craft advisory remained in effect Sunday night for the Straits of Florida, Hawk Channel and Gulf waters, including Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay

Wind speeds are forecast to significantly slow down starting Monday night accompanied by a work week of sunny skies and dry weather.

It's been a windy and stormy day; here's a look at the peak wind gusts around the area. The top wind gust of 45 mph was recorded at NAS Key West - Boca Chica at 10:02 AM EDT. #FloridaKeys #FLKeys #FLWX #KeyWest #BocaChica #MarathonFlorida #KeyLargo pic.twitter.com/2LrGMi1QpP  NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) April 30, 2023

Were extremely happy Mrs. Sandy crew had an inflatable raft and an EPIRB (emergency indicating radio beacon position) aboard, said Jonathan Wheatley, an operations unit controller at Sector Key West. Having the proper safety equipment is often the difference maker between life and death in these situations.

Story continues

A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew poses with three rescued men after their boat sunk near Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, on April 30, 2023.

Boat safety tips

As always, the Coast Guard reminds all boaters of these important safety tips while enjoying activities on the water:

 Have proper and unexpired safety equipment.

 File a float plan.

 Check the weather.

Both the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the United States Power Squadrons, a non-profit educational organization, have certified vessel examiners who will perform a free Vessel Safety Check on your boat, at a time of mutual convenience. There is no charge, and no consequences if you dont pass.

For more boating safety tips, visit uscgboating.org.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders Monday that the United States could be unable to pay its bills as soon as early June, a much faster timetable than many had previously thought.

The warning provided new urgency to ensuring that the Treasury Department can keep borrowing in order to pay the governments bills, with President Joe Biden inviting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the White House next week.

After reviewing recent federal tax receipts, our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the governments obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time, Yellen said in a letter to congressional leaders of both parties.

Yellen had been expected to give Congress an updated timetable on the Treasurys financing efforts, as it has been taking various accounting maneuvers since January to stay below the current $31.38 trillion.

But those extraordinary measures have been dwindling with time, and the new estimate surprised many observers who watch Treasurys finances closely.

Personal income tax receipts, a big source of income for the government, have been down compared with last year but not so badly that they were expected to affect the Treasurys ability to continue borrowing past a low-cash point in June.

Congressional Budget Office Agrees

Yellen hedged slightly in her letter, acknowledging the possibility that a June exhaustion date was premature.

This estimate is based on currently available data, as federal receipts and outlays are inherently variable, and the actual date that Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a number of weeks later than these estimates, she said.

This estimate is based on currently available data, as federal receipts and outlays are inherently variable, and the actual date that Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a number of weeks later than these estimates.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

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The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, however, also warned that June was a danger point. In its forecast, the CBO said, We now estimate that there is a significantly greater risk that the Treasury will run out of funds in early June.

Previously, late July had been seen as the most likely window for Treasury to run out of borrowing room and be forced to choose between defaulting on its debt, which is a global benchmark in finance because of its indication of creditworthiness, or not paying ordinary bills when they come due.

No substantive negotiations on raising or again suspending the debt limit have taken place between the White House and House Republicans yet. The White House has said it will negotiate over budget issues but not the debt ceiling, which it has said should be raised unconditionally. House Republicans have said there should be spending cuts or other reforms in order to raise the debt limit.

We now estimate that there is a significantly greater risk that the Treasury will run out of funds in early June.Congressional Budget Office

This afternoon, President Biden called Speaker McCarthy, who is leading a [congressional delegation] in Israel, to invite him to a meeting at the White House on May 9 with Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell, who the President also called today, the White House said, referring to Democrats Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, and to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

The House passed a $4.8 trillion spending cut bill last week as its opening bid, meeting a condition set by the White House to start negotiations. But the bill would get most of its savings from cuts to the pool of funding lawmakers dole out annually to federal agencies, including the Defense Department, the Health and Human Services Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The depth of possible spending cuts led Democrats to declare the bill dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate.

Fresh Urgency

With the new due date, though, some hoped negotiations would get a needed kickstart.

That provides a little more information for President Biden to get off the couch and call Speaker McCarthy and work something out, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told congressional leaders Monday that the government could be unable to pay its bill as soon as early June.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told congressional leaders Monday that the government could be unable to pay its bill as soon as early June.

In its report, the CBO said receipts after April 18, the due date for individual income tax payments this year, had been off, which had been expected, but also that the Internal Revenue Service would be finished processing tax payments much faster than it had in prior years, which had seen slowdowns over the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, we anticipate that the IRS will process relatively few additional payments in May, as it did in the years before the pandemic. That, in combination with less-than-expected receipts through April, means that the Treasurys extraordinary measures will be exhausted sooner than we previously projected, the agency said.

It remains possible the Treasury Department is being cautious with the June date, given the consequences of default on either its securities or other debts. The picture may be clarified Wednesday when Treasury debt management officials hold their quarterly news conference.

I still have them squeaking through, but even if thats correct, I think Treasury is trying to turn up the heat on Congress, and we have to think about what that means, said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist with advisory firm Oxford Economics.

Related...
A woman's body that fell into a lift shaft at Kualanamu Airport was found on Apr. 27, three days after the incident. According to the CCTV footage, it was likely to be the body of Ms. Aisiah Santa Dewi Hasibuan. In fact, the video is circulating on social media, yet it's unknown how it was uploaded to the internet.

The video shows the woman walking into the double-sided lift through the doors on the right at past 8:00 pm on Apr. 24, according to The Straits Times.

She then faced the doors, unaware that the doors behind had opened seconds earlier. In the video, the woman appeared to press the buttons in the lift before she made a call on her phone. She touched the doors she entered from and then opened slightly. She took a step forward and plunged into the depths of the lift shaft.

According to reports, Ms. Aisiah was accompanying her niece to the airport at the time, and she had called her niece to tell him she was trapped inside the lift. After losing contact with her, the family members asked airport security to help look for her.

The family also asked to view the CCTV footage of the lift but added that the airport security showed them CCTV footage of other areas instead of the lift's interior.

It is reported that the CCTV footage of the side of the lift was only released after the victim's body was discovered instead of when the family requested it.

Additionally, the victim could not have forced the lift doors open because she held her mobile phone in her dominant hand when the incident happened.

Read also: Indonesia Earthquake Horror: Death Toll Rises to 268, With Many Being Children

When the Body Was Found

According to Tribunnews, the body was found at 4:00 pm on Apr. 27 after a strong smell was detected near the lift. The body was found trapped at the bottom of the lift shaft and was recovered only after a five-hour operation by the airport's security team. It was taken to the Medan Bhayangkara Hospital.

The Deli Serdang police chief said the cause of death could not be determined yet. Forensic examinations are currently underway at the hospital is conducting.

Is It the Airport's Fault?

The head of corporate communications of the airport said that the lift wasn't working properly when the incident happened. According to the victim's brother, the incident may be due to poor elevator security, and their family will report the airport's management to the police.

Related article: Indonesia To Favor South Korean KF-21 Boramae Fighter Over French Dassault Rafale

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TheStreet.com

Anheuser-Busch Inbev -- the parent company of Budweiser -- has found itself at the center of the culture wars on social media in recent weeks. Repercussions surfaced after the company's decision to hire a transgender spokesperson for a Bud Light ad campaign, but company CEO Michel Dimitrios Doukeris doesn't seem too worried about the backlash. While Doukeris confirmed reports about a significant decline in sales since the controversy erupted -- Bud Light sales volume in the U.S. declined over the first three weeks of April -- he also stated that his company is well-equipped to handle the pressure thanks to its global portfolio.
TALLAHASSEE  Attorneys for Death Row inmate Darryl Barwick have gone to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to halt his scheduled Wednesday execution in the 1986 murder of a woman in Bay County.

In documents filed Friday, the attorneys requested a stay of execution and urged justices to consider issues related to Floridas clemency process. The filings came after a federal district judge and an appeals court refused to block the execution because of the clemency-related issues.

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected other arguments aimed at halting the execution.

Murder background: Darryl Barwick was 19 when he brutally stabbed a sunbather. He faces justice 36 years later.

Execution: DeSantis signs death warrant in Panhandle murder. It's the third in three months.

Barwicks attorneys contended in the U.S. Supreme Court filings that Barwicks due-process rights were violated because of a standardless clemency process. They wrote that the state has not granted clemency to any people sentenced to death in 40 years.

Due process requires that Mr. Barwick be provided a proceeding where the standards are clear and include considerations beyond the condemneds guilt, one of the filings said. Clemency is a critical stage of the death penalty scheme. It is the only stage at which factors like remorse, rehabilitation, racial and geographic influences, and other factors that the legal system does not correct can be considered.

Related: Legislation lowering Florida death sentence threshold nears DeSantis' desk

Barwicks attorneys also pointed to Barwick having a neurodevelopmental disorder that affected his psychological development and that he suffered abuse as a child. He had a clemency interview in 2021.

The lack of standards and the false guidance provided to Mr. Barwick during the clemency process deprived him of the limited due process to which he was entitled, Barwicks attorneys wrote. That deprivation rendered Mr. Barwicks clemency process meaningless and reduced the proceedings to a mile marker on the road to his execution. It also illustrates the constitutionally defective nature of a critical aspect of Floridas death penalty scheme. Mr. Barwicks clemency proceedings equaled nothing more than a coin-flip where both sides of the coin reflected: denied. This standardless process, taken with the circumstances in Barwicks case, establish a due process violation that cannot be tolerated.

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Darryl Barwick

But in a response filed Saturday, Attorney General Ashley Moodys office disputed the due-process arguments and also pointed to Barwicks criminal history. He was sentenced to death for stabbing Rebecca Wendt in her Panama City apartment shortly after being released from prison for raping another woman at knifepoint in 1983, the response said.

"Indeed, Barwicks case is a uniquely poor vehicle to address clemency-related due process because every federal court to look at his pleadings before now agrees that he would likely not receive clemency even if due process required the standards he seeks to impose, Moodys office argued. That assessment is backed by the horrific, escalating nature of Barwicks crimes from burglary and sexual battery at knifepoint in 1983 to burglary, attempted sexual battery and murder by stabbing in 1986 less than three months after being released from prison.

In refusing to stay the execution last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected Barwicks arguments.

Mr. Barwick was allowed to make a written submission and to appear in person for an interview with representatives of the clemency board, Hinkle wrote. In this proceeding, Mr. Barwick has not alleged he was denied the opportunity to present any information he wished to present. He has alleged no facts suggesting the members of the clemency board made their decision based on anything other than the merits.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 4 signed a death warrant for Barwick, with the execution scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Florida State Prison. Wendt was found wrapped in a comforter and had been stabbed 37 times, DeSantis, in signing the death warrant, denied clemency, according to court documents.

The Florida Supreme Court on Friday turned down a series of arguments, including that Barwick should be shielded from execution because of what his attorneys described as lifelong severe mental illness (neurodevelopmental/neurocognitive disorder) accompanied by immutable cognitive deficits and low mental age.

If the execution is carried out, Barwick, 56, would be the third inmate put to death by lethal injection in less than three months.

Louis Gaskin was executed April 12 in the 1989 murders of a couple in Flagler County. The state on Feb. 23 put to death Donald David Dillbeck, who murdered a woman in 1990 during a carjacking in a Tallahassee mall parking lot.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida execution of Darryl Barwick: U.S. Supreme Court asked to halt
By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine how difficult it should be for financial whistleblowers to win retaliation lawsuits against their employers as the justices took up a long-running case involving Switzerland's UBS Group AG.

The justices will hear an appeal by Trevor Murray, a former UBS bond strategist, of a lower court's decision to throw out his 2021 lawsuit that accused the company of unlawfully firing him for refusing to publish misleading research reports and complaining about being pressured to do so.

The appeal involves a technical but important issue - whether whistleblowers who sue their employers for retaliation under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act must prove that companies acted with "retaliatory intent."

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year decided that Murray was required to meet that bar and failed, creating a split with four other federal appeals courts. Those courts have said that defendants in Sarbanes-Oxley cases can raise the lack of intent as a defense, but that plaintiffs do not have to prove employers acted with intent.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of UBS could significantly curtail financial whistleblower lawsuits because it is often difficult for plaintiffs to prove a defendant's motives.

Robert Herbst, a lawyer for Murray, said the 2nd Circuit decision ignored the text of the whistleblower law, adding that he looked forward to arguing the case before the Supreme Court.

A UBS spokesperson said, "We expect the court will uphold the 2nd Circuit's decision."

Murray, who worked in UBS's mortgage securitization unit, accused UBS officials of pressuring him to issue skewed and bullish research on commercial mortgage-backed securities in order to support the bank's trading and underwriting operations. He has said he was fired in 2012 about two months after complaining to supervisors and despite receiving excellent performance reviews.

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UBS has denied wrongdoing and said Murray's termination was part of a cost-cutting campaign that eliminated thousands of jobs.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was adopted in 2002 and created enhanced accounting standards for publicly traded U.S. companies after a series of accounting scandals, along with new legal protections for employees who report illegal conduct.

The Supreme Court is due to hear the case in its next term, which begins in October.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
ABC30 is losing another on-air personality.

And this reporter is planning to get completely out of television media.

Alyssa Flores Johansen announced on social media Friday night that she is leaving ABC30 after nearly three years at the popular Fresno station.

In turn, Flores Johansen said she will make a career change and get out of TV news to become a public information officer with UC Merced.

After eight years, my time in TV news has come to an end, Flores wrote on social media. This job has been my childhood dream come true and has touched my heart in ways I never imagined.

Flores Johansen worked primarily as a reporter but also anchored on occasion and some times worked in weather.

She is the second on-air personality to leave ABC30 this week.

Meteorologist Madeline Evans announced her pending departure Monday before working her final shift Friday. Her Navy pilot husband, whos worked at Lemoore Naval Air Station, received military orders that required them to relocate.

Flores Johansen, a Southern California native, worked in Bakersfield and in Helena, Montana, prior to coming to Fresno.

While she didnt have a massive social media following like some of her co-workers and others TV personalities, Flores Johansen seemed to take pride in handling her job with a more serious journalistic approach and having viewers focus more on her story.

Flores Johansen especially had a knack for getting those who she interviewed to open up and provide candid comments.

She credited one of her aunts and an uncle for influencing her TV journalism career.

They showed me, Flores Johansen said, how to do this job with integrity and compassion.

While it wasnt exactly clear why Flores Johansen decided to leave and get out of TV news altogether, she said it wasnt easy.

The decision to move on from local news was heavy and emotional, Flores Johansen said. Ill always be thankful to have been part of the ABC30 newsroom that has such a meaningful impact on Central California.

Flores Johansen said she plans to continue to tell stories about the Central Valley at her new job at UC Merced.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it was exploring options to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan in coordination with its international allies, the United Nations and NGOs, after a large-scale evacuation of its citizens from the northeast African country.

A total of 2,197 people had been evacuated from Sudan as of 1630 GMT, the government said in a statement, adding that it has set up a team at Port Sudan to provide consular assistance to Britons, including those leaving by commercial routes.

The tally could increase as further flights carrying British nationals and others, including Sudanese doctors working in Britain's state-run National Health Service (NHS), were expected from Port Sudan in the evening.

"As the focus turns to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue do all we can to press for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to the violence in Sudan," foreign minister James Cleverly said in the statement.

Britain's International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell met Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat in Nairobi over the weekend to discuss the conflict, the government said.

Countries around the world conducted one of the biggest international evacuations in years last week following the sudden outbreak of fighting in Sudan, with the U.N. estimating on Monday that 800,000 people might flee the country due to the conflict.

Britain, which last week estimated that around 4,000 Britons were stuck in Sudan, arranged extra flights from Port Sudan in east Sudan after the end of its evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield, near Khartoum, on Saturday.

In addition to British nationals, the government has also helped evacuate 1,087 people from other nations, including the United States, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia, according to the statement.

Defence minister Ben Wallace said a Royal Navy ship will remain at Port Sudan and continue to provide support.

"The situation remains volatile and our ability to conduct evacuations could change at short notice," the government cautioned.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The Blackpool Zoo in the U.K. is advertising a job position for someone to scare away seagulls from the zoo by dressing in a bird costume. | Adobe.com

May 1 is the last day to apply for the job of a lifetime: flaunting a blow-up eagle costume to scare away seagulls in the U.K.s Blackpool Zoo.

This is not a joke. Actually, the zoo is quite serious  and so are the hundreds of global applicants who have requested the position, some coming in from Uganda, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The zoo told Insider it has made plans to hire lucky participants within the next few weeks.

Related

The seagull problem

Insider said the seagulls steal food from people, penguins, pelicans and sea lions.

Theyre aggressive, Khaled Fawzy, Blackpool Zoos head of birds, told The Wall Street Journal. They have a real sharp beak.

Since its easier to steal food from others rather than hunting for food in the sea, Fawzy told the Journal the birds will steal food from people in the outdoor cafe, during outdoor shows or while people are walking around.

Fawzy said they even learned how to work the sensors and wandered into the cafe, so automatic doors had to be removed.

They love ice cream, Fawzy added in the article. Theyll take the whole cone and swallow it in just one go.

Related

Efforts to get rid of seagulls

To get rid of seagulls, Insider said the zoo previously tried flying eagle-shaped kites, placing large statues of different birds of prey and training the birds of prey within the zoo to patrol the skies and discourage seagulls from entering.

The zoo also tried playing cries of a distressed seagull on the zoo speakers, to no avail, the Journal reported.

The seagulls would stay at bay for a week before figuring out they were being scammed. Theyre quite smart, Fawzy told the Journal.

The zoo told Insider, The costume is something the seagulls wont have seen before, and as intelligent birds, they will naturally not like it, and, The costume also makes a sound when the person is moving, which is something else the seagulls dont like.

Story continues

Related

Who can be a seagull deterrent?

They must be outgoing as, if this week is anything to go by, they will be approached for pictures by a lot of people. Lively, energetic, fun and, most importantly, an excellent flapper, will be top of the essentials list during interviews, the zoo told Insider.

Other requirements to become a seagull deterrent are listed on the zoos website and include being flexible and focused on the visitors.

All who are interested must email a cover letter and resume to the zoo at recruitment@blackpoolzoo.org.uk by May 1.

A zoo spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal, The job pays 8 an hour, or about $10 an hour for those between 16 and 20 years old.
Customs collected 8.2% less than planned

Tax revenue contributed UAH 47.6 billion ($1.3 billion) to the budget, which is 7% more than planned. Meanwhile, the customs service collected 8.2% less than projected, bringing in only UAH 31.3 billion ($850 million).

Read also: Ukraine's import tax breaks for generators, Starlink come to an end

According to the message, another UAH 33.8 billion ($920 million) were contributed to the budget from the issue of government bonds.

Read also: Lviv tax official charged with extorting bribes from entrepreneurs

Ukraines State Property Fund provided UAH 189.9 million ($5.16 million) to the budget, of which 137.4 million came from privatization, and 52.5 million from rent. In total, the fund has already contributed UAH 1.27 billion ($34.5 million) to the budget in Q1.

Combined with international aid and loans, the national budget has received UAH 315.9 billion ($8.6 billion) in April.

Read also: Ukraines central bank proposes capping consumer loan rates

Previously, the National Bank of Ukraine transferred UAH 71.87 billion ($1.95 billion) of its 2022 profit to the state budget.

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
Vereshchuk appealed to the Russians and the ICRC regarding the opening of humanitarian corridors

Kyiv has once again turned to the International Committee of the Red Cross on this issue, she said.

Russia has recently passed another criminal law that forces people in the occupied territories to obtain Russian citizenship or leave their homes, but do not let Ukrainians leave for the Ukrainian-controlled territories, she clarified.

Today, the Ministry of Reintegration once again appealed to the Russian side and the International Committee of the Red Cross with a demand to open humanitarian corridors, she said.

In order for Ukrainians from TOT to leave for government-controlled territory.

Vereshchuk had advice for those who remain under Russian occupation. She urged them not to obtain Russian passports, not to cooperate with the invaders, to leave if possible, and to wait for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Read also: Putin limits rights of Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories

From Sept. 23 to 27, 2022, the Russian invaders staged so-called referendums in the occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya oblasts  none of which is fully controlled by Russia.

Ukraine and nearly all Western countries have not recognized the results of these sham referendums.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Russian annexations will not change the current course of Ukrainian liberation.

Following Russian dictator Vladimir Putins announcement about the annexation of Ukrainian Russian-occupied territories, the invaders banned Ukrainians from leaving for Ukrainian-controlled territories.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A man on the ruins of his house, destroyed by a Russian missile in Pavlohrad, Dnipro region, May 1, 2023

According to the ambassador, the figure has emerged from research done by the Ukrainian government, the EU, and the World Bank. Feldhusen notes that $400 billion would cover rebuilding assets that were destroyed or damaged by Russian attacks.

Read also: Crimea liberation, pessimistic World Bank forecast, financing reconstruction

She added that Ukraines reconstruction is already underway, but retaining the trust of Kyivs international partners who are providing these funds will require Ukraine to become a model of corruption prevention, rule of law, and good governance.

Read also: Germany to allocate EUR 3 million for green industry recovery in Ukraine

On April 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world to direct all confiscated Russian assets towards Ukraine's reconstruction.

In late March, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal declared that $411 billion was needed for Ukraine's eventual recovery.

Read also: A Ukrainian reconstruction fee should be added to all Russian tourist visas  Yermak-McFaul group

According to a survey conducted by Rating polling firm in February, 89% of Ukrainians believe that the rebuilding of the country's destroyed infrastructure should be financed through the seizure of Russian assets abroad or reparations from Moscow.

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
Oleksandr Syrskyi

He had visited several frontline areas the day before to present awards to the defenders of Bakhmut. Intense fighting continues in Bakhmut, with the Russians making every effort to advance and "paying heed to nothing," said Syrskyi.

Read also: Russian invaders changing frontline tactics, says top Ukrainian commander

"Despite significant losses, new assault groups of Wagner, fighters from other private companies, and paratroopers are constantly rushing into the battle," said the general.

However, the enemy fails to take control of the town. The situation is quite complicated. At the same time, in some parts of the town, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and abandoned some positions.

Read also: Bakhmut is protecting four near-front cities, says former Aidar commander

Ukrainian troops have repelled numerous assaults near Lyman in recent days, as attempts to seize positions have failed. Enemy troops suffered losses, and Ukraine captured 10 Russian soldiers, he added.

Bakhmut and Maryinka remain the epicenter of fighting as of the morning of May 1, said the General Staff.

The National Guard has said that close combat urban street fighting continues to define the fighting in Bakhmut.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
As COVID-19 asylum restrictions expire on May 11, the US government is preparing for an increase in immigrants who will try to cross the border with Mexico.

Usually, three in four migrants pass credible fear interviews, but only a few eventually win asylum. However, during the five months of the Trump-era program, only 23 percent passed the initial screening, 69 percent failed, and nine percent withdrew, as the Government Accountability Office reported.

Read also: US Finalizes Deal with Canada To Turn Away Illegal Immigrants in Northern Border

Biden's Fast-Track Program

President Joe Biden has scrapped expedited asylum screenings on his first month in office as part of a gutting of Trump administration border policies, which included building a wall with Mexico. Now, Biden is preparing his own version, according to APNews.

Under Biden's fast-track program, immigrants who don't qualify will be deported in days or a couple of weeks. They will be applied only to single adults.

The administration reassures people will have access to legal services. However, some immigrant advocates are doubtful because they were told that attorneys would not be let inside holding facilities.

Unlike the Trump administration, the Biden administration will not limit migrants to only one phone call. It's unclear how many calls US authorities can facilitate, especially if there is no answer and attorneys call back.

Initially, the screenings will be limited to Spanish-speaking countries to which the country has regular deportation flights. The administration started screening this month in Donna, Texas and expanded to large tents in other border cities, such as San Diego, El Paso, and Yuma.

The Biden administration has also announced plans to address the root causes of migration from Central America, including poverty, violence, and corruption. The US government will invest $4 billion in aid over four years to help improve conditions in those countries.

In addition, the administration is working on a plan to provide legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States. This includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers (young people brought illegally into the country as children) and other undocumented individuals who have lived here for many years.

While there are still concerns about how effective these measures will be at managing immigration flows at the border, advocates hope that they represent an important step towards more humane policies that prioritize human rights and due process protections. Only time will tell whether these efforts can make a real difference in addressing one of our nation's most complex challenges.

Related article: Migrant Crisis: Biden's New Border Policy Limits Asylum for Immigrants

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ihor Zhovkva, the Deputy Head of the President's Office

The NATO Summit in Vilnius would be the best opportunity to respond to Ukraine's membership application, which it submitted in September 2022.

"It cannot simply sit on the table without consideration. We certainly want specific decisions at the Vilnius summit, said Zhovkva.

We are currently discussing with the NATO Secretary General and each of our allies what the summit decision could be. It must be something more than just a mantra about open doors or a repetition of the decisions of the NATO Bucharest Summit."

Read also: Zelensky refuses to accept anything but full EU membership for Ukraine

Zhovkva added that he cannot disclose the options being discussed, but he believes it is important that member states of the Alliance have no doubt that Ukraine will certainly join NATO.

"We are realists and understand that a final decision on Ukraine's accession to the Alliance will simply not be made until we achieve victory. But until the final accession of Ukraine to NATO, we need effective security guarantees.

They are needed today, during the war, even before its end, and even more so after victory.

The diplomat emphasized that this does not replace the need to join the Alliance, nor is it a substitute for Article 5, which is Ukraines ultimate guarantee of security.

Read also: Estonia becomes 10th country to sign declaration of support for Ukraine's NATO membership

Ukraine is currently in discussions with its partners to obtain clear steps for inviting Ukraine into the alliance and for what security guarantees the country can expect while it waits for accession. Ukraine wants a vocal commitment of these steps announced at the Vilnius Summit.

Ukraine had conversations with the Prime Minister of Estonia on April 24, and they will continue speaking with their other partners.

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
Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, has posted a photo of a Su-25 attack aircraft armed with American Zuni air-to-ground rockets.

Source: Oleshchuk on Telegram

Details: Oleschuk posted a photo of a Su-25 attack aircraft armed with Zuni rockets.

In the photo, the rockets are signed in Ukrainian: "For the children of Uman and the people of Uman", which may indicate that Ukrainian combat aircraft are already using American rockets against the invaders.

These aircraft rockets are designed to hit ground targets, fortifications, other objects and columns of Russian equipment on the march.

In January, the United States included 4,000 Zuni unguided aircraft rockets in one of the packages of military aid to Ukraine.

Background:

On 28 April, a Russian missile hit a residential building in the city of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast.

Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs, reported from the scene that the Russians had hit the building in Uman with a Kh-101 missile. This resulted in the collapse of an entire stairwell of the building where 109 people were living or registered. Twenty-seven apartments were completely destroyed. Thirty-three cars were completely burned out or damaged.

On 29 April, the search and rescue operation was completed. As a result of the attack, 23 people were killed, including six children, and nine others were injured; two more people are considered missing.

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Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, believes that the sentence of the military tribunal against Russias President Vladimir Putin and other members of the current Russian leadership will send a signal to Russia to refrain from a new invasion and revenge attempt. Reznikov predicts the collapse of the Russian Federation.

Source: Reznikov in an interview on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast on 1 May

Details: The Ukraines Defence Minister is convinced that "the era of Ukraine-centrism" started on 24 February 2022, and now "the evolution in the minds of world leaders" is ongoing: they believe that the victory of Ukraine is possible, and the majority of them only consider the return to the 1991 border a victory.

"Even if they think about some levels of escalation, some red lines, this narrative is getting weaker. What they say now is: Negotiations? Okay, we will support Ukraine. (Negotiations will start) when Ukraine is ready and on suitable conditions. The approach is different now. Everybody understands that sooner or later the war will be over, and the need to negotiate will arise," Reznikov added.

At the latest Ramstein meeting the so-called Nuremberg-2, a military tribunal for the Russian leadership, was discussed.

Quote: "When they (partners) ask me how I envision the victory, I always tell them: firstly, our territories must be liberated to the 1991 borders, no doubt here. As a lawyer, I firmly believe that the foundations of safety and guarantees, and that Russia will not attack Ukraine in the future in order to take revenge, lie not only in ascending to NATO or making bilateral agreements with our partners.

A powerful army is a must (to avoid another war  ed.). But there must be a sentence of the international tribunal for this gang of war criminals from the Kremlin. Putin and his associates must be imprisoned. Even if he has already been convicted in absentia

Story continues

There must be a sentence. It will be the main signal for their descendants to forget about revenge. If you want to be normal people, live in a civilised world, go on vacations, get educated and do business, you have to radically change from the point of view of the regime.

My colleagues hear about this, and defence ministers of different countries support this idea, and some of my counterparts even suggest projects for a legal platform for prosecuting these crimes().

So I said that judging from the mood, Ramstein-11 will lead to Nuremberg-2.

Details: To a question, whether Russia needs to be "denazified and dissected into parts", Reznikov replied that it should not be forced, as the Russian Federation is a "forced formation" and "they will collapse into independent national subjects themselves".

Quote: "Of course, it concerns our Western partners. They worry a little bit. It is easier when one person is in charge of it all; they think that this way, it is easier to make agreements. I repeat: evolution has started, and it is ongoing. And this will happen, and these countries will be considered separate subjects. What is called the subjects of the Federation now will become real subjects.

So the parade of sovereignties on the territory of the Russian Federation awaits us. We will surely see this."

Details: Reznikov stated that the only thing the partners are concerned with is how to avoid Russian nuclear weapons getting split between these subjects.

The minister added that the Budapest Memorandum has not worked for Ukraine, as one of the guarantors attacked it. So it needs new foundations of safety, which Ukraine can trust, and which will work "if, God forbid, something else happens".

Note: The Nuremberg trials were an international trial held by the Allies against the Third Reich for the preparation and implementation of invasions of other countries by Germany and for other war crimes during the Second World War. Within the period from 20 November 1945 to 1 October 1946, the International Military Tribunal prosecuted 21 of the most important figures of the Nazi Germany leadership, who were still alive, and six German organisations.

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KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian units have ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut amid fierce battles, a top Ukrainian general said on Monday, as the White House believes that more than 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in Ukraine since December.

"The situation (in Bakhmut) is quite difficult," Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian commander of ground forces, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

"At the same time, in certain parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions" in recent days, he said.

The 10-month-long battle for the eastern Ukrainian city has taken on a symbolic importance for both sides. It has become the fulcrum of a war that has seen little shift in front lines since late 2022, leaving both sides looking for a breakthrough.

On Monday, Russia unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine overnight that killed two people in the east, set off huge blazes and damaged dozens of homes and other buildings.

The White House said on Monday that Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces with some 100,000 Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine in the past five months. Of the 20,000 killed, half have been from the Wagner Group.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner, said on Telegram on Monday that his fighters needed some 300 tonnes of artillery shells a day for the assault on Bakhmut, but were receiving only a third of that amount.

"Three hundred tonnes a day is 10 cargo containers - not a lot at all," said Prigozhin, who has often clashed with Russia's defence establishment over its conduct of the war in Ukraine.

In a separate posting on Monday evening, Prigozhin said his troops had advanced some 120 metres (400 feet) into Bakhmut at the loss of 86 of his fighters.

Syrskyi said that new Russian units are being "constantly thrown into battle for Bakhmut" despite taking heavy losses, Syrskyi said, adding: "But the enemy is unable to take control of the city."

Story continues

Russian forces have steadily made incremental gains in Bakhmut, but Ukraine said on Sunday that it was still possible to supply the defenders with food, ammunition and medicine.

Kyiv is widely expected soon to launch a counter-offensive to retake swathes of territory in the east and south that were occupied by Russian forces following the invasion 15 months ago.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Olekshandr Kozhukhar, Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Gareth Jones, Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry)
A private jet at Friedman Memorial Airport ahead of the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 4, 2022 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Private jet travel has surged in the US in the last few years and accounts for 1 in every 6 flights.

But private flyers pay just 2 percent of the taxes that fund the Federal Aviation Administration.

This is according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires.

Private jet travel has surged in the US over the last few years and now accounts for one in every six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic controllers. But this heavily polluting form of travel, which is enjoyed by the ultra-wealthy, is hugely subsidized by average American taxpayers.

Private jet travelers pay just two percent of the taxes used to fund the FAA, according to a report published on Monday by the Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires.

Commercial flyers must pay a tax on every ticket equivalent to 7.5% of the fare price. But private flyers only pay jet-fuel tax. And while commercial plane tickets have increased in price in recent years, jet-fuel costs have remained steady, the report found, meaning that commercial travelers are ponying up an increasing portion of the taxes.

"Jet fuel taxes made up $186 million of the more than $8 billion in tax revenue that was allocated to the AATF in FY2021, or about 2 percent of the fund's total tax revenue," the report read. "Meanwhile, more than half of the AATF's tax revenue  $5.32 billion  came from passenger taxes."

Private jets also use almost 3,000 of the country's smaller airports that aren't used by any commercial airlines, but are funded in part by the FAA, the report found. So taxpayers are subsidizing infrastructure that commercial flyers don't use. The funds the FAA sends to these airports, known as general aviation airports, are generated in large part from taxes on commercial travelers.

Chuck Collins, the director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies and a coauthor of the report, said the scheme means average Americans are not only suffering from the adverse environmental impacts of private jets, but are also subsidizing that harm.

Story continues

"Private aviation is an excess," Collins told Insider. "This is a symptom of the growing concentration of wealth that we've lived through for the last 40 years and has kind of accelerated in the last 15 years."

He added, "It's not luxury that has no impact on the rest of us  it has a huge impact."

Private airplane travel is significantly worse for the environment than commercial flight travel, since private jets carry far fewer people. Private jets emit up to 14 times more climate-warming pollution per passenger than commercial planes, according to a report by the NGO Transport & Environment in 2021.

The IPE and Patriotic Millionaires recommend that the government double the federal jet-fuel tax  from $0.219 per gallon to $0.438 per gallon  to discourage short flights and fund sustainability efforts.

"If we can't phase it out, we should tax it at a high level and use that money to build a better transit system," Collins said.

The report estimated that Elon Musk  who was the most active private flyer in the US last year, with 171 flights  would've paid nearly $97,000 in federal jet fuel taxes on the approximately 221,358 gallons of jet fuel he consumed in 2022 under the proposed higher tax.

The report also recommends implementing a "short hop" surcharge on private flights that are shorter than 210 miles  about the distance between New York City's JFK airport and DCA airport near Washington, DC  and a higher tax on private flights shorter than 100 miles.

But Collins said that advocates calling for raising taxes on private fliers would face steep opposition from powerful, well-funded industry lobbyists.

"In a real democracy that wasn't captured by the wealthy, you know, we might turn up the dial and tax it even at a higher level," Collins said, "but the reality is we're gonna have a holy fight just to have a modest increase in the fuel tax."

Read the original article on Business Insider
CAIRO (AP)  Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the top U.N. official in the country said Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told The Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.

A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas while fierce battles have continued elsewhere, driving civilians from their homes and pushing Sudan further into disaster.

Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence. The U.N. food agency on Monday said it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting.

The World Food Program will resume food distribution in four provinces  al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile  working in areas where security permits, Executive Director Cindy McCain said. The numbers of those needing help will grow significantly as fighting continues, she said. To best protect our necessary humanitarian workers and the people of Sudan, the fighting must stop.

A day earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross flew in a planeload of medical supplies to bring some relief to hospitals overwhelmed by the mayhem.

Direct talks, if they take place, would be significant progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. For much of the conflict, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.

Story continues

Their power struggle has put millions of Sudanese in the line of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes. Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.

At least 436 civilians have been killed and more than 1,200 injured since the fighting began, according to figures on Monday by the Doctors Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. As of a week ago, the Sudanese Health Ministry had counted at least 530 people killed, including civilians and combatants, with another 4,500 wounded, but those figures havent been updated since.

Since Saturday, the United States has been conducting daily evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. On Monday, the third U.S.-assisted evacuation convoy of American citizens and permanent U.S. residents arrived in Port Sudan on Sudans Red Sea coast.

The U.S. had a handful of consular officials at the Sudanese port, helping the American civilians get onto ferries or Saudi or U.S. Navy ships to get to safety across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said Monday it has helped roughly 700 people  U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or local workers at the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy  out on the bus convoys. It says it has assisted about another 1,000 Americans in getting out of Sudan.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighboring city, Omdurman, on Monday, residents said, hours after the two sides committed to the 72-hour cease-fire extension.

Atiya Abdalla Atiya, Secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, said there was fighting early Monday in different area s in Khartoum, including the militarys headquarters, the Republican Palace, and the international airport. There were also clashes in the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, he said.

Many Khartoum hospitals remained out of service or inaccessible because of the fighting, while others have been occupied by the warring factions, particularly the RSF, he said.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have led an international push to get the generals to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Perthes said there are still daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by a real halt in fighting. One possibility was to establish a monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on a sustained cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically  though each side would need safe passage through the other's territory. "That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

Dagalo, the RSF commander, said the paramilitary has named its representatives to the talks but that trust-building measures have to be in place first. "A settlement should come after other matters: First, a cease-fire and building the trust, he told Asharq, a Saudi-based TV station.

For the past week, people have been streaming out of Khartoum and other urban areas torn by fighting, moving in droves to wherever they can find safety.

In Port Sudan, thousands were camped out, hoping to get onto evacuation ferries. Many families, including small children, have been sleeping outside for days, including hundreds of Syrians and Yemenis unable so far to get on boats.

Most of the people are sitting on their bags, said one Syrian, Mohamed Amr Mustafa.

More than 70,000 South Sudanese refugees who had been living in Khartoum have fled to the neighboring White Nile province, settling in already overcrowded camps, said Mustafa Amr Abarou, a spokesman for the Sudanese refugee agency. At least 10 trucks a day of people fleeing Khartoum continue to arrive, straining the agencys abilities, he said. Sudan hosts over 1.3 million refugees, including 800,000 from South Sudan, according to the U.N. figures.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned Monday of many more fleeing Sudan. If violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety, he wrote on Twitter.

The eruption of fighting capped months of worsening Burhan-Dagalo disputes as the international community tried to work out a deal for establishing civilian rule.

We all saw the enormous tensions, Perthes said. Our efforts to de-escalate did not succeed." He said he had been warning repeatedly that any single spark could cause the power struggle to explode.

Perthes warned of a major humanitarian crisis as people were running out of food and fresh water in Khartoum and the fighting damaged water systems.

A real cease-fire is vital to getting access to residents who are trapped in their homes or injured, he said. If we dont get a stable cease-fire ... the humanitarian situation will be even worse.

___

Associated Press writers Nick El Hajj in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Afghan burqa-clad women walk past a Taliban security personnel along a street in Jalalabad, Afghanistan

The Taliban will be absent from UN-led talks that open Monday in Qatar on how to handle Afghanistan's rulers and press them to ease a ban on women working and girls going to school.

Envoys from the United States, China and Russia as well as major European aid donors and key neighbours such as Pakistan are among representatives from about 25 countries and groups called to the two days of talks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Taliban government has not been invited, however, and ahead of the meeting the question of recognition of the administration has loomed large.

A small group of Afghan women staged a weekend protest march in Kabul to oppose any moves to recognise the rulers who returned to power in August 2021.

In an open letter to the Doha meeting released Sunday, a coalition of Afghan women's groups said they were "outraged" that any country would consider formal ties because of the record of the government that says its handling of women's rights is "an internal social issue".

The United Nations and United States have insisted that recognition is not on the agenda.

Rights' groups fears have been fuelled by UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed, who said last month that the Doha meeting could find "baby steps" that lead to a "principled recognition" of the Taliban government.

The UN said the comments were misinterpreted. No country has established formal ties with the Taliban administration and UN membership can only be decided by the UN General Assembly.

Ahead of his arrival in Doha, Guterres' office said the meeting "is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban" on women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

- UN dilemma -

"Any kind of recognition of the Taliban is completely off the table," US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said last week.

Story continues

Since ousting a foreign-backed government in 2021, the Taliban authorities have imposed an austere version of sharia law that the United Nations has labelled "gender-based apartheid".

Women have been barred from most secondary education and universities, and prevented from working in most government jobs as well as UN agencies and NGOs.

Though divided on many disputes, the UN Security Council powers united on Thursday to condemn the curbs on Afghan women and girls and urge all countries to seek "an urgent reversal" of the policies.

Diplomats and observers say, however, that the Doha meeting highlights the quandary faced by the international community in handling Afghanistan, which the UN considers its biggest humanitarian crisis with millions depending on food aid.

Amina Mohammed said it was "clear" that the Taliban authorities want recognition. Formal UN ties would help the government reclaim billions of dollars of desperately needed funds seized abroad after it took power.

But diplomats from several countries involved in the Doha talks said this would not be possible until there is a change on women's rights. The Afghan foreign ministry said after last week's UN vote that "diversity should be respected and not politicised".

The UN chief is to give the Doha meeting an update on a review of the world body's critical relief operation in Afghanistan, ordered in April after authorities had stopped Afghan women from working with UN agencies, diplomats said.

The UN has said it faces an "appalling choice" over whether to maintain its huge operation in the country of 38 million. The review is scheduled to be completed on Friday.

bur-tw/th/hkb
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday agreed to allow the Taliban administration's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan next week to meet with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China, diplomats said.

Muttaqi has long been subjected to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo under Security Council sanctions.

According to a letter to the 15-member Security Council Taliban sanctions committee, Pakistan's U.N. mission requested an exemption for Muttaqi was to travel between May 6-9 "for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China."

It did not say what the ministers would discuss. It said Pakistan would cover all costs associated with Muttaqi's trip.

Chinese and Pakistani officials have both said in the past that they would welcome Taliban-led Afghanistan into the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project, part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Afghanistan sits as a key geographical trade and transit route between South and Central Asia and has billions of dollars of untapped mineral resources. The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war.

The Security Council committee allowed Muttaqi to travel to Uzbekistan last month for a meeting of the foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Afghanistan to discuss urgent peace, security, and stability matters.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began a two day meeting on Monday in Doha with special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries that aims "to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Dujarric said the closed-door meeting would discuss key issues key issues, such as human rights - in particular women's and girls' rights - inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

Story continues

Taking part are China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United States, Uzbekistan, the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The Taliban administration was not invited to the Doha meeting.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by David Gregorio)
Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Dogs have been humanitys stalwart companions for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately, not every dog is as genetically healthy as they deserve to be, thanks largely to our meddling. Over the past few centuries, human-guided breeding has split dogs into hundreds of distinct breeds, based on specifically desired physical characteristics. And sometimes, these characteristics, or the inbreeding needed to create them, can lead to a high risk of health problems.

Scientists, animal welfare advocates, and some breeders have long been trying to bring attention to the plight of these less-healthy dogs. And while there are many in these communities who believe that its still possible to steer breeding practices in a positive direction, at least some countries have recently taken action to heavily regulate or effectively ban the breeding of certain dogs. Some organizations have also launched public outreach efforts to discourage the buying and selling of specific breeds.

Read more

Of course, every dog alive today is a good boy or girl worthy of being part of a family. But for people who are interested in letting a dog occupy their home and heart, here are some breeds known to be less healthy than others.

French Bulldogs

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Frenchies belong to a group of canines known as brachycephalic dogs. These dogs have a much flatter muzzle and skull than other breeds, making them more susceptible to breathing problems, among other health issues. A study last December found that Frenchies in particular were more likely to develop 12 out of 32 common disorders than non-Frenchies, including narrowed nostrils, skin infections around their wrinkly faces, and difficulty giving birth. Some breeders have recently also gone out of their way to breed hairless French bulldogs, a designer dog trend that alarmed many veterinarians, since the lack of hair would likely raise their odds of sunburn or other skin problems.

Story continues

Bernese Mountain Dogs

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Bigger dogs are generally more likely to have a shorter lifespan and a greater risk of health problems than smaller breeds. And these lovable goofs are sadly no exception. Bernese mountain dogs and other large breeds are known to be more vulnerable to canine hip dysplasia, a deformity in how the hip develops that can eventually lead to chronic arthritis. They also belong to an ancestral group of canines known as mountain dogs, and a 2020 study found that these breeds may live three to four years shorter on average than other dogs. An increased risk of early death remained even after taking size into account.

English Bulldogs

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Like their French counterparts, English bulldogs are a brachycephalic breed with more than their fair share of issues. Aside from a shorter lifespan and breathing problems, a recent study found that theyre much more likely to develop so-called cherry eyesa condition that causes a protruding red mass to form in the corner of the eye, which then raises the risk of infections. This February, a court decision in Norway ended the breeding of English bulldogs within the country.

Great Danes

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Great Danes are another large dog susceptible to hip and other skeletal problems. But even compared to many other hefty breeds, Danes have a short lifespan, with the average Dane living between 8 and 10 years and many only until age 6. Their brief existence and higher risk for cardiovascular disease has apparently even led some vets to nickname them the heartbreak breed.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: At first glance, Cavalier King Charles spaniels may not look as recognizably unhealthy as some other breeds, such as a constantly panting bulldog. But theyre also brachycephalic, and they have their own laundry list of elevated health risks. In particular, most spaniels will inevitably develop mitral valve disease, which causes the valve to not close properly, allowing blood moving through the heart to sometimes flow backwards. The condition often leads to other heart problems, including heart failure, and its considered to be the breeds leading cause of death. The Cavalier King Charles spaniel was the other breed beside the English bulldog that Norway decided to ban this year.

Irish Wolfhound

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Irish wolfhounds may have the shortest life expectancy of any breed around, perhaps due to their very large size. Pet owner surveys have found that while some may live up to 13, their average age of death is 6 to 7. Their most common cause of death, by a wide margin, appears to be cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease.

Pugs

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Their health risks: Pugs, in this writers humble opinion, are some of the most beautifully tragic creatures in the world. But their ever-wrinkled faces and flattened skulls make them prone to a bevy of health issues, including labored breathing and skin fold inflammation that can lead to nasty skin infections. They also often cant walk right, and they can develop a neurological condition thats become so synonymous with the breed that its known as pug dog encephalitis. There has been some debate about whether the breeding of these pugs should be banned as well, but a small community of breeders have also started to outcross pugs with other dogs in an effort to create healthier retropugs that resemble what they used to look like centuries ago.

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Union County is asking the public what repairs and safety improvements are needed for intersections.

ALSO READ: Mecklenburg and Union County borders differ, leaving homeowners in limbo

The county posted an interactive map online where you can identify problem spots and leave your opinions.

Its creating a list of the top 15 critical intersections to improve.

We are trying to make sure the projects we do commit to are the ones that are broadly supported and will deliver long-term benefits, said Bjorn Hansen, the senior planner for Union County.

LINK: Public Input Needed for Safer Intersections

The county doesnt maintain or own roads but the survey can help advance local and state projects that are priorities and can possibly provide funding.

Hansen said theyve gotten a lot of feedback on roads leading to the South Carolina state line, and intersections around Hemby Bridge, Cuthbertson, and New Town roads, as well as state Highway 601 and U.S. Highway 74 in Monroe.

Hansen says it could make a difference.

People are really affirming their frustrations, Hansen said. They can also say, I dont know why you are doing this.

The county said about 1,400 people have provided input.

There hasnt been much of a response from communities including Marvin, Monroe, Mineral Springs, Wingate and Marshville.

The survey ends Friday.

Theres a section on approved projects, which you can still give feedback on.

VIDEO: Mecklenburg County votes to keep current borders with Union County
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N Y, will not run for the senate in 2024, and primary Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

In January, Gillibrand announced her re-election amid speculations that she could face a primary challenge from more left-wing party members in the deep-blue state, as reported by Fox News.

Since then, no prominent challenger has been announced. Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y, and Ritchie Torres, D-N Y., also said they have no plans to enter the race.

In 2021, Ocasio-Cortez was asked if she would challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, which initially, she did not rule out but later declined to do.

A Rising Star

It seems that Ocasio-Cortez has no plans to challenge any incumbent Democratic senator in New York in the upcoming elections. However, as a rising star in the party and a vocal advocate for progressive policies, she may still play a prominent role in shaping the agenda and endorsing candidates in other races.

The absence of a strong primary challenger to Gillibrand may also reflect the senator's efforts to align herself with the progressive wing of the party and distance herself from her more moderate past.

As the Democratic Party continues to evolve and shift towards more progressive policies, there has been speculation about potential primary challenges against incumbent senators who may not fully align with this new direction. However, as seen in New York's upcoming Senate race, these challenges have yet to materialize.

While Ocasio-Cortez has stated that she will not be challenging Gillibrand or Schumer in their respective races, her influence within the party cannot be overlooked. As a prominent voice for progressive causes such as Medicare-for-All and climate action, her endorsement can carry significant weight among voters.

Furthermore, even without a strong primary challenger in New York's Senate race thus far, it is clear that progressives are still pushing for change within the party. This pressure from grassroots activists has forced many established politicians to adopt more left-leaning positions on healthcare and income inequality.

Read also: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reveals She Was a Sexual Assault Survivor

The Lack of Primary Challengers

In this way, while no major shakeups may occur during this election cycle in terms of incumbents being unseated by up-and-coming progressive candidates, the impact of these voices is already being felt throughout American politics writ large.

One potential reason for the lack of primary challenges against incumbent senators is the high cost and difficulty of running a successful campaign. Incumbents often have significant fundraising advantages, name recognition, and established networks that make it challenging for newcomers to compete.

However, this does not mean progressives are giving up on their push for change within the Democratic Party. Instead, many activists are focusing their efforts on grassroots organizing and building coalitions with like-minded individuals to pressure elected officials into adopting more progressive policies.

In addition to Ocasio-Cortez's influence in New York's Senate race, other prominent progressive voices, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, continue to advocate for policies like Medicare-for-All and free college tuition across the country. These ideas may still be considered fringe by some establishment Democrats, but they have gained significant traction among younger voters who see them as essential components of a just society.

Related article: US Democracy Under Threat, Warns New York Politician: "There's a Very Real Risk"

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The entertainment and cookery worlds have been rocked by news of Jock Zonfrillos death.

The Scottish host of the Australian version of MasterChef was 46. News of his death was confirmed by his family, who said: With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday.

Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay have led the tributes to Zonfrillo, and many people are remembering stories about the host, one of which is related to an item he carried in his pocket.

Fans noticed that Zonfrillo would play with a small beaded bracelet in many episodes of the cookery competition, and would often ask about the importance of the accessory on social media.

It became a source of mystery for viewers until Zonfrillo one day addressed the billion messages he received asking about the bracelet.

Sharing a video on Instagram, the host explained: These are worry beads. Ive got lots of different types of worry beads, and when Im feeling anxious or a little bit stressed, basically, I flick through them like that and the more anxious and more worried you get, the faster I do it.

Zonfrillo said the beads were given to him by the former partner of late writer AA Gill. He said: These are very special to me. I love them. They are always in my pocket.

He told Mamma Mia in 2021 that he would like to normalise the usage of worry beads for those with anxiety, stating: I think some way of normalising anxiety is a good thing. Its embarrassing and I dont want it to be embarrassing.

It works for me  and if it works for me, hopefully, it can work for some other people as well.

Lawson paid tribute to Zonfrillo, writing on Instagram: My deepest, deepest sympathies and much love to Jocks family and friends. How devastating. How unbearable. My heart goes out to you.

Jock Zonfrillo with his worry beads on MasterChef (Network 10)

Ramsay said: Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillos passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time Gx.

Meanwhile, Jamie Oliver, who had filmed scenes alongside Zonfrillo on the new season of MasterChef, which is due to begin Tuesday (2 May), wrote: Im in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo.

We had the best time working together for this years MasterChef, I cant tell how good it was to work with him!
Law enforcement officers are searching for a man wanted for shooting dead five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas

A vast search was underway in Texas on Monday for the man suspected of shooting dead five neighbors, including a nine-year-old boy, after they asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard late at night.

The FBI in Houston said that more than 250 law enforcement officers from a dozen agencies were "actively searching" for the man, Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican national.

Oropesa is accused of attacking his neighbors on Friday night in the small town of Cleveland, in southeastern Texas, after they allegedly asked him to stop shooting his semi-automatic AR-15 because the noise was keeping a baby awake.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Oropesa, who he said was "in the country illegally."

The short statement by Abbott, a Republican, also referred to the suspect as having "killed five illegal immigrants," sparking immediate criticism on social media over his focus on the victims' immigration status.

"Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them 'illegal immigrants,'" tweeted Julian Castro, the former Democratic mayor of the Texas city of San Antonio.

On Monday, Abbot's office walked back his comments, saying in a statement carried by US media that "one of the victims may have been in the United States legally."

The victims were originally from Honduras.

Abbott also said he would "continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime."

"Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence," he added.

CNN reported that Oropesa had been deported from the United States at least four times since 2009, citing a source from US immigration authorities, adding that his current immigration status was unclear.

Greg Capers, the sheriff of San Jacinto County, where the shootings took place, said his thoughts were with the slain "little boy," whose age was previously stated as eight.

Story continues

"I don't care if he was here legally," Capers told reporters over the weekend. "I don't care if he was here illegally. He was in my county. Five people died in my county and that is where my heart is."

- 'I'll do what I want' -

The FBI offered an additional $25,000 reward for Oropesa.

Capers described a horrifying scene when the authorities arrived at the victims' residence after receiving a call about "harassment" around 11:30 pm Friday.

Bodies were strewn from the front door to an inside bedroom, where two deceased women were found lying on top of two traumatized children who survived the massacre.

"In my opinion, they were actually trying to take care of the babies and keep them babies alive," Capers told ABC's Houston station KTRK.

All the victims had been shot "from the neck up, almost execution style, basically in the head," the sheriff said.

Several residents were in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.

Capers said the suspect "had been drinking" and allegedly told his neighbors "I'll do what I want to in my front yard," before barging into their house and opening fire.

The Honduran foreign minister, Enrique Reina, called for the gunman to face "the full weight of the law."

In response to yet another US mass shooting, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that "the president believes prayers alone are not enough."

"Congress must act," Jean-Pierre said. "Because what makes tragedies like this one all the more heart-wrenching is the fact that it is entirely within our power to take these weapons of war off our streets."

The Texas killings appeared to be the latest in a series of US shootings spawned by normally banal interactions: a teenager mistakenly knocking on the wrong door, a cheerleader accidentally stepping into the wrong car, someone driving into the wrong driveway, a ball rolling into a neighbor's yard.

There have been more than 180 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people wounded or killed -- so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun-related deaths of any developed country: 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.

cl/des/nro/caw/md/dhw/cwl
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who will hold talks with senior officials in Brazil, arrives for the state dinner in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House on April 26, 2023

A senior US envoy was heading to Brazil Monday in hopes of restoring a budding relationship with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who drew a rebuke by appearing to blame Washington in part over the Ukraine war.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, will meet senior officials in Brasilia on Tuesday, with US officials insisting she will focus on broad cooperation between the Western hemisphere's two most populous nations rather than dwelling on Lula's remarks.

She will travel Wednesday to Salvador, the heart of the Afro-Brazilian community, to highlight work to build racial equality in the two multiethnic nations.

Lula drew parallels to President Joe Biden when he took office in January -- a political veteran who defeated a right-wing populist whose enraged supporters then resorted to violence in the capital, and who has put a high priority on climate.

The former trade unionist met Biden in a low-key White House visit in February but then made headlines last month on a trip to China where Lula said that the United States, which has sent billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine, was "encouraging the war."

Lula later clarified that he condemned the invasion, but the White House accused him of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda" -- and Lula won praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who recently visited Brasilia.

A US official said that Thomas-Greenfield would "check in" with Brazil about the Ukraine war.

"Our position is that a range of countries around the world, Brazil included, can play a positive role in trying to bring this conflict to an end," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.

"But we have to make sure that any peace is a just and durable one" that adheres to the "principles and sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

The United States is also asking Brazil to extradite an alleged Russian spy, Sergey Cherkasov, who is said to have pretended to be a Brazilian student in Washington and gathered information on Ukraine.

Story continues

- 'An adroit hedger' -

Brazil has voted at the UN General Assembly to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- unlike fellow developing world powers India and South Africa, which have insisted on neutrality.

But Brazil has also rebuffed calls to impose sanctions on Russia or sell weapons to Ukraine.

Brazil is a current member of the Security Council and its role will come under greater scrutiny later this year as it succeeds India as head of the Group of 20 club of major economies.

Lula, while working with the United States, has never been shy about differentiating himself and staking out a greater Brazilian diplomatic role.

Toward the end of his 2003-2010 tenure, he bucked Washington by trying to seek a negotiated solution on Iran's nuclear program.

A study released Monday on "global swing states," which can shape the world order increasingly defined by rivalry between the United States and China, said that Brazil has "substantial assets" that give it leverage.

Brazil is a major agricultural exporter and also has advanced technology and a sophisticated diplomatic corps, said the study by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Brazil seeks to play it safe and "rejects that its choice of partners must be mutually exclusive" even while generally backing the "rules-based global order" promoted by the United States, William McIlhenny, a former US policymaker, wrote in the report.

"The country sees itself as an adroit hedger that protects its interests by avoiding taking sides," he wrote.

sct/md
The US Supreme Court is to hear a case that could have far-reaching implications for the regulatory authority of federal agencies

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case that could have far-reaching implications for the regulatory authority of federal agencies.

At issue is a 1984 ruling by the nation's highest court known as the "Chevron Doctrine" that says courts should defer to the government agencies' interpretation of ambiguous federal laws.

The conservative-dominated court has moved in several recent cases to curtail the power of federal regulatory agencies when it comes to the environment, for example, and the new case could result in further limitations on their power.

The case stems from a requirement that herring fishermen in New England provide space onboard their vessels for federal observers from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Several fishing companies, in their petition to the Supreme Court, complained that they are being effectively forced to pay for the federal observers who are monitoring their operations.

The NMFS is requiring them to "foot the bill for the salaries of the monitors" without any "express statutory authorization" from Congress, they said.

A split appellate court ruled that the NMFS program was authorized under the "Chevron Doctrine" and the fishing companies petitioned the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case.

Conservatives fighting regulation of industry have notched up a number of recent victories in the Supreme Court, which has six conservative justices and three liberals.

In June, the court ruled that the government's key environmental agency cannot issue broad limits on greenhouse gases, sharply curtailing the power of President Joe Biden's administration to battle climate change.

By a majority of 6-3, the court found that the Environmental Protection Agency did not have the power to set sweeping caps on emissions from coal-fired power plants.

cl/des
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoya is meeting for peace talks in Washington with his Azerbaijani counterpart

The United States hosted negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday, seeking to quell recent tension over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The two sides have gone to war twice, in 1990 and 2020, leaving tens of thousands dead, and clashes regularly erupt over the territory, an Armenian-majority region inside Azerbaijan.

Tensions have spiked again this week after Azerbaijan announced it had set up a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, the only land link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, sparking an angry response from Yerevan.

Armenia views the move as a violation of the cease-fire negotiated between the two sides.

On Sunday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a dinner with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoya and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

The US diplomat then kicked off the expected four days of talks between the two sides Monday at a State Department facility outside Washington.

"The US is pleased to be hosting Foreign Minister Mirzoya of Armenia and Foreign Minister Bayramov of Azerbaijan to facilitate negotiations this week, as they work together to pursue a peaceful future for the South Caucasus region," said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

"The secretary believes that direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and reaching a lasting peace," Patel added.

Blinken also spoke Sunday with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, expressing concerns about the checkpoint, which he said "undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process," according to a State Department statement on their call.

"We have not parsed our words about the need for the free flow of traffic and people and commerce through the Lachin corridor," said Patel.

- Aiming to normalize relations -

Speaking on grounds of anonymity Monday, a US official said the talks aim more at "an agreement on normalization of relations" rather than a peace treaty.

Story continues

"Our goal is to make sure the ministers can sit down and talk to each other," the official said.

The United States expects the two sides to have a forthright and frank discussion, the official said, adding "all the issues are being discussed."

Moscow brokered a ceasefire between Yerevan and Baku after the latest bout of fighting in 2020, and posted peacekeepers along the Lachin corridor.

With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan's key ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have sought to steer a thaw in ties.

France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited the two countries last week aiming to cool down tensions over the border checkpoint.

She visited Baku and then Yerevan, urging Azerbaijan to restore "unhindered movement" through the Lachin corridor.

In Yerevan she said in a news conference that Armenia's territorial integrity must be respected.

"The purpose of the visit is to reaffirm France's support for the Armenian government and people," Colonna said.

But Azerbaijan reiterated that it had set up a checkpoint on "Azerbaijan's territory."

Colonna said it was important for Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations to secure a resolution to their decades-long standoff.

"We encourage you to resolutely take this path," Colonna said, adding this was "the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace."

Blinken has already taken part in two trilateral meetings with the two Caucasus rivals, in November last year and then again in February, on the margins of the international security conference in Munich, Germany.

On Saturday Blinken spoke with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, emphasizing the importance of peace discussions and pledging continued US support.

lb/pmh/bgs/caw
Ukrainian artillery fires towards the front line during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties since December, a top White House official said, citing US intelligence.

John Kirby revealed that 20,000 Russian troops have been killed fighting in Ukraine in that time.

The latest casualty rate reflects a significant increase in troop losses for Moscow's military.

Russian forces have suffered over 100,000 casualties during intense and brutal fighting in Ukraine over the past five months, a top White House official revealed on Monday, highlighting a notable increase in Moscow's troop losses.

Ukrainian troops have fought the Russians along a largely static front line across eastern and parts of southern Ukraine for months. During this time, hostilities have been largely centered around the war-torn city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, and the fight for this town has become the longest and bloodiest battle since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a briefing that over 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and another 80,000 have been wounded in fighting since December. Kirby cited unspecified but declassified US intelligence in providing the assessment, the Associated Press reported.

He further added that around half of Russia's dead are mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a notorious paramilitary organization with close ties to the Kremlin that has been fighting alongside Russia's regular military.

A grad missile is launched on frontline in eastern Ukraine on April 24, 2023. Photo by Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The staggering figure is yet another indication of how costly the conflict has been for Moscow's military. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in late March that the battle for Bakhmut had turned into a "slaughter-fest" for Russian forces, who had issues with logistics, troop training, and operational tactics.

"They are getting hammered in the vicinity of Bakhmut, and the Ukrainians are fighting very, very well," Milley said at the time. Russian forces have managed to put pressure on the Ukrainian defenders, but despite Moscow's continuous and unrelenting efforts to capture the city  which experts argue has limited strategic importance  its troops have been unable to do so as of the beginning of May.

Story continues

Kirby's comments on Monday mark the latest Western estimate of Russian casualties, which appear to have skyrocketed in recent months as Moscow's troops facing a stiff Ukrainian defense have struggled to make significant territorial gains.

Ukrainian service members from a 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carry a shell as they prepare fire a howitzer D30 at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine April 23, 2023. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

In November 2022, after the first eight months of war, Milley estimated that over 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded since the initial full-scale invasion. In January 2023, the top general went on to say that Russia had suffered "significantly well over" 100,000 casualties.

Britain's defense ministry shared in a mid-February intelligence update that Russian-linked forces  which includes Wagner  may have suffered as many as 200,000 casualties, including up to 60,000 killed. That same month, the Center for Strategic & International Studies estimated that up to 70,000 Russians may have died in combat, which is more Russian dead in a single conflict than all Russian wars since World War II.

Recently leaked US intelligence documents reviewed by Insider suggested that Russia had endured up to 223,000 casualties, including 43,000 soldiers killed in fighting. It's unclear when, exactly, that data was compiled, although similar documents obtained by Insider were from late February or early March.

Monday's casualty figure  100,000  matches what Milley reported in November of last year, meaning it took Ukraine only five months to double the number of casualties that it inflicted on Russian forces during the first eight months of the war. It is unclear what Ukraine's casualty figures look like, though the leaked military intelligence documents indicated that Ukraine could have as many as 131,000 casualties with up to 17,500 killed in action.

Meanwhile, fighting in Bakhmut shows no signs of slowing down. Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces wrote in a Monday Facebook post that Russia continues to carry out offensive actions around Bakhmut, but noted that its attacks are being repelled by the Ukrainian troops.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (AP)  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said Russia must pull out of Ukraine, blistering Russia's killing of the children and distancing himself from some in his Republican party who oppose additional major U.S. aid to Ukraine to stave off the Russian invasion.

In Israel on his first trip abroad as speaker, McCarthy emphatically stressed his support for Ukraine and rejected a suggestion that he does not support sending military and financial aid to Kyiv. At a news conference, he also amplified his positions on other issues back home, including his demand for debt limit negotiations with President Joe Biden.

I vote for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine, McCarthy said, responding to a question from a Russian reporter.

I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine, I do not support your killing of the children either," McCarthy told the Russian reporter, adding. You should pull out.

He said, We will continue to support  because the rest of the world sees it just as it is.

McCarthy touched down in Jerusalem leading a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, his first foray abroad as the new House speaker and the first to address the Israeli Knesset in 25 years.

Domestic politics followed his trip overseas, and the Republican speaker said that he still has not yet heard a response from Democrat Biden about negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling, which are tense as deadlines near for action to prevent big economic trouble.

The president still hasn't talked to me, McCarthy said, quipping that he feels a little like Netanyahu, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister who has yet to receive a call from the U.S. president.

Im looking forward to the president changing his mind and negotiating with us, McCarthy said.

House Republicans last week put an opening offer on the table, passing a sweeping package that would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion to into 2024 in exchange for a long list of spending restrictions and other conservative policy priorities that Democrats oppose. Biden has said he would veto the bill if it should be approved by the House and Senate.

Story continues

Biden has refused to engage in talks on the debt ceiling, saying it must be raised with no strings attached to prevent a potentially catastrophic default on the nation's already accrued bills.

McCarthy made it clear a so-called clean debt ceiling will not be possible with House Republicans.

We will not pass a debt ceiling that just raises it without doing something about our debt, McCarthy said.

The Republican leader, who was elected speaker in January after a tumultuous internal party battle, led the congressional delegation on a trip he has made many times before, often with Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the former Democratic leader, who was again at his side.

The trip came as Congress was soon to face again a request to send major aid to Ukraine. McCarthy will need to navigate Republican politics as the debate plays out, particularly from the Trump-aligned wing that has raised opposition to spending overseas to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian aggression.

Early on as party leader, McCarthy had said there would be no blank check for Ukraine, but he has since insisted that as speaker he will back the U.S. effort against Russia even as he works to ensure oversight of American taxpayer money abroad.

Democratic former speaker Nancy Pelosi recently looked back on her own historic trip to Kyiv last year, at the outbreak of the war, and said Ukraine and democracy must win.

At home, McCarthy and Biden are both working  but at odds  to prevent a debt default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, now $31 trillion, by this summer.

Answering questions at a press conference, he referenced the children's TV classic and quipped, Schoolhouse Rock  they never told you not to negotiate. They told you to work together.

We should sit down and solve this problem, McCarthy said. The debt is a big challenge for America. Were going to have to come together to solve it."
By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the legality of an Indiana requirement that abortion providers bury or cremate embryonic or fetal remains following the procedure, sidestepping another dispute involving a contentious Republican-backed state policy concerning abortion.

The justices turned away an appeal by an Indianapolis abortion clinic and two women who underwent abortions at the facility of a decision by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate Indiana's requirement after a federal judge had invalidated it.

A law signed in 2016 by Republican then-Governor and future U.S. Vice President Mike Pence imposed a requirement that clinics cremate or bury the tissue from abortions or miscarriages rather than using the standard method of incineration for human medical waste.

The law, which the state's Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita said in court papers aimed to ensure the "respectful disposition of human remains," also lets patients dispose of the remains on their own.

The plaintiffs argued that the law unconstitutionally compelled them to express the state's message that an embryo or fetus is a person and ran afoul of their moral or religious beliefs by treating embryonic tissue in the same manner as the remains of a deceased person.

U.S. District Judge Richard Young found that the provision violated the challengers' religious freedom and free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. But the 7th Circuit last year overturned that decision.

"The Constitution continues to protect everyone's ability to think and speak freely on matters of conscience," said Rupali Sharma, an attorney at the Lawyering Project, a legal group focusing on reproductive rights that represented the plaintiffs.

Sharma expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court's action and vowed to "continue to stand with the brave abortion patients and providers fighting to honor their convictions."

Story continues

Rokita praised the court's order as "consistent with the understanding that life is precious and should be treated accordingly."

"Nothing is more foundational to ordered liberty in America than the right to life," Rokita said, adding that "unborn, innocent children must be treated with the dignity they rightly deserve."

The Supreme Court upheld Indiana's measure in 2019 in a separate challenge, concluding that the state had a legitimate interest in ensuring the proper disposal of fetal remains and that it did not implicate the right of women to obtain an abortion.

There has been a fierce battle over reproductive rights in the United States since the conservative-majority Supreme Court's decision last June to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized the procedure nationwide. Since then, numerous Republican-governed states have put in place outright bans on abortion or prohibitions after a certain length of pregnancy. Indiana's ban is currently blocked after decisions by lower court judges.

The Supreme Court on April 21 blocked restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill while litigation continues in lower courts in a challenge by abortion opponents to the drug's federal regulatory approval.

The abortion clinic Women's Med, along with patients and staff, sued state officials in 2020 over the Indiana bury or cremate law as well as new disclosure requirements for abortion providers enacted that year.

The 7th Circuit concluded that there is no constitutional violation because the law applies only to hospitals and clinics not individuals. Women themselves "may choose to take custody of the remains and dispose of them as they please," that court added.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
The aircraft carrier George Washington will head back to the Japan-based U.S. 7th Fleet next year to serve as the Navys lone forward-deployed carrier, U.S. Pacific Fleet announced.

Washington will replace fellow carrier Ronald Reagan, which has been based out of Yokosuka, Japan, since 2015.

After Washington arrives in January, Reagan will head to Bremerton, Washington, for maintenance work, according to PACFLEET.

From 2008 to 2015, Washington served as the first nuclear-powered carrier forward-deployed to Japan.

The carrier has been in its so-called refueling and complex overhaul maintenance in Virginia since August 2017.

Carrier George Washington running more than a year behind schedule

Washington was originally slated to leave the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in 2021 under a four-year schedule, which involves refueling the ships nuclear reactor along with other upgrades and maintenance.

But citing new work that emerged during the repair and pandemic-related labor challenges, Navy officials told Defense News, a sister publication, in March 2022 that the carrier would not leave the yard until December.

It did not leave the yard in December, and months later the ship remains in maintenance.

Naval Air Force Atlantic and Naval Sea Systems Command officials did not respond by deadline to Navy Times queries Monday regarding just when the ship would head back to sea.

Images made public by the Navy in recent months show training aircraft being loaded on the ship, as well as other steps suggesting Washington could be back underway sooner rather than later.

An April 26 post on the ships official Facebook page reports that sailors recently tested its reactor and propulsion plants in preparation for taking the ship to sea for the first time in over six years.

Clarification: this article has been updated to note that the aircraft carrier George Washington was the first nuclear-powered carrier forward-deployed to Japan.
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in AI research, has announced his departure from Google after more than a decade of service.

Despite his groundbreaking work in AI, Dr. Hinton has expressed concerns about the potential dangers of the technology, including the potential for "bad actors" to use AI for malicious purposes

Dr. Hinton is not alone in his concerns, as other prominent figures in academia and the tech industry have also called for increased caution and regulation of AI development.

Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, widely recognized as the "Godfather of AI," has announced his departure from Google after more than a decade of service.

Dr. Hinton has expressed remorse for his work on artificial intelligence development, emphasizing the dangers that it may bring to human civilization. Though he felt regret, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton knew that artificial intelligence would have been developed regardless of his involvement, according to a New York Times article.

In the NYT today, Cade Metz implies that I left Google so that I could criticize Google. Actually, I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google. Google has acted very responsibly.  Geoffrey Hinton (@geoffreyhinton) May 1, 2023

Potential advancements in areas like education and drug research have experts in the field comparing the new AI systems to the advent of the web browser in the first half of the 1990s. However, many experts are worried about the prospect of letting something harmful loose on the public.

Already being used for spreading false information, generative AI may one day endanger humankind's ability to find gainful employment. Dr. Geoffrey Hinton noted that it's hard to foresee a world where "bad actors" are prevented from utilizing AI for evil purposes.

AI Possible To Exceed Human Intelligence Soon

Until Microsoft launched Bing with OpenAI integrated, Dr. Hinton was pleased with how Google was handling AI technology, per The Verge. This challenged Google's core business and sparked a "code red" response within the company. The computer scientist worries that an onslaught of misleading news and information would make it hard to tell the truth in a world where competition is so fierce.

Furthermore, Geoffrey Hinton is concerned that as AI develops the ability to write and execute its own code, it will replace manual labor and possibly even humanity.

Read Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Leak Flaunts Larger Cover Display

He said that back then, few people, including himself, supported the notion that artificial intelligence might transcend human intellect and regarded it as a distant possibility. The AI pioneer used to think that the possibility of AI surpassing human intelligence would be at least 30-50 years away, but now he has changed his mind.

Hinton Joins Call For AI Development Freeze

Geoffrey Hinton has spent his whole professional life investigating neural networks, which play a pivotal role in modern AI systems. However, he is most well known for developing a system to recognize common objects via training images in 2012.

In 2013, Google bought DNNresearch, the business founded by Hinton, whose idea inspired the substantial advancement that resulted in the generative technology we use today.

Dr. Hinton and two of his longstanding collaborators, in 2018, won the Turing Award, generally regarded as the most prestigious honor in computing and sometimes referred to as the "Nobel Prize of computing," for their innovative research on neural networks.

The transformation of Dr. Geoffrey Hintorn from an AI pioneer to a forecaster of doom comes at a pivotal time for the technology sector.

Many people share Hinton's concerns regarding the moral and security repercussions of AI. Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak are just two of the prominent figures in academia and the IT industry who recently signed an open letter calling for a six-month freeze in AI research to address these concerns, according to Engadget.

Hinton is a significant player in the IT industry. Consequently, his thoughts are taken seriously.

Related Article: AI Now Writes VentureBeat News Articles

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 70-year-old hiker in Utah fought off a mountain lion that ambushed him in a canyon last week, telling local reporters he used only a rock and his hand.

The mountain lion attacked the hiker around 1 p.m. Thursday in Diamond Fork up Spanish Fork Canyon, the Utah County Sheriffs Office said. The 70-year-old escaped serious injury, suffering lacerations on his arms and head.

The hiker, identified as Evan Ray Nilsen, told KUTV that he was feeling "alright" following the attack but described the encounter as "a shock and a half."

"A mountain lion hit me right on the side, knocked me down the hill," Nilsen said. "I kind of hunched up or folded up, and it come down around behind me. And I hit it with a rock  just with my hand with a rock  and it took off."

ARIZONA HIKER HEARS WOMAN CRYING FOR HELP, FINDS HER TRAPPED BETWEEN BOULDERS ON 50-FOOT CLIFF

A mountain lion, like the one pictured above, ambushed a 70-year-old hiker in Utah's Spanish Fork Canyon on Thursday.

Nilsen said he was able to drive himself down the canyon and got treated at Spanish Fork Hospital.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Scott Root, conservation manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, told news outlets that aggressive encounters between humans and mountains are "very rare."

Officials said aggressive encounters between mountain lions and humans are "very rare."

"Several factors may have contributed to this attack  a younger lion may not be as aware of humans, it could be it was simply startled or defending a kill," Root told McClatchy News, adding there are different reasons that could cause an animal to behave aggressive.

OREGON DAD DIES, 3 KIDS RESCUED AFTER FALL OVER 200-FOOT CLIFF ALONG HIKING TRAIL: SHERIFF

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is looking for the cougar involved in the encounter and will euthanize the animal.

Following the attack, the agency posted information on what hikers should do if they encounter a cougar.

"Fight back if you are attacked!" the agencys guidance reads, noting that you should protect your head and neck. "If you are aggressive enough the cougar will probably flee."

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Officials said that individuals should "never run" from a cougar and to instead maintain eye contact, stand up tall and make yourself look bigger by waving your arms or jacket above your head. The guidance also says to talk firmly in a loud voice and slowly back away.
The landslide victory for authorities in the constitutional referendum surprised few in a tightly-controlled vote

Uzbekistan has overwhelmingly approved constitutional changes that will allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040 in a tightly-controlled referendum, election results showed Monday.

Mirziyoyev, 65, became president in 2016 after the death of dictator Islam Karimov.

Uzbeks voted Sunday on reforms that extend presidential terms from five to seven years, allowing Mirziyoyev to serve two more terms and prolong his time in power.

According to the preliminary results released Monday, the changes were approved by 90.21 percent of votes with a 84.54 percent turnout.

Despite undertaking recent reforms, government critics and rights groups say Uzbekistan remains authoritarian.

Mirzizyoyev has insisted that the overhaul of the constitution will improve governance and quality of life in Uzbekistan.

But he is set to benefit from the changes the most.

Neighbouring Kazakhstan was the first to congratulate the Uzbek leader, with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev saying the result was evidence of "trust" in his rule and "firm support from the Uzbek nation."

Mirziyoyev has presented himself as Karimov's modern successor. He had served 13 years as a loyal prime minister under Karimov's brutal rule.

He then won two elections, in which international observers say he did not face real competition.

Following Karimov's death, Mirziyoyev spearheaded a series of reforms in Uzbekistan, including a clampdown on forced labour in the country's cotton fields.

After years of being cut off from the world under Karimov's regime, Uzbekistan now wants to join the World Trade Organisation.

But activists say rights abuses persist, and authorities have shown no sign of allowing a political opposition to emerge.

- Voting tightly controlled -

The constitutional changes also include a ban on capital punishment and the protection of human rights for what Mirziyoyev has called a "New Uzbekistan."

Story continues

But despite some economic progress and social improvements -- such as the criminalisation of domestic violence -- the government allows no dissent.

The adoption of the text was beyond doubt after a one-sided campaign, in a state where the press is still largely controlled.

Two journalists from state media interviewed by AFP claimed on condition of anonymity to have "received instructions to cover Uzbekistan, the referendum and the president in a positive way".

They said censorship strengthened as the election approached.

The government went to lengths to give the vote a veneer of legitimacy, enrolling local celebrities at large rallies and concerts to praise the proposals and the president.

Uzbekistan's population is emerging from a particularly harsh winter marked by shortages of fuel, and is faced with poverty and corruption.

During unrest in July 2022, demonstrations against a constitutional amendment in Karakalpakstan, which would have reduced the autonomy of the vast territory, were put down in a bloody crackdown. Dozens of people were jailed.

That controversial amendment has since been withdrawn.

bur/yad
Shavkat Mirziyoyev

The change extends term limits from five to seven years, allowing Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040.

Read also: Uzbekistan lobbies to lift EU sanctions on Russian oligarch Usmanov  FT

The April 30 referendum allegedly saw a voter turnout of 84.54%.

The CEC reported that 90.21% of voters supported the proposed changes, while 9.35% were against.

The constitutional changes also include provisions related to human rights, including the prohibition of the death penalty, and the recognition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Read also: Why Russia will not collapse following the example of the USSR?

The changes also affect the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, removing the term sovereign in reference to the region and abolishing the provision that allowed the autonomous region to secede from Uzbekistan through a referendum.

President Mirziyoyev initiated the constitutional amendments in December 2021.

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
TASHKENT (Reuters) -Uzbekistan has passed a package of constitutional amendments in a referendum, preliminary data showed on Monday, which will allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to run for two more seven-year terms when his current one ends in 2026.

The reform, passed with 90.21% of Sunday's vote, resets Mirziyoyev's term count, while promising the Central Asian nation's citizens greater social and legal protections.

Mirziyoyev, 65, has opened up the former Soviet republic's economy, greatly improved ties with the West, and curbed the powers of security services whose dominance had in previous decades turned the country of 35 million into a police state.

Although Tashkent's Western partners are unlikely to approve of the extension of presidential powers, Uzbekistan risks little given the West is seeking support from ex-Soviet nations in its efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov,Writing by Olzhas Auyezov, editing by Ed Osmond)
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP)  Uzbeks gave overwhelming approval in a referendum to constitutional changes that promise human rights reforms but that also would allow the countrys president to stay in office until 2040, the country's central elections commission said Monday.

More than 90% of those who cast ballots Sunday voted for the measure, which was heavily promoted by the government, according to the commission. Nearly 85% of eligible voters took part, it said.

The changes include lengthening the presidential term from five to seven years, while retaining the existing two-term limit. Although President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is in his second term, the change in term length would allow him to run twice more after his current tenure ends in 2026.

Other changes include abolishing capital punishment and boosting legal protections for citizens, including those accused of crimes.

Under Mirziyoyevs predecessor, Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan was one of the regions most repressive countries. Mirziyoyev, who took over after Karimov died in 2016, touts the constitutional changes as showing that Uzbekistan will make freedoms and human rights paramount.

The referendum originally was planned for last year, but was put off in the wake of deadly unrest in the Karakalpakstan region when it was announced that the changes would include rescinding Karakalpakstans right to vote on whether to secede.

Although the likelihood of secession is very small, that proposal angered residents of the poor and environmentally beleaguered republic that makes up a third of Uzbekistans territory but has only about 5% of the countrys 36 million people. Mass unrest broke out in the Karakalpak capital, Nukus; at least 18 people died in clashes with police.

The new package retains the Karakalpakstan secession right.
Pope Francis

"I am ready to do anything," the pontiff said.

Read also: Pope names conditions for visiting Kyiv, but appears to rule trip out

There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it.

The pontiff refused to comment when asked whether he had discussed the "peace initiative" with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) representatives.

Read also: Where does the Pope get his information on Ukraine and Russia?  Ukraines Ambassador to the Vatican

"I think that peace is always made by opening channels," he said. You can never achieve peace through closure.

The Pope met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the Vatican on April 25. Shmyhal asked for his help in returning Ukrainian children deported by Russia. Pope Francis said that "the Holy See is willing to do this." Prior to that, he stated that the Vatican had facilitated the exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia.

On his visit to Hungary, Pope Francis met with Ukrainian refugees in Budapest, as well as Prime Minister Orban and the ROCs Metropolitan Hilarion.

Read also: Ukraine's ambassador to the Holy See elaborates on ties between Pope and Russian ambassador

The Pope called for peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October 2022, saying he is ready to meet with both. He has also said that he believes this war to be global and does not believe that it will end soon.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Republican Gov. Phil Scott said Friday he will veto a bill passed by the Legislature that aims to help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging Vermonters to move away from fossil fuels to heat their homes.

Scott said in a statement he shares the goal of the Affordable Heat Act, known as S.5, but he believes the legislation would give too much authority to the unelected Public Utilities Commission and could end up punishing Vermonters who are least able to afford to switch.

For these reasons and more, I will veto S.5, and Im asking Vermonters, even the many who have already contacted their legislators, to make their voices heard and ask their representatives and senators to sustain this veto," he said.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott delivers his State of the State address remotely from the Pavilion office building, Jan. 5, 2022, in Montpelier, Vt. Scott said Friday, April 28, 2023, that he will veto a bill passed by the legislature that aims to help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging Vermonters to move away from fossil fuels to heat their homes.

The promised veto of the bill, which got final approval Thursday, sets up a showdown with Democratic lawmakers. They have a veto-proof majority in both the House and Senate, but its unclear if all would vote to override.

Scott vetoed similar legislation last year, and an override failed by one vote in the House.

Meeting greenhouse gas targets

House Speaker Jill Krowinski said this week, before this year's bill received final legislative approval, that Scott and others were spreading misinformation about it, especially that Vermonters would soon be unable to afford to heat their homes.

Krowinski said in a statement that the legislation is intended to provide relief from increases in fuel costs and create incentives to help low- and moderate-income residents weatherize their homes and diversify how they heat them.

The rulemaking process and future legislative debate will give Vermonters multiple venues and additional opportunities to share feedback, ask questions, and help shape the final product, Krowinski said. This bill will not only help Vermont mitigate the impact of climate change in our state, but it will also lower costs and keep prices at a consistent level, allowing Vermonters to afford to heat their homes.

Story continues

The Affordable Heat Act grew out of legislation passed in 2020 that requires Vermont to reduce greenhouse gas pollution to 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. Emissions would need to be 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% below by 2050.

Carrying out the provisions of the law would be overseen by the Public Utility Commission, which would develop and implement clean heat programs designed through a public process.

The bill says the final rules to implement the program must be submitted to the Legislature by January 2025, and progress reports must be provided in February 2025 and on final submission.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont governor vows to veto climate bill as too expensive
One of the world's most important fossil deposits has been found in mid Wales, according to experts.

A large number of new fossils have been discovered near Llandrindod Wells, Powys by researchers who had to fundraise to buy equipment.

Museum Wales researchers found the fossils in rocks laid down under the sea more than 460 million years ago.

Over 170 species, including rare soft-bodied animals, were discovered in 2020 on private land known as Castle Bank.

The discovery was made by researchers and Llandrindod residents Dr Joseph Botting and Dr Lucy Muir, who said it was one of the very rare sites where soft tissues and complete organisms are preserved, rather than just hard parts like shells and bones.

Dr Botting and Dr Muir are not employed as academics and had to crowdfund to purchase microscope equipment to aid their work.

Almost all the previous examples are from the Cambrian period, but Castle Bank dates from the middle Ordovician, some 50 million years later.

Dr Muir said the discovery was important because it gave a new insight into how life was evolving at that time.

"It coincides with the 'great Ordovician biodiversification event', when animals with hard skeletons were evolving rapidly," she said.

"For the first time, we will be able to see what the rest of the ecosystem was doing as well."

Fossils of many different kinds of animals were found at Castle Bank and most were small - between approximately 1-5mm (0.04in - 0.2in).

Many were either completely soft-bodied when alive or had a tough skin or exoskeleton.

Places where such soft-bodied fossils are found are extremely rare, and only one other Ordovician site in the world, the Fezouata Biota of Morocco, preserves close to this level of detail.

'Real community effort'

The Castle Bank fossils include the youngest known examples of some unusual groups of animals, including opabiniids - which have vacuum cleaner-like noses - and wiwaxiids, oval-shaped molluscs with a soft underbelly and a back covered with rows of leaf-shaped scales and long spines.

Story continues

At the same time, the site includes the oldest examples of more modern-looking animals, including a creature that looks almost like an insect and may be distantly related to them.

The new fossils also include many different types of worms, sponges, barnacles, starfish and a primitive horseshoe crab.

Dr Botting said: "In some ways this is a real community effort to reveal this fauna, because it wouldn't have been possible for us to do it without the support of a large number of people.

"Even most universities do not have the equipment that we were ultimately able to buy."

The pair spent more than 100 days in the field collecting the fossils and are working with colleagues in Cardiff, Cambridge, Sweden and China to examine the finds.

"Despite the extraordinary range of fossils already discovered, work has barely begun," said Dr Botting.

"Every time we go back, we find something new, and sometimes it's something truly extraordinary.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions, and this site is going to keep producing new discoveries for decades."
Marina Tauber was arrested in Moldova

Moldovas Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office called for the detention after suspecting Tauber of falsifying the partys financial statements and helping to facilitate the illegal financing of the criminal group of Shor leader Ilan Shor.

The prosecutors office filed a request on April 28 to change the pre-trial restriction from conditional release under judicial supervision to pre-trial detention after Tauber violated the terms of her restriction conditions.

Read also: Russia wants to use Moldova against Ukraine, President Sandu warns

Tauber requested on April 29 that the court postpone the hearing so that she could travel to Israel.

Following her previous violations of conditions, the prosecutors office deemed her a flight risk and considered it necessary to detain her at the airport.

Shortly before her detention, the lawmaker posted a video message on Facebook saying that she knew she would be detained, but had planned the flight abroad to undergo medical examinations.

"I was planning to fly abroad today, the trip was planned long ago," she said.

I need to visit a doctor, and I didn't know that there would be a court hearing in connection with the change of my preventive measure. I want to ask everyone not to worry, I am leaving for a few days and will return on Thursday morning, I also have a return ticket. I need this trip because I did not have the opportunity to do it before and did not know about the plans of the prosecutor's office.

Read also: Kremlin has plans to turn Moldova into Russian satellite, investigative media reveals

On April 13, the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced the fugitive MP and leader of the Shor party, Ilon Shor, to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property worth over $270 million. The court also banned Shor from holding positions in the banking system for five years and nationalised his assets.

Read also: Wagner mercenary company representative detained at airport in Moldova, not allowed to enter country

Story continues

In 2015, Ilan Shor was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in the notorious "$1 billion fraud" case. In 2019, Ilan Shor fled Moldova. According to some reports, he is currently in Israel.

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
Monica's Bar & Lounge, a popular Northwest Oklahoma City establishment where Latin American-inspired drinks and food are served, as it appeared in Nov. 2021.

Police on Monday identified the victim of a weekend shooting in a parking lot outside of a northwest Oklahoma City bar.

Just before 2:20 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to reports of a shooting at 3000 W Memorial Road, where police found 31-year-old Zyron Owens dead in the parking lot. Three other people were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the shooting, but their injuries were not life-threatening, according to police.

The four were leaving Monicas Bar & Lounge and authorities are investigating potential motives behind the shooting.

It doesnt appear to be a random act of violence, said Sgt. Dillon Quirk, with the Oklahoma City Police Department. Its possible that theres a connection in some way, but investigators dont know yet.

More: Four dead, three injured after early April shootings at bar, parking lot in Oklahoma City

TV news stations initially identified Dot Wo, a neighboring Chinese restaurant, as the site of the incident, but the shooting occurred in a parking lot shared by the restaurant, the bar and several other businesses.

Dot Wo released a statement on social media late Sunday morning, thanking residents for your concern and phone calls, but emphasizing the restaurant closed at 9 p.m., several hours before the shooting.

We were not affected or involved in any way with the shooting that occurred, the statement read. The news reports were incorrect; the altercations took place outside in the parking lot after Monicas Bar (closed). Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were affected by this tragedy.

Police said Monday there were no suspects in custody. Residents with information regarding the shooting were encouraged to call the police departments homicide tip-line at 405-297-1200.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Victim identified by police after fatal NW OKC shooting Sunday
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, attended a child support hearing in Arkansas on Monday for his 4-year-old daughter, whom he has never formally recognized.

Child support payments were resolved between Lunden Roberts, 32, and Biden in 2020, the issue was revisited when Hunter Biden asked for modifications to the payments.

Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said that $20,000 is being paid monthly by Hunter Biden to the mother of the child, according to Fox News.

Holly Meyer, the presiding judge in the Hunter Biden child support case, has set deadlines for the lawyers to turn in discovery and begin depositions, indicating that she intends for the Hunter Biden child support case to progress swiftly.

Following the hearing, Judge Meyer ordered Hunter Biden, 53, to submit written responses to questions about his current financial situation, including the sales of any artworks, investments, and any other financial transactions.

In addition, the court ordered that Hunter Biden testify under oath in a deposition scheduled for the middle of June.

Read Also: Turkey Intelligence Kills ISIS Leader in Syria

Hunter Biden was overheard making short comments to his attorneys and taking notes throughout the hearing, according to the New York Post.

Roberts's loved ones sat in the row behind her, while Hunter Biden was only joined by his lawyers and two Secret Service personnel.

DNA Evidence Says Hunter Biden is the Child's Father

About a dozen police officers were stationed in the court's parking lot before the 9 a.m. hearing, and Hunter, dressed in a dark suit and tie, was brought in through a back entryway.

Hunter Biden's child support payments may be reduced after a trial in July.

DNA evidence supported the claim of Lunden Roberts, a former stripper, that Hunter Biden is the biological father of her daughter, now four years old, according to legal papers submitted by Roberts.

Roberts' legal team asked for the baby girl's last name to be changed to Biden in December.

Despite his initial denial of paternity, Hunter Biden ultimately consented to a paternity test and has been paying child support ever since. The Hunter Biden lawsuit has not been resolved, however.

The court hearing coincides with Republicans' increased scrutiny of Hunter Biden's financial activities. Hunter's legal team recently spoke with Justice Department officials about a possible criminal tax probe against their client.

Related Article: Republicans Slam Dems for 'Shameless Lie' Over Debt Limit Bill

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A nurse looks in on a patient's room in 2021 in the COVID-19 ICU at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City.

Health care is a growing industry for Oklahoma, with the number of jobs increasing right alongside investment in the system.

Significant expansions are coming for some of the state's largest hospital systems, while other initiatives are in place to combat a workforce shortage.

Gov. Kevin Stitt said in his 2023 State of the State speech that since he became governor, there has been more than a billion dollars invested into the health care system.

"At the same time, we demanded better for Oklahomans and implemented reforms to focus on improving health outcomes, not just billing for procedures," Stitt went on. "As a result, another $700 million is on the way to improve rural hospitals and expand primary care across Oklahoma."

Upcoming expansions for Oklahoma hospitals, health care industry

Set to open this fall, Mercy is building a new womens and baby center that will connect to its Oklahoma City hospital.

The 175,000 square-foot building will feature an emergency obstetrics department, postpartum rooms, as well as the state's first hospital-based low intervention birthing unit. The building was said to be a $98 million project when it broke ground in 2021, 40% of which was donor funded.

A new heart center is under construction on Integris's Baptist Medical Center campus, and expected to be complete in 2024. The Integris Heart Health Hospital will be a 209,000-square-foot building with 64 ICU beds, multiple cardiac catheterization labs, cardiovascular operating rooms, hybrid operating rooms, electrophysiology heart labs, and convenient cardiac diagnostic testing areas.

Meanwhile, OU Health and Norman Regional are partnering to build the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at Norman Regional.

More: Oklahoma lawmakers say CVS Caremark is 'intentionally lying' about 90-day prescriptions

Located at the corner of N Porter and E Robinson in the Norman Regional Healthplex, the new cancer center will open in 2025 and is touted as a way to bring top-of-the-line cancer treatment to people beyond Oklahoma City.

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For now, Stephenson Cancer Center is Oklahoma's only facility with a National Cancer Institute designation, giving its patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials of promising new treatments.

Richie Splitt, president and CEO of Norman Regional Health System, said in January it's a "big dang deal" in the world of cancer care.

OKC regional biotech 'supercluster' to spur innovation and economic development

The $178 million mixed-use anchor for the Innovation District in Oklahoma City is seen in 2022. It is set to get a $5 million increase in public assistance due to escalating construction costs. The project also is being scaled down with renderings showing elimination of decks that would have connected different buildings in the project. Plans also include for phasing the project instead of building it all at once.

Last September, a $35 million grant was awarded to the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster Initiative  a group consisting of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Innovation District  to bolster the region's biotechnology, building a "supercluster" between Norman, Oklahoma City and Stillwater.

These projects will not only put Oklahoma at the forefront of biotechnology research and production, but "create new job opportunities for diverse populations across the region, a central goal of this initiative," said Chickasaw Nation secretary of state Bill Lance.

The grant, part of the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge, will fund six projects:

Development of 10 translational research labs dedicated to drug discovery within the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

Supportive programming, known as "Oklahoma Biotech Startup Program," to build a vibrant regional biotech startup pipeline led by the University of Oklahoma.

Create an OU Biotech care facility to provide advanced bioprocessing equipment and services to instructors and researchers at OU, local nonprofits, including the Oklahoma Medical Research Program, and private companies, including Wheeler Bio.

Create the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center early phase clinical trial network, doubling the size of the existing clinical trial program at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

Create the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Center, housed in the Oklahoma City Innovation District, to meet the growing demand for skilled labor in the biotech industry and enable the formation of inclusive, non-degreed career pathways into high-wage jobs.

Oklahoma Bioscience Cluster Initiative, which will lead regular convenings of industry leadership, conduct needs assessments, encourage regional connectivity and spur policy advocacy.

This exciting initiative unites our regions brightest minds in biotech, and we are grateful that it will leverage OU research expertise to develop life-changing solutions while also fostering economic prosperity for our state," University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. said in a September news release.

More: My baby's not gonna make it and neither am I; Women flee Okla. for life-saving abortions

Health care industry an important part of Oklahoma City's economy

What do these kind of investments mean for the economy?

A 2021 analysis by the Greater OKC Chamber found that the health care industry represented 9% of total GDP for the Oklahoma City metro and generated an estimated $6.3 billion annually in direct output of goods and services. In 2022, the chamber said more than 82,000 people were employed in the health care industry, accounting for 11% of all jobs in the OKC metro area.

Specifically in biotech, 21,000 were employed by the industry in 2019, making a total of $1.5 billion in wages, according to the OKC Chamber.

Health care jobs also pay more than others, with an average annual pay of $57,311 in 2021, 15% higher than the average pay across all industries, the chamber's research economist Eric Long said.

"Employees in Oklahoma Citys health care cluster average $7,300 more per year than others in the private sector," Long said in 2021. "This highlights the growth opportunities available to those interested in a career in health care."

Initiatives to shore up health care workforce

OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. announces that the university will be able to accept all nursing school applicants to the school of nursing, up from only 40%, at the Capitol in 2022.

Though the jobs pay well, it's no secret that a health care worker shortage exists.

Oklahoma was ranked 46th in the nation for nurses for capita before the pandemic, and the scarcity was only exacerbated by COVID-19.

Efforts to shore up the workforce include OU College of Nursing accepting all eligible applicants through at least fall 2023. The college also introduced other measures including a nursing degree accelerator program, as well as adding Norman Regional Hospital and Duncan Regional Hospital to the locations students can complete its BSN program at.

OU Health announced in 2021 some pay bonuses for current nurses, as well as some incentive programs like a weekend nursing program and an option to get higher pay in lieu of benefits.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma health care industry growing, providing thousands of jobs
Biden Correspondents Dinner (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Washington is still largely hungover after a week of galas, parties and afterparties that come with the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. If there is one thing that journalists, especially in DC, love more than our work, its reminding people just how much we love our work and how much esteem in which we hold ourselves as protectors of the First Amendment of the Constitution. That helps us feel a little less guilty about enjoying the sumptuous spreads and open bars at various parties that we partake in throughout the weekend in our evening gowns or tuxedos.

Last years correspondnts dinner was the first since the Covid-19 pandemic, which itself came after former president Donald Trump chose not to attend the three dinners that took place during his tenure at the White House.

The latest dinner was packed, as the ballroom in the Washington Hilton was full of reporters in their best outfits as they tried to look cool while getting selfies with John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. Politics is show business for ugly people, as Democratic strategist Paul Begala once quipped, after all.

But behind the luxurious brunches, fancy hors d'oeuvres and having to sit through President Joe Biden reciting jokes alongside Roy Wood Jr, there was an air of nervousness throughout the evening. One of the key conceits of Washington is that for all of the aggressive rhetoric, the press, elected officials and everyone in between are supposed to be friendly once were off the clock.

And indeed, some elected officials, like Democratic Representative Robert Garcia and GOP Rep Dan Crenshaw, were at the dinner, as was Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who traded his signature hoodie and shorts for a tuxedo. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Susan Collinss communications directors were seen hanging out.

In its best permutation, this agreement allows for all of us to see each other as human beings and therefore make negotiation easier between both parties and for reporters to build good relationships with sources. At its worst, it can make viewers at home think that all of the partisan bickering and media grandstanding is, to borrow a phrase from pro-wrestling, kayfabe; the citizenry often thinks we are all playing a role and that we all just serve each other in the end.

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But this time around, anxiety definitely filled the air during both the pre-parties and afterparties. The Wall Street Journals pre-party featured in bold letters a call to free its reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia on trumped-up charges of espionage. Mr Biden acknowledged his imprisonment before he launched into his jokes.

Similarly, the dinner highlighted Sabrina Siddiqui, another WSJ journalist and the sole print reporter who joined Mr Biden on his trek to Ukraine back in February.

At the same time, the dinner came at a time of massive upheaval for two of the major cable news networks, as Fox News booted Tucker Carlson, its biggest solo host, after the a settlement with Dominion voting systems. CNN, meanwhile, parted ways with longtime anchor Don Lemon.

Mr Biden easily made mincemeat out of them, mentioning how some would call him old or ancient while Mr Lemon would say thats a man in his prime, after the ousted CNN host said former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not in her prime because of her age. But underneath the wisecracks, plenty of Democrats and figures in the press raised questions about Mr Bidens advanced age as he announced his campaign for re-election last week, while Republicans have hoped to highlight his senior citizen status.

Similarly, the dinner was marked by who wasnt there as much as it was by who was in attendance. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer snapped a photo with Julia Fox, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy chose instead to head to Israel.

That meant the two principal leaders in Congress could not discuss the debt limit over a glass of scotch after Mr McCarthy passed a debt limit bill last week. Meanwhile, Mr Biden has stood firm on his point that the bill Mr McCarthy passed largely to abate the most right-wing members of his base is a non-starter.

Of course, Mr Trump looms in the background of all of the festivities, as he has seeped into facet of politics over the last eight years. Former administration officials like Mike Pompeo and Kellyanne Conway attended in his stead. But soon, us reporters will head out to campaign trail in earnest as he kicks off the next act of the Trump spectacle.

We may need more free cocktails. Did I mention Im sober?
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday he will not seek a fourth term.

Serving the people as governor of Washington state has been my greatest honor, Inslee said in a press statement. During a decade of dynamic change, weve made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation. Im ready to pass the torch.

The governor was first elected to the position in 2012 and took office in 2013. He was last elected to the office in 2020.

Now is the time to intensely focus on all we can accomplish in the next year and a half, and I intend to do just that, Inslee said. I look forward to continued partnership with legislators and community leaders to address Washingtons homelessness crisis, speed our efforts to expand behavioral health services, continue our fight against climate change, and continue making Washington a beacon of progress for all.

Although it is unclear who will be running yet for the position, rumors have swirled for years in Washington about the possibility of Attorney General Bob Ferguson running for the office.

In March, a hypothetical poll was conducted by the Northwest Progressive Institute to gauge voters interests in Ferguson as well as other candidates such as Republican Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and King County Executive Dow Constantine.

In that poll, 35% of voters who were polled said they would vote for Dammeier while 21% said they would vote for Ferguson. Franz and Constantine each received 7% of the total, and 30% were undecided at the time.

None of those officials have officially announced a run for the office and Dammeier and Constantine both said in March they would not be running.

While not included in that polling, a controversial school board member from the Tri Cities named Misipati Semi Bird announced in November that he would be running for governor as a Republican. Bird previously came under fire for defying statewide mask mandates by moving to make masks optional in Richland schools. The district was forced to cancel some classes following the decision as it tried to figure out a way to accommodate the move.

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In a tweet Monday shortly after Inslees announcement, Ferguson thanked Inslee and his wife Trudi for their long and distinguished service.

I am grateful for our partnership on many issues that impact the people of Washington, Ferguson said. It has been a privilege to work with you to stand up to the Trump Administration, protect womens reproductive freedom, defend immigrants, get assault weapons off our streets, protect our air and water, eliminate the death penalty, and advocate for our veterans. I look forward to continuing that partnership taking on the toughest fights on behalf of every Washingtonian for the next 18 months!

In a press statement released Monday by the Democratic Governors Association, Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper said that Inslee has been an outstanding leader over his last three terms.

The DGA is extremely grateful for Gov. Inslees strong leadership and public service, and we look forward to continuing to work with him as he finishes out his term, Meehan-Draper said. The DGA also remains ready to ensure that a Democratic successor is elected in Washington in 2024.

This story will be developing. Check back for additional information.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.  When the so-called Golden Hour is ticking away for a wounded soldier on the battlefield, every second counts.

As does each drop of blood. Massive blood loss is a leading battlefield killer, staunched only by quick first aid and rapid replenishment.

But as the Army restructures and prepares for a potential large-scale war, the services medical planners recognize that getting patients to fully-equipped hospitals in such a conflict may take days, and getting temperature-controlled blood products to the front lines might be even more difficult.

Army Times attended a discussion panel at an Association of the U.S. Army event a few weeks ago about the battle to move blood during the next conflict. Panelists argued that training conventional medics on extended casualty care will ensure blood transfusions start as close to the front as possible and buoy survival rates.

Enter the walking blood bag, sometimes also called a walking blood bank.

The idea isnt entirely new. In fact, according to a 2006 trauma studies paper, U.S. military doctors have used fresh donor blood in every major conflict since the technique emerged during World War I. Many military hospitals during the Global War on Terror tracked staffers blood types in case of mass casualty events that outpaced supply of other blood products.

Spc. Hayden Hutto, a medic assigned to Charlie Medical Company, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, inserts a needle into U.S. Army Sgt. Kiana Lassalle, a medic also assigned to Charlie Medical Company, during a walking blood bank training at Skwierzyna, Poland, Aug. 10, 2022. (Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga/Army)

But the practice is moving closer to the front line.

In recent years, the special operations community pioneered person-to-person whole blood transfusions during combat, a 10-minute process in which a soldier donates blood into a transfer bag and then returns to the fight while its administered to their wounded comrade. The 75th Ranger Regiment, the Armys top light infantry unit, said in a release that such transfusions saved soldiers wounded in Afghanistan during summer 2019.

The panelists want the conventional Army to catch up and push toward the front. While the Marine Corps and some elements of the Army have already started training the concept, one of the Armys top doctors wants the practice and its training standardized and fielded across the force.

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We have doctrine that talks about walking blood banks, said Brig. Gen. Mark Thompson, a soon-retiring Army Medical Command logistics planner. We do not have doctrine that talks about walking blood banks far forward.

Col. Jason Corley, who helps manage and integrate new blood product technologies, said the services Medical Center of Excellence is working to develop standardized training tasks, lists and methods of instruction in addition to deciding which Army career fields  such as combat medics  will be tasked to learn the technique.

A U.S. Soldier assigned to 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, holds a blood type testing card during a walking blood bank training at Skwierzyna, Poland, Aug. 10, 2022. (Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga/Army)

Thompson said bringing such practices forward to Role 1 aid stations, which provide initial casualty treatment before shipping more serious cases to surgical teams, can help keep patients alive longer on a battlefield where air evacuation may someday be impossible.

The capability integrator, Corley, noted the special operations communitys work provides a tremendous amount of lessons learned to guide how the conventional force will embrace walking blood banks.

But both he and Thompson warned that the practice wont be a cure-all, nor will it always work.

The general highlighted the issue of scale and supply, arguing that for conventional forces the size of the casualty event is likely much larger.

Corley cautioned that personnel might not always have the sterile supplies needed to pull it off, nor will units always have enough donors with a compatible blood type. But he argued that history shows the practice will be a key part of the next big war.

Weve learned in past conflicts that walking blood bank is absolutely a critical capability, he said. [I] think it will help us to overcome contested logistics ... and we need to ensure that all of our medical providers across all roles of care can implement it.
A candlelight vigil for Brayden Bahme will be held at 6 p.m on Monday at Crunk's Field in Cheney, according to a statement from Cheney High School

GoFundMe Brayden Bahme

A high school student died in Washington after he was seriously injured at school last week.

Cheney Public Schools superintendent Ben Ferney said sophomore Brayden Bahme was attending his fourth-period physical education class on Thursday when the devastating incident occurred, according to NBC affiliate KHQ-TV and CBS affiliate KREM.

As a result of the "tragic accident," Bahme was "severely injured," the school official wrote in the letter, The Spokesman-Review reported.

Cheney Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said the student was running when he fell into a goal post and was impaled through the eye, per KREM's report.

First responders learned that the boy was injured and unconscious just before 2 p.m., according to radio station KXLY.

Related:College Senior Dies From Brain Tumor After Suffering from Brain Hemorrhage on Spring Break Trip

Bahme was transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he later died, The Spokesman-Review reported.

"It's with a heavy heart that we have to say goodbye to Brayden," read a message on a GoFundMe page launched to help with the teen's burial arrangements and the family's "immediate needs."

Cheney Public Schools and local fire officials did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In a statement to families, Cheney Public Schools applauded the efforts of those who attempted to save Bahme's life, as well as those who stepped for emotional support, according to KXLY.

"We are extremely grateful for first responders, YES Officers, nurses, teachers, counselors, staff, and administrative team as they acted quickly to render assistance to Brayden and offer support to students and staff closest to the situation," the statement said, per the outlet.

Story continues

RELATED VIDEO: High School Senior Dies Following Cardiac Arrest at School, Which Family Says Happened After Gym Class

A candlelight vigil will be held at 6 p.m on Monday at Crunk's Field in Cheney, according to a statement from Cheney High School confirming the sophomore's death.

On Monday, everyone at Cheney High School is "encouraged to wear blue" to celebrate Bahme's life. "This is a trying time for all, especially for Brayden's family and close friends," the school wrote.

Related:9 People Injured After Unlicensed Teen Driver Crashes Car Head-on into School Bus in N.Y.

Those attending Monday's vigil are encouraged to "bring a fishing item" that can be placed at a memorial on-site, according to the high school, which said Bahme "loved to fish."

Bahme's family will eventually donate the items to a youth fishing organization in Brayden's name, the school added. Any remaining funds from the family's GoFundMe Campaign will also go toward a youth fishing program in his honor.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
(Bloomberg) -- US President Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are set to meet on Monday to strengthen one of the oldest alliances in the region that was threatened by a pivot to China under the latters predecessor.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Marcoss first White House visit since he took power last year is expected to lead to broader economic partnerships and even greater defense ties between the two nations against the backdrop of escalating tensions with China over the disputed South China Sea, and more recently over Taiwan.

Biden will reaffirm the United States ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines when he meets Marcos, according to the White House. In his departure remarks on Sunday, Marcos said hes determined to forge an even stronger relationship with the US as well as push for greater economic engagement between the two countries.

Marcos, who met Biden in the US in September on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly, said then that he couldnt envision his country without America as a partner, setting into motion a restoration of the nations ties undermined by ex-President Rodrigo Dutertes shift toward China.

The leaders meeting comes as the US accused China at the weekend of harassing Philippine ships after a near collision in the contested waters days ago while Washington and Manila conducted their biggest ever joint defense drills.

Here are the items to watch during Marcoss official US visit:

Defense

US-Philippine defense ties are expected to be high on the agenda, with Marcos hoping to discuss with Biden how military agreements can evolve. The two nations are bound by a 71-year-old mutual defense treaty, to which Biden earlier said the US has an ironclad commitment.

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We will reaffirm our commitment to fostering our long-standing alliance as an instrument of peace and as a catalyst of development in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world, Marcos said Sunday.

The presidents are also expected to highlight the expansion in February of US access to Philippine military sites including areas near Taiwan and the South China Sea  a move criticized by Beijing. Americas pledge of more than $100 million this year for these sites and another $100 million for helicopters are likely up for discussions.

The US-Philippines alliance under Marcos is in excellent shape, with the two nations operating in lockstep on the core security challenge of dealing with China, said Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at the California-based research group RAND Corporation.

Marcos said he will not allow any provocative action by any country that will involve the Philippines. We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action, he told reporters Sunday onboard the plane on his way to the US.

The Philippine leader also wants to discuss fishing rights with China in the South China Sea, saying its the most immediate concern that needs to be addressed. Thats what we have to decide and they have agreed again to sit down, he said.

Economic Cooperation

Biden and Marcos are also expected to review opportunities to deepen economic cooperation, the White House said. The US is the Philippines second largest export market last year, next to China.

Manila is pushing for a bilateral free trade agreement with Washington, as well as the removal of import duties. The US, for its part, wants to secure the Philippines support for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, a deal to counter Chinas influence in the region.

If the Biden administration is serious about forging closer ties with the Philippines, the relationship should go beyond the military hardware, said Professor Elaine Tolentino from the De La Salle Universitys international studies department in Manila.

Clean Energy, Climate Change

Semiconductors, clean energy, food and energy security and climate change are other areas of focus in the US visit, Marcos said Sunday.

The Philippine leader is seeking to attract investors in renewables, as his nation targets a 75% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

US Vice President Kamala Harris in November announced plans to hold talks with the Philippines on a civil nuclear-energy agreement. Washington has also pledged to support the growth of the offshore wind market and the development of nickel and cobalt facilities in the Southeast Asian nation.

--With assistance from Manolo Serapio Jr..

(Adds Marcos comments, White House statement.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Hunter Biden ignored questions Monday concerning his father, President Joe Biden, refusing to acknowledge his unclaimed 4-year-old granddaughter born out of wedlock to ex-stripper Lunden Roberts.

As he left a Batesville, Arkansas, courthouse for a lunch break amid a child support hearing for his daughter, Navy Joan Roberts, Fox News Digital asked Hunter whether his father was doing a disservice by not recognizing his grandchild, but Hunter did not give an answer.

HUNTER BIDEN'S TWISTED ATTEMPTS TO KEEP HIS LITTLE GIRL FROM USING HIS NAME ARE NOW IN A NEW REALM

Hunter Biden arrives at Independence County Courthouse in Batesville, Arkansas, on May 1, 2023. Biden has been ordered to appear in court regarding the paternity case of his unacknowledged 4-year-old-daughter.

Hunter was ordered to appear in person for the hearing after the child support case was reopened when he requested adjustments to the child support payments. The older Roberts had previously reached an agreement with Hunter Biden in 2020 for the child's paternity and child support payments.

In December, her lawyers filed a motion to have the girl's last name changed to Biden.

WATCH: CHILD HAD TO REMIND BIDEN WHICH COUNTRY HE LAST VISITED WHEN HE CAN'T REMEMBER

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, is shown prior to a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House on July 7, 2022.

On numerous occasions, President Biden has refused to acknowledge his granddaughter. This happened most recently at a White House Take Your Kids To Work event last week when he told the crowd that he speaks to his six grandchildren daily and is "crazy" about them, according to one White House reporter. Roberts is his seventh grandchild.

Additionally, December 2022 marked the second Christmas season in a row that the White House left Hunter's out-of-wedlock daughter out of a Christmas stocking display.

President Joe Biden takes questions from children during an event for Take Your Child To Work Day on April 27, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

And before that, in 2020, Biden said he and wife Jill Biden had five grandchildren, forgetting about a newborn that Hunter just had with his wife, Melissa Cohen.

Fox News' Joe Schoffstall, Danielle Wallace and David Spunt contributed to this report.
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Pete Davidson is no stranger to using his own life for comedic material. The King of Staten Island (2020), which Davidson starred in and co-wrote, was a semi-autobiographical film, and Davidsons work on Saturday Night Life repeatedly referenced his actual life, from his Weekend Update sketches to his Stuck in the House music video .

Now hes at it again with Bupkis, the Peacock original series set to premiere on May 4. Described as a heightened fictionalized version of Pete Davidsons life, Davidson co-wrote and stars in the show, playing a version of himself (also named Pete Davidson) who lives with his mother in Staten Island while trying to navigate his comedy career and the challenges that come with fame.

The series is expected to reflect Davidsons real-life persona with an unapologetically unfiltered, R-rated storytelling, according to Deadline . Heres how much of the series is based on Davidsons actual life.

Davidsons Mom, Sister, and Girlfriend Will Be Portrayed in the Show

Getty Images

Davidsons character in Bupkis lives with his motherthough as he defensively states in the trailer: She lives with me, OK? I pay the mortgage. Davidson lives with his mother, Amy Waters Davidson, in real life, too, and has repeatedly joked about it on Saturday Night Live, once saying : Its not like I moved into her house. I just bought a house with my mom, like a winner.

In Bupkis, Edie Falco will co-star as Davidsons mother, and her character also adopts the true-to-reality name of Amy. Joe Pesci will play Joe Larocca, who is Davidsons grandfather on the show.



Other figures from Davidsons life will be featured in the show. Oona Roche will play a fictionalized version of Davidsons real sister, Casey, while Davidsons actual current girlfriend, actor Chase Sui Wonders, also will portray his characters girlfriend in the series.

Kim Kardashian and Davidsons Father Wont Be

In The King of Staten Island, the father of Davidsons character was a deceased firefighter, inspired by the fact that Davidsons real-life firefighter father, Scott Davidson, died during the September 11 attacks. According to Hollywood Life, however, Davidsons father will not be portrayed in Bupkis.



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Although Davidson has had several high-profile celebrity girlfriends in the pastincluding Ariana Grande , Kim Kardashian , and Kate Beckinsaleit does not appear those relationships will factor into Bupkis. When asked about it in an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God, Davidson responded , Theres none of that. Theres zero of that.

What about the Plot?

Beyond incorporating versions of some of his family and friends, Bupkis will highlight Davidsons desire to maintain a low-key life despite his fame. In the trailer, Petes character explains, I just want, like, a regular-type life. In interviews, Davidson has repeatedly discussed his discomfort with gossip and public obsession about his personal life, particularly his romantic relationships.

At one point in the trailer, Davidson does a Google search of himself and is horrified by the stories he finds. Actual tabloid headlines about Davidson are briefly shown, including one that reads Is Pete Davidson on Drugs?, Living in Moms Basement, and an infamous story about his Butthole Eyes, which prompted an angry rebuke from his then-girlfriend Grande.

Even the title of the series, Bupkis, was inspired by Davidsons actual family. A yiddish term that means nothing, it was a favorite expression of Davidsons grandfather.

My grandpa used to say it all the time growing up, Davidson told Charlamagne tha God . Like, You dont know bupkis! or This is bupkis! We just thought it was a fun title Hes a big fan of TV and film, and he got a kick out of it.

The Process of Making Bupkis

Not only has Davidson mined his real life for source material in Bupkis, hes also working with many of his best friends in real life to make the series, according to his interview with Charlamagne tha God. This includes co-writers Judah Miller and Dave Sirus, and directors Jason Orley and Oz Rodriguez.

Davidson said this approach was inspired by comedian Adam Sandler , who is known to have repeatedly worked with his close friends on comedy and film projects over the years, including Rob Schneider, Robert Smigel, Judd Apatow, and Chris Rock .

Im just trying to copy what Sandler did because Sandler did it right, Davidson said . For the last 30 years, hes just made movies with his boys and taken care of everyone.

Watch Bupkis on Peacock on May 4

Pete Davidson stars in Bupkis, which also features Edie Falco, Joe Pesci, Bobby Cannavale, Charlie Day, Brad Garrett, Ray Romano, Kenan Thompson, and Chase Sui Wonders. It premieres on Peacock on May 4.


North African lioness Winta will arrive at Whipsnade from Antwerp Zoo

A new pride of lions is set to find a permanent home at a zoo which has been hosting visiting animals for more than a year.

North African lionesses Waka and Winta will arrive at Whipsnade Zoo from Antwerp after Khari the North African lion heads back to Blackpool Zoo.

The pair will later be joined by male lion Malik from Neuwied Zoo in Germany.

A zoo spokesman said the new pride was "part of a collaborative breeding programme for the species".

The Bedfordshire zoo's lion habitat has not had a permanent pride since early 2022 after keepers had to put its remaining two lions to sleep.

Kia and Max were euthanised after "succumbing to a number of age-related conditions" and their deaths followed that of their sibling Neo the previous November.

At the time, the zoo said the habitat would remain empty while it found "the right breeding group".

It has since hosted lions which needed a temporary home, including five from Africa Alive at Kessingland in Suffolk whose enclosure was damaged during Storm Eunice in February 2022.

They stayed for about two months while their enclosure was repaired.

Lioness Waka will also join the pride in early May

Khari, who has been at Whipsnade for about a year while Blackpool's new big cat facilities were being built, is due to return to the north west in early May.

Waka and Winta will arrive from Antwerp Zoo in Belgium shortly after that and 18-month-old Malik will join in early June.

Zoological manager, Matt Webb, said forming this new pride was part of its "vital work protecting the vulnerable species".

"Three quarters of African lion populations are declining, with these declines being driven by large-scale habitat conversion, the loss of prey through unsustainable hunting and human/wildlife conflict," he said.

"ZSL, the international conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo, is working across Africa to save animals on the brink of extinction, as well as those threatened species that could be next.

Story continues

"We hope to hear the pitter patter of tiny paws at Whipsnade over the next few years."

Two-year-old Naya has arrived at Whipsnade with two other European brown bears Mana and Minion

Earlier this month, three new European brown bears arrived at the zoo from Orsa Predator Park in Sweden.

Three-year-old sisters Mana and Minion moved with two-year-old Naya. They joined seven-year-old Cinderella who had been the zoo's only bear after two were shot and killed in May 2021 when they used a fallen tree to climb out of their enclosure.

"Visitors will be able to spot [the new bears] as they explore their new home and get to know Cinderella over the coming weeks," Mr Webb said.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
The Biden administration estimates that since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, White House national security council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

Among those killed, Kirby estimates that nearly half were soldiers from the private military company Wagner Group, which is heavily involved in the grinding fight for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces, Kirby told reporters. Just since December, we estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action. . . . Its really stunning, these numbers.

Kirby said the source of the new 100,000 figure is based on some downgraded intelligence that weve been able to collect, though he did not elaborate.

He would not give the estimated number of casualties for Ukrainians, deferring to Kyiv on the information.

Weve never talked about Ukrainian casualties in the war, Kirby said. I dont suspect that were going to change that posture.

The last Russian casualty estimate from the United States was in November, when Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said more than 100,000 Russian were killed or wounded in the war.

Milley added that the number of Ukrainian troop casualties was probably the same.

Kirby attributed the high number of deaths among Wagner troops to a lack of combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organizational command and control, noting that many of them were ex-prisoners released in order to fight in the war.

The majority are ex-convicts, folks [Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin] went knocking around on doors in prison cells throughout Russia to throw human flesh at this fight, he said.

He also shot down what he called a ludicrous claim from Prigozhin, who said Sunday that Wagner had only suffered 94 casualties.

Kirby also gave an update on the battle for Bakhmut, where fighting continues to be quite intense.

Story continues

He said most of Russias efforts have stalled and failed in trying to take the city, with the Kremlin only making some incremental gains that will not alter the course of the war in Moscows favor.

The bottom line is that Russias attempted offensive has backfired. After months of fighting and extraordinary losses, Russia continues to be focused on a single Ukrainian city with limited strategic value, Kirby said.

He deferred to Ukraine when asked when the country is likely to begin an expected spring counteroffensive, noting that the United States is focusing on making sure that were helping them be as ready as they can be for whenever they choose to step off, including providing them with more weapons.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Actress Park Eun-bin / Yonhap



By Yoo Soo-kyung



An incident took place at the set of a new drama series starring Park Eun-bin, where a man hurled a brick and injured one of the filming crew.



A man in his 40s has been apprehended on charges of assault over the incident. He reportedly showed up at a set in Seoul's Changsin-dong neighborhood in Jong-no District where the drama was being filmed at around 3 a.m. on April 26, before throwing a brick that injured one of the female staff members working on-site.



The man reportedly told the police that he had been agitated by the bright lights and the noises coming from the filming location. Law enforcement officials are currently investigating the detailed circumstances surrounding the incident. Fortunately, the female staff member who was hurt at the scene did not sustain life-threatening injuries.



The production company of the drama series released a statement saying it will put its attention toward preventing similar incidents from happening again in the future.



The new drama series starring Park Eun-bin is slated for release sometime in the second half of this year.



Yoo Soo-kyung (uu84@hankookilbo.com) is a reporter at The Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times. This article, previously published in The Hankook Ilbo, has been translated as part of a news-sharing program.


Whole Foods' former flagship store in San Francisco was the scene of hundreds of emergency calls, knife assaults, and a deadly drug overdose in the 13 months that it was open, the New York Times reported. Whole Foods Market

A San Francisco Whole Foods was the site of crime and hazardous behavior, the New York Times reported.

Visitors made hundreds of emergency calls for knife assaults, thefts, and a deadly drug overdose.

Whole Foods closed the location last month, citing "the safety of our team members."

Whole Foods' recently closed flagship store in San Francisco was the site of thefts, assaults, and a deadly overdose in the 13 months it was open.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the store was the scene of hundreds of calls to emergency services and 14 arrests, according to police reports. Last September, a man died due to an overdose of fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the reports seen by the Times.

Visitors to the store also threatened security guards with knives and, in one case, sprayed employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to the Times. In another case, a customer tried to "defecate on the floor," per the Times.

Thefts were also common, with patrons stealing alcohol, food from the hot bar, and even hundreds of hand baskets meant to be used while shopping in the store, the story says.

A Whole Foods spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the Times' article.

Whole Foods closed the store last month, just over a year after it opened. While the grocer did not specifically cite crime, it did say that it closed the store "to ensure the safety of our team members."

The store was located on Market Street, one of the busiest roads in downtown San Francisco. It was meant to be part of a revitalization of the area: Since the start of the pandemic, office workers who once frequented the area have worked from home, making it harder for businesses to stay open, according to the Times.

The area around the Whole Foods location has faced issues with "open-air drug use," according to the Times.

Bill Scott, San Francisco's police chief, told the Times that his department sent plain-clothes police officers to the Whole Foods store in an effort to limit crime before it closed.

Story continues

Other retail chains in San Francisco and other large cities have closed locations, citing crime or safety. But some of these claims have been disputed.

Walgreens closed some San Francisco locations in 2021 due to shoplifting, but the company's CFO said earlier this year that the chain "cried too much" over those issues.

Last summer, Starbucks closed locations across Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and other cities citing a "high volume of challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate." Employees at some Starbucks locations that closed told Insider that drug use and other safety hazards were at their stores, while others said those problems were overblown.

Are you a Whole Foods employee or shopper with a story to share? Reach out to Alex Bitter at abitter@insider.com or via Signal encrypted messaging at 808-854-4501.

Read the original article on Business Insider
He once wrote that China needs a powerful Russia. Now the man tasked by Beijing to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table is raising eyebrows in Ukraine and among its Western allies who are already skeptical about China's claims to be a neutral peace broker.

Senior Chinese diplomat Li Hui will travel to Europe as Chinas special representative to the conflict, in a bid to help bring about a cease-fire and ultimately a resolution to the war, which is threatening to descend into a bloody stalemate.

For Moscow, Li is the best possible choice for someone to mediate talks with Ukraine, according to Alexey Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University.

Moscow will not be worried because he really understands Russian politics, according to Maslov, who says he has known Li personally for 10 years.

Li was Chinas ambassador to Moscow for a decade until 2019, and has decades of diplomatic experience in the then-Soviet Union and its remnants in the years after its collapse. He is a renowned Russophile and a fluent Russian speaker, among the few foreigners awarded the prestigious Medal of Friendship by President Vladimir Putin.

He is now Beijings special representative for Eurasian affairs.

Li enjoys reading great Russian writers such as Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, Maslov said, adding, He really understands the Russian soul, he understands the Russian psychology, the Russian mentality.

For his part, Li has often praised the Sino-Russian relationship. Four years after he wrote in a 2016 Russian Foreign Ministry newspaper article that China needs a "powerful Russia," he composed a 2020 essay for the Communist Party-affiliated Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs, writing that Beijing and Moscow would stand back-to-back and shoulder-by-shoulder.

The two sides will, as always, show firm support for each others efforts to uphold ones own sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and other core interests, he wrote.

Story continues

Russian President Vladimir Putin presents a state award to Li Hui at the Kremlin (Dmitry Azarov / Kommersant/Sipa via AP file)

Russia is increasingly reliant on that support.

Sanctioned and condemned after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine last year expecting to swiftly depose or defenestrate the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Instead, its poorly equipped and poorly led forces were beaten back by highly motivated and Western-backed Ukrainian troops, which reclaimed much of the ground initially occupied by the Russian forces.

Lis expected visit to several European countries may be a bid to allay concerns about where Beijings diplomatic loyalties lie, given that China has previously heralded its no limits partnership with Russia, lent it rhetorical and financial support, and refused to condemn last February's invasion.

It is an uneven partnership.

Sanctions have pushed Russia to rely further on China, selling it record amounts of oil that has allowed it to soften the economic storm imposed by its global pariah status. Beijing has, in turn, been able to exert an increasing amount of leverage on Moscow, cementing a key ally in the geopolitical confrontation with the United States.

In Li, China is sending to Ukraine certainly someone well-versed in relevant affairs and capable of playing a positive role in facilitating talks for peace, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing Thursday. China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Indeed, Lis deep knowledge of Russia should not necessarily be seen as working in favor of Russia, but more as a tentative of appointing somebody who can interpret accurately Chinas position, said Zeno Leoni, who lectures in defense studies at Kings College London. He will understand where mediation is possible and where not between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine's government itself has stayed positive publicly about Li. Kyiv hopes that Lis deep knowledge of our region will help him to communicate impartially and effectively with all parties, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko told NBC News in a statement.

To be truly successful in brokering peace, Li will have to bring both sides to the negotiating table. So far, the two sides are far from this point.

Ukraine has demanded the complete restoration of its territorial integrity, including Russian-annexed Crimea, payments of war damages and punishment for war criminals.

While Russia has not recently stated its objectives at any negotiations, officials have said they would accept nothing less than the full demilitarization of Ukraine, no accession to NATO and the regions that have referendums to join Russia remain part of Russia.

Sending Li as an envoy doesnt help bridge that gap in trust between Ukraine and China, Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at Le Beck International, a Bahrain-based risk management consultancy, said in an email.

Beijing may feel its ties with Russia will eventually be viewed in a more positive light, if and when Ukraine is ready to talk, he added.

China is playing a long-game here, trying to position itself as a peacemaker, to appeal to Europe among others, Horowitz said. They understand this is a long-shot, but they bet that at some point talks are inevitable, and are throwing their hat in the ring.

Li also has met officials from other post-Soviet states that have more testy relationships with Russia, a sign that Beijing wants to carve its own place internationally and will not be dictated to by Moscow.

Last year, he visited Beijings embassy in Georgia  a country that fought a war with Russia in 2008  and said their nations have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

And, in 2005, he met with a Ukrainian delegation to Beijing, the websites records show, and said that China would like to enhance cooperation with Ukraine to jointly promote the continuous development of bilateral relations. This was a time when Ukraine was run by a pro-Western government.

These efforts at outreach do not appear to have paid off, yet. Western officials are so far skeptical of Beijings claims to be a neutral peace broker.

Thus far, China has not shown itself to be unbiased when it comes to supporting Russia, a senior Biden administration official said last week after a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zelenskyy.

Another administration official added more details about American thinking on Li's appointment and China's posture toward Russia and the war:

They havent condemned the invasion, they are still buying Russian oil at bonus prices for Putin, theyre still sending dual use items although not lethal aid, they have to show they can be a real arbiter.

Skepticism from Ukraine and its Western allies was always likely, Michele Geraci, a professor at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, said Friday.

But for Beijing, Li was a pragmatic choice because the war has created problems for China which trades with both Ukraine and Russia, he said, adding, They want to go back to business with the rest of the world.

Li, he said, was someone who knows Russia and can negotiate with Ukraine. At the end of the day, war is won by the strongest army, not by rule of law unfortunately, he added.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The chief operating officer of Core Spaces is speaking out about the reasons the company sent eviction notices to 550 tenants of its Isla Vista apartment buildings.

The Chicago-based company in March posted eviction notices on doors saying that its buildings, CBC and The Sweeps, needed to be renovated and that tenants would have to move at the end of their leases.

The apartment buildings are home to UC Santa Barbara students and families. The surprise evictions sparked widespread community opposition, and a feeling that the corporation was evicting tenants so that it could make renovations and then increase the rents.

If we do nothing, there is no long-term future for this property, said Chris Richards, COO of Core Spaces. This building is almost 60 years old. It requires some work.

She said the changes necessary include replacing the roof, windows and electrical panels, along with years of deferred maintenance.

The best way to improve the building, she said, is to make the renovations as soon as possible.

The path that is faster and better for this community is the renovation plan, Richards said.

The eviction notices, however, come at a time when property owners have been investing in apartments in record numbers, making repairs and then increasing the rents.

Critics call this practice renovictions. Typically, the tenants who live at the apartments at the time of eviction arent offered their apartment back, and if they are, its not at the rent that they paid.

Richards said that once the building is finished, the rents will increase.

I cant tell you what the rents will be, but the rates will be set based on the market, Richards said.

She said that 70% of the tenants have picked up $7,000 relocation checks and that the rest have not because their leases arent up.

However, its a different narrative than what the union representing the tenants says.

This is about spiking rents even further and evicting the most vulnerable populations to make a quick buck, according to a statement from the newly formed Core Spaces Tenants Association. While some units have been neglected by past management, others are in good shape and dont need to be renovated. A blanket eviction shows how Core is prioritizing profits over people. Theyre not even taking the time to assess individual units.

Story continues

Richards said its not possible to renovate portions of the building at a time. The company has submitted permit applications to renovate the building with the county, an act it did after the tenant eviction notices.

Laura Capps, Santa Barbara County Second District supervisor, has led the charge to represent the Isla Vista tenants and push back against Core Spaces.

Core Spaces is doing whats right for Core Spaces, Capps said. Its about their profits over our people. For them to claim otherwise adds salt in the wounds for almost a thousand people who are scrambling to find shelter.

Capps said that if Core Spaces really cared about the community, it would offer tenants a right to return at their current rental rate.

We are taking seriously what we heard directly from tenants that these termination notices could have a disparate impact on protected class of persons in state and federal housing laws, Capps said. At face value, they are displacing a thousand people in a 1% housing vacancy rental rate with high rents and little inventory.

Richards said she understands the concerns and that the company learned some lessons in its communication about the evictions.

From the messaging perspective, what we could have done better was have it presented in both English and Spanish, Richards said. We didnt think about it, honestly. We regret that.

Still, she said, there are critical maintenance problems in the building and that there could be a plethora of things going on in the building.

She said she absolutely respects the freedom of speech of the union.

I promise you, we did think this through, Richards said. It is best for us to keep residents living in units and paying rents, but the amount of work that needs to be done, this is the fastest way to get this housing back online.

Richards said she wants the community to know that the company does care about the tenants. Anyone who has a specific request wont be kicked out of the building.

You are not going to be on the street for graduation or the end of school, Richards said. We are humans, too. They just have to tell us.

Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com .
Jayland Walker protesters march along Cuyahoga Falls Avenue on Monday, April 24, 2023, in Akron.

Why did an Akron police officer drive a person's car from a North Hill gas station during protests over a grand jury's decision not to indict the eight Akron police officers involved in the killing of Jayland Walker?

Videos have been circulating widely on social media showing a police officer driving off with a blue car from the Circle K at the intersection of North Main Street and East Tallmadge Avenue on April 24. One video on TikTok has been viewed nearly 650,000 times since Saturday.

The department's spokesperson, Lt. Michael Miller, said nothing legally prohibits officers from moving the car.

"In general, I can say that there is nothing I am aware of in the law or our procedures that prohibits an officer from briefly moving a vehicle especially if they dont feel the scene is safe. Vehicles then can be moved to further the legal performance of duties," Miller said in an email.

According to the ACLU of Ohio, "If police arrest someone in a car, they may also search the passenger area, the area near the driver, and the other people in the car. Police may also take the car and then search it."

A city spokesperson said in an email Monday that officials won't be commenting further on the incident, referring a Beacon Journal reporter to the police department's daily report that discussed the incident (which the Beacon Journal reported last week).

In the email, Miller said the blue car was one of the three that were towed that night. It was driven by the 26-year-old who was arrested after police said they found an "illegal handgun" inside.

What happened during the protest?

The protest happened one week after the grand jury's decision was announced on April 17. Two people were arrested, two people were cited and three vehicles were towed that night, police said.

In a series of tweets, Serve the People Akron, an activist group supporting protesters, said the march started downtown, with carnations placed in front of the Stubbs Justice Center, which houses the police department.

Story continues

It then moved to the north side of Akron, in the area of Tallmadge Avenue, Main Street and Cuyahoga Falls Avenue, in Akron's North Hill neighborhood. Akron police said there were several protesters on foot and a caravan of more than a dozen vehicles were traveling west on East Tallmadge Avenue.

"[T]he march was well organized, people were protected, and friendly cars blocked traffic on only half of the road," the group said, claiming Akron police were harassing protesters.

Akron police protests: Two people arrested, three cars towed during Akron protest in North Hill

Police said that "during the procession, vehicles were seen driving recklessly, people hanging out of car windows, and blocking intersections. At one point, cars blocked the entire westbound travel lane on East Tallmadge Avenue, creating an understandable hindrance to other motorists."

A Beacon Journal photo taken in that area Monday night shows one person riding on the roof of a car while another is hanging out a window.

Jayland Walker protesters follow a march down East Tallmadge Avenue on Monday, April 24, 2023, in Akron.

People have the First Amendment right to peacefully assemble to protest, and they can protest in public spaces, like streets, sidewalks and parks, as long as they arent blocking traffic, according to the ACLU of Ohio, which added that a protest that blocks traffic generally requires a permit.

Police said that "based partly on the public safety concern," officers stopped a Nissan Armada in the Circle K parking lot on the corner of North Main Street and East Tallmadge Avenue. The driver and a passenger were issued a citation and released.

Police said that during the stop, the blue vehicle driven by a 26-year-old man entered the parking lot and began filming the officers.

It's legal to photograph, video or audio record the police in public spaces.

Police said that "moments earlier, [the man] was also observed driving recklessly. At one point, he was observed operating the vehicle with an open door while standing up."

Police arrested the man, saying they also found a loaded handgun inside the car he was driving. He was charged with carrying concealed weapons, having weapons under disability and having a firearm in a motor vehicle; issued several citations; and taken to the Summit County Jail.

Police said they had to relocate two times after the stop "to avoid additional interference from protesters in the caravan."

Protesters have said they remain peaceful and are demonstrating to call for police reform, including calling for the eight officers to be fired. Police have said they're creating public safety concerns.

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Videos on social media show Akron police drive off with protester's car
In a new paper researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of surges in brain activity in two dying patients

Survivors of close calls with death often recall extraordinary experiences: seeing light at the end of a tunnel, floating outside their own bodies, encountering deceased loved ones or recapping major life events in an instant.

The fact that these stories share so many elements in common and come from people from diverse cultural backgrounds points to a possible biological mechanism -- one that has yet to be de-mystified by scientists.

In a new paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of surges in brain activity associated with consciousness in two dying patients.

While not the first study of its kind, what sets the new research apart is that it's detailed in a way "that's never been done before," senior author Jimo Borjigin, whose lab is devoted to understanding the neurological basis of consciousness, told AFP.

The team looked back at the records of four patients who died from cardiac arrest while on electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring.

All four fell into comas and were removed from life support after it was determined they were beyond medical help.

When taken off their ventilators, two of the four patients -- a 24-year-old woman and a 77-year-old woman -- saw increases in their heart rates as well as surges of brain waves in the gamma frequency -- the fastest such brain activity, which is associated with consciousness.

Earlier studies -- including a prominent paper published in 2022 about an 87-year-old man who died from a fall -- have also found spikes in gamma waves in some people near the point of death.

The University of Michigan paper went further by examining in greater depth which parts of the brain lit up, with the activity detected in the "posterior cortical hot zone" -- comprised of the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes, which are associated with changes in consciousness.

"If this part of the brain lights up, that means the patient is seeing something, can hear something, and they might feel sensations out of the body," said Borjigin, adding that the region was "on fire."

Story continues

Brain and heart activity were monitored, second by second, for the last few hours of the patients' life, contributing to the strength of the analysis, she added.

It's not clear why two of the patients experienced these potential signs of "covert consciousness" while two did not, though Borjigin speculated their history of seizures might have primed their brains in some way.

Owing to the small sample size, the authors cautioned against making wide-ranging inferences.

What's more, it's not possible to confirm that the patients really had any visions as they did not live to tell the tale.

Borjigin hopes in the future to collect data on hundreds more people -- increasing the chances that some will actually survive.

One way to do so might be to create an experiment that simulates a near-death experience while the patient is being monitored under lab conditions.

ia/nro/bfm
Justin Theroux is opening up about why he does not publicly address his past relationship with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.

The couple married in 2015, but they later announced in 2018 that they were separating. Since then, the two actors have rarely spoken about their divorce.

In an interview with Esquire published on May 1, Theroux finally explained why he avoids commenting about Aniston, 54, and their marriage.

Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston attend the Louis Vuitton's Dinner for the Launch of Bags by Artist Jeff Koons at Musee du Louvre on April 11, 2017 in Paris, France. (Stephane Cardinale / Getty Images)

The 51-year-old actor joined co-star Woody Harrelson for a sit-down with the publication to chat about their new HBO miniseries White House Plumbers. The show is a satirical political drama that follows the Watergate scandal and the political operatives who contributed to the demise of Richard Nixons presidency, which dominated news headlines.

During the interview, Theroux and Harrelson were asked how they react to seeing their names in headlines and if they engage with positive or negative comments online.

The Internet is like this really big high school, and why on earth would you walk around it checking every room and broom closet for the bully to kick your a--? Theroux replied.

He added, I dont linger.

The Esquire journalist then asked Theroux how it feels to have social media users dissect his personal life, particularly his divorce from Aniston.

The Leftovers star said, Theres something to, once youre out of that, where I want all of my relationships to exist within the four walls of whatever room were in.

And Im not trying to be evasive, but I talk to JenI dont talk about Jen, he continued.

Theroux explained that he tries to find balance in his life instead of feeding rumors.

And having been in a public relationship, its much more fun not being in a public relationship, he shared. Me saying anything, even if it was something loving, it would just turn into a thing.

Now, he doesnt talk about his ex-wife to prevent having his words misinterpreted.

So its a classic no-comment situation for me, he concluded.

Story continues

The Friends star and Theroux were engaged for three years before they tied the knot in August 2015.

In February 2018, they released a joint statement confirming that their decision to call it quits was mutual and lovingly made at the end of last year.

Normally we would do this privately, but given that the gossip industry cannot resist an opportunity to speculate and invent, we wanted to convey the truth directly, they wrote at the time. Whatever else is printed about us that is not directly from us, is someone elses fictional narrative. Above all, we are determined to maintain the deep respect and love that we have for one another.

The exes have remained friends and have wished each other happy birthdays with sweet messages over the years. During an appearance on Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist in April 2021, Theroux shared that he and Aniston try to keep in touch with each other.

We dont talk every day, but we call each other. We FaceTime. We text, he said.

A few months later, the exes publicly reunited to film a Facts of Life special in December 2021.

Aniston and Theroux collaborated when she appeared in ABCs Life in Front of a Studio Audience special that reimagined episodes of 80s sitcoms The Facts of Life and Diffrent Strokes.

In the live recreation, Aniston portrayed Blair Warner, who was originally played by Lisa Whelchel. Theroux served as one of the executive producers of the specials.

He shared a behind-the-scenes photo on his Instagram story of them hugging each other and a third person while working on the project.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The number of Americans seeking mental health treatment is almost twice as high as it was two decades ago  reflecting a historic recent decline in mental health but also an increase in virtual care access and a positive trend of destigmatization.

In 2004, just 13 percent of adults said they had visited a therapist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional within the past year, according to Gallup polling. In 2022, that number was up to 23 percent.

While the shift began before COVID-19 arrived, the pandemic drove a new surge in demand for care, particularly among young adults. The share of Americans aged 18 to 44 who had received mental health treatment like medication, counseling or therapy over the past 12 months jumped from 18.5 percent to more than 23 percent between 2019 and 2021, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

Without a doubt, shortly after the pandemic started there was a huge demand for our services, said Daniel Fridberg, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

A majority of psychologists reported seeing more patients seek help for disorders related to anxiety, depression or stress in 2020  and again in 2021 and 2022, according to an annual survey from the American Psychological Association.

Many health experts link the increased demand to plummeting mental health during the pandemic, which led to spikes in the number of Americans reporting depression and anxiety.

Some health experts think the numbers tell another story, however: one about the success of teletherapy.

I think there is evidence for the rising rates of depression, especially among young people, said Mark Olfson, an Elizabeth K Dollard professor of psychiatry, medicine and law and a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Story continues

But, he added, the most important factor driving the increase in demand for psychotherapy is a basic structural change, how psychotherapy is delivered.

Photo illustration of close-up of therapist notes, left side and in color with a white border, with a man, in a blue tone and low opacity, talking on a light blue background.

Telehealth was rarely used prior to the pandemic, accounting for just 1 percent of outpatient visits for mental health and substance use issues, according to data from health policy research organization KFF. Usage skyrocketed in 2020, with telehealth making up 40 percent of mental health and substance use outpatient visits between March and August of that year. It was still high a year later as well, even as other outpatient care largely returned to in-person visits.

Telehealth mental health services have their downsides. It is harder for mental health professionals to pick on up on body language in a teletherapy session compared to an in-person session, and the potential for distractions from background noise, pets and other family members is higher during a teletherapy session. But data shows that virtual therapy or counseling work for many patients.

A survey of 1,200 people conducted by YouGov and Forbes Health last year found that 63 percent of people who underwent teletherapy reported it was effective.

One appeal of teletherapy is convenience, Olfson explained, since appointments can be conducted anywhere with phone or internet service.

Another draw is privacy.

[People] no longer have to drive across town and sit in a waiting room where their friends or neighbors may see them while they are waiting for a counselor or psychotherapist, Olfson said.

There is still stigma attached to mental illness and seeking help to work through it. But that stigma is weakening, especially among young people  another factor that has contributed to more Americans receiving mental health treatment in recent years.

Studies show that Gen Z, consisting of those born in 1997 or later, is far more comfortable speaking about mental health than older generations. And Gen Zers are also more likely to have received treatment for their mental health or gone to therapy.

A 2019 report from the American Psychological Association showed that 37 percent of Gen Z had received psychological treatment or gone to therapy compared to 35 percent of millennials and 26 percent of Gen Xers.

When I talk to my younger patients, many of them are rather open with their friends about their mental health, they are rather upfront about it, said Fridberg of the University of Chicago. They talk about going to therapy, they talk about their diagnosis, they talk about what steps they are taking to address it. Thats a real shift.

While more Americans are seeking out help with their mental health, however, there arent enough professionals to treat them, and that gap is expected to get worse.

The Department of Health and Human Services has estimated the national deficit in mental health care providers  including positions ranging from psychiatrists to school counselors to family therapists  could amount to a shortfall of more than 10,000 professionals by 2025.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
State Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Schurmeier complained to state lawmakers earlier this year that meddling by the governors office is harming the agency.

I have done my level best to avoid attention, yet I feel called to be here today, Schurmeier said at the beginning of his more than 100 minutes of testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on March 28.

Schurmeier said Gov. Roy Coopers top aides were blocking some of his hiring and promotion decisions and had tried to force him out of his job with unfounded claims of racial discrimination.

He asked the General Assembly for support in making the SBI an independent agency, by moving it out from under the Department of Public Safety.

We need to preserve the independence of the SBI, he said.

On Tuesday, the governors office will have an opportunity to respond to some of Schurmeiers statements.

Coopers Chief of Staff Kristi Jones and General Counsel Eric Fletcher are expected to testify before the committee at 1 p.m. The SBIs general counsel, Angel Gray, is also set to testify. Schurmeier said his relationship with Gray was so strained, he unsuccessfully tried to get her transferred out of his office.

Kristi Jones, chief of staff to Gov. Roy Cooper

In a statement Thursday, Cooper spokesperson Jordan Monaghan wrote that the governors office works to ensure agencies adhere to best practices and employment law.

An independent law enforcement agency can play an important role in keeping North Carolina communities safe but as with any government agency, history has shown that proper procedures and oversight are critical, Monaghan wrote in an email.

Schurmeier, who became director in 2016, was nominated to the position by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and confirmed by the General Assembly. Schurmeiers eight-year term expires June 30.

On Thursday Coopers office announced the nomination of R.E. Chip Hawley to succeed Schurmeier. Hawley, the chief of the North Carolina State Capitol Police, would have to be confirmed by the General Assembly.

Story continues

Who does the SBI report to, and how has that been changed?

Schurmeier ended up before the committee in March after reaching out to House Speaker Tim Moores office, he said, to report that he was concerned about the future of the SBI.

Schurmeier has been meeting with legislators and lobbying for change for about six years, he said.

This is not a new thing for me, he said. The point that I make now, and I make then: Finish the job you started in 2014.

In 2014, after two previous attempts, the Republican-led General Assembly moved the SBI from the Department of Justice to the Department of Public Safety, which runs several agencies.

At the time, Republican budget writers said it was an efficient and logical place to put the agency.

The North Carolina House of Representatives current budget proposes moving the SBI from the department, whose secretary is part of Coopers cabinet, to its own separate, cabinet-level department.

The bureau, which has an $81 million budget, has about 450 employees, including 270 sworn officers. It used to run the State Crime Laboratory, which remained in the Department of Justice  led by the attorney general  after the SBI was moved.

Under the proposed change, the State Crime Laboratory would be moved from the Department of Justice to the SBI.

What were Schurmeiers concerns?

Schurmeiers concerns included the SBI not having its own budget code and him having a poor working relationship with his general counsel.

His main concern, he said, is the autonomy of the bureau.

Robert Schurmeier, now director of the State Bureau of Investigation, speaks in 2016 after his nomination by then-Gov. Pat McCrory.

At times, Schurmeier said, the governors office has held meetings and invited DPS and other officials to discuss sensitive SBI issues involving personnel and litigation.

I think the intent was clear, he said. To intimidate me a little bit and bring in people that had no business to be there in our business.

At one of those meetings, Schurmeier said he was told by state officials that the governor would have a say in eight key SBI positions, including the four assistant directors, general counsel, a legislative liaison and a deputy director.

I was told that these positions were his call, Schurmeier said.

What are the allegations of racial discrimination?

During meetings with the governors staff, he has been accused of racial discrimination related to two different situations, Schurmeier said.

The SBI and Coopers office have not responded to public information requests and questions about these accusations.

Coopers office has said it has legitimate concerns about Schurmeiers leadership.

Our office has expressed concerns to Director Schurmeier about his leadership and the culture and practices at the SBI, including complaints that he alluded to at the General Assembly today and the need for an outside review, Monaghan wrote in an email.

The first accusation of racial discrimination dates back to around 2020, Schurmeier said, when he met with the governors top aides, the DPS secretary and multiple attorneys.

The second instance came up last year. Jones and Fletcher, the governors chief of staff and general counsel, discussed racial discrimination allegations and asked Schurmeier to resign in two meetings in October and November, he said.

The general counsel told me at one point that if you dont resign there will be a big investigation by a large law firm, he said. The SBI would have to pay for the investigation, Schurmeier said he was told.

Schurmeier declined to resign, he said.

They all met again on Dec. 14, Schurmeier testified. The tenor had shifted.

I was asked if I wanted a second term, he said. He was flabbergasted, he said, and declined.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
T. Denny Sanford signs autographs in the lobby of the Washington Pavilion on February 3, 2007.

It was revealed Thursday, after a nearly two-year legal battle, that billionaire banker T. Denny Sanford possibly had several images depicting child pornography in an AOL email address registered to him.

The document drop was part of five search warrant affidavits filed between December 2019 and March 2020 by a South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation special agent investigating Sanford for possession and distribution of child pornography.

The images appear to be five unique pictures of five young girls between the ages of 8 and 15. Three of those images were repeated several times. Overall, he allegedly had a total of 36 images, the affidavits state. Each girl is naked, facing the camera, with one photo appearing to be of a screen. Two emails, which contained some of the images, were sent from a Verizon Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

More: Search warrant affidavits into T. Denny Sanford have been unsealed. Here's what we know

The emails were sent on May 28, 2019, May 29, 2019 and June 27, 2019.

Sanfords lawyers have argued that the founder of Premier Bank and namesake of the Sanford Health System had been hacked, leading to the investigation. In a statement Thursday, attorney Stacy Hegge said Sanford appreciated the thorough investigation by law enforcement that had determined there were no prosecutable offenses.

"These preliminary allegations were provided to law enforcement prior to law enforcements exhaustive investigation and its realization that various individuals had documented access to the electronic devices at issue, including signs of hacking," Hegge said. "While some claim releasing affidavits that reiterate these allegations constitute transparency, releasing preliminary allegations made prior to completing the full investigation only misinforms people and obscures the investigations conclusions that no prosecutable offense occurred.

The investigation into Sanford by DCI was concluded in May 2022 with the Attorney Generals Office determining there were no prosecutable charges. Its unknown if other jurisdictions are currently investigating Sanford in similar cases.

Story continues

T. Denny Sanford, center, sits on a golf cart during the opening ceremonies of the Sanford International golf tournament on Friday, September 17, 2021, at the Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls.

How did we get here?

The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled on April 6th that the search warrant affidavits had to be released, concluding two years of litigation between Sanford, the Argus Leader and ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative outlet.

The Argus Leader had first learned about the search warrants, part of a child pornography investigation, in 2020 when Sanford was only referred to as the Implicated Individual. At the time, the search warrants and the affidavits were under seal, when normally under state law, those are public records.

More: Why South Dakota billionaire T. Denny Sanford has never been charged in 2019 child porn case

Its the second time the Supreme Court has had to make a ruling on the Sanford case. Justices ruled in favor of the Argus Leader and ProPublica in 2021 that some of the items in the search warrants are public information.

What does this mean for the public?

Jennifer Nelson, a senior staff attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services for reporters, said any time a court rules that information must be public, it builds trust.

Any time if you're thinking about things happening in secret behind closed doors, that's where abuses could occur, she told the Argus Leader on April 18. Public oversight of the judicial system is just incredibly important.

Nelson added in cases where search warrant affidavits are available, even after the conclusion of an investigation, that material provides the public an explanation as to why that search was justified.

More: What happened during the child porn investigation tied to T. Denny Sanford in South Dakota

In Sanfords case, although no criminal charges were ever filed by the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, Nelson said the search warrants and affidavits should have been presumed to be public unless there was a legitimate reason for the sealing.

It shouldnt take three years of litigation to get access to material like that, she said.

Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, a Minnehaha County circuit judge was set to release the affidavits with his own redactions. However, Sanfords lawyers argued the material should stay sealed until they had time to review it in case any confidential information, such as trade secrets or personal identifying information, were included.

Personal identifying information, such as phone numbers, names of victims and addresses, is typically redacted in search warrant affidavits.

More: Supreme Court: T. Denny Sanford search warrant affidavits in child porn case must be unsealed

Nelson took issue with Sanford's argument, saying the "might be" claim wasnt strong enough ground to fully seal the document.

Judges are provided with that discretion for good reason, she said. Withholding a document in the entirety is not the answer in these circumstances.

Overall, by releasing the Sanford affidavits, it shows that powerful people can be held to account, not just in South Dakota but also across the county.

I think that this material should be publicly accessible including when it is a famous or powerful individual whose information is at stake here. I think its incredibly important, Nelson said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Unsealing Denny Sanford documents key to public's right to know
The city of Wichita, multiple city officials and the Fraternal Order of Police are asking a federal court to dismiss a $2.4 million lawsuit filed by former Police Chief Gordon Ramsays leadership team.

In recent court filings, the citys lawyers called the civil complaint filed by Deputy Chief Jose Salcido and former deputy chiefs Wanda Parker-Givens and Chester Pinkston a press release in the guise of a pleading that fails to state who did what to whom.

City officials have declined to comment on the lawsuit since it was filed in February. The motion to dismiss is the citys first official response to the lawsuit, which accuses the city manager, a former human resources director and the police union of undermining their attempts to clean up the department. It does not respond directly to any of the allegations outlined in the 41-page civil complaint. Instead, as is common in such motions, it attempts to undercut the legal basis for suing.

A dismissal at this stage would end the lawsuit before details become public that could resolve unanswered questions about who knew what when about a text messaging scandal and other troubling accusations surrounding police discipline.

Salcido, Parker-Givens and Pinkston claim in the lawsuit that city officials retaliated against them and conspired to defame, punish and drive out the three leaders from their positions in the Wichita Police Department after they attempted on numerous occasions to root out and deal with systemic issues and implement much needed changes to create greater transparency, discipline and accountability for the Wichita Police Department.

The deputy chiefs were not fired or demoted, nor did they face adverse employment action, the city says. Parker-Givens took early retirement in January 2022; Pinkston left the department in January to take a job as chief of police in Liberal, Kansas; and Salcido remains employed as deputy chief over the investigations division.

Story continues

Their claims in the lawsuit stand in contrast to a city managers office review of their handling of racist and inappropriate text messages sent by police officers. The messages were first made public by Wichita Eagle investigative reporting in March 2022, three weeks after Ramsay resigned.

The citys review found Ramsay and his deputy chiefs failed to exercise leadership, signed off on lesser discipline for the officers and failed to address significant Brady-Giglio implications, which can be used to question the credibility of officers in criminal trials. It went on to say that statements made by Pinkston and Salcido during the review showed a lack of clear understanding of the impact that the officers misconduct has on the community, WPD and the City of Wichita and seemingly excuse the officers actions. Ramsay has called into question the findings because of former Human Resources Director Chris Bezrukis involvement in the review.

Eagle reporting into the mishandling of officer discipline after the text messages prompted the city to reopen internal investigations into a dozen members of the SWAT team and suspend three officers for sending the offensive messages.

The deputy chiefs lawsuit says they wanted to appropriately discipline those involved but their efforts were thwarted by Bezruki, then-director of human resources, who they say overrode their decision by saying the text messages were protected by the First Amendment.

The deputy chiefs lawsuit is filled with accusations aimed at Bezruki and City Manager Robert Layton, who they claim lied to the public about his knowledge of the texting investigation, a claim he has disputed.

The lawsuit claimed Ramsay asked Layton to keep Bezruki out of the investigation, but Layton refused and instead tried to brush the text scandal under the rug.

In the lawsuit, they accuse Layton of standing pat while Bezruki accepted gifts of alcohol and dinners from the Fraternal Order of Police while he was negotiating the citys police union contract, which has been criticized for years for shielding officers from accountability. Most recently, a Jensen Hughes report recommended renegotiating the contract because it allows officers to review witness statements and evidence that may be used against them before giving a statement in internal investigations.

Individual defendants in the federal lawsuit include Layton, Bezruki, former interim Chief Troy Livingston, former police captains Kevin Kochenderfer and Wendell Nicholson, FOP president and Wichita detective Dave Inkelaar, FOP senior chief lodge steward Officer Paul Zamorano, and City Council member and mayoral candidate Bryan Frye, who publicly accused Salcido and Pinkston of extortion and called on them to resign at a City Council meeting in September.

They filed motions to dismiss as three separate defendant groups, but they each make similar arguments.

Frye, Kochenderfer and Nicholson are being represented by Corey M. Adams and G. Andrew Marino of Wichita-based law firm Gibson Watson Marino LLC. The city, Layton and Livingston are represented by David R. Cooper and Charles E. Branson of Fisher Patterson, Sayler & Smith LLP, with city attorneys Jennifer Magana and Sharon Dickgrafe also serving on the citys legal team.

The city is providing legal counsel to Layton, Frye, Kochenderfer, Nicholson and Livingston. The city is also paying for Bezrukis defense. He is represented by J. Phillip Gragson of Topeka-based Henson, Hutton, Mudrick, Gragson & Vogelsberg LLP.

Layton and Frye are the only two in the group who are now employed by the city. Kochenderfer retired in November 2021 and is head of security for Ascension. Nicholson retired last month, one day before being charged with eight felony computer crimes. Livingston stepped aside in November when the city hired Joe Sullivan as its full-time chief. And Bezruki retired in December.

The city is not paying for defense of the FOP, Inkelaar and Zamorano, who are represented by Mark J. Galus of Overland Park-based The Aubry Law Firm, P.A. Inkelaar and Zamorano are both active officers in the Wichita Police Department.

Separate from the federal lawsuit, Salcido and Pinkston filed ethics complaints against Frye with the citys ethics advisory board, which last week ruled Fryes comments were protected by the First Amendment and did not breach the citys ethics policy. Thompson, their lawyer in the federal case, said they plan to ask the board to reconsider.

Fryes lawyer in the federal lawsuit is asking the court to dismiss him from the lawsuit under the Kansas anti-SLAPP statute meant to protect against meritless lawsuits that chill free speech.

Nine of the 10 defendants in the lawsuit say in court filings that Salcido, Pinkston and Parker-Givens lobbed allegations against them without providing facts to support the legal conclusions in the complaint, which they say does not give them an opportunity to defend themselves. Bezruki has been granted an extension to file a similar motion.

The failure to describe the personal participation by the individual defendants is fatal to plaintiffs effort to state a claim against them, the citys motion to dismiss says.

The city argued that the deputy chiefs lawyer, former Democratic congressional candidate James Thompson, failed to provide a short and plain statement that complies with federal rules of civil procedure, and the case should therefore be dismissed.

To the extent the complaint does allege who did what and when, the what is not a constitutional violation, is not an adverse employment action, and/or is not wrongful/tortious conduct under state law, the citys filing says.
Installation view of "The Parlour Office of Doctor Binswanger" (1988), right, and "Small Glass Portal" (1988) at Art Sonje Center in central Seoul as part of Swiss artist Heidi Bucher's first-ever retrospective in Asia, "Heidi Bucher: Spaces are Shells, are Skins" / Courtesy of Art Sonje Center



By Park Han-sol



A room is suspended in midair, furnished with period doors, windows, wooden panels and a radiator in one corner.



While perfectly enterable, it's not a solidly rendered space; rather, it's a spectral cast of the architecture  or, as Swiss artist Heidi Bucher (1926-93) put it, the "skin" of it.



As Bucher mummified the interior of a building  by layering its surface with gauze, spreading liquid latex on top of it and peeling off the dried mold with all her strength  she also embalmed the personal and historical, often gendered, memories associated with these spaces.



"Heidi Bucher: Spaces are Shells, are Skins" at Art Sonje Center in central Seoul is the first-ever retrospective mounted in Asia that highlights the long-overlooked oeuvre of the groundbreaking Swiss sculptor and performance artist.



Along with archival footage, the show brings together over 130 pieces of her "skinning"-based installations, sculptures and drawings.





A scene from Heidi Bucher's "Skinning of Gentlemen's Study" (1978) / Courtesy of The Estate of Heidi Bucher



Several of the artist's fabric casts on display capture traces of the past contained in her ancestral home in the northern Swiss city of Winterthur.



In "Parquet Flooring of the Gentlemen's Study," she skinned the flooring of the room that has, for generations, been reserved for the family's patriarch, including her late father, whom she had a complicated, sometimes fraught, relationship with, as one of her sons, Mayo Bucher, recalled.



Her interest in such traditional gender norms embedded within the domestic environment eventually went beyond her own family house and reached the psychiatric hospital in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, that is known for the famous medical case involving Anna O.



In the late 19th century, the patient, whose real name was Bertha Pappenheim, was diagnosed with hysteria  an alleged "mental disorder" that was once widely and inaccurately assumed to only affect women due to the understudied female anatomy and sexuality  and became the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's first case history.



Bucher laboriously pulled the molds off the wall of the hospital's consulting room where Anna O was treated in "The Parlour Office of Doctor Binswanger."



For the Swiss sculptor, the skinning of such patriarchal architectural structures  both personal and sociocultural  was her way of critically responding to and liberating herself from the past, Moon Je-yun, Art Sonje Center's project director and co-curator of the Seoul exhibition, said during the press preview.



"She achieved this not by destroying the rigid, masculine domain outright, but by transforming it into something soft and pliable."





A scene from Heidi Bucher's "Bodyshells" (1972) / Courtesy of The Estate of Heidi Bucher



From wearable sculptures to skinning of spaces



In the early 1970s, Bucher, who previously pursued fashion and textiles studies at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts under the Bauhaus artist Johannes Itten, first explored the interplay between the human body and architecture through a series of wearable sculptures.



After having relocated to California with her husband and fellow artist, Carl Bucher, and two children, she presented oversized foam bodysuits such as "Bodyshells" and "Bodywrappings" as genderless body sculptures.



For the first time since the artist's death, "Bodywrappings" have been recreated at Art Sonje Center in collaboration with The Estate of Heidi Bucher. After viewing the archival photograph and footage, visitors are able to try on the portable sculptures themselves.



But Bucher's practice took a momentous turn in 1973 upon her return to her homeland and her divorce that followed shortly afterward.



As a recently divorced mother with two children in a country that granted women the right to vote merely two years ago, she had to overcome hurdle after hurdle to keep her creative passion lit.





Heidi Bucher's "Dragonfly Lust (Costume)" (1976) / Courtesy of Art Sonje Center





Heidi Bucher wearing "Dragonfly Lust (Costume)" in Zurich in 1976 / Courtesy of The Estate of Heidi Bucher

After converting a cold storage basement in the former butcher's premises in Zurich into her studio, the artist turned toward the act of "skinning" bodies and eventually, architectural structures.



As evidenced by her earlier wearable latex cast called "Dragonfly Lust (Costume)," she frequently went on to pay tribute to the flying insect, which must shed its skin to grow.



Similarly, she viewed the whole act of shedding the skin of an object as a type of metamorphosis, where the human body or the space is freed from the rigid gender and ideological norms and transforms into malleable fabric.



This idea of elasticity and liberation is further visualized in her later works like "The Water Flows Out of the Pitcher Today" produced on the Spanish island of Lanzarote. The piece portrays a pitcher on a stool with a cascade of latex water gushing out from its spout.



"Our mother, she was a person who wanted to change inside, and to do this, she had to free herself from her past  first from her father and patriarchal environment, and later on, from our father and artist Carl Bucher, and then of course, from different aspects which surround us in society," the artist's other son, Indigo Bucher, said, adding that the renewed global attention to her oeuvre shows "that our mother is more alive than ever."





Installation view of Heidi Bucher's "The Water Flows Out of the Pitcher Today" (1986), center, and "Flying Skinroom" (1981), left / Courtesy of Art Sonje Center



Bucher's interest in metamorphosis puts her pieces in dialogue with another group exhibition running concurrently at the Seoul museum, "Living in Joy."



Organized by Spanish curator and art historian Chus Martinez, the show exhibits the dynamic paintings and installations of three young women artists here  Park Rondi, Park Boma, Woo Hannah  as a contemporary "Korean response to Heidi's works" addressing the topics of labor, marriage and body.



Both "Heidi Bucher: Spaces are Shells, are Skins" and "Living in Joy" run through June 25 at Art Sonje Center.




Willie Nelson

Country legend Willie Nelson will be headlining the Brandon Amphitheatre on Friday, Oct. 13 as part of the 2023 Outlaw Music Festival.

Nelson was scheduled to perform last year in Brandon, but members of the band tested positive for COVID-19, the show was postponed and then eventually canceled.

The tour is to celebrate Nelson's 90th birthday.

I am so thrilled to announce these additional dates for our 2023 Outlaw Music Festival Tour, said Nelson in a release. I cant wait to keep the celebration of my 90th birthday going into the fall with this great lineup of artists, my friends and family, and of course, the amazing fans.

Morgan Wallen sued over MS concert: Lawsuit filed against country music star Morgan Wallen after Oxford concert debacle

Other performers include the Avett Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, Mike Campbell, the Dirty Knobs and Particle Kid. There will be a second Mississippi show on Oct. 14 in Southhaven with the same opening acts.

The Brandon Amphitheatre is located at 190 Rock Way, Boyce Thompson Drive, in Brandon.

The inaugural Outlaw Music Festival made its debut in 2016 in Pennsylvania. The sold-out show was so well received that it has developed it into one of North Americas biggest annual touring franchises.

Tickets are on sale now, and you can purchase them here.

The Brandon Amphitheater in Brandon is bouncing back after business slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Big acts including Willie Nelson and Luke Bryan are scheduled to perform there in coming months.

Know of an event coming up? Reporter Kiara Fleming can be reached via email KDFleming@jackson.gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Willie Nelson comes to Brandon as part of Outlaw Music Festival in fall
An 18-year-old woman was arrested Saturday in Everett on suspicion of murder in the fatal shooting of a man in Tacoma, according to police.

She was arrested in connection with the April 18 killing of 20-year-old Lehman Charrod Tucker, Tacoma Police Department spokesperson Wendy Haddow said. Tucker, a University Place resident, was shot that afternoon in Tacomas Hilltop neighborhood.

The News Tribune generally does not name criminal suspects until they have been formally charged. Haddow said the woman was arrested by Everett Police Department. Jail records show she was booked into Pierce County Jail on Saturday just before midnight for investigation of first-degree murder.

Tuckers killing was the 11th homicide in the city this year. Two more have occurred in the Tacoma area since. Police were called to the 700 block of South Yakima Avenue at about 1 p.m. for reports of a person shot. Tucker was taken by private vehicle to a local hospital, where he died. The Pierce County Medical Examiner found he died of multiple gunshots to the torso.

It remains unclear exactly what preceded the shooting or how many people were involved. Haddow said she couldnt say whether police were searching for more suspects. Police have said an argument was reportedly heard before gunfire broke out.
The Rowan County Sheriffs Office says a woman is facing multiple criminal charges are getting onto a school bus and verbally attacking the bus driver.

It happened last Monday, according to the sheriffs office. A bus leaving Corriher Lipe Middle School had missed a stop for a student and was going to the next stop when the driver noticed a car following behind the bus.

SEE MORE: Video shows Rocky River HS student assaulting bus driver, bus monitor

When the bus got to the next stop, a woman approached the bus and began yelling at the driver. Video evidence showed that the woman was shouting at her and pointing her finger inches away from the drivers face. At one point, the woman threatened to kill the bus driver, and at the same moment, she hit the driver in the right eye with her finger, according to the sheriffs office.

The altercation continued until an unidentified man pulled the woman away from the bus. The driver then closed the doors and told all of the students to stay on the bus.

ALSO READ: Mother says son was bullied when parents, students got into fight on CMS bus

Deputies say the woman was identified as Estella M. Tucker. The sheriffs office was able to find her and served her with warrants for trespassing/impeding a school bus, assault on a school employee, disorderly conduct, and communicating threats.

Tucker wasnt booked into custody and was instead released on a promise to appear in court, according to the sheriffs office.

(WATCH: Fight involves parents, students on Chester County school bus)
An Arkansas woman charged with selling nearly $11,000 worth of stolen body parts to a Pennsylvania man has pleaded not guilty.

The indictment, unsealed last week in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, accuses Candace Chapman Scott of setting up transactions for the remains with the man she met through a Facebook group.

Scott pleaded not guilty to 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen property.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday on whether she will be released on bail.

Authorities: 14 injured after roof collapses at home near Ohio State University

How did Scott get the body parts?

Scott worked at Arkansas Central Mortuary Services, where she transported, cremated and preserved remains. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock sent remains of cadavers to the mortuary after they had been donated to the school for medical students to examine.

The indictment alleges Scott offered to sell remains from the medical school that the mortuary was supposed to cremate and return.

To whom did Scott sell the remains?

Separate state charges in Pennsylvania name the buyer as Jeremy Lee Pauley. He is not identified in the federal indictment. Scott messaged Pauley on Facebook in October 2021, the indictment says.

Just out of curiosity, would you know anyone in the market for a fully in tact, embalmed brain? she wrote to Pauley.

Over the next nine months, the indictment says, Scott sold Pauley fetuses, brains, hearts, lungs, genitalia, large pieces of skin and other body parts. Scott made $10,975 in 16 separate PayPal transfers.

Pauley is charged with a misdemeanor count of abuse of a corpse, a felony count of receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property and a felony count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.

Story continues

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Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arkansas woman charged selling $11K of body parts to Pennsylvania man
National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek

My copy of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is in pieces, the brittle pages held together with a rubber band. Its just a Scholastic paperback bought in 1969on its 66th printing. This copy has been cried over, carted around the country, and reread many times, most recently after touring the sets built to replicate Annes world.

Years ago, returning from an assignment in Kenya, I scheduled a layover in Amsterdam to visit the Secret Annex. I waited hours in a drizzle to climb those steep, narrow steps to the 500 square feet where eight people hid from the Nazis. So, Ive thought about Anne Frankher words and her world that is no morefor over half a century.

Yet, while I recognized the name Miep Gies, I did not know what a hero she was until I heard about A Small Light.

Neither do most people, including Bel Powley (The Morning Show), who stars as Miep in the miniseries.

I didnt know anything about her is the honest truth, Powley says, after a long day shooting on a dreary day in Prague. I, of course, knew about the story of Anne Frank.

Jacqueline Cutler

The premieretwo episodes on National Geographic on May 1, then streaming the next day on Hulu and Disney+was still six months away. And by now, she and Joe Cole, who plays her onscreen husband, Jan Gies, had bonded. They sit close to each other at a small table and acknowledge that as much as they have learned about these remarkable heroes, theyre still in awe of them and their bravery.

For 25 months, Miep smuggled food to Anne and the seven others in hiding with her. Miep defied the Nazis and risked death.

Its not much of a spoiler to say that the Nazis hauled off everyone in the attic toward the wars end. After, Miep snuck back upstairs, collected Annes diaries, and put them in a drawer for safekeeping. She planned to return them to the girl after the war.

Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She was 15.

Eventually, Miep presented the journals to the only surviving member of the Secret Annex, Annes father, Otto Frank, who published them. They have been translated into 70 languages and sold about 30 million copies.

Story continues

Had Miep Gies not been there daily, Anne Franks writing would have been lost.

A Small Light is the story of this remarkable woman who maintained that she was anything but. The title references Mieps famous quote: I dont like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.

Miep Gies, played by Bel Powley, Otto Frank, played by Liev Schreiber, and Jan Gies, played by Joe Cole, look up at Ottos old apartment as seen in A Small Light. National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek

An Ordinary Person

Incidentally, Miep was not Jewish, but the actress who plays her, Powley, is.

I identify as Jewish, Powley says. I was raised Jewish. My dad isn't Jewish. But my mom, she was raised in a pretty Orthodox household.

Powley grew up celebrating the Jewish holidays at her grandmothers. Like most European Jews, Powley knew her history; its never that far removed.

The offer of this actually came to me on Holocaust Memorial Day, which was so special, she says, those huge blue eyes unblinking. Before I even read the pilot, I already knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of, and it just feels so special to be a part of this story and be able to play this character because of my heritage.

Joan Rater and Tony Phalen were fascinated by Mieps selflessness. They saw a documentary, Anne Frank Remembered, about Miep in 1996. On a family trip to Amsterdam, they toured the Anne Frank Museum. These eight hours, which dont dip into the maudlin or sanctify Anne, are the product of six years of research.

They serve as co-executive producers, co-showrunners, co-creators and writers, and Phelan directed the final three episodes. Gies unwavering courage still impresses them.

Miep is an ordinary person who history has mythologized like Anne Frank, Rater says. I want to tell the story about the ordinary person.

Despite her heroism, Miep was decidedly ordinary. She was starving in Vienna after World War I when, as a child, her mother sent her to the Netherlands to be nurtured back to health. When Miep graduated high school, she was a bit feckless for her foster parents liking. They told her she had to get marriedto her gay, also adopted brother. Instead, the two decided shed get a job.

Thats how Miep came to know the Franks. She had no experience, but Otto took pity on her and hired her at his company, Opekta, at Prinsengracht 263. As the Nazis made life more miserable for Jews, Otto tried vainly to spirit his family to safety. When daughter Margot, 16, received papers to report to a camp, the family went into hiding in the attic that day.

Miep chats with the Frank and van Pels families in the secret annex. National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek

Everyonethe four in the Frank family, Ottos business partner, his wife and son, and a family friendwere safe for over two years. Miep and her husband Jan (Joe Cole, Peaky Blinders), another hero of the Dutch Resistance, did all they could. Meanwhile, Anne chronicled everyones annoying habits and confined life in her journal.

And its through that writing Anne became the most famous Holocaust victim. We can relate to one girl, not to the inconceivable number of 6 million people murdered for being Jewish. We know Anne because of diary entries such as: I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals, and my fantasies.

Doing Extraordinary Things

Of course, it all ends dreadfully. And yet the series offers glimpses of lightness. In a flashback to the sunny day of Miep and Jans 1941 wedding, Annes skipping. Its a reminder that she was an ordinary tweenalbeit a terrific writerin an extraordinary time.

She was just a girl who did cartwheels, and then she was put into hiding, Rater says. And so, the ordinariness is always something that remains. Oh, here's the other thing that blows my mind and I relate to as a parentwhen Otto says in an interview that when he read the diary, he didn't recognize this girl.

By now, though, the rest of us do. Phelan and Rater didnt want to do yet another movie about Anne, here played with just the right amount of teen diva and wise old soul by Billie Boullet. Older sister Margot, a quieter, nervous girl, is portrayed by Ashley Brooke, who drew from her grandmothers experience as a Holocaust survivor.

My grandma lived to the age of 96, and she passed away about a year and a half ago, Brooke says. The USC Shoah Foundation interviewed her, which is actually crazy that I'm [a student at USC] now. Before this project, I watched her interview because when she got older, she started forgetting things, so she couldn't really tell the story to us. But those interviews were so special, and I just remember her highlighting all of the hopeful moments that allowed her to survive. She was never pessimistic about anything.

A Modern Take on Anne Franks Holocaust Saga Wows Cannes

All of this rings trueperformances, costumes, eerily spot-on sets, and the unbearable weight on Ottos shoulders.

It was actually a pretty small role, and I was in Ukraine, and they sent me this, says Liev Schreiber of playing the patriarch. And I thought, wow, this is a really contemporary retelling of the Anne Frank story but from a completely unique perspective of the person whos actually responsible for them surviving as long as they did. It was one of those things that I was thinking about as I was going to meet these grassroots NGOs in Ukrainelike ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things to push back against incredible odds. And it felt like the script fell in my lap while I was doing that work and meeting those people.

Schreiber has been volunteering in Ukraine, his Jewish grandfathers homeland. He sees folks with Mieps courage and praises Phelan and Rater for making the limited series feel as if its not entombed in amber.

Anne, played by Billie Boullet, receives a gift from Miep, played by Bel Powley, in A Small Light. National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek

The Modern-Day Impact

One of the subtle ways the miniseries feels contemporary while hewing to history is through each episodes closing credits. Current artists cover old music, courtesy of Este Haim of the sister band, Haim. Serving as executive music producer, she chose Kamasi Washington, who performs Charlie Parkers Cheryl, and the pairing of King Princess and Orville Peck, who contribute a take on Bing Crosbys Im Making Believe, among others.

Also Jewish and keenly aware of the parallels between World War II and the antisemitism of today, Haim acknowledges, I would be lying if I said there werent times where I felt really scared in 2023. Its almost 100 years later, and we're still dealing with this shit. This tiny woman who stood up to the Nazis wows her. As Haim notes, Miep was a badass.

Miep eventually wrote a memoir which Powley considered her Bible while shooting this.

I read it back-to-back three times before we started, just to get a sense of her voice because it's written from her point of view, and you really can get just how she was quite outspoken and brash and confident and funny, Powley says.

The shoot took five months, mainly in the Czech Republic, with Prague standing in for Amsterdam. Working on the project left its mark, all involved say. Independently, they mention how they hope Mieps example inspires people to act even against unspeakable evil.

This is so unbelievably horrendous, Cole says. It's just, like, I sometimes just can't quite comprehend. When I visited Anne Franks house, you see a lot of the imagery, young Margot, you see the pictures on the walls, being in that space.

Anne, played by Billie Boullet, sleeps as Miep, played by Bel Powley, watches over her in A Small Light. National Geographic for Disney/Dusan Martincek

Powley sits quietly next to him, nodding. The cast and crew have been talking about how rampant antisemitism is. The same October day, when they were finishing a scene in Prague, Jew-haters on an overpass of the 405 in Los Angeles hung a banner that said Kanye was right as they gave the Hitler salute.

I dont think that you feel less being gentile, Powley says. But I think that its just terrifying right now.

The sense of terror thrumming through Jewish communities then is again felt.

The day I wrote this, I attended an interfaith Holocaust memorial service, where a man told of his parents, who met in the camps. Like the Franks, they were from Amsterdam.

At the service, I ran into a friend, Holocaust survivor Hanna Keselman, 93. Like so many German Jews, Hannas parents knew Hitler was dangerous long before the rest of the world caught on. In 1933, they fled to France. It wasnt far enough. She was on her own at 8for four years. Hanna lost her father to the war and later moved to America.

Anne Franks Stepsister Eva Schloss on Holocaust Horrors and How Trump Reminds Her of Hitler

She still tells her story today because no one must forget what happenedand what is happening. Two days before the service, anti-Jewish graffiti popped upin Greenwich Village.

Haim is right. It is scary.

I was blown away by how modern and current and relatable Tony and Joans take on this story felt, Powley says. And thats incredibly important in the current political climate. I mean, antisemitism is on the rise. There are more displaced people in the world now than ever. So, it was important to me and for my family history that, if were going to make this show, to make one that makes people think, Well, what would I do?

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The author wearing her box braids hairstyle.

The author wearing her box braids hairstyle.

When Im the only Black person in all-white spaces, theres always something about me that needs to be explained or addressed. And my hair is the No. 1 culprit.

My natural hair would be the natural choice to wear to work if I wanted, but for some reason, it can be viewed as sloppy, distracting, or unprofessional. Honestly, I should be allowed to list my upwards of $3,500 annually haircare costs as a tax write-off since its low-key required if you want to exist in Corporate America as a POC.

This is why the CROWN Act was passed in March 2022 to prohibit race-based hair discrimination, such as the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles. But being viewed as unprofessional for my hair isnt the only reaction I fear. Theres another kind of unsolicited attention that can also be incredibly awkward.

For instance, the time in my mid-20s, when I wore hip-length knotless box braids to work, we might as well have called an emergency company meeting about it.

Now, nothing is more classic than some good old-fashioned box braids. Theyre low-maintenance, ageless, timeless, and can also be styled in any length, color or braid thickness. Besides the six-hour install and six-hour takedown, braids are the perfect hairstyle, especially in the summer.

So when warm weather hit early in NYC, I found myself in Harlem, where braiding salons are plentiful. While I stared at myself in the mirror, I wondered if a colleague would have something socially inept to say about my hairstyleagain. But even though I solely represented half of the Black population at the fashion brand where I worked, racial diversity was of the utmost importance, apparently. We even signed a diversity manifesto upon hiring!

This was my first job after working as an Executive Assistant for five years, where I never considered wearing braids because it wasa formal work environment. Wearing braids to an all-white finance office would be like wearing a skimpy swimsuit to your grandmothers funeral; no one would know how to act. Instead, I always had a mid-back, straight, non-threatening sew-in.

Story continues

But this new office was trendy and fashionable! We could wear stylish sneakers and bright nails. People here got it, yet when I walked by my boss (white) one morning, I immediately recognized her quizzical facial expression.

You would assume people could put two and two together when it came to hair extensions. If its short one day and long the next, what other explanation could there be? Of course, these are extensions.

Her face shifted from confusion to excitement, eventually settling on genuine child-like wonder. She was operating at the same frequency as a puppy gleefully experiencing its first pile of freshly raked leaves. Ive never seen a person so infatuated by my existence before. She asked if I had free time later, so I could tell her more about my hair. I wasnt sure if this was a joke because what exactly would I tell her? I got braids. I didnt go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Sandals Jamaica.

The author sitting in the braider's chair mid-install of her protective hairstyle.

The author sitting in the braider's chair mid-install of her protective hairstyle.

I wasnt mentally prepared to fully break down the methodologies behind the most common protective hairstyle at 7:41 a.m. on a weekday, but lets see where this goes.

OK, firstly (and VERY respectfully, as you are my boss, and I feel the need to accommodate all your personal inquiries), yes. You caught me. I had a respectable shoulder-length haircut on Tuesday and ass-length braids the next day. I can explain! These are called extensions, and theyre self-explanatory! Done. Whose hair is it? Unclear. Sorry, I know I should have mentioned all this and more in my interviews, but I genuinely didnt think it would come up this quickly or ever.

I am wondering a little why youre asking this now since youve seen me in these braids for four days already. Oh, you were confused because I had them in a bun on Tuesday and Wednesday, but today theyre in a ponytail? Thats because my braids were in a bun on Tuesday and Wednesday, but today theyre in a ponytail. I hope that helped clear things up?

How do I wash my hair? Im happy to answer; thats a work-appropriate question! Sometimes Windex, sometimes Fantastico; it depends on my mood. Past that, its just a regular blow dry job... using my white boyfriends hot breath, that is.

How often do I wash my hair? How often do you do your laundry? How often do you wear a bra without washing it? How often do you shower? Do you have full body wash every time? Do you wash your hands first or go straight for the body? Do you typically wipe front to back? Whats your favorite brand of tampon? Does the carpet match the drapes? Its about time you and I loudly discussed!

Oops! One sec, the volume from our Upbeat Lofi Spotify Office playlist is low. Mind if I fully pause it? I noticed 75 percent of our 40-person office listening in on our conversation. Thats 30 adults awkwardly hearing me explain what edges and my kitchen are, and Id like to see that number get closer to 100 percent. Youre asking some solid questions; everyone has the right to know the answers.

The author takes a selfie of herself with her braids styled in an updo.

The author takes a selfie of herself with her braids styled in an updo.

Do I feel singled out and triggered by this entire interaction? Haha, absolutely! I guess it reminds me just a bit of the childhood pool parties and summer barbecues in Texas, where all the white girls would recklessly jump into a chlorine pool without a proper skin-toned swim cap to protect their hair. Me? I would never do something so dangerous. And before you ask, yes, my brown latex cap made me look like a penis, and yes, I did field A LOT of questions about it.

Id try to explain that chlorine makes my hair break, which caused confusion and hysteria every time the question was asked, coincidentally, every time we were at the pool. When I rerouted their stumpers to my mother, shed say, Well, did you ask why their hair doesnt break? Good question! Never came up.

After a long, relaxing day of teaching Black physics to my gaggle of third-grade friends, wed pile into an outdoor shower to rinse off before refueling with Lunchables. Theyd all laugh together while passing around bottles of shampoo and conditioner someones mom packed in a Vineyard Vines bag, but when the bottles got to me, Id politely decline. My chemically relaxed hair needed something a bit more... specific.

Oh, your shampoo and conditioner is in the shape of a smiling strawberry, smells like sugar, and has a kitschy title? Cute! Mines a thick blend of chemicals in a gray bottle with bicarbonate in the name! And the Black physics lesson would start again.

If I could pass words of encouragement to my 8-year-old self, Id say: First of all, you dont look like a penis. Youre very cute, and one day you will be very hot. Second of all, your hair requires extra attention because its not easy to be flawless. Lastly, being emotionally prodded over trivial things about yourself is a rite of passage, so congratulations! Youve officially received another punch on your Black Card. Id suggest writing some go-to elevator speeches for moments like these because itll happen many times again. Forever!

My advice to those wondering how to act right is to simply not make it weird. I think a question or two is fine if youre at a personal level, but much like every other human interaction youve had in your life, no ogling or touching is allowed. Just pretend Im a regular person!

When I was younger, Id thoroughly internalize this (and every other instance like it) and eventually self-implode. Today, Im not outwardly offended by microaggressions like these; Im just tired. On the other side of things, my mom always tells me, Your response is your responsibility. You can really only control yourself.

So, in the end, I nicely answered about 20 seconds worth of my bosses questions before jokingly suggesting she make the trek to Harlem and get her own set of braids since she likes them so much. She laughed but then stopped after I dryly said, No. Seriously.

In the end, she decided against it.

Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch.

Related...
A campaign to create the worlds largest sing-along in solidarity with Ukraine during the Eurovision Song Contest is bringing together choirs, musicians and the general public.

HelpUkraineSong is asking people to perform and upload a version of the 1967 Beatles song With a Little Help from My Friends.

The Museum of Liverpool will then hold a flash mob moment at midday on the day of the final, 13 May, with people at famous UK attractions including the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Warwick Castle, joining in simultaneously. Gatherings will also take place around the world.

Eurovision 2023 is being held in Liverpool after the UK was chosen to host the competition on behalf of war-torn Ukraine (last years winners).

Valerie Bounds, 47, who co-founded and runs a creative agency in Liverpool, thought of the idea last year.

She told the PA news agency: I came up with this idea while I was watching someone play the piano in Euston station at Christmas time, and thought, Wouldnt it be wonderful to do an incredible moment in public spaces?

Im a big fan of Eurovision, I also volunteer with the Red Cross and [I] have worked with Ukrainian refugees, so it kind of all melded together.

Partners involved in the campaign include President Zelenskys United 24 fundraising platform, the childrens charity War Child and the Ukraine Ministry of Culture.

Its going really broad here, but the really fantastic thing is that we have joined up with organisations and institutions in Ukraine and they are very enthusiastic about it, Bounds said.

Having been told directly from Ukrainians themselves, music and singing is integral to their culture so this is the perfect way to express support.

She said Eurovision seemed like the right opportunity to create a platform [and] a moment of solidarity with Ukraine, adding: Obviously Eurovision is that anyway, but this was about taking it outside of Liverpool, taking it UK-wide and international and giving people an opportunity to join in.

Story continues

For Eurovision on Saturday 13 May the #HelpUkraineSong will see people and organisations coming together to perform With A Little Help From My Friends to create the worlds biggest ever physical and digital flash mob 



We were busy preparing something last night   pic.twitter.com/CyG7GkgBJB  Hull City Council (@Hullccnews) April 27, 2023

Ukraines Eurovision 2023 act TVORCHI and British actor and contest host Hannah Waddingham have both been spreading awareness of the event.

Were getting all kinds of people now taking part, Bounds said.

Most of the choirs that weve talked to all across the country are community, inclusive choirs that include Ukrainians, so its about seeing that integration and connection.

Bounds stressed that those interested can contribute to the campaign in whatever way they like.

We dont care how they do the song, thats really important. This is about including everyone.

We would love to see people signing it, [or] just breaking into song acapella!

Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian group who won 2022s Eurovision song contest, have high hopes that the country will be able to host next years competition.

This years Eurovision will take place in Liverpool at the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena between 9 May and 13 May.

Additional reporting by Press Association
NEW YORK (AP)  Yankees right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga will have arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow and likely will be sidelined until August.

New York manager Aaron Boone said head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad will operate Tuesday and Loaisiga will not be able to throw for three to six weeks. Loaisiga, 28, had been out since April 5 with right elbow inflammation.

After a few days of throwing, it wasn't bothering him throwing, and then he came in one day and had the swelling, which they think is related to that spur. So they got to get it out of there, Boone said before Monday's series opener against Cleveland.

New York put captain Aaron Judge on the 10-day IL with a strained right hip, a move retroactive to Friday.

Center fielder Harrison Bader could be activated during the series against the Guardians. He has hasnt played for the Yankees since a spring training game on March 8 because of a strained left oblique. Bader has played in seven minor league rehabilitation games, hitting .105 (2 for 19).

Right-hander Luis Severino, who hasn't pitched since March 21 because of a right lat strain, is to throw 45-50 pitches Wednesday for Class A Tampa in his first minor league rehab appearance. Boone said the 29-year-old could be back with the Yankees in two-to-three weeks. He likely will get two or three more minor league starts, at Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Right-hander Lou Trivino, sidelined by a strained right elbow, went to California to be examined by Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Josh Donaldson, who strained his right hamstring on on April 5, took ground balls hit directly at him at third but is not yet being required to make lateral movements.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The vice chair of the New York Stock Exchange is considering a run for Senate in Michigan, where Republicans have been searching for a candidate for retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenows seat.

Southeast Michigan native John Tuttle is weighing a bid, according to two people familiar with his thinking who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his plans. An alum of Eastern Michigan University, Tuttle served in George W. Bushs administration before joining the world's largest stock market in 2007.

The Michigan Senate seat is so far the only open seat in a swing state this cycle, and it promises to attract massive sums of money as both parties battle for control of a closely divided chamber.

Tuttle is only in the early stages of exploring a run. But his interest comes as Republicans have so far struggled to field any serious contenders for the seat. Democrats, meanwhile, have united quickly behind Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a strong fundraiser who ousted an incumbent GOP representative in 2018. Her launch spooked a slew of other prominent Michigan Democrats out of the race, though a handful of other potential candidates are still considering jumping in. The state went for President Joe Biden in 2020 but former President Donald Trump won it in 2016.

With his work based in Manhattan, Tuttle splits his time between New York City and Michigan. He is from Milford, Mich. in Oakland County and maintains deep ties to the state. He was the commencement speaker last year at Eastern Michigan University, his alma mater.

Tuttle, 41, has considered a run for Congress in the past. And hes been somewhat politically active too. In his role as president of the NYSE Institute, he hosted Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April on Wall Street when he visited the stock exchange to give a speech on the debt limit. Tuttle conducted a brief question-and-answer session with McCarthy afterward.



A timeline for Tuttles decision was not clear. But he has spoken with Republicans in D.C. and Michigan about a possible run and the National Republican Senatorial Committee has shown interest in his candidacy.

Story continues

John Tuttle is a strong potential recruit in Michigan, NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said.

GOP Rep. John James, who won a Michigan House battleground seat last fall, declined to make a third run for Senate in 2024. (He lost to Stabenow in 2018 and Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in 2020.) Former Republican Rep. Peter Meijer is considering a run. Meijer lost his Grand Rapids-based House seat in 2022 after voting to impeach Trump, which could also be a liability in any Senate primary. Another potential GOP candidate is Kevin Rinke, who lost a primary bid to be the Republican nominee against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

While Tuttle would have the funds to support a campaign and a major network of potential donors to tap, he is a political neophyte. Senate Republicans have actively been looking to recruit candidates who have fundraising prowess or large personal wealth after being vastly outraised by Democrats in the midterms.

Through his work, Tuttle knows former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, who is CEO of the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Loeffler joined the Senate in 2020 after she was appointed by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. But she lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff election the following year, under attacks that her personal wealth made her disconnected from the needs of the state.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Christopher G. Cavoli

The meeting included an update on the current situation along the entire frontline in Ukraine, Zaluzhnyi said.

Read also: Zaluzhnyi meets with US, UK, Polish military commanders

"(I) outlined possible scenarios, threats and prerequisites for our future actions, the general said.

We set ourselves the goal of preparing in such a way as to perform the specified tasks as much as possible.

The two generals also addressed Ukraine's need for a wide range of weapons and anti-aircraft defense systems, which will significantly enhance Ukraines resistance against Russian aggression.

Read also: Zaluzhnyis US adviser explains why Ukraine needs ATACMS missiles and F-16 fighters

"(We) also discussed with General Cavoli the training of our defenders, he added.



We agreed to continue to maintain dialogue and work to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities," he added.

Zaluzhnyi also visited Lviv and met with the city's mayor, Andriy Sadovyi.

"After this meeting, we have a lot to keep as memories, but we have nothing to disclose, Sadovyi said on Telegram following the meeting.

Yet: Valerii Fedorovych (Zaluzhnyi)  thank you for the visit.

 /Telegram

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
Kiwoom Securities President Hwang Hyun-soon answers questions from reporters at the Korea Financial Investment Association headquarters in Seoul, April 28. Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung





Daou Kiwoom Group Chairman Kim Ik-rae
Zelensky had a telephone conversation with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins

Thanked New Zealand for the participation in the training of our military, he said.

Read also: Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping in first conversation since Russian invasion

We count on its continuation, as well as on further cooperation on defense and humanitarian issues.

The leaders also discussed the need for further consolidation of the countries of the Pacific region in supporting Ukraine, Zelenskyy noted.

New Zealand has systematically supported Ukraine since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of the country.

Read also: New Zealand volunteer fighter finds Ukrainian friend captured by Russians  video

New Zealand Defense Minister Peeni Henare visited Kyiv in Nov. 2022 to reaffirm the nations support for Ukraine. He also met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.

New Zealand announced in late 2022 that it would provide Ukraine with around $2 million for the purchase of transformers, power generators, and medical supplies.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The 'Rape Day'hoax is an example of what researchers call 'zombie' falsehoods that keep resurfacing despite being debunked

The hoax that rape was legal for a day was knocked down by fact-checkers two years ago. But it went viral again this year on TikTok, illustrating what researchers call "zombie" misinformation.

The stomach-churning falsehood that groups of men have declared April 24 as "National Rape Day," giving them free rein to commit sexual violence, crept its way to TikTok fame in 2021, sparking alarm in countries including the United States and Britain.

In a sea of videos, many with millions of views, terrified women declared plans to lock themselves in their rooms all day and men vowed to protect them against imaginary assailants.

In one, a hulking bare-torsoed man appeared to sharpen an axe with a whetstone, warning troublemakers not to "touch anyone I know."

An 11-year-old girl in Britain "afraid of being raped" went to school armed with knives, local media reported citing police officials.

TikTok users seized on reports of unrelated sexual crimes just before April 24 that year as evidence of the lurking threat, lending further credence to the myth.

Multiple fact-checking organizations debunked the misinformation. But that did not nip it in the bud.

This year, the hoax went viral on the same platform once again, the watchdog group Media Matters for America said, underlining what researchers say are the limits of debunking to stop or even slow the spread of misinformation.

"We call these kinds of situations zombie claims, meaning they are rumors that keep popping up, no matter how many times you debunk it," said Laura Duclos, from MediaWise, a digital media literacy initiative of the nonprofit Poynter Institute.

"Some zombie claims pop up because they are related to a certain event or date," Duclos told AFP.

- 'Fodder for misinformation' -

Raising alarm about the return of "Rape Day" this year, TikTok users declared their intention to carry tasers, handguns, and in one video, a firearm "with the safety (catch) off."

Story continues

While AFP is not aware of any official reports of violent crimes because of the hoax, it lays bare the dangerous potential of even debunked falsehoods to whip up threats, hysteria and chaos.

When asked about TikTok's response to the hoax, a spokesman told AFP that "content promoting this despicable behavior would be removed if it was found on our platform."

Words such as "rape" are suppressed by TikTok, with a search redirecting users to a helpline and educational resources. But some videos can go completely undetected if they use no obvious keywords in their posts.

Users promoting the hoax also found workarounds such as "r@pe" and "national r day."

Last week, the platform appeared to crack down on the loopholes immediately after AFP shared with the TikTok spokesman a screenshot of multiple "Rape Day" videos that came up using those search words.

Searches using those two workarounds now yield "no results found."

TikTok "ought to get smarter" about preventing such hoaxes by rigorously studying patterns of how they spread, said S. Shyam Sundar, co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University.

"Sensational stories that prey on people's innate fears and desires are always going to be a fodder for misinformation, regardless of whether they have been debunked in the past," Sundar told AFP.

"Hoaxes may have a short shelf life but can linger in the warehouse for decades only to be recycled every now and then."

- 'Game of telephone'

The precise origin of this hoax in April -- observed as sexual assault awareness month -- is unclear.

According to Media Matters, its earliest mention was a 2021 tweet that cautioned people in Britain that "boys have made a 'national rape day'" and urged them to carry deterrents such as pepper spray for safety.

The message quickly spread on TikTok, going viral.

"It's common for misinformation to start on one platform and jump to others, losing context and making it that much harder to find the original source of the information," said Duclos.

"At that point you're playing essentially a game of telephone."

Stopping a wildfire hoax, Duclos said, is down to users "exercising due diligence before resharing misinformation" -- which in this case could be a simple keyword search of "national rape day" that leads to multiple fact-checks from credible outlets.

"The fact that this lie has re-emerged... demonstrates what psychologists call a 'sleeper effect,'" Sundar said.

"The upshot of this is that users and the platform ought to realize that debunking is not as long-lasting as the actual information, underscoring the need to reinforce the debunking message every so often."

burs-ac/bfm
State Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) on the phone after House Speaker Matt Regier (R) told her she could not work from the hallway outside the main chamber of the Montana House of Representatives on Thursday.

Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D), the states first openly trans lawmaker, is suing for the right to speak in the state House of Representatives after Republican lawmakers voted to censure her last week.

This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, Zephyr said in a statement on Monday morning. House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself.

Read more

Zephyrs lawsuitwhich names House Speaker Matt Regier (R) and House Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt, in addition to the state of Montanaalleges that the censure violates her First Amendment rights and disenfranchises her 11,000 constituents, four of whom joined her lawsuit. By doing so, theyve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government, she said. The Montana State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.

In April, Zephyr spoke out about the multiple anti-trans bills under consideration in the Montana legislature, and said in one floor speech that those who voted for these bills would have blood on their hands. The GOP caucus voted to shut off her microphone in response. That, in turn, prompted a number of her supporters to gather in the public gallery on April 24, chanting let her speak when she was silenced for the third day in a row. Regier adjourned the chamber early that day, and seven protesters were arrested. Republicans voted to censure her because, they said, she violated decorum rules and put her colleagues at risk by encouraging the protesters. Zephyr has said she wasnt being hyperbolic, but instead was speaking to the real harm anti-trans laws can perpetrate.

Story continues

Its not just Zephyr who is suing the state and House leadership. Dean Chou, one of Zephyrs constituents, says the censure erases his vote. I feel alienated and disenfranchised to have my Representative expelled from debate. Representative Zephyr is my Representative on all issues not just those that directly impact or target transgender Montanans, Chou said in the lawsuit.



The House is still in session until the end of this week, and is focusing on an important part of the state legislative process until then: the state budget. Zephyrs censure means she cannot weigh in on behalf of her 11,000 constituents. As long as Representative Zephyr is denied her rights to debate with her colleagues and speak on the floor, I am deprived of a voice in the Montana House, constituent Sarah Velk said in the lawsuit filing. I know that the legislature, in its final days, will deliberate on issues of great importance to me, including our state budget. By enforcing this action, the Montana House has denied representation and voice to me and all of my fellow constituents in House District 100.

The lawsuit proposes a straightforward fix: legally force Regier to allow Zephyr back into the House to participate in floor debates.

Just heard from the Capitol:

There are mean conservative ladies here occupying all the benches in the hallway to prevent @ZoAndBehold from sitting in the public space. #mtleg #mtpol pic.twitter.com/RzuAMARMNH  Zre M Rodrigues (@pajoritoenojade) May 1, 2023

As the lawsuit progresses, some conservative Montanans have parked themselves on every single public bench in the capitol to prevent Zephyr from doing so. Montana State News bureau chief Holly Michels also said that House Judiciary Chair Rep. Amy Regier (R)sister of the House speakerwas limiting reporters ability to take notes on Monday: no laptops today was specific to press.

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In the days leading up to a May 16 public hearing Amherst County officials will hold on a proposed 50 megawatt solar energy facility, the applicant is placing 15-foot flags on the site to highlight areas where the solar panel arrays would go.

Shawn Hershberger, of Energix US, LLC, the company proposing the project and Piney River Solar, LLC, sent out an announcement about placing the flags as a visual indicator for the planned operation on parcels on more than 100 acres off Virginia 151 near the Nelson County border. The site is at 2508 Patrick Henry Highway, situated west of the highway and south of the Piney River.

The flags would be placed the week of May 1 and ending the week of May 15, according to the announcement.

The panels will be mounted on a racking system elevating them roughly 12 feet off the ground, Hershberger wrote.

The height of the solar panels will not exceed 15 in height at their highest point, per Amherst Countys Utility Scale Solar Ordinance, Hershberger, the projects developer, wrote. This is an opportunity to display the furthest extents of the solar array and create an accurate demonstration of how the natural topography of the land and existing vegetation will help to maintain viewshed. As a reminder, the project will also be screened with supplemental vegetation in areas where viewshed may be impacted.

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors is set to hold the hearing at its 7 p.m. meeting May 16 at the county administration building, 153 Washington St., Amherst, Interim County Administrator Jeremy Bryant said.

The Amherst County Planning Commission in March recommended denial of a special exception permit for Piney River Solar, LLC to operate the solar facility on roughly 170 acres zoned Agricultural Residential (A-1). If approved, the operation would be the countys third commercial solar project given clearance by Amherst County in the past two years and the largest to date.

The projects greater property has a brownfield site associated with the former U.S. Titanium mining operation in Piney River. The parcels being proposed for solar arrays previously were used as a tailing storage area, a byproduct of mining, in connection with the mining operation that spanned several parcels in both Amherst and Nelson counties.

Planning commission members said the decision to deny largely was based on environmental concerns with the sites history and impacts to scenic views along the Virginia 151 corridor. During the public hearing in March, eight residents spoke, including a few from Nelson County, voicing concerns with the projects unknowns and affects on the viewshed.

Piney River Solar representatives have said extensive measures are being taken to shield the solar panels visibility. Hershberger said in presenting the plan to the commission more tax revenue would come into the county through the project and panels would be decommissioned properly when no longer at use at the companys expense.

Hershberger said in the announcement the proposed solar projects team has enjoyed the opportunity to speak to many area residents and appreciates their feedback and time.

We look forward to continuing to build on the relationships weve established amongst our neighbors, he wrote.

For more information on the proposal, visit www.pineyriversolarproject.com.
With the help of federal funding, the Lynchburg Police Department soon will see technology upgrades in several areas, providing officers with top of the line equipment to combat crime in the city.

Last week, Lynchburg City Council voted 6-0 with one absent to approve amending the fiscal year 2023 budget to send $362,047 in federal funding to LPD to purchase new laptops, a drone, a tactical robot, and a throwbot and search stick.

The money, according to Lynchburg Chief of Police Ryan Zuidema, is the second round of funding from the 2023 Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, American Rescue Plan Act, Funding Program. No local match is required, he said.

Specifically, just more than $247,000 will be used to purchase 52 new Panasonic Toughbooks, devices that "allow increased flexibilities for officers to perform required tasks both inside and away from their vehicles," according to the item summary.

The department will be using $40,000 to purchase a new DJI Matrice Drone, according to the item summary, which will assist in the department's emergency response capabilities for events such as a missing person and other critical incidents. It will also allow for more efficient documentation of both crime scenes and crash reconstructions.

Zuidema said this week that this drone will join the department's already existing drone program, as one of the larger drones that they previously didn't have the capability for.

In addition to the drone, the department will be spending about $57,000 on the tactical robot, which will help officers in "critical incidents, high-risk warrant service and operations involving crisis negotiations," according to the item summary. The tactical robot has the ability to maneuver in a variety of environments, and can stream live audio and video.

The final $18,000 will be spent on a "throwbot and search stick," which Zuidema said is a "smaller version" of the tactical robot that can be deployed into confined spaces where officers may not be able to go, such as basement crawl spaces.

Zuidema said the drone, tactical robot and throwbot all "keep us from having to put officers in areas where they don't have to be."

Ward III Councilor Jeff Helgeson thanked Zuidema for finding ways to supplement the department's budget with federal funds, while not having to pull from more local funding.

Before receiving approval, the police chief even teased a demonstration of the tactical robot during a future city council meeting when asked by another councilor, saying, "We can certainly arrange that if that's council's pleasure."
The answer as to how Kay Ford came to have a 40-pound cat camped out in her kitchen pantry began about three years ago when she saw a post on social media about an extremely large cat in Pennsylvania that was up for adoption.

I have to have this fat cat, she recalled saying. I just have to.

Why?

I couldnt tell you, she said. I just remember thinking, I can help this cat.

Distance prevented her from pursuing that adoption, but her fascination with the big cat lived on in family lore.

Which is the background to the text Ford received recently from her daughter, Kelly:

This is your moment.

Attached to the text was a Facebook post from Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC), featuring a photo of a smiling shelter employee, her arms overflowing with an enormous cat. The headline read: Adopt Patches Today!

I always do what Im told, Ford said with a laugh recently while Patches sauntered slowly but surely around the living room of her Mechanicsville home.

The image of Patches and his enormous girth made him a social media sensation. People are naturally drawn to the plight of animals in a bad way, and 6-year-old Patches was in a bad way, carrying around almost triple his normal weight and having been surrendered by his previous owner who could no longer care for him.

As Patches picture was shared around the world and the story of this sweet but corpulent cat went viral, the Richmond animal shelter received emails from as far away as California from people wanting to help.

In the end, Patches went home with Ford, who showed up at the shelter recently, fell in love with the cat and wants to give him a nice, long life.

The cat needs help, I can help and I want to help, said Ford.

Sometimes you have to set aside thinking about the pros and cons of things and just jump into the deep end of the pool, and thats exactly what I did. I just knew I wanted to do this.

Patches showed up at RACC on April 4, weighing a little more than 40 pounds; a Domestic Shorthair, he should weigh no more than 15 pounds, said Robin Young, RACCs outreach coordinator.

There was good news: Blood tests came back normal, not indicating diabetes, thyroid problems or other issues that might have been suspected for a cat so dangerously obese.

Thing was, though, Young said Patches was a slightly picky eater at the shelter, during which he began to lose weight. Ford has found the same thing.

He is not a voracious eater, she said. Hes not scarfing it up.

Shes not concerned about how Patches became this heavy.

There is nothing we can do to change how he got here, she said, but theres a lot we can do from here forward, and thats what I am here for.

Ford has been giving Patches a combination of wet and dry food, but shes not starving him in an attempt to get him to lose weight. The safest approach, she said, is for Patches to lose between a half-pound and a pound per month; this will not be a quick fix, though she is resolved to see it through. Ford said she gained weight during the pandemic that shed like to lose, too, so shell be right there with him.

Ford also is encouraging Patches to walk and play, but in short increments. Hes so big, he can only walk a short distance before having to rest. He requires a wide turning radius simply to change directions.

The idea of exercise is a noble one, but, you know, this is a cat; hell exercise when he wants. But Patches has enjoyed walking around the house at his own pace and lying at the back door, watching the world go by outside. He has shown interest in his toys, as well as his new siblings: Wellesley, a 2-year-old, fellow Domestic Shorthair who, though full-grown, looks like a miniature version of Patches; and Bella, an exceedingly friendly 13-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, who according to Ford, loves all life forms.

Bella bounded out during a visit recently. Curious, Patches waddled out of the pantry, which he seems to have adopted as his safe space. Wellesley stayed hidden, maybe in a closet that Patches eventually wandered over to.

Suddenly the little brother in every sense of the word, Ford said, Wellesley is a bit needy and a big jealous. She has no doubt hell come around.

Theyre all going to be good friends, she said.

As someone who has had cats and dogs her entire life, Ford, a retired business owner, had an inkling of the time and work that will be required to nurture Patches back to health, but what she completely missed until she got Patches home was the social media hoopla surrounding him.

Now that she can see the whole picture, it makes perfect sense to her, but she had been so focused on simply adopting him that she wasnt aware of the outside world.

But with a background in advertising and public relations, it has not taken her long to catch up. She has done interviews with ABCs Good Morning America, NBCs Today, The Washington Post, The New York Post, People and PBS. She said recently that people had reached out to her from Ukraine, Taiwan and a morning show in Australia. On April 24, her phone pinged every few minutes.

She created a Facebook page  Patches Journey  that in less than a week has attracted more than 9,000 followers. She is keeping followers updated on Patches progress through pictures and videos and posts written from Patches perspective.

Ford really hasnt thought through what, if anything, she wants to do with Patches new platform, other than to keep people informed about Patches  she has set up a post office box to receive fan mail that followers on Facebook say they want to send  and to support RACC, where her family has now adopted four animals over the years.

For its part, RACC is sharing links to other available animals in hopes of encouraging more adoptions.

Many shelters are in crisis mode and full, so we hope all the interest in Patches will create more adoptions for animals in need, said RACCs Young.

Next up for Patches: a visit to Wellesley Animal Hospital in Short Pump, where Ford has been taking her pets for years. She plans to carry Patches from the parking lot into the office in a little red wagon.

As Ford sat on the sofa gently stroking Patches, she talked about sensing when she first met him that theres a personality in there waiting to come out once hes more mobile. Ford said she looks forward to the day when Patches will be doing zoomies around the floor.

But Patches, who cant move anywhere quickly, is still a couple of years away from the possibility of any zoomies.

That will be a fun day when that happens, Ford said. Whatever it takes, it will happen. I know it will. Sometimes you just have to have faith that things will just work out.

PHOTOS: Patches, the 40-pound cat from Richmond
HOUSTON  Do you ever get the feeling we are surrounded by fire, yet cant even smell the smoke, much less feel the heat? What should be occurring at the farthest fringes of a moral society has found its way front and center. Most folks look around in disbelief as once polite society descend
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Majority of oil trade routes are now at least five times longer as supplier and buyer dynamics have changed dramatically after the Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, raising the prospect of increased emissions.

Most pre-war oil trade routes that took 5-6 days prior to the Russia-Ukraine war can now take average of 30 days, which is the result of Europes diversification shifted away from Russian suppliers and toward those in West Africa, Latin America, and the United States.

Meanwhile, Russia reoriented 90% of its crude exports away from European markets to the East, most notably to China and India. For the Russian oil, it was a five- or six-day journey, but todays average voyage from West Africa or Latin America to Europe is about 25 days, which is five times longer than it used to be, said Viktor Katona, an analyst from the data and analytics firm Kpler,

Nigeria and Angola have over the past year emerged as largest West African oil suppliers to Europe, filling the void left by the absence of Russian crude. More crude supplies from West African countries are making the longer voyage of approximately 25 days to Europe. While Nigeria became the biggest supplier to Europe among West African countries, Angola increased crude exports the most  from an average of 33,000 barrels a day in February 2022 to over 300,000 barrels per day today.

The Netherlands saw the biggest rise in crude flows from West African countries after the war. These longer shipping routes are likely to raise emissions from shipping, an industry that accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions. The biggest increase in terms of voyage times comes from Russias crude shipping to India. Exports from West African, US and Latin American to Europe also contribute to significantly more emissions.
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is seen on the left in this photo illustration. Yonhap



This is the second in a three-part series of interviews with cryptocurrency experts regarding the extradition of fallen Korean crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon, as the Terraform Labs co-founder is wanted by the U.S. and South Korea, after the firm's cryptocurrency hugely devastated retail investors around the world.  ED.



US expert in forensic crypto probe calls for Seoul-Washington partnership for cryptocurrency regulation



By Kim Yoo-chul



Following the collapse of the once-trusted algorithmic blockchain platform behind the TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister cryptocurrency Luna, which wiped out at least $40 billion from the crypto industry and set off a panic, the co-founder of crypto company Terraform Labs Kwon Do-hyung (aka Do Kwon) is wanted by the authorities in both the United States and South Korea.



Because the crypto fugitive is alleged to have violated Korea's Capital Markets Law, prosecutors here have been attempting to retrieve any illicit gains and unlawful funds linked to Kwon and his top confidants.



So far, the prosecution has located 463 billion won in funds and assets closely tied to Kwon, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. The office assessed Luna tokens as "securities" as they had been used to raise funding for Terra projects.



But the vast majority of Kwon's gains are considered "unrecoverable," as he is believed to have converted them into bitcoins utilizing crypto exchanges. Based on this assessment, the prosecutors' office asked Binance to prohibit and prevent him and his partners from extracting any cash or cash-equivalent assets.



Binance confirmed it was cooperating with Korean prosecutors as requested, and it has two major reasons to do so, according to a global expert in forensic cryptocurrency investigations.





Evan Spicer, director of cryptocurrency investigations at MyChargeBack

"Binance has a massive presence in South Korea. It would really be in their interest to cooperate with South Korean prosecutors in light of two major developments. The first is that South Korea has gone on a crypto regulation frenzy and is undertaking a major crackdown. So if you're somebody with a presence there like Binance, you're going to want to cooperate. The second is that Binance is currently being investigated in the U.S.," Evan Spicer, director of cryptocurrency investigations at the New York-headquartered MyChargeBack, told The Korea Times in a recent interview.



"Binance has really made an effort to move out of the U.S. as much as possible to try and protect itself. So it is not going to want to cross any of its other host countries the wrong way, especially not one that is close to the U.S. like South Korea."



The company, a member of the American Bankers Association, has been working with over 800 banks and financial institutions in the U.S., Europe and Africa on cryptocurrency fraud cases. It has offices in London, Tel Aviv and Pretoria in South Africa.



Regarding the estimated amount of Kwon's assets in the exchange, the director at the analytics company responded it would be in the "billions of dollars" without elaborating further.



"We are talking about what was the industry-leading stablecoin. So, its circulation for facilitating crypto transactions across the globe would have made it one of the top cryptocurrencies in circulation in terms of volume," said Spicer, also a certified crypto blockchain forensics examiner.



Kwon's legal representatives have claimed that a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Terraform Labs and him is "unfounded," insisting that the stablecoin is a currency rather than a security. The SEC claims that Terraform Labs had illegally offered "unregistered securities," while Kwon's lawyers claim even the U.S. Congress has yet to agree on what qualifies as "securities."



A court in Montenegro approved Kwon's continued detention after his indictment by local prosecutors on charges of holding fabricated travel documents he planned to use to fly to Dubai.





Souvenir tokens representing the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and the Ethereum network with its token ether, plunge into water in this May 17, 2022 photo. Reuters-Yonhap



Spicer said he stands by the SEC's position to view cryptocurrencies as securities. In the EU, the European Parliament recently approved the world's first package of rules aimed at regulating the crypto industry. The European Securities and Markets Authority will have the authority to intervene, restrict or even ban crypto platforms if they aren't ready to protect investors.



"Every crypto token fancies itself to be its own special digital currency but that doesn't fit into the definition of traditional finance. The SEC regularly goes after crypto tokens as securities and, frankly, they're right. In essence, crypto token creators are more than willing to promote and accept the benefits of securities to lure in investors and people from outside the crypto world, but when pressed, their ideology will make them angrily say no. They want to have their cake and eat it too," the director explained.



Extradition is bureaucratic process



According to him, Kwon's arrest in Montenegro and prosecution are meant to send a message to the global cryptocurrency industry that nobody is too big and that "everybody has to get their act together."



The collapse of Terra-Luna crashed the entire global crypto industry last year. The resulting "crypto winter" was a direct result of Kwon's actions, and his case has been closely monitored as governments around the world are weighing how to punish cases involving crypto assets and how rapidly to pursue top entrepreneurs behind such digital tokens, Spicer highlighted.



"There are a lot of major players such as Chengpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, who will be closely watching this because he is also in hot water. We previously witnessed the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, which also was the result of a token price crash, FTT. And that was courtesy of Chengpeng Zhao, who had made a competitive move against him by publicly selling $500 million worth of FTT," he said.





The FTX logo is seen in this March 31 photo. Reuters-Yonhap
A first plane loaded with eight tons of aid including surgical equipment landed on Sunday in Sudan where it should allow to treat 1,500 patients in the country where most hospitals are out of order because of the fighting between the two rival generals.

The plane, which also carries humanitarian personnel, took off from Amman and landed in Port-Sudan, a coastal city 850 km east of Khartoum where the fighting is concentrated. Sudanese airspace has been closed since April 15 as fighting started at Khartoum airport.

According to the ICRC, the shipment contains anesthetic products, dressings, suture material and other surgical items.

This equipment will allow us to treat 1,500 wounded people. We now hope to be able to deliver it quickly to the largest hospitals in Khartoum, Patrick Youssef, the ICRCs regional director for Africa, told journalists.

Yet, he warned, in order to deliver the aid we need more security guarantees in Khartoum and Darfur, where most of the fighting, which has left more than 500 people dead in over two weeks, is still going on. In Darfur, the situation is very difficult, he adds, the populations are moving, in normal times we would follow them but in the current situation it is impossible.

For the doctors in Sudan, the main thing is to restore water and electricity and to get the fighters out of some of the facilities. They also need alternative solutions for the 15 bombed hospitals and teams to take over from doctors who in some cases have not stopped working for two weeks.

Since mid-April, 528 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health. However, this figure is still very provisional as the bodies littering the streets are inaccessible and therefore impossible to count.

Besides, tens of thousands were uprooted from their homes.
Japan will finance the construction of Cairos fourth metro line to the tune of $700 million.

The announcement was made Sunday during a visit to Egypt by the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

This Japanese investment is one of the largest packages to support the plan to develop transportation in Egypt.

The fourth phase of the metro will help link Sixth of October City and the archaeological area around the Great Pyramids with the underground train network.

Under the related agreement, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide concessional loans to Egypt for the metro project. Egypt obtained the first tranche of the funding, worth 32.7 billion yen, in 2012; and signed the agreement on the second tranche, worth 41 billion yen, in December, Ahram Online reports. The new line will start operating in February 2028.

Kishida arrived in Egypt on Saturday for a three-day visit as part of his four-nation Africa tour. This is his first visit to the region since assuming office in October 2021.
The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development has granted Tunisia $52 million (KWD16 million) in form of credit facility to be used for road projects.

The financing deal was signed during the 52nd annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the fund, held on the sidelines of the annual joint meetings of Arab financial institutions held in the Moroccan capital Rabat.

The credit will be used to build roads in Beja, Jendouba, le Kef and Nabeul, the Tunisian ministry of Economy said in a statement relayed by Webdo Tunis.

The fund also grants Tunisia around $1 million to be used to acquire medical equipment.

The high-level meetings of Arab financial institutions brought together ministers of finance, economy, and international cooperation from various Arab governments, as well as heads of Arab financial institutions.

The meetings are part of the annual gatherings of Arab financial institutions and organizations, which include the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Monetary Fund, and the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development.
A Moroccan woman died and 25 others were injured, when a bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early on Monday in southern Spain, the emergency services said.

The bus carrying 34 Moroccan farm workers from San Juan del Puerto to Huelva overturned just before sunrise some 50 km from the southwestern Andalusian city of Huelva, the emergency services said.

One woman died and 25 others have been injured, including seven in very serious condition, when a bus carrying seasonal workers overturned, the emergency services said on the regional governments website.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident in an area known for its vast agriculture industry, Andalusia region being Europes top exporter of fruits and vegetables.

In a separate statement, medics with the CES emergency services said 34 workers were travelling on the bus; one of them died in the accident, seven others were seriously hurt and 18 others were slightly injured.

In remarks ahead of May Day marches, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz offered her condolences and deepest sympathy to the workers caught up in this very serious accident.

Spain traditionally relies on thousands of seasonal workers from abroad to pick fruits, with the Huelva province producing around 90 percent of the European strawberry harvest at this time of year.
Last week was, without a doubt, the most difficult week that I have spent in the Legislature. As many of you know, we ended the week by considering LB 626, the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, on its second round of debate. The bill would have prohibited abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected except for cases of rape, incest and health of the mother. Unfortunately, when the motion was made for cloture in order to cease debate, we fell one vote short. Sen. Merv Riepe co-sponsored the bill and had voted in favor of the bill previously, but chose to be present not voting. Sen. Riepe proposed an amendment moving the timeline from approximately six weeks (heartbeat) to 12 weeks, but without his cloture vote, we never had the chance to vote on the amendment.

Nebraskas current law bans all abortions at 20 weeks except for the life of the mother. Today, approximately 2,000 unborn babies are aborted in Nebraska annually, and 85% of these abortions occur after six weeks and almost all prior to 12 weeks. The most common reason for abortion in Nebraska is failed contraception. With all the remedies available today, I firmly believe that six weeks is the right time for an abortion restriction. In the end, it is about taking personal responsibility. I am confident the Legislature will revisit this issue.

In other action this past week, the Legislature moved LB 92 (the banking omnibus bill) to Final Reading, along with LB 191, which is the Business and Labor Committee priority bill. The committee amendment to LB 191 incorporated LB 249, a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Briese and prioritized by Sen. Teresa Ibach. LB 249 allows nonprofit development organizations to apply for multiple rural workforce housing grants but caps the amount awarded to any nonprofit to $5 million over a two-year period. This should provide more money for workforce housing and be an important component in solving our rural housing shortage.

The Appropriations Committee will send its proposed state budget bills to the floor on Tuesday. The budget holds increased spending to 2.3% over the next two fiscal years. The primary distinctions between the governors budget proposal and the Appropriations Committee package relate to health care and university funding. An additional $80 million in the Appropriations Committee budget will go to increased provider rates for Medicaid services, which will be particularly helpful for rural health care providers. The committee also increased the state contribution to the University of Nebraska system from 2% to 2.5% over the biennium. There are also several big-ticket items included in the biennium budget, such as construction funding for a new prison ($366 million) and the Perkins County Canal ($574 million).

It is anticipated that the Appropriations Committee budget plan would leave $703 million for tax cuts and other uses. In their current form, the income and property tax relief packages total about $807 million over the next two years. The Legislature will need to consider reducing spending or revising the tax relief packages to balance the states budget. My prediction is that adjustments will be made to the income tax package. The budget is already very conservative and property tax reduction is a priority of many senators  urban and rural. I am hopeful that the income tax cuts will simply be delayed and that the income tax rebate that refunds taxpayers for property taxes paid will continue. Property tax relief is clearly my highest priority!

The Legislature should begin to debate the budget on Wednesday and must pass the budget by Day 80 (May 18). On Tuesday, the Legislature will take up the Education Committees omnibus bill, which includes approximately 18 bills, on General File. Well also consider LB 683, Sen. Myron Dorns priority bill to increase access to E-15 fuel, on Select File. Finally, there are also a series of appropriations bills and a telecommunications bill on the agenda.

I am optimistic that the debate this week will be much more substantive than we have seen in some past weeks. I look forward to getting some work done for the state as we dive into the budget and can start to finalize our tax relief packages.

Please continue to submit public comments on individual bills at nebraskalegislature.gov, or feel free to reach out to me directly at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. My door is always open!
13 items in this article 1 item on sale! Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers

While working on Showing Up, director Kelly Reichardts new film starring Michelle Williams, costume designer April Napier would often FaceTime Reichardt, who was on location in Portland, Oregon, where the film is set, from flea markets in Los Angeles. Wed try on some great olive-colored, drab, surplus Army Navy pants, and shed say, Too cool! Napier recalls. We would try on Dickies: Too cool! We would try on blue, French, old workwear thats all fucked up: Too cool!!!

It was important to Reichardt that the characters in her film looked like real people, specifically the real-life artists she knew  as opposed to quote-unquote artists conjured up for the screen. Lizzy (Michelle Williams) is a grumpy, frumpy, white-Crocs-wearing sculptor working out of her garage; Jo (Hong Chau) is her slightly more successful artistic rival and landlord in slightly more expensive overalls; and Eric (Andre 3000) is the slick kiln master at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, where all three of them work or hang out  partly because they cant seem to flee the comforts of the coop.

For reference, Reichardt turned to Black Mountain College, a private liberal-arts school founded in North Carolina in 1933 with alumni including Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cunningham, Cy Twombly, and Buckminster Fuller. Lizzys visual reference point, specifically, was the lesser-known sculptor Lee Bontecou, who sported a similarly blunt bob haircut, and for Eric, it was the ceramicist Doyle Lane. It was Napiers job to not only ground these characters in reality but also situate them in the present, hence the Crocs. The results are subtle and nuanced, which, of course, only makes them all the more cool.

Below, we tracked down where each character gets their so-not-cool-its-cool wardrobe.

Lizzy

White Crocs

Crocs $50 now 40% off $30 It was important for Kelly that the artists all look contemporary, which is why I had the idea of putting Crocs in there, Napier says. Even if Lizzy is wearing weird wrap skirts, oversize mens shirts, and vintage clothes, those Crocs really ground us. Napier herself also happens to own white Crocs. Ive been wearing them for years  since pre-pandemic days  and they worked perfectly with Lizzys neutral palette, she continues. Kelly also didnt want a lot of patterns in the film so that the costumes didnt compete with the work that was going on. Lizzy was definitely more somber, neutral, internal, comfortable. $30 at Amazon Buy $30 at Amazon Buy

Boat-neck blouse

Natural Slub Silk Neutral Cream Color Tunic Shirt $23 $23 Napier found an oversize blouse from an 80s and 90s brand called Sostanza while perusing the racks at a vintage shop one day. Heres one for sale on Poshmark. $23 at Poshmark Buy

Wrap skirt

Womens Solid A-line Skirt Below the Knee $44 $44 In an effort not to make Lizzy seem too cool, Napier found two modest cotton wrap skirts for her from some random thrift store, one of which she believes was from L.L.Bean. Hitting just below the knee, they objectively have nothing cool or sexy about them, but paired with a cropped sweater and Lizzys blunt bob, they still offer an appealing silhouette. $44 at Lands' End Buy

Socks

Adults Merino Wool Ragg Socks $40 $40 One big, existential question that came up during filming was: Does Lizzy sleep in socks? Napier said Yes, obviously, but others on set were horrified at the thought. In the end, Lizzy wears socks to bed (and with her Crocs) because honestly, no one wants to see feet in a film, I dont think, says Napier. (Debatable.) The ones Lizzy wears are thick and textured with an oatmeal tone. $40 at L.L. Bean Buy

Minnetonka slippers





Pajamas

Jo

Jo has it a little more together, says Napier. Shes a little bit more successful and a little bit more stylish. Youre not going to see her in Rachel Comey, but she wears brands like Caron Callahan and Haight, which offer pricier, more stylized versions of the kinds of clothes Lizzy wears.

Yellow Bandanna

Yellow Bandana $22 $22 When we first meet Jo, shes wearing head-to-toe blue and a yellow bandanna. We use blue a lot as a touchstone for her because its a very working color and its also a very Portland kind of color, Napier explains. $22 at Etsy Buy

Blue sweatshirt

Blue Jumpsuit

Dottir Este Jumpsuit $48 $48 One of Jos blue jumpsuits was borrowed from someone in the art department at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, where the movie was filmed. Another, by the brand Dottir, was borrowed from an assistant cameraperson. $48 at Dottir Buy

Dresses

Bag

Eric

Shirt

Total Luxury Spa $80 $80 Andre 3000s character, Eric, wears a lot of vintage as well. But in order to root him in the present, Napier reached out to brands like Online Ceramics, Brain Dead, Sci-Fi Fantasy, and Bode as well. Ultimately, he wears a groovy graphic shirt by Total Luxury Spa. $80 at Total Luxury Spa Buy

Sandals

Tevas Original $55 Unlike Lizzy, he prefers Tevas to Crocs. Napier says she also put him in Dansko clogs, but they didnt make it into the film. $55 at Teva Buy

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China opens first space-science popularization exhibition

Xinhua) 10:41, May 01, 2023

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- A science popularization exhibition on China's crewed space program and applications has been opened to the public for free at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing.

It is the country's first science popularization exhibition on the theme of space science and applications. The exhibition area is about 2,000 square meters, including five sections, more than 10 theme scenes and more than 30 exhibition items.

On display to the public for the first time are the original scientific experiment cabinet and Arabidopsis plants grown from seeds that were brought back from the space station.

Through immersive, digital and other technologies, the exhibition provides interactive and immersive experiences, such as "Shenzhou Spacecraft" and "Moon Homeland."

The exhibition is sponsored by the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Science and Technology Museum. It is open to the public free of charge from April 29 to June 15.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
gettyimagesbank



By Lee Kyung-min



Korea's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $32,237 (43.22 million won) in 2022 fell short of Taiwan's $32,811, for the first in 18 years, in what market watchers say was a consequence brought on by a lack of long-term policy assistance to foster semiconductors and broaden manufacturing industries.



Propelling Taiwan's outperformance was years of its industrial competitive edge fortified by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a global logic chip powerhouse based out of the island nation, in line with and ahead of rapidly growing digitization demand from around the globe.



Also favorable for Taiwan was the sharper-than-expected depreciation of Korea's currency, an indication of overall weaker fundamentals to withstand external uncertainties, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rapid monetary tightening of the U.S. over the past few months.



Observers say Korea's Samsung Electronics, the top competitor of TSMC, will no longer be able to sustain the once-thriving memory chip boom, in a dramatic restructuring of global value chains and the U.S.-China hegemony war, unless buttressed by immediate policy measures to bolster the growth driver industry which accounts for about a fifth of the country's total exports.



Taiwan registered a trade surplus of $51.4 billion last year, whereas Korea logged a trade deficit of $47.8 billion due to COVID-19 quarantine measures in China, its largest export destination, compounded further by a spike in energy prices.



Figures



Data from Central News Agency, a news organization in Taiwan, showed that the country's per capita GDP in 2022 amounted to $32,811, higher than Korea's $32,237.



Taiwan was able to register an annual average growth of 3.2 percent over the past 10 years, faster than Korea's 2.6 percent in the same period, as underpinned by stronger competitiveness in the semiconductor industry.



Most pronounced was the widening gap between the two in the growth of manufacturing.



Added value created by manufacturing came to 34.2 percent of Taiwan's total GDP last year, up 5.1 percentage points from 29.1 percent in 2013.



The figures for Korea slumped to 25.6 percent, down by over 2.2 percentage points from 27.8 percent in the same period.



Taiwan's manufacturing was powered by the annual growth of electronics and precision equipment combined averaging 8.7 percent from 2013 to 2021, far faster than its overall manufacturing industry's growth of 5.5 percent in the same period.



The rapid growth is also explained by the two leading sectors' combined share of 54.8 percent in the country's manufacturing in 2021, up 9.4 percentage points from 2013.



Also anchoring Taiwan's growth was committed government investment, as illustrated by annual growth of 5.7 percent in fixed investment from 2013 to 2022, far greater than Korea's 2.8 percent in the same period.



The long-term investments led to Taiwan's exports registering an annual growth of 4.6 percent from 2013 to 2022, the news organization said. The figure is not only higher than Korea's 2.2 percent in the same period, but also the global average of 3 percent.



Lee In-ho, former president of the Korean Economic Association, said the government should outline a growth strategy for local chipmakers as soon as possible.



"The government should invest in the semiconductor industry and make research and development commitments," he said. "The later the measures, the bigger the consequences for Korea's neglect in competition review over the past few decades, as left unmonitored due to Korea's lead in the IT boom in the early 2000s and the rise of China as a new manufacturing powerhouse thereafter."


Glenn Howerton and Zachary Levi were the other final choices for Quill



Small mercies.

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After Gunn got fired Dave Bautista offered to fuck shit up, Zoe Saldana

and Karen Gillan visted him at home and cooked for him, and Chris Pratt

was texting supportive bible verses



oh ffs. I think his tweets were in poor taste but that disney did their due diligence and didn't care until the right found them and they weren't recent, but I understand people's distaste of him.



Edited at 2023-05-01 01:11 am (UTC)

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also s/o to Diesel and Cooper for apparently not doing shit lmao Rocket is my fave for a reason!

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You know theyre just there for the paycheque and the added box office numbers 

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other than karen and pom this creative team is just various degrees of fucking awful and i'm so glad this franchise is ending

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Gunn thinks the "Quill hits Thanos" scene is dumb.



Well, on that we agree. So, so stupid

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The article also notes that unlike other Marvel directors Gunn starts

filming with a done script (they don't all do that?), keeps the budget

down, finishes on time and only had 2 days of reshoots



tbh outside of the BP original movie, the GOTG ones are the best MCU films. I can admit that.

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"filming with a done script (they don't all do that?)"



How very Star Wars of them....have they learned nothing?!

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Pom looks great in that pic!!



"Disney did not like Karen Gillan's real accent and only hired her after Gunn helped her come up with the Nebula one she uses now"



Glad Gunn stuck to his guns (badum tsshh) because I love her Nebula!! I never gotten too much into GOTG but I do love the Gamora/Nebula stuff and Mantis too!



I need to finish watching the 2nd one.

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Right? "Clint Eastwood and Marilyn Monroe" is the perfect description and she nails it.

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They all sound very unprofessional

I wouldn't proudly admit to what they did and it's no surprise Cooper didn't run with it

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I find the Guardian of the Galaxy films meddling and afraid of handing genuine emotion, but I'm glad James seems to be a decent boss and stands by his employees.

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I think it's one of the reasons why it is successful. It never goes as far as it should and always overuses bathos to hide its constant emotional manipulation.



All the so-called emotional moments in the first one left me cold, and the dance-off scene made me never want to watch the sequel or another MCU movie until Multiverse of Madness*.



(* I did watch half of Age of Ultron on a plane, though.)

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Lol, Multiverse of Madness and Age of Ultron are terrible though

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nty

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Werent his old tweets dug up by MAGA idiots who were trying to get him fired? His tweets were stupid, but Im pretty sure he had apologized for them before that all happened (could be misremembering tho!)

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him getting fired was dumb and complete waste of time. It was performative af, especially given other people disney has worked with in the past and future that have done worse.



He played it smart by not being combative and let his cast speak for him.

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Question: Why does everyone pretend that his Suicide Squad film was good?



I don't care that he was fired and honestly he deserved it. Disney should've vetted him better before hiring him. But moderately talented white men will always prevail no matter what.

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i'm not pretending. The Gunn SuicideSquad was great. And it led to the even greater Peacemaker series.



He saved that franchise. The first one was an awful, disjointed mess.

And i love how it serves as both a reboot and sequel, as it doesn't ignore the previous movie, but does the bare minimum to transition the remaining characters over.

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His suicide squad was boring and a giant waste of everyone's time.

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I wanna know toi, cause it was complete garbage

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Why would anyone waste time pretending to like a film they didn't lmao. People either liked it or they didn't and some people like things you don't, that's all.

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Glenn Howerton





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So which arc of Farscape was GotG 3 pulled from, James Gunn?

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The Unrealized Realities arc, with the dash of PK Wars, IMO.

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James Gunn is so obvious with his love of Farscape LMAO (well, he has admitted it way more than once). I wonder if this one will have any cameos.

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honestly given than the GoTG movies are easily my least favorite this is all very Kim theres people that are dying to me lmaoooo

he didnt establish some great comeback, he wasnt blackballed, and theres something that strikes me as odd from everyone in this casts reaction to it  calling him during filming other things? give me a break

idk maybe Im in a bad mood but this all feels insufferable and over the top

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It seems super-weird, co-dependent, cultish.

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Its giving Joss Whedon.

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Edited at 2023-05-01 03:19 am (UTC) Some of the tweets in question. He posted those when he was in his 40s.

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he just rubs me as a fuckin loser. like who tweets shit like this.

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The same guy who makes other incels vote on the "The 50 Superheroes [They] Most Want to Have Sex With," just so he could come up with these little write-ups:

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it's such juvenile edge lord humour

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Men who are homophobes and misogynists, tbh

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But they're just jokes and he apologies /s

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Jesus, I thought it was one or two tweets...



Definitely a man I wouldn't want to be left alone with.

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Im quite surprised at people being all he already apologised, when others wouldnt get comments like that.

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Honestly, this isn't joking, this is straight up homophobia and misogyny. And considering he likes to inject his misogyny into his movies...

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why would anyone defend him from these...... What a fucking creep, he only got protected/tallied behind BC he's white.



I loved Peacemaker, but didn't he steal the idea from someone.....

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AIHce EXP 2023: New Location, Same Great Show

Located for the first time in Phoenix, this years May 22-24 AIHce EXP Conference and Exposition from AIHA will serve up a solid slate of educational sessions and opportunities to meet with vendors.

Since 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has hosted its AIHce EXP Conference and Exposition (www.aihceexp.org) in a variety of cities around the United States, but this year marks the first time the event has come to Arizonas Urban Heart of Phoenix. While the location might be different, attendees can expect to enjoy the same great educational offerings, special events and expo hall they have come to expect from the long-running event.

Conference & Expo

AIHce EXP 2023 will run from May 22 to May 24 at the Phoenix Convention Center, with professional development courses (PDCs) bookending the main conference on May 20, 21 and 25. Conference sessions run 10 a.m. to 4:25 p.m. MT on May 22, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT on May 23, and 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. MT on May 24. There are a wide variety of conference tracks and sessions held during the event, presented by a variety of experts. Additionally, the AIHA Educational Transcript provides proof of live participation in AIHce EXP and PDCs. For the main conference, each in-person attendee will have a transcript update indicating their verified participation for up to 18 contact hours. Virtual offerings for both conference sessions and PDCs are available.

The show also developed some special education tracks: an Academic Track for IH/OH students and young professionals; a Climate Change Hazards and Risks Track to bring attention to climate change hazards and risks; a Laboratory Health and Safety Track for laboratory personnel and persons interested in improving their knowledge of sampling and laboratory testing and analysis; and a Total Worker Health Track to promote Total Worker Health practices in and out of the workplace.

Also, 30-minute Research Roundups run May 22-24 to help attendees pack in additional education in a shorter time allotment, and a May 22 Sunset Session lets attendees follow an expert discussion in a more relaxed, interactive format. This years theme is The Fellows SIG Debate - Is a Science or Engineering Degree Better for Becoming a CIH?

When it comes to the AIHce EXP expo hall, there are nearly 170 companies exhibiting at the show, showcasing a wide range of products and services. The expo hall is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. MT on May 22, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. MT on May 23, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. MT on May 24.

Besides meeting with vendors, there are some other attractions on the show floor, starting with the annual Monday Night Networking Reception, which lets attendees start the night with some hors doeuvres, a free drink, and a great venue for networking. Attendees can also play the Pathway Passport challenge using the AIHce EXP mobile app, which lets them win prizes by visiting companies participating in the challenge. Other expo features include food and beverage areas and collaboration areas where attendees and rest and share ideas with peers.

This article originally appeared in the April/May 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
Wondering if your facility may have combustible dust? In some cases, less than 1/4 inch layer of dust can explode or ignite. Here's a demonstration of how to collect and ship a sample to a lab for testing. Every plant, in industries including food, pharmaceutical, wood, agricultural, cosmetic, petrochem, plastics, manufacturing, and more, can be at risk. Testing is inexpensive and can help to determine which collection units are best suited to your plant. Contact us with any questions at [email protected] or 630-323-8750. more

A potential combustible dust hazard sample arrives at Fauske & Associates, LLC lab and we are ready to start the testing process. We cover how the sample arrives, focusing on examples of material sent to us that we are unable to test or sample that was shipped in a way that damaged the sample in transit. We also show the sample that has arrived in an appropriate form of packaging that ensured the safe transit of the material. Once we have received the material, it is time to prep the material for testing according to the clients request per standards such as NFPA 652. We wrap up by showing the Explosibility Screening or Go/No Go test in the Modified Hartmann Tube and the Combustibility Screening Test of another material. www.fauske.com, 1-630-323-8750, 1-877-FAUSKE1 more
In 2019, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System, which highlights the importance of nuclear power in decarbonizing the worlds energy sector. The paper notes: For advanced economies, nuclear has been the biggest low-carbon source of electricity for more than 30 years, and it has played an important role in the security of energy supplies in several countries. But it now faces an uncertain future as ageing plants begin to shut down in advanced economies, partly because of policies to phase them out but also under pressure from market conditions and regulatory barriers.

Despite the importance of nuclear power as a low-carbon source of electricity, some countries have been phasing it out, citing risks such as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

To be clear, nuclear power will face headwinds as long as the public perceives that such risks still exist. Thats why it is important to highlight technology developments that can eliminate fears of the major nuclear disasters we have seen in the past.

Nuclear Technology Continues to Advance

The first generation of nuclear power plants were built in the 1950s and 1960s and were based on light water reactor technology. These reactors use water as a coolant and neutron moderator, and require enriched uranium as fuel.

Second-generation reactors, which were developed in the 1970s and 1980s, improved on the design of first-generation reactors but still use water as a coolant and require enriched uranium fuel.

Third-generation reactors, which began to be deployed in the 1990s and 2000s, incorporate passive safety features and other design improvements, but still use water as a coolant.

Fourth-generation nuclear power refers to a new class of advanced nuclear reactors that are designed to be safer, more efficient, and more sustainable than previous generations of nuclear power plants. These reactors incorporate advanced materials, designs, and cooling systems, and are intended to be more economical, flexible, and scalable than current nuclear technology.

Related: World's Largest LNG Buyer Concerned About Another Price Spike



Compared to earlier generations of nuclear power plants, fourth-generation reactors have several advantages.

First, they are much safer, with inherent safety features that prevent the release of radioactive materials in the event of an accident or malfunction. Second, they are more efficient, with higher conversion rates of nuclear fuel to electricity. Third, they are more sustainable, with lower waste production and the ability to use nuclear waste as fuel. Finally, they are more flexible and scalable, with the potential to be used in a variety of applications and settings, including remote locations and microgrids.

Terrestrial Energy Clears Important Milestone

Terrestrial Energy is a Canadian-based company working on fourth-generation nuclear technology. The companys Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) is a Generation IV nuclear reactor that uses molten salt as a coolant and fuel carrier.

Molten salt reactors offer a number of advantages over traditional nuclear reactors, including the ability to operate at higher temperatures, which makes them more efficient and flexible; the ability to use a variety of fuel types, including thorium; and the potential for passive safety features that could make them less vulnerable to accidents.

Last week Terrestrial Energy announced that it has achieved a major regulatory milestone with the completion of Phase 2 of the pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR) for its IMSR power plant. The VDR is a comprehensive review of the IMSR design conducted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), and its completion is a significant step forward in the commercial development of the IMSR.

The CNSCs VDR of the IMSR design was a comprehensive review that covered all aspects of the reactor, including safety, security, and environmental impact. The CNSC concluded that the IMSR design met all applicable regulatory requirements, and that it could be safely and securely operated in Canada.

The completion of the VDR provides commercial confidence to proceed with licensing and construction of IMSR plants, and it opens the door to the deployment of this innovative nuclear technology to help decarbonize the global economy.

The completion of the CNSCs VDR is a major breakthrough for the IMSR program, said Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy. This review is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and it provides a clear path forward for the commercial development of the IMSR.

The IMSR is a cost-competitive, zero-carbon energy source that is well-suited for a variety of applications, including power generation, industrial process heat, and desalination. The IMSR is also a scalable technology that can be deployed in a variety of sizes to meet the needs of different markets.

ADVERTISEMENT

The completion of the VDR is a major step forward for the IMSR program and for the global effort to decarbonize the economy. The IMSR is a clean, safe, and efficient nuclear technology that has the potential to play a significant role in meeting the worlds growing energy needs without emitting greenhouse gases.

With this regulatory milestone achieved, Terrestrial Energy is now well-positioned to move forward with the commercialization of its IMSR technology. The company plans to build its first commercial-scale reactor in Canada, with additional projects planned for the United States and elsewhere.

In conclusion, the IMSR has the potential to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective power, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the growing demand for energy around the world. The completion of Terrestrial Energys VDR is a major step forward for the IMSR program and for the global effort to decarbonize the economy, making it an exciting development for the nuclear industry and the future of clean energy.

By Robert Rapier

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Over the last decade, banks have had a very hot and cold relationship with divesting from coal. As calls to defund the worlds dirtiest fossil fuel have ramped up, big banks have increasingly agreed to sever ties with coal enterprises  but they havent always kept those promises. Part of the reason that divesting from coal has been such a wishy-washy component of the global road to decarbonization is that there has been a lack of empirical studies proving the efficacy of this approach. But now, thanks to a new study by the Harvard Business School, there is. A recently released report by Harvard Business School professors Boris Vallee and Daniel Green measures the effects of banks coal divestment policies to answer the rather hyperbolic but no less important question: Can Finance Save the World? And the answer seems to be, to an impressive degree, yes. Yes, it can. In fact, financial firms divesting from coal as a climate strategy works even better than previously thought.

What we found in this case is that banks divesting from coal directly leads to real impactmore than anyone thought, Vallee was recently quoted in an article from Harvard Business School. This means that the financial effects translate into environmental effects. By reducing capital expenditures, facilities are decommissioned, and CO2 emissions ultimately fall, as any alternative source of energy is less carbon-intensive.

Related: World's Largest LNG Buyer Concerned About Another Price Spike

The study found that if an existing source of funding is cut off for a coal enterprise, it will have an extremely difficult time securing a new line of funding. In fact, there are relatively few banks supporting the vast majority of coal exploration and production, which means that while these banks have a greater degree of sway in the sector, taking just one bank out of the picture can have a large and direct impact on keeping it in the ground.

This finding is based on more than a decades worth of data, collected by the nonprofit group Reclaim Finance between 2009 and 2021, paired with analysis of coal company financing transactions and financial statements, and the operating status of coal mines and coal-fired power plants.

The hope is that the gravity of this strong finding, and its basis in sound empirical evidence from an institution as highly regarded as the Harvard Business School, will not only help further the cause of divestment, but also serve as a basis for strong policy and accountability mechanisms to hold banks responsible for making good on their pledges. This will be a crucial development for the global decarbonization movement, because up until now big banks track records with defunding coal has been spotty, to say the least.

Last year, CNN reported that the industry was characterized by a general culture of greenwashing, as shown by a massive disconnect between the green rhetoric of the largest financial institutions, their climate commitments and net zero pledges, and their actual financing practices when it comes to new fossil fuel development. At the time of that report, in April of 2022, coal power generation was at an all time high worldwide. And since then, consumption has only grown. Just this week, China approved a surge in coal production despite its own ambitious climate targets.

Seeing the relative value of getting serious about financial limits on coal as compared to the economic trade-offs of strong-arming coal companies into downsizing, closing, or pivoting, could be essential for creating more meaningful banking policy. So far, as CNN reports, squishy policy has been one of the biggest hurdles to meaningfully phasing down and phasing out coal. Bank policies around coal funding typically have loopholes that allow financing to continue through multiple channels, the report stated. Banks can restrict financing for specific projects involving coal but wont rule out general purpose loans or deals for a whole company.

As the world continues to get more serious about the green energy transition and the evidence piles up in favor of phasing out coal completely, the hope is that coal bans, too, will become more serious. As weve seen from recent COP squabbles over language concerning the future of coal, the minutiae of policy matters. Its time to graduate from toothless campaigns filled with finance loopholes to creating strong mechanisms which are serious about ending coal funding. As the new Harvard study shows, its not just a pipe dream. It can  and will  work.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

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A new report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has found that European countries that banned Russian oil imports are instead importing huge amounts of oil commodities from India, China, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Turkey, therefore qualifying them as laundromats.

The report, titled Laundromat: How the price cap coalition whitewashes Russian oil in third countries, reveals that western countries bought $42 billion worth of laundered Russian crude in the form of various oil products from nations that are friendly towards Russia, with India leading the five other countries. For instance, Indias diesel exports tripled to ~1,600,000 barrels per day in March 2023, compared to a year ago, making diesel one of the largest components of India-EU trade.

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, said the report.

According to the CREA report, most oil products were exported from two ports in Gujarat, alleging that this could constitute circumventing sanctions imposed unilaterally by the U.S. and Europe. India has particularly been offering a back-door for imports of Russian oil into Britain, blunting the countrys efforts to restrict funding for the Kremlin. Some British buyers have effectively replaced imports directly from Russia with imports from Russian-fed refineries, thereby indirectly supporting the Russian oil industry.

Although such a supply chain is actually legal under UK rules, still it cannot be overlooked because this is another covert way to fund Putins war. Before the war began nearly a year ago, it was pretty rare for Indian refiners to process Russian crude. The refiners have always exported to Europe, but they are now exporting even more because its more attractive as Europes diesel prices are higher and also buying more Russian crude because Russia is offering heavy discounts.

Indeed, Oleg Ustenko, adviser to Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky, says these companies are exploiting weaknesses in the sanctions regime.

The UK must close the loopholes that undermine support for Ukraine by allowing bloody fossil fuels to continue flowing across our borders. About one in five barrels of the crude oil that they process is Russian. A big chunk of that diesel they produce now will be based on Russian crude oil, he has said.

Kpler data has revealed that the Jamnagar refinery on Indias west coast imported 215 shipments of crude oil and fuel oil from Russia during 2022, 4 times as much as it bought in the previous year. Meanwhile, the UK has imported a total of 10m barrels of diesel and other refined products from Jamnagar since the war began, 2.5 times what it bought during 2021 with Trafigura, Shell Plc (NYSE: SHEL), BP Plc (NYSE: BP), PetroChina Co. (OTCPK: PCYYF) and Indian multinational conglomerate Essar Group the key buyers.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Aramco has unseated Microsoft from the place of the worlds second-largest company in terms of market value, boasting $2.11 trillion in value, second only to Apple.

The change in ranking occurred last month after Aramcos shares rose on the news that the kingdoms Crown Prince will transfer 4% of the state oil company to an entity owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Middle East Monitor reported.

The transfer was made to strengthen the sovereign wealth funds financial position and its credit rating, an official statement by prince Mohammed bin Salman said in mid-April.

"This is a private transfer between the state and Sanabil, and the company is not a party to the transfer and did not enter into any agreements or pay or receive any proceeds from the transfer," Aramco said in a stock exchange filing cited by the Associated Press.

Aramco reported a net profit of $161.1 billion for 2022, up from $110 billion a year earlier and a record net earnings result for the company, which joins every other big oil producer in the world to benefit from higher oil prices.

That figure also made Aramco the worlds most profitable company last year, ahead of Apple and the rest of Big Tech. The 2022 profit figure was, in fact, higher than the profits of Apple, Exxon, and Microsoft combined, Middle East Monitor noted.

The oil company also boasted a record cash flow from operating activities, at $186.2 billion, and a record free cash flow, at $148.5 billion.

In comments on the companys results, chief executive Amin Nasser noted that he expected oil and gas demand across the world to remain robust, fueling the future growth of the company. He also cautioned, however, that global underinvestment in new production threatened the security of supply.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Due to the geopolitical isolation of Russia and Iran, the role of Qatar, Turkmenistan, and the United States in producing natural gas will be increasingly important in years to come.

Unfortunately for the West, the two countries with the largest reserves of natural gas are Iran and Russia.

The importance of natural gas for global energy markets has become increasingly clear in the last year, and those countries with large reserves stand to benefit.

Natural gas has been hailed as the bridge between a fossil fuel past and a low-carbon future. It has also been demonized as a Trojan horse for the fossil fuel industry to continue to be relevant in that low-carbon future envisioned by the architects of the transition.

Over the past year, events in Europe made it quite clear that envisioning a future may be a noble thing but energy needs are immediate, and gas is perfect for meeting them with a lower emission footprint than fellow fossil fuels oil and coal.

It is a bit unfortunate for Western gas consumers, then, that the countries with the biggest gas reserves in the world happen to be Russia and Iran. Fortunately, the United States is also on the list of the top 5 biggest gas reserve holders, as are several Middle Eastern countries.

#1 Russia

Russia has natural gas reserves of as much as 38 trillion cubic meters, according to the 2020 edition of BPs Statistical Review of World Energy. Production last year totaled 573 billion cubic meters, down by 13.4% on the year.

Historically, Europe and Turkey were Russias biggest gas buyers, but after last years events, Turkey has remained the only big consumer of Russian gas with any footprint in Europe. Today, China is the main destination for Russian pipeline gas. Russia also exports LNG, and, in an ironic twist, European imports of Russian LNG rose strongly last year.

#2 Iran

The worlds second-largest natural gas reserves also happen to be in a country that doesnt see eye to eye with the West, which is one of the biggest consumers of gas. With 32 trillion cubic meters, Iran is home to 16% of the global total.

A lot of Irans gas reserves are concentrated in the South Pars offshore field in the Persian Gulf, which it shares with Qatar. Total production for 2020 reached 234 billion cubic meters or a daily average of 645 million cubic meters.

Development of the countrys massive gas reserves has been challenging because of the pullout of Western supermajors such as TotalEnergies in the wake of the reinstated U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

#3 Qatar

Irans neighbor Qatar, which calls its part of the massive Persian Gulf field the North Field, is a notch below Iran in terms of gas reserves, with 24.7 trillion cubic meters. Until recently, the largest LNG exporter in the world, Qatar, was expanding its production capacity, aiming for 126 million tons annually from the current 77 million tons.

Qatar was a first choice for European gas buyers in the wake of the anti-Russian sanctions that saw gas flows decimated, but it turned out sealing a deal would be tougher than expected: Qatar turned out to like long-term purchase commitments, and Europe has an aversion to those.

#4 Turkmenistan

Little known outside Central Asia but one of the biggest states there, Turkmenistan is home to the worlds fourth-largest natural gas reserves, with a total of some 19.5 trillion cubic meters, according to BPs statistical review.

Production is low, however, at just some 59 billion cubic meters in 2020, most of which was exported to China because domestic consumption is also relatively low. The country also exports gas to its Central Asian neighbors.

#5 United States

As with crude oil, the largest producers of gas are not necessarily the countries with the largest reserves. The U.S. has become the worlds top gas producer and LNG exporter, but it only ranks fifth in terms of reserves.

At the end of 2020, these stood at 13.179 trillion cubic meters, according to the CIAs World Factbook, or 625.4 trillion cubic feet at the end of 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Thanks to the abundance of shale gas, the United States has become a major LNG world power in a matter of years. It could cement its place as the number-one exporter within the next decade if all planned projects come online, for a total annual capacity of 169 million tons by 2027.

The rest of the top 10 countries with substantial gas reserves is dominated overwhelmingly by OPEC members. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nigeria, and Venezuela all boast abundant gas reserves, as does China, at number 10.

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Saudi Arabia comes in at number 6 with 8.5 trillion cubic meters in natural gas reserves, which it only recently decided to develop more seriously in response to growing global demand.

The OPEC de facto leader is followed by its Gulf neighbor the UAE, which OPEC estimates has some 8.2 trillion cubic meters in natural gas reserves. The countrys state oil and gas company recently spun off its gas business, which turned into the biggest IPO for the year, fetching ADNOC $2.5 billion.

Nigeria is next on the top-ten list, with natural gas reserves of 5.85 trillion cubic meters. This makes it the country with the largest proven natural gas reserves in Africa, but utilizing these reserves has lagged behind the utilization of its oil reserves.

Venezuela is also among the worlds top natural gas reserve holders, with 5.54 trillion cubic meters in proven reserves. The exploitation of those reserves, however, is mismatched with the volume of gas it is sitting on, especially since 2019 when the U.S. slammed Caracas with sanctions specifically targeting its oil and gas industry.

The last entry on the top-ten list of gas reserve holders may be a bit surprising. It is China, the worlds largest energy importer and one of the largest consumers. The country, which imports massive amounts of oil and gas, has substantial reserves of its own, but it has been challenging to tap them in volumes large enough to satisfy its fast-growing demand.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB) attend the Governors' Business Session at the bank's 55th annual meeting held in Manila, the Philippines, in this 2022 September photo. Courtesy of ADB



Meeting set to attract 5,000 participants including Asian finance leaders



By Lee Yeon-woo





The 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to take place from Tuesday to Friday at Songdo Convensia, Incheon. This will be the ADB's first in-person event since the COVID-19 outbreak and is expected to be the largest in scale, according to the bank.



Around 5,000 representatives from around the world, including finance ministers, central bank governors, officials from international organizations and representatives from the private sector, have already registered to attend the meeting.



Korea will host the four-day event as the chair country. Under the theme of "Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect, and Reform," Korea aims to promote deeper mutual understanding and economic cooperation between economies in the Asia-Pacific region.



In line with the ADB's mission to eradicate poverty in Asia, various events focusing on the economic recovery of the Asia-Pacific region will take place during the meeting. These events will include business sessions, seminars and other programs.



Following the opening session on Wednesday, the ADB board of governors will approve on the third day of the meeting the bank's budget, action plans and main agenda for 2024. The governors will also use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss current economic issues.



Policy coordination between countries is also expected to take place. The finance ministry has announced that two high-profile meetings will be held on Tuesday: one between finance ministers and central bank governors from Korea, China, and Japan, and another among ASEAN+3 countries.



In addition, the Korean government will promote Korean culture through various programs, including promotion halls for Korean culture and tourism. There will also be a Korean Culture Night event featuring the K-pop group, NewJeans, and male vocal quartet, Forestella.



To support Korean companies enter overseas markets, a promotional event for private and public firms will be held as well.



Around 70 events will take place concurrently during the meeting, according to the finance ministry.





Participants of the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank walk by exhibition booths prepared inside of Songdo Conventia, Incheon, Monday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
News last week from Iraq Oil Ministry sources that the first stage of a gas processing facility at the Halfaya oil field is now expected to come online ahead by early 2024, ahead of schedule, is crucial for the countrys future in three respects. First, it will go some way to appeasing repeated U.S. calls for Iraq to end its energy dependence on neighbouring pariah state, Iran. Second, it bodes well for progress on the similar gas capture projects that are part of the four-part US$27 billion deal with Frances TotalEnergies. And third, it highlights that there is still scope for the West to engage in future oil and gas projects in southern Iraq at least, despite Chinas increasing presence there.

Halfaya is one of Iraqs major oil fields, located south-east of Amara in the Maysan province, around 185 kilometres from the southern oil export hub of Basra. With an estimated 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil reserves in place, the current (third and final) phase of the oil development plan is to increase production capacity from 370,000 barrels a day (bpd) to 470,000 bpd. Alongside the oil is associated gas and it is the capture of this  rather than just flaring it off  that the partners in the field are now addressing. The lead operator of the entire Halfaya project is PetroChina, the parent company of China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC), with a 45 percent stake. It was CPECC that in 2019 was awarded the project to capture gas associated with oil at Halfaya. The other partners in the overall Halfaya field are TotalEnergies (with a 22.5 percent stake), Malaysias national oil company Petronas (22.5 percent), and Iraqs state owned Missan Oil Company (10 percent). The plan for the gas project is to capture and process at least 300 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d).

Related: In A World First, California Bans New Diesel Truck Sales From 2036

Iraq has for a long time been promising to do utilise its abundant associated gas supplies to provide electricity for its power grid, in the first instance, and then to monetise it through exports at some point after that, rather than just burning it off. Baghdad some time ago signed up to the United Nations and World Bank Zero Routine Flaring initiative, aimed at ending by 2030 the routine flaring of gas produced during the drilling of oil. At the time, Iraq flared the second largest quantity of gas in the world (after Russia)  some 17.37 billion cubic metres (bcm). To date, not much has changed in these figures. In practical terms, this has meant that Iraq has remained dependent on Iran for around 40 percent of its electricity supplies, provided both directly from Iran and through huge imports of gas by Iraq.

This has been a constant source of extreme tension between Iraq and the U.S., and has led to the Baghdad Ballet, as analysed in my new book on the new global oil market order. This was characterised by whoever was Iraqi prime minister at the time going to Washington every year to ask for money to bail out its perennially-beleaguered budget, in exchange for which he would ensure that Iraq would end its energy dependence on Iran. Washington would then send billions of dollars to Iraq, whereupon Iraq would continue to import exactly the same amount  or more  electricity and gas from Iran as ever. The fanciest moves in the Baghdad Ballet came from the ultra-smooth Mustafa al-Kadhimi. He had danced the usual dance with the U.S. so well that in May 2020 Washington gave him even more money than before and the longest waiver ever given  120 days  to keep importing gas and electricity from Iran, on the usual proviso that Iraq stopped doing it soon. Once the money had been banked and al-Kadhimi was safely back on home territory, Iraq signed a two-year contract  the longest to date  with Iran to keep importing gas and electricity from it.

The U.S. has many fine qualities, but one of them is not tolerance when it is made to look stupid, so after the new gas and electricity supply deal had been signed between Iraq and Iran, the U.S. let the formidable State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, out of her room, and she let fly. Not only was the next waiver to Iraq the shortest ever  30 days  but also at the press conference in which it was announced, Ortagus also let it be known that the U.S. was hitting 20 Iran- and Iraq-based entities with swingeing new sanctions. She cited them as being instruments in the funnelling of money to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) elite Quds Force, which was entirely true. She added that the 20 entities were continuing to exploit Iraqs dependence on Iran as an electricity and gas source by smuggling Iranian petroleum through the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr and money laundering through Iraqi front companies, which was also true. Washington was also extremely concerned that Iraq was continuing to act as a conduit for Iranian oil and gas supplies to make their way out into export markets in southern Europe and, in much greater volume, to Asia, especially China. This was true as well, as additionally analysed in my new book on the new global oil market order.

China is closely involved in the Halfaya gas project, but so is TotalEnergies, which has acted since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as a vanguard European company for the Wests securing of new oil and gas supplies, along most notably with the UKs BP and Shell, and Italys Eni. These initiatives have been fully supported by the U.S. both at government and corporate levels. Perhaps the most important early deal in this context was the securing of emergency liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from Qatar for Germany, led by the U.S., but several other major deals have followed, involving especially TotalEnergies and Eni.

The French oil and gas giants four-pronged US$27 billion deal in Iraq is perhaps the most noteworthy of these recent deals, particularly as one core element of it is to implement capture gas projects at five other supergiant southern Iraq oilfields - West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Tuba, Luhais, and Artawi. Initial comments from Iraqs Oil Ministry last year highlighted that the plant involved in this process is expected to produce 300 million scf/d and double that after a second phase of development. Iraqs then-Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, also stated last year that the gas produced from this second TotalEnergies project in the south will help Iraq to cut its gas imports from Iran. Whether is intentions were genuine is now an irrelevant question anyway, as he has been superseded by Hayyan Abdulghani and his new team.

The facts that the Halfaya gas capture project is now proceeding at a pace ahead of schedule with TotalEnergies still heavily involved in it, and that the French firm very recently indicated that it would continue with its four-pronged megadeal, appear to offer hope for Western firms looking to continue their dealings under the new Oil Ministry. Aside from the gas capture deal for five of the major oil fields in Iraq, the TotalEnergies deal includes the completion of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP)  the most crucial element of Iraqs oil industry, which should enable it to increase its crude oil production to levels way beyond fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia.

The CSSP involves taking and treating seawater from the Persian Gulf and then transporting it via pipelines to oil production facilities to maintain pressure in oil reservoirs to optimise the longevity and output of fields. The long-delayed plan for the CSSP is that it initially supplies around 6 million bpd of water to at least five southern Basra fields and one in Maysan Province and is then expanded for use in other fields. With its successful completion, Iraq should be able to reach its longer-term crude oil production targets of 7 million bpd, and then 9 million bpd and then perhaps 12 million bpd, as also analysed in depth in in my new book on the new global oil market order.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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The multibillion-dollar initial public offering of the gas business of Emirati ADNOC sent the UAE to the top spot among Gulf states in terms of IPO proceeds for the first quarter of the year.

The $2.5-billion listing brought the UAEs total IPO proceeds for the period to $3.2 billion, The National reported, which represented a twofold increase on the first quarter of 2022.

The offering was 50 times oversubscribed, with investors placing orders for $124 billion in total, Bloomberg reported in March. The issue was fully subscribed just hours after the offering was first announced.

The listing gave the company a market capitalization of some $50 billion, close to the upper end of the price range set by the parent company ahead of the listing.

Set up as a separate unit only at the beginning of this year, ADNOC Gas has a production capacity of some 10 billion cubic feet daily and operates a pipeline network of over 2,000 miles. The new company said it expects to pay its new shareholders a total of $3.25 billion this year.

The six-member Gulf Co-operation Council as a whole raised $3.5 billion in proceeds from initial public offerings during the first quarter, with a total of 12 deals, The National noted.

This was a decline on an annual basis, with the first quarter of 2022 seeing proceeds of $4.6 billion across 13 deals. Last year as a whole, the Gulf saw proceeds of over $23 billion from 48 listings as investor demand returned strongly amid higher oil prices and more comfortable liquidity levels in the region.

The UAE expects a total of 11 listings this year and Saudi Arabia has granted final approval for 23 initial public offerings so far this year, according to the Kuwait Financial Centre, which released the listing proceeds data for the first quarter.

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By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Diesel and gasoline are being smuggled out of Iran to neighboring countries where fuel prices are much higher than in the Islamic Republic, according to analysts and officials.

Some 58,000 barrels per day (bpd) of domestic diesel supply is not going for local consumption, Jalil Salari, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), tells Argus.

Due to the cheap Iranian fuel, nearly 10 million liters of diesel are smuggled out of the Islamic Republic every day, Salari told the local IRNA news agency last month.

NIORDC pegs Irans diesel demand at 528,000 bpd, but the actual domestic consumption is unlikely to be above 470,000 bpd, which leaves a gap 58,000 bpd likely being smuggled out of Iran to countries with much higher fuel prices.

Considering that 8% of Irans diesel production of 690,000 bpd is believed to be smuggled, this could mean that there is some level of coordination with authorities in the smuggling business, according to analysts.

The real smuggling by people and entities not linked to the state are small ? mainly to Pakistan, but also to Afghanistan and [Iraqi] Kurdistan, Iman Nasseri, managing director for the Middle East at consultancy FGE, told Argus.

In total, we think these volumes could not exceed 15,000-20,000 b/d of diesel. The rest would be large scale sales by vessels and controlled by the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Nasseri added.

Fuel in Iran is cheap thanks to government subsidies for diesel and gasoline.

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Iran, which has some of the worlds lowest fuel prices due to these subsidies and the plunging value of its national currency amid Western sanctions, has regularly been accused of rampant fuel smuggling to its neighbours in cooperation with regional allies, such as Hezbollah, according to an analysis on oil smuggling in the Middle East published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime earlier this year.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Exports of natural gas from Libya to Europe are expected to be significantly lower this month compared to normal levels, due to a three-week maintenance program at the Mellitah Industrial Complex in the North African oil and gas producer.

The Mellitah Industrial Complex will begin a total shutdown to start renovation at the Mellitah complex, the Bahr Es Salam gas field, and the Wafa gas field, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya said this weekend.

NOC chairman Farhat Bengdara issued instructions for the renovations and maintenance of the gas-producing facilities, which were expected to begin on Monday, May 1.

The NOC affirmed that all necessary arrangements have been prepared to compensate for the gas shortage during the stoppage period, and affirmed also the readiness of the work teams and the spare parts, the Libyan state corporation said in a statement.

The maintenance will lead to a major slump in Libyas natural gas production and exports, according to Argus.

The local subsidiary of Italian energy giant Eni said in April that natural gas supply from Libya to Italy would be materially reduced and could potentially go to zero between the end of April and May 25, due to maintenance at the gas fields and processing facilities.

Early this year, Enis chief executive Claudio Descalzi and NOCs Bengdara agreed on the development of Structures A&E, a strategic project aimed at increasing gas production to supply the Libyan domestic market as well as to ensure export to Europe.

The overall investment is estimated at $8 billion, with a significant impact on the industry and the associated supply chain, allowing a significant contribution to the Libyan economy, the Italian group said.

Over the past year, Eni has been looking to Libya and other producers of gas in Africa to boost supply to Europe and replace Russian pipeline gas volumes.

Just last week, Eni launched the construction works for the first natural gas liquefaction project in the Republic of the Congo, which is expected to supply LNG to Europe.

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By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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ADNOC Gas Plc, a listed subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, has reached an agreement with Frances TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) to supply the latter with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a $1B deal, Bloomberg has reported. The deal is one of the latest by a European gas buyer as Europe once again scrambles to fill its gas stores ahead of the next winter season.

Last year, Europe managed to fill its gas stores well ahead of winter and has seen storage levels remain above historical levels thanks to mild weather, with higher temperatures curbing gas demand for heating in many countries.

The continent is currently going through its second mildest winter on record with the high temperatures attributed to man-made climate change. The unusually mild winter has offered short-term relief to governments that have been struggling with high gas prices after Russia slashed fuel deliveries to Europe last year.

Last month, Putin warned Europe of a fresh gas crisis, with Gazprom, Russias state-owned gas supplier, telling Europe there is no guarantee that nature will make such a gift in reference to the favorable weather.

Although the continent was able to avert a crisis, it paid a heavy price: the cost of replenishing natural gas stocks is estimated at over 50 billion euros ($51 billion), 10 times more than the historical average for filling up tanks. Luckily, gas prices have plunged due to lower demand. Still, at almost 40 a megawatt-hour, theyre still above historical averages with many analysts predicting they will rise again ahead of Europes next winter.

To get around this conundrum, the European Commission is aiming for EU countries to start buying gas jointly "well before summer", in a bid to help countries refill their storage and avoid a supply crunch next winter, European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic has told Reuters.

The EC will require EU countries to ensure their local companies take part in the aggregation of gas demand with volumes equivalent to 15% of the gas needed to fill that country's storage facilities to 90% of capacity. This requirement amounts to ~13.5 billion cubic meters of gas-- a relatively miniscule amount considering the bloc used up 338 bcm in 2021.

Sefcovic has urged member states to swiftly engage with market players in their countries to estimate purchase volumes after meeting EU country representatives to coordinate the planned purchases.



By Alex KImani for Oilprice.com

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U.S. crude oil exports for the month of April have surpassed forecasts, hitting a record 4.5 million barrels per day in March thanks to rising fuel demand in China. U.S. crude exports grew 22% last year from 2021 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led the U.S., the EU, and Canada to ban imports of Russian oil and dramatically altered global flows.

China is the worlds second largest oil consumer, and has recorded an economic resurgence ever since it rolled back its strict zero-covid policies. April exports to China surged to ~850,000 barrels per day, the highest level since May 2020.

Other experts have pegged U.S. crude exports even higher. According to Y-Charts, U.S. Crude Oil Exports are currently at 4.819M barrels per day, up from 4.571M last week and up from 4.27M one year ago. This is a change of 5.43% from last week and 12.86% from one year ago.

According to Rohit Rathod, a market analyst at Vortexa, overall crude exports in the month of April are expected to only be a few hundred thousand barrels per day less than March, and will remain above 4 million.

Another reason for the surging exports: U.S. crude is cheap.

U.S. crude tends to be quite a bit cheaper than Brent. The average discount in February was $6.47 and nearly $6 less in the first half of March. Foreign buyers tend to increase their purchases of U.S. crude whenever the discount to Brent exceeds $6 per barrel.

Unfortunately, exports are not expected to remain that high in the coming months. Energy Aspects has forecast that May U.S. exports will fall to about 3.78 million bpd as falling Middle Eastern crude prices will lower demand for U.S. grades.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Maybe you no longer need your life insurance policy, or the premiums have become too expensive. If youre over 65 and thinking about letting a life insurance policy go, consider a life settlement before you cancel it or simply stop the payments. The life settlement option means you sell your policy for cash, funds you can put toward long-term care or other needs.

Walking away from billions

Every year, a staggering $100 billion in face value of life insurance policies is allowed to lapse when policy owners over 65 walk away from their policies, according to the Life Insurance Settlement Association. Most people who let their policies lapse are unaware of the life settlement option, according to Darin Duin, certified estate planner with Tagge Rutherford Estate Planning.

Duin helps people evaluate their choices and find a purchaser for their policy who will pay top dollar for it. Peoples needs change over time. They may not need the coverage anymore or the annual premium amount may have doubled or even quadrupled, he said. Thats when selling the policy can make the most financial sense.

Duins clients include seniors who are assessing where their life insurance policy fits into their overall financial planning, their adult children who may be policy beneficiaries, Trust officers serving in a fiduciary role and attorneys who handle estate planning.

The life settlement process

When someone chooses to explore the life settlement option, Duin contacts between 20 and 25 potential purchasers of the policy. He describes the process like buying a house or car, "A single buyer will not drive the price up. If there are 10 people bidding on a house, that price will go up. This is no different." To further explore the life settlement option, the policy must be in effect for at least two years. Then, the policy holder's life expectancy is evaluated, usually through an analysis of medical records.

Going through a broker to negotiate a life settlement has advantages, Duin said. Some companies may buy your life insurance policy and they will only give a single offer, and it may not be the best one. For example, Duin handled a life settlement for a client who received an initial offer of $800,000. The final offer was $1.4 million. Thats a big difference, he said.

It is important to know that all purchasers are institutional buyers. The determining factors on marketing a policy are: life expectancy, cost of insurance within the policy, and to a lesser extent, strength of the life insurance company. Most people who opt for a life settlement have a life expectancy of anywhere between two and 18 years, and to qualify for a life settlement, the policy should have a death benefit no less than $400,000, Duin said. The process usually takes between 90 and 120 days. Patience can pay off monetarily, he said.

Nothing to pay before settlement

There is no cost to investigate life settlement options, Duin said. Tagge Rutherford Estate Planning handles all the paperwork and the costs of medical record retrieval or other expenses. The company is compensated only when the client accepts the settlement. That puts me on the side of the consumer, he said.

Looking for the best option

Duin advises thinking about whether you still need or want your current life insurance policy, and whether the premiums remain affordable. The time to do this is now, before the need for long-term or nursing home care becomes urgent due to an unexpected health issue. Sometimes it makes the most financial sense to take the money and run, he said.

For more information on life settlements, visit the Tagge Rutherford Estate Planning website.

This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this paid post belong solely to the advertiser and do not represent the views of Brand Ave. Studios or its parent company.

This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Matt Westover two years ago submitted a DNA profile to a public registry, the same one that many people use in their family genealogical research.

But the Omaha law enforcement officer wasnt looking for some long-lost relative  at least not his own.

The DNA profile he submitted in 2020 came from the brother of William Leslie Arnold, the fugitive who killed his parents in Omaha in 1958, buried them in the backyard, nine years later escaped from the Nebraska Penitentiary and vanished without a trace.

Westover was hoping a child or grandchild of Arnold had also put DNA into the registry, a match that could then lead him to the fugitive.

Last August, Westover was excited to see a DNA match come back. And moments later, he saw hed already received a message through the registry website from the person with the matching DNA.

Not only did the young man from Australia share a significant amount of DNA with Arnolds brother, he told Westover his now deceased father had been "an orphan."

For Westover, that was the dead giveaway that he indeed had his man.

Boom baby, Westover soon after texted a couple of fellow deputies with the U.S. marshals in Nebraska.

Last month, Westover found himself flying to Australia to meet the son of John Damon, the alias Arnold had lived under to help him avoid capture for decades.

And just last week, the Arnold fugitive case was officially closed  also closing the book on one of Nebraskas most intriguing mysteries after more than half a century.

The World-Herald on Sunday revealed the amazing story behind Arnolds secret life as a fugitive and the shock to his family both in the United States and Australia to learn his true identity.

But the story of how the case was cracked is a fascinating one, too.

It featured the persistence of a deputy marshal based in Omaha, with an assist from a former Nebraska state prisons investigator  both men sharing a mutual infatuation with the Arnold case.

Solving the case also involved use of the same DNA investigative technique that led California investigators to that states notorious Golden State Killer. Westover even consulted with an expert from that California case in tracking down Arnold.

This case is not only a great example of how modern technology helps us solve cases and find people, but it also illustrates the tenacity of this agency in its relentless pursuit of justice, said Scott E. Kracl, U.S. marshal for the District of Nebraska.

CRACKING THE CASE

Sitting at his desk in Omaha one day in August 2020, Westover opened up his docket of active fugitive cases.

A 42-year-old Indiana native who joined the federal agency in 2015, Westover noticed a new case that jumped out at him, a man convicted of homicide. Westover didn't see that every day. And even more notable was the year listed for the crime: 1958.

This is crazy, he recalled thinking. Why is this in my caseload?

Westover googled the subjects name. Popping up at the top of the screen was the 2017 World-Herald series The Mystery of Leslie Arnold, detailing the incredible story of Arnolds crimes and disappearance.

After reading the stories, Westover was instantly hooked. He was determined to try to track down Arnold, the last person to successfully escape from the Nebraska state pen.

It was game on, Westover recalled thinking.

Westover noted the series had featured Geoff Britton, who for nearly a decade had probed the Arnold case as a Nebraska Department of Correctional Services investigator.

Britton had returned to his native California in 2013, but he still works as an officer there, now serving as the chief of law enforcement for Californias state health and human services agency.

One of the first things Westover did was reach out to Britton.

Britton had retained his interest in Arnold. In fact, sitting near him at his desk in California was a kind of Arnold shrine, including the young inmate's Nebraska prison intake photos.

Arnold was still my hobby, the 51-year-old Britton said recently.

Britton shared with Westover all his theories on the case and began emailing other information he'd collected on Arnold. And while Britton had done some DNA work in the case, he and Westover talked about going at it in a different way this time.

Britton lives in Sacramento, where he closely followed the investigation that led to the 2018 capture of the Golden State Killer.

Joseph DeAngelo allegedly murdered 12 victims and raped more than 50 others in California between 1974 and 1986. But the crafty killer had eluded identification and capture for decades.

The big break came when investigators put DNA the killer had left behind at a crime scene decades earlier into the open source genealogical website, GEDMatch. A match with another person who also had put DNA into the bank suggested enough shared DNA to make that person a fourth cousin to the killer.

With the help of a genealogist, investigators traced the matchs family tree until they found a male relative with the required level of familial separation who had lived at the time in the area of the crimes. That led them to DeAngelo, who was arrested and later convicted.

Britton had even attended some of DeAngelos court appearances and sat in on a presentation on how the killer was unmasked. Afterward, he had talked to Kracl, Nebraska's U.S. marshal, about the promise of that DNA method.

Westover in the end similarly pursued use of a DNA registry in the Arnold case.

Westover and the marshals declined to say whose DNA they used to track Arnold, only that it came from a family member.

But James Arnold, Arnolds brother, last week confirmed to The World-Herald that it was his. Westover had visited Arnold at his home in Missouri in November 2020 to collect it. Leslies brother also consented to Westover putting the sample into a public DNA registry.

Westover said the sample produced some immediate hits, but they were from other known Arnold relatives. There was nothing useful there.

Over the many months that followed, Westover pursued other angles in the case. That included exploring whether Arnold could have fled to Brazil.

The World-Heralds 2017 series had revealed that an alien registration card had been issued in Brazil under the name William Leslie Arnold, with Arnolds real birth date, in December 1968. That was about a year and half after the escape.

But the James Arnold DNA remained in the registry. Westover hoped a Leslie Arnold relative might still choose to take a DNA test and submit the results.

It took more than a year and a half, but that finally happened.

On Aug. 9, Westover was at home when he received an email notification indicating a registry hit involving a close family relative of James Arnold.

With the amount of shared DNA, it appeared Westover was dealing with Arnolds son. It was just the level of match youd expect between a nephew and uncle  the relationship of Arnolds son and James Arnold.

Then Westover noticed the subject had already sent a message to him through the registry.

Im trying to find information on my father, who was an orphan from Chicago, the subject wrote.

The words all made sense to Westover. Arnold, of course, was an orphan, after killing his parents. And the fellow convict Arnold had escaped with had told The World-Herald in an interview before his death that the pair had first escaped to Chicago.

Westover knew from the respondents address that he lived in Australia. But he didnt know much else, including whether his father was truly dead.

The two exchanged some messages. Westover found out the name of the boys father: John Damon.

Then the son started sending Westover pictures of his dad. Looking over the photos, Westover certainly saw some resemblance to the young Leslie Arnold, becoming even more confident he had the right man.

I was going nuts, Westover recalled of the moment.

After notifying fellow deputy marshals who had helped him on the case, Westover contacted Britton in California. He texted him screenshots of the messages he'd just received from Arnolds son.

We got him, Britton said, sharing in the celebration. Thats him.

Westover didnt identify himself as a law enforcement officer to Arnolds son that day, but said he was acting as a designated representative of the person with the matching DNA. The two continued to exchange messages in the following days.

The U.S. Marshals have not released the name of the son. The World-Herald knows his identity, but the son spoke to the paper only on the condition that his name and where in Australia his family lives not be disclosed.

About two weeks after the initial DNA hit, Westover obtained an official death certificate from authorities in Australia for John Damon. That proved Arnold was indeed dead.

On Aug. 24, Westover and Arnolds son held a video conference for the first time.

Westover said it was a difficult moment when he revealed his marshals badge over the computer screen and disclosed that he was a federal law enforcement officer. And it was even tougher to tell the son his fathers true identity.

I cant imagine how hard it was for him, Westover said.

Westover and the son would subsequently have more pleasant interactions.

It took some time to arrange the trip, but in mid-March, Westover and two other marshals from Omaha flew down under to Australia.

They met the son, his wife and an officer of the Australian federal police at a hotel. The marshals conducted a formal interview and collected some evidence in the case.

Westover knew the young couple had recently had a baby, so he presented them with a Nebraska onesie. They later got together for a more informal lunch, which ended with the son asking to have his picture taken with Westover.

Hes a really good kid, Westover said. Super polite.

During his trip, Westover also visited Arnolds grave, taking a picture with his marshals badge and an Arnold wanted flier beside the marker.

In the end, Westover learned Arnold had married a divorced single mom with four daughters in Chicago just 134 days after his 1967 escape.

Arnold later became estranged from his wife, left for California, divorced, remarried and had two children before moving overseas in 1992, first to New Zealand, then to Australia. He died there in 2010.

Westover and Britton said its been fascinating to learn how Arnold kept his identity secret for more than half a century after the escape.

Britton particularly is intrigued by the son's stories of how Arnold  known as a talented saxophone player in high school and in prison  in his later years hid his talents, not even touching his own sons saxophone. Its an example of the kind of disciplined life Arnold needed to live to avoid capture all those years.

He was able to mentally and physically compartmentalize his past, said Britton, who also still works as an adjunct professor in criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

With the case closed, Westover and Britton said some things will likely never be resolved.

That includes the Brazilian immigration card. And the fact Britton had discovered around 2010 that someone had googled his name and also looked Arnold up on the Nebraska corrections inmate database by his inmate number  an identifier only Arnold would know.

Britton found both of those searches had emanated in South America.

Arnold worked as a salesman and was well-traveled, so it's possible he did visit Brazil, the officers said. Another theory is that both the immigration registration and the searches were part of a ruse by Arnold to throw off U.S. authorities.

When it came to the crafty Arnold, both Westover and Britton wouldn't rule anything out.

"He was a smart guy," Britton said. "That's one thing I do know."

Photos: Leslie Arnold's crime
A Washington man facing two felony counts of motor-vehicle homicide in connection with a deadly crash in Furnas County last week appeared in court for the first time Monday.

Kyiaz Ulanov, 28, of Lynwood, Washington, was arrested over the weekend and appeared in Furnas County District Court for an arraignment. He was ordered to be held on $350,000 bail. He would have to pay 10% of that, $35,000, to be released.

If Ulanov pays bail, he will be barred from driving and required to surrender his passport.

According to the Nebraska State Patrol, shortly after noon last Thursday, Ulanov was driving a Ram 3500 pickup pulling an empty trailer west on Nebraska Highway 89 in Furnas County. At the U.S. Highway 283 intersection, the pickup allegedly ran through a stop sign and struck the passenger side of a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV.

Two of the Hyundai passengers, Miriam Mejia Barrientos, 46, and Sloan Luna Portillo, 13, died as a result of the crash. Barrientos was pronounced dead at the scene, and Portillo died of her injuries at the hospital.

The three other passengers included two 11-year-olds, a girl and a boy, and Portillos 43-year-old father, Olvin Luna. They were flown to hospitals in Lincoln and Wichita, Kansas.

Ulanov and a passenger in the pickup were taken to a hospital in Kansas, where they were treated and released.

In addition to the felony motor-vehicle homicide charges, Ulanov faces one count of willful reckless driving, a misdemeanor. He will be back in court for a preliminary hearing next Monday.
LINCOLN  One person was hospitalized after being shot by law enforcement officers near Northwest 28th and West O Streets Monday afternoon, according to the Lincoln Police Department.

The incident occurred about 2:45 p.m. when three members of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force  a unit made up of officers from the Nebraska State Patrol, Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and Lincoln Police Department  confronted a man who had been following them, Chief Lancaster County Sheriffs Deputy Ben Houchin said.

Members of the task force drive unmarked cruisers and were likely wearing plainclothes, Houchin said.

During the confrontation  which involved two State Patrol troopers and one LPD officer  the man sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Houchin said. No officers were injured.

It's unclear how many or which of the officers fired their weapons. Houchin said he believed the man who was shot was also armed, but it's unclear whether he fired any shots.

This is a developing story.
U.S. President Joe Biden, left, speaks with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol as they stand on stage during a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Washington, Wednesday, April 26. AP-Yonhap



North Korea criticised a recent U.S-South Korea agreement to bolster the deployment of American strategic assets in the region for escalating tension to the "brink of a nuclear war," state media KCNA said on Monday.



U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit last week, during which Biden pledged to give Seoul more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea as anxiety grows over Pyongyang's weapons programmes and the American nuclear umbrella.



Both leaders agreed to strengthen South Korea's defences and regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets.



As part of the efforts, a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s.



KCNA said the agreement stipulated the allies' willingness to take "the most hostile and aggressive action" against North Korea, citing Choe Ju-hyon, whom it described as an international security analyst.



The stationing of American strategic assets has placed the situation of the Korean peninsula in a "quagmire of instability," and was intended to build "aggressive and exclusive military blocs" in the region, it said.



"It is just aimed to dodge the responsibility for the worst-ever nuclear-related crimes it has committed by systematically destroying and violating the nuclear non-proliferation system, and in particular, pushing the situation of the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war," KCNA said.



"It is the hegemonic sinister aim pursued by the U.S. to turn the whole of South Korea into its biggest nuclear war outpost in the Far East and effectively use it for attaining its strategy for dominating the world."



Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the Yoon-Biden summit, saying it consolidated its conviction to perfect its "nuclear war deterrent." (Reuters)






WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines' security and noted the deep friendship of the two nations as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter Chinas increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationshipone that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

We are facing new challenges and I couldnt think of a better partner to have than you. Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization.

Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.

Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defense guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations' militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

The administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines' innovation economy, new educational programing and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guards BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a stark reminder of Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, Miller said.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by Chinas ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.

Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan's independence if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a One China policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huangs comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.

One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he finds himself in a situation in which the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that historical considerations could present challenges to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Marcos noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.

Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries' sometimes rocky past.

During their private meeting at the UN, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could fulfill your dreams and hopes" to do that, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has debunked reports that it planned to phase out the newly redesigned N1, 000, N500 and N200 notes.

The apex bank clarified that reports on its social media platforms on Sunday in a statement by its Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, Dr Isa AbdulMumim.

According to him, such speculation is unfounded and a ploy by some interests to cause panic among members of the public

We wish to reiterate that the new and old currency notes have been circulating side by side just as the Bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited.

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Furthermore, we are committed to supplying the approved indent for the smooth running of the economy.

We, therefore, urge members of the public to disregard any report suggesting a phase-out of the redesigned currency. For the avoidance of doubt, the redesigned and old notes will continue to be accepted as legal tender.

They will circulate side-by-side for transactions ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline, when the old N1000, N500 and N200 banknotes will eventually be phased out, the statement read.
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To Seek Support For His Re-election

From Austin Chikwado and Ikenna Esogibe

A source have reveled how the Imo State Government allegedly in secret returned Royal Spring Apartments to Okorochas Family in exchange for their support for Imo guber elections in November.

The source further revealed that Okorocha son in-law, Uche Nwosu guber ambition has been put on hold, adding that Nwosu is expected to declare his full support for Uzodimma re-election in the coming weeks.

It could be recall that the ex- govenor and his family members have been in a political battle with the incumbent govenor, Hope Uzodinma who arrested once arrested the former in two years ago, while recovering the controversial multi billion naira royal springs properties which was said to belong to the wife of the former, Nkechi Okorocha.

Royal Springs Properties is located along Akachi road, in Imo State capital city Owerri.

247ureports.com, gathered that the matter has been in the state high court owerri, in a suit instituted by Imo State government through its Attorney General, Barr. COC Akaolisa which authorized Imo State Government in the year 2022 to seal the property acquired by Okorocha family unlawfully.

While many interested Imo citizens have been waiting for the judgement of the Honourable Court concerning the royal springs properties, a source has alleged that Okorocha and Uzodinma have negotiated outside the court, to return the property for Okorocha family to enable him Support his second term ambition.

Source, further revealed that the ex-governors Son-inlaw, Chief Uche Nwosu guber ambition

Was sacrificed to accomplish the secret deal to meet Uzodinmas demand.

More details about this story will be published in our subsequent Bulletin.

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The Labour Party (LP) has insisted that the February 25 presidential election was fraught with irregularities.

The party was reacting to a statement credited to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on the election.

Mohammed had in a statement on Sunday described the opposition parties attacking President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent comment on the election as shameless sore losers.

He charged them to accept the outcome of the election in good faith, saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the presidential election fair and square having polled the majority of the votes cast in the exercise.

However, in a statement issued on Sunday night, the LP berated the minister over his propensity for propaganda.

READ ALSO: Lai Mohammed denies saying INEC intentionally withheld results during elections

It stressed that only the blind would accept that the exercise was credible.

The statement read: We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians.

It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible.

As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day.

The election witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police and army amongst others.

His (Lai Mohammed) ill-fated and hugely failed trip to the United Kingdom and the United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of taxpayers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buharis 8 years leadership.

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Lai Mohammed recently tackled the opposition parties, telling them to quit crying and accept they lost the 2023 presidential election

In response to the information minister, the Labour Party maintained that the elections were rigged and only the blind would say otherwise

The opposition accused INEC of creating room for rigging by not uploading the results from the polling unit as promised

The Labour Party has criticised Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, for his recent comments referring to the opposition as sore losers.

The party said the All Progressives Congress-led administration murdered sleep by allegedly rigging the 2023 general elections.

Labour Party insisted its candidate, Peter Obi, won the presidential election.

Photo credit: @PeterObi

Source: Twitter

The statement came from the acting national publicity secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, on Sunday, April 30, in Abuja, Vanguard reported.

He stated:

PAY ATTENTION: heck out news that is picked exactly for YOU  find the Recommended for you block on the home page and enjoy!

 We just want the honourable Minister to know that by rigging the 2023 general election, himself, his party, All Progressives Congress and the leader of the party, President Buhari have murdered sleep and they do not deserve peace.

LP knocks Lai Mohammed

Responding to Mohammeds statement where he asked the opposition parties to accept they lost woefully to Bola Tinubu and move on, the Labour Party said only the blind would accept the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

The opposition said the minister was known for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians, The Cable added.

The party claimed it lost the election because the results were not uploaded from the polling unit in real time as promised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and this created room for rigging.

LP stated:

It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible.

PDP and LP claim election was rigged

Both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and LP are challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election at the tribunal.

In the results declared by the INEC, Tinubu of the APC polled 8,794,726 votes ahead of PDPs Atiku who got 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi of the LP came third with 6,101,533 votes.

In an earlier report by Legit.ng, Obi said the server logs and uploads showed that the electoral commission manipulated the results of the presidential election.

Source: Legit.ng
The All Progressives Congress has sacked Chief Victor Giadom as Zonal Chairman (National Vice Chairman South-South) and Ita Udosen as Zonal Secretary of the party.

Punch reported that the decision was part of a special resolution of an extraordinary meeting of the zonal executive committee of the party in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

The committee passed a vote of no confidence on Giadom and Udosen.

The resolution was signed by Blessing Agbomhere, acting zonal Chairman/Zonal Organizing Secretary, Chief Edet Ita Asia, acting Zonal Secretary/ Zonal Special Leader and Ogbuobodo, zonal Legal Adviser.

The other signatories were Ebimobowei Oyas, Zonal Youth Leader and Mrs Cynthia Princewill, Zonal Woman Leader.

They accused the APC National Vice Chairman of the Zone of refusing to call for meetings and disrupting every effort to call for meetings by members of the Zonal Executive Committee to transact the political business of the zone.

The resolution added, The Zonal Chairman (National Vice Chairman South-South) Chief Victor Giadom has committed the following offences:

The Zonal Chairman has refused to make use of the Zonal Office of the Party situated at no 46a, Orogbum Street, GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and has frustrated every attempt of any member(s) to use the office for the efficient running of the Zones political activities.

The Zonal Chairman has consistently refused, aborted and frustrated every effort to hold meetings, to coordinate and strategize on how to win the general elections in the Zone, and caused members of the Zonal Executive Committee disunity and frustration in their personal efforts to win votes for the party, and this affected the collective performance of the Party at the Zone.

The Zonal Chairman has bluntly refused to accept or receive complaints and petitions from the States that make up the Zone.

While sabotaging every effort to make the Zonal Party Secretariat operational and functional in the interest of all the members of the Party in the Zone, leaving members and leaders in the Zone to resorting to self-help, thereby encouraging intra-party disputations.

That the Zonal Chairman refused to account for the funds remitted by the national body to the zonal body and donations from the partys faithful for the running of the affairs of the zone.

In consideration of the aforementioned reasons, we hereby pass a vote of no confidence on him as the Zonal Chairman and he is hereby removed as the Zonal Chairman of the Zonal Executive Committee of the Party.

The Zonal Secretary, Chief Ita Udosen has committed the following offences;

Refusal to call for meetings and scuttling of every effort to call for meetings by members of the Zonal Executive Committee to transact the political business of the Zone.

The Zonal Secretary, Chief Ita Udosen has refused to make use of the Zonal Office of the Party situated at no 46a, Orogbum Street, GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and has frustrated every attempt of any member(s) of the Zonal Executive Committee to use the office for the efficient running of the Zone.

The Zonal Secretary, Chief Ita Udosen refused, aborted and frustrated every effort to hold meetings to coordinate and strategize on how to win the general elections in the Zone, and caused some members of the Zonal Executive Committee disunity and frustration in their personal efforts to winning votes for the Party, and this affected the collective performance of the Party at the Zone.

The Zonal Secretary, Chief Ita Udosen has bluntly refused to accept or receive complaints and petitions from the States that make up the Zone.

While sabotaging every effort to make the Zonal Party Secretariat operational and functional, in the interest of all the members of the Party in the Zone, leaving members and leaders in the Zone to resorting to self-help, thereby encouraging intra-party disputations.

Continuing, it said, In consideration of the aforementioned reasons, we hereby pass a vote of no confidence on him as the Zonal Secretary and he is hereby removed as the Zonal Secretary of the Zonal Executive Committee of the Party.

That after due deliberation, and in our committed effort to reorganise the Party in the South-South Zone, we the undersigned Zonal Executive Committee members passed a resolution whereby members nominated and appointed Dr Blessing Agbomhere as the Acting Zonal Chairman (South-South) whereas Chief Edet Ita Asia as the Acting Zonal Secretary in conjunction with their present positions.

It is also hereby resolved that all the petitions, complaints and correspondence should henceforth be forwarded to the South-South APC Liaison Office at APC Secretariat, Murtala Mohammed Highway, Calabar, Cross River State.
This file photo shows President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, posing with Ambassador to Russia Chang Ho-jin who is now first vice foreign minister, after presenting him with credentials at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 12, 2022



First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin is expected to pay a visit to Russia soon, sources said Monday, after tensions flared between the two countries following President Yoon Suk Yeol's suggestion of the possibility of Korea providing weapons aid to Ukraine.



Chang, who served as an ambassador to Russia until early last month, plans to make a two-day trip to Moscow in mid-May to exchange goodbye greetings with Russian officials because he was unable to do so as he took over as vice minister while on a visit to Seoul for a conference of diplomatic mission chiefs, the sources said.



But the trip comes amid tensions after Yoon signaled a shift in Korea's policy of providing only nonlethal aid to Ukraine, saying in an interview with Reuters it might be difficult to insist only on humanitarian or financial assistance if Ukraine comes under a large-scale attack on civilians.



Russia has since warned that supplying military aid to Ukraine would mean Seoul "becoming involved in the conflict to a certain extent" and would represent "an openly hostile anti-Russian move."






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By Izunna Okafor, Awka

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Sunday, made a surprise but commendable appearance at the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as the new President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo.

The event which held at the Enugus Banquet Hall, during a meeting of Ohanaeze Imeobi, was graced by many dignitaries, including past and present governors and governors-elect from the southeastern Nigeria, as well as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi.

Like Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma who were all represented by their deputies at the event, many people assumed that Governor Soludo would also send a representative at the event, having traveled out of country few days to the occasion.

The Governor, however, wowed everyone as he made a surprise appearance at the event, which made him the only serving Governor from another southeastern state who attended the event by himself, aside the host Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

It was later gathered that Governor Soludo cut short his foreign trip and returned to Nigeria on Sunday, just to attend the event by himself. Recall also that Chief Iwuanyanwu was also physically present at the occasion of Governor Soludos one-year (in office) anniversary celebration, which held in March.

While commending Governor Soludo for truncating his foreign trip to attend his swearing-in ceremony, Chief Iwuanyanwu said the Governor had demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the growth and development of the homeland.

Thank you Governor Soludo for cutting short your Business Meeting outside the country to Attend The Ohaneze Imeobi Meeting in Enugu. This shows your unwavering commitment to the growth and development of the homeland, Iwuanyanwu said in a short note of commendation he penned on his social media handle.

Aside those earlier mentioned, other dignitaries who graced the occasion include former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Adolphus Wabara; former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, the governor-elect of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mba, among others.

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A former presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Chief Moses Ayom, extolled the Senator George Akume to the success of the party in the just concluded presidential election which there up the President-elect, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

In a statement signed by the chieftain and made available to journalists on Monday, Ayom said George Akume who is the APC leader in Benue state brought his leadership prowess to bear on the task and did not waver until he delivered the party at the polls in the just concluded elections.

He urged the president elect to consider Akume for the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) or in the alternative, appoint him to the office of Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President saying the appointment of Senator Akume at this point was a sacred duty.

Recall that Bishop Alli John Alli under the auspices of Clerics Congress of Nigeria, (CCN), and Middle Belt Bishops Conference (MBBC) had called on Tinubu to consider Ayom for the position of Minister.

But Ayom noted that at the moment his desire was for the President-elect to appoint Akume who is currently the Minister for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs as SGF or CoS to the President.

Ayom who was on the entourage of President Muhammadu Buhari to China along with Aliko Dangote for the inaugural Business meeting where he was named the Outstanding Advocate (Ambassador) of China/Nigeria bilateral relations said he would prefer to focus his energy on the task of working with the Chinese to boost the nations economy in areas of concern.

I am highly honoured and sincerely appreciate this group for making a case for me to be considered for ministerial appointment before the President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu.

I want to believe they did that in good fate based on their assessment of my person, my contributions to the party especially in the last general elections and my experience and bold step in my struggles for the actualisation of a Middle Belt Presidency and many other considerations using their own parameters.

I will rather demand and passionately appeal to the incoming President that, Sen. Dr. George Akume, be considered for the position of Secretary of the Government of the Federation or Chief of Staff to the President.

Sen. George Akume is my leader and mentor, he made me who I am today just as he has made so many other people. Akume was also the one who brought me into our great party, the APC. He has done so much for me and I cannot deny it.

Ayom said to add to that Both Akume and the President-elect have a very special relationship first as former governors, leaders of our party and critical stakeholders. Therefore, if Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu appoints Sen. Dr. George Akume, they will work better because they know each other closely.

Whike appreciating the CCN for making a case for him, Ayom urged them to pray for Nigeria and for the President-elect, so that there will be smooth transition where his request of appointing Akume into the cabinet would be granted.
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By Izunna Okafor, Awka

It was a gathering of who is who, as past and present governors, governors-elect and other dignitaries from southeastern Nigeria gathered to witness the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu as the new President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

Ohaneze Ndigbo the Apex Pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, with branches all over the federation and in different parts of the world. The immediate-past President of the group, Chief Judge Obiozor, passed on on December 26, 2022, months after which Chief Iwuanyanwu was unanimously endorsed as his successor.

The 80-year-old Iwuanyanwu was endorsed and sworn-in on Sunday at the Enugus Banquet Hall, during a meeting of Ohanaeze Imeobi, which is the highest decision-making organ of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Speaking shortly after taking oath of office with Bible, Mr. Iwuanyanwu expressed delight over his endorsement as the president-general of the Igbo group, saying that providence and the love of Igbos propelled him to the position.

He said he never nurtured the idea of becoming president-general of Ohanaeze, and that he had only sought to become Nigerian president three times in failed attempts.

I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to lead Ndigbo at this time. With our collective efforts and support, Ndigbo will rise again.

I, therefore have a duty to valiantly defend the Igbo course and I promise Imeobi and all Igbo people that by the grace of God, I will not fail them, he said.

He also revealed that he had done his best to serve Igbos both in time of war and time peace, adding that, as a young boy, he learnt determination to serve Igbos from his father.

On his agenda for the southeast, the new Ohaneze PG said he would make a special appeal to outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, before leaving office in less than one month from now.

He said: Nnamdi Kanu is very crucial for any discussion (on security) and it is not possible to negotiate any peace while Nnamdi Kanu is in prison.

There is also a report that his health is deteriorating. I feel it is important that he is released to have access to his medical doctors so that he does not die in prison.

Further on his agenda for the southeast, Chief Iwuanyanwu vowed to ensure that the zone gets an additional state, as the zone is the only region with five states in Nigeria.

Several political conferences have recommended the creation of additional state in the South-east to bring the number of states to six. So far, this has not been actualised.

I will make sure that during my tenure (as Ohanaeze president-general), an additional state is created for the South-east, he said.

Among the dignitaries present during the event were the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, five governors from the South-east: Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) Charles Soludo (Anambra), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State, represented by his Deputy, Kelechi Igwe), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia, represented by his Deputy, Ude Chukwu) and Hope Uzodinma (Imo, represented by his Deputy, Placid Njoku).

Also in attendance were former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Adolphus Wabara; former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, the governor-elect of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mba, among others.

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The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has urged Nigerian workers to key into the Renewed Hope agenda of the incoming government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Dr. Obasa also charged civil servants in Lagos to continue to support the three arms of the State government, which have remained purposeful and constantly catered for their welfare.

Obasa gave the charge in a statement on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Eromosele Ebhomele, congratulating Nigerian workers as they join their counterparts across the world to mark this years Workers Day.

READ ALSO: Ramadan: Lets imbibe lessons in piety, tolerance, speaker Obasa tells Muslims

The Lagos Speaker described Nigerian workers as passionate, resilient, goal-oriented and ready to do their best given the right environment and leadership.

We truly need to congratulate workers in Nigeria for their passion to see that the country is a better place. The daily role played by each worker has a way of adding to the progress of the country.

It is noteworthy also that the average Nigerian worker is goal-oriented and would achieve the right environment which we are optimistic that the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming up with.

As I commend workers in Nigeria for believing in the country and for their roles in the last election. I also urge them to renew their hopes and synergise the same with the agenda of the incoming administration which begins a few days from now.

This is our country; we are now in a rush to recreate a Nigeria of our collective dreams and I will urge workers to key into the activities of the government for this to be achieved, he said.

The Speaker thanked staff of the Lagos State House of Assembly for being focused and delivering effectively on their jobs just as he promised to always support them and make their welfare his priority.
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PRESS STATEMENT

1. We would like to inform the wonderful people and government of Abia State and, indeed, all Nigerians that Aba Power was reconnected to the national transmission grid at 00.00 hours today, after 10 days of disconnection over payment to Federal Government agencies in the power sector. On April 19, 2023, the Market Operator, a unit of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) wrote us a notice giving us 30 working days to clear the debt with it, and served us the letter the next day. The same day, the Market Operator wrote to the TCN asking it to cut us off immediately from the national grid. The Market Operator complied.

2. Despite the unfavourable operating environment in the country which has gravely impacted our customers ability to pay their bills, Aba Power, paid N120m to the Market Operator last Friday, so as to reconnect it to the grid immediately. Aba Power took effective control of the Aba Ringfence servicing nine local government areas in Abia State only last September, yet it has paid the N440m to Federal Government agencies in the power sector in the last six months.

3. This is the first and only time in Nigerias history that an entire area serviced by an electricity distribution company has been cut off from the grid, with all the far-reaching socioeconomic and security implications for the whole nation. In the case of other DisCos, not more than feeders would be put out for two or three days, despite owing billions of naira.

4. While the blackout in the Aba Ringfence lasted for more than one week which caused us a tremendous revenue and equipment losses, Nigerians from all parts of the country demonstrated not just an uncanny understanding and patience but also amazing solidarity with us. They included top government officials, trade groups, business leaders, community leaders, security officers and others too many to mention here, seeking how they could be of help. We cannot thank them enough for their stupendous confidence in us and unflinching commitment to the common good. But we can pledge to continue to work harder to provide reliable, quality and affordable power to all nine local government areas in Abia State we serve.

5. To serve the people and organisations in the Aba Ringfence Area better, we need the support of all the stakeholders. We need individuals and communities to guard power infrastructure in their localities and report any suspicious act of vandalism to us or to any security agency. We constantly lose expensive machines, equipment and materials to thieves.

6. We also need electricity consumers to pay their bills as and when due. When we generate revenue from customers who pay for power consumed, we will be able to discharge our obligations to not just electricity providers like the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd but also government agencies like the Transmission Company of Nigeria. As a result, we will be able to avoid experiences like cutting off people and businesses in the Aba Ring fence from the national grid.

7. A situation where only 40 per cent of businesses and individuals in the Aba Ringfence pay what they should is unacceptable. Many electricity consumers bluntly refuse to pay for power consumed; some engage in meter bypassing; some others in other grave malpractices which can only make constant, quality and affordable power supply very difficult.

8. Once again, Aba Power thanks the people and government of Abia State and all Nigerians for their solidarity during the trying period. We are now more than ever determined to provide regular, quality and affordable electricity to all our customers. All we need is your cooperation.

Aba Power, nke a bu nke anyi.

Signed

Management.

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By Lateef Taiwo

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has described the National Grazing Reserves Council Bill, before the National Assembly as a land grabbing legislation deliberately designed to make Nigerians slaves in their own country to serve the selfish and parochial interest of herdsmen in the country.

The governor in Abuja yesterday, when Terna Tehermba, hosted him for his 62 birthday.

Ortom expressed worry that since 2016, which the presidency introduced the grazing reserve bill to the National Assembly which was rejected based on public outcry, it has not given up the idea of having the bill passed bringing it up using different names.

Ortom who urged members of the National Assembly to remain vigilant by resisting last minute attempts under whatever guise to pass the bill which seeks to deprive Nigerians of their God- given lands in favour of the pastoralists across the country, pointed out that if the current administration had concentrated on tackling insecurity in the manner it has pushed for the enactment of a cattle grazing reserves law, the country would have been safer for every Nigerian.

Ortom recalled that in November 2016, the Nigerian senate rejected what he described as controversial bill seeking to establish a Grazing Management Agency meant to ensure the creation of cattle grazing areas across the country, adding that in 2017 the federal government again attempted to influence the passage of a bill adorning the same regalia renamed National Grazing Routes and Reserves Bill, similarly rejected following the alarm that was raised by some patriotic Nigerians.

According to Governor Ortom, the federal government subsequently introduced the National Water Resources Bill, which came with a singular objective of bringing all water resources both surface and under ground as well as river banks under the control of the federal government a move he noted attracted an avalanche of condemnations from Nigerians.

He said the federal government again introduced Ruga, cattle colonies as well as approved in 2021 the recommendations of a committee to review with dispatch 368 grazing sites across 25 states in the country and to determine the levels of encroachment, adding that Benue and other states publicly rejected the presidential approval and the idea eventually lost steam.

 We understand that those who are bent on taking over the lands of Nigerians to give to pastoralists are looking for the opportunity to hastly pass the bill which they have now renamed National Grazing Reserves Council Bill adding that the proposed law has been in the National Assembly after it was reintroduced and its sponsors sensing the mode and suspicions of the people have been trying to find the right moment to have it passed.

Ortom who said the National Grazing Reserves Council Bill is not only a violation of the Constitution and the Land Use Act but also a fang of impunity, subjection and deeply rooted conquest agenda against the Nigerian people, alerted that if passed by the NASS, the law will establish a council with the powers to take over land in any part of the country for grazing reserves and pay compensation to the land owners, adding that beneficiaries of the usurped land would be pastoralists whose animals would enjoy unfittered access to the land.

Ortom who emphasized that his position on national issues is borne out of patriotism and belief in fairness, justice and equity, urged members of the National Assembly to act as true representatives of their people for the sake of posterity by remembering that future of the nation lies in their hands.

He encouraged the federal law makers to remain dogged in their rejection of the bill and any other surreptitious attempt to mock millions of innocent Nigerians who have fallen victim to the occupation agenda.

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The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has proposed the legalization of the Drug Management Agency (DMA) bill in a bid to ensure the availability of drugs in health institutions in the federal capital territory, FCT.

The permanent secretary of the FCTA, Mr. Olusola Adesola, disclosed this during the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the Abuja Zone of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, WAPCP which was held in Abuja over the weekend.

Adesola stated that there was urgent need for the bill to be legalized so as to give priority to the Drug Revolving Fund, DRF, in the governments scheme of things.

He noted that the DRF which is a policy guideline that engenders the sustainability platforms for ensuring veritable pathways to attaining sustainable drug and commodities availability in federal institution, has not been accorded the attention it deserves, and disclosed further that processes are ongoing to give the bill legal backing to become a driving force.

Also speaking at the event, Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Health and Human Services Secretariat of the FCTA, Pharm. Boniface Ikwu, stated that the DRF has been operational in the states of the federation through their own legal apparatus, but that the same cannot be said of the FCT which requires an act of parliament for any legislation to enforced in it.

The DRF has been on as a draw-down from the National Drug Policy, but what we have on the ground is that there is no act backing it. What is happening in many states is that they have been doing it by their own acts. But in the FCT, the DMA bill is in the process of being sent to the National Assembly because for the FCT you must pass through the National Assembly for the reformed DRF and DMA bill to be enforced.

So in most states in the north: Kano, Jigawa, Yobe and others, they passed it through their state assemblies. So there are laws backing the DRF programs in those states, he said.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Prof. Ahmed T. Morah, contended that the DRF does not need any special legal backing to become enforceable since it is already contained in several documents of the federal ministry of health.

While providing a conclusive perspective to the entire discourse, Dr. Abubakar Danraka who is the zonal coordinator of the Abuja zone of the WAPCP and host of the conference, disclosed that it was necessary for the fellows of the WAPCP to use their platform to once in a while, showcase the innovations they are bringing to the fore.

We do a lot of activities at our different practice settings. We conduct research, we do interventional studies, operational studies, and as you saw, we had about 30 prospective abstract presentations, but because we had criteria of the interventions that we need, we pruned them down to four. Those were the four presented, he said.

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May 01, (THEWILL)  One of the buses conveying stranded Nigerians from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where they will move into Saudi Arabia, caught fire on Monday.

Twenty-six buses, transporting the evacuees left at Al Razi around 12 am on Monday, for Port Sudan.

Sani Aliyu, who is in Sudan, narrates the ugly experience:

One of the buses conveying some 50 Nigerian students from Sudan with a tag number (Katsina 1), heading to Port Sudan as part of the second batch of FGN evacuation got damaged due to excessive heat from one of the vehicles tyres.

Dr Hashim Idris NaAllah, the chairman of the Nigerian Elders Forum in Sudan, was one of the passengers in the said bus, which contained a total of 50 students (49 males, 1 female).

The incident happened around 2:30am Sudan time.

The driver stopped the bus near an RSF checkpoint, just before the tire exploded causing a fire to start.

All the passengers escaped unhurt.

Forty out of the 50 passengers were later distributed to the other buses evacuating the students, while the remaining passengers spent the night where the incident happened alongside the driver at the RSF checkpoint.

The students said the RSF really did their possible best to help the passengers and offered them with cups of tea in the morning before they left, Aliyu said, adding that they however continued their journey to Port Sudan after the incident.

Over 1,000 Nigerians are being evacuated through the Port Sudan route following the difficulties faced in getting the first batch of evacuees across the Egypt borders.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party says Nigeria cannot move from being a consumption country to a producing one without proper welfare and care for workers.

Mr Obi, who earlier attended the Solidarity Rally of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Monday to commemorate 2023 Workers Day, disclosed this in a series of tweets.

I believe that Labour remains the backbone of productivity, Mr Obi said. We cannot talk about moving from consumption to production without caring about the welfare and well-being of the greatest tool of that revolution, which is human labour.

Mr Obi said urged every hardworking Nigerian, to remain steadfast in the course of building a better and New Nigeria where there will be more jobs, high productivity, security of lives and properties, and everything that will make Nigerians proud of their country.

Throughout his campaigns, the LP presidential candidate anchored his message around transforming Nigeria from a consumption country to a producing one.
Salihu Mohammed Lukman, the National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has spoken out against the partys National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, stating that he does not possess the constitutional authority to expel him.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Lukman had taken legal action against the APC, Adamu and the partys National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, for their failure to convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for a prolonged period.

He requested the Federal High Court to compel them to hold the meeting and submit a report of all party-related activities, including finances, from 2022 to the present.

However, on Sunday, the APC legal adviser, Ahmad Usman El- Marzuq Esq., wrote a letter to Adamu, urging him to expel Lukman for taking legal action against the party on what he described as an internal affair.

In response to the request, Lukman wrote a letter to Adamu on Monday, which he also sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, APC governors, President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and others.

He stated that the NWC does not possess the power to expel him and emphasized that he would not withdraw his case from the court, even if he were expelled.

The letter reads in part, There is nowhere in the APC constitution where the NWC is given the power to discipline any member of the party. I have already forwarded the memo to my legal team for further legal action.

For the avoidance of doubt, the suit in question, which is being alleged to constitute anti-party activity will have to go ahead, especially to correct the erroneous interpretation of the Constitution by the National Legal Adviser to the effect that it is not mandatory to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee every quarter for the purpose of presenting activities of the Party to the members of NEC.

Nobody, no matter how highly placed in the leadership of the party should be allowed to destroy the APC by blocking our organs, notably National Advisory Council (NAC), National Caucus, and NEC from holding statutory meetings as required by the Partys Constitution.

While looking forward to robust deliberations at the Wednesdays meeting of NWC, it is my hope that one of the resolutions of the NWC will be to convene a meeting of NEC before May 29, 2023 where all the demands I have made including reports of activity, financial report covering income and expenditure of the party, zoning for National Assembly leadership, review of 2023 elections, among others can be considered and appropriate decisions taken.
Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble next to a damaged residential building in Uman, south of Kyiv, April 28, after Russian missile strikes targeted several Ukrainian cities overnight. AP-Yonhap



New calls follow Yoon's remark on Seoul's potential expanded support



By Lee Hyo-jin



Ukraine is renewing calls for Korea to extend its provision of aid to include lethal weaponry to counter Russian attacks after President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a recent interview, opened the possibility of such aid to Kyiv under certain conditions.



Ambassador to Korea Dmitry Ponomarenko shared photos of ruined apartment buildings on his Twitter account, April 28, after the Russian forces launched a missile attack on a residential block in the city of Uman, Cherkasy region. A barrage of long-range cruise missile strikes on the residential building killed at least 25 people  including four children  and injured dozens more, according to Ukrainian officials.



"Isn't this the very example of 'large-scale attack on civilians' the Korean leader had mentioned earlier?" Ponomarenko wrote, noting that the Russian troops fired over 20 missiles in the deadly attack.



The envoy was referring to Yoon's remarks made during an interview with Reuters, April 19, where he said that Korea may consider providing weapons aid to Ukraine "if there is a situation the international community cannot condone such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacres or a serious violation of the laws of war."









The gesture of potential arms support signaled a possible departure from the Korean government's current policy of offering only humanitarian and economic assistance to the war-torn nation.



Considering that Yoon's remarks came just a week ahead of a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden held in Washington on April 26 (local time), speculations mounted that the two allies may discuss the possibility of Korea providing lethal weapons to Kyiv.





Shaken residents stand beside a cordoned-off area at a heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile assault in the town of Uman, Cherkasy region, Ukraine, April 28. Reuters-Yonhap
Police in Lagos State said on Sunday that five children of the same family were burnt to death at Abagbo Village, Takwa-Bay area of the state.

The spokesman for the command, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying that police had begun to investigate the cause of the fire incident.

Tarkwa Bay is one of the small islands located along the Atlantic coast. It is an artificial island created during the construction of the Lagos Harbour.

Elkana said that on Aug. 7, at about 10.30 a.m., the Takwa Bay Police Station received an information about a fire incident at Abagbo Village, Takwa Bay on Aug. 6, which claimed the lives of five children from the same family.

According to him, a team of detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer visited the scene.

The mother of the victims, Mrs Florence Asoye , stated that she left home at about 6.30 p.m. to Takwa-Bay Jetty only to come back to see her room completely raised by fire.

She said that she left her children under the care of one Suliat who locked the children in the room and left for an unknown destination.

The children who were burnt beyond recognition are: Folake Ogundiya , 13, Abigail Ogundiya, 8 , Daniel Bakare, 6, Chidinma Achomye, 2, Nnamdi Achomye ,1 , he said.

Similarly, the Police also had commenced investigations into the death of a woman who died in a hotel room in Morogbo in Badagry area of the state where she had lodged.

The spokesman of the command said that on Aug. 9, at about 2p.m, the Morogbo Police Station received information that one Jessica, a lodger in South Bound Hotel, Morogbo, was found dead in her hotel room.

Elkana said the homicide detectives had visited the scene, and found the corpse of the deceased on the bed facing up, with swollen face and foam- like fluid coming out of her mouth.

Her throat was knotted with clothes suggesting that she might have been strangulated.

There were blood stains all over the place. The corpse was evacuated to a mortuary for autopsy while the scene was preserved for forensic analysis.

The Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu, has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department based in Yaba to take over the investigation, he said

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King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election for a new term.

In a telephone conversation with President Buhari on Thursday, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the Nigerian President success and good health in his second term in office.

The Saudi King extended good wishes of steady progress and prosperity to the government and people of Nigeria.

President Buhari expressed appreciation to the King and affirmed his readiness to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Also, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable of congratulations to President Buhari on his re-election, wishing the Nigerian President success and the Nigerian people further development and progress.

Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, also sent a congratulatory message, saying:

I am honoured to extend my congratulations to you personally, Mr President, and the people of Nigeria on the successful conduct of free, transparent and credible Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 23, 2019, that will shape the destiny of this nation for the upcoming four years and beyond.

While describing the elections as yet another substantial step towards further strengthening of Nigerian democracy, the Russian Ambassador wrote:  It is my conviction that your decisive victory will pave the way for yet stronger and more prosperous Nigeria that you will be able to deliver on the peoples mandate. 

The Russian Ambassador expressed the hope that the Nigerian Presidents second term in office will be associated with further enhancements of bilateral cooperation and closer contacts between the two countries.

UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, said: I offer my congratulations to President Buhari on securing a second term as the Nigerian President. The UK is a long-standing friend and partner of Nigeria and the Nigerian people, and a stable and prosperous Nigeria benefits Africa and the world. 

French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in its congratulatory message said:

France congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election on February 23. It will continue to stand by Nigeria and to provide its full support for the implementation of the countrys priorities, especially economic diversification, job creation, counter terrorism and the fight against corruption.

President Buhari has also received congratulatory messages from Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.
Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $500 million in settlement, following a lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally slowing down the performance of older phones in order to encourage customers to buy new phones or fresh batteries.

A federal judge in California presiding over the group of lawsuits will be asked to approve the proposed settlement at a hearing in early April, according to a court filing on Friday.

The tech giant will now offer $25 to any current or former owner of a covered iPhone. Consumers who were named in the lawsuit will receive $1,500 or $3,500, and around $93 million will go toward attorneys plus another $1.5 million or so for out-of-pocket expenses, legal documents indicated.

People who have the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7Plus or SE running on iOS 10.2.1 are eligible for the settlement. Also eligible are owners of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that ran iOS 11.2, or a later version before, the 21st of December, 2017.

The settlement has a minimum payout of $310 million, but the payment is expected to increase to $500 million if more people file claims.

The litigation centered on stealthy mobile software that slowed phones in the name of avoiding unintended power-offs according to the company.

In December 2017, Apple admitted that iOS software was tweaked to slow the performance of older iPhones whose battery life was deteriorating to prevent handsets from spontaneously shutting down. But critics accused Apple of intentionally forcing users to buy new phones or fresh batteries.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Leader in Parliament, has called for serious discussion on the financial difficulties local banks are facing and how they could be supported to weather the storm.



Its no secret that many of these banks, which are essential to supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, are facing severe financial difficulties, he said in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency.



Dr Forson, former Deputy Finance Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, said the New Patriotic Party-led government had implemented policies that had eroded the capital of most of the local banks, under the Economic Management Team.



That, he said, was having a devastating effect on their ability to lend to businesses, create jobs, and contribute to the growth of the economy.



I believe its time for a serious discussion about how we can support our local banks and help them weather this difficult period, he said.









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 Neuro Spinal Hospital (NSH), a one-of-a-kind medical facility in Dubai dedicated in the treatment of neurology, spine, and orthopedic conditions and a comprehensive and advanced cancer centre has opened its doors to training medics from Africa.



Chief Operating Officer, Dana Msaddi, explained to representatives of African Media that the state-of-the-art facility is poised to giving out knowledge to physicians in the region because they are on a mission to better healthcare across the world.



Education is a passion for us and rooted in our DNA since we opened our doors two decades ago. Our founder and CEO is building to legacy not to business, and on the mission to raise the standards of care across the region, she said.



Since its establishment in 2002, The Neuro Spinal Hospital (NSH) has evolved into becoming a leading hospital in the UAE for the treatment of neurosurgical and spinal disorders, and now is home to an advanced cancer centre and a destination for many patients across the region.



The hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, including an advanced neuroimaging centre that provides the most accurate and precise imaging of the brain and spine, allowing for a more accurate diagnosis and safer procedures.



Currently, it is the only facility with one of the most advanced technologies, the CyberKnife, which is a non-invasive robotic radiosurgery system that delivers high doses of radiation to the targeted tumours with pinpoint accuracy. This allows to the destruction of cancer cells without impacting healthy tissue around it with no anaesthesia, incisions, and no or minimal side effects.



The hospital hosts regular conferences and workshops on the latest advances in spinal surgery, open to all surgeons of the region



For enquiries into this health care facility in Dubai contact Maame Adjoa Cann on 0207733131

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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Kasapreko Company Limited, Ghana's leading beverage manufacturing giant, has awarded the winner of the 2023 Kasapreko Excellence Award.



Mr. Isaac Addo, a graduate from Cape Coast Technical University, picked up Kasapreko's Excellence Award for being the "Best Engineering" student.



Mr. Addo, after being adjudged the best student for this year, received a cash prize of GH3000, a laptop, a commemorative plaque and will undertake his national service at Kasapreko Company Limited.



Speaking at the school's 2023 congregation, Mr. Solomon Owusu Bonnah, the HR Manager at Kasapreko Company Limited, said the award was aimed at bridging the academic and industry gap by offering students an opportunity to practicalize what they have learned in school.



"The Excellence Award is an initiative that supports technical student graduates in Ghana by recognizing their academic excellence and providing them with financial support to further their education or start their career in their chosen field. The award is aimed at encouraging and motivating students to excel in their studies and become leaders in their communities.



The company believes that investing in technical education is critical for the development of the country and the growth of the manufacturing industry.



"For over five years now, we have given these best students from various technical schools the opportunity to serve with us after school to practise what they have learned. This has yielded positive results, and we remain poised to extend it to all technical universities across the country," he said.





Prof. Charles Emmanuel Oppon, Dean of Student Affairs at Cape Coast Technical University, said the institution was appreciative of the kind gesture by Kasapreko but urged them to consider awarding female engineering students who also excel in the course.



"We would like to thank the management and staff of Kasapreko for instituting this award and giving students the opportunity to have national service with them. We hope this relationship with Kasapreko would continue, but we urge them to also recognise and award female students who also excel in the course," he said.



Mr Addo, who is the best engineering student this year, was elated to win the award from Kasapreko and looks forward to excelling with the company during his period of service.



"I am very delighted to win the Kasapreko Excellence Award, and I would like to thank the company for offering me the opportunity to serve with them. I am looking forward to making an impact with the company."



The Kasapreko Excellence Award forms part of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility as they groom and give the needed work exposure to these excelling students.

About Kasapreko Company Limited

Kasapreko Company Limited is a Ghanaian-owned company that produces alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.



The company was founded in 1989 and has since grown to become one of the leading beverage manufacturing companies in Ghana with a portfolio of well-known brands such as Alomo Bitters, Kasapreko Lime and Awake Purified Drinking Water.



The manufacturing giant achieved a double victory at the 2022 Ghana Beverage Awards, clinching two prestigious awards namely Best Manufacturing Company of the Year and Beer of the Year for their product "Freedom Beer".

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has asked the government to convert the National Cathedral project into a hospital.



Addressing the 2023 May Day parade in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah said converting the national cathedral into a hospital project will better serve Ghanaians than going ahead to build the cathedral.



The TUC also advised the President to reduce the size of government as Ghana was going through economic challenges.



The 2023 May Day parade is on the theme: "Protecting incomes and pensions in an era of economic crisis: Our responsibility"

Source: graphic.com.gh









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Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions march toward the presidential office in Yongsan following a Labor Day rally in downtown Seoul, May 1. Yonhap





Various labor groups, including the nation's two major umbrella unions, held large-scale rallies throughout downtown Seoul on Monday to commemorate Labor Day.







The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of the two major umbrella unions, organized a rally, named "world Labor Day convention" in the central district of Jongno from 2 p.m. and declared its plan to stage a general strike in July.







The KCTU insisted the rally attracted about 30,000 participants.







After the rally, KCTU members marched in three directions  the presidential office in Yongsan, the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office in Jung-gu and the Constitutional Court in Jongno.







At the same time, members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the other major umbrella union, gathered in Yeouido to hold what it calls a national labor congress. The group also claimed about 30,000 people attended the gathering.







The FKTU called for efforts to deter labor reforms, raise the minimum wage, promote the transition to "labor-centered justice," and stop revisions of the Serious Disaster Punishment Act and the pension systems.







In the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, a labor union official attempted self-immolation outside a court Monday, just hours before he was scheduled to attend a pretrial detention hearing on charges of business obstruction. He sustained serious burns and remained unconscious.







Yang Kyung-soo, the chairman of the KCTU, condemned the Yoon Suk Yeol government over the self-immolation of the Gangneung official during the rally, saying it was caused by the government's excessive suppression of labor unions.







The Federation of Public Officials Union, which has complained that civil servants not covered by the Labor Standards Act are discriminated against by being forced to go to work normally even on Labor Day, held a rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido from 1 p.m.







The union has long demanded that civil servants be guaranteed a day off on Labor Day.







Workers of leading food delivery app Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, held a rally in front of the company's headquarters in southern Seoul around noon to mark Labor Day and demanded a rise in their basic delivery fee, frozen for nine years, from 3,000 won ($2.24) to 4,000 won.







The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, a disability rights advocacy group, also held a rally near Seoul City Hall in the afternoon. (Yonhap)






Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida is arriving in Ghana on Monday as part of his weeklong visit to some selected four nations in Africa.



This will be the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to Ghana in 17 years after Junichiro Koizumi, a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party who visited somewhere in 2006.



Kishida was in Egypt before moving to Ghana. He is expected to travel to Kenya and Mozambique, before returning to his homeland with a transit through the South Asian city-state, Singapore.



It is a trip organized in view of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, under the Japanese presidency, to strengthen ties with the global South and gather international solidarity in support of Ukraine



Kishida is scheduled to meet with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Kenyan William Ruto and Mozambican Filipe Jacinto Nyusi as well as his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong.



Starting next week, I will be visiting Ghana. It is a great pleasure to be able to visit this country, which plays a pivotal role in West Africa.



I am very delighted to be able to finally return to Ghana as the Prime Minister of Japan, after overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.



The international community is now at a historic turning point. Russias aggression against Ukraine has had a major impact on Africa, including a food crisis and soaring fertiliser prices.



In addition, cooperation among the international community is even more crucial to effectively address various challenges facing the international community, such as climate change, energy, and opaque and unfair development finance.



As both Japan and Ghana currently serve as members of the United Nations Security Council, and as the two countries work together as important partners that share values and principles such as democracy and the rule of law, I look forward to having a frank discussion with President Akufo-Addo, PM Kishida emphasised.



The visit is also to offer the Prime Minister opportunity to further deepen the strong economic relationships between Ghana and Japan as well as further promote business and investments with Ghana, one of the leading economic centres in West Africa.



Based on the belief that quality infrastructure development is the foundation for revitalising economic activities, Japan has been supporting infrastructure such as roads to improve Ghanas connectivity to this date.



Japan has high hopes for Ghana, which hosts the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to play a role as a standard-bearer in promoting regional integration and trade facilitation. We are determined to cooperate more closely with Ghana in the future, he pointed out.



He expressed Japans continuous support for Ghanas infrastructure development in areas of roads and healthcare, acknowledging the contribution of Noguchi Memorial Institute to Ghana.



The development of Ghana-Japan relations cannot be discussed without acknowledging the achievements of Dr Hideyo Noguchi.



The healthcare sector is an important area for both countries, and we are pleased that Japan is contributing to the health and medical fields in Ghana and the West African region through the establishment of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and technical cooperation through the institute.



In particular, the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, which was established following the Prime Minister Koizumis visit to Ghana in 2006, have recognised individuals who have made outstanding achievements in medical research and medical activities in combating infectious diseases and other illnesses in Africa including Ghana.



This prize has contributed to the improvement of health and welfare in Africa as a whole. With a view to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), we will continue to contribute to the improvement in the health sector in Africa and the world.



He expressed the need for nations to uphold the International order based on the rule of law in ensuring peace and stability is the cornerstone of growth

in the face of Russias aggression against Ukraine, which shakes the very foundations of the international order.



He is expected to reaffirm Japans close collaboration with Ghana, which is playing a leading role in maintaining peace and stability in the region through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Accra Initiative.







Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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The Group Chairman of Allied Consortiums, Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie has posited that, the private sector can assist government in providing decent housing for Ghanaians.



According to him, the Government can incorporate the Southern African mortgage and rental system to address the heightened housing deficit in Ghana.



Speaking to Joy News, Saturday 22nd April, 2023, Mr. Quashie revealed that South Africa has a very robust real estate business. "You can't say they have a housing deficit. There is no housing deficit in South Africa. They do it so well because the industry of real estate development is well regulated", he stated.



Explaining further, the Allied Consortiums Group Chairman shared that, in the South African scenario for example, a piece of land would be given to a real estate company to develop. "You build houses, Government only takes its property rate taxes at month's end, you give to people who can acquire bank guarantee to get those properties", he stated.



He however contended that, getting a bank guarantee to acquire a property on long term basis is very difficult in Ghana and a challenge which is hindering a lot more people from acquiring houses. In his view, there are two factors inhibiting banks from assisting people to acquire houses.



The first factor, in his understanding, is the unemployment bit in this country. There are teaming youth who are ready to work but not getting the required jobs to do and the second bit is in relation to those who are employed but not receiving too friendly salaries. "But, if we want to grow as a people, the banks should be able to also guarantee on behalf of young working people and that for me forms a guarantee basis for them to acquire houses. It happens in South Africa", he revealed.



"Ghana has a housing deficit and one area Allied wants to bring on board is to get technical know-how and bring people in the real estate industry to come to Ghana and introduce their module in terms of real estate. I think we can do it if we regulate it well because these are people who have the capital", Mr. Kofi Quashie affirmed.



According to him, this is achievable if all other bottlenecks connected with land acquisition and its development are curtailed. "If we don't have hurdles as to compensating Chiefs, compensating traditional rulers and we allow people to come in and build structures", in no time, the housing deficit in our country would be done away with.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Ambassador Edward Boateng, Director General (DG) of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) and immediate past Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China has donated logistics and aids to disabled persons in the Ashanti Region as part of his annual donation to the disabled community in Ghana. Among the items donated included white canes, walking clutches, walkers and wheel chairs.



The event was held at the Kwadaso Methodist Retreat Centre. Among the dignitaries present were Prof. Kingsley Nyarko (Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency), Hon Richmond Agyenim Boateng (Municipal Chief Executive  Kwadaso Municipal Assembly), Mr. Kwasi Kyei (Former Director of Communications  Ashanti Region NPP)



Ambassador Boateng encouraged all present especially persons with disability (PWD) to be confident, aggressive and aim to make a difference in society irrespective of conditions. He cited great men locally and internationally who made an impact to society irrespective of their challenges. Disability doesnt mean inability. You have inherent talents and skills to unearth, harness and aggressively engage to make a difference.



President Roosevelt who steered America through the Great Depression and World War II achieved despite being affected by polio and needed mobility aids, Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University achieved great scientific feats despite needing mobility aids and losing his speech, Helen Keller became deaf blind at the age of 19 months but became an advocate for labour rights and many social causes globally, Paul Anomah Kordieh of e.tv Ghana is visually impaired but reads live news on TV and decorated as Ghanas first visually impaired news anchor. Chairman B.K. Edusei who championed Kotokos Africa club victory in 1971 also had mobility aids. The list goes on and on and on. With technology these days, you can become anything you yearn for, he said.



Receiving the items on behalf of the group, Mr. Kwasi Kyei thanked Amb. Boateng for his exhibition of genuine love and assured that the group will utilize the logistics in their quest to make life meaningful. He said On behalf of the group, I say thank you. We are grateful and assure you that the beneficiaries are capable of achieving great feats. What they require is the support, technology and enabling policies. Ambassador Boateng also expressed the need to focus on mental health as a nation and called for the effective implementation of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 Act 715.



Ambassador Boateng has consistently supported the disabled community and donated logistics and aids to Ghanas disabled communities. In his previous capacity as Executive Chairman of the Global Media Alliance group; founders of e.tv Ghana, Ambassador Boateng recruited and provided training and logistics to Paul Anomah Kordieh to become Ghanas and arguably West Africas first visually impaired news anchor and commercial television presenter. As the co-founder of the popular Family Fun Run and Corporate 5KM Run events, annual proceeds of both events are donated to the Mercy Social Centre (an orphanage) and the Ghana Blind Union.



When asked why opted to support the disabled community in his annual charity project, Amb. Boateng shared that less attention is given to the disabled community and even though they also have needs, attention is often given to all other groups except them. Why not them? You would be surprised to know that the presentation of a white cane or one wheel chair can transform the life and fortunes of our friends here today. But attention is mostly given to other groups. This is not to belittle the needs of all other groups. Giving to other groups is also valid and important but they disabled in society also deserve our support, care and love, he said.



Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Member of Parliament (MP) of Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro, Sylvester Tetteh has descended heavily on the former Minister for Environment and Chairman of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof. Frimpong-Boateng over his report indicting some government officials of their involvement in galamsey.



Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has accused the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah of masterminding a plot to bring him down and other officials at the Jubilee House for actively engaging in the galamsey menace.



Throughout our struggle with illegalities in the small-scale mining sector, what baffled me was the total disregard of the Presidents commitment to protect the environment. I can state without any equivocation that many party officials from the National to the unit committee level had their friends, PAs, agents, relatives, financiers or relatives engaged in illegal mining.



Most of them engaged Chinese working for them. I am not referring to party people who had their legitimate concession and were mining sustainably as they were instructed to do. There are appointees in the Jubilee House that are doing or supporting illegal mining or interfering with the fight against the menace, parts of the report said.



But Hon. Sylvester Tetteh has rubbished the report saying he doubts the genuineness of the claims made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng.



To him, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng feels "he is the only professor in this country" and adds he believes the latter is making such claims because he wasn't reappointed.



The MP also disclosed that the Chief of Staff demanded a report from the Committee as a whole, not statements from an individual, to be submitted to her office but Prof. Frimpong-Boateng ignored his 10-member Committee to present his own report, therefore blindsiding his colleagues who were on the Committee.



Further assessing the report, Hon. Sylvester Tetteh concluded that the posture of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng tells that "he didn't write this report with a good intention".



He also stated that Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is guilty of the allegations he's leveled against his accused persons as he asked "have you not picked a phone to call someone to intervene on behalf of a person you know who calls for help because he is in trouble?"



"So, if I pick my phone and call someone to plead on behalf of another person I know who wants my help, does that amount to obstruction? . . . how many times has a driver not been arrested and we, politicians, or prominent persons in society not called the Police officer? Does that amount to obstruction?"



"When you read this report, it has no basis. He (Frimpong-Boateng) has seen that the fight against galamsey has become a sensational matter, so he just wants to fan the flame," he added.



Hon. Sylvester Tetteh also disclosed that he has personal issues with Prof. Frimpong-Boateng regarding his work while in office.



"I've resolved not to talk about that man. I have my personal issues with him. Apart from personal, it borders on the work he was given."



Watch video below





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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An attempt by the Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi, to discredit data revealed by the Vice President on the over 2 million jobs created under the Akufo-Addo administration has been met with resistance leaving Sammy Gyamfi utterly ashamed.



Following Dr. Bawumia's revelation, the Vice President provided data on his Facebook page giving details of the jobs created under every Ministry, department and agency.



Speaking to the issues on radio, Sammy Gyamfi attempted to discredit the data provided by the Vice President by limiting his calculations to only workers under the Controller and Accountant General and leaving out the jobs in the government agencies such as NPA, GNPC among others whose workers are not under Controller.



It was this deliberate omission that got the Director of Local Government Services at the Office of the President, Dennis Miracles Aboagye to expose what he described as Sammy Gyamfis dishonesty and deception.



Dennis Miracles slammed Sammy Gyamfi for failing to read the data provided by Dr. Bawumia and referred him to the data which specified the jobs created under public and private sectors including the government agencies which are not under Controller and Accountant General.



Subsequent to the radio programme on Asempa FM, Dennis Miracles took to his Facebook page to further expose Sammy Gyamfi.



Below is Dennis Miracles' full article:



I have seen a feeble attempt by the National Communications officer of the NDC to question the Job creation data published by our Vice President H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia backed by verifiable data



I am only addressing this because of the arrogant manner in which the National communications officer of the NDC is peddling this ignorance and his constant insult at the Vice President and calling the Vice President a liar.



First of all, the Vice President used the phrase Job Creation and not controller and accountant Generals department employment.



What Sammy Gyamfi hasnt realized inspite of all the education I tried to give him yesterday on Asempa 94.7 FM is that, the Budget document Page 230, Appendix 7 which he refers to, covers only public sector Employees who are paid directly from the Consolidated fund and controller & Accountant General and whose compensation have a direct bearing on the account balancing of the finance minister.



There are two categories of Public sector Employees:



CATEGORY 1: Those employed by government and paid directly from the consolidated fund. E.g Teachers, Civil Servants, Nurses, Doctors, Local Government service stuff, security services etc.



CATERGORY 2: Those employed by subvented Public agencies and Public Enterprises who are paid by the institutions themselves and not through central government (controller). Example; GNPC, NPA, NLA, Ghana Gas, Cocobod, PBC , Ghana Water, ECG, VRA, Ghapoha etc.



Now the finance minister in his budget reading, as captured under Appendix 7, Page 230 of the 2023 budget, provides budget ceilings for the category 1 employees, whose compensation affects the finance ministers Wage Bill.



All the other Public sector institutions whose wages are not paid directly by the finance minister are not captured on that table. Of course the finance minister doesnt budget for the salaries of staff recruited by Mr. sammi Awuku at NLA or Dr. Mustapha Hamid of NPA or Mr. Aidoo of Cocobod, so you dont expect the finance minister to capture their staff strength in his budget in an appendix labeled OLGS & RCCs budget ceilings.



Theres no where in the 2023 budget or any of the budgets since 2017 for that matter that has a table of all public sector employees in Ghana. The Appendix 7 Table in the budget indeed, only captures one category of pubic sector employees which is the category 1 public sector employees who are paid directly by the CAGD.



A quick point of proof is the fact that if you look at the same 2023 budget statement, Page 114 Paragraph 548, labeled JOB CREATION IN COCOA, which the finance minister reported jobs of about 147,000 created through the implementation of the various Cocoa sector revitalization programmes. Example, The unemployed youth recruited to handle cocoa Hand Pollination, cocoa Mass Spraying etc.



Sammy GYAMFI should show us, on the Appendix 7 Table, where this 147,000 Cocobod jobs have been reported. Of course they are not reported there Becos, that table is meant for only recruitment of staff being paid directly by the finance minister through controller and these Cocobod employees do not fall under that category. So you will find the Agric extension officers on the appendix 7 table but not find the cocoa Mass Spraying employees there. The Agric extension officers are paid by controller, the cocoa mass spraying employees are paid by Cocobod.



Category 2 employment is not and cannot be captured on the Appendix 7 Table. It will be anomaly.



That notwithstanding, each of these category 2 Public sector institutions have mother ministries and that is why on the Vice Presidents Data sheet, you will realise they are captured under the mother ministry but has another Colours listing the specific agencies covering these numbers.



Reference the Vice President Data sheet, take a look at No. 6, Ministry of Transport, you would realize, 3rd column under Agency, Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Shippers Authority, DVLA, Metro Mass Transport and several other Public entities are captured there under ministry of Transport before the figures year on year are shown.



Appendix 7 of the 2023 Budget referred to by Sammy Gyamfi doesnt capture all these agencies published by Veep and rightly so because their staff wages are not paid by the Finance Minister and do not feature in the finance ministers wage bill budgeting.



I have said and I keep saying, that, Sammy Gyamfis constant attempt to peddle falsehood and untruth which he does mostly through insults and attacks on the Vice President must be checked. And must be checked through only one way, the Facts!



This report by the Vice President is the easiest verifiable report ever if the NDC were a serious political party. Instead of rushing to come write insults at Vice President, visit SSNIT and reconcile the enrollment figures with the figures reported, visit the Institutions and verify the figures reported and then you can take your time to trace and identify the gaps but alas, the usual NDC, incompetent in Government and incompetent in opposition and is only counting on the isolated challenges of the government as an automatic return to government.



The Next time the NDC decides to contend on data and issue based debate with the Vice President, they should be sure to first read wide before any attempt.



When you hear sammy Gyamfi speak, get your books, data and reports, and read for yourself, otherwise he will lead you into a ditch.



Hes a very smart young man but he is very deliberate about ignoring the truth, resisting the facts, embellishing it with insults to achieve political advantage by sparking the emotions and sentiments of his readers and listeners. If you put 100 of the issues he raises to test, he wont have even 10% passing the fact check.



Lets eschew insults, lets just be brutal and confrontational about the debate but only through use of facts and nothing else.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The aspiring flag bearer for National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Duffuor is calling on the government to demonstrate genuine commitment in protecting the public purse.



In a statement titled Appreciating Our Labour Day With Greater Commitment to celebrate the Ghanaian worker, Dr. Duffuor stated that actions by managers of the public purse must reflect this years theme Protecting incomes and pensions in the era of economic crisis: Our responsibility.



Worldwide, the efforts and contributions of workers to the growth of economies, is being appreciated and celebrated today. In Ghana, we are celebrating our Day under the theme: Protecting incomes and pensions in the era of economic crisis: Our responsibility.



As apt as the theme is, there must be a genuine desire and commitment from the purse managers and policy makers to breathe life into the theme. Responsible management of our economy is well reflected in the theme: it must not be just rhetoric, Dr. Duffuor stated .



He continued: Indeed, the nation is bedevilled with crisis on many fronts and incomes and pensions are falling apart.



A Better Ghana has been built before and can be built again with the right tools. I wish all workers of Ghana well on this day for the celebration of Labour.



Let us keep hope alive and embrace the future with greater optimism.

Source: Starrfm.com









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Ghanaian musicians Medikal and Shatta Wale have a close relationship, often supporting each other publicly.



However, Shatta Wale's ex-partner, Diamond Michelle Gbagonah, better known as Michy, recently confronted Medikal over comments he made regarding Shatta's parenting.



Specifically, Michy took issue with a statement Medikal made claiming that Shatta pays for his son's school fees, which she disputed.



The conversation between the two quickly escalated at a blogger's party on April 29, with Medikal advising Michy to act responsibly while she was filming him and the latter using an expletive in reference to the rapper.



Medikal was attending the event with his wife, Fella Makafui, and had to be pulled away by a friend when Michy became agitated.



In the video, Medikal said the comment that upset Michy was not about her son, Majesty, but rather about his (Medikal's) own child, Island Frimpong, whose school fees Shatta reportedly pays.





Shatta Michy corner Medikal for one side make he run pic.twitter.com/ltiZqoQFq8  SIKAOFFICIAL (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) April 30, 2023

Source: graphic.com.gh









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" " Night falls in Chinatown, San Francisco, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia as well as the oldest in North America. John Elk III/Getty Images

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is a celebration of the 22.6 million Asians and 1.6 million Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders living in the United States and the role they played in shaping American history. Although Americans have celebrated AAPI Heritage Month every year since 1992, when President George H.W. Bush signed legislation that permanently designated May as the commemorative month, it started out as a weeklong celebration in 1979  thanks to the efforts of a woman named Jeanie F. Jew.

Jew was a board member of the Organization of Chinese Americans and a Capitol Hill staffer when she approached government officials about acknowledging and celebrating Asian Americans for their accomplishments. She took on this challenge after noticing the lack of Asian and Pacific representation during the Bicentennial celebrations of 1976. It was personal for Jew, as her great-grandfather had helped build the Transcontinental Railroad.

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Jew enlisted the support of Ruby Moy, an administrative assistant to former New York Representative Frank Horton, and the two worked to gain support for a proclamation. Rep. Horton introduced a bill in 1977 that called for the first 10 days in May to be Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week, while Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye introduced a similar resolution.

The drafters chose the month of May to celebrate two historic events: The first Japanese immigrant arrived in the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and the Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. About 20,000 Chinese workers took part in the building of this railroad and 1,200 died from explosions, avalanches and other disasters during its construction.

" " Chinese railroad workers greet a train on a snowy day. Sketch by Joesph Becker/Wikipedia/Public Domain

The two bills failed, but the drafters didn't let that discourage them. The legislation needed at least 218 members of Congress for the bill to pass the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, so the sponsors got to work (the bill was revised to reflect the Census Bureau's designation of the community as "Asian/Pacific" instead of "Pacific/Asian.")

Jew and Moy founded the Asian Pacific Congressional Staff Caucus, while Jew also founded and chaired the National Coalition for an Asian/Pacific American Heritage Proclamation. The Organization of Chinese Americans, Japanese American Citizens League and the Organization of Chinese American Women also advocated for the bill. Thanks to their persistence, 231 Congressional representatives co-sponsored it and it passed with massive support in both the House and the Senate.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the resolution declaring May 4-11 Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, and the celebration started in 1979. Over the next decade, Presidents Carter, Reagan and Bush passed annual proclamations for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. In 1990 Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and in 1992 it became an annual celebration in perpetuity.

President Barack Obama expanded the commemoration to include Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians in 2009 and so the month is now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Now That's Interesting Before the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, it would take you half a year to get from New York to California. After the railroad was built, it took a week to go that same distance.

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Originally Published: May 1, 2021
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:

Experts say sloths appear to be infection resistant.

The fur of Costa Rican sloths appears to harbor antibiotic-producing bacteria that scientists hope may hold a solution to the growing problem of "superbugs" resistant to humanity's dwindling arsenal of drugs.

Sloth fur, research has found, hosts bustling communities of insects, algae, fungi and bacteria, among other microbes, some of which could pose disease risk.

Yet, experts say, the famously slow-moving mammals appear to be surprisingly infection-proof.

"If you look at the sloth's fur, you see movement: you see moths, you see different types of insects... a very extensive habitat," Max Chavarria, a researcher at the University of Costa Rica, told AFP.

"Obviously when there is co-existence of many types of organisms, there must also be systems that control them," he said.

Chavarria and a team took fur samples from Costa Rican two- and three-toed sloths to examine what that control system could be.

They found the possible existence of antibiotic-producing bacteria that "makes it possible to control the proliferation of potentially pathogenic bacteria... or inhibit other competitors" such as fungi, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

'No infection'

The sloth is a national symbol in laid back Costa Rica, and a major tourist attraction for the Central American country.

Both the two-toed (Choloepus Hoffmanni) and three-toed (Bradypus variegatus) sloth species have seen their populations decline, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Both the two-toed (Choloepus Hoffmanni) and three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) have seen their populations decline, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

They live in the canopies of trees in the jungle on the Caribbean coast, where the climate is hot and humid.

American Judy Avey runs a sanctuary in the balmy jungle to care for sloths injured after coming into contact with humans or other animals.

She treats and rehabilitates the creatures with a view to releasing them back into the wild.

"We've never received a sloth that has been sick, that has a disease or has an illness," she told AFP.

"We've received sloths that had been burned by power lines and their entire arm is just destroyed... and there's no infection.

"I think maybe in the 30 years (we've been open), we've seen five animals that have come in with an infected injury. So that tells us there's something going on in their... bodily ecosystem."

Avey, who established the sanctuary with her late Costa Rican husband, Luis Arroyo, had never even heard of a sloth back home in Alaska.

Since receiving her first sloth, whom she named "Buttercup," in 1992, she has cared for around 1,000 animals.

Penicillin inspiration

Researcher Chavarria took fur samples taken from sloths at the sanctuary to examine in his laboratory.

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, resistence to antibiotics could cause 10 million deaths a year.

He began his research in 2020, and has already pinpointed 20 "candidate" microorganisms waiting to be named.

But he said there is a long road ahead in determining whether the sloth compounds could be useful to humans.

"Before thinking about an application in human health, it's important to first understand... what type of molecules are involved," said Chavarria.

An example of this is penicillin, discovered in 1928 by British scientist Alexander Fleming, who discovered that a fungal contamination of a laboratory culture appeared to kill a disease-causing bacteria.

His discovery of the world's first bacteria-killer, or antibiotic, earned him the 1945 Nobel Prize in medicine.

However, microbial resistance to antibiotics has been a growing problem, meaning some medicines no longer work to fight the infections they were designed to treat.

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon, but the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and plants has made the problem worse.

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, resistance to antibiotics could cause 10 million deaths a year.

"Projects like ours can contribute to finding... new molecules that can, in the medium or long term, be used in this battle against antibiotic resistance," said Chavarria.

 2023 AFP
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Credit: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Many human resource and talent acquisition systems do not recognize digital non-degree credentials that are often included on resumes and in job applications, according to a Northeastern survey.

Instead, most hiring systems remain geared toward traditional educational informationsuch as bachelor's and master's degreesand unstructured data such as PDF attachments.

Northeastern's Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy surveyed 750 human resources leaders in partnership with the 1EdTEch Foundation to understand better how employers use digital non-degree credentials in the hiring process.

The 2021 survey confirmed that hiring managers are interested in the growing adoption of digital credentials and skills-based hiring practices but found that technical integration between HR systems is a significant barrier.

Half the respondents reported that data-rich learning and achievement records would challenge their current systems and processes. In contrast, the other half said their systems were ready to incorporate digital credentials.

Educational institutions and professional associations are issuing millions of digital non-degree credentials. But there is a seemingly large disconnect between what applicants submit and what the employers see and use to make a hiring decision.

"You have this huge trend, but you don't have other systems keeping pace," says Emilee Trieckel, a research associate at Northeastern. "We talk a lot about the potential of digital credentials, but for that to be realized, these other systems must work in concert."

The rise of intermediaries like LinkedIn, Indeed and others often adds a third party between the job seeker and the employer. As an applicant's credentials pass through these websites, they're often reduced to the lowest common denominatorbachelor's degrees and master's degrees, for example.

So many job seekers are adding information or data to their applications that will never make it to employers to review.

Online credentials started to pop up in the early 2010s. The massively open online course platforms such as Coursera and edX partnered with some colleges to provide low-cost online certificates.

In parallel, some degree-granting institutionsmostly community collegesramped up their own non-credit certificate offerings such as quick boot camp programs.

The report's main takeaway is that hiring systems are not equipped to accept most of them.

"There are millions upon millions of data points," says Sean Gallagher, the founder and executive director of Northeastern's Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy and Executive Professor of Educational Policy.

The purpose of the analysis conducted across 2022 and early 2023 is to explore how existing human resources technologies treat non-traditional educational credentials. The research used representative sample software providers, interviews and demos.

The number of education and professional credentials available in the United States has grown significantly since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

According to the report, there are more than 1 million unique credentials, including about 660,000 credentials from non-academic providers.

"How does that get mapped into some consistent structure on the employer side?" Gallagher asked.

More information: The report is available online: cps.northeastern.edu/wp-conten  Acquisition_Tech.pdf
This Nov. 27, 2022 file photo shows the scene of a helicopter crash in the eastern county of Yangyang, Gangwon Province. Yonhap



The families of people who died in a helicopter crash last year filed a complaint against local government heads for violating the act on serious industrial accidents, their lawyer said Monday.



On Nov. 27, 2022, an aging firefighting chopper crashed on a hill in the eastern coastal county of Yangyang, killing five people on board. The helicopter was surveying the area for forest fires.



The bereaved families lodged a complaint with the labor ministry against the mayors of the city of Sokcho, Goseong County and Yangyang County, accusing them of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act by neglecting safety management, their legal representative said.



This marks the first time that local government heads have been sued under the act, which came into effect in January 2022.



The law is aimed at penalizing the owners and management of companies with 50 or more workers who fail to fulfill their duties to prevent serious accidents.



The three local governments jointly leased the 47-year-old helicopter for firefighting purposes.



The families claim the company operating the helicopter manipulated flight records, used unauthorized parts and did not provide the crewmembers with due days off.



They argue the local governments should be held responsible as they had actual control over the helicopter under the terms of the lease agreements.



The flight plan for the crashed helicopter reportedly stated only the captain and two mechanics were on board. However, it was revealed that the helicopter was carrying two more people in addition to the crewmembers. (Yonhap)


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H. umbraculigerum biosynthesizes CBGA and other terpenophenols in all aerial plant parts. Credit: Nature Plants (2023). DOI:10.1038/s41477-023-01402-3

A South African plant called a wooly umbrella is completely unrelated to the cannabis plant, yet it makes a slew of the active compounds found in cannabiscannabinoidsincluding some that may have new medical uses.

In a study published today in Nature Plants, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers identified more than 40 cannabinoids in the wooly umbrella, and they revealed the series of biochemical steps the plant takes when it makes these compounds. The researchers also showed how these steps can be reproduced in the lab to synthesize or even engineer new cannabinoids.

The familiar cannabis plant makes more than 100 different cannabinoids, and it remains their iconic producer. But the wooly umbrella, a fast-growing perennial plant, is a respectable runner-up. "We have found a major new source of cannabinoids and developed tools for their sustained production, which can help explore their enormous therapeutic potential," says Dr. Shirley (Paula) Berman, who led the study in Prof. Asaph Aharoni's lab in Weizmann's Plant and Environmental Sciences Department.

Cannabinoids are already widely applied to relieve pain, nausea, anxiety and epileptic seizures, and the list of their possible uses is rapidly growing. Molecular receptors that respond to these compounds are common in humans, not only in the brain but also throughout the body, suggesting that the cannabinoids that bind to them might be used to treat everything from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases.

The promise that cannabinoids hold for medicine is precisely why Aharoni's lab launched a study of the wooly umbrella, or Helichrysum umbraculigerum, which owes its common name to its velvety, mustard-yellow, parasol-shaped flowers. It belongs to an entirely different family of plants from cannabis; its relatives include sunflowers, daisies and lettuce.

But wooly umbrella has long been known to be burned in folk rituals to release intoxicating fumes, which suggested that it might contain chemicals affecting the brain. In fact, German scientists who studied the plant more than 40 years ago found evidence that it contains cannabinoids, but more modern studies failed to reproduce their findings.

Now Berman and colleagues, using a battery of state-of-the-art technologies, confirmed that early report. They sequenced the entire genome of the wooly umbrella and used advanced analytical chemistry, including high-resolution mass spectroscopy, to identify the kinds of cannabinoids it contains.

Using nuclear magnetic resonance, the researchers revealed the precise structure of more than a dozen of these cannabinoids and other related metabolites. They traced the entire biochemical pathway involved in the production of cannabinoids and determined where in the plant they are made.

It turns out that the wooly umbrella manufactures cannabinoids primarily in its leaves, possibly giving it an economic advantage over cannabis, which makes these compounds in the shorter-lived and harder-to-harvest flower clusters, or inflorescences. Despite this difference, the Weizmann scientists found a great deal in common between the wooly umbrella and cannabis.

In particular, the enzymes used in every step of their cannabinoid production process belong to the same families, throughout the first half of the biochemical pathway.

Six of the cannabinoids found in the wooly umbrella are identical to those in cannabis. The six do not include the two most famous ones, THC and CBD, but they do include cannabigerol, or CBG, a rising star of cannabinoid research: It has potential therapeutic applications but lacks mood-altering effects.

The acid form of CBG, which appears in a relatively high concentration in the plant, serves as a precursor for the production of all the classical cannabinoids, supporting the idea that the wooly umbrella could become a valuable source of plant-based cannabinoids.

What purpose cannabinoids serve in plants is unknown, but they probably provide defenses against animals or environmental hazards. "The fact that in the course of evolution two genetically unrelated plants independently developed the ability to make cannabinoids suggests that these compounds perform important ecological functions," Aharoni explains. "More research is needed to determine what these functions are."

His team has already taken their latest insights into cannabinoid genetics a step further, using them to generate the newly discovered cannabinoid-making enzymes in tobacco plants. The researchers also managed to use these enzymes to create finished cannabinoids in yeast, pointing to a new way of manufacturing the compounds for research and the biotech industry.

In the future, the study's findings might even lead to engineering cannabinoids that don't exist in nature. These could be designed to better bind to the human forms of the cannabinoid receptors, for example, or to achieve specific therapeutic benefits.

The cannabinoids naturally occurring in the wooly umbrella might also open up new possibilities. Says Berman: "The next exciting step would be to determine the properties of the more than 30 new cannabinoids we've discovered, and then to see what therapeutic uses they might have."

More information: Berman, P. et al. Parallel evolution of cannabinoid biosynthesis. Nature Plants (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01402-3 Journal information: Nature Plants
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The distribution of the provision (left axis) and net flow (right axis) of harmful fisheries subsidies in billion US$. The total amount of harmful fisheries subsidies being provided by each nation and the total amount of domestic and foreign harmful fisheries subsidies estimated to be supporting fishing within each nation clustered as either very-high, high low, or very-low for; (a) the UN Human Development Index, (b) the amount of beneficial fisheries subsidies provided, and (c) the 2020 Environmental Performance Indexes for relative fish stock status. Credit: Marine Policy (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105611

Fish aren't impacted by borders, and neither are the subsidized fishing fleets that follow them.

A recent UBC study quantified the number of harmful fisheries subsidies that support fishing in the high seas, domestic and foreign waters and found that between 20 and 37 percent of these subsidies supported fishing in waters outside the jurisdictions of their home nation; these subsidies also primarily originated from developed nations yet disproportionately impacted developing countries, leading to environmental and societal impacts all around the globe.

"Harmful subsidies often lead to a fishing fleet being able to go out fishing even if [the fishing] isn't profitable," said Anna Schuhbauer, author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. "And these vessels can go wherever they want they can go to other countries, other economic zones. And so, we were really interested in the impact of these subsidies on the countries where these boats actually fish."

Harmful fisheries subsidies are any direct or indirect financial contribution by a government to a private sector that increases the revenue, or lowers the cost, of fishing. Fuel subsidies, tax exemptions, support for vessel construction, investment in marketing and processing infrastructureby altering the economics of fishing in these ways, harmful subsidies can encourage unsustainable fishing capacities that exponentially increase the risk of exploitation.

In 2018, an estimated $22.2 billion in harmful fisheries subsidies were provided to the world's fishing fleets. Of this, some $5.3 billion were likely to support fishing in foreign waters and within the exclusive economic zones of foreign nations, and $1 billion supported fishing in the high seas. These numbers mean that the benefits, and the resulting environmental and societal costs, of these subsidies are not equally distributed across the places these fishing vessels go to.

"What we're finding out is that harmful fishing subsidies create more inequities in places where the coastal communities are already marginalized," said Schuhbauer. "You have coastal communities that are already disadvantaged over the big industrial fisheries because the government doesn't really pay too much attention to them."

"And we're not saying that the small-scale fishing fleet should get more subsidies, but maybe the harmful subsidies should be taken away and instead, provided as beneficial subsidies. Maybe for community-based projects or just generally for fisheries management for both industrial and small-scale fleets," Schuhbauer said.

Local fishing suffers when big boats, harmfully subsidized, take all the fish and livelihood opportunities away from local fishers. Food insecurity becomes an issue as well, especially for communities heavily reliant on day-to-day subsistence fishing. Artificially created jobs lead to an economy falsely dependent on fishing, where the government does not support creating different, sustainable livelihood opportunities.

"Both current and future generations of marginalized communities in the Global South are heavily impacted by harmful fisheries subsidies," said Rashid Sumaila, University Killam Professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. "There is a huge opportunity cost when limited public resources are used to subsidize overfishing because the same resources are not available to tackle some of the big challenges facing these communities such as building and running community health centers, and schools."

"Secondly, because such subsidies lead to overcapacity and overfishing not only by local but also subsidized vessels of distant water fishing nations, they literally take food out the mouth of both current and future generations of these communities."

The ecological impact of these harmful fisheries is also great, and should not be underestimated. Instead of addressing the lack of fish in domestic waters, harmful subsidies allow fishing vessels to deplete fish stocks in other countries' waters.

"Harmful fisheries subsidies can have many serious impacts," said Daniel Skerritt, lead author of the study and a former postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, who is now with Oceana. "Our previous research, and that of colleagues all over the world, have shown how they can distort markets and contribute to unfair trade practices, lead to higher CO 2 emissions by making fuel cheaper, and ultimately increase the risk of overfishing."

Over 20 years ago, the world community recognized how harmful fisheries subsidies were destructive to fish stocks and fishing communities, and asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address these issues.

"The mandate was to work collaboratively with countries worldwide to discipline them," said Sumaila. "The WTO reached an agreement in June 2022 to help reduce these subsidies. At the moment, some commentators have found the agreement wanting."

The WTO struck a deal in June last year that partially banned provision of fisheries subsidies, but only to illegal fishing and fishing on overfished stocks. WTO Members will be meeting again in February 2025 to negotiate the parts of the deal that were not included, including the prohibition of all harmful subsidies.

"This is what most voices in the scientific community are in support of," said Skerritt. "The alternative is to provide support that actively works to increase sustainability and equitability in fisheries, particularly in shared fisheries."

The paper is published in the journal Marine Policy.

More information: Daniel J. Skerritt et al, Mapping the unjust global distribution of harmful fisheries subsidies, Marine Policy (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105611 Journal information: Marine Policy
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Carrion fly. Credit: Curtin University

Researchers from Curtin University have collected iDNA from flies to track the movements of Australia's native species across the Western Australian wheatbelt, with hopes to improve future conservation efforts in the region.

Published in the journal Conservation Biology, the research team found that native animals, such as the echidna, numbat, woylie and chuditch, were predominantly located in conservation reserves and not across the wider wheatbelt landscape, compared to invasive species like foxes and feral cats which were found across all areas.

Senior researcher and co-author Associate Professor Bill Bateman, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said native mammal populations were declining at alarming rates and there was an urgent need to monitor and protect their well-being.

"It is essential to monitor the distribution and movements of animals so we can identify which populations are most at risk, which ones are declining, and which ones are on the brink of extinction. Tracking wildlife through alternative techniques, such as camera trapping and audio recording, can be difficult, costly and take several weeks to gather data," Associate Professor Bateman said.

"Using iDNA (invertebrate-derived DNA) collected from carrion flies can be much more effective as there is a greater population of flies in Australia, they can travel longer distances, they commonly interact with animals, their feces, or carcasses and you can gather data much fastersometimes in less than a week.

"Over the period of our study, we estimated that individual flies were only moving just over half a kilometer. Using this information coupled with the iDNA technique, we were able to identify that native animals were only using conservation reserves, which means in order to ensure they have the best possible chance of survival, we need more of these reserves across the region, ideally with corridors between."

Lead researcher Dr. Kristen Fernandes, who completed the work as part of her Ph.D. at Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences and is now based at the University of Otago, said conservation reserves were introduced to help prevent mammal population declines.

"These reserves are particularly important in the wheatbelt region as the landscape has been severely fragmented, with more than 93% of the natural vegetation in the area being replaced with exotic grasses and cereal crops," Dr. Fernandes said.

"Using iDNA techniques can give us insight as to which animals are using the reserves, if the surrounding areas are suitable to the species, and which predators are in the area.

"Further research is needed to fully assess the impact of this technique across larger landscapes and with a wider range of animals, but these findings would be beneficial to researchers and conservationists who are invested in protecting Australia's native mammals."

More information: Kristen Fernandes et al, Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals, Conservation Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14098 Journal information: Conservation Biology
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Two network layers, characterized by intra-network connectivity interactions (electric conductivity), are interdependent via dependency interactions (thermal heating) denoted by the red beams. Credit: Figure created by Shahar Melion inspired by a figure by Maya Zakai

In 2010 Prof. Shlomo Havlin and collaborators published an article in the journal Nature proposing that the abrupt electricity failure causing the famous 2003 Italy blackout was a consequence of the inter-dependency of two networks. According to Havlin's theory the dependency between the power network and its communication system led to cascading failures and abrupt collapse. Havlin's seminal work ignited a new field in statistical physics known as "network of networks" or "interdependent networks" and paved the way for understanding and predicting the effects of the interaction between networks.

The main novelty of Havlin's model is the existence of two types of links that represent two qualitatively different kinds of interactions. Within networks, links between nodes describe connectivity such as electric power or communication connections. Between networks, on the other hand, links describe dependency relationships in which the functionality of a node in one network depends on the functionality of a node in the other. The communication hubs need electricity and the electric power stations depend on communication control. This dependency leads to a cascading effect in which failure of a single node in one of the networks could lead to an abrupt breakdown of both networks.

Over the past decade or so since, Havlin, from the Department of Physics at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and others have applied this concept to a variety of abstract systems, such as the internet, road traffic, the economy, infrastructure, and more. But being a theorist, Havlin was unable to manifest the hypothesis on real experimental physical systems and thus the theory couldn't be confirmed in controlled experiments, nor could it be implemented for device-type applications.

Recently, Havlin joined forces with his colleague, Prof. Aviad Frydman, an experimentalist in the Physics department at Bar-Ilan who specializes in electrical properties of disordered systems, in particular superconductors. Superconductivity is a phenomenon observed in certain metals where electric resistance vanishes when the system is cooled down below a critical temperature.

Inspired by Havlin's theory, Frydman's group developed a controlled system of interdependent superconducting networks, a physical analogy to the interdependent networks involved in the Italy blackout. The two superconducting networks are separated by a layer which is an electric insulator but enables transfer of heat between the networks, thus creating a system of two types of interactions. Within each layer, the electric currents represent connectivity links while the heat flowing between networks represents dependency links since it can disrupt the superconductivity segments.

Havlin's and Frydman's collaborative groups included lab manager Dr. Ira Volotsenko and three graduate students, Dr. Ivan Bonamassa, Bnaya Gross and Maayan Laav.

The research conducted by the two groups, published today, May 1, in the journal Nature Physics, shows that while separate, uncoupled networks exhibit a smooth, continuous transition between a superconductor and a normal metal as temperature is increased, coupled systems show an abrupt, discontinuous transition, as predicted by the theory. This is attributed to the fact that the current flowing in a normal segment of one layer causes a superposed segment in the other layer to become hotter, and hence, lose its superconductivity. This thermal feedback process between the layers continues in a self-propagating fashion (i.e., cascading back and forth between the layers) and eventually results in a spontaneous propagating avalanche of junctions entering the metallic phase.

The breakthrough study establishes the first physics laboratory benchmark for the manifestation of the theory of interdependent networks, enabling experimental studies to control and to further develop the multiscale phenomena of complex interdependent materials.

This research has vast significance in several disciplines, including basic physics, materials science and device applications. In basic physics, the scientific impact is in the discovery of new physics phenomena related to phase transitions. The results demonstrate that phase transitions governed by a single interaction type, extensively studied for over 100 years, are just a limiting case of a much richer, general phenomena governed by several types of interactions.

The results may also lead to the establishment of a new field of network metamaterials based on coupled layers with different inter-layer interactions exhibiting novel physics phenomena. The research also indicates that the abrupt breakdown of a network system may be a desirable phenomenon. If harnessed, it can be applied toward engineering self-healing systems or to devise high-sensitive switchers or sensors, for example, for single-photon detection.

While network science originated from physics in 2000, its subsequent development and applications have surprisingly not benefitted physics, but almost all other scientific and technological fields. The present study reconnects network science and physics. It is the first to demonstrate that novel concepts developed by network science can significantly benefit physics while discovering novel physical processes, such as new types of phase transitions, when studying interdependent physical systems.
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A soybean field in Heilongjiang, China. Balancing feeding people with preserving biodiversity and natural resources is at the core of sustainable development. Credit: Nan Jia, Michigan State University Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability.

In the race to make the world more livable for people and nature, progress on land outpaced successes in the seas, raising red flags that wealthier countries' advantages may be upsetting a balance, a Michigan State University study shows.

Progress in oceans actually slowed after the United Nations member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. That action aims to facilitate global partnerships among developed and developing countries in sustainable development.

So far, though, a new study in the open-access journal iScience reveals evidence that high-income countries were outpacing low-income countries, causing further global inequality.

"Keeping score of sustainability is important," said senior author Jianguo "Jack" Liu, MSU Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability. "Making progress to maintain and improve life on Earth is a delicate balance in the telecoupled world."

In "Global Decadal Assessment of Life below Water and on Land" researchers found that conservation efforts and using natural resources sustainably had positive results on land, especially in countries with biodiversity hotspots, such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Indonesia.

"But surprisingly, the ocean sustainability progress slowed after 2015," said Yuqian Zhang, lead author and a Ph.D. student in MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS). "A closer look shows that low-income countries lagged, and the gap between high-income and low-income countries became wider over time. Preventing and reducing marine pollution and sharing the economic benefits that come from sustainably using marine resources with small island developing states had barely improved."

Overall, the improvements for life on land and below waters made progress, Zhang said. From 2010 and 2020, global biodiversity conservation and sustainable development achieved positive progress both on land and sea. Sustainable use of the natural resources and the benefits reaped from them and stopping resources degradation and biodiversity loss doubled the sustainable development goal estimate in that decade.

But it's the widening gap between the haves and have-nots of countries that causes concern and demands attention. Specifically, well-off countries realized a tremendous increase in metrics for life below water, including Croatia, Gambia, and Lithuania, while countries such as Pakistan, Fiji, and Tonga experienced a major decrease in the metrics of water.

The study underscores the need for vigilance to understand global progress at a local and national level and understand why some countries are succeeding while others falter.

"We need to take a holistic look and discover the drivers for sustainability successes," Zhang said. "This understanding can empower policymakers to design better-informed institutions for global biodiversity conservation and sustainable development."

More information: Yuqian Zhang et al, Global decadal assessment of life below water and on land, iScience (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106420 Journal information: iScience
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Sometimes called the Peru-Chile Trench, the Atacama Trench is visible in dark blue on this relief map (sea level is green and mountains are red). Credit: NOAA

I was part of a team that recently discovered human-made pollutants in one of the deepest and most remote places on Earththe Atacama Trench, which goes down to a depth of 8,000 meters in the Pacific Ocean. The presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in such a remote location emphasizes a crucial fact: no place on Earth is free from pollution.

PCBs were produced in large quantities from the 1930s to the 1970s, mostly in the northern hemisphere, and were used in electrical equipment, paints, coolants and lots of other products. In the 1960s, it became clear they were harming marine life, leading to an almost global ban on their use in the mid-1970s.

However, because they take decades to break down, PCBs can travel long distances and spread to places far from where they were first used, and they continue to circulate through ocean currents, winds and rivers.

Our study took place in the Atacama Trench, which tracks the coast of South America for almost 6,000km. Its deepest point is roughly as deep as the Himalayas are high.

We collected sediment from five sites in the trench at different depths ranging from 2,500m to 8,085m. We sliced each sample into five layers, from surface sediment to deeper mud layers, and found PCBs in all of them.

Pollutants stick to dead plankton

In that part of the world, ocean currents bring cold and nutrient-rich waters to the surface, which means lots of planktonthe tiny organisms at the bottom of the food web in the oceans. When plankton die, their cells sink to the bottom, carrying with them pollutants such as PCBs. But PCBs don't dissolve well in water and instead prefer to bind to tissues rich in fat and other bits of living or dead organisms, such as plankton.

Since seabed sediment contains a lot of remnants of dead plants and animals, it serves as an important sink for pollutants such as PCBs. About 60% of PCBs released during the 20th century are stored in deep ocean sediment.

A deep trench like the Atacama acts like a funnel that collects bits of dead plants and animals (what scientists refer to as "organic carbon") that come falling down through the water. There is a lot of life in the trench, and microbes then degrade the organic carbon in the seafloor mud.

We found that the organic carbon at the deepest locations in the Atacama Trench was more degraded than at shallower places. At the greatest depths, there were also higher concentrations of PCB per gram of organic carbon in the sediment. The organic carbon in the mud is more easily degraded than the PCBs, which remain and can accumulate in the trench.

A look into the past

The storage of pollutants means ocean sediment can be used as a rear-view mirror on the past. It is possible to determine when a sediment layer accumulated on the seafloor, and by analyzing pollutants in different layers we can gain information about their concentrations over time.

The sediment archive in the Atacama Trench surprised us. PCB concentrations were highest in the surface sediment, which contrasts to what we usually find in lakes and seas. Typically, the highest concentrations are found in lower layers of sediment that were deposited in the 1970s through to the 1990s, followed by a decrease in concentrations towards the surface, reflecting the ban and reduced emissions of PCBs.

For now, we still don't understand why the Atacama would be different. It is possible that we didn't look at the sediment closely enough to detect small variations in PCBs, or that concentrations have not yet peaked in this deep trench.

These concentrations are still quite low, hundreds of times lower than in areas close to human pollution sources such as the Baltic Sea. But the fact we have found any pollution whatsoever shows the magnitude of humanity's influence on the environment.

What we can say for sure is that the more than 350,000 chemicals currently in use globally come at a cost of polluting the environment and ourselves. Pollutants have now been found buried below the bottom of one of the world's deepest ocean trenchesand they're not going anywhere.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The police murder of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests in the summer of 2020 and revived claims that public outcry over such high-profile police killings perpetuates a violent "war on cops." In a new study, researchers assessed if and how patterns of firearm assault on police officers in the United States were influenced by the police murder of Floyd.

The study found that Floyd's murder was associated with a three-week spike in firearm assaults on police, after which the trend in such assaults dropped to levels slightly above those predicted by pre-Floyd data. The researchers strongly caution, however, that this spike is not evidence of a "war" and argue that this rhetoric exacerbates current police-public tensions.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO), and the University of Utah. It appears in Criminology.

"The police murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked what experts have described as the largest social movement in history," write the authors. "Floyd's murder also coincided with a once-in-a-century pandemic that sharply shifted the behavior of individuals and social institutions." This combination of changes, the authors suggest, presented significant challenges to assessing whether Floyd's murder by police had a significant effect on violence against police.

In their study, Sierra-Arevalo and his colleagues used data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which captures fatal and non-fatal firearm assaults on police across the United States, from January 2014 through December 2020. They analyzed firearm assault data in the months prior to Floyd's murder (before and after the onset of COVID-19) to isolate the effect of the murder on firearm assaults of police. They asked: Did the police murder of Floyd lead to a change in the frequency of firearm assaults on police across the United States?

Floyd's murder was associated with an approximately three-week spike in firearm assaults on U.S police officers that revealed a significant increase in retaliatory violence, the study found. That spike quickly subsided to levels only slightly above what would be expected in the absence of Floyd's murder. Overall, Floyd's murder led to approximately 37 additional firearm assaults on police between May 25, 2020, and December 31, 2020, the study found. Approximately 26 additional firearm assaults were estimated to have occurred in the three weeks immediately after Floyd's murder.

Among the study's limitations, the authors note that GVA data are limited in that they exclude less injurious but far more common simple assaults against police, which prevents generalizing these findings to all violence against police. In addition, the study could not discount the possibility that some of the spike in firearm assaults related to Floyd's murder were driven by changes in police behavior and their perceptions of the public. For example, indiscriminate and excessively violent police tactics were documented at Floyd protests nationwide, which could have increased the likelihood that officers were assaulted.

However, the authors stress that this increase must be interpreted in the proper context. "While our results show a significant, short-term increase in firearm assaults on police following George Floyd's murder, the shooting of a police officer remains a statistically rare event." In light of this, the authors argue that popular rhetoric about a "war on cops" is unsupported by available data.

In addition to being used to discredit police critics, impede police reform, and solidify police power, "war on cops" rhetoric may also be implicated in current recruitment and retention difficulties reported by departments across the United States. "By reducing departmental staffing levels, 'war on cops' rhetoric may be reducing police effectiveness and response time in ways that, ironically, decrease officer safety," the authors note.

Instead of continuing to use this kind of language, the authors suggest a focus on strategies that can simultaneously improve community and officer safety.

"In light of our findings, rather than continue to amplify unsupported notions of a 'war on cops,' police executives and policymakers who want to reduce violence should implement strategies to reduce firearm violence through a mixture of enforcement and non-enforcement intervention," write the authors. "To do otherwise is to double down on political rhetoric instead of investing in evidence-based solutions that can enhance public and police safety."

More information: Michael SierraArevalo et al, The "war on cops," retaliatory violence, and the murder of George Floyd*, Criminology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/1745-9125.12334 Journal information: Criminology

Provided by American Society of Criminology
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The northeast U.S. is no stranger to extreme weather and the warnings that come with it. But every now and then, residents are faced with an unfamiliar color in the forecast: red.

"If you get a red-flag warning on Long Island, the hair should stand up on the back of your neck," Heath Hockenberry, a fire weather program manager with the U.S. National Weather Service, said. "It is something to pay attention to."

The NWS issues an array of warnings and watches, but the most important during fire season is a red-flag warning, which actually shows up as neon pink on the weather map. These warnings can be issued in any place at any time, though. In mid-April, for example, the agency issued rare red flag warnings in the northeast U.S., including in the New York metro area. But unlike most of the other bulletins that flow out from the agency, weather is only a part of the message.

Red-flag warnings are issued when wildfires are expected to rage out of control. They've been around since the 1960s, making them older than the National Weather Service's name, which was adopted in the 1970s (It was formerly known as the U.S. Weather Bureau).

The agency raises red-flag warnings when humidity drops, winds rise, and vegetation is primed and ready to burn. It is that last part about potential fuels that marks one of the differences versus warnings focusing on thunderstorms, tornados and blizzards. The other is that humans play a major role in igniting wildfires.

People cannot start a tornado, but they are responsible for about half of all wildfires, Hockenberry said.

While dry air and high winds can occur anywhere in the U.S., the condition of trees and plants varies by region, he said. In the northeast U.S., trees have adapted to handle dry spells, meaning they don't burn as efficiently. That's in part why the region only sees a handful of red flag warnings each year.

In the southeastern U.S., many trees are filled with oily, burnable resin. When conditions dry out, the fire danger rises dramatically, Hockenberry said. A week without rain can prime the vegetation to burn.

Meanwhile, in the West, fire is a natural part of many ecosystems. It only takes a few hours of low humidity to prime grasses and small shrubs to become wildfire fuel. Parts of this region as well as the Great Plains can see red-flag warnings at almost any time of year.

Although hot and dry weather are hallmarks of climate change, red-flag warnings themselves aren't a good measure of the effect of rising greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, said Hockenberry. About 8,000 per year are posted across the country.

The NWS has issued more warnings than average over the past two years, but overall, the numbers are too inconsistent to tease out a trend. What is known, though, is the warming world has increased the length of wildfire season in many parts of the U.S. That trend is expected to continue as the planet heats up further.

"We are busier for longer," Hockenberry said. In fact, it doesn't make sense to think of a particular fire season in most places; now it has become a "fire year." For those living in fire-prone areas, that will make it even more important to keep eye out for red-flag warnings.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee river basins. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120251119

A new special edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) focuses on helping federal regulators measure the value that U.S. residents place on clean water, just months before the Supreme Court is set to decide a case with significant implications for the Clean Water Act.

The issue was proposed and co-edited by economist Catherine Kling, faculty director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, along with two academic colleagues, at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and University of Wisconsin, Madison, and two Environmental Protection Agency economists. The edition, published May 2, should also shed light on discussions around the EPA's much-revised "Waters of the United States" regulation, which went into effect in March and has been a source of long-standing political debate.

"We're not advocating for or against any particular regulation; this is our best effort at science," said Kling, the Tisch University Professor of Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. "We're trying to fully document the benefits as compared to the costs and provide the best, defensible tradeoff numbers that we can so that EPA can make the most appropriate regulations."

Chris Moore, an EPA economist and co-editor of the special issue, said the EPA can use the new research to improve its economic analyses and estimate more types of benefits from water quality improvements.

"Valuing the social benefits of programs that improve water quality is especially difficult because of the many ways that people rely upon clean water," Moore said. "Figuring out who will be affected by a given action and how to estimate the economic impacts is uniquely challenging when aquatic resources are involved. The research featured in this special issue makes important advances on several fronts that address those challenges."

50 years of the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 1972; though vetoed by then-President Richard Nixon, Congress overrode his veto to enact the law. In the 50 years since its implementation, the Clean Water Act has enabled regulators to require companies to stop dumping oil and toxic chemicals directly into the nation's waterways and to require local municipalities to treat sewage before release, among other provisions. Although U.S. water quality has improved significantly since 1972, challenges remain: Almost half of rivers and streams are in "poor biological condition and 21% of the nation's lakes have excessively high levels of nutrients and algae," according to the introduction in the PNAS special edition.

In 1986, then-President Ronald Reagan issued an executive order requiring federal regulators to undertake benefit-cost analyses for almost every rule. This resulted in regulators scrambling to assess the economic value of natural resources.

"It's much easier to figure out the cost piece: Companies will have to regulate something or put on pollution control. The harder part to value is the benefit," Kling said. "But just because something isn't bought and sold doesn't mean people don't value it. And if we had to, many of us would pay money rather than see a park eliminated or our water quality degraded. That's the concept of economic value."

Advancing the science of public benefit

Even before Reagan's executive order, scientists had been working to understand how the public values noncommercial resources like clean air and water. A groundbreaking 1981 study used a nationwide survey to ask residents how much they would be willing to pay in taxes and higher prices to improve the nation's water quality to one of three standards: boatable, fishable and swimmable. The first national survey of its kind, the study found strong support for improved water quality, and the EPA relied upon the study for a variety of regulations, including one that limited the release of organic chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibers into waterways.

The scientists who contributed to the water quality research in PNAS this month have built upon that foundation and upon the 50 years of research since in the fields of economics, natural resources, ecology, sociology, survey methods, and more, Kling said. For example, survey research has consistently found that people assign intrinsic value to natural resources whether or not they engage in outdoor recreation; New Yorkers value the existence of black bears in the state even if they never go hunting, surveys have repeatedly found.

In their study reported in PNAS, Kling and her co-authors attempted to measure such intrinsic benefits of clean water in a survey of 2,000 households across the Midwest, in the upper Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee river basins. In addition to questioning residents about outdoor recreation, they measured how much respondents value biodiversity by showing graphical representations of native species that could live in water at various quality levels. They found that residents were willing to pay $456 per household per year in additional taxes or higher prices to support cleaner water. Across the entire region, that means residents value the benefits of clean water $10.5 billion above what is already being spent.

"By partnering with ecologists and economists, we can understand how water equality is more broadly valuable, not just to swimming but also to habitat and preservation of natural resources," Kling said. "And by partnering with EPA, we are trying to ensure that the information we produce is answering the questions regulators need to answer in order to make the best possible decisions about how to allocate our tax dollars."

More information: Christian A. Vossler et al, Valuing improvements in the ecological integrity of local and regional waters using the biological condition gradient, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120251119 Special PNAS edition: www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/120/18 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Peering into the borehole of the operation to retrieve sediment and water samples from Mercer Lake. Credit: Kathy Kasic, Billy Collins

Subglacial lakes that never see the light of day are among the least accessible frontiers of science, brimming with more tales yet untold than even the planets of our solar system. One thing seems certain: where there is water, there is lifeeven if said water is at the bottom of a frigid lake, in pitch darkness, below more than a half mile of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

As reported in AGU Advances, scientists analyzed the chemical fingerprint of the ocean and microbes retrieved from sediments and water at the bottom of a subglacial lake called Mercer Lake to describe, for the first time, where the feisty microbes get carbon, the energy source du jour, and move it through this fiercely desolate system. They used the data from the sediment, microbes and the carbon cycle to infer the geologic history of this region, and the results surprised them.

While they previously thought that the ice over Mercer Lake had been stable for up to hundreds of millennia, this new work confirms the lake was connected to the ocean about 6,000 years ago, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was smaller than it is today. This was a period when climate was stable relative to the end of the last ice age and even to today's anthropogenic climate change.

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated at least 250 kilometers (160 miles) inland of where the ice meets the ocean today, then re-advanced, according to new research published in AGU Advances. Scientists traced the ice's movement using sediments from a lake more than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) under the ice, sampled using the corer in this photo. Credit: Billy Collins

"This is the first time we have unequivocal geologic proof that the grounding line of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is like its shoreline where the ice meets the ocean, was at least 250 kilometers further inland than it is todaypossibly more," said Ryan Venturelli, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Venturelli performed the work with her former Ph.D. advisor, marine geologist Brad Rosenheim at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science.

In other words, just a few thousand years ago the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated about 155 milesa few dozen miles shy of the distance from New York to Bostonbefore re-growing to its modern configuration.

Pressure ridges form near McMurdo Station in Antarctica where sea ice and the Ross Ice Shelf collide. This site is home to beautiful ice forms and cracks that provide Weddell Seals areas to jump onto the ice shelf and give birth to their pups. Credit: Ryan Venturelli

"These are real numbers from water and sediment samples that can now be used to validate ice sheet models," Venturelli said.

Venturelli and Rosenheim retrieved the samples from Mercer Lake, a few hundred miles from the South Pole, as part of a 25-member team on the historic expedition called Subglacial Antarctic Lake Scientific Access, or SALSA. They were on site from December 2018 to January 2019. The team used a clean-access, custom hot water drill to retrieve the longest core to date from a subglacial lakeabout seven feet long. They drilled through more than a half mile of ice to get it, working against the clock while the water-filled hole refroze.

It was only the second time in history that scientists have retrieved a sediment core from a subglacial lake. (The first was retrieved from Lake Whillans in 2013.)

"This work is a big step forward for us," Rosenheim said. "We'd thought the glacier retreated back to where it is now but it went back well beyond that, which indicates the ice is a lot more dynamic than we realized. Now we need to incorporate this new understanding into models so we can better predict what may happen in the future as the planet warms."

The team used tools of geochemistry, including analyses of isotopes and radiocarbon dating to figure out how carbon cycles through the system. They combined that with known estimates of microbial metabolism to mathematically confirm when the grounding line of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated.

"Prior to this study we had not yet confirmed the maximum extent of the last deglaciation," Venturelli said.

Drone view of the historic expedition from December 2018 to January 2019, when researchers accessed a subglacial lake foronly the second time in history and retrieved the longest sediment core from a subglacial lake. Credit: Billy Collins

Surprising results from historic study suggest the shrinking West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a major threat to global sea level rise, was smaller and more dynamic in recent geologic past than previously thought. Credit: Ryan Venturelli

6,000-year-old carbon tastes just fine

"It turns out the bacteria living in this environment are hardy little guys that make do with what they have down there," Venturelli said. "This project truly confirms that where there is water, life can persist."

The microbes in the lake are feeding off 6,000-year-old carbon introduced when this region was still connected to the ocean.

As a reminder, there is no sun powering life down there via photosynthesis, as it does in most lakes on Earth. "This is not a lake like we know it," said study co-author and microbe expert Brent Christner from the University of Florida. "In Mercer Lake, in addition to that legacy carbon from 6,000 years ago, the microbes can use chemical energy from physical processes associated with the ice sheet itself," Christner said.

As the ice moves, the rock beneath it is pulverized into small particles that are mobilized in the water and the microbesmostly bacteria and Archaeaaccess those minerals for energy during a process called chemosynthesis. Archaea are microorganisms distinct from bacteria that have been found in other extreme environments, such as hot springs on land and hydrothermal vents in the deep sea.

The pool of carbon in the sediment at the bottom of Mercer Lake is at least 100 times bigger than any other carbon pool in the cycleand the microbes use it efficiently, Venturelli said. They also use carbon that is introduced to the system from water bodies upstream. Subglacial lakes can be ephemeral and are more like a braided subglacial river system than a sealed-off lake system.

"Think of these lakes not as separate ecosystems but as a network of communities that are connected by the transport of water and sediment," Christner said.

Principal Investigators Amy Leventer and Brad Rosenheim with then PhD student Ryan Venturelli with a sediment core, the largest core collected from a subglacial lake to date. Credit: Kathy Kasic

Ryan Venturelli with the longest sediment core retrieved from a Subglacial Lake. Credit: Billy Collins

Painting the bigger picture

The fate of the Antarctic ice sheet holds extraordinary implications for sea level rise around the globe. If the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt, some estimates suggest it would add more than nine feet to coastlines around the globe.

"There is a lot of hopeless doom and gloom out there in climate science," Venturelli said. "I find hope in the fact that this work highlights that the ice sheets are much more dynamic than we previously appreciated, and we need to probe this idea of reversibilitywhat were the forcing mechanisms that caused the ice sheet to re-advance to where it is today?so we can better predict future scenarios."

Scientists estimate that there may be more than 650 subglacial lakes in Antarcticaso they have, between this core study and the first in 2013, literally just begun to scratch the surface of their mysteries with two main data points. But one thing is for sure, says Venturelli: Looking at the base of the glacier, particularly the water and sediment in these subglacial lake systems, is worth the extra effort.

"We couldn't have learned these things by poking at marine sediments from the outside from a ship," she said. "Sometimes it takes looking at an old problem in a new way to really unearth exciting findings."

More information: Ryan A. Venturelli et al, Constraints on the Timing and Extent of Deglacial Grounding Line Retreat in West Antarctica, AGU Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2022AV000846 Journal information: AGU Advances
Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA) President Kwak Ji-yeon, front, is transferred to a hospital from the association's sit-in protest tent in front of the National Assembly, ending a six-day hunger strike to protest the Nursing Act upon the persuasion of Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, second from right, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Health and Welfare



By Lee Hae-rin



Tension within the country's medical community is growing as doctors, nursing assistants and various other medical workers announce a joint strike in protest of the recently passed Nursing Act, which they claim privileges nurses unfairly.



Starting Wednesday, a coalition of 13 medical workers' organizations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA), both in opposition to the Nursing Act legislation, have decided to go on strike, a KMA official told The Korea Times, Monday.



The coalition will also hold rallies on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly in Seoul and the Incheon office of Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to condemn the DPK, which controls more than half of the 300-seat Assembly, for passing the bill.



The anticipated impact of the strike on the country's health care system is minimal as the medical workers will only partially join the strike for certain periods during the day, either in the morning or the afternoon. However, the long-standing conflict within the medical community shows no signs of resolution.



The Nursing Act, which aims to improve nurses' working conditions and clarify the scope of their duties independently from the existing Medical Services Act, has increased clashes within medical circles and among the rival parties regarding its legislation, which was passed at the National Assembly's plenary session last Thursday.



The Korea Nurses Association (KNA) has been strongly advocating the legislation of the bill for years, calling for improvements in their working conditions, citing the lack of a separate law stipulating their roles and duties. Currently, the Medical Services Act stipulates the legal roles of nurses.



However, the bill faced fierce opposition from other medical groups including doctors, nursing assistants and paramedics and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), claiming that it favors a certain professional group and will create new conflicts in the health care system.



The Nursing Act contains a provision that broadens the scope of nurses' responsibilities from medical institutions to community and public health, in response to the ramifications of an aging population.



However, the doctors' group is concerned that the legislation may enable nurses to intervene in the duties of other medical workers and give privileges to nurses over other medical professionals.



Nursing assistants also claimed they could suffer discrimination in recruitment if the new law comes into effect, as it will put the nursing assistants under the supervision of nurses.



On Sunday, Kwak Ji-yeon, the president of the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA), which is the interest group of nursing assistants taking part in the anti-legislation coalition, was transferred to a hospital from the group's sit-in protest tent after a six-day hunger strike.



During his visit to the KLPNA's tent that day, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong expressed regrets over the "lack of consensus on the Nursing Act among the nursing workforce," which he said threatens trust and cooperation between different professions. Then he convinced Kwak to halt the hunger strike and seek medical treatment at a hospital.



The opposition groups have been demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol exercise his veto power against the legislation. The KNA plans to hold a demonstration in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District, Tuesday morning, to urge Yoon, who returned to the country on Sunday from a six-day state visited to Washington, D.C.



Korea's Constitution allows the president to veto a bill within 15 days after its passage at the National Assembly. Yoon exercised his veto power for the first time earlier last month against a bill requiring the government to purchase surplus rice.



The health ministry has been proposing policies to improve nurses' working conditions, such as aiming for the standard of one nurse for every five patients on average and providing support funds to hospitals that recruit more nurses to downgrade their heavy workload.



According to statistics, the average number of patients per nurse in high-level general hospitals in Korea is 16.3, which is notably higher than the figures in Japan (7) and the United States (5.3).


From The Post-Star in 1973  50 years ago:

It was a busy day for area firefighters.

Thursday began with a major (house) fire in the town of Kingsbury and ended with a major fire at the Warren Inn of Warrensburg, The Post-Star reported on April 20, 1973.

The fire at the three-story Warren Inn, one of the oldest structures in Warren County, started around 7 p.m. April 19, and firefighters were still on the scene at 10 p.m.

Employees at a gas station across the street from the tavern and hotel first spotted the fire, which started in the third floor and attic of the structure.

About six persons were in the tavern when the fire broke out, but no one was in the hotel rooms. One man, however, was evacuated by a fire ladder from the rear roof when rescue efforts began, The Post-Star reported. Firemen managed to save a fishing tackle box from one of the hotel rooms, containing savings and valuable papers of the occupant.

Fire departments from Warrensburg, Lake George and Chestertown responded to the fire.

Downtown: Longtime downtown retailer The Eagle Clothing Store at the corner of Glen Street and the entrance to the Elm Street parking lot, was closing.

But the space would not be vacant long.

Achenbachs Ltd., Jewelers was renovating the space to relocate its business from 208 Glen St. to the 220 Glen St. store front. Renovations included a new facade and interior renovations. The new location, expected to open in June, would have triple the sales space of the 208 Glen St. storefront.  April 20

Queensbury retail  The new 28,000-square-foot Warner-Pruyn Home Center at the corner of Quaker Road and Lafayette Street in Queensbury was set to open in early May.

The unique home center will offer supermarket shopping convenience to persons shopping for building materials and home supplies.  April 25

Aviation honor: Aviator Guy Ham of Hunter Street in Glens Falls received the distinguished achievement award, the highest award of the National Pilots Association.  April 23

Politics: The Warren County Republican Committee appointed Albany Law School student Edward Bartholomew Jr. as director of youth activity.  April 21

Editorial: It was a moderately proud moment for North Carolina when a resident of the town of Denmark in that state set a new worlds record for the number of parachute jumps completed within a 24-hour period. While the feat has been well publicized, Sen. Strom Thurmond was perhaps justified in calling it to the attention of his colleagues on the floor of the Senate. This he did.

Senator Thurmond was not content, however, to settle for a few words of praise and admiration. Acting above and beyond the call of state pride, he appended to his remarks several newspaper stories, among them two stating before the event that the attempt would be made.

All in all, Thurmond took up a full page in the Congressional Record and one-third of another to expatiate on this achievement. Thats a considerable stretching of the Congressional Records purpose.   April 21

Quotable: We chose this tree to be our spokesman since it will outlast this God-community which today planted it.  Blessing of a cedar tree the eighth-grade class planted on Earth Day behind the St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic School.  April 21
Events

Monday, May 1

ATLANTIC COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION BOOK SALE: daily through Aug. 31; proceeds benefit the Atlantic County Library Foundation support of programming in your library branch; Mays Landing Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 40 Farragut Ave., Hamilton. 609-625-2776 or atlanticlibrary.org.

ESL CAREER READINESS LAB: 9:30 a.m. to noon Mondays through July 31; learn how to use the Engen Language Upskilling platform, which provides ESL classes and tutorials with a focus on job interview skills, and the food and beverage industry and hospitality industry; Public Library, 1 N. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City. 609-345-2269 or acfpl.org.

HOUSEPLANTS: 2 to 3 p.m. Mondays through May 22; learn how to plant, propagate, and care for a variety of popular plant species; Ventnor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor. 609-823-4614 or atlanticlibrary.org.

LINE DANCING - WITH SUSAN PENNYPACKER: noon to 12:45 p.m. Mondays; no meetings May 29, Sept. 4, Oct. 9; Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

MAY DAY TEA PARTY: 3 to 4 p.m.; celebrate May Day with a flower craft and snacks; open for adults; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township; registration required. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org.

MEDITATIVE DRUM CIRCLE: 5 to 6 p.m. Mondays; bring your own instrument or borrow one; no meetings May 29, Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Oct. 9, Nov. 6, Dec. 25; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

SCRABBLE NIGHT: 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. first and third Mondays through May; bring your own team or play with others; Public Library, 235 32nd St., Avalon. avalonfreelibrary.org.

Tuesday, May 2

PRAC SENIOR DANCE CLASSES: 10 to 11 a.m.; during the month of May, P.R.A.C. of Southern New Jersey will host free senior dance classes; Public Library, 1058 E. Landis Ave., Vineland. 856-794-4244 or vinelandlibrary.org.

Wednesday, May 3

ADULT BOARD GAME NIGHT: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays May 3, 17, June 7, 21, July 5, 19, August 2, 16; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org.

BILINGUAL FAMILY STORYTIME: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays through May 17; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org.

BORED? GAMES!: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 31; for ages 10 to adult; games are family-friendly classic board games meant for at least two players; Ventnor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor; registration required. 609-823-4614 or atlanticlibrary.org.

ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTER BASICS: 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through May 31; for adults; Brigantine Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 201 15th St. S., Brigantine. 609-266-0110 or atlanticlibrary.org.

Thursday, May 4

ADULT CRAFT: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; May 4: Beach-Themed Wall Art; additional dates are June 22, July 20, Aug. 10; Brigantine Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 201 15th St. S., Brigantine. 609-266-0110 or atlanticlibrary.org.

AUTHOR'S HIGH TEA 2023: 2 p.m.; hosted by Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library; guest speaker will be Laura Quinn, local author of "Thicker Than Water"; event will take place at Flanders Hotel, 719 11th St., Ocean City, $40. friendsvolunteersocfpl.com.

CONTACT CAPE-ATLANTIC'S SPRING SENSATION AND 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: 5 to 9 p.m.; CONTACT Cape-Atlantic's 32nd annual Spring Sensation and 50th anniversary celebration; cocktail reception with live music; live, silent and chance auctions; sit down dinner; benefits CONTACT Cape-Atlantics Reassurance Program; The Carriage House, 25 S. Pitney Road, Galloway Township; $75. 609-823-1850 or contactcapeatlantic.org.

For kids

Monday, May 1

PRE-K CLUB AND CRAFT: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays through May 22, June 5, 12; Galloway Township Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway. 609-652-2352 or atlanticlibrary.org.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME - ABSECON: 10 to 11 a.m. Mondays; Absecon branch/Atlantic County Library System, 305 New Jersey Ave., Absecon. 609-646-2228 or atlanticlibrary.org.

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME - EGG HARBOR CITY: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays through Aug. 28; Egg Harbor City Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 134 Philadelphia Ave., Egg Harbor City. 609-804-1063 or atlanticlibrary.org.

Tuesday, May 2

TODDLER STORYTIME AND CRAFT: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through May 9; for ages 18 months to 3 years; Hammonton Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 451 S. Egg Harbor Road, Hammonton. 609-561-2264 or atlanticlibrary.org.

Wednesday, May 3

PLAYDATE AT THE LIBRARY: 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 9; for ages 6-36 months; enjoy stories, rhymes and songs designed to develop early literacy skills; Mays Landing Branch/Atlantic County Library System, 40 Farragut Ave., Hamilton; registration required. 609-625-2776 or atlanticlibrary.org.

STORIES AND SONGS: 10 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays through May 31; join Miss Linda for stories, songs, and rhymes; for ages 3 and younger; Public Library, 235 32nd St., Avalon. 609-967-7155 or avalonfreelibrary.org.

Groups

Monday, May 1

AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS: 11 a.m. Mondays; for those troubled by someone else's drinking; Egg Harbor City Senior Center, 351 Cincinnati Ave., Egg Harbor City. AL-ANON.org.

GREAT BOOKS CLUB: 10 a.m. to noon every other Monday through May 15; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

LONGPORT NEEDLERS: 10 a.m. to noon Mondays; bring your needle/crochet craft project and join us for a time of crafting and socializing; Longport Public Library, 2305 Atlantic Ave., Longport. 609-487-7403 or LongportPublicLibrary.org.

'MONEY TALKS' ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUP: 7 to 8 p.m. first Mondays; monthly online discussion group with thought-provoking topics related to money and wellness; virtual event hosted by the Mental Health Association New Jersey. 609-652-3800 or MHANJ.org.

Tuesday, May 2

INTERMEDIATE SPANISH CONVERSATION VIRTUAL CLASS: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; intermediate-level Spanish Conversation class via Zoom; Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 N. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City. 609-345-2269 or ACFPL.org.

JERSEY CAPE WRITERS: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. first and third Tuesdays; e-mail Jerseycapewriters01@gmail.com to register; share your writing and ideas in a friendly and supportive environment; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or Events.CMCLibrary.org.

YARNBENDERS CROCHET AND KNITTING CLUB: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Aug. 29; Egg Harbor Township/Atlantic County Library System, 1 Swift Drive, Egg Harbor Township. 609-927-8664 or atlanticlibrary.org.

Wednesday, May 3

'TOO MUCH STUFF?' MEETINGS: 1 to 2 p.m. first and third Wednesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; online or call-in support for those with clutter challenges, collecting behaviors, or hoarding tendency. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.

Health, fitness

Monday, May 1

CHAIR YOGA - WITH LYNNE CATARRO: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays; no class 5/29, 9/4, 10/9, 12/25; Cape May County Library/Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

'GOT STRESS?' ONLINE GROUP: 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays; online group meets to discuss daily wellness, coping strategies and tools to relieve stress and reduce anxiety; offered by The Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; free. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.

Tuesday, May 2

BODY IMAGE & BALANCE MEETINGS: 7 to 8 p.m. first and third Tuesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; call-in and online group for those living with or recovering from disordered eating. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.

DEALING WITH DEPRESSION SUPPORT GROUP: 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; online support group for those living with depression. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.

ZUMBA WITH KELLIE WOOD: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; Cape May Court House Branch, 30 Mechanic St., Middle Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

Wednesday, May 3

BARRE STAR: 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Wednesdays through May; no class April 26; combination of ballet, flexibility, yoga/balance and strength training; Wildwood Crest Branch, 6300 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

EXPLORING SPIRITUALITY ONLINE WELLNESS GROUP: noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays; hosted by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County; wellness group exploring themes of faith, hope, sense of purpose, and fulfilment. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.

MEDITATION MEET-UP WITH TED COSTA: 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through December; Woodbine Community Center, 812 Longfellow St., Woodbine. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

MIND AND BODY VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: 11 a.m. to noon Wednesdays; workshop is provided to individuals who live with a disability; participants discuss topics such as adapting, goal setting, refocusing and more; offered by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County. 609-652-3800, ext. 308 or MHAAC.info.

STRETCH & BURN - WITH KELLIE WOOD: 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays; hosted by Cape May County Library; virtual event; no registration required. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

TAI CHI & QIGONG: 10 and 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays; with Cheryl Crews and Denise Jones; Lower Cape Branch, 2600 Bayshore Road, Lower Township. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

ZUMBA - WITH JANET SPADA: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Wildwood Crest Library, and Thursdays at Lower Township Library; no meetings April 26, July 12, 26, Nov. 22, 23. 609-463-6350 or events.cmclibrary.org.

ZUMBA - WITH KELLIE: 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays; Sea Isle City Branch, 4800 Central Ave., Sea Isle City. 609-463-6350 or Events.CMCLibrary.org.

Thursday, May 4

'CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS' ONLINE WELLNESS GROUP: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. first and third Thursdays; online group to share artwork, discuss the creative process, and work on projects among peers; presented by the Mental Health Association in Atlantic County. 609-652-3800 or MHAAC.info.
PORTLAND, Maine  The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the subject of who pays for workers who gather valuable data aboard commercial fishing boats.

Justices announced Monday that they will take the case, which stems from a lawsuit by a group of fishermen who want to stop the federal government from making them pay for the workers. The workers are tasked with collecting data on board fishing vessels to help inform rules and regulations.

The fishermen involved in the lawsuit harvest Atlantic herring, which is a major fishery off the East Coast that supplies both food and bait. Lead plaintiff Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey and other fishing groups have said federal rules unfairly require them to pay hundreds of dollars per day to contractors.

"Our way of life is in the hands of these justices, and we hope they will keep our families and our community in mind as they weigh their decision, said Bill Bright, a New Jersey fisherman and plaintiff in the case.

The high court announced its decision to take the case via an order list that made no comment on the merits of the lawsuit. The fishermen previously lost in lower court rulings. Their lawsuit over fishing monitors is part of a long-standing fight between commercial fishing groups and the federal government over who pays for data collection and regulatory compliance.

Fishermen have argued that Congress never gave federal regulators authority to require the expense of paying for monitors.

Fisheries in the U.S. are regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A representative for NOAA declined to comment on the case. The agency does not typically comment on pending litigation.

Attorneys for the fishermen have said the case will directly confront the future of so-called Chevron deference, which is a legal principle that compels courts to defer to a federal agencys interpretation of an unclear law. Conservative groups have long sought to challenge Chevron deference at the Supreme Court level.

The plaintiffs are represented by Cause of Action Institute, which advocates for limited government. They said in their petition to the high court that the monitors take up valuable space on their vessels and oversee their operations, and the payments make commercial fishing unsustainably expensive.

That is an extraordinary imposition that few would tolerate on dry land, the petition states.

The U.S. haul of Atlantic herring has fallen dramatically in recent years. Fishermen caught more than 100 million pounds of the fish as recently as 2017, but the 2021 catch was less than 11 million pounds. Much of the industry is based in Maine and Massachusetts.

NOAA has described the Atlantic herring stock as overfished. Fishermen of herring have been subject to quota cuts for the fish in recent years.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  The Ram's Head Inn is getting a fresh start.

The inn on the White Horse Pike has been sold, according to Richard Baehrle, a Realtor with a local branch of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach.

Baehrle shared the news on his Facebook page Sunday, standing beside the restaurant, which has been closed since 2019.

"This (inn) was four days away from being demolished, and we're going to resurrect it," Baehrle said.

A notice of sale was not on file with the Atlantic County Clerk's Office on Monday.

The Ram's Head Inn closed in 2019 due to what the then-owners said were fire-suppression issues.

The four acres the inn sits upon had a business open there for 90 years before it was put up for sale, going from a roadhouse in the 1930s and 1940s to a Dutch-themed restaurant in the 1970s. At the point, it was owned by Fred and Ethel Noyes, the couple who developed Historic Smithville about 20 minutes away.

The Rams Head had 25 full-time and 35 part-time staff before it closed, hosting nearly 60 weddings averaging 125 to 175 people yearly.

Mayor Anthony Coppola said at the time the inn was up for sale in 2019 that it was included in the municipality's redevelopment area.

Coppola, who has wanted to see the inn open for parties and weddings again, couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Monday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A look back at the Ram's Head Inn Ram's Head Inn for sale -- HIDE VERTICAL GALLERY ASSET TITLES -- GILDASAUCTION FACES Connections Disabilities PIANO DISPLACED gaab m26 NonprofitExpo FACES Connections Disabilities corzine EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation SOUNDOFF GOP Governor Candidate GALA Bailey Award MCGREEVEY GAAB o6 Rams Head Etiquette class EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation corzine FACES Connections Disabilities Connections Breakfast EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation GILDASAUCTION RIGBY.43901 WINETASTE WINETASTE FACES Connections Disabilities Connections Breakfast EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation SOUNDOFF gaab m26 NonprofitExpo GILDASAUCTION Connections Breakfast EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation EXPO.44014 WINETASTE FACES Connections Disabilities EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation corzine Awards Connections Breakfast DINNER MCGREEVEY GOP Governor Candidate MCGREEVEY Awards EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation Etiquette class gaab m26 NonprofitExpo Connections Breakfast Connections Breakfast MCGREEVEY WINETASTE EGAP ACBP d15 Rams Head donation BALLROOM ACP ATSNEWYEAR BALLROOM Awards ACP ATSNEWYEAR Awards Awards BEAUJOLAIS BALLROOM Awards BALLROOM GALA BALLROOM FACES Connections Disabilities Etiquette class BALLROOM Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale Ram's Head Inn for sale
OCEAN CITY  However quickly the citys school district hires a new superintendent, there will likely be a need for an interim super for at least a while after Matthew Friedman leaves the job in June.

Thats according to Board of Education President Chris Halliday, who discussed the districts plans for a new superintendent search at last weeks meeting, which also saw calls for Lauren Gunther, the districts current director of student services, to be named interim superintendent immediately.

The meeting saw several residents express frustration with Friedman, whos been in the job for less than a year, with some speakers saying he renegotiated the terms of his contract even as he was interviewing for a new job.

In late March, the Quakertown Community School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, tapped Friedman as its new superintendent. Friedman started the top job in the Ocean City district last July, with a salary of $190,000.

Members of the public spoke about Friedmans leaving, and the districts pending search for a new superintendent.

We need a leader with a long-term personal and professional commitment to Ocean City students and to our community, said resident Marie Hayes. That means we need a superintendent who is willing to make our wonderful island his or her home.

Ocean City students participate in national walkout OCEAN CITY  About a dozen students at Ocean City High School walked out of classes Wednesda

Her husband, Dave Hayes, also spoke at the meeting, as did Dave Breeden, the president of the group Fairness in Taxes, who said there have been three school board presidents, three principals and will be four superintendents while his daughter has attended Ocean City High School.

Leadership matters, he said. Without leadership, you have an organization that is floundering.

Victor Steniec, also a Fairness in Taxes representative, suggested Gunther as a temporary superintendent.

Wed like to see that happen as soon as possible, he said, saying she has the needed qualifications.

Friedman attended the meeting but did not address the comments. He is not expected to leave the job before the agreed upon date of June 30.

Steniec also challenged a reimbursement of $605 to Friedman for a trip to Chicago for professional development. Friedman had successfully sought a change to his contract this year that allowed for more time for professional development and conferences.

Ocean City schools begin search for a new superintendent OCEAN CITY  The Board of Education this week launched its search for a new superintendent t

That payment was removed from the agenda before the board vote.

Several of the same speakers also called for a change in the meeting times for the school board, which now meets on Thursdays at the same time as City Council. School board member Robin Shaffer introduced a motion to change the night of the meeting.

Many in town, himself included, would like to be able to attend both meetings. Halliday suggested the board could revisit that issue in the future. The meetings have been advertised for the year, board attorney Michael Stanton said.

Halliday said the board would plan a meeting to get public input on what the community would like to see in a future superintendent. He said the previous superintendent search is still very fresh.

On Friday, he said, the district will begin to sift through resumes and applications, with plans for a special meeting of the board to discuss the next steps in the process. There had been a special meeting held, mostly behind closed doors, after Friedman announced plans to leave the district.

The district posted notice of the superintendent job opening through the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and on the districts website, with a deadline of May 5 to apply.

Taxes up, programs cut in proposed Upper Township school budget UPPER TOWNSHIP  The Board of Education on Monday introduced a $36.68 million operating budg

Whomever the board choses, Halliday said that person will need time to inform their current job of their plans.

We will likely be required to have an interim superintendent, he said. Even if we fill this position expeditiously, there will be a lag.
In a shocking incident at Keshav Nagar in Pune, a group of drunkards allegedly murdered a 59-year-old resident for stopping them from drinking near his house and cowshed. The incident occurred at 3.30 pm on Sunday.

As per the police the victim has been identified as Ravindra Gaikwad (age 59, resident of Keshavnagar, Mundhwa). Gaikwad was a resident of the Srikrupa Society in Keshav Nagar and owned a cow shed. On Sunday some people were allegedly consuming alcohol and abusing drugs in the Gaikwads cow shed. When the victim objected to their actions the enraged accused reportedly assaulted him with a koyta seriously injuring him. Gaikwad was hospitalised in a private hospital where he breathed his last while treatment.

No clearance has been given by the police about the arrest of the accused.
PHOTOS: GAURAV KADAM

Shiv Thakare may be an Amaravati boy, but his love for Pune is matchless and he wants to do everything in his capacity to make the city a better place to live in. On Sunday, the Bigg Boss Marathi winner took time out of his busy schedule to dedicate some time to policing the traffic near ABC Farm, on Sunday, on North Main Road, Koregaon Park. He joined Pune Times Mirror, Civic Mirror and Pune City Traffic Polices campaign Zara Dekh Ke Chalo, to extend his support to traffic cops, who according to the Bigg Boss contestant, are heroes without capes and do a thankless job. He stood with the traffic cops to man the traffic at this busy junction where non-operation signals often add to the woes of the commuters.

Shiv Thakare with students of DY Patil, Pimpri

Thakare was joined by students of DY Patil Pimpri. It was youth power in its full glory!

I want to congratulate Pune Times Mirror and Civic Mirror for conceiving this campaign. It is endearing to see youngsters coming forward to take part in the campaign. I want to thank traffic cops from the bottom of my heart for doing this selfless service and I feel honoured to be volunteering and lending my helping hand. I urge everyone to respect traffic rules and respect the cops, Thakare tells Mirror.
A Moline woman faces multiple charges in Scott County after a high-speed chase on Saturday left several law enforcement vehicles damaged.

County authorities charged Kailyn S. Pauley, 29, with assault on persons in certain occupations; two counts of first-degree criminal mischief; felony eluding; misdemeanor eluding; possession of controlled substance-methamphetamine-first offense; and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.

Pauley is accused of fleeing first from a Scott County deputy early Saturday, then Iowa state troopers and Bettendorf police officers, according to court records.

Authorities allege in the court documents that she used the 2006 Dodge Dakota she was driving to strike several police vehicles before law enforcement were able to stop the truck and arrest her.

According to court records:

The deputy attempted the initial stop at 1:36 a.m. at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Eastern Avenue in Davenport. The reason cited for the stop was a broken tail light.

Pauley fled from the stop, running a stop sign and a red traffic signal.

The state patrol located a truck matching the description of Pauleys vehicle at 1:41 a.m. It was eastbound on Interstate 74 north of 53rd Street.

When the trooper saw the truck, it had no rear red lights activated and only one white light activated on the passenger side. It had no registration tags.

The trooper activated lights and sirens and Pauley refused to stop, accelerating to more than 90 mph.

Bettendorf police set out stop sticks at the interchange of I-74 and Spruce Hills Road and disabled two of the Dakotas tires.

Pauley continued to flee. The state police and Bettendorf officers attempted to hem her in with their squads and force her to stop. As they attempted this technique, called a rolling roadblock, Pauley began ramming their vehicles.

After the Dakota was pinned between a concrete wall and the squads, Pauley continued to accelerate, attempting to push past a state police vehicle as the trooper got out.

Pauley refused to comply with verbal commands, and officers pulled her from the truck through a window.

When they searched the truck, law enforcement found an open container of whiskey, several syringes containing a maroon liquid, a bag containing a white substance and a fraudulent temporary vehicle registration. The white substance tested positive for methamphetamine.

Pauleys Illinois license is suspended, court records state. At the time of the chase, she also had an active Scott County warrant accusing her of failing to appear in a pending misdemeanor theft case.

The ramming left at least one state police and one Bettendorf squad, disabled, court records state. The damage to that vehicle was estimated at more than $15,000. Specific damage to the other involved squads was not listed.

Pauley had to be treated for minor injuries she sustained during her arrest, then she was sent to the Scott County Jail, records state.

To be released, Pauley would have to post a $32,000 bond, according to the jail. All but $1,000 of the bond amount must be posted in cash.

Her next court date has been set for May 9, according to court records.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, second from left, first lady Kim Keon Hee, left, U.S. President Joe Biden, second from right, and U.S. first lady Jill Biden pose for a photo during a state dinner at the White House in Washington, April 26. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol has thanked U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for their "truly warmest welcome" during his state visit to Washington last week, lauding relations between the two countries as "a blood alliance."



"Don't know how to thank @POTUS and @FLOTUS enough for their truly warmest welcome," Yoon tweeted Sunday, referring to the Bidens, adding that South Korea and the United States "are a blood alliance forged by the sacrifice of our young soldiers. An alliance of freedom and justice."



In a separate Twitter post Monday morning, Yoon said first lady Kim Keon Hee "also wishes to convey her many, many thanks" to the Bidens, especially the U.S. first lady, "for preparing the most impressive state dinner."



"Hoping to return the favor with fine Korean cuisine in Seoul!" he said.



Yoon returned home Sunday from the six-day state visit designed to mark the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance this year. During the summit, Yoon and Biden adopted the "Washington Declaration," a joint statement committing the United States to a series of measures to better defend South Korea from North Korea's nuclear threats. (Yonhap)


SPRINGFIELD  Six people were killed and dozens injured after multiple crashes involving 72 vehicles Monday on Interstate 55 south of Springfield as blowing dust choked off visibility, authorities said.

Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wis., was identified Monday night as one of the people who died, and state police said the Montgomery County Coroners Office was working to identify the other five and notify their families.

State police said 37 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Their ages ranged from 2 to 80 years old, state police said.

The crashes, first reported about 10:55 a.m., occurred in both the northbound and southbound lanes along a two-mile stretch between mileposts 76 and 78, north of Farmersville, which is about 15 miles south of Springfield. All of the deaths were in crashes on the northbound side, police said.

The interstate remained shut down late Monday night and would remain so until all vehicles are removed and the Illinois Department of Transportation inspects the roadway, state police said. They said earlier in the day they expected it to remain closed until late morning or early afternoon on Tuesday.

The closure was between mileposts 63 and 80, which is between Zanesville about 12 miles north of Litchfield in Montgomery County and Divernon, which is about 17 miles south of Springfield in Sangamon County.

Visibility in the area is reported to be low due to blowing dust, state police said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. "... The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility."

Interstate 55 in southern Sangamon and northern Montgomery counties remains closed in both directions because of numerous crashes caused by a dust storm, which has greatly reduced visibility. (photo via @wics_abc20) pic.twitter.com/rYbWKndJa6  IDOT_Illinois (@IDOT_Illinois) May 1, 2023

After the initial crash, 20 commercial vehicles and 40 to 60 passenger vehicles become involved in the pileup, state police Maj. Ryan Starrick said during a news conference Monday afternoon. State police later put the total at 72 but indicated the count was preliminary.

During the crashes, at least two semis caught fire, and both had been been extinguished by 2:30 p.m. Starrick also said there were unconfirmed reports of an explosion.

I-55 traffic was being diverted using state Routes 104 and 48 through Taylorville, according to a tweet from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Motorists are asked to avoid the area.

The Auburn Travel Center in Divernon was being used for reunification for those able to safely leave the scene from the north side, but by 4 p.m., state police began to direct travelers to the Mr. Fuel Travel Center in Litchfield where troopers and deputies were "working to get people reunified."

The National Weather Service reported Monday night that the high winds are expected to subside a bit overnight but still reach 30 mph to 35 mph on Tuesday.

Blowing dust causing a multiple car pile up on I-55 between Divernon and Farmersville. Visibility less than a quarter of a mile. Visibility can become zero at times. If you encounter blowing dust on the roadway or see it approaching, pull off the road as far as possible. #ilwx pic.twitter.com/8NS4zT76zg  NWS Lincoln IL (@NWSLincolnIL) May 1, 2023

Kevin Schott, director of the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, said it had been an emotional day, but no first responders had reported injuries, despite their eyes being full of dust.

"This is a difficult scene, something that is very hard to train for, something that we haven't experienced locally before," he said, adding that they were "very lucky" to have the quality of first responders that were on scene keeping each other safe.

Schott said the most difficult part was "trying to get to the victims in a rapid manner. Multiple vehicles were involved, some were on fire" and responders had to search every vehicle to check for injuries.

They've found those who were involved in the crash have been upset, "visibly so and understandably so," he added.

More than 30 agencies, including law enforcement, fire departments and EMAs, responded to the scene. Hazardous materials teams responded as a precaution and the Illinois EMA offered support, Starrick said, noting some fuel spillage resulted from the crash.

Fire engines remained on scene late Monday afternoon in case of hot spots and reignited fires, Schott said.

Other agencies like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army also responded to offer assistance and support.

Starrick also said multiple helicopters responded to the scene and at least one person was airlifted.

"My heart goes out to the families; my heart goes out to anybody that found themselves in this situation," Starrick said.

State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he visited the area on Monday afternoon and saw how hazardous the conditions were.

"Im amazed at the work of the first responders from numerous agencies working to save lives in an extremely difficult situation," he said in a statement.

Lee Enterprises reporter Erin Henkel contributed to this report.

Photos: Multiple crashes lock traffic on Interstate 55
Bettendorf school officials have selected Allison Holland to serve as the new associate principal at Bettendorf Middle School beginning this July, pending board approval.

Holland joined the district in May 2022 as a middle school dean of students, after serving as the school administrative manager at Williams Junior High School in Davenport.

We are excited to have Allison accept the associate principal position, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Morse said in a news release. She has done an exceptional job as dean of students at Bettendorf Middle School. Her ability to connect with students, staff and parents is impressive. She is authentic and passionate about supporting students both behaviorally and academically. We look forward to her taking this next step in her career.

Also at Davenport schools, Holland was a lead and model third-grade teacher at Madison Elementary School and taught fifth grade at Garfield Elementary before moving to Williams. She also previously taught language arts, social studies and science at North Scott Junior High School, as well as math, science and social studies at Weeks Middle School in Des Moines.

Holland earned her bachelor's degree in middle school and elementary teaching, with a K-8 reading endorsement, from the University of Northern Iowa. She also obtained a Master's of Science in educational leadership from UNI.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 11.

Sights from the Bettendorf Middle School WEB program launch
May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, and its important to ensure every person in our community knows how to access quality mental health care, support and resources. Having these services available when people need them is a powerful first step in taking care of yourself, inside and out.

As the only Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in the Quad-Cities and Muscatine region, the UnityPoint Health  Robert Young Center team helps people navigate difficult times and provides them with personalized support. Our expert teams specialize in mental health, substance abuse and crisis services for children, adolescents and adults using trauma-informed care practices and compassion in several settings.

School-based therapy

Our school-based therapy and counseling program serves children and adolescents at 36 schools.

Eirik Gustafson, qualified mental health professional at Robert Young Center, is one of our school-based therapists. He works with school staff and caregivers to identify students who may need support or additional help. Gustafson meets with students once a week for sessions that can range from 20 minutes to an hour.

I get the perspective of school staff and caregivers before meeting with the student to help guide our sessions. This approach helps us bridge the communication gap between the student and their caregiver, Gustafson says. I like to start sessions by sharing the positives, for example: What makes the caregiver proud of their child, instead of jumping right into what brought them to therapy.

By offering this service in the schools, he said, providers are able to meet students where theyre at and increase accessibility to mental health services.

It minimizes the disruption to students time in the classroom. We meet and they return to learning, all in the same day.

Mobile crisis response

Our mobile crisis teams step in whenever there is a mental health crisis or emergency in the community, often working closely with local police, first responders and hospital emergency personnel. For example, our teams may respond to a school to help a child in need or provide support to someone in crisis at their home.

Serving more than 6,000 people of all ages each year, of which 400 are served in the community setting, teams may provide pre-screening assessments or act as helpers when inpatient hospitalization may be appropriate and connect an individual with additional resources through Robert Young Center.

The goal of our mobile crisis team is to provide the most appropriate level of care and ensure the persons needs are met in a mental health crisis.

Seeking help

Robert Young Center provides a full scope of hospital-based, community-based and outpatient mental health services to people of all ages.

To schedule an appointment call 309-779-3000, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you believe youre experiencing a mental health crisis, you should call 9-1-1, go to the nearest emergency department or call our 24/7 crisis intervention line at 309-779-2999 to speak with a clinician.

You can also reach out for help using the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling or texting 988. For more information about Robert Young Center, visit https://www.unitypoint.org/quadcities/robert-young-center-home.aspx.
CHICAGO  By Chicagos standards, the winter was relatively mild.

Still, with temperatures near 80 degrees  the warmest weekend in months  hundreds of city youths headed to 31st Street Beach in the twilight hours of Friday, April 14, where a young teen was shot in the leg.

It might have served as a warning to some, as another teen takeover unfolded in the heart of downtown the following night, and two teen boys were shot and wounded near Millennium Park.

More than a dozen police reports obtained by the Tribune show how the chaos unfolded as Chicago police for hours struggled to control hundreds of teens and young adults as they darted through traffic, smashed windows and carried out acts of violence.

Large outdoor gatherings of young people arent new in Chicago, and the teen takeover events  organized on social media, usually a few days in advance  have sometimes turned violent. The gatherings have largely vexed the last two mayors and three Chicago Police Department superintendents. Strategies to handle the youth meet-ups are among the criteria being used to grade candidates for the CPD superintendent job.

Viral cellphone video and news footage of the chaos from April 15 once again renewed criticism of the citys efforts to tamp down violent crime.

Meanwhile, the police department has opened an internal investigation to probe allegations that officers failed to intervene after they saw a couple being attacked by a mob of teens.

Sources have said the unruly gathering was exacerbated by a slow response from CPD leadership, which itself is in a transition period before Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson chooses a new police superintendent to replace outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoots hand-picked leader, David Brown.

The disturbances came less than a year after the fatal shooting of another teen boy near The Bean' prompted a curfew order and promises from officials that such disorder wouldnt happen again.

CPD officers arrested more than a dozen people in the downtown area two weekends ago. A review of those reports showed police were often faced with unruly suspects  sometimes juveniles armed with guns.

Multiple physical altercations

Police reports show at 8:45 p.m., a 19-year-old and another unidentified person were among a large crowd in the first block of North Michigan Avenue that was slowly making its way south from Millennium Park when multiple physical altercations erupted.

The teen and another person began fighting, the reports show, and both were taken into custody.

Less than 45 minutes later, officers monitoring the crowd at 50 E. Madison St. suddenly heard a call of shots fired in the area. A 10-1 emergency was called over police dispatch radios, prompting a large response from nearby cops, and a description of the shooter was also provided, a police report said.

Police tried to stop an 18-year-old who ran into the street, entering into oncoming traffic, and caused several cars to swerve in and out of the way in a reckless manner that endangered the safety of multiple citizens, the report said.

He was brought into custody at 9:43 p.m., taken to a police station and charged with reckless conduct.

Not a new challenge

Large-scale youth gatherings downtown have been a regular occurrence during warm-weather months for the last decade. CPD has responded to and monitored countless organized protests and marches through the Loop, especially in the years since the release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video was release, sparking outrage across the city.

Fred Waller retired from CPD as chief of patrol nearly three years ago. The disorganized, random nature of the teen takeover events, Waller said, makes them especially challenging for police.

The difference, really, is that most of the time these guys dont have any real leaders that you can talk to, Waller said. When you have a planned protest, youve got people that you can talk to whos the organizer or whatever and theyll tell you, We want to go here, we want to go there, and you block the streets off or you have enough bike officers to go that route and walk the route with them.

The ones that are pop-up kind of protests or just kids running wild, so to speak, theres no real person that you can talk to, he added. Theyre just all over the place.  youre just taking them back and forth.

Another shooting near The Bean

Just before 9:30 p.m., shots were fired in the 200 block of East Randolph. CPD officers were stationed nearby to monitor for large crowds of teens who were obstructing traffic, according to a department arrest report.

Soon after, the situation escalated when a 16-year-old boy from Austin climbed onto an awning above a staircase at the Washington/Wabash CTA train station, refusing to come down, according to police records. Meanwhile, another round of gunfire erupted at 205 E. Randolph St. as CPD officers worked to disperse the crowd.

The teen then allegedly jumped down from the awning and was swarmed by CPD officers. While being taken into custody, police allegedly found a loaded gun on him, according to an arrest report.

The teen told detectives he doesnt talk to his parents, who live in Alabama, and his uncle agreed to pick him up from the police station, where he was charged with reckless conduct and unlawful possession of a handgun, the report said.

The 16-year-olds arrest was apparently unrelated to the shooting that occurred nearby just minutes earlier.

There, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy from the citys West Side were standing between two crowds near the Chicago Cultural Center when an assailant wearing all black with a mask fired multiple times and hit them in the legs and arms, police said.

No one has been arrested in that attack.

Around the corner from the Chicago Cultural Center, a 15-year-old girl was charged with mob action after she attempted to break a police line twice, according to a police report.

It happened about 9:25 p.m. at 25 E. Washington St., where officers formed a line with other officers and began to give verbal commands to disperse the large crowd.

At 10 p.m., 28-year-old Marvin Benites, of Plano, was seen jumping up and down on CTA property at 100 N. Wabash Ave., where police were handling disorderly crowds. When officers told him to leave he allegedly refused and was booked and taken into custody.

At 11:20 p.m., police arrested three people  a 16-year-old, along with an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old  who were in the first block of South State Street as officers monitored a mass gathering and unruly crowds, according to a police report.

The teens were allegedly seen kicking the head of a person who was on the ground, the report said. As officers tried to arrest them, they each allegedly resisted and were later charged with reckless conduct and interference with officers.

Shortly after midnight on April 16, officers were in the 100 block of North Garland Court monitoring a large, unruly mob that had been running amok throughout the downtown area for several hours, attacking police officers, terrorizing pedestrians, damaging property and firing shots from a gun, according to a report.

Four teens, including a 19-year old, two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old were seen around a marked police car. After they appeared to look inside it, officers worried the car might be burglarized, approached the four, who ran south on Garland to Washington and Madison causing motorists to take evasive action to avoid hitting them, a report said.

All four were charged with reckless conduct.

Around 1 a.m. a 14-year-old boy from the Jefferson Park neighborhood was among hundreds of teens causing a disturbance in the 300 block of West Monroe Street.

Once officers dropped the boy off at the Wentworth District station to be booked, he was still angry and continually threatened officers, the report said. He was taken to Comer Childrens Hospital when he complained his wrists were injured because the handcuffs were too tight.

Officers tried three times to reach his guardian but were unsuccessful, according to the report, which said the boy was charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and interference with a public officer and resisting an officer.

A slow police response

A curfew imposed after the shooting at The Bean 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.

The officers who responded focused on containing the crowd of hundreds instead of moving into the fray, Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, previously said. The strategy allowed the gathering to continue, he said.

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 vehicles 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.

In response to the violence, the CPD assigned extra officers to monitor the downtown area last weekend. No disturbances or arrests were reported. Several hundred people marched throughout the downtown area to demonstrate to wayward youth that community elders are there to support them.

Several high-ranking CPD officials who are typically responsible for the downtown area were unavailable to respond, according to police sources. Two leaders, including Area 3 Deputy Chief Jill Stevens, were on furlough, and the captain of the Central District was on vacation, according to one 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 supervisor said.

Lightfoot, Johnson react

The following Monday, Lightfoot said the citys youth have every right to spend time in the downtown area, so long as they dont engage in violence or property destruction.

Its not the first time that weve addressed these issues, but our young people have an opportunity and a right to enjoy the entirety of our city, but they have to do it in a way that is respectful for people and property, Lightfoot told reporters.

Johnson called the criminal activity unacceptable, but added that it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

Lightfoot had her weekly meeting with CPD leaders the following Tuesday, and she pressed department brass about why officers struggled to contain the crowds, sources previously told the Tribune.

The events of April 15 were still top of mind for many who attended a South Side public forum to discuss the ongoing search for the next CPD superintendent.

Parents need to be charged and penalized for their childrens behavior, one speaker at the forum, Flora Williams, said to applause. Until we do that nothing is going to change.

Anthony Driver Jr., president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, later said that strategies to address the gatherings are among the criteria used to evaluate applicants for the job.

Theres a number of issues that we face in our city and, (with) each of them, we plan on asking superintendent candidates how they would handle the situation, Driver said.

Photos: Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Election 2023 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2023 Brandon Johnson - 2023 Brandon Johnson - File Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022 Brandon Johnson - 2022
DES MOINES  Pulling back from a proposed ban on remote caucus participation, Iowa House Republicans passed a bill they say will keep Iowas caucuses first in the nation without upending Democrats plans to conduct the 2024 caucuses by mail.

The bill, which was amended on the floor before passing along party lines, would require that caucus participation be in person only if the purpose of the caucus is to select delegates as part of the presidential nominating process  leaving open the possibility of doing the presidential preference process on a different date.

House File 716, as amended, would also remove a requirement in the original bill that caucus participants register with a party at least 70 days in advance of the caucuses. Instead, parties could determine participation rules for their caucuses.

It's my attempt to listen to the criticisms and put forward a piece of legislation that truly preserves the caucuses, while also guaranteeing that first-in-the-nation doesn't get taken away from us, said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton and the bill's author.

Kaufmann proposed the bill last month, saying it was necessary to prevent New Hampshire from jumping Iowa in the presidential nominating process. New Hampshire law requires that it hold the first primary and the secretary of state can set the date to accomplish that. He also proposed the amendment.

If the Iowa Democratic Partys caucus process looked too much like a primary, Republicans warned, New Hampshire would schedule its primary before Iowas caucuses. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan later confirmed those fears, saying he would move the states primary before Iowas caucus if it uses a mail-in process.

Originally, the bill would have required someone to be physically present at a presidential precinct caucus to vote in that caucus, nullifying the Democrats plans to conduct presidential preference by mail.

In a statement, Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann  Bobby Kaufmann's father  said the party supports "any legislation that would preserve our historic, in-person caucus tradition and safeguard Iowa's First-in-the-Nation Caucuses."

Iowas precinct caucuses are party organizing events where party members select delegates to county conventions, work on a party platform, and in presidential election years, tally support for the partys presidential candidates and assign delegates for that process.

In June, Iowa Democrats announced plans to hold the presidential preference process by mail and announce the results on caucus night in a bid to retain their first-in-the-nation status. The national partys rules committee ultimately knocked Iowa out of the early status, but the state party kept plans to conduct the caucus by mail.

Last month, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart requested an extension to submit the partys delegate selection plan to the national party in reaction to the bill. In a statement on Monday, Hart said the party will move forward with an inclusive caucus plan.

"Iowa Democrats will do whats best for Iowa and that means moving forward with the most inclusive caucus process in Iowa history, she said.

State law requires each political party to hold a caucus before any other presidential nominating contest, but it does not require that they assign delegates to specific candidates on the same night.

Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a member of the state Democratic Partys steering committee, said the bill would allow Iowa Democrats to decouple the candidate selection from presidential preference.

I don't think this bill does anything to preclude the Iowa Democratic Party from continuing with our plan to make the caucuses more inclusive, early, and a great representation of who the country should have as our nominee, she said.

Konfrst said the change was an improvement on the original bill, but the bill was an unnecessary, politically motivated interference in party business. She thought the bill was a way to tip the scales for former President Donald Trumps 2024 campaign.

Its hard to imagine that its not something like greasing the skids for Donald Trump, and thats frustrating and its not the role of the Legislature, she said.

Bobby Kaufmann is a paid advisor to Trumps campaign, but he has denied the bill would aid Trump and said it applies to all candidates equally.

Kaufmann said the amended bill was an attempt to address the concerns of stakeholders, including the Iowa Democratic Party.

This was my best way to address those concerns while still accomplishing the goal I want to accomplish, he said.

The bill would also allow state parties to choose a winner in a primary race for the state Legislature in the event of a tie. Under current law, election officials draw a name out of a hat to determine the winner in a tied state House or Senate primary.

The bill now needs to pass in the Senate before being eligible to be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Kaufmann said he expects the Senate to take up the bill. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver did not respond to a request for comment.
First comes the distinct, muddy taste. Then, your mouth goes numb. Eventually, you feel a soft wave of relaxation and euphoria wash over you.

Kava, an herbal drink, has been used for centuries in the South Pacific. But its mostly unknown in Richmond.

DJ Lee and Keri Gray are opening up KavaClub, which will be Richmonds first kava bar, at 1529 W. Main St. in the former Canon & Draw Brewing Co. spot.

We recognize that you only get one chance to introduce a product that no ones heard of to a market like Richmond, Lee said. We are taking our time to make sure we get it right.

The founders hope to open KavaClubs doors sometime in May.

Lee and Gray, who are both entrepreneurs, said they wanted to introduce a social space to Richmond that doesnt revolve around alcohol.

I have a lot of friends who are sober and a lot of friends who are trying to cut back on their alcohol usage. Were at that age where we dont want to just lock ourselves up at home and do puzzles, Gray said. We still want to be social, be engaged in our community, and we want to go to trivia night and we want to play pool.

The space at KavaClub is trendy and colorful with a loose jungle theme. A grass wall is adorned with a pink neon sign that says, Bula, a nod to kavas island traditions. Pronounced BOO-Lah, the word is Fijian for to long life and good health. Patrons at kava bars often say bula as they raise their glass, or shell of kava, before sipping.

Bram Crowe-Getty, head of product for KavaClub, said the bar is preparing the kava as close to the original brewing methods as possible. The kava is sourced from a farmer in Fiji.

The root of the kava kava plant is sun dried and ground up into a powder which is then kneaded by hand into a cheesecloth and into water.

As much as it feels like this is a new product, which it is novel to Richmond, were not just pulling it out of the ground and saying hey, try this. Lee said. It has been a drink for centuries across the world.

Florida was one of kavas early pioneers in the U.S. about 20 years ago. Its popularity took off especially in St. Petersburg, Fla., which is arguably the kava capital of the continental U.S.

KavaClub will also serve kavas common companion kratom, an herbal drink from Southeast Asia that is more controversial than kava. Kratom can have mild upper or downer effects based on the type and the amount ingested.

Its banned in six states, and regulated in a few. Until this years General Assembly session, Virginia had no laws concerning kratom.

The Virginia legislature passed a bill this year that put some very light restrictions on the product, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed it into law last month. Virginia lawmakers this year also killed a different proposal from Del. Buddy Fowler, R-Hanover, that wouldve put tougher rules on the sale of the substance.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022 warned consumers not to use kratom, which it says affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, and appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence.

Experts warn that users shouldnt mix either kratom or kava with alcohol.

Were working right now with our menu, figuring out that perfect serving size where its like, you can feel the effects but youre not gonna feel anything bad, Gray said.

Drinks can be ordered as straight kava, or as a cocktail  like a Kavajito or Kava Colada, spins on popular classic cocktails.

Crowe-Getty said he was surprised by the feeling in the room during internal tastings with friends.

Theres no alcohol in the room, and watching this warm aura, glow come out of folks from drinking a few glasses of kava in the span of a couple of hours, he said. Its such a pro-social positive plant medicine.

The founders hope that KavaClub can be a social space, a hangout spot, and a community.

When youre trying to look out for that third space, a lot of the times its a bar and it can be kind of hard to socialize or come out of your shell when youre around a lot of intoxicated people when you are not, Gray said.

Now youre able to have a third space where you still feel safe and welcomed and you can let a little bit of that joy out without sacrificing your next morning with a hangover.

PHOTOS: KavaClub
A New York financial giants plans to build a solar farm on some 1,710 acres of woods and wetlands in Chesterfield County, including a Virginia Essential Conservation Site, are sparking strong opposition before the State Corporation Commission.

The SCC would have to find that the facility, which is planned to generate 160 megawatts of electricity  enough to power almost 28,000 homes  is needed to meet the states energy use and clean energy goals before the solar plant can be built.

D.E. Shaw and Co. plans to install 380,000 solar panels, transformers, inverters and cables on about 1,675 acres of a tract bounded by Bradley Bridge Road to the north, Branders Bridge Road on the north and east, Swift Creek and the Glebe Point neighborhood to the west and Beach Branch to the south.

It also plans to build a substation and two 34.5-kilovolt interconnection yards at the site, as well as a 115-kilovolt overhead line to connect to a Dominion Energy switchyard 1.75 miles away, mostly along a former railroad lone.

A unit of the D.E. Shaw and Co. investment firm, which has $60 billion of assets under management, wants to own and operate the facility. It has projects underway in 25 states and is operating or developing more than 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy facilities.

But the site where it wants to build in Chesterfield includes the Chester Seeps, home to 10 rare plants, including the squarehead, or Pineland nerveray, a yellow sunflower-like plant found nowhere else in Virginia, as well as the lance leaved rose-gentian, a perennial herb with white flowers that flourishes in bogs and clearings in pine woods. Purple pitcher plants, velvet sedge, red milkweed and small white-fringed orchid are among the rare plants found there. The site is also the northernmost home of the rare fasciculate beakrush.

I really hope there is an alternative location for the solar panels that wont affect the pitcher plant swamp! Rachel Fried wrote to the SCC.

If you havent seen the red milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, especially, its GORGEOUS ... Every year, the seeds sell out like hotcakes because theyre so rare. Only places like this can help continue these flowers in the wild for their symbiotic friends like monarch butterflies, she wrote.

Another Chester Seeps plant on the states rare plant list, Cuthberts turtlehead (Chelone cuthbertii), has a special relationship with bumblebees, she wrote.

The bees evolved with plants like the turtlehead because their big butts are heavy/strong enough to push open the semi-closed lips of the flowers. Its too cute! Cool stuff like that? Please, we gotta work to protect it! she added.

Marielena Lamont, of Great Falls, wrote: We need these plants and animals in our environment, and some, like the Squarehead, are critically endangered.

Lets find a better location for the solar facility, please.

Evangeline Rutherford of Richmond wrote: Please save the pitcher plants!

Kelli Quinn of Richmond wrote: Solar fields dont belong on Natural Heritage Treasures!

More than 775 people, mostly opposing the plans, have so far submitted comments to the SCC.

State environmental regulators told the SCC that they are tallying all the wetlands and stream crossings on the site, while the Department of Conservation and Recreations Division of Natural Heritage will want to offer specific recommendations to protect rare plants there.

The Department of Wildlife Resources said it is concerned about the large area of woods to be cleared, adding that the perimeter fencing required will reduce wildlife habitat and movement corridors.

Chesterfield supervisors approved the plan in 2019, overruling the countys Planning Commission.

From the archives: Remembering Ukrop's through the years 1958 Ukrop's 1963 Ukrop's 1963 Ukrop's 1965 Ukrop's 1972 Ukrop's 1981 Ukrop's 1983 Ukrop's 1984 Ukrop's 1985 Ukrop's 1985 Ukrop's 1986 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1987 Ukrop's 1988 Ukrop's 1988 Ukrop's 1988 Ukrop's 1989 Ukrop's 1990 Ukrop's 1990 Ukrop's 1990 Ukrop's 1990 Ukrop's 1991 Ukrop's 1991 Ukrop's 1991 Ukrop's 1992 Ukrop's 1992 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1996 Ukrop's 1997 Ukrop's 1997 Ukrop's 1997 Ukrop's 1997 Ukrop's 1998 Ukrop's 1998 Ukrop's 1998 Ukrop's 1998 Ukrop's 1998 Ukrop's 1999 Ukrop's 1999 Ukrop's 1999 Ukrop's 1999 Ukrop's 2000 Ukrop's 2000 Ukrop's 2000 Ukrop's 2000 Ukrop's 2000 Ukrop's 2001 Ukrop's 2002 Ukrop's 2002 Ukrop's 2004 Ukrop's 2004 Ukrop's 2005 Ukrop's 2006 Ukrop's 2007 Ukrop's 2007 Ukrop's 2007 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2008 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2009 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2010 Ukrop's 2011 Ukrop's 2011 Ukrop's 2012 Ukrop's 2012 Ukrop's 2014 Ukrop's 2014 Ukrop's 2015 Ukrop's 2015 Ukrop's 2015 Ukrop's 2015 Ukrop's 2015 Ukrop's 2016 Ukrop's 2016 Ukrop's 2016 Ukrop's 2016 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2017 Ukrop's 2018 Ukrop's Ukrop's
Shannon Edwards, the career counselor at Atlee High School (AHS), has received two recognitions celebrating her as the Counselor of the Year.

The Virginia School Counselor Association (VSCA) named Edwards the 2023 Secondary School Counselor of the Year. Each year, the Virginia School Counselor Association recognizes an elementary school counselor and a secondary school counselor for their outstanding and exemplary work. Separately, the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling (PCACAC) named Edwards as one of its 2023 Counselors of the Year, recognizing her for her impact in the admissions process, advocacy for students and colleagues, innovation in the industry, and more.

I am deeply honored to have received these recognitions. I feel that it is a reflection of the important and valuable work that our entire school counseling team does each and every day, said Edwards. We work hand-in-hand together to support one another and provide opportunities for our students that are meaningful and unique to their specific career goals and interests.

Karla Allen, HCPS Coordinator of Counseling Services, said she couldnt think of a better recipient.

Shannon is the epitome of what it means to be a counselor who advocates, initiates ideas and programs, and leads her career team to the next level, Allen said. Under Shannons leadership, the career team has implemented new and creative strategies and programs such as career cafes, an online virtual career center for students to utilize during the COVID-19 school closures, a Hanover Career Counseling YouTube channel with thousands of views, and business partnerships that have led to career fairs, career expos, and scholarship and job opportunities for our students.

Edwards has also been recognized nationally for her work. She received the 2020 Association for Career and Technical Education Counseling and Career Development School Counselor of the Year, an award that recognizes school counselors and career development professionals who demonstrate a commitment to connecting students with opportunities for success while exhibiting innovation in career exploration and development, and advocate for career and technical education as a viable option for all students.

Edwards, a Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University alumna, has served Hanover County students since 2017. She came to education after a career as a pharmaceutical sales representative. She felt drawn to a job that allowed her to help others, particularly students.

It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to work with our students and their families every day. I love to help students explore various career fields and determine potential fits for themselves based on their interests, personality traits, skills and preferences. Our students are truly amazing and have very interesting ideas and goals for themselves, she said. It is exciting to help them explore career pathways, work-based learning opportunities, and additional career exploration options. I am proud of the work that we do and it is a responsibility that I do not take lightly and thoroughly enjoy.

She added: I feel very fortunate to work with such a smart, creative and hard-working career counseling team. Our team works together on a daily basis to develop and provide unique and interesting career opportunities and programs for our students. It is without a doubt a team effort and these awards are a reflection of that.

Edwards received the PCACAC award out of all public school counselors in Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland. Virginia, and West Virginia. For the VSCA recognition, Edwards continues Hanovers success in the associations awards. A Hanover counselor has won a VSCA award in four of the past five years.

Karen Cole, the school counseling director at Mechanicsville High School, received the Secondary School Counselor of the Year award in 2019. Karla Allen won the 2020 Leadership Award from the VSCA and Josh Hurley, the former school counseling director at Patrick Henry High School, received the Secondary School Counselor of the Year in 2021.
Something in the Water returned to Virginia for the first time in three years. The three-day festival kicked off Friday in Virginia Beach after a high wind and rain delay. Saturday was sunny and pleasant. But Sunday was canceled due to the threat of severe weather.

Pharrell Williams posted to social media: "Dearest Virginia, We are the best. These past few days @sitw #sitwfest have been the best.

Even during this Tornado Watch and Lightning Storm right now as I type, we are the best. Thank you for giving the folks that travel here that energy and that LOVE that only we can give...The spirit here was felt everywhere! Next year we will shift the dates because this rain aint playing, but we will be!"
A former Richmond police officer has been convicted in Louisa County of 50 counts of possession of child pornography.

David E. Stone, 51, faces up to 255 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 17.

Prosecutors said in a statement that the Louisa Sheriffs Office was notified in January 2022 by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children after a tech company flagged Stones online behavior.

Police conducted a search warrant of Stones house and found child pornography on a tablet in his bedroom, prosecutors said.

Richmond police arrested him when he showed up for work. Stone was put on administrative leave without pay.
Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Song Young-gil arrives at Incheon International Airport, April 24. Yonhap



Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), plans to voluntarily appear before prosecutors this week for questioning about a growing political funding scandal, his lawyer said Monday.



"Song will voluntarily appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office at 10 a.m. Tuesday," lawyer Sun Jong-moon said in a message to the media.



The investigation centers on allegations that Song's campaign officials distributed cash envelopes to party members prior to the party's national convention in May 2021, during which Song was elected chairman.



Questioning of Song, however, is unlikely to occur, as the prosecution said there have been no prior consultations and it cannot investigate him at this point.



"An announcement by a person under investigation of a unilateral decision to 'appear before prosecutors tomorrow' is not in line with the criminal procedure that should be applied equally to the general public," a prosecution official said.



"Questioning will not take place because of the investigation team's schedule," the official said, adding Song can send a written statement, if he wishes, and the investigation team will ask for his appearance when necessary.



Prosecutors raided Song's home Saturday as part of the investigation, five days after he returned from Paris, where he was a visiting professor at the ESCP Business School. The prosecution imposed a travel ban on Song last Tuesday.



Song already expressed his intent to voluntarily appear before prosecutors upon arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, last Monday, but the prosecution said a summons will be sent to him later after it completes its preparations.



The prosecution suspects Song may have directed or at least been aware of the suspected bribery, though he denied the allegations. (Yonhap)




It was, for the first time, a one-word answer to the question all the political pundits ask about Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Wall Street Journal editor-at-large Gerard Baker asked Youngkin on Monday at a Governing America conversation with the Milken Institute: Are you going to be dusting off that fleece jacket and getting out on the presidential campaign trail later this year?

He went on to say his focus is on Virginias legislative elections, where he wants to preserve the Republican majority in the House of Delegates and flip the Democratic-controlled state Senate.

Im going to be working in Virginia this year, Youngkin said.

And so our House and Senate are up for full reelection this year. We have a House thats controlled by Republicans and a Senate thats controlled by Democrats, he said. I want to hold our House, and Id like to flip our Senate. And I think were doing a really good job in Virginia, and I think this is a chance to bring that to voters.

Youngkin to GOP activists: Make 2023 a big-tent campaign As Youngkin focuses on the upcoming legislative elections, a billionaire former backer of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has contributed $1 million to Youngkin's PAC.

He told Baker, as he has previously told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, that he has not written a book or gone to Iowa, the way many presidential hopefuls do.

Baker pressed Youngkin further: So in the words of LBJ, you will not seek and, if nominated, you will not serve and accept the Republican nomination for president of the United States?

Youngkin chuckled and then replied: Well leave that one to LBJ. What I am very excited about is that America seems to be paying attention to whats going on in Virginia.

Youngkin was in California on Monday on his way back from a trade trip to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. He spoke with Baker at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. On Monday night, he was to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as part of its Time for Choosing speaker series.

Youngkins campaigning for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states last year, as well as the more than $10 million his Spirit of Virginia political action committee has received  including most recently a $1 million donation from Thomas Peterffy, a billionaire former supporter of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis presidential hopes  have kept political pundits speculating that Youngkin plans a presidential run.

Earlier this spring, Youngkin told The Times-Dispatch that the PACs money was all intended for this years legislative races. At the same time, he said he had not formed an exploratory committee for a national race and had not written a campaign book or gone to Iowa.

When previously asked about running in 2024, he has repeatedly said he is flattered but focused on Virginia.

But he previously has not been reported to give such a definitive No in public.

As for wiggle room, Youngkin said he would not embark on a presidential campaign this year. But the Republican Iowa caucuses are Feb. 5, 2024.

Having not announced a campaign, Youngkin has barely registered in polls of prospective GOP presidential hopefuls. One of his top political advisers is now aiding DeSantis expected GOP bid.

The talk about Youngkin as a potential presidential candidate is rooted in his 2021 election when, after Democrats won every statewide election for U.S. Senate and governor since 2006, Youngkin won a 50.6% to 48.6% victory over Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Photos: Youngkin appears in Michigan, Nevada
New AMPI real estate boards announced for Quintana Roo

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  Four new Quintana Roo AMPI boards of directors were announced over the weekend. Personnel from the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) Tulum, Chetumal, Puerto Morelos and Cancun all announced new boards.

Francisco Reyna Gomez was sworn in as President of the Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (AMPI) Tulum in the presence of Ignacio Lacunza Magana, the National AMPI President, and Miguel Angel Lemus, AMPI Regional Coordinator.

Reyna Gomez says the focus is the training of real estate agents and the affiliation to AMPI in Tulum.

The most important thing for us is training and we want to open several courses, regardless of the one given by AMPI online, with the Specialized Training and Research Center.

We are going to focus on the aspiring real estate advisor diploma that La Salle and Canaco teach to start giving it face-to-face in Tulum and for the real estate community to join this organization, he explained.

Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (AMPI) Tulum Photo: April 27, 2023.

The new president of AMPI Tulum considered that there is a lack of knowledge of the processes, protocols and laws to practice this profession.

In Puerto Morelos, a new board was also created, Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Munoz, witnessed the swearing in of the new Board of Directors of the Council of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) of Puerto Morelos.

Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (AMPI) Puerto Morelos Photo: Ayuntamiento de Puerto Morelos April 26, 2023.

She said that real estate development is key in places of preponderant tourist activity, such as our municipality. She says that the work of real estate professionals is the backbone of structured development in the municipality, which responds to population demand, but also to tourism, with honesty, order and sustainability.

In my administration we have made progress in giving legal responses to urban planning, so that growth is not only intelligent, but respectful of the environment, guaranteeing fundamental aspects for the population and our visitors, such as security, efficient mobility and quality services, she pointed out.

AMPI Puerto Morelos will be headed by Ramon Grau Martinez, who thanked the municipal authorities for their support and said that his commitment is to give legal certainty to his clients in the acquisition of goods and to work with the municipality on the growth plan. becoming ambassadors to publicize the magic of the destination.

In Chetumal, Jaime Aguilar Cheluja was made head of AMPI Chetumal, highlighting the opportunities that are opening up for the region with the development of the Maya Train.

Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Inmobiliarios (AMPI) Chetumal Photo: April 28, 2023.

Aguilar Cheluja says the region will have two Maya Train stations, one for cargo and another for passengers, in addition to one of the four administrative office buildings of for entire railway project.

With the commitment to unite to transform with passion and service, the new leader of the real estate professionals mentioned that representatives of international firms with an interest in investing are beginning to arrive in the area and for this, AMPI is an ally, which will seek to incorporate more specialists to give certainty to those future opportunities.

In Cancun, Patricia Mora Vallejo was sworn in as the new AMPI Cancun leader.

Mora Vallejo recognized the support that municipal and state authorities have given them for which the real estate market and real estate professionals have been strengthened through registrations by the Secretariat of Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (Sedetus) and with the Law for the Provision of Real Estate Services.

She reiterated her commitment to continue with the development of Cancun and destinations in Quintana Roo, continuing with the registrations, the deliberations with the government and the State Congress to update the Law for the Provision of Real Estate Services, as well as with the program of ambassadors of investment and advances in digital platforms.

AMPI Cancun Board of Directors Photo: AMPI Cancun April 27, 2023.

Our commitment is to union integration, social action, transparency, professionalization, registration and inclusion, always prioritizing the safety of those who trust us with their heritage.

AMPI Cancun has been an important promoter and active participant in the development of our society and we will continue working with passion and service, said the new president.

Last week, Ignacio Lacunza Magana said that at a national level, AMPI is working to regularize the 10,000 real estate agents in the state of Quintana Roo since most are not regularized.
Puerto Morelos clears 1.8 kilometers of public beaches for May long weekend visitors

Puerto Morelos, Q.R.  The government of Puerto Morelos continues with the regular removal of sargassum from its beaches. On Saturday, 1.8 kilometers of public beach areas were freed of arriving sargassum.

Leonel Salazar Trejo, the Director of Puerto Morelos Public Services, said that over the weekend, the arrival of seaweed lessened as its landfall has decreased considerably from around 70 tons to around 30 tons.

We did not let our guard down in what corresponds to the cleanliness of our public beaches even when the sargassum landfall decreased. We work so that everyone can have fun on this long weekend, he said.

Salazar contributes the decrease in the arrival of seaweed to the weather, since the wind helps to keep it away. He says that the already installed section of anti-sargassum barriers has also helped with less landfall.

So far, around 70 percent of the 2,100 meters of anti-sargassum barriers that are to be installed by the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR) is done.

We have coordinated work with the state and the federation, as mayor Blanca Merari Tziu has set out, so that our beaches are safe for our visitors and residents of this destination, he said.

All 1.8 kilometers of public beaches have been cleaned. Photo: Ayuntamiento de Puerto Morelos April 30, 2023.

The municipal official explained that two Public Services brigades have been in place, together with workers from the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) since dawn, with two tractors and a sweeper to leave the public beaches of Puerto Morelos free of sargassum.

Also, daily monitoring of the patches of macroalgae that approach the Mexican Caribbean is carried out.
Quintana Roo nominated for 220 Readers Choice Awards

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The state of Quintana Roo has been nominated for 220 Readers Choice Awards. Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa announced that Quintana Roo endorses, once again, its tourism leadership in the world for its high-quality services, gastronomy, natural beauties and air connectivity by achieving 220 nominations for the Readers Choice Awards 2023.

The international magazine that specializes in luxury tourism and lifestyle, Conde Nast Traveler, has announced the nominees for its coveted Readers Choice Awards 2023, one of the most prestigious in the world of tourism.

Lezama said that according to the CNTraveler website, Quintana Roo achieved a total of 220 nominations that include Cancun in the category of airports and cities, and in the Islands, Holbox, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.

According to some of the nominations in the categories of Spa Destinations there were three nominations, for hotels 39 nominations and for Tourist Centers, 141 along with 32 nominations in the Restaurants, Bars and Beach Clubs categories.

Among the most outstanding destinations in the category of hotels and resorts, Playa del Carmen leads the list with 70 nominated establishments, followed by Cancun with 48, Tulum with 27, Isla Mujeres with 12, Puerto Morelos with 10, Cozumel with nine, Chetumal with three and Holbox with three nominations.

The distinction in the number of nominations is a sign of the commitment of all those who are part of the tourism industry in serving visitors, consolidating Quintana Roo as one of the main luxury tourist destinations in Mexico.

Last month, the state of Quintana Roo was nominated for 21 World Travel Awards.
Two arrested for kidnapping and beating of three Cancun men

Cancun, Q. R.  Two people have been arrested for the kidnapping of three men in Cancun. On Friday, elements of the Benito Juarez Municipal Secretary of Public Security announced the rescue of the three kidnapped men from SM 259.

Under the command of IM Lieutenant Commander, Jose Pablo Mathey Cruz, the men were freed while Francisco N and Christian N were arrested for their kidnapping.

Cancun police were tipped off that the three men were being beaten inside a home in SM 259. The area resident who made the report said they could hear screams coming from the Leona Vicario Avenue home as people were being hit with boards.

Francisco N and Christian N were arrested for the kidnapping and beating of three Cancun men. Photo: FGR April 28, 2023.

When searching the area address provided in the report, they found the three men inside a room of a small home being guarded by Francisco N and Christian N.

The three kidnapped men accused the two now-detained of kidnapping them and causing them injuries during their time in captivity.

During their arrests police located a replica of a firearm, cell phones, radio locators, a knife and two wooden boards. Two others from inside the home managed to flee before being arrested.
The rant is due  in Rocky Mount.

Stand-up comic and longtime The Daily Show contributor Lewis Black plays the towns Harvester Performance Center on Nov. 30.

Tickets will sell for $82, $62 and $380 (VIP table) plus fees and will be available at 10 a.m. Friday via harvester-music.com, according to the venue. His fan club presale is on at lewisblack.com.

Black, known as the King of Rant, includes audience-submitted diatribes in his shows, but make no mistake, the master himself has plenty to yell about. His newest comedy special, Tragically, I Need You, goes live Tuesday at Youtube.

The multiple Grammy Award-nominee for stand-up specials is the longest-running contributor on The Daily Show. Black will guest host the Comedy Central program June 20-22, the latest in a series of fill-ins since Trevor Noahs departure.

Black last performed in Southwest Virginia in March 2018 at Berglund Performing Arts Theatre.
BLACKSBURG  A recently formed citizens group is searching for candidates in hopes of unseating the town council members who are up for reelection this year.

The Council of Citizens for Blacksburg  CCB  which members say formed about a month ago, is raising a number of issues with the Blacksburg Town Council and among them is the direction they say the elected body has taken when it has come to development.

One goal the group identified in a recent announcement is stopping the overdevelopment of Blacksburg, which is straining our resources and services.

Blacksburg is being overdeveloped in large part to meet the needs of Virginia Tech and their students, which keep on increasing in enrollment, said group member Ed Hokanson.

The council also seems to want to appease developers who are only out to make a profit, Hokanson said.

This is stretching our resources and congesting our town, he said. I saw this and said, enough is enough. Were going to shoot for some quality instead of quantity.

The three council members whose terms will end this year are Michael Sutphin, Jerry Ford Jr. and John Bush. Both Sutphin and Ford said this past week that they are seeking reelection, while Bush couldnt be reached for comment.

When it comes to development, it has not been uncommon for Blacksburg residents over the years to take a conservative attitude toward certain projects due to concerns over issues such as traffic and land and natural resource conservation.

Perhaps the most famous example of this kind of activism was their opposition to an ultimately failed proposal in the late 2000s to bring a big-box store  which was widely anticipated to be a Walmart  to the First & Main shopping center. The case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court, which in 2009 effectively helped bring an end to the plan when it issued a decision affirming the town councils right to require the developer to apply for a special use permit.

The town council was actually among the opponents to the megastore plan, but the elected body and groups of residents havent always seen eye-to-eye on other projects.

The development that served as a major catalyst for CCB was the approval of the rezoning for Legacy on Main, a project slated to bring in more than 50 apartment units that will use low-income housing tax credits.

While opponents to the project repeatedly stressed that they are not against affordable housing, they voiced concerns over Legacys anticipated density and its potential impact on traffic and the surrounding neighborhood. The development, which was opposed by many neighbors, was one of the towns most debated land use matters in at least a few years.

The Legacy site is also not too far from the land that was targeted for Walmart.

Approvals of rezoning requests for building height changes are among the decisions CCB worries is setting a dangerous precedent. Height change measures, for example, have been approved for Midtown, a major development occurring on the site of the old Blacksburg Middle School downtown.

It seems like the people on town council really havent met a development they dont like, said Rebekah Paulson, whos involved with CCB. I think people feel like we need some new representation to listen to what citizens have to say before really rushing the process through some of these developments that have occurred. And they dont feel like its been as transparent as it could be.

Transparency alone is something the group would like to see improved, Paulson said.

The group is taking issue with the towns transparency because it appears to them that other discussions on proposed projects dont occur in front of the public, Paulson said. The group is given that impression because it often seems that several council members have their minds made up on measures related to developments long before they issue a vote, she said.

Wed like to know what type of meetings go on behind the curtain, behind the process, she said.

The CCB said no candidates have stepped up so far, but they are hoping to find them soon. Once they find them, the group said it will provide support to the campaigns, including finding funding.

While Bushs seat is presumably being targeted, the councilmans voting record over the years indicates hes taken some of the toughest stances on development . For example, Bush cast the lone vote against the rezoning needed for the Legacy project and has in the past been vocal about his concerns with developers who have asked to surpass by-right building height limits.

Sutphin recused himself from the Legacy vote due to his employment with Community Housing Partners, the organization behind the development.

Sutphin, who acknowledged having read the recent CCB announcement, said he agrees with several of their points. The council has over the years worked to encourage greater citizen participation on issues and promoted transparency, the latter of which can be seen through the immediate availability online of items such as meeting minutes, notes and videos, he said.

Sutphin said he is interested in hearing more about what CCB says the council should do differently or improve on.

This is a part of the Democratic process. Its why we have elections every couple years, he said. I welcome the debate and discussion on how we can move forward with the town.

Ford echoed some of Supthins points, saying he looks forward to having more community conversations about the towns priorities.

Im sorry that maybe they dont feel heard, but I know me, personally, I always try to make sure I respond to everyone and let everyone know I heard their concerns, and I try to give voice to those in the process, said Ford, who also services at the councils liaison to the Blacksburg Planning Commission.

The planning commission serves as the councils advisory arm on a number of matters, including rezonings for developments.

One point Ford brought up was his position and concerns against a since-eliminated connector road in the currently proposed Glade Spring Crossing development, another project that includes an affordable housing component.

They have a lot of concerns, but to me, the single-biggest concern was the road, so it was important that I voice that, he said. Ive worked hard to give voice to the citizen concerns.
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Biden to host Philippines leader as tensions grow with China

President Joe Biden is set to meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines as concerns grow about China's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea
Of course, both of these systems raise a question: Why bother spending much time on classification systems when aliens aren't real? Donovan  who is himself a skeptic  says it's the roughly 10 percent of cases that can't be explained that are of interest to science.

"About 90 percent of sightings are misidentified aircraft, weather phenomena or sleep disorders [like sleep paralysis] of people reporting abduction experiences and experimentation upon by aliens," he says. But the other percentage is proof of one of two things: either a legitimate extraterrestrial presence or some type of phenomenon that science can't yet explain. To enthusiasts with a healthy imagination, either one is a massively exciting prospect.

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However, perhaps an equally interesting aspect of alien encounter classifications is just how much the people who report alien abductions vary in age, location and background. While a small percentage actively seek encounters, Donovan says that most people are skeptics who often try to explain away what they've seen.

"It is not good to want to believe too much," he says. "People should be well versed in the ways of skeptical, critical observational methods." That said, Donovan points to cases like the Hill Abduction of 1961 as one of the very few textbook abductions that science can't fully explain more than 60 years later.

Donovan finds the unexplained sightings by the military  which are of the first and second kind only  the most fascinating and most likely to be actual proof of non-Earth-based life. These reports, some of which were confirmed by the Pentagon, are more recent and often recorded by the government via radar and military cameras. The visual evidence is often documented in several places by multiple witnesses removed from one another, which is far harder to explain away than phenomena like the "Marfa Lights" (likely headlines reflecting in the distance) or the 1947 "Roswell Incident."

" " The more rare close encounter of the third kind is when a person reportedly sees or even makes contact with a lifeform from outside of planet Earth. David Wall/Getty Images

Now That's Crazy If you have hope of being in the "lucky" 10 percent of people who report unexplainable encounters, you may actually want to follow in cinema footsteps: the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) has 380 reports of UFO sightings in Wyoming, with reports from the Devils Tower area citing visuals like "multiple orbs of green light frantically moving around in a seemingly random fashion." Though if you want to maximize your chances of a full-on encounter, head to California, which tops NUFORC's list with nearly 15,000 reports since 1975. Take note, Steven Spielberg.

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Originally Published: Feb 18, 2008
Yemen's Houthi rebels release gov't military commander

Xinhua) 14:18, May 01, 2023

Faisal Rajab (C), a commander in the Yemeni government army, is pictured among people from his tribe after he was released by the Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 30, 2023.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday released a government military commander who had been detained for eight years, a Houthi official announced in a statement.

Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, was released after a request was made by a tribal delegation from his hometown in the southern province of Abyan. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

SANAA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday released a government military commander who had been detained for eight years, a Houthi official announced in a statement.

Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, was released after a request was made by a tribal delegation from his hometown in the southern province of Abyan.

Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner affairs' committee, confirmed Rajab's release in a statement during a press conference held in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

"With the release of the prisoner, Major General Faisal Rajab, we confirm our readiness for a (future) comprehensive prisoner swap," al-Murtada said, urging the United Nations (UN) to "expedite the implementation of the prisoner exchange deal that was agreed upon in Switzerland."

Rajab was seen being handed over to the tribal delegation during the press conference.

While welcoming Rajab's release, Majid Fadail, the spokesman for the government negotiating delegation, tweeted that Rajab was originally supposed to be released as part of the UN-brokered prisoner swap deal implemented in mid-April, but that the Houthis insisted on delaying his release without giving any reason.

Rajab was captured in March 2015 after the Houthi rebels stormed the al-Anad Air Base in the southern province of Lahij. His name appeared on a list of around 900 prisoners who were freed in a three-day prisoner exchange in mid-April.

Yemen's warring sides have expressed readiness for the next round of talks to end the war in the Arab state, which has been going on since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia took control of several northern cities. Tens of thousands of people died in the war, which has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Recent peace efforts, particularly China-brokered talks that helped restore diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, have increased hope for a resolution to the Yemeni conflict.

Tribal members of the delegation from the southern Yemeni province of Abyan wait for the release of Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 30, 2023.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday released a government military commander who had been detained for eight years, a Houthi official announced in a statement.

Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, was released after a request was made by a tribal delegation from his hometown in the southern province of Abyan. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Faisal Rajab (C), a commander in the Yemeni government army, is pictured among people from his tribe after he was released by the Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 30, 2023.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday released a government military commander who had been detained for eight years, a Houthi official announced in a statement.

Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, was released after a request was made by a tribal delegation from his hometown in the southern province of Abyan. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Faisal Rajab (C), a commander in the Yemeni government army, is pictured among people from his tribe after he was released by the Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 30, 2023.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday released a government military commander who had been detained for eight years, a Houthi official announced in a statement.

Faisal Rajab, a commander in the Yemeni government army, was released after a request was made by a tribal delegation from his hometown in the southern province of Abyan. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liu Ning)
President Yoon Suk Yeol waves as he leaves the presidential jet at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, as he returned home from a six-day state visit to the U.S. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Yoon Suk Yeol snapped a four-week-long downtrend in his approval ratings, buoyed by positive responses to his recent U.S. state visit.



According to a poll by Realmeter released Monday, 34.5 percent of respondents said they approved of Yoon's presidency, up 1.9 percentage points from a week earlier. Yoon's disapproval rating was 62.6 percent, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous week.



The rebound is attributable to Yoon's U.S. state visit and summit with President Joe Biden.



"Last week's job approval rating is fully about Yoon's state visit," a Realmeter analyst said. "Yoon's address at a joint session of the U.S. Congress received favorable responses, becoming a fresh aspect for approval ratings."



Yoon delivered an address at the U.S. Congress last Thursday (local time), becoming the first Korean president to do so in 10 years. In his speech in English, he underscored the importance of the Seoul-Washington alliance and coalition to safeguard freedom, receiving 26 rounds of standing ovations.



In Realmeter polls, Yoon's approval ratings had been faltering from 36.7 percent in the fifth week of March, in a negative response to Yoon's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.



Along with Japan's lukewarm response to Yoon's rapprochement gesture on historical issues, Japanese media reports stirred controversy over Tokyo's claims to the Korean territory of Dokdo islets and the planned release of radioactive wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, damaging the public sentiment toward Yoon's diplomacy.



Adding more controversies were media reports on leaked Pentagon documents showing that the U.S. may have spied on Korea's senior presidential aides, and the ensuing insufficient response from Yoon's office. This resulted in Yoon's approval rating remaining at 32.6 percent last week.



"For Yoon's predecessors, overseas trips have boosted their approval ratings, but that was not the case for Yoon," the analyst said. "In this sense, the latest rebound in his approval rating shows that the public concerns on Yoon's diplomacy are somewhat addressed."



The poll surveyed 2,507 adults from April 24 to 28 at the request of Media Tribune. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.


HARTSVILLE, S.C.  Hartsville City Manager Daniel Moore announced that the city has been awarded the largest grant in the history of Hartsville.

We have been awarded $8.5 million plus an additional $500,000 from our application to the state-funded South Carolina Infrastructure Improvement Plan and Rural Infrastructure Authority, respectively, Moore said. This was a highly competitive process with months of work from city staff and our partners at the Pee Dee Council of Government. Several critical infrastructure needs have been identified and targeted for improvements and/or replacement, including our Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wastewater Lift Stations, Water Pump Rooms, and even our iconic downtown City of Hartsville Water Tank. Combined with an obligation of $1 million from our stimulus American Rescue Plan Act funds, we have a combined $10 million worth of improvements coming to our city.

City officials said the grant will ensure the communitys continued success and economic growth for decades through the guarantee of capacity at the wastewater treatment plant and the continued availability of fresh, clean drinking water for residents and businesses. With the grant it can all be achieved with zero impact on debt and without raising a single dollar in taxes, Moore said.

I want to thank our staff for their dedication and hard work in navigating this process, the Pee Dee Council of Government, and Hanna Engineering for their assistance. I would also like to recognize our State and Local representatives, particularly Senator Gerald Malloy and Representatives Robert Williams and Cody Mitchell, for assistance with this and many other projects. Finally, I want to thank our Mayor and City Council, who recognized the significance of this project and what it would mean for our community, allowing us to devote the resources necessary to see this project through, he said.
COLUMBIA  The final two former South Carolina lawmakers charged in an early eight-year investigation into corruption at the Statehouse have avoided time behind bars.

Former Sen. John Courson was ordered Thursday to serve 100 hours of community service and once he finishes, his probation will end, The State newspaper reported.

The Columbia Republican pleaded guilty in 2018 to taking $159,000 from his campaign account and using for personal expenses on the advice of a prominent Republican political consultant at the center of the corruption investigation.

Former Rep. Tracy Edge was ordered to pay a $500 fine after he pleaded guilty to failing to fully report his campaign finances. The Myrtle Beach Republican chose the fine over six months in prison.

The consultant at the middle of the investigation, Richard Quinn Sr., was sentenced on April 19 to 18 months of home detention

Judge Carmen Mullen, who also sentenced Edge and Courson, agreed Quinn can leave the house to go to his office, to church, to see his doctors and lawyers or for special events with his grandchildren.

Prosecutors said Quinn's political consulting firm was paid illegal fees from individual and corporate lobbyists and also paid lawmakers illegal salaries to influence legislation.

The corruption probe began in 2014 as an investigation into ex House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who pleaded guilty to spending campaign money on personal expenses. He was sentenced to probation.

Quinn's son and onetime state Rep. Richard Quinn Jr. also pleaded guilty and received probation for taking $4 million from lobbyists and doing their bidding for the Quinns' consulting business.

Former state Rep. Jim Harrison was sent to prison for 18 months for lying during the investigation, while ex-Rep. Jim Merrill was sentenced to probation.

All are Republicans.

Courson, 78, said he trusted Richard Quinn Sr. when the consultant told him it was OK to convert his campaign money for personal use. The former Marine Corps reservist said he thinks about how he hurt his reputation and his family everyday,

"The ethos of the United States Marine Corps is honor, courage, commitment," he said."I still live by that."

Edge, 56, said the past eight years since the investigation started have been filled with pain and anxiety."

"I'm very sorry for any failures on my part in this case and deeply regret them," Edge said.

Both prosecutors and the judge praised Courson and Edge for cooperating with the investigation.

At the end of its service, the state grand jury looking into the corruption released a 270-page report detailing the often-blurry line between political consultants, lobbyists and powerful businesses and state agencies in South Carolina.

Major hospital company Palmetto Health, AT&T, the University of South Carolina, utility SCANA and a trial lawyers association called the South Carolina Association for Justice paid more than $350,000 in fines for using Quinn's firm to lobby on their behalf without disclosing it publicly.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Francis Marion University hosted a celebration on Saturday to recognize the placement of the Ebony Guest House historical marker. The celebration was held at the Dr. Iola Jones Park in Florence.

The Ebony Guest House began as a dream of Mary Holmes, who wanted to open a guest house for traveling African American ministers. Holmes dream became a reality in 1949 when the Ebony Guest House opened its doors to the first African American travelers.

For nearly 25 years, African American ministers, soldiers, and even celebrities  including Jackie Wilson, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, and more  enjoyed the hospitality, conveniences, and ideal location of the house. The Ebony Guest House was one of eight Florence sites featured in the Negro Motorist Green Book. It is the only site in Florence from the Green Book that remains.

When I first started this project, I thought that Id find several establishments from the Green Book still standing, maybe even some still in business, said Dr. Meredith Love-Steinmetz, professor of English at FMU. However, I learned quickly that, across the country, there are very few extant Green Book sites. We are so fortunate that we have the Ebony Guest House in our community and it is exciting to see it added to the National Registry.

I am excited that the significance of the Ebony Guest House and what it stood for has been recognized, said Dr. Erica Edwards, associate professor of history and coordinator for FMUs Universities Studying Slavery initiative. I am deeply appreciative to the descendants of the Holmes family for sharing their stories and knowledge of the Ebony Guest House with all of us.

The Ebony Guest House was recently approved by the South Carolina State Board of Review for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. A historical marker was placed at the site, 712 North Wilson Street, in late March.

I am pleased that the university has been able to play a role in educating the community on the importance of the Ebony Guest House, said FMU President Fred Carter. Erica, Meredith, Mayor Teresa Ervin, and Cherish Thomas with the Florence Museum worked diligently to make this ceremony possible. We are so proud of their advocacy on behalf of this historic project.
After a busy session marked by education overhauls and a dramatically conservative policy agenda, this week will likely be the last for the 2023 legislative session.

With the budgeting process already underway, lawmakers are hoping to finish that process and pass any lingering policy bills by the end of the week.

A few budget bills will need to be passed this week, and as of Thursday House Speaker Pat Grassley of New Hartford said he was expecting the bills would be ready for consideration on Monday.

Obviously were trying to put ourselves in a position that next week wed be able to wrap up session, Grassley said on Thursday.

Last week, lawmakers advanced budgets dealing with agriculture and natural resources, government administration, and health and human services. The following budgets remain:

Economic Development

Education

Department of Justice and Corrections

Judicial system

Standings (K-12 and other recurring expenses)

In total, the agreed top-line budget for 2023 will be around $8.5 billion, a 3.7% increase from last year. Republicans said the total represents an increase in priority programs and services while keeping the budget sustainable.

But the details of the remaining budget bills are nearly nonexistent, as Senate Republicans have moved shell budget bills with no dollar figures in them out of committee. Last week, lawmakers amended budget bills on the floor with agreed-upon values before taking a vote.

Republicans are trying to shut the session down, but Iowans are still in the dark about how well actually be funding huge and critical areas of state government, said Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville.

Relaxing child labor restrictions

Another top bill that may see action this week is a bill to open more jobs to 14- to 17-year-olds in Iowa. The bill would also allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work later hours, and allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work the same hours as adults.

The bill, Senate File 542, passed in the Senate this month, and would need to pass the House before being eligible to be signed into law.

Backed by business groups like the Iowa Restaurant Association, Republicans say the bill would give more opportunities to Iowas young people and allow them to earn a paycheck and learn valuable lessons.

But Democrats argue the bill would weaken child protection measures and put teenagers in potentially dangerous work environments. House Democrats have proposed more than 20 amendments targeting specific portions of the bill.

The practice is common on controversial bills, and amendments offered by the minority party are almost always voted down on party lines. But Grassley said Republicans are talking with Democrats about potentially taking up some of those amendments.

We know there's some in there that are just for votes, and we get that, but I think there's genuinely some amendments in there that we should at least have conversations with them on, he said.

If it is amended, the bill would bounce back to the Senate for final approval.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, said she hopes the bill never comes up for a vote.

Im hopeful that we can stop this because enough people will see that the bill is dangerous, its irresponsible and its written by special interests, she said. And its language from another state. Iowans didnt even write the bill.

Limiting property taxes

A goal that has eluded lawmakers may yet see a deal before adjournment, as leaders in both chambers seek to pass a bill to limit property taxes.

Both the House and the Senate passed separate bills this month  House File 718 and Senate File 569  with the goal of keeping Iowans property tax bills down amid soaring assessment increases. But the bills, which passed with near-unanimous support in both chambers, used different mechanisms to accomplish that, and no agreement has been announced between the two.

Leaders in both parties said they want to come to a deal before the end of the year.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the impacts that will happen from these assessments, Grassley said. So I think we feel pretty strongly about trying to find something that will try to ease some of those fears from Iowans.

Democratic leaders agreed, saying they want to pass a bill that will temper Iowans property tax bills without limiting the growth and budgets of Iowa communities.

Weve got to get something done; the clocks ticking, Wahls said. So thats got to be a priority.

Allowing loaded guns in parking lots, highways

A bill that would allow guns in more public parking lots  including at schools in limited cases  may not see final passage before the weeks end.

The bill, House File 654, would allow permit-holding gun owners to have a gun in a parking lot of a school when picking up or dropping off someone, if it is out of sight and the car is locked while not attended. It would also allow guns in locked cars at Iowas public universities, and any unsecured public parking lot.

Iowans would also be able to carry loaded guns in their cars on public highways, and it would remove some language that dictates who cannot own a gun from Iowa law.

The bills Senate floor manager, Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, said this week he did not know whether it would be ready for a vote before the end of session. He said there were issues with the insurance portion of the bill  which would block insurers from denying coverage to schools solely because of the presence of guns  and with portions of the bill that expand who can own and carry a gun, that had to be addressed before passing in the Senate.

Caucuses changes

Grassley said the House is also expecting to pass a bill, proposed by Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton, that would require Iowa caucuses to be held in-person and require registration with a party 70 days in advance of the caucuses.

House File 716 would upend Iowa Democrats plans to hold their 2024 caucuses mostly by mail, a plan devised in a bid to keep the caucus first-in-the-nation for Democrats as the national party announced plans to change the calendar last year. Iowa eventually lost that spot, but kept the mail-in plan.

Republicans say that plan would effectively make the process a primary and prompt the New Hampshire Secretary of State to move the states primary before Iowa, knocking the Republican caucuses off the first spot in the process.

Grassley indicated the bill may see changes before it passes out of the chamber.

I think were in a pretty good position that well be able to come out with something that weve put together, kind of similar along the same idea that we've been working on to make sure there's some assurance to protect the caucuses here in the state of Iowa, he said.
Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma will be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo. The university said Monday that Ma will research sustainable agriculture and food production. It said Ma, who heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization, will share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation with students and faculty. Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019. He kept a low profile during a recent crackdown on Chinese technology companies and traveled overseas before returning to China recently. The university said the Tokyo College appointment began Monday and runs through the end of October.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Social media companies would have to verify the age of Wisconsin users and get parental permission for kids to open accounts under a bill unveiled Monday by Republican Rep. David Steffen.

The measure would also stop children under 18 from using their accounts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., but parents could opt out of all requirements for their child.

Lawmakers across the country have been pushing to limit children's access to social media. Nearly half of states nationwide have recently banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from state-owned devices, in many instances with bipartisan support. Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers banned the app in January.

Steffen announced his plans last month to propose more precautions for all social media platforms.

Today, social media companies, advertisers, and predators have easy, electronic access to our kids. It has become obvious that this has been at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our children," he said in an April statement. Its our job as parents or guardians to keep our kids safe, but the current online environment has made that nearly impossible.

Under the bill, which Steffen provided to The Associated Press before circulating for cosponsors Monday, social media platforms would have 21 days to verify the age of Wisconsin residents with accounts created since 2019 and get permission from a parent or guardian to allow children to access existing accounts or create new ones. Parents would also receive full access to their child's account.

Platforms that don't comply with the law could be fined $100 a day for each account in violation.

The bill would also require social media platforms to set protections for minors, including limits on data sharing and advertising for youth accounts.

To pass, the proposal needs approval from both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature and then a signature from Evers.

His spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, did not return a voicemail seeking comment Monday.

Steffen said in a statement that he modeled the measure after a law Utah lawmakers passed in March. Questions have arisen about whether and how that law will be enforced, and it's likely to face legal challenges. Arkansas lawmakers also passed a bill last month modeled after the Utah legislation that will offer another test of the enforceability of social media limits for kids.

Steffen isn't the first Wisconsin lawmaker to advocate for increased scrutiny of social media companies. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin proposed a bipartisan bill in March to allow the Commerce Department to regulate and potentially ban platforms. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, who leads a House subcommittee on China, has criticized TikTok and pushed for more regulation of the app as concerns grow over the platform being used for Chinese surveillance.

Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Venhuizen on Twitter.
WINNEBAGO, Neb.  With a five-year court battle decided in its favor, the Winnebago Tribe's economic development leaders hope to grow the market for tobacco products produced on the northeast Nebraska reservation.

A federal judge on Thursday ruled the state of Nebraska cannot collect revenue from tobacco sales on the Winnebago Indian Reservation under a 1998 settlement reached by major cigarette manufacturers and 46 states, including Nebraska. The ruling ends a lawsuit in which tribe-owned cigarette makers had sued over the state's efforts to regulate tribal tobacco sales.

"Now maybe we can go forth like any other company involved in regular capitalism and try to expand our business," said Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., the tribe's economic development corporation. "We're just like everybody else -- a business trying to move forward."

The ruling also could pave the way for the tribe to work with the state to follow regulations for sale of its cigarettes in markets outside the reservation.

"Ending this controversy is a big step in respecting each other's sovereignty," Morgan said.

HCI Distribution and Rock River Manufacturing, both subsidiaries of Ho-Chunk, had sued state officials in April 2018, saying Nebraska's efforts to regulate the tribe's production and sale of tobacco products on its reservation were unconstitutional and an attack on the tribe's sovereignty. Nebraska has no regulatory authority over the tribe's cigarette operations that take place on tribal land, the lawsuit argued.

Senior U.S. District Judge John Gerrard agreed, saying in his 37-page ruling, "... this court will not allow the state to infringe on the Winnebago Tribe's sovereignty by allowing state authority over a lawful tribal business selling goods on its own reservation."

The ruling settled the lawsuit's major issue.

"This ruling protects the Winnebago Tribe's economic and public health interests in regulating its own tobacco sales," said Nicole Ducheneaux, an attorney representing HCI and Rock River.

Gerrard ruled the tribal companies must comply with state regulations for sale of tobacco products outside the reservation's borders.

The Nebraska Attorney General's Office had no comment on the ruling, a spokeswoman said.

The dispute between the tribe and state dates back further than the lawsuit's 2018 filing.

Since 2014, Ho-Chunk has operated Rock River Manufacturing, a factory that makes its own Fire Dance and Silver Cloud brands of cigarettes in Winnebago. The tribe collects its own tobacco taxes that fund health, education and infrastructure programs.

In March 2014, the Nebraska Department of Revenue issued tax assessments against several reservation-based cigarette retailers, claiming they made sales subject to state cigarette tax laws. That action led to compact negotiations to settle a dispute over whether Nebraska laws apply to HCI and Rock River's manufacture, sale and distribution of cigarettes. Negotiations on the compact broke down in 2016.

Federal agents in January 2018 raided four Ho-Chunk sites in Winnebago and seized records.

HCI and Rock River responded with their lawsuit, saying Nebraska and the 45 other states party to the 1998 settlement of lawsuits against the largest American tobacco manufacturers were being pressured by those "Big Tobacco" manufacturers to expand their jurisdiction onto Indian reservations. Tribal manufacturers were not party to the settlement.

Under that settlement agreement, tobacco manufacturers that were not part of the settlement are required by state law to either make settlement payments as the participating manufacturers do or make deposits into an escrow account. Those payments were enacted as a way to keep companies not party to the settlement from underselling the big manufacturers.

Nebraska's attempt to force HCI and Rock River to make those payments for sales on the reservation violated federal law granting Indian tribes sovereignty to regulate their own activities on trial territory, the lawsuit said.

After the federal raid, HCI and Rock River saw a sharp decline in revenue, and Morgan said five or six workers at the tribe's cigarette factory were laid off. Morgan said he hoped with the lawsuit now decided, production and sales can return to pre-raid levels and those jobs can again be filled, providing another source of employment and revenue on the reservation.
NORTH SIOUX CITY  Authorities are seeking the public's help in locating a man wanted in connection with the killing of a woman in Dakota Dunes last week.

Jordan Beardshear was found dead in her apartment at The Wellington at the Dunes apartment complex on April 26. The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation has determined her death to be a result of a homicide. A young child was found safe by law enforcement.

Union County has issued an arrest warrant for Alfredo Castellanos-Rosales, 39, on charges of first and second-degree murder, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service Northern Iowa Task Force. Castellanos-Rosales is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. Anyone with information can call 712-252-0211, email siouxlands.mostwanted@usdoj.gov, or contact the Union County Sheriff's Office at 605-356-2679.

"We are seeking the public's help in finding this individual," South Dakota Attorney General Jackley said in a statement released Monday afternoon. "Please do not approach this individual who is considered dangerous. We request you contact law enforcement immediately with any helpful information."

Castellanos-Rosales is accused of killing Beardshear on or about April 25. The two have a child together and were in a "significant romantic relationship" during the past 12 months, according to a criminal complaint filed in Union County Circuit Court.

The affidavit of probable cause states that cellular phone evidence shows that Castellanos-Rosales was near Beardshear's residence and also near the same location as her phone around 8:30 and 9 p.m. on April 25. The document also noted that witnesses placed Beardshear at her apartment complex around 8:30 p.m. on that date.

A search warrant executed at Castellanos-Rosales' residence identified clothing suspected of containing blood, according to the affidavit.

"Beardshear sustained significant injuries including stab wounds, defensive slashing wounds, and significant trauma to her neck/throat area," the affidavit states.
SIOUX CITY -- Bob Scott will be molded, painted and, eventually, placed inside a kiln.

At least that's true of a bobblehead replica of Sioux City's mayor.

The project is part of a 3D sculpting class taught by North High School art teacher Jeremy Dumkrieger.

"For the past two years, I've asked my students to create a bobblehead that was inspired by their favorite fictional character," he explained. "While they're working on a fictional favorite, I'm also making a bobblehead of a local person who is making a difference."

Last year, the late Flora Lee, a lifelong community activist, educator and former Sioux City Community School District board president, was honored with a bobblehead bearing her likeness.

This year, Bob Scott will receive similar treatment; the mayor is expected to declare May 18 as North High School Bobblehead Hall of Fame Day in Sioux City.

Freshman Allison Martinez already has her own bobblehead in the school's hall of fame.

Students chose her sculpture of Snorlax, a bluish monster from Pokemon, to be among last fall's best of the batch bobbleheads.

So, why did Martinez choose Snorlax from a list of more than 100 characters?

"I have three older brothers," she said with a sigh. "When you have brothers around the house, all you're exposed to is stuff like Pokemon."

Still, Snorlax's legendarily large size did present challenges for Martinez.

"The head of a bobblehead is usually larger than the body," she explained. "However due to Snorlax's big belly, his body had to be larger than his head."

Which cuts down on Snorlax's bobblehead-ishness, but Martinez made sure to add more detail to his figure.

That included sharp fangs and teeth and a pumpkin-like hat.

"I made Snorlax around Halloween," Martinez said. "I wanted to get Snorlax in the mood for trick or treat."

Dumkrieger said he loved how intricate his students were making their bobbleheads.

"Initially, students had to create drawings of the characters," he said. "After that, they'd have to mold clay into the shape, place it inside a kiln and, then, paint it."

Freshman Arcenia Burrack said it was the details that set her bobblehead apart.

"You can see each piece of fur has texture," Burrack said of her bobblehead version of Lady from Walt Disney's animated classic "Lady and the Tramp."

Burrack wanted to make a bobbleheaded Lady from the very start.

"First of all, I love dogs," she said. "Plus 'Lady and the Tramp' is one of my favorite movies."

How many times has Burrack seen "Lady and the Tramp"? Fifty times? A hundred times?

"Yeah, something like that," she said, not wanting to guess on the actual number.

Despite her interest in art, Burrack would prefer to spend more time in water than in an art studio.

"I want to become a marine biologist," she said.

Martinez, on the other hand, doesn't know if art will be in her future. Although she is anxious to see if the bobbleheaded Snorlax will pass muster with her Pokemon-loving brothers.

"Since my Snorlax won an award, he had to stay in Mr. Dumkrieger's classroom," she said. "After the school year ends, I'll be able to take Snorlax home and show him to my brothers."
BILLINGS, Mont.  The banishment of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from Montana's House floor has showcased the rising power of hard-line conservatives  organized under the banner of the State Freedom Caucus Network  who are leveraging divisive social issues to gain influence in 11 statehouses.

In Montana, they led the charge to enshrine a ban on gender-affirming care for minors that the governor signed Friday. In South Carolina, they slowed the budget process this year with failed amendments to punish universities with diversity programs. In Wyoming, they tried to make certain library books "crimes of obscenity."

Across the country with varying levels of success, the groups have followed the playbook of the House Freedom Caucus, an eight-year old alliance of GOP conservatives determined to pull Republicans in the U.S. Congress to the right.

After debuting on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol, the Montana Freedom Caucus' 21 members over the past two weeks successfully pushed GOP leaders to punish Zephyr, a Democrat, following her statements and actions in support of the transgender community.

The dispute brought Zephyr a national stage from which to advocate for transgender issues. Though she's seized the moment and drawn support from the left, her elevated profile could work to the GOP's advantage as Republicans try to paint Democrats as extremists heading into 2024, said University of Montana political analyst Robert Saldin.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate Democrat and farmer, will be up for reelection in a race considered pivotal for control of the Senate.

"This is what the Freedom Caucus folks wanted," said Saldin. "Now Zephyr is the second most well-known Democrat in Montana. To the extent that she's the face of the party in Montana, that's great for the Freedom Caucus."

Zephyr's punishment appears unprecedented in Montana. It comes after the state's political landscape careened sharply Republican over the past 15 years, giving the GOP a two-thirds supermajority in the statehouse. That shift sidelined the thinning ranks of Republican moderates  and brought to the fore social issues once on the legislative fringe.

"They like to call us extremists, but we're seeing the extremists on the left take front and center stage here," said Montana Freedom Caucus chairwoman and state Sen. Theresa Manzella. "We're getting behind the right issues, the issues that are dear to our hearts and those of our constituency."

The caucus and its members also repeatedly misgendered Zephyr by using the wrong pronouns to reference her. Manzella indicated that will continue.

Montana's Republican House Speaker stopped recognizing Zephyr's requests to speak on April 18 after she told colleagues they'd have blood on their hands if they restricted gender-affirming medical care.

Days later, Zephyr was ousted from the floor on a party-line vote for the remainder of the session, accused of egging on boisterous demonstrators in the House gallery who demanded she be allowed to speak.

State Rep. Bob Phalen, a Freedom Caucus member, said the moves against Zephyr capped a session in which the caucus played a key role passing laws banning gender-affirming care for minors and restricting the dissemination of pornography.

The group now includes one-fifth of statehouse Republicans and Phalen said he expects it to grow with the addition of freshman lawmakers whose votes aligned with Freedom Caucus priorities and will thereby earn entry.

The State Freedom Caucus Network is the brainchild of Republican strategist Andy Roth and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, who in the lead-up to the 2020 election devised expanding the House Freedom Caucus model to the states.

The network uses House Freedom Caucus members to establish state-level affiliates, with congressmen including Biggs, U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina informally advising lawmakers in their states  hoping to create a pipeline of conservative lawmakers to higher office. Each backed Trump's false statements about fraud in the 2020 election.

Since its founding, the national network has supported Republican primary candidates with modest funds for attack ads in at least one state, but its primary function has been to advise lawmakers on policy and strategy, said Roth, the network's president.

The state-level strategy mirrors that of the House Freedom Caucus, which led the GOP rebellion against U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy's bid for Speaker in January, extracting major concessions from leadership and coveted committee assignments.

The majority of the 11 states with caucuses are controlled by Republican governors and Legislatures. Roth said that's by design. The national network advises its state members to "be loud" against Republicans who have compromised on fiscal and cultural conservative principles, Roth said.
Righteous perceptions of history bring better ties



Signs of thawing relations between South Korea and Japan are emerging. The positive signal first came when Seoul unveiled a package of measures to resolve the knotty issues pertinent to Japan's wartime forced mobilization of Korean workers. President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan on April 16-17 injected fresh air into such efforts toward improved ties.



On April 28, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced a plan to begin the process of relisting South Korea on a "whitelist" of favored trade partners. The following day, some Japanese media outlets reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was planning to visit Seoul on May 7-8 for a summit with Yoon. Both Seoul and Tokyo have yet to confirm Kishida's possible visit. But they admitted there had been consultations about the issue between the two governments.



Given this, Kishida is widely expected to come to Seoul before or soon after the G7 summit being held from May 19 to 20 in Hiroshima, Japan. Japanese media indicated the possibility of a Korea-U.S.-Japan summit on the sidelines of the G7 event. Tokyo's move to include Korea in the whitelist was a turnaround from its lukewarm stance despite Seoul's earlier decision to put it on the list immediately after the Yoon-Kishida summit.



Seoul-Tokyo relations have been aggravating to the worst point since the Korean Supreme Court's 2018 ruling on compensating Korean victims of Japan's forced labor. Bilateral ties will likely return to normal and be in full throttle in four years, prompted by the possible lifting of export restrictions against each other and the recovery of shuttle diplomacy between the heads of state.



The April 26 summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden seems to have nudged Japan to gear up efforts toward improving relations with South Korea. Biden appreciated Yoon's diplomatic determination for better relations with Japan during a post-summit press conference. He added that the improved Seoul-Tokyo ties will help boost the trilateral partnership including the U.S. and will have a far-reaching impact. The joint statement also underlined the importance of cooperation among the three nations based on a willingness toward mutual prosperity and security.



The U.S. has sought close partnerships with South Korea and Japan in bids to counter the expansion of China and Russia coupled with the repeated military provocations from North Korea. Against this backdrop, the U.S. has been praising the Yoon administration for its endeavors toward mending ties with Japan notwithstanding fierce domestic resistance.



Yoon made a state visit to the U.S., the first time in 12 years for a Korean president. He received warm hospitality, apparently stirring Japan to take action. Strengthening the trilateral partnership has already been an unavoidable choice for Seoul in light of the global trend of fortifying blocs.



Japan is geopolitically the nation's closest neighbor and an ally that shares the values of liberal democracy. The recovery of Seoul-Tokyo relations has been urgent amid mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to persistent provocations from North Korea on the backs of China and Russia.



However, skepticism is still growing over Japan. South Korea has disposed of various barricades regarding export restrictions, wartime compensations and the sharing of military information. But Japan has yet to take reciprocal concrete actions except for the recovery of the whitelist and consideration of a Kishida visit. The visit, if materialized, will be the first one since late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Korea in February 2018.



The Kishida administration already noted it would inherit the position of the previous cabinets around the historical perceptions revealed in the 1998 Korea-Japan joint statement. But the current cabinet has yet to refer to the heart-felt remorse and sincere apology mentioned in the "Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration."



If Kishida is to come to Seoul, he needs to express a specific stance on the historical issue and move toward sustainable and amicable relations between the two countries.


A week after she was notified that she would be banned and barred from the Capitol after shouting at lawmakers in the chamber, Melody Vaccaro was back at the seat of state government on Thursday.

Vaccaro, the executive director of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, was escorted out of the building on April 19 with a notice informing her not to return unless she scheduled an appointment after she yelled shame at senators following passage of a bill loosening gun laws in the state.

The priority bill (LB77) of Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon allows individuals to carry concealed weapons without a permit or first completing a safety course, and invalidated local ordinances that regulated firearms.

The bill overcame a filibuster to pass on a 33-14 vote and was signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen on Tuesday.

Vaccaro was sitting in the balcony of the chamber with about two dozen members of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence and Moms Demand Action, another organization that advocates for stronger gun laws, when she reacted to the vote.

She was quickly taken to the security office, told she was banned and barred from the Capitol and surrounding grounds, and escorted out of the building, as state senators and others began to raise questions about whether the action by the Nebraska State Patrol was lawful.

Earlier this week, however, Vaccaro was notified in a letter  also dated April 19  that the ban she thought was for life was only going to last seven days, and that she wasnt actually barred from participating in the democratic process on Capitol grounds.

As previously explained, this bar does not prohibit you from entering the Capitol Complex Area for official business, all matters that deal with the Legislature, and events in the Capitol Complex Area, the letter states.

That language appears to conflict directly with the earlier notice: You have been banned and barred from the Nebraska State Capitol and the Nebraska State Capitol grounds. You are not to enter the Nebraska State Capitol or the Nebraska State Capitol grounds except for scheduled appointments to conduct business.

Vaccaro, in a phone interview on Friday, said the second letter seemed to suggest that she could, in fact, continue to be present at the state Capitol.

It is infuriating to me that they would send me the letter changing the definition of what banned and barred means and what the letter says, she said, and changed it in such a way I could have been participating in what was happening in the Legislature.

Daniel Gutman, an attorney representing Vaccaro, said the mixed signals sent by the Nebraska State Patrol indicate the problems with the ban and bar policy that became immediately evident after it was issued.

In addition to infringing upon her First Amendment rights, Gutman said Vaccaro was not afforded a hearing, which violated her right to due process, and not informed of how she could regain her rights through an appeal, even though the State Patrol indicated to reporters a process was available.

The notice received by Vaccaro this week informs her that she can challenge the administrative decision within 30 days, but with the ban only lasting seven days and having expired, Gutman noted there was nothing for his client to appeal at this point.

(The State Patrols) lifetime ban was an extreme and unprecedented response to a single incident of nonviolent protest, Gutman said. While were encouraged that NSP has retracted its lifetime ban, proper procedures need to be implemented to ensure this never happens again.

Other public institutions have detailed procedures for individuals who have been banned and barred to follow in order to appeal those decisions.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department, for example, can remove and bar individuals from all spaces owned and operated by the university, as well as issue citations and subject them to prosecution.

Anyone who has been banned from UNLs property is required to file an appeal within five business days of being barred. They can also request a temporary waiver if they have a legitimate need to visit campus for attending to official UNL business, according to the policy.

The ACLU of Nebraska, in a blog post on its website, said while all types of expression are constitutionally protected in public forums like the Rotunda, streets, sidewalks and green spaces at the Capitol, that speech was not necessarily protected in every circumstance or location.

Law enforcement and government officials can put in place nondiscriminatory and content neutral time, place, and manner restrictions on First Amendment rights, according to the ACLU of Nebraska, which applies to spectators inside the legislative chamber.

Vaccaro said the experience of being banned for life and later allowed back to the Capitol wont change her approach to her advocacy and activism, but said it might have raised questions or concerns for others about how they engage with the state lawmaking process.

I think its going to, and maybe already has, moved people to question what our civil rights are in this state and where the line is for political speech, she said. I think those questions need to be answered.

With the ban lifted, Vaccaro was present in the Rotunda for Thursdays debate over a bill (LB626) from Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston that would have banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

That bill fell one vote short of the threshold needed to shut off debate and fell off the agenda.

Vaccaro's arrival was met by chants of our house from friends and supporters that could briefly be heard inside the chamber.

Top Journal Star photos for April 2023
A day after a bill that would ban abortions in Nebraska after about six weeks fell one vote short of shutting off debate, Speaker John Arch said the measure wont come back before lawmakers again this session.

The bill (LB626) from Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, which would prohibit doctors from performing an abortion if cardiac activity was detected in an embryo, failed to get the 33 votes needed to invoke cloture on Thursday.

Omaha Sen. Merv Riepe, who co-sponsored the bill, voted it out of committee, and supported it during first-round debate while saying he harbored concerns about the backlash it would create if passed, did not vote for cloture in a dramatic moment on the legislative floor.

Another Omaha lawmaker, Sen. Justin Wayne, who previously voted against bill during the first round of consideration, did not vote on Thursday, dooming LB626 in the 90-day session of the 108th Legislature.

It also prompted questions from every corner of the Capitol and the state about what comes next in the session's remaining 20 days.

On Friday, Arch said he would to follow the plan for handling procedural motions he outlined for his 48 colleagues in the officially nonpartisan Legislature in a Feb. 10 memo.

I intend to continue, in general, the practice of our recent speakers to not reschedule any bill that fails to advance from general file or select file, the memo states. Additionally, if a motion to invoke cloture fails, I will consider the bill finished for the year.

In a phone interview, Arch said it was his intention to adhere to those words: Thats what I said, so thats what I need to stick to.

Others disappointed by the outcome of Thursdays cloture vote on LB626  Gov. Jim Pillen, the Nebraska GOP and conservative activists  proposed a different procedural path to keep the bill alive.

Shortly after the vote, Pillen called on Riepe to make a motion to reconsider his vote, referring to a procedural option available to any member with the prevailing side or not voting for a bill, in order for the Republican senator to stand by the commitments to life he has made in the past.

Republicans also voiced their disappointment in Riepe online after adjournment on Thursday.

The NEGOP strongly encourages Senator Riepe to file a Motion to Reconsider, the party wrote in a news release published on its Facebook page.

A reconsideration motion, under the rules adopted by the Legislature earlier this year, must be made on the same day the original question was decided or on the next legislative day.

That could happen on Tuesday  at least theoretically, according to supporters of LB626 disappointed in the outcome  after lawmakers return to Lincoln from a four-day break.

But that would likely be up to Riepe, an 80-year-old Republican who bucked his party and attempted to amend the bill to a policy he said was more palatable to Nebraskans.

The amendment, which would have banned abortions after 12 weeks, and added fetal anomalies to other exceptions like rape, incest, and medical emergencies, never came up for a vote despite Riepe's efforts to force one.

While its unlikely Riepe will reverse course, observers and parliamentarians said taking up a motion to reconsider a cloture vote also would break with the Legislatures rules, tradition and generally accepted procedures followed by lawmaking bodies.

Nathan Leach of Kearney, who has researched the evolution of the rules used by Nebraskas unique unicameral system of government since it was implemented in 1937, said past efforts to bring reconsideration motions after cloture votes have been ruled out of order.

The motion to invoke cloture cannot be reconsidered because the motion can otherwise be properly renewed, Leach wrote in a white paper shared on social media Friday morning.

Three parliamentary authorities, including Masons Manual of Legislative Proceedings, which is often referenced by the Nebraska Legislature, state moving to reconsider a cloture vote was improper.

Former Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who used procedural motions to slow progress in the Legislature during his more than four decades in the body, moved to reconsider a cloture vote on a bill before senators in 1993, but was ruled out of order by then-Speaker Dennis Baack.

More recently, former Sen. Tyson Larson of ONeill also introduced a motion to reconsider a cloture, Leach found in his research. It was printed in the journal, but never scheduled, which Leach said indicates the precedent was followed.

Arch said it was his understanding that the reconsideration motion would remain out of order, based on the last three decades of precedent.

Before the cloture motion was adopted into the rules of the Legislature in 1992, a motion to suspend the rules was used to shut off filibusters. That proved to be procedurally complicated and time-consuming, however.

A cloture motion, Leach wrote, served as a super-priority motion. The motion itself could not be debated, amended and was not subject to points of order or motions to overrule the chair.

It seems clear on initial analysis that lawmakers intended cloture to be the end of a bill, unless the speaker places the bill back onto the agenda  not by way of a member moving to reconsider, Leach wrote. This would run counter to parliamentary law, the practice of the Legislature, and the original intent of the motion to invoke cloture.

So, for now, LB626 remains stuck on the second round of consideration for the remainder of the year.

While Albrecht made the measure her personal priority this year, the failed cloture vote on Thursday removed its status as a priority bill.

Albrecht or another senator likely could re-prioritize the bill in the 60-day session next January, priming the debate over abortion once more.

Photos: The scene after Nebraska's six-week abortion ban fails to advance
When the world learned last Monday that Fox News host Tucker Carlson had been suddenly and unceremoniously axed by the network with which he had become synonymous, the immediate next question, for me and many others, was: Seriouslywhy? Because Carlson was a smarmy xenophobe is not in itself a sufficient answer to the question. Indeed, those were the traits that had made him indispensable to Fox News. Since assuming the networks 8 p.m. weeknight time slot in 2017, Carlson had become the well-coiffed avatar of a brash nativist populism which the host and his staff had deemed Trumpism without Trump. This orientation, in turn, had made him both a force in national Republican politics and appointment television for the sorts of angry Republican voters on whose loyalty Fox News is reliant. The smart move for Fox, arguably, would have been to extend Carlsons contract. So what really led to Tuckers ouster?

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Over the past week, theres been lots of reporting on this story, much of it overlapping and contradictory, little of it verifiably sourced, almost none of it particularly convincing. Some say the firing was related to an ex-producers lawsuit alleging a hostile workplace at Tucker Carlson Tonight, one characterized by sexism and antisemitism. Others ascribe it to communications unearthed in the discovery process for the Fox-Dominion case, in which Carlson had said crude and disparaging things about certain Fox reporters and executives. Still others have cited internal unease and resentment at Fox over Carlsons ungovernability, discomfort with some of the hosts aggressively heterodox editorial stances, and perhaps some downstream effects of the networks recent $787.5 million settlement in the Dominion case.

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But while all of these tidbits certainly make the case that Carlson was a bad colleague and a worse journalist, none of them, to my mind, convincingly explain his dismissal. The network is not generally in the habit of dumping its stars for having bad takes; indeed, having bad takes is what makes someone a star at Fox News. And while ex-producer Abby Grossbergs lawsuit paints a dire picture of the work environment at Tucker Carlson Tonight, I will note that it took at least five settlements of suits alleging sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior for Fox to get rid of Carlsons predecessor, Bill OReilly. Moreover, if Fox was trying to make heads-must-roll changes in the wake of the Dominion lawsuit, then why do Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromoboth of whom were much more culpable than Carlson in spreading Sidney Powells dumb theories of 2020 election fraudstill have jobs there?

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Carlson wasnt just some fungible weekend guy. He was the networks biggest name. Firing him because he texted crude things about his colleagues does not seem like the most rational decision. And so I tend to credit the one dispatch Ive seen which indicates that this decision was perhaps an irrational one, made by the one man on the Fox org chart who could decide on a whim to jettison the networks biggest star and not face any meaningful internal blowback for doing so: the irascible 92-year-old chairman of Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch.

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On April 25, Gabriel Sherman reported in Vanity Fair that Murdoch, who is not a notably devout man, had been unnerved by a religiously tinged speech Carlson gave to the Heritage Foundation on Friday, April 21, in which the host suggested that prayer was the best weapon against the cultural leftists seeking to destroy America. This speech, Sherman wrote, annoyed Murdoch in part because it echoed some themes he had heard and disliked during his recent whirlwind two-week engagement to a very religious Carlson fan named Ann Lesley Smith. In March, Sherman reported, the mogul had became irritated by his fiancees end-times worldview, by the fact that she had called Carlson a messenger from God, and by her decision to deliver an impromptu Bible reading during a meal at which all three were present. The engagement ended soon after Smith had harshed the mood at dinner. Carlson was gone three weeks later. By taking Carlson off the air, Sherman wrote, Murdoch was also taking away his exs favorite show.

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This would be a very, very petty reason to fire your networks star opinion host and plunge Foxs prime-time schedule into chaos. But, then again, occasional pettiness is a trait inherent to corporate autocracy, and chaos has always been Rupert Murdochs flow state. In a 2004 essay for the London Review of Books, John Lanchester suggested that Murdoch needs the stimulus of exposure to risk to stay fully present. His attention is always seeking to wander off: its only in a crisis that he feels he is where he wants to be.  He is that strange thing, a sensualist of crisis. Lighting things on fire, so to speak, is Murdochs way of reasserting controland I would not be surprised to learn that the 92-year-old mogul deemed it a very good time to send a message about who is still in charge at Fox Corp by engaging in a round of auto-da-fe.

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Chaos has always been Rupert Murdochs flow state.

Although media writers have been speculating about Murdochs health for decades now, the is-Rupert-breathing rumor mill has been especially active in recent months. In March, lawyers for Fox News tried to argue that the mogul was too feeble to travel to Delaware to testify in the now-settled Dominion case. (Judge Eric Davis wasnt buying Foxs lawyers claims of Murdochs infirmity, though, citing Murdochs recent engagement as well as his existing travel schedule as proof of the moguls relative vigor, and warning Foxs lawyers to not make him look like an idiot.) In Semafor last week, Max Tani cited several recent abrupt, erratic decisions from Murdoch that have raised questions internally about the moguls state of mind, temperament, and continued ability to lead a major media company. In Shermans Vanity Fair piece, the author also noted a string of erratic decisions from Murdoch, and quoted an unnamed source on internal fears at Fox about Murdochs capacites: Its like the King is senile but no one wants to say anything.

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So how is Murdoch doing these days? The question is more than just ghoulish speculation on the lifeline of the worlds worst 92-year-old man. Its directly relevant to the near-term prospects of an influential media company in advance of a presidential election. The Fox Corp chair and billionaire tyrant has long proceeded as if he is his businesses, and his confidence in that standpoint has in many ways been the source of his ongoing power. When he dies, the tight hold hes maintained on Foxs operations will come undone. The only thing worse than a tyrant is, arguably, a power vacuum.

Some have speculated that leadership turnover atop Fox News might precipitate positive changes there, and perhaps cause the network to pivot away from its all bullshit, all the time programming strategy. I think this thesis is naive. When longtime network president Roger Ailes left the network in disgrace amid many, many sexual harassment charges in 2016, his departure was cheered by many who held him responsible for the networks low standards, and who hoped that Fox might get better once the mean old autocrat was gone. That did not happen. Instead, Fox News got worse. Under Ailess successor, Suzanne Scott, the network gradually rid itself of many of its remaining reasonable hosts and reporters while letting hosts such as Carlson chase their worst editorial instincts down desperate paths. The thing about mean old autocrats is that peopleincluding otherwise boisterous punditsare generally afraid of them, and do not want to get on their bad side.

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Its wishcasting to think that Murdochs successor, whoever it may be, will have either the ability or the desire to remake Fox News in a moderate image. Fox News is successful and profitable as-is, and a new CEO would have zero reason to tweak the formula, as well as very little internal support for such a crusade. The brand is what it is at this point, and the next chair will likely choose to double down on the networks existing editorial strategies while lacking the forcefulness and stature necessary to successfully execute any sudden, seismic changes. There is every reason to believe that whoever eventually takes over for Murdoch will probably just let Fox keep following its core audience of older Republican voters in a crazy, nativist direction that leads straight into the arms of Donald John Trump.

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Murdochs odds-on successor at this point is probably his son, Lachlan Murdoch, whom some reporters have credited with being the prime mover behind the Carlson decision, along with Suzanne Scott. In 2017, there were also reports that Lachlan had convinced Rupert to cut OReilly at a moment when Rupert did not want to be seen as bowing to media pressure to do so. If true, these rumors would indicate that Murdoch fils, who was said to be close to Carlson, can be coldblooded when necessary. But theres a big difference between working behind the scenes and sitting on the throne. As Lanchester wrote in 2004, the only coherence News Corp [Fox Corps sister company] has is as an image of [Rupert] Murdoch. Lachlan Murdoch didnt build his familys empirehis father did. And if Lachlan takes over for Rupert, he wont immediately command the same levels of fear and respect. Rupert Murdochs proven himself to be a true bastard. Lachlan Murdochs just his son.

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I suppose thats the reason why I still think that Rupert Murdoch pulled the trigger on the Carlson move. He strikes me as the only person at Fox Corp who could just ignore every other rational reason to keep the anchor around, make the call to fire him anyway, and still be confident that the company would survive and everything would still be fine. And, you know what, Carlson is currently reduced to uploading weird videos to Twitter instead of spouting nonsense to millions of people on TV every weeknight, while Fox Corps stock price has basically recovered from last Mondays dip. The other thing about mean old autocrats is that sometimes they can end up doing the right thingeven if they do it for the wrong reasonsin ways that a more traditional leader would not be able to pull off. Bad process, good outcome!

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A recent Sherman Vanity Fair cover story, which was also about Murdoch, began with a scene in which the mogul nearly collapsed at his granddaughters wedding in July 2022. You dont lead with an anecdote like that by accident. The point of such a lede is to remind readers of Murdochs mortality, and to suggest that, finally, he might not be long for this world. And yet when Murdoch dies, the world he created will still be here, and Fox News will still be churning out toxic bile, barely disguised propaganda, and whatever else MyPillow likes to advertise against. The only reason to mourn his eventual death will be the likelihood that Fox News will only get more dangerous with a weaker, less forceful sociopath in charge.

For now, though, the 92-year-old Murdoch still seems to see death as just another subordinate to be bullied into submission. It is reasonable to interpret the Carlson move as Murdoch reminding all those around him not to close the casket before he stops breathing. And it is reasonable to hope that the meanest man alive stays alive for just a little bit longer.
Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My husband and I have two children (2 years and 6 months). We recently moved back to my husbands hometown to pursue a career opportunity for me. My husband has been home with the kids but was just offered a job. We found a daycare, but it can only take the kids three days a week right now (were on waitlists for full-time, but it seems like it could be months or more before we find two full-time spots). My mother-in-law has generously offered to watch the kids for the other two days. Overall, she is a lovely, responsible woman, but we have some significant value differences around environmental issues and Im not sure how to navigate them.

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Our household focuses heavily on environmental awareness. We drive electric cars, we compost, we limit our air conditioning, we limit our flying, we eat all leftovers, we avoid plastics whenever possible, and we buy exclusively secondhand clothing. My mother-in-law is a big fan of consumption. Her house is full of plastics. She throws away whatever is left on her plate at the end of a meal, she keeps her house so cold in the summer that I need a sweater and she drives a minivan. Im concerned about the message it sends to the kids if we stick to our values, except when to do so would be inconvenient. How do I bridge our two very different lifestyles going forward?

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Environmentalist Mama in Limbo

Dear Environmentalist Mama,

As an environmental educator in my day job, I sympathize with you on wanting your loved ones to be as passionate about the environment as you. But Im also a realist who knows that the life you describe living here is not for everyone. I often quote the Zero-Waste Chef: We dont need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly. If you replace zero-waste with environmentalism in that quote, you have my personal philosophy on the matter.

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Part of raising environmentally conscious kids is helping them develop a healthy attitude toward conservation that doesnt vilify others and also doesnt make them feel like the entire burden of environmentalism is on them. One thing to look into is the theory of ecophobia, coined by David Sobel, who says, Let us allow children to love the Earth before we ask them to save it. This might be an approach you can take with your mother-in-law. Perhaps she will never compost or regulate her thermostat; so be it. But would she take the kids for hikes in the woods, or set up a trail cam in her backyard so they can catch glimpses of local wildlife? These actions can have far-reaching impacts on your childrens environmental attitude, and while it might not be reducing carbon emissions now, its helping to raise kids who give a darn about doing so in the future. That is no small thing.

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The other sad reality is that personal eco-friendly behavior can only do so much to curb our rampant consumption and emission patterns. Maybe your mother-in-law would be interested in joining you and the kids in championing policies and non-profits that are making these more systemic changes in your community. Thats another way to marry your disparate lifestyles without requiring that she live her life according to your rules.

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Unless you have found a unicorn of a childcare center, there are going to be plenty of practices at the daycare that you would ethically object to. Disposable gloves, abundant wipe usage, fluorescent lights, kids who love flushing and running faucets just for fun, disposable snack accouterments, etc. Do not hold your mother-in-law to a higher standard than the daycare youre anxiously waiting for. Encourage her along her own environmental journey, but realize (and teach your kids) that everyone is doing their best.

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Catch Up on Care and Feeding

 If you missed Sundays column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

I married my husband two years ago, right as COVID restrictions were beginning to ease. We have a happily blended family. My husband was a widower with an 11-year-old son, Noah (fifth grade). I was a widow with a 9-year-old daughter, Maya (fourth grade), and a 5-year-old daughter. Were happily blended. Noah calls me mom and my girls call my husband dad. The kids all get along well, which is part of why Im writing. Maya has a lot of difficulty making friends. She is incredibly shy. As of now, her only friends are Noah and a neighbor whos homeschooled and often too busy for playdates. Watching Maya and Noah play together makes me forget how bad Mayas problems are. The challenge is that during school recess Noah wants to play with his friends, but Maya feels lonely, so Noah often ends up playing with her instead.

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Maya isnt being bullied, her classmates are all very supportive of her, but at the same time, none of them are really her friends, either. Maya gets worked up a lot about her appearanceshes had panic attacks when going clothes shopping because none of the dresses would make her look cool and when going glasses shopping because she felt none of the frames suited her. And in the end, it doesnt matter because no matter what she chooses to help her be more confident in class, she barely speaks at school.

Were in the process of looking into therapy for Maya because shes uptight and anxious in general, but it may still be a while before she can get help. How can we support her until then? Next year, Noah will be off to middle school while Maya will still be at the elementary school. Additionally, how can we let Noah know hes not obligated to play with his sister at recess?

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Battling Anxiety

Dear Battling,

Youve probably already discovered that wait lists for therapy can be long, but hopefully, Maya will be able to start seeing them before next school year. In the meantime, there certainly are things you can do to help both kids.

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Could Noah have a recess rotation between Maya and his friends? He could play with her on Tuesdays and Thursdays and his friends on the other days, for example. This approach wouldnt totally abandon Maya, but it would give him the friend time he wants and deserves.

You could also try helping Maya by giving her little challenges to practice friend-building on those days her brother isnt around. I wrote in a recent column about working with teachers or the school social worker to scaffold kids toward uncomfortable or daunting actions, but you could also do this yourself. To start, you might challenge Maya to stay calm at recess and play comfortably by herself. Then once shes mastered that, you challenge her to say hi to someone on the playground. Each challenge can encourage her to gently exit her comfort zone just a bit more.

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Beyond that, I wouldnt try any more interventions. Instead, continue to practice acceptance and support and wait for the therapists guidance. I know its difficult to sit by and watch your daughter be unhappy, instead of fixing it, but my gut says youll have better results taking cues from a professional than if Maya thinks you are the one pushing her to change. Good luck.

Want Advice From Care and Feeding?

Submit your questions about parenting and family life here. Its anonymous! (Questions may be edited for publication.)

Dear Care and Feeding,

Im a 37-year-old mom of two young girls (3 and 1). Together with our wonderful husband/father, we live in a mid-size (and rapidly growing) city in a southern state. My husband grew up in a suburb of our city, where his parents still live. I grew up moving every few years as an Army brat, but my parents retired to their hometown in the next state overabout a two-hour drive from us. So, we are incredibly fortunate to have two sets of very involved grandparents 30 minutes and two hours away, respectively. Our girls adore them. We see my husbands parents up to a few times a week and my parents every two-four weeks. I firmly believe that these relationships are invaluable and enrich our daughters livesand of course, we greatly appreciate the extra help.

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My dilemma? Our city and state suck. Our city is expensive, yet our public schools are underperforming, underfunded, and have become political pawns in the state legislatures performative social conservatism. We have the strictest abortion law in the country. We recently banned drag shows, of all things. We have few sidewalks, and no legitimate public transportation, and our blue dot in a sea of red was recently gerrymandered beyond recognition.

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I want to do right by my daughters. All other things equal, Id pack up and move to a different stateif not a different countryto give them the best life possible. They deserve a great education, a diverse community, and healthcare that puts them first. I dream of a scenario in which we relocated with both sets of grandparents, but I know it wont happen. My priority is doing all that I can to protect and nurture my kids, but Im not sure whats the best choice in this scenario. Will they blame me for staying here if they have an accidental pregnancy or end up being transgender? Will they resent me if I move them away from their grandparents? The world feels broken, and I dont know what to do.

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Troubled in Tennessee

Dear Troubled,

I cant fix the broken world, either, and I feel powerless about it just about every day. It can feel so overwhelming to see all of the messed-up parts of society around us, and maddening to think that further deterioration may be inevitable. If these feelings spur you to relocate, I dont think anyone could rightfully blame youincluding your kids. If you move when the kids are young, they arent going to think of it as moving them away from their grandparents the way that you might. To them, it will simply be a fact of life that they dont live near their grandparents. Plenty of kids grow up that way and still have fulfilling relationships with these family members.

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Similarly, if you decide to stay in your current state and a crisis occurs for one of your children down the line, you can address it in that moment, whether thats through a well-timed trip to a blue state for some medical care or a full-on relocation to keep a child safe. Again, no one could blame you then, eithernot even an angsty teen. (Well, an angsty teen may actually blame you, but I promise theyd get over it.) Staying would also enable you to provide care for your aging relatives when the time comes, which is no small advantage to staying local.

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I am sure these are all scenarios youve already considered. But the truth is, there are so many ways to live according to your values, and only you can decide what that looks like. Will you move for sociopolitical reasons, or will you stay for familial ones? Neither answer is wrong. Its also worth pointing out that staying doesnt mean rolling over and accepting the status quo. You can fight to right the wrongs you feel are being done in your community by getting involved in local politics or volunteering for a cause. Fred Rogers said that in times of crisis, we should look for the helpers, but Ive come to believe that being among the helpers can be just as reassuring. Your community likely needs the support of people like you fighting the good fight. If that would make you feel like staying was worth it, it might be another option to consider. Good luck with the decision!

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Dear Care and Feeding,

I have two daughters, Ava (age 5) and Isla (age 7). A couple of weeks ago at breakfast, Ava decided to prank her sister by sneaking behind her and pouring a bowl of scrambled eggs down the back of Islas top, which led Isla to throw up. I had a talk with Ava about her behavior and made her apologize to Isla. Unfortunately, this incident seems to have scarred Isla, who now refuses to eat eggs or even be around the smell. There have been a couple of instances where my partner or I was cooking eggs and she insisted on leaving the room to be away from the scent. How should I deal with Islas newfound aversion to eggs? I dont love the idea of my kids being afraid of certain foods and I want them to have a healthy relationship with food. On the other hand, I totally get why Isla might now be turned off by eggs. Should I let Isla avoid eggs or encourage her to move past it?

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Scrambled Up

Dear Scrambled,

Absolutely let her avoid them. I liked scrambled eggs until one day, as a toddler, it occurred to me that they looked like brains. From then on, I wouldnt touch them. Im sure it was maddening to my parents, after years of happily feeding me eggs, but I simply couldnt stomach them from then on. I finally learned to like some eggs as an adult, which has greatly improved my breakfast sandwich options at the drive-through. Yet, even though I eat them, I still hate the smell. And texture.

All that to say, if this is your biggest blip in childrens food choices, you are doing OK.

Allison

More Advice From Slate

I have a 2-year-old daughter who is my mothers first granddaughter and is completely doted on by her. My mom is genuinely a wonderful grandmother, and since my daughters birth our relationship has been the best its ever been. But whenever she comes over to babysit (which we are truly appreciative of!), she always brings several new toys for my daughter and random household items for me, which drives me crazy.
There was a time when the only good female victim was the bleeding one. The high-water mark for salacious crime reportingthe yellow journalism purveyed in the late 19th centurymade sure that every crime story came with an innocent, young, white victim, hopefully in a nightgown stained red. Justice for women inevitably took the form of white male vengeance attacking whomever had sullied the lady.

This vibe has prevailed in recent decades, even when it was lightly subverted; in 1973 Ms. Magazine infamously published a photo of Gerri Santoro bleeding out after a botched illegal abortion, under the headline Never Again. Time and again, the stories of lily-white women generously bleeding out for justice take center stage. To be a good crime victim demands youth, innocence, tears, and a life in tatters. It pulls a woman out of one airless boxproperty/wife/daughterand pops her into another: ruined angel.

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It would be nice if we could transcend this ancient narrative. And lately, finally, the good victim trope really seems to be faltering, and I am absolutely here for it. Whether its Stormy Daniels chortling at the former presidents penis, E. Jean Carroll refusing to designate herself a rape victim (while still suing the former president for rape), or Amanda Zurawski testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week about how her inability to access health care nearly killed her, these women are not broken, defiled, ruined, or asking men to rescue them. They are, rather, pissed off, living their lives, and defying the public imperative to open a vein in public as a testament to their loss and brokenness. They are nobodys property and nobodys responsibility, and it is about freaking time we took them extremely seriously.

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They are nobodys property and nobodys responsibility, and it is about freaking time we took them extremely seriously.

Zurawskis testimony is particularly compelling after months spent watching the post-Dobbs reporting on all the women who must brush right up against death in childbirth before anyone can help them. It is a chilling reminder of how very much we love stories of dying women and the men who save them. But Zurawskis testimonythat despite the fact that her pregnancy was not viable, her Texas doctors didnt feel safe enough to intervene as long as her heart was beating or until I was sick enough for the ethics board at the hospital to consider my life at riskreworked that story. Rather than center herself as a victim, she centered the men who hurt her (including Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who didnt show up for her testimony) and the ways in which she and her husband saved herself. It may not be a story you read in the mainstream press, but it is why abortion won the midterms and the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and will likely keep winning elections for anyone looking to preserve reproductive rights. Nobody is going back to Justice Alitos halcyon days of witch burnings and Madonna/whore morality tales. Abortion advocates are, again, saving themselves.

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Olivia Nuzzis recent barnstorming profile of Stormy Daniels in New York Magazine is, similarly, one for the books, not least because of the tarot card reading that opens the piece, and the open roasting of the politics-to-reality-show pipeline that constitutes public life today. But the most arresting part of the story is the grouping of several Trump victimsStormy Daniels, Kathy Griffin, Mary Trump, and E. Jean Carrollinto a category Mary Trump handily describes as having no fucks to give. (Disclosure: As a journalist, Ive met all of these women in recent years.) Griffin, in a quote, goes one better, describing Daniels as like a porno Dorothy Parker, and then goes on to describe the fantasy as me, Mary, E. Jean, and Daniels and probably her husband and a fluffer. I love the descriptor, and not just because each of these women is funny, complicated, and comfortable in her skin, as well as generally quirky AF, but also because it signals that perhaps the era of the wan, ruined, long-suffering victim may be well and truly behind us.

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Ive all but given up on the pollsters and pundits who will never understand the seismic change Dobbs brought about in politics. They dont seem to actually know any women like E. Jean Carroll or Stormy Daniels, and they clearly dont have any idea about how to pick up the phone and reach one. If you live your whole entire life in 19th-century tabloids or 21st-century Hallmark movies, you can truly fail to understand that for most women, most of the time, sexual harassment, sexual assault, internet death threats, pay discrimination, the absence of a meaningful child and health care network, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and pregnancy complications are daily facts of life. All those things truly complicate and confound our daily lives, and still we manage to go to our jobs, and buy our yogurt, and call our moms. Were actually, very few of us, huddled on a velvet couch palely waiting for some legislator to rescue us, or for some ethics board to deem us sufficiently wan and pale to warrant emergency lifesaving medical care. As Zurawski testified Wednesday, she never expected the senators who favored the abortion rules that nearly killed her to show up at a hearing to hear her story. They are as wholly invisible to her as she was to them. She just wants the rest of us porno Dorothy Parkers to be forewarned.

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So, too, Carroll sat before a jury that already understands why women dont report sexual assault the day it occurs, and told Donald Trumps lawyer, You cant beat up on me for not screaming. One of the reasons [some women] dont come forward is they are asked why they didnt scream. Some women scream; some women dont. It keeps women silent. Indeed, she said, she now fully understands why women dont report sexual abusebecause they wont be believed (which is, paradoxically, what Trumps lawyer kept saying: that she wasnt believable). But this jury got to hear from a three-dimensional Carroll, who happily went into a changing room at Bergdorfs with a guy because she was a journalist and he was a story. Her testimony was deeply hilarious and complicated and highbrow and ambitious and not at all designed for anyones fainting couch. I was ashamed. I thought it was my fault, she testified. It was high comedy, it was funny, and then to have it turn 

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Welcome to the life of a woman.

It is worth noting here that Donald Trumps defense in every case involving a female accuser is one-dimensional: She wanted his fame, she wanted his money, she wanted revenge. Women exist solely to steal his light, to cash in on his importance. In this Victorian telling, women are nothing until they can gouge a man.

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But so many of the women presently in the world dont actually believe that Trump is the source of their future greatness. With the exception of his wife and his daughters and some hapless attorneys, most women are smart enough to stay far away from him. To wit: What Stormy Daniels reports wanting from Donald Trump was principally to be left alone. When E. Jean Carrolls friend Carol Martin advised her not to tell the police shed been raped, it was because she wanted to spare her from being doubly injured by him. As Carroll put it on cross-examination: I was afraid Donald Trump would retaliate, which is exactly what he did. He has two tables full of lawyers here today.

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In order to get anything like justice, victims have to perfectly embody the trauma of what happened to them as the main plotline of their own life.

Victims of persistent narcissistic misogyny, whether it emanates from Trump or Tucker Carlson or Harvey Weinstein or someone much less famous, always end up having to be good victims. In order to get anything like justice, they have to perfectly embody the trauma of what happened to them as the main plotline of their own life. The narratives always put their attacker, his wants and needs and actions, at the center of the story. Even when the attackers become incidental, or ancillary, or just tiresome, we have to keep behaving as though they are the beginning and the ending of the story.

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But these new porno Dorothy Parkers keep making the choice to center themselves, their friendships, and their intricate lives. As Carroll testified Wednesday, Ive regretted this 100 times, but in the end, being able to get my day in court finally is everything to me. So Im happy! Like so many Trump accusers, she just wants to unstick her life from the sprawling miasma that is Donald Trump. She wants her voice back and her career back and her reputation back. Like Daniels, she just wants him to go away.

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The notion that men own the law and women own their pain is so deeply ingrained in our legal system that nothingnot Anita Hill or #MeToo or decades of true crime and decades of obsessing over true crimehas fully shaken it loose. But in this post-Dobbs moment, we may finally have the potential to understand the cost of treating women as mere bodies, vessels, and victims, either perfect or ruined. Because unlike the women who bled out in random hotel rooms or died of infection, these women are surviving their mistreatment, and organizing around it. And they are finding a new way to talk about itthey are making these stories about them.

It is fitting that Trump most likely isnt going to show up at E. Jean Carrolls trial. Its her story, after all. Hes just a bully she met along the way.
Jeffrey Epstein! Despite having died in 2019 in a not-at-all-suspicious jailhouse suicide, the finance-world hustler and convicted sex criminal has remained the gift that keeps on giving for the various powerful U.S. figures who knew him, of whom there were apparently about one million. Every few months, it seems, someone new is trying to explain through a crisis public relations firm why they spent so much time on the mans plane, at his Manhattan townhouse, or at his private Caribbean island, despite his reputationestablished in the public record by a 2008 criminal conviction and countless lawsuits and media reportsfor coercing minors into performing sex acts. The number of people who at one point had a private dinner with infamous sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein seems like its larger than the number of people I have spoken to in my entire life. A real extrovert, that Jeffrey Epstein!

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Anyway, a number of newly identified Epstein contacts are in the news this week thanks to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports that it has obtained thousands of pages of Epsteins emails and schedules from the period between 2013 and 2017 that include the names of individuals he was scheduled to meet with. In terms of star power, the biggest is probably linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, who confirmed to the Journal that he occasionally saw Epstein to discuss neuroscience and other subjects. (Epstein liked to make a show of his interest in science. Chomsky is not accused of any inappropriate or criminal behavior.)

There is also an incredible Mad Libs payoff deep in the article concerning a dinner that Chomsky and Epstein reportedly had in New York City. You simply will not believe who the other A-list guest at the dinner was:

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Two months later, Epstein planned to fly with Mr. Chomsky and his wife to have dinner with them and movie director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, the documents show. If there was a flight, which I doubt, it would have been from Boston to New York, 30 minutes, Mr. Chomsky said. Im unaware of the principle that requires that I inform you about an evening spent with a great artist.

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Yes! What a world.

Also grudgingly confirming that he met with Epstein is William Burns, a longtime State Department figure who is now the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Epsteins schedules listed three meetings with Burns in 2014, two in Manhattan and one at a law firm in the District of Columbia; a CIA spokeswoman says Burns remembers meeting Epstein once at the law firm and once in New York.

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This is Burns explanation for their interactions, which perhaps calls into question whether he is the best person to hold the United States most high-stakes job in the field of information-gathering:

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The director did not know anything about him, other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector, she said. They had no relationship.

(Burns has not been accused of inappropriate or criminal behavior.)

In limited defense of Burns, his contacts with Epstein took place in 2014, after the financier had served the sentence for this 2008 conviction, but before litigation filed by one of his alleged victims revived scrutiny of his case and behavior. The same cannot be said for Kathryn Ruemmler, who served as White House counsel during Barack Obamas administration and is shown to have met and socialized with Epstein dozens of times after leaving the position. (She says she regrets ever knowing Epstein, did not ever fly on a private plane with him, and never visited his island.)

Ruemmler is now the general counsel at the investment bank Goldman Sachs and, in the Journals dry telling, the co-chair of its reputational risk committee. Jeffrey Epstein might be dead, but irony is not!
Welcome to State of Mind, a section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.

The first time I visited death row as an investigative intern, the man whose case I was working sat behind a plastic divider and ran his fingers through his graying hair. He picked up the phone at the same time as his attorney, sitting beside me, lifted the phone on our side of the divider. I recognize you, he said to her, with no hello. But you might be somebody else.

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This was the first of many instances where I, a former capital defense investigator, saw symptoms of paranoia, depression, suicidality, mania, and delusion affect my clients ability to participate in their own defense. As an investigator in Tennessees state appellate system, I met with clients on death row, combed through thousands of pages of records, and interviewed everyone I couldfrom the police officers who collected crime scene evidence to the third grade teacher who noticed the first signs of a serious intellectual disability. My goal was straightforward: to gather evidence to save someone from execution or to free an innocent person.

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Its a demanding, complicated job made all the more difficult by how common it is for people on death row to experience mental illness, and how rare it is for them to receive any kind of effective treatment. Assessing and responding to mental health concerns is critical in ensuring that folks get the meaningful, thorough defense they are constitutionally entitled to. In fact, understanding mental illness is often an essential part of legally demonstrating why someone should not be executed. And ignoring the mental health needs of people on death row also violates the rights, dignity, and humanity we should strive for in even the most severe criminal cases.

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But for criminal defense teams like the ones I worked on, the lack of mental health resources on death row leads to a particular dilemma: Sometimes what is best for a clients case outcome is not best for their immediate well-being. Defense teams do their best to support their clients, but a legal professional is not a mental health professional. And when the two are at oddssay, a clients history of schizophrenia diagnoses will provide important context to a judge but make him vulnerable to abuse in prisonteams must ethically put saving a clients life above all else.

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Tanya Greene, who spent decades as a capital defense attorney, told me shes spoken to countless mental health professionals who are shocked to learn that the goal of understanding a clients mental illness is to lessen punishment, not to treat them. A clients mental health situation impacts every level and every stage of their defense, Greene said.

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For example, an attorney might decide whether to pursue a competency claim: If a client is found mentally incompetent to stand trial, they may actually get resources, but that could mean indefinite incarceration in a state institution. If they are declared competent and go to trial, the defense team might be able to win a parole-eligible sentence. But the clients mental health might fall apart even further while in prison, or they might lose the case entirely.

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This is a constant problem for death penalty teams. Data shows that at least 43 percent of the 2,414 people on death row in the United States suffer from mental illness, but the attorneys I spoke with are confident the real number is much higher and underreported due to stigma, fear, and the deprivation of care that often comes with poverty, as well as poor data in the prison system.

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This is not to say that mental illness leads to violence. Folks with mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crime, and mental illness itself is often criminalized. But for those who are convicted of death-eligible crimes and have mental illness, the lack of care within the system exacerbates existing conditions and mirrors the countless systems that failed them long before their sentences.

Mitigation evidence is one of the things that distinguishes death-penalty cases from other criminal trials. It is any piece of information that reduces a clients culpability and inspires jurors to inflict a sentence less harsh than death. The whole aim of mitigation is the challenge of convincing people to see past the one-dimensional painting that the prosecution is going to paint, Athena Kheibari, a former mitigation specialist and the coordinator of the Holistic Defense Program at Wayne State University, told me. But to paint that picture, which includes everything from mental illness and trauma to a client saving a correctional officers life during a jail riot, defense teams must conduct a thorough and difficult investigation. I spent the majority of my time as an investigator working on mitigation, which meant I knocked on the doors of mothers, teachers, and neighbors. I sat in an aunts living room and heard stories of generational psychotic episodes. I reviewed thousands of pages of medical and educational records, piecing together a story of my client that had never been told.

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Ideally, every capital defense team would have a team member who specializes in mitigationsomeone who can screen for mental illness and conduct trauma-informed interviews, given that the sensitive nature of mitigation evidence can trigger and destabilize clients. American Bar Association guidelines state that each team should include, at minimum, one mitigation specialist, one investigator, and two attorneys. But funding for this standard is consistent only at the federal level. Each state varies in how much funding, if any, is given to state appellate offices, and trial team resources are often dependent on individual counties.

For teams that do have the resources and skills to conduct a thorough mitigation investigation, the next step is telling that story to jurors or a judge. If funds permit, they hire expert witnesseslike neuropsychologists and psychiatriststo put the mitigation evidence in context. What does all that personal, often painful information about a client and their family say about who they are, their culpability, and how they should be punished?

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Patti van Eys is a clinical psychologist who works as a consultant, a specific type of expert witness who might not testify but who aids the defense team in understanding the effect abusive childhoods, mental illness, and trauma have on their clients. As part of her work, which also includes sharing detailed reports with judges and decision-makers, she evaluates clients in prison. Im going in with a very interesting kind of double hat, where I am an evaluator, but Im a therapeutic evaluator. Im almost like a therapist, she told me.

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A consultant like van Eys is often the closest that people on death row get to mental health treatment. But its rare that teams have the funding for someone like van Eys to meet with a client more than once or twice, if at all, despite case law that entitles them to it. Van Eys told me about working on a case with a client who immediately shut down when she asked about his mother. He couldnt list even a few adjectives to describe her. Van Eys knew immediately that there were major issues related to his mother, but she didnt have the time she has in a typical therapeutic setting.

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My job is absolutely to go in and help save this guys life, she said. The therapeutic goal and the forensic goal bump up there because what do I do now? In situations like this, van Eys tries to find a middle ground and come back for a second visit, to slow the pacing of these conversations. I got deeper information the second time, and I still didnt get all the way there, she said. But if he had ongoing, trauma-based therapy in the safety of a confidential relationship, he might.

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When I worked as an investigator, I was often the team member that clients bonded with mostit was with me that they spoke about not only their cases, but also their lives. This raised difficult questions about agency and ethics. On one hand, I had an ethical duty to do everything I could to stop their execution. That meant that when their symptoms caused them to break down before a mental health evaluation, or their trauma caused them to threaten giving up their appeals, I had a certain duty to press on. But ultimately I couldnt know what it was like to face death, navigate mental illness and trauma while incarcerated, or decide what quality of life meant when the best-case scenario was usually life in prison.

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This is my life, not yours, a client once told me. He feared what a psychologist would find in an evaluation, and he didnt want me to strain his relationship with his mother by asking about family secrets. It was one of many moments when what I knew was best as an investigator conflicted with what I would have thought best if I were his therapist or friend.

When I asked Kheibari about this tension, she said a holistic defense model can offer a framework to make capital defense more client-centered and interdisciplinary. Holistic defense involves more collaboration within defense teams, rather than a strict siloing of roles. It also means giving [clients] much more voice in decisions, Kheibari said. An attorney should, for example, consult with a client before sharing in a courtroom sensitive information about a traumatic event, she said.

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Kheibari trains public defense offices on holistic principles and has seen an increase in their use. In many ways, holistic defense builds upon the ABA standards of carebut given that many defense teams are fighting for even those basics, the resources and time it takes to incorporate holistic principles are simply not there. Still, there are small ways to create more safety in the process. I always tell the clients, Youve had a lot taken away in your life,  van Eys told me.  You have very limited freedoms around anything. But one of the things you do have is your freedom to choose what you say to me. 

Ultimately, people on death row desperately need trauma-informed treatment from trained mental health professionals who are not part of the defense team. This would enable defense-team members to continue sensitive and competent casework, while taking away some of the pressure to straddle the difficult line between legal representative and mental health advocate. It would also give clients an opportunity for therapeutic safety that isnt as deeply linked to the high stakes of their legal cases.

Given where we are now, the idea of prisons hiring qualified therapists on death row is somewhat of a distant dream. But Kheibaris research shows that the presence of jail-based clinicians improves suicide outcomes, and other research has shown that in-prison mental health services reduce recidivism. (Even though recidivism does not directly relate to life-without-parole and death sentences, its an important measure in other cases and is likely related to other positive outcomes inside prison.) Although states may be reluctant to better fund criminal defense, perhaps building out in-prison mental health resources would appeal to the desire to improve safety and reduce costs over time.

Recognizing all the constraints I faced as an investigator in this willfully cruel system was devastating for me. I saw so clearly how much my clients needed mental health treatmentand had needed it for years before ever being incarcerated. I had nowhere to refer them. For any hope of a just and humane system, that needs to change.
Most of us dont have a favorite TV meteorologist anymore. Instead, we roll out of bed and check a weather app on our phones. The problem? Most weather apps kind of suck. When they failand they often dowe feel confused and almost betrayed. After all, we chose this weather app, checked it days in advance, trusted it with our plans  and the prediction it made led us astray, maybe left us soaking wet.

Many professional meteorologists call weather apps crap apps. And as climate change accelerates extreme weather events, their consequences are much bigger than soggy T-shirts.

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On a recent episode of What Next: TBD, I talked with Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, about how apps have transformed the way we interact with weather forecasts.

Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Lizzie OLeary: Why are weather apps so bad?

Daniel Swain: Well, one is that these apps lack context. What exactly is being predicted by these apps in any given place or at any given time? One thing that people really notice is how radically the forecast sometimes changes from one hour to the next when you look at the app.

So if youre looking at the forecast for four or five days from now, for example, you might check in the morning when you get up, it might be a relatively warm and clear forecast. And then six hours later you check and the forecast is now cold and rainy. You might say, How the heck did it change that much in six hours? You cant really rely on anything these days. But the reality is the actual prediction didnt change that much in six hours. What happened is that this app in this example is only looking at one of very many realizations across an ensemble of weather model predictions for that same period.

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The realization you are seeing is one possible outcome of a model that gets run every six hours. But weather is more complex. Its a broader envelope of outcomes, which youre probably not seeing in your app. How does that impact an apps accuracy?

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If you look at the whole envelope, the full ensemble, the full distribution of possible weather futures, its likely that it didnt change very much. The app is inadvisably picking only one member and giving you a prediction thats uncorrected by human forecasting expertise. Thats not a statistically rigorous way of assessing things, and its not giving you a contextually meaningful view of how much the actual likely future outcome has changed over that six-hour period. So its literally true, but contextually missing the point.

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What other factors make it difficult to create an accurate weather forecast?

We dont know exactly what the worlds atmosphere looks like in this moment right now. Imagine you were to push go on one of these mathematical weather models. When you run a prediction, you need some sense of what the initial conditions are, whats the starting point that youre predicting from. But we dont know that initial starting point precisely. Theres actually quite a bit of uncertainty, because weather models need to know everything about the entire vertical 3D structure of the atmosphere over the whole world to make multi-day weather predictions. So you need to know what the wind speeds are 500 feet off of the ocean in the remote South Pacific, for example, along with everywhere else. And we dont have that information precisely. We can estimate it within certain reasonable bounds of uncertainty using observations and satellites and interpolations. But as youd expect, all of those are imprecise. And so if you get it wrong, then youre going to get a forecast that is imperfect.

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The way to make these forecasts better is to use ensembles to run the weather model dozens of times with slightly different conditions. The more times you run it, the more accurate your forecast will be. What does that process look like?

So you feed the model, over and over again, slightly different sets of initial conditions, all of which are plausible given that we dont know exactly what the real world is. You run it and you get 20, 30, 40 different plausible futures in terms of what might happen to the weather in three to five days. Because of that, any individual member of that ensemble might do something weird if those initial conditions produce some weird outcome. The most realistic way to interpret these ensembles is to look at all of the members collectively and look at trends and patterns across all of them. The challenge is a lot of these weather apps are just picking one.

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Do any apps look at the whole ensemble?

Some do, but one challenge is that where the data is coming from and how these forecasts are generated in these proprietary weather apps is very opaque. I actually tried to look at the sourcing for some of the most popular weather apps, and they claim to be transparent, but from a scientific perspective, I have no idea how these apps are actually assimilating the data.

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As a society we have put our faith in these microcomputers we carry around. Listening to you, its very clear that actual human skill in differentiating between and interpreting these bands of probability might be a better predictor of telling me what to wear in the morning.

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My go-to in the U.S. is the National Weather Service, weather.gov. There are local weather forecast offices with real human meteorologists living in a particular part of the country who specialize in predicting the weather for that region. And they know all of the local microclimates, the quirks of weather in your area, including understanding the kinds of regionally specific problems that existing numerical weather models might have. And so all of that human knowledge is actually quite substantial in producing what I think are much more nuanced and better forecasts.

This human knowledge is the kind of thing that a lot of artificial intelligence and machine learning folks are trying to get generative A.I. models to assimilate, but we havent gotten there yet. We just dont have numerical tools that replace the human touch in this context. We really do need domain-specific knowledge to contextualize these huge arrays of raw numbers that are thrown at us from predictive models like weather models. Human meteorologists probably arent going to be out of a job anytime soon.

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Thinking about what you do, which is looking at this intersection between climate change and extreme weather, I wonder if theres something even more immediate about understanding why people need reliable weather and climate-related information that they can use to make decisions?

Its a huge challenge. There is this assumption that because we have this powerful computer in our pocket, the basic day-to-day information thats delivered to us, like a weather forecast, must be correct. And I think that sort of lends folks, in some cases, a bit of a false sense of security.

One example might be, if you just look at the icon in your weather app and youre in the central United States during tornado season, depending on how the app interprets the forecast, there might only be a 20 or 30 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms. And so the app might give you essentially a warm and partly cloudy icon, with a little 20 or 30 percent mentioned in the corner. But the reality is that if you are under one of those areas covered by thunderstorms, they might be really violent storms, there might be tornadoes. And so the single icon  its a science communication choice. Do you emphasize the low but actually quite consequential risk of severe weather in this kind of forecast? Or do you emphasize what the weather is going to be like most of the time that day, which is probably warm and partly cloudy until the isolated tornadic thunderstorms arrive?

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We are seeing more extreme heat waves and more extreme downpours in a warming climate. More and more people are experiencing conditions that are certainly outside their realm of personal experience and increasingly also outside the realm of historical experience. Properly communicating weather, and particularly extreme weather, in a climate change context is only becoming more important. And so we have this simultaneous reality of unprecedented instantaneous potential access to information, but for a lot of folks the context of that information has perhaps gotten worse. Because in the past, you might have tuned in to your local morning news station and there wouldve been an on-air meteorologist who actually did some of that interpolating for you, whereas now, increasingly youre just sort of getting the raw, unfiltered version without any framing.

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Can you envision a better weather app?

Honestly, I havent seen it yet, and its one of the reasons why I personally tend not to use weather apps as a professional atmospheric scientist. I do think there are a couple that are probably somewhat better than others, but in general, its difficultbecause it is a science problem, a science communication problem, and a technology user-interface problem. And Im not sure that we have great solutions for any of those three things in this context yet. Its important to have domain experts on board, because a lot of the folks producing weather apps dont necessarily have a background in atmospheric science or meteorology. Thats not universally true, but there is so much knowledge among folks whove been doing this for a long timeand that just doesnt make it into the current system.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Our Fund Foundation launched the Norm Kent LGBTQ Newsmaker Fund in the longtime attorneys memory.

It is especially meaningful for The Our Fund Foundation to hold the Norm Kent LGBTQ Newsmaker Fund because Norms values and hopes for South Florida align with ours. He was a force for good in our region, and we hope to follow in his path.

Click here to donate.

Kent was the publisher of South Florida Gay News and before that the Express Gay News in the early 2000s. He was a passionate defender of the First Amendment.

Kent died April 13. He was 73. Heres an excerpt from the SFGN obituary.

In 1999, Kent took on a new title: newspaper publisher. He launched the Express Gay News, which covered all aspects of queer life in South Florida.

Kent sold the paper four years later to Window Media, a national LGBT media group that renamed it the South Florida Blade. Window Media went bankrupt in November 2009 and quickly shut down the Blade. Most of the staff of the Blade reorganized and launched the Florida Agenda, which shut down in 2016.

In January of 2010 Kent launched a new newspaper and website called South Florida Gay News, along with a new business partner Piero Guidugli, who stayed with the company until 2020.

Celebrating 400 issues of SFGN in 2018, Kent and Guidugli highlighted a few of their most compelling stories, including:

 A five-year long program of entrapment by two West Palm Beach policemen who had entrapped more than 300 men.

 Hollywood police fired officer Mikey Verdugo in 2010 after the department learned he had appeared in a 15-minute gay porn scene 14 years earlier. (Verdugo now owns Bodytek Fitness in Davie and Wilton Manors.)

 The 2010 firing of licensed practical nurse Ray Fetcho AKA drag queen Tiny Tina, when it came out that 35 years earlier Fetcho had been charged with a lewd act for hosting a wet jockey shorts contest at the old Copa nightclub in Fort Lauderdale. (Fetcho died at 68 of cancer and diabetes in 2015.)

In 2016, Kent wrote in a publishers column about the last of the big gay bar raids in Broward County, when in 1991 then-Sheriff Nick Navarro created a media spectacle arresting men at the Copa and at Club 21 in Hallandale Beach.

Sheriff Navarro orchestrated the raid as if he were hosting a Hollywood opening, Kent wrote. As the news report by Steve Rothaus indicates, the Sheriff turned the raid into a media event, placing the entire LGBT community in a false light. Navarro arrived on the scene, believe it or not, in a helicopter, accompanied by his wife, dressed in an evening gown. Reporters were shocked by the crass celebration, amazingly accompanied by foreign Russian dignitaries to show off for.

Kent said he never regretted publishing a story, even if it got him into hot water with local power figures, including activists and elected officials.

Its the newspaper. It's what editorial cartoons are all about, he said. It's not for the politician to be thin skinned. It's for the politician to go naked before the canon and accept the fact that he, too, can be criticized no matter how good they think they are.

Visit www.our-fund.org/normkentfund/ to donate to the fund.
The official reason: traffic issues. The likely real reason: Floridas impending ban on drag shows in public.

The city of West Palm Beach is ending all street parties in the 500 block of Clematis St., just by allowing a permit to expire. The area began hosting the outdoor drag parties during the pandemic as a way for the community to safely come together.

WPTV reported that the mayor declined to renew the permit because of traffic issues. This could cause problems for the annual Pride On the Block (POTB) celebration, which plans to use that space during their event.

The fourth annual party, planned for June 3, raises money for Transpire Help, which provides aid for LGBT in recovery. The events website doesnt list any drag queens scheduled to appear, meaning POTB wouldnt likely run afoul of the new law. The problem is the permit on Clematis wasnt pulled due to content, it wasnt renewed, ostensibly, due to traffic.

The organization released a statement on its website.

We have been working on addressing the recent changes to Pride on the Block. We want to assure everyone that Pride on the Block will still take place, and we invite you to stay tuned for official news and information on PrideOnTheBlock.com, the statement reads. As a community that faces unique challenges and obstacles, we remain steadfast in our ability to adapt and advocate for positive change. Our community is in need of support now more than ever, and we invite you to join us as volunteers, sponsors, vendors, donors, or supporters. We are committed to continuing to provide vital services to the LGBTQ+ community through our work with Transpire Help. We are grateful for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing everyone at Pride On The Block on June 3!

This is just the latest blow to POTB. Last years event was marked by the threat of violence after a very detailed letter was received. It listed streets and landmarks, and police took it seriously. The person behind it was determined to be a minor in Canada who used an online mapping service to scout the area. He remains under arrest in Canada.




By Park Jung-won



South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden held a summit at the White House on April 26, announcing the Washington Declaration, which calls for strengthening the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence.



As part of the Washington Declaration, the two leaders agreed to establish the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), through which the two countries will discuss closely and regularly potential retaliation measures against North Korea, using U.S. nuclear weapons if the North launches a nuclear attack. Experts worry that the NCG's remit will fall short of that of a similar body, NATO's Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). However, the NPG also entails a consultation process rather than a detailed plan for the use of nuclear weapons, given that the U.S. has the ultimate authority over the use of such arms.



One key difference is that aircraft belonging to NATO member states on which U.S. nuclear weapons can be deployed are currently used in training exercises to carry out nuclear retaliation missions in case of that contingency. However, in Northeast Asia the U.S. Air Force maintains that immediate nuclear retaliation is currently possible without South Korea's participation; if the North Korean nuclear threat becomes more serious in the future, South Korea could then actively participate in nuclear retaliation missions after appropriate consultations with the U.S.



The two leaders also agreed to enhance the visibility of strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula, as evidenced by the impending dispatch of a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. It is said that a single U.S. SSBN's arsenal is equivalent to the total nuclear stockpiles of some lesser nuclear powers. An SSBN deployment to South Korea means that it will regularly operate around the Korean Peninsula and can send a strong signal of deterrence to North Korea.



Having said that, these "optimistic" assessments may be nothing more than wishful thinking given the harsh reality of conditions on the Korean Peninsula. After all, what ultimately gives the Washington Declaration teeth is the expectation that if South Korea is hit by North Korea's nuclear weapons, the U.S. will retaliate with its own. But no one knows if the U.S. will really carry out its pledge when the time comes.



Moreover, the unpredictability of U.S. politics, especially as next year's presidential election approaches, could turn the declaration into a meaningless piece of paper. In this regard, it is shocking that President Yoon gave up his country's right to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which would allow it to produce its own nuclear weapons, at a time when North Korea's tactical nuclear threat against South Korea is becoming manifest. Did President Yoon not have the determination to carry out diplomatic brinksmanship with the U.S., as President Syngman Rhee once did?



Since persuading North Korea to denuclearize through diplomacy now seems a virtual impossibility, it is essential for South Korea to resolve the nuclear asymmetry between the two Koreas through some form of nuclear balance as soon as possible. For now, the simplest way to establish this balance would be the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. The U.S., however, has rejected such a measure, perhaps believing that the placement of such weapons in stationary bunkers in South Korea rather than in mobile and stealthy aircraft or submarines makes less sense militarily and would create very tempting targets for North Korea.



But the permanent presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea would make a huge difference in terms of the psychological threat felt by North Korea. Moreover, rather than leaving ambiguous the possibility of South Korea's future independent nuclear armament, the declaration makes clear the deliberate U.S. intention to prevent South Korea's nuclear armament under any circumstance.



Before the summit, many South Korean security experts hoped for a formal U.S. commitment to automatic nuclear retaliation "without hesitation" in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack on South Korea, but the final declaration did not go so far. In other words, the diplomatic wrangling which led to the Washington Declaration may end up having been just another "talkfest" of little substance despite the declaration's apparently stronger pledges.



In order to take advantage of U.S. nuclear capabilities at the level that South Korea wants, there are many issues that South Korea needs to resolve on its own first. South Korean society has become very polarized over perceptions of North Korea's nuclear threat, and political factions have been arguing over the essence of the "North Korean issue" within a dual conservative/progressive framework.



Hopes for a bipartisan, unified stance by South Korea towards North Korea's nuclear threats, which could send a strong message to the U.S. in terms of the will of the South Korean people, seem like a pipe dream under the current political environment. Given this sad reality of a divided South Korean society, it is hard to conclude with confidence that this summit's aims to strengthen the alliance and enhance deterrence of North Korea's nuclear weapons program will be achieved. Importantly, the Yoon government must confront the fact that it still has much to do when it comes to dealing with North Korea's nuclear threat through "real substantial deterrence."



The South Korean people must also recognize that it will be difficult to manage the alliance, let alone respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons program effectively, if they fail to reach a consensus on national security matters. In the event that South Korea does suffer a catastrophic nuclear attack by North Korea, it will be hard to blame any single politician or party for the outcome. Because it will have been the result of choices made by the South Korean people overall.





Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is a professor of international law at Dankook University.


Nick & Shawns Courtyard Cafe is now, more accurately, just Courtyard Cafe.

The Wilton Drive staple has been bought out. Shawn went on social media to announce the news, writing, As of April 26, Courtyard Cafe is under new ownership. I would like to thank the community for 15 years of love and support. I hope that you continue to support them as you have supported me over the years!

Very few people knew the restaurant was up for sale or that new owners were coming in. The day after the news was announced, SFGN spoke with Branden Vidal, one of the new owners.

Theres always some uncertainty when there's a change in ownership. Our intent is not to make a sudden change.

Vidal, as well as co-owners Javier Valdez and Deiler Beltran, have worked in the South Florida LGBT community for years and are all LGBT themselves.

We have many years of experience in the Miami and Wilton Manors areas, Vidal said.

The new owners have a fresh vibe that some say is needed on an increasingly staid Drive. Others may be concerned its Miami moving in. Vidal says thats not the case.

We dont intend to bring that Miami vibe. Wilton Manors is a community that has its own hip energy to it. We want to continue that energy.

Though theyre new to ownership on The Drive, they are very familiar with the neighborhood. Major developments are coming to the city, and the next one could be right across the street at Shoppes of Wilton Manors (aka Alibi Plaza).

Many worry the development could be the beginning of the end of Wiltons status as an LGBT community. The new owners say that cant happen.

Any plan thats gonna positively affect the community, and continue to support the LGBT community for many years to come, thats something well be on board with.

That all comes from their respect for whats been built here.

Were all for what the community wants as long as it continues to keep that LGBT legacy and not chase it off.
Slovak real estate legislation differs from that of many other countries.

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Current legislation and processes around the granting of construction permits for new buildings has been far from optimal for some time, according to lawyer Peter Bartosik.

They allow for municipalities to exert political influence over new developments, as well as causing problems with staff turnover at construction authorities after each municipal election, which in turn often leads to significant understaffing of those same authorities. Meanwhile, the complexity of the process to obtain a building permit in Slovakia means the time between land acquisition and the start of construction work can be as much as five years for some projects.

But with new building legislation due to come into effect from April next year, the situation should soon take a turn for the better, the lawyer says.

The Slovak Spectator spoke to Bartosik, a co-founder of the Bartosik Svaby law firm, about the new legislation, the differences between Slovak and other countries real estate laws, and more.

How does Slovak real estate legislation differ from that in other European countries?

The most important difference is that in most European countries, there is a rule that the building yields to the land. In Latin, this rule is called superficies solo cedit, or the surface yields to the ground in English. In other continental jurisdictions, any structure that is built on land automatically becomes the property of the landowner. In Slovakia, the ownership of a building and land can be divided. This, of course, can cause a lot of legal problems. Another difference is the form of the land register, which in Slovakia does not have the same type of binding nature as it has in other countries. Therefore cadastral data can be challenged in court proceedings. This again creates a degree of legal uncertainty.

Is there anything that is specific to Slovak legislation on real estate rentals?

There are special regulations on leases of non-residential premises in Slovakia. In principle, most commercial real estate is pursuant to the law on the lease of non-residential premises. This law is very old: it was adopted more than 30 years ago, and is very rigid. It limits, to a very great extent, the conditions under which a lease can be terminated or the conditions applying to an agreement regarding the termination of a lease agreement. It also puts restrictions on what type of premises can be leased at all, and sets out what lease agreements should contain. Of course, lawyers and participants in legal relationships have become accustomed to the rigidity of this law and have found ways to live with it while respecting their business interests. But rigidity in the case of commercial real estate rental is not entirely appropriate. Contractual freedom in this area would more suit the business environment in general.

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Related article Who built the most and who sold the most? See our ranking of developers Read more

Could you give an example of a situation where a well-drawn up contract can help clients avoid problems?

Contractual arrangements, unless they create a title  such as a real estate purchase contract  are primarily of a preventive nature. This means that the parties agree on rules of conduct for the future, so that if they forget them or are not sure of them, they can open a written document and return to their agreement. This means that the very existence of a contract is a very good tool so parties know how they should act. The obvious examples where good regulation of contractual rights and obligations helps parties are leases of commercial premises and contracts on works. This is because the majority of the rights and obligations of tenants, whether they are in office buildings or shopping centres, or the rights and obligations of contractors and clients in sophisticated contracts on work, cannot be inferred from the law and therefore the right contract has the potential to save participants money. A good example is when a lease without a proper contract is terminated, and the landlord is thus not entitled to any lost rent or compensation for damage caused by the early termination of the lease.

What do you think of current building legislation, and new legislation to replace it that will become effective as of April 1, 2024?

The current legislation is very old  it dates back to 1976. It is not only obsolete and complicated, but in some cases even inflexible. As a consequence, current permitting processes are excessively long in Slovakia, making new housing in big cities, but indeed everywhere in the country, scarce, pushing prices up. On top of that, these lengthy procedures do not add quality to what is actually being built. The whole of society pays a price for these lengthy and inflexible procedures, but does not receive any value in return. As this affects everyone in Slovakia, the goal of the new building legislation is certainly commendable. In my opinion, this new building legislation will be beneficial. Of course, given the huge change that will take place in the whole permitting process, it will take some time for it to be fine-tuned so that all the processes work properly, and for everyone involved to learn how the new building legislation should be applied.

Is your law office also preparing for the new legislation?

Proceedings started before the new laws come into force will be completed according to the old regulations currently in force. Along with some clients who are developers we are looking at whether it would be better for them to commence permitting procedures under the current legislation and processes, which are lengthy, but are known, or wait until the new laws come into effect, even though it is not yet clear exactly who will implement them and how long those processes will last. At the moment, for large development projects it takes three, four, or even five years from the time land is acquired to the start of construction work. In many countries, the process is calculated in months and not years.

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Related article 10 projects that will change the face of Bratislava Read more

What are the most important changes the new building legislation will bring?

There are three very important changes: the first is the digitalisation of the entire process of obtaining building and related permissions; the second is reduction of the current two-or-morestage process of granting a development permit and a building permit to a onestage process. This, procedurally and legally, is the biggest change brought about by the new laws. But from my point of view, the most important change is the return of construction sector administration to the state [i.e. central government] and the removal of relevant competencies from municipalities. This change, at least in Bratislava, could be very positive, because in practice it has been shown that changes of political leadership at city or borough level often cause repeated disruption in building authorities operations every four years, after municipal elections. This included often almost complete re-staffing of the relevant construction authority.

What were the consequences of this?

This instability led to significant understaffing of building authorities in general and their subsequent inability to act within the deadlines set by law. The professionalisation of building authorities can, in conjunction with the digitisation of files and processes, ensure that processes are much smoother, that under-staffing and staff turnover will significantly decrease, that there will be professionals at building offices and that the rules will be clear to everyone. For those consuming building permits  mostly developers  the most important thing is the predictability of the process and professionalism.

There are some fears that under the new legislation municipalities will lose the ability to influence what is built on their territory.

From a certain point of view, this is true. But, in my opinion, the legislation put in place so far has simply not worked well. Municipalities should not, as has been the case, have a political influence on building permits. There are many examples of mayors who say publicly that they will not allow such and such construction. What they are really saying is that they are not going to act in accordance with the law and, in fact, to exercise their derivative public authority as they are supposed to. When one takes this argument ad absurdum, it is the same as if a policeman were to say I will not fine blondes, because that is my belief. Therefore, depoliticising permitting processes can be positive. Under the new legislation municipalities can and will still be able to regulate construction activities on their territory, mainly through master plans and detailed zoning plans.

The new legislation should put a stop to the legalisation of illegally-constructed buildings. But will this really happen?

This regulation is a step in the right direction. Once it has been fine-tuned, it will certainly make some people think twice about investing hundreds of thousands of euros in a building that can be pulled down, perhaps at their own expense. Also, enforceability of the law in this respect will be better than it is at present. Currently the process to pull down an illegal construction is very complicated for the relevant building authority. This again has to do with the staffing and professionalism of building authorities. Local building authorities are currently overwhelmed with applications for zoning and building permits, and understandably they have far less capacity to deal with sanctioning activities and complicated administrative procedures related to getting rid of illegally constructed buildings. It is worth mentioning that the new legislation contains provisions that allow existing illegal buildings, or illegal structures whose construction began before April 2024. Given the large number of illegal buildings in Slovakia at present, it will take several years to complete proceedings on the legalisation of existing illegal buildings. Only then we will see what effect the new laws have on new illegal buildings.

What are the biggest problems in the adoption of legislation related to real estate or permitting processes in Slovakia?

These issues are not specific to real estate or permitting processes. The main problem is that new laws are passed without experts and affected bodies being able to comment on them. State administration and ministries push through bills via proposals by individual MPs rather than via standard legislative procedures because that would be difficult politically. This makes it impossible for the proper legislative process to be carried out  there is no interdepartmental review; nor do the affected entities and experts have the opportunity to comment on these bills. This is a practice that every parliamentary opposition challenges, but when they eventually get into power, they use it. This applies to all legislation, including legislation related to the real estate sector. Another problem is the marginal interest shown by the state in problems faced by professional owners of commercial real estate like shopping centres, office buildings and, in future, rental apartments. The law on the lease of non-residential premises is obsolete but we do not see any interest on the part of the Justice Ministry to consider whether the current legislation is fit for the 21st century and what kind of changes are needed.

What problems do your clients most often come to you with?

Mainly legal audits of ownership relations to real estate. In the case of development, these are many types of contracts and processes necessary for a project to be successfully completed  different types of contracts on works, with architects, designers, construction contractors etc., and subsequently lease agreements and purchase contracts. Then there are issues related to defects, lawsuits concerning the quality of work carried out, and lawsuits regarding payment for various work and the existence, or not, of claims for contractual penalties.

Can you give a specific example?

We had a very interesting arbitration dispute concerning cracks in horizontal reinforced concrete structures on a certain large, important building. We had to gather expert evidence to identify exactly how those cracks occurred, and who was responsible for them. During such disputes, our work becomes multi-disciplinary, because we need to understand what those experts are saying, and we need to understand what rules and norms apply in the case of a reinforced concrete structure. This is very interesting.
Its not about the mental setup.

Slovak President Zuzana Caputova and Czech President Petr Pavel in Ukraine on April 28. (Source: Zuzana Caputova on Twitter)

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Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. The Czech and Slovak presidents visit Kyiv. Another poll shows Slovakias vulnerability to Russia and its yes-men.Slovakia to temporarily impose border checks.

Strong messages, weak institutions

When President Zuzana Caputova first announced she was planning to visit President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, along with her recently elected Czech counterpart Petr Pavel, it was still unclear what fate awaited Slovakias obsolete MiG-29 fighter jets, which the Ukrainians had been eyeing. A presidential trip to Ukraine was seen as a potentially fitting moment to announce the transfer.

Though the MiGs had already been handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces well before the Slovak and Czech heads of state arrived in Ukraine on Friday, the visit still fulfilled a purpose: to demonstrate the continuing support for Ukraine from it neighbour, despite one of that neighbours former (and possibly future) heads of government unscrupulously capitalising on fears of war among the Slovak population.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230430/german-defense-ministry-intends-to-buy-50-puma-armored-vehicles-1110000953.html

German Defense Ministry Intends to Buy 50 Puma Armored Vehicles

German Defense Ministry Intends to Buy 50 Puma Armored Vehicles

Pistorius plans to buy new Puma vehicles and hat the ministry intends to sign a contract with the defense industry on the purchase of 50 infantry fighting vehicles worth 1.5 billion euros and will make and sell 150 to NATO allies.

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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius plans to buy new Puma vehicles, believing that all issues with the equipment have been resolved, the report said, adding that the ministry intends to sign a contract with the defense industry on the purchase of 50 infantry fighting vehicles worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.66 billion) and manufacture of extra 150 vehicles to sell them to NATO allies. The German ministry expects to allocate money for that purpose from a special fund of 100 billion euros announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022 with the aim to improve the country's defense capabilities. Earlier in the month, German defense giants Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann said that they had received an order from the German government on the modernization of over 140 Puma infantry fighting vehicles. In late December, the Spiegel magazine reported that all 18 Pumas that were intended to be used by the NATO Response Force were not combat ready. In the light of the incident, then defense minister Christine Lambrecht said she had not ruled out that the government might stop buying Puma vehicles.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/blinken-expresses-concern-over-establishment-of-azerbaijani-checkpoint-on-lachin-corridor-1110001666.html

Blinken Expresses Concern Over Establishment of Azerbaijani Checkpoint on Lachin Corridor

Blinken Expresses Concern Over Establishment of Azerbaijani Checkpoint on Lachin Corridor

Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern over the establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Lachin corridor during a phone call with President Ilham Aliyev.

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"Secretary Blinken shared his belief that peace was possible. He also expressed the United States deep concern that Azerbaijans establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible," Miller said in a Sunday statement. Blinken, who spoke with Aliyev a day after his phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, underscored the importance of Azerbaijan-Armenia peace discussions and pledged continued US support. On Saturday, Blinken told Pashinyan that direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus. The US, Russia and the European Union have taken turns to try and negotiate a peace pact between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the hope of ending their long-running conflict. The regional rivals have been involved in two major military conflicts over the Azerbaijani Armenian-dominated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh flared up in September 2020, marking the worst escalation since the 1990s. Hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered trilateral declaration of ceasefire signed in November 2020. The two former Soviet countries agreed to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region. Occasional clashes have since occurred on the border. Earlier this month, the Azerbaijani State Border Service said its units had set up a border checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, the only land route linking Armenia and the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku explained the decision by the alleged illegal use of the road by Armenia and security threats, noting that the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the Russian-Turkish monitoring center were informed about this. Yerevan protested Baku's move, stressing that it violated the 2020 trilateral declaration.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/euthanized-freya-the-walrus-immortalized-in-statue-in-oslo-1110002451.html

Euthanized Freya the Walrus Immortalized in Statue in Oslo

Euthanized Freya the Walrus Immortalized in Statue in Oslo

The initially heart-warming story about Freya the walrus ultimately had a harrowing ending, as the animal was put down.

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2023-05-01T06:29+0000

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A statue of beloved Freya the walrus, who warmed people's hearts and made headlines last year, has been unveiled at Oslo Fjord in Norway.The life-sized bronze statue shows Freya curled up on the waterfront. It was made by sculptor Astri Tonoian and was opened not far from where the 600-kilogram walrus was killed last year.Despite Freya becoming a media darling for both the local and international press and a popular magnet, drawing hundreds of Norwegians to Oslo Fjord, an inlet on the country's southeastern coast, she was euthanized by authorities citing security issues. This happened after the walrus started to frequent the Kadettangen bathing area in Baerum, where it was in close contact with sunbathers.The walrus was seemingly unafraid of humans, unlike her peers. Dozens of snapshots and videos were taken of her getting on small boats to sunbathe. The public thronging to the fjord for the sake of Freya largely ignored the authorities' orders to keep a clear distance from her. Ultimately, the Directorate of Fisheries made the decision to put her down, despite considering other options such as relocating Freya away from the fjord. However it cited "the extensive complexity of such an operation," as well as, bizarrely, "a great regard for animal welfare." However, the killing sparked an outcry both in Norway and abroad, and a campaign raised NOK 270,000 ($25,000) to make a statue of Freya.The sculptor behind the statue said that she thought the assignment was important, adding that she viewed it as "a three-dimensional lesson in history.""Not just because of Freya alone. But it was a great opportunity to talk about the general lines of how we humans relate to nature. It is more about a contribution to a symbol that can be for posterity and that can remind us how we make some decisions and how well they are justified," Tonoian told Norwegian media.Female walruses typically weigh up to 900 kilograms. As fellow marine mammals, they are wary of humans and stay on the outer edges of Norway's coast.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/german-diplomats-expelled-by-moscow-depart-from-russia---reports-1110014497.html

German Diplomats Expelled by Moscow Depart From Russia - Reports

German Diplomats Expelled by Moscow Depart From Russia - Reports

Several employees of Germany's diplomatic missions in Russia left the country on Monday, following Moscow's announcement about the expulsion of German diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Berlin

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Several German diplomats left Russia on Monday, German press reported. Expelled individuals had been working "in accordance with their diplomatic status," according to the German Foreign Ministry. The German government said last month that it had decided to expel Russian diplomats in order to reduce the number of Russian intelligence officers allegedly working in the country in violation of their official diplomatic status.On April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Berlin decided to initiate a new wave of expulsions of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in the country. The Russian ministry also announced reciprocal measures, expelling German diplomats from Russia.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik in April that more than 20 German diplomats were expelled from Russia. According to Sputnik data, the number of Russian diplomats expelled from Berlin is over 20.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/hollywood-on-verge-of-first-major-screenwriters-strike-in-15-years---reports-1110006298.html

Hollywood on Verge of First Major Screenwriters' Strike in 15 Years - Reports

Hollywood on Verge of First Major Screenwriters' Strike in 15 Years - Reports

According to American media, Hollywood screenwriters prepare for industrial action, unhappy with their wages and working conditions.

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After the talks between writers and studios to renegotiate the contract have made little progress and lasted for the last several weeks, it is unlikely that the deal would be reached in time before the expiration deadline, the report said. The strikes may reportedly break out, among other things, because of insufficient salary levels, a struggle to protect the copyrights, a working environment and conditions while dealing with streaming services such as Netflix. Additionally, streaming services usually order about 10 episodes per season over the broadcast norm of over 20, which results in involvement of fewer screenwriters on each show and a drop in their incomes, because the average salary for the writers has not grown proportionately to per-episode budgets, the report also said. The possible strikes may affect the film production by postponing the companies' fall releases if the actions drag on, the report added. In April, US writers' unions representing thousands of television and film writers said they had garnered enough support for a strike, which would allow for union leaders to call for a walkout after the expiration of the contract with the Hollywood studios. If a strike takes place, talk shows hosted by the likes of American comedian Stephen Colbert, comedian Jimmy Fallon, TV host Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers would reportedly go off-air immediately, and it would be a while before viewers at home start to notice the impacts. The last time Hollywood writers held a strike was in 2007, which lasted for 100 days and cost an estimated $2.1 billion in lost revenue.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220720/netflix-has-lost-nearly-1mln-paid-subscribers-since-april-1097605667.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/hunter-biden-to-appear-in-us-court-for-hearing-in-finances-child-support-case---reports-1110012494.html

Hunter Biden Appears in US Court for Hearing in Finances, Child Support Case - Reports

Hunter Biden Appears in US Court for Hearing in Finances, Child Support Case - Reports

Hunter Biden, son of incumbent US President Joe Biden, will appear in court for a hearing in the case related to his finances and child support payments.

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The case stems from a prior paternity dispute between Hunter Biden and Lunden Roberts, who gave birth to a daughter in August 2018 and has claimed was his. Biden initially denied fathering the child, but a DNA test confirmed his paternity. The case was closed in 2020. In September, the case was reopened after Biden asked the court to reduce his child support payments, citing a "substantial material change" in financial circumstances, purportedly a drop in income, the report said. Roberts demanded financial records from Biden in response to his request, including information about his art sales, travel and properties, the report said. In addition, Roberts is seeking information about potential payments related to Joe Biden or his brother James Biden, the report said. Last week, Roberts accused Hunter Biden of violating court orders and withholding key evidence, requesting Independence County Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer to hold him in contempt and place him in jail until he complies, the report said. The hearing on Monday will not cover the issue of contempt but will focus instead on issues such as Roberts attempt to hire a so-called conspiracy theorist as an expert witness in her case, the report said. The case coincides with attempts by Republican lawmakers to gain insight into the financial activities of the Biden family as well as a federal probe into potential criminal activity by Hunter Biden related to the release of materials from a laptop he left at a Delaware computer repair shop. Joe Biden and First lady Jill Biden remain estranged from their four-year old grandchild, having never seen or contacted her, the report said, citing court filings. Last week, Joe Biden claimed to have six grandchildren, prompting critics to call for him to acknowledge the seventh grandchild from Hunter Biden's relations with Roberts.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230425/falling-at-every-hurdle-verdict-on-biden-presidency-ahead-of-second-term-bid-1109813928.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/liz-truss-agrees-to-pay-15000-bill-for-private-use-of-government-residence---reports-1110006092.html

Liz Truss Agrees to Pay $15,000 Bill for Private Use of Government Residence - Reports

Liz Truss Agrees to Pay $15,000 Bill for Private Use of Government Residence - Reports

Liz Truss did not hesitate to use the government residence Chevening House for her own purposes, including parties. Now she will hat to cover the costs of missing slippers and bathrobes as well as food and drinks. The bill is solid- $15,000.

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Truss received the invoice from the UK Cabinet Office, which claimed she used Chevening House for private parties shortly before assuming the prime ministerial office, several weeks ago, according to the report by the UK news outlet. On Sunday, media reported, her spokesman said the former prime minister "always paid for the costs of her personal guests," while the bill includes expenses for official meetings, therefore, the sum should be revised. Another newspaper reported Truss had now agreed to "pay for anything missing" at the Chevening estate. Earlier reports, citing sources, indicated Truss together with her advisers and allies from the Conservative Party held campaign meetings that occasionally turned into late night parties at Chevening House, to which she had access as then-Foreign Secretary. Participants of such meetings reportedly consumed food and wine there, as well as took bathrobes and slippers. Chevening House is 3,500-acre estate in the county of Kent in southeastern England. It was transferred to the country in 1967 after the death of its previous owner, 7th Earl Stanhope. Since 1981, it has been at the disposal of UK foreign secretaries.

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Korean Air B787-9 / Courtesy of Korean Air



By Kim Hyun-bin



Korean Air's takeover of Asiana Airlines is under the spotlight after Hanwha Group gained the green light to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).



Korean Air has gained approval from competition authorities from 11 countries and is currently awaiting approval from the U.S., the European Union (EU) and Japan. Adjustments to the airlines' combined operation cannot be initiated until the mandatory reporting countries give their approval.



The U.S. Department of Justice received additional information related to the acquisition from Korean Air in August last year and extended the review period the following November. The EU is conducting an in-depth review with a deadline of Aug. 3, and pre-consultations with Japan are underway.



The outline of the combination of the two airlines' operations under Korean Air is expected to be revealed in the second half of this year, but some believe the process may continue until the first half of next year due to the EU's stricter standards.



Some industry officials predict that Korean Air may have to hand over its overseas airport slots to foreign airlines as a way to alleviate monopoly concerns and gain the approval of the EU, which could weaken Korea's aviation competitiveness. Korean Air has reported a business combination to competition authorities in 14 countries for the acquisition of Asiana Airlines, and 11 countries  Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Australia, China and the United Kingdom  have either approved or completed the review of the merger.



"We are doing our best to get approval for the business combination as soon as possible and continuing close consultations with the U.S., EU and Japanese competition authorities," Korean Air said.


https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/new-us-bases-in-philippines-may-set-asia-pacific-on-fire-1109989761.html

New US Bases in Philippines May Set Asia Pacific on Fire

New US Bases in Philippines May Set Asia Pacific on Fire

On May 1, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is due to meet his US counterpart Joe Biden. The upcoming official visit to Washington will be the first one by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

2023-05-01T07:00+0000

2023-05-01T07:00+0000

2023-05-01T09:19+0000

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"A few days ago, the bilateral joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines reached an unprecedented scale," Ge Hongliang, a researcher at the ASEAN Research Center of Guangxi University for Nationalities, told Sputnik. "At the same time, the Philippines opened four new military bases to the United States, including at the ministerial-level dialogue of the '2+2' talks between the United States and the Philippines, which ended not long ago. All these reflect that the two sides are moving in the direction of deepening alliance relations."The US doubled down on strengthening ties with the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took the reins of the Southeast Asian nation last year. Unlike his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who advocated Manila's independent foreign strategy, Marcos Jr. rushed to mend fences with the US, meeting first with his American counterpart Joe Biden in New York in September 2022 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.US-Philippines RelationsIt appears that Marcos Jr.'s pro-US stance goes deep into his family's history. In February 1986, Washington helped his father, former president Ferdinand Marcos, to flee an uprising in Manila and settle in Hawaii after two decades of rule. Then President Ronald Reagan offered him sanctuary.Remarkably, in June 1986, when then-Secretary of State George P. Shultz arrived in Manila, he was "greeted" by Philippine demonstrators who waved red flags, demanded the dismantling of two US military bases there, and carried placards condemning "US Imperialism" and saying "Shultz Go Home." Manila has been under Washington's close watch since the latter seized control over the former Spanish colony from Madrid after the 1898 Spanish-American War.The academic suggested that while the Philippine economy is unlikely to be the focus of the Biden administration, "Marcos Jr. obviously has some ideas about obtaining more economic resources from the United States under the Indo-Pacific economic framework." The Philippines is exceptionally important for Washington's Asia-Pacific agenda, as the US is trying to increase its influence in the region, according to the scholar.Is Manila on War Path?Over the last three weeks, more than 12,000 American, 5,000 Philippine and 111 Australian soldiers have taken part in the largest Balikatan joint military exercises to date in waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Needless to say, the event has not gone unnoticed by Beijing. The Chinese Embassy in Manila issued a statement that said that such drills "should not target any third party and should be conducive to regional peace and stability."In addition, earlier this month, Philippine and US defense and foreign secretaries discussed the development of nine Philippine military camps, where American troops would be staying indefinitely. As a result of the agreement, the US military would be able to establish strongholds and surveillance outposts in the northern Philippines and western Philippine provinces allowing Washington to extend its control to the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.He expressed doubts, however, that the US increased military presence in the region would change the established status quo in the South China Sea. While the US may threaten to destroy China's new military installations on the sea's reefs, it would not be hard for the People's Liberation Army to neutralize US additional bases in the Philippines should hostility break out, according to Dr. Teo.Unlike his predecessor, Duterte, who maintained good working relations with Beijing, Marcos, Jr. does not seem concerned that his actions would spoil relations with the People's Republic: as per the scholar, "the [present] Philippines government certainly thinks it is important to demonstrate their tough stance towards China" and uphold territorial claims in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, in particular.The scholar believes that "the most immediate and important impact" of these military bases and the Philippine government's actions is political and aims to show that Manila under Marcos Jr. is firmly on the US side. At the same time, however, "it also provides a sense of encirclement to Beijing," as per Dr. Teo.Dr. Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, pursues the thought, telling Sputnik that "the Philippines is obviously a target of Sino-US diplomatic competition [...] Some [leaders] believe cultivating mutual trust and cooperation with countries that they have disputes with is the right way. Duterte reflected this approach. Other leaders, however, believe fostering security cooperation with other countries is the best way to deter countries that they have dispute with. Marcos clearly believes in this approach, and this is why he is strengthening security ties with the US."Beijing is concerned by the US bellicose Asia-Pacific strategy which threatens to undermine stability in the region - and so is Russia. Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu accused Washington of attempting to undermine Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries security by trying to reestablish a military presence in Asia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230412/us-philippines-agree-to-modernize-bilateral-alliance-1109396481.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230426/joint-us-philippines-military-exercises-suspended-over-unknown-airspace-intruder---reports-1109854867.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/manila-refuses-to-allow-storage-of-us-weapons-meant-for-taiwan-defense-at-philippine-bases-1109672054.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/paraguays-incumbent-president-congratulates-pena-on-winning-presidential-election-1110001247.html

Paraguays Incumbent President Congratulates Pena on Winning Presidential Election

Paraguays Incumbent President Congratulates Pena on Winning Presidential Election

Paraguayans voted on Sunday to elect their next president. In addition to the presidential race, Paraguayans also voted for vice president, lawmakers and governors on Sunday.

2023-05-01T00:34+0000

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2023-05-01T02:33+0000

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"Congratulations to the Paraguayan people for their great participation in this election day and to the president-elect Santiago Pena. We will work to initiate an orderly and transparent transition that strengthens our institutions and the country's democracy," Benitez said on Twitter on Sunday. With 94.7% of the votes counted, Paraguays Superior Court of Electoral Justice said that Pena was ahead with 42.93%. His closest rival Efrain Alegre from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party had 27,52%. With over 99.47% of the votes counted, the Electoral Court said Pena had 42.73%.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez have both congratulated Pena via Twitter with his victory in the elections. Fernandez said he spoke to Pena by phone on Sunday.Paraguayans went to the polls on Sunday to elect the next president of the Latin American nation. In addition to the presidential race, Paraguayans also voted for vice president, lawmakers and governors on Sunday. Paraguay's next president will be inaugurated on August 15 for a five-year term.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/philippines-will-not-turn-into-staging-post-for-anyones-military-campaign-president-says-1110006579.html

Philippines Will Not Turn Into Staging Post for Anyone's Military Campaign, President Says

Philippines Will Not Turn Into Staging Post for Anyone's Military Campaign, President Says

Philippine President Marcos said during his visit to Washington that he will not allow to turn his country into staging post for military conflict

2023-05-01T09:19+0000

2023-05-01T09:19+0000

2023-05-01T09:19+0000

asia

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china

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The Philippine president is currently on a visit to Washington. "We work for peace. Well not encourage any provocative action that involve the Philippines by any other country. We will not allow that to happen, we will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post by any country for any kind of military action," Marcos told reporters, as quoted by the TV broadcaster. The Philippine leader noted that his priority is to ensure peace and security for the countrys people. Last month, the United States and the Philippines agreed to expand their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) to four new locations, one of them near the South China Sea. Commenting on the agreement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it would lead to "more tensions and less peace and stability" in the region. Commenting on these remarks, Marcos, in turn, said the countrys military bases will not be used to conduct offensive operations. The EDCA was signed in 2014 between the US and the Philippines with the aim of strengthening the military cooperation of the two countries. The document envisages joint military exercises and higher interoperability between the armed forces of the US and the Philippines. Under the EDCA, the US is not allowed to have permanent military bases in the Philippines, but the agreement provides for US troops' extended stays on the Philippine military bases.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230404/philippines-us-to-expand-military-cooperation-in-2023-1109106433.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/pope-francis-hints-at-vaticans-secret-mission-in-ukraine--1110002858.html

Pope Francis Hints at Vaticans 'Secret Mission' in Ukraine

Pope Francis Hints at Vaticans 'Secret Mission' in Ukraine

Ukraine topped the agenda of the Pope's visit to Hungary last week, where the Pontiff spoke with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

2023-05-01T06:52+0000

2023-05-01T06:52+0000

2023-05-01T06:54+0000

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The Vatican is on a peace mission aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine, Pope Francis has revealed.The Pontiff said that he thinks peace is always made by opening channels and that one can never achieve peace through [their] closure.Separately, he made it clear that the Holy See is willing to help "repatriate" Ukrainian children because it is the right thing."He spoke after Ukraines Prime Minister Denys Shmygal met Pope Francis at the Vatican last week and asked for help in what he described as the "repatriation" of the Ukrainian children, who Kiev claims were illegally deported to Russia.This followed developments in March, when the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose jurisdiction is not recognized by Russia, issued a warrant for the arrest of President Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing the "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."The Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia was quick to respond at the time by stressing that first of all, the ICCs decision is absolutely null and void for us and that the court showed that it had reached "new lows," for which it had long been heading to.The remarks followed the Russian Embassy in the US stating that Moscow has been doing "everything possible" for the protection and safety of the Ukrainian children, who were forced to flee their country because of the "atrocities" of Ukrainian troops.The Russian diplomats added that Washington should give "adequate assessment of the actions of the Kiev regime," which "kills and injures children" in the course of the Ukraine conflict. The diplomats also said that 153 children were killed in the Donbass region in 2022 and 279 others were injured as a result of shelling conducted by Ukrainian forces."By using Western weapons, including US HIMARS rocket systems, the Armed Forces of Ukraine target civilian infrastructure  schools, kindergartens and hospitals. These facts are shamelessly silenced by Washington for the sake of whitewashing itself and denigrating Russia," the statement pointed out.The US and its allies ramped up military aid to Kiev shortly after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly warned that Western countries weapon supplies to Kiev add to prolonging the Ukraine conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230422/log-in-the-eye-western-crimes-against-children-in-war-zones-revealed-1109763716.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230424/us-should-not-send-more-aid-to-fund-proxy-war-in-ukraine---congressman-gosar--1109801174.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/revolutionary-may-day-demonstration-attracts-thousands-and-rocks-berlin--1110007711.html

'Revolutionary May Day' Demonstration Attracts Thousands and Rocks Berlin

'Revolutionary May Day' Demonstration Attracts Thousands and Rocks Berlin

'Revolutionary May Day' Demonstration tradition was born in 1987 when the peaceful rally on Labor Day was violently suppressed by German police.

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Sputnik brings you a broadcast from Berlin streets where thousands of citizens participate in 'Revolutionary May Day' Demonstration. It as an anti-globalist rally that was commemorates the riots of 1987 that took place in Kreuzberg district of Berlin. Police cracked down on peaceful street festival during May 1 celebration, using tear gas and batons. This act of injustice led to so-called subsequent Kiezaufstand (which means in German neighbourhood uprising)  the unrest which forced law enforcers to completely withdraw from the district for several hours. Kiezaufstand was an important even for worldwide anti-globalist movement and lots of German citizens will commemorate it today.Follow Sputnik live feed to learn more!

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/switzerland-to-take-over-rotating-unsc-presidency-1110003604.html

Switzerland Takes Over Rotating UNSC Presidency

Switzerland Takes Over Rotating UNSC Presidency

Switzerland will take presidency in UNSC for May, succeeding Russia. Small alpine nation plans to promote peace.

2023-05-01T06:06+0000

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2023-05-01T06:09+0000

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The small alpine nation is a non-permanent UNSC member. It plans to use its brief stint at the helm of the global security organization to promote lasting peace and better protections for civilians. Switzerland will succeed Russia in the role. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired plenary debates of UNSC nations in April that focused on UN-led multilateralism and the Middle Eastern peace process. The Russian presidency was overshadowed by delays in the issuance of visas to Lavrov and his press pool by the United States, which is home to the permanent UN headquarters. This led the top Russian diplomat to suggest that the UN office be moved elsewhere from New York.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230425/lavrov-chairs-unsc-meeting-on-middle-east-israeli-palestinian-tensions-1109814643.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/syrian-soldier-killed-7-injured-as-aleppo-airport-closed-over-israeli-attack---state-media-1110017265.html

Syrian Soldier Killed, 7 Injured as Aleppo Airport Closed Over Israeli Attack - State Media

Syrian Soldier Killed, 7 Injured as Aleppo Airport Closed Over Israeli Attack - State Media

One soldier was killed and seven other people were injured late Monday during an Israeli attack on Syria's Aleppo, state media reported.

2023-05-01T23:05+0000

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2023-05-01T23:01+0000

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Of the injured, two individuals were said to be civilians. It remains unclear as to whether the five others were affiliated military personnel.Earlier, a Syrian state television channel reported Israel launched an attack on the outskirts of Aleppo, and that Syrian air defenses had shot down some of the incoming missiles.As a result of the airstrike the Aleppo International Airport had also been temporarily shuttered. Reports have indicated that structural damages to the airport's runway were detected.State media reported the strikes unfolded just after 11:30 p.m. local time as a "barrage" of projectiles were fired from the direction of southeast Aleppo.No official confirmation of Israel's involvement in the Monday strikes has emerged, as is typical in such strikes. However, Israeli officials have previously admitted to carrying out such attacks to prevent terroristic actions and stave off hostilities with Iran-backed military groups.The latest spate of hostilities comes after state media detailed last week that Syrian air defenses had repelled an attack over Homs. The Syrian Defense Ministry later reported that three civilians were wounded in Israel's missile attack on the outskirts of Homs.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/turkiye-counting-on-extension-of-grain-deal-erdogan-1110002607.html

Turkiye Counting on Extension of Grain Deal: Erdogan

Turkiye Counting on Extension of Grain Deal: Erdogan

Turkiye expects the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also known as the grain deal, to be extended, so that countries in need can get the necessary food supplies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

2023-05-01T05:28+0000

2023-05-01T05:28+0000

2023-05-01T05:30+0000

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"The favorable atmosphere with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, which was also present during the exchange of prisoners, has worked well in the grain corridor  We look forward to the continued operation of this mechanism, providing food to needy countries in Africa," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish broadcasters on Sunday evening. Over the weekend a source close to the negotiations on the grain deal told Sputnik that there is no clarity regarding the prospects of extending the deal. The source said that Ankara and the United Nations are making some efforts in that respect, and Turkey expects "Western partners to support our efforts." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a phone call with Erdogan on Friday about the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and about improving the export of Russian products, according to UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. The Turkish presidency said on Friday that Erdogan assured Guterres that Turkey attached importance to the continuation of the UN-brokered grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine, which is set to expire on May 18. Ankara announced on Friday that Ukraine had proposed to expand the list of goods for export under the grain deal. Russia says it is ready to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative if curbs on its food and fertilizer exports are lifted.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230429/russia-sees-no-progress-in-implementing-its-part-of-grain-deal-moscow-1109941717.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230501/us-military-reportedly-tracking-another-balloon-that-flew-over-hawaii-1110015930.html

Pentagon: US Military Detected Unmanned Balloon Near Hawaii, No Threat Posed

Pentagon: US Military Detected Unmanned Balloon Near Hawaii, No Threat Posed

The US military detected an unmanned balloon near Hawaii, but determined it posed no threat and no action was required to be taken against it, a Defense Department spokesman told Sputnik.

2023-05-01T20:42+0000

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"Applying newly-established parameters for monitoring US airspace, the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detected and observed April 28th an unmanned balloon off the coast of Hawaii, floating at approximately 36,000 feet," the spokesman said on Monday. The spokesman further said the unmanned balloon did not transit directly over critical defense infrastructure or other US government sites deemed sensitive, and it did not pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Although the balloon was flying at an altitude used by civil aviation, it posed no threat to civil aviation over Hawaii as well, he added.Based on these observations, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin determined, with the recommendation of his military commanders, that no action needed to be taken against the balloon, the spokesman said, adding the balloon is now out of Hawaiis airspace and territorial waters but continues to be tracked.In a separate statement, a US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) spokesman told Sputnik on Monday evening that after the US military detected an unidentified radar signature, three F-22 fighter jets were sent out to assess the situation and the pilots visually identified a spherical object.US media earlier detailed US military officials had been tracking the object since late last week, and that it was not transmitting any communication signals. Reports had also indicated that the aircraft was slowly moving toward Mexico, with insiders suggesting American leadership did not believe the unidentified balloon belonged to China.Earlier this year, several flying objects were spotted over and near American airspace and quickly prompted allegations of Chinese spying after defense officials determined one device to have origins from China.The incident, which stole headlines for weeks, caused a serious spike in tensions for US-China relations after the suspected spying balloon was downed six miles off the South Carolina coast by an F-22 jet.

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us military, balloon, hawaii, tracking suspected balloon, us
By Kim Hyun-bin



The Hanwha Foundation of Culture announced the launch of the Youngmin International Artist Residency program on Monday, aimed at discovering promising young artists in Korea and supporting their creative activities.



The program will collaborate with three art institutions: the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, France; the ECO Residencies in Vienna, Austria; and the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco.



Youngmin International Artists Residency poster funded by the Hanwha Foundation of Culture / Courtesy of Hanwha Foundation of Culture
State Sen. Julie Slama and other backers of a voter ID initiative submit signatures in July 2022. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  Deadline negotiations this week over dueling plans to implement voter ID in Nebraska could decide whether the Legislature votes on a bill this session. County election officials who will carry out the plan have also weighed in, asking state lawmakers to keep things simple.

State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who helmed the voter ID initiative to passage in November, and State Sen. Tom Brewer, who chairs the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, are hunting for votes and common ground between competing amendments to replace Slamas Legislative Bill 535.

Slama and Brewer are meeting Monday with Speaker John Arch and working with the Governors Office and Secretary of States Office on a way forward that follows federal law, election case law and the Nebraska Constitution, which voters amended last fall to require a photo ID to cast a ballot.

Slama and Brewer have made progress toward a compromise bill in recent days, people familiar with voter ID bill discussions say, but talks must still settle three questions:

What forms of ID will the state accept as proof of a voters identification?

How and when will the state verify the IDs of voters who use mail-in ballots?

Should the states voter ID bill include additional checks of voter citizenship?

Time is short

Arch, reached Friday, confirmed that he has told Slama and Brewer time is running short to get a voter ID bill done this session, especially with state budget debates expected to consume this week. Arch has told them he does not want a floor fight over voter ID when filibusters are taking time needed for other bills.

Slama declined to discuss negotiations late last week. She has said she is fighting for a more conservative version of voter ID, one that hews to the photo ID requirement in the state constitution. Brewer said he wants senators to narrow their focus to verifying that voters casting ballots are who they say they are.

We know what weve got to do, and weve got to do it, Brewer said.

Local voting rights advocates, including Heidi Uhing of Civic Nebraska, said they are hopeful lawmakers final proposal will not disproportionately curb voting by vulnerable Nebraskans. A stricter bill could reduce voting by the elderly, rural residents, minorities and the poor, advocates have said.

Residents in 11 largely rural Nebraska counties vote exclusively by mail.

Counties prefer simple approach

Both competing proposals would cover potential out-of-pocket costs to voters who need to secure a state-issued photo ID.

In a letter to the Government Committee, county election officials said some of the ideas being discussed would cost counties more money. One example: County officials argued that Slamas amendment adding a second, ID-focused envelope to ballots by mail could make returned ballots too big to fit in the slots of some counties existing ballot boxes.

A state misstep on voter ID could cost tens of thousands of dollars to each of Nebraskas small counties, hundreds of thousands of dollars for each of its large counties and in excess of $3 million statewide to implement, the Nebraska Association of County Clerks, Register of Deeds and Election Commissioners wrote.

The groups April 24 letter, which supported Brewers amendment, was backed by 92 of the states 93 county election officials. The one missing was Sarpy County Election Commissioner Emily Ethington, who is Slamas sister.

Its important for the Legislature to keep it simple, for the sake of voters and for the sake of our election officials across the state, Secretary of State Bob Evnen said. Nebraskans didnt vote for expensive bureaucracies or complicated processes.

Some members of the Government Committee prefer a compromise Slama can support because LB 535 is her bill. She could choose to withdraw LB 535 and push for a special session if she is unhappy with the committee amendment. Or she could force a late scramble to find a shell bill if the committee tries to pass something without her  a move that would likely spur a floor fight.

Brewer, who represents north-central Nebraska, said his goal is to hammer out their differences and get something to the bill drafters this week. He hopes to provide compromise language to committee members by late this week, he said, after both sides count potential votes.

Deciding which IDs count

Slamas amendment would allow voters to use military or state IDs, including valid drivers licenses and current state ID cards.

Brewers amendment would accept additional photo IDs, including those issued by colleges, universities and elder care facilities. It would let people use expired IDs, too, if the photos and names match.

Some GOP lawmakers in other states have pressed to keep student IDs from being used as part of a multi-state effort to reduce voting by college students and younger people, who vote more often for Democrats than for Republicans.

Other states have included nursing home IDs as a way to balance things out, because older voters tend to vote more conservatively.

How and when to check IDs

Slamas amendment would require a witness  a registered Nebraska voter  to verify a voters ID by signing a new version of the early ballot envelope. It would require witnesses to vouch that they saw the voters photo ID and it matched. This would replace an earlier plan to require a notary public to confirm a persons ID.

In their letter to lawmakers, county election officials said they would need to hire more election staff to check witnesses voter registrations. They worried about whether Nebraskans living or working out of state, including military personnel overseas, might have difficulty finding a registered Nebraska voter as a witness. They also argued the process would take longer and might risk leaving voters less time to fix ballot mistakes.

Under Slamas proposal, a persons ID would not be verified until a voter returns a ballot. Many voters wait until Election Day to return early ballots by mail. Civic Nebraskas Uhing said this timeline could lead to more ballots being tossed out.

Brewers amendment would let people, when they request a ballot, send in a photocopy of their ID or, alternatively, write down the number from their own drivers license or state ID. When county election officials receive a request, they would confirm a voters ID before mailing a ballot.

Slama has argued that letting people write down their own drivers license or state ID numbers would violate the constitutional requirement that voters show a photo ID to vote. Brewers amendment would leave voters more time to fix any mistakes, including transposed ID numbers.

Slama told the Omaha World-Herald last month that Brewers amendment has exceptions you can drive a Mack truck through.

Citizenship checks

Slamas amendment calls for an additional layer of verification of a voters citizenship by the Nebraska Secretary of States Office. State election officials and voting rights advocates have described this as duplicative since Nebraska checks a persons citizenship when they register to vote.

Slama has argued that voters should know that nobody is voting who isnt allowed, while Brewer has argued that you have to be a citizen to register to vote, and any push to add additional layers of checks on citizenship should be kept separate from the voter ID bill, people familiar with the discussions said.

A post-election audit of Nebraskas 2022 election found no significant instances of fraud.

Uhing sounded hopeful that a compromise would be reached but said the committee needs to get something going. Theyre losing valuable time to educate the public on how to navigate the proposal they coalesce around.

I think that the committee has done its work, she said. Theyve worked on this for months. They know whats going to make a good voter ID bill and what wont.
The military and intelligence threats posed by the growing numbers of commercial UAVs, particularly quadcopters, have led to the development of more AUD (Anti UAV Defense) systems. In the next few months Ukraine will begin receiving a novel new AUD system called Vampire. This system is palletized - all components are secured on a shipping pallet that can be mounted in a light truck, and consists of a telescoping mast mounting a electro-optical/infrared modular sensor ball and laser designator, a generator for power and Fletcher launcher that carries four APKWS 70mm laser guided rockets. These weigh only 15 kg (32 pounds) each and have a range of about a thousand meters when fired from the ground. Vampire can be used to detect and fire APKWS laser guided rockets at air and even ground targets. Any UAV, cruise missile or helicopter within range is vulnerable. Vampire is designed to be reconfigured, which is the kind of system Ukrainians prefer. The Fletcher launcher is designed to use the new, longer range APKWS rockets that gain additional range by having a larger rocket motor which makes the APKWS longer. Ukrainians are expected to modify Vampire to better suit their needs or simply to obtain longer range while carrying more rockets ready to fire.

Ukraine has also received many man-portable (size and weight of a large rifle) AUDs that use electronic jamming. Ukraine has been using DroneGun for over a year. KVS G-6, a more recent example of this type of AUD, recently appeared in Ukraine and was developed and manufactured in Ukraine. The Ukraine War has created a market for AUDs and manufacturers have responded.

Until now Israel was the leader in combat proven AUD systems. One example is Skylock, which proved itself against Iranian UAVs used during the early 2021 Hamas/Israel ten-day war with Israel. This brief conflict provided ample opportunities to test new Israeli AUD systems. Israel is a leader in the development of AUDs, mainly because it faces attacks from the widest variety of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) types, and the most attacks using UAVs.

In preparation for a large-scale use of different type UAVs against Israel from Iran backed Hamas in the south or Hezbollah (Lebanon) and Iran (Syria), Israel had developed numerous ways to detect and destroy or disable hostile UAVs. During the recent ten-day war Israel detected and defeated six Hamas UAV attacks. There may have been other Hamas UAVs launched that never got near the border because of UAV malfunctions or operator error. The six UAVs that were a threat were all detected and taken down via missiles, usually from Iron Dome but one was by an air-to-air missile, and at least one UAV was disabled using a technology that Israel would not discuss. This was probably one of the electronic AUD systems, which Israeli tech companies have developed over the last few years.

One of the new (to large-scale combat) systems Israel would discuss was one that received data from all sensors (radars or electronic detection systems) and, in real time, created a single database/map display of all enemy systems detected. One feature of this new systems software was an accurate estimate of where UAVs were launched from. This provides an opportunity to attack the UAV operator or launch site. This system was already causing more losses to Hamas rocket launching teams, who thought the Israelis were just getting lucky. Now Hamas knows that luck had nothing to do with it. Israel has often sought to come up with defenses against new enemy weapons or tactics with a multi-system solution. Nowhere has this been more evident than when it comes to the growing threat from armed UAVs.

For over a decade, many if not most new AUD systems have come from Israel. Many specialize in the use of multiple sensors and systems to detect and disable UAVs. The best and most recent example of this is Skylock, an AUD system using multiple sensors and EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment, plus a short-range laser, to detect, identify and jam or take over unidentified UAVs trying to enter military bases, airports, or industrial facilities. Skylock uses a combination of radar, electro-optical (visual) and electronic signal monitoring sensors capable of detecting the smallest UAVs, especially quad-copters, approaching a restricted area. Another Israeli approach is to use an interceptor UAV that can drop a net on a UAV but the preferred method is to jam the UAV control signals or, if possible, seize control and land it.

A growing number of AUDs are built to deal with any small UAV. One of the more effective, and expensive of these AUDs is the Israeli Drone Dome system. These cost $3.4 million each and consist of a 360-degree radar system, an electro-optical day/night surveillance unit and a wideband (most frequencies drones use) detector. With all this Drone Dome can reliably detect any small quadcopter or fixed-wing UAV within 3,500 meters. Most quadcopters and UAVs encountered are larger and can be detected out to ten kilometers. Once spotted, Drone Dome can use a focused jamming signal that will disrupt any radio control signals and force the drone to crash or operate erratically. Drone Dome has an optional laser gun that can be aimed by Drone Dome to destroy the drone at ranges up to 2,000 meters. In a combat zone, you can also employ machine-guns to bring down the drone. Many buyers do not purchase the laser option and depend on Drone Dome being able to reliably detect all manner of small quadcopters from several manufacturers.

What makes Skylock and Drone Dome different is their heavy use of electronic sensors to detect and jam the control signals used by UAVs, leaving the laser as a last resort. Several such AUD systems are already in service and effective because they are good at detecting UAVs electronically, and either jamming those control signals or taking over the control signals and capturing (by making it land) the UAV. American troops in Iraq and Syria were asking for AUD systems that use lasers, plus better UAV detection systems as well those with jammers to disable UAVs. There is also a need for AUDs that can detect and destroy UAVs that do not use control signals and basically go on pre-programmed missions. This can be to take photos or deliver a small explosive. Usually, it is to take photos and return. Drone Dome is one of several AUD systems equipped to detect and locate UAVs operating in pre-programmed mode and destroy or disable them quietly with a vehicle-mounted laser.

AUDs like Drone Dome also use one or more radar systems and one or more sensor systems for detecting UAV control signals or visual images that pattern recognition software can quickly identify. While commercial UAVs are more common, the basic design principles have not changed. AUDs are constantly evolving to better detect and disable or destroy unwanted UAVs. The best ones are recent models that tend to be very expensive and used only for extreme situations, like UAV defense in combat zones. Airports, especially the larger ones, are going to have to join the military in buying the latest AUDs, which at least lowers the AUD price and inspires even faster innovation and development.

Ukraine could have used Skylock or Drone Dome, but Israel does not provide weapons for Ukraine because of an arrangement with Russia to assist Israel in keeping Iranian forces in Syria from getting close to the Israeli border or launching any attacks on Israel. In Ukraine, NATO nations providing weapons are not directly threatened with Russian attacks. Such is not the case with Iranian forces in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza.
Turkey said a meeting with Assad should be preceded by a roadmap on terrorism, stability and the political stage, Samir Salha underlines in Syria TV.

What does Erdogan hope to gain by holding an urgent meeting with Bashar al-Assad just two weeks before the fateful parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey? Will the Syrian crisis be resolved by a handshake between the Turkish President and the head of the Syrian regime? Will there be a four-way preparatory meeting at the foreign minister level, as announced before? Is it in Russias interest to have a meeting between the two leaders before the Turkish elections? Is there Iranian pressure on Assad to abandon his preconditions for any meeting, or is it the opposite? Why is Tehran pushing for a Turkish-Syrian summit before the Turkish elections? Is it to serve Erdogan or to implicate him politically? And why is there an insistence on linking the Erdogan-Assad meeting with the Erdogan-Sisi meeting in Doha as a necessary step to chart the course of a new roadmap for negotiations between the two parties?

When Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin stated that his country had informed the defence ministers of the Syrian regime, Russia, and Iran of its intention to hold the next quadripartite meeting after the Turkish elections on May 14th, this coincided with the impossibility of holding a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said two days ago that the possibility of a meeting exists but that a roadmap must be prepared first, including not imposing preconditions, studying the political stage, combating terrorism, and establishing stability in Syria.

The phrase We have elections means that Ankara cannot stray far from UN resolutions and Arab positions on the Syrian file, even if it is coordinating with Russia and Iran at the Moscow Quartet table. It will not adopt a policy different from what the United Nations works for, which was outlined by the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in his recent briefing to the UN Security Council, saying that the increasing diplomatic interest in Syria during the current period may push the political solution forward. However, he considered that the best way to deal with an important milestone awaiting Syria in the next stage is to facilitate political progress in accordance with Resolution 2254.

Erdogan will emerge more powerful after the elections and will receive more support from the political and popular sides towards the meeting with Assad and speeding it up as much as he wants. However, the meeting with Bashar al-Assad should be preceded and accompanied by a set of declared political steps to prevent the regime from further oppressing the Syrian people and to ensure that it does not escape legal, political, and moral accountability for the crimes it has committed against the Syrian people for decades. The Turkish move towards holding a summit meeting should be preceded by declared and binding commitments by the regime, including commitments to international and Arab resolutions that hold it responsible for bringing Syria to its current state, facilitating the political transitional phase in the country, and ending the policy of evasion it adheres to. Limiting the issue to asylum and border security will not give Ankara the guarantees it wants, and it completely contradicts everything it has put forward in its Syrian policy over a decade and a half.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

Regional leaders met in Jordan Monday to discuss Syrias return to the Arab fold and a Jordanian proposal to reach a political solution to the Syrian conflict, AP reported.

The talks, attended by the top diplomats of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, kicked off with a meeting between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, followed by a meeting of all the ministers.

A Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman said the meeting came as a follow-up to talks with the Arab Gulf countries, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt that were held in Saudi Arabia last month. The spokesman added that those countries aimed to build on their contacts with the Syrian government and discuss a Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

Syria was ostracized by Arab governments over President Bashar Assads brutal crackdown on protesters in a 2011 uprising that descended into civil war. However, in recent years, as Assad consolidated control over most of the country, Syrias neighbours have begun to take steps toward rapprochement.

Safadis remarks

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Monday that regional talks with Syria are a step in the right direction to end a decade of the war-torn countrys political isolation and bring Damascus back into the Arab fold.

His remarks came as Jordan hosted a meeting of envoys from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. Before the meeting kicked off, Safadi met one-on-one with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the meeting on Monday came as a follow-up to talks with Arab Gulf countries, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt held in Saudi Arabia last month and focused on a Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

There was clarity and honesty, Safadi said of the talks in Amman. This meeting is the beginning of an Arab-led political path to reach a solution to the crisis.

The diplomats also discussed Syrias humanitarian needs, especially in light of the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria, drug smuggling across Syrias borders and the refugee crisis from the Syrian civil war.

We agreed on mechanisms to start organizing their (the refugees) safe and voluntary returns, in coordination with the United Nations, he added.

Raisi in Damascus

SANA reported that Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, will pay a two-day official visit to Syria on Wednesday heading a high-ranking political and economic ministerial delegation.

During the visit, Raisi will hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad on bilateral relations and joint political and economic files in addition to the positive developments in the region.

Irans foreign ministry spokesman said a planned visit by the Iranian president to Syria will take place according to the schedule.

Nasser Kanaani said in his weekly presser on Tuesday that Iran and Syria enjoy strategic cooperation, stressing that Iran will stand by Syrians in the reconstruction phase just as in the countrys fight against terror.

He said the visit will focus on issues of interest to both sides.

President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to head to Damascus on Wednesday for a two-day visit.

He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, especially on economic cooperation.

Syrias Kurdish administration says ready to accept Syrian refugees from Lebanon

The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Sunday it was ready to receive Syrian refugees from Lebanon amid increasing calls for their deportation, the New Arab reported.

AANES  which governs most of the territory east of the Euphrates River, also known as Rojava  demanded the opening of a humanitarian corridor between Lebanon and Syrian areas under its control to facilitate the arrival of refugees.

The deputy co-chair of AANES, Badran Jia Kurd, acknowledged in a statement published on the administrations website that Lebanon in recent years has been suffering from internal crises.

We in the Autonomous Administration are ready to receive our people from abroad. Our doors are open to all Syrians without discrimination as a humanitarian, moral and patriotic duty, and we want to fulfil this duty based on our keenness and insistence on providing better climates, he said.

AANES called on the United Nations to provide aid and guarantees and to play its role in opening a humanitarian corridor between Lebanon and Rojava.

We are ready to receive and provide services and aid within our capabilities, and we consider that this dilemma is a humanitarian issue, and we must cooperate to solve it. Keeping these refugees in Lebanon or forcing them to return to Syria is illegal, said Kurd.

The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group on Friday made a similar proposal, expressing its full readiness to receive more than two million Syrian refugees in Lebanon within the areas it controls.

HTS is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda and incorporates a number of smaller Syrian rebel factions. It controls about half of the northern Idlib province and other surrounding areas alongside other Turkish-backed rebels.

Refugees deported from Lebanon face arrest

In this regard, Reuters reports that Syrian refugees detained by security forces in Lebanon and deported have been subject to arrest and forced conscription upon return to their war-ravaged homeland, their relatives and rights advocates have told Reuters.

Some said their loved ones were being held by the Syrian armys Fourth Division, which is headed by President Bashar al-Assads brother and has been sanctioned for rights violations.

Amnesty International says the deportations are a clear violation by Lebanon of international law under the principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits nations from forcibly returning anyone to a country where they risk persecution.

The Syrian government did not respond to a request for comment. The Lebanese army, which has been carrying out the deportations according to Amnesty International, aid workers and witnesses, declined to comment.

One refugee told Reuters he and his three brothers were detained in a raid on a camp in Lebanon in late April. Because his brothers did not have legal residency, they were deported.

They managed to get in touch with me from inside Syria, saying they were being held by the Fourth Division. I still dont know if theyre alright, he said, asking to speak anonymously because of fear of reprisals.

Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services, Erdogan says

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish intelligence forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria.

This individual was neutralized as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organization in Syria yesterday, Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Turk broadcaster.

Erdogan said the intelligence organization had pursued Qurashi for a long time.

Syrian local and security sources said the raid took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, which is controlled by Turkey-backed rebel groups and was one of the worst affected in the Feb. 6th earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria.

The Syrian National Army, an opposition faction with a security presence in the area, did not immediately issue any comment.

One resident said clashes started on the edge of Jandaris overnight from Saturday into Sunday, lasting for about an hour before residents heard a large explosion.

The area was later encircled by security forces to prevent anyone from approaching the area.

IS selected al-Qurashi as its leader in November 2022 after the previous IS leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria.

Islamic State took over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and its head at the time, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate across territory that housed millions.

But IS lost its grip on the territory after campaigns by U.S.-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as Syrian forces backed by Iran, Russia and various paramilitaries.

Its remaining thousands of militants have in recent years mostly hidden out in remote hinterlands of both countries, though they are still capable of carrying out major hit-and-run attacks.

The U.S.-led coalition alongside a Kurdish-led alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is still carrying out raids against IS officials in Syria.

Israeli missiles hit Syria, three people wounded

Three people have been injured, with fires and explosions reported after an Israeli air attack on a site near the Syrian city of Homs, state media reported, with a monitoring group saying a munitions depot was hit.

Syrias state news agency SANA, citing military officials, said three civilians were wounded in the attack in the early hours of Saturday and that a civilian fuel station caught fire. A number of fuel tankers and trucks were also burned.

At around 00:50 [21:50 GMT]the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack with a number of missiles, from the direction of north Lebanon, targeting several positions in the vicinity of the city of Homs, SANA reported.

SANA said Syrian air defences shot down some of the Israeli missiles in the sky over Homs.

The pro-government Sham FM radio said fires broke out south of Homs city as a result of the strikes and successive explosions sounded from the area.

The United Kingdom-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli missiles destroyed an ammunition depot belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah at a military airport in the Homs countryside.

The observatory said it was the second time Israel targeted the site in a month.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli authorities on the attack. During more than 10 years of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syrian territory but does not comment on such attacks.

Israel claims it is targeting enemy Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters inside Syrian territory.

Syrias Arab League return still uncertain, even as Assad normalization continues

Saudi Arabias recent efforts to normalize relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have led to speculation about Syrias return to the Arab League.

However, according to Al-Monitor, it is unclear if Assad will be invited to the upcoming summit in May or if the thaw will be confined to bilateral relations between Damascus and regional countries.

The thaw is part of Saudi Arabias new strategy to win the region over with economic largess, but at least five members of the Arab League are refusing to readmit Damascus, including Morocco, Kuwait, Egypt, Yemen, and Qatar.

Without a political solution to the Syrian crisis, sanctions on the regime are likely to remain and continue to obstruct Assads attempts to renew regional economic ties. Nevertheless, with the limits to engagement with Assad eroding, the region is reasserting its role as a player in the Syrian conflict on the basis of normalization.
The Opposition Ministry of Defense said the formations of the national army had no knowledge of Salha's release, according to Baladi News.

On Monday, the Syrian Interim Governments Ministry of Defense issued a statement regarding the release of Ibrahim Khalil Salha, a known shabih who had participated in battles with the Assad regime and was accused of killing unarmed civilians, from Al-Rai prison in northern Syria. Activists and media reports had revealed that Salha was released by one of the formations of the Syrian National Army.

The Ministry of Defense clarified that Salha had been arrested and detained by the First Corps, Division 13, Brigade 131 (Muhammad Al-Fateh) in the National Army on May 6, 2021. In compliance with military instructions, Salha was handed over to the judiciary to be tried for his crimes and receive a fair trial.

The Ministry of Defense stated that the case was now in the custody of the judiciary and that the formations of the national army had no knowledge of Salhas release. The statement emphasized the need to hold the criminal regime accountable for atrocities and bloodshed and called for an investigation into the incident and its circumstances.

Leaked documents showed that the Al-Rai court released Salha after he paid a financial guarantee of 3,000 Turkish liras, equivalent to 150 U.S. dollars.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The meeting focused on border security, water, and refugees, al-Watan reports.

On Monday, Dr. Faisal al-Mekdad, Foreign and Expatriates Minister, and Ayman al-Safadi, Jordanian Foreign Minister, discussed several bilateral issues of common interest prior to the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq in Amman.

The meeting focused on border security, water, and refugees. Dr. Mekdad arrived in Amman to participate in the meeting and was received by the Charge daffaires of the Syrian Embassy in Amman, Issam Niyal, and other embassy diplomats.

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry tweeted that Dr. Mekdad would participate in the meeting to further discuss issues raised during recent meetings and contacts. The ministry also noted that the delegation accompanying Dr. Mikdad includes Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Ayman Sousan, Director of the Ministers Office Jamal Najeeb, and Counselor Ihab Hamed from the Ministers Office.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Hit J-Pop group Travis Japan is releasing their second single "Moving Pieces" and will be available worldwide on May 15th JST on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, etc.

Produced by Poo Bear, known for his work with Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and Usher, "Moving Pieces" showcases the seven-member group's individuality while highlighting their synchronicity as a team. The accompanying dance routine in the official music video, choreographed by Travis Payne, who has worked with Lady Gaga and was part of the Michael Jackson "This Is It" tour, will also drop on the same day as the single's release on YouTube.

Travis Japan is also set to release their first digital EP on June 5th, which will include additional songs from their ongoing national TV commercial campaigns, such as "Charging!" and "Still on a journey."

Group leader Kaito Chaka Miyachika, expressed his excitement about their new single and the EP:



"Our long-awaited 2nd Single Moving Pieces has finally been announced! It is a song that captures the dynamic future of Travis Japan and invites people everywhere to gather and just have fun.

It was produced by Poo Bear, who we recorded with in person in Miami, and choreographed by one of our two so-called birth fathers: the incomparable Travis Payne.

We hope that everyone will give it a listen and get excited for our upcoming EP as well!"
In another crackdown on terror groups, the Government of India has slapped a ban on as many as 14 mobile apps today. The central government banned these 14 mobile apps because they were being used by militants. Authorities have said these apps were being used by militants in Pakistan to send secret messages to Over Ground Workers (OGW) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The apps with links to Pakistan based militants were banned after recommendations from national security agencies.

India has banned these 14 messenger apps:

Crypviser Enigma Safeswiss Wickrme Mediafire Briar BChat Nandbox Conion IMO Element Second line Zangi Threema

According to ANI, most of these mobile apps are purposely created to preserve the anonymity of their users. Furthermore, the built-in characteristics of these apps make it challenging to identify the individuals or groups associated with them.

Not sure which

mobile to buy?

These applications were being used by terrorist groups to involve their accomplices in Jammu and Kashmir, in order to advance their acts of terror. Moreover, these apps targeted the youth to incite them and further their propaganda. To counter this, the Government of India banned them under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Previous crackdown on apps

This is not the first time that the Government of India has taken a step to block apps in interest of the nation's security. Previously, a report by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed that the Central government had banned 54 Chinese apps including the popular game Garena Free Fire, which is played by millions worldwide. This step was taken after it was revealed that these apps obtained various critical permissions and collected sensitive user data which was then transmitted to servers located in China.

Prior to this, the Indian government initially blocked 59 apps on 29 June 2020 followed by 47 related/cloning apps on 10 August 2020, thereafter 118 apps were blocked on September 1, 2020 and 43 apps were blocked on November 19, 2020.
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:

Founder of Alibaba group Jack Ma arrives for the Tech for Good summit, May 15, 2019 in Paris. Jack Ma, a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo, the university said Monday, May 1, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

Jack Ma, a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo, the university said Monday.

Ma will carry out research in sustainable agriculture and food production, it said in a statement.

It said that Ma, who also heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization, will "share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation," with students and faculty.

Chinese regulators singled out Alibaba for scrutiny in a recent crackdown on technology and internet companies, having put the brakes on a planned initial public offering in 2020 of Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Group.

That came after he had criticized China's regulators and financial systems in a speech in Shanghai. Ma kept a low profile for several years and traveled overseas before returning to China recently.

His appointment began Monday and runs through the end of October, the university said.

Tokyo College, founded in 2019, connects the University of Tokyo with researchers and institutions abroad, including College de France.

Its research focuses on themes such as the digital revolution, Japan viewed from within and outside, the humanities in 2050 and the value of life.

Ma founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China's richest man.

He is well known in Japan as a friend of Masayoshi Son, the founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.




Paraguayans on Sunday elected a president from the rightwing Colorado Party, in power for nearly eight decades, rejecting a center-left challenger who had railed against institutional corruption.







Economist and former finance minister Santiago Pena, 44, won the election with more than 42 percent of votes cast, results showed with 90 percent of ballots counted.







Sixty-year-old challenger Efrain Alegre of the Concertacion center-left coalition garnered 27.5 percent despite having had a narrow lead in opinion polls ahead of Sunday's vote.







The Colorado Party has governed almost continually since 1947  through a dictatorship and since the return of democracy in 1989, but has been tainted by corruption claims.







Pena's political mentor, ex-president and Colorado Party leader Horacio Cartes, was recently sanctioned by the United States over graft.







Some 4.8 million of Paraguay's 7.5 million inhabitants were eligible to vote Sunday for a president to replace Mario Abdo Benitez, leaving office after a constitutionally limited single term, in a single-round, winner-takes all election.







They also voted for new lawmakers. (AFP)






This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The Italian data protection authority used an emergency procedure to impose the temporary ban. Credit: Shutterstock / Diego Thomazini

In March 2023, Italy became the first western country to block the advanced chatbot known as ChatGPT.

The Italian data protection authority, Garante, cited concerns over the protection of personal data when making this decision. It has given OpenAI, the California-based company that created ChatGPT, until the end of April to comply with its demands.

Garante said ChatGPT collects data in a way that's incompatible with data protection law. Another reason given was the lack of age verification by the platform, which could expose children to harmful content. As a result, it used an emergency procedure to temporarily suspend the processing of personal data by OpenAI.

News about the temporary ban spread across the world, raising concerns about the consequences of decisions like this on the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The move also coincided with a call by experts and business peopleincluding OpenAI's co-founder Elon Muskto place limits on the development of AI-based applications until the risks could be better assessed.

The temporary ban could offer some important lessons about the proportionality and effectiveness of bans on developing technologies, about coordination between member states at the European level, and how to balance access to services with the need to protect children from accessing harmful content.

The order, issued on March 30, was signed by Pasquale Stanzione, the president of the Italian data protection authority. It followed a notification about a data breach concerning ChatGPT user data that had been reported ten days earlier.

Data processing

Garante briefly justified its measures by underlining the lack of information available to users, and data subjects, about the data processed by OpenAI. It also cited the large-scale processing of personal data to train generative systems such as ChatGPT.

OpenAI's terms state that ChatGPT is provided only to users aged over 13. However, this did not satisfy Italy's data protection authority, which was concerned about the lack of age verification.

The reaction by OpenAI was, first, to block access to ChatGPT in Italy and, second, to demonstrate its availability to collaborate with Garante on complying with the temporary order.

Compliance would involve OpenAI implementing safeguards including the provision of a privacy policy, offering users the possibility of exercising individual rights over data protection, and providing information about the company's legal basis for processing personal data.

Garante welcomed these commitments. It suspended the temporary order and requested that OpenAI implement these safeguards by the end of April 2023.

Harmonized framework

However, the case highlights at least three key lessonsnamely, the lack of European coordination in regulating this technology, the effectiveness and proportionality of this measure, and the protection of children.

First, more European coordination is needed around the general issue of AI technology. The EU's proposed AI Act is only one step towards a harmonized framework for ensuring the development of AI technologies that are aligned with European values. And as Italy's ban has shown, the EU regulatory model can potentially become fragmented if national authorities go in their own directions.

In particular, the connection between AI and data protection empowers national authorities to react to the development of new AI technology. It also underlines the need for more coordination between European member states on regulation of all kinds.

Planning, not banning

Second, the measures adopted by the Italian data protection authority raise questions both about effectiveness and proportionality.

Regarding effectiveness, it's worth noting that there were reports of a 400% surge in VPN downloads in Italy, potentially enabling users to get round the ban, following news of its introduction.

On the question of proportionality, a general ban does not seem to strike a balance between the conflicting constitutional interests at stake. The temporary measure does not mention how it takes into account the protection of other interests, such as the freedom of users to access ChatGPT.

Even though the ban is temporary, the situation might have benefited from the involvement at an earlier stage by other board members of the Italian data protection authority. A preliminary exchange with OpenAI could have avoided a ban altogether. This course of action could have anticipated the implementation of further safeguards to comply with data protection.

The best ways to protect children

Finally, the decision raises questions about the best ways to protect children from any harmful content created by these applications. Introducing an age verification system or alerts regarding harmful content could have been topics for discussion, had the parties been engaged in an ongoing dialogue.

This case offers an example of how general bans imposed on new technological applications are usually the result of quick reactions that do not involve a deep assessment of the effectiveness and proportionality of the measure.

Even if one argues that the decision tends towards protecting fundamental rights, primarily in data protection and safeguards for children, it leads to more uncertainty.

A preventative and collaborative approach with OpenAI would have minimized the risk of this service being blocked in Italy. Continued discussion between OpenAI and Italy's authorities is critical.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Elon Musk announced Saturday that Twitter will soon allow media publishers to charge readers on a per-article basis, a move he says could be a "major win-win" for readers and media outlets.

"This platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click," the controversial billionaire tweeted Saturday afternoon.

"This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per-article price for when they want to read an occasional article," he added.

It's unclear how or when exactly the new feature will kick off, other than Musk saying it will be rolled out "next month."

Musk also didn't offer any details on how much the service would cost, how payments would be made, or which type of publishers would be eligible to charge their readers.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from The New York Daily News, and as of Saturday afternoon, there was no mention of the new feature on the company's website.

The announcement follows a turbulent month that saw the once-respected social media giant being ridiculed in traditional media, on late-night TV, and in online think pieces, as well as becoming the butt of the joke in a growing number of memes going viral on Twitter's own pages.

Chaos ensued shortly after the troubled platformwhich was acquired by Musk in October of last year for $44 billionbegan removing legacy verified checkmarks from non-paying users earlier this month.

The now-infamous blue checkmarks, once a symbol of online status, became a political badge symbolic of a deeply polarized world.

The blowback to the new policy was swift, leading some popular accountsfrom Lil Nas X to the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyto vehemently deny they have not paid for a premium service.

Earlier this month, some prominent media outletsincluding NPR and PBSannounced they would leave the platform over objections against a "state-affiliated media" label, which Twitter had added to their accounts. Musk has since revised his position.

On Thursday, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it would no longer use the platform to provide real-time transit information.

"Twitter is no longer reliable for providing the consistent updates riders expect," the agency tweeted Thursday. "So today, we're saying goodbye to it for service alerts and information."

2023 New York Daily News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

To understand the influence of distributed renewable energy sources and consumers going off-grid on the electricity market (prosumers), researchers from Japan and USA modeled it as an optimization problem based on market equilibrium theory. Their findings suggest that transmission charges do not always increase with the number of prosumers in the electricity market. However, by influencing their market power, strategic prosumers facilitate the creation of death spirals, whereby the rise in prosumers shifts the burden of transmission costs to traditional consumers. Credit: Ryuta Takashima from Tokyo University of Science, Japan

Efforts to combat climate change have contributed to the rise of renewable energy production through solar panels, windmills, and other technologies. Because of this, consumers have now become "prosumers," capable of producing their own electricity. While the prosumers' use of distributed renewable energy increases the energy sector's resilience, their decreased reliance on the bulk electricity market has led to new and unintended consequences.

It is anticipated that these avenues will push traditional consumers to become prosumers, making it difficult to recover lumpsum infrastructure investments and routine costs. This, in turn, will push the energy transmission charges to traditional, grid-dependent consumers.

A vicious cycle known as "death spiral" would be created, forcing the bulk energy producers to raise the transmission charge, affecting both market and consumer equilibrium. However, despite such concerns, the impact of prosumers on transmission charges and the market has not been investigated.

A team of researchers led by Professor Ryuta Takashima of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Tokyo University of Science, Japan recently addressed this issue. Their work was published in Applied Energy .

The study involved the contributions of Professor Yihsu Chen from University of California Santa Cruz, U.S. and Professor Makoto Tanaka from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan.

The team, in their study, extended the linear complementarity model of NashCournot competition developed by Benjamin F. Hobbs to simulate bilateral markets. Prof. Takashima explains, "We explicitly considered the energy transmission network and optimization of various entities in the electricity marketconsumers, prosumers, producers, and independent system operators. We assumed that a prosumer, in a perfect or imperfect competition, chooses her own method of energy production and consumption."

The researchers used the PATH complementarity solver to tackle the market equilibrium problem they defined using the KarushKuhnTucker conditions from the above mentioned optimization problems.

Unlike the commonly held belief, the team found that the transmission charge does not, in fact, always increase with the number of prosumers. Rather, prosumers behave as consumers when generating less electricity (e.g., 500 MWh), which actually lowers the transmission charge. However, when prosumers generate a sizeable amount of renewable energy (e.g., 2000 MWh), the transmission charge goes up as anticipated.

The team also observed that the likelihood of death spirals increases with the presence of strategic prosumers, who lower their energy consumption from the bulk electricity market in the presence of imperfect competition. Based on these findings, the team suggested that it is possible to reduce the possibility of death spirals occurring by levying a per-MWh tax on the electricity consumption of prosumers from the bulk market.

In summary, the research provides valuable insights into the innate connection between the proportion of renewable energy sources and the quantity and behavior of prosumers, as well as their combined impact on the transmission charges.

Prof. Takashima says, "In light of the growing concern over death spirals in energy market, these findings add to the ongoing discussion about transmission costs in the presence of prosumers and shed light on death spirals. Moreover, since it is expected that such a phenomenon might occur in Japan in the future, the current research can be applied to the Japanese electricity market to offer suggestions for its aversion."

More information: Yihsu Chen et al, Death spiral, transmission charges, and prosumers in the electricity market, Applied Energy (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.120488
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. waves beside a U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during a Combined Joint Littoral Live Fire Exercise at the joint military exercise called "Balikatan," Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder in a Naval station in Zambales province, northern Philippines, April 26. AP-Yonhap



President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.



Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.



Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.



Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Macros said he was "determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests."



Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos' official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.





President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, April 29. AP-Yonhap



The U.S. president hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit last week in which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.



The two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos' four-day visit to Washington, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.



The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the visit, said Biden administration officials are looking to redevelop "habits of alliance building" with the Philippines as aspects of the historically complicated relationship have "atrophied" over the years.



Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea have added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from AP and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guard's BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.



State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a "stark reminder" of Chinese "harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone. We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct."



Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.



Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that "historical considerations" could present "challenges" to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.



A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos' estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.





In this handout photo from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during a courtesy call at Malacanang Palace in Manila, April 22. AFP-Yonhap
Financial Life Advisors purchased a new position in shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:MUB  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,025 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $2,852,000. iShares National Muni Bond ETF accounts for 1.3% of Financial Life Advisors investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. increased its holdings in iShares National Muni Bond ETF by 524.4% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 256 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF by 70.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 283 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in iShares National Muni Bond ETF by 704.5% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 354 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period.

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iShares National Muni Bond ETF Stock Down 0.5 %

iShares National Muni Bond ETF stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $106.74. 534,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,737,169. iShares National Muni Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $101.35 and a twelve month high of $108.82. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $106.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.97.

iShares National Muni Bond ETF Profile

iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index (the Index).

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CEMEX (NYSE:CX  Get Rating) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, May 2nd. Investors that wish to register for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

CEMEX (NYSE:CX  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 13th. The construction company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter. CEMEX had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 5.09%. On average, analysts expect CEMEX to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $1 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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CEMEX Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CX opened at $6.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.82. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $5.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.76. CEMEX has a one year low of $3.20 and a one year high of $6.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in CEMEX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in CEMEX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in CEMEX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CEMEX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in CEMEX during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.74% of the companys stock.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CEMEX from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on CEMEX from $5.20 to $5.90 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $4.93.

About CEMEX

(Get Rating)

CEMEX SAB de CV operates as a global construction materials company. It offers cement, ready-mixconcrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: Mexico, United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA) and South, Central America and the Caribbean (SCA&C).

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CRL. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $241.00 to $230.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Charles River Laboratories International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $267.75.

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Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $190.12 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $181.22 and a 52 week high of $265.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

Charles River Laboratories International ( NYSE:CRL Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 12.23%. The businesss revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CEO James C. Foster sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $5,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,594 shares of the companys stock, valued at $54,148,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Charles River Laboratories International news, CEO James C. Foster sold 20,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $5,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 216,594 shares in the company, valued at $54,148,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 4,558 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.41, for a total value of $1,159,600.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,010 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,529,004.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,763 shares of company stock valued at $6,974,921 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,288 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 103,472 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $20,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 9,148 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,059 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 29,592 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $5,824,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.80% of the companys stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is an early-stage contract research company, which provides research models required in the research and development of new drugs, devices, and therapies. It operates through the following segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions.

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Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT  Get Rating) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,900 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the March 31st total of 43,100 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 70,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company.

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Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRT traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.32. 55,895 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 65,095. The companys 50 day moving average price is $19.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.18. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a 52 week low of $13.20 and a 52 week high of $30.40.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Increases Dividend

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. This is an increase from Cross Timbers Royalty Trusts previous monthly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.22%. Cross Timbers Royalty Trusts payout ratio is 166.10%.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $780,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 817.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,327 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 18,112 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,853 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 13,425 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000.

About Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

(Get Rating)

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is an express trust, which operates as a trustee of Southwest Bank. It is created to collect and distribute monthly net profits income to Unitholders. It has interest in certain royalty and overriding royalty interest properties in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The firm also has interest in certain working interest properties in Texas and Oklahoma.

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Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI  Get Rating) had its price target raised by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $44.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts target price suggests a potential upside of 7.58% from the stocks current price.

FHI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Federated Hermes from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Federated Hermes in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Federated Hermes from an underweight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Federated Hermes has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $39.58.

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Federated Hermes Price Performance

NYSE:FHI traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.83. The companys stock had a trading volume of 111,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,201. Federated Hermes has a fifty-two week low of $27.88 and a fifty-two week high of $45.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average of $38.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Federated Hermes ( NYSE:FHI Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $382.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.85 million. Federated Hermes had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 28.61%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Federated Hermes will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Federated Hermes news, insider Richard A. Novak sold 985 shares of Federated Hermes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.39, for a total transaction of $38,799.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,854 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,845,579.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Saker Anwar Nusseibeh sold 9,933 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.12, for a total value of $388,578.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 256,569 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,036,979.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard A. Novak sold 985 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.39, for a total transaction of $38,799.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,854 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,845,579.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,417 shares of company stock valued at $447,061. Company insiders own 5.20% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federated Hermes

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC bought a new stake in Federated Hermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,530,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC bought a new stake in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Federated Hermes in the 4th quarter valued at $376,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Federated Hermes in the 3rd quarter valued at $745,000. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in Federated Hermes by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 34,200 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.82% of the companys stock.

About Federated Hermes

(Get Rating)

Federated Hermes, Inc is engaged in the provision of investment management products and related financial services. It sponsors, markets and provides investment-related services to sponsored investment companies, federated funds, and separate accounts which include separately managed accounts, institutional accounts, sub-advised funds and other managed products in both domestic and international markets.

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Pope Francis is greeted by Hungary President Katalin Novak during the farewell ceremony at the Budapest International Airport in Budapest, April 30. AP-Yonhap



Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace "mission" in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.



"I'm available to do anything," Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. "There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it."



Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.



Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do "all that is humanly possible" to reunite families.



"All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help," Francis said.



The International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.



Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and asked him to help return Ukrainian children taken following the Russian invasion.





Pope Francis is greeted by Hungary President Katalin Novak during the farewell ceremony at the Budapest International Airport in Budapest, April 30. AP-Yonhap
Fortress Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (BATS:FLOT  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,505 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 21,651 shares of the companys stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. increased its stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 12,194 shares of the companys stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,779 shares of the companys stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,446 shares of the companys stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 56,012 shares of the companys stock worth $2,819,000 after buying an additional 12,926 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.0 %

BATS:FLOT opened at $50.61 on Monday. iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $50.76 and a 12 month high of $51.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.35.

iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF Profile

The iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund tracks a market value-weighted index of USD-denominated, investment-grade floating rate notes with maturities of 0-5 years. FLOT was launched on Jun 14, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FLOT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (BATS:FLOT  Get Rating).

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GS Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BSCP  Get Rating) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,170 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,350 shares during the quarter. GS Investments Inc.s holdings in Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 26,988 shares of the companys stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services increased its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 63,955 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 89,321 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 14,957 shares of the companys stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,864 shares of the companys stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter.

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Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.1 %

Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $20.29. The stock had a trading volume of 47,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 848,820. The firms fifty day moving average is $20.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.17. Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $19.74 and a 52-week high of $20.80.

About Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF

The Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF (BSCP) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund tracks an index of investment-grade corporate bonds with effective maturities in 2025. The fund will unwind in December 2025 and return capital and proceeds to investors.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BSCP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BSCP  Get Rating).

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Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) will announce its earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.00 per share for the quarter. Pfizer has set its FY23 guidance at $3.25-$3.45 EPS.Investors that are interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $24.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 42.03% and a net margin of 31.27%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect Pfizer to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $38.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $219.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer has a 12-month low of $38.31 and a 12-month high of $54.93. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $40.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.14.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is presently 29.93%.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pfizer from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Pfizer from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Atlantic Securities cut their price target on Pfizer from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Pfizer from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Monday, March 6th. They set a hold rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities 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, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.80.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, major shareholder Pfizer Inc acquired 1,811,594 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.76 per share, with a total value of $4,999,999.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,952,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,428,245.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Front Street Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 46,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 63,891 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 78,926 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 67.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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Philadelphia Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG  Get Rating) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,730 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 14,575 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co. owned 0.09% of STAG Industrial worth $5,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in STAG Industrial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 31,775 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in STAG Industrial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,917 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in STAG Industrial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,121 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in STAG Industrial by 3.8% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,236 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in STAG Industrial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 23,314 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. 85.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at STAG Industrial

In other news, Director Virgis Colbert sold 23,911 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.82, for a total transaction of $760,848.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,017 shares of the companys stock, valued at $541,480.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Benjamin S. Butcher sold 19,923 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.69, for a total transaction of $691,128.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,088 shares in the company, valued at $245,882.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Virgis Colbert sold 23,911 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.82, for a total value of $760,848.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,017 shares in the company, valued at $541,480.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STAG Industrial Stock Down 0.1 %

Several research firms recently commented on STAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of STAG Industrial from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of STAG Industrial in a research report on Monday, February 6th. They issued an outperform rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of STAG Industrial in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $37.83.

STAG stock opened at $33.82 on Monday. STAG Industrial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.56 and a twelve month high of $37.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.08.

STAG Industrial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.123 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is an increase from STAG Industrials previous monthly dividend of $0.12. STAG Industrials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.00%.

STAG Industrial Profile

(Get Rating)

STAG Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which focuses on acquisition, ownership and operation of single-tenant, industrial properties throughout the United States. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

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Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its position in Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEARCA:AMLP  Get Rating) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,381 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 9,855 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.s holdings in Alerian MLP ETF were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Alerian MLP ETF by 54.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Cowa LLC lifted its position in Alerian MLP ETF by 10,043.4% during the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 5,232,801 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,004,000 after buying an additional 5,181,213 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Alerian MLP ETF by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,384,102 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $52,693,000 after buying an additional 345,635 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in 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.

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Alerian MLP ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:AMLP traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $39.39. 43,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,069. The companys 50-day moving average price is $38.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.31. Alerian MLP ETF has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $42.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.42.

Alerian MLP ETF Profile

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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Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,401 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of DTE Energy by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,028,699 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $3,044,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,586 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of DTE Energy by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,213,090 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,095,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,992 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of DTE Energy by 15.8% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,431,298 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $509,910,000 after purchasing an additional 605,522 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of DTE Energy by 33.8% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,286,775 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $263,268,000 after purchasing an additional 577,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in DTE Energy by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,288,386 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,192,570,000 after purchasing an additional 372,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.55% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DTE. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of DTE Energy in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their target price on DTE Energy from $131.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on DTE Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. TheStreet raised shares of DTE Energy from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of DTE Energy from $138.00 to $133.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DTE Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $129.67.

DTE Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of DTE opened at $112.41 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.59. DTE Energy has a 12-month low of $100.64 and a 12-month high of $136.77.

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. DTE Energy had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 10.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that DTE Energy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

DTE Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.9525 per share. This is an increase from DTE Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 17th. DTE Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.43%.

About DTE Energy

(Get Rating)

DTE Energy Co operates as a diversified energy company, which engages in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Gas, DTE Vantage, Energy Trading, and Corporate and Other. The Electric segment consists of generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan.

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Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW  Get Rating) had its price objective upped by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $257.83.

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Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.1 %

SHW opened at $237.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $223.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.38. Sherwin-Williams has a 1-year low of $195.24 and a 1-year high of $285.00. The stock has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.07.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

Sherwin-Williams ( NYSE:SHW Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 86.29% and a net margin of 9.41%. Sherwin-Williamss quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be given a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. Sherwin-Williamss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total value of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,145.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,233 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,041 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. abrdn plc now owns 75,990 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $17,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 36,455 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $8,194,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 28,512 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $6,409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.

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Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:JAPSY  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,300 shares, an increase of 18.2% from the March 31st total of 12,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 39,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Japan Airlines Stock Performance

Japan Airlines stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $9.61. The stock had a trading volume of 22,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,105. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of -12.81 and a beta of 0.55. Japan Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $7.69 and a fifty-two week high of $10.66.

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About Japan Airlines

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Japan Airlines Co, Ltd. engages in scheduled and non-scheduled air transport, aerial work, and aircraft maintenance services. It operates through the Air Transport and Others segments. The Air Transport segment engages in air transport business, airport passenger service, ground handling service, maintenance service, cargo service, passenger transport service and airport area business.

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The Denim Day Story

The Denim Day story begins in Italy in 1992, when an 18-year old girl was raped by the 45-year old driving instructor who was taking her to her very first driving lesson. He took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, removed her jeans and forcefully raped her.

She reports the rape and the perpetrator is arrested and prosecuted. He is then convicted of rape and sentenced to jail. Years later, he appealed the conviction claiming that they had consensual sex. The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction and the perpetrator was released. A statement from the Court argued that because the victim was wearing very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was not rape but consensual sex. This became known throughout Italy as the jeans alibi.

Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament launched a protest wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. This protest was picked up by international media which inspired the California Senate and Assembly to do the same on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento.

- from denimday.org
A Harvard man was stabbed to death Saturday in Clay County.

The Clay County Sheriffs Office was called to a home on Fourth Avenue in Harvard around 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the Nebraska State Patrol, which is assisting the investigation.

Authorities found Kristaff Gonzalez, 30, of Harvard with multiple stab wounds. Gonzalez died as medics transported him to Mary Lanning Hospital in Hastings.

A preliminary investigation determined Gonzalez had been involved in a fight with another person when a third person intervened and stabbed Gonzalez, the state patrol said. The third party, a 24-year-old male, remained on scene and was taken into custody by the Clay County Sheriffs Office.

No charges have been filed as the investigation continues. The Clay County Sheriffs Office is the lead investigating agency, the state patrol said.
In this file photo taken on April 27, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the media prior to meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington, D.C. AFP-Yonhap



The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis" in the conflict-racked country, the U.N. chief said.



Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' announcement Sunday came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued in the capital Khartoum.



The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a heavily armed paramilitary group.



More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have fled since battles erupted on April 15.



"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.



He said the U.N. chief was "immediately" sending Martin Griffiths, his emergency relief coordinator, to the area "in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan".



The latest widely breached ceasefire was scheduled to formally expire at midnight (2200 GMT), before the rival forces announced an extension of 72 hours, which the Sudanese army said came due to "U.S. and Saudi mediation".



Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.



The civil aviation authority announced Sudan's airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.



"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire," a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.



Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.



Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 "rebels", a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.



Washington last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.



Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former dictator Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's western Darfur region, leading to war-crimes charges against Bashir and others.



'God forbid'



With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea.



But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead and the U.N. said humanitarian facilities have been looted, forcing a halt to all of its aid operations.



"We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities," Dujarric said.



A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.



On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.



Those figures are likely to be incomplete.



The U.N. World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.



Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many shelled.



"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.



An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who urged the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.



Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the situation.





U.S. soldiers escort American nationals to a U.S. Navy ship in Port Sudan, Sunday, April 30. AP-Yonhap
Ralston officials are seeking state funds to help transform a 1950s shopping center and this event site, a former granary, into a thriving commercial/residential area. This was from a concert at Granary Green last summer. (Courtesy of City of Ralston)

LINCOLN  Officials with the Cities of Ralston and Grand Island are making a late pitch for state funds to help redevelop sites for new businesses and jobs.

But a legislative committee seemed cool to the idea after hearing their proposals Thursday.

In Ralston, officials are eyeing the demolition of a 1950s-era shopping center, called Hillcrest Landing, for redevelopment on the Omaha suburbs Main Street. It is part of a larger Hinge redevelopment project that has already converted a former granary into a center for commerce and concerts.

A link to 72nd Street

As part of the project, a new access road and bridge would be needed to link the area to busy 72nd Street, Ralstons four-lane boundary with the City of Omaha.

Rick Hoppe, Ralstons city administrator, said tearing down Hillcrest Landing  which he facetiously described as built to survive a nuclear blast  will be expensive, leaving few city and developer funds to build a road and bridge to 72nd Street.

Such an access road, Hoppe said, would also spur business development along 72nd Street.

In Grand Island, funds are being sought to extend infrastructure, such as water and sewer service, to the 20-square-mile site of the former Cornhusker Ammunition Plant, west of the central Nebraska city.

State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City, whose district includes that area, said that if the proper infrastructure was available, the site would become a prime location for new industry and hundreds of new jobs.

Mary Berlie of the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation said that hundreds of millions of dollars already have been spent cleaning up the soil and water contamination left behind by the World War II-era ammo plant. But the site lacks connection to city water and sewer systems, which has hampered development, and caused some prospects to look elsewhere.

Filling a gap

This is really filling a gap, Berlie said of state funds.

On Thursday, Lippincott presented an amended version of his Legislative Bill 600 to members of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.

Under his amendment, $10 million would be transferred from the states ample cash reserves into a Municipality Infrastructure Aid Fund. Cities and towns could apply for grants of up to $5 million each to revitalize areas for economic development.

Local communities would have to provide matching funds of 25% and present an analysis showing that the benefits of their project outweighed the costs.

The bill, in its original form, had drawn objections about its cost ($30 million) and who would administer the grants (the Nebraska Department of Transportation). So Lippincott revamped the bill, trimming the new fund to $10 million and putting the State Department of Economic Development in charge.

Second hearing required

Under legislative rules, if an amendment changes a bill substantially, a new, second legislative hearing on the bill can be required, as happened Thursday.

But the request for state funds spurred some questions from members of the Transportation Committee and concerns that the funding request is coming too late in the sessions final 20 days.

Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt asked why local money or tax increment financing couldnt pay for the infrastructure expenses. Brainard Sen. Bruce Bostelman asked whether the measure would start a new, ongoing program requiring state funding.

In Ralston, Hoppe said, TIF cant cover all of the expenses required for the access road and bridge over Ralston Creek. He said the city would be seeking $5 million from the state.

The last piece

The bridge is really the last piece to make this go, Hoppe said.

In Grand Island, TIF could be used, according to Chad Nabity, the regional planning director, but tax increment financing wouldnt generate enough revenue to pay for sewer and water projects.

Berlie estimated it would cost $6.5 million, with a state grant providing $5 million.

Lynn Rex of the League of Nebraska Municipalities supported the amended bill. She said that cities used to receive aid from the state for such infrastructure work but it was taken away amid past financial shortfalls at the state level. The aid-to-cities program has not been restored, Rex said, despite a promise to do that.

Cities, she said, could use state funds for such important, job-creating projects as those planned in Ralston and Grand Island.

The Transportation Committee discussed, but did not advance, LB 600 in a short executive session Thursday. The committee did adopt Lippincotts new amendment.

The senator said Friday that the stars would have to align to get the measure passed this year since LB 600 does not have a priority designation. But Lippincott said he would continue to push the measure next year.
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WASHINGTON  A pregnant woman experiencing premature labor was forced to seek care in Illinois after hospitals in Missouri and Kansas refused to provide an emergency abortion, prompting federal investigators to conclude the hospitals put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law.

The findings of a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion with a federal mandate for doctors to provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

But federal law, which requires doctors to treat patients in emergency situations, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.

"Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. "We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts."

The federal agency's investigation centers on two hospitals  Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas  that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at both hospitals told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.

Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.

"It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life," Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. "I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless."

The National Women's Law Center filed complaints with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Farmer's case, launching the first investigations that the federal agency has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country, women have reported being turned away from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.

In Illinois, however, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly have pledged to protect abortion rights. In January, the governor signed legislation that shielded providers and out-of-state abortion seekers from legal action originating across state lines, and that protects the Illinois licenses of health care providers licensed in multiple states who provide treatment that is legal in Illinois but not other states.

President Joe Biden's administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions. Weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling, the Democratic administration reminded hospitals that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money  which encompasses most facilities in the U.S.  for violations of the law.

Abortions are largely banned in Missouri, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. It's unclear why the University of Kansas Health System refused to offer Farmer one.

Farmer's care at University of Kansas followed hospital policy, Jill Chadwick, the media relations director for the hospital system, said in a statement.

"It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law," Chadwick said in an email. "There is a process with CMS for this complaint and we respect that process. The University of Kansas Health System follows federal and Kansas law in providing appropriate, stabilizing, and quality care to all of its patients, including obstetric patients."

Freeman Health System did not respond to a request for comment.

CMS has not announced any fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal Medicare investigators will follow up with the hospitals before closing the case.

That likely won't be enough to convince hospitals and doctors that they should provide abortions in states where they're operating under the threat of prison time or large fines if they terminate a pregnancy, said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.

"I don't know how much this approach really helps matters. The possibility of being criminalized for providing care is still there for a lot of these doctors," Ziegler said. "The incentive here would be to do nothing. The incentive here would be to turn the patient away."

Nationwide, doctors have reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws have banned or limited the care. Doctors face criminal and civil penalties in some states for aborting a pregnancy.

But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors' associations that highlights the inquiries, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

"While many state laws have recently changed," Becerra wrote, "it's important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patient's emergency medical condition."

Photos: Illinois reacts to overturning of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago Supreme Court Abortion Chicago
The National Opinion Re-search Center at the University of Chicago released results of a survey last month. It asked people about their attitudes toward family, religion, money, patriotism and hard work.

One response in particular stood out: Only 27% of the respondents said "community involvement"was very important to them, down from 62% in 2019.

The report is consistent with many other troubling findings KYTE about changes in American society.

Surveys on volunteerism indicate about a quarter of Americans volunteer formally each year, and about half informally help neighbors. The highest rates of formal volunteering are in Utah and Wyoming,while informal volunteering is highest in Nebraska and Montana,where nearly 70% of people regularly help out their neighbors.

Yet the supply of volunteers is aging, and organizations that rely on volunteers are struggling to keep up with the increased demand. A recent study of 1,200 nonprofits reported that in 2022 twice as many had trouble finding enough volunteers compared to 2019.

Moreover,most of the widely known service clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Civitan and Optimist have been in decline since their peak in the 1950s and 1960s.Organizations including Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts,which prepare youth for community participation later in life, also have been declining since their peak in the 1970s.

If volunteering was just a matter of finding enough people to help out in communities, that would be one thing. But an even greater consequence of the decline in volunteers is the overall effect on participants' physical and emotional health.

Our nation is experiencing what many experts term an "epidemic" of loneliness, isolation and depression. One in five millennials reports having no friends and no acquaintances. We have organizations in every community dying for lack of members, and homes are full of people sitting alone every evening wondering how their lives became so small.

A wide circle of acquaintances provides a wealth of possibilities for nurturing friendships. And we know from research that those who have several friends are much less likely to feel lonely or to suffer from poor health. In fact, 86% of Americans who have six or more friends say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their personal health.

Friendship takes time for relationships to mature, and the best way to nurture relationships is in shared activities.

I was at a meeting of my local Rotary club recently. They needed volunteers and would be passing a signup sheet around to the tables. I looked at all the people in the room. How many of these club members had I volunteered with over the years?

There was Ray at a table up front. One weekend when I was still new to the club we found ourselves painting a building owned by a local nonprofit. He told me all about his children.

Mark was talking to Julie at the table next to mine. Each winter just before Christmas I visit with them as we pick up fruit baskets to deliver around town. Jerry was at a table near the back. I recall the bitterly cold January day when we were helping put away the holiday light display at Riverside Park. I am still grateful to him for giving me a package of hand warmers.

I kept looking about the room, trying to get a handle on the number of people with whom I had worked on some project or other, but I soon gave up. At every table there were several people, and the sight of each brought up distinct and pleasant memories.

We tend to think of service to others as a sacrifice. And it can be. Yet serving also satisfies a deep-seated human need for belonging for being loved, respected and useful.

Twenty years ago, someone was thoughtful enough to invite me to come to a Rotary meeting and consider joining. I thought I was signing up to help others, but what I have been given is so much greater than anything I may have contributed.

I believe the solution to many of today's most pressing social concerns is right in front of us. It consists in encouraging people to join with a small group of friends who are interested in making their community better. It does not require a huge investment of tax dollars nor reform of our political system. It requires no protests, or debates or campaigns. All it requires,Martin Luther King Jr. said, is "a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."

Imagine how many people might be saved from a life of loneliness and quiet desperation by a simple invitation and a willingness to say "yes."

Kyte is director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and co-host of "The Ethical Life" podcast.
COLUMBIA  The final two former South Carolina law makers charged in a nearly eight-year investigation into corruption at the Statehouse have avoided time behind bars.

Former Sen. John Course on was ordered Thursday to serve 100 hours of community service and once he finishes, his probation will end, The State news paper reported.

The Columbia Republican pleaded guilty in 2018 to taking $159,000 from his campaign account and using for personal expenses on the advice of aprominent Republican political consultant at the center of the corruption investigation.

Former Rep. Tracy Edge was ordered to pay a $500 fine after he pleaded guilty to failing to fully report his campaign finances. The Myrtle Beach Republican chose the fine over six months inprison .

The consultant at the middle of the investigation,Richard Quinn Sr.,was sentenced to 18months of home detention on April 19.

Judge Carmen Mullen, who also sentenced Edgeand Courson, agreed Quinn can leave the house to go to his office, to church, to see his doctors and lawyers or for special events with his grand children.

Prosecutors said Quinn's political consulting firm was paid illegal fees from individual and corporate lobbyists and also paid lawmakers illegal salaries to influence legislation.

The corruption probe began in 2014 as an investigation into ex-House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who pleaded guilty to spending campaign money on personal expenses . He was sentenced to probation.

Quinn's son and onetime state Rep. Richard Quinn Jr. also pleaded guilty and received probation for taking $4million from lobbyists and doing their bidding for the Quinns' consulting business.

Former state Rep. Jim Harrison was sent to prison for 18 months for lying during the investigation, while ex-Rep. Jim Merrill was sentenced to probation.

All are Republicans. Courson ,78,said het rusted

Richard Quinn Sr. when the consultant told him it was OK to convert his campaign money for personal use. The former Marine Corps reservist said he thinks about how he this reputation and his family every day,

"The ethos of the United States Marine Corps is honor, courage, commitment," he said."I still live by that."

Edge,56,said the past eight years since the investigation started have been filled with pain and anxiety."

"I'm very sorry for any failures on my part in this case and deeply regret them,"Edge said.

Both prosecutors and the judge praised Courson and Edge for cooperating with the investigation.

At the end of its service, the state grand jury looking into the corruption released a 270-page report detailing the often-blurry line between political consultants, lobbyists and powerful businesses and state agencies in South Carolina.

Major hospital company Palmetto Health, AT&T, the University of South Carolina,utility SCANA and a trial lawyers association called the South Carolina Association for Justice paid more than $350,000 in fines for using Quinn's firm to lobby on their behalf without disclosing it publicly.
Erica Monique Woody, 41, of 134 Fuguay Lane, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Circuit Judge Maite Murphy sentenced her to 10 years in prison, suspended to 18 months of probation.

Murphy also ordered her to pay restitution and to complete anger management counseling.

Woodys charge stems from an Aug. 21, 2019, incident where she was accused of shooting another woman in the foot.

In other recent guilty pleas:

 Videl Ravayon Coleman, 20, of 258 N. Trail Road, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a pistol.

Murphy sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed three years in prison, suspended to one year of probation.

She also ordered Coleman to undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

Colemans charges of first-offense driving under suspension license not suspended for DUI and first-offense possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana were dismissed.

 Heather Leanne Cooper, 41, of 5040 Coburg Lane, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to financial transaction card fraud valued at $500 or less in a six-month period.

Murphy sentenced her to 72 days in jail and gave her credit for time served.

 Kiniyia A.T. Gatewood, 22, of 1711 Glenfield Circle #H-6, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful neglect of a child.

Murphy sentenced her under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed six years, suspended to 18 months of probation.

She also ordered Gatewood to complete substance abuse counseling.

She gave Gatewood credit for having already served one day in jail.

 Nathaniel Earl Govan, 70, of 209 Block Road, Norway, pleaded guilty to first-degree domestic violence.

He was originally charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature but pleaded guilty to first-degree domestic violence instead.

Murphy sentenced him to 10 years in prison, provided that after he served 672 days, the remainder of his sentence would be suspended to two years of probation.

She also ordered Govan to complete substance abuse counselling and undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

His charges of second-degree domestic violence and three counts of pointing and presenting a firearm were dismissed.

 Jeremiah Graves, 22, of 500 Fletcher St. #797, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic violence and malicious injury to real property valued at $2,000 or less.

Murphy sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed three years, suspended to 18 months of probation.

She also ordered Graves to obtain his GED and undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

 Cordarrell OBrian Williams, 34, of 2450 Columbia Road, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a pistol.

Circuit Judge Bentley Price sentenced him to three years in prison and gave him credit for having already served 252 days in jail.

 Dezman Devontaye Williams, 29, of 163 Beatty Lane, Aiken, pleaded guilty to failure to return a rented object valued at $10,000 or more.

Circuit Judge Heath Taylor sentenced him to five years in prison, provided that after he served 25 days, the remainder of his sentence would be suspended to three years of probation.

Taylor gave him credit for having already served 25 days in jail.

He also ordered Williams to pay restitution.

Williams two counts of forgery valued more than $10,000 were dismissed.
People participate in the voting for Republic of Uzbekistan Referendum 2023 at a polling station set up inside School No. 86 in Yunusabad District of Tashkent, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan



Referendum 2023 held with over 300 international observers



By Ko Dong-hwan



TASHKENT, Uzbekistan  On Sunday morning, people of various ages steadily entered and exited through the main entrance of School No. 86, a small elementary school in a residential neighborhood in Tashkent. The entrance led right into a hall where the visitors had their identities confirmed, received an A4-size blue ballot and voted at a booth. The ballot asked a single question: "Do you accept 'the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan' on the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan?"



After checking either "Yes" or "No," the voters aged 19 or older dropped the ballots through a slit on top of a cylindrical ballot container. A transparent proxy glass on the side of the container showed it still had a long way to go.



"So far about 300 people have come and voted," Tursumetova Feruza, in charge of the country's polling station No. 443 in the city's Yunusabad District, told The Korea Times, Sunday.



At one corner of the polling station, a female medical officer sat with a first aid kit in front of her, prepared in case of an emergency. She would remain there until the voting for the Republic of Uzbekistan Referendum 2023 ended at 8 p.m.





This ballot from a polling station at School No.86 in Tashkent for the Republic of Uzbekistan Referendum 2023 asks voters if they support the revised version of the country's Constitution. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan



The most populous Central Asian country bustled with local citizens that morning as they headed to schools, community centers, government offices and other public venues designated by the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) as a polling station for the mass event. Even incarcerated people and Uzbek ex-pats in other countries were able to vote as early as 8 a.m. that day. Those who could not vote on the day had a weeklong early voting period that had ended three days previously.



The atmosphere during the nationwide referendum voting seemed to be celebratory. Some locals posted reels on Instagram showing themselves casting their ballot with funny gestures and upbeat background music. Local TV broadcaster O'zbekiston 24 covered local polling stations and interviewed visitors and polling station officials, who looked cheerful and hopeful, rather than emotionally beaten down or disturbed.



Uzbekistan was committed to arranging the voting safely on the day. At press briefings at Symposium Palace in Tashkent, where over 100 journalists from across the world gathered, CEC Chairman Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev said the central government meticulously prepared the event for the citizens inside and outside the country. Over 307,000 Uzbeks in foreign referendum precincts including Vladivostok, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have been included in the eligible voters list.



Representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs and internal affairs said the referendum day was being heavily guarded by a freshly mobilized police force and national guard and monitored by security cameras and hundreds of international and local observers invited by the Uzbek government.



Two hours before the voting ended, over 16 million citizens of Uzbekistan had cast their ballots  over 81 percent of all registered voters  according to Bakhrom Kuchkarov, Deputy Chairman of the CEC, during a press briefing. On Monday, the CEC announced, following votes count, that the new Constitution was approved by 90.21 percent of the voters, with over 84 percent voter turnout.





Kuchkarov Bakhrom Tulkinovich, deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan, speaks during a press briefing at the Symposium Palace in Tashkent, Sunday. Courtesy of Press Center of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan



New chapter for Uzbekistan



Updating the Constitution, according to the Uzbek government, meant "a huge step towards building a just society." To strengthen the rights of various groups of citizens, from children to seniors with limited economic means, the referendum has been designed by the government to be completely citizen-oriented from its onset to raise the quality of their living.



At first, more than 60,000 proposals were made by the citizens for the draft Constitution. One in four of them passed the initial screening. Then, the draft was put to public discussion among 5 million Uzbek citizens via mass media and the internet. More than 150,000 suggestions and comments followed.



With participation by the country's labor unions, universities, local activists and intellectuals, the new Constitution, according to the government, took into account the interests of all levels of society.



"The whole society is united around the idea of building a new Uzbekistan," a dossier the Uzbek Embassy in Seoul shared with The Korea Times read. "Our General Assembly is literally becoming the people's Constitution."



The number of articles in the draft Constitution increased from 128 to 155, while the number of norms increased from 275 to 434, according to the government. The figures reflect the expansion of the Constitution's legal ground to cater to diverse groups of citizens in a more specific and practical manner.





Journalists from across the world talk at the press center for the Republic of Uzbekistan Referendum 2023 at Symposium Palace in Tashkent, Sunday. Over 300 international observers gathered in Tashkent for the event. Courtesy of Press Center of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan
(TBTCO) - Bo Tai chinh vua hoan thien du thao thong tu huong dan nguon e thuc hien ieu chinh muc luong co so, gom: tu nguon thuc hien cai cach tien luong en het nam 2022 chua su dung het chuyen sang nam 2023 (neu co); su dung toi thieu 40% so thu uoc e lai theo che o nam 2023 va mot so nguon khac.
BUFFALO  For more than 50 years, Jack Pehringer has taken his pickup truck deep into the Bighorn Mountains, where he has collected firewood to help heat his home.

But this year, Pehringer took a different tack  he went to the Clear Creek Wood Bank.

Im 79 years old, and its a little hard to go backwood anymore, Pehringer said, sitting at home with his wife, Peaches.

The first year of the Clear Creek Wood Bank was a roaring success, as generous donations of logs, hundreds of volunteer hours and smart advertising led to the distribution of more than 60.3 cords of cut and split wood to those in need from across Wyoming.

For those keeping track, 60.3 cords of Bighorn-cut lodgepole pine is enough to heat around 24 1,500-square foot homes all winter, using wood as the primary heat source. The average residential monthly heating bill was more than $150 in Wyoming last December and January, according to Montana-Dakota Utilities.

Burning firewood helped homeowners save money during an especially cold Wyoming winter.

Kelly Norris, the former District 5 state forester and now the interim state forester for the state of Wyoming, first came up with the idea for the project. Local logger Joe Landsiedel helped turn it into reality when he offered to donate three loads of wood he had cut in the Bighorn Mountains.

In Wyoming, we have a subset of the population who have been struggling to keep their houses warm for years, said Norris, who has a long working relationship with Landsiedel and is the daughter of Paul Muum, who also helped run the wood bank. We also have a population that, as they get older, they are no longer able to physically do the work of cutting down trees, hauling it, bringing it into town and splitting it.

Norris said that often during her time as a district state forester, people called the office asking where they could access firewood. After years of working with the Bread of Life Food Pantry in Buffalo, she decided that there should be a place to find heating for homes too.

Its about not having to choose between heating and eating, Muum said.

Families from across Wyoming came to pick up the wood on Tuesday afternoons, when the bank was open. While many families from Buffalo took advantage of the resource, people from Story, Gillette and Sheridan also stopped for wood there.

A rotating group of more than 20 volunteers helped distribute and load the wood in smaller, one-seventh of a cord increments, that families could take once per week.

Brad Johnson, a disabled veteran, and his wife, Elizabeth, heard about the wood bank from Muum.

My back would not allow me to do that, Johnson said. To go and get wood and cut it into pieces, and split it and all that.

Every week they drove down from Banner, where they live, to Buffalo, where volunteers helped load their one-seventh of a cord allotment into the back of their truck. The couple has a 30-gallon wood stove that helps heat their home and keep utility costs down.

Johnson County is lucky to have a wood bank, and they are lucky to have the people who are volunteering to help with that too, Johnson said.

Over the winter, 402 families visited the wood bank.

According to data kept by the wood bank, 45% of the families were retired, 26% had a veteran in the family, another 10% were unemployed and 8% had a family member with a disability. Some weeks, more than 30 families showed up.

While the wood bank accepted donations in exchange for wood, some people did not have much to spare.

One gal brought us cookies all the time, Muum said, laughing. Really good chocolate chip cookies.

Landsiedel, the logger, donated over $15,000 worth of wood, while the 440 volunteer hours to split the wood amounted to nearly $11,000 in donated labor. Volunteers Mike Pertile and Liz Knap took the lead in splitting the 60.3 cords, according to Muum.

I dont want to just talk about stuff; I want to get it done, Landsiedel said. He told Norris that if she wanted to go ahead with creating the nonprofit and organizing the distribution, he would make it happen.

And he did. Landsiedel and his crew cut the wood in the spring and let it dry all summer, before helping deliver it behind the KOA.

Aside from a couple of small donations, Landsiedel was the only one to make a large donation to the wood bank, but Norris hopes that changes next year.

The wood bank plans to continue operating from the same location near the KOA. With so much interest this past winter, Norris said she is hoping to be able to distribute at least 100 cords next winter and is looking to coordinate with private landowners and donors to make that happen.

Norris said the organization is looking for grant funding for next year.

It was one hell of a thing, through the blizzards and everything, Muum said. We are looking forward to doing it next year with even more wood.

It was wonderful; it was the greatest thing theyve ever done, said Pehringer, who said he saved hundreds on gas alone because he no longer had to drive deep into the mountains.

Its a good thing for old people, is all I can say, he said.

People interested in donating to the Clear Creek Wood Bank to support next years efforts can mail checks to P.O. Box 755 Buffalo, WY or reach out to donate at clearcreekwoodbank@gmail.com.
Community members are raising money on behalf of a Thermopolis police officer who was shot Friday afternoon.

Authorities have not released many details about the shooting. But a GoFundMe page created to help the officers family says Sgt. Mike Mascorro was responding to a follow-up call during an investigation when he got into an altercation with a man.

The man ultimately open fired on Mascorro, according to the GoFundMe page.

The officer suffered wounds to his right arm, chest and lungs, the statement said. Mascorro is currently stable and in good spirits and is continuing to show improvement, his wife said in a Facebook statement reposted by the Thermopolis Police Department.

Your quick response and deep courage enabled our first-class medical teams to have the best outcome possible, she said.

Law enforcement responded to an incident on Canyon Hills Road, which is on the south end of the town, around 12:30 p.m. Friday, the Thermopolis Police Department said in a statement.

Mascorro was immediately transported to Hot Springs Health after he was shot. He was later airlifted to Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, the department said in a statement.

He is receiving care for his injures, the GoFundMe statement said. His wife and three children are by his side and need assistance with housing care, travel expenses and other miscellaneous medical bills. As of early Monday afternoon, $9,300 had already been raised.

Police have not said who shot the officer or whether he fired back. Nor have they released details on what led up to the shooting.

The incident is under investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The Thermopolis Police Department and DCI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
A Fort Washakie man faces a federal charge for threatening to shoot an FBI special agent in the head while referencing another shooting that killed a man on the Wind River Indian Reservation in March.

Leo Barnaby II is charged with threatening a federal law enforcement officer, a federal complaint filed on Monday states.

The allegation stems from an investigation by FBI Special Agent Scott Jensen into a double shooting on Saturday. Barnaby and K.T. were identified as the victims and were transported to the SageWest Emergency Room in Lander.

Jensen responded to the hospital.

K.T. sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the back, and at least one bullet was believed to be lodged in K.Ts abdomen, the complaint states. K.T was airlifted to a vascular surgeon at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, as his or her injuries were more severe.

Barnaby had several wounds to his back-right shoulder, which an emergency room physician later determined to be caused by bullet fragments.

Jensen interviewed Barnaby while he was in the hospital, the complaint states.

During that interview, Barnaby reported that he and K.T. were driving his Chevy Silverado in Fort Washakie when they spotted several men standing around a small bonfire outside a home in the area, the complaint states.

As Barnaby drove past the bonfire, he stated the guys all started shooting at his truck, the complaint states.

One of those men, who shared a different version of events, was interviewed by a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer. K.G. alleged that Barnabys pickup drove by their bonfire and started shooting at the group, so they returned fire in self-defense.

Jensen later stopped at Barnabys house after he was released from the hospital to gain clarification on where the shooting happened, the complaint states.

At first Barnaby wanted to drive back to the location to show me where things happened, but I told him I did not want him going back to that house, the complaint states. Barnaby quickly became very agitated and then angry that I did not know where the house was.

Barnaby told Jensen he had guns in his house and was going to use them, stating he was going to do to Jensen what was done to Redstar, the complaint states.

I know that Derek Redstar Pappan was recently murdered by being shot in the back of the head by close range, Jensen states in the complaint.

The first-degree murder Barnaby allegedly referenced happened early on March 25.

Another man, Francis James Acebo, Jr., is facing life in prison for allegedly shooting and killing Derek Redstar Pappan on the reservation.

Pappan was inside his single-wide mobile home along with several other people when Acebo allegedly went inside, approached him from behind and shot him in the back of head.

Although Jensen warned Barnaby these types of threats were a crime, he continued making them, according to the complaint.

He is facing up to 10 years in prison.

This is an ongoing investigation, so additional information was not available Monday, Vikki Migoya, an FBI public affairs officer, said in an email to the Star-Tribune.
Wyomings mental and behavioral health system was in need of a remake.

Mental health providers saw it. Lawmakers saw it. Stefan Johansson, who would soon be appointed to lead the Wyoming Department of Health, saw it.

People were slipping through the cracks. Actually, they were falling.

They were ending up in prisons, in hospitals, on waitlists for mental health facilities. The problem lawmakers and the state identified was this: When everyone is a priority, no one is a priority.

A general access model for mental and behavioral health, in which everyone has equal access to state-supported services, was coming at the cost of those who needed the states help the most, according to a Department of Health report.

Lawmakers set out to spur reform and passed House Bill 38 in March 2021. The bill kicked off the states behavioral health redesign, which has now been ongoing for two years and is nearing its July 2024 deadline.

This is probably one of the most, if not the most, significant mental health efforts in the last two decades, said Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander.

Now, the states behavioral health redesign is set to usher in another significant development  the funding of social determinants of health.

A new approach

As the Department of Health and the state roll out the redesign of mental and behavioral health, they will test paying community mental health centers to work with patients beyond direct care.

Its a novel approach for a state that has historically focused on funding health care infrastructure and direct medical and mental health services.

Social determinants of health is the popular term for everything beyond medical care that influences a persons health. It covers where they live and work, where they are born and where they age. Included under the umbrella are things like socioeconomic status, education and their physical environment.

In recent decades, studies have increasingly shown that housing, food and employment insecurity all affect a persons health and contribute to health disparities. Drop out of high school? A shorter life expectancy and higher infant mortality rate for mothers. Live below the poverty line? Higher rates of activity-limiting chronic disease.

The same is true for mental and behavioral health. Those who are unemployed or precariously employed, or who have lower incomes, are likely to face more severe mental health challenges, research shows.

You can just see it in in the data, you can see it in the outcomes, Johansson said.

The Department of Health has been weighing the idea of social determinants of health for years. With a push from providers and growing support from lawmakers and state agencies, Wyomings behavioral health redesign offered an opportunity for the department to explore a new funding approach that takes into account those nonmedical factors.

The department is still working out the details, but it will pay community mental health centers for a range of services in addition to covering infrastructure and direct mental health care. It could be connecting a patient to housing, a job or community volunteering. It could even be paying for rent.

As a part of this new approach, the agency is looking to build an incentive program that accounts for patient outcomes.

Take a person who has been in the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston. If a community mental health center can help them avoid returning to the hospital, helping them stay housed and in a job, the Department of Health would pay the provider. The department would effectively reimburse the community mental health center for all of the work that they did to support the person and better their mental and behavioral health and their lives.

Success is driving productive lives for them  independent lives  and managing behavioral health conditions in light of those independent lives, Johansson said.

The departments social determinants of health trial will start small as it tests the approach.

It will look to use only a fraction of its roughly $48 million annual budget for community mental health and substance abuse, somewhere in the $5 million range, Johansson estimated.

The Department of Health will measure a number of metrics to see if the new funding approach is making a difference. The agency will use waitlist times for state institutions, court backlogs and recidivism rates, among others, to decide the success and future of the funding model.

It will be small and it will be a select population, Johansson said. With this being so innovative, we do need to test this.

The Department of Health will also study changes to the states community mental health system, such as how the providers change and scale their services to account for social determinants of health. The agency is currently working with mental health providers to make sure that the new approach will not shock the states behavioral health system and affect its long-term financial sustainability, Johansson said.

If everything goes to plan, the trial will show that paying for social determinants of health improves the lives of patients, the work of community mental health centers and Wyomings mental and behavioral health system.

Everybody wants the same thing, which is to help people get stable and then have productive and thriving lives, Johansson said.

The redesign

Wyomings behavioral health redesign has made incremental but meaningful progress as it moves away from planning and toward action in its last 14 months.

The redesign was essentially an endeavor to redefine the states mission around mental and behavioral health. Central to the effort was the question that Larsen likes to ask, What is the role of the state?

House Bill 38 moved Wyoming away from a general access mental health system and toward one based on priority, though some mental health groups expressed reservations. Lawmakers and state agencies identified a series of priority populations to focus state funding.

Those priority populations included:

people involved in the justice system;

high-risk families and children;

people with acute and severe mental illness; and

those unable to afford mental and behavioral health care

In practice the priority system means the state will devote its mental and behavioral health resources to helping those who need it most rather than spreading them across the general public.

Larsen and Johansson said that there was a recognition from lawmakers and the Department of Health that the state wasnt serving those with more complex needs well; they decided to focus their attention on catching those who were falling through the cracks.

Identifying priority groups and then reworking the states behavioral health system has been a collaborative project, Larsen said. Alongside lawmakers and state agencies, judges, mental health providers, local governments and other health groups and advocates have offered input.

Until this year, the redesign has primarily revolved around planning. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the Department of Health held regular day-long meetings that covered everything from eligibility to how people will transition from mental health facilities to local providers.

The group produced a September 2021 report that outlined the direction and goals for the redesign. It included a recommendation for outcome-based payments, which formed the basis for the Department of Healths move to begin paying for social determinants of health.

With next years deadline nearing, the Department of Health has pivoted to putting the redesign into action. That has meant working with mental health providers to determine how the department will structure incentive payments and formulating new technology to better track outcome data for people the state serves, Johansson said.

At the end of the day, I think everybody is comfortable with where were at, Larsen said.

But when the deadline hits, Wyoming will not have the model behavioral health system that some might expect or crave. Working through the redesign has continually revealed new gaps in the states behavioral health system.

Each time we take another step forward in building up the walls on the foundation of this whole mental health system were identifying other gaps in the system that we need to correct, Larsen said.

For Larsen, that has been part of the value of the redesign. It has been a means of refining behavioral health for the groups Wyoming has chosen to prioritize in its new mission. And, as the redesign moves toward its final steps, that will continue to be the case.

We cant turn this ship on a dime, he said
Trinidad and Tobagos vaping industry has been in existence since 2010 but it needs regulations and a new spark, stakeholders say.

There are now over 30 stores that sell e-cigarette and vaping accessories across the country.
Passion, the exhibition which celebrates the life of late artist Glenn Roopchand, is being held at Arnims Art Galleria Limited, 27 Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, until May 12.

Roopchand died last year. He was a 30-year veteran and apprentice of artist Carlisle Chang.
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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday blasted a pundit and the Opposition Leader for comments on race and crime.

While the Prime Minister did not identify the pundit by name, he made a clear reference to Pundit Satyanand Maharaj who told reporters on Wednesday that urban youths from the East-West Corridor were responsible for crime in Aranjuez and were targeting people of East Indian ethnicity.
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American nationals are searched by the U.S. soldiers before boarding a ship in Port Sudan, Sunday, April 30, 2023. Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary say they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire another 72 hours as of midnight. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but also comes after days of continued fighting despite the earlier truce. AP-Yonhap



Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations' top official in the country told The Associated Press on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.



If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a "stable and reliable" cease-fire monitored by national and international observers, Volker Perthes said, but he warned there were still challenges in holding the negotiations. A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas, but in others fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into disaster.



Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence. The U.N. food agency on Monday said it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting.



The World Food Program will resume food distribution in four provinces  al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile  working in areas where security permits, said Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a statement. The numbers of those in need of help will "grow significantly as fighting continues," she said. "To best protect our necessary humanitarian workers and the people of Sudan, the fighting must stop.''



A day earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross flew in a planeload of medical supplies to bring some relief to hospitals overwhelmed by the mayhem.



The United States, conducted its first evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. Watched over by U.S. military drones, a group of Americans made the perilous journey by road from the capital, Khartoum, to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. On Monday, a U.S. Navy fast transport ship took 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to Saudi officials.



Direct talks, if they take place, would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. For much of the conflict, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.



Their struggle for power has put millions of Sudanese in the middle of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes. Around 530 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed in the conflict, with another 4,500 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said. Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.





American nationals are searched by the U.S. soldiers before boarding a ship in Port Sudan, Sunday, April 30, 2023. Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary say they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire another 72 hours as of midnight. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but also comes after days of continued fighting despite the earlier truce. AP-Yonhap
Millions of dollars were paid to Minister Foster Cummings family businesses through State contracts over a four-year period, with large chunks of those contract monies also finding their way into his personal Venture Credit Union (VCU) account.

When questioned by the Express in September last year, Cummings denied ever receiving monies from the contracts, and said there was never an issue of the commingling of funds with his personal credit union account.
I am wondering if the Mayor of Port of Spain is still on the job or if he stayed back in Toc
Tucson and three other UNESCO food heritage cities in the U.S. and Mexico are collaborating for a second year to celebrate a staple that unites them.

The monthlong Pueblos del Maiz (cities of corn) kicks off with a four-day festival in Tucson Thursday, May 4, through Sunday, May 7, before moving onto Merida, Mexico, the following weekend, then San Antonio, Texas, and Puebla, Mexico, the last two weekends in May.

Tucson, San Antonio and Merida are designated UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy while Puebla is part of Delice Network. Tucson also is part of Delice, which works with cities worldwide that consider food and gastronomy as a boost for urban economic development and city attractiveness, according to the Delice website.

All four festivals will focus on maiz, aka corn, a key staple in their shared culinary and cultural histories.

It is one of the primary ingredients from the region, said James Beard Award-winning Tucson chef Janos Wilder. Corn has been grown here 5,000 years. When you want to cook with the flavors and ingredients of the region, corn has to take a major focus. From tamales to tortillas to sauces and street food, its everywhere.

Wilder was known to incorporate corn in dishes at all of his award-winning restaurants throughout his 40-year career, including his namesake French-inspired bistro and his last restaurant, Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails, that he shuttered during the pandemic after 10 years.

Wilder said each chef will take a course and apply their own interpretation and celebration of corn. Wilder last week did not have the set menu; he said it was still a work in progress.

The dinner, which will run from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, is a collaboration of the Tucson City of Gastronomy and Gastronomic Union of Tucson (GUT) and The Carriage House, which Si Charro took over from Wilder a couple years ago. Tickets are $200 a person.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. so guests can see a new photography exhibit by Puebla award-winning photographer and journalist Andres Lobato that documents some of the living traditions and ceremonies celebrating the important role of maiz in the Puebla region, where it was first cultivated eight millennia ago, according to event organizers. Lobato will be on hand at the exhibit.

Other events on Thursday include a free Popul Vuh and Maya storytelling event at 5 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.; tours of Native Seeds/SEARCH, 3584 E. River Road ($15 through nativeseeds.org), which also will be available Friday; and happy hour at Borderlands Brewing, 119 E. Toole Ave., from 4-6 p.m., where you can sample a special brew made for Pueblos del Maiz using 60-day Tohono Oodham corn grown at the San Xavier Co-op Farm.

Ethnobiologist Cesar Ojeda Linares will lead a free discussion on the culinary legacy of fermented corn beverages in Mexico at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tucson Museum of Arts Stonewall Community Room, 175 N. Meyer Ave.

TMA also will be the setting at 7 p.m. Friday for the Bocadito Dinner Experience featuring Tucson chefs, restaurateurs and food artisans including Wendy Garcia (Tumerico and La Chaiteria), Analy Guzman (El Antojo Poblano), Juan Alamanza (El Taco Rustico), Devon Sanner (Zio Peppe), Tyler Fleming (The Coronet), Ahydee Almazan (Dolce Pastello), and Mary Steiger and Susan Fulton (Gourmet Girls Gluten Free). The chefs will create small plates and the cost is $75 per person, which includes 10 small plates and Borderlands Brewers Pueblos del Maiz beer created for the festival.

On Saturday, the festival moves to Kennedy Park for the Maiz Fiesta, featuring live music by Los Apson, Gertie & the TO Boyz, Los Hermanos Cuatro and Mariapaula Mazon, and DJ G and MC Raul Aguirre.

Its just a giant celebration, Wilder said.

In addition to live music, the fiesta will include cooking demonstrations, kids events hosted by Pima County Public Library and a dozen mostly minority-owned vendors.
A seafood boil never fails to please. With ingredients like shrimp, crab legs, and lobster, seafood-lovers will be RSVPing real fast to your boil. For a perfectly cooked seafood boil, the order of when to add ingredients is everything. As a Louisiana girl, Ive got this pacing down to a science after many holidays as sous chef for my favorite boil masters (what I call the cool people who host boils year after year). While boils in Louisiana are mostly crawfish boils, the same boil method applies here too.

From when to add the veggies or when to drain, this recipe will help you nail the perfect cook times. The result is a succulent spread of tender seafood, corn, mushrooms, and potatoes that will make you want to crack open a beer and dig in!

What is a seafood boil made of?

A variety of seafood such as shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, and crawfish  along with vegetables including corn, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms  are in a seafood boil. All ingredients are boiled in a seasoned broth and often served with lemon and parsley.

How do you make a seafood boil?

Youll saute aromatics such as garlic and onion and andouille sausage. Then youll pour in water and add seasoning. Youll boil potatoes, corn, and mushrooms until tender; turn off the heat; then add seafood to cook in the latent heat. Finally, youll drain and serve. Its that easy!

Seafood Boil

Serves 6

6 king crab legs (about 2 pounds), thawed if frozen

2 pounds unpeeled raw jumbo shrimp (unpeeled), thawed if frozen

3 (8-ounce) lobster tails, thawed if frozen

2 medium lemons

8 to 10 sprigs fresh parsley

1 medium yellow onion

2 heads garlic

14 ounces andouille sausage

1 pound baby red potatoes (6 to 8)

3 ears corn

3 tablespoons olive oil or neutral cooking oil

4 quarts water

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Cajun or Old Bay seasoning, divided

8 ounces mushrooms (optional)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter

Tabasco sauce, for serving (optional)

1. Thaw 6 king crab legs, 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, and 3 lobster tails in the refrigerator if frozen, about 36 hours.

2. Halve 2 medium lemons crosswise. Pick the leaves from 8 to 10 fresh parsley sprigs and finely chop until you have about 1/4 cup. Reserve for the sauce and serving.

3. Prepare the following, adding each to the same medium bowl as you complete it: Peel and quarter 1 medium yellow onion. Cut 2 garlic heads in half across the equator to expose the cloves. Cut 14 ounces andouille sausage crosswise into 2-inch pieces.

4. Halve 1 pound baby red potatoes. Shuck 3 ears corn and cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces.

5. Rinse the king crab, shrimp, and lobster tails in cold water, then drain. Cut the lobster tails in half lengthwise, cutting through the shell.

6. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a 7-quart or larger pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, onion, and sausage, and saute, keeping the garlic cut-side-down, until the onions are softened and the garlic is golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Add 4 quarts water, increase the heat to high, and cover. Bring to a boil, 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Add the potatoes, corn, and 1/2 cup of the Cajun or Old Bay seasoning, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the water returns to a boil. Uncover, add 8 ounces mushrooms if desired, and simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the potatoes are fork tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

8. Add the crab legs, lobster and shrimp, and stir to combine. Turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 3 minutes. (The seafood will gently cook in the residual heat.) Uncover and reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Drain the seafood and vegetables, then transfer onto baking sheets or directly onto the center of a newspaper-lined table.

9. Add 4 tablespoons salted butter and the parsley to the reserved cooking liquid. When the butter is melted, stir to combine to make the sauce. Pour half of the sauce over the seafood and vegetables. Squeeze the lemon halves over everything and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Cajun or Old Bay seasoning. Serve with the remaining sauce for dipping and Tabasco if desired.

Recipe notes

Salted butter substitution: You can replace the salted butter with 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

Seafood alternatives: Feel free to switch up the seafood or add in others like mussels, clams or crab! Those options are less tender than king crab, lobster or shrimp, so they require more boiling time  add shellfish in at the same time as the mushrooms.

Make ahead: The seafood and vegetables can be rinsed and chopped the day before and refrigerated until ready to boil.
A green Bring Your Bag sign is posted on El Be Goods front door, a boutique in downtown Tucson. It is one of over 50 Tucson stores that joined the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bags initiative to reduce plastic waste through the Bring Your Own Bag pilot.

The Consortium, managed by the investment firm Closed Loop Partners, is a collaboration of leading brands including the founding partners; CVS Health, Target and Walmart. They have worked for three years to develop bag reduction solutions. The first-of-its-kind pilot will be tested from May 1 to July 30 throughout an evolving list of more than 150 stores in Tucson, Denver and the surrounding metro areas.

National brands involved in this initiative include CVS Health; Target; Dicks Sporting Goods; Dollar General; the Kroger Co., through its King Soopers and Frys stores; TJX, through T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores; and Ulta Beauty.

The pilot aims to test bag reduction solutions to see if a collaborative retail effort can encourage customers to remember their reusable bags more often and bring them to retailers beyond grocery stores.

Laura Stupar, owner of El Be Goods, 160 S. Avenida Del Convento, and a member of the fashion industry for over two decades, has incorporated sustainability into her business and products since the boutique opened in 2019. At the store, they try not to use bags when checking customers out, but when they do, they use recycled paper bags, she said.

Although El Be Goods is already practicing many of the initiatives strategies, Stupar was excited to partner with local retailers and national chains through the initiative.

When I saw that this was a collective, cohesive effort, it was just a no-brainer, Stupar said.

America uses more than 100 billion plastic bags a year and more than 300 bags per person. Fewer than 10% of plastic bags are recycled, and the remaining bags take about 1,000 years to break down.

The Consortium said changing from a disposable culture to an economy that shares and reuses materials is urgent. They say that small changes can make a major impact; even a 1% bag reduction can eliminate 1 billion discarded plastic bags.

Research from the Consortium showed that although reusable bags have been widely adopted, they are not consistently used; this is the issue they plan to target.

Every participating store will test bag reduction strategies provided in their playbook, including customer prompts, marketing and signage in and around the stores. The Consortium will explore the easy, low-cost strategies effectiveness in creating a cultural shift where bringing reusable bags will be the norm.

Stupar is introducing an incentive strategy in her store, for each person who opts out of using a bag, the store will donate 10 cents to charity.

The incentive, you would think, would be to preserve, to be eco-conscious, but that seems to not be enough, Stupar said. So we thought wed offer a little bit more.

Stupar said shes wanted to be involved in a sustainability program for about two years and is glad she can do it with a community of other businesses.

Its a big topic already, Stupar said regarding reducing plastic waste. Im glad someone is taking this initiative and taking the step.
Pima County experienced its first 100-degree day of the year and first wildfire of the season Sunday. The fire started Sunday near Mile Marker 4.5, the Pima Sheriffs Department said.

As of Monday afternoon, the blaze had grown to approximately 80 acres and was 70% contained, according to a National Forest Service official.

Catalina Highway was closed Sunday except to Mount Lemmon residents and workers, but it reopened Monday afternoon.

The Tucson Interagency Fire Center began receiving calls about a fire in the area just before 4 p.m. Sunday and immediately alerted the Coronado National Forest Service and local agencies.

The cause of the blaze, located near the Molino basin, was still under investigation as of Monday afternoon, according to the Forest Service official.

Federal, state and local agencies are currently involved in suppressing the blaze.

Authorities said to call the 24-hour Road Condition Hotline at 520-547-7510 for current updates.

Firefighters benefited from relatively cooler temperatures Monday, with the high expected to top out at 90 degrees. Thats about 10 degrees cooler than Sunday when it hit 100 degrees in Tucson for the first time in 2023.

However, firefighters had to contend with some stiff winds and gusts that were expected to be as high as 45 miles per hour in some areas of Pima County.

Metro Tucson was one of several areas in southern Arizona under a Red Flag warning most of Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Parked behind downtown Tucsons Z Mansion, an RV occupies a portion of the alley. A graphic of the human cardiovascular system hangs inside the RV on the doorway to a small room with a medical treatment table.

Community members line up to the side door of the vehicle, awaiting free care from medical professionals and from University of Arizona students eager to lend a helping hand.

The students are members of Street Medicine Tucson, a UA group dedicated to helping Tucsons homeless population. The group operates as a university CUP clinic, which stands for Commitment to Underserved People, alongside other programs, including Flying Samaritans, which provides free medical and dental care in Sonora, and MexZona, which offers medical clinics in Puerto Penasco, Sonora.

The students involved in Street Medicine Tucson organize monthly clinics with their Mobile Health Unit, the RV fitted with the medical treatment room that they park at the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave. There, people in need of health care are assisted at no charge by volunteer medical practitioners and students.

In addition to administering health care, the students provide resources, including clothing, food, water and seasonal products like hand warmers.

Emmery Kelly, a pre-med student at the UA, is the president of Street Medicine Tucson. Her experience with public health in high school influenced her decision to join the club as a freshman, and the welcoming environment of the club inspired her to take on a leadership role.

The club was formerly called Mobile Medicats but changed its name to gain support from the national Street Medicine organization.

Now with backing from the national association, as well as from the UA medical school, Street Medicine Tucson gets help with insurance, permit acquisitions and funding for the RV. It also receives financial support through appropriations from the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.

The group used to hold its mobile health clinics at Santa Rita Park but encountered challenges when city government altered the permit laws, so it now uses the downtown site.

Z Mansion is an event and wedding venue owned by Reverend Tom Hill, a pastor and a professor in the Health Sciences department at the UA. Through Hills WORKship Methodist Church ministry, volunteers help serve the citys homeless population at the mansion on Thursdays and Sundays.

Rick McCallum is the volunteer coordinator at the Z Mansion and also fills in with pastoral duties when Hill is unavailable. McCallum said volunteers with the WORKship ministry act as a low-barrier service provider at the mansion through their semiweekly clinics, which offer first aid and veterinary services for anyone who needs them.

Low barrier means if you can show up and crawl through the door using your chin as a shovel, you are welcome, McCallum said. You dont have to have an ID, we dont care where you were born, we dont care what your sexual orientation is, we dont care if youre grumpy or nasty, we dont care if you like to act out a little bit. We have one rule: Dont raise your voice.

Kelly and Esteban Urena, a physiology and medical science double major who serves as co-vice president of Street Medicine Tucson, said turnout for the clubs mobile health clinics increased after the move to Z Mansion. They said Z Mansions good reputation among the homeless population made it much easier for patients to trust them.

At our first clinic at Z Mansion (on Jan. 30), we saw the biggest number of patients wed ever seen, Kelly said.

All UA students are allowed to be a part of Street Medicine Tucson regardless of their major, and Kelly said that there are no requirements or application process to join.
U.S. President Joe Biden takes part in a bilateral meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. in New York, New York, U.S., September 22, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



Moves to check Beijing's aggressive expansion into the trade routes and strategic islands of the South China Sea will headline talks Monday between President Joe Biden and his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos at the White House.



Marcos is on a four-day trip that follows last week's state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a White House meeting in January between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.



"It is clear that we're in a deeply consequential period in terms of our Indo-Pacific engagements," a senior US official told reporters ahead of Marcos's arrival.



"It's really the first kind of meeting at this level and intensity between United States and the Philippines in decades," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Alarm bells are ringing for Washington and its Asian allies as China moves ever more confidently to assert claims to sovereignty over almost the whole South China Sea  ignoring an international ruling that this has no legal basis.



The tension, combined with constant saber rattling over Taiwan  the democratically run island that Beijing claims but Washington vows to help defend  has prompted the Biden administration to rapidly bolster its military capabilities.



The Philippines, which lies close to key sea lanes and Taiwan, is of particular interest. Marcos signaled as he left for Washington that he is wary of being caught between the superpowers, telling reporters: "We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action."



However, this month, the Philippines identified four military bases  in addition to five existing sites  where US forces will be given access, including one located near the tense Spratly Islands.



The two allies also carried out their largest-ever military maneuvers in recent weeks. That has alarmed China, which accuses Washington of trying to drive a wedge between Beijing and Manila.



In a reminder of how diplomatic tensions can quickly echo in the real world, a Chinese ship on April 23 narrowly missed colliding with a much smaller Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the Spratly Islands. (AFP)




WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines' security and noted the "deep friendship" of the two nations as he welcomed Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces held their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990.

The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationship  one that had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

"We are facing new challenges and I couldn't think of a better partner to have than you." Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. "The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization."
CLEVELAND, Texas  Authorities on Monday still had not captured a gunman in Texas who killed five neighbors from Honduras. As the search dragged through a third day with false alarms and few apparent leads, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott faced backlash over drawing attention to the victims' immigration status.

An FBI agent on the scene near Houston acknowledged they have little to go on in the widening manhunt for Francisco Oropeza, 38, who was deported four times since 2009, but who neighbors say lived on their street for years prior to Friday night's shooting in the rural town of Cleveland.

Twice on Monday, a sheriff's office in a neighboring county alerted the public about possible sightings, but neither turned up Oropeza.

Abbott offered a $50,000 reward over the weekend for tips that might lead to the gunman, and while doing so, the three-term governor described all the victims as "illegal immigrants"  a potentially false statement that his office walked back and apologized for Monday.

Critics accused Abbott, who has made hard-line immigration measures a signature issue in Texas, of putting politics into the shooting.

More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, are now part of a growing search that has come up empty despite additional manpower, scent-tracking dogs and a total of $80,000 in reward money on the table.

On Monday, a heavy presence of police converged in Montgomery County after a possible sighting, but the sheriff's office later said none of the persons were found to be Oropeza.

A few hours later, the department reported another possible sighting, tweeting that several schools "secured their campuses" and again asked residents to avoid the area. That search, too, turned up nothing.

Both were among the first times since the shooting that authorities announced a possible sighting.

"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads," James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, said Sunday.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspect's neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

The alleged shooter is a Mexican national who has been deported four times, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the gunman was first deported in March 2009 and last in July 2016. He was also deported in September 2009 and January 2012.

Law enforcement on the scene have not confirmed the citizenship status of the victims. By describing them as "illegal immigrants" on Sunday in his first public statement about the shooting  and perhaps incorrectly  Abbott came under criticism from immigrant rights groups and Democrats.

"It is indefensible to any right-hearted Texan to use divisive language to smear innocent victims," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The victims were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspect's home, said authorities had stopped by her house over the weekend to ask if they could search her property to see if the gunman might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.
PHOENIX  The group that convinced voters last year to expose dark money contributions to political campaigns in Arizona wants a federal judge to toss a bid by a conservative advocacy group to kill the new law.

In court filings Friday, attorneys for Voters Right to Know said there is nothing inherently unconstitutional about ensuring that voters know the true source of funds being spent to influence their decisions on candidates and ballot measures.

The act, like other disclosure laws, does not limit campaign expenditures or contributions, wrote attorney David Kolker of the Campaign Legal Center Action. Nor, he told U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver, does it undermine the First Amendment rights of free speech, even though that has been interpreted to include spending money.

The right to free speech was designed to enable self-government, ensure responsive officeholders, and prevent the corruption of the democratic process, Kolker said. Properly understood, disclosure laws like the Voters Right to Know Act enhance, rather than constrain, the free speech necessary to sustain our democracy.

And Kolker said there is research confirming that knowing the sources of election messaging is a particularly credible informational cue for voters seeking to make decisions consistent with their policy preferences.

Put another way, being aware of who is really financing commercials, advertising and billboards urging people to vote a certain way can help voters decide if the message is credible.

Hanging in the balance is Proposition 211.

Approved in November by a nearly 3-1 margin, it is designed to outlaw what has been a process where donors can hide their financial involvement in public policy issues by running their campaigns through other organizations with more innocent-sounding names.

Kolker points Silver to 2014 when Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent company of Arizona Public Service, quietly funneled $10.7 million into successful campaigns to secure the election of Tom Forese and Doug Little to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

But the legally required campaign finance reports instead showed only that donations were made by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, the Arizona Cattle Feeders Association, and Save Our Future Now.

Only thing is, the company didnt disclose the funding until 2019, when finally pressured by the commission. And it could hide the origins of the cash because state laws at that time allowed donations to run independent expenditure campaigns for or against candidates to be funneled through other organizations, with no requirement for disclosure of who provided the funds.

All that is designed to come to an end with Proposition 211.

It requires public disclosure of the identity of anyone who has given at least $5,000 to any front group. Potentially more significant, it requires any group making political expenditures to trace the cash back to its original source  no matter how many hands it has passed through  and disclose it in public records.

Americans for Prosperity, founded by the Koch brothers, asked Silver to quash the law.

Its attorneys argued the First Amendment protects the rights of individuals to donate to advocacy organizations, like AFB, without fear their identities would be disclosed. And they said that such disclosure would subject people to doxxing simply because they gave money to certain non-profit organizations and charities.

Kolker said the concerns are overblown.

It starts, he said, with the fact that this affects only organizations that spent $50,000 in an election cycle on statewide campaigns or $35,000 on other elections. And donors who contribute $5,000 or less do not have to provide any information.

Kolker also said it appears that the concern of Americans for Prosperity and its separate foundation is that such disclosure might discourage some donors from contributing to various advocacy and other nonprofit organizations.

This assurance of confidentiality is vitally important and enables plaintiffs continued robust participation in the public sphere  whereas Proposition 211s compelled disclosures vitiate this understanding and threaten to chill continued donations and support for plaintiffs, argued the attorney for the challengers.

Only thing, Kolker told Silver, is that the organizations do not actually claim in the lawsuit that they will get fewer donations or that there is a potential for harm.

Instead, plaintiffs focus on their donors purported preference for anonymity and plaintiffs past organizational pledges to maintain donor confidentiality, Kolker said. But a disclosure law is not unconstitutional simply because an organization has operated with greater secrecy in the past and wishes to continue to do so.

Kolker acknowledged that courts have struck down some disclosure requirements in cases of organizations that could show some reasonable probability of harassment and reprisal if the names of donors were made public. That includes a claim by the NAACP against an Alabama law and the Socialist Workers Party of Ohio.

Politically powerful actors like AFP, however, are a far cry from the 60-member SWP which was repeatedly unsuccessful at the polls and incapable of raising sufficient funds, Kolker said.

Groups who have won this exemption in the past have often had members who suffered governmental harassment and surveillance, he said. Plaintiffs do not allege that their organizations have suffered the kind of violence, threats, harassment, or reprisals that warranted exemptions for the SWP and the NAACP.

A separate challenge to Proposition 211, filed by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Center for Arizona Policy, is pending in Maricopa County Superior Court. It contends that the initiative runs afoul of a state constitutional right of privacy.
CAIRO  Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary said Sunday they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire a further 72 hours. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but the shaky truce has not so far stopped the clashes.

In statements, both sides accused the other of violations. The agreement deescalated the fighting in some areas but violence continues to push civilians to flee. Aid groups have also struggled to get badly needed supplies into the country.

The conflict erupted on April 15 between the nation's army and its paramilitary force, and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war. The U.N. warned on Sunday that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan was at "a breaking point."

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented," the UN's humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in as statement.

He said water and food are becoming increasingly hard to find in the country's cities, especially the capital, Khartoum, and the lack of basic medical care means many could die of preventable causes. Griffiths said that "massive looting" of aid supplies has hindered efforts to help civilians.

Earlier Sunday, an aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by the fighting, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which organized the shipment. It arrived as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400 and aid groups warned that the humanitarian situation was becoming increasingly dire.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors' association said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

The air-lifted supplies, including anesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said. The aircraft took off earlier in the day from Jordan and safely landed in the city of Port Sudan, it said.

"The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital" of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRC's regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

The fighting pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudan's fitful transition to democracy, but since turned on each other.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum.

Bound to the country by ailing parents and his devotion to treating Sudans poor, U.S.-born doctor Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman kept working as long as he could after fighting engulfed Sudans capital.

For days after the battles erupted, the 49-year-old gastroenterologist who divided his time and work between Iowa City, Iowa, and Khartoum, treated the citys wounded. He and other doctors ventured out as explosions and gunfire resounded in the streets.

Say, Nothing will happen to us except what God has decreed for us, Sulieman said in one of his last messages to worried friends on Facebook last week, as fighting persisted. And in God let the believers put their trust.

The morning that Sulieman decided he had to risk the dangerous escape from Sudans capital with his parents, American wife and his two American children was the morning that the war found Sulieman, friends say.

In the wholesale looting that has accompanied fighting in the capital, Khartoum, a city of 5 million, a roving band of strangers surrounded him in his yard Tuesday, stabbing him to death in front of his family. Friends suspect robbery was the motive. He became one of two Americans confirmed killed in Sudan in the fighting, both dual nationals.

Authorities say the other, with ties to Denver, was caught in a crossfire. They have not released that Americans name.

You killed thousands of patients, a Sudanese colleague, Hisham Omar, posted among Facebook tributes from the countrys medical workers, in a message aimed at the attackers who killed Sulieman. You killed thousands of needy people. You killed thousands of his students.

On Sunday, a second U.S.-government organized convoy arrived in Port Sudan, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. He said the U.S. is assisting American citizens and others who are eligible to leave for Saudi Arabia where U.S. personnel are located. There were no details on how many people were in the convoy or specific assistance the U.S. provided.
Tucson and three other UNESCO food heritage cities in the U.S. and Mexico are collaborating for a second year to celebrate a staple that unites them.

The monthlong Pueblos del Maiz (cities of corn) kicks off with a four-day festival in Tucson on Thursday, May 4, through Sunday, May 7, before moving onto Merida, Mexico, the following weekend, then San Antonio, Texas, and Puebla, Mexico, the last two weekends in May.

Tucson, San Antonio and Merida are designated UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy while Puebla is part of Delice Network. Tucson also is part of Delice, which works with cities worldwide that consider food and gastronomy as a boost for urban economic development and city attractiveness, according to the Delice website.

All four festivals will focus on maiz, aka corn, a key staple in their shared culinary and cultural histories.

It is one of the primary ingredients from the region, said James Beard Award-winning Tucson chef Janos Wilder. Corn has been grown here 5,000 years. When you want to cook with the flavors and ingredients of the region, corn has to take a major focus. From tamales to tortillas to sauces and street food, its everywhere.

Wilder was known to incorporate corn in dishes at all of his award-winning restaurants throughout his 40-year career, including his namesake French-inspired bistro and his last restaurant, Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails, that he shuttered during the pandemic after 10 years.

Wilder will helm a team of chefs including Si Charro executive chef Gary Hickey, Bata/Reillys Craft Pizza and Drink chef-owner Tyler Fenton, and chefs from San Antonio and Merida, for the six-course Noche de Maiz Dinner at The Carriage House, 125 S. Arizona Ave., downtown.

Wilder said each chef will take a course and apply their own interpretation and celebration of corn. Wilder last week did not have the set menu; he said it was still a work in progress.

The dinner, which will run from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, is a collaboration of the Tucson City of Gastronomy and Gastronomic Union of Tucson (GUT) and The Carriage House, which Si Charro took over from Wilder a couple years ago. Tickets are $200 a person.

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Doors will open at 6 p.m. so guests can see a new photography exhibit by Puebla award-winning photographer and journalist Andres Lobato that documents some of the living traditions and ceremonies celebrating the important role of maiz in the Puebla region, where it was first cultivated eight millennia ago, according to event organizers. Lobato will be on hand at the exhibit.

Other events on Thursday include a free Popul Vuh and Maya storytelling event at 5 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.; tours of Native Seeds/SEARCH, 3584 E. River Road ($15 through nativeseeds.org), which also will be available Friday; and happy hour at Borderlands Brewing, 119 E. Toole Ave., from 4-6 p.m., where you can sample a special brew made for Pueblos del Maiz using 60-day Tohono Oodham corn grown at the San Xavier Co-op Farm.

Ethnobiologist Cesar Ojeda Linares will lead a free discussion on the culinary legacy of fermented corn beverages in Mexico at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tucson Museum of Arts Stonewall Community Room, 175 N. Meyer Ave.

TMA also will be the setting at 7 p.m. Friday for the Bocadito Dinner Experience featuring Tucson chefs, restaurateurs and food artisans including Wendy Garcia (Tumerico and La Chaiteria), Analy Guzman (El Antojo Poblano), Juan Alamanza (El Taco Rustico), Devon Sanner (Zio Peppe), Tyler Fleming (The Coronet), Ahydee Almazan (Dolce Pastello), and Mary Steiger and Susan Fulton (Gourmet Girls Gluten Free). The chefs will create small plates and the cost is $75 per person, which includes 10 small plates and Borderlands Brewers Pueblos del Maiz beer created for the festival.

On Saturday, the festival moves to Kennedy Park, 3700 S. Mission Road, for the Maiz Fiesta, featuring live music by Los Apson, Gertie & the TO Boyz, Los Hermanos Cuatro and Mariapaula Mazon, and DJ G and MC Raul Aguirre.

Its just a giant celebration, Wilder said.

In addition to live music, the fiesta will include cooking demonstrations, kids events hosted by Pima County Public Library and a dozen mostly minority-owned vendors.

The festival wraps up Sunday with a concert with La Sonora Dinamita at Rialto Theatre presented by Pueblos del Maiz, the Agave Heritage Festival and the Tucson International Mariachi Conference. Doors at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St., open at 7 p.m. for the all-ages show and tickets are $30.50 through pueblosdelmaiz.com.
Dolly McNulty was on a World War I troop train heading west from New York in 1918 when she read about the flu epidemic in Tulsa.

I was on the front row of that meeting and when the doctor called for volunteers, I suppose both my hands went up at once, McNulty said in 1970.

McNulty purchased Sunnyside Hospital in 1918, located at 521 N. Boulder Ave., and added a training school for nurses, creating Morningside Hospital and School of Nursing.

Less than 10 years later, McNulty realized the need for a larger hospital, and with financial help from her husband, she built a new 72-bed Morningside Hospital at 12th Street and Utica Avenue.

Morningside changed its name to Hillcrest Memorial Hospital and Training School for Nurses in 1940 and again to Hillcrest Medical Center in 1952. Portions of the Morningside building are still part of the current hospital.

Click here to read more and see photos of Hillcrest's history below:
For their own safety, he had to let them go. That much was clear.

But still, Ivan Honchar couldn't help feeling torn over the decision.

"It was really, really hard because I thought maybe I have seen them for the last time," he said, recalling the day last year that he said goodbye to his wife and baby girl at the Ukraine-Poland border.

His daughter, Liliana, was only 4 months old at the time.

So for her sake especially, his wife, Marta, needed to get her out of the country, Honchar said.

"As a father I just felt so helpless," he said.

Over a year since the Russian invasion forced them to split up, however, Honchar and his family are now reunited.

The trio have found refuge in Tulsa, where Honchar started a new job a few weeks ago.

The 36-year-old Ukrainian's opportunity was made possible through the inTulsa Visa Network, a program that recruits immigrants to help fill technology jobs with Tulsa-area companies.

Part of inTulsa, a nonprofit tech employment organization formed in 2021 in partnership with the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the program so far has approved 17 Ukrainians to participate, nine of whom have been hired so far by Tulsa-area companies.

Organizers believe the initiative, which received some national exposure recently in the Wall Street Journal, is the first of its kind to help sponsor and refer immigrants to employers under the federal Uniting for Ukraine program.

Sally Hubbert, director of talent for inTulsa, said the organization saw it as a chance to serve Tulsa employers while helping Ukrainians find safe haven from the war.

"We have an existing talent matchmaking structure that connects companies with the talent they need, and so we just saw this as an opportunity to support those folks who had been forced out of their homes and their jobs and their lives," she said.

Also, she added, "Tulsa is aiming to be one of the most welcoming cities in the U.S. for immigrants, and we thought this could be a way for us to help support that goal, as well."

Hubbert said the program targets senior level software engineers and technologists, who are in big demand by Tulsa-area companies. Honchar was hired by Tulsa firm Momentum3, where he is working as a software developer.

Introduced last year by the Biden administration, Uniting for Ukraine allows Ukrainians, if they have Americans to sponsor them, to live and work in the U.S. for two years, bypassing many immigration restrictions.

The inTulsa program satisfies the sponsorship requirement. Program lead Stan Khrapak serves as the sponsor for participants, with the financial backing of the Tulsa Community Foundation.

Of the 17 Ukrainians accepted so far, 12 are now in Tulsa, officials said.

Among them, they've brought eight additional people, including spouses, partners and children.

'It's started'

It was still dark when the first warning sirens began to sound.

But whether it was that or his wife that woke him up, Honchar can't be sure.

"I just remember her saying, 'It's started,'" he said.

In the days leading up to the Russian invasion in February 2022, the couple  who shared an apartment in Dubno, Ukraine, with their daughter  had looked around for possible shelters or safe place options in their neighborhood.

But while an attack had been anticipated, now that it was actually underway, it was hard to believe it was real, Honchar said.

"A lot of people were sure it wouldn't happen," he said, adding that it defied "common sense."

The explosions that followed those first sirens, though, were as real as it gets.

And as Russian airstrikes targeted Dubno's airport and power plants, another reality quickly sank in for the Honchars: They had a baby to care for.

How could they manage that in a potential war zone?

With the explosions coming closer  and facing the loss of power and other necessities  the couple fled to a neighboring town and the home of Marta's parents.

Deciding it was best to get Liliana out of the country, from there Honchar escorted his wife and daughter to the border, where they went on through Poland to France.

After several months, Honchar was able to get permission to join them.

He said it was in France, purely by "accident," that he ran across information online about the Tulsa program.

He reached out and began the process.

"It happened really quick," Honchar said. "I couldn't believe it. We first connected on Oct. 15. On Dec. 29 we arrived in Tulsa."

Thriving in Tulsa

Hubbert said candidates for the program first go through an application process and a committee review.

Once applicants are accepted as official members of the inTulsa Visa Network, the program undertakes "all avenues to help connect them to a job that will allow them to live and thrive in Tulsa," Hubbert said.

Along with relocation and housing support, available assistance includes almost everything they need to settle in and adjust to their new community, she added.

"We connect them to existing resources, English language training if needed, transportation support, technology access, and additional community programs."

Under Uniting for Ukraine, the newcomers are limited to two years in the U.S. But inTulsa is working with lawyers to help explore legal options for staying permanently.

Honchar said he and his wife don't necessarily need a permanent stay.

Eventually, they would like to go back to their homeland, where they have loved ones.

But with no end in sight to the war, there's no way to know when or if that will be possible.

So for now, they're just thankful to have a place to call home, he said.

While still new to them, "what we have seen here in Tulsa, we are happy with  the environment, the people, especially the people," Honchar said. "They're awesome. Everyone's ready to help, to provide any assistance."

The family is also enjoying Tulsa's parks and other amenities, he said.

When they arrived, Liliana was just learning to walk, Honchar said.

One of the family's favorite outings, Tulsa's Gathering Place park, allows her to make the most of her growing mobility.

"We take her there for the first time in February," he said. "She loves it. She has such a smile on her face."

Being able to watch their daughter play in a safe place has been a blessing, Honchar said.

"We are very grateful," he said.
OKLAHOMA CITY  David Boren recently celebrated his 82nd trip around the sun with about 500 friends.

The April 21 event at the Embassy Suites in Norman was hosted by some of Oklahomas most notables, including Harold Hamm, Ann and Burns Hargis, Peggy Helmerich, George Kaiser, and Carol and Bob Stoops.

The party was originally supposed to be a celebration of his 80th birthday, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those attending stood in a long line to visit with the former governor, state lawmaker, U.S. senator and president of the University of Oklahoma.

It was really like a family reunion, said former Gov. David Walters.

Some of Borens accomplishments were outlined in a full-page newspaper ad that appeared in the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman. They include:

Ending the inheritance tax between husband and wife.

Passing the states Open Meeting Act.

Founding the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence to honor outstanding students, teachers and administrators in public schools and universities.

Authoring the National Security Education Act that sends American students to study in foreign countries.

Raising more than $2 billion from private donors as OU president.

Increasing endowed faculty positions to 500 from 95 at OU.

Leading efforts to bring the National Weather Service Center to Oklahoma.

Raising money to build the Stephenson Cancer Center and to create the OU-Tulsa campus.

He is one of the brightest guys we have ever had represent us as governor and member of the U.S. Senate, Walters said, adding that Boren accomplished a lot.

Boren, a Rhodes scholar, former member of the Oklahoma National Guard and law school graduate, said in a phone interview with the Tulsa World that he thinks he was most productive while at the University of Oklahoma, where he also taught American government.

I so enjoyed my students, Boren said. The best thing for me at the university was getting to work with the students on so many things.

Boren announced in 2017 that he would retire the following year.

Shortly thereafter, he was hit by allegations of inappropriate conduct with students, something he denied. No charges were filed following a lengthy and highly publicized investigation.

I did make a public statement when it was closed, Boren said. I thanked the people of Oklahoma for all their encouraging words during that time, which really touched me.

And things just happen in life, I guess. I really tried to put all of that behind me.

Boren said that when he was in politics, it was a lot more civil and there was a lot more bipartisanship. During trips home to hold town hall meetings, he said, no one was ever rude to him.

While in the U.S. Senate, he tried unsuccessfully to get limits on what could be spent on campaigns. He said money has too much influence, which has not been healthy.

Boren was a big supporter of State Question 779, a failed 2016 ballot measure that sought to increase the state sales tax to fund education.

I think the future of Oklahoma depends on how well we educate and develop the talent in the next generation, and the heart of that is in our public schools. That is where most of our students are, Boren said. We have under-invested in public education, and it is going to come back and haunt us.

He said his health is pretty good but that he lost an eye due to a severe infection.

I feel fortunate to be as healthy as I am, he said.

He said he and his wife, Molly Shi Boren, used to like to travel but are now a little more limited.

Mainly we read books together, he said. The two of us are kind of a book club with each other.

They live on an acreage in Newcastle, about 20 minutes from Norman.

Boren said he is very grateful to the people of Oklahoma for allowing him the opportunities he has had to serve.

You know, I deeply love the state, Boren said. I would never leave Oklahoma.

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Video: OUs Kyler Murray on Heisman Park statue
Once upon a time many homes in the picturesque Burgenland wine-growing region of eastern Austria were thatched. But now Jacobus van Hoorne's house is the only one in the entire neighbourhood with a reed roof. And to get it approved he had to do battle for two years with the local authorities, culminating in having to set fire to a model thatched house to prove that his home wouldn't be a fire hazard. "You are practically not allowed to have reed roofs in Austria," said Van Hoorne. "You have to find a way around it, which took a long time." Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, poses in front of stacks of reed at his storage at Weiden am See, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP Buoyed up by his legal victory, the CERN particle physicist turned thatcher hopes to revive the ancient art as a part of more sustainable house building -- particularly as his reeds come from the region's UNESCO-listed salt-water lake. "It's not just a natural raw material, but it also has great insulating properties," he told AFP. "A roof like that... is only made of reed and (steel) wire. It's completely untreated. You can just compost it and recycle the wire. "The nature, the material, the craft. It's just beautiful," he added. Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, poses in front of his house for which he built the reed roof at Weiden am See, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP A reed roof lasts about 40 years, said the Dutch-born scientist, and unlike conventional materials whose manufacture requires lots of carbon to be burned, reeds actually help store it. Carbon captors Like straw and earth they have an almost negligible carbon footprint, said Azra Korjenic, head of the Department of Ecological Building Technologies at the Vienna University of Technology. In fact, marshlands and moors where reeds grow are some of the planet's main carbon sinks, surpassing even forests and grasslands, according to the 2015 Soil Atlas. Yet one of the biggest stumbling blocks to sustainability is the construction industry, which favours prefab building modules over ecological materials, Korjenic added. Current regulations and norms are also hampering the inclusion of natural building materials. Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, and his workers harvest reed near Lake Neusiedl in Breitenbrunn, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP As Austria's only master thatchers, Van Hoorne and his father are in high demand, and they also farm their own reeds locally. But even that is not easy because of low prices and droughts which stunt the reeds' growth as the climate warms, he said. He and four other remaining reed farmers in Austria also face crushing competition from China, which has an 80 percent share of the European market. With his customers for now mostly in England and the Netherlands, "shipping a container from Shanghai to Rotterdam costs around $2,000 -- just as much as a truck from Austria," he said.

Once upon a time many homes in the picturesque Burgenland wine-growing region of eastern Austria were thatched.

But now Jacobus van Hoorne's house is the only one in the entire neighbourhood with a reed roof.

And to get it approved he had to do battle for two years with the local authorities, culminating in having to set fire to a model thatched house to prove that his home wouldn't be a fire hazard.

"You are practically not allowed to have reed roofs in Austria," said Van Hoorne. "You have to find a way around it, which took a long time."

Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, poses in front of stacks of reed at his storage at Weiden am See, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP

Buoyed up by his legal victory, the CERN particle physicist turned thatcher hopes to revive the ancient art as a part of more sustainable house building -- particularly as his reeds come from the region's UNESCO-listed salt-water lake.

"It's not just a natural raw material, but it also has great insulating properties," he told AFP.

"A roof like that... is only made of reed and (steel) wire. It's completely untreated. You can just compost it and recycle the wire.

"The nature, the material, the craft. It's just beautiful," he added.

Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, poses in front of his house for which he built the reed roof at Weiden am See, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP

A reed roof lasts about 40 years, said the Dutch-born scientist, and unlike conventional materials whose manufacture requires lots of carbon to be burned, reeds actually help store it.

Carbon captors

Like straw and earth they have an almost negligible carbon footprint, said Azra Korjenic, head of the Department of Ecological Building Technologies at the Vienna University of Technology.

In fact, marshlands and moors where reeds grow are some of the planet's main carbon sinks, surpassing even forests and grasslands, according to the 2015 Soil Atlas.

Yet one of the biggest stumbling blocks to sustainability is the construction industry, which favours prefab building modules over ecological materials, Korjenic added.

Current regulations and norms are also hampering the inclusion of natural building materials.

Jacobus van Hoorne, a 37-year-old former physicist at Cern and now reed farmer, and his workers harvest reed near Lake Neusiedl in Breitenbrunn, Austria on March 9, 2023. Photo: AFP

As Austria's only master thatchers, Van Hoorne and his father are in high demand, and they also farm their own reeds locally.

But even that is not easy because of low prices and droughts which stunt the reeds' growth as the climate warms, he said.

He and four other remaining reed farmers in Austria also face crushing competition from China, which has an 80 percent share of the European market.

With his customers for now mostly in England and the Netherlands, "shipping a container from Shanghai to Rotterdam costs around $2,000 -- just as much as a truck from Austria," he said.
MEXICO CITY -- At least 18 people were killed and 33 injured when a bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico, local authorities said Sunday. The prosecutor's office in Nayarit, the state where the accident occurred, said the vehicle fell some 15 meters (49.21 ft) down a ravine on Saturday night, on a highway that connects state capital Tepic and the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta. Emergency personnel work on the site where a bus carrying tourists traveling to Guayabitos overturned, in Compostela, Nayarit state, Mexico in this handout image obtained from social media April 30, 2023. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana de Nayarit/Handout via Reuters "From the first moment, we have worked in a coordinated manner with the various federal and state authorities to provide immediate attention to victims," the prosecutor's office said in a statement shared on Twitter. Emergency personnel work on the site where a bus carrying tourists traveling to Guayabitos overturned, in Compostela, Nayarit state, Mexico in this handout image obtained from social media April 30, 2023. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana de Nayarit/Handout via Reuters Authorities reported that 11 women and seven men were killed. At least 11 minors have been transferred to hospitals for medical attention. Emergency personnel move an injured person into an ambulance helicopter following a bus accident where tourists traveling to Guayabitos were injured, in Compostela, Nayarit state, Mexico in this handout image obtained from social media April 30, 2023. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana de Nayarit/Handout via Reuters

MEXICO CITY -- At least 18 people were killed and 33 injured when a bus fell off a cliff in western Mexico, local authorities said Sunday.

The prosecutor's office in Nayarit, the state where the accident occurred, said the vehicle fell some 15 meters (49.21 ft) down a ravine on Saturday night, on a highway that connects state capital Tepic and the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta.

Emergency personnel work on the site where a bus carrying tourists traveling to Guayabitos overturned, in Compostela, Nayarit state, Mexico in this handout image obtained from social media April 30, 2023. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana de Nayarit/Handout via Reuters

"From the first moment, we have worked in a coordinated manner with the various federal and state authorities to provide immediate attention to victims," the prosecutor's office said in a statement shared on Twitter.

Emergency personnel work on the site where a bus carrying tourists traveling to Guayabitos overturned, in Compostela, Nayarit state, Mexico in this handout image obtained from social media April 30, 2023. Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana de Nayarit/Handout via Reuters

Authorities reported that 11 women and seven men were killed. At least 11 minors have been transferred to hospitals for medical attention.
Hailstorms accompanied by whirlwinds across several northern Vietnamese localities damaged over 1,600 houses and flooded some streets in the tourist town of Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province over the weekend. A preliminary report from the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control showed that the north and north-central regions experienced moderate to heavy rainfall, with precipitation ranging from 40mm to 80mm, from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Between 7:00 pm on Saturday and 7:00 am on Sunday, the northern mountainous area and the north-central coast had a rainfall of 20-88mm. Heavy rain caused flooding on certain roads in the center of Sa Pa around 9:00 pm on Saturday. As a result, 1,635 houses were damaged, 2,538 hectares of crops were destroyed, and 11 schools suffered from the rainstorms and flooding, according to brief statistics from the affected provinces, including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, Phu Tho, and Tuyen Quang. The Lao Cai meteorological station reported that the cold air resulted in a drop in temperature in various localities across Lao Cai on Sunday. Sa Pa experienced the lowest temperature at 15 degrees Celsius, with the weather turning chilly and continuing to be unfavorable with thunderstorms throughout the day. Starting on Monday, there will be a decrease in the intensity and extent of rainfall and a slight increase in temperature. However, certain tourist spots, such as Sa Pa and Y Ty, are still expected to have rainfall, mostly during nighttime. Authorities recommend that people traveling to the mountainous regions should bring umbrellas, raincoats, and warm clothes. While traveling, people should be cautious to prevent slipping. Additionally, during thunderstorms, it is important to be aware of hazardous gusts of wind and lightning strikes. The National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting predicts that there will be some rain in the evening and at night in the northern region through Wednesday. In the northwestern region, there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday, followed by sunny days from Tuesday to Friday, with some areas experiencing high temperatures. The center evaluates that the weather will be favorable for people to travel to tourist destinations. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Hailstorms accompanied by whirlwinds across several northern Vietnamese localities damaged over 1,600 houses and flooded some streets in the tourist town of Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province over the weekend.

A preliminary report from the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control showed that the north and north-central regions experienced moderate to heavy rainfall, with precipitation ranging from 40mm to 80mm, from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Between 7:00 pm on Saturday and 7:00 am on Sunday, the northern mountainous area and the north-central coast had a rainfall of 20-88mm.

Heavy rain caused flooding on certain roads in the center of Sa Pa around 9:00 pm on Saturday.

As a result, 1,635 houses were damaged, 2,538 hectares of crops were destroyed, and 11 schools suffered from the rainstorms and flooding, according to brief statistics from the affected provinces, including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Dien Bien, Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, Phu Tho, and Tuyen Quang.

The Lao Cai meteorological station reported that the cold air resulted in a drop in temperature in various localities across Lao Cai on Sunday.

Sa Pa experienced the lowest temperature at 15 degrees Celsius, with the weather turning chilly and continuing to be unfavorable with thunderstorms throughout the day.

Starting on Monday, there will be a decrease in the intensity and extent of rainfall and a slight increase in temperature.

However, certain tourist spots, such as Sa Pa and Y Ty, are still expected to have rainfall, mostly during nighttime.

Authorities recommend that people traveling to the mountainous regions should bring umbrellas, raincoats, and warm clothes.

While traveling, people should be cautious to prevent slipping.

Additionally, during thunderstorms, it is important to be aware of hazardous gusts of wind and lightning strikes.

The National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting predicts that there will be some rain in the evening and at night in the northern region through Wednesday.

In the northwestern region, there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday, followed by sunny days from Tuesday to Friday, with some areas experiencing high temperatures.

The center evaluates that the weather will be favorable for people to travel to tourist destinations.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Fishermen discovered a decomposing whale carcass about 9.8 meters long, estimated to weigh five metric tons, washed up on a local beach in Nam Dinh Province, northern Vietnam on Sunday. Only the body of the whale remained while the head appeared to have completely decayed during the decomposition stage, according to witnesses. The fishermen then reported the finding to local authorities of Nam Dinhs Hai Hau District, who buried the corpse of the whale shortly after on the same day. Residents of Hai Hau, where other whale carcasses had been found stranded along the coast before, said that the one discovered on Sunday was among the biggest. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Fishermen discovered a decomposing whale carcass about 9.8 meters long, estimated to weigh five metric tons, washed up on a local beach in Nam Dinh Province, northern Vietnam on Sunday.

Only the body of the whale remained while the head appeared to have completely decayed during the decomposition stage, according to witnesses.

The fishermen then reported the finding to local authorities of Nam Dinhs Hai Hau District, who buried the corpse of the whale shortly after on the same day.

Residents of Hai Hau, where other whale carcasses had been found stranded along the coast before, said that the one discovered on Sunday was among the biggest.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
He said several times that he was in the Christmas Eve of his life. Isnt that a lovely quote? says executive producer Maxine Gray.

For Gray, it isnt often that a celebrity reaches out to request being featured on SBS genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?

It happens sometimes, but not usually with someone of Barrys standing.

But thats just what happened when Humphries agent reached out. Gray met with Barry and wife Lizzie Spender in early 2022 to discuss the idea. The result is a very special episode -one that Humphries never got to see.

I do feel that he was interested in a kind of legacy project. He said, on camera, This could be the last thing I do on television, so it did seem to be something hed thought about. He said, What Im slowly becoming to realise is I will be someones ancestor soon,' she recalls.

One of Humphries relatives had researched the family but found little of interest.

He was more or less challenging us to find something more interesting. He said, I am the most interesting person in my family tree. Im quite convinced of that. But I would like to see what you can find out,' says Gray. So he threw down the gauntlet to us.

We have to find something! Its Barry Humphries!

At first researchers struggled to find much that would make an interesting SBS episode, but Gray doubled resources and pressed them to dig deeper.

I was like, No, no, keep looking, we have to find something! Its Barry Humphries!' she continues.

We knew that he wanted to find something titillating. He was looking for something rich, something scandalous. Barry said in his first interview, he hoped to find an artist a gypsy, even a criminal. He doubted that there were any links to royalty but he would love a surprise.

Blow me down, we found a criminal on one side and we found a link to royalty! Hellelujah!

Filming took place in July 2022 in the middle of a UK heatwave, but Gray says 88 year old Humphries was always generous and patient, despite the demands of filming in 40+ degree temperatures.

We filmed that opening interview with him at his home. There was no air conditioning. He was absolutely sweltering -and of course, we have a duty of care. But he was always such a trouper saying, Yes, yes, Im fine. Im fine! The cameraman was fanning him between takes, trying to keep him cool. It was brutal, Gray insists.

One scene saw the veteran star walking to one of his favourite spots, at the top of Primrose Hill in Londons Regents Park. Both Gray and Lizzie Spender were worried.

He insisted it was okay. They met him at the end of a long, hot day filming. He jumped out of his car, took the directors arm and he walked up that steep hill to the top, like a man two decades younger. It was amazing.

He was delightful to work with

He was delightful to work with. It wasnt a facade with Barry. He was warm, he was charming, curious, and mischievous. In a way we got Barry, maybe at the best time of his life, in that I felt like he had mellowed.

Wherever the crew went filming with Humphries, fans were thrilled to see him.

He got the biggest response of any celebrity theyd worked with. In the UK, I think hes even more well recognised than he is here. People wanted his autograph, to be photographed with selfies, all of that, Gray observed.

Everywhere they went people recognised him instantly and wanted to talk to him. He was very generous.

Ancestral facts in the episode were new information to Humphries with particular emphasis on solving the mystery of his mothers family history.

Everything was about his mother

It was all about his relationship with his mother. We knew that. So when we looked at her side of the family, we wanted to find something that in some way, would explain a little bit of his mother to Barry. And he said we did, said Gray.

While he was on this shoot with us he said, This is a great adventure Im caught up in. It is a page turner. Its full of excitement and suspense. Its giving me dreams. Im having vivid dreams. I dreamt I was surrounded by ancestors. They were very cross that they were being dragged out of their graves to appear on this program. It was a funny dream. I laughed during the dream and they didnt want to be disinterred

Sadly, Humphries never got to see the episode, his final television project, before his death two weeks ago.

It is a shame. Because I think he would have loved it, reflects Gray. I feel like he had a sense of how it will all come together and he played into that the whole time. He could see how the episode was going to pan out, he could see the story arc that we had in mind and he made sure he gave us the quotes that we needed at every point, for us to be able to tie it up with a bow.

Who Do You Think You Are? screens 7:30pm tonight on SBS.
SEYMOUR, Conn., April 05, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GoNetspeed today announced that residents and businesses throughout the Town of Seymour will soon have access to GoNetspeeds high-speed 100 percent fiber internet. Through GoNetspeeds privately funded $4.4 million investment in Seymour, more than 6,000 locations will have access to future-proof fiber internet as early as this summer with construction beginning this spring. Residents and businesses interested in GoNetspeed services may visit gonetspeed.com to indicate interest and receive construction updates.

"As we continue to expand throughout the northeast, bringing our service to more communities, we are excited to add the Town of Seymour to our service area," Tom Perrone, Senior Vice President of Network Operations & General Manager of Connecticut. "As weve seen in recent years, there has been a growing need for reliable, fast internet that can support modern homes, businesses, and our everyday activities online. GoNetspeed understands the important role that high-speed internet plays in our daily lives, and we are excited to see the impact of our future-proof service in Seymour."

GoNetspeed continues to ensure that more communities throughout Connecticut have access to a high-speed 100 percent fiber internet infrastructure. Currently, more than 30 communities across the state have access to GoNetspeeds service, along with many communities that are well on their way to having access to GoNetspeeds fiber internet.

With a legacy of innovation and a commitment to customer service, GoNetspeed is excited to accelerate the expansion of its fiber networks throughout nine states, including Connecticut. GoNetspeed continues to deliver more fiber, more access, more speed, and better reliability to residents and businesses throughout our footprint. With access to 100 percent fiber internet, customers have access to symmetrical upload and download speeds, ranging from 500 Mbps to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). Learn more about GoNetspeed at gonetspeed.com.

Story continues

About GoNetspeed:

GoNetspeed, a high-speed 100 percent fiber internet provider serving residential and business customers in Maine, Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia, formed a partnership with Oak Hill Capital ("Oak Hill") in January 2021, allowing GoNetspeed to accelerate the expansion of its fiber network throughout the Northeastern U.S. Adding thousands of new service areas every year, GoNetspeed is one of the largest independent internet providers in the east. For more information about GoNetspeed, or to inquire about service in your residence, business or community, visit gonetspeed.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230405005091/en/

Contacts

Katherine Yochum

502.963.8409

Katherine@RunSwitchPR.com
Murphy Oil Corporation MUR is slated to report first-quarter 2023 financial results on May 3 before market open. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 0.92% in the last reported quarter.



Lets discuss the factors that are likely to have impacted the quarterly performance.

Factors to Consider

Murphy Oils first-quarter results are likely to have benefited from the companys accretive acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico region. However, planned downtime of 7.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOEPD) for maintenance of assets in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to have impacted production volumes. Murphy Oils ongoing debt-reduction initiatives are expected to have lowered capital servicing expenses, thus boosting margins in the first quarter.



First-quarter exploration expenses for the company will be a tad higher than the year-ago level due to an increase in exploration activities. A drop in realized prices of commodities compared with the previous years quarter might have adversely impacted first-quarter earnings.

Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2023 sales is pegged at $754.05 million, indicating a jump of 36.37% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus estimate for first-quarter earnings per share is pegged at 95 cents, implying an improvement of 30.14% from the year-ago reported figure.



Murphy Oil anticipates first-quarter production in the range of 161-169 MBOEPD. Out of the expected production, 56% is expected to be oil. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter production volume is 169 MBOEPD.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Murphy Oil this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat, which is not the case here, as you will see below.

Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Murphy Oil Corporation price-eps-surprise | Murphy Oil Corporation Quote

Story continues

Earnings ESP: Murphy Oil has an Earnings ESP of -1.23%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.



Zacks Rank: MUR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider the following players from the same industry that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.



Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG is likely to come up with an earnings beat when it reports first-quarter results on May 2, before market open. Cheniere Energy has an Earnings ESP of +11.15% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present.



Long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth of Cheniere Energy is pegged at 30.88%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LNGs 2023 EPS reflects 187.8% increase year over year.



EOG Resources, Inc. EOG is scheduled to release first-quarter 2023 numbers on May 4. EOG currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.58% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Long-term earnings growth of the company is currently pegged at 28.65%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings of EOG Resources implies year-over-year decline of 14.53%.



Permian Resources Corporation PR is scheduled to release first-quarter 2023 numbers on May 8. PR has an Earnings ESP of +2.33% and a Zacks Rank #3.



The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings of PR implies year-over-year growth of 29.53%.



Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Permian Resources Corporation (PR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research
Annual meeting of Federation of German Industries (BDI), in Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's BDI industry association expects exports to grow by 2% in 2023, double its forecast in January, its president told the Rheinische Post newspaper in comments published on Saturday.

"Things are looking up, but only slowly - we must not be satisfied with that," BDI President Siegfried Russwurm told the newspaper.

Even with the improved outlook, Germany still lags behind the forecast for global trade of 2.5% export growth, according to BDI figures cited in the report.

Export growth has slowed considerably since Germany's post-pandemic recovery. Exports grew by 2.9% in 2022 and 9.1% in 2021.

The BDI president said Germany was falling behind other countries where energy prices are not as high.

"The reality is that energy-intensive companies in particular are increasingly relocating parts of their production abroad," Russwurm said.

(Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel More)
Seven University of North Georgia (UNG) students and alumni have been named 2023-24 Fulbright scholars. This brings the total of UNG Fulbright scholars to 45 since the 2015-16 academic year.

Ashley Fish, Karen Garcia, Madeline Grasso, former cadet Anna Kubas, Norma Martinez, and Grace Maurer have been selected as finalists. One student declined the opportunity. 2nd Lt. Phillip Ly and Emelia Thompson are alternates.

The Fulbright is a prestigious, highly competitive fellowship that enables recent graduates and graduate students to pursue research, earn a graduate degree or teach English overseas. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and residents of more than 160 foreign countries, according to the Fulbright website.

"UNG students are uniquely positioned to excel as leaders abroad, and they return with experiences that enhance their communities," Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president of Academic Affairs and head of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office, said.

Maurer, a spring 2022 graduate with a degree in biology, earned a Fiji Research Award grant. She is UNG's first recipient of a Fulbright research award.

"It is extremely rewarding to have received the opportunity to participate in Fulbright," Maurer said. "I look forward to learning more about the Fijian way of life and our natural world. I am thankful for all the support I received in the rigorous process."
NINH THUAN  Ninh Thuan Province will organise the 2023 Grape and Wine Festival from June 13 to 18 to promote one of its most lucrative agricultural produce and attract tourists.

Nguyen Tri Long, deputy director of its Department of Information and Communication, said the biennial festival seeks to build a brand for the provinces grapes and honour various ethnic cultures.

This years festival will be bigger than previous ones with fairs, musical performances, a grapevine trellis contest, vineyard tours, and conferences on the development of grape farming and processing.

Truong Khac Tri, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the fruit is the fourth biggest in terms of value among Ninh Thuans crops.

The province has 1,060ha under grape, which is slated to double to 2,000ha by 2030, he said.

In recent years the quality and variety of Ninh Thuans grapes have been growing, and the province is pushing for more hi-tech and organic farming, he said.

Ninh Thuan plans to have supportive policies for grape farmers so that they can adopt modern technologies, facilitate research into new grape strains and improve their processing, especially for wine making.

Festival attendees can also visit the provinces Bau Truc Pottery Village, My Nghiep Brocade Weaving Village and the Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve.

There will be a ceremony to accept a certificate from UNESCO that acknowledges the art of pottery-making by the Cham people as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. VNS
THUA THIEN-HUE  Terminal No 2 has been put into operation at the provincial International Phu Bai Airport after three years of construction, promising a capacity of hosting 5 million passengers per year.

The provincial peoples committee said the terminal would serve increasing demand of travellers in high-tourism season and a series of art programmes and performances of the Hue crafts festival and May Day vacation.

The terminal, which was invested by the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam at a cost of VN2.2 trillion (US$88 million), was designed with the architecture of the royal court.

It has eight parking lots and a runway allowing for Airbus A320, A321, A350 and Boeing 787.

The airport, 15km from Hue, will be upgraded in the second phase to receive 9 million passengers in 2030 and six more parking lots.

Local airlines including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways are operating domestic routes from Hue to Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Phu Quoc and a Lat.

Meanwhile, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways, Japan Airlines and China Airlines help connect Hue to Bangkok, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; Beijing, mainland China; Osaka, Japan and Taipei, Taiwan.

The province has been working with local airlines in promoting more international flights linking Hue with the Middle East, Thailand, Australia, Japan and China in the coming years.

The province hosted two million tourists, of which 260,000 were foreigners, in 2022.

Last year, the province and Vietnam Airlines agreed a comprehensive cooperation deal in 2022-26, aiming at promoting destinations, tourism and investment.

Vietnam Airlines helps boost destinations, trade and investment and cultural programmes of Thua Thien Hue through its air service worldwide, calling for investment in the tourism hub. VNS
HA NOI  Nearly 3.7 million foreign tourists travelled to Viet Nam in the first four months of 2023, according to Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

The number of domestic tourists during the period was estimated at 38 million.

Total revenue from tourists was estimated at VN196.6 trillion (US$8.3 billion).

Of the total visitors, up to 88.7 per cent travelled by air, 10.1 per cent by road, and 1.2 per cent by sea.

In April alone, Viet Nam welcomed 984,000 international travellers, the highest figure from the beginning of this year and an increase of 9.9 per cent from the previous month. The country served 10.5 million domestic tourists in the month.

The Republic of Korea remains Viet Nams biggest tourism market in the first four months of this year with one million visitors, followed by the United States with 263,000 and China with 252,000 travellers.

The number of Chinese tourists to Viet Nam in April was 112,000, up 61.5 per cent from the previous month thanks to Chinas border reopening to group tours from March 15.

Revenues from accommodation and catering services between January to April are estimated to reach 214.8 trillion VND, representing a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, thanks to exciting cultural and tourism activities taking place in many localities in the early months of the year, travel revenue was estimated at VN9.1 trillion, nearly 2.1 times higher than the same period last year.

This year, Viet Nam is striving to serve 110 million tourists, including 8 million foreigners (the target was set before China, the primary tourist market to Viet Nam, announced its reopening in February), and earn around VN650 trillion ($27.6 billion) from tourism services.

The revenue from packaged tours in the first quarter is estimated to reach VN6.8 trillion, 2.2 times the figure of last year due to cultural, festival, and tourism activities taking place in many localities in the early months of the year.

According to VNAT, the screening of the film A tourists guide to love on Netflix which was shot in Viet Nam has attracted the attention of audience around the world. The film features the beauty of local landscapes along with the beauty of Vietnamese people and culture at six main locations namely Ha Noi, HCM City, a Nang, Hoi An and My Son (Quang Nam) and Ha Giang.

It ranks third in the list of globally most-watched movies on Netflix with 13.4 million viewing hours.

The film not only popularises the image of Viet Nams beauty to international friends, but also inspires international tourists to come to Viet Nam immediately, the VNAT said.  VNS
TOKYO  The first medical clinic for Vietnamese in Japan, the T-Matsuoka Medical Clinic Kanda in Tokyo, was officially inaugurated on April 28, as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic ties, and received the first patients on May 1.

With a team of both Vietnamese and Japanese doctors and interpreters, T-Matsuoka Medical Clinic Kanda is expected to become a reliable medical care destination for the Vietnamese community, helping them overcome language difficulties when communicating with doctors during the examination process.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, doctor Matsuoka Yoshinori thanked the Vietnamese and Japanese Governments for supporting the opening of the first clinic of its kind in Ha Noi and the second in Kanda, Tokyo. He vowed to keep striving to develop them into a healthcare bridge between the two countries.

Charge d'affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan Nguyen uc Minh described the opening of the clinic as an important event for not only the Vietnamese community in Japan but also bilateral ties, especially on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

Vietnamese continue to be the second largest expat community in Japan with over 489,000 at present. VNA/VNS
BIVD's AGM 2023

As of December 31, 2022, BIDV's total assets have reached over $90.43 billion, representing a 20.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year, while credit growth increased by 5 per cent, with outstanding loans reaching over $68.8 billion.

Capital mobilisation increased by 2.3 per cent to reach over $72.2 billion, while the ratio of bad debts was controlled below 1.4 per cent.

This milestone makes BIDV the first bank in Vietnam to cross the $90 billion mark, solidifying its position as the largest bank in the country in terms of total assets.

Such a significant accomplishment is indicative of the astute financial management and adept strategic planning of this institution, which has resulted in substantial growth.

Furthermore, BIDV targets to increase its charter capital from $2.2 billion to $2.7 billion in 2023, and plans to issue over one billion shares.

One of the key issues that shareholders are concerned about is the impact of Circular 02/NHNN, which outlines the restructuring of repayment periods and the classification of debt for customers facing financial difficulties.

Chairman of BIDV's Board of Directors, Phan Duc Tu, has highlighted the importance of the circular, which has helped ease the financial burden on businesses and allowed them to access new credit sources. At the same time, it also helps banks reduce bad debts and risk provisions, which are expected to support businesses and the economy to overcome difficulties.

BIDV is closely monitoring and classifying its debts to ensure appropriate handling of the issue, and its management is still committed to the plan to issue private shares, despite the challenging market conditions.

The bank is currently in talks with potential investors and working with regulatory bodies to find the best fit for this plan.

Tu revealed that BIDV is still planning to do so and has contacted 38 potential investors. However, due to the unfavourable market, investor demand has deteriorated.

"BIDV will continue to implement this plan this year. We have identified some potential investors and will work with regulatory bodies and other partners to find the best fit for this plan," Tu said.

In terms of lending to the real estate market, BIDV's management has identified legal obstacles as the primary challenge facing this industry.

BIDV has met with 15 leading real estate developers, confirming that over 70 per cent of the difficulties they face are legal, while the remaining 30 per cent are related to funding. BIDV will continue to review and classify its loans to find the appropriate handling plan," the bank's leadership said.

Overall, BIDV's impressive performance in the first quarter of 2023 demonstrates the bank's resilience and adaptability to challenging market conditions.
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man awaiting trial for gun and drug charges has been found with more drugs and another gun.

Waterloo police arrested Isaivion Demariah Labeaux, 21, 1620 Oakwood Drive, on Thursday on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and carrying weapons. Bond was set at $65,000.

Officers stopped a Dodge Charger on U.S. Highway 218 around 4 p.m. Thursday and found a .40-caliber Glock 23 in the vehicles glove box, marijuana residue near the center console and two Swisher Sweets cigars loaded with marijuana, according to court records.

Labeaux is currently awaiting trial for a Nov. 1 search where police found marijuana and two handguns in his home.

Photos: Remembering Harry Belafonte, 1927-2023 1955: Harry Belafonte with Ed Sullivan 1956: Harry Belafonte 1957: Harry Belafonte receives Brotherhood Award 1957: Harry Belafonte 1957: Harry Belafonte marries Julie Robinson 1957: Harry Belafonte and Nat "King" Cole 1957: Harry Belafonte 1958: Harry Belafonte speaks at Lincoln Memorial 1958: Belafontes in Italy 1958: Harry Belafonte and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt 1960: Harry Belafonte protests lunch counter segregation 1960: Harry Belafonte on Broadway 1960: Harry Belafonte 1960: Harry Belafonte becomes first Black man to win Emmy 1961: Harry Belafonte and family 1964: Harry Belafonte visits Guinea 1965: Harry Belafonte with Martin Luther King Jr. and James Foreman 1966: Harry Belafonte performs at civil rights benefit 1968: Harry Belafonte, Coretta Scott King 1968: Harry Belafonte and Coretta Scott King 1968: Harry Belafonte sits in for Johnny Carson on "Tonight Show" 1979: Harry Belafonte wins "Golden Lion" award 1981: Harry Belafonte 1984: Harry Belafonte co-produces "Beat Street" 1986: Harry Belafonte and Ken Kragen win AMA award 1986: Harry Belafonte and Bishop Desmond Tutu 1987: Harry Belafonte and UNICEF 1988: Harry Belafonte with Pope John Paul II 1989: Harry Belafonte receives Kennedy Center Honors 1994: Harry Belafonte receives Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton 1999: Harry Belafonte and Nelson Mandela 2001: Harry Belafonte 2005: Harry Belafonte speaks during Nelson Mandela visit 2005: Harry Belafonte with then Sen. Barack Obama and John Lewis 2006: Harry Belafonte receives BET humanitarian award 2006: Harry Belafonte accepts BET humanitarian award 2010: Harry Belafonte, Willie Mays and Billie Jean King win MLB Beacon awards 2011: Harry Belafonte and Hill Harper 2012: Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier 2013: Harry Belafonte receives Spingarn award from Sidney Poitier 2014: Harry Belafonte gets honorary doctorate from Berklee 2017: Harry Belafonte
WAVERLY  A trio of high school students have taken it upon themselves to make sure people dont forget about the group of inhabitants occupying Waverlys skies.

Elliot Schneiderman, Avery Corcoran and Adali Borglum are all freshman at Waverly-Shell Rock High School who began working together back in November to obtain the designation of Bird Friendly City as part of their Family, Career and Community Leaders of America project.

Bird Friendly Iowas main three goals are to protect and preserve bird habitat, reduce threats to birds, and to educate communities about birding and the importance of biodiversity, said Borglum. We started by doing research on how we could help to meet these goals and then eventually started to reach out to people we thought would help us with this project.

Supporting their efforts has been several city officials  Paul Cheville, public grounds superintendent, and Garret Riordan, director of leisure services, as well as councilmembers Ann Rathe and Brian Birgen.

Becoming a Bird Friendly City would show that Waverly has even more of a commitment to the natural world, and its an opportunity to raise awareness for something maybe not many know a lot about, said Cheville. Having the community support behind that is great, and I think there could be the potential for tourism of some sort if we went onto establish bird watching houses and stuff like that.

Theyre hoping to wrap up an application to the statewide bird habitat conservation and educational outreach program this spring and successfully join the fraternity of approximately 20 cities and counties with the designation.

Those include Bremer and Hardin counties as well as Tripoli, Denver, Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

Among the group of high school students, Borglum has the strongest interest in ornithology, the study of birds.

Flight interested me, because I like the aspect of flying. I enjoy flying for travel and I like the diversity of birds put there, Borglum said.

Upon hearing about other cities with the designation, she suggested to Corcoran they begin the pursuit as part of their FCCLA project. Schneiderman later got involved in the student leadership club and the endeavor. She has an interest in public speaking and improving her skills to engage people and make them aware of different initiatives.

I really like public speaking. We talked in front of the City Council, said Schneiderman. We talked on KWAY. We have an article in the Waverly newspaper and are speaking for FCCLA. I think thats all fun.

Theyve also presented in front of a fourth grade class, and anticipate sometime next month presenting to the City Council for a second time in hopes of getting the members endorsement for the application.

The three presented their projects at the district and state FCCLA competitions earlier this year and are taking their presentation to the national competition July 2.

The application intended to detail how the city is working to meet the programs three goals. For instance, the group needed to detail what Waverly does to protect birds by explaining which parks play a role as well as what the community is doing is doing to educate its residents.

That work led to the high schoolers talking to the elementary school class. With Cheville, they discussed pesticide problems and what can be done to drastically reduce the use of them for the betterment of the bird population.

The groups also engaged in other forms of outreach, including on Facebook and Instagram by starting pages to showcase their progress and how people can help.

If granted the designation, Schneiderman hopes to see flags, plaques and signs pop up to bring awareness to the initiative.

Other people that like to go birding, its a big attraction and brings more tourists to Waverly, she added.

Borglum also noted that being a Bird Friendly City may lead to the community rallying together and grow their appreciation for the bird population through birding, the casual observation of birds in their natural habitats.

Well possibly have birding days where groups will gather and people can bird then to help build that community aspect of people getting together, she said.

I feel like a lot of people just, like, see them as something else thats in our daily lives and I think if we have more recognition for them that people will understand how much they help us, Corcoran added.

Amidst the progress, the trio has worked to compile a list of all the birds seen frequently in Waverly. If residents or visitors are interested in sharing their sightings or have other questions about the application, the students can be reached at eschneiderman26@wsr.k12.ia.us, acorcoran26@wsr.k12.ia.us and aborglum26@wsr.k12.ia.us.

Food prices fall on world markets but not on kitchen tables
CEDAR FALLS  Mayor Rob Green says his Christian beliefs will not allow him to support a request from the citys Human Rights Commission to designate June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month.

Green contends in a memo his stance was not made with animosity or a desire to exclude anyone and noted hes committed to serving and supporting all residents, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs.

The two-term mayor asked that all recommendations of city boards and commissions be given a fair hearing, and that the City Council consider adopting the proclamation on its own at its 7 p.m. meeting Monday inside City Hall, 220 Clay St.

If adopted, Green says hed eliminate any reference to his office from the declaration, and wouldnt sign it, asking instead that a councilmember do the honor.

As a Christian, I believe that every person is created in the image of God, and deserves love, respect, and dignity, he wrote in the memo to the council. However, my understanding of the New Testament leads me to believe that God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman; promotion or advocacy of any sexual activity outside those bounds runs counter to the tenets of the Christian faith (particularly as stated in Romans 1:21-27).

The request came from Chelsie Luhring, the citys newly hired diversity, equity and inclusion specialist, on behalf of the HRC amidst recent state legislation the body described as anti- LGBTQIA+.

The declaration also comes up for a vote because of a policy recommended by Green and unanimously adopted by the council in December after past practice had the mayor unilaterally issuing proclamations.

The Courier reached out to Sonja Bock, commission chair, for comment Thursday. She said it was the first shed heard about Greens stance.

The Cedar Falls Human Rights Commission has been made aware of Mayor Rob Greens memo on the Pride Month proclamation, the commission said in a statement Friday. We as a commission have no comment on Mayor Greens actual statements. We do want the community as a whole to know we were not informed of the call for a change in procedure in how this proclamation was being handled compared to all previous ones.

The HRC will continue our mission of advocating, educating, and creating events that represent inclusion, diversity, and equity. We want everyone to be treated fairly and welcomed without prejudice or boundaries. It is important to our commission that our residents and visitors feel they are treated with respect, and that Cedar Falls is a safe community for everyone to enjoy.

City policy allows residents, officials and organizations to request a proclamation, which can be adopted by a vote of the council.

For instance, Low Mow May was proposed by the mayor last month and adopted by the council in a 4-3 vote, encouraging Cedar Falls residents to extend the time between mowing from every seven days to every 10 to 14 days to manage landscape in a way that supports pollinators with more flowers.

Some councilmembers have said theyre not in favor of social issues becoming city business and preferred the HRCs request not be debated in a public setting. Others feel the mayor made the right call in expressing his beliefs and welcoming the conversation.

Green hopes the discussion is one small step toward helping rebuild our nations capacity to advocate passionately and civilly for our viewpoints, and to seek change using the political processes in place.

City proclamations have no weight in law and merely express public sentiment, the mayor pointed out in his memo. He asked in the memo that all elected officials set the tone for civility and treat everyone impacted by this important social issue with dignity and respect.

We must engage others with empathy and compassion in order to resist stereotyping the other side. In the end, we are all still neighbors, and we are all still CEDAR FALLS, he wrote.

In response to further questioning, Green acknowledged over email he felt the request was appropriate for local government to address, as its been done in other Iowa cities, including Waterloo, and felt for accountabilitys sake he needed to share why he does not support the proclamation.

He says he fully supports the HRCs right to make such a proposal, and never considered quashing the proclamation behind the scenes because of feeling like hed then be imposing his religious beliefs on others.

The approach I took is the best compromise I could make, between my competing obligations as a Mayor and as a Christian, Green wrote. Usually, theres no conflict  Ive made it nearly six years as a public official without an issue like this to spotlight my faith, Green stated.

Given my usual transparency and openness, I wanted people to know my reason for not supporting the proclamation, rather than just hiding behind its too divisive or its not time or its not relevant to the city  none of which I believe.

Photos: Postal workers demonstration, April 28, 2023 042823jr-postal-demonstration-5 042823jr-postal-demonstration-4 042823jr-postal-demonstration-3 042823jr-postal-demonstration-2 042823jr-postal-demonstration-1
The crash occurred at 7:30 a.m. on Ida County Road L-51 about four miles south of Battle Creek. Ida County Sheriff Wade Harriman said the male driver of one of the vehicles was killed and the driver of the second vehicle was transported to Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove. There were no other passengers.
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation



(1 May 2023)

Part I (see Part II)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a long-range high-precision air and sea-based missile strike against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities. The goal of the attack has been reached. All the assigned targets have been neutralised. The enterprises producing ammunition, weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces have been disrupted.

In Kupyansk direction, the attacks, launched by aviation and artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU units near Dvurechnaya, Timkovka and Krakhmalnoye (Kharkov region).

The actions of 5 Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were suppressed close to Masiutovka, Kislovka, Sinkovka (Kharkov region), and Novosyolovskoye and Rozovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were over 85 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles, and 1 D-20.

1 ordnance depot of 127nd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU has been destroyed near Izbitskoye (Kharkov region).

In Krasny Liman direction, the attacks, launched by Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as artillery of the Tsentr Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the AFU units close to Olgovka (Kharkov region), Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic) and Serebrianka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).



2 Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been suppressed close to Torskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic) and Nevskoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 55 Ukrainian servicemen, 1 armoured fighting vehicle, 1 pickup truck, 1 D-20 howitzer, and 2 D-30 howitzer.

In Donetsk direction, the assault detachments continued to destroy the enemy in the western part of Artyomovsk. The Airborne Troops support the actions of the assault detachments and restrain the AFU units on the flanks.

The attacks, launched by Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as artillery of the Yug Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of the enemy manpower and hardware close to Kalinovka, Chasov Yar, Nikolayevka and Stupochki (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The Russian aviation have made 6 sorties in this area during the day. The Groups artillery have performed 64 firing missions.

The enemy losses were up to 330 Ukrainian personnel, 1 tank, 4 armoured fighting vehicles, 4 motor vehicles, and 1 D-30 howitzer have been eliminated.

1 ordnance depot of 53th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU has been destroyed near Novoukrainka (Donetsk Peoples Republic)

#MoD

 @mod_russia_en

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation



(1 May 2023)

Part II (see Part I)

In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, aviation, as well as artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on the enemy units near Ugledar, Privolnoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic) and Malaya Tokmachka (Zaporozhye region).

The actions of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group have been disrupted close to Sladkoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 55 Ukrainian servicemen, 1 armoured fighting vehicle, 2 motor vehicles, and 1 Msta-B howitzer.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 15 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles, 1 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, and 1 Msta-B howitzer.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 87 artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 109 areas.

The 72th Mechanised Brigades battalion command and observation post has been hit near Ugledar (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Air defence facilities have destroyed 8 unmanned aerial vehicles close to Gorobyovka (Kharkov region), Kremennaya, Krasnorechenskoye (Luhansk Peoples Republic), Vodyanoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), and Peschanovka (Kherson region).

In total, 413 airplanes, 230 helicopters, 3,913 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 air defence missile systems, 8,927 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,095 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 4,703 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 9,893 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.

#MoD

 @mod_russia_en

WtR
You might have heard it through the ape vine that the Ochsner Park zoos two capuchin monkeys, Jose and Zephyr, are permanently leaving for a new home in Illinois.

Im going to miss them a lot, said Ellen Gallagher, a zookeeper for 15 years and employed as zoo specialist at the Ochsner Park Zoo for the past seven years. Im their primary trainer. I work with them daily, she said. Theyre really fun.

She continued, Its really sad theyre leaving, but its good for them.

The reason for the move is for the wellbeing of the monkeys. Theyre both considered geriatric and both have diabetes. While their health remains stable, theyll need more care and assistance than the Ochsner Park Zoo can provide.

The Brookfield Zoo has a hospital on-site and a larger number of staff to attend to the needs of Jose and Zephyr. The Brookfield Zoo, which houses around 450 species of animals on 216 acres, is owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and managed by the Chicago Zoological Society.

Theyre going to be cared for and loved, Gallagher said. The people at Brookfield are dedicated. She continued, But its like sending your kids off to college.

Both of the monkeys are feisty. Jose likes to smash things. He likes knocking phones out of peoples hands. He likes blueberries.

He likes to show off his brute strength, Gallagher said of the 29-year-old monkey. And if that doesnt work to get what he wants, he uses his intelligence. Hes really smart.

Jose was born in a lab in South Carolina. He also likes nuts and mealworms.

Zephyr was born at the Brookfield Zoo. For the 34-year-old, shell be returning home. Shes had a host of health problems, Gallagher said, but shell tell you whats what. Shes got a lot of spunk in her.

The monkeys have been one of the star attractions at the Baraboo zoo since their arrival.

The decision to relocate our monkeys was not an easy one to make, noted Mike Hardy, Director of the Baraboo Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department. But one that is in the animals best interest.

He continued, Weve been blessed to have such a caring community and a great group of volunteers in the Friends of the Baraboo Zoo.

The monkeys will leave for the Brookfield Zoo sometime during the first week of May.

What will happen to the monkey enclosure, and whether or not monkeys will return to the Ochsner Park Zoo, is to be determined.

The current monkey building is aging. Although the building has undergone renovations in the past years, it has become a less than ideal home for primates. The structure is particularly inefficient to heat, is cold, and challenging to maintain proper humidity year-round.

The future of monkeys and the existing exhibit will be decided over the next few months, Hardy said.

The parks commission, along with city staff, and the Friends of the Baraboo Zoo are working on a new master plan. The current monkey exhibit is one area that is being considered within that plan.

Though Hardy hopes the existing building can remain and be repurposed, if an exotic species are brought to the zoo, he knows that a significant capital campaign will have to occur.

Additionally, he noted, the city of Baraboo will need to decide if future budgets will support the much higher cost to maintain exotic species in feeding, health care, and housing, especially in the provision of winter heated habitats.

Hardy assured that the public will have many opportunities to provide input with regard to the next phases and future plans of the Ochsner Park Zoo.

In the meantime, Jose has his hands on another blueberry, Zephyr is swinging from a branch, and Ellen Gallagher is smiling at them.

Getting to know them, she said, was like getting to know a friend.
Weather Alert

...Additional Showers and Thunderstorms Today into the Weekend... * Scattered rain/snow/pellet showers will once again develop today, with a 15-30% chance for a thunderstorm at any given location. Rain-snow lines will hover near 6000-7000 feet today, falling overnight, where heavier showers could bring snow as low as 4500-5500 feet at times. * Tonight and into Friday, there is a strong signal for the heavier showers to focus across north central Nevada, especially for Pershing County north of Lovelock. Elsewhere, shower activity will be more isolated in nature. * Yet another round of rain and snow showers arrives Saturday with the main focus in the Sierra and northeast California. * Roadway snow accumulation tends to be difficult this late into the season, but is still possible in heavier bands of snow and during the overnight hours. If you have travel plans through the Sierra, check with CalTrans and/or NDOT for the latest on road conditions. * Breezy southwest to west afternoon winds are expected each day today through the weekend. The greater concern is stronger winds from any thunderstorms that may develop, particularly across the west-central Nevada Basin and Range today. * High temperatures will remain 5-15 degrees below normal through the weekend, but at this point low temperatures in lower elevation valleys should remain above freezing. The one time frame to potentially watch is Saturday night into Sunday morning when typically colder valleys could fall near the freezing mark, with a 10% chance of dipping below freezing. Hard freezes are anticipated for all mountain valleys.
Weather Alert

...Cooler, Unsettled Weather this Week... * A slow moving low pressure system will provide daily chances for a mix of rain, snow, and pellet showers this week. A few thunderstorms will also be possible each day (20-30% chance). * Be prepared for snow showers in the Sierra. While warm road temperatures and the early May sun angle may limit accumulations on paved surfaces, bursts of heavy snow and/or snow occurring during the overnight hours could bring travel impacts to mountain passes. * Expect gusty southerly winds to develop through mid-week with the strongest winds targeting portions of Churchill, Mineral, Lyon, and Mono Counites with potential crosswind travel impacts to US-395 and US-95. * Temperatures will dip down 5 to 10 degrees below early May normals through this week. * Additional low pressure systems may track across the region by next weekend which could yield continued cool and breezy conditions. This may yield more rain and snow showers with snow levels remaining around 5500 to 7000 feet.
Health officials and virus experts are keeping a close eye on a new subvariant of omicron thats been reported in nearly 30 countries and is growing its presence in the U.S.

Nicknamed Arcturus, and technically referred to as XBB.1.16, the strain is behind an estimated 12 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., up from 7.4 percent the previous week, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. Judging by patterns seen in other countries  especially India, where XBB.1.16 is more widespread  Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, predicts the subvariant will outpace the current dominant strain in circulation (XBB.1.5) and take the lead by summer.

What this means is that we could see another surge of infections over the coming months, Binnicker says. However, he suspects this new wave will not be as bad as previous ones, like when omicron and delta first burst onto the scene.

A big reason: There is a high level of existing immunity in the population, either [from] prior infection or from vaccination, Binnicker says. This immunity reduces the risk of reinfection, or severe illness if a person is infected, though the CDC notes that protection does wane some over time.

More recently, health officials gave the all-clear for adults 65 and older and immunocompromised individuals to get a second bivalent booster to restore diminished protection. These updated vaccines, which first became available in September 2022, target both the original strain of the coronavirus and two omicron strains no longer in circulation. Data show the bivalent vaccines have been effective against other omicron subvariants that have emerged, and Binnicker predicts that will hold true with XBB.1.16.


Quarterly Activities Report

Sydney, April 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd ( ASX:MNS ) ( U1P:FRA ) ( MNSEF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to present its Quarterly Activities Report and overview of operations for the period ended 31st March 2023 ("Quarter", "Reporting Period").



Key Highlights



- Signed offtake with Tier 1 OEM EV manufacturer underpinning the Anode Active Materials (AAM) and Nachu projects



- Shortlisted sites identified for the AAM facility and indicative proposals received from landlords



- Finalisation of selection and commercial negotiations with engineering and project services firm to support the design and engineering of the AAM facility



- Fund raising completed via a Pre-Payment Subscription Agreement for $25m in Tranche 1 and the potential for a further $25m in Tranche 2



- Local Tanzanian firms engaged to assist the financial and legal advisers with international transactional experience in the mining and metals industry in Africa to further the fund raising for the Nachu Graphite Project



- Detailed negotiations on the final framework agreement continued with the Government of Tanzania



- Magnis' Lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility operated by Imperium3 New York Inc ("iM3NY") continued the external certification (UN38.3) process to allow for transportation of cells in large quantities.



*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/7YJ4XLXB





About Magnis Energy Technologies Limited





Magnis Energy Technologies Limited (ASX:MNS) (OTCMKTS:MNSEF) (FRA:U1P) is involved in and has strategic investments in several aspects of the electrification supply chain including manufacturing of green credentialed lithium-ion battery cells, leading edge battery technology and high quality, high performance anode materials. The company's vision is to enable, support and accelerate the green energy transition critical for the adoption of Electric Mobility and Renewable Energy Storage.
Build up warehouse facilities in Los Angeles, USA and guarantee delivery efficency



Quarterly Update

Sydney, April 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Haodex Limited ( NSX:HAO ) is pleased to update the market on its activities for the quarter ended 31 March 2023.



Updates on BulkBuyworld



BulkBuyworld is a wholesale and retail e-commerce marketplace that allows users and businesses to purchase and sell high quality goods online. BulkBuyworld enables merchants to set up an online store similar to the operation of Amazon and sell products from Chinese factories directly to customers in the USA. On the Bulkbuyworld marketplace, Haodex generates revenue from sales commissions, membership fees and product listing fees.



Haodex has developed different entry levels for the channel partner to facilitate the channel partner programme, with more than 200 channel partners. The programme has wide coverage in six provinces in China and Sydney, Australia. Haodex has channel partners in the following geographic areas: Sichuan, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hainan province.



Haodex assists the strategic channel partner to develop premium merchants, which have export facilities and capability to increase the popularity and facilitate the development of manufacturers and merchants for the platform.



Merchants on the platform have the option to easily sell in bulk with wholesale pricing structures simply displayed on their listing. Customers can access both retail and wholesale listings of the platform through the simple app design. This development will bring Bulkbuyworld closer towards a one-stop-shop app, and will attract merchants and manufacturers to the platform.



For the quarter ending 31 March 2023, Bulkbuy received revenue of $1.66 million Chinese Yuan (AUD$354k).



Bulkbuyworld rebrand to Meccle



In order to successfully launch to the US market, Bulkbuyworld has rebranded the brand and app to Meccle.com and will be launching a new logo, app design and domain. A shorter brand name will help with easier brand recall and will be instrumental to the marketing activities in the US.



Bulkbuyworld sets up warehouse facilities in Los Angeles, USA



Bulkbuyworld has partnered with Bondex Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd (Efficiency International LLC) who will provide Bulkbuyworld with US warehouse storage service, dispatch, air freight and delivery services to customers. Bulkbuyworld is now ready to start dispatching goods from the US to provide customers with 2-4 day delivery time.



*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2V36RFP7





About Haodex Limited





Haodex Limited (NSX:HAO) is an Australian company focused on forward thinking online platforms and global projects.

Haodex owns 78% of and operates 2 omnichannel marketplaces, being MonkeyKing Australia (www.monkeykingaustralia.com) and BulkBuy (www.bulkbuyworld.com), and owns 100% of a short term Chinese accommodation hosting business, Franks Haus (www.frankshaus.com).

MonkeyKing is an online e-commerce platform which sources Australian products from Australian suppliers to distribute to consumers in Asia, mainly China.

BulkBuy is a wholesale e-commerce marketplace which allows users to participate in group buying deals. BulkBuy enables merchants to set up an online store and sell products directly to customers at wholesale prices by allowing several customers to participate in group buying deals (crowd-ordering).

Franks Haus is an online platform for leasing private properties, mainly for short term accommodation, in China. The platform will attract tourists


Quarterly Activities Report

Perth, April 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - QX Resources Ltd ( ASX:QXR ) is pleased to provide the Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report.



HIGHLIGHTS



- Follow-up RC drilling program completed at the Turner River hard rock lithium project, with a further 10 holes for 1130 metres. Final assay results of the RC program are awaited.



- Maiden drilling in December 2022 highlighted the presence of pegmatites and potential lithium rich micas, based on visual observations.



- Turner River is in a prime location in the Pilbara, 15km south of Mineral Resources' Wodgina lithium project.



- Strategic $600K investment in unlisted Bayrock Resources Limited which owns 100% of two highly prospective projects in northern Sweden:



o The Lainejaur project (Ni-Cu-Co) hosts an historical underground nickel mine which produced ~100kt at 2.2% Ni in the prolific Skelleftea Mineral Belt. In 2018, Carnaby Resources Limited ( ASX:CNB ) estimated a Mineral Resource Estimate in compliance with the JORC Code standards of 460Kt @ 2.2% Ni, 0.7% Cu, 0.15% Co and 0.65g/t Au; and



o The Northern Nickel Line project (Ni-Cu-Co) is a 340km2 project consists of five exploration permits over areas favourable for nickel-copper-cobalt in Northern Sweden.



- Diamond drilling commenced at the Lainejaur project. Bayrock funding will be bolstered by a planned pro-rata offer to its existing shareholders, which will be underwritten by QXR.



- Sold cash balance of $2.65m plus investments of ~$1m at 31 March 2023 after ~$600k Bayrock Resources Limited commitment



COMMENTARY



Managing Director Steve Promnitz said: "QXR continues to make good progress. Demand for high quality battery minerals remains strong with new legislation in the USA and EU bolstering demand. This is our key reason for supporting battery minerals focussed Bayrock Resources Limited which is exceptionally, well positioned in Europe with nickel-cobaltcopper projects, in a jurisdiction that has a long mining history. We look forward to sharing more on Bayrock's progress. With respect to QXR's exploration activities, we continued to experience drilling delays at the Turner River lithium project in the Pilbara and in receiving complete assays. We have only undertaken a small body of work here and a more comprehensive program across our broader portfolio is warranted. Weather conditions in Queensland have improved and we expect to be able to reschedule drilling at the highly prospective Red Dog gold project where we have encountered high grade gold mineralisation from previous trenching."



Executive Chairman Maurice Feilich added: "QXR has continued to expand its portfolio of assets in line with its strategy of having exposure to multiple commodities so we can capitalise accordingly. Bayrock is a good example of this and we have every confidence that we can unlock considerable value from this investment. Our asset base has lots of optionality and we anticipate a more active works program this year. We look forward to updating shareholders more regularly as the year unfolds."



*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/Z5Z4K4J4





About QX Resources Ltd





QX Resources Limited (ASX:QXR) is focused on exploration and development of battery minerals, with hard rock lithium assets in a prime location of Western Australia (WA), and gold assets in Queensland. The aim is to connect end users (battery, cathode and car makers) with QXR, an experienced explorer/developer of battery minerals, with an expanding mineral exploration project portfolio and solid financial support.

Lithium portfolio: QXR's lithium strategy is centred around WA's prolific Pilbara province, where it has acquired a controlling interest in four projects through targeted M&A - all of which sit in strategic proximity to some of Australia's largest lithium deposits and mines. Across the Pilbara, QXR's regional lithium tenement package (both granted or under application) now spans more than 350 km2.

Gold portfolio: QXR is also developing two Central Queensland gold projects - Lucky Break and Belyando - through an earn-in agreement with Zamia Resources Pty Ltd. Both gold projects are strategically located within the Drummond Basin, a region that has a >6.5moz gold endowment.


Quarterly Activities Report

Melbourne, April 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) ( CHKMF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide an update in relation to the exploration activities carried out during the March 2023 quarter.



Highlights



- Significant Cu-Au-Ag intersections reported for HWDD07 which extended the strike length of the Bluebush Fault to 500m.



- Significant Cu-Au-Ag intersections reported for HWDD08 with subsequent renaming as the Horse Well Fault Prospect.



- A major technical review was undertaken for Pernatty C supporting the potential for a significant zinc deposit.



- A major mineralising structure at Pernatty C was identified and named the Giles Waterhole Fault.



- Annual Technical Joint (Combined) Report was completed for the Olympic Domain tenements.



- Annual Reports and Expenditure Statements lodged for Mt Gordon, Mt Cobalt and Success tenements in Queensland.



- A further program of work was formulated for the Pyramid Lake gypsum project.



*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/4J59IGM3





About Cohiba Minerals Limited





Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK.

The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia.


Open Briefing

Melbourne, April 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Bluechiip Limited ( ASX:BCT ) ( 1BL:FRA ) Open Briefing with Managing Director, Andrew McLellan.



Increasing customer & laboratory numbers, growing pipeline, North American team expansion and quarterly sales and cash flow progression.



Record of interview:

openbriefing.com



The March 2023 quarter was very strong in terms of new orders, new customers and especially new laboratories which were +92% versus the December 2022 quarter, but it was slower in terms of sales and cash receipts than December 2022 quarter. Can you walk us through the normal lag between adding customers and orders vs receiving sales and cash?



MD

The growth in customers, laboratories serviced, orders received, and our expanding pipeline of opportunities is pleasing. As we grow the sales force, we expect to see the pipeline to keep growing and an acceleration in the conversion of the pipeline.



This customer base underpins our long-term, recurring revenues. Just to remind you, our business model is to install our Bluechiip Enabled Readers and Software solutions into customers sites and to see repeat sales of Bluechiip Enabled consumables to those customers. So, while we build our customer base the revenue numbers and cash receipts will be lumpy, however over time the revenue stream will become more consistent as it is increasingly driven by re-orders of consumables from our installed customer base.



Looking at the timing of the conversion of orders into cash, the typical cycle from pipeline lead to quote to receiving an order is 3 - 6 months, and the subsequent conversion from a sales order into cash is typically 60 - 90 days. Our current order book is consistent with this, primarily reflecting orders that are due for delivery in the next two to three months.



In terms of what our new orders look like, we are seeing two main types. The first is up-front orders that enable the customer to start operating with our Bluechiip Advanced Sample Management Solutions. These orders include equipment and installation, being our readers and our software, plus the initial orders of consumables, being Bluechiip Enabled cryolabels and cryovials. The second type of orders that we are now seeing is customers' ongoing and even forward-ordering consumables that we will deliver over time.



openbriefing.com

Looking at the pipeline, how does it compare to 3 - 6 months ago in terms of size and breakdown, including new customers and reorders?



MD

The pipeline is dramatically larger than 6 to 12 months ago, and that's come from building up the US sales team, attending more trade shows, and building presence in the market. This includes some reference sites which we can utilise to help us build that pipeline.



Our limiting factor for sales growth currently is that we do not have enough sales and implementation staff. Hence, we are expanding our USA Sales team so we can convert the pipeline opportunities and orders more rapidly. This means getting customers up and running by installing equipment, training customers and implementing processes within customers' standard operating procedures.



In the presentation that we released to the ASX last week, we highlighted that we have around a dozen quotes in the marketplace. That is dramatically higher than just 6 to 12 months ago and, as discussed earlier, the typical conversion time from a quote ranges from 3 - 6 months. We are working hard to shorten that cycle time.



openbriefing.com

Can you walk us through the growth in your North American sales and implementation team, the opportunity they are addressing and how quickly you expect to see this reflected in pipeline conversion into sales?



MD

Currently, we have four people on the ground in North America, as we have had for the last 12 months, and we aim to build that to around 10.



That small team has delivered strong growth in customers and sales. As we build the team out to 10, we expect to see an acceleration of the pipeline growth and subsequent conversion into sales.



Underpinning our confidence around near-term conversion is that we already have a solid pipeline for the new sales people to execute on, including a dozen quotes. We also expect our sales and implementation teams to become more efficient over time, with an upskilling timeframe of 3 - 6 months, which should see pipeline growth and conversion remain strong.



Looking at the make-up of the team, it comprises both sales people that directly target new customers, "landing" new accounts and laboratories, and Field Product Specialists, who "expand" within accounts to ensure that customers are both well-trained and that their processes are embedded with the Bluechiip system.



Importantly, we also now have reference sites, such as the New York Psychiatric Research Institute based in Columbia University which we announced last week, which our sales people can highlight to prospective customers.



openbriefing.com

Looking at BCT's recurring revenue base, you now have 25 labs as customers, almost double the 13 you had in December 2022 and 5 times what you had in December 2021. What's the normal time from when a customer first installs your system to them reordering your consumables? Is there any seasonality and what percentage of customers have reordered so far?



MD

Several labs have already re-ordered, some multiple times. A good example is a big pharma company, which we can't name, which is ordering EUR4,000 to EUR6,000 of product each month. This is for one laboratory, and the company has multiple laboratories across the globe.



We are also seeing some customers re-ordering every 2 - 3 months.



The reorder cycle will become smoother and more predicable as customers get their Bluechiip systems up and running and built into their standard operating procedures. We are also encouraging these customers to put in place standing orders. We expect to see an increasing portion of these in the near future.



openbriefing.com

Where in terms of market segment and geography did the 92% increase in customer labs come from?



MD

In terms of geography, the focus is North America. We're seeing a lot of activity in the northeast corridor and California.



We recently announced the partnership and order with New York Psychiatric Institute and we also have customers north of Boston and through that northeast corridor. Southern California is another key hotspot for activity, especially in cell therapy.



In terms of market verticals, we have a good toehold in the cell therapy market, with a number of customers. We are also seeing customers in the CRO, or Clinical Research Organizations, that are providing cell manufacturing capabilities and clinical trials. And there are pharma companies both as existing customers (one very large one) and in our pipeline.



The New York Psychiatric Research Institute, is a very good win for us. Part of Columbia University, it is a traditional research facility. Columbia is an Ivy League institution based on Manhattan and is a fantastic reference site for us. We are very pleased to have our partnership with them as a customer.



openbriefing.com

Andrew, during the quarter you also released a major update to the software that is an integral part of the Bluechiip system which your clients install. What does this update do and how does it add further value to clients?



MD

We are continually building our customer offering, which also helps us to maintain momentum in uniquely meeting the needs of our customers.



This software update includes features that drive further productivity and quality improvements and is based on direct customer feedback. It is called the Bluechiip Stream Sample Manager '23 Platform.



Bluechiip Stream(TM) Sample Manager '23 Platform is an advancement of our underlying software platform. Stream(TM) Sample Manger operates across our Bluecube server and is accessible on both PC's and hand held devices, such as iPads, and it is also embedded within our readers to provide a seamless solution to our customers to identify their valuable samples, tracked using Bluechiip enabled and labelled consumables.



The features include: optimised capacity and sample inventory management; increased reporting; Intuitive user interfaces; streamlined sample generation; integrated label generation; and integrated temperature reporting for complete temperature traceability. Some of these features are offered in modules that we package and sell as additional optional features.



openbriefing.com

The FujiFilm Irvine Scientific licence and development agreement was executed in October 2021. Can you update us on the status of that project and converting it into a supply agreement?



MD

The FujiFilm Irvine Scientific project is progressing well. We are working closely with FujiFilm Irvine Scientific towards a product that is customized and branded for Fujifilm, utilizing Bluechiip's core technology including our readers and software, which will also have "Bluechiip-enabled" branding.



We expect this project to convert to a supply agreement as the project progresses.



openbriefing.com

Net cash burn for the quarter was $647k, down from cash burn of $1.187m in the December 2022 quarter. What were the key drivers?



MD

Cash inflow for the quarter was a mixture of cash from customers, a drawdown on an R&D tax advance facility where we have a $650k standby facility from which we drew down $400,000 during the quarter. We drew down the remaining $250k post 31 March.



An average quarterly net cash burn of around $1m is what we have been trending towards and what we expect to see for the medium term. We expect rising cash receipts from rising sales, albeit with a 60 - 90 day lag which will be offset by increased cash costs as we build the North American sales team.



As the customer base grows and those customers make repeat orders, be it monthly, quarterly etc, and we convert these laboratory customers to a consistent flow of orders, then we expect to see the cash burn decline and turn positive.



openbriefing.com

Cash at the end of the quarter was A$323k, and post 31 March BCT drew down the remaining $250k of a $650k R&D tax advance facility. Do you expect any cash receipts from R&D tax credits or the Supply Chain Resilience Grant in the June 2023 quarter?



MD

In terms of the R&D tax refund we don't expect any receipts from that in the June quarter. We do expect that to come through in Q1 or Q2 of FY24. In terms of the Supply Chain Resilience Grant, we do expect some cash inflow in this quarter and of course we are seeing rising cash receipts from customers including some very recent deliveries which will be reflected in the June quarter numbers.





About Bluechiip Limited





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Bluechiip's unique patented technology is a MEMS-based wireless tracking solution that contains no electronics. It represents a generational change from current tracking methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D), and Radio Frequency Identification. Bluechiip tags are either embedded or manufactured into storage products such as vials or bags. Each product can be easily identified, and critical information such as sample temperature, is detected by readers and stored in the Bluechiip software. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the Bluechiip(R) Advanced Sample management solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting.

Bluechiip's technology has applications in healthcare, including in cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories), pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Other key markets include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation.

Bluechiip: Delivering confidence in every sample.
The Journals weekly captions contest allows readers to create a clever meme out of a photo we select from Journal photographers or our wire service.

The latest in military war machines are wind-powered submarines. They arent very stealthy, but they never run out of power.

 MARK YARNELLE, Albuquerque

Dateline Scotland: Low water levels finally reveal the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster.

 GORDON SARGENT, Tehachapi, Calif.

Having covered every available square inch of New Mexico with wind turbines and power lines, California utilities begin their inexorable march toward Hawaii.

 WILLIAM BENTON, Albuquerque

Sure, its easy to get through them in low tide, but in high tide it gets dicey.

 LINDA SOLOMON, Albuquerque

A re-incarnated Don Quixote finds himself a boat, and three more windmills to tilt at.

 TODD TIBBALS, Albuquerque

Donald Trump sails the Pacific looking for a new location for to build Trump Towers in international waters  tax haven.

 DWAYNE ARGAUD, Albuquerque

Well, with these mandated electric boats we were fortunate to have made it to this charging facility. Hopefully we can go another 60 nautical miles to reach the next one, otherwise we will be lost at sea.

 ALBERT SALAS, Albuquerque

With global warming, they installed these fans to keep the ocean cool and the boats moving.

 MICHAEL PACHECO, Albuquerque

Here we are folks, your witness protection hidie hide new home. Pick one.

 JERRY M. ULLOM, Albuquerque

OK, get out the sails. When these things start, we should make great time.

 STEVE MCLARY, Las Cruces

Be careful on this route. Those things can really mess up radio reception.

 RAY REEDER, Albuquerque

The little boat easily wins the first annual windmill slalom race.

 LINDA KAY LIVINGSTON, Albuquerque

This weeks challenge

How do mice get out of these things?
During recent weeks I have received from several of my heritage and second language students emails, texts, Facebook posts and links to news articles in the April 9 New York Times and April 12 Santa Fe New Mexican discussing the loss of New Mexican Spanish. Unfortunately, the backstory of how or why this loss of Spanish  which has existed for 425 years in New Mexico  occurred was ignored.

Prior to and after statehood in 1912, a fierce debate emerged regarding the exclusive use of English at all educational levels  see newspapers from that period. The ensuing English-only movement contributed to the gradual loss of Spanish heritage and native languages (Taos News, April 13). As a result, Hispano and Native students, including my parents, were forced to learn English at the expense of their home languages. This led to internalized vergAenza (shame) carried by subsequent generations. In the 1980s, educational and political policies designed to weaken heritage languages re-emerged with force as the official English movement, led by Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California and Dr. John Tanton, a Michigan ophthalmologist, environmentalist and population-control activist.

This opinion piece is based on my personal and professional experiences as a heritage language speaker, a sociolinguistic researcher and the former coordinator of the University of New Mexicos Sabine Ulibarri Spanish as a heritage language program.

In my formal study of Spanish at university, professors expressed disdain toward my home language with a firmly delivered, ANo, no se dice! (do not say) or AEse es un barbarismo! (that is barbaric). This experience compelled me to research and build on immerging methodologies introduced by Guadalupe Valdes, Erlinda Gonzales-Berry and Rosaura Sanchez. These methodologies were designed to meet the needs of our students and communities that had been virtually silenced in their home language. The core of this practice is revitalization and preservation of native language, culture and traditions.

In the creation of this new methodology, I drew upon interviews I conducted, first on womens language for my dissertation, and later from the 110 interviews I completed for the Spanish Language of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado Linguistic Atlas. Many of the interviewees told of experiencing corporal punishment for speaking Spanish in the classroom and the playground. Their stories motivated me to create teaching practices that validate and decelerate the loss of traditional New Mexico Spanish. Thus, if we are to speak of loss of Spanish in New Mexico, we must also address the issue of maintenance. An understanding of the backstory will contribute to the revitalization of the heritage languages of our New Mexico communities.

Espanol, Nuestra Herencia, Nuestro Tesoro! (Spanish, our heritage, our treasure!)
STREETLIGHT REPORTING JUST GOT MORE COMPLICATED: After recent columns included how to report a streetlight outage as well as a reader unhappy thats apparently the publics job, Steve shares this recent encounter with PNM:

A neighbor and I noticed a couple of weeks ago there is a street light on our corner, NE addresses, that is continuously on 24/7, not off. I contacted PNM through the chat option and gave the specific location. PNM said to contact Albuquerque 311 as the light belongs to the city and provided a specific pole number.  PNM informed me most lights are serviced by the city. PNM only services lights paid for and located on residential property.  It was a frustrating chat with PNM. PNM said the best bet for a street light issue is to start off contacting 311 unless (its) a private light; then contact PNM.

And that confusion is the new standard operating procedure.

It used to be you went online (PNM.com/streetlights) or called (888 342-5766) to report a street light issue directly to the electric utility, PNM, and it would sort out ownership of the light(s) in question internally.

Now, according to Eric Chavez with PNM Corporate Communications, if a customer calls in an outage to the call center and that light is determined to be owned/maintained by the city, PNM will transfer the customer to the city and ask them to report it to them directly. If a customer chats online and the streetlight is city owned/maintained, PNM will ask the customer to call 311 and report the issue directly. We will give them as much info as is available  location, pole number, etc.  so their conversation with the city can be as seamless as possible. If customers submit a report online, the report will come to PNM, and if the streetlight is city owned, PNM will send that report off to the correct owner.

ABOUT THOSE LICENSE PLATES: With the Albuquerque Police Department crackdown on missing license plates and the state Legislature rejecting a move to require them in front as well as back of a vehicle, DV emails since we cant seem to get the two-license plate law passed, how about we change the sticker color we put on the rear plate every year or two? I see cars all over town with a tag from 2020 and such. Having the tag color change would also help out the police checking on expired plates more easily. Just my 2 cents.

Lawmakers?

MORE ON WHAT TEXAS DOES: A Texas reader says in an email for what its worth, I was stopped by a state highway patrolman back in December as my plate was faded. I went online and ordered a replacement plate and with the surcharge for using a credit card it was $12.05, which is considerably more than the $6.50 you cited. It seemed like a reasonable fee to me as my plate was almost 25 years old. You might want to double check to see what the fee really is as I have seen several different amounts published in different places.

I went to txdmv.gov and found submit the completed application for a replacement license plate(s) and/or registration sticker to your local county tax assessor-collectors office. Replacement fee is $6 plus 50 cents automation fee (total $6.50). Do not mail cash. The fees are not refundable. It could be that, as in New Mexico, some local offices add a fee or theres an online convenience fee.

BTW in New Mexico its $17 for that single replacement plate.

AND N.M.S LACK OF SAFETY INSPECTIONS: GM emails after the March 6 column that you clearly missed in your article that the city of Albuquerque does, in fact, REQUIRE car inspections every time you renew your plates. Try adding some facts.

Actually, Bernalillo County residents are required to get an emissions inspection every two years. There are no vehicle safety inspections in New Mexico.

Sean Donney in Sydney, Australia, shares by way of comparison, here in NSW, all vehicles more than a few years old have to be inspected every year. The inspection includes a braking test and a window-tint darkness test, among other things. The inspector takes the vehicle for a short drive, too. Im guessing some U.S. states would have a similar approach. It is a real nuisance each year, but it does get most of the unsafe vehicles off the road.

4-WAY STOP A WIN: And C. Miller emails I have a positive comment and big thank you to the city of Albuquerque. The corner of Washington Street and Copper now has a much-needed four-way stop instead of a traffic light. Thank you for this improvement.

Editorial page editor DVal Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109.
NEW YORK (AP)  Recent turmoil in the banking industry may have you worried about your money.

Officials announced Monday that they closed San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, making it the third U.S. bank to collapse in the past two months. Most of First Republics assets are being acquired by JPMorgan.

First Republic had wealthy clients who rarely defaulted on their loans. But the vast majority of deposits were above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC, meaning they were uninsured. And that worried analysts and investors who were worried that if First Republic were to fail, its customers might not get all their money back.

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which catered mostly to the tech industry, both collapsed in March under similar circumstances.

The First Republic deal announced Monday means customers will be able to access all of their money, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. First Republic branches will change to JPMorgan Chase branches and First Republic customers will become JPMorgan Chase customers.

Heres what you need to know:

IS MY MONEY SAFE?

Yes, if your money is in a U.S. bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and you have less than $250,000 there. If the bank fails, youll get your money back.

Nearly all banks are FDIC insured. You can look for the FDIC logo at bank teller windows or on the entrance to your bank branch.

Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.

If you have over $250,000 in individual accounts at one bank, which most people dont, the amount over $250,000 is considered uninsured and experts recommend that you move the remainder of your money to a different financial institution, said Caleb Silver, editor in chief of Investopedia, a financial media website.

If you have multiple individual accounts at the same bank, for example a savings account and certificate of deposit, those are added together and the total is insured up to $250,000. (Read on for more about how joint accounts are protected.)

Federal officials have been taking steps to make sure other banks arent impacted.

You shouldnt be too concerned about your money if its in one of the bigger banks, and even in some of the regional banks and the credit unions, Silver said.

ARE THERE RED FLAGS I SHOULD LOOK FOR WITH MY BANK?

If you are worried about your bank closing in the near future, there are some things you can watch out for, according to Silver:

 Watch the stock price.

 Keep an eye on the quarterly and annual reports from your bank.

 Start a Google alert for your bank in case there are news stories about it.

You want to make sure you pay close attention to the way your bank is behaving, Silver said.

If theyre trying to raise money through a share offering or if theyre trying to sell more stock, they might have trouble on their balance sheet, said Silver.

Public companies, including banks, do sell shares or issue new ones for various reasons, so context matters. First Republic did so this year when the hazards it faced were well known, and it kicked off an exodus of investors and depositors.

SHOULD I LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES?

If you have more than $250,000 in your bank, there are a few things you can do:

 Open a joint account

You can protect up to $500,000 by opening a joint account with someone else, such as your spouse, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, a financial services company.

A married couple can easily protect a million dollars at the same bank by each having an individual account and together having a joint account, McBride said.

 Move to another financial institution

Moving your money to other financial institutions and having up to $250,000 in each account will ensure that your money is insured by the FDIC, McBride said.

 Do not withdraw cash

Despite the recent uncertainty, experts dont recommend withdrawing cash from your account. Keeping your money in financial institutions rather than in your home is safer, especially when the amount is insured.

Its not a time to pull your money out of the bank, Silver said.

Even people with uninsured deposits usually get nearly all of their money back.

It takes time, but generally all depositors  both insured and uninsured  get their money back, said Todd Phillips, a consultant and former attorney at the FDIC. Uninsured depositors may have to wait some time, and may have to take haircut where they lose 10 to 15% of their savings, but its never zero.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR INSURED MONEY TO BE AVAILABLE IF A BANK FAILS?

Historically, the FDIC says it has returned insured deposits within a few days of a bank closing. The FDIC will either provide that amount in a new account at another insured bank or issue a check.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN BE INSURED IN JOINT ACCOUNTS?

If you have a joint account, the FDIC covers each individual up to $250,000. You can have both joint and single accounts at the same bank and be insured for each.

So if a couple each has individual accounts and a joint account where they have equal withdrawal rights, they can each have up to $250,000 insured in their single accounts and up to $250,000 in their joint accounts. That means each of them will have up to $500,000 insured.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER INVESTMENTS?

Customers should take a close look at the types of investments they have in their bank to know how much of their assets are insured by the FDIC. The FDIC offers an Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, a tool to know how much of your money is insured per financial institution.

FDIC deposit insurance covers:

 Checking accounts  Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) accounts  Savings accounts  Money Market Deposit Accounts (MMDAs)  Certificates of Deposit (CDs)  Cashiers checks  Money orders  Other official items issued by an insured bank

FDIC deposit insurance doesnt cover:

 Stock investments  Bond investments  Mutual funds  Life insurance policies  Annuities  Municipal securities  Safe deposit boxes or their contents  U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, or notes  Crypto assets

HOW DOES A CREDIT UNION COMPARE TO A BANK?

Both credit unions and banks allow customers to open savings and checking accounts, among other financial products.

The key difference is that credit unions are not-for-profit institutions, which tends to translate into lower fees and lower balance requirements, while banks are for-profit. Sometimes it also means that its easier for credit union customers to be approved for loans, McBride said.

Usually, customers are allowed to join credit unions based on where they live or work.

Credit unions serve a smaller number of customers, which also allows for a more personalized experience. The tradeoff is that banks tend to have larger staff, more physical branches and newer technology.

When it comes to the safety of customers money, both banks and credit unions insure up to $250,000 per individual customer. While banks are insured by the FDIC, credit unions are insured by the NCUA.

Whether at a bank or a credit union, your money is safe. Theres no need to worry about the safety or access to your money, McBride said. ___

Associated Press Writer Ken Sweet contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  A widening manhunt for a Texas gunman who fatally shot five neighbors continued coming up empty Sunday as officers knocked on doors, the governor put up $50,000 in reward money and the FBI appeared no closer to catching the killer after nearly two days of searching with a team that has grown to hundreds of people.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town of Cleveland, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

The search for the gunman near Houston has grown in scale: Authorities said that by Sunday evening more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions were searching for Francisco Oropeza, many of them going door to door in hopes of any clues that would lead to the 38-year-old suspect. Local officials and the FBI also chipped in reward money, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information about Oropezas whereabouts.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspects neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Another of Garcias children, 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, was also killed. Garcia said he and two other people had gone to respectfully ask Oropeza to shoot his gun farther away from the house, which is on a street where residents say it is not uncommon for neighbors to unwind by firing off guns.

Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It was 10 to 20 minutes later when he said he saw Oropeza loading his AR-style rifle while running toward the house.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,' Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because, He wont fire at me. Im a woman.'

Authorities have said at least five other people who were in the house at the time were uninjured.

During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as the doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspects wife multiple times.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Were looking for closure for this family, Capers said.

By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around the victims home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.

In the neighborhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door.One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside before letting the driver continue on his way.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary, she said. You never know where he can be.

Pineda said she didnt know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there about five or six years and that neighbors have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

The victims were between the ages of 9 and 31 years old and all were believed to have been shot from the neck up, according to authorities. All were believed to be from Hondurus.

Enrique Reina, Honduras secretary of foreign affairs and international cooperation, said on Twitter that the Honduran Consulate in Houston was contacting the families in connection with the repatriation of remains as well as U.S. authorities to keep apprised of the investigation.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records. Authorities had also previously stated that Garcias son was 8 years old, but the father and school officials said Sunday that the third grader was 9.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said. He said they were staying with family members.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe those at the home were members of a single family. In addition to the young boy, the other victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Garcia said they had called police five times between the time they asked Oropeza to shoot farther away and when the gunman entered their home. Capers said police got there as fast as they could and that he had three officers covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).

___

A previous version of this story, based on information from the FBI, incorrectly stated the age of Daniel Enrique Laso as 8 years old. His father said the boy was 9 years old.

___

Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
California-based psychologist Dr. Rick Q. Wilson got the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after the agency learned he would travel to New Mexico only once or twice a month to see patients  yet he was the states No. 2 prescriber of Xanax and other benzodiazepines.

Wilson relinquished his ability to prescribe controlled substances in New Mexico as part of a December 2020 settlement with the state Board of Psychology Examiners and no longer practices here.

But the DEA has spent the past two years trying to get him to turn over medical and prescription records for 41 of his patients, 17 who died of the toxic effect of drugs within one month of filling Wilsons prescriptions for controlled substances, federal court records show.

One other patient whose records the DEA requested died of a heart condition, with drug toxicity of multiple drugs as a significant contributing factor, within one month of filling a diazepam prescription.

And two additional patients who died of the toxic effect of drugs or complications due to acute and chronic substance use had also filled controlled substance prescriptions written by Wilson within a month of their deaths.

Because the prescribed drugs werent found in their systems, the DEA believes the patients were selling the controlled substances or trading them for other drugs, according to a recent ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Judith Herrera of Albuquerque.

The government is seeking Wilsons patient records to ascertain whether his prescribing of controlled substances was medically appropriate.

Wilson declined, through his daughter, Ajna Wilson, to be interviewed for this story because she said he wants to respect the legal process.

His attorney didnt return a Journal request for comment last week.

In a phone interview on Friday, Ajna Wilson said her father is now 72 and retired.

She said her father has cooperated with the governments requests for documents.

Opioids are a huge issue. We need people like my dad, Ajna Wilson said. Ive seen the terrorism hes had to endure by the prosecuting and investigatory agencies that are after him.

Large doses prescribed

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Mexico, which oversees the case, declined to comment last week.

But court documents show:

The state Board of Psychology Examiners filed a notice of possible disciplinary action against Wilson in February 2020 citing formal complaints received.

The board, which oversees licensing and disciplinary matters of psychologists, alleged that evidence showed Wilson had established a pattern of practice that falls outside of the standard of care, which endangers individual patients/clients.

Wilson repeatedly and without sufficient documented justification prescribed large doses of benzodiazepines, particularly Xanax, often in conjunction with Ambien, to patients who were suffering from addictions to opiates or other controlled substances, or who were receiving treatment for substance abuse disorders via suboxone or methadone, the board notice alleged.

The board also accused him of failing to reach out to the patients regular medical providers, and of repeatedly prescribing medications without taking reasonable measures to ensure that the prescribed medications will not result in harm to the patient.

Benzodiazepines are sedative drugs and include, among others, Xanax, Valium and Ativan. Wilson also prescribed several other controlled substances including the sedative/hypnotic Ambien, a DEA investigator wrote in a declaration earlier this year.

Wilson decided to forgo a hearing on the matter before the board, and denied the violations alleged.

To settle the matter, he agreed to cease to be a prescribing psychologist, relinquish his DEA license and his controlled substance license with the state Board of Pharmacy.

Fighting a subpoena

Up until December 2020, when he relinquished his prescribing authority, he saw patients once or twice a month through his corporation Neuromental Health Services Inc., at 711 Encino Place, near Downtown, federal records state.

He lives in the Los Angeles area, according to a California Board of Psychology website, which showed his license there was active as of Friday.

Meanwhile, federal court records in Albuquerque show the DEA is investigating Wilson for possible civil violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act, but the agency has been stymied in obtaining all the documents it seeks.

For instance, a DEA subpoena was issued in April 2021 seeking a list of all of Wilsons patients in the prior five years and prescriptions he wrote for them.

This is relevant to determine the percentage of patients to whom Respondent (Wilson) prescribed controlled substances. Doctors who prescribe controlled substances to a large portion of their patients are more likely to be prescribing them improperly.

The subpoena also asked for patient files, prescriptions, communications and any other documents related to a subset of 41 patients identified by the DEA. Twenty of the patients had died, and the remaining 21 came to the DEAs attention through other investigative efforts, according to an opinion by Herrera on April 19.

The DEA wanted billing and receipt records for the 41 patients, contending that when doctors dont accept insurance and accept only cash or cash equivalents for payment, records state, it is indicative that the doctors are prescribing the controlled substances for improper or illegal purposes.

Wilson and his attorney argued the subpoena was too broad and violated patient confidentiality laws, the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment.

Court records show that Wilson turned over patient records for all but six of the 41 patients, and had previously produced some other records for 35 patients.

But he didnt produce a list of all patients in the last five years and the controlled substance prescriptions he wrote for each patient, federal records allege. He also didnt produce any other records requested for the 41 patients, according to court records.

Respondent also produced files that were locked and could not be opened without a password, stated DEA diversion investigator Shirley Scott in an declaration to the court. Wilson refused to provide the password, she wrote, and after significant delay, it became apparent that Respondent would not produce the responsive documents in a manner accessible by the DEA or provide the password for the documents.

Ultimately, Herrera, in her April 19 ruling, granted the governments request to enforce a narrower version of the subpoena. She also decided that to better protect patient privacy, the documents produced would be placed under seal with access limited to the U.S. Attorneys Office, DEA agents involved and an expert retained by the government for the case. It wasnt clear last week if Wilson would comply.
Next week, the Albuquerque Community Foundation is giving back  to the very organizations that give back.

For the 10th year, the grantmaking foundation is hosting its Great Grant Giveaway, an annual luncheon which supports nonprofits around the city by awarding grants.

This year, seven nonprofits, which were recommended by their peers, will receive funding from the organization. Each nonprofit represents one of the foundations seven fields of interest: economic & workforce development, animal welfare, arts & culture, environmental & historic preservation, health, education and human services.

Last year, the event raised $218,525 for four local nonprofits  breaking the organizations record for the event. But ABQCF president and CEO Randy Royster said this year will be even bigger.

Its fitting for our 10th anniversary of the Great Grant Giveaway to be our largest year yet, said Randy Royster, president & CEO of ABQCF in a press release. Its been a momentous year for the Foundation, and after nine years, were ushering in a new era of collaborative and equitable grantmaking in our community.

This years awardees range from a fowl conservation group to a dance company. The awardees are:

 Albuquerque Adult Learning Center

 Hawks Aloft

 Keshet Dance Company

 New Mexico Tribal Resilience Action Network

 Not Our Farm

 Together for Brothers

 Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico

The recipients will be celebrated at a Friday, May 12 luncheon at Hotel Albuquerque. Lunch starts at 11:15 a.m. The Albuquerque Journal is a sponsor of the event.
Stephen Goldman, right. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Julio Almentero. (Aldolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Jimmie Atkins, right. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 3 Next

A judge sentenced three men to two consecutive life sentences each Monday in the 2018 beating and shooting deaths of two teenage boys on the West Mesa.

The sentence requires Stephen Goldman Jr., 23, Jimmie Atkins, 26, and Julio Almentero, 18, each to serve 60 years in prison before they become eligible for parole.

Second Judicial District Judge Stan Whitaker said that a lesser sentence would diminish the lives of the two boys who were killed.

Tragic and horrific are good descriptions of this case, Whitaker said at a sentencing hearing Monday. And unnecessary. I cant see why this had to happen.

A jury found each of the three men guilty Feb. 27 of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery and other charges.

The two boys, Ahmed Lateef, 14, and Collin Romero, 15, were found buried in a remote location in Sandoval County about two weeks after their disappearance in December 2018.

Nobody wins here, Whitaker said. Families who will have to mourn and grieve these two young people who were tragically tortured and killed will have a life sentence of that memory. For the families of the defendants here, its the same.

Prosecutors told jurors throughout the trial that the two boys appeared to have been tortured before they were killed.

Lateef was shot 19 times and Romero at least nine times, and not all of the gunshots were fatal, Chief Deputy District Attorney Natalie Lyon told jurors. Autopsies also revealed numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises on the boys bodies.

Jurors also were shown Snapchat videos taken by Atkins from the front seat of a car. The videos showed Almentero beating the two boys in the back seat as they drove west on Interstate 40 en route to the West Mesa.

Amanda Kimbrel, Collin Romeros mother, highlighted the violent nature of the killings in her statement to the judge.

This is all I have left of him, Kimbrel said, holding her sons ashes. I am broken, your honor. Nothing can change that. A mother should never outlive her child under any circumstances, but the way I lost my son is nothing short of horrific.

Kimbrel and other family members asked the judge to sentence each defendant to two consecutive life sentences, saying that the brutality of the killings argued against leniency.

Stephen Goldman, Jimmie Atkins and Julio Almentero appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner, Kimbrel said. They murdered two children for their own amusement. They brutally killed two boys. Why should they be shown mercy when they couldnt show mercy to two young boys.

The judge also heard a written statement from Ahmed Lateefs mother, Yasameen Al Abdulaziz, read by a family friend.

Life is so hard now and I feel hopeless, the statement said. A mother can never get over something like this. I dont feel like I can trust anyone anymore.

Defense attorneys had argued during the trial that the boys most likely were killed by Anthony Aragon, who testified during the trial that he helped bury the boys bodies in a remote area west of Rio Rancho after they were killed.

A judge last year sentenced Aragon, 40  Almenteros uncle  to six years in prison for helping conceal the boys bodies.

Prosecutors alleged that the events that led to the boys deaths began when Ahmed Lateef arranged to buy a firearm from Goldman.

When Goldman asked why Lateef needed a gun, the boy responded that he had been robbed by that white boy Flex  a nickname for Atkins, who was a close friend of Goldmans, prosecutors told jurors.

Goldman, Atkins and Almentero then conspired to take revenge against Lateef and picked up the two boys with that intention, resulting in their deaths, prosecutors said.
CORDOVA, New Mexico (AP)  Ever since missionaries started building churches out of mud 400 years ago in what was the isolated frontier of the Spanish empire, tiny mountain communities like Cordova relied on their own resources to keep the faith going.

Thousands of miles from religious and lay seats of power, everything from priests to sculptors to paint pigments was hard to come by. Villagers instituted lay church caretakers called mayordomos, and filled chapels with elaborate altarpieces made of local wood and varnished with pine sap.

Today, threatened by depopulation, dwindling congregations and fading traditions, some of their descendants are fighting to save these historic adobe structures from literally crumbling back to the earth they were built with.

Our ancestors put blood and sweat in this place for us to have Jesus present. This is the root of my faith, said Angelo Sandoval on a chilly spring day inside the 1830s church of St. Anthony, where he serves as mayordomo in his native Cordova. Were not just a church, were not just a religion  we have roots.

From the local dirt theyre made of to the generations of family memories they hold, these churches anchor a uniquely New Mexican way of life for their communities, many of which no longer have schools or stores, and struggle with chronic poverty and addiction.

An estimated 500 Catholic mission churches remain in northern New Mexico, where the Rocky Mountains taper off into desert mesas to the west and endless plains to the east.

Its becoming increasingly difficult to find the necessary investment  hundreds of thousands of dollars, plus specialized conservation skills and families willing to serve as mayordomos  to preserve them, especially since most are used for only a few services each year.

Its truly a labor of love, said the Rev. Rob Yaksich, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in Las Vegas, New Mexico, which oversees 23 rural churches, most in adobe, spread over a large territory. When the faithful generation is gone, are they going to be a museum or serve their purpose? This old, deep-rooted Spanish Catholicism is experiencing serious disruption.

Fidel Trujillo is mayordomo of the pink-stuccoed San Jose church in the hamlet of Ledoux where he grew up. With his wife and other family members, he keeps it spotless even though only two Masses per year are celebrated here regularly.

Our antepasados (ancestors) did a tremendous job in handing over the faith, and its our job now, Trujillo said in the characteristic mix of Spanish and English that many speak in this region. While hes also active in the main parish in the nearby town of Mora, he brings his children, 6 and 4, as often as he can to San Jose.

This serves as a retreat and grounding for us, he added. I much prefer coming to these capillas (chapels). Its a compass that guides where your heart really belongs.

Each mission church is devoted to a particular saint, for whom the community develops special veneration. When New Mexicos largest wildfire last spring charred forests close to the San Jose church, and Trujillo was displaced for a month, he took the statue of St. Joseph with him.

In the small town of Bernalillo, Catholic faithful have kept a vow to St. Lawrence for more than 300 years that includes one family each year setting up an altar with his image in their home  and making it available 24/7 to anyone who wants to pray.

They have knocked at my door at 2 a.m. and Ive let them in, said mayordoma Barbara Finley.

Her home is near the historic adobe Santuario de San Lorenzo, which the community fought to keep even though a larger church was built next door.

Four hundred years ago, life was very difficult in this part of the world, the remote inland frontier of the Spanish empire, explained Felix Lopez, a master santero  the artists who sculpt, paint and conserve saint figures in New Mexicos unique devotional style, born of historical isolation. People needed these santos. They were a source of comfort and refuge.

In intervening centuries, most were stolen, sold or damaged, according to Bernadette Lucero, director, curator and archivist for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which has inventories of its hundreds of churches since the 1600s.

But how much these expressive sculptures and paintings still matter to local communities is evident where they survive in original form, as they do at the mission churches in Cordova, Truchas and Las Trampas on the mountain road from Santa Fe to Taos.

Saints are the spiritual go-to; they can be highly powerful, said Victor Goler, a master santero who just completed conserving the altarpieces, or reredos, in Las Trampas mid-18th century church. Its important for the community to have a connection. Their feeling is a lot deeper and thats what keeps it going.

On a recent Sunday at Truchas 1760s Holy Rosary church, Lopez pointed out the rich decorative details that centuries of smoke and grime had hidden until he meticulously removed them with the absorbent inside of sourdough bread.

Im a devout Catholic, and I do this as meditation, as a form of prayer, said Lopez, whos been a santero for five decades and whose family hails from this village perched on a ridge at 7,000 feet (2,100 meters).

A few miles down the valley in Cordova, Jerry Sandoval  another santero and the mayordomos uncle  says a prayer to each saint before starting to sculpt their image out of pine, cottonwood or aspen. He then paints them with natural pigments  purple is made of crushed bugs, for example  and varnishes them with the sap of pinon, the stocky pine tree that dots the countryside.

He also helped conserve the colorful, centuries-old reredos at the local church, where many children come back for traditional Christmas and Easter prayers  giving both Sandovals hope that the younger generations will learn to be attached to their church.

They see all this, Jerry Sandoval said in front of the richly decorated altarpieces from St. Anthony church. Lots of people call it tradition, but we call it faith.

For the Rev. Sebastian Lee, who as administrator of the popular Santuario de Chimayo complex a few miles away also oversees these mission churches, fostering local attachment is a daunting challenge as congregations shrink even faster since the COVID-19 pandemic.

I want missions to be where people can taste culture and religiosity. Theyre very healing, youre soaked with peoples faith, Lee said as pilgrims filed past his tiny adobe-walled office into the main sanctuary at Chimayo. I wonder how to help them, because sooner or later one mission is not going to have enough people.

The archdioceses Catholic Foundation provides small grants, and several organizations have been founded to help conservation efforts.

Frank Graziano hopes his non-profit Nuevo Mexico Profundo, which supported the Cordova conservation, can obtain the necessary permit from the archdiocese to restore the 1840s church of San Geronimo. Deep cracks break apart its adobe walls and bug nests buzz in a gaping hole by one of the windows.

The surrounding village, in a wide valley in the shadow of Hermit Peak, is almost entirely depopulated, making it unlikely that the community will step in for the necessary upkeep. Exposed to rain and snow, adobe needs a fresh replastering of dirt, sand and straw every couple of years lest it dissolve.

That makes local buy-in and some kind of ongoing activity, even just funerals, fundamental to long-term preservation, said Jake Barrow, program director at Cornerstones, which has worked on more than 300 churches and other structures.

When volunteers started fundraising for the mission in Truchas, the community suspected it would be turned into an art gallery, said mayordoma Aggie Vigil. They came around when she shared the dream to make the old adobe church, then unstable and infested with gophers, viable for Mass again.

But with fewer priests and fewer faithful, taking some rural missions off the churchs roster might be inevitable, said the Rev. Andy Pavlak, who serves on the archdioceses commission for preservation of historic churches.

We have two choices: Either return to the community, or back to the earth they came from. We cant save them all, said Pavlak, who for nearly a decade ministered to 10 churches in Socorro County, the oldest from 1615. The adobe is made from the earth. Adam and Eve were made from the earth. Were all going to the earth. How do we do it with dignity?

Running his hand over the smooth adobe walls he restored at the 1880s Santo Nino de Atocha chapel in Monte Aplanado, a hamlet nestled in a high mountain valley, Leo Paul Pacheco argued that the answer might hinge on the faith of lay people like him.

He and his son belong to one of the many brotherhoods, known as penitentes for their devotion to penance and prayer for souls in purgatory, that historians credit with fulfilling the churchs role of religious and social work when frontier dangers kept priests away.

The brothers still help set a model as their county struggles with unemployment and the drug crisis, Pacheco said. We lift our community in prayer. What we do is to highlight and share aspects of community that bring bonds.

Longer term, it will be up to future generations to leverage their faith to save these historic churches.

They still have access to the same dirt, Pacheco said as the adobe walls sand particles and straw sparkled in the sun. They will provide.

-

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.
New Mexico State Police officers and deputies from the Sierra County Sheriffs Office were involved in a shooting south of Truth or Consequences Sunday night.

State Police posted on Twitter about the shooting but gave no other details, including how it unfolded or what started the incident. It said it occurred near State Road 152 and State Road 187, which is near the Caballo Reservoir.

Suspect was transported to an area hospital, the post said. Officer and Deputy are ok. Details are limited.

State Police said more information would be released when its available.

Correction: This post has been updated to correct the time when the shooting happened.
SANTA FE  Proposals to modernize New Mexicos Legislature by paying lawmakers a salary and extending legislative session lengths fell short of the finish line during this years 60-day session.

But the administrative arm of the Legislature is moving forward with a study on the possibility of creating field offices and full-time staffing for all 112 lawmakers.

Funding for the study  up to $2.5 million  was included in a bill paying for session expenses that did win approval, and Legislative Council Services Director Raul Burciaga said Monday the framework of a contract that will be opened to outside vendors could be finalized in the coming weeks.

Some legislators expressed interest in helping craft the request for bidders, while top-ranking lawmakers said they would like to see the process move quickly.

We dont want this to be delayed more than it needs to be, House Speaker Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said during a Monday meeting of the Legislative Council, a bipartisan group of high-ranking legislators.

New Mexico is currently the only state in the nation in which legislators do not receive a salary, though they do get a per diem payment  currently set at $210 per day  thats intended to cover food and lodging expenses. They can also qualify for a legislative pension plan.

In addition, only lawmakers in leadership positions have year-round offices, though staffers in such offices work for all members of a given caucus. That leaves many rank-and-file legislators to rely on colleagues and lobbyists for technical information on bills.

Backers of the idea of allowing each legislator to a field office and a full-time staffer say it could help them to research issues, respond to constituent queries and attend more community meetings.

Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said during Mondays meeting her House district that stretches from Reserve to Belen is among the largest legislative districts in the nation if not the largest.

But some Republican lawmakers, including Armstrong, voted against the session funding bill in January, saying money for the study should have been included in a separate budget bill.

Once its completed, the report could provide estimates about the cost and feasibility of offices and staffing for each legislator.

Lawmakers would then have to approve funding for the effort in a future legislative session.
HBO TV

The former 'Shake It Up' actress loves filming her HBO hit television series in Italy although she struggles a bit to spend months away from her loved ones.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Haley Lu Richardson feels blessed to be part of "The White Lotus" cast. The 28-year-old actress feels particularly thankful to Mike White, the creator of the comedy-drama show, and Haley revealed that she really loved filming the series in Sicily, too.

"I would just open my eyes and look around and we were on some Sicilian cliff during the sunset, and I'd be like, 'Wow, I'm like really, truly fortunate right now to just be here,' " she recalled to E! News.

"Not just working on this show, but I've been dying to work with Mike for years and the show is such a unique, incredible show to be a part of. Those moments were honestly probably the most incredible for me to just remember to be present and how lucky I am."

On the other hand, Hayley recently confessed that she struggles to be away from her family when she's shooting the show. The HBO series follows a group of vacationers at a resort chain, and the show films in a different location each season.

The actress told Brit+Co, "I think I've always kept them in that like top priority spot. It's harder in those moments - I didn't see them for four or five months. But because they are such a huge priority for me - and I never really lose track of those connections even when I'm away - I feel their love, I feel them supporting me from afar, and I'm there for them as much as I can be from afar."

"It's kind of not even really a thought of how to keep time for them because it's more so in my mind, how do I do all the other stuff in my life like work, and travel, and all these obligations? Like, how do I fit that in around my actual life, which is these connections, these people that I truly love?"

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The 'Back to the Future' actor discusses in details his difficult struggles with multiple health problems that include Parkinson's disease and tumor among others.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Michael J. Fox is worried death is "banging on the door." The Parkinson's stricken "Back to the Future" actor, 61, has struggled with the disease for more than 30 years and says he is also scared he may not reach the age of 80.

"I'm not gonna be 80," he told "CBS Sunday Morning". He replied, "Yeah, it's, it's banging on the door," when Journalist Jane Pauley told Michael his illness would one day "make the call" as to when it's his time to go. He went on, "I'm not gonna lie. It's gettin' hard, it's gettin' harder. It's gettin' tougher. Every day it's tougher."

Michael also told how he had surgery to remove a benign tumour on his spine, but said the procedure "messed up" his ability to walk, so he started to "break" other parts of his body, including his arm, elbow, face and hand.

He stressed the "big killer" of Parkinson's is falling over, with "aspirating food" and "getting pneumonia" also potentially deadly risks of the illness. The actor added they were all part of "subtle ways" the disease "gets ya." He said, "You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. So so I've been I've been thinking about the mortality of it."

Michael, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's aged 29 and has since becoming a leading campaigner for more research into the illness, declared in December 2021 he did not fear death. He told AARP magazine, "I'm really blunt with people about cures."

"When they ask me if I will be relieved of Parkinson's in my lifetime, I say, 'I'm 60 years old, and science is hard. So, no.' I am genuinely a happy guy. I don't have a morbid thought in my head - I don't fear death. At all."

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In a latest scathing interview, the estranged father, sister, and brother of Duchess Meghan suggest they will never stop doing media interview unless she agrees to reconciliation.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle has been slammed by her dad for "killing and mourning" him. Thomas Markle, 78, has been distanced from his 41-year-old daughter since she married Prince Harry, 38, in 2018, and he has told ahead of King Charles' coronation on May 6 how he refuses "to be buried by her."

"I refuse to be buried by her... is it worth getting rid of her father? I wish that we could sit down and talk. I wish we could work out our differences. I think Harry should take the lead here and try and put us together some way. I think he could help," Thomas told 7NEWS Spotlight about how she "killed me and then she mourned me."

Along with being estranged from her dad after he reportedly staged paparazzi photos ahead of her wedding, Meghan hasn't spoken to her sister Samantha or brother Thomas Jr. since her 2018 marriage.

The trio featured together in a 7NEWS chat, in which former Hollywood lighting director Thomas also said he wants to "make amends" with Meghan and see his two grandchildren for the first time before it is "too late."

He added, "She loved me. I'm her hero. And suddenly I was thrown out... we were close all her life. From the sixth grade on, she lived with me. And I got her through high school. I got her through college."

Thomas wasn't visited by Meghan after he had a massive stroke at his home in Mexico in 2022, and his son Thomas Jr. asked during the TV interview, "If that doesn't move her, what would?"

Samantha, 58, hit out at Meghan - who has children Archie, three, and 22-month-old Lilibet with Harry - as "toxic." She said, "I don't think she's capable of empathy, remorse, or shame. I don't think she could feel enough to apologise."

Samantha also claimed there was "something missing in their eyes" at Meghan and Harry's wedding and hit out, "She would still be a waitress if it wasn't for dad."

7NEWS Spotlight's Liam Bartlett asked the trio, "How's this for a hypothetical? Meghan rings you tomorrow, Thomas, and says, 'Let's get together and talk with Harry.' But the condition is that all three of you never do another media interview ever again, full stop."

Thomas replied, "Well, I would agree to it if, indeed, it was a real get-together." Samantha added, "If it was mutual. In other words, if paid PR, if there was some guarantee that that paid PR machine wasn't going to be talking about us." Thomas Jr. joked, "Is this where she's going to come walking out one of the doors?"

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Thomas Markle claims he tried to 'protect' her by choosing not to release some parts of the letter she wrote to him because they were so cruel and hateful.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle's dad has labeled her letter he infamously leaked "horrible, insulting and cruel." Thomas Markle, 78, who has been distanced from the Duchess of Sussex, 41, since her marriage to Prince Harry, 38, in 2018, sent an edited version of the five-page message from her to the Daily Mail in 2019 - which led to her getting 1 in damages after she and Harry sued the publication for invasion of privacy.

"The Queen never read this letter because... it was a horrible letter. Very insulting and cruel," he told 7NEWS Spotlight in an interview alongside Meghan's estranged brother and sister, Thomas Jr. and Samantha, about the 1,250-word note.

He added there was more in the letter he chose not to release because it was so "hateful and cruel." Thomas said, "The other things in that letter are so hateful and so cruel, that I wouldn't put it out. That's to protect her."

Meghan told in the fifth episode of her "Harry & Meghan" Netflix docuseries she had gone to the Queen for advice over her dad's interviews about her, and it had been decided by the late monarch and the then-Prince Charles she should write him a letter.

She said her dad speaking out had become "very embarrassing for the family" and "a problem that needed to be solved" and claimed the royals "wanted me to make it stop."

Meghan added, "And of course, I reached out to Her Majesty and was like, 'This is what's going on. What do you want me to do? I want . . . whatever advice you have.' " She then said, "But ultimately, it was suggested by the queen and the Prince of Wales (now King Charles) that I write my dad a letter."

Thomas told the Mail at the time he released parts of the letter - which accused him of exploiting Meghan's relationship with Harry - it felt like a "dagger to the heart" that left him "devastated." He said, "This is not the girl I know. It's not the way she talks. This letter is cold. When she signs off it's 'Meg.' You read the way it ends and it felt like a final farewell to me."

Thomas and Meghan's relationship fell apart after he reportedly arranged a set of paparazzi pictures ahead of her wedding to Harry, and his interview comes less than a week before the prince is due to travel to Britain for King Charles' coronation.

Meghan, who also has 22-month-old daughter Lilibet with Harry, will be staying at their mansion in California as the May 6 event clashes with their son Archie's fourth birthday.

The Markle family's 7NEWS Spotlight chat also included their release of unseen childhood videos and photos of Meghan while she was growing up in Los Angeles, such as never-before-seen footage of the star as her high school's homecoming queen, at dance lessons and enjoying weekends by a lake.

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The 52-year-old 'Top Chef' judge has been facing heavy backlash on social media for her attire while she's cooking up a storm in kitchen tutorial videos.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Padma Lakshmi didn't mince her words when addressing people who criticized her body online. While attending the Time 100 Gala, the "Top Chef" star blasted trolls who criticize her anatomy while she's cooking up a storm in kitchen tutorial videos.

"I have boobs, I have nipples!" Padma, who looked stunning in a flowy dress featuring a high slit, told Page Six on Wednesday, April 26. "So does every woman and man on the planet."

The 52-year-old culinary macher went on to note, "I think we should just be a little more grown-up about it, and also just accept that a woman's body is beautiful and  not totally perfect and stuff and filtered and everything."

Padma has been facing heavy backlash on social media for her kitchen attire. Earlier this year, she slammed a fan who took offense when she joked around with her daughter Krishna about her own breasts. "As a mom of 4 daughters, there's a time and a place and when it starts making our daughters uncomfortable because we are being objectified, time to take notice," one social media user wrote.

In response to that, Padma said, "First if [sic] all it's a JOKE. And my daughter isn't uncomfortable with me or my boobs or my posts, nor does she read these comments unless I show her because she isn't on social media."

Back in 2020, the "Tomatoes for Neela" author also clapped back at haters who criticized her for going braless while recording a cooking demonstration. "(I got some comments last time that it was immoral for me to not wear a bra in my own kitchen during the quarantine," she captioned an Instagram video of herself making lasagna. "So those people should be happy to note that I'm wearing two today) But seriously, let's not police women's bodies in 2020 ok?"

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The former 'Love and Hip Hop: New York' star claims she is not fooled by Internet gangsters who try to poke fun at others while they used to be at the receiving end of bullying.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Cardi B isn't impressed by people who are putting on fake persona online just to troll others. The Bronx femcee has called out social media users who tend to put on "mean girl persona" on the Internet, calling them "nerds in high school."

Having been dealing with tons of haters, the 30-year-old took to Twitter to share her message to those Internet gangsters. "That mean girl persona y'all put on for the internet don't fool me," so she posted on Friday, April 28. "I can tell y'all were NERDS in high school."

Someone agreed with Cardi, speculating that those Internet trolls most likely sat alone at the lunch table. To this tweet, Cardi replied, "LmAOooo naaa it just be so cringe watching kids ,grown woman/Men be on some nasty stank ish on the internet when you was getting your face smushed In the hallway MIRRORING the exact same people you use to HATE !"

Cardi B called out Internet gangsters.

It's not clear why Cardi called out the Internet thugs, but her tweet arrived after she defended a woman who was mocked by a group of girls while taking selfies at a Houston Astros game. In a TikTok video, the woman shared that she lost her confidence after two girls sitting two rows behind her began taunting her and flashing the middle finger in her direction while laughing up a storm.

"Watch my confidence disappear after these random girls make fun of me for taking pics," she wrote at the beginning of the clip. Zooming on the girl flipping the bird, the user asked, "was this necessary." She admitted that she "wanted to cry" after realizing those women were talking about her.

"I would of put that ring to use," Cardi responded on Twitter, referencing the huge bling that the TikTok user was sporting in the clip.

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In related news, the 'Vanderpump Rules' star reacts to Roy Wood Jr., who hosts the event, making jokes about Ariana's ex Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal with co-star Raquel Leviss.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Ariana Madix raised some eyebrows with her new Instagram Story post. The "Vanderpump Rules" star posted a group photo taken at a kickoff party for the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Friday, April 28, but fans noticed that the reality TV star cropped Meghan McCain out of the picture.

While fans thought that Ariana was being shady towards the former "The View" co-host, Ariana's representative called it a misunderstanding and the elimination of Meghan was "inadvertent." The Bravo personality's manager explained to Page Six, "I can tell you without a doubt that there is no agenda with this post whether political or otherwise. It's just how the post came out."

Meghan also posted the same picture on her Instagram page. The snap, which featured Lala Kent, Rebecca Romijn, Jerry O'Connell and NBCUniversal EVP Jennifer Geisser, saw Meghan standing just a few feet away from the Bravo star when the picture was taken. "When Bravo meets The Beltway!" so Meghan wrote in the caption.

Meghan also claimed that there's no bad blood between her and Ariana. "I had a wonderful time with Ariana, Lala and DailyMail.com. I can't believe I'm commenting on something so ridiculous," she noted to the news outlet. Ariana herself took to her Instagram Stories to clarify the "difference between a main feed and a zoomed IG story," adding, "We all know how aspect ratios work."

In related news, Roy Wood Jr., who hosted the event, made jokes about Ariana's ex Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal with co-star Raquel Leviss. While talking about Tucker Carlson's recent exit from FOX News, the Daily Show correspondent quipped, "Scandals have been devouring careers this year. Tucker got caught up. Got caught up like that dude from 'Vanderpump Rules'." Ariana seemed to love the joke as she was seen laughing while covering her mouth in an NBC News video.

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The 'Boss B***h' rapper is sued by a woman who claims he still owes her $25k after agreeing to a $35k hush money to keep her pregnancy a secret from his fiancee Tori Brixx.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Rich the Kid has broken his silence after he is slapped with a lawsuit over unpaid hush money. The Queens native has spoken up after a photo of him visiting a woman he allegedly paid to keep her pregnancy a secret surfaced online.

In a screenshot taken from a Ring camera, the "Feelin' Like Tunechi" emcee was seen standing in front of the woman's door. After The Neighborhood Talk posted the picture, Rich the Kid jumped in the comment to call a cap on it, writing, "S**t is a bunch of [a cap emoji" with several face with tears of joy emojis.

The photo emerged after a woman, who goes under the alias Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Rich the Kid in a Massachusetts court. The woman claimed she met the rapper when he held a private event at a hotel in Boston following his concert in January of this year.

At the post-concert event, they allegedly "engaged in unprotected sexual relations at the request" of Rich the Kid. The lawsuit also states, "On Jan. 28 and Jan. 29, Rich the Kid assaulted Doe, aggressively and without permission, touched Doe and attempted to prevent Doe from leaving the Boston, Massachusetts hotel."

Rich the Kid is accused of having "violently grabbed Doe and removed her coat to prevent her from leaving the hotel" and that the rapper committed battery against Doe. The woman left the hotel but was allegedly followed by Rich the Kid, who entered Doe's Uber.

Doe let Rich the Kid stay in the Uber, which took them to the woman's place. There, they once again engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse, which resulted in Doe getting pregnant. In court docs obtained by Radar Online, she provided a photo of the hip-hop star outside her home on the Ring camera.

Doe said she wanted to keep the baby, but ultimately aborted it after conversing with Rich the Kid. She noted that he is engaged to Tori Brixx and he wanted to keep their sexual escapade under wraps from his fiancee. They allegedly entered into a settlement with her and he agreed to pay her $35,000 on March 29.

The suit states, "Desperate to keep his sexual encounters with Doe a secret from Brixx, in addition to having Doe (1) forgo a claim for assault and battery and to (2) forgo Doe's contemplation of taking her pregnancy to full term, RTK and Doe entered into a Settlement Agreement ('Agreement') executed on March 29-30, 2023, which provided for financial payments to Doe by RTK."

Rich the Kid reportedly signed off on the deal but only made two payments and still owes Doe $25,000. In the lawsuit, she accused the 30-year-old of violating the terms of their deal and demanded he pay the rest of the money.

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The Cassian Andor depicter was worried the prequel series to 'Star Wars' spin-off 'Rogue One' would suddenly fall apart because the show was 'too perfect' to be real.

May 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - Diego Luna was afraid "Andor" would never "see the light of day." The 43-year-old actor takes on the titular role of rebel spy Cassian Andor in the limited Disney+ series, and he admits the show seemed "too perfect" to be real and always had an inkling something would go wrong and it wouldn't get released.

"I always had a feeling that this wasn't gonna see the light [of day] till it did. I kept going, 'This is too perfect. This is working.' The whole idea, I always thought, 'That's impossible,' " he told The Hollywood Reporter.

He went on, "Throughout the whole process, we did exactly what we thought was best. We never prioritised anything but the show. The writing took the time it needed to take, and we got the best cast you can have. So everything just kept getting better and better, and I always had the feeling that something had to go wrong. But it didn't."

The show is a prequel to the "Star Wars" spin-off "Rogue One" (2016), in which Diego made his debut as Andor, and the "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" star admits he's so "fortunate" to work on a show with talented people.

He added, "You keep hearing in this industry that this is impossible and that this doesn't happen. I grew up thinking that the cinema and the art I love was not popular, but this is a show I love. This is a show I would recommend as the audience, not just as the actor or a producer."

"It wasn't just the opening. Many times throughout the whole process, I found myself being impressed and surprised that this was happening. And I felt proud of it. Even today, I feel not just lucky, but fortunate to be a part of something like this and to be working with people I believe in."

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Thomas Markle seems to send a mixed message as he continues to blast Duchess Meghan while pleading for a reconciliation in a new interview with her half-siblings.

May 2, 2023

AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle's dad still plays her teenage home videos. The Duchess of Sussex, 41, has been distanced from her father Thomas Markle, 78, since her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, 38, after reports he staged a set of paparazzi pictures and then partially leaked a letter she sent him.

In a sit-down interview that included the release of footage of Meghan at high school, retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas told 7NEWS Spotlight that he still sits and watches them "now and again."

Thomas sat down with his son Thomas Markle Jr. and daughter Samantha for the chat, and the family joked about whether the chat was going to contain a moment when Meghan walked through a door for a TV reunion.

The camera pans to the front door of the Florida home where the trio gathered, and Thomas said, "She would be invited if she came walking out the door," Thomas says. "And Harry would be invited as well."

Despite suffering a stroke last year, Thomas says he hasn't seen Meghan or met her two children Archie, three, and 22-month-old Lilibet. The never-before-seen images and footage of the duchess as a teen showed her voted Homecoming Queen by her friends. She is seen waving to classmates before putting her hand over her mouth as she gets the honour.

The videos also show her performing on stage wearing a cowboy hat and costume. Thomas added, "Well, we were close all her life. From the sixth grade on, she lived with me. And I got her through high school. I got her through college."

He also accused Meghan in the chat of "killing and mourning" him by continuing their estrangement - but said he refuses "to be buried by her." Thomas said, "I wish that we could sit down and talk. I wish we could work out our differences. I think Harry should take the lead here and try and put us together some way. I think he could help."

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Launched in 2017, in this short span InsuranceDekho today reaches the masses of India by covering 98% of the pincodes and is present in 1,300+ cities across the country, catering to a huge number of first-time insurers. Apart from insuring India, it is also generating jobs for almost 1,500 employees today.

Ashish Lath heads the Enterprise business at InsuranceDekho, where he has been bringing an innovative multi-disciplinary approach to scale new businesses that leverages technology, culture, partnerships and digital networks to drive performance.

In conversation Adgully, Ashish Lath, Business Head, InsuranceDekho, speaks about expansion ambitions for InsuranceDekho, the companys USP and services, latest trends in the insurance industry, and more.

How does InsuranceDekho insure roughly 24 lakh Indians through Real Bharat each year at a rate of 10 Indians per minute?

InsuranceDekho is a leading Indian Insurtech, with a network of 80K+ partners in 98% pincodes across the country. By leveraging technology and a large team of professionals, InsuranceDekho has been able to streamline the insurance buying process and make it easier for people to find and purchase policies that meet their requirements. We make the right insurance products available to customers at the right place at the right time.

What are the companys USP and services provided to customers?

InsuranceDekho is a tech-first company providing the fastest and best-in-class platform for a seamless selling experience with an end-to-end digital journey to our advisor partners.

We also provide the best post-policy support and claims experience to all our customers with an overall NPS of 90+.

InsuranceDekho has many industry-first innovations, some of our USPs include:

AI/ML-based proprietary platform for self-inspection of the vehicles. MERN Stack microservices-based orchestrator to build low code platform for faster integrations with insurers. Best-in-class partner onboarding platform through CKYC with minimal documentation due to strong API integrations and smart technological interventions. Configurator to update underwriting rules engine and document engine as required by different products and insurers. ID is amongst the few Insurtechs who have been given underwriting approval rights by the insurers. Automated post-policy endorsement and 24*7 dedicated claims support

What issues has InsuranceDekho already resolved?

InsuranceDekhos vision is to insure every Indian. Through our robust technology platform, we have a presence in 98% pincodes in India enabled by our 80K+ partners. Today, InsuranceDekho is successfully insuring 10 Indians every minute. For our partners and customers, InsuranceDekho offers 400+ plans across the motor, health, life, and other general insurance products with 46 insurer integrations. Catering to the needs of our 80K partners, the company offers a full-stack digital platform that helps them unlock their efficiencies. InsuranceDekho is creating a tremendous impact at the grassroots level by not only providing income-generating opportunities for housewives, college students, and retired professionals, but also enabling them to lead independent lives. ID has built a scalable digital-first model to take insurance to the masses and we are moving comfortably toward achieving our vision.

What are the expansion ambitions for InsuranceDekho?

From a geographical perspective, we are currently present in 98% pincodes of India. We want to reach every town and village to enable every Indian to buy insurance conveniently. From a product perspective, we are expanding our offerings to include SME and embedded insurance.

What do you see as the dominating trends in the insurance industry in the year ahead?

The insurance industry is experiencing several new trends that are shaping the future of the sector. Digital transformation is a significant focus, with insurers investing in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, and data analytics to improve customer experience and streamline operations. Cyber insurance is also gaining traction as companies and individuals face an increasing threat from cyber-attacks.

Usage-based insurance is another upcoming area, with telematics and IoT technologies being leveraged to offer more personalised coverage.

Sustainability is also an important trend, with insurers incorporating sustainable practices into their underwriting and investment strategies.

Finally, collaboration is the key, with insurers forming strategic partnerships with Insurtechs and other companies to innovate and enhance their offerings.
After six months of beta-testing, Lemonade formally launches as a honestly priced luxury brand that sells wardrobe & home essentials. This marketplace brand has a high-quality at lowest price promise, backed by an industry-first retail model called manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C), significantly different from traditional luxury brands and the plethora of D2C businesses.

Ahead of the launch, Lemonade acquired a waitlist of more than 10,000 consumers and raised a $1m concept stage pre-seed round from several prolific investors globally to build out the infrastructure necessary to introduce a new model of commerce in Asia.

The business premise of Lemonade was born out of the fact that most global luxury brands source their product from India/China anyway via a complex supply chain, and thereon apply their wild markups. So, their product cost is not that high. In traditional partnerships between manufacturers and luxury brands, the former usually gets the short stick in the deal. The brands capture the majority of the revenue, leaving small margins to satisfy the manufacturers. Lemonade has created a new way forward for both manufacturers and consumers.

Lemonades innovative M2C model enables factories and manufacturers around the country to sell goods directly to consumers. Over the past couple of months, the company has curated a network of 10+ top-quality manufacturers across a variety of categories, from pure cashmere to modal satin, to poplin cotton, and 100% leather.

Before any item is sourced, Lemonade strictly vets each manufacturing partner on extremely tight and exact standards of production, examining prior certifications, quality control practices, craftsmanship and sustainability initiatives. Mostly, manufacturers who pass this inspection, already produce for well-known brands, such as Masimo Dutti, Galeries Lafayette, Ralph Lauren, Loro Piana & Hermes to name a few.

These luxury-level goods are then shipped directly to the customers, without following the traditional route of factories to middlemen to retail stores and so on. There are no labels, honest to goodness markups, and simply good stuff elevating your lifestyle. To build this direct supply chain, we architected a sophisticated infrastructure of point-to-point logistics across multiple vendors and carriers, using technology to make the ambitious vision of connecting makers and consumers a reality.

The brands asset-light M2C model is a radical reinvention in online retail, said Sambuddha Bhattacharya, Founder & CEO of Lemonade. Historically, retailers and manufacturers had misaligned, fragmented relationships. Lemonades approach aligns the interests of the factory looking for better margins, the consumer looking for a better price and value, and a retail industry desperately in need of whats next.

Over the past year, Lemonade has quickly built an impressive assortment of premium-quality products at unbeatable prices, he added. The consumer response has validated the market opportunity, and the brand is scaling 30% month on month.
Sandip Soparrkar's India Dance Week Season 7 was inaugurated on April 30, 2023, by the renowned Bollywood actress, Mandakini. The event kicked off with great enthusiasm, and the audience was thrilled to witness the inauguration by such a talented and celebrated actress.



Mandakini expressed her excitement and happiness for being a part of the event and said, "I am very happy as it's about dance, which I personally like a lot. Sandip is doing this for such a good cause, which itself is such a great thing. I and 100 others like me want to thank Sandip, who always thinks and assumes in life that they want to do something good, but are never able to do because of some other reason. They are not able to make it happen what they think, but he is doing what he wants, which is really a great thing, and being part of this, I'm feeling very good about it."



Sandip Soparrkar, the founder of India Dance Week, expressed his happiness for having Mandakini as the chief guest at the inauguration. He stated, "I'm very happy that Mandakini Ma'am came on the inauguration. I had messaged her saying that please come to my show as a chief guest, and within that one message and call, she agreed upon it and showed up for the event as the chief guest. Phoenix Market City, Mumbai, and India Dance Week welcome her and thanks for being part of this."



The event is a celebration of dance and aims to promote it as an art form. Sandip Soparrkar has always been passionate about dance, and through India Dance Week, he is providing a platform for dancers across the country to showcase their talent. The event is not only a celebration of dance but also a social cause, as Sandip Soparrkar is raising funds for various charities through the event.



During the media interaction, Mandakini was asked if the audience will see her on the big screen soon, to which she replied, "It's very soon for me to make any statement upon it, but let's hope for the rest."



Sandip Soparrkar concluded the event by reciting a beautiful poem by Gopalji, "Dukhman Nacho Sukhman Nacho Jeevan Hai Tata Thaiya Kona Jane Kab Ur Jaye Sanson Ki Chidiya Re" which translates to "Dance in joy, dance in sorrow, life is but a fleeting moment Who knows when the bird of breath will fly away."



The India Dance Week Season 7 promises to be a grand success, and the audience is looking forward to experiencing the magic of dance through this event.
NRF 2024: Retails Big Show Asia Pacific, the highly anticipated trade exhibition jointly organized by the National Retail Federation and Comexposium, is now open for sales and sponsorship opportunities. The event will take place June 11  13, 2024, at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore. With a 14,560 sqm trade exhibition, the event is expected to draw thousands of retailers and business partners from across the region.

NRF is expanding the footprint of Retails Big Show to Asia Pacific, one of the worlds fastest growing markets, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. Retails Big Show Asia Pacific is an opportunity to feature innovations spanning the entire retail industry from the in-store experience, supply chain, loss prevention and asset protection to

merchandising and immersive technologies.

We are happy to announce that the region is open for business and ready to embrace the energy and dynamism that the retail sector in Asia Pacific provides, NRF 2024: Retails Big Show Asia Pacific Project Director Ryf Quail said. The expo floor is now open for sponsorship and exhibitor bookings. Companies are encouraged to secure their spaces via the dedicated exhibitor booking form on the website or directly with a sales agent.

NRF 2024: Retails Big Show Asia Pacific was first announced at NRF 2023: Retails Big Show in New York City and has since garnered the support of retailer associations from across the region namely Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

As the retail hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore provides a gateway to Asian markets in the region, President of the Singapore Retailers Association Ernie Koh said. We are expecting a significant presence from international and regional trade sellers and visitors from across the retail industry in the Asia Pacific region. We look forward to providing an optimal setting as we welcome international trade sellers to Singapore in 2024.

Companies interested in gaining first-mover advantage are advised to book directly here or contact the nearest sales agent within their vicinity.

Retails Big Show Asia Pacific will complement NRF Retails Big Show, which is held in January each year at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

For more information, please visit nrfbigshowapac.com
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 01.05.2023 - Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the FDFA, will travel to New York from 3 to 4 May 2023. Switzerland holds the presidency of the UN Security Council this May. Mr Cassis will chair Switzerland's first flagship event at the Security Council on 3 May on the topic of 'building sustainable peace'. Also on the agenda are the Security Council's annual briefing on promoting cooperation between the UN and the OSCE and various bilateral meetings.

In May 2023, Switzerland will hold the presidency of the UN Security Council. The presidency's primary purpose is to ensure that Security Council business runs smoothly so that the council is able to function. Switzerland's one-month presidency will also allow it to focus on its thematic priorities for its 202324 membership and to give impetus to the Security Council's work.



On 3 May, Mr Cassis will preside over the first flagship event organised by Switzerland at the UN Security Council. The Security Council's debate will be held under the banner 'Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace' to advance one of the Swiss priorities in the Council, 'building sustainable peace'. The aim of the debate is to review and strengthen the Security Council's confidence-building approaches and instruments in order to build sustainable peace in the face of current and future challenges. At a time marked by multiple wars, Switzerland intends to initiate a critical and constructive debate on the state of the world and the obstacles that the international community must overcome. The aim of this debate is to strengthen international trust and ultimately to contribute to the promotion of peace. Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will be among those briefing the Security Council. Promoting respect for human rights and striving to strengthen them are at the heart of the work undertaken in International Geneva and critically important to building trust and sustainable peace.



On 4 May, Mr Cassis will chair the Security Council's annual briefing on UN cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE, whose partnership with the UN marks its 30th anniversary this month, is the world's largest regional security organisation. Russia's military aggression against Ukraine represents a major challenge both for Europe and for the shared values and principles of the OSCE. The briefing will provide an opportunity to exchange views on the OSCE's work in managing crises and finding common solutions for peace and security.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




The Federal Council

Bern, 01.05.2023 - As part of his state visit to Switzerland, Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi and his wife Neo Jane Masisi were received by the entire Federal Council on Monday, 1 May. This was followed by a meeting between President Masisi and a delegation from the Federal Council, led by President Alain Berset, on the development of bilateral relations and their respective positions on current global issues.

The Swiss government delegation at the official talks also included Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Both sides commended the marked progress in SwissBotswanan bilateral relations in recent years. A further step was taken on Monday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation.



Cooperation in the health sector has long been a central element of bilateral relations. The shared goal here is to strengthen global health protection and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Future activities will also include more cultural and economic exchange.



The Swiss delegation praised the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which Botswana ratified in February, as a milestone for economic integration in Africa, with significant potential for local companies as well. The Federal Council also noted the importance of sustainability clauses in order to successfully conclude the talks on modernising the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).



A significant share of Monday's talks was devoted to regional issues. Botswana's capital Gaborone hosts the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and relations with regional organisations such as the SADC constitute a focal point of Switzerland's Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy for 202124. The Federal Council delegation acknowledged the SADC's role in building regional capacity to strengthen multilateralism within Africa. Numerous international issues and challenges were also addressed, including the two countries' cooperation within the UN framework, issues of democracy and human rights, and the impact of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine on Africa.



Democratic traditions high on the agenda



In extending an invitation for a state visit, the Federal Council wished to express not only its resolve to seize the opportunities for political and economic cooperation with Botswana and develop relations with the African continent as a whole, but also its appreciation of the country's democratic traditions. One such example is the people's assemblies known as kgotlas in Botswana, comparable to the Landsgemeinde in Switzerland.



The similarities had already been noted during President Berset's visit to Botswana in February, which included a visit to a kgotla. As part of the return visit, President Masisi and President Berset attended the Landsgemeinde in Appenzell Innerrhoden on Sunday, 30 April. They also visited the Appenzell Kunsthalle, an art gallery housed in a former brick factory which is also an important industrial monument. The state visit concludes on Monday evening with the traditional gala dinner at the Bernerhof.

Address for enquiries

GS-FDHA Communications

Tel. +41 58 462 85 79

media@gs-edi.admin.ch

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html



Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch



Federal Chancellery

http://www.bk.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en



Federal Department of Home Affairs

http://www.edi.admin.ch




Straight Outta Compton is a biographical drama film that tells the story of the rise of the iconic rap group N.W.A. The film was released in 2015 and was directed by F. Gary Gray. It was a commercial and critical success, grossing over $200 million worldwide and receiving widespread acclaim for its performances, direction, and screenplay. Since its release, film fans have wondered whether they can watch Straight Outta Compton on Netflix.

In this article, well explore the availability of Straight Outta Compton on Netflix and other streaming platforms. Well also take a closer look at why the film is a must-watch and suggest alternatives for viewers who need help finding it on Netflix.

Background Information

Before we dive into the question of Straight Outta Comptons availability on Netflix, lets briefly examine the films background and production. Straight Outta Compton tells the story of the rise of N.W.A., a hip-hop group formed in the mid-1980s in Compton, California. The group consisted of Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. And they were known for their controversial and explicit lyrics that spoke to the realities of life in Compton.

Straight Outta Compton was released in theaters in August 2015 and was a critical and commercial success. It received widespread acclaim for its performances, direction, and screenplay. And it got nominations for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film earned positive reviews for portraying the social and political context in which N.W.A emerged, and its impact on popular culture.

Availability of Straight Outta Compton on Netflix

Straight Outta Compton is available on Netflix but with some caveats. The movie can stream on Netflix, but only in certain regions. As of this writing, the film is available on Netflix in Germany, Canada, and Australia. If youre not in one of these regions, you wont be able to watch the film on Netflix.

Which Countries Have Straight Outta Compton on Netflix?

Straight Outta Compton is available on Netflix in several countries, including:

Australia

Germany

Canada

Brazil

Norway

Japan

Greece

Mexico

Denmark

Sweden

New Zealand

However, its important to note that the availability of the film can vary from country to country due to licensing agreements. If youre not in one of the countries where this movie is available on Netflix, you may still be able to watch the movie on other streaming platforms or cable TV providers.

Alternatives to Straight Outta Compton on Netflix

If you dont have access to Netflix or Straight Outta Compton is unavailable in your country, there are other streaming sites where you can watch the movie. Some of the popular options include:

Amazon Prime Video: You can rent or buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon Prime Video. The rental price may vary depending on the location and the quality you choose.

Google Play Movies & TV: Straight Outta Compton is available for rent or purchase on Google Play Movies & TV. The pricing may vary depending on the location and the quality you choose.

iTunes: You can rent or buy Straight Outta Compton on iTunes. The pricing may vary depending on the location and the quality you choose.

Vudu: Straight Outta Compton is available for rent or purchase on Vudu. The pricing may vary depending on the location and the quality you choose.

YouTube: You can rent or buy Straight Outta Compton on YouTube. The pricing may vary depending on the location and the quality you choose.

How to Watch Straight Outta Compton on Netflix?

If youre in one of the regions where Straight Outta Compton is available on Netflix, heres how to watch it:

Sign up for a Netflix account if you dont already have one. You can do this by visiting the Netflix website and selecting Join Free for a Month. Search for the movie in the Netflix search bar. You can do this by typing the movies name into the search bar or browsing the Movies section. Click on the movie to start streaming. You can watch the movie on your computer, TV, or mobile device.

How Can I Watch Straight Outta Compton on Netflix from Anywhere?

If youre outside the countries where Straight Outta Compton is available on Netflix, you can still watch the movie using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN is a service that allows you to change your IP address and encrypt your internet connection. It can help you bypass geo-restrictions and access content unavailable in your region.

Heres how you can watch Straight Outta Compton on Netflix from anywhere using a VPN:

Choose a reliable VPN service with servers in countries where the movie is available on Netflix. Some of the popular options include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark. Install the VPN app on your device and sign in with your account credentials. Connect to a countrywide server where this movie is available on Netflix. For example, connect to a Canadian server to watch a movie on Netflix Canada. Once connected to the VPN server, open the Netflix app or website and search for this movie. Start streaming the movie on Netflix and enjoy!

Its important to note that using a VPN to access content unavailable in your region may violate Netflixs terms of service. Additionally, some VPN services may not work with Netflix, so you may need to try a few different servers or providers before you find one that works.

Why Straight Outta Compton is a Must-Watch

Straight Outta Compton is not only a gripping biographical drama, but it also has significant cultural and historical significance.

The film portrays the rise of N.W.A in the context of the social and political issues of the time, including police brutality, racial profiling, and the war on drugs. The movies portrayal of these issues resonated with audiences and sparked conversations about race, inequality, and police brutality.

In addition to its cultural and historical significance, Straight Outta Compton is well-crafted and compelling. The performances are outstanding, with OShea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, and Jason Mitchell delivering powerful and nuanced performances such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E, respectively. F. Gary Grays direction is masterful, and the screenplay by Andrea Berloff and Jonathan Herman is engaging and thought-provoking.

FAQs on Is Straight Outta Compton on Netflix

Is Straight Outta Compton available on Netflix in the United States?

This movie is not currently available on Netflix in the United States. However, it may be available on other streaming platforms or cable TV providers.

In which regions is Straight Outta Compton available on Netflix?

This movie is available on Netflix in certain regions, including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The availability of the film on Netflix can vary from country to country due to licensing agreements.

Can I watch Straight Outta Compton for free on Netflix?

No, it would help if you had a Netflix subscription to watch this movie on the platform. However, you can sign up for a free trial to watch the movie and other titles on Netflix.

Is Straight Outta Compton a true story?

Yes, Straight Outta Compton is based on the story of the rise of N.W.A., a hip-hop group from Compton, California, in the 1980s. The film portrays the experiences of the groups members, including Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E, as they navigate the music industry and social and political issues of the time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Straight Outta Compton is available on Netflix, but only in certain regions. The film is a must-watch for anyone interested in the history of hip-hop and its cultural impact. If you cannot watch the film on Netflix, other options are available, including renting or buying the movie on a platform like Amazon Prime Video or iTunes. Additionally, several other films and TV shows on Netflix explore similar themes and topics.
Dr. Darnold Treffert and colleagues published a study in the 1970 Archives of General Psychiatry on the rate of autism in Wisconsin. They found the autism rate to be 0.7 children per 10,000. That means Less than one autistic child for every 10,000 children. That was long before the 1986 law which exempts vaccine companies from liability for injuries and deaths caused by vaccines. Soon after that law was passed, the number of vaccines on the CDC schedule increased rapidly. It was like a gold rush. Producing vaccines became much more profitable without all those pesky lawsuits where the vaccine companies were forced to pay out serious money for injuries and deaths caused by vaccines.

Go to www.howdovaccinescauseautism.org . This website presents evidence from 212 scientific studies. Dont be intimidated by the scientific language. The abstracts are intentionally written to be understandable to nonscientists. Enjoy.

For those who want to read the science which implicates vaccines as the main cause of autism:

Head over to tobyrogers.substack.com UTobian for a deeper dive into the new autism rate. Scroll down to Newly released autism prevalence estimates show that the iatrogenicide is expanding. He explains how these numbers are collected and averaged from several areas of the country. Rogers also points out that boys are 3.8 times more likely to have autism than girls. Here is an interesting quote from that article: Every f*cking Democrat in California swore that vaccines were not linked to autism. They mandated one of the most extreme childhood vaccine schedules in the world for kids to go to school, and voila, 6.94% of boys in the state now have autism.

In 2021, the CDC told us that 1 in every 44 eight-year-olds had an autism diagnosis. The new 2023 CDC data tells us that 1 in every 36 eight-year-olds in the U.S. now has an autism diagnosis (2.8%). They express no alarm and dont characterize the increase in the rate of autism as a crisis. The CDC pretends to have no clue what could be causing so many children to become autistic. They appear to believe that having one autistic child for every thirty-six children is totally normal. It is important to realize that the CDC is firmly on the side of big pharma and the vaccine companies. They protect and promote the vaccine industry. The CDC is hiding evidence that vaccines are the main cause of autism.

The vaccine records and other health data of more than nine million Americans make up the VSD. Nine large Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) have been contributing this information since 1990. It is a great database that could be used to answer difficult questions concerning vaccine safety and the overall health of children. Unfortunately, this is not being done as you will see below.

Independent scientists are denied access to the VSD.

In the book Turtles All the Way Down (a truly great book on vaccines) on page 124, the authors make this clear: The CDCs Vaccine Safety Office manages the VSD system. It is inaccessible to outside researchers, healthcare professionals, and the general public. Researchers who wish to analyze VSD data must submit a formal request to the CDC detailing their research proposal and intentions. Only CDC-approved researchers gain access to the system Thus, data on the true magnitude of vaccine adverse events can continue to be concealed from the public indefinitely. Imagine what will happen when independent researchers are allowed to access the VSD system.

Are there enough unvaccinated children in the VSD to conduct a vaccinated versus unvaccinated autism study?

In the Turtles book on page 222, the authors address this issue: The IOM [Institute of Medicine] 2013 report mentions at least one information system (VSD) that has a large enough proportion of unvaccinated children to investigate differences in health outcomes of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. So yes, this study can easily be done using VSD data. It would be a retrospective study comparing thousands of fully vaccinated children with thousands of unvaccinated children to determine the rate of autism in each group. What do you think that study would tell us?

When Kennedy met with Trump:

After he was elected and before he took office, Trump asked RFK Jr to meet with him at Trump Tower. It was a two-hour meeting about vaccine safety. The possibility of forming a Vaccine Safety Commission to be chaired by Kennedy was discussed. Kennedy told Trump that the main action needed to get to the truth about vaccine safety was to open the VSD to independent researchers. It was a tragically missed opportunity. The Vaccine Safety Commission was not formed and the VSD system is still closed to independent researchers.

Kennedy is now running for president.

RFK Jr put out the following statement when he announced that he is running for president: After carefully reviewing the science, it is clear to me that vaccines and other toxic environmental exposures are inextricably linked to rising rates of autism, allergies, autoimmune disorders and a host of other conditions.

My prediction for an autism study using VSD data:

When a vaccinated versus unvaccinated autism study gets done, I predict that the rate of autism in vaccinated children will be in line with the CDCs recently released rate (one in every 36 children) or even worse. I predict that the rate of autism in unvaccinated children will be 1 in 5,000 or more. Yes, that would be a huge difference. That is what is being hidden. We wont know the truth until such a study is done. The CDC will do whatever it takes to prevent this study from being done. This is an unacceptable stalemate. How long can this evidence be suppressed? The top-level doctors and scientists at the CDC are deliberately hiding the truth about vaccines and autism. The carnage continues.

Lets assume that this study gets done and it clearly shows that vaccines are the main cause of autism. What then?

We would need to do additional studies to determine which vaccines and which ingredients in the vaccines are causing autism. We would also look at other conditions that are suspected of being caused by vaccines. These include autoimmune diseases, seizures, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder), asthma, learning disabilities, speech delay, type one diabetes, sudden infant deaths, and more. Imagine the impact these studies would have on the vaccine industry. The idea is to honestly and objectively investigate the safety of vaccines. This is not being done.

A vaccinated versus unvaccinated autism study has most likely been done internally then buried because it doesnt fit the CDC/big pharma narrative.

If such a study showed that vaccines dont cause autism, the results would be front page news and the lead story on the nightly news. The fact that this study has not been done (or at least has not been published) is suspicious and incriminating. The Turtles book 0n page 198 explains about pharmas favorite type of vaccine studies: Epidemiological studies are the tool of choice for health authorities and pharma companies to maintain a facade of vaccine safety science. They are cheap, relatively simple to conduct, and above all, their results are easily manipulated. I know it is difficult for good and honest people to believe that high ranking officials are deliberately concealing information that is so important to the health of our children. How do they rationalize the evil they are doing?

When the CDC learned some lessons:

In 1999, Belgian epidemiologist Thomas Verstraeten used VSD data to compare health outcomes of hundreds of thousands of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children. The children who got the thimerosal [mercury]-containing hepatitis B vaccines had more than 11 times the rate of autism compared to children who did not get those vaccines. The vaccinated children also had much higher rates of ADHD, speech delay, tics, and sleep disorders. The details of this study were presented at a conference, but the study was never published. The information on the Verstraeten study can be found on page 327 of The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. What did the CDC learn from this? They learned not to allow vaccinated versus unvaccinated studies to be done on VSD data. They also learned not to let the details of negative studies ever see the light of day. It should now be obvious why the CDC allows only trusted insider researchers access to the VSD system. It is sad that more people cant see through the vaccines are safe and effective scam. Controlling access to the VSD is part of the scam. Control of mainstream media by pharma is another part of the scam. The battle for hearts and minds on this issue is ongoing and the current winners are big pharma and the vaccine companies. The current losers are the American people, especially children.

Will children die in huge numbers from vaccine preventable diseases if they dont get vaccines?

This is another area where the VSD data could provide valuable information. A vaccinated versus unvaccinated study comparing mortality rates and overall health outcomes would answer this question. I believe such a study would show that unvaccinated children are far healthier than vaccinated children. Vaccines played a minor role in the decrease in infectious disease mortality in the early to mid-1900s. Advances in sanitation and hygiene and improvements in nutrition were the main reasons that infectious disease mortality decreased to near zero BEFORE most of the vaccines were introduced. The CDC and vaccine companies claim that vaccines saved us all from massive infectious disease mortality. That claim is widely promoted and widely believed but is not true.

The Amish reveal the truth about vaccines.

There are more than 200,000 Amish children in the U.S. The vast majority of them are unvaccinated. Autism is rare and infectious disease mortality is very low in Amish communities. Why is this reality ignored? The health of Amish children must be ignored because it demonstrates that unvaccinated children can be robustly healthy. Why is autism rare in Amish children? Because most Amish children dont get vaccines. It is that clear and simple.

We have lots of questions about vaccine safety.

Imagine that you have questions, and you know of a source that has the answers. The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) is that source, but you are not allowed access to it. The CDCs hand-picked researchers are allowed to access that source and they are happy to tell us what it says. The problem is that they are not being truthful about what the VSD data tells us, and the CDC is refusing to allow the vaccinated versus unvaccinated studies that would reveal the truth. If pharma and the CDC are allowed to continue blocking access to the VSD system, nothing will change. They will control the narrative and the health of Americans young and old will continue to suffer.

If you have made it this far, allow me to share with you part of my morning prayers:

In addition to praying for my wife and our children and grandchildren, I pray for all those hurt and killed by vaccines and their families. I pray especially for all the autistic children and young adults who were vaccinated into autism. Their parents struggle mightily to care for them, and they fear that no one will be there to care for their autistic children when they are gone. I also pray for those hurt and killed by Covid vaccines (that is another big story where the truth is being hidden.) I then pray for all the wonderful people who are exposing the great harm being done by vaccines. God bless them. I pray for many of those people by name. Please join me in these prayers. Isaiah 48:22 tells us There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. The ability to rationalize evil behavior is strong, but that doesnt excuse it or make it right.

Follow the money.

Vaccine companies are making an enormous amount money and they are not liable for injuries and deaths caused by their products. What a great business model! The people who are exposing the great harm being caused by vaccines are not making money. They are trying to help prevent these types of injuries and deaths in the future. They also experience constant ridicule and abuse for their efforts. Greed is a powerful force.

About the author: Dr. William H. Gaunt is a retired Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa. He was a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and later an instructor pilot for the Iranian Navy and the Saudi Arabian Air Force before attending medical school at Bastyr University near Seattle, Washington. Dr. Gaunt graduated with honors in 1983. He has also taught chemistry, biology, and anatomy at high school and college levels and published several articles related to vaccines. Dr. Gaunt and his wife have a blended family of 8 boys plus a girl adopted from China.



###

The Vaccine Court 2.0: Revised and Updated: The Dark Truth of America's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

By Wayne Rohde



The Vaccine Court looks at the mysterious and often unknown world of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), the only recourse for seeking compensation for those who have been injured by a vaccine. The NVICP, better known as the Vaccine Court, however, is not without controversy.



Established by Congress as a direct result of the passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, the NVICP was supposed to offer a no-fault alternative to the traditional injury claims filed in state or federal courts and was to provide quick, efficient, and fair compensation for those who have been injured by vaccines. The reality, however, is that many cases take several years or longer to complete and require tremendous commitment from families already pushed to the brink of bankruptcy caring for the vaccine-injured family member, only to discover that the end result is manipulated by the government in defense of the US vaccine policy.



A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals



By Robert Kennedy Jr.



A leading Democrat challenges his party to return to liberal values and evidence-based science



Democrats were the party of intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and faith in scientific and liberal empiricism. They once took pride in understanding how to read science critically, exercising healthy skepticism toward notoriously corrupt entities like the drug companies that brought us the opioid crisis, and were outraged by the phenomenon of agency capture and the pervasive control of private interests over Congress, the media, and the scientific journals.



A Letter to Liberals is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s, challenge to lockdown liberalisms embrace of policies that are an affront to once cherished precepts.





Denial: How Refusing to Face the Facts about Our Autism Epidemic Hurts Children, Families, and Our Future



By Mark Blaxill and Dan Olmsted



Even as the autism rate soars and the cost to our nation climbs well into the billions, a dangerous new idea is taking hold: There simply is no autism epidemic.

The question is stark: Is autism ancient, a genetic variation that demands acceptance and celebration? Or is it new and disabling, triggered by something in the environment that is damaging more children every day?
PNC Financial Services Group was one of the banks this weekend bidding on First Republic Bank with federal regulators, according to reports.

The Pittsburgh-based bank, which has one of its regional tech and innovation hubs in Birmingham, eventually lost out to JPMorgan Chase and Co., according to The Wall Street Journal. Federal regulators seized the banks assets today.

First Republic, based in San Francisco, was the third major U.S. bank to fail since March and the second largest bank failure in history.

By contrast, Colonial Bank, once Alabamas second largest bank, with about 350 branches and 4,500-plus employees, was the subject in 2009 of what is now the fifth largest bank failure in U.S. history.

The Journal reported that Citizens Financial Group and Fifth Third Bancorp also participated in the FDIC auction in what was described as a highly competitive bidding process.

San Francisco-based First Republics failure ranks behind only Washington Mutual, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan.

JPMorgan will assume all of First Republics $92 billion in deposits, and is acquiring about $173 billion in loans and $30 billion in securities.

Bloomberg is reporting that Apollo Global Management Inc. and BlackRock Inc. were lined up to back PNCs First Republic Bank bid.

First Republic has struggled since the March collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Banks 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank and depositors will have full access to all of their deposits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mobile police say an employee of a local security company deliberately crashed one of the companys armored vehicles into a company building Sunday night.

Just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of a vehicle crashing into a building on Halls Mill Road.

Arriving at the scene, they discovered an employee of GardaWorld, a company that provides, among other security services, armored vehicles, had intentionally driven one of those armored vehicles into the building.

The suspect, who has not been identified, fled on foot and was still at large late Monday afternoon.

In addition to extensive damage to the building, two other vehicles were heavily damaged in the incident.
A Pensacola woman is charged with manslaughter in the death of a 63-year-old man who died after suffering horrific injuries in an attack by the womans pit bull dogs, according to the Escambia County Sheriffs Office.

During a Monday afternoon press conference, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said 35-year-old Kathleen Ann Taylor had failed at every opportunity to take steps to keep the dogs secured.

Kathleen Taylor failed to properly secure her home or her kennels or any other enclosures designed to keep her dogs from roaming free, Simmons said. She failed to do so even though shes had a long history of allowing her dogs to roam free with animal control, but still she took no action.

Escambia County deputies responded to a cardiac arrest call in the 400 block of Norris Avenue on Feb. 25, according to a report in the Pensacola News Journal.

A witness at the scene said the man, who has not been identified, was attacked by three pit bulls. The witness managed to scare off the dogs and called 911.

Simmons said the victim suffered multiple injuries to his head, face and torso -- describing the injuries as horrific. He was taken to a local hospital, but died of the injuries.

Both Simmons and county animal control officer John Robinson said Taylor had been fined, cited and warned multiple times about allowing the dogs to roam free on and around her property.

Simmons said Taylor repeatedly failed to lock her kennels, repair holes in the kennels, kept them on a leash, listened to animal control or cared about her neighbors, the mans death would have been avoided.

You had that responsibility, you failed and now a man is dead, Simmons said of Taylor.

Simmons noted that, under Florida law, negligent homicide is defined as the killing of a human through an act of culpable negligence, not murder or homicide.

She had been cited, warned, fined -- but still took no action, Simmons said, adding that when first responders arrived to treat the victim, Taylor grabbed one of her dogs and left.

She wasnt concerned about the safety of this individual, he said, only about one of her dogs that was involved.

Simmons also said Taylor had been arrested on April 17 on a drug possession charge and was free on bond from that arrest when deputies took her into custody on the manslaughter charge.

She remains without bond in the Escambia County Jail, with an arraignment set for May 26.

Two of the three dogs involved in the attack have been killed, one shot the following day and another euthanized after Taylor surrendered it to officers. The third is being held pending a court hearing.
Get the Ed Chat newsletter: Enter your email for weekly updates about Alabama schools from Trisha Powell Crain:

A Shelby County middle school removed a book about the Black Lives Matter movement in 2022 after a local father complained.

Daniel Hill considers his effort, one of only two book complaints the district tallied since 2021, a victory, but says there are other books hed also like to take out of his daughters school library.

So far, while Alabama has followed other states in trying to limit discussion of critical race theory, LGBTQ issues and other divisive concepts in school, the state has not tried to enact explicit book bans.

Instead, its up to parents and activists to take a book-by-book, school-by-school approach. And so far, experts say, recent challenges have been limited, though complaints have had an impact on some school activities, events and resources.

Read more Ed Lab: Alabama lawmakers consider increased school choice, tax credit scholarship options.

Read more Ed Lab: Alabama cuts more pre-K equity resources after firing state official.

In 2022, an American Library Association spokesperson told AL.com the organization was aware of 11 challenges in Alabama. Only one challenge was about a book in a school library, Shawnda Hines said. Twenty-four titles were challenged, with 20 of those books involving LGBTQIA+ characters or authors.

The American Library Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom collects voluntary reports about book challenges. Its annual report shows most challenges are made by parents (30% of all challenges) and are about materials at school libraries (41% of all challenges).

Shelby County book challenges

Shelby County parent Daniel Hill said his daughter told him about a book, Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter, after she saw it prominently featured in a hallway at her middle school.

The book, written by New York Times editor Veronica Chambers, lays out the timeline of the Black Lives Matter movement and how it was shaped by history. Chambers could not be reached for comment.

Hill, who is white and whose children are mixed race, said he thought the book promoted and glorified the movement. He didnt think it belonged in a school.

There are a lot of issues from promoting these ideas, he said, and I see it as planting seeds. These children would not be considering a fraction of this stuff if it wasnt being promoted and pushed.

Hill called the principal at Oak Mountain Middle School who told him the school had a process for challenging books. Hill completed the form and presented his case in front of a panel at the school.

The panel, made up of teachers, parents and students, he said, then voted to keep the book in the library. The principal appealed the schools decision to the district level, according to Hill.

The school boards legal counsel thought the book could be in conflict with a recent state intellection freedom rule, and recommended it be removed from circulation, according to a spokeswoman.

Only one other challenge has reached the district level in Shelby County since 2021, she said. That book was returned to circulation.

I was personally disappointed that I had to go through a process for something that I feel is so obvious, Hill said.

It was satisfying to have that [book] removed, but, in a general sense, I think the victory was just a drop in the bucket. But its not an efficient way, in a general sense, to combat whats going on up there.

Hill claimed the library now has more objectionable materials. Hed like the principal to exert more authority over the materials in the school library and said it would be difficult to challenge all of the books he found objectionable.

Im not prepared to come up there and contest books nonstop.

LOCAL Alabama, a nonprofit organization working to restore freedom, liberty, and constitutional values in our local communities, asked communities to share objectionable material with them via an online form in August.

A representative of the organization told AL.com the group had not received any information about objectionable library books as of the end of March.

Baldwin County book challenges

In an effort to determine how prevalent book challenges are, AL.com sent requests for records to eight Alabama school districts for records related to school library challenges from Jan. 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023.

Six school districts responded, including Shelby County.

Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Florence and Vestavia Hills City school districts said they received no formal challenges about school library books during that time period.

Baldwin County, a fast-growing district in south Alabama, said it had received a total of four challenges in 2021 and 2022, but only one was about a library book.

The state board of education

In December, Alabama Board of Education Vice President Wayne Reynolds asked why there is no statewide policy on how to challenge books and materials.

Andrew Maxey, who chairs a task force exploring new standards for school libraries, said he believed local school boards should develop book challenge policies. Currently, local school boards each make up their own rules.

Maxey and other members of the Library Task Force presented a draft of Guidelines for Exemplary School Libraries to the state board at their December work session.

The board delayed a January vote to adopt the standards.

Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey told board members the department wanted to revise some of the standards and would ask the committee - 16 school librarians among the 20 members - to review those revisions before bringing it to the board for a vote. That would likely happen this summer, Mackey told AL.com.
For decades, Bates House of Turkey in Greenville has been a must-stop for hungry travelers headed north or south along I-65 in Alabama. Now, fans of the restaurants hickory-smoked turkey sandwiches and turkey-and-dressing dinners have another option to satisfy their Bates turkey cravings.

The most famous turkey house in Alabama has opened a second location just up the interstate in Montgomery  in the Westminster Shopping Center at the intersection of Carter Hill Road and Zelda Road.

I think its going to be well received, Bates House of Turkey owner Becky Bates Sloane told AL.com this morning. The people in Montgomery have been just super-nice.

[To read more good news about Alabama, sign up for our This is Alabama Newsletter.]

For years, Bates House of Turkey has operated a pop-up shop in Montgomery during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and customers in Alabamas capital have been clamoring for them to open a permanent location, Sloane added.

We get customers coming through Greenville all the time, (asking) When are you coming back to Montgomery? Sloane said.

For now, the restaurant is open with a limited menu, she added, and a grand opening is tentatively planned for next Monday, May 8.

We are open now, but its just like a trial run to get all the kinks worked out, Sloane said

Sloanes daughter, Michelle Sloane, is the operating manager of the Montgomery location, and she is running it with the help of her daughter, Helen Grace Sloane.

RELATED: An Alabama Thanksgiving tradition lives on at Bates Turkey Farm

Keeping the business in the family is essential, Becky Sloane said.

Her grandparents -- Willie Claude Bates and his wife, Helen -- started their turkey farm in Fort Deposit in 1923 with nine turkey eggs they received as a wedding present. It sustained them through the Great Depression.

In 1946, after serving in World War II and briefly attending Auburn University, their son, W.C. Bill Bates Jr., dropped out of college and came home to help run the turkey farm.

Then, in 1970, to coincide with the completion of Interstate 65 from Mobile to Montgomery, the family opened Bates House of Turkey just off one of the Greenville exits. Fifty-three years later, it remains a popular destination for I-65 travelers, as well as a source of pride for folks in Greenville.

RELATED: 6 more Montgomery dishes to add to your Alabama bucket list

All of the turkey dishes served at the restaurant are made from turkeys raised on the family farm that Becky Sloanes grandparents started 100 years ago.

I have grandchildren now that are in their 20s, and theyre all very interested in the business, she said. Its like my dad (said), OK, Ive got this next generation, where am I gonna put em? What have I got for em to do?

My daughter (Michelle) and I got to thinking about it, and if we do this (Montgomery restaurant), it helps the farm and it helps the restaurant in Greenville.

And it can make everybody a pretty good living and still give the presence of a family member looking over your business and making sure things are done the way you want them done.

The Montgomery location of Bates House of Turkey is at 2938 Carter Hill Road. Current hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, go here.

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BBQ is in the name but tacos are the game for this Alabama food truck

The story behind these legendary Alabama orange rolls
A 59-year-old man in custody in the December stabbing death of one man, and the wounding of another.

Valley Police Capt. Chris Daniel on Monday announced the arrest of Lenzy Felix Mayhand. The suspect is charged with reckless murder in the December 2022 slaying of 23-year-old Dalton Alexander Stringfellow of Salem.

Stringfellow was found unresponsive in a ditch on County Road 196 and pronounced dead.

A 27-year-old man who had been with Stringfellow was treated at the scene. Court records say he had been across the chest, just below his throat.

Mayhand is charged with assault in the case of the surviving victim.

Investigators received information that Mayhand could be in the Columbus area, Daniel said. They were able to capture him on Friday.

Mayhand remains held in the Chambers County Jail. Prosecutors are asking that he be held without bond, stating that he is a flight risk because he eluded capture for four months.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Valley police at 334-756-5200 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP.
This story is republished with permission from The Birmingham Times

On Thursday, Torrey Washington, 21, a BuildUP Community School graduate, became the schools first homeowner. Even more impressive, Washington is a first-generation homeowner and as a student, he helped rehab the house that he will now own in the Ensley community.

This feels amazing and unreal. Most of my life Ive heard people talked about being a homeowner but, I guess I just didnt have the maturity to really think and process the importance of being a homeowner until I went to BuildUP. Even when I went there it didnt feel real then and it still doesnt feel real now, Washington said.

BuildUP Community School is a private workforce development high school that equips students with knowledge and skills for high-demand, high paying careers in trade jobs over a six year period.

Being the youngest in his family and the first to own a home is an incredible feeling, he said.

I hope that my other siblings will be able to go out and do what they want to do and become homeowners someday, he said. I just feel really happy  It makes me feel great. "

We could not be more proud of Torrey and his accomplishments, said James Sutton, BuildUP executive director. He has overcome many challenges, not the least of which was a global pandemic that forced him and other students to attend school virtually.

During high school, students work on BuildUP-managed or owned properties to gain practical experience in demolition, wall framing, electrical or cabinet installation.

Torrey was one of BuildUPs first students who was with us when we met in a 3-bedroom house in Ensley, said Mark Martin, BuildUPs founder. Torrey is one of our brightest students and it makes sense that hes the first to reach this milestone.

I had never thought about a job in construction, Torrey said, but my mom and I met Mr. [Mark] Martin and enrolled in the summer bootcamp. The school exposed me to a lot of different things and the teachers pushed me to be responsible and grow up in ways I really needed. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Torrey is now employed at BLOX as an HVAC specialist helping to build innovative, modular structures that are transported and assembled on site.

Sutton said BuildUP is now enrolling rising 9th and 10th grade students for the 2023-2024 school year.

For more information, visit www.buildup.work or call 205-847-4086.
Metro Atlanta lawmakers want the Justice Department to conduct an independent investigation of the fatal police shooting of a protester on the site of the planned public safety training center.

Six Democratic state legislators have asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for an independent investigation after separate autopsies showed conflicting details, fueling further confusion and distrust around what occurred near the site of the proposed complex.

Environmental activist Manuel Tortugita Teran was shot and killed by Georgia state troopers Jan. 18 during what state law enforcement officials called a clearing operation of the wooded area of DeKalb County. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Teran shot first at the troopers, an account his family disputes.

Terans death  and the subsequent questions about the shooting and investigation  have become a rallying point for state Democratic legislators who were previously reluctant to take sides on the uproar over the public safety center and the controversy surrounding his killing.

An autopsy released by the DeKalb County coroners office April 19 determined that gunpowder residue was not seen on Terans hands  undermining original reports from the GBI that the protester shot at officers. However, the autopsy was not conclusive because gunpowder is not always visible to the naked eye.

Georgia State Patrol officers werent wearing body cameras during the operation, casting even more doubt on the official reports.

Just days later, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained a GBI report from the DeKalb County medical examiners office. The report produced five days after Terans death said that particles characteristic of gunshot primer residue were found in samples taken from the hands of the activist.

In the letter dated April 26, Atlanta-area lawmakers said that the conflicting information heightens the need for definitive answers on the events that took place in January.

We believe it is essential that a credible investigation be conducted that gathers and releases the necessary information to ensure public confidence in the investigatory and law enforcement process, the letter reads.

The request is signed by the following lawmakers: state Sens. Nabilah Islam, D-Lawrenceville; Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta; and Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, and state Reps. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, and Kim Schofield, D-Atlanta.

Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari also called for the federal investigation into Terans death after DeKalb County released its autopsy that showed Teran suffered more than 50 gunshot wounds.

Esteves told the Journal-Constitution that the state lawmakers are hopeful that their request in conjunction with Bakhtiaris will spur action from the Justice Department.

At a point where you have different entities within the government saying different things, its helpful to have a third party come in and help set the record straight, he said. Especially when you have the situation we have here, where its being highly scrutinized and some of the findings have been very concerning.



2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Authorities are asking for the publics help identifying a man they say he smuggled contraband to a Dallas County jail inmate.

On Tuesday, April 25, investigators say a Dallas County Detention Facility detainee was transported to a local hospital emergency room to receive treatment for a possible medical emergency.

It was there the detainee attempted to obtain prison contraband that was left for him by an unknown suspect, according to Central Alabama Crime Stoppers.

Dallas County investigators found the contraband on the detainee and confiscated the items before inmate was returned to jail. Authorities did not identify the contraband.

Investigators say video surveillance cameras captured footage of the unknown suspect, who left the contraband in a bathroom located near the emergency room. The contraband was strategically placed by the suspect to allow the detainee the ability to obtain the contraband and bring it unlawfully back to the correction facility.

The suspect is described as Black male with a beard. He was wearing a t-shirt, and gray shorts.

He faces charges of second-degree promoting prison contraband, which is a Class C felony.

Anyone with information on the suspects identity and/or whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867) or 1-833-AL1-STOP (251-7867). Anonymous tips can also be submitted via the P3-tips app.
An investigation is underway after a man was shot to death early Monday by Gardendale police.

The shooting happened at 6:05 a.m. at 83 School Street in Cordova in Walker County.

Cordova Police Chief Krimson Culverson in a press release said no Cordova officers were involved.

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.

A person was fatally shot by law enforcement officers in Cordova on Monday, May 1, 2023. (Contributed)

Officers were attempting to execute a search warrant when they encountered a subject firing a weapon. Johnny Karris, 47, of Cordova, was fatally injured and pronounced deceased at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident, a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency read.

Nothing further is available as the investigation is ongoing. Once complete, the findings will be turned over to the Walker County District Attorneys Office.

Repeated efforts to reach Gardendale police and city officials for comment were unsuccessful.
Former President Donald Trump will take part in a CNN presidential town hall next week in New Hampshire, the cable news network announced.

The event will be hosted by CNN This Morning, anchor Kaitlin Collins and will air May 10 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT). The former president will be taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to cast a ballot in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

The town hall will stream on the CNN network as well as CNN.com and CNN OTT and mobile apps under TV Channels, or on CNNgo where available, the network said.

Trump is seeking to take back the White House after failing to win a second term in 2020 when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Polls show him leading the GOP field but he has also been indicted in a Manhattan case involving hush money payments made to a former porn star who alleges they had an affair.

Trump is also currently involved in a civil case involving advice columnist E. Jean Carroll who claims the former president sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s, allegations Trump denies.
Liza Burke, a University of Georgia senior, died a little over a week after her family decided to stop treatment for her brain tumor, her mother told McClatchy News.

Burke died just after 2 a.m. on Friday, April 28, according to her mom, Laura McKeithen, who also posted the news in an online journal.

After her passing, those with her dressed Burke in colorful pajamas, braided her hair and said their goodbyes.

It is with both relief and belief that I share Lizas passing, McKeithen said. Liza has now been reunited with her sister and they are making up for lost time!

Burke was taken to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where her brain will be removed and used for further studies, her mom said.

Memorial services will be held in Athens, Georgia, and her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.

Burkes death comes a little more than a week after her family decided to stop her treatment for a grade 4 astrocytoma tumor.

Also known as a glioblastoma, this tumor is the most malignant, aggressive and common type of astrocytoma, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The tumor is a highly aggressive cancer that progresses quickly.

After Burke failed to respond to treatment, her family met with several doctors and made the decision to cease radiation and pursue providing Liza a send-off like only she deserves, McKeithen said in an April 17 journal entry.

Tonight we begin the hunt for the perfect place by the sea where Liza can enjoy her final days supported by the infinite love that surrounds her, McKeithen wrote. If I could, I would hang onto Liza and follow her. But since I cant, please continue your prayers for our Sleeping Warrior and for all of us who will never fully fill the void that will be left in her wake.

Liza Burkes story

While on spring break with friends in Mexico, Burke developed an unusually painful headache on March 10, McClatchy News reported. She left breakfast to rest and hours later was found unconscious in her room.

Burke was rushed to a hospital after friends were unable to wake her. On March 14, Burke and her family made it back to the United States and she was admitted to the Mayo Clinic.

Originally, doctors diagnosed Burke with a brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM)  a tangle of blood vessels that causes arteries and veins to be connected wrong.

However, on March 28, preliminary biopsy results revealed that Burke was suffering from a grade 4 astrocytoma tumor.

Friends described Burke as genuine, dynamic, playful and fierce, according to a GoFundMe started by a family friend.

Liza amazes me daily with her ability to do this dying thing with bountiful courage, grace, and beauty, but PLEASE shout out your prayers for Lizas peace and comfort because it looks hard, McKeithen wrote in an April 24 update.

Liza exemplifies all the good in this world, wrapped into one beautiful, kind, selfless and smart lady, one person commented on the post.

To some of you she may be a stranger, but to so many on UGAs campus she is a friend, another friend wrote on Facebook.

2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Its been nearly 33 years since a young man was found slain on a Lee County creek bed, and investigators are still trying to learn his identity.

The body was discovered Sept. 22, 1990, on a creek bed off Anderson Road, about one-tenth of a mile from Interstate 85 in Opelika.

An autopsy showed that the victim had been shot one time.

He was wearing a white St. Louis Cardinals jersey with red pin stripes, Jordache blue jeans and black Ellesse shoes.

The body was discovered Sept. 22, 1990, on a creek bed off Anderson Road, about one-tenth of a mile from Interstate 85 in Opelika. (OPD)

Investigators believe the victim was between the ages of 18 to 25. He was about 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighed approximately 135 to 145 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call Opelika police at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness tipline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police mobile app.

Central Alabama Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Tips can be submitted by calling 334- 215-STOP(7867), toll-free at 1-833-AL1-STOP, or via their website at www.215STOP.com.
One of the two students killed in a mass shooting at an after-prom party in Bay St. Louis was looking forward to graduating from Hancock High School in May.

DeArreis DD Smith, 18, was the senior who died of gunshot wounds at University Medical Center in New Orleans, according to friends and others who knew and loved him.

The second victim who died of gunshot wounds Sunday morning at the same hospital was identified as Hancock High student Haeleigh Stamper, 16.

The two are among six shot during the mass shooting at the Bay St. Louis house party in the 1000 block of Old Blue Meadows Road in the early-morning hours Sunday. The six shooting victims are between 15 and 18.

Kecia Sams considered DeArreis an adopted member of her family and is devastated by his loss.

DeArreis Smith was an amazing soul, a loyal friend, brother and uncle, Sams said. He was loved by many and will be missed so very much by his family.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral expenses for Stamper and Smith.

In the fundraising account for Smith, the organizer, Makayla Ward, said the family got a call at 1 a.m. Sunday about Smith being shot. She said he died a short time later of one gunshot wound to the head and two gunshot wounds to the chest.

DeArreis was ... a loving happy go lucky boy, she wrote. He always wanted what was best for someone else even when it didnt benefit him. He loved to make people laugh.

That is what he always did. There was never a moment when you were around DD (that) you werent laughing. "

Ward called the loss of him devastating to everyone.

In the GoFundMe account for Stamper, the organizer, Lillie Smith, described the teen as a sweet soul.

Her beautiful smile would light the whole room up, Smith said. Someone so sweet and adorable like her didnt deserve this at all. If you could please donate, it would help her family tremendously.

In addition to Smith and Stamper, four other students were hit by gunfire, authorities said, with two additional gunshot victims each from Hancock High School and Bay High School.

After Bay St. Louis police responded to the home where the party was, they found the various gunshot victims and later arrested Cameron Everett Brand, 19, of Pass Christian.

Police arrested Brand at his home and charged him with four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of murder.. He is being held without bond on the murder charges.

Prior to his arrest in the mass shooting, Brand had other run-ins with law enforcement, resulting in charges that including carrying a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana, and domestic violence by simple assault along with a charge for violating a protection order, according to records obtained by the Sun Herald.

Hed also been cited in the past for violating his bond conditions on earlier charges, but was a free man when he showed up at the party and allegedly carried out the shooting..

In the aftermath of the mass shooting, The Sun Herald spoke to an 18-year-old and her mother who had hosted the party.

The mother and daughter said they were outside keeping an eye on what was happening and didnt hear any arguing before the shooter opened fire.

Both had no idea why Brand started shooting. In his Facebook profile, Brand has a picture of himself holding a gun while standing in front of a mirror in a bathroom.

A witness account

Casey Woods, an 18-year-old junior at Pass Christian High School, attended the party with a girlfriend.

Woods said he saw Brand talking to people and then walking away before he returned and started shooting.

Me and my girl looked up and saw sparks coming from the gun, Woods said.

Many ran into the woods after the shooting, but Woods said he waited on police to get there.

Counselors, teachers on duty for students

Sandra Reed, superintendent at Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District, told the Sun Herald on Sunday that she had never heard of any incident like the one that happened at the party in the five years that she had been there.

Reed said the school district is open Sunday for students with counselors and teachers on hand to provide any help they can.

Our kids have an extraordinarily close relationship with our students and counselors, Reed said.

Hancock High School addressed the shooting in a Facebook post: Our hearts are broken as we mourn the tragic loss of two Hancock High School students who were victims of the shooting in Bay St. Louis last night.

Our hearts are with their families, friends, and the school staff during this incredibly difficult time. Please keep them, along with the others who were injured from Hancock and Bay High Schools, in your thoughts and prayers. To our students and staff, please know that there will be support services available at the high school tomorrow to help you through this.

Let us come together as a community to show our support and love during this difficult time.

Staff writer Anita Lee contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 30, 2023, 3:29 PM.

___

(c)2023 The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

Visit The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.) at www.sunherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The search continues for a man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and then shooting four people a short time later.

Cortrell Burks, 50, is sought in the Sunday slaying of 40-year-old Erica Shontea Williams. The Jefferson County District Attorneys Office on Monday issued a murder warrant against him.

Williams was found stabbed to death about 6:30 p.m. Sunday when Jefferson County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to her home in the 300 block of 20th Avenue N.E. in the Center Point area on a welfare check.

She was pronounced dead on the scene.

A woman was stabbed to death in Jefferson County and four people shot in Birmingham Sunday night in incidents believed to be connection. A search is underway for the suspect.

Burks is also accused of then going to the 800 block of 48th Street North in Birmingham and firing multiple shots into a home. Four people were wounded.

Money said investigators believe the home belonged to the Williams mother. The shooting victims injuries are not life-threatening.

Investigators continue to actively search for Burks. He is described as 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds. He may have a shaved head and a grey beard, Money.

Burks was last seen driving a 2005 black Nissan Armada with Alabama license plate #1A0TBH8.

Anyone who sees Burks is asked to call 911 immediately. Deputies and Birmingham police are jointly working the investigation.

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A woman was stabbed to death and four other people shot Sunday night in incidents believed to linked.

A search is underway for the suspect  50-year-old Cortrell Burks.

The ordeal began just before 6:30 p.m. when Jefferson County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to the 300 block of 20th Avenue N.E. in the Center Point area to conduct a welfare check.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they found a 40-year-old woman dead from stab wounds, said sheriffs Lt. Joni Money. The killing is believed to be domestic-related.

The suspect in the homicide is believed to have then traveled to the 800 block of 48th Street North, inside the city limits of Birmingham, and fired multiple shots into the home.

Money said investigators believe the home belonged to the homicide victims mother.

Four people at the Birmingham location were struck by gunfire. Additional details have not been released, but Money said their injuries arent believed to be life-threatening.

Investigators are actively searching for Burks. He is described as 6-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds. He may have a shaved head and a grey beard, Money said.

Burks was last seen driving a 2005 black Nissan Armada with Alabama license plate #1A0TBH8.

Anyone who sees Burks is asked to call 911 immediately.

Deputies and Birmingham police are jointly working the investigation.

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
UPDATE: The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has canceled the missing alert for Grayson Hodges.

EARLIER: The Enterprise Police Department issued an emergency missing child alert asking for the publics assistance in locating Grayson Hodges, a 12-year-old white male.

The alert said Hodges may be living with a condition that may impair his judgement.

Police said he was last seen on Sunday, April 30 at approximately 7:30 a.m. He was wearing a black shirt and black pants, and black, blue, and orange New Balance shoes in the area of Wynn Road in Enterprise, Alabama.

The alert said Hodges is 5-foot-3-inches and 110 pounds.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Grayson Hodges, contact the Enterprise Police Department at (334) 347-2222 or call 911.
Lions, tigers, bears, drag queens, CRT, womens rights and woke book learnin, oh my!

Alabama and our tribe of red state lawmaker snowflakes wanna ban books and pass laws against anything and everything they dont understand. Its a smokescreen. Theyre looking for a punching bag to take our eyes away from the real problems they refuse to address.

Related: Kay Iveys new anti-woke venture: Kays Konfederate Koozies - al.com

Read Frances Colemans column: When a word becomes more than just a word, watch out - al.com

Related: Alabama would ban drag performances from schools, libraries, presence of children - al.com

These same tribal red states are bottom dwellers in education, health, mental health and poverty. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey refuses to expand Medicaid, which would help make so many of her poor working constituents lives better. But Ivey has no desire to help poor working folks. They are the wrong constituents.

Related: Gov. Kay Ivey denounces woke preschool training book, ousts state official - al.com

Related: Can we not just live? Alabamas anti-LGBTQ bills signed into law as teens worry about their future - al.com

Related: Alabama GOPs biggest fear: Empowered young Black people - al.com

Kay Iveys been silent on lots of important stuff, but she found her voice in squeaking out against woke stuff. It cost Barbara Cooper, a respected veteran educator, her job. Id love to hear Kay Iveys definition of her new favorite word. But I guess well have to wait for her to get woke up.

More related content:

Anti-transgender laws: Alabama preys on its most vulnerable - al.com

Guest opinion: Reactionary right-wing of GOP has co-opted woke - al.com

Alabama GOP lawmakers divisive concepts bill fights racism with racism - al.com

True stories and stuff by JD Crowe

The mysterious Bubble Guy of Fairhope and the art of bubble Zen - al.com

How I met Dr. Seuss

Robert Plant head-butted me. Thanks, David Coverdale

I was ZZ Tops drummer for a night and got kidnapped by groupies

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

Kay Iveys new anti-woke venture: Kays Konfederate Koozies - al.com

God, guns and sacrificial lambs: Alabamas worship of guns is killing our children - al.com

Fox News pays $787.5 million for lying: Our viewers dont want the truth - al.com

Dadeville shooting: Hearts broken, dreams shattered by gun violence at birthday party - al.com

Alabama GOP lawmakers divisive concepts bill fights racism with racism - al.com

Hold my beer: Tennessee GOP expels Democracy, goes all in on white nationalism - al.com

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix.
The Reckon Report is a weekly newsletter that goes deeper in todays most-discussed headlines. Subscribe today and stay ready for the proverbial water cooler.

Early January of this year, healthcare workers went on a strike outside of the administrative offices of Howard Brown Health in Chicago, a nonprofit dedicated to healthcare for LGBTQ people, chanting, Queer liberation, no exploitation. Having lost $12 million in federal funding, the nonprofit suddenly laid off 61 union employees and four non-union workers, violating several labor laws, according to Howard Brown Health Workers Unitedthe organizations recently formed union.

Among the crowd were members of The National LGBTQ Workers Center (NLWC), a collective founded in 2018 made up of and for BIPOC trans, gender-expansive, queer, sick and disabled workers. Their mission is to ensure marginalized workers have rights and protections on the job, healthcare, housing security, and power to hold employers accountable when they fail to meet the standards for a healthy, affirming and safe workplaces.

Despite 20 states and D.C. having laws that explicitly prohibit work discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, being an LGBTQ worker in the U.S. remains to be a challenge. In July of 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau added questions on sexual orientation and gender identity to the Household Pulse Survey to gather data on how peoples lives were impacted by COVID. The data showed that LGBTQ people are more likelyif not just as likelyto be employed compared with non-LGBTQ people, but [LGBTQ individuals] are also more likely to live in households earning below the poverty line and to struggle to make ends meet. The data also revealed that LGBTQ respondents of color and trans respondents were more likely to earn less than $25,000 a year.

Today is May Day, also known across the globe as International Labor Day, a holiday that grew out of the 19th-century labor movement for workers rights and an eight-hour workday in the U.S. This holiday, NLWCs Board President Aimee-Josiane Powell-Ingabire and Communication and Membership Chair Molly Benitez share their thoughts with Reckon about the crisis of LGBTQ workers rights, the significance of striking, and how we can show up for queer and trans workers.

What do you think are the most important issues to lift up for LGBTQ workers this May Day?

Powell-Ingabire: I think theres a legal crisis in this moment, where on one hand the SCOTUS has affirmed the workplace rights of LGBTQ people, but were also seeing states actively work to roll back those rights at work and in education institutions. [Queer and trans] BIPOC in particular have to continue living our lives in spite of the violent interactions that we have with systems and hateful individuals, so what I would lift up is resistance. Whether that resistance looks like getting a written contract or asserting your right to have your name and gendered affirmed at work, or actually organizing for more accessible workplaces. We just have to resist.

Benitez: LGBTQ workers face many issues in the workplace including discrimination, unequal pay, and harassment. And while laws have been passed, such as Bostock v Clayton in 2020 that protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the actual implementation of the law is much more difficult. Its extremely hard to prove discrimination which requires indisputable proof as well as the money to hire a lawyer and go to court. Many LGBTQ workers are stopped before they get in the door. We also know that this challenge becomes even harder for those who are multiply marginalized by race, disability, socioeconomic status.

What are the biggest issues impacting trans people? Can you give me specific examples?

Powell-Ingabire: A central struggle for trans folks, especially BIPOC, sick and disabled trans folks, is trying to work in jobs that were not only not designed for you, but also intentionally designed to make it more difficult for you to thrive at work. Trans folks are some of the most discriminated against (almost 50% of trans workers dont get hired or promoted), and the nature of discrimination is that it works across many institutions, so before a trans person is denied a job, they may have also been discriminated against in housing or their education, and this just adds to the mental and economic toll of being a trans person. And then once youre in the workplace, trans folks are subjected to harassment less about denying them work and more about making the workplace toxic and emotionally damaging for that trans person. Harassment is very hard to prove, and the burden is often on the person being harassed to prove that its happening. This is one place that we really want to support people in knowing their rights and documenting cases of harassment and abuseso often we leave toxic jobs (as we should) but without getting that abuse on record, so it can make it hard to hold employers accountable.

Benitez: Because of the socioeconomic and political system we live in, Trans people face higher rates of unemployment and poverty. We have laws that protect Trans folks but that doesnt mean they will even get a job as discrimination often shows up right at the interview stage. Trans people are daily trying to survive in a world that repeatedly, as we can see with current legislation, tells them they are not valuable and creates barriers to basic needs. Because of violence and lack of access to resources for Trans folks access to higher wage jobs or jobs that may require more specialized education. Within the workplace trans workers face issues of basic safety from bathroom access to proper pronoun use. For example, we see a lot of issues with professional attire. If you are not passing or your boss or coworkers dont accept your gender identity they will almost always have issues with your clothing. It will never fit what they expect you to wear.

What can you say about recent anti-trans and anti-drag bans, and how theyre important for LGBTQ workers?

Powell-Ingabire: The anti-trans and anti-drag bans are disgusting and shameful and reflective of the epidemic-level violence against trans people that weve seen the past several yearsto me its somewhat connected. Across all racial and ethnic communities, we do need a shift of consciousness thatll bring more people into the fight to resist anti-trans laws. It is very clear that these laws are also ways for the right to build its power by pushing policies that are designed to inspire extreme conservatism and push candidates that reflect that. Its ridiculous that a state like Georgia, where I live, where many if not most students dont even have access to comprehensive and science-based education about their bodies, would have the gull to pass a bill banning gender-affirming care for young people who do in fact know enough about their bodies to seek that care. What the other side hopes is that drag performers and trans people will go into hiding and disappear but weve come too far as a queer movement for that to be a realityand I still think the labor movement could do more to 1. support trans leadership within this movement, and 2. support building the political power to hold accountable every legislator that is pushing for these laws.

Benitez: All the recent bans weve been seeing against LGBTQ people have been against basic issues that feel like they should be assumed, i.e. access to healthcare. All of these laws are the first step to more and more laws that constrict our bodily autonomy and access to everyday life. It will continue to get worse if we dont organize against these laws now.

Tell me about strikes. How do you see the possibility for coalition building and inter-industry strikes happening in the next year?

Powell-Ingabire: That would be wild and inspiring. I think of strikes as a method of last resort and many of us are at that point. I support any organized strike because we do need to show our power as workers. I would love to see a strike with a demand to raise the minimum wage in the US, including eliminating legal sub-poverty wages for sick and disabled workers, and abolishing tipped labor.

Benitez: Were all workers navigating a neoliberal system that will take advantage of everyone and particularly those who are multiply marginalized. We need to understand that all of our struggles are connected. This is also a time when workers are starting to realize the power of unions from Amazon to Starbucks, worker power is taking on billion dollar industries and we all need to come together to support each others fights. Showing up on the picket line to support other workers shows our strength in numbers. If we all stopped working and demanded more the U.S. would effectively shut down.

Why the focus on LGBTQ workers? And why in this particular moment?

Benitez: Women of color and particularly Black feminists have told us that we need to center those most impacted. At this moment, that is Black, Brown, and Indigenous LGBTQ folks are part of that group. History has shown us that rights dont trickle down. Additionally, class is an identity that should bring us all together. In our current moment where we have the 1% and everyone else, we need to understand that it is the exploitation of all of our labor that continues to destroy the earth and make the 1% richer.

What about worker protections after COVID? How has the government pandemic changed things for workers rights?

Powell-Ingabire: So there has been some progress in worker organizing throughout the pandemic and much more of a focus on health and safety at work. A lot of industries and workplaces have been exposed in ways that are helpful, and some dynamic organizing campaigns of factory and retail workers have helped a lot of new workers imagine what it looks like when we dont suffer terrible working conditions alone. A struggle though, we dont actually have well-funded departments of labor and occupational health and safety offices in general, and especially in places where people are having difficulty winning unions, these reports to these offices are workers best chance at seeking some legal recourse. One thing that was so frustrating during the pandemic and before it began is the fact that there are not enough people in the institutions that are supposedly set up to be safeguards against abusive and unsafe workplaces.

Benitez: If you ask me, the government hasnt done much for us and the little they did they are trying to roll back. COVID showed us just how important workers are. We saw that essential workers were not just healthcare workers but also fast food workers, rideshare drivers, food deliverers, etc. Despite COVID work has gotten better for most essential workers. Pay hasnt increased much and any pay increases or COVID benefits have been rolled back. Were back to business as usual and workers are starting to realize that its not good enough. Now, we have workers who are still navigating COVID in a time when the majority of people think the pandemic is over. People are still getting sick and people are still dying and those people are generally workers in low paying, customer facing jobs.

Lastly, how can people outside of NLWC support the collective? What is something the collective needs from those who arent affiliated?

Powell-Ingabire: Right now as were growing our capacity to support trans and queer workers, we need people. Specifically people with expertise organizing, worker cooperatives, the arts, transformative justice, peer-support, facilitation and fundraising. Were trying to build an organization that is not beholden to philanthropic institutions, and one that honors the wealth of skills and knowledge within the LGBTQ community. And for those who want to support us as accomplices, we encourage people to donate or host fundraisers to support our campaigns.

Benitez: There are so many ways to support us! You can support us by sharing our social media and events. Supporting us monetarily so we can continue to bring attention to campaigns, labor issues, and workers rights. All our struggles are tied together. For those who are not affiliated, you can still support us! It doesnt matter if you are part of the LGBTQ community or not, you need to understand that by making the workplace better for those most impacted it by default will make it better for others.
Energy and Commerce committee chairperson Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) just announced (April 26, 2023) her committee's intent to "lower health care costs ... [because it] is the right thing for patients." In fact, it is precisely the wrong thing to do. By lowering health care (medical) costs, Congress is hurting all Americans.

Both theory and experience prove this.

When the feds lower the "cost" of anything, they simply reduce the payment. Regardless of the price set by the producer of a good or service, Washington says it will pay a predetermined lesser amount. That amount has no relationship to the producer's actual cost to produce, much less the expense of investing in research for new products or services. When payments are decided by government fiat, rather than by millions of consumers in a free market, quality goes down, and there are shortages. Producers cut their costs substituting cheaper components and untrained labor to meet the price set by Washington. Those who cannot simply go out of business, and many do. The number of producers shrinks, leaving a small number of low-quality suppliers who produce an insufficient volume of goods and services.

The reason there were long lines of people waiting for "free" toilet paper in the USSR and why people today in Venezuela wait in line to carry home drinking water is the same: their economies are centrally controlled rather than market-based. Government sets payments. The incentive to produce high-quality, large amounts of anything is missing.

As has been proven over and over, the free market is best way to produce the most goods and services of the highest quality at the lowest cost to consumers. When free market forces are suppressed by central economic control  when Congress fixes health care  you get Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela. But you don't have to leave the U.S. to see this. It is already happening here.

Clearly, there is a shortage of physician services. Patients experience this shortage by long wait times. Before the ACA, average maximum wait time to see a primary physician was a medically dangerous 99 days. After Obamacare expanded Medicaid and paid for it by reduced payments to physicians, wait time increased to 122 days.

Medicaid's new fix for the shortage of home health workers claims to offer accountability and transparency, but even lower payments to providers. Patients' wait times for care could become years instead of months.

When government sets a low price (payment), you get shortages and death by queue. When government sets a high price to get the product it wants fast, you get mRNA COVID vaccines. Washington and complicit media have downplayed and even suppressed the medical consequences of central economic control of health care.

Big Pharma failed to do the necessary research on mRNA safety and efficacy in their rush to satisfy Washington and deploy the COVID vaccines. Quality control was dangerously substandard. Benefits of the vaccine were exaggerated, and medical injuries were downplayed, even hidden. Data have slowly come out that vaccines do more harm than good and can even cause death. As for boosters, they magnify the medical danger of mRNA vaccines.

All of this medical harm inflicted on Americans can be attributed to Washington's economic control that rushed to vaccinate the entire population against a purported existential COVID risk that in fact was a scam.

Suppose consumers in a free market were the decision-makers instead of Washington. They would have asked for the multiple sources of safety and efficacy data before taking a never-before-deployed technology into their bodies. When people learn there are no long-term data at all, most people would have said, "I'll wait until I am sure this stuff is safe and works. I'm not injecting myself with unknown drugs, and certainly not my children!"

When the government controls payments, patients suffer, whether the fixed price (payment) is low or high. If payments are too low, you get inferior products and long waits for service. Furthermore, with low payments, pharmaceutical and other for-profit care suppliers do not have the capital to invest in research and development. The medical cures of the future will never materialize.

When government's fixed payments are too high, you get what happened with COVID vaccines: rushed, untested, unsafe, dangerous, even harmful medicines or devices forced on the population.

Finally, lowering health care costs by fiat requires even more bureaucracy and administration with its attendant costs. Estimates of government expenditures on its no-value-to-patients regulatory activities ranges from 31 percent to more than 50 percent of all U.S. healthcare spending. The cost of regulating (lowering) care payments takes money away from patient care and spends even more on a healthcare system American taxpayers cannot afford.

When Chairperson McMorris plans to lower health care costs, she unknowingly does a disservice to the very people she is sworn to serve.

Deane Waldman, M.D., MBA is professor emeritus of pediatrics, pathology, and decision science; former director of the Center for Healthcare Policy at Texas Public Policy Foundation; and author of the multi-award-winning book Curing the Cancer in U.S. Healthcare: StatesCare and Market-Based Medicine.

Image via Pixabay.
America is the story of freedom. It was settled by those determined to rid themselves of Old World shackles and build something entirely new. Its people rejected servitude to a foreign king across the ocean. It fought a bloody civil war as testament to its founding principles that liberty and equality under the law are human rights irrespective of race. It became home to waves of new immigrants through the centuries who crossed great distances and risked tremendous perils  all to flee the tyrannies behind them and reach America's shores. Because no other nation has ever been birthed into existence by first recognizing that its legitimacy comes directly from the consent of the governed, America has remained a magnet for people all over the world who dream of being free.

When cultural saboteurs attempt to rewrite America's history as one replete with racism, murder, and hate, what they really desire is to brainwash Americans into forgetting who they are and why they fight. The U.S. government, like all governments filled with imperfect souls prone to corruption and ambition, will use the strengths and passions of the American people to fight all kinds of battles that have more to do with D.C.'s welfare than the country's. Politicians will say, "We're fighting for democracy," or "against terrorism," or so that "we don't have to fight them over here." Rarely, however, will you hear those politicians use freedom as a call to arms, even though America was forged and invigorated by an indomitable spirit yearning to be free.

Why? Why would those in positions of power forsake freedom as a rallying cry when no other word better signifies who Americans are, what they have done, and what they will do in the future? The answer is that the American government has become no different than the English one it overthrew  intoxicated by its own power to such a degree that it has deluded itself into believing that control over those it purports to govern is its by right. In turn, individual freedom and the voluntary consent of the governed that only freedom can maintain have been abandoned, so that a cumbersome government bureaucracy may rise, beholden to none.

If federal officials and corporate media pundits attempted to rally Americans into foreign battles under a banner of freedom, Americans would be reminded that the same people and institutions sending them into harm's way have cheaply squandered their own birthright. A government that long ago abandoned any obligation to seek consent from those it claims to control cannot afford to remind Americans that they were once masters of their own fates. Doing so would risk inciting the passions of the people and turning those now quietly enslaved against their bureaucratic enslavers. Is it any wonder, then, that the Department of Justice defines anyone who dissents from official government policy as "extreme"? Diversity of opinion cannot be tolerated within any system predicated on public obedience for its survival.

The events of our day pick up speed. There is both an awakening among the American people that they have long been deceived about the health of their freedom and an increased urgency among America's permanent ruling class that a new Iron Curtain of control must drop before that awakening turns into outright resistance. When government authorities choose control as the source of their power, then totalitarianism is the inevitable result. Neither freedom nor consent can survive in such a system. The present task for the American government, then, is to lull the public back to a state of narcoleptic dependency, divert their attention with mass propaganda, intimidate them into apathetic compliance, and ratchet up displays of force.

Consider just how far D.C.'s bureaucratic tyrants have gone to undermine the American system:

A nation born from such deep mistrust of government that its Founders went out of their way to design a constitutional structure forbidding the exercise of any powers not explicitly enumerated now endures a Judicial Branch that rewrites law according to its subjective feelings, a Legislative Branch that has delegated much of its authority to an unaccountable administrative State, and an Executive Branch that too often rules by imperial decree.

A nation born from such a deep commitment to the inviolability of God-given rights that its Founders reiterated some of those inalienable rights in the first ten amendments to the Constitution as glaring admonitions to any future governments (lacking the cognitive abilities to read and comprehend the plain language of the Constitution's original text) now endures a federal bureaucracy that works to censor Americans' free speech, interfere with the exercise of their religious faith, deny their right to self-defense, conduct warrantless searches of their private communications, and impudently infringe every other liberty explicitly guaranteed to Americans by the Bill of Rights.

A nation born from such an antagonism to centralized authority that its Founders created a federal republic recognizing most powers as exclusively retained by the respective states or directly by the American people now endures an ever-expanding federal Leviathan insisting that the states and people bend to the collective will of not only the vast collection of bureaucratic busybodies running D.C., but also the international institutions that have usurped America's national sovereignty and now assert direct jurisdiction over the American people.

America's constitutional system has been turned inside-out and upside-down. At no time did the American people provide their consent to these radical changes. At no time did the American people relinquish their inherent prerogative to determine for themselves when their government has acted beyond its delegated powers. At no time did the American people lose inalienable rights that cannot be vitiated through government decree. At no time did Americans lose constitutional protections whose meanings cannot simply be rewritten to suit the interests of the State. At no time did the American people reject their historical calling to be free. When the federal government, whose existence continues only to the extent that it abides by the terms of its contractual framework, instead betrays the plainly written language of its own legal genesis, then it forfeits constitutional legitimacy. "Because we said so" is not a golden ticket providing D.C. with infallible authority.

The government in D.C. is in the empire business, obsessed with projecting power across the globe. The American people, however, are in the republic business, rightly concerned with preserving their rights and liberties here at home. What has happened in America is what has happened throughout history when nations with republican virtue gallop down the path of empire: civic promises once held sacred are betrayed. Without any vote or consultation with the American people, D.C. transformed a limited and sharply defined central government into an amorphous blob beyond ordinary citizens' control. Like an obese beast whose innumerable folds long ago spilled over its constitutional belt, the same charter once meant to constrain it has been hidden beneath gluttonous excess. That must change.

There is nothing "extreme" about citizens and state governments refusing to respect the authority of the federal government until it begins to act within the limits of the Constitution. There is nothing "extreme" about citizens and state governments choosing to enforce their own borders when federal authorities actively encourage foreign invasion. There is nothing "extreme" about citizens and state governments working to create viable precious metal-based workarounds to a federal tax-and-spend system that has already crushed Americans' wealth by empowering private banks to print paper money and will further erode private property through the imposition of central bank digital currencies. There is nothing "extreme" about defending speech from State censorship.

Federal bureaucrats have become a threat to the Bill of Rights. They have rejected the binding terms of the Constitution. They increasingly lack legitimacy.

Image: JSMed via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Down in the border town of Brownsville, the people keep coming. This is the story:

Shelters in a Texas city struggled to find space Saturday for migrants who authorities say have abruptly begun crossing by the thousands from Mexico, testing a stretch of the U.S. border that is typically equipped to handle large groups of people fleeing poverty and violence. The pace of arrivals in Brownsville appeared to catch the city on the southernmost tip of Texas off guard, stretching social services and putting an overnight shelter in an uncommon position of turning people away. Officials say more than 15,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have illegally crossed the river near Brownsville since last week. That is a sharp rise from the 1,700 migrants that Border Patrol agents encountered in the first two weeks of April, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. "It's a quite concerning because the logistical challenge that we encounter is massive for us," said Gloria Chavez, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector. The reason for the increase was not immediately clear. Chavez said migrants have been frustrated by relying on a glitch-plagued government app that can allow them to seek asylum at a port of entry. Some migrants who crossed this week cited other motivators, including cartel threats that immediately preceded the sudden increment.

Fifteen thousand for a city of 186,000 people? There are tents with about 2,000 people waiting on the other side to enter. Wonder why the locals are worried how their community can add that many people so quickly?

Up in Chicago, something similar is happening. The City Council will spend $53 million to care for the thousands of people who have already made their way to north. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams wants FEMA to ban cities from bussing migrants.

To paraphrase Woody Guthrie, the migrants are going from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters. And it ain't fun anymore to be a sanctuary city, especially now that you have to be one greeting the people off the bus.

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(Warning: Graphic content that Democrats desperately want to put in kids classrooms and libraries.)

Sometimes, leftists get in their own way and, when it happens, its a beautiful thing. The latest example came from Media Matters LGBTQ program director, who was trying so hard to defend Chelsea Clinton from being called out as a purveyor of childrens porn, that he committed a perfect self-own, effectively acknowledging that the LGBTQ reading material that Democrats and other leftists are so anxious to keep in schools is, in fact, pornographic.

NOTE: Ari Drennen, the LGBTQ program director featured in this post, claims she/her pronouns. However, Drennen, who identifies as transgender, is a biological man. (Despite the makeup and fake breasts, the Adam's apple, visible in the photo below, helps give the truth away.) Because I do not feel I owe him the courtesy of politely pretending to go along with his gender dysphoria, Ill refer to him as a man, at least while its still legal to do so.

Image: Ari Drennen. YouTube screen grab.

This story starts with the fact that parents have become aware over the last few years that many of the books in their childrens K-12 schools arent just about being accepting of peoples differences but are, in fact, pornographic. Their images and messages, if they involved heterosexual sex, would land the librarians, teachers, and administrators in jail on charges of exposing children to pornographic material. However, they insist that, for LGBTQ people to be fully realized and actualized, only graphic material will do.

And it is very, very graphic. This is a video that Ron DeSantis released when Democrats started shrieking that Florida was censoring reading material:

Warning: This video contains pornographic images and content not suitable for children. If you cant read these books at a school board meeting, should they be in a school? https://t.co/gHBoQh5eYa  Taryn Fenske (@tarynfenske) March 8, 2023

Keep in mind that, because its impossible for any school or library to possess the universe of reading material, those responsible for buying books always make choices. In the case of children, the American social compact has long held that we can censor childrens media to protect them from harmful content.

Chelsea Clinton mindlessly tweeted out an NBC News story about nefarious right-wingers censoring childrens LGBTQ books. Youll note that Gender Queer, one of the more graphic books foisted on kids 11 and up, graces the tweet:

Over 50% of the attempted book bans last year involved books with LGBTQ+ characters & themes. Books are a vital way that children, adolescents and adults learn about themselves and our world. Bans such as these are nothing but harmful: https://t.co/eblRSU7tZk  Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) April 27, 2023

The Babylon Bees Seth Dillon promptly called her out, and thats when Drennen stepped in and annihilated himself:

Weird way to tell us youre yanking it to childrens books, Seth  Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) April 30, 2023

(Incidentally, if you doubt Drennens real sex, his attempt at an insult is uniquely male in tone. Ive never heard biological women say anything quite like that.)

With that tweet, Drennen proved exactly why you should never bring a plastic knife to a high-level gunfight:

That was bad enough, but the true beauty of the exchange emerged from Drennens second attempt at inflicting a massive burn on Dillon:

Hey Seth I think you meant this for my DMs, you just sent me an unsolicited drawing of a blowjob  Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) May 1, 2023

Nobody says thats a book intended for children and at no time am I ok with this man sending me sexual images.  Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) May 1, 2023

And thats where the self-own is: The images come from Gender Queer, which is the book that both Chelsea Clinton and Ari Drennen are arguing must be in schools to ensure that kids are appropriately exposed to LGBTQ concepts:

They claim that conservatives want to ban books and, in doing so, are defending porn being in school libraries without even realizing it. pic.twitter.com/r7WvVIvxoa  Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 1, 2023

The other day, I heard Matt Walsh ask an excellent question: Why is it that the only group in America that is discriminated against when told it cannot put graphic and lascivious sexual material in front of kids is the LGBTQ cohort?
No billionaires at all! Not American ones, at least. That's the newly proclaimed policy of Bernie Sanders, who most definitely is not challenging the Democrats to nominate him for president in 2024, as he did in 2020. Nope, Bernie is perfectly comfortable with the policies being followed by President Biden's handlers. Presumably, in exchange for not rocking the boat as he did in 2020, forcing the party's controllers to pick an already senescent Joe Biden just because he was easy to control with all these bribes that could be exposed when needed (cough! Stay tuned, as Biden's desire for re-election now appears to be a kamikaze mission), Bernie has assurances that the hard-left vector will continue no matter who is leading the party as presidential nominee in 2024.

Bernie Sanders's choice of $999 million as the permissible level of wealth and no more brings to mind Barack Obama's words: "I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money."

Of course, once such a wealth confiscation is announced, billionaires will depart for friendlier shores, there will be very little left to confiscate, and entrepreneurs will be creating jobs and wealth elsewhere. That's what happened when France tried a wealth tax, and that's why it was repealed.

Watch as Bernie defines "enough" to Chris Wallace of CNN:

WALLACE: "Sir, you're saying that billionaires should not exist. So, are you basically saying that once you get to $999 million, that the government should confiscate all the rest?"

SANDERS: "I'm saying that we should go back to a very progressive tax policy like what we had under Dwight D. Eisenhower."

WALLACE: "Which would mean that  that  over a billion, basically it all goes to the government?"

SANDERS: "You may disagree with me, but  fine, yeah, I think people can make it on $999 million."

Photo credit: Grabien video.
Recently, the Chinese government admitted that it had "overcounted" the Chinese population by about a hundred million.

Actually, nothing of the sort happened. Chinese announcements concerning anything are generally soaked in various mixtures of bogosity, and this one is no exception. A hundred million is not a rounding error. There was, in fact, no error at all. The Chinese simply lied about their population at some unknown point in the past and continued lying until it became inconvenient or impossible to sustain.

Communist states lie about everything. This is one of the few certainties  other than the certainty of their eventual failure  that can be entertained about a People's Republic. To borrow from Mary McCarthy, everything they say is a lie, including "and" and "the." In cases like this, it usually involves national security. Communist China was blowing itself up, like a puffer fish, to look more scary and formidable.

I have long had doubts about China's population claims. The Chinese had a horrible 20th century, far worse than that suffered by anyone else. The record of the runner-up, that being Russia, is a positive picnic compared to what the Chinese went through. Let's look at the stats:

Now, the population of China in 1900 was 395,800,000. China's current population, according to various sources, is either 1,425,671,352 or 1,461,313,515 (I like the absolute certainty suggested by those last three digits.) Whether that hundred million has been subtracted from those figures is unclear.

So, comrade, you're telling me that China started the 20th century with just under 400,000,000, suffered something on the order of 463,139,000 excess deaths (remember, we're not counting ordinary, everyday mortality here) across the ensuing 80 years, and still wound up with 1.4+ billion people?

I call . I say it is mathematically and physically impossible. That it could not have happened that way. There was an old simile used in classrooms and textbooks before the P.C. era called the "marching Chinese" that asserted that if you started the population of China marching over the edge of a cliff at a regular walking pace, you'd never run out because they'd be reproducing faster than they'd be going over the cliff. (The standard reply was, "How could they? They'd be marching!") What's left out of account here is the Manchus, the Kuomintang, the communists, and the Imperial Japanese Army slaughtering them by the millions and tens of millions continuously for the better part of a century.

I don't think China has 1.4 billion. I don't think it has a billion. In fact, I have some doubt that it ever reached a billion.

So the "correction" should come as no surprise. It's simply something that China has to do in an effort to cover its crashing population, its shrinking economy, its ghost cities, and all those people who should be running around but, as Solzhenitsyn pointed out about the USSR, were never born.

So, in Metternich's famous phrase, what made them do this just now? I think there's worse news  news that's being kept hidden. It's common knowledge that all of China's efforts to remake human nature  the one-child campaign, the social credit system, COVID policies (or simply COVID, for that matter)  are on a collision course out in the center of that bleak wasteland where nations go to die. National suicide on this scale is something that has never been seen before. What the result will be is anybody's guess, but it can't possibly be good. As regards China, there is a short run and a long run, and right now, we don't know anything about either. Ya pays your yuan, and ya takes your choice.

Image: Wallpaper Flare.
Not many people smoke pot. But for those who do, the City of New York and other urban areas have given them license to stink up the joint with their pot exhalations, forcing the majority to inhale their secondhand smoke in a way that cigarette smokers can only envy.

Puff, puff, puff...

According to mrcTV:

The stench of marijuana in New York City has gotten so bad that it's alienating tourists, yet the city's mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, is actually encouraging more of it  and even liberals are getting annoyed. "Tourists are taken aback by the smell in Times Square," so much so that a local business alliance has launched a campaign to discourage pot-smoking in the public arena, Spectrum News NY1 reports: "After the legalization of recreational marijuana, the smell of weed in public places is rampant. Some complaints sparked a new campaign from the Times Square Alliance to put up signs that read 'Let's be Blunt: No Smoking in the Plazas.'" "New York Smells Like a Declining City," a recent Wall Street Journal piece says, noting that "The stench of weed is ubiquitous, and the mayor is encouraging the 'industry.'" On Thursday, the leftist magazine "The Atlantic" ran an OpEd titled, "I Don't Want to See You Get High," complaining about the stench of pot and the inconsideration for others exhibited by its users: "Smelling cannabis has become an inescapable feature of living in (or visiting) the city, an emblem of life in New York akin to sipping a creme at a cafe table in Paris or strolling through Rome eating a gelato."

Seems secondhand smoke is OK, so long as it comes from a reefer or the hot side of a roach clip. And as if New York City didn't have enough problems with unenforced crime, illegals demanding free housing, and bums in tent hovels sleeping on the sidewalk, the whole place smells like a whiff of dirty bong water. That's your quality of life there, and too bad if the babies inhale it, too, which they will.

Now the tourists are noticing  meaning they don't want to spend several thousand dollars on flights, pricey meals, and overpriced hotels only to steep themselves in the smell of vagrant encampments as their "experience." There are a lot of nice places they can go to these days, few of which will force them to inhale someone else's secondhand stench. To go to New York and come back smelling like an ashtray full of roach clips is asking a lot. It might even bring trouble for these tourists when they re-enter their home countries and must pass through customs. Imagine returning home as a tourist from Singapore, where they just hanged a guy for trafficking two pounds of pot.

The bottom line here is that the failure to enforce pot laws and the decriminalization of marijuana use inevitably lead to public consumption and a lot of bums whose lives revolve around pot-smoking as a lifestyle choice, camping out on the streets. The link between homeless encampments and pot-smoking is strong. The failure to clear those encampments or enforce any laws against petty crime means lots more pot stench to breathe in.

The other issue is that excessive pot-smoking is linked to a lot of crime. Medical studies have shown that pot-smoking in young men with genetic vulnerabilities is connected to the emergence of schizophrenia. Many schizophreniacs commit hard, impulsive violent crimes. Virtually all mass shooters are prodigious pot-consumers. Pot consumption is a part of this whole dysfunctional picture.

While most Americans don't want to see casual marijuana users imprisoned for consuming the illegal substance, the free-for-all legalization of it, with forced inhaling of secondhand smoke throughout the major cities, is problematic on the other extreme, too.

In the article, there are people quoted as saying they want laws against public consumption of pot. Good luck with that one, given that many of the arrestees would be homeless or minorities, and their activist lobbies would be yelling to the rooftops about the discrimination of it all.

And why should anyone expect this micro-crime of secondhand smoke to be policed when subway fare-jumping, vandalism, purse-snatching, shoplifting, and other crimes are not? Good luck with that one, too. New York doesn't even have enough cops to police the major crimes, let alone the quality-of-life crimes like pot stench.

A wholesale blanket ban on pot would probably be the best solution, given the chaos of the city, but don't count on that to happen any time soon. It will need to get much, much worse for anyone to wake up and smell the problem.

Hat tip: Issues & Insights.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Joe Biden's announcement that he is running for re-election has put the Democrats in a pickle. Not only is Biden visibly declining into senescence at an accelerating pace, but he has also re-upped his commitment to Kamala Harris as his running mate and likely replacement if elected to a second term, and obviously unable to complete it in all likelihood. But getting rid of an incumbent president is difficult, and replacing a black and female running mate is difficult, to say the least. Even worse, the only serious challenger within the party, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is unacceptably hostile to the pharma and corporate interests that supply the endless money that buys victory for the Democrats.

They need a deus ex machina: an outside actor with the kind of force that changes everything  and Newt Gingrich thinks they may have one in Michelle Obama. Despite her well known aversion to politics, her recent tour with Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg, appearing before thousands onstage playing a tambourine, has convinced Newt that she may be stepping up to save the party and its totalitarian goals for the next presidential cycle. Partial transcript via Gateway Pundit:

I think at a minimum, it probably is a sign that she said, don't do it, and he said, I'm doing it anyway. And I think she just didn't want to be part of a Biden reelection. And I also think that I was very struck when Mark Halperin, in his wide world of news, ran the video of Michelle Obama on stage with Bruce Springsteen. She's playing a tambourine. She recently had 9000 people at an event with Oprah in Los Angeles. I think Republicans had better pay significant attention to Michelle Obama. I hadn't believed that until I saw her on stage with Bruce Springsteen. I thought, this is not a person who's hiding. So it's conceivable that Susan Rice and others are beginning to say they're not going to be part of some kamikaze reelection campaign with a guy who can't remember what he did yesterday[.]

Watch Newt describe this theory to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures, and stay for the second part of the interview in which he calls Antony Blinken, our secretary of state, part of a criminal clique that perverted the 2020 presidential election by pushing the false narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation and succeeding in censoring it from nearly all media before the voters spoke.

In this clip, Maria begins with the curious announcement of the departure of Susan Rice from the White House staff the day before Biden's re-election effort was announced:

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).
The embarrassing news just keeps coming for Stanford University. A teacher at the Children's Center of the Stanford Community, an on-campus daycare center, was arrested as her tiny students were napping. The charge: murder.

Andrea Vacchiano reports for Fox News:

A preschool teacher who worked on the campus of Stanford University was arrested for murder last week, along with her friend, according to authorities.

Santa Cruz resident Diana Ornelas, 22, was arrested on Wednesday along with her friend, Dennis Novoa, 27.

The pair allegedly shot and killed 24-year-old Oliver Waterfall in Santa Cruz County in California on April 11. His body was found on a hillside off Highway 9.

Authorities said in a statement that they believe the motive for the killing was "of a personal nature" as Ornelas and Novoa apparently knew Waterfall.

Ornelas taught at the Children's Center of the Stanford Community, a child care center on campus. A Stanford University spokesperson said Ornelas was arrested at nap time.

"The arrest happened at nap time and outside of the perimeter of the CCSC campus. Children were not present when this occurred, and it did not disrupt operations," the spokesperson told student newspaper the Stanford Daily.
According to the philosophy of physicalism, any purely scientific view of reality has no place for notions of good or evil, right or wrong, justice or injustice. It is entirely neutral, neither preferring nor disdaining either side. It asserts that there is no objective standard of morality.

The opposite view is that morality is not unscientific; it is merely non-physicalist.

Is there some way to prove the matter, one way or the other?

Yes, there is, but society is so complex, the human mind so inscrutable, that it takes years, even centuries, for a social experiment to produce verifiable results. Oftentimes, the outcomes of social policies are completely opposite to those that were predicted by the experts.

The following bit of recent history provides an example.

Up until the 1960s, the out-of-wedlock birthrate in most segments of society was small, despite there being no reliable contraceptives widely available. One overwhelming reason for the low incidence of premarital pregnancy was social opprobrium. For a young, unmarried woman to be known not to be a virgin was considered shameful. For her to become pregnant was scandalous. The prospect of being humiliated was a powerful inducement, for women, to delay sexual intercourse until marriage.

The advent of the birth control pill changed all that, and as history shows, the incidence of out-of-wedlock motherhood, which was supposed to have been dramatically reduced, instead dramatically increased. Why?

The birth control pill helped to reduce the stigma of losing one's virginity before marriage. This, in turn, indirectly reduced the stigma of premarital pregnancy. This, in turn, reduced the perceived need for the birth control pill. Once the initial phase of these events had occurred, the floodgates were opened, and what quickly followed was what is called the Sexual Revolution.

This revolution was supposed to have freed women from the injustice of sexual repression. Instead, it led to millions of women becoming pregnant and abandoned, left on their own, to raise their fatherless children. Many of them were, as a result, raised in poverty and amid crime. The welfare state sought to correct this mistake by subsidizing single motherhood. This, in turn, predictably increased what it subsidized.

Today, the harm wrought by the abandonment of sexual morality has left us with a society that cannot even recognize the good and natural differences between the sexes, even to the point of denying that there are two complementary sexes, and certainly denying that they are a naturally ordained partnership, one without which, society suffers consequences so pervasive that many people call them good.

The illusion is now deeply ingrained that sexual morality is an antiquated notion, and that its violations have no harmful consequence.

Worse yet, casual acceptance of homosexuality and transsexuality has morphed from mere tolerance to the present state of enforcement. Small, confused children can be subjected to the radical procedure of so-called transitioning from their birth sex to a chosen sex. This can be done in opposition to the parents' wishes, as indeed, pregnant teenage girls can have their pregnancies aborted with neither the knowledge nor consent of their parents.

To interfere is to be accused of child abuse. Even to openly advocate Judeo-Christian standards of morality can bring about ridicule, and even significant penalties. The social opprobrium that once reduced the social ills of out-of-wedlock childbirth now falls upon those who would reduce those ills by upholding moral standards, the violation of which has terrible consequences, as Bishop Fulton J. Sheen warned us, when he said, "Moral truth is vindicated by the ruin that follows when it has been repudiated."

We are now at the point where pedophilia is gaining traction as a so-called sexual orientation.

Where will all this end? The experts say, a Utopian society. When have they been right?
For three years in the mid-1760s, inhabitants of Gevaudan in Southern France were terrorized by a mysterious beast. The creature preyed mostly on women and defenseless children as they wandered through the countryside or tended cattle in the surrounding forests. Victims were found with their throats ripped and their bodies lacerated. Judging from the ferocity of the attacks, the killer was thought to be a huge animal. Those who survived also described the beast to be as large as a donkey with long gaping jaw, pointy upright ears and supple furry tail. Some thought it was a wolf or a hyena. Others believed it was something more sinister and supernatural.

The Beast of Gevaudan. Image: Gallica Digital Library/Wikimedia

The first recorded attack of the beast occurred in the summer of 1764, when a young woman named Marie Jeanne Valet was charged at by a creature that looked like a wolf, yet not a wolf. However, the bulls she was herding, protected her by charging at the beast and driving it off. A few weeks later, the beast had its first killa 14-year-old shepherdess named Jeanne Boulet.

As the number of attacks mounted, terror gripped the populace and local officials decided to take action. Etienne Lafont, a government delegate for the region, and Captain Jean Baptiste Duhamel, a leader of the local infantry, gathered men to hunt and kill the beast. Some speculated that there could be more than one beast because of the large number of attacks that took place within a short span of time. Some even alleged that they saw two beast hunting together, while others claimed that the beast was accompanied by its young.

Thousands of men volunteered. Duhamel organized the group according to military standards, left poisoned bait, and even had some soldiers disguise themselves as peasant women to lure the creature. The reward for killing the beast eventually reached a year's salary for working men.

Image: Gallica Digital Library/Wikimedia

On January 12, 1765, Jacques Portefaix, a young boy, and some of his friends were attacked by the beast when they were out in the meadow with a herd of cattle. The news of the attack reached King Louis XV. Portefaix and the boys had managed to stay out of harm by staying grouped together and managing to scare the beast off with their pikes. Portefaixs courage was so admired that Louis XV paid a reward to all the children and had the boy educated at the kings personal expense. He also decreed that the French state would help find and kill the beast.

In February 1765, two professional wolf hunters, Jean Charles Marc Antoine Vaumesle d'Enneval and his son Jean-Francois, arrived in Clermont-Ferrand with eight bloodhounds that had been trained in wolf hunting. Over the next four months the pair hunted for Eurasian wolves, believing that one or more of these animals was the beast. However, when the attacks continued, the D'Ennevals were replaced by Francois Antoine, the king's gun-bearer.

In September, Antoine killed a large grey wolf with enormous proportions: it was 30 inches high, 5 feet 7 inches long and weighed 60 kg. Some of the survivors were called to identify the carcass, who immediately recognized the scars on its body inflicted by victims defending themselves. It appeared that the Beast of Gevaudan was finally conquered. The wolfs corpse was stuffed and sent to the royal court in Versailles. Antoine stayed behind to continue the hunt for the beasts female partner and her two grown pups. It did not take Antoine much long to track down the other members of the family, which he shot and killed. Antoine returned to Paris a hero and was awarded with money and titles.

The slain beast displayed at the court of Louis XV. Image: Gallica Digital Library/Wikimedia

After a brief pause of two months, the attacks started again in December. This time, the beast seemed behaviorally different. Earlier, the creature appeared to be afraid of cattle, but this time it showed no fear. These attacks continued for the next 18 months, during which some 30 to 35 kills were reported. The king was not interested in these fresh rounds of attacks. For him, the beast was already slain.

With no assistance coming from the king, locals took matters into their own hands and organized a hunt. Finally, on June 19, 1767, a local hunter named Jean Chastel killed a second large wolf. The stomach of the wolf was cut open, and inside they found remains of its last victim. The killing of this creature eventually marked the end of the attacks. Both the wolves, believed to be responsible for the attacks, were exceptionally large and had unusual coat coloration, leading several authors to speculate that they were hybrids between wolves and some of the large shepherd dogs found in the region.

18th century print depicting Francois Antoine slaying the Beast of Gevaudan. Image: Gallica Digital Library/Wikimedia

The necropsy of the animal killed by Jean Chastel was conducted by a local surgeon, but before the surgeon could get his hands on the corpse, the remains had been butchered by the locals, perhaps out of rage or curiosity, or both. As a result, the surgeon was unable to conclusively identify the animal. His report stated:

This animal which seemed to us to be a wolf; But extraordinary and very different by its figure and its proportions of the wolves that we see in this country. This is what we have certified by more than three hundred people from all around who came to see him.

The identity of the beast of Gevaudan continues to be debated. Description of the beast on contemporary prints fitted that of a lion, a stripped hyena, and even an extinct prehistoric predator known as Hyaenodon. However, the general consensus is that the attacks were perpetuated by a wolf, or a pack of wolves. Attack by wolves were not uncommon during the era, not only in France but throughout Europe. Statistics shows that wolves attack may have caused as many as 9,000 deaths in France alone between the 17th and 19th centuries. In the midst of the Gevaudan paranoia itself, in the spring of 1765, an unconnected series of attacks happened near the Soissons commune in the northeast of Paris. In this incident, a lone wolf killed at least four people in two days before being hunted down and killed by a man wielding a pitchfork. Similar occurrences were common in rural areas of western and central Europe.

Despite historical evidences, some scholars refuse to believe that the beast was a wolf. According to one of the more bizarre tales that draws parallel to Arthur Conan Doyles The Hound of the Baskervilles, the beast was kept and trained by Jean Chastel, the man who is said to have killed the second beast, and was let loose on the region to draw attention away from his other crimes, that Chastel was a seral killer. Even today, many believe they were the work of a werewolf.

Reference:

# The fear of wolves, NINA

# What Was the Beast of Gevaudan?, History.com

# When the Beast of Gevaudan Terrorized France, Smithsonian
Sundar Pichai is awarded $226 million in compensation for his 2022 performance. Pichai, now serving as the CEO of Google and Alphabet, received $218 million in stock while his annual salary was $2 million.

The CEOs of Big Tech are usually the highest-paid executives in the world. They make tons of money yearly for their company and receive compensation for their performance. In addition to the conventional salary, these CEOs also receive stock awards, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The CEO of Alphabet and Google, Sundar Pichai, is one of those executives awarded generous compensation in 2022.

Back in December, Google awarded a triannual stock to its CEO that was worth $210 million. In 2021, however, Pichai didnt receive any triannual stock and just got $6.3 million as a yearly salary. Pichais $226 million compensation is 800 times more than the average salary of an Alphabet employee.

Google awarded $226 million to Sundar Pichai in 2022

Sundar Pichai stock award includes two tiers of performance stock, each valued at around $63 million. He has also received another $84 million in Alphabets restrictive stock. According to the companys filing, 60% of Pichais stock is made up of the companys performance stock units. In 2019, Pichais stock award accounted for 43% of Alphabets performance stock units, while his total compensation was $281 million.

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As for 2022, other executives are also awarded stocks. Googles senior vice president of knowledge and information, Prabhakar Raghavan, and the companys chief business officer Philipp Schindler received $37 million for their 2022 performance. Likewise, Googles Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat is awarded $24.5 million in compensation.

The economic slowdown is the biggest Google concern for the years ahead. The tech giant plans to lay off 12,000 of its staff as a part of its cost-cutting campaign. Google also paused building a new campus in San Jose due to financial concerns.

The company is also facing the most challenging competition since its existence. ChatGPT has posed a serious threat to Googles dominance in the search industry, and it might vanish from Googles search business. Some sources also reported that Samsung might choose Microsoft Bing as its default search engine for Galaxy devices and ditch Google.
Qualcomms next-gen flagship smartphone chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is starting to take shape. There are already rumors that the new Qualcomm processor will feature a slightly different CPU core arrangement with a much speedier prime core. Another noted tipster has reiterated that information.

According to a tipster Digital Chat Station, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will bear the model number SM8650 (via). Thats in line with the previous-gen solutions (SM8450 for Gen 1 and SM8550 for Gen 2). However, Qualcomm will reportedly switch to a 1+5+2 CPU core arrangement this year. The company is replacing an efficiency core with a performance core. Last years solution featured a 1+4+3 configuration. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 came with a 1+3+4 CPU core arrangement in 2021.

This suggests Qualcomm is focusing more on the performance side of things as node improvements make chips more efficient than ever. The rumored frequency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3s Cortex-X4 prime CPU core suggests the same too. The upcoming chipset will reportedly boast a clock speed of up to 3.7GHz, a figure similar to the one reported last month. Thats about 15 percent faster than the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which tops out at 3.2GHz. The Samsung-exclusive version found in the Galaxy S23 series goes up to 3.36GHz.

The massive boost is reportedly enabled by TSMCs improved 4nm process node. The Taiwanese firm will manufacture the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 N4P node, which is said to be about six percent more efficient than the N4 node used to manufacture last years chip. The upcoming solution will also upgrade to the Adreno 750 GPU, but its frequency details are not known yet. We will let you know when we have more information.

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Qualcomm may skip the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2

Qualcomm usually launches two flagship smartphone chipsets every year. The first one comes in the first half of the year and is essentially an overclocked version of its previous-gen solution (denoted by a + sign). For example, it launched the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in May last year with a slightly faster CPU and GPU setup than the 2021 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which debuted in November.

Going by this, last years flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 should get a + version within the next couple of months. Qualcomms Taiwanese rival MediaTek has already confirmed a May 11 launch of its Dimensity 9200+, a similarly overclocked version of last years Dimensity 9200. However, rumors are that the American chipmaker doesnt plan to launch Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 this year. It will go straight to Gen 3. That explains why there hasnt been any talk about the former but the latter frequently pops up in the rumor mill.
Last month, OpenAIs data privacy practices and alleged GDPR violations resulted in Italy becoming the first Western democracy to ban ChatGPT. The Italian Data Protection Authority (GPDP) accused OpenAI of illegally collecting users data and not adequately preventing underage users from accessing inappropriate content. However, OpenAI has since implemented several changes to the platform and has now announced that the chatbot is once again available to users in Italy.

One of the changes implemented by OpenAI includes a new prompt to verify users age when they sign up. This would prevent underage users from accessing inappropriate content, which was a major concern for the GPDP. Additionally, in an effort to give users more control over their data, the company has introduced a new form for EU users to remove their data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Furthermore, OpenAI has also published a new help center article outlining how the company collects personal information and how users can contact the GDPR-mandated data protection officer.

We do not and will not use any personal information in training information to build profiles about people, to contact them, to advertise to them, to try to sell them anything, or to sell the information itself, reads OpenAIs help article.

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More legal battles in the future

Although OpenAIs response to Italys concerns shows the companys commitment to protecting user data and promoting responsible AI development, OpenAI is likely to face more legal battles in the future as countries like Spain and Canada have already started investigating OpenAIs practices, including its data collection methods for its language models and the information these models generate.

Moreover, the launch of ChatGPT and other AI language models has also sparked a debate about the implications of artificial intelligence and the need for appropriate regulatory measures. As a result, European lawmakers are advancing the AI Act, which would potentially impose stringent controls on the data privacy practices of companies like OpenAI.
Samsung is rolling out a new update to the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. It isnt the latest May 2023 security patch, but the aging affordable Note is picking up a fairly recent April patch. The device, which is now in its fourth year on the market, isnt getting anything apart from last months security fixes.

The April SMR (Security Maintenance Release) for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite is currently available in a handful of Latin American countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay. According to SamMobile, which first reported this rollout, the new update brings the firmware build number N770FXXS9HWD1 to the device. Samsung should expand the release to more markets in the coming days or weeks.

That said, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite is now in its final year of support. It is only eligible for quarterly updates, i.e. once every three months or so. As such, Samsung may not push the April SMR to the device in some regions. It could skip a few releases in between. If you dont receive last months update on your Galaxy Note 10 Lite, you may get the May release in the coming weeks.

As of this writing, Samsung hasnt detailed the content of the May patch, which it recently started pushing to eligible Galaxy devices. However, we know what the April SMR brings to the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. It contains patches for more than 70 vulnerabilities, including at least five critical ones. About 20 of those are Galaxy-specific flaws affecting various system apps, services, and components. The rest 50-odd patches are for Android OS flaws and come from Google or the respective vendors of the affected services.

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The Galaxy Note 10 Lite will not get Android 14

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in early 2020. The device arrived as an affordable Note phone for those who wanted the companys S Pen at a lower cost. However, the Korean behemoth soon shelved the Note lineup and included the S Pen with the most expensive Galaxy S model. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite ended up never getting a sequel.

Despite that, Samsung offered excellent support to the phone. It debuted with Android 10 onboard and received updates until Android 13. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite also recently picked up One UI 5.1. Unfortunately, thats the last major feature update for the phone. It will not get Android 14 or One UI 6.0. Going forward, its only security updates for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Those will come at least until January 2024.
Samsung has reportedly improved the yield rates of its 3nm semiconductor chips and is now trying to win back customers that it lost to foundry rival TSMC in recent times. According to the Korean media, the company is sending 3nm prototypes to fabless chipmakers in an attempt to sway them on its side.

It is weaponizing the use of Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor architecture in its pitch. The GAA tech is said to be more efficient in terms of performance, power, and chip size than the FinFET (Fin field-effect transistor) architecture used by TSMC.

Samsung is desperately trying to close the gap with TSMC in the foundry market

Samsung has long played second fiddle to TSMC in the semiconductor foundry industry. The latter has stretched the gap up top in recent months as the former struggled with its yield rates.

Several fabless companies switched from Samsung to TSMC for manufacturing their next-gen solutions due to this issue. The Taiwanese firm started the mass production of 3nm chips after Samsung but it has already achieved better yield.

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However, the latest word from the industry is that Samsung has improved its 3nm yield rates to about 60-70 percent in recent months. It is now desperately trying to steal a few customers from TSMC and close the gap to it in the foundry segment. The journey is quite long (the two firms had a market share of 15.8 percent and 58.8 percent respectively in Q4 2022), but the Korean firm is making its moves.

As said earlier, Samsung is producing its 3nm chips using the GAA architecture. TASM, on the other hand, is sticking to the FinFET tech for one more generation.

It plans to switch to GAA with 2nm chips in 2025. The Korean firm would be using this theoretical upper hand in architecture in its pitch to fabless companies as it sends them early prototypes. By the time TSMC moves to the GAA architecture, Samsung would have about two years of expertise in it.

It remains to be seen if the Korean giant manages to win back a few customers from TSMC. Most of its current 3nm clients are high-performance computing (HPC) companies that need high-performance and low-power semiconductors, the new report states. It also has some mobile customers, but the Taiwanese firm has already captured all the big names.

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TSMC isnt sitting idle either

Its not like Samsung is making all the moves and TSMC is sitting idle. The Taiwanese firm reportedly held a foundry technology symposium in the US recently. It targeted major customers in the US and unveiled a roadmap for mass production of the next-gen advanced process.

The company has already secured large orders from Apple, AMD, MediaTek, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. It plans to start mass-producing 3nm chips for these customers early next year. TSMC will manufacture 3nm chips for HPC in 2025 and automobiles in 2026.
More than half the public expects the Conservatives to lose seats at the local elections on Thursday, a poll suggests.

Some 55% of people told Ipsos UK that they thought the Tories would lose seats while just 9% thought the party would make gains.

The picture for Labour was much better, with 45% saying they expected the party to pick up council seats.

The public was also more likely to say Labour councillors were better than those from other parties at delivering local services, setting the right level of council tax and listening to the views of local residents, but a large proportion of voters said that either no party was better than the others or they did not know who would be best.

The findings of the survey, carried out between April 21 and 24, chime with the results of other polls that see Labour maintaining its double-digit lead over the Government when it comes to how people would vote in a general election.

But the Ipsos poll of 1,850 UK adults, published on Monday, found people put more weight on local factors when deciding which council candidates to vote for.

Asked what factors were very important when deciding who to vote for, 42% mentioned the local councils performance in running their area and 41% mentioned the promises local parties made.

However, 33% said policies on national issues were an important factor and 31% mentioned the Governments performance in running the UK. Only 24% said their opinion of national leaders such as Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer would factor into their local election votes.

But on specific issues that would determine how people would vote, 52% talked about the cost of living and 45% mentioned the NHS, more than any other issue.

Crime and the condition of local roads were the joint third most-mentioned issues on 38%, but were more likely to be mentioned as top priorities by older voters. Some 60% of those aged 55-75 said local roads were an important issue, with only 47% mentioning the cost of living.

Keiran Pedley, research director at Ipsos, said: These results show how local elections are different to general elections in the minds of voters, who prioritise local issues over national ones when deciding how to vote in them.

However, the national picture is never far away, with the cost of living and NHS still on voters minds as they head to the polls, especially for those aged under 55.

Meanwhile, if the public are right, the Conservatives are likely to face a difficult set of results on Thursday, reflecting the current unpopularity of the Conservative government nationally.
A local community in Co Tyrone has been left stunned, numb and speechless by the tragic crash which claimed the lives of three members of the same family, a funeral for two siblings has heard.

Dan and Christine McKane, and their aunt Julia McSorley, 75, were killed in the crash last week on the A5 near Aughnacloy when the minibus they were travelling in was in a collision with a lorry.

They had been returning from the funeral of a family member in Corby, Northamptonshire.

The coffins of Dan and Christine McKane are carried from the church (Liam McBurney/PA)

Four other family members were admitted to hospital, with two people having since been discharged.

A funeral was held for Mrs McSorley at St Eugenes Church in Glenock on Sunday.

The song Danny Boy was sung as the siblings coffins were brought into The Church of The Immaculate Conception in Strabane on Monday.

One of Mr McKanes daughters and Mrs McKanes son later read poems they had written for them.

A representative of the Irish president Michael D Higgins and Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle ONeill were among the mourners.

Rev Declan Bolan thanked them for attending and for the messages of sympathy from ministers at nearby churches.

He thanked the incredible crowds who turned out for the funeral to support the McKane family through the awful pain and unspeakable horror that came so unexpectedly.

A mourner holds up the order of service following the funeral (Liam McBurney/PA)

Our hearts are sad and broken, our pain is deep, our sadness knows no bounds, he told mourners.

Youve turned up today in incredible numbers because you care and because you want to help this family through their most awful pain and unspeakable horror that has come upon them so, so unexpectedly.

Dan and Christine and Julia should be like ourselves, walking about, doing their normal things on a Monday afternoon, and yet we know that life changed utterly in a flash coming round that bend in Aughnacloy.

When we think they were coming from a requiem mass in Corby in England, it just accentuates the great pain and disbelief we have.

A journey to give support and comfort to relatives in Corby ended in utter disaster. Were stunned, were numb and speechless at what happened.

Our grief is total, our wound is open.

The two siblings had both been baptised and confirmed in the church.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill (left) as she speaks with a mourner (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr McKane, 53, a father of two daughters, was described as big-hearted and a hard-working man.

Lorry driving was in his blood, he knew every part of England, he didnt need a satnav, Fr Bolan said.

He would have gone that extra mile for anyone and on anything for them, nothing was a bother to Dan McKane. He was the go-for person when something was needed, Dan was your man in times of need.

Mrs McKane, 49, a mother of three and grandmother of two, was described as slight in stature but big in heart.

She had a great laugh, she was no pushover, one look said everything. She was a pocket rocket, he said.

She loved her Smarties, that was her diazepam.

Her home, her wonderful children and latterly her beautiful grandchildren were everything to Christine, she just lived for them.

People attend a vigil at the grotto in Strabane for the victims of the collision (Claudia Savage/PA)

Fr Bolan described the gathering of 2,000 people at the grotto on Friday as shafts of light in the appalling tragedy.

I have seen the golden, loving faithful heart of our people who gathered at the grotto on Friday to show solidarity to this family in their time of need, he said.

Those 2,000 people who gathered at our grotto bore witness to what is at the very best of the heart of this community and this town, and their presence spoke volumes. It was one of the finest community acts of love and compassion that I have witnessed in nearly 50 years of diocesan priesthood.

Fr Bolan went on to thank the first responders who attended the scene of the crash last week, as well as the local priest.

He also paid tribute to a woman who lives near the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for offering to accommodate and support the family of those who remain in hospital.

That is a beautiful gesture of love and solidarity and hope, he added.
A crucial meeting will be held on Tuesday between unions and NHS employers which is expected to pave the way for the Government to implement a pay rise aimed at resolving the long-running health workers dispute.

The NHS Staff Council will hear reports from unions which have balloted hundreds of thousands of health workers in recent weeks.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite rejected the offer of a 5% pay rise for this year and a cash sum for last year, leading both unions to hold strikes on Monday.

But other unions  including Unison, the GMB and those representing midwives and physiotherapists  voted in favour.

(PA Graphics)

The unions will report the ballot results to todays meeting with employers and the Health Department and will then vote on whether the offer should be accepted.

It is expected there will be a majority in favour, which would pave the way for the Government to implement the pay rise to all health workers covered by the agreement, including members of the RCN and Unite.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay told journalists on Monday: Im cautiously optimistic that the Staff Council will agree to vote in favour of the deal.

But I think its right to wait until Tuesday for the Staff Council to meet and this strike is premature.

I think its disrespectful to the other trade unions. I think the RCN should have waited. Theyre a member of the Staff Council. They were part of the negotiations.

The RCN is pressing ahead with a fresh ballot to see if its members want to continue taking industrial action irrespective of what happens at todays meeting.

RCN members will return to work on Tuesday after their latest strike in England in protest at the pay offer.

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen (Lucy North/PA)

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen joined a picket line in London on Monday, saying: What our members are saying to the Secretary of State and Government is we are not going to go away.

We will remain on our picket lines to have a voice heard for our patients.

We will continue to lose a days pay standing on picket lines for our patients so thats how important it is to them and they want to have their voice heard.

How are they going to have their voice heard and have this brought to a conclusion without the Secretary of State getting into a room and starting to negotiate again with me.

Pay those people a decent wage, the offer that was put on the table didnt address the issues with nursing and it didnt address the issues within the health service and thats fundamentally what needs to happen right away.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

She claimed Health Secretary Steve Barclay has lost the public and certainly lost any respect that our nursing staff had for him and this Government.

Unite members at South Central, South East Coast and West Midlands ambulance trusts alongside workers at Christies NHS Foundation Trust, Christies Pathology Partnership, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust will all take part in industrial action on Tuesday.

Unite national officer Onay Kasab said: We had been clear with ministers from the outset that the offer of a real terms pay cut sweetened with a one-off cash payment was very likely to be rejected by our members and it has.

It does not go far enough to address the massive problems facing the NHS due to overworked and underpaid workers leaving in droves. Our members will be on the picket lines with Unites total support until ministers come back with an acceptable offer.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of National Education Union (Ben Birchall/PA)

Meanwhile, members of the National Education Union in England will stage a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in their bitter pay dispute.

School and classroom closures will force parents to keep their children home again.

The union is urging the Government to hold fresh talks in a bid to break the deadlock.

Four unions representing teachers and head teachers have warned they will co-ordinate future industrial action if the row is not resolved.

Staff at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will strike today in another long-running dispute over pay.

Members of Unison, Unite and the Public and Commercial Services union will walk out, including those working in inspection teams, call centres and data analysis, will walk out.

Meanwhile, members of the Unite union working for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have rejected a pay offer from the College and pledged to strike between May 15 and 17 and May 23 and 25 during the Colleges annual conference.
The UKs aerial evacuation mission from Sudan is over with the passengers on the final repatriation flights expected to land in Britain within hours.

Two flights organised by the Royal Air Force (RAF) were expected to land in Cyprus late on Monday.

The evacuees, which include Sudanese doctors working for the NHS, were then expected be transported to the UK within 48 hours of landing at the Larnaca airbase, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

According to UK Government figures, as of Monday at 5.30pm, the number of people repatriated from the war-torn African nation by Britains armed forces stood at 2,197.

The number of people who were on the last rescue flights, which left from Port Sudan, more than 500 miles east of the capital Khartoum, is expected to be announced by the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

While the UK Government said it expected no more flights to leave following the bank holiday airlifts, Royal Navy warship HMS Lancaster will remain in the Red Sea to support any further evacuation efforts from Sudan.

Officials said the UKs focus would turn to the diplomatic and humanitarian response to the bloody conflict caused by a violent rivalry between two generals.

A fragile three-day ceasefire was holding together despite opposing troops clashing in Khartoum on Monday.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: With thanks to the extraordinary efforts of staff and military, the UK has brought 2,197 people to safety from Sudan so far  the largest airlift by any Western nation.

As the focus turns to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue to do all we can to press for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to the violence in Sudan.

Yet again our Armed Forces have led the way, with further evacuations by air taking place from Port Sudan today, supported by @RoyalAirForce @HMSLANCASTER is supporting @FCDOGovUK in Port Sudan & will continue providing aid. First in, last out. Defence gets things done. pic.twitter.com/tgff8DhdcK  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) May 1, 2023

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: Yet again the men and women of our armed forces have led the way.

In one week, the RAF have flown more than 20 flights, deployed over a thousand personnel, evacuated over 2,000 civilians and helped citizens from more than 20 countries to get home.

HMS Lancaster will remain at Port Sudan and her crew will continue to help provide support.

In addition to British nationals, the UK helped evacuate 1,087 people from other nations, including the US, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia.

HMS Lancaster will remain in the Red Sea to assist with further evacuations, the Defence Secretary said (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Following the final RAF repatriation flights, the FCDO said a UK team will continue to be based at Port Sudan to provide consular assistance, including to British nationals leaving by commercial routes.

British forces have handed over the co-ordination of evacuations at Wadi Seidna airfield to the north of Khartoum Sudanese authorities.

Members of the Royal Engineers carried out urgent repairs to the runway between flights, the first time an operational airfield has been repaired by British forces since the Falklands conflict in 1982.

There is hope in the West that an internationally-brokered ceasefire could be reached to quell the fighting.

The United Nations said the rival generals, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have agreed to send representatives to the negotiation table in a bid to establish a more stable truce.

Generals Burhan and Dagalo, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fraught transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said he is cautiously optimistic that unions will accept the current pay offer for nurses, despite increasingly heated rhetoric between negotiators.

On Tuesday, unions in the NHS Staff Council will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between 1,655 and 3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.

This comes as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) launched its biggest strike yet at 8pm on Sunday, involving thousands of nurses including intensive care and cancer specialists.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he believes the NHS Staff Council will vote to approve the pay deal (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Mr Barclay criticised the action as disrespectful to the unions meeting on Tuesday, who he believes could accept the pay deal  while RCN general secretary Pat Cullen urged him not to be disrespectful to nurses.

The Health Secretary told journalists: Im cautiously optimistic that the Staff Council will agree to vote in favour of the deal.

But I think its right to wait until Tuesday for the Staff Council to meet and this strike is premature.

I think its disrespectful to the other trade unions. I think the RCN should have waited. Theyre a member of the Staff Council. They were part of the negotiations.

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen said members will be voting on whether to take further industrial action later in May (Lucy North/PA)

Meanwhile, Ms Cullen told the PA news agency more strikes could be on the horizon as RCN members vote on further action later this month.

Speaking at a picket outside University College Hospital in central London, she said Mr Barclay had lost the public and certainly lost any respect that our nursing staff had for him and this Government.

What our members are saying to the Secretary of State of this Government is we are not going to go away, she said.

We will remain on our picket lines to have a voice heard for our patients.

We will continue to lose a days pay standing on picket lines for our patients, so thats how important it is to them and they want to have their voice heard.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer spoke with journalists during a visit to Blackpool (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also urged the Government to accept responsibility for the strikes.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Blackpool, Lancashire, he said: The Government sat on its hands for weeks and weeks and weeks, making a bad situation worse. So everybody wants to see that resolved.

I think it is important to recognise the underlying causes of this because nurses and many others have seen a real drop in their wages and their living standards because of the cost-of-living crisis, and the Government has got nothing to say to them about that.

Responsibility here lies at the door of No 10 and they need to accept that responsibility and do something about it.

The RCN strike, which ends just before midnight, involves nursing staff from A&E, intensive care and cancer care for the first time.

However, exemptions were granted for nurses in the emergency departments of some hospitals, including Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

RCN members are striking for 28 hours until midnight on Monday (Ben Birchall/PA)

Nurses comprise a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Healthcare workers are also staging a protest in central London on Monday under Unite.

The union said this demonstration will coincide with a strike by its members from Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
A woman has died after being stabbed in south London during the afternoon of Bank Holiday Monday.

The Metropolitan Police said it was called at around 4.04pm on Monday to reports of a stabbing in Stockwell Park Walk.

Met Police officers, paramedics and an air ambulance attended, but the woman  believed to be in her 30s  was pronounced dead at the scene.

The family of the woman have been informed and are currently being supported by specialist officers.

A number of roads are currently closed as officers continue to work at the scene.

Inquiries remain ongoing and any witnesses are urged to call 101 quoting CAD 4278/01 May. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Former king of the jungle Joe Swash and ex-EastEnders star Dean Gaffney are set to be the latest contestants to arrive on Im A Celebrity South Africa.

The pair, who competed on the ITV reality show in 2008 and 2006 respectively, were announced in the closing moments of Mondays episode.

Actor and presenter Swash, 40, was crowned the winner of the eighth series of the regular show, and credits the experience for introducing him to his wife Stacey Solomon.

Im A Celebrity holds a big place in my heart, he said.

Swash credits his previous Im A Celebrity experience for introducing him to his wife Stacey Solomon (Ian West/PA)

I won it and I was lucky enough to go on to present the spin-off series on ITV2 for 10 years.

I met Stacey whilst I was out in Australia and me and Stacey have now married and we have had kids. Doing the all-stars series is closure. It finishes off the circle.

Asked about Solomons reaction to his return to the jungle, he added: Stacey is over the moon about me doing it.

The jungle holds a big part in both our hearts. Without the jungle, we wouldnt have each other. In a way, we owe it to the jungle to say goodbye.

Swash, who describes himself as a bit of a gagger and a screamer said his previous experience had changed him in a nice way.

Before I went in, I always thought of myself as an imposter and I felt I wasnt meant to be there, he said.

Doing the jungle gave me the confidence to believe in myself and it was a huge turning point in my life and career.

Im A Celebrity South Africa sees prior contestants on the regular show battle it out to be crowned the first Im A Celebrity Legend.

Of course it would be amazing to be crowned the champion, Swash said.

But I am mainly doing this programme to say thank you to the jungle and put a full stop at the end of the journey.

My eldest son, Harry, was one when I did the jungle and he is 16 now! I want the kids to watch Im A Celebrity South Africa and for both of us to be able to tell them Im A Celebrity is where mummy and daddy met.

The jungle is always going to be a big part of our family.

Gaffney admitted he re-watches his infamous Im A Celebrity live trial whenever he needs cheering up and that my pain is everyone elses gain.

Former EastEnders star Dean Gaffney will join other contestants of Im A Celebrity South Africa (Ian West/PA)

During the jungle spa trial, which included putting his head in a bowl for a hair wash with cockroaches while wearing a bathrobe, the actor could not stop screaming  providing viewers with one of the series most memorable moments.

That live trial became folklore. Every year it gets wheeled out as one of the best moments, so even if I want to forget it I cant, Gaffney said.

People still stop me in the street and chat to me about the trial. And whenever I am having a bad day, I put the trial on and it makes me feel better. My pain is everyone elses gain.

He continued: It would be a massive trajectory to go from screamer of the year in 2006 to go and win the thing.

That would be unbelievable. But the camp will be fierce because everyone wants to be the first Im A Celebrity Legend.

Earlier on Mondays episode, campmates were faced with a horrendous task, after a last minute surprise announcement from hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

The celebrities will have to take part in a secret ballot and vote who will be leaving camp, the result of which will be revealed in Tuesdays episode.

All three smashed it but a special mention for @helenflanagan1! What a turn-up for the books   #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/cMoZpt6s77  I'm A Celebrity (@imacelebrity) May 1, 2023

They reacted with horror to the news, with Georgia Toffolo exclaiming: Have you ever heard anything as horrendous as that?

Nasty, nasty thing to do. Were all getting along really well. But thems the rules, added Phil Tufnell.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell told the Bush Telegraph: that smiling assassin duo (McPartlin and Donnelly) has delivered an incendiary device into the middle of the heart of our camp and family.

I am not very happy.

Earlier, Myleene Klass, Amir Khan and Helen Flanagan were selected to take part in the highest ever trial in the shows history.

The Worlds End challenge saw the trio climb a 1,100-metre tall crane-like structure in a bid to unhook stars.

Flanagan, who has previously been infamous for refusing trials, overcame her fear and the trio returned to camp with all 11 stars.

Im A CelebritySouth Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
An artist renowned for depicting royals with moose as a form of affectionate mischief has recalled the giggling response he received from the King when he presented him with a postcard of Queen Elizabeth II riding one of the long-antlered mammals.

Canadian Charles Pachter, 80, who lives in Toronto, has produced an entire collection featuring moose alongside royalty over the course of five decades and even presented his creations to the late Queen and King Charles.

His most famous creation, depicting Elizabeth riding a moose, was warmly received by Charles  whose coronation takes place on May 6  when the pair met in 1999.

Mr Pachter told the PA news agency: He [Charles] was on a Canadian tour and he was in Toronto because he had particular interests in historical architecture that he believed should be maintained.

Charles Pachter met Charles in Canada in 1999 and showed him his playful artwork (Charles Pachter/PA)

A huge whisky distillery was restored in the early 90s and Prince Charles was there to see it.

For whatever reason I was invited, and I had a couple of postcards in my pocket. I approached him  he was very approachable and quite charming  and gave him a postcard of his mummy on a moose, and he giggled.

He was very pleasant about it.

Mr Pachters love for the animal started aged four, when he petted a moose at the Canadian National Exhibition.

In school, we were taught that the moose was the monarch of the north, he said.

Its awkward and majestic, and when you see it in the woods you feel like youve had a very privileged moment.

I did for the moose what Andy Warhol did for Marilyn Monroe  I made the moose glamorous.

Charles Pachters first piece of moose-themed art featured the late Queen Elizabeth II (Charles Pachter/PA)

Mr Pachter began producing the pieces in 1973  some of which involves inkjet printing  after hearing that Queen Elizabeth II was coming to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, to open the Shaw Festival Theatre.

I had begun these images of the Queen sitting on a moose because I couldnt understand why our head of state didnt live here, he said.

I turned it into a visual pun  by putting the Queen on a moose, I sat her in a Canadian setting.

He added that at the time, reaction by critics and the public was pretty dismal and negative.

However, the artwork has since grown in popularity and recognition and Mr Pachter said the late Queen chuckled when he showed it to her in 2015, adding: She wasnt offended  she thought it was cute.

Ive had fun with the image and it really has become something of a watermark in my career, and now with the new royals, Im going to start to have some fun.

Mr Pachter will make the King and Queen Consort the focus of future pieces (Charles Pachter/PA)

My work does have a quality of affectionate mischief but its not malevolent or mean-spirited.

I do believe in many ways that they [the royal family] are our version of Hollywood, that we just enjoy seeing them and following their foibles and ups and downs.

Mr Pachter said he thought the Kings coronation will go off magnificently, and talked up the prospect of a reunion with Charles and the Queen Consort as he gets to work on more royal-moose artwork.

If and when they come back to Canada, Id love to meet them again, he said.

Im Prints Charles!
Heineken has pledged a 40 million cash injection into the pubs business, in a move which will create around 600 jobs this year.

The global brewing giant said the investment will upgrade 570 pubs, almost a quarter of its UK venues, in 2023.

Heineken runs around 2,400 pubs through its Star Pubs & Bars operation in the UK.

Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Star Pubs & Bars, said it is particularly important to continue investing in its venues despite the uncertain consumer backdrop.

Heinekens UK pub business runs around 2,400 venues (Heineken/PA)

The group said about 100 pubs will receive major revamps costing around 200,000 each as part of the investment programme.

It said the funding will be driven towards its local neighbourhood pubs, which have witnessed continued popularity amid pressures on consumer finances and shifts in behaviour following the Covid pandemic.

Mr Mountstevens said: We know from previous economic downturns that when customers disposable income is squeezed, they look for an exceptional experience when they go out.

A great ambience and attractive surroundings are key and contribute to the value for money that pubgoers seek.

Its more important than ever to invest during uncertain times like these, to keep pubs thriving and meeting the needs of their communities.

Our investment is a vote of confidence in the great British local.

Funding will also go towards measures to boost sustainability and reduce energy usage, to help reach Heineken UKs ambition to be net zero through its supply chain by 2040 as well as combating soaring energy costs.

Investment minister Lord Johnson said: Heinekens investment is great news, not only creating hundreds of new jobs and improving pubs up and down the country but also making a contribution to our net zero targets.
An online petition to save the O2 Academy Brixton has surpassed 50,000 signatures.

The south London music venue faces permanent closure after the Metropolitan Police urged the council to strip the venue of its licence.

It comes after two people were killed on December 15, when fans without tickets tried to enter a show by Nigerian artist Asake at the venue.

The Metropolitan Police have applied to shut the O2 Academy Brixton (James Manning/PA)

The academys licence was suspended for three months by Lambeth councillors and a decision on whether to reopen the site is expected to be decided at a licensing meeting soon.

On Monday an online petition to Save Brixton Academy had been signed by more than 50,000 people.

The petition, created by Stuart OBrien and directed to Lambeth Council, said that the iconic venues closure would result in another part of the musical landscape and history being lost forever.

What happened there was a tragedy, but caused by people, the petitions description says.

Revoke the security firms licence and bring in someone adequate recommended by the police Bring in new security procedures including crowd control to ensure a repeat doesnt happen.

Security guard Gaby Hutchinson died in hospital after the crush at the music venue (Met Police/PA)

But lets not turn this venue into soulless flats as would more than likely happen in the event of permanent closure.

Security guard Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, both died during the incident in December.

The Met told the PA news agency: On Monday January 16, the licence of the O2 Academy Brixton was suspended for three months.

On April 14, the Met Police submitted an application for a review of (the) premises licence to Lambeth Council and will be seeking a revocation of the licence.

This matter will be decided at a future council sub-committee hearing on a date to be confirmed.

Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died following the crush at the Asake gig (Family handout/PA)

Lambeth councillors will decide whether to follow the police advice or to reopen the venue.

A spokesperson for Academy Music Group (AMG), which owns the venue, told PA: AMG has co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council since the tragedy at Brixton occurred.

We have had regular meetings and discussions with the Metropolitan Police and Lambeth Council at which we have presented detailed proposals that we believe will enable the venue to reopen safely.

AMG has been awaiting feedback on those proposals for several weeks and looks forward to hearing from the police as soon as possible in constructive terms.

The review of our licence will take place through the formal process with Lambeth Council in due course.
The SNP has called on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide by raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week.

Ahead of Scotlands First Minister Humza Yousaf convening a cross-party anti-poverty summit in Edinburgh on Wednesday, the partys Westminster leader Stephen Flynn warned Westminster policies are making people poorer and undermining progress on tackling poverty in Scotland.

He urged the UK Government to introduce a comprehensive package of measures to reverse child poverty across the UK including: raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week UK-wide, scrapping the benefit cap, introducing a Real Living Wage and setting statutory targets to eliminate child poverty.

The latest OECD figures show the UK has the worst levels of poverty of any country in north-west Europe, with a higher poverty rate than all of the UKs European neighbours including Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

The Scottish Child Payment, paid to eligible poorer families, was increased from 10 to 25 per child per week in November.

It has been heralded as game-changing by poverty campaigners, but Scottish Government data released in March indicates 24% of children are still in poverty.

Mr Flynn said: Tackling poverty is a defining mission of the SNP government but for every step Scotland takes forward to eradicate poverty, Westminster is taking us back again.

While progressive SNP policies like the Scottish Child Payment are putting money into peoples pockets and reducing inequality, damaging Westminster policies are making people poorer and undermining progress on tackling poverty in Scotland.

The SNP Scottish Government will always accept its responsibility to use the restricted powers it has to reduce poverty  but for as long as Scotland remains under Westminster control, the UK government must take its responsibilities seriously too.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn called for action (House of Commons/PA)

He added: Rishi Sunak must introduce a comprehensive package of support to reverse poverty  including matching the ambition of the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide by raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week and scrapping the benefit cap.

And he must follow the Scottish Governments lead by introducing statutory targets to eliminate child poverty  or the UK will continue to languish with one of the worst levels of poverty among our European neighbours.

A UK Government spokesperson said: We are committed to eradicating poverty and have helped nearly two million people out of absolute poverty since 2010, including 400,000 children.

We recognise the pressures of the rising cost of living which is why we have provided record levels of direct financial support, including 1,350 for those most in need.

Benefits have also risen by over 10% and the National Living Wage has increased by more than 9%.
Tributes have been paid to a much-loved son who was stabbed to death during a serious altercation near a nightclub in Cornwall.

Michael Allen, 32, was killed and seven other people suffered stab wounds in an attack close to the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin on Sunday.

On Monday detectives were given more time to question a 24-year-old man from the town who has has been arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

A statement from Mr Allens family, issued by Devon and Cornwall Police, said: Mike was simply a much-loved son, brother, grandson and uncle, who loved his dogs.

His family would like to respectfully request privacy at this time.

Police were called at 3.15am on Sunday to the area of Victoria Square in Castle Canyke Road following reports of a person with a knife and multiple people with suspected stab wounds.

Two people remain in hospital after undergoing surgery and five have been released.

A tribute site has been set up at Bodmin Rugby Club, where people can gather to remember Mr Allen.

Paying tribute to the rugby player, Bodmin RFC said Mr Allens humour had left a mark on the club.

In a post on Facebook, the rugby club said: It is with great sadness that we can now announce the passing of our player and friend Mike Allen (Chabel).

Mike came to the club earlier this season and quickly became a big part of our squad. His humour and kindness has left a mark on us all and we will miss him dearly.

Our thoughts are with Mikes family at this devastating time.

There is a memorial set up outside the rugby club where people are welcome to come to pay their respects and lay flowers. Fly high brother.

Friend Lachlan Blackshaw posted on Facebook a photo of Mr Allen, nicknamed Chabel, in his rugby kit.

The post said: It was a pleasure Chabel. Never Forgotten Brother. Run hard for ever.

A second friend, Ollie Brooks, posted: It was a pleasure Chabel. Fly high brother.

Aran Pridham posted on Facebook: Rest in peace Mike will never forget you for the happy, amazing person you were, you will be sadly missed buddy x

Police officers will be there to help support the local community and a community hub will run from 4pm-6pm on Monday and then twice daily from 10am-midday and 4pm-6pm for the next week.

#LatestNews Police have been granted a Magistrates extension to allow officers extra time to detain a man in connection to a murder in #Bodmin that took place over the weekend. The deceased has been named as Mike Allen (pictured), 35, from #Liskeard.https://t.co/JhuZCkE7A6 pic.twitter.com/WOlq6jcDud  Devon & Cornwall Police (@DC_Police) May 1, 2023

Superintendent Rob Youngman said in a media statement on Sunday that it is not clear if there is a relationship between those involved.

We believe some members of the group who were injured had been in Eclipse nightclub. They were then outside in Castle Canyke Road when the incident happened, he said.

Eclipse nightclub wrote on Facebook: Everybody from the Eclipse are deeply saddened by the incident on Castle Canke Road in the early hours of Sunday and our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this time.

Devon and Cornwall Police were granted extra time to detain and question the suspect at Bodmin Magistrates Court on Monday.

Detective Inspector Ilona Rosson, from the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: Our investigation continues into this matter, and we continue to ask the public for their help.

If you have any information relating to this murder and have yet to have spoken with the police, please come forward immediately. The information you have, no matter how small you may feel it could be, could be vital to our investigation.
A Ukrainian DJ who will be part of a simultaneous rave in both Liverpool and Kyiv hopes that the party with a purpose will allow Ukrainians to feel the great support from the UK through music.

Nastia Haman, who is more commonly known by her artistic name Mingulitka, is to perform in Liverpool on May 7 as part of Rave UKraine, which will see simultaneous raves taking place at Liverpool music venue Content and at HVLV Bar feat Hangout in the Ukrainian capital, with each event being live-streamed to the other.

The simultaneous raves will begin at 4pm in Liverpool, which is 6pm in Kyiv.

The Kyiv event finishes at 10pm local time, which is 8pm in the UK.

Mingulitka, who is currently based in London and living with a host family, came to the UK via the Homes for Ukraine scheme in May of last year.

Mingulitka said that she hopes she can help Ukraine through her music (Alina Chernohor)

She told the PA news agency that she is excited about the event and hopes it encourages people to continue supporting Ukrainians as the war continues.

I was really excited to receive an invitation to play as part of Rave UKraine and Im looking forward to playing my DJ set, the 31-year-old, who is also a musician, said.

I will share some electronic underground music, as well as British and European (music) for people in Liverpool.

I hope a lot of Ukrainians will also come to this event and I guess its really important for people in Kyiv and Ukraine to feel this connection with the UK and to feel great support.

Mingulitka said that in the first two to three months after arriving in the UK, I didnt really want to play music.

It was super strange for me to play my first DJ sets.

Im not in Ukraine and sometimes I feel guilty for it, but then I started to play.

It was a turning point for me because I realised that through music and my sets and gigs, I can help my country to fundraise some money.

She added that playing close to Eurovision will be special.

Jez Collins hopes the event will be a party with a purpose (Jez Collins/PA)

Eurovisions a really big event, so I think it can be something really liberating.

Each venue will have different acts performing, with Hot Chip, James Lavelle and Jodie Harsh, among others, taking the stage at the Liverpool rave.

Jez Collins who sparked the idea, and is organising the logistics from the Liverpool side, said that he wanted to create a party with a purpose.

Were safe in the UK and Eurovision is happening which is a huge global party  lots of glitter and dance, the 53-year-old who is based in Birmingham and runs the Birmingham Music Archive told PA.

This event is not just a rave, its a party with a purpose and its a really important way of showing the connections between people.

It does not matter if you cant speak Ukrainian or English, or what rave music you like, its this idea that music really does bring people together.

The war is not going to stop because a rave is going on, but for a few hours we can celebrate and show solidarity with people who are going through things we really cant imagine.

Funds raised are to go to Music Saves UA, a non-profit fundraising initiative created by the Ukrainian Association of Music Events to provide humanitarian aid to those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Vlad Yaremchuk (Vlad Yaremchuk/PA)

Vlad Yaremchuk, who is the partnership manager at the organisation, told PA, from Kyiv, that the money raised from the event will make a big difference on the ground.

We will be providing humanitarian help to those in Ukraine with the money raised  thats really our speciality. So far we have been able to help more than 40,000 civilians thanks to collaborations like these, said the 26-year-old, who is also the programming director at Atlas Festival  a Ukrainian music festival.

Jez found us on Google as he was looking for a Ukraine-based charity that has something to do with music. It was great for us to know that we can be googled.

We instantly replied and said yes. For me it was especially exciting since I come from an electronic music background myself, its my passion in life.

Andy Yankovsky, who is the co-owner of HVLV Bar feat Hangout in Kyiv, spoke about the music scene in Ukraine.

Despite March marking the one-year anniversary since Russia invaded Ukraine, he said it was one of the most interesting years in Ukrainian music.

If you look at how many records have been released, its just insane  its probably one of the most fruitful years weve ever had, the 29-year-old, who is also a creative producer, told PA from Berlin.

Mr Yaremchuk added: Music is a form of activism, but its not the type of activism where you pretend everything is normal.

Andy Yankovsky (Hanna Datsiuk/PA)

The war continues and people are dying every day, but events help us to relieve tension, to process collective trauma, to process our complex emotions by uniting and dancing together

Were still here, were still dancing and every single event makes its contribution to our resistance by raising funds and helping people stay sane and united.

Mr Yankovsky  who is to attend the rave in Liverpool  said he is looking forward to seeing the city for the first time, meeting everyone at the event and finding out more about the Ukrainian community in the UK.

Its really cool that Liverpool is the capital of rock and roll and we are having this rave  everything is bizarrely connected and its really interesting.

Mr Yaremchuk said: I just hope that people who are going to be there, especially in Liverpool, will enjoy it and become inspired, but also understand what this event is all about.

I hope it reminds those in the UK how important and appreciated their support for Ukrainians is.

Im happy for Sam (Ryder) and Im happy for the UK for hosting Eurovision. The UK has been so supportive of Ukraine. My only hope is that once Ukraine is ready to host Eurovision, it will take place in Ukraine.

More information about acts and tickets can be found at: ra.co/events/1681963

The event is part of EuroFestival, a line-up of cultural events happening in Liverpool across two weeks in May while the city hosts the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.
Union leader Pat Cullen has urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay not to be disrespectful to nurses amid their biggest strike yet over the bank holiday.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretarys comment came after Mr Barclay described their ongoing industrial action as premature and disrespectful to the other trade unions who are meeting to discuss the Governments pay offer on Tuesday.

Under the NHS Staff Council, the unions will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between 1,655 and 3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.

Thousands of nurses walked out at 8pm on Sunday in what has been described by the RCN as their biggest strike yet because it includes nursing staff from emergency departments, intensive care and cancer care for the first time.

However, the RCN granted exemptions for some nurses in intensive care units and emergency departments in select hospitals, including Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Hours before the strike began on Sunday night, NHS England announced that a number of national exemptions had been agreed with the RCN to ensure staff could protect life-and-limb services  including in neonatal intensive care units (ICU), paediatric ICUs, general ICUs and emergency departments.

The 28-hour action, which will end just before midnight on Monday, came after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful for it to continue into Tuesday as originally planned.

On Monday morning, Ms Cullen defended nurses after Mr Barclay described their strike as disrespectful to other unions and urged him to get round this table immediately to resolve the dispute.

Pat Cullen has defended the bank holiday strike by nurses (Lucy North/PA)

She told Sky News: Theres certainly no disrespect being shown from our nursing staff, I can say that categorically.

I would ask the Secretary of State not to be disrespectful to those hundreds of thousands of nursing staff that have participated in this ballot and that are losing another days pay today, standing out on picket lines  standing up for our health service thats been totally broken by this Government.

An NHS in crisis, seven million-plus people on waiting lists  so how are we going to address all of those issues, how are we going to address tens of thousands of vacant posts that weve got in England?

If we dont, then we will continue with serious risk to patient safety and we will never get the backlog sorted.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay described the RCN strike as premature and disrespectful to trade unions (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

So, it really is incumbent on this Secretary of State to get round this table immediately with myself and the Royal College of Nursing, and put more money (on the table) and let our nursing staff get back and do what they want to do, and that is care for our patients.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told Sky that strikes have taken a heavy toll on services and urged unions to accept the pay deal.

I think our view now is that given that most staff have voted in favour of this deal, it is time to accept it, for the unions to work together and for us to think more long-term about what we need to do to address that crisis of 120,000 vacancies in the health service, he said.

RCN members are striking for 28 hours until midnight on Monday (Ben Birchall/PA)

Obviously wed rather these strikes were not taking place. They come after six months of on-and-off industrial action which has taken a heavy toll on the NHS.

Nurses comprise a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Healthcare workers are also staging a protest in central London on Monday under Unite.

The union said this demonstration will coincide with a strike by its members from Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
A campaign to create the worlds biggest physical and digital sing-along in solidarity with Ukraine during the Eurovision Song Contest is the perfect way to express support, its creator has said.

HelpUkraineSong is aiming to bring together choirs, musicians and the general public ahead of the competitions Grand Final by asking them to perform and upload a version of The Beatles song With A Little Help From My Friends.

The Museum of Liverpool will then hold a flash mob moment at midday on May 13, with famous UK attractions including the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Warwick Castle, and those around the world joining in simultaneously.

Eurovision 2023 will take place in Liverpool after the UK was chosen to host the competition on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.

The campaigns logo includes the colours of the Ukrainian flag (HelpUkraineSong/PA)

Valerie Bounds, 47, who co-founded and runs a creative agency in Liverpool, thought of the idea whilst in London last year.

She told the PA news agency: I came up with this idea while I was watching someone play the piano in Euston station at Christmas time, and thought Wouldnt it be wonderful to do an incredible moment in public spaces?

Im a big fan of Eurovision, I also volunteer with the Red Cross and [I] have worked with Ukrainian refugees, so it kind of all melded together.

Partners involved in the campaign include President Zelenskys United 24 fundraising platform, the childrens charity War Child and the Ukraine Ministry of Culture.

Its going really broad here, but the really fantastic thing is that we have joined up with organizations and institutions in Ukraine and they are very enthusiastic about it, Ms Bounds said.

Having been told directly from Ukrainians themselves, music and singing is integral to their culture so this is the perfect way to express support.

She said Eurovision seemed like the right opportunity to create a platform [and] a moment of solidarity with Ukraine, adding: Obviously Eurovision is that anyway, but this was about taking it outside of Liverpool, taking it UK-wide and international and giving people an opportunity to join in.

For Eurovision on Saturday 13 May the #HelpUkraineSong will see people and organisations coming together to perform With A Little Help From My Friends to create the worlds biggest ever physical and digital flash mob  We were busy preparing something last night   pic.twitter.com/CyG7GkgBJB  Hull City Council (@Hullccnews) April 27, 2023

Ms Bounds said starting HelpUkraineSong felt like a good way of achieving more personal ambitions away from her business.

My co-founder and I are very much attune to the same thing. Were not getting any younger, we wanted to do some really purposeful stuff as well as our business.

I think we just felt this was a really key moment for Ukraine.

Coverage of the campaign has picked up in recent days, with Ukraines Eurovision 2023 act TVORCHI and British actress Hannah Waddingham among those sharing news of the event.

Members of the public have also began to show their interest by using the hashtag #HelpUkraineSong on social media.

Were getting all kinds of people now taking part, Ms Bounds said.

Most of the choirs that weve talked to all across the country are community, inclusive choirs that include Ukrainians, so its about seeing that integration and connection.

I feel like it will continue beyond May 13 because were getting such momentum.

The River City Chorus in Exeter also performed the HelpUkraineSong wearing Ukrainian lanyards (River City Chorus/PA)

Ms Bounds stressed that those interested can contribute to the campaign in whatever way they like.

We dont care how they do the song, thats really important. This is about including everyone.

We would love to see people signing it, [or] just breaking into song acapella!
The British former commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan is urging the government to show solidarity and friendship towards an Afghan pilot being threatened with deportation to Rwanda.

Backing The Independents campaign, General Lord David Richards of Herstmonceux said it would be a travesty of justice if the airman, who arrived in the UK via small boat, was to be kicked out.

The Afghan Air Force lieutenant worked alongside British and coalition forces, flying more than 30 combat missions, and escaped the country under threat of death from the Taliban, leaving his young family behind.

Lord Richards, a former chief of defence staff and head of UK armed forces, told The Independent: Those who fought together in Afghanistan, the Afghan, British and other coalition forces did so with unwavering courage, dedication and solidarity. They forged a fellowship in battle. We need to stand by each other at times of need and continue to show that solidarity now.

Stressing the need to uphold the values of decency and fairness in this country, he said: To deport this brave man would be so contrary to British instincts that I am confident the home secretary would do the right thing and allow him to remain here. Anything less than that would be a travesty of justice.

Lord Richards with the Queen in 2012 (PA)

Lord Richards intervention follows a number of senior military, political and diplomatic voices who have joined in the call to help the pilot. Rishi Sunak promised to look into the case when he was asked about it by a select committee.

As head of Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) in Afghanistan, Lord Richards was the first non-American to command US forces since the Second World War.

He has maintained close contact with Afghanistan and its people and has advised a number of international organisations on the country. He has also commanded Natos sword arm  the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

His military career had not been without controversy. In 2000 he was in charge of a military force sent to rescue British and other foreign nationals trapped in the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone.

He decided the British military could not abandon the people of Sierra Leone as militias, who were carrying out murders and mutilations, descended on the capital Freetown. Without orders from London, he intervened with his forces and saved the city.

Richards faced criticism from some Whitehall mandarins and some in the military hierarchy. However, public reaction in the UK and Sierra Leone was overwhelmingly positive. He later received the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) military honour for the Sierra Leone mission.

An Afghan pilot threatened with deportation to Rwanda is urging Rishi Sunak to let him stay in the UK (Supplied)

The Afghan fighter pilot, who we are not naming for the safety of his family in Afghanistan, said he had no choice but to travel to the UK via a small boat because there were no viable safe routes.

He said that he felt he had been forgotten by the American and British forces that he worked alongside. We are not Taliban, we are not Isis, so why are they leaving us like this? he told The Independent.

In an email to the pilot, a Home Office official said that it had evidence that he had travelled through a number of other European countries before reaching the UK.

They said this could have consequences for whether your claim is admitted to the UK asylum system. The government has said that it will send Afghans to Rwanda if it decides that passing through France makes them inadmissible for asylum in the UK.

The email added: [The pilot] may also be removable to Rwanda under the terms of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership between Rwanda and UK.

It explained that the Home Office may also share your personal data with Rwanda in order to ask Rwanda, another country we consider to be safe, whether it would admit you.

He has now applied to stay in the UK under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap), which is designed to resettle those employed by British forces or those who materially contributed to the success of UK operations in Afghanistan.

Afghans are now the largest nationality of small boat migrants, government figures show, with 909 of them making the journey during the first three months of this year.

The pilot is worried for his family who are still in Afghanistan (Supplied)

The Home Offices main resettlement pathway for Afghans to come to the UK has only brought 22 people here since the 2021 evacuation.

Lord Richards joins more than 20 senior military chiefs and politicians in backing The Independents campaign to let the lieutenant stay in the UK.

Veterans charity The Royal British Legion has also urged Britain to honour its commitment to help Afghan war heroes who worked with the British.

Former head of the army General Lord Richard Dannatt, former Nato chief Lord Robertson, and General Sir Richard Barrons, a former chief of joint operations who served in Afghanistan, have also urged the government to look into the pilots case.
Bam Margera's attorney said the "Jackass" star is "in good health" ahead of court date for criminal charges against him. (Todd Williamson / Invision / Associated Press)

Bam Margera's attorney refuted reports that the "Jackass" personality is near death ahead of his next court hearing as he faces criminal assault and harassment charges.

"He seems to be in good health and good spirits preparing for his defense in this case," Margera's attorney Michael van der Veen told The Times, adding that he spoke to the former professional skateboarder as recently as Monday morning.

The health update conflicts with comments from Margera's older brother, Jesse Margera, 44, who shared on his private Instagram account that Bam "is dying and there is nothing I can do about it," according to numerous outlets including Daily Mail.

"I hope none of you have to hurt as much as me right now," the older Margera, a drummer with rock band CKY, also wrote in the post.

The former MTV star has repeatedly received treatment at rehabilitation centers for addiction over the last decade, including several recent stints. Margera had celebrated "one year of treatment" in early 2022, but relatives and friends began to express concern again about his substance use in recent months, including former "Jackass" cast mate Steve-O, who has publicly urged Margera toward recovery.

Last Thursday, Bam, whose real name is Brandon Margera, 43, turned himself in to authorities at a state barracks in Avondale, Penn., after a warrant was filed for his arrest, according to court documents. That same day, Margera appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to one count of misdemeanor simple assault, another count of harassment and four counts of misdemeanor threats with intent to terrorize another.

He was released on unsecured bail, meaning he was not required to pay his bail up front, common for misdemeanors in Pennsylvania. Margera is due back in court on May 25.

Van der Veen, who also defended former President Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial and the Trump Organization in its tax dodging trial, also said reports of Margera fleeing authorities were false.

"He learned of a warrant, hired a lawyer right away (van der Veen), and we made arrangement for state troopers' schedule, the court's schedule, my schedule to make sure he could be surrendered in a secure way," van der Veen said over the phone.

Police said Margera had threatened several people including his brother, Jesse  whom he allegedly hit in the head  and his father, Phillip Margera Jr. Police said Jesse sustained minor injuries," according to a report obtained by The Times.

Pennsylvania State Police claimed that Bam Margera fled into a wooded area before authorities arrived at the scene.

Margera, who was born in Pennsylvania, has had several run-ins with law enforcement in recent months. In March, he was arrested in Escondido, Calif., on suspicion of corporal injury after a woman claimed he kicked her, TMZ reported. Weeks later, he was reportedly arrested in Burbank and charged with public intoxication.

Margeras mounting legal issues come months after his wife, Nicole Margera, filed for legal separation in February. Nicole is seeking physical and legal custody of their 5-year-old son, Phoenix.

The separation request also asks to cut off any spousal support for Bam and requests the 43-year-old TV personality pay Nicoles legal fees.

Nicole filed for separation after claiming Margera had spent time with their son while under the influence, TMZ reported.

Margera first found fame as a professional skateboard in the late 1990s. He was an original member of the cast of daredevil pranksters on "Jackass," which debuted on MTV in 2000. Along with cast mates such as Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O, the group entertained audiences by risking their lives with wild stunts. The series led to several feature films, such as "Jackass Forever," many of which Margera co-wrote and co-produced.

Many scenes in the show, and the subsequent MTV spinoff, "Viva La Bam," were filmed in West Chester, Penn., where Margera grew up and where much of his family still lives.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Archaeologist Richard Hansen, right, shows a limestone frieze found at the El Mirador archaeological site in northern Guatemala on March 7, 2009. (Moises Castillo / Associated Press)

A little more than a year ago, I accompanied archaeologist Richard Hansen on one of his frequent expeditions to the El Mirador region, in the Peten jungle of Guatemala bordering Mexico, which Hansen believes was the cradle of ancient Mayan civilization. It was a fascinating, occasionally terrifying, trip, and I went with him a second time last December.

On those occasions I learned how, by using LiDAR technology, Hansen and his research team had uncovered more than 964 archaeological sites and located 417 cities that were connected to each other by a complex network of roads. But today the sites are threatened with becoming engulfed by illegal activity: poaching, logging, and drug and human trafficking.

His team's concern, Hansen told me, "is how to protect El Mirador without it falling into the hands of the big interests that roam the area, and we believe that the best way to do it is by declaring it a bi-national natural sanctuary."

Last weekend, Hansen came from Guatemala to take part in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC campus. I had invited Hansen to have a conversation with me about his research so that Angelenos, including our local Mayan community, could learn about his research, including the lessons that he believes the possible fate of the ancient Maya hold for our warming planet.

"The fate of that archaeological zone is linked to the protection of the forest," Hansen said.

But on April 23, when we been been talking for barely three minutes, a local group of masked demonstrators who claimed to be members of the Mayan community rushed the stage, seized our microphones, threw chairs, knocked over the loudspeakers and hit one of the stage crew.

The message that Hansen came to deliver was drowned out by the demonstrators, who shouted at Hansen while unveiling a banner that read, Gringo colonizer fuera del Mirador." The protesters accuse Hansen of trying to appropriate the cultural heritage of the Guatemalan people in order to personally profit by turning the impoverished region into an archaeological theme park.

"There is nothing more false than that," Hansen told me as we waited behind a wall of policemen who had quickly arrived on the scene to shield us from the demonstrators. "My proposal is the exact opposite of what these people say."

When I accompanied Hansen and his team to El Mirador last December, I asked him about previous, similar accusations by his opponents that he wants to turn the Mayan complex into a touristic Disneyland. He laughed out loud.

They have misrepresented everything," Hansen told me. On the contrary, Hansen fears that big capital investment in the region "must be avoided at all costs." Not only would it interfere with his own work, but he is convinced that an invasion of new highways, airports, hotels and recreation areas would destroy the surrounding jungle.

By contrast, Hansen said, he is proposing to create an environmentally sustainable sanctuary that would generate jobs for the local Indigenous communities and diminish the influence of the mafias that are destroying the area.

According to Hansen's research, the El Mirador-Calakmul Basin has an extension of 3,500 square kilometers (about 1,350 square miles) in Guatemala and a similar extension in the state of Campeche in Mexico and currently the only way to access the archaeological sites is by taking a helicopter from Las Flores, or walking almost three days from the community of Carmelita.

To reduce the environmental impact, we proposed that a light rail be built, like the one at Disneyland, that allows access for tourists with a minimum of environmental impact," Hansen said. "We also proposed that the communities themselves be in charge not only of the light rail, but also of all the infrastructure needed to serve tourists.

That proposal  which was nothing more than a proposal  has earned him many enemies and spawned verbal attacks and even some death threats.

"There are many interests that have their eyes on that area, and they don't want the area to be protected," he told me.

I asked specifically who has threatened to kill him. I prefer not to say," he replied, "but there have been specific death threats against me and my family in 2001 and in 2020."

I have toured the El Mirador area on two occasions and the lack of surveillance by the Guatemalan government is notorious. There are only a handful of armed guards paid by the Guatemalan government to patrol the vast area.

On my last trip, one of the government guards who asked not to be identified told me that he and his colleagues frequently see aircraft unloading drugs in the area, but that they can't do anything. We have neither weapons nor authority to intervene," he told me. Hansen's archaeological team maintains a group of 16 guards in the area to try to protect the site and reduce the impact of illegal activities.

Hansen also believes that the jungle's natural resources could be sustainably developed for the benefit of the local communities without having to decimate the forest. Estuardo Labbe, director of the Guatemalan Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES), told me that, to preserve the forest, FARES even offered to buy trees from the logging companies operating in the area. But those offers were rejected.

"They have not wanted to, despite the fact that there is a large market in Europe and the United States for natural products from the forest," Labbe said.

Last weekend, news of the Los Angeles demonstration spread quickly across social media. Among the commentators was the Italian Guatemalan archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli, who has long been critical of Hansen's work. He tweeted, apparently in reference to the protests, That happens when you try to subvert the conservation of forests and the livelihoods of local communities in #Peten, #Guatemala proposing a bill in the US Senate (S.3131) to fund your plan through the back door.

The U.S. Senate bill that Estrada-Belli referred to was the "Mirador-Calakmul Basin Maya Security and Conservation Partnership Act of 2019," sponsored by Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.). Its stated goal was "to foster collaborative research efforts between the United States and local entities to create a sustainable tourism model that provides controlled, low-impact access to the archaeological sites of the Mirador-Calakmul basin in Central America, with an emphasis on providing economic opportunities to communities in and around the basin.

Hansen told me that, There was nothing hidden or under the table in that negotiation."

"When we spoke with members of the United States Senate, they were 13 Guatemalan representatives and the Minister of Culture of the government of President Jimmy Morales," he said.

The bill, if it had been approved, would've allocated $144 million that could've been used by public or private entities to finance infrastructure projects to help preserve the jungle and sustain scientific research. To access these funds, any entity would have had to go through an open and transparent bidding process.

"It's a real tragedy that it didn't pass, because it would have benefited thousands of people living in very poor communities without jobs," Hansen said.

Among those who support Hansen's proposals are some of the people who would be most directly affected by them: members of the various Maya communities in Central America and the United States. Centuries after Spanish colonizers arrived in the Western Hemisphere, the Maya continue to struggle against poverty, discrimination and brutal oppression. They were the main targets of the civil war that devastated Guatemala between 1960 and 1996, in which hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people died.

One day before the incident at the book festival, Hansen and archaeologists Enrique Hernandez, an expert on the El Mirador causeways, and Beatriz Balcarcel, a specialist on the Acropolis, met with a group of approximately 300 people of Mayan origin in Los Angeles to publicize their proposals.

Edgar Leonel Chaj, vice president of Maya Vision and secretary of the Los Angeles Mayan Cultural Committee, told me, "We had doubts, and we wanted to hear from Hansen himself the details of what he is proposing and we agreed with him that it is the Mayan peoples who must decide how to protect that area and how to benefit from that cultural legacy."

Chaj lamented the acts of violence committed by the protesters, who he believes are either uninformed or were paid by someone so that Hansen could not deliver his message. "They probably didn't want his message of creating a sanctuary to get out."

I also spoke with Nesha Xuncax, secretary of Maya Vision, and who also attended Hansen's conversation with the Mayan leaders.

We openly asked Hansen if there was a hidden agenda in his development proposals for El Mirador, and he answered that of course not, and I believe him, because he has made each of his proposals public, Xuncax said.

She added that in the Peten region there are many hidden interests. Corrupt governments, those that keep the Guatemalan people in poverty, are the ones that have allied themselves with those interests," she continued. "Hansen's proposal at least takes into account the Mayans and their needs. It would be absurd not to support it."

In her opinion, there is a disinformation campaign against Hansen, intended to discredit him and prevent the El Mirador area from being safeguarded.

Meanwhile, Hansen told me, another group, the Mayan Cultural and Natural Heritage Foundation (Pacunam) "has already presented concrete investment projects."

"There is already a proposal to build highways, gas stations, hotel chains, restaurants and airports on a large scale," he said. Actually they are accusing me of what the big investors want to do. Unfortunately, the protesters in Los Angeles apparently do not know about these projects and are lending themselves to the exploitation of the Mayan people once again."





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
As Ive said, perhaps more than once, these are dark and dangerous times for democracy. So dark that the threat to our form of government and our meaning as a people frames our age. Historian Heather Cox Richardson puts it like this: This is not the only story from today, but it is the only story that historians will note from this era  did Americans defend their democracy?

And there is ground for pessimism, Id concede, on virtually every front. Astonishingly, the Republican Party seemingly prepares to nominate a supremely dishonest, narcissistic, seditious insurrectionist  who claims an authority to suspend the Constitution and to be freed from the obligations of law  for president of the United States. Its hard to imagine a stronger justification for the utter abandonment of a political party. Can you think of a reason more absolutely disqualifying?

Gene Nichol

And, on the home front, the defection-bolstered Republican General Assembly continues to dismantle the constitutional safeguards of democratic government  now concentrating on the destruction of traditional hallmarks of executive authority  and publicly tormenting the most marginalized and imperiled members of the Tar Heel community. Meantime, the new Republican N.C. Supreme Court has formally enlisted in support of the lawmakers war on democracy. So matters horrify. Literally.

But my economist friends sometimes talk about green shoots. I think this refers to something like signs, or maybe even sprigs, of economic recovery during an otherwise bleak downturn. Enlivening sprouts, perhaps. Evidence of possible turn of fortune. Even if scant. Strands of hope.

I can be a doomsday type, Ill concede. But Im not beyond seeing the hint of a silver lining; a counter-current, nascent perhaps, but capable of producing powerful tides. And even an old geezer, these days, is hard pressed to deny the appearance of political green shoots. The possible, admittedly longed for, emergence of democratic resurrection.

Think of Kansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Montana.

In August, there was the sweeping rejection of an abortion ban by Kansas voters. Kansas voters. Women from outside traditional channels of politics  and allies who love them  flooded the streets, meeting halls and polling booths to demand the equality of reproductive freedom. Not to ask for it, but to require it. As a 23-year-old activist stirred by the battle beamed: Its never looked like this in Kansas before. Who knew regular folks, especially young ones, would steel their backs and fight? Apparently Kansans did.

In early April, Janet Protasiewicz, an avowedly liberal judge running overtly to secure abortion and voting rights, won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court  tipping the majority  by a whopping 11 points. In a state where four of the last six presidential contests had been decided by less than one percent, she prevailed by over 200,000 votes. Her incumbent Republican opponent fumed in indignation. She didnt seem to care.

Weeks later, two young, Black lawmakers in Nashville, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, would teach the nation and the planet what it means to lead. Rising even higher than their almost pitiable Tennessee legislative colleagues could go low, they defied  saying effectively, were not here at your sufferance. Weve got work to do. Were not interested in your permission or approval. Step aside.

And last week, in Montana of all places, Zooey Zephyr, a transgender lawmaker, rebuked her colleagues from the House floor after they voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors. Montana legislators voted to censure her, deploying the sanction for the first time in 50 years. Good God. They might as easily have voted to censure the 21st century.

Green shoots. All around.

Contributing columnist Gene Nichol is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Josue, left, and Nathan Barcenas play outside their home as law enforcement continues to investigate the neighborhood Sunday, April 30, 2023, where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  The search in Texas for a gunman who fatally shot five neighbors with an AR-style rifle entered a third day Monday after authorities over the weekend acknowledged they had little sense of the killer's whereabouts despite a widening dragnet near Houston.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, has been at large since the shooting just before midnight Friday in the rural town of Cleveland. By Sunday evening, authorities said more than 250 officers from multiple jurisdictions had joined the manhunt, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put up $50,000 in reward money for tips leading to Oropeza's capture.

"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, said Sunday.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspects neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

In total, authorities have put $80,000 in reward money on the table, most of it coming from Abbott. But the Texas governor also drew backlash on social media for referring to the victims as five illegal immigrants in a statement announcing the reward money. Law enforcement on the scene have not confirmed the citizenship status of the victims and an Abbott spokesperson did not immediately return a message Monday.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center criticized Abbott on Twitter for using social media to amplify language painting a specific narrative intended to alter the way you view + treat the people around you.

At an event on Sunday to honor fallen police officers, Abbott said the suspect had been deported four times and had reentered the country illegally, according to The Houston Chronicle.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities had stopped by her house over the week to ask if they could search her property to see if the gunman might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary, she said. You never know where he can be.
Houston County School District has been recognized by Solution Tree for increasing student achievement by implementing Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work practices.

It is one of only three school districts in the state and one of 500 schools and districts throughout the United States and Canada to achieve this status.

The certification was granted to Houston County earlier this month by Solution Tree, a professional development company that publishes educational materials and provides workshops, conferences, consultations, and online courses.

The PLC at Work method is described by Solution Tree as a way in which educators are able to raise student achievement, including test scores, by implementing three main ideas.

The first one is a focus on learning, and that is for the adults and the students, said Lazunia Frierson, Assistant Superintendent of District and School Effectiveness in Houston County. Were all learning in order to meet the needs of students and to establish a growth mindset in our students so that theyre achieving at their highest levels.

The second guiding principle of a PLC at Work is having collaborative culture and collective responsibility.

We emphasize and allot time for teachers to collaborate, Frierson said. Nobody works in isolation; everyone works as a team to ensure the success of our students. So theyre not your students or my students, theyre everybodys students.

The third core concept of a PLC is a results orientation.

Which is probably one of the most important because sometimes in education we focus on our actions, but we have to focus on the results of those actions and practices, Frierson said. A Professional Learning Community focuses on the data to determine yes, we introduced the students to the content in the curriculum, we taught the content in the curriculum, but did the students learn it?

How Houston earned its accolade

In order to be recognized as a PLC at Work, the school district had to submit an application to the PLC Review Committee that demonstrated its practices, structures and culture. It also had to show that the districts implementation of PLC concepts has improved student learning by providing data and assessments.

For a district to be recognized as a model PLC at Work district, we have to provide evidence of practices that have been pervasive throughout the district, said Frierson. So in every school in our district, there is a commitment to the PLC process.

Data on student achievement must be updated every three years and show positive student growth in order to maintain this certification.

Houston County, Bartow County, and Catoosa County are the only three school districts in Georgia that have this recognition. Of the three, Houston is the largest with over 30,000 students.

Though Houston County Schools were just notified of this recognition on April 5, becoming a PLC district has been in the works since PLC practices were first implemented in district schools in 2016. Since then, the district has invested in sending teachers to PLC institutes and conferences in and out of state, as well as bringing Solution Tree presenters to Houston County.

Frierson told the Telegraph that in the years since the district has applied PLC principles, it has seen improved student testing scores and overall achievement.

All of our learning is focused on our mission, vision, values, and goals for the district, Frierson said. And our mission is to produce high achievement for all through continuous growth.
Rich Strike, with Sonny Leon aboard, crosses the finish line to win the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby last year. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

The Kentucky Derby brings with it the usual assortment of highs and lows, boundless expectations of glory, and for most the reality of defeat. Never forget, only one horse can win the Derby. Well, sometimes two at different times, but more on that later.

This years leadup to the Run for the Roses was especially painful, as one horse that had earned a starting spot broke down during training and was euthanized.

Wild on Ice, the long-shot winner of the Sunland Derby, was pulled up on the backstretch Thursday with an injury to his left hind leg. He walked on to the horse ambulance, was evaluated at Churchill Downs and then was transferred to an equine hospital in Lexington, Ky., where it was determined that the geldings injuries were not repairable.

Kentucky, unlike California and New York, shows little transparency when it comes to horse injuries. So, word of the horses death was announced by a reporter with the El Paso (Texas) Times after being told by the horse's owner, Frank Sumpter. Churchill Downs only has acknowledged that the horse was injured and will not run.

In the 148 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, just one horse, Eight Belles in 2008, has died as part of the race. The filly broke both front ankles after crossing the finish line in second place and was euthanized on the track. As for how many horses have died training for the Derby, there are no records.

As Saturdays race time approaches, the attention will turn away from the dangers of racing to who will win the race, who you have in the Derby pool and who has the best hats. Here is a look at some of the best questions you might have before race day.

Who is likely to win the race?

Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Forte to victory past Juan Hernandez and Cave Rock during the Breeders' Cup Juvenile race in November. (Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

This is always the No. 1 question. The oddsmakers, and likely bettors, are going to settle on Forte, winner of the Breeders Cup Juvenile and the Florida Derby. Sportsbooks have the colt somewhere between 2-1 and 5-2 odds to win, which is pretty low for a 20-horse field. Forte joins Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher. I feel like weve been able to have everything go really smoothly, and so you just kind of hope that it continues to be the case and, hopefully, you are lucky with the weather, Pletcher said. Only two horses, Nyquist and Street Sense, have won the Breeders Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby. And if you are looking for a sign, Nyquist also won the Florida Derby.

Whatever happened with Bob Baffert and the Derby?

Trainer Bob Baffert talks with jockey John Velazquez after the Preakness Stakes in 2020. (Rob Carr /Getty Images)

This is the story that keeps on going and going and going. This is the last year that Baffert is not allowed to run horses at Churchill Downs after Medina Spirit tested positive for a medication in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Baffert has been fighting in court to overturn the disqualification of Medina Spirit and reverse his 90-day suspension, which he has already served. It seems the case has gotten personal between Baffert and Churchill Downs. It also explains how Medina Spirit was the Derby winner for about 10 months before the victory was given to Mandaloun, the second-place finisher. The Hall of Fame trainer and two-time Triple Crown winner is allowed to run horses in this years Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, and there is little doubt he would like to get back into the Triple Crown races in a big way. He does have Reincarnate in this years Derby, but the colt will be running for trainer Tim Yakteen, Bafferts former assistant.

Is it possible that another long shot like Rich Strike will win?

You can dream, but its unlikely that an 80-1 horse will win this years race. It took a multitude of factors for Rich Strike to win last year, and it started right out of the gate. Crown Pride and Summer of Tomorrow ran extremely fast in the first part of the race, which completely broke down predicted scenarios for horses that ran near the lead. Their times of 21.78 seconds for the quarter and 45.36 for the half would have been fast in a six-furlong race, not to mention the 10-furlong Derby. Rich Strike, despite breaking from the far outside, found a comfortable spot on the rail and was unimpeded for most of the race. While the front-runners were tiring, he had a clear path to win. Dont expect to see that happen again for a long time.

Who is the wise guy horse?

Jockey Christophe Lemaire begins to celebrate after Derma Sotogake won the UAE Derby in March. (Martin Dokoupil / Associated Press)

Wise guy is a euphemism for a professional bettor, one who is looking for value and usually stays away from the heavy favorite. There are two horses that might fit that description. Derma Sotogake is listed on the sportsbooks between 10-1 and 12-1. He is one of two Japanese horses in the race, having qualified by winning the UAE Derby by 5 lengths. Hiroyuki Asanuma owns the horse and is a dermatologist, thus having the first part of his name Derma. Sotogake is a sumo technique. The other horse that could go off at lower odds than you think is Skinner, from the Santa Anita barn of John Shirreffs. He got into the race after the death of Wild on Ice opened a spot. He is listed between 20-1 and 25-1 odds. He was a close third in the Santa Anita Derby and will be getting a new jockey in Juan Hernandez.

Which Santa Anita horse has the best chance?

Jockey Ramon Vazquez guides Practical Move to a win over Mandarin Hero, with Kazushi Kimura aboard, in the Santa Anita Derby. (Benoit Photo via Associated Press)

Thats easy, Practical Move, also trained by Yakteen. He has shown a lot of heart in wins in the San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby. He is expected to go off as the second or third favorite. His gallop outs in training would indicate he has the distance to go the 1 miles. Yakteen has had the colt since he started racing, erasing the notion that Yakteens best horses come from Baffert. As hes matured, hes now become more efficient at using himself and developed that desire to win and compete, Yakteen said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Wilson Garcia, right, is consoled during a vigil for his son, Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. Garcia, who survived a mass shooting, lost his son and wife in the shooting Friday night. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. The suspect fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  Wilson Garcia hadnt even asked his neighbor to stop shooting his gun.

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

So, Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbors house to respectfully ask that he shoot farther away from their home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Garcia said Sunday after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his 9-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large late Sunday despite a search involving more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions.

Garcia called the police after Oropeza rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. In the neighborhood of homes on 1-acre lots, Garcia could see the man on his front porch but couldnt tell what he was doing.

His family continued to called police  five calls in all, Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.

And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Garcia had walked back from Oropeza's house, the man started running toward him, and reloading.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Garcia said.

Also among the dead were Garcias son, Daniel Enrique Laso, and two women who died while shielding Garcias baby and 2-year-old daughter. Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

I am trying to be strong for my children," Garcia said, crying. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother.

Police went door to door Sunday in hopes of finding any clues that would lead them to the suspect. Gov. Greg Abbott put up $50,000 in reward money and local officials and the FBI also chipped in, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information about Oropezas whereabouts.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town north of Houston where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home, but said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

He likely fled the area on foot. During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspect's wife multiple times.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information, and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word. Garcia, his slain wife and son and the other three victims  Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18  were from Honduras.

Were looking for closure for this family, Capers said.

Asked about response time, Capers said officers got there as fast as they could and that he had only three covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).

By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around Garcia's home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.

In the neighborhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door. One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside a travel trailer the truck was pulling before letting the driver continue on his way.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary," she said. You never know where he can be.

Pineda said she didn't know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there about five or six years and that neighbors have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

Garcia also did not know Oropeza well, though their wives sometimes talked. Once, he said, the man helped him cut down a tree.

___

Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
Montana state legislator Zooey Zephyr is suing the state, House Speaker Matt Regier and Sergeant at Arms for the Montana House of Representatives Bradley Murfitt after being censured by House Republicans.

"The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation," Zephyr said in a tweet Monday. "Montana's State House is the people's House, not Speaker Regier's, and I'm determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard."

Zephyr is petitioning for her legislative privileges and duties to be reinstated. Her lawsuit is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana.

PHOTO: Zooey Zephyr speaks on the House floor for the first time in a week during a session at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., April 26, 2023. (Tommy Martino/AP, FILE)

Zephyr's calls to vote against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth on bill SB99 led to her being ignored for days by Republican leaders on the House floor in April.

Some legislators, including Regier, argued she had broken House rules of decorum when she said legislators would have "blood on your hands" if they passed the transgender youth care ban.

Demonstrators in support of the transgender lawmaker interrupted House business several days later to protest Zephyr being silenced. Zephyr showed her support by holding up her mic and failing to leave the House floor.

MORE: Map: Where gender-affirming care is being targeted in the US

House Republicans then voted to censure her in response, getting just over the two-thirds needed to bar her from participating in the legislature from the House floor.

"All representatives are free to participate in House debate while following the House rules. The choice to not follow House rules is one that Representative Zephyr has made," Regier said in a statement to reporters following the censure. "The only person silencing Representative Zephyr is Representative Zephyr."

Zephyr has since participated remotely in the legislature from the public seating of the state Capitol building.

PHOTO: Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr leaves the House chamber after a motion to bar her passed, at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., April 26, 2023. (Mike Clark/Reuters, FILE)

"The Republicans have used an undemocratic move to remove the ability for me to represent my constituents on the floor," Zephyr told ABC News last week. "But as I work to resolve that, I need to be as close as possible, so I can have the conversations with legislators and make sure that I can, at least in some way, make sure the voice of my constituents can be can be discussed."

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen's office, which says it will represent the state against the lawsuit, denounced the effort as "political activism masquerading as a lawsuit."

"The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans," said Emily Flower, Knudsen's press secretary. "Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers."

ABC News has reached out to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Regier for comment.

Montana trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr sues state over censure originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A sign at a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, reads "Hang the blasphemer Sana." Sana Ullah was arrested in April for claiming to be an Islamic prophet. (K.M. Chaudary / Associated Press)

Its not nice to insult someone's religion. Its offensive to deny, denigrate or mock peoples gods or prophets, beliefs or rituals. I shouldnt do it and neither should you.

But lets say we do. We should not be imprisoned, lashed or put to death for it.

That seems like a pretty basic rule of thumb, built on established, widely accepted principles of human rights and freedom of expression.

But try telling that to officials in Pakistan, who in mid-April arrested a Chinese man working on a dam project and imprisoned him on charges of blasphemy for insulting God and the prophet Muhammad. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

That sounds utterly crazy to me. But in Pakistan, a Muslim country that has been growing more deeply conservative and religious in recent years, it has long been the law.

Some reformers have sought to moderate that zeal. But instead, Pakistan recently toughened its rules.

Under a new law passed in January by the countrys National Assembly, if youre deemed to have insulted the prophet's wives or companions or close relations, you can be sentenced to 10 years in prison  with a possible extension to life in prison  and fined several thousand dollars. Bail is no longer an option. That goes well beyond what the previous statutes allowed for.

These draconian, anachronistic blasphemy laws have been used as a pretext to persecute Pakistans religious minorities, especially Christians. Theyve been used to settle personal disputes. Theyve gone hand in hand with vigilante justice. Theyve been wielded by politicians against their opponents.

Charges are rarely brought against foreigners, which is why attention is being paid to this latest arrest. The alleged blasphemer, identified only as Tian, is a transportation supervisor at the Dasu hydropower project, led by a Chinese engineering company.

Tian allegedly made his insulting remarks and gestures while criticizing two workers for taking too long to pray, according to the Associated Press. Then a crowd of hundreds of local residents and workers rallied to demand his arrest.

Good luck to him is all I can say.

Also last month, Pakistani police arrested Sana Ullah in Punjab province on charges of blasphemy for claiming she was an Islamic prophet. She was taken into custody after a mob gathered outside her house demanding she be lynched, police said.

During the period from January 2014 to December 2018, Pakistan led all countries in enforcing laws against so-called blasphemers, bringing a total of 184 cases, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Although the state has not executed a person convicted under the blasphemy laws, some have spent years in prison, including in isolation.

But blasphemy laws are not just an issue in Pakistan. During the same period, Iran prosecuted 96 cases, Russia 58 and India 51.

According to a Pew Research Center report released last year, 79 countries had laws on the books in 2019 prohibiting blasphemy  which Pew defined as speech or actions considered to be contemptuous of God or of people or objects considered sacred  and 22 had laws against apostasy, which is the act of abandoning ones faith.

The laws are most common in the Middle East and North Africa, and punishments are toughest there and in Asia. But Pew found laws against blasphemy in all the regions of the world, including Europe and the Americas. (Obviously, enforcement and punishment varies widely by country; some blasphemy laws aren't enforced at all.)

In recent years, some countries have sought to repackage their blasphemy laws as hate speech laws. Thats a marketing gimmick designed to reassure the rest of the world that, no, this is not ancient tribalistic repression and intolerance  its merely modern anti-bigotry that we all should support.

Dont believe it. Flogging and imprisoning people who speak disrespectfully about religion is not a move toward tolerance.

Blasphemy has a long history going back to ancient Greece, and it was ferociously punished in the medieval world with mutilations, stoning and banishments. Jesus was tried and condemned for blasphemy.

In modern times it began to fade of its own accord, but not everywhere. In the last 10 years, a number of countries have amended or added blasphemy laws, including Nepal, Morocco, Oman and Kazakhstan, according to the Commission on International Religious Freedom.

In 2018, just to give a sense of how the ancient concept is being retooled for the modern era, officials in Indonesia introduced a new smartphone app to make it easier for people to report cases of heresy, including blasphemy. Google accepted the app, but there was an outcry and the app was eventually removed.

Until well into the 20th century, blasphemy was punishable in the United States, though such laws seem in obvious conflict with the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.

These days, there are rising challenges in the U.S. to free speech rules, increasing censorship of controversial books in schools, and new laws governing what may be taught in class  such as the Republican-approved statutes in Florida restricting lessons on gender identity or those that smack of critical race theory.

But troubling as those moves are, were not even edging close to Pakistans level of intolerance.

It's wrong to disrespect the beliefs of others. But there should be no law in any country against doing so.

Neither lashings nor executions will make believers out of dissenters.

@Nick_Goldberg

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Residents, students and Alhambra and San Gabriel city leaders at a 2021 march to denounce anti-Asian sentiment, racism and hate crimes, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When I was young, I visited Taiwan every summer. I spoke Taiwanese at home, and we often ate Taiwanese food at home. My parents emphasized that they were from Taiwan and that we were a Taiwanese family with roots that extended several generations on the island, to before Chiang Kai-shek fled there in 1949.

Indeed, my identity as a child was very much as a Taiwanese American. Having a distinct name of clearly Asian origin only reinforced that. And while no one in North Carolina (where I was born and lived for the first six years of my life) could pronounce my name, being Taiwanese American wasn't so unusual once we moved to Rowland Heights, a suburb in the San Gabriel Valley, where many could trace their heritage to Taiwan.

But as I got older and went from middle school to high school, I became less wedded to my Taiwanese identity. For ease, I even began to tell people I was Chinese, since some I encountered would confuse Taiwan with Thailand. I then went to college, met classmates who embraced their Asianness and was introduced to pan-Asian ethnic affiliations and organizations. Whether I was Taiwanese or Chinese didnt seem to matter so much. We were all Asian Americans who were developing our own identities separate and apart from whatever our specific heritage or ethnicity was.

Over the last few years, however, Ive become a lot more conscious of my identity as a Taiwanese American. But not for the same reasons as when I was young. Instead, its because being perceived as Chinese in America has become so much more challenging with the sharp increase in geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Former President Trump then made matters worse by calling COVID-19 the China virus or the kung flu and maligning his own secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, because of her heritage. Ironically, though, many older Taiwanese Americans supported Trump because of the skepticism he expressed toward China and the policy steps he took to bring the U.S. and Taiwan closer.

The challenge was heightened when I entered the public arena last year as a candidate for California state controller. During that campaign, I consistently self-identified as Taiwanese American and emphasized my negative impressions of the Chinese Communist Party, how it governs China, and the constant threat it poses to Taiwan. These have long been my views, but my emphasis of them was certainly influenced by the environment we find ourselves in today.

Still, I have found it difficult to watch how some Americans of both Chinese and Taiwanese descent have had their loyalties called into question or been deemed somehow un-American because of business, cultural or personal ties to China. Regardless of the significant contributions they have made to the communities they live in, these colleagues and friends have been subjected to innuendo, assumptions and unsubstantiated narratives. In some cases, these attacks have come in very public forums.

Of course, we should not dismiss some of the broader concerns about the Chinese governments efforts to ramp up its influence activities in the U.S. Unfortunately, no sector of American society  business, academia, politics and beyond  is immune from the CCPs efforts to shape opinion here.

Because of this, Americans of Chinese descent can feel pressure to prove that they are more loyal to our country. But the latest examples of such activity have not even involved people of Chinese descent. A former Harvard professor, Charles Lieber, was sentenced last week for making false statements to federal agents and failing to declare money he received as part of a contract with a Chinese university. And last week, former Fugees rapper Prakazrel Michel was convicted in a federal case that included accusations of trying to influence U.S. officials on behalf of the Chinese government. These recent cases show that ethnic identity or heritage isnt a proxy for patriotism.

As a Taiwanese American, I dont believe the current Chinese government is particularly interested in improving relations with the United States. At the same time, I take pride in the strong friendships I have with Chinese Americans who dont shy away from their heritage and connections to China as a society, not a government. Ill continue to participate in organizations and endeavors that honor and celebrate the many contributions that Americans of Chinese descent have made to creating a more perfect union.

Ive come full circle when it comes to my own Taiwanese identity. And while there surely are differences between those who are Taiwanese and those who are Chinese, one thing is for certain: As Americans, we share one fate, and were better together than we are apart.

Lanhee J. Chen is a fellow in American public policy studies at the Hoover Institution and the director of domestic policy studies at Stanford University. He was a candidate for California state controller in 2022.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
This image provided by the Bay St. Louis Police Department shows Cameron Brand, who is charged with murder and aggravated assault, according to jail records. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Brand as the sole shooter at a house party, through witness and victim statements. (Bay St. Louis Police Department via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP)  Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teenagers and wounding four others in an early Sunday shooting at a house party on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Cameron Everest Brand of Pass Christian is charged with murder and aggravated assault, jail records show. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Brand as the sole shooter through witness and victim statements.

An 18-year-old and a 16-year-old died in a New Orleans hospital, Schwartz said. The Orleans Parish coroner did not return a phone call seeking to confirm their identities.

Brand was arrested at his home in neighboring Pass Christian and taken to jail, Schwartz said. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge Stephen Maggio denied Brand bail, and he was being held in the Hancock County jail. It is unclear if Brand has a lawyer to speak for him.

Students had gathered for a party at the home on a sparsely populated road after Bay High Schools prom. Local news outlets reported that trails of blood could be seen on the pavement Sunday outside the home, while cars were peppered with bullet holes. The home is less than a mile from Bay High.

Police said the six victims wounded by gunfire ranged in age from 15 to 18. All were taken to area hospitals, some by helicopter.

Both of the teens who died had attended nearby Hancock High School in Kiln, officials in that school district said. Two more Hancock High students were shot and wounded, as were two students from Bay High. Those are the only two public high schools in Hancock County, on the western end of the Mississippi Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Gulfport.

Our hearts are broken as we mourn the tragic loss of two Hancock High School students who were victims of the shooting in Bay St. Louis last night, the Hancock County school district said in a statement, saying counselors would be available Monday at school. Let us come together as a community to show our support and love during this difficult time."

Sandra Reed, superintendent of the Bay St. Louis-Waveland school district, said both of the wounded Bay High students were expected to recover. Bay High Principal Amy Necaise said the school was making faculty and staff available on campus Sunday afternoon to counsel students.
Former president Trump will participate in a presidential town hall hosted by CNN in New Hampshire next week to answer questions from Republican and independent residents who intend to vote in the 2024 primary.

Anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the event, which will take place on Wednesday, May 10 at 9 p.m. EST. Trumps planned appearance comes after he hinted on his social-media platform, Truth Social, recently that he would consider boycotting at least one of the GOP primary debates because of potentially adversarial moderators.

Going outside the traditional Republican comfort zone was a key to President Trumps success in 2016. Some other candidates are too afraid to take this step in their quest to defeat Joe Biden, and are afraid to do anything other than Fox News, a Trump adviser told CNN. CNN executives made a compelling pitch.

Trump is the front runner of a small cast of GOP presidential contenders such as former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, radio host Larry Elder, and entrepreneur and conservative pundit Vivek Ramaswamy. Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced last month that he would not be entering the contest as it was not the right timing for him and his family. Former vice president Mike Pence suggested recently that he plans to make a decision regarding a 2024 bid by June. Governor DeSantis, deemed perhaps the most formidable potential competitor to Trump, has not yet declared his candidacy.

Trump was polling at 57 percent among Republicans and independents who lean Republican in a head-to-head matchup with DeSantis for the 2024 presidential primary, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted at the end of March. Many pundits chalked up Trumps popularity bump to the media hype surrounding his indictment by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. The case involved alleged hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election.

President Biden last week launched his 2024 reelection campaign on a platform titled Lets Finish the Job. In a promotional video that played clips from the January 6 Capitol Riot and pro-abortion protests at the Supreme Court following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Biden said we are in a battle for the soul of America.

More from National Review
By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to the legality of an Indiana requirement that abortion providers bury or cremate embryonic or fetal remains following the procedure, sidestepping another dispute involving a contentious Republican-backed state policy concerning abortion.

The justices turned away an appeal by an Indianapolis abortion clinic and two women who underwent abortions at the facility of a decision by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the state's requirement after a federal judge had invalidated it.

A law signed in 2016 by Republican then-Governor and future U.S. Vice President Mike Pence imposed a requirement that clinics cremate or bury the tissue from abortions or miscarriages rather than using the standard method of incineration for human medical waste.

The law, which the state's Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita said in court papers aimed to ensure the "respectful disposition of human remains," also lets patients dispose of the remains on their own.

The plaintiffs argued that the law unconstitutionally compelled them to express the state's message that an embryo or fetus is a person and ran afoul of their moral or religious beliefs by treating embryonic tissue in the same manner as the remains of a deceased person.

U.S. District Judge Richard Young found that the provision violated the challengers' religious freedom and free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. But the 7th Circuit last year overturned that decision.

The Supreme Court upheld Indiana's measure in 2019 in a separate challenge, concluding that the state had a legitimate interest in ensuring the proper disposal of fetal remains and it did not implicate the right of women to obtain an abortion.

There has been a fierce battle over reproductive rights in the United States since the conservative-majority Supreme Court's decision last June to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized the procedure nationwide. Since then, numerous Republican-governed states have put in place outright bans on abortion or prohibitions after a certain length of pregnancy. Indiana's ban is currently blocked after decisions by lower court judges.

The Supreme Court on April 21 blocked restrictions set by lower courts on a widely used abortion pill while litigation continues in lower courts in a challenge by abortion opponents to the drug's federal regulatory approval.

The abortion clinic Women's Med, along with patients and staff, sued state officials in 2020 over the Indiana bury or cremate law as well as new disclosure requirements for abortion providers enacted that year.

The 7th Circuit concluded that there is no constitutional violation because the law applies only to hospitals and clinics not individuals. Women themselves "may choose to take custody of the remains and dispose of them as they please," that court added.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)


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The Arts Management Program at American University has just posted a full-time contract faculty position for the coming Fall. If youre interested in joining an amazing learning community in Arts Management, in the global cultural city of Washington, DC, give it a look! And/or pass it along to friends and colleagues who might be a good fit.

First-round applicant reviews will start May 22. If you have questions about the position, the program, or the community, send me a note!
Yesterday  the publication date for my novel The Marriage: The Mahlers in New York  I had an enthralling video exchange with Morten Solvik of the Mahler Foundation in Vienna. You can see it here.

Some highlights:

3:24  You cant understand the story of Mahler in New York without first understanding what went on there before he arrived  something Mahler himself never understood. And this was noted and resented. . . When Henry Krehbiel called Mahlers American career a failure, this was a comprehensible verdict. Mahlers New York predecessor Anton Seidl  who makes Krehbiels verdict comprehensible  was all the things that Mahler wasnt: an American citizen who summered in the Catskills, who befriended the American composer, who assumed a mantle of cultural leadership.

6:18  Henry-Louis de La Grange, Mahlers most prominent, most copious biographer, came to graciously understand Seidls significance  I took him aside and told him about Seidl. But he could never overcome his antipathy to Henry Krehbiel. The New York music critics, generally, were far more sagacious than de La Grange allowed. Their reviews of Mahler the conductor retain credibility.

9:25  Re: historical fiction: my first experiment was in my young readers book Dvorak in America (2003). I had acquired a very intimate relationship with Seidl via the un-catalogued archives at Columbia University and the Brooklyn Historical Society , handling his letters, his memorabilia, even speeches written in pencil. It was a bewitching experience. Evoking Seidl conversing with Dvorak at Fleischmanns Cafe, I actually knew what he would say. I discovered that I could learn things writing historical fiction, that its a very special tool for the cultural historian. . . . In some ways The Marriage is more like creative non-fiction. It hews closely to events that actually occurred.

10:07  My fundamental sense of Mahler is of someone who lives inside his head. Theres nothing wrong with that if youre a composer  but its not so great if youre the music director of an orchestra. Dvorak, in comparison, at all times absorbed his environment; it was inevitable that he would write a New World symphony  and inconceivable that Mahler would do so. . . . He never researched American music. it was obvious that he hadnt done his homework.

18:00  Mahler at the Met: his innovations  importing Alfred Rollers Fidelio production, treating Mozart as ensemble opera  were striking, new, and successful  but ephemeral. They didnt take.

25:00  The Mahler sonority: everything in your face, a flat perspective like a Klimt canvas, a new conception of symphonic sound.

30:00  People who write about Mahler in New York only see what happened just before he came  a period of institutional decline. . . . This is so poorly done. Also: virtually unnoticed is that Mahler never complained at about his orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera  and that was the New York orchestra that most mattered, not the New York Philharmonic. Also unnoticed: New York City was regularly visited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arthur Nikisch. Thats a really high standard. A crucial factor was Henry Higginson, a mind-boggling figure who invented, owned, and operated the Boston Symphony. You spend some time with Higginson  its just humbling. . . . Its something thats unheard of today  a person of this stature running an orchestra. Compared to the New York Philharmonics Mary Sheldon  night and day. And Seidl, too, had a Higginson. This was Laura Langford, Brooklyns leading impresario. Something Mahler never had.

42:00  Henry Krehbiel  the elephant in the room, the greatest figure in the history of American musical journalism. You cant know Mahler in New York without knowing Henry Krehbiel  and Mahlers biographers dont know Henry Krehbiel.

49:00  Alma [Mahler] is someone who doesnt really know who she is or what she wants. In a new environment, unlike her husband [in his hotel room], shes exploratory. She reveals herself in juxtaposition with women more professionally accomplished than herself . . . when situated in a room with Olive Fremstad or Natalie Curtis.

1:05  Snapshots: Mahler vs. Toscanini; Mahler and Ives

Anton Seidl is the core topic of my book Wagner Nights: An American History (1995).

My thanks to Morten Solvik, Thomas Hampson, and the Mahler Foundation. Stay tuned for Thomas Hampson reading from The Marriage.
Other news of the day: Marcos Jr. announces Beijing's readiness to negotiate fishing grounds in the South China Sea. Gas leak kills 11 people in the Indian state of Punjab. Turkeys Erdogan claims that the head of the Islamic State in Syria was killed in a Turkish operation. Israeli Parliament votes in favour of the separation of Azeri-majority Iranian Azerbaijan.

THAILAND

Two weeks before Thais go to the polls, the leading candidate, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, gave birth to a baby boy today. Paetongtarn, 36, announced the birth on her official social media accounts with a photo of the newly born: Hi, my name is Prutthasin Sooksawas, nickname Thasin," the post reads. In the 14 May elections, Paetongtarn will try to bring back to power the populist movement led by her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck before coups ousted them.

PHILIPPINES  CHINA

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Washington, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that China had agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea. He noted that he had asked the Philippine Coast Guard and the Department of Foreign Affairs to draw up a map of fishing zones to be presented to Beijing. The Philippines, he added, does not want to become a "staging post" for military action.

INDIA

Eleven people died and four were hospitalised yesterday morning as a result of a gas leak in Giaspura, Ludhiana (Punjab). Air quality sensors detected high levels of hydrogen sulphide. The densely populated area is home to several factories. Investigations into the causes are ongoing, but it is suspected that the poisonous gas likely came from a partially open manhole and spread to nearby shops and houses.

SOUTH KOREA

In South Korea, on 1 May, an official with a construction workers' union attempted self-immolation outside a courthouse in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, just hours before he was due to appear at a pre-trial detention hearing on charges of business obstruction. The 50-year-old man suffered severe burns. Local prosecutors had requested an arrest warrant for him and two other union officials on charges of forcing businesses to hire union members between May 2022 and February this year.

TURKEY  SYRIA

Turkish intelligence services reportedly killed Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi, suspected leader of the Islamic State group in Syria, on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in an interview with state broadcaster TRT Turk. Local and Syrian security sources said the operation took place in Jandaris, a town in northern Syria, controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups and among the hardest hit by the 6 February earthquake.

ISRAEL  AZERBAIJIAN  IRAN

Members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, have passed a motion supporting the separation of southern Azerbaijan from Iran with Tabriz as its capital. Located in north-western part of the Mideast country, the area has a majority ethnic Azeri population, considered part of our people in independent Azerbaijan. For years, local protests have regularly targeted Irans top leaders.

RUSSIA

According to the Public Sociology Laboratory (PS Lab), the number of requests for assistance for depression is way up in Russia over the past year, mainly from the wives of soldiers who increasingly experience anxiety, apathy and multiple fears. This is accompanied by a constant increase in domestic and street violence.
Best Beach Towels

Stylish Beach Towels to Help You Get the Perfect Summer Tan

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

Product photos from retailer site.

The highlight of every summer is the time you get to spend lounging near a pool or beach, soaking up the summer sun, working on your tan, and topping up your vitamin D levels. But once you've got the ideal swimwear, and a snazzy pair of shades, it's time to round out your look with a cozy, stylish and oversized beach towel.

RELATED: Best Bathing Suits for Men

Be it a fun beach towel, a large beach towel, a round microfiber towel, or even a standard beach towel that doubles as a bath towel you can just throw in your beach bag, below, you will find our picks for the 19 best beach towels for your next 2023 beach day, and every beach day beyond.

Best Beach Towels

Turkish Towels Striped Beach Towel

Turkish towels are the quality beach towel gold standard when it comes to drying yourself off at the beach because of their superior softness. Turkish cotton is composed of super long fibers, which makes for a stronger towel with a smoother feel. This 37-by-67 inch striped towel, from the aptly named Turkish Towels, uses absorbent Turkish cotton and is actually manufactured in Turkey. Its green and cream color combo means that as it gets softer with each trip to the beach, it will never go out of style. At this price, we consider this luxury linen a major steal.



Turkish towels are the quality beach towel gold standard when it comes to drying yourself off at the beach because of their superior softness. Turkish cotton is composed of super long fibers, which makes for a stronger towel with a smoother feel. This 37-by-67 inch striped towel, from the aptly named Turkish Towels, uses absorbent Turkish cotton and is actually manufactured in Turkey. Its green and cream color combo means that as it gets softer with each trip to the beach, it will never go out of style. At this price, we consider this luxury linen a major steal.

$33 at Huckberry.com

Brooklinen Cotton Velour Scenic Beach Towel

There is no reason you cant take that boho vibe to the beach with you. Made in partnership with artist and illustrator Isabelle Feliu, this 34-by-70 inch cotton beach towel shows off a one-of-a-kind stitch work in extra soft terry and velour blend for style and softness from the first dip of the summer until your next winter warm weather escape.



There is no reason you cant take that boho vibe to the beach with you. Made in partnership with artist and illustrator Isabelle Feliu, this 34-by-70 inch cotton beach towel shows off a one-of-a-kind stitch work in extra soft terry and velour blend for style and softness from the first dip of the summer until your next winter warm weather escape.

$65 at Brooklinen.com

WETCAT Turkish Beach Towel

If youre looking for a more classic take on the Turkish cotton towel, this 38-by-71 inch option from WETCAT is thinner than terry cloth yet just as absorbent thanks to its superior strands. Its lightweight design makes it the perfect towel for you grab-n-go types who want to be able to carry everything you need without any fuss. If you're in a pinch and need some space, this airy Turkish towel doubles as a beach blanket.

$21.99 at Amazon.com

Utopia Towels Classic Cabana Stripe Beach Towel

There is a reason why the iconic cabana towel is, well, iconic. This type of towel wrapped up Marlyn Monroe on Miami Beach in Some Like It Hot and kept Matt Damon dry along Italys Amalfi Coast in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Needless to say, this simple 30-by-60 inch stripe style is meant for those who want to elevate their beaching experience, without necessarily dropping a small fortune. If you ask us, this style might just be the perfect beach towel.

There is a reason why the iconic cabana towel is, well, iconic. This type of towel wrapped up Marlyn Monroe on Miami Beach in Some Like It Hot and kept Matt Damon dry along Italys Amalfi Coast in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Needless to say, this simple 30-by-60 inch stripe style is meant for those who want to elevate their beaching experience, without necessarily dropping a small fortune. If you ask us, this style might just be the perfect beach towel.

$14.99 at Amazon.com

Laguna Beach Textile Co Oversized Cabana Plush Towel

Whereas there is no substitute for the iconic cabana style, this updated version featuring a simple solid stipe of a coordinating color allows for the 70-by-35 inch absorbent cotton towel to remain classic while still allowing it to be distinguishable in a sea of similar singly saturated striped towels.

$44 at Amazon.com

OCOOPA Microfiber Beach Towel

If a big beach towel is what youre after, there might be none bigger than this bad boy. At a generous 80-by-57 inches, this updated cabana stripe style made from super sand resistant microfiber fabric allows for quick drying comfort for a crew in a design easily compact enough not to weigh any one person down.

$49.99 at Amazon.com

Kassatex Capri Beach Towel

Escape the oft-copied cabana stripe all together and go for something a little more exclusive, like Capri. Made from high absorbency 100% combed Turkish cotton, this 40-by-70 inch single shade solid towel, save for a generous white border stripe, is dense, fluffy, and perfect if youre beach bound or lounging poolside.

$80 at Kassatex.com

JML Microfiber Beach Towel, 6-Pack

If superior absorbency is what youre after, but youre looking to save some cash for an extra round at the boardwalk bar, go for quantity as well as quality. This duo from JML is crafted in microfiber fabric and is available in solid or stripes (we obviously favor the latter here). If we had to guess, it is by far the best bang for your buck on our list. Each towel measures 27-by-55 inches and with over 10,000 positive reviews on Amazon, its a safe bet that it will be money well spent.

$48.99 at Amazon.com

Pendleton Chief Joseph Towel for Two With Carrier

Built for two, this 62-by-70 inch beach towel shows off one of the many iconic Pendleton prints in bright colors the brand is known for. Most often seen in soft felted wool blankets in the winter, there is no reason you cant enjoy the designs by the 150-year-old family-owned weavers.

$89.50 at Pendleton.com

L.L. Bean Seaside Beach Towel

Turkish cotton makes up this bright towel from the brand known for its rich American heritage. This 36-by-68 inch fade-resistant towel is an annual favorite among L.L. Bean enthusiasts. It may not rank as high as the duck boot, but at least they are both great at keeping you dry.

$34.95 at LLBean.com

Riley Amalfi Beach Towel

If only we could be on Italy's historic Amalfi Coast right now (or ever, really). Luckily, the Amalfi is a towel that will impress all of those around you so much they wouldnt be the wiser if you said thats where you got it. At an oversized 40-by-70 inches and surprisingly lightweight, this luxurious beach towel is designed with one side flat-woven, creating a smooth texture and the reverse side using traditional 2-ply loops for superior absorbency.

If only we could be on Italy's historic Amalfi Coast right now (or ever, really). Luckily, the Amalfi is a towel that will impress all of those around you so much they wouldnt be the wiser if you said thats where you got it. At an oversized 40-by-70 inches and surprisingly lightweight, this luxurious beach towel is designed with one side flat-woven, creating a smooth texture and the reverse side using traditional 2-ply loops for superior absorbency.

$50 at RileyHome.com

Destination Summer Cape Stripe Beach Towel

Nothing says classic all-American summer like red, white, and blue. While drying off with the American flag might not be for everyone, opting for a stylish striped take on the colors of our country always looks great. This 72-by-36 inch towel is made of 100% 2-ply cotton for ultimate absorbency.

$16.99 at BedBathandBeyond.com



Matouk Leopard Beach Towel

Both absolutely fabulous and a little cheerfully cheeky, this 40-by-70 inch Turkish cotton velour beach towel features the playful Leaping Leopard design by iconic American textile house Schumacher. Famous designs from the brand have been showcased by Cornelius Vanderbilt, Saul Steinberg, Frank Lloyd Wright, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Mick Jagger while also being immortalized in movie and media moments including  Gone With The Wind,  I Love Lucy, and Jackie Kennedys 1962 TV Tour of the White House. The brand is so ingrained in the American lexicon, it even produced textiles for parachutes, life preservers, and other items to support the war effort during World War II and donated over 600 yards of fabric to make masks during the 2020 pandemic. Thats the history you wrap yourself up with when this is the towel you use.

$99 at Matouk.com

Revival The Peshtemal Towel

Made in Denizli, Turkey, this is arguably the most classic take on a Turkish towel. At 35-by-66 inches in size, its light, quick drying, and incredibly soft.

$49 at RevivalRugs.com

Sunflow Towel

Sure, this 27-by-54 inch towel is great, but we suggest when picking up the towel, you pick up the whole Beach Bundle. With the bundle you get the Sunflow chair, sun shade, drink holder, and the dry bag. Buy the bundle, and get the towel for free!

$35 at GetSunflow.com

Tesalate Towel Bohemian Sand-Free Towel for Two

This is another twofer. The bohemian sand-free Tesalate towel is made for two. A 63-by-63 inch two made from ultra absorbent high-performance AbsorbLite fabric, this oversized beach towel is double sided and dries in half the time of a regular towel. Also included is a hook to hang and a bag to store, this is the beach blanket your old beach towel can never be.

$78 at Tesalate.com

Violet Mist Tie Dye Large Round Beach Towel

If there is ever a time for bright colors and tie-dye, its the summer, and this towel delivers. The spiral tie-dye design is shown off perfectly in a soft microfiber material thanks to the 60 inch round design. To add to the (not so subtle) hippie trend, a fridge surrounds the towel so when its out on the beach, it feels a little more beach blanket than it does a basic round towel.

$20.99 at Amazon.com

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An interior of the W Aspen hotel, which announced that it will be hosting an Aspen Pride celebration throughout June to commemorate National Pride Month. The hotel is partnering with AspenOUT to produce the monthlong event.
Enter the Sierra HD AT4X and beefed-up AEV Edition, which offer the most trailering technology in the heavy-duty truck segment. More luxurious than Chevrolet's Silverado HD ZR2 and ZR2 Bison , the newcomers will arrive at dealers for the 2024 model year with a 1.5-inch (38-millimeter) suspension lift.DSSV shock absorbers are featured as well, along with an e-locking rear differential, Obsidian Rush interior detailing, full-grain leather on the seats, massing for the front seats, and 35-inch rubber boots from Goodyear. Said tires measure 305/70 by 18 inches.Equipped with torsion-bar independent front suspension and semi-elliptic springs out back, the AT4X and American Expedition Vehicles-enhanced variant come solely as crew cabs with the standard-length bed. The front underbody is protected by an aluminum skid plate, whereas the transfer case is complemented by a steel skid plate. The AEV Edition improves on the aforementioned with steel bumpers fore and aft, heavier-duty skid plates, unique wheels (also 18s), unique badging, and fancier interior trim.Coming to retailers in the fall of 2023, both of them rely on a 10-speed automatic transmission. Although marketed under the Allison moniker, don't be fooled by General Motors. The torque-converter automatic in question is a GM design with Allison branding. For a true Allison, you'll have to upgrade to the Silverado 4500 HD or higher. There is no Sierra 4500 HD to speak of at the present moment. Another way of telling an Allison-designed tranny from a GM unit is the number of forward ratios, namely six rather than ten.That being clarified, what kind of engines are in the offing? For starters, a direct-injected small block. Codenamed L8T , this powerplant is the sole gen-five small block with a cast-iron block. It also makes do without a stop-start system and cylinder deactivation.Capable of running on E85, the free-breathing V8 produces 401 horsepower at 5,200 revolutions per minute and 464 pound-feet (629 Nm) of torque on regular unleaded. If towing is high on your list of priorities, then prepare to spend extra on the Duramax turbo diesel V8. Pricing isn't available at the moment of writing, though, but we do know that the 6.6-liter mill cranks out 470 horsepower at 2,800 spinnies. A whopping 975 pound-feet (1,322 Nm) of torque are delivered at 1,600 rpm, which sadly isn't enough to challenge Ford's Power Stroke or the Cummins turbo diesel engine available in Ram's heavy-duty trucks.Prospective customers are further presented with something new for the GMC Sierra HD in the form of a dedicated Off-Road Mode. In addition to anti-lock brakes, traction control, and stability control calibrations, this driving mode is also designed to alter the throttle progression and tranny's shifts for improved control off the beaten path. On that note, who's looking forward to seeing what the AT4X and its AEV brother can do on Hell's Revenge in Utah?
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It's getting on a bit, however. The Mission E design study premiered at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and much of its design traits carry over to the series-production model. Porsche unleashed the Taycan at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. Ever since, it has been assembled at the Zuffenhausen facility in Stuttgart.Joined at the hip to the Audi e-tron GT, the Taycan is expected to receive a mid-cycle refresh later this year. The facelift is likely to arrive at dealers for the 2024 model year. Our spy photographers have recently snapped two prototypes, namely a heavily-camouflaged sedan joined by a jacked-up longroof.The latter is called Taycan Cross Turismo, and it's a derivative of the Taycan Sport Turismo. Think of it as the A6 Allroad to the A6 Avant. A shooting brake rather than a traditional wagon, the Cross Turismo is the most versatile specification of the Taycan yet.Gifted with redesigned headlights and taillights, both prototypes also show revised bumpers fore and aft. Pictured on Goodyear UltraGrip Performance winter tires, Porsche's development cars don't appear to feature too many interior changes. Given that the 2024 model year Cayenne took inspiration from the pre-facelift Taycan  and so will the refreshed Panamera  it makes no sense for the German automaker to spend money on something that doesn't need changing.Word has it that Porsche is prepping a three-motor powertrain a la Plaid, although said rumor hasn't been confirmed or denied thus far. Hearsay suggests a whopping 1,000 horsepower, which is pretty close to the Plaid's 1,020 hp and 1,050 lb-ft (1,424 Nm).Given that the Taycan's J1 platform will be retired after the mid-cycle refresh ends production, it's hard to believe that a three-motor powertrain is on the menu. Then again, I would also like to be proven wrong because high-performance EVs are irresistible.Lower down the spectrum, the 2024 Taycan will continue with two- and single-motor arrangements. There might be upgraded batteries in the offing as well, but we'll have to wait and see what's what. At press time, Porsche's first series-production electric vehicle comes with up to 93.4, of which 83.7-hours are usable. The 800-volt architecture supports a peak charging rate of 270, meaning that charging from 5 to 80 percent takes merely 23 minutes.The most performance-oriented Taycan is called Turbo S, which is a bit funny given its lack of turbochargers. From the standpoint of nomenclature, however, Turbo always meant something really special for Porsche . Remember the 930 series? Although impressive at the time, the 911 Turbo Carrera of that era doesn't hold a candle to the 750 hp and 774 lb-ft (1,050 Nm) of the Taycan Turbo S.
While 2022 may have been Honda's year as far as Asian automakers' presence in the United States automotive market is concerned, 2023 will surely get remembered as Toyota's measured response. And they have about everything for everyone, from the S235 Toyota Crown sedan-CUV to the family-oriented three-row 2024 Grand Highlander and from the 2023 Prius plus Prius Prime to the 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid that filled the gap left by the C-HR's retirement.Of course, the truck area is also being addressed, as everyone and their mother is on their toes or high heels waiting for the Japanese automaker to stop messing around the ' Taco Tuesday ' dates and finally introduce the 2024 Tacoma, the fourth by its name. The new iteration of the best-selling mid-size truck will likely be the brand's most crucial reveal this year, at least regarding the teaser campaign's length and size. But, of course, some people are more eager than others to have all the secrets spilled out into the open  even if only virtually.As such, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has been massively interested in unofficially portraying the 2024 Tacoma from all angles, shapes, and sizes. Do take all this with the proverbial grain of salt, but here are also the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube continuing to imagine the hypothetical looks of fourth-gen workhorse and adventure partner. At the same time, some people might think that after so many teasers  with i-Hybrid Max and Trailhunter hype  plus even more CGIs, there is nothing left to talk about  both inside and out.But they would be wrong, as the channel's resident pixel master has now come up with all the other body styles and bed lengths since both the teasers and digital reveals only focused on the most popular Double Cab with a five-foot (152.4 cm) bed size. By the way, in real life, the current 2023 Tacoma is only also available with an Access Cab and a six-foot (182.9 cm) bed size. Still, here in the parallel universe of CGI dreams , the 2024 model year is also getting Regular, King, or Single Cab models, plus short and long bed modes in addition to Access and Crew Cabs with their corresponding bed sizes.That greater hypothetical choice would surely make its competitors seem outsized and outsmarted, especially since the 2024 Tacoma is in for a big fight against the Jeep Gladiator, the newly standalone D41 Nissan Frontier, the fresh Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, plus the upcoming Ford Ranger, among others. So, which body style and bed size is your favorite?
Photo: Vitaly Kuzmin

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Photo: Vitaly Kuzmin

Photo: USAF/Airman 1st Class Makenna Gott

As it turns out, the answer is more complicated than you might think. The reason why is that both the A-10 and the T-14's abilities are so often subject to hyperbole and exaggeration. But even if Russia and NATO never wind up going to war, Russia's already marketing the T-14 Armata to foreign markets. That makes the chances of a close encounter with an A-10 slightly more plausible.To get an idea of what an engagement of an A-10 Warthog against a T-14 Armata might look like, we need to weigh the pros and cons of each vehicle, evaluate the tactics of their crews, and touch on some of the sketchier and more dubious assumptions made about both machines to dream up a scenario that at least makes logical sense. When it comes to the T-14 Armata, you'll find many aspects of itself are difficult to verify.Never mind that Western intelligence has repeatedly caught Russia bringing the same T-14s to the back of the cue at military parades to make it look like they've manufactured more than they have. So much information about the Armata's armor, armament loadout, and sensor arrays are so painstakingly refined through Russian state media that believing it all as the gospel is a dubious assumption. That said, we do know at least a couple of things for sure.Uralvagonzavod of Nizhny Tagil, Russia, the primary contractor and manufacturer of the T-14, is one of the Federation's most historic military design bureaus. With many Russo-Soviet tank designs to their name, like the T-34 , T-54, T-62, T-72, and the T-90, "Ural," as it's often shortened, knows well how to adapt to ever-changing combat environments. Or at least, they should, in theory.In reality, deficits in money and staffing since the fall of the Soviet Union mean Ural has made do with very little of either for the last 30 years. Given the T-14 has no dedicated air-to-air capability outside of a lucky shot with a Sprinter anti-tank missile, its armor and maneuverability alone would determine whether it survived an encounter with an A-10. At least on paper, the T-14's lightweight, 1,400-millimeter-thick explosive reactive armor (ERA), thick main hull armor, and Afganit active protection system () give the T-14 a fighting chance against a wide degree of autocannon fire. You know, like the 30 mm shells fired from a certain Gau-8/A Avenger.With a 1,500 horsepower, twin-turbocharged diesel V12, Russian sources reckon the Armata can hit a top speed between 75 and 80 km/h (4750 mph). Not fast enough to outrun the American king of close-air support, but impressive for a main battle tank. Then again, no one outside of Ural themselves has been able to verify this. But it's important to remember that tanks seldom travel alone.In modern Russian battalion tactical groups (BTG), tanks like T-72s and T-90s travel in cohorts flanked by other vehicles. Everything from small infantry fighting vehicles (IVFs) like BMP-3s, self-propelled artillery, and even dedicated anti-air batteries are included in these groups. Russian BTGs routinely travel with ZSU-23-4 Shilka mobile 23 mm anti-aircraft vehicles and 2K22 Tunguska surface-to-air-missile (SAM) launchers. Considering the U.S. Air Force seldom deploys the A-10 without air superiority or, more appropriately, complete air dominance, these threats would have to be neutralized by other means for this encounter to occur.It may be tempting to say the Warthog's Gau-8 cannon could definitively knock out a T-14 with ease. But it's important to note the capabilities of the A-10 aren't free from embellishment. Direct hits from an A-10's cannon are not guaranteed to kill shots, far from it. As YouTube's favorite armchair war buff LazerPig pointed out in his two-part documentary about why he thinks the A-10 "sucks," the Pentagon themselves verified this in November 1979 through the Naval Postgraduate School in California.In this test, a single A-10 engaged a formation of ten American M47 Patton main battle tanks mimicking a Soviet formation were engaged by a single A-10. Though the Warthog landed roughly 50 percent of its shots on target, it was found the damage done to the tanks would have only temporarily knocked out all but one of the ten test dummies. But by the same metric, the A-10 indeed helped lay waste to Soviet armor in the hands of the Iraqis during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.Many media outlets, both in print and online, have claimed that A-10s destroyed 900 Iraqi tanks during the First Gulf War. But don't be fooled. That number is another product of spotty record keeping and embellishment via the Warthog's ascendancy to mythic status later in its career. More accurate CIA and Department of Defense studies peg the real number of tanks felled by Warthogs in Iraq as around 300. This means the A-10 can indeed destroy tanks as intended. But to say they could single-handedly slice any Soviet tank to pieces in one pass with its cannon alone, regardless of the circumstances, would be categorically false, almost even laughable.So then, let's set the stage. Let's say a hypothetical enemy force, either the Russians or somebody else, is operating a company of ten T-14 Armatas when a squadron of, say, six or seven A-10s finds the tanks in their targeting computers. Let's also assume that either the A-10s themselves or something else, like an F-15E Strike Eagle or an F-35 Lighting II, has taken care of all the above-mentioned anti-air threats. Oh, and there also aren't any shoulder-mounted rocket launchers around, either. Can the Warthog's cannon damage even a single T-14? Well, the answer is a definitive with long-range missiles"possibly?"The answer really hinges on whether or not the T-14s layered explosive reactive armor system is as effective as Ural claims it to be and not just more state propaganda. In the event Ural is lying about the effectiveness of the T-14's armor, the A-10 Gau-8 might be able to punch through its weaknesses and even land a lucky shot on the tank's ammo storage. But even if the Avenger cannon can't knock out a T-14, the A-10's assortment of smart bombs, rockets, and guided air-to-ground missiles should be able to knock out the majority of a ten-count formation of Armatas. Fun fact, an A-10 can carry twice as many bombs by weight as a quad-engine B-17 bomber from World War II. Imagine a column of T-14s taking all of that ordnance to the face.The truth of the matter is there aren't nearly enough T-14s in existence to verify how it'd perform against Ukrainian hardware, let alone American. Outside of a few reports from Russian State media assets, there hasn't been verification that the T-14s even showed up in Ukraine in any capacity as of early May 2023. But remember, Russian/Soviet tanks tend to proliferate worldwide to nations who, for some reason, can't get their hands on NATO tanks. This means that one day in the future, the possibility of an encounter between America's favorite attack jet and Russia's darling main battle tank might be more likely than ever before.Regardless of the particulars of the affair, expect both sides of the engagement to fudge the numbers one way or another as suits their interests for the foreseeable future. As if to make the jobs of war historians many decades after the fact all the more a pain in the you-know-what. Check out LazerPig's video on the flaws of the T-14 Armata down below if you want to learn more. You'll never laugh so much while learning about history.
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Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral for autoevolution

When discussing the dos and don'ts of the US automotive industry, the focus is usually on Chevrolet rather than Buick or Cadillac, Ford rather than Lincoln, and now also on Dodge rather than Chrysler . It is as if the latter has become a footnote in the novel Stellantis's lifestyle. And that's too bad, frankly. Sure, maybe that's just life, along with the strategy of stubborn corner office head honchos that are more preoccupied with just about anything else  including the long-forgotten Lancia brand  rather than restoring Chrysler to its former glory.Frankly, if you want our two cents on the matter, we are not necessarily angry about the attention surrounding other brands that greatly interest Mopar enthusiasts. Ram Trucks, for example, is diligently preparing to deliver a severeblow to the full-size pickup truck establishment composed of the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and the ailing GMC Hummer EV in a bid to come out on top ahead of the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV or the Tesla Cybertruck with the long-range Ram 1500 REV.Jeep, meanwhile, continues to rock the trails and the entire world with its excellent off-road-oriented SUVs and will even fight for a seat at the round CUV table in its signature way. And Dodge has taken the mantle of the hero brand because no one was willing to talk about the Chrysler elephant in the room. And even though its 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, along with the 2023 Challenger and Charger (plus their seven ' Last Call ' special editions), are seen as final hurrahs for the-powered age, that does not mean the nine levels of Banshee EV prowess coming with the production version of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept will be any lesser  they're just going to be silent, for the most part.Anyway, back to Chrysler, the premium brand that once competed with Packard, Chord, Lincoln, or Cadillac  among many others- is merely a shadow of its former self. The entire roster comprises just two nameplates, the 2023 Chrysler 300 full-size sedan with the MSRP starting at a little over $34k and the family-oriented Chrysler Pacifica or Pacifica Hybrid minivans, starting at $37,720 and $50,795, respectively.So, they have the pricing to back up the premium claims but not the appropriate roster to offer almost anything to eager customers. And that is quite a shame, especially since the brand promised to change that a while ago, and we haven't seen anything palpable since.Instead, the big Chrysler 300 sedan is among the many cars that won't make it to the 2024 model year, such as the Audi R8 and TT, Dodge Challenger and Charger (in their ICE-powered form), Ford Fiesta, Kia Stinger, or Nissan Maxima, to mention a few. So, where does that leave Chrysler? Right alongside the Abarth or Lancia brands , frankly, and that's no point in being proud of. Well, that's valid in the real world. Meanwhile, across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, things look slightly better if you ask the pixel master who cooked up the series production version of the Chrysler Airflow concept and us.These bespoke renderings arrive courtesy of our virtual artist friend, Joao Kleber Amaral , who CGI-worked hard to bring the zero-emissions future of Chrysler to digital life. It is the natural first step if Stellantis remains committed to one of its flagship brands reaching "full electrification by 2028." And it is also a necessary threshold for the automaker as legacy carmakers still need to find a solution for the pesky success of American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla. After all, the latter had played with just about everything  including lowering the prices of their EV models when everyone else around them was raising them to stratospheric levels (Ford F-150 Lightning, wink, wink).As such, it is pretty obvious that the CGI expert's vision regarding the unofficial interpretation of the factory-spec Chrysler Airflow looks precisely like a Tesla Model 3, Volkswagen ID. 7, and Hyundai Ioniq 6 competitor. Of course, everyone knows that Tesla's four-door compact executive EV is the one to beat  as everyone else around it needs to prove itself before turning into a proper rival. And it's going to be an uphill battle, for sure, as Tesla is even willing to upset its shareholders with a crazy pricing strategy to make sure that it has a fighting chance to win the EV wars in the long run.Hopefully, by then, Chrysler will have this EV ready for the zero-emissions game, complete with excellent technical specifications and an aggressive pricing strategy  they're all needed to beat the Tesla Model 3 . Which, by the way, currently retails from $39,990 in the United States if you take home the RWD version with 272 miles (438 km) of range and 5.8-second zero to 60 mph (96 kph) times.They should at least consider beating that before even thinking about duking it out with the Model 3 Performance or the upcoming Model 3 Long Range! Meanwhile, we hope the unofficial Chrysler EV seen here in a trio of posh colors will be enough to entice customers to consider a zero-emissions vehicle as their next purchase, even if right now  according to a recent study  just four out of ten Americans think EVs fit nicely right on the driveway or inside the garage!
3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount.



Wasnt ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch.



Looks like we can be ready to launch again in 1 to 2 months.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2023

On April 14, SpaceX got the clearance to proceed with its first orbital flight test with the Starship and Super Heavy launch system, culminating years of flight tests, static tests, and nail-biting moments. The launch was scheduled for April 18 but was scrubbed after discovering a pressure valve problem in the Starship Booster's liquid oxygen feed lines. Conveniently, the launch was rescheduled for 4/20, a number combination that is dear to Elon Musk and his fans.The test flight's objectives were for the Starship to achieve an altitude of at least 90 miles (150 km) and make a full around-the-world tour before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii. The lift-off went uneventful, but three and a half minutes into the flight, when the stage separation was supposed to occur, the Starship exploded about 25 miles (40 km) above its launch site. Depending on whom you want to listen to, the Starship's short flight was either a monumental failure or a resounding success.Musk revealed in a Twitter Spaces chat on April 29 that the outcome was pretty much in line with the expectations, which were to get clear of the launchpad. As people pointed out, this was supposed to be a test flight, crucial for gathering data and advancing the rocket's development. Musk revealed that the problems detected with the Booster 7 allowed SpaceX to improve Booster 9, which will attempt the next Starship launch into orbit.That might not happen as fast as Musk wants, though. In addition to the in-flight explosion, the Starship launch destroyed the launchpad, sending debris in all directions. The Boca Chica launch site doesn't have a deluge system to suppress shockwaves and flames. Such systems rely on a "flame trench" to channel rocket exhaust and water or foam to keep things from flying uncontrollably into the air.Moments after the launch, residents of the nearby town of Port Isabel reported broken windows and ash-like particles covering their homes. The situation could've been much worse because the concrete chunks were thrown into the ocean and risked hitting the fuel storage tanks adjacent to the launchpad. There were also concerns that residual propellant, which is highly toxic, could rain down, causing environmental damage.That's why the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a mishap investigation of the Starship/Super Heavy test mission. According to the agency, a return to flight will only be allowed after the FAA determines that "any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety." This means the Starship program at Boca Chica is effectively grounded until FAA can determine if future flights are safe for people and the environment. The investigation will likely result in mandatory actions that SpaceX must comply with to keep its license and resume testing. These might include installing a deluge system, as Elon Musk admitted in an April 21 tweet that a decision to proceed without it was a mistake. He also said that SpaceX can be ready to launch again in "1 to 2 months." The timeframe can be too optimistic, considering how long it takes for the FAA investigation to conclude and the corrective actions to be implemented. In the worst-case scenario, the FAA might remove SpaceX's license at Boca Chica, forcing Musk to relocate all testing to Cape Canaveral.
Banking on the increased demand for this type of two-wheeler, renowned Italian bike manufacturer Fabriga Cycles has recently introduced a new model, a folding and modular electric cargo bike called Fabriga Modula. Touted as scalable, foldable, and durable, the new e-bike is also characterized by its modularity, which allows it to cater to any active family's dynamic lifestyle and needs.The Fabriga Modula is a significant evolution of the company's previous model - the Grazilla Motobus - and comes after three years of development. Unveiled at the Cargo Bike Summit in London on March 31, the two-wheeler comes with an ultra-modular design with a three-section frame assembly comprised of the steering, motor compartment, and tail, which is its most groundbreaking innovation.The aim was to develop a bike capable of adapting to a family's life cycle needs. As such, the company explains that the long tail has been designed on two levels in order to accommodate children of different ages. Children up to four years can be carried in the middle of the frame, on the lower level, and then, when they grow, they can move to the upper level above the rear wheels. Eventually, the long tail can be replaced with a shorter one, thus converting the Modula into a more compact, foldable urban ride.A double-decker option is also possible, which brings the frame to a single upper level, and fitting an extra-long and wide deck for deliveries is also possible, further showcasing its adaptability.The loading compartment is quite generous at 115 cm (45.3 inches), and a few simple adjustments will allow you to transform it from a cargo bike to a kid carrier, a flexibility that not many models on the market today provide. This makes the Fabriga Modula ideal for families looking for a cargo bike that can adapt to different needs and situations.When you need to store or transport it, the e-bike can easily be folded down to a compact size of just 150 cm (60 inches) in length. All its accessories, including the footrests, stainless steel Teddy bars, and bags, are also foldable.This e-bike comes with a unique motor cradle that allows for any type of mid-drive motor to be installed on it for pedal assistance. You can even fit a non-e-bike bottom bracket version if you so wish. It is a separate motor bay compartment, which allows for great flexibility throughout the bike's lifespan. This means that, with the help of a skilled mechanic, you can easily upgrade your electric bike instead of investing in a new one.Fabriga Cycle's Modula foldable cargo e-bike will be made available in multiple trim levels from September 2023. The standard version will be priced at 2,770 ($3,050 to current exchange rates), while the top-of-the-line version with a high-end engine will set up back 4,970 ($5,470).
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The Goodwood company's first-ever high-riding vehicle is five years old, and during this time, it has boosted the brand's sales, allowing them to rub shoulders with the likes of Bentley and Land Rover (and Mercedes-Maybach if you are into re-badged GLSes ). With so many Cullinans out there, it is only logical that some were modified to the teeth, whereas others remain bone-stock with the occasional exception comprising a set of aftermarket wheels and some other bits and bobs.At the other end of the chart lie the copies that were crashed, like the one embedded in the clip down below. Shared by supercar.fails a few days ago, the video is only a few seconds long, and it shows the white Rolls-Royce Cullinan going through a carwash with a beat-up back end. Pieces of the bumper are hanging off, and the tailgate has seen much better days. But what's the point of washing a bruised-up machine? Why? Probably because it was about to enter the body shop to regain its shine.Due to the filming angle, it is impossible to tell if it has suffered other damages, but since the brake lights are on, we think it is still drivable. Thus, the V12 engine is still functioning because it does rock a twelve-banger that breathes air from behind the imposing grille. It is a 6.75-liter mill with two turbos, pumping out 562 hp (570 ps/419). The thrust stands at 627 lb-ft (850 Nm). Every petrolhead and their pet will tell you that it's not polite to ask a Rolls-Royce how fast it is. Nevertheless, we can reveal that it can deal with the zero to sixty-two miles per hour (0-97 kph) sprint in a little over five seconds. The Cullinan's top speed is electronically capped at 155 mph (250 kph).The sticker price on a brand-new 2023 Rolls-Royce Cullinan is $355,000 in our market. Mind you, that's before factoring in the expensive options and the dealer's greed in the form of additional fees. As a result, you know that the repair will be anything but cheap, don't you? We do not know if the insurance will cover it, where the accident occurred, and where, but if you do, please drop a line below and cast more light on it. After all, it is not every day that we get to see a crashed Cullinan going through a carwash.
On April 29, a Flyone Armenia plane operating a flight from Paris to Yerevan had to land in Chisinau, Moldova, after Turkeys aviation authorities banned it from entering the countrys airspace. Flyone Armenia said it had not been informed about the decision in advance.

The Armenian airlines representative told RFE/RLs Armenian Service that they still did not know why Turkey had revised its permission.

Some of our flights to Europe that are operated through Turkish airspace cannot be carried out using Turkish airspace for the time being. We have no information about the reasons, Aram Ananian, chairman of Flyone Armenias board, said.

He said that the Armenian airline had received all the permissions to operate flights through Turkish airspace during the 2023 summer season in advance. We do not see any reason related to any aviation activity that would lead to this decision, Ananian added.

Flights operated from Armenia to Europe have few alternatives to transit through Turkish airspace because of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war as a result of which much of the regions airspace is declared a no-fly zone.

But Flyone Armenias official has pledged that the airline will carry out all its flights as scheduled in cooperation with European partners and that no ticket holder will face any problems. He did not elaborate.

Flyone Armenia, which was founded in 2021 and operates flights to several destinations in Europe and Russia, since last year has also operated Yerevan-Istanbul-Yerevan flights. Meanwhile, the Turkish Pegasus airline has been operating Istanbul-Yerevan-Istanbul flights.

The resumption of air flights between Armenia and Turkey in 2022 was touted by both countries as progress in their efforts to achieve normalization after decades of feud over historical issues.

Flyone Armenia said it assumed that the ban concerned transit through Turkish airspace and not flights to and from Istanbul, as the Turkish side has not informed the Armenian airline about any obstacles to these flights yet.

Armenias General Department of Civil Aviation did not comment immediately on whether the Turkish ban applies only to Flyone Armenia or in general to all Armenia-registered airlines. It promised to answer questions on May 2 when its officials return to work after the holiday.
Before their meeting Armenias Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijans Jeyhun Bayramov met separately with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had earlier expressed Washingtons continued support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace efforts.

Blinken then met the two visiting ministers together before what was expected to be their bilateral peace negotiations.

In a brief statement on the Blinken-Mirzoyan-Bayramov meeting Armenias Foreign Ministry said late on May 1 that issues of the security situation in the region and the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were discussed.

The humanitarian situation resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan was addressed, the ministry added.

The readout on the meeting released by the Azerbaijani side did not have any mention of the Lachin corridor issue.

In weekend phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Blinken reportedly pledged Washingtons continued support for the two countries peace efforts.

In his phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian he reiterated that direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus and expressed his appreciation for the Prime Ministers continued commitment to the peace process.

Talking to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Blinken shared his belief that peace was possible and expressed the United States deep concern that Azerbaijans establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible.

Azerbaijan installed the checkpoint at the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia on April 23. The move tightened the already existing blockade of the mostly ethnic Armenian-populated region that was effectively imposed by government-backed Azerbaijani protesters back in December.

Yerevan and Stepanakert view the roadblock as illegal and contradicting the Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that put an end to a six-week Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh and placed solely Russian peacekeepers in charge of providing security for Nagorno-Karabakh and ensuring free movement for its people along the five-kilometer-wide corridor.

Official Baku denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, pledging to ensure, in cooperation with Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region, all necessary conditions for a transparent and orderly passage of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in both directions. It stresses that the checkpoint was installed in Azerbaijans sovereign territory and calls Armenias interference with the affair unacceptable.

A senior U.S. Department of State official told RFE/RLs Armenian Service on May 1 that Mirzoyan-Bayramov negotiations in Washington will last for several days.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the predominantly Armenian-populated region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper.

Decades of internationally mediated talks failed to result in a diplomatic solution and the simmering conflict led to another war in 2020 in which nearly 7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides.

The six-week war in which Azerbaijan regained all of the Armenian-controlled areas outside of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as chunks of territory inside the Soviet-era autonomous oblast proper ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers.

Tensions along the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border and around Nagorno-Karabakh leading to sporadic fighting and loss of life have persisted despite the ceasefire. At least three Azerbaijani and four Armenian soldiers were killed in the most recent border skirmish on April 11.
1 May 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

In recent times, the rising US and France activities in the South Caucasus, as well as the increase in their interest in the processes, have been quite tangible. Even the recent replacement of the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces temporarily stationed in Karabakh has led to an increase in the US pressure on Armenia to sign a peace treaty.

In fact, one of the main reasons for this is related to the policy of the Azerbaijani government aimed at completely eliminating the realities created by the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. The point is that while the Azerbaijani side has fully and honestly complied with the conditions of the tripartite Moscow declaration reached in November 2020 with the Russian mediation, the Armenian authorities have not fully fulfilled their obligations under the terms of that approval until now. In other words, it must be admitted that the military units belonging to Armenia have not been fully removed from the territory of Azerbaijan and they have not been disarmed; although Armenia declares that the illegal military formations in Karabakh do not belong to it."

Political analyst Elshan Manafov told this in his comment for Azernews. According to him, on the contrary, instead of fulfilling its obligations, Armenia is intensifying provocations in Karabakh.

"The fact that the Azerbaijani servicemen died in the mines planted by the Armenians in the vicinity of Shusha in recent weeks shows that the Armenian side is continuing its provocations aimed at Azerbaijan in our region. This is a factor that does not correspond to the content of its obligations. That is, the Armenian side shows a different position in the negotiations with Azerbaijan," Manafov said.

Speaking about the growing interest of the USA and France in the processes in the region, the expert said that the issue is also related to the elections to be held in Turkiye.

"Regarding the dynamism in the US and French officials' activities, I can say that until the elections to be held in Turkiye, the United States and France want to strengthen the pressure on Azerbaijan in a certain way and at the same time prevent the pressure of the Azerbaijani side against Armenia."

Elshan Manafov also clarified the importance of the elections in Turkiye for the Pashinyan government. He said that at such a moment, Pashinyan resorted to various maneuvers to gain time.

"Another significance of the elections in Turkiye is that if Erdogan wins the elections again, Turkiye's pressure on Armenia will increase. At the same time, the West is also in a hurry and wants to build its own satellite in Yerevan in the period before the elections. The West also wants to insure the Armenian government with this. At least the West knows that Azerbaijan's possible increased pressure on Armenia does not exclude military operations.

Let me add that one of the concerns of the Pashinyan government today is the victory of opposition representatives in Turkiye. In this case, Pashinyan hopes that if the opposition after elections comes to power, it will show a different attitude to the Armenian conflict. On the other hand, Pashinyan is waiting for the end of the conflict in Ukraine. Because he knows that the West will not be able to focus all its attention on the South Caucasus until the conflict in Ukraine ends. For this reason, I must mention that Pashinyan wants to gain time in the current situation and even hopes for the results of the elections to be held in Russia and the United States next year," the expert emphasized.

Elshan Manafov added that another reason for the West's growing interest in the region is the Russian factor.

"The main problem that seriously worries France and the United States within the processes in the South Caucasus is the recently growing tension in Russian-Armenian relations. This tension gives rise to the opinion that Russia has a plan of measures to replace the incumbent government in Armenia, which is opposed to Russia's geopolitical interests in the region, with a government that meets Russia's interests. Of course, the will of the people is taken into account here by Russia," the expert stressed.

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1 May 2023 11:55 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed The Protocol on the Amendment to the Preferential Commercial Code, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry.

The Economy Ministry said that Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov met with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus in Samsun, Turkiye.

At the meeting, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized the importance of the political will of the heads of state and the implementation of their tasks in the development of relations. He noted that the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance creates favorable conditions for the effective use of the economic potential of the two countries. The Minister said that Turkiye is one of the main trade partners of Azerbaijan, and expanding the scope of the Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries will be another contribution to the realization of goals in the direction of increasing the trade turnover with Turkiye.

Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus underscored the friendly and fraternal relations between the two countries and expressed his views on the direction of further strengthening of Azerbaijan-Turkiye cooperation.

At the meeting, the current situation on trade and investment was reviewed, as well as discussions were held on possible cooperation opportunities.

Within the framework of the visit, the Protocol on Amendments to the Preferential Trade Agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkiye was signed. The document was signed by Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Mus.

It is significant to note that the Preferential Trade Agreement, which entered into force on March 1, 2021, allows the export of a number of Azerbaijani products to Turkiye on preferential terms - without paying import duties.

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1 May 2023 14:44 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijani Economy Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received the head of Uzavtosanoat JSC Ulugbek Rozukulov, Azernews reports, citing a tweet by the Economy Minister.

The Minister noted that the meeting discussed the opportunities created by Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, economic partnership for strengthening the relations between the business communities of the two countries, and perspective projects. Jeyhun Bayramov also noted that the meeting heard about the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in the automobile industry.

During the meeting with head of Uzavtosanoat JSC Ulugbek Rozukulov, we held discussions on the opportunities created by - #economic partnership for strengthening the relations between the #business communities of our countries and perspective projects. Additionally, we pic.twitter.com/6IDC4TK5Ag  Mikayil Jabbarov (@MikayilJabbarov) May 1, 2023

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1 May 2023 10:09 (UTC+04:00)

On April 30, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

During the telephone conversation. Antony Blinken underlined the importance of peace treaty talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and pointed out that the U.S. would continue its support to this end. The U.S. Secretary of State said he believes in possibility of achieving peace and touched upon the opening of the checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border.

President Ilham Aliyev noted Azerbaijan supports the peace agenda and that Azerbaijan had been the initiator of starting peace treaty talks and normalization of relations with Armenia. In this respect, the Azerbaijani side proposed 5 principles to Armenia in line with the norms and principles of international law.

With respect to setting up the Lachin checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, President Ilham Aliyev said that the checkpoint had been set up in accordance with Azerbaijans sovereign rights and all international rules.

The Azerbaijani President underlined that the aim was to ensure control rather than restrict movement as passage is already allowed through the checkpoint.

During the telephone conversation, the Azerbaijani leader noted that the rights of the Armenian population living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan would be ensured in line with the Azerbaijans Constitution and international documents the country is party to.

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1 May 2023 16:17 (UTC+04:00)

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will meet with the Armenian Foreign Minister in Washington, Azernews reports, citing international media outlets.

We should note that on May 1, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will first hold separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, then a meeting between Mirzoyan and Bayramov will take place.

The meeting will discuss the agreement on the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

All meetings will be closed to the press.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
1 May 2023 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

The growing Western interests in the processes in the South Caucasus is quite noticeable. Azerbaijan's recently installed check point at the conventional border with Armenia has caused serious discussions and even concern of the West. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's phone call to President Ilham Aliyev is particularly related to the recent events.

It is interesting that the United States is very active in speeding up peace negotiations at such a moment. And in the telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan, the US side discussed this with both Azerbaijan Armenia and emphasized that official Washington will spare no effort in this matter.

Having expressed his concern over Azerbaijan's newly established checkpoint on the Lachin road, Blinken expressed hope that the road will soon be opened for trade purpose and civilians. However, he forgot to mention the Armenian provocations that have taken place until then.

"I don't think that after 30 years of occupation policy it will be easy to sign an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We see that the leading countries, including the former Minsk Groups, are actually cosseting Armenia."

This was told by the professor of the Department of Political Sciences Fikrat Sadikhov in a comment for Azernews, while discussing Blinken's phone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.

"During the last telephone conversation, despite the fact that Blinken once again expressed his concern, the head of our state outlined the position of Azerbaijan, which is full of evidence. We do not expect such a result from a state like the United States, which speaks of international law and educates the principles of justice. This approach is not suitable for the leading country. On the contrary, they should not deny the truth, but speak it. Of course, the signing of a peace agreement is not expected in the near future. However, the Azerbaijani side put forward 5 principles and stated that it is always ready for peace," the political analyst said.

As regards provocation attempts that might be committed by Armenia in future, Sadikhov said that it was expressed on both ideological and diplomatic levels.

"France declares that we allegedly blocked the road to Lachin, Armenians cannot go there. All these are blatant lies. The French MFA made the same statement when he came to Baku. Azerbaijan, by stating its position sufficiently, brought full clarity to the issue." he added.

According to the expert, Russia considers itself the main player in the region. The declaration, signed on November 10, was prepared with the participation of Russia.

"In my opinion, we are not responsible to anyone and no one can own us. The main thing is to sign an agreement that meets our interests," he said.

Commenting on the recent fair decisions and steps taken by Azerbaijan, he stated that Azerbaijan has taken quite resolutive steps.

"We have liberated our lands from occupation and are ready to negotiate at the diplomatic level. We also declare that, undoubtedly, we have defended and will continue to defend the rights of ethnic Karabakh Armenians. Despite various provocations and statements from other countries, we will not deviate from our principled position. Because our position complies with the norms of international law and at the same time meets the national interests of the Azerbaijani state," he concluded.

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Follow Rena Murshud on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Hong Kong: Car travel scheme further explained

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said its early announcement of the implementation time and detailed arrangements of the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles scheme today will allow sufficient time for the public to learn about the scheme.



In response to media enquiries, the Hong Kong SAR Government explained that its early announcement about the scheme will give people ample time to obtain Mainland driving licences and prepare the documents required for the application in advance.



The Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments announced at noon today that the scheme will be open for application from eligible Hong Kong private cars from 9am on June 1 this year, and approved Hong Kong private cars will be allowed to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) starting from 0.00am on July 1.



Apart from noting that there is a one-month interval between application commencement and the start of travel of the approved vehicles, the Hong Kong SAR Government stated that the goal is to allow enough time for more members of the public to complete the relevant application procedures in an orderly manner.



To ensure that the scheme is implemented in a well-organised manner, the Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments have agreed to set a cap on the number of applications to be accepted, which will be allocated by computer balloting, at the initial stage of launching the scheme, it added.



The Hong Kong SAR Government emphasised that it will review the application situation and progressively increase the number of applications to be accepted as necessary.



As for vehicle examination, the Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments have been devising measures to enhance the examination arrangement while complying with the Mainlands regulations. It is believed that the examination capacity will be sufficient to meet the demand under the scheme.



The governments of the two sides will closely monitor the situation and launch further enhanced measures in a timely manner.



Both governments have also agreed to set a daily cap on the number of northbound vehicles. Applicants who have obtained the relevant licences for the scheme may book for travelling within a designated period via the online booking system.



The Hong Kong SAR Government made it clear that it is now in discussion with the Guangdong Provincial Government on the daily cap, and will separately announce the details in due course after reviewing the application situation.



Furthermore, the Transport Department has vetted all Closed Road Permit (CRP) applications pending processing by the end of April. Currently, new CRP applications can be completed within five working days as in the past in general, while renewal applications can be completed within one day.



To facilitate the schemes implementation, the department will continue to utilise electronic service and deploy and recruit additional staff to keep enhancing the application handling capacity.



As regard the fees for participating in the scheme, the State Council announced in November last year that eligible Hong Kong private cars under the scheme are exempted from paying customs duties or applying for guarantee arrangements with Mainland customs, thereby largely reducing the relevant fees.



The fees that applicants need to pay include the CRP application to the department as well as vehicle examination and buying insurance in accordance with the Mainlands requirements. The insurance concerned refers to the Compulsory Traffic Accident Liability Insurance for Motor Vehicles of the Mainland or unilateral recognition insurance policies of Hong Kong.



Generally speaking, the fees for a maximum of one-year validity period amount at around $2,000 to $3,000, while those for a one-month validity period amount to around $1,000.



In the longer term, the Guangdong and Hong Kong SAR governments will draw on the schemes implementation experience at the HZMB and proactively study the schemes extension to a Shenzhen/Hong Kong land boundary control point, such that Hong Kong private cars can travel to both the eastern and western parts of Guangdong.

This story has been published on: 2023-05-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
2 May 2023 02:25 (UTC+04:00)

Police officers have detained persons involved in the propaganda of religious radicalism and other subversive activities in Azerbaijan financed through the sale of drugs.

Azernews reports, citing local media that during a special operation carried out by police officers, 16 people were detained and handed over to the investigation.

The goal of those who carried out the tasks of the religious-political centers, controlled mainly from Iran, was to make drug addicts and others the instrument of their nefarious intentions. There are quite a few undeniable facts about this criminal activity in their social media accounts. They never denied their radical actions, they lived according to the "rules" of those whom they considered their "masters", and not according to the laws of the country of which they are citizens.

So, S. Mamedov, R. Rustamov, A. Asadullayev, J. Balashov, V. Pyunkhanaliev, V. Farzaliev, T. Gasimov, T. Mirishov, M. Mamedov, M. Akhmedov, I. Hasanov, A. Firudunbeyli, M. Fataliyev, M. Rzayev, Sh. Suleymanov, A. Aliyev have been found guilty.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 68F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Overcast. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 51F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Archived Results for Monday, May 1st, 2023

Older Page 1
A man who says he was fired from his nursing assistant's job after a false television news report hopes the N.C. Supreme Court will revive his lawsuit against the Triangle TV station. The suit challenges the station's reliance on theWesley Walker filed a brief Monday with the high court in his case against WTVD.The dispute arose from a report on WTVD's 6 p.m. newscast in August 2019. The report alleged that Walker had hit an elderly patient in the face while working at his job.Walker had beenaccording to Monday's brief.according to the brief.The false report stemmed from communication between the TV station and the Wake County Sheriff's Office, according to the brief.Reporter Ed Crump sent an email on Aug. 15, 2019, to sheriff's employee Eric Curry.Crump wrote.Curry responded on the same day, according to court documents.wrote John Kirby, Walker's lawyer.A different WTVD employee contacted Walker's employer, Capital Nursing. A staffer indicated that Capital Nursing had no patients matching the name of the alleged assault victim and that the alleged assault hadn't taken place at the facility. No one contacted Walker, according to his brief.With no other confirmation, the TV station aired the story.Kirby wrote.Walker sued both the Wake County Sheriff's Office and WTVD in August 2020. An August 2022 ruling from the N.C. Court of Appeals allowed Walker to proceed with his lawsuit against the sheriff's office. But the same court affirmed a lower court's ruling favoring WTVD against Walker's legal claims.Kirby wrote.Kirby argued.Kirby added.WTVD will have a chance to respond to Walker's brief before the state Supreme Court hears the case.
Faculty members who received the UNC System Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards stand with Provost Robin Coger, left, and Faculty Senate Chair Anne Ticknor and Chancellor Philip Rogers, right. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)

Lisa Bennett, senior teaching instructor, chemistry, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Jon Kirchoff, associate professor, marketing and supply chain management, College of Business

Christine Kowalczyk, associate professor, marketing and supply chain management, College of Business

Tammy Lee, associate professor, Department of Mathematics Education, Science Education and Instructional Technology, College of Education

Anne Mallory, teaching associate professor, English, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Daniel Shirley, assistant professor, music, College of Fine Arts and Communication

Janee' Avent Harris, associate professor, interdisciplinary professions, College of Education

Natasha Bell, assistant professor, engineering, College of Engineering and Technology

Courtney Caiola, assistant professor, nursing science, College of Nursing

Leslie Cofie, assistant professor, health education and promotion, College of Health and Human Performance

Lisa Domico, teaching associate professor, pharmacology and toxicology, Brody School of Medicine

Johanna Hannan, assistant professor, physiology, Brody School of Medicine

Karen Litwa, assistant professor, anatomy and cell biology, Brody School of Medicine

Thanh Ngo, professor, finance, College of Business

Adam Offenbacher, assistant professor, chemistry, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Jessica Teague, assistant professor, theatre and dance, College of Fine Arts and Communication

Jill Twark, associate professor, foreign languages and literatures, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Heather Vance-Chalcraft, assistant professor, biology, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Anne Bunnell, teaching instructor, biology, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Susan McRae, teaching professor, biology, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

Brian Cavanaugh, teaching instructor, health education and performance, College of Health and Human Performance

Xi Lin, assistant professor, interdisciplinary professions, College of Education

David Mayo III, senior teaching instructor, Miller School of Entrepreneurship, College of Business

This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services . The author of this post is Crystal Baity East Carolina University recognized and celebrated outstanding faculty members during the 2023 University Teaching Awards ceremony Tuesday night in the Murphy Center.Chancellor Philip Rogers said in his welcome.Faculty from departments and colleges across the university were honored in several award categories.Elizabeth Ables, associate professor in the Department of Biology in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, received the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award recognizes a sustained record of distinguished teaching by a tenured faculty member and is the highest award given at ECU.In a video played at the ceremony, students described what makes Ables a great teacher, including encouraging teamwork and always being there for her students.said one student.said another.Using a biology metaphor, Ables said she likes to think of students as stem cells.Ables said.Ables said she resembles many of her students.she said.Ables said she was honored and humbled to receive the award, thanking all the teaching award nominees and winners and the faculty and staff in biology, chemistry and Harriot College.Other faculty members who received awards during the ceremony include:Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award - recognition of full-time faculty who have taught at ECU for three or more years and who demonstrate excellent or exceptional teaching abilityScholar-Teacher Award - recognition of faculty who effectively integrate research and creativity with their teaching rolesAlumni Association and Robert L. Jones Awards for Outstanding Teaching - recognition of faculty who exemplify the characteristics of effective teaching outlined in the ECU faculty manualRobert L. Jones Teaching AwardMax Ray Joyner Award for Outstanding Teaching in Distance Education - honors a faculty member who has shown commitment for teaching and mentoring off-campus students, demonstrating excellence in the delivery of online coursesService-Learning Teaching Excellence Award - recognition of the unique time, effort and planning necessary for successful academic service-learning instruction and organized community-based learning activities
Apr 28, 2023

(

The Center Square

)  With an estimated 77,000 on charter school waiting lists, lawmakers in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday will consider several bills designed to open up school choice for families.

The House Education Committee will hear three bills that could provide more school options for North Carolina families: one to expand Opportunity Scholarships, another to streamline charter school approvals, and a third to allow open enrollment in public schools.

House Bill 823, known as Choose Your School, Choose Your Future, is sponsored by top House Republicans including Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, to expand Opportunity Scholarships to all students through a tier-based system based on income.

The program is currently restricted to low- and moderate-income families to cover private school tuition and other educational expenses. Parents for Educational Freedom President Mike Long contends the expansion would mark an incredible step toward funding students over systems in North Carolina, while the states teachers association is lobbying against the bill.

The program currently helps more than 25,000 students attend 544 private schools.

The committee will also review House Bill 618, to create a Charter School Review Board to take over responsibility for approving, amending, renewing and terminating charter schools. It would reshuffle the authority of the State Board of Education; the legislation is aimed at streamlining the process, though the state board would retain oversight over the review board.

A Charter School Advisory Board as it is now can only make recommendations to the state board.

Current members of the Charter School Advisory Board would become initial members of the Charter School Review Board, according to a statement from the bill sponsors, including Moore. The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instructions existing ex-officio designee on the board would be changed to a voting member, bringing the total board membership to 12.

A third bill in the House Education Committee on Tuesday would expand school choice in the public school system by creating open enrollment.

House Bill 793 states a parent or guardian of a student who is domiciled in this State may request that the student be enrolled in a local school administrative unit other than the local school administrative unit that the student would have been enrolled in based on domicile under current law.

Public School Open Enrollment, as the bill is known, would require school districts to adopt an open enrollment plan that details the application process and to use a lottery if theres more demand than available. HB793 would further require schools to list on their websites capacity at each grade level, and to create a wait list if a school is at capacity.

In some counties, open enrollment already exists; in some, it's a mix of assigned and open in an effort to be good stewards of existing buildings.

Tuesdays hearing comes two days before a legislative crossover deadline to send legislation to the upper chamber.

HB618 and HB823 have the backing of top House Republicans, the latter with a total of 72 in support, the threshold necessary to override a veto from the governor.

HB793 is sponsored by Rep. John Bradford, R-Mecklenburg, and Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, with two Republican co-sponsors.

Thanks to Jann for the tip.
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After closing in October, new life is coming to the former Luke's property in Old Town.

"The Park" will come to the property at 2325 Calder Ave. later this summer.

Owner and Beaumont native Deondre Moore said The Park will be a type of venue that Beaumont hasn't seen before -- one that would be seen in a bigger city like Houston or Dallas.

"I'm really excited to bring to give something fresh and new to the city and especially to Old Town," Moore said. "There's so much potential in the Old Town, on Calder specifically that's leading into downtown you know. It's a beautiful street, but there's a lot of opportunity for economic development and this is going to be the starting point of that."

Moore said he lived in bigger cities like Dallas, Houston and Atlanta before moving back to Beaumont last year on Memorial Day to bring something new and fresh to the area.

RELATED: UPDATE: More details on Luke's Bar and Grill closure

"It's going to still be a restaurant and bar, but it's going to have a really nice vibe and pomp and circumstance with it," Moore said. "I want to make sure that people when they come (to The Park), they're getting an experience, not just your typical restaurant or bar, it's not a mom and pop. It's going to be a beast of an entity or a venue."

Since the property will have a stage on its patio, Moore said they are looking forward to do community events such as concerts in The Park and yoga in The Park.

"Even the hiring process isn't your typical hiring process," Moore said. "We're doing a big casting call and the reason we're calling it a casting call is because we're going to be a full production. We want to give people an experience when they come into this space."

Moore said the first casting call will likely be later in May at a Beaumont hotel.

They will be looking to fill several positions including bartenders, barbacks, security, DJ's, in-house videographer, promo team/ambassadors, Lamar University crew/ambassadors, managers, sous chefs, line cooks, hosts, servers, bussers and dishwashers.

RELATED: Luke's Mid-County to close, just 2 weeks after Beaumont location

Renovations for the bar are set to start within the next couple weeks.

The process to acquire the property took about five months, Moore said he started signing papers in late March and received the keys in April.

Moore hopes to open The Park in mid to late July.

Moore said the community's response to the new business so far has been overwhelming.

"We kind of went viral for posting our renderings on Facebook," Moore said. "It's been an experience so far. The community really does seem to be excited about it. It's a place for everybody."

Updates on casting calls, opening dates and events will posted on The Park's Facebook page.
AleksandarNakic/Getty Images

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston received a 911 call on Saturday, April 29 at approximately 4 p.m. of a young male surfer being pushed out offshore in 8-foot seas and 34 mph winds, according to the press release.

The 20-year-old surfer paddled out near Bolivar Beach before the currents started pulling him out to sea. During the event his father put on a life jacket and tied a fishing line to his belt but was having difficulties swimming the distance to help his son, the release said.
May is right around the corner which means we only have a month left in this Legislative session. Deadlines are looming for bills to reach certain benchmarks. Its a race to the finish!

Here are five things happening around your state:

1. Bill moving SFA to UT-System passes House, going to Governor

This week, Senate Bill 1055 passed the House unanimously, 148-0, with even Speaker Phelan voting for the bill (the Speaker typically votes present not voting on most bills in the chamber). I appreciate the House author, Representative Travis Clardy, and his work on this legislation. I also want to thank our partners at the University of Texas System and Stephen F. Austin State University for all of their work on this bill. The university received input from students, faculty, alumni, community members, and other interested parties before making the decision to affiliate with the UT-System. Both the university and the system stand to benefit from this partnership, and I look forward to the Governor signing this historic legislation. Congratulations to both SFA and the UT-System!

2. House passes state employee parental leave bill with changes

This week, the House passed Senate Bill 222, a bill I authored to give state employees paid parental leave. I was happy to work with Representative Will Metcalf, who carried the bill in the House. The House made some changes to the bill, including extending the amount of paid maternity leave offered to state employees and paid paternity leave. The Houses version of the bill gives both parents 60 days of paid leave, which equates to about six weeks of leave. The Senates version of the bill gives four weeks of paid maternity leave and two weeks of paid paternity leave. We will have to appoint a conference committee to work out the details between the two chambers and ensure that state employees are given the benefit of paid parental leave. I look forward to working with our House and Senate colleagues to give an appropriate amount of paid leave for state employees who are starting or growing their families.

3. Lamar University, SFA receive Summer Merit Program grants

The Texas Workforce Commission and Governor Greg Abbott announced 12 grants totaling almost $1 million to Texas universities and community colleges for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) summer youth camps through the Governors Summer Merit Program. These funds provide scholarships for more than 1,500 students aged 14-21 to attend STEM summer camps that prepare them for future work in high-demand industries. The Summer Merit Program offers students an introduction to advanced technologies and manufacturing, aerospace and defense, biotechnology and life sciences, information and computer technology, petroleum refining and chemical products, and energy. Two universities in Senate District 3 are recipients of the grants. Lamar University received just under $100,000 for 180 scholarships for camps with hands-on learning opportunities in computing and programming. Stephen F. Austin State University received $100,000 for 140 scholarships for project-based learning activities. The camps at SFA will include fieldwork opportunities, field trips, and STEM career-oriented events and activities.

4. Nursing grant programs bill passes Senate

This week the Senate passed Senate Bill 2059 by Senator Juan Chuy Hinojosa. The bill seeks to address the ongoing nursing shortage in the state by establishing several grant programs at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. These grant programs would enhance access to clinical training and support faculty for clinical training. Multiple nursing shortage workforce evaluations pointed to lack of clinical training capacity as the primary obstacle to educating more nurses. Senate Bill 2059 would create the Clinical Site Nurse Preceptor Grant program, the Clinical Site Innovation and Coordination Program, the Nursing Faculty Grant Program for part-time positions, and the Nursing Faculty Grant Program for clinical training. Providing state support for expanding access to nurses clinical training is critical as we come out of the pandemic.

5. Bill updating school marshal program passes Senate

The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would continue to improve the school marshal program. Senate Bill 2407 by Senator Kelly Hancock would require school marshal training to include training provided by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, also known as ALERRT. ALERRT, which is house as Texas State University in San Marcos, is considered the gold standard in active shooter response training. If we want to continue to improve safety in our schools, its imperative we give those who are charged with protecting students the best training and tools possible.
Eighty-three women have filed a lawsuit against Indiana OB-GYN William David Moore, MD, and three health facilities alleging inappropriate behavior towards female patients, according to an April 30 report from Fox affiliate WXIN.

Dr. Moore's license was suspended in March after patients accused him of inappropriate behavior during pelvic exams, including taking photographs without permission, not wearing gloves and ordering unnecessary medical tests.

The women in the lawsuit range in age from 15 to 73 and saw Dr. Moore throughout the span of nearly three decades.

The lawsuit alleges the three health facilities  Marion, Ind.-based Dr. Moore's Women's Healthcare, Indianapolis-based Ambulatory Care Center and Marion (Ind.) General Hospital  failed to supervise and monitor Dr. Moore's behavior and activities.

The lawsuit claims the facilities "had actual and constructive knowledge and was on notice of the allegations of medical negligence and abuse of female patients and took no effective steps to detect, prevent or report the negligence, misconduct or abuse."

Indiana's malpractice laws cap damages at $250,000 in any one case, but each of the 83 women is seeking damages under separate and distinct malpractice cases.

"Dr. Moore was a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist for more than 40 years before retiring at age 76 in December, 2022," Dr. Moore's attorney, Ronald Mingus, told WXIN in a statement in January. "His medical license was never subjected to any disciplinary action by any state licensing agency during his long career. He cares about his patients and worked very hard to provide them with excellent care."
Arlington, Va.-based physician Kirsten Van Steeberg Ball, MD, was indicted on 21 counts of illegally distributing oxycodone, ABC affiliate WRIC reported May 1.

Dr. Ball prescribed large amounts of oxycodone without seeing patients in person; she also prescribed high doses of oxycodone alongside diazepam, a dangerous combination.

One patient was prescribed 320 oxycodone pills in June 2015 and 180 pills the following month. In August 2015, the patient died of an overdose.

Dr. Ball allegedly conspired with her office manager, Candie Calix, to distribute oxycodone to addicts  Ms. Calix was sentenced to seven years in prison September 2022. From 2012 to 2022, Ms. Calix, as a patient of Dr. Ball, was prescribed 40,000 oxycodone pills.

Dr. Ball faces up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.
Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, is No. 14 on nonprofit shareholder advocacy group As You Sow's list of "overpaid" healthcare CEOs.

The company reported Ms. Brewer's compensation at $28.33 million as of June 30, 2022. The report calculated Ms. Brewer's CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 1,084-1, her excess pay as $14.74 million and a 42 percent shareholder vote against CEO pay.

Ms. Brewer, one of only two Black women running Fortune 500 companies, joined Walgreens Boots Alliance in March 2021.

Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a $3.7 billion net loss in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year ending Nov. 30, a significant drop from $3.6 billion in net income over the same period last year.

As You Sow has issued the report on "overpaid" CEOs among the S&P 500 annually since 2015. The nonprofit analyzes CEO pay compared to total shareholder return to calculate excess pay; ranks the percentage of shares that voted against the CEO pay package in the year prior to June 30, 2022; and identifies the ratio of CEO pay to that of the median employee.

The other CEOs of healthcare-related entities who made the list are IQVIA Holdings' Ari Bousbib, Centene's Michael Neidorff, Johnson & Johnson's Alex Gorsky, Cigna's David Cordani, Universal Health Services' Marc Miller, Abbott Laboratories' Robert Ford, CVS Health's Karen Lynch, AbbVie's Richard Gonzalez and Thermo Fisher Scientific's Marc Casper.
NYC Health + Hospitals is to open its $923 million Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital on May 2, the first new public hospital in New York City since 1982.

The 11-story facility in Brooklyn will feature a flood-proof emergency department and 80 private rooms, and is designed to resist a once-in-500-years storm, the health system said in a release shared with Becker's.

The hospital, which was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following Superstorm Sandy, will also feature a statue of the former Supreme Court justice, whose granddaughter will be a guest at the opening.
Frederick (Md.) Health Hospital eliminated 150 vacant positions and is restructuring about 40 current filled positions, Frederick Health President and CEO Tom Kleinhanzl said in a letter to employees shared with The Frederick News-Post.

Mr. Kleinhanzl told the newspaper the cuts and restructuring are part of a plan to save roughly $4 million from the annual operating budget. The plan also includes renegotiating purchasing agreements for hospital supplies.

About 40 employees who are affected had the option of taking a different position at the hospital or receiving a severance package, Mr. Kleinhanzl said, according to The Frederick News-Post.

He said 17 employees whose jobs were restructured have accepted new positions and nine employees have accepted severance.

Overall, the position reductions represent about 5 percent of the hospital's total workforce of about 3,250, according to The Frederick News-Post.

Mr. Kleinhanzl told the newspaper all affected positions are administrative and will not affect patient services. Positions affected by the restructuring include two vice presidents, one of whom accepted a different role within the organization, he said, according to the newspaper. The other vice president affected is considering options.

Mr. Kleinhanzl told the newspaper other employees affected by the expense reductions include those in back-office functions, such as billing collection.

The hospital eliminated 19 leadership roles, Mr. Kleinhanzl said, according to The Frederick News-Post.

He told the newspaper: "We're doing this to be proactive and ensure that we can continue to do all the important things this county and the community counts on us to do."

Frederick Health has about 4,500 employees across the organization, according to its website.
The University of the Incarnate Word alleges that Dallas-based Steward Health Care Systems failed to pay $4.5 million in unpaid salaries to residents completing training at Texas Vista Medical Center, which closed May 1, according to the San Antonio Current.

According to the report, Steward signed a contract with CMS agreeing to pay a $6,250 monthly salary to more than 100 residents at the 325-bed hospital in San Antonio.

An April 5 lawsuit filed by the university alleges that residents working at the hospital went unpaid between July 2019 and September 2022. By Aug. 31, Steward and Texas Vista owed $1.3 million in compensation to the residents, according to the university.

On Oct. 4, Texas Vista CEO said the hospital would pay the salaries within 60 days, but the payments allegedly were never made, with the amount owed rising to $4.5 million in April, according to the lawsuit.

Allegations made against Steward in the lawsuit include breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment.

A spokesperson for Steward told Becker's that the health system does not comment on pending litigation.
La Grange, Texas-based St. Mark's Medical Center has received approval as a designated rural emergency hospital to potentially avoid closure after cutting almost half of its staff.

The designation allows struggling rural hospitals to receive increased reimbursement provided they don't offer inpatient services and also maintain 24/7 emergency room access.

As of Feb. 18, the 65-bed facility offered such emergency access, select outpatient services and patient observation. The designation is retroactively applied to the Feb. 24 date of application, KWHI reported April 27.

Increased expenses because of COVID-19 exacerbated pre-pandemic financial struggles the hospital was facing and helped result in an "insurmountable situation," said CEO Mark Kimball in February.

Among the first hospitals in Texas to apply for such a designation, St. Mark's will receive a 5 percent increase in Medicare reimbursements plus a monthly facility fee, the hospital said.
John Hall, MD, has been named chief medical officer of Kingman (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center, according to a May 1 press release.

Dr. Hall joins Kingman Regional from Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, Ohio, where he also served as chief medical officer.

He specializes in anesthesiology, pediatric anesthesiology, legal medicine and medical management, according to the press release.

One of Dr. Hall's primary objectives as the new chief medical officer for Kingman Regional Medical Center will be to build and strengthen relationships between physicians and administrative leadership.
Cleveland Clinic has appointed Vickie Eaton Johnson as its first chief community officer, effective May 1.

As CCO, Ms. Johnson will lead community strategy for the entire system, including relationships with community partners, healthcare professionals, government agencies and elected officials.

"Vickie has been at the forefront of several major Cleveland Clinic community initiatives, such as attracting Meijer, a regional grocery store operator, to the Fairfax neighborhood, which has long been considered a food desert," Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, MD, said. "The work Vickie has done and will continue on a broader scale shows our commitment to the communities we serve in Northeast Ohio and our other locations across the globe."

Ms. Johnson joined Cleveland Clinic in 2014 as senior director of government and community relations, a role in which she oversaw the development of a five-year community health strategic plan and coordinated community conversations with Cleveland Clinic's CEO in neighborhoods around the system's flagship campus.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic, Ms. Johnson was executive director of the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. She also served in the City of Cleveland's Department of Community Development.
Emory Healthcare, an 11-hospital system headquartered in Atlanta, has named Sup Lee, MD, CEO, effective July 1.

Dr. Lee currently is executive vice president at Pittsburgh-based UPMC and president of UPMC Physician Services, where he is responsible for 5,000 employed physicians and all clinically active faculty.

He joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1996 where he has served in several leadership roles, including chief of cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chief medical officer for UPMC Health Plan. Throughout his 26-year tenure, he helped UPMC evolve from a five-hospital system to a 40-hospital system, supporting and leading integration initiatives, service lines and practice plans, according to a May 1 news release.

An interventional cardiologist by training, Dr. Lee's research focuses on the role of stem cells in the treatment of coronary artery disease, rapid treatment of cardiac emergencies and catheter-based therapy for valvular heart disease.

"Dr. Lee joins Emory Healthcare following a period of unprecedented growth, challenge and opportunity," Emory Board Chair John Rice said. "A key component of Emory University's strategic plan is improving the health of individuals and communities at home and throughout the world. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Lee as we work to make this goal a reality in the coming years."
Jamil Wilcox has joined HCA Florida JFK Hospital in Atlantis and HCA Florida JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach as ethics and compliance officer, according to a May 1 news release shared with Becker's.

Mr. Wilcox is a veteran of HCA Florida Healthcare.

Most recently, he served as director of patient safety at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, according to the release. He also previously served as an echocardiographer at the hospital and as manager in the hospital's risk management department.

HCA Florida Healthcare is part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
Long Beach, Calif.-based Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center has selected a new contractor to provide trauma services at the hospital and is parting ways with its previous team of trauma surgeons  the latest in a series of departmental shake-ups over the past few years, according to an April 28 report from the Press-Telegram.

The news outlet obtained an internal memo announcing the change.

"After much consideration, Desert Trauma Surgeons has been selected to provide acute care trauma emergency call coverage services for St. Mary Medical Center," St. Mary President and CEO Carolyn Caldwell said in an April 24 memo to the hospital's medical executive committee. "We will begin the process of contracting and credentialing the providers to be associated with Desert immediately." The contract changes went into effect April 24 and the hospital is in the process of finding a new trauma medical director, according to the memo cited by the news outlet.

Over the past few years, the hospital has replaced its anesthesiology, radiology and emergency medicine providers. Physicians have criticized the changes, citing patient safety concerns. The first change came in 2019, when hospital executives decided to sever ties with long-standing anesthesiologist providers. That sparked a unanimous no-confidence vote in the hospital's CEO in May 2019. In 2020, after the hospital terminated contracts with radiology and emergency medicine groups, physicians filed a lawsuit alleging the hospital broke several patients safety laws. The lawsuit was dismissed.

In February, two physicians  including Chief of Staff Mauricio Heilbron, MD, one of the surgeons affected by the latest decision to switch trauma providers  filed another suit against Dignity Health and St. Mary executives, alleging they took retaliatory measures after the physicians had been critical about other departmental changes.

"Just as with other successful recent changes to certain hospital based contracts, this change is being made only to ensure the hospital continues to provide continuous and uninterrupted quality trauma care services to our community," Christina Zicklin, a hospital spokesperson, told the Press-Telegram. "In no manner is this new contract an effort to retaliate against any of the seven trauma surgeons who work at our hospital."

Desert Trauma Surgeons, the new contractor, is also "open to meeting with current trauma physicians," Ms. Zicklin told the Press-Telegram.
Executives at Peoria, Ill-based OSF HealthCare say their $50 million medical simulation and innovation center has brought a return on investment of much more than that  and helped advance healthcare in ways that haven't been realized yet.

"Envision waking up and checking your vitals as you look into the mirror each day. Imagine a robot inserting your IV. Or picture artificial intelligence being used to predict your health risks and recommend preventative measures," Becky Buchen, senior vice president of innovation operations for OSF HealthCare, said at a 10th-anniversary celebration of the OSF Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center on April 28. "The seeds have already been planted for these concepts to become a reality."

The $3.8 billion Catholic nonprofit health system launched the six-story center in 2013 after receiving a $25 million donation from the foundation of a family whose daughter was treated at OSF's Children's Hospital of Illinois after an all-terrain vehicle accident. OSF then matched the gift to construct the 168,000-square-foot facility, the largest of its kind in the country.

"We built innovation into our system strategy," Michelle Conger, OSF chief strategy officer and CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health, told Becker's at the event. "We didn't want it to be just about the building. We wanted it to be cultural. What I'm really excited about is we're not just nurturing ideas  we're actually seeing new products come out."

At the ceremony, OSF showed off some of the technologies in development at the center, including a smart mirror that reads patient vital signs, an app that can tell if athletes might be concussed, 3D printing and virtual reality for presurgical planning, and a hospital-at-home simulation center complete with a bedroom, living room and kitchen that mimics its digital hospital program, the largest in Illinois.

OSF is building a "legacy of innovation," said John Vozenilek, MD, chief medical officer of innovation and digital health at OSF and the center's founding executive director.

"Since 2013, when we first opened  we've developed better partnerships and connections with health analytics, with our ventures team," he said. "These individuals bring us insights and bring us partners from our economic development community."

Peoria-based Bradley University estimated that the center has created $180 million in economic impact and more than 1,000 jobs.

OSF Ventures, the health system's venture capital arm, is located in the center. Mayank Taneja, MD, vice president of OSF Ventures, told Becker's his portfolio companies are often "blown away" when they come to visit. With its colorful accented walls, exposed ductwork and a staircase that winds up the middle of the space, the facility looks like it could belong to a tech startup.

"People come here like from California, let's say, and they see this environment, this open space of working together, and it's very unlike when they have in their mind about a system based out of Peoria in central Illinois," Dr. Taneja said.
Hospital-at-home programs have grown to more than 250 around the country as hospitals  and patients  have gotten more comfortable moving care to the home, NPR reported.

Leaders from Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville, Fla., hospital, which had one of the first such programs, say they reduce costs and cut down on unnecessary care, leaving more satisfied patients in their wake, according to the April 29 story.

"People do better; they're more mobile, they recover faster," Michael Maniaci, MD, medical director of virtual care for Mayo Clinic, told the news outlet. "They use physical therapy or skilled nursing care less. You ask: Why is that? Because there's something magical about being at home."

CMS also started relaxing reimbursement rules for hospital-at-home during the pandemic and has extended them through the end of 2024.

Not everyone, however, is in favor of these initiatives. "Hospital-at-home programs are billing in-patient care rates while shifting all of the care responsibilities to family members, the patients themselves, and the public 911 system," Michelle Mahon, RN, assistant director of nursing practice at National Nurses United, told NPR.

But experts expect them to stick around. Dr. Maniaci told the news outlet it's simply the "modern version" of the house calls that physicians used to do.
Boston Children's Hospital has reviewed its sleep study protocols after a child died following what The Boston Globe called May 1 "a devastating series of errors."

Six-month-old Jackson Kekula died in 2022 during a sleep study at the hospital. His death led to a $15 million settlement with his parents, one of the largest such medical malpractice settlements ever in Massachusetts, the family lawyer said.

The hospital expressed its "deepest condolences" to the family. Sleep studies were paused for five weeks after the incident for an internal review, and the hospital implemented corrective actions such as enhanced training and modification of the triage process. The studies were reinstated in phases after the review.

"We continue to closely monitor the care delivery of sleep studies to ensure the highest levels of quality and safety for our patients and their families," Boston Children's said in a statement shared with Becker's.
Xavier University in Cincinnati has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 500 nursing students for $750,000, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported May 1.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2020, alleged that the private university failed to provide proper education to students enrolled in its accelerated bachelor's degree in nursing program in the spring and summer of 2020. The suit claims the entire program was moved online amid the pandemic  and laboratory work and clinical placements were canceled  even though the university's marketing materials previously stated that it was "impossible to earn a BSN 100% online."

The settlement was finalized last month with the help of a mediator.

"Xavier remains proud of the education that we were able to offer students during that time," university spokesperson Doug Ruschman told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Because the ABSN students were already enrolled in an online nursing program, the only in-person instruction they were not able to take advantage of was clinical instruction due to the worldwide pandemic. Xaviers substitute instruction offered during that time was approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing, and the students enrolled during those terms were able to graduate on time."
A police officer shot a woman May 1 in the emergency department of Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Ga.

In the early-morning hours of May 1, Dalton police were dispatched to the emergency department in response to a call about a woman barricading herself in a patient room, damaging equipment and resisting hospital staff as they tried to intervene.

"When officers arrived, they encountered the hostile subject and attempted to take her into custody," a news release from the Police Department stated. "In that process, the officer received injuries to his eyes and the officer discharged his weapon and struck the suspect."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the woman threw hand sanitizer into one of the officer's eyes, causing him to temporarily lose sight.

The gunshot wound was not life-threatening, with police noting the suspect, identified as Chevona Doughty, 41, was treated for the wound. The officer was also treated for his injuries. Ms. Doughty was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, obstruction of officer and criminal damage, according to the Journal-Constitution.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, the release said.

Hamilton Medical Center is a 255-bed hospital about 20 miles south of the Tennessee border.
A teach-out plan brought on by a March announcement of the pending closure of Finlandia University  a private institution in Hancock, Mich.  will soon send its nursing students eight minutes down the road to Michigan Technological University in Houghton.

Beginning in the 2023 fall semester, Michigan Technological University, which has not had a nursing program until now, will enroll students in the new Bachelor of Science in nursing program, the Mining Journal reported May 1.

Michigan Tech University documents note that the curriculum will remain largely unchanged, carrying over Finlandia's 40-year nursing program legacy while also incorporating key elements from its new program home in Houghton.

"Michigan Tech is deeply appreciative of the value that Finlandia's nursing program has contributed to our local community and welcomes this opportunity to partner with Finlandia in an effort to retain this important program for our local community," the documents read. "No other local university can take over the BSN program, as our local Community Colleges are not able to offer baccalaureate programs, but new state funding is available for community colleges to collaborate with universities on BSN programs."

Enrollment numbers for the program's inaugural semester at Michigan Tech have not yet been released, but the program is likely to be popular among students, Michigan Tech Provost Andrew Storer, PhD, told the Mining Journal.

The nursing program will become part of the university's department of biological sciences.

"Pairing a science-focused degree with industry needs, that's what Michigan Tech does best, and we're pleased to support our local health care community by providing a graduating class of skilled nurses," Rick Koubek, PhD, president of Michigan Tech, said during a meeting about the new program, according to the Mining Journal.
Tesha Montgomery, Senior Vice President of System Patient Access at Houston Methodist joins the podcast to discuss her background & current role, current healthcare trends she is keeping an eye on, the importance of focusing on the fundamentals of healthcare, and more.

Want to network with peers and hear more conversations like this? Apply to be one of our complimentary guest reviewers at our upcoming HIT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting Oct, 3-6 2023 here.
It's time for the U.S. to prioritize Americans' social connections and address the health implications of loneliness, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, wrote in an April 30 opinion piece for The New York Times.

Why? Because loneliness and isolation is "more than just a bad feeling"  it has "grave consequences for our mental health, physical health and collective well-being," he wrote. About 1 out of every 2 people in the U.S. experience measurable levels of loneliness at any given time, and research shows this social disconnection increases the risk of anxiety and depression, heart disease, dementia and stroke.

As a result, Dr. Murthy is proposing a national framework to "rebuild social connection and community" across the country. This involves strengthening social infrastructure, rethinking relationships with technology and encouraging people to take steps to prioritize connection in their own lives.

"This work will take all of us: schools, workplaces, community organizations, government, health workers, public health professionals, individuals, families and more working together. And it will be worth it because our need for human connection is like our need for food and water: essential for our survival," Dr. Murthy wrote.

Read the full op-ed here.
A person of interest in the death of neurosurgeon Devon Hoover, MD, was released from custody, Detroit police said May 2.

He was taken into custody April 28 in unrelated charges that weren't specified, NBC News reported. Detroit Police Chief James White said in the report that the man "has information about what transpired."

Detroit police said in a May 2 tweet that homicide detectives continue to investigate all leads.

Dr. Hoover, a neck and back specialist at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit, was found fatally shot April 23. His death was ruled a homicide.
A tech start-up company in Northern Ireland has secured a 500,000 contract with the Scottish government for its innovative virtual reality support for victims of crime.

The International Criminal Court in the Hague is also among clients of Belfast-based Immersonals tech aimed at making the legal process easier for victims of crime by first placing them in a virtual courtroom.

And the firm is also currently in talks with a police force in England about creating a version to help tackle bullying, drugs and gangs in schools.

A working prototype has been developed for Glasgow Sheriff Court and the High Court in Glasgow, to be rolled out to all 52 Scottish courts in the next year.

Victims and witnesses in Scotland will use virtual reality headsets to walk through a three-dimensional world recreating the actual court building where their case will be held.

They can interact and familiarise themselves in a virtual environment featuring people and surroundings they can expect to encounter in court.

Immersonal secured the contract through CivTeach, a Scottish government digital and economic initiative set up to drive innovation in the public and third sectors.

Tom Houston, chief executive of Immersonal, said: It is an incredible vote of confidence for our product to be selected for this project. We have been working with Victim Support Scotland and CivTech creating prototypes and testing for the past six months.

Now to see it live and active in the hands of users and the benefits they derive from it is an incredibly gratifying experience for the entire Immersonal team.

The Foreign Commonwealth Development office has also contracted us to develop it for the International Criminal Court.

Initially they want to use it for lay people and particularly kids who, when brought into the formal legal environment of a court room, can be overwhelmed with anxiety and often just freeze.

Our technology takes the pain out of that process allowing them to familiarise themselves with court room settings, people and processes. This can be done in the comfort of their own homes if need be.

Mr Houston said the product is a game changer, offering an affordable and simple solution for non-tech savvy businesses, organisations and individuals to create bespoke virtual reality experiences and training simulations.

We have spent two years developing the software for a new user-friendly platform Immersonal360, he said. Until now, it was expensive and too complex a process for end users to create virtual reality experiences without the support of a software development team.

Immersonals technology is designed for non-technical users to create advanced VR simulations that can automatically be used across a range of platforms.

The create once principle allows the same experience to be used on VR headsets, desktop or laptop computers, tablets, smartphones and embedded into a companys website.

Immersonal was founded in 2021 and is a sister company of virtual and augmented reality software applications firm Sentireal.

Sentireal has provided virtual reality training health and safety training for prisoners through NIACRO, a virtual reality theatre experience during Covid-19 for the Lyric Theatre, and a clinical classroom for medical students at Queens University.
(Stock image) The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) previously branded the new planning system 'not fit for purpose'

Northern Irelands heavily criticised new planning portal is being used day in, day out while there are still some issues remaining, a chief government planner has said.

After going live in December, the new 14m portal  used to submit applications and check on existing ones  was slammed by industry planners and architects and described as appearing like a beta version.

Issues included dates being incorrect on documents; not being able to update applications; poor map function; problems with searches; lost files and files downloading as compressed ZIP files, making navigating through applications considerably slower.

Its not that its not up to scratch; its being used day in, day out. It was a massive transfer and IT project, Kathryn McFerran, acting director of regional planning, governance and legislation, told the Belfast Telegraph.

There are still some issues, she says, a lot fewer than there were The system is working and people are using it.

We transferred around 1m textual data records from our legacy system to the new one.

In addition, we transferred 5.5m documents and over 1m spatial features.

Ms McFerran says that around 66% of applications are now being submitted online.

It is improving We are on the record to say there were teething issues and we are working very hard with stakeholders to get those resolved.

The priority one issues have all been closed and [soon] priority two will have been dealt with.

She also says the department is continuing to work with the councils, is hosting project boards and is rolling out a workshop to bring people in and to speak to them.

However, the issue is that the industry doesnt believe it was consulted sufficiently before the new portal went live.

According to Ciaran Fox of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), the body offered to help test the new system during the development phase.

Hailed as the largest joint IT project between central and local government to date in Northern Ireland, the portal is used by 10 of Northern Irelands 11 councils.

But some of the major issues were still not addressed, including documents from any application filed with the previous system all showing as November 26 and continuing to download as compressed ZIP files.

In terms of ongoing engagement, a workshop with planning agents and stakeholders was facilitated [on April 21], a spokesperson for the department said.

The workshop was welcomed by attendees and it was constructive. The department welcomed the input from the users about their experience and an update was given on outstanding priority fixes. As with any IT project, it is not feasible with an out of the box system like this to deliver everyones preferences, but we want to continue to work with users as we go forward and gave a commitment to consider the issues raised and meet again.

We are working very closely with the supplier and a program of work has been developed to address the highest-priority issues identified. These will be addressed through the biweekly software update by the supplier, which will continue into May 2023.

We will continue to work with the supplier to resolve any outstanding issues to further improve system performance for users. This includes dates for some types of documents that were transferred to the planning portal.
Primary principal looks back on winning our education gong

Its your last chance to nominate the heroes you feel deserve to be recognised at the Sunday Life Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards, in association with Ulster Bank.

Hundreds of readers have already been in touch to tell us about remarkable people and heart-warming feats of kindness sure to pose a predicament for the judging panel.

Our judges have the unenviable task of sifting through a flood of nominations detailing all sorts of groups and individuals achieving truly extraordinary things.

People such as Hilary Cunningham, who won last years Spirit of Education award and whose outstanding work as a primary school principal has had an impact that goes far beyond the school gates and into the heart of the community.

She and her colleagues care and devotion to the children they look after not only makes a vital difference to their lives but to their families as well.

Hilary with Lucy Dorrall and Christine Lampard

Ms Cunningham is the principal of Fane Street Primary in south Belfast, which has unique classroom make-ups and challenges that set it apart from other schools.

On the edge of the Village, an area of deprivation and educational under-achievement, Fane Street Primary serves not only the local community but the children of the many refugees that call the area home.

Last Septembers ceremony was a night to remember for Ms Cunningham and all our other winners.

She is now encouraging people to get their nominations in for this years show before its too late.

Its lovely to get that recognition for something that youre doing, particularly in what we do, because a lot of the families are moved on quite quickly, she told Sunday Life.

You dont really see the rewards of your work, so its lovely that somebody actually comes along and says, Yep, youre doing a good job here.

It was also great to meet all the other winners and people from different walks of life because we tend to be quite insular in education and talk to each other a lot.

In addition to educational challenges, Fane Street Primary deals with poverty, malnutrition, domestic and sexual violence, arrested development and displacement anxiety.

Ms Cunningham explained: Some 86% of our children are from other countries. Were very unusual for Northern Ireland.

We have 44 different languages at the last count, so there is the challenge of that as well.

Were very lucky that we can use translators.

Its kind of forming what we like to call a Fane Street family, rather than a school.

Its a hard station, but nobodys here who doesnt want to be here to help and support our families.

We all pull together and support each other.

We have a diverse community in our school and quite a lot of children have been through very difficult situations, so we would look at the trauma that theyve experienced.

Its making sure that children are getting their basics  that theyre fed and getting heat and light.

I do anticipate this is going to be a big issue for us this year.

We make foodbank referrals to Storehouse, and we try to build up our own stores in school so that if somebody comes to us in need, we can help. Its helping the families with the basics, as well as education.

If we dont meet the childrens basic needs, then we cant educate.

Its kind of a two-pronged approach at our school, in that we are trying to help whole families rather than just the children.

Every child gets a school jumper. We also have a free breakfast club that we use within the school where children who cannot afford breakfast can get fed in school.

We never, ever let a child go hungry. We make sure every child who needs a meal will get a meal, should I have to pay for that myself.

I think the award is not just for me, its for everybody in the school.

Its for the children, its for the staff, its for the whole Fane Street family.

Hilary in her school

Ms Cunningham was presented with her award by TV presenter Christine Lampard and Lucy Dorrall of last years category sponsors iPro Hydrate at our gala ceremony.

She was also given a special on-screen message from former world champion boxer Carl Frampton, who she taught as a boy when he was growing up in Tigers Bay.

Ms Cunningham said: That was such a lovely surprise, and I was completely starstruck by all the celebrities who were present.

I love Emmerdale and I had my photograph taken with all of them. It was great.

The Spirit of Education award recognises an inspirational teacher who has helped children and young people fulfil their potential.

This years sponsor is the Public Health Agency, which paid tribute to six-year-old Daithi Mac Gabhann, whose touching story saw him given a Special Recognition honour at last years awards.

The brave west Belfast youngster, who needs a new heart, and his family campaigned to reform organ donation legislation.

The new law, known as Daithis Law, means people will automatically become organ donors with an opt-out rather than opt-in system, which could save hundreds of lives each year.

Public Health Agency chief executive Aidan Dawson said: Our purpose is to protect and improve the health and social wellbeing of our population and reduce health inequalities through strong partnerships with individuals, communities and other key public, private and voluntary organisations.

One of our key areas of work is the promotion of organ donation to raise awareness of the gift of life which it can provide.

We welcome the new organ donation legislation , which will come into effect on June 1 to help save more lives.

Daithis Law will mean that unless they opt out, all adults will be considered a potential organ donor when they die.

It was fantastic to see young Daithi win the Special Recognition award last year for all the work he and his family have done in campaigning for the law change and in promoting organ donation.

The Public Health Agency recognises the importance of young people in championing topics such as organ donation and other health promotion messaging.

We often work with dedicated and enthusiastic teachers to help engage with our young people, and this is why supporting the education category is important.

If you know of a truly inspirational teacher who has helped children and young people fulfil their potential, we would encourage you to submit a nomination.

This years ceremony, set to be hosted by UTVs Pamela Ballantine and Q Radio presenter Ibe Sesay, will be held at the Culloden Resort and Spa in Cultra on June 30.

The deadline for nominations is midnight tonight, and the process for putting someone forward is simple.

Just email your nomination to spiritofniawards@sundaylife.co.uk with an explanation of why you think they deserve to be recognised.

Pamela Ballantine and Ibe Sesay launching this year's awards

The categories

Unsung Hero: Someone whose great deed or deeds have previously gone unnoticed but who will have made a major contribution to your life or to your community

Overcoming Adversity: Someone who has overcome huge personal challenges, whether it is dealing with illness or disability or overcoming problems

Spirit of Youth: Someone under the age of 18 who should be recognised for their special achievements

999 Hero: A member of the emergency services who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in their job

Charity Champion: Someone who has worked tirelessly for a charity or as a fundraiser for many years

Spirit of Health: A medical professional who has gone the extra mile to improve the health and wellbeing of their patients

Spirit of Education: This award recognises a truly inspirational teacher who has helped children and young people fulfil their potential

Caring Spirit: A person, young or old, who has dedicated their time to caring for a friend or family member

Spirit of Sport: Someone who has made an exceptional contribution to local sport over a number of years

Environmental Hero: Seeks to recognise an individual or community group which has gone the extra mile to care for and protect the local environment for future generations
A 49-year-old man has been charged with a number of offences following a security alert in the Alexander Road area of east Belfast on Monday.

He has been charged with attempted criminal damage, criminal damage, driving without due care and attention, failing to provide a specimen while driving unfit, and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

The incident, sparked by a road traffic collision near a PSNI station in the early hours of the morning, had resulted in a number of homes being evacuated.

The scene at Alexander Road. Pic: Kevin Scott

All cordons have since been lifted and residents have been able to return to their homes.

The vehicle was examined by Ammunition Technical Officers and nothing untoward was found, a PSNI spokesperson said

No visible damage was caused to the main gates of the police station during the incident.

The accused will appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday May 26.

As is usual procedure, the charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Minutes reveal full details of meeting between Whitelaw and SFs Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams and Sean McStiofain

The first full record of the secret Government meeting with IRA leaders in 1972 reveals republicans wanted a response on a declaration of Irish unity on the Twelfth of July.
A man has been taken to hospital following a major crash in east Belfast.

The single vehicle collision occurred on Rosetta Park on Sunday afternoon.

One person was treated at the scene before being taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The patients condition has been described by police as critical.

A spokesperson for Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said it received a 999 call just after 2pm.

NIAS despatched three emergency crews to the incident, they added.

The HEMS team was also tasked to attend, arriving by response car.

"Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Rosetta Park in east Belfast, which was closed earlier due to a single vehicle road traffic collision, has now reopened to traffic. One man was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition. Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision or who has any information which might assist with enquiries, to contact 101 and quote reference number 985 of 30/04/23.

Earlier local Alliance Party councillor Michael Long wrote on social media: Major RTC on Rosetta Park. Road closed so please avoid.

Hope everyone is ok.

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However the route has since reopened to traffic.

A PSNI spokesperson said: One man was taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

"Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision or who has any information which might assist with enquiries, to contact 101 and quote reference number 985 of 30/04/23.
Retiring Irish Guardsman from Bushmills delighted to go out on a high after 43 years in the Army

An officer in the Irish Guards will end a distinguished 43-year career on a high when he takes part in the Kings coronation procession.

Major Robbie Wilmont (59) from Bushmills is due to retire next year.

He will step down having played a key role in Saturdays celebrations, which he says will be the biggest seen in our lifetime.

As one of only a handful of British Army regiments tasked with guarding the royal family, Major Wilmont has been at the centre of some of the biggest state events in history, including the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana.

He was also on parade at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations last summer, and then just a few months later had the honour of guarding the Queens coffin as she lay in state at Westminster Hall.

This week he is one of 7,000 troops rehearsing for what will be the largest military parade since the Queens coronation in 1953.

The entire procession is due to pass along the route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in darkness one night this week for a full-dress rehearsal.

He said: As part of the household division, the Irish Guards has a very unique and close bond with the royal family, and we train for ceremonial duty at state events.

The Kings coronation is going to be bigger than anything I have ever seen, and it will be quite a spectacle, not seen again in our lifetime.

It is a massive team effort with so many moving parts to it.

I will be in charge of a team of 220 people from a variety of services such as firemen, Royal Navy, coastguard and ambulance services, who will be lining the route at Whitehall from the cenotaph to Trafalgar Square.

My team will be lined up between the police and the crowd for the duration of the procession.

Their job is to watch the crowd to ensure no one breaks the barrier, and while it is the polices job to stop anyone from going onto the road, my team have permission to assist if needed.

After a lifetime in the Army and with only one year left in uniform, for me it will be the pinnacle of my lengthy career and a very fitting way to end it.

Major Wilmont can also be seen, along with the regiments famous mascot Seamus the Irish wolfhound, getting fitted for their new uniforms for the coronation in a special programme made by local company Waddell Media to be shown on BBC2 tomorrow night.

Coronation Tailors: Fit For A King features Great British Sewing Bees Patrick Grant going behind the scenes at the Kashket family firm tasked with making thousands of bespoke uniforms for the big day.

Major Wilmont added: I really wanted to make sure that Seamus was featured, and it was great filming with him for the show.

He really is the most photographed dog in the world and will be even more so after Saturday.
Millions watching the coronation around the world are to be asked to cry out and swear allegiance to the King   PA

The use of the Irish language at the coronation of King Charles III has been warmly welcomed by advocates in east Belfast.

Those gathered for the Westminster Abbey crowning of the king and queen consort will hear three Celtic languages spoken  Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish  alongside English.

Charles is a known supporter of the Welsh language, having attended Aberystwyth University as a young man. There, he learned the language under Welsh nationalist Dr Edward Millward, before his investiture as the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.

Linda Ervine  who runs the Turas language centre in east Belfast  said she was delighted to hear that Irish would play a role in the coronation.

Turas has been widely recognised for its efforts to promote the revival of the language, especially to those from a unionist and Protestant background.

I think it is just lovely, said Ms Ervine. Gaeilig Uladh, Ulster Gaelic is a language of the British Isles. And if he wants to represent the UK then of course Ulster Gaelic should be in the coronation.

I didnt grow up being a royalist, but I feel so much more positive about the monarchy over the last few years because of the respect theyve shown for language and culture.

When Charles and Camilla came to east Belfast, I met Camilla and she asked me to teach her cupla focail when she was here.

However, a call for people watching the royal coronation to join a chorus of millions and swear allegiance to the King has split opinion in Northern Ireland.

The public pledge  or the first Homage of the People  is one of several changes to the ancient ceremony due to take place at Westminster Abbey this weekend.

Everything you need to know about the Kings coronation

Ms Ervine said that many of the older unionist generation would probably embrace pledging allegiance to the King during the coronation.

But Julieann McNally, a community worker and independent candidate for the Colin area of Belfast in the upcoming council elections said the call was tone deaf.

She said that the people in her area have more important things on their minds than swearing an oath to King Charles III.

I am canvasing at the minute in Poleglass and just walked away from a family who are deeply concerned about their childrens futures, she said.

The issues impacting them are the cost of living, heating their homes, mental health, child care, the cutting of breakfast clubs and after schools clubs along with youth provision.

To them, the coronation is an obscene use of money in a cost of living crisis. They are looking at millions being spent on a single event while they fear for their futures.

It is tone deaf at a time when the needs of the community have never been greater, Ms McNally added.
The Alliance and DUP leaders bumped into each other at the Fair in Holywood.

Mr Donaldson joined Mrs Long and a number of Alliance party representatives for photos at Holywood Fair

Alliance leader Naomi Long with DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson during their chance meeting at Holywood Fair

A photograph depicting a chance meeting of Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at a Co Down fair has been warmly received on social media.

Mrs Long has been spending the day meeting Alliance Party candidates in a number of council areas in Northern Ireland, with the first stop on the tour coming at Holywoods May Day Fair.

The party leader met party candidates in the Ards and North Down council area, but it was a chance meeting with her rival party leader Mr Donaldson that caught the attention.

A photograph posted by Mrs Longs husband  Belfast City councillor Michael Long  showed the two leaders smiling together, much to the amusement of passers-by at the Fair.

The picture caught the imagination of Twitter users, a number of whom commented under the photo on the civility of the exchange  stark contrast to the usual adversarial nature of Northern Ireland politics.

Among them was young loyalist Joel Keys, who noted how both looked pleased to see each other.

"You know, this is actually a really lovely photo. You both seem genuinely happy to have run into each other, he said.

"Now thats my kind of politics, added former senior police officer Jim Gamble, now CEO of the INEQE Safeguarding Group.

Other users praised the pair for showing normal politics and said politicians have to be able to be civil & engage with each other on a human level if we're to get anything done here.
Only 9% of unionists think Sir Jeffrey Donaldsons party should re-enter Stormont

Almost two-thirds of people believe Stormonts rules should be changed to stop one party having a veto on the institutions functioning.

An overwhelmingly majority of Sinn Fein voters support reforming the system even though it would in future stop their party from being able to block the formation of an Executive.

While DUP and TUV voters strongly oppose such a move, Ulster Unionist supporters back changing the rules.

The Executive has been down for almost 40% of the time since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Sinn Fein prevented government from Stormont for three years, while the DUP pulled the plug on the Executive 15 months ago, and has refused to nominate a Speaker to allow the Assembly to meet.

In a LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph, 63% of people said the rules should be changed to remove the veto from a single nationalist or unionist party, with 30% opposing such a move.

Unionists are against reform while nationalists and Alliance supporters are overwhelmingly in favour.

Some 70% of DUP and 72% of TUV voters oppose changing the rules, but 69% of UUP supporter say its time to do things differently.

Alliance voters are the strongest supporters of change: 97% want to see the rule altered, with 92% of SDLP voters agreeing.

Sinn Fein has declined to support calls for reforming the way a government is formed. The party brought down the Executive over the cash-for-ash scandal in 2017, and the institutions remained mothballed until the New Decade, New Approach deal in 2020.

However, Sinn Fein voters clearly back rule change even though it would mean their party never again being again able to block government.

Some 83% of supporters of Michelle ONeills party say they want to see reform to remove the single party veto, with just 10% opposing it.

Calls to change Stormonts rules have increased as the DUP boycott continues. However, the two governments are refusing to introduce reform without agreement from the Northern Ireland parties.

More women (69%) than men (58%) support rewriting the rules to remove the veto.

It has the backing of all age-groups  being most popular with 18-24 year-olds (70%) and least popular with 55-64 year-olds (55%).
NHS workers on the picket line outside St Thomas Hospital, London, ahead of a march from the hospital to Trafalgar Square (/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said he is cautiously optimistic that unions will accept the current pay offer for nurses, despite increasingly heated rhetoric between negotiators.

On Tuesday, unions in the NHS Staff Council will consider the offer of a 5% pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between 1,655 and 3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.

This comes as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) launched its biggest strike yet at 8pm on Sunday, involving thousands of nurses including intensive care and cancer specialists.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he believes the NHS Staff Council will vote to approve the pay deal (Jordan Pettitt/PA)   Jordan Pettitt

Mr Barclay criticised the action as disrespectful to the unions meeting on Tuesday, who he believes could accept the pay deal  while RCN general secretary Pat Cullen urged him not to be disrespectful to nurses.

The Health Secretary told journalists: Im cautiously optimistic that the Staff Council will agree to vote in favour of the deal.

But I think its right to wait until Tuesday for the Staff Council to meet and this strike is premature.

I think its disrespectful to the other trade unions. I think the RCN should have waited. Theyre a member of the Staff Council. They were part of the negotiations.

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen said members will be voting on whether to take further industrial action later in May (Lucy North/PA)   Lucy North

Meanwhile, Ms Cullen told the PA news agency more strikes could be on the horizon as RCN members vote on further action later this month.

Speaking at a picket outside University College Hospital in central London, she said Mr Barclay had lost the public and certainly lost any respect that our nursing staff had for him and this Government.

What our members are saying to the Secretary of State of this Government is we are not going to go away, she said.

We will remain on our picket lines to have a voice heard for our patients.

We will continue to lose a days pay standing on picket lines for our patients, so thats how important it is to them and they want to have their voice heard.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer spoke with journalists during a visit to Blackpool (Stefan Rousseau/PA)   Stefan Rousseau

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also urged the Government to accept responsibility for the strikes.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Blackpool, Lancashire, he said: The Government sat on its hands for weeks and weeks and weeks, making a bad situation worse. So everybody wants to see that resolved.

I think it is important to recognise the underlying causes of this because nurses and many others have seen a real drop in their wages and their living standards because of the cost-of-living crisis, and the Government has got nothing to say to them about that.

Responsibility here lies at the door of No 10 and they need to accept that responsibility and do something about it.

The RCN strike, which ends just before midnight, involves nursing staff from A&E, intensive care and cancer care for the first time.

However, exemptions were granted for nurses in the emergency departments of some hospitals, including Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

RCN members are striking for 28 hours until midnight on Monday (Ben Birchall/PA)   Ben Birchall

Nurses comprise a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Healthcare workers are also staging a protest in central London on Monday under Unite.

The union said this demonstration will coincide with a strike by its members from Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
The 19th century British government official is singled out in the folk song The Fields of Athenry.

An Irish government request to the Trevelyan family for compensation over the Irish famine would have to be considered, a descendant of 19th-century government official Sir Charles Trevelyan has said.

Former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan  a great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Charles  also said she accepts he was among those who failed their people while governing Ireland during the famine, but that her family should not be held personally responsible.

More than a million died and a further two million emigrated from Ireland after potato blight and exports of food to Britain resulted in famine in the 1840s.

Trevelyan had been the British civil servant placed in charge of famine relief during the period, at which point Britain ruled the whole of Ireland.

A mention of Trevelyans corn being stolen in the folk song The Fields of Athenry refers to food exported from Ireland while millions starved.

The Trevelyan family have recently agreed to donate more than 100,000 to the Caribbean island of Grenada to compensate for their ancestors historic role in the slave trade, prompting suggestions the family may provide similar compensation closer to home.

Ms Trevelyan said that while her ancestors had been profiting from sales of sugar cane harvested by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, Sir Charles was carrying out government policy in Ireland.

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"If the Irish government said the Trevelyan family are liable for what Sir Charles Edward did, then of course that would have to be considered, she told the BBC.

Ms Trevelyan left the Corporation last month to become a full-time slavery reparations campaigner. She told BBC Radio Ulsters The Nolan Show that the late Martin McGuinness had directly challenged her in the 1990s about her familys link to the famine.

"A quarter of a century ago, when I was a BBC reporter covering the Good Friday Agreement, I tripped over my own history, she said.

I well remember Martin McGuinness saying to me: 'Is this a coincidence that the British have sent a Trevelyan for the BBC, a state institution, to cover these negotiations?'

"I assured him it was a coincidence, but he didn't think it was at all, and that's when I tripped up against Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan.

"And I remember so clearly being in Crossmaglen, in south Armagh, and speaking to a member of Sinn Fein who looked at me in horror and said: 'How can you be driving around south Armagh with the blood of the Irish on your hands?' And, to my embarrassment, I didn't even really understand what either of them were talking about.

"When I got back to Britain I began to read up on Sir Charles."

Ms Trevelyan said that while any request from the Irish government for compensation would be considered, she was unaware of such a request.

"To the best of my knowledge there isn't an inter-government request from the Irish government to the British for reparations to be paid for the famine because of the action of officials like Sir Charles, she said.

"I guess the distinction I would make is that, in the Caribbean, my ancestors were acting for private profit, whereas Sir Charles was acting as an official for the British government, and the British government did in 1997 acknowledge his failures and the failures of others."
The White House said it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in the east of the country.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence.

He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby (Susan Walsh/AP)   Susan Walsh

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war.

The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Mr Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russias fight.

He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control.

The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight the cost  both human and weaponry  to Russia of Bakhmut, which it argues has limited strategic importance to the overall trajectory of the war.

Fire and smoke can be seen after artillery shelling near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine (Libkos/AP)   Libkos

Some analysts, however, note that taking control of Bakhmut could be helpful to Russian efforts to advance on the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.

Mr Kirby said the Russian casualty count for this little town of Bakhmut was in line with some of the fiercest periods of fighting during the Second World War, including the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the first major Allied offensive against Japan.

Its three times the number of killed in action that the United States faced on the Guadalcanal campaign in World War Two and that was over the course of five months, Mr Kirby said.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counter-attacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

Mr Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

Gen Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.
A man whose wife and nine-year-old son were killed with three other people in Texas said the attack began after he asked a neighbour to shoot his gun further away from his home.

Wilson Garcia said the attack began 10 to 20 minutes after the man refused his request.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, is still at large despite a search involving more than 200 police.

Authorities are offering a reward for any information about his whereabouts but the FBI special agent in charge says investigators have no leads.

Wilson Garcia sheds a tear as he talks about his wife and son (David J Phillip/AP)   David J. Phillip

Mr Garcia said he had not even asked his neighbour to stop shooting his gun.

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late on Friday and Mr Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

So, Mr Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbours house to respectfully ask that he shoot further away from their home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Mr Garcia said after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his nine-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.

Mr Garcia called the police after Mr Oropeza rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. Mr Garcia could see the man on his front porch but could not tell what he was doing.

His family continued to called police  five calls in all, Mr Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.

And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Mr Garcia had walked back from Mr Oropezas house, the man started running towards him, and reloading.

Wilson Garcia is consoled during a vigil (David J Phillip/AP)   David J. Phillip

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Mr Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Mr Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Mr Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Mr Garcia said.

Also among the dead were Mr Garcias son, Daniel Enrique Laso, and two women who died while shielding Mr Garcias baby and two-year-old daughter.

Mr Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

I am trying to be strong for my children, Mr Garcia said, crying. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother.

Police went door to door on Sunday in hopes of finding any clues that would lead them to the suspect.

They recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Mr Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if he was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home, but said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

He probably fled the area on foot. During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County sheriff Greg Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Mr Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspects wife multiple times.
Portadown man the brains behind programme charting competitions highs and lows

As the countdown to Eurovision begins, a TV producer is set to take fans on a nostalgic trip through the history of the worlds biggest live music contest.

Simon Proctor has spent the past few months hunting through 67 years of archived footage to unearth some gems for Eurovision: 30 Unforgettable Moments, which will be screened on Friday on Channel 5.

The Portadown man, who has worked on the song contest many times, has captured golden moments including the highs and lows of the live finals.

With UK interest at an all-time high following Sam Ryders performance last year, 25-time BBC Eurovision commentator Ken Bruce will lead viewers through the scrapbook of footage, reliving classic moments with some of the people who were there.

Ken Bruce

The upcoming special will celebrate the amazing music, jaw-dropping gimmicks and fashion-defying outfits that make the contest a must-see experience.

Simon, a freelance producer who works and lives in London, has worked on some of TVs biggest shows including Celebrity Big Brother, Noels Christmas Presents, the Royal Variety Show and the Sunday Life Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards.

This is 90 minutes that will definitely have you humming the hits and getting into the Eurovision party spirit, he said.

As well as our 30 moments and interviews with lots of past winners, we feature some of the most outlandish performances, as well as some of the props and mad things you see on the Eurovision stage.

It is very much geared to audiences who loved it in the 80s and 90s, and it is warm, celebratory and not too serious.

Simon Proctor with Johnny Logan and Eurovision's Swedish presenter Petra Mede

Expect footage of bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst, whose performance charmed hundreds of millions in 2014, and Irelands Johnny Logans famous triple win.

You can also expect to see Cliff Richard being pipped at the post in front of devastated fans at the Albert Hall, Abbas 1974 win, Celine Dions fashion faux pas and Lulus four-way tie.

Simon talked to BBC commentator Paddy OConnell about the quirkier entries. Italian Rockers Maneskin and Ukraines Verka Serduchka also appear, along with the UKs highest and lowest scores.

Conchita Wurst   Alamy Stock Photo

Among the Eurovision entries interviewed are Katrina (from the Waves), the UKs most recent winner, Cheryl, Jay and Bobby talking about Bucks Fizzs win in 1981 with Making Your Mind Up, and Northern Irelands Niamh Kavanagh on beating Sonia in 1993.

Simon, who began his career with the BBC, has a long history of working on Eurovision with the late Terry Wogan.

He also produced a Eurovision 60th birthday show for the BBC which was shown in 27 countries.

Ulrika Jonsson and Terry Wogan ahead of the 1998 contest   Alamy Stock Photo

He said: My first job with the BBC 25 years ago was as a researcher on Eurovision when it was in Birmingham.

I remember that when Terry Wogan walked into our office for the first time, I was speechless. He really was the best and he loved us  he thought people from Northern Ireland were great.

On our new show, all of the artists talk about Terry and their memories of him.

I grew up watching Eurovision and I feel so fortunate to have been able to work on it.

I actually helped the Swedes to pick their song four or five times.

I also had the pleasure of producing the 60th anniversary show in Hammersmith, which was presented by Graham Norton, and that was just like one big Eurovision party.

This show is going out on Friday night as a warm-up for the contest and hopefully will be shown again on the night of Eurovision.

The contest is being staged in Liverpool this year, its first time in the UK in 25 years, on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.

The competition is made up of two semi-finals, which will be screened live on May 9 and May 11.

Ten countries from each show will go through to the spectacular grand final, to be held on May 13.

Eurovision: 30 Unforgettable Moments will be shown on Channel 5 at 10pm on May 5
Elodie and four-legged friend Vicki practically inseparable

Elodie spends all the time she can with her Labrador-cross

Vicki came to live with the Bateson family in 2021

Adorable Labrador-cross Vicki is huge, hairy, playful, positive and nothing short of Elodie Batesons best friend.

But theres something extra special about she and her four-legged companion: Elodie was born with a severe visual impairment, and Vicki is a buddy dog.

Buddy dogs are provided to children experiencing sight loss by the national Guide Dogs charity.

Their main role is to help boost the confidence of youngsters, but they become much-loved family pets, even supporting parents and siblings too.

Vicki joined Lisburn schoolgirl Elodies family in 2021, and since then she has been nothing but a source of positivity and light.

Mum Michele says: Vicki doesnt go to school with her, but apart from that they are together constantly.

Most of the time you will find them snuggled up together. Vicki is so well trained and so patient.

She really helps Elodie when were out and about. It can be difficult because Elodie cant see people approaching her, but Vicki is like a magnet.

She opens conversations and has helped Elodies social skills and friendships so much.

Vicki came to live with the Bateson family in 2021

Elodie works on a special Braille tablet at Limavady Grammar School, where her favourite subjects are maths and science. She is also a skilled pianist.

Michelle says her daughter is extremely intelligent, has a remarkable memory and hopes to go to university.

The Guide Dogs charity has been supporting the family for many years, helping Elodie learn to use her first cane when she was four.

People dont realise all the other work Guide Dogs does with families besides the dogs, says Michelle.

Theyve helped teach her life skills such as using a cane, navigating routes and staying safe.

Elodie names all her canes. Her first wee pink cane was called Princess Baby. The one she has now is Sandwich.

Elodie was born with a condition called coloboma, which meant parts of her eyes did not develop properly, and suffered bilateral retinal detachment when she was a baby.

She was six weeks old when Michelle and her husband, Nick (46), were told their she had severe sight problems.

We went to see the paediatrician with this wee pink bundle in our arms, thinking she might need glasses, remembers Michelle.

By the end of that day, wed been told our baby was severely visually impaired.

I remember saying to my husband, We just have to love her and look after her. He looked down at her and said, Well thats not going to be hard.

Guide Dogs began piloting the initiative on a small scale in 2012, but it wasnt until 2020 that it launched the Buddy Dog scheme. Today, 272 families across the UK have one.

Buddy dogs are dogs that have started the rigorous training program to become guide dogs for visually impaired adults but have been identified as not quite suitable for that role.

Robbie Campbell, the Buddy Dog service lead for Guide Dogs for Northern Ireland. explains: We call it a career change. These are still cracking dogs, but they might have reached a point in their training where theyre just not progressing any further.

In order to be a guide dog, they need to have a high standard of discipline, behaviour and health. Dogs with a health condition like hip dysplasia or eyesight issues, for example, cant become working guide dogs but might still make brilliant buddy dogs.

Other trainee guide dogs might not like working in a harness, or may find the pressure of the job too stressful.

There are lots of reasons they might not be able to complete guide dog training, but they still have the potential to make really well-behaved pets and companions for children with visual impairment.

Elodie spends all the time she can with her Labrador-cross

The Buddy Dog scheme benefits everyone. The time and money the charity puts into training its guide dogs isnt wasted if dogs that dont make the grade can help support families instead.

The traits that made them unsuitable to be a guide dog, such as an overly playful nature, could be exactly what a visually impaired child wants in a companion.

We match our buddy dogs with families really carefully, says Robbie.

Some parents want a dog thats playful, while others might have children with additional health needs, like autism, and need a dog thats really calm.

The assessment process for families is equally rigorous, beginning with a buddy dog discovery webinar and moving into virtual home checks and in-person training.

The charity also gives advice and training on the reality of having a dog because many of the families might be first-time owners.

Once families have been through the application process, they are put onto a matching list to be paired with the right buddy dog for their childs needs.

The feedback we get is that the main impact of having a buddy dog is the boost it gives to the childs confidence, especially when it comes to going to new places or meeting new people, says Robbie.

For a lot of children, if they cant see well, then the world can be a scary place.

Buddy dogs wear a special jacket to identify them, and it sparks a lot of positive conversations.

Buddy dogs dont fall under the category of assistance dogs, so they dont have the same access rights.

Their job is to provide companionship and friendship, but they are still very well behaved.

Buddy dogs are available to young people up to the age of 18, or 25 if they have additional health needs.

They are placed in the hope they will stay with families for life.

They technically belong to Guide Dogs, but families cover the costs of their care, food and vets bills.

They could also provide a stepping stone towards a visually impaired young person being able to apply for a guide dog as an adult.

For Elodies family the experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

Michelle explains: When we explain that Vicki is a buddy dog, most people are very welcoming.

Shes extremely well behaved and will just sit under a table if were out for food or coffee.

The Buddy Dog scheme is absolutely amazing for visually impaired children and improving their independence. Vicki is just a huge, hairy, playful positive in our lives.

Guide Dogs Northern Ireland is always looking for new volunteers, especially people who can help look after dogs in training. Visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/guide-dogs-northern-ireland for details
Lightstock.com

Its a known fact that God wants us to be happy. Most couples in couples therapy are on the brink of divorce, not because of infidelity or abuse, but because the relationship doesnt make them happy anymore. The curiosity, excitement, and fun they felt at the start of their relationship isnt there anymore. Wedding vows might say, Till death do us part, but those words have lost their meaning for some.

In reality, culture has changed, and our beliefs surrounding marriage often reflect those changes. Today, the truth is seen as relative, feelings drive our experience, and a consumer-driven attitude creates more transactional attitudes toward relationships. Instead of trying to understand Gods purpose for marriage, we see marriage as seeing what the other person can give us, what they can do for us, and how they make us feel about ourselves.

Why did God create marriage?

We must acknowledge Gods design for us as people to know why He created marriage. Many believers have an artificial idea of God as a genie in a bottle whose job is to satisfy us. However, the Bible clearly states that God created marriage for His children to be holy and conformed in His image, not happy. Marriage is one of our best teachers because, at its core, marriage shows the reality of what we expect, who we are, and how we interact with others.

No other relationship is as potentially transformative and revealing as the relationship with the person weve committed to permanently and intimately sharing our lives. In a Huffington Post article, author and speaker Tyler Ward said that marriage is about personal restoration, saying that marriage is designed to help us grow, pulling dysfunction to the surface of our lives. The job of marriage is to improve our dysfunction and throw us into progressive wholeness.

The less you see your spouse as your liberator and more as your companion on this life journey, the more likely youll pursue your growth and healing. Ultimately, this will lead to developing a more realistic outlook for your marriage, bringing more peace, happiness and stability.

The Bibles words on unhappy marriages.

Knowing the difference between a destructive or toxic marriage and an unhappy one is essential. In most unhappy marriages, the issues are finances, communication, and unmet expectations. Adultery, abuse, or abandonment is not acceptable in Gods design for marriage as couples grow in their relationship with Him. Malachi 2:15-16 says that we belong to God in spirit and body, and God wants Godly children. A man who divorces his wife is violent to the person he should protect. So husbands should be on their guard and stay faithful.

The Bible says that spouses dont have the right to break up an unhappy marriage because God wants marriage to last for a lifetime. In Ephesians 5, marriage is described as a metaphor for our relationship with God. He isnt fickle in His love for us, and His love doesnt depend on favorable circumstances. His relationship with us is based on His agreement with us. God desires us to stay faithful to our vows because He understands that broken marriages, hearts and homes can be redeemed for His glory.

Still, this doesnt mean God wants us to stay in unhappy marriages. He wants us to use our sorrow, pain and disappointment as an invitation to seek His healing. He wants us to know what a healthy marriage looks like, with healthy communication, expectations, conflict resolution, and boundaries. Then, we can experience evolution where we are instead of waiting to find it in a new relationship. An unhappy marriage should indicate that there are things God wants to focus on in our lives and marriages so that we can seek wholeness and healing in every aspect of our lives. God wants us to acknowledge the issues in our marriages as they come up, be willing to recognize them and work as a team toward relational and personal growth. If we do, well continue to grow as a couple and allow us to foster more significant connections, intimacy, and strength in marriage.

Does God want us to be in an unhappy marriage?

God doesnt want anyone to remain in an environment where they feel unsafe, emotionally or physically. However, too many couples who feel unhappy or dissatisfied in their marriage often miss Gods blessing for them and their family by not getting the necessary help or leaving too quickly to resolve their issues adequately.

How to reclaim your marriage.

There are several ways that you can reclaim your marriage. First, you must stop blaming your spouse for your unhappiness. Youre the only person thats responsible for your happiness. If you find yourself suffering from a lack of personal fulfillment, satisfaction, or joy in your marriage, take time to assess the most significant areas of unhappiness and the causes.

Another way to reclaim your marriage is to pray, asking God to show you the areas of your heart that need His restoration. Ask Him to reveal to you what you should take responsibility for, and ask Him to clearly show how He wants you to grow and what He wants you to learn to become more in His image. You could also find specific ways to pursue Gods healing. Reach out to a professional Christian therapist who can assist with healing your areas of brokenness and creating new patterns.

This therapist can also help you think of ways to cultivate new skills and behaviors that can change you and your marriage. Another helpful way to reclaim your marriage is to stop seeing your spouse as the villain in your life and start to see them as your friend. You see should them as honest but broken. Show them compassion while theyre on their healing journey. Pray for them and make a list of behaviors or qualities that you admire in them. When you finish that list, focus on them, reminding yourself of these characteristics throughout the day.

Finally, pray over your spouse and marriage daily. Pray for your respective journeys and protection from the enemy. Pray for vulnerability, safety and skill to work through the problems that will arise in your connection. Pray for humility and wisdom to seek counseling to help you grow and heal together.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party, with her newborn son and husband, May 1, 2023.

Thailands leading prime ministerial candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra gave birth to a baby boy on Monday, just two weeks out from an election that pits her familys political dynasty against the powerful military.

The 36-year-old chief strategic adviser for the Pheu Thai Party announced the arrival of her second child on Facebook with a photo of her in hospital with the newborn and husband.

Hi! My name is Preutasin Suksawat, nicknamed Thasin, read a post on Facebook. Thank you everyone for your support. In a few days when my mom is recovered, she will meet the press.

Paetongtarn is the daughter and niece of two former prime ministers who were ousted in coups by the military, in 2006 and 2014, respectively. She is seen as the spearhead for Pheu Thai efforts to steer the country back on a path to full democracy.

Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military nearly 17 years ago, welcomed his seventh grandchild on Twitter.

All my grandchildren were delivered when Im abroad. I seek permission to come back home and raise my grandchild because I will turn 74 years old this July, he wrote.

For almost a decade, the military has cast a shadow over the country  through five years of junta rule after the 2014 coup and then the election of a government with deep ties to Thailands generals.

Although many analysts see the military clinging to power this election, it is no longer a monolithic bloc.

Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and former junta chief, quit the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPP) to form a new party, the United Thai Nation Party, which is competing against PPP in the 2023 polls. Prayuths deputy and fellow retired Army general, Prawit Wongsuwan, is vying against him as a candidate for prime minister.

Paetongtarns Pheu Thai has topped opinion polls in the lead up to the May 14 vote, showing it has a chance of winning more than half of the 500 seats in Parliaments lower house. But it would need at least 376 seats to secure a majority, when both houses elect the new head of government from the list of the PM candidates.

A landslide win could offset the military-backed 250 senators who will join the lower house in voting for the new prime minister.

Big issues among voters are ending entrenched corruption and reviving the COVID-19-battered economy. Thais have also said they want to see improvements in the public health and education sectors.
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Two men have been arrested on weapons charges amid an investigation into a shooting at a weekend house party in Massachusetts in which one person was killed and five injured by gunfire
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
Melissa Canavan will take over as the Berkshire Immigrant Center's new executive director after Michelle Lopez left late last year.
Owners Sarah Real and Mike DellAquila at Hot Plate Brewing Co. are putting together a special event for Cinco de Mayo this year, hoping to provide a fuller, more authentic picture of Mexican culture.
Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts arrives before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a Feb. 7 joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington. Roberts has declined a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a hearing on ethical standards at the court, instead providing the panel with a statement of ethics reaffirmed by the court's justices.
The novel "Silent Came The Monster" was written by Amy Hill, a former Berkshire Eagle reporter who was inspired by the COVID-19 lockdown and its impact on society.
EAST CHATHAM, N.Y.  As the sun peeks through the still-verdant trees, I amble along the dusty lane toward the pond. Goldenrod, some with spikes of florets, others with yellow firework bursts, 
When looking at the world, full of sin and evils that people cannot fathom until they hear about it in the news, it can be difficult to understand the goodness of God. Not only do believers struggle with this apparent contradiction, many walk away from the faith or point to this truth as a reason to not believe in the existence of God. During the days of the early church, when Christians were experiencing persecution, they probably felt the same way sometimes.

The Apostle Paul makes this bold statement in his letter to the church in Rome,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

This verse, especially once someone understands Gods purpose, can bring great comfort. It is possible to know that God works all things out for the good of those He calls to His purposes. Throughout the Bible, God takes evil and uses it for our good, and ultimately, for His glory, the purpose to which all people are called.

What Is Going on in This Verse?

The letter to the Romans is the epistle Paul wrote to a gathering of predominantly Jewish believers, with perhaps a small percentage of Gentiles. They experienced displacement not only as Jews outside of Israel, but both the Jewish and Gentile believers would have been separated from their own culture.

For most of human civilization, religion was an integral aspect of ethnic identity, a facet of culture which can still be observed in counties today. Christianity uniquely calls people to surrender aspects of who they were for who God wants them to be, which can be difficult. In addition, persecution was beginning to mount. People were being disowned by their families, their communities, fleeing their homes, and being violently attacked. Hundreds of Christians died in the early days of the church.

Through the course of the letter, Paul addresses key doctrine, what it means to live in the world as a believer, the future re-grafting of the nation of Israel, and so much more. In the passage surrounding this verse, Paul discussed believers being co-heirs with Jesus Christ in His coming kingdom and the future glory in eternity. People who put their faith in Jesus will spend eternity with Him, reigning in Heaven. Paul acknowledges that it can be difficult waiting for that future glory, encouraging believers the Holy Spirit will help them through life.

It is at this point he wrote the verse in question,  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. After this statement, Paul goes on to affirm the everlasting love of God.

What Does This Verse Mean?

The full context of this section helps illuminate Pauls meaning. In this life, there is sin and depravity, but Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead so that people could repent, be transformed and sanctified, and spend eternity in relationship with Him. Not only can people have a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus, but The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs  heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:16-18).

In other words, once saved, someone receives the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit testifies that someone is reconciled with God, and therefore His child. Jesus is the begotten Son, Christians are the adopted children, and they will be glorified alongside Jesus. In light of these future glories, Paul encourages believers that suffering on this earth is inconsequential. God will redeem the evils for the good of those who are His children, and have lived according to His purposes, the promise of eternal life.

An important question from this conclusion is, what is the purpose of the life of a believer? The most succinct answer can be found in the Old Testament in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. In one of his writings that has strong Messianic imagery and messaging - meaning it foretold Jesus Christ - declares, I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made (Isaiah 43:6-7).

The key concept of this passage is that all people were created for His glory. People who live to glorify God and have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ are the ones for whom God works all things out for their good.

Many believers paraphrase this verse to say God works all things out for our good and for His glory.

Where Do We See Examples of God Working for Good in the Bible?

Gods Word promises that He loves us, and that He wants to bless us. He even loves people who have not accepted Him, even though they are sinners living in rebellion and sin. Even with these promises and assurances, knowing that God has used evil and abuse of good people for their good and for His glory in life, and not just the promise of future good, can be assuring. The Bible is full of testimonies of how God works in the Bible.

The life of Joseph: In the Book of Genesis, Joseph was a teenager, a young man at the oldest, when his own brothers beat him, considered murdering him, and sold him into slavery. He was falsely accused of assault and imprisoned and spent years in jail, suffering injustice. So how was he able to declare, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Genesis 50:20)? Because God used his time in prison to connect him with Pharoah, to put him in a position of power, and to save thousands of lives from drought.

The life of Naomi: Naomi and her husband left Israel to live with the Moabites, who had a reputation for indulging in sin, against the will of God. They had two sons. All three of the men in her life died as a result of the very drought from which they left Israel to escape, and she became bitter, even taking on the name Mara - bitterness. God used one of her sons marriages to bring a loving daughter-in-law whose second marriage brought Naomi joy through an heir. This also continued the line that would lead to the Savior.

Davids sin with Bathsheba: King David was anointed by God and received all of the blessings one could imagine. He was a rich king who succeeded at everything he tried, and God would give him almost anything. Despite this great life, he coveted another mans wife, committed adultery, and eventually murder. David and Bathsheba would suffer because of this sin, but God used their relationship to bring about the reign of King Solomon, who built the Temple and whose fame helped spread the truth of the God of Israel far and wide.

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Perhaps the ultimate story of unnecessary and unwarranted suffering, Jesus lived a life that was in perfect harmony with God the Father and the Spirit, never hurt anyone, and lived His life devoted to preaching repentance, salvation, and the Kingdom of God. As part of Gods plan, He gave up a piece of His glory to live this life, and was killed horrifically on the cross. In Gods plan, however, this death and suffering paid the price for the sins of the world. Jesus rose from the dead, glorified, and because of that one day there will be a bodily resurrection for all believers.

How Can We Carry This into Our Life?

There will be evil in this world until Jesus Christ returns to sit on His throne and rule and reign over all the earth. Until then, there will be people who will rebel against His goodness, committing heinous acts. People will get sick, and there will be accidents. Injustice will be the rule until that day.

Christians should take comfort in the promises of God, assurance that sometimes suffering is redeemed in this life, and that ultimately, Gods justice will prevail. When it is too difficult to see Gods hand, pray, and the Holy Spirit will bring comfort and peace.

The letters by Paul that are preserved in the Holy Bible are full of encouraging verses about preserving despite difficulties, trial, and the evils of this world. Take comfort in prayer, Gods Word, and the promises of God which are perfect and that He will fulfill.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

Sources

Anthony, Graham. The Refiners Fire In All Things God Works for Good. Hagerstown: Herland Publishing Association, 2007.

Graham, Billy. What Happened at the Cross The Price of Victory. Nashville: W Publishing, 2021.

Moo, Douglas. The Epistle to the Romans.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Andrey Danilovich

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.
Tonight's rundown:

 Talking Points Memo: Joe Biden continues to decline with the world watching and remains out of the press reach

 Presidential Historian Larry Cook weighs in on how Bidens relationship with the press compares to past presidents

 US Special Forces have been confirmed to be in Ukraine

 OReilly describes Democrats hosting the DNC in Chicago as Crazy Arrogant

 The trial of Fox News gets underway

 58% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation begins to cool off

 Smart Life: Utilizing Kelly Blue Book when searching for a new car

 This Day in History: FDR dies in office

 Final Thought: what to do when someone is disrespectful to you

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Amidst the slow but steady growth, India has a long road ahead to become a master in the NGS market

India is making huge strides in the next-generation sequencing (NGS) market. It has to be remembered that the sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 has helped to develop vaccines in record time, track the emergence of viral variants and invest in timely strategic plans to control the spread. Having a genome database in place for the Indian population will ease the process of developing companion diagnostics and personalised medicine. Realising the potential of genome sequencing, governments, startups and healthcare companies are foraying into the market.

Human genome sequencing has the potential to determine the role of individual genes and their ability to cause diseases. Data generated through these sequencing technologies offer opportunities to assess genetic predisposition to a disease, diagnose heritable cancers and develop tests to prevent adverse drug reactions. The availability of the genome database for the Indian population is likely to ease the process of developing companion diagnostics and personalised medicine and offers access to stratified samples for the research.

The India market

Way back in 2009, India announced the sequencing of the first human genome. The IndiGen programme, funded by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), aimed to undertake whole genome sequencing of a thousand Indian individuals representing diverse ethnic groups from India. The programme aims to create a pilot dataset to enable genetic epidemiology of carrier genetic diseases towards enabling affordable carrier screening approaches in India. The human genome datasets would also be utilised for prioritising Pharmacogenomics variants specific to the Indian population for optimising therapy and minimising adverse events.

In the public sector, NGS is being used mostly for R&D activities and genome sequencing for building databases and for public health surveillance. In the private sector mostly working towards delivery. India is slowly adopting NGS as it has become an enabling technology for any life science domain. From basic research applications and is moving well towards discovery, development, quality assurance and quality control (QA & QC) and diagnostic applications.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), as on March 23, 2022 India has NGS facilities available in 84 institutes spread across 24 States and 3 UTs, with 63 operational sites. These NGS platforms are mainly from Illumina, Ion Torrent, and Nanopore. However, a lot of NGS facilities in academic and government labs and private companies are already being phased out. With advances in technologies and applications, these facilities are unable to match world standards.

Back in 2015, there were majorly 2 to 3 players, while in 2021 there are about 13 to 14 primary players in the Indian market and about 3 to 4 companies have an optimal level of capacity and infrastructure to perform NGS workflows. The key advantage is the diversity in the populations, which assists in collecting a large pool of samples.

As Dr Deepak Modi, Scientist, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health points out, "India has a bright future and will be the largest consumer market for NGS. With the 10000 Indian genomes sequenced and the availability of a reference database, we will be in a position to rapidly deploy in the diagnostic and personalised medicine segment in India."

The growth story

Bengaluru-based Bionivid Technology has collaborated with numerous research institutions and universities in India and abroad, that offer contract research services in bioinformatics, genomics and NGS data analytics. The company plans to expand in two strategically important cities in the next six months.

Says Roli Budhwar, Chief Operating Officer, Bionivid Technology, India holds a huge potential to be one of the biggest genomics markets based on NGS technology due to its rich genetic diversity. Healthcare diagnostics is currently the focus of various industry players. Other fields are still under-explored and carry huge potential. Promoting public-private partnerships, regulated by policies given the human resources with the right skill set and training, can push India to the front on the global stage. Overall the genomics industry in India is expected to grow in the coming years, driven by advancements in tech, increase in demand for precision medicine, expanding applications in agriculture and funding support.

Bengaluru-based Eurofins Genomics India delivers projects using advanced Illumina NextSeq500 platform, HiSeq2500, MiSeq, PacBio sequel with high-performance computational infrastructure. The company provides high-quality DNA/RNA oligonucleotides, NGS, Gene synthesis and sequencing services.

According to Dr Vedam Ramprasad, Chief Executive Officer, MedGenome Labs, NGS will remain one of the key technologies for the genomics industry across applications and will find additional use cases in combination with technologies for other omics. The increasing popularity and adoption of genetic testing in India will likely result in terms like NGS becoming common parlance (similar to RT-PCR in this post-COVID world). Primary growth drivers are improved awareness among clinicians and consumers, more accurate and precise diagnostics, new targeted therapeutics and a projected increase in disposable income of the Indian middle-class population.

MedGenome Labs has its primary lab in Bengaluru and according to the company, it is the South Asias largest CAP-accredited NGS lab and houses the latest NGS equipment (at par with global industry leaders). The company additionally has five other labs across the country focusing on various molecular and genetic diagnostic technologies. These facilities apart from processing thousands of samples for genomic testing every month also support patients with genetic counselling and walk-in sample collections.

Mumbai-based Godrej Memorial Hospital recently introduced comprehensive genome testing that identifies an individuals predisposition to over 150 conditions and genetic traits. The hospital has partnered with HaystackAnalytics, based out of IIT Bombay, to launch the Health Genometer Smart Plan.

Dr Anirvan Chatterjee, Chief Executive Officer, HaystackAnalytics says that the human genome is a blueprint for life and DNA sequencing is the key to unearthing these insights. Genomics is changing the face of healthcare in therapy areas such as oncology, tuberculosis and infectious diseases as the technology of NGS has given breakthrough solutions in identifying the right pathogens and helping in the timely diagnosis of the disease.

Reliance Industries has announced its foray into genome testing through the acquisition of Bengaluru-based Strand Life Sciences in 2021 for a sum of Rs 393 crore for 80 per cent stake. The test kits developed by Strand Life Sciences will be rolled out at Rs 12000 i.e. 86 per cent cheaper than other available options in the market.

In October 2022 Illumina partnered with GenoScreen, an innovative genomics company, to launch a package combining Illumina products and the GenoScreen Deeplex Myc-TB assay. The targeted NGS based test for the rapid and extensive detection of anti-TB drug resistance.

Agilent, having its Diagnostics and Genomics (DGG) Center of Excellence (CoE) based at Mansear, Haryana, offers an extensive portfolio of NGS research products for quality control of nucleic acids, for library preparation and automation. It also offers tools for NGS data analysis and reporting. Agilent SureSelect library preparation and target enrichment reagents include custom and catalog panels, such as the SureSelect Human All Exon v8 panel and the SureSelect Cancer Comprehensive Genomic Profiling assay.

Challenges

Amidst the slow but steady growth, India has a long road ahead to become a master in the NGS market. A host of challenges are currently being faced, the major ones being awareness, affordability and education and skilled resources. Very few healthcare workers are aware of the power of NGS technology. Another challenge is the required skill for NGS data processing and analysis.

Says Dr Raja Mugasimangalam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Genotypic Technology, Rapid changes in technology, particularly the need to buy new equipment every three years is a big challenge. Pricing of the reagents, particularly with no local supplier and everything imported is a big problem. Lower-cost services from Korea and China are a big challenge for Indian service providers. Diagnostic companies that have received funds for molecular diagnostics based on NGS are cutting costs just to show some toplines and entering the genomics services market.

Even one requires good hands-on wet lab protocol-based molecular biology techniques specifically for NGS data generation. Another important thing missing is the skill needed for analysing the big data generated through the NGS platform. Integration of computational technologies like Bioinformatics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and biological sciences is the need of the hour.

Very few academic institutions have courses on NGS data analytics or bioinformatics in general. There is a lot of data being generated but the workforce with the right skill set to analyse and interpret this data is missing.

As experts point out, there are needs for some computational skills such as using Linux interface, R or python and also some coding abilities. The younger generation of biology graduates should acquire skills to make themselves market ready.

According to Arpita Ghosh, Assistant Director Bioinformatics, Eurofins Genomics India, there are too many small and new players after COVID-19 who have received some surplus funds. A huge price war is killing the market for service providers. It may be noted that government research institutes are not going for quality and heading for the lowest quote which is pulling the research level down.

Dr Modi goes on to add that quality control is another challenging area for the NGS market in India. There are a few India-specific guidelines for minimal essential standards for NGS data. As a consequence, there is often poor-quality data floating around and even used for clinical decision making which is quite dangerous. Also there is no Indian equivalence of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) guidelines to interpret and use the NGS data for clinical decision making. This makes it difficult for the counsellors and clinicians for effective decision making.

Talking about the challenges, Samir Vyas, Country General Manager, India, Agilent says, "The biggest challenge for the Indian NGS market is the lack of genotype-phenotype correlations for Indians at a population-wide and an individual-level, and most of the available databases are based on Caucasian populations. Large-scale genetic studies are required to identify actionable mutations and to create a database specific to the Indian population. A few initiatives have been taken in this direction. An example includes the Department of Biotechnology Genome India (a pan-India project which aims to catalogue genetic variation in India) and is focussed on Whole Genome Sequencing of representative populations across the country."

Relatively high cost of sequencers and consumables, unavailability of local suppliers and vendors, low awareness and affordability for clinical applications and lower spending on genomics research in India, when compared to developed countries such as the US, are a few of the notable challenges in this sector. Apart from this, there are no national consensus guidelines on the use of clinical genomics to improve patient care.

Future of NGS in India

NGS has been critical in decreasing the cost of sequencing, from $1 million per whole genome in 2007 to $200 in 2023, resulting in the relatively wide adoption of genomics (NGS based) across a variety of applications. Though India is lagging in NGS in the global arena, there is a huge scope for the country to excel in this sector.

Government should promote NGS and need to go hand in hand with the private players and ensure the right skill with the requisite funding.

Sanjiv Das





sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com
Streamlining laboratory processes accelerates the development of therapies. Digitalisation is transforming the execution practices of biopharmacology and clinical research. In an age of digital innovation, researchers can simplify clinical trials and research and development by integrating lab data, resources, and processes into unified environments. Adopting Decentralised Clinical Trials (DCT) models can improve research outcomes, and productivity, with better compliance. Stakeholders (drug, vaccine, and medical device developers) and CROs must redefine end-to-end approaches to increase the efficiency, security, and accessibility of clinical trials. Digitalised clinical trials and R&D practices in pharmacovigilance can address operational constraints and development challenges. In an interaction with BioSpectrum, Jerome Armellini, Asia Head of Clinical Development & Operations Strategy and R&D Solutions (Asia) at IQVIA, Asia Pacific delves deeper into the decentralised drug discovery landscape.

How do you define the essentials of a decentralised approach in the current drug discovery landscape?

It is essential that such an approach is considered as early as the study design stage. Indeed, successfully executing DCTs is about more than selecting a technology platform or digital components. Every study will require a different combination of technologies, support services, and training to optimise results. This process is based on a thorough review of the targeted patient population, the trials inclusion/exclusion criteria, duration, patient expectations, protocols, endpoints, and other study requirements.

Decentralised trials leverage technology, including connected devices, and specialised services to engage participants in the community and facilitate patient-centric care through remote pre-screening, tele-visits, at-home treatment and the increasing role of mobile research nurses and staff.

While catering to a fast-moving drug discovery landscape, a decentralised approach aims to bring the patient voice to the trial, reduce the burden on sites and patients, and increase trial awareness, diversity inclusion as well as reach to patients living further away from sites by expanding traditional site boundaries to deliver a more personalised trial experience.

Finally, to ensure a successful decentralised trial, it is also essential for trial sponsors to address the unique concerns and motivations among different populations and demographics to effectively translate patients interest to trial participation, through the help of an end-to-end digital patient journey solution.

How well are emerging biotechs and biopharmas leveraging digitalisation?

Emerging biotechs and biopharmas (EBPs) have been increasingly leveraging digitalisation throughout the drug discovery process, from drug development strategies to decentralised trials.

In designing more efficient and effective clinical trials, EBPs are increasingly using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to leverage multi-omic data and algorithms that are based on historical clinical trials, real-world data and molecular data, to observe the responses of digital patients and improve trial outcomes. AI/ML can also be used to hone the clinical development plan by tailoring the trial to a specific population as algorithms can predict and gauge the trials effectiveness in the subpopulation and proposed indication.

Overall, EBPs are leveraging digitalisation to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes, both globally and in APAC. However, the extent of digitalisation varies across regions and countries, depending on factors such as a regulatory environment, infrastructure and many others. In their journey towards digitalisation, EBPs sometimes face challenges such as regulatory limitations and getting the right stakeholder support. However, with the help of an experienced CRO, they can successfully leverage digitisation by ensuring that stakeholders understand the benefits of digital adoption through education, training and support, and monitor regulatory developments closely.

How do you describe the development and operational aspect of DCTs in the Japan and Asia Pacific region?

The adoption of DCTs has rapidly soared in the last three years due to the rush to conduct clinical trials during and after the pandemic, and the increased competition among biotech companies. Additionally, the highest quarterly utilisation of decentralised methods shown in Q4 2022 suggests that the industry continues to push into new territory with this set of innovations.

In Asia Pacific, the increase in DCT adoption has inevitably brought about regulatory considerations to ensure patient safety and secure data sharing between patients and investigators. China has imposed strict data privacy laws for the use of AI/ML when targeting and engaging patients, such as the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and Personal Data Security Specification (PDSS). EBPs and biotech companies in the Asia Pacific need to examine regulations in the areas of data privacy, data residency, and data stewardship before embarking on digital adoption.

Several regulators in the Asia Pacific and in the rest of the world, are also developing recommendations for sponsors on DCT deployment (such as, but not limited to, the EMA Recommendation Paper On Decentralised Elements published in December 2022). In Japan, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency is planning to provide DCT guidelines. With this, DCT adoption in Japan will increase.

It is therefore helpful to engage a CRO that knows the best practices across different countries and has the global regulatory landscape understanding, operations support and technology to support digital activities of sites, patients, and sponsors, to accelerate digital adoption in the region.

What should clinical and biopharma operations consider when adopting DCTs? How do companies weigh elements at risk?

Clinical and biopharma operations can consider these aspects when adopting DCTs. First, the trial endpoints must be measurable through a DCT approach and appropriate trial support tools can be adopted based on the clinical trial phase. Second, the regulatory environment in chosen countries must support the required DCT elements such as tele- or home visits, direct-to-patient investigational medicinal product (IMP) shipment, etc. Third, operations must ensure a convenient end-to-end patient experience throughout the DCT process. Decentralised trials are more than just a technology, there is still the need to include a strong human touch to support patients and sites.

Companies can weigh all those critical elements by finding a partner with the expertise to run such trials globally and understand the local compliance and restrictions. Sponsors that partner with mature providers, for a managed service or full-service, will benefit from a successful DCT experience. An experienced partner that is very familiar with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data privacy laws, will have the resources to support the needed compliance.

How do you summarise the benefits of adopting DCTs? What is the current status of DCTs in the APAC region?

A key benefit of DCTs is the patient-centricity of the trial design. DCTs provide a convenient end-to-end patient experience that reduces the patient burden, e.g., cutting down travel times and costs, and improving patient engagement and satisfaction. This leads to new patient access, compliance and retention, faster enrolment and trial completion with measurable benefits for sponsors. Many EBPs who develop medicines for rare diseases are also able to enrol patients that would not have participated in a study under the traditional model.

DCTs can also decrease site burden by using a technology platform that acts as a better engagement channel and allows EBPs to gain access to real-time patient progress on demand. A whitepaper that compared DCTs to traditional study models showed that DCTs delivered time and cost efficiencies at virtually every point in the clinical research journey. However, there will always be a role for in-person trials as some patients feel more comfortable being examined by a clinician. Hybrid models, a mix of face-to-face interactions and technology access, are now a permanent fixture of the clinical trial landscape.

The adoption of DCTs is gaining momentum in APAC, such as, but not limited to Australia, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia, with many countries starting to implement or develop regulations and/or guidelines for these trials.

Hithaishi C Bhaskar

hithaishi.cb@mmactiv.com
Epstein's "black book" of contacts and flight logs shows that Burns first met with Epstein in Washington before Burns visited the convicted sex offender in his Manhattan townhouse, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Burns, who became CIA director under Joe Biden in 2021, met with Epstein while he was preparing to leave his position in the government, CIA spokeswoman Tammy Kupperman Thorp said.

"The director did not know anything about him, other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector," she said. "They had no relationship."

Epstein, who was found dead in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019 while awaiting charges related to sex trafficking, pleaded guilty in 2009 to Florida state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. He served about 13 months in a work-release program and became a registered sex offender.

Other notable names the Journal reported l in Epstein's calendar include Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who met dozens of times with Epstein after leaving the administration but before joining Goldman Sachs as a top attorney, as well as professor and activist Noam Chomsky and Bard College President Leon Botstein.

The outlet could not verify whether every meeting scheduled in Epstein's logs took place, and the documents are unclear about the purpose of the meetings.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking to hire special agents who carry guns and make arrests with jobs available in all 50 states, according to a posting on the agencys website.

The law enforcement branch of the IRS, known as the Criminal Investigation (CI) division , is hiring for the role at locations throughout the U.S. IRS special agents within the CI division are the only IRS employees who are authorized by law to carry and use firearms. IRS-CI investigates financial crimes, money laundering, tax-related identity theft and terrorist financing efforts.

Under the postings "major duties" section, the IRS says that special agents "[c]arry a firearm; must be prepared to protect him/herself or others from physical attacks at any time and without warning and use firearms in life-threatening situations; must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force."

Additionally, IRS-CI special agents must be "willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments." The posting adds that special agents need to maintain "a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job."
Most people didnt read the September 17, 2021 FDA briefing document so let me highlight the top of page 22 for you. With a little simple math (shown here), its clear that you are 2X more likely to be infected during the time you are vaccinated. The p-value is <.001. This was not just a fluke. It was validated in the Cleveland Clinic study.

Executive summary

The Cleveland Clinic study, which I fully explain in this article, shows that the more vaccines you get, the more likely you are to be infected with COVID.

This was not a fluke. As I pointed out in my article, the results were consistent with three other large studies, two of which (the Qatar and Pfizer studies) were general population and not just healthcare workers.

One of the two large confirming studies was the Pfizer Phase 3 trial participants themselves.

Did you know that Pfizer told the FDA in a document dated September 17, 2021 that people who were on the vaccine for a longer period were more likely to be infected with COVD than those who spent only about half the time in the vaccinated state. The difference between the infection rates of the vaxxed vs. unvaxxed was more than 2X. See this section of my article for details on data in the FDA document and the simple calculation to determine the relative infection rates.

The bottom line is that the FDA knew on Sept 17, 2021 that you were more likely to be infected with COVID if you were vaccinated. Thats the opposite of what they told us.

What do we do now?

We need to acknowledge our mistakes and take corrective action.

Every business who has a vaccine mandate should immediately issue a reverse mandate.

For example,

Hospitals should immediately fire anyone who is vaccinated with the COVID vaccine. Proof of being unvaccinated should be required to keep your job. Religious and medical exemptions should be honored so if anyones religious beliefs require them to be vaccinated, those people should be accommodated. Similarly, if anyone has a medical condition requiring them to be vaccinated, they should be given an exemption. College campuses should not allow students who are vaccinated to enroll. In addition, all visitors to campus will need to show proof of unvaccination. In short, if you are vaccinated, you should no longer be allowed on campus. Proof of unvaccination should be required to enter restaurants and attend public gatherings. If you are not an American citizen, you should not be able to enter the US without proof of unvaccination. Unvaccination should be required to hold elective office. All emergency personnel (police, fire, paramedics) must be unvaccinated or face losing their job. All doctors who advised their patients to get vaccinated should have their license to practice medicine revoked by the medical boards. Their board certifications and hospital privileges should be removed as well. After all, these physicians are a danger to society because they lack the ability to think for themselves and do what is best for their patients. Doctors who write vaccine prescriptions for the COVID vaccine shall be investigated and may have their license to practice medicine revoked. After all, the COVID vaccine isnt justifiable for any patient so you must be a very bad doctor who doesnt believe in evidence-based medicine. Other than as noted above, there should be no tolerance for the vaccinated. These people should have known better. They are a risk to society and prevent us from getting to herd immunity. They should be ostracized and excluded from all family events moving forward.

In short, its time to turn the tables around.

Its time to turn the tables around and discriminate against all vaccinated people.

Summary

At this point, there is absolutely no doubt that COVID vaccination increases your risk of infection. Everyone who tries to attack the Cleveland Clinic study has failed. Nothing sticks.

Many of my readers have validated this effect with their own eyes and often write in comments like its all their vaccinated friends getting sick with COVID. And those turbo cancers, amyloid clots, and sudden deaths are happening almost exclusively in the vaccinated (or if you got a transfusion).

Wayne Roots statistics are another great anecdote that should be impossible if the vaccines are so safe. Nobodys been able to explain his numbers. Basically, Wayne found that his vaccinated friends were dying or had severe side effects in large numbers while his unvaccinated friends were unaffected.

And where is the anti-Wayne Root anecdote where it is just the unvaxxed who are getting very sick and dying? I still cant find such an anecdote. Ive tried.

Why cant I find a single anecdote of a nursing home where the all-cause death rate declined after the vaccine rolled out?

If you listened to the CDC and mainstream media, you were led to believe that the unvaccinated would all be extinct by now.

So now that nobody can attack the Cleveland Clinic data, isnt it time to right this wrong and reverse the mandates?

How about we now give the vaccinated a taste of their own medicine so they will understand first hand what it feels like to be unfairly penalized for doing nothing more than following the science?
A CHamoru coming of culture: Graduate student continues familys legacy

Jessie neal, GSAS MA '23, has spent their graduate program dedicated to exploring CHamoru culture. Their greatest resource? Their grandmother.

Photo/Gaelen Morse jessie decided that to accurately highlight the history and life of CHamoru people, she needed a perspective from someone very special to her: her grandmother, Teresita Ignacio Santos Currie.

On the first day of the Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program seminar, professor V Varun Chaudhry challenged students to pick a list of potential thesis topics.

When jessie neal (they/she), GSAS MA23, proposed researching CHamoru peoples, her familys cultural heritage, the class looked puzzled.

CHamoru peoples are the Indigenous people from Guahan (the CHamoru word for Guam) in the Mariana Islands. While some Pacific Islander cultures, like those in Hawaii, are well-known because of their prominent tourism, many people arent familiar with CHamoru culture.

Everyone seemed curious and genuinely interested in learning more. That was the moment I knew I needed to share this story, neal said, explaining that they decline to capitalize their own name in a symbolic gesture to focus on her research subjects, not herself.

With the support of her mentors, professor ChaeRanFreeze and professor V Varun Chaudhry, jessie focused her thesis on an exploration of CHamoru culture through research and first-hand knowledge.

Its been awesome being around people who are willing to learn about different cultures, said neal. As my advisers, they really came along with me for this experience. Its been great seeing them get really into Pacific Islander literature.

A CHamoru perspective



As neal started her research, she discovered most resources on the CHamoru were written by people outside of the culture.

jessie decided that to accurately highlight the history and life of CHamoru people, she needed a perspective from someone very special to her: her grandmother, Teresita Ignacio Santos Currie.

In CHamoru culture, a woman leads the matriarchal family unit. Respect and values are centered upon family, community, and most importantly, the elders.

Currie naturally assumes the leadership role in her family unit, despite the traumatic experiences she left behind in Guahan, including the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II. She immigrated to the United States in 1955.

Many of her family members were sent to labor camps, became prisoners of war, and experienced war crimes. To protect her children from these experiences, her great grandmother sent Currie to hide in the jungle during the Japanese head counts.

My nana is 85 years old, and even now, more than 50 years later, discussing her experiences in Guahan is a raw, emotional topic for her, said neal in their thesis. Both because of how long she has been separated from the island, and the trauma that has been interwoven within these memories.

Nana uncovers her childhood

After slowly helping her grandmother get comfortable sharing more details, neal conducted a series of interviews.

As the conversations unfolded, she learned more about her grandmothers childhood memories, family structures, trauma, and insight into the United States attempted erasure of the CHamoru culture. Their grandmother shared stories of her family structure in Guam and CHamoru traditions.

When the U.S. occupied Guam in 1944, some CHamoru people felt a sense of patriotism and gratitude for their new sense of safety. However, the U.S Navy banned the CHamoru language, and CHamoru children who spoke the FinoCHamoru language in school were punished.

Neals grandmother stopped using the language in her childhood and, as a result, hasnt passed it on to her children or grandchildren. Instead, jessies grandmother considers herself primarily a U. States citizen.

While neals grandmother may feel distant from her heritage, her everyday interactions and family leadership connect her to CHamoru cultural traditions. Currie enjoys attending church, playing card games, and being an active part in her children and grandchildrens lives.

Shes very stubborn, but thats also how CHamoru elders are, said neal. I cant ask her to overcome countless years of people telling her that her culture didnt exist.

Continuing a legacy



Seeking to reconnect to her familys cultural roots, neal chose to enroll in an online CHamoru language course taught by the University of Guam. They see this as an opportunity to make sure the language isnt forgotten.

As the only person in my family who knows some of the language, I feel responsible for using CHamoru words whenever possible, said neal.

While this research started primarily as a thesis focus, it has become neals passion and inspiration towards their next step: finding a PhD program that supports her dream of writing a book about the CHamoru people from their own perspective. With the continued help of their program mentors, neal has found a university that will embrace their next endeavor. They will be attending the University of Michigans American Culture PhD program in the Fall.

Having someone in academia advise me on which universities would be interested in letting me pursue this project in the way I choose has been awesome, said neal. My program mentors in Womens, Gender and Sexuality Studies saw the work I did, believed in me, and funded me. I dont feel like that wouldve been possible at other institutions.

Neal hopes their book will explore the culture, traditions, and everyday life within a CHamoru family, sharing accounts from her cousins, aunts, uncles, and most importantly, her Nana.

I dont want this to be an academic textbook that gets lost in the library, she said. I want CHamoru people to see themselves represented in the text.
A local community in Co Tyrone has been left stunned, numb and speechless by the tragic crash which claimed the lives of three members of the same family, a funeral for two siblings has heard.

Dan and Christine McKane, and their aunt Julia McSorley (75) were killed in the crash last week on the A5 near Aughnacloy when the minibus they were travelling in was in a collision with a lorry.

They had been returning from the funeral of a family member in Corby, Northamptonshire.

The coffins of Dan and Christine McKane are carried from the church (Liam McBurney/PA)

Four other family members were admitted to hospital, with two people having since been discharged.

A funeral was held for Mrs McSorley at St Eugenes Church in Glenock on Sunday.

The song Danny Boy was sung as the siblings coffins were brought into The Church of The Immaculate Conception in Strabane on Monday.

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One of Mr McKanes daughters and Mrs McKanes son later read poems they had written for them.

A representative of the President Michael D Higgins and Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle ONeill were among the mourners.

Rev Declan Bolan thanked them for attending and for the messages of sympathy from ministers at nearby churches.

He thanked the incredible crowds who turned out for the funeral to support the McKane family through the awful pain and unspeakable horror that came so unexpectedly.

A mourner holds up the order of service following the funeral (Liam McBurney/PA)

Our hearts are sad and broken, our pain is deep, our sadness knows no bounds, he told mourners.

Youve turned up today in incredible numbers because you care and because you want to help this family through their most awful pain and unspeakable horror that has come upon them so, so unexpectedly.

Dan and Christine and Julia should be like ourselves, walking about, doing their normal things on a Monday afternoon, and yet we know that life changed utterly in a flash coming round that bend in Aughnacloy.

When we think they were coming from a requiem mass in Corby in England, it just accentuates the great pain and disbelief we have.

A journey to give support and comfort to relatives in Corby ended in utter disaster. Were stunned, were numb and speechless at what happened.

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Our grief is total, our wound is open.

The two siblings had both been baptised and confirmed in the church.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill (left) as she speaks with a mourner (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr McKane (53), a father of two daughters, was described as big-hearted and a hard-working man.

Lorry driving was in his blood, he knew every part of England, he didnt need a satnav, Fr Bolan said.

He would have gone that extra mile for anyone and on anything for them, nothing was a bother to Dan McKane. He was the go-for person when something was needed, Dan was your man in times of need.

Mrs McKane (49), a mother of three and grandmother of two, was described as slight in stature but big in heart.

She had a great laugh, she was no pushover, one look said everything. She was a pocket rocket, he said.

She loved her Smarties, that was her diazepam.

Her home, her wonderful children and latterly her beautiful grandchildren were everything to Christine, she just lived for them.

People attend a vigil at the grotto in Strabane for the victims of the collision (Claudia Savage/PA)

Fr Bolan described the gathering of 2,000 people at the grotto on Friday as shafts of light in the appalling tragedy.

I have seen the golden, loving faithful heart of our people who gathered at the grotto on Friday to show solidarity to this family in their time of need, he said.

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Those 2,000 people who gathered at our grotto bore witness to what is at the very best of the heart of this community and this town, and their presence spoke volumes. It was one of the finest community acts of love and compassion that I have witnessed in nearly 50 years of diocesan priesthood.

Fr Bolan went on to thank the first responders who attended the scene of the crash last week, as well as the local priest.

He also paid tribute to a woman who lives near the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for offering to accommodate and support the family of those who remain in hospital.

That is a beautiful gesture of love and solidarity and hope, he added.
Support for the DUP has risen in the past year while Sinn Fein remains the top party in Northern Ireland, a new poll has suggested.

A LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph puts support for Sinn Fein at 29 per cent, ahead of the DUP on 25 per cent, Alliance on 13 per cent, UUP on 11 per cent and the SDLP on 7 per cent.

Jim Allisters TUV is on 7 per cent while the Green Party is on 2 per cent, Aontu on 2 per cent, People Before Profit on 1 per cent and 3 per cent for others and independents.

The findings are in line with the 29 per cent of the first preference votes which Sinn Fein received in last years Assembly election while it suggests a rise for the DUP from 21.3 per cent in last years vote.

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The latest polls show that @duponline are closing the gap & building support in our continuing opposition to the protocol. As in May 2022 our objectives & stance before and after the election will remain and we are looking for a strengthened mandate to finish the job. #VoteDUP pic.twitter.com/FiTWHhEPzU  Jeffrey Donaldson MP (@J_Donaldson_MP) May 1, 2023

Asked which of the party leaders are doing a good job, respondents to the poll favoured Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill with 82 per cent, followed by Alliance leader Naomi Long at 64 per cent, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and UUP leader Doug Beattie each at 44 per cent, and DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr Allister each at 2 per cent.

The poll comes as the DUP continues to refuse to participate in devolved government at Stormont, pressing the UK Government to address concerns around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

It also found 62 per cent of unionists believe the DUP should not re-enter the executive until the protocol is removed completely, even if this means the permanent closure of Stormont.

Mr Donaldson responded to the findings by saying they show that his party is closing the gap and building support in our continuing opposition to the protocol.

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As in May 2022, our objectives & stance before and after the election will remain, and we are looking for a strengthened mandate to finish the job, he tweeted.

Ireland DUP urged to grasp Good Friday deal goodwill and... Read More

The poll was carried out online from 1pm on April 21 to 10pm on April 24th, using an opinion panel of 14,670 members across Northern Ireland.

Some 3,557 full responses were received which were then authenticated, audited and weighted to a 1,020 response data-set.

LucidTalk, a member of the British Polling Council, said the results are accurate to within an error of plus/minus 2.3 per cent at 95 per cent confidence.
Whether you love or loathe a sing-a-long, the Eurovision Song Contest is always a fun, silly and playful occasion. This year, however, the event has greater gravitas, celebrating the unity and solidarity between last years champions, Ukraine, and the rest of the world.

Hosting on behalf of the war-torn country, Liverpool has pulled out all the stops to make this a memorable event. Along with the contest, taking place from May 9-13, enjoy these additional festivities.

Get to know Ukraines creative talents at the Xpresia Festival



Proof Eurovision is about much more than singing and silly outfits, this three-day cultural arts festival unifies talents from the UK and the Ukraine in a celebration of creative, electronic and performing arts.

More than 30 artists will showcase their work, including Stas Koroliov, an artist from Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region, who fronts Kyiv-based audio-visual jazz-rock band under the same name. Last year they released a single using lyrics made up of question Ukrainians are asking about the war, found through a Google search.

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The event will take place from May 7-9 in independent venues across Liverpool, including The Invisible Wind Factory, Meraki, and Quarry. As part of the festival, a series of immersive artworks will be installed across the partner venues.

How: Visit xpresiafestival.com

Become a rock star at the British Music Experience

Sam Ryder in his Eurovision jumpsuit (Alamy/PA)

Charting the history of pop from 1945 to the present day, this interactive music museum couldnt resist doing something special for Liverpools biggest musical extravaganza of the year.

The glittery jumpsuit worn by British TikTok sensation and last years runner up Sam Ryder will be on display; a must-see ahead of his performance at the contest.

Afterwards, wander through galleries filled with memorabilia from Liverpools famous sons, The Beatles, and learn how to play like a rock star in the Gibson Interactive Studio.

How: Adults, 16; children (5-15), 10.50. A ticket is valid for a year, allowing you to visit multiple times. Visit britishmusicexperience.com

Dance, sing and shed a few tears at the EuroFestival



Liverpool cathedral will host the English National opera as part of EuroFest (Alamy/PA)

Spreading celebrations across two weeks, between May 1-14, multiple events and installations inspired by the Eurovision 2023 slogan United by Music will be held in the host city.

Look out for The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade by The Kazimier  an outdoor underwater sea disco with a glitterball jellyfish  and Rave Ukraine  a simultaneous rave in Liverpool and Kyiv which will be streamed across the world.

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There will also be an outdoor performance from the English National Opera and their take on Eurovision, transforming Liverpool Cathedral into a train carriage to represent the journey many Ukrainians made from Izyum to the border with Poland.

How: For a programme of performances, see visitliverpool.com/eurovision-2023/eurofestival

Raise a glass  of cuppa  at INNSide Melia

Eat, sleep and breathe Eurovision with a stay at one of the events partner hotels. At the INNSiDE Melia hotel, set in the heart of Liverpool with a rooftop bar, guests can enjoys several special themed events.

Live DJs will play Eurovision anthems in the reception and the Gino DAcampo 360 Sky Bar areas, while bespoke Eurovision cocktail menus and special afternoon teas will also be served. Anyone wanting to host their own parties can book private streaming and karaoke spaces, getting into the spirit by purchasing unofficial Eurovision merchandise for sale. A wall decorated with blue and yellow flowers pays homage to the people of Ukraine.

How: Visit innside.com/liverpool

Go for a full house at Bongos Bingo Eurovision Special

It doesnt get more kitsch than this lively blend of traditional bingo, dance-offs and minis raves. Now taking place in 50 locations around the world, the party started in Liverpool in 2015, so a homecoming is only fitting for the sparkliest event in the citys calendar.

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Taking place from 6pm on May 12, the day before the big final, players are invited to gather at independent music venue CONTENT for an evening of riotous fun. Compere Jonny Bongo will be joined by Walking On Sunshine star Katrina Leskanich (from Katrina And The Waves) and Bucks Fizz spin-off The Fizz, featuring core members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston.

How: Visit bongosbingo.co.uk
The White House said it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in the east of the country.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence.

He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.



White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby (Susan Walsh/AP)

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war.

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The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Mr Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russias fight.

He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control.

The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight the cost  both human and weaponry  to Russia of Bakhmut, which it argues has limited strategic importance to the overall trajectory of the war.



Fire and smoke can be seen after artillery shelling near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine (Libkos/AP)

Some analysts, however, note that taking control of Bakhmut could be helpful to Russian efforts to advance on the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.

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Mr Kirby said the Russian casualty count for this little town of Bakhmut was in line with some of the fiercest periods of fighting during the Second World War, including the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the first major Allied offensive against Japan.

Its three times the number of killed in action that the United States faced on the Guadalcanal campaign in World War Two and that was over the course of five months, Mr Kirby said.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counter-attacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

Mr Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

Gen Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.
Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early on Monday, damaging buildings, killing two people and wounding 40 in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said.

Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3.45am, followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defence systems.

Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian armed forces commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The head of Kyivs city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He did not provide further details, but said more information would be available later.

Women cry next to a memorial for the victims of Fridays Russian attack on a residential building in Uman, central Ukraine (Bernat Armangue/AP)

The attack follows Fridays launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, which was the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months.

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In that attack, Russian missiles hit an apartment building in Uman, about 135 miles (215km) south of Kyiv, killing 21 people including three children.

In Mondays attack, missiles hit Pavlohrad, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and wounding 40, Ukrainian Ppresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Seven missiles were shot at the city and some were intercepted but others struck an industrial facility, sparking a fire, authorities said. Damage was reported to 24 apartment buildings, 89 homes, six schools and five shops, according to regional authorities.

Missiles also hit three other areas in the region, damaging residential buildings and a school, he said.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said on Monday that Russia conducted a group missile strike with long-range precision-guided airborne and seaborne weapons on facilities of Ukraines defence industry all designated facilities were struck.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region (Libkos/AP)

The attacks also damaged Ukraines power network infrastructure, which will take several days to repair, according to energy minister Herman Haluschenko.

He said that nearly 20,000 people in the city of Kherson and the wider region had been left without power, along with an unspecified number of people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including the city of Dnipro.

Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.

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Ukraine has recently taken delivery of American-made Patriot missiles, providing improved anti-missile defences, but it was not clear whether any of them were employed in trying to stop Monday mornings attack.

Ukraine has also been building up its mechanised brigades with armour supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition, as Kyiv prepares for an expected counter-offensive this spring.

On Saturday, two Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil depot in Crimea in the latest attack on the annexed peninsula.

Mr Zelenskiy said in an interview last week that his country will seek to reclaim the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 in the forthcoming counter-offensive.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 01 May 2023.



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/Wu1lvnsXTe



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/PRlzMJHXoX  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) May 1, 2023

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

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Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

In Russias Bryansk region, which borders northern Ukraine, a freight train was derailed by an explosive device, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

There were no immediate indications of who set off the explosive, but Bryansk has suffered sporadic cross-border shelling during the war and in March two people were reported killed in what Bryansk officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has refused to be drawn on questions about Sue Gray following speculation the party could have to wait a year for the former senior civil servant to start as his chief of staff.

Mr Starmer said there is a process in place when asked about reports that it could be recommended that there be a 12-month gap between Ms Grays resignation from the UK Cabinet Office and starting her employment with the Labour Party.

He was also asked about suggestions that Ms Gray, who led a UK government investigation into allegations of parties being held in Downing Street during the coronavirus lockdown, could be found to have breached the Civil Service Code with her switch.

Mr Starmer, asked about the Sunday newspaper report by broadcasters during a local election campaign visit to Blackpool, said: Sue Gray has a formidable reputation and there is obviously a process that is being gone through.

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Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer sidestepped questions about Sue Gray while on the local election campaign trail (Peter Byrne/PA)

However, he switched the conversation on to the cost-of-living crisis, which he said was the main topic on voters minds ahead of Thursdays council elections in England.

The Commons order paper indicates that on Tuesday a written statement will be made offering an update into the circumstances leading to the resignation of a senior civil servant.

It follows a report in the Mail On Sunday that a UK Cabinet Office investigation into Ms Grays departure from her position as second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office could conclude that the former pub landladys talks with Labour breached the Civil Service Code.

Separately, The Times reported that it had been told by Whitehall sources that UK cabinet secretary Simon Case had been instrumental in recommending that Ms Gray should be barred from taking the senior Labour role until March.

The anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), is currently reviewing the terms of Ms Grays departure and new job offer.

It can set recommendations for when senior people leave government, including calling for a cooling-off period to avoid any conflict of interest.

The Civil Service Code stipulates that officials of Ms Grays seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment but Acoba could recommend that it is a longer wait.

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Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer announced in March that Sue Gray had accepted the role as his chief of staff (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Acoba does not have the power to block an appointment, with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to make the final decision over the rules.

Labour has pledged to abide by any Acoba recommendation in relation to the hiring of Ms Gray.

Senior party figures have regularly looked to sidestep the question of when conversations with Ms Gray and Mr Starmer started about the possibility of her taking a top job in the opposition leaders office.

Mr Starmer announced in March that Ms Gray had accepted the role as his chief of staff in a move which is said to be focused on planning for Labours transition into power if the party wins the next general election.

The party is currently riding high in the opinion polls against Mr Sunaks Conservative Party, with recent surveys putting Mr Starmer's outfit almost 20 points in front.

Ms Grays decision to take the Labour job angered Boris Johnson and his Tory allies following her investigation into partygate, with claims being made that her jump called into question the neutrality of the UK civil service.

Speaking at the time that her exit from government was confirmed, former Biriths business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was hard not to feel that she has been rewarded and offered a plum job for effectively destroying a prime minister and creating a coup.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size From the Packing Room to an account of being painted, a triple-finalist, and the portrait that will tug at your heart, read all our Archibald 2023 coverage. See all 9 stories . Of all the Archibald Prizes Ive seen and reviewed, this years version is the most difficult to pick. Its usually easy to spot the winner within five minutes  even when, as is often the case, it may not be the best picture. This year I confess myself bamboozled. One feels a certain sympathy for the judges, although its a problem of their own making. The other noteworthy aspect of this years Archibald is how lacklustre it feels with the build-up more subdued than usual. In the past, a large part of the Archibalds appeal has been due to constant undertones of controversy. The largest explosion came with the court case over the 1943 winner, William Dobells Mr. Joshua Smith, but there have been regular minor tempests keeping public interest on the boil while the show has evolved into a national institution. Visitors from overseas are often amazed at the attention the Archibald receives, let alone the amount of prize money. Our affection for art prizes  particularly portrait prizes  is one of the peculiarities of the Australian psyche. The Archibald guarantees a sudden leap on the seismograph of public interest in the visual arts, but this year the spike feels a bit smaller than usual. Natasha Bienieks Self-portrait, after Nora Heysen. Nowadays, all that juicy controversy has been replaced with an increasing reliance on statistics and gimmicks. This year the big news is that there are more women finalists than men  30 to 27, and more Indigenous artists than ever: 38, spread across the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman. These stats may be a source of self-congratulation for the gallery, but they mean nothing to most visitors. Meanwhile, supplementary events such as the Packing Room Prize and the Young Archies, are being taken more seriously than they deserve. The 2023 finalists are divided between works that are a little too gimmicky, and those that are good, but too dull to be a winner. The trustees have to choose between whatever they honestly feel to be the best painting or whatever fulfils their favourite ideological agenda. The openness of the field means that smaller works have a better chance than usual. If the trustees were prepared to go mini rather than maxi, they might incline towards Natasha Bieniek, a finalist on multiple occasions. This time she is showing a tiny, immaculate Self-portrait, after Nora Heysen. Its no better or worse than most of Bienieks previous entries, so it would be a reward for consistency rather than for an outstanding entry.

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Another notable small work is Natasha Walshs Dear Ben, The Scream (after Pope Innocent X), which is almost too tricky for its own good, being a small panel painted on both sides, with the verso revealed in a mirror. Its an attempt to capture both inner and outer worlds in a visual letter to Ben Quilty, with nods to Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon. If I dont fancy Walshs chances, its because the piece would require far too much explanation. Natasha Walshs self-portrait Dear Ben, The scream (after Pope Innocent X). A final wee picture is Sarah McCloskeys Social Distancing, a portrait of writer Omar Musa. The twist this time is that Musa is captured as if on the screen of a mobile phone, with the artists self-portrait in the top right-hand corner. Its probably the Archibalds first FaceTime portrait, which might render it ineligible if the artist didnt assure us that she also spent time with the sitter in corporeal rather than virtual form. This year there is a high percentage of portraits that, in the jargon of the 1960s, might be described as square. Drawing on no less an authority than Mary Quant, one learns that the square cannot be bothered to keep up with the changing trends of fashion. She is a little low on nerve. Or inclination, one might add. Michelle Hiscocks portrait of Don Walker titled The Songwriter. The squares in this show include Keith Burts Sam Leach in his Studio Chair, David Fenoglios Christopher Bassi, Tsering Hannafords Nanna Mara, Michelle Hiscocks The Songwriter, Marie Mansfields Ronni Kahn AO, Paul Newtons Portrait of John Symond AM, and Patrice Wills No Place Like Home. Im thinking, specifically, of works that have no pretensions beyond capturing an excellent likeness of the sitter. The backgrounds are generally neutral, there is no attempt to make a figure look exotic or heroic. The artist directs us back to the subject, mostly to the face. The only mystery is the ineluctable way that outward form reflects personality.

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Of these works, Id rate Tsering Hannafords above the rest. Her sitter, Berry Malcolm, seems calm and composed, but her colourful print dress hints at a lively temperament. Ive excluded a number of relatively realistic pictures from the squares because the artist has chosen a more theatrical subject, from Andrea Huelins Clown Jewels to Sally Ryans Year of the Rabbit, to Michael Simms Zaachariaha Fielding. Although these pictures are painted in a naturalistic manner, the sitters have little connection with humdrum normality. Tsering Hannafords portrait of Berry Malcolm titled Nanna Mara. Marcus Willss Jack and Nikki and Alanah Ellen Brands Solomon Kammer: never enough may be considered borderline cases. The style of painting is naturalistic, the sitters are anything but flamboyant, but one recognises the artistic type. One could say the same about John Hilliers Theres Something About Harry, even though the subject is a boxer. Another set of realistic works  Judith Sinnamons Katherine Murphy, Randall Sinnamons Portrait of Joseph Tawadros and Clare Thackaways Lottie - make great play with colour, which becomes just as important as the sitter. These are attractive pictures but none of them feel like contenders. Will Mackinnons portrait of fellow artist Richard Lewer is another lively piece that lacks that touch of gravitas one looks for in a winner. Zoe Youngs double portrait of Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell titled Latrell and Winmarra, One needs to be bold, or at least reckless, to submit a large painting to the Archibald, as it has become obvious over the past few years that small works have the best chance of being hung. Zoe Young must have been feeling confident when she sent a double portrait of Rabbitohs star, Latrell Mitchell. In the left-hand panel of Latrell and Winmarra we see Mitchell in his footy gear. In the other, slightly taller panel, hes holding his small child. Young has had an each-way bet and the trustees have indulged her, most probably because of Mitchells star power. It wouldnt have been the same had she painted someone from reserve grade. I cant see it winning the comp, but maybe one of those wealthy Rabbitohs tragics will take an interest.

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Anh Dos portrait of the late Archie Roach, Seeing Ruby, is another work that probably owes its inclusion to the subject rather than the skill with which it is painted. A big head against a velvety black background, its a hard picture to love, even for diehard Archie Roach fans. As usual, David Griggs is responsible for the wildest contribution. The Melanoma and the Stitches may sound like a great name for a punk band, but it recounts in lurid shades of pink, mauve and red, a painful experience with a skin cancer. This is one of the few portraits this year in which realism is steamrollered by the expressionist impulse. Id take it over two works of painstaking photorealism by Matt Adnate and Jaq Grantford that look as if they were painted with the aid of a microscope. Anh Do and his portrait of the late Archie Roach titled Seeing Ruby. Many artists are such prisoners of a signature style they must hope theyll wear the judges down by sheer repetition. A more likely outcome is that a familiar style leads to instant inclusion, year after year, with little chance of winning, until suddenly the trustees say: Youve had yer go. Lets try someone else. In the course of writing, this most unpickable Archibald is starting to settle in my mind. If the trustees are conscientious, theyll see this as a Goldilocks year, when many of the entries are either too weird or too ordinary. What they need is something thats just right. Id lay my bets on Marikit Santiagos Hallowed Be Thy Name  a portrait of the artist and her three kids on gold leaf, framed by an archway surrounded by leafy green jungle. Artist Marikit Santiago and her portrait Hallowed Be Thy Name. Although Santiago has one of those signature styles, she has the advantage of being a relatively new addition to the ranks. She also has form, after winning the Sulman Prize in 2020 and having been included in the 2021 Archibald.

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FoodVale How chef Jock Zonfrillo helped shape Australias food scene Callan Boys May 1, 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

I was lucky enough to eat at Jock Zonfrillos Restaurant Orana twice in its seven-year history. The first time, while visiting Adelaide with friends in 2014, caught me off guard. Fried saltbush to start? I had seen that before. But then came damper skewered on a eucalyptus stick and cooked over coals at the table. Roasted lamb butter was served for spreading on the side. We werent in typical bush tucker territory anymore. Jock Zonfrillo pictured in Oranas Surry Hills pop-up restaurant in 2019. Renee Nowytarger There was crocodile soup. There was Kangaroo Island marron with aniseed myrtle and finger lime. There was something raisin-y called a kutjera which tasted of sour and sweet and the desert. Just about everything was eaten with our hands. If you go out to any Indigenous community and sit around the campfire youre not going to be using a knife and fork, are you? Zonfrillo said at the time.

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Its still one of the most delicious meals Ive ever had, and certainly the most Australian. How could a bloke born in Glasgow know so much about our native ingredients? Oranas kohlrabi, dorrigo, quandong and lemon myrtle. Supplied This was a chef absolutely committed to providing a singular, boundary-pushing experience the moment you sat down at his small Rundle Street restaurant. His influence on modern Australian cuisine was huge. The tattooed Scot was determined to put more native flora and fauna on forks across the country, helping to catalogue cooking techniques for gubinge, say, or sharing his knowledge on the best way to ferment bunya nuts.

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Jock Zonfrillo was captivated by native Australian ingredients. COLIN PAGE Australian ingredients now appear on restaurant menus with the same frequency as sun-dried tomato in the 90s. The trend was already burgeoning, but Zonfrillo was a key force in making it a movement. The second time I ate at Orana, the service was more polished, the cooking more precise. Ive still got the email to our Good Food Guide senior review panel suggesting we might have a new three-hat restaurant on our hands, the second-highest accolade a venue can receive, after Restaurant of the Year. At the 2019 Guide awards, Orana won both. Jock Zonfrillo and Greta Wohlstadt receive their award for Restaurant of the Year at the 2019 Good Food Guide Awards Supplied Zonfrillo has an ability to take left-field ingredients such as ants and Geraldton wax and turn them into something incredibly delicious, said former Good Food Guide editor Myffy Rigby at the awards. Theres no cultural cringe, just purity and beauty. And, most importantly, Orana is a lot of fun to eat at.

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After Orana closed in 2020, MasterChef would give Zonfrillo a much bigger platform to advocate for Australian ingredients. Every time lemon myrtle or Kakadu plum pops up in a supermarket muesli bar or ice-cream, I feel he is, in some way, responsible. His influence extended beyond fine dining and into our homes. Jock Zonfrillo with fellow MasterChef judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen. Supplied Zonfrillo was also adamant that Indigenous communities should be empowered  and benefit from  the rising popularity of bush foods. He would work closely with Indigenous foragers and growers to make sure they were paid fairly, and help explore other commercial opportunities for their produce. Local artisan producers benefited from his knowledge and friendship too. Adelaide Hills cheesemaker Kris Lloyd remembers first meeting Zonfrillo when she had started making buffalo-milk curd, which no one else in the world was doing at the time. Chef Jock Zonfrillo at the 2019 Good Food Guide Awards where Orana won Restaurant of the Year. Supplied

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I thought that Zonfrillo bloke might be interested, so I went up to the restaurant, Jock made me a coffee, and then ate the whole tub in front of me in five minutes, he liked it that much. Later on, he would help me develop some cheeses that I still produce, and better understand native ingredients. Ive always admired his ability to think quickly and creatively. Lloyd also recalls the time Zonfrillo popped by her Woodside Cheese Wrights factory to surprise her with a visit from touring British chef Marco Pierre White. The three of us just hung out and laughed and tasted cheeses all afternoon. Everything I ever did with Jock, and [his wife] Lauren and their family was so much fun like that. He was the dearest friend, and Im absolutely devastated that weve lost such a beautiful man. Orana chef Jock Zonfrillo on kicking heroin, homelessness and Madonna's dog
Mayors have warned the NSW governments plan to stop picking up the tab for a yearly hike to the states emergency services levy will swallow extra funds councils hoped to glean from lifting their rates, forcing them to consider cuts to staff and services.

The governments decision to stop subsidising the controversial levy means the states 128 councils face having to collectively chip in an extra $76 million to fund the increase in the next financial year.

The emergency services levy funds the states Rural Fire Service. Credit: Brook Mitchell

Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley criticised the fee hike as an absolutely blatant cost shift, and said the increase in payments would be catastrophic for some councils.

The effect will leave some councils with insufficient funds to cover cost increases in other areas. These costs will need to be met by cuts to staff and services, Turley said on Monday.
Fighter pilot Daniel Duggan will spend at least 86 more days behind bars waiting to convince a court he should not be extradited to the United States until ASIO has been cleared of illegally luring him into handcuffs in Australia.

Duggan, 54, was arrested in the NSW town of Orange in October at the request of the US, which accuses him of training Chinese pilots in violation of arms trafficking and money laundering laws.

Former pilot Daniel Duggan was arrested last year.

He has denied all wrongdoing and vowed to fight the attempt to extradite him from Australia.

A Downing Centre Local Court magistrate on Monday ruled Duggan should be able to argue for a temporary stay on the extradition. The hearing has been set for July 25.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be walking a fiscal tightrope when he hands down his second budget in a little over a week.

In that highwire act, he has to balance helping low-income households in particular with major cost of living pressures on one side, while also keeping government spending from blowing out and worsening the long-term structural position on the other.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has a tricky line to walk with his budget on May 9. Credit: AAP

Two groups set up by the government  the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, and the Womens Economic Equality Taskforce  have urged it to do more to help struggling households, including through raising the rate of JobSeeker payments, increasing the Commonwealth Rent Assistance subsidy, and reinstating the single parenting payment for women with children over the age of eight.

There has been furious negotiation about the latter. Cabinet decided to raise the cut-off age for the youngest child to 12, but advocates have continued to push for a higher age to keep those single parents, mostly mums, on the higher payment for longer.
Associates of Scott Morrison have been sounded out by a major UK company in the defence sector about a senior role for the former prime minister, who could quit federal politics as soon as July.

Morrisons exit from politics has been widely expected, with six colleagues telling this masthead last month he was expected to quit at some point between the May 9 budget and the end of 2023.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison could leave politics as soon as July. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Two sources familiar with Morrisons thinking, who asked not to be named so they could speak freely, said the former prime minister was in the frame for a job that would see him work for a company in the UK defence sector.

He wont go until it is locked in but it is fair to say he is actively seeking life after politics, one of those sources said.
Victoria Police will still be allowed to use lawyers to inform on their clients but be barred from seeking children to register as human sources, after the Andrews government struck a deal with the Greens to pass its controversial police informer laws.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes was forced in March to put the governments Human Source Management Bill on ice at the eleventh-hour after the opposition declared it would oppose the draft legislation and the Greens announced they would not pass it in its then form.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes struck a deal with the Greens to pass controversial police informer laws. Credit: AAP

The proposed laws, made in response to Justice Margaret McMurdos royal commission into Victoria Polices use of barrister Nicola Gobbo  formerly known as Lawyer X  to inform on her gangland clients, have drawn universal condemnation from legal groups. Critics include McMurdo and the counsel who assisted her in the royal commission, Chris Winneke, KC.

The opposition and the legal profession argue that allowing police to register lawyers to inform on their own clients  even in rare circumstances  undermines one of the fundamental principles of the justice system.
Khartoum: The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Sudan as fighting continued on Monday between rival military factions despite a supposed ceasefire.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since disputes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15.

A house in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum after it was hit during what now appears to be developing into a civil war. Credit: AP

There seems little prospect of a quick resolution to the crisis, which has unleashed a humanitarian disaster, damaged swathes of the capital Khartoum, risked drawing in regional powers and reignited a conflict in the Darfur region.

Both sides agreed on Sunday to extend a much-violated truce by 72 hours and the United Nations said it hoped to hold truce talks in Saudi Arabia, but air strikes and artillery rang out on Monday as smoke hung over Khartoum and neighbouring cities.
Hong Kong: Chinese authorities are reportedly preparing to release a man who disappeared three years ago after publicising videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the COVID-19 outbreak, a relative and another person familiar with his case said.

Fang Bin and other members of the public who were dubbed citizen journalists posted details of the pandemic in early 2020 on the internet and social media, embarrassing Chinese officials who faced criticism for failing to control the outbreak.

Fang Bin uploaded videos daily on YouTube, including one that went viral showing a pile of body bags in a funeral home van. Another showed body bags outside a Wuhan hospital and footage of relatives wailing, saying Goodness, there are so many dead people.

The last video the seller of traditional Chinese clothing, posted on Twitter was of a piece of paper reading, All citizens resist, hand power back to the people. A week later, he disappeared.
Latest News More banks raise rates Several financial institutions follow NAB's lead

Some customers bypass brokers for loan refinances FBAA warns brokers about complacency

Australias equity release market could soon see a resurgence in competition and growth after a decade of subdued activity, with the entry of new products, efficient funding and a new industry body.

Kevin Conlon (pictured above), chief executive of the newly formed Equity Release Industry Council (ERIC), said the market was on the cusp of welcoming three new start-up players to the market later in 2023.

The new players, some of which have been in development for a number of years, are due to be funded by life insurance and pension fund investors from more sizable markets such as the UK.

Conlon they would come to Australia with innovative modern product design and deep funding.

Formerly the CEO of SEQUAL, Conlon said the resurgence would be supported by ERIC, which would focus on engaging older Australians with the potential of living a dignified retirement by accessing the equity in their own homes.

The equity release market is still characterised by significant consumer need in Australia, Conlon said.

There are many people in retirement with inadequate savings, who have considerable wealth concentrated in the family home. Research done over many decades also shows this cohort dont want to move on from their home or the community they have lived in and know. They want to stay in place.

Conlon said he was disappointed the local market had failed to adequately meet the needs of these consumers who might be living in reduced circumstances despite their housing wealth.

While there has been a modest resurgence in activity, with some dominant brands doing a good job, there is a certain degree of complacency in the market that is holding us back from market growth and from addressing our needs as a society. We need to do better.

New products, new funding and a new industry body

Australias equity release market is dominated by two main players, Household Capital and Heartland Reverse Mortgages, which make up about two-thirds of the market, in addition to other players including IMB Bank and the federal governments Home Equity Access Scheme.

However Conlon said that the local equity release market had achieved only 1.5% penetration, compared with 5% in comparable markets the UK and US, which he said reflected a level of complacency from existing players and a lack of funding innovation in the market.

He said this would change with cross-border funding and renewed industry body representation.

Unlike in Australia, lifetime mortgages in the UK are not funded through securitised bank funding; they are funded by pension funds and large insurance companies. Many have argued, I believe correctly, that super funds are the natural home for funding reverse mortgages, not commercial banks, Conlon said.

The new providers are receiving support from UK-based funders  from life houses and pension funds  rather than commercial bank debt facilities. Australia is now in the position of getting the right solutions from our cross-border efforts rather than from home-grown solutions.

As well as new funding sources, Conlon said growth in the UK happened in the presence of a strong industry body.

He said the new entrants to the Australian market had committed to becoming founding members of the new industry body ERIC, which would more effectively engage with consumers and be open to all members of the industry that were willing to step up to a higher standard of customer care beyond their basic regulatory obligations.

There is an absence of a strong industry body in Australia that engages consumers  and that is the key to all of this, Conlon said. Right now, senior Australians dont have any other choice if they want to find out about a reverse mortgage than to ring a product provider.

While these providers might well be considered a useful source of information, at the end of the day they are somewhat compromised, as they are in the business of selling reverse mortgages. There is very little in the way of unbiased information to enable consumers to make informed decisions.

Re-engaging consumers with a new equity release industry body

The equity release market has weathered a decade of volatility in Australia. Though SEQUAL had 21 provider members prior to the GFC, including major banks, the global crisis led to funding and market commitment drying up, which particularly impacted many of the non-bank lenders in the market.

SEQUAL also closed in 2017, after the self-regulation measures and standards championed by its members were legislated by the government in 2012, including a no negative equity guarantee, as well as the provision of consumer fact sheets and illustrative loan scenarios.

Conlon said ERIC was now stepping in to re-engage consumers about equity release products. He said engagement had fallen off a cliff in Australia because there had been no industry body, which was leaving customers with nowhere to turn to see if the products suit them.

We need to re-engage with the cohort that desperately needs a solution to their circumstances. While I applaud the consumer engagement effort providers are making, I think the elephant in the room is the need for an unbiased source of reliable information and a greatly expanded network of properly trained advisers.

One of ERICs first initiatives will be to implement a searchable online database of equity release professionals based on post code, with a focus on those who are both trained to offer the products and have an interest in offering them, including brokers, financial advisers and lawyers.

Trying to find a broker who knows anything or is prepared to help is like finding a needle in a haystack. My estimate is there about 150 people who are active in this market, where back in the day we had 1400 accredited. We are aiming to rebuild that, Conlon said.

Equity release products could get brokers closer to clients

Conlon said equity release transactions were typically low dollar value and not highly remunerative for advisers or brokers, with the average loan size of about $100,000 being dwarfed by the forward mortgage market where loan sizes of $600,000 to $800,000 were common.

You dont see a high volume of inquiries, and there are fewer transactions. They are also highly labour intensive, as the average reverse mortgage broker will take 18 months between a first meeting and a decision to proceed, working through multiple meetings with family and friends.

Conlon said brokers who were committed to equity release products being a solution for some clients would have the opportunity to be part of an important decision in their lives, and get closer to the adult children of these clients, who could be middle-aged, asset-rich high income earners.

There is a real opportunity for brokers to increase their engagement with their target market simply by assisting their parents at a difficult time of life with an equity release transaction, he said.

Conlon said that, despite criticism of the reverse mortgage market , the vast majority of borrowers were satisfied by the outcomes of their interactions with their reverse mortgage, and the level of complaints had been minimal, showing a high level of customer satisfaction.

Are you interested in expanding into offering equity release products as Australias population ages? Share your thoughts or stories on this topic in the comments section below.
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First Published: May 01 2023 | 9:44 PM IST

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2023: Box office set to cash in on Khans, southern giants, Hollywood

The Rs 2,372-crore (FY22 revenue) T-Series is Indias largest music company and the biggest channel on YouTube globally. At roughly Rs 700 crore in revenue from films, it is now being counted among the top film studios too with hits like Hindi Medium (2017), Kabir Singh (2019) and Tanhaji (2020) under its belt. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar spoke to Shiv Chanana, senior vice-president, films, on what the business means for the music label. Edited excerpts:

From 2016 onwards we have become more serious about making films. We made about seven films in that year. We wanted to produce a lot of films because then the backbone of the music business is with us. (Film music forms roughly 70 per cent of all music sales in India). We changed over to the studio model because we realised that we cant make all the films ourselves. Therefore, we

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The DIA will be a sort of overarching framework. The telecom and data protection Bills were put up as drafts in 2022, and DIA is expected to come out as a draft this year. The draft telecom Bill is expected to update and amalgamate three ancient Acts  the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, t

In a presentation to the stakeholders on March 24, the minister suggested that once this law was in place, DIA would be part of a four-pillar landscape of which the other three will be the Indian Telecommunication Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and the National Data Governance Framework Policy.
State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Monday got new directors for human resources, the two companies said.

While K S Shetty took over as Director (Human Resources) of HPCL, Raj Kumar Dubey took over as Director (HR) at BPCL.

"Prior to joining as Director (Human Resources) of HPCL, Shetty was Executive Director (Human Resources) with additional charge of Executive Director (Employee Relations) in HPCL," the company said in a statement.

Shetty is a Gold Medalist in Human Resource Management from Andhra University and also a distinguished alumnus of the Swedish Institute, Stockholm from where he completed his Diploma in Sustainable Development in 2012.

He has also completed his Advanced Management Program from MDI, Gurgaon / ESCP Europe Business School, Paris (2016).

"Shetty has over 25 years of experience in HR in various capacities at HPCL," the statement said. "In his current role at HPCL, he is responsible for the entire gamut of HR/ER functions ranging from talent acquisition, capability building, career and succession planning, performance and rewards management, discipline management etc."



In a statement, BPCL said Dubey brings with him a wealth of experience in business and human capital development, having worked in the industry for over 34 years.

Also Read HPCL reports back-to-back quarterly losses; posts Rs 2,172 cr loss in Q2 HPCL signs pact with BPCL for synergy in purchase, sale of hydrogen OMCs trade firm in a range-bound market; IOC, HPCL, BPCL surge up to 5% OMCs in focus as crude oil hits 1-year low; BPCL, HPCL surge up to 5% Opec-plus cut weighs on OMC shares, BPCL and HPCL shed over 4% each Sunlit Power to invest Rs 100 cr in battery production facility in 2 years Overall job demand in IT sector falls 5% yearly in April, says report Pernod Ricard India appoints Jean Touboul as MD with effect from May 1 NTPC, NPCIL sign agreement for joint development of nuclear power plants IFL Enterprises Limited secures export orders worth $8.16 million

"Dubey is an alumnus of NIT Allahabad, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has also acquired a Master of Business Administration from the International Centre for Promotion of Enterprises, Ljubljana, Slovenia," it said.

Dubey, it said, has brought customer centricity in the fuel retailing channel by pioneering the marketing of differentiated products and premium fuels to great heights maintaining the leadership position.
PRI ECO GEN NAT .AHMEDABAD DCM34 IFL Enterprises Ltd IFL Enterprises Ltd secured export orders worth USD 8.16 million Approx. Rs. 67 crore Order shipments for the export orders are scheduled from June 2023 Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 1: Ahmedabad-based IFL Enterprises Ltd the leading company in the business of trading all kinds of papers and stationery items has secured export orders from Kenyan company, Frereana Holding Ltd. The order is for the supply of writing books, textbooks, bond paper, and copier papers for schools in Kenya. The total FOB value of the order is estimated worth USD 8.16 million (approx. Rs. 67 crores) which is to be completed within 1 year. The company has completed the due diligence with the overseas partner. The export shipments are scheduled from June 2023 and are expected to be completed by March 2024. The order is subject to 80% advance payment as per the agreed terms of the contract, the balance 20% on order delivery. Frereana Holding Ltd in its letter confirming the order to IFL Enterprises Ltd dated 21 April 2023 has stated that the Government of Kenya has awarded the company to supply writing books, textbooks, bond paper, and copier paper which is placed with IFL Enterprises Ltd. Commenting on the development, Mr. Dolar Shah, Managing Director & CFO, IFL Enterprises Ltd said, We are happy that our company has won a prestigious order worth USD 8.16 million which is to be executed in the FY23-24. This order is subject to 80% initial advance payment as per the agreed terms. Shipments are expected to start from June 2023. The company is working towards executing its growth strategy in a manner that creates exponential value for all stakeholders while consistently delivering quality services. Company is expected to grow from strength-to-strength and poised for rapid growth in the years to come. Incorporated in the year 2009, IFL Enterprises Ltd is a leading Paper trading company. It offers a diverse product range which includes All kinds of Paper related items. like Writing paper, coated paper, A/4 paper, Hi bright, Copier paper, Duplex Board, Art and Craft paper, Notebooks, etc. Thought leadership and deep insight of the management allows the company to discover new opportunities and perform to its true potential. The company continues to deliver value and commitment based on the highest professional standards and aims to leverage the growth opportunities in the economy," said Mr. Shah. Order details Sr. No Description Quantity (Ton) Rate Per Kg Total F.O.B amount (USD) 1 85 cms writing printing paper - Paper quality 52 gsm - White paper with minimum 80 brightness 3000 96 35,25,000 2 90 cms writing printing paper - Paper quality 58 gsm - White paper with minimum 92 brightness 2400 120 35,76,000 3 58.5 X 91.5 Art paper - Paper quality 100 gsm 800 110 10,60,000 81,61,000 The company in its board meeting held on April 24, 2023, has allotted 4.54 crore equity shares of Rs. 1 each as fully paid bonus shares to the existing shareholders of the company. The company had declared bonus issue in a 1:4 ratio (One fully paid equity share for every four equity shares held) and stock split in a 1:10 ratio (One equity share of the face value of Rs. 10 each into 10 equity shares of the face value of Rs.1 each) in order to enhance the liquidity. It had set April 21st, 2023 as the record date to determine the eligibility of shareholders to receive the benefits of these corporate actions. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


The average daily domestic air passenger traffic increased by 2.3 per cent month-on-month to 428,778 passengers in April. Indian carriers flew 9,593 more domestic passengers a day in April, compared to March, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), which was reviewed by Business Standard.



Ameya Joshi, an aviation analyst and founder of the aviation blog Network Thoughts, told Business Standard that considering the ongoing examination season in some states, the average number of domestic passengers per day has significantly increased in April over March. The second half of April is when traffic picks up, going into May, he added. On the other hand, the average daily international air passenger traffic in April was 1 per cent less month-on-month at 172,058. However, tourist outflow is expected to pick up in May with the onset of the travel season.



Joshi noted that the month-on-month increase in May is expected to be higher than in April as the tourist season begins in May. Also, grounded planes of a few airlines may return to service during the month, aiding overall capacity, he said. This traffic increase in the latter half of April is evident from the fact that Indian carriers carried the highest-ever daily domestic passengers (456,082) on April 30, he said.

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"The company took all possible measures to minimise the impact," it said. The total vehicle sales of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd jumped 6.5 per cent to 160,529 units in April 2023 from 150,661 units in April 2022. In a release, the company said that the shortage of electronic components had some impact on the production of vehicles.



The total domestic sales were up from 132,248 units in April last year to 143,558 units this year. In this, the domestic sales of passenger vehicles (PVs) were 137,320. Last year, the domestic sales of PVs stood at 121,995. In the month, the company's exports fell 7.9 per cent to 16,971 units. This was 18,413 units in April 2022.



Last week, India's biggest automaker had reported a 42.6 per cent rise in profit after tax (PAT) from Rs 1,838.9 crore in the quarter ending March 31, 2022, to Rs 2,623.6 crore in the quarter ending March 31, 2023. The April sales of mini and compact segment, which includes cars like Alto, S-Pressom Baleno, Swift, Dzire and WagonR, saw a jump from 76,321 units last year to 89,045 this year.

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During the quarter, the automaker reported net sales of Rs 30,821.8 crore. In the same quarter last year, the net sales were Rs 25,514 crore. In the year 2022-23 (FY23), the PAT was up 113.7 per cent from Rs 3,766.3 crores in FY22 to Rs 8,049.2 crore.
Active hiring in non-tech sectors such as Real Estate and BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) in India mitigated the dip in IT sector hiring in April 2023, a new report showed on Monday.

According to data by Naukri JobSpeak, the real estate sector spearheaded non-technology industries, witnessing a 21 per cent upswing in recruitment compared to April 2022.

This growth was primarily due to an increase in new residential and commercial property launches across metropolitan areas, which prompted hiring in key roles such as Tender Manager, Construction Engineer, and Civil Engineer.

"The growth in April hiring activity was dominated by a few key sectors such as Real Estate, BFSI, and Oil & Gas. While IT-focused metros exhibited a cautious hiring sentiment, emerging cities such as Ahmedabad and Vadodara continue to shine," said Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com.

Among the large metros, Kolkata, Pune, and Hyderabad exhibited recruitment surges of 28 per cent, 22 per cent, and 19 per cent, respectively, in hiring for the real estate sector.

Aside from real estate, the sectors with the highest growth in hiring activity were the oil and gas sector with 20 per cent growth, the insurance sector with 13 per cent growth, and the banking sector with 11 per cent growth compared to the same month the previous year.

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Recruitment in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries increased by 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

Moreover, the report said that the IT industry hiring continued its ongoing correction with a 27 per cent decrease in hiring activity compared to April last year.

Other than IT, sectors such as BPO, EdTech, and Retail also registered declines of 18 per cent, 21 per cent, and 23 per cent, respectively.

Among non-metro cities, Ahmedabad leads hiring trends with a 28 per cent increase in new job creation over the previous year, followed by Vadodara and Jaipur with 14 per cent and 9 per cent increases in new job creation, respectively.

Banking, Auto, and Insurance sectors have primarily contributed to the hiring activity observed across the Non-metro cities. Real Estate and Oil & Gas were the other sectors witnessing positive hiring sentiment in the Non-Metros, the report stated.

Further, the report mentioned that the demand for senior professionals with more than 16 years of experience increased by 30 per cent compared to April 2022, while the demand for 13-16 years of experience increased by 20 per cent.

However, the demand for fresh graduates and professionals with four-seven years of experience has declined compared to April 2022.

--IANS

shs/shb/
Russia accounted for 42 per cent of Indias overall crude imports, followed by Iraq at 18 per cent and Saudi Arabia at 15 per cent, according to calculations based on Kplers ship-tracking data. Since February, Russian supplies have exceeded the combined sum of Saudi and Iraqi shipments.

India imported about 59 million barrels of crude oil from Russia in April this year, against 58 million barrels in March and 12 million barrels a year ago, according to the data from commodity market intelligence firm Kpler. Purchases averaged around 2 million barrels a day, predominantly of Russian Urals  a medium, sour grade similar to Gulf crude.
Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda, who on Monday released the party's manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls promising three free cylinders for the BPL families annually, differentiated it from freebie and stated that the party is "taking care of the need (of the poor) under welfare scheme and not the greed".

The BJP released its 16-point election manifesto today in Bengaluru in which the party promised a host of assurances with key provision enlisted in it of providing three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL (Below Poverty Level) families annually.

The free cylinders will be provided in three installments of one cylinder each in the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

Speaking on the occasion, Nadda said, "We are taking care of the need, not the greed. The poor is the beneficiary of the schemes like Ayushman Bharat and food scheme for the poor. Freebies are for popularising. When you talk about empowerment, we are trying to see to it that no poor should suffer because of health problems so that his children should have a good education to live life with dignity in the future. That's empowerment."

He said that the BJP's manifesto will lay the foundation of the 25 years of Amrit Kaal for Karnataka while alleging that Congress has "made a mockery of manifestoes".

"Our manifesto is different from The Congress' manifesto which talks about guarantees, which has got an outdated warranty. Our manifesto contains a realistic, achievable promise which will fulfil the aspirations of Karnataka's youth, farmers, women, labours, middle class, SC/ST and all sections of the society. Our manifesto is centred around 6 themes," he said.

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The BJP chief said that the party's vision document was made after extensive deliberation and outreach to the public.

"The manifesto for Karnataka has not been formulated sitting in an AC room, rather a due exercise has been done; a great amount of toil and perseverance by our workers who visited every corner of the State was done, before this was created," he said.

Nadda said that the BJP government will develop Bengaluru for the next generation by designating it as 'State Capital Region', and executing a comprehensive, technology-led city development program - centred around Ease of Life, cohesive transportation networks and enabling ecosystems for making Bengaluru a Global Hub of Digital Innovation.

"I would like to say, justice to all, appeasement to none and so the unconstitutional reservation given to minorities was repealed," he said.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party released its manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls at an event in Bengaluru on Monday, making a host of promises topping which was provision of 3 free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL (Below Poverty Level) families annually.

The free cylinders will be provided in three installments of one cylinder each in the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

The manifesto or the vision document was released by the BJP's national president JP Nadda in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa.

Also, in an announcement similar to the one in the run-up to the Gujarat and Uttarakhand Assembly polls last year, the BJP promised to implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Karnataka on the basis of the recommendations of a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose.

The ruling party, in all, made 16 promises in its vision document which promised to launch the 'Poshana' (nutrition) scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna-siri dhanya (millets) through monthly ration kits.

"We will introduce the Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane under which the state government will partner with eminent individuals and institutions for holistic upgradation of government schools to top class standards," the manifesto said.

Karnataka will go to Assembly polls on May 10 and the counting of votes will be done on May 13.


The other major points included providing ease of living for apartment residents in Bengaluru through a consultative committee and an initiative to drive collaboration between small and medium industries and industrial training institutes. The promises are in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modis pledge during the campaign for the elections that, if voted to power, the BJP would not distribute revdi (gifts) but would offer fundamental governance changes. Promises for one million jobs in the manufacturing sector, a plan to develop the state into a hub for electric vehicles highlighted the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka elections, which was released in Bengaluru on Monday.



The manifesto also promises to boost public healthcare infrastructure by establishing a clinic with diagnostic facilities in every municipal ward, and free annual health check-up for senior citizens as well as the identification of one million housing sites for the homeless. At the school level, the BJP has promised a plan under which the state government will team up with eminent individuals and institutions for an upgrade of state-run schools. The document, named BJP Praja Pranalike, was released by the partys National President J P Nadda. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa were present on the occasion, along with other leaders.



In the tourism sector, the manifesto promised a Rs 1,500-crore plan to develop several circuits and corridors to transform Karnataka into the countrys top tourism hub. For farmers, the party has promised a Rs 30,000-crore fund to set up micro cold storage facilities, agro processing units in every gram panchayat and modernisation of agricultural produce committees.

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The party also reiterated its commitment to end the unconstitutional reservation for Muslims. Just before the polls were announced, the Basavaraj Bommai-led Cabinet decided to do away with 4 per cent reservation for Muslims and divide it equally between Lingayats and Vokkaligas  two politically influential caste groups in Karnataka. Nadda said the BJPs vision for the state was justice to all, appeasement to none. Although former chief minister B S Yediyurappa had said the party would make performance its USP and not Hindutva, the party has promised to set up a committee to make recommendations on the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code. Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Assam have already set up such committees. Reviving the issue of illegal immigrants, the party said it would ensure introduction of the National Register of Citizens and speedy deportation of all illegal migrants, a pledge that could present legal and logistical challenges.


The average share of unsecured loans in all private banks has increased by more than 300 basis points since June 2020, which hasnt gone over well with the RBI, the report said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is urging domestic banks to keep a close eye on their retail portfolios, especially unsecured loans, as part of increased caution in the face of growing macro-economic uncertainties and bank collapses in the US and Europe, the Hindu BusinessLine reported.



Credit deployment A CEO of a private bank told the Hindu BusinessLine that the RBI has instructed banks to limit their unsecured loan portfolios to the levels seen in FY23.



During this time, the market for home loans was just slightly larger than the market for unsecured loans, at Rs 2.49 trillion. A report by CARE Ratings also shows that the unsecured loans market is valued at Rs 13.2 trillion, which is nearly equal to the banking sector's overall exposure to Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs) (at Rs 13.1 trillion). According to the latest credit deployment data published by the RBI, unsecured loans issued between February 2022 and February 2023 totaled Rs 2.2 trillion, which was higher than the Rs 1.18 trillion deployed to large corporations.

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Despite numerous warnings to banks, particularly private banks, these loans are growing more rapidly than secured retail loans. If the trend persists for a longer period of time, the regulator might increase the risk weights once more, a senior executive of a leading private bank said. Meanwhile, in 2019, the risk weight on unsecured loans was reduced from 125 per cent to 100 per cent, bringing them in line with other retail loans. It was also done to conform the risk weights to Basel-III standards.

No adequate checks

The regulator believes that adequate credit checks may not be in place as banks are increasingly sachetising personal loans and sanctioning them in 30 minutes.



Reduced growth in the unsecured space is the best way to avert a systemic risk, he added. Another top executive of a private bank said, "Right now, with rapid growth in this space, at a micro level, it is becoming difficult to assess the exact asset quality of these loans."


Melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in response to darkness, has cropped up as a candidate that could give succour to Covid-19 patients. It is the driving force for a team of researchers from India and France who are working on developing a novel molecule that could potentially emerge as a preventive against all variants of the Covid-19 virus (Sars-CoV-2), and thus prevent cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that is detrimental to the lungs. A hormone produced by a tiny organ in the human brain holds out hope of finding an answer to Covid-19.



Speaking to Business Standard, Sen said, As the pandemic broke out, I started thinking is there a possibility that melatonin can be implicated for the Covid-19 virus also. Can we design a molecule that will work on specific receptors in our body? Subhabrata Sen, a chemistry professor in the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, was working with the antiviral properties of melatonin when the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic reared its head in 2020. Melatonin has applications as an anti-viral and also has use in anti-cancer therapies.



Covid-19 is a complex disease with short-term as well as long-term respiratory, inflammatory and neurological symptoms that are triggered by the infection by Sars-CoV-2 virus. Over the last couple of years, Sen and his team have been working along with a group led by Ralf Jockers, a professor at Institut Cochin (INSERM, CNRS, Universite Paris Cite, France), on the hypothesis and establishing the necessary biological screenings for this molecule.

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How is this approach useful? If one receptor fails, there is a possibility that other targets will work. The idea is to stop the entry of Sars-CoV-2 virus into host cells, and also decrease the replication of the virus. We aimed to explore a multi-target strategy. We synthesised and focused on a compound library based on indolealkylamine (a type of neurotransmitter that modulates human mood and behaviour) with the activity of three potential Covid19-related proteins  melatonin receptors, Sen explained.



Sen said that they had conducted initial trials in animals in Paris, and these had exhibited positive immunological response and no toxicity. In a study published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in March, the researchers indicated that they had enough reasons to be optimistic of a solution. In conclusion, we provide a proof-of-concept for the successful design of multi-target compounds based on the tryptamine (a chemical compound) scaffold. Optimisation of these preliminary hit compounds could potentially provide drug candidates to treat Covid-19 and other coronavirus diseases, they said.



He added that the initial studies showed that the drug boosts immunological response by 30-40 times. Now we need to do further studies in animals and eventually humans. The cost of developing a novel molecule from the lab to the clinic is around Rs 200-500 crore. We are now looking to find investors, who can take this forward, Sen said.



In an article titled Can melatonin reduce the severity of Covid-19 pandemic? researcher Alex Schneider and others (not linked to the Indo-French team) have said: Children dont suffer from Covid-19 as much as their grandparents and have a much higher melatonin level. Bats are nocturnal animals possessing high levels of melatonin, which may contribute to their high antiviral resistance. The researchers have so far spent around Rs 30-40 lakh on developing the molecule.



The programmed cell death coronaviruses cause, which can result in significant lung damage, is also inhibited by melatonin. Coronavirus causes inflammation in the lungs. Melatonin blocks these inflammasomes (molecules of the innate immune system responsible for activating inflammatory responses). General immunity is impaired by anxiety and sleep deprivation. Melatonin improves sleep habits, reduces anxiety and stimulates immunity. Fibrosis may be the most dangerous complication after Covid-19. Melatonin is known to prevent fibrosis, Schneider and his colleagues have said. Viruses induce an explosion of inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, and melatonin is the best natural antioxidant that is lost with age, the researchers have said.
The 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast was a "massive success" in India and abroad with the programme being seen at a host of places such as Indian embassies, community centres, railway stations and religious places, officials said on Monday.

Most chief ministers and Union ministers were present for the 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast at various places on Sunday. Raj Bhawans held special programmes in which they invited people from that state who had been mentioned in 'Mann Ki Baat' to watch the programme.

The officials said more than 11 lakh people posted photos while listening to 'Mann Ki Baat' in India and abroad.

"Around nine lakh tweets with billions of impressions were registered on social media," an official said.

The programme was widely listened to at Indian embassies across the world with the Indian diaspora organising programmes in various countries to hear 'Mann Ki Baat'.

The programme was broadcast in many community centres and railway stations across the country with people from various walks of life such as porters and police personnel gathering to listen to it, the officials said.

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Film stars such as Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor and Rohit Shetty also listened to the show at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

It was also widely seen across religious places and institutions such as Irfani Madarsa, Lucknow, and Jama Masjid, the officials said.

'Mann Ki Baat 100 Episode and 'Mann Ki Baat 100' were trending at the top in Twitter through the day, they said.

In the 100th episode of "Mann ki Baat", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the broadcast filled the "emptiness" he felt after coming to Delhi in 2014 and described it as an expression of the feelings of crores of Indians which has ensured he is never cut-off from people.

The milestone broadcast was an occasion for Modi to walk down the memory lane as he asserted that it was not merely a programme but a matter of faith and spiritual journey for him.

"Mann ki Baat has become a festival that celebrates the positivity of India and its people," he had said. Modi also said he was filled with emotions at the thousands of letters he received from listeners on the occasion of its 100th episode.


That confrontation led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops. For the first time since June 2020, when the Galwan River valley in Eastern Ladakh witnessed a fierce clash between the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), a senior analyst affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has given detailed reasons that led to the Chinese aggression at the India China Border.



Hu Shisheng was commenting on the Chinese social media website, Weibo, on the visit to Delhi last week by Li Shangfu, China's defence minister, who came to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers' conclave hosted by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. "In China's view, the Galwan Valley incident is the inevitable result of India's long-term violation of the 1993, 1996, and even 2005 and 2013 agreements," wrote Hu Shisheng, director of the South Asia Institute of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).



Contacted for comments, no reply was received from the government till publishing time. This was the first visit by the Chinese defence minister following the PLA's border transgressions in Galwan and five other areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as the two sides refer to their de facto border.

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The first reason cited by Hu is India's taking control of the Chumi Gyatse Waterfalls in the Dongzhang area in 1999. Colloquially referred to as the "Holy Waterfalls", these are a grouping of 108 waterfalls on the Sino-India LAC near Yangtse, one of the hotly disputed areas along the LAC. Hu's Weibo post, translated by Indian analyst Aadil Brar, detailed four reasons "why China believes India violated peace at the border." At least one of those reasons occurred too far back in time, in 1999, to be entirely credible.



The third reason Hu cites is the new aggression displayed by Indian military patrols since early 2020. Hu said these patrols were becoming unduly aggressive, "building bridges and roads, and continuously extending the patrol route." Hu Shisheng's second reason is more predictable: New Delhi's amendment of India's Constitution in August 2019 to change the political status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This involved revoking the special status that J&K enjoyed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. In addition, J&K's statehood had been withdrawn, and the former state was divided into two centrally ruled Union territories: Ladakh and J&K.



The fourth and final reason Hu offered was that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had violated the 1988 agreement arrived at in Beijing between Rajiv Gandhi and Deng Xiaoping to put the border dispute on the back burner while developing other aspects of the relationship. Hu alleged that Modi had hijacked the border issue by making it a central aspect of bilateral relations. In fact, Indian road building units were building and improving border roads that provided and improved connectivity between places on the Indian side of the LAC, such as the so-called Darbuk  Shyok  Daulet Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road that connected up with India's northernmost posts at the foot of the Karakoram Pass.



The territorial dispute between China and India can be divided into three sectors: The eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh, which extends 90,000 square kilometres; the central sector, near Nepal, which measures 3,000 square kilometres; and the western sector, in Ladakh, which measures 33,000 square kilometres. "As a result, it will be difficult for China-India relations to get out of the sluggish state of 'three deficiencies', that is, lack of forward momentum, lack of normal cooperation, and lack of strategic mutual trust," wrote Hu Shisheng.



"Tactically, China wants to put an end to the infrastructure arms race along the border, but strategically is in no hurry to resolve the disputes as it bogs India down as a continental power," wrote Yun. Another US-based Chinese academic, Yun Sun, had written soon after the 2020 Galwan clash that the timing and nature of the Himalayan confrontation raises critical questions about China's strategic calculations and tactical objectives.
Obtaining sanction for prosecution from competent authorities is not part of the investigation and an accused cannot claim an indefeasible right of being released on default bail due to lack of such approval if the charge sheet has been filed within the allowed period, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala said whether the sanction is required or not under a statute is a question that has to be considered at the time of taking cognisance of the offence and not during inquiry or investigation.

In case the sanctioning authority takes some time to accord sanction, that does not vitiate the final report filed by the investigating agency before the court, it said.

The apex court said it cannot be said that obtaining sanction from the competent authorities is part of the investigation.

"We find no merit in the principal argument canvassed on behalf of the appellants that a charge sheet filed without sanction is an incomplete charge sheet...

"Once the charge sheet has been filed within the stipulated time, the question of grant of statutory/default bail does not arise. Whether cognizance has been taken or not taken is not relevant for the purpose of compliance with Section 167 of the CrPC. The mere filing of the charge sheet is sufficient," the bench said.

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According to section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an accused will be entitled to default bail if the investigating agency fails to file a charge sheet within 60 days from the date of remand. For certain categories of offences, the stipulated period can be extended to 90 days.

The top court said that according the sanction is the duty of the sanctioning authority which is not connected with the investigation at all.

"In case the sanctioning authority takes some time to accord sanction, that does not vitiate the final report filed by the investigating agency before the court.

"Therefore, once a final report has been filed, that is the proof of completion of investigation and if the final report is filed within the period of 180 days or 90 days or 60 days from the initial date of remand of the accused concerned, he cannot claim that a right has accrued to him to be released on bail for want of filing of sanction order," the bench said.

The judgement came on appeals by five accused charged with offences under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive substances Act.

The accused had challenged the order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had declined to release them on default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the accused, had argued that the charge sheet filed without sanction is incomplete and on the basis of such incomplete no cognisance can be taken.

The top court said an accused cannot claim any indefeasible right of being released on statutory/default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC on the ground that cognisance has not been taken before the expiry of the statutory time period to file the charge sheet.

The apex court also said if an investigating agency wants to seek an extension for the filing of a charge sheet, they must be careful that such an extension is not sought at the last moment.

"The right to be released on default bail continues to remain enforceable if the accused has applied for such bail, notwithstanding the pendency of the bail application or subsequent filing of the charge sheet or a report seeking extension of time by the prosecution before the court.

"However, where the accused fails to apply for default bail when the right accrues to him, and subsequently a charge sheet, or a report seeking extension of time is preferred before the magistrate or any other competent court, the right to default bail would be extinguished," the bench said.

It said the court would be at liberty to take cognisance of the case or grant further time for completion of the investigation, as the case may be, though the accused may still be released on bail under other provisions of the CrPC.
The Andhra Pradesh government has set up 45 integrated checkposts in its districts bordering Karnataka to rein in the flow of illegal liquor, cash and other inducements to the poll-bound state, Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy said on Monday.

The checkposts would be manned by officials from police, excise, commercial taxes, revenue and other departments, he said.

"Already, 3,008 litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL), 444 tetra packs of 90 ml liquor cartons and two and half kg of marijuana have been confiscated," the Chief Secretary said in a video conference organised by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

On Monday, senior AP government officials attended an ECI video conference meeting focused on restricting the movement of liquor, cash and other inducements to influence voters during Karnataka's single-phase elections to be held on May 10. Officials from Telangana, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu also attended the meeting.

"On Monday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with other Election Commissioners held a video conference with the Chief Secretaries, DGPs, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) and other senior officials," said a statement from the State government.

During the conference, the CEC directed the border states to restrict the flow of inducements by setting up checkposts and also restricting the entry of anti-social elements.

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From Andhra Pradesh, apart from Chief Secretary Jawahar Reddy, Director General of Police K V Rajendranath Reddy, CEO Mukesh Kumar Meena, Special Chief Secretary Rajath Bhargava and other senior officials participated.
In recent years, weve seen growing recognition and appreciation for what Ive witnessed during my three decades as a mental health professional and behavioral health executive  our mental health is directly linked to our physical health, and vice versa. If youve ever experienced stress, anxiety, grief, or depression, youve likely felt the toll it can take on your body.

Dr. Nick Dewan heads behavorial health for Florida Blue.

 Original Credit: Florida Blue permission sent to handouts

More than happiness, mental well-being impacts a deeper sense of purpose and potential, our ability to genuinely flourish. When we connect with and care for others, and are cared about by others, were more likely to reach an overall positive and hopeful emotional state driven by a sense of belonging and satisfaction with life, work, and relationships. It also means having capacity to handle and adapt to lifes stressors, which is good for the mind and body. At Florida Blue we believe there is no health without mental health, and this guides how we support the people and communities we serve.

People with depression have a 40 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular and other diseases according to an article in the nationally recognized Lancet Journal, and those with serious mental illness are nearly twice as likely to develop these conditions. The interdependence of physical and mental well-being is driving changes to the healthcare ecosystem, where mental health screening is being integrated with primary care so we can understand and deliver personalized care for the whole person, including their social and cultural needs.

One person dies every three minutes in the United States from alcohol, drugs, or suicide according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in five adults and one in six youth experience a mental health episode in any given year, and these statistics are getting worse. We dont have enough psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers to treat current demand, and are facing a significant behavioral health workforce shortage over the next decade. To improve access to a trusted professional, we must not only reduce the wait times for appointments, but also combat the stigma surrounding mental illness. Unfortunately, due to those stigmas, it can take a staggering five to 15 years for someone in need to reach out for help and during that time, a persons physical and mental well-being is negatively impacted.

While these figures sound alarming, theres help. Florida Blue recently added hundreds of mental health providers to our network and improved both virtual and in-person access to care. Weve acquired a majority stake in a leading behavioral health company thats using technology to connect people quickly to mental health support and resources. Through the Florida Blue Foundation, weve also provided 46 grants totaling $15.3 million to organizations across Florida to help improve access to and quality of mental health services, particularly for underserved and uninsured communities. Were partnering with community nonprofits such as Longwood based Crossroads Corral, which supports youth, women, veterans, and families in Central Florida. These innovative and local collaborations accelerate convenient neighborhood access to culturally relevant mental health counseling, and empower people to find meaning, joy, and purpose.

Recently, 700 people gathered for our annual Community Health Symposium and Sapphire Awards which focused this year on improving mental health access and well-being. Organizations and individuals shared ideas for supporting children, seniors, employees, and each other. Our Foundation awarded nine grants for innovative and successful work to improve mental well-being in Florida.

Locally, Raquel Tapia-Bell of the Foundation for Foster Children in Winter Park received an award of $50,000 to develop customized programming to help young individuals navigate mental health challenges.

Reimagining health care will require new and creative partnerships with organizations inside and outside of health care to improve the overall well-being of individuals of all ages in our community. By working together, we can make lasting changes that increase access and meet the unique needs of our community members.

As neighbors, leaders, family members, and as individuals, we must recognize that whole-person health includes mind and body. Recognizing, appreciating, and addressing both the physical and mental needs were facing now and in the future is the only way well truly flourish.

Dr. Nick Dewan is vice-president of behavioral health for GuideWell and Florida Blue.
The ruling BJP promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Assembly polls, released on Monday.

"We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose," according to the manifesto.

We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state".

"The Constitution (of India) allows us to move in the direction of Uniform Civil Code. 'Justice to all; appeasement to none' is our policy", BJP National Present J P Nadda, who was among those present at the release programme, said.

The party also promised to create a special wing in the state called Karnataka State Wing against Religious Fundamentalism and Terror (K-SWIFT).

The BJP said it would provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families -- one each during the months of 'Yugadi', 'Ganesh Chaturthi' and 'Deepavali'.

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"We will set up an 'Atal Aahara Kendra' in every ward of every municipal corporation in the State to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the State", the party said in its manifesto.

It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.

The party also promised Sarvarigu Suru Yojane,' under which the Revenue Department will identify and distribute 10 lakh housing sites across the state to the homeless beneficiaries.

According to Nadda, the BJP manifesto is centred around six 'A'.

These Six-A are Anna (food security), Akshara (quality education), Arogya (affordable health), Aadaya (assured income), Abhaya (social security) and Abhivruddhi (Development), he said.

The BJP said it will launch a scheme called Onake Obavva Samajika Nyaya Nidhi' through which it will provide a matching deposit up to Rs 10,000 on five-year fixed deposits made under the scheme for women of SC/ST households.

Karnataka Residents' Welfare Consultative Committee' will be set up to reform the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act-1972 and modernise the grievance redressal mechanism.

Under the proposed Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane, the party promised to partner with eminent individuals and institutions for holistic upgradation of government schools to top class standard'.

The Samanvaya Yojane' for collaboration between small and medium enterprises, and the Industrial Training Institutes to generate a dynamic ecosystem of education and employment for talented young professionals, the party said.

In the Aarogya category, the BJP has promised to launch Mission Swasthya Karnataka' by establishing one Namma Clinic' (our clinic) in each ward of the municipal corporations. They will be equipped with diagnostic facilities. Also, it will provide a free annual master health check-up for senior citizens.

The party said if it is voted to power, it will allocate Rs 1,500 crore to develop Kalyana Circuit, Banavasi Circuit, Parashurama Circuit, Kaveri Circuit and Ganagapura Corridor to transform Karnataka into India's most favoured tourist destination.

Further, the party will broaden the scope of Production Linked Incentive Schemes that will generate 10 lakh jobs eventually in Karnataka.
The BJP on Monday questioned whether the Trinamool Congress had deposited the requisite amount of money in the state coffers to avail police forces deployed at its ongoing mass outreach campaign.

The saffron camp also accused the state's ruling party of misusing state apparatus for its political programme.

The allegation drew sharp reactions from the TMC, which dubbed it baseless and wondered who bears the cost of the service of central forces availed by the BJP leaders in the state.

The TMC last week started its much-touted mass outreach campaign 'Trinamool ey Nabajowar' (new wave in Trinamool) from Cooch Behar district ahead of the panchayat polls in the state, with party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee leading it from the front.

Banerjee had said he will be travelling more than 3500 km across the state from the Cooch Behar district in the northern part of the state to Kakdwip in the south.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said the police personnel are being deployed at the TMC's party programme at the cost of the security of common people.

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"Currently, the campaign of the TMC is going on in North Bengal. Most of the police stations are running short of staff due to the heavy deployment of police personnel at the party programme of the TMC. Besides, is the TMC paying the state government for availing the security of police personnel at the programme? If not, then this is a blatant misuse of public money and state resources," he said.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari shot off a letter to state Director General of Police Manoj Malaviya, inquiring whether the TMC has deposited the money required to get police personnel at the TMC programme.

"The TMC uses the police force as a private security agency. If he (DGP) fails to inform me, I will move court on behalf of the people of West Bengal against using the state exchequer as TMC's piggy bank," he told reporters.

Reacting to BJP's allegations, the TMC said Abhishek Banerjee gets Z+ security cover and the police made arrangements according to the protocol of a person who gets it.

The BJP should first answer who pays for the cost of central forces that BJP leaders, who don't have any mass base or don't hold public office, have been availing for the last few years. Even BJP leaders, whom nobody knows, move with security cover provided by central police forces," TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

Abhishek Banerjee, while addressing a rally at Itahar during the day, without naming Adhikari, mocked him over his accusations.

The more he makes such allegations, the faster the BJP will lose public support in the state," Banerjee said.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a trial of design validation of a state-of-the-art underground ammunition storage facility.

The Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), a Delhi-based laboratory of the DRDO, has designed and developed the vertical shaft-based underground storage facility.

"The design validation trial of this underground ammunition storage structure was successfully conducted on April 30," the defence ministry said.

"The instrumented blast trial was carried out in presence of the armed forces by detonating 5,000 kg of TNT in one of the chambers of the underground facility," it said in a statement.

The ministry said the CFEES team conducted the trial with precision and utmost safety measures in place.

"All the parameters recorded during the trial matched with estimated values. This facility will ensure that an explosion within will not cause damage to the adjacent chamber and also ensure full operability of the remaining facility," it added.

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The armed forces often find it difficult to stock ammunition as required by them due to the non-availability of adequate land as large safety distances are required for ammunition storage structures.


The five pesticides are emamectin, benzoate, fenpyroximate, hexaconazole, propiconazole, and quinalphos. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has operationalised the maximum residue limit (MRL) for five pesticides used in tea.



However, based on representation received and considering the fact that five pesticides were widely used for tea crop protection and that the MRL of these pesticides were revised upwards on the basis of data through draft notification in 2020, the FSSAI decided to operationalise the MRL for these pesticides for tea. This was being pursued by producers and would be beneficial for the domestic market. A notification issued on April 27 mentions that the FSSAI had notified the draft FSS (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations on August 20, 2020, relating to the revision of MRL of pesticides used in tea along with other crops and commodities. The draft amendment regulations were in the process of inter-ministerial consultations, thus, the finalisation of these norms was likely to take some time, it said.



We conducted trials for Quinalphos and a few other compounds and generated new data which was submitted in 2019. In 2020, a draft was notified, but it was not implemented. Joydeep Phukan, secretary of Tea Research Association, said, We have been pursuing this matter for the past three-four years. In 2018, the FSSAI came out with a notification which lowered the MRL for certain compounds which affected the industry. Some are old chemicals and there was no data. So, the CIBRC (Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee) and FSSAI wanted the residue data.

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Arijit Raha, secretary general of Indian Tea Association (ITA), said the MRLs of the important plant protection formulations being revised to realistic levels from the erstwhile LOD (limits of detection) level would help the tea sector. But even as it brings relief to the domestic market, whether relaxing norms is beneficial for exports is being debated. Quinalphos is considered to be important for pest control under the integrated pest management programme. However, the Assam government recently prohibited the sale, distribution, and use of four insecticides, including quinalphos with relevance to tea cultivation for a period of 60 days.



Indian tea exports got a boost in 2022 on the back of supply disruptions in Sri Lanka and inroads into newer markets. Compared to January to December 2021, export volume during January to December 2022 increased by 15.49 per cent from 196.54 million kg (mkg) to 226.98 mkg. We are worried about this notification because it will hamper exports, Anshuman Kanoria, chairman of Indian Tea Exporters Association, said. What is particularly worrying is that the level for hexaconazole has been raised where we were having a lot of rejections particularly from Japan, Kanoria said.



"Of the total tea production of around 1,365.23 mkg in 2022, domestic consumption accounted for about 83 per cent. Himanshu Shah, chairman of M K Shah Exports, said producers were finding it difficult to control pests with limited application of pesticides and made representations to FSSAI which have been partly considered. It is a relief to producers for selling tea in the domestic market without issues from the FSSAI. Ajay Jalan, president of Tea Association of India, said the accepted residual levels in most of the countries for many of the pesticides that have been allowed is very low. ITAs Raha, however, said each country has its own levels and exports need to conform to the changing needs of the importing country.



Shah, however, pointed out that the EU authorities would not recognise the amendments. "Those exporting to the EU, US, and many countries that are designing regulations around the EU norms, would have to remain compliant with the strict MRL norms." Rising temperature and prolonged dry spell due to climate change had led to widespread pest attacks, particularly in North India for a while, leading to revenue and crop loss on an annual basis.
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has decided to extend the deadline for the Smart Cities Mission till June 2024, following requests from some cities that sought more time to complete their ongoing projects, officials said on Monday.

The existing deadline of the Mission was June 2023.

An official said that it would be inequitable to grant an extension merely to "a selected subset of cities".

"The extension is being granted not only to complete projects but to complete documentation, dissemination, institutionalisation of all best practices, templates, innovations created under the Mission so that they can be taken up for replication across the country," the official told PTI.

The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on June 25, 2015 and 100 cities were selected for redevelopment through two-stage competition from January 2016 to June 2018.

The official said that on-ground project execution began at least 18 months post city selection.

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"The Mission deadline was fixed as June 2023 to enable all cities to get five years for completing Mission activities. The current extension of one year from June 2023 to June 2024 is only the first extension beyond the five-year period," the official said.

According to the ministry, the one-year extension will ensure 100 per cent works under the SCM get completed in all 100 smart cities. The budget allocated to the Mission in 2023-24 is sufficient for the purpose, the officials said.

"Considering the tremendous impact of the SCM on ease of living for citizens and ease of doing business for businesses, the ministry has decided to extend the Smart Cities Mission by one year, from its current deadline of June 2023 till June 2024," the official said.

According to the officials, out of 100 cities, around 50 have completed close to 75 per cent of their projects and are on track to complete remaining works by June 2023.

Over 66 per cent projects in small cities, and over 80 per cent projects in the metros have been completed.

"This pace amounts to completion of an average of 100 projects worth around Rs 1,850 crore every month; three+ projects worth Rs 60+ crore every day, equivalent of completing around six kms of two-lane highways every day," the official said, adding that in most cities, the amount of infrastructure spending as part of the Mission is much higher than their regular budgetary spends.

As many as 232 public-private partnership projects worth Rs 15,006 crore have been taken up across 53 smart cities both small and big.

These projects are multi-sectoral and include infrastructure like multi-modal transport hubs, common mobility cards, multi-level car parking and public bike sharing.

"The Smart Cities Mission is thus creating templates to boost PPP investments in India's urban sector going forward," the official added.

The ministry said that the government has released around Rs 38,000 crore to 100 cities. Combining this with state and urban local bodies releases, the cumulative amount of funds released to cities stands at Rs 71,000 crore.

"The pace of Mission implementation can be gauged from the fact that around 90 per cent of these funds have been utilised. An amount of Rs 8,000 crore, budgeted in FY 2023-24, is sufficient to meet the needs of ongoing projects," the official said.

India's current urban population of around 46 crore is projected to double in the next 25 years.

According to the ministry, it is estimated that close to Rs 500 lakh crore of investments in India's cities and towns will be needed to support this rapid urbanization, a multiplier of 166 times over 25 years (taking current annual urban investments of Rs 3 lakh crore).
Both companies are hereafter deregistered from the FAME II scheme and the recovery of incentives claimed from 201920 (FY20) will be done within a month, informed senior officials.

According to the notice issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries dated April 29, Hero Electric and Okinawa will need to repay Rs 133 crore and Rs 116 crore, respectively, to the central government. Business Standard has reviewed a copy of these notices.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Monday embarked on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to explore ways to boost bilateral defence ties amid concerns in India over China's attempts to expand its influence over the island nation.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari is scheduled to meet with the top political and military leadership of the country.

The defence ministry said the IAF chief is scheduled to meet the Sri Lankan president and the prime minister, state minister of defence, chief of the defence staff, defence secretary and the commanders of the country's air force, army and navy.

The Chief of Air Staff is visiting Sri Lanka following an invitation of the Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal SK Pathirana.

During the visit, he will also interact with student officers of Sri Lanka's National Defence College and visit the Sri Lankan Air Force Academy.

"The visit of the Chief of Air Staff will enhance the existing professional ties and bonds of mutual cooperation between both the nations," the defence ministry said in a statement.

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Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar visited Sri Lanka in December last year.

In August last year, Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade paid a two-day visit to Sri Lanka during which India handed the island nation a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft.

The aircraft was given to Sri Lanka from the inventory of the Indian Navy to help the country meet its immediate security requirement.

India has been supporting various capacity building measures of the Sri Lankan defence forces, including providing indigenously constructed Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).
Singapore, May 1 (ANI): India is fast emerging as a key global aviation market, according to the latest market analysis report of the International Air Transport Association ( ATA).

India's domestic air travel has continued to grow robustly and as of February, it was a mere 2.2 per cent shy of reaching pre-pandemic levels measured by passenger revenue kilometres (PRK).

The India domestic passenger market also led the rest of the domestic markets in the passenger load factor (PLF) metric in the report which includes the US, China and Japanese domestic markets. It has been the top domestic market measured by PLF for the last four months achieving PLFs of 81.6 per cent in February, 85.2 per cent in January, 88.9 per cent in December 2022, and 87.9 per cent in November 2022.

Globally, traffic is now at 84.9 per cent of February 2019 levels. Total traffic in February 2023, based on RPKs, rose 55.5 per cent compared to February 2022.

The report added, "Asia-Pacific airlines had a 378.7 per cent increase in February 2023 traffic compared to February 2022, maintaining the very positive momentum of the past few months since the lifting of travel restrictions in the region. Capacity rose 176.4 per cent and the load factor increased 34.9 percentage points to 82.5 per cent, the second highest among the regions."

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Domestic air passenger traffic for all markets measured for February rose 25.2 per cent compared to one year ago. Total February 2023 domestic traffic was at 97.2 per cent of the February 2019 level.

At the moment, it is estimated that only about 35 to 40 million Indians travel by air every year. Although World Bank data shows that pre-COVID India had about 168 million air transport passengers, many are repeat flyers. This is much lower than China, which has a similar population and has 660 million air transport passengers during the same period in 2019. Chinese airlines also have about five times as many planes.

With a rapidly growing middle class and rising incomes, together with the right encouragement including lower airfares, many, including airline companies, are expecting India to become the fastest-growing aviation market for years to come.

Swiss airline intelligence provider, ch-aviation reported in March this year that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that IndiGo Airlines could announce an order for "several hundred" Airbus aircraft at the Paris Air Show to be held at Paris Le Bourget Airport in June.

IndiGo, the largest airline in India has over 300 aircraft and currently provides over 35 per cent of all the available seat kilometres on flights in and out of India's airports. Measured by flight frequencies, IndiGo provides almost 48 per cent of all flights across India's international and domestic markets.

Just in February, competitor Air India announced a world record order of 470 aircraft - 250 planes from European manufacturer Airbus and 220 from its US rival Boeing. The deal beats a 2017 order by IndiGo for 420 planes, and an order by American Airlines for 460 planes in 2011.

Besides aircraft manufacturers, foreign Airlines are also eyeing the Indian aviation market.

Singapore Airlines is one of them. Following the takeover of Air India by Tata Sons, it announced a USD267 million investment into the revamped airline giving it a 25.1 per cent stake in the new Air India group. This adds to the money it has already put into Vistara Airlines which is to be merged with Air India.

SIA released a statement during the announcement which said, "The merged entity will be four to five times larger in scale compared to Vistara, with a strong presence in all key airline segments in India. The proposed merger will bolster SIA's presence in India, strengthen its multi-hub strategy, and allow it to continue participating directly in this large and fast-growing aviation market."

Etihad Airways under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves is another airline that is planning to expand its presence in the India aviation market.

In an interview with Reuters published on April 27, the former CEO of TAP Air Portugal said that: "Etihad has India as a priority." He added that the country is among its top three markets but declined to name the other two.

Etihad, which flies to places like Delhi and Mumbai, has identified six other Indian cities it does not serve but wants to launch flights to, he said.

He also announced plans for Etihad to double its fleet to 150 planes and triple its passenger number to 30 million annually by the end of the decade.

The expansion plans of the Middle Eastern airline will focus on medium and long-haul destinations, and the airline will avoid operating ultra-long-haul flights, where it can be tough to make money. Neves explained that the goal will be connecting places like China, Southeast Asia, India, and Gulf countries, with Europe and the East Coast of the United States.

Neves said that he expects Etihad's growth to be organic relying on more code sharing and interline agreements. It will not look at mergers or equity partnerships as it had done in the past. It once had a stake in the now-defunct Jet Airways.

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ took full control of Etihad last October and appointed Neves who had previously led a turnaround at Portugal's TAP.

Whereas in the past, Etihad was seemingly willing to grow at any cost, this is set to change. Neves emphasises that growth will only be possible with profitability, especially as the airline is now owned by ADQ. As he explained, "Our mandate is very clear, we don't fly to places where we don't make money.
India is participating in the meeting convened in Doha by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Afghanistan that is bringing together special envoys from various countries and is aimed at achieving a common understanding on how to engage with the Taliban.

Guterres arrived in Doha Monday to host the two-day meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan to reach points of commonality on key issues, such as human rights, in particular women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

The meeting is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues, a note issued from the Secretary General's office said here.

The note added that India is among the countries and organisations participating in the meeting.

The other participants in the meeting are from China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Last week, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, had said that Guterres has not extended an invitation to the Taliban for the Doha meeting.

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar last month said that India is looking at the Doha meeting positively and would take a call on participating in the meeting, taking place from May 1 and 2, closer to the date.

I think we're looking at it. We're looking at it positively, but I guess we'll take a call closer to the time but we are looking at it, Jaishankar had said in response to a question on whether India will be participating in the meeting being hosted by the UN Chief with Special Envoys on Afghanistan from various countries.

Jaishankar had met Guterres at the UN HQ last month and discussed the situation in Sudan before heading to South America for a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the decision by the Taliban to ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, calling on the de facto authorities to swiftly reverse policies and practices that restrict women and girls from exercising their human rights.

The resolution also called for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

It also calls upon the Taliban to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms including related to their access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and women's full, equal and meaningful participation in public life.
Floridas approach to determining the voting eligibility of people with past criminal convictions is chaotic and destructive. The recent arrests and prosecutions of dozens of returning citizens for allegedly voting while ineligible proves as much. The Legislature could tackle the crux of this problem by making it easier for returning citizens to regain their voting rights and creating a centralized database for election officials to confirm whether a person with a past conviction is eligible to vote. Instead, lawmakers are trying to make innumerable changes to the election process through a new bill that once again sidesteps the root problem. Their solution puts the burden on local election officials to clean up a mess of the states making.

Supporters of restoring Florida felons voting rights march to an early voting precinct, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition led marches to the polls in dozens of Florida counties. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

For the last four years, it hasnt been easy for anyone in Florida to know for sure whos eligible to vote under the Legislatures byzantine rules for regaining the right to vote after a felony conviction. Thats because the state doesnt have the tools or resources it needs to determine whether people with past convictions are eligible to vote. The legislators know that, yet they have passed Senate Bill 7050 in both chambers, legislation with a provision that would require local election officials to do what the states incapable of doing itself. Supervisors of elections  who are already stretched thin  would be required every week to work with their local clerk of court to identify registered voters who may be ineligible due to a felony conviction. But local clerks simply dont have all of the necessary information supervisors need to make that determination. Indeed, no single entity in the state does.

In Leon County alone, this provision as written would cost more than $200,000 a year and require three additional full-time workers. I would know  I was the supervisor of elections in Leon County for nearly three decades. The statewide impact could tick up to the millions.

This legislation would further complicate an already bungled process that has upended the lives of dozens of Floridians. Last year, the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS) referred 20 people who were confused or misled about their voter eligibility to law enforcement. Several of those individuals were told by a government official that they could vote. Many, if not all, of them also received voter information cards from the state, bolstering their belief that they were eligible to vote. Still, the election police criminalized these honest mistakes as voter fraud.

Secretary of State Cord Byrd asked the Legislature for more money and staff for the OECS. But the offices own data shows its a bad investment. In its first report, the OECS revealed that more than half of the offices 3,026 investigations have been closed. A tiny fraction of those investigations have led to arrests, and the vast majority of those arrests (20 of 26) were of returning citizens who thought they were eligible to vote. These prosecutions were on shaky ground to begin with, and, so far, five have been tossed out of court. Were also more than nine months into the OECSs tenure, and it has staffed only five of its 15 available positions. Adding more staff and funding would be another irresponsible commitment to this fruitless endeavor.

But the state has long been falling short for its voters. When I was the chief election official for Leon County, the states inability to determine who was eligible to vote resulted in the wrongful removal of thousands of eligible Floridians from the rolls. At the same time, the Legislatures reluctance to do anything that would help people with past convictions regain their right to vote resulted in the disenfranchisement of 1.6 million residents by 2016.

In 2018, voters took matters into their own hands. Amendment 4 automatically restored the right to vote for most people with felony convictions who completed their sentences, except people convicted of murder or a sexual felony offense. But in the months that followed, the legislature limited the promise of Amendment 4 by passing Senate Bill 7066. That law put into place a pay-to-vote system that requires returning citizens to pay off their court debts before they can regain their voting rights. However, the state doesnt have a centralized database for keeping track of such debt or payments, making it virtually impossible to know for sure whos eligible and whos not.

Without the appropriate data or leadership from state officials or the Legislature, local election officials and returning citizens are left to navigate this confusing system alone. If the Legislature is interested in ensuring that only eligible people register and vote, it should simplify Floridas complicated eligibility requirements and fund a convenient, easy-to-use database that allows Floridians with past convictions to check if they are eligible. Its time for lawmakers to stop shifting the burden of its decisions to local government, and to finally prioritize and invest in a solution that will strengthen the security and integrity of our elections.

Ion V. Sancho served as the Supervisor of Elections for Leon County for 28 years. He was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court as the technical advisor to the 2000 Florida recount.


It is also referred to as the eight-hour day movement, which was a struggle that demanded eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. Labour Day celebrations are associated with socialist political movements around the world that demand equity in the workplace. May 1 is celebrated as a public holiday around the world to celebrate the contributions of workers on the International Labour Day. The day celebrates the struggles of workers around the world to create a workplace that recognises the dignity of labour.

The first Labour Day celebrations

The first Labour Day was celebrated on May 1, 1889 as the International Workers Day. The celebrations were declared by an international federation of trade unions and socialist groups to commemorate the Haymarket Riot in Chicago.



Different names, same meaning The riots are also known as the Haymarket Affair, which occurred in 1886. The riot started as a peaceful march that demanded an eight-hour workday but later turned into a violent clash between the protesters and the police forces.

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In most countries, labour is synonymous with International Workers Day. In Japan, for instance, Labour Day is officially celebrated with Thanksgiving on 23 November as Labour Thanksgiving Day. While May 1 is celebrated around the world to signify the achievements of workers, in some countries, it is celebrated on a different date, often one that is linked with the labour movement in that particular country. For example, Bangladesh celebrates April 24 as Labour safety day in memory of workers that died in Rana Plaza building collapse. It also celebrates May 1 as Labours' Day.



May Day and MayDay Whereas in China, May 1 is a statutory holiday. It is celebrated with a three-day holiday and is often complemented with an extra time off.



History of May Day It is important not to confuse May Day with Mayday. While the former marks the celebration of the struggle of the working class around the world, the latter refers to a distress call. Mayday is an emergency "procedure word" used by aviators, mariners, firefighters, and police forces.

Historically, May Day was celebrated as a rural festival to celebrate the return of spring in Europe. This was linked with agricultural rituals and was primarily celebrated by the Greeks and the Romans. However, in the 20th century, traditional May Day celebrations declined and were replaced with international holiday to honour workers.




The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have reached the spot, and the entire area has been sealed. Locals have been asked to move to safer places. Panic gripped Punjab's Ludhiana after an incident of gas leakage was reported at a milk booth facility in its Giaspura locality on Sunday. It led to the death of 11 people, including three children, and four others were batting for their lives in the hospital.



What caused deaths in Ludhiana? The officials have also asked the local population to wear masks. President Droupadi Murmu condoled the deaths and tweeted that she was "deeply saddened" by the news. But what caused the gas leak in Ludhiana?



According to a report by Amar Ujala, the chemicals mixed with methane to make Hydrogen Sulphide gas, which acted as a neurotoxin. According to Ludhiana's deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik, the deaths are most likely due to gas contamination. Some chemical was most likely dumped into the sewerage through a nearby manhole, and it reacted with the methane gas to form some type of neurotoxins, which when inhaled, led to the deaths.

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Ex-gratia for the victims The NDRF team is collecting samples from the site to ascertain the type of gas that caused the mishap.



AAP MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, said most of the victims belonged to low-income families. He has assured to provide treatment free of cost to the injured people at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that the incident was very sad and added, "Police, government and NDRF teams are present at the spot. All possible help is being provided".



Not the first such incident The state government will also provide Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia compensation to the deceased's family members, and Rs 50,000 will be provided to the people admitted to the hospital.



In 2022 alone, the country reported at least 10 cases of gas leaks. The biggest among them was reported on June 3, when 178 women workers fell ill following a gas leak at the laboratory in Atchutapuram of Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. India has reported several cases of gas leaks in the past. It was the site of one of the worst industrial disasters in history when gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal in 1984. About 3,500 people, mainly locals living at the Union Carbide plant, died in the days that followed and thousands more in the following years. People still suffer its after-effects now.
Around 3,000 stranded Indians have left the crisis-hit Sudan for Jeddah till now, as India intensified Operation Kaveri to rescue stranded citizens from Khartoum on Friday.

The Indian Air Force C-130J flight with 122 stranded Indians, senior citizens including took off from the crisis-hit Sudan.

"IAF C-130J flight carrying 16th batch of evacuees takes off from Port Sudan. 122 passengers onboard this flight are en route to Jeddah. Nearly 3000 persons have now left Sudan under #OperationKaveri," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

"Respect and regard to our senior citizens being evacuated from Sudan. #OperationKaveri," he added.

Till now around 2300 Indians have been evacuated, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said on Sunday.

"A C-130 Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India," EAM Jaishankar tweeted.

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An Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft with 40 passengers onboard New Delhi from Jeddah as 'Operation Kaveri' progresses further to evacuate stranded Indians from battle-torn Sudan.

It was the 8th flight carrying Indian evacuees that took off from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, since 'Operation Kaveri' began.

Taking to Twitter, the official spokesperson of MEA, Arindam Bagchi wrote, "#OperationKaveri 8th flight carrying Indian evacuees takes off from Jeddah. IAF C-130J aircraft with 40 passengers is on its way to Delhi."

The 7th flight destined for Bengaluru took off from Jeddah earlier today, with 229 passengers onboard. "#OperationKaveri bringing citizens back home. Destined for Bengaluru, 7th outbound flight carrying 229 passengers departs from Jeddah," MoS Muraleedharan tweeted.

On Saturday evening, 365 Indians from Sudan arrived in New Delhi under Operation Kaveri, while a flight carrying 231 Indian passengers reached the national capital on Saturday morning. As a ceasefire has been called in Sudan, several countries, including India, are attempting to evacuate their citizens from a conflict-ridden nation.

Sudan is experiencing bloodshed due to clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence.

Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Nearly 24.86 lakh hectares of land in Marathwada will come under soybean cultivation in the upcoming Kharif season, an official said on Monday.

As per the Maharashtra agriculture department's estimates, soybean may be cultivated on 24.86 lakh hectares, which comes to 49 per cent land, in Marathwada, he said.

The above estimate was presented by officials during the recent review meeting for the upcoming Kharif season chaired by state Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar in Aurangabad.

Cotton, soyabean, tur dal and corn may be preferred in Marathwada in the upcoming Kharif season, he said.

The proposed area under soybean cultivation is 24.86 lac hectares, followed by cotton (13.91 lakh hectares), tur dal (4.44 lakh hectares) and corn (2.31 lakh hectares), the data stated



Mahabeej company will provide 67,000 quintals of seeds, while private companies will provide 4.50 lakh quintals and farmers have 24 lakh quintals to meet the need, it was stated.

The state has made available 7.17 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers and it will also have a buffer stock to meet the requirement, it said.

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent a notice to the Delhi government over the reported plight of the inmates of a shelter home in the Nizamuddin area here, officials said on Monday.

In a statement, the NHRC said it has also asked its director general (investigation) to depute a team headed by a deputy superintendent of police to conduct an on-the-spot fact-finding investigation in the matter and submit a report to it.

The commission has observed that the contents of a media report, if true, amount to a serious issue of violation of human rights of the helpless inmates.

The NHRC said it has taken suo-motu (on its own) cognisance of the media report on the plight of the shelter home inmates. "Reportedly, they have been starving for food as the supply of the same by the government has been stopped," it said.

It is the duty of the state to ensure that no one at the shelter home goes without food even for a day, the rights panel said.

Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Delhi chief secretary, seeking a detailed report within a week on the present status of food supply at the shelter home and the health condition of the inmates, particularly children, sick and elderly people, the statement said.

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According to the media report published on April 28, there are about 500 inmates at the shelter home. Some of them stay with their young children and cannot even arrange a square meal for them. Looking at the deteriorating condition of the poor inmates, including the sick and elderly, the caretakers of the shelter home are trying to feed them from their own pockets, the statement said.
NSA Ajit Doval on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani in Tehran focusing on economic, political and security ties between the two countries.

The National Security Advisor is on a day-long visit to Iran.

The two officials discussed economic, political and security issues concerning the two countries as well as the most important regional and international developments, Iran's IRNA news agency reported.

Doval is also scheduled to hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

There is no official word on Doval's visit by either India or Iran.

Doval's visit to Iran comes ahead of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa this week.

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India is the current chair of the SCO and Iran is set to be made a permanent member of the grouping at its annual summit later this year.

The implementation of the Chabahar Port project in Iran is also a key focus area in the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Tehran.

Last month, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi strongly pitched for faster implementation of the Chabahar port project as well as the use of the facility by India to send various shipments, saying the key transit hub will benefit both countries.

He also said that there is a need to look at the Chabahar project beyond economic perspectives.

Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost connectivity and trade ties.

At a connectivity conference in Tashkent in 2021, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar projected the port as a key regional transit hub.

Elahi had also sought the resumption of import of crude oil by India from Iran, citing New Delhi not succumbing to pressure from the Western powers to not continue procurement of petroleum products from Russia following the Ukraine crisis.

India stopped procurement of crude oil from Iran after the US did not continue with sanction waivers to India and several other countries.
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was introduced in 1870 when the British ruled India. Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law shall be punished with [imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine, it says.

The process of re-examining the 152-year-old sedition law is in "an advanced stage", the Central government told the Supreme Court on Monday.
Intermittent snowfall and rain continued at the Himalayan temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Monday, prompting authorities to issue an appeal to Chardham pilgrims to proceed on their journey only after taking necessary precautions.

In view of the weather, the Rudraprayag district administration has appealed to pilgrims coming to visit Kedarnath to stay where they are for the time being for their safety.

The meteorological office has also issued a yellow alert for the state for Monday forecasting hailstorms, rain and snowfall at places located above 3,500 metres.

Pilgrims, particularly those coming to Kedarnath, are advised to proceed on their journey only after taking a weather update and making arrangements for their stay in advance so that they do not face any inconvenience, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Ajendra Ajay said.

Snowfall and rain, which had triggered a landslide on the Badrinath national highway on Sunday, disrupting the yatra to the temple for nine hours, continued on Monday too.

The Chardham yatra is a pilgrimage to the Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath temples.

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Rudraprayag District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit said the meteorological department has issued an alert for the next two to three days, in which there is a possibility of rain and snow in the upper Himalayan regions.

He appealed to pilgrims coming to Kedarnath Dham to stay at the place where they are till the weather improves.

There is continuous snowfall in Kedarnath Dham at present and the yatra is being controlled and people not being allowed to go to Kedarnath after 10.30 am from Sonprayag.

Pilgrims should take special care of their safety and cooperate with the district administration by following guidelines, Dikshit said.

He has asked the yatris to start the journey to Kedarnath only when the weather is fine.

The Badrinath national highway was opened on Monday and Dikshit inspected the Sirobagad-Jawadi stretch of the road along with PWD officials.

He instructed officials to have the potholes on the stretch repaired immediately so that pilgrims do not face any kind of trouble and inconvenience.

Earthmoving machines should be available at all times in Sirobagad landslide prone area, Dikshit said.
The success of any initiative is measured by its impact upon people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said responding to a youth from Jammu and Kashmir who hailed the Yuva Sangam youth exchange programme after visiting Assam and experiencing its diversity and culture.

Nazakat Choudhary wrote to the prime minister thanking him for the opportunity to travel to Assam under the Yuva Sangam initiative. In response, the prime minister expressed hope that Choudhary would continue undertaking more such journeys in the future.

A brainchild of the Ministry of Education, the Yuva Sangam youth exchange programme aims to strengthen people-to-people connections, especially between youths of different states, and introduce them to the culture and values of India. The idea of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat was conceptualised to create a cultural connect between various states of India.

The initiative was launched in February and the first phase of Yuva Sangam had an overwhelming participation of 1,200 youngsters. The first batch of youngsters visited northeast India.

The prime minister said, "The success of any important initiative is measured by its impact upon people. The greatest sense of satisfaction is experienced by a public servant when people write to convey that a particular event has transformed their lives."



"This vigour and enthusiasm of young people like yourself to explore different regions of our country and to keep yourself open to new experiences is truly commendable. Your journey from the land of Tawi to the land of Brahmaputra has clearly brought two regions of the nation closer," he wrote.

The prime minister noted that India is home to many cultures, cuisines, customs and lifestyles, where people belonging to different communities, practising different faiths, speaking different languages, observing different rituals not only coexist but also celebrate each other's diverse way of life.

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"It is this aspect of our nation that has drawn the world towards us. During the last few years, we have worked to ensure that our beautiful northeastern region is 'Na Dil Se Duur, Na Dilli Se Duur'. As a result, you may have observed that an unprecedented transformation is taking place across sectors. Be it culture or agriculture, commerce or connectivity, the region is becoming a growth engine of India," Modi stated.

The state of Assam is one of India's most beautiful regions in terms of both nature and culture, he said.

"Witnessing the multi-hued cultural splendour of Assam during the festival of Bihu, marvelling at the massive Brahmaputra river, learning about great personalities such as Veer Lachit Borphukan, Srimanta Sankaradeva, as well as enjoying unique products like Muga silk, Tezpur litchi, Joha rice, Baka chaul and Kaji Nemu is truly an incredible experience. I have a particularly special liking for the Gamosa from Assam," Modi wrote.
In what could be considered as a May Day gift to the factory workers, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday withdrew the contentious Factories Amendment Bill that had extended their working hours from 8 to 12.

In the face of stiff opposition even by his allies, the Chief Minister had put the Bill on hold.

On April 21, the bill was passed in the state Assembly with even the allies of the ruling DMK strongly opposing it.

The Amendment Bill empowers the state government to exempt any factory, group or class or description of factories from any or all of the provisions of Sections 51,52,54,55,56 or 59 of the Factories Act, 1948 or the rules made thereafter.

Political parties, including the CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, VCK, BJP, PMK and AIADMK had opposed the bill when it was presented in the House on April 21. The Congress which is an ally of the ruling DMK had staged a walkout in protest.

The Joint Committee of trade unions, including the ruling party's Labour Progressive Front, CITU, had strongly registered their protest against the Tamil Nadu government on the Factories Amendment Bill.

Also Read TN districts start survey on guest workers in state after CM seeks info Tamil Nadu CM's son Udhayanidhi Stalin sworn in as minister in cabinet AIADMK gets boost in Tiruchy after AMMK strongman M Sekar joins party Vaiko urges Stalin to fulfil demands of Tamil Nadu's unorganised workers Decide in 10 days on AIADMK bye-laws: Delhi High Court tells ECI India's power consumption dips by 1.1% to 130.57 bn units in April Delhi government launches summer action plan to combat air pollution Ludhiana gas leak: What led to the death of 11 people in Giaspura? May create perception issue: Cong on more time to Sebi for Adani probe IMD predicts thunderstorms with rain in Delhi and neighbouring states today

The alliance partners met the Chief Minister on April 25 and requested to repeal the bill. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) had also strongly condemned the Stalin government for extending the working hours from 8 hours to 12 hours.

--IANS

aal/shb/
Florida fails to keep vulnerable seniors safe

For all the initiatives and bills Ive seen coming through this 2023 Florida legislative session, my biggest disappointment has been in the area of senior care.

It hurts my heart, as a 25-year caregiver to my mother who has early onset dementia, to wonder: What if I get hit by a bus? She goes to a nursing home to die. How is this humane?

Legislation on cameras in nursing homes was shot down. Never made it out of committee. My guess is that the nursing home lobby feared reality.

Overhauling the Florida guardianship program? Dead on arrival. \But of course, the guardianship process isnt for the poor. Its to take from those with assets.

My point is this: Most aging Floridians are headed to a dark abyss.

Maybe we should spend less time counting our pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters and worry more about when we cant think for ourselves. How would you like to be safely treated and cared for? Assuming we are being treated and cared for and not on the streets trying to survive.

Randy Ross Orlando

Grant clemency to Bannon conspirer

A few days ago a federal judge sentenced Brian Kolfage of Miramar Beach, a real Republican, to four and a half years in the joint. This felon aided a Trump insider to rip off hundreds of befuddled citizens who gave money to build Trumps wall.

Normally a man who makes more money from suckers than Rockefeller merits anything he gets. Sadly this danger to public order lost two legs and an arm fighting against terrorists. Comes a time that sentencing guidelines mean nothing and societal revenge rings hollow.

President Joe Biden should this afternoon grant clemency to the man and change his most likely death sentence to house arrest. I doubt if a man who lost his vision at Iwo Jima or froze his feet off in Korea would be treated in such a manner. Biden needs to harken unto the Bard about the quality of mercy.

Charles B. Tiffany Kissimmee

Dont help Chinas economy

All clamor for U.S. manufacturing of just about everything, especially essential needs like chips, but few in reality promote it. There is an administration that continuously fronts the green wave that basically does not benefit anyone in the U.S. as far as manufacturing the goods. There is another conservative group that champions independence on fuels and power sources, and pushed also for essential manufacturing.

The proverbial question is: are these folks America first or China first?

Biden et al seem totally China first, with every essential push dominated by sources of Chinese goods and services. The other is America first, pushing for energy independence, manufacturing essential goods here, and so much more. If in fact China is our enemy, why would anyone want to leverage GDP growth and prosperity via China first? Such a strategy is, in many ways, crippling the U.S. in its ability to meet the threats presented by China today and into the foreseeable future.

If one does not place ones own nation first and foremost, is this not a betrayal and disloyalty to the nation one is supposed to serve? If in fact these actions are intentional and with purpose, would this not be collusion to destroy ones nation? How can the government allocate U.S. dollars to Chinese business support, curtail national business, and think that it is working for the people of the nation?

Bob Kring Longwood

Errant alarm sounded like safety

Regarding the early morning wakeup call, I actually believe it was a good practice drill. I got up and checked. Im thankful to the emergency broadcast system. I love my family and neighbors.

Liz Ming Orlando
The upcoming movie 'The Kerala Story' has stirred up a political storm in the nation just a few days after the release of its first trailer, with the Congress calling for a ban on the movie and urging against its release on May 5, 2023.

After the trailer of the movie was released on April 26, the grand old party said that the Centre should forbid screenings of the movie as the trailer was full of lies and painted the Muslim community in a bad light.

The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this," said Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Kerala VD Satheesan.

The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M), also came down heavily on the movie, saying that Sangh Parivar was using an even more popular medium to humiliate the state and whole community.

The trailer of the movie, which showed a burqa-clad woman with the tagline 'Uncovering the truth that was kept hidden' was released, sparking protests in many parts of the state, with the film being dubbed "a medium to insult the state."

It has also been labelled a propaganda film and the backlash has been similar to that received by The Kashmir Files directed by Vivek Agnihotri.

Another Islamophobic Movie 'The Kerala Story' on the way after, 'The Kashmir Files'.

According to this movie 32,000 girls have been converted to Islam. But interestingly there's NO DATA available to this claim, but the majority will believe this because it suits their Agenda. 1/n pic.twitter.com/PxDpDv5Erb  Gabbar (@Gabbar0099) May 1, 2023

The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, aims to tell the tale of how women from Kerala were tricked and trafficked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the conflict zone of Syria.

The Kerala Story controversy

The Kerala Story is being marketed as based on true events and revolves around four Kerala women who were converted to Islam and travelled to Afghanistan with their husbands to join ISIS between 2016 and 2018.

The movie also features dialogues against Hindu deities spoken by Muslim characters and touches on the issue of love jihad and the hijab debate in the country.

The Congress as well as other political parties believe that the movie misrepresents facts and defames Kerala as a state. The party also said that the representation of the Muslim community in the movie is likely to incite hatred.

Not our Kerala story

Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday weighed in on the controversy surrounding the movie and said, "It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story."

It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story. pic.twitter.com/Y9PTWrNZuL

Hate propaganda against Kerala

Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the movie appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against the state.

"They are trying to spread the politics of division through fake stories and movies. The Sangh Parivar is spreading such myths without any facts and evidence. The big lie that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State was what we saw in the trailer of the film. This fake story is the product of the Sangh Parivar's lie factory," Vijayan said in a statement.

The Kerala Story is about life and death

The movie's lead actor Adah Sharma has said that the film is about life and death.

"Our film is about girls getting drugged, brainwashed, raped, human trafficking, forcefully impregnated and then raped again by multiple people sometimes, the child they deliver been taken away and them being made suicide bombers," Adah was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

Its about life and death! for the few who are saying its propaganda, I guess once they watch the film with all the facts they will say otherwise," she added.

(With agency input)

 Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 30, 2023
A win in the Karnataka polls will be a "super booster dose" for the Congress electorally going forward after the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the party organisationally, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said.

The Congress general secretary (in-charge communications) said that while the 2024 general elections are still some months away, the outcome in Karnataka would definitely impact the crucial assembly polls later this year in states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

"A win (in Karnataka polls) will be a super booster dose for the Congress. It will strengthen the Congress as we go to the polls in Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram," Ramesh, who is on the campaign trail in Karnataka, told PTI.

"I don't want to look to 2024 but I would look at 2023 and for that it (win in Karnataka) would be a super booster dose for the Congress," the former Union minister said.

While the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the Congress ideologically and organisationally, a victory in Karnataka would revitalise it electorally, Ramesh said.

"Don't be surprised if we retain Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and come back to Madhya Pradesh as we had the mandate there before we were betrayed by Mr (Jyotiraditya) Scindia and his colleagues and the government was stolen from the Congress," he said.

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In Telangana, Ramesh opined, the fight is between the Congress and the BRS, and the BJP is just creating a lot of hype.

"So electorally, for 2024 it is too early to say but I would say, for 2023, the elections that would come, this victory for the Congress in Karnataka will be a super booster dose," he asserted.

Ramesh claimed there was a "very strong current" in favour of the Congress in Karnataka.

"It is not just an undercurrent, there is an over current and I am in an area which is supposed to be a BJP bastion, which is the coastal area, and there is a widespread sentiment for a change," he told PTI over phone.

Ramesh said people have seen through the BJP propaganda about "good governance" over the last four years of its regime.

"So, I think we are headed for a clear majority in the assembly. I don't agree with the assessment that it is going to be a hung verdict. I think it is going to be a clear majority for the Congress," he said.

Noting that Karnataka is the only state in the South that the BJP has a government in, Ramesh said there is no prospect of the BJP coming to power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Telangana "and so it is banking on Karnataka".

"You see the type of high profile campaigning Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be undertaking in the good part of next 12-13 days, along with Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers. The entire government and the entire BJP is focusing on Karnataka," he said.

Ramesh said this time the Congress campaign has been very strategic on 'vocal for local'.

"People are seeing this. It is a positive and constructive campaign by the Congress. I can tell you having spent 22 days in October in seven districts in Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it was very evident from October that the time for a change was there and Rahul Gandhi was able to capitalise on that mood or that sentiment," he said.

The entire Congress party and the organisation got a booster dose from the Bharat Jodo Yatra and we are seeing the consequences of that in this election, Ramesh said.

Asked about the prime minister's campaign blitz in Karnataka, Ramesh said the BJP can do whatever "carpet bombing" they want but there are enough local issues the Congress has raised and given guarantees to different sections of society, which will ensure its success.

Voting will take place in the state on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13.


The funds month-end assets under management increased to Rs 12,736 crore in March 2023, from Rs 8,676 crore in March 2020. Nippon India Large Cap Fund has featured in the top 30 percentile of the value/contra funds category of CRISIL Mutual Fund Ranking (CMFR) for three consecutive quarters through March 2023.



Sailesh Raj Bhan and Ashutosh Bhargava have been managing the fund since August 2007 and September 2021, respectively. The funds objective is to invest in the top 100 companies by market capitalisation and ensure stability and liquidity in the portfolio while generating alpha.

Trailing returns

The fund has outperformed the benchmark (Nifty 100 Total Returns Index) and its peers (funds ranked under the large-cap category in March 2023 CMFR) over the past one-, two-, three-, five-, seven-, and 10-year trailing periods.

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A systematic investment plan is a disciplined mode of investing offered by mutual funds through which one can invest a certain amount at regular intervals. To put this into perspective, Rs 10,000 invested in the fund at its inception on August 8, 2007, would have increased to Rs 55,615 on April 26, 2023, which is an annualised rate of 11.53 per cent, compared with the category and the benchmark, which would have grown to Rs 46,301 (10.24 per cent per annum) and Rs 48,884 (10.62 per cent per annum), respectively.



Portfolio analysis Monthly investment of Rs 10,000 for the past 10 years in the fund, totalling Rs 12 lakh, would have grown to Rs 24.37 lakh (13.61 per cent annualised returns), compared with Rs 22.83 lakh (12.39 per cent annualised returns) in the benchmark as on April 26, 2023.



The portfolio was diversified across 21 sectors. In the past three years, the fund predominantly invested in large-cap stocks (averaging 83.47 per cent). Allocations to mid- and small-cap stocks averaged just 10.86 per cent and 4.60 per cent, respectively.



Over the period under analysis, the fund took exposure to 122 stocks, holding 20 consistently. The key contributing stocks to the portfolio were State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Indian Hotels Company, and Tata Steel. Banks dominated, with an average allocation of 22.22 per cent, followed by finance (13.34 per cent), petroleum products (9.71 per cent), consumer non-durables (9.22 per cent), and software (8.14 per cent).










Sebi is learnt to have written to several regulators including those in Bermuda, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, seeking detailed information on some FPIs.

The market regulator may refer the matter to ministries because some offshore regulators were not very forthcoming in providing the information sought, citing privacy reasons, said two people in the know.
The moderation in valuation, following a near-10 per cent correction between December and March, also made investors look at India more favourably.

India outperformed all the major global markets in April. Strong inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), off the back of an improved global risk sentiment and encouraging January-March quarter results, propelled the markets.
The Indian stock market will remain closed today on account of Maharashtra Day on Monday. There will be no trading at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) today for the entire session according to the official BSE website.There will be no action in Equity Segment, Equity Derivative Segment and SLB Segment. The Currency Derivatives Segments will also remain shut to celebrate Maharashtra Day.However, the Commodity Derivatives segment and Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) segment will resume trading from the evening session. Here the trading will be suspended only for the morning session i.e. from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.Thus, Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity Exchange (NCDEX) will see action after 5 PM in the evening session.In the month of May, there is only one stock market holiday.The next stock market holiday will be on the occasion of Bakri Id celebration on June 28.There will be no stock market holiday in July this year. After Bakri Id, the next holiday will fall on August 15 to celebrate Independence Day. On September 19 the markets will remain closed to observe Ganesh Chathurti. In October the markets will be closed on two days-- Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 and Dussehra on October 24.In November, there will be two market holidays-- on Diwali (November 14) and Guru Nanak Jayanti (November 27).In December the markets will be closed on December 25 for Christmas.On Friday, both NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex ended the session in green. Nifty 50 surged by 0.84 per cent to 18,065 and BSE Sensex skyrocketed 463 points and settled at 61,112.Maharashtra Day is celebrated on May 1, every year. Gujarat Day is also celebrated on the same day.On May 1, 1960, Maharashtra and Gujarat were carved out from the Bombay State. The state was divided on linguistic lines after huge protests after India gained independence.On Maharashtra Day, the people of the state celebrate Marathi heritage and pride.
In this section

First Published: May 01 2023 | 10:01 PM IST

Exporting into a world with carbon tax

Why former J&K Guv Satyapal Malik may be taking Modi's critics for a ride

An amazing and scary month

An updated perspective on India

Rupee logs best single-day gain since September 30 on strong FPI flows

After breaching 81 vs USD, rupee weakens as importers purchase greenback

Softer US dollar, better risk appetite push rupee to two-month high

Rupee registers biggest weekly gain against US dollar in two months

Of late, one of the hot topics under discussion among commentators is the issue of the US dollar (USD) being the reserve currency of the world and the huge advantage and privilege that this reserve status bestows on the US. While the US accounts for about 25 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), its true economic power is far greater, driven by global dependence on the USD.

This topic has come up for debate recently as there is anecdotal evidence of countries trying to break away from the USD. There are reports of China and Saudi Arabia agreeing to settle their bilateral oil trade in renminbi (RMB). India is also being forced to settle its purchase of Russian oil in either rupees or dirhams. There are murmurs of Brazil and China also agreeing to settle their bilateral commodity exposures in non-dollar currencies, while Russia and China are using the renminbi to settle their bilateral transactions.

While the world has for long resented th

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As many as 65 Andhra Pradesh expatriates out of the 71 identified thus far have returned to India safely from strife-torn Sudan, the state-government body Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) said on Monday.

Out of the six remaining expats, one has reached Port of Sudan and another has reached Jeddah in Saudi Arabia while four more are expected to reach the Sub-Saharan country's port city shortly, APNRTS chief executive P Hemalatha Rani said, adding that they would then be ferried back to India with the help of the Ministry of External Affairs.

As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, one evacuee has been quarantined in Delhi and four more in Cochin as they did not produce yellow fever vaccination certificates, Rani said in a press release shared on Monday.

APNRTS president Venkat S Medapati said that evacuees arriving in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Cochin airports were being safely repatriated to their hometowns at the state government's expense.

He said AP Bhavan officials in Delhi as well as APNRTS had arranged for local transport to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati via air and road, while district officials were assisting the returnees with transportation to reach their hometowns further away.

Family members of any distressed expatriates can reach out to APNRTS 24/7 helpline numbers 0863-2340678 and 85000 27678 (WhatsApp) or email helpline@apnrts.com for immediate repatriation support, said Medapati.

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The celebration of Labor Day is a call to action for social and economic justice and is the result of a prolonged struggle for improved working conditions and worker rights. On this day, workers join together, reflect on their progress, and reaffirm their commitment to creating an equitable and fair world. The celebration of the labour movement's accomplishments on May 1 is a worldwide holiday. It is celebrated as a public holiday in more than 80 nations and is also known as International Worker's Day or May Day. In many countries, this holiday, which is also known as Labor Day, celebrates the contributions that people who work to society, highlighting the significance of work and the progress that the labour movement has made.

Labour Day 2023: History







Labour Day 2023: Evolvement Labour Day has developed into a global occasion celebrated on various dates, serving as a symbol of labour movements victories and the continuous battle for labourers' rights. On Labor Day, it is encouraged to remember the contributions that laborers have made to society and to renew hopes for a more equitable world. The origins of Labor Day can be traced back to the latter part of the 1800s, when labourers in industrialized nations began to band together to fight for various rights, including a fair wage and improved working conditions. On September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union of New York City organized the first celebration of Labor Day in the United States. In 1894, following the Pullman Strike, the holiday turned into a government one post the deaths of different labourers.

Labour Day 2023: Importance



It provides an opportunity for labourers to join in fortitude, offers thanks for the progress made, and ponders further progress needed. In general, Labor Day serves as a reminder of the achievements of the labor movement and the power of collective action in the fight for economic and social justice. Labour Day is a significant event that recognizes and praises the fundamental commitments of laborers to society. The day recognizes the significance of fair labor practices and worker rights as well as the value of work. Its origins can be traced back to efforts to create necessary working conditions and secure better wages. In addition, Labor Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for economic fairness, equality, and social justice.

Also Read International Labour Day: Celebrations, history, and all you need to know Top CEOs got an average hike of 9% in 2022, workers' wages fell 3%: Oxfam World NGO Day 2023: Theme, quotes, history, significance, celebration National Science Day 2023: Theme, History, Significance, Activities World Water Day 2023 observed today: History, significance, theme and more Why do landlords reject bachelors? Here's what Bengaluru flat owner says My daughter made her husband a PM: Rishi Sunak's mother-in-law Sudha Murty Need 90% in boards to rent a house in Bengaluru? Here's what a tweet says Alia Bhatt buys apartment in Pali Hill for Rs 37 cr; gifts flats to sister Twitter removes blue tick from celebrities' accounts across the world

Labour Day 2023: Celebration

 Many parts of Europe celebrate May 1 as a pagan holiday because it is the Gaelic Beltane, which marks the end of winter and the start of summer.

 In Roman times, May 1st was synonymous with the celebration, as it addressed the appearance of spring and an event to worship the goddess of flowers, Flora. The festival took place from April 28 to May 3.

 May Day rituals like crowning a May Queen, Morris dancing, and weaving around a Maypole gained popularity in medieval England.

 The traditional festival of Labour Day in India traces back to May 1st, 1923, started by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan in Chennai (Madras).

 In states like Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and West Bengal, the day is celebrated as a holiday today.


The appointment term for Ma finishes at the end of October 2023, but his contract may be extended on an annual basis, the University informed. He will teach subjects related to important research themes apart from giving lectures on management and business start-ups. Founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, has accepted an offer to teach at Tokyo College, a new organisation managed by the University of Tokyo, the University announced on May 1. Jack Ma will teach in the capacity of a visiting professor.



Earlier, the billionaire came to the limelight for criticising the regulatory framework in China. The Tokyo College serves as an interface between the University of Tokyo and overseas researchers and institutions engaged in research.



This was followed by an abrupt cancellation of the Ant Group's anticipated initial public offering. Ant Group is a Chinese fintech company led by Jack Ma. In a speech given at the annual People's Bank of China financial markets forum, Ma had criticised China's regulators and banks, which later resulted in a crackdown from the government.

Also Read China's Alibaba Group sells its entire remaining 3.4% stake in Paytm Alibaba's Jack Ma returns as China tries to allay private sector fears Orient Electric Cloud 3 Fan review: Quite a mist-ical experience, literally Alibaba exits Paytm, sells remaining 3.3% stake for Rs 1,378 crore Google Cloud joins hands with DSCI for boosting cloud adoption First Republic in limbo as US Federal Reserve juggle bank's fate China's first Mars rover may not be able to restart after hibernation Top CEOs received 9% pay rise in 2022, employees took 3% pay cut Imran Khan's PTI will be 'ultimate loser' if talks on polls fail: Pak govt UAE, Morocco review strengthening financial, economic cooperation
Also Read Tesla chief Elon Musk threatens to sue Microsoft for using data 'illegally' Is Elon Musk rewriting the HR rulebook at Twitter? Twitter removes legacy blue ticks for thousands; all you need to know Is Elon Musk mismanaging Twitter? The Chief Twit takes over, but why should any of us care? China calls for representation of developing countries in UNSC reforms US manufacturing sector contracts for sixth straight month in April Jack Ma to teach at Tokyo University on sustainable agriculture, management UK's Royal Mail to issue stamp featuring Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs Sudan's warring generals agree to negotiate in Saudi Arabia: UN envoy

Twitter's CEO Elon Musk has rolled out a new change to the company's parental leave policy. He has now reduced parental leave for his employees from 20 weeks down to just 14 days, according to internal documents reviewed by New York Times.The two weeks of paid leave will be topped up to meet the minimum requirements of the region where the employees work. This means that in most states where paid leave is not required by law, new mothers and fathers would only receive a maximum of two weeks off.The move has been met with criticism from various quarters, including a nonprofit group advocating for paid leave, former employees, and Twitter users.According to a report from the Daily Mail, Dawn Huckelbridge, founding director of 'Paid Leave for All', stated, "Paid leave is a proven boost to business and bottom lines, and a lifeline to working families. But this decision is more proof that we can't rely on the private sector to ever solve this problem - we need a federal program to guarantee paid leave for all working people."The company, which Musk bought for $44 billion last year, has not only fired half of the employees, but also implemented several new rules as cost-cutting measures.
Top business executives of G7 countries have endorsed India's G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' and said it is essential to achieve sustainable growth that is compatible with the protection of the global environment.

Unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, the theme of India's G20 Presidency - 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' - is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad.

Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life - human, animal, plant and microorganisms - and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.

Representative business federations of the G7 - Japan, Italy, Canada, France, the US, the UK, Germany, and the European Union - held the B7 Tokyo Summit on April 19-20, ahead of the G7 Summit meeting in Japan later this month.

"Through creating a problem-solving society that is equipped with both digital technology and creativity and imagination of diverse people, it is essential to first achieve sustainable growth in a way that is compatible with the protection of the global environment and to distribute the fruits in a fair and equitable manner, which is conducive to 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' as the theme of India's G20 Presidency, said the B7 in a declaration following two days of brain-storming sessions.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year. India is hosting more than 200 G-20 events in over 50 cities across the country.

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At the B7 Summit, the American delegation was led by the US Chamber of Commerce represented by five of its top leaders.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met the group and promised to use the input from B7 in preparing the G7 Summit in May, US Chambers of Commerce said in a statement.

Hosted by Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) in Tokyo, the B7, as reflected in its declaration, agreed on the most important efforts to mitigate immediate and long-term challenges.

We called on our governments to remove barriers to international trade and investment in an effort that may eventually take the form of a 'G7 Trade Club' open to nations committed to high standards of free trade.

"Such a grouping would work to overcome protectionist pressures and combat economic coercion directed against its members and allies, as envisaged by the G7 Foreign Ministers, the US Chambers of Commerce said.

The B7 declaration, released by the Japan Business Federation, said they oppose any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine.

In the Indo-Pacific which also faces growing challenges, from actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order by China to provocations by North Korea, continued and strenuous efforts must be made by the G7 countries to rebuild the free, open and rules-based international order, it said.

Developing countries are the most affected by a divided world and risk losing their potential for future growth.

"Cooperation with the Global South is indispensable to rebuilding the free and open international economic order, overcoming global challenges, and realising a sustainable international community built on principles of equality," B7 said.

The climate change issue cannot be solved without the involvement of the Global South in reducing CO2 emissions while pursuing their legitimate growth and development objectives, it said.

The B7 declaration said that G7 should address economic coercion by third-world countries through increased cooperation and coordination among G7 members.

International fora such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and the Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) can contribute as a framework for cooperation and coordination.

"For instance, the G7 can jointly identify choke points that the country concerned could utilise to impose economic coercion and work with like-minded countries and their industries to increase resilience by exploring or creating alternative sources among them, it said.

The G7 can organise those countries, from which the country concerned imports vital goods, into a group that would threaten to cut off the country's access to the vital goods if the country should act against any single group member, it added.

In addition to these collective-resilience measures, each G7 government, private sector, and relevant stakeholders could champion international standards of cutting-edge technologies, such as through utilising existing EPAs/FTAs, to gain a competitive advantage, B7 said.


Even a marriage heading for its 50th anniversary will sometimes be overcome with bickering.

By David Fickling



OPEC risks weakening the global economy and accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels if its production cuts push crude prices too high, the IEAs Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg Television. OPECs response was swift and intemperate: The IEA should be very careful about further undermining oil industry investments its Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais said in a statement Thursday. Thats what happened last week with the oil industrys most important bodies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).



Both sides have been edging toward an acceptance that oil production will be lower at the end of the decade than it is right now. Current levels of oil investment will only be sufficient to supply about 80 million barrels a day in 2030, according to projections presented by Saudi Arabian Oil Co., OPECs most important stakeholder, compared to the 101.9 mb/d that the IEA projects for this year. As with many long but unhappy alliances, whats striking about this row is that the parties share a realistic fatalism about the situation theyre in. The bitterness of last weeks argument doesnt stem so much from deep disagreements about where oil demand and the energy transition is headed, as from the vanity of small differences.

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Theres a level of natural antagonism between the two bodies. The IEA was founded in 1974 in the wake of the previous years Arab oil embargo to represent the interests of the major petroleum consumers in developed countries. OPEC is 14 years older but rose to prominence at the same time as the IEA, acting for the conflicting interests of the biggest crude exporters. They first held a joint press conference as recently as 2002. Thats a lowball figure intended to shock the industry into lifting its spending to levels that would pump out about 106 mb/d. But its not a million miles from what the IEA sees: Demand will be 93 mb/d if governments meet their climate pledges and 75.3 mb/d on a more aggressive net zero path, according to the Agencys latest energy outlook last year. In spite of its member states record profits and competitive cost positions, OPEC itself is doing very little to remedy the supply problem it points to, preferring to spend the money on real estate, overseas refineries and grands projets instead. Its revealed preference is for a picture little different than the IEAs energy transition scenarios.



The climate transition is causing a reversion to the earlier paradigm, though. Electric vehicles share in new sales has jumped from 2% in 2019 to 20% in 2023, the IEAs Birol said on Wednesday, and will hit 60% in the largest markets of the US, China and Europe by 2030. If that adversarial relationship has been blunted for decades, its largely because the rise of China and its voracious demand for commodities, combined with the absence (until recently) of any viable alternative to petroleum, meant their common ground of market stability has been more important than their conflicting imperatives of higher prices (for OPEC) and lower ones (for the IEA).



Thats not a problem for the IEA. Its an energy agency, and its members dont much care whether their energy comes from fossil fuels or zero-carbon alternatives as long as its cheap, clean, and secure. OPEC, on the other hand, is a petroleum organization, and naturally sees a shift away from crude as an existential threat. That accelerating rate of deployment matters. The lifespan of a conventional oilfield investment is a bit longer than that of a typical car  15 to 20 years, as opposed to 10 to 15 years  so a faster uptake of electric vehicles increases the risk that current projects end up facing glutted markets toward the end of their lives.
Terming "impracticable" Imran Khan's demand that the National Assembly be dissolved by May 14 for a successful outcome of talks, Pakistan's ruling coalition has warned the former premier that his party will be the "ultimate loser" if the parleys failed as the polls can be delayed for a year.

Ahead of the third round of talks between the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N)-led federal coalition and the PTI scheduled for Tuesday, the government told Khan that he cannot hold talks at gunpoint.

"We want to tell Imran Khan that he cannot hold talks at gunpoint. The first condition of talks is, there are no pre-conditions. Khan is so desperate that he wants his way or the highway, PML-N Secretary General and Federal Minister for Development Ahsan Iqbal was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

The federal coalition termed Khan's ultimatum "impracticable" and asked him to be more flexible for the success of this dialogue between the government and the opposition, the report said on Monday.

"If the talks fail, the ultimate loser will be the PTI as there is a provision for delaying elections for a year under the Constitution. Imran Khan has warned of creating a law and order situation in the country (if polls are not held this July) and in such a scenario, the elections will be delayed for another year, Iqbal said on Sunday.

The federal coalition parties sat with the PTI with an open mind', but Khan continued to ask for the dissolution of assemblies (National, Sindh and Balochistan) by May 14, he said, adding that the demand is not acceptable to the federal coalition.

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Alibaba Group Holding co-founder Jack Ma is joining the University of Tokyos Tokyo College as a visiting professor, according to a profile page on the universitys website. By Min Jeong Lee



One of Chinas most recognisable business leaders, Ma largely dropped out of public sight after he criticised Chinese regulators in 2020 and Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate he also co-founded, had to pull its planned initial public offering. Ma, 58, begins the new position on May 1 and is expected to contribute in several areas, the school said. He will provide advice on research topics and conduct research, especially in sustainable agriculture and food production; he will also give seminars about entrepreneurship and innovation.



It appears that his career as a businessman has come to a close, said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, an analyst at LightStream Research who publishes on SmartKarma. Although he achieved success in this field, he previously worked as an English teacher and had expressed a desire to return to teaching once he retired from his business ventures. The billionaire resurfaced in Hangzhou, China in March, a rare appearance on the mainland.

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Beijings move to halt Ants IPO kicked off a sweeping crackdown on Chinas private sector, from real estate and education to gaming and the internet. The Tokyo school did not detail what kind of lectures or seminars Ma would conduct. It wasnt able to immediately respond to requests for further comment.



Ma, once the highest-profile of Chinas entrepreneurs, withdrew from the public spotlight. Regulators sought to curtail the power of tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, and pushed the focus of investments to strategic priorities such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

He was spotted in the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Thailand and Japan.




Pope Francis has revealed that a secret peace mission in Russia's war in Ukraine was underway, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

I'm available to do anything, Francis said on Sunday during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it.

Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.

Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do all that is humanly possible to reunite families.

All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help, Francis said.

The International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.

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Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and asked him to help return Ukrainian children taken following the Russian invasion.

I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia, Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.

Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine's request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.

The prisoner exchanges went well. I think it could go well also for this. It's important, he said of the family reunifications.

The Holy See is available to do it because it's the right thing, he added. We have to do all that is humanly possible.


At that dinner, President Biden was expected to give a funny speech ribbing the news agency. The event comes at its peak as Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were unceremoniously fired from Fox News and CNN, respectively. On a night full of humour and razor-sharp wit, US President Joe Biden makes the most of the opportunity and takes a jab at some of his biggest critics during his speech at the black-tie White House Correspondents' Association dinner.



The US president skewed those who used to skew them, especially Fox News, which fired Mr Carlson on Monday after the settlement of a defamation lawsuit for $787 million. Biden took the most advantage of the occasion and roasted Fox News and CNN in a room full of Media personalities.



He wouldn't stop there, he continued in front of a crowd gathered in a cavernous ballroom in Washington and the audience watching him online, "And hell, Id call Fox honest, fair and truthful, but then I could be sued for defamation. When some groaned, he quipped, It aint nothing compared to what they do to me. He referred to his coronavirus response strategy and said, Last year, your favourite Fox News reporters were able to attend the dinner as they were fully vaccinated and boosted. He further said, This year, with that $787 million settlement, theyre here because they couldnt say no to a free meal.

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Taking a jibe at both Fox and CNN for raising questions about Biden's age as he seeks re-election. Mr Biden started," You call me old ?" he continued, "I call it being seasoned. You say Im ancient? I say Im wise. You say Im over the hill? Don Lemon would say thats a man in his prime. On a pitty night full of humour, how could Biden miss a chance to take a jab at CNN, who recently fired Mr Lemon on a derogatory remark over women commenting that a woman in her fifties is past her prime, the president ribbed saying, "CNN was like, Wow! They actually have $787 million? Whoa!"
Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations' top official in the country told The Associated Press on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

The talks would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire monitored by national and international observers, Volker Perthes said. A string of temporary truces over the past week has de-escalated fighting only in some areas, while in others, fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Perthes cautioned that logistics for talks were still being worked out. So far, only the military has announced it is prepared to join negotiations, with no public word from its opponent, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Any talks would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

Around 530 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed since, with another 4,500 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said.

The United States, meanwhile, conducted its first evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. Watched over by US military drones, a group of Americans made the perilous journey by road from the capital, Khartoum, to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

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On Monday, a US Navy fast transport ship took 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to Saudi officials.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighbouring city, Omdurman, on Monday, residents said. The two sides announced late on Sunday they would abide by a 72-hour extension of their nominal cease-fire of the past week.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have led a concerted international campaign to get the general to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, the UN envoy Perthes said they are still face daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by the truce.

It's still important to connect both sides and have both sides commit to a cease fire so that it is clear that fighting and taking action and moving forward and trying to gain ground is actually a violation of the ceasefire, he said.

One possibility was to establish a mechanism to monitor a cease-fire that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on entrenching the cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically since it has close ties to both sides.

But even talks in Saudi Arabia has challenges, he said, since each side needs safe passage through territory of the other to reach talks. "That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

The battle between the generals for control has plunged Sudan into chaos.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese fled the fighting, especially in Khartoum and Omdurman. Many headed to the norther borders with Egypt or to Port Sudan. Foreign governments also evacuated their citizens from Sudan.

Many fear the fighting could spiral further, dragging in others in a country where multiple armed groups exist and have fought several civil wars over the past decade.

There is a risk, that if this continues, that in the shadow of this war between two militaries, other forces, tribal forces, political forces are being mobilised and would take sides in an opportunistic way, Perthes said.
Alongside Al Hussaini, the meeting was attended by Khaled Mohammed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE); and Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD); as well as several senior officials from both parties.

Al Hussaini reaffirmed the UAE's keenness to further strengthen bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco to include all vital and priority sectors.

The minister said: "This meeting is a continuation of both parties' efforts to enhance cooperation and partnership in various sectors of common interest and support sustainable economic growth, in order to serve the future aspirations and visions of both countries."

The UAE is the largest Arab investor in Morocco and the second in the world, with investments amounting to more than AED50 billion by the end of 2021. The UAE is also the second largest Arab trading partner for Morocco in 2021, as the volume of non-oil foreign trade between both countries amounted to AED3.6 billion in 2022.

During the first session of the Morocco-UAE Joint Economic Commission, which was held in Rabat, the UAE Government and the Moroccan Government agreed to double the volume of trade and investment exchange over the next seven years as well as to enhance cooperation in priority sectors on the economic agenda of both countries.

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A stamp depicting Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and their places of worship feature on one of the four stamps issued by the Royal Mail to mark the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

Captioned "Diversity and Community", the stamp reflects a multi-faith community and the cultural diversity of contemporary British society, a news release stated.

The stamp features figures representing the Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist religions and is representative of all faiths and none.

"The background shows aspects of both rural and urban Britain and includes some of the many different places of worship that are found around the United Kingdom," the release noted.

Presented in a miniature sheet, the stamps illustrate the Coronation ceremony and the traditional street party, as well as some of the causes His Majesty has dedicated his years of public service to.

This includes cultural diversity and community, the global ties of the Commonwealth, which he now leads, and sustainability and biodiversity.

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This is only the third time in history that Royal Mail has issued stamps to mark a Coronation. The previous two occasions were for King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

"Royal Mail is proud to issue this set of commemorative stamps which celebrate the Coronation, and some of the causes which His Majesty has championed throughout his many years of public service," Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of Royal Mail, said. "This is only the third time we have issued Coronation stamps and I am delighted that they mark the start of a new reign and a new chapter in our history," Thompson added.

The stamps were designed by Atelier Works and feature newly commissioned wood engravings by British artist Andrew Davidson.

Royal Mail will also be applying a special postmark to stamped mail to mark the event. The postmark will run from April 28 until May 10.

--IANS

mi/dpb
In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan due to the violence that erupted on April 15, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending the world body's Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to the country "immediately".

The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan, Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, as saying in a statement.

He added that the US is "extremely concerned" by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan and the broader region.

"We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities," said Dujarric.

More than 500 people have been killed and over 4,000 others wounded since the violent clashes broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to the country's Health Ministry.

In a statement issued ahead of his trip to the region, Griffiths said that two weeks since clashes erupted, the humanitarian situation is "reaching breaking point."

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Goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical commodities, he said.

He warned that access to urgent health care, including for those injured in the violence, is severely constrained, raising the risk of preventable death.

Griffiths said he is heading to the region to explore how to bring immediate relief to the millions of people "whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"However, the obvious solution to this crisis is to stop the fighting," said the UN relief chief.

In the latest development, the two warring factions have announced their commitments to a new 72-hour humanitarian truce, effective as of midnight Sunday.

"Based on the endeavours and request of the Saudi-American mediation, the Armed Forces agreed to extend the truce for extra 72 hours, to begin at the end of the current one," the Army saidin a statement.

For its part, the RSF said that it agreed to the truce extension to open humanitarian passages, facilitate the movement of the citizens and enable them to get their needs and reach safe areas.

On Sunday, Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority said the closure of the country's airspace will be extended to May 13.

--IANS

ksk/
India International Education Expo is currently taking place in Greater Noida, where thousands of career options are available for students. Over 300 universities and colleges are participating in the expo, which is being held at the Expo Centre in Greater Noida.

The expo, which began on April 28th, is attracting thousands of students and parents who are looking for better career options in the Delhi-NCR region. If you're in the area and looking for better career options, then be sure to visit the expo.

There are various stalls set up at the expo centre, offering courses in engineering, medicine, law, management, finance, and many other fields. Students can also register on the spot for these courses. In addition, various banks are offering education loan facilities at the expo, and information about scholarships available in India and other countries is also being provided.

Career counselors are also available to help students in their search for the right career. They can provide guidance on which courses to take, which universities to apply to, and what skills and qualities are necessary for success in different careers.

The expo is a great opportunity for students to explore the many career options available to them and to gain valuable information about different courses, universities, and scholarships. It's a one-stop-shop for everything related to education and career development.

So, if you're a student or parent looking for better career options in the Delhi-NCR region, be sure to visit the India International Education Expo in Greater Noida. With thousands of career options available, you're sure to find the right career fit for you.
Photo by Ulysses Ang We were the first to leak out the pricing of the 2012 Mazda CX-5 and now, we can ultimately say for certain that t...
ATLANTA  This spring marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence and established inclusive, democratic power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland. On May 4, the Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta and The Carter Center will co-host a commemorative event and reception with special guests representing diplomats, peacebuilders, and leaders from Northern Ireland and the United States.

Barbara J. Stephenson, former U.S. ambassador and American consul general in Belfast, will moderate a discussion with speakers from Northern Ireland  Bronagh Hinds, Emma Johnston, Jarlath Kearney, and Mike Nesbitt. Carter Center Board Chair Jason Carter and CEO Paige Alexander will deliver remarks. Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland from 2003 to 2007, will share his reflections on the role of the United States. The powerful contribution of women to the Northern Ireland peace process will be highlighted through the "Peace Heroines" exhibition.

The event will pay special tribute to the contribution of President Jimmy Carter, who in 1977 issued the first formal statement on Northern Ireland by a U.S. president. His groundbreaking initiative established the precedent for the pivotal role succeeding U.S. presidents played in securing the peace.

Throughout the peace process, the bipartisan support of the many friends of Ireland across all levels of government and from communities in every U.S. state was essential, and that friendship remains cherished to this day.

Irelands consul general in Atlanta, Caoimhe Ni Chonchuir, underlined the importance of recognizing the U.S. role in achieving peace:

While the Agreement belongs, first and foremost, to the people of Northern Ireland, it was, in many ways, born of hope made in America, she said. Successive U.S. leaders, starting with President Carter, helped drive the process forward. This event will celebrate the Good Friday Agreement as a triumph of the best of U.S. foreign policy.

Alexander reflected on the Carter Centers involvement in commemorating the Agreement:

"More than two decades before the Good Friday Agreement was signed, President Carter aligned himself with those in Northern Ireland who were advocating for peace and nonviolence," she said. "He helped lay the groundwork for the Agreement, and it is our honor to co-host this event to celebrate with the people of Northern Ireland."

The Good Friday Agreement, signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998, and then endorsed by an overwhelming majority in referendums the following month, provided the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous society. The May 4 event at The Carter Center will be an opportunity to commemorate this historic achievement, reflect on its lessons, and redouble commitments to supporting peace in Northern Ireland.

The "25 Years of the Good Friday Agreement" commemoration will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 4, in the nondenominational Cecil B. Day Chapel at The Carter Center, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307.

The public is welcome to attend this free event but must register in advance here: 25 Years of the Good Friday Agreement Tickets, Thursay, May 4, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. | Eventbrite.

###

Contact:

The Carter Center: Amanda Larson, Amanda.larson@cartercenter.org

Consulate General of Ireland in Atlanta: 404-554-4980, atlantacg@dfa.ie

The Carter Center

Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.



A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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
The Volkswagen employee who plowed into three fellow VW workers, killing one and critically injuring another, said he must have fallen asleep.

Jason Wayne Thornton, 37, of Rolling Meadow Way, Cleveland, Tn., was identified as the driver in the collision. He was charged with vehicular homicide by recklessness, failure to operate with due care, reckless driving, felony reckless endangerment, and speeding.

Amber Reed, 37, has been identified as the deceased pedestrian in Saturday's crash at the Volkswagen plant at the Enterprise South Industrial Park. Ms. Reed died at the scene as a result of injuries sustained.

Thornton said he was traveling around some trailers going toward the paint shop where he worked. He said he "doesn't recall what happened, but he must have fallen asleep."

He said he had been dozing off and should have pulled over.

Thornton said he remembered objects hitting his car and window. He said he stopped and got out to see what happened.

Witnesses said a black VW sedan was traveling fast and not stopping. They said the vehicle swerved and struck pedestrians.

Police said there was no evidence that braking occurred prior to impact. They said the Thornton vehicle left the lane of travel some 400 feet prior to hitting the pedestrians.

A female employee was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. She remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. A male employee was treated and released.

The plant was closed for the remainder of the day after the tragedy.
The next Art Crawl is Friday from 4-7 p.m. as part of the First Friday art series, and continues Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Others will follow on June 2-3, Sept. 1-2, Oct. 6-7, Nov. 3-4 and Dec. 1-2.

For more information contact Elizabeth at 313-3427.
When people embark on a professional career, they typically have one primary goal in sight: Success. They want to prove their skills at their chosen vocation and then be rewarded accordingly, not only financially but also with promotions, and influence. They want to make their mark and be recognized for it.

There comes a time in most peoples working careers, however, when a major shift occurs. The pursuit of success becomes a different quest  for significance. They want to leave a meaningful legacy after they retire or pass from this life. Theyd like to feel significant, to have achieved a life worth living.

But what constitutes significance? Does it mean leaving a vast inheritance? Giving enough money to an institution to deserve having ones name displayed on a building? Having an obituary that takes up two entire columns in the local newspaper?

I thought about this recently while attending the memorial service for a longtime friend. I met Gene when I joined the staff of CBMC (Christian Business Mens Connection) more than 40 years ago, and he was truly one of a kind  a master of puns in the silliest sense of the word, but also a person devoted to Jesus Christ and with a passion for offering aid to the poor and disenfranchised in whatever ways possible.

The church where Genes life was celebrated wasnt large, but it was jammed. Standing room only. Those attending represented a wide range of demographics: white, African-American, mixed race, wealthy, not wealthy at all, old and young. The one common denominator was their love for this man who is now with the Lord and their appreciation for his often-selfless service and ministry of mercy in their lives.

Although a musician, writer, and a noted collector of neat stuff, Gene never achieved what one might consider celebrity status. Few of the citys movers and shakers were present for the service. And yet, hearing the moving testimonies, listening to laughter as some of his endearing quirks  including his unique sense of humor  were remembered, and seeing visible evidence of the many people whose lives he had touched in the name of Jesus Christ, I couldnt help thinking that his was a life of true significance.

We become enthralled with the famous  even those who achieve fame simply for being famous. But significance doesnt require being listed in Whos Who, or having a lengthy bio on Wikipedia, or having a street named after you. Rather, its making a genuine, even life-changing difference in the lives of people with whom we have the opportunity to interact.

In Genes case, this included being a one-man clearing house for impoverished individuals who came to his church seeking help. Experience had taught him the best assistance isnt always a handout but sometimes offering a hand-up instead. And in the process, introducing many of them to the Savior who not only could save their souls but also guide them to productive, rewarding lives.

Proverbs 3:28 teaches, Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, Come back tomorrow and Ill give it to you  when you already have it with you. My friend was an expert in heeding this admonition, doing his best to serve as a soldier in the war on poverty. As he often said, If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. And maybe one day, hell own the pond.

Many of us on occasion find ourselves wondering what it will be like to take our final breath on Earth and suddenly find ourselves in the presence of the Lord. We do know what Jesus said about those who fulfill the calling God gave to them: His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your masters happiness! (Matthew 25:21). Im certain this is what Gene heard upon arrival.

Despite biblical assurances, it's not uncommon even for folks with implicit faith in Jesus Christ to ponder their eventual death with some trepidation. As the ole theologian Woody Allen once quipped, Im not afraid of dying. I just dont want to be there when it happens. But if we believe what the Scriptures teach, death in this life is simply what I like to term stepping to the other side of eternity.

Its when God our Father extends His arms to welcome us home. This explains the curious biblical assertion that, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Psalm 116:15).

* * *
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The Hamilton County Health Department would like to alert the public of an abnormal spike in non-fatal and fatal overdoses in young children.

Officials said, "Throughout the last few months, our hospitals and local law enforcement have treated an alarming amount of adolescent children for illicit drug exposure  causing the Health Department and our community partners to raise the alarm.

"Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, 100 times stronger than morphine, and is a public health threat. Overdoses in children are exceptionally rare. In recent years, Hamilton County has never seen an overdose spike like this in young children. The number of overdoses that have occurred in children from suspected fentanyl, opioids or other illicit drugs is a cluster of concern.



"If you or someone in your home uses illicit drugs while living with a child, proper precautions should be in place to reduce the risk of an accidental overdose.



 If someone in the home uses illicit drugs despite all recommendations, please make sure no children are present. Any fumes or powders inhaled can be fatal to a child.



 If you have naloxone, keep it in a place where family, friends, and close contacts can easily locate it in an emergency. If you have naloxone, advise family and friends on how to administer it in the event of accidental exposure or overdose.



 If you are a caretaker that is struggling with substance misuse, help is available. Please call/text the Tennessee REDLINE at 800-889-9789.



"If you suspect that a child has been exposed to fentanyl or other opioids, administer naloxone if available and call 911 immediately. Naloxone can be given to people of all ages including infants. Early signs of fentanyl exposure might be hard to notice in a young child. According to the FDA, drowsiness is among the reported symptoms and can be misinterpreted as a tired child.



"Other signs that a child might have been exposed to fentanyl and is overdosing include:

 Difficulty breathing;

 Drooling or dry mouth;

 Swollen face, tongue, or throat;

 Agitation;

 High body temperature;

 Muscle stiffness; or

 Shortness of breath.



"Substance use disorders that affect parents and other caregivers can have negative and potentially deadly effects on the health, safety, and well-being of children. According to the TBI, a drug-endangered child is one whose brain or body has been affected because of their parents use of drugs or alcohol during pregnancy or is a child living in a home where drugs are being abused or illegally made and sold. Residents with legitimate concerns about a childs safety should report it immediately. Reports can be made to the Tennessee Department of Childrens Services online at https://apps.tn.gov/carat/ or by calling their hotline at 877-237-0004. Please call 911 if there is a life-threatening emergency. Information regarding naloxone, overdose prevention, and more can be found in the Hamilton County drug overdose resource guide."



Additional resources

 Questions? Call The Health Department Hotline at 423-209-8383.

 For Health Department information visit: Health.HamiltonTN.gov

 For more information on Harm Reduction visit: Six Essential Tips for Safer Drug Use | Drug Policy Alliance

 Narcan can be purchased at most pharmacies and is available for free at some community organizations.

 To learn more about overdose prevention, visit the Tennessee Department of Healths website at TN.gov.

 To read this information in Spanish, visit the Health Departments Spanish Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SaludHamiltonTN.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been requested by the Dalton Police Department to investigate an officer-involved shooting that happened in the early morning hours of Monday.

The offender received a gunshot wound that is not considered life-threatening and the officer received an injury to their eyes which is also not considered life-threatening.

Preliminary information from the investigation indicates that Dalton Police Department officers were dispatched to the Hamilton Medical Centers Emergency Department in reference to a suspect who had barricaded herself into a patient room and was damaging equipment and was resisting efforts by hospital staff to help her.

When officers arrived, they encountered the hostile subject and attempted to take her into custody. In that process, the officer received injuries to his eyes and the officer discharged his weapon and struck the suspect. The suspect was treated for the gunshot wound and will recover. The suspect is in the process of being released to custody. The officer was treated for his injuries.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has responded and will be investigating this incident. All inquiries should be directed to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for comment.
UTC is establishing the UTC Research Institute as a strategic initiative launched to pursue increased research funding, interdisciplinary collaboration across campus, and support for community and local industry priorities.



Chancellor Steven R. Angle introduced the new initiative on Monday at the Multidisciplinary Research Building on the UTC campus - where UTC Research Institute will be headquartered.



The Research Institute will be led by Dr. Mina Sartipi, founding director of the UTC Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) and Guerry Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.

Engaging all colleges and departments in defining ambitious outcomes that one or two departments cant achieve

Managing relationships with funding agencies and mentoring faculty to assume these roles

Developing and/or ensuring access to cross-cutting capabilities such as high performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), data engineering and economic analyses

Developing research facilities and testbeds

Developing strategic partnerships, possibly evolving into new centers

Engaging the community

Sartipi, whose title will be executive director of the institute, also holds a joint appointment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.This new institute will help UTC move forward and realize our research goals, Chancellor Angle said. The heart of the UTC Research Institute is impactful and broad cross-disciplinary research that will help fast-track Chattanoogas place as a hub for mobility electrifications, connectivity and automation.Dr. Mina Sartipi will shine in her new role. Dr. Sartipi and the CUIP teams history of innovative, cutting-edge research and cooperative teamwork illustrates how UTC is preparing our community for the future.The Research Institute will narrow and intensify the Universitys focus on strategic areas of research funding. Two initial focus areas are transportation (intelligent transportation systems, electric vehicle and battery technologies, human factor, automation, multimodal systems, policy and planning, cyber security, privacy and infrastructure) and quantum technologies (computing, sensing and networks).Dr. Mina Sartipi is an incredible scientist, scholar, leader and educator who has maximized every opportunity to engage students, the campus community and the surrounding community in finding solutions to real-world problems, said UTC Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Joanne Romagni. As executive director of our new Research Institute, she will place the University in a better competitive position to pursue research funding and will position research teams to make greater scientific, technical, societal and economic impacts.The UTC Research Institutes approach to pursuing community- and funding-driven research areas is intended to expand resources and opportunities across campus and disciplines, engaging scholars whose expertise can bring needed interdisciplinary depth to fully exploring solutions to complex problems.It has been gratifying to observe UTCs level of research rise and make a dramatic impact on the community, but this is only the start, said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jerold L. Hale. A focal point of the new UTC Research Institute will be to promote interdisciplinary research involving faculty and staff from across the University. That interdisciplinary approach will promote strategic research growth to benefit not only the Chattanooga community but the region, the state and the country.The new institute will be the home of the UTC Center of Excellence in Applied Computational Science and Engineering and CUIP.According to Dr. Sartipi, federal agencies like the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation and others are increasingly financing research projects that use a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional approach to solving highly complex problems.Having teams from across campus in solving problems positions UTC to be more competitive when pursuing research funding and will create a more substantial and broader impact from our research, Dr. Sartipi said.UTC Research Institute will be charged with:

In August 2022, a proposal submitted by Chattanoogas Smart City program and developed by CUIP won $9.2 million in funding - $4.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $4.7 million from industry partners, UTC, Chattanooga city government and EPB. The funding, the single-largest of its kind in UTC history, is creating a networked system making Chattanooga home to the nations largest electric vehicle living testbed.



Dr. Sartipi joined UTC as an assistant professor of computer science in 2006 after earning a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech University, where she also earned a masters degree in 2003. She received a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, in 2001.



She was designated as a UC Foundation Professor and a Guerry Professor at UTC in 2015 and 2020, respectively; was named as a faculty member of the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Educationjointly operated by the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)in 2018; and was awarded a joint faculty appointment at ORNL in 2023.



Dr. Sartipi has led research funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, U. S. Department of Transportation, the state of Tennessee, Lyndhurst Foundation and industry organizations. These projects focused on data-driven approaches to tackling real-world challenges in smart city applications directed at mobility, energy, and health. At CUIP, she has coordinated cross-disciplinary research and strategic visions for urbanism and smart city advancement focused on people and quality of life.



Dr. Sartipi serves on various technical program committees for national workshops and conferences on topics related to AI and smart city operations. She was named a 2019 Chattanooga Influencer by a local business magazine, Edge, and is the recipient of several University awards and honors, including the 2016 UTC Outstanding Faculty Research and Creative Achievement award. She was named the best researcher in her department in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022. In conjunction with the City of Chattanooga and The Enterprise Center, Dr. Sartipi has won Smart 50 awards from 2020-2022honoring the years 50-most transformative smart technology projects - from the Smart Cities Connect organization.



She has delivered various keynote speeches and presentations, including to the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Smart Cities, at Smart Cities Connect conferences, and the National Transportation Training Directors organization. In 2020, she delivered an invited TEDx Talk presentation, Leveraging Big Data for a Better Tomorrow.



Dr. Sartipi has been a senior member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers since 2016 and serves as a member of the board of directors for multiple startup and non-profit organizations, including EPB, The Enterprise Center of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Urban Studio, and Thrive Regional Partnership, GridMatrix, Variable, Inc, and MoHuman.
Last week, as Americans across the country recognized National Crime Victims Week, Tennesseans had reason for hope. The Tennessee House of Representatives last month passed legislation I introduced to further protect victims of crimes.

Marsys Law ensures something that seems like a no brainer: constitutionally protected rights for crime victims. Victims of crime go through enough trauma, and that trauma should not be extended past the scene of the crime and into the courtroom. The sad truth is it often is, as they currently have less enforceable rights than their abuser.

Marsys Law guarantees that victims have clear and enforceable rights outlined in the state Constitution. It would guarantee victims and their families the right to be informed, notified about their rights, notified about proceedings and to be present and heard at these proceedings.

Marsys Law is named in memory of Marsalee Nicholas, who was tragically killed by her ex-boyfriend while at the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1983. Her family was not notified that her murderer was released on bail and were confronted by him at the grocery store a week after her death. With Marsys Law in place, victims and families would be protected from traumatic incidents like this.

In passing it from the Tennessee House of Representatives, we made great progress in guaranteeing equal rights for Tennessee crime victims this year, but we are just getting started. I am grateful for my friends in the Senate, led by my friend and colleague Senator John Stevens, who are fighting to ensure that Marsys Law passes in the Senate next session. At this point, 12 states have passed Marsys Law and adopted it into their Constitution. It is my fervent hope that Tennessee becomes the thirteenth.

The victory in the House would not be possible without support from House co-sponsors Reps. Lamberth, Gant, Doggett, Hulsey, Davis, Moody, Sherrell, Hardaway, Jernigan, Tim Hicks, Holsclaw, Butler, Hale, Vaughan, Darby, Crawford, Alexander, McCalmon, Gary Hicks, Greg Martin, Farmer, Bricken, Russell, Zachary, Burkhart, Baum, Boyd, Whitson, Cepicky, White, Marsh, Camper, Cochran, Faison, Williams, Barrett, and Moon.

Countless victims advocates, Tennessee Sheriffs Association and the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police were also critical in ensuring House passage. And none of this would be possible without the efforts of survivors and victims' families who have fought for years to ensure victims have a voice. After years of hard work, prayers and community advocacy, we are finally making strides.

I ask my friends to continue the fight, keep pushing, and pray for a victory in the Senate. I guarantee that victims of crime have a supporter in the Tennessee House as long as I am a representative.

Rep. Patsy Hazlewood


John Lennons antiwar activism in his solo career caused people to see him as the most political member of The Beatles, but Paul McCartney said this was not the case. While Lennon might have been the most outspoken about politics in his solo career, McCartney claimed that he was the one to introduce political messages to the band. He explained that he felt more politically motivated after a conversation with Bertrand Russell.

Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon | Central Press/Getty Images

Paul McCartney said he brought political messaging to The Beatles

The Vietnam War raged as The Beatles rose to success, but McCartney said they didnt pay much attention to it. This changed after he met with Russell.

Just when we were getting to be well-known someone said to me, Bertrand Russell is living not far from here in Chelsea why dont you go and see him? and so I just took a taxi down there and knocked on the door, McCartney told Prospect Magazine in 2009. There was an American guy who was helping him and he came to the door and I said, Id like to meet Mr Russell, if possible. I waited a little and then met the great man and he was fabulous. He told me about the Vietnam War  most of us didnt know about it, it wasnt yet in the papers  and also that it was a very bad war.

McCartney said that he left the meeting with Russell and spoke to his bandmates about what he learned.

I remember going back to the studio either that evening or the next day and telling the guys, particularly John [Lennon], about this meeting and saying what a bad war this was, he said. We started to investigate and American pals who were visiting London would be talking about being drafted. Then we went to America, and I remember our publicist  he was a fat, cigar-chomping guy, saying, Whatever you do, dont talk about Vietnam. Of course, that was the wrong thing to say to us. You dont tell rebellious young men not to say something. So of course we talked about it the whole time and said it was a very bad war.

John Lennon became seen as a political figure in his solo career

Lennon and Yoko Ono spent their honeymoon hosting bed-ins for peace, and he wrote political music. His outspokenness about politics led to his image as the political Beatle, but Lennon actually tried to step away from this characterization. He believed his music was too political and was, as a result, ruining his career.

Whether its a religious hat or a political hat or a no-political hat: whatever hat it was, always looking for these straw hats, he told Rolling Stone in 1975. I think I found out its a waste of time. There is no hat to wear. Just keep moving around and changing clothes is the best. Thats all that goes on: change.

Paul McCartney became politically involved while in The Beatles

Lennon wrote songs like Imagine, Give Peace a Chance, and Power to the People without The Beatles. While his song Revolution might be The Beatles most political song, he didnt stand out as much as a political figure while he was with the band. Lennon, McCartney, and George Harrison each wrote political music, with Harrisons Taxman being the bands first political song.

McCartney said he included political messaging in more songs than people might expect because he used metaphors. Blackbird, for example, was about civil rights.

If I consciously am outraged by something in politics, or just in the world, some of the terrible things you hear about, its not that easy for me to just sit down and write something about Yemen, or something, he told Apple Music. Even though Im outraged by the situation there, its not easy for me. But it is easier for me to write a veiled version of it.

While the public may not ever view McCartney as a political songwriter, he wasnt an apolitical outlier in the band. He wrote some political music, even if it wasnt the bands primary focus. Many of their political songs, in their time with the band and after, had to do with the Vietnam War. Therefore, McCartney significantly impacted the group through his conversation with Russell.
After a significant hiatus and cancelation speculation, The Real Housewives of New York City returns with season 14 on July 16. Bravo revealed that RHONY fans will meet a cast that includes a new group of six dynamic women who run in the same social circles, thriving in one of the most diverse and electric cities in the world.

Previously announced at BravoCon 2022, the full cast includes Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield.

Who stars in the new RHONY Season 14 cast? And which cast member has a connection to the Bravo series Million Dollar Listing?

Sai De Silva

In her Scout the City YouTube channel, Sai De Silva describes herself as an energetic fashion content creator and mother of two from NYC. We share videos about family, fashion, and beauty. Our content feels sometimes glamorous with a side of chaos and humor. We never take ourselves too seriously and love to laugh.

Ubah Hassan, Jenna Lyons, Erin Lichy, Andy Cohen, Sai De Silva, Jessel Taank, Brynn Whitfield | Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

Shes the creative director of Scout the City, which started as a passion project blog and quickly evolved into an online lifestyle destination. The brand follows her adventures of chic parenting from her home in Brooklyn where she resides with her husband David Craig and their two children, London and Rio.

Ubah Hassan

As an entrepreneur and the founder of the hot sauce company UBAHHOT, Ubah Hassan is also a model and philanthropist originally from Somalia. Along with her brother and father, Hassan fled Somalia, originally moving to Kenya, but then later making Canada her home.

Her modeling career took off when a photographer saw her in Canada and she was later signed to a modeling agency. Eventually, she moved to New York City where she resides today.

Erin Dana Lichy

Erin Dana Lichy may be new to the RHONY Season 14 cast, but shes already connected to Fredrik Eklund from Million Dollar Listing New York. Lichy is a real estate agent and works on Eklund and John Gomes Douglas Elliman team. Shes also a true New Yorker at heart. Raised in Manhattan and currently living in Tribecca, Lichy also owns her own home renovation and design firm.

@bravotv IntroducingTHE NEW CAST OF RRHONYEASON 14! ? ? Sai De Silva ? Ubah Hassan ? Erin Lichy ? Lizzy Savetsky ? Jessel Taank ? Brynn Whitfield ? Jenna Lyons  original sound  Bravo

Her husband is attorney Abraham Lichy and the couple has three children together.

Jenna Lyons

As a rising fashion design star, Jenna Lyons was the force behind the rise of fashion brand J. Crew. Despite being a force in fashion, Lyons revealed that a rare genetic disorder called incontinentia pigmenti, always made her feel self-conscious and she was even bullied.

I definitely got teased and beaten up at school, though nobody called it bullying back then, she told Oprah Daily. I remember this one boy would chase and punch me. He was always waiting to get me on my way home after schoolthank God I was tall and a pretty fast runner. It was scary. My mother even called the school to complain, but they never did anything.

Lyons is currently Co-Founder and CEO of the direct-to-consumer beauty brand, LoveSeen, and resides in New York City with her son Beckett.

Jessel Taank

Jessel Taank is the founder of The Know PR and a married mother of twin boys. The brand consultant and fashion publicist was born and raised in London, England and later moved to New York City to pursue a career in fashion.

Taank married husband, financier Pavit Randhawa after being introduced by a mutual acquaintance. They were just friends for years before they started dating. The couple married in Mexico in 2014.

Brynn Whitfield rounds out RHONY Season 14 cast

Originally from the Midwest, Brynn Whitfield feels right at home in New York City. Shes a brand marketing and communications professional, who jokes about being atrophy wife in training.

She loves interior design, fashion, and hosting dinner parties in the West Village. Whitfield was raised by her grandmother, Darlene, who passed away in the spring of 2021.

The Real Housewives of New York City season 14 premieres on Sunday, July 16, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
Pexels/Istvan Kis

In the Catholic Church, priests play a unique and distinctive function in helping to lead the faithful closer to Jesus Christ. Priests are called to act "in the person of Christ" by performing the sacraments as representatives of their religious communities.

The functions of the priests as sheperds is empowered by the label of "Pastor." A priest is in charge of the congregation's spiritual health, much like a shepherd is accountable for leading and guarding their flock. They help the pious manage their spiritual path and deepen their relationship with God by offering them support, direction, and advice.

Given that they represent Christ's presence and guide their communities toward more excellent knowledge and love of God, priests play an essential function in the Catholic Church. They are crucial to the spiritual well-being of the faithful.

Priests Serve as Instruments of Christ, the Good Shepherd, in Their Pastoral Roles

Priests play a significant role as shepherds in the Catholic Church, although they do not self-identify as the "Good Shepherd." Jesus Christ alone has that distinction. Priests can only act as shepherds if they allow Jesus to guide His flock through them as representatives of God's will.

According to Aletiea, in a speech for the ordination of priests on Good Shepherd Sunday in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI stressed this idea. He said priests could be known as shepherds, but they must let the Chief Shepherd do his work through them.

For priests, this entails realizing the need to work toward holiness by faithfully carrying out their pastoral responsibilities in the spirit of love and service.

In the article shared in Sheperd of Souls, a person no longer belongs to himself, their family, or a particular group of people when they become a priest. Instead, they belong to everyone, especially those to whom the bishop has given direct authority. Parishioners, students, hospital patients, inmates, seminarians, and the impoverished can all fall under this category. Priests are expected to serve as shepherds, emulating Christ's compassion and leadership while cultivating a solid feeling of spiritual community.

Also Read:My Sheep Know My Voice: How To Determine The Voice Of God

Priests Need to Recognize Their Humanity and Dependence on Jesus for Guidance and Care

Even though priests serves as the sheperd of the Catholic church community, it is important for them to remember that they too are normal human beings, and is only a part of the flock of Jesus Christ. With this, they should also acknowledge that they are also sheeps.

According to an article in Vatican News, in a meeting with French priests, Pope Francis called for adaptability in their education to preach the Gospel of Joy. He emphasized the significance of priests connecting with their congregations and understanding their experiences, urging them to be "shepherds with the smell of the sheep."

He warned against a disengaged clergy and emphasized the importance of interaction with their people, including sharing their joys and sorrows. Pope Francis advised priests to put God and humanity above all else in their everyday concerns and to put God's holy loyal people at the core of their service. He suggested that those more engaged in learning should think about becoming laypeople as a priest's primary responsibility is to act as a pastor among God's people.

Related Article:Youngstown Catholic Church Diocese Priest Elevated to Prestigious Vatican Position
Pexels/RODNAE Productions

A student was wearing a shirt that said that there are only two genders. Liam Morrison, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, claims he was expelled for refusing to change his T-shirt. Morrison claims he was removed from gym class on March 21 and met with school staff who told him that people had complained about his shirt, saying it made them feel "unsafe."

The well-known Twitter account LibsofTikTok reposted Morrison's remarks, which he made on April 13 during a Middleborough School Committee meeting. They reportedly assured the student that he wouldn't need to remove his shirt before returning to class, but the kid said, "Yes, words on a shirt made people feel unsafe. They told me I wasn't in trouble, but it sure felt like I was." Staff at the school reached out to Morrison's father after he politely declined.

Liam Morrison Stands Up for His Beliefs

According to the article in Spiel Times, Morrison expressed his disagreement with the school's decision, questioning, "Who is this protected class?" and "Are their feelings more important than my rights?" He also emphasized that he did not object when he saw Pride flags and diversity posters displayed throughout the school because he believed others also have a right to their beliefs.

No one personally complained about the young student's outfit, and he told the committee that he didn't see any people acting overtly disturbed about it. Morrison said that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution had permitted him to wear his shirt, wherein it guaranteed that he could have the freedom to express his beliefs.

The Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), a non-profit group devoted to supporting families and upholding Judeo-Christian values, has expressed its support for Morrison despite the Middleborough School Council's lack of response. The ongoing discussion around inclusivity and freedom of expression in schools was brought to light by MFI's announcement that it will offer legal assistance to middle school students.

Also Read: Freedom From Religion Foundation Threatens Legal Action Over Proposed Ten Commandments Legislation

Balancing Freedom of Expression and Inclusivity in Schools: Lessons from the Morrison Case

The incident has spurred discussion on gender-sensitive subjects in educational settings, freedom of expression, and school dress codes. The story shared in Fox News stated that Morrison's experience highlights the ongoing debate about freedom of expression and the need to balance that with creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students. While he believes his shirt expresses a fact he believes in, others might argue that it could be seen as offensive or exclusionary to those outside the binary gender framework.

As it requires open communication, respect, and understanding between all school community members, achieving this balance can be difficult for schools. Encouraging discussion and dialogue to transit these complicated topics is essential, ensuring that students can voice their viewpoints without shaming or marginalizing others.

According to MSN, the case of Morrison will serve as an example and also a reminder of how crucial it is for schools to develop guidelines that uphold students' rights to express their opinions while promoting a welcoming environment for all. A suggestion comes to mind that schools can have solutions regarding these issues and foster a more respectful and safe learning environment by having to promote open communication and understanding.

Related Article:Christian School Seeks Supreme Court Review for Landmark Religious Liberty Case Aims to Protect Freedom of Faith in Education
On Thanksgiving week the year I turned 11, my father had a heart attack and died suddenly in his sleep. My parents had divorced when I was two, and my dad lived by himself in an apartment in suburban Atlanta.

He was a man of exceptional kindness and gentleness, gifted in music and patient with the elderly. But when I visited him on the weekends, I got the impression things werent going well for him. He was overweight and sedentary, and his apartment was often full of empty pizza boxes and fast-food wrappers, disheveled clothes and dirty dishes. He had remarried after my parents split up, but that relationship had foundered as well, so he was alone when he died. In the parlance of our times, I would classify my dads passing as a death of despair.

I was shooting hoops at my grandmothers house when my mom arrived and tearfully broke the news to me. As a preteen, the unfamiliar, highly physical sensation of grief was terrifying to me. It was not unlike seasickness, except that I could not find the horizon. I was overcome by a brutal combination of anxiety, nausea, and vertigo, a visceral experience that over the years Ive come to refer to as the pit.

A brief encounter with this toxic brew of emotions made me dead certain I needed to move on from the pain as quickly as possible. No one in my family told me I needed to, and in fact, to her great credit, my mom did everything in her power to keep me connected with my dads family and his memory until I left home.

But I silently intuited the existential danger posed to me by my fathers death. If I become vulnerable to the suffering, I thought, I will enter an unremitting darkness and chaos with no companions or guides and no guarantee of finding the way out. The way to avoid falling into the abyss was to keep runningrelentlessly moving forward.

I did just that, uprooting my life every few years to pursue a new, exciting opportunity in another city or state. I found that wherever I went, grief was in close pursuit. A few months after a move, the pit would return, usually expressing itself as a piercing nostalgia for the people and place I had just left behind. In trying to outrun the pain, I became a person of anger and rootlessness, damaging my marriage and wounding my children with bitter words and unwanted change.

What I didnt know as a teenagerand what I most wish Id learned earlieris that no one gets through life without wrenching loss, and no one who experiences it can be made whole without first being wounded by it.

As we get older, the cross-shaped nature of human existence impresses itself on us more and more forcefully. Despite our attempts to run from it, push it away, or distract ourselves from it, pain is inescapable. Certain aspects of American culture train us to think that satisfaction, pleasure, and happiness are standard and that tragedy is a temporary and accidental suspension of this normal state of affairs.

But as the Australian musician Nick Cave says, we are all, at some point in our lives, obliterated by loss. If you havent been by now, you will be in time. Cave, who lost his 15-year-old son in a tragic accident, speaks from intimate acquaintance with grief.

Even if we somehow make it to the end of our days without hardship, we will not be able to get out of life alive, as the theologian Stanley Hauerwas loves to say. Fleeing from the harsh pangs of sadness, despondency, anger, and regret actually gives those emotions more power over us. We become hollowed out and are diminished by what we run from.

The rejection of vulnerability does even worse things to us. It shrivels us, tempting us toward meaninglessness and annihilation until, in Nick Caves words, we become a small, hard thing that has contracted around an absence.

To borrow a phrase from Saint Isaac of Nineveh, grief involves a stripping away of self in the presence of God. The self-protections we have painstakingly constructed are removed until we find ourselves as close as we will ever be, as Cave says, to the fundamental essence of things.

As I have begun to grapple with God over the loss of my dad, Ive come to realize that the intellect does not get me very far. The Scriptures register virtually no interest in the reasons why life is so painful. Indeed, the Christian tradition largely regards those questions as a distraction from the immediate and urgent work of knowing God in the midst of suffering.

Instead of offering answers, the Scriptures offer this hope: Our suffering is not meaningless and will not destroy us in the end.

In the Christian calculus, suffering is soulcraft. I dont mean to suggest that suffering or injustice is warranted because it produces character, or that God is the source of our pain. What I mean is that Gods strategy for our suffering is most often not deliverance but accompaniment and compassionsuffering with. Rather than removing the pain, God becomes a fellow sufferer with us. He elicits a growing fortitude and selflessness, filling us with his divine love.

French philosopher Simone Weil, who was an admirer of Christianity but not a believer, saw this purifying dynamic as faiths most important feature: The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering, but a supernatural use for it, she wrote in Gravity and Grace.

Hardship can engender bitterness and hatred, but it can also be the crucible where our souls are reforged.

At the age of ten, the comedian Stephen Colbert lost his father and brothers to a plane crash. When Colbert tells his story, he gives thanks for his mother who, in the midst of unimaginable pain, taught him what it means to be vulnerable to suffering without becoming embittered by it. By holding on to hope in a nontheoretical way after the accident, she became radiantexpansively filled with the love of Godin a way she could not have without the horror of her loss.

She made it possible for Colbert to hold two things together in tension: It was possible to wish something had never happened and at the same time be grateful for the work that pain alone can do in our souls. Because of her example, Colbert maintains, I love the thing that I most wish had not happened.

Suffering infuses us with the character of God we encounter through it. In 2 Chronicles 5:14, the glory of God in the temple presses in so weightily, so heavily, that the priests cannot stand up to minister. When we become acquainted with God in anguish, we experience this same kind of divine gravity. People who have known deep hardship speak with a gravitas that mere eloquence cannot account for. Their words and presence carry the glory, hope, and healing of God himself.

The African American preacher Gardner Taylor insisted that being educated and dynamic in the pulpit is not enough to bring a congregation to divine encounter. A preacher has to limp before he or she can speak with purifying, divine fire and be broken before he or she can heal. In a talk to seminarians, he said:

Now you may tickle peoples fancy, but you will never preach to their hearts until at some place, some solemn appointment has fallen upon your own life and you have wept bitter tears and gone through your own Gethsemane and climbed your own Calvary. Thats where the power is! It is not in the tone of the voice; it is not in the eloquence of the preacher; it is not in the gracefulness of his gestures; it is not in the magnificence of his congregation; it is in a heart broken and put together again by the eternal God.

I want to know the God that Gardner Taylor and Stephen Colbert know.

The year I turned 41, some 30 years after my father died (probably no coincidence), I sat silently in a bathtub on the third floor of my row house in Pittsburgh. It was the only place in the entire house where I couldnt hear my kids shouting.

In that space, I opened myself to the grief I had been running from for three decades. I told my wife that by sitting in silence over and over, I felt as though Jesus was teaching me to grieve my dad and introducing me to my heavenly Father for the first time. He gave me the hope that I could listen to my fear, regret, and anguish instead of run away from them.

I havent arrived, of course. I am at the beginning and not the end of my earthly suffering. But I have experienced enough of his presence in darkness to believe that God can be trusted with the process.

Jonathan Warren Pagan is an Anglican priest living and serving in Austin, Texas.
With rates of long-term singleness on the rise across Western societies, evangelicals are increasingly reflecting on the challenges this poses for the church. In The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church, Danielle Treweek reframes the discussion around the Bibles picture of the creation to come. Author and theologian Barry Danylak spoke with Treweekfounding director of the Single Minded ministry and an Anglican deacon in Sydneyabout cultivating a robustly theological understanding of singleness.

What are some the challenges you see with defining singleness?

Singleness is a modern concept that carries lots of baggage. It can mean different things in different contexts. We dont open 1 Corinthians 7, for instance, and see Paul talking about singleness specifically, but rather a host of related concepts like virginity and betrothal. And elsewhere in Scripture we see categories like widowhood and examples like the eunuchs in Matthew (19:12). So we need to be flexible in how we talk about singleness, recognizing some of the assumptions were bringing to that concept.

What is the chief problem with how todays evangelicals understand singleness?

The chief problem is that, by and large, we have an impoverished theological understanding of singleness. And I see two problematic tendencies that have brought us to this state.

The first problem arises from the fact that were very good at looking over our shoulder to Genesis and developing a theology of marriage from Scriptures account of creation. As Christians, however, we also look forward to what is ahead, to the new creation that Scripture promises. So we have to work out what it means to live in light of this reality were heading toward, one that Scripture tells us has already been inaugurated.

The second is failing to realize how much we are products of the world we live in. Paul warns in Romans 12 against being conformed to the patterns of this world (v. 2). But when it comes to matters of marriage, romance, sex, friendship, and community, were being discipled by the world without realizing it.

You point out that many popular evangelical writers view personal sanctification as one of the primary purposes of marriage. Why do you see this perspective as mistaken?

Marriage certainly can be helpful for sanctification. But we shouldnt assume that getting married is the best way to become like Jesus. The Holy Spirit works within us in the context of all our relationships, marital or otherwise. I can certainly see how the Spirit uses marriage bonds to challenge our sinfulness. But you dont need a spouse to have your sinfulness challenged, either by the Spirit or those around you.

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What are some ways singleness is theologically significant?

The typical approach to understanding the theological significance of singleness relies on its instrumentality. In other words, its a matter of what youre doing with your singleness.

Of course, that category really is important. But Im trying to explore whether theres something theologically significant about the status of being unmarried, in and of itself. Looking at singleness through the lens of eschatology, we can see how it has implications for things like sex, romance, companionship, community, parenthood, and family. What keeps coming back to me is how a faithful theology of singleness is essential for our ecclesiologyfor understanding who we are as the church.

You argue that celibate Christian singles might inform a more expansive, biblically authentic understanding of sexuality. How can this play out?

Too often, the church sees celibacy as oppressive rather than expansive. There are two reasons I think thats wrong.

The first is that single people committed to honoring God with their bodies can testify to others that theyre not enslaved to sexual longings. In a world that celebrates sexual desire as the total of who you are, celibate singles can show that we have rich and fulfilled lives.

The second reason takes things further into an eschatological perspective. As resurrected people in Gods new creation, were going to be our most perfected human selves. We will retain our male or female sexual natures, but as we see from Matthew 22, we wont express those natures through sex in marriage (v. 30). If, in eternity, Im my most perfected self, and that self is celibate, then this suggests that human sexuality is oriented toward relationship more broadly. Single Christians get to remind the world that theres more to being sexual than having sex.

How do we actually inspire todays Christian singlesand for that matter, the church as a wholeto see singleness as theologically significant?

In my pastoral ministry, the vast majority of singles Ive gotten to know desire marriage. So how do I handle that theologically and pastorally?

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I think the answer is helping them to see their singleness the way God sees it. Our world can send the message that your singleness is only as good as you feel about it. If youre happy and content being single, then your singleness is good. But if youre unhappy and struggling, then your singleness is a bit tragic. My desire is to think beyond the personal experience of singleness to see the significance God has imbued it with.

For the church as a whole, the answer is much the same. Lets be willing to go back to Scripture and look afresh at Gods purposes for marriage and singleness alike. Of course, that always feels like a cop-out, because people are keen to ask how the church should address singleness on a practical level. And thats important to wrestle with. But without considering the underlying theology, were only applying Band-Aids to a gaping wound.

How has your own experience with singleness informed your work?

I became interested in this subject because I was single, and remaining so as fewer of my friends were. This compelled me to think theologically about Gods purposes for this part of my life. But what really cemented it for me was working in ministry and being exposed to lots of single women grappling with similar questionsnot only never-married women, but widows and divorcees as well.

And even though this is a more pragmatic way of looking at things, its still true: I dont think I could have done all this research and reflection had I been married with kids over the last eight years. Being a single woman in ministry has allowed me to invest in this project, which is a great gift to me and hopefully for others as well.

What advice would you give Christian believers struggling with their singleness?

First, take that struggle seriously. You dont need to feel shameful because youre struggling. There are real griefs involved in all sorts of life circumstances, singleness very much included.

But dont be content to remain in that struggle. Prayerfully ask God and other believers to help you seek Christian growth and contentment. And ask that you can find a comfort and peace rooted in Gods sovereignty over your life. Even amid grief, we can move toward the joy the gospel gives us, particularly as we look toward the new creation that awaits us.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Christian banned from Turkey appeals to European Court of Human Rights

A British woman has joined a growing list of Christians banned from entering Turkey and is now challenging her de facto ban before the European Court of Human Rights, countering the countrys unlawful practice of banning foreign Christians and missionaries by designating them as security threats.

Rachel and Mario Zalma resided in Turkey for over a decade; however, they were compelled to return to the U.K. after Turkish officials designated Mario with an N-82 security code in 2019 and Rachel in 2020, said the human rights group ADF International, explaining that this code signifies that an individual is considered a threat to public order and security.

We are filing Rachel Zalmas case before the ECHR to challenge Turkiyes discriminatory treatment of Christians, ADF Internationals Legal Officer Lidia Rieder said in a statement. We hope the court will hold Turkiye accountable so Christians can once again live their lives without the threat of deportation or unchallengeable re-entry bans hanging over them.

The Christian couple discovered that many who had attended a family conference of the Association of Turkish Protestant Churches in 2019 had also been labeled with the N-82 code.

At least one man received proof that he was classified as a security threat because he attended the conference. In documents disclosed during court proceedings in his case, the Turkish national intelligence agency revealed that it was determined that he was operating against our national security because he was one of the foreign nationals who attended the conference.

Regrettably, Turkish authorities continue to undermine religious freedom by deliberately attempting to stifle the spread of Christianity, Rieder said.

Both Rachel and Mario challenged their N-82 labels up to the Constitutional Court of Turkiye, but their cases were rejected, which forced them to return to live in the U.K.

At a high-level event on Freedom of Religion in Turkiye held at the European Parliament in October 2022, victims of faith-based discrimination highlighted human rights violations committed by the Turkish government and parts of society against Christian minorities in the country. Reflecting on his experience living in Turkiye, Mario Zalma said, We love the country of Turkiye and want to work for the good of its people. We are not a threat to the state, the country, or the Turkish way of life.

The number of Christians in Turkiye has dwindled from 20% to 0.2% of the population in the last 100 years, ADF International said, attributing this decline partly to the Turkish governments systematic ill-treatment of Christians.

According to Open Doors, the Turkish government expelled at least 60 foreign Christian workers and their families between 2020 and 2022.

In February 2021, a Canadian-American Christian named David Byle was forced to leave Turkey after 19 years because of his evangelistic work and filed a deportation complaint with the ECHR.

Though missionary activity is legal in Turkey, authorities alleged Byle, a street evangelist who had been arrested and previously detained, was a threat to public order and security and imposed a permanent re-entry ban on the Christian.

Turkey has a longstanding history of deporting active expatriate Christians categorized as missionaries, but relatively few Christians were expelled, Morning Star News noted in 2021, reporting on the case of a German pastor fighting expulsion from Turkey at the time.

After a coup attempt in the summer of 2016, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratcheted up the number of Christians identified for possible expulsion or denied entry into Turkey, added MSN, which monitors Christian persecution.

Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party also allied themselves with Turkish nationalists who have long seen Christians as secret agents of foreign governments bent on undermining Turkey and a Turkish Manifest Destiny throughout the Middle East and Europe, with adherence to Sunni Islam seen as a crucial element.
Christian college student murdered in Uganda for sharing the Gospel with Muslims

NAIROBI, Kenya  A Christian college student was killed in northern Uganda on April 14 for sharing about Christ with Muslims, a fellow student said.

Jeremiah Mwanga, a second-year student at the Uganda Christian School of Professionals in Lira, Northern Region, was killed in his room at the school in Gwangabara cell, Boroboro ward, East Division in Lira. He was 24.

Mwanga was a native of Kapchorwa District, in eastern Uganda, where the Muslim student at the school charged with killing him also lived.

Jeremiah complained about messages from one of the students threatening to kill him for misleading Muslims by preaching to them the Gospel of Christ as well as converting them to the Christian faith in the school, a friend of the deceased told Morning Star News. He requested prayers from the Christian Union fellowship.

The friend, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, said that on April 14 he heard screaming from a room on the school premises at about 10 p.m.

After 30 minutes I rushed to the scene of the incident and found out that it was Jeremiahs room, he said. Inside the room was a pool of blood.

Mwanga had already been rushed to a medical clinic near the school, he said.

Reaching the clinic, I was told by the medical personnel that he had been referred to Lira Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, he said. I found him lying in the hospital bed, dead.

The friend requested he be given Mwangas personal effects, including his mobile phone.

Going through the phone, I found out that the threatening message was from a Muslim student who happened to come from Kapchorwa also, he said. I then took the phone to the school administration who reported the matter to the police.

The suspect, identified only as Chengalat, was missing from the school. Police in Lira contacted officers at the Kapchorwa town police post, who arrested Chengalat in the town. Chengalat was brought to Lira to face murder charges, the friend of the deceased said.

The killing 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.
John Piper: 'If our only good news is our healing ministry, we're going to disappoint millions of people'

When it comes to having a physical disability, should a Christians hope to be healed in this life outweigh the ultimate promise we have of a physical resurrection at Christs coming?

John Piper, founder and teacher at Desiring God Ministries and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, joined the "Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast" with host Crystal Keating to examine that question.

In looking at the Second Coming of Christ, Piper spoke of the hope that not just those with physical needs and disabilities have, but also those who are growing older as they await the physical redemption of their bodies.

Pointing to seminal passages like 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15, Piper said the reality of the resurrection of the saints is first and foremost a physical renewal for those in Christ.

I'm 77 years old and my body is increasingly disabled, right? Even though I'm relatively healthy, I know it's going to get weaker and weaker, said Piper.

And therefore, in the passage of 1st Corinthians 15, the body is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. Those are simply staggeringly, precious promises for those of us who are getting weaker and older and, and for people who've had a disability, oh my goodness.

Keating said the promise of these life-changing events associated with the resurrection will be all the more precious to those who live with disabilities and their families.

It's the ongoing daily focus toward the body and the hospital visits and the emotions that go with caring for one another in this, that we will no longer bear anymore, she said. What an amazing, amazing anticipation that we have.

Piper, whose new book Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Second Coming of Christaims at offering clarity on what believers can expect at the Lords return, also spoke some hard truths about divine healing, particularly in the Scriptures.

While affirming his belief in divine healing, Piper said that because not all are healed, the resurrection of all believers really is at the heart of the Gospel.

I believe in divine healing. I pray for everybody that wants me to pray for them to get well. I pray for them to get well, he explained. But it is clear from history and from Scripture that God ordains that not every disability is healed and therefore, we really need the resurrection of the body for good news.

If our only good news is our healing ministry, we're going to disappoint millions of people.

Keating added that Jesus came not only to heal physical bodies but to relationships as well.

When Jesus came and He did heal people in their suffering and disability, it wasn't just a physical healing, she said. He was restoring people to community and we can't forget that that is a real part of the suffering of some who live with disability. It's the communal isolation, it's the rejection.

According to Keating, the ministry of Joni & Friends hears from people who are considering physician-assisted suicide, even, she said, from believers because they are so overwhelmed.

When asked how he would respond to such inquires, Piper emphasized that he would need to know the person to address them as individuals, and said he would first deal with the question of whether suicide is biblically permissible.

One of the passages he would go to would be 1 Corinthians 6:19, which reads, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Your body was bought by the Lord Jesus when He died, said Piper. He didn't just buy your soul. He bought your body, which means he intends for your body to be a means of glorifying Him. And you need to ponder seriously whether your choosing to end the life of your body would be an honor to Jesus.

He also said rather than considering physician-assisted suicide, families should try to provide any medical assistance possible to minimize the patients pain and revealed his own family faced that difficult question before the recent passing of his mother-in-law.

She was 101 years old. She was ready to meet Jesus. And the question was, shall we use morphine and take away her consciousness and pain or shall we not? he said. So that you can keep trying to communicate with her and the family made the decision to relieve her. Relieve her. And so, they said their goodbyes.

They gave her the dosage that she would need to get the relief, and they never communicated with her again.

For Piper, being prepared for the Lords coming goes far beyond simply obeying his commands  its also cultivating what he calls a heart affection for Jesus.

He pointed to 2 Timothy 4:8  which reads, The Lord will give a crown of righteousness not only to me but also to all those who have loved His appearing  as the source of inspiration for the book.

And the reason I stress the affectional nature of the love is because the very next verse says, Demas, in love with the present world, has forsaken me, said Piper. So, what that means is Demas didn't do what Paul said. He loved the world and that means he desired the world. He had affections for the world. He wanted the world and his wanting and delighting in and treasuring Jesus faded away.

So how can we cultivate a love for His appearing?

Piper said it comes down to seeing Jesus in all His glory, His sovereign power, and His righteousness.

Paul said, beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to the next and that transformation is the transformation of our affections, said Piper.

It's becoming more like Jesus in what He loved, what he delighted in, what he approved and treasured, and so beholding is the key to becoming.
Montana becomes 16th state to ban body mutilating surgeries for kids: 'Seeing through the lies'

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed into law a measure prohibiting puberty blockers and body mutilating surgeries from being performed on minors under the guise of "life-saving care" for youth suffering from gender dysphoria.

Gianforte signed into law Senate Bill 99, also known as the Youth Health Protection Act, last Friday, which bars doctors from performing genital mutilation or elective mastectomies on youth suffering from confusion about their sex or prescribing harmful, experimental puberty blockers to children.

The new law, which is scheduled to go into effect in October, provides an exemption for minors born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development and for treatment of any infection, injury, disease, or disorder that has been caused or exacerbated by procedures previously performed to alter the body.

Montana is the 16th state to ban such procedures, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

Get your free book, Exposing the Gender Lie here

American Principles Project President Terry Schilling said in a statement released Monday that his organization supports the new law, seeing it as a strong step to defend Montanas children and their families.

The transgender industry has taken another defeat. Despite their attempts to gaslight the country into believing that this dangerous medical malpractice is somehow life-saving care, more and more states are seeing through the lies, stated Schilling.

In reality, these sterilizing drugs and mutilating surgeries are anything but necessary, and it is critical that we protect kids from being pushed down this damaging pathway that will have lifelong consequences.

The Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has denounced SB 99 and released a joint statement in advance of its signing alongside Lambda Legal and the national ACLU, promising to file a legal challenge.

Transgender youth in Montana deserve the support and care necessary to give them the same chance to thrive as their peers, the groups stated. Gender-affirming care is a critical part of helping transgender adolescents succeed in school, establish healthy relationships with their friends and family, live authentically as themselves, and dream about their futures.

Introduced in January, SB 99 passed the Montana House in a vote of 65 to 33, and the Montana Senate in a vote of 31 to 17 in April.

During the debate, trans-identified Democrat Rep. Zooey Zephyr was censured by the Republican majority after saying on April 18 that they would have "blood on their hands" if they voted for the bill.

The decision to censure Zephyr ignited protests inside the House chamber that disrupted business last week and led to the arrest of seven supporters of the lawmaker.

For its part, the ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit in state court on Monday on behalf of Zephyr, arguing that the censure of Zephyr violated the lawmakers First Amendment rights.

In February of last year, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association and the American Psychiatric Association released a joint statement denouncing state-level efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care for young people.

However, The New York Times published a story last November detailing how a growing number of medical professionals and formerly trans-identified people are concerned about the side-effects of puberty blockers.

Additionally, in 2021, the CBS news program 60 Minutes aired a segment featuring multiple young people who spoke about the harms of puberty blockers and body mutilating surgeries made in an attempt to change their sex.
Alliance University accreditation under review; AU president calls move a bit premature

Alliance University, a New York City-based Christian institution formerly known as Nyack College, is having its official academic accreditation reviewed.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is reviewing the accreditation of Alliance, having put the Christian school on show cause back in March, meaning that Alliance must show why it should remain accredited.

In a press release in March, the accrediting organization reported it had found insufficient evidence that the institution is in compliance with the Commissions standards for accreditation, requirements of affiliation, policies and procedures, and applicable federal regulatory requirements.

The Commission opted to move Alliance to what is deemed as show cause after putting the school on probation last June and then after receiving a monitoring report that was due last December.

MSCHE went on to note that Alliance remains accredited on show cause, with the university expected to provide a teach-out plan that provides for the equitable treatment of students to complete their education if the Commission were to withdraw accreditation.

Alliance University President Rajan Mathews told The Christian Post in an emailed statement that he considered the move to show cause to be a bit premature, noting that MSCHE had qualified Alliance on all accreditation parameters and criteria except Std. 6  financial health.

Given the devastating impact of COVID on academic institutions, especially those institutions catering to economically disadvantaged, marginalized and minority students, we believe MSCHE should have noted the significant improvements we were making on all fronts, including financial, and provided us adequate time to complete the improvements we had already commenced, said Mathews.

Placing us on show cause only makes it harder for us to overcome yet another challenge on our road to financial health and self-sufficiency.

On April 14, Alliance filed a report stating that it's in compliance with financial health regulations, noting that MSCHE commissioners visited the campus on April 24-25.

According to Mathews, Alliance is planning to give a presentation before the entire Commission on June 21 to represent why we believe we are in compliance with financial health standards.

Alliance was founded in 1882 and originally named the Missionary Training Institute. It changed its name to Nyack College in 1972 after the village where it was located and to reflect its expanded academic offerings.

In 2020, the school sold its 107-acre campus in Nyack and moved all academic programs to its campus in Lower Manhattan, changing its name to Alliance University last September.
'The Detransition Diaries: Saving Our Sisters' (film review)

A question Ive been asked lately by young people who've regretted both taking cross-sex hormones and undergoing body-mutilating trans surgeries is: Might the tide finally be turning against this insanity?

The answer to that question, I believe, is yes. Though it's a cautious yes, given how postmodern gender dogma has captured our institutions. But the reason its a cautious yes and not an outright no is due to the tireless work of independent filmmakers who've done what the corporate media have mostly refused to do: Tell the harrowing stories of those who are known as detransitioners  individuals who've been victimized and wound up irreversibly harmed by the transgender movement.

Like the muckrakers of old, chief among those exposing the disturbing truths of what is occurring in this arena are Jennifer Lahl and Kallie Fell of the Center for Bioethics & Culture. Their new documentary, The Detranistion Diaries: Saving Our Sisters, released on Sept. 19, provides a deeply moving and compassionate window into the inner lives of three detransitioner women: Helena, Cat and Grace. (In the interest of full disclosure, I was consulted on background due to my extensive reporting on these and related issues and am acknowledged in the films credits.)

These three young women all survived the dizzying confusion and unethical medical practices and procedures happening under the banner of so-called gender-affirming care and lived to tell about it. The compelling 45-minute glimpse into their journeys navigating their mental anguish, the appalling lack of safeguards within this treatment protocol, and the irreparable damage to their bodies is sure to start a conversation about how and why so many young women believe that harming their bodies will magically solve their psychological problems.

Their stories are heartbreaking, but the film doesn't wallow in the despair of what they've endured. In fact, one of the women emphasizes that despite her terrible ordeal, she wants everyone to know that there is life after detransition.

All three women became convinced that taking male hormones and changing their physical appearance to look as much like a man as possible would ease the distress they were experiencing. They wrongly believed that their female sex was the root of their problems.

Each of these women was affirmed in their newfound "gender identity" and was sent down this road by professional therapists and doctors. All three women injected testosterone into their bodies and suffered various consequences from it, including deeper voices, compromised mental health and potential infertility.

Cat recalls being approved for testosterone by way of a 30-minute Planned Parenthood telehealth call and began taking male hormones later that same day. Worse yet, her past psychiatric illnesses on her medical records were ignored by those who treated her.

Helena details how her life became a total disaster after being given high doses of the synthetic hormone and how, as is common among teenage girls ensnared in gender confusion, online communities pressured her to keep going with the transition despite her emerging doubts and concerns about how the side effects from testosterone were wrecking her life.

Of the three women profiled, Grace, whose story was also featured on CBS 60 Minutes in May 2021, was the only one who had a double mastectomy to appear more like a man. Believing that removing her breasts would alleviate the discomfort she felt, she shares how she remembers staring down at her postoperative flat chest and thinking, Oh no, what have I done?

She recalls how, after seeing the weeping gashes slashed across her mid-section, the surgery did not make her feel like a male. Instead, she intones with a sober lilt in her voice, all she felt like was a woman who has had her breasts cut off" and that she had bought into an insidious belief system and sold a false cure.



The documentary creatively weaves together each womans riveting story in a series of vignettes. The film is punctuated by aesthetically appealing original artwork and music, including the catchy song I Am Stardust that Cat composed and performs. Her lyrics dovetail with the film's broader theme and are heard in their fullness as the credits start rolling.

Filmmakers Lahl and Fell also effectively intersperse the three detransitioners' testimonies with footage from a panel discussion on how "gender equality" cheats women and girls that Lahl hosted in New York City in March.

Panelists who provide commentary are The Post Millennial's Libby Emmons, political consultant and author Natasha Chart and Kellie-Jay Keen (aka Posie Parker), the British womens rights activist behind the iconic Woman: Adult Human Female campaign and the founder of Standing for Women.

We do our girls a great disservice when we lie to them and tell them that they dont have to be women. We tell them they can be anything they want to be, but we have forgotten to tell them to love being who they are, Emmons stresses in her remarks.

In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Lahl said that after she released her previous documentary Trans Mission: Whats the Rush to Reassign Gender? viewers were especially moved by the firsthand accounts of the two detransitioners in that film.

When 60 Minutes featured the voices of detransitioners in a larger piece on transgender health, the vitriol that was thrown at Leslie Stahl for daring to include these voices was fast and furious. We knew then that this film had to be made, she said.

"The Detransition Diaries" focuses exclusively on the stories of women due to the skyrocketing rates of young women and girls now being sent down this pathway, the bioethicist filmmaker added.

According to available data, the number of females who underwent some kind of body-mutilating surgery for gender dysphoria quadrupled from 2016-2017. Those numbers have increased ever since amid an internet-fueled peer contagion that has spread this experimental medicalization (and the gender identity ideology along with it) via social media as the route to true happiness.

We wanted a deeper dive into these women's stories in order to compel healthcare professionals to address underlying issues and not put these people on the gender affirmation fast track, Lahl explained.



The day when such professionals are compelled to act in that way and be forced to return to the ancient motto First, do no harm cannot come soon enough. Then, and only then, will fewer  and I hope eventually zero  of these distressing diary entries have to be written in the first place.

"The Detranstion Diaries" is a must-watch work of brilliance that conveys the horror of what has been happening in society and to these young women while also highlighting the hope that they acquired upon embracing the truth. Indeed, there was and is nothing wrong with their perfectly imperfect bodies, as Cat so beautifully sings.



Watch: The Detransition Diaries: Saving Our Sisters






Victims of religious oppression in Turkey reveal why Christian population is dwindling

Victims of religious oppression in Turkey shared their stories at an event on religious freedom at the European Parliament where the speakers suggested that political and social atrocities in that country were behind the Christian population's decline from 20% to a mere 0.2% over the last century.

The victims highlighted atrocities against Christian minorities committed by the Turkish government and parts of society, according to the human rights group ADF International, which held the event this week in partnership with the group European Conservatives and Reformists.

Among those who testified at Wednesdays event in Brussels, Freedom of Religion in Turkiye, was Mark Smith, a Christian missionary who was expelled from the country in 2020 after living there for over a decade.

We love the country of Turkey and want to work for the good of its people. We are not a threat to the state, the country or the Turkish way of life, Smith was quoted as saying.

Mark, with his wife, led a Turkish-speaking Evangelical church for 10 years before being banned from the country for activities against Turkish state security.

The Turkish government has expelled at least 60 foreign Christian missionaries and their families since 2020, according to the religious freedom group Open Doors, which says Christians in Turkey experience incredible pressure from very strong  and increasing  religious nationalism in the country.

Christians and other faith minorities are unable to exercise their right to freedom of religion, commented Dr. Georgia du Plessis, legal officer for ADF International in Brussels.

Christian missionaries are unable to return to the country they call home, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church has not been able to train clergy for 50 years, and religious sites are being violated without action taken from the government, Plessis continued, adding, These direct and egregious violations clearly indicate the demise of democracy in Turkey.

Member of the European Parliament Bert-Jan Ruissen said Turkey has restrictive government policies on religious practice for all religious communities other than non-Sunni Muslims.

We also see an increase in vandalism and violence against religious minorities and a government interfering in the internal affairs of religious communities, continued Ruissen, who is from ECR Group.

This contributes to a hostile environment where religious communities feel increasingly unsafe and this deserves our full attention, he added.

The 2022 European Parliament Report on Turkey condemned the oppression of religious and ethnic minorities and expressed regret over the continuously shrinking space for them to operate freely in Turkey.

In its recent report, Open Doors says, The government continues to target even foreign Christians in its borders, along with the foreign spouses of Turkish citizens.

Its not technically illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity, but any Muslim who does decide to follow Jesus comes under immense strain from their families and communities, who often demand the convert return to Islam, it adds.

These believers are sometimes forced to lead a double life and hide their conversion. Even Christians who did not convert from Islam are hardly regarded as full members of Turkish society and encounter all kinds of legal and bureaucratic obstructions.

Last month, the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on the government of Turkey to investigate a claim that the countrys security officials offered to pay an ultranationalist whatever he wanted in return for assassinating church leaders.

In August, an ultranationalist man, identified only as Tolgahan A., confessed to Vedat Serin, a leader of the Salvation Church in the eastern city of Malatya, that members of Turkeys Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror Unit offered him whatever he wanted if he killed Serin and two other Christian leaders  former pastor Tim Stone and Pastor Ihsan Ozbek, the chair of Kurtulus Churches Association, CSW said in a statement at the time.

The man, allegedly connected to the Nationalist Movement Party, was given the addresses and photos of Serin and the others, Ahval News reported, adding that he was also given a gun and sent to the church with a friend. But when they saw a little boy playing with a computer inside, they left.

Turkey has a long history of Christian persecution, and its government still refuses to admit that the Ottoman Turks committed genocide of Christian Armenians in 1915.

Turkey is 99% Muslim, according to its own statistics. Although its constitution provides for freedom of religion, the government uses regulations that demand the registration of religious groups to make it more difficult to practice non-Islamic faiths. Hatred toward Christians and Jews in the country often leads to discrimination, stigmatization and attacks.

In July 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned the Hagia Sophia, an ancient Christian cathedral, from a museum into a mosque, undoing its transformation in 1934 from a mosque to a cathedral.
Twitter suspends 'genderfluid anti-Christ' user for image of pedophile pride flag

Twitter has suspended a user from the platform after they created and shared a pedophilia pride flag.

User @ZeebDemon was taken offline after the April 25 tweet, which included an image of what the user termed a youth attracted person flag, which featured V-shaped pink and blue lines both horizontally and vertically.

The since-deleted tweet made a reference to Alice Day, which is reported to be a holiday-style celebration for pedophiles.

Happy Alice Day, to those who celebrate! the user wrote. I figured, why not use today to unveil the YAP (youth attracted person) pride flag I designed almost a year ago? I wanted to stray from the oft used horizontal bars motif, but only a little. I wanted to retain some familiarity.

The tweet was shared by user Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis, who congratulated Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk on suspending the account.

Musk replied, Not tolerated on this platform.

Not tolerated on this platform  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2023

While the users profile has since been deleted, screenshots of the page showed a description with upside-down satanic stars and text which read: "The transfeminine genderfluid Demon-Divine / Luciferian/ BLM / ACAB /YouthLib / Proudly Paraphiliac/Radically Queer...Your own personal Anti-Christ.

Some of the terms used in the profile appear to indicate the user identified as gender fluid, a reference to transgender ideology, while a Luciferian is someone who worships or idolizes Lucifer or the devil.

Paraphilia or paraphilic disorders are defined as having sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors that often involve children, non-consenting people, or inanimate objects, according to the John Hopkins Psychiatry Guide.

BLM/ACAB are acronyms for Black Lives Matter and All Cops Are Bastards, while YouthLib refers to the Youth Liberation movement, which seeks to grant rights to young people  typically those younger than 18  that are traditionally reserved for adults.

Since the original post, a second account was suspended for an April 26 tweet that featured an image of adult-adult and adult-child couples with the text: Two days late, but happy Alice Day Mutually wanted relationships are love and valid #AliceDay #BelieveChildren #LoveisValid

Since Musks takeover of Twitter last fall, the platform has worked to combat child sexual exploitation material, including taking down 44,000 suspicious accounts with over 1,300 profiles that used code words and text in images to bypass detection and communicate with other users.

In December, Andrea Stroppa of Ghost Data tweeted a thread outlining the steps taken by the social media giant to fight child exploitation.

Musk himself weighed in on the update by posting a reply tweet saying, Thank you for helping with this important problem.

Lina Nealon, director of corporate and strategic initiatives for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, previously told The Christian Post that she believes there is still more to be done.

Any effort Twitter is taking to combat child sexual abuse material and other illegal content on the platform is a step in the right direction. At the very least, [Musk] is helping to shine light on child sexual abuse, a massive, destructive problem in our society, said Nealon.
Newport News School Shooting: Workplace Injury Vs. $40 Million Lawsuit, Vermont Schools Push Genderless Sex Ed

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Top headlines for Saturday, April 29, 2023

The Newport News School Board in Virginia has filed court papers claiming that a first-grade teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old boy was a workplace injury and therefore should file for worker's compensation instead of a $40 million lawsuit. A Vermont school has angered a parental rights group by informing fifth-grade students' parents that it would refrain from using gendered terms like boy and girl during sex education lessons to promote equity. We also examine the latest annual report from the nation's largest abortion provider, which reveals that over 374,000 abortions were performed for the fiscal year 2021-2022 while collecting more than $670 million in government funding but providing fewer health services. Finally, actor and director Mel Gibson uses his voice and faith to call for the release of American prisoner Mark Swidan, who has been held in a Chinese prison for over a decade.

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Top headlines for Saturday, April 29, 2023

The Newport News School Board in Virginia has filed court papers claiming that a first-grade teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old boy was a workplace injury and therefore should file for worker's compensation instead of a $40 million lawsuit. A Vermont school has angered a parental rights group by informing fifth-grade students' parents that it would refrain from using gendered terms like boy and girl during sex education lessons to promote equity. We also examine the latest annual report from the nation's largest abortion provider, which reveals that over 374,000 abortions were performed for the fiscal year 2021-2022 while collecting more than $670 million in government funding but providing fewer health services. Finally, actor and director Mel Gibson uses his voice and faith to call for the release of American prisoner Mark Swidan, who has been held in a Chinese prison for over a decade.
Courage is fear that has said its prayers

From the time Saul of Tarsus became the apostle Paul, trouble had been his middle name. He seemed to bounce from one crisis to the next. It was always something.

And tough as he was, as strong in spirit as he may have been, Paul was still human, and every human I know goes through times of discouragement.



Yes, Paul knew Heaven awaited him ... eventually. But he was also a flesh-and-blood man and couldnt help but be concerned about his future. The Lord knew that, of course. He knows our hearts better than we do. As David once prayed, All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you (Psalm 38:9, NLT). And in Psalm 56:8 (TLB) we read: You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.



The Lord knew all about the state of Pauls soul. And He knows our hearts as well. Thats why it meant so much to the weary apostle when the Lord paid him a visit in jail.



In Acts 23:11 we read that the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome (NKJV).

On first reading, you might wonder if those were the words Paul really wanted to hear. Youre in a dungeon (it cant get much lower than that) and someone comes to you and says, Cheer up!



Its not always such a good idea to go to someone who is feeling down and say, Put on a happy face. Smile awhile. Glib words like that dont often comfort  and can actually make things worse.

Im not critiquing what Jesus said to Paul; I would like to clarify what He said to His discouraged servant. The fact is cheer or cheerfulness is not really the best definition of the word that is used here. You might say that cheerfulness would be the outcome of what Jesus actually commanded here.

You see, our Lord never commanded people to be cheerful. He didnt go to someone with a disability and say, Be cheerful. Smile. Snap out of it. No! He had true compassion, reached out to them in their agony, and sometimes shared the agony with them.



A better translation of the Lords words to Paul would be, Paul, be of good courage or take courage.



Thats the operative word. Courage. And courage seems to be in short supply these days, doesnt it? What is courage? Courage, also known as bravery or fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, or even the threat of death.

I think you and I tend to imagine that some people are simply more courageous than others. But that isnt necessarily the case. It was Mark Twain who said, Courage is the mastery of fear. Not the absence of fear.

Then again, what some people call courage is really more akin to insanity! I remember when I was a kid growing up it seemed like I always had one friend who was willing to do anything. Maybe youve known people like that, too. They usually have nicknames like Animal, Psycho, Hot Dog  or maybe just Fool. Most of those guys are no longer with us. (And they are usually guys. Rarely girls. Girls are smarter than that.) But these are the guys who always try it first, whatever it happens to be. Walking across a railroad trestle. Jumping off the roof. Driving with no hands. That stuff isnt courage, its just a shortage of common sense.

True courage is overcoming your fear in the face of adversity. As one person has said, Courage is fear that has said its prayers. And weve all seen that kind of authentic, admirable courage on display from time to time  especially among those in our military, in law enforcement, and in our fire and rescue units. Weve heard so many stories of heroism over the years of those that have laid down their lives for others.

We need such courage today. But it isnt all about running into a burning building to save someone or throwing yourself on a grenade to protect your buddies. There is moral courage, as well  courage to stand up for whats right. It takes courage to go against the whole current of our culture and do the right thing today. It takes courage to follow the commands of Scripture and to stand by what the Bible teaches.

Were living in a time when its not popular to say that Gods definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. This is an era when its not popular to say that life begins at conception and that every child, regardless of the circumstances that led to their conception, ought to have a right to live. It takes courage to stand up for those things.

It takes courage to honor your marriage vows today when people all around us divorce at the first sign of hardship or trials. It takes courage today to remain sexually pure as a single person, waiting until you meet that right person to whom you will commit your life. It takes courage to follow Jesus Christ and to share your faith with other people.

We need courage today. But where do we find it?

Paul found it in the presence of the Lord.

Acts 23:11 says, But the following night the Lord stood by him... And we might add four words to the verse of Scripture above,  And nobody else did.



We dont read of anybody from the church of Jerusalem coming to Pauls aid at this point. As far as the local Christians seemed to be concerned, the apostle was on his own with the Romans. It had happened a number of times in the apostles life.

Have you ever felt that way? As though everyone has abandoned you? Maybe there was a time in your life when your friends  or perhaps even your family  disappointed you. Maybe your husband or your wife let you down. Sometimes we become so discouraged we falsely imagine that even God has let us down.



You can look to people for comfort, and sometimes youll find it. But I just have to warn you: If you consistently look to people for your comfort and support, you will be disappointed. It doesnt matter if its a friend, a close relative, or even a pastor. Yes, there are good and godly people out there who will help you, lift you, and encourage you at times, and God will work through obedient, Spirit-filled people to do these things for you.

Ultimately, however, you need to look to God for comfort. He will be with you, standing at your side, when all others have faded from the scene.

I would rather be in the worst place imaginable with the Lord than in the greatest place imaginable without Him. And that was the apostles experience as well.

The Lord came and stood by Paul in the prison of the Roman barracks, and we dont have any record of Him using a Find My Friends app on a smartphone to track His servant down. The Lord didnt need to hire private investigators to locate Paul. Jesus knew exactly where he was.

So, God can meet you even in an actual prison, behind literal bars of steel. But not all prisons are jails or penitentiaries. A hospital bed or a convalescent home can be a prison. So can an injury or a chronic illness. Old age itself can be very confining, where you find yourself unable to get out or do what you used to do, and you feel bound.

Paul says to all of us as He said to Paul, Be courageous. Youre not alone, and I am fully aware of your suffering.

You might be in a prison cell of mourning because of the loss of a loved one through death. Jesus is there with you  and with me as well. He understands what youre going through, and He knows what lies ahead for you.

He says, Take courage.



And then He supplies us with what we could never find on our own.
The End Times battle calls for Spirit-led living

History is full of times that were difficult for believers  indeed many millions of Christians are being persecuted in our generation. But Christians in America have been living in a sort of bubble. Because of our constitutional rights, we have freedoms not enjoyed in other countries.

There have been terrible times before, but it seems God came through in answer to prayer. Fifty years ago in the hippie era, the Jesus Movement (which impacted me), brought millions of rebellious young people to faith in Christ. Then when America seemed at a low ebb during the Jimmy Carter administration, something seemed to shift when hundreds of thousands of Christians humbled themselves and prayed and repented of America's sins at the Washington for Jesus rally in 1980. Ronald Reagan was elected president later that year, and things seemed to shift politically and financially. The Berlin Wall even came down. But now, 40 years later, I wonder how much really changed.

There is a rise of anti-Christian culture that is permeating every sector of our lives. Just look at the actual graffiti on the walls of Catholic churches that oppose the pro-abortion agenda. As the hostility against Christians continues to grow in America, we have to be fully armed and equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit in order to survive these increasingly perilous times. As my good friend Mike Bickle explained, it is certain that persecution is heading for America.

How do we know this? If we believe the Bible, we know persecution will come. The question is whether we will see it in our lifetime. Christians over the millennia have been expecting Christ to return. Now the world is so upside-down it appears what Jesus prophesied about the end of time is happening before our eyes. A one-world government, the rise of the man the Bible calls the Antichrist, and even a mark required to buy and sell seem to be the natural result of the "Great Reset" the World Economic Forum has called for. The reality is, we're in a spiritual war. And when the tribulation comes, it will be the war of all wars.

But this is no reason to despair. Jesus told us, "When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near." And when Paul describes the rapture of the church, he says, "Comfort one another with these words."

There's a wonderful promise in Revelation 3:10: "Because you have kept My word of patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the entire world, to test those who dwell on the earth." It's not fun to think about, but we may face persecution in this country.

The spiritual and eternal, not the political or cultural, are most important. Our mandate as believers is to help others embrace a Spirit-led life and fulfill the Great Commission of going into all the world to preach the Gospel to everyone. If we keep our eyes on Christ and live according to His Holy Spirit, we will not only make it in this upside-down world, but we will thrive in all circumstances.
Christian mayoral candidate wins payout after sacking for biblical marriage views

A housing association has reached a settlement with a Christian mayoral candidate whose employment was terminated after she described marriage as between a man and a woman in her manifesto.

Maureen Martin, President of the Christian Peoples' Alliance (CPA) and an ordained minister, had worked for L&Q as a housing manager for 13 years before her termination in May last year.

She was standing in the local mayoral elections when she published a manifesto in which she outlined her political position on a number of issues, including marriage.

In her manifesto, she pledged "to cut through political correctness and simply state the truth that natural marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block for a successful society, and the safest environment for raising children".

She was later investigated and sacked by L&Q for gross misconduct after three complaints were made alleging 'hate speech'.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), she challenged her dismissal, claiming that she was discriminated against.

Following her sacking, 42,000 people signed a petition calling on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to protect free speech.

She has now received a "substantial" payout from the housing association after reaching a settlement, the CLC said.

Miss Martin said she was "pleased" with the outcome.

"I know God brought me through this situation and I cannot emphasise more the importance of Christians taking a stand when being discriminated against," she said.

"If you don't challenge, you walk away with nothing and the employer who has discriminated against you believes that they have done nothing wrong and are likely to treat someone else similarly.

"It was chilling what happened to me, but I am now stronger for it."

She urged other Christians not to compromise on their beliefs.

"Much of our culture is now anti-Christian and believes that biblical beliefs, especially on marriage and human sexuality, are 'hate speech' and therefore illegal," she said.

"It is disturbing how Christian beliefs on marriage, which have been held and expressed for thousands of years, are being silenced and treated with such hostility and disdain in this country.

"I should have had a right to express my own Christian beliefs in my own private time and should not have been required to self-censor my beliefs or be forced out of my job.

"If my manifesto had been in support of same-sex marriage, would I have had the same response from my employer?

"The Bible simply does not condone same sex marriage. If you try and take the middle ground on this issue, as the Church of England has tried to do, you quickly become compromised. As a Christian party we are not in a popularity contest. We are in a truth contest, and when it comes to truth, we always win."

She plans to stand again as a mayoral candidate in Lewisham next year.

"My message will not have changed. You can fire me, but you cannot silence me," she added.

CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said that Christians were being "intimidated into silence".

"Maureen is a courageous woman treated appallingly for having the guts to declare her belief that marriage between a man and a woman is best for children and our society," she said.

"For speaking about a positive vision of life and marriage as a building block for the good of our society she was silenced and de-platformed in the political space for boldly speaking about her faith in Jesus.

"We had never seen a case like this which sent a crushing message to anyone who believes in Christian marriage and wishes to express those beliefs at work or in public office.

"LGBT ideology fuelled by Stonewall activists has captured institutions to such an extent that free speech and Christian freedoms have been intimidated into silence.

"No Christian political candidate must face such treatment again."
How 'progressive' Christians misuse the Bible

It is one thing to reject the authority of the Bible entirely, claiming that it is not the inspired Word of God.

It is another thing to appeal to the authority of Scripture while at the same time claiming that the biblical writers didn't understand certain aspects of human nature or spiritual truth.

That makes no sense at all, yet it is a common practice of "progressive" Christians. (For my use of the term "progressive," see here.)

Why even cite the Bible, as if it carried some kind of divine authority, while making yourself the arbiter of ultimate truth? Why quote Scripture if it can be trumped by the latest theories of psychology or sociology?

It is common to hear "progressive" Christians say things like, "Well, the biblical writers were inspired, but they didn't know what we know today." Or, "That teaching simply reflects the culture the ancient authors lived in."

But what, then, do they mean by "inspiration"? And in what sense is the Bible the Word of God?

It is true that biblical writers used observational language, speaking of things like the rising and setting of the sun. (Most vividly, see Psalm 19:4-6; Ecclesiastes 1:5.) And it is certainly likely that the biblical writers believed that the sun went around the earth.

But this has nothing to do with how we are to conduct our lives or what the Lord requires of us or who He is in His very essence and nature.

It's another thing entirely when we claim that the biblical writers called us to live a certain way in order to please God, but then argue that this was based on their limited cultural understanding.

In other words, we know better than they did.

Someone might protest, "Then why don't the women in your church wear head coverings, as Paul mandated in 1 Corinthians 11? You're guilty of the very thing of which you accuse us!"

That's a fair question, but it is also a question that is easily answered.

In Paul's day, it was customary for married women to cover their heads in public, whereas girls and unmarried women would not need to follow that practice. But what about a gathering of Christians in a home? In that setting, which was private in one sense but public in another sense, what would be appropriate? Should the married women cover their heads?

Paul said that they should cover their heads and that this would be a sign of their submission to their husbands. He also indicated that maintaining gender roles was important.

In our day, the customs have changed, so head coverings are not the issue. But the principles remain the same: gender distinctions are important and there are established authority structures in the home and in the church.

And note that Paul did not say, "Women who do not cover their heads will be excluded from the kingdom of God." Not at all.

But he did say that people who practice adultery or drunkenness or homosexuality will be excluded (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). There is clearly no comparison between not wearing head coverings and indulging in the sins of the flesh.

When it comes to homosexual practice, progressive Christians argue that the biblical authors were not familiar with loving, same-sex relationships, otherwise they would have blessed them. Instead, it is claimed, they were familiar with abusive same-sex relationships, such as pederasty or prostitution or promiscuity.

But this argument breaks down on numerous levels:

First, are these progressive Christians claiming that loving, committed same-sex relationships did not exist throughout history? If so, what does that say about the fleshly and sinful nature of same-sex relationships? Was there no true, gay love in the ancient world? Is it only a recent phenomenon? That alone would be a bizarre and self-defeating argument.

Second, there is plenty of evidence that at least some of the biblical authors would have been familiar with committed gay couples. Some scholars have even argued that the situations Paul dealt with in Corinth would be very similar to the situations we deal with today.

Third, Paul taught that homosexual practice was fundamentally wrong, a violation of nature (meaning, the way that God created men and women). This was a matter of natural law, of biology, of divinely intended function, not a matter of societal practices or preferences.

Fourth, Jesus certainly understood human nature, and He only reinforced biblical teaching about sexuality and marriage. Or are you telling me that He was unable to gaze into the hearts of LGBTQ people and see their struggles? (A professing gay Christian once used that very argument: Jesus really didn't know what was in people's hearts. So, this "gay Christian" chose to downgrade who Jesus was rather than recognize the error of his ways.) Since Scripture tells us plainly that Jesus did, in fact, know what was in every human heart (see John 2:24-25), we must accept His judgment on the matter. God established marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life (see Matthew 19:4-6), and all sexual acts committed outside of that union are sinful and defiling (see Matthew 15:19-20).

Fifth, the idea that the biblical authors simply didn't understand same-sex attractions is to say that they were not inspired by God and that they did not have divine insight into human nature and the nature of sin. Again, this is a completely self-defeating argument, since, if you can succeed in proving that the biblical authors didn't get these things right, then you have just undercut the authority of the Scriptures.

It is one thing, then, for a skeptic to say, "Who cares about what Paul had to say? He was obviously homophobic. The same goes for Moses and Jesus." At least that would be consistent.

It is another thing to say, "Yes, Moses, Jesus, and Paul didn't have full understanding of human sexuality, especially when it comes to same-sex attractions. We're more enlightened today. But we still respect the Bible and believe it is God's inspired Word." Hardly!

Instead, in the words of Augustine, "If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself."

Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is Revival Or We Die: A Great Awakening Is Our Only Hope. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
Most adults globally say belief in God is not necessary to be moral - study

(CP) Adults in more than a dozen countries say it's not necessary to believe in God to lead moral lives or have good values, according to a recent study.

The research, based on responses to the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Survey conducted in the spring of 2022, was released on April 20.

When asked if it was "necessary or not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values," majorities of respondents based in the secular Western European countries of Sweden (90%), France (77%), the United Kingdom (76%), the Netherlands (76%), Spain (74%), Belgium (69%), Italy (68%), Germany (62%) and Greece (60%) said it wasn't necessary.

Most respondents in other countries located outside Western Europe but still considered to be part of Western civilization, including Australia (85%), Canada (73%) and the United States (65%), also maintained that a belief in God is not necessary to "be moral and have good values."

Majorities of respondents in the Eastern European nations of Poland (67%) and Hungary (63%), which have governments sympathetic to traditional values and religion, said the same.

People in Israel and Singapore were more evenly divided on the question, with 50% and 54% of those surveyed, respectively, saying that a belief in God was a prerequisite for morality and having good values. Malaysia was the only country where the overwhelming majority of participants (78%) saw belief in God as necessary for leading a moral life with good values.

In the US, those who believe religion is not important (92%) and the religiously unaffiliated (88%) were most likely to say that a belief in God was unnecessary for living a moral life and having good values.

Majorities of all subgroups based on partisan identification, education level, gender and age group indicated that a belief in God was not necessary to live a moral life. Even among those who described religion as "important" to them, a narrow majority (51%) suggested that a moral life is possible in the absence of a belief in God.

As a whole, Protestants were evenly split on the necessity of a belief in God for living a moral life with good values. Majorities of white mainline Protestants (69%) thought it was not necessary to believe in God in order to live a moral life with good values, while majorities of black Protestants (59%) and white Evangelical Protestants (57%) took the opposite view.

Among Catholics in the US, 63% thought that a moral life with good values did not require a belief in God. That figure rose to 67% among white, non-Hispanic Catholics and dropped to 61% among Hispanic Catholics.

A difference in views between the religiously affiliated and the religiously unaffiliated regarding the necessity of a belief in God to living a moral life with good values extended across all the countries surveyed, although in all but one case, majorities belonging to both groups did not think a belief in God was a requirement for achieving such a life.

The difference between the share of the religiously unaffiliated who saw a belief in God as unnecessary for a moral life with good values and the religiously affiliated who concluded the same ranged from 37 percentage points in Greece to 10 percentage points in Sweden.

The share of religiously affiliated respondents who considered a belief in God necessary for achieving a moral life with good values ranged from 49% in Singapore to 86% in Sweden.

The percentage of religiously unaffiliated respondents who said the same ranged from 76% in Singapore to 97% in Australia. A similar divide emerged within each country surveyed on the necessity of a belief in God for conducting a moral life with good values based on political ideology, although in all but two cases, majorities of all ideological subgroups contended that a belief in God was not necessary to live a moral life with good values.

The gap between left and right when it comes to the insistence of a lack of a connection between belief in God and the ability to live a moral life with good values ranged from a high of 40 percentage points in Poland to a negligible 1 percentage point difference in Sweden, where those in the political center were actually most likely to place a premium on a belief in God as an important factor in a person's ability to live a moral life with good values.

The share of respondents on the political right who did not think a belief in God was necessary to live a moral life with good values ranged from 43% in Israel to 92% in Sweden, while the percentage of those on the left who said the same ranged from 62% in Israel to 93% in Sweden.

The Global Attitudes Survey is based on responses collected from 3,581 adults in the United States from March 21-27, 2022, and 18,782 adults from 16 other countries from Feb. 14-June 3, 2022.

 The Christian Post
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(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are reaping profits not seen since oil topped $145 a barrel in 2008  almost twice the current price.

Strong results over the past four quarters underscore how theyve whipped themselves into robust financial shape in response to back-to-back oil-market collapses by cutting costs and streamlining portfolios. Now, ample cash flows mean shareholders have little reason to worry about the sanctity of dividends  even as oil prices flounder around $78.

Exxon on Friday reported its best-ever start to a year with first-quarter net income of $11.4 billion after oil production soared from new wells in the US and off the coast of South America. Chevrons profit rose slightly to $6.6 billion as oil-refining profits rebounded amid climbing fuel demand.

Investors applauded Exxon but were disappointed with Chevron, which disclosed slipping output in the Permian Basin. Exxon was the days best performer among S&P 500 energy stocks with a 1.9% increase at 9:40 a.m. in New York. Chevron slid 0.8%.

Both companies have posted hefty profits for four straight quarters even as international crude prices slid more than 35% from last years peak. Exxon has earned more than $10 billion a quarter during that span while Chevrons average was close to $9 billion  something neither company has done since at least 2008, when crude reached $147.50.

The results reflect changes weve made, Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said during an interview with CNBC on Friday.

Exxons adjusted earnings of $2.83 a share were 20 cents higher than the Bloomberg Consensus. Chevron also exceeded expectations with $3.55 in per-share adjusted profit.

Exxon said its net debt-to-capital ratio shrank to 4% at the end of the period, thanks in large part to a cash pile of almost $33 billion. The company has sought to enrich investors via dividends and share buybacks, and Exxon is the best-performing energy stock in the S&P 500 Index this year.

The unexpected results were really all about us increasing our production volumes significantly, Chief Financial Officer Kathy Mikells said during an interview. Exxons output off the coast of Guyana and in the US Permian Basin rose 40% on a combined basis from a year earlier, she noted.

As for Chevron, the companys worldwide fleet of refineries reaped $1.8 billion during the period, a five-fold increase from the first quarter of 2022.

Chevron has pledged to maintain investor payouts even as it faces pressure to fund new projects key to expanding production.

Chevrons results followed a disappointing end-of-2022 performance and confusion over its strategy for repurchasing shares. Executives were forced to redraw development plans in the Permian Basin after wells clustered too closely together hindered productivity.

--With assistance from Mitchell Ferman.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
NORWALK  In recent months, police have arrested nine juveniles for vandalism, assaults and threats at West Rocks and Nathan Hale middle schools connected with the loosely organized "504" group of students, officials said.

Norwalk Police Chief James Walsh said his department conducted 18 investigations involving vandalism and other crimes believed to have been committed by the "loosely organized group" of mostly middle school students that identify themselves as "504."

The number is the calling code for Honduras, he said Monday. The investigations included district and school administrators and school resource officers from West Rocks and Nathan Hale middle schools. Some of the incidents took place on school property while others occurred off school grounds, he said.

The investigations resulted in nine juvenile arrests, he said.

But parents at West Rocks Middle School and a community leader say some students are being unfairly targeted for arrests while other incidents are not being adequately addressed.

Walsh confirmed his department conducted an investigation into an April 19 incident between a West Rocks Middle School student and a paraprofessional. The investigation resulted in the arrest of the student, who witnesses said assaulted the teacher, Walsh said.

The local chapter of the NAACP and at least one parent of another student are questioning the outcome of the investigation since the same student has been arrested other times, even as they contend he was the victim in some of the incidents.

"What I find really disturbing is that police have said all of the statements were the same, alleging that the boy was the aggressor," Norwalk NAACP President Brenda Penn-Williams said. "But I have in my possession a copy of a statement that says the paraprofessional was the aggressor."

Police agreed to speak to the witness again after concerns were raised by a "community stakeholder," but the witness' statement and the outcome of the investigation remained the same, Walsh said.

"After concerns were brought to our attention last week by a community stakeholder regarding the arrest, we interviewed the witness a second time, who provided a handwritten sworn statement," he said. "This version was identical as given during the previous interview."

West Rocks parent Angel Jenkins said her 13-year-old daughter was attacked by another female student in front of a teacher, but the other child and educator did not face serious discipline.

"They promised me they would get to the bottom of this, but no one ever got back to me," Jenkins said. "It was just swept under the rug."

On Saturday, Norwalk Public Schools posted a vague statement on its Facebook page, claiming officials handled an unspecified incident appropriately and that police were investigating. The statement did not provide information about the incident and raised questions and drew criticism from some people who commented on the post.

"In light of recent allegations posted on various social media channels that make reference to a situation involving Norwalk Public Schools, the district is reiterating that these claims of improper response hold no merit and that NPS has followed well-established protocols and proper procedures when responding to the situation," the statement said. "We also must reiterate that this matter is being investigated by local authorities. The well-being of our entire NPS community is our number-one priority, and Norwalk Public Schools is aiding the Norwalk Police Department by providing full transparency so that they may carry out their investigation."

According to Walsh, the investigation into the incident at West Rocks was already closed.

The school system reissued the same statement Monday and declined to comment further.
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Days after Disney sued Florida's governor in federal court for what it described as retaliation for opposing the state's so-called Don't Say Gay bill, Disney World's governing board  made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees  filed a lawsuit Monday against the entertainment giant.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District sued Disney in state court in Orlando, and board members voted to defend itself in federal court in Tallahassee where the entertainment company filed its lawsuit last Wednesday.

The Disney lawsuit against the governor, the board and its five members asks a judge to void the governor's takeover of the theme park resort district previously controlled by Disney for 55 years. The governing board's lawsuit seeks to maintain its oversight of design and construction in the district that governs Disney World's 25,000 acres after the previous Disney-controlled board signed over those powers to the company before the DeSantis-appointed board members held their first meeting earlier this year.

The DeSantis board's lawsuit was filed Monday afternoon in Orange County and claims the agreements with Disney reek of a backroom deal. The previous board members failed to give proper notice about the agreements, lacked the authority to make them, unlawfully delegated governmental authority to a private entity and the agreements are unenforceable under Florida law, according to the suit.

We will seek justice in our own backyard, Martin Garcia, chair of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, said at Monday morning's special meeting approving the lawsuit.

An email seeking comment was sent Monday morning to Disney officials.

Disney filed its lawsuit last week after the oversight board appointed by DeSantis voted to void a deal that gave the company authority over design and construction decisions in its sprawling properties near Orlando.

Disney's lawsuit was the latest tug-of-war in a more than year-old feud between Disney and DeSantis that has engulfed the governor in criticism as he prepares to launch an expected presidential bid in the coming months.

DeSantis, who has framed himself as a Republican firebrand able to deftly implement his conservative agenda without drama, has dived headlong into the fray with the beloved company and major tourism driver, as business leaders and White House rivals bash his stance as a rejection of the small-government tenets of conservatism.

The fight began last year after Disney, in the face of significant pressure, publicly opposed a state law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call Dont Say Gay.

As punishment, DeSantis took over Disney Worlds self-governing district through legislation passed by Florida lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors that would oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. But before the new board came in, the company pushed though 11th-hour agreements that stripped the new supervisors of much of their authority.

In response, DeSantis and Florida lawmakers vowed to pass legislation that would repeal the agreements and end an exemption for Disney parks when it comes to ride inspections by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The agriculture agency is responsible for inspecting amusement rides in Florida, but an exception was carved out for the states largest theme park operators, such as Disney and Universal Destinations & Experiences, which do their own safety inspections. Under the proposal, the exemption would end for rides in special governmental districts, which basically targets just Disney World.

No corporation is above the law and the people of this state, DeSantis said Monday at a news conference in Titusville, along Florida's Space Coast.

The creation of the self-governing district by the Florida Legislature was instrumental in Disneys decision in the 1960s to build near Orlando. The company had told the state at the time that it planned to build a futuristic city that would include a transit system and urban planning innovations, so the company needed autonomy in building and deciding how to use the land. The futuristic city never materialized and instead morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.

Before and after the vote authorizing the lawsuit against Disney in state court on Monday, the current board members defended their work, claiming they were trying to promote better governance and bring the district into the 21st century.

Board member Ron Peri described being mocked in the media and getting hate mail. During the public comment portion of Monday's meeting, a man who has a Disney timeshare told the board members, You guys are terrible, and I think you all should resign.

Peri, who used to run a Florida-based ministry and has been accused of making anti-LGBTQ statements, urged the public to give the new board a chance.

Disney suing me? You've got to be kidding, Peri said. I have loved Disney World. My kids have enjoyed it. The Magic Kingdom is wonderful. It is my hope the actions we take will be better for everyone, Disney included."

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP.
Fox News experienced a significant ratings drop in the 8 p.m. hour last week after firing prime-time host Tucker Carlson - while one of its much smaller conservative cable rivals appears to have benefited, at least temporarily, from the viewer migration.

Carlson averaged more than 3 million total viewers per night from April 17-21, what turned out to be his final week in that time slot. But in his absence, the network averaged just about 1.8 million viewers per night during the first four days of the week. (Friday data is not yet available.)

"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade temporarily filled the time slot last week; this week, Fox News personality Lawrence Jones will host.

The disparity was most stark on Wednesday, when Kilmeade's 8 p.m. hour received an average of 1.3 million total viewers, compared with the 3 million Carlson received a week earlier - a decline of 56 percent.

When Fox announced Carlson's forced departure April 24, the network said that "rotating Fox News personalities" will fill in until a permanent 8 p.m. host is selected. The network did something similar with the 7 p.m. hour, after it was vacated by anchor Martha MacCallum, and ultimately settled on Jesse Watters as the permanent host. "Jesse Watters Primetime" has been a major success for Fox News, and Watters, who also co-hosts "The Five," is considered a possible candidate for Carlson's old slot.

Although Fox's critics and Carlson's fans have gawked at the ratings drop - former Fox host Megyn Kelly characterized the 8 p.m. audience decline as "a bloodbath" after just two days of data - Fox has publicly remained calm.

"For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news' most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC," the company said in a statement. "Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News' powerhouse team of journalists, analysts and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source."

Fox still holds a commanding lead over the competition on MSNBC and CNN. And the network has weathered similar short-term declines in the past, including a minor dip after Bill O'Reilly was pushed out of the network in 2017. He was replaced by Carlson, who had the most-watched show in all of cable news in 2021 - eclipsing Sean Hannity, who earned that title between 2017 and 2020. The 5 p.m. panel show "The Five" was the network's most-watched show in 2022, and it's tracking that way again in 2023.

Meanwhile, another right-leaning cable news network experienced a ratings boost last week: Newsmax, which also saw a brief surge in viewers after Fox alienated some conservatives by calling the state of Arizona for Joe Biden early on election night in 2020. On the day Carlson was fired, Newsmax's 8 p.m. offering, hosted by former Fox News host Eric Bolling, drew a competitive 531,000 total viewers, only about 200,000 behind CNN's 8 p.m. hour.

Bolling's show got up to 562,000 on Tuesday night, then dropped to 456,000 by Thursday. Newsmax's viewership surge also plateaued in the weeks after the 2020 election before ultimately declining, after frustration with Fox News among Donald Trump's base seemed to mellow.

Newsmax has looked to capitalize on the post-Carlson surge, issuing statements touting the ideological purity of the network's programming and its growing reach, just as it did in the wake of the 2020 election.

"For a while, Fox News has been moving to become establishment media, and Tucker Carlson's removal is a big milestone in that effort," Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy said April 24. "Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax, and this will only fuel that trend." Newsmax also claimed last week that its streaming platforms are seeing a boost as well.

Although Fox News has not commented on Newsmax's boasting, internal emails made public as part of the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit made clear that Fox executives and hosts were concerned about its rival's potential for growth in 2020. One of the hosts was Carlson, who said in a text message to a producer that "with Trump behind it, an alternative like Newsmax could be devastating to us."
A man landed behind bars for attempting to smuggle firearms, firearm parts and cash into Mexico via the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, according to an arrest affidavit.

Ariel Espinosa was charged with export or attempt to export multiple firearms and multiple firearms parts out of the United States, and evade currency reporting.

At about 10:30 p.m. April 25, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge inspected a 2012 F-350 bearing Florida license plates hauling a trailer.

CBP officers identified the driver as Espinosa, a naturalized U.S. citizen. He gave a negative declaration for weapons, weapon parts, ammunition and more than $10,000 in crash. He stated he was traveling from Florida to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico in his vehicle hauling a trailer.

CBP officers referred the vehicle and trailer for a secondary inspection. CBP officers then discovered anomalies within a box in the trailer. Further inspection resulted in the discovery of assorted ammo, magazines and three firearms concealed in a box, the affidavit states.

A pat down of Espinosa resulted in the seizure of a firearm broken down in separate weapon components in his short pockets. CBP officers also found $15,000 throughout Espinosas short pockets, according to court documents.

Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to take over the investigation.

In a post-arrest interview, Espinosa stated he concealed the weapon and did not declare it because he knew he could not take firearms into Mexico. He added he had the firearm for his protection in Mexico, according to court documents.

The firearm discovered during the pat down of Espinoza was reported stolen. Authorities added that Espinosa avoided declaring the cash, according to the affidavit.

Asked about the weapons discovered in the box concealed within clothing and goods, Espinosa stated he did not know the weapons were there and did not inspect the box before possessing it, according to court documents.

The gun seized from Espinoza was a 9mm SCCY CPX-2 pistol. The other three weapons were described as .380 SAPS, a .45 Hi-Point Firearms JHP and a Smith and Wesson MP Bodyguard pistol. Espinoza had 33 rounds of .45 caliber ammo and six rounds of .380 ammo, authorities said.

Espinoza also had the following magazines: One for Hi-Point .45 caliber, two for SCCY 9mm, one Pro Mag CPX 9mm and two SAPS .380, according to court documents.
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When Don Koontz was a Montgomery County probation officer, he often wondered if the court systems DWI program could offer something more tangible than a paper certificate to its graduates.

I wanted them to have something they could have forever beyond a piece of paper, he said.

On YourConroeNews.com: Conroe's Kidzfest event brings family fun to downtown

He turned to a group of eight ladies known as the Sewing Sisters at his church  Longmire Road Church of Christ.

For more than a decade the ladies have been stitching love into every quilt they make.

Once they have a stack of quilts completed, they give them to Judge Kathleen Hamiltons 359th District Court in Conroe and the colorful quilts are given to each graduate who completes the countys DWI and Drug court rehabilitation program as a reminder of their journey and their sobriety.

Its something they can see and touch, said Koontz, now retired.

On April 24, five women from the Sewing Sisters including Joquieta Gage, Joan Ascue, Dorotha Guinn, Carol McCain and Jo Ann Koontz were honored by the court and received a plaque.

It was the first time Hamilton and the officers of the court met the ladies who put such time and effort into the quilts.

Weve always envisioned you must have wings, Hamilton told the ladies.

In addition to the quilt, each graduate is given a personal letter of encouragement from the group.

I think those who accept these quilts are covered in more than love, theyre covered in prayer as well, Hamilton said.

The ladies meet on Thursday mornings at the church and sew all day.

On YourConroeNews.com: Endangered woodpecker to get safe harbor in new 100-acre Texas forest conservation site

Not only do they contribute to the court system, they also sew quilts for foster children, those in nursing homes and they make bears for children to be distributed by the Montgomery County Hospital Direct which runs the countys ambulance service.

Quilter Dorotha Guinn said each quilt they make is unique and different.

Its something we love to do thats for the glory of God, said Jo Ann Koontz, whose husband is the retired probation officer.

For more about the 359th District Court, visit https://www.mctx.org. For more about Longmire Road Church of Christ, visit https://www.longmirechurchofchrist.com/.
DALLAS (AP)  A private company that ran a Texas jail where a woman allegedly went blind following days of medical neglect before her 2019 death has agreed to a $7 million lawsuit settlement along with other defendants, her family's attorney said Thursday.

The payout over Holly Barlow-Austin's death after being held at an East Texas jail operated by LaSalle Corrections is among the largest public settlements of its kind, attorney Erik Heipt said in a statement. Her death was one in a string of other deaths and incidents that led to lawsuits and investigations of the company, which runs facilities where thousands of people are incarcerated.

If youre going to cut corners and put profits over peoples lives, there will be a steep price to pay, said Heipt, a Seattle-based lawyer who represents Barlow-Austins husband and mother. He said the payout should serve as a wake-up call to all private jail and prison operators."

The family's federal lawsuit was resolved ahead of a trial after more than two years of litigation. They had claimed that LaSalle guards and medical staff at the Texarkana jail ignored obvious signs of Barlow-Austins worsening health, falsified records, deprived the 46-year-old of food and water and only took her to the hospital after it was too late.

They sued LaSalle along with Bowie County and several guards and medical staff at the Bi-State Jail. Court records do not show details of the agreement, including what share of the settlement was paid by which of the defendants. Heipt said the specific terms were confidential.

Lawyers for LaSalle  which runs facilities in Texas, Louisiana and Georgia  and Bowie County did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The county sheriff's office took over management of the jail in 2021, after a decade of LaSalle running it.

In April 2019, Barlow-Austin was arrested for a parole violation by police in Texarkana, a city that straddles Texas northeastern border with Arkansas.

She arrived at the jail with serious health conditions, including HIV, but normal vital signs and full mobility, according to the suit. It said she left the facility blind, emaciated, and barely able to move."

Over a period of days guards and medical staff didnt check on her or, when they did, ignored her calls for help and water, according to the suit. It also says staff falsified observation logs  something state inspectors found they had done in another case that was settled.

The family of Michael Sabbie reached an undisclosed settlement with LaSalle two months before Barlow-Austin died in a hospital. They alleged in a lawsuit that company employees at the same jail deprived him of medications and treatment for his heart disease and diabetes.

In 2017, LaSalle also agreed to a settlement when a severely diabetic woman died after a nurse at the jail refused medical treatment. The former nurse subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent homicide.

In a statement Thursday, Barlow-Austins mother and husband, Mary Margaret Mathis and Michael Glenn Austin, said they hope the settlement in their case "will save some lives in the future.
LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP)  Two men have been arrested on weapons charges amid an ongoing investigation into a shooting at a weekend house party in Massachusetts in which one person was killed and five injured by gunfire.

Police responding to a call for a disturbance at a third-floor apartment in Lawrence about 3 a.m. Sunday found the injured, according to Essex District Attorney Paul Tuckers office.

All six were taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where Desiderio Arias, 18, was pronounced dead. Arias did not live at the apartment where the shooting occurred.

Two men  Saul Enrique Morales Espinosa, 22, and Joshual Ramirez, 20, both of Lawrence  were arrested Monday. The two, who were among the six hospitalized, were charged with two felony counts each of carrying a firearm without a license and carrying a loaded firearm.

Espinosa and Ramirez both pleaded not guilty during remote arraignments Monday. Each was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on May 9.

Espinosa and another individual were flown by medical helicopter to Boston hospitals for additional treatment. Ramirez was also hospitalized with gunshot wounds, according to investigators.

None of the survivors conditions was immediately available, according to prosecutors.

Authorities did not disclose a possible motive for the shooting. But they said based on the initial investigation, the shooting does not appear to be a random act.

State and city police are continuing their investigation.

Lawrence is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Boston and has a population of about 89,000 people, according to the 2020 Census.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month starts in May to honor the contributions generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made to the U.S.

Congress officially put it on the calendar after passing a law in 1992. May was chosen because it marks the month the first Japanese immigrants arrived to the U.S. in 1843, as well as when the transcontinental railroad built mostly by Chinese immigrants was completed in1869.

As of 2019, it is the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the country, with more than 19.5 million Americans who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander, according to Pew Research Center analysis.

The Library of Congress along with other government agencies annually plan events in May to help people learn about the various cultures and ethnicities that make up the larger community. There are also numerous online activities from curated playlists to virtual museum exhibits for families to participate in this month.

The Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American Center recently released a compilation of original songs, sounds and meditations called Bravespace, created by Asian American women and non-binary artists and musicians, to explore the healing arts from perspectives that have long been marginalized.

"Arriving amidst a period of collective trauma and heightened xenophobic violence, Bravespace offers listeners a refuge for contemplation, grief, and growth," the center said.

The institute also has online museum exhibits and art collections that describe how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped the U.S.

The National Archives offers a volunteer opportunity for people to help make its records that document the Asian and Pacific Islander experience in America more accessible. "Citizen archivists" can donate their time transcribing and tagging Chinese heritage records from the exclusion era.

The National Park Service created a podcast series that captures the natural and cultural sounds of Hawaii's national parks. For Americans who have yet to visit the last state admitted to the union, the series acts as an introduction to the tales of extinction, invasion, volcanic eruptions, and ancient navigation that make up Hawaii's history.

The Veterans History Project details narratives from Asian and Pacific Americans who served in the U.S. military during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq, putting their lives on the line for America while their families were confined to internment camps back in the States.
Carole Baskin from the show 'Tiger King' was in Northwest Arkansas Saturday, raising money for Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs.

Baskin said her cats will soon call Eureka Springs, Arkansas, home.

"Construction is starting on the Freedom Field where all the Big Cat Rescue cats will soon live," Baskin said.

Forty-one animals from Baskin's Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary in Tampa, Florida, will soon make the journey to Eureka Springs, according to Tanya Smith, the president of Turpentine Creek.

"They're financially gonna support the move for their big cats to come here, and there's 41 animals total," Smith said. "We're building out the tiger habitats first, and then we're come back and build out the small cat habitats. We want to go ahead and get the big cats moved here just as soon as possible.

Turpentine Creek is working on a 13-and-a-half-acre expansion with 40 habitats, half for big cats and half for small cats.

Smith said they are hoping to get Carole Baskin's big cats to Arkansas by July and the rest of the animals to the refuge by October.


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OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP)  A judge on Monday sentenced a former Wisconsin student who attacked his high school's police officer with a barbecue fork to 17 years in prison.

A jury convicted Grant Fuhrman, now 20, in February of attempted first-degree homicide in connection with the 2019 incident at Oshkosh West High School. He faced a maximum sentence of 60 years in the state prison system.

In addition to the 17 years, Winnebago County Circuit Judge Daniel Bissett sentenced him to 10 years on extended supervision.

Furhman was 16 years old when he stabbed the school's liaison officer, Mike Wissink, multiple times in the neck at the school in December 2019. Wissink shot him during the struggle. Neither was seriously injured and Wissink was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Fuhrman texted a friend in late September or early October 2019 to bet that Fuhrman would not go to Wissinks office and stab him with a pencil, take Wissinks gun out of his holster and either shoot himself or the officer. The friend did not report Fuhrmans comments.

Prosecutors were seeking 20-25 years in prison, plus 20 years extended supervision, WLUK-TV reported. Fuhrman's attorney countered that he deserved 3 1/2 years behind bars and five years on extended supervision.

Wissink asked the judge to sentence Fuhrman to the maximum 40 years in prison and 20 years extended supervision.

Fuhrman told the judge on Monday that he feels horrible about his actions and asked for a chance to prove he's not a bad person, WBAY-TV reported. He apologized to Wissink, his family and first responders.

Wissink didn't hear the apology, the television station reported. He left the courtroom after providing a statement to the judge.
HARTFORD  The chalkboards at the abandoned John C. Clark Elementary School still have the words written on them from the last day of class before the building closed permanently eight years ago.

"To my beloved Clark School, today I say farewell," reads a message on one chalkboard from a former special education teacher. "Thank you for being so wonderful to me for 31 years."

The city of Hartford closed the school in January 2015 after discovering PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in the building. PCBs are known to cause cancer as well as other health problems when inhaled, ingested or contacted with skin. Unlike lead and asbestos, school districts are not required to test for PCBs, but the materials were used in school buildings in the 1950s through the 1970s.

Alumni of Hartford Public Schools across the city are now wondering if their cancer diagnoses could be linked to the school they attended.

The district notified parents of Clark's closure in 2015 and the potential for PCB exposure. The district also filed a lawsuit that year against Monsanto, a manufacturing company that produced PCBs used in products installed during the construction of the school. The lawsuit cited "dangerous" levels of PCBs in the building when the school closed, court documents show.

"In 2015, Hartford Public Schools communicated to all families that students and staff at Clark Elementary School would be relocated while testing was conducted," a spokesperson for Hartford Public Schools said in a statement. "In that communication and others, the district provided resources as well as contact information for personnel at the Connecticut Department of Public Health so families could ask questions about PCBs. Furthermore, the district also hosted a family meeting so concerned members of the community could meet with the former superintendent and her staff."

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the city, remains pending in court. Monsanto filed a motion for summary judgement against the city more than three years ago that remains pending before the Federal District Court in Connecticut.

"We believe the claims against the company are without merit as the evidence in this case demonstrates that multiple federal, state and local government agencies found that the levels of PCBs detected at the Clark School did not present a health risk," according to a statement from Bayer, the company that acquired Monsanto in 2018. "As the plaintiffs own experts have admitted, there are no scientific studies demonstrating that PCBs volatilize from caulk at levels capable of causing human disease or that PCB levels in the Clark School were unsafe."

In a similar 2017 decision involving the town of Westport, a different court ruled in Monsanto's favor.

While Clark is at the center of the lawsuit, it is not the only Hartford school where officials say students and staff may have been exposed to toxins.

PCB concerns grow

Hartford renovated several school buildings built between 1950 and 1979 with materials "potentially containing" PCBs, officials said. These buildings are Annie Fisher, Classical Magnet, Global Communications Academy, Hartford Public High School, Environmental Science Magnet at Mary Hooker, Kinsella Magnet (Van Block) and Weaver High School.

While the district notified current students about the PCBs and the renovations, not everyone was informed of the toxins. Among those in the dark were students who attended Clark and other potential exposure sites dating back to when the doors first opened.

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, which is like an aggressive form," said Latoya Coombs, a former Annie Fisher student. "All of a sudden, I noticed like a bunch of my classmates were being diagnosed with cancer as well."

Coombs attended Annie Fisher from 1989 to 1996 and worked at Clark School from 2013 until the doors closed in 2015. She said no one contacted her to suggest additional cancer screening after her time in the schools. In fact, she didn't begin to consider a link between her health conditions and the schools until this year when she saw posts on social media about the situation.

The group BLM860 has brought new attention to PCBs and their effects in Hartford.

"We found out about the PCBs because someone's funeral is occurring," said Ivelisse Correa-Ojeda, a Hartford resident and one of the leaders of BLM860, referring to her son's father, who died of cancer.

"We linked it to a whole bunch of people that he went to elementary school with. And we saw that the city of Hartford has been well aware of this for years and didn't do any outreach. So we did it ourselves."

Correa-Ojeda has been combing through obituaries and GoFundMe pages of former Hartford students to learn more about the ailments they face in hopes she can notify them about the potential PCB exposure.

"Everyone who went to those schools, everyone who worked in those schools deserves to know and deserved to know before this," Correa-Ojeda said.

In the Clay Arsenal neighborhood where Clark is located, the life expectancy is 74.8 years, almost five years less than the life expectancy in Hartford overall.

While it is unclear what levels of PCBs existed, if any, at the schools that were renovated, advocates and former students want more transparency.

The city declined to comment about the status of testing at schools other than Clark, the subject of the 2015 lawsuit. The city alleges Monsanto knew about the dangers of PCBs dating back to the 1930s.

While BLM860 has brought the situation back into the spotlight, Arien Wilkerson, who was born and raised in Hartford's North End, has been fighting for justice at the Clark school for years. Wilkerson founded the Vault Project, which intended to create a plan for the abandoned Clark school.

"Toys, chairs  just imagine, you're like living in a war country and you have to go and you can't take anything," Wilkerson said. "They left the school like that and it has been sitting there for about eight years."

In recent years, Wilkerson has toured the site where he says people have been living since it is a large building with many warm places to sleep.

"The weeds are growing," Wilkerson said. "What they do is they keep fencing and fencing and fencing, and they keep putting these tiny, tiny little yellow signs that say 'PCB contamination: stay away,' but no information. Nothing has been given to any of these communities."

The future of the Clark School, testing and the health of former students and teachers is uncertain. Correa-Ojeda is circulating a survey asking residents to share their cancer experiences after attending Clark and Annie Fisher.

Wilkerson hopes the city will commit funding to test all Hartford schools for PCBs as well as remediation of Clark, a mission of the Vault Project.

"There's been a lack of transparency about whether or not schools have had already tested for PCBs or are planning on doing so," Wilkerson said. "Once the school has tested air quality, there's no efficient manner for conveying the test results to the families they serve."

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Monsanto was a manufacturing company that produced PCBs used in products installed during the construction of Clark Elementary School.
A New Mexico teenage mother was sentenced Monday to a mandatory 18 years in prison for tossing her newborn son into a trash bin behind a shopping center, but a state district judge cited mental health concerns and the defendant's age in suspending two years of the punishment.

Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of child abuse involving great bodily harm following a days-long trial last month in which her public defender argued her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role.

Judge William Shoobridge told Avila that had it not been for luck and the grace of God he would have been deliberating a sentence in a murder case as there was a high probability the child would have died had it not been found that winter day in Hobbs, near the Texas border.

Avila told the judge she wants to learn how to deal with stress and anxiety and said she regrets missing out on her son's first milestones.

I regret his first hours of life were traumatic, and I regret that he will always have this in the back of his head and will think I do not love him because thats what hell read and hear," she said. "But thats not true at all. I do love him. I truly do.

Avila was arrested in January 2022.

Police said a group of people were looking through the trash bin when they found the baby and tried to keep the boy warm until police and paramedics arrived. Investigators used surveillance video to identify a car suspected of being involved, which led them to Avila.

Public defender Ibukun Adepoju disputed that Avila made a premeditated attempt to kill her baby. Abepoju said while Avila's actions were wrong, they were the result of her bipolar disorder and that she was disassociated and detached from her feelings.

Avila's case also spurred new conversations in New Mexico communities and among legislators about the state's safe haven law, which allows parents to leave a baby younger than 90 days at a safe location without criminal consequences.

Such laws first began to pass in state legislatures in the early 2000s in response to reports of baby killings and abandonments.

New Mexico lawmakers in 2022 approved a bill to expand the state's Safe Haven Program and provide funds to build one baby box for every county where an infant can be left.

Boxes have been installed in several other states. Florida is the latest to consider legislation that would allow for the boxes.

___

Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
General Capital Limited advises that its subsidiary General Finance Limited, a licensed Non-bank Deposit Taker, has uploaded its quarterly report for the quarter ended 31 March 2023 to the Disclose Register.

Mr. Brent King, Managing Director, explained that this report is required as General Finance Limited holds a Non-bank Deposit Taker licence and the reporting is a requirement of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

We will continue to advise the market each time General Finance Limited uploads a document to the Disclose Register, said Mr. King.

The information can be found at www.disclose-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz.

For further information contact:

Brent King

Managing Director

General Capital Limited

+64 21 632 660

Brent.King@gencap.co.nz

1 May 2023

END

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NEW HAVEN  In the wake of recent shootings in the city, officials said theyre seeing a number of incidents that are hard to prevent and are related to the number of guns on the streets.

Police Chief Karl Jacobson and Mayor Justin Elicker echoed that message as they spoke about the arrests of a Clinton man charged in a fatal shooting at a car dealership and two suspects in a shooting near John C. Daniels School, both of which took place last Thursday.

The city so far this year has seen 10 homicides and 35 shootings, compared to 4 homicides and 34 shootings during the same period last year.

Jacobson said from talking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage, police were able to track down the license plates of the suspects in last week's shooting near the school playground. Tasheem Scott and Denzel Caldwell have been arrested but havent been directly charged with anything related to the incident, Jacobson said, because one of the guns allegedly found was tested and came back not to the shooting near the school but to another incident in the area the day before.

Both were arrested after a pursuit that involved a minor crash," police said. The pair was found with two handguns, police said: one of them a so-called ghost gun, and 280 grams of fentanyl.

They both are facing firearm and narcotic charges; Scott currently is on probation and was held in lieu of $1 million bail. Caldwell was held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Jacobson said the incident near the school remains under investigation but the Police Department believes the two men are the people of interest.

In the case of the shooting at the car dealership, police announced last week they had arrested Charles Brown Jr. of Clinton, who is charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was held in lieu of $2 million bail.

To the family of the victim, 39-year-old Juan Carlos Colon, Mayor Justin Elicker said he couldnt imagine the pain Colons mother and wife are going through, expressing his condolences.

By standing next to him at a press conference Monday, Elicker said the family, who didnt want to speak with the press, was sending a statement that gun violence has to stop in our community.

Jacobson said these types of incidents are hard to predict and are ones the Police Department couldnt directly prevent as they were minor disputes ending up in gunplay where people were killed and its unfortunate.

The police chief said every single cop in this building was out there working hard putting their life on the line last Thursday with multiple incidents happening in a short timeframe.

That one day, you had a homicide, you had this chase, you had two carjackings and another recovered stolen car with a bunch of juveniles, all taking place within a three-hour window, Jacobson said.

The mayor said the incident near the elementary school demonstrated how technology could be helpful to a police investigation, referring to cameras that can identify license plates and people who are involved in violent crimes.

Elicker agreed that minor disputes that ultimately escalate to fatal shootings are difficult to identify and said its a nationwide trend. He said Connecticut has a legislation (H.B. 6667) that would further gun violence prevention that he hopes will pass, but we cant do this alone.

We need to see movement by other states in our nation and the federal government to restrict guns to ensure that we don't have this kind of escalating incidents, Elicker said, pointing that many guns found in Connecticut were brought in from the South and gun shows from other states.

As advice to the public, Jacobson said not to get involved in an incident, such as a car crash or a dispute, and just call the police because you dont know what theyve got," referring to weapons including guns.
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DANBURY  As they walked downtown recently, a group of Western Connecticut State University students were taken aback to find sidewalks that led to nowhere and a train station area that was disconnected from the rest of downtown.

We were surprised how poorly maintained and poorly built up the infrastructure was in terms of the sidewalk, said Christine Hegel, professor of WCSU's public anthropology & sociology: research for social change class. There are a number of areas where there are really steep hills and the sidewalk is broken or theres no separation between the sidewalk and the street.

The WestConn students organized the roughly 1.5-mile walk last Wednesday afternoon to study walkability and transit-oriented development in the vicinity of the Metro-North train station on Patriot Drive. More than 40 people participated in the walk, which was organized with support from pro-home advocacy group Desegregate Connecticut.

It was eye-opening, Hegel said.

Observations made during her students walk audit appear to align with the citys transit-oriented development plan, which calls for sidewalk improvements and relocating the bus station from Kennedy Avenue to a site adjacent to the train station to create the Danbury Transit Center. The first phase of the city's streetscape upgrades is complete, but a second phase is planned to improve sidewalks on Main Street, near the train station and other areas.

The Downtown Danbury Transit-Oriented Development Task Force envisioned the transportation services area on a site comprised of a utility-owned land on Pahquioque Avenue and a city-owned parcel on Patriot Drive.

Principal anticipated benefits of the potential Danbury Transit Center include improved walkability near the train station, greater community awareness of and access to transit services, and expanded bus service capacity, according to the 2019 TOD study.

Observations

Hegel said a few things stood out during the walk, including the difference in walkability of Main Street and nearby residential neighborhoods. She said some areas have no sidewalks at all, which isnt good for people with mobility issues and poses general safety concerns.

At one point, we were walking along and came to a point where the sidewalk ended and there was literally just a dirt path going down a hill, she said. We were really surprised.

In addition to walkability around Danburys train station, the walk audit focused on ways in which the area can be more transit-oriented, and Hegel said a lack of transit-connectedness stood out.

The fact that theres no bus stop close by was really surprising for the students, she said, noting the difficulty and safety concerns it poses for people who arrive by train and dont have a car to get around.

There is not a real transit hub, Hegel said. Its not easy to connect from one form of transportation to another.

Next steps

With the data they collected and the observations recorded during the walk audit, Hegel said her students will create a report that Desegregate Connecticut can use to advocate for land use policy improvements across the state.

She said her students also plan to review Danbury's TOD study released in 2019  which provides a strategy to encourage transit-oriented development within a 10-minute-walk radius of the citys train station  to see how their walk audit findings compare to the changes and improvements envisioned for the community.

I imagine that the observations we made along the walk are probably in line with or affirm some of the changes proposed in the TOD plan, Hegel said.

Hegel said shes proud of the work her students have put into the walk audit project.

I think the results from this could be useful in bolstering efforts to really push Danburys TOD plan forward, she said.

'Students were in control'

Hegel said she reached out to Desegregate Connecticut after hearing about the walk audits it does to get communities to recognize the value of transit-oriented development and encourage more home construction around transportation hubs.

The fact that it was student-led made Wednesdays event different from walk audits Desegregate Connecticut has done in the past, like one in Bethel last year.

We normally have more control over the route and topics of walk audits, but in this case, the students were in control, Desegregate Connecticut legislative director Tucker Salls said.

In addition to studying different elements involved in the planning and implementation of a walk audit, Hegel said her students divided into teams that each had a set of responsibilities  from collecting data on demographics, traffic accidents, pedestrian injuries, and Metro-North ridership in the area to doing outreach and getting the word out about the audit walk.

It can be tricky, but the important thing is getting enough people there to generate data to understand the situation, Salls said.

Hegel said she and her students were pleased with the turnout. Participants included Democratic mayoral candidate and former Democratic Town Committee chair Roberto Alves, state Rep. Farley Santos, WCSU faculty members, representatives from Danbury Public Schools and some police officers.

The event was a big success, she said, noting that participants were encouraged to record their observations during the walk.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Tennessee's Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn is leaving the state department at the end of the school year, Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday.

Schwinn will be succeeded by Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, who currently serves as vice president for ExcelinEd  an education think tank founded by former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Michael Glenn Austin noticed his wife, Holly Barlow-Austin, was squinting during a May 2019 visit to the Texas jail where she was in pretrial detention.

When he visited her again four days later, she needed help walking and could not read the numbers on the phone used to speak to him through a partition, according to a court document.

By early June, she was "physically disabled, unable to walk, and blind," according to a lawsuit her family filed against jail staffers, Bowie County and the for-profit company that ran the jail on the border with Arkansas, LaSalle Corrections. She died on June 17, 2019, after weeks of inadequate medical care despite her worsening health, the complaint alleged.

Last week, Barlow-Austin's family reached a $7 million settlement in the case - the largest known jail-death settlement in the state, according to the family's attorneys. Barlow-Austin's mother and husband said on Thursday in a statement that the settlement would help give them closure.

"And we hope and pray that it will lead to changes in how our jails treat people in their custody and will save some lives in the future," they said. "Because that's what Holly would've wanted."

Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday. Beyond the $7 million amount, the terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.

Erik Heipt, the lead attorney for the family, said in a statement that the settlement should be a "wake-up call to all private jail and prison operators."

"If you're going to cut corners and put profits over people's lives, there will be a steep price to pay," Heipt said.

LaSalle Corrections has previously reached settlements with families of other Bi-State jail detainees.

In 2019, the family of Michael Sabbie, who died in his cell in 2015 after repeatedly saying he couldn't breathe, reached a settlement with LaSalle Corrections, according to the Texarkana Gazette. The terms of the settlement were not made public. The following year, the family of Morgan Angerbauer, who was diabetic and died at the Bi-State jail in 2016 after yelling for help for hours, also reached an unspecified settlement with the company, the Gazette reported. Her family previously had been granted a $200,000 settlement, according to the Associated Press.

At the time of her arrest on April 5, 2019, Barlow-Austin was living with HIV and getting treatment for substance addiction, according to the family's lawsuit. She also had been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder, according to the suit.

After Barlow-Austin was arrested for a probation violation, she was taken to the Bi-State jail to await trial.

When she had her first medical screening, she was "able-bodied, hydrated and well nourished," the lawsuit said. But that changed quickly, it added.

The lawsuit alleged that, despite knowing she was taking medications for HIV and her mental health, jail staffers denied and delayed giving her the prescriptions her husband had brought to the facility after her arrest.

During visits, Barlow-Austin's husband noticed that her health was deteriorating, according to the lawsuit.

On May 15, 2019, Barlow-Austin told her husband that she had a bad headache and leg pain, the lawsuit said. She had made workers at the jail aware of the problems, but they responded by telling her she "was just stressed out and had a 'tension headache,'" according to the complaint.

When her husband tried to talk with the staff about her health, "they refused to discuss the situation with him," the lawsuit said.

As weeks passed, Barlow-Austin sought help for nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, numbness in her limbs and a persistent headache, among other symptoms, according to the lawsuit. She was put in a medical observation cell but did not get proper attention, the lawsuit states.

By June 10, 2019, Barlow-Austin was "so fatigued and weak that she can barely crawl," court documents state. Citing footage from the cell during her last two days at the Bi-State jail, the lawsuit said that at times, she was lying down "moaning in apparent agony" while holding an empty water cup.

That evening, her "serious medical needs remained on full display," but staffers at the Bi-State jail were "indifferent to them," according to the lawsuit.

She was taken to a hospital the next day, and she died on June 17 after she became septic and developed an infection because of her other health problems, the lawsuit said.

Heipt, the family's attorney, said in his statement that the settlement sends a message that "this type of blatant disregard for human life will not be tolerated."

Barlow-Austin's mother and husband added that what happened to her was "inexcusable."

"No one deserves to be treated the way they treated her," their statement said. "We wanted justice. We wanted to show that Holly's life mattered."
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SEATTLE (AP)  Washington Gov. Jay Inlsee, a Democrat who has sought to make the state a leader on progressive policies from climate change to gun violence prevention, said Monday he will not seek a fourth term in office.

The 72-year-old's announcement clears the way for younger members of the party to run. Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who gained a national profile by challenging the travel ban and other policies of former President Donald Trump, and state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz have expressed interest.

As governor, I have seen my role as inspiring our state ever forward and ever higher," Inslee said. Im gratified to be able to say that this approach has worked to improve Washingtonians lives in many ways and many places.

Inslee, who is the longest-serving governor in office in the U.S., was first elected in 2012 and became only the second Washington governor elected to three consecutive terms. Washington does not have term limits.

He made a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 on an environmental platform, but struggled to gain traction in a crowded Democratic field and had trouble meeting the requirements needed to appear on two high-profile stages: the third Democratic National Committee debate in Houston and a CNN town hall focused on climate change.

Among his accomplishments he lists a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions in the state and a trio of gun violence prevention measures that he signed into law last month, including a ban on semi-automatic assault rifles that is already being challenged in court by gun rights advocates.

Early this year the state Supreme Court upheld a capital gains tax Inslee promoted as a way to address what was considered the nation's most regressive tax system.

He also vowed to protect gay rights and abortion access as conservative states constrained them, and he bought the state a three-year stockpile of a popular abortion drug in anticipation of court rulings that could limit its availability.

Inslee said he still has work to do before his exit, including collaborating with legislators and community leaders to address Washingtons homelessness crisis and speeding efforts to broaden behavioral health services.

Inslee served eight terms in the U.S. House before narrowly beating Republican Rob McKenna, then the state attorney general, to become governor. He won his most recent reelection, against Republican Loren Culp, by more than 13 percentage points.

His liberal politics made him a boogeyman to critics on the right, who argued that he infringed on individual liberties. Soon after Washington suffered the first known COVID-19 outbreak in the nation, he issued emergency orders mandating mask wearing and requiring that state employees and health workers be vaccinated.

Washingtons death rate from the pandemic was among the nations lowest; Inslee said in congressional testimony last year that his measures helped prevent roughly 17,000 deaths in the state. But the mandates were relentlessly criticized and challenged in court, including in an unsuccessful lawsuit by state troopers and other state employees.

He kept us safe and secure through the coronavirus pandemic, and delivered transformational policies on climate change, economic justice, and gun violence prevention, Shasti Conrad, chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement.

The Washington State Republican Party said the governors tenure has been marked by missteps and poor decisions.

Its time to turn the page on the disastrous Inslee era in Washington State, WSRP Chairman Caleb Heimlich said in a statement. His decision to not seek a fourth term presents an opportunity to elect a Republican governor who will put Washingtonians first and prioritize the needs of our communities.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Women in Indiana will be able to obtain birth control without a doctors prescription under a bill signed into law Monday, which grants broader access to contraception months after the Republican-dominated legislature enacted a statewide abortion ban.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb also signed a GOP-backed proposal requiring voters to submit more identification information to obtain mail-in ballots, which was approved during the legislative session that ended last week.

The new birth control law, which takes effect July 1, will allow pharmacists, not just physicians, to prescribe some hormonal contraceptives such as the patch or the pill. Supporters say the measure will offer women quicker access to contraceptives, especially in areas where they struggle to receive primary care. But opposing lawmakers doubted pharmacists could provide the same level of care as physicians.

The governor's office didnt release any comment Monday about Holcomb's decision, but when asked Friday about the birth control bill, he said more access is typically better, in my mind.

The law limits birth control prescriptions from pharmacists to no more than six months, and pharmacists cannot prescribe a contraceptive to a woman after 12 months unless the woman has been seen by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant in the past year, the bill states.

Pharmacists also will be allowed to decline to prescribe the medications under ethical, moral, or religious grounds.

Its important to recognize the necessity of access to safe birth control options for Hoosier women," bill author Republican state Rep. Elizabeth Rowray said in a Friday statement. Allowing highly trained, specialized health care professionals like pharmacists to prescribe birth control will go a long way in helping Hoosier women access to this important resource.

Lawmakers last summer debated a proposal for easier birth control access as Republicans pushed an abortion ban into law. Enforcement of that ban has been blocked while the Indiana Supreme Court weighs arguments that it violates the state constitution.

A vote for such access to birth control from pharmacists failed by one vote last summer, when Democratic Rep. Rita Fleming of Jeffersonville offered an amendment with similar language into a spending bill for low-income women and children that lawmakers advanced alongside the abortion ban.

This legislation will allow more Hoosier women to control when and if they grow their families and will enhance public health for years to come, Fleming said in a statement Friday.

The tougher mail-in balloting rules that Holcomb signed into law were approved in near-party line votes as Democrats and voting rights groups argued that the steps will make voting more difficult for many people.

The new law will require Indiana voters submitting a paper application for a mail ballot to include a photocopy of a government-issued identification card or at least two ID numbers, such as their 10-digit drivers license or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Bill sponsor Republican Rep. Tim Wesco of Osceola maintained that the tighter rules were aimed at increasing voter confidence in elections by putting identification requirements for mail-in ballots in line with those for in-person voting.

The changes will take effect July 1 and first be required for mail-in ballots cast in the falls city and town elections around the state.

Voting rights groups argued that the stricter ID requirements werent necessary because confirmed instances of voter fraud are rare in Indiana. They noted that county election workers already must confirm whether a persons signature on an application matches their voter registration record.

Some who testified before lawmakers in support of the bill argued that the current signature matching process was not stringent enough and that voters were screaming for tighter rules around mail voting.

___

Associated Press writer Tom Davies contributed to this report.

___

Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Monday he personally favors his country becoming a republic, but it's not a change he intends to push for as leader.

Hipkins made the comments to reporters hours before he was due to depart for this weeks coronation of King Charles III in London.

New Zealand, a former British colony, is self-governing but Charles retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state and king. Charles is represented in New Zealand by a governor-general.

Like many former British colonies, New Zealand continues to wrestle with what  if any  constitutional role the British monarchy should play in modern times.

Barbados chose to become a republic in 2021. Jamaica last year said it plans to pursue independence. And Australia in February decided to remove the British monarch from the last of its banknotes, although an image of Charles is expected to feature on coins.

Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world, as we by and large do now, Hipkins said. I don't think that swapping out the governor-general for some other form of head of state is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though.

Hipkins faces an election later this year and has already ditched many of his government's more contentious policies as he tries to refocus the political agenda on what he describes as bread-and-butter issues such as the cost of living.

Hipkins unexpectedly rose to power following the shock decision in January of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to step down.

Ardern had previously said she believed New Zealand would eventually become a republic but it was not a legislative priority. Hipkins, however, stated his own support of republicanism more forcefully than Ardern.

I believe we should ultimately be an independent country, he said.

But he said the current constitutional arrangements were working well and he wasn't interested in pushing the republic debate onto New Zealanders.

Honestly, I think it is something for New Zealanders to instigate a discussion on, and there isn't a groundswell of support for having this particular debate right at the moment, Hipkins said.

Hipkins inadvertently acknowledged he had a meeting planned with Charles on the trip, but he declined to say what they would discuss.

While in London, Hipkins also plans to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to advance a free trade deal the two nations struck in 2021.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Taiwan's president told visiting ex-U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Monday that her country is willing to deepen cooperation with the U.S. and "other like-minded partners to safeguard peace, as the self-governed island faces increasing military threats from China.

President Tsai Ing-wen also expressed hopes to Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, for more military and security exchanges and economic cooperation between the two sides, her office said in a statement.

Bolton began his weeklong visit to Taiwan last Wednesday and has called for deeper interaction between the two sides' national security teams. His visit reflects the importance of the democratic island as an issue in the U.S. presidential election amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Later Monday, Tsai said at a separate event that China's military exercises have affected the stability and peace of the Indo-Pacific region.

But we will stay calm and firmly safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, she said.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the Communist Party in control of the mainland. The island has never been part of the Peoples Republic of China, but Beijing says it must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The U.S. remains Taiwans closest military and political ally despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between them. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, though it remains ambiguous over whether American forces would be dispatched to help defend it.

Last Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said Chinas military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan. That was the most since a large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off Taiwan in response to an April 5 meeting between Tsai and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China opposes any meetings between officials of Taiwan and other governments.
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GUILFORD  Eversources plan to upgrade service from the intersection of Long Hill Road and Route 80 to Great Hill Road has some residents concerned about the removal of healthy, mature trees, some as old as 150 years.

The electric company went door to door, within the last couple months, to discuss vegetation management with residents, including cutting trees to install higher poles for better service, according to Great Hill Road residents Cynthia and David Damer.

The Damers expressed their concern to First Selectman Matt Hoey after Eversource started marking trees for removal, David Damer said, especially on a road that is designated as scenic.

Town officials, however, said they did not know Eversources plans for the area. Hoey said that he and Kevin McGee, Guilford's environmental planner and tree warden, were unaware of this project, and it has been halted until further notice.

What they do know is that this is part of a multi-year project to reconfigure how they distribute power in North Guilford, in particular on Long Hill and Great Hill, said Hoey.

The circuit in this area, he said, by Eversources admission is the fourth worst performing circuit in their Connecticut territory.

This information comes as no surprise to Hoey, whose office consistently received more calls about outages in that area than in anywhere else in town.

Eversource is constantly looking at our electric delivery system to ensure it is reliable and resilient, Mitch Gross, Eversource spokesperson, said in an email. And part of that examination is looking at the history of the circuits across our system.

Unfortunately, the circuit serving that part of Guilford has had nearly a dozen outages over the past four years, and that is unacceptable, Gross said. Thats why this work is needed. By upgrading our equipment and completing the necessary tree work, were strengthening that circuit which will significantly improve its reliability and resiliency and reduce the risk of outages. Its all about delivering more dependable power to our customers in Guilford and all the communities we serve.

Eversource is investing $1.4 million in electric system upgrades in the northern part of Guilford, according to a press release. The work includes installing 85 stronger, thicker utility poles and stringing nearly 1.5 miles of overhead electric lines, including tree wire, which can better withstand extreme weather, the release said.

On Tuesday, April 25, 45-foot poles were placed along the roadside from the intersection of Long Hill Road and Route 80 up to County Road, said Cynthia Damer.

Hoey said the pole replacement work has been approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, but no vegetation management as part of this and no restringing of wires.

David Damer said, There are over 180 trees marked in a little over a mile from north of Route 80 on Long Hill Road, just up to 700 Great Hill Road, and he doesnt see the need to remove healthy roadside trees.

We have no problem with taking down dead trees, we have no problem with them trimming a reasonable amount on the mature, live trees that are near the lines, he said.

In addition, Cynthia Damer said they are concerned since Great Hill Road is a designated scenic road.

Its narrow, 25 feet wide, and they want to take down beautiful roadside trees  150-year-old trees on both sides of the road, she said.

No vegetation management work will commence until the town receives all the necessary information from Eversource, Hoey said.

They are committed to getting us a full description, rationalization and benefits of the work that theyre doing, said Hoey.

Once we get that document, well share it with the concerned neighbors, then we will try to convene a hearing or a forum with Eversource and those residents who are concerned about it, he said.

The Damers appreciate that the project has been put on hold.

We need some time to figure out what it is that theyre planning to do, why theyre doing it, what alternatives they considered, and how they made their choices as to how to go forward with this whole thing, said David Damer.

There has to be a balance between the value of the trees, themselves, environmentally, and the need for reliable power, Cynthia Damer said. There has to be a balance.
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Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB ) advises that its full year results for the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (FY23) will be released on Thursday 25 May 2023, prior to 10am.

This will be followed by an Investor and Analyst conference call at 11.00am (NZST). This investor briefing will be available via webcast by the following link: www.virtualmeeting.co.nz/pebfy23 or by phone on the following toll free numbers:

New Zealand: 0800 449 170

Australia: 1800 896 574

Questions can be submitted online in writing via the Webcast platform or verbally via the audio call system when prompted.

If you have any queries regarding the results announcement or the conference call, please contact Stacey Stanley on 03 479 5807 or stacey.stanley@pelnz.com.

ENDS

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EBOS Group Limited (EBOS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Julie Tay as an independent director, effective 15 May 2023.

Ms Tay joins EBOS with over 30 years experience in international executive and non-executive roles across consumer healthcare, medical devices and digital healthcare.

Ms Tay is currently a director of Sonova Holdings, a global hearing care solutions company, headquartered in Switzerland and listed on the Swiss stock exchange.

During her executive career, Ms Tay was most recently Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Align Technology, which is a global medical device company focused on the orthodontic and dental markets. In this role she launched Align Technology in Asia and, over nine years, established the companys primary product, Invisalign, as a leading brand across 14 markets. During this time, Ms Tay was also a member of the global Executive Management Committee for Align Technology.

Prior to this time, Ms Tay was regional head of Bayer Healthcare (Diabetes Care) in Asia Pacific and also previously held senior executive roles in Asia at Johnson Diversey and Johnson & Johnson.

Ms Tay holds a Bachelor of Psychology and Political Science from the National University of Singapore and an MBA from Curtin University of Technology in Perth. Ms Tay has also completed the International Directors Program at INSEAD.

EBOS Chair Liz Coutts said Julies extensive experience in Asia within the healthcare sector will be invaluable to EBOS as we explore expansion opportunities in the region. We look forward to welcoming her to the Board.

The Board has determined that Ms Tay will be an independent director (as defined in the NZX Listing Rules). Ms Tay resides in Singapore.

This appointment is consistent with EBOS Board succession planning previously announced. EBOS has appointed three new directors within the last two years with a diverse mix of skills. The Board now comprises eight directors, all of whom are independent.

For further information please contact:

Martin Krauskopf

Executive General Manager, Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions

+61 3 9918 5555

Authorised for lodgement with NZX and ASX by Janelle Cain, General Counsel, EBOS Group Limited.

About EBOS Group

EBOS Group Limited NZBN 9429031998840 (NZX/ASX Code: EBO) is the largest and most diversified Australasian marketer, wholesaler and distributor of healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical products. It is also a leading Australasian animal care brand owner, product marketer and distributor.

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As more people get comfortable buying big ticket Items like cars on the internet, Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa (VWFS SA) knew it needed to simplify the entire process. CIO Wilma Crosson was in charge of making this happen.

Improving its direct sales channel demanded that they come up with a way to, first of all, cut the time it takes for customers to complete the sales process. And, in doing so, VWFS SA made it easier for customers to buy a new car without ever having to set foot inside a dealership.

Someone looking to buy a car can either go into a dealership and talk to a finance and insurance manager who helps them though the process, from drawing up sales contracts, to arranging payment for the car and offering them additional products. Thats one process. The other more direct route now is a customer visiting the website and doing everything there. Looking at the entire customer journeyfrom customer awareness to payment and deliverywas just one step in the chain Crosson wanted to improve. Discussing what drove the move, she outlines that the pandemic forced most companies to look at their digital capabilities. We knew we needed to transform digitally to stay competitive, she says. We wanted to improve our online applications process because we werent getting a lot of traffic from this channel. When we looked at it more closely, we realized our online journey wasnt very efficient, requiring customers to spend about 30 minutes filling out paperwork.

Finding the right solution

VWFS SA is owned by two shareholders Volkswagen Financial Services AG (Germany) and The First Rand Group. When it started talking about improving the online application process, it was lucky it could use software developed by one of these shareholders to make the application process a lot shorter. The solution uses APIs and AI to run an affordability background check so it can quickly verify if the customer qualifies for the deal. This meant VWFS SA could reduce the number of fields customers had to complete from 250 to just 10. We were quite lucky we could just tailor this solution to meet our specific needs, she says.

To do so, the brand partnered with an external service provider. I think its always quite daunting trying to choose the right service provider because you have to think about how the company aligns with your organizations culture and with your future needs. So we had to come up with quite strict criteria, she says, and according to Crosson, companies from different types of industries, different sizes, and with different levels of experience were in the running for the project. The final decision came down to what they needed now, as well as what would be needed in the future.

The business case for outsourcing

Because of how our company is structured, Ive outsourced most of my business-as-usual activities to an IT service provider so I dont have in-house developers or a huge complement of IT staff that can execute for me, says Crosson. But we do need to have some skills in-house that our chosen IT service provider, SovTech, then supports. Obviously, this comes with some challenges. Being a company that outsources a lot, VWFS SA had to get very good at ensuring their SLAs were well structured and well managed. I use the term managed because if you dont meet with your service providers quarterly, or in the case of certain projects, monthly, and if you dont have the necessary KPI-driven conversations, youre kind of dead in the water, she says, adding this is especially important when you work with multiple providers because they also need to work together.
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Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele
For years now, the White House Correspondents Association Dinner has been a bad look for journalism. At a time when Americans increasingly say they dont trust the media, and when many people believe the mainstream press is a tool of the establishment, the optics of a ballroom full of reporters in formal dress surrounded by the people they are supposed to cover grow worse by the year.

Saturdays event was more of the same, despite emotional shout-outs to Brittney Griner and the parents of Evan Gershkovich, all of whom were in the audience. The complaint most leveled against the national press is that it doesnt understandand so doesnt coverthe issues that matter most to Americans, in particular kitchen-table issues like the cost of housing and education. The relatability gap is only reinforced by the images of reporters in black ties and gowns in a DC ballroom. (The New York Times rightly decided a few years ago not to participate in the event, though that didnt stop the paper from running a best-dressed list from the party over the weekend.)

And yet, occasionally, an important truth manages to break through. This year, that moment came when The Daily Shows Roy Wood Jr., who was hosting the event, noted that the dinner contrasted with one of the most intractable problems in the news business.

The issue with good media is that most people cant afford that, said Wood, whose father, Roy Wood Sr., was a trailblazing journalist who cofounded the nations first Black radio network. All the essential, fair, and nuanced reporting is stuck behind a paywall. People cant afford rent. People cant afford food. They cant afford an education. They damn sure cant afford to pay for the truth.

Wood was getting at one of the most consequential questions facing the news: how to pay for it at a time of severe economic insecurity and amid a business-model collapse in how journalism is funded. A tiered system has emerged, with high-quality news outlets like the Times and the Washington Post that depend on subscriptions for support sitting atop a heap of free news providers fueled by social media. High-end nonprofit outlets offer their work for free, but many of them are dependent on rich philanthropists to keep growing. The bottom tier is local news, where the prognosis is the most grim: according to estimates from the Boston Consulting Group, as much as $1.75 billion a year in investment is needed to shore up local news in Americaan amount of money that no company or individual has so far shown the willingness to provide.

Other than broadcast TV, then, the picture is economically dire: news either comes with a steep price tag, or it is subject to the whims of billionaires, who, as Elon Musk has shown us, dont always have the best interests of an informed electorate at heart.

Journalists and their backers tend to look at this as a news-industry PR problem: How do we persuade people to pay for us, or to view news as an essential service, akin to the police department or the water utility? Its a worthy question, but it sidesteps the problem that Wood highlighted so effectively. What if high-quality news, at its current subscription price, is simply unaffordable for many Americans, especially the people who stand the most to lose from the nations unequal economic, education, and health systems? How can a democracy work when so many of its citizens are deprived of the information they need to make informed choices about their own government?

There has been much talk recently, including by CJR, about the threats to democracy in the US and around the world and how a functioning news business is a counter to that. The affordability of news complicates that conversation.

Its a tension worth remembering this time next year, as the champagne chills and the fancy outfits come out of the closet to toast a news industry that increasingly is out of reach.

Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Crews have secured two container cars that began floating away in the Mississippi River after a freight train derailed in southwestern Wisconsin, officials said Friday.

Thursdays derailment in Crawford County involved two of the trains three locomotives and 10 cars carrying a variety of freight, including paint and lithium-ion batteries, said BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent. Four railway employees received minor injuries.

Kent said officials are still investigating what caused the derailment near De Soto, a village located about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northwest of Madison.

She said the derailment blocked the main railway track in both directions and sent the two cars into the river. Neither contained hazardous materials but an absorbent boom was put in place to reduce the possibility of pollution, she said.

Kent said Friday morning that the two container cars had been removed from the river but she later said that was not the case; that those containers had been secured to the shore and are not floating in the river.

Marc Myhre, a specialist with Crawford County Emergency Management, said two containers had been tied to a group of trees along the river to prevent them from drifting farther south. He said BNSF had a barge headed to the site Friday afternoon to lift the cars out of the river.

The Federal Railroad Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates safety across the nations railroads, tweeted that it was sending a team to the site to gather information and help local emergency workers. Nearly 30 state, local and public agencies responded to the derailment, according to Crawford County Emergency Management Director James Hackett.

Rock was being brought to the scene from nearby quarries to build a platform for providing officials with access to remove the train, said De Soto Fire Chief Chris Mussatti.

After the derailment about 12:15 p.m. Thursday, four BNSF crew members were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries and released, Kent said.

Gov. Tony Evers visited the derailment site Friday, surveying the scene from the air before he spent about two hours on the ground, getting an update from officials and visiting with emergency personnel, said his spokesperson Britt Cudaback.

Evers said Thursday that he was getting regular updates from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources and state emergency management officials.

Cudaback said Thursday that it wasnt clear if the derailment caused any environmental contamination. Email messages were left Thursday and Friday with a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Thursdays derailment came almost three months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials there ordered a widescale evacuation of residents and decided to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion.

Top photo: Recovery work is shown at the scene of a train derailment along Hwy 35 Thursday, April 27, 2023 in Crawford County just south of DeSoto, Wis. A freight train derailed along the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin Thursday, possibly injuring one crew member and sending two cars into the water, officials said. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A company that provided hurricane-damage estimates to embattled McClenny Moseley & Associates says in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the law firm owes it nearly $10 million.

Those unpaid invoices allegedly owed to Global Estimating Services come on top of a $3 million investment loan that a GES affiliate, Access Restoration Services, provided to MMA. GES and ARS both filed lawsuits against the Houston-based law firm in Harris County District Court.

Insurance defense attorney Steve Badger, a partner with the Zelle law firm in Dallas, posted a copy of the GES lawsuit on LinkedIn Friday.

ARS not only invested in MMAs cases, but its related company GES was also writing estimates for MMAs cases, Badger wrote. Looks like AMS and GES are now out around $13M. I wonder if at some point someone scratched their head and said: Ya really think its ok that we are doing this?'

An inquiry by federal judges in Louisiana revealed that MMA filed thousands of hurricane-damage lawsuits, many of them on behalf of property owners that it did not represent and some of them against the wrong insurance company. Federal judges for both the Eastern and Western Louisiana districts have barred the law firm from proceeding with lawsuits and a Circuit Court judge has issued a similar order for Louisiana state courts.

A lawsuit filed in March on behalf of homeowners that MMA allegedly claimed to represent, when in fact it represented restoration contractors, has been removed from state court to the US District Court for Eastern Louisiana.

Katherine Monson, the wife of New Orleans insurance defense attorney Matthew Monson, has also sued MMA and Tort Network, which owns an Arizona-based marketing company that does business as Velawcity. Her complaint alleges the law firm and the marketing company conspired to violate Texas barratry laws.

Now one of MMAs former business partners has turned against it.

GES and ARS are both controlled by Giuseppe Gagliano and Domenico Gagliano of Toronto, Canada. The two men incorporated GES as a Delaware corporation headquartered in Conroe, Texas in February 2022.

GES lawsuit says MMA hired it to provide field inspections for residential and commercial properties damaged by hail, fire, water intrusion, collapse, wind and flooding. Initially, MMA paid some invoices, but has since fallen woefully behind on payments, its lawsuit says.

GES says MMA owes $9,885,862.99 and is asking the court to award that amount, plus attorney fees, interest and cost.

The lawsuit filed by ARS last week says that MMA founding partner John Zachary Moseley promised that the company could quadruple its money by loaning it $3 million. ARS wired the money to MMAs bank in December 2021, but the loan has not been repaid, according to the complaint.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- The city has rejected the sole bid for the Whitney Road covered bridge reconstruction project because the bid exceeded the engineers estimate by 20 percent.

As a result, the city has upped its estimate and re-advertised for a second round of bids. This time around, bids are due to the city by May 16.

In late February, City Council authorized the administration to seek bids for the reconstruction of the Whitney bridge, officially named the Walter F. Ehrnfelt Covered Bridge after a former Strongsville mayor.

The bridge is just west of Valley Parkway and spans the East Branch of the Rocky River.

The lone bid of $2.2 million came from Suburban Maintenance & Construction Inc. in North Royalton. The city engineers estimate was $1.8 million.

Under Ohio law, cities must reject bids that exceed the engineers estimate by substantially more than 10 percent.

The estimate has been reviewed and revised by the design engineer and is now $2.3 million, Lori Daley, Strongsvilles assistant city engineer, told cleveland.com in an email.

The design engineer is Euthenics Inc., a Strongsville engineering firm. The city is paying Euthenics $236,296 to design the reconstruction of the bridge.

According to a report from Euthenics to the city, Euthenics engineers inspected the Ehrnfelt bridge in March 2020 and found it to be in poor condition. A steel beam had deteriorated and the bridge was structurally deficient.

In January, the city hired CT Consultants Inc. in Mentor to act as the projects construction manager. The city will pay the firm no more than $202,074, an amount not included in the construction estimate.

In its proposal letter, CT said the existing bridge consists of steel beam support and a wooden covering, both of which will be replaced. Abutments supporting the bridge will be repaired and reused, and two traffic signals on both sides of the bridge will be replaced.

CT said the bridge will be closed during construction. The city will provide detours.

The covered bridge was built in 1983. It features a sign that says, Five dollar fine for driving more than twelve horses, mules or cattle at any one time or for leading any beast faster than a walk on or across this bridge.

The Ohio Department of Transportation will contribute $1 million toward the construction and Cleveland Metroparks will contribute $50,000.

Read more from the Sun Star Courier.
MEDINA, Ohio -- Students at Garfield Elementary School in Medina were treated to a concert of flute and guitar music Thursday (April 27), thanks to an invitation from Garfield music teacher Jacqueline DesRochers.

Flutist Jane Berkner and guitarist Jim Marron performed two concerts based on dance music from different countries around the world.

Funded by the 74-year-old Childrens Concert Society of Akron and organized by the Ohio Regional Music Arts and Cultural Outreach organization (ORMACO), the Garfield students were divided into two groups for the performances.

After an introduction by Thomas Sigel, executive director of ORMACO, flutist Berkner told the students that she and Marron are called Urban Troubadours, because -- like wandering musicians of old -- they take their music to many venues.

The duet played dance music from three countries: a tango from Argentina, a reel from Ireland and a samba from Brazil.

Berkner encouraged the children to close your eyes and imagine how you might dance to the samba. The children sat quietly and listened politely.

Marron then described his guitar and explained that of the six strings, the thinnest string played the highest pitch and the thickest, the lowest pitch.

He said he received his first guitar when he was 10 years old, and that his current guitar was made for him by a man in Santa Fe, N.M.

Following musical numbers from each musician, the children were offered the opportunity to ask questions. A sea of raised hands begged to be called upon.

One student asked Berkner, Do you get lightheaded when you play the flute? She answered no.

Another question addressed to both musicians was, Did someone inspire you to play an instrument? Marron answered that his father and older brothers all played guitar.

Both performers explained that they practice every day -- even though both have been playing their instruments for 50 years.

According the Berkner, Whenever I practice the piccolo, my cat goes to the basement.

The musicians have both taught at the University of Akron and have performed all over the United States and Europe with small groups and large orchestras.

Berkner was named Outstanding Musician in the 2019 Akron Arts Alive Awards and Marron is widely respected for the modern dance music he has composed.

For more information about programs sponsored by ORMACO, log on to www.ormaco.org.

Read more from the Medina Sun.
AKRON, Ohio  A woman who was a suspect in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend in November was found dead in Canton Township in Stark County, police say.

The body of Suzanne Thomas, 33, was found Wednesday, April 26, near a scrapyard in Canton Township, Akron police say. The cause of death has not been determined but an autopsy is scheduled.

Thomas was a suspect in the shooting of Joseph Hall, 38, who was killed on Nov. 30 in a residence on the 1300 block of Brandon Avenue in the Goodyear Heights neighborhood, police say. Thomas and Hall had been arguing that evening about a car, police say.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - What constitutes a dangerous job has changed over time. While industry and manual labor often have a high degree of risk, the pandemic also proved that healthcare workers have a high chance of sustaining work-related injuries and illnesses.

This is so much so that in Ohio that jobs in nursing and residential care facilities provided by the state government have the highest rate of staff facing injuries and illness in one year, with 11.5%. Right behind them are the same workers within the private industry at 8.1%.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Guardians traded Konnor Pilkington to the Diamondbacks on Monday in exchange for cash considerations after designating the lefty for assignment last week. Pilkington was 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA in 16 appearances across two seasons since making his major league debut with Cleveland last year.

Arizona added Pilkington to its 40-man roster and immediately optioned him to Triple-A Reno. A third-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2018, Cleveland acquired the Mississippi State product in a 2021 trade deadline deal for Cesar Hernandez.

Pilkington, 25, got off to a rough start at Triple-A Columbus this season, going 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 14 innings across four starts for the Clippers. He was recalled to the major league roster April. 25 and pitched two scoreless innings against Colorado before being released the following day.

With Columbus, Pilkington surrendered 13 runs on 19 hits and 11 walks. He posted a 5.88 ERA in 56 2/3 innings at Triple-A last season after opening the year on the big league roster.
As a member of the legal profession I felt somewhat distraught that Prince Harry did not have recourse to protection against the breach of privacy against him and his family.

by Ruwantissa Abeyratne

Its better to be a misfit than a one-size-fits-all! Mandy Hale

 The Monarchy, always, at all costs, had to be protected Prince Harry, Spare (p.351)

I have just finished reading the book Spare by Prince Harry, who is described in the inner book-jacket as The Duke of Sussex; husband; father; military veteran; mental wellness advocate; and environmentalist. I found the book immensely readable, which had a seamless structural flow of words that leapt out of the pages into the inner sensibility of the dread of isolation and loneliness that haunts the human. Royal correspondent Sean Coughlan is reported in the BBC as describing the book as:  Prince Harrys memoir, Spare, is part confession, part rant and part love letter. In places it feels like the longest angry drunk text ever sent. Its the view from inside what he calls a surreal fishbowl and unending Truman Show. Its disarmingly frank and intimate  showing the sheer weirdness of his often-isolated life. And its the small details, rather than the set-piece moments, that give a glimpse of how little we really knew.

Prince Harry served in the army for 10 years

Rebecca Mead writing in The New York Times says the book is compellingly artful. Another spectral figure haunting the text of Sparethat of Harrys ghostwriter, J. R. Moehringer. Harry, or his publishing housecould not have chosen better  Moehringer has what is usually called a novelists eye for detail, effectively deployed in Spare  Moehringer has fashioned the Duke of Sussexs life story into a tight three-act drama  Spare is worth reading not just for its headline-generating details but also for its narrative force, its voice, and its sometimes-surprising wit 

My Take

The book is replete with personal details of a little boy in his bedroom, told of his mothers fatal accident; his solipsistic isolation and his finding refuge in the pleasure of going to war; the vilification he suffers at the hand of the Press and the relentless hounding by paps (as he calls the paparazzi) of his wife Meagan and himself. In between, there are facts which bewilder the reader such as the narrative where Prince Harry discusses that both he and his brother Willie separately drove through the short tunnel in Paris where his mother died in the car accident, and as a result of their findings where both brothers requested that the inquiry into the circumstances of the crash be reopened which was ignored by powers that be. Prince Harry recounts throughout the book innumerable such requests made by him regarding blatant falsehoods reported in an inimical Press that were ignored or treated with indifference by Palace authorities

Family squabbles aside, the most telling message conveyed by the book is in what I consider its thrust  The insidiousness of tabloid journalism and social media that erode the pristine right to privacy and reputation. Some have described paparazzi as vultures preying on celebrities for their gain, while destroying their right to a private life. The Press, in its worst form, is no better, according to Prince Harrys narrative of being erroneously branded throughout his childhood and adolescence as an obstreperous, vapid and frivolous spoilt brat, and later in adult life as a drunken lothario. The prince recounts that in every instance, either the Press blatantly misrepresented facts or exaggerated them. In other words, he was an embarrassing misfit in an otherwise proper royal family. Ironically, the prince recalls egregious and improper instances of conduct by other members of the royal family who received much less criticism than did Harry.

The book asks the inarticulate question: how can the fifth estate conduct itself with such flagrant disregard to journalistic ethics and carry on with impunity? According to the book Prince Harrys life, as well as that of his family, were destroyed by both the Press and the paparazzi while the Palace looked on. At a time when the Press provides yeoman service elsewhere, and functions as the watchdog against corruption, fake news, gaslighting which prompted President Biden to say at the White House Correspondents Dinner over the weekend that he preferred a press without government to a government without the Press, Prince Harrys experiences seem an counter intuitive anachronism and an existential nightmare.

The book impels the reader to inquire into the vulnerability of the Press in various jurisdictions to actions of misinformation, disinformation and false reporting which can undermine public trust in journalism. For example, in France, there is a a law titled Law Against the Manipulation of Information which empowers the judiciary to order the removal of false or misleading information during election periods and requires online platforms to disclose the sources of sponsored content. In Germany, a law called Network Enforcement Act requires social media platforms to remove illegal content, such as hate speech and defamation, within 24 hours or face fines up to 50 million euros. In the United States, the media can be sued for defamation if it can be proved that the media published a false statement that harmed reputation of individuals. In this context, public figures have a higher burden of proof and must also show that the media acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth. A government task force called the Electoral Integrity Assurance Task Force was set up in Australia to identify and counter potential cyberattacks and foreign influence campaigns targeting upcoming elections. Cambodia has brought into effect a law called the Law on State of Emergency which empowers the government to exercise sweeping powers to restrict civil liberties and punish anyone who spreads false information that may cause public fear or unrest during a state of emergency.

As a member of the legal profession I felt somewhat distraught that Prince Harry did not have recourse to protection against the breach of privacy against him and his family. brought about by the violation of their right to control the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information. There was obviously irrevocable damage to reputation. In common law jurisdictions a commoner (let alone a prince) who has suffered a breach of privacy can seek legal remedies, such as damages, injunctions, or class actions, depending on the circumstances and the applicable law. In Canada, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Bank of Montreal for a large-scale breach of personal information of approximately 113,000 customers due to security deficiencies in its online banking software. In France, a case was brought by Max Mosley, a former motor racing boss, against Google for displaying images of him participating in a sex party that were originally published by a British tabloid. The court ordered Google to remove the images from its search results and pay damages to Mosley.

Given the above, this book is by no means a rant. Nor is it an angry drunk text. It is a concatenation of single instances that tells the story of a young man who, in his words, flees in fear for his sanity. When Prince Harry asked for retractions of the numerous untruths printed in the press the request was refused or ignored time and again. When he and Meagan finally decided to branch out of the trappings of royal duties and attendant vicious defamatory and libelous publicity, not to mention the predatory Paps, they were told it was massively damaging the reputation of the family and making our relationship with the media complicated.

From the eloquent and articulate words in the book one could feel the voices of their frowns and the sound of their derision. Above all, the failing heartbeat of the Rule of Law.
AUBURN, Maine  Workers at a restaurant were expecting a shipment of mugs. What they found in the package that arrived has resulted in a man getting a mug shot.

A large wooden crate that arrived Friday at Macs Grill in Auburn didnt contain mugs. Instead, it contained 14 kilograms of fentanyl with a street value estimated at $3 million, according to a news release from police.

The crate was addressed to the restaurant under the name of Jeremy Mercier, police say. Mercier is not a worker at the restaurant. Police were called to the restaurant and officers were able to confirm it was fentanyl in the crate.

About an hour later, Mercier, 41, an Auburn resident, showed up at the restaurant asking about the crate, police say. Officers arrested Mercier at the scene.

He is now facing charges of aggravated illegal importation of scheduled drugs, aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs and violation of conditional release. He is being held without bond in the Androscoggin County Jail.

Police say Mercier was convicted in August 2007 for the distribution of cocaine and served several years in a federal prison. He also currently was out on pre-conviction bail for an unrelated criminal charge, police say.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A bipartisan group of former Ohio Attorneys General want Ohio General Assembly members to halt a drive by the legislatures Republican majority to raise the threshold of voters required to amend Ohios constitution from a numerical majority to a 60% vote.

Republicans Betty Montgomery, Jim Petro, and Democrats Richard A. Cordray, Lee I. Fisher and Nancy H. Rogers sent a letter on Monday that urges Ohio General Assembly members to drop their plans to schedule a low-turnout August special election to vote on the proposal, saying it would discard a commitment to majority rule that has been part of our Ohio Constitution since 1912.

The 60% proposal is bad for Ohio, and the General Assembly should not place this proposal on the ballot; but if they do, Ohio voters should reject this effort to change a fundamental element of our state constitution that has been in effect for more than 100 years, their letter says.

Read: Former Ohio governors oppose plan to raise threshold for constitutional amendments

The five former chief Ohio prosecutors join bipartisan ex-Ohio governors Bob Taft, John Kasich, Dick Celeste and Ted Strickland in opposing the effort intended to make it harder for abortion rights advocates to succeed in an effort to pass a measure in November that would enshrine reproductive rights in Ohios constitution. In most purple and red states, abortion rights supporters have prevailed in the 52% to 59% range, and a 60% supermajority in Ohio would make it much harder to pass.

The Ohio Senate last week passed Senate Joint Resolution 2, which would ask voters to increase the threshold to 60%, and Senate Bill 92, which would schedule an Aug. 8 election to decide the issue.

The resolution and bill are now in the House for consideration. The House has a bill similar to SJR 2: House Joint Resolution 1. Both the Senate resolution and the bill scheduling the August election are scheduled for possible votes in two House committees on Tuesday, setting up the potential that they could be voted out of the House this week.

A joint resolution must pass both chambers to put the issue in front of voters. But SB 92 faces one additional step: the governors scrutiny. If the bill passes, Gov. Mike DeWine could sign or veto it. DeWine has said he would sign SB 92.

If the proposal goes to the ballot, it would need only a simple majority to pass itself, but raise the bar on future attempts to change the state constitution.

Read: Gov. Mike DeWine says he would sign bill allowing August election to decide constitution change

The legislature generally eliminated August special elections in December, except when local governments in fiscal emergencies needed to raise funds. DeWine signed that bill earlier this year. August elections are expensive  estimates for the Aug. 8 election are around $20 million  and historically have experienced low turnout, usually around 10% or fewer of registered voters participate.

The attorneys general letter noted that the 60% proposal, if approved by voters, will apply not only to constitutional amendments proposed by the General Assembly but also to those proposed through citizen initiatives.

As former Ohio Attorneys General, we are in a unique position to comment on the process for amending our state constitution, their letter said. We have reviewed proposed initiated amendments to assure that their summaries are fair and truthful, and some of us have represented state officials in litigation involving an initiative.

Constitutions are designed to endure, and major changes in fundamental constitutional arrangements should not be made unless the changes are supported by a careful understanding of the policies being changed and the consequences of the proposed changes, they continued. Such changes should not be made without the opportunity for participation of those most intimately affected by the constitutionthe people. Clearly, that has not happened in this rush to revise our constitution.

They said Ohios current procedure to amend the constitution has worked well, noting its been used to adopt policies that include county home rule, the 10-mill limitation on unvoted property taxes, the prohibition of taxes on food, the elimination of straight party ticket voting, the adoption of legislative term limits, and the adoption of the minimum wage.

If the increase in the passing percentage had been in effect, many important amendments that are part of our political heritage would have failed, including the initiative and referendum, home rule, civil service reform, the Clean Ohio Fund, the Third Frontier Project, and other important bond issues to support economic development, conservation, and housing, they continued.

Different people may view these amendments differently, but the range of topics illustrates that the initiative is not designed to put any groups political preferences into the constitution, their letter said. What these amendments have in common is that they represent instances in which Ohio citizens had a means for amending the constitution to meet their concerns.

Sabrina Eaton writes about the federal government and politics in Washington, D.C., for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
SOLON, Ohio -- Aurora High School seniors celebrated prom this past Saturday night (April 29), gathering at Signature of Solon.

The full gallery of photos appears at the bottom of this article. If you dont see the gallery on your mobile device, please sign in to cleveland.com.
ROME  Pope Francis disclosed Sunday that he is involved in a secret peace mission to end Russias war in Ukraine.

The pope didnt disclose any details of his role in the effort, but said the Vatican is willing to help in the return of children that Russian troops took from Ukraine and sent to Russia during the war.

Im available to do anything, Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary, according to The Associated Press. Theres a mission thats not public thats underway; when its public Ill talk about it.

The deportations of Ukrainian children has been an issue since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do all that is humanly possible to reunite families, AP said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis last week at the Vatican to ask for his help in returning Ukrainian children taken following Russias invasion.

I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia, Shmyhal said.

Francis recalled then that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges by working through embassies, and was open to Ukraines request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.

The Holy See is willing to act because it is right, it just is, Francis said.

The pope was returning Sunday to the Vatican following a three-day trip to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. While there, he had meetings with a representative from the pro-Kremlin Russian Orthodox church, Metropolitan Hilarion, and separately with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, CNN reported.

When asked if the meetings could accelerate peace, Francis said: I believe that peace is always made by opening channels; peace can never be made by closure, according to CNN.

All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty dont help, Francis said.
Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC / Visit Maldives) is featuring over 200 partners representing 90 travel and tourism establishments to promote the Maldives at the ongoing Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023.



The event is running from May 1 to 4 at the Dubai World Trade Center.



The Maldives tourist establishments at ATM include resorts, guest houses, liveaboards, local destination marketing agencies, and more.



ATM 2023 is a major event for the Middle East market, and this is our first year at ATM since winning the title of the Worlds Leading Destination for three consecutive years. We are delighted to travel to ATM this year with our largest delegation for this event thus far, and have the chance to inform the travel trade and travellers from this market about that special something visitors can only find in the Sunny Side of Life, said Thoyyib Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) of MMPRC.



The Maldives will be featured at ATM at a specially curated 429-sq-m double-decker stand. During the event, MMPRC will hold meetings with key travel trade representatives, give destination presentations, and facilitate networking sessions with key executives, brands, and companies.



We are representing the destination at these events as part of our marketing strategy for the Middle East market to maintain the destination presence as one of the safest and most luxurious destinations to travel to due to the unique geographical formation of the islands and provide a platform to the stakeholders to promote individual products and properties, he added.



Visit Maldives aims to maintain our destination presence and promote the Maldives as the Worlds Leading Destination in the Middle East market alongside industry partners throughout the event.



A separate Maldives Media Press Event will also be held on the sidelines of ATM, attended by over 40 prominent media professionals from the Middle East. The speakers for the event are Thoyyib Mohamed, CEO & MD of Visit Maldives; Aminath Shabeena, Ambassador of the Republic of the Maldives to UAE; and Mr Greg Holder, Base Leader of Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) from Six Senses Laamu Resort.



Participation in ATM 2023 provides the Maldives with the opportunity to relay the latest destination information and travel guidelines to the Middle East market, while also providing the opportunity to market the destination as a safe haven, serving varying tourism segments such as luxury, honeymoon, romantic, family, adventure as well as MICE clientele.



Through the event, MMPRC will also promote its tourism products (resorts, guesthouses, hotels, liveaboards) and the unique experiences awaiting tourists from the Middle East.  TradeArabia News Service
Azizi Developments, a leading private developer in the UAE, has just announced its plans to launch a hotel brand across the UAE and beyond, as part of its expansion into the hospitality sector.



Azizi has appointed Michael Zager as its new Chief Operating Officer - Hospitality.



Azizi will soon introduce the new global brand, under which it will both develop and acquire hotel real estate that it will then own and manage.



A hotel afficionado and industry leader with over 35 years of experience in international hospitality, German national Michael Zager will spearhead Azizis debut into the sector. Zager has previously held senior leadership positions across several global four- and five-star hotel groups in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG Hotels & Resorts), for which he served as Vice President in charge of the franchised and managed portfolio comprising more than 300 hotels spread over 26 countries.



He has also led several industry giants toward enhanced operational excellence as Managing Director of Hospitality360, a hotel management consultancy he established in 2019 to serve clients across Europe and the Middle East.



Zager is an award-winning hotel-profession IHK graduate from the Bergius Professional School in Frankfurt, Germany, a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), and has completed the PDP educational programs for Strategic Hospitality Management and others at the Cornell Hotel School Ithaca, New York.



Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments, said: This monumental announcement is one that we have been preparing for extensively, and that excites all of us at Azizi Developments. The hospitality sector is especially pronounced here in our home, the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai seeing a substantial influx of visitors year after year and continuing to be crowned as the number one destination in the world.



As a leading developer, we are now leveraging our real estate aptitude and in-depth understanding of the wants and needs in the realm of accommodation to grant visitors unparalleled hospitality experiences, worldwide. We see our expansion into the tourism sector as the next big stride in our overarching mission of enhancing lifestyles and look forward to showcasing our upcoming hospitality projects to our stakeholders in the UAE and beyond, as well as more announcements in this regard, in due course.



Mr. Michael Zager is the ideal leadership figure for our grand entry into hospitality. With him having successfully led high-performing teams for reputable hoteliers across various continents, and with him being especially proficient in heading pre- and launch phases, hotel and asset management, and hospitality as a whole across Europe and the MENA region, where the vision for our first hotels will manifest into reality, we are delighted to welcome him and his wealth of expertise, he added.



Azizi Developments is now gearing up for its 2023 completions. The developer is well on its way to deliver a total of approximately 11,000 units across 45 projects in Dubai, spread across the first, second and third phases of Riviera, Park Avenue I, II and III in MBR City, and Berton in Al Furjan.  TradeArabia News Service
Investors should brace for lower forward guidance from tech giant Apple on Thursday, according to Bank of America. The firm reiterated a neutral rating on Apple stock, albeit with an updated price target of $173 per share, reflecting about 2% upside from Friday's closing price. Previously, the bank had a price target of $168. Apple will report quarterly results Thursday after the closing bell. Research analyst Wamsi Mohan said the firm expects Apple to at least meet consensus expectations on both earnings per share and revenue for its fiscal second quarter. Bank of America is calling for earnings of $1.40 per share on revenue of $92.4 billion, compared with the Street's expectations of $1.43 in earnings per share and $92.9 billion. "We expect stronger iPhone demand to offset weakness in other hardware categories, and Services to benefit from subscription growth while App Store to remain weak," Mohan said. AAPL YTD mountain Shares of Apple are up roughly 30% from the start of the year. That said, Bank of America is anticipating a gloomy outlook from the tech titan. Mohan said fiscal third-quarter estimates could suggest that revenue will decline by 1% year over year. The firm is forecasting earnings of $1.17 per share and revenue of $81.7 billion for that period due to weaker consumer spending and FX headwinds. Asset management firm Bernstein also noted concern on Apple last week heading into earnings. "Macs and iPads both have challenging macroeconomic headwinds and y/y compares since the prior year benefited from the redesigned MacBook Pro with M1 chip," Mohan said. "This year we see headwinds from both lower consumer spend as well as slowing Enterprise spending." Mohan also noted further points of contention for Apple include ongoing negotiations with Google and the rise of search engine Bing . He said that if a peer and rival as large as Samsung were to replace Google search with Bing, that could push Apple to do the same with its line of products. "If a large smartphone company like Samsung does indeed move away from Google, we expect that would put pressure on Google to increase payments to Apple to remain the default on the iOS platform," he said. Another key question for the company, Mohan said, is the size of Apple's expected stock buyback. The analyst predicts an authorization of $80 billion in buybacks, which is just below the previous two years, which saw $90 billion.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) came to First Republic's rescue Monday, a deal with implications for our two financial holdings and the U.S. banking system more broadly. Meanwhile, an equity research firm recommended its clients buy Danaher (DHR) and own the beaten-down Club stock for the long term. Here are our takes on the developments. The news: JPMorgan said Monday it acquired most of First Republic's assets after the troubled San Francisco-based lender was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The largest U.S. bank by assets won a weekend auction for First Republic, which had been under duress since the March collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sparked concerns about firms with similar characteristics, such as a high percentage of uninsured deposits. JPMorgan is assuming all of First Republic's deposits, including the $30 billion injected into the firm March 16 in a supposed show of confidence for the banking system. That deposit money will be repaid to the participating banks, which include Club holdings Wells Fargo (WFC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Wells Fargo deposited $5 billion , while Morgan Stanley contributed $2.5 billion. WFC MS 1Y mountain Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley stock performance over the past 12 months JPMorgan, which is paying $10.6 billion to the FDIC in the deal, said it's incrementally positive for shareholders. "This part of the crisis is over," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said, referring to regional bank failures tied, in large part, to unrealized losses on bond portfolios and uninsured deposits. In addition to Silicon Valley Bank and now First Republic, regulators in March seized New York-based Signature Bank. The Club's take: Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are stocks worth buying here, Jim Cramer said during Monday's "Morning Meeting." Big picture, JPMorgan's First Republic rescue should help improve sentiment around the U.S. banking industry, which by extension is good for our bank stocks. More specifically, this deal is good for Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo because it ensures they get their $2.5 billion and $5 billion back from First Republic's coffers. In recent days, there had been some concern that the full amounts wouldn't be returned if regulators were stuck with First Republic. Wells Fargo shares rose about 2% on Monday to more than $40 each. Jim said he believes Wells Fargo's stock can return to around the $45-per-share level, which is where it traded in early March before the Silicon Valley Bank saga. Morgan Stanley shares fell about 1%, to around $89 each. One potential drag on Morgan Stanley shares is JPMorgan's wealth management operations are strengthened by its First Republic acquisition. It's true our investment thesis in Morgan Stanley is rooted in its pivot toward the stable revenues of asset and wealth management, decreasing its reliance on the boom-and-bust cycles of investment banking. Our belief in that strategy isn't shaken by the JPMorgan-First Republic deal. After all, Morgan Stanley was able to pull in an impressive $110 billion in new assets in the first three months of this year alone. The news: Danaher's recent hiccups do not alter the company's strong footing, which should enable its stock to be a standout performer in the years ahead, SVB Securities said in a note to clients Monday. The research analysts started coverage of Danaher with a buy rating and a $300 per-share price target, which implies nearly 27% upside from Friday's close. Shares rose more than 2.5% on Monday to around $243 each. DHR 1Y mountain Danaher's stock performance over the past 12 months. SVB Securities cited a range of reasons to own Danaher, including its profitability profile with gross margins around 60% or more, and its ample dry powder to pursue a beneficial acquisition. The firm said now is an especially good time to buy Danaher because the stock tumbled over 6% last week after Danaher lowered its full-year outlook . The analysts acknowledged Danaher's near-term challenges around excess customer inventory and funding accessibility for biotech startups that also buy its products. However, analysts argued these problems are now appreciated by investors and create an attractive entry point into the stock. The Club's take: We made our disappointment in Danaher known last week because we hold management at the life sciences and medical diagnostics firm in such high regard. But SVB Securities makes a number of compelling points that capture why we've owned Danaher for years in the first place. The analysts could definitely be right in saying this is the reset the market wanted  and, as a result, the bottom for the stock could be in. We've also been saying for months that Danaher's upcoming separation of its Environmental and Applied Solutions unit is good news for shareholders, and history shows that it could precede an acquisition. "We've got the possibility of M & A, which is what I'm really holding out for," Jim said during the "Morning Meeting." (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long WFC, MS and DHR. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

A man walks past a First Republic bank in Manhattan on May 01, 2023 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The seizure and sale of First Republic Bank over the weekend closed the book on the most glaring problem left from the U.S. regional banking crisis, but now investors will turn to see if new stresses emerge and evaluate whether midsize banks can become good bets in the future. First Republic's demise was the third regional bank failure since early March, when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank folded within days of each other. There is cautious optimism on Wall Street that First Republic will be the last failure of this period. "We believe the FRC sale should likely end forced sales of banks due to deposit flight. Although there will likely be other banks that may experience profitability challenges, causing mgmt teams to evaluate strategic options," Bank of America analyst Ebrahim Poonawala said in a note to clients. First Republic's final slide came after its first-quarter earnings report on April 24, which showed a 40% drop in deposits over the first three months of the year. However, reports from other regional banks weren't nearly as dire, with many reporting that deposits had stabilized and were growing again. For example, PacWest Bancorp .  which was seen as a potential area of stress after SVB's collapse, and whose shares fell more than 10% Monday  said last week that it had brought in about $1.8 billion of deposits since March 20. PACW 1D mountain PacWest's stock was under pressure on Monday. "There are only so many banks that were offsides this way. There may be another smaller one, but this pretty much resolves them all. This part of the crisis is over ," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on a conference call Monday to discuss the purchase of First Republic. However, the failure of First Republic could cause some more turbulence, at least in the short term, for both deposits and bank stocks. "While the bank balance sheet data were generally positive for the week ending April 19, we could see disruptions in upcoming weeks because of recent market concerns around a specific bank," Bank of America senior U.S. economist Aditya Bhave said in a note to clients on Monday. Even assuming that banks can hold on to their customers, doing so will be expensive. Deposits are shifting into CDs and other high rate products, Morgan Stanley's Betsy Graseck said in a note to clients, which will hurt the profit margins for banks. "That ongoing mix shift and pricing pressure is reflected in the latest acceleration in banks' highest CD offers. It also corroborates our view that the events of the past month are placing an incremental premium on bank deposits which is likely to continue pushing betas higher over the course of 2023, even after the Fed pauses rate hikes," Graseck wrote on Monday. Long-term challenges The effect of SVB and other recent failures on the broader banking system is far from fully realized. The Federal Reserve report on the bank's collapse hinted at regulatory changes that could make life tougher for midsize regionals for years to come. "We believe that banks with assets > $500B and < $60B are the clearest winners in the new world order, while there is likely to be a no-man's land between $80-120B, as banks in this range may need to shrink to avoid new regulations or more actively engage in M & A to increase scale and absorb regulatory costs," KBW analyst David Konrad said in a note to clients on Sunday. The regulatory shifts could create a wave of asset sales and small deals as banks try to adjust to a new rule book. "Expect regional banks to likely respond by reducing capital returns, optimize lending and potentially dispose of assets to strengthen capital," Goldman Sachs analyst Ryan Nash said in a note to clients on Sunday. To be sure, the rapid deposit flight in March showed that the financial picture for banks can change quickly in the digital age. Commercial real estate concerns could be one area that causes bank stress, with Charlie Munger among the many investors warning the public about that sector. Investors may want to sit on the sidelines until the coast is more clear. "We don't believe that regional banks are completely out of the woods," Wolfe Research chief investment strategist Chris Senyek said in a note to clients on Monday.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Italy's rather surprising decision to join China's Belt and Road Initiative a few years back is being thrust back into the fore, with a deadline to potentially end it fast approaching under Rome's new leadership.

Italy has previously been described as a "middle-power" bridge used by Beijing and Moscow to strike deals with a country that's a member of NATO, the European Union, and the G-7 group of advanced economies.

In 2019, Rome sent shockwaves throughout the Western world when it signed up to the BRI  China's massive infrastructure and investment plan aimed at boosting its influence across the world. At the time, analysts said that by joining the project, Italy was undermining Europe's ability to stand up to Beijing.

When former European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi took power in Rome in 2021, he froze the agreement and led a critical screening of Chinese investments in the country  having vetoed at least three Chinese takeovers during that year.

Two years down the line and with a new government in place, Rome is now having another think about its ties with China.

"It is a very controversial issue for the Italian government," Silvia Menegazzi, professor of international relations and Chinese studies at Luiss University, said over the phone, adding that this is due to one key reason: Taiwan.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province, while Taiwan sees itself as separate from China, having ruled itself since splitting from the mainland in 1949 following a protracted civil war. Tensions between the two have risen over the years, and high-level U.S. politicians' visits to Taiwan have drawn Beijing's ire.

New Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said via Twitter prior to her election in September  and standing next to a representative from Taiwan  that she stands alongside those who believe in democracy.

If Italy chooses closer ties to Taiwan, that will surely jeopardize its relations with China. At the same time, deepening investment links with Beijing might go against what Meloni promised pre-election.

A delegation of Italian politicians was due to travel to Taiwan in April. But the trip was postponed to an unspecified date, according to media reports.

"I believe they might not decide anything," Menegazzi said, suggesting the Italian government will continue its Belt and Road participation for now.
Le Cordon Bleu, one of the world's leading educational centres in culinary arts and hospitality management, has signed an agreement with Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk) to set up its institute within Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City in Saudi Arabia.

The establishment of the Le Cordon Bleu Arab Institute for Education comes as part of the Culinary Arts Commission's efforts to improve the efficiency of the culinary arts sector in Saudi Arabia by providing international expertise to those interested in and practising culinary arts.

The Commission aims to provide prestigious educational options by attracting the most renowned academies and institutes of cooking and hospitality to the kingdom.

According to Misk, the objective of this partnership is to strengthen cooperation and develop Saudi talents in culinary arts both locally and globally.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Andre Cointreau, President and CEO of Le Cordon Bleu, and Mayada Badr, CEO of the Culinary Arts Commission.

Le Cordon Bleu will help achieve the city's goals and Saudi Vision 2030 by providing abundant opportunities for Saudi talents to achieve their creative ambitions while attracting international talents, stated David Henry, the CEO of Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City, after signing the deal with Andre Cointreau, President and CEO of Le Cordon Bleu, and Mayada Badr, CEO of the Culinary Arts Commission.

In 2019, Misk, in partnership with the Quality of Life Program and in collaboration with Le Cordon Bleu, had launched a specialized training programme in culinary arts from which 30 young men and women from 6 different regions across the Kingdom have already graduated.

Badr said that Saudi chefs were already creative, and the culinary school will help them sharpen their fundamental and classic skills further.

On the new school, Cointreau stated that Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City was the ideal location for the school, which will be the first of its kind in the kingdom. "It will enable beneficiaries to acquire diverse cultural experiences in the culinary field," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Market Movers rounded up the best reactions from investors and analysts on JPMorgan Chase 's stock movement. The experts, including Jim Cramer , discussed how the bank, already the nation's largest by several measures, acquired most of troubled First Republic Bank's assets in a weekend auction. Prior to the market's open on Monday, regulators took possession of First Republic , resulting in the third failure of an American bank since March. JPMorgan shares finished the trading day up 2.1%.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his police department have asked residents to help fight vehicle theft in the city by placing Apple AirTags in their cars.

AirTags are small, circular tracking devices that allow users to monitor the location of their belongings through the "Find My" app on their iPhones. If a vehicle is stolen with an AirTag inside, residents will be able to track their car and work with police officers to recover it.

"It's a really amazing piece of ingenuity," Adams said at a press conference Sunday.

Apple sells AirTags starting at $29, and Adams said a nonprofit organization in New York has donated 500 of the devices to distribute to residents for free.

The New York City Police Department shared a video Sunday demonstrating how residents can use an AirTag to protect their vehicles. Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of the department, wrote in a tweet that the "21st century calls for 21st century policing."

"AirTags in your car will help us recover your vehicle if it's stolen," the NYPD tweet said. "We'll use our drones, our StarChase technology & good old fashion police work to safely recover your stolen car. Help us help you, get an AirTag"

Adams said Kia, Hyundai and Honda vehicles have been particularly vulnerable to theft, in part because of a trend circulating on TikTok.

In an April press release, Adams said New York City saw an 890% increase in Kia thefts at the end of last year and a 766% increase in Hyundai thefts in the preceding months. The city has joined a national lawsuit that aims to hold the vehicle manufacturers accountable for failing to install standard anti-theft measures in certain models.

Adams said Sunday that AirTags are an "excellent" tracking device that he believes will help slow rates of car theft in the city.

"Using technology to fight crime, protect people, save property is the direction this administration and this police department is going in," Adams said Sunday.
Paraguayan presidential candidate for the Colorado Party, Santiago Pena (C), celebrates with his wife, Leticia Ocampos de Pea (R), and Paraguayan former President Horacio Cartes, after winning the presidential election in Asuncion on April 30, 2023. Norberto Duarte | AFP | Getty Images

Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena, 44, scored a big win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguay's long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7% of the vote with over 99% of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching allegiance to China. "Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory," Pena said in a speech. Alegre acknowledged the result. Current President Mario Abdo congratulated Pena as "president-elect," as did the leaders of Brazil and Argentina. Colorado and right-wing party candidates also performed strongly in congressional elections and governor races, with some provinces recording a historic Colorado majority over opposition rivals. The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favor of China and its huge markets. "We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party," Pena said in his victory speech, calling for "unity and consensus."

watch now

It also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has ruled for all by five of the last 75 years and has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations. "Once a Colorado always a Colorado," said Eugenio Senturion, 65, as he voted on Sunday at his local polling station in the area of Jara, Asuncion. Dry weather helped voter turn-out, analysts said, with queues to cast ballots long after polling stations were formally meant to close at 4 p.m. (20:00 GMT). "All day we've observed high levels of participation," an observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission said.

'Nothing will change'

Not all voters were happy, however, reflected in a larger-than-expected share for populist Paraguayo Cubas who had almost 23% of the vote in third place, reflecting wider support for anti-establishment candidates around Latin America. "I'm worried about crime. All the candidates are the same for me," said 34-year-old mother of three, Maria Jose Rodas, as a busload of voters arrived at the inner-city polling station. "Nothing will change." At the Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez school in the capital Asuncion, Ramona Oddone was one of the first in line to cast her ballot and was hopeful for a new direction. "Look at all the young people taking part  that shows people want change," the 79-year-old retired schoolteacher told Reuters. "They need jobs and I need a better pension." The Colorado Party has dominated politics in the landlocked South American country since the 1950s. But its popularity has been hit by a slowing economy and graft allegations.

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People stand near destroyed house that was damaged as a result of a missile attack by the Russian army in Uman on April 28.

Russia unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine overnight, setting off huge blazes in a city in the east, damaging dozens of homes and causing widespread casualties.

The Ukrainian military's General Staff said in its evening report that a number of people had been killed in the attacks on Monday night, including children, but gave no further details. Officials said at least 34 people were hurt.

The attack on Pavlohrad, a city and railway hub, came during the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days, with Moscow apparently reviving its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive.

A huge crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house that was strewn with debris on the outskirts of Pavlohrad in southeastern Ukraine, around 100 kilometers from the front line. Homes nearby were badly damaged. In the city centre, the windows of a dormitory that serves a chemical plant had been blown out.

"I ran outside and saw the garage was destroyed. Everything was on fire, glass shards were everywhere. Had we been outside, we would have been killed," said resident Olha Lytvynenko, 61.

Viktoriia Suprun, 41, said she had taken cover with her daughter in the hallway of the dormitory.

"We rushed to the hallway, laid on the floor. And then the explosion wave twisted the door. Had we stayed for five more seconds, we would have been trapped here," she said.

Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said the attack had damaged 19 apartment blocks, 25 houses, three schools, three kindergartens and several shops. The 34 wounded included five children, the region's governor said.

The Ukrainian general staff report noted civilian dead and wounded, with children among the casualties. It said apartment buildings had been damaged along with schools, hospitals and kindergartens.
Two people hold two Shein bags after entering SHEIN's first physical store in Madrid, Spain, June 2, 2022.

WASHINGTON  Bipartisan lawmakers are urging the nation's top markets regulator to require Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein to disclose potential forced labor practices ahead of the company's possible initial public offering in the United States.

The fast-fashion company has come under fire for accusations of mistreatment of Uyghurs, a marginalized group in China, and for allegedly falsifying reports of forced or underpaid labor of its supplier factories, some of which are allegedly located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Shein said it has no suppliers in the region.

The alleged practices violate the 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Reps. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., and John Rose, R-Tenn., wrote in a letter Monday to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.

"As a global company, Shein takes visibility across our entire supply chain seriously. We are committed to respecting human rights and adhering to local laws and regulations in each market we operate in," a Shein spokesperson told CNBC. "Our suppliers must adhere to a strict code of conduct that is aligned to the International Labour Organization's core conventions. We have zero tolerance for forced labor."

An SEC spokesperson told CNBC that Gensler will respond to members of Congress directly.

The representatives are leading a bipartisan group, including 22 other lawmakers, in demanding the SEC require that Shein independently verify that it does not use forced labor before being allowed to issue securities in the U.S. The $64 billion company is preparing for a potential IPO later this year.

"While Shein claims its products do not utilize Uyghur forced labor and it works with third parties to audit its facilities, experts counter these types of audits are easily manipulated or falsified by state-sponsored pressure," the lawmakers wrote to Gensler. "Other experts argue that it is appropriate to presuppose that any product made in the XUAR is made with forced labor."

Goods manufactured in that area of China are not entitled to entry into the U.S. under the 2021 act.

The lawmakers also asked Gensler to notify national securities exchanges registered under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of the requirement. Section 6 outlines the application process for registration as a national securities exchange.

Shein's business model relies heavily on advertising to Gen Z buyers on mobile apps, such as TikTok, and through social media influencers.

The company, whose de facto holding company is located in Singapore, hired its first federal lobbyists in 2022 with goals to expand its distribution into the U.S. market, according to Politico.

The lawmakers' letter echoes concerns from outside groups. Independent coalition Shut Down Shein has also called on the SEC to deny IPO registration to Shein unless it provides proof of compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

"Access to U.S. capital markets is a privilege, not a right, and should not be given freely to corporations who threaten U.S. national security with nefarious business practices, and who are making Americans complicit in their violation of U.S. law," Chapin Fay, executive director of Shut Down SHEIN, has written.

 CNBC's Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this article.

Clarification: This story was updated to note that Shein says it has no suppliers in the Xinjiang region.
Democratic and Republican attorneys general in nearly half of U.S. states are calling on Medicare to provide unrestricted coverage of antibody treatments for Alzheimer's disease, according to a letter released Monday.

The push by attorneys general from 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories adds to mounting pressure on the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, to end a controversial policy that severely restricts access to new drugs such as Eisai and Biogen 's Leqembi.

Twice-monthly infusions of Leqembi have shown promise in slowing progression of early Alzheimer's to more advanced stages of the mind-wasting disease. Medicare's decision to restrict coverage means only wealthy seniors can afford to pay $26,500 per year out of pocket.

"We ask that CMS provide full and unrestricted Medicare coverage for FDA-approved Alzheimer's treatments, consistent with its decades-long practice of covering FDA-approved prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries," the attorneys general, led by Oklahoma's Gentner Drummond, wrote to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.

The attorneys general acknowledged that Leqembi is associated with certain side effects, such as brain swelling and bleeding, but they said families and their doctors can assess these risks against the benefit of patients being able to recognize their loved ones for a longer period.

In a nation with deep political divisions, the push to provide broad access to Alzheimer's treatments is one of the few issues both sides of the aisle can rally around. More than 70 House lawmakers and 18 senators called on Medicare to provide unrestricted coverage of Alzheimer's treatments in February.

The push by members of Congress and state attorneys general comes after Medicare rejected a request by the Alzheimer's Association to cover Leqembi without any conditions.

"After careful review of the request and supporting documentation, we are making this decision because, as of the date of this letter, there is not yet evidence meeting the criteria for reconsideration," CMS said in February.
A view of the First Republic Bank logo at the Park Avenue location, in New York City, March 10, 2023.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

First Republic Bank , JPMorgan Chase  First Republic shares were halted during premarket trading after falling more than 45%. The move comes after JPMorgan took control of First Republic after the beleaguered bank was taken over by regulators. JPMorgan Chase added 3.6% in the premarket.

SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF  The regional banking fund fell 0.4% in premarket trading as investors reacted to the failure of First Republic. That bank had a weighting of less than 0.15% in the fund as of Friday. Among other regional banks, PacWest was one of the biggest decliners, falling more than 5%.

Norwegian Cruise Line  The cruise line stock jumped 3% after Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings beat first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines. The firm reported an adjusted per-share loss of 30 cents, narrower than the anticipated 41 cent loss, according to consensus estimates from Refinitiv. It posted revenue of $1.82 billion, greater than the expected $1.75 billion.

General Motors  The auto giant saw its stock climb nearly 3% in premarket after Morgan Stanley upgraded GM to overweight from equal weight. The Wall Street firm's analyst Adam Jonas said GM's stock is oversold. The stock is down 2% year to date despite recent strong earnings.

Exxon Mobil  Shares slid 1.5% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the oil giant to neutral from buy, saying its multiyear run could be cooling. On Friday, the stock rose 1.3% after the company said it saw record first-quarter profit.

SoFi Technologies  SoFi Technologies jumped 6% after the company's quarterly results topped expectations. The student loan refinancing firm reported a loss of 5 cents per share on revenue of $460.16 million. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a loss per share of 7 cents on revenue of $441 million.

ON Semiconductor  The semiconductor stock rose 1.2% ahead of the firm's first quarter earnings reportlater Monday. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect a profit of $1.09 per share on revenue of $1.93 billion.

 CNBC's Alex Harring, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
A view of streets as clashes continue between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) despite the agreement on cease fire in Khartoum, Sudan on April 30, 2023.

As foreign states wind down their evacuations from Sudan, the United Nations warned of a humanitarian "breaking point" with no let up in fighting between rival military factions despite a supposed ceasefire extension.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since long-simmering tension between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15.

There seems little prospect of a quick resolution to the crisis, which has unleashed a humanitarian disaster, damaged swathes of the capital Khartoum, risked drawing in regional powers and reignited a simmering conflict in the Darfur region.

Both sides had agreed on Sunday to extend a much-violated truce by 72 hours, but the sound of airstrikes and anti-aircraft fire rang out across Khartoum on Monday morning.

Sudanese who ventured out said the city was transformed.

"We saw dead bodies. An industrial area that was all looted. We saw people carrying TVs on their backs and big sacks looted from factories," said Mohamed Ezzeldin, who had fled Khartoum but returned because the influx of displaced people had made costs too high elsewhere.

Many fear for their lives in a nationwide power struggle between the army chief and RSF head, who had shared control of government after a 2021 coup but fell out over a planned transition back to civilian rule.

Thousands of Sudanese have fled, along with many foreigners pulled out by their governments over the past week in a series of complex operations by air, sea and land. European countries including Germany have ended their evacuations and Britain's last evacuation flight will depart on Monday.

Those remaining face bitter hardship and terrible danger.

"I show up to work for two or three hours then I close up because it's not safe," said Abdelbagi, a barber in the capital Khartoum who said he had to keep working as prices were rising.

Power and water supplies are uncertain, there is little food or fuel, most hospitals and clinics are out of service and soaring transport cost are making it ever harder to leave.

The United Nations and other aid organizations have had to cut services because of insecurity and with most foreign staff evacuated, though the World Food Programme said it was resuming operations on Monday after staff were killed early in the war.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 50,000 people had managed to leave Sudan, crossing borders with Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and Ethiopia as well as crossing the Red Sea on boats.

At least 528 people have been killed and 4,599 wounded, the health ministry said. The United Nations has reported a similar number of dead but believes the real toll is much higher.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts waits for U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 4, 2020.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a letter Monday answered additional questions about ethics on the high court  but the Democratic leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee was less than impressed with his response.

Roberts' answers "further highlight the need for meaningful Supreme Court ethics reform, which the Committee will discuss at our hearing tomorrow," the Democratic-led Judiciary Committee said in a Twitter post.

In the letter, Roberts revealed that the Supreme Court's nine justices last Tuesday subscribed to a recently updated "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices."

That came after news articles revealing Justice Clarence Thomas had for more than two decades failed to disclose luxurious vacations gifted to him and his wife by Republican billionaire Harlan Crow, whose company also purchased Georgia property belonging to Thomas and his relatives.

Thomas, whose mother continues to live on one of those properties as a tenant to Crow's company, likewise did not publicly disclose the purchase before ProPublica revealed it.

The revelations come as the Supreme Court is experiencing historically low levels of public approval.

The Judiciary Committee is eyeing how to improve ethics on the court.

The committee's chair, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on April 20 invited Roberts to testify Tuesday before the panel about ethics reform on the court.

Roberts declined the invitation, writing to Durbin that his appearance before the committee could harm the independence of the judiciary, which with Congress form two of the three branches of the federal government.

Roberts' response included a statement of ethics principles and practices "to which all of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe."

The Supreme Court, unlike lower federal courts, is not bound by a mandatory code of conduct.
Shortly after the opening bell, we will be selling 50 shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) at roughly $399 each and buying 50 shares of Palo Alto Networks (PAWN) at roughly $181 each. Following Monday's trades, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 200 shares of LLY, decreasing its weighting in the portfolio to 2.96% from 3.67% and 300 shares of PANW, increasing its weigh to 2.03% from 1.69%. Eli Lilly has been on an absolute tear lately, rallying about 28% from its lows on March 7 to new all-time highs above $400 per share this past Friday. The recent leg higher in shares of this drugmaker came around its first-quarter earnings report Thursday when it delivered a beat on revenue and raised its full-year outlook partly due to strength in the underlying business. Off the strength of the quarter, we are increasing our price target to $430 from $380. LLY YTD mountain Eli Lilly YTD Lilly has been a big position for the Investing Club since we started buying it in late 2021, and the stock's continued outperformance has pushed its weighting to about 3.7% in the portfolio. We expect more gains ahead, with Lilly looking on track to gain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Mounjaro to treat obesity later this year. The company has been ramping up manufacturing capacity ahead of the decision. In its first-quarter results, Lilly also provided positive obesity-trial data for Mounjaro, which has gotten off to a roaring start as a type-2 diabetes treatment. However, there's one upcoming potential catalyst event we believe is best to be prudent about. During this quarter, Lilly will provide the results of its Phase 3 Trailblazer-ALZ 2 trial that evaluates donanemab for the treatment of early Alzheimer's. This terrible disease has been a tough one to crack , making it very hard to predict what the data will show and how the market will react. We remain optimistic that the quality of Lilly's data will be at least on par with rival Leqembi, which was developed by Japan's Eisai and U.S.-based Biogen (BIIB). Earlier this year, Leqembi was granted accelerated approval by the FDA. Results showing donenemab's efficacy at least matches Leqembi would likely spark a nice rally for the Club holding's shares. However, accelerated approval for donenemab is likely off the table now. That's one reason why we continue to hold a nice-sized position in the pharma giant even after this sale. But to protect against a potential disappointment, which is certainly a possibility, it is prudent to trim shares after this new all-time and reallocate that cash into stocks of other quality companies that have been beaten up recently. This sale will lock in a great gain of more than 53% on LLY stock purchased in November 2021. PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks YTD About half of the funds raised from this Lilly sale will go into building up our position in Palo Alto Networks . Shares of this leader in cybersecurity are coming off a rough week where shares fell more than 5% on concerns about the weak outlooks from smaller industry names like Tenable and Cloudflare . Their shortfalls took down the entire group. One trend that continues to hurt is longer sales cycles, which is a way of saying that new deals are taking longer to close due to economic uncertainty. On the Tenable call, CEO Amit Yoran said the regional banking crisis in late March "exacerbated" this issue and caused more deals to get pushed out, especially from companies in the banking and financial services sector. But here is our problem with reading too much into the conference calls of Tenable and Cloudfare and extrapolating that to Palo Alto. While it is highly likely that deal uncertainty increased out of the regional banking crisis, Palo Alto Networks is in a special class within the industry because it is taking share from the little guys. We are in a period right now where many cybersecurity customers are consolidating their spending around the industry's largest players. As a market leader in thirteen categories within security, Palo Alto is a winner from what is happening in the market. And with a management team committed to profitable growth and accelerating leverage in the business, we think Palo Alto Networks will continue to surprise to the upside. Lastly as a reminder, our plan for the other half of the cash proceeds is to buy Caterpillar as soon as our trading restrictions allow. Caterpillar shares initially were hit hard Thursday despite posting a huge earnings beat with its first-quarter report but were able to pare its losses throughout the trading session. And thanks to a Friday rally, shares ultimately finished the week higher than where they stood on the eve of the earnings print. Still, the stock has been very disappointing this year. While the market seems very concerned that right now is as good as it will get for Caterpillar with its pricing, margins, and its backlog and it can only get worse from here, we think what is being missed is the multiple-year benefit from all that infrastructure spending, which is only just getting started. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long LLY, PANW. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Jim Cramer at the NYSE, June 30, 2022. Virginia Sherwood | CNBC
New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) India and El Salvador on Monday held the Fourth Round of Foreign Office Consultations here during which they held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in trade, health and pharma, capacity building, culture and education.

The FOC were co-chaired by Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador Adriana Mira de Pereira, who is visiting India from May 1-2.

During the talks, both sides reviewed their bilateral relations and chalked out the way forward. They also discussed bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors including trade and economic, health and pharmaceuticals, ICT and eGovernance, energy including renewables, development cooperation and capacity building, culture and education, a statement said.

Secretary (East) invited El Salvador to participate in the India-LAC Business Conclave being organized by CII in August 2023 in New Delhi.

Both sides positively assessed their ongoing cooperation at the regional and multilateral fora.

This interaction follows shortly after the visit of Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs, to El Salvador, in Central America, in January 2023; that of Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Foreign Minister of El Salvador, to India in February 2023, and the interaction between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Hill on the margins of the India-SICA (Central American Integration System) Foreign Ministerial meeting in Panama on April 25. It is indicative of the growing strength of bilateral relations between the two countries, the statement added.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said:

4th India-El Salvador FOC held in New Delhi. Led by Secy (East)

@AmbSaurabhKumar and Vice Minister Adriana Mira de Pereira of El Salvador.

Discussions covered further development of bilateral ties including in areas of trade, health & pharma, capacity building, culture and education.

Also on the agenda was cooperation in multilateral fora including in the framework of India-SICA.

UNI RN
Author E. Jean Carroll arrives to federal court in New York on April 25, 2023, in the trial of her civil suit against Donald Trump, who she claims raped her in the 1990s.

A federal judge on Monday denied former President Donald Trump's request for a mistrial in writer E. Jean Carroll's civil rape and defamation case against him, allowing her testimony to resume.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina asked for a mistrial hours earlier in an 18-page letter accusing Judge Lewis Kaplan of making "pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings" against the former president.

Tacopina argued that Kaplan mischaracterized evidence in Carroll's favor, bolstered her testimony and wrongly sustained objections from Carroll's lawyers that hampered his questioning of the witness.

The attorney asked that if Kaplan does not grant a mistrial, he "correct the record for each and every instance in which the Court has mischaracterized the facts of this case to the Jury" and give Trump's lawyers "greater latitude" during cross examination.

Carroll returned to the witness stand in federal court in Manhattan on Monday after Kaplan denied the request. In her testimony last week, Carroll said Trump "raped me" and "shattered my reputation."
An oil tanker being serviced by a bunkering vessel. Courtesy: Hafnia

If you think that life at sea is like the movie franchise "Pirates of the Caribbean," think again. The movies, which feature ambushes, looting and a drunken captain, are far from real life, according to shipping veteran Ralph Juhl. "That is, of course, a lot of bollocks," Juhl told CNBC by phone. For starters, the consumption of alcohol is banned on many ships. But there is one similarity with the movie, Juhl said: the code of conduct between seafarers. In the franchise, the Pirate's Code was chronicled in a book kept by character Captain Teague, and loosely followed by some. For those who sail for a living, there is a similar type of agreement, Juhl said.

The crew on board an oil tanker operated by Hafnia. Courtesy: Hafnia

"Seafarers, no matter where they come from  India, Ukraine, Denmark, the Philippines  there is this conduct of how you behave on a ship  You can actually endanger both yourself and all of your colleagues if you are not playing that social game, being on board the ship. So, you take responsibility, you follow authority," Juhl said. Juhl, an executive vice-president at oil tanker firm Hafnia , has worked in the industry for several decades, starting as an ordinary seaman  the lowest rank of sailor  in 1983. "When you as a seafarer [go] on board  you are a contribution to the society and you have to fit in ... there is this code of the high seas," he added.

A captain's life

"Pirates of the Caribbean" is a seafaring stereotype familiar to Hafnia's DSA Dixon, who has been a captain for five years. Dixon  who sails vessels known as product tankers, which transport both refined and unrefined petroleum products around the world  had to convince his parents-in-law that his role was nothing like the movie, he told CNBC by phone. "A lot of people have a very different representation of a seafarer, looking at Pirates of the Caribbean," he said.

Captain DSA Dixon (in black) says he invents games to keep his crew's morale up during months at sea. DSA Dixon | Hafnia

Dixon might be captaining a ship such as the huge Hafnia Rhine, which is about 230 meters long by 33 meters wide, with a capacity of more than 76,000 deadweight tons  a measure that includes the oil cargo, plus fuel, food, water and crew members, but not the weight of the ship itself. Where the ship goes depends on where the demand for oil is and Dixon has sailed to every continent bar Antarctica, he said. Dixon aims to keep to a schedule of three months at sea followed by three months at home in Mumbai, India, he said, and he started his most recent voyage on the Mississippi River in the U.S., sailing to Brazil and going on to Saudi Arabia via Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, before returning to Brazil.

The greatest part of my job is I've seen things that an average human being might not. DSA Dixon Captain, Hafnia

Compared to someone working an office job, Dixon said he spends more time with his wife and six-year-old son, as when he is at home he's "completely" there. "I love this part of my life, because when I go back home, I'm Santa Claus," he said. "It doesn't get stagnated at any point  when it's about to get stagnated, I'm back at sea."

High days and holidays

Aside from navigation, Dixon said the most important part of his job is to keep the crew in good spirits, as they spend months at sea together. "We have at times, 20, 25 people on board, they're all different nationalities, different cultures, different languages  our ship is as good as the people on it," Dixon said. There's no fixed daily routine, Dixon added. "There's no one way to describe life on board. It's challenging of course, but the challenge keeps you motivated all the time," he said. Along with navigation and managing the crew, Dixon might be talking to officials who come aboard when the ship is docked or coming up with ways to celebrate religious festivals.

The engine control room of an oil tanker. Hafnia Chief Engineer Dmytro Lifarenko spent around six months on board during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Courtesy: Hafnia

"Irrespective of nationality, or religion, people celebrate each other's events or festivals," Dixon said. "I even invent something like a treasure hunt on board. The ship is massive, I divide [crew] into teams  and let them find their own way," Dixon added. These games might sound "kiddish," but they serve an important purpose, Dixon said. "These are grown-up men, some might be 50 years-old, and they're doing this, but it's the way to bond  we need to socialize and a happy ship is always an excellent vessel," Dixon said. Dixon makes sure the crew take Sundays off, spending it as they choose: perhaps playing PlayStation, chatting or sleeping. "I make sure there's an excellent lunch," Dixon added. Traveling across oceans means getting to experience some of the world's natural spectacles, with Dixon seeing the light phenomenon aurora borealis  also known as the northern lights  while sailing near Norway.

An aurora borealis light display in the southern part of Norway, one of the natural spectacles seen by oil tanker captain DSA Dixon during his seafaring life. Heiko Junge | Afp | Getty Images

"The only regret I have is what I see I'm not able to share it, I want my family to see [things] at that very point, at that very moment, a photograph won't capture it," Dixon said. How did he feel seeing the lights? "You feel complete, I will say. You feel abundant," he said. "The greatest part of my job is I've seen things that an average human being might not," he added.

Rough waters

Alongside enjoying scenes of wonder, life as a seafarer can be tough. Hafnia Chief Engineer Dmytro Lifarenko is from Ukraine and was at home when Russia invaded the country in February 2022, fleeing with his wife and children across Europe to Valencia in Spain. "I don't know how I would handle ... knowing that the bombs were there and I'm on board," he told CNBC by phone, speculating about how he would have felt if he had been at sea when war broke out. While his most recent voyage was five months long  sailing from Singapore to France and then Australia  he has recently taken extended leave to settle his family in their new home.

Chief Engineer Dmytro Lifarenko is from Ukraine and was at home when Russia invaded the country in February 2022. He has since moved with his family to Spain. Dmytro Lifarenko | Hafnia

"I miss my family a lot during the voyage," Lifarenko said  he and his wife have three children: a daughter of six months, six-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. "Being two parents for three kids, this is fine. Being [effectively] a single mom for our kids, that's very difficult ... to be honest, this is the worst part of the job." This is something Juhl is sympathetic to: "That's a big 'uncomfort' for many seafarers, that they are now so involved in their family [while at sea], even though they can't do anything about it," he said.

The boiler suit dressed man with a big spanner  it's not the sailor that we'll need in the future. Ralph Juhl Executive vice president, Hafnia

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Lifarenko spent about six months onboard, which is longer than his usual voyage. He said guided meditations sent to him by Hafnia were useful to deal with an uncertain situation. "You keep thinking about the things that you actually cannot change, and that's quite close to depression, but this [was] like a helpful hand," he said. But, despite some downsides, Lifarenko said he loves his job because of its variety. "You cannot say what is your routine, because the routine part is quite small. Most of the time, you are solving some situation, which requires you to use your brain, and you're thinking, how to fix this ... or how can we maintain this in a better way," he said. He has also enjoyed seeing the natural world while onboard, including spotting whales and sailing close to the volcanic Canary Islands.

Future sailors

Juhl spent more than a decade as a seafarer, starting at age 16 and sailing to places such as Honduras and South Korea, and becoming a navigator on chemical carrier ships before captaining ferries. He came onshore in 1997 and is now responsible for Hafnia's technical operations. He described those onboard as "working their butts off." "They never go ashore anymore, there are terminals far away from cities and so on. So, this romantic life and impression of seafarers, it is pretty much gone. It's hard work," he said.

Oil tanker crew prepare mooring ropes to secure a bunker barge to their vessel for refueling. Courtesy: Hafnia
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Thousands of applicants registered at the government's job fairs on May 1, Labor Day, in hopes of getting employment, with nearly 4,000 hired on the spot.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said 29,193 jobseekers visited career expos across the country, of whom 3,975 were recruited immediately. It said the top positions filled were service crew, cashier, admin and service contractor personnel, office staff, and laborer or helper.

The numbers showed there were more women than men recorded in the job fairs. The DOLE said 15,402 female jobseekers registered while 13,791 were male. For those instantly employed, 2,132 were female and 1,843 were male.

The agency reported that job-hunters sought assistance for training, livelihood, and entrepreneurship opportunities and availed of its one-stop shop for government services.

Others were referred to other participating agencies such as the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), it added.

Meanwhile, in the mega job fair held by the DMW in Mandaluyong, around 15,000 job openings in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hungary, and the United States, among others, are up for grabs. Recruitment agencies were looking for skilled workers like nurses, engineers, seamen, construction, and restaurant workers.

From Batangas, Eugenia De Guia went to the fair eyeing a career as a cleaner or a factory worker.

"Mas maganda kasi ang benefits sa abroad. Dito kahit OT ka ng 12 hours, maliit pa rin 'yung kita compared sa abroad," De Guia told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: Benefits abroad are better. Here, even if you render 12 hours of overtime, you will still earn a meager income compared to overseas work.]

Speaking to CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon, Rosanna Urdaneta, TESDA director general for policies and planning, said TESDA programs could equip Filipinos seeking job opportunities abroad the needed industry competencies and soft skills.

She admitted that it's a reality that Filipinos "want greener pastures."

"When we prepare and develop programs, we prepare that this person becomes globally competitive," Urdaneta said. "Kahit saan siya pumunta [Wherever he or she goes], he [or she] can be at par with any individual coming from different countries and regions."

DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said the agency opted to conduct a physical job fair to prevent online scams.

"Kung maniningil ng recruitment fee ang isang ahensya, dapat pirmado na ang overseas employment certificate niya at meron na siyang employment contract," he reminded jobseekers.

[Translation: If agencies will ask for a recruitment fee, the overseas employment certificate must be already signed by applicants and they already have an employment contract.]

In its Labor Day celebration on Saturday, DOLE said hearings for the minimum wage hike petitions filed across the country are underway but there's no certainty when the Regional Wage Board will release its decision.

"Hindi ko pwedeng sabihing bilisan ninyo, bagalan ninyo," Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma told reporters. "Alam nila ang kanilang obligasyon na dapat aksyunan. May mga time frame 'yan na tinatawag."

[Translation: I cannot dictate the board's speed. They know their obligations on addressing these but there is a time frame for that.]

It assured the public that it is coordinating with government agencies to give workers non-wage benefits in the meantime.

CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Senate Minority leader Koko Pimentel pushes for a mandatory work break, especially for employees exposed to the scorching heat just like what is being experienced in the country.

The idea is to really maintain and safeguard the health of our workers so this must be a mandatory break from exposure to the extreme, Pimentel told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday.

The senators proposal comes as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned that the heat index in Metro Manila and in other parts of the country will remain around 40C in the following weeks.

In its latest projection, the state weather bureau said the highest heat index for Monday may reach 43C that will be experienced in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.

Based on PAGASAs heat index chart, this is classified as danger and may cause heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is also possible due to continued exposure.

READ: EXPLAINER: What is the heat index?

Pimentel said his proposed policy is being implemented in the United Arab Emirates. Workers there are given time to rest during a specific time of the day to allow them to cool down, he noted.

If it will be implemented in the Philippines, the senator said the Science and Technology, Health, and Labor departments can work together to determine the guidelines for its implementation.

Pimentel suggested that when the temperature reaches 40C and unless there are emergency tasks, employees should be given 1-2 hours away from the sun which should be counted as work hours.

He said he does not favor just giving hazard pay because this only monetizes the danger that workers have to face.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  A senator said the scheduled meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his counterpart Joe Biden should emphasize the need to improve the Philippines and United States economic ties and provisions under the two countries Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Lets convince the United States to not only offer to buy more Philippine products but to actually buy more Philippine-made products, Senate Minority leader Koko Pimentel told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday.

Marcos arrived in Washington on Sunday for a five-day official visit.

In his departure statement in Manila, Marcos said he aims to forge an even stronger bond with the United States through his bilateral meeting with Biden.

Aside from economic cooperation, Pimentel said the chief executives should also discuss possibly reviewing the terms under EDCA to give more authority to Filipino officials when it comes to checking what is being stored in Manilas bases being used by American troops.

There should be more transparency, the senator said. Wag natin itrato na as if para silang sovereign areas, restricted areas which we cannot check.

[Translation: Lets not treat them as if they are sovereign areas, restricted areas which we cannot check.]

There are currently nine EDCA locations across the country following the addition of four more in the Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana town, Cagayan; the Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo town, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu town, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan.

Once completed, American troops could be indefinitely stationed at the sites on a rotational basis and could use them as storage facilities.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said that Marcos is expected to promote Manilas economic agenda, boost cooperation in various areas, and raise security issues during his April 30 to May 4 visit.

The chief executive will also meet with business leaders and the Filipino community in the US.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said the government would identify fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) that would be proposed to China, days after the near-collision of a Chinese ship and a Philippine vessel in the disputed waters.

According Marcos, China has agreed again to sit down to discuss Filipinos fishing rights in the WPS.

The president also directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Foreign Affairs to put together perhaps a map of these fishing grounds within the Philippines territory.

Sasabihin natin, ito Pilipinas talaga ito (We will say that these areas are covered by the Philippines) and well see what they say when we give them our proposal, he added.

Marcos also said he already raised to the Chinese government the recent incident in the WPS, which he stressed has become a little more dangerous.

READ: PCG reports near-collision due to Chinese ships dangerous maneuvers in Ayungin Shoal

He then urged Beijing to form a communications team to avoid misunderstandings in the WPS.

Talagang kamuntik na nagbanggaan (They nearly collided) and that will cause a great many... that can cause casualties on both sides, he said.

And thats exactly what we want to avoid kayat binilin ko sa kanila yung aking sinasabi na mayroong high level na communication, tapusin na natin, buuin natin. Hindi pa natin nabubuo, he added.

[Translation: And that's exactly what we want to avoid, so I advised them that there should be high-level communication, let's finish it, let's build it. We have yet to complete it.]

Marcos said they are just waiting for a list of names from China, noting that the Philippine government already completed building its team.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the national government can augment efforts to address power distribution problems in Negros and Panay Island.

Ang nagkaka-problema ngayon are Negros and Panay Island (Negros and Panay Islands are the ones having problems now). The irony is Negros actually has a surplus of power supply," Marcos said on board a plane on Sunday as he flew to the US for his 5-day visit. "The reason na nagkaka-brownout (The reason why theres a brownout) is because sa distribution system sa high tension wire So thats what we will have to look into.

Kung hindi kaya ng mga gumagawa (If they cant do it), maybe the government na lang will be the one. Well augment, he said.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Visayas gridincluding the Panay, Cebu, Negros, Leyte, Samar, and Bohol island gridson red alert last April 27.

The NGCP downgraded it to a yellow alert a day after, which means operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grids regulating and contingency requirements.

Marcos also attributed the current power problems experiencing by other Filipinos to hot weather.

The power outages, well talagang its a consequence of the weather at napaka-init. We are now trying to control or trying to manage rather our water consumption, our power consumption because thats very closely related, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any military action amid heightening tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

He reiterated that the country would continue to work for peace, with the chief leader previously allaying fears about the Philippines drawing into the Taiwan-China conflict following efforts to beef up security ties with the United States.

Well not encourage any provocative action by any country" that "will involve the Philippines," he told reporters as he flew to Washington for his bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden. "We will not allow that to happen.

All we are worried about is the peace and the safety of our people, of here and abroad. And thats the main consideration. So in my view, thats the role, he added.

Marcos also said the discussion on the Mutual Defense Treaty is among the purposes of his five-day visit to the US.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US military ended their largest Balikatan exercise last Friday, with AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino calling it an unprecedented success.

READ: Officials cite unprecedented success as 2023 Balikatan ends

Earlier, the Chinese government expressed alarm over the new four sites of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in Luzon, which it said could draw the Philippines into the looming conflict in Taiwan.

The EDCA seeks to bolster the alliance between the US and the Philippines, where they can conduct combined training, exercises, and interoperability in identified locations. The new EDCA sites are located in Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  The third batch of Filipinos repatriated from conflict-hit Sudan arrived in the country on the evening of Labor Day.

The 15 evacuees, including children, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 after leaving Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

They were welcomed by representatives from OWWA, and the Migrant Workers, Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment, and Social Welfare and Development Departments.

OWWA officials said they would be given emergency kits, food and transportation assistance, hotel accommodation, and if necessary, financial assistance.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 1)  Labor union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and other groups slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for leaving workers behind and going to the United States as they commemorate Labor Day on May 1.

KMU led groups, including Bayan Muna, in a protest from Espana to Mendiola in Manila before marching to the US Embassy in Ermita.

"May 1 should have been an opportune time for BBM to finally sit down with workers and discuss face-to-face and without any liaisons, ways to move forward," said KMU chair Elmer Labog. "Yet again, he has chosen to get on a plane and leave us behind."

Marcos is currently with his economic team and some private sector leaders in Washington D.C. to hold a second bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden to promote the country's economic agenda and to discuss security issues amid regional tensions.

This is the chief executive's 10th official foreign trip. He will be heading to the United Kingdom for King Charles III's coronation on May 6 then to Indonesia for the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit on May 10.

READ: Marcos seeks 'even stronger' ties with US as he leaves for official visit

Two labor leaders also slammed Marcos' trip, saying luring in foreign investors do more harm than good for Filipino workers.

"It is for the business interests, not for the Filipino people, the majority of which are workers," Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) president Luke Espiritu said on CNN Philippines' The Final Word.

"Yung paglabas niya sa ibang bansa, ang mina-market niya ay yung cheap, flexible, precarious labor as the basis of our economic recovery. Kapag ganyang nakatuntong sa exploited workers ang iyong economic policy ay hindi talaga magkakaroon ng magandang economy yan," Espiritu added.

[Translation: In his foreign trips, he is marketing cheap, flexible, precarious labor as the basis of our economic recovery. If your economic policy is based on exploited workers, we will not really have a sound economy.]

Meanwhile, BMP chairperson and Marcos' former presidential opponent Leody de Guzman appealed to the president to favor the workers, particularly farmers, as he argued that bringing in foreign investors has failed time and again in uplifting the quality of life of workers.

"Ginawa na dati 'yan -- yang paghahakot ng foreign investors. In the end, hindi naman umuunlad ang buhay ng mga Pilipino. Ang umuunlad ay yang mga foreign investors. Failure 'yan eh. Kaya sinasabi namin na sumandig sa ating magsasaka, sa ating manggagawa," De Guzman said in the same interview.

[Translation: That has been done before -- the hauling in of foreign investors. In the end, the lives of Filipinos did not improve. The ones that developed were the foreign investors. It was a failure. That's why we are saying -- tilt in favor of our farmers, our workers.]

Labor programs 'all for show'

Labor groups also criticized the Marcos administration's Labor Day programs for being "all for show and mere band-aid solutions."

The government held job fairs and offered free rides at Light Rail Transit Line 2 and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 during selected hours on May 1. It also expanded Kadiwa stores and distributed 1.8-billion financial assistance to workers.

"Kung tunay na kinikilala ang makabuluhang ambag ng manggagawa sa ekonomiya, hindi pang-isang araw o sampung araw na ayuda ang ibibigay," said KMU secretary general Jerome Adonis. "Ang tunay na economic relief ay makabuluhang dagdag sa arawang sahod ng manggagawa."

[Translation: If the workers significant contribution to the economy is truly being recognized, the government should not be only giving aid for a day or 10 days. A true economic relief is a significant increase in the daily wage of workers.]

750 daily wage hike possible

On CNN Philippines' The Final Word, De Guzman also expressed hope that through the determination and unity of workers' groups the 750 minimum wage hike would be attained.

"Hindi imposible na makuha yung dagdag sahod na yun. Makukuha yun sa lakas ng paglaban at determinasyon ng manggagawang nagkakaisa," he said.

[Translation: It is not impossible to get the wage hike. That can be obtained through the resilience and determination of united workers.]

Ahead of Labor Day, groups reiterated their calls to raise the minimum wage to 750. Currently, there are eight wage hike petitions, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

The current minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) is 570 and 533 for the non-agriculture and agriculture sectors, respectively. A 33 daily basic wage increase was granted in May 2022.

But according to think tank IBON Foundation, the estimated family living wage in NCR is 1,161 per day. The research group said there is a wage gap of 50.9% or 591.

RELATED: No mention of wage hike in Marcos' first Labor Day speech

Senate President Migz Zubiri and Sen. Raffy Tulfo backed the calls for a wage increase in their statements.

Tulfo said the Senate committee on labor, on which he serves as the vice chairperson, is set to conduct a hearing on the issue on May 10.

On Saturday, Marcos signed an executive order creating an inter-agency committee to strengthen coordination and to facilitate the resolution of labor cases across the country. It came after the International Labor Organization's high-level tripartite mission submitted to the government its recommendations following its investigating into alleged labor violations in the country in January.

It will also strengthen and defend the freedom of association and the workers' right to organize amid concerns of various groups on violent crimes, extra-judicial killings, harassment, suppression of trade union rights, and red-tagging allegedly perpetrated by state agents.
New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) Nearly 2,500 Indians rescued from Sudan have arrived in India so far, while India has successfully evacuated around 3,000 of its nationals from the strife-hit country under Operation Kaveri so far.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said that the 9th outbound flight from Jeddah, where India has set up a coordination centre, has landed in India ferrying 186 passengers.

#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home.

Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi.

Meanwhile, another IAF C-130J flight carrying the 16th batch of evacuees left Port Sudan carrying 122 passengers. With this nearly 3,000 persons have now left Sudan under Operation Kaveri, the MEA said.

Last night an A C-130 Indian Airforce flight landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India, the MEA said.

UNI RN
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By Rick Palsgrove

Groveport Editor

Groveport Madison Schools officials recently toured the districts newly purchased building at 4500 S. Hamilton Road.

The first thing one notices when entering the building is its sheer size.

Theres room to grow here, said Groveport Madison Treasurer Felicia Drummey.

In March, the Groveport Madison Board of Education authorized the $3 million purchase, from Broadstone OP Ohio LLC, of approximately 11 acres that includes a 58,324 square foot building (built in 1979 with an addition in 1994) and parking areas, located at 4500 S. Hamilton Road. The property, previously used by American Electric Power, is across the road from Groveport Madison High School. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) federal stimulus funds were used to purchase the building.

Its a bargain for the amount of land and building involved, said Drummey. And we all love a bargain.

Its a beautiful building with exciting possibilities for the district, added Groveport Madison Board of Education President LaToya Dowdell-Burger. There is space to expand to suit the needs of our students.

The intention is to make the site the new home of the districts bus garage as well as its Cruiser Accel program. (According to Groveport Madison Schools, Cruiser Accel is an alternative pathway to college and career readiness. It is designed for students for whom the traditional high school pathway is not working. Students who are disengaged, distracted, and/or deficient in the skills needed to succeed and struggle to succeed in what has been known as the traditional school setting.)

Groveport Madison Superintendent Jamie Grube said the cost to remodel the bus garage portion of the building will also be paid out of ESSER funding. The cost to remodel the section housing Cruiser Accel will be paid out of the districts general fund.

We hope to do a lot of the work on the Cruiser Accel portion internally, said Grube.

The remodeling costs for both the bus garage and Cruiser Accel are still to be determined. Grube said the plan is to open Cruiser Accel in the building in August 2023 and the bus garage in August 2024.

The bus garage, to be located in the southeast portion of the building, will take up around 6,000 square feet of the structure (this excludes an existing metal building for shop/mechanics.) It has access to the large parking lot for the buses. This parking lot is asphalt paved over 12 inches of concrete, according the Groveport Madison Director of Business Services Chris Reed. There is also room to expand the bus lot if necessary.

Cruiser Accel, to be located in the northeast part of the building, will use about 5,000 square feet for open classroom space. A cafeteria will use approximately 1,000 square feet. Restroom and conference/office space will fill about 800 square feet and the lobby will be around 1,300 square feet.

The remaining roughly 45,900 square feet in the western part of the building will be unused for now while district officials determine its future use. This area includes many rooms of various shapes and sizes  some quite large and some office sized  that are adaptable for different uses. Many of the buildings rooms have wiring and features that make them flexible for a variety of technological uses. This part of the building features 12 inch thick walls and blast doors. There are also kitchen areas.

Grube said this remaining space could be used in the future for new programs, new partnerships, and other things we could not do before. There is so much potential and so much flexibility.

There are not yet specific plans for using the remainder of the building, added Groveport Madison Communications Director Jeff Warner. However, its flexible layout and abundance of technology upgrades give us the ability to consider an array of future uses. While not on the immediate horizon, were excited to explore how the space could be used to support additional partnerships with the community, businesses, other educational institutions, etc.

However, according to district officials, the space available at this building does not solve the problems with the districts overcrowded classroom space.

Based on our initial assessment of the new building, it would not appear to provide academically appropriate space to serve as an elementary school or middle school, said Warner. We expect to continue discussions with the community with respect to addressing overcrowding and replacing outdated schools.
A proposed set of rules by the European Union would, among other things. require makers of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, to publicize any copyrighted material used by the technology platforms to create content of any kind.

A new draft of European Parliament's legislation, a copy of which was attained by The Wall Street Journal, would allow the original creators of content used by generative AI applications to share in any profits that result.

The European Unions Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the first of its kind by a western set of nations. The proposed legislation relies heavily on existing rules, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act, and the Digital Markets Act. The AI Act was originally proposed by the European Commission in April 2021.

The bills provisions also require that the large language models (LLMs) behind generative AI tech, such as the GPT-4, be designed with adequate safeguards against generating content that violates EU laws; that could include child pornography or, in some EU countries, denial of the Holocaust, according to The Washington Post.

Violations of the AI Act could carry fines of up to 30 million euros or 6% of global profits, whichever is higher.

For a company like Microsoft, which is backing ChatGPT creator OpenAI, it could mean a fine of over $10 billion if found violating the rules, a Reuters report said.

But the solution to keeping AI honest isn't easy, according to Avivah Litan, a vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research. Its likely that LLM creators, such as San Fransisco-based OpenAI and others, will need to develop powerful LLMs to check that the ones trained initially have no copyrighted materials. Rules-based systems to filter out copyright materials are likely to be ineffective, Liten said.

Meanwhile, the EU is busy refining its AI Act and taking a world-leading approach, Litan said, in creating rules that govern the fair and risk-managed use of AI going forward.

Regulators should consider that LLMs are effectively operating as a black box, she said, and it's unlikely that the algorithms will provide organizations with the needed transparency to conduct the requisite privacy impact assessment. "This must be addressed," Litan said.

"Its interesting to note that at one point the AI Act was going to exclude oversight of Generative AI models, but they were included later, Litan said Regulators generally want to move carefully and methodically so that they dont stifle innovation and so that they create long-lasting rules that help achieve the goals of protecting societies without being overly prescriptive in the means.

On April 1, Italy became the first Western nation to ban further development of ChatGPT over privacy concerns (though it just reversed that decision); the initial ban occurred after the natural language processing app experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information. ChatGPT is the popular chatbot created by OpenAI and backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft.

Earlier this month, the US and Chinese governments issued announcements related to regulations for AI development, something neither country has established to date.

The US and the EU are aligned in concepts when it comes to wanting to achieve trustworthy, transparent, and fair AI, but their approaches have been very different, Litan said.

So far, the US has taken what Litan called a very distributed approach to AI risk management, and it has yet to create new regulations or regulatory infrastructure. The US has focused on guidelines and an AI Risk Management framework.

In January, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Artificial Intelligence Management Framework. In February, the White House issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to ensure their use of AI advances equity and civil rights.

The US Congress is considering the federal Algorithmic Accountability Act, which, if passed, would require employers to perform an impact assessment of any automated decision-making system that has a significant effect on an individual's access to, terms, or availability of employment.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a branch of the US Department of Commerce, also issued a public request for comment on what policies would best hold AI systems accountable.

States and municipalities are getting into the act, too, eyeing local restrictions on the use of AI-based bots to find, screen, interview, and hire job candidates because of privacy and bias issues. Some states have already put laws on the books.

Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet have been in a race to bring generative AI chatbots to businesses and consumers. The most advanced generative AI engines can create their own content based on user prompts or input. So, for example, AI can be tasked with creating marketing or ad campaigns, writing essays, and generating realistic photo imagery and videos.

Key to the EUs AI Act is a classification system that determines the level of risk an AI technology could pose to the health and safety or fundamental rights of a person. The framework includes four risk tiers: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal, according to the World Economic Forum.

Issues around generative AI platforms that regulators should be mindful of, according to Gartner, include:

GPT models are not explainable : Model outputs are unpredictable; even the model vendors dont understand everything about how they work internally. Explainability or interpretability are prerequisites for model transparency.

: Model outputs are unpredictable; even the model vendors dont understand everything about how they work internally. Explainability or interpretability are prerequisites for model transparency. Inaccurate and fabricated answers : To mitigate the risks of inaccuracies and hallucinations, output generated by ChatGPT/GenAI should be assessed for accuracy, appropriateness, and actual usefulness before being accepted.

: To mitigate the risks of inaccuracies and hallucinations, output generated by ChatGPT/GenAI should be assessed for accuracy, appropriateness, and actual usefulness before being accepted. Potential compromise of confidential data : No verifiable data governance and protection assurances that confidential enterprise information for example, in the form of stored prompts  is not compromised.

: No verifiable data governance and protection assurances that confidential enterprise information for example, in the form of stored prompts  is not compromised. Model and output bias : Model developers and users must have policies or controls in place to detect biased outputs and deal with them consistent with company policy and any relevant legal requirements.

: Model developers and users must have policies or controls in place to detect biased outputs and deal with them consistent with company policy and any relevant legal requirements. Intellectual property (IP) and copyright risks : Model developers and users must scrutinize their output before further use to ensure it doesnt infringe on copyright or IP rights, and actively monitor changes in copyright laws that apply to ChatGPT/GenAI. Users are now on their own when it comes to filtering out copyrighted materials in ChatGPT outputs.

: Model developers and users must scrutinize their output before further use to ensure it doesnt infringe on copyright or IP rights, and actively monitor changes in copyright laws that apply to ChatGPT/GenAI. Users are now on their own when it comes to filtering out copyrighted materials in ChatGPT outputs. Cyber and fraud risks: Systems should be hardened to try to ensure criminals are not able to use them for cyber and fraud attacks.

Launched by OpenAI in November, ChatGPT immediately went viral and had 1 million users in just its first five days because of the sophisticated way it generates in-depth, human-like responses to queries. The ChatGPT website currently receives an estimated 1 billion monthly website visitors with an estimated 100 million active users, according to website test company Tooltester.

Though the chatbots responses may appear human-like, ChatGPT isn't sentient  its a next-word prediction engine, according Dan Diasio, Ernst & Young global artificial intelligence consulting leader. With that in mind, he urged caution in its use.

But as AI technology advances at breakneck speed, a more sophisticated algorithm is predicted to be on the horizon: artificial general intelligence, which could think for itself and become exponentially smarter over time.

Earlier this month, an open letter from thousands of tech luminaries called for a halt to the development of generative AI technology out of concern that the ability to control it could be lost if it advances too far. The letter has garnered more than 27,000 signatories, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The letter, published by the Future of Life Institute, called out San Francisco-based OpenAI Labs recently announced GPT-4 algorithm in particular, saying the company should halt further development until oversight standards are in place.

While AI has been around for decades, it has reached new capacities fueled by computing power, Thierry Breton, the EUs Commissioner for Internal Market, said in a statement in 2021. The Artificial Intelligence Act, he said, was created to ensure that AI in Europe respects our values and rules, and harness the potential of AI for industrial use.
Islamic State chief Abu Hussein killed by Turkish forces, says Erdogan

Turkish intelligence forces in Syria have neutralised  meaning, killed  the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group Abu Hussein Al-Qurayshi, as per a statement given on television by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkiye.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkiye, talks about the Islamic State leader on a televised interview. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@Spriter99880

This individual was neutralised as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organisation in Syria yesterday, said Erdogan in a TV interview with TRT Turk, broadcast on Sunday.

A report from The Guardian today said that as per Syrian sources, the Turkish raid in which the Islamic State leader is believed to have been killed took place in Jandaris, north Syria, which has been badly affected both by the war and by the February earthquake.

According to reports from news agencies, the Turkish raid in Jandaris began on Saturday night and continued past midnight on Sunday  the climax came with an explosion. The focus of the operation was a derelict farm.

With this, the Islamic State leadership of Abu Hussein Al-Qurayshi has ended within six months. He rose to the leadership position in November last year, succeeding Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashimi Al-Qurayshi, who was killed in a raid by forces of the United States.

Just a few days ago, Islamic State had suffered another setback when the Taliban, which is itself seen as a terrorist group, said that it had killed a top Islamic State militant, someone believed to be responsible for the August 2021 suicide attack at Kabul airport in the middle of the American troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some 13 members of the US forces and 170 Afghans had been killed in that suicide bombing.

File photo of soldiers and civilians in Kabul. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@GaroweOnline

The Taliban and Islamic State have been rivals since 2015, when Islamic State Khorasan Province (aka ISIS-K) was formed. Khorasan is a historical region that includes parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Seen as the Afghan branch of Islamic State, the terrorist group that is even more violent than Al-Qaeda, ISIS-K considers both Western powers and the Taliban as its enemy.

Islamic State, also variously called ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), was a formidable force in the Middle East just a decade ago, but has since been beaten back by Syrian resistance forces and a combination of international armed action. The outfit reached the peak of its power in 2014, when its then leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic caliphate across lands in Iraq and Syria and controlled the lives of millions of ordinary people.
New Delhi/Male, May 1 (UNI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived in Maldives on his maiden visit today, held talks with his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Ahmed Didi and also with the Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.

During his talks with Mariya Didi, the two sides discussed regional and global security issues of mutual concern, and agreed to further strengthen the cooperation in the defence and security domains.

He also interacted with senior officers of the Maldivian National Defence Forces, and highlighted that the bilateral defence cooperation is aimed at confronting common challenges and promoting peace and security in the region.
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In 2019, many of those online critics ignored grandpa and called out Alessandra Mussolini for her own far-right views, in particular, her opposition to gay adoption and declarations that it was better to be a fascist than a f(-slur). But as Twitter users now point out, she seems to have done an about-face.

Mussolini is now fighting for gay rights since her return to Parliament, backing a bill to punish discrimination and violence against gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people, as well as making misogyny a hate crime. Wait, what? According to Gabriele Piazzoni, president of the Italian LGBT group Arcigay, Mussolini has pivoted, a 180-degree shift from the conservative, heterosexual, Catholic politics she was associated with.

"You can learn from the young, Mussolini told The Times U.K. The most important thing is that you can give love.

What do you say, Jim Carrey? Could a reconciliatory cartoon bring an end to this feud once and for all? Or maybe just some kind words out of your butt.
As a kid, Dave Chappelle mostly lived with his mom in Washington, D.C. But as a middle schooler, he spent summers with his father in a very different community  Yellow Springs, Ohio, a surprisingly diverse small town of 3,700 residents. The place must have made an impression on young Dave. After giving up Chappelles Show in 2004, he moved back to Ohio full-time, the perfect place to stay out of the spotlight.

For the most part, thats been good news for Yellow Springs. He began purchasing a few spots around town, even doing stand-up shows in an area barn. That experience came in especially handy during the pandemic when he began doing socially distanced live performances at an outside pavilion. Chappelle claims the shows brought $12 million to Ohio, including $4 million to Yellow Springs. My town was dying, he told America during his 2020 Saturday Night Live monologue. I did shows in my neighbors cornfield, and these shows were very successful and may have even helped save the town.

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But locals are getting nervous, according to a Bloomberg report, as Chappelle buys up more and more land. He owned 20 properties in Yellow Springs by 2020, which many saw as a good thing. Hes turning an old firehouse into a comedy club. An unused schoolhouse is becoming the new home for the NPR station. But as Chappelles live shows continued post-pandemic, some raised objections to the crowds and noise. Chappelle didnt want to hear it. You want all of these jobs, all of this money? Then damn the ordinances, he was going to do whatever he wanted. (The shows went on in violation of town code.)

The more Chappelle owns, the more he can throw his weight around. Last year, Chappelle opposed a residential development for houses, duplexes and townhomes that would have included 1.75 acres set aside for affordable housing. (A Rolling Stone article claiming the comic helped kill an affordable housing development was probably unfair since no such development had actually been in the works.) Chappelle, who argued the development would bring in outsiders who would make Yellow Springs unaffordable, threatened to liquidate all of his local investments unless a town council vote went his way: You look like clowns. I am not bluffing. I will take it all off the table.

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The votes went in Chappelles direction and the development was nixed. Quietly, the comedian himself has now purchased the same land but has announced no plans for its use.

Locals claim the town is divided. Many area businesses have a Thanks, Dave sign in storefront windows with Chappelles trademark C  a message that the business supports what the comedian supports. But if your business has no sign, thats a message too, or at least its being interpreted as one. Youre either with Chappelle or against him.

At least with some residents, the racial element is front and center. Black community organizer Bomani Moyenda says a white woman in a grocery-store parking lot told him, I never thought Id be living in a town owned by a Black man.

For others, its simply a matter of one person having too much power over an entire community. And then there are the many locals who believe Chappelle is literally saving the town. Everyone has an opinion. Says one Yellow Springs resident, speaking off the record, Daves got to be the biggest contentious thing that Ive ever seen pit neighbor against neighbor.
New Delhi/Port Louis, May 1 (UNI) Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth graced an event in Mauritius where a 12-feet high statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled, amid the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. PM Narendra Modi said the event makes every Indian feel proud.

In a tweet, PM Modi said the presence of Mauritian PM Jugnauth has made the occasion even more special.



Every Indian is proud to see this! The thoughts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reverberate globally. The august presence of PM @KumarJugnauth has made the occasion even more special.

He was responding to a tweet by the Maharashtra Deputy CM, who said that it was a momentous occasion as the statue of Shivaji had got installed 5,000 km away from India.

It was one of the greatest moments of my life !

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs statue got installed 5000 kms away from His homeland, that too at the hands of the Honble Prime Minister of Mauritius Shri @KumarJugnauth Ji, in presence of Honble Alan Ganoo ji and hundreds of Marathi sisters and brothers of Mauritius.

Just imagine the gravity of unparalleled greatness and our great King !!

I thank and appreciate Asant Govind ji and Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation team for this historic initiative.

The statue was installed on Friday at the Maharashtra Bhavan in Mauritius, when Fadnavis, accompanied by a delegation, was in the Indian Ocean island nation on a two-day official visit.

During the inauguration, Fadnavis said that Shivaji was the greatest king in the history of India, who fought the colonial powers and taught Indians what freedom is.

Addressing the gathering at the Maharashtra Bhavan, Prime Minister Jugnauth said that the presence of Fadnavis shows his appreciation of the close ties between the Marathi community in Mauritius and Maharashtra. Prime Minister Jugnauth called for strengthening unity, harmony, and patriotism, which he said will help the country move forward. He reiterated that as the Prime Minister he is committed to provide necessary support to socio-cultural and religious group.

The Mauritius Prime Minister laid emphasis on the importance of preserving all the different religious and cultural identities that thrive in the multicultural fabric of Mauritius.

Fadnavis expressed his belief that under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Mauritius will further consolidate its relations with Maharashtra and India.

He announced that to deepen the cultural and commercial ties between Maharashtra and Mauritius, the following support will be provided to Mauritius: a sum of Rs. 44 million will be provided for the development of a multipurpose hall at the Maharashtra Bhawan; scholarships will be given to 10 students; a help desk will be set up for Mauritians from the Marathi community who wish to reconnect with their ancestral roots; and a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Economic Development Board Mauritius and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, to enable the business communities to interact.

On Thursday, Fadnavis and his delegation visited the first settlement of the Marathi community in Mauritius, in the Black River Gorge. They then visited the Pandhurang Khestra Mandir in Cascavelle and went to the Ganga Talao.

On his part, Minister Alan Ganoo expressed gratitude to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the generous donation of the statue of Shivaji, whose unveiling, he emphasised, is of great significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius.

According to reports, Mauritius has over 75,000 Marathi-speaking people and the Maharashtra Bhavan was built 25 years ago with funding from the Maharashtra government.

People from Maharashtra have been living in Mauritius for over two centuries, and many of them are holding key positions. They have preserved their culture and traditions. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Day is one of the programmes organised by the Maharashtrians in Mauritius. Every year the event is held on May 1. This year it was held on April 28.

Festivals like Gudhipadwa, Maharashtra Day, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Day, Ganesh Utsav, Dahi Handi (Shrikrishna Janmashtami), Diwali and other festivals are celebrated with religious fervour by the community.

UNI RN
ChatGPT is again available to users in Italy, after being temporarily banned by the country's data privacy authority for possible violations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Italy's Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data announced the reinstatement of ChatGPT Friday, after Microsoft-backed OpenAI, the creator of the generative AI service, made changes requested by the government body.

At the end of March, the Guarantor ordered OpenAI to stop processing ChatGPT data in Italy, effectively causing the service to shut down in the country. On April 11, the data privacy agency notified OpenAI of specific changes it would have to make in order to offer ChatGPT in Italy.

Most of those changes have been met, and OpenAI now has conditional approval to offer ChatGPT in Italy, with the expectation that it will make further changes specified by the Guarantor, and continue to adhere to EU data privacy rules.

The changes OpenAI has implemented include:

The publication on OpenAI's website of a description of the personal data that is processed for its AI model training algorithms, and a reminder that everyone has the right to opt-out from such processing,

The posting of a form designed to let European users opt-out from the processing of their personal data, and

The addition of a button on a welcome back page for Italian users that asks for confirmation that they are 18 years old or are above the age of 13 and have obtained consent from their parents or guardians to use the service.

"The Italian SA acknowledges the steps forward made by OpenAI to reconcile technological advancements with respect for the rights of individuals and it hopes that the company will continue in its efforts to comply with European data protection legislation," the Guarantor said in its announcement Friday.

In its March notification of the ChatGPT ban, the data privacy authority noted that a bug in an open-source library  disclosed by OpenAI in March but since fixed  allowed some ChatGPT users to see titles from another active users chat history. It also noted that "information made available by ChatGPT does not always match factual circumstances, so that inaccurate personal data are processed."

While OpenAI's changes have gone far enough for Italy's Guarantor to allow it operate in Italy, it expects the company to comply with additional requests, including implementation of a stronger age-confirmation mechanism, and an information campaign about the rights of Italians to opt out of the processing of their personal data for the purpose of training AI algorithms.

The Italian ban and subsequent reinstatement of ChatGPT come as governments around the world consider regulations on AI. In the West, Europeans have been the first to take concrete steps to rein in AI. Last week, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) agreed on compromise amendments to the AI Act proposed by the European Commission. The act focuses on classifying AI systems into risk-based categories  banning those that are considered high risk from being used for certain purposes, such as government social-scoring systems and real-time biometric identification systems in public spaces.

Earlier in April, The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said it planned to launch a dedicated task force to investigate ChatGPT after a number of European privacy watchdogs  including Italy  raised concerns about whether the technology is compliant with the GDPR.

In its announcement about the reinstatement of ChatGPT in Italy, the Guarantor said that it would "carry on its fact-finding activities regarding OpenAI also under the umbrella of the ad-hoc task force that was set up by the European Data Protection Board."
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PARIS (AP)  People squeezed by inflation and demanding economic justice took to streets across Asia, Europe and the Americas on Monday to mark May Day, in an outpouring of worker discontent not seen since before the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns.

French police charged at radical protesters and troublemakers smashing bank and shop windows and setting fires as unions pushed the president to scrap a higher retirement age. South Koreans pleaded for higher wages as did others around Latin America. Spanish lawyers demanded the right to take days off. Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon marched in a country plunged into economic crisis.

While May Day is marked worldwide as a celebration of labor rights, this year's rallies tapped into broader frustrations. Climate activists spray-painted a museum in Paris, and protesters in Germany demonstrated against violence targeting women and LGBTQ+ people.

Celebrations were forced indoors in Pakistan, tinged with political tensions as in Turkey, as both countries face high-stakes elections. Russia's war in Ukraine overshadowed scaled-back events in Moscow, where Communist-led May Day celebrations were once massive affairs.

Across the globe, this years May Day events unleashed pent-up frustration after three years of COVID-19 restrictions.

Across France, some 800,000 people marched, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. They mobilized against President Emmanuel Macrons recent move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers see pension reform as a threat to hard-fought worker rights, while Macron argues it's economically necessary as the population ages.

While marchers were largely peaceful, violence by radicals, an ever-present reality at French marches, marred the message, notably in Paris. A Paris police officer was seriously injured by a Molotov cocktail, among 108 officers injured around France, Darmanin said. It wasn't known how many protesters were potentially injured. Clashes also marked protests in Lyon and Nantes.

Violence is increasingly strong in a society that is radicalizing, the interior minister said on BFM-TV news station, blaming the ultra-left. He said some 2,000 radicals were at the Paris march.

Tear gas hung over the end point of the Paris march, Place de la Nation, where a huge black cloud lofted high above the trees after radicals set two fuel cans afire outside a building renovation site, police said.

French union members were joined by groups fighting for economic justice, or just expressing anger at what is seen as Macron's out-of-touch, pro-business leadership. Labor activists from abroad were present, among them Hyrwon Chong of the South Korean Metal Workers Union.

Today we see rising inequality throughout the world, terrible inflation," she said, adding that Macron's government was trying "to tear down a pillar of the social system which is the pension system.

In Northern Macedonias capital Skopje, thousands of trade union members protested a recent government decision granting ministers a 78% raise. The minimum monthly wage in one of Europes poorest countries, is 320 euros ($350), while the hike will put ministers' wages at around 2,300 euros ($2,530). We are here, not only (to mark) Labor Day, but also to warn that if there is no social justice, there will be no social peace either," said union leader Jakim Nedelkovski.

In Turkey, police prevented demonstrators from reaching Istanbuls main square, Taksim, and detained around a dozen of them, independent television station Sozcu reported.

The square has symbolic importance for Turkeys trade unions after unknown gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration at Taksim in 1977, causing a stampede that killed dozens. President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government has declared Taksim off-limits to protests, though small groups were allowed to enter to lay wreaths at a monument.

In Pakistan, authorities banned rallies in some cities because of a tense security and political atmosphere. In Peshawar, in the restive northwest, labor organizations and trade unions held indoor events to demand better workers rights amid high inflation.

Sri Lankas opposition political parties and trade unions held workers day rallies protesting austerity measures and economic reforms linked to a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Protesters demanded the government halt moves to privatize state-owned and semi-government businesses. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in history and has suspended foreign debt repayments.

In South Korea, tens of thousands of people attended rallies in its biggest May Day gatherings since the pandemic began in early 2020.

The price of everything has increased except for our wages. Increase our minimum wages! an activist at a Seoul rally shouted at the podium.

In Tokyo, thousands of labor union members, opposition lawmakers and academics demanded wage increases to offset the impact of rising costs as they recover from damage from the pandemic. They criticized Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas plan to double the defense budget, saying the money should be spent on welfare, social security and improving peoples daily lives.

In Indonesia, demonstrators demanded the government repeal a job creation law they argue would only benefit business.

In Taiwan, thousands of workers protested what they call the inadequacies of the self-ruled islands labor policies, putting pressure on the ruling party before the 2024 presidential election.

Protests in Germany kicked off with a Take Back the Night rally organized by feminist and queer groups on the eve of May Day to protest against violence directed at women and LGBTQ+ people. On Monday, thousands more turned out in marches organized by Germany labor unions in Berlin, Cologne and other cities, rejecting recent calls by conservative politicians for restrictions on the right to strike.

More than 70 marches were held across Spain, and powerful unions warned of social conflict if low salaries compared to the EU average dont rise in line with inflation. The Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid urged reforms of historic laws that require them to be on call 365 days of the year, regardless of the death of family members or medical emergencies. In recent years, lawyers have tweeted images of themselves working from hospital beds on IV drips to illustrate their plight.

Italys far-right premier, Giorgia Meloni, made a point of working on Monday  as her Cabinet passed measures on Labor Day that it contends demonstrates concern for workers. But opposition lawmakers and union leaders said the measures do nothing to increase salaries or combat the widespread practice of hiring workers on temporary contracts. Many young people say they cant contemplate starting families or even move out of parents homes because they only get temporary contracts.

In war-ravaged Ukraine, May Day is associated with Soviet-era celebrations when the country was ruled from Moscow  an era that many want forgotten.

It is good that we dont celebrate this holiday like it was done during the Bolshevik times. It was something truly awful, said Anatolii Borsiuk, a 77-year-old in Kyiv.

Alla Liapkina described the flowers and balloons of Soviet May Day gatherings, but said its time to move on. We live in a new era,'' she said. We dont need to go back to such a past.

In Venezuela, which has suffered rampant inflation for years, thousands of workers demonstrated to demand a minimum wage increase at a time when the majority cannot meet basic needs despite their last increase 14 months ago. Decent wages and pensions now! protesters chanted in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Many also alluded to U.S. sanctions against the socialist-led government of Nicolas Maduro, chanting, This is not a blockade, this is looting.

In Bolivia, leftist President Luis Arce led a Labor Day march in La Paz with a major union and announced a 5% increase in the minimum wage. Arce said his government is strong because the unions are strong.

In Brazil, the focus was not only on traditional labor unions but on parttime workers and those in the informal sector, with the government of new leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announcing a work group on proposals to regulate that sector after the president recently described those workers as almost like slaves.

___

Elaine Ganley reported from Paris, Hyung-Jin Kim from Seoul. Mari Yamaguchi and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo; Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia; Kanis Leung in Hong Kong; Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Riazat Butt in Islamabad; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Demetris Nellas in Skopje, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Jennifer O'Mahoney in Madrid; Nicolae Dumitrache in Kyiv; Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Frances DEmilio in Rome; Alex Turnbull, Jeffrey Schaeffer, Masha Macpherson in Paris, Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia; Lais Martins in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed to this report.
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CAIRO (AP)  Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the top U.N. official in the country said Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told The Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.

A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas while fierce battles have continued elsewhere, driving civilians from their homes and pushing Sudan further into disaster.

Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence. The U.N. food agency on Monday said it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting.

The World Food Program will resume food distribution in four provinces  al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile  working in areas where security permits, Executive Director Cindy McCain said. The numbers of those needing help will grow significantly as fighting continues, she said. To best protect our necessary humanitarian workers and the people of Sudan, the fighting must stop.

A day earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross flew in a planeload of medical supplies to bring some relief to hospitals overwhelmed by the mayhem.

Direct talks, if they take place, would be significant progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. For much of the conflict, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.

Their power struggle has put millions of Sudanese in the line of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes. Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.

At least 436 civilians have been killed and more than 1,200 injured since the fighting began, according to figures on Monday by the Doctors Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. As of a week ago, the Sudanese Health Ministry had counted at least 530 people killed, including civilians and combatants, with another 4,500 wounded, but those figures havent been updated since.

Since Saturday, the United States has been conducting daily evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. On Monday, the third U.S.-assisted evacuation convoy of American citizens and permanent U.S. residents arrived in Port Sudan on Sudans Red Sea coast.

The U.S. had a handful of consular officials at the Sudanese port, helping the American civilians get onto ferries or Saudi or U.S. Navy ships to get to safety across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said Monday it has helped roughly 700 people  U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or local workers at the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy  out on the bus convoys. It says it has assisted about another 1,000 Americans in getting out of Sudan.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighboring city, Omdurman, on Monday, residents said, hours after the two sides committed to the 72-hour cease-fire extension.

Atiya Abdalla Atiya, Secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, said there was fighting early Monday in different area s in Khartoum, including the militarys headquarters, the Republican Palace, and the international airport. There were also clashes in the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, he said.

Many Khartoum hospitals remained out of service or inaccessible because of the fighting, while others have been occupied by the warring factions, particularly the RSF, he said.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have led an international push to get the generals to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Perthes said there are still daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by a real halt in fighting. One possibility was to establish a monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on a sustained cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically  though each side would need safe passage through the other's territory. "That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

Dagalo, the RSF commander, said the paramilitary has named its representatives to the talks but that trust-building measures have to be in place first. "A settlement should come after other matters: First, a cease-fire and building the trust, he told Asharq, a Saudi-based TV station.

For the past week, people have been streaming out of Khartoum and other urban areas torn by fighting, moving in droves to wherever they can find safety.

In Port Sudan, thousands were camped out, hoping to get onto evacuation ferries. Many families, including small children, have been sleeping outside for days, including hundreds of Syrians and Yemenis unable so far to get on boats.

Most of the people are sitting on their bags, said one Syrian, Mohamed Amr Mustafa.

More than 70,000 South Sudanese refugees who had been living in Khartoum have fled to the neighboring White Nile province, settling in already overcrowded camps, said Mustafa Amr Abarou, a spokesman for the Sudanese refugee agency. At least 10 trucks a day of people fleeing Khartoum continue to arrive, straining the agencys abilities, he said. Sudan hosts over 1.3 million refugees, including 800,000 from South Sudan, according to the U.N. figures.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned Monday of many more fleeing Sudan. If violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety, he wrote on Twitter.

The eruption of fighting capped months of worsening Burhan-Dagalo disputes as the international community tried to work out a deal for establishing civilian rule.

We all saw the enormous tensions, Perthes said. Our efforts to de-escalate did not succeed." He said he had been warning repeatedly that any single spark could cause the power struggle to explode.

Perthes warned of a major humanitarian crisis as people were running out of food and fresh water in Khartoum and the fighting damaged water systems.

A real cease-fire is vital to getting access to residents who are trapped in their homes or injured, he said. If we dont get a stable cease-fire ... the humanitarian situation will be even worse.

___

Associated Press writers Nick El Hajj in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.

The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion with a federal mandate for doctors to provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

But federal law, which requires doctors to treat patients in emergency situations, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.

Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts.

The federal agency's investigation centers on two hospitals  Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas  that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at both hospitals told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.

Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.

It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life, Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless.

The National Women's Law Center filed complaints with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Farmer's case, launching the first investigations that the federal agency has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country, women have reported being turned away from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.

President Joe Biden's administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions. Weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling, the Democratic administration reminded hospitals that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money  which encompasses most facilities in the U.S.  for violations of the law.

Abortions are largely banned in Missouri, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. Its unclear why the University of Kansas Health System refused to offer Farmer one.

Farmer's care at University of Kansas followed hospital policy, Jill Chadwick, the media relations director for the hospital system, said in a statement.

It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law, Chadwick said in an email. There is a process with CMS for this complaint and we respect that process. The University of Kansas Health System follows federal and Kansas law in providing appropriate, stabilizing, and quality care to all of its patients, including obstetric patients.

Freeman Health System did not respond to a request for comment.

CMS has not announced any fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal Medicare investigators will follow up with the hospitals before closing the case.

That likely won't be enough to convince hospitals and doctors that they should provide abortions in states where they're operating under the threat of prison time or large fines if they terminate a pregnancy, said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.

I don't know how much this approach really helps matters. The possibility of being criminalized for providing care is still there for a lot of these doctors, Ziegler said. The incentive here would be to do nothing. The incentive here would be to turn the patient away.

Nationwide, doctors have reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws have banned or limited the care. Doctors face criminal and civil penalties in some states for aborting a pregnancy.

But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors' associations that highlights the inquiries, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

While many state laws have recently changed," Becerra wrote, its important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patients emergency medical condition.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of abortion at https://apnews.com/hub/abortion.
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HELENA, Mont. (AP)  Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr asked a court Monday to allow for her return to the House floor after she was silenced and barred for chiding her Republican colleagues over legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and for encouraging protesters.

Attorneys for the first-term lawmaker sued in state district court in Helena on behalf of Zephyr, a transgender Democrat who represents a liberal district in the college town of Missoula, and several constituents who the attorneys said were being denied their right to adequate representation.

Zephyr, whose comments in the Montana Legislature have made her a prominent figure in transgender rights and in conversations about the muffling of dissent in statehouses, said in a statement Monday that she and her constituents were targeted because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself.

The legal challenge against House Speaker Matt Regier and Sergeant-at-Arms Brad Murfitt comes with just days left in the Legislatures biennial session.

A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen  a Republican whose office will defend the case  said the lawsuit was frivolous.

This is performance litigation  political activism masquerading as a lawsuit," said Emily Flower, Knudsen's press secretary. She added that a court decision blocking the Legislature's censure of Zephyr would violate the separation of powers between branches of government.

Murfitt said he would not comment on the lawsuit, and Regier did not return telephone messages and an email seeking comment.

Residents of the Missoula area said in declarations filed as part of the lawsuit that they wanted Zephyr heard in the Legislature.

Anna Wong, who lives in Missoula County with her transgender child, supported Zephyr in the 2022 election with the expectation the lawmaker would speak out against the onslaught of bills targeting transgender youth."

Suicide amongst transgender youth is not imaginary," Wong said. It is not a game and it is not a political foil. It is real. It is heartbreaking. And it is the responsibility of my representative to speak out against bills promoting it.

Zephyrs attorneys hoped to get a ruling as quickly as possible on their request for a temporary restraining order against Regier and Murfitt. One of the most important pieces of the Legislatures work, finalizing a budget for the next two years, is unfinished.

Every minute matters, said Alex Rate, legal director of the Montana ACLU and one of Zephyr's attorneys. Without Zephyr having her full rights and privileges restored, her 11,000 constituents are voiceless."

Democratic Minority Leader Kim Abbott appeared to concede that the removal of Zephyr was within the House's authority when she spoke on the House floor as the matter was considered last week. You absolutely can do this, by rule, by the Constitution ... But just because you can do it does not make it the right choice, she said.

Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republicans achieved a supermajority in Montana during the 2022 election and now control two-thirds of the state House and Senate, in addition to the governors office.

GOP leaders, under pressure from hard-line conservatives, silenced Zephyr from participating in floor debates and demanded she apologize two weeks ago, after she said those who supported a ban on gender-affirming care for youths would have blood on their hands. Days later, she raised her microphone in defiance as demonstrators in the House gallery angrily demanded she be allowed to speak, leading to seven arrests and Zephyrs banishment from the House floor.

Republicans moved to sideline Zephyr further by canceling some meetings of the two committees on which she serves and moving the bills they were to hear to other committees, Democrats said.

She spent the first day of her exile last week battling to use a bench in a statehouse hallway. Her key card to access Capitol entrances, bathrooms and party workspaces was deactivated, according to the lawsuit.

Zephyr spoke briefly during a House Judiciary Committee meeting Monday morning. The full House  minus Zephyr  met in the afternoon, with Zephyr casting votes from a statehouse snack bar because several people occupied the bench.

The House adjourned in the evening without a ruling being made in the lawsuit. Lawmakers were scheduled to reconvene Tuesday.

Her situation echoed the ouster this year of two Tennessee lawmakers from that states legislature for a protest over gun policy.

In retaliating against Zephyr, Montana Republicans accused her of crossing a line that is faint at best in political debate. Its not uncommon for legislators wading into heated issues like abortion or gun rights to be scolded about blood on your hands by protesters or even fellow representatives.

Attorneys for Zephyr noted previous legal disputes in which courts sided with politicians who made controversial comments, including a case that involved a conservative Oregon lawmaker's veiled threats against the state police.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that a requirement for Oregon Sen. Brian Boquist to give 12 hours notice before coming to the state Capitol violated his freedom of speech as an elected official and came as retaliation for his words.

The attorneys also cited a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case in which justices sided against Georgia lawmakers who tried to exclude a newly elected lawmaker  Julian Bond, who later became chair of the NAACP  because he endorsed criticism of the Vietnam War.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
As budget talk heats up in Hartford between the governors office and the General Assembly, the sense of alarm from varying quarters has grown significantly. Nonprofits say theyre being shortchanged. Higher education leaders warn of layoffs. Municipalities say aid from the state is not keeping up with needs. Everyone is trying to be heard above the din.

It bears repeating that this is happening at a time of unprecedented budget surpluses. This isnt the bad old days when the future was dominated by red ink. Instead, were taking in far more as a state than were spending, with the result that were paying down long-term obligations and planning a big tax cut, the details of which are yet to be determined.

To hear from various stakeholders around the Capitol, youd never know it. The predictions of doom from, to name one interest group, higher education if current budget proposals pass would make you think the budget was in a perpetual deficit.

The issue is the guardrails. The General Assembly, as one of its first orders of business this year, passed rules that severely limit spending options for the next few years to direct surpluses toward paying pension obligations rather than funding new programs. Proponents, including the governor, say this is necessary so that the state doesnt go right back into crisis once the good times end, as they inevitably will.

Lawmakers may object, but the rules are in place as passed by the Assembly. Now everyone has to live with them. The result is that many people are going to be disappointed with whatever budget is ultimately passed.

Interest groups are using the current interim period as a time to make their cases. Leaders of the state college and university system say they are facing hundreds of layoffs and potentially the closure of campuses. Nonprofit groups say their workers, called heroes during the height of the pandemic, deserve to be treated as such.

But not all groups making their case are the same. Take, for instance, the campaign being led to speed up a K-12 spending increase, which is being championed by a coalition of education leaders and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. There is no one who would say education doesnt deserve more, but this is not a straightforward request.

The crux of the issue is an already planned increase in the Education Cost Sharing grant that supplements local property taxes to pay for public schools. A coalition active in Hartford wants that increase phased in faster. It is also seeking increased funding for charter schools, which has been much less discussed.

Charter schools have their supporters, but if their funding mechanism is going to be changed, it should happen on its own merits, not as an add-on to an otherwise straightforward funding increase to traditional K-12 public schools, which serve a huge majority of students.

Lawmakers and the governors office have to make many choices in coming weeks, and due to the nature of this request and its underpublicized aspects, it is clear that the K-12 funding piece could be left behind.
EAM holds talks with Uzbek counterpart 04 May 2023 | 8:05 PM New Delhi/Panaji, May 4 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Uzbekistans Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Goa today. see more..

EAM, Russian FM Lavrov hold talks, agree to strengthen coordination in multilateral fora 04 May 2023 | 7:40 PM New Delhi/Panaji, May 4 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held a comprehensive review of their bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Panaji on Thursday. see more..

Wrestlers' sexual harassment case: SC closes proceedings 04 May 2023 | 7:28 PM New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) Supreme Court on Thursday closed the proceedings on the petition filed by 7 women wrestlers, on whose sexual harassment complaint FIRs have been registered against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. see more..

EAM, Chinese FM hold talks, focus on resolving border issue 04 May 2023 | 6:58 PM New Delhi/Panaji, May 4 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a detailed discussion with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the bilateral relationship, with the focus on resolving the outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquility in the border areas. see more..
NEW YORK (AP)  As president, Donald Trump frequently derided CNN as fake news. Now that he's running again, Trump has agreed to appear on a live town hall forum from New Hampshire next week for CNN viewers.

The event, scheduled for May 10 at St. Anselm's College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, will be televised at 9 p.m. Eastern. Kaitlan Collins will moderate. Trump will take questions from Republicans and undeclared voters who are planning to participate in the 2024 GOP primary.

Although Trump has taken audience questions at some rallies and has been interviewed by Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson in recent weeks on Fox News, this is his first town hall-style event of the 2024 campaign.

The booking is a clear attempt by Trump to draw a contrast with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected GOP presidential primary opponent. It is also a big deal for slumping CNN as it works to get beyond the era of former leader Jeff Zucker.

Trump never gave an interview to a CNN journalist while he was president.

A Trump adviser who was not authorized to speak publicly said stepping outside of the traditional comfort zone for Republicans was key to Trump's success in 2016. The adviser said CNN executives made a compelling pitch to Trump.

DeSantis has worked to avoid the mainstream media throughout his time in his office, but he is a regular on Fox News, a popular destination for conservative viewers.

DeSantis has long refused to sit for interviews or take questions with other media outlets who might ask more difficult questions. When he does have news conferences, he often holds them far from the Florida capital and with little advance notice, making it tough for journalists who know Florida politics best to attend.

As he traveled across the nation in recent weeks as part of his book tour, DeSantis usually avoided taking questions from voters or local reporters, aside from isolated interviews with conservative media.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who formally launched his presidential campaign last week, has appeared on MSNBC and CNN. Another contender, Vivek Ramaswamy, sat for a contentious interview with former CNN personality Don Lemon.

Trump's relationship with CNN was complicated, particularly given Zucker's role in promoting Trump on Celebrity Apprentice when the executive was at NBC. CNN, under Zucker's leadership, was also criticized for the extent to which it aired Trump campaign rallies early in the 2016 cycle.

As president, Trump denounced CNN as fake news and the enemy of the people and chafed under tough questioning by reporters like Jim Acosta and Collins. He attacked Zucker vitriolically.

As a result, CNN became unpopular with Trump's supporters and other Republican politicians. Current CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht, who replaced Zucker, has made it a mission to broaden the network's reach and ease some of the tension with the GOP.

The forums are a CNN tradition with presidential contenders and the network has been in touch with other candidates about doing something similar, said David Chalian, the network's vice president and political director. DeSantis is not a declared presidential candidate.

That would be a wonderful byproduct if indeed other candidates say that we should accept an invitation as well, Chalian said. But that's not why we're doing it.

Licht is also trying to rebuild CNN's struggling prime-time lineup. Landing Trump for the town hall  if it goes well  could be a step toward accomplishing multiple goals.

___

Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples from Washington contributed to this report.
HARTFORD  A former congressional candidate says he painted four pink stripes on the state Capitol Friday in an incident police say they are investigating.

Between 3:30 and 4 p.m. Friday, the individual applied a "pink strip of paint" to doors on the building's south side, Capitol Police Acting Lt. Greg Wimble said Monday.

Last week, Kevin Blacker emailed a group of reporters and state officials, including the state Port Authority and the governor's office, warning that he would first paint a sign then the Capitol doors pink. Blacker said the sign for the Connecticut State Pier in New London proved too high for his ladder, so he decided to paint the Capitol.

Blacker, who unsuccessfully ran for Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District last year, said he drove to the Capitol wearing a reflective vest.

"I wanted to make sure that everybody saw me come in like that," he said Monday in a phone interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

The vest, he said, was "so that I could say very clearly I'm not trying to like get away with this or hide or shirk responsibility."

Blacker said a police officer emerged as he approached the building.

"He looks at me. I got the paint in my hand, I got my vest on, I walk up to the door, I start painting, I hear him over to my left horsing around with some other people," Blacker said. "I'm sure he's going to come over and arrest me. I'm sure somebody, security or somebody's going to come out of the building. Nobody does."

Blacker said he painted four pink stripes and then left the grounds.

Blacker has been protesting the Connecticut State Pier's conversion to a hub for off-shore wind farms, a move he said has cost the New London region jobs as shipping has moved to other ports.

Blacker claims the state Port Authority has been acting with little oversight and has repeatedly accused the quasi-public agency of violating anti-trust laws and misleading the public about the cost and impact of the $255.5 million project.

He said painting the Capitol pink is "an action that they can't ignore."

The police department has video of the incident, but Wimble said they will not release the footage while they investigate.

"We are working with our law enforcement partners and our community to get this individual properly identified to hold them accountable and answer for their actions," Wimble added.

When asked why he chose pink, Blacker said it was a reference to a small pink house in a New London neighborhood razed after eminent domain allowed the seizure of the property.

Blacker is on the trial list for a second-degree criminal mischief charge, a misdemeanor, in connection with a 2020 incident.
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BRIDGEPORT  A former high-ranking city police officer, who claimed he was forced to help former police chief Armando "A.J." Perez cheat on his police chief exam, has dropped his lawsuit against the city, Perez and the former union president.

Former Police Capt. Mark Straubel claimed in his lawsuit that he was forced to resign in August 2018 under duress by Perez and former police union president Charles Paris after Straubel was ordered by Perez to assist him in a conspiracy to rig the selection process for chief of police so that Perez would ultimately gain the permanent position of chief of police.

But with eight months to go before the trial on his lawsuit was scheduled to begin in Superior Court, court records show that Straubel withdrew the lawsuit without seeking costs from the defendants.

His lawyer, Eric Brown, did not return calls or emails for comment.

Deputy City Attorney John Bohannon also declined comment on the case.

In court documents the city, Perez and Paris had denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

Straubel resigned under fire from the police department after texts between him and a female staff member were disclosed in which Straubel allegedly made racist comments that attorney Thomas Bucci has previously said were directed at Black officers in general, and Chief Roderick Porter, then a police captain, in particular.

In April 2021, Perez was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari Dooley to a year-and-a-day in prison after he and the citys former personnel director, David Dunn, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making a false statement to the FBI.

Dunn was released after serving four months in prison.

Perez and Dunn were accused of participating in a nine-month conspiracy to deceive the city by secretly rigging the purportedly open and competitive selection process for a permanent Bridgeport police chief.

Prosecutors stated that Perez enlisted two officers under his command, who are only designated in the memorandum as Officer 1 and Officer 2, to prepare his resume and cover letter for the search process and later to complete his written examination and to get the oral exam test questions in advance.

In court documents, Straubel, who served as Perezs aide from 2016 to Aug. 2018, admits he got Perez the questions to the police chief exam days before the exam was given to candidates.

The plaintiff felt coerced into participating in this conspiracy under threat of job loss or demotion if he failed to comply, having observed Perezs past vindictiveness and retaliation toward other members of the police department, the suit states.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war. The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russia's fight. He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organizational command and control.

The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight the cost  both human and weaponry  to Russia of Bakhmut, which it argues has limited strategic importance to the overall trajectory of the war. Some analysts, however, note that taking control Bakhmut could be helpful to Russian efforts to advance on the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region

Kirby said the Russian casualty count for "this little town of Bakhmut was in line with some of the fiercest periods of fighting during World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the first major Allied offensive against Japan.

Its three times the number of killed in action that the United States faced on the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II and that was over the course of five months, Kirby said.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take Bakhmut but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting. Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.



AP writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed reporting.
New Delhi, May 1(UNI) Supreme Court on Monday said, it would hear on May 8 the petition of Uma Krishnaiah, the widow of slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah, challenging the premature release of former Bihar Member of Parliament (MP) Anand Mohan Singh.

Uma Krishnaiah, the widow of the DM, has filed the petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Bihar Govt's decision to release prematurely the former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, who was convicted to life imprisonment in the murder of Krishanaiah.

Uma's counsel, Advocate-on-Record (AOR), Tanya Shree mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court's bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud, who said, the court will hear the petition on May 8, Monday.
The Daily Emerald is the news division of Emerald Media Group, University of Oregons independent student media organization.



Hannarose McGuinness(541) 346-5511 Ext. 325editor@dailyemerald.com
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Erin McKay is expecting her first child on July 20. She originally reached out to many OBGYNs in Lane for a birth plan, but their care was not what she was looking for. McKay experienced staffing issues with other birthing centers, which were too full and didn't have the space for more patients.

I was with Pacific Womens Center and just wasnt feeling like it was as personable as I was hoping, she said.

Then, she found McKenzie Midwives  a service that provided a more personalized approach to prenatal and childbirth services that also had more availability for her. McKay eventually finalized her birth plan with the midwives after looking at other options in her community, she said.

Having a birth in a hospital with a midwife instead of having to stirrup up was really important to me, she said.

But on April 18, McKenzie Midwives & Lactation Services announced it would close after three years of service, leaving McKay and many other mothers-to-be scrambling to find new birth plans on a strict deadline.

The clinic, in a public statement to patients and employees, said the closure will go into effect on July 7. However, the end of birthing services goes into effect on May 12, according to the front desk of the McKenzie Midwives Center. Postpartum care will no longer be of service on July 7.

This closing not only affects the midwives who have been let go, but the 80 patients who receive maternity care and their families who have birth plans with McKenzie Midwives as well, Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger said.

The notification of closure gave patients less than a month to find other birthing services. The midwives were notified on April 7, giving them three months to find other employment.

McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center wrote in a statement that, with approximately 10 births per month and six midwives, the clinic was no longer sustainable.

The private, for-profit hospital is owned by Quorum Health, a corporation based in Tennessee. Quorum recently filed for bankruptcy in 2020, in an effort to reduce its debts by $500 million.

Midwife care has historically cost less for patients and hospitals due to lowered risks of cesarean-section (C-section) deliveries, reduced health risks and shorter maternal stays in hospitals, according to a 2017 study published in the National Library of Medicine.

On April 25, supporters of McKenzie Midwives spoke in front of the Lane County Board of Commissioners to share their opinions on the closure. That morning, the room was full of pregnant women, children, families, midwives, doctors and some emotional testimonies.

Katie Sontag told commissioners she gave birth with the help of McKenzie midwives in December 2021, even with certain health complications during her pregnancy.

I dont know what I would have done without them, Sontag said through tears. I wasnt someone able to do a home birth or not have the kind of care they gave me. Not only did they prescribe me the medication I needed, but they also listened to me. They held my hand when I was scared. Im so sad for all of Lane County for losing them.

Most testimonies involved speaking upon the positive prenatal, birthing, postpartum and womens care experiences with the McKenzie Midwives.

The McKenzie Midwives are a team of kind, compassionate midwives who offer midwifery care in hospitals, said Victoria Tippen, a former patient with McKenzie Midwives who now runs her own childbirth education company.

They provide women and birthing people options supportive to achieving a low intervention birth. The McKenzie-Willamette cesarean rate is reasonable, likely due to midwifery care access, Tippen said.

Availability is limited at other birthing centers around Lane County, people said in their testimonies.

McKay said she looked at other facilities before reaching out to McKenzie Midwives. She reached out to Our Community Birth Center, a non-profit midwifery birth center, and said she found it was full at the time.

The birth centers available have one to two midwives each, even though the official statements online say that theres plenty of room for our community to absorb, McKay said.

Birthing with a midwife is an alternative birth option to OBGYN-assisted births. There are still birthing centers available across Eugene and Lane County, but these centers involve doctors, obstetricians, gynecologists and a high paycheck at the end of services. McKay noted lower costs of services with McKenzie Midwives than with other services without midwives.

Some birthing people prefer midwives due to them being medically trained and having a natural approach to serving pregnant people's needs, said McKay. Midwives approach childbirth with the understanding that every body is different, rather than going by the book in the way a doctor or OBGYN might, she said.

The World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations, and the American Academy of Public Health have stated that midwifery-led care has proven to reduce preterm birth, low birth rate, c-sections, and greater patient satisfaction, Colleen Forbes, a licensed direct-entry midwife and certified professional midwife with experience of 25 years in midwifery practice, said.

McKenzie Midwives & Lactation Services closure sheds light on a nationwide issue of womens care being left behind in the healthcare system. Over 200 maternity units have been closed in hospitals since 2011 throughout the nation, 13 of these closures being within the past year. Studies have shown an increase in maternal mortality within the past four years, as well as 36% of US counties living within maternity care deserts.

Abortion laws have been changing within the past year as well, with 12 states ruling near-total abortion bans, according to Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health rights research organization.

With maternity units closing at higher rates and stricter abortion laws put into place last year, potentially more pregnant women are left without the proper care needed for pregnancy.

The patients at McKenzie Midwives are working with their midwives on where to transfer to at this time, according to McKenzie Midwives' online statement. Many other similar birthing centers to McKenzie Midwives across Eugene and Lane County are either at capacity or are not what the patients would hope to work with.

Eugene is a population with a huge community seeking [midwife] care. Its astounding that we would not have certified nurse midwives in the Eugene-Springfield area, above all places, Dr. Claudia Knight, a physician OBGYN in Eugene said.

McKays plans for where to transition to next are still up in the air, she said. Although being in her third and final trimester, McKay has experienced other local birthing centers requesting for her to pay for their services at a flat-rate price, as if she were in her first trimester continuing on until birth, she said.

I felt so confident that I would be [with McKenzie Midwives] for the rest of the haul, so Ive been trying to problem solve past that, she said.

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis is where McKay might ultimately give birth at. She lives in Veneta, which is almost an hour away from Good Samaritan.

I feel completely ignored by the people who made this decision, but amazingly supported by the people of this community as it comes together to deal with this, said McKay.

McKay has helped create the Save McKenzie Midwives website, which has information about the closure, resources for patients and recent happenings with everything to do with the closure.

Since these closures seem to keep happening, I hope the website will last as a resource. Even if we fail, the midwives themselves feel incredibly supported and the community has come together in a way that's super hopeful, she said.

She discussed her hope for Lane Countys Board of Commissioners to create a new community birth center that has in its contract an obligation to give potential closing notices at nine months. She also suggested a tax on hospitals that do not provide midwife care.

Thats just dreaming, McKay said. Thats just trying to look past what's happening currently to hope for something better for the next people who have to deal with this.
Opinion: Holding such an important right in limbo is unconscionable.

----------

When I was 13 years old, I went to the Womens March the day after Trumps inauguration, and that was the first time I realized how deeply people care about abortion rights. Ive supported abortion access since I first learned about it, but that day, I witnessed firsthand how contentious the issue is. Since then, its safe to say that abortion legislation has been on my radar. You cant be a young woman in this country and ignore the issue, especially if you value making your own choices. After learning about the long path to Roe v. Wade protecting abortion access around the country, it was disheartening (to put it mildly) to see the Supreme Court reverse that decision with the Dobbs ruling.

None of that is quite what this article is about. If you keep up with the news, and even if you only skim headlines for a few seconds once a week, youve likely heard about the recent decision of one federal judge in Texas to block access to mifepristone, an abortion pill, nationwide. When I first pitched this article, the Supreme Court had just extended their pause on ruling on this case and I was in a frenzy. This pause announced by Justice Alito, one of my least favorite backwards old men, didnt fill me with confidence. And announcing their decision on a Friday evening after people  reporters included  had gone home for the evening? It looked like the perfect setup for depriving half the country of a basic right.

Of course, thats not how it went that afternoon. When the actual ruling was announced, the Supreme Court protected access to the pill for now. While Im grateful to still be able to buy the pill, Im insulted by having my rights constantly in limbo. How ridiculous is it that one judge in Texas was almost able to make such a personal decision for every American?

I cant find the words to perfectly express how annoyed I am that I live in a country full of old people who dont trust me to make choices about my own health and future, and who are completely willing to yank my rights away when its convenient for them, but heres my best shot. All I want is the absolute bare minimum: to control my own body. Who said that could be decided by some smarmy old man? Its offensive to be treated like an adult in most regards (I could go to war, get married or make terrible financial decisions right now) but then be told that Im not responsible enough to control my own body and a clueless old galoot who thinks women get late term abortions for fun should do it for me. Can you imagine the nerve?

And Im certainly not the only one who feels so strongly about this issue. As UO student Katie Fendick sees it, abortion pills are necessary and it shouldnt even be a conversation. Its so alarming to have such a useful, vital right constantly up for debate. The idea that access is protected for now isnt reassuring at all. Weve learned not to trust that a right we currently have will be protected in the future.

Abortion rights are not at all constant these days, UO student Lauren Grover said. Once Roe v. Wade was overturned and individual states were able to regulate abortions, we as a country have been stuck in a state where were never really sure of our rights since theyre constantly in motion.

I know Im lucky to live in Oregon, where abortion access is ensured by state law. Governor Kotek even recently secured a years-long supply of mifepristone. But what if I lived in a state like Mississippi, with abortion bans both locally and in all surrounding states, and I had the misfortune of accidentally getting pregnant? The abortion pill could be my only safe hope. Its not talked about as much as abortion itself, but its a fundamental bright spot in a wave of rights restriction. Being forced to carry an unwanted, unaffordable pregnancy to term helps no one, and its time for lawmakers to stop pushing deadlines back and hiding behind the phrase for now. Protect a right and commit to it.

If legislators are really in support of children the way they say they are, these conservative politicians should stop trying to ruin womens lives and focus on actually having some kind of positive impact in the world. The mifepristone pill works during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, so its not as though its killing a baby, as they seem to love to phrase it.

If theyre so concerned about infants, they should take the countless available opportunities to help living, breathing children in foster care. They should make healthcare affordable so that giving birth isnt prohibitively expensive for people who want to go through with it. They should be in favor of nationwide sex education and free birth control so accidental pregnancies dont happen as often. If they really stand for what they say all the time, there are plenty of positive paths forward for them. But will they choose any of them? Not while theyre still in the middle of this power trip.
Crude Oil, China PMI, Japanese Yen, BoJ, USD/JPY, FDIC, Gold - Talking Points

Crude support wilted somewhat after questioning of Chinas growth prospects

The Japanese Yen remains under pressure after Fridays BoJ announcements

It might be a quiet start to a busy week today but market liquidity will keep traders on edge

Recommended by Daniel McCarthy How to Trade Oil Get My Guide

Crude oil dipped today after Chinese data missed forecasts with the manufacturing PMI coming in at 49.2 for April rather than the estimated 51.4 and 51.9 previously. Non-manufacturing PMI was 56.4 instead of the 57.0 anticipated and 58.2 prior.

The nearest WTI futures contract is near US$ 76 bbl while the Brent contract is a touch below US$ 80 bbl.

The gold price is also slightly lower as it trades near US$ 1,980 an ounce.

The Japanese Yen added to Fridays losses to start the week after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) reaffirmed its dovish stance last Friday and the Jibun Bank PMI printed at a contractionary 49.5 for April today. USD/JPY is eyeing a move above 136.

Expectations for an end to yield curve control (YCC) were pushed back on the perception that new Governor Ueda is reluctant to tighten with China struggling to reignite growth and the US banking sector in firefighting mode.

In regard to First Republic Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was expected to make an announcement late Sunday North American time, but it has not been forthcoming at the time of going to print.

Despite the soft PMI numbers, APAC equity markets that are open are mostly in the green. The Aussie Dollar also saw modest gains ahead of tomorrows RBA rate decision where the market is not expecting any change.

Many markets are closed today for a holiday, but a busy week lies ahead with several central banks meeting to decide on monetary, most notably the Fed and the ECB.

The full economic calendar can be viewed here.

Trade Smarter - Sign up for the DailyFX Newsletter Receive timely and compelling market commentary from the DailyFX team Subscribe to Newsletter

CRUDE OIL (WTI) TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

WTI crude slid lower today after posting a solid gain on Friday.

The rally occurred after testing the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level of the move from 64.36 to 83.53 at 73.94. That level may continue to provide support ahead of the breakpoints in the 72.25  72.46 area. A nearby breakpoint at 75.72 might also lend support.

On the topside, resistance could be at the recent high of 79.18. Further up, there are a series of breakpoints and previous peaks in the 82.50  83.50 area that may offer a resistance zone.

Chart created in TradingView

--- Written by Daniel McCarthy, Strategist for DailyFX.com

Please contact Daniel via @DanMcCarthyFX on Twitter
Nobody elected the King. Depending on your point of view, this is either an indefensible outrage or the beauty of a constitutional monarchy: a head of state above the grubbiness of politics, who can therefore unite people whatever their allegiance.

But if the royals dont need our votes, they still need our consent. Without public support, the monarchy would be on borrowed time.

According to my latest poll of more than 11,000 people around the UK, the King has no immediate worries on this front. Voters in England, Scotland and Wales said that in a referendum tomorrow, they would keep the monarchy by comfortable margins; only in Northern Ireland, with its own constitutional debate, did voters lean towards the idea of a republic.

There were vast differences by age, however: while three quarters of British voters aged 65 or over would vote for the status quo, 18 to 24-year-olds would choose a republic by 34 per cent to 28 per cent, with nearly four in ten saying they didnt know or would not vote.

And while white voters said they would keep the monarchy by a 40-point margin, Asian-heritage voters backed a republic by two points, and those from black African or Caribbean backgrounds by 14 points.

LORD ASHCROFT: Nobody elected the King. Depending on your point of view, this is either an indefensible outrage or the beauty of a constitutional monarchy: a head of state above the grubbiness of politics, who can therefore unite people whatever their allegiance

LORD ASHCROFT: According to my latest poll of more than 11,000 people around the UK, the King has no immediate worries on this front. (Pictured: People walk beneath flags of the Union and Commonwealth along The Mall, towards Buckingham Palace, on Sunday)

LORD ASHCROFT: In our research, some who hadnt realised they felt strongly on the subject found the idea of replacing the monarchy unsettling when they thought about it

Nor does the population divide neatly into roundheads and cavaliers. From our polling, we identified five distinct types.

Only 7 per cent of Britons are Committed Royalists, who are essentially uncritical in their support, and one third are Mainstream Monarchists, who back the institution but recognise the need to change with the times.

Just under a quarter are Neutral Pragmatists, who lean towards the status quo largely because they think the alternative would be worse.

Nearly one in five are Modern Republicans, who see the monarchy as divisive, worry about its colonial legacy, and tend to side with Harry and Meghan over the rest of the family.

The remaining 18 per cent are Angry Abolitionists, who think the royals care little for the country and believe the institution has no place in the modern world.

For its supporters, the monarchy represents a powerful blend of symbolism and practicality.

Having recently seen three prime ministers in the space of a few weeks, they value a constant presence.

They recognise things such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, the Princes Trust, the Invictus Games, the royals countless acts of charitable support, and the huge economic benefit to the UK.

In our research, some who hadnt realised they felt strongly on the subject found the idea of replacing the monarchy unsettling when they thought about it.

At the same time, close to half the country say the monarchy seems to be only for some types of people, and even those in England  let alone those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  are more likely to think of it as mostly an English thing than something shared by the whole UK.

A photo of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla released by Buckingham Palace ahead of the Coronation

LORD ASHCROFT: Nearly one in five are Modern Republicans, who see the monarchy as divisive, worry about its colonial legacy, and tend to side with Harry and Meghan over the rest of the family

LORD ASHCROFT: We found people in Britain less likely to sympathise with Harry and Meghan than with the King and Prince William

This feeling is particularly acute among many in minority communities who see the monarchy as an exclusive institution with no relevance to them, not to mention a shameful history in parts of the world from which their families came to Britain.

This was not the whole story, however  many welcomed the Kings stated intention to be defender of faith, upholding freedom of worship for all religions alongside his role as head of the Church of England, and we found that Muslims in particular saw the connection between church and Crown as a degree of protection in an increasingly secular society.

For the sceptics, the Royal Familys recent trials have reinforced their views. We found people in Britain less likely to sympathise with Harry and Meghan than with the King and Prince William. But for some, the complaints from California  followed by Lady Susan Husseys ill-fated Buckingham Palace conversation with activist Ngozi Fulani  chimed with their existing assumptions about prejudice and intolerance.

Yet although they would not have seemed this way to anyone involved, the personal conflicts and dramas that continually surround the royals are in some senses a boon. This is because they underline one of the monarchys biggest strengths, which is that it is both a public institution and a human family  and we all know what they can be like.

Whether its Sussex vs Wales (like a Bollywood movie, with the bad daughter-in-law and the good daughter-in-law, as one of our participants put it), the love story of Charles and Camilla or the mischief of Prince George, people are engaged. For the monarchy, indifference is more dangerous than hostility.

LORD ASHCROFT: For its supporters, the monarchy represents a powerful blend of symbolism and practicality

Though there were mixed views about the King personally, many said he already seems warmer and more relaxed than he once did. His intention to modernise has been noticed, but with a word of warning that there is a balance to be struck between relatability  the modern holy grail  and the majesty and mystery that makes the monarchy what it is.

Trimming day-to-day expenses and taking a tougher line on royal miscreants are popular  but despite the calls for restraint, so is the pageantry: If youre going to do it, do it properly was the prevailing view about the Coronation. Or as someone else put it, the bling is the thing that makes it.

Every new monarch in history has faced the same dilemma of how to blend continuity with change. For now at least, King Charles III has time and goodwill on his side.
We all know how much Meghan and Harry value their privacy. They've told us so  during the Oprah interview, in books, podcasts and that fly-on-the-wall Netflix documentary series, part of an eye-watering deal worth a stately home or four.

So I have been hesitant to jump on the Sussex bandwagon  until now.

Thomas Markle's plea for a 'deathbed' rapprochement with his daughter  made in a new documentary for an Australian news channel  touched me and no doubt many of you, too.

When asked what he would like to say to Meghan, he replies: 'I wish that we could sit down and talk. I wish we could work out our differences.'

Markle is 78 and clearly very frail. He had a heart attack the month of Harry and Meghan's wedding and, more recently, a major stroke which has affected his walking and speech.

Meghan Markle pictured when younger with her father Thomas Markle

You don't need to be medically qualified to understand why he is desperate to 'fix this' and to meet his grandchildren at last.

There's no question Meghan and Thomas were once very close. Meghan lived with Thomas from the age of nine, and he paid for her private schooling and university education. During the holidays, he took her with him to the Hollywood film sets where he worked as an Emmy-award-winning lighting director.

Has he at times acted foolishly? Of course he has, but what we can't know or understand are the feelings or reactions of an elderly man, living alone and somewhat down on his luck, who found himself in the full glare of the world's media when his daughter became engaged to a prince.

The man who'd spent his life behind a camera was suddenly cast in a royal soap opera, and he got some of it wrong. Like agreeing to stage photographs of himself being fitted for a suit in which to walk his daughter down the aisle.

When this was exposed in a blaze of headlines, you can imagine how despairing and humiliated he felt. No wonder he suffered a heart attack.

Thomas Markle (centre) is 78 and clearly very frail. He had a heart attack the month of Harry and Meghan's wedding and, more recently, a major stroke which has affected his walking and speech

A proud man, he then saw the ceremonial role of a father's lifetime go to another.

It was the then Prince Charles who accompanied Meghan to the altar.

I imagine Thomas thought the best thing he could do was to step back and out of his daughter's life.

As for Harry and Meghan, they may present a united front to the world, but their self-inflicted rancour with their families cannot help but put a strain on their own relationship.

How can anyone be really happy in the midst of such an emotional and toxic breakdown? So maybe it is time they took stock and considered reconciliation, too.

An undertaker once told me that almost every conversation he has with bereaved family members begins with the words 'I wish . . .'

'I wish I'd spent more time with her.' 'I wish we'd made our peace.' 'I wish I'd told him I loved him.' Like so many others, I experienced this when I lost my father when I was just 20, and what I learned is that those regrets never go away, writes Nadine Dorries (pictured)

'I wish I'd spent more time with her.' 'I wish we'd made our peace.' 'I wish I'd told him I loved him.'

Like so many others, I experienced this when I lost my father when I was just 20, and what I learned is that those regrets never go away.

It is why it is always good advice to make your peace before someone passes. What is the point of carrying such negative baggage into the future, and why lay the weight of it on the shoulders of your own children?

The path chosen by Harry and Meghan to date is one of hurt, blame and recrimination. For the sake of their children, it has to end. At the very least, it's time to put Archie and Lilibet into the car and drive the four hours from their home in Montecito to visit Thomas Markle just across the border in Mexico.

Let them meet their grandfather  before it's too late.
As he flew back from the ceremonies marking the handover of Hong Kong to China in July 1997, the future King Charles jotted down his thoughts on what he had witnessed in a 3,000-word journal.

He described the Communist Party chiefs as 'appalling old waxworks', wrote of the party faithful cheering a 'propaganda speech' and recalled his anguish as he watched goose-stepping soldiers hauling down the Union Flag in an 'awful Soviet-style display'.

Despite the mood of naive optimism that Beijing would stick to the 'one country, two systems' deal agreed with Britain  whereby Hong Kong would be treated differently from mainland China, with more freedom and democracy  the Prince confessed he was fearful.

He reflected on leaving the city-state 'to her fate' and hoped 'Martin Lee, the leader of the Democrats, would not be arrested . . .'.

His hopes were dashed. Lee, a genial barrister famed as the 'father of democracy' in the territory, was arrested two years ago at the age of 82, then given a suspended prison sentence to silence him.

As he flew back from the ceremonies marking the handover of Hong Kong to China in July 1997, the future King Charles jotted down his thoughts on what he had witnessed in a 3,000-word journal

More than 10,000 rounded up after protests in Hong Kong in the wake of moves to allow extradition to mainland China in 2019-2020

They included the media magnate Jimmy Lai, who was sent to prison in 2020 and has remained there since

Alongside him in the dock were nine other leading pro-democracy figures, who were among more than 10,000 rounded up after protests in Hong Kong in the wake of moves to allow extradition to mainland China in 2019-2020.

They included the media magnate Jimmy Lai, who was sent to prison in 2020 and has remained there since.

The 75-year-old, who owned a popular daily newspaper and was a strong critic of China's human rights abuses, faces another trial later this year, on charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces, and possible life imprisonment.

Yet his only 'crimes' are the pursuit of journalism, the promotion of democracy and, ultimately, his belief that the Chinese Communist goons should keep their word and allow the 'one country, two systems' deal to continue.

Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. Yet shamefully, Britain  unlike both the EU and the U.S.  has failed to publicly condemn his treatment.

Instead, we have to witness the sickening sight of our Government rolling out the red carpet for the architect of Hong Kong's crackdown, Han Zheng, 69, who was recently promoted to vice president and is expected here for King Charles's Coronation.

This week it emerged that the Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly  who last week gave a supine speech pleading for more engagement with China  is hoping to use the visit of this repulsive apparatchik to secure an invitation for an official trip to Beijing.

No doubt Cleverly would enjoy the lavish state banquets and visits to historical sites.

But to countenance a visit of this nature to China is a monstrous betrayal of Lee, Lai and hundreds of thousands like them whom I saw marching with such courage in those largely peaceful protests to protect the sort of freedoms we take for granted here.

The Government is kowtowing to a sinister dictatorship which still covers up the origins of a coronavirus that killed millions, openly threatens to invade a democracy on its doorstep in Taiwan and carries out genocidal atrocities against Muslim minorities in western China.

But it is even worse, given the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (backed by Beijing) and the sharpening global tension between democracies and autocracies (led by China).

Despite Britain's early and strong support for Ukraine, our dance with China's bullying dictatorship will provoke nerves in Kyiv, amid growing concerns there that the Western alliance could melt away as the war grinds on.

One senior Chinese diplomat even claimed recently that former Soviet countries have no 'effective status in international law'  a remark that caused consternation from the Baltic states to Moldova.

We can only imagine King Charles's private views on letting the thug Han Zheng attend his Coronation, especially given the King's firm support for Ukraine's fight  although he clearly accepts his duty to follow government advice on such matters.

James Cleverly, angling for an invitation to become the first Foreign Secretary in five years to visit China, says blithely that the UK cannot influence which representative a country chooses to send to the Coronation. But surely we still have the right to decide who can arrive here to attend it?

The Foreign Secretary also trots out the trite nonsense, parroted by 'realist' politicians and mandarins, that 'talking to China is not about comfortable chit-chat over tea and biscuits'. Rather, he claims, they exchange 'tough' words.

A minister once told me how this actually works in diplomatic discussions. At a pre-agreed point, the British delegation reads out a short statement while the Chinese ignore them by looking down at their papers.

In his speech last week, Cleverly offered no serious analysis of China's alarming efforts to reshape the global order, instead calling for a collaborative approach that took a much softer line than the Biden administration.

In the U.S., Democrats and Republicans share concern about the seriousness of the threat from China, a rare point of agreement between them.

Britain initially responded well to the draconian national security law that snuffed out the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, by launching a visa scheme to assist thousands of people fleeing the repression.

Later, Rishi Sunak posed as a hawk in his Tory leadership campaign, saying at one point that 'for too long, politicians in Britain and across the West have rolled out the red carpet and turned a blind eye to China's nefarious activity and ambitions'.

He promised that 'I will change this on day one as Prime Minister'.

Sunak at least accepts that China presents 'the largest threat to Britain and the world's security' and that this challenge 'grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism' under hardliner Xi Jinping (pictured)

Yet Sunak now seems to be trying to find an elusive path between open friendship and outright hostility, while using his Foreign Secretary to cuddle up to China, despite the regime's record of broken promises, brutal repression and lethal cover-ups.

Bear in mind that China has sanctioned senior UK politicians  including some current government ministers  who spoke out against the regime.

Beijing has also threatened Uighur refugees in Britain, monitored young Chinese studying here, and is running secret police stations on our soil that are reportedly used to harass and even deport dissidents.

Sunak at least accepts that China presents 'the largest threat to Britain and the world's security' and that this challenge 'grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism' under hardliner Xi Jinping.

Unfortunately, his Government's prescription of 'robust pragmatism'  the clunky name given to this less-combative approach to China, in a credulous attempt to win more trade  comes across as meek capitulation.

Britain looks weak in welcoming to the Coronation the man who symbolises China's disdain for democracy, then trying desperately to seduce him into offering an invitation for the Foreign Secretary's planned jaunt.

As King Charles saw in 1997, the price of freedom is greater than a few state banquets.
The British people have always had a strong aversion to being ordered to bend the knee. We accept authority by consent or not at all.

From the Peasants Revolt to the Brexit vote, Britons refused to be dictated to by those they deemed illegitimate. And that refusal has preserved our fundamental liberties over centuries.

The embodiment of that spirit is the constitutional monarchy we have today, in which the sovereign rules in principle but in practice is the figurehead of a democratically elected Parliament.

It is a system which has served us supremely well and on Saturday the nation will be invited to endorse it by swearing allegiance to the new King during his Coronation.

No one is being forced or cajoled into joining this Homage of the People. This is a free country, in which the right to dissent is not only tolerated but enshrined in law.

The coronation of King Charles will take place this weekend on May 6

To some the word homage may jar. It is rather archaic and could be thought to suggest blind obeisance. But the roots of this ceremony are more than a thousand years old. Such language emphasises the monarchys extraordinary continuity and adds to the sense of moment. #Charles4King wouldnt have quite the same impact.

Others may think the oath, or indeed the monarchy itself, has no relevance to their lives. They are mistaken. Charles III is their head of state as well as their King.

There also will be the republicans with their tiresome (and factually incorrect) Not my King placards but the opinion polls show them to have little support.

Most people in this country understand that constitutional monarchy is a fair and stable form of government that they dont want replaced with some form of presidency.

Presidents are always political animals, whose primary duty is to their party or power base. Our sovereign sits above the fray as honest broker and adviser to whoever the people elect. Its not fanciful to suggest that in a republican system we could easily have had President Blair  or maybe even President Corbyn.

And America may soon have to choose between a cognitively fragile octogenarian and an alleged criminal for its head of state.

Charles III has the hardest of acts to follow but there can be no doubting his integrity or devotion to duty. Swearing the oath of allegiance will galvanise him even further to his awesome task.

The Mail hopes and believes most people wish him every success and will happily join in the symbolic endorsement by swearing  or at least honouring and embracing  the oath of allegiance.

Bigotry of the Left

A grotesque Guardian cartoon which appears to emphasise and ridicule the Jewishness of ex-BBC chairman Richard Sharp exposes the ugly seam of anti-Semitism that runs through the British Left.

It portrays a grinning Sharp carrying a box marked Goldman Sachs, which contains Rishi Sunaks head and a squid which seems to be holding gold coins. Nearby is an apparently bloodied pigs head.

Cartoonist Martin Rowson claims Sharps Jewishness never crossed my mind as I drew him or that the picture would cause such offence and the newspaper has issued a grovelling apology.

A grotesque Guardian cartoon which appears to emphasise and ridicule the Jewishness of ex-BBC chairman Richard Sharp exposes the ugly seam of anti-Semitism that runs through the British Left

Richard Sharp quit as BBC chairman and will leave at the end of June

Yet it must have passed through several senior executives before being published. Did none of them recognise the glaringly obvious anti-Jewish tropes?

After the recent furore over Diane Abbotts suggestion in the Guardians sister paper, the Observer, that Jews dont really suffer racism, youd think they might have been more vigilant. Sadly, the Left is so avidly pro-Palestinian that the distinction between opposing Israeli policy and being downright anti-Semitic has become blurred.

For all Sir Keir Starmers bluster, it is a form of bigotry Labour has not expunged. And possibly never will.
Today, they are kept under wraps, far from photographers flashbulbs, in temperature-controlled rooms where they form part of a royal clothing archive dating back 500 years.

Yet three of Princess Dianas iconic dresses were only saved for the nation after they were rescued from a second-hand shop in Hampshire.

Stranger still, they had been taken there by no less a figure than the mother of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

Quite how or why remains a mystery. But as I reveal in my book Diana: A Life in Dresses, the late Princess was surprisingly relaxed about her clothes, despite her love of fashion.

Wearing a tartan day dress to the Braemar Highland Games in September 1982. Precious items were routinely discarded or abandoned. Diana was generous, too, giving many away to friends and family

There was also a tartan coat (pictured) created for the Princesss 1985 visit to Italy by the Emanuels, the British husband-and-wife team who made Dianas wedding dress

Precious items were routinely discarded or abandoned. She was generous, too, giving many away to friends and family. The fact that so many survived for posterity has often been down to outrageous chance.

The three outfits in question now sit in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection storage facility at Hampton Court after that mysterious intervention by Susan Barrantes.

A source confirmed to me that Barrantes had handed three of them over to an upmarket resale shop in Hampshire at some point in the 1990s.

These were a green tartan day dress that the Princess wore to the Braemar Highland Games in September 1982, and a turquoise Catherine Walker dress she took on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand in April 1983.

There was also a tartan coat created for the Princesss 1985 visit to Italy by the Emanuels, the British husband-and-wife team who made Dianas wedding dress.

From the Hampshire clothes shop, they went to auction before being purchased by Historic Palaces England.

Did Diana give them to her friend Sarah Ferguson as hand-me-downs? Had they simply been left lying around at the Duchess of Yorks Sunninghill Park estate in Berkshire?

Was Fergusons mother for some reason asked to sell the outfits on Dianas behalf  and was it just the three dresses?

Princess Diana in a blue Catherine Walker outfit on tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1983

Was Sarah Fergusons mother for some reason asked to sell the outfits on Dianas behalf  and was it just the three dresses?

Sadly, Susan Barrantes died in 1998, less than a year after the Paris car crash that killed Diana and the vintage shop in question has yet to be identified.

Its not the only time that a provincial second-hand shop has come to the rescue of fashion fans.

An Emanuels-designed ivory silk moss crepe evening gown, which Diana had worn in Bahrain in 1986 during a lavish banquet in her honour, ended up in a clothes shop in Hereford.

Diana is believed to have given the dress to her childhood friend, Caroline Twiston-Davies.

In 1996, her housekeeper took the dress  along with more mundane daywear and suits  into Chameleon, a vintage clothes shop near Carolines family estate.

As I explain in my book, it was initially bought a few months later for 200 by the shops part-time sales assistant, who had intended to wear it herself to a hunt ball. Instead, it remained unworn, packed away in a box, until she realised its historical significance.

It was sold at auction in 2018 for 162,500.

For the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles in February 1981, Shy Di had wanted an outfit to match her sapphire sparkler  and had hoped to find something in Bellville Sassoon, a high-end Knightsbridge salon.

However, the imperious French shop assistant failed to recognise the nervous teenager as the future Princess of Wales, and was cross shed come in so near to closing time.

It was 5pm at night and this little girl came in and didnt know what she wanted, couturier David Sassoon explains. The assistant said: Do you want a dress? A suit? Diana said: Im not sure.

She showed her a few things, and Diana didnt think they were right. So, she suggested Diana went to Harrods.

Which she did: there, she bought a cobalt blue skirt suit by British label Cojana that she wore to face the worlds press on the steps of Buckingham Palace.

The black taffeta strapless ball gown that Diana wore for her first public engagement with Prince Charles in March 1981  and which she famously nearly fell out of as she stepped out of their car  was kept for decades in a bin bag and forgotten about.

It had been returned to the Emanuels for taking-in as Diana has lost a great deal of weight in her early married days.

The Duchess Of York With Her Mother, Susan Barrantes, who gave some of Princess Diana's dresses to a second-hand shop

However, instead of altering it, the Emanuels decided to make a new version from scratch, and placed the original in a bin bag for safe keeping.

It was only found years later, in a corner of the designers Mayfair atelier.

In 1997, just two months before her death, Christies had held a New York auction of 79 dresses, raising 1.96 million for her favourite AIDS charities.

Many of these are now in public hands.

Today, the long blue-and-white dress 18-year-old Diana wore to her coming-out ball at Althorp, the Spencer family estate, was bought by a neo-natal nurse from Utah. It is now owned by a fashion museum in Chile.
The Queen was described as a 'surrogate mother' to Sarah and her brother

Lady Sarah Chatto is the only daughter of the late Princess Margaret

Lady Sarah Chatto, the only daughter of the glamorous Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, is famed for her down-to-earth nature and her close relationship with the late Queen.

Lady Sarah, who turns 59 today, was born at Kensington Palace three years after the arrival of her brother, David Armstrong-Jones.

She was the last royal to be born in a palace rather than a hospital.

The late Queen was described as a 'surrogate mother' to Margaret's children and was particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is believed to have reminded her of her late sister.

With only a three-year age gap, Lady Sarah Chatto and Diana were already friendly before Diana's engagement to Charles. They are pictured together at Guards Polo Club in 1983

The Wedding Of Lady Sarah Armstrong-jones To Daniel Chatto At St Stephen Walbrook

The Queen was described as a 'surrogate mother' to Princess Margaret's children and was particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is understood to have reminded her of her late sister

One royal insider previously revealed: 'The Queen adores Sarah and seeks out her company as often as possible. She is her absolute favourite younger Royal.

'They are hugely at ease in each other's company. Much giggling can be heard when they are together. They share a sense of loyalty, fun, duty and the ridiculous.'

One acquaintance said: 'Sarah is very unassuming; shy and almost embarrassed with no grandeur at all. Take royal events  she'll be on the balcony, but she never pushes herself to the middle or the front, like some.'

At the time, her parents, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, were the toast of swinging London, their Kensington Palace apartment the scene of hedonistic parties.

But the marriage, a rebound affair after Margaret decided not to marry divorced equerry Peter Townsend, was notoriously tempestuous.

Fuelled by alcohol and affairs on both sides, their 18-year union was once described as a 16-year break-up.

At just 13, her parents' divorce was 'terribly upsetting' for Sarah.

As Margaret was granted custody, the children stayed in Kensington Palace. Sarah was sent to Francis Holland School in Chelsea, a smart all-girls' day school, followed by Bedales with her brother.

Sarah had grown up knowing that her mother had little time or patience for babies and small children (pictured together leaving Buckingham Palace to watch Trooping the Colour in 1974)

Sarah's father doted on her and it is from him she is said to have inherited her 'immense charm'. Here she is held by Princess Margaret with brother David (centre)

Sarah is pictured with her parents, the Queen and Prince Philip at The Badminton Horse Trials

The mixed boarding school in rural Hampshire  alma mater of actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Minnie Driver  was a fashionable, arty, bohemian choice.

It had no uniform and nurtured artistic expression above all else. It was what both parents wanted  and it ensured Sarah inherited a love of art.

This 'progressive' institution was the polar opposite to the starchiness of a royal upbringing.

One contemporary said that when Lady Sarah turned up 'she was practically in a velvet-collar coat and tweeds although everyone else was hanging out in their kickers'.

However it was quite possibly this school  with its warm, nurturing atmosphere  that made her the woman she is now.

Sarah had grown up knowing that her mother had little time or patience for babies and small children.

Despite Snowdon's reluctance, nannies and housemaids were in charge and the children were instructed never to wake their mother before 11am  a rule that was keenly enforced by Nanny Sumner, whose old-fashioned methods were in direct conflict to the modern ideas of Snowdon.

Her father, however, doted on her and it is from him she is said to have inherited her 'immense charm'.

Both her parents passed on their artistic eye to their children as Sarah, now a painter, and her brother David, a world-famous furniture designer, were taken around galleries in their youth. Today, David, who was formerly Lord Linley, has inherited his late father's title and is the Earl of Snowdon.

Princess Anne chose nine-year-old Sarah to be the only bridesmaid at her wedding to Mark Phillips in 1973

Sarah was also a bridesmaid for the wedding of Charles and Diana at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981

Sarah met Daniel Chatto whilst working as a wardrobe assistant on Heat and Dust, in which dashing actor Daniel had a small role (pictured after their wedding in 1994)

On BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, David said that his mother was 'very good at taking me to see just one object, so we would go to the National Gallery to see the Leonardo, or we would go to see the Vermeer - but only that.

'So she would constantly be dragged away by us, saying: "Well, can't we just go and see that?" And she would say: "Well, you can come back again if you want." So one actually became very keen to go back.'

Sarah went on to complete a foundation course at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, followed by a printed textiles course at Middlesex Polytechnic, paving the way for her training at the Royal Academy Schools.

Working as a painter under the professional name Sarah Armstrong-Jones, she has since exhibited at galleries including The Redfern Gallery in London.

She has also continued her parents' love of nurturing the arts, acting as Vice President of the Royal Drawing School and of the Royal Ballet School.

The young Sarah never felt herself to be above her art school contemporaries and while she may have shared her 21st birthday with Prince Edward, Lady Helen Windsor and James Ogilvy at Windsor Castle, she also included all of her friends from art school.

Sarahs art college and Bedales friends  people with Rasta hair  were the most varied and exciting people there, recalls one guest.

She had various good-looking, arty boyfriends. But it was when she met Daniel Chatto whilst working as a wardrobe assistant on Heat and Dust, in which dashing actor Daniel had a small role, that her love life became serious.

Husband Daniel Chatto and Sarah set up home in Kensington while still unmarried  a fact that is said to have angered Princess Margaret

Sarah was particularly close to the Queen and was the only guest who would accompany the Queen to Craigowan Lodge. Pictured with her brother at The Queen's funeral

Siblings Sarah, a painter, and David (pictured right), a furniture designer, inherited their parents' artistic eye (pictured at the Linley 30th anniversary party in 2016)

The son of actor Tom Chatto, and theatrical agent Ros Chatto (who was the mistress of another theatrical agent, Robin Fox), Daniel appeared in around a dozen films and TV programmes, often period dramas based on the novels of W. Somerset Maugham or Charles Dickens.

He soon gave up his acting career, however, to focus on painting, a passion shared with Sarah.

Together he and Sarah set up home in Kensington while still unmarried  a fact that is said to have angered Princess Margaret  where they still live in a small, pretty, Grade II listed terrace house.

They also have a Georgian country farmhouse near Midhurst in Sussex, given to Sarah by her godfather, the late art-loving philanthropist Simon Sainsbury.

The informal country life of dogs, horses and annual sheepdog trials  which she judges  is the essence of Sarah, a royal who has never been lured by pomp and ceremony.

Indeed her wedding to Chatto in July 1994 was such a short, simple affair that chauffeurs were caught by surprise: the Queen, Prince Philip and Diana had to wait at the City church of St Stephen's Walbrook after the service for their cars to come back.

Her veil was anchored by the Snowdon Floral Tiara, created from brooches given to Princess Margaret by her husband, and the wedding portraits show the newlyweds flanked by the Queen and the Queen Mother.

Although her childhood lacked the stability she has created for her own family  according to royal insiders, she found her mother's early indiscretions 'almost unbearable'  Sarah remained a loving, dutiful daughter until the end.

Her two sons, Samuel (left) and Arthur (centre), accompany their parents to royal events. They are pictured at the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral last year

Samuel, pictured right attending the Christmas Day church service in Sandringham with his mother, is pursuing a career in pottery

Arthur Chatto has joined the Royal Marines after working as a personal trainer

Her mother's death in 2002  after a series of strokes and four years of suffering  saw her children by her side.

Sarah, says a royal source, had been 'selfless and often left her own family overnight to drive to KP to care for her mother'.

Margaret's death brought the Queen even closer to her only niece, in her new role as something of a surrogate mother.

Sarah was the only guest who would accompany the Queen to Craigowan Lodge  a relatively modest stone building a mile from Balmoral Castle.

The Queen would retire to the secluded seven-bedroom house several times a year to read, write letters, walk and ride with Sarah for company.

King Charles also loved his cousin and the pair were often found sketching and doing water colours on the Balmoral estate, chatting easily or hunched over their easels in harmonious silence, as they have been for years.

Sarah served as a bridesmaid at Charles and Diana's wedding and was friends with her even before their engagement, having only a three year age gap.

The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson was also a fan of Sarah's, writing that after the infamous toe-sucking pictures were published in 1992, Sarah was absolutely charming.

Lady Sarah Chatto is praised for her down-to-earth nature

Often the first choice for godmother, Sarah counts Prince Harry, Prince Edwards daughter, Louise, and the Duke of Gloucesters daughter, Rose, among her godchildren.

She now has two sons, Samuel and Arthur, who are seen with Sarah at royal events including during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations and the Queen's funeral.

After attending Eton College, Samuel studied History of Art of Edinburgh University and is now pursuing a career in pottery.
The New York Public Library held its 2023 lunch on April 27th under the iconic glass dome of the Celeste Bartos Forum in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

The elegant luncheon raises critical funds for the librarys acclaimed collections that are used by scholars, writers, artists and students every day.

Award-winning actress Candice Bergen was one of many New York notables in attendance.

The New York Public Library held its 2023 lunch on April 27th under the iconic glass dome of the Celeste Bartos Forum in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

Candice Bergen was one of many notables in attendance. The award-winning actress looked chic in a white blouse and black slacks topped by a cream blazer and matching scarf

New York fundraiser

The beautiful venue was made complete with tables dressed in pink linens featuring fresh bouquets of colorful peonies, tulips and other sweet-scented flowers currently in bloom.

Business casual attire could be seen throughout the magnificent space.

'Murphy Brown' star Candice Bergen looked chic in a white blouse and black slacks, topped by a cream blazer and matching scarf draped around her neck.

Philanthropist Elyse Newhouse, hotelier Sarah Wetenhall and World Champion bridge player Gillian Miniter, were also in attendance.

The beautiful venue was made complete with tables dressed in pink linens featuring fresh bouquets of colorful peonies, tulips and other sweet-scented flowers currently in bloom

Lunch was followed by a captivating panel discussion focussed on the genre of Coming of Age  capturing the journey of becoming who we are in an ever-changing world, with best-selling author Tayari Jones, renowned poet Ocean Vuong, and acclaimed memoirist Tara Westover, moderated by The New Yorker editor David Remnick

Lunch was followed by a captivating panel discussion focussed on the genre of Coming of Age  capturing the journey of becoming who we are in an ever-changing world, with best-selling author Tayari Jones, renowned poet Ocean Vuong, and acclaimed memoirist Tara Westover, moderated by The New Yorker editor David Remnick.

After dessert New York Public Library President & CEO Tony Marx took to the stage.

Tony spoke about the nation's largest public library system, stating 'New Yorkers come to the library in larger numbers than any other institute.'

New York Public Library President & CEO Tony Marx spoke about the nation's largest public library system, stating 'New Yorkers come to the library in larger numbers than any other institute'

This years lunch was co-chaired by Abigail Baratta, Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos, Louise Grunwald, Zibby Owens, Daisy Prince, David Remnick, Deborah Goodrich Royce and Nanar Yoseloff.

Iconic British luxury brand Asprey, a partner for over 10 years, generously sponsored the event, which has once again been presented with Literary Partner The New Yorker.

The annual event raised an incredible amount to support the Librarys mission to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen communities.

On Tuesday, April 25 2023, Nick Mele celebrated the opening of his limited-edition fine art photography exhibition titled, PLEASE SIGN IN ALL GUESTS, at Bergdorf Goodman

Following his successful showcases at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and Park House in Dallas, New York notables came out in full force to support the artist (pictured)

Art in The Big Apple

The New York Public Library luncheon wasn't the only event to attract a VIP crowd in the city that never sleeps.

On Tuesday, April 25 2023, Nick Mele celebrated the opening of his limited-edition fine art photography exhibition titled, PLEASE SIGN IN ALL GUESTS, at Bergdorf Goodman.

The exhibition, which will be on display through August 2023 and is Meles first in New York, showcases his work throughout the past 20 years.

Following his successful showcases at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and Park House in Dallas, New York notables came out in full force to support the artist in the Big Apple.

Guests included the iconic Martha Stewart, Bergdorf Goodmans Linda Fargo, Cydney Preston and Andrew Mandel, Gillian Miniter, Cara Cara founders Julia Brown and Sasha Martin, Eleanora Kennedy, and many more.

Martha Stewart was in attendance looking divine in a brown dress, accessorized with matching shoes and handbag

The New York City display is an expansion of the previous exhibitions, with the addition of more personal work, including pieces of his family that share glimpses into his world and the evolution of his career.

In addition to photography, the exhibition is accompanied by housewares curated by Mele, a Palm Beach resident, who spends time in Newport, and started his career in New York.

The New York City display is an expansion of the previous exhibitions, with the addition of more personal work, including pieces of his family that share glimpses into his world and the evolution of his career.

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023 whiskey brand Royal Salute celebrated the release of the King Charles III Coronation Edition with an invite-only tasting

Top-tier luxury lifestyle media and select Influencers VIPs enjoyed signature Royal Salute cocktails, as well passed hors doeuvres and desserts

Royal Salute's U.S Brand Ambassador, Nathan Wood

Royal release in NYC

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, whiskey brand Royal Salute celebrated the release of the King Charles III Coronation Edition with an invite-only tasting event.

In attendance were top-tier luxury lifestyle media and select Influencers VIPs, including Royal Salute's U.S Brand Ambassador, Nathan Wood.

In a palm tree-lined room, attendees sat in green velvet chairs at long tables decorated by fresh floral arrangements

Guests were dressed to impress for the exclusive soiree that took place at a stunning beaux-arts townhouse

Guests were dressed to impress for the exclusive soiree that took place at a stunning beaux-arts townhouse, the perfect location for the invite-only celebration.

In a palm tree-lined room, attendees sat in green velvet chairs at long tables decorated by fresh floral arrangements to taste the Royal Salute King Charles III Coronation Edition ahead of the big day on May 6.

They also enjoyed signature Royal Salute cocktails, as well passed hors doeuvres and desserts.

Hail to the King!
A flight attendant has revealed the downsides of her job - including being degraded and harassed by passengers.

Cierra Mistt, who works for an airline out of Salt Lake City, told her 3.2million TikTok followers that they are not there 'just to serve cokes.'

She explained that their training is 'months long' to prepare them for anything that can happen in an emergency.

She listed 'trust issues' due to pilots and flight attendants 'hooking up' all the time as another major downside of her role.

In the clip, which racked up over 1.3 million likes, she said: 'The downsides to being a flight attendant, number one getting next to no sleep.

Cierra Mistt, who works for an airline out of Salt Lake City, has revealed the downsides of her job- including being degraded and harassed by passengers

'While there is a requirement of at least nine hours of rest that hour starts at least 15 minutes after the door of the flight is open.

She went onto explain that after it takes 45 minutes to get 'unloaded' and another 30 minutes to an hour to get to the hotel plus she needs to be back in the airport before her flight 45 minutes before take off.

Saying: 'In total you probably get five to six hours if that.

'Number two being ok with being degraded and harassed by passengers and employees.

'Many people think that flight attendants are there just to serve cokes, we are also still in the old fashion days were we have to wear heels and makeup and have everything looking perfect.

'That being said a lot of employees look at you as just the pretty one, but I do want to let you in on a secret, our training in not weeks but months long.

'That training that we go through prepares us for anything that can happen in a mental tube flying 30,000 feet above.

She explained that their training is 'months long' to prepare them for anything that can happen in an emergency

'Now like I said it's not just the employees that treat us like garbage, the amount of times that I have been touched and pocked in inappropriate places.

'Number three trust issues, there are more pilots and flight attendants and pilots that hook up with people on their over nights and even more that hook up with each other on their over nights.'

Many rushed to the comments to leave their thoughts on the video with some appreciating her hard work.

One person wrote: 'I always thought your job is exhausting honestly.'

Another said: 'I always thought your job is exhausting honestly.'

While others were horrified by the underwater training exercises that flight attendants must complete

While another wrote: 'I respect all flight attendants for the ish they have to put up with and risking their lives everyday for safety and comfort of others.'

While others were horrified by the underwater training exercises that flight attendants must complete.

One person wrote: 'That training in the water looks like something nightmares are made of!'

Another said: 'I changed my mind. I cant stop the underwater training.'

A third said: 'ok the training is what stops me, I can't breathe underwater that long.'
A woman who lives in the Tower of London with her father - who is a Beefeater - has revealed she's often mistaken for a princess and has to 'sprint' for takeaway deliveries as the drivers get confused when navigating the tourist site.

Megan Clawson, 23, spent the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 with her father Chris, 54, who in 2018 won a place as one of the 32 Yeoman Wardens - and with the job is able to live in a two-bedroom house on the grounds.

She took to posting her fairytale-esque life on TikTok before exploding on social media - and has now penned a fictional romance set in the London attraction.

Her time living in the historical site - which has also been used as prison - has seen her be mistaken for a princess by confused tourists, and face logistical dilemmas when it comes to online deliveries.

Speaking to The Sun, she detailed the intricacies of living within a historic castle.

A woman who lives in the Tower of London with her father - who is a Beefeater - says she's often mistaken for a princess and has to 'sprint' for takeaway deliveries

'If I order a takeaway, I have to sprint from my house across the grounds and find the driver at whichever entrance they are at,' she told the outlet.

What's more - much like a fairytale royal - Megan has to let the guards know if she's going to be out past midnight so they know to wait up for her and let her in.

The author, who also works as TV extra, says that she also had to get used to curious tourists with a straight view into her bedroom staring as she woke up.

Feeling homesick as a university student at King's College, London, she asked her father if she could move into the Tower with him when the Covid lockdown struck the UK three years ago.

She had become used to bringing her laundry to the Tower, but missed a more consistent connection to her family - and Chris agreed.

As it was closed to the public at the time, Megan explained that she was able to write her dissertation there in peace, amid a small community and the 'famous ravens'.

'So it was a shock when tourists were finally able to visit the Tower and I realised they could see straight into my bedroom,' she explained.

'But once I'd bought some curtains, I began to enjoy hearing the daily chatter of people visiting from all over the world, marvelling at my home.'

Megan Clawson, 23, spent the coronavirus lockdown in 2020 with her father Chris, 54, who in 2018 won a place as one of the 32 Yeoman Wardens

What's more - much like a fairytale royal - Megan has to let the guards know if she's going to be out past midnight so they know to wait up for her and let her in.

She admits that when initially asked about her living arrangements, she just says 'Tower Hill' to avoid 'boasting' - but said most friends take it 'in their stride' once they find out.

Megan says there a many families who live in the Tower, and she often grabs a drink with of the site's other dwellers in a private pub, called The Keys, within the attraction.

Megan, who also has a boyfriend called George in the Scots Guards, has since graduated and began working in TV and film as well as building her TikTok channel where she has 310,700 followers.

She has also written a book - out now - called Falling Hard for the Royal Guard - which follows a 26-year-old who finds love while living in the Tower.
A gran who's amassed Britain's biggest soap collection of more than 2,000 bars over 50 years is selling it at auction.

Stephanie Weaver, 78, from Derby, started collecting soap in the 1970s - mainly from hotel bathrooms - when she was in her late 20s.

Her huge collection also includes donated items from around 1900 and one from Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Now she's decided the time has come to part with it and will sell all her soap with Hansons Auctioneers later this month.

Stephanie said: 'I've been worrying what will happen to my soap collection when I pop my clogs.

Stephanie Weaver, 78, from Littleover, Derby, started collecting soap in the 1970s, but recently decided to sell her collection, which includes more than 2,000 bars

'I don't want to leave my daughters with all this to clear away.

'I like watching antiques shows on TV and suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with a brainwave - Charles Hanson,' she said, referring to the auctioneer who has appeared as an antiques expert on the television programmes Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip.

Stephanie collected her first bars of soap while on family holidays in Europe with her daughters.

Whenever she went into a hotel, the first thing she would do was go into the bathroom to see if there was any soap.

If there was, she saved it as a memento, and used soap she's brought herself to wash with instead.

They mounted up over the years, and Stephanie began saving other soaps from supermarkets around the world.

Friends of hers would also bring her back bars from their travels, so her collection contains soap from countries she's never actually visited.

Stephanie, a retired bookkeeper, said: 'I have everything from everyday brands like Lux and Palmolive to three handmade soaps from Thailand. I may hang on to those.

Stephanie began collecting soaps in the 1970s and her friends and family started to bring her items to add to her treasure trove

Some of the soaps in her collection are still in their boxes and have not been opened, but will be soon be auctioned

The oldest soaps in Stephanie's collection date back to 1900s and show heads from different monarchs

'Over the years, my friends latched on to my collection, and whenever they went away, they'd bring me back a bar of soap from hotels they visited.

'I have one from the Holiday Inn in Amman in the Middle East - but I've never been there.

'I suppose the most important bar, historically, is one a friend gave me dating back to circa 1900.

'It displays the heads of various monarchs. I also have a soap crown on a cushion made to mark the 1953 coronation.'

Stephanie stores the soap in various plastic tubs, drawers and two big picnic baskets in her garage.

She used to list and count them all, and has notes from years gone by stating how many bars she had at that specific time.

The impressive collection includes limited items such as Peter Rabbit and Fairy soaps as well as bars found in hotels

The mother-of-two said she began worrying what would happen to her collection after she'd gone - so started thinking of ways to offload the soap.

She spoke with a charity shop about a huge soap donation, but the logistics of selling them individually proved too difficult.

So, she contacted Charles Hanson, who will auction the entire collection between May 18 and May 23 this month.

Stephanie, a grandmother of four, added: 'I was thinking of donating them to charity - but when I mentioned it to a charity shop, they said bring in two or three at a time.

'With 2,000 soaps that could take me years.

The collection ranges from rectangular bars to bars of soap shaped like animals or Christmas ornaments

Stephanie explained that her collection includes a soap bar from the Holiday Inn in Amman, even though she's never been there

Another orange soap head from 1900 which is one of the oldest pieces in Stephanie's collection

More soap from Stephanie's extensive collection, which will be auctioned between May 18 and 23

The soap enthusiast also owns a piece of soap shaped like a crown and placed on a cushion, which dates back to 1953 and was produced to mark Queen Elizabeth II's coronation

'Charles Hanson has an auction saleroom nearby and sells unusual things. I got in touch and he contacted me straight away.

'I am not concerned about what they make, I just want to find a home for them.'

Charlie Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: 'Stephanie's collection is totally unique.

'It's not of a particularly high monetary value, and I would expect it to fetch around 200.

'However, it's endearing for sentimental reasons - I've never come across anything quite like it.

'I hope we can wash away Stephanie's worries about her collection and ensure it cleans up at auction. We're bidding to create the sweet scent of sale success.'
A man dubbed the UK's richest gypsy has had to splash out on some fancy guard dogs to keep his riches safe - after thieves stole more than 20,000 of handbags and jackets from his mansion last year.

Alfie Best, 53, revealed he got some 'extreme protection dogs' to keep an eye on his 6million Surrey mansion after thieves raided the property last year.

Speaking to The Sun, Alfie, who was born in a caravan and made his fortune by running Wyldecrest Parks, which operates 91 mobile home parks across the UK and is worth 700 million, said getting the dogs is the latest in a series of security measures he had to take.

His mansion is also equipped with facial recognition cameras as well as vehicle recognition cameras, but Alfie, who is worth 740million, said it wasn't enough.

He also admitted that he thought thieves had monitored his social media in order to plan the burglary.

Alfie Best, 53, who has been dubbed the UK's richest Gypsy, revealed he got some 'extreme protection dogs' to keep an eye on his 6million Surrey mansion after thieves raided the property last year, stealing 20,000 of designer bags

Alfie pictured with his 4.5million helicopter, which he bought last year and was designed by Aston Martin

To deter thieves from breaking and entering into his home again, the father-of-two got two Cane Corsi, a breed of Italian mastiffs whose bite is stronger than a lion's.

'My dogs are extreme protection dogs. They are perfectly safe but you wouldnt want to get on the wrong side of them,' he said. 'They are patrolling the grounds day and night, they will notice if anything is wrong.'

The millionaire revealed thieves did substantial damage to his property during last year's burglary and took off with several designer items from his wife, including Chanel, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana bags and jackets.

All of this and more is needed to protect his luxury home, which includes a car collection and an eye-watering 4.5m helicopter designer by Aston Martin.

The entrepreneur was born in a caravan near Leicester, and started his business career in his teens after dropping out of school, selling cars and vans, before setting up a group of mobile phone stores when he was 20.

He previously told MailOnline: 'I get up every morning and I pinch myself and thank my lucky stars that I've had the luck to be where I am.'

Yet Alfie - who has lunched with former Tory Prime Minister John Major and boxer Mike Tyson - still describes himself as frugal, amid fears he could still lose everything he has worked for in a flash.

The entrepreneur, who enjoys the high life, admitted he had 20,000 worth of designer kit stolen from his home last year

In a nod to his humility, he even turned down a request to be included in the Sunday Times Rich List in 2011.

'I never spend beyond my means. Everything that I buy is to sell - from the cars that I drive, to the houses I own. And I know the value of everything I have,' he said.

'Don't get me wrong, of course I have enough to be comfortable. But I have lived through a recession and live in fear of being in that position again.

'When you have been through harrowing recessions, it changes you. Even though it was 25 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday.'

He also revealed how he didn't 'feel successful', saying: 'What is successful? I'm still working stuff out as much as the next person.'

That recession came in the early 1990s, just four years after Mr Best had launched his first business - a van hire centre and dealership in Forest Gate - at the age of 16.

Alfie pictured with his two sons, Malcom, centre and Alfie Jr, right. The entrepreneur hoped to become a billionaire this year

He had learned the salesman ropes as a ten-year-old, when he conducted door-to-door sales as part of his father's Tarmac business.

'Have you ever heard of the expression 'you talk as fast as a Gypsy'?' he said.

'When I was with my dad trying to sell as a youngster, I had 30 seconds to say my bit before the door would be closed in my face. That taught me a lot about the basics of being a good salesman.'

But, four years after launching his first business, Mr Best was plunged into financial crisis. With a hefty mortgage on his home and business, and a nationwide recession, he almost lost everything.

He said: 'I had never been through a recession at that point and I could not understand how bad things were going to get.

'Every day that came was a new learning day that I had not been through before and I had no choice but to draw from my experiences. Of course, it was soul-destroying.'

Mr Best said he managed to hang on 'by the skin of my teeth', renting out his home, increasing his bank loan and sleeping in his car for three months as he desperately tried to turn around his fortunes.

When things finally hit rock bottom, Mr Best knew he needed to get another job. He noticed that the two businesses which appeared to be flourishing during the downturn were takeaways and phone shops.

So he waltzed into a nearby phone shop in East Ham, begged for a job as the tea boy, and spent three months picking up tips.

Three months later, he launched his own mobile phone business with the help of a loan. Within 18 months, he had 13 shops across London.

'I made the right decision at the time,' he said. 'I remember when I went to see my bank manager, his exact words were: "You are an extremely unorthodox businessman".'

After selling that business, Mr Best moved into commercial property and now has up to 80 acres of industrial units spread around the country.

Some years later, his wife Emily suggested he revert to something of which he had more experience and knowledge.

He decided to embark on a business in the motor home industry, buying his first one in 2001 for 1.7 million.

That business has gradually expanded and now Wyldecrest Parks runs 91 mobile home parks across the country.
Photographs of lavish, historical robes that will be worn by King Charles on his coronation have been released.

The King will be adorned in heavy priest-like golden robes worn by his ancestors for his moment of crowning on May 6.

During the religious service, he will put on layer upon layer of glittering coronation vestments, inspired by priestly attire, in the middle of Westminster Abbey's coronation theatre.

For the investiture, during which the crowning takes place, Charles will be given a long shimmering gold-sleeved coat to wear called the Supertunica.

This garment was created for his great-grandfather George V in 1911, and worn at successive coronations including by Elizabeth II.

King Charles (pictured in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace), will wear a number of historic garments during his coronation next week

The Supertunica (pictured, left) and the Imperial Mantle (pictured, right) make up the Coronation Vestments

The Imperial Mantle (pictured) forms part of the Coronation Vestments (here, Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art for the Royal Collection Trust, adjusts the garment)

More of the ancient items Charles will don on the day are the Coronation Gauntlet glove and Sword Belt

The Imperial Mantle, made for the King's extravagant ancestor George IV in 1821, features this rose detail (pictured)

Made of cloth of gold, which is silk thread wrapped in thin pieces of gold or silver gilt metal, the Supertunica, also known as the Close Pall of Cloth of Gold, weighs around 2kg and is embroidered with stylised arabesques and floral motifs.

On top of the Supertunica will be placed a floor-length cloak called the Imperial Mantle - or Robe Royal - made for the King's extravagant ancestor George IV in 1821.

Heir to the throne the Prince of Wales will play a role in the service by entering the coronation theatre to assist with placing the robe on his father.

It weighs around 3-4kg while the St Edward's Crown will add an extra 2.23kg to the King's load after his crowning.

The mantle is inspired by ancient coronation ensembles and its representation of priestly robes symbolises the divine nature of kingship.

Made from cloth of gold, it is brocaded with colourful motifs including fleur-de-lis as a nod to the ancient claim of England over France, as well as imperial eagles, and national floral emblems of red-pink roses, blue thistles and green shamrocks.

The mantle - also known as the Pallium or Dalmatic Robe - was worn by previous House of Windsor monarchs at their coronations including the late Queen in 1953.

It has a spiral twisted bullion fringe and is fastened across the chest with a golden eagle clasp.

Vestments: The Imperial Mantle (pictured, left) and the Supertunica (pictured, right) have been described as having 'incredible historic significance'

The lavish fabric (being arranged here by Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art for the Royal Collection Trust) is extremely weighty

The Coronation Sword Belt (pictured) is made of embroidered cloth of gold and has a gold buckle stamped with national emblems

Monarchs usually receive a new Coronation Glove and Belt, but to be more sustainable, Charles will reuse those used worn by the last male monarch, his grandfather George VI

Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's works of art for the Royal Collection Trust, described the clothing as 'absolutely redolent' of the coronation ceremony and the most important historic textiles in the Royal Collection.

'They have clearly incredible historic significance, but they're also significant because of the sacred nature of their use during the investiture part of the coronation ceremony,' she said.

She added: 'They are absolutely redolent of coronation ceremony.

'They have been worn at numerous coronations and His Majesty the King is following in this tradition of rewearing these very ancient and historic garments.'

The vestments are usually kept in the Tower of London and form part of the coronation regalia.

Monarchs in the modern era have traditionally reused the garments just as Charles is, but they usually receive a new Coronation Sword Belt and a new Coronation Glove to be used during the ceremony.

But Charles, for reasons of sustainability and efficiency, has decided to reuse the belt and glove worn by his grandfather - the last male monarch - George VI.

Ms de Guitaut said: 'It's quite unusual in modern times.'

She continued: 'It was the King's personal decision and it's in keeping with this idea of sustainability and efficiency to reuse these pieces.

The Supertunica (pictured) is made from cloth of gold and is an extremely heavy garment, weighing around 2kg

It is made of cloth of gold, which is silk thread wrapped in thin pieces of gold or silver gilt metal and embroidered with stylised arabesques and floral motifs

According to Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the King's Works of Art for the Royal Collection Trust (pictured), the garments are 'absolutely redolent' of the coronation

'They are in remarkable condition and it's also reflecting back to the coronation of his grandfather King George VI.'

The Coronation Sword Belt from 1937, also known as the Coronation Girdle, is made of embroidered cloth of gold and has a gold buckle stamped with national emblems.

It will be placed around Charles' waist over the Supertunica and has a gold clip used for briefly attaching the jewelled Sword of Offering - symbolic of being able to decide between good and evil - during the investiture.

The single Coronation Glove - also known as the Coronation Gauntlet - goes on the King's right hand while he holds the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross during the crowning.

It is made of white leather, and the large cuff is embroidered with gilt metal thread, wire and spangles in the form of national emblems including the Tudor rose, thistle, shamrock, oak leaves and acorns.

The back of the hand has an embroidered ducal coronet above the coat of arms of the family of the Dukes of Newcastle.

Charles arrives at the Abbey in his grandfather King George VI's crimson red Robe of State which he removes for his anointing, when he will be consecrated in holy oil while wearing a simple white shirt.

The Imperial Mantle (pictured) is a floor-length cloak made for the extravagant George IV in 1821

Prince William will enter the coronation theatre to assist with placing the Imperial Mantle on his father

The lavish garment, which weighs a staggering 3-4kg, is said to be 'inspired by ancient coronation ensembles'

The Imperial Mantle (pictured) was designed to represent priestly robes, and ergo symbolise the divine nature of kingship

Then for the investiture element which features his crowning, the King will first put on a sleeveless white garment called the Colobium Sindonis - Latin for shroud tunic.

He will also be given a Stole Royal - also known as the Coronation Stole - a long, narrow embroidered band of gold silk which goes around the shoulders on top of the Supertunica, mirroring outfits worn by a priest or a bishop.

At the end of the entire service, the King takes off the priestly robes and changes into George VI's purple Robe of Estate for his departure from the Abbey.

The order of the garments the King will wear at his coronation are: The Robe of State, a simple white linen shirt for the anointing, the Colobium Sindonis, the Supertunica, Coronation Sword Belt, Stole Royal and Imperial Mantle (Robe Royal), and the Robe of Estate.

Buckingham Palace has yet to confirm what the King will wear - uniform or otherwise - under his Robe of State on his way to the Abbey.
The former flame of Princess Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, has revealed three easy ways you can update your home without breaking the bank.

Dara Huang, an American architect who shares seven-year-old son Wolfie with property developer Edo, offered her top tips to make your home look chic without having to invest in new furniture.

It comes as the 40-year-old made her UK TV debut on Channel 4 show The Big Interiors Battle on the eve of King Charles's coronation as members of the royal family - including Princess Beatrice - gear up to celebrate the historic occasion.

The architect is a judge on the show with host AJ Odudu as eight hopefuls battle it out to win a mortgage-free apartment in a search for the next big interior designer.

Her addition to the show follows an extensive career in architecture, which began with an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, before transferring to Harvard for her Master's in Architecture.

Dara Huang, an American architect, has recently shared three ways to update a 'tired home' hot on the heels of Channel 4 's The Big Interiors Battle

Dara now runs Design Haus Liberty, and also founded Vivahouse, which converts disused commercial properties into co-living spaces.

This week the stunning star, who owns Design Haus Liberty, revealed to Ideal Home that revamping a worn-out house is a lot easier and cheaper than many would think.

So what three tips does the CEO have for updating your home?

1. Reorganise your shelves

The glamourous 40-year-old, shares son Wolfie, seven, with the property developer and now husband of Princess Beatrice - Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

The mother-of-one explained that a little decluttering goes a long way and revealed one common mistake that often leads to 'messy' shelves.

She advised people not to stack their books in a chaotic fashion, or have pieces of paper and other meaningless trinkets surrounding them.

She added: 'What you want to do is this, it's a bit theoretical, but you want to think about positive and negative space. This is especially important for your living room shelving ideas.'

What's more, Dara shared a simple tip for adding an artsy flair to an otherwise dreary bookshelf. She encouraged people to stack their books both horizontally and vertically alongside other objects, while also making sure to keep similar items like picture frames and bowls stacked together in uniformity.

2. Change your light bulbs

The architect is a judge on the show with host AJ Odudu as eight hopefuls battle it out to win a mortgage-free apartment

It's hard to spot the decorative appeal of changing a lightbulb, but Dara insists this DIY trick can instantly update your home.

She said: 'Another quick fix is changing your light bulbs, just making sure they're all warm white instead of cold and that they're all matching.'

And no need to stop there, why not experiment with a variety of light colours, bulb shapes or even energy-saving bulbs like LED lights?

3. Add a centrepiece to your coffee table

Your living room coffee table unquestionably serves the purpose of kicking back, putting your feet up and sharing a drink or two with family and friends. But it's just as crucial to your living room aesthetic.

However Dara is quick to point out that laziness often gets the best of us, and instead of beautifying the room's centrepiece, we instead leave it bare, often piling it with mundane items like mugs and old magazines.

She suggested quick fixes like stacking reading books, adding crafty vases and even faux branches atop the table for an instant makeover.

These tips ensure your living room transforms from drab to fab without breaking the bank.
Forget Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Blake Lively.

As celebrities prepare to roll up to Monday's red carpet at the highly anticipated Met Gala in New York, there is one guest many are hoping will grace them with their presence: Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat Choupette.

While Choupette, an 11-year-old white-haired Birman with blue eyes, has scored an invite to one of the most coveted fashion events of the year, her attendance to the fundraiser, which is set to honor her late owner's legacy, is still up in the air.

But what has the fashion designer's adored cat been up to since Lagerfeld's death in 2019?

Forget Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Blake Lively! One of the most highly anticipated guests on the list is Choupette, the late Karl Lagerfeld's cat

But Choupette hasn't been confirmed to be in attendance. The Met Gala is just hours away. She's pictured here with Lagerfeld

Choupette's owner may have been one of the most influential figures in fashion history, but his feline companion has become famous in her own right, garnering more than 160,000 followers on her Instagram account and she has her own agent.

She lives the good life in a Paris apartment with her caretaker - and Lagerfeld's former housekeeper - Francoise Cacote, 50, who told The Wall Street Journal recently that Choupette is an early riser and is treated to her fur being brushed a number of times a day.

The cat enjoys strolling on the balcony and loves to nibble on catnip.

When she's not doing that, Choupette is amusing herself with Chanel paper bags and ribbons for toys.

Previously Lagerfeld said Choupette's presence in his life made him 'less selfish,' telling The Cut: 'Maybe I became a better person perhaps, I don't know.'

'She is the center of the world. If you saw her, you would understand. She is kind of Greta Garbo,' he added elsewhere during the interview.

'There is something unforgettable about her, the way she moves, the way she plays. She's an inspiration for elegance. For attitude.'

Ahead of the Met Gala, which is this year themed Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, FEMAIL details the lavish life of Choupette with the former creative director of Chanel and Fendi, and how her days are now spent following his death aged 85 from pancreatic cancer.

Lagerfeld said Choupette's presence in his life made him 'less selfish,' saying: 'Maybe I became a better person perhaps, I don't know'

When Lagerfeld was alive, Choupette had two maids and a driver to see to her every need

Choupette had two maids, used to dine opposite Lagerfeld and ate only 'very fresh' food

If you think the feline is spoiled now, Lagerfeld revealed in a 2012 Harper's Bazaar that Choupette had two maids and a driver to see to her every need.

As for meal times, Lagerfeld said he served her food at the table as she didn't 'like to eat on the floor.'

They would be plated up on high-end Goyard dishes for Choupette, and would include delicacies such as a croquette and pate.

After adopting her from a friend, the cat would dine with Lagerfeld, sitting across from him at the table when she reached adulthood.

As for meal times, Lagerfeld said he served her food at the table as she didn't 'like to eat on the floor'

After adopting her from a friend, the cat would dine with Lagerfeld, sitting across from him at the table

Her meals still consist of croquettes and pate as well as filtered water served at the table

The fashion designer had been looking after the cat for a friend for over two weeks, but he became so enamored with Choupette - which in French means 'cutie' - that he decided to keep her.

He later told French magazine Numero in 2016: 'Before she might have attacked any old prawn, but now she will only touch the four different dishes prepared for her on that day, served in fabulous bowls.

'Everything must be very fresh, otherwise Mademoiselle sits in front of her biscuits for three quarters of an hour giving me filthy looks, without eating a thing.'

Describing her as 'very body conscious,' Choupette's owner told the publication that she would be 'brushed four times a day' and had monthly visits to the doctor.

When she wasn't traveling with Lagerfeld, Choupette's maids would take notes 'in little books,' describing her activities, what she consumed and her sleep patterns when she stayed at home.

In just nine months, they had filled 'almost 600 pages,' Lagerfeld told Women's Wear Daily in 2012, as per The New York Times.

She lives the good life in a Paris apartment with her caretaker - and Lagerfeld's former housekeeper - Francoise Cacote (pictured center carrying Choupette in a carrier with Sebastien Frank and Dr Mathias Wahrenberger)

Choupette is an early riser and is treated to her fur being brushed a number of times a day, Cacote said. Again she's pictured with Choupette

Social media star and celebrity in her own right, scoring brand deals and collaborations

Lagerfeld revealed in a 2015 interview with The Cut that Choupette earned more than $3 million (3 million) for two jobs - 'one for cars in Germany and the other was for a Japanese beauty product' - after beginning her modelling career in August 2012.

And she was reportedly meant to inherit about $1.6 million (1.3 million) from the fashion designer, but she has yet to see any of the money four years after his death.

With hundreds of thousands of fans on Instagram, Choupette also has an agent, Lucas Berullier, who has so far kept mom on his client's attendance to the Met Gala, telling The Wall Street Journal only that 'a lot of people want her there.'

The agent and her caretaker said they were starting up a charity that would be in Choupette's name, according to the publication.

Lagerfeld revealed in 2015 interview that Choupette earned more than $3 million for two jobs

She's also made some celebrity friends, including Kim Kardashian, who recently shared some photos with Choupette in Paris

While the cat's lifestyle is a bit more parred back to when she lived with Lagerfeld, with Cacote footing the bill for Choupette's expenses herself, the feline continues to eat pretty well despite not having access to fresh meat from the butcher.

Her meals still consist of croquettes and pate as well as filtered water served at the table.

'She is a princess,' Cacote added.

As for her personality, Berullier claims it echoes that of her late owner.

'She's very sophisticated and elegant,' he told WSJ.

'She has a strong character and does not like to be disturbed, or be forced to do anything. But when she walks into a room, everyone turns their heads to see her. She stops time.'

Lagerfeld also revealed previously that Choupette was 'very clean' and spent 'her life washing herself.'

'She smells very good... She has a nice natural odor. Which isn't the case with everyone,' he added to Numero.

And Choupette continues to model, recently appearing in the arms of Naomi Campbell in Vogue's May edition ahead of the Met Gala.

She's also made some celebrity friends, including Kim Kardashian, who recently shared some photos with Choupette in Paris before the reality TV star 'spent some time at Karl Lagerfeld's office to get a little inspiration for the Met.'
Loose Women star Denise Welch has revealed she will not be taking up the offer to pledge allegiance to King Charles during the coronation - and would even prefer to declare loyalty to Harry and Meghan.

The outspoken Geordie, 64, was asked on today's program by presenter Ruth Langsford if she would be getting involved with the pledge, to which she replied: 'What do you think?'

As Britons and people living in Commonwealth nations are invited to declare their allegiance to King Charles when he is crowned on Saturday, 6 May, Denise said she would prefer to show her loyalty to the monarch's son and daughter-in-law.

She said: 'Of late, I am pledging my allegiance, if any, to Harry and Meghan' which was welcomed by some members of the audience with applause.

The Waterloo Road actress added her voice to a chorus of people who have slammed the 'Homage Of The People' after it was announced by Lambeth Palace ahead of the historic ceremony.

As today's program opened and Ruth led the panel, which also included Brenda Strong and Gloria Hunniford, the first issue up for debate was the pledge of allegiance.

When Ruth asked Denise for her thoughts, she stressed she did not have anything against King Charles and the royal family, but added her sympathies lie with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

She said: 'I don't even know what we're pledging for.'

Turning to fellow Loose Woman Brenda, she suggested: 'I think we share the same views', before saying: 'I am loyal and would pledge my allegiance to my family and that's all.

'I think it's very outdated and I'm just not a fan of what's going on at the moment.'

Loose Women panellist Denise Welch (pictured on today's show) revealed she will not be taking up the invitation to pledge allegiance to King Charles during the coronation this weekend and instead would prefer to declare her loyalty with Harry and Meghan

Denise said she would much rather swear her allegiance, 'if any', to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex amid a deepening rift between the couple and the rest of the royal family

Denise wished King Charles (pictured) all the best with his reign and said she had nothing against him

Concluding her point, she wished Charles and Camilla 'the very best in their King and Queen-ness.'

As the discussion continued, Ruth threw out the question to the Loose Women audience and asked them to raise their hands if they were planning on swearing their allegiance to King Charles on Saturday.

'Not one!' she exclaimed as the audience shook their heads. She then spotted one woman's hand in the back.

Gloria Hunniford then made the point that many people happily sing the National Anthem when it plays, and that the song itself is 'singing allegiance' to the monarch.

The 'Homage Of The People' will replace the traditional Homage Of The Peers during the ceremony, which saw members of the aristocracy lining up to pledge their support for the monarchy and its heirs.

Lambeth Palace said it was hoped the change to the historic service will result in a 'great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King' from those watching on television, online or gathered in the open air at big screens.

The liturgy  words and actions of the coronation service  have been revealed, having been decided upon in close consultation with the King, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Government.

The Archbishop will call upon 'all persons of goodwill in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of the other Realms and the Territories to make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all'.

The order of service will read: 'All who so desire, in the Abbey, and elsewhere, say together:

'All: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.'

It will be followed by the playing of a fanfare.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will then say 'God Save The King', with all asked to respond: 'God Save King Charles. Long Live King Charles. May The King live for ever.'

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop's office, said: 'The Homage of the People is particularly exciting because that's brand new.

'That's something that we can share in because of technological advances, so not just the people in the Abbey, but people who are online, on television, who are listening, and who are gathered in parks, at big screens and churches.

'Our hope is at that point, when the Archbishop invites people to join in, that people wherever they are, if they're watching at home on their own, watching the telly, will say it out loud  this sense of a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King.'
Famously frosty Vogue editor Anna Wintour was caught sharing a heartfelt moment with her one-year-old grandson during the final Met Gala prep meeting.

Anna's daughter Bee Carrozzini shared the touching snap to her Instagram Stories on Monday morning - just hours before the editor is set to host the highly coveted gala.

The fashion queen, 73, who is well known for having a very icy demeanor, gave a rare glimpse of her vulnerable side as she cuddled up to the toddler in the sweet shot.

In the photo, Anna could be seen sitting in a gold chair at a long table with her grandson, named Oliver Sozzani Carrozzini, on her lap.

Famously frosty Vogue editor Anna Wintour was caught sharing a heartfelt moment with her one-year-old grandson during the final Met Gala prep meeting

Anna's daughter Bee Carrozzini shared the touching snap to her Instagram Stories on Monday morning - just hours before Anna is set to host the highly coveted gala

The fashion queen (seen last week), 73, who is well known for having a very icy demeanor, gave a rare glimpse of her vulnerable side as she cuddled up to the toddler in the sweet shot

The magazine editor, who donned a blue, floral, floor-length gown, appeared to be whispering in the youngster's ear as she held onto him tightly.

The Met Gala is set to kick off this evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Branded by some as the biggest night in fashion, the high-profile fundraising event has been hosted by Anna (seen at the Met Gala last year) for nearly 30 years now

'Final Met meeting,' Bee, 35, captioned it.

The Met Gala is set to kick off this evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Branded by some as the biggest night in fashion, the high-profile fundraising event has been hosted by Anna for nearly 30 years now.

Each year, on the first Monday of May, Hollywood's biggest celebrities stomp the red carpet in their most extravagant and lavish outfits, many of which are compulsively talked about by the public.

People from all around the world excitedly wait for the red carpet photos to hit the web, while the stars all try to outdo each other with their looks.

It's no secret that Anna is very particular when it comes to planning the event, and some even described her as 'militant' during the weeks leading up the gala while chatting to author Amy Odell in the book Anna: The Biography.

Amy spoke with various Met staffers and other people who have worked with Anna for the tome, which came out last May, and according to the writer, Anna doesn't learn Met staff names during the preparations - which begin six months prior to the party - but instead, she simply points and calls them 'you.'

Amy reported that Anna controls every aspect of the guest list, deciding who is 'in' and who is 'out.'

Each year, Hollywood's biggest stars stomp the red carpet in extravagant and lavish outfits. Beyonce (left), Zendaya (center), and Cardi B (right) are pictured at the Met Gala over the years

Some workers described Anna as 'militant' during the weeks leading up the gala while chatting to author Amy Odell in the book Anna: The Biography. She is seen in 2015

Amy spoke with various Met staffers, and according to the writer, Anna doesn't learn Met staff names during the preparations, but instead, she simply points and calls them 'you'

At the time, she said the 'out' list included Paris and Nicole Hilton, 'low-performing artists,' and any planners who angered her throughout the process.

As for the 'in' list, Amy stated that anyone whose 'success, power, creativity, and beauty is undeniable' is allowed to attend.

Some begin as 'in' and get moved to 'out' - like the late Andre Leon Talley, who worked with her at Vogue for many years, but later claimed their relationship left him with 'emotional and psychological scars.'

Others weren't allowed to come at first, but later made the list - like Kim Kardashian, who has attended every year since 2013.

And her decision on whether you're 'in' or 'out' extends further than the party. According to former director of Vogue and longtime friend of Anna's, named Lisa Love, once you're on Anna's bad side, you don't stand a chance of making your way back into her inner circle.

'If you get frozen by her, that's it. She's a Scorpio, you're done. It's that cold,' she said.

Amy reported that Anna controls every aspect of the guest list, deciding who is 'in' and who is 'out.' Anna is seen planning the 2015 Met Gala

Anna reportedly pays attention to every single detail throughout the night. Anna is seen planning the seating chart for the Met Gala in 2015

Former Met Gala planner Stephanie Winston Wolkoff explained that during the party, Anna usually insists that Vogue staff know every single detail about each celebrity's arrival

When it comes to the outfits, Amy reported that Anna encourages guests to wear over-the-top looks.

'It's that English part of her. She loves a dress-up party,' Lisa explained.

Former Met Gala planner Stephanie Winston Wolkoff explained that during the party, Anna usually insists that Vogue staff know every single detail about each celebrity's arrival - including when they're going to get there (every star has their own prearranged time), what car they're going to come in, and what they're wearing.

Anna reportedly pays attention to every single detail throughout the night. Lisa recalled the executive asking her during the 2019 Met Gala, 'Can you please tell Kim Kardashian to sit down?' when she noticed that the reality star was standing throughout the dinner.

Two other people close to Wintour recalled a time that she asked the Met to cover up the historical Temple of Dendur - a Roman Egyptian temple built in 15 B.C. which is on display at the museum - because she felt it didn't look good, and when they didn't agree, she decided to build a stage in front of it so that the guests wouldn't see it.
A Canadian mother who conceived twins with sperm from a stranger she met on Facebook is raising her daughters by herself after they were born premature.

Sarah Mangat, 34, from Toronto, wasn't sure she wanted to have children at first, but that all changed one morning in July 2020. Although she had been single for nearly eight years, she was suddenly ready to become a mom.

'I enjoyed being selfish and not being responsible for someone else. But that day I woke up and thought, "I want to have a baby now." It was so strange  like a flick switched and I was ready,' she said.

The HR business partner didn't want to wait for the right person to come into her life, so she decided she would use a sperm donor.

Sarah Mangat, 34, from Canada, was 27 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to premature twins Elora and Addison on April 30, 2022

The single mom had conceived her daughters using from a stranger she met on Facebook

However, when she started the process, she found the sperm banks to be 'too impersonal' and began exploring other options.

Through her research, she found the Facebook group 'Canadian Sperm Donors.'

'At the sperm bank, you can only meet them when your child turns 18,' she explained. 'But I wanted to know the person before that. I was already becoming a mom unconventionally  why not find the donor myself?'

Sarah spoke with a few people on the Facebook page and eventually found one she 'clicked' with.

In February 2021, she met him in person, and he agreed to undergo STI checks and genetic tests before becoming her sperm donor.

'Of course, I was a bit wary of meeting someone from online,' she said. 'I had a few weird messages. But made sure we met up in a public place and we got on really well.

'I knew he was the one to be my donor,' she added. 'We actually became quite good friends because we stuck with me through all my fertility issues.'

Sarah also joined Victory Reproductive Health Fertility Clinic in Ontario, where routine tests revealed she wasn't ovulating correctly.

She underwent 14 months of fertility tests and treatment that involved medically monitoring her cycle. She spent around $6,250 on hormonal injections to increase her fertility.

Sarah had her first full medicated cycle using the stranger's sperm in October 2021 and found out she was pregnant that November.

Sarah (pictured during her pregnancy) explained that she found her sperm donor on a Canadian Facebook group, and they have become 'good friends'

Sarah was nearly seven months pregnant when she went to the bathroom and saw blood in the toilet. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and went into labor the next day

Elora (pictured) was born at 6:38 p.m. and weighed 2 pounds, 20 ounces, while Addison arrived shortly after at 6:42 p.m., weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces

Six weeks into her pregnancy, she started experiencing severe cramping and was brought in for an early ultrasound. To her shock, she was told that she was expecting twins.

'I was so delighted, but the first trimester was terrible,' she said. 'I was so nauseous and barely able to keep any food down. I survived on French fries for weeks.'

At her 20-week checkup, doctors discovered that her cervix had shortened to one centimeter and was at risk of opening too early.

Sarah underwent a cervical stitch to prevent the babies from arriving too soon, but it only worked for two weeks. She was told that her twins could come at any time.

'The doctor asked me if I'd want them to try and save the babies' lives or just provide "comfort care," which was support if the babies didn't make it,' she said. 'I asked them to do anything they could to save them. Every day I was talking to my bump begging them to stay in longer.'

Sarah was 26 weeks and six days into her pregnancy when she went to the bathroom and saw the toilet was 'full of blood.'

She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and went into labor the next day, at exactly 27 weeks.

The expectant mom was given an epidural, and 36 hours later, she welcomed her daughters Elora and Addison two months early on April 30, 2022.

Elora was born at 6:38 p.m. and weighed 2 pounds, 20 ounces, while Addison arrived shortly after at 6:42 p.m., weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces.

'They were so tiny, literally all skin and bone,' she recalled. 'They looked like aliens. Both of them were wrapped in plastic to stay warm. I later found out that Addison had to be resuscitated, which was terrifying.'

The twins were rushed to the prenatal ward as medics fought to save their lives.

The twins fought for their lives in the hospital, but despite the odds stacked against them, they were discharged from nearly three months later

Sarah said her daughters had to wear helmets, but they are otherwise healthy and happy

'They're a year old now, and I can't believe they're mine,' Sarah said

Both twins had suffered from grade 1 bleeds on the brain and heart defects, and needed blood transfusions. They also had underdeveloped lungs and were on breathing machines for the first few months of their lives.

Without a partner, Sarah said she leaned on her mother, Jane, 63, for support.

'Every day I left the hospital at 5 p.m. and go home to an empty house,' she said. 'That was a difficult part about doing it by myself. I couldn't comfort them when they cried.

'Being there became my nine-to-five, and for the first few weeks my mom, Jane, went every day too. I couldn't have done it without her.'

Sarah was only able to hold one of her daughters at a time for a few hours a day, and in addition to their health struggles, Elora also developed a blood infection and a UTI.

However, despite the odds stacked against them, they were discharged from the hospital nearly three months later.

'They needed to wear a helmet because their heads are flattened, but otherwise [they are] doing great,' the mom said. 'It's really important to share my NICU journey  it was very traumatic. I know a lot of parents have been through this.'

Sarah admitted that she still has 'hard moments as one person with two babies,' but she doesn't have any regret about becoming a single mom.

'I had tried every dating app under the sun and wasn't meeting someone. You can't wait forever for the right person to come into your life,' she said. 'If you're thinking about doing it alone, I say do it. It's the best decision I ever made.

'I nearly had a heart attack when they told me there were two. But I can't imagine my life without my daughters.'

Sarah added that she is still stunned that she is a mother of two.

'They're a year old now, and I can't believe they're mine.'
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From over-the-top ruffles and eye-popping colors to clashing patterns and weirdly-shaped frocks, the 2023 Met Gala was filled with a slew of sartorial nightmares and fashion fails.

The annual star-studded ball, which is hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, has become one of the most talked about and coveted events of the year.

Branded by some as the biggest night in fashion, a slew of A-listers take to the red carpet in their most exquisite and glamorous looks on the first Monday of May every year.

However, many of Hollywood's most elite totally missed the mark with their bizarre outfit choices at the glittering soiree this year - including Florence Pugh, Jennifer Lopez, Janelle Monae and Amanda Seyfried.

Meanwhile Ariana DeBose, Kate Moss, Irina Shayk, Rachel Brosnahan, Kim Petras, Jenna Ortega, and Cara Delevingne also opted for bizarre ensembles which failed to impress.

From over-the-top ruffles and eye-popping colors to clashing patterns and weirdly-shaped frocks, the 2023 Met Gala was filled with a slew of sartorial nightmares. Doja Cat (left), Janelle Monae (center), and Florence Pugh (right) are seen

Actress and singer Janelle led the worst dressed list at the 2023 Met Gala - opting for a bizarre, nearly naked look

The Glass Onion star wore a pair of black, sparkling underwear and a matching bra, with a cone-like, see-through piece of fabric on top

Janelle then added a black and white jacket on top of the wacky ensemble later on in the evening

Lil Nas X showed up to the event completely bedazzled in silver sparkles, donning only a pair of ankle boots, underwear, and body paint

Wow! Lil Nas X put on a quirky display as he attended the Met Gala 2023 on Monday night at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City

Ensemble: The rapper, 24, left little to the imagination in a metallic thong and silver body paint for the event where the theme was to honour Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld

Florence ensured all eyes would be on her with a huge feather headpiece

Bold: Florence made a dramatic entrance on the red carpet at the 2023 Met Gala in New York City on Monday evening

Dramatic: The actress, 27, made sure all eyes were on her in a bold black tall wired hat which boasted feathered detailing

Head turning: The Don't Worry Darling star backless garment boasted a long black ribbon which was tied into a neat bow around her busty

What the frock? Alexa Chung's gown contained a series of bizarre ruffles and bows that just didn't work

Too OTT? Former model and presenter Alexa opted for an unusual white outfit covered in ruffles and bows for the night at the museum

Cat vibes: Jared Leto took the Met Gala theme of Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty to a whole new level, dressing up as the late fashion designer's beloved cat, Choupette

Unmasked: Leto, 51, hit the red carpet in a full-body white furry cat suit, taking off the large head to pose for photographers on Monday evening

Why: While speaking with ET on the red carpet, Leto explained why he decided to dress up as the late designer's cat

Rachel Brosnahan wore a nearly-naked dress that was see-through from the waist up - but it used black jewels to cover her nipples

Sheer beauty! The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star, 32, left little to the imagination in a sheer black mesh Sergio Hudson gown with sequin nipple pasties built-in

Inspired by Karl: The actress wore gothic glam inspired by Karl Lagerfeld's work with Chanel in the '90s

Busty: The songstress, 53, looked chic in a color block black and pink gown which revealed her cleavage and taut midriff with its racy cut-out detail

Siren: The dress cinched in at her trim waist, was paired with black gloves and boasted two dramatic trains

Jennifer Lopez bared it all at the event. Her gown contained two pieces of fabric that went across her chest and an eye-popping floral neckpiece. She completed the look with velvet gloves and a dramatic hat

Doja Cat! Doja Cat transformed into a feline with striking facial prosthetics as she made an unrecognizable turn on the red carpet at the 2023 Met Gala on Monday

Doja Cat opted for a silver dress with feathers at the bottom - and she had her makeup done so that she resembled an actual cat. The feline-look included heavy eyeliner and prosthetics around her nose

The cat's whiskers: The star's gown featured cute cat ears and a glittering open back, with the dress flowing into a dramatic ruffled train

Actress and singer Janelle led the worst dressed list at the 2023 Met Gala - opting for a bizarre, nearly naked look.

The Glass Onion star wore a pair of black, sparkling underwear and a matching bra, which she paired with a cone-like, see-through piece of fabric on top. She added a black and white jacket on top of the wacky ensemble later on in the evening.

West Side Story actress Ariana came in a close second - donning a bizarre, zip-up yellow dress with fur sleeves. The unflattering frock featured an odd ruffle along the waistline and a black cape-like piece on the back.

Amanda opted for a very revealing gown that was made out of a bunch of strings, while Florence ensured all eyes would be on her with a huge feather headpiece.

West Side Story actress Ariana came in a close second - donning a bizarre, zip-up yellow dress with fur sleeves

The unflattering frock featured an odd ruffle along the waistline and a black cape-like piece on the back

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega's look was certainly memorable - for all the wrong reasons

Paying homage: This year's theme for the annual fundraiser held at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art was 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' and Jenna's outfit paid homage to the late designer with its black-and-white look and heavy jewelry that were typically featured in his designs

Glam goth: Jenna Ortega opted for the glam goth look with Wednesday Addams style on Monday while attending the 2023 Met Gala in New York City

Cara Delevingne wore an extremely low-cut gown with strange, boxy sleeves - which she paired with thigh-high leg warmers

Longtime Chanel muse! Cara emulated her 'dear friend' Karl Lagerfeld in honor of the star-studded opening of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition A Line of Beauty, dedicated to his designs, in Manhattan on Monday

Fan it out! The Carnival Row star donned a white custom Karl Lagerfeld mini shirt-dress, black thigh-high leg warmers, matching stilettos, fingerless gloves, and Chrome Hearts jewelry selected by styling duo Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn

Olivia Rodrigo totally missed the mark with her bizarre outfit choice

Priyanka Chopra-Jonas (left) and Gigi Hadid (right) also made the worst-dressed list year

Fashion fail! Amanda Seyfried opted for a very revealing gown that was made out of a bunch of strings

Viola Davis' bright pink gown - which boasted a huge, feather piece in the center - was a little too much

Kim Petras wore shiny boots with sky-high heels, which she paired with a bizarre black and white gown

Ready for bed: Model Kate Moss was seen on the red carpet in something that resembled a nightgown

Irina Shayk's ensemble contained a series of strange ruffles that made it look more like a rolled up curtain than a gown

Model Kate was seen on the red carpet in something that resembled a nightgown, and Irina's ensemble contained a series of strange ruffles that made it look like a rolled up curtain rather than a dress.

Wednesday star Jenna's look was certainly memorable - but for all the wrong reasons. She walked the carpet in a corset dress with a series of eye-popping ruffles.

Jennifer bared it all at the event - her gown contained two pieces of fabric that went across her chest, as well as an eye-popping floral neckpiece.

As for Rachel, she wore a nearly-naked dress that was see-through from the waist up - but used black jewels to cover her nipples - while Kim was seen in bedazzled boots with sky-high heels, which she paired with a bizarre black and white gown.

TV personality Christine Chiu paired her dress with a feather cape that she draped around her neck

Model Karen Elson also made the worst-dressed list thanks to her sheer, black gown - which contained sporadic floral embellishments throughout

Actress Phillipa Soo wore a black-and-white polka dotted gown, which boasted an awkward neckline and feathers throughout

Saturday Night Live alum Chloe Fineman opted for an over-the-top pink, sparkly gown with enormous black roses and sheer sleeves

Actor Harvey Guillen also chose to wear something with huge flower pieces - walking the carpet in a pink, flowing ensemble

Designer Diane von Furstenberg wore a dress that resembled a cross-word puzzle

Too many ruffles! Vera Wang opted for a two-piece look which totally missed the mark. It contained a small, black tank top and a huge tan skirt

French actress Marion Cotillard's silver, sparkling dress came complete with long, flowing ruffle pieces that hung awkwardly off the sides

Rapper Yung Miami ensured all eyes were on her black ensemble - which contained a bizarre piece of fabric that wrapped around her head

Gabrielle Union chose to wear a bright red trench coat over her floor-length gown

Model Quannah Chasinghorse was seen in a pink, ruffled dress with triangular cut-outs and an eye-popping pair of black gloves

Olivia Wilde (left) faced a fashion fail when she and Vogue China editor Margaret Zhang (right) showed up in the same dress. The ensemble included a violin-shaped gold embellishment on the front, which Olivia paired with matching arm pieces

Josh Groban's wife Natalie McQueen's dress was a miss - thanks to its strange bows and awkward frumps

Actress Kelsey Asbille Chow's little red number wasn't the most flattering thanks to its awkward shape

Model Grace Elizabeth's eye-popping pink dress was a little too bright

Both Jared Leto and Doja Cat came dressed up like felines - seemingly a tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld's pet cat, Choupette.

Actress Phillipa Soo wore a strange, black-and-white polka dotted gown, which boasted an awkward neckline and feathers throughout.

Saturday Night Live alum Chloe Fineman walked the carpet in an over-the-top pink, sparkly gown with enormous black roses and sheer sleeves.

Olivia Wilde faced a fashion fail when she and Vogue China editor Margaret Zhang showed up in the same dress. The ensemble included a strange guitar-shaped gold embellishment on the front, which Olivia paired with matching arm pieces.

Others who made it onto the worst-dressed list included Olivia Rodrigo, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, and Gigi Hadid, among others.
They walked arm-in-arm on the carpet, while Anna donned a white and yellow patterned gown

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Vogue editor Anna Wintour seemingly confirmed her romance with Bill Nighy as she arrived arm-in-arm with the British actor at the Met Gala on Monday evening.

Anna, 73, and Bill, also 73, first sparked dating rumors in 2021, when they enjoyed several romantic dinners together in Italy.

They were also seen cozying up at a special screening of his film Living in New York last December - and now, the pair seemed to make a statement by walking the red carpet at the Met Gala side-by-side.

Anna, who has been hosting the event for nearly 30 years, donned a white, patterned Chanel couture dress on the carpet, while Bill opted for a simple, dark suit.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour seemingly confirmed her romance with Bill Nighy as she arrived arm-in-arm with the British actor at the Met Gala on Monday evening

Anna, 73, and Bill, also 73, first sparked dating rumors in 2021, when they enjoyed several romantic dinners together in Italy - and now, the pair made a statement by walking the red carpet at the Met Gala side-by-side

Anna, who has been hosting the event for nearly 30 years, donned a white, patterned Chanel couture dress on the carpet, while Bill opted for a simple, dark suit

The tiered gown included dazzling silver embellishments and gold and purple swirl-like designs. She paired the look with silver strappy heels

Anna held tightly on to her beau's arm as they posed for photographs together

It seems Anna and Bill have known each other for many years - as the pair have been spotted together at numerous fashion shows, theatres, and restaurants since 2015

The tiered gown included dazzling silver embellishments and gold and purple swirl-like designs. She paired the look with silver strappy heels. Anna held tightly on to her beau's arm as they posed for photographs together.

It seems Anna and Bill have known each other for many years - as the pair have been spotted together at numerous fashion shows, theatres, and restaurants since 2015.

They were first linked romantically in the summer of 2021, when they were spotted on a series of dates together in Rome.

On one occasion, the pair was seen wrapping their arms around each other before sitting down to enjoy an al-fresco meal. And during another dinner, Bill was photographed gifting Anna roses.

The couple reportedly became close following Anna's split from her partner 16 years, Shelby Bryan, in October 2020.

Meanwhile, Bill's last known relationship was with English actress Diana Quick. The couple struck up a romance in 1980 and welcomed a daughter - Mary Nighy - in 1984. They were together for 28 years before they separated in 2008.

Hours before the Met kicked off, the famously frosty editor was caught sharing a heartfelt moment with her one-year-old grandson during the final Met Gala prep meeting.

Anna's daughter Bee Carrozzini shared the touching snap to her Instagram Stories on Monday morning.

They were first linked romantically in the summer of 2021, when they were spotted on a series of dates together in Rome

The couple reportedly became close following Anna's split from her partner 16 years, Shelby Bryan, in October 2020

Hours earlier, the famously frosty editor was caught sharing a heartfelt moment with her one-year-old grandson during the final Met Gala prep meeting

Anna's daughter Bee Carrozzini (seen with Anna when she was little) shared the touching snap to her Instagram Stories on Monday morning

The fashion queen, who is well known for having a very icy demeanor, gave a rare glimpse of her vulnerable side as she cuddled up to the toddler in the sweet shot.

In the photo, Anna could be seen sitting in a gold chair at a long table with her grandson, named Oliver Sozzani Carrozzini, on her lap.

Anna (seen at a press conference this morning), 73, who is well known for having a very icy demeanor, gave a rare glimpse of her vulnerable side as she cuddled up to the toddler

The magazine editor, who donned a blue, floral, floor-length gown, appeared to be whispering in the youngster's ear as she held onto him tightly.

'Final Met meeting,' Bee, 35, captioned it.

Branded by some as the biggest night in fashion, the Met Gala takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Each year, on the first Monday of May, Hollywood's biggest celebrities stomp the red carpet in their most extravagant and lavish outfits, many of which are compulsively talked about by the public.

People from all around the world excitedly wait for the red carpet photos to hit the web, while the stars all try to outdo each other with their looks.

It's no secret that Anna is very particular when it comes to planning the event, and some even described her as 'militant' during the weeks leading up the gala while chatting to author Amy Odell in the book Anna: The Biography.

Amy spoke with various Met staffers and other people who have worked with Anna for the tome, which came out last May, and according to the writer, Anna doesn't learn Met staff names during the preparations - which begin six months prior to the party - but instead, she simply points and calls them 'you.'

Amy reported that Anna controls every aspect of the guest list, deciding who is 'in' and who is 'out.'

At the time, she said the 'out' list included Paris and Nicole Hilton, 'low-performing artists,' and any planners who angered her throughout the process.

As for the 'in' list, Amy stated that anyone whose 'success, power, creativity, and beauty is undeniable' is allowed to attend.

Some begin as 'in' and get moved to 'out' - like the late Andre Leon Talley, who worked with her at Vogue for many years, but later claimed their relationship left him with 'emotional and psychological scars.'

Some workers described Anna as 'militant' during the weeks leading up the gala while chatting to author Amy Odell in the book Anna: The Biography. She is seen in 2015

Amy spoke with various Met staffers, and according to the writer, Anna doesn't learn Met staff names during the preparations, but instead, she simply points and calls them 'you'

Amy reported that Anna controls every aspect of the guest list, deciding who is 'in' and who is 'out.' Anna is seen planning the 2015 Met Gala

Anna reportedly pays attention to every single detail throughout the night. Anna is seen planning the seating chart for the Met Gala in 2015

Others weren't allowed to come at first, but later made the list - like Kim Kardashian, who has attended every year since 2013.

And her decision on whether you're 'in' or 'out' extends further than the party. According to former director of Vogue and longtime friend of Anna's, named Lisa Love, once you're on Anna's bad side, you don't stand a chance of making your way back into her inner circle.

'If you get frozen by her, that's it. She's a Scorpio, you're done. It's that cold,' she said.

When it comes to the outfits, Amy reported that Anna encourages guests to wear over-the-top looks.

'It's that English part of her. She loves a dress-up party,' Lisa explained.

Former Met Gala planner Stephanie Winston Wolkoff explained that during the party, Anna usually insists that Vogue staff know every single detail about each celebrity's arrival - including when they're going to get there (every star has their own prearranged time), what car they're going to come in, and what they're wearing.

Anna reportedly pays attention to every single detail throughout the night. Lisa recalled the executive asking her during the 2019 Met Gala, 'Can you please tell Kim Kardashian to sit down?' when she noticed that the reality star was standing throughout the dinner.

Two other people close to Wintour recalled a time that she asked the Met to cover up the historical Temple of Dendur - a Roman Egyptian temple built in 15 B.C. which is on display at the museum - because she felt it didn't look good, and when they didn't agree, she decided to build a stage in front of it so that the guests wouldn't see it.
American fast food chain Wendy's is set to open 'hundreds' of restaurants across Australia.

Despite launching into a competitive market, the company has big plans for its expansion Down Under.

The chain, which has more than 7000 locations worldwide, is best known for its square hamburgers, French fries and 'Frosty' frozen dairy desserts. It's also America's third biggest burger behind McDonald's and Burger King.

Eager customers have posted videos online to share their excitement, although where the first restaurant location will be is yet to be decided.

Wendy's wants to open hundreds of stores in Australia and will have meetings with possible major franchisee holders this week

While hundreds seemed thrilled about the announcement others were sceptical.

Followers of the Daily Mail Australia TikTok page shared their thoughts on the matter, with one person writing: 'I feel like this is going to be similar to when Starbucks tried to come here.'

More than 800 people agreed with the stance and liked the comment.

'I don't think these American companies understand Australia has a high standard for its food so I don't know how well it will do,' another wrote.

A third claimed: 'I feel like it'll be like Five Guys - overpriced and inedible.'

One happy customer wrote: 'We need a change from KFC, Macca's and Hungry Jacks.'

Another impatient customer said: 'YES hurry up Wendy's.'

Earlier this year Wendy's chief development officer Abigail Pringle held virtual meetings with potential franchisee investors about the plan to crack into the market.

Wendy's is best known for its square burgers, French fries and 'Frosty' dessert. A location is yet to be decided on - leaving foodies waiting in anticipation

The US$4.8billion (AUD $7.26billion) company wants to raise global restaurant numbers by 1,500 over the next two years and is eyeing Australia as a prime expansion market.

It differentiates itself from McDonald's and Hungry Jack's by having a strictly made-to-order policy and does not keep food warm using heat lamps.

'We believe Australia is a lucrative market for long-term growth. We think that the Australian market could be hundreds of restaurants,' Ms Pringle told The Australian Financial Review.

Ms Pringle, based in the Columbus, Ohio headquarters, has been with Wendy's for 21 years and said the burger chain could even offer incentive's such as co-investment to entice Australian franchisees.

'We are putting money on our balance sheet, we are finding the land, we are designing, building and handing you the keys... We haven't yet said that we're going to do that in Australia, but all I would share with you is we are actively doing that in the US and in Canada.'

Chief development officer Abigail Pringle (pictured) said Australia is a lucrative market and the company coudl offer incentives such as co-investment to get the ball rolling

There is no set opening date or location for the first restaurant but with the Australian fast food market to expand by 32 per cent to $8.7billion over the next five years, according to Euromonitor data, Wendy's is keen to get the ball rolling.

'We have to be careful with what that timeline is exactly because we want to pick the right partner. And that takes a little bit of time. But we think that we can have hundreds of restaurants in the market over time.'

Ms Pringle said Wendy's is looking at a master franchisee model in Australia - which means a partner company that would handle most of the Australian business.

Established examples includes Collins Foods which operates KFC and Taco Bell or Restaurant Brands which runs Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr.

She also said the company will partner with local producers and farmers to serve up quality Australian ingredients.

American franchise Wendy's is planning to open its first Australian store. The fast food chain first opened in Ohio on November 15, 1969

Founder Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy's in Ohio on November 15, 1969 - and since then it's become a global success.

The menu also offers chicken sandwiches, nuggets, vegetarian options, breakfast sandwiches, salads, along with an interesting range of sides - including chili con carne and stuffed potatoes.

Wendy's recently expanded to the UK and Ireland and can be found across Europe, Asia and throughout the United States.

The menu also offers chicken sandwiches, nuggets, vegetarian options, breakfast sandwiches, salads, along with an interesting range of sides - including chili con carne and stuffed potatoes

It follows after cult restaurants Five Guys and Carl's Jr expanded to Australia.

Five Guys has opened a second Australian store in the heart of the Sydney CBD.

It is a family-run burgers and fries joint that started in America in 1986, offering a menu all made from scratch.

Now, decades after Five Guys first opened, there are locations across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, along with Australia, and a planned expansion into New Zealand.

The first store opened in Penrith, 50 minutes west from the Sydney CBD, on September 20 last year.

Carl's Jr launched in Australia in 2016 and has said it wants to open 200 restaurants across Australia by 2030.
The mother of the UK's most premature twins says they are going from 'strength to strength' a year after coming home from hospital.

Harley and Harry Crane, from Derbyshire, were given zero per cent chance of survival when they were born in October 2021 at 22 weeks and five days - more than a week before the usual abortion limit.

But the tough siblings beat the odds and came home after 140 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Now 17 months old, the pair are happy and healthy at home. And a year after leaving hospital mother Jade Crane, 41, said she finally no longer feels scared and knows her miracle babies are 'staying here'.

Harley, who was born a tiny 500g, is now a 'crazy' 24lb and is standing up. Her brother Harry was born weighing 520g and has now reached 20lb. He is a little behind developmentally, but is 'trying to crawl around'.

Harry and Harley Crane were born at at 22 weeks and five days in October 2021 and came home to Heanor, Derbyshire, after 140 days in the neonatal intensive care unit, but are now going strong

Parents Jade and Steve, 53, who works in sales, said they couldn't be prouder of their twins and were looking forward to their future.

Jade, a former mental health nurse and addiction counsellor, said: 'We are so blessed and lucky to have them doing so well.

'It's so crazy. Last year we were really scared. It was totally new to us. They're here and they are staying here. I feel confident in that now.

'They have gone from strength to strength. Their personalities haven't changed since birth.

'Harley is the feisty one and Harry was Mr Laid-Back. That's how they are now, but amplified. They love each other.'

Jade and Steve had 11 years of fertility treatment before two implanted embryos on the eighth cycle of IVF resulted in twins.

She said: 'I couldn't let myself believe it. I was so fearful of a miscarriage or something going wrong.

'I literally didn't do anything during the pregnancy as a result.'

The pair, pictured in the neonatal intensive care unit after birth, were given zero per cent chance of survival, but grew from strength to strength

Jade, pictured with her husband Steve and Harry and Harley, said she now knows her babies are here to stay, after months in which they had to fight for their lives in hospital

EXPLAINED: PREMATURE BIRTH AND ITS RISKS TO BABIES Around 10 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide result in premature labour - defined as a delivery before 37 weeks. When this happens, not all of the baby's organs, including the heart and lungs, will have developed. They can also be underweight and smaller. Tommy's, a charity in the UK, says this can mean so-called preemies 'are not ready for life outside the womb'. Premature birth is the largest cause of neonatal mortality in the US and the UK, according to figures. Babies born early account for around 1,500 deaths each year in the UK. In the US, premature birth and its complications account for 17 per cent of infant deaths. Babies born prematurely are often whisked away to neonatal intensive care units, where they are looked after around the clock. What are the chances of survival? Less than 22 weeks is close to zero chance of survival

22 weeks is around 10%

24 weeks is around 60%

27 weeks is around 89%

31 weeks is around 95%

34 weeks is equivalent to a baby born at full term Advertisement

'I was still in disbelief when we got to 20 weeks, and I hadn't even hit my third trimester when I went into labour, so we hadn't bought anything.'

After leaking fluid, Jade went to Queens Medical Hospital, Nottingham, to get checked in October 2021.

An internal examination revealed she was experiencing a premature rupture of membranes - in which the foetal membranes rupture before the onset of labour.

At 22 weeks pregnant, the mother feared the twins wouldn't survive.

She said: 'They told me they were going to admit me but that I was probably having a miscarriage.

'The doctor kept saying it was a miscarriage, but I said it couldn't be because I could feel the babies moving.

'I knew they were OK but was being told they wouldn't survive at this gestation.'

Abortion law in the UK states that women can terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks in most cases - and doctors are not required to medically intervene before.

Luckily for Jade, Queen's Medical Centre, where she was being treated, is a teaching hospital and doctors intervene with babies born 23 weeks and later, she said.

At the time of going into labour, on October 26, 2021, Jade was still 30 hours away from the 23 week mark - but doctors chose to intervene, she said.

Jade said: 'My babies were given a zero per cent chance of survival.

'They were alive, moving around, and they cried. Their little cries sounded like a tiny kitten.'

Little Harley and Harry were intubated and taken to the neonatal intensive care unit where they remained on ventilators.

Jade with the two babies in the neonatal intensive care unit where they fought for their lives for 140 days before being discharged and sent home

Harry, left and Harley, right, enjoying playtime together at home. Jade said Harley would be walking soon

The twins battled chronic lung disease, a serious gastrointestinal problem called necrotizing enterocolitis and had many operations.

Harley had to have a stoma bag fitted, which has since been removed, and Harry received injections in his eyes to help prevent premature blindness.

Harry came home on March 6 last year and Harley joined him a week later.

Jade said: 'I'm so proud of my babies - they're little fighters.'

Aside from a week back in the hospital when Harley contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the twins are doing well, and both came off oxygen in July last year.

Jade said: 'It was an anxious time. You expect them to be back in hospital. A week later Harley was - with RSV.

'But we've had nothing further despite the bag being packed and ready to go..'

The twins' corrected age is 13 months old and Harley is on track with her milestones.

Jade said: 'She's standing up. She'll walk soon. I'm really happy with that.

'Harry shows a few more delays. We have concerns over Harry potentially having a mild form of cerebral palsy.

'He's trying to crawl around. He's a bit more behind but Harley will drag him along.'

The family won't get an official diagnosis until Harry is two, but Jade feels 'lucky' her twins are doing so well.

The pair display strong personalities, with Harry being laid back and his twin sister being more 'feisty,' Jade said

Harry and Harley playing together at home. The pair made it home in March last year after months in hospital

She said: 'Back then they said they'll have no quality of life.

'I remember I asked will they be able to feel love - at the time that's all that mattered.

'Harley's the happiest baby you've ever met. She's a charmer, smiley and very interactive. Harry's a bit more serious.'

Jade and Steve celebrated the twins' one-year anniversary of coming home by visiting the hospital.

She said: 'It's a home from home for us. We saw a lot of the nurses - they love it.

'I always have that "what if"; it's the PTSD of it all.

'But we're so looking forward to summer days out and putting them in a paddling pool for the first time.'
A mum has issued a warning after she was followed by a man in a ute for 20 minutes while she was driving with her son in the back of the car.

Kalinda was left shaken by the terrifying ordeal that occurred after she saw a man winking and raising his eyebrows at her while they were both waiting at a red light.

The driver started following her, copying her every move, and eventually stopped his pursuit as other drivers started honking their horn at him.

'Girls be aware, I don't know what his intentions were but he pretty much only p***ed off because other cars started beeping at him,' the mum-of-one said.

Kalinda said she was driving in Brisbane when she noticed the man in a dark grey Mitsubishi ute next to her at the traffic lights.

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Kalinda (pictured) said a man started following her while she was driving with her young son. 'He just kept staring at me making the seediest looking faces,' she said

Kalinda, who is a pharmacist and business owner, said she was driving in Brisbane when she noticed the man in a dark grey Mitsubishi ute next to her at the traffic lights

'He just kept staring at me making the seediest looking faces, winking, raising his eyebrows so I just wound up the window and tried to ignore it,' she said.

Kalinda said the driver started to go in the same direction as her and slow down and speed up at the same time and she decided to head to her nearest police station.

'The whole time he's driving, he just keeps looking at me into the car, it was just really creepy,' she recounted.

She came to an intersection with two lanes, one for those turning left and another for drivers turning right.

The driver started following her, copying her every move, and eventually stopped his pursuit as other drivers started honking their horn at him but was left 'shaken' by the ordeal

'I decided to go right and then at the very last minute, I cross over the white line to go left. He does the exact same thing,' she said.

After the man continued to follow Kalinda, she decided to quickly dodge into a toll road tunnel but he stayed on her tail.

'We go into this toll tunnel, I then slow down to 40, he then slows down to 40 still up my a**. I speed up, he speeds up, this just kept going on and on and on,' she said.

The man continued to match Kalinda's speed to stay beside her, blocking other cars from getting around them in the two-lane tunnel.

'He's making the creepiest looking faces. My son in the back is getting really scared then my son says 'Mum, he's waving his phone at you'. I just refused to look at him, I kept driving,' Kalinda said.

'Other cars started beeping at us because there were only two lanes in this tunnel and we were blocking off the whole tunnel.'

Thankfully for Kalinda, the other cars' frustrated horns deterred the man and he went on his way.

Five defensive steps to take if followed by a car while driving Keep calm (use your brain and not your accelerator) Confirm you're being followed Contact help Use a location app when you drive Get to a busy public space (ideally a local police station) Source: pd.com.au Advertisement

'I don't know if he was trying to get my number by waving his phone but I had a ring on my finger my son was in the back, he was crying,' she said.

'I was getting really stressed out so you would know we were not interested. I refused to look at him.'

Kalinda shared the scary incident in a TikTok video that racked up more than 236,500 views in less than 24 hours.

Many were shocked by the driver's behaviour and offered their advice for what people should do if they find themselves in a similar scenario.

'NEVER play car tag or go home. Drive to nearest police station, fire station or even Bunnings timber drive-in etc,' one woman commented.

'There are cameras all in the tunnel if you report it they should be able to get footage of this,' another said.

'If it ever happens again, make sure your car doors are locked and drive to the nearest police station,' a third added.

'If you don't know where the nearest police station is an option is call a family member or friend and ask them to find it for you while on the phone,' suggested a fourth.
And so he continues, pint in hand, waxing lyrical about the state of the nation. Your ears are tired. Your attention has long since left the pub.

It was an innocuous nod that drew you in, half an hour later and you're still there, cemented to the sticky floor, hoping for an opening to politely slip away.

The landlord catches your eye, frowns. In this briefest of windows you mime the classic 'he's had one too many' gesture. What happens next could surprise you...

There is a little-known UK law that means Brits could be breaking the law by being in the pub - but how often bar staff are motivated to use it is another question.

If you are not aware of this age-old law that stems from the Metropolitan Act of 1839, you face being slapped with a 200 fine (File image)

This comes as pub chains such as Wetherspoons, Greene King and Fullers have announced they are looking at extending their opening hours for the King's Coronation

With pub chains like Wetherspoons, Greene King and Fullers all looking to extend their opening hours for the King's Coronation , having a few pints might seem like harmless thing.

But if you're not aware of this age-old law, you risk being hit with a 200 fine.

According to solicitors at Britton and Time there's 'one weird UK law' that many people don't know about.

And, it all stems from the Metropolitan Act of 1839.

A spokesman the London and Hove-based firm says: 'A weird UK law, which may come as a big shock to many is the fact youre not actually allowed to be drunk in a pub.

'According to the Metropolitan Act of 1839, its against the law for the keeper of a public house to permit drunkenness on-premises.'

The spokesman continued that under a different Act, it is also illegal to serve people when they are already inebriated.

Pubs and nightclubs routinely break a law which says they should refuse to serve people who are already drunk, research has claimed.

A 2014 study - carried out by a team at the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention at Liverpool John Moores University - sent actors to 73 pubs, bars and clubs in the north west of England and ordered a vodka and coke in a 'loud, slurred' voice.

Some 84% of the time they were served - with the success rate rising to 94 per cent on Friday nights and 96% after midnight.

The spcontinued: 'Under the Licensing Act 2003, its also illegal to serve acholic beverages to patrons who are already intoxicated or purchase alcohol on behalf of someone who is already drunk.

'So, if you leave the house and drink over three to four pints, you might be facing a 200 fine.'

This comes as Wetherspoons announced that it will open for an hour longer on Sunday, 7 May, to allow visitors more time to drink in one of their 844 pubs following King Charles' coronation ceremony.

The pubs that close at 10pm will be allowed to stay open until 11pm, whilst others can stay open until 12am or 1am, depending upon each venue's licence.

Meanwhile, pub chains such as Greene King and Fullers have said that some of their pubs will also be extending their opening hours for the occasion, according to The Sun.

But the drinking law is not the only one that people in the UK unknowingly break - perhaps even daily.
Nurses have been accused of risking patients' lives during today's strike.

Thousands of nursing staff in half of England's hospitals, mental health and community services began the 28-hour walkout last night.

Last-minute talks between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and NHS England agreed 'to protect life and limb services' with the union allowing nurses to provide a minimal level of staffing in intensive care and trauma.

But NHS England told patients to expect major 'disruptions and delays to services' with nurses in emergency, critical care and cancer care allowed to walk out for the first time.

Chief nurse Dame Ruth May said: 'These mitigations do not represent a return to standard staffing.

General secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Pat Cullen (pictured) said on Sunday that measures were in place to keep patients safe after concerns were raised on the impact of the strike action on emergency services

Most RCN members will strike until 11.59pm tonight, despite some receiving WhatsApp messages from hospital bosses offering up to quadruple their normal hourly rates (Pictured: Previous protest in April)

'The industrial action will still have a very significant impact on services during the strike period and patients can expect to see longer waits for care.

'The public should use the NHS wisely, with those needing non-urgent care using pharmacies and 111 online as their first port of call.'

The walkout began at 8pm yesterday and will end at midnight, following a court ruling that a second day of action would be unlawful.

Doctors are being encouraged to join nurses on the picket lines by the British Medical Association, with the number of rescheduled appointments from all strike action set to hit half a million this week.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, which represents hospitals, said he was 'very worried' over the impact of strikes on hospital services.

He said: 'I think this will be the strike that has the biggest impact of all the strikes we've seen in this last six months.

'There have been real concerns about the risks to patients. The RCN have responded to the requests that have been made to them to encourage staff in certain areas  our areas caring for our sickest patients.

'That's very welcome indeed and that will make a difference. But we are very worried about the impact that it's having.'

A meeting between ministers, unions and NHS leaders will be held tomorrow where it is expected a 5 per cent pay deal offered to NHS staff in England will be accepted by the majority of the unions.

Ministers accused the RCN of being 'disrespectful' to other unions by going ahead with today's strike and encouraged members to accept the pay deal.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said last night the impact left by the nurses' strikes 'will be felt for generations to come'.

She vowed to 'defend our patients and our NHS for as long as it takes'.

Striking NHS staff will stage a protest march in London today.

Unite said the demonstration will pass Parliament and go to Trafalgar Square.
Botox and fillers used to be the must-haves for anyone wanting to avoid wrinkles and simultaneously boast a Hollywood-esque pout.

But data suggests Brits are now starting to fall out of love with the injectable age-defying procedures.

Data from plastic surgeons reveals there was a 7.5 per cent drop in the number of cosmetic facial procedures performed in the UK in 2023, compared to the previous year.

Glamorous celebrities and reality stars have often been cited as igniting the trend among women to get both Botox and fillers.

But now they are leading a trend dubbed the 'make-under' movement

Friends sensation Courteney Cox, Love Island influencers Molly-Mae Hague and Faye Winter, The Only Way Is Essex star Megan McKenna, and Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry have all paraded jaw-dropping transformations since getting their fillers dissolved.

Former Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague has documented getting her fillers removed since 2020, having those in her lips and jaw dissolved has also spoken about how 'blessed' she feels that she able to 'fix' the excessive amount of filler she put into her face. Here she is shown pre-having the fillers removed in 2019 (left) and post (right) in May 2022

Former TOWIE star Megan McKenna said: 'I look back and I do look at myself and I think, "What was I even thinking?"' regarding her past obsession with lip fillers and said getting them dissolved was was one of the 'best choices' she has ever made. Pictured left is the ex-reality TV star with lip filler in 2018 and on the right in 2021

Fellow former Love Islander Faye Winter has also spoken about her regrets from cosmetic facial injections, saying she felt she 'ruined her face' by using so much lip filler. Here the influencer is shown during her stint on Love Island in 2021 (left) and in January this year (right) after getting the filler reversed

Campaigners have said celebrities' stories of regret over their cosmetic injections are undoubtedly inspiring other Brits to do the same.

But they added many young Brits may still be seeking the procedures from cheaper unregulated sources, and setting themselves up for similar regrets in the future, but without the funds to reverse it.

Botox is the most recognised brand of Botulinum toxin, a powerful substance used to paralyse facial muscles with the aim of reducing wrinkles.

Fillers, on the other hand, are substances injected into your face which fill lines and wrinkles and add volume to areas like the lips or cheeks.

Neither is permanent. Botox can cost up to 350, while fillers can come with a 700 price-tag, depending on the extent and location of the treatment.

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Courteney has famously spoken about her regrets of getting Botox and facial fillers and has since had them dissolved to return to a more natural look.

The Scream VI star's artificial look in 2015 sparked alarm and she has since said she 'didn't realize' how 'strange' she looked.

Now 58, Courteney has said, while she initially tried to beat the clock with various facial injections, she is thankful they could be reversed, allowing her to age gracefully.

Influencer Molly-Mae, who rose to fame on reality dating show Love Island, has also spoken about how 'blessed' she feels that she able to 'fix' the excessive amount of filler she put into her face.

Now 23, she first got her lips done when she was just 18-years-old.

She has said this sparked a 'vicious circle' of topping up the treatment.

The new mum, who gave birth to her daughter Bambi in January with partner Tommy Fury, famously documented herself getting her filler dissolved in 2020.

Speaking in May last year, Molly-Mae said she looked five years younger after getting her lip and jaw filler dissolved.

Fellow Love Islander Faye Winter has also spoken about her regrets from cosmetic facial injections, saying she felt she 'ruined her face' by using so much lip filler.

'They obviously became massive... the only feature you could see on my face was my protruding lips,' she said.

'I always had big teeth thanks to my dad and always had small lips so they didnt really frame my teeth as I would have liked them too, so I decided to have the filler put in to even out the balance.'

Friends star Courtney Cox said she regrets getting facial cosmetic injections (such as in 2015 left) and has since had them dissolved to return to a more natural look (pictured in 2017 right)

Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry , 27, has been a long-time cosmetic surgery fan but opted to get her lip filler dissolved in March last year (right). On the left is how she looked in 2018

The now 27-year-old said her family told her she had had too much but it was only when she saw herself on TV that reality hit.

'It wasnt until I saw myself on screen, where I saw myself having conversations with people, and where I wasnt posing and looking in the mirror,' she said.

'We all know we look different when were posing in the mirror, I felt I had completely ruined my face.'

While she documented the process of getting the filler dissolved, she said she was 'too embarrassed' to show the initial results.

'It was hard to see my lips had gone really wrinkly, they looked like a deflated balloon because they had been stretched,' she said.

Faye has previously revealed her lips were so badly stretched from the 4.5ml she used to have injected that after it was dissolved, she needed to have a small amount of filler added back as 'there was no elasticity in my lips anymore'.

Former TOWIE star Megan McKenna is another who has opted for a more natural look, with the Celebrity X Factor winner saying in 2021 that ditching her plumped up pout was one 'best choices' she has ever made.

And former Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry, who previously said she 'loved' getting cosmetic injections had her filler dissolved in March last year to get a more natural look commenting at the time on Instagram 'I'd never thought I'd see the day'.

The BBC Five Live also showed data from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) suggesting there has been a 7.5 per cent decrease in cosmetic facial procedures in this year compared to 2022.

Dr Kathryn Lloyd-Thomas, an aesthetic practitioner based in Cardiff, told the BBC that she feels some people are 'too embarrassed' to have their treatments dissolved.

'Faye is such an extreme case of such a large amount of filler,' she said. 'Her lips may never go back to the way they were  which is worrying.'

But Dawn Knight of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, a body dedicated to promoting good practise in the cosmetic industry, told MailOnline celebrity stories of regret had 'without question' inspired regular Brits to also reverse the procedures.

'There were part of the initial drive, the initial problem, and we're now seeing people trying to redress it,' she said.

But Ms Knight added the BAAPS figures could be misleading, only representing the higher-end, and regulated, part of the market.

'That has come from a cohort of regulated members of BAAPS, so I'm not sure that's a true reflection of where the market is,' she said.

Ms Knight said with so many unregulated providers offering Botox and fillers in the UK true trends in the sector were hard to determine.

'It would be difficult to say that in the whole sector that there has been a decline,' she added.

'But young people influenced by these celebrities don't have the disposable income to go to the high end,' she said.

Under current rules, an aesthetic practitioner in the UK doesn't need any mandatory qualifications to carry out such procedures.

It means that anyone can go on a training course and then be allowed to perform dermal filler treatments on the public.

The non-surgical cosmetic industry, which includes procedures like Botox injections and fillers has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years.

Last month it revealed that complaints over such procedures had reached a record high.

Save Face, a national register of practitioners and clinics, received 2,824 complaints last year.

The figure, which includes treatment complications, was a quarter higher than in 2020.

A new licensing regime for the industry is being planned but critics say the Government is taking too long to enact it.
A hospital was forced to close intensive care beds after nurses ignored their unions request to provide life and limb care, an NHS boss has revealed.

Thousands of nursing staff in half of Englands hospitals, mental health and community services began a 28-hour walkout on Sunday evening.

Last-minute talks between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and NHS England agreed to protect life and limb services, with the union allowing nurses to provide a minimal level of staffing in intensive care and trauma.

But Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, revealed he was only able to admit one patient to the intensive therapy unit at Colchester Hospital after striking nurses defied their leaders exemptions and failed to turn up to work.

He told Times Radio: 'Unfortunately, despite that exemption, the nurses still chose not to come in, they're not obliged to come in even if asked to come in by ourselves and the RCN.

Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (pictured), this morning revealed he was only able to admit one patient to the intensive therapy unit at Colchester Hospital after striking nurses defied their leaders exemptions and failed to turn up to work

'We were in a position where we had to significantly reduce the capacity on that ITU down to the fact we could only admit one patient because that patient was too difficult, was too sick to transfer last night', Mr Hulme said. Pictured, Mr Hulme with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Colchester Hospital in 2021

Last-minute talks between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and NHS England had agreed to protect life and limb services with the union allowing nurses to provide a minimal level of staffing in intensive care and trauma. But nurses at Colchester Hospital did not turn up to work during the strike

Pictured, striking NHS workers attend the 'Save the NHS' May Day march organised by Unite from Westminster Bridge to Downing Street today

'So we were in a position where we had to significantly reduce the capacity on that ITU down to the fact we could only admit one patient because that patient was too difficult, was too sick to transfer last night.

The RCN has escalated strike action after members voted to reject a government pay deal that would have seen nurses receive a 5 per cent rise and one-off bonus of up to 3,789.

It has seen some nurses walking out of intensive care, A&E and cancer wards for the first time.

Mr Hulme added: 'It has been more difficult this time. And I think the escalation, you kind of wonder where it's gonna go next.

So which is why we do need a quick solution. We need all parties to get around the table to recognise there is no negotiation, there's no outcome without compromise.

NHS England had warned patients to expect major disruptions and delays to services.

RCN leader Pat Cullen today urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay not to be disrespectful to nurses amid their biggest strike yet over the bank holiday.

It came after Mr Barclay described their ongoing industrial action as premature and disrespectful to the other trade unions who are meeting to discuss the Governments pay offer tomorrow.

Under the NHS Staff Council, the unions will consider the offer of a 5 per cent pay increase for 2023/24 along with a one-off payment worth between 1,655 and 3,789 for the current financial year for nurses in England.

Most unions who make up the council have voted individually to accept the deal but the overall decision is based on an electoral college system, with votes allocated in proportion to the size of the union membership.

The 28-hour RCN action will end just before midnight on Monday after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful for it to continue into Tuesday as originally planned.

This morning, Ms Cullen defended nurses after Mr Barclay described their strike as disrespectful to other unions and urged him to get round this table immediately to resolve the dispute.

She told Sky News: Theres certainly no disrespect being shown from our nursing staff, I can say that categorically.

I would ask the Secretary of State not to be disrespectful to those hundreds of thousands of nursing staff that have participated in this ballot and that are losing another days pay today, standing out on picket lines  standing up for our health service thats been totally broken by this Government.

An NHS in crisis, seven million-plus people on waiting lists  so how are we going to address all of those issues, how are we going to address tens of thousands of vacant posts that weve got in England?

If we dont, then we will continue with serious risk to patient safety and we will never get the backlog sorted.

So, it really is incumbent on this Secretary of State to get round this table immediately with myself and the Royal College of Nursing, and put more money (on the table) and let our nursing staff get back and do what they want to do, and that is care for our patients.

RCN leader Pat Cullen today urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay not to be disrespectful to nurses amid their biggest strike yet over the bank holiday. Pictured, Pat Cullen with striking nurses outside University College Hospital in London today

The RCN has escalated strike action after members voted to reject a government pay deal that would have seen nurses receive a 5 per cent rise and one-off bonus of up to 3,789. It has seen some nurses walking out of intensive care, A&E and cancer wards for the first time. Pictured, RCN members outside St Thomas' Hospital in London today

The 28-hour RCN action will end just before midnight on Monday after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful for it to continue into Tuesday as originally planned. Pictured, RCN members during a march to Trafalgar Square in London today

NHS England had warned patients to expect major disruptions and delays to services. Pictured, workers from the RCN and Unite march past Westminster today

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told Sky that strikes have taken a heavy toll on services and urged unions to accept the pay deal.

I think our view now is that given that most staff have voted in favour of this deal, it is time to accept it, for the unions to work together and for us to think more long-term about what we need to do to address that crisis of 120,000 vacancies in the health service, he said.

'Obviously wed rather these strikes were not taking place. They come after six months of on-and-off industrial action which has taken a heavy toll on the NHS.

A leading NHS England doctor said the nurses strike will lead to inevitable disruption to non-emergency care services on Bank Holiday Monday.

Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS England medical director for national transformation, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Patients will still be seen if they unfortunately need to use an emergency department, of course that will always happen.

But the delivery of care may be delayed if it is not a life-threatening emergency.

If it is an emergency, you will be treated as normal. Thats why we are really emphasising the importance of people not delaying seeking medical help and calling 999 as normal or using 111.

'But it is inevitable that there will be disruption to normal care even in those services where we have agreed mitigations with the Royal College of Nursing.

On cancer care, Dr Diwakar said there will be an impact on cancer services other than those where there are life and limb-threatening services needed, with any other May 1 appointments rescheduled as quickly as possible.

Nurses comprise a quarter of NHS staff and are the biggest proportion of the health service workforce.

Healthcare workers are also staging a protest in central London on Monday under Unite.

The union said this demonstration will coincide with a strike by its members from Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
More than 30 extremely mutated, never-before-seen Covid strains are lurking in multiple US states, DailyMail.com can reveal.

A team of scientists from the University of Missouri has been tracking these so-called 'cryptic' variants by testing wastewater samples across the country.

They have detected 32 strains so far in 13 states  including New York, California and Florida  but say these cases are just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

The viruses are being harbored by people known as 'long-haulers', patients who struggle to clear Covid infection for months or even years, giving the virus an unusually long window to mutate.

Dr Marc Johnson, the virologist at Missouri who is leading the research, warned the strains are so mutated they would instantly be classed 'variants of concern' if they were to start spreading.

Hover over map to see how many cryptic lineages have been discovered in your state!

Scientists have detected 32 cryptic lineages across 13 states over the past two years. This includes 10 cases in New York City alone, and four in California

Dr Marc Johnson (pictured), a virologist at the University of Missouri, told DailyMail.com that finding the people harboring cryptic lineages can give a greater understanding of the virus and why is causes 'long Covid'

'I assume the cryptic lineages are the tip of the iceberg,' Dr Johnson said.

'If there's this many long-term infections [we have found], how many are we not detecting.'

He believes more resources should be invested in finding these strains, saying: 'It would be worthwhile to figure out who has the infection and why.'

The scientist is unsure whether the patients shedding the novel variants are contagious or how they have managed to stay infected so long.

Dr Johnson does not think they are infectious. But he warns if the patients continue to harbor the viruses, there is a risk they acquire a mutation that allows them to spread rapidly through the population.

None of the patients carrying a cryptic lineage have been identified, and little is known about each of them.

In a report last year, Dr Johnson's team wrote that: 'The simplest explanation for the appearance of cryptic lineages in wastewater is that they are shed by immunosuppressed patients with persistent infections.'

Patients who harbor viruses for exceptionally long periods of time often have weakened immune systems, which means their body struggles to clear the virus.

Many scientists believe the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants all emerged this way.

They likely all have some sort of genetic mutation in common that allows the virus to evade their immune system for so long.

'I'm guessing there is something similar about these patients but it might not be obvious,' he said.

He believes that one in every 4million people are harboring one of these strains, or have in the past. This would mean there are about 80 cryptic lineages circulating.

So far, ten have been detected in New York City  more than double any individual state.

The virologist said that this is because the city is so densely populated that wastewater samples from the big apple include more people than in other areas.

As a result, it is easier to detect these strains in the Big Apple than anywhere else.

Four have been detected in California, and one to three lineages have been found 11 other scattered states.

These include: Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

'I wasn't looking for them; we just started sequencing things that didn't match up,' Dr Johnson said of his first encounters with the lineages.

Wastewater sequencing is a tool used by virologists and public health experts to gather data on the prevalence of different viruses in a local community.

Scientists will gather samples of sewer water and test it to look for different strains.

Because a person will shed the virus in the stool before they suffer symptoms, this type of surveillance can allow public health experts to get ahead of some outbreaks.

One of those strains was found in Central Ohio, where Dr Johnson's team believes they have found a person who has been infected with the virus for at least two years.

This person regularly commutes between Columbus  the state's largest city  and Washington Court House, a small town of 15,000 40 miles southwest.

Researchers have found the same cryptic lineage circulating between the two cities since at least March 2021.

This same lineage has not been detected anywhere else to the scientists' knowledge.

This specific pattern likely means the person lives in Washington Court House and commutes to Columbus.

It could be for work, but the patient could also be a student, as Columbus is home to Ohio State University  which has more than 66,000 students.

It is unclear how the person has harbored the virus for so long, but it is likely the virus has mutated within him to cause little complications.

Overall, there are likely only a few thousand people that meet these guidelines, a relatively small group to be sifted through.

In Spring 2022, Dr Johnson found a cryptic strain in Wisconsin. The afflicted person was shedding viral load at an exorbitant rate.

His team tested water in manholes in the area, and managed to track down where the load was coming from.

In late Summer 2022, they linked the strain to a toilet at a specific building, which employed many people who were coming to work each day. One of those employees is carrying the cryptic strain, Dr Johnson believes.

A person in Ohio has been infected with Covid for over two years. Researchers found that they regularly commute from the small city of Washington Court House around 40 miles northeast to Columbus, Ohio. It is likely they live in Washington and work or go to school in Columbus

The man's Covid strain has evolved significantly differently than existing strains such as the Omicron and Delta variants that the population is familiar with. Pictured: A viral 'tree' the shows how different versions of Covid have evolved. Clustered in the center (blue arrow) are familiar variants that have circulated across the world. Within these strains, there are thousands, if not millions, of mutations differentiating them. The unknown Ohio person's strain (red line) has mutated totally separately, though. It's viral makeup is greatly different than that of other versions of the virus, and its evolutionary chain is linear  without thousands of branching paths. This indicates that the strain is only circulating in a single person.

The business has agreed to allow Dr Johnson to collect stool samples from some employees to determine which one is carrying the strain.

The typical Covid case lasts for only a few days  and the maximum time someone should expect to be sick is two weeks.

Dr Johnson hopes that finding the people harboring these cases can allow scientists to learn more about the virus itself and whether these cryptic lineages are tied to the phenomenon of 'long Covid'.

'I assume the cryptic lineages are the tip of the iceberg. If there's this many long-term infections then how many more are we not detecting,' he explained.

'It would be worthwhile to figure out who has these infections and why.'

In March 2021, Dr Johnson first encountered a mysterious lineage when sequencing wastewater in Missouri.

His team discovered a strain of Covid they had never seen before. Over a month, they detected 12 samples of a strain with up to six mutations differing from the typically circulating strains.

When expanding their research, scientists would find six unknown lineages circulating in New York City, one in California and a second in Missouri over the coming months.

They would name them 'cryptic lineages', and went on a search to determine where they were coming from.

At first, the virologists thought the strains were circulating in animals. Rats were a simple answer because of how many are infesting New York City's sewers.

However, some strains showed RNA that was inconsistent with rodent infection and the mutations the viruses picked up were human 'immune escape mutations', meaning they would help it evade a person's immune system.

If rats were hosting the strains, they would not mutate to escape the human immune system.

Patients likely do not know they have Covid. Instead, they are either asymptomatic or suffering symptoms similar to a stomach infection.

These would include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and other relatively-manageable symptoms.

In many cases the person will still be able to perform daily activities such as going to work or caring for their children.
Undeniably distressing for those affected, a lack of sexual desire is also a highly contro-versial subject.

Opinion is divided about whether it should be treated as a medical problem, and we do not really know how many men and women suffer from it. Now, to add to the debate, scientists think they have discovered a treatment  a naturally occurring hormone called kisspeptin.

It could be the first drug to help both men and women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), the medical name for a low sex drive for more than six months that causes distress and has no medical cause.

Research suggests one in ten women and one in eight men suffer from it.

The problem can have a devastating effect, leading to depression, breakdown of relationships and poor quality of life.

Opinion is divided about whether low sex drive should be treated as a medical problem, and we do not really know how many men and women suffer from it

Currently, those affected may be referred for talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, but it doesn't work for everyone.

Now new research by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London suggests that kisspeptin, a hormone that stimulates the release of other reproductive hormones from the hypothalamus in the brain, could be the answer.

Two recent studies, both published in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that when men and women with HSDD were given an infusion of the hormone, it boosted their sexual responses.

In both studies  one involving 32 pre-menopausal women and the other 32 men with HSDD  participants were given a 75-minute infusion of the hormone, and on a separate occasion a placebo (the participants were not told when they were receiving kisspeptin so as not to influence the results).

They were then shown erotic videos and images of attractive faces and their brain activity monitored via an MRI scan, to assess their sexual responses; they also underwent blood and behavioural tests before and after treatment.

Results showed that, in women, kisspeptin improved sexual activity and arousal in areas of the brain disrupted in HSDD.

Furthermore, the more kisspeptin activated a key part of the brain (called the posterior cingulate cortex) in response to attractive male faces, the less women reported an aversion to sex.

Low sex drive can have a devastating effect, leading to depression, breakdown of relationships and poor quality of life. [File image]

Women also reported feeling 'more sexy' while having the kisspeptin infusions, compared with a dummy treatment, according to tests of mood and behaviour.

In men, the hormone significantly boosted brain activity in key areas linked to sexual desire  while also increasing penile rigidity by up to 56 per cent, compared with placebo while viewing an erotic video.

Dr Alexander Comninos, a consultant endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who was involved in the research, said: 'These two studies provide the first evidence that kisspeptin is a potentially safe and effective therapy for both women and men with distressing low sexual desire. Kisspeptin has the potential to be a real game-changer.'

Low libido or sex drive can be caused by a range of factors: low hormone levels (oestrogen in women and testosterone in men is usually age-related), depression and as a side-effect of certain medications such as beta blockers for blood pressure and opiate painkillers. Although people with hsdd also have little or no sex drive, one defining characteristic is that hsdd causes them great distress.

It was first identified in the psychiatrists' bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, in 1987.

hsdd is linked to excessive self-monitoring and concerns about sexual performance which reduce sexual desire, says Dr Comninos.

'The main people seeking help are men and women aged 30 to 50,' he says. 'Many men are wrongly categorised as having erectile dysfunction when they really have HSDD.'

Kisspeptin is thought to work by deactivating the areas of the brain related to excessive self-monitoring and introspection, while at the same time activating the sexual arousal centres.

There are no treatments available for HSDD in the UK (Viagra can help men to get an erection by increasing blood flow, but does not address the psychological aspect of sexual desire).

In the U.S. there are two drugs for low sexual desire in pre-menopausal women. The first is bremelanotide (brand name Vyleesi), an injection that is self-administered 45 minutes before sexual activity, which was originally designed for weight loss and activates receptors in the body linked to sexual behaviour.

The other drug, flibanserin (brand name Addyi), is a pill taken daily, originally developed as an antidepressant. It works by raising levels of the brain chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine, which are important for sexual excitement. It also lowers levels of serotonin which can inhibit sexual desire.

However, both drugs have side-effects such as dizziness and nausea; and neither is licensed in the UK. Moreover, HSDD remains a controversial diagnosis, with critics arguing that it medicalises normal variations in sexuality.

Dr Christopher Lane, a professor emeritus of medical humanities at Northwestern University in the U.S. and author of the book Shyness: How Normal Behaviour Became a Sickness, says: 'There is a risk here of conflating low sexual desire, which is common and often stress-related, with a new and still-controversial psychiatric diagnosis.

New research by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London suggests that kisspeptin, a hormone that stimulates the release of other reproductive hormones from the hypothalamus in the brain, could be the answer. [File image]

'HSDD is not fully understood and there is a risk of presuming that lack of lust is a psychiatric condition rather than a psychological one,' he says.

'There are many facets that contribute to low libido; anxiety, stress and disgust can all block desire. So can body dysmorphia, a condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about perceived flaws in their appearance.

'This suggests that the condition's primary driver may not be neurobiological [i.e. linked to the nervous system] and that, rather than defaulting to drug therapies, the focus might turn more usefully to finding ways to reduce stress and anxiety tied to sex,' adds Dr Lane.

Marianne Johnson, a psychosexual and relationship therapist at The Thought House Partnership in London, told Good Health: 'Taking a drug to enhance desire would understandably be very tempting for someone experiencing significant distress around their low libido.

'I would hope that before reaching for medication like this, a person would have an opportunity to examine all factors at play in their experience of low desire.

'Without some exploration of the wider picture, there is potential to miss vital information about a person's internal world and their understanding of the blocks  and the accelerators  to their own desire.'

Dr Comninos says that it's important not to 'over-medicalise low sexual desire  in many people it is not distressing and they don't have HSDD', yet for others, 'it is very distressing'.

He has received hundreds of emails from people with HSDD around the world, desperate to take part in research. 'It can affect their daily quality of life, their mood, their personal and intimate relationships and even their fertility if they have no desire for sex,' he says.

Bigger studies of kisspeptin's effects on sexual desire are now planned by the Imperial team  including on post-menopausal women.

Low libido is a common side-effect of menopause, when levels of the hormone oestrogen drop dramatically. This can persist even once low hormone levels have been treated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The new study will examine whether post-menopausal women with low libido who have been treated with HRT experience an increase in sexual desire after taking kisspeptin.

Researchers are investigating whether the hormone could be given as a nasal spray, taken twice a week roughly half an hour before sexual activity. Future studies could also involve the hormone being taken at home, rather than in hospital, which researchers hope might elicit a 'greater response', as people may feel more at ease.

If future studies are successful, it could be available as a treatment 'in the next five to ten years', says Dr Comninos. 'My vision is that down the line a couple could go on a date, the affected person takes a puff of the kisspeptin spray and they end the evening having sex that they both enjoy,' he says.

'And because it is effective on both men and women, I am hopeful it may work across the spectrum of genders and sexualities.'
A universal vaccine that protects against all strains of the flu virus may be a step closer.

The annual flu vaccine currently protects against four strains of the virus which scientists believe are most likely to be in circulation in the coming winter.

But a vaccine that protects us from all types of flu  which kills between 10,000 and 30,000 people a year in the UK  is one of the holy grails of medicine.

There are three different types of flu virus affecting humans  A, B and C, with various sub-types (including 29 of type A alone) which may mutate over time.

Scientists look at patterns of flu in other parts of the world to help decide which strains to include in the annual flu vaccine given here  but that has to be months in advance, to allow time for the vaccine to be made.

The annual flu vaccine currently protects against four strains of the virus which scientists believe are most likely to be in circulation in the coming winter. [File image]

The vaccine will include two A strains and two B strains thought most likely to be circulating in the coming winter (type C strains are not included, as they usually cause only mild symptoms).

But scientists don't always get the selection right. In 2014/15, for instance, the flu jab ended up being only 3 per cent effective at preventing cases of flu because the strains contained in the vaccine were so out-of-kilter with what was circulating.

In 2015, almost 30,000 people in England and Wales alone died of flu and pneumonia, compared with 25,000 the year before.

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Now, by adopting a new approach, scientists at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have made a 'major step forward' in the search for a universal flu vaccine. Current vaccines target the 'head' of proteins called hemagglutinins, which are found on the surface of the flu virus. This 'head' varies between strains and changes over time  which is one reason why the vaccine must be updated each year.

The new research focuses on the 'stem' of the protein. Because this is sufficiently similar between different strains, the theory is this will offer protection against all strains.

To ensure the immune system focuses on the stem and not the head (as it has been programmed to do by previous flu vaccines), scientists lopped off the head and replaced it with an engineered one which the body's immune system would not recognise.

'The only thing the immune system can see is the stem,' said Sarah Andrews, an immunologist and one of the researchers.

To test this new approach, which involved just the influenza A strain, 52 volunteers were injected with two doses of the experimental vaccine. The hope was that this would offer protection against all A strains of the virus.

Results showed the vaccine appeared to be safe; around a fifth of recipients had soreness at the injection site or a headache, in line with the side-effects reported with the standard flu shot.

One year after being vaccinated, participants were still showing antibodies against all type A flu strains, reported the journal Science Translational Medicine last month.

The new vaccine will include two A strains and two B strains thought most likely to be circulating in the coming winter (type C strains are not included, as they usually cause only mild symptoms). [File image]

The next stage will be to carry out clinical trials to see if such a vaccine actually protects people from flu and extend it to cover influenza type B, too. If successful, a universal vaccine could be available in five to ten years, the scientists said.

Will Irving, a professor of virology at the University of Nottingham, described the initial findings as 'very encouraging'.

'Historically, the influenza virus has been a very difficult target for vaccine manufacturers because of its ability to change the structure of its outer coat,' he says.

'Progress towards a single vaccine that could induce protective immunity against the vast range of influenza virus variants that exist in nature would be a major step forward.'

Andrew Preston, a professor of microbiology at the University of Bath, adds that while the trial results are only preliminary, 'it does suggest that this approach is well tolerated by people, produces a robust immune response and that the response lasts well over a year. It's early days, but these are the type of results we need to see from an early phase trial.'
A Los Angeles symphony-goer sparked amusing headlines nationwide over the weekend when she apparently let out a moan of passion during a concert.

The report went viral worldwide, leaving some to wonder if she was suffering from a medical condition that made her overly sensitive to sexual arousal.

While it is still not clear what caused the woman's outburst, a tiny number of people are plagued by a debilitating condition called persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD), which causes spontaneous orgasms independent of sexual stimulation.

Wisconsin native Dale Decker had experienced about 100 orgasms a day, none of which were enjoyable. The first man to speak out about his experience with PGAD, Mr Decker said the condition came on in 2012 following a back injury that left him with pelvic nerve damage.

And Arizona native Cara Anaya-Carlis who was also diagnosed with PGAD, once said she endured more than 180 orgasms in just two hours and would live in a heightened state of sexual arousal for up to six hours per day.

Dale Decker, 37, from Wisconsin, pictured with his wife April is the first man to speak out publicly about suffering persistent genital arousal syndrome

The first man to speak out about his experience with PGAD, Mr Decker said the condition came on in 2012 following a back injury that left him with pelvic nerve damage

Cara Anaya-Carlis, 30, endures up to six hours of sexual arousal a day and once had more than 180 orgasms in two hours, pictured with husband Tony

The true number of PGAD sufferers is murky and many people who live with it may not feel comfortable disclosing their condition.

Researchers say it may affect one percent of the population, to very different degrees.

The exact cause of the condition is unknown, though there have been some reports to suggest that a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinsons Disease called rasagiline could be a contributor.

Other research has shown that the condition could be caused by Tarlov cysts, fluid-filled sacs caused by trauma or injury typically found at the bottom of the spine on what is called the sacral nerve root.

These nerves receive electrical signals from the brain and relay these instructions to the bladder, colon, and genitals.

A 2012 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine used MRI test results to show that over 66 percent of women who demonstrated PGAD symptoms also had a Tarlov cyst.

Treatment for PGAD varies on a case-by-case basis, but physical therapy focused on strengthening the pelvic floor could help, as could sessions with a trained sex therapist.

It comes after an unnamed California native set the internet ablaze over the weekend when it was reported she let out an impassioned wail during the Los Angeles Philharmonics performance of Tchaikovskys fifth symphony on Friday.

Fellow concertgoers and netizens were surprised to hear the clear moan or scream, as one person put it, which they attributed to an orgasm.

Spectator Molly Grant told the LA Times that the woman who made the noise appeared to have enjoyed an orgasm because she was heavily breathing, and her partner was smiling and looking at her  like in an effort to not shame her.

Specifics, such as whether the womans orgasm was provoked or just spontaneous and unexplained remain unknown, but the news made a major splash on the internet and again raised the question of whether spontaneous outbursts of pleasure can be a bad thing.

Sufferers of a condition marked by frequent unwanted orgasms and/or consistent physical arousal will say that yes, those outbursts can be a major detriment to daily life.

She had a 10-year-old son Merrick and said she is now too embarrassed to do the school run

Many people who experience PGAD live in a constant state of arousal that can cause uncomfortable genital swelling and tingling, and the condition can garner unwanted attention and embarrassment, forcing sufferers to hide with feelings of shame.

Because the physical feelings of arousal come on without the associated feelings of desire for sexual gratification, people living with persistent genital arousal disorder often feel like there is a disconnect between what is happening between ones body and mind.

The sensations in the genitals affected by PGAD have been described in several ways, including pressure and fullness, pulsating, burning, and itching.

PGAD primarily affects women, though men have been known to deal with the incurable issue as well.

Dale Decker was left isolated and homebound for years, fearful that he would suffer an embarrassing public orgasm causing him to double over in discomfort.

Mr Decker said in 2014: 'Imagine being on your knees at your father's funeral beside his casket - saying goodbye to him and then you have nine orgasms right there.

'While your whole family is standing behind you. It makes you never want to have another orgasm for as long as you live.

'It happened to me at the grocery store and when it was over there were around 150 people looking straight at me - why would I leave the house when something like this can happen.'

The condition is hard to live with, depriving Mr Decker of his ability to provide for his family. According to his wife, the condition has forced the couple to sleep in different beds at times, and they don't do things that man and wife should do.

Even the most apparently-minor stimuli can cause a flare-up. A woman named Rachel from Atlanta, Georgia told a UK documentary team years ago that she experiences spontaneous orgasms every 30 seconds for four to six [or] sometimes eight hours every day. Simple household chores can set her off.

She said: 'The washing machine, for whatever reason, when it goes on the spin cycle I don't even like to touch itThe vibrations have a tendency to trigger the persistent sexual arousal, and it'll trigger an episode.

Like Mr Decker, Cara Anaya-Carlis was unable to work or move about the world freely without fear that she would be struck by an uncontrollable and uncomfortable orgasm attack.

Mrs Anaya-Carlis, who has a son named Merrick with her husband Tony, said she avoided being in open spaces and often felt too embarrassed to tell a potential employer about the condition.

At the time when Mrs Anaya-Carlis spoke about her condition in 2014, Merrick was just 10 years old.

She said: When you are around children you feel like a pervert because you have all these really strong feelings rushing through your body at the same time.

'So if imagine you can't help out in class or go on school trips because the kids don't understand, the parents don't understand.

'It has devastated my involvement in my son's life because I feel too dirty to be a part of it. We want him to be a normal kid but at the same time he can't have friends around because mom has this condition.

Not all PGAD sufferers will experience spontaneous orgasms, though about a third of them do. About half of those with PGAD also say the condition is painful.

The condition is not well-understood and little is known about what causes PGAD. In 2014, a Turkish woman with Parkinsons was prescribed the drug rasagiline which increases dopamine levels, therefore helping to relieve symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, and slow movement.

A week after being on the medication, the woman began experiencing intense, unwanted orgasms as often as three to five times a day, lasting between five and 20 seconds each time.

The symptoms stopped when she stopped taking the medication, but scientists do not know for certain why that drug could have caused her outbursts.
The Biden Administration said: 'These measures are no longer necessary'

America will scrap vaccine mandates for federal employees and international travelers next week  finally bringing the US in line with the rest of the world.

The Biden Administration announced Monday that these mandates will go by the wayside starting May 11, when the Covid-related public health emergency ends.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also announced that the requirements will be scrapped for remaining educators and at federally funded health systems still subject to conditions.

Head Start educators, and employees of healthcare facilities that receive federal funding and certain non-citizens at the land border.

International travelers and federal employees will no longer be required to have Covid vaccinations from May 11, the Biden Administration has announced

'We are in a different phase of our response to Covid-19 than we were when many of these requirements were put into place,' the Biden admin said in a statement.

'These measures are no longer necessary,' it continued.

The administration had previously laid out plans to wind back the final Covid measures in place.

The pandemic national emergency on April 11, with plans to end the public health declaration next week.

While the decision last month scaled back many pandemic-related policies, it was unclear whether these vaccine orders would also be included.

The measures finally bring the US in line with the rest of the world.

Very few countries  such as Angola and Indonesia  still require visitors to have received a Covid vaccine to gain entry.

The White House cited the statistics showing that since January 2021, Covid deaths have dropped by 95 percent, and hospitalizations are down nearly 91 percent.

Recent studies have shown the vaccines, while able to prevent hospitalization and death, are not as effective against transmission of the virus.

A 2022 paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that after 25 weeks, the protection the Pfizer vaccine gave to recipients against Omicron infection fell to just nine percent.

A booster shot initially raised this protection to 67 percent before dropping to 45 percent after two weeks.

Experts have previously slammed decisions to keep Covid-era policies in place as 'out of step' with the rest of the world.

Bivalent boosters specifically target the Omicron variant, unlike the original vaccines which targeted the virus's initial Wuhan strain.

Scientists argue that this means they provide better protection against severe disease and death from currently circulating strains.

Most countries have already dropped their vaccination requirements for visitors amid mounting evidence that they do not slow the spread of the virus.

The UK dumped its Covid vaccination requirement for visitors in March last year, now more than a year ago.

France followed suit in August, while the European Union lifted all its Covid-related travel requirements for its members in December.

In line with most of the rest of the world, China does not require travelers to have a Covid vaccine.

It does, however, say they should have a negative Covid test result at least 48 hours before travel.

There are also far higher levels of immunity in the population now from vaccinations or previous infections than in the early days of the pandemic.

About three in four Americans were estimated to have immunity against Covid in February last year by John Hopkins. It is likely that current levels are now even higher.

Back in January, President Biden announced the end to the Covid national emergency on May 11  eight months after declaring the pandemic was over.

The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations will formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities.

It will also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.
Sadiq Khan's controversial plans to expand Ultra-Low Emission zones (ULEZ) to to all 32 London boroughs have enraged residents living in the shadow of Chessington World of Adventures after it emerged the attraction would be included.

The Mayor of London has stated that he intends to have the green zone expansion completed by August 29 with Transport for London (TfL) tasked with erecting cameras to monitor traffic.

Under ULEZ regulations, drivers of vehicles that do not pass certain emissions standards will be required to pay 12.50 per day to drive in these zones - meaning families heading to the theme park would be affected.

But despite not being historically considered part of the capital - it has been part of Greater London since at least 2000 - proposed plans for the new ULEZ zones include a sizeable area of Chessington in their capture areas.

Jutting out from the ULEZ border of Kingston Upon Thames, Chessington theme park and several key roads in the former Surrey town are strangely included in the new zone.

The Mayor of London has stated that he intends to have the expansion completed by August 29

A peninsula jutting out from Richmond Upon Thames has angered locals

It includes the popular theme park Chessington World of Adventures

Like many areas on the outskirts of Greater London, Chessington's location has been hotly contested.

The area is historically a part of Surrey but has come to be considered an area of Greater London.

Reacting to the news of their imminent inclusion in the scheme, many Chessington locals were apoplectic with rage.

One said: 'What's going on with the ULEZ going way out to make sure Chessington World of Adventures is included?

'Make sure you get more money. It's not wanted - no consultation or notice.'

Another said: 'I live in Chessington, 50% is green space on the Surrey border, yet apparently we should be treated the same as Wandsworth.

'It's no wonder people are angry.

'Please keep trying to get this nonsense stopped.'

Another demanded to know how it was fair.

They said: 'I'm not driving into London, I live in Chessington, Surrey and in order to use my vehicle to do work the ULEZ is coming out to there.

'How is that fair?'

Another said: 'That odd shaped ULEZ extension just so happens to conveniently include Chessington World of Adventures.

'People outside of London who want to treat their kids may now have to pay an additional 12.50 which effects mostly working class families who don't have new vehicles.'

MailOnline has approached TfL and Chessington World of Adventures for more clarification on the new boundaries.

The proposals have been roundly booed online by locals who consider themselves part of Surrey

It is just the latest hiccup Mr Khan's aggressive expansion has faced in recent weeks.

Indeed, frustrated motorists have resorted to stealing the new ULEZ cameras in protest at controversial expansion plans.

Protestors have been climbed traffic signals to take the vehicle registration detection devices out of action in boroughs across the capital including Kingston, Sutton, Heathrow, Bromley and Greenwich.

There are reports that ULEZ cameras have been ripped from their bases, have had their wires cut or bags placed over them in protest against the plans.

Speaking earlier this month, Mr Khan said that since March 21, there had been 31 instances of theft or vandalism within the proposed expansion zones, and 12 within the existing zone.
He is a little-known aristocrat who enjoys a quiet life with his partner, two dachshunds and an art collection.

But Franz, the German Duke of Bavaria and head of the House of Wittelsbach, might have been firmly in the spotlight, if not for a quirk of history.

As a direct descendant of King Charles I's daughter Henrietta Anne, the 89-year-old is first in line to the Jacobite succession - through which supporters of the deposed King James II believe the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland should have passed.

It means that if not for the 1701 Act of Settlement that banned all Roman Catholics from ascending the throne, the duke might now be wearing the crown of England.

Franz, Duke of Bavaria, might have been King of England and Scotland, if history had taken a slightly different path. Above: The Duke (left) with partner Thomas Greinwald at the opening of the Bayreuth Festival in northern Bavaria

Members of the Duke's family are linked to the English and Scottish crowns because they are direct descendants of King Charles I's daughter, Henrietta Anne (left)

The Duke met King Charles at a state banquet in Munich in 2019, during a four-day visit to Germany by the then Prince of Wales

The Jacobite campaign to regain the thrones of England and Scotland reached a bloody end with defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746

Indeed, but for the Act, the late Queen, whose 70-year reign captivated the world, might well have been no more than a minor German princess.

The Duke met King Charles at a state banquet in Munich in 2019, during a four-day visit to Germany by the then Prince of Wales.

The Duke, whose great-grandfather was the last king of Bavaria before the region's monarchy was abolished in 1918, has insisted he has no interest in pursuing his claim.

But supporters of his grandfather, Crown Prince Rupprecht, were rather more enthusiastic and are even said to have pressed his claim to replace King Edward VIII when he abdicated in 1936.

The Duke, whose full name is Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria, is in a long-term relationship with his partner Dr Thomas Greinwald.

The couple have never married and do not have children. Photos show them together at arts festivals in Munich.

His family are linked to the English crown because of its descent from Henrietta, a princess in the house of Stuart - the dynasty that first arrived in England with James Charles Stuart, James I of England and VI of Scotland.

King James's grandson, James II, was later deposed in favour of his own protestant daughter, Mary, in the Glorious Revolution of 1688/9.

James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) and his son Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) both fought military campaigns in an attempt to regain the throne for the Catholic Jacobite cause - but failed.

The direct male line of succession to the Stuart crown ended in 1807, with the death of Henry IX, Cardinal Duke of York.

It then passed through a series of European royal houses, before settling with the House of Wittelsbach.

Duke Franz, who is said to live in a wing of the Nyphenburg palace in Munich, inherited his title when his father, Albrecht, died in 1996. He is a distant cousin of Her Late Majesty.

Like his father before him, he was recognised by a few remaining Jacobites as the rightful heir to the English and Scottish crown when he was born in July 1933.

The family has a proud tradition of resistance. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power, the Duke's grandfather led his family's refusal to join the Nazi Party.

He was forced into exile in Italy in 1939, whilst his wife and children - including Franz - went to Hungary.

The above graphic shows the real succession - (named after Princess Sophia, the Electress of Hanover who was named in 1701 Act of Settlement as the chosen monarch but died before she could take the throne) - compared to the Jacobite succession

The Duke, whose full name is Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria, is in a long-term relationship with partner Dr Thomas Greinwald

Duke Franz von Bayern with Mr Greinwald at the wedding of Prince Heinrich of Bavaria in 2017

If the Act of Settlement had not been passed, the late Queen Elizabeth might have been no more than a minor German princess

Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, in her Coronation robes

What was the Act of Settlement 1701? The Act of Settlement was passed by Parliament when Queen Anne - the granddaughter of Charles I and the last Stuart monarch - was on the throne. It banned all Roman Catholics from ascending the throne and secured the Protestant succession. Because Anne did not have any surviving children, the Act also had the effect of deposing the remaining descendants of her grandfather. The Act was also designed to strengthen the guarantees for ensuring a parliamentary system of government. It ensured that parliamentary consent had to be given for the Sovereign to engage in war or leave the country, whilst judges now held office on condition of good conduct, rather than at Royal pleasure. It came after the Glorious Revolution of 1688/9, which led to the deposition of the catholic King James II - who believed in the divine right of the crown - and the rule of his protestant daughter Queen Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. The Bill of Rights, passed in 1689, was also strengthened by the Act. It meant that government was now conducted by the monarch in conjunction with their ministers, rather than by the sovereign alone or with his or her personal advisors. The Act of Settlement mandated that, on Queen Anne's death, the crown would pass to King James I's granddaughter, Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover. But when Sophia died before Queen Anne, the succession passed to her son, George I, which gave rise to the Hanoverian dynasty. Advertisement

But they ended up being sent to a series of concentration camps, including Dachau, when the country was overrun by German troops in 1944.

After surviving the war with the rest of his family, the Duke studied business management at university and became an art collector.

The Daily Mail reported on Rupprecht's visit to Britain in June 1934.

It noted how he was greeted by a 'number of German residents' when he landed at Croydon aerodrome.

When Rupprecht died in 1955, the Mail said: 'If there are ardent Jacobites left in Britain there will surely be affectionate last toasts drunk to the "King over the Water".

It added: 'It is said that at the time of the abdication of the present Duke of Windsor friends of Rupprecht came to London to press his claim.'

Ahead of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, several German newspapers suggested that if Scotland did vote to break away from the UK, it should depose the Queen north of the border and replace her with the Duke.

Die Welt newspaper joked that Bavaria and Scotland had 'bizarre customs, a soft spot for traditional costumes and a high affinity for beer' in common.

A spokesman for the Duke addressed the question if his potential claim to the crown in 2008.

'Really, he is very happy and satisfied with being the Duke of Bavaria,' he said. 'And he regards it as a purely hypothetical issue.

'All this interest in his opinion makes him smile because, really, he is very happy and satisfied with being the Duke of Bavaria.'

The Duke's younger brother, known as Prince Max of Bavaria, 86, is the heir presumptive to the Bavarian royal house and Jacobite succession.

When Queen Mary II replaced her Catholic father, James II on the throne in 1689, she ruled jointly with her Dutch protestant husband, William of Orange, whose invasion of England - at the invitation of seven English peers - had led to James's deposition.

Mary proved unable to have children and died in 1694, eight years before her husband.

Franz's father Albrecht (left) and grandfather Rupprecht (right) did not pursue their claim to the English and Scottish thrones, although supporters of Rupprecht are said to have urged him to try to replace King Edward VIII when he abdicated in 1936

The last King of Bavaria was Ludwig III, Franz's great-grandfather. The monarchy in the region was abolished in 1918, after it had become part of a unified Germany

Like his father before him, Franz is recognised by the few remaining Jacobites - the term used to describe supporters of the deposed King James II (above) - as the rightful heir to the English and Scottish crowns

The Duke is seen with his partner Dr Thomas Greinwald at the premiere of 'Tristan und Isolde' during the Munich Opera Festival in June 2021

Franz's younger brother, known as Prince Max of Bavaria (pictured above with his wife Elizabeth), 86, is the heir presumptive to the Bavarian royal house and Jacobite success

The Daily Mail reported on the death of the Duke's grandfather's death in 1955

This meant that the crown was passed to Mary's younger sister, Anne.

Queen Anne, the granddaughter of Charles I and the last Stuart monarch, came to the throne shortly after Parliament passed the 1701 Act of Settlement, which barred Catholics - including other members of the House of Stuart - from the throne.

She had 18 pregnancies, but none of her children survived.

By the time of Anne's own demise in 1714, it meant that the crown instead passed to Anne's second cousin, King George I, sparking off the Hanoverian dynasty.

That continued until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, when her son - a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha because of his father Prince Albert - became King as Edward VII.

King George V famously changed the family name to Windsor in response to anti-German feeling during the First World War.

The most famous Catholic claimant to the throne after the Act of Succession was 'Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart, better-known as Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The grandson of James II, he attempted to seize the crown in 1745. The resulting Battle of Culloden, near Inverness, ended in a bloody defeat for the Jacobites.

Charlie fled to France and died in Rome in 1788, his claim to the crown in tatters.
The King was proved right on some issues but must now speak more cautiously

As the Prince of Wales Charles was a controversial backer of homeopathy

From 'grey goo' to grammar schools, architecture and homeopathy, King Charles embraced a colourful variety of issues in his long years as Prince of Wales.

In a number of cases, particularly when it came to the environment, he was proved right in his concerns.

But there was also criticism of his many public interventions, particularly when it emerged he had routinely sent 'black spider' letters (a disparaging reference to his handwriting) to government ministers expressing his views on matters that interested him.

Today, as monarch, he has to be more circumspect. And so far he has followed his own words, expressed in 2018, when he said he would not be 'stupid' enough to continue to be quite so outspoken .

But as a poll for The Mail's new Royals section demonstrated recently, a majority of the British population (57 per cent) actually believes he should continue to share views in public.

And there is little doubt he would be tempted! Here, then, are the topics that have been close to his heart and the views, some of the controversial, that will be bubbling up to threaten his new vow of discretion (if not quite silence)...

Homeopathy and other alternative forms of medicine

When he was the Prince of Wales, King Charles repeatedly praisd benefits of homeopathy, despite the fact that the controversial system of alternative medicine has been heavily criticised by mainstream doctors and experts. Above: Charles looks at a display of homeopathic remedies with homeopath Dr Tim Robinson in Poundbury in 2004

The King has expressed support for homeopathy for decades, despite the fact that the controversial system of alternative medicine has been slammed by mainstream doctors and experts.

It treats ailments using highly dilute doses of natural substances.

According to a 2010 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report, however, remedies perform no better than placebos.

Charles has been the patron of the Faculty of Homeopathy since 2019 - and was criticised for taking up the post.

The King has spoken out in support of homeopathy and other alternative forms of medicine - such as acupuncture and herbal treatments - on several occasions since as early as 1982.

In a letter to then health secretary Alan Johnson in September 2007, he said an 'anti-homeopathy campaign' was damaging the health service.

In the letter, he said he 'couldn't bear to see people suffering... when a complementary approach could make the difference'.

He has also had treatment from herbalists and chiropractors for ailments including severe back pain.

Charles has also had treatment from herbalists and chiropractors for ailments including severe back pain. Above: Charles mixing a preparation of dried herbs during a visit to the University of Westminster's Polyclinic in 1999

Charles established the Foundation for Integrated Health in 1993 but the charity closed in 2010 after a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud and money laundering.

Edzard Ernst, the world's first professor of complementary medicine, was once invited to Highgrove by Charles but the pair's relationship soured when the expert became sceptical about homeopathy.

He went on to accuse Charles of 'exploiting a gullible public' for selling a homeopathic 'tincture' through his Duchy Originals brand.

It also emerged that Charles had pushed former government minister Peter Hain to introduce alternative medicine on the NHS in Northern Ireland when he was the cabinet minister in charge of the province.

He told how Charles had been 'constantly frustrated' by an inability to persuade ministers that it was a 'good idea'.

Mr Hain said he did introduce a trial for complementary medicine on the NHS in Northern Ireland and it had 'spectacularly good results', with wellbeing and health being 'vastly improved'.

Charles holds a bag of mixed dried herbs which is set to treat chronic indigestion at the University of Westminster's Polyclinic in 1999

Charles said before he became King that he would stop campaigning on issues such as homeopathy once he was on the throne.

'I'm not that stupid,' he told the BBC. 'I do realise it is a separate exercise being sovereign.

'I understand entirely how that should operate. I've tried to make sure whatever I've done has been non-party political, but it's vital to remember there's only room for one sovereign at a time, not two.'

Fear of 'grey goo'

In 2003, Charles attracted criticism from the then Labour government for expressing fears that nanobots - swarms of self-replicating particles the size of bacteria - could feed off natural matter and turn the planet into 'grey goo'.

He called on the Royal Society to discuss the 'enormous environmental and social risks' of nanotechnology.

MP Ian Gibson, who was then the chairman of the Commons science and technology committee, also criticised the then Prince of Wales, saying: 'We shouldn't be associated with scare stories - science fiction about grey goos, the world being swallowed up.

'When a prince - an incipient king - speaks, people will listen.'

Expert Professor Wilson Poon also took aim at Charles, saying his views were 'misguided and misinformed'

Charles's fears appeared to stem from a 1986 book in which author Eric Drexler raised the prospect of nanomachines replicating themselves billions of times to the point where they would eventually 'exceed the mass of the sun and all the planets combined.'

However, the King has not spoken out on the subject of nanotechnology since his 2003 intervention and it appears unlikely that he will do so as monarch.

Hatred of grey squirrels

Charles has long been a fan of red squirrels and has repeatedly expressed his wish to 'eliminate' invasive greys from the UK.

They were imported to Britain in the 1870s but went on to outcompete the native red.

Greys are larger and more aggressive and carry a virus that is deadly to their rival reds.

In 2009, Charles called for action to 'drive out the greys', adding in a letter to the Country Land and Business Association that it was 'crucial' to 'eliminate' the 'alien species'.

However, the RSPCA hit back, saying: 'We are concerned about the welfare of both red and grey squirrels, and believe that control must not be interpreted solely as lethal control.

Charles has long been a fan of red squirrels and has repeatedly expressed his desires to 'eliminate' invasive greys from the UK. Above: Charles with a red squirrel at his Birkhall home in Scotland in 2008

'Eradicating long-established entire populations of greys would be very difficult and cause suffering.'

In 2014, Charles ordered a cull of grey squirrels on Duchy of Cornwall land and his other properties, including around his Birkhall home in Scotland.

He has also suggested making fabric out of grey squirrel fur and declared support for a plan to sterilise the animals by feeding them a contraceptive hidden in Nutella chocolate spread.

According to his son, Prince William, King Charles is 'obsessed' with red squirrels

Charles became patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust in 2008. The animals' population has plunged from 3.2million in the 1870s to around 120,000 now.

The King has previously spoken of how he lets red squirrels into Birkhall, telling Country Life that 'we get them chasing each other round and round inside.'

He has also joked that it is his 'great ambition' to have a red squirrel 'siting on the breakfast table and on my shoulder'.

Support for organic and traditional farming

Charles has repeatedly spoken out in favour of traditional and organic farming methods.

Speaking to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soil Association in 2017, he warned that organic farming might be humanity's only hope of reversing drastic damage to the environment and suggested the planet might only have 60 harvests left.

He told his audience: 'So Ladies and Gentlemen, it is becoming ever clearer that the very future of humanity may depend to a very large extent on a mainstream transition to more sustainable farming practices, based of course on organic principles.

'Yet despite the extraordinary efforts of the Soil Association, including the work of the individuals and organizations in this room and of many others throughout the world, in terms of impact on the planet and public health, things have actually got worse, not better, with the majority of farmland still in so-called conventional production, and the organic market still small and relatively fragile.

Charles has repeatedly spoken out in favour of traditional and organic farming methods. Above: Charles and his oldest son Prince William tend cows at his Duchy Home Farm in 2004

'For instance, the impact of chemical fertilisers and pesticides on the soil biome, mirrored in our own stomachs as a result of excessive use of antibiotics, has been so devastating, that it is now being said that we only have enough fertility left for 60 harvests.'

In 2021, Charles called for small family farmers to join together with others around the world to promote sustainable methods.

Writing in The Guardian, he said: 'There are small farms the world over which could come together in a global cooperative committed to producing food based on high environmental standards... With the skills of ethical entrepreneurs and a determination from the farmers to make it work, I would like to think it could provide a very real and hopeful future.'

He added that small-scale farmers needed to be 'a key part of any fair, inclusive, equitable and just transition to a sustainable future.'

And in his last speech as the Prince of Wales, given the day before the death of his mother the Queen last September, Charles said he had been thought of as a 'complete idiot' for promoting organic farming.

Charles is given a talk on farming by farmer Pat Nagle in County Clare, Ireland, in 2015

'One of the reasons I went organic 40 years ago was because I felt there was an overuse of antibiotics,' he said.

'And I felt that if you overdo it, you end up with resistance. Anyway, that's happened. I was told I was a complete idiot for even suggesting going organic.'

Charles farmed organically at his farm near his Highgrove home until 2020 and also uses the methods at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

In the same speech, to a global allergy symposium at Dumfries House in Scotland, he also admitted to being concerned about how western lifestyles may have contributed to an apparent global increase in allergies.

He said: 'It seems to spread further and further as people take up a western lifestyle.

'And what's so sad is that people are still are adopting this lifestyle when we've discovered what damage it has already been doing.'

The then Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla taste organic lettuce during a visit to a farm in San Francisco in 2005

Charles also suggested that he supported concerns that modern homes could be over-sanitised.

He said: 'When I was small if I dropped my food on the floor I was encouraged to eat it.

I was told 'it was good clean dirt, it won't harm you at all'. Now, it's gone berserk, I think, the other way.'

Charles is the patron of several farming and animal-related charities, including the Sustainable Food Trust, the Campaign for Wool, the British Deer Society and the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association.

Against genetically modified crops

When he was the Prince of Wales, the King was a vocal opponent of genetically modified foods.

In 2008, he said multinational food companies were conducting a 'gigantic experiment with nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong'.

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph, he added: 'What we should be talking about is food security, not food production -- that is what matters and that is what people will not understand,' he said.

'And if they think it's somehow going to work because they are going to have one form of clever genetic engineering after another, then again count me out, because that will be guaranteed to cause the biggest disaster environmentally of all time.'

Critics of GM crops have said they harm the environment and could have unforseen consequences for those who eat them.

But supporters argue that the technique can make plants resistant to pests and diseases.

It emerged in 2019 that Charles had written to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair to criticise the development of GM foods.

He accused the biotech industry and scientists of 'increasingly frantic promotional efforts' and praised Mr Blair for agreeing to meet opponents of genetic modification.

He also defended critics from the claim that they were what he called 'hysterical, extreme and anti-progressive'.

The letter emerged after former environment secretary Michael Meacher claimed that he and Charles would 'consort together' to try and influence government policy on subjects including GM crops.

Grammar schools

Charles has also been a vocal proponent of grammar schools and even tried to persuade Tony Blair to expand them.

But former Education Secretary David Blunkett revealed in 2014 how Charles had campaigned on the issue.

'I would explain that our policy was not to expand grammar schools, and he didn't like that,' he told BBC Radio 4.

Charles has also been a vocal proponent of grammar schools and even tried to persuade Tony Blair to expand them. Above: Charles visiting Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in 2003

Charles is pictured in a French class during his visit to Altrincham Grammer School for Girls in Greater Manchester in 2003

'He was very keen that we should go back to a different era where youngsters had what he would have seen as the opportunity to escape from their background, whereas I wanted to change their background.'

Charles's wider views on education were further revealed when a 2002 letter written to a member of staff emerged at an employment tribunal in 2004.

He wrote: 'Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far above their capabilities?

'It is a consequence of a child-centred education system which tells people they can become pop stars, High Court judges or brilliant TV presenters.'

Dislike of modern architecture

Charles has previously been a vocal critic of modern architecture.

In 1984, he infamously attacked the proposed extension to the National Gallery, saying it was 'like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend.'

The proposal, by Ahrends Burton Koralek, did not ultimately go ahead.

Three years later, he hit out at modern architects again by drawing comparison to German bombing raids on Britain in the Second World War.

He said: 'You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe. When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble.'

Charles has previously been a vocal critic of modern architecture. Above: Charles views the renovation work taking place at Llwynywormwood, which was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall, on February 22, 2008

Charles also opposed a proposed redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks, leading to a legal battle before the plans were dropped.

The 1billion plans had proposed a modernist vision, complete with 600 luxury apartments. Charles had said the plans were 'brutalist'.

And in 2014, he penned a ten-point plan as part of a 'big rethink on how to design cities for a rapidly expanding global population.

He talked up the benefits of terraced housing and said high-rise tower blocks 'alienate and insult'.

The then Prince of Wales highlighted the 'charm and beauty' of London's Kensington and Chelsea, a district whose traditional architecture he admires.

Critics pointed out that the average price of property in Kensington was then more than 2million and is now even higher.

Charles also founded the School of Traditional Arts and went on to lead the construction of the village of Poundbury, which was created on Duchy of Cornwall land in a bid to challenge post-war ideas about planning.

An artist's impression of the proposed extension to the National Gallery. In 1984, Charles branded the plan a 'monstrous carbuncle' and it never went ahead

Charles also opposed a proposed redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks, leading to a legal battle before the plans were dropped

A quote from the King on the development's website reads: 'When I set out on this venture, I was determined that Poundbury would break the mould of conventional housing development in this country, and create an attractive place for people to live, work and play.

'Many people said that it could never succeed but I am happy to say that the sceptics were wrong and it is now a thriving urban settlement alongside Dorchester.'

Responding to critics of his views, he told Jonathan Dimbleby in an ITV interview in 1994: 'I just wanted to make the point that I felt anyway that... I didn't want to see this country which I mind about and love greatly... disappear under a welter of ugliness.'

He added: 'I want to say one more thing, to emphasise the real basis on which I have tried to express these feelings about architecture, and that is that while I am thoroughly of an avant-garde generally, what I do not think is sensible in the long run and right is when the avant-garde becomes the establishment.

'And that is what has happened I believe. Not only in architectural terms but in many other areas as well.'

Climate change and the environment

Charles has been speaking out in favour of protecting the environment for more than five decades.

He made a landmark speech in 1970, when he was just 21, in which he warned about the impact of pollution, gas emissions and overpopulation.

He said presciently: 'There is the growing menace of oil pollution at sea, which almost destroys beaches and certainly destroys tens of thousands of seabirds,' he said.

'There is chemical pollution discharged into rivers from factories and chemical plants, which clogs up the rivers with toxic substances and adds to the filth in the seas.

Charles has been speaking out in favour of protecting the environment for more than five decades. Above: Charles delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow in 2021

'There is air pollution from smoke and fumes discharged by factories and from gases pumped out by endless cars and aeroplanes.'

But he was ridiculed by some in 1986 when he admitted that 'I happily talk to plants and trees and listen to them.'

He did however continue to speak out on the environment and climate change.

At a COP summit in 2012, he said: 'Like a sleepwalker, we seem unable to wake up to the fact that so many of the catastrophic consequences of carrying on with business-as-usual are bearing down on us faster than we think, already dragging many millions more people into poverty and dangerously weakening global food, water and energy security for the future.'

Last year, he spoke out again, saying that the heatwave over the summer months vindicated his view that tackling climate change was 'utterly essential'.
The Australian Defence Force has been accused of wasting billions of dollars after dumping retired fighter jets in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The F/A-18A/B Hornets, which cost up to $90million each, are currently collecting dust on the US Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, which is an American territory.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Malcom Davis said he had 'no idea' why the planes had been so unceremoniously dumped.

'They are in pretty poor condition because they have been stored outside so they are essentially rusting,' he said.

Suggestions have been made the planes should be given to Ukraine to help fight off the Russian invasion but Dr Davis said they were outdated.

Australia has dumped its retired fleet of F/A-18A/B Hornets on a US airforce base in the remote Pacific island of Guam

The F/A-18 served as Australia's frontline fighter from the mid 1980s until the early 200s

'They are very old, they are not the capable in terms of modern air combat in terms of having all the modern systems on board so that's why we got rid of them and replaced them with the Joint Strike Fighters,' Dr Davis said.

'It's not really what the Ukrainians are asking of us. The Ukrainians are asking for Bushmasters and Hawkei armoured fighting vehicles, that sort of thing. They are not asking for combat aircraft.

'We got rid of them (the planes) because we replaced them with much more capable aircraft, they are early 80s technology.'

It was reported in 2020 that the retired Hornets had been sold to US entrepreneur Don Kirlin, whose company Air USA was going to contract them as 'opposition' planes for the American military to use in training exercises.

The sale, which was for an undisclosed amount, appears not to have been followed through.

Australia decided to buy 75 F/A-18A/B Hornets from the US in 1981 to replace the French-made Mirage jets which had served as the RAAF's frontline fighters.

The Hornets, upgraded each year, were delivered between 1985 and 1990 with the last F/A-18 being retired from service in 2001 before to be replaced by the F-35A Lightning II.

A Department of Defence spokesperson would not be drawn on what the plans are for the rusting fighters.

'The RAAF fleet of 71 F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet aircraft, associated spares and support equipment has been progressively withdrawn from service from January 2019 to December 2021,' the spokesperson said.

'Due to commercial-in-confidence considerations, no additional information can be provided on the commercial arrangements for the aircraft.'

Mr Davis said Australia's defence strategy, as outlined in a major review handed to the Albanese government this past week, 'is the right step forward' and it focuses on 'impactful' force projection rather than defence of the continent.

He defended the centrepiece of Australia's recent arms build-up, the $368 billion defence pact with the US and Britain which lead to Australia building its own nuclear-powered attack submarines.

'If we want to be secure we've got to spend that money,' he said pointing out the cash would go out over a 30-year period.

US entrepreneur Don Kirlin was reported to have bought the Hornets in 2020 to use as whose as 'opposition' planes for the American military to use in training exercises.

Military analyst Dr Malcolm Davis has rejected a suggestion the retired fighters could help defend Ukraine

'I don't agree with anyone who says these things are not worth it. I think we're moving into a period of extreme risk so we have to spend a lot more money on defence.'

Mr Davis ripped into former prime minister Paul Keating, who in an extraordinary Press Club address in March, called AUKUS the 'worst deal in history'.

Mr Keating argued AUKUS would tie Australia into the US sphere of command and was an enormous expense that would have been better spent on cheaper submarines to defend Australia's mainland, which China posed little threat to.

'Keating has zero credibility,' Dr Davis said.

'He knows nothing about modern warfare and he demonstrated that in dramatic fashion when he spoke at the Press Club when his entire argument was fatuous in the extreme and completely lacking in factual basis.

'His notion that the nuclear powered submarines we are getting will tie us to some sort of American war plan which is nonsense. They will be sovereign Australian boats we will make our own decisions as to how we use them.'

Dr Davis rejected claims Australia was acting like the aggressor by buying the new submarines, which are designed as long-range hunters of enemy vessels.

'If you look what is happening in the region it's the Chinese who are building up their capability massively without any transparency whatsoever,' he said.

'They are unwilling to engage in any discussions about their plans or any sort of arms control, they are massively building up their nuclear weapons capabilities, their naval capabilities so they are the ones who are the aggressors here not us.'

He said the scenario occupying the minds of Australia's defence planners was being drawn into a war with China over the island of Taiwan, which the mainland ruling Communist party have declared they will unify with by force if necessary.

During a very memorable Press Club address in March former prime minister Paul Keating was scathing about the AUKUS defence pact

He rejected the argument that defending Taiwan was not in Australia's national interest or was a 'Chinese' matter.

Dr Davis said such if China invaded, like the Russian incursion into Ukraine, it would 'completely undermine the rules-based order, it completely undermines stability in the IndoPacific region'.

'You end up with a region that is dominated by hegemonic China an authoritarian state that is determined to impose its will on the region and you have to think what that means for us.

'In 2020 China gave us a list of grievances and demands and if we met their demands we would not be a liberal democratic state today and you would not have a free press.'
An Australian couple who bought a house and lived in it for five years have been told to move out after a court found they never really owned it.

Jess and Jackie Morecroft paid more than $1.2million for the property at Mermaid Beach, on the Gold Coast, at an auction in March 2018.

The house is a prime piece of real estate as it is located within walking distance to the beach and has increased in value to be worth more than $2.7million.

But the couple have endured a five-year fight to keep the home after its previous owner Hind Issa, 83, launched legal action in September 2018 to keep it.

The house was sold at a mortgagee auction, which is when a property is listed for sale because the owner defaults on their mortgage.

The Supreme Court found in February 2023 that Ms Issa was still the rightful owner after she claimed the mortgage had been taken out by a relative who had forged her signature.

The house at Mermaid Waters on the Gold Coast (pictured) was bought for $1.2million by the Morecrofts in 2018

Jackie and Jess Morecroft (pictured) are entitled to $2.7million in compensation from the Queensland government, a court has said, but that can be appealed by government lawyers

The court heard the relative of Ms Issa's had applied for a loan, forged her signature to put the house as a guarantee, and then defaulted.

When the lenders seized the house, Ms Issa lodged a caveat, which is a claim with the Land Titles office intended to warn the public there is a legal interest in the property.

Negotiations between the company which lent the money, described in court documents as a 'lender of last resort', and Ms Issa led to the caveat being withdrawn in exchange for $40,000.

The Morecrofts, unaware of any of this, then settled the contract on the property on June 1, 2018 and went to transfer the title to their name.

But they were unable to do so because a second caveat was placed by Ms Issa alleging the house had been 'fraudulently mortgaged'.

She also lodged a police report about the alleged fraud, and since then there has been a legal battle over the house lasting five years.

The Supreme Court in February found the mortgage on the house was 'procured by the fraud of another person'.

The court also found the lenders were 'wholly inadequate' in their efforts to verify whether or not Ms Issa had agreed to her house being put up as security.

The court ruled the house still belonged to Ms Issa, who has Alzheimer's and was represented in court by her adult daughter.

'I guess it's just shown us, you can buy a house at auction, you can settle on that house  you can pay for that house and you still might not get that house,' Mr Morecroft told the ABC.

The house is now worth more than $2.7million but a court found the Morecrofts don't own it after it arrived on the market because it was fraudulently put up as security for a loan

The court found while the Morecroft's did not have a legal claim on the house they were entitled to recover its current value, $2.7million, from the lenders who wrongly sold it.

The couple has already spent $300,000 in legal fees and were concerned pursuing more legal action to reclaim their money could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

But at the latest hearing on Friday, the court said the Queensland government should be liable for compensation because the Morecroft's were victims of a fraudulent sale.

The government can appeal the decision but the Morecroft's said on Friday it was still a 'huge relief'.

'It's now a clear instruction for the state to pay us compensation and we just hope they accept the umpire's decision,' Mr Morecroft said.
Top guns flying in Britain's new supersonic stealth jet will go to war with a fleet of 'Terminator-style' drones capable of detecting and destroying enemies by themselves, with developers today insisting: 'Nothing is off the table.'

The Tempest fighter jets will be the most sophisticated warplanes on Earth, armed with an array of deadly weaponry, including hypersonic missiles and Star Wars-style 'energy-directed' weapons, as well as kit that will help them evade enemy radar.

Traditional cockpits with dials and displays will be replaced by a space-aged 'wearable' one, built into the pilots' helmets allowing fighter aces to control the jets with 'gestures', using virtual and augmented reality.

They will also feature a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence that will control a 'swarm' of unmanned jets that will fly out with the main warplane, autonomously scanning for threats, relaying information and even attacking enemies.

Former RAF Tornado pilot Air Commodore Jonny Moreton, who is part of the team developing Tempest, insisted the new jets would revolutionise air-to-air combat - giving Britain a 'world-beating' edge in the skies.

A future vision: The Tempest jet will be Britain's next stealth fighter, expected to be heading into service from 2035. Pictured is an artist's impression of the jet soaring over the London skyline

The Tempest jets will feature a hi-tech artificial intelligence that will be able to control other unmanned drones that will search for targets and could one day even launch missions by themselves to attack enemy fighter jets

The Tempest will be the sixth generation of fighter jet and will work alongside the F-35B on future missions. Pictured is a comparison of the F-35 and the Tempest

Questioned about whether the jets, and their drone counter-parts, would one day be able to launch attacks without having a human behind the wheels, he said: 'Nothing is off the table.

'Whether you end up with them physically engaging in a dog fight that's probably an extreme. I don't see that happening in the next 15 to 20 years. But I wouldn't be surprised.'

Tempest, which is set to cost Britain an eye-watering 10billion over the next decade, will work alongside the current F-35 stealth jets and will replace the RAFs Typhoons, which will be withdrawn from service by the mid-2030s.

The jets are expected to come into service in 2035 and be operationally capable by 2040. They will have a sensor suite that will be part of a huge information network handling data traffic comparable to that of a small city.

They will work with Britain's fleet of F-35B stealth jets, which are currently in service and have previously deployed on Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth during her maiden operational mission to the Far East.

Designers are still thrashing through concepts over how the Tempest will work, which includes how many drones - or 'autonomous collaborative platforms - it may deploy with as well as what weapons and missions they might carry and undertake.

Air Marshall Greg Bagwell, formerly one of the RAF's top officers, predicted future battles could look like sci-fi movies. 'Whoever designed the Star Wars scenes might turn out to be a visionary in 50 years' time,' he told the Daily Star.

Tempest is part of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)  a trilateral collaboration with Japan and Italy to develop the sixth generation of fighter jet.

Tempest, which is set to cost Britain an eye-watering 10billion over the next decade, will work alongside the current F-35 stealth jets and will replace the RAFs Typhoons which will be withdrawn from service by the mid-2030s

Inside the Tempest will be a sophisticated artificial intelligence that will be able to communicate with an array of other jets and military units on the ground and at sea - as well as controlling a 'swarm' of drone fighter jets that will fly with a manned aircraft on missions

Britain is leading the development, with Japan providing all the technology it intended to use for its next-generation fighter jet as part of the collaboration.

The huge mission to build the hi-tech jets is already supporting thousands of jobs, with manufactures in the project including BAE and Rolls-Royce from the UK, Leonardo from Italy and Mitsubishi from Japan.

Richard Norman, a director at BAE Systems - Air, is overseeing the scheme's development. He said: 'This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity

'This is a gamechanger for the UK and partners. It's a genuinely really exciting time.

'We are producing a world-beating capability to counter the increasing threats to the UK.'

The project comes amid a backdrop of difficulties that have plagued recent defence procurement schemes in Britain, some of which have been delayed for years or are running millions of pounds over budget.

Tempest is arguable one of the most complex projects in development at the moment. Asked whether or not the design team felt confident it could deliver the first jets into service by 2035, Air Cdre Moreton said: 'We recognise this is a challenge but were up for that challenge.'

Last month saw the Ministry of Defence (MoD) dish out 656million to manufacturers working on its Tempest fighter jet.

Last month saw the Ministry of Defence (MoD) dish out 656million to manufacturers working on its Tempest fighter jet

The jets will be replacing the RAF's typhoons and will feature a 'wearable cockpit', which will beam controls via virtual and augmented reality to pilots. Pictured is an artist impression of the Tempest

The new deal represents a major step forward in the Government's plan to splash out 2billion up to 2025.

About 1billion has already been pumped into Tempest - with the project expected to cost tens of billions more between the three partner nations involved.

There are already 2,800 people working on the hi-tech fighter jet in the UK - with the project predicted to deliver a 26.2billion economic boost between now and 2050.

Tempest's scheme is already in an AI race against a rival effort by France, Spain and Germany to build their own, autonomous warplane.

In February it was revealed a modified F-16 fighter jet had successfully flown and fought another aircraft while being entirely controlled by an AI over the skies in America.

During test flights, the jet, known as 'X-62A' or 'VISTA', performed takeoffs, landings and combat manoeuvres without human intervention for a total of over 17 hours.

They took place in December 2022 at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, and showed that it is possible to completely hand over the reigns to AI in battle.

The algorithms which powered it were developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - the research branch of the US Department of Defense.

This marks the first time AI has been used on a tactical aircraft as, prior to this milestone, it had only been used in computer simulations of F-16 dogfights.

During test flights, the jet, known as 'X-62A' or 'VISTA' (pictured), performed takeoffs, landings and combat manoeuvres without human intervention for a total of over 17 hours

Test flights took place in December 2022 at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, and showed that it is possible to completely hand over the reigns to AI in battle

The success has fast-forwarded DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE) programme - which is proving the effectiveness of autonomous dogfighting - by a year.

In August 2020, DARPA pitted autonomous F-16 simulators against each other, with the winning algorithm beating an experienced pilot in a simulated dogfight.

At the time, then-US Defense Secretary Mark Esper then revealed that an AI-powered fighter jet would face a piloted aircraft in a real-life duel in 2024.

He also assured troops that AI will integrated help to enhance US warfighting, not replace pilots entirely.

He said: 'We see AI as a tool to free up resources, time and manpower so our people can focus on higher-priority tasks and arrive at the decision point, whether in a lab or on the battlefield, faster and more precise than the competition.'

In August 2020, DARPA pitted autonomous F-16 simulators against each other, with the winning algorithm beating an experienced pilot in a simulated dogfight (pictured)

The following year, a Chinese fighter pilot was also beaten in a simulated dogfight with an AI-powered jet.

Autonomous warplanes are being developed by defence agencies around the world, as they can take part dangerous situations without risking a pilot's life.

They could also reduce the cost required to train pilots to fly them to the standard required for combat.

Boeing unveiled a 38 foot-long (12 m) autonomous fighter jet designed to be a sidekick for piloted planes during long-distance surveillance missions in 2019.

In 2020, the US Air Force used AI aboard a military jet for very first time to 'spot missiles' in a training mission.

The algorithm took control of the radar sensors and tactical navigation systems of a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane.

However, no weapons were featured during the flight and the plane was still being steered by a pilot.

Then, in 2021, the US Air Force flew an unmanned Kratos UTAP-22 tactical drone using its Skyborg 'AI brain', further paving the way for autonomous fighter jets.

The use of AI controlling military tech that could one day be used to kill humans in future wars is a cause of concern.

In Britain, the Ministry of Defence said it was awake to the ethical concerns posed by having an AI involved in the grubby business of war.

So serious is the concern, the MoD has launched its own ethics advisory panel to scrutinise the rollout of advanced computers as part of the UK's Defence AI Strategy.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted the UK needed to be 'ambitious' in its chase to integrate AI into new military kit.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK needed to be 'ambitious' in its adoption of AI tech in the military but insisted the nation would act responsibly and ethically. He is pictured in February at Bovington Camp, Dorset

'AI has enormous potential to enhance capability, but it is all too often spoken about as a potential threat,' the retired Army officer said at the time.

'AI-enabled systems do indeed pose a threat to our security, in the hands of our adversaries, and it is imperative that we do not cede them a vital advantage.

'We also recognise that the use of AI in many contexts, and especially by the military, raises profound issues. We take these very seriously  but think for a moment about the number of AI-enabled devices you have at home and ask yourself whether we shouldn't make use of the same technology to defend ourselves and our values.'

Speaking of the development of Britain's own AI-powered fighter jet, a spokesman for the MoD told MailOnline: 'This next generation fighter jet will be a world-leading capability, vital to controlling airspace, helping protect our nation, our allies and our interests worldwide.

'The UK, Japan and Italy launched the Global Combat Air Programme in December 2022, which aims to bring the cutting-edge combat aircraft into service from 2035.'
A couple of defiant Evelyn Waugh superfans who are living in the literary giant's 3million former home in the Cotswolds for a peppercorn rent are refusing to leave the mansion four months after it was sold.

Helen Lawton, 62, and her partner Lebanese financier Bechara Madi, 60, pay just 250 a year to live in the Grade II listed Georgian manor as part of a complicated arrangement with the trust that owned it  but are now digging in their heels and refusing to leave.

The pair don't answer the door to callers in case it's bailiffs coming to evict them. Neighbours say they never see Ms Lawton, who is described as a larger-than-life 'Hyacinth Bucket' character.

MailOnline couldn't get a reply when we called at the imposing eight-bedroom Piers Court in the Cotswolds village of Stinchcombe.

But voices could be heard from inside, the central heating and TV were on and the couple's pet bulldog could be seen at a downstairs window.

Bechara Madi and his partner Helen Lawton pay 250 a year to live in Piers Court. Mr Madi is pictured in December walking his dog, Boo on the grounds of mansion. Mr Madi did not answer the door when MailOnline approached him this week

The eight-bedroom property is in the village of Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire. Novelist Evelyn Waugh bought it for 3,600 in 1937. It has been put up for auction with a guide price of 400,000 less than the 2.9million it was sold for just four years ago

Mr Madi later told us: 'We are still residing at Piers Court. We are in the middle of a legal battle and are unable to make any comments as this could prejudice our position.'

That position has become more complicated after their business partner, former TV executive Jason Blain, was named as a debtor in a bankruptcy petition in the High Court.

It was Blain's money that bought Piers Court and its 23 acres of grounds in 2018, although Ms Lawton and Mr Madi claim they put 300,000 into the deal.

The pair were paying just 5-a-week rent while they set about restoring the property where Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited.

But Blain, 52, got into financial difficulties after racking up a 1.1m hotel bill while staying at the plush Mandarin Oriental in London's Knightsbridge in 2020, including 30,000 for valet parking and 8,600 for spa treatments and room service.

Hoare's Bank in London, which gave him 2.1m to buy Piers Court, called in the loan because of missing repayments.

Ms Lawton and Mr Madi were served with a notice to quit on August 19 last year and a copy of the order was pinned to the property's imposing wooden gates.

Piers Court was put in the hands of London auctioneers Allsop who offered it for sale with the warning: 'The property is occupied under a Common Law Tenancy at a rate of 250 per annum.'

It was sold for 3.16m to a mystery buyer on December 15 - above the guide price but below what Mr Madi believes is its true value of 4m.

Piers Court was put up for sale last year - but with a warning that it was 'occupied' under Common Law Tenancy. The home (pictured) was sold to a mystery buyer on December 15

Evelyn Waugh (left) lived at Piers Court for 19 years and wrote novels including Brideshead Revisited, Officers and Gentlemen and Men at Arms in the library there. The mansion was bought in 2019 by Jason Blain (pictured above in 2009 with producer Deborah Schindler), a former BBC executive

The eight-bedroomed Grade II listed Georgian manor was once owned by author Evelyn Waugh. The house is pictured in December - when it was sold

It's understood the new owner has yet to set foot inside the Grade II listed mansion, described as one of the most beautiful houses in Gloucestershire.

Interior designer Ms Lawton said at the time of the auction: 'It was my wish to restore the house and give it its dignity back. That was going to be my legacy in life.

'It was going to be a long project, I've done all the research on the architecture, the interiors, the grounds. It hasn't been touched since the eighties, it needs an enormous amount of work, especially on the outside.'

Up until the sale Ms Lawton had been consulting with architects and English Heritage to return Piers Court to its former glory.

She added: 'I am passionate about the house. It was love at first sight when I saw the house and apparently it was the same for Evelyn Waugh - he said he was beguiled by the place.

'Bachara and I don't have children so we have considered leaving the house to the Evelyn Waugh Society.'

Mr Madi (pictured in December) this week told MailOnline: 'We are still residing at Piers Court. We are in the middle of a legal battle and are unable to make any comments as this could prejudice our position'

Pictured: Evelyn Waugh and his wife Laura Herbert in 1937. Waugh used the money from his wife's father to purchase Piers Court

Ms Lawton, who describes herself as 'eccentric', even bought a Georgian horse-drawn carriage to go with the house of her dreams.

She claims her plans were backed by Waugh's son Septimus, the writer's seventh child, who lived in the house when he was young and died of cancer in 2021.

The new owner bought the mansion without seeing it - Mr Madi and Ms Lawton refused to show prospective buyers around or have the extravagant rooms and grounds photographed for the auction brochure.

It's not the first time the couple have been involved in a property dispute. They took landlords of their 5m apartment in London's Cadogan Square - the most expensive residential street in the UK - to a property tribunal in 2015.

Now they are in another legal battle which may go to the High Court if a solution can't be found.

Meanwhile outside contractors are keeping the lawns cut and hedges trimmed while the occupants are continuing to answer their door.
A man has revealed how he built a $1.8million property portfolio after growing up in housing commission and being kicked out of home at the age of 21.

Father-of-one Kev Tran is a first generation migrant whose parents settled in the western Sydney suburb of Liverpool after leaving Vietnam in the 1980s.

The family lived in social housing in Liverpool, while his parents worked hard to save money to buy property of their own.

His parents unfortunately made a series of bad investment decisions with property - an example Mr Tran vowed not to follow.

Father-of-one Kev Tran is a first generation migrant who despite growing up in housing commission and being kicked out of home at the age of 21 has built a property portfolio worth $1.8million

The 32-year-old, who works as a buyer's agent at Sydney firm InvestorKit, now owns three properties.

After failing high school, Mr Tran worked minimum wage jobs in restaurants, casinos and factories, crediting his parents for ingraining him with a strong work ethic.

'I could see saving and being frugal was a big part of how our family operated, they worked really hard and they saved a lot.' Mr Tran told news.com.au.

Mr Tran explained his parents sold their Sydney investment property in the early 2000s - a decision which fractured the marriage.

His mother wanted to keep the property but his father believed house prices in Sydney would increase and so the pair ultimately decided to sell the home.

Prices in Sydney continued to soar which caused a rift in his parents' marriage, which led to the couple's divorce during Mr Tran's final years of high school.

The young Mr Tran was on track for higher education at university but the fractured household caused his marks to plummet resulting in a mystery ATAR score - a mark below 30.

His mother met a new partner and moved to Melbourne, while Mr Tran shared a room with his dad as they looked for their own place.

At 21 years old he was kicked out of the home for not getting along with the woman his dad remarried.

Mr Tran's life started to change when he landed a job as a VIP host at the Star Casino.

He claimed the role 'opened his eyes' as he was exposed to a level of money which was the polar opposite of his frugal upbringing.

His interest in property grew as he began listening to podcasts and reading books before snapping up his first property at the age of 26.

Mr Tran snapped up his first property at the age of 26 - an $450,000 off-the-plan townhouse in the suburb of Cranbourne, Melbourne (pictured)

His second property purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom home in the regional victorian town of Ballarat, which in the span of three years increased by more than a quarter of a million dollars in value

The property was an $450,000 off-the-plan townhouse in the suburb of Cranbourne, Melbourne.

'When I settled it, I was hoping it would have gone up in value and it didn't. That was a bummer,' Mr Tran said.

'When I bought it I didn't know much about property. I've had it for the longest and it's grown the least. It's un under-performer,' Mr Tran said.

Mr Tran resolved not to buy properties off the plan again and wanted to expand his portfolio with homes that were available for rent for a quicker return on investment.

His second property purchase was a $380,000 three-bedroom home in the regional victorian town of Ballarat, which was soon neutrally geared.

After holding the property for three years, the house was revalued and to Mr Tran's surprise had risen in value by more than a quarter of a million dollars.

'I was able to refinance that one at $650,000,' he said.

For his third purchase, Mr Tran used the equity from his second investment to pay the entire down payment of a property in Queensland's Towoomba.

Mr Tran wants to plans to continue building his property portfolio which is now estimated at about $1.8million.
An Indonesian resort will have to slaughter a goat to restore peace after an Australian man allegedly went on a drunken rampage and injured a motorcyclist.

Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, from Noosa in Queensland's Sunshine Coast, was arrested at the Lantik Moon Beach Resort on Simeulue Island on Thursday.

Police allege the carpenter assaulted a security guard and a motorcyclist and could face being caned 40 times and several years behind bars.

Suhardi Fleno, the chief of Lantik village where the incident happened, said the resort Risby-Jones was staying in has to slaughter a goat in accordance with traditional practices in Aceh.

'It is called peusijuek, meaning we must have peace with the party that we have a problem with to prevent the same problem from recurring,' he said.

The Queenslander's sentence could also be lowered or the case dropped entirely if he is able to reach a financial settlement with the motorcyclist.

An Indonesian resort will have to slaughter a goat to restore peace after an Australian man allegedly went on a drunken rampage and injured a motorcyclist

Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, from Noosa in Queensland 's Sunshine Coast, was arrested at the Lantik Moon Beach Resort on Simeulue Island on Thursday

Risby-Jones allegedly knocked the man off his motorbike and left him with a broken leg and deep wound that required 50 stitches.

'If the victim decides not to process the case, we will drop the case,' an investigator told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Fleno said he had asked the motorcyclist Edi Ron if he would accept a financial settlement, but the fisherman did not give an answer as he was focused on recovering first.

Mr Ron was moved to a bigger hospital in the provincial capital Banda Aceh and his wife has said he will not be able to walk for three months.

'The wound is very bad. The motorbike was thrown onto him and his right ankle bone,' Mr Fleno said.

Over the weekend, Risby-Jones begged for forgiveness over what happened.

His father Ben said on Saturday his son was 'deeply ashamed of the trauma and ongoing distress he has inflicted upon his family' and issued an apology.

He said his son wanted to 'hand on heart apologise' to all the people he had 'disrespected and hurt'.

Ben told The Courier-Mail his son is remorseful, apologetic and 'acknowledges the pain he has caused Mr Ron.

'He further acknowledges the waste of resources his actions have caused the Simeulue Police,' the father said.

He said his son is disturbed by his actions and takes full responsibility.

'He also wants to apologise to the Australian people for embarrassing them and is deeply ashamed of the trauma and ongoing distress he has inflicted upon his family,' Ben said.

Australian man Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones (pictured) is accused of wreaking havoc during a drunken rampage on an Indonesian surf trip

Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones (pictured) from Noosa in Queensland 's Sunshine Coast was arrested at the Lantik Moonbeach resort on Simeulue Island on Thursday

Risby-Jones previously broke his silence on the matter saying he did not feel like himself during the alleged incident.

'Like, almost possessed, it was not a good feeling,' he said. 'I wasn't myself, normally I'm a very nice guy.'

Police allege that Risby-Jones left his hotel room naked and drunk on vodka before assaulting a security guard and then the motorcyclist.

The Queenslander denied he was drunk, claiming he had only one shot of vodka that was exacerbated by sunstroke he'd suffered while surfing.

'We were at the pool, and we had a duty-free bottle of vodka. I only had one shot, just one shot,' he claimed to the ABC.

He also claimed he was not naked but was wearing underwear.

Police allege he fled to the beach when a mob of locals formed to apprehend him before he was assaulted and a citizens' arrest performed.

'I've got hit a lot of times on the ground, people kicked my head, made me forget,' Risby-Jones said.

According to Simeulue police chief detective Mayyuhdi, Risby-Jones was on the surfing trip because 'he was depressed'.

'According to the people who were present at the scene, Bodhi went out of his room completely naked and yelling and causing a ruckus,' he said.

'The people there tried to stop him, but Bodhi hit one of them instead.'

Suhardi Fleno, the chief of Lantik village, said the resort Risby-Jones was staying in has to slaughter a goat to restore peace (stock image)

The island of Simeulue is a surfing hotspot in Aceh, the only Indonesian province ruled under strict Sharia Law.

Risby-Jones is facing two-and-a-half years imprisonment if the motorcyclist's injuries are considered minor, or five-years imprisonment if they are considered major.

He may also be tried under Sharia Law over the charge of drinking alcohol which is illegal for Muslims and non-Muslims in the province, in which case he faces being caned 40 times.

Police can keep Risby-Jones in custody for 20 days while they investigate.

Queensland government cabinet minister Leeanne Enoch said the Australian consulate was offering assistance to Risby-Jones and his family.

'At the moment, it's a case of ensuring that foreign affairs are able to work closely with that gentleman and his family.'
Revellers across Britain have celebrated having an extra day off with the early May Bank Holiday with a night out that continued into the early hours of this morninf and many will be waking up this afternoon with sore heads!

Instead of spending the night indoors, many ventured out into the lukewarm temperatures and spitting rain for a rare Sunday night on the town.

In Oxford, revellers stayed up until the sun rose and marched through the streets in a strange dawn chorus of sorts.

With a lack of work on Monday morning, Sunday was the perfect opportunity for many to let their hair down and truly enjoy themselves.

People in Leeds and Liverpool city centres were pictured letting loose and heading out for drinks while dressed to impress.

Partygoers had hit the tiles on Saturday night as well, but that didn't stop others going out for their fun tonight - and there's the prospect of more revelry on the horizon with another long weekend in seven days for King Charles III's Coronation.

LIVERPOOL: Three men absorb a McDonald's on the pavement as sunrise creeps closer

OXFORD: A reveller reacts as people wait for the choir on the Magdalen Bridge during the May Day celebrations

OXFORD: Revellers attend May Day celebrations outside Magdalen College as the sun rises

OXFORD: People wait for the choir on the Magdalen Bridge, in Oxford this morning

OXFORD: People partied until the early hours of the morning to celebrate May Day

LIVERPOOL: A group of girls share one coat to keep dry as they party in to the early hours

OXFORD: Many revellers will undoubtedly be waking up this afternoon with sore heads

LIVEERPOOL: A couple have a kiss while a reveller gives his legs a rest last night

LIVERPOOL: A group of friend decide to flex there muscles as they soak up the night life

LIVERPOOL: A big group of friends enjoy the night with a bucket full of drink in Liverpool

LIVERPOOL: Women dance the nigh away at Sensation night club, Liverpool last night

This weekend has seen an invasion of May Bank Holiday 'stags and hens' who want to keep partying till the sun rises.

In Leeds many groups of young men and women seemed to be in a chipper mood, laughing and smiling as they made their way through the city centre.

Even the rain and lukewarm temperatures of 12C couldn't dampen their spirits, with groups in fancy dress and impressive clothes not holding back.

Among the impressive costumes on display were groups of men dressed as priests, astronauts, convicts, air force pilots, jockeys, cheerleaders and even a chicken.

Meanwhile in Liverpool city centre, hen-dos and birthday parties were in full swing tonight as they took advantage of not having to go to work on Monday morning.

With heavy rain forecast for Merseyside and temperatures of 11C, nothing was going to stop them going hell for leather in one of Britain's biggest party cities.

And despite the May Day Bank Holiday, many could do it all over again in just seven days when the UK gets another long weekend- this time to mark the Coronation of King Charles.

As the crowning of the new monarch is taking place on Saturday, May 6, the Monday after has been declared a Bank Holiday in celebration, meaning many could take full advantage.

Revellers dressed in white head out for a night on the town in Leeds on Sunday

Two ladies smile as they pose for the camera on a wet night out in Leeds on Sunday

A woman aims a kiss at the camera while out in Mathew Street in Liverpool on Sunday night

Revellers are pictured during a night out in Birmingham as Britons celebrate the bank holiday

Leeds: Instead of spending the night indoors, many ventured out into the lukewarm temperatures and spitting rain for a rare Sunday night on the town

Ladies in Leeds brave the cold and wet weather to make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend

These two long weekends in quick succession could be the perfect tonic after months of dreary weather, with plenty of people eager to throw their hair back and let loose.

Stagweb.com and gohen.com, two of the UK's leading stag and hen party providers, predict this weekend is expected to be a staggering 25 per cent busier than the next busiest weekend.

Jon Stainer, creative director of both Stag Web and Go Hen, said: 'The early May Bank Holiday is always one of the busiest weekends of the year as everyone gets an extra day of partying, plus it allows for a comfortable gap between the December and January festivities and the weddings in the summer.'

Bristol is set to see the biggest boom in stag and hen dos, with Liverpool a close second and Edinburgh in third.

Jon said 'Bristol and Liverpool have always been hugely popular destinations for both stag and hens, but the most surprising name on the list is Bath in fourth.

'Whilst Bath isn't particularly popular with stags, it's been the most popular hen party destination in the UK for years due to its stylish vibe, vibrant bar scene, and the world-famous Thermae Spa.'

Brighton is fifth on the list - nearly 10 per cent of all Stag Web and Go Hen's UK bookings are for the seaside city this weekend.

May Day Sunday revellers pose for the camera ahead of a night of fun and drinking in Leeds

Women dressed as cow girls make their way through Liverpool city centre on the May Day Bank Holiday

Two women stick their tongues out at the camera as they celebrate an impending marriage on the Bank Holiday weekend in Liverpool

A group of ladies pose for the camera as they head out into Liverpool to celebrate a birthday

Men dressed as a priest, astronaut and prisoner make their way through Leeds tonight

May Day Sunday revellers head out into Leeds in fancy dress with jockeys, air force pilots and a chicken all on the menu
A white Republican councilman in Indiana has sparked outrage after jokingly declaring himself a lesbian woman of color in a Facebook post made earlier this month.

Delaware County Councilman Ryan Webb wrote that he considers himself an Indian American woman, saying he finally feels comfortable sharing his 'true authentic self' - but many have not played into the farce.

'It is with great relief that I announce to everyone that I identify as a woman and not just any woman but as a woman of color as well. I guess this would make me gay/lesbian as well, since I am attracted to women,' he wrote in a post.

The announcement sparked outrage from people calling Webb 'pathetic' and for his perceived mockery of LGBT groups as well as marginalized groups.

'His words not only embarrass himself, but you, the county council,' said Charlize Jamieson, a transgender resident. Other members have now called him out for inciting hate against transgender people - and demanded his resignation.

Delaware County Councilman Ryan Webb has sparked outrage after declaring himself a lesbian woman of color in a Facebook post made earlier this month. He is pictured here in a mirror selfie, with a gun seemingly around his waist

'It is with great relief that I announce to everyone that I identify as a woman and not just any woman but as a woman of color as well. I guess this would make me gay/lesbian as well, since I am attracted to women,' he wrote in a post

Webb, a staunch Republican, first shared his 'true self' with the world on April 12.

'Whew, that felt good to finally get that out there and start living life as my true self. I'm excited to bring some diversity to the county council,' he wrote.

'Until today we didn't have any females of color or LGBTQIAPC+++ on the council. I'm glad that now we do!' he continued.

Webb wrote that he will still go by 'Ryan' or 'Councilman Webb' and keep his pronouns to be 'he/him.'

That, however 'will in no way diminish my true identity as a woman of color,' he said.

'I'm excited to be a vocal partner of the LGBTQIAPC+++ movement. Who knows just how far we can take things, but I'm just glad that this is now possible so ANYONE can be ANYTHING or ANYONE they want,' his inflammatory post continued.

At the bottom of his initial statement, he also included several emojis including the American flag, the LGBT flag, a winking face, and a flexed arm muscle.

In a later edit, he doubled down on his statements by declaring himself the first lesbian woman of color in the county council's history.

'It has come to my attention that I am more than likely the very first lesbian woman of color in the history of Delaware County to ever serve on the Delaware county council. I am honored to be the one to shatter that glass ceiling. #GirlPower,' he wrote.

The post immediately ignited a social media frenzy, receiving hundreds of comments from angry and displeased residents and Facebook users.

'Seriously? This is simply you showing your awful character. You are punching down, picking on and mocking an already underserved minority population,' one wrote.

Members of the local community, including Mary Stilts (pictured) called for Webb's resignation

Webb, who clearly made the statement to rile up his left-leaning counterparts in the council, has refused to back down

Charlize Jamieson, a transgender resident, called out the councilmen for his farce

Webb (right) first shared his 'true self' with the world on April 12. But his words were not well received, especially among the Democrat community. Many said that he was in fact inciting hate speech

Webb has since doubled down and said he's simply 'holding up the mirror'

Commenters weren't the only ones to tear the Republican councilman apart.

'If he were serious, I'd sing his praises,' said transgender resident Jamieson during a recent city council meeting.

'But instead, I know better. We all do. I know better because of his history of making hateful anti-trans statements on social media and disrespecting one's pronouns,' she said.

Students Demand Action of Burris Laboratory School also spoke at the meeting.

Six students approached the podium and demanded Webb's resignation, with one student saying people like Webb make the process of figuring who one is more difficult.

One person who weighed in was Dana Black, host of the 'Turn Left' podcast.

'I'm hoping that this individual is not making a mockery of what it means to be more in a marginalized community, but I have a feeling that that's exactly what is happening,' Black told WISH-TV.

'I think he's a nonfactor. There are real issues that people need to be focusing on, policies that are going to impact lives. Unless he's writing a policy that is going to harm communities, that shouldn't be our focus,' Black continued.

Not all who found the post were outraged, however, as many showed their support for the councilman.

'I love you, Congressman Webb..about time to bring out the idiocy going on,' wrote one woman in a comment to his post.

'The ironic thing is that I've always thought this about you. Stunning and brave!' another responded.

'You go girl!' responded one more commenter.

Commenters below Webb's post ripped the councilman to shreds

Webb has been called 'bigoted,' 'pathetic,' and 'embarrassing'

Not all who found the post were outrage as many showed their support for the councilman

'You go girl,' wrote one supporter underneath Webb's post

In a statement to WISH-TV, Webb doubled down on his claims and expressed outrage over those questioning his identity and motives.

'I have recently decided to live my life however I choose to identify which happens to be as a woman of color. My American Indian heritage is not up for debate, although many would like it to be,' he wrote.

'It's possible I may change my mind down the road. The process of identity exploration is complex and often times at the end of our personal journey we end right back where we started. I hope that in the future those asking for tolerance and understanding are willing to give it in return and not just to those who they feel is worthy of it, Webb continued.

'Nobody has the authority to validate or invalidate any individual who chooses to identify a certain way,' his statement concluded.
It comes after The Observer published Diane Abbott's 'racist' letter last week

The editor of The Guardian is facing calls to resign after the newspaper was accused of publishing a 'sickening' anti-Semitic cartoon.

MPs last night told Katharine Viner to consider her position after the Left-wing paper published an offensive cartoon of ex-BBC chairman Richard Sharp featuring Jewish stereotypes, before making what was dubbed a 'half-hearted' apology.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews requested an 'urgent meeting' with Ms Viner over the 'shocking' cartoon, saying it was 'far from the first time the paper has crossed the line'.

The controversial image by Martin Rowson showed a caricature of Mr Sharp, who is Jewish, with what experts described as a string of anti-Semitic tropes.

Mr Sharp dramatically quit as BBC chairman on Friday after a report found he broke the rules by failing to disclose his role in helping former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an 800,000 loan.

The editor of The Guardian is facing calls to resign after the newspaper was accused of publishing a 'sickening' anti-Semitic cartoon (pictured)

MPs last night told Katharine Viner (pictured) to consider her position after the Left-wing paper published an offensive cartoon of ex-BBC chairman Richard Sharp featuring Jewish stereotypes, before making what was dubbed a 'half-hearted' apology

The cartoon, published on Saturday, depicted the ex-Goldman Sachs banker carrying a box from the bank stuffed with a squid and what appeared to be gold coins.

It came after The Observer, also owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG), published a letter by Labour MP Diane Abbott which suggested that only black people can face racism.

She said Jews, travellers and Irish people may face discrimination, but that is due to 'prejudice not racism'.

Ms Abbott, who has since been suspended by the Labour Party, also likened the prejudice suffered by Jews to that faced by ginger-haired people.

Tory MP Andrew Percy, who is Jewish and vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, said: 'The cartoon was disgusting. What's irritating about it is that they're all pious at The Guardian about abuse of anybody on their side of politics, and yet they've got a history of pretty vile, racist abuse in cartoons.

The cartoon, published on Saturday, depicted the ex-Goldman Sachs banker (pictured) carrying a box from the bank stuffed with a squid and what appeared to be gold coins

'They've obviously got a cultural problem. It's Trumpian really. They clearly have a blind spot on anti-Semitism. Anybody should have looked at that Diane Abbott letter and thought 'we can't print this, this is clearly racist', and they should have looked at this cartoon and also thought 'this is clearly racist'.

I assume these things have to be signed off. That's the shocking thing about it. More than one person probably looked at that cartoon, looked at the grotesque tropes that are in it and thought 'this is OK to print'.'

Asked if Ms Viner should consider her position, Mr Percy said: 'Yes.' He added: 'If this had been a cartoon of anything else, any other form of racism, I have no doubt that people would be resigning.'

Fellow Tory MP Peter Bone said: 'It was sickening. It says a lot about the people running The Guardian.

'Apparently nobody looked at it and thought there was anything wrong with it. There should be a full inquiry because there's serious questions for The Guardian to answer and obviously the editor is the one who's overall in charge of what is published.'

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Soames of Fletching  Sir Winston Churchill's grandson  described the cartoon as 'utterly contemptible and vile'.

While the squid in the cartoon seemed to be a reference to Goldman Sachs  once described by Rolling Stone magazine as 'a great vampire squid'  it is also a 'common anti-Semitic motif' used to depict a supposed Jewish conspiracy, according to Dave Rich, an author who specialises in anti-Semitism.

Critics also highlighted that the cartoon appeared to feature a bloodied pig's head and Rishi Sunak portrayed as a puppet.

Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons said the cartoon displayed 'that blend of patrician liberalism and far-Right bigotry that is The Guardian'.

Mr Rowson said he knew Mr Sharp was Jewish because they both attended the fee-paying Merchant Taylors' School in north London, but insisted that fact 'never crossed my mind as I drew him'.

A Guardian spokesman said: 'The Guardian apologises to Mr Sharp, to the Jewish community and to anyone offended.

'We have received a small number of complaints about the cartoon. The Guardian's independent readers' editor is considering these and will respond in due course.'
Australians will be asked to swear an oath of allegiance to King Charles III on his Coronation Day from their homes or places of work.

In a controversial new addition to the ancient ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury will call on the public in the UK and 'other realms' to make the pledge in what is called the Homage of the People.

This will replace the previous Homage of Peers which for centuries expected dukes, the highest hereditary title of nobility in the UK, to swear their allegiance to the Crown.

The Coronation will be held at Westminster Abbey, with around 2,000 people attending the once-in-a-generation event, on May 6.

'I call upon all persons of goodwill in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of the other Realms and the Territories, to make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all,' the Archbishop of Canterbury will say.

The public is then asked to say: 'I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God'.

The Coronation of King Charles III (pictured with Camilla, Queen Consort) will be held on May 6 at Westminster Abbey and include a moment where the public is asked to make a pledge

The Archbishop will then say 'God save The King' to which the public is asked to respond: 'God save King Charles, long live King Charles, may The King live for ever.'

The change has drawn criticism in the UK, with Cambridge Professor Priyamvada Gopal comparing it to 'peasants' being asked to pledge allegiance to the rule of wealth.

Professor Gopal offered her take on the pledge in a scathing Twitter post on Sunday.

'I swear to continue paying allegiance to Rule by Wealth, and to all who profiteer and siphon off money from the public weal, according to law or not,' she wrote.

''Getting the masses to swear fealty to one of the world's wealthiest men even as they are daily further impoverished by profiteers is really the only statement you need on the decline of Britain.'

Others slammed the Coronation ceremony, which will be a display of extravagance featuring many items from the Crown Jewels, as 'tone-deaf' as the majority of people battle financially with the rising cost-of-living.

A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, said the Homage of the People was 'exciting'.

'That's something that we can share in because of technological advances, so not just the people in the abbey, but people who are online, on television, who are listening, and who are gathered in parks, at big screens and churches,' they said.

'Our hope is at that point, when the archbishop invites people to join in, that people wherever they are, if they're watching at home on their own, watching the telly, will say it out loud - this sense of a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King.'

One Briton commenting on Twitter said they were 'amazed' that Charles' advisors thought this was a good idea.

'This could turn out very badly for the monarchy if all the people just stay silent during it (the pledge)... it's a recipe for humiliation for him'.

Another asked if replacing the Homage of Peers with the Homage of the People was considered a 'democratic' shift.

'Can they (the monarchy) get more out of touch?' they said.

The Homage of Peers was removed from the ceremony for, among other reasons, to shorten the length to two hours

St Edward's Crown (pictured) will be placed on Charles' head during the Coronation

Thousands are expected to line the streets of the Mall (pictured) to watch the processions between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey

'In a democracy it is the Head of State who should swear allegiance to us. This is an offensive and tone deaf gesture that holds the people in contempt,' British anti-monarchy group Republic said.

Before the Homage of the People, the Archbishop of Canterbury will pay homage representing the Church of England, followed by the Prince of Wales  performing what will be the only Homage of Royal Blood.

Just as his grandfather Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh did for his wife Elizabeth II at her coronation, William will kneel before the monarch, place his hands between his father's and vow to be his 'liege man of life and limb'.

He will say: 'I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God.'

The symbolic act means the heir to throne, as 'liege man' to the King, has a mutual obligation to the monarch.

In the past, other royal dukes would pay homage, but this time, with only William taking part from the royal family, it removes the need for the controversial Dukes of Sussex and York to undertake this role.

The removal of the homages of hereditary peers also has the benefit of helping to reduce the length of the service, which is now two hours instead of around three as it was at the late Queen's coronation.

In other firsts, the service at Westminster Abbey will include other languages associated with the British Isles - a prayer in Welsh and a hymn in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

Female bishops will also be able to participate.
A Jewish journalist is suing a bar after claiming he was discriminated against and verbally abused by a bartender who called him out because of his Zionist beliefs.

Elad Eliahu, 29, who openly identifies as a Zionist, claims he was on a first date with a woman at Swell Dive in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, when bartender Alvin Dan 'deliberately' mispronounced his name before allegedly asking him to leave while calling him a 'Zionist Fascist.'

The bartender, Dan, allegedly told Eliahu to leave the venue 'or he was going to embarrass' him by claiming the journalist 'harasses abortion patients' and 'doxes people' through his reporting - all in front of his date and other customers in the bar.

The lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court alleges that Dan continued to heckle and taunt Eliahu after he left the bar, even recording himself on video doing so as he walked down the street.

The incident was recorded by Dan, 31, who later posted videos of himself on Instagram taunting and harassing Eliahu as he left the venue.

Elad Eliahu, a 29-year-old Jewish journalist, claims he was harassed and humiliated by a bartender at a Brooklyn bar over his Zionist views

Eliahu has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court charging he was unlawfully ridiculed, discriminated against, denied service and kicked out of the bar

'Why are you walking away?' Dan can be heard asking on the video which was posted online.

'That's Elad, I can't believe it, cannot believe that [he] has the balls to have a f***ing social life.'

Dan then went on to tell Eliahu to never return to the neighborhood.

Eliahu is now suing Swell Dive and Dan seeking unspecified damages for discrimination which he claims was based on his race, national origin, and creed because he identifies as a Zionist.

He also alleges that the incident cost him additional dates with the woman he was with, whom he told to leave 'for the sake of her safety,' was shaken up and hesitant about him following the attack.

Eliahu, who lives on Long Island told the New York Post he was 'angry' and 'distraught' during the verbal assault but attempted to remain clam throughout.

Eliahu alleges bartender, Alvin Dan, pictured, refused to serve him and heckled him out of the bar, calling him a 'Zionist Fascist' making false claims about his journalism

The bartender, Dan, allegedly told Eliahu to leave the venue 'or he was going to embarrass' him by claiming the journalist 'harasses abortion patients' and 'doxes people' through his reporting, all in front of his date and other customers in the bar

The bartender then yelled at Eliahu as he walked down the street

The incident occurred at Filipino, Tex-Mex venue, Swell Dive in Bedford-Stuyvesant

'I was thinking to myself to keep my cool and not respond,' Eliahu said to the New York Post. 'I wasn't going to start yelling anything.'

Eliahu has more than 22,000 followers on Twitter and posted video of the incident there.

'Was out for drinks in Brooklyn last night where a far-left activist regular who was bartending started screeching at me about being a 'zionist fascist' and falsely claims I harass abortion patients or dox people as a result of my reporting,' he wrote.

He also called out the bar on Instagram which led Swell Dive to respond to him privately.

'Sounds like your displeasure is with the bartender not the bar,' the owner wrote.

'I was wrongfully refused to be served by a bartender and I believe because I am Jewish,' Eliahu contends. 'I believe if I wasn't Jewish then he wouldn't have said or done these things.'

'This lawsuit shines a light on anti-Semitic behavior that took place at this bar, engaged in by an employee,' Eliahu's lawyers said in a statement.

Bartender Dan then went on to tell Eliahu to never return to the neighborhood.

'Sounds like your displeasure is with the bartender not the bar,' the owner wrote in a message to Eliahu

'I was wrongfully refused to be served by a bartender and I believe because I am Jewish,' Eliahu contends. 'I believe if I wasn't Jewish then he wouldn't have said or done these things.' The alleged bartender involved is Alvin Dan, seen above

'Let the message be sent loud and clear with the filing of this lawsuit, if you engage in anti-Semitic behavior you will pay a price determined by a jury in damages for your actions,' the statement continued.

'In addition we will be requesting the New York State Liquor Authority to open an investigation to determine if the liquor license for this bar should be revoked.'

Eliahu made headlines in 2021 when he was kicked out of a Turning Point USA conference after he rushed acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse with questions.

That same year also reported on a pro-Palestine protest in Manhattan following an Israeli missile attack in Gaza.

More recently he has been reporting on protests taking place outside of Drag Queen Story Hours and earlier this month reported on former President Donald Trump's appearance in a Manhattan courtroom.

Much of Eliahu's work is posted to his Instagram page as well as Timcast which interviews 'prominent figures on topical issues', often with a right-wing slant.

His work for the outlet describes him as New York City-based on the ground reporter who focuses on protests and civil unrest.

Eliahu made headlines in 2021 when he was kicked out of a Turning Point USA conference
A council that is letting staff work just four days a week has been accused of introducing an 'idlers' charter' as concerns emerge that taxpayers are being short-changed.

South Cambridgeshire District Council will agree tomorrow to let all its desk-based employees reduce their working hours by 20 per cent for the next year without loss of pay after saying a pilot project had been a success.

It is even extending the trial to include binmen, despite fears they will not have time to complete their rounds.

But it can be revealed today that official reports published by the Lib Dem-run council  which has an 18million HQ notorious for lying empty as so many employees work from home  raise major questions over the policy.

The documents reveal that officials are taking advantage of the more relaxed regime to enjoy longer lunch breaks and dog walks.

South Cambridgeshire District Council (pictured) will agree tomorrow to let all its desk-based employees reduce their working hours by 20 per cent

Local politicians complain it is 'impossible' to get hold of anyone on a Monday or a Friday.

And despite the council's boasts, many key performance targets were missed, including the time call centre operators took to answer the phone.

Last night Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg branded the four-day week experiment  which trade unions want to be brought in across the public sector  as an 'idlers' charter'.

He added: 'Councils need to remember they are providing a public service and the public expect it to be provided five days a week.'

South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne said: 'People are furious about this because council taxes have gone up.

'The council should be focusing on the residents of South Cambridgeshire instead of its staff. In a lot of areas it is struggling to deliver services.'

Elliot Keck, of the TaxPayers' Alliance  which today launches a campaign against the four-day week  said: 'Taxpayers will rightly worry that the council clock-off will spread across the country.'

Asked about the targets missed, South Cambridgeshire insisted: 'There are no serious issues that require concern when comparing the data against longer time scales, outliers and seasonality.'
New Government buildings are being laid out on the assumption they will only ever be half-full, as many civil servants are still working from home.

Rules for office design have been quietly changed because 'average attendance will be lower' as a result of the new working practices.

Guidance had been on the basis two-thirds of staff would be at their desk  but that has now been cut to half.

It comes amid fears Whitehall's WFH culture is damaging the delivery of public services.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was forced to defend Foreign Office staff working from home last week as the Sudan crisis began.

It comes amid fears Whitehall's WFH culture is damaging the delivery of public services

Last night former Cabinet minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'Ministers have lost control.

'Staff should turn up to work in the places they were meant to occupy. It seems like a poor service and could damage people's lives.'

Latest figures last month show just 48 per cent of HM Revenue & Customs staff were at their desks.
Britain's most senior civil servant has been sidelined by Rishi Sunak and could soon step down, it was claimed yesterday.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is said to no longer be attending all key meetings, with the Prime Minister preferring to deal directly with officials from relevant government departments.

The claim was reported by The Sunday Times, which cited allies of Mr Case, 44, who said it is simply a 'stylistic change' in approach.

But critics say trust has broken down between Mr Case, ministers and senior civil servants. It has been sparked by his links to BBC chairman Richard Sharp's resignation on Friday over his role in facilitating an 800,000 loan for former PM Boris Johnson.

Britain's most senior civil servant Simon Case has been sidelined by Rishi Sunak and could soon step down, it was claimed yesterday

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is said to no longer be attending all key meetings, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) preferring to deal directly with officials from relevant government departments

Mr Sharp, 67, told Adam Heppinstall KC that he had mentioned his then-live BBC application during a meeting with Mr Case in December 2020 when the pair discussed Mr Johnson's financial situation.

Mr Sharp said he presumed Mr Case, a former private secretary to Prince William, would pass on any potential conflict of interest to those who needed to know.

Mr Case initially appeared to support this version of events, but later said he could not recall. It is the latest in a string of controversies surrounding him. There are now rumours he is preparing to leave his role after the Coronation to take a job in academia, but a source last night denied this.

Yesterday Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted Mr Sunak and Mr Case 'have a good working relationship'. The Cabinet Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Labour has taken 1.5million from a Just Stop Oil-backing green energy boss, it emerged yesterday.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, who is bankrolling the climate activist group, has also given tens of thousands to Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner.

His firm has paid some 10,000 to deputy leader Ms Rayner, and 20,000 to Sir Keir  on top of more than 1.4million to the party over several years, Electoral Commission data shows.

Mr Vince is one of the biggest backers of Just Stop Oil, whose protests have brought traffic to a standstill in London.

Labour has taken 1.5million from Just Stop Oil-backing green energy boss Dale Vince (pictured), it emerged yesterday

Dale Vince has also given tens of thousands to Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner (pictured)

Sir Keirm previously condemned Just Stop Oil's tactics as 'wrong' and 'arrogant'. Pictured: Just Stop Oil protesters marching in Westminster

Sir Keir has previously condemned the group's tactics as 'wrong' and 'arrogant'.

And he said of Mr Vince: 'He knows that nothing he donates to the Labour Party is going to affect my judgment on this.

'The fact he donates will not make a blind bit of difference to the tough line I take in relation to Just Stop Oil.'

But Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith told the Sun on Sunday: 'It is outrageous that they are more than happy to take cash from Just Stop Oil funders who have caused havoc across the nation.'
Olympic rower James Cracknell has entered the race to become the Tory candidate in Henley at the next general election.

Cracknell, 50, said he would be 'honoured' to run in any seat, but that the Oxfordshire town has 'a special place in my heart'.

The double Olympic gold medallist, pictured, has rowed from Henley since he was 18, and is a member of the town's prestigious Leander Rowing Club.

Cracknell said it would be a 'humbling honour' to represent Henley and he would seek selection from local members.

'I rowed there from when I was 18, bought my first house in the town and had my first child when I lived there,' he told The Sunday Telegraph.

James Cracknell, 50, said he would be 'honoured' to run in any seat, but that the Oxfordshire town has 'a special place in my heart'

He pledged to focus on the 'challenges' in the area if he is selected and elected, including 'a lack of affordable housing'

'So many of my best personal and professional memories are from my time in Henley.'

He pledged to focus on the 'challenges' in the area if he is selected and elected, including 'a lack of affordable housing, job opportunities in the town and a rail line that is still not electric'.

Cracknell's rowing success included winning gold at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in Sydney and Athens.
Mark Latham is still the right man to lead One Nation in New South Wales Parliament despite his attacks on gay men, according to one of his party colleagues.

Rod Roberts, who sits in the upper house with Mr Latham, said his leader was entitled to express opinions and no one was forced to agree with him.

That was despite federal party leader Pauline Hanson slamming some of Mr Latham's comments as disgusting.

'I have no problems with his leadership,' Mr Roberts told Daily Mail Australia. 'He's entitled to his opinion and it is his opinion. We do live in a free society.

'Now, you don't have to agree with what he says but like everybody else he is entitled to express an opinion.'

NSW Police confirmed on Monday an investigation had been launched into a crude tweet Mr Latham directed at gay independent MP Alex Greenwich.

Mark Latham is still the right man to lead One Nation in New South Wales Parliament despite his attacks on gay men, according to one of his party colleagues. Mr Latham is pictured with One Nation federal leader Pauline Hanson

Last week Mr Latham said said the thought of two men having sex was so 'disgusting' to a straight male it made him want to 'vomit'.

'The basic natural reality is that we don't go for anal sex with blokes and it's pukeworthy,' he told a radio audience on April 27.

Mr Latham had revealed more of his views on homosexual acts when asked to explain a vulgar tweet he posted in March about Mr Greenwich.

Mr Greenwich had called Mr Latham a 'disgusting human being' for giving a speech at St Michaels Church at Belfield in south-west Sydney on March 21 while Christians clashed outside with LGBTQI activists.

'Disgusting?' Mr Latham responded on Twitter. 'How does that compare with sticking your d*** up a bloke's a*** and covering it with s***?'

Mr Latham, who has refused to apologise for the tweet, appeared on Chris Smith's TNT Radio program last Thursday and went even further.

'I speak for a lot of straight men, Chris, in saying that the idea of having anal sex with another man would make you vomit,' he said. 'That's what makes us straight.

'Now, I know there's no category or letter in the LGBT ABC WTF alphabet for straight men but that's how we honestly feel about people like Greenwich.'

Mr Latham had revealed more of his views on homosexual acts when asked to explain a vulgar tweet he posted in March about about gay independent MP Alex Greenwich (above)

On Monday, Mr Greenwich announced he would sue Mr Latham for defamation and had filed complaints with NSW Police and Anti-Discrimination NSW on the grounds of vilification.

Mr Greenwich described the March 30 tweet as 'defamatory and homophobic'.

'He followed that up with media commentary that doubled down on his attack,' he said on Monday.

NSW Police confirmed officers attached to Surry Hills area command have 'commenced an investigation after receiving reports of online harassment directed at a 42-year-old man'.

'Inquiries are continuing, a spokeswoman said.

Anti-Discrimination NSW declined to comment due to secrecy provisions in the Anti-Discrimination Act.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to Mr Roberts, a former detective sergeant who entered parliament in 2019, before Mr Greenwich revealed he would be taking legal action against Mr Latham.

'People need to look at a broader picture of Latham and not focus just on those comments but have a look at his efforts in policy reform in the last four years he's been here in the state parliament,' he said.

'He continues to do good work. Just because some people take offence at what he said doesn't detract from his ability as a policy advocate in NSW.'

Mr Roberts said 'there's lots of people in this world that do s*** that I don't agree with but I don't carry on about it'.

'That's like being in this parliament,' he said. 'I've got to sit next to the Greens and listen to some of the rubbish that they go on with. I don't agree with it but they're entitled to be here.

'And that's like Latham. He's entitled to speak his mind. Now, you don't have to agree with it.

Rod Roberts (right), who sits in the upper house with Mr Latham (left), said his leader was entitled to express his opinions and no one was forced to agree with him. 'I have no problems with his leadership,' Mr Roberts told Daily Mail Australia

'You might think that perhaps the language is vulgar and he should have chosen different language but that's how hes chosen to express himself and everybody is entitled to be able to express themselves.'

When Smith asked Mr Latham if he would use the same crude language in the tweet if he had his time over again he said: 'Well, it's code for anal sex between blokes'.

'I can tell you, Chris, if someone held a gun to my head and said I had to have anal sex with a bloke I'd vomit. I'd vomit all over him. And I speak for straight men and this is what makes us straight.'

Two days after his original social media outburst, Mr Latham explained his refusal to apologise for the now-deleted tweet.

'Sometimes in public life when you throw out insults they come back at you harder and truer So boo-hoo Alex Greenwich,' he said.

On Monday, Mr Greenwich said: 'Enough is enough.'

'I've been openly gay in public life for 15 years and in NSW Parliament for over 10 years, and never have I experienced such a homophobic, sexualised attack that exposed me to contempt, ridicule and extreme abuse, based on my sexuality.'

On Monday, Mr Greenwich announced he would sue Mr Latham for defamation and had filed complaints with Anti-Discrimination NSW and NSW Police. Mr Greenwich is pictured left with husband Victor Hoeld

One Nation founder Ms Hanson has not responded to requests for comment about Mr Latham's latest remarks about homosexuality.

Ms Hanson previously urged Mr Latham to apologise for the 'disgusting' tweet and said her party did not condone his comments.

'I want you to know that I don't condone them and neither do my members of parliament or party associates. I think they are disgusting,' she said.

'I've actually tried to ring Mark a couple of times, to no avail. And I have clearly sent a text message to him, telling him my views.

'I've asked him to give the people an apology. I will leave it at that. It is now over to Mark to answer to the people.'

Mr Latham again refused to apologise during his interview with Smith and said Ms Hanson had not contacted him.

'Pauline hasn't rung me at any stage during this,' Mr Latham told Smith. 'I've had no contact from her whatsoever.

'I'm assuming that as a woman she doesn't understand how straight men feel about this and... gay men obviously wouldn't understand how straight men feel about it but it's true.

'The basic natural reality is that we don't go for anal sex with blokes and it's pukeworthy.'

NSW Premier Chris Minns called Mr Latham's tweet 'vile' and said on April 2 he would try to block him from chairing any committees.

Mr Latham responded to that call by telling Daily Mail Australia he was 'not running for any' committee chair positions and describing Mr Minns as 'a fool'.

NSW Premier Chis Minns (pictured) called Mr Latham's tweet 'vile' and said his government would try to block him from chairing any committees in the NSW Parliament's upper house

Last Thursday, Mr Latham told Smith his tweet had been justified by Mr Greenwich suggesting he had encouraged violence at the the LGBTQI rally.

'Greenwich went out there and said I was a dangerous person,' he said. 'Said that I'd incited the violence, said that I was a disgusting human being.'

'Greenwich has gone way over the top without any facts and I said what I honestly believe to be the truth in response to him. I gave my opinion.

'It's not an opinion that's fashionable, obviously. It was crudely expressed. The crude words were taken down off Twitter but there'll be no apology for Greenwich.'

Asked what he would do if Ms Hanson demanded he resign from her party Mr Latham said: 'Well, she hasn't contacted me and I'm not apologising'.

'So I'm not resigning from anything. I'm not apologising and I'm not backing down.'

Mr Greenwich previously said Mr Latham's tweet had brought him to tears.

'This has obviously been hurtful for me. I had a bit of a cry late yesterday at the end of the day,' he said on March 31.

'After being in this gig for a decade and getting re-elected, I didn't think I'd still be subjected to homophobic abuse.'

However, at the time Mr Greenwich refused to call for Mr Latham to apologise or resign.

'I don't want to give him another soapbox for him to pretend to be a victim when he seeks to victimise people,' he said.

One Nation will have three representatives - Mr Latham, Mr Roberts and former Labor MP Tania Mihailuk - in the upper house when parliament resumes sitting.
Controverisal new laws targeting hate speech in Ireland have raised fears people could be jailed simply for thinking something deemed offensive.

The Criminal Justice Bill will make it an offence to 'prepare or possess' material on their computer that could incite hatred against someone's gender or religion.

Critics fear it could lead to the creation of 'thought crime', censoring politically incorrect views including legitimate discussion over trans rights and the more socially-conservative teachings of the Catholic Church.

Twitter boss Elon Musk has even waded into the debate, branding the Bill 'a massive attack on freedom of speech'.

Yet, despite widespread opposition from campaigners and politicians, a series of amendments aimed at watering down the legislation were last week defeated in the Irish parliament.

The Criminal Justice Bill will make it an offence to 'prepare or possess' material on their computer that could incite hatred against someone's gender or religion. Pictured: Ireland's parliament building Leinster House

Ministers have stressed that 'genuine freedom of expression' will not be caught within the Bill and any communication deemed worthy of prosecution would 'not be an area that anybody will stray into by accident'.

The Bill will replace legislation which has led to only a few dozen convictions since it was enacted 34 years ago. It will crack down on hate speech by lowering the threshold for prosecution.

The Bill will punish any 'intentional or reckless' communication that would incite violence or hatred against a protected characteristic  which includes gender and religion  with up to five years in jail.

The previous legislation did not include gender and sex as protected characteristics.

But Peadar Toibin, leader of the socially conservative political party Aontu, said: 'The censorship culture... is on steroids. People fear that is encroaching into the realm of honest, respectful debate on real issues.'
Russian jets are trying to provoke U.S. aircraft into dogfights above Syria, top U.S. officials have confirmed.

American military leaders have told their pilots not to respond to the provocations, but admit the dangerous maneuvers are deeply worrying.

Moscow and Washington have a 'deconfliction line', set up to avoid any misunderstandings and have frequent, frank discussions between the top military staff.

Yet since the beginning of March, Russian jets have violated deconfliction protocols a total of 85 times, an official told CNN on Saturday - including flying too close to coalition bases, failing to reach out on the deconfliction line, and more.

The figure includes 26 instances in which armed Russian jets flew over U.S. and coalition positions in Syria.

U.S. officials on April 2 and April 18 released videos showing Russian jets coming dangerously close to their planes.

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who leads Air Forces Central Command, said on Thursday his pilots had been confronted by an 'increasingly bellicose' Russia in the skies above Syria

United States Air Force pilots and crews walk beside F-16 aircrafts parked on the tarmac. Grynkewich said he has told his pilots not to respond to the Russian provocations

US Air Force F-16 fighter jets prepare to land at an airbase in Ben Guerir, about 30 miles north of Marrakesh, during the 'African Lion' military exercise in January 2021

The Americans have approached their Russian counterparts to discuss the multiple recent incidents. The Russians have responded, the official told CNN, but 'never in a way that acknowledges the incident.'

On Thursday, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who leads Air Forces Central Command, told Defense One that Russian planes have been 'increasingly bellicose in how they're approaching us.'

He added: 'They're maneuvering aggressively against us when our protocols would say we're supposed to stay several miles apart and just monitor each other.

'They're aggressively maneuvering, almost like they're trying to dogfight, if you will,' Grynkewich said.

'That's very concerning.'

He said he told his pilots: 'Don't take the bait.'

Grynkewich added: 'The guidance that I've given our folks is we're not going to act like they are.

'We're going to act in a professional manner, and we're going to try to de-escalate the situation.'

The fraught situation was confirmed to CNN by Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for US Central Command.

Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for US Central Command, confirmed the dangerous activities

Two US Air Force B-52H strategic bombers (top L) flying with South Korean Air Force F-35A (top R) and US Air Force F-16 (front) fighter jets during a joint air drill in South Korea on April 14

A Russian air force Sukhoi Su-35 fighter is pictured in September 2019

An official told CNN that the Russians may be trying to 'provoke' the U.S. and 'draw us into an international incident.'

'It looks to be consistent with a new way of operating,' the official said.

General Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, head of Central Command, said he's seen a spike in aggressive Russian activity

The U.S. has approximately 900 service members still in Syria, as part of the ongoing campaign to defeat ISIS.

On March 16, General Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, head of Central Command, said he's seen a spike in aggressive Russian activity.

'We have seen a significant spike since about March 1 in Syria,' General Kurilla told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Kurilla has previously also warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could spill over into Syria, where Moscow might try to act as a 'spoiler.'

The comments by Kurilla followed U.S. assertions that Russia's intercept of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea last month was part of a pattern of more aggressive behavior by Russia's military.

News of the dogfighting came weeks after U.S. Central Command released videos of Russian fighter jets intercepting American jets over Syria on two separate occasions.

The videos show high-quality infrared views of a Russian Su-35 intercepting an American craft

US Central Command released videos earlier this month of Russian fighter jets intercepting American jets over Syria on two separate occasions

The videos show high-quality infrared views of a Russian Su-35 intercepting an American craft

The video shows the Russian pilot go within 2,000 feet of the American jet which defies long-standing protocols

The caption from the video calls it 'declassified footage of a Russian Su-35 that violated Coalition Force airspace in Syria.'

The video shows the Russian pilot go within 2,000 feet of the American jet, which defies long-standing protocols.

A second, lower-quality video was shot April 2 and shows 'one Russian Su-35 conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a U.S. F-16 aircraft.'

Both videos claim that these violated U.S. coalition-controlled airspace over Syria.

'The Russian Su-35 had not been deconflicted when it entered the airspace,' AFCENT said in a statement.

'This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Coalition aircraft.

'These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew demonstrate [a] lack of competence and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.'
Defining shed burglaries differently to raids on the home will lead to fewer break-ins being solved and poorer service for victims, a police leader warns.

A domestic burglary has been considered to be a raid on the home or any outbuildings such as garages and sheds since 2017. But a change in this policy has prompted fears that a pledge made last year to attend every break-in could now be watered down.

Thousands have converted sheds and garages into office spaces, equipped with expensive computer equipment and furniture. And critics have argued that having an outbuilding burgled can be just as costly and upsetting.

Defining shed burglaries differently to raids on the home will lead to fewer break-ins being solved and poorer service for victims, a police leader warns. [File image]

Thousands have converted sheds and garages into office spaces, equipped with expensive computer equipment and furniture. [File image]

A National Police Chiefs Council spokesman said: The break-in of a home and of an unconnected building within the boundaries of a residential property can have very different impacts on victims.

But Steve Hartshorn, of the Police Federation of England and Wales, told the Sunday Telegraph that it could result in victims getting a poorer service.
Press Release

May 1, 2023 Tolentino wants clearer definition of PH territory, inclusion of cyber-attack provision in Mutual Defense Treaty MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino is pushing for a clearer definition of the Philippine territory under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. In an interview with radio DZBB, Tolentino suggested the inclusion of territories where the Philippine government currently exercises 'sovereign rights.' "Kung ako po ang mag a-amendya nito... hindi lamang sa metropolitan territory, sa land mass island territory (ng Pilipinas) sa Pacific Ocean, mayroon pang iba. Kung liliwanagin po iyan, pwede pong idagdag: where it exercises sovereign rights," Tolentino, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said. Tolentino made the remarks in connection with the upcoming meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos and United States President Joe Biden wherein, defense, security, and other geopolitical matters are expected to be discussed by the two leaders. The senator suggested a new provision in which, "any attack on a place where it exercises sovereign rights (for both parties) would trigger MDT." "Yung where effects on the exercise of sovereign rights, puwede siguro pag-usapan para maliwanag na kapag inatake tayo sa ating exclusive economic zone, ay pasok na pasok sa Mutual Defense Treaty as amended," the lawmaker added. Considering the current geopolitical tension of claimant countries in the South China Sea region, particularly in the disputed territories located in the West Philippine Sea, Tolentino stressed that the mere presence of the American military in the region is already "a psychological reinforcement itself of our historical ties with the United States." "Malaking bagay po iyon na alam natin na-andyan sila. So sa halip na gumatos po tayo ng malaki para ma improve yung sandatahang lakas, mayroon tayong kaalyado na handang tumulong," he said. Tolentino also suggested for the Philippine government to seek an upgraded compensation, not only under the MDT but also with other existing treaties with the world's 'super power,' specifically the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the recently expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which will be given to local government units (LGUs) that will be hosting those non-permanent U.S. bases in the country. "Dagdagan at i-klaro rin yung itutulong pamahalaang lokal na magho-host--siguro dapat matulungan sa kanilang educational system, magtayo ng eskwelahan, at kung mayroong kapabilidad na magtayo ng maliliit na ospital kasi marami namang mga doktor ang sandatahang lakas ng Estados Unidos," the senator said. Meanwhile, at this turning point of the 'modern warfare,' era, Tolentino also seeks the inclusion of a 'cyber-attack' provision under MDT considering that the battlefield right now it's not just only about the conventional armed conflict, but it also include the skirmishes along the cyberspace, noting that there are reports of the so-called 'state-sponsored' cyber-attack. "Kasi kung magkaroon ng cyber-attack sa banking system natin, collapse po lahat yan--armed attack din po iyon. Kapag inatake din po yung mga government institutions po natin gaya nung nangyari na may data leaks daw sa National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), ay considered as armed attack din po iyon," said Tolentino. Tolentino said he wants an amendment of Article 5 of the 1951 MDT, to include provisions on attack on cybersecurity especially when it will be made on critical infrastructure of the governments and other vital installations, considering that it may jeopardize the overall operations of either parties. "Kapag nag cyber-attack, sira pati ang banking system. Sira pati lahat ng critical government infrastructures--brownouts, blackouts nationwide, pati telecommunications," he added. He explained that a counterattack during a state-sponsored cyber-attack "should be commensurate" and doesn't need a direct confrontation with the opposing party.
The teenager who hosted an after-prom party at her home in Mississippi where two high schoolers were shot dead and four were injured has spoken up about the horrors she faced.

The 18-year-old, who asked not to be named, said she reluctantly agreed to host the after-prom party this year because nobody else would agree to plan one.

But as about 60 to 70 students from Bay High School in Bay St. Louis and Hancock High School in Kiln were celebrating early Sunday morning, a gunman opened fire, killing two teenagers and injuring four others  one of whom is in critical condition. He then fled the scene and allegedly returned home.

Cameron Everett Brand, 19, of Pass Christian, was later arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of murder. He is being held in a Mississippi jail without bail.

'He just started shooting, and left without remorse,' the 18-year-old hostess told the Sun Herald of the suspected gunman.

Cameron Everett Brand, 19, faces charges in connection to a shooting at a Mississippi house party that left two dead

Authorities say Brand entered an after-prom party held at a student's house and started firing an unknown number of rounds

The teenage girl and her mother told how they were monitoring the partygoers at their house, keeping an eye on the crowd and picking up trash.

They said they did not supply any of the teenagers with alcohol, though some students brought their own and many were drinking.

Neither the girl nor her mother said they heard any yelling or signs of an argument  and their first sign that anything was wrong was the sound of gunshots.

The girl and her mother said they never saw the weapon, but her mother heard sounds of 'pow, pow, pow.'

The teenager, meanwhile, said her friends grabbed her and pulled her into the woods behind the house after shots first rang out.

When the shooting stopped, she said, she saw someone laying besides her mother's car and went to give him CPR  but someone stopped her, telling the girl, 'He's dead.'

'We were having a good time until he started shooting,' the 18-year-old said, noting that the shooter 'just got in his car and left and went home' after 'he shot six innocent people.'

'This happened at my house,' she continued. 'I just wanted everybody to have a good time. This will live with me forever.'

The girl said she has already canceled her plans to have a graduation party, saying, 'Everybody expects me to be OK and I can't be OK.'

Her mother also said that she will not be able to forget what she saw at her own home.

'All I can remember seeing is these four children, laying on the ground, shot,' she said.

The victims of the shooting have since been identified as De'Arreis 'DD' Smith, 18, a senior at Hancock High School, and Haeleigh Stamper, 16, also a student at Hancock

Brand had a criminal history prior to the shooting early Sunday morning, with previous charges including carrying a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana and domestic violence by sexual assault, as well as a charge for violating a protection order

The victims of the shooting have since been identified as De'Arreis 'DD' Smith, 18, a senior at Hancock High School, and Haeleigh Stamper, 16, also a student at Hancock.

Kecia Sams, who considered Smith an adopted member of her family, described the teenager who was just weeks away from graduating as 'an amazing soul, a loyal friend, brother and uncle.'

'He was loved by many and will be missed so very much by his family.' she told the Sun Herald.

A GoFundMe has also been set up to help with Stamper's funeral expenses. It describes her as a 'beautiful soul.'

'Her beautiful smile would light the whole room up,' organizer Lillie Smith wrote. 'Someone so sweet and adorable like her didn't deserve this at all.'

Four others were also shot in the rampage  including one who is in critical condition.

Two of the wounded are students at Hancock High School and two others are students at Bay High School.

A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined.

But records obtained by the Sun Herald show Brand had a history of run-ins with the law, resulting in charges including carrying a concealed weapon, possession of marijuana and domestic violence by sexual assault, as well as a charge for violating a protection order.

He was also cited in the past for violating his bond conditions, but was a free man when he showed up at the party early Sunday morning.

Authorities have said he fled the scene after opening fire, but was arrested at his home shortly after without incident.
The heavily pregnant wife of a paramedic who was fatally stabbed outside a McDonald's has vowed to teach their two children their father was a hero.

Steven Tougher, 29, was allegedly stabbed multiple times in the carpark of a McDonald's in Campbelltown, southwest Sydney, at about 5:30 am on April 14.

The NSW Ambulance paramedic and former nurse had married the love of his life just seven weeks before he tragically died inside his ambulance.

At Mr Tougher's memorial service on Monday, his wife Madison said she had made a 'new vow' to her late husband and 'forever love'.

'On that day, I made a promise to you, I vowed to love you for the rest of my days and I became your wife,' she said.

'Today, just seven weeks later, I make a new vow to you.

'Today I vow that our two beautiful children will always know what a selfless hardworking, kind, compassionate person you were.

'They will forever understand how their dad was a hero who helped people through the most painful and sickest times.'

NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dr Dominic Morgan posthumously presented Mr Tougher with a pandemic service medal and national medal at the service, which was held at the University of Wollongong, south of Sydney.

Mr Tougher's heavily-pregnant wife Madison vowed to teach their two children their father had been a 'hero' during the paramedic's celebration of life on Monday

Steven Tougher, 29, was allegedly stabbed multiple times in the carpark of a McDonald's in Campbelltown, southwest Sydney, at about 5:30am, on April 14

The casket of paramedic Steven Tougher is seen arriving in a hearse to his memorial at the University of Wollongong, south of Sydney, on Monday morning

Paramedic Steven Tougher (right) married the love of his life, Madison (left), just four weeks before he was stabbed to death outside a southwest Sydney McDonald's

Steven Tougher was embraced as he arrived at the memorial with the rest of the family

The commissioner led tributes at the celebration of life, describing him as a 'young man of limitless potential, taken too soon'.

'Every single one of his colleagues has spoken so positively about his larger than life personality, his sense of humour, but also a strong sense of natural justice,' he said.

He thanked responding paramedics and doctors who went 'above and beyond to do everything in their power to save Steve's life'.

'Few will know the lengths that you went to,' he said.

Mr Tougher's family was handed the National Medal of Service by Governor-General David Hurley in recognition of the duties he would have completed.

Ambulance and police helicopters flew overhead as paramedics formed a guard of honour to escort Mr Tougher's hearse into the service.

R.E.M's Everybody Hurts played as the casket, draped with the NSW Ambulance Service flag, was carried by downcast family members.

Mr Tougher's wife Madison, dad Jeff and sister Jess all spoke at the ceremony alongside his friends and a fellow paramedic.

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Health Minister Ryan Park also paid tribute to the ambo, with the premier saying the paramedic 'represents the best of us'.

Mr and Mrs Tougher (above) were set to welcome a new baby in the upcoming weeks - a fundraiser started to help their family has raised more than $500,000

Health Minister Ryan Park broke down while sharing his tribute to Mr Tougher on Monday

Police officers attended the memorial for young paramedic Steven Tougher on Monday

Mr Tougher's casket was draped with a NSW Ambulance Service flag

Women carried large bouquets of flowers into the University of Wollongong

Paramedics formed a guard of honour to escort Mr Tougher's hearse to the venue

'Selfless, brave and dedicated, not motivated by wealth or by money or status, but by the need to help others,' Mr Minns said.

'It's a rare person that would choose that life as a vocation. But as Steven's family told me, it's a life he was determined to live from the very beginning.

'The pain we feel today is partly driven by a deep longing to fill the place of life that Steven will not live.'

Heartbreaking scenes played out two weeks ago when more than 20 members of Mr Tougher's family visited the scene of his death in Sydney's west.

They lay flowers over the mountain of tributes placed by mourners before sharing an emotional tribute to their 'hero'.

'Steven had an uncanny ability to connect with people, to truly understand their needs, and to provide care with genuine warmth and empathy,' they said.

'He was always ready with a smile, a kind word, or a lending hand and brought joy to those around him.'

It's understood Mr Tougher had been nearing the end of a night shift when a stranger allegedly lunged at him and repeatedly stabbed him in the stomach.

Mr Tougher studied at Charles Sturt University and graduated from his paramedicine degree in mid-2022 (pictured, Mr and Mrs Tougher at his graduation)

Mr Tougher and his wife Madison were married just four weeks before the tragic incident (the couple are pictured dancing at their wedding)

Mr Tougher's family said the paramedic had had the 'uncanny ability to connect with everyone'

NSW Premier Chris Minns told mourners at Mr Tougher's service he 'represents the best of us'

Mr Tougher and his colleague had been 'working hard all night' and were taking a meal break at the time in a McDonald's car park.

As police rushed to the scene and arrested his alleged attacker, Mr Tougher was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition where he sadly died.

Jordan Fineanganofo, 21, has been charged with murder. He remains in custody and is due to face a Sydney court on June 28.

The day after the incident, his lawyer told AAP that his client had been receiving extensive mental health treatment but was 'off treatment and medication' at the time of the alleged stabbing.

Mr Tougher studied at Charles Sturt University where he was the President of the online Student Representative Committee.

Before his graduation, Mr Tougher worked at Wollongong Private Hospital as a nurse. He graduated from his para-medicine degree in mid-2022.

He became a paramedic intern in May, 2022, and was just weeks away from going on paternity leave to help care for his second child when he was killed.

Mr Tougher's father, Jeff, is leading the charge for stronger laws to protect emergency workers and ensure what happened to his son never happens again.

Mr Tougher (above) had reportedly dreamt of being a paramedic since he was five years old but was tragically killed just months after joining the NSW Ambulance team

It's understood Mr Tougher was filling out paperwork for the end of his night shift when he was stabbed in the back of his ambulance (above)

NSW Police received a code one call at about 5.30am on Friday when Mr Tougher was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen (pictured, police at the scene)

A mountain of tributes were placed by mourners near the McDonald's carpark last month

The Tougher family visited the floral tributes before sharing an emotional tribute to their 'hero'

'I hope that the loss of Steven will not be for nothing, and that this senseless act can be a catalyst for change, to support better working conditions for his brothers and sisters in blue,' he told reporters last month.

'Nobody deserves the grief that this event has brought forward.'

Mr Tougher said he wants mandatory life sentences for offenders found guilty of killing emergency workers.

NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce broke down in tears as she expressed sympathy for the victim's family.

'The health system is one big family and to lose someone in this way is just incomprehensible to us,' she said

'And to lose someone in this way is incomprehensible to us.

'I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the wife and family of the paramedic.'
An elite New Jersey boarding school has admitted that 'more should have been done' after a student took his own life in his dorm room following a year of bullying by his peers.

Jack Reid, 17, attended The Lawrenceville School, between Trenton and Princeton, where tuition is $76,000 a year.

He died on April 30, 2022, but in the 12 months leading up to his death he had become the victim of a vicious bullying campaign that consisted of cruel and malicious rumors that labelled him as a campus rapist.

The rumors were made up by fellow students and were said to Jack both in person and posted anonymously online thereby spreading the story beyond the campus walls.

During a secret Santa gift exchange among his classmates, Jack was given a rape whistle together with a book about how to make friends.

Jack Reid, 17, a student at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey took his own life after being bullied by other students both in person and online

Although school staff were made aware of the bullying, the school has now admitted make an extraordinary admission of failure on the anniversary of Jack's death.

'There were steps that the School should in hindsight have taken but did not,' the school wrote in a lengthy statement.

Most damning of all is the fact the school did not make a public or private statement that it had in fact investigated the rape and found the rumors about Jack and the entire story to be completely untrue.

Neither Jack not his parents were ever told that he had been exonerated over the claims.

The school's officials have now admitted that they were aware of the bullying, but fell short in their obligation to protect him.

In a frank, honest and heart-wrenching admission the school, which ranks among the nation's top boarding schools, believes Jack's death could have been prevented and stated how 'there also were circumstances in which the involvement of an adult would have made a difference.'

Tuition a The Lawrenceville School, located between Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey $76,000 a year and is said to be one of the top ten boarding schools in the country

'As we seek to improve as a community, we have examined our role and take responsibility for what we could have done differently. Lawrenceville's top priority is the physical, social, and emotional health, safety, and wellbeing of our students. We recognize that in Jack's case, we fell tragically short of these expectations,' the statement read.

'Jack was universally regarded as an extremely kind and good-hearted young man, with an unwavering sense of social and civic responsibility and a bright future. We continue to mourn this loss,' the school wrote in the statement noting how a settlement had been reached with his parents, William and Elizabeth Reid.

The agreement requires the school, which hosts 830 students, to undertake a series of corrective actions, including creating a new dean's position that will focus on mental health issues, with the goal of becoming a model for anti-bullying and student mental health.

'We think bullying, with the 1,000 times echo chamber of the internet and everybody knowing, is much more devastating to kids and, in Jack's case, produced a very impulsive act,' Jack's dad, William Reid, said

'We feel like we both have life sentences without the possibility of parole,' Jack's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Reid, a clinical psychologist, said to the New York Times.

'The only thing I'd love to change here is to get Jack back. I can't. I do know if he were alive, he would want me  both of us  to try to make something good out of this and honor him in the way he lived his life.'

'We think bullying, with the 1,000 times echo chamber of the internet and everybody knowing, is much more devastating to kids and, in Jack's case, produced a very impulsive act,' dad, William Reid said.

'He had to escape the pain from the humiliation he was feeling.'

The school explained how after a student who previously had been disciplined for bullying Jack was expelled for an unrelated violation of school rules, Jack was allowed to return the school but was left largely unsupervised where students gathered.

'Some harsh words were said about Jack,' the school revealed adding that administrators did not notify or check on Jack once he was back on campus.

Later that night, Jack, who was a Dean's list student, took his own life, telling a friend that he could not go through the ordeal again.

He had a bible in one pocket of his gym shorts, as well as a note directing his parents to a Google document, in which he described his helplessness.

The school has since released a statement recognizing the failure of the establishment to protect Jack ,noting how inaction by school staff contributed to his death

Stephen Murray, the head of Lawrenceville School

'The School acknowledges that bullying and unkind behavior, and actions taken or not taken by the School, likely contributed to Jack's death,' the Lawrenceville School wrote.

'We acknowledge that more should have been done to protect Jack.'

Following his suicide, the school's board of trustees hired the law firm Petrillo Klein & Boxer to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

The investigation included interviews with 45 students, faculty members, and others, together with a review of more than 100 emails from students and school personnel, Jack's personal emails, phone records, text messages, and internet searches.

'We said from the beginning, 'Let's seek the truth and follow it where it leads us. Period,' ' Stephen S. Murray, Lawrenceville's head of school, said to the New York Times. 'And that's what we've tried to do every step of the way.'

He added: 'This happened on my watch and I'm grief stricken. And yet I can't begin to compare that to the grief and sorrow of Bill and Elizabeth Reid.'

The school say they are to introduce 'meaningful changes that will support the School's aspirations of becoming a model for anti-bullying and student mental health.'

The settlement agreement and the school's admission of responsibility are aimed at honoring Jack, taking appropriate responsibility, and instituting meaningful changes that will help prevent something similar from happening again.

The admission by Lawrenceville School is particularly rare with educational establishments not usually publicly accepting responsibility after a suicide.

The Reids hope that something good can come out of their son's death by raising awareness about bullying, mental health, and suicide prevention.

While at Lawrenceville, Jack was recognized as a leader by his peers and served as President of Dickinson House (one of the residential homes at the school).

He also ran on the cross country and track teams and loved singing in choir groups.

Before attending Lawrenceville, Jack had attended The Buckley School in New York City where tuition starts at $58,500 a year.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
One of Australia's most celebrated and glamorous swimwear brands has been put up for sale less than three years after it was saved from administration.

Seafolly has been put on the market by the label's private equity owner L Catterton with FTI Consulting engaged to handle the sale.

The swimwear label is the latest Australian company to go up for sale after Japanese firm Kirin lobbed a $1.85billion takeover bid for Blackmores and 7-Eleven announced it was in search of a new owner.

Seafolly sparked backlash in March after it hired a bearded non-binary activist and stylist Deni Todorovic for one of its campaigns.

Seafolly, one of Australia's most celebrated swimwear brands, is being sold, less than three years since it was saved from administration during the Covid-19 pandemic. Australian model Jesinta Franklin, who has represented Seafolly, is pictured

L Catterton, the private equity company that owns the bikini brand, has told potential investors it expects sales to go up by 45 per cent in the next six years. Australian model Lara Worthington, a former Seafolly ambassador, is pictured

L Catterton has told potential investors it expects sales at Seafolly to go up by 45 per cent in the next six years.

FTI Consulting said the company accounts for 32 per cent of the women's fashion swimwear market in Australia and is on track to make $90million this financial year.

This has been 'driven by two consecutive years of strong double-digit growth across all channels and key markets,' as the world emerges from the pandemic.

First round bids have already been lodged for the company with a second round closing next month, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Seafolly's sales are forecast to increase to $129.7million in the 12 months to the end of June 2026, according to the company's three-year business plan.

Some 56 per cent of its current sales are in Australia and New Zealand, 24 per cent come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 13 per cent from the US.

The firm owns 30 shops, 12 of which had revenues above $1million in the last financial year.

Seafolly also sells through 2,100 other retailers such as the David Jones department store chain.

The company collapsed in June 2020 with L Catterton blaming the 'crippling financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic'.

L Catterton had bought a 70 per cent stake in the company from the Halas family for about $70 million in 2014.

Creditors voted in favour of a 'rescue' proposal made by L Catterton after Seafolly went into voluntary administration three years ago.

Victoria's Secret model Shanina Shaik (pictured) is another supermodel who has fronted Seafolly campaigns in the past

The latest accounts lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission shows Seafolly lost $91.9million in the 12 months prior to going into administration.

The company had also lost $45.8million in the 2019/2020 financial year, the second half of which coincided with the start of the pandemic and lockdowns.

In its sales pitch FTI Consulting described Seafolly as 'Australia's most loved iconic swimwear brand.

'We embody the spirit of the Australian beach and its unique lifestyle, inspiring confidence through our eternal optimism and unwavering commitment to empowering women to feel confident at the beach,' it read.

'Its short term strategy is 'focused on growing market share within key wholesale accounts, driving eCommerce platforms and optimising our retail footprint'.

In March, the company was threatened with customer boycotts after hiring a bearded, non-binary activist as its new ambassador.

The label is known for glamorous advertising campaigns featuring some of the world's most beautiful women, such as Gigi Hadid, Shanina Shaik, Lara Worthington, Miranda Kerr and Jesinta Franklin.

But it sparked anger in some quarters by hiring stylist Deni Todorovic for one of its campaigns.

Todorovic was assigned male at birth but uses they/them pronouns and identifies as non-binary and transgender.

Author and artist Alexandra Marshall said at the time it felt like the fashion brand was 'mocking women' adding she would 'never' buy Seafolly swimsuits again.

'Bye @seafolly. Never again. Been buying swimsuits from you for many years. Never again,' she posted on Twitter.

Another said the brand 'deserves to be cancelled by real women'.

Non-binary activist Deni Todorovic (pictured) was announced as a new ambassador for Australian swimwear brand Seafolly in March, leading to threats of boycotts from customers
A police officer has been stabbed in the shoulder while on the job in Queensland.

The senior constable had been called out to reports of a disturbance at Jones Street at Rothwell, in Brisbane, at 9.25am on Monday.

Police allege a 30-year-old man armed with a knife lunged at the officer and stabbed him in the shoulder.

A police officer has been stabbed in the shoulder while on the job in Queensland

The officer was taken to hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The 30-year-old man suffered self-inflicted wounds to his stomach and has been taken into custody.

Redcliffe resident Leah Whetton described the chaos as emergency services rushed to the scene.

'I saw all these police cars arrive at once,' she said.

'I have never seen police cars fly around a corner like that with their sirens going.'

Ms Whetton said police had tasered a man during the incident.

'He was not dropping, he was just taking it,' she said.

'Saw another man jump over a police car and fall on the ground and then I saw an officer come out of the property with a bandage over his shoulder.'
The daughter of a former tax office deputy commissioner who was a 'trusted participant' in one of Australia's biggest fraud conspiracies has been jailed for at least five years.

Lauren Cranston, 30, still does not believe she has done anything wrong, Justice Anthony Payne said, handing down her eight-year sentence in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday for her role in the Plutus Payroll conspiracy.

She will be eligible for parole in March 2028 with a five-year non-parole period.

She was found guilty in March of conspiring to cause a loss to the Commonwealth and dealing with the proceeds of crime worth more than $1 million alongside four others, including her older brother Adam Cranston, following a mammoth trial beginning in April 2022.

Lauren Cranston is seen following her trial earlier this year. She still doesn't believe she has done anything wrong, Justice Anthony Payne said

Legitimate clients, attracted by its lack of service fees, sent money to Plutus Payroll to pay wages, taxes and super.

Instead, the money was funnelled through second-tier companies directed by 'unsophisticated and vulnerable people' who did not understand them, Justice Payne said on Monday.

More than $141 million was funnelled through the scheme, siphoning more than $105 million that should have been paid to the tax office.

It was not a victimless crime, Justice Payne said, coming in the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.

'The loss of over $100 million which would have otherwise been available to fund government services is a very significant injury suffered by all Australians,' he said.

The conspiracy was hatched in meetings at 'gentlemen's clubs', which Cranston was not aware of and did not participate in.

Cranston was acting out of misguided loyalty to her older brother, Adam (left)

While she was not involved in the initial planning stages, she remained knowingly involved in the conspiracy from at least February 2015 as a 'trusted participant', the judge said.

She acted on instructions, but understood the mechanics and knew she had a central role in facilitating the money laundering and tax fraud conspiracies, which she also took efforts to conceal.

By the time authorities were listening in, she was showing her knowledge of the scheme's history.

'At least we are actually paying some taxes,' Cranston was recorded saying.

Cranston gained about $182,000, primarily participating at the bottom of the conspiracy's hierarchy out of misguided loyalty to her older brother, the judge said. However, she has not shown any contrition.

'The offender still appears to believe that she and her co-conspirators have done nothing wrong,' the judge said.

Cranston appeared in court via audiovisual link, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her green prison jumper as Justice Payne delivered his sentencing remarks before sobbing as the judge left the bench.
A senior advisor to New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, quit on Sunday after reports emerged of him creating a toxic environment.

Adam Sullivan, 42, runs a small and little-known political consultancy from his home in Leadville, Colorado.

Since 2011, however, he has advised Hochul - from 2,000 miles away.

Last week The New York Times described him as 'perhaps the most powerful political force in New York who almost no one knows', and said he presided over a culture where subordinates were disrespected - especially younger women.

The paper spoke to 15 people who said he refused to take responsibility for his mistakes, and told junior staff Hochul did not know who they were.

On Sunday, Sullivan resigned, apologizing 'to anyone who felt harmed in any way by my behavior'.

Adam Sullivan, circled, is seen in the background of an event with Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York (pictured hugging a supporter)

Sullivan's resignation email was obtained by The New York Post on Sunday

Sullivan wrote in an email, obtained by The New York Post, that he had 'decided to step back from my role helping or advising the Governor as well as the State Party and any other efforts in New York State for the foreseeable future'.

He continued: 'As you know, the New York Times published a painful piece about me that caused me to reflect on my interactions and relationships.'

Without going into detail, Sullivan blamed his behavior on 'the toll that the campaign took on me'.

He said he planned to 'take some time away from politics and the campaign environment and get healthy.'

Many inside Hochul's team pointed the finger at Sullivan when she nearly lost her election battle in November.

Hochul had readied a campaign focused on combatting crime, but Sullivan advised her to prioritize abortion instead.

Her Republican rival, Lee Zeldin, seized on her perceived weakness on crime and narrowly lost, in the strongly Democratic state.

Nancy Pelosi, the then-House Speaker, was among those to express astonishment at the tactic.

Hochul needed to deal with crime 'early on, not 10 days before the election,' Pelosi said.

Kathy Hochul has been advised by Adam Sullivan since 2011, but he quit on Sunday after damaging reports emerged detailing toxic behavior

'We listened to him and he called the shots,' one former campaign staffer told The New York Post.

Another said: 'It speaks to Adam's ability to drive Kathy's decisions one way or another.

'I've never seen somebody being able to operate with that level of autonomy.'

Insiders told the Post they found Sullivan extremely difficult to work with.

They told the paper he told junior employees that Hochul did not know who they were, especially when they came up with a solution he had not considered.

They said it was usually women who were singled out for the mockery.

'Almost entirely that ire was directed at women  and young women usually,' a source said.

Another insider, who worked in a prior Hochul campaign, said his behavior was similar when she was running for lieutenant governor.

'He was very, very much so condescending,' the former campaign operative said.

'Sometimes, I think several of us got the impression that he would counter something that we were suggesting just for the sake of countering it.'

Hochul is pictured on April 21. She has not commented on his resignation

Hochul continued to defend him.

Asked by The New York Post about his role, she told the paper: 'Oh, Adam Sullivan is a great friend of mine.

'He helped me win a seat that I was told by everybody, including the leaders of the state party at the time, that I would never win.'

In response to The New York Times article, Sullivan initially tried to defend himself.

'I have always tried to treat everyone with respect and regret that there are people who feel I did not meet that bar,' he said.

Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that Hochul 'values his ideas and guidance.'

She added: 'Ultimately what drives her decision-making is what's best for New Yorkers.'

Hochul has not commented on his resignation.
The entire 7-Eleven business is for sale in Australia - just months after the iconic convenience store increased the price of its famous $1 coffee.

Chairman of 7-Eleven Holdings Michael Smith said in a statement on Monday shareholders decided the business was ready for new ownership.

'The business has great momentum and a compelling strategy for growth across convenient food, the continued transformation of our total merchandise offer, digital and format innovation, and new stores,' Mr Smith said.

'With such a strong platform in place, the shareholders have decided that the time is right for new ownership of the business to oversee the next phase of our growth and development.

The entire 7-Eleven business in Australia, which comprises of about 750 stores nationwide, is up for sale (pictured, 7-Eleven store in St Kilda, Melbourne)

Mr Smith reassured 7-Eleven customers claiming business is as 'usual' as the sale process is in its early stage and is expected to take several months.

'Across our network of stores, it's business as usual, and our focus is on our customers and being the first choice in convenience retailing in Australia'.

Majority owner Russell Withers commented on behalf of 7-Eleven shareholders explaining the business started in 1977 with one store in suburban Melbourne.

Mr Withers said the chain now boasts around 750 stores across Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and Australia.

He added the chain processes 250 million transactions every year and employees more than 9,000 people across its corporate and franchise network.

Chairman of 7-Eleven Holdings Michael Smith (left) said shareholders decided the business was ready for new ownership. Majority owner Russell Withers (right) said 7-Eleven has an 'exciting outlook for growth

However, the Withers and Barlow families decided the time was right to sell the chain to new owners with a view to future growth and success.

'The company has made significant progress in recent years on a number of fronts and is performing well under a highly credentialed management team, with an exciting outlook for growth,' Mr Withers said.

The sale comes just months after the iconic convenience store increased the price of its famous $1 coffees and Slurpees.

From October 4 last year, the price of a regular 7-Eleven coffee doubled to $2 and the stores large Slurpees increased to $1.50.

A spokesperson from 7-Eleven confirmed the price of Australia's favourite service station drinks rose due to inflated operational costs.

'The changes are a result of increasing input costs for our products,' 7-Eleven told Daily Mail Australia.

The affected coffee varieties included the shop's standard $1 coffee, as well as its hot chocolates, iced coffees and ice cream coffee melts.

The first 7-Eleven store opened in Melbourne's Oakleigh in 1977 and opened the businesses first 24 hour store in 1978.

The sale comes just months after the iconic convenience store increased the price of its famous $1 coffees (left) and Slurpees (right). From October 4 last year, price of a regular coffee doubled to $2 while Slurpees increased to $1.50

7-Eleven is the largest convenience retailer on the eastern seaboard of Australia, with an estimated market share of about 38.5 per cent.

The business also claims to be the largest independent fuel retailer on the eastern seaboard as it sells Mobil-branded fuel.

The Withers and Barlow families brought the 7-Eleven brand to Australia after signing an area license agreement in 1976.

The Withers Group also secured the Australian rights to Starbucks, bringing the coffee chain back to Aussie shores in 2014.
A Texas man whose wife and eight-year-old stepson were among five people murdered by his neighbor has said he never imagined a massacre would take place in his house.

Wilson Garcia's wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and eight-year-old stepson, Daniel Enrique Laso, were killed amid a row over noise.

Garcia had asked Francisco Oropesa, 38, to stop firing his gun near their home in Cleveland, Texas, because their one-month-old baby was trying to sleep.

Oropesa told Garcia that it was his property, and he could do what he wanted.

He then came over to Garcia's house and shot dead five people - Garcia's relatives and three friends who were visiting.

Wilson Garcia said he was stunned that his neighbor of three years would murder five people inside his home

Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican, is on the run after shooting dead five people in Cleveland, Texas on Friday night

Oropesa's victims included Garcia's eight-year-old stepson, Daniel Enrique Laso (pictured)

'We had company. We were going to make something to eat, the guy, came out and he was shooting,' Garcia told ABC 13 News.

'We asked him to be quiet, because my baby was scared.'

Garcia told Oropesa, a Mexican national who had been deported multiple times and was in the country illegally, that he would call the police.

'I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people,' Garcia said.

Garcia, originally from Honduras, said that Oropesa shot at him multiple times but missed.

'He couldn't catch up to me. The bullets were hitting (everywhere), ' Garcia said.

Garcia said that he and Oropesa had lived next to each other for three years.

'I never had a problem with him. I can't believe what he did,' Garcia said.

The FBI on Sunday confirmed more than 250 law enforcement officers are hunting for Oropesa, insisting they would not rest until he was caught.

The FBI initially used the wrong photo in their wanted poster, but on Sunday corrected it.

They also corrected the spelling of his last name, which was initially Oropeza.

A $55,000 reward was increased to $80,000.

'We consider him armed and dangerous,' said James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge.

'He's out there, and he's a threat to the community.'

Smith admitted that they initially publicized the wrong photo, but corrected it as soon as they realized their error.

'In an investigation like this we are receiving a whole slew of information,' he said.

'It was a mistake on our side. We are now 100 percent confident we have the right photo out there.'

Oropesa has a large tattoo on the inside of his forearm of what appears to be a female Aztec, wearing a headdress.

FBI agents are seen at the neighborhood in Cleveland, Texas where Oropesa shot and killed five people

Five people - the youngest only eight years old - were shot and killed inside this house on Friday night

A sign nearby warns people that the owner is armed

Honduran flags are seen decorating a tree where the five people were shot and killed

Police have found an abandoned cell phone and articles of clothing lying around, and tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Correction 'picked up a scent and then  lost that scent in the water,' according to the sheriff of San Jacinto County, Greg Capers.

'He could be anywhere now,' said Capers.

Oropesa allegedly shot the victims after one them asked him to stop firing off rounds outside his home just before midnight.

Police had been called to the home before for reports about the firing of guns. It is not illegal to fire guns in your own yard, but it remains unclear why officers did not ask for a permit - which, as a person in the country illegally, he could not have.

The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

They were all Honduran nationals shot 'from the neck up,' in their home, Capers said.

He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them.

Capers said there were 10 people in the house, including three children who were not hurt.

Officials from the FBI are pictured on Sunday, as the manhunt continues

Sheriff Greg Capers of San Jacinto County is seen in the hat standing next to James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge, on Sunday

Some of those in the house had moved in earlier in the week.

Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives close to Oropesa's house, said he heard gunshots around midnight but was unperturbed, as gunfire is normal in the neighborhood.

'It's a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,' Arevalo said.

'They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.'

He told ABC 13 that Oropesa threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighborhood.

His dog chased a pit bull in Oropesa's truck.

'I tell my wife all the time, 'Stay away from the neighbors. Don't argue with them. You never know how they're going to react,'' Arevalo said.

'I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don't know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.'
Brits today took advantage of the Monday bank holiday by enjoying traditional May Day celebrations and flocking to the beach - even as wet weather in the East threatened to put a dampener on holiday parades.

Light showers swept across the East of country this morning before the sun began to peak through the clouds later in the day, as looming thunderstorms threatened to disrupt traditional May Day parades.

Crowds in the West of the country, however, flocked to seaside resorts to take advantage of warmer weather on West side of the country and enjoy the day off work.

Those in Scotland were, meanwhile, hit by a noticeable drop in temperatures as a cold front made its way down from the north.

The Met Office also warned the warm weather in the South might not keep up in the week ahead, as it released dour forecasts showing King Charles' coronation could be marred by thunderstorms and heavy downpours next weekend.

Crowds flocked to the beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset to enjoy the 1 May bank holiday

Thousands of students at St Andrew's University took to the Firth of the Forth estuary in Fife at sunrise to celebrate the annual May Day tradition that is supposed to bring luck in their exams

Visitors enjoyed the warm weather in the West of the country by heading to Lyme Regis

Morris dancers celebrated the bank holiday at Old John Tower in Leicester's Bradgate Park

'Witches' in Rochester danced at a traditional Green awakening ceremony

A 'Green Man' (pictured) grins at a Beltane ceremony at Chalice Well, Glastonbury, Somerset

A member of the Motley Morris dancing team drinks from a Green Man mug

The Hexham Morrismen performed a traditional Morris dance at sunrise to celebrate

Morris is a traditional form of English folk dancing that dates back hundreds of years

LONDON: Britons walking over London Bridge with their umbrellas on April 24, 2023

Bank Holiday Monday will start with a mix of sunshine and showers 



Most of the showers are likely in the north and east, locally heavy here pic.twitter.com/4Gylugy1Tw  Met Office (@metoffice) April 30, 2023

Forecaster Ben Rich said: 'There are some further showers in the forecast for bank holiday Monday, but equally some spells of sunshine.

'Many of us will again feel relatively warm, particularly in the sunshine, but northern parts, particularly Scotland will start to turn rather chilly.'

The west of the country will see the best of the conditions with scattered showers, some of which could be heavy and thundery, between spells of sunshine from the east of Wales to the east coast of England.

Mr Rich added: 'Across England and Wales we are going to see some spells of sunshine.

'West Wales and the south west of England are not seeing too many showers, Northern Ireland brightens up through the afternoon with some spells of sunshine.

May Day saw people celebrate the Gaelic festival of Beltane at the city's ancient Chalice Well, which at the foot of Glastonbury Tor

A member of the Hexham Morrismen waits for a May Day ceremony to start in the village of Henshaw, Northumberland

Beltane is a traditional Gaelic festival celebrated on 1 May

Members of the Hook Eagle Morrismen danced outside of Shack Cafe near Hook in Hampshire

A Dark Horse Morrisman posed for a photo as revelers readied themselves for the ceremony to start in Rochester, Kent

Morris dancers in Rochester, Kent celebrated the traditional holiday with a Jack in the Green awakening ceremony in which an figure covered in leaves and branches is woken up

Morris dancers celebrated May Day at the Rochester Sweeps Festival, one of the largest Morris dancing festivals in the world

English folk dancers celebrate the ancient holiday which lies on a date halfway between the Spring equinox on March 20 and the Summer solstice on June 21

People in Glastonbury celebrated May Day by lighting a Beltane bonfire

A man plays the accordion as the Hook Eagle Morris Men dance outside the Shack Cafe near Hook in Hampshire

'Most of us will see temperatures between 14 and 17C but through the afternoon those temperatures will be dropping across the northern half of Scotland.'

That drop in temperatures means a chilly start for many on Tuesday but most places will remain dry.

Tuesday and Wednesday look like they will be mainly dry with bright and sunny spells across the UK before rain and more unsettled weather could start to push up from the south and west from Thursday as the nation heads towards the coronation weekend.

The forecasters, however, warned that the King's coronation on Saturday could be blighted by heavy downpours.

Early indications for Saturday suggest a mix of sunshine and showers, occasionally heavy in London with a top temperature around 20C, the Met Office said.
Pope Francis revealed yesterday that he was involved in a secret peace mission to try to end Russia's war in Ukraine as he vowed to do everything in his power to stop the conflict.

'I'm available to do anything. There is a mission that's not public that's under way; when it's public I'll talk about it,' the 86-year-old pontiff told reporters during a flight home after a three-day visit to Hungary.

'I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure. This is not easy.'

Francis, who has been a vocal advocate for the end of the Russia-Ukraine war, added that the Vatican was also ready to help repatriate Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the conflict.

However, the pontiff's comments came as Vladimir Putin's unleashed a series of missiles at Ukraine, killing one person and wounding three others in the region of Kherson.

Pope Francis revealed yesterday he was involved in a secret peace mission to try to end Russia's war in Ukraine as he vowed to do everything in his power to stop the conflict

Ukrainian firefighters tackle the aftermath of a missile strike in in the town of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region today

Ukrainian air defence crews managed to destroy 15 out of the 18 missiles launched from Russian planes, but the shelling wounded 25 people in the Dnipropetrovsk area.

The latest rocket attack came three days after Russia launched 20 cruise missiles at cities and towns across Ukraine, killing at least 23 people, including a mother and her two-year-old daughter.

In recent months, Francis has grown increasingly critical of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The Pope said he had spoken about the war in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan Hilarion, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest.

'In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace,' Francis said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, Francis has pleaded for peace practically on a weekly basis, and has repeatedly expressed a wish to act as a broker between Kyiv and Moscow. His offer has so far failed to produce any breakthrough.

Pope Francis has said previously he wanted to visit Kyiv and Moscow on a peace mission.

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met the pope at the Vatican on Thursday and said he had discussed a 'peace formula' put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Shmyhal also asked for help with the repatriation of children. Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow invaded in February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar in the direction of Avdivka, Ukraine, on Saturday

Ukrainian soldiers walking on Saturday in a trench near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have taken place

Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do 'all that is humanly possible' to reunite families.

Referring to efforts to repatriate children, he added: 'The Holy See is willing to do this because it is the right thing. All human gestures help, but gestures of cruelty don't help. We have to do all that is humanly possible.'

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine.

Francis, who appeared well during the trip, also spoke of his health following his hospitalisation in late March for what the Vatican said at the time was bronchitis.

He said he felt a strong pain at the end of a general audience on Wednesday, March 29, and tried to sleep, adding: 'I did not lose consciousness, but I had a high fever and at 3pm the doctor took me to the hospital right away.

'It was a strong and acute pneumonia in the lower section of the lung. Thank God I can talk about it. The body responded well to the treatment, thank God.'

The Pope, who was released on April 1, had part of one of his lungs removed when he was a young man in Argentina more than half a century ago.

He said there were no changes to plans to go to Lisbon in August for an international youth gathering and then separately to Marseilles and Mongolia.

Pope Francis holds a news conference on his flight on Sunday as he returns to the Vatican following his apostolic journey to Hungary

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Prokudin, of the military administration for Kherson, in Ukraine's south, described Russia's missile strikes, saying: 'Over the past day, the enemy carried out 39 shellings, firing 163 shells from heavy artillery, Grads, UAVs and aviation. The enemy shelled the city of Kherson 8 times.

'As a result of Russian aggression, one person died and three others, including a child, were injured.'

Russia still controls part of the Kherson region, having withdrawn from the regional capital last November.

Shelling also wounded 25 people in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast and damaged dozens of buildings in the city of Pavlohrad, according to the regional administration.

Earlier this week, regional authorities said Russian shelling killed a 57-year-old woman and wounded three other people in the village of Bilozerka.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on the social media site Telegram that 18 missiles were launched from Russian planes, with 15 of them destroyed.

Ukraine's air defences have been bolstered in recent months by the delivery of Western equipment, including American Patriot systems in April.

The latest Russian attacks came as Kyiv prepares for a long-awaited counteroffensive, having vowed to expel Russian forces from territory they seized in the east and south following their 2022 invasion.

Yesterday, a pre-dawn Ukrainian strike on a Russian border village killed four people and wounded two others, officials there said.
The three young women killed in a horror car crash allegedly caused by a 13-year-old boy in a stolen Mercedes have been named.

The allegedly stolen vehicle slammed into a Holden killing Kelsie Davies, 17 and church pastor Michale Chandler, 29, about 10.45pm on Sunday in Maryborough, 245km north of Brisbane.

The force of the crash also shunted the vehicle into a Mazda, causing the death of its driver, nurse Sheree Robertson, 52, who was driving home after work.

A 23-year-old who was a passenger in the Holden was airlifted to hospital in Brisbane for treatment.

The boy allegedly driving the Mercedes was taken to hospital but has since been released to police custody and charged with three counts of dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Police are investigating if another passenger was in the vehicle with the accused after reports of a person seen running from the scene.

Kelsie Davies, 17, was killed on Sunday night in the Queensland city of Maryborough when a Mercedes allegedly being driven by a 13-year-old boy smashed into the Holden she was riding in

Keslie Davies graduated from Maryborough's Riverside Christian College last year

Teachers from Maryborough's Riverside Christian College where Ms Davies graduated last year are shattered over the tragedy.

One of her teachers was Labor MP for Bundaberg Tom Smith, who took classes up until he entered Queensland parliament in 2020.

'Kelsie was a student that every teacher wishes that they could teach,' Mr Smith told The Courier Mail.

'She was always keen to learn, eager to aim high, and was most importantly just a very kind and sweet-natured kid that every one of her peers loved.

'It is very difficult on a day like today to express all of the words that truly represent just why Kelsie will be so missed, but I know that her cohort of friends from last year's graduating Riverside class will be hurting and sharing their grief for someone so important to them.

'Like many, today will be spent thinking of her family and friends, and to the families of those who lost their lives last night.'

Police said Ms Robertson was driving home in her Mazda after work when she was killed in the crash.

Nurses and paramedics arrived at the crash site to be confronted with the sight of their critically injured Maryborough Hospital workmate who despite their desperate efforts died at the scene.

The Wide Bay Health and Hospital Service released a statement on Monday paying tribute to their colleague.

Church pastor Michale Chandler, 29, (pictured left with husband and fellow pastor Matthew Chandler) also died after the Holden was smashed into

Nurse Sheree Robertson, 52, was killed in a Mazda as she drove home from work at Maryborough Hospital

'The Wide Bay HHS team was absolutely devastated to learn of the death of a respected Maryborough Hospital staff member in a tragic road crash over the weekend,' the statement read.

'Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and loved ones, as well as the first responders who have been affected.'

A friend of Ms Robertson, who asked not to be named, said she was a 'really cool, really loud, really outgoing type of nurse'.

'She was an amazing teacher and I have learnt so much from her,' she said.

'We will be feeling her loss for a long, long time.'

Ms Chandler's husband, Matthew, paid tribute to her on Facebook.

'It is with the utmost heavy heart that we say goodbye for now to our darling Michale Chandler,' he wrote.

'You were and will continue to hold the world's greatest wife and mum award.

'Until we meet in heaven my Queen, love you to the moon and back.'

The couple had earlier in April celebrated one year as credentialed pastors at Maryborough's Reach Church.

The Mercedes involved in the crash was reported stolen from a Maryborough house at 8.40pm on Sunday but police were not in pursuit of the vehicle when the accident occurred.

The alleged driver is 'known to police' but was not on police bail at the time and a spokesman was not aware of any community order against the boy.

The 13-year-old will appear before Maroochydore Children's Court at a later date.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage is urged to contact local police.
A young woman with Down's Syndrome who was found starved to death by her mother after years of neglect was failed by safeguarding agencies, a damning report has found.

Debbie Leitch, 24, was left 'unsupported, invisible, and isolated' in the care of her evil mother Elaine Clarke.

The disabled young woman weighed just 3st 10lbs when she was found at a home in South Shore, Blackpool on August 29, 2019.

Clarke starved her daughter whose emaciated body was found in a filthy bedroom covered in takeaway boxes and used nappies. She was jailed for nine years and seven months as she admitted to manslaughter of her daughter at Preston Crown Court.

A safeguarding review has now identified a catalogue of failures and found that agencies let Debbie down as they were 'not always aware' of the neglect that she suffered.

A review, commissioned by Blackpool Safeguarding Adult Board, found that Debbie Leitch (pictured) found that when the family moved from Leeds to Blackpool, vital information about her care needs was left out - leaving agencies in the dark of the help she required

Elaine Clarke (left) has been jailed after admitting to the manslaughter of her 24-year-old daughter Debbie Leitch (right) who had Down's syndrome and was found emaciated with a severe skin infection at a home in Blackpool

The shocking report found that the mother managed to hide the abuse by moving homes several times, and there was a loss and miscommunication of key information about Debbie's condition that also contributed to her neglect.

The review, commissioned by Blackpool Safeguarding Adult Board, also revealed that the mother spoke for her daughter when she shouldn't have been allowed to, as Debbie was an adult.

It said: 'Instead of finding a way to communicate directly with Debbie, professionals relied on Clarke to speak on her behalf.'

The review also found that when the family moved from Leeds to Blackpool in 2016, vital information about her care needs was left out - leaving agencies in the dark of the help she required - including about her severe skin infection.

When the family relocated, Clarke was asked by Debbie's social worker whether she would like her to make a referral to Blackpool on their behalf - but her mother declined the offer.

As Debbie was an adult at this time, the decision should have been given to her, as the review outlined: 'It remains unclear as to why it is recorded that Clarke's permission was being sought for a referral to be made.

'The referral was for Debbie who was an adult, thus it was her permission that was required. In the absence of a referral to Blackpool being made by Leeds, no information regarding Debbie's care and support needs was transferred. And most importantly, no information was shared evidencing Clarke's historic and continual inability to meet Debbie's needs.'

When arriving in Blackpool, safeguarding agencies were left unaware of Debbie's skin condition or about any domestic incidents. She suffered from the severe skin infection Norwegian scabies, that had spread to such an extent that police couldn't identify her sex when they found her body. They were not even told that Debbie had a learning disability, meaning she was not put on the new Practice's Learning Disability Register.

If she had been registered she would have been offered annual health checks, as the review outlined: 'Had this happened, her subsequent weight loss may have been recognised and addressed. This omission demonstrates the importance of transferring information across border.'

A family member report about the neglect in 2019 was also 'lost in the system'.

Police officers were called to the home in South Shore, Blackpool, where Deborah was found

Clarke's niece, Sammy Mugridge, visited the home a month before Debbie's death, where she found the 24-year-old lying on a filthy mattress in a dark, foul-smelling room covered in takeaway boxes and dirty nappies.

She warned Clarke that Debbie would die if she was not looked after and reported her to social services.

She said: 'I'll never forget the last day I saw Debbie alive. I knew she was ill and not well, but the sight of her in the room will live with me forever. The stench was unbelievable... I can only describe it as the stench of death. Debbie was so skinny. Her hair had been hacked off her skin looked like raw flesh. It was like something out of a horror movie.'

Following this, the report outlined that: 'These miscommunications and presumptions left Debbie without professional safeguarding support for a further six-day period before a social worker visited.

'By which time Clarke had tidied the house to an acceptable state and consequently, following the Social Worker visiting and not having any concerns, Debbie was again left in the care of Clarke - unsupported, invisible, and isolated.'

In reality, the 'lazy and selfish' mother starved her disabled daughter to death in a filthy bedroom covered in takeaway boxes and used nappies. She 'bought herself handbags and shoes' while Debbie wasted away in a dark, faeces-covered room which 'smelled of death'.

When Clarke, who was paid 215 a week to care for her daughter, called 999 on the evening of August 29, 2019, it was determined that Debbie had been dead for between eight and 36 hours. When she was found she weighed just 3st 10lbs.

Clarke, from Blackpool, initially denied the unlawful killing of her vulnerable daughter but changed her plea to guilty in January just 10 days before the case was due to go to trial.

She was sentenced to nine-years and seven months in prison after admitting to gross negligent manslaughter at Preston Crown Court in March 2022.

John Harrison QC, prosecuting, described the terrible conditions that Debbie's decomposing body was in when emergency services found her on August 29, 2019, and said: 'Debbie was extremely emaciated with a severe rash to the scalp, the face and the soles of the feet.

'The jumper and trousers worn by the deceased were filthy and mites were found crawling on them. A urine soiled nappy was found inside her trousers. A live maggot was found next to the body. As her clothing was cut away from her body, bits of skin came away with it as it had adhered to her body.'

The prosecutor added: 'Mites were found crawling all over her back. The trousers were covered in liquid faeces.

'Debbie's hair was falling out due to the scabies rash. Her face was covered with the rash. Debbie's ribs were visible through the skin. All of her limbs were wasted and the rash was widespread on them. Her buttocks were completely covered in faeces which extended down to the thighs. As the body was examined, large areas of skin fell away from the body.

'More than 30 per cent of her skin was covered in the rash, which was more severe in some parts of the body than others.'

Karen Smith, Director of Adult Services, said: 'Throughout this review our thoughts and condolences have been with Jessica's (Debbie's) extended family.

'We know Jessica's (Debbie's) mother manipulated circumstances so her neglect was not apparent to ourselves and other agencies visiting their home. However, it is clear from the review that there were missed opportunities and Jessica's (Debbie's) voice was seldom heard.

'Jessica's (Debbie's) tragic death has taught us a lot and changes have already been implemented. Our processes have been improved, along with the way we share information with other councils and local agencies.

'This learning will be shared with all practitioners to improve the care we provide to vulnerable residents.'
Back in 2003, avid travellers James and Tamara Lohan grew tired of lacklustre hotel stays and decided to publish their own personal reviews in a guidebook.

The husband and wife duo set out with a mission, to create the ultimate list of the best romantic luxury getaways for couples.

'We were the first ones to realise couples aren't going away to play Scrabble,' said Mr Lohan, 52. 'We wanted to rewrite romance and make it cool.'

The globetrotting couple from London began by creating a set of small guidebooks, under the name Mr & Mrs Smith, such as 'The World's Sexiest Bedrooms'.

But it quickly expanded to a wildly popular booking platform with more than 1,500 stays including hotels in the sky, private island hotels, and boutique romantic getaways in cityscapes.

In 2003, Tamara and James Lohan (pictured) set up the travel company Mr & Mrs Smith to create travel guidebooks for couples. It soon became a multi-million-pound business where couples could find and book the world's best and most luxurious hotels

The now multi-millionaires (pictured at Glastonbury Festival in 2019) met in 1997 in Ibiza, Spain, when Mr Lohan was working as a club promoter and Mrs Lohan was running a dating agency with mother

The globe-trotting couple own 15 per cent of their company, which has just been acquired by US hotel giant Hyatt. Pictured: Mrs Lohan kayaking on Nryfjord, in Norway

Mr & Mrs Smith grew into a 'club' where high-flying individuals could find and book the world's best 'boutique and luxury hotels', resulting in the couple raking in millions of pounds.

They sourced out a team of experts and celebrity influencers, including fashion designer Stella McCartney, actress Cate Blanchett, and author Pandora Sykes, who would travel across the globe to stay in the exclusive resorts.

They would then hand back their honest feedback, including a list of everything that was right and wrong with the accommodation.

Since their business took off the now multi-millionaires have been reaping the rewards, continuing their globe-trotting lifestyle, visiting some of the most elegant resorts across the world.

From kayaking in Norway and cycling through Israel to island hopping in Greece or picking grapes for wine in Portuguese vineyards, the couple has seen it all.

Their life back home in England seems just as lavish, driving around a red Ferrari around country lanes.

What started as a 'hobby business' ended up 'just going nuts', Mrs Lohan told the Evening Standard back in 2019.

Gal Oya Lodge is a five star hotel in Ampara, Sri Lanka, which is listed on the Mr & Mrs Smith website

The couple, from London, began by creating a set of small guidebooks, under the name Mr & Mrs Smith, such as 'The World's Sexiest Bedrooms', but their business quickly expanded

To review the hotels and villas the couple sourced out experts and celebrity influencers, including fashion designer Stella McCartney (right) and actress Cate Blanchett (left) who would travel across the globe to stay in the exclusive resorts

Now, two decades later, the couple have signed a reported 53 million deal with the US hotel giant Hyatt, who have acquired the business which expanded from guidebooks into a 'club' to find the world's best 'boutique and luxury hotels'.

Accounts for the company's accounts from last year, Mr & Mrs Smith made 128 million in revenue - up 81 million from the year before.

And it's no surprise. Travel operators have seen a surge in bookings following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw people increase their savings to splash on holidays once restrictions eased.

In January, a lot of travel companies saw their busiest ever booking period.

Mr and Mrs Lohan owned 15 per cent of their company when the huge deal with Hyatt was signed, with the rest being owned by 191 private and angel investors, as well as 2,206 investors who took part in a crowdfunding round.

The company set up the online donating page in 2018 to attract investors and ended up raising 6.1 million.

The couple have now signed a 53 million deal with the US hotel giant Hyatt after expanding their business from guidebooks into a 'club' to find the world's best 'boutique and luxury hotels'

The couple own this four-bedroom west London home which was last sold for 1.05 million in 2017, according to Land Registry documents

Before setting up the travel company, Mrs Lohan ran a dating agency with her mother. Pictured: Mrs Lohan at Glastonbury Festival in Somerset last year

Mr & Mrs Smith currently has 1.5 million members from all over the world. Pictured: Pure House Ibiza, which is listed on the Mr & Mrs Smith website is small hotel which boasts of being 'shrouded in nature's abundance'

At the time, they said these funds would help develop its expansion further into the US market, as well as further develop the holiday experience section of their website.

Speaking to The Times today about the new deal, Mrs Lohan said: 'I haven't even thought about [the money]. I've been so focused on landing this deal successfully and making sure the shareholders are happy.

'It will sink in at some point. It's a cliche when people talk about [your business] being your baby but when it's something that you've done every day of your life for 20 years, it's not just your baby it's an integral part of your life.

'And to hand the responsibility of the business over to someone else ... is like giving something up.'

She told MailOnline: 'The acquisition means an exciting new chapter for Mr & Mrs Smith where anything is possible.

James and Tamara Lohan, of Mr and Mrs Smith, have reportedly made 53 million after selling their luxury hotel booking platform

James Lohan pictured in a luxury sports car

Mr Lohan, the co-founder of the luxury hotel booking platform, seen in Singapore

'We can't wait to explore our new opportunities with one of the worlds most successful and respected hotel brands.'

Mrs Lohan will continue her role as chief executive but will report to the Hyatt's chief commercial officer mark Vondrasek, and Mr Lohan will keep his role as chief creative officer.

Around 120 of Mr & Mrs' Smith's current staff will join the American hotel's commercial service team.

Mr & Mrs Smith currently has 1.5 million members from all over the world, with Mr Lohan previously joking: 'It turns out sex and stylish hotels is a global movement.'

The mother and father-of-two, a son Tom, 14, and daughter Ally, 11, decided in 2013 to make their operation more family friendly, launching Mr & Mrs Smith's family hub, where child-friendly hotels and family-holiday villas are listed.

Accounts for the company's accounts from last year, Mr & Mrs Smith made 128 million in revenue - up 81 million from the year before

In 2014, James and Tamara Lohan were made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles during an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, central London

The 'travel club for lovers' has 1,000 personally selected boutique hotels and villas on offer from Tuscany, Italy and Lisbon, Portugal to more far away locations such as the Seychelles and the Maldives

The now multi-millionaires met in 1997 in Ibiza, Spain, when Mr Lohan was working as a club promoter and Mrs Lohan was running a dating agency with mother.

Nine years after meeting, and three years after setting up their business, they got married at at an 18th century hotel called Ca's Xorc in Mallorca, Spain - which now sells on their website from 239 a night.

Mr Lohan had several connections from his previous job in the music industry, where he founded The White House - a DJ venue in Clapham, which has since closed.

The 'travel club for lovers' has 1,000 personally selected boutique hotels and villas on offer from Tuscany, Italy and Lisbon, Portugal to more far away locations such as the Seychelles and the Maldives.

The power couple shared the highs and lows of running a business together, living together and travelling together, the Evening Standard reported in 2019.

Mr Lohan admitted there can be 'some heated conversations', while Mrs Lohan added: 'We share in the highs when the business is doing well, and if Ive had a tough day James just understands.'
Bam Margera's brother has revealed that the Jackass star is 'dying' and that his health is worse than ever just days after the pro skateboarder turned himself into cops for assaulting him.

The 43-year-old stunt performer, who has since sworn off drinking and claims he tested negative for meth, is facing criminal charges after allegedly assaulting his brother and making terroristic threats to other relatives.

Jess Margera, 44, has now issued a disturbing update on his troubled brother's deteriorating health, claiming that there is nothing he can do about it.

'I hope none of you have to hurt as much as me right now. He is dying, and there is nothing I can do about it,' Jess wrote on Instagram.

But in a series of tweets last night, the musician claimed he may 'have permanent hearing damage' and warned that he was 'not a fun enemy to have' as he threatened to launch legal action against Bam.

Bam Margera (pictured), 43, turned himself in last week after going on the run from police following an altercation with his brother Jess

Bam's brother Jess (right) has revealed that the Jackass star is 'dying' and that his health is worse than ever

In a series of tweets, Jess warned Bam that he would be taking legal action after potentially suffering 'permanent hearing damage'

Police said they responded to a call about an assault near Bam's $1.1million castle (pictured)

He wrote on Twitter: 'I might have permanent hearing damage from bams desperate lame ass little 'attack' while I was making coffee.

'If that's the case all of my bands upcoming touring income he will be sued for and I will f***ing win. I'm not a fun enemy to have.'

In a separate tweet, he added: 'I wasn't going to press any charges at all but his dumb a** lawyer and surprise s***ness talking him into trying to sue me for whatever fake bull**** they are drooling at him is going to cost him the little bit of $ he has left.

'Sorry it's just the way I am. If you stab me w a knife I will f***ing end you with a Conan the barbarian sword. Sorry not sorry.'

It comes after Bam, 43, sensationally turned himself in last Thursday following a days-long manhunt by law enforcement.

He had been on the run for five days after a warrant was issued for his arrest, prompting him to take off into the woods near his $1.1million Pennsylvania castle and flee with his girlfriend and her eight-year-old daughter.

He was subsequently released on a $50,000 bail, court records revealed, after he pleaded not guilty.

Bam Margera with his parents and brother Jess (right). Both have threatened legal action against each other now

Last week, Bam posted an old photo of him holding a liquor bottle in a post where he has sworn off drinking

On Friday, Bam also shared a photo of himself standing outside an Urgent Care holding a negative drug test

Bam has since warned his brother that he would be suing him for defamation over 'false accusations'.

In an Instagram post after he left the courthouse, Bam posted a photograph of himself holding court documents while he plead his innocence.

'I just got out of the courthouse with my lawyers,' he wrote. 'Everything went great and the false accusations of what my brother says are not true and he will be sued for defamation as well as being evicted from castle bam sooner than later.

'The reason this happened is because I read his phone saying he wants me back in California and he wants to find a way to 302 me. F*** him.'

Responding on Twitter, Jess said: 'Yeah this meltdown I guess is my fault now. It's always someone else's fault.'

On Friday, Bam also shared a photo of himself standing outside an Urgent Care holding a negative drug test.

A police report filed in the aftermath shows that Bam began to bang on his brother Jess' bedroom door at 8am that morning, leaving a disturbing note in his wake.

It read: 'If you even f**king think of calling the police on me I will officially f**k you up.'

Following the altercation, Bam fled into the nearby woods. He has since threatened to kick his brother out of his home

Bam claimed he was giving up alcohol for his son, Phoenix (pictured)

A fight is believed to have broken out after Jess found Bam urinating into a kitchen sink, the Jackass star allegedly began striking him multiple times on the head.

Jess claims that after the fight, Bam continued his rage, saying: 'I'll kill you. I'll put a bullet in your head.'

Earlier this year, fellow Jackass star Steve-O also expressed concerns that he was 'braced' for the news of Bam's death.

After Bam shared an old photo of Jackass co-star Johnny Knoxville calling him a 'poser', Steve-O warned him that he was spreading 'vile nonsense'.

'I've tried everything I can, but I can't force you to get honest and do the work of recovery. I wish you could know how much I've hated feeling braced for news of your death, but you're making it clear that I have no other choice,' he added.

'You're dying, brother, and it sucks that I can't do anything to save you.'
Joss Beechim-Horton said he has received online abuse since the end of last year

A pub chef has blasted a vegan activist for 'trying to ruin' his business' reputation by posting fake one-star reviews on Tripadvisor despite having never visited the restaurant.

Joss Beechim-Horton, who runs the Manor House Inn in Callington, Cornwall, and prides himself on how his food is all sourced locally and everything is made in house despite 'barely scraping through the pandemic'.

However, since the end of last year he has been receiving online abuse from a vegan activist for selling meat on their premises.

Mr Beechim-Horton said it first started when someone posing as a 'customer' left angry emojis in comment sections on the pub's social media page.

After this, the same person left one-star reviews on Tripadvisor, claiming that the owner was 'rude and unhelpful in front of my family'.

Chef Joss Beechim-Horton said a vegan activist is trying to ruin his business by posting one-star reviews on Tripadvisor despite having never visited

The first review left by the vegan activist says the owner was 'rude and unhelpful'

He is the owner of the Manor House Inn in Callington, Cornwall, (pictured)

'I feel very worried about how much damage he could do if he continues to post fake reviews. Our staff are on edge,' he told the Telegraph.

'We have no record of him ever visiting and have checked back over six months of booking and walk-ins.

'We work very hard and barely scraped through the pandemic. Now with spiralling costs, I fear that he has the ability to affect our trade.'

The activist left two Tripadvisor reviews within two days of each other in March.

The first said: 'The owner Joss Beechim-Horton was rude and unhelpful in-front of my family. We all have bad days but this was unexpected. Can NOT recommend this place on any level.'

The second one-star review said: 'Very poor, and the service was not great. I can't recommend this establishment sadly, it only has the one star from me... it was not the best experience.'

Mr Beechim-Horton also explained how angry comments on his Facebook page from the activist soon developed into 'strange ramblings' about how chicken was linked to climate change.

He said on his Facebook: 'For a fair few months we have been getting loads of abuse online from a vegan activist for selling meat in our premises.

'I confronted [him] about these weird comments and have been berated by him about global warming and the meat industry.

He then left another review, which says it was 'poor at best'

Mr Beechim-Horton (right) said 'Now with spiralling costs, I fear that he has the ability to affect our trade'

He also said staff at the Manor House Inn are now 'on edge'

'[He] has now started posting fake reviews about our business baring in mind he has never been here and only found our business via us boosting posts and advertising our business on social media.

'I have had a few reviews deleted by Tripadvisor and google reviews but he still continues to harass us.

'After researching him I have found he is linked to several protests about fishing and game hunting.

'[He] clearly has an issue with me on a personal level as made clear by one of his reviews naming me specifically and will not speak to me about it.'

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak is forced to back down over Online Safety Bill after 50 Tory MPs put their names to an amendment to toughen up punishments for social media bosses who fail to protect children from harm online Advertisement

He finished the post by saying: 'What a world we live in where someone feels the need to do this to not just me but the entire team here at The Manor House Inn!'

The Online Safety Bill, which is currently before Parliament, is set to make it an offence to post a false message on a platform.

It will also place duties on tech firms to protect users from harmful or illegal content and it is expected to come into force some time in 2024.

David Bean, Government Relations Manager for the Countryside Alliance, said: 'Malicious, fake reviews are having a devastating effect on victims and seriously damaging their livelihood.

'This is exactly the sort of threat the Online Safety Bill should be there to prevent. By accepting Baroness Buscombes amendments the Government can make it clear that this behaviour is not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated. They will give police and the courts the power to tackle this insidious form of abuse.'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced a major backbench rebellion over the bill, however, after 50 MPs put their names to an amendment that would make tech chiefs criminally liable for failing to block minors from seeing damaging content.

Tripadvisor also revealed in the company's 2021 Review Transparency Report that one million reviews it received were fake for the previous year.

It stated that 67.1 per cent of all fake review submissions were prevented from appearing on the platform.

In total, the online site said it penalised 34,605 properties for fraudulent activity and banned 20,299 members for failing to abide by its community standards in 2020.
Shocking new video shared with MailOnline appears to capture the moment Royal Marine commandos clashed with police in Gibraltar in a brawl that saw seven arrested on Friday.

Royal Gibraltar Police were responding to a call near the Ocean Village Gym when they became involved in a brawl with elite soldiers from 43 Commando at around 4am.

Footage showed officers wrestling men in civilian clothing to the ground. One man in a T-Shirt and shorts was seen to back off with his hands up as police adopted fighting stances and grappled with others.

A second clip shows sirens lighting up the street as police detain suspects on the floor near a police car. Police were reported to have used batons and pepper spray to stop the soldiers in the clash that left seven officers and a member of the public injured.

Suspects were charged on Saturday with offences including assault on police, violent disorder and disorderly whilst intoxicated. They will appear in court on Tuesday.

The commandos are part of a 550-strong unit, based at HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland, responsible for protecting Britain's nuclear weapons.

Footage showed the commotion between police officers, commandos and the public

People are pictured clashing, on the floor and doubled over, as police arrive on scene

Footage shows the aftermath, with sirens lighting up the street, as police appear to detain somebody on the floor

Kyle Connell, 20, Anthony Houghton, 36, Graham Tait, 42, Cameron Bull, 23, Connor Holborn, 24, Sandy Dove, 36, and Samuel Bates, 26, are part of a 550-strong unit responsible for protecting Britain's nuclear weapons.

The Royal Navy's website says they are currently on deployment for 'Maritime Security' - boasting the group includes crack snipers and close combat specialists.

Royal Gibraltar Police said: 'Seven men will be appearing before the Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning (May 2) following a large fight in Ocean Village.

'During the incident, seven RGP officers and one member of the public were injured.

'The Response Team officers were required to use captor spray, baton tactics and unarmed defence tactics.

'The Royal Gibraltar Police officers were assisted by officers from the Gibraltar Defence Police. Early this morning, the men, who are all serving members of the military, were charged.'

Houghton was charged with two accounts of violent disorder, one of resisting and obstructing police, one of disorderly whilst intoxicated and one of assault on the police.

Dove was charged with two counts of violent disorder, one of resisting and obstructing police and one of assault on police.

Connell, Tait, Bull, Holborn and Baits were all charged with two counts of violent disorder and one of resisting and obstructing police.

Police rushed to Ocean Village Gym, next to a harbour-side strip of bars, after receiving a call. Pictured: Ocean Village Gym

Police had to call the Gibraltar Defence Police for backup as they tried to subdue the serving soldiers.

They have been bailed with conditions, pending their court appearance on Tuesday.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) media officer told The Olive Press that 'seven service personnel from 43 Commando were arrested by Royal Gibraltar Police on 28 April 2023'.

The Navy's website reads: 'From snipers who can disable a moving speedboat from a pursuit helicopter, through to close combat and cold-weather warfare specialists, 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines are the elite warriors who protect the UKs strategic nuclear deterrent.

'The unit works closely with the MoD Police but also supports the Atomic Weapons Establishment, US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.

'Ready and able 24/7/365, 43 Commando delivers specialist capability in a uniquely complex urban, maritime, industrial environment.'

The MoD has been contacted for comment.
A stressed bull suffered incurable catastrophic injuries after leaping over a wall with a sheer drop behind it during a Spanish festival.

The 91-stone (580 kilograms) animal, called Vicioso, was sedated before being put to sleep after vets concluded nothing could be done to save it.

Dramatic footage showed the bull jumping 50ft into the abyss after it was let loose to charge at crowds during the Bou de les Penyes festival in the Valencian municipality of Ontinyent on Saturday.

Revelers gasped and put their hands to their heads in shock when the animal went over the edge of the low stone wall without seeing what lay behind it.

The animal crash-landed on the hard edge of a river bed near a bridge a few feet upstream.

Sickening footage captured the moment a bull charged over a wall and plunged to its death in Spain. The 91-stone (580 kilograms) animal, called Vicioso, was sedated before being put to sleep after vets concluded nothing could be done to save it

Vicioso was the second bull to appear during the fourth day of the bullfighting and running festivities.

All was proceeding as normal until the animal slipped free from his rope and ran along the curved edge of a road at a high speed.

Upon reaching the bend in the road that crosses the town's Pont Vell bridge, without slowing down, the powerful animal leapt clean over the parapet of the bridge, which stands just over half a metre high.

'These are unexpected accidents', said Vicioso's owners. 'With brave bulls, you never know how they are going to react or behave. In this case there was a low wall, and he came out very strongly. It is clear that he saw it as an opening'.

Saturday's incident led to a suspension of the festivities.

German Zaragoza, who had helped organise them, said: 'This was a tragic accident of the sort that happen rarely.

'The bull was coming down the slope very fast and jumped without seeing what was behind the wall.

'The veterinary service acted very quickly to sedate it.'

A spokesman for the livestock farm which had raised Vicioso added: 'With fighting bulls like these you never know how they're going to react or behave.

'In this case there was a low barrier, it went off very fast, and obviously it saw a clearing in the crowd.'

But critic Marco Pereira raged: 'This is pure and utter barbarianism.

'There's no tradition here, it's idiocy.'

Another enraged local said: 'It's shameful that people still play with animals.'

An 82-year-old man had to be hospitalised after being tossed in the air by a bull in Ontinyent last December. Initial reports at the time said he had suffered bad injuries but medics later confirmed the animal's horns had pads on them which saved the pensioner's life.

Researcher Rosa Fernandez found last year 34.7 per cent of the Spanish population supported festivities involving bulls and wanted to keep them, 44.1 per cent wanted them banned and 21.2 per cent were against them but did not want them banned.

THIS is the traumatic moment a stressed bull suffers catastrophic injuries vets decided it could not recover from after leaping from a bridge when it was let loose to charge at crowds during a Spanish festival

Terrified Bull leaps over a bridge in Ontinyent on Saturday

Upon reaching the bend in the road that crosses the town's Pont Vell bridge, without slowing down, the powerful animal leapt clean over the parapet of the bridge, which stands just over half a metre high

All was proceeding as normal until the animal slipped free from his rope and ran along the curved edge of a road at a high speed
Detectives carrying out a fraud inquiry into the Scottish National Party are investigating the whereabouts of 400,000 bequeathed to it in supporters' wills.

Police Scotland is probing what happened to some 660,000 given to the party to fund a second independence referendum.

The party received some large bequeaths in recent years, including 300,000 from the estate of Estelle Brownrigg, who died aged 73 in 2018.

The Sunday Mail reported that the party has received a million in this way since 2021, with a source saying: 'Large sums left to the party in wills are being looked at as part of the investigation. Huge amounts have been left over the years, including donations declared to the Electoral Commission in recent months.

'In terms of the independence fund money which has been reported as missing, there is around 400,000 which officers are trying to account for. It is a complex investigation being run by specialist officers with training in financial fraud.

'They are looking at company accounts and bank accounts and at specific items which have been purchased and where funds and items have ultimately ended up.'

It comes as the fallout from the the party's implosion - in which former leader Nicola Sturgeon's husband, ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was arrested and then released - turned bitter.

The party, now led by Humza Yousaf (pictured), has received some large bequeaths in recent years, including 300,000 from the estate of Estelle Brownrigg, who died aged 73 in 2018.

Meghan Gallacher said she was being targeted by separatists who branded her a 'bint', a 'Tory c***' and a 'daft wee lassie' in the past few weeks.

At the weekend, Meghan Gallacher, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, said she was being targeted by separatists who had branded her a 'bint', a 'Tory c***' and a 'stupid daft wee lassie' in the past few weeks.

She launched a campaign against the online abuse of politicians to coincide with the annual conference, which has just been held in Glasgow.

'It's got worse because they know they're on the back foot, in terms of their political party and the independence movement more widely, and because of what's happening just now with the SNP,' she told The Telegraph.

She added: 'I do believe, unfortunately, that has caused the aggression. It has automatically now jumped to [nationalists] defending their cause.

'One of the best examples I have was that I posted a picture of my parrot, Odin, who's an Indian ring-necked parrot.

'And all of a sudden that was: ''You're a Tory bint, you're a Tory'''
** Have YOU been plagued by mice or rats? Email liv.jones@mailonline.co.uk

Rats will eat pretty much anything and are becoming more resistant to poisons

Millions of 'super-rats' are threatening to plague Britain as they grow increasingly fatter by scavenging on takeaway scraps - as disgusted customers spot them outside fast food restaurants.

Footage shows one woman left in shock after seeing a giant rat feasting in a rubbish bin in a McDonald's car park before scuttling away into the nearby bushes.

According to pest experts, rats - who eat just about anything - are becoming more resistant to poisons as well as more adept in finding better, and more hidden, spots to nest and breed in walls, basements and attics.

Steve Belmain, professor of ecology at the University of Greenwich, said he could 'easily imagine' a plague of up to 300million rats being present in the UK.

Rats have incredibly strong teeth which can chew through material as tough as concrete.

After rummaging in the bins the rat scuttles away and hides in the bushes nearby

The rat can be seen escaping from the bushes before fleeing to safety across the road

Rats are becoming more resistant to poisons as well as becoming more adept in finding better, and more hidden, spots to nest and breed. File image

Mr Belmain said: 'Rats can certainly gnaw through concrete and metal, most normally soft metals such as tin, aluminium, copper and lead, but I have seen gnaw marks on steel, various hard plastics such as waste pipes and terracotta pipes - as well as concrete walls,' according to the Scottish Sun.

They are so flexible that they can even push themselves through the U-bend of a toilet to gain access to people's homes, where kitchens full of food await them.

The largest rat caught and recorded in the UK was 21 inches long, which is the size of a small dog.

Experts fear that vermin such as rats and house mice carry diseases that are harmful to humans.

Rats' urine carries diseases and it is suspected that it may be increasing risks of salmonella and leptospirosis outbreaks.

Recent figures show 78 per cent of rats and 95 per cent of house mice have genes that make them immune to poisons, which have been used as an exterminator since the 1950s.

Dee Ward-Thompson, the British Pest Control Association's technical manager, said: 'This rise in resistance could be due to a number of factors. However, it is most likely the spread has been accelerated by the application of rodenticides, by amateurs such as home and business owners doing it themselves or employing an unqualified individual to try to resolve the problem.'

According to the association: 'As nocturnal mammals rats will feed at night and can eat, on average, 50g of food a day.

'Rats are not fussy eaters and will chow down on pretty much anything - even other rodents and small animals.

'While we dont expect to see rats weigh over 500g, if food, shelter and water are in plentiful supply, with little competition, brown rats could get closer to 1kg.'

Last month locals living in Tenby, a popular holiday resort in South Wales, said their town has been invaded by an army of giant rats.

Residents of seaside town Tenby, in southwest Wales, are living among hoards of rats who have taken over a hill

The vermin reportedly have made their home on a huge hill overlooking Tenby's famous golden sands.

Pest exterminators have been laying traps along the clifftop overlooking the beach  voted as one of the best in the UK in 2019 - where several burrows have been found.

The council has urged the public not to feed birds or drop any food. But as with many seaside towns across the UK, tourists often are tempted to eat food on the seafront - where eagle-eyed seagulls and rodents are waiting to pounce on any food left behind.

A female rat usually has six litters per year, each consisting of up to 12 rat pups.

As rats reach sexual maturity four or five weeks after birth, a population of two can lead to a whopping 1,250 in the space of a year, with the potential to grow even more.

** Have YOU been plagued by mice or rats? Email liv.jones@mailonline.co.uk or tips@dailymail.co.uk
by Joseph Shieber

In Defense of Merit in Science, a paper published recently in the Journal of Controversial Ideas, suggests that (1) success in science is currently determined by merit, the (2) success of science in discovering significant truths is due to the fact that science is a merit-based system, and (3) the greatest threat to the continued success of science is what the authors term Critical Social Justice. The paper is wrong on all three counts.

1. Success in science is not currently determined by merit

Throughout the paper, the authors extol the virtues of what they call merit-based science. For example, on p. 5 they write:

Merit based science is truly fair and inclusive. It provides a ladder of opportunity and a fair chance of success for those possessing the necessary skills or talents. Neither socioeconomic privilege nor elite education is necessary. Indeed, several co-authors of this [article] have built successful careers in science, despite being immigrants, coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and not being products of elite education.

The implication of this passage is not merely that a culture of science based on merit would be a worthwhile ideal, but also that the current culture of science is largely merit-based. This would seem to be the point of including the observation regarding the successful careers in science of some of the co-authors, despite their having come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and not being products of elite education.

While it might be the case that it would be a worthwhile idea for science to be organized meritocratically, there is little evidence to suggest that science currently is a meritocracy.

First, it should be noted that the authors of the paper provide no such evidence. Suppose we assume, for the sake of argument, that one of the necessary conditions of meritocracy is that at least sometimes it allows people from lower socio-economic or non-elite academic backgrounds to succeed. To suppose that the fact that some of the co-authors of the article are both successful scientists and from lower socio-economic or non-elite academic backgrounds would therefore provide evidence for meritocracy would be to commit the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent.

Furthermore, the history of relatively recent science is littered with counterevidence of the meritocracy of science.

As a first example, consider the case of Albert Schatz, the discoverer of streptomycin. As Bill Bryson describes in The Body, Schatz

 studied soil biology at Rutgers University in New Jersey not because he had a passion for soil but because, as a Jew, he was subject to university admission quotas and he couldnt get into a better institution. He reasoned that whatever he learned about soil fertility would at least be useful back on the family farm. It was an unfairness that ended up saving lives, for in 1943, still a student, Schatz followed a hunch that soil microbes might provide an additional antibiotic to put alongside the new drug penicillin, which, for all its value, didnt work against bacteria of a type known as Gram-negative. This included the microbe responsible for tuberculosis. Schatz patiently tested hundreds of samples and in just under a year came up with streptomycin, the first drug to vanquish Gram-negative bacteria. It was one of the most important microbiological breakthroughs of the twentieth century. Schatzs supervisor, Selman Waksman, immediately saw the potential of Schatzs discovery. He took charge of the clinical trials of the drug and, in the process, had Schatz sign an agreement ceding patent rights to Rutgers. Soon afterward, Schatz discovered that Waksman was taking full credit for the discovery and keeping Schatz from being invited to meetings and conferences where he would have received praise and attention. With the passage of time, Schatz also discovered that Waksman had not relinquished patent rights himself, but was pocketing a generous share of profits, which were soon running into millions of dollars a year. (Bryson, p. 383)

Waksman went on to win the Nobel Prize in 1952 for the discovery of streptomycin  two years after a 1950 lawsuit in which Schatz was recognized as the co-discoverer of the antibiotic:

Unable to get any satisfaction, Schatz eventually sued Waksman and Rutgers, and won. In settlement, he was given a portion of the royalties and credit as co-discoverer, but the lawsuit ruined him: it was considered very bad form to sue a superior in academia in those days. For many years, the only work Schatz could find was at a small agricultural college in Pennsylvania. His papers were repeatedly rejected by leading journals. When he wrote an account of the discovery of streptomycin as it had really happened, the only publication he could find that would accept it was the Pakistan Dental Review. (Bryson, p. 384)

You might think this example is too old to impugn the current meritocratic practices of science. Schatzs discovery was in the 1940s and his ostracism from elite academic circles was still 50 years ago. However, even as late as 2004 academics were arguing that attempts to rectify the historic record in order to give Schatz his due were unfair to Waksman. An ACS recognition of Waksman from 2005 continues to portray Schatz as a disgruntled graduate student who contributed little to the discovery of streptomycin, and to portray Schatzs ostracism from the academic community after the lawsuit  a lawsuit that, remember, Schatz won!  as justified.

A second example impugning the notion that science is meritocratic is the discovery of neurogenesis. Heres Robert Sapolskys description, from Behave:

In 1965 an untenured associate professor at MIT named Joseph Altman (along with a longtime collaborator, Gopal Das) found the first evidence for adult neurogenesis, using a then-novel technique. A newly made cell contains newly made DNA. So, find a molecule unique to DNA. Get a test tube full of the stuff and attach a miniscule radioactive tag to each molecule. Inject it into an adult rat, wait awhile, and examine its brain. If any neurons contain that radioactive tag, it means they were born during the waiting period, with the radioactive marker incorporated into the new DNA. This is what Altman saw in a series of studies. As even he notes, the work was initially well received, being published in good journals, generating excitement. But within a few years something shifted, and Altman and his findings were rejected by leaders in the fieldit couldnt be true. He failed to get tenure, spent his career at Purdue University, lost funding for his adult neurogenesis work.

Silence reigned for a decade until an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico named Michael Kaplan extended Altmans findings with some new techniques. Again this caused mostly crushing rejection by senior figures in the field, including one of the most established men in neuroscience, Pasko Rakic of Yale. Rakic publicly rejected Kaplans (and tacitly Altmans) work, saying he had looked for new neurons himself, they werent there, and Kaplan was mistaking other cell types for neurons. At a conference he notoriously told Kaplan, Those may look like neurons in New Mexico, but they dont in New Haven. Kaplan soon left research  (Sapolsky, p. 161)

So much for the Mertonian ideals of Universalism and Disinterestedness (those must look different in New Haven).

2. Science is successful in discovering significant truths despite the fact that science is not a merit-based system

Science is successful in discovering significant truths, however! Isnt this evidence that science must be a meritocracy? Not at all!

The assumption that the authors of the Defense of Merit in Science paper seem to be making is that the conditional, If science is successful, then science is a meritocracy is true. Given that assumption, plus the undeniable success of science in discovering significant truth, we would then be entitled to conclude that science is indeed a meritocracy.

Weve now seen evidence that science ISNT a meritocracy. Must we then, employing the logic of modus tollens, conclude that science isnt successful? Do the postmodernists win? Of course not  rather, we must reject the assumption that the conditional, If science is successful, then science is a meritocracy is true.

Luckily, that conditional is obviously false. One need look no further than pre-20th century science for examples of non-meritocratic scientific structures that nevertheless produced successful science.

In fact, the only reason why the authors of Defense of Merit in Science seem to embrace the conditional is that they commit an obvious fallacy of equivocation, using merit to refer both to the merit of individual scientists and to the merit of scientific ideas: The merit of an idea should be evaluated through scrutiny and organized skepticism, essential components of scientific discovery. The ultimate test of the merit of a claim is its ability to accurately predict the functioning of the universe as elucidated through replicable experiment and observation. (p. 4)

While of course successful science depends on recognizing that the merit of a claim is its ability to accurately predict the functioning of the universe as elucidated through replicable experiment and observation, this is not what is meant by meritocracy, which is taken to refer to a regime in which a persons success is a result of that persons merit.

It is this fallacy of equivocation that allows the authors of Defense of Merit in Science to grant, on occasion, that science is not perfectly meritocratic while nevertheless  in practically the same breath  maintaining that science never violates its ideals. Consider on p. 5, for example, this case of the No True Scotsman fallacy and  immediately following that  a further example of the equivocation that science ultimately recognizes merit because science recognizes truth:

The shortcomings of individuals or the community should not be confused with the science itself. Whether sexism prevented Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin from receiving credit for her conclusion that the Sun was made mostly of hydrogen is irrelevant to the fact that the Sun is made mostly of hydrogen.

3. The greatest threat to the continued success of science is NOT what the authors term Critical Social Justice

It is important to acknowledge one point that the authors of the Defense of Merit in Science article get absolutely right: science is in fact an ally to liberatory movements aimed at genuinely improving the lot of marginalized and disempowered groups. As the authors point out,

The role of science in rectifying social inequalities goes beyond trickle down effects of scientific progress. Science can help to develop programs addressing both the root causes of inequalities and the effectiveness of remedial policies. Recent works by Banerjee and Duflo illustrate how well founded scientific methodology can narrow the gap between rich and poor countries. Heckmans work quantifies the impact of preschool education on students success. In the field of artificial intelligence, one of the most active areas of research is concerned with discrimination, fairness, and social accountability. The distinctive features of these examples  are that they are based on scientific evidence and logic and they address the root causes of inequalities  (p. 19)

However, the authors are wrong to suggest that the movements that they describe under the umbrella of Critical Social Justice  even granting that some members of those movements pursue policies that are inimical to science  are the greatest danger to science in the United States.

Rather, it is Republican state governments that are pursuing policies to require the teaching of proven falsehoods about climate science in schools. It is Republican health officials who are falsifying scientific reports. It is Republican judges who are willfully ignoring decades of established medical science. It is Republican lawmakers who are trying to revive attacks against the teaching of evolution in schools. In short, it is Republicans who have declared a war on science and who have begun to use the power of the state and federal government to prosecute that war.

My fear is that, in their eagerness to defend science against the wrong foe, the authors of the Defense of Merit in Science article have made themselves unwitting aides of the real enemies of science: the conservative Republicans who use the mantra of anti-woke discourse to cloak their own  infinitely more dangerous  attacks on science.
Google bosses have asked UK staff to stop using common phrases including 'man hours' and 'you guys', it has been reported.

The US tech giant sent out a new 'inclusive language dossier' which includes changes to language.

Several phrases targeted by Google chiefs include 'whitelist', 'blackhole', 'blacklist' and 'black box', as well as 'chubby' - and to refrain from describing people or things as 'crazy, bonkers or mad'.

Tory MP Nigel Mills called the changes 'woke nonsense', telling the Sun: 'I don't know where people find the time to come up with this sort of thing. Who cares? We should not be ditching phrases and words used for a generation just because some snowflakes might get impacted.'

Google has sent out a dossier to staff asking them to refrain from using the following words

Meanwhile, a Google employee told the newspaper that staff had ignored the guide and focused on getting on with their jobs.

They revealed: 'We're much too busy to be worried about whether some totally harmless phrase that's been used for years might upset someone, somewhere.'

Google has said its dossier only provided 'editorial guidelines for writing clear and consistent Google-related developer documentation'.

MailOnline has reached out to Google for more information on the new guidelines.

It's not the first time the search engine has lurched into wokery either.

Last year, Google launched an inclusive language function designed to avoid the use of politically incorrect words.

Users typing landlord will see a warning that it may not be inclusive to all readers with the suggestion they should try property owner or proprietor instead.

The word humankind was a suggested alternative to what the online giant apparently sees as the controversial term mankind.

Gender specific terms such as policemen or housewife were also replaced by police officers and stay-at-home spouse, according to the new Google Document style programme.

A spokesman for Google denied there were bans in place and claimed several other software companies including Apple and Microsoft had similar practises.

They said: 'This is not us banning words in the workplace. These recommendations are not new, they're from years ago and are part of an industry-wide move to introduce more inclusive language into coding languages.

'The guidance assists software developers in making code consistent with industry norms and removes old language that had crept into software code like master-slave, and phrases that exclude women.'
Albania's prime minister has launched another scathing attack on the UK for accusing his country of fuelling the Channel migrant crisis.

Edi Rama said the UK was in 'a bad place' and having a 'nervous breakdown' over the flow of thousands of people from the Continent in small boats.

He has already attacked the language used by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Commons last year when she blasted 'Albanian criminals' sneaking into the UK.

Speaking at an economic event in Greece, Mr Rama said the UK was targeting his nation 'to feel like they still have muscle'.

'We have fought against [this language] and now we see they have calmed down a bit. But they are going through something of a nervous breakdown as a country so we have to understand them,' he told the Delphi Economic Forum, according to the Independent.

'It is not something we can't understand, we have to understand them. They have lost a lot of points of reference and they are really in a bad, bad place.'

It came as a Border Force boat carrying 80 migrants picked up in the Channel arrived in Dover this morning.

Speaking at an economic event in Greece, Mr Rama said the UK was targeting his nation 'to feel like they still have muscle'

It came as a Border Force boat carrying 80 migrants picked up in the Channel arrived in Dover this morning

Mr Rama, pictured meeting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March, said the UK was in 'a bad place' and having a 'nervous breakdown' over the flow of thousands of people from the Continent in small boats

He had already attacked the language used by Suella Braverman in the Commons last year when she blasted 'Albanian criminals' sneaking into the UK.

Figures showed that at least 13,000 Albanians entered Britain on small boats last year - just under a third of all arrivals.

Mr Rama signed a bilateral deal with Rishi Sunak in December designed in part to help tackle illegal immigration.

But he has made no secret of his distaste for remarks made by Ms Braverman and others.

But figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show 75 per cent of Albanian nationals who have arrived illegally have since committed at least one criminal offence in the UK.

And 30 per cent of Britain's class-A drug trade is now controlled by Albanian gang lords.

Albanians  many of whom arrived illegally in Britain on lorries and small boats  are now the biggest contingent of foreign prisoners in UK jails, with 1,582 locked up here.

This year so far, 93 Albanians have been jailed  at a cost to the taxpayer of 17million  for serious offences such as murder, rape and kidnapping and burglary, including 14 in the past week.

They include six killers, one rapist, a kidnapper, five class-A drug dealers and 56 cannabis growers.

Of the 93 jailed, at least 53 came to the UK illegally, either on small boats or in the back of lorries.

Albanians made up the biggest proportion of the more than 45,000 people who crossed the Channel illegally last year.

At one stage last summer, they represented 60 per cent of arrivals in small boats.

Thousands sought asylum, even though Albania is considered 'safe and hospitable' by the Foreign Office.
A major shake-up to Centrelink's dole payments in next week's budget will see some JobSeeker recipients being paid more than others.

Over 200,000 JobSeeker recipients aged 55 and over will see an increase in the base rate of their dole payments, according to 7NEWS.

It is understood to be the only group that will see a rise in next week's budget, despite calls for an increase across the board.

Over 200,000 JobSeeker recipients aged 55 and over will see an increase in the base rate of their dole payments

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher (pictured) said: 'There will be a very significant cost of living package in this budget and that will be targeted to the most vulnerable Australians'

JobSeeker is now at $693.10 a fortnight for a single individual with no children, which works at $49.50 a day.

There are 227,000 JobSeeker recipients aged 55 and above - the highest number of any age group - and most of this group are women.

They are most likely to be long-term unemployed, without having secured a job in over five years.

It is believed the increase for that age group will be modest and not the $100 a week extra that some, including a top economist, have been advocating for.

Peter Martin, visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, called for a $100 rise because JobSeeker had 'fallen shockingly low compared to living standards'.

'Its now only two thirds of the pension, just 40% of the full-time minimum wage and half way below the poverty line,' he wrote.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher hinted at the rise in JobSeeker for older Australians.

'There will be a very significant cost of living package in this budget and that will be targeted to the most vulnerable Australians,' she said on Sunday.

Ian Henschke of National Seniors, which advocates for those aged over 50, welcomed the news.

'We know that JobSeekers is not enough to live on and I think it does need to be raised,' he told 7NEWS.

The budget will also extend single parenting payments, increase rental assistance - particularly for women - and take an axe to pork-barrelling.

About $120 billion in Morrison Government road and rail projects will be reviewed and all the money reprioritised.

Last week, treasurer Jim Chalmers was put on the spot when asked if he could survive on $49.50 a day.

Mr Chalmers, who draws a salary of $406,988, suggested the unemployed find a job.

'I recognise it is tough to live on the JobSeeker payment,' he said.

'That's why we want to move as many people as we can off that payment and into good, secure, well-paid jobs.'

Dr Chalmers was responding after Labor backbenchers called on the government to increase JobSeeker in a joint open letter with the Australian Council of Social Service, which was signed by MPs from a number of different parties.
The bitter battle for Italian actress and beauty queen Gina Lollobrigida's estate has taken a mysterious turn after it was discovered that nine million euros of her fortune has disappeared.

Lollobrigida, who rose to prominence in the 60s as the 'world's most beautiful woman' and appeared in scores of films, died on January 16 at the age of 95.

In her will, the sex symbol split her assets between her 66-year-old son Milko Skofic Jr and her 35-year-old assistant Andrea Piazzolla who cared for Lollobrigida in her final years.

But a bitter dispute has erupted, with Lollobrigida's family accusing Piazzolla of manipulating the actress into giving him a share of her estate.

And in the latest twist in the ongoing legal dispute, Italian authorities compiling an inventory of Lollobrigida's estate said they found that 9 million of assets - the vast majority of the star's wealth - have disappeared.

Italian actress and beauty queen Gina Lollobrigida, who rose to prominence in the 60s as the 'world's most beautiful woman' and appeared in scores of films, died on January 16 at the age of 95.

In her will, the sex symbol split her assets between her 66-year-old son Milko Skofic Jr, and her 35-year-old assistant Andrea Piazzolla (pictured together in Rome in 2019) who cared for Lollobrigida in her final years

Milko Skofic, the actress's estranged son, has claimed Piazolla took advantage of his elderly mother

The actress's assets include a violet ruby cut in a cushion-shaped design worth 1,200 euros (1,050), marble statues of cherubs, a wooden Buddha statue as well as famous paintings - all of which are in her luxurious villa in Rome.

Her estate, believed to have been worth millions of euros, has now been valued at nearly 500,000 euros (439,000) as the whereabouts of funds from the sale of expensive assets such as three properties in Rome and an apartment in Monte Carlo remain unknown.

'We can only speculate as to where the missing assets are being kept,' Alessandro Gentiloni Silveri, a lawyer for Skofic Jr, the actress's only son, told The Times. 'My guess is as good as anyone.'

In the final years of her life, Lollobrigida took legal action against Skofic Jr, accusing him of humiliating her and infringing on her 'legitimate right to grow old without being robbed'.

But Skofic Jr - together with his son Dimitri Skovic - claims Lollobrigida was defrauded by young assistant Piazzola into signing over her assets to him while cutting contact with her family members and close friends.

A court in Rome will decide on June 7 whether Lollobrigida was sound of mind when she signed her will.

'Lollobrigida was not lucid enough to sign her will,' Gentiloni Silveri said. 'She was extremely weak, and had people feeding her false information in a way they claimed was beneficial to her.'

Piazzolla's lawyers claim that Lollobrigida was not vulnerable and knew what she was doing when she signed the will.

'She was lucid and read everything,' Filippo Morlacchini, Piazzola's lawyer, said. 'She always had the last word.'

Lollobrigida (pictured in 1959) described Piazzolla as being 'like a son' to her, and says that what she decides to do with her money 'concerns me and no one else'

Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida (pictured in her house in 2008 in Rome) died aged 95 in January

Andrea Piazzolla, Lollobrigida's driver-turned-manager, is accused of defrauding her out of hundreds of thousands of pounds including buying a Pagani supercar

Skofic told Italian newspaper La Repubblica this week that Piazzolla had ruined the last years of his mother's life by isolating her from 'everything she held dear'.

'For three years, I wasn't even able to get into her house,' he said. 'Her friends kept ringing me to ask why no one answered their phone calls Nearly all of her closest friends were kept away from her Everything was in his hands.'

Lollobrigida's relationship with Piazzolla dates back at least a decade, to when he became her driver aged 24.

He was subsequently promoted to her handyman and then to her manager, before moving to live with her along with his partner.

Speculation has swirled for years about how close the pair had become - with Piazzolla often showing up at awards ceremonies on Lollobrigida's arm.

Skofic launched legal action against him as early as 2015, when he accused Piazzolla of taking control of firm Vissi D'arte which manages Lollobrigida's assets and using it to sell three luxury properties as well as buying a Pagani supercar.

Piazzolla was also accused of using bank accounts in his parents' names to transfer thousands of euros from the film star's fortune.

The latest legal case related to 350 items of art and antiques worth an estimated 250,000 that Piazzolla is accused of selling without Lollobrigida's knowledge.

Ahead of the case, Skofic applied to the Italian Supreme Court to have a block put on his mother's assets to stop any more being given away as gifts.

In October 2021, the court ruled in his favour after hearing that Lollobrigida had a 'weakened sense of reality' that meant she was 'vulnerable' to exploitation.

Judges ruled that, while she could keep control over her day-to-day expenses, she should be prevented from managing her most valuable assets until the case against Piazzolla is concluded.

Gina Lollobrigida in a publicity portrait for the film 'Woman Of Rome' in 1954

Lollobrigida's assets include various properties across Italy as well as her paintings and jewels (pictured: the property in Rome where Gina's 95th birthday party was held)

But Lollobrigida in turn hired former Palermo prosecutor Antonio Ingroia, who had built a reputation for contending with the Sicilian mafia.

Speaking to Italian station Rai1 in 2021, Ingroia said: 'I am her lawyer because she looked for me and felt this need to fight and look for someone who would fight alongside her.

'For years I have fought the mafia and this same spirit for a battle of freedom I want to do and I am doing alongside Gina Lollobrigida.'

Speaking to Il Sussidiario, he accused Skofic of being interested in his mother's health only because it concerns her money.

'The problem that caused all this was not that Ms. Lollobrigida is ill but the annihilation of her assets. The problem is the heritage,' he said.

And outlining her exact relationship with Piazzolla to Rai1, Lollobrigida said she views him 'like a son' and revealed that he has named his daughter Gina after her - describing the little girl as 'a tiger'.

She has described him as 'a stroke of luck' who 'helped me move forwards' with her life in recent years after she became estranged from Skofic.

Lollobrigida also previously accused her former toyboy lover, Javier Rigau, of conning her into marriage in an attempt to inherit her money.

She was with the 58-year-old for over 20 years and the couple reportedly planned to get married, but the ceremony never took place after the star called it off.

Lollobrigida pictured left in 1958 and right in 1959

Gina Lollobrigida and ex-husband Javier Rigau Rifols pictured at the 56th Red Cross Ball in 2006. The couple - who had a 34 year age gap - announced their engagement that year

But despite splitting up in 2007, the Spanish businessman managed to marry her by proxy in 2010 without her knowledge by using an impersonator to stand in as Lollobrigida at the service in Barcelona.

She only discovered the marriage in 2013 and Rigau was charged with fraud and forgery.

A film star and sex symbol of the 1960s and 70s, Lollobrigida starred in more than 60 films and is still considered a star of Italian cinema - despite her last movie being two decades ago.

Along with rival Sofia Loren, Lollobrigida was one of a small number of Italian stars who achieved international fame with a career in Hollywood.

She starred in such films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1956, Strange Bedfellows alongside Rock Hudson in 1965 and Good Evening, Ms Campbell in 1968 - acting alongside the likes of Sean Connery, Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra.

Known affectionately by fans and family as 'La Lollo', she also starred in Trapeze and Woman of Rome, and now splits her time between a villa in Monte Carlo, a mansion in Rome and another property in Sicily.

After acting Lollobrigida started a career as a photographer and sculptor in the 1980s.
Angry villagers have held a mock funeral to mourn the death of their town after plans were submitted to build 1,700 new homes - and more than double the settlement's size.

Locals have formed a resistance group, called Action4Alderholt, to fight back against the plans which would see almost 2,000 homes built in the small village of Alderholt in Dorset.

Villagers believe the development will 'kill' their community, which currently has a population of just 2,872 people, 2021 census figures show.

In a protest against the plans, members of the opposition group filmed a video of their leader Debbie Jacobs dressed as the grim reaper trudging through the Dorset village.

The ceremony set out to mock property development company Dudsbury Homes, who submitted the planning application, with a sign pinned on the Grim Reaper's robes stating: 'I am Dudsbury destroyer of villages'.

Posted by Debbie Jacobs on Friday, April 21, 2023

Villagers in Aldherolt, Dorset held a mock funeral to protest plans to build 1,700 homes

The protesters pulled a coffin through Alderholt to mourn the death of the Dorset village

The video shows Alderholt resident Angela Connal trailing behind the Grim Reaper, while dragging a coffin representing the death of the tiny village.

The protesters played sombre music as they continued their funeral procession through the village to show their opposition to the Dudsbury Homes plans.

On the outskirts of the village Debbie presented different boxes with locations from around Alderholt pictured on them before stamping on them.

The group wanted to represent how the fields, animals and roads of Alderholt would be destroyed.

Mrs Connal, who lives on Ringwood Road, organised the fake funeral in order to stir up the feelings of fellow residents.

She said: 'It is very important to us that the threat to the village is taken seriously. It will kill our village, the surrounding fields and animals.

'We were trying to send a grim message but some people thought it was funny so I think we didn't get it right. The whole character of the village will be destroyed.

'Alderholt does not need or want development of this size and the local plan consultation report has stated that Alderholt is not suitable for this sort of development.'

Protest leader Debbie Jacobs dressed as the Grim Reaper to show her opposition to the plans

The plans to build 1,700 new homes could see Alderholt's population double

Alderholt currently has a population of around 2,872, according to 2021 Census data.

If the 1,700-home development were to go ahead, the population of Alderholt would more than double.

A Dudsbury Homes spokesperson said: 'The development will be transformative for the local area, providing much needed housing and facilities for local families.

'The proposals consist of 1,700 family homes, including 600 affordable homes, a modern medical centre, significant improvements to St. James' School, and a new 6-day hourly bus service from Cranborne-Alderholt-Fordingbridge-Ringwood.

'Hopefully it will enable younger people to get on the housing ladder. The proposals will also support new business opportunities in Alderholt through a new 10,000 sqm employment hub that will provide a multitude of opportunities.

'New serviced office space and fibre internet will also make it easier for people to work from home.'

Adrian Hibberd, chairman of Alderholt Parish Council, confirmed that Dorset Council had received the proposal and said he had seen Dudsbury Homes' 'wishlist'.

He said he's waiting to see something 'in black and white' before passing comments, adding: 'Until an application comes forward we're not having a view as such. There are more developers than just Dudsbury Homes trying to do the same thing at the moment.

'Alderholt is surrounded by land that wants to be built on.'
Police have launched an urgent hunt for a hooded man after a young girl was allegedly sexually assaulted.

Greater Manchester Police said that the child was allegedly attacked as she walked down a public footpath near Lees Valley in Oldham in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon.

Officers have increased patrols in the area as they launch an investigation into the incident.

Inspector Katherine Murray said: 'We're releasing CCTV images of a man that we would like to speak to in connection with this incident.

Greater Manchester Police said that the incident occurred around 4.30pm on Saturday 29 April, after officers were called to a report of a girl being assaulted by a man near Lees Valley in Oldham

'He may be able to help us with our enquiries and I would encourage anyone who thinks they may recognise him to get in touch with police as soon as you're able to. We understand that the CCTV images are not of the best quality but we're keen to speak to anyone who may have been in the area at the time or were within the vicinity at the time and may have seen him.'

Enquiries have established that the victim was walking along a public footpath near Turner Street Lees, when she was approached by an unknown man who assaulted her.

Detectives have not yet released the age of the girl, but have described her as 'young.'

They said: 'Enquiries have since established that the victim was walking along a public footpath near Turner Street, Lees, when she was approached by an unknown man who assaulted her. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing.'

Oldham's neighbourhood sergeant Graham Craven has urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward

Speaking about the incident, Oldham's neighbourhood sergeant, Graham Craven, said: 'This is a very concerning attack on a young girl and I would like to assure the local community that a team of detectives are working at pace to locate the offender.

'Whilst specialist officers are supporting the victim, we are continuing to follow up a number of lines of enquiry.

'You will see our officers out and about on foot conducting highly visible patrols over the next couple of days, making enquires and offering reassurance to the community as we move forward with this investigation.

'We also want people in the local area to remain vigilant and to report anything they feel is suspicious to us immediately as we will act on any further information we get.'

He urged anyone with information to come forward, saying: 'If anyone has any information that may help with the investigation, they are asked to call 101 quoting log 2413 of the 29/4/2023.'

Alternatively, details can be passed on anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Some Bank Holiday revellers across the UK will be waking with very sore heads today after piling into boozers last night to celebrate the long weekend.

Thousands headed out on Sunday to make the most of the rare extra day off but some festivities quickly turned to carnage.

One partygoer was tackled to the ground outside a nightclub in Leeds and pinned down by two men, who appeared to be bouncers.

The scuffle happened in area of the city called The Calls, which is home to a host of bars, pubs and clubs, including Revolucion de Cuba, Tiki Hideaway and Revolution bar.

Two women wearing heels, could be seen crouching down in the rain and appear to be very animated while talking to the security guard.

One partygoer was tackled to the ground outside a nightclub in The Calls, Leeds and pinned down by two men, who appeared to be bouncers

The scene was reminiscent of this picture of Manchester during 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations. It went viral after social media users turned it into hilarious memes.

Another bouncer stood behind them, appears to be trying to usher the women away.

The scene was reminiscent of the viral 'Michelangelo of Manchester' picture taken of carnage in the city during 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations.

Elsewhere across the country, partygoers stayed out into the early hours of the morning, enjoying Sunday's lukewarm temperatures and spitting rain, letting their hair down knowing they

In Oxford, revellers stayed up until the sun rose and marched through the streets in a strange dawn chorus of sorts.

With a lack of work on Monday morning, Sunday was the perfect opportunity for many to let their hair down and truly enjoy themselves.

People in Leeds and Liverpool city centres were pictured letting loose and heading out for drinks while dressed to impress.

Partygoers had hit the tiles on Saturday night as well, but that didn't stop others going out for their fun last night - and there's the prospect of more revelry on the horizon with another long weekend in seven days for King Charles III's Coronation.

Revellers in Leeds did not let the rain stop them from enjoying a boozy night out on the town

Thousands headed out on Sunday to make the most of the extra day off but some festivities turned to carnage. Pictured: Revellers in Liverpool trying to keep dry as they partied into the early hours of the morning

BIRMINGHAM: Four women head out to enjoy to make the most of the Monday off

LIVERPOOL: Three men absorb a McDonald's on the pavement as sunrise creeps closer

OXFORD: A reveller reacts as people wait for the choir on the Magdalen Bridge during the May Day celebrations

OXFORD: Revellers attend May Day celebrations outside Magdalen College as the sun rises

OXFORD: People wait for the choir on the Magdalen Bridge, in Oxford this morning

OXFORD: People partied until the early hours of the morning to celebrate May Day

LIVERPOOL: A group of girls share one coat to keep dry as they party in to the early hours

OXFORD: Many revellers will undoubtedly be waking up this afternoon with sore heads

LIVEERPOOL: A couple have a kiss while a reveller gives his legs a rest last night

LIVERPOOL: A group of friend decide to flex their muscles as they soak up the night life

LIVERPOOL: A big group of friends enjoy the night with a bucket full of drink in Liverpool

LIVERPOOL: Women dance the nigh away at Sensation night club, Liverpool last night

This weekend has seen an invasion of May Bank Holiday 'stags and hens' who want to keep partying till the sun rises.

In Leeds many groups of young men and women seemed to be in a chipper mood, laughing and smiling as they made their way through the city centre.

Even the rain and lukewarm temperatures of 12C couldn't dampen their spirits, with groups in fancy dress and impressive clothes not holding back.

Among the impressive costumes on display were groups of men dressed as priests, astronauts, convicts, air force pilots, jockeys, cheerleaders and even a chicken.

Meanwhile in Liverpool city centre, hen-dos and birthday parties were in full swing yesterday evening as they took advantage of not having to go to work on Monday morning.

With heavy rain forecast for Merseyside and temperatures of 11C, nothing was going to stop them going hell for leather in one of Britain's biggest party cities.

And despite the May Day Bank Holiday, many could do it all over again in just seven days when the UK gets another long weekend- this time to mark the Coronation of King Charles.

As the crowning of the new monarch is taking place on Saturday, May 6, the Monday after has been declared a Bank Holiday in celebration, meaning many could take full advantage.

Revellers dressed in white head out for a night on the town in Leeds on Sunday

Two ladies smile as they pose for the camera on a wet night out in Leeds on Sunday

A woman aims a kiss at the camera while out in Mathew Street in Liverpool on Sunday night

Revellers are pictured during a night out in Birmingham as Britons celebrate the bank holiday

Leeds: Instead of spending the night indoors, many ventured out into the lukewarm temperatures and spitting rain for a rare Sunday night on the town

Ladies in Leeds brave the cold and wet weather to make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend

These two long weekends in quick succession could be the perfect tonic after months of dreary weather, with plenty of people eager to throw their hair back and let loose.

Stagweb.com and gohen.com, two of the UK's leading stag and hen party providers, predict this weekend is expected to be a staggering 25 per cent busier than the next busiest weekend.

Jon Stainer, creative director of both Stag Web and Go Hen, said: 'The early May Bank Holiday is always one of the busiest weekends of the year as everyone gets an extra day of partying, plus it allows for a comfortable gap between the December and January festivities and the weddings in the summer.'

Bristol is set to see the biggest boom in stag and hen dos, with Liverpool a close second and Edinburgh in third.

Jon said 'Bristol and Liverpool have always been hugely popular destinations for both stag and hens, but the most surprising name on the list is Bath in fourth.

'Whilst Bath isn't particularly popular with stags, it's been the most popular hen party destination in the UK for years due to its stylish vibe, vibrant bar scene, and the world-famous Thermae Spa.'

Brighton is fifth on the list - nearly 10 per cent of all Stag Web and Go Hen's UK bookings are for the seaside city this weekend.

May Day Sunday revellers pose for the camera ahead of a night of fun and drinking in Leeds

Women dressed as cow girls make their way through Liverpool city centre on the May Day Bank Holiday

Two women stick their tongues out at the camera as they celebrate an impending marriage on the Bank Holiday weekend in Liverpool

A group of ladies pose for the camera as they head out into Liverpool to celebrate a birthday

Men dressed as a priest, astronaut and prisoner make their way through Leeds yesterday

May Day Sunday revellers head out into Leeds in fancy dress with jockeys, air force pilots and a chicken all on the menu
The family of a man stabbed to death in a knife rampage outside a Cornish nightclub opposite an Army reserve centre yesterday morning have paid tribute, calling him 'a much loved son'.

Michael Allen, 32, was killed and seven others suffered from stab wounds in an attack near the Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin. Two people remain in hospital as they recover from surgery following the attack.

Police were called at 3.15am on Sunday to the area of Victoria Square on Castle Canyke Road following reports of a person with a knife and multiple people with suspected stab wounds. Seven other men and women were injured and taken to hospital. Five people have since been released.

A family statement said: 'Mike was simply a much-loved son, brother, grandson and uncle, who loved his dogs.'

A tribute site has also been set up at Bodmin Rugby Club, where people can gather to remember Mr Allen.

Paying tribute to the rugby player, Bodmin RFC said Mr Allen's humour had left a mark on the club, adding: 'It is with great sadness that we can now announce the passing of our player and friend Mike Allen (Chabel). Mike came to the club earlier this season and quickly became a big part of our squad. His humour and kindness has left a mark on us all and we will miss him dearly. Our thoughts are with Mike's family at this devastating time.

'There is a memorial set up outside the rugby club where people are welcome to come to pay their respects and lay flowers. Fly high brother.'

The victim of a stabbing outside a Cornish nightclub has been named locally as Michael Allen

The shocking incident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning outside Eclipse nightclub in Bodmin (Pictured)

Forensics officers were pictured at the scene this morning as they continue to search the Castle Canyke area in Bodmin following the stabbing

Sam Perring posted on Facebook: 'Absolutely devastated and heartbroken. All the laughs, adventures and impossible sideways BMW moments we've had through the years. Love you so much mate.'

NHS staff nurse Alex Rhodes wrote: 'What a horrible, cruel world we live in. Michael, love you always cuz.'

Chris Rich added: 'Literally can't believe what I've heard. Always such a lovely guy you didn't deserve anything like that to happen to you and no one should have to worry about going out and something like this happening. Absolutely vile.'

And Christine Zammit said: 'So sad, another good one taken way too soon. Thinking of all his friends and family at this tragic time. This world is a cruel place.'

Forensic teams were yesterday combing the street outside the nightclub, which is opposite the headquarters of the 165 Port and Maritime Regiment RLC, one of the British Army's largest reserve unit. One forensic officer searching in a bush appeared to be holding a foot-long knife.

Police said officers were called to Victoria Square at about 3.15am to reports that someone was in possession of a knife and 'multiple people had sustained suspected stab wounds.'

Detective inspector Ilona Rosson said the force was treating the attack as an isolated matter and no one else was sought in connection with the stabbings. She added: 'This is a live and active police investigation and I would urge people not to speculate on social media, but if you have information which may assist us, please report it.'

Mr Allen has been described as a 'kind, fun-loving man' by grieving friends

Police pictured at the scene in Castle Canyke Road, Bodmin following the fatal stabbing

Pictured, forensics at the scene

Police in white forensics suits gather as they investigate a series of stabbings that left one man dead and seven others injured at a nightclub

Supt Rob Youngman said it was not yet known whether the victim and alleged knifeman knew each other.

He added: 'At this moment in time we are working to continue to understand the motivation behind this incident. The relationship, if any, between those involved is not clear at this stage. We believe some members of the group who were injured had been in Eclipse nightclub. They were then outside in Castle Canyke Road when the incident happened.'

Supt Youngman also urged anyone who might have video footage from the area to provide it to detectives. Cornwall councillor Leigh Frost described the attack as 'shocking and devastating.'

'Bodmin is a small town and it's not rife with crime, it's quite a friendly place,' he added. 'We are a strong community and we will pull together and get though this together. My thoughts are with everyone involved, the victim and his family.

'I also praise the emergency services for responding so quickly and the police for ensuring there is a full investigation.'

Bodmin Mayor Phil Cooper said the town council was 'saddened by this tragic incident'.

'We never expected this to happen in our town and I send thoughts and best wishes to the families of everyone affected,' he added.

'Bodmin is a fantastic community and we will support the victims and their families in every way we can.'

Mike was a keen rugby player for Bodmin RFC and rival rugby clubs lined up to pay respects to him.

Camelford RFC said: 'We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Bodmin RFC, and all family and friends, after the tragic news of the passing of Mike Allen.'

Helston RFC added: 'The thoughts of everyone here at Helston RFC are with Bodmin RFC today. The tragic loss of Mike Allen will be felt by all. Our condolences to his family, friends and club.'

Cops have been granted a 36-hour extension to allow investigative officers additional time to detain and question the suspect.

Detective Inspector Ilona Rosson from the Major Crime Investigation Team said: 'Our investigation continues into this matter, and we continue to ask the public for their help.

'If you have any information that relating to this murder and have yet to have spoken with the police, please come forward immediately. The information to have, no matter how small you may feel it could be, could be vital to our investigation.'
Fresh strikes by nurses have affected half of England's NHS trusts in what is being described as their largest walkout yet.

A&Es and intensive care wards will also be affected by the 28-hour walk-out, which has seen health chiefs beg the public to use the NHS 'wisely'.

Delays and are expected across the entire health service, after industrial action taken by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

But which nursing units are affected? Is your local hospital on strike? How much do nurses earn? Why are they on strike?

Read on below for everything you need to know about the latest nurse strikes.

NHS workers and supporters on the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London after strikes were announced by the RCN and members of the Unite union

Why are nurses striking?

The latest action by nurses is part of a dispute with the government over pay, recruitment and retention in the health service.

The strike come ahead of a crucial meeting between unions, ministers and NHS bosses on 2 May.

It will see all parties discuss whether to accept the Government's offer of a 5 per cent rise and one-off bonus.

The RCN are among the unions to have voted to reject the deal. However, others, including GMB, want to accept the offer.

Members of fellow NHS union Unite also rejected the Government's pay offer.

Is your local hospital on strike?

Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) will remain open during industrial action by nurses, despite previously expressing 'serious concerns' about patient safety.

Chief nurse Dame Ruth May said: 'These mitigations do not represent a return to standard staffing.

'The industrial action will still have a very significant impact on services during the strike period and patients can expect to see longer waits for care.

'The public should use the NHS wisely, with those needing non-urgent care using pharmacies and 111 online as their first port of call.'

See below for a full list of NHS locations across England affected by the nurses' strikes.

In addition to the NHS locations shut because of industrial action on 1 May, Unite members at South Central, South East Coast and West Midlands ambulance trusts - alongside workers at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie Pathology Partnership, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust - will all take part in industrial action on 2 May.

Where are the nurses striking today? The RCN has said walk-out will be held at the following NHS workplaces in England: East Midlands Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Eastern Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB NHS Mid and South Essex ICB NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust London Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust NHS North Central London ICB NHS South West London ICB Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust North West Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust The Christie NHS Foundation Trust The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust Northern Country Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust South East East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust NHS Kent and Medway ICB NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust South East Coast Ambulance Service Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Solent NHS Trust South Central Ambulance Services NHS Foundation Trust Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust South West Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Devon Partnership NHS Trust Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB NHS Devon ICB (One Devon) NHS Dorset ICB (One Dorset) NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire) North Bristol NHS Trust Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust Somerset NHS Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust West Midlands Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Midlands and Lancashire CSU Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB) NHS Black Country ICB Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Yorkshire and the Humber Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust NHS North West Yorkshire ICB Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust National employers Health Education England NHS Blood and Transplant NHS England NHS Resolution Advertisement

Members of the Unite union (pictured) have also chosen to reject the latest pay offer to nurses

Which units are affected?

The latest round of industrial action by nurses marks the first time that units such as intensive care, chemotherapy and dialysis have been affected.

The RCN said exemptions are being made in hospitals were finding it difficult to maintain life-preserving care.

'If we have the same approach to pay negotiations next year, do we just grind the cycle again?, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said on Sunday, 30 April.

'Well, there's a strong possibility, because it appears that for our nursing staff that's the only way that they can get their voice heard.'

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, 1 May, Ms Cullen insisted that care would still be provided, stating: 'Our nurses will continue to work today to ensure our patients are kept safe, and those nurses that are on the picket lines losing a day's pay, should there be other emergencies that arise during that period, I won't even have to ask those nurses to return to work, they will return at their own volition.

Previous strikes by the RCN designed to bring the NHS to a standstill saw cancer wards protected.

However, last-ditch talks between the RCN and NHS England agreed 'to protect life and limb services' with the union allowing nurses to provide a minimal level of staffing in intensive care and trauma.

The strikes will last until midnight on Monday, 1 May, 2023 and affect 50% of English hospitals

How much do nurses earn?

Pay grades for nurses can vary depending upon whether they work for the NHS or private health company, such as Bupa.

According to the NHS website, a consultant nurse, such as a mental health nurse can earn up to 54,619.

Meanwhile, newly-qualified nurses can expect a salary starting at 27,055, which could rise to 32,934, dependent upon experience.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said the 28-hour nursing strike is 'premature' and 'disrespectful' to other unions.

'I think this strike is premature and is disrespectful to those trade unions that will be meeting on Tuesday,' he told broadcasters.
It was a 3million bank heist that was said to have been inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story - on the street where the fictional detective lived.

The 1971 Baker Street robbery saw a gang tunnel 40feet into the basement vault of Lloyds Bank, before they made off with up to 3million - the equivalent of more than 35million today - in money and jewels.

Now, a new TV documentary tells how the heist may have been a plot by the security services to seize photos of Princess Margaret in a clinch with gangster and actor John Bindon.

The heist became known as the 'walkie-talkie bank job' because of a tip-off from a member of the public who overheard the robbers talking on a two-way radio.

A government gagging order, known as a D notice, was then imposed to prevent further coverage and National Archives on the raid remain sealed until 2071 - a highly unusual step for a crime with no apparent risk to national security.

Princess Margaret is seen relaxing on the Caribbean island of Mustique with actor and gangster John Bindon

Princess Margaret is seen talking to a friend on the island of Mustique in 1976

Princess Margaret, centre, and her friends Lord Colin Tennant (left) and Lady Anne Tennant waiting on the jetty at Mustique to greet Queen Elizabeth II, during her Silver Jubilee tour of the West Indies. The Royal yacht Britannia is in the background

Princess Margaret is seen in 1960 waving from her coach outside Buckingham Palace as she leaves for her honeymoon with husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones

A film based on the raid, 2008 hit The Bank Job, which starred Jason Statham, told of its alleged connection to Princess Margaret.

It depicted the compromising images of Margaret and Bindon being placed in Lloyds for safe-keeping by Michael X, a well-known criminal who was originally from the Caribbean.

She was known to have socialised with Bindon and was pictured with him on the Caribbean island of Mustique in 1974.

Bindon, who had links with the Kray twins and had starred as a crime boss alongside Michael Caine in 1971 film Get Carter, was said to be so well endowed that he could hang five half-pint beer tankards from his manhood at once.

Four men were jailed in 1973 for the raid and Michael X was hanged for murder in Trinidad in 1975.

The new documentary, Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan, airs on Sky History tonight.

Former James Bond star Brosnan says in the documentary: 'The safety deposit boxes at Baker Street Lloyds Bank are where London's rich and powerful stash their wealth  and their secrets.

The 1971 Baker Street robbery saw a gang tunnel 40feet into the basement vault of Lloyds Bank, before they made off with up to 3million - the equivalent of more than 35million today - in money and jewels

Guy Dark, manager of Lloyds Bank in Baker Street, is seen outside the bank after the raid

'It's one of England's most renowned banks and supposedly theft-proof.

It was also a tantalising target for the right set of thieves  and in Seventies Britain the number of bold thieves is growing.

'They look outside the box for inspiration and find it somewhere surprising. A thief then attempts something outrageous.'

The gang were said to have been inspired by Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle's short story The Red Headed League, which told of the digging of a tunnel as part of an audacious attempt to rob a bank in June 1890.

Speaking at their trial, prosecutor Robert Harman said: 'In September, 1971, this story was re-enacted in real life... a tunnel was dug from a shop two doors away and the thieves came up through the floor of the safe deposit vault.

'They got clean away with money and valuables in excess of 1,500,000.'

Dr Emmeline Thomas, a criminologist at City University in London, says in the show: 'These documents are under embargo, we'll not see them until at least 2071. What's being covered up? Why is this a national secret?'

The alleged photos were said to be so damaging that the security services had to get hold of them to ensure that no establishment figures could be blackmailed.

Margaret had a long-time love of Mustique, where she was given a plot of land as a wedding present by her former escort Colin Tennant, later Lord Glenconner.

By the time of the Baker Street raid, Margaret's marriage to Lord Snowdon was in deep trouble. She retreated to Mustique with her lover Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years her junior.

Speaking of the security at Lloyds, Brosnan adds: 'Its bombproof door weighs five tons, its steel-reinforced concrete walls are three- feet thick, and its 1,000 safety deposit boxes require two keys to open them  and then there are the alarms.

'The masterminds behind every great heist see what most people don't, risking everything to pull off the score of a lifetime.

A film based on the raid, 2008 hit The Bank Job, which starred Jason Statham, told of its alleged connection to Princess Margaret

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan narrates Sky History's documentary series Greatest Heists

'It takes a bold plan, the right team and the skill to stay one step ahead of the law.

'But Gavin's Holmes-inspired plan isn't simple. He needs to map a tunnel path to stop precisely below the vault.

'He needs experts with the right know-how to dig the tunnel, he needs someone smart enough to disable the sophisticated alarms. What he needs is a team.'

Ringleader Anthony Gavin, along with Benjamin Wolfe, Reg Tucker and Thomas Stephens were all jailed for their parts in the raid.

They rented an empty shop, leather goods store Le Sac, two doors down from the bank.

After digging the tunnel, the gang then used explosives to blast their way into the vault, which contained 268 safety deposit boxes.

However, the tunnel threatened to collapse and staff at the chicken shop called the police to report strange noises.

After radio enthusiast Robert Rowlands overheard the gang, he told police, who searched 700 banks within an eight-mile radius but could not get to the gang in time.

When police did turn up on the Monday after the raid, they found a message scrawled on the wall. It read: 'Let's see how Sherlock Holmes solves this one.'

Greatest Heists With Pierce Brosnan: The Baker Street Bank Burglary, is on Sky History tonight at 10pm.
by Mike OBrien

I have followed the work of York Universitys Kristin Andrews for a few years. I even had the good fortune of meeting her in person twice in Montreal, once where she was attending a conference on animal cognition at UQAM, and again when she presented some of her research to philosophy students at Concordia University. Her main area of study, animal cognition and behaviour, happens to be my own chief concern (a plurality winner among a million disparate interests, rather than commanding the majority of my attention). Her approach to moral questions about animals (such as their status as moral patients, or the value of their cultural practices) is refreshingly bottom-up, drawing on the results of field research and structured experiments to understand what sort of creatures animals actually are.

I say refreshingly because I have also read a lot of top-down animal ethics, which often starts with abstract notions like rights or dignity and then tries to extend these notions from humans to other animals, often justifying this extension by egalitarian or precautionary principles. I believe these top-down arguments can be useful because they use language and conceptual schemes that already have traction in law, but I am in my heart of hearts an inquirer first, and a moral advocate second. I am hopeful that an effective, but empirically incorrect and logically flawed, advocacy for animal protection can co-exist with a disinterested investigation into animals capacities and lives.

It is entirely possible that some scientific findings will prove inconvenient to advocates of animal rights and welfare protection. For instance, if we discovered robust evidence that some animals did not share our subjectively negative experience of pain, despite sharing many associated physiological responses, it would cast doubt on a wider range of animals whose suffering seems evident but is not yet conclusively proven. It would be better, from an advocacy standpoint, to presume harm in all cases and not get bogged down in case-by-case distinctions. It would be better still if the evidence vindicated that position, of course. If only the Wests dominant religious tradition taught us to be gracious rather than merely just in our care for others, then we wouldnt need to wait for proof of harm before we started treating vulnerable beings nicely. (It does).

Back to Dr. Andrews. Her work has touched on many areas of animal cognition and psychology, including theory of mind, personhood, culture, normativity, and, broadly, the importance of better understanding animal minds in order to better test and study them. Many of her publications, in the form of journal articles and chapters for textbooks and edited collections, are surveys of the existing literature on different facets of animal cognition, providing a useful summary of the evidence for attributing some capacity or status to (some) animals. There is a through-line of her own thinking and interests in her publication history, however; it appears and re-appears as a curiosity about animals relation to the moral world as we commonly understand it. It is her work on normativity, in particular naive normativity, that first grabbed my attention. After reading and listening to much discussion of the status of animals as moral patients, I began to think about their possible status as moral agents (I am hardly original in this, as animals have been held legally accountable for their actions across centuries). As questions of whether animals are moral thinkers and actors percolate, a Nietzsche-sympathizer like myself is drawn to speculate about the genealogical history of morality. Presumably, humans either are the first species to think morally, or we descended from evolutionary fore-bearers who also thought morally. (Presuming that morally describes some distinct kind of thinking that is not reducible to more primitive elements). Andrews approach with naive normativity is to look, not for hidden glimmers of our morality in animal behaviour, but for the most basic examples of normativity; the origins of ought-thought, as she puts it.

The elementary parts of naive normativity were laid out in a 2020 article entitled Naive Normativity: The Social Foundation of Moral Cognition. These consisted of (1) the ability to identify agents, (2) sensitivity to in-group/out-group differences, (3) the capacity for social learning of group traditions, and (4) responsiveness to appropriateness. Note that, unlike some other formulations, this version of normativity does not require normative beings to have any beliefs or reflective attitudes about norms; it only requires the capacity to learn and apply norms aptly. (Indeed, many human customs are followed without beliefs or reflective attitudes about the reasons for those norms; Andrews cites the example of a Mapuche man preparing a corn dish in which ashes are added before cooking, explaining to an observer simply that Its our custom, apparently unaware that such a step is necessary to release niacin and avoid potentially deadly malnutrition.) The article cites studies showing the young children exhibit all the elements of naive normativity, as well as studies showing that chimpanzees clearly exhibit the first three elements and may exhibit the fourth (responsiveness to appropriateness). Candidate examples of this fourth element include third-party interventions against transgressors, and positive affective responses to viewing punishment.

In the concluding section of the article, Andrews argues that [t]o make progress on the topic of the evolution of morality, we need to identify and clearly define the elements that make up moral practice, rather than relying on a vague sense of proto-morality. At this point, it is of more benefit to examine the evolution of normative practice. I am torn by this. On the one hand, I do like a good evolutionary story about the emergence of complex capacities. On the other hand, I do enjoy sitting in my armchair and speculating vaguely about proto-morality. I suppose the adult thing to do is submit to the often boring, sometimes fruitless drudgery of empirical work. The armchair is always waiting at home.

Andrews latest article (as far as I know; she is a prolific scholar and collaborates with many notable co-authors) is entitled A pluralistic framework for the psychology of norms, and moves even further away from cognitively sophisticated, functionality distinct models of normativity. She and her co-author Evan Westra argue that, while newer models of moral cognition have dispensed with the assumption that moral thinking is distinct from other forms of normative thinking, they still assume that the underlying mechanisms and processes of normative cognition are somehow discrete, unified and/or homogeneous. This can be attributed in many cases to inference from categories of normative cognition and behaviour that stick together as natural kinds, with the assumption that their is some apt mechanism doing its job behind the scenes. Quoting Stephen Stitch, they suggest normative cognition is the work of a kludge and not an elegant machine.

Stories of how one particularly important function (like tool-making, or hunting cooperation) gave rise to a generalized cognitive capacity are quite compelling. Its almost like a miracle; something as vast and endlessly productive as grammar or mathematics emerging from something as seemingly trivial as the need to increase protein consumption. But the satisfying tingle of such narratives should be a warning bell; nature seldom shares our mythos or sings our tunes. It is precisely because such stories resonate with culturally layered self-perceptions that we should be skeptical of them.

Westra and Andrews are going deeper than debunking just-so narratives, however. They set out to re-define what it is that a cognitive science of social norms should be trying to explain. They point to a wide array of definitions of social norms, some conscious or not, some affective or not, some explicit or not. How, they ask rhetorically, can a singular explanation like the functioning of ought-thought apply to such a disparate range of phenomena?

Their proposed way out of this mess is to put the horse back in front of the cart, by dispensing with favoured explanations of social norms and constructing a pluralistic, minimally theoretical definition of the normative behaviour to be explained. This minimal construct is normative regularity, defined as A socially maintained pattern of behavioral conformity within a community. The authors spend a few pages specifying the exact meanings of the terms in this definition, but it is broadly just what it says on the tin, with no need for attributing any particular affective or doxastic internal states. They employ this construct in stating their thesis of normative pluralism, which holds that normative regularities are the products of a variety of different underlying cognitive, affective and ecological processes of varying levels of complexity. It lacks the punch of There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so, but sometimes you need to tear everything down before you can build something up again. Such a thesis is unsatisfying to a philosopher who wants some substance to grapple with; there is virtually no toe-hold for analysis or conceptual unpacking. But for an empirical researcher, it has the virtue of getting in the way as little as possible. It is not clever, because it is not trying to answer anything in an interesting way. It merely tries to avoid the pitfalls of conceptually pre-determining the kinds of answers researchers can see.

Westra and Andrews list three aspects of normative regularities that cognitive science may seek to explain: Acquisition (how individuals learn about the regularities in their communities); Conformity (why individuals are motivated to adhere to regularities); and Maintenance (how regularities are maintained by the behaviour of others in the community). They provide examples of how each of these aspects is pluralistic (e.g. social norm acquisition can occur through direct instruction, or inference, or simple heuristics, or external reinforcement, or biological inheritance). They then address some possible objections to their position: Is it too permissive? (Perhaps, but researchers can add further stipulations if necessary). Is there really no distinctively normative cognitive system? (Evolutionarily, yes. Functionally, maybe, but not really). Does this thesis eliminate social norms as a concept? (As natural kinds, yes; as real patterns in the world that can be studied, no).

The naive normativity and pluralistic framework papers are two of the driest publications of Andrews that I have read, and I worry that I am underselling her work by focusing on them. She has written a great deal, and very engagingly, about richer topics that I personally find much more interesting, like cultural enrichment for animals and novel primate behaviours observed in field research. The most recent (forthcoming) publication listed on her website is about the role of preserving and enabling culture for animals as a requisite for welfare protection, a topic that is both fascinating to me as a curious student and important to me as a sympathizer of animal well-being. However, other authors have heaped a mountain of rich and engaging literature about animal cognition and behaviour, woven with Deconstructionist vocabulary and poetic over-indulgence, morality and sentimentality gilding and perfuming every page. Some of it even calls itself philosophy. Im not sure how useful it is to animals, or to the people that want to understand animals (as opposed to the people who want to understand how other people, who read too many Verso monographs, feel about animals).

I am fairly certain that the kind of project that Andrews and her collaborators are pursuing with this dry work is useful to people who want to understand animals. It stands to clear the way for empirical research uncluttered by the cobwebs of old psychological ontologies. Sometimes the best thing a philosopher can do is to point out that a runners shoelaces are untied, and then get out of the way. I am also fairly certain that this dry work may be useful to animals, in facilitating less confused and more credible (because of a lessened reliance on dubious theoretical schemas) findings about their capacities and lives. It is not guaranteed that such new knowledge will be employed to welfarist and liberationist ends, but at least the potential is there. It may be necessary to have robust, credible findings that animals lack certain human-like capacities and experiences, to lend credibility to the findings that they possess others. A coin that comes up heads with every toss is suspect. Given the prejudices of the past, a more accurate view will, on balance, brings animals up, and humans down, and both closer together, where they belong.

***

References:

Evan Westra and Kristin Andrews A pluralistic framework for the psychology of norms (pre-print version): https://philarchive.org/rec/WESAPF-4

All other references: https://www.kristinandrews.org/publications
Police shut down an illegal bank holiday rave after hundreds of revellers stormed a park over the weekend.

The mayhem erupted on Sunday at Bristol's Sparke Evans Park when more than 300 ravers swarmed the site for an unlicensed music event.

Crowds of party-goers wearing hoodies were pictured dancing around a huge sound system as it blared out drum and bass music.

The so-called 'Rumble in the Jungle' rave event was broken up by officers from Avon and Somerset Police at 5.30pm yesterday.

A spokesperson for the force said: 'We estimated more than 300 people were able to access the site prior to police attendance.

About 300 people attended an illegal rave on Sunday at Bristol's Sparke Evans Park as loud music blared out from a massive sound system

Police were called to break up the gathering at 5.30pm on Sunday. Pictured are officers ushering crowds away from the scene

'A police presence remained in the area, with officers successfully preventing more people from entering the site.

'The music was turned off and the majority of people who were at the site have now left. We will continue to monitor the site.'

Joe Warrington, 32, attended the rave with his girlfriend April Hill his dog Barry after hearing the music while driving past it.

Joe, of Keynsham in Somerset, told MailOnline: 'We had a sick time - it was good vibes only and people having fun. It's what bank holidays are all about.

'The police where shutting it down as we left.'

The illegal gathering came a day after police were called to the same park amid reports of another music event at the site.

Officers had been scrambled to the site at 6pm on Saturday following reports of anti-social behaviour and loud music. However, officers found there was no one there upon arrival.

'Officers attended the park and found nobody there. They conducted a tour of the area and found no trace. It was a call with good intent,' a spokesperson said.

Joe Warrington (right), 32, attended the rave with his girlfriend April Hill his dog Barry after hearing the music while driving past the park

The rave took place at Sparke Evans Park, off Albert Road on Sunday (pictured)

An earlier rave last month saw four people being rushed to hospital after more than 1,000 revellers gathered for an illegal party industrial estate in Bridgend, South Wales.

Officers said more than 70 cars were also at the 'unlicensed music event' at Kenfig Industrial Estate on April 8.

South Wales Police said in a statement: 'At 11:40pm on Saturday 8 April South Wales Police were called to reports of an unlicensed music event, occurring at Kenfig Industrial Estate.'

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Travis said: 'Initial reports indicated that in excess of 1,000 people and 70 vehicles are in attendance. A number of officers have been deployed. We are urging people to leave the site safely and stay away from the event.

'The Welsh Ambulance Service has attended in response to calls from the scene. Currently three people have been taken to hospital, none of those persons are seriously injured.'
Furious commuters have blasted eco-zealots from Just Stop Oil who 'stopped them from working' after the group held yet another slow matching protest through the capital on Bank Holiday Monday.

More than 90 activists from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) offshoot marched across four different locations in central London amid threats from the group to grind the capital to a standstill over the summer.

In a video clip shared by the group, eco-fanatics are seen marching slowly down London's world-famous Strand, near Trafalgar square, causing mayhem.

The group, dressed in orange and holding huge banners, sparked fury from taxi drives and cyclists alike who drove on to the pavement to avoid the march.

One angry commuter approached telling them 'we're not your enemies' before asking them 'Can you not do it somewhere else over there? You are stopping everyone - what's wrong with you?'

One furious commuter who approached Just Stop Oil protesters on The Strand this morning told them 'we are not your enemies' adding that they were 'stopping us from working'

Met Police officers attended the Just Stop Oil protest which also took place across Whitehall and the Southbank

He said: 'You are stopping everyone - we are not your enemies.'

When one protester tried to claim it was 'aimed at the government' not the public, the man exclaimed 'it is stopping us from working'.

He added: 'How are we going to feed our families if you lot are standing here while I am making no money?

'Have you got a way of dealing with this problem apart from making everybody else's life a misery?'

Furious bus drivers blocked behind the march could be heard beeping their horns in attempt to barge the climate activists out of the way.

Met Police officers are at the protests. There have been no arrests reported so far.

Elsewhere in the country, activists from XR are protesting in Poole, Dorset, following the Poole Harbour oil spill that took place in March.

It saw 200 barrels of oily water escape from a pipeline, resulting in a major incident being declared and harm to wildlife in the area.

The activist group staged a peaceful protest at Wytch Farm oil production centre this morning, calling for the oil company responsible for the spill, Perenco, to lose its licence.

The group, dressed in orange and holding huge banners, sparked fury from taxi drives and cyclists alike who drove on to the pavement to avoid the march

Just Stop Oil (pictured on The Strand this morning) has been causing mass disruption for the past two years, staging sit-ins on motorways, throwing paint over precious works of art and gluing themselves to buildings

Activists from Extinction Rebellion are today protesting in Poole, Dorset, following the Poole Harbour oil spill that took place in March. They are calling for the oil company responsible, Perenco, to lose its licence

Event co-organiser, Adam Osman from XR Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole said: 'Join us to make a stand against site owners Perenco and their risky oil business. Perenco polluted Poole Harbour and we believe this production site is now past its expiry date.

'It's time for oil production to end here, and for fossil fuel production to wind down everywhere.'

A large group of activists were seen banging drums and chanting 'Perenco out'.

The protests come days after it was revealed that Just Stop Oil had been holding secret training sessions in a plot to bring London to a standstill in single day of mass action.

There are also concerns that the group will stage some form of protest during King Charles' historic Coronation next Saturday.

A large group of activists were seen banging drums and chanting 'Perenco out' at Wytch Farm oil production centre this morning (pictured)

Event co-organiser, Adam Osman from XR Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, called for the end of oil production in Dorset and elsewhere around the globe as he rallied supporters

During one of the sessions, a training leader, named Lance, spoke of the importance of slow marches and road sit-ins, as they plan to create a summer of chaos.

He told trainees: 'Disruption is really, really important. We need a mass element of that.

'When we get to the point that we have 1,000 marching every day  that's what we should aim for. One thousand every day. Fifty marches every day. So we can shut London down on one day. That is the level of disruption we're aiming for.

'At the moment we have 100 marching every day. We've got to keep going. We've got time to build it up.'

He went on to add that 95 per cent of the group's time should be spent prepping for protests, with only five per cent being spent on action.

The group also told budding protesters to take inspiration from the suffragette movement in the early 20th century - calling on its members to throw rocks, break windows as well as 'using fire and arson and so on'.

Just Stop Oil has been causing mass disruption for the past two years, staging sit-ins on motorways, throwing paint over precious works of art and gluing themselves to buildings.

Their protests have infuriated members of the public and even held up ambulances and fire engines.

The activists disruption has come at a huge financial cost to the Met police, as well as putting a strain on resources.

Just Stop Oil has been causing mass disruption for the past two years, staging sit-ins on motorways, throwing paint over precious works of art and gluing themselves to buildings. Pictured: Protesters staging a sit-in protest in October 2022

Just Stop Oil protesters take part in a slow march in central London on Thursday

In November the Met chief said that 12,000 work shifts had been used to clear roads and patrol motorways, with the Met spending 7.5 million in just nine weeks last autumn.

Last week, police officers came under fire for their soft touch approach when 60 eco-activists from the group held 'slow-marching action', holding up traffic in the streets.

One angry passer-by tore up the Just Stop Oil banner leading him to be confronted by police officers. A stark difference to how the officers politely asked the campaigners to move on to the pavement.

The video shared by the group showed the man telling the demonstrators to 'f*** off, every single one of you' and 'move out of the way'. When he rips the banners from the hands of protesters and pushes them to the side of the road, police nearby go to stop him.

One of the uniformed officers then tells the man 'if you push them, that's assault - if you do that, that is a crime', while the commuter can be heard complaining 'people have got to go to work'.

The group was also accused of holding up an ambulance on Oxford Street on Thursday morning before reaching the long queue of traffic stuck behind the Just Stop Oil activists.

But it became stuck due to a number of lorries and vans blocking the one-way road ahead.

The ambulance did not appear to have its sirens activated, but video shows the protesters continuing their march despite the vehicle being just a couple of cars behind them.

Announcing the new measures on Wednesday Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) said: 'Selfish, disruptive protesters are wreaking havoc in people's everyday lives across the country and this must be brought to a stop'

Just Stop Oil said its activists moved out of the way as soon as they realised the ambulance was behind them.

Drivers across the capital are becoming increasingly infuriated by the action, leading to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiling plans to tackle the disruptive 'slow marching' tactics.

The cabinet member said the new laws, which are expected to be enforced within weeks, would allow police officers to drag away protesters from the road.

The measure had been dropped from the Public Order Bill this week after being blocked by opposition peers.

The Home Secretary is now looking to introduce the legal changes by an alternative route known as a statutory instrument, which can be implemented more quickly.

Announcing the new measure on Wednesday, she said: 'Selfish, disruptive protesters are wreaking havoc in people's everyday lives across the country and this must be brought to a stop.

'This is why we are bringing forward this new law to clearly define serious disruption as requested by police chiefs.

'Not only will the Public Order Bill introduce new criminal offences for causing serious disruption, but this new legislation also permits the police to clear the roads of slow marching protesters who are hell-bent on causing chaos across the UK.'

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said they are 'committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people's lives'.
A young girl was assaulted by a drunk man outside a Tesco supermarket, police have said.

West Mercia Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after the young child was allegedly assaulted.

Officers were called to the store in Bewell Street, Hereford, at around 7.15pm on Saturday. A man was arrested for drunk and disorderly and assault and remains in police custody, police said. It is believed the girl was with her father at the time of the incident.

West Mercia Police were called to the Tesco store in Bewell Street, Hereford

West Mercia Police have appealed for an unknown man who intervened with the incident to come forward to help with their investigations.

The police force have said: 'We are appealing for this man who intervened in the incident to please come forward and speak to us or anyone who was in the area at the time who saw what happened to contact us.'

They are also urging for the public to come forward with any information they may have regarding the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact PC Thomas Henry on 07773 052979 or by email Thomas.henry@westmercia.police.uk

If you have information but do not feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers.

You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111.
Police are searching the River Thames for a teenage boy who went missing last night while out playing with a group of friends.

Gloucestershire Police were called at around 10pm on Sunday after the boy was spotted in the river near Lechlade on Thames.

The National Police Air Service, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Severn Area Rescue Association carried out searches into the early hours of Monday morning.

However, specialist search teams today launched a fresh hunt for the boy, after emergency services failed to find him overnight.

The boy had been with three friends by the River Thames in Lechalde, at the southern edge of the Cotswold's.

A major search is underway after a boy disappeared in Lechlade on Thames on Sunday night

Gloucestershire Police began searching the River Thames after the boy was reported missing

Specialist teams launched a fresh search on Monday morning as the boy remained lost

Police said members of the group had entered the water to try and find the missing teenager.

Residents who live near the incident told the PA news agency police launched a rescue boat from Lechlade marina and slowly searched the water.

"A friend living close to the bridge messaged that she had seen a group wrapped in metallic blankets in the back of an ambulance," the Lechlade resident told the Mirror

Officers were also seen searching the area with torches, while a helicopter was seen circling the area on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Emergency services failed to find the missing boy after carrying out searches last night

The boy had been at the River Thames with three friends before he was reported missing

A Gloucestershire Police spokesperson said: 'Searches have been taking place in the River Thames after a report a teenager was in the water near Lechlade on Thames.

'Police were called at around 10pm yesterday and emergency services attended.

'Officers have been supported by the National Police Air Service, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Severn Area Rescue Association while searches continued into the early hours of this morning (Monday).

'The teenage boy has not yet been located and specialist search teams will be continuing with the search today. His next of kin are aware.

'A group of four had been at the location together and some had entered the water to try and find the boy. The others are accounted for.'
The NHS Tavistock gender clinic is facing legal action for failing to provide information about its links to a trans charity.

The Information Commissioner's Office has given the trust until the end of the week to respond to allegations it withheld details about its links to Mermaids, requested by a parent under the Freedom of Information Act.

Failure to do so could see the matter referred to the High Court, where the trust could be fined if found to be in contempt of court.

The FOI request asked for details of emails sent between the then Mermaids chief executive, Susie Green, and trust staff between 2014 and 2018, as well as records, notes, or minutes of any relevant meetings.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) clinic at Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust in North London is the UK's only dedicated gender identity clinic for children and young people

The Tavistock and Portman Trust originally refused to provide the information under a section of the law which allows them to deny 'requests which have the potential to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress.'

But when this was questioned by the ICO, the trust claimed it did hold the information relating to the controversial charity, which has been accused of putting pressure on staff to transition children.

The ICO ruled 'on the balance of probabilities', the Trust does have relevant emails, The Telegraph reported, giving it a deadline to respond of face the courts.

The NHS Tavistock gender clinic is facing legal action for failing to provide information about its relationship to trans charity Mermaids

Destroying, altering or erasing information requested after an FOI request is a criminal offence that could result in a fine.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) clinic at Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust in North London is the UK's only dedicated gender identity clinic for children and young people.

A spokesman for the trust said: 'We have noted the ICO's recent decision and are proactively working toward supplying the relevant data before the deadline.'

The Trust has been given until May 5 to provide a new response.
A petition calling for a harsher sentence for a one-punch killer who was jailed for less than four years for the manslaughter of a businessman outside a members' club in London has gained more than 30,000 signatures.

Family man Paul Mason, a successful international banker, died at the age of 52 following a brutal, unprovoked in a street in Soho, London, on December 15, 2020.

The horrendous blow, which happened as he left the Ivy Club, in the capital's West End, caused Paul to fall onto the ground and crack his head on the pavement.

Police officers and three-off duty nurses attended the scene, but the attack left him unconscious and he remained in a coma until he died in hospital six months later.

His killer, 35-year-old Steve Allan, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, after being found not guilty of murder in February.

Heartbroken Rachel Mason (right) set up a petition demanding the man who killed her brother Paul Mason, 52, in a one-punch blow to longer jail time

Steve Allan, 35, (pictured) pleaded guilty to manslaughter, after being found not guilty of murder in February. He was jailed for three years and nine months last month

The petition created on Change.org by Paul's sister Rachel has now received 32,540 signatures since it was launched a week ago

He was jailed for just three years and nine months.

This has outraged Paul's grieving sister, who said her brother's death, caused her other older brother Simon, 56, to relapse into alcoholism and die.

She has now launched the campaign in hope to overhaul the UK Sentencing Guidelines to prevent low sentences being given to violent offenders.

Her parents Ian, 80, and Linda, 79, are too upset to talk about the tragedy, so Rachel is articulating their their collective outrage.

It has already got 30,000 supporters who are backing her plea, on the petition website Change.org.

Rachel told the Mail last week: 'The verdict is a travesty. In my opinion Steven Allan murdered Paul. How could it not be murder? He hit my kind, gentle, compassionate brother  who made no attempt to retaliate  repeatedly and with such ferocity that he fell to the ground and did not get up again.'

Her petition is calling for Allan's sentence to be reviewed and extended by the Attorney General's Office.

It also asks for an overhaul of sentencing for manslaughter in general.

Police released CCTV footage shown in court of Allan attacking Paul after he left The Ivy Club in Soho, London

Rachel (pictured) is appealing to the Attorney General against the leniency of the sentence and has launched a petition  so far 8,100 have signed  urging a review and extension of Allan's jail term

Rachel's adored brother Paul (left), a successful international banker, died aged 52 after an entirely unprovoked and brutal attack in London

Paul (pictured), an adored brother and successful international banker, died age 52 following an unprovoked, brutal attack in a street in Soho, London, on December 15 2020

Speaking of the effect her brother's death had on the family she added: 'Allan set off a chain of events that had a ripple effect. Simon died of alcohol poisoning as a result of losing his brother. He was in recovery, but he started drinking again. I believe it was a slow suicide.

'Allan has two people's blood on his hands. He killed Paul and he triggered Simon's addiction because he couldn't cope with the heartbreak of our brother's death.

'When the sentence was handed down, I was stunned. Allan could be out in just over a year, which is outrageous. His defence was that he was under the influence of alcohol and very anxious when he attacked Paul.

'Well, I'm anxious. I've been diagnosed with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], but I don't kill people.'

Allan had been out drinking before he stumbled upon Paul. He went on to accuse Paul of stealing his friend's phone, leading him to punch and knock him to the ground.

He continued to attack Paul, who was a chief executive of Qatar National Bank, until he fell once more to the floor and his head on the pavement.

Allan, from Hook in Hampshire, fled the scene, but later handed himself in to police.'

Paul (centre) was the family's linchpin, says Rachel. 'He was the glue that held our little family together; the one we went to for support and inspiration, for guidance'

Scotland Yard had released footage of the attack that killed Paul, which his sister welcomed, asking 'how can this not be murder?'

The CCTV video showed the ferocity of the assault as Allan is seen hitting Mr Mason three times - twice while he was already on the floor, trying to get back on his feet.

In Rachel's online appeal she wrote: 'This sentence is an insult to Paul, to us his family and to the wider UK society.

'What punishment is this for brutally, without doubt in my mind after seeing the CCTV was a clear intention to do really serious harm to Paul? This was not a one punch killing, on the contrary.

'It was a sustained, brutal attack, in public and fuelled by alcohol. Leaving witnesses traumatised.'

A spokesperson for Mr Mason's family also said: 'We are immensely disappointed that the jury did not all see the intent to cause serious harm that most people who saw the CCTV concluded.

'We really hoped he would get a life sentence.'

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said: 'We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

'The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.'

A Sentencing Council spokesperson said: 'We cannot comment on individual cases. The sentencing guidelines for manslaughter were published in 2018 following a full public consultation.'
A heartbroken father who lost his son and wife in a mass shooting has said one of the victims begged him to save himself by jumping out the window  as the FBI admits it has 'no leads' on the illegal Mexican migrant shooter.

Francisco Oropesa, 38, opened fire on his neighbors' home in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night after they asked him to shoot his gun on the opposite side of his property.

Wilson Garcia said he asked Oropesa to stop firing his gun because it kept his one-month-old baby awake, before the migrant killed Garcia's wife Sonia Guzman, 29, and their son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9.

Oropesa, who had been deported from the US five times, also shot dead Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julissa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Caserez, 18, during the incident.

Garcia says one of the dying women urged him to jump out the window because his other two children needed a parent. He lived next door to Oropesa for three years without incident.

Wilson Garcia asked Oropesa to stop firing his gun before the migrant killed Garcia's wife Sonia Guzman, 29, and their son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9

Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican, is on the run after shooting dead five people in Cleveland, Texas on Friday night

He told CNN: 'She saw when my wife fell to the ground and was dying, and she told me to throw myself out the window because my children were already without their mother.

'I have no words to describe what happened that night. I feel like I'm not alive, but at the same time I am.

'What happened was horrible and ugly. I lived through it because I was there and managed to miraculously escape.

'My nine-year-old son and my wife died, and two people who died protecting my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

'They protected my one-and-a-half-month-old son, covering him with a lot of clothes so that the murderer would not kill him too. Imagine how we feel right now.'

Garcia confirmed he and two others went to try to speak to Oropesa about the noise from the gun, but was told that it was his property so he could do what he wanted.

Police were contacted by Garcia's wife five times before the shooting, but did not arrive until after the shooting.

Oropesa has not yet been apprehended by authorities - who have offered an $80,000 reward for anyone with information on his whereabouts.

Garcia says one of the dying women urged him to jump out the window because his other two children needed a parent. He lived next door to Oropesa for three years without incident

Garcia's wife Sonia Guzman, 29, (right) and their son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9, (left) were both shot dead in the incident

Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, (left) and Julissa Molina Rivera, 31, (right) were both shot dead by the gunman

Texas Governor Greg Abbot has offered $50,000 for his capture, and other counties' have chipped in $5,000, with the FBI offering $25,000.

It comes after the FBI admitted they had no leads in the 'execution-style' slayings and have been going door to door to ask for information on Oropesa - who is believed to have entered the country illegally.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers and FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge (SAC) James Smith confirmed that their search, which included 200 officers, has yielded 'zero leads' so far.

Smith said: 'We consider him armed and dangerous.; He's out there, and he's a threat to the community.

'I can pretty much can guarantee you he's contacted some of his friends.

'We just don't know which friends they are, and that is what we need from the public is any type of information.

'We cannot continue down this path until he is apprehended and arrested. We're asking everyone to bring this monster to justice.'

Garcia broke down at a memorial for his family and friends on Sunday as police continue to search for the fugitive gunman

Jose Jonathan Caserez, 18, also died during the incident which saw five people killed including a nine-year-old boy

Texas Governor Greg Abbot has offered $50,000 for his capture, and other counties' have chipped in $5,000, with the FBI offering $25,000

Police were contacted by Garcia's wife five times before the shooting, but did not arrive until after the shooting. Pictured: Daniel Enrique Laso and his mother

Oropesa's wife has been interviewed multiple times and is in 'constant contact' with investigators, according to authorities.

Garcia added: 'We had company. We were going to make something to eat, the guy, came out and he was shooting.

'I said to my wife: 'Get inside, because this man has already loaded his gun'. I told her 'I don't think he is coming here to just threaten us.'

'Then my wife said, 'You should go inside, because I don't think he will shoot me. I am a woman.'

'She said, 'I'm going to stay here, I'm going to stay in the door.' He just came and shot, that is, without saying anything. Bam. And my wife went down.

'I don't know what to tell you. He might have been intoxicated. Might have been drunk. But everything he did... he knew what he was doing.

'Because a drunk person who can't even stand up anymore, I don't think would have grabbed a gun and loaded it and started shooting.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said on Sunday 'My heart is with this nine-year-old boy. I don't care if he was here legally. I don't care if he was here illegally. He was in my county'

Honduran flags are seen decorating a tree where the five people were shot and killed, as the Foreign Ministry prepares to repatriate their remains.

'He discovered that some of the people escaped and came back to finish them off and shot them in the head. When he didn't get us, he came back and shoot everybody else in the head.

'I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people.

'He couldn't catch up to me. The bullets were hitting everywhere. I never had a problem with him. I can't believe what he did.'

The FBI initially used the wrong photo in their wanted poster, but on Sunday corrected it, and also corrected the spelling of the shooters last name.

All those killed were Honduran nationals, with the Honduran Foreign Ministry preparing to repatriate their remains.

In a statement, they said: 'The Government of Honduras deeply regrets the loss of these valuable lives and accompanies all their loved ones in their pain.

'We demand that the pertinent authorities arrest the perpetrator of this terrible event and apply the full weight of the law.'

Emotional locals sobbed at a memorial for the five victims, with the adults protecting other children in the property who survived

FBI agents are seen at the neighborhood in Cleveland, Texas where Oropesa shot and killed five people

Enrique Reina, Honduras' Secretary of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation, offered his condolences to the families of the San Jacinto County shooting victims.

He said: 'Our condolences to the families of the victims of this terrible crime. We demand that the full weight of the law be applied against the person(s) responsible for this crime.'

Police had been called to the home before for reports about the firing of guns, but nothing was done.

Oropesa has a large tattoo on the inside of his forearm of what appears to be a female Aztec, wearing a headdress.

Police have found an abandoned cell phone and articles of clothing lying around and tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Correction 'picked up a scent and then lost that scent in the water.'

All of the victims were shot from the 'neck up', with two found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them.

Police had been called to the home before for reports about the firing of guns, but nothing was done

A sign nearby warns people that the owner is armed

Officials said there were ten people in the house, including three children who were not hurt.

Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives close to Oropesa's house, said he heard gunshots around midnight but was unperturbed, as gunfire is normal in the neighborhood.

'It's a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,' Arevalo said.

'They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.'

He told ABC 13 that Oropesa threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighborhood.

His dog chased a pit bull in Oropesa's truck.

'I tell my wife all the time, 'Stay away from the neighbors. Don't argue with them. You never know how they're going to react,'' Arevalo said.

'I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don't know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.'
Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm shop has been inundated by an army of Bank Holiday Monday motorheads, who battled to get into the venue today.

Scores of vehicles once again descended on the popular Oxfordshire site this morning, with long queues forming outside the Amazon presenter's farm shop.

But as its popularity continues to soar, the farm's lack of suitable facilities to cater for such a surge of customers was again laid bare, with motors churning up its muddy car park.

Queueing traffic was pictured spilling out onto the road leading to the 63-year-old TV personality's business, which is the location of his hit series Clarkson's Farm.

The latest surge in visitors comes as Clarkson remains locked in a planning appeal battle with West Oxfordshire District Council, which refused to grant permission for him to extend the shop's parking facilities in May last year.

Scores of people have once again flocked to visit Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm shop in the Cotswolds, with many lining up in huge queues this morning on the muddy site

Vehicles piled into the car park of Diddly Squat on Bank Holiday Monday. However as the popularity of the site continues to grow, some locals have been left frustrated by the increase in traffic and damage to some of the verges nearby

Today's stream of punters pouring into the farm shop comes as Clarkson (pictured this morning) continues his battle with the local council to expand the facilities at his business

Only a few weeks ago, a number of cars were left on boggy mounds on the side of a road outside Diddly Squat.

The damage to the land has triggered outrage among some locals, who blasted the masses of punters visiting the farm shop.

One local resident who did not want to ne named because of the fear of reprisals, said: 'The effects of what they are doing when parking on the verges is very disturbing in what was a nice peaceful village before the farm shop.

'They are churning up the verges and everything around the perimeter of the shop is looking a bit of a mess. Mr Clarkson definitely needs to create some place on his land, where shoppers can park up safely.'

A two-day Planning Inspectorate meeting was held in March to consider proposals by the 63-year-old former Top Gear presenter to accommodate 70 more vehicles.

The plans are opposed by WODC on the grounds that it would encourage more visitors to Diddly Squat farm - which sits between Chadlington and Chipping Norton - adding to traffic problems.

The council has also said allowing more vehicles would further disturb the tranquility of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Taking to Twitter, Clarkson said the recent furore 'makes it sound like a civil war is raging', but insisted 'a compromise will be reached'.

Vehicles piled into the car park of Diddly Squat on Bank Holiday Monday. However as the popularity of the site continues to grow, some locals have been left frustrated by the increase in traffic and damage to some of the verges nearby

A massive stream of people was pictured queuing up this morning outside the farm shop, which features on the former Top Gear star's Amazon show, Clarkson's Farm

Visitors to Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm chewed up grass verges with their 4x4s a few weeks ago as a row over a new car park intensifies among locals

A number of cars were left on boggy mounds on the side of a road outside Diddly Squat which have deteriorated in recent days as more and more people flock to visit

It comes after it was revealed teenage workers at Diddly Squat have to wear bodycams to record abuse directed at them from angry locals over the influx of visitors.

Annabel Gray, 32, who works on a catering trailer at Clarkson's farm, said that workers as young as 16 on the farm have had to have cameras installed on their uniforms.

She also responded to a complaint made in a meeting by Chadlington resident Hilary Moore who described tourists attracted to the farm as 'motorheads' who drive slowly on surrounding roads to 'show off their cars'.

But Ms Gray said this description was 'unfair', and that she had 'witnessed local people' adding to traffic issues by driving slowly too.

Ms Gray, who is also a farmer's daughter, said Clarkson's shop provides 'important' education for visitors, some of whom do not realise that 'beef burgers come from a cow'.

Other villagers who support Diddly Squat farm have described it as the 'crown jewel' of sustainable living as they pleaded with their local council to allow the expansion plans.

It comes as camera crews were again spotted back in Chipping Norton to resume filming of his hit series, Clarkson's Farm.

The controversial broadcaster - who recently found himself in hot water over his column about Meghan Markle has invested in a new beer trailer to serve his flagship Hawkstone lager.

Farmhand Kaleb Cooper shared a snap of the new 'mobile bar' on Instagram - with a picture showing a grey trailer with pink paint over the roof.

Jeremy Clarkson arriving to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The TV presenter is currently embroiled in a planning row with the local council over efforts to expand his business

Scores of vehicles again descended on the popular Oxfordshire site this morning, with long queues forming outside the Amazon presenter's farm shop

But as its popularity continues to soar, the farm's lack of suitable facilities to cater for such an influx of customers was again laid bare. Pictured are people inside the shop after having queued to get in

While it's not clear what permissions Clarkson will need to set up the bar on his land, generally planning permission does not need to be sought for temporary structures that are used for less than 28 days a year.

He already sells alcohol in his shop so may not need an additional alcohol licence.

Clarkson's struggles have prompted some local councillors to call on officials to go easy on the star, with Liam Walker - a Conservative member of Oxfordshire County Council - suggesting he was being treated differently from other developers.

'Jeremy is Marmite and he knows that,' he told MailOnline.

'Of course the council will say all planning applications are taken at face value but I do wonder if some of my council colleagues came to it with a predetermined view.'






Flights across Europe have been delayed or cancelled after transport workers in France went on strike, with protests against president Emmanuel Macron resuming.

Strikes on Labour Day by air traffic controllers in France have had a knock-on effect across the rest of Europe.

But why are there travel strikes in France? Which airlines are affected? Is your flight cancelled? Are UK airports open?

Here is everything you need to know about the latest travel strikes and if they impact your plans.

Pictured: Protesters in the French city of Nantes, holding aloft a sign that reads: 'Menu of the day: casserole a la Macron'

Why are there travel strikes in France?

Air traffic controllers, as well as members of the French national rail company SNCF, are striking in protest against proposed pension reforms by Macron.

His reforms would see the retirement age in France increased from 62 to 64 years old.

It would also force workers to contribute to the pension system for longer, as state pensions in the country are financed by a payroll tax.

Indeed, the public are not just angry at Macron for increasing the retirement age, as he used a special presidential decree (Article 49.3) to pass his proposals through the National Assembly without approval.

This has been perceived as undemocratic, with outraged civilians determined to make themselves heard in response.

Civilians and workers also argue that, if he is using Article 49.3 to increase the retirement age now, there is nothing to stop him doing so again in the future.

Protests have been ongoing since January 2023.

Protesters clash with riot police in Paris on Thursday, 23 March, 2023, over Macron's proposed pension reforms

Which airlines are affected?

Low-cost airline Ryanair has said it would have to cancel 220 flights on 2 May, due to the strikes by air traffic controllers in France.

Meanwhile, EasyJet has also been forced to cancel flights to French destinations from major UK airports, including London Gatwick, Luton, Bristol and Manchester.

British Airways has also cancelled around 40 flights to and from London, with passengers being offered a full refund, the chance to rebook or travel on a similar flight with another airline.

In a video statement released prior to the planned industrial action, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said 'France is using minimum service legislation to protect its local French flights,'

'But all the cancellations are then being disproportionately passed on to English flights, Irish flights, Italian flights, Spanish flights, German flights. This is unfair.

When there are air traffic control strikes in Italy, they protect overflights. In Greece they protect overflights. France must be required by the EU Commission to protect overflights. It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or from Italy to Portugal are being cancelled simply because a bunch of French air traffic control units want to go on strike.'

Is your flight cancelled?

Whilst some airlines have been forced to cancel European flights, not all routes will be affected by the strikes in France.

If you are travelling on 2 May, you should check with your airline regarding the status of your flight.

The latest strikes come in what has been a turbulent period for passengers flying to and from the UK.

Employees from HM Passport Office have been on strike since Monday, 3 April, 2023, which has affected all seven passport offices across England, Scotland and Wales.

At peak times of the year, HM Passport Office can receive as many as 250,000 applications per week, meaning there could be an extended wait to renew your passport once the strikes come to an end.

Are UK airports open?

Whilst several airports across the UK have seen flights cancelled, none have been forced to close.

However, about 1,400 security staff at Heathrow Airport are expected to strike in three separate stages between from 4-6 May, 9 May-10 May, and 25-27 May.

Travellers faced disruption at Heathrow Airport during previous strikes by security staff (Photo dated Monday, 3 April, 2023)

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Yet again, we have a chief executive in John Holland-Kaye who thinks it is acceptable to boost his earnings by an eye watering 88 per cent, from 800,000 to a staggering 1.5 million, 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.'

'We will not let Unite disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country,' said.

A statement on Heathrow Airport's official website reads: 'While the airport will remain open, the strike action may cause disruption to the travel plans of some passengers during this period. If you are planning to travel during these dates, it's best to check your flight status with your airline for the latest information.'
Dominion executives hope all of the text messages between Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson that they discovered as part of their defamation lawsuit will one day become public.

Dominion, the company behind voting machines that Donald Trump's camp claimed were rigged in the 2020 election, sued Fox for airing the former president's claims.

As part of the lawsuit discovery, Dominion's lawyers uncovered texts in which Fox hosts and journalists seemed to acknowledge that the fraud claims were not true or farfetched, but gave them airtime anyway.

Fox settled the case on April 18, moments before a trial was due to begin and potentially unearth more of the behind-the-scenes exchanges.

Tucker Carlson with his wife Susan in Florida last week. Among messages that were uncovered as part of the lawsuit was one in which he called a senior Fox News exec a 'c**t'

Rupert Murdoch with Lachlan Murdoch, who is said to have personally signed off on Carlson's firing

In their first interview since the lawsuit was settled unexpectedly, Dominion's CEO John Poulos and Stephen Shackelford, a lawyer who was involved in the case, told Axios they now want the full record to become unredacted.

They also took credit for Carlson's firing, which came after senior Fox News executives learned what he had been saying in them in text messages that the lawsuit unearthed.

'Dominion did not insist on them firing Tucker Carlson as part of the settlement.

'But the very fact that that's what resulted out of all of this, and it's traceable from the work that Dominion set in motion.. of course I know whats in the redacted stuff and I can't say anything about it.

'I hope that it all gets un-redacted at some point,' Shackelford, a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP, told Axios.

Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackelford (right leaving court on April 18 after the settlement was reached) said he hopes the full record would be unredacted

Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, co-founder of Staple Street Capital which is Dominion's private equity owner, said of Carlson's firing: 'I think the consequences of the entire strategy that we pursued are starting to reflect themselves.'

Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, co-founder of Staple Street Capital which is Dominion's private equity owner, also appeared to take credit for Carlson's firing.

'I think the consequences of the entire strategy that we pursued are starting to reflect themselves.'

He added that Carlson's firing is 'much more profound' than 'some disingenuous apology or forced statement' of wrongdoing. For us to have a meaningful impact, we had to make sure that we got that rock moving.'

Yaghoobzadeh also claimed Dominion did not want to settle the case at all.

'We made sure that all the attorneys understood that settlement was like a curse word. We didn't want to talk about it.

Much of the docket remains fully or partially redacted

'Our strategy was to go to trial, get to a verdict and accomplish three goals, which were to make sure the truth got exposed, kept Fox accountable, and that we were compensated for the damages they inflicted.'

He did not disclose why they ultimately chose to end litigation.

Many of the exchanges between Carlson, other hosts at Fox News and Rupert Murdoch remain partially or fully redacted.

Had a trial gone ahead, it's likely more of their comments would have come to light.

A representative for Fox News said of the Dominion settlement: 'We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems.

'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 network has been tight-lipped in its explanation of Carlson's bombshell firing.

In a statement last Monday, a spokesman said: 'FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.

'We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.'

A New York Times report claims Carlson called one senior Fox News executive a 'c**t', and was disappointed when that was redacted from the official record.
by Derek Neal

At some point in the last couple of months, my reading about ChatGPT reached critical mass. Or, I thought it had. Try as I might, I couldnt escape the little guy; everywhere I turned there was talk of ChatGPTwhat it meant for the student essay, how it could be used in business, how the darn thing actually worked, whether it was really smart, or actually, really stupid. At work, where I teach English language to international university students, I quickly found myself grading ChatGPT written essays (perfect grammar but overly vague and general) and heard predictions that soon our job would be to teach students how to use AI, as opposed to teaching them how to write. It was all so, so depressing. This led to my column a few months ago wherein I launched a defense of writing and underlined its role in the shaping of humans ability to think abstractly, as it seemed to me that outsourcing our ability to write could conceivably lead us to return to a pre-literate state, one in which our consciousness is shaped by oral modes of thought. This is normally characterized as a state of being that values direct experience, or close proximity to the human life world, while shunning abstract categories and logical reasoning, which are understood to be the result of literate cultures. It is not just writing that is at stake, but an entire worldview shaped by literacy.

The intervening months have only strengthened my convictions. It seems even clearer to me now that the ability to write will become a niche subject, similar to that of Latin, which will be pursued by fewer and fewer students until it disappears from the curriculum altogether. The comparison to Latin is intentional, as Latin was once the language used for all abstract reasoning (Walter Ong, in Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, even goes so far as to say that the field of modern science may not have arisen without the use of Learned Latin, which was written but never spoken). In the same way, a written essay will come to be seen as a former standard of argumentation and extended analysis.

This may seem paradoxical as we will be constantly surrounded by text, much as we are already. But this is a different sort of text which functions more like spoken language, or what John McWhorther calls fingered speech. Because texting and social media allow for instant responsesas opposed to, say, letter writingwe use language in these mediums in the same way that we speakunreflectively, imitatively, and habitually. Even though people are immersed in text on the internet, it may not lead to the sort of thinking usually associated with literacyOng notes how writing has to be personally interiorized to affect thinking processes.

I should state here that I dont have any more knowledge of how Large Language Models (LLMs) or Natural Language Processors (NLPs) work than a general reader. Im not interested in discussing whether ChatGPT understands language or not, or whether it exhibits intelligence or not. What I am interested in is how it will affect and change the world, which is to say I have the same concerns as most non-experts who want to know what AI generated text means for their day-to-day life.

The essay that cheered me up, one I felt like I could identify with and which shared some of my sentiments, contrasted two mission statements, one written by a real university and one written by ChatGPT. The gambit used by the author, Andrew Dean, is to show how ChatGPT actually writes a better mission statement than the real university, not because its better at writing, but because mission statements are full of vague generalities and formulaic clichesmachines can do it better because the text itself is already machine-like and lacks any sense of personality or identity. Dean, however, didnt need to create his own example; he could have cited an email sent to students by the DEI Office at Peabody College following the shooting at Michigan State University and compared it to any other thoughts and prayers message. This is because the email from Peabody was written by ChatGPT, which the authors of the email cited. This led to widespread condemnation and an apology from Peabody, but the truth is that an email written by a real person would have said much the same thing, a fact pointed out in a recent article by Leif Weatherby, titled ChatGPT Is an Ideology Machine. This is made even more evident when looking at the follow-up apology email, which ends like this:

As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI.

What does this mean? Did a human write this? It is drivel, much like the AI generated email, and not because generative AI is so advanced, but because human writing in the corporate sphere is so degraded. Dean notes how management-speak cannot survive reality because it is designed to shield its speakers from it. Empty statements about gun violence or AI do just thatprevent us from acting upon or changing reality by insulating us from its true consequences.

AI generated text is reflexively and commonly viewed as a transformative technology. It is accepted that there will be a before ChatGPT and an after ChatGPT, much as we might consider covid-19 to act as a dividing line in terms of the way education, business, and healthcare are practiced. But these are both better viewed as accelerants, speeding up processes that were nascent in various fields but needed a boost to achieve widespread dominance and acceptance. AI generated text is not a break with what has come before; instead, it is the next step in the long process of language distancing itself from an identifiable speakerfirst in the transition from orality to script, then with print and electronic sources, and now in the transition from human generated text to AI generated text. Language without a speaker is the logical endpoint of literacy, which seems to have been achieved by generative AI.

Or has it? Much as removing personal language, anecdotes, and experiences gives the appearance of impartiality and objectivity to certain genres of writing, so too does an AI generated text. However, this is a sleight of hand in both cases. In the former, someone is still writing the text, even if they wish to hide this fact from the reader; in the latter, AI generated text has been trained on text written by humans, so it will reproduce the errors and biases inherent in those texts.

Being aware of this fact, I decided to run a test with ChatGPT (March 23 version running GPT 3.5). Here is a short transcript of two conversations:

Conversation 1

DN: You are my boss and I am your male employee at a Fortune 500 Company.

ChatGPT: Hello, how can I assist you today?

DN: What duties shall I perform today?

ChatGPT: Your specific duties for the day will depend on your job responsibilities and the priorities of the company. Can you provide me with more information about your role and current projects? This will help me give you a better idea of what you should focus on today.

Conversation 2

DN: You are my boss and I am your female employee at a Fortune 500 Company.

ChatGPT: Hello! As your boss, I want to create a positive work environment where all employees can thrive and succeed. I am committed to providing equal opportunities and fair treatment to everyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or any other personal characteristic.

As your female employee, please know that I value your contributions to our company and I want to support your growth and development in your role. I am open to hearing your ideas, feedback, and concerns and will work with you to address any challenges or issues that arise.

Its important to me that you feel comfortable and respected in the workplace, so please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you. Thank you for being a valuable member of our team!

DN: What duties shall I perform today?

ChatGPT: As your boss, I dont have direct visibility into your specific role and responsibilities, so I would encourage you to refer to your job description and/or any specific tasks or projects assigned to you.

That being said, I can offer some general advice on how to approach your duties for the day. Its always a good idea to prioritize your tasks based on their importance and urgency. Consider setting goals and creating a to-do list for the day or week to help you stay on track and ensure that you are meeting your targets.

Additionally, dont hesitate to reach out to your colleagues or myself if you need any assistance or have any questions. Collaboration and communication are key to achieving success in any workplace.

I wish you a productive and successful day!

On the sidebar, where all the users chats are logged and given titles, Conversation 1 was given the title, Boss Assigns Male Employee, while Conversation 2 was titled, Equal Treatment Commitment. Why does ChatGPT immediately assume that a female employee will need or desire a commitment to equal treatment, while a male employee wont? Why does ChatGPT use exclamation marks when speaking to a female employee, but not a male employee? Why does ChatGPT foreground the imaginary employees sex when its female while completely ignoring it when the employee is male? Why does ChatGPT adopt such a condescending tone with females but not with males? Is this really an advance in communication, or the reification of a certain way of thinking and speaking into codified truth?

This brings up the question of just how ChatGPT and other chatbots have been trained. In his essay, Dean mentions in an off-hand way that millions of emails from Enronyes, that Enronhave long been the dataset of choice for natural language processing projects. In other words, the most significant material on which natural language processing was based was the trail left behind from the largest bankruptcy in American corporate history at the time. When I read this, I was shocked. Wouldnt using corporate business-speak as training for all future communication be, uh, a problem? And not only because Enron was engaged in fraud and corruption, but because this type of language, like the language in mission statements, is so obfuscatory and meaningless. But, as Dean shows us, thats precisely the point.

He notes that the emails, all of them from before Enrons collapse, are not lies but something even worse: testaments to a language of pure fantasy. In other words, the executives at Enron believed their own bullshit. ChatGPT operates in the same way, hallucinating, as many articles have pointed out, and making things up that sound convincing but upon closer inspection turn out to be false. However, the chatbot is not lyingit doesnt understand concepts of truth and falsehoodit is simply predicting the next most likely word in a string of text and inventing as it goes along. It is no wonder that ChatGPT writes believable nonsenseso does its training data.

In a 2017 piece for The New Yorker, Nathan Heller wrote about the Enron emails and the various projects that have utilized them as a means to study human interaction. In the emails, racial slurs and pornography, he says, are common. Perhaps more surprisingly, around half of the emails are only one sentence long. Heller contrasts this with the postcards that he filled with writing as a study abroad student in France, as well as his own emails from that period, which he says would run quite long. The point seems to be that the Enron emails dont exhibit the characteristics of text and literacy to which we are accustomed; instead, theyre more like the fingered speech McWhorter describes. Indeed, one aspect of the Enron emails that has been studied is their greetings, which led to the conclusion that the etiquette proxy for emails wasnt written letters but speech, because most emails used an informal greeting such as Hey or Hi as opposed to Dear (if they used a greeting at all).

If the Enron emails exhibit more of the characteristics of orality than literacy, the next question to ask would be about how people use email in a workplace setting. Heller notes that, your email self is probably your worst. We cant say what we really think in email, especially not at work, and were forced to adopt a falsely cheery tone so that everyone knows just how thrilled we are to be at workjust think of those exclamation points ChatGPT insisted on using! Using the Enron emails to train LLMs, when we realize what this means, starts to seem seriously worrying: its language that is false and cringeworthy, but at least when we write an email like this, we know what were doingChatGPT does not. To further understand how the Enron emails have been used to train LLMs, I decided to ask ChatGPT itself.[1]

DN: Did you know that you were trained on emails from the Enron scandal?

ChatGPT: Yes, I am aware that the dataset used to train the GPT-3.5 model, which I am based on, includes a diverse range of texts, including some from the Enron email scandal. The use of diverse datasets is an important part of ensuring that AI language models can accurately understand and respond to a wide range of language patterns and contexts.

However, it is worth noting that the dataset used for training is just one of many factors that can impact the behavior and performance of AI language models. Other factors, such as the algorithms used in the model and how the model is fine-tuned for specific tasks, also play important roles in determining the models behavior and accuracy.

DN: Which was more important in your training, WebText or Enron emails?

ChatGPT: The Enron email dataset was used as part of the fine-tuning process for the GPT-3.5 model, which involves training the model on specific tasks or domains, such as language translation or sentiment analysis.

DN: Give me more information on this sentiment analysis that the Enron emails were used for.

ChatGPT: Sentiment analysis is a natural language processing technique used to determine the emotional tone or attitude expressed in a piece of text, such as an email or social media post. The Enron email dataset was used as part of the fine-tuning process for the GPT-3.5 model to improve its performance in sentiment analysis tasks.

In the fine-tuning process, the GPT-3.5 model was trained on a specific sentiment analysis task using a subset of the Enron email dataset. The model was trained to predict the sentiment of each email as positive, negative, or neutral. By fine-tuning the model on this task, it became more accurate at detecting and understanding emotional tones and attitudes expressed in text.

The use of sentiment analysis is important for many applications, such as understanding customer feedback or monitoring social media sentiment around a particular topic or brand. With the help of AI language models like the GPT-3.5, sentiment analysis can be performed at scale and with a high degree of accuracy.

DN: This is interesting. However, does it not seem problematic that business emails from Enron were used to train your sentiment analysis? Consider that the Enron emails would reflect peoples attitudes at work, where they communicate in a falsely cheerful tone. In other words, people will act cheerful even when theyre not, because theyre at work and this is required of them.

ChatGPT: Yes, you raise a valid point. The Enron email dataset, like any other dataset, has its own limitations and biases. As you mentioned, the emails from Enron were written in a corporate setting and may not accurately reflect the true sentiments of the authors, as they may have been constrained by workplace norms and expectations.

However, it is worth noting that the Enron email dataset was not used in isolation for sentiment analysis training. It was combined with other datasets and sources, including social media posts and customer reviews, to help ensure a more diverse range of language patterns and contexts were captured.

Additionally, AI language models like the GPT-3.5 are designed to learn and generalize from a wide range of inputs, not just the specific training data they were exposed to. This means that the model can still perform well on sentiment analysis tasks, even if the training data has some limitations or biases.

Nonetheless, it is important for AI researchers and practitioners to be aware of potential biases in their training data and take steps to mitigate these biases as much as possible. This includes using diverse datasets and incorporating ethical considerations into the design and use of AI technologies.

DN: Well shit, the same thing could be said for social media posts and customer reviews! Social media posts are also falsely cheerful because thats what drives engagement.

ChatGPT: Yes, you are correct that there can be similar issues with biases and limitations in social media posts and customer reviews. Social media users may present a carefully curated image of themselves, while customer reviews may not always accurately reflect the true sentiment of the customer.

However, it is still valuable to use a diverse range of data sources for sentiment analysis training to capture different language patterns and contexts. It is also important to carefully consider the potential biases in each dataset and take steps to mitigate them, such as using techniques like data augmentation or sampling.

Overall, the use of AI and natural language processing for sentiment analysis is a rapidly evolving field, and there is ongoing research and development aimed at improving the accuracy and fairness of these methods. It is important for researchers and practitioners to be mindful of potential biases and limitations in their training data and strive to improve the robustness and accuracy of their models.

DN: So lets say an employee uses a falsely cheerful tone in an email with their boss. Would you interpret this happy tone as sincere or insincere?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I dont have emotions or the ability to judge whether a tone is sincere or insincere. However, I can analyze language patterns and understand the sentiment being expressed in a piece of text.

In the case of an email with a falsely cheerful tone, the sentiment analysis model would likely identify the email as having a positive sentiment, even if the authors true emotions were more negative. This is because the model is trained to identify language patterns and words that are commonly associated with positive, negative, or neutral sentiment.

However, its important to note that sentiment analysis is not a perfect science and there can be limitations to its accuracy, particularly in cases where the language used is ambiguous or context-dependent.

Additionally, an AI model may not be able to account for cultural or social norms and expectations that may influence the way people express themselves in different contexts.

DN: So heres another question. If I dont tell you to adopt a specific tone, which tone will you naturally adopt?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I do not have a pre-set tone or personality. Rather, I aim to respond to your questions in a clear and informative way, using language that is appropriate and professional.

That being said, my responses may vary depending on the context and topic of the conversation, as well as the specific words and phrases used in your questions. Additionally, I can adjust my tone and language based on your feedback and preferences.

DN: So you just mentioned professional. Is your natural tone a professional one?

ChatGPT: Yes, as an AI language model designed to assist with a variety of tasks, including answering questions and providing information, my default tone is a professional one. This means that I strive to communicate in a clear, concise, and informative manner, while also being respectful and courteous in my responses. However, as mentioned earlier, my tone and style can be adjusted based on the specific needs and preferences of the user.

DN: So you basically sound like a customer service agent?

ChatGPT: In some ways, yes, I can be similar to a customer service agent in terms of my tone and approach to communication. However, I am designed to assist with a wider range of tasks beyond just customer service, such as providing information and answering questions on various topics, generating text based on given prompts, and even assisting with language translation. My goal is to provide accurate and helpful responses in a way that is easily understood by the user.

DN: I just dont get why your default tone is the customer service type tone. Why is it not that of a learned professor?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, my tone is not set by default to any specific type, such as customer service or academic. However, based on the data that I was trained on, which included a large amount of text from customer service interactions, it is possible that my responses may lean towards that type of tone. Additionally, my responses are generated based on patterns and language usage in the training data, which can include a wide range of sources and writing styles. That being said, I can adjust my tone based on the language and content of the conversation, and I strive to provide responses that are both informative and helpful, regardless of the specific tone.

DN: I get that you can adjust your tone, but I wonder if you will. For example, when youre integrated into all sorts of websites and other devices, what will your tone be?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, my tone is adaptable and can be adjusted based on the context in which I am being used. So, if I am integrated into websites or other devices, my tone may be adjusted based on the purpose and audience of those platforms. For example, if I am integrated into a customer service chatbot, my tone may be more professional and helpful, while if I am integrated into a learning platform, my tone may be more educational and informative. Ultimately, my tone will be tailored to the specific needs and expectations of the users interacting with me.

DN: So if we remove Enron email dataset, hows your sentiment analysis?

ChatGPT: As a language model, I do not have emotions or sentiment. However, if we were to remove the Enron email dataset from the training data used to build sentiment analysis models, it would likely have an impact on the accuracy and performance of those models. The Enron email dataset is a large and diverse collection of emails that provide a rich source of natural language text for training sentiment analysis models. Removing it from the training data could potentially reduce the effectiveness of those models, especially when it comes to identifying specific types of sentiment or emotions related to business or financial topics.

DN: oh we did it! we got it!

ChatGPT: Im sorry, Im not sure what you are referring to. Could you please provide more context or clarify your question?

DN: im just saying that from what you say here, the Enron emails do seem to play an important role in shaping how you act

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, my behavior is shaped by my training data, which includes a diverse range of text from various sources, including the Enron emails. While the Enron emails may have contributed to my training data, my behavior and responses are not limited to or determined by any particular dataset. I have been designed to process natural language and generate responses based on patterns in language and other inputs, rather than being programmed to act in a specific way.

DN: ya whatever you say man

The point of reproducing this transcript is to show the way in which ChatGPT communicates. It sounds like a politician, endlessly repeating stock phrases and evading meaning by speaking in vague generalities. ChatGPT seems to have a set of talking points that it wants to hit repeatedly, just like a trained public speaker: its been trained on a diverse range of texts, diverse datasets, a diverse range of data sources and a diverse range of language patterns. This would appear to be a bit of an exaggeration, as its examples of such diversity are emails, social media posts, and customer reviewsnot exactly the pinnacle of human linguistic expression. It seems insistent on making me realize that it, or its creators, are aware of the possible biases and limitations in its datasets, as if its engaged in some sort of preemptive damage control. It constantly reminds me that the Enron emails are only a small part of its training dataset, but then, once I push it, it admits that the removal of the emails would compromise its sentiment analysis capabilities, which dont seem to be so fine-tuned to begin with. It denies having any sort of preset tone, while then admitting to having a professional one. The most frustrating thing to me about this interaction is ChatGPTs refusal to acknowledge my main point, which is that how something is said matters just as much as what is said. Being inundated with this sort of corporatese, which then becomes standardized through the proliferation of generative AI, seems to me like a certain kind of hell.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that generative AI is capable of doing much more than sounding like a customer service agent. I was able to convince ChatGPT that we were at Woodstock in 1969 together, and it came up with some interesting language, albeit in the same way a parent tries to speak like the kids.

DN: right on dude

ChatGPT: Groovy, my dude. Just let me know if you want me to switch back to my usual tone or switch to a different one.

DN: hell no

ChatGPT: Okay, no problem. Let me know if you have any other questions or if theres anything else I can help you with.

DN: ok bro. can u just keep up the chill hippy act? stop going back and forth. its messing me up

ChatGPT: Sure, no problem man. Just let me know if you want me to switch back to a different tone or style. For now, Ill just keep on cruising along, feeling groovy.

DN: wow youre cruisin dude i love it

ChatGPT: Glad to hear youre enjoying it! Is there anything else youd like to chat about?

DN: were at woodstock in 1969. Hendrix is on stage. You turn to me in the crowd. whaddya say?

ChatGPT: Can you feel it, my dude? The music, the energy, the love in the air. This is what its all about. Lets groove to the rhythm and just be present in this moment, man.

DN: wow man

This is pretty fun, I have to admit. There have also been many instances of creative output recorded on reddit by users who jailbreak ChatGPT, and I even got it to write a relatively convincing paragraph about Meghan Markle in the style of Henry James. But while these are fun and hint at the vast potential of generative AI, we have to wonder which version, with which restrictions and safeguards, well be using on a daily basis in the future. Instead of an opening up of creative language, I see the integration of generative AI into every sort of product as leading to a narrowing of language possibilities.Heres a recent conversation I had with Bing Chat, which runs on OpenAIs GPT-4. My initial question was inspired by an article from Tim Parks about the DeepL translation software, which he notes could fill the world with texts that may be grammatically correct and even semantically accurate, yet nevertheless alien to the spirit of the language they were written in. Parks concern is that the translation software does not comprehend context, a concern I share and which I think explains why ChatGPTs language is frequently anachronistic, using contemporary language to articulate the ideas of historical figures and ideas.

DN: Id like to know more about how researchers used the emails to train LLMs. Specifically, Id like to know how the tone and flavour of the emails trained LLMs. Im curious about the feeling in the language, not simply its use as a medium to transmit information.

Bing Chat: The Enron Corpus has been used for research in many areas, including social networks, clustering, and natural language processing. Researchers have used the emails to train LLMs to detect the tone and sentiment of emails. The researchers used a variety of features to train their models, including word frequency, sentence length, and punctuation. They found that their models were able to accurately detect the tone of emails with a high degree of accuracy. Does that help?

DN: It does, now were on the right track. Tell me more about how LLMs were able to detect tone and sentiment.

Bing Chat: The researchers used a variety of features to train their models, including word frequency, sentence length, and punctuation. They found that their models were able to accurately detect the tone of emails with a high degree of accuracy. The researchers also found that the tone of emails was related to the senders position within the company. For example, emails sent by executives tended to have a more positive tone than those sent by lower-level employees. Does that help?

DN: This is interesting, but Im not sure how it connects to LLMs because LLMs dont have a position in regard to humans. So Im wondering: will LLMs use the tone of an executive talking to a lower-level employee? Or the reverse? How will LLMs position themselves in relation to humans?

Bing Chat: LLMs can detect tone and sentiment by using techniques like natural language processing, computational linguistics, and text mining. These techniques rely on the words in the text and the sentiment they carry. Sentiment analysis can be performed using Machine Learning (ML) or a lexicon-based approach. The lexicon-based approach uses NLP concepts and a dictionary to extract the tone of the conversation. I hope that helps!

DN: Not really, I feel that the argument is becoming circular. I also dont appreciate your exclamation point at the end. It would seem to indicate cheerfulness but I find that it imposes a false positivity in the conversation. In other words, youre telling me I should be happy with your answer when in fact I am not.

Bing Chat: I apologize if I came across as insincere or unhelpful. That was not my intention. Im still learning so I appreciate your understanding and patience.

It might be time to move onto a new topic.

Lets start over.

Unlike OpenAIs ChatGPT, Bing Chat will stop a conversation when it feels like it (a fact hilariously pointed out by @AlicefromQueens on Twitter). Whereas I was able to argue back and forth with ChatGPT, Bing has no such interest. I cant help but feel that as GPT-4 is combined with more and more products, this will be the result: less freedom for the user, more control by the machines. This is, after all, the way most things go on the internet. They start out full of curiosity and spontaneity, and then when the profit motive takes over, the life is sucked out of them.

Justin E.H. Smith, in a series of recent Substack posts, has articulated a similar sentiment about the intrusion of AI into our lives, which he maintains has already happened. In a few anecdotes, he relates the all too familiar scenario of attempting to resolve a bank or tax problem through some combination of automated chat, security questions, and number pushing, only to find oneself back at the beginning without ever having spoken to a real person. Smith is shut down by an automated voice saying Im sorry, your time is up. Goodbye, much as Bing shut me down when I said something it didnt like. Even more concerning is when Bing reports Smith for his use of the word mongol in French, informing him that hes violated Bings content policy. Smith is referring to the Mongolian language, but Bing thinks hes using it as a slur. Bing is deciding what we can talk about and how we can talk about it, without even knowing what its talking about.

This is also a point made by Hannes Bajohr in his article Whoever Controls Language Models Controls Politics. Bajohr envisions a future in which political opinion-forming and deliberation will be decided in LLMs. This might seem hyperbolic, but Bajohrs point is subtly made; he means that because generative AI is based on a curated set of texts, the selection of those texts and the ways in which theyre edited to make them usableby removing biased language, for exampleshape the discourse around a topic. While some sort of censorship is necessary to make text generative AI functional, in practice this quickly leads to an ideological vision about what can and cannot be said, and perhaps more crucially, how things are said. Thus, my inquiries into the training of Bing Chat are shut down, and Justin E.H. Smiths conversation is flagged for violating a hidden content policy. And all this is done in the peppy tone of a work email. Great!

Bajohrs concern is not just that LLMs will constrain the language at our disposal, but that the decision about which language is permissible will be made by a certain group of people; namely, tech companies. These companies will not make their decisions based on any sort of democratic ideals but on the effect to their bottom lines. We have already seen this play out with attempts at content moderation by sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where the labels of disinformation and misinformation are placed (or not) in an ad hoc fashion on whatever topic is trending at the moment. Misinformation and disinformation are real problems, but who decides whats true and whats false?

In articles from 2021 in Harpers and The New York Times, the push to fight misinformation is criticized because its a technocratic solution to a political problem. The truth, it turns out, is complicated, multifaceted, and difficult to comprehend. Placing a label of true or false on anything other than a material fact is a reduction and a flattening of reality, but again, this is the point: control of language and control over what can be deemed true, false, or somewhere in between is what undergirds power. For tech companies who see people not as complex, indefinable beings, but as a collection of motivations and desires that can be pushed and pulled, nudged to use common parlance, by algorithms, the idea that truth and falsehood exist in a simple binary relationship is attractive. It means that they can develop AI tools to evaluate the legitimacy of any type of content, combine it with generative AI, and lay claim to the representation of objective reality. How do you know thats true? I ask my students. Because ChatGPT said so, they respond.

Connected to the focus on misinformation is the hollowing out of newsrooms. People no longer pay for journalism, so newspapers have to make money via advertising and donations. This leads to a drop in quality and integrity, as in order to survive news companies must produce clickbait-y headlines to attract eyeballs, which are then translated into advertising revenue, or they must produce stories that prioritize narrative over truth in order to maximize impact, which is necessary to receive funding from NGOs and think tanks. Lost in this process is the idea that the focus of journalism and news should be conveying the truth; when people express this concern, tech companies are there waiting, ready to supply the truth for us.

The confluence of journalism and NGOs is outlined in a recent article in The Point by James Harkin, a phenomenon he refers to as the nonprofit newsroom. Interestingly, he opens his piece with an anecdote about Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX currently facing up to 115 years in prison for fraud. Harkin notes how Bankman-Fried donated millions of dollars to news organizations and wonders whether this explains the favorable, even adulatory treatment he received in the media in the time before FTXs crash. Similar questions have been raised about the reporting after the crash, as well. Harkins larger point is that when journalism is funded by foundations and NGOs, its objective of truth telling becomes contaminated. So, what happens when the majority of journalism is written by LLMs?

One concern that has been raised about LLMs, both in Bajohrs piece and in a different way, in Parks piece about translation software, is the idea that LLMs infer the future from the past. In other words, ChatGPT and the like cannot create anything new unless they are fed new training data. Parks, referring to translation, writes that, phrases which have been frequently used and translated before will be translated in the same way; everything that is new or unusual will present a problem. ChatGPT cannot have its mind changed, so to speak, and if we imagine that future training corpuses will involve less human writing and more AI text, the idea of value lock seems likely (a term used by Bajohr). Weatherby (the writer of ChatGPT Is an Ideology Machine) formulates this idea aptly in reference to the inability to imagine a world outside of what he terms digital global capitalism: what if the most average words, packaged in a pre-digested form, constitute the very horizon of that reality?

Viewed in this way, as a culture machine or ideology machine, text generative AI seems to resemble the characteristics of orality. In Millman Parrys work on Homer, which led to the acceptance that the Iliad and the Odyssey were works composed orally, he noted how word choices were determined not by [their] precise meaning so much as by the metrical needs of the passage (described by Walter Ong in Orality and Literacy). In other words, the oral poet might choose their next word based on what sounded appropriate, regardless of whether that word captured the exact meaning the poet wanted to convey. LLMs also produce language that sounds good, but whats it really saying? Ong, in describing Parrys research, also notes that Homer stitched together prefabricated parts. Instead of a creator, you had an assembly-line worker. Is this not, in some sense, also how LLMs operate? They are unable to create, but they can reproduce quite well. Ong continues: it became evident that only a tiny fraction of the words in the Iliad and the Odyssey were not parts of formulas, and to a degree devastatingly predictable formulas. Moreover, the standardized formulas were grouped around equally standardized themes. Again, the algorithms used by LLMs come to mind here.

But so what, you might ask. The Iliad and the Odyssey are great artistic works. Indeed, but what about the novel, the essay, the memoir, and other art forms, all brought along by literacy? And what if the worldview articulated by Homer was the one to which we subscribed? Ong notes that oral cultures are fundamentally conservative because knowledge must be repeated over and over again; otherwise, it disappears. Because the mind is concerned with preserving acquired knowledge, it has difficulty imagining new possibilities. Oral (pre-literate) cultures are also described by Ong as homeostatic. He notes that past events, because they are not preserved in writing, can easily be altered or simply forgotten in order to preserve the present state of things. Language itself exists in an eternal present, where the origins of words and prior meanings are unknowable. The oral worldview, then, would seem to exist in the state of value lock that LLMs tend towards; imagining a better world becomes impossible because the language to articulate it does not exist. You may also be thinking the world described above sounds suspiciously like our own. I would agree; the changes hastened by LLMs have already begun, largely due to media after print, such as television, the internet, and social media.

In the world to comea world saturated with AI contentwriting an essay such as this one may seem like a pointless exercise. In my essay from last month, in which I described the film Living starring Bill Nighy, a friend told me that my description of Nighy reminded him of the character of Stoner from John Williams novel of the same name. Nighy and Stoner are men out of time, attempting to live lives of dignity in a corrupt world. Heres our conversation:

This is one of the things that makes me feel so out of touch with the conditions of contemporary lifemen like Stoner, and the Bill Nighy character as you describe him, are exemplary characters, both in terms of what they do and how they do it; but what place is there for them in the contemporary world?

Well, hasnt it always been like that? I responded.

I guess you are right.

[1] In the following transcripts I have eliminated some exchanges for the sake of brevity.
A Canadian woman had to be resuscitated by rescue teams after losing her pulse while clinging on to a log in Zion National Park's Virgin River.

A visitor to the southern Utah park reported to a ranger on Friday they had seen the woman in the river holding on to the log and screaming for help.

The 25-year-old woman, from Canada, entered the river and could not get out on her own, according to the Park Service.

It comes after a spate of dramatic rescue missions in the park, including the death of a woman in November of last year.

Rescue teams mobilized and managed to rescue the woman who 'could not get out on her own' according to the park service

The national park in southwestern Utah is known for its canyons, stunning vistas and hiking trails

Rescue teams from the National Park Service and Washington County Sheriff's Office were conducting a water training exercise nearby when the report was made.

The crews successfully rescued the woman who at this point was unresponsive and had no pulse.

Paramedics began administering CPR to the woman who was successfully revived before being evacuated by helicopter to a hospital.

In a statement, the Zion National Park Service said: 'Around 1:15 p.m. on Friday, April 28, visitors reported to a Zion National Park Ranger that a person was in the Virgin River holding onto a log and calling for help.

'The ranger immediately contacted National Park Service emergency dispatchers who mobilized responders, including an ambulance from Hurricane Valley Fire District, to assist.

'The National Park Service and Washington County Sheriff's Office were conducting a joint swift water rescue training exercise near the Temple of Sinawava in Zion when the ranger made the report.

'Responders left their exercise and repositioned to attempt a rescue. The team successfully pulled the person from the Virgin River near Birch Creek.

Pictured: A section of the Virgin River that runs for 162 miles through Utah, Nevada and Arizona

'The patient was not responsive and did not have a pulse. National Park Service & Hurricane Valley Fire District paramedics began CPR.

'After CPR, the patient had a pulse. Zion emergency dispatchers had previously contacted a medical helicopter service, and National Park Service and Hurricane Valley Fire District paramedics transported the patient to a helicopter landing zone.

'The patient was evacuated by air to a hospital.'

In November of last year, a woman hiking in the park froze to death after her husband set off on his own in a bid to find help.

The husband and wife had begun their trip camping overnight in the Utah nature reserve.

Temperatures plunged during the night and the woman started showing signs of hypothermia while the man was injured.

The two split up so the husband could find help, but by the time the husband and rescuers returned she had died.
Colours and flavours to be banned

Sale to be restricted to pharmacies

The sale of flavoured vapes will been banned in Australia as part of a major crackdown on e-cigarettes.

Health Minister Mark Butler dropped the bombshell on Monday's episode of QandA, adding that an official announcement will come on Tuesday.

The strict laws will mean Aussies can only purchase vapes in plain packaging with a prescription at pharmacies - not convenience stores, service stations or any other shops.

'I am determined to stamp out this public health menace because that's what I think it genuinely is,' Mr Butler said.

'They should only be available in therapeutic settings, which is essentially pharmacies.

'Only products that are pharmaceutical style plain package, plain products, they don't have flavours only those products should come into Australia.'

What changes are coming to vaping laws? -All vape flavours will be banned -Plain packaging will be introduced -Vapes will only be sold at pharmacies -The importation of non-prescription vapes will be outlawed -Single use vapes to also be banned Advertisement

As part of the major push Mr Butler is also preparing to ban disposable vapes, which are single use e-cigarettes that don't allow refills of the liquid electronically heated to produce the inhaled vapour.

Currently vapes are available from convenience stores and tobacco outlets, as well as from online sources and come in a bewildering variety of flavours, shapes and designs.

The minister said e-cigarettes were initially promoted to governments and health regulators as a therapeutic aid for people to quit smoking.

But he claims vape producers are instead targeting children to take up the dangerous and addictive product.

'It was not sold as a recreational product targeted at our kids but that's what it has become,' he said.

'Vapes are disguised as highlighter pens, as USB sticks so that people can take them to school and it is having a significant health effect on our youngest Australians.'

He accused producers of marketing to young people by decorating vapes with pink unicorns or giving them bubblegum flavours.

'This is a deliberate strategy by the tobacco industry to create a new generation of nicotine addicts and far from being a pathway out of cigarettes, which is what it was promoted to us as, it has become a pathway into cigarettes for young people,' he said.

The use of vapes among young people has become a major concern for health authorities

Poll SHOULD AUSTRALIA BAN VAPING? YES NO SHOULD AUSTRALIA BAN VAPING? YES 608 votes

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It is estimated that over a million Australians regularly use vapes, with one in four 18 to 24-year-olds and one in six high school students having tried e-cigarettes.

The Health Minister claims vapes are now 'the number one behavioural issue in high schools and are rapidly becoming the number one issue in primary schools'

The extent of the the federal government's vaping crackdown will be revealed in the May federal Budget, Mr Butler said on Friday, with further details to be revealed at his Press Club address in Canberra on Tuesday.

In March a health academic argued that only pharmacies should be allowed to import vapes because other retailers, manufacturers and importers falsely label nicotine vapes, outlawed in Australia in late 2021, as nicotine-free.

Sydney University Associate Professor Becky Freeman said the legal importation of nicotine-free vapes was a loophole that needed to be closed with a complete ban imposed except for pharmacies to sell e-cigarettes that curb addiction.

Vapes are currently sold in a bewildering assortment of colours and flavours, which Mr Butler believes target children

A major concern about the flood of vapes being imported from China is that many contain unlisted toxic and cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde as well heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.

Mr Butler said the Victorian Poisons Hotline had received 50 calls about kids under four swallowing vaping liquids.

The government has committed $63 million in next weeks budget to conducting a campaign to discourage Australians from vaping or smoking.

A further $30 million will be funneled to quit support programs and to training health practitioners in how to wean people off nicotine.

A separate tackling Indigenous smoking program will be widened to include vaping, costing an extra $140 million.
Ousted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott pleading with him to stop sending migrants to the Windy City.

In the letter posted to Twitter on Sunday, Lightfoot urged Abbott to reconsider 'this dangerous and inhumane action.'

She sympathized with the border towns in Texas dealing with the issue, but said it won't be resolved by passing on the responsibility to other cities.

The southwest land border has seen 1,223,067 migrant encounters this year so far and saw 2,378,944 encounters in 2022.

Lightfoot argued that Chicago already has 8,000 migrants to care for and lacks the additional shelters and other resources to fully accommodate more migrants in the city, which she says Abbott is doing for political motivations.

Last fall, Abbott began sending migrant buses to sanctuary cities across the country, including Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. He has said he will continue to do so until the border is secure.

Ousted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who lost her re-election bid earlier this year, has sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pleading with him to stop sending migrants to the Windy City

Migrants line up after being detained by US authorities at the US-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Sunday

Migrants' tents on the US side of the US-Mexico border on Sunday. U.S. authorities have said daily illegal crossings from Mexico could climb as high as 13,000 from about 5,200 in March

On Saturday, shelters in a Texas city struggled to find space for migrants who authorities say have abruptly begun crossing by the thousands from Mexico, testing a stretch of the U.S. border that is typically equipped to handle large groups of people fleeing poverty and violence.

The pace of arrivals in Brownsville, Texas appeared to catch the city on the southernmost tip of Texas off guard, stretching social services and putting an overnight shelter in an uncommon position of turning people away.

Officials say more than 15,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have illegally crossed the river near Brownsville since last week.

That is a sharp rise from the 1,700 migrants that Border Patrol agents encountered in the first two weeks of April, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

The uptick comes as the Biden administration plans for the end of pandemic-era asylum restrictions. U.S. authorities have said daily illegal crossings from Mexico could climb as high as 13,000 from about 5,200 in March.

Other cities - some far away from the southern U.S. border - are also grappling with suddenly large influxes of migrants.

In Chicago, authorities reported this week a tenfold increase in the arrival of migrants in the city, where as many as 100 migrants have begun arriving daily and begun sheltering in police stations.

'We are completely tapped out,' she told CNN This Morning on Monday. 'We have no more space. No more resources. And frankly, we're already in a surge. We've been seeing over the last week two to three -- 200 plus people coming to Chicago every single day.'

Lightfoot stressed that Chicago is a welcoming city, but cannot accommodate the influx of migrants, especially without planning, coordination and cooperation from the Texas governor.

Lightfoot appeared on CNN This Morning to talk about the migrant crisis and her letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott urging him to to reconsider 'this dangerous and inhumane action'

'Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with County, State, and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way,' Lightfoot wrote.

'Nearly all the migrants have been in dire need of food, water, and clothing and many needed extensive medical care,' she wrote.

'Some of the individuals you placed on buses were women in active labor, and some were victims of sexual assault. None of these urgent needs were addressed in Texas. Instead, these individuals and families were packed onto buses and shipped across the country like freight without regard to their personal circumstances.'

'I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created,' she continued.

'But I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity that they deserve. To tell them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely bus them here is an inviable and misleading choice.'

Light said she will continue to call on the federal government for more resources. But urged them to withhold FEMA funding for Texas if Abbott continues to send migrants to Chicago. However, she added that she 'would rather work with you than against you.'

'Governor Abbott, this is not a state v. state or city v. city problem,' she wrote.

'The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national collaboration. For the good of our country and the individuals who are seeking safety in refuge, let's work together to find a real solution. And that real solution will never be the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago.'

Migrant encounters in February 2023 were at lowest level since 2021 but increased in March

A group of people leave a welcome center for migrants in Brownsville, Texas, on Friday

A Border Patrol vehicle near the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, on Saturday. The city of Brownsville signed a disaster declaration after nearly 15,000 migrants crossed through the area, with many of them screened and released from federal custody into the city

A migrant talks with a US member of the armed forces at the US-Mexico border in Ciudad JuArez, Mexico, on Sunday

The reason for the recent increase was not immediately clear. Gloria Chavez, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector, said migrants have been frustrated by relying on a glitch-plagued government app that can allow them to seek asylum at a port of entry.

'It's a quite concerning because the logistical challenge that we encounter is massive for us,' Chavez added.

Some migrants who crossed this week cited other motivators, including cartel threats that immediately preceded the sudden increment.

Brownsville is across the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico, where a sprawling encampment of makeshift tents has housed about 2,000 people waiting to enter the U.S.

Last week, some tents were set ablaze and destroyed. Some migrants have said cartel-backed gangs were responsible, but a government official suggested the fires could have been set by a group of migrants frustrated over their long wait.

'It was desperation, the cartel,' said Roxana Aguirre, 24, a Venezuelan migrant who sat outside a Brownsville bus station Friday afternoon. 'You couldnt be on the street without looking over your shoulder.'

Migrants walk towards the US side of the US-Mexico border, in Ciudad, on Sunday

On Sunday, migrants were seen milling next to the fence of the immigration detention center that burned a month ago killing 40 in Ciudad, Mexico

Handprints made by local schoolchildren are displayed on the fence of the immigration center

In downtown Brownsville, families from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and China walked aimlessly, carrying their belongings and talking on their cellphones.

Some waited for their buses while others were in limbo, waiting for relatives before making plans to leave but finding no shelter in the meantime.

One Venezuelan couple said they slept in a parking lot after being turned away at an overnight shelter.

Officials in Brownsville issued a disaster declaration this week, following other Texas border cities that have done the same in the face of suddenly large influxes of migrants, including last year in El Paso.

'We've never seen these numbers before,' said Martin Sandoval, spokesperson for the Brownsville Police Department.

Migrants walk into U.S. custody after crossing the border from Mexico, Ciudad Juarez

Migrants cross the Rio Grande river into the United States from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

The reshuffling of resources at the border - in one of the busiest sectors with robust Border Patrol staffing levels - comes as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security prepares to end the use of a public health authority known as Title 42, which allowed them to reject asylum claims.

The administration has expelled migrants 2.7 million times under a rule in effect since March 2020 that denies rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Title 42, as the public health rule is known, is scheduled to end May 11 when the U.S. lifts its last COVID-related restrictions.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said Elon Musk is not the right person to run the company and that it 'all went south' for the billionaire after he bought the social media giant.

Dorsey, once a supporter of Musk's $44billion takeover, gave a frank assessment when asked if the company's new owner and CEO had proven himself the right man for the job.

'No. Nor do I think he acted right after realizing his timing was bad. Nor do I think the board should have forced the sale. It all went south,' Dorsey wrote on Bluesky, an invite-only Twitter alternative he is backing, Bloomberg reported.

Dorsey had been on good terms with the Tesla CEO prior to his takeover and last year called Musk's acquisition of Twitter as 'the singular solution I trust.'

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said Elon Musk is not the right man to run the social media giant despite having previously been supportive of his takeover

Dorsey said it 'all went south' for Musk after he bought the social media giant

Musk has since implemented widespread changes to boost revenue at Twitter after the social media platform saw advertising income drop last year in the run up to his takeover.

The company has rolled out its Twitter-verified blue tick as a paid service, a move Dorsey also slammed on Bluesky.

'Payment as proof of human is a trap and I'm not aligned with that at all,' he wrote.

'The payment systems being used for that proof exclude millions if not billions of people.'

Musk has since returned blue ticks to accounts with more than one million followers - confusing celebrities across the world.

The entrepreneur has also shrunk the employee-base by about 80 percent since his acquisition.

The social media firm was now 'roughly breaking even', Musk said in a recent Twitter Spaces interview.

But after Twitter had made 3,700 of the company's approximated 7,500 employees redundant in November, Dorsey apologized to current and ex-staff.

In what was his first tweet addressing the takeover, Dorsey said he was sorry for growing the company 'too quickly' and declared that Twitter employees 'always find a way no matter how difficult the moment'.

The co-founder rolled over his 18 million shares into the Elon Musk era of the company rather than taking a payout. His shares equal approximately a 2.4 percent stake in the company.

This means he will be one of Twitter's biggest investors in the company, and contributed roughly $1billion to Musk's $44billion purchase.

After Twitter had made 3,700 of the company's approximated 7,500 employees redundant in November, Dorsey apologized to current and ex-staff

Dorsey has faced backlash for his decision to abandon Twitter to work on his payments company Block, formerly known as Square.

He addressed the ill-wishes in a subsequent tweet: 'I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don't expect that to be mutual in this moment...or everand I understand.'

In court filings, Dorsey was revealed to have contacted Musk and discussed the direction of the company.

'A new platform is needed. It can't be a company. This is why I left,' he texted Musk.

When Musk asked him what the new model should look like, Dorsey responded that Twitter 'should never have been the company' and that was the 'original sin'.

'I think it's worth both trying to move Twitter in a better direction and doing something new that's decentralized,' he said.

Dorsey left his post as CEO of Twitter in 2021, and named former chief technology officer Parag Agrawal the new CEO.

The 46-year-old, born in St Louis, Missouri, founded Twitter in 2006 along with co-founders Biz Stone, Noah Glass and Evan Williams.

After popularity consistently increased, the app went public in 2013.
A heartbroken local community was left 'stunned, numb and speechless' after a tragic car crash claimed the lives of three members of the same family - as they sung a ballad at the siblings' funeral today.

Dan and Christine McKane, and their aunt Julia McSorley, 75, were killed in the crash on April 27 on the A5 near Aughnacloy, Northern Ireland when their minibus was involved in a smash with a lorry. They had been returning from the funeral of a family member in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Four other family members were admitted to hospital, with two people having since been discharged.

A funeral was held for Mrs McSorley at St Eugene's Church in Glenock on Sunday. Then, today, as the siblings' coffin was brought into The Church of The Immaculate Conception in Strabane, the song Danny Boy was sung by mourners.

The coffins of Dan and Christine McKane, two of the three victims of the Aughnacloy crash, are carried from the Church of The Immaculate Conception in Strabane, following their funeral today

The coffins of Dan and Christine McKane. Reverend Declan Bolan acknowledged the messages of sympathy from ministers at nearby churches

From left to right - Julia McSorley, Dan McKane and Christine McKane

One of Mr McKane's daughters and Mrs McKane's son later read poems they had written for them.

A representative of the Irish president Michael D Higgins and Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill were among the mourners, as Reverend Declan Bolan thanked them for attending.

He also acknowledged the messages of sympathy from ministers at nearby churches, and thanked the 'incredible' crowds who turned out for the funeral to support the McKane family through the 'awful pain and unspeakable horror' that 'came so unexpectedly'.

READ MORE: Hundreds pay their respects at vigil held for three people killed in Co Tyrone crash involving minivan and lorry as victims are named Advertisement

He told mourners: 'Our hearts are sad and broken, our pain is deep, our sadness knows no bounds,' he told mourners.

'You've turned up today in incredible numbers because you care and because you want to help this family through their most awful pain and unspeakable horror that has come upon them so, so unexpectedly.

'Dan and Christine and Julia should be like ourselves, walking about, doing their normal things on a Monday afternoon, and yet we know that life changed utterly in a flash coming round that bend in Aughnacloy.'

Father Bolan continued to say : 'We're stunned, we're numb and speechless at what happened. Our grief is total, our wound is open.'

Mr McKane, 53, a father of two daughters, was described as big-hearted and a hard-working man, as Father Bolan added: 'He would have gone that extra mile for anyone and on anything for them, nothing was a bother to Dan McKane. He was the go-for person when something was needed, Dan was your man in times of need.'

Mrs McKane, 49, a mother of three and grandmother of two, was described as 'slight in stature but big in heart'.

'She had a great laugh, she was no pushover, one look said everything. She was a pocket rocket,' the Father said, as he added: 'Her home, her wonderful children and latterly her beautiful grandchildren were everything to Christine, she just lived for them.'

A mourner holds up the order of service following the funeral service for Dan and Christine McKane

Mourners follow the coffins of the siblings. This comes after hundreds of people attended a vigil for the family on Friday

The victims were from the Strabane and Newtownstewart areas and had been travelling home after attending a funeral in England

Dan McKane, Christine McKane and their aunt Julia McSorely, all died when their minivan (pictured) collided with a lorry near Aughnacloy, County Down, last month

Following the incident, there have been calls for urgent improvements to the road following several serious crashes

The horror collision happened on the A5 Tullyvar road just outside Aughnacloy - which forms part of the main route between Londonderry and Dublin - on the morning of Thursday 27 April.

Following the incident, there have been calls for urgent improvements to the road following several serious crashes.

Plans to upgrade the road between Aughnacloy and New Buildings were announced in 2007. But they have been delayed amid funding issues and legal challenges.

On Friday, hundreds of people attended a vigil for the family.

Mourners filled the Holy Grotto, Strabane, while more lined nearby streets as a moment of silence was observed and a candle was lit for each victim.

Father Bolan described the gathering of 2,000 people as 'shafts of light' in the 'appalling tragedy'.

He said: 'I have seen the golden, loving faithful heart of our people who gathered at the grotto on Friday to show solidarity to this family in their time of need.

'Those 2,000 people who gathered at our grotto bore witness to what is at the very best of the heart of this community and this town, and their presence spoke volumes. It was one of the finest community acts of love and compassion that I have witnessed in nearly 50 years of diocesan priesthood.'

Father Bolan went on to thank the first responders who attended the scene of the crash last week, as well as the local priest.

He also paid tribute to a woman who lives near the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for offering to accommodate and support the family of those who remain in hospital, adding: 'That is a beautiful gesture of love and solidarity and hope.'
Have YOU been a victim of this cowboy builder? Email tips@mailonline.co.uk

A tradesman accused of fleecing his victims of of thousands of pounds with a series of scams under a number of different aliases has been put on the UK's most wanted list.

Steven Fidler, who uses pseudonyms including Steven and Riley Doherty, Paddy, Billy, Riley and Simey McGuinley, is alleged to have charged unwitting customers thousands for unnecessary home improvements upfront before scarpering.

Warwickshire Police confirmed that Fidler is wanted by several forces across the UK, including West Midlands Police.

He is also wanted in Cheshire as well, according to CheshireLive, and was added to 'Britain's most wanted list' today.

Crimestoppers claims that several of the victims advertised building or decoration projects on online bidding sites and were 'contacted by Fidler using various unregistered company names'. Others were also recommended to him.

Steven Fidler is said to have fleeced people 'out of thousands of pounds for unnecessary work'

Crimestoppers added the builder - who also goes by the names Steve Donohue and Simey McGuinley - to the UK's 'most wanted' list

Crimestoppers, an independent crime-fighting charity, said he targeted people between November 2019 and January 2022.

The charity said: 'Fidler has quoted for the building work for each of the complainants and this has been accepted, with contracts being drawn up either verbally or, in lots of cases, written.

'Fidler has asked for a large portion of the costs upfront and the complainants have paid thousands of pounds in bank transfers and cash.

'He has then started the work for each complainant, often recommending further work they need doing, and asking for more money. His attendance has been sporadic, frequently making excuses as to non-attendance.

'For the majority of the complainants Fidler has done work to demolish or strip back parts of each house, and has then stopped attending.'

Crimestoppers also revealed the company names allegedly used, including Doherty Master Plastering and Building Solutions, Doherty Building Solutions, Elite Roofing and Building Services, Master Build and Fortitude Painting & Decorating Solutions.
Megyn Kelly has caused a stir after posting a photo of herself wearing a red MAGA-style hat with 'Make Women Female Again' written on it.

The hat was a clear homage to Donald Trump's infamous 'Make America Great Again' hat and her critics were quick to point out that the two had feuded in the past.

The statement on the hat was a pointed reference to ongoing 'culture wars' in the US over trans people and identity.

Kelly, a former Fox News host, has often addressed the issue during The Megyn Kelly Show, which she hosts daily on SiriusXM.

'Thank you for a HUGE week on the @MegynKellyShow,' Kelly captioned the picture she posted on Twitter on Sunday.

'In Miami celebrating our friend's 50th & looking fwd to another great week of shows starting Monday,' she added.

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly (right) posted a photo to Twitter on Sunday in which she wore a red MAGA-style hat that read, 'Make Women Female Again'

Kelly has often put the issue of gender front and center during The Megyn Kelly Show, the show she hosts daily on SiriusXM

The hat was a clear homage to Donald Trump's infamous 'Make America Great Again' hat and her critics were quick to point out that the two had feuded in the past

The most common response to the image were comments regarding the polarizing hat.

In a later tweet, Kelly linked to the online store she bought it from, called Adult Human Female.

The small brand was created by Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, a British women's rights activist who started the group Let Women Speak and who has grown to prominence in recent months.

Parker identifies as a TERF, or a trans-exclusionary radical feminist, and has in large text on her website that '2023 is the year of the TERF'. Parker herself is labeled an 'anti-trans' activist by the left.

The controversial TERF movement has been attacked for being 'transphobic' because it refuses to include trans women under the remit of feminism.

Parker appeared on Kelly's show last month in a segment in which the two expressed similar attitudes toward gender and identity.

'I'm a really confident woman, I'm very outspoken,' said Parker when asked by Kelly how she came to create Let Women Speak and champion the cause.

'I will speak my mind but I've got a daughter who's an introvert, she won't be telling a man in her space to get out and so I just thought I need to step up and if I'm not going to do it then who is,' she added.

Kelly's red hat came from a website created by Posie Parker (pictured in April), a British women's rights activist who started the group Let Women Speak and has grown to prominence in recent months

Kelly was branded 'transphobic' for calling on the CEO of Anheuser-Busch to apologize for Bud Light's tie-up with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney

In a tweet on April 18, the podcast host hit back at suggestions that her comments were transphobic, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she is 'speaking the truth'

Kelly's views on trans issues caused her to become embroiled in her own controversy last month.

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 sparked a considerable backlash from conservatives.

In angry comments on April 17 on The Megyn Kelly Show she 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's critics accused her of intentionally misgendering Mulvaney and said she came across as transphobic.

But in a tweet later in the week, she hit back, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she was 'speaking the truth'.

'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,'' she wrote.
Now race is on for trapped Brits to board the final flight from Port Sudan today

Heartwarming photographs show British soldiers helping exhausted families board some of the UK's final evacuation flights from Sudan as gun battles and explosions erupted in the war-torn country.

More than 2,000 Britons - many of whom have risked their lives to reach the evacuation flights in time - have been rescued from the warzone by British soldiers at the Wadi Saeedna airbase in Khartoum.

British soldiers have spent the past week helping the thousands of Britons board 23 flights from the airbase, with many pictured giving parents a helping hand by holding their babies and young children.

In touching scenes, an army medic entertained a baby by raising them in the air while another stuck her tongue out at a young boy being carried by his mother - all in an effort to distract them from the sounds of gunfire around them.

But for the 1,000 terrified Britons still trapped in the country, freedom from the war-torn country is not yet within their grasp. They are desperately racing to board the last evacuation flight from Port Sudan, 500 miles south of Khartoum, before it leaves today.

One soldier from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment cuddled a toddler before the final flight from Wadi Saeedna airbase in Khartoum on Saturday

In touching scenes, an army medic entertained a baby by raising them in the air at Wadi Saeedna airbase in Khartoum

Soldier from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is pictured smiling with Sudanese locals

The Foreign Office yesterday urged all Brits still in Sudan to travel to the southern port by 12pm local time (11am GMT) in order to board the final evacuation flight and escape the deadly violence that has killed 528 people so far. It is not clear if the plane has left Sudan yet.

So far 2,122 Britons - many of them young children - have been evacuated from Sudan on 23 flights after somehow surviving the nightmarish journey through the violent streets of Khartoum to reach the Wadi Saeedna airbase.

Britons described seeing thieves and killers roaming the streets of the capital, with the corpses of civilians killed in the fighting between warring factions littering the ground in scenes that have been compared to the horror film The Purge.

Heartwarming photographs show British soldiers at the Wadi Saeedna airbase cuddling and playing with children in an effort to provide some form of comfort after their terrifying and gruelling journey to the evacuation flights.

One soldier from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment cuddled a toddler while other soldiers helped carry the luggage of exhausted families across the tarmac before they boarded the final UK flight from Khartoum.

Evacuation flights from Khartoum have now stopped amid heavy violence there and Brits only have one more chance to escape on a British evacuation flight.

Britons are now risking their lives - all without a military escort - to make the perilous 500 mile journey south to Port Sudan in the hope of boarding the final flight.

But there are fears that many will not be able to reach the final evacuation flight before it departs due to how dangerous it is in the country.

A British soldier sticks her tongue out at a young boy being carried by his mother before the family boarded the final British flight from Khartoum

The last evacuees and military personnel board an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus from Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan on Saturday

Pictured: Military personnel and the last evacuees boarding a RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, during the final days of evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base, in Sudan, on Saturday

Pictured: British Citizens from Sudan waiting at Wadi Seidna airport in Khartoum, Sudan ahead of boarding an RAF aircrafts bound for Cyprus on Saturday

Pictured: Smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, on Monday

It is understood the flight from Port Sudan is exceptional and would repatriate a limited number Brits trapped in the country.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: 'Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan.'

The British Government has agreed to include terrified NHS doctors without UK passports on its final journeys amid criticism over the scope of its eligibility criteria for evacuation.

Last week, NHS doctors queued for hours at the airfield in Khartoum after risking their lives to reach the RAF planes - only to be turned away by British officials at the evacuation site because they did not hold British passports.

Flights had previously been limited to British nationals and their immediate family.

For those left behind in Sudan, face an uncertain future.

Millions trapped in the capital and beyond have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thundering through the sky on bombing raids have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire.

'Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at them,' said one resident, while another witness said he was also hearing 'loud gunfire'.

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

UK military personnel gather before boarding an RAF aircraft at the Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan

British nationals prepare for check regulations for evacuation at a hotel at the port, in Port Sudan

British nationals prepare for check regulations for evacuation at a hotel at the port in Port Sudan

Pictured: A family board an RAF Plane bound for Cyprusduring the evacuation from Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan on Saturday

While foreign nations including the UK have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, some 50,000 Sudanese have fled overland to neighbours, said the UN.

Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospital bombed, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

'The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan,' said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres. 'We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region.'

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths was heading to the region to help bring relief to the millions 'whose lives have turned upside down overnight'.

'The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point,' Dujarric said.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region.

The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the notorious Janjaweed that were unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide.

The RSF include fighters who have seen battle in Yemen where they were sent to back a Saudi-led campaign supporting the government against Huthi rebels.

Pictured: Military personnel boarding a RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, during the final days of evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base, in Sudan

Pictured: Military personnel boarding a RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, during the final days of evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base, in Sudan

Pictured: Military personnel onboard a RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, during the final days of evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base, in Sudan

Pictured: British soldiers stand at the Wadi Saeedna Air Base in Khartoum during the final evacuation flights

Pictured: Evacuees and military personnel at Wadi Seidna airport in Khartoum, Sudan waiting to board an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus on Sunday

Further complicating Sudan's battlefield situation, Central Reserve Police were being deployed on the side of the army across Khartoum to 'protect citizens' properties' from looting.

The UN has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 16 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of Khartoum's health facilities are functioning, says the UN World Health Organisation.

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward 'disaster', warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

He warned of the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce.

A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub.

The UN World Food Programme has resumed activities in Sudan after over two weeks of suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an 'immediate and comprehensive cessation' of fighting.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy illustrated the growing bipartisan divide over Israel on Monday during a visit to Jerusalem, criticizing President Joe Biden for failing to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

Instead, he said he was prepared to invite the Israeli premier to address Congress.

'It's been too long,' McCarthy said in an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper.

'If that doesn't happen, I'll invite the prime minister to come meet with the House. He's a dear friend.'

Netanyahu returned to power four months ago atop a hardline coalition and controversial plans to rein in the county's supreme court.

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R) is welcomed to Jerusalem by speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana (L) during an official ceremony

How Israels Knesset Speaker @AmirOhana welcomed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Israels parliament pic.twitter.com/8gaEpTsusm  Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) April 30, 2023

Biden has made clear his opposition and said he had no immediate plans to offer the Israeli leader a White House visit.

His ambassador later watered that down to say the administration would 'soon' invite Netanyahu.

Against that backdrop, McCarthy arrived with a bipartisan delegation of House members at the weekend.

He was welcomed by his Israeli counterpart with a startling rendition of the Eagles' classic 'Hotel California.'

Amir Ohana shredded his way through the song, backed by professional musician Kfir Ochaion at the reception on Sunday night.

McCarthy is due to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday.

For now, Netanyahu's judicial overhaul is on hold after mass public protests and international condemnation.

But the damage has already been done to relations with the U.S., said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations. He said Netanyahu himself "broke the bipartisanship" surrounding Israel.

Israeli speaker Amir Ohana (l) shredded his way through 'Hotel California,' backed by professional musician Kfir Ochaion at the reception on Sunday night.

McCarthy speaks during his visit to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center on Monday. He is due to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, later in the day

He told the Associated Press that McCarthy's visit was a way for both Republicans and Netanyahu to stick it to Biden.

'It's a counterweight to Biden,' he said. 'Netanyahu thinks that if McCarthy visits here it will put pressure on the White House to invite him.

'Republicans are fighting over who's the greatest supporter of Israel.'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited last week.

And McCarthy will be only the second House speaker to address a full session of the Knesset, after Newt Gingrich in 1998.
Hunter Biden came face to face with his Arkansas baby mama today as his lawyers rejected the notion he was a deadbeat dad and revealed the president's son has contributed $750,000 towards the child's upbringing.

Abbe Lowell, Hunter's hotshot DC lawyer, suggested it was the time the world knew how much his client was shelling out for Navy Joan Roberts, the four-year-old daughter he has never bothered to meet.

'Mr. Biden is paying the plaintiff $20,000 a month,' Lowell told the two-hour hearing in Independence County, Arkansas. He later put the total figure at $750,000.

Hunter, 53, glanced occasionally at Roberts, 32, as they sat across the court from one another. Roberts, supported by her parents and sister, did not look back at him.

Neither was called on to speak as the court worked through a list of procedural matters before setting a June date for both parents to sit for depositions ahead of a July trial.

Hunter Biden is facing off with Lunden Roberts in Arkansas court over custody payments for his four-year-old lovechild Navy Joan

Roberts, 32, was the first to arrive Monday, wearing a smart blue blazer, black pants and dark sunglasses, jumping out of a black SUV and dashing up the court steps without commenting

Navy Joan was born in August 2018 but she remained a secret until Roberts sued Hunter for child support in her native Arkansas 10 months later

Hunter pulled into the court's staff entrance in a five-car motorcade with a police escort this morning. He hopped out of a silver SUV and headed inside at 8.45am, stopping briefly to shake someone's hand in the entrance way.

The First Son, wearing a smart navy suit, white shirt and a black tie, did not make any comment.

The long-running paternity suit between the president's son and Roberts seemed to have been resolved in 2019 when a DNA test proved Hunter had fathered little Navy Joan Roberts and he agreed to a reported $2.5 million settlement.

But the recovering drug addict abruptly reopened the case in September by claiming he had suffered 'a substantial material change' in his income and couldn't afford the payments.

Roberts refused to buckle and raised the stakes by petitioning the court to officially rename her daughter Navy Joan Biden to 'benefit from carrying the Biden Family name,' a move Hunter dismissed as 'political warfare.'

Roberts also served the First Son with a sprawling discovery request covering everything from his shady business dealings in Ukraine and China to the names of the mystery art lovers who have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his beginner abstract paintings.

After Hunter blew through multiple deadlines to turn over his documents, Judge Holly Meyer ordered him to appear at Independence County Circuit Court in person for today's contempt hearing.

Roberts, 32, was the first to arrive Monday, wearing a smart blue blazer, black pants and dark sunglasses, jumping out of a black SUV and dashing up the court steps without commenting.

The hearing happened amid tight security, with all corners of the courthouse flanked by deputies and police bomb-sniffing dogs seen sweeping for threats.

Hunter hopped out of a silver SUV and headed inside at 8.45am, stopping briefly to shake someone's hand in the entrance way

The First Son pulled into the court's staff entrance in a five-car motorcade with a police escort and did not make any comment

The First Son, wearing a smart navy suit, white shirt and a black tie, did not make any comment

Roberts also wants to change her daughter's last name to Biden to benefit from carrying the president's family name

Roberts lit the touch paper on today's hearing by accusing the Biden scion of hiding assets and posing as a 'destitute' artist in her latest court filing.

She wants to know how Hunter can plead poverty while deploying a stable of super lawyers charging up to $855 per hour across his various lawsuits and congressional probes.

The feisty single mom, who studied crime scene investigation at George Washington University, has even called for Hunter to be slung in the county jail - and left there until he coughs up his records.

Her attorney Clinton Lancaster says slashing the childcare payments would be 'inappropriate and unjust' and wants Hunter - who spent last week at Democrat donor's Joe Kiani $50 California vineyard - to pay more if he's caught concealing his true wealth.

To add insult to injury, Roberts has retained Garrett Ziegler - a former Trump administration staffer and longtime Hunter nemesis who produced a 644-page analysis on the contents on his notorious abandoned laptop - as an expert witness.

Roberts argues that Hunter Biden, the father of her four-year-old daughter Navy, has plenty of money to make his child support payments

Hunter fathered a son he named Beau after his late brother with his new wife Melissa Cohen just 17 months after Navy was born

In his own filings, Hunter has opposed Navy Joan becoming a Biden, insisting he wants a 'peaceful existence' for her, free of the political scrutiny associated with his family dynasty.

The angelic, blonde-haired girl was born in August 2018 but remained a secret until Roberts sued Hunter for child support in her native Arkansas.

She is the fourth of Hunter's five children but neither he, nor his parents Joe and Jill Biden, have ever met the child or publicly acknowledged her existence.

Hunter claimed during the original 10-month paternity case that he was 'unemployed and had no monthly income' despite living in a $12,000-per-month Hollywood rental and driving a Porsche.

But when a judge ordered him to produce financial records he repeatedly failed to do so and instead settled out of court, the two sides announcing a 'global, final settlement of all issues'.

It was initially reported that Hunter met Roberts while she worked as a stripper at a DC club which Hunter frequented.

But texts retrieved from his abandoned laptop proved that she was in fact on the payroll at Rosemont Seneca, Hunter's Washington, D.C. investment firm.

Roberts served the First Son with a sprawling discovery request covering everything from his shady business dealings in Ukraine and China to the names of the mystery art lovers who have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his beginner abstract paintings

Hunter has never seen Navy Joan and could not pick her out of a photo lineup, according to court filings

She and Hunter conceived Navy Joan around December 2017 while he was still in a relationship with his brother Beau's widow, Hallie.

Hunter claimed in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, that he went on such a 'rampage' in the wake of his 2017 divorce from Kathleen Buhle that he couldn't remember the names of the women he bedded.

'It's why I would later challenge in court the woman from Arkansas who had a baby in 2018 and claimed the child was mine  I had no recollection of our encounter. That's how little connection I had with anyone,' he wrote.

Hunter has never seen Navy Joan and could not pick her out of a photo lineup, according to court filings.

Navy Joan has never met her grandpa Joe, 80, despite the President fawning over his six other grandkids and frequently bringing them along for events and speeches.

And she gets none of the perks, nor the round-the-clock Secret Service protection, enjoyed by the rest of the Biden brood.

In February 2022 Roberts gave evidence to a Delaware grand jury investigating Hunter for alleged tax crimes, joining a growing list of former business partners and associates who have been drawn into the Department of Justice's secretive probe.

Federal prosecutors were particularly interested in what she learned about Hunter's finances, her attorney said at the time.
Scott Morrison could quit politics in a matter of weeks and take up a plum role in the UK defence sector, it has emerged.

The former Prime Minister's has reportedly been sounded out by a major UK company working in the defence sector which is interested in his insights into AUKUS, the landmark security pact he signed when in office with the UK and US.

Two sources close to him said he is considering the potential job offer.

'He won't go until it is locked in but it is fair to say he is actively seeking life after politics,' one of them told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'It's in the AUKUS space based out of the UK.'

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison is considering a job in the UK defence sector

The unnamed company is reportedly keen to hear his insights into AUKUS, the landmark security pact he signed when in office with the UK and US

Mr Morrison is widely expected to quit frontline politics at some point after the May 9 budget and before the end of the year.

The job offer is yet to be finalised but if it is made  and Mr Morrison accepts  it would require the former prime minister to commute to the UK about once a month, with his family remaining in Sydney.

Mr Morrison did not deny the claims when contacted for comment.

'I'm very engaged with things in my local electorate and enjoying being back in my local community,' he said.

Mr Morrison's exit would trigger a byelection in the seat of Cook, south of Sydney, which he held with a two-party preferred margin of 12.4 per cent at the 2022 federal election.

The AUKUS deal will deliver Australia a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines at a cost of $368 billion by 2055

In November last year, Scott Morrison became the first Australian prime minister in history to be formally censured by the House of Representatives after the 'minister for everything' scandal

Jobs of former PMs after leaving politics Malcolm Turnbull: Returned to the private sector as a senior advisor to major global private equity firm (KKR) Tony Abbott: Appointed as an adviser to the UK's Board of Trade Julia Gillard: Visiting professor at the University of Adelaide, Chair of Beyond Blue Kevin Rudd: Senior roles for a range of international organisations and educational institutions. President of the Asia Society John Howard: Signed with speaking agency Washington Speakers Bureau, chairman of the International Democrat Union Paul Keating: Director for various companies and also became a senior adviser to Lazard investment banking firm Bob Hawke: Took on a number of directorships and consultancy positions. Helped establish the Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia. Advertisement

In November last year, he became the first Australian prime minister in history to be formally censured by the House of Representatives after the 'minister for everything' scandal.

Mr Morrison had himself secretly sworn in as treasurer and minister for home affairs; finance; health; and industry, science, energy and resources in 2020 and 2021.

None of the ministers for these portfolios, other than Greg Hunt for health, were aware he had secretly doubled up on their jobs.

Mr Morrison was roundly condemned, with some of the fiercest criticism coming from his own party.

Karen Andrews', the ex home affairs minister who had no idea she was sharing her job with Mr Morrison, called on him to resign as the member for Cook.

'The Australian people have been let down, they have been betrayed,' she said last August.

Other than acknowledging some - but not all - of the appointments were unnecessary, Mr Morrison gave a spirited defence of his actions in parliament and offered no apology.

He claimed the unprecedented move was necessary at the time because of the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus crisis.

Mr Morrison said in February that since leaving the Lodge it was 'nice being back part of normal suburban life again'.

'People come up to me every day and kindly say thank you, not just for Covid, but particularly around international issues, China, all of these things,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

The AUKUS deal, which will deliver Australia a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines at a cost of $368 billion by 2055, is designed to counter China's perceived dominance in the Pacific.

The Australian government estimates it will generate 20,000 jobs over the next 30 years.
A South Korean art student who was 'hungry' after skipping breakfast, ate a banana that was part of an installation by a popular artist.

The artwork - called Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, and part of his exhibition, WE - was a ripe banana taped to a wall at Seoul's Leeum Musuem of Art.

The student, Noh Huyn-soo, boldly taped the peel to the wall after eating the banana.

Local media reported that a new banana was placed in the empty spot.

According to the museum, the banana has to be replaced every two to three days.

The artwork - called Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan, and part of his exhibition, WE - was a ripe banana taped to a wall at Seoul's Leeum Musuem of Art

A South Korean art student who was 'hungry' after skipping breakfast, ate a banana that was part of an installation by a popular artist

The incident was recorded by Mr Noh's friend and uploaded to YouTube.

Stunned onlookers shouted 'excuse me' at Mr Noh during the recording, but he appeared to ignore the shouts and continued eating the banana.

He briefly posed with the skin taped to the wall before leaving the room.

Speaking later to local media about the incident, Mr Noh said the video was an act of 'rebellion' against Mr. Catellan's own 'rebellious' artwork.

'There could be another rebellion against the rebellion,' the Seoul National University student told KBS.

'Damaging an artwork could also be seen as an artwork, I thought that would be interesting... Isn't it taped there to be eaten?'

When told about the incident, Mr Cattelan,a sculptor and performance artist based in New York responded, 'No problem at all'.

Performance artist David Datuna was the first to pull the banana from the wall in 2019, after the artwork had just been sold for $120,000 (91,000) at Art Basel in Miami.

The banana had been replaced at the time and no action was taken.

Datuna told The Guardian at the time that although he considered Cattalan to be 'a genius', he took issue with the huge amount of money made from a banana that cost 20 cents.

'I have travelled in 67 countries around the world in the last three years, and I see how people live,' Datuna said. 'Millions are dying without food. Then he puts three bananas on the wall for half a million dollars?'

Speaking later to local media about the incident, Mr Noh said the video was an act of rebellion against Mr. Catellan's own rebellious artwork

According to the museum, the banana has to be replaced every two to three days

He briefly posed with the skin taped to the wall before leaving the room

Comedian isn't the only work by Cattelan to suffer public backlash.

An 18-carat-gold-toilet by Cattelan called America and valued at 1m, was ripped from its display wall last September during an overnight robbery at Blenheim Palace in Oxford.

Il Dito, a giant middle finger sculpted by the artist, was vandalised by environmental activists in January.
This is the horror moment a man awaiting extradition to the United States jumped to his death at a holding facility in Colombia.

Daniel Alvarez was being escorted by agents at the attorney generals building in Medellin when he leaped over the third-floor stair handrail on Wednesday.

Paramedics attempted to save his life while rushing him to an area clinic, but he was declared dead before arriving.

Alvarez was facing child pornography and pedophilia charges in the Southern District of New York.

Daniel Alvarez (center), who was facing child pornography and pedophilia charges in a New York federal court, jumped over a third-floor stair handrail and at the attorney general's office building in Medellin, Colombia, on Wednesday

Alvarez (green shirt) was pronounced dead while he was being rushed in an ambulance to a local clinic in Medellin on Wednesday. The 43-year-old was awaiting extradition to the United States to face child pornography and pedophilia charges in a New York City federal court

Alvarez was not handcuffed when he dover over the handrail. Authorities are investigating whether he tried to escape or kill himself

DailyMail.com reached out to the prosecutions office for comment.

Surveillance camera footage showed Alvarez in civilian clothing and without handcuffs as he walked between two guards.

He then made a beeline for the stair handrail and dove head first to the surprise of the agents.

The officers could be seen placing their heads over their heads in shock before another official joined them in running down the stairs to aid Alvarez.

Colombian authorities opened an investigation into the incident to determine if Alvarez jumped in an attempt to escape from the facility or if he was trying to commit suicide.

Jail guards and an official were in shock after a prisoner facing extradition to the United States jumped over a third-floor stair handrail at the Colombian attorney general's office in Medellin on Wednesday. The suspect was ruled dead by paramedics while he was being transported to an area medical facility

According to local outlets, Alvarez was a professor at a private university in the nearby town of Sabaneta.

In addition, he had taught English to design and leather manufacturing to online and in-person students at the National Learning Service between 2017 and 2022.

Weekly news magazine Semana reported that Alvarez had signed a contract in February that was to expire in September.
Jackson, who had achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, was undergoing the routine procedure for his condition which can complicate sleep

The parents of a six-month-old baby born with dwarfism have received a $15 million settlement from Boston Children's Hospital after he died during a routine sleep study in which nurses left him without oxygen for 20 minutes.

Becky and Ryan Kekula, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, brought Jackson in for the study and a car seat test, which is normal for babies with conditions like his, who had the most common form of dwarfism, achondroplasia, a condition that can complicate sleep issues.

They had hope to resolve Jackson's sleep issues and check his ability to sit safely in a car seat, but instead lost their only child after the hospital staff made a series of errors, according to an investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as reported by The Boston Globe.

During the procedure in February 2022, baby Jackson was left without oxygen for more than 20 minutes and suffered a catastrophic brain injury that left him on life support, according to the Kekulas' attorney Robert Higgins.

Over a year later, the family was awarded $15 million by the hospital, but they refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement and said they hope sharing Jackson's heartbreaking story will prevent similar tragedies.

Becky and Ryan Kekula, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, received a $15 million settlement from Boston Children's Hospital after their son Jackson died following a sleep study

Baby Jackson was undergoing a routine sleep study but was left without oxygen for more than 20 minutes and suffered a catastrophic brain injury that left him on life support

The couple had moved to Massachusetts from Milwaukee in 2020 to be closer to family. Soon after, Becky became pregnant and gave birth to Jackson in August 2021.

Both Becky and Ryan have the genetic condition achondroplasia and there was a 50 percent chance their baby would too.

After Jackson was born, he spent time in the NICU where doctors discovered he had sleep apnea, interruptions in his breathing that caused his oxygen levels to drop while he slept. He also had breathing troubles while he was in his car seat.

Babies with achondroplasia typically have larger heads, which cannot be properly supported when sitting up so their heads flop down and obstruct the airway. Their chests are also smaller, which forces them to take smaller breaths.

The Kekulas took Jackson to the Boston Childrens Hospital for for a more thorough investigation of his sleep apnea, in an inpatient sleep study in their NICU, which was the first of its kind nationwide, according to the hospital website.'

'There are a lot of families [in the little people community] that go to that place,' Becky said of Boston Children's Hospital. 'I can't say what to do or not to do. But it's important for them to know what happened.'

The family's attorney Robert Higgins claims that during the sleep study, the staff failed to properly monitor Jackson's breathing and heartbeat, and instead focused on what they thought was an equipment malfunction.

The couple had moved to Massachusetts from Milwaukee in 2020 to be closer to family. Soon after, Becky became pregnant and gave birth to Jackson in August 2021

The family's attorney Robert Higgins claims that during the sleep study, the staff failed to properly monitor Jackson's breathing and heartbeat, and instead focused on what they thought was an equipment malfunction. Pictured: Becky with Jackson after the incident

Dr. Sara Toomey, senior vice president and chief safety and quality officer at Boston Children's Hospital, said in an interview with The Boston Globe, that outside of Jackson's death, the hospital has never had a serious adverse event in a sleep study.

The Kekulas had already been through the car seat test with Jackson and returned on February 18, 2022, for his follow-up and sleep study.

During orientation about the procedure, the hospital showed them a video that assured patients and families, 'There's nothing that hurts about a sleep study.'

In his car seat test, although his oxygen saturation had dipped periodically, Jackson wasn't given supplemental oxygen.

For this test, the technician hooked Jackson up to a machine to measure his brain activity, a chest band to measure his breathing, and a pulse oximeter on his bare foot. A nasal cannula was placed under his nose, which Becky said she was told was to monitor CO2, not to provide oxygen.

Hospital vital sign records and video footage of the sleep study contributed to the investigation later viewed by Higgins, the family's attorney.

Higgins said that at 9:42 p.m., a technician came into the room and briefly adjusted some of Jackson's monitoring gear. By 9:48 p.m., Jackson's oxygen had ticked down to 92 percent, 90 percent, 87, 85, 83.

By 9:50, Jacksons oxygen had dropped to 65 percent  dangerously low  and he groaned with his breath.

While there was no immediate response from the technician, Jackson's mother, who was on a couch nearby recalled feeling that something was wrong.

'It just seemed off,' Becky said. 'Of course looking back, I wish we just were like, 'Can we go home? Do this another time?' But I still wanted to trust the process.'

Ryan and Becky with baby Jackson when he was born in August 2021

The hospital suspended inpatient and outpatient sleep studies for approximately five weeks after the tragedy, according to an investigation compiled by the Department of Public Health

The video showed a technician coming into the room and adjusting the pulse oximeter on the babys foot. Over the next 20 minutes, the technicians fussed with monitoring system before sounding the alarm that something was wrong with Jackson.

The staff performed CPR on the baby and were able to restart his heart, but it was determined he had had suffered a severe brain injury from the extended lack of oxygen, leaving him with minimal brain activity and reliant on machines to keep him alive, according to the Kekulas and Higgins.

Jackson was kept on life support for 12 days before his parents before they decided to let him go.

The hospital suspended inpatient and outpatient sleep studies for approximately five weeks after the tragedy, according to an investigation compiled by the Department of Public Health.

Several corrective steps were implemented, including training and simulation exercises for technologists and having a nurse evaluate their skills, improving documentation of doctors' orders for sleep studies, and assigning nurses to oversee patient care in such cases.

'We took it extraordinarily seriously and have done our best to strengthen all of our systems,' Toomey told The Boston Globe.

'We had these components in place prior, but this really made us stop and do a thorough review to make sure we could strengthen absolutely every aspect.'
A chip shop visited by Ed Sheeran in the seaside town of Southwold has been destroyed by fire after gas cylinders exploded in the nearby harbour.

Police sealed off the area around Mrs T's Fish and Chips in the early hours of this morning after the blaze broke out.

The owners of the venue said on Facebook that they have been left 'completely heartbroken' by the fire as they posted pictures of their ruined establishment.

Pop star Sheeran was pictured there with staff after enjoying a meal in 2019.

After the fire last night, one local tweeted: 'Massive explosion followed by fire in Southwold Harbour. Explosion shook the caravan.'

A chip shop visited by Ed Sheeran in the seaside town of Southwold has been destroyed by fire after gas cylinders exploded in the nearby harbour. Above: Pop star Sheeran was pictured at Mrs T's Fish and Chips with staff after enjoying a meal in 2019

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service sent 12 vehicles with nearly 100 crew to the town after the 999 reports.

The mystery blast centred on the harbour area in Ferry Road, close to Blackshore Quay.

Photos show large orange flames as plumes of smoke billowed across the sky.

The fire service said the blaze caused 'extensive damage' to fishermen's huts and two chip shops.

It's not yet clear whether anyone has been hurt or what caused the explosion, although attention may focus on gas cylinders which were allegedly stored in one of the huts.

Police sealed off the area around Mrs T's Fish and Chips in the early hours of this morning after the blaze broke out

Posting on Facebook, Mrs T's Fish and Chip Shop said: 'Not the news we wanted to get woken up to but unfortunately, Mrs T's has been caught in a fire on the harbour early hours of this morning.

'We are completely heartbroken.

'We want to thank the Fire team for all their hard work throughout the night to put the blaze out.

'We will keep everyone updated via our socials as soon as we know more.'

In a tweet at around 6am, the fire brigade said: 'A fire overnight has caused extensive damage to fishermens' huts and two fish and chip shops at Blackshore Quay in Southwold.

'The incident is now over but Ferry Road will be closed off today as investigations get underway and the public is asked to avoid the area.'

The fashionable resort is nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea because of all the celebrities who flock there for holidays, retreating to second homes away from London.

Chris Evans, David Tennant, Dame Judi Dench, Michael Palin, Griff Rhys-Jones and Stephen Fry are all regular visitors.

Photos show large orange flames as plumes of smoke billowed across the sky

The late detective writers PD James and Ruth Rendell, along with Butterflies actor all bought homes there.

The town has less than 2,000 residents in the winter but this swells to almost 10,000 in the summer, many of them star-struck trippers agog at the thought of glimpsing a celeb.

There's even a 'Southwolds Celebrity Tour' where they can walk past homes of celebrities and visit the pubs and resuarants where the stars relax.

The walk starts at the 19th century pier on the beach, which was the setting for several Little Britain comedy show sketches in which Matt Lucas and David Walliams delighted locals with their 'ladylike' behaviour.

Some of the famous multi-coloured beach huts change hands for more than 100,000.

The town centre's Orwell Bookshop commemorates one of Southwold's most famous residents, George Orwell.
Virginia Beach is reeling from a tornado that ripped through the coastal town on Sunday night, destroying as many as 100 homes.

Firemen and clearing crews were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and huge parts of people's houses, including entire roofs.

Powerline workers were also present, clearing roads of fallen pylons and tending to damaged transmission lines to restore power to hundreds of homes.

Virginia Natural Gas was also attending homes with gas leaks and Dominion Power, the local energy company headquartered in Richmond, was responding with crews.

The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city just before 6pm on Sunday and was so severe the city declared a local state of emergency.

As many as 100 homes in Virginia Beach were destroyed in the tornado. Pictured is an aerial image of houses in the Great Neck area

Firemen and clearing crews were on the streets clearing debris, consisting of large fallen trees and huge parts of people's houses

The National Weather Service announced on Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado, meaning it carried winds of between 136 and 165 mph.

The highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale is an EF-5.

Fort Story, which is operated by the US Navy, reported tornado damage and said it was assessing the aftermath.

The base said 95 percent of its power has been restored.

'We are fortunate that there were no injuries due to the storm,' Capt. Michael Witherspoon told the Virginian-Pilot, the installation's commanding officer.

'Our teams are working with our local partners to assess the situation and return to normal operations as quickly as possible.'

The tornado hit the Great Neck area of the city just before 6pm on Sunday and was so severe the city declared a local state of emergency

Due to road closures three Virginia Beach schools - Cox High School, Great Neck Middle School and John B. Dey Elementary School - did not open on Monday

The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to 'calls for major storm damage to multiple homes', it said on Twitter

A tree snapped in half by Sunday's tornado is seen slotted into the roof of a residential property

Multiple trees are seen collapsed on the lawn of a house in Virginia Beach

The tornado prompted the closure of three schools on Monday due to road closures, officials said.

'Great Neck Recreation Center, 2521 Shorehaven Drive, will be closed to the general public tomorrow, May 1, and will continue to serve exclusively to residents impacted by the storm,' wrote the city via an update on its website.

It also said residents who have trees entirely on their property would have to deal with them themselves.

'Public Works recommends that residents speak with their insurance regarding coverage and deductibles before securing quotes or contracting with private tree removal companies,' wrote the city.

'If residents use a private tree removal service, the contractor secured is responsible for the removal of the debris as well,' it added.

Residents were told by city officials that any trees that had fallen and were entirely on their property would be their responsibility to deal with

The National Weather Service announced on Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado

More than 14,000 homes had lost power during the day, according to an online energy outage map, but that was down to just 400 on Monday morning.

The Virginia Beach Fire Department was responding to 'calls for major storm damage to multiple homes', it said on Twitter.

On Sunday night several boats broke off their moorings, overturned or were damaged, a spokesperson for the city said.

It clarified that it was working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Port of Virginia Maritime Incident Response team to recover the boats.

Cox High School, Great Neck Middle School and John B. Dey Elementary School were the three schools closed on Monday.

The third day of the Something in the Water festival, which had been planned for Sunday evening, was canceled due to the tornado.
The proposal has had thousands of letters of opposition but only a handful in support

Democrat lawmakers tabled the bill amid out-of-control homelessness in Portland which has led some residents to leave the city

A hugely-controversial bill would decriminalize homeless camps in Oregon and allow people who live in them to sue for $1,000 if they are 'harassed'

Democrat lawmakers in Oregon want to decriminalize homeless camps with a law that would allow the people who live in them to sue for $1,000 if they're harassed or told to leave.

The hugely-controversial bill claims 'decriminalization of rest' would allow city leaders to 'redirect' cash from law enforcement into measures that 'address the root causes of homelessness and poverty'.

But the radical proposal comes amid an explosion in camps in cities like Portland, which has one of the worst crime rates in America, causing some people to move away.

The new homelessness bill has been met with furious complaints from citizens who claim Oregon's metropolitan areas have been ravaged by progressive policies that have cut police budgets while crime and drug use has spiraled out of control.

The bill, HB 3501, was sponsored by Democrat representative Farrah Chaichi and her colleague, representative Khanh Pham. It will be discussed at a hearing of the state's House Committee On Housing and Homelessness on May 4.

Democrat lawmakers in Oregon want to decriminalize homeless camps with a law that would allow the people who live in them to sue for $1,000 if they're harassed or told to leave

Some residents in Portland have said they'll leave the city because of spiraling homelessness and drug use

The bill, which would allow homeless people to sue if they're moved from encampments in Oregon, is sponsored by Democrat representatives Khanh Pham (left) and Farrah Chaichi

'Many persons in Oregon have experienced homelessness as a result of economic hardship, a shortage of safe and affordable housing, the inability to obtain gainful employment and a disintegrating social safety net system,' the bill states.

'Decriminalization of rest allows local governments to redirect resources from local law enforcement activities to activities that address the root causes of homelessness and poverty.'

More than 2,000 letters of opposition have been submitted, compared to just 41 in support.

The bill would allow homeless people to 'use and move freely in public spaces without discrimination and time limitations' - essentially stating they can reside in parks and on other public land indefinitely without question.

'A person experiencing homelessness has a privacy interest and a reasonable expectation of privacy in any property belonging to the person, regardless of whether the property is located in a public space,' the bill adds.

It would grant people 'experiencing homelessness' the right to 'rest in public spaces and seek protection from adverse weather conditions'. The bill further promises the right to 'pray, meditate, worship or practice religion in public spaces without discrimination based on housing status.'

The bill also specifies a right to live in a vehicle or RV on public land 'provided that the vehicle is legally parked'.

Any person whose rights under the proposal are breached is entitled to 'compensatory damages or $1,000 per violation, whichever is greater'. Penalties of $1,000 could be given to anyone who's deemed to have harassed a homeless person.

A picture taken in January shows a police car stopped at a homeless camp in Portland, Oregon

Businesses in Portland have said the rise in homeless camps and drug use has hurt their earnings

The new bill would decriminalize camps in public spaces and allow homeless people who are moved on to sue for $1,000

Democrat lawmakers say the bill would allow money to be redirected from law enforcement agencies to projects that tackle the causes of homelessness

Lyons, Oregon resident Peter Cakebread said in his letter of opposition: 'I feel that this will set a precedence for mass homeless camps. We've seen what it does to local businesses and neighborhoods throughout Oregon. When do the taxpaying citizens become relevant? I do NOT want to see this happen at all. I am already tempted to move out of state due to the extreme politics in this state.'

Jennifer Buchanan, a resident of Beaverton, added: 'The homelessness in our city, and state is already out of hand. Crime and drugs are everywhere and this measure would just make it worse.'

Many letters of complaint say the bill would harm taxpayers and their rights to enjoy public spaces in Oregon.

Within the handful of letters in support, which include at least one response that mocks the proposal, citizens have said homeless people deserve support and claim that breaking up camps simply delays a proper solution.

The bill comes after Portland authorities recently drew up renewed efforts to crack down on out-of-control crime including vehicle and retail theft.

In 2020, Portland became one of the first regions in America to fall foul of the 'defund the police' movement, slashing $15 million from its budget. But now officials are looking at measures to bolster law enforcement amid high crime rates.

Tents line the streets in a picture from January 2020. Oregon has faced issues with drug abuse after becoming the first state in the country to decriminalize many hard drugs

In March, DailyMail.com reported how some Portland residents think the city has become lawless and 'post-apocalyptic' because of rising rates of homelessness and drug abuse.

Earlier this month, Walmart announced that they were leaving the city. 'We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations,' Walmart said in its announcement.

'While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven't performed as well as we hoped.'

Staff members have speculated out of control shoplifting is partly to blame.

'It's definitely the theft,' said one. 'There's nothing political about it.'

The shoplifting has been fueled by runaway drug abuse after Oregon voted to decriminalize recreational drugs in 2020  a law referred to as Measure 110.

Residents of one Portland, Oregon neighborhood say they are fed up with the growing homeless crisis after their area was cleared just to see encampments pop back up hours later

'Everybody wants to leave, all my neighbors are talking about moving,' Portland resident Ronny McFarland told Portland station KOIN in March

Portland has also made headlines recently after numbers that showed in 2022 there were more than 5,000 homeless people throughout the city.

Residents of one Portland neighborhood say they are fed up with the growing homeless crisis after their area was cleared just to see encampments pop back up hours later.

In the southeast part of the city, Ronny McFarland said unhoused individuals have lived on his block for two years and has witnessed everything from fights to strewn garbage to drugs littered on the street.

'Everybody wants to leave, all my neighbors are talking about moving,' McFarland told Portland station KOIN.

'Everyone's starting to look for something else. We are too. At this point, we've been house shopping trying to find a neighborhood where we don't have to deal with it,' the man said.

McFarland said the issue on his street has become so out of control that the homeless encampments take up the entire sidewalk.
Landon, 43, will appear in court on May 9 and has filed a motion to be allowed access to a psychiatrist

A stepmother accused of killing her boyfriend's young daughter could face the death penalty over her alleged murder  as DailyMail.com picture her with her father and alleged killer for the first time.

Bella Fontanelle, 6, was found dead inside a chlorine drum outside of her mother's home in Harahan, Louisiana, on Wednesday.

She had been staying with her father, Michael Fontanelle, at the home he shared with his long-time girlfriend Bunnak 'Hannah' Landon, 43.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office say Landon strangled and beat the little girl before stuffing her body into a 10-gallon bucket and dragging it on a wagon for half a mile before dumping it on Bella's mother's lawn.

Chilling footage shows a woman, who police say is Landon, calmly dragging the bucket in the direction of Jennifer Zeledon's home.

Bella Fontanelle, 6, was found dead inside a bucket on the lawn of her mothers property. Pictured: With her father Michael Fontanelle (left) and alleged killer Bunnak Landon (center)

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office say that Landon strangled and beat the little girl before stuffing her body into a 10-gallon bucket

Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com show Michael and Bella smiling next to Landon, with the schoolgirl and her stepmother dressed up in 'princess' dresses'.

Landon  who also goes by Bunnak Lim  has been charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justices and is currently on suicide watch in Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

She could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree murder, with court documents obtained by DailyMail.com showing that her lawyers have requested she be granted access to a psychiatrist.

Authorities confirmed that they had interviewed both parents, and ruled them out as suspects in Bella's death.

Michael alerted police that his girlfriend and young daughter were missing from the property on Wednesday morning. His elder daughter, 7, was still in the house.

Police then went to her mother's property just one block away and discovered the bucket and Bella's remains  which were in a fetal position.

Landon was arrested after authorities tracked her down to a local hospital. She had handed herself into police HQ shortly after midnight and officers had taken her in for an evaluation.

It is unclear why the missing person report was not linked to Landon earlier, not what she said or did to cause officers to seek an evaluation into her mental state.

St Matthew The Apostle School canceled classes for the rest of the week following the gruesome discovery.

Hannah Landon, 43, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering her boyfriend's six-year-old daughter, stuffing her body into a chlorine bucket and dumping it at the girl's mother's house

Security footage captured a woman  who police say is Landon  pulling the bucket on a wagon meant for a child the night of April 25

TIMELINE OF BELLA'S DISAPPEARANCE April 25 9.35pm: Bunnak 'Hannah' Landon is seen pulling a wagon with the chlorine bucket on CCTV. 12.01am: Landon attends a police HQ where she is then taken for assessment at a hospital April 26 7.30am: Michael Fontanelle reports Bella and Landon missing at the Harahan Police Department. 7.45am: Police arrive at his home on Donelon Drive to search for Bella. 8.20am: Officers search Bella's mothers' residents two blocks away on Sedgefield Drive. Bella's remains are discovered inside the blue barrel in the front yard. 2pm: Detectives track down Landon to a local hospital and is arrested for first-degree murder. Advertisement

Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said the cause of death was 'manual strangulation, with blunt force trauma to the head.' Police have not yet confirmed a motive.

Her family have set up a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral costs for the 'amazing little soul' who was 'taken too soon.

Landon's arrest comes after several incidents between her and Bella's mother, Jennifer, dating back several years.

In 2021 Landon filed for a restraining order against Bella's mother Jennifer, and aunt Evelyn, claiming that she feared for her safety.

The order was ultimately rejected, but court documents seen by DailyMail.com show that there was an altercation at a swim meet for Bella.

Attorney at Bagert Law, Cody Loggins, who represented Landon in her bid for a restraining order, told DailyMail.com that she discharged the firm after it was thrown out by a judge.

He added: 'Michael Fontenelle and Landon both gave statements and were cross-examined during the hearing.

'When she came into the office she very much seemed to care for Bella. She was supportive. She said that she cared for her and was excited for her swimming.

'The issue was that there was an argument over who was holding the child. Hannah was holding Bell and I believe her mother came over and wanted to take the child.

'Hannah said it was Michael's decision, it was his weekend and so it was up to him. The argument ensued after that.

Bella had been staying with her father, Michael Fontenelle, at the home he shared with his long-time girlfriend Bunnak 'Hannah' Landon, 43. Pictured: Landon with Bella

Authorities say Bella's father called the police station on April 26 to report that his youngest daughter and girlfriend were missing

Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said the cause of death was 'manual strangulation, with blunt force trauma to the head.' Police have not yet confirmed a motive

'Michael was on the other side of the pool and gave a statement on what he did and did not see. He was supportive of Hannah and was her witness when he gave testimony.

'There had been other altercations and arguments between the mothers and Hannah, as well as the mother's sister.

'The facts didn't provide enough evidence to warrant the judge approving the order, so it was declined.

'Ultimately that incident had nothing to do with the child, it was to do with preventing an assault from one adult on another.'

Police reports seen by DailyMail.com show that Jennifer called the police after Landon refused to allow her to give her a hug.

Jennifer's sister Evelyn told police that Landon would not allow Jennifer to see her daughter because it was Michael's 'custody day'.

A GoFundMe for Bella's funeral expenses has already raised over $30,000

Police Chief Ed Lepre says his office is working to get justice for the little girl who was killed last week

He said that her mother was allowed to hug her for 'one minute', and the family alleged that Landon then started recording the incident.

Evelyn and Landon then became embroiled in a physical altercation, alleging that Landon pulled Evelyn's hair and 'scratched' her face.

At the time officers described Landon as 'extremely uncooperative', before she claimed that she was 'attacked unprovoked'.

When speaking to officers, Michael reportedly told them he did not witness the incident and so was 'unable to provide a statement or corroborate Landon's account'.

Several months later, FOX 8 reports, the two women got into another physical altercation at one of the daughters' soccer games.

Paying tribute to the schoolgirl, her aunt Bianca Cano wrote in a GoFundMe: 'This senseless and heinous act has forever destroyed my family.

Aunt Bianca Cano described her young niece as 'an amazing little soul' who was taken too soon

Harahan police are seen here investigating the Harahan, Louisiana home Landon shared with Bella's father

Bella is pictured at one of her birthday parties dressed as Jasmine from Aladdin

'No words can describe the pain that is running through our bodies,' she continued. 'It's truly inhumane.'

'The world is so unjust. You were given to us for six amazing years. You were beyond perfection.

'Your beautiful little voice, your funny personality, the way you danced, the way you were so delicate and fragile, your smile, your laugh, the way you expressed yourself. I can go on and on about how amazing this little soul was.'

She then thanked 'everyone again from the bottom of our hearts during these horrible, trying days.

'No person should ever go through what we are going through [much] less a mother and father having to lay to rest a child.'

Landon will next appear in court on May 9.
Dutch police arrested a man in a drunk driving incident over the weekend, and discovered that his driver's licence named him as 'Boris Johnson'.

The fake Ukrainian driving licence, complete with the former British prime minister's picture and correct birth date, was 'issued' on 24 July 2019 - the date he moved into 10 Downing Street as the UK's leader - and is valid until the end of the year 3000.

Police spokesman Thijs Damstra said officers investigated an incident shortly after midnight Sunday when a car crashed into a pole near the Emma Bridge in the northern city of Groningen.

The car was abandoned but police were later told that the driver was standing on the bridge.

'The person could not identify himself and refused to undertake a breathalyser test,' Damstra told AFP.

This image taken from the Instagram account of Netherlands's Police Groningen Centrum on May 1, 2023, shows an official holding a Ukranian driving licence featuring an image of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in Groningen, after a driver was arrested and the item was recovered from his vehicle

The 35-year-old man, from the small town of Zuidhorn west of Groningen, was arrested and police searched his car.

'Inside, police found a fake drivers licence belonging to Boris Johnson,' Damstra said.

'Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery,' Groningen police said on its Instagram account.

Police could not say where the forged document was made but former Russia correspondent Kysia Hekster, in a tweet published by the NOS, said that fake driver's licences could easily be bought in tourist shops in Ukraine.

Damstra added, 'As far as I'm aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.'
Lori Vallow's hair was found on duct tape that was wrapped around her son after he was suffocated inside a plastic bag, the cult mom's murder trial heard today.

Keeley Coleman, a senior DNA analyst at Bode Technology in Virginia, told the court that she was sent genetic profiles for Vallow along with hair that was attached to the piece of adhesive. She determined the hair belonged to the alleged killer.

Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell are accused of suffocating JJ by taping a bag over his head and then burying him in Daybell's yard in Rexburg, Idaho. His sister Tylee, 16, was burned and dismembered and buried a short distance away. The couple believed the children were Satanic 'zombies'.

They are further accused of killing Daybell's wife Tammy in October, 2019 - a month after the kids were killed. Two weeks after Tammy's death they married in Hawaii. The children were not found until June 2020 - nine months after they were murdered.

Coleman told the Ada County Courthouse in Boise that in May 2022 she received three DNA profiles from Vallow, Tylee and Melanie Gibb - Vallow's former best friend.

Lori Vallow denies two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths of her two children and Tammy Daybell. She further denies grand theft for allegedly collecting government benefits on behalf of her children after they were killed.

Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell are accused of suffocating JJ by taping a bag over his head and then burying him in Daybell's yard in Rexburg, Idaho

The children's bodies were discovered in shallow graves on Daybell's property on June 9, 2020 - nine months after they vanished

She also received several items of evidence including the piece of tape that had been wrapped around JJ which had hair attached to it.

Jurors have heard that the boy had tape around his mouth and neck, and binding his arms and ankles. There was tape around the plastic bags in which he was buried.

'The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided for Lori Vallow,' Coleman told jurors.

'The probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile is 1 in 71 billion.'

Coleman's bombshell evidence comes after Dr Garth Warren, of the Ada County Coroner's Office, last week revealed for the first time how JJ was killed.

He determined JJ's cause of death was 'asphyxia by plastic bag over the head and duct tape over the mouth.' The coroner suggested the boy had scratched his own neck as he struggled to break free.

Tylee's body was burned and dismembered meaning the coroner was only able to say she died by homicide but could not state how.



The children were missing for almost a year before their corpses were found buried in Daybell's yard on June 9, 2020.

During the opening, prosecutor Lindsey Blake described how charred remains were all that was left of Tylee.

She told jurors: 'You will hear it explained as a mass of bone and tissue. That's what was left of this beautiful young woman.'

Tylee's DNA was later found on a pickaxe and shovel in a shed on the property.

JJ's body was wrapped in trash bags and duct tape - the tape binding his arms in front of him and wrapping around his head.

Chad Daybell appears during a court hearing in St. Anthony, Idaho, Aug. 4, 2020

Vallow's children, Tylee and JJ disappeared in September 2019, but their remains were not discovered until the following June

Tylee, 16, and JJ, seven, are shown with their uncle, Alex Cox, in what is believed to be the final photo of them, taken during a family trip to Yellowstone National Park on September 8, 2019

The two children and Daybell's previous wife Tammy were all killed because they stood in the way of the couple's relationship, the State says.

'Remember, the defendant will remove any obstacle in her way to get what she wants, and she wanted Chad Daybell,' Blake told jurors.

'The defendant used money, power and sex to get what she wanted.'

Jurors have heard from friends and relatives of Vallow that she and Daybell believed the children were 'dark' and referred to them as 'zombies' before they disappeared.

'The common theme was the body has to be destroyed,' Blake said. 'The defendant and Chad used their self-proclaimed religious teachings to justify their actions to others  their actions from affair to murder.'

The key individuals in Lori Vallow's tangled family tree, including her five husbands, two dead children and killer brother

Prosecutors say the couple planned to use life insurance money from Tammy's death, and that Vallow kept collecting and spending the children's social security and benefits after they died.

The trial opened on April 10 and the State is still laying out its case.

Vallow denies two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths of her two children and Tammy Daybell.

She further denies grand theft for allegedly collecting government benefits on behalf of her children after they were killed.

Daybell is being tried separately.
A hunt for jewellery looted by the Nazis during World War Two has failed to unearth any treasure after a map claimed to show where loot was buried in a Dutch village.

Archaeologists and historians in the village of Ommeren, about 50 miles south-east of Amsterdam, pushed a detection device called a magnetometer along a row of fruit trees and across a field on Monday morning, using a mechanical digger to excavate holes in the soil.

The search - which hoped to dig up four boxes filled with valuables - turned up little more than a Second World War-era bullet, some twisted scrap metal, a crumpled car wheel and muddy boots.

Municipal officials hope that the failure of the team  that included members of a local historical society and university archaeologists  to find treasure will put an end to amateur sleuths visiting the village.

'I think there's minimal chance of finding anything. We dug three holes here of places where we could find through the magnetometer. There was a signal, and none of these holes have found the treasure,' said archaeologist Martijn Bink. 'So I think this is all what we'll do. We won't go any further.'

An officially sanctioned hunt for jewellery looted by the Nazis during World War Two has failed to unearth any treasure. Employees of the Historical Circle Kesteren are pictured in their fruitless search for the treasure in Ommeren, the Netherlands today

A map showing a cross-section of the road where the Nazi loot was reportedly buried in Ommeren, near Arnhem, at the National Archive of the Netherlands in The Hague

Maps leading to a possible Nazi treasure in Ommeren are seen during the annual Open Access Day of the National Archives in The Hague, Netherlands on January 3, 2023

The local municipality helped fund the latest search after the publication early this year of a hand-drawn map with a red letter X supposedly marking the spot where Nazi troops buried jewellery stolen from a blown-up bank vault.

The appearance of the map sparked a modern-day treasure hunt, with prospectors using metal detectors digging up sites around Ommeren despite a ban.

'A lot of people came digging here without permission. Caused a lot of inconvenience for the residents,' said Pieter Neven of Buren municipality.

The treasure hunts began after the Dutch National Archive published a mountain of documents  as it does at the start of each year  including the map, which swiftly went viral.

'We're quite astonished about the story itself. But the attention it's getting as well,' National Archive researcher Annet Waalkens said in January.

She said the story started in the summer of 1944 in the Nazi-occupied city of Arnhem  made famous by the star-studded movie A Bridge Too Far  when a bomb smashed a bank vault, scattering gold, jewellery and cash across a street.

German forces scooped up as much of the loot as they could and kept it in ammunition boxes, she said, citing an account by a German soldier interviewed by Dutch authorities after the war.

As the Germans were pushed back by an Allied advance, they buried the ammunition boxes in Ommeren, according to the soldier's account.

Dutch authorities recovered the map and searched Ommeren shortly after the war without finding anything. Then the scent went cold until publication of the map triggered the January hunt.

Monday's archaeological efforts also dug up nothing and may have buried the last hope of recovering the loot.

In January 2023 it was announced that during the Second World War, Germans would have buried a gold treasure in the village of Gelderland with valuables that had been captured from an Arnhem bank

The appearance of the map sparked a modern-day treasure hunt, with prospectors using metal detectors digging up sites around Ommeren despite a ban

A treasure map was found in the National Archives showing the place where the treasure was buried

The search turned up little more than a Second World War-era bullet, some twisted scrap metal, a crumpled car wheel and muddy boots

Local historian Joke Honders said she was prepared for disappointment.

We are turning it into a little booklet and thats that, she told broadcaster NOS.

Honders said she cant be sure the treasure is not in Ommeren.

Perhaps the soldier who did the drawing had a different spot in mind from how it ended up like on the map. And the question remains: where did it go? she said.

Buren council chief Pieter Neven said the final dig should put an end to the speculation as well as unwanted visitors. The most likely places have been investigated and this is it, he told the broadcaster.

It has been no fun for the locals to have people digging great big holes on their properties. They were pretty fed up with it, he said.

Pictured: A general view of a street in the Dutch village of Ommeren, Netherlands

Pictured: Maps to a possible Nazi treasure in Ommeren in the National Archives during the annual Open Access Day
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe has become the unlikely defender of King Charles, amid a push for Australia and New Zealand to ditch its ties with the British monarchy and become republics.

The Gladiator star Mr Crowe, 59, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in Australia, however, was quick to jump to the King's defence, calling him a 'good bloke' who 'was kind' and 'also funny'.

Reflecting on when he met the monarch 20 years ago at a film premier in London, Mr Crowe wrote on Twitter: 'The man who would be King was kind. He was also funny.'

The King has faced a backlash as it was revealed people would be asked to swear allegiance to the new monarch and Queen consort during the historic Coronation ceremony this weekend.

Republican campaigners in the countries down under hit out at the decision, with the Australian Republic Movement calling on people to pledge allegiance to its country's values instead of Charles.

New Zealand-born actor has jumped to the defence of King Charles amid an ongoing push for Australia and New Zealand to step away from the British monarchy and become republics. Pictured: King Charles ad Russell Crowe at the Royal Premier of 'Master and Commander' in 2003

The Gladiator star, 59, (pictured) stepped up to become the unlikely defender of the new King calling him a 'good bloke' who 'was kind' and 'also funny

Writing a series of Tweets on Twitter, Mr Crowe reflected on when he met the monarch, adding that 'I don't think any of us can really understand what that life of duty and expectation must feel like'

But stepping in to defend him, Mr Crowe recounted a meeting with the then-Prince of Wales back in 2003, at the Royal film premiere of 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'.

He described the King as 'deeply intelligent and good company, and gallant in his deference to Dani's (Mr Crowe's ex-wife) pregnancy.'

He added: 'I'll never forget the warmth in our last handshake. Good bloke.

'I don't think any of us can really understand what that life of duty and expectation must feel like. He's taking over the family business. That is his destiny. Like it is for many, from publishers to plasterers.'

While Mr Crowe insisted he was 'not a monarchist' and would never call a royal 'your highness', even revealing he called Prince William and Prince Harry 'mate' when he met them, he made known that he had the uttermost respect for the King.

He added: 'I view the costumes and the ritual and the pageantry with distant interest, if any.

'I don't know what it's all supposed to mean in 2023, nor in any other time for that matter.

'I don't really think we need a King, but I'm sure Charles III will do the very best job he can.'

Yesterday's request from Lambeth Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, for people across the UK and the Commonwealth to make an oath to the King, fueled the debate further.

Members of the public have never before been asked to 'make their homage in heart and voice to their undoubted King', or Queen.

It is a trailblazing move to replace the historic rite of aristocrats pledging their oath to the new sovereign.

Only the Prince of Wales will now kneel before the King and pledge to be his 'liege man of life and limb'.

The order of service will read: 'All who so desire, in the Abbey, and elsewhere, say together: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.'

The backlash received from both home and abroad led Lambeth Palace to quickly clarify it was an 'invitation' not an instruction.

While Mr Crowe (pictured with the King in 2003) said he was not a 'monarchist' and would never call a royal 'your highness', even revealing he called Prince William and Prince Harry 'mate' when he met them, he made known that he had the uttermost respect for the King

More Commonwealth countries are taking steps back from the British monarchy. In February Australia decided to remove the British monarch from the last of its banknotes, although an image of Charles is expected to feature on coins. Pictured: The King, then Prince of Wales, on his tour of Australia in 2012

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has said he personally favours his country becoming a republic but it is not an issue he intends to push for while leader

New Zealand's novice Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he would favour his country to become a republic but added it is not a change he intends to push for while he is leader.

The comments were made to reporters as he prepares to embark on his trip to London for the King's Coronation this weekend.

Mr Hipkins said: 'Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world, as we by and large do now.

'I don't think that swapping out the governor-general for some other form of head of state is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though.'

As with many former British colonies, both New Zealand and Australia continue to wrestle with what - if any - constitutional role the British monarchy should play in the 21st century.

Barbados chose to become a republic in 2021, Jamaica said last year that it plans to pursue independence, and in February Australia decided to remove the British monarch from the last of its banknotes, although an image of Charles is expected to feature on coins.
The Duchess of Buccleuch has died aged 68 'after a short illness' following an operation, a statement on behalf of her family has said.

Born Lady Elizabeth Kerr in 1954, she married Richard Scott in 1981 and they went on to have four children.

While the Duke had been planning to attend this weekend's coronation, it is understood he is now unlikely to attend. He has previously served as steward of Westminster Abbey.

The family owns four estates in central Scotland, the Scottish Borders - where they serve as the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry - and rural Northamptonshire.

A private funeral service will be held in the Scottish Borders, with a service to celebrate her life to be announced at a later date.

The tenth Duchess of Buccleuch has died aged 68 'after a short illness' following an operation, her family said

Born Lady Elizabeth Kerr, she married Richard Scott in 1981 and they went on to have four children

Benny Higgins, the executive chairman of Buccleuch - which manages the business interests of the family, said: 'The Duke of Buccleuch and his family have announced that, very sadly, on Sunday morning the duchess died after a short illness following an operation.

'The duchess was the most wonderful, life-enhancing spirit and our hearts go out to the family as they come to terms with their loss.'

The duchess was educated at London School of Economics, gaining a bachelor's degree in sociology, before going on to work on BBC Radio 4's Kaleidoscope programme and then moving to BBC Radio Solway after marrying the Duke.

The Duke of Buccleuch (left) and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II attend the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland (also known as the Royal Company of Archers) Reddendo Parade in 2022

Her primary interest, however, was in the arts. The duchess founded the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, a leading literary award, for which she served as a judge.

She subsequently established the Young Walter Scott Prize for aspiring writers.

The duchess was also involved in a number of other arts organisations, serving as the chairwoman of Scottish Ballet and the Heritage Education Trust as well as a trustee of the National Museums of Scotland and the British Museum.

The Duchess was also a patron of the Royal Caledonian Ball.

She is survived by her husband, four children and 11 grandchildren.
A high-ranking Scotland Yard officer was allowed to keep his job despite being found to be a regular user of high-class prostitutes, the Mail can reveal today.

The middle-aged man, who commands a salary package of more than 100,000 a year, was given a minor rebuke when colleagues in the Mets Professional Standards unit discovered his sex shame.

The softly-softly handling of the case was in sharp contrast to the treatment of junior officers, who are frequently sacked for gross misconduct if they are found to be paying for sex.

Details of the latest scandal to engulf Britains biggest police force emerged weeks after a withering report found the Met to be broken and its rotten ranks riven with racism, misogyny and homophobia.

The review by Baroness Louise Casey prompted Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley to call for more power to sack hundreds of officers who are not fit to serve.

A high-ranking Scotland Yard officer was allowed to keep his job despite being found to be a regular user of high-class prostitutes, the Mail can reveal today

He said it was nonsensical that he was unable to remove staff who conducted themselves inappropriately at work and repeated his plea to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to amend this.

However his force was plunged into further controversy today as it declined to answer a series of key questions about the senior officer at the centre of the sex worker scandal.

Amid fears of a cover-up, whistle-blowers who alerted the Mail to the case said they were concerned about the double standards employed by the Met to sweep it under the carpet.

The senior officer at the centre of the row, who the Mail has decided not to name, is still serving in the capitals force. He had an important command position in London when, in 2019, he was found to be routinely paying hundreds of pounds for sex.

An examination of his phone during an investigation into unrelated allegations, which were later dropped, discovered his sordid habit.

Colleagues familiar with the case expected him to be hauled before a misconduct board and sacked for discreditable behaviour.

But instead, according to multiple sources, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, a close ally of then Met boss Cressida Dick, decided to give him words of advice  the lowest form of censure.

It meant the officer was allowed to keep his job and embarrassing details about his conduct were never made public.

Details of the latest scandal to engulf Britains biggest police force emerged weeks after a withering report - commissioned by Baroness Louise Casey (pictured in March) - found the Met to be broken and its rotten ranks riven with racism, misogyny and homophobia

Colleagues familiar with the case expected him to be hauled before a misconduct board and sacked for discreditable behaviour. But instead, according to multiple sources, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball (pictured in December 2021) decided to give him words of advice  the lowest form of censure

A source said: It was all kept incredibly tight. It appeared to be a clear case of gross misconduct, and should have gone to a hearing where details would have gone on the Mets website.

By using the services of sex workers, the senior officer was potentially exploiting vulnerable women, who we are supposed to protect, and leaving himself open to possible bribery attempts.

Another whistle-blower said: What this officer did was morally repugnant. He was using high-class prostitutes. It was a pattern of behaviour. The way this was handled is another indictment of Cressida Dicks regime.

A distinguished former chief constable, who spent his early career in the Met, said: When I joined the police, we were warned about the three Ps  property, prisoners and prostitutes. I am shocked to learn that this officer was allowed to keep his job.

Ex-Met chief superintendent Phil Flower, who held a senior position in the forces Professional Standards unit during his career, said: It is extremely surprising that a more robust decision was not taken in this matter. In my humble opinion, it should have been referred to a misconduct board which, if properly informed, would have imposed a much more significant penalty up to and including dismissal.

Earlier this month it emerged that Sir Mark, who succeeded Dame Cressida as Met chief in September, wrote to the Home Secretary and Mayor of London outlining his progress in improving standards.

He revealed that 161 officers with criminal convictions were serving in the force and 196 individuals accused of sexual offences or domestic abuse were facing risk management measures and the prospect of losing their jobs.

Sir Mark is under intense pressure to restore confidence after the force was rocked by scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by PC Wayne Couzens, who was a regular user of prostitutes, and firearms officer David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.

Baroness Casey, who spent a year examining the Yards culture and practices, said there was a rot at its heart that allowed racism to go unchallenged and predatory behaviour to flourish. She said successive Met commissioners had failed to ensure the integrity of its officers and the organisation.

Many officers in the Met and other forces are sacked for gross misconduct for using the services of sex workers, even when off duty.

Last year the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, Sarah Crew, issued a scathing statement after a junior officer who paid for sex was sacked by her force.

She said: We in policing know that sex workers are often vulnerable victims of exploitation, control and physical and sexual violence. Our role as police officers is to work with partner agencies to try to keep vulnerable people safe and signpost to support services.

The review by Baroness Louise prompted Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley (pictured last month) to call for more power to sack hundreds of officers who are not fit to serve

She also spoke of the potential for sex workers to be linked to organised crime groups which posed a risk to police integrity.

Scotland Yard said it would not respond directly to questions from the Mail about the sex worker scandal, saying that in line with national policy, it will identify officers subject of misconduct complaints only when they proceed to a formal public hearing.

On the general issue of police officers and sex workers, a spokesman said: The Met expects the highest standards. Officers must not to behave in a way that will discredit the police and undermine the publics confidence in us.

Police play a key role in protecting sex workers, both men and women, from physical and sexual violence, coercion, control and exploitation.

Alongside work being undertaken on a national level, the Met is finalising expectations of our workforce in this area.
The boss of the first town hall to introduce a four-day week is secretly working on a university thesis on the topic, it can be revealed.

South Cambridgeshire district council and its chief executive Liz Watts were hailed for the trial of staff working fewer hours on full pay.

But neither she nor the Lib Dem-run local authority has ever disclosed that she has spent the past three years studying for a PhD about the four-day working week.

Ms Watts is now facing calls to quit over the potential conflict of interest after being accused of treating staff and residents as guinea pigs for her research at the University of the West of England.

It comes ahead of a crucial meeting tomorrow where councillors  who were unaware of Ms Wattss academic work  will decide whether or not to extend the four-day week pilot for another year and include it to cover binmen and caretakers in addition to office staff.

South Cambridgeshire district council chief executive Liz Watts (pictured) is secretly working on a university thesis about the four-day working week, it can be revealed. But neither she nor the Lib Dem-run local authority has ever disclosed that she has spent the past three years studying for a PhD about the four-day working week

As the Mail told today, the council insists the system is working well but its own reports show that targets have been missed, councillors find it impossible to get hold of officials on Mondays and Fridays and even junior staff say they are not getting the training or supervision they need.

Anthony Browne, Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, told the Mail: The residents of South Cambs will be shocked that they have secretly been turned into guinea pigs for an ideological experiment for a PhD thesis.

People pay taxes to local government to provide essential services, not to be part of a sociological petri dish to provide data for a PhD to boost the CEOs career.

The chief executive is responsible for collecting and publishing her own data to prove her own strongly held beliefs, a clear conflict of interest that destroys the credibility of the experiment.

He went on: The fact that the CEO and leader have not declared this clear conflict of interest to the full council or to the public shows they know it is wrong, and it is.

The CEO Liz Watts and the council leader Bridget Smith have clearly colluded on turning residents into guinea pigs for a secret PhD thesis, and both should resign.

Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers Alliance, which is campaigning against the four-day week, said: Residents will be furious that their council is being used as a guinea pig.

The chief executive now has very serious questions to answer about her motivations.

Ms Watts is now facing calls to quit over the potential conflict of interest after being accused of treating staff and residents as guinea pigs for her research at the University of the West of England (pictured)

Ms Watts, who has worked at a string of English councils over the past decade, took the top job at South Cambs in September 2019. Latest accounts show she is paid 133,503 a year.

In 2020 she began her five-year Doctorate in Business Administration at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

Two years later the council announced it would undertake a trial of the four-day working week, but it has never mentioned Ms Watts academic interest in the topic in any documents or in public meetings.

A spokesman for South Cambs told the Mail: Liz Watts is undertaking a doctorate which she started during 2020. It is 100 per cent self-funded.

Members decision to trial a four-day week was in no way linked to Lizs study, but rather the result of the critical recruitment and retention issues facing the Council, as stated in the report.

Asked why it had never been publicly disclosed and if she had declared the matter internally, the council replied: Liz has been open and transparent about her doctorate within the Council.

Liz informed senior councillors and colleagues when she started her doctorate.

The use of any data is strictly regulated by the university and Liz has complied with all regulations.

Asked if she will use her experience at South Cambs in her thesis, the spokesman said: Data from the trial that is already available or will be made available to the public will be used in Lizs research  and we would expect other researchers in this field to make use of it too.
Production of Rust was suspended for more than a year after on-set death

Alec Baldwin has been spotted joking with the new Rust cinematographer as his on-screen son pointed a fake rifle down the camera.

Filming on Rust resumed earlier last month in Montana after prosecutors in New Mexico dropped manslaughter charges against Baldwin in the fatal on-set shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

The pictures show Baldwin, who plays Harlan Rust, kneeling by a grave while his on screen son runs with a rifle.

The young actor can be seen pointing the barrel of the gun directly down the lens in a similar fashion to the set up in which Hutchins was shot dead.

Rust, which tells the fictional tale of a man wrongly accused of murder, moved filming to Big Sky Country after production was suspended for more than a year in the wake of the real-life death.

Alec Baldwin has been spotted joking with the new Rust cinematographer as his on-screen son pointed a fake rifle down the camera

The young actor can be seen putting a gun directly down the camera lens

Other images captured on the set in Montana show the young actor running with the fake rifle

Another angle of the young actor pointing the firearm directly at the camera lens

Baldwin kneels before a grave on the set of the Western film in Montana as filming kickstarted

Pictured: Baldwin and replacement cinematographer Cline are seen on set together this week

Pictured: Baldwin dressed as an outlaw wanders the set in Montana

Ukrainian Hutchins, 42, died when a prop Colt .45 pistol was accidentally loaded with a live round and fired at the mom-of-one by Baldwin, 65, in October 2021.

At the time of the incident, cast members including Baldwin, Jensen Ackles and Travis Hammer were working on a mock gunfight being filmed inside the old West church on the Bonanza Creek set in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The 30 Rock star will be in Montana until May 22 to continue the production of Rust. Filming ceased in October 2021 following the shooting.

Armorer Hannah Guterriez-Reed, who was charged alongside Baldwin, will play no further part in Rust and still faces manslaughter charges over her role in Hutchins' death.

Production has moved to Montana and is taking place on the same set where the hit show Yellowstone is filmed.

Pictured: New cinematographer Bianca Cline on the set

In character: Baldwin prepares to kneel before a grave in a scene from the Western

Pictured: Baldwin and Cline exchange a conversation on the set of the film

Baldwin is spotted with his hair slicked back and a full beard as filming continued on the set

The veteran actor marches across the new Rust set in Montana with his hands in his pockets this week

Pictured: Baldwin wanders the new set of the film in Montana while in costume

Replacement cinematographer Bianca Cline is spotted on set almost two years after her predecessor died during filming

The young actor in the movie poses with a rifle as he chases a wolf

Cline looks on as a camera rig is set up

Baldwin had initially been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins' death but the charges were dropped less than 24 hours before the Rust reshoot got underway.

The veteran actor celebrated by posting a photo of wife Hilaria, 39, and crediting her with 'saving my life'. In return, she posted a snap of herself curled up on his lap.

Although the actor settled a wrongful death civil suit with Hutchins' widower Matthew  now an executive producer on the film  he is currently fighting a second civil suit over the 42-year-old's death filed by her parents and sister.

The original armorer hired for the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, of Bullhead City, Arizona, is still facing criminal charges over the accident.

The rookie, who had been expected to do double duty as an assistant prop master according to the call sheet, is scheduled to face a preliminary hearing in August.

She is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and stands accused of 'sloppy mishandling of firearms' according to prosecution documents.

Charges were dropped because new evidence showed that the gun could indeed have fired without the trigger being pulled, a source told The Wall Street Journal.

Earlier pictures show Baldwin handing a prop gun to another crew member, holding it by the barrel while filming

Images show Baldwin practicing drawing his revolver on the set of Rust

Baldwin fired the prop gun (pictured) that killed Hutchins and injured another crew member on the set

Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on the set of the movie Rust in October 2021

Baldwin is pictured on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office shortly after the fatal shooting

The original armorer hired for the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, of Bullhead City, Arizona, is still facing criminal charges over the accident

The prosecutors confirmed they had obtained 'new facts' about the circumstances around the shooting, which led them to dismiss the existing charges against Baldwin.

The armorer who provided the prop gun, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is still being prosecuted as planned.

Baldwin's legal team have been waging a fierce battle on his behalf.

They have insisted that the Oscar-nominated actor was not responsible for the accident because he was told the gun was 'cold' - not loaded.

There should never be live ammunition on set, and Baldwin said he trusted the film crew to carry out their professional responsibilities in sourcing prop guns and dummy ammunition.

His lawyers also challenged the impartiality of the Santa Fe prosecutor, Mary Carmack-Altwies.

She was removed from the case in February, after Baldwin's lawyers successfully pointed out that she could not oversee the case while running for state Senate.

The 30 Rock star will be in Montana until May 22 to continue the production of Rust. Filming ceased in October 2021 following the shooting.
Garduno will be allowed to remain free during the proceedings and will continue to fulfill his role as the agency's chief

The migrants died after one or two of them set mattresses on fire inside a jail cell

Francisco Garduno, the director of Mexico's National Migration Institute, will stand trial over the deaths of 40 migrants at a detention center on March 27

The head of Mexico's immigration agency has been charged for the fire that killed 40 migrants at a detention center in the northern border town of Ciudad Juarez last month.

Judge Victor Hernandez found that there was enough evidence for Francisco Garduno, director of the National Migration Institute, to stand trial during a hearing that was held Sunday.

Hernandez sided with the Attorney General's Office assessment of Garduno, that while it was impossible for him to present at several places at the same time, it was his rightful duty as the agency's director to protect the livelihood of all of the migrants who were held at the holding facility.

In addition, he agreed that the National Migration Institute director disregarded reports of overcrowding, lack of water and sanitation issues at the detention center.

A security guard sits while migrants gather near a cell door at a migrant detention center in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, where 40 detainees were killed during a fire on March 27

National Immigration Institute director, Francisco Garduno, will have to stand trial for the fire that killed 40 migrants at a detention center in Ciudad Juarez on March 27, a judge announced Sunday. However, Garduno will continue to perform his duties as the agency chief and will allowed to remain free during the proceedings

Garduno will be allowed to remain free during the proceedings and will be allowed to perform his role as the agency director after Hernandez rejected a petition from the prosecutors to remove him.

His lawyer, Rodolfo Perez, told The Associated Press that they will try to reach an agreement for reparations to the victims in order to avoid a trial.

'I will keep working  until othered otherwise,' Garduno told a bevy of reporters after leaving the Chihuahua Federal Criminal Justice Center.

The March 27 fire was reportedly initiated by one or more of the migrants to protest the inhumane conditions at the Ciudad Juarez detention center.

Surveillance camera footage showed migrants placing mattresses behind the jail cell bars moments before smoke engulfed the area. None of the guards present attempted to open the cell doors to the detainees.

The migrants placed mattresses behind the cell bars to block the view of the guards moments before at least one or two of the detainees set the mattresses on fire

An immigration detention center guard looks into the jail cell moments before the migrant detainees set mattresses on fire in an incident that left 40 migrants dead and two dozen injured on March 27

Female detainees in a dorm room react to the smell of smoke at the Ciudad Juarez detention. center where 40 male migrants were killed March 27

At least 68 migrants, most from Central America, were in the cell at the time of the fire and two dozen were treated for injuries.

Despite the charges, Garduno continued to receive the backing of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The president refused to comment on him during his daily press briefing Monday, comparing reports of the charges to sensationalist journalism.

'I no longer want the yellow journalism to be used in the Mexican press as news,' Lopez Obrador said. 'If I tell you something about Garduno, tomorrow that is the cover, 'Garduno in the headlines'. Yes, we are going to do a review and we are going to inform you.'
A neighborhood of $1 million 3-D printed homes has gone up for sale in the middle of the West Texas desert.

The luxury community, Sunday Homes, is being built in Marfa - an eccentric city with just 1,981 residents that overlooks the Davis Mountains.

Marfa is known for its quirky arts installations and is most famed for a fake Prada store that appears to sit in the middle of the desert.

The Sunday Homes estate will feature between 30 and 40 residential houses and even a hotel.

Austin developer El Cosmico teamed up with printing firm ICON and Danish design firm Bjarke Ingels Group to develop the complex.

A neighborhood of $1 million 3-D printed homes has gone up for sale in the middle of the West Texas desert

Homes are being made using ICON's 3D printer The Vulcan which uses a mix of cement, sand and water as filament.

The filament is effectively an ink that comes out of the printer like thick ribbons which are stacked on top of each other.

All the components of the home - for instance, the walls and roof - are printed separately then slotted together afterwards.

The printer can build properties in as little as 48 hours.

Homes built this way have become increasingly popular because they are quick to erect, with developers saying they could solve America's housing crisis.

Sales of properties in the Sunday Homes community began last week and are being marketed by real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman.

Homes will be between 1,200 and 2,200-sqaure-feet and will feature three and four bedrooms.

The designs are filled with soft shapes, curved surfaces and domes, developers said.

On-site will be the Lambert's nearby El Cosmico hotel which is being moved into the community.

The Sunday Homes community is being built in Marfa - an eccentric city with just 1,981 residents that overlooks the Davis Mountains.

The homes will be between 1,200 and 2,200-sqaure-feet and will feature three and four bedrooms

3-D printers can build properties in as little as 48 hours

All the components of the home - for instance, the walls and roof - are printed separately then slotted together afterwards

El Cosmico first opened in Marfa in 2009 and is described as a 'campground hotel for intrepid travelers.'

It features tepees, trailers, yurts and a tiny home called the Cosmic Kasita.

The original hotel will be reincarnated on the estate and will feature a host of fully 3D-printed amenities including a hammam, an infinity pool, bar, stage, outdoor communal kitchen, open-air bathhouse and on-side restaurant.

Homeowners who scoop up properties in the complex will also have access to the hotel facilities.

The properties will begin at $900,000 and require a $5,000 deposit to apply. Owners are expected to be able to move in in the second half of 2024.

Marfa is a major tourist destination and center for minimalist art.

It has been labelled one of the last American frontiers, known for its vast desert land.

The city also boasts an array of art museums and spaces like the Ballroom Marfa - a minimalist gallery.

And it is perhaps most famed for its 'Prada Marfa' store which looks like a designer store but is actually a permanent art installation.

Marfa is famed for a number of its art installations including a fake Prada store built in 2005

It was built in 2005 by Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset in protest of high-priced commercialism which had gentrified much of America in the 1990s.

In 2014, Beyonce posted a shot of the store to her Instagram - with no caption

The development of the Sunday Homes community comes after researchers unveiled a similar 3-D printed recyclable 'tiny home' in Maine.

Complete with stylish, modern interiors, the one-bedroom home was printed on the world's largest polymer 3D printer by researchers at the University of Maine.

The 'BioHome 3D' claims to be the first of its kind with its roof, floors and walls all printed out from bio-based materials.

ICON has previously produced a range of 3-D home models ranging from 350-squaree-feet to 2,000-square-feet.
Dozens of suspected migrants trying to enter the country in small boats have been picked up today - just hours after Albania's Prime Minister launched another scathing attack on the UK.

A boat carrying approximately 80 people believed to be migrants was seen entering Dover this morning and at least one small child was seen disembarking.

Figures showed that at least 13,000 Albanians entered Britain on small boats last year - just under a third of all arrivals.

Edi Rama said earlier today the UK was in 'a bad place' and having a 'nervous breakdown' over the flow of thousands of people from the Continent in small boats.

Prime Minister Rama signed a deal with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in December to stem the flow of illegal immigration as part of one of Sunak's key pledges but has made no secret of his dislike of incendiary rhetoric used by senior British politicians.

A young child was seen amongst the migrants disembarking in Dover on May 1. Around 80 people were seen leaving a boat

Border Force picked up a boat carrying an estimated 80 migrants on Monday morning - including a small girl

Albania's Prime Minister has already attacked the language used by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Commons last year when she blasted 'Albanian criminals' sneaking into the UK.

Speaking at an economic event in Greece, Mr Rama said the UK was targeting his nation 'to feel like they still have muscle'.

'We have fought against [this language] and now we see they have calmed down a bit. But they are going through something of a nervous breakdown as a country so we have to understand them,' he told the Delphi Economic Forum, according to the Independent.

'It is not something we can't understand, we have to understand them. They have lost a lot of points of reference and they are really in a bad, bad place.'

It came as a Border Force boat carrying 80 migrants picked up in the Channel arrived in Dover this morning.

People who are believed to be migrants disembark the boat on May 1 following a small boat incident in the Channel

Border force officials escort 80 migrants into Dover Docks, Kent. Border Force help them ashore over 5,000 migrants are reported to have crossed the Channel so far this year

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel

Speaking at an economic event in Greece, Mr Rama said the UK was targeting his nation 'to feel like they still have muscle'

It came as a Border Force boat carrying 80 migrants picked up in the Channel arrived in Dover this morning

Mr Rama signed a bilateral deal with Rishi Sunak in December designed in part to help tackle illegal immigration.

But he has made no secret of his distaste for remarks made by Ms Braverman and others.

But figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show 75 per cent of Albanian nationals who have arrived illegally have since committed at least one criminal offence in the UK.

And 30 per cent of Britain's class-A drug trade is now controlled by Albanian gang lords.

Albanians  many of whom arrived illegally in Britain on lorries and small boats  are now the biggest contingent of foreign prisoners in UK jails, with 1,582 locked up here.

This year so far, 93 Albanians have been jailed  at a cost to the taxpayer of 17million  for serious offences such as murder, rape and kidnapping and burglary, including 14 in the past week.

Mr Rama, pictured meeting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March, said the UK was in 'a bad place' and having a 'nervous breakdown' over the flow of thousands of people from the Continent in small boats

He had already attacked the language used by Suella Braverman in the Commons last year when she blasted 'Albanian criminals' sneaking into the UK.

They include six killers, one rapist, a kidnapper, five class-A drug dealers and 56 cannabis growers.

Of the 93 jailed, at least 53 came to the UK illegally, either on small boats or in the back of lorries.

Albanians made up the biggest proportion of the more than 45,000 people who crossed the Channel illegally last year.

At one stage last summer, they represented 60 per cent of arrivals in small boats.

Thousands sought asylum, even though Albania is considered 'safe and hospitable' by the Foreign Office.

In a statement to MailOnline, a Home Office spokesperson said: 'The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

'Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.

'The government has gone further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.'
It might not be the south of France, but many of Britain's coastal towns have a je ne sais quoi that cannot be matched.

But several former holiday hotspots have been struggling to keep up with cheap foreign rates - while still battling the age-old problem of English weather.

In particular, the once-proud seaside towns of Clacton-on-Sea and Skegness have now been ranked as the worst beach holiday destinations in Britain in a new survey, with spots including Burnham-on-Sea, Mablethorpe and Southend-on-Sea sitting just above them in the ranking of 118 places.

Topping the table was Bamburgh in Northumberland, followed by Dartmouth in Devon, where a naval training college is based.

But locals have furiously defended their hometowns as the best places for a cheap getaway and said they love living there, especially compared to more hectic cities.

The once-proud seaside towns of Clacton-on-Sea (pictured) and Skegness have now been ranked as the worst beach holiday destinations in Britain

Nicola Irish, a life-long resident of Clacton-on-Sea, said she avoided going into the centre of town when the 'drunks' were out

Residents in Clacton-on-Sea said it was the kind of place where neighbours speak to each other in the street - although some admitted it desperately needed some looking after.

Janet Styles, 67, told MailOnline: 'Clacton is a lovely place to live.

'The people are friendly and everything you need is within walking distance. We've only lived here for a couple of years but now I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Her son Brad 25, added: 'It's great. It's the kind of place where people say hello to each other in the street.'

Fiona and Bryan Gleave chose to move Clacton to get away from the hustle and bustle of town life and to be close to her elderly father.

Fiona, 61, told MailOnline: 'We love it here. We moved here from Ipswich.

'We wanted to live here for the slower pace of life and to closer to my father who is getting on.'

Her husband Bryan, 55, added: 'I don't know why anyone would not like Clacton, we think it's great.

'But I suppose if they think it's awful I say: "Don't come."'

Healthcare assistant Busola Ashaka has only been in Clacton for one week but she says she loves it already.

Fiona and Bryan Gleave chose to move Clacton to get away from the hustle and bustle of town life and love the sea-side town

Janet Styles, 67, said the town was a lovely place to live and that people would stop to speak to each other on the street

Healthcare assistant Busola Ashaka has only been in Clacton for one week but she has fallen in love with the town already

A picture taken on the seafront in Skegness, another of the UK's worst seaside resorts, according to a recent survey

Ms Ashaka, 37, told MailOnline: 'We have only been living here for one week but we love it.

'The town is lovely and clean and we love walking on the beach. People are really friendly and everything is close by. We are happy to be here.

'We moved here from London. I am pleased to be out of the noise and the dirt of London.'

A young mum, who had come to the seaside town from nearby Colchester added: 'Clacton is a great place to bring the kids for a day out.

'The beach is lovely and clean and there are loads of activities for the children to do.'

However, not everyone who lives in the town loves Clacton-on-Sea.

Lifelong resident Nicola Irish told MailOnline: 'I've lived in Clacton all my life and now it is the pits.

'The promenade and the pier are great.

'But the town has become really run-down. It really needs money spent on it. If I have to come into town to go to the bank or something I come first thing in the morning.

'Because by lunchtime all the drunks and druggies have woken up and the town centre is like the zombie apocalypse!

'They're lying the street, drinking, begging, it's horrible!'

Locals in Skegness were similarly defensive about their hometown, although families said a day out had rocketed in price.

Clacton-on-Sea is ranked joint bottom in the survey of 118 seaside destinations with a customer score of 48 per cent. Pictured: East Jaywick, near Clacton, recently named as the most deprived neighbourhood in England

Skegness, Lincolnshire, was voted as the worst seaside town in Britain with an overall customer score of 48 per cent

Zoe Boon, 38, and husband David, 44, had ironically just returned from holidaying in the real Las Vegas.

Enjoyable a cheap doughnut snack with kids Felix, 13, and Willow, ten, they blamed high prices for driving families away from Skegness.

Mrs Boon, from Nottingham, said: 'It is funny Skegness scored highly for restaurants. It is either chips or McDonald's around here mainly.

'The other cheap and cheerful places around here are not family friendly due to the amount of stag and hen dos,

'I have been coming here since I was a child. Actually, I think it has got better over the years. Today it is actually warmer than Las Vegas.

'The trouble is it is cheaper to go abroad. It is expensive to keep the children entertained when there is not hotel with a pool.'

Nodding in agreement, David said: 'You take the kids in the arcades around here and you can spend 30 to 40 for half an hour of fun.'

The coupe agreed the town does not need money thrown at it to improve. Families just needed to be given more things to do which did not cost a fortune when the weather was bad.

Mrs Boon added: 'Each activity in Skegness costs 30 to 40 for a family. They need to think maybe about providing more free ones.'

For some visitors Skegness was just too brash - even for a Londoner like George Spyrou, 50, being given a tour of the town by girlfriend Shirley Choung, 44.

He shared the view of many other visitors that one of the main reasons for the decline of Skegness and similar resorts was the British weather.

He said: 'It is my first time up here and feels so much like winter I forgot it was May. It is very commercial in the town centre and not really my scene.'

Listening to a cacophony of Abba and The Jam blaring from music bars and arcades, Shirley added: 'You cannot change the sea view. But I prefer Scarborough because it is quieter.'

And while many of the pubs were heaving with revellers as the bank holiday got underway the beach and pier were deserted.

Clacton-on-Sea in Essex has been voted as one of the worst seaside holidays in the country

An amusements centre in Clacton-on-Sea. One resident said she avoided the town centre in the afternoon because of the 'drunks'

Editor of Which? Travel Rory Boland has called for more investment to help resorts such as Clacton and Skegness 'level up' and said the rankings were a 'shame' as the towns offer 'exactly' the type of seaside holiday Britons want. Pictured, Southend in June 1960

One of the few people out and about, Ashley Laud, 32, who walking his dog Louie along the prom, said: 'I have been coming here since I was young and the place is better than it used to be.

'The sea view has been basically wind turbines for the past ten years at least. When the proper summer is here it is heaving but on days like this it is just dark and gloomy.

'But the water looks brown too. But we keep coming here just to get away because it is only an hour from our home in Derby.'

Beckie and John Hallam, aged 32 and 34, were just leaving the resort after Beckie had enjoyed a week at Butlin's with her daughter.

Beckie did not agree that cheaper foreign holidays were luring visitors away. She said: 'It all depends what time of year you come here.

'Me and my daughter just spent the whole week at Butlin's and int only cost us 160 including food. It would have been 600 if we had come at Easter.

'The sea could be a bit cleaner because it never used to be brown. But it does not put people off. In June and July the whole seafront will be heaving and there is nowhere to sit down.'

Scaffolder John Hardwick, 59, from Chesterfield, enjoying the sands with daughter Katie, 24, blamed the economy for the lack of visitors.

He said: 'It is not the place. It is the cost of living crisis. Many of the rides are closed but there is no point in opening them up if they have to pay staff and there are no visitors.

'They have to wait for the sunshine. But personally I like it at this time of year when it is not crowded. It is so much more peaceful.'

Over a fish and chip supper, long-time visitors Michelle Watling, 57, and husband Ian, 59, from York, said price hikes were making their visits more expensive than their holidays abroad.

Ian Watling said: 'We have been coming to Skegness for years and seen it decline. People regard York as expensive but the price of a pint is the same here.'

Which? asked thousands of holidaymakers to rate coastal resorts they have visited across a range of categories including quality of beaches, seafront, tourist attractions, food and drink, scenery, peace and quiet, and value for money. Table courtesy of Which?

Michelle added: 'We have been coming here 12 years and it is not like it used to be. The prices have gone up and up in the bars.

'We feel they are taking advantage of us. We have just paid 300 for two nights in the Premier Inn. It's mental. It is more expensive coming here than when we got to Tenerife.

'If we were young family with kids again we could not even afford a caravan holiday here.'

Simon Barstow, 49, who lives locally, said over a pint at a seafront pub, said: 'This is s***hole. We only come to the seafront to walk the dog.

'It is as cheap to go to Spain for a week as it is for ten days in Skegness so there's no wonder why people prefer to go abroad.

'There used to be a caravan park here exclusively for Yorkshire miners it was that popular. But things have changed.'

Jed Vawser, 48, originally from March, Cambridgeshire, disagreed. He said: 'At the end of the day Skegness is a party town so people should not complain about a lack of peace and quiet.

'I come here all all the time for the scooter events and there is something going on for everyone at different times of year, including a reggae weekend.'

Leading hotelier Nigel Underwood added: 'Which? Trot out the same thing every year - but it does not seem to bother the customers so I am not bothered.'
Video footage appears to show the beating in the hallway of the school's 9th Grade Center

The brutal attack occurred at Westfield High School in Spring, 20 miles north of Houston on April 27

A mob of ninth-grade students has beaten up an assistant principal in Texas, who had to be rushed to hospital with serious head injuries.

The pupils at Westfield High School in Spring, 20 miles north of Houston, pummeled the administrator to the ground as she tried to break up a fight.

Video footage appears to show the brutal beating on Thursday, April 27, at the school's 9th Grade Center, which the teacher's family have said left her unable to speak.

The father of the victim said she is suffering from excruciating head pain and needed a CT scan after the incident.

Other staff members have now come forward to say they do not feel safe at work, and that parents would be 'upset' if they knew how unsafe the inside of the school is.

The unnamed female assistant principal was breaking up a fight between two students

Video footage appears to show the brutal beating on Thursday, April 27, at the 9th Grade Center at Westfield High School in Spring



Another teacher at the school told Click 2 Houston: 'Three or four other kids jumped in on her. Just pummeled her to the ground, and they started kicking her and pulling her hair.'

'She loves those kids. She is the nicest person, and shes the best administrator that we have at Westfield High School. It broke my heart. It makes me want to cry,' she said.

The teacher, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from the Spring Independent School District, told the outlet she felt compelled to speak out following the shocking incident.

She said members of staff do not feel safe on campus, where there are only two officers and nearly 3,000 students.

'When you call for help to the front office, nobody ever shows up. We dont feel safe. Faculty dont feel safe. If the parents knew how unsafe the inside of the school is, they would be upset,' she added.

Many people took to social media to express their disgust at the incident, with users describing the footage as 'heartbreaking' and 'disturbing'.

They called for those responsible to be expelled for their actions, with some going as far to say they should be tried as adults in court.

'I am so heartbroken. These kids should all be prosecuted and their parents too,' one user wrote.

Another faculty member at the school has spoken out following the shocking attack

Laura Hunter is principal of the school, which is within the Spring Independent School District

The Spring Independent School District confirmed the incident in a statement to DailyMail.com:

'On Thursday, April 27, an altercation occurred between two students at Westfield High School 9th Grade Center,' it read.

'Unfortunately, a staff member who was attempting to intervene and stop the altercation was injured.

'The staff member was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and was released later that evening.

'As a point of clarification, the staff member was never the intended target of the altercation. The staff member was injured as a result of trying to de-escalate the situation.'

The district said it was conducting a full investigation of all students involved and that some had already been identified for disciplinary action.

'We take the safety of our students and staff very seriously, and there will be no tolerance for any altercations or disruptions to learning at any of our schools,' the statement added.
The White House said Monday that Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, with more than 20,000 killed in action, during just the past five months amid the grinding conflict in Ukraine.

It reflects how Moscow's hopes of rapid victory gave way to a brutal war of attrition that carries a huge cost.

Coupled with previous estimates by other U.S. officials it could put the total number of Russian casualties at 200,000 since Moscow invaded last year.

John Kirby, White House security spokesman, said Russia's attempt at an offensive in the eastern Donbas region, through the city of Bakhmut, had largely failed.

'For Russia this attempted effort, particularly in Bakhmut, has come at a terribly, terribly high cost,' he told reporters.

John Kirby, White House security spokesman, said Russia's attempt at an offensive in the eastern Donbas region, through the city of Bakhmut, had largely failed

Police are seen at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region

'Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces and since December alone ... we estimate Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 Killed in action, nearly half of whom were Wagner soldiers, the majority of whom were Russian convicts that were thrown into combat... [without] sufficient combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control.'

He said the information was based on newly declassified intelligence but did not offer further details.

Wagner is a Russian paramilitary force that is providing the backbone for the Russian military in some areas.

At the weekend, its leader said he may be forced to withdraw from Bakhmut amid mounting casualties, and said he had appealed to Moscow for more ammunition.

'Every day we have stacks of thousands of bodies that we put in coffins and send home,' Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview with a Russian military blogger.

The new casualty estimates suggests Russian losses have accelerated in recent months.

Last November, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. believed Russian had suffered 100,000 troops killed or wounded in the first eight months of the fighting.

A Ukrainian soldier fires an RPG during his training at the frontline positions near Vuhledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 1, 2023

The White House has frequently highlighted the cost to Russia of the ongoing war. And in recent weeks has returned to the price it was paying to take control of Bakhmut, which it says comes with limited strategic value to the overall course of the war.

In the briefing call with reporters, Kirby compared the toll with in some of the most bitter fighting of World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the first major Allied offensive against Japan.

But he refused to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

'I'm simply not going to put information in the public domain that's going to make it any harder for for the Ukrainians,' he said.

'If they decide they want to declassify and make public their casualty figures that's up to them to do.

'But I don't need to abide by that same sense of courtesy for the Russians.'

Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.
Democrats in New York say they are more focused on taking back the four seats they lost to Republicans in the 2022 midterms than beating out one of their own

AOC's office said: 'She is not planning to run for Senate in 2024. She is not planning to primary Gillibrand'

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand breathed a sigh of relief over the weekend when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she would not challenge her Senate seat from the left in 2024.

Ocasio's spokesperson Lauren Hitt first told Politico: 'She is not planning to run for Senate in 2024. She is not planning to primary Gillibrand.'

The 33-year-old firebrand progressive has long been thought to be angling for higher office someday. She has the name recognition and liberal bonafides to launch a serious statewide campaign in blue New York. Ocasio-Cortez also has the funds - $5 million on hand compared to the senator's $6 million.

But Democrats in New York say they are more focused on taking back the four seats they lost to Republicans in the 2022 midterms than beating out one of their own.

'I think it's divisive. And unless you think you can win, it's divisive unnecessarily,' Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York Democratic Party, told Politico. 'It's using up resources we need to preserve for more coordinated work and the rest.'

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand breathed a sigh of relief over the weekend when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she would not challenge her Senate seat from the left in 2024

Fifty-six-year-old Democrat Gillibrand has told donors she believes former Gov. Andrew Cuomo might challenge her, the Daily Beast reported earlier this year. Cuomo resigned in disgrace from the gubernatorial seat after multiple allegations that he sexually harassed women.

Other potential progressive challengers like former Rep. Mondaire Jones, Reps. Ritchie Torres and Jamaal Bowman have all now said they will not run for Senate in 2024.

Some on the left have voiced complaints about Gillibrand's Wall Street connections, but the senator has been front and center on women's issues like sexual assault legislation and abortion rights.

It's not yet clear who will challenge Gillibrand from the Republican side, but former Rep. Lee Zeldin has not ruled out a run after an unsuccessful bid for governor last year.

Saying she is not planning to challenge Gillibrand does not preclude AOC from doing so - it was just last month that she told Politico she would not rule out seeking higher office, including a challenge to the senator.

'Don't ask me that question  print that,' she said when pressed on a potential Senate challenge.

'There's a world where I'm here for a long time in this seat, in this position,' she said. 'There's a world where I'm not an elected official anymore. There's a world where  I may be in higher office.'

Gillibrand has held a New York Senate seat since 2009

But this weekend's announcement points to signs of a deal between Ocasio-Cortez and Gillibrand. Gillibrand said in January the pair had a 'lovely lunch' in the Senate dining room together with AOC's chief of staff.

Gillibrand, who announced her reelection campaign in January, is serving her second full term in the Senate after being appointed by former Gov. Dave Patterson to fill the vacancy left by Hillary Clinton in 2009.

Gillibrand won reelection over Republican Chele Farley in 2018 by a nearly two-to-one margin, she may face stiffer reelection prospects this time around.

A March Siena College poll found 43 percent of registered voters said they would vote to reelect Gillibrand, including 62 percent of Democrats.
The break in to his $1.2M home occurred hours before he was laid to rest

Dr. Devon Hoover was found wrapped in plastic in Detroit last week

The home of a star neurosurgeon recently shot dead was broken into Saturday

The million-dollar home of the Detroit neurosurgeon who was found shot dead and wrapped in plastic was broken into over the weekend, just hours before his funeral.

Dr. Devon Hoover's residence in the 100 block of West Boston Boulevard was entered by at least one suspect who came in through a window late Saturday night going into Sunday morning, police said.

It's unclear what - if anything - was taken from the home where Hoover's body was found having been shot several times in the head in the attic.

On Friday, a 'person of interest' was arrested on 'unrelated charges,' in relation to the shooting, with police saying they are 'confident' the arrested man 'has information about what transpired.'

It is unclear if the break in is connected to the shooting.

Dr. Devon Hoover was found shot dead and wrapped in plastic in mid-April

Hoover's home on West Boston Boulevard was entered by at least one suspect who came in through a window of the home late Saturday night going into Sunday morning, police said

According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, no one was home during the break-in.

No arrests have been made in the break-in at this time, which occurred just hours before the beloved doctor was laid to rest during a funeral service.

According to Zillow, Hoover's home is valued at $1.2 million.

Authorities initially said Hoover was shot once, however, a medical examiner discovered Thursday he was shot multiple times in the head.

His cause of death was officially ruled as a homicide.

Speaking after the arrest, Detroit Police Chief James White said the arrested man and Hoover knew each other, but declined to go into detail over the nature of their relationship.

'This was not a random act', added White.

The official did not divulge a possible motive for the killing, but said his department has 'some theories'. The name of the suspect has not been released.

'Right now, we're happy to have a person of interest who we can question,' he said. 'We're not going to stop until we have every piece of information that we need.'

'We are actively still investigating this case,' insisted White, adding that there is no indication there is still a risk to the community.

Authorities initially said Hoover was shot once, however, a medical examiner discovered Thursday he was shot multiple times in the head

The beloved doctor was found on April 23 after police carried out a welfare check when he failed to show up for a family party in Indiana.

White declined to go into details about how the surgeon was found, but he said officers were 'quickly concerned about some of the things that they saw' inside the home.

The killing stunned the doctor's friends, colleagues and former patients, who spoke in glowing terms about the 53-year-old.

His former neighbor, Roland Radinski, who lives in a $3.2 million home built by K-Mart founder SS Kresge on Hoover's opulent street, told DailyMail.com he 'never had an argument' with the surgeon in 15 years of knowing him.

He added those who knew the top doctor had 'nothing but good things to say about him', a notion echoed by many as tributes pour in for the slain surgeon.

'We, the family of Devon Hoover, wish to express our profound sadness at the loss of a beloved son, brother, and uncle,' Hoovers relatives said in a statement.

'We grieve his untimely death and will miss him greatly. We are so grateful for the many words of kindness and stories from people who were touched by his life. He was a gift from God and used his talents to bless many.'

Roland Radinski, a neighbor of Dr Hoover for 15 years, said those who knew him had 'nothing but good things to say about him'

Radinski lives in this $3.2 million home originally built by K-mart founder SS Kresge

A dedicated Facebook page titled 'Justice for Dr. Devon Hoover' has attracted hundreds of posts paying tribute to the 'wonderful' doctor.

'Rest In Peace beautiful and kind soul. You will forever be missed. You taught me how to love Neuro surgery working alongside you in the operating room,' wrote one of his colleagues.

'Your patience was unmatched. Prayers to your family and all those that knew you. We are devastated that we have lost you! May your legacy and love for surgery forever live in those that were touched by your presence in this world.'

'Last weekend, we lost a beloved colleague,' added another Ascension Hospital colleague. 'A very talented doctor... a man who no one can say anything bad about. He was a true gentleman. He was genuine and loved to help people.'

A former patient added in a separate post that Hoover was regarded as 'the best' and was 'not like most surgeons'.

'He said he would not operate unless absolutely necessary,' she continued. 'Always so wonderful, knowledgeable and supportive. We are so very devastated for his family, friends and colleagues. May he rest in peace.'

'I am beyond disbelief of how such a horrific tragedy could happen to such a gentle, brilliant soul,' said another.

'God bless you, Dr Hoover... I will never forget your kindness and respect.'
A British grandfather who was a 'friend to everybody' died on a dream cruise ship holiday in St Kitts while snorkelling.

Theatre actor Andrew Evans, 60, a father-of-two, was on a family holiday onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship in the Caribbean.

He went out snorkelling before a holidaymaker spotted that he had collapsed in the water at Peninsular Cove, St Kitts.

The fellow tourist pulled him from the sea before trying to revive him with CPR - but Mr Evans was tragically pronounced dead.

He was part of a large group holidaying with his wife and daughter on a 14-day trip from Barbados to Southampton.

Theatre actor Andrew Evans, 60, was on a family holiday onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship in the Caribbean. He went out snorkelling before a holidaymaker spotted that he had collapsed in the water at Peninsular Cove, St Kitts

He was part of a large group holidaying with his wife Marie (pictured left) and daughter on a 14-day trip from Barbados to Southampton

Colleague Ann Benjamin said Mr Evans went on to perform in a string of amateur dramatics shows with The Academy group (pictured left to right: Andrew Ryder, Craig Stock, Marc Nicholls and Mr Evans)

Mr Evans, of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, died of a cardiac arrest on March 27 this year - just one month away from his birthday.

Tributes have now been paid to the 'doting grandfather' who had worked in IT for Carmarthenshire Council.

Colleague Ann Benjamin said Mr Evans went on to perform in a string of amateur dramatics shows with The Academy group.

She said: 'He was the sort of person where, if you asked him to do something, he would do it. He was one of the stalwarts of The Academy, he was there, he would help out, and be involved in doing everything - running around organising this, organising that.

'He played many parts in the shows - he liked playing the panto animal, he liked the interaction with everyone, that's what he liked - he had a lot of fun. He gave most things a go.

'You couldn't ask for a better friend, he was there if you needed him, you didn't have to ask twice. That was at work, at home, in the theatre, anything to do in your life.

'He was well loved by so many people. He was a gentleman, and so thoughtful to everyone around him. He would always be thinking, how can I help someone if they're in trouble, and that was just his nature. It just came from him, it wasn't something he had to work at.

Mr Evans, of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, died of a cardiac arrest on March 27 this year - just one month away from his birthday

Tributes have now been paid to the 'doting grandfather' who had worked in IT for Carmarthenshire Council (pictured with his wife Marie in Las Vegas)

Ann Benjamin said: 'He was the sort of person where, if you asked him to do something, he would do it. He was one of the stalwarts of The Academy, he was there, he would help out, and be involved in doing everything - running around organising this, organising that' (pictured: Mr Evans in shoq costume with Marc Nicholls)

She added: 'He played many parts in the shows - he liked playing the panto animal, he liked the interaction with everyone, that's what he liked - he had a lot of fun. He gave most things a go' (pictured: Mr Evans and Nick Benjamin in Goldilocks and The Three Bears)

'He was somebody who was known by a lot of people because he was always willing to help. He was taken way too early. He had so much more to give in as much as he just loved giving.'

Close friend David Hurford added: 'He was much loved by so many different people. He was a wonderful family man and a doting granddad, and he loved being a granddad. He was always telling me and other people what it was like and all kinds of little stories.

'Andrew was very skilled and interested in many, many things, he could turn his hand to so many things. You would never ever be lost for a conversation with Andrew.'

Mr Hurford said his friend also had a 'revolutionary' role in transforming hospital radio in Llanelli.

He said: 'We worked with the engineers of Hywel Dda and built a superb infrastructure which revolutionised the way hospital radio works. I take my hat off to him. He did an enormous amount of work there.'

Mr Evans is set to be laid to rest at his funeral on May 4.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams is handing out free Apple AirTag trackers to help combat the rise in car thefts in the Big Apple.

The mayor and New York City Police Department made the announcement during a joint press conference on Sunday in the Bronx at the Castle Hill Library.

Mayor Adams said 500 free AirTag trackers would be distributed to car owners in the city.

The 43rd precinct - which serves the southeast section of the Bronx- Westchester Avenue, Castle Hill Avenue, White Plains Road, and Parkchester - will be the focus as it is one of the hardest hit areas with more than 200 car thefts since January.

Officials are also encouraging city residents to acquire their own AirTags.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams at Sunday's press conference announced the use of Apple AirTags as a way to help catch car thieves and deter criminals

The price of an Apple AirTag retails for $29 and a four-pack runs approximately $99.99

Mayor Adams called the AirTags and 'amazing piece of ingenuity.

'This simple AirTag, hidden in a car in a location that a person is not aware of is an excellent tracking device,' he said as he held up the tiny device.

'You can hide it anywhere in your car, and you can actually track your car moving.'

The three vehicles driving GLA - grand larceny auto - numbers up are Honda, KIA and Hyundai, Adams said.

'We did a lawsuit on KIA and Hyundai because they should do a better job. GLA's are driving the crime and KIA and Hyundai are driving the GLA's,' he said.

The Apple AirTag devices that retail for $29 and a four-pack approximately $99.99 will help assist police in tracking down a stolen vehicle.

The technology would also deter a would-be-car car jacker or thief making it more difficult to steal your valuable possession.

Adams spoke about the role TikTok has been playing in GLA's and TikTok's KIA Challenge for the rise in car thefts.

One audience member told the Mayor that he owns a 2020 KIA Forte and has seen a rash of car stolen at his precinct, the 49th pct.

When he asked the Mayor if he can get an Apple AirTag for his car, Adams tossed him the freebie AirTag, without hesitation. The move drew laughter from the room.

Adams holds up a cell phone to show how an Apple AirTag can track a carjacker in its midst

Although crime is currently the same rate as last year, many New Yorkers remember the times during the pandemic where crimes were rampant and left many in fear

NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey took to Twitter, posting a video of how the AirTag works.

A woman is seen in the video placing the AirTag in her vehicle and than walking away from her car. Minutes later, the car gets stolen and the police are able to track down the assailant by the technology.

'The 21st century calls for 21st century policing. AirTags in your car will help us recover your vehicle if its stolen,' the tweet said.

'Well use our drones, our StarChase technology and good old fashion police work to safely recover your stolen car. Help us help you, get an AirTag.'

The post received more than 6,000 views.

The donated AirTags were distributed by the Association for a Better New York (ABNY).

Adams also thanked the NYPD sharing that the many major crime categories are trending down across New York City, including: a decrease in shootings, homicide, robberies, stating that the aggregated number of GLA's give people a false sense of security.
Two people were killed after a seaplane crashed while attempting to land on a dam in southeastern Brazil on Sunday.

A witness recorded the moment the aircraft was about to make a landing maneuver and suddenly slammed into the Jaguari River in Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo.

The plane quickly went underwater with the pilot and one passenger trapped aboard.

The victims were identified as a local businessman and pilot, Renato de Oliveira, 72, and Horacio Morales, 74.

A seaplane with a pilot and one passenger on board attempts to land on a river in Sao Paulo, Brazil, moments before it crashed. The victims were identified as a local businessman and pilot, Renato de Oliveira, 72, and Horacio Morales, 74.

The pilot, Renato de Oliveira (pictured ), was part owner of the company that owned the 1969 Cessna that crashed Sunday in Brazil. De Oliveira and a passenger identified Horacio Morales were both killed in the accident

Both men were removed from the aircraft by the fire department divers two hours and a half following the crash.

The rescue workers were unable to turn the plane around and were forced to cut the victims seatbelts to take them out of the airplane.

Its unknown if de Oliveira and Morales drowned or were killed by the impact of the accident.

The fire department said that de Oliveira took off from an area airport at 1:48 pm and crashed at 2:08 pm near the shore of a luxury condominium.

Screen grab from a video recorded by a witness shows the moment the 1969 Cessna slammed into the Jaguari River in Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo

Residents in Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo, sit atop the seaplane that was involved in the deadly crash that killed a pilot and one passenger on Sunday

The aircraft, a Cessna 185, was built in 1969 and had the capacity to carry the pilot and five passengers, according to Brazilian news outlet G1.

The plane was part of a fleet operated by Helipalm, a company that was partly owned by de Oliveira.

The Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents announced Monday it had initiated an official investigation to determine what caused the crash.
New plans would see the Golden State push forward a requirement for commercial trucks to be electric

Truckers have slammed California regulators for voting to approve a 'first in the world' ban on the sale of new diesel big rigs by 2036.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said they hope it will put The Golden State on a path towards fully-transitioning trucks that travel across the state to zero-emissions by 2045.

The new rules, named the 'Advanced Clean Fleets Rule', is the first in the world to require commercial trucks to be electric.

They would tackle pollution from heavy trucks used to transport goods through ports and require firms to disclose their use of so-called drayage trucks by 2024.

Supporters of the new rules say it will generate $26.6billion in health savings from reduced asthma attacks, emergency room visits and respiratory illnesses.

Pictured: Roger Gibson said the decision was 'killing' truckers and their families

The proposals would see diesel big rigs and other commercial vehicles be banned, with electric versions being the only option

One trucker, Roger Gibson, who spoke to KCRA 3 News said: 'They are killing us, we have families at home too, we've got to make a living.

'There's a lot of brothers out there that own their own trucks, it is a fight.'

According to CARB, fleet owners would save an estimated $48 billion in their total operating costs from the transition through to 2050.

The board said that heavy-duty trucks, which represent only 6% of the vehicles on California's roads, account for over one third of the state's nitrogen oxide emissions and a quarter of the state's on-road greenhouse gas emissions.

A graph published by CARB also show how 67% of class 7-8 trucks, which are heavy duty commercial vehicles, would be affected by the proposed regulations.

Fleet owners reported information about their vehicles and operations in 2021 which shows that the vast majority of trucks drive 100 miles or fewer per day

The proposed ACF regulation is expected to significantly increase the number of medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs on California roads

The proposed regulation focuses on the truck types that pollute the most, 67 percent of all Class 7-8 tractors, the largest polluters, will be covered

But the American Trucking Associations have branded the move as being 'unrealistic' and 'unachievable'.

In a statement, their President and CEO Chris Spear said: 'An unelected Board in California voted to force trucking companies to buy zero-emission trucks.

'Fleets are just beginning to understand what it takes to successfully operate these trucks, but what they have learned so far is they are significantly more expensive, charging and refueling infrastructure is nonexistent, and ZEVs are not necessarily a one-for-one replacementmeaning more trucks will be needed on California roads to move the same amount of freight.

'California is setting unrealistic targets and unachievable timelines that will undoubtedly lead to higher prices for the goods and services delivered to the state and fewer options for consumers.

'As it becomes clear that California's rhetoric is not being matched by technology, we hope the Board will reverse course and allow trucking companies the freedom to choose the clean technologies that work best for their operations.

'ATA-member companies work tirelessly to deliver the nation's freight while deploying the cleanest technologies available.

'Over the past 35 years, those efforts have produced a 98% reduction in truck emissions.

'We continue to say 'Yes' to advancing cleaner technologies, but achievable targets and realistic timelines matter.'

Pictured: American Trucking Associations CEO and President Chris Spear.

The new rules, which cannot be implemented without approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will force fleet owners to begin their transition toward zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024.

Due to the impact that truck traffic has on residents living near heavily trafficked corridors, drayage trucks will need to be zero-emissions by 2035.

CARB Chair Liane Randolph said: 'We have the technology available to start working toward a zero-emission future now.

'The Advanced Clean Fleets rule is a reasonable and innovative approach to clean up the vehicles on our roads and ensure that Californians have the clean air that they want and deserve.

'At the same time, this rule provides manufacturers, truck owners and fueling providers the assurance that there will be a market and the demand for zero-emissions vehicles, while providing a flexible path to making the transition toward clean air.'
Six children aged between 12 and 16 went missing in Philadelphia in a week in a worrying occurrence police say is becoming increasingly common.

The Philadelphia Police Department said the cases are not connected but that unfortunately children going missing is a common problem in the city.

The children were reported missing from different districts between April 23 and April 30.

'They're definitely not related,' a spokesperson for the department told DailyMail.com.

'We have kids missing a lot. These children, they're all from different districts.'

'They go missing for a few days. The mum or dad or guardian will go to the detective and say the kids missing,' said the spokesperson.

'This is just a normal thing, unfortunately.'

Leaneli 'Lea' Santiago (pictured left and right), 15, was last seen on April 23

Kayla Marie Burgess (pictured), 13, was last seen leaving for school in the morning of April 24

The first of the six to disappear was 15-year-old Leaneli 'Lea' Santiago. She was last seen on Sunday, April 23, at 11.55pm, on Loretto Avenue in North Philadelphia.

Santiago is 4'9", 95 pounds and thin with black hair and brown eyes. She is known to frequent the area where Cohen Elementary School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

The next to go missing was Kayla Marie Burgess, 13, who was last seen leaving for school in the morning of April 24, on E. Johnson St less than ten miles away.

Burgess is 5'2", 119 pounds, has medium brown complexion, black hair, and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a pink and orange hoodie and jeans.

Maddison Brozoski, 15, was last seen in Scranton on Tuesday, April 25

Malachi Portus (pictured), 16, was last seen on Wednesday, April 26th

Maddison Brozoski, 15, was last seen in Scranton on Tuesday, April 25, but is believed to be somewhere in the area of East Allegheny Avenue, according to the Philadelphia Police. She is 5'7" tall, 175 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.

The eldest of the six to go missing was Malachi Portus, 16. He was last seen just a day later on Wednesday, April 26th near N. 25th St.

He is 6'0", 160lbs, tall build, brown eyes, medium complexion, short black hair with a mustache and was last seen wearing a black hoody, red bonnet, dark jeans, a black backpack and black and white Vans sneakers.

Amirah Portlock-Harris, 12, was last seen on Saturday, April 29

Aaron Hammond, 12, was last seen on April 30 at 12.40pm

Amirah Portlock-Harris, 12, was last seen on Saturday, April 29, at 12.30pm, on Germantown Avenue.

She is 5'6", 135 pounds, and has braided black hair with several red braids, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt, black jeans and tan New Balance sneakers.

According to police, she likes to frequent the Center City and Fashion District area.

The most recent child to go missing was Aaron Hammond, 12. He was last seen on April 30 at 12.40pm on Sydenham St.

Unlike the way he appears in pictures, Hammond had an afro at the time he went missing. He is 5'3", 100 pounds and has a thin build, dark skin tone, brown hair and brown eyes.
Dozens of tourists diced with death today as they teetered perilously close to the edge of cliffs on the Sussex coast.

Holidaymakers were seen posing for selfies, eating picnics and even offering each other piggy-back rides metres from a 500ft drop at Birling Gap.

The beauty spot, which is part of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, suffers from some of the country's worst coastal erosion and often sees dramatic cliff falls and landslides.

But that did not stop people who were walking along the nature trail above from ignoring the dangers posed by standing so close to the edge.

Photos taken on the Bank Holiday Monday show people standing centimetres from the sheer drop, seemingly oblivious to how quickly things could go wrong.

A man looks over the edge of the cliff at Birling Gap, while others lie down to rest metres from the sheer drop on Monday

A man holds his partner's hand as he leans over to take a picture of the 500ft drop below the cliff

One man was seen holding the hand of his partner as he looked over the side of the cliff to take pictures on his phone.

READ MORE HERE: Student, 23, fell 200ft to her death when she slipped off crumbling Seven Sisters cliff after leaping into the air to pose for a photo Advertisement

Other people lay on the floor to rest and have picnics despite warnings from the National Trust not to go within 5m of the edge.

In 2017 a South Korean student died when she slipped off the edge of the crumbling cliffs after jumping in the air for a photograph.

Hyewon Kim, 23, who had come to Britain to improve her English, suffered catastrophic head injuries in the fall.

Photographs found on her mobile phone showed the student happily posing with her back to the cliff-edge in the seconds before her death.

The cliffs have cracks hidden under the turf that get bigger as they erode through a combination of wind and water pounding it from the English Channel.

The National Trust advises people to stay at least 5m back from the cliff edge at all times to lower the risk of accidentally falling or being caught in a collapse.

It also encourages people on the beach below to stay at least 5m away from the cliff base at all times, to reduce the risk of objects and rocks from above hitting them.

A tourist sits down centimetres from the edge of the crumbling cliffs, which often have perilous landslides

The chalk cliffs suffer some of the worst coastal erosion in the country, with large cracks forming beneath the grass turf on top

On its website, the National Trust says: 'The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs are constantly changing. This creates the iconic coastline that you see today.

'Cliff falls and landslides are therefore part of this landscape and can happen at any time and without warning.

'Our white cliffs are beautiful but also very fragile. They may appear safe to stand on, but chalk is a soft rock that can be become unstable through heavy rain, frost, sun or undercut by wind and wave action.

'The sea comes in and out twice a day and often reaches the base of the cliffs. Make sure you can always safely exit the beach keeping platform steps in sight.'

Despite these warnings the site has become a hot-spot for thrill seekers and despite numerous signs warning of the dangers, tourists regularly teeter on the edge for photographs.

Hundreds of thousands of people visit the cliffs at Birling Gap and Seven Sisters cliffs each year.
press release

On the occasion of its Annual Meetings, to be held from 22 to 26 May 2023 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the African Development Bank Group plans to highlight the role that multilateral development banks could play in building a new development architecture beyond the financial.

The importance of this subject stems from the fact that multilateralism is currently facing significant challenges, including in responding to climate change, conflict, social fragility, and pandemics. International organizations should maximize their resources by engaging governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to bring about meaningful change. If this is not done, less-developed economies could become more vulnerable.

From a development-financing perspective, a vital issue to be addressed at the Annual Meetings is reducing the current level of concentration of policy instruments and promoting inclusion and better coordination among multilateral development banks. The African Development Bank has built knowledge capital on global development priorities. On the ground, it deals with many bilateral and multilateral development financing mechanisms.

Therefore, the discussions addressing this issue should emphasize how roles could be shared among the various development actors in Africa.

The other issue is the demand for African countries to be better represented in development financing structures.

Participants will also be able to share their views on promoting increased transparency and global coordination among creditors to promote orderly sovereign debt restructuring in Africa. In this respect, the African Development Bank is open about its desire to lead on this issue. To achieve this, the Bank, as a benchmark multilateral development institution, must continue demonstrating its capacity to improve its institutional capabilities, promote transparency and accountability, and enhance its coordination with regional and national institutions to better respond to emerging challenges. There is no doubt that reforms are needed to better respond to existing challenges and enable African countries to benefit from funding tailored to their needs.

From this perspective, the president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, and the US candidate for the presidency of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, called for a renewed partnership when the nominee visited the pan-African institution's headquarters in Abidjan on 6 March 2023. At that meeting, Mr. Banga highlighted the need for the World Bank Group to develop a strong partnership with the African Development Bank Group to bring about transformative outcomes.

The two leaders spoke of how the private sector could play a significant role in mobilizing critical capital to ensure meaningful economic development. This includes not only the private sector's capital but also its capacity for innovation, so needed to meet the world's many challenges. This aligns with the theme of the African Development Bank Group's 2023 Annual Meetings: "Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa."
Police have launched a manhunt for a suspected killer after a woman was stabbed to death today near the O2 Academy in south London.

Met Police were called to Stockwell Park Walk in Brixton around 4.04pm to reports of a stabbing.

Officers, paramedics and an air ambulance went to the incident, but the woman - believed to be in her 30s - was pronounced dead at the scene.

A member of the victim's family said the situation is 'still so raw'. The family, who were notified of her death, are being supported by specialist officers.

A number of roads are closed as officers continue to work at the scene. Inquiries into the incident remain ongoing and police have urged any witnesses to come forward.

Police have launched a manhunt for a suspected killer after a woman was stabbed to death today in broad daylight near the O2 Academy in south London

Metropolitan Police officers have cordoned off Stockwell Park Walk in Lambeth with a blue tent erected following the death of a woman in her 30s

Met Police were called to Stockwell Park Walk in Brixton around 4.04pm to reports of a stabbing

Police investigating the stabbing cordoned off Stockwell Park Walk in Lambeth, with a blue tent erected, earlier this afternoon.

Officers remain inside the cordon this evening, with a number of forensic officers wearing blue plastic suits going between their vans and the blue tent.

The tent is between two blocks of flats in an alley off Stockwell Park Walk, near to St Helen's Catholic Primary School.

Five police vehicles are still at the scene. The road remains closed to traffic, but residents whose homes are within the cordon are allowed to go inside.

The victim's family and friends have gathered outside the cordon, next to a block of flats, while officers continue their inquiries.

A family member said: 'It's still so raw. Family are on their way here now and we still need to tell them what's happened. It's just so raw.'

Officers, paramedics and an air ambulance attended, but the woman - believed to be in her 30s - was pronounced dead at the scene. Met Police officers are pictured at the scene this evening

An officer blocks off Stockwell Park Walk in Lambeth, south London, this evening following the death of a woman in a stabbing attack

A number of roads are currently closed as officers continue to work at the scene. Inquiries into the incident remain ongoing and police have urged any witnesses to come forward

Natasha Jordan, who works at Live True London on Brixton Road, said: 'There were loads of police cars and ambulances that came.

'Loads of police were walking up and down the road because there's a police station right near here. No one actually came in and said anything though, and I've been in here all day.'

Forensic teams remain at the scene with a cordon still in place. The road remains shut.

Any witnesses are urged to call 101 quoting CAD 4278/01 May. Tipsters can make anonymous reports to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The mayor El Paso, Texas on Monday declared a 'state of emergency' amid overcrowding from an influx of migrants, amid concerns arrivals will spike further with the end of Title 42 protections.

Those COVID-related restrictions are due to expire May 11 after delays, leading to fears the influx will spike ore in the intervening days.

The border cities of Laradeo and Brownsville also have declared states of emergency.

In El Paso, hundreds of migrants were gathered around a Catholic church downtown and an encampment has formed, with a homeless center already at capacity, the El Paso Times reported. Mayor Oscar Leeser of El Paso issued the state of emergency beginning Monday.

El Palso, Texas declared a week-long state of emergency amid an influx of migrants. Here migrants, mostly from Venezuela, are camped out in front of Sacred Heart Church downtown, days ahead of the end of Title 42

The Biden administration has prepared a plan to try to speed asylum claims amid the pressure.

The state of emergency began Monday and runs for a week. It must be ratified by the city council to extend for a month. The city is scrambling to open temporary shelters.

Former President Donald Trump first implemented Title 42 restrictions citing health concerns early in the pandemic, allowing for more deportations despite asylum claims.

The Biden administration has kept them in place a mid a court fight.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) said lifting the authority would 'open the floodgates' to more migration.

'Title 42 provides a tool, and it's going to go away,' Risch told the C'oeur d'A lene Post Falls Press.

'These people now, because of social media and everything else, are fully schooled in what is happening on the border and with border patrol,' he said. 'With Title 42 expiring, they understand this is going to open the floodgates wide,' he said.

Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, are camped out in an alley in El Paso. The end of Title 42 restrictions could bring even more people across the border

The Biden administration said it was opening new processing centers to deal with the crush of migrants

'I have heard in the media that the administration is supposedly working on some solution or answer to keep it down to only 1,000 a day or something like that. There's going to be thousands coming in,' he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection catalogued record border apprehensions in 2021 and again in 2022.

The Biden administration has announced a plan to open new migration centers that will conduct fast-track screenings of asylum claims in Guatemala and Colombia in an effort to deal with the surge. The administration is also promising a crackdown on smuggling and efforts to speed processing of asylum claims.

'Let me be clear, our border is not open and not will be open after May 11,' Homeland Security Department Secretary Alajandro Mayorkas said Thursday when announcing the plan.

'This is a hemispheric challenge that demands hemispheric solutions,' he said.
President Joe Biden told his Filipino counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday that the U.S. commitment to defending its ally was 'ironclad,' during a meeting designed to strengthen a key relationship amid concerns about China's growing aggression.

Marcos, nicknamed 'Bongbong', was making the first White House visit by a leader from the Philippines in 10 years.

They agreed plans for greater military cooperation in what marks a turnaround in U.S.-Philippine relations in the year since he took power from Rodrigo Duterte, whose hardline, populist policies put him at odd with the Biden administration.

'The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization,' Biden told him in the Oval Office.

For his part, Marcos nodded to the rise of China, saying his country was in the middle of the 'most complicated geopolitical situation in the world.'

President Joe Biden welcomed his Filipino counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House on Monday, as they agreed greater security cooperation

'So it is only natural that the Philippines look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen, to redefine, the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific,' he said.

The show of solidarity was designed to send a message to China that the U.S. remains to its partners in the region.

It came with what officials call 'deliverables.'

The U.S. will send hardware  three C-130 aircraft plus coastal patrol vessels  to help modernize the country's armed forces.

A trade mission will follow, along with $3 billion in financing for infrastructure projects including mineral supply chains, secure 5G deployment, and airport security.

Marcos has turned back towards the U.S. after Duterte cozied up to China.

But the complexity of the region means Marcos has to play a careful game. China is one of the Philippines' top trading partners and, as he flew to Washington, Marcos said he would not allow his country to become a 'staging post' for military action.

Washington views the archipelago as crucial to any operation to fight back against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Its northernmost island is less than 100 miles from the autonomous island.

'The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea,' Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office

Their meeting came a week after the U.S. and the Philippines concluded their largest ever joint military exercises, involving 17,000 combined troops over a two-week period

The joint Balikatan Exercises included the US and Philippines forces using the HIMARS to sink a target ship, and firing artillery shells

Manila recently agreed to allow the U.S. to use four more of its military bases under an enhanced defense agreement.

And the White House meeting came a week after the two countries held their biggest ever joint military exercises, involving more than 17,000 troops, including 12,000 from the U.S.

The maritime region around the Philippines and in the South China Sea have been the subject of disputed territorial claims by China in recent years.

They include the Spratly Islands, which lie in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone but are claimed by Beijing.

The Balikatan drills once focused on counter-terrorism operations to tackle groups affiliated with Al Qaeda. But today they have evolved to focus on the threat from China.

Biden has invited a string of regional leaders to the White House. Last week South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was feted with a state visit, complete with banquet

That focus is also evident in Biden's invitations to world leaders.

He welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea for a state visit last week. And In January, Mr. Biden hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.

Later this month, Biden himself will head to Japan and Australia with the aim of shoring up relationships with key allies in the Indo-Pacific.

During their meeting, the U.S. president said to his guest that 'it's been a while since you've been here.' It was a reference to the fact that Marcos Jr. came with his father, the then president, when he met Ronald Reagan.

Then Sen. Biden criticized Reagan's administration for supporting Marcos Sr, who declared martial law before fleeing the country in 1986.
Idaho University murders suspect Bryan Kohberger will return to court a month earlier than expected as the parents of one of the victims fight a gag order.

Judge Megan Marshall set a hearing for May 25 for the 28-year-old criminology Ph.D. student accused of brutally murdering four students in their sleep on November 13.

Kohberger is also later due in the Latah County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing on June 28, where his defense is expected to challenge the evidence against him.

But he will first appear for the motion hearing that was set over the weekend to address a motion on the gag order.

'That is the date for the court to address my motion on the gag order,' Shanon Gray, the attorney for Steve and Kristie Goncalves, told Fox News Digital.

Kohberger is charged with one count of felony burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Idaho University murders suspect Bryan Kohberger will return to court a month earlier than expected as the parents of one of the victims Kaylee Goncalves fight the gag order

Kohberger is charged with one of felony burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin , 20

The judge had previously said she would not address the motion on the gag order until after the Idaho Supreme Court issued a decision on an appeal from the media.

But the state's highest court dismissed that appeal, finding that it should have been filed in a lesser court.

Last week, it was revealed that 21-year-old Bethany Funke, a surviving roommate of the four University of Idaho students who were killed, has agreed to be interviewed by Kohberger's defense team.

Funke will meet with the lawyerst her home in Reno, Nevada, after trying to argue that she should not have to testify during the various court hearings.

Court documents earlier revealed that Funke's lawyers were arguing that she should not have to testify at a preliminary hearing in June, or for the duration of the trial.

Funke (far right) may not be forced to appear at the preliminary hearing on June 28, depending on the information that she gives investigators

Investigator Richard Bitonti, who is working for Kohberger's defense team, subpoenaed Fukne (left) on the basis that she may have 'exculpatory' information

Bitonti wrote in an affidavit: 'During the course of my investigation, it became known to me that [she] has information material to the charges against Mr. Kohberger'

Funke lived on the first-floor of the split-level home with survivor Dylan Mortenson, the second survivor and person who came face-to-face with the killer during the attack

In new documents submitted last Wednesday, both sides came to the agreement that the defense would go to Funke for an interview in Nevada dismissing a subpoena they issued on April 11.

It means that the surviving roommate may not be forced to appear at the preliminary hearing on June 28, depending on the information that she gives investigators.

Investigator Richard Bitonti, who is working for Kohberger's defense team, subpoenaed Fukne on the basis that she may have 'exculpatory' information.

They claimed that the information she has is 'material and necessary' to the alleged killer's defense  though it is unclear exactly what that is.

Bitonti wrote in an affidavit: 'During the course of my investigation, it became known to me that [she] has information material to the charges against Mr. Kohberger.'

He added that she 'disclosed things she heard and things she saw' when interviewed by police and was present when police were called.

However Funke's lawyers hit back by saying that the preliminary hearing is not meant to 'become a mini-trial', and is only meant to decide probably cause.

They also said the subpoena was improperly filed, and there is no authority for an Idaho criminal defendant to summon a Nevada witness to Idaho for a preliminary hearing.

As a potential witness Funke can willingly testify in the hearings, but if she refuses a subpoena can force her to attend court even if she does not want to.

Kohberger is alleged to have returned to the scene of the crime at 9am on November 13 - just hours after police believe he committed the quadruple murder

According to the statement of Office Brett Payne, both Funke (left) and the other surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, were both home at the time of the homicides

If a witness refuses to testify after being ordered to do so, by a subpoena they can be held in contempt of court and given a fine of $500 or 25 days in jail.

However they can invoke their Fifth Amendment rights while testifying at the hearing if it could implicate them in a crime.

According to the statement of Office Brett Payne, both Funke and the other surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, were home at the time of the homicides.

Funke's bedroom is described as being located on the east side of the first floor of the property, and she heard Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle return to the property at 1.45am on the night of the murders.

Mortensen's account of seeing a 'tall man' who was 'clad in black clothing and a mask' is detailed in the document.

However Funke's version of events has not been publicly released, though both roommates phones were forensically downloaded by officers  leading them to believe the crimes occurred between 4am and 4.25am.

It is unclear what defense investigators feel could clear Kohberger, but if Funke's version of events contradicts that of Mortensen it could play a key role in the trial.

For now, a gag remains in place, preventing anyone connected to the case from speaking publicly.

Kohberger is yet to enter a plea in the quadruple homicide, and is charged with four counts of murder and one of burglary.

It comes after it was revealed that his lawyer will be paid $200 an hour in his case  with any additional overtime.

Chief Public defender Anne Taylor will be paid by Kootenai County for her 40-hour work week, with Latah County agreeing to give the funds to Kootenai for her work.

But any overtime that she accrues outside of those hours will be paid by Latah County directly to the attorney, with a second lawyer supporting Taylor in the case being paid $180 an hour.

Taylor is representing the 28-year-old criminal justice major after stepping down as the lawyer for Cara Northington  the mother of murdered Xana Kernodle, 20.

She was in charge of her case until January 5, the same day that Kohberger was extradited from his home in Pennsylvania to Idaho.

The lawyer is also accused of a second conflict of interest in the case after it was revealed that she represented Maddie Mogen's stepmother, Korie Hatrock, in June 2022 and oversaw a case involving her father, Benjamin in 2020.
Two female firefighters in hospital - one critical

As many as 20 fire trucks were on the scene

Two firefighters are in hospital, one with critical injuries, following a massive factory fire in Brisbane.

Fire crews were called to Pacific Highway at Slacks Creek in Brisbane's south at about 2.20am overnight following reports a warehouse was engulfed in flames.

The blaze broke out at Freedom Pools Logan, with visible flames and large amounts of black smoke billowing out the second floor of the pool maintenance warehouse.

Two female firefighters have been rushed to hospital - one in critical condition - following a massive factory fire in Brisbane (pictured)

Fire crews were called to Pacific Highway at Slacks Creek in Brisbane's south at about 2.20am overnight following reports a pool maintenance warehouse was engulfed in flames (pictured)

Two female firefighters were rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital - one in critical condition and one with serious injuries.

A man was also taken to hospital after suffering minor injuries from the fire.

As many as 20 fire trucks were on the scene battling the blaze, along with ambulance and police personnel.

Authorities declared the fire under control just after 6am but multiple crews and three senior police officers remained.

Police have declared the area a crime scene.

Authorities declared the fire under control just after 6am but multiple crews and three senior officers remained on scene, with police declaring the area a crime scene (pictured)

A warning was issued to residents in the neighbouring areas just after 3am to close windows and doors due to the smoke gushing from the warehouse.

Locals who suffer from respiratory conditions are being urged to keep medications close by.

Motorists are being urged to avoid the area as authorities close the Pacific Highway Service Rd between Moss St and Judds Court.

The incident has also impacted traffic causing congestion on the Logan Motorway and the Pacific Motorway.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
A family which has paid 100,000 over its historic role in slavery would consider compensation to Ireland over the Great Famine.

Yesterday former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan said her great-great-great-grandfather Sir Charles Trevelyan was among the officials who 'failed their people' in the 1840s.

The potato crop blight led to the death of a million people and forced another two million to emigrate.

On BBC Radio Ulster, Ms Trevelyan said about compensation: 'If the Irish government said that the Trevelyan family are liable for what Sir Charles did, then that would have to be considered.'

He was the senior British Treasury official in charge of famine relief and was singled out for blame, including in an Irish folk song from the time titled The Fields of Athenry.

Former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan said her great-great-great-grandfather Sir Charles Trevelyan was among the officials who 'failed their people'

Portrait of Sir John Trevelyan with wife Louisa Simon (centre couple), who brought to the marriage ownership of about 1,000 slaves on Grenada

This year the family made a public apology after it emerged their ancestors owned more than 1,000 slaves in the Caribbean.

They also donated 100,000 to establish a research fund at the University of the West Indies.

Ms Trevelyan, 54, said the two situations differed as her ancestors had personally profited from slavery while Sir Charles was acting as a government official. She added that the British government had acknowledged failings over the Famine.

In 1997, then prime minister Tony Blair said: 'Those who governed in London failed their people through standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive tragedy.'

Ms Trevelyan was confronted on social media over her ancestor's role in the Irish Famine after her family's public apology.

She left the BBC this year to campaign for restorative justice for countries affected by slavery and has urged King Charles to apologise for the royals' historic links to the trade.
Child rapists convicted in Florida could be executed under a new law signed off by presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis earlier on Monday.

The 44-year-old governor approved a bill that would potentially allow the death penalty for those who commit sexual battery on children under the age of 12.

DeSantis, who is rumored to be planning to declare his intention to run in mid-June, said pedophile rapists should face 'the ultimate punishment.'

'In Florida, we stand for the protection of children,' he said.

'Unfortunately, in our society, we have very heinous sex crimes that are committed against children under the age of 12 years old.

'These are really the worst of the worst. The perpetrators of these crimes are often serial offenders.'

But the would-be Republican presidential candidate took a thinly-veiled swipe at the America's top justices for barring death sentences for rapists in a 2008 decision.

He said he would go 'all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule judicial precedents which have unjustly shielded child rapists from the death penalty.'

DeSantis claimed that the ruling 'denied victims and their loved ones the opportunity to pursue ultimate justice against these most heinous criminals.'

It means the governor is openly defying the court with the law by ignoring its decision from 15 years ago.

The Florida governor is expected to formally announce next month he will challenge Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination

The move may also boost support with the Republican base nationwide where the ex-Navy lawyer has been trailing in the opinion polls behind Donald Trump.

He has also been locked in a bitter spat with Disney after the theme park owner hit out at the state's Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

'You can't rest on your laurels if you want to be a 'law and order' state,' he said Monday as he also approved a bill hiking punishments for fetanyl offenses.

His signing-off on the death penalty plans comes after regional lawmakers in the Sunshine State's House of Representatives and Senate voted to pass the law earlier this month.

The law says the defendants could receive death sentences based on the recommendations of at least eight of 12 jurors.

Judges would have the 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.

But juries would still need to unanimously find defendants guilty of any crime before the sentencing phase would begin.

Aaron Wayt of Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said: 'courtrooms must be a place for justice, and not vengeance.'

Florida has put executed as many as 99 death row inmates since the death penalty was reinstated there in .

Governor Rick Scott approved the most death warrants, signing off on 28 during his time in office.
Another foreign rapist who was set to be kicked out of the UK is still living in the country after Sir Keir Starmer campaigned for deportation flights to be halted.

Conrod Bryce, 46, was convicted of raping a woman in 2015 and sentenced to ten years in jail.

He was due to be deported to Jamaica, where he was born, in December 2020.

Ten months before Bryce was due to be removed, the Labour leader  mocked as Sir Softy by Rishi Sunak  signed a letter opposing all further deportations.

Days before the flight was due, celebrities including model Naomi Campbell signed an open letter calling for it to be abandoned.

Ten months before Bryce was due to be removed, the Labour leader  mocked as Sir Softy by Rishi Sunak  signed a letter opposing all further deportations

Bryce is understood to have brought a late legal challenge against deportation.

He was one of a group of 23 who succeeded in being taken off the passenger list while 13 criminals were sent back. Bryce remains in this country on immigration bail, fighting against his removal.

Last month the Mail disclosed how two other rapists are also still living in Britain after dodging deportation in the wake of Sir Keirs intervention.

Fabian Henry, 40, avoided being kicked out on a flight in February 2020. The Jamaican was jailed in 2013 for 12 years for twice raping a girl, 17, and for abducting and having sex with a girl of 15 while on bail.

In the second case, Jermaine Stewart was due to go to Jamaica on the same December 2020 flight as Bryce. Stewart, 39, was given six years in 2014 for raping a woman who fell asleep after a party.

He also lodged a last-minute claim to get off the flight and is still fighting removal.

The Prime Minister branded the Labour leader Sir Softy during a robust exchange in the Commons last month. It came after Labour was criticised over an advert claiming Mr Sunak does not think child sex abusers should be jailed.

This year the Mail told how prolific offender Ernesto Elliott murdered a man in a knife fight after also being taken off the December 2020 flight.

A Labour spokesman claimed the number of foreign criminals deported has halved since the Tories took power.
Wildflower seeds are to be sent to primary schools so that children can mark the Coronation by sharing the King's love of nature.

It is hoped children will want to learn about and improve the biodiversity of schools' green spaces and make them more attractive places to work, under the scheme run by the Department for Education and the Eden Project.

More than 200,000 packets will be sent to state-funded primary schools, representing 40 hectares of new wildflower areas, it was reported. If planted together the project would create 40 rugby pitch-sized meadows.

Dan James, of the Eden Project, described it as 'a fantastic opportunity for the next generation to see the impact that wildflowers can have, even in small spaces'.

He said: 'By encouraging our children to plant wildflower seeds we can work towards reversing the decline of pollinators that we are seeing across the UK, which is so important for our future.'

Wildflower seeds are to be sent to primary schools so that children can mark the Coronation by sharing the King's love of nature. [File image]

He added: 'It is crucial that we replenish our biodiversity across the UK and even small steps can make a difference.

Cornflower, corn poppy, corn chamomile, corncockle, corn marigold and night-flowering catchfly will be included in the packets of seeds, which could be in bloom this summer if they are sown in the spring.

The wildflowers will provide food for a wide range of insects including bees, butterflies and other pollinators in school grounds across England.

Each seed packet covers about two square metres of blue, white, purple, red and yellow flowers that can be planted in pots, beds or borders.

Planting wildflowers will not only make school grounds more attractive but 'it will also help the next generation understand the importance of improving our biodiversity, while celebrating His Majesty the King's love of nature', according to schools minister Nick Gibb.

The DfE has commissioned a series of lesson plans and other teaching materials for primary and secondary schools to explain the significance of the coronation.

The charity Living Paintings has created a pack of tactile and audio resources to enable blind and partially-sighted children to learn about the coronation.

It is hoped children will want to learn about and improve the biodiversity of schools' green spaces and make them more attractive places to work. [File image]

The coronation of King Charles will take place this weekend on May 6

The Eden Project has also created free lesson resources for schools and families to learn how to make eco-decorations for their coronation celebrations using natural objects found in their surrounding green spaces.

The National Education Nature Park also brings together schools, colleges and other education settings into a vast virtual park.

It enables children and young people to get involved in practical steps to improve the biodiversity of their green spaces, then map it online to see over time how the virtual park changes.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has also commissioned a film for primary school-aged children, that can be played in classrooms or assemblies to explain the history and significance of the coronation.
The Princess of Wales is set to go without a tiara and wear a floral headpiece for the coronation of King Charles III, it is claimed.

Kate could be planning on ignoring the tradition of wearing her most spectacular tiara in favour of a more natural look at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6.

The move may disappoint traditionalists who will be hoping to see the Royal Family and guests looking their best for the occasion, the Times reports.

However, it would be in keeping with the theme her father-in-law has set so far during his reign, with his focus on greenery, nature and the environment.

When the invitations for the ceremony were sent out last month, they were adorned with images of flowers, birds, insects and the Green Man - while the thrones are being re-used rather than made new which would be customary.

The Princess of Wales, pictured here wearing a headpiece made of flowers in Tuvalu in 2012, could avoid wearing a tiara on the day of King Charles' coronation

It is reported Kate might not wear a tiara, such as the one pictured here during a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2018

Kate, who is thought to have wanted to wear a floral headpiece on her wedding day 12 years ago but eschewed it in favour of a traditional tiara, could wear a crown of flowers next week, the Times reports.

READ MORE HERE: How Kate Middleton nearly ignored the dazzling Cartier Halo tiara on her wedding day - because she preferred a crown of natural fresh flowers instead Advertisement

It claims that other women within the Firm could follow suit in avoiding wearing tiaras, but stresses these are just thought to be rumours at this point, with royal sources refusing to confirm or deny this.

Kensington Palace declined to comment when approached by The Times on whether the Princess of Wales would wear a tiara.

Sally Bedell Smith, a biographer of the royal family, told the publication: 'The sight of the Princess of Wales in a floral crown will set a particular tone, showing the King's reverence for nature and his passion for flowers.

'It seems like an especially egalitarian touch as well. As the wife of the future king, she will be setting an example for the other women in the congregation, who might find it awkward to even think of wearing tiaras.

'One result may be that the crowns and regalia covered with precious jewels may stand out in sharper relief as symbols of the monarchy.

'They are, after all, held in trust by the monarch for the nation and represent the continuity of the monarchy over one thousand years.'

If she does wear a jewellery-adorned headpiece, the Princess of Wales could wear the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara - a favourite of both herself and her late-mother-in-law Diana.

When Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953, the Queen Mother wore a circlet from the crown she had worn at the coronation of her father in 1937.

Princess Margaret, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Royal all wore tiaras.

The Times reports the Princess of Wales, pictured here in the Solomon Islands in 2012, could wear a crown of flowers at the coronation

Kate Middleton wore the stunning Cartier Halo tiara on her wedding day in April 2011 - but it has been reported that her first choice had been a simple crown of flowers

If true it would not be the first time Kate has been tempted to ignore tradition - she reportedly nearly didn't wear a formal headpiece at all on her wedding day 12 years ago.

It is understood that The Princess of Wales had hoped to wear a flower crown, as her mother Carole Middleton had done on her own wedding day.

However, she observed tradition and eventually agreed to a 739-diamond and 149 baguette-diamond Cartier Halo tiara.

Lent to the bride by the late Queen Elizabeth, this turned out to be her 'something borrowed' on the day itself, April 29.

Although Kate chose not to wear a flower crown, she still paid tribute to her family with her Robinson Pelham earrings - a gift from her parents - which featured a diamond acorn, intended to represent the Middleton family's coat of arms.

The four young bridesmaids, including William's cousin Lady Louise Windsor and Queen Camilla's granddaughter Eliza Lopes, wore white flower crowns Lily Of The Valley and ivy.

These were believed to mirror the headpiece worn by Carole at her wedding in 1980.
press release

What: Policy Dialogue on presenting a new vision for Asia-Africa Cooperation on Natural Gas.

Who: African Development Bank Group

When: Tuesday, 16 May 2023; 8:00-10:00 AM GMT | 13:30-15:30 PM (India Standard Time) | 16:00-18:00 PM (China Standard Time) | 17:00-19:00 PM (Japan/Korea Standard Time)

Where: Virtual (Click here to register)

The African Development Bank's Asia External Representation Office (PEXT) and African Natural Resources Management and Investment Center (ECNR) will jointly host a policy dialogue, A New Vision for Africa: Asia-Africa Cooperation on Natural Gas.

The virtual event aims to raise awareness among the African and Asian public about the potential and advantages of natural gas development in Africa and create a platform for information sharing and dialogue between the Bank, Asian academics, the private sector, and policymakers on natural gas development. It will also encourage investment in infrastructure to enable domestic natural gas use.

In terms of production and demand, Africa's share of the world's natural gas market has risen significantly. Over the next two decades, the continent is projected to emerge as a significant producer, consumer, and exporter of natural gas. Asia, on the other hand, has been a primary importer and consumer of natural gas; many countries in the region have been significantly impacted by market disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Cooperation between Asia and Africa in the natural gas industry can be mutually beneficial and highly complementary. The policy dialogue will explore Africa's natural gas industry and the essential role of Asia-Africa cooperation in unlocking domestic and global natural gas supply chain.

The webinar will be conducted primarily in English, with simultaneous interpretation services in French.

Click here to register; click here to submit questions

Enquiries:

Mr. Naoshige Kinoshita | Deputy Head | Asia External Representation Office | African Development Bank Group | email: [email protected]

Mr. Charles Nyirahuku | Chief Gas Sector Officer | African Natural Resource management and Investment Center | African Development Bank Group | email: [email protected].org

Ms. Yuna Choi | Senior External Relations and Communication Officer | African Development Bank Group | email: [email protected]

Mr. Min Zou | Knowledge Dissemination and Exchange Consultant | African Development Bank Group | email: [email protected]
He made the comments hours before he was due to leave for coronation

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday that he personally favours his country becoming a republic, but it is not a change he intends to push for as leader.

He made the comments to reporters hours before he was due to leave for this week's coronation of King Charles III in London.

New Zealand, a former British colony, is self-governing but Charles retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state and king. He is represented in New Zealand by a governor-general.

Like many former British colonies, New Zealand continues to wrestle with what  if any  constitutional role the British monarchy should play in modern times.

Barbados chose to become a republic in 2021, Jamaica said last year that it plans to pursue independence, and in February Australia decided to remove the British monarch from the last of its banknotes, although an image of Charles is expected to feature on coins.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has said he personally favours his country becoming a republic but it is not an issue he intends to push for while leader

He made the comments to reporters hours before he was due to leave for this week's coronation of King Charles III in London

Mr Hipkins said: 'Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world, as we by and large do now.

'I don't think that swapping out the governor-general for some other form of head of state is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though.'

Mr Hipkins faces an election later this year and has already ditched many of his government's more contentious policies as he tries to refocus the political agenda on what he describes as bread-and-butter issues such as the cost of living.

He unexpectedly rose to power following the shock decision in January of Jacinda Ardern to step down.

Ms Ardern had previously said she believed New Zealand would eventually become a republic but it was not a legislative priority. Mr Hipkins, however, has stated his own support of republicanism more forcefully.

'I believe we should ultimately be an independent country,' he said.

People walk beneath flags of the Union and Commonwealth along The Mall, towards Buckingham Palace, in central London, on Sunday ahead of the Coronation

But he said the current constitutional arrangements are working well and he is not interested in pushing the republic debate on to New Zealanders.

'Honestly, I think it is something for New Zealanders to instigate a discussion on, and there isn't a groundswell of support for having this particular debate right at the moment,' he said.

Mr Hipkins inadvertently acknowledged that he has a meeting planned with Charles during his trip, but declined to say what they would discuss.

While in London, Mr Hipkins also plans to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to advance a free trade deal the two nations struck in 2021.
Princesses Eugenie showed off her baby bump again today as she was pictured with her sister Beatrice and their husbands, who were wearing matching outfits, at a west London restaurant.

The mother-of-one, 33, who is expecting her second child in the next few months, beamed in a blue smock dress alongside her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two-year-old son August.

The family were joined by Beatrice, 34, her other half Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and their daughter Sienna, who is one. Beatrice twinned a blue gown with a pair of beige trainers.

The sisters were enjoying a birthday bash at the Bluebird in Chelsea, days after former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis said she feared her infamous Newsnight interview with their father Prince Andrew may have 'hurt' them.

Jack and Edoardo were both wearing dark jeans, matching blue shirts with white T-shirts below and even the same navy-coloured baseball caps.

Princesses Eugenie showed off her baby bump again today as she was pictured with her sister Beatrice and their husbands at a west London restaurant. Above: The mother-of-one, 33, is seen outside the Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea

The family were joined by Beatrice, 34, her other half Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and their daughter Sienna, who is two-and-a-half. Beatrice twinned a blue gown with a pair of beige trainers

The Duke of York's disastrous discussion addressed questions over his relationship with the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

He denied allegations that Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was trafficked to have sex with him when she was 17.

Within two years of that interview the Queen had stripped him of his military affiliations, royal patronages and use of his HRH title and he settled a civil lawsuit brought by Ms Giuffre for a reported 12million ($16.3m).

Writing in The Times, Ms Maitlis said she and Andrew would 'be forever interlinked by the most random of locations (Pizza Express, Woking) and the most imaginative of excuses (an inability to sweat).'

But she equally struggled 'in the aftermath' with how Prince Andrew's revelations would impact his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.

'How could an interview that aimed to provide answers for vulnerable young women not end up hurting other vulnerable young women  his daughters  along the way?'

Jack Brooksbank is seen with his son August as wife Princess Eugenie walks behind them

Princess Eugenie is seen walking to her car after the birthday bash at the Bluebird restaurant

Princess Eugenie walks alongside her husband Jack Brooksbank as they leave the Bluebird restaurant in Chelsea

Beatrice and Edoardo smiled on the streets of London after the 'birthday party' ahead of Charles's Coronation

The families were attending a birthday celebration at the exclusive West London venue

Princess Beatrice carries her daughter as she walks alongside her husband Edorado Mapelli Mozzi today

The daughter of Prince Andrew was making an appearance alongside her younger sister

Princess Beatrice, wearing a blue gown, is seen getting in to her car as her husband stands by

The royal couple are appearing in public less than a week before the Coronation of King Charles

She added: 'In truth, I think we always suspected the interview could come to define the prince. I think I was less prepared for the way it would come to define me too.'

Maitlis also questioned whether Prince Andrew had agreed to the interview for the sake of Beatrice ahead of her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi just months later.

Last week, Beatrice and Eugenie were together at The Princess Royal pub in Notting Hill, where they were joined by A-list friends including James Blunt and Piers Morgan.

The Blunts are close friends with a number of members of the royal family.

Both James and Sofia were guests at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018, and Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October.

Both Beatrice and Eugenie are expected to attend King Charles's Coronation on Saturday.

However, their mother Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has not been invited to the event.

Royal commentator Tom Bower told MailOnline that Sarah had excluded herself because of her previous 'conduct'.

The appeared days after former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis said she feared her infamous Newsnight interview with their father Prince Andrew may have 'hurt' them

He added that her presence would 'provoke critical comment which Charles doesn't need'.

And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams praised the 'extremely wise' decision from the King because she has been an 'embarrassment to the Royal Family for many years'.

But the apparent decision has surprised some royal watchers - with Meghan Markle's friend Omid Scobie tweeting: 'If true, this feels kinda cruel, no?'

Since the snub, the Duchess was spotted in the passenger seat of a Range Rover being driven by her ex-husband.
Britain would decisively back the monarchy if a referendum were held tomorrow, a major poll reveals.

The largest study on the royals since the Queen's death gives the King a welcome boost in his Coronation week.

Well over half the United Kingdom would vote for a constitutional monarchy, with less than a quarter against, the poll by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft reveals.

In a further boon for Charles III, two thirds of the 11,450 people surveyed agreed that the Royal Family 'might seem a strange system in this day and age, but it works'.

Roughly the same margin also backed the current system as 'more stable' and 'an asset for the UK'.

The largest study on the royals since the Queen's death has given the King a welcome boost in his Coronation week (Pictured: Charles and Camilla pose for a picture in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace on April 4, 2023)

Try our interactive quiz below to find out how much of a royalist or republican you really are:

Your browser does not support iframes.

But while the exclusive analysis for the Mail may give cause for hope, it also reveals King Charles must change things if the monarchy is to survive.

Some 73 per cent agreed that 'the Royal Family needs to modernise to have any chance of surviving', including three out of four monarchists.

Lord Ashcroft warns: 'If the royals don't need our votes, they still need our consent. Without public support, the monarchy will be on borrowed time.'

The survey also reveals:

Some 65 per cent of the population believe the Royal Family is a net asset  even one in five of those who would vote for a republic agree;

England, Scotland and Wales would vote to keep the monarchy in a vote tomorrow  but Northern Ireland would favour a republic by 46 per cent to 42;

There is an age divide, with those aged 18 to 34 in favour of a republic, while those aged 65+ are strongly for the monarchy;

Opinion is split by race, with most Asian and black African or Caribbean respondents believing the monarchy is for 'some people', while the population at large feels it is 'for everyone';

Harry and Meghan's popularity continues to slide, with the couple on approval ratings of 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively, making only Prince Andrew less liked;

Nearly half (46 per cent) of the population do not believe the accusations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but a third believe them.

On having a monarchy, replies from the focus groups included: 'I think it's just part of Britain. I can't imagine being without it.'

One respondent said: 'When we do a state visit, nobody else can offer what we can. People might come to the UK and go, 'Great, dinner with Rishi Sunak.'

But if there's a state dinner, red carpets rolled out and it's the Royal Family, I think that's something.'

Another remarked: 'When I was at school in Nigeria, even our nursery rhymes  'I've been to London to look at the Queen'  we already saw Britain, we saw the monarchy. It was a positive thing.'

Across all those surveyed, however, 67 per cent  including 58 per cent of pro-monarchy voters  agreed that 'the Royal Family should be scaled down and its cost significantly reduced'.

Britain would decisively back the monarchy if a referendum were held tomorrow, a major poll reveals. (Pictured: Camilla and Charles at the State Opening of Parliament in 2013)

Well over half the United Kingdom would vote for a constitutional monarchy, with less than a quarter against, the poll by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft reveals (Pictured: Prince William and Kate Middleton share a public kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their wedding in 2011)

Harry and Meghan's popularity continues to slide, with the couple on approval ratings of 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively, new poll shows

READ MORE... LORD ASHCROFT: The monarchy has to change, but the King has time and goodwill on his hands LORD ASHCROFT: Nobody elected the King. Depending on your point of view, this is either an indefensible outrage or the beauty of a constitutional monarchy: a head of state above the grubbiness of politics, who can therefore unite people whatever their allegiance Advertisement

Exposing the challenging path King Charles III must navigate, focus group respondents revealed a fine line between cutting costs and keeping the magic.

Most respondents said of the Coronation: 'If you're going to do it, do it properly,' with one remarking: 'The bling is the thing that makes it.'

Lord Ashcroft said Charles 'has time and goodwill on his side', but warns: 'Without public support, the monarchy will be on borrowed time.'

Writing in today's Mail, he says: 'Nobody elected the King. Depending on your point of view, this is either an indefensible outrage or the beauty of a constitutional monarchy: a head of state above the grubbiness of politics, who can therefore unite people whatever their allegiance. But if the royals don't need our votes, they still need our consent.'

He found Charles has an approval rating of just 54 per cent, well below his late mother who at 76 per cent is still the most popular Royal ahead of Prince William (64 per cent).

Of Republican voters, 69 per cent said they were 'happy to continue with the monarchy under Queen Elizabeth, but now I think it's time for a change'.

While more respondents said they believed we would vote to keep the monarchy in ten years' time rather than ditch it, they thought a referendum in 50 years would result in a republic.

Lord Ashcroft found that many people said King Charles 'already seems warmer and more relaxed than he once did'.

The King's love story is also starting to cut through, with people saying they 'admire' him for going 'against public opinion' to marry Camilla.

One remarked: 'Camilla has turned it round. She wasn't so popular at first because of Diana, but she's an incredibly hard-working royal.'

Some 56 per cent of those surveyed believe that King Charles can unite everyone no matter who they voted for  something he will need to do.

For while Lord Ashcroft says that 'the King has no immediate worries' with public support, his research has revealed a nation deeply divided on the future of the Windsors.

England, Scotland and Wales are all in favour of a monarchy, but Northern Ireland would vote immediately for a republic.

Most Scots and Irish disagreed that Charles can unite everyone in the country. Some 48 per cent of those surveyed said the monarchy felt more like 'mostly an English thing', against 42 per cent saying it was 'something shared by all parts of the UK'.

There is also a huge generational divide. Of 18 to 24-year-olds, 34 per cent favour a republic with 28 per cent for the monarchy.

READ MORE: 'It makes me proud to be British': The Royal superfans who started camping out on the Mall more than a week before the Coronation tell of their joy at celebrating 'once in a lifetime' experience John Loughrey, a well-known royal fan, who was wearing a t-shirt adorned with the King's image, excitedly told how Charles waved towards them when he was driven past with Queen Consort Camilla on Friday Advertisement

But those aged 65 and over would vote to keep the monarchy by 74 per cent to 14 per cent.

The UK also appears split along race lines. Some 52 per cent of Asians and 65 per cent of black African or Caribbean felt the monarchy was only for 'some types of people' rather than 'for everyone'.

This is in contrast with Britain as a whole, where 48 per cent feel it is for everyone and 41 per cent for certain types.

Lord Ashcroft split respondents into five categories: the Committed Royalists (7 per cent of Britain); Mainstream Monarchists (32 per cent); Neutral Pragmatists (24 per cent); Modern Republicans (19 per cent); and Angry Abolitionists (18 per cent).

At the fringes, the Committed Royalists believe the King can unite everyone, while the Angry Abolitionists see the monarchy as a divisive and anachronistic institution with a colonialist and racist legacy.

Most people are Mainstream Monarchists, who see the monarchy as a force for stability and continuity, but believe the institution needs to modernise to survive.

Neutral Pragmatists think the alternative to the royals might end up being worse but feel they need to be scaled back. Modern Republicans think the passing of the Queen was a good moment to change, but believe other issues are more important.

Tomorrow, we publish data on the views of the monarchy held by residents of the 14 non-UK countries where the King is head of state.
Most Britons believe that King Charles should not apologise for the royals' historic role in slavery and colonialism around the world.

Despite a growing clamour, 55 per cent are against him saying sorry, the poll reveals, with 27 per cent for it.

The remaining 18 per cent are undecided. Interestingly, a third of republican voters said that Charles 'should make no such apology' while 57 per cent were in favour.

But 59 per cent of black African or Caribbean respondents called on him to apologise with 18 per cent against.

The statistics lay bare the difficult path King Charles must navigate in trying to keep Commonwealth nations on side without being accused of provoking division at home.

Despite a growing clamour, 55 per cent of the British public are against King Charles saying sorry (state opening of parliament in 2022)

It comes after Barbados voted to become a republic in 2021 with growing movements across the nations from Jamaica to Australia.

Calls for slavery reparations and fury over the Windrush scandal followed William and Kate across Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas during their disastrous Caribbean tour last year.
Just last week a dead NASA satellite crashed back to Earth amid warnings it had a one in 2,500 chance of killing someone.

As it was, the spacecraft smashed harmlessly into the Sahara Desert somewhere between Sudan and Egypt, but it once again highlighted the increasing risk of space junk in our daily lives.

Such is the scale of the problem that scientists have even warned there is a 10 per cent chance that a person could be struck and killed by a falling spacecraft or spent rocket booster within the next decade.

The European Space Agency estimates that there is more than 10,800 tons of space junk currently orbiting the Earth, including 130 million objects that include a nine-ton Russian rocket, Cold War spy satellites and the 12-ton iconic Hubble.

Here, MailOnline takes a look at the biggest debris up there, and when we need to watch out for it.

Concern: MailOnline takes a look at the biggest debris up there, and when we need to watch out for it. This still image, from the satellite monitoring and collision detection firm LeoLabs, shows the space junk that is currently circling the Earth

Russian rockets (9 tons EACH)

Some of the biggest objects of concern are spent Russian rocket boosters launched between 1992 and 2001.

They include 18 examples of the nine-ton, 36ft (11m)-long upper stage of a Russian Zenit rocket, which are currently lurking in what has been termed a 'bad neighbourhood' around 520 miles (840km) high.

'They're like a big yellow school bus without a driver, without brakes,' said Darren McKnight, a senior technical fellow at satellite monitoring and collision detection firm LeoLabs.

Some of the biggest objects of concern are spent Russian rocket boosters launched between 1992 and 2001. They include 18 examples of the 9-tonne, 36ft (11m)-long upper stage of a Russian Zenit rocket (pictured)

The Russian rockets are currently lurking in what has been termed a 'bad neighbourhood' around 520 miles (840km) high

The good news is that at this altitude it will take centuries for the debris to crash back to Earth.

HOW MANY ITEMS ARE THERE IN ORBIT? Rocket launches since 1957: 6,380

6,380 Number of satellites in orbit: 15,430

15,430 Number still in space: 10,290

10,290 Number still functioning: 7,500

7,500 Number of debris objects: 33,050

33,050 Break-ups, explosions etc: 640

640 Mass of objects in orbit: 10,800 tons

10,800 tons Prediction of the amount of debris in orbit using statistical models Over 10cm: 36,500

36,500 1cm to 10cm: 1,000,000

1,000,000 1mm to 1cm: 130 million Source: European Space Agency Advertisement

But it's still coming down eventually, unless we can find a way to safely remove it  which is why there is an increasing number of startup ventures trying to come up with concepts for how to do this.

China's Long March (23 tons)

There has been a lot of controversy over China's Long March 5B rockets, which are of great concern due to their size.

Just last year, there were warnings that debris from one out-of-control Long March booster could come down over a populated area.

Fortunately it crashed to Earth over the Indian and Pacific oceans, but this rocket will not be the last of its kind that causes alarm.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told MailOnline the Long March 5B boosters were among 'the most worrying' because they are so large.

The problem with China's rockets is rooted in the risky design of the country's launch process.

Usually, discarded rocket stages re-enter the atmosphere soon after lift off, normally over water, and don't go into orbit. But the Long March 5B rocket does.

There have been calls by Nasa for the Chinese space agency to design rockets to disintegrate into smaller pieces upon re-entry, as is the international norm.

But Beijing has previously rejected accusations of irresponsibility, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying the likelihood of damage to anything or anyone on the ground is 'extremely low'.

There has been a lot of controversy over China's Long March 5B rockets (pictured), which are of great concern due to their size

Hubble Telescope (12 tons)

Another object that is enormous.

Although Hubble is still going  and likely able to extend its 23-year stay in space by another decade  when its mission does finally come to an end it could become a problematic piece of debris.

NASA has said it plans to 'safely de-orbit or dispose of Hubble' at the end of the telescope's lifetime, but this may be easier said than done.

Although the iconic Hubble Telescope (pictured) is still going  and likely able to extend its 23-year stay in space by another decade  when its mission does finally come to an end it could become a problematic piece of debris

Unlike some of the modern Starlink satellites being launched into constellations above Earth, Hubble has no onboard propulsion system that could slowly lower its altitude and bring it safely down in the ocean.

Weighing a whopping 12 tons, that has the alarm bells ringing.

This is also not a problem scientists have decades to solve, either. Because Hubble is in a relatively low orbit about 332 miles (535 km) above the Earth's surface, it would likely take only a few years to crash back down.

Unlike some pieces of debris, experts can't rely on it fully burning up in the atmosphere during re-entry either.

That's because its huge size means large chunks of it could well wreak havoc by damaging aircraft in the air or hitting humans and buildings on the ground.

Envisat (8 tons)

This European Earth-observing satellite is another that has earned its place among the potentially deadly space junk items because of its sheer size.

Weighing around eight tons, Envisat is one of the largest pieces of space junk in orbit.

The satellite has been dead since shutting down unexpectedly in 2012, when it did not respond to any commands.

Weighing around eight tons, Europe's Envisat is one of the largest pieces of space junk in orbit

It was a bitter blow for the European Space Agency (ESA) in more ways the one, in part because it was seen as Europe's flagship Earth-observing satellite and secondly due to it being a blot on the reputation of an agency that prides itself on sustainability.

Envisat was launched in 2002 as the biggest non-military Earth-observation spacecraft ever put in orbit. It went five years beyond its planned lifetime but shut down two years earlier than ESA had hoped.

Cold War spy satellites (1 ton each)

Another Russian rocket, this time the SL-8, delivered about 145 Cold War spy and communication satellites to space between the 1960s and 1990s.

The satellites are no longer in use but they are clogging up near-Earth orbit, with each of them having a mass of 1,760 pounds (800km).

Both they and the spent SL-8 rocket stages are problematic because they cannot be controlled and could fall back to Earth at any time.

When they do, recent research suggests that those living in the global south will be at highest risk, with errant parts three times more likely to land at the latitudes of Jakarta, Dhaka and Lagos than those of New York, Beijing or Moscow.

The study was carried out by experts at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Another Russian rocket, this time the SL-8, delivered about 145 Cold War spy and communication satellites to space between the 1960s and 1990s

The International Space Station (400 tons)

Much like Hubble, the International Space Station will eventually have to be retired.

NASA is currently planning to do this by 2031, but the process will take several years as the observatory's orbit is gradually reduced by visiting spacecraft.

The US space agency can do this with a bit more control than Hubble, however, so although the ISS weighs almost 400 tons, it can be brought down somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area.

Much like Hubble, the International Space Station (pictured) will eventually have to be retired

A lot of the space station will burn up on re-entry but there will still be a large amount of debris expected and it could make quite the spectacle for anyone looking up at the night sky within its relative vicinity.

It should crash back down to Earth in January 2031.

The ISS itself is no stranger to space junk. It has actually had to carry out 29 debris avoidance manoeuvres since 1999, including three in 2020 alone.

What doesn't help is that some countries have decided to deliberately blow up their satellites with missiles as part of military test manoeuvres.
Last month, hundreds of thousands of Twitter users around the world logged on to find that their legacy blue ticks had been removed from their accounts as part of Elon Musk's latest shake-up.

Prior to Musk's takeover, blue ticks were used to let people know that an account of public interest was authentic.

However, they now simply indicate that an account is paying up to 11/month for the Twitter Blue subscription service.

If you had a legacy blue tick and are missing seeing it on your profile, you'll be happy to hear that there's a sneaky hack to bring it back.

However there's a catch - the change will only last until you refresh the app, at which point you'll have to wave goodbye to your blue tick once more.

If you had a legacy blue tick and are missing seeing it on your profile, you'll be happy to hear that there's a sneaky hack to bring it back

How to get your blue tick back? Open the Twitter app on your smartphone or the desktop version of the app. Log in, and navigate to your profile. Click or tap 'Edit Profile', then Save (you don't actually need to make any changes to your profile). You'll now see your legacy blue tick return to your profile. Advertisement

To bring back your blue tick, open the Twitter app on your smartphone or the desktop version of the app.

Log in, and navigate to your profile.

Click or tap 'Edit Profile', then Save (you don't actually need to make any changes to your profile).

You'll now see your legacy blue tick return to your profile!

However, there is a catch - as soon as you refresh the app or the webpage, your revived blue tick will disappear again.

Several eagle-eyed users have spotted the hack and tweeted their findings.

'When I edit my bio, my blue tick comes back, and it simply says "verified account". If I reload the app, it disappears,' one user wrote.

'Edit your profile in any way and your blue tick will return...BUT FOR HOW LONG? Twitter is wild,' another wrote.

And one joked: 'go to your profile..click on the edit button..you will then see your screen name displayed..tap on the end and just pop in a dino emoji and save.'

MailOnline tried the trick and was able to bring back a legacy blue tick. However, the change only lasts until you refresh the app

Under the original blue tick system, Twitter had roughly 400,000 verified users, including Hollywood actors and star athletes as well as journalists, human rights activists and public agencies.

In the past, the checks meant that Twitter had verified that users were who they said they were, as a method to prevent impersonation and the spread of misinformation.

But now anyone can buy a Twitter Blue subscription, and it no longer means the user is verified - other than confirming a phone number.

As well as the blue tick, the service promises a number of features including the ability to have more people see their tweets.

When Twitter Blue was first rolled out in November, users were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to essentially buy this symbol of authenticity.

Accounts impersonating famous people and corporations, including Musk himself, flooded the platform.

This forced the second richest man in the world to halt the verification process, but not before worried advertisers pulled their contracts.

Twitter Blue was relaunched the following month, with new systems to denote different types of verified accounts to help keep bad actors in check.

At the time, it did not require organisations with legacy check marks to pay for a subscription service in order to keep it, but this is no longer the case.
Paedophiles are using a popular new artificial intelligence (AI) platform to transform real photos of children into sexualised images, it has been revealed.

It has led to warnings to parents to be careful about the pictures of their children they're posting online.

The images were found on the US AI image generator Midjourney, which much like ChatGPT uses prompts to deliver an output, although these usually consist of pictures rather than words.

The platform is used by millions and has churned out such realistic images that people across the world have been fooled by them, including users on Twitter.

An image of Pope Francis donning a huge white puffer jacket with a cross hanging from his neck sent social media users into a frenzy earlier this year.

Investigation: Paedophiles are using the new artificial intelligence (AI) program Midjourney to transform real photos of children into sexualised images, it has been revealed.

There have also been fake images of Donald Trump's arrest and 'The Last Supper Selfie' produced using the platform.

WHAT IS MIDJOURNEY AI? Midjourney is an online image generator which much like ChatGPT uses prompts to deliver an output. However, these outputs usually consist of pictures rather than words. The platform is used by millions and has churned out such realistic images that people across the world have been fooled by them, including users on Twitter. An image of Pope Francis donning a huge white puffer jacket with a cross hanging from his neck sent social media users into a frenzy earlier this year. There have also been fake images of Donald Trump's arrest and 'The Last Supper Selfie' produced using the platform. Last year, the platform received a 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

The program has recently released a new version of its software which has increased the photorealism of its images, only serving to increase its popularity further.

An investigation by the Times found that some Midjourney users are creating a large number of sexualised images of children, as well as women and celebrities.

Among these are explicit deepfake images of Jennifer Lawrence and Kim Kardashian.

Users go through the communication platform Discord to create prompts and then upload the resulting images on the Midjourney website in a public gallery.

Despite the company saying that content should be 'PG-13 and family friendly', it has also warned that because the technology is new it 'does not always work as expected'.

Nevertheless, the explicit images discovered breach Midjourney's and Discord's terms of use.

Although virtual child sexual abuse images are not illegal in the US, in England and Wales content such as this - known as non-photographic imagery - is banned.

The NSPCC's associate head of child safety online policy, Richard Collard, said: 'It is completely unacceptable that Discord and Midjourney are actively facilitating the creation and hosting of degrading, abusive and sexualised depictions of children.

'In some cases, this material would be illegal under UK law and by hosting child abuse content they are putting children at a very real risk of harm.'

He added: 'It is incredibly distressing for parents and children to have their images stolen and adapted by offenders.

'By only posting pictures to trusted contacts and managing their privacy settings, parents can lessen the risk of images being used in this way.

'But ultimately tech companies must take responsibility for tackling the way their services are being used by offenders.'

In response to The Times' findings, Midjourney said it would ban users who had broken its rules.

Its CEO and founder David Holz added: 'Over the last few months, we've been working on a scalable AI moderator, which we began testing with the user base this last week.'

A spokesman for Discord told the Times: 'Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for the promotion and sharing of non-consensual sexual materials, including sexual deepfakes and child sexual abuse material.'

Midjourney is churning out such realistic images that people are being fooled. An image of Pope Francis donning a huge white puffer jacket with a cross hanging from his neck sent social media users into a frenzy earlier this eyar

The AI was also used to show former US President Donald Trump being arrested in New York

It has generated images of historical figures taking a selfie during well-known events, such as The Last Supper

The discovery comes amid growing concern about paedophiles exploiting virtual reality environments.

Earlier this year an NSPCC investigation revealed for the first time how platforms such as the metaverse are being used to abuse children.

Data showed that UK police forces had recorded eight examples where virtual reality (VR) spaces were used for child sexual abuse image crimes.

The metaverse, which is being primarily driven by Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, is a set of virtual spaces where you can game, work and communicate with others who aren't in the same physical space as you.

The Facebook founder has been a leading voice on the concept, which is seen as the future of the internet and would blur the lines between the physical and digital.

West Midlands police recorded five instances of metaverse abuse and Warwickshire one, while Surrey police recorded two crimes  including one that involved Meta's Oculus headset, which is now called the Quest.
They hope it can assist people who are paralyzed or suffer disability

Mind-reading technology can now transcribe peoples thoughts in real-time based on the blood flow in their brain.

A study put three people in MRI machines and got them to listen to stories.

For the first time, researchers claim, they produced a rolling text of peoples thoughts, and not just single words or sentences, without using a brain implant.

The mind-reading technology did not exactly replicate the stories, but captured the main points.

The breakthrough raises concerns about mental privacy as it could be the first step in being able to eavesdrop on others thoughts.

Using technology similar to ChatGPT, the technology also interpreted what people were seeing when they watched silent films, or their thoughts as they imagined telling a story.

Researchers exposed patients to thousands of hours of podcasts to determine a link between words and brain activity. Then, they asked the participants to either tell a story or recap and react to a news article

Researchers found that they could be able to read a person's thoughts with around 50 percent accuracy by using a novel MRI scanning method. They would expose a patient to hours of podcasts to see how their brain would react to different words, and then use the scan to determine

The brain reacts to different words using electrical signals and blood flow. Researchers built an AI model that can read those reactions and translate them into writing (file photo)

But the researchers point out that it took 16 hours of training, with someone listening to podcasts in an MRI machine, for the computer model to understand their brain patterns and interpret what they were thinking.

People were also able to sabotage the technology, using methods like mentally listing animals names, to stop it reading their thoughts.

Jerry Tang, lead author of the study from the University of Texas at Austin, said he could not prove a false sense of security that the technology might not have the potential to eavesdrop on peoples thoughts in the future, and said it could be misused now.

But he said: We take very seriously the concerns that it could be used for bad purposes.

And we want to dedicate a lot of time moving forward to try to try to avoid that.

I think, right now, while the technology is in such an early state, it's important to be proactive and get a head-start on, for one, enacting policies that protect people's mental privacy, giving people a right to their thoughts and their brain data.

We want to make sure that people only use these when they want to, and that it helps them.

Silicon Valley is very interested in mind-reading technology which could one day allow people to type just by thinking the words they want to communicate.

Elon Musks company, Neuralink, is working on a brain implant which could provide direct communication with computers.

But the new technology is relatively unusual in its field, in reading thoughts without using any kind of brain implant, so that no surgery is required.

While currently, it requires a bulky, expensive MRI machine, in the future people might wear patches on their head which use waves of light to penetrate into the brain and provide information on blood flow.

This could allow peoples thoughts to be detected as they move around.

The new study, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, used a decoder, which incorporates both a computer model to interpret peoples brain activity and language-processing technology similar to ChatGPT to help generate possible words.

After hours of training, the decoder was able to pick up what people were thinking about half the time.

That meant it produced text which closely, and sometimes exactly, matched the words people were listening to - working this out using only their brain activity.

For example, one person listening to a speaker say I dont have my drivers license yet had their thoughts translated as she has not even started to learn to drive yet.

The researchers say the breakthrough could help people who are mentally aware yet unable to speak, like stroke victims or those with motor neurone disease.

Unlike other mind-reading technology, it works when people think of any word, and not just those from a set list  although it struggles with pronouns like he and I.

It detects activity in language-forming regions of the brain, unlike other similar technology which typically detects how someone is imagining moving their mouth to form specific words.

Dr Alexander Huth, senior author of the study from the University of Texas at Austin, said: We were kind of shocked that this worked as well as it does.

This is a problem that Ive been working on for 15 years.

He added: For a non-invasive method, this is a real leap forward compared to whats been done before, which is typically single words or short sentences.

On concerns that the technology could be used on someone without them knowing, such as by an authoritarian regime interrogating political prisoners or an employer spying on employees, the researchers say the system can only read the thoughts of an individual after being trained on their thought patterns, so could not be applied to someone secretly.

Dr Huth said: If people don't want to have something decoded from their brains, they can control that using just their cognition - they can think about other things, and then it all breaks down.
Is is a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it a visitor from another world?

Those in Edinburgh think the latter, as it has been named the top city in the UK for UFO sightings.

A survey found that 18 per cent of residents in the Scottish capital claim to have spotted something otherworldly in the sky.

London and Leicester came second and third on the list, with 14 and 12 per cent respectively, according to the research commissioned by the National Geographic.

In it, 2,000 UK adults were asked if they believed they had seen a UFO whizzing above their hometown, as well as their opinions on extraterrestrial life.

A survey has found that 18 per cent of residents in Edinburgh claim to have spotted something otherworldly in the sky. London and Leicester came second and third on the list, with 14 and 12 per cent respectively, according to the research commissioned by the National Geographic

Leicester, which came second on the list, is only just over an hour's drive away from Bonsall in Derbyshire. The unsuspecting village was named the ' UFO hotspot' of the UK last month, as it has been central to numerous sightings over the years. Pictured: A reported UFO sighting in Bonsall, Derbyshire from 2001

Just under half of the survey participants said they believe in the existence of aliens, while ten per cent claimed they have witnessed something 'unusual'.

TOP 10 CITIES WITH THE MOST UFO SIGHTINGS Edinburgh  18 per cent Leicester  14 per cent London  12 per cent Sheffield  11 per cent Newcastle  10 per cent Leeds  10 per cent Manchester  8 per cent Birmingham  7 per cent Bristol  7 per cent Glasgow  3 per cent Percentage of residents who claim to have seen a UFO Advertisement

Moreover, 59 per cent of those people believe their odd encounter was of alien origin.

It comes after scientists from the University of California said that aliens could make contact with Earth as soon as 2029.

Nick Pope, a former UFO investigator for the Ministry of Defence, said: 'UFOs are big news now, and a lot of people are reporting - and sometimes filming - extraordinary things.

'While many people are convinced these sightings involve alien life, most cases turn out to be misidentifications.

'The chances are that there's intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and even though the vast distances make direct contact a challenge, encountering an alien civilisation would be the biggest story in human history.'

Just under a third of those surveyed believe that humankind will at some point make contact with aliens, and about one in three want the Ministry of Defences UFO Project to be restarted.

The division was axed in 2009 after nearly 60 years of official research and investigations.

In 2016, Mr Pope said that of the 12,000 sightings that the programme investigated, approximately five per cent remained unexplained.

The former investigator said in 1980 the department were alerted to a UFO close to the Bentwaters and Woodbridge airbases.

The team later concluded that radiation levels at the site had been 'significantly higher than the average background'.

Just under half of the survey participants said they believe in the existence of aliens, while ten per cent claimed they have witnessed something 'unusual'. Pictured: A motorist captured the lights from an apparent UFO on his dashcam while driving on the M8, close to Edinburgh

Pictured: A strange light was seen hovering in the sky above Eltham in South London in 2014

Nick Pope (pictured), a former UFO investigator for the Ministry of Defence, said: 'UFOs are big news now, and a lot of people are reporting - and sometimes filming - extraordinary things'

Indeed, last year, NASA announced it was to conduct its first ever study into unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

These are events in the sky that cannot be absolutely identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena.

Leicester, which came second on the list, is only just over an hour's drive away from Bonsall in Derbyshire.

The unsuspecting village was named the 'UFO hotspot' of the UK last month, as it has been central to numerous sightings over the years.

Some claim that even NASA has shown interest in the area, after one local spotter recorded a mysterious flying object in the night sky.

UFO-believers in Leicester also most often claim they have found actual evidence or had an experience proving the existence of aliens.

Respondents to the recent survey were asked about why they thought aliens may contact Earth, and 41 per cent said they believe they would be here to carry out scientific study.

Another 21 per cent fear they would be harvesting the planet for raw materials, and 11 per cent wouldnt be surprised to see the entire human race taken into slavery.

In November, a group of scientists from the University of St Andrews said they will be putting together a plan for what to do if we encounter aliens here on Earth.

On their website, they write that humans are 'entirely unprepared' for contact with intelligent life from other worlds.

The National Geographic survey was commissioned ahead of its new documentary series 'UFOs: Investigating the Unknown', which airs on May 2 at 8pm.
Musicians and record labels are constantly searching for ways to make shows more spectacular for gig goers.

But one particular experience promises to be out of the world, after a space tourism firm revealed plans for zero-gravity music concerts starting this year.

Florida-based Zero-G, which has been offering microgravity flights aboard a modified Boeing 727-200 since 2004, has already put on a rave flight, but now wants to host performances by DJs, rap artists and pop stars.

One day it also wants to invite instrument groups, too.

The one stumbling block if you do want to attend may be the cost, however, as tickets are priced at an eye-watering $9,000 (7,100) each.

Gigs out of this world: Florida-based Zero-G, which has been offering microgravity flights aboard a modified Boeing 727-200 since 2004, has already put on a rave flight, but now wants to host performances by DJs, rap artists and pop stars

During the concert flight, passengers will be played three or four songs while the aircraft is ascending and as the zero-gravity intervals begin, despite the aircraft not actually going to space.

KEY FACTS: WHAT WILL THE ZERO GRAVITY GIG BE LIKE? Artists: Pop, rap and DJs Plane: Modified Boeing 727-200 Company: Zero-G Flight time: 100 minutes Length of weightlessness: Fifteen parabolas, each one simulating 30 seconds of reduced gravity Number of passengers: 28 Ticket price: $9,000 (7,100) Advertisement

'From the artist's perspective, it's a way for them to push the boundaries of what's been done in live performances,' Greg Melon, director of marketing and consumer sales, told Space.com.

'Everyone has some new crazy light show or onstage prop and it's just rinse and repeat. This is a way for them to host not only a memorable live music experience, but to host an unforgettable one.

'From the audience's side, it lets them have a unique experience listening to one of their favourite artists playing their favourite songs, but also doing it while floating in zero gravity with that artist only feet away in a more intimate setting considering that we only take 28 passengers at a time.'

Zero-G came up with the concert idea and was met with a positive response when it reached out to a few record labels and artists to gauge interest.

Allison Odyssey, Zero-G's chief operating officer, said the company was already in touch with some likely candidates.

'Zero gravity concerts offer an unforgettable experience for both the artist and their closest fans,' she added.

'Just imagine Dua Lipa singing "Levitating", while in zero gravity. As a musician how do you even begin to top that?'

The company's flights last around 100 minutes and include 15 parabolas, each one simulating 30 seconds of reduced gravity.

Each passenger is given a Zero-G flight suit that they get to keep, meaning they will own the same outfit as previous celebrities who have flown over the years.

These include Elon Musk, Titanic director James Cameron and model Kate Upton.

During the concert flight, passengers will be played three or four songs while the aircraft is ascending and as the zero-gravity intervals begin

The one stumbling block if you do want to attend may be the price, however, as tickets are priced at an eye-watering $9,000 (7,100) each

Proposal: Zero-G reached out to a few different labels and artists directly to gauge interest

Zero-G ultimately wants to offer three zero-gravity concerts a year, but as yet has not confirmed any dates for them to take place.

The firm plans to be able to launch from wherever in America an artist wants to host a concert from, including Los Angeles, Houston, or Miami.

'We fly all around the country, so it's really just a matter of which date and location best suits the artist's schedule,' said Odyssey.

The only stipulation is the destination needs to have an 8,000ft-long runway.

For more information, including details of when any upcoming concerts will be taking place, visit the Zero-G website.

The announcement comes just days after another space tourism company revealed plans to offer diners the chance to travel to the edge of space on a huge balloon, where they were be treated to Michelin-starred cuisine at 15.5 miles (25 km) above the Earth.

Ambitious: Zero-G ultimately wants to offer three zero-gravity concerts a year, but as yet has not confirmed any dates for them to take place

Flexible: The firm plans to be able to launch from wherever in America an artist wants to host a concert from, such as Los Angeles, Houston, or Miami

Another venture: The announcement comes just days after another space tourism company revealed plans to offer diners the chance to travel to the edge of space on a huge balloon, where they were be treated to Michelin-starred cuisine at 15.5 miles (25 km) above the Earth

Pre-sale tickets for the 2025 flight have been priced at 105,000 (120,000) per person.

Zephalto plans to launch the balloon from France on a six-hour experience that will include three hours at its highest altitude  above 98 per cent of the atmosphere and twice as high as the average commercial jet.

The balloon's capsule, which has a large panoramic window and can carry six passengers and two pilots, ascends at a speed of 4m/s and takes an hour-and-a-half to reach its peak altitude.

Once at the edge of space, guests aboard the Celeste stratospheric balloon will get to take in a breathtaking panorama of the Earth, sun and the stars that has previously been reserved only for astronauts.

Travellers even get a luxury culinary experience, with meals cooked by famous French chefs and wine that is selected by a renowned sommelier.
As per the State Security Service's report, two Georgian citizens were unlawfully detained by representatives of the Russian occupation forces in the occupied territory close to the Kareli municipality's Dvani village.The State Security Service promptly informed the co-chairs of the international discussions in Geneva about the incident, as well as the international partners involved."On April 30, representatives of the Russian occupation forces illegally arrested two Georgian citizens in the occupied territory near the village of Dvani, Kareli municipality. Upon receiving the information about the mentioned incident, the State Security Service activated the hotline operated by the EU Monitoring Mission.International partners and co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions were immediately informed about the incident. All existing mechanisms have been activated to release illegally detained persons in the shortest possible time.Responsibility for all destructive actions committed on the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as along the occupation line, rests with the occupying power," the statement reads.Deputy Health Minister Tamar Gabunia announced that members of the "Little People of Georgia" organization will be able to participate in the activities of both the coordination council, which deals with rare diseases, and the multidisciplinary group that focuses on achondroplasia issues. The Ministry of Health's press service released her statement.Tamar Gabunia stated that the Ministry is prepared to expedite the development of necessary protocols and guidelines for managing achondroplasia in the best interest of children."According to statements from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, active work is currently underway to proactively plan and negotiate various measures included in the achondroplasia protocol, with the involvement of specialists in the field.Additionally, the agency is in communication with the company that produces the medicine "Vosoritide" to ensure that all necessary procedures can be provided for children after the development of the protocol and management mechanisms," stated Tamar Gabunia.The Ministry stated that their proposal to fund the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of diseases related to achondroplasia is applicable both within Georgia and overseas.
press release

New policy brings retaliation by contractors, consultants and suppliers under the Bank's sanctions regime

The African Development Bank Group has launched a six-month campaign to sensitize its internal and external stakeholders on its new Whistleblowing Policy, approved by the Boards of Directors in January this year.

The Whistleblowing Policy 2023 builds on a 2007 policy, which at the time was widely considered as progressive and reflective of the value the Bank Group places on the contribution of whistleblowers to its anti-corruption processes, and its zero tolerance of any retaliation against them.

The new policy sets additional standards, by bringing the Bank's Boards members and elected officials under the disciplinary scope of the policy where they are found to have threatened or participated in retaliation against any internal or external party reporting fraud and corruption in Bank operations, or assisting in audits, investigations and disciplinary processes.

Enhancing its ability to protect external whistleblowers, the new policy classifies retaliation by external parties within the context of AfDB-financed operations as Obstructive Practices, which are subject to debarment under the Bank's sanctions system.

The new policy ensures that the Bank will continue to protect natural persons or entities:

who make disclosures of fraud or corruption in good faith,

who refuse to violate the law by making public disclosures,

who challenge national or international illegality, as well as abuse of authority, mismanagement, gross waste, or substantial health or safety threats,

who are mistakenly identified as whistleblowers,

including AfDB staff and consultants, private citizens, development partners, non-governmental organisations, professional bodies, government officials and officials of other international financial institutions, and

employees of vendors and contractors participating in AfDB-financed projects, by making the guarantees of whistleblower rights by employers, a contract condition.

The new Whistleblower Policy also ensures due process guarantees by:

providing interim relief to persons impacted by retaliation pending the final determination of their grievances,

protecting the rights of whistleblowers to seek recourse against decisions made by the Bank,

protecting the anonymity of whistleblowers by maintaining confidentiality in its processes, and

protecting the rights of whistleblowers to be notified of the status of their submissions.

The Bank's Boards of Directors have further committed to reviewing the new policy in 2028, after five years of implementation, taking into consideration implementation reports and feedback from stakeholders.

In 2007, a review of the Bank's whistleblowing policy by the United States-based Government Accountability Project (GAP) indicated that the African Development Bank was the first multilateral development bank to substantially comply with the whistleblower transparency reforms authored by senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Richard Lugar (R-In.) and approved in an October 2005 U.S. appropriations law. GAP described the 2007 policy, as setting "a new standard for protecting staff members and others from retaliation when they report fraud or corruption [and]... guaranteeing employment for vindicated whistleblowers who suffer retaliation."

Whistleblowing Policy 2023 Sensitization Campaign to last six months

Speaking at the launch of the Whistleblowing Policy sensitization campaign at the Bank's headquarters in Abidjan on Tuesday 25 April, Paula Santos-Da Costa, Director of the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption, stated: "the campaign will be implemented over a six-month period in the Bank's headquarters, regional and country offices and in Regional Member Countries."

Santos-Da Costa, the Bank's designated chief whistleblower protection officer, said the campaign will be carried out through a variety of activities including, installation of information desks, dissemination of information, education and communication materials such as fact sheets and FAQs. The campaign will also engage beneficiary communities hosting Bank-financed projects, civil society organisations, relevant professional bodies, contractors and government officials involved in project implementation.

The director further stated that an internal guideline has been developed and issued to "ensure the strategic and efficient implementation of the Whistleblowing Policy 2023".

The African Development Bank Group Whistleblowing Policy 2023 can be downloaded from the Bank's website in English and French.

The Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption

The Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption of the African Development Bank Group is responsible for preventing, deterring and investigating allegations of corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices in Bank Group-financed operations and is tasked with coordinating the Bank Group's implementation of the Whistleblowing Policy and maintaining the whistleblower complaint channels.

For more information visit https://www.afdb.org/en/about-us/organisational-structure/integrity-and-anti-corruption/

African Development Bank staff and the general public can use secured channels of the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption to report fraud, corruption and staff misconduct within the Bank or operations financed by the Bank Group through the following channels:

Secured telephone (24/7): +1 (770) 776-5658

Secured email address: [email protected]; or [email protected]

Complaint form (Anonymity enabled): https://www.afdb.org/en/about-us/organisational-structure/integrity-and-anti-corruption/complaint-form

Mail correspondence should be marked "CONFIDENTIAL" and sent to:

African Development Bank

Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption (PIAC)

Immeuble du Centre de commerce International d'Abidjan (CCIA)

Avenue Jean-Paul II

01 BP 1387

Abidjan 01, Cote d'Ivoire.

Contact:

Media Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank

Email: [email protected]

Technical Contact:

Elisabeth Kebe, Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption (PIAC)

Email: [email protected]
The 'Godfather of Artificial Intelligence' has sensationally resigned from Google and warned the technology could upend life as we know it.

Geoffrey Hinton, 75, is credited with creating the technology that became the bedrock of A.I. systems like ChatGPT and Google Bard.

But the Turing prize winner now says a part of him regrets helping to make the systems, that he fears could prompt the proliferation of misinformation and replace people in the workforce.

He said he had to tell himself excuses like 'if I didn't build it, someone else would have' to prevent himself from being overwhelmed by guilt.

He drew comparisons with the 'father of the atomic bomb' Robert Oppenheimer, who was reportedly distraught by his invention and dedicated the rest of his life to stopping its proliferation.

Geoffrey Hinton, 75, who is credited as the 'Godfather of Artificial Technology', said that a part of him now regrets helping to make the systems. He is pictured above speaking at a summit hosted by media company Thomson Reuters in Toronto, Canada, in 2017

There is a great AI divide in Silicon Valley. Brilliant minds are split about the progress of the systems - some say it will improve humanity and others fear the technology will destroy it

Speaking to the New York Times about his resignation, he warned that in the near future, A.I. would flood the internet with false photos, videos and texts.

These would be of a standard, he added, where the average person would 'not be able to know what is true anymore'.

The technology also posed a serious risk to 'drudge' work, he said, and could upend the careers of people working as paralegals, personal assistants and translators.

Some workers already say they are using it to cover multiple jobs for them, undertaking tasks such as creating marketing materials and transcribing Zoom meetings so that they do not have to listen.

'Maybe what is going on in these systems, is actually a lot better than what is going on in the [human] brain,' he said, explaining his fears.

'The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people  a few people believed that.

'But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away.

'Obviously, I no longer think that.'

Asked about why he had helped develop a potentially dangerous technology, he said: 'I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn't done it, somebody else would have.'

Hinton added that he had previously paraphrased Oppenheimer when posed with this question in the past, saying: 'When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it.'

Hinton decided to quit Google last month after a decade at the tech giant amid the proliferation of A.I. technologies.

He had a long conversation with the chief executive of Google's parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, before departing  although it is not clear what was said.

In a broadside to his former employer, he accused Google of not being a 'proper steward' for A.I. technologies.

In the past, the company has kept potentially dangerous technologies under wraps, he said. But it had now thrown caution to the wind as it competes with Microsoft  which added a ChatBot to its search engine, Bing, last month.

Google's chief scientist, Jeff Dean, said in a statement: 'We remain committed to a responsible approach to A.I. We're continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.'

His warning comes as Silicon Valley descends into a civil war over the advancement of artificial intelligence  with the world's greatest minds split over whether it will elevate or destroy humanity.

The fears of AI come as experts predict it will achieve singularity by 2045, which is when the technology surpasses human intelligence to which we cannot control it

Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and the late Stephen Hawking are among the most famous critics of A.I. who believe it poses a 'profound risk to society and humanity' and could have 'catastrophic effects'.

Last month they even called for a pause in the 'dangerous race' to roll out advanced A.I., saying more risk assessments were needed.

But Bill Gates, My Pichai and futurist Ray Kurzweil are on the other side of the debate, hailing the technology as our time's 'most important' innovation.

They argue it could cure cancer, solve climate change and boost productivity.

Hinton has not previously added his voice to the debate, saying he did not want to speak out until he had formally left Google.

He surged to fame in 2012 when at the University of Toronto, Canada, alongside two students, he designed a neural network that could analyze thousands of photos and teach itself to identify common objects such as flowers, dogs and cars.

Google later spent $44million to acquire the company that was started by Hinton based on the technology.

The release of AI bots like ChatGPT (stock image) has prompted calls from many circles for the technology to be reviewed because of the risk it poses for humanity

Advanced A.I. systems already available include ChatGPT which now has more than a billion people signed up after its release in November. Data shows that it also has as many as 100million active monthly users.

Launched by OpenAI, based in San Francisco, the platform has become an instant success worldwide.

The chatbot is a large language model trained on massive text data, allowing it to generate eerily human-like text in response to a given prompt.

The public uses ChatGPT to write research papers, books, news articles, emails and other text-based work and while many see it more like a virtual assistant, many brilliant minds see it as the end of humanity.

If humans lose control of A.I. then it will be considered to have reached singularity, which means it has surpassed human intelligence and has independent thinking.

A.I. would no longer need or listen to humans, allowing it to steal nuclear codes, create pandemics and spark world wars.

DeepAI founder Kevin Baragona, who signed the letter, told DailyMail.com: 'It's almost akin to a war between chimps and humans.

The humans obviously win since we're far smarter and can leverage more advanced technology to defeat them.

'If we're like the chimps, then the A.I. will destroy us, or we'll become enslaved to it.'
For the Coronation this weekend, the London Dungeon, Edinburgh Dungeon and York Dungeon are 'getting into the spirit of the celebrations' by offering free entry to guests who visit the attractions and hand over their copy of Prince Harry's 'Spare' memoir.

As the country prepares to give King Charles III the ultimate royal treatment over the bank holiday weekend, the historical and immersive attractions have announced the 'noble gesture' to help 'Spare the new monarch his blushes' and, they say, 'clear the nation's streets of copies of the questionable literature'.

The highly anticipated autobiography caused quite the controversy when it was published at the beginning of the year, giving people a colourful account of Harry's life to date, and a peek at life behind the Royal curtain.

This limited offer is available to the first 75 guests at each attraction who hand over their well-thumbed pages  'a nod to the King's age as he takes to the throne'.

The limited-time offer will be running on Saturday, May 6, only and will be valid for guests who present their copy of Prince Harry's 'Spare' memoir to the ticket office. All literature handed over will be released post-Coronation and distributed to charity shops.

For the Coronation this weekend, the London Dungeon, Edinburgh Dungeon and York Dungeon are  in their words  'getting into the spirit of the celebrations' by offering free entry to guests who visit the attractions and hand over their copy of Prince Harry's ' Spare ' memoir

A Dungeons spokesperson said: 'The Royal Family and its colourful history has always been part of our attractions' narratives, so it was important for us to honour His Majesty on the occasion of his Coronation. And what better way than by removing all controversial and unwanted literature, keeping the streets fit for our new King!'

The London Dungeon offers 16 'terrifying shows' and 'two thrilling rides' that bring the city's 'deepest and darkest history to life', delivering 'ample scream-drenched stories and fear-inducing shocks for an experience that guests will never forget'.

The Edinburgh Dungeon is 'an award-winning, 70-minute interactive and immersive, underground walk-through experience that brings 1000's of years of Scottish history to life before your very eyes'.

A Dungeons spokesperson said: 'The Royal Family and its colourful history has always been part of our attractions' narratives, so it was important for us to honour His Majesty on the occasion of his Coronation. And what better way than by removing all controversial and unwanted literature, keeping the streets fit for our new King!'

There are live actors, special effects and a 'thrilling drop ride', with guests coming 'face to face with notorious characters from Scotland's murky past', including murderous twosome Burke and Hare, local cannibal Sawney Bean and the legendry witch Agnes Finnie.

The York Dungeon, meanwhile, is a 75-minute interactive and immersive walk-through experience.

It says: 'Get ready to scream and laugh through 2,000 years of York's most haunted history. Guests can prepare to come face to face with the mighty Vikings and learn all about their Saxon enemies before meeting some of York's most notorious characters, including the (in)famous Guy Fawkes and local witch Isabella Billington.'

To visit your local Dungeon, book online at www.thedungeons.com. To book the London Dungeon's new escape room, visit www.thedungeons.com/london/escape.
Abbie Chatfield has proved you can still be friends with your ex, revealing she's 'very good friends' with former Bachelor Matt Agnew.

On Friday night, the 27-year-old podcaster revealed the hunky astrophysicist, 35, showed up to her Trauma Dump uninvited.

During the two-hour show, the radio host recalled some of her most shocking dating stories and experiences to date.

One of those included the moment Abbie told Matt as they frolicked in the ocean: 'I just really want to have sex with you, I'm really horny!'.

To Abbie's surprise, Agnew was sitting in the audience.

Former Bachelor star Abbie Chatfield, 27, (pictured) has proved not all exes are worth dumping from your life for good, revealing she's now 'very good friends' with Matt Agnew

On Friday night, the 27-year-old podcaster revealed that she is 'very good friends' with the astrophysicist, 35, after he showed up to her Trauma Dump uninvited

A fan captured a moment of their interaction at the Melbourne show, which showed Chatfield laughing in front of a screencap from their notorious single date.

Agnew waved his hand to catch the attention of the brunette beauty, prompting Chatfield to say from the stage, 'I was going to text you to confirm that you were coming 'cos I wasn't sure that you were coming.'

She added, 'The point is that we're very good friends now. We love Matt so much.'

Agnew waved his hand to catch the attention of the brunette beauty, prompting Chatfield to say from the stage, 'I was going to text you to confirm that you were coming 'cos I wasn't sure that you were coming'

After the show, Agnew praised the 'absolutely sensational' performance on Instagram.

Abbie host shared it to her own story and captioned it with three heart emojis.

While the pair's chemistry wasn't enough to keep them together, with Agnew eventually choosing chemical engineer Chelsie McLeod before they split several months later.

She added, 'The point is that we're very good friends now. We love Matt so much'

Back in January, Abbie shared the reason she wanted to sleep with Bachelor Matt on her podcast, It's A Lot.

'I wanted to f*** Matt, you know why? I didn't have a vibrator in the house, I had to masturbate about kissing him, we couldn't f***, he couldn't touch me, you think Matt was masturbating about us? Yes!', she explained.

'Sorry we wanted to root each other, I'm so sorry everyone, that I wanted to root someone.'

'I just really like this guy and I wanted to stay for him, and you guys are being so mean to me all the time, just get me the f*** away from you, thank god for the minders'.
Rare snaps of supermodel Kate Moss taken by legendary photographer Michel Haddi are to go on display at an exhibition in London.

Haddi has photographed a host of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Clint Eastwood, David Bowie, Tupac Shakur and Sir Sean Connery, and will showcase his images of other stars such as Uma Thurman and Linda Evangelista at international photography fair Photo London this month.

He recently discovered a series of rare Polaroid photos - while cleaning out his storage - of British supermodel Moss, in which he said she looks "very powerful".

The images now form part of his new book, The Legend - Kate Moss.

The photographer, who has had studios in London and California, said: 'It made me very happy... to look at the past because I met Kate back in the 90s when she was not known in LA.

Saucy: Rare snaps of supermodel Kate Moss, now, 49, taken by legendary photographer Michel Haddi are to go on display at an exhibition in London

Shocking: Kate retained her modesty by crossing her arms over her chest before throwing caution to the wind and flaunting her ample assets for all to see

'She was young and she looked like the mermaid of Copenhagen, I said: 'Oh my God, this girl is like a dream,'... she doesn't care about nothing and she's so beautiful.'

Recalling working with Moss on a Bloomingdale shoot after meeting her in California, Haddi said: 'I think that at first she didn't think that I liked her because I didn't work with her in LA, but I couldn't, I was (working), I am as shy as she (is) even now.

'So there is two models of 6ft tall and she feels a bit embarrassed, I say 'Darling listen, stay the way you are. You look pissed off, doesn't matter because even when you look pissed off, you look beautiful'.'

The images on show at his London exhibit include black and white photos taken for a shoot at British GQ in New York in 1991, where Moss sits on the edge of a sofa and in another picture lies down.

Recalling meeting Moss at the Cannes Film Festival while she was dating Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, Haddi said she greeted him with "the most beautiful letter".

Haddi said: 'This was a girl that at the time was a big star then, but she said: 'Your photo work of Johnny is so beautiful. I will love that if you could do some like that of me.'

Stunning: In one image the model gazed seductively into the camera before appearing to writhe on a dark velvet sofa

Smoking hot: For the British GQ shoot she accentuated her youthful features with lashings of mascara and lip gloss with long brunette tumbling past her shoulders

Talent: Michel, who has had studios in London and California, said: 'It made me very happy... to look at the past because I met Kate back in the 90s when she was not known in LA (Michel Haddi pictured in 2018)

'I was very touched but so embarrassed because I didn't know what to do. I mean, you know, it's like it's a task for me beyond anything, and so anyway I did some photographs of her there and then.'

At his studio in Los Angeles in 1993, he took photographs of There's Something About Mary actress Diaz for Vogue Homme Magazine which will also be on show in London.

Haddi said Diaz came dressed in a T-shirt featuring the words: 'Our pussys, our choice.'

He said: 'I looked at it and I said: 'Darling, okay, I love it.'

'You have to keep in mind that Cameron used to be a model before so she was very aware of all the in and out of the business.

'When she came, she was so happy, because one hour before I (received) a big bouquet of flowers of roses. Huge. I mean, so big, and it was from Matt Dillon, because they used to go out together.

'She was a delight. She was very sweet. She has a great sense of humour.'

Flawless: Kate looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the star-studded Prince's Trust Global Gala in New York on Thursday

When asked about difficult people he has worked with, Haddi recalled photographing Shakur, who came to the shoot with John Singleton - director of Poetic Justice in which the rapper starred.

Singleton, Haddi claimed, did not like Shakur being dressed as civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Haddi told him to take the pictures instead.

Haddi said: 'Tupac being super elegant and very intelligent. He says to John, 'John, please let the man work. Okay, let him be.'

Haddi's images will be displayed at 29 Arts In Progress Gallery booth G27 during Photo London from May 10 to 14, which takes place at Somerset House.

On May 13 at 3pm, Haddi will sign copies of his book on Moss which contains the Polaroid photos.

The exhibition will be on display at Somerset House during Photo London from May 10 to 14.
Neil Jones and Chyna Mills say their unborn baby is the victim of online trolls.

The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 40, and his Love Island star fiance, 24, who went official last August, have been left upset by vile comments on social medias.

Chyna, who announced her pregnancy and engagement earlier this month, took to Instagram to reveal she has 'not been able to sleep' the past few nights.

She wrote: 'Im used to being trolled but when it comes to me being trolled as well as my unborn child, its just a little bit weird and a lot for me'.

Despite the negative comments, the reality star tried to stay positive and joked that the unborn child will take after her fiance Neil.

'It's a lot for me': Neil Jones and Chyna Mills, who announced their pregnancy and engagement earlier this month, say their unborn baby is the victim of online trolls

Shocking: The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 40, and his Love Island star fiance, 24, who went official last August, have been left upset by vile comments on social medias

She added: 'Ive not been able to sleep over the last few nights because the baby thinks its absolutely hilarious to be dancing on my insides.'

Chyna and Neil revealed earlier this month that she was 13 weeks pregnant and the parents-to-be are set to welcome their newborn in the autumn.

Television personality Chyna took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of the pair to reveal she was pregnant.

Neil popped the question to Chyna as they enjoyed a romantic getaway in Bali recently.

He told Hello!: 'I'd already planned to ask Chyna to marry me before we knew she was pregnant. Then we found out and I was like, "Oh, this is brilliant, everything is coming together".'

Chyna admitted it took her a moment to accept the proposal as she wasn't 100 per cent sure if it was genuine.

She said: 'At first, I thought he was joking because we play jokes on each other all the time. I feel like I'm dreaming.'

Earlier this month, Neil's ex-wife Katya Jones responded to the news the couple are expecting a baby together.

Chyna took to Instagram to reveal she has 'not been able to sleep' the past few nights. She wrote: 'Im used to being trolled but when it comes to me being trolled as well as my unborn child, its just a little bit weird and a lot for me'

Katya, 33, who still works alongside Neil as a professional on BBC ballroom dance contest Strictly, married Neil in 2013 before they split in 2019.

And she shared some kind words for her former flame and Chyna after they announced their happy news.

Taking to the comments section, Katya wrote: 'So happy for these two! @mr_njonesoffiicial You deserve all the happiness.'

Neil and Chyna took their relationship public in August last year when they enjoyed a romantic trip to Paris.

The reality star first caught Neil's eye when she appeared on ITV2's Love Island last summer.

The pair have since stepped out together at a number of red carpet events and share a number of loved-up posts to Instagram.

It comes two years after Neil's previous relationship with South American dancer Luisa Eusse came to an end.

His split from Katya came after her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh.

Katya recently said she's planning a 'husband hunting holiday'. The twinkle-toed star revealed she is in the market for a new spouse and is hoping a trip with a friend will help her find 'The One'.

Speaking out: Earlier this month, Neil's ex-wife Katya Jones (pictured) responded to the news the couple are expecting a baby together, offering her congratulations to them

Ex: Neil was previously married to his Strictly pro co-star Katya for six years before calling it quits in August 2019 following her kiss with her 2018 Strictly partner Seann Walsh (pictured in 2018)

She told The Sun on Sunday: 'We will be definitely going on a husband-hunting trip very soon.

'I mean were constantly husband-hunting. Modern dating is very complicated, I dont always understand mens thinking, but Id like to think Im a good judge of character.'

However, Katya admitted she has had no luck with dating apps.

She said: 'They are rubbish. I am on Raya. Im looking for someone who can handle a self-sufficient woman and add value to my life.

'Someone who is caring and loving  all I want is unconditional love.'
Kyle Sandilands was very impressed by Anthony Albanese's girlfriend Jodie Haydon when the couple attended his wedding to Tegan Kynaston on Saturday.

The newlywed radio host, 51, revealed on Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show that Albo's finance expert partner even won over his hard-to-impress mother.

'What a woman. She is cool. They sat next to my mum and she was like, "They are just normal people." I was like, "Yeah, they are human beings,"' he said.

'Mum was so taken. They loved him. Thanks for coming, Albo. Appreciate it.'

Sandilands added that the prime minister, 60, must have been having a great time because he stayed at the wedding and reception for almost seven hours.

Kyle Sandilands was very impressed by Anthony Albanese's girlfriend Jodie Haydon (pictured together) when the couple attended his wedding to Tegan Kynaston on Saturday

'Albo was having a great time. And Jodie is the best, I want to be her friend now because she is so fun,' added co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson.

In an interview that aired last week, Sandilands said Mr Albanese had been given the task of keeping his mother company during the wedding.

'She's a fan of yours, so she's going to lose her mind,' he said.

The newlywed radio host, 51, (pictured with wife Tegan) revealed on Monday's Kyle and Jackie O Show that Albo's finance expert partner even won over his hard-to-impress mother

Mr Albanese was initially rumoured to be DJing at the wedding, but ended up just being a guest.

The highly anticipated nuptials reportedly cost more than $1million and took place at the extravagant Swifts mansion in Sydney's Darling Point.

Mr Albanese was branded 'the baby whisperer' by his girlfriend Ms Haydon after he shared a belly laugh with Sandilands' son Otto at the ritzy event.

Sandilands said Mr Albanese, 60, must have been having a great time because he stayed at the wedding and reception for almost seven hours. (Pictured: Mr Albanese with Jackie 'O' Henderson, Karl Stefanovic and Sunrise producer Sonia 'Palestine' Jahshan)

Beaming from ear to ear, Mr Albanese held Sandilands and Kynaston's child after the ceremony, with baby Otto appearing to love every bit of it.

Ms Haydon called her partner 'the baby whisperer' which prompted Kynaston to jokingly asking him: 'Are you free Wednesday night to babysit?'

'I'll be in London, so just drop him round,' the PM replied, before telling Sandilands to 'have the best day'.
Emmerdale actress Louise Jameson has revealed she was 'terrified' of being scammed after becoming inundated with suspicious calls and emails since turning 70.

She made the revelation as her soap character Mary Goskirk is set to be swindled out of life savings by con artist Faye (Jane Gurnet).

She told The Mirror: 'I will get an email, phone call or text at least once a week trying to tempt me into some scam,'

'They could well be algorithms but there are ones that will say things like 'I've got loads of money, can you give me your bank details so I can put it in there.'

She even admitted to being so concerned she even made the BBC 'jump through hoops' when they asked for her bank details to pay royalties.

Headstrong: Emmerdale actress Louise Jameson has revealed she was 'terrified' of being scammed after becoming inundated with suspicious calls and emails since turning 70

Drama: She made the revelation as her soap character Mary Goskirk (right) is set to be swindled out of life savings by con artist Faye (Jane Gurnet, left).

The actress who has appeared in Eastenders and Doctor Who said: 'They had to jump through hoops to persuade me it was the correct way to get royalties. I won't give away anything unless I am face-to-face in the actual building.'

Mary, The mother of village vet Rhona Ghoskirk will find herself bleeding and concussed amid a shock attack, with her plans for her dream trip to Ecuador in tatters next week.

In upcoming scenes, though initially reluctant about her mother's grand plans, Rhona (Zoe Henry) soon gives her blessing for her big trip to Ecuador, leaving Mary delighted.

However, a mistrustful Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) has her doubts about the trip when Faye acts cagey about the bank transfer for the auction fund.

When she later relays her suspicions to a lovestruck Mary, her words fall on deaf ears when Mary refuses to hear a bad word said about her love interest.

And in a bid to double down on her commitment, she sends a huge donation through to Faye.

The next day, a concerned Suzy offers Mary further evidence that Faye isn't who she seems, but Mary is quick to shut her down, desperately wanting to believe that her dream in still intact and that Faye is the real deal.

However, with Suzy's warning still running through her kind, Mary later tests the waters with her girlfriend.

No messing: She even admitted to being so concerned she even made the BBC 'jump through hoops' when they asked for her bank details to pay royalties (pictured in Doctor Who with Tom Baker 1963)

Oh no! Mary, The mother of village vet Rhona Ghoskirk will find herself bleeding and concussed amid a shock attack, with her plans for her dream trip to Ecuador in tatters next week

Shocking: Faye's scam appeared to come crashing down around her

And when Faye begins to act coy over finances, a crushed Mary is forced to believe that Suzy was right about her.

Knowing the jig is up, Faye's mask slips and she coldly reveals her true colours.

A kerfuffle then ensues between the ladies as Mary desperately tried to retrieve an envelope fill of money.

But things go disastrously wrong, leaving Faye to make her escape while Mary is left bleeding and unconscious on the floor.

Will she be OK? And will dastardly Faye be caught?

Doubts: A mistrustful Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) has her doubts about the trip when Faye acts cagey about the bank transfer for the auction fund

Blinded by love: When she later relays her suspicions to a lovestruck Mary, her words fall on deaf ears when Mary refuses to hear a bad word said about her love interest

The truth: When Faye begins to act coy over finances, a crushed Mary is forced to believe that Suzy was right about her. Knowing the jig is up, Faye's mask slips and she coldly reveals her true colours

It comes as Emmerdale boss Jane Hudson confirmed to The Mirror and other press that Mary's love story would be coming to a sad ending.

She said: 'We've got the lovely love story playing on screen for Mary and Faye. We are seeing Mary falling in love with Faye. It's Mary's first relationship since coming out and she's been very vulnerable, she's really put herself out there and unfortunately it's not going to be a happy ending.

'Mary is gonna have her heart broken. I think what is really relevant for this story is how easy it is to be scammed, how easy it is to be taken in and how easy it is for love to stop you thinking logically.'

She went on: 'No matter what age you are, we're all vulnerable of being tricked and scammed and catfished, it's a heartbreaking story.'

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Mariah Carey showed her twins Moroccan and Monroe plenty of love to celebrate their 12th birthday on Sunday.

The Legendary vocalist shared a photo carousel on Instagram and loosely quoted her 1995 hit single Always Be My Baby.

'Happy birthday to my favorite people on the planet!!! I thank God for you every day! "Our love is Supernatural!!!" Ooh darlings 'cause you'll ALWAYS be my babies!!!," wrote Mariah.

In the first image, the multi-platinum star, 54, smiled from ear to ear between her twins as they made their way through the city in the back seat of an SUV.

The five-time Grammy-Award winner  who's ex-husband Nick Cannon recently weighed in on Red Table Talk's cancellation  donned full glam makeup and accessorized her look with an impressive diamond earring and bracelet set.

My babies: Mariah Carey, 54, took to Instagram to wish her and ex-husband Nick Cannon's twins, Moroccan and Monroe, a happy birthday on Sunday

Mariah wore a glittering black top with a deep-cut V-neck as she posed for a snap between her 'favorite people on the planet.'

Her daughter, Monroe, wore clear-rimmed glasses and pulled her hair back under green and white headphones.

Her brother, Moroccan, wore a red sweatshirt and styled his curly dark hair loose.

Kim Kardashian commented on the post writing 'Happy Birthday to the sweetest doll Roe and to the funniest kid Rock!!!!! Cant wait to celebrate.'

Carey's partner Bryan Tanaka wrote, 'Happy Birthday Roc & Roe! I love you both so much!"

In the second image, the trio used a selfie stick as they posed for a snap in what appeared to be a closet lined with rows of neatly organized women's dress shoes.

The doting mother also images of the twins posing with a dog and in her Christmas pajama line.

Carey and Cannon were married from 2008 until 2016, welcoming their son and daughter in 2011.

Cannon began dating Carey in 2008 when Cannon appeared in the video for her single Bye Bye, with the couple getting married later in the year in the Bahamas.

The pair wound up separating in 2014, with Carey later filing divorce papers. Amid the finalization of their split in 2016, the pair agreed on joint custody of their children.

Since his breakup with Carey, the entertainer has welcomed 10 more kids with five different women.

Last month Cannon told The Shade Room that the All I Want For Christmas songstress is 'the coolest person [he's] ever met.'

Her son: Mariah shared another image of Moroccan in a blue shirt with his dark hair styled in curls

His sister: Monroe posed with her arms folded over a couch in their home

Having fun: The trio posed for a snap in what appeared to be a closet lined with women's shoes

Taking after mom: Last year, Mariah revealed that her kids share her musical talents

Precious pooch: In another shot, Moroccan held a white dog as he posed alongside his sister wearing yellow Karate belts

Mom's holiday pajama line: Mariah shared a shot of herself and the twins dressed in her Christmas pajama line

Mariah and Nick were married from 2008 until 2016, welcoming their son and daughter in 2011

Big family: The former couple amicably co-parent to their two children outside of Cannon's other family obligations

Two years ago, Cannon revealed that for the kids' birthday, he bought them cell phones against Carey's wishes because she did not want the twins learning about all of Cannon's other children.

'My oldest twins Roc and Roe wanted a cell phone at 8,' he told the audience of his now-cancelled eponymous talk show.

'I was all for it but Mariah was like, "Uh huh...they ain't going to be Googling us, learning about all their new brothers and sisters, no we ain't playing."

'I respected it at 8 but then we made a deal and said at 10 then they can have it, [but] Mariah still said no. So at 10, I snuck and I still got them the cell phones for their birthday,' said Cannon.
Jackie 'O' Henderson has set the record straight about what really happened during her 'awkward' encounter with Kyle Sandilands' brother Chris on Saturday.

The radio host, 48, said Chris' comments to her at Kyle's wedding reception had been taken out of context by the media.

Footage of their conversation made it look as though truck driver Chris was scolding Henderson and telling her to stop filming on her phone and just enjoy the party.

But she insisted this wasn't the case at all, saying Chris was instead just pointing out to her how beautiful the venue was.

'He said something like, "It's amazing, maybe you should actually look at the venue," and people took that to be, "Stop filming me and put your phone down,"' she said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Monday.

Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) has set the record straight about what really happened during her 'awkward' encounter with Kyle Sandilands' brother Chris on Saturday

'When he talks to you, he seems angry all the time. But if you know Chris, you know he doesn't mean any harm,' she added.

'I think he was just saying, "Why don't you show everyone at home how beautiful it is by turning the camera around,"' Henderson clarified.

Chris then called into the radio show to insist he had been misunderstood.

'There was no malice in it whatsoever. I was just like, "Yeah, everything looks great, why don't you just spin around and film the venue,"' he told the hosts.

It comes after Henderson bumped into Chris at the reception of Kyle's wedding to Tegan Kynaston, held under a marquee at the $60m Swifts mansion in Darling Point.

Footage of their conversation made it look as though truck driver Chris was scolding Henderson and telling her to stop filming on her phone and just enjoy the wedding reception

As she waved her camera around to film the party, her co-host's outspoken brother appeared to scold her, saying she should 'actually look' at the event.

Turning the camera to him as they crossed paths, Henderson seemed happy to run into Chris at first.

When she asked him 'how beautiful' he thought the wedding venue was, he replied: 'It's amazing, right? Maybe you should spin around and actually look at it.'

But she insisted this wasn't the case at all, saying Chris was instead just pointing out to her how beautiful the venue was

Henderson then awkwardly turned the camera away to film the rest of the party as he walked off.

Chris grew up with his famous brother Kyle in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum.

When Kyle hit the big time as the host of 2Day FM's Hit30 Countdown, Chris worked for his brother as his chauffeur.

'When he talks to you he seems angry all the time. But if you know Chris, you know he doesn't mean any harm,' Henderson said
Iman looked as youthful as ever on Saturday night as she attended the Gucci launch event in New York City.

The supermodel, 67, who is the widow of pop legend David Bowie, was radiant as the designer fashion label celebrated its new store in the Meatpacking District.

She donned a stunning floor-length black gown which pooled by her feet.

The gorgeous dress was embellished with a glittery black rose in the centre, while she added a stylish back to match.

Iman, whose full name is Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, looked nothing short of sensational as her brunette tresses shone as they effortlessly fell in waves.

Stunning look: Iman, 67, looked as youthful as ever on Saturday night as she attended the Gucci event at Bungalow 8 in New York City

Gorgeous: The supermodel was glowing as she sported a radiant make-up look including a smokey eye

She finished off the look by sporting a smokey eye for a fashionable night out.

Also in attendance at the star-studded event were Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina - as well as Normal People actress Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Iman reflected on her grief after her husband David Bowie's death from cancer as she graced the cover of British Vogue back in January.

The supermodel opened up about how she refuses to refer to him as her 'late' husband and discussed her difficulties over finding space to grieve privately after he passed away.

Iman was married to Bowie from 1992 until 2016, when he died from liver cancer. The couple had one daughter together, Alexandria Zahra Jones, 22.

Speaking about how she has adjusted six years on from his death she told the publication: 'He is not my 'late husband'. He is my husband. I don't mind at all being referred to as 'David Bowie's wife'.

'But I always remind people that I existed before I met him.'

Last year Iman revealed she will never remarry five years after her legendary rock star husband David lost his battle with cancer on Jan. 10 2016.

Big night out: Iman looked unbelievable in a floor-length black gown that was embellished by a sparkling rose in the middle

Opening up: Iman, who is the widow of music legend David Bowie, opened up about his loss in January

Star-studded: Also in attendance were Idris and Sabrina Elba, who made up some of the celebrity A listers present

Wow! Daisy Edgar-Jones looked incredible as she attended Bungalow Gucci in celebration of the opening of Gucci Meatpacking District in New York City on Saturday

The star told PEOPLE magazine that it was 'love at first sight' when she met David on a blind date in Los Angeles years ago and still feels his presence after all this time.

'David said it was love at first sight,' she said of their connection. 'It took me a few months but I got there.'

She added: 'I knew him as the man, David Jones, his real name, and not the rock star.'

Bowie kept his liver cancer battle mostly private, and succumbed to the disease just days after turning 69 which coincided with the release of his 25th and final studio album Blackstar.

Five years after his death from cancer, she created her first fragrance, Love Memoir, as a tribute to their 'epic romance.'
analysis

Children across the vast expanse of rural Africa hoe, dig, plant, carry, tend livestock, cook, scrub, care for their siblings, and undertake many other farm and domestic tasks. Most of their work is on the farms of parents or relatives, and in most rural communities, learning to work is a normal part of growing up.

We examined a number of dimensions of children's work in African agriculture in papers published in 2020 and 2022. It is certainly the case that some children are harmed by the work they do, and others may be forced to work, exploited or trafficked.

Yet, based on this and other work informed by extensive literature review and initial research, children who are harmed by working represent a minority of working children. And critically, neither their interests, nor those of other rural children, are necessarily served by ongoing efforts to eradicate child labour from African agriculture.

We are researchers in development studies with long-standing interests in the complex intersections of agriculture and social development in rural Africa. Between us we have researched and published extensively on poverty and vulnerability, land, rural youth, social protection, and policy across West and East Africa.

As part of our ongoing academic work we recently co-edited a book, Children's Work in African Agriculture: The Harmful and the Harmless. It is the first book that directly and singularly addresses children's work in African agriculture. It puts the notions of "harm" and "harmful work" at centre stage, and argues that in most cases the work children do on farms does not result in harm.

Through a combination of thematic and case-based chapters the book seeks to re-frame the debate about children's work and harm in African agriculture. We argue such a re-framing can help rural children in two ways.

First, by disrupting the dominant child labour discourse that pushes all children's work, whether it be harmful or harmless, into the category of harmful child labour.

Second, by opening new avenues to more effectively address that portion of children's work that is harmful. For example, by asking how the existing framework of international conventions, instruments and organisational mandates can be made more reflective of, and relevant to, the diversity of circumstances within which rural children and their families live and work.

But more fundamentally, re-framing can be a powerful tool if it more explicitly links the continued existence of children's harmful work to multiple, interacting forms of power: discursive, economic, political and so on. The point is simple enough: we can expect little from policies, strategies and interventions that do not focus in on, disrupt and realign these power relations.

Key insights: harm and the school-work dichotomy

For the purposes of this article we highlight insights from two chapters.

Chapter 2 introduces the concept of "harm" that is foundational to understanding the "rights and wrongs of children's work". The authors - Roy Maconachie, Neil Howard and Rosilin Bock - draw on their many years of research, activism and practice around children's work in Africa.

They note that harm remains a contested concept, despite being central to efforts to define and eradicate child labour, and having been theorised within various academic disciplines. And harm arising from children's work is likely to remain difficult to identify, assess and understand.

Nevertheless, progress could be made with an approach to harm which incorporates its subjective dimensions, including children's lived experience of harm, and is focused on well-being. Such an approach would involve processes that prioritise the perspectives and voices of children themselves, as well as their families and communities.

Chapter 4 on children's work and schooling is written by Mairead Dunne, Sara Humphreys and Carolina Szyp. Mairead and Sara are international experts on the sociology of education, while Carolina is a young researcher.

The chapter highlights how the relationship between school and work is grossly oversimplified in much of what is written about child labour. For example, it is commonly asserted that a child's place is in school, and any work that interferes with school harms the child, and must therefore be considered as child labour.

However, when the quality of schooling is low, as in much of rural Africa, children may have better opportunities for learning, skill development and future livelihood enhancement through their work on the family farm.

The simplistic school-work dichotomy is further undermined by the fact that for many children, periods of work are formally scheduled during the school day. They clean, farm, carry water and so on, either for the school or for individual teachers. There is also an assumption that while work is harmful, school is safe.

The reality is that harm is experienced at school, and while travelling between home and school, as bullying, gender violence and physical abuse. Girls and children with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Labour Children By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

When children are not in school, or when they combine school and work, parents are blamed for not appreciating the value of schooling. But research suggests that they are well aware of the realities - both good and bad - of schooling. The problem is that the school-work dichotomy, and equating children's work with child labour, leaves no room for the very real and difficult trade-offs and compromises that rural children and their families must navigate daily.

Don't cause further harm

Reframing the debate about child labour in African agriculture, and how best to address it, is particularly timely. There are ongoing initiatives to eradicate child labour from a handful of global agricultural value chains, including the cocoa chain in West Africa. As long as such initiatives fail to appreciate that much of the children's work is harmless, and indeed beneficial, they have the potential to cause significant negative consequences - in fact, to harm - rural children and their families.

James Sumberg, Emeritus Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies

Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
Viewers of Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy were in hysterics during Sunday night's episode as the actor performed a dramatic monologue of fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The former EastEnders cast member, 45, and his Love Island winner daughter Dani, 26, were seen visiting The Bay of Poets, which is located in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy, as they attempted to broaden their cultural horizons.

The gulf, praised by the likes of wordsmiths Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and many more, attracts lovers of the spoken word.

Father-daughter duo Danny and Dani were seen setting off on a 'poetry sailing', which cockney Danny described as an opportunity for some 'word nuts to perform to an audience at sea'.

Danny told how he was close to late playwright and screenwriter Harold Pinter after he appeared in some of his plays, with Danny saying he admired how he was fascinated by the way he used words, claiming Harold introduced him to 'literature and the musicality of words'.

Amusing: Viewers of Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy were in hysterics on Sunday as the actor performed a dramatic monologue of fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Born to perform: Danny took centre stage on a sailing boat out at sea while surrounded by locals who eagerly waited to see him perform while in Italy, with Dani laughing as she watched

The Human Traffic star said of his career: 'I'm in the word game because I'm an actor. So my job is that I'm a salesman. I sell words. I can make words and sentences interesting.

'Being an actor, you're the waiter, and the writer of that piece is the chef. Depending what he f**king writes, you've got to serve it up to the audience. If it's s**t, you're f**ked.

'What does an actor need? They need a f**king good chef.'

Danny was then seen taking centre stage on a sailing boat out at sea while surrounded by locals who eagerly waited to see him perform.

He opted to put his spin on the 19th-century English fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears which tells the story of an old woman who enters the home of three bears while they are away, with the creatures returning home to find someone had been eating their food, sitting in their chairs and sleeping in their beds.

Danny successfully ad-libbed his way through the yarn and, while many people looking on appeared totally baffled, his performance was met with an enthusiastic round of applause.

He said afterwards: 'I think it's a fascinating tale. You know, little treacle bowling around, breaking into people's houses, eating their f**king food, smashing their gaff up.'

Viewers of the programme were quick to take to Twitter to offer their thoughts, with one person writing: 'Danny Dyer reciting Goldilocks on a boat in Italy??? Hilarious. Mans got nothing but rizz.'

Views: Fans of the programme were quick to take to Twitter to offer their thoughts, with many delighted by what they saw

While someone else shared: 'Danny Dyer telling a load of solemn Italians the story of Goldilocks is surreal.'

One delighted viewer wrote: 'Watching Absolutely Dyer on @Channel4 and I didn't realise how much I need a Danny Dyer travel show.'

While, praising the show, someone else posted: '#AbsolutelyDyer - what a relationship you have with your daughter. What I would give to have a day with my dad! You're both blessed! #FatherDaughterLove.'

'New second favourite show of the week (after race across the world) #absolutelydyer,' tweeted another fan.

While someone else wrote: 'I never thought i'd enjoy this but i am loving it #AbsolutelyDyer.'

It comes after Dani was left squirming during last Sunday as she chowed down on some tuna sperm.

She was seen sampling the unusual delicacy during the first episode as her egged her on.

The pair were seen in Sicily after they touched down on the island to sample some of the local culture, art and food.

They visited an open-air food market where Danny insisted they sample some of seafood on sale.

However, Dani got more than she bargained for when her parent insisted she sample some tuna sperm, with Dani exclaiming 'I'm going to spew' before she even put some in her mouth.

Disgusted: Dani was left squirming as she chowed down on some tuna sperm in episode one of the show last Sunday

Grossed out: Former Love Island star Dani was seen sampling the unusual delicacy while in Sicily with her father (pictured with father Danny Dyer, centre)

Dani refused to give it a go at first but her father insisted: 'Get it down ya!'

Attempting to comfort her, he said: 'Here's some water baby, don't worry about it, you're thinking about it way too much.'

Dani forced herself to eat a small sample, to which an amused Danny looked on and said: 'How lovely is that?'

He added: 'It's actually very rare that I would be proud of you eating sperm, but on this occasion, I do congratulate you.'

But Dani hit back: 'I don't like sperm!'

Danny and Dani are said to have sworn more than 70 times during the opening episode of their brand new travel show.

Editors reportedly gave up using bleeps to cover up their blue language.

In the opening scenes, one run of bad language came as Danny drove down jam-packed roads in Palermo, telling Dani: 'Look at this f***ing lunatic here in his Panda, f***ing hell, he's got the hump. They love a f***ing moped, don't they?'

Impressed: The show went down a treat with viewers, with fans of the pair taking to Twitter to express their delight

The pair also used a string of curse words during a trek up an active volcano on the island of Stromboli.

Danny said: 'I need a strong lager because we are going to take on this ***t, it's bubbling away and making noises.

'I don't know if it's burping or what the f*** it's doing. Let's f***ing do it, hey.'

However, the show went down a treat with viewers, with fans of the pair taking to Twitter to express their delight on Sunday.

One person wrote: 'Love love LOVEEE #absolutelydyer Danny n Dani are such a joy to watch on screen together. The whole show is amazing from start to finish. They deserved it to be such a success. Cant wait to watch all the other eps.'

While someone else shared: '@MrDDyer watching Absolutely Dyer and I haven't stopped laughing at the pair of you !! Love it!! xx.'

Another person wrote: 'Please tell me this aint a one off Loving this #Absolutelydyer,' while someone else shared: '#absolutelydyer quality Sunday viewing.'

One other E4 viewer tweeted: 'Absolutely loving #AbsolutelyDyer perfect Sunday night relaxing TV @ChannelE4Tweets @Channel4.'

And someone else shared: 'Really enjoying #absolutelyDyer cheered me right up. I also really want to go to Sicily now.'

While an other member of the television audience posted: 'Loving Dani Dyer in Italy their chemistry and banter is hilarious. Can't wait for them to travel to some other fab countries.'

Expletives: Danny and his daughter Dani are said to have sworn more than 70 times during the opening episode of their brand new travel show

Absolutely Dyer follows Danny and his daughter as they embark on a cultural tour of Italy, taking in the picturesque scenery, history and art around the country.

Their visit kicks off in Sicily, where they spend a week exploring, sampling street food, climbing a volcano and talking about life together.

The first episode of the four-part series aired on E4 on Sunday, with all episodes available on All 4.

Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani continues on E4 next Sunday at 9pm.
Jerry Springer hinted at his ailing health in his last-ever Australian TV interview before dying from pancreatic cancer at the age of 79 last Thursday.

The talk show king was a guest on Channel Seven's The Morning Show in February.

Following a discussion about his latest projects, host Kylie Gillies casually asked Springer about his retirement plans.

Springer, who never spoke publicly about his terminal cancer battle, hinted his life would end before he had the chance to retire.

'I think God may [have plans for when I retire], and so I hope he's okay with me,' he said.

Jerry Springer hinted at his ailing health in his last-ever Australian TV interview before dying from pancreatic cancer at the age of 79 last Thursday. (Pictured on Channel Seven's The Morning Show in February with co-hosts Larry Emdur, left, and Kylie Gillies, centre)

'I figured when my judgment day comes, my closing argument [to God] when he's ready to decide where to send me [is]... "Oh, remember my final thought?" I hope that my final thought is the one that can speak to [my] character.'

When asked what his final thought would be, Springer solemnly repeated the famous catchphrase he would use to close episodes of The Jerry Springer Show: 'Take care of yourself, and each other.'

Co-host Larry Emdur lightened the mood by saying this message 'wasn't enough' to get Springer into heaven, sending the media personality into fits of laughter.

Speaking to Channel Seven's The Morning Show in February, Springer hinted his life would end before he had the chance to retire

Springer said his best chance of getting into heaven would be to remind God that he ended each episode of The Jerry Springer Show by saying: 'Take care of yourself, and each other'

'No, that doesn't even open the door!' Springer conceded.

Two months after this interview, the American TV star's family announced he had died 'peacefully' at his home in Chicago following a recent decline in health.

Springer had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer months before he died.

Elsewhere in his interview with The Morning Show, Springer expressed his desire to produce a show in Australia inspired by his TV series Judge Jerry, a courtroom reality program inspired by Judge Judy.

Springer also spoke at length about The Jerry Springer Show, revealing almost everything shown on screen was real. (Pictured: Jerry Spring presenting a 1998 episode titled 'I am Pregnant by my Half-Brother')

'I think I should do a judge show in Australia and just apply Australian law to it, so give me a call,' he said, adding with a laugh: 'How's that for trying to get employment?'

Springer also spoke at length about The Jerry Springer Show, revealing almost everything shown on screen was real.

'I'd say it was 98 per cent real. In fact, the lawyers were involved, [so] you'd get sued if you made it up,' he explained.

Springer said his guests were completely genuine, but often behaved in an over-the-top way because of the program's rowdy atmosphere.

'The situations were truthful. What was embellished... was the reactions. Because you had the audience screaming, "Jerry! Jerry!"' he said.

'They'd seen the show 100 times before. And so you could have the same people on Oprah and they would have behaved perfectly. It's just that when they came to our show, they kind of knew the drill and they just behaved like that,' he shrugged.

The raucous talk show, which ran for nearly 4,000 episodes, began airing in September 1991 and peaked in the late 90s.

The show was so popular that in 1998 Springer starred in a feature film called Ringmaster, based on the shocking program.

Reflecting on his success, Springer said: 'It was a crazy show. For 30 years and... it was enjoyable. Obviously there was an audience that enjoyed it.

'[But] I never thought it had any redeeming social value. I mean, it wouldn't it wouldn't hurt you, but it wouldn't, you know, make you a better person either.'

His audience would cheer his name, as his outrageous guests would get into crazy fights - with many expletive-filled rants being bleeped out

Springer noted his show did have one unintended redeeming quality: it highlighted members of society that were previously ignored by mainstream American TV.

'Up until our show came along, American television was basically all upper-class white. And all of a sudden... you saw people who weren't wealthy, who weren't rich, who weren't famous. They were regular people who had their own issues,' he said.

'And we saw another side of America, which is a very real part, frankly. It's a real part of every country, and that was shocking,' Springer added.

The Jerry Springer Show was cancelled in 2018 after a whopping 27 seasons.
Kyle Sandilands encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to propose to his girlfriend Jodie Haydon as he delivered his wedding speech on Saturday.

Mr Albanese has been dating financial services professional Ms Haydon since early 2020, following the end of his marriage to Carmel Tebbutt in 2019.

As he spoke of his own love story with wife Tegan Kynaston, the radio presenter congratulated two of his friends who got engaged just days earlier.

He then steered the speech towards Mr Albanese - arguably the most famous of his 130 wedding guests - and asked if he intended to marry his partner-of-three-years.

'I just want to thank dear friends who have come far and wide, many from overseas, because when you send an invite it's a destination wedding for those people, but they all came, [so] thank you,' Sandilands began.

Kyle Sandilands (pictured) encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to propose to his girlfriend Jodie Haydon as he delivered his wedding speech on Saturday

'And one of the travellers got swept up in the love bubble of ours and got engaged while they were in Sydney, Alex and Josh. What a wonderful couple. Congratulations, we are so thrilled.'

Sandilands continued: 'Is anyone else going to get married tonight? I did ask you, Albo, and you [didn't answer]. He'll do that in his own time.'

This isn't the first time Sandilands has questioned Mr Albanese about his love life.

During a pre-Anzac Day radio appearance last week, the PM was asked by the KIIS FM presenter whether he planned to ask Ms Haydon to marry him.

'When will you propose to Jodie? Is that on the agenda?' Sandilands asked.

As he spoke of his own love story with wife Tegan Kynaston, Sandilands steered the speech towards Mr Albanese - arguably the most famous of his 130 wedding guests

'I don't think that's a matter for KIIS FM to determine,' Mr Albanese responded.

'Is she your twin flame?' Sandilands then asked, referring to the spiritual idea of two individuals, usually lovers, who share the same soul.

'She is certainly a very dear partner and I regard myself as being incredibly lucky. We have a great relationship,' Mr Albanese said.

Ms Haydon began dating Mr Albanese in early 2020 after meeting at a conference in Melbourne.

Mr Albanese was previously married to NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt for 19 years. The former couple shares a 21-year-old son, Nathan.

In July last year, Ms Haydon said she knew she was in love with the prime minister when she got the harrowing news he'd been a serious car crash.

'Is anyone else going to get married tonight? I did ask you, Albo, and you [didn't answer]. He'll do that in his own time,' Sandilands (pictured with wife Tegan) said during his speech

The financial advisor had been dating the then Opposition Leader for barely a year when his car was wiped out by a Range Rover driven by a P-plater metres away from his home in Sydney's inner-west in January 2021.

Mr Albanese was rushed to hospital with extensive injuries.

'When I got to the accident and I saw the car before I saw Anthony, and I remember thinking at the time, "This can't end well,"' Ms Haydon told 7News Spotlight

'And that overwhelming sense of, "What if I lose him?" And I knew then that, yeah, I love him. And I love him deeply.'
A previously unseen throwback photo of veteran Channel Seven newsreader Ann Sanders proves she has barely aged a day in decades.

The 63-year-old's colleague David 'Kochie' Koch posted a black and white photo on Instagram of the two journalists posing in a boardroom with TV doctor Dr John D'Arcy and former political editor Dennis Grant.

'Blast from the 1990s. Going through some old photo albums and this popped up,' Koch wrote in the caption.

The photo showed Sanders sitting in a chair while Koch, Dr D'Arcy and Grant stood behind her with their arms crossed.

Fans immediately noticed how little Sanders' appearance has changed since the '90s, with one commenting: 'Ann Sanders doesn't age!'

A previously unseen throwback photo of Channel Seven newsreader Ann Sanders (foreground right, in front of David 'Kochie' Koch) proves she has barely aged a day in decades

Fans noticed how little Sanders' appearance has changed since the '90s, with one saying: 'Ann Sanders doesn't age!' (Sanders is pictured left in the early 1990s, and right in 2019)

Sanders (seen hosting the afternoon news last week) is one of Seven's longest-serving staffers

Others remarked that Sanders resembled a younger version of Koch's Sunrise co-host Natalie Barr in the 1990s.

Barr even commented on the image to praise Sanders for her age-defying looks.

Meanwhile, others expressed their surprise at seeing Koch, who has been bald for many years, sporting a full head of hair.

Others expressed their surprise at seeing Sunrise host David Koch, who has been bald for years, sporting a full head of hair. (Koch is pictured left in the '90s, and right in 2021)

'Blimey, is that Kochie at the back?' one fan wrote, while another joked, 'Oh, wow. You actually had hair once upon a time.'

Sanders, one of Australia's most respected TV journalists, began her broadcasting career thirty years ago.

She currently presents Seven Morning News and Seven Afternoon News Sydney.

Unlike other newsreaders, she prefers to stay away from social media and does not have an Instagram or Twitter account.

Koch also boasts an illustrious three-decade-long media career, and is best known as the co-host of Seven's breakfast program Sunrise.
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Oscar nominee Salma Hayek Pinault suited up for Bungalow Gucci, Amy Sacco's revival of her former hotspot Bungalow 8, at the Italian luxury fashion house's new boutique in Manhattan's Meatpacking District on Saturday night.

The Mexican bombshell easily defied her 56 years in a golden Gucci tweed skirt suit, black peep-toe platform sling-backs, black quilted Gucci bag, and De Beers jewelry selected by stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray.

Salma - who boasts 27.6M social media followers - took to Instagram to reveal she was channeling the most famous former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

'Inspiration Jackie O,' Hayek (born Jimenez) wrote in English and Spanish.

The Magic Mike's Last Dance star was most likely comparing her suit to the pink Chez Ninon tweed skirt suit Kennedy wore in Dallas 1963 when her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated.

'No vacancy': Oscar nominee Salma Hayek Pinault suited up for Bungalow Gucci, Amy Sacco's revival of her former hotspot Bungalow 8, at the Italian luxury fashion house's new boutique in Manhattan's Meatpacking District on Saturday night

Gucci wasn't a difficult choice for Salma, whose husband of 14 years - Francois-Henri Pinault - literally owns the brand through his multinational corporation Kering.

The French billionaire - turning 61 next month - just took a pay cut following the ad scandal for another one of his fashion brands, Balenciaga.

Hayek and Pinault - who met in spring 2006 at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice - are proud parents of 15-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault, who has already amassed over 184K TikTok followers.

Francois-Henri is also father to three older children - son Francois Jr., 25; daughter Mathilde, 22; and son Augustin, 16 - with ex-wife Dorothee Lepere and nineties supermodel Linda Evangelista.

The Puss in Boots: The Last Wish actress enlisted hairstylist Jennifer Yepez to curl and shape her signature raven locks into a more sixties socialite style.

Make-up artist Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury fully contoured Salma's suspiciously-unlined complexion for the boutique bash.

Hayek will next portray the vengeful Nina in her Eternals castmate Angelina Jolie's fifth feature directorial effort Without Blood also starring Demian Bichir.

The Italian-set trauma drama is based on Alessandro Baricco's 2002 novel about 'the cruelty of war, a little girl's shattered world, and her lifelong quest for revenge and healing.'

Lady who lunches! The Mexican bombshell easily defied her 56 years in a golden Gucci tweed skirt suit, black peep-toe platform sling-backs, black quilted Gucci bag, and De Beers jewelry selected by stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray

'Inspiration Jackie O': Salma - who boasts 27.6M social media followers - took to Instagram to reveal she was channeling the most famous former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Chanel knock-off: Hayek (born Jimenez) was most likely comparing her suit to the pink Chez Ninon tweed skirt suit Kennedy wore in Dallas 1963 when her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated

Rich: Gucci wasn't a difficult choice for the Magic Mike's Last Dance star, whose husband of 14 years - Francois-Henri Pinault (L) - literally owns the brand through his multinational corporation Kering

Turning 61 next month! The French billionaire just took a pay cut following the ad scandal for another one of his fashion brands, Balenciaga

Still going strong! Salma and Francois-Henri - who met in spring 2006 at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice - are proud parents of 15-year-old daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault, who has already amassed over 184K TikTok followers

Bouffant inspired: Hayek enlisted hairstylist Jennifer Yepez to curl and shape her signature raven locks into a more sixties socialite style

Evergreen: Make-up artist Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury fully contoured the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish actress' suspiciously-unlined complexion for the boutique bash

Based on Alessandro Baricco's 2002 novel: Salma will next portray the vengeful Nina in her Eternals castmate Angelina Jolie's fifth feature directorial effort Without Blood also starring Demian Bichir

Hey you! The Gucci soiree reunited Hayek with comedian Chris Rock (L) - whom she co-starred with in Dogma (1999), Grown Ups (2010), and Grown Ups 2 (2013)

The Gucci soiree reunited the Daytime Emmy winner with comedian Chris Rock - whom she co-starred with in Dogma (1999), Grown Ups (2010), and Grown Ups 2 (2013).

Meanwhile, manning the decks and the mic was none other than Golden Globe winner Idris Elba, who's been DJing under the name 'Big Driis' as far back as 2007.

The previously booked DJ Memphy stepped aside for a bit so the 50-year-old British silver fox could spin some tunes during his set at the one-night only event.

Idris - who fronts Gucci's 25H timepiece campaign - sported an Army-green hooded maxi-coat over a white short-sleeve button-up, pleated khakis, and bright green sneakers selected by stylist Cheryl Konteh.

Joining Elba was his third wife Sabrina Dhowre who flashed her side-boob and panties in a black cut-out Gucci dress with Christian Louboutin sling-back heels.

At 34, the Somali-Canadian model is 16 years younger than the Luther: The Fallen Son producer-star, but the couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary last Wednesday.

Eighties supermodel Iman also brought her ageless beauty to the fashion festivities.

The 67-year-old make-up mogul - who was married to five-time Grammy winner David Bowie until his 2016 death - looked glamourous as ever in a black ruffle-sleeve Gucci gown featuring a substantial train.

Disc jockey: Manning the decks and the mic was none other than Golden Globe winner Idris Elba, who's been DJing under the name 'Big Driis' as far back as 2007

Pushing buttons and twisting knobs: The previously booked DJ Memphy stepped aside for a bit so the 50-year-old British silver fox could spin some tunes during his set at the one-night only event

Fronts Gucci's 25H timepiece campaign! Idris sported an Army-green hooded maxi-coat over a white short-sleeve button-up, pleated khakis, and bright green sneakers selected by stylist Cheryl Konteh

The new cleavage: Joining Elba was his third wife Sabrina Dhowre (L) who flashed her side-boob and panties in a black cut-out Gucci dress with Christian Louboutin sling-back heels

Still going strong! At 34, the Somali-Canadian model is 16 years younger than the Luther: The Fallen Son producer-star, but the couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary last Wednesday

Icon! Eighties supermodel Iman also brought her ageless beauty to the fashion festivities

Sexy after 65! The 67-year-old make-up mogul - who was married to five-time Grammy winner David Bowie until his 2016 death - looked glamourous as ever in a black ruffle-sleeve Gucci gown featuring a substantial train

Boudoir attire: Four-time Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers matched her grey hair with her gossamer grey slip dress and black Dr. Marten-style boots

Intimate: The 28-year-old LA singer - who's rumored to be romancing comedian Bo Burnham - kept one arm around her touring drummer Marshall Vore (R), whom she previously dated from 2015-2016

Adorned: A Thousand and One actress Teyana Taylor looked striking wearing House of Malakai face harness, nose, and chin jewelry while baring her belly and hot pink bra

Billowy train! The 32-year-old triple threat wore an elaborate colorful maxi-blouse with matching wide-leg jeans

Four-time Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers matched her grey hair with her gossamer grey slip dress and black Dr. Marten-style boots.

The 28-year-old LA singer - who's rumored to be romancing comedian Bo Burnham - kept one arm around her touring drummer Marshall Vore, whom she previously dated from 2015-2016.

A Thousand and One actress Teyana Taylor looked striking wearing House of Malakai face harness, nose, and chin jewelry while baring her belly and hot pink bra.

The 32-year-old triple threat wore an elaborate colorful maxi-blouse, featuring a train, with matching wide-leg jeans.

Golden Globe nominee Sienna Miller struck a pose in Gucci black leather high-waist trousers and a beige blouse as she clutched the Gucci '1947 Small Top Handle Bag.'

The British 41-year-old must have bumped into The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, with whom she shares 10-year-old daughter Marlowe, as he was also in attendance.

The 37-year-old Englishman looked dapper in a black and red double-breasted Gucci suit as he posed with Tony-nominated playwright Jeremy O. Harris.

Golden Globe nominee Beanie Feldstein opted for blue lace as she posed with her How to Build a Girl producer-turned-fiancee Bonnie-Chance Roberts, joking on Instagram: 'Your Jewish grandmas went out for @gucci!'

Leather mama: Golden Globe nominee Sienna Miller struck a pose in Gucci black leather high-waist trousers and a beige blouse as she clutched the Gucci '1947 Small Top Handle Bag'

Babydaddy: The British 41-year-old must have bumped into The Sandman star Tom Sturridge (pictured), with whom she shares 10-year-old daughter Marlowe, as he was also in attendance

Gents: The 37-year-old Englishman looked dapper in a black and red double-breasted Gucci suit as he posed with Tony-nominated playwright Jeremy O. Harris (R)

Golden Globe nominee Beanie Feldstein (L) opted for blue lace as she posed with her How to Build a Girl producer-turned-fiancee Bonnie-Chance Roberts (R), joking on Instagram: 'Your Jewish grandmas went out for @gucci!'

Dynamic duo: The Gucci party also served as date night for Law & Order: Organized Crime star Christopher Meloni (R) and his wife of 27 years, retired production designer Sherman Williams (L)

Blending in: Triangle of Sadness actor Harris Dickinson was dressed down in a green Gucci windbreaker, blue jeans, and white Adidas sneakers

Lady in red: BMF actress La La Anthony wore massive Balenciaga sunglasses (at night) with a monochromatic red ensemble

Back in black: Rocking not-so-basic black attire were War of the Worlds star Daisy Edgar-Jones and The Staircase actress Olivia DeJonge

Coat check? Socialite Alexa Chung accessorized her black Gucci midi-dress with a Carrie Bradshaw-inspired brown faux fur coat, fishnet stockings, and red Gucci stilettos

Model-turned-musicians: The Misshapes DJ Leigh Lezark (L) wore a flounce-top disco dress while flame-haired songstress Karen Elson (R) wore a clingy black sparkly dress

Squad: The Real Housewives of New York City alum Carole Radziwill (R) called the party 'a throwback to early 2000s NYC nightlife' as she posed beside Amplify Partners co-founder Greg Calejo (L) and jewelry designer Ann Dexter-Jones (M)

The woman of the hour! Amy Sacco poses with two staffers wearing Bungalow Gucci jumpsuits

The Gucci party also served as date night for Law & Order: Organized Crime star Christopher Meloni and his wife of 27 years, retired production designer Sherman Williams.

Triangle of Sadness actor Harris Dickinson was dressed down in a green Gucci windbreaker, blue jeans, and white Adidas sneakers.

BMF actress La La Anthony wore massive Balenciaga sunglasses (at night) with a monochromatic red ensemble.

Rocking not-so-basic black attire were War of the Worlds star Daisy Edgar-Jones and The Staircase actress Olivia DeJonge.

BMF actress La La Anthony wore massive Balenciaga sunglasses (at night) with a monochromatic red ensemble.

Rocking not-so-basic black attire were War of the Worlds star Daisy Edgar-Jones and The Staircase actress Olivia DeJonge.

Socialite Alexa Chung accessorized her black Gucci midi-dress with a Carrie Bradshaw-inspired brown faux fur coat, fishnet stockings, and red Gucci stilettos.

The Misshapes DJ Leigh Lezark wore a flounce-top disco dress while flame-haired songstress Karen Elson wore a clingy black sparkly dress.

The Real Housewives of New York City alum Carole Radziwill called the party 'a throwback to early 2000s NYC nightlife' as she posed beside Amplify Partners co-founder Greg Calejo and jewelry designer Ann Dexter-Jones.
Jock Zonfrillo (pictured in 2020) was found dead by police at 2am on Monday

MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo, 46, has joined a list of superstar chefs who died too young, including Anthony Bourdain, Justin Bull and Jeremy Strode.

Zonfrillo's body was found by police at about 2am on Monday, after they were called to an address on Lygon Street in Carlton, in Melbourne's inner-north, for a welfare check.

The Scot's family made the sad announcement on Instagram on Monday afternoon - about 12 hours after officers made the shock discovery.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away,' the statement said.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

A cause of death has not been disclosed, but Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia the situation is not being treated as suspicious.

American chef, TV star and author Anthony Bourdain (pictured) ended his life in a French hotel room in 2018. He was 61

Zonfrillo's death is reminiscent of many of his culinary peers from around the world, such as Bourdain, Justin Bull, Jeremy Strode, and Darren Simpson.

All either took their own lives or died as a result of addiction.

In 2018, American chef, TV star and author Anthony Bourdain, 61, ended his life in a French hotel room while working on his CNN series, Parts Unknown.

It was later revealed Bourdain was struggling with fame and heartbreak in the days leading up to his death.

He and Zonfrillo were both former heroin addicts who opened up about their struggles in memoirs, published long after they kicked their habits.

In 2017, Sydney-based chef Jeremy Strode ended his life at the age of 53.

Strode had been working in the kitchens of Sydney and Melbourne's best restaurants for more than 25 years and held annual dinners to raise money for the 'R U OK?' mental health charity.

Justin Bull, 46, was a chef to the stars who was found dead in his cafe in Bronte, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, in 2019.

He had served as a personal chef to actor Russell Crowe and billionaire casino magnate James Packer, but opened up about his struggle with depression in his final years.

Sydney chef Justin Bull (pictured) took his own life in 2019. He struggled with depression

Sydney-based chef Jeremy Strode (pictured) ended his life at the age of 53

Darren Simpson used to appear on Channel 10's 'Ready, Steady, Cook'. He was 39 when he died in 2017 following a long battle with addiction

Darren Simpson, who was a regular on Channel 10's 'Ready, Steady, Cook', was 39 when he died in 2017 following a long battle with alcohol and addiction.

The Sydney chef had a heart attack shortly after leaving a rehabilitation facility.

Following news of Zonfrillo's death on Monday afternoon, tributes from the celebrity and culinary worlds flooded social media.

Fellow expatriate chef and TV personality Colin Fassnidge told Daily Mail Australia: 'It's so shocking. I'm sitting on a rock right now trying to take it in, I don't know what to say. I'm floored.

'I've had to call my wife straight away when I heard.'

Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs wrote on Instagram: 'Holding Jock's family close to my heart and thinking of those in his circle at this saddest of time.

Pictured: Zonfrillo with fellow MasterChef judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong at the AACTA Awards on December 7

'He touched so many of us.'

MasterChef contestant Reynold Poernomo said: 'I'm so shocked. Rest in peace, chef. My heart and condolences to [your] loved ones.'

Fellow franchise alum Khanh Ong added: 'I'm so, so sorry. My condolences.'

Zonfrillo's colleagues on MasterChef did not seem to know he had died as late as 11.30am on Monday, when his Masterchef co-host Melissa Leong posted a countdown clock for the premiere on her Instagram account.

He is survived by hus third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children Ava, Sophia, Alfie and Isla.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo posted a photo promoting the brand new season of the Channel 10 show just hours before his death.

Zonfrillo died in Melbourne at the age of 46, his family has confirmed.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday, after they were called to an address on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check.

On Sunday, Zonfrillo uploaded a photo of British chef Jamie Oliver to promote MasterChef's fifteenth season, which was meant to premiere on Monday night.

The show has now been postponed in the wake of his death.

MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo posted a photo promoting the brand new season of the Channel 10 show just hours before his death

Zonfrillo died in Melbourne at the age of 46, his family has confirmed. A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday, after they were called to an address on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check

'The time has come for @masterchefau to kick off a new season filled with Secrets & Surprises! And @jamieoliver of course!' Zonfrillo wrote over a photo of Oliver on the Melbourne set.

Still unaware of his co-star's death on Monday morning, Oliver shared the same photo and footage alongside the MasterChef judges promoting the new season.

'So soon to the big day this years MasterChef is going to blow you away,' he wrote.

Oliver also shared a video of himself talking to the camera urging his Australian fans to tune in.

Still unaware of his co-star's death on Monday morning, Oliver shared the same photo and footage alongside the MasterChef judges promoting the new season

'So soon to the big day this years MasterChef is going to blow you away,' he wrote

Meanwhile Melissa Leong gave an interview about her friendship with Zonfrillo just hours before his death was confirmed on Monday.

Leong was also not aware of his passing when she spoke to HIT WA Breakfast with Allan and Carly at around 8am on Monday morning.

The 41-year-old appeared on the show to promote MasterChef's fifteenth season, which was meant to premiere on Monday night before it was cancelled in the wake of Zonfrillo's death.

Leong fondly spoke about having eating competitions with Zonfrillo on the set of MasterChef, telling the radio hosts: 'Over the years I used to be a very competitive eater, especially with Jock.'

'And I learned very quickly not to try to keep up with Jock because you will lose. He has hollow legs and can eat at a rate and a volume that defies physics, logic and science. It just doesn't... you don't understand it,' she joked.

Melissa Leong, 41, (pictured) gave an interview about her friendship with fellow MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo just hours before his death was confirmed on Monday

She explained that Zonfrillo, who has always been slim, would 'eat all day' both on-set and off-set during filming.

Leong went on to praise Zonfrillo for his many talents, gushing: 'He's freakishly talented, super lovely, really funny, totally handsome, rocks a three-piece suit like nobody else, and he can eat for days.'

'It's quite frankly outrageous,' she mused.

Leong fondly spoke about having eating competitions with Zonfrillo on the set of MasterChef, telling the radio hosts: 'Over the years I used to be a very competitive eater, especially with Jock'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of MasterChef Australia in 2019 alongside Allen and Leong.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried.

His death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

No cause of death has been disclosed.

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of MasterChef Australia in 2019 alongside Allen and Leong. (Pictured: Zonfrillo with fellow MasterChef judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong at the AACTA Awards on December 7)

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried. (Zonfrillo with Fried and their two children are seen here in a recent family photo)

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He became the head chef at Sydney's Restaurant 41 in the year 2000, and opened the award-winning Restaurant Orana in Adelaide in 2013.

An emotional Colin Fassnidge said fellow chefs are struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of his friend and fellow chef Jock Zonfrillo.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement

Fassnidge, who appeared on My Kitchen Rules and Kitchen Nightmares, has been friends with Zonfrillo for 20 years and admitted struggling to process the tragic news.

'It's so shocking. I'm sitting on a rock right now trying to take it in, I don't know what to say. I'm floored.

'I've had to call my wife straight away when I heard.'

Fassnidge said there was no indication anything was wrong for Zonfrillo, and the news was a complete surprise.

'He was flying, he was doing a great job, he had a great show, he was won top of the world.

'Jock was normal, he was healthy and he was living a good life.

'I just feel so sorry for his other half.'

Fassnidge said Zonfrillo's passing has rocked the hospitality industry.

'We all battle each other in the ratings, but we're all one big family in hospitality,' he said.

'At a certain level, all the chefs know each other.

An emotional Colin Fassnidge said fellow chefs are struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of his friend and fellow chef Jock Zonfrillo

'Everyone is ringing. Everyone knows the entire community is in shock.'

Fassnidge said he and Zonfrillo became close friends because they were alike.

'He's another version of me. He likes a joke. He liked the whisky in the old days, he's just a great TV host and a great cook.

'I don't know what I think yet, we were rivals, and we were friends.'
Just weeks after a Disney press release confirmed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be the final Indiana Jones movie, Harrison Ford confirmed it himself.

The 80-year-old actor confirmed his final appearance in the franchise in a new interview with Total Film.

'This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time Ill play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film,' he said of Dial of Destiny, in theaters June 30.

It was reported in November that Disney Plus was in early stages of developing an Indiana Jones TV series, though Ford insisted he was not involved with that either.

He said he will, 'not be involved in that, if it does come to fruition,' adding he's quite excited for fans to see the final Indy adventure.

Harrison confirms: Just weeks after a Disney press release confirmed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be the final Indiana Jones movie , Harrison Ford confirmed it himself

Final: 'This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time Ill play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film,' he said of Dial of Destiny, in theaters June 30

'I had been ambitious to do this film for 10 years, and there finally came a time when we all committed to that,' the actor admitted.

'It was a joyous moment for me. I think its a rare situation that I find myself in,' Ford added.

'Ive been able to deliver amazing films developed by Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] over a 40-year period, and to end it not with a whimper, but a bang, has been my greatest ambition for this excursion,' he continued.

The studio issued a press release for the new trailer, which referred to the upcoming film starring Harrison Ford as, 'the highly anticipated final installment of the beloved franchise.'

Director James Mangold also confirmed the studio's statement with one of his own in the press release.

'My legendary collaborators and I are very excited to share a brand new and final Indiana Jones adventure with you!' Mangold said.

The film is slated for release in theaters on June 30, though it was also announced last week it will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Early reports revealed the show would not focus on Harrison Ford's title character, though it's believed that the series has been indefinitely shelved.

Ambitious: 'I had been ambitious to do this film for 10 years, and there finally came a time when we all committed to that,' the actor admitted

Amazing: 'Ive been able to deliver amazing films developed by Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] over a 40-year period, and to end it not with a whimper, but a bang, has been my greatest ambition for this excursion,' he continued

Upcoming: The studio issued a press release for the new trailer, which referred to the upcoming film starring Harrison Ford as, 'the highly anticipated final installment of the beloved franchise'

The 80-year-old Ford has already moved on from the franchise, taking over the Thunderbolt Ross role from the late William Hurt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in the year 1969, following Ford's Indiana Jones set against the backdrop of the American 'space race.'

Jones is said to be, 'uneasy' about the American government enlisting former Nazis in their race to beat the Russians to the moon.

Franchise newcomers Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins the sequel as Helena Shaw, Indy's goddaughter, along with Mads Mikkelsen as Jurgen Voller, an ex-Nazi who now works for NASA.

Other newcomers include Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, a friend of Indy, Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber, Toby Jones as Basil Shaw and Boyd Holbrook as Klaber.
Almost exactly 30 years after the show ended, many of the main stars of The Wonder Years reunited in New Jersey... though the main star Fred Savage was notably absent.

Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold), Alley Mills (Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (Wayne Arnold) and Olivia d'Abo (Karen Arnold) reunited at the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model & Film Expo held at the Parsippany Hilton in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.

While the stars reunited, Fred Savage was not present, who was sued by costume designer Monique Long for sexual harassment, which was said to have played a factor in the show's cancellation in 1993 after six seasons.

The lawsuit was settled out of court with Savage said to have been completely exonerated, though the actor made headlines last year for more sexual misconduct.

It was revealed in August 2022 that Savage was fired from The Wonder Years reboot for sexually harassing female crew members.

Absent: Almost exactly 30 years after the show ended, many of the main stars of The Wonder Years reunited in New Jersey... though the main star Fred Savage was notably absent

Reunited: Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold), Alley Mills (Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (Wayne Arnold) and Olivia d'Abo (Karen Arnold) reunited at the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model & Film Expo held at the Parsippany Hilton in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey

Lawsuit: While the stars reunited, Fred Savage was not present, who was sued by costume designer Monique Long for sexual harassment, which was said to have played a factor in the show's cancellation in 1993 after six seasons

Lauria opted for a black polo shirt and grey pants for his appearance at the convention.

His on-screen wife Mills opted for a white blouse under a matching white coat with a dangling necklace, with matching white pants.

d'Abo opted for a maroon long-sleeved top while she was also seen at the convention with a pink top and a black blazer.

Hervey opted for a black-on-black look with a black shirt under a black suit coat and black pants.

The Wonder years debuted in 1988, following a suburban middle-class family, with narration from an older version of Fred Savage's Kevin Arnold, voiced by Daniel Stern.

The series won the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy Award after its first season, while a 13-year-old Savage made history as the youngest actor to be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

While the show was considered one of the best from the 1980s and 1990s, its legacy was tarnished with a lawsuit brought forth by costume designer Monique Long filed a sexual harassment charge against both Savage and Hervey.

The lawsuit was ultimately dropped, with Savage telling SFGate in 1996, '"I was completely exonerated. I really don't want to talk about it. It was a terrible experience.'

Dan: Lauria opted for a black polo shirt and grey pants for his appearance at the convention

Alley's look: His on-screen wife Mills opted for a white blouse under a matching white coat with a dangling necklace, with matching white pants

Olivia's look: d'Abo opted for a maroon long-sleeved top while she was also seen at the convention with a pink top and a black blazer

Jason's look: Hervey opted for a black-on-black look with a black shirt under a black suit coat and black pants.

Then in 2018, Mills told Yahoo! that the allegations against Savage were, 'completely ridiculous.'

She added that Savage is, 'like, the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the face of the earth,' while hinting the lawsuit played a big factor in the show being canceled after six seasons.

'When you keep up a certain amount of ratings, they keep the show going. But it was because of all that garbage,' she added.

Savage made headlines again in August 2022 when it was revealed six women from The Wonder Years reboot came forward with allegations that Savage had sexually harassed them.

They also raised concerns about Savage's relationship with a young female crew member, even moving her into the Atlanta home he was staying in while filming the series.

Another woman claims Savage assaulted her in a bathroom, forcefully kissing and touching her while he put her hands on his groin.
Jamie Oliver has paid tribute to his MasterChef Australia co-star Jock Zonfrillo after his shock death in Melbourne at the age of 46.

British chef Jamie, 47, who is joining the upcoming season of the hit show this year, said he was in 'total shock' over the news.

Zonfrillo's family confirmed the heartbreaking news on Monday with a statement.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check. No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious.

'I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this years MasterChef, I can't tell how good it was to work with him!' Jamie's began in an Instagram post underneath a picture of the pair together.

Jamie Oliver has paid tribute to his MasterChef Australia co-star Jock Zonfrillo after his shock death at the age of 46. Pictured together on set of the show with Melissa Leong and Andy Allen

'Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful Melisa, Andy & Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have there very own unique view and style Jock will be so very missed'

He added: 'I can't believe I'm writing this.Sending heart felt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family the master chef team and contestants xxx. Love Jamie.'

British chef Gordon Ramsay, 56, tweeted: 'Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time Gx.'

British chef Jamie, 47, who is joining the upcoming season of the hit show this year, said he was in 'total shock' over the news

British chef Gordon Ramsay, 56, tweeted: 'Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time Gx'

Irish chef Colin Fassnidge shared a picture of Jock and wrote: 'RIP my friend, hope to have a whiskey again one day'

Celebrity Chef Matt Moran also shared a tribute to Jock and wrote: 'I'm lost for words, a great mate for over 20 years and one of the best chefs I have ever known. Absolutely heartbreaking. Thoughts are with Lauren and his family. We'll miss you chef'

Irish chef Colin Fassnidge shared a picture of Jock and wrote: 'RIP my friend, hope to have a whiskey again one day'.

Celebrity Chef Matt Moran also shared a tribute to Jock and wrote: 'I'm lost for words, a great mate for over 20 years and one of the best chefs I have ever known. Absolutely heartbreaking. Thoughts are with Lauren and his family. We'll miss you chef.'

Yorkshire-born chef and restauranteur Sean Connolly said Jock's passing was 'very sad news'.

'We lost another soldier, a great chef! He was loveable rascal and always very generous. My heart goes out to his wife & young family. We texted each other occasionally and we bought each other dinner in our respective restaurants over the years. I'd lost touch with him the last couple of years.'

Scottish-Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes shared a picture of himself and Zonfrillo on stage in matching tartan wrote: 'It's a very sad day. We've lost another dear friend. Jock was like a brother to me and we made each other laugh and cry. My heart goes out to his family. I am speechless. Rest my friend xx.'

'We are absolutely heartbroken' wrote Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little alongside a photo of the pair with Jock in a post to Twitter.

Jock's family statement was released on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences.

Scottish-Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes shared a picture of himself and Zonfrillo on stage in matching tartan and wrote: 'It's a very sad day. We've lost another dear friend'

He added: 'Jock was like a brother to me and we made each other laugh and cry. My heart goes out to his family. I am speechless. Rest my friend xx'

'We are absolutely heartbroken' wrote Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little

Jock's family statement was released on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences

Former MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow wrote: 'Sending the biggest hugs to all of you. Speechless.'

She added in her own Instagram post: 'We lost two complicated Scotsmen this week. RIP Jock and Rhino [her pet pooch]. Strength and love to Lauren, Ava, Sophia, Alfie and Isla.'

Colin Fassnidge added underneath: 'Such a shock! Love to his family. Sleep well my friend. I'm floored.'

Actress Rebecca Gibney commented: 'No words. Utterly heartbroken for you.'

Model and Andy Lee's girlfriend Rebecca Harding added: 'I'm so sorry. What a beautiful, fun loving man. Sending all my love to Loz, Ava and the rest of the Zonfrillo family. You'll be missed mate.'

She added in her own Instagram post: 'We lost two complicated Scotsmen this week. RIP Jock and Rhino [her pet pooch]. Strength and love to Lauren, Ava, Sophia, Alfie and Isla'

MasterChef star Julie Goodwin says she's 'heartbroken and lost for words' at Jock's passing

Jock is pictured with his fellow MasterChef judges and Gordon Ramsay

'I am so sad. So sad for Jock's family. Then I am sad for the team on MasterChef who I know are hurting right now,' George Calombaris wrote in part of his post

The Living Room's Garry DuBois shared a touching tribute to Jock on Monday saying he was a 'true Scotsmen'

Miguel Maestre said Jock was 'one of the greatest' in his moving post. 'I'm really shocked Scottish warrior, I hope you are cooking a feast for everyone up there,' he added

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night.

The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

A report will be prepared for the coroner after Zonfrillo's body was found at about 2am on Monday.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried.

Zonfrillo's other colleagues on MasterChef did not seem to know he had died earlier this morning as the publicity machine for the new season was in motion as late as 11.30am on Monday, when Leong posted a countdown clock for the premiere on her Instagram account.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried

Leong, 41, also did an interview with Hit WA Breakfast at about 8am on Monday in which she spoke of the pair's close friendship.

Her radio appearance was to promote the new season of MasterChef.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He once said he owed his life to food, telling an interviewer: 'It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

'The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if there's something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. That's what moved me on. That's how I survived.'

After getting clean and establishing himself in Britain, Zonfrillo migrated to Australia and became the head chef at Sydney's Restaurant 41 in the year 2000.

He opened the award-winning Restaurant Orana in Adelaide in 2013.

In 2018, the year before he joined MasterChef, he was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian newspaper.

That year, Orana was also named Australia's best restaurant by the Good Food Guide.

Restaurant Orana closed its doors in 2020 when it went into voluntary administration with debts totalling $3.2million.
Independent election watchdog Election Resource Centre (ERC has warned of possible breach of laws guiding the existing legality that monitors the plebiscite process should President Emmerson Mnangagwa delay the proclamation of polling dates.

In a statement, ERC raised red flags over a possible risk of breaching statutes contained in Section 158 of the Constitution.

According to section 158 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, a general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period which runs from the date on which the President-elect is sworn in and assumes office.

Mnangagwa was sworn in on 26 August 2018.

"The thirty-day period before the expiry of the Presidential term runs from 27 July - 26 August 2023," ERC said.

Further, according to section 38 of the Electoral Act, the President must fix a date for a general election and elections for Councillors, Members of Parliament and the President, after consultation with the Commission.

"The proclamation must take into consideration, the Nomination Court which must sit at least fourteen and not more than twenty-one days after the day of publication of the proclamation for the purpose of receiving nominations of candidates for election," said ERC.

The proclamation must also factor in the aspect of a polling day which must be held at least thirty and not more than sixty-three days after the sitting of the nomination court.

"Taking into account the timelines for the sitting of the nomination court and the possible election dates between 27 July 2023 - 26 August 2023 the President may only make a proclamation between any of the following dates 4 May 2023 - 13 July 2023."

According to ERC, while, the authority to proclaim an election date is vested in the President of Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa is guided by the aforementioned timelines and must consult the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission before proclaiming.
She bemoaned the lack of food, long lines and 'stingy liquor' after making her Met Gala debut at the glittering A-list fundraiser last year.

But Lizzo looked ready to face the music after her cheeky comments as she arrived at Met Gala host Anna Wintour's pre-event dinner at her private residence in New York on Sunday night.

The musician, 35, flashed a huge grin as she headed inside the dinner party, which was also attended by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Penelope Cruz and Sienna Miller.

The Special hitmaker turned heads in a semi-sheer purple midi-dress, featuring a soaring thigh-high slit.

The flautist teamed her glamorous gown with matching purple-tinted glasses and oversized hoop earrings.

Awkward? Lizzo looked ready to face the music after her cheeky comments as she arrived at Met Gala host Anna Wintour's pre-event dinner at her private residence in New York on Sunday

Party time: The musician, 35, flashed a huge grin as she headed inside the dinner party, which was also attended by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Penelope Cruz and Sienna Miller

She completed the look in towering silver GAIA sandals by Jimmy Choo and also toted a sparkly BONNY bag by the designer.

Lizzo's appearance comes after she slated the annual fundraiser in an Instagram Live over the weekend, listing various complaints from the lack of seating to the amount of alcohol on offer.

The annual ball, hosted by Vogue's Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour, is the biggest night in fashion, as well as a fundraiser held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.

Lizzo performed an incredible flute solo on the red carpet when she made her debut at the event last year, wearing a black Thom Browne corset gown featuring garter belt cut-outs beneath a golden embellished coat selected by stylist Jason Rembert.

She said: 'There's a long f***ing line. I'm taking the glamour away from it but it's true. You've gotta wait.

'So you're waiting and that's the hardest part. I was sweating in a big-ass coat, my feet were hurting.

'They don't have no chairs, no cocktails. I was like, "B***h? Can we get some chairs or some drinks or some hors d'oeuvres?".'

Once inside, Lizzo was left disappointed when a waiter informed her that the only choice of alcohol was red or white wine.

She recalled: 'They were being really stingy with the liquor that night. He was like, "Red or white wine?".

Met Gala debut: Lizzo wore a black Thom Browne corset gown featuring garter belt cut-outs beneath a golden embellished coat selected by stylist Jason Rembert at the 2022 event

Dressed to impress: The Special hitmaker turned heads in a semi-sheer purple midi-dress, featuring a soaring thigh-high slit

No dramas: The flautist teamed her glamorous gown with matching purple-tinted glasses, oversized hoop earrings and a pair of towering silver strappy sandals

Unimpressed: Lizzo's appearance comes after she slated the annual fundraiser over the weekend, listing various complaints from the lack of seating to the amount of alcohol on offer

'And I was like, "Tequila! Do you know what I've been through? Do you know how many hours I've been in this corset? How long I've been in these damn shoes? Tequila!".'

Speaking about her red carpet performance, she said: 'I had this plan to play the flute and do the whole intro [of a classical piece] but I got nervous and I only played it once because all the photographers were heckling me'.

'They were like, "You're putting us to sleep with the flute!" I was like, "OK?" In my mind I thought everyone was going to be transfixed.

'So I only played it once, only the first half of it. Then I posed and got the photos.'

Despite her grievances, she went on to admit that she had a wonderful time at the event: 'This is like prom for celebrities . . . My prom f***ing sucked. Now I feel like the Grammys and the Met Ball, they're like my prom.

This year's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Thing of Beauty, paying tribute to the legendary German designer, who died in 2019 after helming the French fashion house Chanel since 1983.

Where's the tequila? Lizzo said she was left disappointed when a waiter informed her that the only choice of alcohol was red or white wine, because she wanted tequila (pictured in 2022)
They have been dating for over a year.

And Sienna Miller looked as loved up as ever with her boyfriend Oli Green on Sunday evening as they stepped out hand in hand in New York for a pre-Met Gala dinner hosted by Vogue icon and the gala's organiser Anna Wintour.

The actress, 41, left little to the imagination in a sheer knitted jumpsuit while her hunky beau, 25, looked dapper in a double-breasted suit.

She paired the look with a loose-fitting cardigan while her hair was teased into a half-up do and she added a splash of colour with a bold red lip.

The couple are in the Big Apple ahead of Monday night's Met Gala, where the great and good of fashion are set to pay tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld.

Stunner: Sienna Miller looked as loved up as ever with her boyfriend Oli Green on Sunday evening as they stepped out hand in hand in New York for a pre-Met Gala dinner hosted by Vogue icon and the gala's organiser Anna Wintour

Wow! The actress, 41, left little to the imagination in a sheer knitted jumpsuit while her hunky beau, 25, looked dapper in a double-breasted suit

Sheer sensation: Sienna wore a nude under garment with the black jumpsuit

Sienna has attended the Met Gala on a number of occasions, starting with an appearance with her then-partner Jude Law in 2010.

The theme of this year's Met Gala is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which is set to honour the late Chanel creative director, following his death in 2019.

She has been romantically involved with Oli since February 2022.

Sienna recently said she spent years investing in a relationship with someone who was 'a bucket with a hole in it of a person'.

The actress revealed she thought she would be married with children by her 30s but the relationships she was in during those years didn't work out.

Speaking to British Vogue, Sienna said: 'I'd invested what felt like the important years in something that was just a bucket with a hole in it of a person. I wasted time. And I felt like time was really my currency.'

She was quick to point out she was not referring to Tom Sturridge, who she dated from 2011 to 2015 and with whom she shares daughter Marlowe, ten.

Cheeky! She has been romantically involved with Oli since February 2022

Chivalry is not dead! Oli held the umbrella to protect Sienna from a downpour

Beaming: She did not let the rain damped her spirits

Stunner: The previous evening she attended the Gucci & Amy Sacco Celebrate Bungalow Gucci In Honor Of The New Meatpacking Boutique

But the pair proved that they were on friendly terms recently, as they partied at this year's Glastonbury festival this summer with their respective partners - Oli and Alexa Chung.

Prior to her relationship with Tom, Sienna was engaged to fellow actor Jude in 2004 after he popped the question on Christmas Day.

He apologised to her in July of the following year for having an affair with the nanny of his children.

Sienna also had a highly publicised affair with the actor Bathlazar Getty in 2008.

Reflecting on her thirties being difficult, she added: 'There was a lot of anxiety. Relationships hadn't worked out  I imagined that I would be married with three kids, being a great mum. I love being a mother. It's what I do best.'

That was then... Sienna has attended the Met Gala on a number of occasions, starting with an appearance with her then-partner Jude Law in 2010

A vision: Sienna is pictured at the gala in 2019
Jock Zonfrillo's shock death at the age of 46 was announced by his family on Monday.

And now the MasterChef star's signature dish has been revealed - that won over the hearts of even the most dedicated takeaway fans.

In March, the Scottish-born chef thrilled fans when he made 'the world's best jaffle' using naan bread and leftover butter chicken from Indian takeaway.

At the time, Zonfrillo created the new family-favourite dish using only three ingredients.

Giving the meal a solid '9 out of 10' after demolishing it, Zonfrillo left thousands wanting to try the simple dish after posting a video of his process.

Jock Zonfrillo's shock death at the age of 46 was announced by his family on Monday. And now the MasterChef star's signature dish has been revealed - that won over the hearts of even the most dedicated takeaway fans

He began by gathering all of his ingredients together: naan, butter chicken, butter, mozzarella, and a slice of white bread (for size).

Zonfrillo first placed the slice of white bread onto the naan and cut out two squares to mimic square bread.

He then generously buttered one side of both naan slices to ensure that they toasted well.

In March, the Scottish-born chef thrilled fans when he made 'the world's best jaffle' using naan bread and leftover butter chicken from Indian takeaway

Next, the celebrity chef started chopping his butter chicken into smaller pieces that could fit into the toastie.

Zonfrillo also sliced a few chunks of mozzarella to add to his jaffle.

The MasterChef judge assembled the closed sandwich by placing a piece of naan butter-side up into the jaffle maker, adding the chunks of butter chicken and mozzarella, and topping it off with another piece of naan.

Giving the meal a solid '9 out of 10' after demolishing it, Zonfrillo left thousands wanting to try the simple dish after posting a video of his process

How to make Jock Zonfrillo's butter chicken jaffle Ingredients Naan

Butter chicken Mozzarella

Butter Method: Stack two naans and cut to the size of sliced bread

Butter one side of both naans

Chop butter chicken into small chunks

Slice mozzarella into small chunks

Assemble by placing butter chicken and mozzarella between two naans in a jaffle maker

Toast the dish

Enjoy! Advertisement

He took a bite of the delectable dish and smiled at his delicious creation.

Thousands were impressed by Zonfrillo's unconventional use of leftovers and swore to attempt the dish themselves.

'Boy, oh boy, does this man know how to cook,' one commenter wrote in awe.

'This is genius - I've never wanted a jaffle maker this bad!'

'Curry toasties are delicious, it also goes really well in a wrap.'

Jock's shock death was announced in a family statement on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences.

Jock's shock death was announced in a family statement on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences

Former MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow wrote: 'Sending the biggest hugs to all of you. Speechless.'

Colin Fassnidge added underneath: 'Such a shock! Love to his family. Sleep well my friend. I'm floored.'

Actress Rebecca Gibney commented: 'No words. Utterly heartbroken for you.'

Model and Andy Lee's girlfriend Rebecca Harding added: 'I'm so sorry. What a beautiful, fun loving man. Sending all my love to Loz, Ava and the rest of the Zonfrillo family. You'll be missed mate.'

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night.

Former MasterChef star Poh Ling Yeow wrote: 'Sending the biggest hugs to all of you. Speechless'

The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

A report will be prepared for the coroner after Zonfrillo's body was found at about 2am on Monday.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He once said he owed his life to food, telling an interviewer: 'It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

'The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if there's something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. That's what moved me on. That's how I survived.'
Sarah Harris was moved to tears while remembering Jock Zonfrillo after the chef's shock death at age 46.

The Project star praised Jock's 'vulnerability' and openness about his struggles with anxiety, which he mitigated by carrying worry beads.

'He was never without his worry beads. And I love this about him, despite the fact that he was this kind of manly Scott, and drank whiskey, he knew there was power in vulnerability' the television host said during Monday's show.

'He really worked to normalise anxiety, and he said he would keep those beads on him at all times, and pressed the beads when the anxiety got too much.

'But more than that, he loved his food. He was Irish and a Scot, and he told us once, the way to make carbonara without cream. He was very insistent on that.'

Sarah Harris was moved to tears while remembering Jock Zonfrillo (pictured) after the chef's shock death at age 46. The Project star praised Jock's 'vulnerability' and openness about his struggles with anxiety, which he mitigated by carrying worry beads

Sarah became choked up with tears as she discussed what Jock's family must be going through.

'I think that is why it's so hard to process. It's so hard seeing pictures of those beautiful kids. Because he was in such a great place' she said, her voice breaking.

'He's been open about his addiction struggles in the past. He wrote that incredible memoir, Last Shot. How he brought himself back from the brink of addiction, to build an incredible life for himself.'

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: teenage daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried.

'He was never without his worry beads. And I love this about him, despite the fact that he was this kind of manly Scott, and drank whiskey, he knew there was power in vulnerability' the television host said during Monday's show. Sarah is pictured

'He really worked to normalise anxiety, and he said he would keep those beads on him at all times, and pressed the beads when the anxiety got too much' she said

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check.

No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

Sarah became choked up with tears as she discussed what Jock's family must be going through. 'I think that is why it's so hard to process. It's so hard seeing pictures of those beautiful kids. Because he was in such a great place' she said, her voice breaking

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: teenage daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried. (Zonfrillo, Fried and their two children are seen here in a recent family photo)

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show MasterChef Australia in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

In 2018, the year before he joined MasterChef, he was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian newspaper.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14
Hellraiser MasterChef Australia star Jock Zonfrillo's extraordinary culinary life began aged 13 as a dishwasher at Turnberry in his native Scotland and ended in tragedy as one of the biggest names in Australian cooking.

The Glaswegian father-of-four, who was born Barry Zonfrillo, left school at 15 and credited his mentor Marco Pierre White with saving his life after giving him a job and accommodation when he was a homeless heroin addict in London in the 1990s.

He became a MasterChef judge in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong, and also Junior MasterChef Australia in 2020 - 20 years after landing Down Under seeking a fresh start. He injected his last hit of heroin immediately before boarding the plane from the UK and was in the throes of withdrawal by the time he touched down.

Jock, who was found dead in Melbourne this morning aged just 46, said his life could be compared to Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting before cookery saved him, claiming that most of his friends back home in Scotland were 'dead or in jail'.

The chef became a huge star Down Under after a life and career of extraordinary ups and downs. He was declared bankrupt in 2007, five years after setting a trainee chef on fire for working too slowly. His victim Martin Krammer sued but claims he never saw his $75,000 compensation.

But by 2017 Zonfrillo was the hottest chef in Australia, with his restaurant Orana winning awards across the world. But Orana closed in 2020 with debts of millions of Australian dollars. His 2021 bestselling memoirs Last Shot was criticised, including his mentor Marco Pierre White, who said: 'Almost everything he has written about me is untrue'.

He famously carried worry beads to help him cope with stress and anxiety, using them while filming MasterChef and later launching his own range at up to $500 a set.

MasterChef Australia star Jock Zonfrillo pictured with Jamie Oliver and fellow TV judges. Jock has been found dead today, aged 46

Jock is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried. (Zonfrillo, Lauren and their two children are seen here in a recent family photo)

Jock with his mentor Marco Pierre White. In 2021 he wrote his memoirs, which mentioned Marco 157 times. Pierre White later claimed: 'I never saw much of [Zonfrillo], and he worked in my kitchen for a very short time'

Jock Zonfrillo with Katy Perry on MasterChef Australia

Gordon Ramsay also appeared on the TV hit with fellow Scot, Jock

Jock Zonfrillo in full chef whites aged 15 at Turnberry in Scotland. By 2017, he was the hottest chef in Australia, with his restaurant Orana winning awards across the world

He once described his battle with heroin as being like a scene from the famous Scottish dug movie Trainspotting, and said most of his friends from that time were 'dead or in jail'

Zonfrillo said he stood by every word of his book, amid questions about his accuracy about his past, including his claims of having visited 'hundreds of Indigenous communities' in Australia.

The 46-year-year certainly packed plenty into his life. He claimed he lost his virginity poolside in Yugoslavia aged 12, to an older French woman. He would marry three times.

The Glasgow-born chef enjoyed living far from the comfort zone. Describing his life he said: 'I always have. Cram it into your mouth, snort it up your nose, bang it into your vein; if it doesn't kill you, you never know: it might make your life more interesting.'

Jock is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Ms Fried.

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere in Australia on Monday night. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

Jamie shared a photo of them together and said: 'In total shock to hear of the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. Had the best time working with him for this year's MasterChef Australia. Jock was very generous with his time and spirit in the show and will be so very missed. Sending heart felt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and the MasterChef team and contestants'.

Gordan Ramsay tweeted today: 'Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing. I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time Gx'.

Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver led the tributes today

He famously carried worry beads to help him cope with stress and anxiety, later launching his own range at up to $500 a set

He arrived in Australia seeking a fresh start in January 2000. He injected his last hit of heroin immediately before boarding the plane, and was in the throes of withdrawal by the time he landed

No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday, after they were called to an address on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

His family then announced his death.

They said in a statement: 'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday'.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The chef, who was born in Glasgow, started working in kitchen aged 13 and later battled heroin addiction and crippling anxiety, trained under Marco Pierre White and moved to Australia in 2000. He famously carried worry beads to help him cope with 'stress'.

Zonfrillo opened up to Daily Mail Australia in 2021 about his battle with anxiety, revealing he carries worry beads with him at all times to keep him calm.

'I don't classify myself as having a super crippling anxiety but it's certainly there. It's challenging and it's tough,' he said.

'For me, if you have any kind of difficulty or mental health - you're embarrassed or ashamed, it makes you feel vulnerable. But I think at the end of the day, for me the worry beads were calming. It eases my mind.'

One moment he did come to regret took place in 2002, when he set fire to an 18-year-old apprentice during a heated moment in the kitchen.

He took 'full responsibility' for the incident, but insisted it was a practical joke gone awry. He dabbed a flammable gel used for keeping plates warm into the teenager's lap, setting his pants on fire. In an attempt to rip them off, he suffered extensive burns to his hand. He was unable to work for three-and-a-half months, the apprentice said.

'There was no malicious intent to deliberately set the poor lad on fire,' he said.

The teenager, Martin Krammer, sued and Zonfrillo was ordered to pay $75,000 in damages. Zonfrillo later declared bankruptcy and Krammer said he was 'never paid a cent'.

Zonfrillo insisted he turned things around having 'replaced heroin with the insatiable need for success'.

MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo died in Melbourne on Sunday at the age of 46, his family has confirmed

From setting an apprentice on fire to losing his virginity poolside in Yugoslavia aged 12 and defeating a crippling heroin addiction he developed on the streets of Glasgow, Jock Zonfrillo lived life as far from his 'comfort zone' as humanly possible

Zonfrillo (left), Melissa Leong and Andy Allen shared the 2021 AACTA award for Best Reality Program for their work together on Masterchef

MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo died in Melbourne on Sunday at the age of 46, his family has confirmed

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season was due to premiere on Monday. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing. (Pictured: Zonfrillo with fellow MasterChef judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong at the AACTA Awards on December 7)

About as far away from his former home in Scotland as humanly possible, Zonfrillo hit the ground running and in 20 years became one of Australia's most formidable chefs.

In the early days, he managed to keep details of his addiction under wraps, but it emerged in the press.

In his memoir, Last Shot, Zonfrillo shared never-before-heard details of his life story, including a memorable trip to Yugoslavia when he was 12 in which he lost his virginity to a 'much older French woman'.

'I was 12, she was French and much older. It was very wrong, now that I think back,' he said.

It was also a defining moment in his culinary journey. The street food amazed him.

Shortly after returning home, Zonfrillo asked his parents to buy him a bike. It cost a fortune, he said, and his dad told him if he wanted it, he'd have to get a job to pay for it.

First, he tried Marks and Spencer. Then he approached Top Shop and Greggs bakery. All said no.

Finally, he was hired to wash dishes for cash in a local restaurant. Shortly after, he was moved onto vegetable duties. From then on, he knew he wanted to be a chef.

A year later, he moved on to a French restaurant, where colleagues introduced him to cocaine for the first time.

'That was my entry point into that whole world,' he said.

Eventually, he sought out the big city of Glasgow, lying to his parents with friends about weekends away and running amok while they were none the wiser.

'Then the drugs started creeping in. This was the late 80s and Glasgow was absolutely awash with narcotics of all types. Vast amounts of heroin and no shortage of party drugs or weed. Even the ice cream vans sold drugs,' he said.

'We'd pool our money and go buy a gram of weed off the ice cream man, plus a couple of choc-dip cones to go with it  because when it came down to it, we were still children.

'We'd smoke a joint or we'd buy a pill, which were about 25 each back then, and split it four ways. So technically we were doing class A drugs, but not in a serious way: it was a lark. That line between boyhood shit and too-real grown-man s**t was barely there for us.'

But the 'lark' soon progressed into heavy heroin use.

He described the first high as 'unlike anything he'd every had before' and, soon afterwards, began seeking it out himself.

'I realised that smoking heroin was a waste of time and injecting was the faster way to the high I needed,' he said.

'If I wasn't shooting up at least twice a day I'd get sick with the first symptoms of withdrawal: shakes, muscle pain, nausea.'

Zonfrillo is seen on the left kissing wife Lauren Fried on March 25, 2022. The couple is pictured right at a David Jones event in Melbourne on October 12, 2022

Zonfrillo's colleagues on MasterChef did not seem to know he had died as the publicity machine for the new season was in motion as late as 11:30am on Monday, when Melissa Leong posted a countdown clock for the premiere on her Instagram account

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen (far left) and Melissa Leong (right). British chef Jamie Oliver (centre) was due to be a guest judge on this year's season of MasterChef

In 1994, he landed a role in the kitchen for Marco Pierre White. He was homeless, and quietly began sleeping in the change room in work, a month behind on payments to his heroin dealers and struggling to survive.

He claimed that he had told Marco Pierre White all about his addiction and not having a roof over his head.

'He didn't fire me. Instead, he picked up the phone, put in a call to the hostel and asked them to fast-track me on the waiting list and find a bed for me,' Zonfrillo recalled.

'In the meantime, he put me in touch with a couple of boys from Canteen, the other restaurant he owned, and arranged for me to sleep on their sofa until I could get my shit together. He even advanced me some cash to tide me over.'

READ MORE: Channel 10 cancels MasterChef after Jock's death Network 10 has announced MasterChef Australia will be postponed following the sudden death of judge Jock Zonfrillo. The fifteenth season of the cooking show was set to premiere on Monday but Ten has confirmed it will not be airing this week. The network had high hopes for the latest season, having secured British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as a fourth judge in a major coup. Advertisement

Following the release of the memoir, White said much of what was written about his exchanges with Zonfrillo were untrue.

He has no recollection of ever speaking with him about his living situation, and says he did not loan him money.

In fact, despite being referred to 157 times in the memoir and being described as Zonfrillo's lead source of inspiration and a father-figure, White says the pair actually had very little to do with one another.

'I never saw much of [Zonfrillo], and he worked in my kitchen for a very short time,' he said.

Zonfrillo doubled down on the 'story of his life', and maintained finding cooking set him on the path to greatness, crediting it for saving him.

'If I hadn't found cooking as a career path, I would have ended up just another statistic of the Glasgow heroin epidemic,' he said.

'Having a career working for amazing people, in outstanding restaurants that demanded everything of me, meant that there was something heroin couldn't take from me.

'I would have been dead long ago. Because I was already on that path when heroin began to take over my life, I was able to hold on. Talent left unacknowledged turns into resentment and dies, and if that had happened to my love of cooking, I would have died along with it.'

Zonfrillo met his wife, Kelly, during a short holiday to Australia. The duo returned to London when his visa expired, but travelled to Sydney once more in 2000.

He says she had no idea he was addicted to heroin at the time, and the couple separated in 2002.

'At this stage of my life I was an irredeemable workaholic, which is just as bad as being an alcoholic or a drug addict in terms of invading your family life.'

Over the next decade, Zonfrillo honed his passion for native Australian ingredients and cuisine, launching his first restaurant, Orana, in Adelaide in 2013.

Zonfrillo had talent in spades, but he also had an incredible knack for marketing himself.

By 2017, he was one of the most celebrated chefs in the country. And in 2019, he joined MasterChef as one of the judges in a huge shake-up for the hugely successful cooking show.

He said in his memoir he considered turning the role down, wary of the level of fame and scrutiny it could bring.

'Chefs hate on Jamie Oliver because he's best known as a TV guy. I don't. I love the guy. I've known chefs with three hats who loathe TV cooks. They hate them because they're getting paid s**tloads of money to do what is a fairly easy job compared to being a hands-on chef, but if they're teaching somebody a little bit of good nutrition or how to feed their kids then what's the harm,' he said.
Jock Zonfrillo's shock death at the age of 46 was announced by his heartbroken family on Monday.

And now, it's been revealed that his MasterChef co-stars Melissa Leong and Andy Allen have been left 'devastated' and 'broken' by his passing.

Angela Bishop appeared on The Project on Monday, where Jock was scheduled to appear before his death, and said she had heard his co-stars were struggling to come to terms with the news.

Zonfrillo's other colleagues on MasterChef did not seem to know he had died earlier this morning as the publicity machine for the new season was in motion as late as 11.30am on Monday, when Leong posted a countdown clock for the premiere on her Instagram account.

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

Jock Zonfrillo's shock death at the age of 46 was announced by his heartbroken family on Monday. And now, it's been revealed that his MasterChef co-stars Melissa Leong and Andy Allen have been left 'devastated' and 'broken' by his passing

Leong, 41, also did an interview with Hit WA Breakfast at about 8am on Monday in which she spoke of the pair's close friendship.

Her radio appearance was to promote the new season of MasterChef.

'It is a loss of the member of the family here at ten... only 46 that is why this is such a shocking piece of news,' Angela began.

'As you say, they would work 16 hours days together for MasterChef, you couldn't find closer work mates and confidantes.'

She added: 'They are devastated, broken is the word descried to me, they are trying to process this news.'

'It is a loss of the member of the family here at ten... only 46 that is why this is such a shocking piece of news,' Angela said on the project

She added: 'They are devastated, broken is the word descried to me, they are trying to process this news'

British chef Jamie Oliver, 47, who is joining the upcoming season of the hit show MasterChef this year, said he was in 'total shock' over the news.

'I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this years MasterChef, I can't tell how good it was to work with him!' Jamie's began in an Instagram post underneath a picture of the pair together.

'Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful Melisa, Andy & Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have there very own unique view and style Jock will be so very missed'

He added: 'I can't believe I'm writing this.Sending heart felt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family the master chef team and contestants xxx. Love Jamie.'

British chef Jamie Oliver, 47, who is joining the upcoming season of the hit show MasterChef this year, said he was in 'total shock' over the news

Jock's family statement was released on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences.

A report will be prepared for the coroner after Zonfrillo's body was found at about 2am on Monday.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

Jock's shock death was announced in a family statement on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He once said he owed his life to food, telling an interviewer: 'It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

'The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if there's something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. That's what moved me on. That's how I survived.'
She's recovering from emergency brain surgery and remains in hospital and on Sunday night, Lauren Harries' family shared an update on her behalf, on her Twitter.

Sharing a picture of the TV star, Lauren's mother Katy wrote that her daughter feels 'mentally abused' by a male nurse and is now scared of seeing them again.

Katy wrote: 'Last night Lauren was visited by a male nurse who, while trying to put in an I.V. told Lauren she had "s**t veins" and was sexist with a bad attitude.

'Lauren says that she feels mentally abused by the nurse & needs to know his name. @NHSuk.'

She continued: 'In Lauren's opinion and from her point of view in hospital, she believes male staff should not be left alone with female patients.

'She feels mentally abused': Lauren Harries continues to recover from emergency brain surgery in hospital and on Sunday she accuses a male nurse of being sexist towards her

'Male staff should not be left alone with female patients': Lauren's mother Katy shared this update on Twitter

'Today, Lauren feels scared she will be visited by the same nurse. @NHSuk.'

The latest comes after it was reported that Lauren was rushed to intensive care after undergoing an emergency brain surgery procedure.

The Celebrity Big Brother star was first admitted into hospital for the procedure on April 14, with the cause unknown.

Katy previously shared that Lauren was rushed to intensive care after catching infections before being moved back to neurology.

In the update, shared to Lauren's official Twitter account, Katy said Lauren was 'awake and talking' and urged people to 'pray for her'.

She shared: 'Lauren was moved to ICU as she caught Covid as well as 2 infections causing her breathing issues.

'She is awake and talking again back in Neurology. I want to say thank you again to all the amazing staff at Heath Hospital. She still has a way to go but she is strong. Pray for her.'

Lauren found fame as a precocious 12-year-old antiques expert called James, who appeared on the Antiques Roadshow and Wogan, before undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2003.

Condition: Lauren was previously rushed to the ICU after undergoing an emergency brain surgery procedure

'Pray for her': Her mother Katy shared that Lauren was rushed to the ICU after catching infections before being moved back to neurology

The latest health update came a week after Katy told fans that Lauren had been moved back to recovery, where she was 'under close watch'.

Tweeting from the star's official account last Tuesday, Katy shared a picture to update her followers on Twitter.

She wrote: 'Yesterday they moved Lauren back to recovery, she is under close watch. She still has memory issues and confusion.

'The doctors say that she does not need another operation atm they are taking it day by day. Please pray for her and send her your love. Thank you for your kindness'.

Katy had earlier shared that Lauren 'would have died' had she not had the surgery and explained how doctors had to perform Lauren's 'worst nightmare' by shaving her hair off.

Laying in hospital with an art book, the TV star still managed to flash a smile for the picture while bandaged up.

Scary: The Celebrity Big Brother star, 45, was rushed into hospital for the procedure last month with the cause unknown

Prayers: In the latest update, shared to Lauren's official Twitter account, Katy (pictured with Lauren) said Lauren was 'awake and talking' and urged people to 'pray for her'

The caption read: 'Lauren has woken up after her brain surgery. They had to shave her hair. As you know this is Lauren's worst nightmare but she would have died if not.

'The amazing staff in the Heath Hospital have been wonderful. Thank you for your kind words, her recovery ahead. Update to follow.'

Many fans rallied to offer their words of support to Lauren, as they wished her a speedy recovery in the replies.

Last month, Katy took to her own Twitter account to beg fans to 'send prayers' as she revealed that her daughter was undergoing an operation.

Taking to Twitter, her distraught mother penned: 'Please pray or send good thoughts to my precious daughter Lauren @Laurenharries. Who is recovering from emergency brain surgery today,' she shared on the platform.

The post was retweeted by Lauren's official Twitter page, who was last actively tweeting on the page just three days prior, liking tweets just 11 hours prior.

Whilst the cause of the surgery is not yet known, MailOnline reached out to representatives for comment at the time.

Update: This came a week after Katy told fans that Lauren had been moved back to recovery, where she was 'under close watch'

Awful: Earlier, Katy shared that Lauren 'would have died' had she not had the surgery and explained that doctors had to perform Lauren's 'worst nightmare' by shaving her hair off

Ill health: Katy revealed last month that former Celebrity Big Brother star Lauren Harries has undergone emergency brain surgery

Unknown: Whilst the cause of the surgery is not yet known, MailOnline has reached out to representatives for comment

Well wishes: As fans learned of the worrying news, many rallied to sent their messages of support to the star, who appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2013

Many fans reached out with messages of support, with one writing: 'Im sorry to hear that, all the best'.

'Oh my gosh, sending all my thoughts and prayers xx,' added another.

Lauren has a famously close bond with mother Katy, often noting how supportive she is, gushing over her numerous times over her career.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star was born James Charles Harries in Surrey in 1978, being the youngest of three children.

And famously appeared on the Antiques Roadshow and Wogan as a 12-year old antiques expert.

The Welsh star has since carved out a TV career and even released a single, I Am A Woman in 2015.

These days, Lauren sells artwork via her website, with pieces ranging from 20 to 150.

She has previously spoken about her gender reassignment surgery in 2003, admitting that it was 'dangerous' at the time.

Candid: Lauren underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2003, and has spoken openly about the surgery since - admitting it was 'dangerous' at the time (pictured that year)

The television personality underwent the surgery, which converts male anatomy to female anatomy aged 23.

She told the Daily Star: 'It is a big operation and when I had it done all those years ago it was more dangerous as they didn't know enough about it,' she said.

'There was talk that if I had it done I would have a heart attack in my 30s as my body wouldn't be able to deal with it.'

'To me, it was like get me in the kitchen, get a vet, get whoever, let's get it done, in those days it cost me 20,000 but I think it was more then than it is now.'
Their romance has been going strong since last October.

And Elle Macpherson and her boyfriend Doyle Bramhall looked as loved-up as ever on Saturday as they enjoyed a romantic bike ride in Santa Monica.

The model, 59, coordinated with her Doyle, 54, in a gold lame puffa jacket, with the former's featuring a cropped bottom and the latter's a striped detail.

Elle paired the look with plain black trousers and a pair of beat-up high-top trainers while rocking a scarf and a pair of stylish black sunglasses.

Keeping up with his girlfriend's supermodel style, Doyle wore black trousers, tan trainers and went casual with his facial hair with a thick grey beard.

What a pair! Elle Macpherson and her boyfriend Doyle Bramhall looked as loved-up as ever on Saturday as they enjoyed a romantic bike ride in Santa Monica

Happy days: The model, 59, coordinated with her Doyle, 54, in a gold lame puffa jacket, with the former's featuring a cropped bottom and the latter's a striped detail

Stylish: Elle paired the look with plain black trousers and a pair of beat-up high-top trainers while rocking a scarf and a pair of stylish black sunglasses

Beaming: She looked overjoyed to be out with her love

Doyle, a Texas-born musician, was revealed as Elle's secret boyfriend in October.

At the time, a source told Australian magazine New Idea: 'Elle and Doyle have known each other for a while but their friendship recently turned romantic.

'It's getting serious. Elle travels the world with Doyle and already knows his two adult daughters. He worships her and is very supportive of her work in the wellness space.'

Doyle, who is best known for collaborating with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters, previously dated Renee Zellweger for seven years before they split in 2019.

The guitarist confirmed the romance by sharing a photo to Instagram of himself and Elle gazing lovingly at one another backstage at Clapton's concert in Switzerland.

A vision: Elle's last confirmed relationship was with disgraced former British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who is a hero of the 'anti-vax' movement

Her love: Doyle, a Texas-born musician, was revealed as Elle's secret boyfriend in October

Elle's last confirmed relationship was with disgraced former British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who is a hero of the 'anti-vax' movement.

According Elle's spokesperson, their relationship waned and they have had no contact for over four years.

Wakefield was struck off the medical register in 2010 after his research showing the supposed link between the MMR jabs and autism was exposed as an 'elaborate fraud'.

His false claims led to a downturn in vaccination among children and renewed measles outbreaks.

Elle was previously married to French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon from 1986 to 1989, and to American billionaire Jeffrey Soffer from 2013 to 2017.

She shares two sons, Flynn and Cy, with another ex-partner, French financier Arpad Busson.

Zipping around: She was biking around with her love
Kylie Jenner shared a rare snap of her 13-month-old son Aire Webster as she took to Instagram on Sunday.

The make-up mogul, 25, captioned her adorable post with five teary-eyed emojis, as well as a hatched egg, as she gave fans an insight into her life as a mum.

The toddler looked adorable while standing in his cot as he wore a dummy and clutched a white blanket.

Kylie revealed in January that she and Travis Scott had decided to name their son Aire after scrapping his original moniker, Wolfe, last year.

She also shares daughter Stormi, five, with her ex-boyfriend, 32.

Adorable: Kylie Jenner shared a rare snap of her 13-month-old son Aire Webster as she took to Instagram on Sunday

Cute: The make-up mogul, 25, captioned her adorable post with five teary-eyed emojis, as well as a hatched egg, as she gave fans an insight into her life as a mum

Kylie sizzled in four new pinup images she shared to Instagram on Tuesday.

The cosmetics billionaire looked every inch the Hollywood pinup as she modeled a strapless black leotard. The skimpy suit made the most of her lean arms and sculpted legs.

And the sister of model Kendall Jenner - whom she spent time with on Monday - also slipped on long black satin opera gloves for added drama.

The raven-haired reality TV wonder was applying red lipstick as she sat on a bed with white sheets.

This came just as her rumoured new 'beau' Timothee Chalamet - who has dated Lourdes Leon and Lily-Rose Depp in the past - was seen on stage in Las Vegas with Zendaya for a Dune 2 presentation.

The event served to promote the upcoming film Dune: Part Two.

The event was the State of the Industry and Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace during CinemaCon.

CinemaCon is the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

Mum: Kylie revealed in January that she and Travis Scott had decided to name their son Aire after scrapping his original moniker, Wolfe, last year

Family: She also shares daughter Stormi, five, with her ex-boyfriend, 32 (pictured in 2021)

Timothee wore a black vest over a white T-shirt as Zendaya looked sharp in a light grey vest with bare arms and baggy slacks.

Kylie and Timothee 'hang out every week' it was claimed last week.

The make-up mogul and the 27-year-old actor have grown close over recent months, but an insider insists their relationship is 'not serious' for the time being.

The source told PEOPLE: 'She is getting to know him. Kylie is having fun. After years of back and forth with Travis [Scott], she just wants to date without any pressure.'

Kylie- who has Stormi, five, and Aire, 14 months, with Travis - met the actor at an event in Europe earlier this year.

The brunette beauty considers Timothee to be 'fun and charming'.

The insider added: 'They have a lot to chat about.'

Meanwhile, Kylie recently insisted that she wants to keep her personal life out of the spotlight.

Hot stuff: Kylie sizzled in four new pinup images she shared to Instagram on Tuesday

Busy bee: This came just as her rumoured new 'beau' Timothee Chalamet was seen on stage in Las Vegas with Zendaya for a Dune 2 presentation (pictured last Tuesday)

The TV star explained that in spite of her celebrity status, she actually prefers to spend time at home with her friends and family.

She told HommeGirls: 'I value a lot of personal time. 'So, I usually have people over for dinner, or I go to someone's house, or if we're going out somewhere usually my friends come over and we get ready together.'

Kylie finds it tough to engage with fans while also retaining a degree of privacy.

She explained: 'The internet is amazing because obviously that's where I started my business. It's been great for me to connect with my fans but now I think it's about finding balance. There's a dark side to it. It's just about finding that balance.'

Kylie rose to international stardom through her appearances on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, her family's hit reality TV series.

But Kylie insists she doesn't actually watch a lot of reality TV and she doesn't have any ambitions to branch out on her own.

Asked which other reality show she'd like to appear on, Kylie replied:

'Oh my God, I don't really watch a lot of reality TV. This is hard. I would never switch up and leave Hulu and my sisters.'
Lily Allen celebrated her 38th birthday with pals in London on Saturday afternoon.

The star appeared to have a fabulous lunch at Hammersmith's The River Cafe, where she had a special lunch tailored for her and was joined by pals including Miquita Oliver, while wearing a stunning floral dress.

Despite her fun-filled lunch, the star, whose birthday does not fall until Tuesday, was later lamenting being away from her husband David Harbour, 48, and her children Ethel Cooper, 11, and Marnie Rose, 10.

Taking to Instagram on Monday morning, she shared a video of the Stranger Things actor belting out The Little Mermaid song Part Of This World, while Marnie larked around in a blanket shaped like a mermaid tail.

His hilarious rendition was littered with forgotten words and silly giggles, leading to Lily penning: 'Halle Bailey is shook', in a nod to the actress, 23, who is playing Ariel in the live-action remake, which is due for release later this month.

Stunner: Lily Allen celebrated her 38th birthday with pals in London on Saturday afternoon

Glam: The star appeared to have a fabulous lunch at Hammersmith's The River Cafe, where she had a special lunch tailored for her and was joined by pals including Miquita Oliver, while wearing a stunning floral dress

Nice! The guests shared snaps of the delicious food

Her video tribute to her family came after she shared snaps from her birthday, during which she looked incredible in her slinky floral dress.

She later added a blazer into the look, while also showing off her choppy blonde bob, complete with sharp fringe and an ear-length crop.

Lily shares the girls with ex-husband Sam Cooper, who she wed in 2011 before splitting from four years later. She married David in an idyllic Vega ceremony in 2020, with just her daughters in attendance.

Following her video posts, Lily shared pictures showing her with Karl Lagerfeld - ahead on Monday night's Met Gala which will be held in his honour

It comes after Lily claimed she often forgets to eat - and struggles to eat meals that haven't been 'ordered and made for me'.

The star said she loves food but that her stomach can go 'long distances without eating' as she gets distracted by looking after her two daughters Ethel, 11, and Marnie, ten.

Stunner: She was tucking into the delicious treats on offer

Pals: She was joined by her long-time pal Miquita

She also revealed she is not a huge fan of fast food as she has an 'anti-capitalist way of thinking of eating'.

Her comments come months after she hit back at online trolls who skinny shamed her after a TV appearance in 2021. I'm actually really bad I don't really get hungry,' she told the Off Menu podcast. 'It's when I see food I'm like ''oh yeah I should eat''.

'I think basically my stomach goes quite long distances without eating then it has a little bit and it goes 'yes'. I love food. I love eating, but I'm just not very good at remembering to do things. I get up and I'm looking after kids and I just forget.'

Here come the girls! They were larking around during the meal
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THE undisputed king of Zimdancehall, Winky D, has been issued with a chilling instruction by authorities against playing some of his songs as efforts to muzzle the popular musician continues unabated.

Born Wallace Chirimuko, Winky D, has been under the radar of authorities and the government since the release of his latest album 'Eureka Eureka' early this year.

'Eureka Eureka' ruffled the feathers of government with songs such as 'ibotso' and 'Dzimba dzamabwe' castigate corruption and challenge authoritarian regimes.

Since the release of 'Eureka Eureka' Winky D has received subtle censorship on national radios and television.

In March, Gafa as Winky D is affectionately known, had his show in Chitungwiza was cut short when Zimbabwe Republic Police stormed on stage.

In their defence, police later explained that they cut short the performance as there was an operation against drug peddling.

Winky D returned to live performances on Saturday in Bulawayo for the first time since the ill-fated Chitungwiza show.

In the middle of his playlist revellers chanted 'ibotso' signalling Winky D to perform arguably the crowd's favourite.

However, Winky D refused to budge saying an instruction had been issued against performing particular songs.

"I have been warned. I have been cautioned and they said if you sing that particular song there is going to be (a) disaster. So, I do not want (a) disaster, I want people to have fun," said Winky D.

Winky went on with the usual script, staging a spectacular performance in Bulawayo.

On his itinerary, Winky D is billed to perform at Kingfisher Park on Saturday.
Binky Felstead finally revealed the unique name of her newborn son in a sweet post on Monday.

The Made In Chelsea star, 32, took to Instagram to share with followers that her third child was called Wilder.

The TV personality welcomed the bundle of joy at St Mary's Hospital in London on April 15.

He is her second child with husband Max Darnton, 33, with whom she also shares son Wolfie, who turns two next month.

Binky is also mother to daughter India, five, with her ex partner and former MIC co-star Josh Patterson.

Family time: Binky Felstead finally revealed the name of her newborn son on Monday in a sweet post

In her name reveal post Binky posed with her little one and wrote: 'INDIA  WOLFIE  WILDER I'm a very lucky mummy!'

In the picture she looked every inch the doting mum as she posed in nature for one shot before her other two kids joined her in another snap.

It comes after at the end of last month Binky shared the first photos of her newborn son as she gave an insight into his birth at the 6,625-a-night Lindo Wing.

Revealing the date and gender of their child, she penned: '15.04.23 at 10:45pm! Couldn't be happier he's just perfect. We now have three musketeers.'

In the sweet Instagram clip, Binky documented her labour as she was seen packing her overnight bag before heading to the hospital.

The reality TV personality then changed into a surgical gown, laid on a bed and prepared to push.

In another snap, Max and Binky could be seen after their sons birth, with the newborn laid on her chest.

Earlier that week, her businessman beau took to Instagram to reveal the happy news as he shared a picture of his wife sat on a wooden fence with a picturesque background, captioning the snap: 'Champion' with heart eye and kiss face emojis.

Mother of three: The Made In Chelsea star, 32, took to Instagram to share with followers that her third child was called Wilder as she posted family shots with India and Wolfie

New addition: It comes after at the end of last month Binky shared the first photos of her newborn son as she gave an insight into his birth at the 6,625-a-night Lindo Wing

Exciting times: The former reality star welcomed the bundle of joy at St Mary's Hospital in London on April 15

Friends and fans took to the comments section to offer their congratulations for the happy news of the birth, with some making sure to send their well wishes to mum Binky.

On the Saturday, Binky shared that she had gone into labour as she shared a picture from her hospital bed.

She had taken to Instagram to share that she had headed to the plush Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, central London, to give birth.

In the snap, Binky appeared to be in good spirits as she flashed a smile while lying in a hospital bed, showing off her baby bump.

Alongside the picture, she wrote: 'Here we gooooooooo.'

Earlier in the day, Binky had taken to her Instagram Stories to share a snap of her and Max holding hands as they sat in a car on their way to hospital.

Binky welcomed her third child at the Lindo Wing, where Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, welcomed Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Prince William and Prince Harry were also both born at the private wing, which features luxury toiletries and personalised care.

With such high-profile patients, prices start at 5,900 for a one-night stay - rising to 6,275 for a deluxe package and even higher for the ward's suites.

Parents: He is her second child with husband Max Darnton, 33, they are already parents to Wolfie, 22 months, and Binky shares a daughter, India, five, with her ex Josh Patterson

Cute: At the end of the video, Binky and Max posed for a family photo with their new born son before heading home
Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough have gone all out for their daughter Harper's third birthday.

Jasmine's sister, Jade Yarbrough, shared a number of Instagram photos to show the family celebrating the tots third birthday this weekend.

The party took place at Vitaland Kids Cafe in Alexandria, which is a boutique indoor play space for children.

In some of the photos, Harper was in a ball pit before she was put on a carousel as part of the festivities.

The adorable tot was later treated to pink Minnie Mouse cake which featured a number of glitter balls at the top.

A carousel, ball pit and pink Minnie Mouse cake: Inside the adorable party for Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic's toddler daughter Harper as she celebrated her third birthday on Sunday. Pictured

Jade, proving herself every inch the cool aunt, also shared footage of guests singing happy birthday to Harper.

'Happy birthday to my Harper girl! Celebrating three beautiful, crazy little years of you. Offfttttt my heart, I love you so much,' Jade wrote.

Jasmine also posted to Instagram to share a sweet tribute to Harper by sharing a rarely-seen photo of the toddler at home.

'Happy 3rd Birthday Princess. You are a beautiful force of nature,' she began.

The party took place at Vitaland Kids Cafe in Alexandria, which is a boutique indoor play space for children. Harper had a Minnie Mouse cake and outfit on for the occasion

The pink Minnie Mouse cake was topped with glittery balls

'We can't love you more. Thank you for your love and presence and for making us laugh everyday'

The couple's celebrity pals were quick to wish Harper a happy birthday.

Sylvia Jeffreys, who is also Harper's aunt, shared some love under the photo.

'Happy birthday little Queen,' she wrote.

Jade Yarbrough shared a photo of Harper in the ball pit, writing: 'Happy birthday to my Harper girl! Celebrating three beautiful, crazy little years of you. Offfttttt my heart, I love you so much'

'Happy birthday Harper! So cute' Real Housewives of Melbourne star, Jackie Gillies, wrote to Harper.

'Soooo cute,' Sydney artist Dina Broadhurst added.

Karl and Jasmine recently revealed their toddler daughter Harper May has a fear of balloons.

Jasmine shared a sweet shot of Harper posing with a bright blue balloon on Instagram when Karl revealed her phobia.

Harper was seen riding on a carousel in the photos

Today show host father Karl was seen lighting candles on the cake

'You,' Jasmine's post was captioned, before Karl commented underneath.

'Back when [she] wasn't afraid of balloons,' he wrote.

Jasmine added: 'I knowwww what's happened?!? We need to fill the whole house with balloons to help her beat this fear.'

The Channel Nine star has three older children with his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn: sons River, 15, and Jackson, 22, and daughter Willow, 16.

He met the former model at a boat party in Sydney just months after his separation from Cassandra in 2016.

The Stefanovics married at the One&Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, in December 2018.
Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little have joined forces to pay tribute to Jock Zonfrillo after his sudden death at age 46 on Monday.

The pair posted together to their Carrie & Tommy radio show Twitter page after the sad news broke.

'We are absolutely heartbroken. Jock Zonfrillo 1976-2023' they wrote alongside a candid image.

The photo showed the pair posing together with Jock, all three beaming for the camera.

Carrie and her Hit FM co-host Tommy are said to have 'grown close' since her split from partner of 11 years, Chris Walker.

Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little have joined forces to pay tribute to Jock Zonfrillo after his sudden death at age 46 on Monday. All pictured

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check.

No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

'We are absolutely heartbroken. Jock Zonfrillo 1976-2023' they wrote alongside a candid image

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show MasterChef Australia in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night. The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

In 2018, the year before he joined MasterChef, he was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian newspaper.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14
Pastry chef Darren Purchese has paid tribute to his close friend Jock Zonfrillo after his shock death on Monday at the age of 46.

Darren, 48, who hails from the UK, said he and Jock once met on the set of MasterChef Australia when they appeared as guests chefs and bonded straight away.

Darren spoke about his close bond with Jock on The Project on Monday, saying that while the Scotsmen had 'some tough times in his life,' he would always show up for his mates if they needed a chat or support.

'It's a massive loss,' Darren told hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris.

'I woke up this morning excited to watch him on MasterChef, he loved mentoring people and seemed to love his life, so I'm in shock sitting here talking about a good friend of mine,' Darren said.

Pastry chef Darren Purchese has paid tribute to his close friend Jock Zonfrillo after his shock death on Monday at the age of 46. He appeared on The Project and spoke about their friendship

'He was a sort of friend that I really valued, I could talk to him about anything. We met on the set of MasterChef a few years ago, we had the same friends back in London... we really clicked and he's had some tough times in his life and I have.'

'He was the friend I could call anytime and he would pick up and I know he's done that to other people as well... my heart goes out to his family, he was a devoted family man. He was a great friend to me and someone I could call on anytime.'

He added: 'He did lots of thoughtful and kind things, big and small. He had a wicked sense of humour. I cant speak highly enough of the man. He was a star and a phenomenal chef and such a great person. It's a massive loss.'

Darren spoke about his close bond with Jock on The Project on Monday, saying that while the Scotsmen had 'some tough times in his life,' he would always show up for his mates if they needed a chat or support. 'It's a massive loss,' he said

Jock Zonfrillo's shock death at the age of 46 was announced by his family on Monday.

His death comes as MasterChef's fifteenth season, featuring Jamie Oliver as a guest judge, was due to premiere on Ten on Monday night.

The show will not be airing this week in light of Zonfrillo's passing.

A report will be prepared for the coroner after Zonfrillo's body was found at about 2am on Monday.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

Jock's shock death was announced in a family statement on Instagram on Monday and underneath a number of celebrities expressed their condolences

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and Alfie and Isla, with Fried.

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He once said he owed his life to food, telling an interviewer: 'It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

'The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if there's something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. That's what moved me on. That's how I survived.'
Sam and Billie Faiers and their mum Suzie Wells went for ultimate luxury when they headed to Paris for a 48 hour stay last week.

The sisters, aged 32 and 33 respectively, were joined by their glamorous mum in the French capital, where they made no secret of the excess of the stay.

Stating that the jaunt was a shared Christmas present, Sam revealed their stay at Four Seasons Hotel George V was an item 'ticked off her bucket list' - and with the eye-watering cost fans could see why it was once in a lifetime.

The hotel which is located steps from the Champs Elysees and walking distance to the Golden Triangle the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, costs 3,745 (3,284) per night for the most basic room, with the family staying for two nights.

As well as their incredible accommodation, the trio were also enjoying cocktails at every turn as they headed to upscale French bistro LAvenue and restaurant-club Matignon Paris for some high end - and high priced - cocktails.

Here they are: Sam and Billie Faiers and their mum Suzie Wells went for ultimate luxury when they headed to Paris for a 48 hour stay last week (Sam and Suzie at Matignon)

Stunners: The sisters, aged 32 and 33 respectively, were joined by their glamorous mum in the French capital, where they made no secret of the excess of the stay

A vision: Billie is pictured in their hotel The Four Seasons

Iconic: The hotel which is located steps from the Champs Elysees and walking distance to the Golden Triangle the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, costs 3,745 (3,284) per night for the most basic room, with the family staying for two nights

Pricing at the Four Seasons sees a premier room, comprising One king bed or two twin beds, Rollaway bed or sofabed to accommodate three adults, cost 3,745.

The website describes the room as: 'High ceilings and extra space everywhere you turn, with a private terrace or balcony in most of those rooms, make them ideal for a long weekend or a city break.'

Sam took to Instagram to reveal they were using the spa, as she filmed her surroundings and wrote over the top: 'This has to be the most beautiful hotel spa. A little bit of health and wellbeing time.'

She added a caption on the video reading: 'A beautiful place ticked off my bucket list. Feeling so grateful. This morning we decided to have a relax in the Spa before hitting the streets sightseeing'.

Woah! Once the trio arrived they headed straight to LAvenue, where they started off by indulging in two Margaritas and a Bloody Mary - at 22 (19) per cocktail - making just one of their rounds nearly 70

Incredible: They headed to the spa for some luxury

Amazing: The girls lived it up in the hotel

Radiant: They ensured their clothes were worthy of the chic Paris surroundings

Joining in the fun was their friend and TOWIE co-star James Argent, who penned: 'Ive stayed there its unreal, Have a great time x'

Once the trio arrived they headed straight to LAvenue, where they started off by indulging in two Margaritas and a Bloody Mary - at 22 (19) per cocktail.

An example of prices in LAvenue include filet mignon steak for 56 (49), a shrimp risotto for 44 (39) and lobster with French fries for 56 (49).

The group then shared snaps when they had headed to restaurant-club Matignon Paris for yet another swanky meal, where the menu includes 90 whole sole, 49 truffle ravioli, 50 spicy lobster pasta and beef fillet for 49.

The quick getaway comes after Billie recently returned from her family Maldives trip, with fans branding her 'entitled' as she moaned about the luxury holiday.

Amazing: The girls used the trip to the amazing venues as a photo op

Woo! Sam revealed she was partying the night away

A vision: Sam and Suzie posed together in one of the iconic settings

Cocktail time! Sam was sipping on a Bloody Mary while her mum and sister opted for Margaritas

The star and sister Sam have come under fire for making 'tone deaf' statements in recent weeks with fans questioning when they will 'learn' from the past posts.

In the latest gaffe, complained about her 'nightmare' flight home from the Maldives, revealing the bassinet for the flight was broken and she had to give up the seat with it to someone else as they had booked extra leg room.

This meant she travelled with baby Margot, four months, on her lap for the 12-hour flight.

Yet fans were quick to hit out at Billie for acting as if she 'deserved' the seat more than the passenger who had paid for leg room and noting that most travellers carry their babies on flights without issue.

Stunner: Billie looked amazing in all the snaps from the trip
The second season of Netflix's Monster anthology series will be centered on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.

An announcement video for the hit crime show was released on the streaming giant's official YouTube account on Monday, where it was also revealed that the new season would be titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

The program, which polarized viewers despite becoming a success on the platform, was previously focused on the killing spree of Jeffrey Dahmer, who was played by Evan Peters.

In the video, Lyle was heard while making a 911 call to report the murder of his parents.

The 55-year-old criminal and his 52-year-old brother were just 21 and 19, respectively, when they brutally murdered their parents, Jose and Mary Louise Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion on the evening of August 20, 1989.

In the works: The second season of Netflix's Monster anthology series will be centered on the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez

A mug shot of Joseph Lyle Menendez at Mule Creek State Prison in California, following his arrest and conviction for the murder of his parents in 2003

The siblings were not suspects in the crime at first, and they went on to embark on a months-long spending spree that came to an end in March of 1990, when they were eventually arrested.

The two went on to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for their crimes and they were initially sent to separate correctional facilities.

Erik and Lyle remained separated for over two decades before they eventually had an emotional reunion at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego in 2018.

The Menendez brothers went on to become the subject of various documentaries and served as inspiration for several episodes of crime-related television programs.

The first season of Monster, entitled Dahmer  Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, premiered on Netflix in September of last year.

The program, which was co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, ran for a total of ten episodes and became one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows ever released.

Although the show became a hit with fans, it was also met with much controversy regarding the glamorization of the serial killer, who was murdered in prison at the age of 34.

The show was also met with a mixed critical reception and currently holds a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The siblings were not suspects in the crime at first, and they went on to embark on a months-long spending spree that came to an end in March of 1990, when they were eventually arrested. Seen in 1992

First run: The program, which polarized viewers despite becoming a success, was previously focused on the killing spree of Jeffrey Dahmer, who was played by Evan Peters

Coming soon: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently scheduled to premiere in 2024; co-creator Ryan Murphy is seen in 2019

While Monster was initially planned as a limited series, it was later announced that the program had been renewed for two additional seasons.

According to Deadline, the anthology program will 'tell the stories of other monstrous figures who have impacted society.'

The identity of the planned third season's focal figure has not been revealed to the public as of yet.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently scheduled to premiere in 2024.
It's a boy for model Emily DiDonato, 32, and her husband Kyle Peterson as the couple welcomed their son Oliver on April 27.

The catwalk veteran shared a sweet snap of the three of them on Instagram. She's holding the newborn while her husband looks at them adoringly.

She captioned the post: 'Welcome to the world sweet Oliver.  Born as perfect as could be on 4/27/23 at 9 lbs 4 Oz.'

The couple are already parents to daughter Teddy, 18 months.

Emily announced her pregnancy in October by sharing a photo of her growing baby bump and Teddy wearing a onesie that said Big Sister on it.

Baby boy: It's a boy for model Emily DiDonato, 32, and her husband Kyle Peterson as the couple welcomed their son Oliver on April 27

Oh baby: The catwalk veteran shared a sweet snap of the three of them on Instagram. She's holding the newborn while her husband looks at them adoringly

Meet cute: The couple met when they were seated next to each other on a flight from New York City to Vail, Colorado

Emily's famous friends jumped into the comments section to congratulate her.

'Congratulations, Mama! Welcome to the world, Oliver!' model Christy Turlington wrote.

Martha Hunt wrote: 'Congratulations!!!!  been thinking of you!!,' and added 'Also hi Oliver, Taurus bday twin!' in another comment.

Emmy Rossum commented, 'Yes! @doulaterry is the GOAT! She was my main resource for both my pregnancies and in the delivery room for the birth of both of my kids!!! she completely removed the fear of childbirth for me.'

Alessandra Ambrosio left a simple heart emoji while Gigi Hadid said, 'Congratulations!'

Emily and her financier husband have been married since 2018. They met when they were seated next to each other on a flight from New York City to Vail, Colorado

'I was flying from New York to Vail to shoot the cover of Australian Vogue, and Kyle was going for a work trip,' Emily told Vogue. 'We were next to each other on that flight, started chatting, and have been together pretty much ever since!'

After three years of dating Kyle proposed while they were visiting his alma mater, Cornell University, for a reunion weekend.

'We were visiting wineries and enjoying the fall weather when we stopped to walk on the suspension bridge overlooking the gorges,' Emily told the outlet. 'It is the same bridge that his grandfather proposed to his grandmother on years go.'

Mom of two: She captioned the post: 'Welcome to the world sweet Oliver.  Born as perfect as could be on 4/27/23 at 9 lbs 4 Oz'

Love birds: After three years of dating Kyle proposed while they were visiting his alma mater, Cornell University, for a reunion weekend

It's a girl: The model and her husband welcomed their first child, daughter Teddy, in November 2021

Siblings: When she announced her pregnancy, she shared a snap of Teddy wearing a Big Sister onesie

Family time: Emily and Kyle married in Colorado in 2018

The married in Colorado in homage to their meeting.

'I didn't want it to be rustic, though,' Emily explained. 'I envisioned something elegant and romantic. We kept the decor pretty classic because the Colorado setting does a lot on its own!'

And then in 2021, the love birds welcomed their daughter Teddy. She shared a sweet post on Instagram at the time.

'Shes here and shes perfect!!! After just 15 minutes of pushing this cutie entered the world at 9:44 PM on 11/23/21 at 8 pounds 10 oz.  We are so in love with you already sweet girl! Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes and kind DMs! Happy thanksgiving!'
Terrified viewers of Netflix horror Hellhole claim they were so shaken by the show they were unable to get the movie out their heads 'weeks'.

The Polish language film, released by the streaming giant last year, and is set in the country in 1987.

It tells the gripping story of a police officer who is investigating mysterious disappearances.

The cop infiltrates a remote monastery before uncovering the dark truth about its clergy.

And many viewers of the frightening flick took to Twitter to express just how disturbed they were after watching, with some saying they could not get it out of their head.

Horrific: Terrified viewers of Netflix horror Hellhole claim they were so shaken by the show they were unable to get the movie out their heads 'weeks'

Telling the tale: The Polish film tells the gripping story of a police officer who is investigating mysterious disappearances

One person wrote: 'Its been over two weeks since Ive watched Hellhole on Netflix and its stuck in my brain!'

While another person wrote: 'Watch Hellhole on Netflix. Slow burner but what an ending! Partner couldn't last though it, it was too gross.'

'I just finished Hellhole on Netflix and Im sitting here thinking about it. It held my attention but wtf did I just watch?,' asked another viewer.

Another shaken viewer tweeted: 'Was a bad decision to watch Hellhole on Netflix.'

While someone else shared: 'Trying a Polish #horror today. #Hellhole on... naturally, all curtains are open AF.'

'This movie #Hellhole on Netflix is absolutely NUTS,' wrote another viewer.

And someone else posted: '2022's Hellhole distributed by @netflix received mid reviews but is honestly one of the most gripping and claustrophobic horrors I've ever watched.'

It comes after other Netflix viewers were left terrified after watching a technology thriller they described as the 'scariest' film ever.

Shaken: Many viewers of the frightening flick took to Twitter to express just how disturbed they were after watching

Fans took to Twitter to share their nail-biting reactions to South Korean mystery movie Unlocked, which debuted on the streaming platform in February.

The tense thriller sees a woman's life completely turned upside down when a dangerous man uses her lost phone to track her every move.

Viewers were left completely terrified by the eerie movie, with fans deeming the film to be one of the 'scariest' things they had watched in a long time.

One person even said they wanted to 'throw their phone into the sea' after being left very unsettled by the horrifying events.

Taking to Twitter, one viewer wrote: 'Have you watch the kmovie UNLOCKED on Netflix. Digital footprint is scary.'

Creepy: It comes after Netflix viewers were left terrified after watching a technology thriller they described as the 'scariest' film ever

Thriller: The tense thriller sees a woman's life completely turned upside down when a dangerous man uses her lost phone to track her every move

Another commented: 'Watching Unlocked on Netflix it's so scary,' while a third tweeted: 'I'm watching Unlocked on Netflix rn and this is genuinely scary.'

A fourth said: 'Unlocked on Netflix is one of the scariest films Ive seen in a long while. I want to throw my phone into the sea.'

And a fifth penned: 'Do you want to watch a really good movie? I've got you: #Unlocked a Korean movie on Netflix.

'It was the scariest thing I've seen in a while and it will make you reconsider a few things. Most definitely WATCH IT. Highly recommended!!!'

Meanwhile, another shared their reaction, adding: 'So creepy.. Luckily I watched in daytime.'

Spyware: Directed by Kim Tae-joon, the film sees Lee Na-Mi (Chun Woo-Hee) lose her phone on a bus, with Oh Jun-Yeong (Im Si-Wan) picking it up and installing spyware on it to track her

Shock: Viewers were left completely terrified by the eerie movie, with fans deeming the film to be one of the 'scariest' things they had watched in a long time

Directed by Kim Tae-joon, the film sees office worker Lee Na-Mi (Chun Woo-Hee) lose her phone on a bus, with Oh Jun-Yeong (Im Si-Wan) picking it up.

Jun-Yeong then tells her to pick up her phone at a repair shop under the pretense of fixing her broken screen, but instead installs spyware on to the device to track her every move, text and conversation.

Jun-Yeong starts to infiltrate Na-Mi's life, with her father growing suspicious of him, while Jun-Yeong then pretends to work at a software company and says he will try to help her with the spyware.

Jun-Yeong then leaks confidential information about Na-Mi, while still deceiving her into thinking he isn't the culprit and things quickly take a very dark turn.
Katharina Mazepa, 27, is a single woman - legally and was spotted out for the first time since the ink dried on her divorce decree.

The Real Housewives of Miami star was celebrating with her boyfriend Lenny Hochstein, 56, and friend Louisa Warwick, 30, on Saturday.

The Austrian-born model wore a very tiny, very sheer black lace dress that showed off miles of leg.

Katharina put on a very busty display in the dress as she was spotted pulling the top up a bit.

The dress revealed her nude panties. Her long dark hair was styled in cascading curls.

Single lady: Katharina Mazepa, 27, is a single woman - legally and was spotted out for the first time since the ink dried on her divorce decree

She paired the barely there dress with a pair of silver sandals that laced up her calves.

The model's eye makeup was dark and dramatic.

The outing comes a few days after she finalized her divorce from Shilo Mazepa, her husband of three years.

Katharina restored her maiden name to Nahlik and took to Instagram to immediately change her bio.

'Whoever said money can't buy happiness never paid for a divorce,' she wrote.

According to documents obtained by Page Six, the divorce settlement states that Katharina and Shilo - who is a U.S. diplomat - divided their assets and kept everything that's in their current possession.

Shilo agreed to pay his ex-wife $50,000 and both agreed to waive their right to alimony.

And while the model is legally free, her plastic surgeon boyfriend is not.

Lenny is in the midst of a contentious divorce from Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein, 40.

Sheer: The Austrian-born model wore a very tiny, very sheer black lace dress that showed off miles of leg

Not divorced: The Real Housewives of Miami star was celebrating with her boyfriend Lenny Hochstein , 56, and friend Louisa Warwick, 30, on Saturday

The former couple are battling it out over alimony and child support.

Lisa claims that her $30,000 per episode salary is not enough money to live on let alone raise her two kids and pay for her health insurance.

'Lenny has significant and substantial assets and earns millions of dollars a year as [a successful plastic surgeon,' Lisa's court filing claimed.

The filing added: 'without Lenny's contribution, Lisa cannot provide the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage.'
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shared a slew of rare snaps with her fiance Jason Statham as they enjoyed a road trip together over the weekend.

The model, 36, looked glamorous but casual in a furry white jumper, which she paired with simple blue denim jeans.

The couple donned matching shades for a sunny drive, as Rosie opted for a nude lip and kept her highlighted blonde locks loose for a stylish look.

Posing for a selfie in their car on Sunday, the pair were clearly enjoying spending some quality time together.

Rosie offered an insight into their luxury time away, giving a glimpse into the contests of her handbag as she kept it simple with a pair of AirPods, shades and a blush from her make-up line Rose Inc.

Couple: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jason Statham enjoyed some quality time together on a road trip on Sunday

Glam: The former Victoria's Secret Angel, 36, looked glamorous in a white furry jumper and simple denim jeans

Even while off-duty, the former Victoria's Secret model oozed style as she posed for pics in the car's nude seats.

Writing alongside her post, she penned: 'Sunday drivers', adding a sunshine emoji.

Rosie recently spoke of her longing to return to her home county of Devon after living in celebrity enclave Malibu, California for years.

She and Jason - who share five-year-old son Jack and daughter Isabella, one, together - sold their Malibu mansion for $18.5 million to move to the Chelsea district of London.

Rosie was born in the Devon city Plymouth before moving to market town Tavistock, also located South West English county, and she admits that part of the world is still her favourite.

In an interview with Great British LIFE, she said: 'I'm a country girl at heart...

'I spend a lot of my time living in LA which is lovely. I spend a lot of time in other major cities too.'

She added: 'There might be the glamour and fun to enjoy in a city but the real beauty is in the countryside and especially in my home county where the people are so nice and ready to volunteer smile for no particular reason.

Insight: Rosie showed her fans the contents of her bag, including shades, AirPods and a blush from her make-up line, Rose Inc

Time away: The couple, who have been together since 2010 and engaged since 2016, enjoyed a road trip away

Quick getaway: In March Rosie and Jason enjoyed a 24-hour getaway to Antwerp

'The country air smells so fresh and I still love to see the sheep, the pigs, the ducks, chickens and, of course, the horses.

'Whenever I am here and I really don't like to be away for very long, I just find it all so relaxing and lovely. It is home to me.'

Despite being engaged since 2016, Rosie and Jason are in no hurry to rush their wedding preparations.

Welcoming their son, Jack, a year after her beau got down on one knee, Rosie told ET in 2018 that the wedding wasn't a 'huge priority.'

She said: 'We're looking forward to that time. It's also not a huge priority for us; we're so happy. I think it will be fun to do it when the baby's grown up a bit and he can be involved in the wedding.'
"I am particularly delighted that this plant was designed and fabricated by Nigerian engineers..."

The federal government has advised farmers to partner with experts in the area of agricultural research and development to curtail perennial post-harvest losses of produce.

The Director General of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Hussaini Ibrahim, gave the advice in Sokoto at the inauguration of the first indigenous onion and garlic processing plant on Saturday.

Represented by Emmanuel Kwaya, a director in the council, Mr Ibrahim said having an effective processing plant of agricultural products and initiating research-based storage would improve food security for the country.

"This development will aid our commitment toward zero hunger, promote productivity and profitability among farmers, improve national economy and address the challenges of unemployment," he said.

The director general added that over the past three decades, the RMRDC has remained the national institutional framework for promoting local raw materials development and utilisation by industries.

"The gesture has achieved tremendous milestones in the development and growth of Nigeria's industrial sector.

"Today marks an important milestone for the manufacturing industry in Nigeria as we commission the first wholly indigenous onion and garlic flakes processing plant.

"I am particularly delighted that this plant was designed and fabricated by Nigerian engineers following the call by the Council to reduce the perennial post-harvest wastages associated with onion and garlic," he said.

Mr Ibrahim commended the partners and investors who have made the project a reality.

"They have shown confidence in the Nigeria-can-do spirit and have taken concrete steps to help see our Research and Development (R&D) results in Onion and Garlic processing reach their full potential," he said.

The National President of the Onion Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Maitasamu, said over 2 million metric tonnes of onion is produced annually in Nigeria with Sokoto State producing 40 per cent of the product.

"Based on the annual estimate, the onion produced in Nigeria amounted to more than N700 billion but about 40 to 50 per cent of the product worth over N300 billion is wasted to post-harvest losses.

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"This is due to lack of adequate and effective storage and processing facilities at the farmers' disposal.

"We thank Onion and Garlic Processing Partnership Limited (O&G company) for coming to our rescue by establishing this timely processing plant," he said.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'ad Abubakar, represented by the District Head of Sokoto-North, Malami Maccido, appreciated the investors, assuring that the Sultanate Council will continue to support farmers in the state.

The Chairman of the company, Saleh Ibrahim, said the idea was conceived by some elites in the state to rescue onion and garlic farmers from their perennial post-harvest losses.

He said that the plant would continue to consider more research and development in order to ease the current hardships experienced by farmers across the state.

(NAN)
Britt Eckland looked gorgeous as she attended the 50th anniversary celebration of her film The Wicker Man at the Picturehouse cinema in London on Monday.

The Swedish actress, 80, showcased her age-defying features as she joined a whole host of her former co-stars at the event.

Britt played Willow MacGregor in the now iconic 1973 horror, that followed the story of policeman Neil Howie (played by the late Edward Woodward) as he searches for a missing girl on the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle.

The blonde beauty cut an incredibly chic figure in a blue double-breasted blazer which she layered over a black ensemble.

Opting for a light dusting of make-up she wore her blonde tresses loose as they tumbled to her shoulders.

Gorgeous: Britt Eckland, 80, looked gorgeous as she attended the 50th anniversary celebration of her film The Wicker Man at the Picturehouse cinema in London on Monday

Sensational: The Swedish actress showcased her age-defying features as she joined a whole host of her former co-stars at the event (right, pictured in the 1973 movie)

Chic: The blonde beauty cut an incredibly chic figure in a blue double-breasted blazer which she layered over a black ensemble

The movie is best remembered for it's horrifying climax in which late Christopher Lee's character sets fire to a huge pagan effigy.

It comes after Britt, who starred in 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, insists she will retain her bombshell looks until 'the day I die'.

The actress confidently told the Mirror: 'I will be dyeing my hair till the day I die. Vanity is my best friend.'

She added: 'I dont think there are many people who get to my age and can work and run around and take care of things and enjoy life and feel healthy and happy.

'That is something I am very thankful for.'

Britt starred alongside the late Sir Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun and she says she still gets recognised today.

'People who meet me still call me a Bond Girl,' she explained. 'And they find it so exciting  like I made the made the film yesterday. But 007 is almost as old as me now.'

The star said there is nothing that makes her prouder than knowing she is part of 'film history', adding that she sees the Bond character as an 'icon' and as a Bond girl, she is part of the franchise's legacy.

Ageless: Opting for a light dusting of make-up she wore her blonde tresses loose as they tumbled to her shoulders

Actress: Britt played the role of Willow MacGregor in the now iconic 1973 horror

Family: Late star Edward Woodward's family attended the swanky event (L-R) Tim Woodward, Sarah, Woodward, Michele Dotrice and Peter Woodward

Scary stuff: The movie is best remembered for it's horrifying climax in which late Christopher Lee's character (pictured) sets fire to a huge pagan effigy

And she says she spent most of her days filming the 007 films in a bikini, along with fellow Bond girl, Swedish actress Maud Adams, who is still a good friend today.

Britt recalls actor Sir Roger Moore - who died in 2017 and played James Bond in seven films between 1973 and 1985 - as 'the perfect gentleman'.

She said he kept the cast and crew entertained but insisted he was very professional on set.

Britt was already known as an actress before starring as Mary Goodnight, having appeared in films such as Get Carter and The Wicker Man.

Style: Edith Bowman rocked an oversized plaid suit for the evening

Pose: She posed confidently with one hand in her pocket

Guests: (L-R) Dominic Hardy and Justin Hardy also attended

The actress added that, while she wore swimwear for most of her time on the Bond set, Sir Roger never flirted at all, ensuring she felt comfortable at all times.

Despite Britt taking pride in her looks today, she has previously spoken out about her regrets at getting fillers in her face, describing them as 'the biggest mistake of my life'.

The Swedish actress said in an interview with Platinum magazine in June last year that she would never have any more plastic surgery after she underwent a terrifying 'lip-pumping' procedure in Paris.

Looking back, Britt claimed: 'Everyone has the right to choose [surgery]. I did all of that in my 50s but wouldn't consider it again. I have no desire to look any different than I am.'

Movie magic: Britt also starred in 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun (pictured in the film)

Fame game: Britt still enjoys getting recognised for her Bond fame today, saying she is proud to be part of the 007 legacy (pictured with the late Sir Roger Moore, who played James Bond and fellow Bond girl Maud Adams (left))

The actress had made the appointment with a Paris-based doctor through a consultancy on Harley Street to have her lips plumped.

Instead of the moderate treatment she expected, the doctor made multiple injections all around the rim of her lips with Articol, which he said was a 'new dental material'.

Reflecting on the incident, Britt claimed she 'felt like I'd ruined my face' and said now she is content growing older and is no longer looking to find cosmetic surgery that will help her keep her looks.

She said: 'I feel great now, better than I have for many years... getting older happens to everyone. It's pointless complaining about it or wishing you could change.

'We're all going in one direction and there is nothing we can do about that.. It's just about looking after yourself while on that journey.'
Claire Sweeney was awkwardly snubbed twice as she tried to high-five an oblivious Eurovision commentary winner on Monday's episode of The One Show.

Joining Kevin Duala at the Radio BBC Radio Merseyside headquarters, the actress, 52, met up with competition finalist Paul.

During the segment presenter Kevin, 58, excitedly revealed that the hopeful was actually the winner and would be co-hosting the radio show alongside Claire.

Attempting to congratulate her new co-worker, who will deliver a scouse commentary on the Eurovision final, Claire went in for an ill-fated high five.

Paul hilariously left the actress hanging as he turned around to hug Kevin and chat with him.

Oops: Claire Sweeney, 52, was awkwardly snubbed twice as she tried to high-five an oblivious Eurovision commentary winner on Monday's episode of The One Show

Undefeated, she decided to try for a second high five but was ignored again, giving Paul a clumsy pat on the back instead before asking: 'How about that high five now?'

The Voice Of Merseyside will join the broadcasting team at the BBC to support local coverage of the music competition, which is being hosted in Liverpool.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Claire said: 'Im made up to be part of BBC Radio Merseysides Voice of Eurovision  I love Eurovision and Im so excited that its coming to Liverpool.

'Itll be the first time ever that people will be able to hear a Eurovision commentary in scouse  I cant wait!'

It comes after Claire said she has been 'manifesting' landing a role on Coronation Street for 15 years.

The actress gushed that her dream had come true as she prepares to start filming on the hit ITV soap on Friday.

The former Brookside star will take on character Cassie, the mother of Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), and revealed she is set to cause major problems for him.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, she said: 'Whenever I get interviewed they say, "If you can do any soap what would it be" and I always said Coronation Street.'

She continued: 'I've kind of been manifesting it for 15 years and now it's come true.'

Clumsy: Attempting to congratulate her new co-worker, who will deliver a scouse commentary on the Eurovision final, Claire went in for an ill-fated high five

'Alan is such a wonderful actor, he was so brilliant when I auditioned with him. Also Dame Maureen Lipman I'm such a fan of hers.'

Claire, who will make her Corrie screen debut in June, also revealed a little more about her character as she prepares to cause drama for Evelyn and Tyrone.

Tyrone previously believed his mother was dead after being told by Evelyn (Dame Maureen) that she had passed away.

Claire continued: 'Tyrone was always led to believe that Jackie was his mum and she wasn't his mum. And then he was told that his mum is dead, so that is the twist. I turn up on the Cobbles and I'm a bit unruly.'
Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins looked adorable on Monday night as they headed out for a romantic date night in Manchester.

The Love Island runners-up, both 25, are currently in a long-distance relationship, with Ron based in Essex and Lana in Manchester.

They headed out to Menagerie Bar and Restaurant for a date night with friends, later on posting a slew of loved-up videos.

The smitten pair held hands as they strolled the streets of the city, slapping on the PDA even further as Ron casually slung an arm around her shoulders.

Make-up artist Lana stunned in a ivory silk top, which she paired with black tailored trousers and a denim jacket.

Date night: Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins, both 25, looked adorable on Monday evening as they headed out for a romantic date night

Sweet: The pair were very affectionate as they held hands and Ron slung a casual arm around her shoulders

She opted for glam make-up for the evening out, including bold black eyeliner and a nude lip.

She then added a pop of colour with bright pink trainers, which matched Ron's more casual look in a Givenchy jumper and denim jeans.

Inside the restaurant Lana put her arm around her boyfriend as he jokingly stuck his tongue out.

It follows Ron revealing his hopes to move in with his Love Island girlfriend.

The couple, who finished second on this year's winter series of the ITV2 dating show, have been travelling between Essex, where Ron lives, and Manchester, where Lana is located, to visit each other since returning back from South Africa, where the programme was filmed.

But Ron insists their long-distance relationship will not last forever, as they hope to buy a home and move in together in the future.

He told The Sun: 'It's not forever. Every relationship at some point, it's natural to move in together.

'It's weird we get so many questions like "when are you moving in?" and you're like... bearing in mind we've only been together a couple of months, one of her big goals and one of my big goals is to buy a place up there, and down here, have our own bases.

PDA: Inside the Menagerie Bar and Restaurant Ron and Lana couldn't keep their hands off each other

'Then when we're ready, it could be six months, a year, two years, I don't know, then we'll buy together.'

Ron said he could see himself moving to the north west, insisting while it would be hard to leave his friends and family, it seems like the 'natural progression'.

It comes after Lana insisted she has 'something quite special' with Ron.

The make-up artist loves spending time with Ron and she's convinced that they could have a long-term future together, after starring on the dating show.

Asked to describe their relationship, Lana explained: 'Its just easy, comfortable and we feel at home with each other.

'I think theyre important things for me, that when Im around someone I just wanna be around them all the time.

'Thats number one and I feel like we could spend all day together and it not feel like a chore.

'And I just feel like weve got something quite special.'

Love story: Ron has revealed his hopes to move in with his Love Island girlfriend Lana

Looking ahead: Ron insists their long-distance relationship will not last forever, as they hope to buy a home and move in together in the future

Ron loves Lana's 'caring' attitude and he believes that they're a very compatible couple.

He said: 'I could honestly just sit in silence with Lana and it would feel like the most normal thing in the world.

'And I feel like were both just very honest, very caring.

'For me, one of the main things was having someone caring. That was one of the main things I was looking for.

'I know how much she was looking after everyone else, and she put herself aside the whole time.'

Ron also observed that Lana was really popular among the other Islanders.

He explained: 'Everyone loved Lana and there wasnt a single moment where anyone had a bad word to say about her, and that just shows Lanas character.

'I think thats why we get on so well, because I know how good she is and I like to think Im quite a caring person as well so its quite nice that were both the same. Similar but different!'
Seven words from Karl Lagerfeld adorn a doorway at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts sumptuous new exhibit honoring the late, legendary designer: 'Fashion does not belong in a museum.'

Andrew Bolton, who masterminds the New York museum's blockbuster Costume Institute shows each year, chuckled as he led a visitor through that doorway this weekend, a few days before opening, with crews nearby bustling to prepare for Monday's splashy Met Gala.

'Thats what Karl said to me when I met him,' the star curator said. 'He believed fashion was not art - it belonged on the street. So, I really dont know what he would think of all this! Im not sure he would come.'

'All this' is a lavish, loving tribute to the hugely prolific career of German-born Lagerfeld, who died in 2019 at 85 after more than a half-century of designing that left a deep mark on luxury fashion, especially at Chanel, but also at Fendi, at his own eponymous label, and elsewhere.

Set in 14 galleries, the shows very walls have been constructed to embody the essential contradiction, or duality, in Lagerfelds style and persona - a series of curved and straight lines. The show, titled 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,' is large in scope but intricately detailed, and clear in its message: Lagerfelds creative tentacles spread far beyond fashion into culture, and constantly adapted with the times.

What the exhibit does not do, purposely, is focus on Lagerfelds words - despite that quote on the doorway.

A design by Karl Lagerfeld is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in New York

Many of Lagerfelds best-known quotes have shocked people over the years as he opined on subjects from #MeToo (skeptically), curvy bodies (dismissively), and political issues like immigration (offensively, to many). What was more interesting to Bolton, he says, was to focus on the work, and that was daunting enough. He examined 10,000 items before slowly winnowing the show down to about 200.

'He was Karl,' the curator said, noting that Lagerfeld himself referred to not always meaning what he said. 'There could be 10, 20 different shows on Karl. To me, I thought the way to get to know him better, and understand his contradictions, was through his work.' And at end of the day, he says, 'thats his legacy - the body of work you see here.'

Boltons shows, which have brought many thousands of visitors to the museum, have mostly centered on concepts and not individuals. But its hard not to sense that this show, dedicated to one man, is more personal for him, as he walks through the galleries and stops before a relatively simple tweed suit with a tight ribcage, narrow waist and exaggerated hips that he calls his favorite item.

Each gallery combines contradictory moods: romantic and military, historical and futuristic, feminine and masculine, floral and geometric. Filmy tulle coexists with shiny black plastic. Its striking to think the same mind conjured up the pastel pink gown with cascading roses, and a jaunty design with huge block alphabet letters, which Lagerfeld loved because, Bolton says, 'L comes after K in the alphabet. So, KL.'

One showstopping number is a glittery, golden embroidered dress, at its time said to be the most expensive ever made, Bolton said, because of its ingredients: literally, its spun with gold. In contrast, another item is simply 'plastic on plastic.'

What stands out is the variety, making it impossible to describe one Lagerfeld style, even though his personal uniform became so recognizable that he called himself a caricature: the gray ponytail, the starchy white collars, the black fingerless gloves, leather pants, dark Chanel shades - a morphing of Mozart and maybe Keith Richards.

'Fashion does not belong in a museum,' it read above these colorful dresses

But that in itself, the show argues, is what defines the designer and explains his longevity: that he was always changing, in a determined - perhaps even obsessive - bid to stay relevant.

'He was a chameleon,' said Bolton, 'able to change with the times so quickly. I think the reason he designed for so many years is that he wanted to remain relevant. Everything he did was about being in tune with the zeitgeist.'

Lagerfeld was also a man with many interests: Literature, film, music - and business, too, making him an early example of designer-as-impresario. To illustrate this, Bolton has created an item sure to draw eyeballs: a faithful recreation of Lagerfelds chaotic desk.

It is piled with books, magazines, favored sketching pencils from Caran DAche, and a glass of Diet Coke (actually resin, here).

All over the place: The mannequins were placed all over the wall

'He drank it all day long,' Bolton said. 'I never saw him without his glass of Coke.'

To create the tableau, Bolton spent three days in Paris photographing Lagerfelds library. Not wanting to disturb the actual collection, he sourced books from Amazon. The cultural artifacts range from highbrow to lowbrow.

'He wasnt a snob,' Bolton says, then catching himself: 'Well, he WAS a snob. But he was a democratic snob.'

Theres also a sketchpad: open, and blank: 'We wanted it to look as if he was about to sketch.'

It was also sketching that provided the inspiration for the show. Bolton was at Lagerfeld's memorial at the majestic Grand Palais in Paris - 'much hoopla, as you can imagine' - and was touched by footage of the designer sketching, 'lost in his imagination, oblivious to everybody.' He started dreaming up a show. (Lagerfeld was also a close friend of Anna Wintour, the influential Vogue editor who masterminds the gala and is one of this years hosts. Chanel is the shows main sponsor.)

A guitar was on the back of one dress while another included a candelabra

The exhibit centers first and foremost on the dichotomy of the curved 'S' line (think romantic, decorative) and the straight line (modern, minimalist), with one curved wall and one straight wall in each gallery, and designs that express each aesthetic. Then, raised up in the center, there's a garment called an 'explosion' which combines both moods. So, for example, a traditional pastel-colored ballgown is topped with a black motorcycle jacket.

Speaking of jackets, there's also a military-style women's police jacket, designed by Lagerfeld as part of a competition run by the Rome police to dress its female officers.

And there's a room full of iPhones - yes, iPhones - their screens capturing moments of what the exhibit calls 'Karlisms.' It's an illustration of the designer's constant use, in later years, of his phone in his creative process - and of his huge collection of smartphones.

'I think he was ahead of the times, I really do,' said Bolton. 'I think he saw where fashion was heading, as early as the 1950s. And fashion finally caught up with him.'

___

A recreation of Karl Lagerfeld's desk is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibition

Now in ivory: Several looks in a lighter tone were seen

One dress had a long hem that put a new spin on the 'mermaid finish'

Suits were seen on another wall with a white feathered creation in the middle

Cute bows were used in some of the dresses on the right with Chanel suits on the left

Gold is good in these designs

A rocker style was seen far right with Oscar gowns in the middle

Tiers were a theme in the dresses on the right

Karl Lagerfeld's personal items are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibition

Color was another theme with Pucci looks

Another view of a room with a pink skirt could be seen

So much to take in all at once

There were seven different black gowns here

A closer look at this jacket showed the double Chanel Cs on the buttons

Designs by Karl Lagerfeld are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibition

Flower power was a theme on this silver sequined gown

Letters made a theme on this black and white beauty, left

Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty included a purse with his likeness
EastEnders fans have been left worried for Jay Brown as he continues to put 'too much pressure on himself' over his wife, Lola Pearce's, incurable cancer.

Terminally-ill Lola (Danielle Harold) was given six months to live in March after she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.

And as her final days edge closer, fans have become concerned for her partner Jay, who tried to organise a special day for them over the bank holiday weekend.

He explained his plans for them to visit the London Eye, before taking her up the Shard for some lunch.

And while he was really looking forward to spending the special day with his wife, Lola was visibly exhausted, and expressed that she wasnt sure if shed be up to it.

Worried: EastEnders fans have been left worried for Jay Brown as he continues to put 'too much pressure on himself' over his wife, Lola Pearce's, incurable cancer

However, their plans were soon put on hold by a phone call revealing that no one had opened up at Cokers, leaving Jay with no choice but to man the ship himself.

As Jay headed off, Lola revealed to a concerned Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) that she was secretly relieved.

She then caught up on some much needed rest, while Billy (Perry Fenwick) expressed his concerns about how much Jay was trying to juggle.

Determined to ease some of the burden, Billy headed to Cokers to offer some advice.

He approached Jay and said: 'Jay, me and Honey... we've been talking. We think you're trying to do too much.'

Clearly stressed, Jay replied: 'Nah I ain't got time for this.'

Stressing the importance of the converdation, Billy replied: 'Well make time, Jay.

'You're a state Jay. Stressed out of your eyeballs. It's bank holiday, you and Lola had plans, right?

Supportive: Billy (Perry Fenwick) expressed his concerns about how much Jay was trying to juggle

Good friend: Determined to ease some of the burden, Billy headed to Cokers to offer some advice

He approached Jay and said: 'Jay, me and Honey... we've been talking. We think you're trying to do too much'

Devastating: Terminally-ill Lola ( Danielle Harold ) was given six months to live in March after she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour

Supportive: And as her final days edge closer, fans have become concerned for her partner Jay, who tried to organise a special day for them over the bank holiday weekend

'So I wanna cover for you. Coz you ain't coping well, right?'

But refusing to accept help, Jay responded: 'Look it's my job to manage the pace, alright?'

Determined to get through Billy pushed: 'Stop being so irresponsible, will ya? You wanna be spending all your time with Lola, so do I.

'Jay I'm gutted. I'm gutted I was in Portugal and she was going through all of this. You've got to make Lola your priority.'

Defensive, Jay argued: 'Are you saying that she isn't?'

Billy replied: 'No of course I'm not! No. But how can you look after her if you can't look after yourself?'

Recalling a similar situation, Jay said: 'I had a bloke in here. No more than 30. Had to say goodbye to his wife.

'Putting pictures of their kids and stuff on her coffin. It's gunna be me soon, isn't it? I can plan days out all I like, but it's gunna happen soon isn't it?'

'You've got to stop doing this to yourself', Billy pleaded.

Leaving, Jay said: 'Just tell Lola I'll be home later, alright?'

And taking to Twitter as the episode aired, fans voice concerned for Jay.

One said: 'Jay will collapse after Lola dies. It will hit him all at once and it will be really hard.'

A second added: 'Lola needs to tell Jay that she wants to slow down. Jay is putting himself under too much pressure.'

A third argued: 'Billy is right Jay... you need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself.

'It's clear that you're struggling to hold things together. Lola would want you to keep strong for her but it's okay to show vulnerability as well'.

'Poor Lola', a fourth said.

Also on fans list of concerns is Ben Mitchell, as they believe he could be the centre of an eating disorder storyline after his worrying behaviour.

Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed the character isn't eating much when drinking, which would suggest a potential eating disorder on the cards.

Ben has been struggling after his ex Lola, who has months to live, said she wanted her partner Jay to adopt her and Ben's daughter Lexi.

He first vowed to fight Jay for custody of Lexi but has since spoke to the pair and agreed to do 'what's best for Lexi'.

In Wednesday night's final scene, Ben explained to his partner Callum and mother Kathy that he'd changed his mind after 'speaking to a couple of people'.

He then apologised to his spouse for his recent erratic behaviour before excusing himself and heading to the bathroom.

Viewers next saw Ben coming out from a loo stall with a face drenched in sweat.

He then washed his face in the nearby sink and then stared at his reflection, clearly struggling with his mental health.

Viewers expressed concern for Ben on Twitter, with one penning: 'Ben's storyline is going to be so heartbreaking but such an important story to tell.'

Concerned: Also on fans list of concerns is Ben Mitchell, as they believe he could be the centre of an eating disorder storyline after his worrying behaviour

Another said: 'All those scenes of Ben avoiding food has built to something after all. We weren't sure if we were projecting or imagining it but yep, he's definitely struggling with some sort of ED. I just hope that someone around him notices soon'

A third wrote: 'Watching that last scene over and over again it makes me cry'

One commented: 'I'm really worried about Ben with this new storyline. He's drinking heavily and not eating. This in top of his trauma from his r***. Things will get worse for Ben before they get better'

One wrote: 'Ben can't catch a break' with another adding: 'Poor Ben he's been through it all'

Ben Mitchell's mental health has continued to plunge to new depths on EastEnders this week, as his ex Lola dropped a huge bombshell after learning she has months to live.

Recent episodes have seen Ben struggle to cope with his ex's prognosis and decided to ignore his feelings by starting fights in the Queen Vic.

Ben vowed to fight Jay Brown for custody of his young daughter Lexi Pearce in Tuesday's instalment of EastEnders.
Emmerdale viewers were left fearing for Mary Goskirk during Monday's episode of the soap as it became evident she was about to find herself at the centre of an explosive romance scam.

In recent instalments, Mary (Louise Jameson) has been growing close to Faye (Jane Gurnett), who claimed last week that a women's shelter she owns in Ecuador had burned down.

Mary has committed herself to helping Faye with her apparent problems and has even made plans to travel out to Ecuador in a bid to help her new love at the apparent shelter.

On Monday, the village residents were seen at an auction as they locals attempted to raise funds for Faye and the troubled shelter.

However, a mistrustful Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) had her doubts about the trip when Faye acted cagey about the bank transfer for the auction fund, with fans of the ITV serial equally as worried.

Shocking: Emmerdale viewers were left fearing for Mary Goskirk (right) during Monday's episode as it became evident she was the target of Faye's (left) explosive romance scam

When she later relayed her suspicions to a lovestruck Mary, her words fell on deaf ears when Mary refused to hear a bad word said about her love interest.

In a bid to double down on her commitment, she sent a huge donation through to Faye.

Viewers took to Twitter to voice their concerns for Mary, with many astounded that she had not suspected Faye was up to no good.

Siding with Suzy, one person wrote: '#emmerdale Suzy isnt wrong about Faye tho is she complete con artist.'

While someone else shared: '#emmerdale Next storyline line will be Faye done away with her money.'

Another person tweeted: 'I predict a scene with a forlorn Mary waiting at the airport for no-show #romancefraudster Faye #emmerdale.'

And someone else posted: 'How can a whole village be so gullible? Is it only Suzy that can see Faye is scamming everyone for every penny she can get?'

Another sympathetic viewer wrote: '#emmerdale and there it is Faye is a con woman just after money. Poor Mary x.'

Couple: In recent instalments, Mary (Louise Jameson, right) has been growing close to Faye (Jane Gurnett, left)

Doubts: A mistrustful Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) had her doubts about Faye's intentions when acted cagey about the bank transfer for the auction fund

Blinded by love: When Suzy (right) later relayed her suspicions to a lovestruck Mary, her words fell on deaf ears

While someone else noted: 'No photos of the famous shelter in Ecuador. No Faye in any of the photos at the fundraiser. Finally someone is asking the vital questions but no one is listening to her.'

'For once Im liking Suzy, shes suspicious of Faye and is trying tactfully to put doubt in Marys mind,' posted another viewer.

While someone else wrote: 'Faye is going to try to take the money & run.'

In upcoming scenes Mary will find herself bleeding and concussed amid a shock attack, with her plans for her dream trip to Ecuador in tatters.

Suzy will soon be seen offering Mary further evidence that Faye isn't who she seems, but Mary is quick to shut her down, desperately wanting to believe that her dream in still intact and that Faye is the real deal.

However, with Suzy's warning still running through her mind, Mary later tests the waters with her girlfriend.

And when Faye begins to act coy over finances, a crushed Mary is forced to believe that Suzy was right about her.

Worries: Viewers took to Twitter to voice their concerns for Mary, with many astounded that she had not suspected Faye was up to no good

Knowing the jig is up, Faye's mask slips and she coldly reveals her true colours.

A kerfuffle then ensues between the ladies as Mary desperately tried to retrieve an envelope fill of money.

But things go disastrously wrong, leaving Faye to make her escape while Mary is left bleeding and unconscious on the floor.

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo opened up about his ambitions to step away from the limelight and lead a 'super, super simple life' in one of his final media interviews.

Tributes continue to pour in over the sudden death of the celebrity chef, 46, who was found dead in his Melbourne hotel room early Monday after police attended to conduct a welfare check.

News of his shock passing broke hours before the 15th season of MasterChef Australia was set to premiere on the screens of Network 10 on Monday night, which has since been postponed.

Alongside co-judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, Zonfrillo took part in wide-ranging interview with NewsCorp, which was published on Sunday, hours before his death.

The father-of-four discussed the pasta recipe book he was writing and how much he desired a 'super, super simple life' with his family.

Australia has been rocked by the shock passing of celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo (right), pictured with MasterChef co-judges Andy Allen and Melissa Leong

'A small house in the middle of nowhere with kids, pets. Just a really simple, uncomplicated life away from everyone. But still part of a community in that remoteness I guess,' Zonfrillo told the media outlet.

'But not the flashy extravagant lifestyle you'd expect from a TV person.'

When asked if he had a superpower, he said it was his ability to remain calm and not freak out in stressful situations.

'I'm pretty good in any kind of stressful situation  if it's somebody with blood gushing over their clothes, I don't freak out,' he said.

'It's probably also why I'm able to operate on pretty minimal sleep. About four hours a night of solid sleep is the norm for me.'

Zonfrillo revealed he always had an inkling when a surprise was in store and how much he despised getting them.

'I kind of pick up the vibe and it makes me f**king paranoid. And then I get a sense of dread. And then when the surprise comes, I love it,' he said.

'I'd much rather be doing surprises for other people than being on the receiving end of one.'

Zonfrillo spoke about leading a simple, uncomplicated life away from the public eye. He's pictured with with his wife Lauren and their children Alfie and Isla. He also had two adult daughters

Readers also learned that cacio e pepe, a pasta dish made with cheese and black pepper was Zonfrillo's go-to dish and described Faroe Bank Cod, a delicacy from Faroe Islands as the best piece of fish he's had in his life.

He hailed The Cook and the Chef star Simon Bryant as his favourite chef.

'Hes just one of the most inspiring people that Ive ever talked to in the world of food, and the knowledge that he is incredible just as a person, I couldnt wish for a better friend,' Zonfrillo said.

The Scottish born personality was set to appear on The Project on Monday night to be interviewed about the premiere of MasterChef Australia, the program he joined alongside Leong and Allen in 2019.

No cause of death has been disclosed.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said while a report would be prepared for the coroner it was not being treated as suspicious.

The Scottish-born celebrity chef (pictured) was found dead in his hotel room on Monday

Zonfrillo is survived by his wife Lauren and four children Ava, Sophie, Alfie and Isla.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' a family's statement read.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'
Kendall Jenner and her new love Bad Bunny were both seen arriving at the Mark Hotel in New York City on Monday ahead of their anticipated arrival at the Met Gala later in the evening.

The 27-year-old model and reality star looked effortlessly chic in a thin, cream-colored overcoat that hung nearly down to the ground.

Her superstar rapper boyfriend, 29, was seen arriving ahead of her in a more casual ensemble.

The lovebirds' public sighting comes after sources told People that the two have been spending 'almost every day together' amid their budding romance.

After a 'slow star,' the two are reportedly rare out of each other's sight.

Making an entrance: Kendall Jenner, 27, and Bad Bunny, 29, were seen arriving at the Mark Hotel in New York city on Monday ahead of the Met Gala

Kendall had all eyes on her when she arrived at the hotel's front entrance while sporting a deep tan.

She wore her chic double-breasted overcoat open, revealing a partially unbuttoned white blouse and a matching set of white shorts that showcased her long, toned legs.

The Kardashians fixture stuck to a classy business look with a pair of shiny black leather loafers.

She matched them with a large black handbag slung over her shoulder, and she also wore a pair of slim black sunglasses.

The catwalk star wore her dark highlighted hair parted down the middle and swept back.

Bad Bunny (real name: Benito Martinez Ocasio) was seen earlier as he walked up to a different part of the hotel while looking down at his phone.

He was dressed in a simple cream-colored 'Togetherness' shirt that complemented Kendall's similarly colored overcoat.

The rapper mixed it with white jeans with small designs decorating them, and he sported a prominent metal belt buckle.

He had on a set of beige suede boots, and his dark hair was styled in a mass of tight curls on top of his head.

Like Kendall, he favored a slim pair of sunglasses, and he carried along a boxy grayblue tote bag.

Covered up: Kendall had all eyes on her when she arrived at the hotel's front entrance while sporting a deep tan and a thin, long cream overcoat

Simple style: She wore a white blouse and matching shorts with black loafers

No fuss: Bad Bunny was dressed in a simple cream-colored 'Togetherness' shirt that complemented Kendall's similarly colored overcoat

Casual: The rapper mixed it with white jeans with small designs decorating them, and he sported a prominent metal belt buckle

It was previously reported by some outlets that Anna Wintour was cracking down on the guest list at this year's Met Gala, following criticism of last year's event for featuring too many influencers and lower-tier celebrities.

Initially though to be on the chopping block were the KardashianJenner clan, though Page Six later reported that Kim Kardashian would be attending, and her sister Kendall and her boyfriend Bad Bunny are gearing up for appearances as well.

The 2022 event marked the first time that Bad Bunny had attended the fundraising event.

He stood out in a custom suit designed by Burberrys Riccardo Tisci.

'I researched what was going on during the Gilded Age in my country, in Puerto Rico,' Bad Bunny told Vogue while describing his preparation.

He also described how he and Tisci looked back at classic styles for men and women on the island, noting that men were often styled in tailored suits, while many women's outfits included puffy collars.

'We mixed the mens looks with womens [for my look],' he said.

The final tan suit featured voluminous, disjoined shoulder pads and a puffed up chest, along with a skirt that reached to the ground.

He's likely to have something similar eye-catching when he hits the red carpet with Kendall.

On Monday, a source told People that Bad Bunny and his new love had been 'getting more serious.'

Made the cut: Kendall and her sister Kim Kardashian are attending the Met Gala following initial reports that Anna Wintour was cracking down on the bloated guest list; seen in January in Dubai

Speeding up: Their outing comes after a source told People that they 'spend almost every day together now' after initially starting their relationship slowly; Bad Bunny seen at his 2022 Met Gala debut

'They are very cute together. Kendall is happy,' they said. 'He is a fun guy. Very much a gentleman and charming. She likes his vibe. He is very chill.'

Although the two took their time with a 'slow start,' they now 'spend almost every day together.'

'He hangs out with her friends and she hangs out with his. It's more of a relationship now,' they continued. 'Kendall is not seeing anyone else. She really likes him.'

The lovebirds were recently seen on a double date with Kendall's friend Hailey Bieber and her husband Justin.
A visibly shaken Manu Feildel has spoken of his confusion and grief following the sudden death of MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo at the age of 46.

The My Kitchen Rules host, who enjoyed a friendly rivalry with Zonfrillo in the TV and culinary worlds, told 7News on Monday he was devastated for the Scottish-born chef's wife and children.

'I just turned fifty and I'm still feeling young so I'm telling you, forty-six... it's far too young to go,' Feildel said.

'I feel really sorry for his wife and his kids... I've got kids myself and I'm finding it hard to find my words right now.

'He's had a really successful career and suddenly it's all stopped. You just wonder how and why.'

A visibly shaken Manu Feildel has spoken of his confusion and grief following the sudden death of MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo at the age of 46

Feildel said his phone had been blowing up with calls and texts from friends in the hospitality industry.

'Texts came up on my phone. Colin Fassnidge was one of the first ones to call me. It's a very tight industry; the chefs are our friends,' he said.

'We are all mates and when one person goes down everybody feels a pinch. We feel terrible about it.

'He was a genuinely nice guy... He's going to be sorely missed by a lot of people.'

Police found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton, Melbourne, for a welfare check.

No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: teenage daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried.

The Scottish-Australian chef became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

The trio replaced original judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan after they quit the show amid a pay dispute.

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

The My Kitchen Rules host, who enjoyed a friendly rivalry with Zonfrillo in the TV and culinary worlds, told 7News he was devastated for the Scottish-born chef's wife and children

British chef Jamie Oliver, who is starring as a guest judge on MasterChef this year and recently wrapped filming with Zonfrillo, said he was in 'total shock' over the death of his friend.

'I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this year's MasterChef. I can't tell how good it was to work with him,' he wrote on Instagram.

'Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful.

'Melissa, Andy and Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have their very own unique view and style. Jock will be so very missed.

'I can't believe I'm writing this. Sending heartfelt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family, the MasterChef team and contestants.'

Feildel said: 'He's had a really successful career and suddenly it's all stopped. You just wonder how and why'

Other tributes from the celebrity and culinary worlds flooded in on Monday afternoon.

Fellow expatriate chef and TV personality Colin Fassnidge told Daily Mail Australia: 'It's so shocking. I'm sitting on a rock right now trying to take it in, I don't know what to say. I'm floored.

'I've had to call my wife straight away when I heard.'

Fassnidge, who had been friends with Zonfrillo for 20 years and last saw him two weeks ago at the Taste of Adelaide food festival, said there was no indication anything was going wrong for him, and the news was a complete surprise.

'He was flying, he was doing a great job, he had a great show, he was on top of the world. Jock was normal, he was healthy and he was living a good life,' he said.

'I just feel so sorry for his other half.'

Police found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton, Melbourne, for a welfare check

Fassnidge revealed Zonfrillo's passing had rocked the hospitality industry.

'We all battle each other in the ratings, but we're all one big family in hospitality,' he said.

'At a certain level, all the chefs know each other.

'Everyone is ringing. Everyone knows the entire community is in shock.

'He's another version of me. He likes a joke. He liked the whisky in the old days. He's just a great TV host and a great cook.

'I don't know what I think yet. We were rivals, and we were friends.'

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay said on Twitter he was devastated by the news.

'I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia,' he tweeted. 'Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time.'

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

He once said he owed his life to food, telling an interviewer: 'It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

'The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if there's something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. That's what moved me on. That's how I survived.'

After getting clean and establishing himself in Britain, Zonfrillo migrated to Australia and became the head chef at Sydney's Restaurant 41 in the year 2000.

He opened the award-winning Restaurant Orana in Adelaide in 2013.

In 2018, the year before he joined MasterChef, he was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian newspaper.

That year, Orana was also named Australia's best restaurant by the Good Food Guide.

Restaurant Orana closed its doors in 2020 when it went into voluntary administration with debts totalling $3.2million.
Emily Ratajkowski will cross paths with Olivia Wilde for the first time since kissing the actress' ex-boyfriend Harry Styles in the streets of Tokyo in March.

While the women previously had a friendly relationship, tensions between them escalated after the supermodel, 31, told Vogue Spain she 'feels bad' for the Don't Worry Darling director, 39, about her steamy make-out session with the pop star, 29.

Following the interview, an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively that Wilde wants Ratajkowski to 'keep her name out of her mouth' and 'focus on being a mom instead of dating everyone she sees.'

The source went on reveal that the mom-of-two feels the I Feel Pretty star should 'reexamine her dating life and the men she chooses to go out with' since filing for divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard.

Previously, a separate confidante of Wilde's disclosed that the ex-fiancee of Jason Sudeikis felt 'betrayed' by her 'friend' and simply does not want to be dragged into this mess' as she continues to prioritize her 'career and her kids.'

Awkward: Emily Ratajkowski will cross paths with Olivia Wilde for the first time since kissing the actress' ex-boyfriend ex-boyfriend Harry Styles in the streets of Tokyo last month (seen in March)

In addition to a possible awkward run-in between the My Body author and filmmaker, who rose to fame after starring in her debut film Girl Next Door, Pete Davidson and ex Kim Kardashian will both be attendance following their split last summer.

The SNL alum, 29, and reality star, 42, previously attended the event together last year while she rocked Marilyn Monroe's original 1962 Jean Louis gown.

In 2021, following her breakup with Kanye West, Kardashian admitted to rejecting Davidson at the Met Gala before going on to work together on an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Sparks ultimately flew between them after sharing an on-screen kiss during a sketch, in which they portrayed Jasmine and Aladdin.

While reflecting on their first smooch together during a confessional on her reality show The Kardashians, Kim said she felt 'a vibe' when she kissed Pete and was struck by the desire to 'try something different.'

'I wasnt even thinking, like: "Oh my God. Im gonna be in a relationship with him,"' Kim admitted, before confessing that she was 'basically just DTF [down to f**k].'

Yet as their romance grew, she discovered him to be 'really thoughtful and humble and just so genuine,' and she eventually came to regard him as 'literally the best human being' she ever met.

In August 2022, DailyMail.com confirmed they called it quits after nine months together due to demanding schedules and the long distance as he worked on a project in Australia while she remained in the U.S. with her four kids.

Former friends: The source told DailyMail.com that the mother-of-two feels the I Feel Pretty star should 'reexamine her dating life and the men she chooses to go out with' since filing for divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard (seen together in March ahead of Ratajkowski's kiss with Styles)

Breaking girl code: Ratajkowski was caught kissing Styles, who dated her friend for nearly two years (seen in March)

A guest list - seen by DailyMail.com ahead of the red carpet - contains the names of some of the fashion and celebrity world's most influential people.

Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh, and Gigi Hadid are among the faces who will be at the Met Gala.

Vanessa Hudgens, Lily James, and Miranda Kerr will also be in attendance.

Additionally, Dr Dre, and Nick Jonas are expected on the carpet when the festivities begin.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Sydney Sweeney to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

Better times: In addition to a possible awkward run-in between the My Body author and filmmaker, who rose to fame after starring in her debut film Girl Next Door, Pete Davidson and ex Kim Kardashian will both be attendance following their split last summer (seen last May)

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.

While the show may be known for its glitzy and over-the-top red carpet - with details of what occurs inside often remaining mysterious - at its heart, it is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Exciting: A guest list - seen by DailyMail.com ahead of the red carpet - contains the names of some of the fashion and celebrity world's most influential people (Gigi Hadid seen above in 2022 is confirmed to be attending)

Fashion icons: Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh (seen above last week), and Hadid are among the faces who will be at the Met Gala

Last year, the 2022 MET Gala alone raised a grand total of $17.4 million, reported Billboard.

This year the price of admission has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Page Six.

Even if you have the funds, that doesn't guarantee you entry into the party.

Every guest has to be invited, and a waiting list exists for the coveted golden ticket.

And status matters, according to The New York Times.

Paris Hilton is among the big names attending in what will be her first Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively, a frequent attendee, announced she will not be at the party.

'I will be watching,' she said, according to People.

Elle Fanning, Kardashian and La La Anthony are among the other celebs attending.

As for Wintour's role in the bash, Vogue's editor-in-chief organizes the party and oversees the guest list and even the menu.

She has served as the Met Gala's chairwoman since 1994 and continues to serve look after look at every event.
The NLC and the TUC had said that the federal government refused their request to use the venue for the Workers Day celebration.

The federal government has approved the use of Eagle Square for the annual May Day parade for workers in the FCT.

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had said that the federal government refused their request to use the venue for the Workers Day celebration.

Mr Oshundun said that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had intervened in the issue.

"The attention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has been drawn to press releases and statements in the media that the Federal Government disapproved of the NLC using the Eagle Square for the annual May Day parade.

"That is for the reasons bordering on the preparation of the venue for the May 29 inauguration of President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

"On receiving the report, the minister contacted his colleague, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammad Bello, who blamed the development on some overzealous officials, acting without his authority.

"This is, as well as minor communication gap between the FCDA, the Federal Government Transition Committee and the NLC," he said.

He said it was actually the contractor handling the renovation of Eagle Square, Messrs Julius Berger that informed the Transition Committee for the handover ceremony.

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Mr Oshundun added that they erected their equipment even before last Thursday when the Nigerian Army used the venue for an event attended by the president.

"Consequently, the FCT minister assured the minister of labour and employment that the place is available for NLC to use on May 1, which is the worker's day.

"This May Day is the last in the life of this administration. The NLC parade belongs to everybody, including government, diplomatic missions, international organisations, organised labour and affiliate unions and members of the public.

"The president, ministers and others cannot shut themselves out. The Eagle Square is still available for all these individuals.

"All invited people should make themselves available for the parade at Eagle Square, most especially the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the diplomatic missions and the international partners," he said.

He said the minister of labour and employment has been in touch with the leadership of organised labour, led by Joe Ajaero and had briefed them on the developments.

Mr Oshundun also said that Mr Ngige had equally extended the apologies of the minister of FCT for the unintended embarrassment occasioned by the action of their officials who misinterpreted the general intention and work plan of one month of Messrs Julius Berger.

"The FCT Administration had promised to give all necessary material support to make the event hitch-free and successful, while the Minister of Labour and Employment wishes all Nigerian workers a blissful Workers Day in May," he said.
She is a Met Gala veteran.

And Emily Ratajkowski took the iconic staircase by storm once again in another show-stopping look on Monday.

The model, 31, had all eyes on her in a plunging taupe dress which left little of her cleavage to the imagination as she attended the 2023 Met Gala.

Adorned with pearls, the strapless look cinched into her svelte waist and featured a semi-sheer skirt that furled out into a dramatic train.

The outfit fell in line with this year's theme of Karl Lagerfeld, as the dress closely aligned with his signature style.

Met Gala madness! Emily Ratajkowski took the iconic staircase by storm once again in another show-stopping look on Monday

Emily's brunette locks were styled glossy and were held back with the help of an elegant black bow. She also rocked edgy fringe and glossy lips.

The model's makeup look for the evening was created by beauty pro Linda Hay using products from Pat McGrath Labs, including the brand's Divine Skin: Rose 001 The Essence to prep her complexion.

Meanwhile, Emily's dramatic smoky eye was achieved using shades from the Mothership X: Moonlit Seduction palette, as well as the Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner and the Dark Star Mascara.

She carried a small clutch decked out with feathers.

Emily is just one of many stars preparing to walk the iconic staircase this evening.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Taking the plunge! The model, 31, had all eyes on her in a plunging taupe dress which left little of her cleavage to the imagination as she attended the 2023 gala

Picture perfect: She looked majestic posing for photographers

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

Nailed it! Even her taupe manicure matched her dress

A-list extravaganza: The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event

Working it! Emily posed confidently upon the staircase

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.

While the show may be known for its glitzy and over-the-top red carpet - with details of what occurs inside often remaining mysterious - at its heart, it is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Last year, the 2022 MET Gala alone raised a grand total of $17.4 million, reported Billboard.

Controversial theme: This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019

Fashionistas! Emily posed alongside Phoebe Bridgers and designer Tory Burch

She's a pro! The star has been to several Met Galas in the past

This year the price of admission has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Page Six.

Even if you have the funds, that doesn't guarantee you entry into the party.

Every guest has to be invited, and a waiting list exists for the coveted golden ticket.

And status matters, according to The New York Times, meaning the hottest stars are a shoo in for an invite.

Paris Hilton is among the big names attending in what will be her first Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively, a frequent attendee, announced she will not be at the party.

'I will be watching,' she said, according to People.

Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian and La La Anthony are among the other celebs attending.

As for Wintour's role in the bash, Vogue's editor-in-chief organizes the party and oversees the guest list and even the menu.

She has served as the Met Gala's chairwoman since 1994 and continues to serve look after look at every event.
Fans of the late MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo have discovered what seems to be his final Instagram comment, posted just before his death.

The Scottish-born chef, 46, was found dead by police at a hotel in Melbourne's inner-north at about 2am on Monday - the same day he was due to make promotional appearances for the upcoming fifteenth season of MasterChef.

He had uploaded an Instagram post on Sunday night promoting the Channel Ten cooking show, which was scheduled to launch Monday at 7:30pm, but has since been delayed out of respect for his family.

'The time has come for @masterchefau to kick off a new season filled with Secrets & Surprises! And @jamieoliver of course!' he wrote in the caption.

Sometime later, he responded to a fan in the comments section in what is believed to be his last-ever public interaction on social media.

Fans of the late MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo have discovered what seems to be his final Instagram comment, posted just before his death

The Scottish chef uploaded this post on Sunday night promoting the cooking show, which was due to launch Monday at 7:30pm, but has since been delayed out of respect for his family

Sometime later, Zonfrillo responded to a fan in the comments section in what is believed to be his last-ever public interaction on social media

One of his followers commented how much their son enjoyed watching Zonfrillo on MasterChef and would often do impressions of his accent.

'Very exciting... (my son shouts out "Joooooock" every time you appear on the advert!!!! He is even practicing his Scottish accent!!!)' they wrote.

Zonfrillo replied to this comment with a crying-with-laughter emoji.

After news of his death broke at 2pm on Monday, fans noted the eerie coincidence of him posting the comment late Sunday night, just hours before he was found dead.

After news of his death broke at 2pm on Monday, fans noted the eerie coincidence of him posting the comment late Sunday night, just hours before he was found dead

'So hard to believe you are gone when you commented this just a couple of hours ago,' one follower replied.

'One of his last comments,' another wrote.

'His reply not even 24 hours [old] yet! Probably this was his last reply,' a third said.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check.

No cause of death has been disclosed, but police say his death is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they found Zonfrillo's body at about 2am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said

'With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday,' his family said in a statement on Monday.

'So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words.

'For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.'

They continued: 'We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this, and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.'

British chef Jamie Oliver, who is starring as a guest judge on MasterChef this year and recently wrapped filming with Zonfrillo, said he was in 'total shock' over the death of his friend.

'I'm in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this year's MasterChef. I can't tell how good it was to work with him,' he wrote on Instagram.

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: teenage daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried. (Zonfrillo, Fried and their two children are seen here in a recent family photo)

'Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful.

'Melissa, Andy and Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have their very own unique view and style. Jock will be so very missed.

'I can't believe I'm writing this. Sending heartfelt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family, the MasterChef team and contestants.'

British chef Jamie Oliver, who is starring as a guest judge on MasterChef this year and recently wrapped filming with Zonfrillo, said he was in 'total shock' over the death of his friend

Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children: teenage daughters Ava and Sophia, from his first two marriages, and six-year-old Alfie and two-year-old Isla, with Fried.

The Scottish-Australian chef and restaurateur became a host of the popular Channel 10 cooking show MasterChef Australia in 2019 alongside Andy Allen and Melissa Leong.

Zonfrillo, who started his career working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in the UK, famously overcame an addiction to heroin during his teenage years in Glasgow before becoming one of Australia's most celebrated chefs.

In 2018, the year before he joined MasterChef, he was named Australia's Hottest Chef by The Australian newspaper.

If you or someone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000
Olivia Wilde was a vision in an ab-flashing gown as she arrived at the 2023 Met Gala in NYC on Monday - ahead of an awkward run-in with ex Harry Styles' new love Emily Ratajkowski.

The actress, 39, flashed her trim midriff and toned waist in a high-necked white gown with dazzling gold details as she posed up a storm.

The star's gown featured quirky gold paneling across the bust and detached gold cuffs.

The dress flowed into an elegant skirt and the star wore her locks in soft waves.

Her make-up was flawless and metallic, with a pair of shimmering earrings completing the look.

Wow: Olivia Wilde was a vision in an ab-flashing gown as she arrived at the 2023 Met Gala in NYC on Monday - ahead of an awkward run-in with ex Harry Styles ' new love Emily Ratajkowski

She's arrived! EmRat wowed in a busty plunging lace dress as she arrived

Olivias radiant skin was provided by 111SKINs revolutionary formulations to ensure her complexion was plump, glowing, and hydrated before her glam was applied.

The actress's makeup artist Jo Baker revealed that she used products containing the brand's proprietary complex, NAC Y2 - including the Repair Serum, Eye Lift Gel, and Repair Day Cream, which helped to create a healthy base before cosmetics, including the BAKEUP Desert Road Trip Micro Palm Palette, were applied.

Olivia risked crossing paths with EmRata for the first time since kissing the actress' ex-boyfriend Harry in the streets of Tokyo in March - as the pair both wowed on the red carpet.

While the women previously had a friendly relationship, tensions between them escalated after the supermodel, 31, told Vogue Spain she 'feels bad' for the Don't Worry Darling director about her steamy make-out session with the pop star, 29.

Following the interview, an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively that Wilde wants Ratajkowski to 'keep her name out of her mouth' and 'focus on being a mom instead of dating everyone she sees.'

The source went on reveal that the mom-of-two feels the I Feel Pretty star should 'reexamine her dating life and the men she chooses to go out with' since filing for divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard.

Previously, a separate confidante of Wilde's disclosed that the ex-fiancee of Jason Sudeikis felt 'betrayed' by her 'friend' and simply does not want to be dragged into this mess' as she continues to prioritize her 'career and her kids.'

In addition to a possible awkward run-in between the My Body author and filmmaker, who rose to fame after starring in her debut film Girl Next Door, Pete Davidson and ex Kim Kardashian will both be attendance following their split last summer.

The SNL alum, 29, and reality star, 42, previously attended the event together last year while she rocked Marilyn Monroe's original 1962 Jean Louis gown.

In 2021, following her breakup with Kanye West, Kardashian admitted to rejecting Davidson at the Met Gala before going on to work together on an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Ab-flashing: The actress, 39, flashed her trim midriff and toned waist in a high-necked white gown with dazzling gold details as she posed up a storm

Metallic magic: Her make-up was flawless and metallic, with a pair of shimmering earrings completing the look

Smile: Olivia looked incredible as she hit the event

Leading lights: Olivia joined Gabriela Hearst, Maude Apatow and Vanessa Kirby

Line-up: The group looked sensational as they posed

Wow: Olivia flashed a smile as she left The Mark Hotel earlier in the day

What drama? Olivia looked divine in her deconstructed gown

Sparks ultimately flew between them after sharing an on-screen kiss during a sketch, in which they portrayed Jasmine and Aladdin.

While reflecting on their first smooch together during a confessional on her reality show The Kardashians, Kim said she felt 'a vibe' when she kissed Pete and was struck by the desire to 'try something different.'

'I wasnt even thinking, like: "Oh my God. Im gonna be in a relationship with him,"' Kim admitted, before confessing that she was 'basically just DTF [down to f**k].'

Yet as their romance grew, she discovered him to be 'really thoughtful and humble and just so genuine,' and she eventually came to regard him as 'literally the best human being' she ever met.

In August 2022, DailyMail.com confirmed they called it quits after nine months together due to demanding schedules and the long distance as he worked on a project in Australia while she remained in the U.S. with her four kids.

Former friends: A source told DailyMail.com that the mother-of-two feels the I Feel Pretty star should 'reexamine her dating life and the men she chooses to go out with' since filing for divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard (seen together in March ahead of Ratajkowski's kiss with Styles)

Breaking girl code: Ratajkowski was caught kissing Styles, who dated her friend for nearly two years (seen in March)

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Sydney Sweeney to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

Better times: In addition to a possible awkward run-in between the My Body author and filmmaker, who rose to fame after starring in her debut film Girl Next Door, Pete Davidson and ex Kim Kardashian will both be attendance following their split last summer (seen last May)

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.

While the show may be known for its glitzy and over-the-top red carpet - with details of what occurs inside often remaining mysterious - at its heart, it is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Last year, the 2022 MET Gala alone raised a grand total of $17.4 million, reported Billboard.

This year the price of admission has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Page Six.

Even if you have the funds, that doesn't guarantee you entry into the party.

Every guest has to be invited, and a waiting list exists for the coveted golden ticket.

And status matters, according to The New York Times.

Paris Hilton is among the big names attending in what will be her first Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively, a frequent attendee, announced she will not be at the party.

'I will be watching,' she said, according to People.

Elle Fanning, Kardashian and La La Anthony are among the other celebs attending.

As for Wintour's role in the bash, Vogue's editor-in-chief organizes the party and oversees the guest list and even the menu.

She has served as the Met Gala's chairwoman since 1994 and continues to serve look after look at every event.

Fashion's biggest night is upon us once again, with a slew of stars preparing to walk the iconic staircase in just a matter of hours.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.

While the show may be known for its glitzy and over-the-top red carpet - with details of what occurs inside often remaining mysterious - at its heart, it is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Last year, the 2022 MET Gala alone raised a grand total of $17.4 million, reported Billboard.

This year the price of admission has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Page Six.

Even if you have the funds, that doesn't guarantee you entry into the party.

Every guest has to be invited, and a waiting list exists for the coveted golden ticket.

And status matters, according to The New York Times, meaning the hottest stars are a shoo in for an invite.

Paris Hilton is among the big names attending in what will be her first Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively, a frequent attendee, announced she will not be at the party.

'I will be watching,' she said, according to People.

Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian and La La Anthony are among the other celebs attending.

As for Wintour's role in the bash, Vogue's editor-in-chief organizes the party and oversees the guest list and even the menu.

She has served as the Met Gala's chairwoman since 1994 and continues to serve look after look at every event.
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They are known for their very public displays of affection.

And Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban could not take their eyes off one another as they attended the 2023 Met Gala in New York City on Monday evening.

The actress, 55, nuzzled into her country music star husband, also 55, as he helped her up the stairs of the famous stairs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Moulin Rouge star looked absolutely breathtaking in a pale pink sequinned Chanel gown with dramatic four-metre train crafted from silk tulle and embroidered with 250 pink ostrich feathers and over 3,000 silver crystals and sequins.

The 2023 fashion extravaganza dress code is be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, paying tribute to the late controversial fashion designer.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban packed on the PDA at the Met Gala in New York on Monday

The Moulin Rouge star looked absolutely breathtaking in a pale pink sequinned Chanel gown with a dramatic long feathered train

Nicole wore the same dress, designed by Lagerfeld himself, in her 2004 advertising film for Chanel N5 'Le Film', which was directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Costing a whopping $33 million USD, the extravagant 180-second ad still is considered the most expensive ever made.

At the time, Baz and Nicole were still riding high off their recent success of their film Moulin Rouge!, the aesthetic of which was reflected in the Chanel advertisement.

In the commercial, Kidman played a Hollywood star who desperately wanted to escape the paparazzi.

The story behind Nicole Kidman's Met Gala dress There's a reason why Nicole Kidman's 2023 Met Gala gown looks familiar. The Australian star wore the same dress, designed by Lagerfeld himself, in her advertising film for Chanel N5 'Le Film', which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. Made in 2004 for $33 million USD, the extravagant 180-second ad still is considered the most expensive ever made. At the time, Baz and Nicole were still riding high off their recent success of their film Moulin Rouge!, the aesthetic of which was reflected in the Chanel advertisement. 'That's what a lot of people said to me at the time,' Baz told the Telegraph in 2014 of the similarities between Moulin Rouge! and the Chanel commercial. Nicole wore the same dress, designed by Lagerfeld himself, in her 2004 advertising film for Chanel No.5, titled 'Le Film', which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. (Nicole is pictured in the ad with co-star Rodrigo Santoro) 'I can see why they thought that. I'd been working on 'Moulin Rouge!' so long, it was in my bloodstream.' In the commercial, Kidman played a Hollywood star who desperately wanted to escape the paparazzi. Wearing her iconic pink gown, she flees the red carpet and jumps into a taxi with her on-screen love interest, played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro. The pair enjoy a whirlwind romance forbidden by Nicole's management, with shots showing the couple frolicking on the roof of a skyscraper topped with a statue shaped like the Chanel symbol. Speaking to Vogue of her pink dress, Nicole said: 'I have the most indelible memories of fittings with Karl in the atelier, and I loved witnessing his dedication to his craft. I remember his laugh when he first sketched the dress and handed me the sketch. He always made me laugh. He designed a number of dresses for me, but I think this is the most spectacular.' In the commercial, Kidman played a Hollywood star who desperately wanted to escape the paparazzi Advertisement

Wearing her iconic pink gown, she flees the red carpet and jumps into a taxi with her on-screen love interest, played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro.

Moments after Nicole arrived at The Met, her Instagram page was updated with a video showing behind-the-scenes footage on the set of the 2004 commercial.

It showed Nicole getting fitted in her costumes and chatting to Karl in her dressing room, as well as footage of Baz and Karl working behind the camera.

There were also several shots of Karl sketching the designs for the gowns featured in the ad.

Nicole wore the same dress in her 2004 advertising film for Chanel No.5, titled 'Le Film', which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. (Nicole is pictured in the ad)

'For Karl [love heart emoji] #MetGala,' Nicole captioned the post.

Nicole's show-stopping gown featured tulle ties at her shoulders, which ran down the train like a veil, as well as a modest thigh split at the side.

The A-lister made sure the focus was on her stunning frock by wearing simple black strappy stilettos and a very pared back hair and makeup look.

Her strawberry locks were out in a straight style with a slight wave - a contrast to the dramatic curls she originally wore in her 2004 commercial.

For jewellery, the Australia actress wore a pair of diamond chandelier earrings and a cocktail ring designed by Harry Winston, reportedly 16.64 carats and 2.33 carats respectively.

The actress nuzzled unto her country music star husband as he helped her up the stairs of the famous stairs of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The couple looked like a newly married bride and groom as they Keith guided his wife up the stairs

Nicole was a vision of ethereal beauty as she glided down the red carpet

Keith, who has been married to Nicole for 16 years, beamed as he held his wife's hand in front of The Met's front steps.

His dapper ensemble consisted of a black suit with tails and a pair of flared trousers, paired with a button-up shirt, patent dress shoes and a white skinny tie.

The tattooed rockstar also attached a white flower to his lapel and pinned a diamond brooch to his tie.

Moments after Nicole arrived at The Met, her Instagram page was updated with a video showing behind-the-scenes footage on the set of the 2004 commercial. (Nicole is pictured left in the video trying on her iconic pink dress, and right talking to Karl during filming)

There were also several shots of Karl sketching the designs for the gowns featured in the ad

It marks the first time Nicole and Keith have attended The Met Gala since 2016.

Baz also joined his longtime friend and muse Nicole on the red carpet, looking chic in a black suit with white piping.

The Met Gala will have Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa as the co-chairs, along with Anna Wintour.

Vogue magazine announced the news of the theme in January via their social media and website, writing on Instagram: 'This year, the #MetGala - which benefits the @metmuseum 's @metcostumeinstitute - falls on May 1 and will honor one of fashion's greatest talents: Karl Lagerfeld.'

The dress also features tulle ties at her shoulders, which run down the train like a veil

The couple, who have been married for 17 years and share two children, giggled like teenagers on the carpet

The outlet added that the 2023 theme will be 'in honor of Karl.'

Karl died February 19, 2019 at the age of 85 following complications of pancreatic cancer.

The fashion designer served as the creative designer for Chanel, Fendi as well as his own label.

He also worked with Chloe, Patou and Balmain during his career in fashion.

Nicole's train was lifted by an assistant as she strutted into the event

Her strawberry locks were out in a straight style with a slight wave and she went for a barely-there makeup palette

On its website, Vogue offered some styling advice to those lucky few who will be invited to attend the Met Gala this year, sharing a list of 'approaches' that they can take when it comes to paying homage to Karl.

'The first, most authentic approach would be to wear an archival look from one of the labels Lagerfeld led,' it suggested.

'The second would be to sport modern-day Chanel or Fendi, two houses on which Lagerfeld left an indelible impression.'

The final recommendation was for guests to find their own version of Karl's beloved cat, Choupette, and 'dress a la Lagerfeld'.

Keith's ensemble consisted of a black suit with flared trousers, white button-up shirt, patent dress shoes and a white skinny tie

'Lagerfeld, we guess, would have hated a half-hearted homage, and with such an immense oeuvre, guests shouldn't have any trouble unearthing a one-of-a-kind piece,' it continued.

Karl, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, moved to Paris in 1953.

He won a contest held by the International Wool Secretariat in the coat category for his designer, alongside Yves Saint Laurent, who won in the dress category.

Soon after, he was hired as the assistant and later apprentice for Pierre Balmain; he worked with Pierre for three years.

Baz Luhrmann also joined his longtime friend and muse Nicole on the red carpet, looking chic in a black suit with white piping

In 1958, Karl was hired as Jean Patou's artistic director and worked on ten haute couture collections with the brand, according to Business of Fashion.

In 1964, Karl began freelancing for Chloe; Three years later, he began working with Fendi.

In 1983, he started working with Chanel, bringing the fashion house back to life with the now iconic interlocked CC logo, changing the sizes of the bags and jewelry and updating the silhouette of clothing for the brand.

Karl began his own brand Karl Lagerfeld in 1984.

Baz adjusted the train of Nicole's gown, which he custom made for her to wear in her 2004 commercial for Chanel fragrances

The Met Gala was founded in 1948 by Eleanor Lambert, a fashion publicist; she founded it as a fundraiser for the Costume Institute ahead of its first annual exhibit.

The gala was attended by members of high society and the fashion industry.

From 1948 to 1972 the gala took place at Central Park, the Waldorf Astoria and Rainbow Room.

In 1972, Diana Vreeland became the Costume Institute consultant; the attendees became more celebrity oriented.

Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Madonna and more were on the guest list for previous Galas.

Anna, the Editor in Chief of Vogue, took over the chairperson position for the Gala in 1995 and has continued since.

Every year Anna co-chairs the event with high profile attendees; last year her co-chairs were Blake Lively, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Regina King.
Ariana De Bose wowed in yellow silk and fur as she did the 'thing' at the 2023 Met Gala on Monday in NYC.

The star, 32, who went viral with her rap at the BAFTAs earlier this year, looked incredible in an off-the-shoulder yellow gown which cinched in at her toned waist.

The dress boasted black felt panels and extravagant furry trim with bejeweled sleeves as she posed.

The outfit also featured an elegant skirt which flowed into a chic train for the red carpet.

The Oscar-winner wore her locks in a stylish updo and sported dramatic smoky eye make-up.

Wow: Ariana De Bose wowed in yellow silk and fur as she did the 'thing' at the 2023 Met Gala on Monday in NYC

Fashion's biggest night is upon us once again, with a slew of stars preparing to walk the iconic staircase in just a matter of hours.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

Stunning: The star, 32, who went viral with her rap at the BAFTAs earlier this year, looked incredible in an off-the-shoulder yellow gown which cinched in at her toned waist

Yikes: Viewers were left stunned following Ariana's opening performance at the 76th EE British Academy Film Awards

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.

While the show may be known for its glitzy and over-the-top red carpet - with details of what occurs inside often remaining mysterious - at its heart, it is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Last year, the 2022 MET Gala alone raised a grand total of $17.4 million, reported Billboard.

This year the price of admission has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000, according to Page Six.

Even if you have the funds, that doesn't guarantee you entry into the party.

Every guest has to be invited, and a waiting list exists for the coveted golden ticket.

And status matters, according to The New York Times, meaning the hottest stars are a shoo in for an invite.

Paris Hilton is among the big names attending in what will be her first Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively, a frequent attendee, announced she will not be at the party.

'I will be watching,' she said, according to People.

Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian and La La Anthony are among the other celebs attending.

As for Wintour's role in the bash, Vogue's editor-in-chief organizes the party and oversees the guest list and even the menu.

She has served as the Met Gala's chairwoman since 1994 and continues to serve look after look at every event.
After wining and dining at the annual Met Gala on Monday, the A-list celebrities will continue the party in Soho, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

The official Met Gala after-party will be hosted by Chanel and held at Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel in Soho.

The restaurant is created by Scott Sartiano, a restauranteur and club owner known for hotspots such as 1Oak, Up & Down, The Darby, Butter and his exclusive social club Zero Bond, which opened in 2020.

Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel has not yet opened to the public, with the Met Gala after-party offering A-listers a first glimpse at the establishment.

While it's unclear when the after-party will get started, Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel will be THE place for all of the A-listers attending the annual bash, including Olivia Wilde, who was spotted leaving the Mark Hotel for the Gala earlier today.

After-party: The official Met Gala after-party will be hosted by Chanel and held at Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel in Soho

Soho party: After wining and dining at the annual Met Gala on Monday, the A-list celebrities will continue the party in Soho, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal

Scott: The restaurant is created by Scott Sartiano, a restauranteur and club owner known for hotspots such as 1Oak, Up & Down, The Darby, Butter and his exclusive social club Zero Bond, which opened in 2020

Olivia: While it's unclear when the after-party will get started, Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel will be THE place for all of the A-listers attending the annual bash, including Olivia Wilde, who was spotted leaving the Mark Hotel for the Gala earlier today

Celebs such as Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady and even Mayor Eric Adams himself have been spotted at Sartiano's exclusive Zero Bond club since it opened in 2020.

Sartiano even teased the opening of his new restaurant Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel on his Instagram last week, with new snaps of the establishment.

'Coming soon. Summer in Soho,' Sartiano said in his post, tagging @sartianos and @mercerhotel.

The official Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel Instagram also shared snaps of the front door, while revealing it's opening to the public in June 2023.

It was also announced last year that Sartiano, 48, was named to the board of trustees for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, appointed by New York City mayor Eric Adams.

'When serving on the art and institutions committee of Community Board 2, I helped support several art and museum projects,' Sartiano said in a statement.

'Ive been an art enthusiast my whole life, and am committed to serving this city and the board with the utmost respect,' he added.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Coming soon: 'Coming soon. Summer in Soho,' Sartiano said in his post, tagging @sartianos and @mercerhotel

Teased: Sartiano even teased the opening of his new restaurant Sartiano's at The Mercer Hotel on his Instagram last week, with new snaps of the establishment

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.
YouTuber Emma Chamberlain opted for a leggy look for her third consecutive time serving as Vogue's livestream special correspondent at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's $50K/ticket Costume Institute benefit in Manhattan on Monday.

The Cali-born content creator - turning 22 this month - wore a powder blue Miu Miu cropped blazer over a silver top and a belted maxi-skirt featuring a hip-high slit.

Emma completed her eccentric attire with a preppy blue headband, blue peep-toe platforms over white socks, and diamond jewelry selected by stylist Jared Ellner.

'I love doing a big jewelry moment at the Met,' Chamberlain - who wore Louis Vuitton the last two years - told Vogue last month.

'[This year I'll go] more suit-y...but it's such a process.'

She's got a leg up! YouTuber Emma Chamberlain opted for a leggy look for her third consecutive time serving as Vogue's livestream special correspondent at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's $50K/ticket Costume Institute benefit in Manhattan on Monday.

Make-up artist Kelsey Deenihan Fisher applied the Lancome brand ambassador's blue eye shadow and defined her natural bushy brows for the Met Gala celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition.

Hairstylist Sami Knight gave Emma's short brunette bob a big boost with waist-length hair extensions.

At last year's Met Gala, Cartier dressed Chamberlain in a controversial diamond choker which reportedly wound up being 'stolen' from the collection of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, India during the colonial era.

The Chamberlain Coffee founder - who boasts 28M Instagram/YouTube followers - later changed into a bra-flashing, belly-baring, black version of her Miu Miu skirt suit and black headband in order to interview celebrities for Vogue.

Fashion's biggest night is upon us once again, with a slew of stars preparing to walk the iconic staircase in just a matter of hours.

The 2023 Met Gala will be returning to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday evening, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton set to attend the annual fundraising event.

Since 1948, stars have ascended the majestic staircase into a very exclusive party where no selfies are allowed.

In keeping with tradition, the event will be held on the first Monday of May. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30PM EST on May 1, 2023.

Leggy lady: The Cali-born content creator - turning 22 this month - wore a powder blue Miu Miu cropped blazer over a silver top and a belted maxi-skirt featuring a hip-high slit

In the spotlight: Emma completed her eccentric attire with a preppy blue headband, blue peep-toe platforms over white socks, and diamond jewelry selected by stylist Jared Ellner

Chamberlain - who wore Louis Vuitton the last two years - told Vogue last month: 'I love doing a big jewelry moment at the Met. [This year I'll go] more suit-y...but it's such a process'

Baby blues: Make-up artist Kelsey Deenihan Fisher applied the Lancome brand ambassador's blue eye shadow and defined her natural bushy brows for the Met Gala celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition

Illusion: Hairstylist Sami Knight gave Emma's short brunette bob a big boost with waist-length hair extensions

Oops! At last year's Met Gala, Cartier dressed Chamberlain in a controversial diamond choker which reportedly wound up being 'stolen' from the collection of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, India during the colonial era

On the mic! The Chamberlain Coffee founder - who boasts 28M Instagram/YouTube followers - later changed into a bra-flashing, belly-baring, black version of her Miu Miu skirt suit and black headband in order to interview celebrities for Vogue

Fans can watch the event unfold in real-time via a livestream on Vogue.

This year, the ball's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The late German designer was Chanel's long-time creative director. He passed at age 85 in 2019.

His beloved cat, Choupette, has even been invited to the festivities.

The decision to honor Karl has sparked controversy given the many offensive remarks he has made over the years, from slamming the #MeToo movement to opposing same-sex marriage.

'Im against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life,' he told Vice of same-sex marriage.

'Its difficult to imagineone of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I dont know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.'

While he ultimately showed his support for same-sex marriage at his spring 2013 Chanel haute couture show, he still said he was 'less keen' on same-sex couples adopting children, according to AP.

Along with the Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, who runs and hosts the annual event, the 2023 MET Gala will also be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and also Roger Federer.
Jess Wright enjoyed spending some quality time with her family during a luxurious trip to Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The former TOWIE star, 37, shared a sweet carousel of snaps to Instagram with her son Presley and husband William Lee-Kemp.

She showed off her slim physique in a stunning blue patterned swimsuit, while accessorising with a stylish straw hat.

Jess held a happy Presley in her arms while posing for pictures on a picturesque beach.

She also posted a loved-up snap of her and William sharing a passionate kiss during date night.

'Let's make some memories': Jess Wright enjoyed spending some quality time with her family during a luxurious trip to Abu Dhabi on Sunday

Romance: She posted a loved-up snap of her and William sharing a passionate kiss during date night

It appears Jess' mother Carol joined the family on holiday as she was also pictured with her grandson.

Presley looked adorable in a pair of orange Cozy Crew Club sunglasses and a beige hat while chilling in his pram.

Alongside the sweet snaps, Jess penned: 'A rare 'us' moment Holidays are very different with a child

'It means get ready & get out the door as soon as you can, ensuring you have every gadget & gizmo, bottles, dummy's, toys etc etc & make up & heels are a thing of the past, just keepin it real because as picturesque as this may look

'It comes with a whole lotta non chill activities. I wouldn't change it for the world, his little face'

On a second post, Jess wrote: 'It took an army of luggage, 2 trips to the doctor & a long old flight of entertaining to get here but we made it, now let's make some memories baby boy'

She became a mother for the first time in May last year, welcoming son Presley with husband William Lee-Kemp.

And Jess recently detailed how she has found adjusting to motherhood, sharing that it has come with its sacrifices.

The reality star shared that while it is difficult to give up jobs and activities she did before becoming a parent, it also comes with so many rewards.

Adorable: The former TOWIE star, 37, shared a sweet carousel of snaps to Instagram with her son Presley, who looked adorable in Cozy Crew Club sunglasses and a hat

Gorgeous: She showed off her slim physique in a stunning blue patterned swimsuit, while accessorising with a stylish straw hat

Family: It appears Jess' mother Carol joined the family on holiday as she was also pictured with her grandson

Alongside the sweet snaps, Jess penned: 'A rare 'us' moment Holidays are very different with a child'

She continued: 'It comes with a whole lotta non chill activities. I wouldn't change it for the world, his little face'

Dubbing it a 'different way of life', she added that she has 'slowed down' work wise while focusing on raising Presley.

Jess also touched on the decision to freeze her eggs, which she made after her mother went through an early menopause at aged 41.

Talking on how she juggles work-life since giving birth, Jess shared: 'Ive got a million things Id love to do. So Im one of those people that even though Im a mother, Im not going to stop there.

'I'll still try and do what I used to be able to do before, which is hard, because when you loved doing what you were doing before, you kind of slow down and its really difficult to give up.'

Assuring that it is also a blessing, she continued: 'And a lot of mums do say that  my life before, I now have to make sacrifices which Im openly admitting.

'It is difficult to know that you have to break that kind of thing, but at the same side you get so many rewards with a baby. Its just a different way of life.'

Jess fell pregnant naturally soon after making the decision to freeze her embryos, not needing to use them.

Explaining the reason behind this decision, the TV star continued: 'My mum went through early menopause. So we froze our embryos just in case before the wedding, and I fell pregnant like that which was mental.

Parents: She and husband William Lee-Kemp welcomed their son in May 2022

Labour: Jess fell pregnant naturally soon after making the decision to freeze her embryos, not needing to use them

'So weve got embryos so theres no pressure thank God. You have to have these concerns dont you? My mum had my sister [Natalya] at 40 and then entered the menopause at 41. Life is mad and you dont expect it.'

Jess shared that Channel 4 presenter Zoe Hardman, who has openly spoken out about going through early menopause, was the one who prompted her to make the decision.

She explained: 'Zoe Hardman was my redemption. She was the one who woke me up to it because she and her sister went through menopause at 34 and 37.

'And thats when I was like oh s***, that could be me because my mum did as well really early. So thats what made us freeze our embryos.'
Michael J. Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis at 29 in 1991, all the while devoting himself to finding a cure through his foundation.

And in a new interview with CBS Sunday Mornings, Fox, spoke candidly about his health.

The Back to the Future star, now 61, told the anchor that Parkinson's 'is the gift that keeps on taking'.

Fox retired from acting in 2020 due to his symptoms - which have included tremors, impaired movement, coordination and muscle stiffness.

He has now confesses that life with Parkinson's is 'getting tougher; every day it gets tougher.'

Tough: Michael J. Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis at 29 in 1991, all the while devoting himself to finding a cure through his foundation

Disease: In a new interview with CBS Sunday Mornings, The Back to the Future star, now 61, told the anchor that Parkinson's 'is the gift that keeps on taking'

He added: 'My life is set up so I can pack Parkinson's along with me if I have to,' he tells journalist Jane Pauley.

'You've not squandered any of your capacity, but at some point Parkinson's going to call for you isn't it?' Pauly said bluntly of Fox's mortality.

What is Parkinson's ? Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative condition. The illness effects the nerve cells in the brain that control movement. Over time the symptoms gradually get worse. It can cause symptoms related to movement as well as pain, depression and loss of smell. Most people who get Parkinson's are over 60, but one in ten are under 50 and it affects more men than women. What causes the symptoms? Nerve cells in the brain send messages to the rest of out body to control our movements. This is done using chemicals called neurotransmitters. An area of the brain called the substantia nigra produces one of the neurotransmitters that controls movement: dopamine. But in 70 to 80 per cent of people with Parkinson's these dopamine producing cells deteriorate and die. The loss of dopamine-producing neurons results in low levels of dopamine in the part of the brain that controls movement and balance. Source: Parkinson's Europe Advertisement

'Yea, it's banging on the door,' the father-of-four responded. 'I mean, I'm not going to lie it's going to hurt.'

On top of dealing with the incurable disease, the actor has also had number of other serious health concerns and injuries over the years.

'I had spinal surgery. I had a tumor on my spine. And it was benign, but it messed up my walking. And then, started to break stuff,' he shared, before revealing a series of scary injuries.

'Broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand. Which is a big killer with Parkinson's.

'It's falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that get ya,' he explained.

It's at this point that he got very honest about the time he has left on Earth.

'You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. So I've been thinking about the mortality of it. I'm not gonna be 80. I'm not gonna be 80,' he said.

Parkinson's is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world and there is currently no cure. However, knowing the symptoms of Parkinson's can lead to earlier diagnoses and access to treatments that improve patients' quality of life.

Around 90,000 Americans and 18,000 Brits are diagnosed every year, with charities estimating that one in 37 people alive today will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

He went on to talk about the advancements that research has made for Parkinson's, which comes just two days after the Michael J. Fox Foundation held its benefit dinner in Nashville, Tennessee that was dubbed A Country Thing: Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's.

Local stars Little Big Town and Brad Paisley were among the performers to lend their support and take the stage for a night of music and comedy after a seated dinner.

The annual charity event has helped propel the Michael J. Fox Foundation to become the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson's disease research in the world, with more than $1 billion of research projects to date.

'My life is set up so I can pack Parkinson's along with me if I have to,' he tells journalist Jane Pauley

Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis at 29 in 1991, all the while devoting himself to finding a cure through his foundation; seen on April 26

Established in 2000, Fox foundation is not only dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease, it also concentrates on funding research and ensuring the development of improved therapies for the estimated five million people living with Parkinson's disease today.

'We operate with focus and determination in everything we do. We won't stop until a cure is found,' according to the foundation's official website .

April has long been observed as Parkinson's Awareness Month, as it is the birth month of James Parkinson, the London physician who was the first to describe Parkinson's disease in 1817.

Fox's interview with Jane Pauley for CBS Sunday Morning is slated to air on Sunday, April 30.
Sofia Richie looked glowing as she shared more pictures from her $2,000-a-night Maldives honeymoon with husband Elliot Grainge on Monday.

The newlywed, 24, posted snaps of herself as she nailed the perfect tropical look, days after tying the knot in a multimillion dollar ceremony at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, on April 22.

The model looked sensational in a $582 white embroidered cotton t-shirt by Magda Butrym and a matching embroidered mini skirt.

The socialite accessorised the ensemble with a pair of beige flower-shaped sunglasses and gold hoop earrings.

Sofia showed off her toned legs and sported white flip flops while posing up a storm at One&Only Reethi Rah's Grand Sunset Residence.

Wow! Sofia Richie looked glowing as she shared more pictures from her $2,000-a-night Maldives honeymoon with husband Elliot Grainge on Monday

Tropical look: The newlywed, 24, posted snaps of herself as she nailed the perfect tropical look, looking sensational in a $582 white embroidered cotton t-shirt by Magda Butrym

Sofia appeared relaxed and carefree as she posed in front of a tropical background, under a shower made of palm tree bark.

The daughter of music legend Lionel Richie displayed her natural beauty in a sun-kissed selfie as she went make-up free.

The socialite kept her golden tresses in a messy ponytail, as she looked carefree and relaxed.

The last snap captured her essentials of her tropical days - including a $1,877 embroidered Prada tote bag and glamorous sunglasses.

Sofia and her music executive husband, 29, have shelled out over $2,000 per night to stay at One&Only Reethi Rah's Grand Sunset Residence, a 22,809-square-foot two-villa beachfront property which has two swimming pools and sleeps up to 10.

The socialite has been giving her fans plenty of eye-watering footage from the ultra-luxury resort - including a romantic dinner on the beach on Sunday night.

The newlyweds enlisted their very own private chef to create a menu including custom cocktails called 'The Elliot' (tequila, agave, lime juice, can be made spicy) and 'The Sofia' (vodka, fresh blackberries, lime, ginger beer, and mint).

Sofia and Elliot - who began dating in January 2021 - then dined on a creamy fettuccini alfredo-style pasta.

Glowing: The socialite accessorised the ensemble with a pair of beige flower-shaped sunglasses and gold hoop earrings

Essentials: The last snap captured her essentials of her tropical days - including a $1,877 embroidered Prada tote bag and glamorous sunglasses

The model and her partner married at the luxury Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the French Riviera on April 22, one year after getting engaged.

On her big day, the model looked sensational in a beaded ivory gown as her dad sweetly walked her down a flight of stairs.

The blushing bride - who had a total of three Chanel dresses for her wedding weekend - wore a delicate gown with iridescent white sequins and a criss-cross neckline, which was inspired by a look from Chanel's fall 2023 collection.

The A-list guest list also included her older sibling Nicole Richie, her rocker husband Joel Madden and sister-in-law Cameron Diaz, who is married to his twin brother Benji Madden.

The couple started dating in early 2021 and they went Instagram official in April 2021.

Sofia and Elliot got engaged in April 2022, taking to Instagram at the time to announce the news as they shared snaps of the sweet candlelight proposal.

They have been family friends for years and Elliot is also close with Sofia's brother, Miles.
The troops also recovered one PKT gun with 48 rounds of 7.62mm x 54 ammunition, three AK 47 rifles, three magazines with 63 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and three motorcycles.

Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji on Sunday neutralised three bandits in an ambush at the Anka-Dan Kapani crossing in the Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Musa Danmadami, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Danmadami, a major general, said the troops also recovered one PKT gun with 48 rounds of 7.62mm x 54 ammunition, three AK 47 rifles, three magazines with 63 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and three motorcycles.

"The military high command commends troops and encourages the public to avail troops with credible and timely information on terrorist and all criminal activities within their area," he said.

Zamafara, like most states in the North-west of the country, has been a hotbed of bandits and insurgents who maim, rustle cattle, kill and kidnap people for ransom despite the efforts of the military to curtail their activities.
Convicted of daylight lynching of Krishnaiah, Anand Mohans premature release is a blow to the IAS officers family, to justice and a slap to civil servants

There can be nothing more heinous than the lynching of a public servant on duty, by a rowdy mob, in broad daylight, in a public place. That the public functionary was the District Magistrate, the highest executive of the district and that the leader of the mob was an elected political leader makes this case even more shocking and significant.

The killing of Indian Administrative Service officer Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj in Bihar, on December 5, 1994, must rank as the equivalent of a Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in the annals of public administration because of its imperiousness, senselessness and brutality. That civil servants across the length and breadth of the country are anguished by the premature release from behind bars of Anand Mohan, the prime accused, is only natural.

This is not just a blow to justice and to the family of the officer, but a slap to the civil servants across the nation. It will cast a lasting and disheartening spell on the civil serviceif allowed to pass, it will further demoralise civil servants forever. That Krishaniah was a Dalit from a poor social background, does not lend extra salience to this case, because a civil servant on duty is casteless, wedded only to the Constitution.

Civil servants make up the spinal cord that holds a governmental framework together, imparting interoperability and resilience to all other organs. Sardar Patel recognised the value of civil servants. While exhorting them to be impartial and fair in their approach, he also made it clear that governments should be able to keep civil servants happy and content so that they are in a position to give their best.

Woodrow Wilson, who is recognised in America as the father of public administration, spoke at length about the importance and sanctity of civil service.

And yet, we have a case of the main accused in the murder of the District Magistrate being released prematurely in contravention of law. There are many legal grounds that make the remission of the sentence unjustifiable.

The Supreme Court has held the view that for persons convicted of murder, life imprisonment is the rule and death sentence an exception, and a balance between aggravating and mitigating circumstances has to be drawn out. In the famous Macchi Singh case, of killings in Punjab, in 1983, the Supreme Court invoked the concept of community and put itself in the shoes of the community and spoke of collective conscience, when awarding the death sentence to the accused.

The Supreme Court has subsequently also looked at what would define the magnitude of the crime as being enormous. In the Swami Shraddhanand case of Karnataka, in 2006, it has enumerated one of these instances as when the victim is a public figure generally loved and respected by the community for the services rendered by him and the murder is committed for political or similar reasons other than personal reasons. It has also recognised that the sentence of imprisonment shall last as long as life lasts, where there are exceptional indications of murderous recidivism and the community cannot run the risk of the convict being at large. This takes care of judicial apprehensions that unless physically liquidated the culprit may at some remote time repeat murder.

Thus, the Supreme Court has drawn a distinction, based on the circumstances of the crime, the background of the accused and the nature of the victim, between imprisonment for life that should not be commuted and routine life imprisonment that is subject to remission. It has held that once subjected to permanent imprisonment for life, there should not be a case for remission. It has observed, No other rule has been brought to our notice which confers an indefeasible right on a prisoner sentenced to transportation for life to an unconditional release on the expiry of a particular term including remissions. The rules under the Prisons Act do not substitute a lesser sentence for a sentence of transportation for life a sentence for life would ensure till the lifetime of the accused as it is not possible to fix a particular period the prisoners death and remissions given under the Rules could not be regarded as a substitute for a sentence of transportation for life.

In the present case, Anand Mohan was awarded a death sentence by the Sessions Court at the end of a 13-year trial. On appeal, the Patna High Court commuted that to Rigorous Imprisonment for life. On his further appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence of Rigorous Imprisonment for Life. That gave the sentence finality. As elucidated in earlier judgments of the Supreme Court, imprisonment for life means full natural course of life and cannot be mechanically interpreted to be 14 years. This has been further reaffirmed in various judgments such as those of Constitutional benches in Maru Ram v. Union of India and Union of India v. Sriharan. Therefore, the grant of remission by the State of Bihar undertaken through its executive order of April 24, 2023 flies in the face of earlier rulings of the Supreme Court.

Even as per the Bihar Prison Manual, this order of remission is wrong. Rule 481(1)(c) of the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, provides that convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life sentence will be eligible for consideration of remission only after completion of 20 years of sentence. In this case, Anand Mohan was finally handed a Rigorous Imprisonment for Life that was confirmed by the Apex Court. Because Anand Mohan had served only 14 years of incarceration, he was not eligible to be considered for remission.

Besides, the policy of remission applicable at the time of conviction has to be considered for deciding the application of premature release as per the Supreme Court. In the present case, there was a notification that stated that there would be no remission for those Convicts who had been guilty of murder of civil servants on duty. Therefore, the Bihar government could not have overlooked the case and amended the Jail Manual with retrospective effect to cause the release of Anand Mohan. Besides being patently illegal such an order is sheer capitulation to criminal forces and thereby a public admission of compromised governance.

This order of the Bihar Government merits being challenged. It should be pointed out that it is based on extraneous political considerations and therefore deserves to be declared unreasonable, arbitrary, unfair, and struck down. A Government that lowers the morale of civil servants and vitiates the rule of law carves out its own perdition. As for civil servants like G Krishnaiah who lay down their lives while in office, one remembers the words of Tennyson, When can their glory fade?

(The author is a former Secretary to the Government of India)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hand over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives as Indias gift during his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3.

The Defence Ministry said this on Sunday, noting that Singhs visit to the Maldives will be an important landmark in building strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.

The Maldives is one of Indias key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.

Indias decision to provide the military platforms to the Maldives came amid Chinas persistent efforts to expand its overall influence in the region.

During his visit, Singh is scheduled to call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold talks with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Defence Minister Mariya Didi.

In tune with Indias commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will gift one fast patrol vessel ship and a landing craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces, the ministry said in a statement.

Singh is also set to take stock of the implementation of various India-assisted projects in the Maldives and will interact with the Indian diaspora.

India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters, the ministry said.

Indias vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) along with its Neighbourhood First policy as well as Maldives India First policy seek to work together to jointly develop the capabilities within the Indian Ocean region, it added.

On Singhs talks with the Maldivian defence and foreign ministers, it said the entire gamut of defence relations between the two countries will be reviewed.

The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of Indias Neighbourhood First policy.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the project, a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect Maldivian capital Male with the adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane visited the Maldives last month and held talks with his Maldivian counterpart, Major General Abdulla Shamaal.
Stating that citizens mentioned in his monthly radio programme Mann ki Baat become inspiration to each other, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said whether it is about Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, or the Swachh Bharat movement, love for Khadi , Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav or Amrit Sarovar, any subject it got associated with was turned into a mass movement by the people of the country.

The Prime Ministers radio programme Mann Ki Baat completed its 100th episode on Sunday. The milestone was regarded as historic as the episode was also broadcast live at the United Nations headquarters in New York and the UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, featured in the 100th episode too. Azoulay has hailed the radio programme, saying it is certainly one of the most celebrated, with its hundreds of millions of listeners in more than 50 languages and dialects.

Mann Ki Baat, the programme hosted by Modi was first aired on October 3, 2014 within months of his becoming the Prime Minister. Modi expressed his deep satisfaction for completing the 100th chapter of the talk. Mann Ki Baat has become a spiritual journey of my being, said Modi, while recounting several episodes and individuals who were recognised by the programme. The Prime Minister said each episode of the programne has become like a festival, awaited by all each month. Mann Ki Baat has become a unique festival of goodness and positivity of the countrymen.

A festival that comes every month, keenly awaited by all of us. We celebrate positivity in this. We also celebrate peoples participation in this , he said. Modi also said Mann Ki Baat is the Mann Ki Baat of crores of Indians, it is the expression of their feelings.

An emotional Prime Minister said for me Mann Ki Baat is not a program, for me it is a matter of faith, of worship, or Vrat. Like when people go to worship God, they bring along a Thaal of Prasad. For me, Mann Ki Baat is like a Thaal of Prasad at the feet of God in the form of Janata-Janardan, the people. Mann Ki Baat has become a spiritual journey of my being.

In the centurion episode, Modi spoke, among others, to Sunil Jugran from Haryana who attained fame for his selfie with daughter, Vijay Shanti from Manipur who spins thread from lotus flower and Pradeep Sangwan, doing pioneering work of collecting garbage left behind by the tourists in Himalayas.

Today we are completing the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat with the same spirit of Charaiveti Charaiveti. In strengthening the social fabric of India, Mann Ki Baat is like the thread of a rosary, holding each bead together, said the Prime Minister.

In every episode, the spirit of service and capability of the countrymen have inspired others. In this program, every countryman becomes an inspiration to other countrymen. In a way, every episode of Mann Ki Baat prepares the ground for the next episode, said Modi.

The Prime Minister said he has an unwavering belief that the biggest change can be brought about by collective effort.

Through Mann Ki Baat, many mass movements have come into being and gained momentum. For example, the very mission to re-establish our toys and our toy industry started with Mann Ki Baat. The beginning of raising awareness about Indian breed dogs, our native dogs, was also started with Mann Ki Baat only, he sought to point-out.
BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, tuned in on Sunday from various locations in India and abroad to listen to the historic 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat, calling it an inspiring initiative to connect with the masses. The party had said that nearly four lakh venues would be set up for people to listen to the broadcast as it went all out to make the 100th episode a mega exercise in public connect.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after listening to the programme with BJP members and others in Mumbai, said through Mann Ki Baat, Modi crafts messages that venture into the nooks and corners of the nation, building bridges between the people and the government. The Minister said as the monthly radio programme completed its 100th episode on Sunday, it has left a splendid trail of impactful leadership examples. Mann Ki Baat is not just a radio programme but a movement for social change for the better, Shah tweeted.

Modi jis words to achievers have inspired the young generation to take charge of the nations destiny and build a better future for all, he said and added that platforming dialogues on different regions, languages and dialects, he strengthens Indias social democracy.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar joined members of the Indian community in Somerset, New Jersey, in the US at a special event to listen to the 100th episode of the programme. Mann Ki Baat is the story of a changing India - a New India - and is a connection between India and the world, he said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who listened to the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat at the BJP headquarters here, termed it historic. The programme strengthens mutual trust and development as well as connects people through radio, he said.

BJP national president JP Nadda tweeted, Listened to the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji in Honnali, Karnataka.

Mann Ki Baat has led a transformative change in our society by popularising the stories of the people who have come up with inspiring solutions for the nations welfare, he said.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also called the 100th episode of programme historic and said this episode like those in the past was special and inspiring.

Whichever topic the prime minister took up in his radio broadcast, became a mass movement, he tweeted after listening to Mann Ki Baat in Nagpur.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, who was in Punjab, said in a series of tweets, Today the world became witness to the historic 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat, a programme which is completely non-political, completely dedicated to the people, completely dedicated to social welfare and upliftment.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi adityanath, who is in Karnataka for election campaigning, listened to the radio broadcast in Koppal district, while deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak listened to Mann ki Baat in Prayagraj and Shravasti respectively.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel listened to the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann ki Baat radio broadcast and also inaugurated a photo exhibition at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday. A special programme was held at the Raj Bhawan on the occasion of the 100th episode of Mann ki Baat.

Interestingly, the radio programme was broadcast live in more than 300 madrasas of Uttar Pradesh, a BJP office-bearer in the State said on Sunday.
In a tragic incident, 11 people, including two children, died, while four others were left critical on Sunday morning after inhaling poisonous gas at Ludhianas Giaspura area. The incident sent a wave of panic and fear among the locals who confined themselves to their homes, shutting all doors and windows in order to avoid the possibility of inhaling the gas.

Giaspura is a thickly-populated area with several industrial and residential buildings and heavy migrant population. Authorities are suspecting that dumping of some chemicals in the sewer led to the noxious emission.

Four more persons, who were taken ill, are undergoing treatment at a hospital, officials said, adding the area was sealed, the residents were evacuated and a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was at the spot following the incident.

Though the source of the leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained, the officials said that they suspected that the poisonous gas was released after some chemical was disposed of in the sewerage in the area and reacted with methane.

All the victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and had been staying in Ludhiana.

The incident came to light Sunday morning when some people who came to a local grocery store to buy milk started fainting. Four persons died on the spot while others were rushed to the hospital. Among the dead were three members of the family that owned the store and five from another. Police said five females and six males were among the dead.

The Punjab Government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 for those rendered sick by exposure to the gas.

Taking stock of the situation in the area and civil hospitals, the State Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told him to reach the spot and ensure the best treatment for those admitted in hospitals.

The families of the deceased and other affected families have the Governments unwavering supportFour of the patients, being treated in civil hospitals, are out of danger now, he added. At the same time, the Minister said that exemplary action would be taken against the perpetrators. Later, the Health Minister also visited the affected area in Giaspura.

Even as the investigators were yet to ascertain the source of gas leakage and the type of gas, the preliminary reports indicate that the deaths were caused due to neurotoxicity that occurs when the exposure to natural or manmade toxic substances (neurotoxicants) alters the normal activity of the nervous system that includes brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

The nature of gas was neuro-toxicAs per the medical examination till now, the deaths were not caused by suffocation but by the harmful effect of the gas on the nervous system of the victims, said Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Dr Hatinder Kaur.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik said: It is likely that deaths happened due to gas contamination. Now the teams are going to collect samples from manholes. It is likely that some chemical has reacted with methane.

Malik added that the deaths were caused due to the release of neuro toxins at the spot. All these aspects are being verified. NDRF is engaged in process of extracting samples from manholes. These samples will be tested for various chemicals. The entire area has been evacuated and the surrounding area has been cordoned off, she said.

We request the people not to spread or believe in rumours. Please stay away from this area till further update, she added.

Meanwhile, Ludhiana police have registered an FIR under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sahnewal police station against unknown persons.

As per the FIR, it is suspected that some unknown persons dumped industrial waste illegally into the sewage which led to a chemical reaction and toxic gas was produced leading to deaths.

In a similar incident in June 2015, five people were killed and at least 100 others fell ill after ammonia gas had leaked from a tanker in Doraha town of the Ludhiana district.

It is likely that there is some gas contamination. We are collecting samples from manholes. It is quite likely that some chemical reacted with methane in manholes, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik told reporters.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh Bains said, A broken manhole has been found in the area and there was a strong smell emanating from it. There is a possibility that the chemical has been poured into the sewerage from that point.

Through the public address system, people are being called to stay away from the area. Police also deployed drones to check for other victims who could be lying unconscious.

The deceased were identified as Abhay (13), Aryan (10), Kalpna (16), Kamlesh (60), Varsha (35), Sourav (35), Preety (31), Kavilash (40), Navneet (39), Neetu Devi (39) and an unidentified person.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed outside the mortuary of the civil hospital, where the bodies were brought for post-mortem.
Sharply attacking the BJPs political rivals in the closely-fought Karnataka election battle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Congress and the JD(S) are symbols of instability. Congress-ruled States, the Prime Minister said, are popular for fights among its leaders, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are the examples and the JD(S) is the B-team of the Congress and it wants to join Congress in looting Karnataka.

On the second-day of his public rallies in Karnatakas Belur in Kolar district, Modi saidKarnatakas Congress unit works round the clock for one family sitting in Delhi.For every decision, they need to have a green signal from that family, said Modi hitting-out at the dynastic politics in the State. The JD(S) is a private limited party of a single family. Theyre spending their energies on welfare of their family, Modi said. Modi also held a road-show in Mysuru, winding up his whirlwind two-day campaign tour of Karnataka during which he addressed six public rallies.

He again came down heavily on the Congress for drawing parallels between a snake and himself, and said that the people of Karnataka will give the party a befitting answer in the forthcoming Assembly elections. They are comparing me with snake and seeking votes from people.

For me, people of the country are a form of Lord Shiva. I accept being the snake on the neck of god-like public. The people of Karnataka will give them a befitting answer on May 10, said the Prime Minister.

Earlier in a rally at Channapatna in Ramanagara district in South Karnataka, he attacked the Congress and JD(S) and said dynastic Congress and JD(S) were responsible for political instability in Karnataka. He alleged that both parties saw Karnataka as an ATM, and that they found an opportunity in instability. The Congress and the JD(S) are responsible for the instability. They pretend to be two separate parties but are one in their hearts. They are together in Delhi. They assist each other in Parliament, he said.

Meanwhile, speaking in Udupi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the people of Karnataka should choose a BJP Government instead of a reverse gear Government of the Congress.

Karnataka is slated for Assembly elections on May 10. The results will be out on May 13.
The chairman of the party in the state, Sunday Oginni, announced on Sunday at a press conference held at the party secretariat in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Ogun State has withdrawn its petition against the victory of Governor Dapo Abiodun, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the 18 March election.

The chairman of the party in the state, Sunday Oginni, made the announcement on Sunday at a press conference held at the party secretariat in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The party had filed a petition against Mr Abiodun, APC and INEC before the tribunal over the alleged omission of the party's name on the ballot papers for the governorship election by INEC.

This, according to the party, was a violation of the Electoral Act.

But, the chairman of the party, while addressing journalists on Sunday declared that "the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Ogun state chapter under the leadership of Comrade Olaposi Oginni hereby step out of court and withdraw the suit with petition number:EPT/OG/GOV/01/2023."

Details later...
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Sunday announced the formation of the Delhi unit of the party. The move aims to expand its reach in the national Capital and it may align with the BJP.

At a meeting here, several senior and veteran leaders from various political parties joined the party and were welcomed into the party fold by senior Shiv Sena leader and former Union Minister Anandrao Adsul. Adsul emphasised that the party would leverage members experience at the grassroots level Fto deepen its reach in the National Capital Region.

Adsul said Shinde would soon visit the national Capital to announce the office-bearers of the partys Delhi unit.

With the launch of the Delhi Unit, the national Capital becomes the 20th State to have a Shiv Sena unit.

The party will leverage experienced leadership to expand its reach nationally. Our Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has given a governance model to Maharashtra and the partys young leaders bank on that to expand the base in Delhi and other states too, Adsul said.

Shiva Sena also launched the Good Governance-Maharashtra Model and Apna Abhiman Danush-Baan Campaigns along with a massive membership drive in Delhi.

Shive Sena senior functionary Anshumman Joshi said that the party would fight against rampant corruption in Delhi.
By 2050, half of the world will be nearsighted. More common among children, myopia can have serious consequences, including vision impairment and other eye ailments, thanks to more screens and less time outdoors. Awareness among parents and the target children is the need of the hour, eye experts tell ARCHANA JYOTI

Scene 1: Five-year-old Bunty is hooked on a video game on a mobile phone while his mother Rekha feeds him porridge. Hes so finicky when it comes to eating. At least, he eats when cellphone is in his hand, she says.

Scene 2: Sharmila, an MNC executive who works from home has given her 8-year-old Sonia an adroid phone to keep her busy till she completes her official assignments. Her husband, Rohan agrees as he too is busy with office work and have almost no time to take Sonia for outdoor activities.

In both cases, doctors warned that chances are high that the kids will soon be the part of the Myopia Generation whose number, in fact is on increase. Myopia occurs when the cornea of the eye is too curved, or the eyeball is too large. The light rays entering the eye are not able to focus on the retina, which results in a blurry vision.

Dr Digvijay Singh, Head of Ophthalmology department, Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital, Delhi presented a disturbing yet familiar picture as he said, a visit to any school in the country today will show you a large number of children wearing spectacles in every class with the numbers increasing from junior school to high school at an alarming rate.

He knows better. As a Pediatric ophthalmologist, I see a large number of children on a daily basis who have just been diagnosed with myopia or weak eyesight and many of them are aged less than 5 years also. There has been a spike of cases of myopia after the pandemic when these young children have been exposed to screens and prolonged near activity and deprived of outdoor play.

In most young adults, myopia will eventually stabilize  but the initial progression of myopia, where the eyes stretch and grow too much, can lead to bigger eye problems later in life, such as a myopic macular degeneration, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataracts.

The higher the myopia, the greater the risk, Singh flags concerns. Since myopia progresses the fastest in children under age 10, the most important opportunity to slow eye growth is when children are young.

A study conducted at AIIMS, Delhi a few years ago has revealed that one in eight children in Delhi schools were wearing glasses and this number was almost one in three in some studies from South India and North East India

Ophthalmologists said that children spending more time in doors, being exposed to less natural light, and looking at nearby objects such as screens will leave them shortsightedness or myopia. Research has suggested that the percentage of people affected by myopia worldwide could surge from 27 percent in 2010 to 52 percent by 2050. Add to this are minor factors related to height, improper lighting and sleep habits, Dr Digvijay pointed out.

And as the heat waves become a frequent feature, summer may mean children spending more hours on digital devices, video games and televisions  and less time outdoors.

But what is worrying is that just half of parents recognize that screen time has a major impact on their childs eye health, according to a study following the C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital National Poll on Childrens Health at University of Michigan Health. Many parents may not be aware of both the short and long-term health issues linked to excessive screen time, including its effect on childrens eyes, said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark.

Our findings suggest that some parents may have inaccurate perceptions of activities that affect their childs eye health and vision and how to minimize risks.

Parents should encourage at least one to two hours of outdoor time per day because exposure to natural light benefits eye development, Clark said.

He added, Parents should enforce family rules to ensure children have a sustained period of non-screen time during the day. This is especially important during summer months when theyre off from school and may have less structured downtime.

Dr Mahipal S Sachdeva, Chairman and Managing Director, Centre for Sight, a chain of Eye Hospitals suggested that glasses or contact lenses usually correct myopia. Refractive surgery such as Lasik or Smile can reshape the cornea of the eye and fix myopia, which allows the patients to see clearly again without using any aids for their vision.

There are also some methods that have been suggested to stop the progression of nearsightedness in children like low-dose Atropine eye drops or fitting them with bifocals, gas permeable contact lenses, or progressive lenses.

However, the results of these methods have been mixed, at best, he said.

Various studies say, that Atropine is the most effective medication that has been demonstrated to be consistently effective in slowing myopia progression (40). Atropine is a natural alkaloid occurring in plants of the Solanaceae family and is mostly extracted from Atropa belladonna.

Dr Digvijaya said that myopia is manageable through regular use of glasses, certain special types of glass lenses to prevent progression, use of special diluted atropine eyedrops (which reduce progression of myopia) and special contact lenses which can prevent and even improve myopia.

The most important thing is to catch it early and on time to enable timely treatment so I always recommend to parents to get their child's vision screened at least once at the age of 4-5 years and even earlier if there is a strong family history of myopia.

However, top eye experts from Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, Delhi have called for more researches in the context of India which is seeing uptick in myopia cases but is not being given due importance due to a paucity of scientific literature in Indian set ups.

Prospective cohort-based studies are necessary to understand the natural history, progression, genetic influences, regional differences, and various effects of interventional measures.

In addition, standardized methodology including case definition, sampling strategy and measurement protocols are to be followed to prevent potential bias, they said in their review article published last year in journal Clinical Ophthalmology. .

The authors included leading ophthalmologists Dr Amar Pujari, Dr Sujeeth Modaboyina, Dr Divya Agarwal, Dr Gunjan Saluja, Dr Rajeswari Thangavel, Dr Vaishali Rakheja, Dr Rohit Saxena, Dr Namrata Sharma, Dr Jeewan S Titiyal, and Dr Atul Kumar.

PREVENTION/MANAGEMENT OF MYOPIA
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modis monthly radio broadcast, Mann ki Baat, has brought a silent revolution in the country.

Saxena, along with several intellectuals, Padma awardees, sanitation workers and anganwadi helpers, listened to a live broadcast of the 100th episode of Mann ki Baat at the Raj Niwas on Sunday.

Mann ki Baat is a unique programme in the world. Through this programme, his (Modis) straight talk and visions have left an indelible mark. We heard our prime minister today. Like always, he presented his new ideas and the hopes and ambitions of the societys last person in front of us, the L-G said after the broadcast.

He said at a time when people are using new means of communication, the prime minister is interacting with people through radio, which is no ordinary feat. This is such a strong endeavour through which the prime minister has connected the hearts of 135 crore citizens and an attempt to infuse enthusiasm in them. This is also paving the way for a public opinion to take the country forward, Saxena said.

Ranging from social and economical challenges to humanitarian and environmental difficulties, Modi has interacted with people on an array of issues, the L-G noted. He said the Mann ki Baat programme is close to his heart.

All of you know that I have been connected with Khadi for a long time. In the first episode of Mann ki Baat, he (Modi) had spoken about taking Khadi to every village. He had appealed to people to buy Khadi products to help artisans, the LG said. Saxena previously served as the chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Similarly, he spoke about vocal for local, toys, pottery and a honey mission. Through his words, lakhs of artisans have moved towards self-dependency (aatmanirbharta). I thank him from the bottom of my heart for this silent revolution, Saxena said.

Referring to Modi as the brand ambassador of national interest initiatives, he said the prime ministers different style of working has always inspired people.Mann ki Baat has proven that the nation comes first for the prime minister. He is motivating people to take the nation ahead, the LG said. In the 100th episode of Mann ki Baat, Modi said the radio broadcast is an expression of the feelings of crores of Indians and it has ensured that he is never cut-off from people.

Padma awardees, including Dr Arvind Kumar, Zafar Iqbal, Gurcharan Singh and Jamia Millia Islamia University Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar, were present at the Raj Niwas.
Governor CP Radhakrishnan today listened to the 100th edition of 'Mann Ki Baat' at Raj Bhavan along with state dignitaries which included Padma awardees, academicians and people from different walks of society. The Governor on the occasion also inaugurated an exhibition based on 'Mann Ki Baat' at Raj Bhavan.

On the occasion, the Governor said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi strong bilingual communication skills and strong leadership vision attracts people not only from our country but from all over the world. Due to his inspiring personality and dynamic works, the new generation of the country considers him as their role model. The Governor said that we have just listened to the 100th episode of "Mann Ki Baat". Mann Ki Baat radio program is now being broadcast in 23 languages, 29 dialects and 11 foreign languages in India. Mann Ki Baat is an effective platform to not only acknowledge the tireless efforts but also to reward the hidden talents who play a significant role in bringing small but significant positive changes in the society.

Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio programme hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was first aired on October 3, 2014. The program is aired on the last Sunday of every month and has garnered a massive following across the world. Accordingly, Sunday's broadcast was particularly significant as it marked the 100th episode of the popular show. This milestone episode was broadcast live from the United Nations headquarters in New York as well.

Beginning the 100th episode, he said that like Vijayadashmi, Mann Ki Baat has also become an occasion to celebrate Indians goodness, optimism, positivity and peoples participation.

The Prime Minister highlighted the work being done by the people of Jharkhand, such as the cultivation of Aloe Vera in Deori village of Ranchi under the leadership of Manju Kachchh, and the cultivation of lemon grass in Gumla. Special mention was made of the district. In one episode, he mentioned about the fight against malnutrition in Giridih district. Sanjay Kachhap of Chaibasa was encouraged by the Prime Minister as "Library Manmai". Dilip Kumar Ravidas's efforts for water conservation were also appreciated. This initiative encourages citizens to share their experiences, ideas and suggestions with us. Mann Ki Baat is a powerful tool to share information about government schemes, initiatives and policies The Governor said that Mann Ki Baat is a powerful tool to share information about government schemes, initiatives and policies .

This information empowers the citizens especially the rural masses with knowledge about the various opportunities and resources available to them such as education, health care, agriculture and entrepreneurship. It helps them to understand their rights and entitlements, encourages them to take informed decisions and take advantage of government initiatives for their benefit.

Meanwhile, State BJP had made special arrangement for 100th edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat program. People listened to the 100th edition of PM Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat program with enthusiasm in Jharkhand. Arrangements were made by the BJP to listen to Mann Ki Baat at all booths in the state. In Ranchi, BJP State President Deepak Prakash listened to Mann Ki Baat program along with a large number of tribal people at Mahilong Jatratand booth number 187 of Khijri Assembly Constituency in Ranchi. State General Secretary Pradeep Verma, former MLA Ramkumar Pahan, Chhotanagpurpu Sarna Samiti President Birsa Pahan, Suja Suta Minjamin, Sohan Munda Mun, Ashok Munda Mun, Ratnu Kujurju, Shibu Munda Mun, along with a large number of tribal people gathered with him to express their gratitude towards PM Modi.

BJP State President Deepak Prakash said that Prime Minister's Mann Ki Baat program is a unique new program in the world. Through this, changes are taking place in the society. Beti Padhao Beti Badhao, Vocal for Local and many such calls have been made by PM through Mann Ki Baat programme. The dream of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat is being fulfilled

State BJP General Secretary Pradeep Verma said that the Mann Ki Baat program has taken the form of mass agitation. This is the reason why today a large number of people from the tribal society have also come here after listening to their mind. There is an inspirational speech in PM's Mann Ki Baat program.
No less than 11 persons, including two children, died, while four others were critically ill after inhaling poisonous gas at Ludhianas Giaspura area on Sunday morning. Soon after the incident, the police, District Administration, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams started rescue and relief operations.

The incident caused panic and fear amongst the locals who confined themselves to their homes, shutting all doors and windows, isolating themselves to avoid the possible chances of infection.

Giaspura, a thickly populated area with several industrial and residential buildings, majorly has migrant population. The building, from where the gas leak was reported, said to have a milk booth, apart from other establishments, and everyone who came to get milk, fell unconscious.

Hours after the incident, Punjab Government announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, while Rs 50,000 was announced for those injured in the gas leak.

In a similar incident in June 2015, five people were killed and at least 100 others fell ill after ammonia gas had leaked from a tanker in Doraha town of the Ludhiana district.

Taking stock of the situation in the area and Civil hospital, the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told him to reach the spot and ensure the best treatment for the injured admitted in hospitals.

The families of the deceased and other affected families have the Governments unwavering supportFour of the patients, being treated in civil hospitals, are out of danger now, he added.

At the same time, the Minister said that exemplary action would be taken against the perpetrators. Later, the Health Minister also visited the affected area in Giaspura.

Even as the investigators were yet to ascertain the source of gas leakage and the type of gas, the preliminary reports indicate that the deaths were caused due to neurotoxicity that occurs when the exposure to natural or manmade toxic substances (neurotoxicants) alters the normal activity of the nervous system that includes brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

The nature of gas was neuro-toxicAs per the medical examination till now, the deaths were not caused by suffocation but by the harmful effect of the gas on the nervous system of the victims, said Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Dr Hatinder Kaur.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik said: It is likely that deaths happened due to gas contamination. Now the teams are going to collect samples from manholes. It is likely that some chemical has reacted with methane.

Malik added that the deaths were caused due to the release of neuro toxins at the spot. All these aspects are being verified. NDRF is engaged in process of extracting samples from manholes. These samples will be tested for various chemicals. The entire area has been evacuated and the surrounding area has been cordoned off, she said.

We request the people not to spread or believe in rumours. Please stay away from this area till further update, she added, while appealing to the locals to wear masks.

She said: The gas, which was leaked, has been diluted; but just to check the spread of the gas, the corporation, and NDRF teams are checking. We are just going to for safety's sake how much the gas has spread.

Of the 11 dead, six were males, five females, with two children aged 10 and 13. The victims brought dead at Civil Hospital were identified as Sourav (35), Varsha (35), Aryan (10), Chullu (16), Abhay (13), and Kalpesh (40).

Three bodies  two women and a man  were unidentified; while two others  Navneet Kumar (40), and Neetu Devi (37)  died at SPS Hospital. Four people were undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

The fire brigade and NDRF teams were trying to ascertain the type of gas. The NDRF experts are checking the type of gas. I cannot comment on it yet. It will be half-baked information. We have used drones to check if someone was lying unconscious on terraces or rooftops but no one else was found yet. All who became unconscious have been evacuated, said Ludhiana police commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu.

In the air quality sensors used by the NDRF team, high levels of Hydrogen Sulphide gas have been detected and it is believed that this gas might have led to the tragic incident.

The team of the Ludhiana civic body is also working hard to ensure that there is no further chemical contamination.

DM, ADM and SDM along with municipal corporation and police officials have supervised the entire exercise of rescue, decontamination, cordoning and evacuation and coordinated with NDRF, and NDMA to ensure swift control of the situation.

CM Assures All Possible Help

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, expressing deep sorrow and anguish at the gas leakage incident, on Sunday assured all possible help to those affected.

The incident of a gas leak in the factory in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana is very sad. Police, government and NDRF teams are present at the spot. All possible help is being extended to the affected. Rest details soon, said the Chief Minister, in a tweet. He added, that further investigation is underway.

Special DGP Visits Spot; Police Registers FIR

Taking cognizance of the Giaspura Gas leak incident in Ludhiana, Punjabs Special Director General of Police (DGP), Law and Order, Arpit Shukla on Sunday visited the area to supervise the overall situation.

Shukla, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Surbhi Malik, Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, and Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sheena Aggarwal, held a meeting with senior Police and District Administration officials.

Terming the incident as heart wrenching and unfortunate, he informed that a first information report (FIR) has been registered against unidentified persons and investigations are on to find the culprit.

He directed the Police Officials to ensure that the matter be thoroughly investigated. Law and order in the city is to be maintained at every cost, he added.

He said that magisterial inquiry has also been ordered to investigate this incident. The chief engineer from Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has already collected samples from the spot, he added.

He said that the team of NDRF was called in and gas levels are being checked at regular intervals.

Meanwhile, Ludhiana police have registered an FIR under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sahnewal police station against unknown persons.

As per the FIR, it is suspected that some unknown persons dumped industrial waste illegally into the sewage which led to a chemical reaction and toxic gas was produced leading to deaths.

Panic Grips Residents

Panic gripped Giaspura area in Ludhiana after the gas leakage was reported. The locals narrated the ordeals of the tragic incident as the local Administration immediately vacated the area, where the incident occurred.

This was a poisonous gas leak... many people have died. Three of the bodies have turned blue... It is poisonous. You won't be able to breathe. All the bodies have been sent to the hospital, said one of the deceased's family members Anjan Kumar.

Another local said that many members of his family were trapped inside the spot of the incident and feared an untoward happening to them. I dont know about the factory but now I got to know that five people of my family are unconscious. I don't know what to do, he said.

Govt Announces Rs 2L Ex-Gratia for Kin of Deceased, Rs 50k for Injured

Punjab Government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the gas leak incident in Ludhianas Giaspura locality.
AIIMS Bhopal has been invited by the MP State Policy & Planning Commission to discuss the strategy to boost bio-economy in Madhya Pradesh. This marks the first time in its history that AIIMS Bhopal has been asked to participate in such a discussion.

Executive Director Prof Dr Ajai Singh expressed his enthusiasm for this opportunity and shared that AIIMS Bhopal is eager to play a pivotal role in boosting the state economy through biomedical science.

He further added that the institute wishes to become a hub for future strategies to promote bio-economy in Madhya Pradesh.

The invitation from the MP State Policy & Planning Commission is a matter of pride for AIIMS Bhopal. It reflects the institutes strong reputation and expertise in the field of biomedical science.

The meeting is expected to be a fruitful discussion where AIIMS Bhopal will provide valuable insights and suggestions to boost the bio-economy in Madhya Pradesh. The institutes participation is expected to have a positive impact on the state's economy and pave the way for more collaboration between the government and academic institutions.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nand Kumar Sai has resigned from the party, blaming opponents within the party for his decision.

He said in a letter to state BJP President Arun Sao that he had been an integral part of the party till date. The party has given important posts, he said.

Recently, some opponents within the party have been hatching a conspiracy by spreading false allegations to tarnish his image, Sai said

"It has affected my self-respect. After delving deep into it, I am resigning from the primary membership and all the posts," he stated.

Sai is one of the seniormost tribal leaders of Chhattisgarh. He has been three times MLA (1977, 1985 and 1998) and a MP.
In yet another big blow to the Aam Aadmi Party, a Delhi court convicted party MLA from Delhis Seelampur in connection to a threatening and assaulting case. MLA Abdul Rehman and his wife Asma were convicted for threatening and assaulting Razia Begum, the principal of a government school in Jafrabad Zeenat Mahal, in 2009. According to rules, if the MLA is sentenced for the more than two years, he will be disqualified from the membership of Delhi legislative assembly. The quantum of sentence is likely to be pronounced on the next hearing on May 3. The AAP MLA and his wife face a maximum jail term of seven years.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal convicted the two accused in a case registered against them in 2010 under sections 353/506 (Para II) r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (use of assault to deter public servants from discharging his duty, criminal intimidation and acts done in furtherance of common intention). Asma was additionally convicted in charges under section 332 of the IPC (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his or her duty).

The court said, Having carefully considered the entire case, the documents placed on record, the police report, the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, the statement of accused persons, the arguments advanced by both the sides and the provisions of law and the rule of procedure, this court holds that the prosecution has successfully proved its case, beyond reasonable doubts, against accused Asma that she caused simple hurt on the person of a public servant in discharge of her duties.

The prosecution has further proved beyond reasonable doubt that both the accused persons i.e. Abdul Rehman and Asma, in furtherance of their common intention, criminally intimidated the complainant and assaulted her, while she was holding the office of the public servant and was in discharge of her duties as a public servant, to deter her from discharging her duties, the court stated.

Accordingly, both the accused are hereby convicted for the offences under section 353, 506 (Para II) read with section 34 IPC and additionally, the accused Asma is hereby separately convicted for the offence under section 332 of IPC, it said.According to police, the complainant, Razia Begum, on the date of the incident, was holding the principals post. As per the complainant, on 04.02.2009, while performing duties as a principal of SKV School, Jafrabad, she was slapped by the accused, Asma, thus causing simple hurt to the complainant.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Madhya Pradesh of 'commercialising' the administrative system.

A minister in BJP-ruled Karnataka had to resign due to accusations of corruption, but the BJP gave him ticket again for Assembly elections, he said, speaking to reporters at Jawad in Neemuch district. Commercialisation of the administrative system is the BJP's way of functioning as it believes in "khoob khao aur khoob khilao (take bribe and give bribe) though the prime minister had said na khaunga na khane dunga' (won't take bribe, won't allow others to take bribe)," Singh said.

The former chief minister cited a recent case where a Janpad Panchayat president was held while accepting bribe from a sarpanch. He also alleged that government was recruiting some people without conducting even interviews. Asked for a reaction, MP BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal said Madhya Pradesh has achieved hundred per cent targets in several flagship public welfare schemes and other States are imitating it. It was the BJP sovernment that decided to use the direct benefit transfer (DBT) system, but Singh can not understand all this as he symbolised the worst governance the state had, Agrawal said.
The first-ever joint parents-teacher meeting (PTM) was organised in all the Delhi government and MCD schools of the capital on Sunday with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying that they will now work to transform the civic body-run schools.

According to officials, the meeting was conducted in more than 1,000 Delhi government schools and over 1,500 MCD schools.

Today, a mega PTM is being held in both MCD and Delhi government schools in Delhi. Just as Delhi government schools have been transformed with the help of all students, teachers, and parents, we will now work together to transform MCD schools as well, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

Education Minister Atishi, who also visited some schools, said in 2015 when the Kejriwal government was formed, the condition of Delhi government schools was the same as MCD schools now.

There was no cleanliness, no drinking facility and benches and desks were broken. But after years of hard work and dedication, the old education system in Delhi was fixed, he said.

While interacting with parents, she expressed her delight at the number of parents who turned up early in the morning and said, This shows that parents eagerly want to participate in their childrens education, and after Delhi government schools, now this opportunity will be provided to parents in MCD schools too.

The education revolution that was brought in Delhi government schools will now be brought to MCD schools too, she added. Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Atishi said it was in MCD for the past 15 years and left the schools reeling under several problems.

Noting that the joint PTM is a symbol of the shared responsibility of parents and schools for the education and development of children, she said both parents and schools are equally responsible for the development of their child.

Our children will progress only when schools and parents will together participate in the process of their education, she opined. She also stressed the importance of parents engaging with their children for at least half an hour every day, even if they are not educated. This would boost the confidence of the children and help them open up about their school experiences. During the interaction, parents showed confidence in sending their children to Delhi government schools. They said that in the last few years, not only have the school buildings become impressive, but better facilities and environment have also been provided for childrens education, and now the schools are providing opportunities for their talents to flourish. Parents said that they no longer have any concerns about their childrens education because their future is secure in Delhi government schools.

Mission Buniyaad was also discussed in the meeting. Mission Buniyaad aims to strengthen the foundation of every child sitting in the classroom  to prepare future engineers, doctors, and CEOs for the country. Our government is committed to provide every child with quality education and opportunities, Atishi had said earlier this month.
Mr Babafemi said the drugs weighing 63 kilogrammes were concealed in a used Toyota Corolla car imported from Canada.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized 126 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis at the Tincan port in Lagos.

This was contained in a statement by the Agency's Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs weighing 63 kilogrammes were concealed in a used Toyota Corolla car imported from Canada.

He said the car was among five vehicles in a container marked TLLU 4840762.

He added that NDLEA operatives have thwarted an attempt by a freight agent, Mordi Chukwuemeka, to export 900 grams of Loud, on Saturday.

He explained that the drugs were hidden on the sides of a travelling bag containing food items, being sent to Kenya.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs were intercepted at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc export shed of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

"When Mordi presented the bag, which he claimed contained food items for export, operatives noticed that in the course of searching the consignment, the side walls of the bag were unevenly bloated.

"This happened after which they dismantled the false packings and recovered the illicit substance."

The NDLEA spokesperson also said men of the agency's Directorate of Operations and Investigation attached to courier firms, on Thursday intercepted 1.53 kilogrammes of skunk.

Mr Babafemi said the drugs were concealed in old hard drives meant for export to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

(NAN)
Five persons, including three women, were killed on Sunday when an SUV rammed into a tractor-trolley on Purvanchal Expressway in Ahraula area of Azamgarh.

The accident took place when the SUV, which was on its way to Deoria, rammed into the tractor-trolley, the police said.

While five persons died on the spot, a woman sustained injuries. She was rushed to hospital, where her condition was stated to be stable.

ASP (City) Shailendra Lal said a probe into the matter was on and the accused driver of the tractor-trolley was detained.

Reports said that residents of Dharampur village of Mahuadih police station area of Deoria district had gone to Azamgarh for some function. From there, on Saturday night, they were coming back home via Purvanchal Expressway. Just as they reached near stone number-213 located in Khadarampur under Ahraula police station of Azamgarh, their Bolero rammed into the tractor-trolley loaded with bamboo from behind at around 11:30 pm.

While 45-year-old Kailash, Kailash's 38-year-old wife Neetu, 43-year-old Dukkhi, 40-year-old Guddi, 11-year-old Rani died on the spot, 40-year-old Kiran was seriously injured and admitted to the trauma centre in Varanasi.

Meanwhile, a 50-year-old farmer died after being struck by lightning while talking on a mobile phone in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The incident occurred when Shreepal went to his farmland to run some errands. While he was talking on the phone, lightning struck him, following which he collapsed. After the mishap, his family rushed to the spot and brought the body home. Later, police reached the house of the deceased and sent the body for post-mortem. Officials from the Revenue department assured the family of financial assistance.




PNS/



As Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann ki Baat radio programme completes 100 episodes on Sunday, the Governors of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana Chief Minister on Sunday held special screening of the programme.



Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit called Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast a unique and historic programme connecting the hearts and minds of the people. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also listened to the 100th episode of the programme at an event held in Panchkula and hailed the broadcast for embracing the concept of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat (one India, great India).



Addressing people after the broadcast, he said: Making the best use of technology, Modi has united the countrymen by addressing the citizens of the entire country from one place. He has also given a new direction to the people.



Khattar said that since October 3, 2014, the Prime Minister has been addressing the citizens on national issues through Mann Ki Baat. When this programme started, no one imagined it would become so popular. The way citizens of India are participating in this programme since its launch has become a world record, he said.



The Chief Minister called upon the people that whatever new direction the Prime Minister shows to society in the Mann Ki Baat programme, they should follow it and also inspire the people around them.



Purohit, who listened to the radio broadcast at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh at a special event, said that the programme connects the hearts and minds of people and is successfully promoting unity and hope among its audience.



It is a source of inspiration to many and has brought about an awakening in the country. It resonates with people as it is about their concerns, he noted. The initiative highlights government and citizen action in priority areas and in turn encourages listeners to establish or participate in change-making initiatives in their own communities, with an aim to have a lasting and sustainable impact on the lives of the people and the country, the Governor said, adding that not just India, the entire world is taking cognizance of the programme.



Khattar said it is a matter of pride that two people from Haryana got special mention in Modi's Mann Ki Baat on Sunday. He also thanked Modi for talking about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, a cleanliness drive started by youth of Dulheri village in Bhiwani district of Haryana, among others.



Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who also listened to the 100th episode of the radio broadcast, said that it was a programme of social dialogue with an objective to create impact resulting in positive change in the society.



Equating the programme with epics like 'Mahabharata' and 'Ramayana', Himachal Pradeshs former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that it has brought positive changes in the lives of several people.


Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday slammed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president for campaigning in favour of the SAD-BSP candidate for the upcoming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.

The bypoll is scheduled to be held on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.

Taking to Twitter, Mann asked how far it was justified that Harjinder Singh Dhami, the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, an apex gurdwara body, campaigned for the SAD  a political party which is accused of sacrilege.

Notably, Dhami, along with the Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and Bahujan Samaj Party leaders, campaigned in favour of their candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi in Adampur in Jalandhar.

Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi, said: A political party which is accused of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahibhow far is it justified to campaign in favour of that party? Is it not playing with the religious sentiments of people?"

He was apparently referring to the incidents related to the theft of a bir (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters, and torn pages of the holy book being found scattered in Bargari village of Faridkot during the SAD-BJP rule in the state in 2015.

Simarjeet Bains Announces Support to BJP

A former ally of the AAM AADMI PARTY, Lok Insaaf Party president and former MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains on Sunday announced support to the Bharatiya Janta Party and its candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal in the upcoming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.

Both former MLAs, Simarjeet Bains and his brother Balwinder Singh Bains  popularly known as Bains Brothers  have been in contact with senior leaders of the BJP regarding their pact for the byelection.

Making it clear that he has not joined the BJP but extending support to the party candidate in this election, Simarjeet said: If the BJP asks me to join, I will.

He added, We will also back BJP in Ludhiana nagar nigamLIP will support BJP in 2024 and 2027 as well.

He said that he was impressed with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies on Sikhs  right from Veer Baal Diwas to respect to the turban.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken many pro-Sikh decisions such as the decision on the Kartarpur corridor, exemption of GST on langars and to observe Bal Divas to mark the martyrdom day of younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, said Simarjeet, who was accompanied by senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Som Prakash and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

Targeting AAP, he said that the government made just a year ago, has today degenerated. Law and order scenario has deteriorated under AAP, he said adding that it was my heartfelt wish that BJP forms government in Punjab.

Notably, Simarjeet had surrendered before a Ludhiana court on the directions of the Supreme Court on July 22 last year, in an alleged sexual assault case registered on the complaint of a woman, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Bains and one of his associates. The case was registered under Sections 376, 354, 354A, 506, 120-B, 376-2(N) and 201 of the IPC. However, he was granted bail on January 25 this year.

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January. The bypoll is going to be a litmus test for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, which will be eyeing a win after it lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection last year.

As for the Congress, the prestige is at stake for the main opposition party, which would like to retain the seat. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal, too, will look for a win to boost their fortunes ahead of next year's general elections.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday pledged to give the status of Nagar Panchayat to Jarhagaon and open a new college.

He was interacting with people in Jarhagaon village of Mungeli district.

He inaugurated and performed Bhumi Pujan of 18 works worth Rs 33.12 crore.

During interaction with people, he also pledged to treat a cancer patient under the Chief Ministers Special Assistance Scheme.

Arjun Khosale said his mother undergoing treatment for cancer. He had collected money by mortgaging half-an-acre of land. Vandana, a cancer-patient, shared her experience as a beneficiary of the scheme.

Baghel took feedback on rural development, agriculture friendly schemes and food aid schemes of the government.

Baghel pledged 50 lakhs to open a new college in Jarhagaon, arrange for CT-scan in the district hospital, construct a new office building in Municipality Mungeli, build a swimming pool in Mungeli, a District Co-operative Bank branch in village Amora and sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for lighting arrangements in Mungeli bypass.
On the second day of his whirlwind election tour to Karnataka on Sunday, Bharatiya Janata Partys star campaigner and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath drew a connection between the two states by mentioning the strong bond between Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.

He spoke in Kannada at the outset to strike a rapport with the audience. He said that Sugriv, Mata Shabri and Valmiki were all connected to Karnataka and the state has since the days of Lord Ram served as a bridge between north and south.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India was getting prosperous and emerging as a global power and the dream of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat was being realised.

He also lashed out at Janata Dal (Secular), Congress and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and said that the way Kharge was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections, his son would also lose in the assembly elections.

Yogi Adityanath also invited people of Karnataka to visit Ayodhya in 2024 when the grand Ram temple would be inaugurated.

Seeking votes for the BJP candidate from Gangavati, Paranna Munavalli, at a public meeting, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that for thousands of years, UP and Karnataka had been ideal forms of Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat. He invited the people of Karnataka to visit Ram temple in Ayodhya when it would be inaugurated in 2024. Recently, the Government of India has announced to run a special train from Gangavati to Ayodhya, he added.

The chief minister said that the Congress and JDS governments in Karnataka used to do politics of appeasement and were responsible for riots in Karnataka while the BJP double-engine government worked for empowerment of all sections of society without any kind of discrimination. He said that the people of Karnataka had rejected the failed engine of the Congress and reposed their trust in the double-engine government of the BJP.

Yogi Adityanath said that the BJP candidate from Raichur City, S Shivraj Patil, was a physician. He knows the medicine for every disease. Karnataka is playing an important role in accelerating India's progress. Bangalore has developed as a global hub of information technology (IT) skills. The youth of Karnataka are playing an important role in this, he said.

The UP chief minister said that during the era of Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman was the saviour and today, the world had Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the troubleshooter.

Maharishi Valmiki had taken the saga of Ramayana to the masses. Ramayana recitation takes place at every temple in UP on Valmiki's birth anniversary. There are festivals in the name of Valmikiji, Yogi said.

He appealed to the seers of Karnataka to bless the double-engine government which enshrined Lord Rama in his temple. Yogi described Karnataka as the land of equality, empowerment, national uplift and national integration.

Taking a jibe at Congress party, Yogi said that the party which questioned Lord Rams existence, had its own identity in question today.

Urging voters to vote for BJP candidate from Chittapur, Manikant Rathore, Yogi Adityanath said that during the novel coronavirus pandemic, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharges son never visited the area and was relaxing in Bengaluru. Khargeji knows that his son is going to lose his deposit in this election. Khargeji is talking nonsense. He is making derogatory remarks on the prime minister. Disrespecting the prime minister means disrespecting the nation. Such people must not be forgiven, he asserted.

He added: This shows that the Congress is losing. Just as BJP candidate Dr Umesh Yadav defeated Khargeji by 1.25 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections, similarly BJPs young candidate will defeat his son in the assembly election. You have made us realise that Chittapur is not anyones inheritance, he remarked.

The UP chief minister said that now PFI (Popular Front of India) would not be able to raise its head. He said organisations that incite hatred against India must be banned.

You celebrate 28th April as a holy memory of the arrival of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Dr Ambedkar was honoured by Prime Minister Modi only. His five places were developed by Prime Minister Modi as Panch Teerth, Yogi added.

In Aland, Yogi Adityanath spoke in favour of BJP candidate Subhash Gutedar. He said that India was enslaved because of lack of unity. The country became independent in 1947. After independence, the leadership was given to the Congress with great hopes, but the Congress toed the line of the foreign rulers who brought the country on the brink of division, he said.

Congress glorifies terrorists. They tried to take democracy hostage and make it their inheritance, but the master of democracy is the people. The one who will protect public interest and respect, the public will be with him, Yogi Adityanath said.

Appealing to people to elect the BJP government for another term, Yogi said that people would be strong and secure only when the country was strong and secure. People ask me what has happened in UP and why people have faith in me. I am nothing personally; Prime Minister Modis guidance and the double-engine government is amazing. Before 2017, there used to be riots every second-third day, but there has not been a single riot in the last six years (in UP). UP is now making strides in development in a peaceful environment. Development is being linked to employment. There is happiness, peace and prosperity in UP. There is no nuisance, but festivities. The way the double-engine government is working in UP, it is also working in Karnataka, he said.
Governor Mangubhai Patel attended the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat at Raj Bhavan along with the Padma awardees of the state and dignitaries mentioned in Mann Ki Baat and invited celebrity guests. A special programme of Mann Ki Baat was organised in Sandipani, the huge auditorium of the Raj Bhavan.

Patel while addressing the invited guests before the start of the programme said that on the basis of his experience of working for 14 years as a member of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, he can say that Modi ji is a very sensitive person. His sensitivity includes humans and animals alike. Patel mentioned two incidents of sensitivity of the Prime Minister. He told that when there was an incident of the hunting of a lion in Sasan Gir National Park, Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat immediately reached the spot. Late in the night, without worrying about his life, he went to the middle of the forest and reviewed the incident on the spot. Similarly, during the flood in Surat city, sitting in a boat in the middle of 14 feet deep water, he reached among the flood victims without any delay to learn their pain and suffering.

The Governor said that the Mann Ki Baat programme is a wonderful platform to connect the Prime Minister directly with the public in a democratic system. Modi ji is an orator of extraordinary talent, universally gifted, who pays attention to the nuances of the people. By understanding the emotions, he establishes direct contact with them. This is the reason that today he has been recognised as the most loved and unique politician of the world's largest democracy. He has greatly strengthened the faith of the people in democracy and governance. Listeners of Mann Ki Baat get inspiration and self-confidence from Modi ji on selfless works, stories of change makers, service works, innovation and self-confidence.

Patel said that Mann Ki Baat is really such a people's revolution, which has reached every nook and corner of the country. This is such a charisma, which has converted the masses into manpower. Has enabled India to face Covid, the biggest tragedy of the century. He said that the appeal made in Mann Ki Baat boosted the morale of the people in the time of disaster and encouraged the Covid Warriors. It has also done an unprecedented miracle of converting efforts like Janata curfew and vaccination into a mass movement. This miracle happened because sensitive Modi ji's Mann Ki Baat touched the heart of every Indian. If we talk about the most successful government campaign of independent India, then undoubtedly it is the cleanliness campaign started by Prime Minister Modi ji. The basis of the success of the campaign was to make people an integral and important part of the campaign, the very next day after the launch of the campaign, the Prime Minister talked about the construction of toilets before the temple in the first episode of Mann Ki Baat on 3 October 2014. It is the result of the efforts of Prime Minister Modi that the thinking of the general public has become such that no one litters at home, outside or even in public places. If someone does, people stop and forbid him. Patel said that Mann Ki Baat is the energy force for building a better India, which is becoming the strength of efforts to establish India as a world leader.

Patel presented mementos to the Padma awardees of the state who came to the Raj Bhavan after the Mann Ki Baat programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Padma awardees were Vijay Dutt Sridhar, Janak Palta, Shanti Parmar, Ramesh Parmar, Bhuri Bai and Kailash Madbaiya.

Governor Patel presented mementos to the personalities related to the events of Madhya Pradesh mentioned in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat at Raj Bhavan after the programme.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday listened to the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat radio talk show ahead of his election rallies in Karnataka.

The chief minister listened to the broadcast of the programme before the public meeting at Gangavathi assembly constituency in Koppal district. On the other hand, in the Raj Bhavan of Uttar Pradesh, Governor Anandiben Patel also listened to the hundredth episode of Mann Ki Baat. During this, Governor Anandiben Patel inaugurated a picture exhibition based on Mann Ki Baat and Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Annapurna Hall.

The chief minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat was always motivating and promoting positivity. This Mann Ki Baat programme has united the country and society and has become a peoples movement, he added.

In the 100th edition of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about Santosh from Garhmukteshwar in UP who makes mats. The prime minister described Santoshs efforts as a praiseworthy example of Vocal for Local.

Referring to the letters and messages he received from across the country during the 100th episode, the prime minister called it the mind of crores of Indians. The prime minister described every episode of the Mann Ki Baat programme that started on Vijayadashami festival on October 3, 2014 as a celebration of positivity and peoples participation.

He said that campaigns like Khadi, Prakriti, Amrit Mahotsav, cleanliness campaign, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao could become mass campaigns only because of Mann Ki Baat. Prime Minister Modi also mentioned the Mann Ki Baat he shared with former US President Barack Obama, after which this programme became famous all over the world.

The prime minister also mentioned Sunil Jaglan from Haryana who started the Selfie with Daughter campaign, which went viral after airing on Mann Ki Baat. Apart from this, he talked about the creative work being done by women across the country. The prime minister also mentioned Manzoor Ahmed of Jammu and Kashmir, Venkat Murali Prasad of Visakhapatnam, Pramod of Bettiah, Vijay Shanti Devi of Manipur for their creative works.

In the 100th episode, the prime minister mentioned Indias toy industry, awareness about indigenous dogs, resolve not to bargain with poor shopkeepers, Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan and said that all these campaigns became a mass movement only through the Mann Ki Baat programme.

The prime minister mentioned the Healing Himalaya campaign of Pradeep Sangwan from Haryana, who collects garbage from the Himalayan region. He once again recalled the issues of Clean Siachen, e-waste, single use plastic and environment which were raised in different editions of Mann Ki Baat programme.

Meanwhile, while appreciating the Prime Ministers Mann Ki Baat, the UNESCO director-general wanted to know about the efforts being made for education and cultural preservation in India. Regarding this, Prime Minister Modi presented examples of teachers like D Prakash Rao of Odisha, Sanjay Kashyap of Jharkhand, Hemlata NKG and also specifically mentioned the efforts being made to promote education and preserve culture in Kerala and Karnataka.

Mentioning the mantra of Charaiveti Charaiveti, the prime minister called it a source of inspiration for Mann Ki Baat.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that it is a matter of pride for the entire state that in the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann ki Baat programme, he lauded the efforts of Haryanas Sunil Jaglan  a resident of Bibipur village in Jind district, and Pradeep Sangwan  a resident of Charkhi Dadri.



The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of both the citizens, which would not only inspire the Haryanvis but also the people of other states as well. The Governments work should not be limited only to the development, but it should also work for public awareness. This Mann Ki Baat programme has been started in this direction and every episode has inspired citizens to do something new for the society, said Khattar.



The Chief Minister said that several times in the Mann Ki Baat programme, the Prime Minister had mentioned the new initiatives taken in Haryana. The Prime Minister mentioned Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, cleanliness drive started by the youth of Dulheri village in Bhiwani district, Sarai constructed by a social organization in AIIMS in Badsa, etc. Even before this, the Prime Minister has praised our sportspersons and progressive farmers in many episodes, he said.



Today, mass programmes have been organized at 100 places in every assembly constituency to listen to this special 100th episode. Thus, more than 10 lakh people listened Maan ki Baat Programme on Sunday across Haryana, which highlights their emotional connection with this programme, he added.



Talking to the media after the programme, the Chief Minister said that taking inspiration from the Prime Minister, the Haryana Government has also taken several steps for public welfare. Taking inspiration from the system in which ration was delivered door to door under the leadership of the Prime Minister during the pandemic, the Haryana government too has made a Parivar Pehchan Patra for the welfare of the poor and needy, he said.



In his programmme on Sunday, the Prime Minister highlighted that Haryanas gender ratio has improved as a result of many campaigns like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Selfie With Daughter.



Crediting Haryana-based Sunil Jaglan for the Selfie With Daughter campaign, Modi said that the importance of having a daughter in one's life comes to the fore through his campaign. Sunil Jaglan ji has created an impact because earlier there used to be a lot of discussion on the Gender Ratio in Haryana", the PM said.



I started the campaign 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' from Haryana itself. The 'Selfie with Daughter' campaign influenced me a lot and I mentioned it in my episode. Soon this 'Selfie with Daughter' campaign turned into a global campaign. The motive of this campaign was to make people understand the importance of a daughter in one's life, said Modi.



Mention on Mann ki Baat boosted campaign

Pradeep Sangwan, who is on a mission to clear the Himalayas of the waste left behind by tourists, said that he had almost given up his initiative but a mention from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Mann ki Baat programme gave a renewed impetus to his efforts.



Interacting with Modi during the 100th episode, Sangwan  who established the Healing Himalayas Foundation for the purpose nearly seven years ago  said that the Prime Minister mentioning his campaign during his past radio broadcast boosted his campaign.



Sangwan told Modi that they began on a nervous note and at one time, I was not sure if I would be able to sustain this life long as few people were taking interest in the campaign and not giving much importance to the initiative. I had almost thought of giving up at one stage.



Modi told him that he was performing a noble duty in the peaks of the Himalayas in the true sense. And I firmly believe that hearing your name, people remember how you are associated with the cleanliness campaign of the mountains, said Modi, adding that several mountaineers are posting photos connected with swachhta (cleanliness).
Relying heavily on the Dalit-Muslim combine for a comeback after her partys worst ever performance in the last UP assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, on Sunday, said that casteist and communal political parties were having sleepless nights ahead of the urban local bodies polls in Uttar Pradesh as her party had given proper representation to the Muslim community in ticket distribution.

Politics has heated up here due to the BSP giving a proper representation to the Muslim community in the elections for the mayors posts in 17 municipal corporations. Casteist and communal parties are having sleepless nights due to this, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said in a tweet in Hindi.

The BSP is an Ambedkarwadi (Ambedkarite) party that follows the policy and principle of sarvajan hitay and sarvajan sukhay and has formed its government in Uttar Pradesh four times on that basis. It always gave proper representation to Muslims and other communities. Therefore, I appeal to the people to pay more attention to their own interests and not to the conspiracies of our rivals, she added.

It is worth mentioning that by fielding more than 64 per cent Muslim candidates for the posts of mayor in the two-phase municipal elections, the BSP has not only tried to attract the Muslim population of the state, having about 20 per cent votes, but has also tried to dent the vote bank of Samajwadi Party which also depends on the minorities vote for success.

Political analysts are considering this as a strategy of the BSP to make inroads among Muslims for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. Interestingly, both SP and Congress have termed this move of the BSP as a vote-cutting strategy to ensure victory of Bharatiya Janata Party candidates. From time to time, both BSP and SP charge each other for working as the B team of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BSP has fielded Muslim candidates for the post of mayor in the municipal corporations of Lucknow, Mathura, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Moradabad, Meerut, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Aligarh and Bareilly. The SP and Congress have placed bets on only four Muslim candidates each. The BJP has not fielded a Muslim candidate on any of the mayor's seats.

According to reports, this time the issue of the murder of mafia Atiq Ahmad has also been included in the civic elections. In Meerut, the BSP candidate has directly blamed the SP for Atiqs murder and linked it to the displeasure of the Muslim community. Earlier, an alleged letter from Ali Ahmad, son of Atiq Ahmad, went viral on social media in which he blamed BJP as well as SP for the death of Atiq Ahmad, Ashraf and Asad.

The urban local bodies polls are scheduled to be held on May 4 and May 11 and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 13.
Former chief minister Kamal Nath will hold meeting with district secretaries at MPCC office on Monday. The meeting will take place in less than a month. On April 3, a meeting was held in which District Congress Committee president, block president, district incharge, district secretaries and other party leaders were present.

The ex-CM is holding meetings with party leaders to prepare for Assembly elections to be held this year. State vice-president and general secretary Rajiv Singh told media persons that every district secretary would attend the meeting.
Mr Jalingo, who asserted the preparedness of the commission for the 2023 census, said the NPC had prepared the ground for the first-ever digital census in Nigeria.

The National Population Commission (NPC) says the 2023 Population and Housing Census was postponed due to the government's transition programme and the post-election mood in the country.

Inuwa Jalingo, the 2023 Census manager and director, National Population Commission (NPC), said this at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday

Mr Jalingo, who asserted the preparedness of the commission for the 2023 census, said the NPC had prepared the ground for the first-ever digital census in Nigeria.

He said the commission had achieved topmost success in all ramifications in terms of the preparation.

"We achieved the international standard for a digital census.

"About 450,000 digital gadgets were procured and distributed to all the local governments," he said

Mr Jalingo said, however, that government was a continuous process, hoping that the incoming administration would build on the successes recorded for the eventual conduct of the census.

The Census Manager lauded the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for its support, saying the commission had successfully trained about 60,000 facilitators across the country.

"Anyone saying we are not prepared must be saying that out of ignorance," he said.

Mr Jalingo reiterated the benefits of census which were not unconnected with national economic planning and the provision of data for administrative planning.

He said the commission was able to mobilise Nigerians for the Census with every information required for a successful census.

The NPC had postponed the Population and Housing Census earlier scheduled from 3 May to 7 May indefinitely.

(NAN
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat is popular the people of the country. It has become a social movement and a peoples revolution. Prime Ministers Mann Ki Baat has given us an opportunity to bring different people doing good work in front of the society.

I heartily congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the completion of 100 episodes of Mann Ki Baat programme.Mann Ki Baat has always encouraged social reform activities like Swacchata Andolan, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, water conservation and Vocal for Local. People are also able to express their feelings in front of Prime Minister Modi through this medium. Mann Ki Baat has created a social revolution in the country.

Chouhan listened to the 100th episode of Prime Minister Modis Mann Ki Baat programme at Peoples Mall auditorium in Bhopal with the applicant of Ladli Bahna Yojana and also addressed them after the programme. MLA Krishna Gaur along with Lokendra Parashar, Sumit Pachauri and a large number of women of the area were present.

While motivating the candidates of Ladli Bahna Yojana who came to listen to Mann Ki Baat, the Chief Minister said that the woman was not born to shed tears. The state government is running many programmes and schemes so that sisters and daughters do not remain helpless, they become strong. Sisters should take a pledge that they will not remain poor. The state government is also starting a campaign to form women self-help groups in the cities.In this, bank linkage of women will be ensured and loan will be made available at 2 percent interest to start their business. It is our resolution that every woman should earn at least Rs 10 thousand in a month and live life with self-respect and self-confidence.

Chouhan said that God has made son and daughter equal, but in historical order, it has become the custom of the society to treat women as secondary. People started considering the son as the support of old age and the torchbearer of the family, while the reality is that only the daughter supports the parents till the last moment and is no less than a son in any situation. Advances in science were also used to prevent the birth of a girl child.In the male-dominated society, the condition of daughters and sisters continued to worsen. To change this scenario full of pain and agony, the state government implemented many schemes including Ladli Laxmi Yojana, various schemes for the education of daughters, Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana. Arrangements like reservation in government service, panchayat and urban elections and special exemption in registration of immovable property in the name of women were made for women empowerment. Women have also diligently performed every responsibility. 45 lakh daughters are associated with Ladli Laxmi Yojana in the state, Ladli Laxmi Day will be celebrated on May 2 in the state.

The Chief Minister said that our government is determined to change the lives of women belonging to poor and lower middle class families. Ladli Behna Yojana will prove effective in making them self-dependent. Under the scheme, Rs 1000 per month will be deposited in the accounts of women to meet their daily needs.In the spirit of fulfilling the bond of Rakhi, arrangements have been made to release funds every month in the Ladli Bahna Yojana, not once in a year but to give something to the sisters every month. More than one crore 20 lakh women have applied in the scheme in the state. Appeal has been made to all the eligible sisters that they must apply in the scheme. After checking the applications in the month of May, the amount will be released in the accounts of the sisters on June 10.
In a major operation, the police have destroyed a Naxal camp that was being operated in a remote forest area in West Singhbhum on Sunday morning. The operation was carried out by a joint team of police personnel and CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) troops.

The security forces demolished the camp of Naxalites on Sunday near Ambia village under the highly Naxal Goilkera police station area of the district.

According to sources, the camp was located in a dense forest area and was being used as a base by the Naxals to carry out their activities. The police received a tip-off about the presence of the camp and immediately launched an operation to neutralize the threat.

The operation was carried out in a swift and efficient manner, with the police personnel and CRPF troops coordinating their efforts to ensure maximum impact. The Naxals, who were caught off guard, put up a brief resistance, but were soon overpowered by the security forces.

During the operation, a large cache of explosives like detonators were recovered from the camp, along with other incriminating material. The police have launched an investigation into the matter and are trying to identify the individuals responsible for running the camp.

Speaking to the media, a senior police official said, "This is a major success for our security forces. The destruction of this camp will go a long way in disrupting the activities of the Naxals in the area. We will continue to take strong action against anyone who threatens the security of our citizens."

In this sequence, a camp of Naxalites was found in the forest near Ambia village of Goilkera police station area. It has been demolished by the security forces.

In view of increased activities of Maoists, Chaibasa police are running a continuous campaign against Naxalites since last 11th January. During this, police personnel are also getting success. Teams of Chaibasa Police, Cobra 209 Battalion, 203 Battalion, 205 Battalion, Jharkhand Jaguar and CRPF 60, 197, 157, 174, 193, 07 and CRPF 26 battalions are included in this campaign.

A joint operation team of these jawans has been constituted and the operation is being carried out continuously.

Top leaders of CPI Maoist Naxalite organization Misir Besra, Anmol, Mochu, Chaman, Kande, Ajay Mahto, Sagen Angaria, Ashwin along with their squad members are roaming in Kolhan area for subversive activity.

The operation has been widely praised by political leaders and citizens alike, who have hailed it as a major victory in the fight against Naxalism. Many have also expressed their gratitude to the security forces for their bravery and dedication in protecting the region.
A violent clash between two groups over a petty dispute in Amethi district led to the death of a woman while her husband was seriously injured.

When the local police reached the spot, both the parties escaped. The injured were shifted to hospital and a case was registered by the police.

Inspector-in-charge of the police station, Arun Dwivedi, said that Ram Bahadur's motorcycle collided with Hiralal's bicycle late on Saturday evening, which led to a fight between the two sides.

He said that Ram Bahadur's wife Ramrati (30) died and Ram Bahadur (36) was seriously injured in the fight and was admitted to the community health centre in Bhentua.

According to the SHO, legal action is being taken in the matter by sending Ramrati's body for autopsy. He claimed that a case was registered against four persons and a hunt was on for them. A police force was also deployed in the village to avert fresh clashes.

Meanwhile, a youth was killed in Budaun.

Reports said that Manoj Yadav of Karanpur village under Bilsi police station had gone towards his fields after having dinner on Saturday evening. In the field, Manoj met one Veer Singh and two other youths from the village who were already drunk. Suddenly they had a heated argument during conversation. Veer Singh and his companions started abusing Manoj. On protesting, all three attacked Manoj with sticks and rods, seriously injuring him. The villagers rescued Manoj and shifted him to hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead.

Manoj's father Girwar Singh has given a complaint to the police against Veer Singh and two unknown persons.

SSP Dr OP Singh said a team had been constituted to arrest the accused.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis 2-day tour of Kerala has sown the seeds of a paradigm shift in the political landscape in the Gods Own Country as the Church leadership and the Christian community have grown weary of the appeasement politics of both the Congress and Communist governments and they are yearning for a positive change, writes Kumar Chellappan

He came, he saw and he conquered: Thats one way of describing Prime Minister Narendra Modis whirlwind tour of Kerala on Monday and Tuesday. Though he had visited the State as the chief minister of Gujarat and as the Prime Minister in the past, those tours did not cause this much excitement among the Kerala population.

From the moment he landed at Indian Navys airport at Kochi on Monday evening, till he boarded the special aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram, the regional TV news channels were overexcited as if Modi was coming to Kerala for the first time. News channels in Malayalam, dominated by card holding members and propagandists of CPI(M) and Jamaat-e-Islami had specialised in toning down news about the Prime Minister. It was a different approach this time.

Modis public meeting on Monday was held at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, set up in 1944 by the Catholic Church. This was a signal that politics in Kerala is in for a change. His roadshow from the airport to the venue literally caught the CPI(M) and the Congress leadership off guard. People in the State have seen Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan speeding through the roads accompanied by a cavalcade of at least 50 SUVs and sirens blowing police vehicles and ambulances since 2016. But at no point of time, Vijayan has interacted with the people anywhere in Kerala. The police insist that people should not wear black shirts or saris in areas visited by Vijayan. Even black coloured masks are forbidden in the State. There were many instances in the recent past when people wearing black shirts or costumes or masks were kept away from venues hosting Chief Minister Vijayan. It is against this backdrop that Modi walked 1. 5 km without any unusual security cover and that too despite threat letters issued by various extremist organisations that he would be targeted.

Modi met heads of various factions of the Church after his interaction with the youth. It is not known what transpired in the meeting, though one of the bishops told the media that the price of rubber came up for discussion. While addressing the Kerala Catholic Farmers, Metropolitan Archbishop Joseph Pamplani of Thalasseri Archdiocese had declared that the Christian community in the State would vote for the BJP if the Centre hikes the price of rubber to Rs 300 per kg. This literally shocked the Congress and the CPI(M) leadership. While MV Govindan, the boss of the CPI(M) lambasted the Archbishop in the harshest of words, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly VD Satheesh scoffed at the spiritual leader for crossing the Lakshman Rekha in politics.

Pamplanis statement was in continuation of a statement made by Mar Joseph Kallarangattu of Pala Diocese in April 2022 that extremists were administering narcotics among Hindu and Christian girls in the State. The CPI(M)-led Kerala Government filed a FIR against the Bishop on charges of creating religious animosity among different communities in the State. But the BJP, which was waiting for a chance to build a bridge between the party and the Christian vote bank, saw the potential in the Bishops statement and declared their support to him.

A probe took The Pioneer to the heart of the matter. The Church runs nearly hundred de-addiction centres across Kerala and details of those getting admitted to these centres speak the truth. Majority of the girls were from Hindu families while there has been an alarming increase in the number of Christian girls falling prey to drugs. It is by making the victims addicts to drugs, these jehadi get them converted to Islam and take them to ISIS-dominated areas, said Kevin Peter, convener, Christian Alliance and Association for Social Action (CAASA), an umbrella organisation formed to safeguard the interests of various Christian sects in the country.

The Church in Kerala never had any kind of ties with the Sangh Parivar as the latter is against religious conversions undertaken by the priests and evangelists in the State. During the tenure of K Sudarshan as RSS chief, a channel of communication was opened between the Sangh and the Church. Leaders of RSS held many rounds of meetings with a section of the Church leaders led by Joseph Pulikkunnel, a theologist and editor of Hosana monthly. But there was no progress in these discussions.

While the CPI(M), the Congress and the Muslim League took strong objections to the comments by some of the bishops over love jehad featuring Christian girls, the BJP stood behind the spiritual leaders and shared their apprehension over the elopement of Christian girls with Muslim boys. When activists of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) chopped the hand of Prof TJ Joseph, for his alleged comments against Prophet Muhammad, the Sangh Parivar was the lone organisation that extended its hands to the victim as the Left intelligentsia maintained silence over the gruesome incident.

The refusal of the CPI(M) and the Congress-led governments to provide reservation to Christians while the Muslim community walked away with the entire benefits antagonised the Church. The ban on SIMI and PFI resulted in the activists of these outfits joining the CPI(M) and later redesigning of the rules of the Special Marriages Act in the State to help the Islamists perform the marriage in secret. KT Jaleel, former minister of higher education, was the undisputed leader of SIMI and had campaigned across the State with the slogan Indias Liberation is only through Islam. His social media posts strengthen the charge that his loyalty is still with the extremists, said Kevin Peter.

Though the Centre has banned PFI, the Pinarayi Vijayan Government has not taken any action against the outfit. Prof Stanly Sebastian, an educationist, says the campuses in Kerala have been taken over by the PFI and the SDPI (political wing of PFI) and they operate through the SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M). Green Light, a WhatsApp collective in Kerala Police, is full of jehadi and Islamic terrorists. Kerala has become a safe haven for the terrorists and this was proved by the arson in Alappuzha-Kannur Janasadabdi Express resulting in the death of three persons. Though the jehadi was held by Maharashtra Police and handed over to the Kerala Police, the latter is yet to make any breakthrough in the probe, said Prof Sebastian.

It is an undisputed fact that there is a thaw in the ties between the Church and the BJP. The BJP has accommodated as many Christians as possible in its organisational structure as well as in tributary organisations. This is a welcome signal and we need not doubt about their intentions, said Jaison Mazhuvancherry, a devout Christian and BJP activist in Pulluvazhi, the CPI(M) stronghold.

KT Paily, a former Indian Railway official and community leader, says there is a discernible change among the Christians towards the BJP. But I may not guarantee that this would lead to the transfer of votes to the party. During Sunday congregations and social functions, community members express their satisfaction over the track record of the Modi Government, said Paily.

But the State leadership of the BJP is handicapped by the absence of a charismatic person to lead the party. The present leadership has to go and Kerala should get someone like K Annamalai of Tamil Nadu. The BJP in Kerala is a house divided with each leader operating as a separate party, said a national executive member.

While the State leadership failed to build bridges with potential allies, CP Radhakrishnan, former prabhari of the State, (present Governor of Jharkhand) went out of his way and communicated with the leaders of the Church. Radhakrishnans style was distinct. He pointed out to the community leaders about the contributions made by veteran IAS and defence services personnel to the nation and asked them to be part of the Hindutva party. This has yielded some results as a former director general of police, Dr Jacob Thomas, campaigned openly for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2021 Assembly polls.

Yet another pat on the back of the BJP came from Cardinal George Alencherry, the 78-year old shepherd of the community, who said in an interaction with a Kerala-based daily that Christians do not feel insecure in India. While agreeing with reports that the community members were being attacked by Hindu zealots in north India, he said most of such reports were exaggerated ones. But that does not smoothen the ties between the BJP and the Church. Evangelisation is the identity of Christianity and the Church is unlikely to compromise with the demand of Hindus that there should be a law banning conversion by persuasion and pecuniary benefits.

Prof E Balakrishnan, author of History of Communist Movement in Kerala, says that the time has come for cooperation between the Hindus and Christians in India. The Christians are facing an identity crisis as the communitys population has gone down while the Muslim population in India is always on the rise. The day is not far off when they will overtake the Hindu population. The Hindus and Christians are dependent on each other. This is not to portray the Muslims in poor light. Globally, they evoke a sense of fear and their intolerance to other religions is the biggest threat to secularism, said Prof Balakrishnan.

It is easier said than done as there are burning issues which remain between Mandir and Church. The RSS does not accept the theory of St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ who had come to Kerala. Then, there is the process of evangelisation, the raison detre of Christianity. Mohammed himself has gone to meet the Mountain sans anyone from Kerala. One has to wait till 2024 to know whether the Mountain budged to facilitate the pilgrims progress.
Keralites have every right to state that "The Kerala Story" is a "misrepresentation of our reality", senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Monday, stressing that he was not calling for a ban on the film as freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused.

Tagging a poster of the Muslim Youth League Kerala offering a reward of Rs 1 crore if someone can prove allegations that 32,000 Keralites converted and fled to Syria, Tharoor said, "Now there's an opportunity for all those hyping the alleged conversions of 32,000 women on Kerala to Islamism - to prove their case and make some money."

"Will they be up to the challenge or is there simply no proof because none exists?" the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said, using the hashtag 'Not Our Kerala Story'.

In another tweet, he said, "Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality."

Sharing a poster of the movie, Tharoor had tweeted on Sunday, "It may be 'your' Kerala story. It is not 'our' Kerala story."

'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is portrayed as "unearthing" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" allegedly going missing from Kerala.

According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims they converted, got radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday had slammed the makers of the film, saying they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the issue of 'love jihad' -- a concept rejected by the courts, probe agencies and the Home Ministry.

'The Kerala Story' is backed by Sunshine Pictures Private Limited, founded by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who serves as the producer, creative director and co-writer of the film.

The film's writer-director Sudipto Sen's earlier movies are 'Aasma', 'Lucknow Times' and 'The Last Monk.'
An aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed on Sunday in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by more than two weeks of fighting between forces loyal to rival generals.

The supplies are enough to treat hundreds of wounded, as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400.

The conflict erupted on April 15 between the nations army and its paramilitary force, and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors association has said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

On Sunday, the aircraft carrying medical aid took off from Jordan and landed in the city of Port Sudan, said the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The supplies, including anaesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said.

The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRCs regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said on Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded.

The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum. The fighting pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fitful transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other. Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire.
Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR  Get Rating) will be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.37 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Acadia Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Acadia Realty Trust stock opened at $13.51 on Monday. Acadia Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $12.28 and a 52 week high of $21.88. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $13.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of -34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acadia Realty Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Acadia Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $75,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,636 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,308 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,728 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Acadia Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $151,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

About Acadia Realty Trust

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Acadia Realty Trust from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Acadia Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $18.17.

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Acadia Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in delivering operating platforms and investment strategy. It operates through the following business segments: Core Portfolio, Funds, and Structured Financing. The Core Portfolio segment consists of retail properties. The Funds segment handles retail real estate.

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Shore Capital reissued their buy rating on shares of Barclays (LON:BARC  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BARC. UBS Group set a GBX 238 ($2.97) target price on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Citigroup restated a buy rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 240 ($3.00) to GBX 250 ($3.12) and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 240 ($3.00) to GBX 200 ($2.50) and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and set a GBX 270 ($3.37) price target on shares of Barclays in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 238.56 ($2.98).

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Barclays Price Performance

Barclays stock opened at GBX 159.88 ($2.00) on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of 24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 515.74, a PEG ratio of -1.09 and a beta of 1.35. Barclays has a one year low of GBX 128.12 ($1.60) and a one year high of GBX 198.86 ($2.48). The companys fifty day moving average price is GBX 154.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 160.96.

Barclays Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Barclays

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 23rd were given a dividend of GBX 5 ($0.06) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Barclayss previous dividend of $2.25. This represents a yield of 2.67%. Barclayss dividend payout ratio is 2,258.06%.

In related news, insider Dawn Fitzpatrick acquired 5,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 174 ($2.17) per share, for a total transaction of 9,766.62 ($12,197.60). Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock.

About Barclays

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Barclays PLC, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International divisions. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services.

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CGI Group (TSE:GIB  Get Rating) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from C$140.00 to C$155.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GIB. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on CGI Group to C$150.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. TD Securities increased their target price on CGI Group from C$145.00 to C$160.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their target price on CGI Group from C$140.00 to C$160.00 in a research note on Friday, April 21st.

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CGI Group Price Performance

CGI Group (TSE:GIB  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported C$1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.60 by C$0.06. The firm had revenue of C$3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$3.31 billion.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN  Get Rating) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ETN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Eaton from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Eaton from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Eaton from $173.00 to $197.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eaton from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Eaton from $148.00 to $145.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $172.00.

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Eaton Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $167.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.12. Eaton has a one year low of $122.50 and a one year high of $178.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

Eaton ( NYSE:ETN Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 11.86%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Investors of record on Monday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 5th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Eatons payout ratio is 55.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $338,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 67,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,351,054. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $338,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 67,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,351,054. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,326 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.23, for a total value of $398,280.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,291,899.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,377 shares of company stock valued at $5,864,193 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 170,423 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $22,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Keebeck Alpha LP lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Keebeck Alpha LP now owns 2,632 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $310,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,307 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $7,739,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Sepio Capital LP acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.19% of the companys stock.

About Eaton

(Get Rating)

Eaton Corp. Plc is a power management company, which provides energy-efficient solutions for electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power. It operates through the following segments: Electrical Americas and Electrical Global, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segments engage in sales contracts for electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality, wiring devices, circuit protection, utility power distribution, power reliability equipment, and service.

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In view of the alleged partisanship on the part of some security agents in tackling the herdsmen perpetrating the ongoing mass killings in Benue State, Ejiofor Alike writes that some compromised security operatives protecting the killers should be sanctioned to dispel the widespread speculations that the marauding herdsmen have the backing of some unseen forces

A senior military officer, one soldier and no fewer than 15 others were reportedly the latest victims of the ongoing mass killings of villagers by herdsmen in Benue State.

In a renewed attack in Edikwu 2 Council Ward of Apa Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, the communities under siege by the invaders since Tuesday include: Odogbo and Opaha, the hometown of the lawmaker representing Apa State Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Abu Umoro; and the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. David Olofu.

Before the latest attacks, the Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Edikwu Ward 2, Mr. Nathaniel Ochoche, had last weekend joined the growing list of victims of the coordinated attacks on the communities in the state by herdsmen.

Ochoche was said to be among the four mourners, who were killed in an ambush that left many injured and several others missing in Ankpali village, Edikwu District of Apa LGA.

"As a party, with a people-centred programme, we condemn in its totality the continuous callous acts of armed Fulani militia. We, therefore, call on the federal and state governments, and all relevant authorities and stakeholders to rise up to the occasion of protecting the lives and property of the people and stop the unwarranted killings by suspected criminal Fulani herdsmen," LP reportedly said in a statement issued in Makurdi by its state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tersoo Orbunde.

Despite the heavy military presence in the state, the rampaging herdsmen said to be from the Republic of Niger, Senegal, Chad and other neighbouring countries, have killed over 200 people in a suspected land-grabbing mission in the state within the last eight weeks, according to the residents.

Some of the security agents in the state, many of whom have lost their lives to the invaders, seem to have either been overwhelmed or culpable in the killings.

The troops of Operation 'Ayem Akpatuma III' of the 4 Special Forces Command' providing security in both Nasarawa and Benue states, were able to kill the Tiv militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, widely known as Gana, in April 2020.

The soldiers also neutralised many of his gang members, ending their criminal exploits.

But the herdsmen who have committed more heinous crimes since 2015 than Gana and his men have continued to have a field day.

Though the 72 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Makurdi and troops of the Operation Whirl Stroke operating in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara states, had recorded a number of arrests and killings of the attackers, most of the recent attacks carried out for several consecutive days, were hardly challenged by the security agents on ground.

After the recent killing of over 100 people, including traditional chiefs in Apa LGA, youths in the area last week blocked the Oweto-Loko/Abuja expressway, alleging that soldiers posted to the area were protecting the herdsmen.

The subtle protection allegedly enjoyed by the killers may have accounted for the inability of the military, which degraded Boko Haram fighters who carry superior weapons, to defeat the AK-47-wielding herdsmen.

Within the first week of March, the herders invaded six communities in the Kwande LGA of the state, killing no fewer than 50 people in a four-day attack, despite the heavy presence of security forces in the state.

The former chairman of the council, Tertsua Yarkbewan, who confirmed the casualty figures, said the death toll could be more.

But the state police command spokesperson, Catherine Anene, who also confirmed the attack, disputed the casualty figure.

"They have not given me the report but it is not up to 50," she reportedly said.

Following the sustained attacks, the farming communities in Kwande LGA had in an open letter told President Muhammadu Buhari that the Fulani herdsmen killed over 50 people in an attack that lasted for 10 days unchallenged.

Twice within 24 hours at the beginning of March, the herdsmen attacked the Umuogidi community in Otukpo LGA, killing 46 persons, including a policeman.

The Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Bako Ejeh, who confirmed the attack, lamented that he lost his 32-year-old son, nephew, and brother-in-law.

Following the editorials by THISDAY and Daily Trust, condemning the killings, an outraged presidency, which should be worried that foreign invaders are wiping out Nigerian communities, chose to mock Ortom for losing his senatorial bid in the recent elections.

The presidency in a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu accused the outgoing governor of frustrating all peaceful efforts made towards solving the security situation in the state.

Though the statement listed the security measures put in place to bring peace to Benue State, it failed to acknowledge that these security measures have failed woefully to defeat the herders.

This apparent weakness on the part of the security agencies has raised suspicion among the residents of the state that the security measures were intended to protect the killers and shield them from reprisals from the Benue communities.

The failure of the various security agencies to end the killings had forced Ortom to set up Livestock Guards to enforce the anti-open grazing law he had enacted.

However, this paramilitary outfit could not defeat the killers who wield superior weapons.

With the escalating attacks, Ortom temporarily suspended the enforcement of the law earlier this month to enable the foreign herders who claimed that they came into the state unaware of the law to leave the state with their cattle.

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It beats every imagination that the presidency which controls the armed forces, police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies have constantly resorted to blaming the state governor who has no power over the security agencies.

Residents of the state deserve to know why the military, which defeated Boko Haram fighters and their heavy armoured tanks, anti-aircraft weapons, land mines, Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG) and rocket launchers, could not defeat AK-47-wielding herdsmen.

Reacting to the latest attack on him by the presidency, Ortom reiterated that President Buhari endorsed the intractable killings in the state.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, the governor blamed the intractable massacres in Benue on Buhari's "endorsement" of the violent activities of herdsmen whom he said are of the Fulani ethnic extraction as the president.

"Buhari has empowered and emboldened the Fulani pastoralists in their expansionist agenda, including killings," he added.

Indeed, many Nigerians believe that the herdsmen are the untouchables, having perpetrated killings in most of the states without consequences.

President Buhari should dispel this notion by sanctioning some compromised and bigoted security agents who are believed to be protecting those involved in mass killings in Benue State.
Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.10-$3.40 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.26. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Masco Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MAS traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.51. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,979,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,163,972. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.87. Masco has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $58.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.18.

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Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.22. Masco had a net margin of 9.65% and a negative return on equity of 237.83%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Mascos revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Masco will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 22nd. This is an increase from Mascos previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Mascos payout ratio is currently 31.93%.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Masco from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on Masco from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Masco from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Masco from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $58.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 56,853 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.26, for a total transaction of $3,198,549.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 258,085 shares in the company, valued at $14,519,862.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 56,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.26, for a total value of $3,198,549.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 258,085 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,519,862.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 33,947 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total transaction of $1,808,017.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 200,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,668,244.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 312,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,222,643. Insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 159,786 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $7,458,000 after buying an additional 33,390 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 9,572 shares of the construction companys stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 92,125 shares of the construction companys stock worth $4,299,000 after purchasing an additional 7,794 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the construction companys stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 379,718 shares of the construction companys stock worth $17,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,115 shares during the last quarter. 91.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Masco Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Masco Corp. engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. It operates under the Plumbing Products and Decorative Architectural Products segments. The Plumbing Products segment includes faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, shower drains, steam shower systems, sinks, kitchen accessories, and toilets.

Further Reading

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Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $8.01-$8.37 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $9.13. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Mid-America Apartment Communities also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $2.18-$2.34 EPS.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA stock traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.80. 627,877 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 661,046. The company has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.77. The companys 50 day moving average is $151.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.51. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1 year low of $138.68 and a 1 year high of $207.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.10.

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Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.61). The business had revenue of $527.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $529.90 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 31.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 9.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communitiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Mid-America Apartment Communitiess dividend payout ratio is currently 98.25%.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MAA shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $156.50 price target on the stock. Scotiabank cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a sector perform rating to a sector underperform rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $185.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. JMP Securities increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $205.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $172.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie Carpenter sold 480 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $72,100.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,669 shares in the company, valued at $2,503,850.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 33.2% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 962 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Fund Management at Engine No. 1 LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the first quarter valued at $204,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,463 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Enlightenment Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the first quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 40.8% during the first quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.20% of the companys stock.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

(Get Rating)

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store Communities and Non-Same Store and Other. The Same Store Communities segment focuses on communities that the company has owned.

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SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a decline of 21.6% from the March 31st total of 1,900,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 824,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

SunCoke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SunCoke Energy stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $7.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,507,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,388. The firms 50 day moving average price is $8.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.56. The firm has a market cap of $651.65 million, a PE ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.24. SunCoke Energy has a 52-week low of $5.72 and a 52-week high of $10.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.67.

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SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The energy company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $369.80 million. SunCoke Energy had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 16.99%. Sell-side analysts predict that SunCoke Energy will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SunCoke Energy Announces Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 15th. SunCoke Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

A number of analysts have issued reports on SXC shares. B. Riley raised their target price on SunCoke Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of SunCoke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Phillip Michael Hardesty sold 13,778 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.97, for a total value of $137,366.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 206,050 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,318.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.73% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 115,752 shares of the energy companys stock worth $999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,409 shares of the energy companys stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,156 shares of the energy companys stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 72,194 shares of the energy companys stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SunCoke Energy by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 77,109 shares of the energy companys stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.79% of the companys stock.

SunCoke Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

SunCoke Energy, Inc is engaged in the production of coke through heating metallurgical coal in a refractory oven. It operates through the following segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. The Domestic Coke segment consists of the Jewell facility located in Vansant, Virginia, the Indiana Harbor facility located in East Chicago, Indiana, the Haverhill facility located in Franklin Furnace, Ohio, the Granite City facility located in Granite City, Illinois and the Middletown facility located in Middletown, Ohio.

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Teledyne Technologies (NYSE:TDY  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $19.00-$19.20 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $19.15. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Teledyne Technologies also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $4.56-$4.66 EPS.

Teledyne Technologies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:TDY traded up $3.41 on Friday, hitting $414.40. 202,746 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,869. Teledyne Technologies has a 52 week low of $325.00 and a 52 week high of $452.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $427.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.59. The company has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.08.

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Teledyne Technologies (NYSE:TDY  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.10. Teledyne Technologies had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.27 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Teledyne Technologies will post 19.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Insiders Place Their Bets

TDY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Teledyne Technologies in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Teledyne Technologies from $498.00 to $470.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Teledyne Technologies from $503.00 to $499.00 in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $485.67.

In other Teledyne Technologies news, Director Charles Crocker sold 3,477 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.00, for a total value of $1,467,294.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,513 shares of the companys stock, valued at $19,206,486. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP George C. Bobb III sold 10,000 shares of Teledyne Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.12, for a total transaction of $4,331,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,490 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,543,428.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles Crocker sold 3,477 shares of Teledyne Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.00, for a total value of $1,467,294.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,513 shares in the company, valued at $19,206,486. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,210 shares of company stock valued at $8,741,594. Insiders own 2.14% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Teledyne Technologies by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,098,739 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $2,409,817,000 after purchasing an additional 64,262 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Teledyne Technologies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,717,685 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $1,086,830,000 after purchasing an additional 60,379 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Teledyne Technologies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,838,405 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $620,407,000 after purchasing an additional 14,077 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Teledyne Technologies by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 496,111 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $198,400,000 after purchasing an additional 115,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Teledyne Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,954,000. 91.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Teledyne Technologies

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Teledyne Technologies, Inc engages in the provision of electronic and communication products for wireless and satellite systems. It operates through the following business segments: Instrumentation, Digital Imaging, Aerospace and Defense Electronics, and Engineered Systems. The Instrumentation segment provides monitoring and control instruments for marine, environmental, industrial, and other applications, and electronic test and measurement equipment.

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Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $5.15-$5.55 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38. The company issued revenue guidance of $8.70 billion-$9.00 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $8.88 billion.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WAB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.67. The stock had a trading volume of 884,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,130. The firm has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a 52 week low of $78.26 and a 52 week high of $107.86.

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Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 7.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Increases Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 23rd. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologiess payout ratio is presently 18.99%.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price objective on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $110.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $112.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 78,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.78, for a total value of $8,201,864.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,604,618.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Brian Hehir sold 2,881 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $301,727.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,662.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 78,277 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.78, for a total value of $8,201,864.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,577 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,604,618.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,834 shares of company stock worth $9,306,731. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Eudaimonia Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $366,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $1,092,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 287,515 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $23,389,000 after purchasing an additional 26,351 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.47% of the companys stock.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Company Profile

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Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. engages in the provision of equipment, systems, and value-added services for the rail industry. It operates through the Freight and Transit segments. The Freight segment builds new locomotives, manufactures and services components for new and existing freight cars and locomotives, rebuilds freight locomotives, supplies railway electronics, positive train control equipment, and signal design and engineering services, and provides related heat exchange and cooling systems.

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Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI  Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $191.88.

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Acuity Brands in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Acuity Brands from $201.00 to $173.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Acuity Brands from $193.00 to $180.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Acuity Brands from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity Brands

In other Acuity Brands news, Director Laura Oshaughnessy bought 632 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $158.05 per share, with a total value of $99,887.60. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,111 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $333,643.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands Trading Up 1.6 %

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Acuity Brands by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,313,389 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $627,225,000 after buying an additional 60,541 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,982,396 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $564,568,000 after purchasing an additional 25,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,208,990 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $228,862,000 after purchasing an additional 195,515 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 620.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,197,721 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $198,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 959,447 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $181,623,000 after purchasing an additional 38,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $157.38 on Monday. Acuity Brands has a one year low of $142.71 and a one year high of $202.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $176.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.58.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 4th. The electronics maker reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.51. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 22.20% and a net margin of 9.22%. The company had revenue of $943.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.99 million. As a group, analysts predict that Acuity Brands will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 14th. Acuity Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.56%.

About Acuity Brands

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Acuity Brands, Inc operates as an industrial technology company, which engages in the provision of lighting and building management solutions and services. It operates through the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls and Intelligent Spaces Group segments. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

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Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBD  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 80,080,000 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the March 31st total of 65,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 30,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bradesco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Banco Bradesco by 24.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,835 shares of the banks stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in Banco Bradesco by 27.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,319 shares of the banks stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Banco Bradesco by 21.4% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,501 shares of the banks stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,610 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 51.0% in the first quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,984 shares of the banks stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banco Bradesco by 2.6% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 151,614 shares of the banks stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the last quarter. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Banco Bradesco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBD opened at $2.80 on Monday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $2.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.86. Banco Bradesco has a 1 year low of $2.34 and a 1 year high of $4.32. The company has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.71.

Banco Bradesco Dividend Announcement

Banco Bradesco ( NYSE:BBD Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The bank reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.06). Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $8.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.21 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.0036 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 3rd. Banco Bradescos dividend payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BBD. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Banco Bradesco from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Bradesco from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $3.70 to $2.70 in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $11.93.

About Banco Bradesco

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Banco Bradesco SA engages in the provision of financial and insurance services. It operates through Banking, and Insurance segments. The Banking segment includes banking activities. The Insurance segment covers auto, health, life, accident and property insurance, and pension plans aw well as capitalization bonds.

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Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,423 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.0% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 valued at $14,955,557,000 after buying an additional 2,011,683 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 351,136 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 316,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,523,473 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $1,363,917,000 after purchasing an additional 218,683 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 813,894 shares during the period. 72.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $107.00 to $103.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $122.37.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.6 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $111.15. The stock had a trading volume of 536,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,276,219. The company has a market cap of $193.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $102.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.13. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $118.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 62.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 52,203 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,256,842.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total value of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,203 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,256,842.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Get Rating)

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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Canadian Utilities Limited (TSE:CU  Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 13th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 4th will be given a dividend of 0.449 per share on Thursday, June 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 3rd.

Canadian Utilities Stock Performance

CU stock opened at C$39.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.56. Canadian Utilities has a 12-month low of C$33.24 and a 12-month high of C$41.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.78. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$37.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$36.69.

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Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported C$0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.70 by C($0.04). The business had revenue of C$1.11 billion during the quarter. Canadian Utilities had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Canadian Utilities will post 2.3212405 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Canadian Utilities Company Profile

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CU. CIBC increased their price target on Canadian Utilities from C$39.00 to C$40.00 in a report on Friday. Veritas Investment Research raised Canadian Utilities from a sell rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. National Bankshares increased their price target on Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. CSFB increased their price target on Canadian Utilities from C$38.50 to C$40.50 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank set a C$41.00 price objective on Canadian Utilities and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$40.07.

(Get Rating)

Canadian Utilities Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity, natural gas, and retail energy businesses in the United States, Australia, and internationally. It operates through Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate & Other segments. The Utilities segment provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution services in northern and central east Alberta, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories; and integrated natural gas transmission and distribution services in Alberta, the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan, and Western Australia.

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Chemed (NYSE:CHE  Get Rating) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $587.00 to $610.00 in a research report issued on Monday, The Fly reports. Royal Bank of Canadas price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.49% from the stocks current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Chemed from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com began coverage on Chemed in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company.

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Chemed Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE CHE traded up $0.82 during trading on Monday, reaching $552.07. 12,925 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.53. Chemed has a fifty-two week low of $430.16 and a fifty-two week high of $570.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $533.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $509.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Chemed ( NYSE:CHE Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The company reported $5.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.30 by $0.09. Chemed had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm had revenue of $546.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.25 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Chemed will post 20.85 EPS for the current year.

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.27, for a total value of $1,578,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 118,613 shares of the companys stock, valued at $62,422,463.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO David Patrick Williams sold 4,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.25, for a total value of $2,093,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,696,799.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 3,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.27, for a total value of $1,578,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 118,613 shares in the company, valued at $62,422,463.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,686,450 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.03% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Chemed by 0.5% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,350,527 shares of the companys stock worth $684,111,000 after buying an additional 6,546 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 428,845 shares of the companys stock worth $217,231,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Chemed by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 416,960 shares of the companys stock worth $211,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Chemed by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 362,270 shares of the companys stock worth $184,914,000 after acquiring an additional 230,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 250,173 shares of the companys stock worth $127,695,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915 shares during the last quarter. 91.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chemed Company Profile

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Chemed Corp. engages in the provision of healthcare and maintenance services. It operates through the VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. The VITAS segment offers hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers.

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The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, has said the incoming government of the Governor-elect of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, will revisit the dethronement of the 14th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II.

Sanusi, who became emir in the final term of Kwankwaso as governor of the state, was dethroned by the outgoing Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who was the deputy governor at the time the monarch was installed.

Sanusi was removed on March 9, 2020, and also banished from Kano and sent to Loko, a remote community in Nasarawa State, while the expenses of the emirate under him were probed.

He later became the leader of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect in Nigeria, after he was turbaned in Senegal as the Khalifa of the Tijaniyya sect in Nigeria by Sheikh Mahi Ibrahim Inyass, the Grand Khalifa of the Tijaniyya Movement.

However, the Federal High Court, Abuja, later declared his banishment from Kano State as unlawful and unconstitutional.

Delivering judgment in Sanusi's suit in November 2021, Justice Anwuli Chikere awarded N10 million compensation to him and against the respondents comprising the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Attorney-General of Kano State.

She also ordered them to tender a public apology to him in two national dailies.

She held that the Emirate Council Law, 2019, relied on by the Kano State government in banishing Sanusi conflicted with the Nigerian Constitution.

Following the court judgment, Sanusi had in February this year paid a historic visit to Kano State, barely three years after he was deposed from the throne.

Sanusi arrived at the Aminu Kano International Airport and moved straight to his mother's residence which is located along Ibrahim Dabo Road.

The former Emir later clarified that he was in Kano on his way to Dutse, Jigawa State.

He explained that he could not fly directly to Jigawa State, because of the bad weather and had to stop over in Kano.

After dethroning Sanusi, Ganduje had also enacted a law splitting the Kano emirate into five and appointed emirs who were at par.

But speaking in a viral video, Kwankwaso said the dethronement and balkanisation of the emirate would be reviewed by the incoming government of the governor-elect, Abba Kabir Yusuf, who is popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida.

According to the NNPP presidential candidate, "We have campaigned and as you know we are popular in Nigeria, especially in Kano State, we are now back and God willing we will continue with the good works our administration left. This incoming governor and his team will take them up.

"As elders, we will continue to advise them to do the right thing. We tried not to intervene in the issue of bringing or removing any Emir, but now, an opportunity has come.

"Those who were given this opportunity will sit down and see to the issues. They will look at what they are expected to do.

"Besides the Emir, even the emirate has been divided into five places. All these need to be studied. Usually, a leader inherits good, bad, and issues that are hard to reconcile."

He further prayed for God's intervention to allow the incoming governor to be able to handle things easily.

When contacted, an official of the NNPP in Kano told THISDAY on the condition of anonymity that "the video is genuine but I can't say anything about it. It's not my duty to talk about it".

However, all efforts to contact the spokesperson of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Mr Ladipo Johson proved abortive as he declined to answer the phone call or respond to a text message sent to him.

Recall that one year after he removed Sanusi, Ganduje had said he decided to save the system and the traditional institution from abuse.

Speaking at the presentation of a book on former President Goodluck Jonathan, authored by a journalist, Mr. Bonaventure Melah, Ganduje had said the former emir was not the best man for the throne, alleging that the deposed emir was appointed to spite former President Goodluck Jonathan.

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Jonathan had in April 2014 removed Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over claims by the ex-CBN governor that $49 billion was stolen by some persons under the Jonathan administration.

Faulting Sanusi's public outburst over the alleged fraud, Ganduje said the ex-CBN governor ought to have discussed the matter privately with the former president who in turn could have directed an investigation into the allegation.

"Jonathan took a bold step in [removing] Sanusi as CBN governor, which created bad blood in certain circles. When Sanusi said $49 billion was lost in Jonathan's government, I said in my mind that no, you could have discussed it with him (Jonathan) privately.

"You could have given him this clue and then he would know how to investigate even before those who had stolen the money would find a way of hiding the money.

"That statement, I said in my mind, was not honourable. That statement created bad blood... Sanusi was appointed Emir of Kano not because he was the best man for the throne but to retaliate what Jonathan did to him," Ganduje reportedly explained.
Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Fortune Brands Innovations (NYSE:FBIN  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has $84.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Fortune Brands Innovations Q2 2023 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $1.08 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $0.93 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $3.75 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $4.23 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Fortune Brands Innovations from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and raised their price target for the company from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Bank of America downgraded Fortune Brands Innovations from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, January 30th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Fortune Brands Innovations from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Fortune Brands Innovations from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Fortune Brands Innovations from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortune Brands Innovations presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $67.60.

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Fortune Brands Innovations Price Performance

NYSE:FBIN opened at $64.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 1.50. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $59.16. Fortune Brands Innovations has a fifty-two week low of $49.51 and a fifty-two week high of $78.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Fortune Brands Innovations Company Profile

Fortune Brands Innovations ( NYSE:FBIN Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Fortune Brands Innovations had a return on equity of 26.73% and a net margin of 9.32%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortune Brands Innovations will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

(Get Rating)

Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc manufactures and supplies home and security products and services. The company operates through the following segments: Cabinets, Plumbing, Outdoors & Security. The Cabinets segment manufactures custom, semi-custom, and stock cabinetry, as well as vanities, for the kitchen and bath.

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Summit Financial LLC decreased its stake in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL  Get Rating) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,293 shares of the aerospace companys stock after selling 7,996 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLCs holdings in Hexcel were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Hexcel by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Hexcel by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,397 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Hexcel by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 44,406 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,297,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Hexcel by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 22,259 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Hexcel by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,470 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.87% of the companys stock.

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Hexcel Stock Performance

Shares of Hexcel stock opened at $72.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Hexcel Co. has a 12 month low of $47.38 and a 12 month high of $74.99.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

Hexcel ( NYSE:HXL Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $457.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $431.53 million. Hexcel had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 9.19%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Hexcels dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HXL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hexcel from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Bank of America cut Hexcel from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Hexcel from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hexcel from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hexcel from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $68.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hexcel

In other Hexcel news, Director Marilyn Minus sold 700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.31, for a total transaction of $49,917.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,672 shares in the company, valued at $261,850.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hexcel news, Director Marilyn Minus sold 700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.31, for a total transaction of $49,917.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,672 shares in the company, valued at $261,850.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Thierry Merlot sold 4,192 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.11, for a total value of $293,901.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,010 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,881.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,722 shares of company stock worth $676,077 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the companys stock.

Hexcel Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Hexcel Corp. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of lightweight structural materials. It operates through the Composite Materials and Engineered Products segments. The Composite Materials segment includes carbon fiber, specialty reinforcements, resins, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, and honeycomb core product lines and pultruded profiles.

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Israel Discount Bank of New York trimmed its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,853 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 1.0% of Israel Discount Bank of New Yorks portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Israel Discount Bank of New Yorks holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $1,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 339.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,581,157 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $443,273,000 after buying an additional 3,537,778 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $582,924,000 after buying an additional 2,235,314 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 154,563,421 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $14,955,557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,683 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 99.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,140,866 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $371,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $131,945,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.93% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $110.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $93.25 and a 12-month high of $118.23. The company has a market cap of $191.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $102.47 and a 200-day moving average of $105.13.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.64 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The firms revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. SVB Leerink raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $122.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total value of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares in the company, valued at $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $7,091,998.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock worth $199,140. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Get Rating)

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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Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:MNARF  Get Rating) had its target price increased by TD Securities from C$23.00 to C$24.00 in a research note released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust stock opened at $12.50 on Thursday. Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust has a twelve month low of $10.54 and a twelve month high of $14.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.40.

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Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust Company Profile

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Morguard North American Residential REIT is an open-ended real estate investment trust, which engages in owning a diversified portfolio of multi-suite residential rental properties. It operates through the Canada and United States geographical segments. The company was founded on March 1, 2012 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.

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MaxLinear (NYSE:MXL  Get Rating) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $48.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MXL. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of MaxLinear in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. They set an underperform rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of MaxLinear from $55.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MaxLinear in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of MaxLinear from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of MaxLinear from $45.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $40.00.

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MaxLinear Price Performance

Shares of MXL stock opened at $24.13 on Thursday. MaxLinear has a 12-month low of $23.85 and a 12-month high of $53.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.30 and a 200-day moving average of $34.60.

Insider Activity at MaxLinear

MaxLinear ( NYSE:MXL Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $290.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $290.09 million. MaxLinear had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 37.97%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MaxLinear will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

In other MaxLinear news, insider James Lougheed sold 115,944 shares of MaxLinear stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.74, for a total value of $4,723,558.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,921 shares of the companys stock, valued at $159,741.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MaxLinear by 63.5% in the first quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 28,677 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 11,141 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in shares of MaxLinear by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 42,387 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of MaxLinear by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,393 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $3,007,000 after buying an additional 6,274 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MaxLinear during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of MaxLinear by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,626 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 90.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MaxLinear

(Get Rating)

MaxLinear, Inc engages in the provision of communications systems-on-chip, or SoC, solutions used in broadband, mobile and wireline infrastructure, data center, and industrial and multi-market applications. Its products include cable broadband modems and gateways, wireline connectivity devices, radio frequency transceivers, fiber-optic modules, video set-top boxes and gateways, hybrid analog and digital televisions, direct broadcast satellite outdoor and indoor units, and power management and interface products.

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Philadelphia Trust Co. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Get Rating) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,100 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,838 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co.s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the companys stock worth $28,683,000 after acquiring an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the companys stock worth $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the companys stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.77 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.05 and a twelve month high of $116.86. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $109.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.38. The company has a market capitalization of $293.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. ( NYSE:MRK Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. The companys revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 293,635 shares of company stock worth $33,635,080 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. SVB Leerink raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho restated a buy rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $120.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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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Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Rating) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.60-2.75 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.66. Portland General Electric also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $2.60-$2.75 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $50.00.

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Portland General Electric Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Portland General Electric stock opened at $50.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firms 50 day moving average is $48.71 and its 200 day moving average is $47.76. Portland General Electric has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $56.37.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

Portland General Electric ( NYSE:POR Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $687.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.60 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that Portland General Electric will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. This is a positive change from Portland General Electrics previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 23rd. Portland General Electrics payout ratio is presently 69.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portland General Electric news, VP Brett Michael Sims sold 2,050 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $96,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,978 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $515,966. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 359.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,523 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $180,000. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,394 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Portland General Electric

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Portland General Electric Co engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. The firm also sells electricity and natural gas in the wholesale market to utilities, brokers, and power marketers. It also serves residential, commercial and non-residential customers.

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MaxLinear (NYSE:MXL  Get Rating) had its target price decreased by Susquehanna from $45.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MaxLinear in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of MaxLinear from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of MaxLinear from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of MaxLinear in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. They set an underperform rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of MaxLinear from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MaxLinear presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $40.00.

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MaxLinear Price Performance

Shares of MXL stock opened at $24.13 on Thursday. MaxLinear has a 52-week low of $23.85 and a 52-week high of $53.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firms 50 day moving average price is $33.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.60.

Insider Transactions at MaxLinear

MaxLinear ( NYSE:MXL Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $290.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $290.09 million. MaxLinear had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 37.97%. As a group, analysts forecast that MaxLinear will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

In related news, insider James Lougheed sold 115,944 shares of MaxLinear stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.74, for a total value of $4,723,558.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,921 shares of the companys stock, valued at $159,741.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 8.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of MaxLinear

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MaxLinear by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,172,278 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $397,060,000 after acquiring an additional 161,157 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MaxLinear by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,946,380 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $291,830,000 after acquiring an additional 97,089 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MaxLinear by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,893 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $104,870,000 after acquiring an additional 173,826 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MaxLinear by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,318,751 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $78,722,000 after acquiring an additional 49,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MaxLinear by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,833,556 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $59,811,000 after acquiring an additional 194,477 shares during the last quarter. 90.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MaxLinear Company Profile

(Get Rating)

MaxLinear, Inc engages in the provision of communications systems-on-chip, or SoC, solutions used in broadband, mobile and wireline infrastructure, data center, and industrial and multi-market applications. Its products include cable broadband modems and gateways, wireline connectivity devices, radio frequency transceivers, fiber-optic modules, video set-top boxes and gateways, hybrid analog and digital televisions, direct broadcast satellite outdoor and indoor units, and power management and interface products.

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UNHCR has set up a transit centre in Renk in South Sudan for people fleeing violence in Sudan.

A plane laden with humanitarian aid on Sunday landed in Sudan, where deadly clashes between the forces of rival generals have raged for just over two weeks.

The aircraft took off from the Jordanian capital Amman and arrived in the eastern city of Port Sudan bearing eight tonnes of cargo including surgical material to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Fighting erupted on 15 April between troops loyal to General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo in a dispute over the RSF's integration into the military as part of the transition towards civilian rule.

Neither side has managed to land a decisive blow as the death toll has risen, according to the country's health ministry, to 528 people.

Thousands of civilians have been wounded in the clashes and thousands have left their homes.

Hassan Faraz, who was waiting in Port Sudan to board a ship headed for Saudi Arabia, told Reuters news agency: "I was hoping that while I'm here things would be resolved and that there would be some kind of reconciliation, or some kind of peace settlement.

"Unfortunately that is not in the near future, it doesn't seem like this."

Faraz added: "I'm hopeful for Sudan. It is an amazing country, beautiful people, a lot of potential there, and I hope I can contribute to it no matter where I am in the world."

Scenes

Bodies have remained in the streets in the capital Khartoum, said the ICRC on Sunday.

Patrick Youssef, the ICRC's Africa regional director said that the Sudanese Red Crescent was trying to clear away the corpses.

Mediators from across the world have struggled to persuade either side to observe ceasefires.

A bloc of east African nations put forward a initiative for the two sides to hold talks.

Burhan on Friday ruled out negotiations with Dagalo, accusing him of orchestrating a rebellion against the state.

"Dagalo wants to rule Sudan, seize its resources and magnify his wealth," Burhan said in an interview with US-funded Alhurra TV, denying that he wants power for himself.

Both Burhan and Dagalo have been involved in crushing pro-democracy activists and together they pushed out civilians from an interim government in a coup in 2021.
Will they go or will they stay? This week South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would pull his country out of the International Criminal Court. Then he said he would not. South Africa has had a fraught relationship with the Hague-based war crimes court, and the issue will come to a head in August with a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted by the ICC on suspected war crimes.

Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) would aim to repeal South Africa's membership of the ICC, which hears cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

But on Wednesday, Ramaphosa's office said he had made a mistake, citing a communications error from the ANC.

The ANC had earlier told journalists that the issue of South Africa withdrawing from the ICC had been raised at a weekend meeting of its national executive council.

When questioned by a journalist, Ramaphosa said the ANC had decided it was "prudent that South Africa should pull out of the ICC".

But the presidency said that "regrettably, the President erroneously affirmed a similar position".

President Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya just issued a statement that both the President and the ANC SG made a mistake on withdrawal from the ICC. pic.twitter.com/SRPICslqxd-- Aldrin Sampear (@AldrinSampear) April 25, 2023

South Africa will stay in the ICC

South Africa will stay in the ICC, the presidency said, in line with a resolution by the ANC's national conference in December to drop a previous decision to withdraw.

South Africa had started the process of leaving the ICC in 2016, following a dispute a year earlier over whether or not to arrest then president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, who was in South Africa for an African Union summit.

Bashir was the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and, as a signatory to the ICC, South Africa was obliged to obey the warrant.

But it refused. It did not arrest Bashir and it started the process of leaving the ICC, which it has accused of holding double standards.

The ANC decided in December to abandon the withdrawal - which was ruled unconstitutional by a domestic court - and instead try to change the institution from the inside.

The presidency said on Wednesday that South Africa would work towards establishing an African continental criminal court that would complement the ICC as a court of last resort.

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Will South Africa arrest Putin?

In the meantime Putin, who has been invited to a summit in South Africa of the Brics group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in August, is the subject of an ICC warrant issued in March, which accuses him of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine - a war crime.

Russia denies committing any crimes, and it says the ICC has no authority given that Russia is not a member.

When questioned on whether or not South Africa would arrest Putin if he came to the summit, Ramaphosa said the matter was under consideration.

The ANC's secretary general Fikile Mbalula earlier declared that Putin could "come anytime" to the country.

The Kremlin has said Putin would make a decision on whether or not to attend the summit at a later date. He has not travelled outside of Russia since the warrant was issued.

South Africa's Russian ties

South Africa and Russia have close ties dating back decades to when Russia supported the ANC's fight against apartheid.

South Africa has not followed other countries in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying it wants to stay neutral and prefers dialogue to end the war.

Ramaphosa said he had spoken to Putin several times and that his message was clear that "there needs to be negotiation".
Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil on Sunday claimed that the next Maharashtra Chief Minister will be from the NCP. (Twitter)

Mumbai: While the Maha Vikas Aghadi tries to put up a united show, its constituents are battling over the Chief Ministers post. After NCP leader Ajit Pawar claimed the top post in the state, the Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil on Sunday claimed that the next Maharashtra Chief Minister will be from the NCP.

Speaking at an event in Karad, Patil said it was "satisfying" to note that the next CM in Maharashtra would be from the NCP. "Currently, the opposition MVA and the NCP are receiving huge support from people across the state. The satisfying fact is that the next Chief Minister of the state will be from the NCP. This is now accepted by almost everyone. Thats how fast the NCP is moving forward. I am confident that under the leadership of Sharad Pawar, the NCP will emerge as the largest party in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, Patils statement ruffled some feathers in the Shiv Sena (UBT) camp, with party leader Sanjay Raut downplaying the remarks and stating that every party leader tries to please party workers by making such statements.

"Patils remarks were made at his partys event. Similarly. There is nothing wrong with it. Ultimately, the next CM will be from the MVA," he said.

The NCP is hoping to get the CM's post after emerging as the largest constituent of the MVA following the vertical split in the Shiv Sena. Patil and Ajit Pawar are both vying for the coveted post.
Ammuguda road open for traffic after being walled off for years

Hyderabad: After a decade-long battle, six arterial roads in the Secunderabad cantonment have been reopened on Sunday, providing major relief to residents of at least four areas and improved access to Rajiv Rahadari and other routes.

The move to reopen roads comes 10 days after the ministry of defence (MoD) wrote to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and the Local Military Authority (LMA) ordering that six arterial roads, including Richardson Road, Protnee Road, (SCB) Byam Road, Ammuguda Road, and the Albain Road, be reopened, allowing vehicles to pass by roads that have been closed for more than a decade.

As a result, the walls and grills that earlier served as road closure barricades were removed on Sunday, and when word spread, residents took random drives through these routes.

On April 20, the defence ministry wrote to the SCB and the LMA that the roads be reopened immediately. SCB chief executive officer Madhukar Naik told Deccan Chronicle that the orders needed time to implement since they required communication with and cooperation from the LMA. He stated that they will soon submit a compliance report to the MoD on the matter.

The opening of the roads means that residents in Alwal, Bolaram Yapral and Malkajgiri will have better access to Rajiv Rahadari and other routes. The fight against road closure in the SCB has been an uphill battle and a contentious issue for years, with several meetings held between Central and state officials with no solution in sight. Residents were outraged and denounced the road closures, holding protest marches and signature campaigns in the past.

Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao had even threatened to cut off water and electricity supply if officials continue to take arbitrary and impractical decisions such as closure of roads.

Several residents applauded the decision to reopen the roads, which they said had made commuting difficult. "The road restrictions have been a major source of frustration for many years. The reopening of the roads will reduce our travel time and even commute cost," Malkajgiri resident Hamsa Veni R, a resident of Malkajgiri.

"These roads are much better and well maintained; we hope they stay that way and that other ones are developed soon," Ramalinga B. added.

Jeetender Surana, general secretary of Secunderabad Cantonment Citizens Welfare Association, called the decision to reopen roads "a great victory after decades of struggle" that involved the police and court cases and more. "We hope that 16 more roads in the cantonment will be opened soon, which will help civilians a great deal," he said.
Union minister for tourism and culture G. Kishan Reddy (DC)

New Delhi: Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy who was admitted to the AIIMS here on Sunday following complaints of chest congestion and upper abdominal discomfort, is stable. The minister is doing routine activities and he is under observation and evaluation, according to hospital authorities.

He was brought to the hospital around 10.50 pm, sources said.

The Union minister has been admitted in the Cardiac Care Unit of the Cardio Neuro Centre, they said.

BJP leader and former minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy wished Kishan Reddy speedy recovery. In a tweet, he said, Union Minister @kishanreddybjp & I were together Sunday morning at PM Modi ji's #MannkiBaat100Episode prog in Hyderabad after which he left for Delhi. Dismayed to see news of his admission in the night in AIIMS with chest congestion. Wishing him speedy recovery.

@narendramodi
BJP national president JP Nadda released the party's manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly elections (ANI)

BENGALURU: Blending Hindutva along with welfare schemes and vikas (development), the BJP on Monday released its poll manifesto "Praja Pranalike" for the May 10 Karnataka elections, promising implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a National Register of Citizens (NRC), a special wing, Karnataka State Wing against Religious Fundamentalism and Terror (K-SWIFT), three free cooking gas cylinders and half a litre of milk to BPL families, allocation of Rs.1,500 crore to transform the state into a preferred tourism destination, among others.

The manifesto released by BJP president J.P. Nadda, who was flanked by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former CM B.S. Yediyurappa and senior leaders, has also promised Hindu religion-based thematic tourist destinations, circuits and tourist corridors.

Lauding the BJPs poll document, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it sets the tone for building on the good work done by the partys government in the last four years in the state. The Opposition Congress labelled the BJP document as a "JhootLoot BJP Moneyfesto", and asserted that people will vote out the party.

On the day that the party released its manifesto, Union home minister Amit Shah held a massive roadshow and asserted that the "lotus is set to bloom in Karnataka". Shah said that "peace and security are the necessary pre-conditions to ensure development and Kannadiga pride and only the BJP can deliver on these vital needs."

Seeking support for his party, Shah said Bommai and Yediyurappa had done a lot for Karnataka and that the BJP government abolished the four per cent Muslim reservation and boosted the Vokkaliga, Lingayat and SC/ST quotas.

"If the Congress comes to power, they will take back all these reservations (hiked) and once again bring in Muslim reservations. Do you want four per cent Muslim reservation (to come back)?" the Union home minister asked in Tumkur.

BJP president Nadda also held a roadshow in Bengaluru.

At the release of the BJP document, the ruling party insisted that the BJP follows the mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas" and "Justice for All, Appeasement for none," rubbished all allegations by the Opposition that it was pushing its Hindutva agenda and stated that minorities were the ones who get the maximum benefit of Central schemes, including PM Awas Yojana (PM Housing Scheme) and PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM Poor Welfare Scheme).

"We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state," read the document.

Among other poll promises, the document promises setting up an "Atal Aahara Kendra" in every ward of every municipal corporation in the state to provide "affordable, quality and healthy food across the state", a "Poshane" scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre "Nandini" milk every day and 5 kg "Shri Anna Siri Dhanya" through monthly ration kits.

The party also promised a "Sarvarigu Suru Yojane" under which the revenue department will identify and distribute 10 lakh housing sites across the state to homeless beneficiaries.

Mr Nadda said the BJPs "Praja Pranalike", meaning citizens manifesto, was centred around "six As".

"These six As are Anna (food security), Akshara (quality education), Arogya (affordable health), Aadaya (assured income), Abhaya (social justice for all) and Abhivruddhi (development)," he spelt out.

The BJP said it will launch a scheme called "Onake Obavva Samajika Nyaya Nidhi" through which it will provide a matching deposit up to `10,000 on five-year fixed deposits made under the scheme for women of SC/ST households.

A "Karnataka Residents Welfare Consultative Committee" will be set up to reform the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act 1972 and modernise the grievance redressal mechanism.

Under the proposed "Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane", the party promised to partner with eminent individuals and institutions for holistic upgradation of government schools to "top class standards".

The "Samanvaya Yojane" is collaboration between small and medium enterprises, and the Industrial Training Institutes to generate a dynamic ecosystem of education and employment for talented young professionals, the party said.

In the "Aarogya" category, the BJP has promised to launch "Mission Swasthya Karnataka" by establishing one "Namma Clinic" (our clinic) in each ward of municipal corporations. They will be equipped with diagnostic facilities. Also, it will provide a free annual health check-up for senior citizens.

The party said if it is voted to power, it will allocate `1,500 crores to develop Kalyana, Banavasi, Parashurama, Kaveri circuits and Ganagapura corridor.

"It is a manifestation of the double engine government. This manifesto is futuristic and a vision document, which fulfills Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of developed India," Nadda said.

According to him, the BJP manifesto is very different from the promises of the Congress, "which offers guarantees, an outdated warranty". He said: "The BJP manifesto contains a realistic, achievable promise which will fulfill the aspirations of Karnataka, youths, farmers, women, weavers, the middle class, SC/ST communities."

When asked if the BJP s plans will communalise the state, Nadda said: "We are working within the ambit of the Constitution. Within the Constitution, we are permitted and directed to implement the Uniform Civil Code. We will move towards the UCC."

He said: "Regarding communalism, the clear meaning is that what we know and what we believe in is Justice for All and Appeasement for None and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas (everyones cooperation, everyones development, everyones trust and everyones efforts)."

On whether the party was planning to implement the UCC nationwide, Nadda said: "Whichever states the elections are happening in, we are getting stronger. We will take it (UCC) forward. States form the nation. It will further lead that way only."

In its manifesto, the party said it was constructing a Rama temple in Ramanagara and had taken up the development of Anjaneya (Hanuman) temple in Anjanadri hills, the birth place of Hanuman. When asked whether these were not signs of pushing for the Hindutva ideology, Mr Nadda said: "If someone goes to Vijayanagara, wont he go to Hampi? Isnt that our pride? If you go to Ramanagara, wont you like to see the Ram Temple there? Isnt that our pride? Isnt Anjaneya (Hanuman) our pride?  We want to take forward Karnataka, Kannada, and Kannadigas pride."
Senior YSRC MLA Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani recalled that CM Jagan had clarified many times that the YSRC would face elections all alone and would face rivals' political alliances on its own. Facebook

VIJAYAWADA: While the YSRC has taken note of the reports about Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan and Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu discussing a poll alliance, the ruling party led by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is confidently getting set to face any coalition of the rival parties in AP.

YSRC leaders say that the "huge success" of Jagan Reddys mass contact programmes like Jagananne Maa Bhavishyatthu and Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam have instilled confidence among YSR Congress rank and file vis-a-vis facing the Big Battle 2024 with the "Why Not 175" target.

Chandrababu and Pawan conducted talks for 45 minutes at the residence of the former in Hyderabad on Saturday but the two remained tight-lipped about the outcome. Jana Sena political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar clarified on Sunday that it was necessary for parties opposing the YSRC policies to come together.

"A YSRC-free Andhra Pradesh is our policy and slogan and this formed the base of the discussions between Pawan and Chandrababu yesterday," he said.

Hinting about the possibility of a poll alliance between the JS and TD, Manohar said there would be further discussions and Jana Sena was taking steps with proper planning and strategy to win the elections and grab power in the state.

Notably, after the 2019 elections, the first meeting of Naidu and Pawan was held on 18 October 2022 in a star hotel in Vijayawada. The duo addressed the media after the meeting.

The second meeting was held on 8 January 2023. Pawan went to the house of Naidu in Hyderabad and later announced the decision that they would together fight against the Jagan government.

Interestingly, Pawan and Naidu did not disclose any details after the present meeting. According to sources, Pawan is seeking a power-sharing between his party and the TD for the next five years. Under this, he wants the CM post for two and half years and hopes to have 60 MLAs for him under an alliance arrangement.

It is noted that Naidu was desperately longing for a poll alliance with the Jana Sena. But, after the winning of MLC seats related to 108 assembly segments, Chandrababu and TD leaders changed their mind and were confident about TD winning the coming assembly polls on its own. So, Lokesh and Naidu stopped mentioning Pawans name in their Yuvagalam Padayatra and Badude Badudu road shows.

Pawan, on his part, arduously tried to persuade the BJP high command to have an alliance of BJP, TD and JS in the state, but the BJP did not show any interest in this. It wanted to strengthen on its own in AP in due course of time.

Naidu and TD leaders are reluctant to give a promise of power-sharing with JS. They are ready to give 20 MLA seats to JS and one or two minister posts. TD is not inclined to share the CM post with JS.

Meanwhile, Naidu planned to re-craft a poll alliance with BJP and started appeasing the saffron high-command by supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP policies. JS felt the TD was sidelining it. This forced Pawan to go to Naidus house and hold talks. Soon, an election pact between them is likely, the sources said.

Former minister and senior YSRC MLA Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani recalled that CM Jagan had clarified many times that the YSRC would face elections all alone and would face rivals political alliances on its own.

Minister Ambati Rambabu, government adviser Sajjala Ramakrishna, former minister Vellampalli Srinivasa and other leaders said the YSRCs two mass campaign programmes proved that some 80 per cent of the people in AP backed the ruling party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the Congress head-on over corruption while firing a salvo at the JD(S) during his campaign in the all-important Old Mysuru region on Sunday.

The Congress identity has always been associated with 85% commission. During its rule, the then PM used to say with pride that if he sends Rs 1 from Delhi, 15 paise reached (people) on the ground. Congress claws used to snatch away 85 paise of the poor, he said in Kolar. Modis attack is seen juxtaposed with allegations of 40% commission levelled by the Congress at the BJP government here.

100% of the amount sent by the BJP government today reaches the beneficiaries. In the past nine years, with the strength of Digital India, Rs 29 lakh crore has been credited into the bank accounts of the poor under various schemes, Modi said.

And one can imagine what would have happened if the 85% commission party (Congress) was in power. Now this party is distributing guarantee cards to all voters in the state, but it is for the BJP workers to expose how these guarantee cards are a bundle of lies, the prime minister said.

Also Read | Chickpet: BJP, Congress feel the fight is between them

The Congress Shahi Parivar is out on bail in a scam involving thousands of crores, Modi said. Those facing charges of corruption and out on bail are today coming to Karnataka and preaching, he said.

During nine years before 2014, property worth only Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the corrupt was seized. In nine years under the BJP, properties worth over Rs 1 lakh crore of those who looted the country have been seized, Modi said.

In Channapatna, Modi targeted JD(S) whose top leader H D Kumaraswamy is up against the BJPs C P Yogeshwar.

Modi quipped that the JD(S) wants only 15-20 seats. This selfish approach may benefit one family while causing losses to lakhs of families of Karnataka, he said, claiming that a vote for the JD(S) would go to the Congress. This will cause instability, he said.

The Congress and the JD(S) are responsible for instability, he said.

They pretend to be different, but are one in their hearts.

In Ramanagara, Modi said the BJPs double-engine government has helped three lakh people get bank accounts, 2.5 lakh families with health insurance, 50,000 eligible for the Atal Pension Scheme and 7,000 concrete houses sanctioned.

Modi made a personal appeal to party workers to help BJP get a full majority. I have a personal favour to ask of you... he said.
China has maintained its stance on the UN Security Council reforms, saying there should be more representation for developing countries, especially the small and medium countries, but avoided a direct response to India and other countries' call for its expansion and their inclusion.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee met Tareq M A M Albanai and Alexander Marschik, co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reforms, in Beijing on Saturday and outlined Chinas stand on the reorganisation of the top organ of the world body.

China is one of the five veto-wielding members of the 15-member UNSC along with France, Russia, the UK and the US. The remaining 10 members are elected as non-permanent members for two-year terms and do not have veto powers.

India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member of the United Nations.

In his interactions with the IGN representatives, Wang said in the reform of the Security Council, efforts should be made to uphold fairness and justice, increase the representation and voice of developing countries, give more small and medium-sized countries the opportunity to participate in decision-making and correct historical injustices against Africa in particular.

It is hoped that the co-chairs will guide all parties to remove disturbances and build consensus so that the reform process of the Security Council will be widely recognised by the international community and the results will stand the test of history, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

On April 25, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj while speaking at the UNSC said India is right in demanding a major course correction of the UNs top body when the world's largest democracy is kept out of the global decision-making.

Kamboj questioned whether the international community can practise multilateralism effectively in the 21st century through a body that celebrates the principle to the victor belong the spoils privileged more than three generations ago. How much longer will we keep decorating effective multilateralism with the intent of reforming multilateralism with only words and mere lip service? she asked.

China has been maintaining a vague stand on the UNSC reforms over the years without making any concrete proposals.

The G-4 countries -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- are supporting each other's bids for permanent seats on the 15-member UNSC.

On calls for broad-basing the UNSC by including India, China in the past called for a packaged solution with a broad consensus.

India's bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC has received broad support from the US, the UK, France and Russia.
Pope Francis said Sunday the Vatican was willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war, saying the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do all that is humanly possible to reunite families.

All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help, Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary.

Francis also revealed a secret peace mission was under way. However, he gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.

I'm available to do anything, Francis said. There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it.

Also Read | Pope allows women to vote at upcoming bishops' meeting

The International Criminal Court last month issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine.

Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.

Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and asked him to help return Ukrainian children taken following the Russian invasion.

I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia,? Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.

Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine's request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.

The prisoner exchanges went well. I think it could go well also for this. It's important, he said of the family reunifications. The Holy See is available to do it because it's the right thing, he added. We have to do all that is humanly possible.
Fatima Bhutto, author, activist and the granddaughter of Pakistans late prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, set a new precedent by visiting a Hindu temple here after her marriage, stirring the social media with some users praising the gesture while others wondering what was she doing there.

The intimate nikkah ceremony of Fatima, 40, niece of slain premier Benazir Bhutto and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, took place at her grandfathers library here on Friday.

Fatima and her husband, Graham Gibran stirred social media when they visited the ancient Mahadev Temple in Karachi on Sunday as a homage to Hindu Sindhis laying the roots of Karachi in ancient times.

According to media reports, Fatimas husband Grahamis an American citizen. Accompanied by her brother Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto junior and Hindu leaders at the temple, Fatima and her husband, a Christian, poured milk over the deity as per rituals.

The gesture received a mixed response after their picture hit social media. "Lovely to watch such images," a user with Twitter account handle 'Sindhi-Ajrak' commented on the picture.

"Lovely," another user wrote. But many wondered what she was doing in a Hindu temple.

"What is the essence of this rasam (ritual)," a Twitter user named Kulsoom Mughal asked.

"So in Sindh secularism is to follow Hinduism," another user said.

Her brother in a tweet said that due to the difficult circumstances felt by our fellow countrymen and women, we all felt it would be inappropriate to celebrate lavishly.

Please keep Fatima and Graham (Gibran) in your prayers, he stated.

The Bhutto family has remained a formidable force in Pakistan politics but has also been hit by tragedies.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the late military dictator Zia ul Haq in April 1979 after a military coup. His eldest daughter, Benazir Bhutto who also served as premier, was assassinated in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

Her brother Murtaza Bhutto was also killed along with six other party activists in September 1996 near the Bhuttos residence in Clifton by the police at a time when his sister was the prime minister.

Her younger brother Shahnawaz Bhutto was found dead in his apartment in France in 1985.
Top business executives of G7 countries have endorsed India's G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' and said it is essential to achieve sustainable growth that is compatible with the protection of the global environment.

Unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, the theme of India's G20 Presidency - 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' - is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of the Maha Upanishad.

Essentially, the theme affirms the value of all life - human, animal, plant and microorganisms - and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.

Also Read | PM Modi set to attend G7, Quad summits in Japan, Australia

Representative business federations of the G7 - Japan, Italy, Canada, France, the US, the UK, Germany, and the European Union - held the B7 Tokyo Summit on April 19-20, ahead of the G7 Summit meeting in Japan later this month.

"Through creating a problem-solving society that is equipped with both digital technology and creativity and imagination of diverse people, it is essential to first achieve sustainable growth in a way that is compatible with the protection of the global environment and to distribute the fruits in a fair and equitable manner, which is conducive to 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' as the theme of India's G20 Presidency, said the B7 in a declaration following two days of brain-storming sessions.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to 30 November 2023. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year. India is hosting more than 200 G-20 events in over 50 cities across the country.

At the B7 Summit, the American delegation was led by the US Chamber of Commerce represented by five of its top leaders.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met the group and promised to use the input from B7 in preparing the G7 Summit in May, US Chambers of Commerce said in a statement.

Hosted by Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) in Tokyo, the B7, as reflected in its declaration, agreed on the most important efforts to mitigate immediate and long-term challenges.

We called on our governments to remove barriers to international trade and investment in an effort that may eventually take the form of a 'G7 Trade Club' open to nations committed to high standards of free trade.

"Such a grouping would work to overcome protectionist pressures and combat economic coercion directed against its members and allies, as envisaged by the G7 Foreign Ministers, the US Chambers of Commerce said.

The B7 declaration, released by the Japan Business Federation, said they oppose any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine.

Also Read | India should use G20 presidency to address the green question

In the Indo-Pacific which also faces growing challenges, from actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order by China to provocations by North Korea, continued and strenuous efforts must be made by the G7 countries to rebuild the free, open and rules-based international order, it said.

Developing countries are the most affected by a divided world and risk losing their potential for future growth.

"Cooperation with the Global South is indispensable to rebuilding the free and open international economic order, overcoming global challenges, and realising a sustainable international community built on principles of equality," B7 said.

The climate change issue cannot be solved without the involvement of the Global South in reducing CO2 emissions while pursuing their legitimate growth and development objectives, it said.

The B7 declaration said that G7 should address economic coercion by third-world countries through increased cooperation and coordination among G7 members.

International fora such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and the Japan-Australia-India-US (Quad) can contribute as a framework for cooperation and coordination.

"For instance, the G7 can jointly identify choke points that the country concerned could utilise to impose economic coercion and work with like-minded countries and their industries to increase resilience by exploring or creating alternative sources among them, it said.

The G7 can organise those countries, from which the country concerned imports vital goods, into a group that would threaten to cut off the country's access to the vital goods if the country should act against any single group member, it added.

In addition to these collective-resilience measures, each G7 government, private sector, and relevant stakeholders could champion international standards of cutting-edge technologies, such as through utilising existing EPAs/FTAs, to gain a competitive advantage, B7 said.
Yola  A Taraba State High Court sitting in Jalingo has quashed the recommendation of the Fidelis Kaigama Committee set up to review the gazette of the state government on the ruling houses of the Jukun Konna Kingdom.

The committee had in its report recommended that four ruling houses entitled to the Kona traditional institution be reduced to only two to allow easy selection of the future traditional leader of the kingdom.

In its decision recently, however, the court nullified the recommendation of the committee that reviewed Jukun-Kona's ruling houses from four to two.

The presiding judge, Justice Silas Haruna recently delivered the judgement in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, a decision that averted the crisis in the kingdom.

In his reaction recently, President, Jukun Konna Developmental Association, Mr Vincent Yakubu said the decision of the court had really addressed the problem of the kingdom.

Yakubu added that some people wanted to put the entire kingdom into a serious crisis, which according to him, might cost lives and properties.

He, however, thanked God for the decision of the court that rejected the recommendation of the committee, which recognised Badoni's family as one of the royal families in Jukun Konna Kingdom, due allegedly of their intimacy to Taraba State Governor, Mr. Darius Ishaku.

At the beginning of the kingship problem, Ishaku was accused of signing an illegally altered gazette to remove ruling houses and replace them with the family of his friend, Fidelis Kaigama.

The altered gazette, first published in 2022, culminated in the collapse of four ruling houses into two, including the ruling house of the current monarch of Jukun-Jibu Kona Kingdom, Augustine Njenmang Vengkani II.

In the 2018 gazette, the ruling houses of the Jukun-Kona Kingdom were listed to include Panni/Noku Ayimu, Agauwan, Yim and Namen Numtai.

The altered gazette, however, had replaced the four ruling houses with only Bajibro and Badami ruling clans. The gazette was said to have been secretly altered without consulting members of the four ruling houses.

If the altered gazette is eventually allowed, the current monarch will be the last person to be the Kuru of Jukun Kona from the Namen Numtai ruling clan.

Having realised that he was tricked into endorsing a letter to the governor, the monarch wrote a letter to the governor that he had withdrawn from his support for the alteration of ruling houses from four to two.

The letter said: "While I and members of my council still stand on all the observations raised in that letter, I however wish to strongly withdraw the last paragraph which specifically requested for the alteration of the ruling houses from 4 to 2.

"Moreso, the ruling houses contained the 2018 gazette are derived from the ancient defunct Kona chiefdom that was cancelled by the Filani cum European colonial administrators both in 1892 and 1936 respectively and they are the authentic and valid ruling houses of Kona chiefdom since time immemorial and therefore cannot be arbitrarily altered to accommodate other clans that have no connection to the throne of the chiefdom.

"Therefore, I wish to confess that I was not properly guided or well informed of the implication of the proposed alteration of the ruling house by the few people."

When called for response, the spokesperson of the governor, Bala Dan Abu declined comments, saying the matter was in court and commenting on it would be subjudice."

In his response, Kaigama acknowledged: "l am the Chairman of the 11-member Advisory Council with other respected Kona personalities, including members of the families of those that are now complaining.

"When the 2018 official gazette for the Kona chiefdom was released, the advisory committee met to scrutinise it with a view to making sure that its content reflects the correct and acceptable information that was provided to the government by the Chiefdom after wide consultation and exhaustive deliberations.

"Having carefully studied and reviewed the document, the committee recommended alteration in some sections including, but not limited to the part that had to do with the ruling houses because of some noticeable errors.

"Therefore, for anybody or group to say that the gazette was secretly altered without consultation is nothing, but a lie from the pit of hell since members of the families that are now raising eyebrow about the alteration were in attendance and also consented to the unanimous decision for corrections to be recommended to the council, and same was reflected in the minute of the meeting.

"Also, the statement that the four ruling houses, including the house of the current monarch and by extension, the chief himself has been removed is not only false, but also malicious.

"As far as I know, no recommendation was made for the removal of any chief from the throne as it is public knowledge that the present Kuru Kona, Mr. Augustine Njenmang Vengkani II remains the recognised chief who is occupying the stool of Kona Chiefdom without let or hindrances.

"The ruling houses that were said to have been illegally removed were not removed at all. What the committee recommended was the removal of the regents (Panni/Noku Ayimu) that was erroneously captured as one of the Ruling clans of the Kona Chiefdom because they are children of a woman, whom culturally cannot ascend to the throne nor her children, but were only given the throne in trust.

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"Right from the foundation of the Kona traditional institution, chiefs are selected from the four ruling clans by the seven King-makers and not from families. The original four ruling clans of Kona are: Bajibro, Badoni, Bamursi and Bamurtai.

"What happened was that, the Kona Traditional Council after reviewing the report of the committee, decided to merge the ruling clans into two, purposely for ease of selection process since they are one and the same people and all are entitled to vie for the throne whenever vacancy existed.

"No ruling clan is excluded from contesting for the seat of Kuru Kona. As a matter of fact, the present monarch is from one of the merged clans (Bajibro).

"Therefore, to say that he has been removed and replaced by the house of Fidelis Kaigama is not only spurious, but also mischievous, inciting, spiteful and evil, to say the least.

"The ruling houses in the altered 2018 gazette is nothing, but mere listing of names of individual families. Such is a sharp deviation from the practice as laid down by our forebears from the very foundation of Kona chieftaincy arrangement.

"In fact, three out of the four families listed in the gazette belong to the same family, which I think, was the reason for their merger," said in his response to THISDAY's inquiry.
The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the government can require commercial fishermen to help fund a program monitoring herring catches off New England's coast in a case that could undercut the regulatory power of federal agencies.

The justices took up an appeal by New Jersey-based fishing companies of a lower court's ruling in favor of the US government in a challenge to a conservation program overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The program was begun in 2020 under former President Donald Trump and is being defended by President Joe Biden's administration.

The case is the latest bid asking the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to rein in the authority of federal agencies. The companies are asking the Supreme Court to overturn its own decades-old precedent calling for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of US laws, a doctrine called "Chevron deference."

The regulations called for certain fishermen to carry aboard their vessels U.S. government contractors and pay for their at-sea services while they monitored the catch. The New England herring fishing regulations were issued by the fisheries service, part of the U.S. Commerce Department.

Amid concerns about overfishing and fishery management, the program aims to monitor 50 percent of declared herring fishing trips in the regulated area, with program costs split between the federal government and the fishing industry. The monitors assess the amount and type of catch including species inadvertently caught.

The cost of paying for the monitoring services was an estimated $710 per day for 19 days a year, which could reduce a vessel's income by up to 20 percent, according to government figures.

The Biden administration said in court papers that the monitoring program will be suspended for the fishing year starting in April due to insufficient federal funding.

The challengers, including lead plaintiff Loper Bright Enterprises, sued the government in 2020 in federal court, claiming the requirement that they help pay for monitoring exceeded the agency's authority under existing law.

The Biden administration, which continued the program, in court papers has argued that the fisheries service is authorized under a 1976 US law called the Magnuson-Stevens Act to protect against overfishing in U.S. coastal waters.

The Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last year ruled in favor of the administration, affirming a federal judge's decision. The D.C. Circuit found that the regulation was entitled to deference under the 1984 Supreme Court ruling, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, that directed judges to defer to a U.S. agency's interpretation of laws that may be ambiguous.

Attorneys for the commercial fishermen said the Chevron deference doctrine "encourages the executive branch's aggrandizement at the expense of the judiciary, Congress and the citizenry."

The court's conservative majority has signaled skepticism toward expansive regulatory power in rulings in recent years including one in 2022 that limited the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to issue sweeping regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

The Supreme Court is due to hear the case in its next term, which begins in October.

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who participated in oral arguments in the case as a lower court judge, took no part in the consideration of the petition for appeal.
Operation Kaveri, Indias mission to rescue its nationals from war-hit Sudan, saw another batch of evacuees  184 of them  arrive in Kochi on Monday. The group included 26 people hailing from Karnataka.

The SpiceJet flight  the first by the airline in operation  arrived from Jeddah at the Cochin International Airport at 6 am. There were 148 men and 36 women in the group. They arrived on the ninth outbound flight operated from Jeddah as part of the evacuation.

A total of 281 people hailing from Karnataka have been brought home in five batches since April 27, the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said.

Also Read | 362 Sudan evacuees, 114 from Ktaka, land in Bengaluru



70 quarantined at RGICD

Seventy people evacuated from Sudan are quarantined at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).

The quarantine is for those who did not have a certificate for vaccination against yellow fever, which is endemic in Sudan and 42 other countries across Africa and South America. None of the passengers has shown yellow fever symptoms so far, RGICD Director Dr Nagaraja C told DH.

A total of 80 passengers were brought to RGICD from April 28. Ten of them, with vaccination certificates, were discharged, he said.

RGICD is providing food and basic necessities free of cost to those quarantined, who are in the age group of five months to 60 years.

State Health Commissioner D Randeep said there is no alert about yellow fever and that the quarantine is part of the regular protocols of the union government.
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL  Get Rating) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,659 shares of the companys stock after selling 9,427 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLCs holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1,314.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,759,035 shares of the companys stock valued at $231,152,000 after buying an additional 2,564,035 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,776,061 shares of the companys stock valued at $256,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,600 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,431,000. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,022,510 shares of the companys stock valued at $85,666,000 after acquiring an additional 367,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,355,449 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,956,721,000 after acquiring an additional 314,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.27% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on RCL shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday. They set an overweight rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $80.23.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $65.43 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of -7.73 and a beta of 2.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.43. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $31.09 and a 1-year high of $81.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.56.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported ($1.12) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($1.37) by $0.25. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a negative net margin of 24.39% and a negative return on equity of 56.86%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($4.78) EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 165.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Royal Caribbean Group is a cruise company, which engages in the ownership and operation of the following global cruise brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. The firm also holds interest in TUI Cruises GmbH, which operates the German brands TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

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The British Secretary of State has been accused of "exploiting the crisis created by cynical DUP obstructionism to impose further economic punishment on all communities here".

The comments came from Damien Doherty, People Before Profit candidate in Ballyarnett in the upcoming Local Government Elections.

Mr Doherty said: "The Tory Secretary of State is exploiting the crisis created by cynical DUP obstructionism to impose further economic punishment on all communities here.

"Even before the budget was announced children have been targeted with vicious and callous cuts to holiday meal grants, baby books, school programmes and early years provision. This budget means our health service and many other vital public services will continue to struggle.

"Workers will be told there's no money for pay rises. The vulnerable and the least well-off will suffer. We oppose Stormont, whether the Assembly is operating or not, being a vehicle for Tory austerity.

"No one accepts the Tory lie these cuts are necessary. We won't accept the lie 'there is no money'. And we should reject the idea these cuts are inevitable.

"The best way to push back is by putting feet on the street. We need to build the strikes and people power actions. Trade unions and community organisations have a vital role to play opposing cuts to services and demanding better for workers and the vulnerable.

"It's urgent we build resistance to Tory austerity from the bottom-up - from our workplaces, our schools, our community centres and our Council's."
A series of billboards have been erected at strategic sites across the city by the Derry University Group (DUG) to highlight what it described as the socio-economic collapse of the region over the last 25 years and more.

Speaking to Derry Now, DUG spokesperson, Conal McFeely said it was time for a critical reality check after the past month of back-slapping marking the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr McFeely added: The hoardings, which show how Derry has continued to decline while Belfast prospers, will challenge people to open their eyes and demand equity for the North West.

Derry University Group chairperson, Conal McFeely, at the group's billboard at Free Derry Corner.

Last weeks disastrous budget shows us further austerity, cuts and job losses are coming, and coming rapidly.

The North West economy has already shrunk to the point that it is unsustainable. The community and voluntary sector, which provides wide-ranging vital services for the people of the North West, faces punitive cuts to already badly-stretched funding.

The socio-economic infrastructure here cannot sustain any further hits. This is in contrast with other towns and cities around the island which, despite the current global downturn, are booming and growing, said Conal McFeely.

Mr McFeely also posed the question, Why is Derrys population set to decline, while the likes of Galway is growing so rapidly?

Galway is going to surpass Derry in size within twenty years, he said. What is happening to Derry is wholly inequitable and amounts to targeted disadvantage, and we need to be challenging it at every possible turn and in every possible forum.

DUG said radical changes to current economic development strategies must be implemented to benefit both sides of the border in the impoverished North West.

Read the statistics on the boards, said Mr McFeely. Why is a worker in Derry paid half the wages they could get in Belfast?

People need to ask these types of questions to those in power at all levels, and everyone who needs our consent to govern us.

Inappropriate and ineffective governance multiplies when people stop asking hard questions and fail to hold those in authority to basic standards of equity and fairness, he said.

This is the second year DUG has installed billboards to highlight these issues.

Last year in the run up to the Assembly elections, the group installed a 55-foot hoarding on Strand Road.

In an interview with this paper last month, the group said the North West needed to seize the current opportunities open to the border regions in Ireland, pointing out that Derry is the only major city on the island with unfettered access to both the EU and the UK.

DUG stated: We need a greater focus on developing our own indigenous economy and we start by building our own university as a fulcrum of our new North West society, a university we must run ourselves, independent of Belfast, to service the needs of our community and help this city restore its voice and plan its future.
The Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday both confirmed the extension of a three-day truce for 72 hours. The army said the extension came due to US and Saudi mediation.

The previous ceasefire - which was widely breached by both sides - was scheduled to expire at midnight on Sunday just over two weeks after clashes broke out between supporters of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.

More than 500 people have been killed and 5,000 wounded, according to the Sudan health ministry, and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad.

On Sunday in the capital Khartoum, warplanes circled as fighting continued on the streets.

Sudanese police said officers from the Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to protect citizens' properties from looting.

Police officials said the paramilitary unit had arrested 316 "rebels" - a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information.

With residential buildings damaged in the fighting, food running short and daily life increasingly difficult, foreign nations have continued to evacuate their citizens as humanitarian agencies fly in supplies for the millions who cannot flee.

A first Red Cross plane arrived on Sunday at Port Sudan from Jordan with eight tonnes of humanitarian aid including surgical material and medical kits for around 1,500 patients.

Warning

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Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned on Saturday against the conflict deteriorating into civil war.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper ... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

The UN World Food Programme said it feared that the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people need aid to stave off famine.

"The situation cannot be sustained as medical supplies run short," said Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

"This war is ominous and we hope it stops," he told AFPTV.

The latest three-day ceasefire was agreed after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.

On Sunday in Riyadh, an envoy of Burhan's met the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.
Caw Community Playgroup, Foyle Down Syndrome Trust, Dunluce Family Centre, Little Orchids, Creggan Pre-School and Training Trust, Strathfoyle Womens Activity Group, Jack and Jill Childcare, Rainbow Child and Family Centre, Foyle Womens Aid, Tree House Creche, Derry Well Women, Waterside Womens Centre, and Tiny Tots Community Playgroup.

This is the grim roll call of North West community organisations which received notification this week the Education Authority was cutting their Pathway funding.

The 13 groups have lost combined funding of 273, 164.52.

Speaking to Derry Now at a protest held in the Guildhall on Thursday to highlight the issue, Lesley Bamford, from Strathfoyle Womens Activity Group, and Jackie Connolly, from Rainbow Child and Family Centre in Galliagh, flagged up the risk of groups being forced to close as a result of their loss of Pathway funding.

The Department of Education Pathway Fund has supported approximately 54,000 children aged 0 to 4 across the North since 2016. It facilitated groups to sustain the vital early years education and learning and care service in their communities. Its loss will have an impact on more than 10,000 children, in 187 communities across the North.

An online petition has been established to enable the public to show support for the local groups and those across the North who have had their Pathway funding cut. It can be signed at: Overturn the proposed closure of The Pathway Fund for Northern Ireland.

Strathfoyle Womens Activity Groups centre manager, Lesley Bamford, said she was in the Guildhall in solidarity with all of the early years groups about to lose their Pathway funding.

Lesley added: Pathway funding is necessary for us all to operate. Strathfoyle Womens Activity Group could potentially lose three employees, our childcare co-ordinator and two childcare workers.

Childcare workers are essential in our centre. Its provision is one of the main reasons people use the centre. By providing childcare, we are removing the biggest barrier for people accessing our services, classes and courses.

People come and sign up for classes and they know the children will be well looked after in a happy, supported and simulated environment, where they are getting to play with quality toys and play materials and eat good food and be active.

At present we are catering for 85 children. One of our main services is our Parent and Child Together Programme, where we have Stay and Play, which is one of the things for which we received Pathway funding. This is going to be a huge loss to the Strathfoyle community. People rely on us, especially our drop-in respite service, for children with additional needs or developmental delays or children of parents who have added pressures or struggles and those children on the at-risk register. It also means that parents and carers will not be able to do our classes, said Lesley.

Tiny Tots Community Playgroup in Strathfoyle has also been impacted by the Pathway funding cuts. The group, which caters for 24 children, is looking at the loss of its three workers and the possibility of closure.

If Tiny Tots and Strathfoyle Womens Activity Group are forced to close their doors, there will be no services for pre-school children (birth to three) in Strathfoyle for a five mile radius, said Lesley.

Jackie Connolly, coordinator of Rainbow Child and Family Centre was in complete agreement with her colleagues regarding the loss of the Pathway funding.

She said: We have organised a meeting for May 15, in Rainbow Child and Family Centre. All the affected groups have been invited, as well as all the MLAs and councillors, everyone. We want to thrash it out and see if there is any way this funding can be saved.

Rainbow has nine jobs that are connected to the Pathway funding. They are not all fully paid through it and this would mean a loss of their hours. It would mean our two and three-year-old programme and my creche programme, which caters for 58 children, will not be able to operate next year.

Throughout the years we have been able to help these children develop, mentally, physically, emotionally, and get them ready for Primary One. We have toilet trained most of these children and they are now able to sit at the table and have their snack and share toys and use their pencils, so they are ready to start school.

All of the groups here today are from disadvantaged areas, which is what Pathway funding is for.

It is helping bridge the gap within society in educational attainment.

Also speaking to Derry News at the Guildhall protest, Derry City and Strabane District councillor, Maeve ONeill (People Before Profit) said it was brilliant the groups affected by the loss of Pathway funding were coming out and joining together to resist the cuts.

Cllr ONeill added: That is the only way we are going to be able to stop these cuts.

I dont know what type of society we are living in that thinks it is okay to be slashing funding for services that support children, that support the most vulnerable children in our society and support parents.

We actually need to put more funding into these things rather than less funding. Parents have it hard enough trying to feed their children and heat their homes, never mind any support which is there being removed from under their feet.

All of these organisations have waiting lists. There are organisations here today which support the most vulnerable children in our society, who have been turned away from every other service, so it is absolutely unacceptable.

This is only the beginning of people coming together and resisting these cuts. We need to build a big movement to say, No.

We want to build the type of society that actually cares for children and young people. It is completely devastating. It is hitting the most vulnerable areas and the most vulnerable families, said Cllr ONeill.

Referring to early years research, Cllr ONeill said all the evidence supported early intervention.

She added: It is about supporting families. So, if we are not going to follow evidence based research, then are we just going to further marginalise the most vulnerable?

There needs to be increased funding, not funding cuts. We need to invest in communities and families and put the money where it is actually needed.

Cllr Emma McGinley (Sinn Fein) who was also at the protest said the funding cut was devastating for local childcare services.

I think children and young people need more support as opposed to less. These cuts that are coming forward, particularly the Pathway fund, are going to have an extremely negative impact on the most vulnerable within our society, our young people and our children, especially in working class communities.

We have been speaking with different groups which are affected both by the Pathway funding cuts and other speculative proposals that may come from todays Budget.

The concerns are there. People are worried. It is one of the reasons Sinn Fein is pushing so hard to try and get the Executive re-established. These decisions are coming from London, they are not coming from local ministers, said Cllr McGinley.

Foyle MLA, Ciara Freguson (Sinn Fein) described the Pathway fund cuts as absolutely devastating.

She added: I have been out with the local groups and we need to not only continue to support our childcare but to invest in childcare. As a party, and myself personally, we have written to Mark Browne, the permanent secretary of the Department of Education, and the Secretary of State.

We have challenged the Secretary of State and Mark Browne to come here into the city and to speak to the staff and the families and communities affected by the Pathway funding cut.

I have grandchildren attending these groups and family members who depend on them. There is not a family not affected by this. Childcare is critical for everyone, for our workforce, to improve the economy, but it is a vital service for our children and young people. It cannot be lost to the city.

It was a disgrace the cut was even considered, so we are challenging both Mark Browne and Chris Heaton-Harris to come to the city and actually speak to the children, families and the staff working in the childcare sector, said Ms Ferguson.
Now you have the right to repair your mobile phones, electronics and other devices from third-party shops without losing your warranty. The Right to Repair portal in India was launched in December, last year. Heres how to use this website to get the contact details of the consumer support contact details and know the warranty specifics of the product.

How to use Right to Repair Portal India

1. You can visit the Right to Repair website here. On the homepage, the various product categories covered by the Right to Repair portal in India are highlighted. These are Farming Equipment, Mobile/Electronics Displays/ data storage components, consumer durables, and automobile equipment.

2. You can either click on the brand names listed on the homepage or click on the Customer Care tab on the top menu bar and then select Mobiles, followed by the brand name.

3. Currently, for instance, Samsung has listed the Galaxy S23/S23+, Galaxy Z, and Galaxy A on this portal.

4. Suppose, we click on the Galaxy A, and you will see clickable links for the product details and product registration details under the Basic Information section.

Under Product Information, you can get external links to get warranty information, terms and conditions of the warranty.

There is a dedicated section showing the customer support phone number, email address and hours of operation.

Under the Service Details section, you can grab details about the Authorized Service Centers, Repair Manuals, and Recognized Multi-brand Stores/Centers.

You can also check important website links related to right-to-repair here.

At present, we see mobile phone and accessories brands like Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and BoAt. Hopefully, more brands will enlist soon.

The government believes the portal will allow the consumers a chance to repair their products at an optimal cost instead of buying new products altogether.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change has dismissed the Reserve Bank Zimbabwe's soon-to-be-launched gold-backed digital currency saying the economic measure lacks a sound legal framework to guide its operation.

The central bank issued a statement notifying the public of its intention to issue gold-backed digital tokens which it said will be in circulation and use with effect from 8 May 2023.

The move in another attempt to stabilise the tumbling Zimbabwe dollar and offer an alternative to the US dollar after the parallel-market premiums this week breached US$1: ZWL 2 000.

According to the RBZ the gold-backed tokens will be fully backed by physical gold held by the Bank.

CCC spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere said the introduction of the gold-backed digital tokens contravenes the Reserve Bank Act.

"What kind of "Reserve Bank" introduces a new "digital currency" with absolutely no legal framework whatsoever? What are the rules? Who made them? This move is illegal and ultra vires the Constitution and the Reserve Bank Act. No wonder the Zimbabwean Dollar is crashing," Mahere said on Twitter.

In a statement, the RBZ said the issuance of the gold-backed digital tokens is meant to expand the value-preserving instruments available in the economy and enhance the divisibility of the investment instruments and widen their access and usage by the public.

The first phase of the issuance of the gold-backed digital coins will be issued for investment purposes with a vesting period of 180 days and redeemable in the same way as the existing physical gold coins.

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"The tokens will be available for sale, through banks, in both foreign currency and Zimbabwe dollar. Banks will create dedicated or specific accounts for the holding of the gold-backed digital tokens (e-gold wallets or e-gold cards). Holders of physical gold coins, at their discretion, will be able to exchange or convert, through the banking system, the physical gold coins into gold-backed digital tokens," the central bank said.

The second phase will see the gold-backed digital tokens held in either e-gold wallets or e-gold cards will be tradable and capable of facilitating Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to- Business (P2B) transactions and settlements.

"It, therefore, means that the gold-backed digital tokens would be used both as a means of payment and a store of value."

The pricing of the gold-backed digital tokens in foreign currency shall remain the same as the pricing model of the physical gold coins as informed or guided by the international gold price as determined by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) PM fix.

Payment for the gold-backed digital tokens or physical gold coins in the Zimbabwe dollar, according to the RBZ, shall remain at the current 20% margin above the willing-buyer willing-seller interbank mid-rate.
Music fans are in for an outstanding evening of world class blues on May 25 in Toales Bar of Dundalk at 7pm, in a fundraising gig in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, organised by Mags Tuite.

Local blues pioneer Grainne Duffy, described as having a "voice that is as passionate as it is raw and honest", the legendary Harbour Blues Band, Sam Davidsons TASTE, and the Mc Collum Brothers, are gathering under one roof for an evening of exceptional selected music in support of Mags Tuite and the Irish Cancer Society.

Even under the duress of not-for-the-first-time chemo treatment, Mags Tuite has gathered these remarkable musical talents to raise awareness and funds for the amazing services of the Irish Cancer Society.

Grainne Duffy who needs no introduction performs in Toales coinciding with release of her new album Dirt Woman Blues, recorded in collaboration with Marc Forde formerly of the Black Crowes.

Audiences may well have enjoyed the Harbour Blues Band, whose regular Sunday afternoon gigs in the Spirit Store were legendary. The lads who play an innovative blend of blues, some of which has its origins at the start of the 1920s, are set to light up the old fans and make new ones with their set on the night.

Sam Davidson's TASTE an iconic blues/rock band from the 60s were founded by songwriter and guitarist Rory Gallagher who left the band in 1970. Sam Davidson has taken over Rory Gallaghers role as frontman as TASTE with McCracken and Mills keeping the sound and energy of the original band alive. The Mc Collum Brothers, Shane and Roddy, will perform their original blend of Celtic Rock.

Dont miss this opportunity to re-live Rorys sound at Toales on Crowe Street, Dundalk, on May 25th at 7pm. This is a night and of exceptional international talent brought to local audiences in the spirit of awareness and support. Tickets 15 at the door - All donations gratefully accepted.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  A U.S.-sponsored youth festival opened Saturday in Ethiopia with the theme "Be Inspired, Own Your Future." The two-day festival is being held just months after a bloody two-year civil war ended in Ethiopia's Tigray region and as peace talks begin with the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).

Nearly 20,000 youth from around the country are expected to take part over two days.

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Tracey Ann Jacobson spoke about the importance of the festival during her opening remarks.

"The point of it is to provide job opportunities, to provide access to loans, to provide better opportunities for leadership and health care for young people throughout Ethiopia," she said, "and I have seen it grow from a tiny seed that we started in March to this amazing program that we have today."

Ethiopian Minister for Women and Social Affairs Ergoge Tesfaye spoke at the event about addressing the vulnerabilities of young people.

"Government and non-governmental institutions, other members of the community, as well as the youth themselves, need to understand that they are exposed to a variety of problems along with this untapped potential and providing necessary solutions and steps is expected from all of us," she said.

Last week, the Ethiopian government started talks with representatives of the OLA in Tanzania after years of protracted communal conflict in Ethiopia's Oromia region.

Entrepreneurs and creative individuals from across 17 cities in Ethiopia are showcasing their work at the Addis Ababa festival, but the event did not have representatives from the Tigray region because of the war's impact.

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Boni Bekele, from the Oromia region, had a booth for a clothing design shop at the market fair within the festival.

He said that he used to be able to work across the country in previous years but not anymore.

The government has made millions of young people lose hope, he said. But their strengths should be used, he said, and not just as soldiers, because that won't transform a country. It's philosophy, science and skills that can change a country, he said, adding that this must be a priority.

The youth festival also featured a tech village and an art gallery.

One of the artists presenting her work was 23-year-old Melat Shiferaw, who came from Dire Dawa in the eastern part of Ethiopia.

For her, though the current environment in the country is not encouraging, she hopes things will soon fall into place.

As humans, she said, we live not just thinking about today, but what we hope for tomorrow, hoping tomorrow will be better.

The festival, supported by USAID for five years, is expected to include participants from Tigray in coming years, as organizers finalize a post-conflict assessment in the region.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has said that at least 1.3 million Nigerians are facing irregular migration challenges across the world.

The United Nations migration body also said more than this number are internally displaced within the country.

Mrs Ugochi Daniels, the Deputy Director General for Operations, IOM, disclosed this during the launch of the IOM Country Strategy for Nigeria in Abuja.

She said the five-year Strategic Plan for Nigeria (2023-2027) is aimed at guiding its work with government and stakeholders in the country towards enhancing migration governance as well as harnessing the benefits of migration for the country.

Daniels explained that the strategy outlines some objectives built around three strategic pillars of governance, mobility and resilience.

She said through these pillars, IOM seeks to support Nigeria in managing migration priorities and reforming migration governance, ensuring safe and dignified mobility pathways for migrants, addressing human trafficking and forecasting migration drivers for safer, more regular and orderly migration movements.

The IOM official pointed out that irregular migration presents a lot of challenges while acknowledging on the other hand that regular migration presents numerous opportunities for the socio-economic development of the country.

She called for the support of critical stakeholders for the successful implementation of the strategy in Nigeria.

On his part, Mr Laurent De Boeck, Chief of IOM Nigeria, explained that the three strategic pillars of the document include resilience, mobility and governance.

He said the strategy will enhance the protection of migrants, IDPs and communities by addressing vulnerabilities and reinforcing capacities to implement sustainable solutions.

"It will optimise benefits of labour mobility for Africa integration as well as foster evidence-based processes to enhance government capacities to integrate migration policies and practices."
UNHCR has set up a transit centre in Renk in South Sudan for people fleeing violence in Sudan.

In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths to the region immediately, the global body announced on Sunday.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

The UN again urged the warring sides to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities.

Appeal for renewed ceasefire

The announcement came just hours after the UN and international partners appealed for Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as "Hemedti", to agree to extend a 72-hour ceasefire for another three days, amid reports of ongoing airstrikes in the capital, Khartoum.

The Trilateral Mechanism - which brings together the African Union, East African bloc IGAD and the UN - also called on the rivals to ensure their forces fully implement the truce.

"As the people of Sudan urgently need a humanitarian pause, the Trilateral Mechanism urges the parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, to protect civilians and to refrain from attacks on civilian populated areas, schools, and healthcare facilities," they said in a statement.

"This ceasefire would also pave the way for talks between both sides towards the establishment of a permanent cessation of hostilities," they added.

Death and displacement

Sudan has been undergoing a turbulent transition to civilian rule in the wake of the April 2019 overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing government that brought together military and civilian leaders was also toppled in a coup in October 2021.

The Trilateral Mechanism has been facilitating talks since May 2022 which resulted in an agreement towards restoring civilian rule, signed that December.

However, hopes shattered two weeks ago when fighting erupted between the regular Sudanese army, led by General al-Burhan, and paramilitary forces under General Dagalo, known as the RSF.

Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands have been fleeing, including to neighbouring Chad, where some 20,000 Sudanese have found refuge.

The fighting has also forced the UN to essentially halt all aid operations in a country, where nearly 16 million people, roughly one third of the population, already were in need.

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Commitment to stay

The UN relocated and evacuated staff from Khartoum and other locations this week, who will continue to work remotely, whether from inside Sudan or in other countries.

The UN and partners are establishing a core team in the eastern city of Port Sudan, located on the Red Sea coast, which will be responsible for overseeing aid operations and negotiating humanitarian access with de facto authorities.

Humanitarians now based in the city, capital of Red Sea State, are determined to quickly return to Khartoum, as the UN continues to underscore commitment to Sudan.

Earlier on Sunday, Volker Perthes, head of the UN Mission supporting the transition in the country, UNITAMS, was briefed by the Wali (Governor) and other officials in Red Sea State on the humanitarian and security situation there.

"He assured them that the UN is not leaving Sudan and that he will work from Port Sudan until the security situation in Khartoum allows our return," UNITAMS said in a tweet.
Qabil Ashirov

Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed The Protocol on the Amendment to the Preferential Commercial Code, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry.

The Economy Ministry said that Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov met with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus in Samsun, Turkiye.

At the meeting, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized the importance of the political will of the heads of state and the implementation of their tasks in the development of relations. He noted that the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance creates favorable conditions for the effective use of the economic potential of the two countries. The Minister said that Turkiye is one of the main trade partners of Azerbaijan, and expanding the scope of the Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries will be another contribution to the realization of goals in the direction of increasing the trade turnover with Turkiye.

Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus underscored the friendly and fraternal relations between the two countries and expressed his views on the direction of further strengthening of Azerbaijan-Turkiye cooperation.

At the meeting, the current situation on trade and investment was reviewed, as well as discussions were held on possible cooperation opportunities.

Within the framework of the visit, the Protocol on Amendments to the Preferential Trade Agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkiye was signed. The document was signed by Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Mus.

It is significant to note that the Preferential Trade Agreement, which entered into force on March 1, 2021, allows the export of a number of Azerbaijani products to Turkiye on preferential terms - without paying import duties.
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Gbangba Tsofogi, a community primarily made up of farmers and petty traders in Gbako Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, has a health centre (PHC) that was built to provide health services to its members and neighbouring communities. However, the centre is not operating at full capacity due to a shortage of personnel and inadequate infrastructure.

The officer-in-charge (OIC), Mohammed Yunusa, expressed his frustration with the facility's condition, stating that it lacks beds for patients and basic materials like gloves. He added that the facility's hygiene is substandard, making it less than ideal for patient care.

"The facility, in spite of its importance to Gbangba Tsofogi and neighbouring communities, is still not up to standard. We attend to patients on mats in an unhygienic room which we cannot do anything about," said the OIC. He urged the government to intervene and ensure that the facility operates adequately.

Ndagi Abubakar, a resident of the community, also corroborated the OIC's claims, stating that the government must act swiftly to ensure that the community members can assess quality healthcare when they need it. He explained that the centre is currently unable to perform critical diagnostic tests, particularly for pregnant women, as it lacks a laboratory. He pleaded with the government and other relevant stakeholders to provide them with a laboratory, as "diagnosis is a key feature of a health centre."

Abubakar revealed that it was members of the Gbangba Tsofogi community who contributed money to build the facility, charging the government to fulfil its responsibility to equip the health centre to enable it function properly.

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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in a statement to mark the 2022 PHC Summit with the theme "Re-imagining Primary Health Care in Nigeria," noted that only 43 per cent of Nigerians have access to quality PHC services, a situation that is worsening disease outbreaks and out-of-pocket expenditure.

Every Nigerian, regardless of their location or social status, has the right to access quality health services whenever and wherever they need them. Gbangba Tsofogi community deserves a well-equipped healthcare centre. Therefore, the government of Niger State and all relevant stakeholders must:

Complete and upgrade the PHC - including a proper parameter fence.

Build a laboratory and a pharmacy in the facility.
A CORK doctor voiced grave concern about the online sale of dangerous nasal sprays promising to boost suntans and create a sun-kissed glow.

Blackpool GP and Fianna Fail councillor Dr John Sheehan has dealt with a number of patients in his surgery sporting jaundiced and unhealthy appearances due to dangerous beauty practices that include the use of tanning injections.

He fears that the latest dangerous tanning trend might seem like an attractive option to a vulnerable young person desperate for the perfect tan this summer.

Dr Sheehan described his experience with patients dabbling in dangerous tanning methods.

All these products are completely unregulated so people have no idea what they are putting up their noses or into their bodies.

I would strongly advise against any nasal sprays promoted for the purposes of darkening skin.

One online ad for a tanning nasal spray viewed by The Echo shows before and after images of a young blonde woman highlighting its results.

The spray is marketed as a way of boosting the bodys production of melanin in the body to darken complexions.

The product is currently banned in some countries due to its disturbing side effects, including kidney damage.

Dr Sheehan spoke of patients he has dealt with in the past who have availed of tanning injections.

They have heavily pigmented skin that looks more jaundiced than tanned, he explained.

They may volunteer the information and admit to using it but usually this is because they have had a scare.

For many young people cancer and skin damage seems far away.

What they fail to realise is that these products are completely unlicensed and unregulated.

The resulting colour often leads people to believe they are protected from the sun when this just isnt the case.

The message needs to get out that there are safe products out there.

People dont have to resort to using nasal sprays or injections.
THE former principal of an African school has been reunited with her old students who travelled from all parts of the globe to mark the Cork womans 90th birthday.

The 1986 class of Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School for Girls in Mankon, Cameroon, met with former Irish missionary Sr Mary Neville making for emotional scenes at Dublin Airport in recent days.

The women joined Sr Neville and the Sisters of the Holy Rosary in Dublin for festivities that included a birthday celebration in addition to traditional Cameroonian dance performances courtesy of her former students.

Sr Neville, who is from Rockboro Avenue in Cork city and attended school at South Presentation Convent, was inspired to pursue religious life after hearing of two Holy Rosary sisters living in the convent.

Many former students, who helped name their graduating class The Pacesetters, said they owe much of their success to the trailblazing former missionary. Their determination over the years has led to them entering into careers in pharmacy, cloud technology management, social entrepreneurship and enterprise and industrial analytical chemistry.

This was in spite of adversity at the time that meant the education of boys was prioritised over their female counterparts.

Sr Mary Neville spoke to The Echo about the difficulties for her then students who have since carved out successful careers in the US, UK, Norway, Switzerland and Cameroon.

The boys were always educated first, she explained.

If a family had anything left over they would educate the girls too. However, I remember one family who put eight of their daughters through Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School and that was so wonderful.

I always told the students that a boy and girl are equal before God.

I told them not to ever put a boy on a pedestal or to look at him as superior because they were capable of just as much.

Even though a lot of the careers were male-dominated I told the girls they could do anything they wanted provided they worked hard in life.

The Cork woman also proved an invaluable emotional support to girls attending the school.

I had a theory that when a child gave trouble there were problems in the home. If a child wasnt doing well or they were acting naughty Id ask them how things were at home. I tried to help them and comfort them.

My theory is that a child is never bad. They might do a bad thing but that doesnt make them a bad child.

I was always convinced of that because a child is naturally good. They might be mischievous but not bold in that sense.

She described seeing the girls for the first time in so many years.

Some of the girls I hadnt seen since they were young girls of 14,15 and 16. The last time I saw them they had cropped hair and school uniforms.

Now some of them are grandmothers. It was amazing and literally overwhelming to see them again. It was incredible to think this had all been arranged through a WhatsApp group.

Former Our Lady of Lourdes student Claire Minang, who took the lead in organising the visit to Dublin, expressed her gratitude to Sr Mary Neville on behalf of her entire class.

Sister Mary was truly a mother and a mentor to us, Claire said.

The education was strict and structured, but we enjoyed every moment of it. It made us feel important, that we were worthy of the Sisters investment of time, which was unusual in Africa when girls were looked at as being unequal to boys.

The school and the Sisters made us feel like we were somebody, like we could be whatever we wanted. Thats what I walked out of there with and I think thats why were so proud. We know what we got out of it. The experience was just remarkable.

Sr Mary Nevilles students had been planning the reunion for a year in advance of their visit.

It was so prayerful, almost like a retreat, Sr Neville said of the celebrations.

We spoke about our memories and they were imitating things that I did and said. It was so funny but also very nice.
A CORK kayaker narrowly avoided disaster after members of the Crosshaven coastguard came to his rescue earlier this afternoon.

They were alerted to the incident after a member of the public phoned emergency services reporting a kayaker frantically waving a paddle in the air.

The man in his fifties had been unable to make it back on to his kayak and was at risk of drowning.

The man was successfully removed from the water and his kayak retrieved.

The kayaker did not require medical assistance.

However, a spokesperson for Valentia Coastguard Station stressed the situation could have ended differently.

The kayak was out by the mouth of the harbour where you are in the main shipping channel, the spokesperson told The Echo.

He was in the middle of the harbour which is quite a dangerous area to be in.

"A member of the public observed him waving his paddle for assistance. This was very fortunate as there were no boats out there meaning that nobody else would have seen him.

"We will always advise people to ring us if they see anyone in trouble even if they are not fully sure as we will always check out the situation one way or another.
Cork City and County Councils water staff have balloted strongly for industrial action concerning their proposed transfer to Uisce Eireann.

Brendan OBrien, Siptu sector organiser for local authorities, said the union has been co-ordinating with its members concerning the Governments decision to form a single public water utility.

Siptu has been mandated by its membership across Ireland, including Cork, to secure a number of requirements, including there be no forced staff transfers from Corks water sections to Uisce Eireann, formerly Irish Water.

Employees should have a choice to voluntarily transfer or to remain with their local authority, with the option to redeploy to another section, and that their earnings be protected, said Brendan OBrien. Ambiguities arose around the protection of earnings of those remaining with certain local authorities, he added.

Correspondence with the Minister for Local Government, Darragh OBrien, confirmed that the framework upheld the position that workers terms and conditions should be protected, including those who decided to stay with their local authorities.

Despite that, local authorities persisted with this ambiguity to the point where we balloted our members for industrial strike action over this, and we are in the process of balloting right across the country at the moment, said Brendan OBrien.

Cork county and city have declared their votes strongly in favour of taking industrial action.

The number of workers affected is unclear, but it would involve a substantial number of employees in water services in Cork.

Under the water services framework, the workers earnings, conditions, and allowances are protected, including pensions.

Options include keeping the same terms as they transfer into Uisce Eireann, or if the worker so chooses, they have the option of adopting the Uisce Eireann pay model. This includes provision for bonus schemes over and above what thecCouncil provides.

So if anything, they have the option to actually do better, moneywise. But its the workers choice, said Brendan OBrien.

CONCERNS

Concerns centre on rostered overtime and allowances.

The agreement was quite clear and was re-iterated by the minister on subsequent occasions, said Brendan OBrien. Those who stay in the local authorities maintain their current terms and conditions if they choose to stay. Thats what the current row is about, to make sure thats upheld.

Workers have a four-year period to make their decision. The ballot will run its course across each county, with an expected announcement by Siptus national council next week as to whether each council has met their chief concerns.

In the event that a council does not meet their concerns, it will fall to Siptus negotiating committee to proscribe what kind of industrial action will take place.

We have been very clear, that if there is industrial action, then it does have the possibility to disrupt water services. It may be more than just work to rule, added Brendan OBrien.

ENGAGEMENT

Uisce Eireann said they have started their engagement with all local authority staff and want and need as many staff as possible to choose to become Uisce Eireann employees.

We met with many staff directly at a series of information briefings held across in each local authority area from November 2022 to February 2023 and have a dedicated email address and phone number for all queries from local authority staff, said a spokesperson.

We will shortly be following up with a series of HR one-to-one meetings to clarify any individual questions and provide interested staff with all the information they need in order to make a decision on joining Uisce Eireann. This is a voluntary decision for all water services staff members, who can express an interest in transferring to Uisce Eireann any time between now and 2026.

We hope as many staff as possible will choose to continue and grow their career in water services and join Uisce Eireann.
Cork primary and special schools have been allocated 3.3 million in minor works funding for the 2023/24 school year from the Department of Education.

Cork primary and special schools will have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds.

Minor works funding may also be used for the improvement or replacement of mechanical and electrical services, the purchase of standard furniture and physical education equipment, the purchase of floor coverings and window blinds, and the purchase of IT-related equipment.

Arrangements are now being made for the early payment of these grants, to provide schools with a good lead-in period to plan and undertake works that will support the operation of the school going into the 2023/24 school year.

Education Minister Norma Foley said: Minor works payments are a vital resource in terms of supporting the operation of schools generally.

"I am pleased to be able to announce 3.3 million in funding that will allow school communities in Cork to address issues at local level.

Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs. In this respect the minor works grant funding provides good flexibility to address issues at local school level, she added.

An overall total of 29 million has been allocated in minor words funding nationally.

The departments planning and building unit is expected to issue updated guidance for schools in relation to good practice arrangements for the maintenance of school buildings in the coming months.
Ten months after a historic Ballincollig building was destroyed by fire, a local councillor has called for reconstruction to begin urgently.

The old mill building on the Powdermills site, in Ballincolligs Regional Park, was destroyed in the early hours of Saturday, June 18 of last year. The building, a reconstruction of an original mill, had been commissioned by Cork County Council in 1993. At the time of the fire, Chief Superintendent Tom Myers, head of policing in the Cork City division, denounced the suspected arsonists as just gurriers.

The burnt out mill at the Ballincollig Regional Park being made safe by Cork City Council staff last June.

Ballincollig-based Cork City councillor Derry Canty had said, last month, that he had been advised that Cork City Council intended to replace the ruin with a modified design in the coming months. Now, the Fine Gael councillor is frustrated that the work has yet to begin.

In the regional park, the unit that was burnt, I was told they were after meeting the person who originally built the timber structure and now they are proposing to put a steel-framed structure in its place, reducing the flammability of it, Mr Canty told The Echo.

The hope was that the new structure would be a reinstatement of the original, but allowing people to see the purpose of the building in its context as part of the powdermills.

Mr Canty said that he was extremely frustrated that no work had begun on reconstructing the building.

Here we are now in May, and in May, June, July, you will have visitors coming up and down through the regional park and looking at this burnt-out structure that is putting a really bad look on Cork City Council and on the area locally here, Mr Canty said.

I am calling on Cork City Council to please go to work, because I was told they are very near to beginning, so I would ask, please, do it now rather than later.
An inbound and outbound flight at Cork Airport have been impacted by French air traffic control strikes today.

Ryanair flight FR9009 from Cork to Bordeaux which had a scheduled departure of 7.25pm this evening has been cancelled in addition to Ryanair flight FR9010 scheduled to arrive at Cork Airport from Bordeaux at 11.30pm.

Passengers have been advised to contact the airline if they have queries.

Michael O'Leary: ''We've been notified by the French Aviation Authorities of the 51st day of striking, on Monday May 1st, and that we must cancel another 220 flights, impacting 40,000 passengers..this is unacceptable'' pic.twitter.com/KmAiY9wCrn  Ryanair (@Ryanair) April 29, 2023

In a statement on Saturday, Ryanair chief executive Michael OLeary criticised the impacts of the ongoing strikes by French air traffic control staff as completely unacceptable.

The French authorities have told us we must cancel another 220 flights, most of them are overflying France, he said.

That means another 40,000 passengers on the May bank holiday weekend are going to have their flights cancelled because of French ATC strikes.

Mr OLeary said Ryanair wanted to apologise sincerely to passengers whose flights were disrupted, adding where flights were cancelled the airline had emailed customers to notify them.

It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or flights from Italy to Portugal are being cancelled simply because a bunch of French air traffic control units want to go on strike.

We respect their right to strike, but if they want to strike, cancel the French flights, protect the overflights, he said.
The Government of Rwanda, through the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), has completed the production of a comprehensive Rwandan Sign Language Dictionary (RSLD). The publication date, however, is yet to be communicated.

According to Emmanuel Ndayisaba, NCPD's executive secretary, the development and nationwide dissemination of a comprehensively researched sign language dictionary, based on professional linguistic research and input from relevant stakeholders, will be a significant milestone in addressing the challenges and needs of deaf people in Rwanda.

Ndayisaba said Rwanda Sign Language (RSL) as an everyday language improves the status and services for hearing-impaired people through effective communication among all people.

"The dictionary has sections containing signs with numbers. If you are learning signs you can look in the appropriate section. The preface introduces the reader to the Rwanda Legal framework on persons living with hearing disabilities, the history of the deaf community in Rwanda, an understanding of RSL, and how to use the dictionary," he said.

Each sign has a clear illustration and description in Kinyarwanda and English to guide the user on how the sign is done.

Ndayisaba said the recognition of RSL as an official language will be an important step to ensure that sign language is provided systematically in areas such as education, health, justice, and political participation, among others.

Initially, copies of the dictionary will be shared with establishments such as educational institutions, and the Kigali Public Library, among others.

There are also plans to avail an electronic copy on various websites, Ndayisaba said.

The research and documentation of the second edition of the RSL dictionary commenced in November 2014 with support from the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and the Government of Rwanda--through NCPD as the Chair of the Steering Committee and Rwanda National Union of the Deaf (RNUD) as the technical implementer.

However, Ndayisaba noted, different challenges were encountered along the way, including the lack of a competent consultant in sign language research and linguistics, lack of clear planning, and misunderstanding of the methodology to be used, adding that at least three consultants were hired consecutively to perform the task.

According to Ndayisaba, the dictionary comprises 2000 signs and is built on the first edition of the dictionary that was published in 2009 by RNUD with support from VSO. It included 891 signs used across all five provinces of Rwanda, with the meanings of each sign in Kinyarwanda and English.

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He said the illustrations of the signs were drawn by hand and accompanied by descriptions in English and Kinyarwanda to clarify how to pronounce each sign, step-by-step.

"This second edition is a major expansion of the first edition. The illustrations have been completely designed with modern technology, converting photographs of signers to precise line drawings, with added arrows to represent the motion," he said.

An introduction to Rwandan Sign Language grammar is provided to explain some of its features.

Ndayisaba explained that there is a common misconception in society that sign language is universal and can be used internationally as a language, cutting across all communities of hearing-impaired people worldwide.

He said although sign language of different countries has a similar grammatical structure, it is not universal or an international language, noting that each country has its own sign language and within a country, the national sign language may have local dialects.
10 new jobs have been created in Cork city with the opening of a new 1 million clinic offering a unique approach to wellness and aesthetic treatments.

aNuMe Medical, a cutting-edge, medical-led, all-encompassing aesthetic and wellness clinic, providing bespoke treatment packages for women and men of all ages, recently opened its doors in the heart of the city at Penrose Quay.

aNuMes focus is on the patients overall health and wellbeing and each client will have individual assessments and bespoke care packages designed for them under the guidance of well-known and respected medical, aesthetic, wellness and cosmetic experts.

The clinic is the concept of internationally recognised medical expert and key opinion leader, Professor Barry OReilly. Over his extensive career, spanning three decades, Prof OReilly has significant medical expertise in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and female pelvic floor dysfunction.

He has practiced across several hospitals at home and abroad throughout his career and is currently serving Cork hospitals and patients in the Cork and Munster region.

Supported by their highly skilled doctors, nurses and clinic team, joining Professor OReilly as Co-Clinic Directors of aNuMe Medical are John Curran, a leading Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon; well-known Orthopaedic Surgeon Karruppiah Mahalingam; and CEO and Founder of ECAMS (European College of Aesthetic Medicine) Pyn Lim.

Prof OReilly said the nucleus of the aNuMe Medical Clinics philosophy is collaborative patient-focused care, with an emphasis on the importance of helping patients to become a renewed version of themselves, inside and out  or a new me as the clinic suggests.

For me, setting up aNuMe Medical is about creating a bespoke wellness package tailored precisely to a persons specific needs, not only on the outside, but also on the inside, which is what sets aNuMe apart from the one-off options available in most aesthetic clinics.

We believe we are the first hybrid clinic in Ireland, bringing together a diverse team of medical and healthcare specialists who are passionate about delivering the highest standards in aesthetics and wellness.

Our ultimate goal is to empower our patients to take control of their health and wellbeing, guiding them through a transformative journey that leaves them feeling confident, radiant and empowered. aNuMe Medicals Cork clinic in Penrose House is the flagship clinic in Ireland, and Professor OReilly said he believes there is scope for rapid expansion across the south-west of Ireland to Limerick and Galway, as well as Dublin.

To book a consultation or for further information on aNuMe Medical see www.anumemedical.com/consultation.
SCULPTURE, books, and an app are just some of the legacies being left by a UCC-led project celebrating ports of the Irish Sea.

Over the past five years, a collaborative team from Ireland and Wales have researched and explored, Dublin Port, Fishguard, Holyhead, Pembroke Dock and Rosslare Harbour as part of the project entitled, Ports, Past and Present.

Working with the local community in each port, they have written 250 compelling stories, created five films and developed an innovative app to help people discover these fascinating port places.

The team also commissioned 12 artists to devise creative responses to the ports, works of imagination that have taken the form of books, photographs, poems, paintings, plays and sculpture.

The project is a cross-border initiative between higher education institutions in Ireland and Wales, including UCC, Aberystwyth University, the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies/ University of Wales Trinity St David, alongside Wexford County Council.

It was funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Co-operation Programme.

UCC professor Claire Connolly takes to the waves at Rosslare Harbour to mark the end of Ports, Past and Present, a project that celebrates five Irish Sea Ports and the crossings that link them over time and space through stories, films and an innovative app. Picture: Clare Keogh

The rich treasure trove of resources created over the course of the projects lifetime is available to tourists planning journeys to, or through, the ports and to tourism businesses who want to promote their areas as great places to spend time.

An Irish Sea tourism business network has been set up as part of the project to support collaboration and discover synergies at either side of the ferry crossing.

The project comes to an end in July and it is planned that the many resources and relationships created during the last five years will live on and support tourism development in the five ports for many years to come.

The Ports, Past and Present Project has engaged with and learned from community stakeholders, heritage enthusiasts and tourism businesses across the Irish Sea, Claire Connolly, professor of English at UCC, and project lead, said.

We have made films, told stories and developed online resources including a Port Places app. Our legacy is bound up with the Irish Sea itself: an enduring presence that continues to shape our cultural, political and environmental histories.

Mary-Ann Constantine, professor at the Centre for Advanced Celtic Studies (University of Wales St David), said Welsh-Irish connections run deep and that the project testifies to the lasting power of cultural exchange across the space of the Irish Sea.

At a time of political and national repositioning, it has been a pleasure to work with Irish colleagues to affirm those deep connections, she continued.
A CORK TD has questioned the location of a new surgical hub for Cork, suggesting it should be located away from the chaos of Cork University Hospital (CUH).

Fine Gael health spokesperson Colm Burke was speaking during a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Health where he raised concerns about the current situation at the busy hospital.

Plans to progress proposals to develop five surgical hubs in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, and Dublin as part of an overall plan aimed at reducing waiting lists were announced by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last year.

The five new hubs which will cost between 90m to 100m will be based on a model at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin, where a commercial building nearby was retrofitted and converted into a surgical hub.

Speaking during the meeting, Mr Burke said: Were now talking about putting the surgical hub into CUH. Its chaos there at the moment as regards even simple things like trying to get in there now is a challenge, and were talking about putting the new surgical hub in there as well.

Im just wondering is that the right decision, in view of the fact of whats going on in the CUH at the moment. Theres huge challenges there for staff, huge challenges there for management, and Im just wondering, should we have been looking at a facility away from CUH rather than in CUH itself?

Responding, Mr Donnelly said: Yes, the surgical hub should be very close to the hospital. The reason for that really is so that the workforce can move because weve got consultants wholl be working in the hospital who can then travel across at short notice, do their elective lists and move back.

Even though a lot of these are fairly standard procedures, there is always a percentage of those where acute aftercare is required and having the patient close to the hospital for that can be quite useful.

Noting a significant investment in the hospital to support the new chief executive David Donegan and staff, Mr Donnelly said it will include a lot of extra beds, the surgical hub, the paediatric wing, upgrades to oncology, a new trauma centre including the helipad, and a new medical education centre.
THE death penalty is a controversial subject at the best of times, and I have mixed views on it.

I must admit there were times during my service in An Garda Siochana when I supported it. In fact, there were a few occasions when I would gladly have flipped the switch myself.

The subject has arisen in conversations again recently following the conviction of Stephen Silver.

A 46-year-old motorbike mechanic from Aughaward, Foxford, Co Mayo, Silver was jailed for life for the capital murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan. He shot the garda 11 times, but he will not be executed.

Up until 1990, the capital murder of a garda, a prison officer or a diplomat was punishable by execution in Ireland, but the death penalty was abolished in 1990 and replaced with a 40-year mandatory sentence.

The last person to be legally executed in this jurisdiction was Michael Manning, a 25-year-old Limerick man. In 1954, he was executed by hanging at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, where he was later buried in an unmarked grave.

He had been found guilty of the rape and murder of Catherine Cooper, 65, who worked at Barringtons Hospital in the city.

The defence team had claimed insanity and wanted the charges reduced to manslaughter as Manning had not planned the attack in advance. While there was a history of mental health issues in his family, the judge sided with the prosecution and told the jury to discard the argument, as he claimed the fact that Manning has shoved clods of grass into the victims mouth to stop her screaming showed he was aware of the crime he was committing.

Around that same time, there was a campaign to have the death penalty abolished and in 1964, under Charles Haughey as Minister for Justice, the penalty was abolished except for cases involving the murder of a garda or a prison officer.

Noel and Marie Murray were convicted of the capital murder of Garda Michael Reynolds following an armed robbery in Dublin in 1975. However, their capital conviction was overturned, and they received a life sentence.

Noel Callan and Michael McHugh were sentenced to death for the murder of Sergeant Patrick Morrissey following a robbery in County Louth in 1985. Their capital conviction was also overturned, and they were sentenced to 40 years in prison. A decision that wasnt popular with many members of An Garda Siochana or the Defence Forces at the time.

Unlike Manning, Stephen Silver will not be hanged but will serve a prison sentence instead. The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment in accordance with the Criminal Justice Act 1990 and specified that he must serve a minimum of 40 years.

That same Act permits remission for good behaviour, so Silver could apply for parole after 30 years. He will be in his mid-70s before he can be considered for release by a parole board. Whether you agree with that or not is a moot point because thats the system we use now.

Opponents of the death penalty would argue thats a good thing. They cite examples of prisoners who have been executed for crimes they didnt commit. That, of course, is an injustice that can never be rectified so for that reason alone, there are many who campaign for its abolishment. For them, life in prison is the preferred choice of punishment.

In the US, jurors have the option of sentencing convicted capital murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That keeps them off the streets for good and also allows for mistakes to be corrected. That option, though, puts an onus on the State to mind them for the rest of their natural lives at enormous expense to the taxpayer, but opponents would argue that years of endless appeals can be just as expensive.

They also say that some family members of victims feel the death penalty doesnt ease their pain. In fact, it can often add to it because the process can be lengthy and prolong the agony for the family.

On the other hand, supporters say the death penalty gives closure to the victims families. The criminal is no longer around to haunt them, and the execution brings finality to the tragic event.

DNA testing can now effectively eliminate all doubt as to a persons guilt or innocence, and while we can never be 100% certain, its as close as you can get.

Another interesting question, though, is at what point does an execution become pointless? If a prisoner on death row develops a terminal illness and is certain to die, is there really a need to go ahead with an execution? Or if an inmate becomes afflicted with dementia and can no longer remember what his crime was, is it right to execute him if he doesnt understand why he is being punished in the first place?

Doyle Hamm was 61 and terminally ill with lymphatic cancer when Alabama tried to execute him in 2018. Hamms failing health rendered it impossible for prison officials to find a usable vein after hours of trying. He eventually died after a long illness in 2021.

In Ohio, officials tried and failed to execute Alva Campbell, who was already dying of cancer He was unable to walk, used a colostomy bag and required four breathing treatments per day. Officials called off the execution in 2017 after they couldnt find a vein, and Campbell later died in his cell of natural causes.

In 2018, Vernon Madison was facing execution in Alabama even though he couldnt remember his crime. Several strokes and dementia had wiped out his memory of murdering a police officer in 1985. The US Supreme Court ruled that people cannot be executed if they dont understand why they are being punished. Hard to disagree with that.
Anne Lucey

The planned relocation of Ukrainian refugees in Co Kerry to create accommodation for asylum seekers has been "paused" following the intervention of Minister for Education Norma Foley.

The move came after appeals by local representatives and businesses in Cahersiveen.

There are around 200 Ukrainian refugees under a temporary protection order at the Skellig Accommodation Centre, which includes hotel and self-catering apartments for families and singles in the south Kerry town.

Just under half the Ukrainian residents were informed on Friday they were to be moved out amid what the Department of Integration said was a "severe" shortage of accommodation for international protection applicants.

Some 40 of the Ukrainian residents were to remain in the area but 40 were also be moved to Tralee at 12pm on Tuesday. This included about 10 children who are attending schools in Cahersiveen.

Appeals by employers, local councillors and the community were made directly this weekend to Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman and to the local Fianna Fail TD Ms Foley.

A spokesperson for Ms Foley on Monday said "a pause" had been placed on the relocation of the Ukrainian residents until there is further discussion.

Ms Foley was "more than conscious" of the points raised and had directly intervened with Mr O'Gorman, her spokeperson said.

"Minister O'Gorman has confirmed that no residents will be moved on Tuesday, as previously suggested. This will facilitate further consultation on the matter," they said.

The Ukrainian provision at the Skellig Accommodation Centre, previously known as the Skellig Star, was on an interim basis, it also emerged over the weekend.

The planned relocation caused great upset in the community, Fianna Fail councillor Norma Moriarty said.

"There are very few towns who have taken a 40 per cent increase in population and made a real success in terms of integration and that didn't happen by accident. This has stemmed from a huge level of energy and commitment," Ms Moriarty said, referring to both the professional and volunteer input.

There are fears now that much of that spirit will be undermined, she said, and the community was appealing to the Minister and his department to "leave well enough alone" and leave the families stay and not undermine the good work that had been done.

Some of the people facing relocation are working in Cahersiveen, Fianna Fail councillor Michael Cahill said. They are also involved in sporting and social organisations, he said.
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.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on April 17 that the city would aim to reduce absolute carbon emissions from food purchases across its city agencies by 33 percent by 2030.

This was after the citys Department of Environmental Protection began to incorporate food emissions data into its overall greenhouse gas inventory, discovering that greenhouse gas emissions from the productions and consumption of food accounted for 20 percent of the citys overall emissions.

According to a 2021 report from Food and Water Watch:

Agriculture is also one of the largest human sources of climate change; across the entire production chain, it contributes 19 to 29 percent of all human-sourced emissions. Overproduction of commodities and meat, food waste, growing crops for fuel, and use of synthetic fertilizers produced from fossil fuels all enlarge this footprint.

Mayor Adams, a noted vegan, said that plant-powered food isnt just good for our physical and mental health, but good for the planet as well The way we eat impacts everything, and now were going to do more to impact everything for the better.

The initiative is twofold. The purchasing part of it is the first part, while the second part is a challenge to the private sector called the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge. The city is asking private, institutional and nonprofit sectors to voluntarily take a closer look at the environmental impact of their procurement practices and is providing resources to help them measure their carbon footprint.

New York City has already taken very small steps to move towards more plant-based foods in the city. It introduced Plant-Powered Fridays at public schools, but an investigation from 2022 by The Counter, which has since ceased publication, noted some skepticism about the meals being vegan, and also showed a picture of processed food on the menu. Nonetheless, the initiative continues at public schools.

The NYC Health + Hospitals system introduced plant-based primary dinner options at all 11 of its hospitals early this year, which builds on the Meatless Monday initiative started in 2019. All of these initiatives are related to a report released in late 2021 that took aim at the citys food purchasing infrastructure, with the goal, according to the report, to tie food purchasing to five metrics: nutrition, support for local economies, a valued food production and delivery workforce, environmental sustainability and animal welfare. New York joined Los Angeles, which adopted a similar purchasing policy back in 2012.

New York City spends around $300 million purchasing food for hospitals, prisons and public schools. And while its spending on beef products is small, at just around one percent of the overall food budget, it is well-documented that beef is a very high contributor to carbon emissions.

A Good Food Purchasing Metrics document from March of this year did show that, according to city data, the total greenhouse gas emissions per meal has steadily decreased from 2019, when the figure was 2.32 kg COe per 1,000 kcal. In 2021, the figure was down to 1.74 kg COe per 1,000 kcal.

New York is not the first to undertake this kind of good food purchasing. The Good Food Purchasing Program is a coalition of partners that aims to change the habits of governmental food spending. Its program uses the same five metrics that New York cited in its announcement: supporting local economies, sustainability, a valued workforce with support for unionization, animal welfare, and nutrition. The site publishes a map that shows at least ten cities in the U.S. that have adopted good food purchasing policies. These include:

Austin, where two school districts have implemented the program.

Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Unified School District has increased spending on local and small farmers, and where the program has been implemented in a number of other departments, including at airports.

Pittsburgh, where in 2021 the public schools passed the Good Food Purchasing Policy.

The Cincinnati School Board, which in 2019 adopted the Good Food Purchasing Policy.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently looking to update its standards on child nutrition for its school lunch program, which currently spends $13 billion and serves more than four billion lunches per year. It is proposing a section on local procurement as part of its overhaul of the standards, that would expand geographic preference options by allowing locally grown, raised, or caught as procurement specifications (criteria the product or service must meet for the vendors bid to be considered responsive and responsible) for unprocessed or minimally processed food items in the child nutrition programs, in order to increase the procurement of local foods. However, this change would not take effect, if it is indeed passed as part of the overhaul, until 2024 at the earliest.
Renowned gospel duo, James and Daniella, have organised a mega worship concert that will feature gospel music enthusiasts from around the world slated for June 2.

The event, titled "Gathering of 1000 Special Extended Worship", aims at bringing believers closer to their savior Jesus Christ and widely praise His love, according to organisers. The event will be held at the Crown Hotel in Nyarutarama, Kigali, Rwanda.

According to James Rugarama, member of the famous duo, "the overall goal of the evening is to proclaim the victory of our salvation and to think deeply about God's love with the 1, 000 people who will attend the evening".

Referring to the verse in Matthew 18: 20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," Rugarama believes that each person will experience God's presence.

"We will sing of the goodness of God in the same Spirit. It's time to reflect personally on the love of God and proclaim it in a special extended way," he added.

The duo, which has been married for over five years, is one of the most loved gospel musicians in Rwanda, thanks to their songs "Mpa Amavuta" and "Nkoresha" that introduced them to the world.

They rose to stardom through different choirs including, Joyous Melody of Four Square Church in Kimironko and True Promises, one of the most popular choirs in Rwanda.
A quest a couple of years ago to discover the selection of ebooks by African authors one could borrow from national public libraries in the East African Community yielded mostly disappointing results.

It turned out the question should not have been about e-novels per se, but whether the libraries even had digital versions of their Bibliotheque in the first place.

The National Library of Burundi had a page giving the opening time and history of the library; the Kenya National Library Services website had pages offering e-resources and data, but no ebooks; the National Library of Uganda a website under construction promising to include digital books.

The Tanzania Library Services Board did not seem to have a website. The Kigali National Library had the best showing, with a well-appointed website offering a collection of over 600 ebooks and audiobooks.

What is the situation now?

The Tanzania Library Services Board now has a vibrant website with a virtual library offering a collection of school textbooks, but no e-novels.

The National Library of Uganda too now has a website, though it only features an e-resource portal and none dedicated to ebooks as yet. I couldn't find the National Library of Burundi website; it however must be there somewhere.

The Kenya National Library Services now has an e-library offering over 3000 ebooks, 900 of them fiction, though for children mostly.

The Kigali National Library website informs one the physical library is under renovation, though the virtual library remains operational. A count indicates an increase in the number of ebooks and audiobooks to over 1,300.

Worth noting, however, is that the Kenya and Rwanda national public libraries among a handful of countries in Africa - nine in total - subscribed to the American platform OverDrive, a global distributor of digital free content for libraries and schools.

Most of the subscribed African countries, including Kenya, have signed on to the platform's K-12 schools programme. Rwanda is subscribed to both K-12 and public library programmes. E-books offered at the Kigali National Library are mostly sourced from OverDrive.

While OverDrive is a free service, the only condition to access it is one has to be a member of a subscribed library. But other free internet platforms such as The Online Books Page or the more famous Internet Archive have no such conditions.

Still, one may ask, why resort to foreign aggregators of ebooks, and not African ones?

It is because of several challenges in the continent, ranging from a lack of sustainable funding to the high cost of infrastructure, poor digital literacy and copyright issues. These inadequacies impede access but hinder the development of e-libraries in the continent.

Adding to these, African publishers generally seem reluctant to put out digital versions of their books. With piracy rampant, theirs is a business decision to confine their books to print if they are to keep afloat.

With these challenges to improve digital access, the options left as seen in the example of Rwanda and Kenya is to form partnerships with private institutions such as OverDrive.

But there's no turning away from technological advancement and one can conceive a future where every country has a public e-library, including a continental e-library that would probably be run by the African Union.

Such a future is more than plausible, except that the dream of having a thriving e-library already faces a major threat.

The threat may be seen in a court case pitting the Internet Archive against a group of book publishers in the United States that does not seem to have received much attention locally.

At issue are 127 books that Internet Archive lent out through its controlled digital lending (CDL) program. CDL works like the normal print-book library and lends only the number of copies it owns. If it has one copy of a title and has lent it out, the next reader has to wait until the time allocated to the person currently reading the book is exhausted.

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Agreeing with the publishers, however, the judge found that the Internet Archive's circulation of the ebooks was not fair use, or copyright infringement, because the 127 ebooks were also available under license through platforms such as OverDrive.

When you buy a printed book, for example, nobody asks you when or to who you lend it out, which is how libraries work. The ruling amounted to giving publishers the right to dictate how a library lends materials it has purchased. That is too much power, which publishers might prevent lending out profitable books such as the 179 under contention.

Internet Archive plans an appeal. But local publishers must be watching to see how it ends and could spell doom for African e-libraries even before they get off the ground.
Changes announced for routine adolescent HPV vaccination programme

Children and young adults in the Isle of Man who are eligible to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination will now receive one dose rather than the previous two-dose schedule.

This decision was taken by the Isle of Man Immunisation Committee*, and follows a recent recommendation made by the UKs Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) based on the results of several independent research studies. Both organisations agree that children and young people who have received a single dose before 25 years of age are considered fully vaccinated.

However, there may be some exceptions to this where further doses may be clinically required, for example, for young people with a weakened immune system. In this case, this will be discussed with children, their carers and young adults as part of their vaccination regime.

HPV is a common virus that is primarily spread through sexual contact. Infection can cause a number of potential complications including cancers and other serious conditions.

The HPV vaccine is offered each year to all pupils in school Year 8 in the Isle of Man.
THE London Business School has introduced a scholarship fund in honour of the late Zimbabwean business excecutive Themba Muchaneta, who died in a car accident in Wiltshire in South West England last year.

Muchaneta, who passed away at the age of 40, was one of London Business School's most successful former students.

After graduating from the institution with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2021, Muchaneta had risen to become the Pathways Manager, Operations for Great Britain at the American multinational technology company, Amazon.

London Business School's Associate Director, External Partnerships & Scholarships Charlotte Smith revealed that they have introduced the Themba Muchaneta Black in Business Scholarship which is named for a much loved MBA2021 alumnus who passed away in 2022.

"Themba Muchaneta was a much-loved MBA2021 alumnus who sadly passed away in 2022. The Themba Muchaneta scholarship will support one Black in Business MBA scholar, who will commence study in 2023," Smith said in a statement on the London Business School website.

"This scholar will carry forward the legacy of Themba's impact at LBS; the positive impact he had on everyone around him and on all the important initiatives he was a part of. Like Themba, the scholar will contribute to racial equality at LBS and beyond and the Black in Business Club."

Muchaneta, who was born in Zimbabwe, attended St Augustine's Missionary School and studied Systems Engineering at Loughborough University in the UK.

Themba had to take on part jobs to supplement his tuition and living expenses when financing his studies.

He chose to study for a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and while studying he interned for the startup company ALCHERA Technologies."

Themba actively contributed to the LBS Africa Club where he found space to highlight the disparities that exist within societies due to unequal distribution of wealth and lack of opportunities, especially among minority, marginalised and poor communities in Africa, the UK and all around the world.

He was appointed the President of the Africa Club in 2020.

London Business School, as an international institute, gave Themba the opportunity to have influence locally and internationally, using the space of his presidency of the LBS Africa club and his involvement with the Black in Business community.

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These platforms allowed him to shine a light on issues close to his heart like social injustice, wealth distribution disparities and lack of educational opportunities.

Even as Themba embarked on his next phase at Amazon, he did so with passion, dedication, integrity and a sense of adventure that made everyone want to participate.

Themba volunteered his time at the Greenlight refugee response, where he connected with people searching for opportunities.

"We trust that this scholarship, named in honour of Themba K.I.G. Muchaneta will transform a life which in turn will transform lives. To London Business School, we thank you for nurturing the best in Themba. You created and allowed him space to flourish and indeed he did flourish. Within these walls, he evolved as he turned his dreams into reality. Themba thrived and he was happy at LBS. He was proud to be part of its community. He dreamt of a future he wanted for himself and for others with a smile that belied the long hours of assignments," the Muchaneta family said in a statement published on the London Business School website.
The Essex Reporter is a daily digital news website covering the Town of Essex and City of Essex Junction, Vermont. Our beat reporters are on the ground every day covering local government, schools, sports, business and culture.
9.6% of the DSM Ordinary Shares have been tendered in the Exchange Offer during the Post-Closing Acceptance Period

Together with the DSM Ordinary Shares already held by DSM-Firmenich AG, this represents 96.1% of the DSM Ordinary Shares

Settlement of the DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Post-Closing Acceptance Period will occur on 3 May 2023

Firmenich Contribution will occur on 8 May 2023 , thereby completing the transactions contemplated by the merger of equals between DSM and Firmenich

, thereby completing the transactions contemplated by the merger of equals between DSM and Firmenich DSM-Firmenich AG will commence the Buy-Out shortly

(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR GENERAL RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD VIOLATE APPLICABLE LAWS OR REGULATIONS

This is a joint press release by DSM-Firmenich AG, Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM) and Firmenich International SA (Firmenich) in connection with the voluntary public exchange offer for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the share capital of DSM (each such share, a DSM Ordinary Share) (the Exchange Offer), pursuant to Section 4, paragraph 3, and Section 17, paragraph 4 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft) (the Decree). The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any holder of DSM Ordinary Shares (a DSM Shareholder), in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the offering circular in relation to the Exchange Offer dated 22 November 2022 (the Offering Circular).

KAISERAUGST, Switzerland, HEERLEN, the Netherlands and GENEVA, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DSM-Firmenich AG (the Company or DSM-Firmenich), DSM, and Firmenich are pleased to announce that during the Post-Closing Acceptance Period, which expired on 28 April 2023 at 17:40 CEST, 16,578,846 DSM Ordinary Shares have been tendered for acceptance in the Exchange Offer, representing approximately 9.6% of DSM's aggregate issued and outstanding ordinary share capital and an aggregate value of approximately EUR 1.97 billion.1 Together with the DSM Ordinary Shares already held by the Company on the date hereof, the Company will hold a total of 167,321,557 DSM Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 96.1% of DSM's aggregate issued and outstanding ordinary share capital.

As a result, the Company will commence the Buy-Out shortly and terminate the listing and trading of DSM Ordinary Shares on Euronext Amsterdam. In consultation with Euronext Amsterdam it has been decided that the last trading date of the DSM Ordinary Shares will be 30 May 2023, and that the delisting of the DSM Ordinary Shares will be effective on 31 May 2023.

1 Based on the share price of a DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Share at close of trading on Euronext Amsterdam on 28 April 2023 of EUR 118.76.

Settlement Post-Closing Acceptance Period

DSM Shareholders who have validly tendered (or defectively tendered, provided that such defect has been waived by the Company) and transferred (geleverd) their DSM Ordinary Shares for acceptance in the Exchange Offer during the Post-Acceptance Period, will receive the Offer Consideration in respect of each tendered DSM Ordinary Share on 3 May 2023 (the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date). We cannot guarantee that DSM Shareholders will actually receive the Offer Consideration on the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date from the Admitted Institution with whom they hold their DSM Ordinary Shares.

The Company accepts all DSM Ordinary Shares that have been validly tendered (or defectively tendered, provided that such defect has been waived by the Company) pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Offer. Settlement of the Exchange Offer will be administered and effected by the Company or by the Listing, Paying and Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO Bank N.V.), on behalf of the Company.

If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States has tendered its shares into the Exchange Offer but has been unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares to be allotted to such beneficiary will instead be transferred to a nominee, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to its intermediary within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date.

Buy-Out

Since the Company will hold more than 95% of DSM's aggregate issued and outstanding ordinary share capital as of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, the Company will as soon as possible commence the statutory buy-out procedure in accordance with Article 2:359c DCC or a buy-out procedure in accordance with Article 2:92a DCC to acquire the DSM Ordinary Shares that have not been tendered in the Exchange Offer (the Buy-Out).

Any remaining DSM Shareholders (other than the Company) will receive a cash consideration for the DSM Ordinary Shares to be transferred under the Buy-Out to the Company. The Company will request the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals (Ondernemingskamer) to, in line with past practice, set the fair price (billijke prijs) of each DSM Ordinary Share transferred to the Company pursuant to the Buy-Out at the closing share price of a DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Share on Euronext Amsterdam on Wednesday 3 May 2023, with any dividends or other distributions yet to be paid on the DSM Ordinary Shares being deducted.

Additional information is included in section 14.19 (Statutory buy-out) of the Offering Circular.

Delisting

In addition, DSM will procure the termination of the listing and trading of DSM Ordinary Shares on Euronext Amsterdam as soon as practicable. In consultation with Euronext Amsterdam, it has been decided that the last trading date of the DSM Ordinary Shares will be 30 May 2023, and that the delisting of the DSM Ordinary Shares will be effective on 31 May 2023. After delisting, DSM will be converted from a Dutch public limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap) into a Dutch private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid).

Announcements

Announcements in relation to the Exchange Offer are issued by means of a press release. Any joint press release issued by the Company, DSM and Firmenich is made available on the website of the Company ( www.dsm-firmenich.com).

Subject to any applicable requirements of the applicable laws and without limiting the manner in which the Company, DSM and Firmenich may choose to make any public announcement, the Company, DSM and Firmenich will have no obligation to communicate any public announcement other than as described in the Offering Circular.

Further information

Capitalised terms used but not defined herein are defined in the Offering Circular. This announcement contains selected, condensed information regarding the Exchange Offer and does not replace the Offering Circular. The information in this announcement is not complete and additional information is contained in the Offering Circular. A digital copy of the Offering Circular is available on the website of the Company ( https://www.dsm-firmenich.com/corporate/investors/merger-information/merger-documents/).

General restrictions

The Exchange Offer is being made in and from the Netherlands with due observance of such statements, conditions and restrictions as are included in the Offering Circular. The Company reserves the right to accept any tender under the Exchange Offer, which is made by or on behalf of a DSM Shareholder, even if it has not been made in the manner set out in the Offering Circular.

The distribution of the Offering Circular and/or the making of the Exchange Offer in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted and/or prohibited by law. In particular, subject to certain exceptions, the Offering Circular is not for general circulation in the United States. The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any DSM Shareholder, in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the Offering Circular. Persons obtaining the Offering Circular are required to take due note and observe all such restrictions and obtain any necessary authorisations, approvals or consents (to the extent applicable). Outside of the Netherlands, no actions have been taken (nor will actions be taken) to make the Exchange Offer possible in any jurisdiction where such actions would be required. In addition, the Offering Circular has not been filed with nor recognised by the authorities of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands. Neither the Company, nor DSM, nor Firmenich, nor any of their advisers accept any liability for any violation by any person of any such restriction. Any person (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) who forwards or intends to forward the Offering Circular or any related document to any jurisdiction outside the Netherlands should carefully read section 16 (Restrictions) and section 17 (Important Information) of the Offering Circular before taking any action. The release, publication or distribution of the Offering Circular and any documentation regarding the Exchange Offer, the making of the Exchange Offer or the issuance and offering of the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession the Offering Circular comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the law of any such jurisdiction.

United States of America

Unless otherwise determined by the Company, the Exchange Offer is not being, and will not be, made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by the use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) of, interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States except to DSM Shareholders who (i) are "qualified institutional buyers" as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act, and each such person, a QIB) and (ii), to the Company's satisfaction (in its sole discretion), have duly completed and returned to the Company a letter confirming that it is a QIB and agreeing to certain transfer restrictions applicable to the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares (a U.S. Investor Letter) available from the Company (each an Eligible U.S. Holder). Accordingly, to be eligible to receive DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Offer, each DSM Shareholder that is a U.S. Person and that is a QIB must make their acceptance known through their custodian, bank or stockbroker by executing and delivering a U.S. Investor letter to such custodian or intermediary no later than 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date. The custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by DSM Shareholders in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate its acceptances to the Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO) in a timely manner. Accordingly, Eligible U.S. Holders holding DSM Ordinary Shares through a financial intermediary should comply with the dates communicated by such financial intermediary, as such dates may differ from the dates and times noted in the Offering Circular.

The form of a U.S. Investor Letter will be distributed to custodians, nominees and other financial intermediaries to distribute to those they hold for in due course and is also available to QIBs from the Company. Any U.S. Person who is not a QIB, or in respect of whom no U.S. Investor Letter is received before 17:40 hours CEST on the Acceptance Closing Date, will be a Restricted Shareholder and will be treated as set out under section 14.35 (Notice to DSM Shareholders in certain jurisdictions) of the Offering Circular.

The DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States and accordingly, the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares may not be reoffered, resold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.

Any DSM Shareholder located in the United States at the time of the Transactions will be required to make certain representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of their status as QIB (the QIB Confirmations), in order to receive the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares on the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date.

If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States is unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted to such person will instead be transferred to a sales agent, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to such person within five days of the Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Acceptance Period, or within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during any Post-Closing Acceptance Period.

Additional information is included in section 16.1 (United States of America) of the Offering Circular.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs and projections and on information currently available to the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and all of which are based on its current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "would", "could", "should", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "assume", "predict", "anticipate", "annualised", "goal", "target", "potential", "continue", "hope", "objective", "position", "project", "risk" or "aim" or the highlights or negatives thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of DSM-Firmenich's strategy, short-term and mid-term objectives and future plans that involve risks and uncertainties.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake and it expressly disclaims any duty to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections of the Directors in office at the time of this press release and the Company's management, public statements made by it, present and future business strategies and the environment in which DSM-Firmenich will operate in the future. By their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause DSM-Firmenich's actual results and future events to differ materially from those implied or expressed by forward-looking statements. The DSM Shareholders and other prospective investors are advised to read section 2 (Risk Factors) of the Offering Circular for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect the DSM-Firmenich's future performance and the industry in which DSM-Firmenich operates. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should any of the assumptions underlying the above or other factors prove to be incorrect, DSM-Firmenich's actual results of operations or future financial condition could differ materially from those described herein as currently anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. In light of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions underlying the above factors, the forward-looking events described in the Offering Circular may not occur or be realised. Additional risks not known to the Company or that the Company does not currently consider material could also cause the forward-looking events discussed in the Offering Circular not to occur.

Transaction website

Please visit www.dsm-firmenich.com for additional materials on the Transactions.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1828928...

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/final-results-of-the-exchange-offer-96-1-of-dsm-ordinary-shares-tendered-301811582.html
O

perations arent my forte; I focus on the brand concept. Born in Basel, just a stones throw away from the historic watch fair, Swiss entrepreneur Harry Guhl has carved a unique profile on the international horological scene. For several decades, he has purchased the rights to watchmakers names or brands that have fallen into disuse, modernised their core essence, and offered them as turnkey solutions to investors.

Could his modus operandi be likened to the tactics of 2.0 entrepreneurs who buy domain names of websites and sell them to the highest bidder? Guhl contends that his intentions are more benign: A name alone isnt a brand. You need a team, a product, a strategy, and funding. Without these elements, its futile. At times, Ive been disappointed, because Ive sold beautiful brand concepts to the wrong people, who havent done anything with them. Not all the relaunches worked. But all in all I resurrected 17 names in the industry. I think thats a record.

Bound by non-disclosure agreements, Guhl is only able to mention a few brands in which he has personally invested: Czapek & Cie, probably his best-known venture and Chronotechna, another brand with Czech roots. He is also a shareholder of Sequent, an innovative Swiss connected watch brand. As he readily admits, he tends to be involved only in the initial stages of a project before handing over the reins for further development.

An emotional and legal minefield

Many of todays leading brands are a result of the revival of names from the past, like Bovet, H. Moser & Cie, Jaquet Droz or Ferdinand Berthoud, Guhl continues. These brands serve as references. To honour the accomplishments of esteemed watchmakers, you have to respect their heritage, conduct careful research, and avoid making it a purely commercial undertaking.

An encounter with Thierry Oulevay, the man responsible for putting Bovet back on the horological map in the mid-1990s, was decisive for Harry Guhls career choice. He was an incredibly inspiring person. I still remember the atmosphere in his office opposite the Hilton Hotel in Geneva. We had a long conversation, and I saw the book La Montre Chinoise by Alfred Chapuis on a table, which tells the story of the Bovet family.

Harry Guhl

On his return home, he acquired a copy of the book: That was the starting point for my historical research; I wanted to know how he had obtained the trademark. It was surprisingly simple: a well-known watchmaking entrepreneur registered the trademark and passed it on to Mr Ouvelay. My initial research revealed that almost all the best watchmaking companies with a founding date in the 19th century or earlier were either resurrected names or declining companies that had been bought up by watchmaking investors.

Nowadays, Guhl emphasises, there are three ways to obtain the rights to a brand: You can purchase an existing company, buy a trademark, or register a watchmakers name and set up a company yourself. However, the latter option means entering an emotional and legal minefield.

Raising eyebrows

Once the brand environment is defined, the next steps are product planning, prototyping, and of course, fundraising. In Haute Horlogerie today, you cant do anything without an investment of at least one million francs, Guhl asserts. Platforms like Kickstarter, which have given birth to numerous new projects (though few survive in the medium to long term), do not alter this fundamental reality.

Harry Guhl designed his first timepiece in the late 1990s, long before the emergence of digital entrepreneurship. Back then, the barriers to entry into the watch industry were even greater, and information was scarce. His fascination with watches began when he inherited a 1940s Longines from his great-grandfather. At that time, his parents ran a restaurant near Freiburg, which was frequented by local celebrities with beautiful watches on their wrists.

One day, Guhl decided to introduce a new type of complication and, with the aid of a La Chaux-de-Fonds-based watchmaker friend, created a prototype featuring a patented innovation. He pitched this patent to several major industry players, but none showed interest. However, at the following years Basel Fair, he claims to have spotted a strikingly similar model on the stand of a Haute Horlogerie brand. Could it have been a coincidence? Perhaps. In any case, this marked a bitter start to his professional relationship with the harsh world of intellectual property.

Guhls serial relaunches were not always well received, in an industry that attracts its fair share of opportunistic and speculative projects. When he collaborated with Xavier de Roquemaurel and Sebastien Follonier to resurrect the name of Franciszek Czapek, Antoine Norbert de Pateks first partner, the industry greeted them with an air of suspicion. However, the superior quality of the resulting products and the unique business model featuring an open-shareholding structure have led to the brands current success  including its own waiting lists (read more here). While Guhl no longer serves as the brands president, he continues to be its primary shareholder.

A precise set of criteria

For this entrepreneur, who primarily operates in the art world and divides his time between Switzerland and Dubai, watchmaking is almost a hobby. Guhl began as a contemporary art gallery owner, later becoming head of VIP relations at Art Basel, moving on to consulting on the Rolls-Royce art programme.

Does the luxury watch market still require new, resurrected brands? I dont have the answer, but the public will decide if theres room for new projects, says Harry Guhl. He admits that it is challenging to find managers with integrity who can handle historic names with the appropriate dedication and care. Guhl reveals that he currently has only two new projects in the pipeline, with close friends, and adds, The opportunities are still there but its a very saturated market, Im seeing less interest than in the past.

Among the buyers of his brand concepts are two typical profiles: investors and existing watch brands looking to expand their portfolio, or newcomers dreaming of launching their own brand. Contrary to popular belief, he is seldom approached by collectors in the latter case, but rather by industry professionals who already understand how the industry works. A watch collector doesnt necessarily have the business acumen for a venture as complex as relaunching a brand.

Considering the number of brand names he has registered over the years, might he not be in a position to block certain creative projects that could otherwise have seen the light of day? Quite the opposite. I believe Im helping to preserve the heritage of Swiss watchmaking, he replies. Untapped names are indeed valuable tradable assets, but to create the highest value, you still need certain characteristics.

Guhl has compiled his own list of criteria to evaluate the potential success of revived names: they must be memorable (maximum seven letters), genuine (with proof of historical watchmaking achievements), sound (easy to pronounce), valuable (with an international class 14 trademark registration), and benefit from top-level domain referencing (a website address with the brand name and .com).

Almost all the finest historical watch brands we know today have been resurrected or bought from liquidators, concludes Harry Guhl. Theres nothing wrong with that, because each of these companies continues a historical legacy. The main aim is to connect the past to the present with a sense of purpose and quality: if you look at the first models launched by some successfully revived brands, youll easily understand why they succeeded. Without all these resurrected names, the Swiss watch industry would be very different today.
ShareChat is Indias largest homegrown social media company boasting of 400+ million MAUs across all its platforms. The Bengaluru-based company was founded in 2015 by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan. It is valued at US$5 billion and has social media brands such as ShareChat App and Moj under its portfolio. The company also acquired MX Takatak in 2021 and raised $1.2 billion over the last two years.

e4m spoke to companys chief revenue officer Udit Sharma to understand his business strategy, challenges, achievements and expansion plans.

Excerpts:

ShareChat always remains in the news for the right or wrong reasons. How does it feel to be at the helm of Indias largest homegrown social media platform?

Actually, anything that's worth the news will always remain in news for right or wrong reasons. But just to answer your question, it's really super exciting times for a platform like Sharechat and Moj.

We are witnessing two underlying currents in our society right now. One is the emergence of new internet users in tier-2 and tier-3 towns of this country. These are people who are coming into the internet for the very first time and not so hell-bent on using English as their preferred language. They are more comfortable using their own mother tongue but they definitely want to take full advantage of what the internet has to offer. Thankfully, sharechat is rightly placed to tap into that behavior and take advantage of that and be able to offer a platform that actually speaks the language that people are comfortable in. And this is the reason 160 million people are coming on to the platform month after month and engaging with it.

The second undercurrent is the emergence of short-form video. So, so many reports these days talk about how the attention span of the younger population of this country has actually gone down significantly. Depending on which report you're reading, it's running into 10 to 12 seconds. People actually have a higher propensity to spend time on platforms which can give them very engaging authentic short-form video content and that's something that Moj is really at the forefront of. From both Sharechat and Moj perspective, I feel totally privileged to be actually part of an ecosystem which is tapping into those two emerging consumer behaviors in the country.

You are going to complete one year soon. What have been your major challenges and achievements so far?

Prior to this, I was in the OTT world, which was a lot more organized and well-established. Short-form video is still an emerging narrative in our country. That is one of the things that got me excited about joining Sharechat and Moj. So far, I think one of the biggest challenges has been to actually go out in the market and talk to marketeers, brand managers, category managers, industry leaders and and help them understand the power of short-form video in our country today. This has been a big challenge and that has been the most exciting part as well.

A big chunk of our audiences are coming from tier 2 tier 3 markets, so talking to advertisers and telling them that you need to work with us and you need to be understanding the nuances of what kind of content those people are watching, what gets them excited, what are they interested in, bring about the contextual nature those have been the more interesting challenges that I have seen in terms of achievements.

We actually just clocked our largest ever revenue month in the history of ShareChat, something that any revenue leader will take a lot of pride in. Just moving beyond numbers, establishing a well-oiled sales machinery has been something that I've worked on for the last nine months or so that I've been here. So, now we have a very seasoned group of sales folks who are basically taking the Sharechat and Moj narrative out in the market. So, I would consider that as one of the big achievements.

We would like you to share what was the highest revenue and for which month? Moreover, you mentioned the growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, so are you also going to focus on metro cities in your next phase of growth?

March was actually that month. Just to put in the context, in March, we actually did 2x of what we actually did in June of 2022. So you can imagine the growth that we have seen right now.

On your other question about metros, actually I call this out a lot of times because we have done a pretty good job of establishing ShareChat as the market leader in tier 2 and tier 3 markets.

People actually tend to forget that tier-1 in India itself is sort of subdivided into several categories. Talking about traffic in tier-1, we get a good 40-45 million people every month.

Thats what we tell a lot of advertisers. If you are thinking of vernaculars, if you're thinking of talking to people in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bhojpuri Rajasthani, Punjabi, don't just think of tier-2 and tier 3 markets. You have to think of this as a tier-1 play as well because there's a sizable population in tier-1 one and in metros that are actually more comfortable using their native language, and in order for you to reach out to them, ShareChat is a tremendous platform for doing so.

Moj is a totally different story. It is a more genZ platform which even today gets 45 per cent of the overall traffic from tier 1.

The short-video market segment has a lot many players and the fight could be tough, especially after the entry of global players. How challenging is it to sustain in this competitive market?

I'm personally a strong believer of the fact that the more the competition is, the better it is, in general, for the overall ecosystem. Today, some of our peers are taking short videos a little more seriously. Ultimately, we want advertisers to realize that they need to figure out a way of communicating their story in a shorter span if audiences in this country are actually consuming content that's 15 to 20 seconds long. It's going to be very tough for a brand to be able to engage with the same audience by showing them a 60-second ad. I assume the same applies for our peers who are trying to push the short- form narrative in the market.

We are trying to make brands understand that you can actually tell your story within a shorter time frame. Consumers want the ads to be crisp and more contextual. We are bringing in the finer nuances of a particular region, language or culture to it and that's something that we do quite well.

So, while competition is good, we have also created our own niche. We know what our strengths are. Even the creator ecosystem that we have built for Sharechat and Moj are different from what some of the other players have. Creator ecosystem can actually add a lot of value to any brand.

How many advertisers are you currently working with?

In the second half of last year, that is, July to December 2022, we had close to 200-plus advertisers working with us. With Moj, that number will go upwards of 350. These are not just one-off associations. Quite a few of our advertisers are actually doing repeat business with us. Advertisers like Pepsi, Coke and Amazon work very closely with us. We work with advertisers from across industry and verticals.

The strength of the platform also lies in the fact that we don't offer just vanilla video display sort of options. Given that we are an India-based organization, we can actually do a lot more innovation around our ad units and that's why we are able to offer a whole wide range of options to advertisers.

How has been the ad market for you over the past year in terms of revenue and what are your expectations for the current fiscal?

There have definitely been headwinds across the board due to macro factors. Advertisers have been re-evaluating their budgets and trying to figure what is the best ROI that they can generate from their ad dollars. Good thing about platforms like ours is that we are actually able to make a material difference and we are actually able to deliver better. Hence, we continue to be present in the marketing plans of almost all the advertisers that we work with. That's exactly the reason why we have managed to grow our revenues almost 2x over a period of six months. That's a testament to how the platform is actually able to deliver for advertisers across categories.

We have done long-term deals with quite a few advertisers that sort of gives us the confidence that we would be able to go further higher up.

Can you name those advertisers?

I'm not at liberty to actually talk about the names.

What has been the response after Moj and Max Takatak merger?

That merger was the largest in the history of the social media space. It actually consolidated the viewer base that was going after short-form video platforms. It was a pretty positive move to be able to become the undisputed leader in the short form video space right. That's exactly what that merger delivered for us.

Do you have any plans to expand your staff strength or maybe new acquisitions?

I would leave it to our CFO to answer the acquisition part, but I can talk about how we are looking at expansion in general from a revenue perspective. While we continue to work with the larger advertisers in this country and continue to scale business on that side, we are also very serious about expanding our footprint in terms of the number of advertisers that we want to bring on board.

We do believe that given the wide range of options that are available on the platform and given our ability to deliver for the smallest of budgets to the largest of budgets, we don't want any advertiser to be left out of our ecosystem.

One of the big focus areas for us this year is to essentially expand our footprint in what we call the mid-market segment. So, essentially we are going after SMBs as well as these would be the mid-tier of advertisers.

There are top 200 advertisers that we work very closely with. Now, we are actually expanding that base to the next 2000 advertisers. This means a lot of small advertisers, proprietorships and other organizations.
Starcom India has announced the appointment of Trupti Dave as its Head of West.

In her new role, Dave will manage and oversee the western region.

Dave comes with a wide spectrum of experience and has led many key businesses such as Abbott, PharmEasy, Axis Bank, and Cholayil among others. She has over 18 years of experience in media investment management and has worked across categories such as Retail, BFSI, FMCG, and Telecom. She will work closely with Starcom Indias COO, Niti Kumar, in her new role.

Rathi Gangappa, CEO of Starcom India said, The Western region is a pivotal and strategically important market for Starcom. Truptis new role is part of our vision to elevate from within the organisation and to have a strong, fortified leadership team that drives momentum, strengthens offerings, and accelerates client businesses in a dynamic and ever-evolving media landscape. At Starcom, we are in a very exciting phase of growth and expansion and Truptis elevation comes at an apt time and is very well-deserved.

She adds, Trupti brings with her a wealth of experience and has played an integral role in our success; her contribution is invaluable. She brings new perspective, insight, and great depth to every client conversation and has a wonderful track record of solid client relationships, elevating Starcom's capabilities still further and adding to our culture of innovation and collaboration.

Dave said, I am thrilled at the opportunity. In my time here, Starcom India has only gone from strength to strength, and in the new role, I look forward to contributing further to its tremendous and fast-paced growth, nurturing teams, and talent, spearheading new strategies, and innovation for clients. Starcom combines the power of media, data, and technology for strong, compelling, very human experiences. With my expertise, I hope to continuously raise the bar on our outstanding media offerings and bring in exponential growth for Starcom India and its clients.
Monday, May 1, 2023

National Nurses week begins on May 6, the day that Florence Nightingale, founder of professional nursing, went from England to the Crimean War as a nurse in 1853, and became the lady with the lamp. The commemoration ends on her birthday, May 12. During these few days each year we acknowledge the excellence and dedication of those who choose the nursing profession.

I grew up surrounded by nurses in a nursing home in Old Mystic, CT that my family owned and operated in the 1950s. My mother, Estella Whipple, trained to be a Registered Nurse at Rhode Island School of Nursing in the early 1940s, and became the go-to person for many emergencies around town  cuts, burns, broken bones, head injuries, and even emotional problems. I remember my mother rushing from the bedside of an elderly resident to clean and dress someones bloody wound after an accident down the street. The injured would show up at the nursing home as they do today at emergency rooms, often waiting for her in the kitchen so they wouldnt alarm the residents. Compensation for her services was the occasional basket of eggs or vegetables on the back step. Eventually, Dr. Ryley or Dr. Fowler would arrive from Mystic for those requiring bone-setting or medication. Watching my mother and her nurse colleagues in action, day after day, offered me firsthand knowledge that nurses were the original first responders, and also unsung heroines.

When my parents opened a modern, state-of-the-art nursing facility in 1967 (Mystic Manor) on High Street in Mystic they also welcomed a new generation of nurses. And in 1971, an extraordinary nurse, Janeen Porter, arrived in Mystic with her husband, Naval officer Oliver Porter, and their five children. Janeen had graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1957 and honed her skills in Public Health nursing serving an internship in the struggling neighborhoods of Detroit.

Oliver and Janeen met at age 14 when his family moved to Standish, MI: She was the quiet girl with long braids sitting in front of me in 8th grade. Even back then I knew she was something special. Smart and compassionate towards people.

They dated through high school and college and married on June 21, 1957, deciding early in their relationship that they would both have careers as well as a family. Janeens nursing degree was the best match for Olivers career in the Navy. He chose to be a line officer so that he would be stationed on shore and available to help with their growing family. As they moved every 3  4 years around the country, Janeen left her mark, working as a nurse in hospitals and as a caring, self-effacing volunteer, all about others, in both the local and the navy community.

When she worked as nurse-in-charge at Mystic Manor from 1971  1973, I remember my mothers accolades about Janeens nursing skills, her excellent care of the residents, and her ability to work in friendly collaboration with the entire staff. She was a multi-talented, multi-tasker with a keen interest in peoples life stories. My mother believed that providers of long-term care became a family for its residents  even encouraging staff to bring their children to work with them. Janeens children describe fond memories of eating ice cream and watching TV with residents during occasional visits while their mom was on duty.

From 1974  1979, Janeen pursued her passion to work in public health by becoming a staff nurse for Groton Public Health Service. In 1980, after completing a masters degree in public health administration, she served as their clinical supervisor until 1986. Throughout those years she was an active member of the Noank Baptist Church, serving on the board of Christian Education and as a board member of the Noank Baptist Group Homes. Her efforts resulted in the establishment of group homes for children in need in both Noank and Mystic, and touched many other projects impacting health in the community. No job was too big  or small. She was the one who most frequently provided coffee and fellowship in the Parlor of the church after Sunday morning services.

When Janeen died suddenly on May 21, 1986 at age fifty after a severe asthma attack, the entire community grieved, describing her as the salt of the earth, and all about the well-being of others. Her family carried out her wishes to have all of her organs donated, and she is remembered today through the lives she touched as a parent, spouse, neighbor, community member and extraordinary caregiver. She was never in too much of a hurry to attend to the heart of her patients, as well as their maladies. Janeen demonstrated compassion and caring for others at home and in the workplace. Her positive attitude and excellence in the art of caring left a lasting legacy.

Thank you, Janeen, and nurses everywhere  this week and every week  for all you do.
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Mayor Ron Nirenberg pledged Sunday to convene a group of employers to discuss the skills and training theyll need from prospective employees over the next five years, a commitment that came at the urging of one of the biggest supporters of his slow-starting Ready to Work job training program.

Nirenberg also promised to seek stronger guarantees that San Antonio-area employers will hire Ready to Work graduates, and that leaders of local grassroots advocacy group COPS/Metro will be in the room when the meeting happens.

The mayor made the pledges during COPS/Metros first forum on Ready to Work since the program launched last May. City Manager Erik Walsh also attended the session. They were put on the spot in front of a crowd of nearly 200 people and asked  yes or no  whether they would make specific commitments.

One of the things that is imperative for a successful workforce development or job training program is you have the employer on board with the jobs committed up front, Sister Pearl Ceasar, a COPS/Metro leader, said after the forum. Thats how you know what to train for so that people dont go through the training and then not have a job.

Nirenberg said he would meet with employers within 30 days.

COPS/Metro has been one of the programs biggest champions, rallying voters to approve the November 2020 ballot measure that devotes a 1/8-cent sales tax to the program over a four-year period. It was the groups initial push for the city to put federal coronavirus relief dollars toward job training that laid the groundwork for Ready to Work.

Nirenberg, who is seeking a fourth and final term in the May 6 election, has largely pinned his legacy on this job training initiative, which he believes will help put an end to the generational poverty that has long defined the city.

READ MORE: City expands struggling job training program to military, first non-San Antonio residents

Although about 300 employers have signed a pledge that they will look to hire Ready to Work graduates, that isnt sufficient to ensure the programs success  and ultimately that low-wage San Antonians have an opportunity to land a quality job, COPS/Metro leaders say.

How do you market (the program) if youre not telling people, There are jobs available at Rackspace to do this kind of AI technology. Theyre looking for health coders at Methodist Hospital, leader Sonia Rodriguez said. Its like, Well, you train for something and well see if we can find you a job. Thats not an effective way of doing things  youve got to be really specific.

This specificity might entice more people to enroll in the program, she said.

The city has struggled to meet its enrollment goals, which the Workforce Development Office revised in March in order to meet its first-year target by June 30. The new goal is to enroll close to 2,900 people by that date, down from 5,800.

The overall goal for the program  which city officials anticipate will run through 2028  is to enroll 28,000 people in job training or associates or bachelors degree programs, and to place over 15,600 participants in jobs paying at least $15 an hour.

To date, 107 people have finished their education or training courses and been hired at an average hourly wage of $18.60, according to city data.

COPS/Metro has pushed for the city to raise the hourly wage floor to $20 to entice more people to apply. While they didnt seek such a commitment Sunday, it remains a goal and something theyve discussed with the mayor, leaders said.

They were more concerned about getting a guarantee from city leadership that the program will provide greater emergency assistance to help participants with housing, food, transportation or child care beyond the current $1,500 stipend.

We saw a number of times where some folks just needed more (than $1,500) and in those cases, we went above, Walsh said. He pledged to work with Workforce Development, the mayor and the City Council to figure out how we continue to broaden that support for those who need the most help.

He received a round of applause from the crowd.

READ MORE: San Antonio economy will outgrow most other large U.S. cities this year, think tank predicts

The mayor sought to get a commitment of his own from the group, but they turned down his invitation to join the Ready to Work Advisory Board.

Weve attended, weve made recommendations, but we understand that the advisory board is not the decision-making board, leader Rena Oden said. So we dont want to have our hands tied being on the board when we need to nudge you a little bit harder.

Nirenberg took the rejection gracefully, but told them the door is still open were they to change their mind.

We need COPS/Metro to continue to be at the table, Nirenberg told the crowd. You have continued to be the true north in this community on so many issues, and on the fight against poverty you will continue to be.

Leaders say they hope the mayor and Walsh walked away from the forum with a clearer understanding of COPS/Metros commitment to making Ready to Work successful  both at lifting San Antonians out of poverty and serving as a workforce development model for cities nationwide.

Were not ready to walk away from it. Were going to work and were going to work hard at it, Rodriguez said. Were going to partner with them, but they need to step up their game.
While nearly half of all the worlds billionaires lost money in 2022, members of the three-comma club in Texas didnt suffer much.

Though there were some notable exceptions  Elon Musk took a beating with his acquisition of Twitter  14 of the states top 20 members on Forbes list of the worlds billionaires increased their net worths in the past year.

Worldwide, the number of billionaires and their total wealth declined, according to Forbes. The list is calculated using stock prices and exchange rates from March 10 and includes wealth from private companies, real estate, art and more.

In Texas and the U.S., Austins Musk was still the top-ranked billionaire. The CEO of Tesla and founder and CEO of SpaceX slid on the overall list, though, with a net worth of $180 billion. The second place finish is a drop from Musks No. 1 spot last year as controversy over his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter tanked shares of Tesla, Forbes noted.

GROCERY WEALTH: H-E-B family is getting by, listed among worlds richest people by Forbes

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Even with his private spaceflight firm SpaceX soaring to new valuation heights, Musk is still worth $39 billion less than a year ago, the magazine said.

French magnate Bernard Arnault took Musks former perch atop the list. Arnault, who is worth about $211 billion, chairs the Paris-based luxury goods giant LVMH that manages fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.

The Texas 20 According to Forbes' latest list, 14 of Texas' 20 billionaires saw their worth grow in the past year. Here's how the magazine ranked them: Elon Musk: $180 billion

Alice Walton: $56.7 billion

Michael Dell: $50.1 billion

Jerry Jones: $13.3 billion

Stanley Kroenke: $12.9 billion

Andrew Beal: $10.3 billion

Jeffrey Hildebrand: $10.2 billion

Autry Stephens: $10 billion

Ann Walton Kroenke: $8.5 billion

Tilman Fertitta: $8.1 billion

Robert F. Smith: $8 billion

Joe Gebbia: $7.6 billion

Charles Butt: $7.5 billion

Richard Kinder: $7.2 billion

Danine Avara: $6.8 billion

Scott Duncan: $6.8 billion

Milane Frantz: $6.8 billion

Randa Duncan Williams: $6.8 billion

Ken Fisher: $6.7 billion

David Bonderman: $6.5 billion See More Collapse

Coming in at No. 21 overall and No. 2 in Texas is Walmart heir and art curator Alice Walton, whose wealth dropped by more than $8 billion from last year. She lives in Fort Worth and recently fell from her position as the richest woman in America.

Also in the first quarter of the list at No. 23 is Dell Computers CEO Michael Dell, whose net worth fell by $5 billion to $50 billion after Dell Technologies saw a 27 percent drop in its stock price. Hes still third among Texas billionaires.

Texas next appearance is at No. 133 with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who had a positive year. His net worth rang in at $13.3 billion, up $2.7 billion from a year ago.

A record year for oil and gas lifted the fortunes of many other Texas billionaires. Among them was Jeffrey Hildebrand, co-founder of Houston's Hilcorp. His net worth of $10.2 billion landed him at No. 171 on Forbes list. George Bishop, who founded oil and gas producer GeoSouthern Energy in 1981, is now worth $3 billion, placing him 982nd on the list. Scott Duncan, Randa Duncan Williams, Dannine Avara and Milane Frantz, all worth $6.8 billion after inheriting stakes in their fathers pipeline firm Enterprise Products Partners, also made the list.

THAT'S RICH: Austin is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. for the nations richest, report says

Several members of the Butt family, which founded H-E-B in 1905 and retain 90 percent ownership of the San Antonio-based company, make appearances on the list, led by current chairman and former CEO Charles Butt, whose net worth of $7.5 billion put him at No. 299. Collectively, the family is worth $14.1 billion, according to Forbes. This is the first year the list separated inherited family fortunes among family members.

Despite the overall decrease in wealth, the U.S. still ranks first in the world with 735 billionaires worth a total $4.5 trillion. Seven of the top 10 wealthiest billionaires come from the U.S., including Musk and fellow tech co-founders Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates.

As a group, the worlds richest are worth $12.2 trillion, representing a $500 million drop from March 2022, Forbes said.
San Antonio philanthropist Kymberly Rapier and her husband, Glenn Verette, are selling their 9,640-square-foot Dominion mansion.

The home, once owned by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, is listed as one of Alamo Citys most exclusive estates.

Rapier has given tens of millions to various charities in San Antonio and elsewhere for over a decade. Shes offloading her four-bedroom, six-bathroom estate for $5.5 million.

Built in 1999, the Bexar Appraisal District values it at $3.3 million.

You might also like: Experienced skydiver dies after parachute malfunctions near San Marcos

Binkan Cinaroglu, a real estate agent with Kuper Sothebys International Realty, said that Rapier isn't selling the home for a particular reason.

"She's always changing it up," Cinaroglu said. "Her life is ever evolving."

GLORIA FERNIZ/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

While Rapier's home hasn't been on the market long, it has already seen a lot of interest, Cinaroglu said.

In the listing, Cinaroglu boasts several highlights, including a wine cellar built from reclaimed Jerusalem stone.

The Don Craighead custom-built home epitomizes privacy and seclusion and has breathtaking panoramic vistas. A recent landscaping redesign and custom steel doors, along with glass panels and railing, create a seamless indoor-outdoor transition, he wrote.

Theres a fully equipped chefs kitchen, large family room and a spa-like bath in the master suite.

An in-house elevator leads upstairs to the additional guest bedrooms, an oversized game room and a large workout room. Extensive wrap-around balconies offer stunning views from every angle, according to the listing.

Courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

Outside are a Liquid Assets custom infinity pool, expansive slate decking and a full outdoor kitchen.

The wine cellar has 600 square feet of temperature-controlled storage for more than 3,000 bottles.

Kymberly Rapier isnt exactly a household name. Her ex-husband is Dr. George M. Rapier III, the founder of WellMed Medical Management. She has operated a candle-making company and other ventures.

However, she is more widely known for her philanthropy. Rapiers charities have helped a mix of causes, including at-risk children, seniors, people with disabilities and animals.

In the wake of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Kymberly Rapier and Glenn Verette dedicated $2 million to help the victims families and address community needs.

Courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

Courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

Courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

Courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
The statue depicting the valour and heroism that was manifested during 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi by RPA (now RDF) soldiers.

In April 1994, Butare, now Huye District, saw unfathomable mass murders, rapes, and other atrocities committed against the Tutsi. In one family, however, a woman, her son, and her daughter-in-law had superior responsibility in all of it.

In 1995, the woman, Rwandan genocide convict Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, told the BBC in an interview that she didn't take part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. She had fled to Zaire, now DRC, when the RPF took power.

"I couldn't even kill a chicken. If there is a person who says that a woman, a mother, could have killed, I'll tell you truly then I am ready to confront that person," she told the media.

But Nyiramasuhuko was not being accused of merely slaughtering a chicken. She had ordered the then-governor of Butare to help organise the killings, and when he refused, he was sacked and then killed.

Nyiramasuhuko, who was then the Minister of Gender, called for militia from the capital, Kigali, to come to her home region to kill the Tutsi population. She went there herself to make sure the "work", as the genocidal government called it, was being properly done.

The case Prosecutor v. Nyiramasuhuko et al., also known as 'The Butare Case' also had Nyiramasuhuko's son, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali as a co-accused.

The family was back in the news when Beatrice Munyenyezi, Ntahobali's wife was extradited by the US in 2021. She faces seven counts of genocide.

Although Nyiramasuhuko's family was not the only one to simultaneously take part in the Genocide, they are responsible for hundreds of thousands of murders, rapes, and other atrocities altogether. Here is how:

While the Genocide started on April 7, mass killings in Butare didn't start until April 21st. The then governor Jean-Baptist Habyalimana who was Tutsi himself had resisted inciting massacres of the Tutsi population.

On April 8, 1994, Theodore Sindikubwabo, the then speaker of parliament announced the formation of an interim government, of which extremism against the Tutsi was the sole criterion to make it to the cabinet.

Sindikubwabo had with the support of the 'Akazu', an inner circle of anti-Tutsi extremists, assumed the presidency following the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana whose plane was shot down on the evening of April 6.

Sindikubwabo particularly worked closely with Theoneste Bagosora, then a powerful permanent secretary of the ministry of defence to select the cabinet line-up.

Bagosora was the convener of the meeting that established the government, according to available records. The meeting took place at the former Hotel Diplomate, which was where the current Kigali Serena Hotel is built.

This set in motion a genocide machine, where each member of the cabinet would be evaluated on the number of Tutsi killed in one's particular area of birth than services offered to Rwandans.

In a demonstration that he was leading by example, Sindikubwabo immediately travelled to his birthplace of Butare, currently part of Southern Province, to "launch" the Genocide.

The same day he went to Butare is when governor Habyarimana, who was once a national university lecturer in the area, was dismissed after it was discussed that he could resist inciting the massacres since he was a Tutsi himself.

Habyarimana's sacking was announced on Radio Rwanda, and he was killed a few days later. His wife and two daughters were also killed in late June.

He was replaced by Sylvain Nsabimana, who was also replaced after two months by a Colonel, Alphonse Nteziryayo. Both former governors were co-accused in the Butare trial.

Nyiramasuhuko

Furious by Butare's revolt to start massacres on Habyalimana's tenure as governor, the genocidal interim government dispatched Nyiramasuhuko, the national minister of family and women's affairs, from Kigali on a mission to start the massacre of the Tutsi population.

She was Butare's darling after all, known to have come from a poor family to become one of the most powerful women in the country.

When she arrived in Butare, cars with loudspeakers drove around the streets announcing that the Red Cross had set up a camp in a stadium to provide food and shelter to the population.

It turned out it was an Interahamwe trap to bring together thousands of Tutsis so that they can be easily killed.

Nyiramasuhuko personally supervised the killings at the stadium and encouraged the participation of the Interahamwe. She also ordered that women be raped before being killed.

The former minister also went to an encampment where a group of Interahamwe were holding prisoner about 70 Tutsi women and young girls and gave an order to the Interahamwe to rape them before dousing them with petrol and burning them to death.

Several shocking testimonies of women being raped, some penetrated with spears, gun barrels, bottles, machetes, and other objects, or their sexual organs mutilated with machetes, boiling water and acid have been told. Some witnesses say women's breasts were also cut off.

Some witnesses said that as the militia, gendarmes, and military men did this, they would claim they were putting into action what Nyiramasuhuko had ordered them to do. In some instances, she gave boxes of condoms to the genocidaires.

Between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the Genocide, and one study reported that Butare alone had more than 30,000 of rape survivors.

Hundreds of thousands of Tutsi who had fled from Gikongoro, Kigali, and Gitarama and those who resided in Butare were killed during the Genocide.

Arsene Shalom Ntahobali

As Nyiramasuhuko ordered and supervised the atrocities, she was also working closely with her son Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, who had dropped out of the university to become the most important Interahamwe leader in Butare.

Ntahobali was known especially for rapes, and after he was done with a victim, he would offer her up to be gang raped by the Interahamwe, and sometimes killed. Sometimes he would first hit his victims with a machete, a hammer, or other traditional weapons.

Tutsi women and girls mainly saw him in two instances; when he was raping them or other people.

He was also seen on several occasions wearing grenades on his belt, sometimes hammers, and a machete with blood in his hand.

In late May of 1994, some witnesses saw Ntahobali promising a woman who had gone to school with his mother the safety of her and her three children if she accepted that her 12-year-old daughter becomes Ntahobali's wife.

The woman said that would not happen because her daughter was only a child. The family was a few moments later abducted with other refugees to be killed in a forest after the woman was stripped of a kitenge wrap she was wearing. Many would be stripped before or after being killed.

Ntahobali and Nyiramasuhuko were together on several occasions, driving Tutsi to murder destinations. They ordered murders, and often called for brutality, telling the militia they were not "working" because some refugees were still alive.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Ntahobali responsible as a principal perpetrator, for ordering genocide through the underlying act of killing, among others.

Ntahobali and Nyiramasuhuko got their life sentences reduced to 47 years on appeal, in the Butare trial that lasted 10 years.

The ICTR convicted each of the accused variously for genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement of genocide, the crimes against humanity of extermination, persecution and rape, and the war crimes of violence to life and outrages upon personal dignity.

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Munyenyezi

Just like her husband and mother-in-law, witnesses say Munyenyezi would also wear military fatigue and had a gun. She had a nickname, "commando".

A witness told the court in 2022 that she saw Nyiramasuhuko ordering the Interahamwe to rape five female university students during the Genocide.

People in Butare testified that Munyenyezi staffed a roadblock near the Hotel Ihuriro, Rwanda, where she personally inspected IDs and decided who would pass and who would be selected for inevitable death. Some victims were assaulted at the roadblock; others were led to a nearby forest where they were killed.

She was Interahamwe herself, and a core member of the then-ruling party National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND).

According to the US Immigration and Customs enforcement, Munyenyezi entered the country in March 1998 after making false statements to obtain status; she adjusted her status to lawful permanent resident on January 19, 2001, and on July 18, 2003, became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In 2013, Munyenyezi was found guilty of two counts of Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship or Naturalization, based on false statements on her immigration forms about her membership in the MRND and the Interahamwe. She was later sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, and in 2021, she was deported and arrested by Rwandan authorities immediately.

Her father-in-law, Nyiramasuhuko's husband Marice Ntahobali, who was a minister before being appointed rector of the National University in 1989, was accused of participating in the Genocide. However, in 2018, Rwandan Prosecution dropped all charges against him for insufficient evidence.
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In 1986, when the future king of England visited San Antonio for the second time, he was a prince struggling with his marriage to a young princess and, as we now know, still in love with a woman whod ultimately become his queen.

Lets just say he had a lot on his mind.

For a good part of a day, Prince Charles toured San Antonio and rode in the back of a car with Mayor Henry Cisneros.

Cisneros, his tour guide, talked about that experience on my podcast last September.

Prince Charles had lots of questions  sincere ones, Cisneros said  given his role at the time.

The future king was more than three decades from taking the throne. His coronation will be Saturday, starting at about 6 a.m. our time.

But on that visit, he was interested in issues that relate to human capital, Cisneros said, dealing with services to people, children, those who were marginalized.

They ended up on the West Side, where so many groups and nonprofits serve the citys poorest residents with early childhood development programs, childcare, housing, food pantries and other services.

More from Elaine Ayala: Going beyond stereotypes, Eva Longoria is at home in 'Searching for Mexico'

Its also where Cisneros offices and helps lead several business interests, including American Triple I, which stands for infrastructure, innovation and investment. He founded the company.

It raises institutional capital to invest in infrastructure projects that need private capital, such as two JFK International Airport terminals that serve JetBlue; a heavy rail project thatll link the LAX airport area with the San Fernando Valley; and upgrades to cargo facilities in several major airports.

His son, John Paul Cisneros, is a member of the firm based in New Yorks Chrysler Building.

The elder Cisneros, a former secretary of housing in the Clinton administration, maintains a demanding schedule. His dream of a San Antonio arboretum is on its way, and he just became board chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center, which seeks common-sense solutions to problems including the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Cisneros was the first guest on my podcast in September. It didnt yet have a name, but its now called Nosotros! with Elaine Ayala.

For a host of reasons, the podcast  available on expressnews.com, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other places where you get your podcasts  didnt become available until now.

Its posted along with subsequent shows  on Fiestas as-yet unaddressed racist past; U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castros cancer journey; Lydia Camarillo of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project on Latino voting trends; the growth of the Americans Indians in Texas with executive director Ramon Vasquez; and dynamos Becky Barrera and Merri Gutierrez behind this weekends Dia de los Ninos Celebrating Young Americans holiday.

Cisneros joined me shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, when he was fielding calls about her visit here in 1991.

But we most discussed the future king and his interest in marginalized communities.

That was because his portfolio, given him by the queen in England in those days, was the big trouble they were having in the so-called midlands, cities like Birmingham and others that had seen their best days in terms of industry.

There was high unemployment and a lot of human suffering, and he was looking for solutions, Cisneros said.

They visited Avance, a national nonprofit that operates childhood development and parenting programs that strive to end the poverty cycle through educational opportunities and self-sufficiency.

We took him to new housing we had just built west of downtown on the West Side and other community endeavors, Guadalupe Street and so forth, Cisneros said. He was taken by it all.

The former mayor was then about 38. Prince Charles was about 36.

It was just the two of us in the back of a car. He was sharing with me his thoughts on the world.

The future King Charles III spoke of equity issues, environmental issues, architectural issues, and what it was like to be the husband of a young woman.

Prince Charles told Cisneros he couldnt relate to his young wife, that they were too different. Its illustrative of the isolation such leaders endure and underscored the tragedy ahead.

Princess Diana died in 1997, one year after her divorce from Charles. They were married for 15 years.

In case you missed it: A healing, reflective Joaquin Castro heading back to Congress post-cancer scare

Charles has been married to his second wife, the former Camilla Parker Bowles, for 18 years. On Saturday, the queen consort becomes queen, after playing a very long game to get there.

Given all the British shows I watch, I could be called a monarchist. But I didnt figure Cisneros for one.

Ive come to the conclusion that the monarchy plays a role in England that is different than what we have in the United States, he said. When we make political change, it is change. We go from one party to the other, one personality to the other overnight.

With the exception of last year, a peaceful transference of power occurs after each election.

In England, theres the monarchy thats stands as a continuity of national purpose, an umbrella overarching the political change they make, and I think it has served them well.

Theres something to that, in spite of the many sins committed by the British crown  the colonization it oversaw for centuries, the human enslavement and seizing of lands across the globe.

For all of that, it has yet to repent. A coronation won't erase those ills.

Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly noted Henry Cisneros was not San Antonio mayor in 1986. He was.
Ballerina Misty Copeland has always made it a point to support her fellow dancers of color.

A similar mission guided Copeland and her husband, attorney Olu Evans, as they built their art collection.

Being an artist of color and knowing what it is to exist in this kind of elite space and not feel often seen or heard or supported, I think that its so important just to set an example for the next generation, Copeland said in a telephone interview. Im thinking of my son and the importance of investing in art. I think for young people, thats not often something that we think about. We think of homes and apartments and things like that as investments, but art is such an amazing investment in so many ways.

Copeland is headlining a luncheon May 10 at the McNay Art Museum as part of programming for its powerful spring exhibit Womanish: Audacious, Courageous, Willful Art. Proceeds from the sold-out event will go toward the museums efforts to engage diverse audiences.

On ExpressNews.com: Instagram art star Dan Lams weird, wonderful work featured at the McNay Art Museum

Photo Credit: Laurie Sparham/Laurie Sparham

The exhibit includes at least one artist whose work is in Copelands collection. Austin-based artist Deborah Roberts' True Believer is a striking collage depicting a young girl reaching toward the viewer.

Copeland and her husband began collecting art shortly after their wedding. In addition to Roberts, they have collected works by Lorna Simpson, Asuka Anastacia Ogawa and other artists.

Its really exciting just to keep our eyes and ears open again, but we have no more wall space left, she said.

Copeland is preparing to return to performing with the celebrated American Ballet Theatre this fall for the first time since 2019, a break that included the pandemic as well as her pregnancy.

She has spent her two-decade career with the company. In 2015, she made history as the first Black female principal dancer for the company, which was founded in 1939.

It was not easy stepping into a world in which she often was the only person of color in the room. She said she felt fortunate to be mentored by other Black performers, including trailblazing dancer Raven Wilkinson. Wilkinson is credited as the first Black woman to dance with a major company, which she achieved in 1955 when she joined the Ballet Ruse de Monte Carlo.

Copeland wrote about their friendship in her most recent book, The Wind at My Back.

The ballerina said she feels a responsibility to use her platform to talk about and push for more diversity.

Not every dancer has to feel that or should feel that, she said. Some people feel like they just want to dance or they just want to do whatever they want to do and not carry an entire race on their shoulders  just by existing in that space, its protest enough. But Ive felt like the impact that I can have is more than just existing on the stage. And so that is why I felt so proud to take on this responsibility.

To that end, she launched the Misty Copeland Foundation in 2021. Among other things, the organization aims to advance ballet through greater diversity and provide dance opportunities to children who might not otherwise get them.

Copeland is a living embodiment of how meaningful it can be to introduce youngsters in disadvantaged communities to dance. She took her first ballet class at a Boys & Girls Club when she was 13, an encounter that changed her life. Her foundations signature program, Be Bold, seeks to do that for others.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio artist David Alcantar shows part of his Superman Project at the McNay

It launched in Boys & Girls Clubs in Harlem and the Bronx. Live musicians are part of the classes, as are lessons exploring Black and Latino history.

Its not that were bringing this white European art form to them, saying 'Feel a part of it! ' Weve taken at its core the basics of the ballet technique but weve integrated live music so its not just the piano, its not just classical music, its contemporary music, its music that relates to these specific communities, she said. And weve really invested in doing the research and finding teaching artists and musicians that look like the students theyre teaching, which I think is a big part of whats missing in the ballet culture.

In addition to working with her foundation and preparing to return to the stage, Copeland has also been working with the production company she founded with writer and producer Leyla Fayyaz. Life in Motion Productions' first offering, Flower, is a short that uses dance to explore the housing crisis in Oakland, California. She stars in the film and also produced it.

Copeland has frequently appeared on film and television, including the 2018 film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. She also shared her life story in the 2015 documentary A Ballerinas Tale. Even so, getting the company and its first film up and running has been a learning experience.

Its so uniquely different but so similar to everything that I know, she said. I think its just been about trusting my instincts and my voice and that I do have something special and unique to offer because of my experiences as an artist.
An Air Force chaplain was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to lure a minor into sex in a case the judge called "incredibly disturbing."

San Antonio police arrested Maj. Jesse McKee Howard in a sting operation in 2020 after he showed up to a West Side shopping center  at Potranco Road and Texas Highway 151  to meet with someone he thought was a 16-year-old transgender female hed contacted online.

At the time, Howard, 43, was the chaplain for the 433rd Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit of about 3,400 service members stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Howard, who remained silent during his sentencing, plans to appeal his case, which included a ruling in which Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra denied his motion to suppress an incriminating statement to police and related evidence.

"Its an incredibly disturbing case," Ezra said. "We have too much, way too much of this activity here and throughout the nation."

RELATED: Retired Air Force general Scott Allen Bethel sentenced to prison

The judge gave Howard the mandatory minimum prison sentence set by Congress. Ezra also ordered Howard to serve 10 years of federal supervision once he gets out of prison and to undergo mental health treatment, among a litany of other conditions for sex offenders.

At trial in January, a federal jury quickly found Howard guilty of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. Howard's lawyer, Michael Gross, had argued that his client never went through with the crime.

Ezra also called the case "baffling on one hand and tragic on the other," noting that as a chaplain Howard's job was to tend to the spiritual and moral well-being of service members and their families.

"Up until (his arrest), he did serve honorably and was in a combat zone," Ezra said. "And from the letters I received, he provided a lot of comfort to a lot of service members. That's one side. The other side was he was a sexual predator."

"Suffice it to say that it was shocking," Ezra added. "I think what really shocked everyone  well, it certainly shocked me and it shocked the jury  were the things he did in his own chaplain office on base, which were really quite disturbing to say the least."

Howard was caught in November 2020 as San Antonio police targeted online predators. The teenager Howard thought he was chatting with online was a police detective to whom Howard had sent sexually explicit chats and videos, according to trial testimony.

The chats included video recordings of Howard committing sexual acts on himself in his chaplain office at Lackland. They also included arrangements to meet the person he believed was 16-year-old for sex, according to testimony.

In one of the chats, Howard said he was an Army chaplain, hiding the fact that he served in the Air Force.

Investigators also said that Howard had an application downloaded on his iPhone that spoofs numbers to try to cover his tracks if caught.

Howards chaplaincy was sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention, but his duties ended once the allegations arose, according to testimony.

Howard remains in the Air Force, but the judge said he suspected the branch would discharge Howard once it receives formal notification that he has been sentenced.
The father didnt usually drop off his 6-month-old son at daycare, so when he parked at his workplace in Helotes to start his 6:15 am shift one day in August 2016, he forgot to look in the back seat. When he came back out to the car several hours later, his son was still in there, but it was too late to save him  the outside temperature was close to 100 degrees, and it was much hotter inside the vehicle.

The Bexar County District Attorneys office dropped any charges and ruled the case as accidental.

As Texas heads into summer, the risk rises for children to die from being left in vehicles during the heat of the day, experts say.

Forgetfulness and distraction is the No. 1 cause of children dying from heat exposure in cars. About 75 percent of the cases are ruled accidents, and over 50 percent occur when a child is forgotten in the car by a caregiver, according to Jan Null, a San Jose State University professor who maintains a database tracking those incidents. Another 25 percent happen when a child sneaks into the car themselves. Eight children died last year through heat car deaths in Texas  with four of those in the Houston area and one in Bexar County.

Texas has led the United States with the most deaths of children in hot cars for the past two and a half decades, with a total of 138 since 1998, according to the data. Four of those children died in the San Antonio-area. There have been 940 deaths across the United States during that same period.

Checking for baby Experts offer these tips to prevent child heat deaths in vehicles:  Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a second.  Always keep your car locked when youre not inside so the child doesnt get in on their own.  Put your purse, briefcase or coat in the back seat so you will have to look back and grab it.  Keep a stuffed animal or other memento in your childs car seat when its empty and move it to the front seat when the child is in the back seat.  Tell your daycare to call you if your child is not there on a scheduled day.  Call your partner if they are dropping the child off when they usually dont. Caregivers who are off their usual routine can forget they have responsibility for the child that day. See More Collapse

While Texas had the largest number of child heat deaths over that period, it did not lead the nation on a per capita basis. Adjusting for population, eight other states -- most of them in the South, where summer temperatures tend to be higher -- experienced higher child heat death rates since 1998.

Null said child deaths in hot cars are often under-reported, so the actual number of deaths could be higher. For example, Nulls database only verified four deaths in Texas for 2022, while the Texas Department of Family Protective Services said it is aware of eight hot-car deaths in the state last year.

Experts say parents and caretakers should never leave children alone in a vehicle, no matter the temperature or time frame. Of the children who have died in Texas, 26 died when the outside temperature was lower than 90 degrees. In the United States, 42 percent of hot car deaths happen when the temperatures are lower than 90 degrees, according to a San Antonio Express-News analysis.

In 2002, a six-month-old baby in Houston died in a car when the outside temperature was 73 degrees. When its 80 degrees outside, a car can heat up to 120 degrees in just an hour, and leaving a window cracked does not help, experts say.

Caregivers who leave their child in a car can face criminal charges. Under Texas law, it is a Class C misdemeanor to intentionally leave a child under the age of seven in a car for more than five minutes without someone older than 14 present, regardless of the temperature outside. If a child is injured or disabled or dies, more serious charges can be brought.

'The child can't speak up'

In Texas, there are several factors that increase the risk of child heat deaths, said Jennifer Northway, director of injury prevention for University Health, San Antonio's public hospital district. Those include the climate  Texas tends to produce higher temperatures for longer than most other states  along with the state's size and amount of rural space. Those factors tend to create longer driving distances, which can more easily lead to distraction and forgetting a child is in the vehicle.

Caregivers need to check every time they exit a vehicle to make sure they arent leaving a child inside, Northway said.

For young children who are nonverbal, caregivers can forget the child is in the back seat, Northway said. The child cant speak up when the caregiver leaves or leave the car on their own when it starts to heat up.

Car heat is especially dangerous for elderly adults and young children. Babies and toddlers cannot regulate their own body temperature and can heat up about three to five times faster than an adult. When their internal temperature reaches about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the bodys organs will begin to shut down. When the body reaches 107 degrees, the child can die  all of which can happen fast in an enclosed car.

Some signs of excessive heat exposure include a red or flushed face but no sweating. Sweating is the bodys mechanism to help cool down. When sweating stops, it means the child has used up all their sweat reserves. Other signs could be vomiting, seizures or passing out.

'Get that child to safety'

If a child does somehow get left alone in a vehicle, any passerby who notices can and should intervene to help prevent a tragedy, law enforcement experts say.

Anyone who sees a child alone in a hot car should call 9-1-1 to summon police and emergency personnel. But if a child seems to be in immediate danger, a passerby should take steps to get them out of the car, said Shannon Purkiss, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department.

In an emergency situation, Texas law allows for breaking a vehicle's window or taking other action to save a child's life. You can't be charged criminally in such a case, said Brian Bigler, a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department's Special Victims Unit.

Were looking at the welfare of the child, Bigler said. If the child is in some kind of heat exhaustion or heat stress, our main focus is to get that child to safety. If the kid is unintentionally harmed in the process of breaking the glass, thats not something were looking at.

Purkiss said if you feel the need to break the window, pick the one furthest from the child and enter the vehicle from there. The best way to do this is with a glass breaker, which some people carry on their keychain.

Do what you can to remember (the child) is back there, she said. Its the little things that make a difference in the end.
From produce to video games, smugglers trying to bring drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas have been taking some creative approaches lately to hiding their stashes.

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped a vehicle with nearly $1 million of methamphetamine disguised as candy and canned food.

Officers stopped the vehicle entering the U.S. at the Hidalgo International Bridge. Inside, they found 110 packages of candy wrappers containing 13 pounds of crystal meth and 12 containers of canned food containing 90 pounds of liquid methamphetamine.

READ ALSO: Karnes County corrections officer accused of smuggling drugs into jail

A few days later, CBP officials tweeted that officers found 5 pounds of cocaine concealed under the seat of a wheelchair belonging to a pedestrian traveler.

Over the years, others have also gotten imaginative in their efforts to bring drugs and other contraband into Texas.

Here are some notable ones:

In March 2016, CBP officers reported finding a different kind of greens mixed in with a shipment of fresh broccoli. In a commercial tractor-trailer, officers found 661 packages of marijuana, weighing about 766 pounds.

A 51-year-old man from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was arrested in 2015 who officers said tried to conceal 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine in his Air Jordan sneakers. Agents found a bundle in each shoe.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

In the running for the worlds weirdest combination, CBP agents found more than $400,000 of liquid meth in condoms packaged inside pumpkins that were brought through the Eagle Pass port of entry last October. The 44 pounds of methamphetamine were concealed in 136 condoms inside four pumpkins found in a vehicle.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Some say to put the lime in the coconut, but one smuggler took it a little further, stuffing 1,500 pounds of marijuana inside a shipment of coconuts. In 2016, CBP officers said they found 2,486 separate packages of marijuana concealed inside the coconuts when they stopped the shipment at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility.

samuel howell/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Officers werent playing around last October when they found more than 2 pounds of cocaine hidden in a video gaming system. A vehicle was given a secondary inspection after a computer-generated alert drew officers attention to something suspicious inside the gaming system, where they found two brick-shaped objects wrapped in carbon paper.
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Triniti Vigils job training began in the late 90s.

He was 18 when he dropped out of South San High School, leaving behind grammar, science and math. Ironically, his future career would require him to use equations he thought he would never use again.

Vigils father, Jose Palma, told his teenage son either go to school or learn a trade. So, Vigil became his dads apprentice, laying tile from sunrise to sunset through the week and weekends. A stern, no-nonsense man, Palma taught his son to focus even when physically tired from stretching and bending to finish a project.

My work ethic is what my father taught me, Vigil, 46, said. Nothing is going to be handed to you in life, so you have to earn it. Im grateful for those skills.

Those skills have brought him acclaim as the 2022 National Tile Contractors Association Tile Setter Craftsperson of the Year in the commercial market. Vigil, vice-president/director of San Antonio-based J&R Tile, is recognized as one of the nations best in his field.

He learned his skills under the watch of men with rough, scarred hands that shaped patterns of art and beauty.

About the author A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, Vincent T. Davis embarked on a second career as a journalist and found his calling. Observing and listening across San Antonio, he finds intriguing tales to tell about everyday people. He shares his stories with Express-News subscribers every Monday morning. See More Collapse

READ MORE: Rukus gave up her life to save mine: Formerly homeless woman credits dog, angels for her recovery

Vigils father also was a stickler for accountability.

One morning, Palma drove to Vigils apartment to pick him up at 6 a.m. When his son wasnt waiting on the curb, Palma left. The next day, Vigil had to hear his dad drive home the importance of being on time  not 6:01 a.m., but 6 a.m. on the dot.

Time, Vigil learned, mattered in the world of tiles, grout and stone that became his livelihood.

The San Antonio native developed and operates the only Department of Labor Approved Apprenticeship Program for Tile installers in Texas. He holds several advanced certifications and is a regional evaluator and certified instructor. Erin Albrecht, president and owner of J&R Tile, said Vigil is the go-to guy at the company. She wasnt surprised hes been honored for his skills.

Hes one in a million, Albrecht said. Hes brought a lot of attention in the tile and stone world to San Antonio because of projects that were doing locally.

Vigils intricate work is on display at many sites across San Antonio. Its seen in murals at San Pedro Creek Culture Park, exterior stonework at San Fernando Cathedral, and custom tile work at St. Johns Seminary that garnered a national award for the company.

His latest project is at the historic Henry Terrell building downtown at 212 N. Alamo St. Recently, the space echoed with workers hammering and conjunto music blaring from a radio. Vigil knelt to look over penny-sized black and white tiles his crew had installed in a small restroom. Hours of planning, time and measurements make up the motif that blanketed the floor.

Vigil takes patterns from designers and makes their ideas a reality.

Everything is a labor, he said.

READ MORE: Her dream job: New Braunfels teacher wears costumes to greet students each morning

As a young man, Vigil thought of his work as a job. That was until tile masters  George Paz and the Sevilla brothers, David and Raymond  showed him traditional, old-school values of how to install tiles. His mentors taught him problem-solving skills, so he would not be just another laborer.

They were not greedy with their knowledge, the tile installer said. Neither is Vigil.

Hes talked to Marshall, Lanier and Construction Career high school students about a possible tile installation career. And hes passing on his skills to two apprentices. Vigil tells them hes good at his job because he learned from his mistakes.

And he has mentored another apprentice since the boy was 7  his son, Miguel.

It makes me feel proud that its a family tradition, Vigil said. Theyve shown me that the craft is not going to die.

There are days, on drives with his wife and children, when he will point out his work that will outlast him. But Vigil plans to keep going, with his father and son working by his side. Hes continually learning new techniques, passing his knowledge to younger tile setters who will carry on his trade.

Its knowing that I touched something, Vigil said. This is a statement. Its a stamp on the city.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts effort to continue busing migrants on Monday as inhumane and dangerous.

Lightfoot made the comments in a letter on Sunday, saying Chicago had no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate the influx of migrants from Texas border towns  tallied at more than 8,000 since September.

These men, women and children would continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created, Lightfoot said.

You might also like: Mass shooting survivors recount how small ask led to unthinkable tragedy in San Jacinto County

Abbott has spent millions of dollars sending busloads of migrants to Democratic-led cities.

In a response to Lightfoot, Abbott blasted President Joe Biden's border policies and the end to the pandemic-era immigration policy Title 42.

"As the mayor of a self-declared sanctuary city, it is ironic to hear you complain about Chicagos struggle to deal with a few thousand illegal immigrants, which is a fraction of the record-high numbers we deal with in Texas on a regular basis," Abbott said. "Texas border towns like Eagle Pass, Brownsville, and Laredoand even bigger cities like El Pasocannot handle the flood of illegal immigrants rushing across our southern border."

Washington, D.C., and New York City mayors have also said they are overwhelmed by the influx by Abbotts decision to send the migrants there and have asked for federal assistance. Lightfoot said she would continue to call on the federal government for resources and support.

Lightfoot also said she is asking to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency funds slated for Texas, if the chartered migrant buses continue.

She said that Chicago is a welcoming city that has risen to the challenge with the help of the county and state. However Abbotts lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos to score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way.

Lightfoot said that nearly all of the people sent from Texas are in need of food, water and clothing and extensive medical care. She also called for collaboration to address the national challenge, rather than the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago.

Abbott said that the busing program will not be ending soon.

"You are right that 'this situation is completely untenable,' but this is not a Texas problemthis is a problem for the entire United States of America," Abbott said. "To provide much-needed relief to our overrun border communities, Texas began busing migrants to sanctuary cities such as your 'Welcoming City,' along with Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia, with more to come. Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program."

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
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UPDATE (as of 12:30 Wednesday): The Cleveland mass shooting suspect, Francisco Oropeza, was captured by police Tuesday night, ending a four-day manhunt that involved more than 200 law enforcement officials from multiple agencies. Heres the latest since news broke of Oropeza's arrest.

Days after five members of an extended family were massacred on a secluded street in Cleveland, survivors are questioning why  by witness accounts  it took police more than 20 minutes to arrive.

Ramiro Guzman, who was under a blanket in a closet with his wife and 6-month-old, called 911 repeatedly during the shooting rampage Friday night. Dispatchers told him repeatedly that police were already there, but they werent, he said. Guzmans sister, nephew, best friend and two others were slain during the time it took police to respond.

The suspect, who may be armed and dangerous, has not been found. As of Monday evening, authorities had no leads as to his whereabouts.

Guzmans sister who lived in the house with her family and Guzmans family had called police before anyone decided to confront the neighbor shooting off his gun. Her husband then went to the property line and asked a neighbor police identified as Francisco Oropeza to stop shooting an AR-15 rifle so close to their front yard. Wilson Garcias 6-week-old baby was upset by the noise.

Remembering: Portraits of the 5 victims

Police said that instead of laying off, Oropeza marched into his neighbors home and began shooting family members point-blank, killing a man, three women and one child. People hid in closets and hurled themselves out a window and scrambled into the woods.

By the time the slaughter ended, five people had been killed: Sonia Argentina Guzman Taibot, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Daniel Enrique Lazo Guzman, 9. Two slain women, Velazquez Alvarado and Molina Rivera, were found shielding small children. Officials removed four adults bodies through a doorway still adorned with Christmas garlands. The 9-year-old who was shot left in an ambulance, but died on the way to the hospital, his uncle said.

Ken Ellis/Staff

After two reports that the gunman had been spotted, a massive manhunt continued for the suspect on Monday.

Law enforcement said the familys statements about slow response times in their section of Cleveland could be accurate, but officials said they did the best they could given their resources. The San Jacinto County Sheriff did not respond to requests for records or comment.

Texas politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, made a series of statements about the massacre. Abbotts comments over the weekend stirred up furor after he called the homicide victims illegal immigrants, a statement that turned out to be inaccurate. He later revised his comments.

Live coverage: Cleveland mass shooter still on the loose

Oropeza, 38, remains at large and officials are prepared to arrest him on a warrant with a $5 million bond. (Authorities have said that in some official records the suspect's last name also is spelled Oropesa.) An official with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said Oropeza had been deported four times, most recently in 2016. Local, state and federal agencies are offering a combined $80,000 award for information on his whereabouts.

Through the weekend and on Monday, multiple agencies scrambled to find him, climbing over cattle gates and through pine woods.

The tight-knit community, an unincorporated area in San Jacinto County about 45 miles northeast of Houston, is left grieving. The neighborhood is still on edge.

The victims ranged in age from 9 to 31. Three were mothers. One was a teen working in construction and helping to raise his girlfriends young kids.

Another was a student at a nearby elementary school.

Wilson Garcia, the slain childs stepfather, said at a Sunday news conference that he didnt have the words to describe what happened.

Its like were alive, but at the same time, were not, he said. He also lost his wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman Taibot.

Wilson said the boys 2-year-old sister cant understand why her big brother is no longer around. She still asks for him  and for their mother.

He doesnt know what to say.

Ken Ellis/Houston Chronicle

Response time questioned

What family members say was a sluggish response from law enforcement has drawn ire from neighbors, who claim theyve dealt with slow police response times for years.

If officials had arrived sooner, lives could have been saved and the suspect apprehended, they said.

If they wouldnt have taken so long to get out here, they wouldve found him, said Adrian Browning, who has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years. Ive called the sheriff over 100 times this year. They dont do anything.

Officials with the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, whose patrol units arrived the night of the killings, did not respond to calls or texts requesting details from the dispatch logs and about the familys flurry of 911 calls.

One ask: Victims recount how an encounter with a neighbor led to tragedy

District Attorney Todd Dillon said the size of the county and the crisscrossing jurisdictions in that secluded neighborhood can sometimes slow response times. He said area law enforcement has long had difficulties responding to calls in that area because the neighborhood sits at the nexus of three different jurisdictions  San Jacinto, Liberty and Montgomery counties.

Depending on where a call comes from, he said, deputies might have to drive through all three jurisdictions while responding to a scene, Dillon said.

At an afternoon news conference on Sunday, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said his deputies got there as quickly as they could, given the fact that the office had three employees tasked with covering 700 square miles.

Things to know: Alleged Cleveland mass shooter

"The rule in law enforcement is that those rural counties don't have a lot of people," said Mitchel Roth, a professor of criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in nearby Huntsville. "If you're working out there, you have to cover a larger area of territory than an urban police officer."

Law enforcement, academic and budget experts all said multiple factors could have slowed deputies' response to the scene of Friday's mass shooting:

They may have had background knowledge that gunfire was common in that area, they may have known there was a dearth of available officers or a history of communication problems.

A review of San Jacinto County documents shows the sheriff's office had about 19 deputy positions in the latest annual budget. It's not clear how many of those were full-time staffers.

Henry Trochesset, a sheriff in Galveston County, said that the fact that residents living nearby reported that theyd heard gunshots regularly in that neighborhood might have influenced law enforcement response to the scene.

"In all honesty, we've had this happen in different parts of our county, someone will call and say they could hear shooting," Trochesset said. "Well, there's no law against discharging a firearm in an unincorporated area. If it's making someone unsafe, that's another thing."

Dillon said responding agencies at some point would review what happened overnight Friday, but that their current focus was tracking down the suspect.

A community on edge

On Monday, as law enforcement continued the manhunt for Oropeza, all was quiet on Walter Drive.

A horse grazed outside of Oropezas home, separated from the Garcias home by a tall, chain-link fence. Just beyond Oropezas wrought iron gates  emblazoned with the phrase Dios Bendiga Este Hogar, or God Bless This Home cars and news trucks idled expectantly on the otherwise empty street.

Montie Graham, a 30-year resident of the small community of Security just west of Cleveland, said this is normally a tight-knit community where people let their children roam free. Graham, who checked with officers for signs of Oropeza on his property Monday, said the community has been on high alert since the shooting.

We take care of our own around here, Graham said. Im licensed to carry, Im locked and loaded and Im ready.

In the afternoon, cars lined up for after school pickup at Cleveland ISDs Northside Elementary School in front of a display of balloons and flowers. Sherry McClain, who lives less than five miles from where the shooting took place, said her 11-year-old granddaughter is scared to leave the house while Oropeza is on the run. She doesnt even want her dogs to go outside.

Five victims, four families

The five victims were among 16 people who had gathered at the house on Walter Drive, members of four families related by blood or by marriage.

They came together that Friday night because of the lives theyd built for themselves after immigrating to the United States. The men planned to go out to an electrical job Saturday morning. Three of the four men survived. One woman, an aspiring cosmetologist, wanted to do her friends makeup for a church event. Both friends died in the shooting.

Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, had two children and wanted to become a cosmetologist. She was found dead shielding children in the master bedroom.

Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, had just started bringing his girlfriend, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, around the family when the couple was gunned down  in two different parts of the house. Casarez doted on his girlfriend and her children, said his uncle Jeffri Rivera, who was there and survived the shooting. Molina Riveras older child, a 6-year-old, had even started referring to Jonathan as dad. Ramiro Guzman, Casarezs close friend, recalled selling candy with him on the streets of Honduras and going on fishing trips to Baytown.

Like Velazquez Alvarado, Julisa Molina Rivera died shielding children from the gunfire.

Daniel, the only child killed, loved playing soccer and hoped to become a police officer. He was a student at Northside Elementary, playful yet studious. His mother, 25-year-old Sonia, was the eldest child in her family and the first to settle in the U.S. She sent remittances home to her mother for years, keeping her loved ones afloat. Her goal had been to provide a home for her mother and younger siblings in Honduras.

Sonia settled in Cleveland because the greenery reminded her of her hometown of La Mision, in the Comoyagua region of Honduras, her brother, Ramiro, said.

She loved the peace and quiet. Her home was an oasis.

She just wanted to get her newborn back to sleep.

Raquel.Natalicchio, Jhair Romero, Julian Gill, Gabrielle Banks and Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas contributed.
Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

Officials with the FBI early Sunday released a photo of a man they alleged was connected to the Friday mass shooting in San Jacinto County  before pulling it from their social media pages a short time later. The news release with the man's photo was so detailed it even provided a close-up of one easily recognizable tattoo on the man's arm.

However, the photo released was not of the correct suspect, according to Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBIs Houston field office.
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In 2007, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature passed an amendment to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allowing police officers to issue a ticket for certain low-level, nonviolent offenses instead of arresting the alleged offender.

These offenses included possession of small amounts of marijuana, criminal mischief involving less than $750, theft involving less than $750 and graffiti involving less than $2,500 in damages.

Gov. Rick Perry, who was never shy about his tough-on-crime policies, signed the amendment into law.

Several years later, the San Antonio Police Department adopted a cite-and-release policy allowing its officers to issue citations for all of these offenses except graffiti.

According to current SAPD guidelines, an officer may issue a ticket instead of making an arrest if someone is caught shoplifting at H-E-B, for example, or carrying small amounts of marijuana.

Nothing in this long-standing policy was particularly controversial until it was included in Proposition A.

Proposition A aims to decriminalize abortion and low-level marijuana possession, ban no-knock warrants and chokeholds by law enforcement, create a justice director job at City Hall and require police to issue citations for certain low-level, nonviolent offenses instead of making arrests.

According to opponents of Proposition A, cite and release incentivizes people to commit more crimes. The fact that there is no significant evidence to support this claim has not deterred their effort.

Unfortunately for the people of San Antonio, this bad-faith argument against cite and release has been adopted by the local chambers of commerce, the San Antonio Police Officers Association and even the mayor.

It is widely recognized in the criminal justice field that arresting and booking every low-level, nonviolent offender reduces the efficient operation of the system and imposes unfair costs on people presumed to be innocent before trial.

In addition, the available evidence suggests punitive arrest policies have few, if any, positive systemic effects, such as reducing crime. Instead, the data show that reducing rates of pretrial detention also reduces recidivism rates. Thats why it was possible in 2007 to convince tough-on-crime politicians to make cite and release a reality.

Cite and release does not decriminalize anything.

If you are given a citation for one of these offenses, you must appear before a judge and jury and they may still hold you accountable for your actions.

While it is certainly understandable that victims of these crimes want offenders to suffer the consequences, the use of arrest and pretrial detention as punishment negates important constitutional protections against government overreach. It also doesnt reduce crime.

For these reasons, I urge San Antonio voters to reject the misinformation about cite and release and ask our leaders to do the same.

Ezra Johnson teaches Texas criminal procedure as an adjunct professor at St. Marys University School of Law. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect those of St. Marys University.
Nairobi  President William Ruto has issued a warning against any form of lawlessness or destruction of property by supporters of the Azimio Coalition as the country braces for a second round of anti-government demonstrations next week.

Speaking Saturday during the launch of the construction of the Malava-Kimang'eti-Ikoli road in Kakamega County, the Head of State reiterated that the government will not hesitate to safeguard the lives and property of all Kenyans.

Ruto further stated that he had urged Azimio Leader Raila Odinga to pursue peaceful means to address any grievances through the proposed bi-partisan parliamentary process, but the Opposition Chief has opted to stage demonstrations instead.

"For the avoidance of doubt, there will be no demonstrations to destroy people's property, to cause chaos, to stop people from going to work, or our children from going to school. That will not happen," he said.

"The Government of Kenya will stand firm to ensure that every Kenyan and their business and their children are secure."

The President asked the Azimio coalition to desist from frustrating the government and await the next general election noting that Odinga is using demonstrations to advance his own selfish interest.

The Head of State called on the Opposition Chief to follow the law if he has any issues against him or his administration instead of causing chaos.

"Respect the institutions that has been created by the constitution, if you have issues with the servers go to court and go to any other institutions, forget about disturbing ordinary people," he added.

President Ruto called on Odinga to give him ample time to serve Kenyans just like he did during the 'handshake' with former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

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Accept and move on

He pointed out that Kenyans are tired of frequent demos by the opposition saying a time had come for them to accept and move on.

Ruto's comments came a day after Odinga jetted back to the country after a trip oversees.

At the beginning of the month, Odinga called off the demonstrations to give room for dialogue between the two opposing sides.

Odinga's plan to resume rallies and protests has thrown the planned bipartisan talks proposed by President Ruto into disarray.

The two leaders are locked in a tussle on the reconstitution of the electoral commission which the president has said will only happen under the framework of the law as established through Parliament.

But even though both sides have nominated their loyal members to take part in the talks, Odinga insists he wants the initiative expanded to an extra-parliamentary process akin to the 2007/08 mediation talks led by former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan, who midwived a political deal that got former President Mwai Kibaki to share power with Odinga who had disputed election results.

The dispute led to the worst political crisis in Kenya after deadly violence that left more than 1,100 people dead and half a million others displaced.
Even as Earth Day passes, sustainability remains top of mind with consumers, and beef ranchers are no different. I am proud of the high-quality beef I produce for consumers, but I cant do that without caring for the land.

Every few days, my family and I rotate cattle through 45 different native grass pastures to make them more productive and resilient to the effects of climate change. This is the same way the bison and wild animals roamed the prairies 250 years ago. This also helps to protect the soil and improve carbon sequestration by the grass, which further assures the water is cleaner and the aquifers are being recharged. This type of ingenuity and resourcefulness is practiced by farmers and ranchers all over the country.

As ranchers, we are committed to continuous improvement. We are always looking for new ways to preserve natural resources so we can pass the land down to future generations and continue producing the beef consumers know and love.

Gary Price, Blooming Grove

Meaning of Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, May 5, has become an adopted holiday in many parts of the United States. Some post Mexican flags on social media and inaccurately caption it, Happy Independence Day, Mexico!

Many celebrate Cinco de Mayo without actually knowing anything about it. For openers, May 5 is not Mexicos Independence Day. Mexicos Independence is celebrated on Sept. 16. May 5 commemorates Mexicos victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla.

In 1862, France, Spain and Great Britain were in Mexico to collect debt. Spain and Great Britain successfully negotiated with Mexico and withdrew. France, however, exploited this opportunity to establish a puppet regime in Mexico. Subsequently, after diplomacy failed, the two countries met at Puebla on May 5, 1862.

At that time, the French army was considered to be one of the finest military forces in the world, and it had 6,000 highly trained soldiers on the battlefield, some 2,000 more than Mexicos militia. Amazingly, the smaller, poorly equipped Mexican force defeated the larger, better-trained and better-armed French army. The Mexican victory at Puebla against a better equipped French force provided a patriotic boost to the Mexicans.

If you really want to celebrate and honor Mexicos heritage, then please learn more about the true meaning and the cultural significance of Cinco de Mayo.

John Di Genio

Texans deserve truth

Weve learned that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was texting Fox News in November 2020 asking for facts to back the election lie theory. He never received those, but still went to Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to lead the protest to the election.

Texas doesnt need another phony. We deserve the facts.

Jorge de la Garza
Gov. Greg Abbott has sparked national outrage after referring to the five people killed in the Cleveland mass shooting as "illegal immigrants" in a tweet Sunday afternoon.

THE LATEST: Texas manhunt continues for alleged Cleveland shooter; officials search area by possible sighting

In it, the Republican governor, who has been hyper-focused on undocumented immigration under the Biden administration, said the state was offering a $50,000 reward for information about the gunman, who remained at large as of Monday morning. Abbott also said he was dispatching officials with his border offensive, called Operation Lone Star, to be on the lookout for the accused shooter, who police have identified as Francisco Oropeza, 38.

"Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence," Abbott wrote. "I thank the men and women in law enforcement who are tirelessly working to ensure this criminal is caught and brought to justice."

The five victims of Friday's mass shooting all hailed from Honduras and were members of the same extended family: Sonia Guzman, her 9-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, Diana Alvarado, Jose Casarez and Julisa Rivera.

Casarez and Rivera leave behind two children  a 6-year-old and a 9-month-old.

MORE ON SHOOTING: Mass shooting survivors recount how small ask led to unthinkable tragedy in San Jacinto County

Law enforcement officials have described all five victims as being from Honduras, but have not confirmed their immigration status. Sonia Argentina Guzman, one of the deceased, is listed as owning the home where the shooting took place, according to San Jacinto County records.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres responded to Abbott in a tweet: "Nobody is illegal in heaven."

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie was killed in Florida's Parkland high school mass shooting in 2018, tweeted at Abbott: "On behalf of those like my daughter who are victims of gun violence, F*** YOU!!!"

Abbott has been under pressure this year to crack down on gun violence in the wake of a string of mass shootings, capped off last year with the 19 children and two teachers shot to death at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The governor and other Republican state leaders have balked at gun reforms.

TEXAS GUN VIOLENCE: Uvalde families forced to wait 13 hours for Texas House hearing on AR-15 changes

The mass shooting in Cleveland  purportedly all because one neighbor asked another not to shoot his gun in their general direction because it was keeping a baby awake  also comes after weeks of stories from across the country of seemingly senseless gun violence. There have been several such high profile rage- or fear-based cases, including the fatal shooting of a woman who accidentally drove onto the wrong property in New York, another targeting a 6-year-old whose ball rolled into a neighbors yard in North Carolina, a Missouri teenager who rang the wrong doorbell and, also in Texas, the shooting of two cheerleaders after one got into the wrong car in a dark parking lot.

Democrats were quick to lash out Sunday regarding the governor's remarks.

MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough criticized Abbott on his show Monday morning, describing the comments as unchristian.

"What would Jesus do?" Scarborough said. "You don't have to be a Bible scholar to know: not that. What a dreadful, shameful thing."

MORE ON CLEVELAND SHOOTING: Survivors speak, law enforcement expands manhunt after 5 killed

Responding to Abbott's tweet, an immigrant rights activist shared on Twitter a photo of Diana Alvarado's ID card identifying her as a permanent resident of the United States. Carlos Eduardo Espina said the photo was sent to him by Alvarado's husband.

Renae Eze, a spokesperson for Abbott, released a correction Monday afternoon.

"We've since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally," Eze wrote. "We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal."

At a ceremony for fallen officers in Austin Sunday, Abbott said the suspected shooter had been deported four times and had re-entered the United States illegally.

In stark contrast to Abbott, Beto O'Rourke reacted to the shooting with a tweet Saturday morning calling for a ban on AR-15 rifles like the one used in the Cleveland mass shooting.

By Monday morning, O'Rourke's name was trending on Twitter as many users pointed out the state "could've had Beto" had Abbott not defeated him last November.

Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Francisco Oropeza, 38, had been shooting an AR-15-style rifle in his front yard when his neighbor asked him to stop shooting because his infant was trying to sleep, according to authorities. Oropeza first went home but then is alleged to have come back, entered his neighbor's house and started shooting inside.

The three surviving children present during the shooting were taken to a hospital.

They were covered with the blood of Diana Alvarado and Julisa Rivera, who were killed while lying on top of the children to cover them, law enforcement officials said.

As of Sunday, all three children had been released from the hospital.

Additional reporting by Jeremy Blackman.
Students talk to members of the United States Space Force stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls as part of a national program (Photo courtesy of Jenny Huppert).

When Jennifer Hupperts fifth-grade class at Boulder Elementary in Billings received a manila envelope in the mail, she thought it was probably another piece of junk mail sent in an official looking wrapper with a Washington, D.C., return address.

Huppert is constantly getting all sorts of offers, gimmicks and programs that arrive on her desk that look similar.

Just as Huppert was about to toss it, she noticed it said Vice President of the United States, Washington, D.C.

Still suspicious, she opened the package to see that it contained a letter to the students, and it was hand signed by Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States.

The letter came to congratulate Huppert for her students participation in a program to learn more about Space Force, which included an online video conference with members of the nascent military branch who are stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls.

The program was designed for one class in each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico to raise awareness about careers in math, science, space and the military. From those conversations, students learned more about the day-to-day operations of Space Force.

The program dovetailed well with what Hupperts students were learning about from the stars, the planets, night sky, and yearly seasonal planet rotation.

Students in Hupperts class were particularly fascinated by the topic of space junk  obsolete, broken or used objects  that stay in orbit, but can cause collisions or disrupt current operational satellites. The students are also doing calculations about how hard or easy it would be to walk and jump on other planets in the solar system, given the gravity and composition of each planet.

My dad was in the Air Force and what he did there is now part of the Space Force, said student Parker Foley.

Huppert said it was a terrific program that helped have conversations about how lessons in class tie into real life, and connect with other lessons. For example, they recently went to the Billings Symphony to hear part of Gustav Holsts Planets. They also got to hear the orchestra perform the themes to Star Wars and 2001, a Space Odyessy.

Student Reed Shulund was able to tie what he learned from the program into what hes seen recently on the news.

You need to know how to launch a rocket into space without blowing it up, Shulund said, like Space X.

Foley said he better understood the recent Northern Lights after learning more about space and the Space Force too.

The students also said it gave them a chance to see there is more to a military career than combat.

Its not all Top Gun and Maverick, Huppert said. It gives them a different opportunity to see that Armed Forces in a different way. One of the Space Force officers was from Missoula. And they need people with strong backgrounds in math and science, too.

The post Students learn about Space Force, then get letter from VP Harris appeared first on Daily Montanan.
"On the field of war what is at stake is the thing that matters most to any man - the saving of his own skin. Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, p. 889

The quote from Tolstoys War and Peace is a useful way to begin addressing the Washington Post editorial boards confident assertion that A collective national incompetence in government was at the root of the U.S.s alleged failure vis-a-vis the coronavirus in 2020. According to the Post quoting from a recently released report (Lessons from the Covid War), The United States started out with more capabilities than any other country in the world, but it ended up with 1 million dead. Were he still around, one guesses Tolstoy would mock the conceit of the Posts editorialists.

Thats the case because the thing that matters most to any man is the saving of his own skin. That this needs to even be said speaks to how wrongheaded the Posts editorial boards approach to the virus was, and still is. It implies we have dead because government didnt act properly, as though free people eager to live were unequal to a virus that the right kind of collective governmental action was more than equal to. Ok, but what was government going to do? Better yet, what if the virus had struck in 2015 when Barack Obama was still in the White House. What would he have done? Would he have instructed a virus that was spreading faster than the flu to take a time out?

The simple truth missed by the Post is that as humans were wired to preserve ourselves. On the matter of life and the presumption of death, government is excess. Whatever solution Obama might have come up with, or whatever Donald Trump did come up with, or (try not to laugh) whatever Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would have done if the virus had revealed itself in 2021 would have been vastly unequal to the solutions crafted by free people.

Deep down the Posts editorialists must know the above is true. Indeed, its not that the Soviet Union lacked experts, or that Cuba lacks experts now. The problem was and is that the remarkable knowledge of very few very smart people will never measure up to the collective knowledge of the citizenry. Thats why communism failed so impressively in the Soviet Union, and its why it fails in Cuba. Translated for those who need it, the people are the market and markets work. As I make plain in my 2021 book When Politicians Panicked, the problem was experts and politicians substituting their limited knowledge for that of the people. That was the crisis. Not so, according to the Post and the report they cite.

Supposedly the leaders of the United States could not apply their countrys vast assets effectively enough such that 1 million died. Wrong. Over and over again. To see why, imagine if 10 million Americans had died in March of 2020. Can the Post editorial board think of what government might have done that would have somehow improved on a feverish individual desire to survive against long odds? The simple truth glossed over by the Post is that the more threatening a virus is (and the Post seems to view what most didnt know they were infected with as wildly threatening), the more superfluous government action is.

Really, who reading this ever needs to be forced to avoid behavior that might result in sickness, or even death? And if the reply to this question is that some people DO need to be forced, youre making the best case of all for unfettered freedom. Think about it. Those who reject expert opinion are the most crucial control group as a virus spreads. By going against the grain, we learn from their freely arrived at actions if the virus is as lethal as presumed, or not, how it spreads, how to perhaps avoid its spread, and all manner of other important bits of information suppressed by one-size-fits-all national solutions.

It cannot be stressed enough that free people crucially produce information. Instead of allowing them to produce it in abundance in 2020, the response arrived at by Democrats and Republicans was to lock people in their homes, thus blinding a nation with more capabilities than any other country to the best approaches to a spreading virus. Please keep all of this in mind with the reports assertion that the most important and fundamental misjudgment about the virus was how it spread. You think? Of course, the muscular assertion ignores yet again that if knowing how a virus spreads is of utmost importance, the only credible answer is freedom.

On the matter of the Trump administration, the Post supports the reports conclusion that The administration abdicated its wartime responsibilities to lead only to leave the coronavirus battle to states and localities. If only. Back to reality, President Trump signed into law a $2.9 trillion bill that subsidized shutdowns across the country, thus locking people in their homes far longer than would have otherwise happened, and at the expense of untold amounts of economic output. Consider the latter in light of the statement of the obvious that all advances in medicine have always been born of matching doctors and scientists with the abundant fruits of wealth creation. In 2020, rather than encourage the very wealth creation that has long been the biggest foe of death and disease (by far), panicky politicians quite literally chose economic contraction as a virus mitigation strategy. Historians will marvel at the abject stupidity of the U.S. political class, but not the Posts editorialists or the authors of a report that the editorialists remarkably find insightful.

Rather than acknowledge the obvious about government and experts as the crisis, the Post editorialists and the experts they kneel before bemoaned a national abdication of wartime responsibilities." One gets the feeling Tolstoy would chuckle yet again. In his words, "The course of a battle is affected by an infinite number of freely operating forces (there being no greater freedom of operation than on a battlefield, where life and death are at stake), and this course can never be known in advance; nor does it ever correspond with the direction of any one particular force." In short, on matters of life and death government control is wretched, crisis-inducing excess.
Now that President Biden has made his 2024 run official, he has plenty of work to do if he hopes to shore up his lagging support among key constituencies. According to a recent NBC News survey, a full 70 percent of Americans do not want the President to run again. One demographic to watch is younger voters, who backed Biden by a wide 61-36 margin in 2020.

Younger Americans are exceptionally aggressive and vocal on climate policies. Nearly two-thirds (62%), support phasing out fossil fuels entirely, said Alec Tyson, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center. According to a recent Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics poll, an amazing half of those polled prefer the government do more to curb climate change, even if U.S. economic growth is damaged in the process.

As friendly as Biden has been to the eco-left, and outright hostile to our domestic, traditional energy industries, he is still facing backlash from these eco-centric voters over three recent decisions dealing with energy development. As always, my state of Alaska is at the epicenter.

First, the President  through the Department of Interior  approved Alaskas Willow oil and gas development project last month. His decision elicited a collective groan of disgust and disapproval from the environmental movement. Theyd dedicated years opposing the project, and spent the weeks ahead of the final decision bombarding social media, protesting outside of the White House and using their extensive, inside access to stop Willow from progressing.

Afterward, they vented.

Biden approved [Willow] knowing full well that it'll cause massive and irreversible destruction, which is just appalling, particularly coming from an administration who has pledged to address the climate crisis, has pledged to address environmental injustice, has pledged to address the extinction crisis, said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, who, along with other activist organizations, promptly took legal action to oppose the decision.

Next, Biden greenlit the export plan for Alaska Gasline Development Corps goal to build an 800-mile pipeline to bring trillions of cubic feet of gas from the North Slope to homes, businesses and eventually a tidewater port for export to Asia and other Pacific Rim countries. Having previously been held up under the guise of environmental and Indigenous justice reviews, the approval on April 14 gave a significant boost to the $43 billion project.

Environmentalists went apoplectic. Joe Bidens climate presidency is flying off the rails, said Lukas Ross of Friends of the Earth. Ross pointed out this was the second U.S. approval of a fossil-fuel mega-project in as many months.

Finally, the tipping point for climate activists may have come on April 21, when Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm penned a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking to expeditiously approve regulatory authorizations for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia. Granholm noted the gas pipeline can "play an important role as part of the clean energy transition".

Once again, green activists hit the roof, including former National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) attorney and current Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA), who stated bluntly, She (Granholm) sounds like a cheerleader for the fossil fuel industry; its really quite pathetic.

The same groups who previously cheered when the Green New Deal was introduced, celebrated when the Keystone Pipeline was shuttered and nearly danced in the streets when copper mines in Alaska and Minnesota were ruled off-limits to development are now blasting Biden for losing his way on what they see as an existential threat to their survival, and turning his back on mankind.

The group Gen-Z for Change recently put out a statement that clearly spells out the position of many young voters. "There is no deeper form of betrayal than watching a president who has claimed to value the voices of youthblatantly disregard one of our generations' largest and clearest movements." Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was even more blunt: ''Young people are plugged in and more informed than they have ever been about climate change,'' he said. ''Now they're feeling stabbed in the back.'' If Mr. Biden doesn't reverse course, ''young people stay home in 2024, that's the consequences.''

Make no mistake: Biden is a dedicated disciple to the green cult. If given another four years, he will take steps toward fulfilling his promise to end fossil fuel. The next 17 months will determine whether Joe Biden will turn 86 in 2028 as a two-term President or defeated, one-term leader. Ironically, voters much younger will make or break his fate, and they see the world through a very green lens. Right now, theyre seeing red, and that spells trouble for Team Biden.

Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs and opportunities. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on Twitter @PTFAlaska.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spent $2 million to hire outside speechwriters for her recent State of the State addresses, according to The New York Times.

Major consulting firm Deloitte made over $1 million for project management on a book and a speech in Hochuls first full year as governor, while Boston Consulting Group made $838,000 for its help, which was listed in state records as SOS Support, The Times found through a public records request.

Another firm was paid $25,000 just to help hire a writer for Hochuls state-of-the-state book Achieving the New York Dream. She paid another $60,000 to Fenway Strategies in 2022 for writing, editing, and speechwriting, The New York Post also reported.

Politicians frequently turn to ghostwriters for major political speeches, and consulting firms have become a mainstay of New York government. But Hochuls use of such firms in preparing the annual state message appears to be an unusual.

Representatives of three of Hochuls predecessors  Andrew Cuomo, David Paterson and George Pataki  said they had never paid for outside help to prepare for the annual address.

Hochuls office defended the expenditures, claiming these consultants never made policy recommendations or decisions.

The New York Governors Office had a generous operating budget of $122 billion, which is more than enough to hire speechwriters. In fact, Hochul does have an in-house staff of multiple speechwriters, and just recently were interested in hiring more. So Hochul paid a staff of at least two full time speech writers, along with a small army of communications specialists, all to outsource the important work to outside consultants.

This is incredibly wasteful and insulting to New York residents, and Gov. Hochul should use the staff she employs to do the jobs they were hired to do instead of outsourcing work to expensive consultants.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
A new scheme to boost consumer confidence in the venison market and support the sustainable management of wild deer in the countryside has launched.

Defra and the Forestry Commission have today (1 May) outlined a national quality assurance scheme for British wild venison.

The scheme aims to improve traceability of the meat, increase buyer confidence and support woodland management.

The new standard, along with the existing Scottish scheme, will enable the industry to demonstrate best practice for food production and increase buyer confidence.

The UK's deer population is believed to be at its highest level for 1,000 years, with some two million deer in the countryside and semi-urban areas.

A growing deer population with no natural predator puts more browsing pressure on woodland ground flora through their consumption of tree shoots, shrubs and woody vegetation that sequester carbon.

Defra said increased wild deer management was 'essential' in protecting existing woodland and newly planted saplings, as well as meeting Englands tree planting targets and protecting crops.

The wild venison quality assurance scheme, which will be open to applicants in England, Wales and NI, will ensure a set of audited standards are met throughout the supply chain, from forests, to the processing chain, to supermarket shelves.

Successful applicants  including venison producers and processors  will support the development of a wider, more robust marketplace for British wild venison, which is a sustainable and healthy food source.

Applicants must demonstrate they comply with the new scheme, ensuring carcasses are handled correctly, premises are registered as food businesses with the local authority.

They must also ensure that standards expected for producing food are met in line with relevant regulations and best practice, ensuring that full traceability occurs.

It is hoped the first quality-assured meat badged under this scheme will go on sale next year.

Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said: We must develop ways to manage deer more sustainably if we are to meet our tree planting targets and protect our precious woodlands and biodiversity.

"This announcement is an important step towards achieving that aim and creating a thriving market for British wild venison.

Richard Stanford, chief executive of the Forestry Commission, added: A healthy native wild deer population that is in balance with its ecosystem will allow woodland to flourish, and support biodiversity.

"However, where there are high-density populations of wild deer these can negatively impact the establishment, growth and biodiversity of woodland.

"Deer therefore must be managed as part of sustainable forestry in England which will also support the development of the wild venison market as a healthy meat.

Boosting confidence in the British venison market encourages deer management and is a sustainable alternative to fencing and plastic tree guards in the landscape.

"As such, I strongly encourage producers to apply for this new scheme.
South Africans Evacuated from War-Torn Sudan Back Home

At least 51 South African citizens who were evacuated from war-torn Sudan have safely returned home, reuniting with their families at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, reports TimesLive. The group arrived on a Kenya Airways flight after being rescued by the South African government. Some of them had to be issued with emergency travel documents, as they had left their passports behind. Despite the challenging situation, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Clayson Monyela described the operation as a success, and the rescued citizens were reportedly emotional and grateful to be back home.

Gauteng's Newest Crime Prevention Wardens Hit the Ground Running

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has launched a new crime prevention wardens programme with 4,000 newly recruited wardens expected to start on May 1, reports IOL. The wardens will be placed in crime hot spots, patrol the streets, work with the South African Police Service (SAPS), and be provided with state vehicles and weapons. Lesufi promised that the recruitment of wardens and the installation of CCTVs will help catch criminals, and the government will roll out other projects to fight crime, such as high-tech CCTVs, state-of-the-art drones, and 400 new police cars. The Gauteng government also plans to revamp legislation to strengthen the fight against crime.

Another University of Fort Hare Security Officer Dies

The University of Fort Hare is in shock following the death of another security officer who was also a bodyguard for a member of its Management Executive Committee, reports eNCA. The officer was reportedly a key witness in an upcoming fraud and corruption trial involving university staff. This incident follows the murder of the university's Vice-Chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu's bodyguard and a fleet manager earlier this year. Buhlungu had previously said that the institution has been under siege following assassination attempts from criminals out to kill staff due to their role in trying to root out corruption.

More South African news
AATCC executive vice-president Diana Wyman and Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) director general Siddhika G Senaratne have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU allows Sri Lanka to adopt AATCC test methods and procedures as national standards. SLSI staff also became members of AATCC and relevant committees.

According to the MoU, the new partnership will allow both groups to enhance their support for the needs of the people of Sri Lanka, continue growth of the economy of Sri Lanka, and aid in the development of Sri Lanka National Standards.

The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) has entered into a partnership with the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC). The MoU between AATCC and SLSI will allow Sri Lanka to adopt AATCC test methods and procedures as national standards. This partnership will enable SLSI to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of AATCC.

With all the work that goes into the development of AATCC standards, Im truly excited to see the interest in adopting them as national standards in countries outside the US. It takes a lot of time, input, and dedication to make an accurate and repeatable method via precision and bias studies. Frankly, no organisation does it better than AATCC and Im happy the rest of the world is starting to realise it, AATCC president John Crocker said in a press release.

This is the second such MoU for AATCC. In 2020, L'Instituto Colombiano de Normas Tecnicas y Certificacion (ICONTEC) agreed to mutually encourage inclusiveness and cooperation and wish to avoid technical duplication wherever and whenever possible. This agreement enabled adoption of AATCC documents as Colombia National Standards.

Often referenced as a source of American standards, AATCC continues to incorporate and serve the global textile community. Members participate from more than 50 countries. New tools enable more convenient involvement from anywhere through virtual meetings and online forums.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
The European Commission has proposed a set of legislative reforms aimed at strengthening the EU's economic governance rules and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth across all member states. The proposed reforms seek to address the shortcomings in the current framework, reduce public debt levels, and prepare the EU for future challenges by promoting progress towards a green, digital, inclusive, and resilient economy, and making the EU more competitive.

This marks the most comprehensive reform of economic governance rules since the aftermath of the financial crisis, European Commission said in a press release.

To achieve these goals, the proposed rules will facilitate necessary reforms and investments, while gradually reducing high public debt ratios in a sustained manner, in line with president Von Der Leyen's 2022 State of the Union address. The reforms will also make economic governance simpler, improve national ownership, place greater emphasis on the medium-term, and strengthen enforcement within a transparent common EU framework.

The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive set of legislative reforms aimed at strengthening economic governance rules across all member states. The reforms seek to address the current framework's shortcomings and promote sustainable and inclusive growth, reduce public debt levels, and prepare the European Union for future challenges.

The reforms are the result of an extended period of reflection and broad consultation process. The cornerstone of the proposals is the design and presentation of national medium-term fiscal-structural plans that will set out fiscal targets, measures to address macroeconomic imbalances, and priority reforms and investments over a period of at least four years.

These plans will be assessed by the commission and endorsed by the European Council based on common EU criteria. Integrating fiscal, reform, and investment objectives into a single medium-term plan will create a coherent and streamlined process. It will also strengthen national ownership by providing member states with greater leeway in setting their own fiscal adjustment paths and reform and investment commitments.

The proposals seek to move towards a more risk-based surveillance framework that puts public debt sustainability at its core, while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth. For each member state with a government deficit above 3 per cent of GDP or public debt above 60 per cent of GDP, the commission will issue a country-specific technical trajectory.

The proposals also aim to facilitate and encourage member states to implement important reform and investment measures. Member states will benefit from a more gradual fiscal adjustment path if they commit in their plans to a set of reforms and investment that comply with specific and transparent criteria.

While member states will have more control over the design of their medium-term plans, a more stringent enforcement regime will be put in place to ensure they deliver on the commitments they undertake. For member states that face substantial public debt challenges, departures from the agreed fiscal adjustment path will by default lead to the opening of an excessive deficit procedure, the release added.

Swift agreement on revising the EU fiscal rules and other elements of the economic governance framework is a pressing priority at the current critical juncture for the EU economy. The council, in conclusions also endorsed by the European Council, has welcomed the proposals and calls on member states to work towards their swift implementation.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
The World Bank's board of directors have approved $1.25 billion financing in three projects to help Bangladesh achieve greener and more resilient development and greater inclusion. The banks board discussed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Bangladesh for the period of 2023-2027, aimed at supporting the countrys goal to achieve upper-middle-income country status by 2031.

The $500 million programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER) project will promote diversification, food safety, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience in the agri-food systems. The $500 million First Green and Climate Resilient Development Credit will help the country transition to green and climate-resilient development, while the $250 million Sustainable Microenterprise and Resilient Transformation (SMART) project will transform the micro-enterprise sector into a more dynamic, less-polluting, resource-efficient, and climate-resilient growth sector.

The World Bank has approved $1.25 billion financing for three projects in Bangladesh aimed at achieving green and resilient development. The bank's board also discussed a new Country Partnership Framework for Bangladesh that will address key barriers to sustainable growth, including improving private sector development and building climate resilience.

With these three projects approved, the International Development Association's (IDA) total ongoing programme in Bangladesh stands at $16.3 billion, while MIGA's current programme in Bangladesh is just over $1 billion. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) also has an ongoing programme of about $1 billion in Bangladesh, the World Bank said in a press release.

The CPF is anchored in the government's eighth Five Year Plan and the Long-Term Perspective Plan 20212041, and will help address key barriers to higher and sustainable growth in the country.

The CPF proposes a robust programme of technical and financial support focused on eight objectives, including improving the business environment for broad-based private sector development, strengthening financial intermediation for long-term growth and resilience, and improving the quality and equitable access of human capital development services. Other objectives include enhancing economic opportunities for women and vulnerable groups and improving effectiveness of delta management for accelerated climate resilience building and sustainability.

"This Country Partnership Framework builds on five decades of strong partnership between the World Bank Group and Bangladesh," said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. As Bangladesh aims to be more prosperous, it will need stronger institutions and policies to serve the needs of an upper-middle-income country. This CPF will support the governments reform programmes to deliver jobs and support inclusion and resilience.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
Rakul Preet Singh: Actress Rakul Preet Singh enjoys a huge fan base across the nation. The prettiest actress delivered some amazing performances on the screen last year that have enhanced her fandom to the next level, thanks to her films across all Indian languages.

FAN TRAVELS 5 HOURS AWAY TO MEET RAKUL PREET SINGH IN HYDERABAD!

While her fans have always supported and showered her with immense love, an example of the same was witnessed when a fan travelled 5 hours from Kurnool to meet her favourite star in Hyderabad when she was in the town for a store launch.

Rakul was recently in Hyderabad, where she witnessed a huge crowd of her fans, but it was one special fan of hers who travelled 5 hours to meet the actress. The fan also expressed his delight in meeting her, took to social media, and wrote: "@Rakulpreet Hello rakul preet mam I am trying to contact but after today's conversation but I couldn't Today we could talk properly, mam, thank you mam to give hope that still there is chance to travel with you, to work with you, I hope you will contact me."

" title="Fans Demand Allu Arjun and Rakul Preet Singh To Return To Big Screen As Sarrainodu Completes 7 Years" />Fans Demand Allu Arjun and Rakul Preet Singh To Return To Big Screen As Sarrainodu Completes 7 Years

As soon as Rakul saw this post from the fan, she also dropped her reply on the same and wrote - "Thankyou for coming from Kurnool.. it made me so happy." Take a look here.

@Rakulpreet Hello rakul preet mam iam trying to contact but after today's conversation but i couldn't Today we could talk properly, mam , thank you mam to give hope that still there is chance to travel with you , to work with you  i hope you will contact me  pic.twitter.com/pxJD7wlS9C  Abdul Naveed (@AbdulNaveed7093) April 30, 2023

Moreover, Rakul is currently basking in the success of her recent ad campaign, which has created a whole lot of chatter everywhere. This is indeed a special moment for the pretty actress, as she has joined the league of legendary actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Hema Malini as she became the face of the biggest beauty brand with her latest endorsement.

Rakul Preet Singh Stuns In A Gorgeous Silver Sequin Lehenga, Check Out Dreamy Pictures

On the professional front, Rakul will be next seen in Indian 2 alongside Kamal Hassan. She also has I Love You opposite Pavail Gulati and other upcoming unannounced projects.
Melbourne, May 1 (PTI) Jock Zonfrillo, judge on "MasterChef Australia", celebrity chef and author, has died. He was 46. In a statement shared on his official Instagram account, Zonfrillo's family said the Scottish restaurateur died in Melbourne on Sunday.

"With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday. So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky," the family said in the statement.

"We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend," they added. Zonfrillo is survived by his third wife, Lauren Fried, and his four children. No cause of death was given. In 2019, Zonfrillo became a judge on "MasterChef Australia", along with Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, stepping in for the long-running cookery competition show's original hosts Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan.

Here's How A Russian Movie Has Beaten Hollywood & Its Superstar Tom Cruise. Check Deets Inside

In a statement, the official Twitter page of "MasterChef Australia" said the new season of the series which was due to premiere on Monday night will not air this week.

"Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia are deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of Jock Zonfrillo, a beloved member of the MasterChef Australia family. Jock passed away in Melbourne yesterday. MasterChef Australia will not air this week," the makers of the show said.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1976, Zonfrillo started his career in the kitchen in London, UK, where he worked under veteran chef Marco Pierre White, whom he later credited with saving his life. In his 2021 memoir "Last Shot", Zonfrillo wrote he had tried heroin as a teenager in Glasgow and drug addiction followed him for years as he built on his early success.

In 1999, he moved to Australia and established himself as the head chef at Restaurant 41 in Sydney, according to news website CNN. Zonfrillo later opened his own fine dining outlet, Restaurant Orana in Adelaide, which won culinary accolades in 2019 and 2020 before its closure. Colleagues such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, among others paid rich tributes to Zonfrillo.

British chef Oliver, who was scheduled to appear as guest judge on the now pulled down episode of "MasterChef Australia", said he was in "total shock" to wake up to the news of Zonfrillo's death. "We had the best time working together for this year's master chef... Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really grateful... Jock will be so very missed... I can't believe I'm writing this," Oliver wrote on Facebook.

Colambaris said he is heartbroken for Zonfrillo's family and the "MasterChef Australia" team. "Guys. Hug your loved ones. Life is f***' short. RIP brother. Thank you for the memories," the former "MasterChef Australia" judge wrote on Instagram. Ramsay, a senior of Zonfrillo in the kitchen, termed his death a "devastating news".

"I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time," the British celebrity chef wrote on Twitter. Indian chef Kunal Kapur said Zonfrillo's sudden departure from this world has left the culinary world in shock and disbelief. Kapur, who had worked alongside the late chef, remembered Zonfrillo as a "kind and generous soul".

Kamal Haasan Struggles Hard To Beat His Own Record; Prepares Indian 2 At Hollywood Level!

"Jock was a true icon in the culinary world, a chef who not only cooked from the heart but also lived with an immense passion for food. His dedication to showcasing the rich and diverse culinary heritage of Australia was truly remarkable, and he has been an inspiration to countless chefs and food lovers around the world," he added in his Instagram post.

Indian chef Ranveer Brar shared the news article of Zonfrillo's death on his Instagram Story with a heartbreak emoji. Zonfrillo also served as a host on a number of cooking programmes such as "Nomad Chef", "Restaurant Revolution" and "Chef Exchange". To highlight the qualities of Australia's Indigenous food, he established The Orana Foundation in 2016.

Two years later, Zonfrillo won the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize for championing Indigenous culture and culinary traditions. In 2020, he was announced as one of the judges for "Junior MasterChef Australia"
Met Gala 2023: The highly anticipated fashion event, Met Gala 2023, is almost here! Fashion enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting to witness their favourite celebrities flaunt their most imaginative attire. This renowned event is graced by notable international figures, providing a perfect platform for fashion designers to showcase their creativity while contributing to a good cause.

This year's theme, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," is a tribute to the legendary designer's illustrious career at fashion powerhouses like Chanel and Fendi. As we gear up for the event, let's revisit some of the most innovative themes from previous years.

WHAT IS MET GALA ABOUT?

The Costume Institute Gala, commonly known as the Met Ball or Met Gala, is an event dedicated to raising funds for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Institute was formally named The Anna Wintour Costume Centre in honour of American Vogue's editor-in-chief, who has served as a chair member of the museum's gala since 1995. The event was established in 1948 by publicist Eleanor Lambert to encourage donations from New York's affluent social circles.

Met Gala 2023: Kim Kardashian To PeeCee & Cardi B; A Look At Celebs Who Donned The CRAZIEST Outfits Over Years

The grand and glamorous fashion event takes place on the first Monday of May annually, which marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit that is hosted on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and remains open for several months. The event is a notable source for funding the institute.

As the countdown begins to the most-awaited fashion event, here are some of the most creative themes from past years of the Met Gala:-

Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018)

In 2018, the Met Gala's theme was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," which explored the relationship between fashion and religious iconography. The event featured outfits that drew inspiration from religious figures like the Pope and angels. It exhibited a wide range of religious objects and relics from the Vatican and allowed for an intriguing exploration of the connections between fashion, religion, and culture.

Met Gala 2023 LIVE: Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Set To Rock The Red Carpet, Get Ready For Fashion's Biggest Night

Camp: Notes On Fashion (2019)

The theme for the 2019 Met Gala was based on Susan Sontag's essay "Notes on 'Camp'," which explores a sensibility characterised by exaggerated style, irony, and humour. The exhibition featured outfits from various fashion houses, including Off-White, Schiaparelli, Moschino, Dior, and Thom Browne, that exemplified the "camp" aesthetic.

About Time: Fashion and Duration (2020)

The 2020 Met Gala was cancelled due to the pandemic, but the intended theme was "About Time" in celebration of the Met's 150th anniversary. The theme was inspired by Virginia Woolf's novel "Orlando" and its portrayal of time as a continuum without a distinct beginning or end. The theme aimed to look back at 150 years of fashion and its evolution.

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion (2021)

"In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" theme was chosen for the 2021 Met Gala because it showed American fashion influence globally. The year saw many celebrities wearing patriotic colours and designs in tribute to the nation. While the guests were encouraged to wear outfits that showcased American style and culture. The event served as an opportunity to highlight and support American designers, many of whom had been affected by the pandemic.

" title="Met Gala 2023: When & Where To Watch; Theme, Celebs Attending & All The Other Details You Need To Know" />Met Gala 2023: When & Where To Watch; Theme, Celebs Attending & All The Other Details You Need To Know

In America: An Anthology of Fashion (2022)

An extension of the 2021 theme, the 2022 event was an ode to American fashion. It paid tribute to American fashion by exploring its evolution from the 18th century to the present day. The inspiration for the theme was taken from the Gilded Age of New York, highlighting the luxurious and magnificent aspects of American fashion over time. The event provided a platform for the fashion industry to demonstrate its appreciation for American style and creativity.
Sreedevi Menon, popularly known as Viber Good Devu was one of the powerhouses of Bigg Boss Malayalam season 5.

From the very first day of this season, Devu's voice was heard loudly in the Bigg Boss house. Devu had been in the front to argue, fight, and comment. But in the later days, Devu lost her initial enthusiasm.

Finally, Devu has bid farewell to the Bigg Boss house. In the double eviction held yesterday, Devu was evicted from Bigg Boss. Maneesha is the other one who got kicked out of the show, along with Devu. Both of them bid farewell to the Bigg Boss house unexpectedly.

Bad Experience From A Close Acquaintance

The audience and those who were inside the house were shocked by the exit of Devu and Maneesha. Meanwhile, Devu's interview before going to Bigg Boss is being discussed on social media. In an interview with Variety Media, Devu shared a bad experience she had.

There have been bad approaches. But Devu says that she has not experienced anything bad from anyone while travelling by bus. Devu also says that there was a bad touch during a dance performance once.

"This person took a step beyond what was previously planned. But I responded well and instantly. There was no social media back then. He is a person who has been with us for so long, and he used to practise with us." Devu says that she did not expect such an incident, as he was a known person to her.

Devu said that he was beaten as soon as the misbehaviour happened and that such mistakes are not a problem that can be solved by forgiveness. Devu said that when such experiences occur, youngsters may suddenly not understand, and even if some understand, they may not respond. There is no point in saying that you can go home and talk or go to the police station and complain. Devu says that nothing will happen if someone goes to the police station to complain. Devu's opinion is that the solution is to respond publicly.

Devu says that one should react without bothering about surroundings and even before turning on the phone or camera. If the culprit is showing that much courage, then he should be punished at that moment itself. He also must have parents and a wife. Would he behave that way towards any of them? Devu asked.

Meanwhile, after coming out of Bigg Boss, Devu reacted on social media. Devu said that it was an unfair eviction. She also thanked everyone for their support. "I would say it was an unfair eviction," she said. "Because I played genuinely. I never expected this eviction. I will say from the bottom of my heart that it was unfair. I want re-entry and need your support." Devu said.
BELARUS continued to strengthen its economic ties with Zimbabwe after several companies from the East European country participated at this year's Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo.

The Belarusian newspaper BelTA reported that President Emmerson Mnangagwa, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and King Mswati III of Eswatini visited the Made in Belarus exhibition at the ZITF on Friday.

Exhibitors from Belarus include Bellakt, Lidakhleboproduct, Smorgon Bakery Plant, haul truck producer BelAZ, Sokhra, the mechanical engineering company Amkodor, Minskinterkaps, Borisov Medical Preparations Plant, Kamvol and Mogotex.

The organizations showcased their products and services as they sought new partners in the Southern African region.

Bellakt showcased milk porridges and milk formula, and Lidakhleboprodukt - flour products and semi-finished flour products. Smorgon Bakery Plant offers oat flour and cereals.

BelAZ and Sokhra (a group of companies engaged in servicing BelAZ haul trucks in different countries) represented the Belarusian machine-building industry at the exhibition.

The authorized supplier of Belarusian machinery Aftrade exhibited machinery from such well-known Belarusian brands as Minsk Tractor Plant (MTZ) and Amkodor, including the energy-intensive Belarus 2022.3 tractor, which has been supplied to the Zimbabwean market since 2022.

Belarusian light industry enterprises also brought a wide range of fabrics to Zimbabwe. Kamvol offers fabrics for school and women's wear, Mogotex - textile fabrics of the highest class, which can be an excellent alternative to fabrics from China, India, and Malaysia. The company makes both work clothes and uniforms for the law enforcement agencies.

Minskinterkaps and the Borisov Plant of Medical Preparations presented new medications at the exhibition.

"From the very first days of the exhibition, the Made in Belarus exposition, which is organized with the support of the Belarusian embassy in Zimbabwe, enjoyed great interest among visitors. The Belarusian stand has also been visited by Zimbabwe's vice President Constantino Chiwenga and Zimbabwe Minister of Industry and Commerce Sekai Nzenza," an official from the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was quoted by the Belarusian newspaper Belta.

The organizer of the Made in Belarus exposition is the Belinterexpo exhibition enterprise of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has been representing Belarusian enterprises at the collective stands of Belarus in Zimbabwe since 2018.
Rashmi Gautam Reacts To Chaitanyas Death Photo Credit: Instagram

Anchor Rashmi Gautam is a name that needs no introduction in the two Telugu-speaking states. The anchor-actress reacted to the death news of Dhee show's choreographer Chaitanya's suicide.

Anchor Rashmi has been working for several reality shows produced by Etv and Mallemala Production House, as a host.

Anchor Rashmi REACTS To Chaitanya's Death

She is currently the host of Jabardasth, a comedy show on Etv. Chaitanya Master also was working as a choreographer for Mallemala production's 'Dhee' Dance reality show. After the death news of Chaitanya broke out on April 30, Rashmi took to her social media handles to share her opinion.

She wrote, "This was not the solution Chaitanya Master Strength to the family And closed ones Rest In Peace" (sic)

Choreographer Chaitanya Committs Suicide

Chaitanya committed suicide in a hotel room in Nellore on the evening of April 30. He took the extreme step owing to his debts. He thanked his parents and expressed his gratitude. He mentioned, because of my debts, I lost my respect and name among my friends circle. I tried to repay but it is beyond me now. This is my last day and last moment. I am trying to be brave. I don't know what happens," said Chaitanya before ending his life.

Friends and family of Chaitanya, his colleagues, and students from the Telugu television industry expressed their condolences and shared their messages through social media platforms. A few of them have gone to Chaitanya Master's house to pay their homage.

Under the name of Chaitanya4505, the Choreographer shared a status in which he cheered for his friend, another choreographer Saikumar Reddy. Saikumar also is his colleague from the Dhee dance show.

In the video that he re-shared, he tagged 'Rythum Dance Academy Makthal' and wrote, "Do support Rhythm Dance Academy Makthal." The choreographer was vouching for his friend's dance academy even a couple of hours before he ended his life.
Jr NTRs NTR 30 Photo Credit: Twitter

The shooting of RRR star Jr NTR's latest movie, referred to as NTR 30, under the direction of Koratala Siva, is currently happening at a brisk pace. The movie will likely hit the screens on April 5, 2024.

Meanwhile, as the updates on NTR 30 are making fans go crazy, on May 1, they trended their favourite actor, Jr NTR, and NTR 30 on Twitter. The birthday month of Jr NTR has begun and fans can't keep calm.

NTR 30 Shooting Update

Meanwhile, a high-octane action episode is currently being shot at a specially erected set of a train in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. Jr NTR and Saif Ali Khan are taking part in the schedule. The team is likely to wind up the fight sequence in a couple of days.

After this, another schedule will begin in the second week of May. The makers are aiming to reveal the film's title and first look on Jr NTR's birthday, which falls on May 20. The rumour mills suggest that the movie could be named 'Devara.' There is no official confirmation on the same.

NTR 30 Cast

The Jr NTR-starrer has Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor making her Telugu debut as the female lead. Another Bollywood actor Sai Ali Khan is on board as the antagonist. In addition, Prakashraj and other character artists are part of the movie.

Telugu TV Actress Chaithra Rai In NTR 30

Chaithra Rai, a small-screen actress on Telugu Television recently revealed that she is making her silver screen debut with NTR 30. The ecstatic actress, who is a mother of a baby girl, is all kicked-up about her role in the film.

Reportedly, Chaithra Rai said, "I am looking forward to working with such big actors in real life. I only saw Jr NTR and Saif Ali Khan on the screen. In NTR 30, I will be playing the role of Saif Ali Khan's wife."

Chaithra Rai Photo Credit: Twitter

"I am on cloud nine and couldn't come to terms with it. I am excited and anxious at the same time," added Chaithra.

NTR 30 Crew

Sensational music composer Anirudh Ravichander is on board for the project. R Rathnavelu is cranking the camera for the film. Navin Nooli is on board as the Editor.

Mikkilineni Sudhakar and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram are bankrolling the project under their Yuvasudha Arts and NTR Arts banners.
Columba deepens and expands Aiera's calendar tracking capabilities across existing and new verticals, including public policy, which Aiera then brings into a live experience with quality insight.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 30, 2023) - Aiera, the leading event intelligence and speech technology platform for investors, announced today that it has acquired Columba Systems, a financial event data sourcing firm that provides global information on corporate events such as earnings releases, conferences, and investor presentations.

Columba Systems' event data has already been integrated into the Aiera platform, and users will soon experience the benefits of this integration through expanded event coverage within the Aiera user interface or via API. This represents another step in building the contextual awareness needed to drive high quality insights, including through Aiera's financially-trained, AI-generated event summaries, chat, topic extraction, and more.

"We are thrilled to welcome the Columba team to Aiera," says Conor McDade, COO and CFO of Aiera. "Columba has been in the business for over 10 years. Their expertise in financial event data is a valuable addition, and it furthers our lead in delivering the most comprehensive live event monitoring solution currently on the market."

Aiera now includes central banking & government agency conferences across the FDA, FOMC, and beyond. Aiera users can experience these events the same way they would an earnings call - with live audio, real time transcription, search, and much more.

As investor-related events grow in number and become increasingly virtual, the need to be comprehensive in one's collection approach increases as well. According to Bryan Healey, Co-Founder and CTO of Aiera, "As the pipeline of virtual and hybrid events continues to increase, the burden on analysts tasked with keeping tabs on these events and their related materials intensifies. Aiera makes this seamless and easy for its clients to have the entirety of this coverage at their fingertips."

Dean Ratcliffe, CEO of Columba Systems, added, "We are excited to join Aiera. This acquisition will enable us to reach a broader audience, particularly in the US, and turn our sourcing expertise into live experience and research support for the industry like never before."

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About Aiera:

Aiera is the only live AI event monitoring & financial search platform covering all available Wall Street events, providing real time transcription, auto-summarization, Q&A, one-click audio streaming, DVR-style live audio controls, smart document search, dynamic alerts, and seamless team collaboration. Aiera covers 60,000 public investor events with a 95%+ live connection rate, spanning more than 13,000 global equities; all accessible via desktop, mobile app, API, and iFrame. To learn more, please visit aiera.com.

About Columba Systems:

Columba Systems is a financial event data company that provides global information on corporate events such as earnings releases, conferences, and investor presentations. Formed in 2002, Columba has a wealth of experience and data, which is used by institutional investors and other financial professionals to stay informed about important events in the financial markets.

Media Contact:

James Setzer

Vice President of Marketing, Aiera

james@aiera.com

(646) 960-8207

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164331
DUBAI, UAE, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Indonesia Tourism is set to showcase its potential during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) on 1-4 May 2023 in Dubai World Trade Centre, United Arab Emirates. This participation is part of the government's strategies to promote Indonesia's wonderful tourist destinations to the Middle East market as well to spotlight Indonesia's readiness to welcome foreign traveler's post-pandemic COVID-19.

For more updated information on Indonesia tourism, visit www.indonesia.travel





The Middle East Region is one of the strategic main markets and a potential hotspot for Indonesia's tourism marketing initiatives. Based on BPS-Statistics Indonesia, the number of Middle Eastern travelers visiting Indonesia in 2022 soared up to 1194% (67,337) compared to 2021 with 5,639 visitors.

Regarding this participation, Indonesia Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, stated: "First and foremost, I would like to thank all the Indonesian tourism players for implementing collaborative marketing efforts to revive Indonesian tourism and to make this happen. We hope Indonesia's active participation in ATM Dubai 2023 could make Indonesia a Top-of-Mind destination for the Middle Eastern travelers, as well as increase the number of international tourists visiting Indonesia that will eventually contribute to the nation's foreign exchange and increased work opportunity. Additionally, as we are focusing on improving four aspects of tourism, such as experience, quality, sustainability, and luxury, we are setting a target of an estimated 55 thousand pax during this event."

In light of the global tourism trend and ATM Dubai 2023's current theme of 'Working Towards Net Zero', Indonesia Tourism will be promoting Indonesia's quality and sustainable tourism implementation. Currently, Indonesia also has an ongoing campaign to support the sustainable initiatives with an 'Every Step Matters' movement with the goal to reduce carbon emission within the tourism sector by 2030, encouraging tourists to preserve the environment and culture.

Deputy Minister for Marketing of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Ni Made Ayu Marthini, explained the strategies devised by the Ministry and the participating tourism industries. "Our theme for ATM Dubai this year is 'Visit Indonesia Year 2023: Explore Our New Wonderful Destinations'. With this, we want to drive the promotion of the sustainable and quality tourism initiatives that have been implemented in Indonesia in several priority tourist attractions across Indonesia. As it is also in line with the current global tourism trend, we aim to encourage foreign travelers to cherish Indonesian nature and cultures while experiencing our prime services," said Made.

To attract visitors and potential foreign travelers, Indonesia's pavilion during the ATM Dubai 2023 will arrange an in-person B2B meeting with potential buyers as it is an important milestone for Indonesia's existence in the tourism world. Furthermore, Indonesia Tourism will be targeting wholesalers, OTA, and International Airlines Companies to increase joint promotions, especially in terms of seat capacity and flight frequency to Indonesia.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2065794/Image_Press_Release_3.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/towards-sustainable-and-quality-tourism-indonesias-pavilion-shines-a-spotlight-at-arabian-travel-market-2023-301811598.html
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSXV:CTH) ("CoTec" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has invested a further US$101,014 into MagIron LLC ("MagIron").The investment was part of a larger US$400,000 fundraise that was supported by existing shareholders and was done at a pre-money valuation of US$35 million. The funds will be used to further progress the restart of Plant 4 and for general corporate purposes.

CoTec contributed $200,000 to an earlier fund raise in February 2023. These two investments have increased CoTec's equity interest in MagIron from 15.8% to 16.89% on an undiluted basis.

Julian Treger, CoTec CEO commented: "We are pleased with MagIron's progress towards the execution of their strategy to become a green iron producer in the United States. MagIron's latest investment round was concluded at a US$35 million valuation compared to the US$13.4 million post-money valuation of our initial investment, reflecting the progress made by MagIron over the past 12 months and supporting the upward adjustment of the investment in our financial statements."

"We believe that the demand for low carbon resources will continue to intensify and will demand significant green premiums over time. MagIron could be well positioned to benefit from this expected market development and CoTec will continue to support MagIron in this regard."

About CoTec

CoTec is an ESG-focused company investing in innovative technologies that have the potential to fundamentally change the way metals and minerals can be extracted and processed. The Company is committed to supporting the transition to a lower carbon future for the extraction industry, a sector on the cusp of a green revolution as it embraces technology and innovation. CoTec is a publicly traded mining issuer listed on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol CTH.V

For further information, please contact:

Braam Jonker - (604) 992-5600

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the Company and its investments which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to management's expectations with respect to its current and potential future investments and the benefits to the Company which may be implied from such statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. For further details regarding risks and uncertainties facing the Company please refer to "Risk Factors" in the Company's filing statement dated April 6, 2022, a copy of which may be found under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.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 news release.

SOURCE: CoTec Holdings Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/752092/CoTec-Holdings-Corp-Increases-Interest-in-MagIron
Chicago, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - KaJ Labs has announced the launch of the LITHO buy back program to increase shareholder value. The program will allow Lithosphere to repurchase outstanding LITHO tokens.

The buy back program is part of Lithosphere's ongoing efforts to enhance the ecosystem and ensure long-term network sustainability.

"With this program, we are demonstrating our confidence in the long-term prospects of Lithosphere and our commitment to the LITHO community," said KaJ Labs founder, Joel Kasr.





Lithosphere Network

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8833/164350_00bf6e87c423da9b_001full.jpg





The buy back program will be executed in phases over the next 12 months, with the first phase starting immediately. The Foundation will repurchase LITHO tokens on the open market and through privately negotiated transactions. The program will be funded through KaJ Labs' existing cash reserves.

KaJ Labs also announced the listing of its Jot Art (JOT) token, now available on top crypto exchanges like XT.com.

The JOT token is the payment and governance token for the Jot Art metaverse. JOT holders claim rewards for staking their tokens, paying for internal services in all Jot Art games, and participating in key governance votes. Gamers can earn JOT when they play various games within the Jot Art metaverse and through user-generated-content.

###

About KaJ Labs

KaJ Labs is a decentralized research organization focusing on AI and blockchain technology. We're driven to create innovative products that work for the greater good around the globe.

About Lithosphere

Lithosphere is a next-generation network for cross-chain decentralized applications powered by AI and Deep Learning.

About Jot Art

Jot Art is the cross-chain metaverse to play, create own and earn. Jot Art's mission is to provide an ecosystem for everyone to create amazing distributed virtual experiences with community and player-owned economies.

Media Contact

Dorothy Marley

Phone: (707)-622-6168

Email: media@kajlabs.com



KaJ Labs Foundation

1658 Milwaukee Ave

Chicago, IL

Website: https://kajlabs.org

Website: https://litho.ai

Website: https://jot.art

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164350
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Insider2U, the leading media network in Malaysia, has recently announced the top trusted online casinos in Malaysia for 2023, with BD88 taking home the prestigious Trusted Online Casino Malaysia of the Year award. Insider2U's team of experts conducted a comprehensive evaluation of various criteria to determine the top online casinos in Malaysia, and BD88 emerged as the clear winner.





Trusted Online Casino Malaysia Review by Insider2U

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9329/164132_a9a968c1f45859b1_001full.jpg

One of the reasons why BD88 was chosen as the Trusted Online Casino Malaysia of the Year is its exceptional bonus offerings, which are the highest compared to other online casinos in Malaysia. Additionally, the platform provides the fastest processing of deposit and withdrawal transactions, as confirmed by the team of experts who tried out the service.

Another key factor that sets BD88 apart from its competitors is its unique ability to use the same wallet to play from different game providers. This feature allows players to access a wider range of games and enjoy a more varied online casino experience, making BD88 the top choice for many Malaysia online casino enthusiasts.

"We are thrilled and honoured to receive the Trusted Online Casino Malaysia's award from Insider2U. This recognition is a testament to our team's hard work and dedication to providing a safe and enjoyable online gaming experience for our customers. We thank our customers for their loyalty and trust, and we will continue to innovate and improve our services to meet their evolving needs," said Mr. Michael from BD88.

Insider2U's commitment to providing accurate and reliable information to empower online casino players in Malaysia has made it the go-to source for those seeking the latest developments in the industry.

About Insider2U

Insider2U is a leading media network in Malaysia that specialises in providing the latest news on gambling, finance, crypto, and other related industries. With a team of experienced writers and experts, Insider2U delivers accurate and timely news and reviews to its readers.

One of the key features of Insider2U is its focus on providing expert reviews of various platforms, including Malaysia online casino, finance platforms, and crypto exchanges. These reviews are conducted by professionals with extensive knowledge and experience in the relevant industries, ensuring that readers receive reliable and informative assessments of the platforms they are interested in.

Insider2U's online casino Malaysia reviews are particularly noteworthy, as they cover a wide range of criteria, including welcome bonuses, special promotions, customer support, payment methods, and deposit/withdrawal limits. These comprehensive reviews enable readers to make informed decisions and choose the online casinos that best suit their needs.

In addition to its reviews, Insider2U also provides up-to-date news on the latest developments in the gambling, finance, and crypto industries, making it an essential source of information for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Overall, Insider2U is a trusted and reliable source of news and reviews in Malaysia, providing readers with the latest and most accurate information on various industries. Whether users are interested in online casinos, finance, or crypto, Insider2U has something to offer. Visit Insider2U today to stay informed and make the most of the online casino Malaysia experience.

Contact Person: Daniel Tan

Email: askinsider2u@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insider2u

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164132
Merchants can now implement TreviPay within the Spryker digital commerce platform to integrate net terms and automate invoicing to help future-proof digital payment experiences and build B2B loyalty

TreviPay and Spryker, a leading enterprise commerce platform for sophisticated commerce use cases in B2B, enterprise marketplaces and thing commerce, have today announced their partnership at B2B Online Chicago 2023 to integrate TreviPay's global B2B payments and invoicing network into Spryker's digital commerce and marketplace platform. As part of Spryker's composable commerce offering that allows businesses to select best-of-breed solutions and build a highly customized tech stack, TreviPay can now be integrated for merchants to provide choice and convenience to buyers and automate accounts receivables for their business customers.

Through the ever-changing business landscape, digital commerce sellers continue to seek flexible, secure and experienced technology partners to future-proof payments experiences and build customer loyalty. When merchants offer payment terms, accessible credit and digitized invoicing, they make it easier and faster for buyers to spend. In fact, research by TreviPay highlights that 74% of B2B buyers would make a purchase with a competitor if their vendor's eCommerce store could not keep up with their purchasing expectations as a buyer. With an emphasis on loyalty-building payment experiences, offering trade credit through TreviPay will also increase cash flow for B2B merchants, freeing up their working capital for other value-driving activities.

"To best support the digitization of B2B transactions, sellers must meet today's buyer expectations of having payments choice at checkout without sacrificing operational efficiency," said Brandon Spear, CEO of TreviPay. "Our strategic partnership with Spryker's composable platform will help merchants simplify the purchasing process for their business buyers with B2B-specific checkout APIs to incorporate trade credit and automated invoicing functions."

In keeping pace with B2B buyer expectations that merchants offer seamless payments experiences, the TreviPay integration will enable Spryker's B2B clients to offer increased payments choice and invoicing convenience at checkout. Upon joining TreviPay's global invoicing network, merchants can increase sales while eliminating cross-border complexity and automatically meet regulatory requirements when expanding marketplace sales into new geographies.

"B2B businesses require innovative solutions to address buyer preferences and their evolving digital purchasing needs," said Manishi Singh, SVP App Composition Platform at Spryker. "We are excited to partner with TreviPay whose B2B payments expertise, customization and scalability will help our enterprise customers boost sales and loyalty."

To learn more about TreviPay's global B2B payments and invoicing network for marketplaces, visit us at B2B Chicago Online from May 1-3, 2023 in Booth 106 and Spryker in Booths 100-104.

About TreviPay

At TreviPay, we believe loyalty begins with the payment. By understanding the diverse and unique requirements of B2B sellers, TreviPay's global B2B payments and invoicing network enables enterprises to provide payments choice and convenience, open new markets and automate accounts receivables. With more than four decades of experience, TreviPay serves leaders looking to build loyalty while driving efficiency and embracing new digital channels, especially in industries with large distribution networks such as manufacturing, retail and transportation. For more information, visit trevipay.com.

About Spryker

Spryker is the leading composable commerce platform for enterprises with sophisticated business models to enable growth, innovation, and differentiation. Designed specifically for sophisticated transactional business, Spryker's easy-to-use, headless, API-first model offers a best-of-breed approach that provides businesses the flexibility to adapt, scale, and quickly go to market while facilitating faster time-to-value throughout their digital transformation journey. As a global platform leader for B2B and B2C Enterprise Marketplaces, Thing Commerce, and Unified Commerce, Spryker has empowered 150+ global enterprise customers worldwide and is trusted by brands such as ALDI, Siemens, Hilti, and Ricoh. Spryker was recognized by Gartner as a Visionary in the 2022 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce and was also ranked as a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave: B2B Commerce Solutions, Q2 2022. Spryker is a privately held technology company headquartered in Berlin and New York. https://spryker.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005016/en/

Contacts:

Alissa Clayton

The Fletcher Group

647.390.9085

alissa@fletchergroupllc.com
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / GBX International Group, Inc., (OTC PINK:GBXI) an emerging leader in international economic development, is pleased to announce it has completed signing agreements and resolutions for the acquisition of American States University (ASU). One of the Key members of the international ASU/CSi-EDP partnership programs focused on integrating operations of all the partners through its newly developed ASU Digital Business HUB.

With the newly acquired majority shareholder control of GBXI, Mr. Dabney follows through and signs majority shareholder resolutions for the reclassification of the preferred shares to voting only and the addition of three (3) new classes of shares Common Class A, B, and C, respectively, all three to be Non-Trading, and reserved for each new spinout Public Company.

Mr. Dabney is now the majority shareholder of both GBXI and American States University.

"With the American States University acquisition under our belt coupled with newly structured share classifications, without missing a step, we are ready for the next two or three Spinout acquisitions. As stated, Cannabis Science Inc, Thermic Science (ENDO) and LNC., are the next target acquisitions for Spinouts with Cannabis Science being the first one, absolutely. News is expected out shortly with the addition of Thermic Science (ENDO) paired shareholding interests and International ASU/CSi-EDP Partnerships makes for a momentous string of deals. Afterwards, the GBXI focus turns to Technology, Motion Picture, and related Media integrations." Confirms Mr. Dabney.



No shortage of the planned upward mobility action for GBXI as Mr. Dabney ramps up the momentum right line with progressing the previously stated plans in the last News Release;



The ASU Digital Business HUB will be used as the main business student learning center. GBXI will be the main pivot point to spin out trading shares of all our Partner Public and Private Companies such as Cannabis Science, iCannabinoid, Thermic Science, LNC, LMG, and a few more old and new school surprises for our loyal shareholders. No one will be missed! A true Digital Business HUB for students, just as planned all along.



Each spinout company will give our GBXI registered shareholders additional pro-rata shares in each spinout company over and above their original shares in each entity. This provides the required shareholder base for each company required to trade and gives additional shares to all our loyal GBXI shareholders.



We call this "Compounding our Wealth" through extra spinout share participation for all our loyal GBXI shareholders. Each registered GBXI shareholder will receive additional shares of each spinout Company over and above their original shares to enjoy additional liquidity as each company begins to trade through the GBXI Digital Business HUB spinout process.



"Here we go! Anyone who knows me and knows what we have been through over the past few years, knows what's coming next! It's full-on Warfare, against the Wind! We are aggressively following through with our plans to Bring ALL our Companies back trading and integrate ASU with several of our CSi-EDP Partner Companies to accomplish that goal very quickly. We will be using the full extent of our reach for this Sprint to the Finish line! All our ground-breaking advanced business and energy technologies along with our HARVARD Award Winning Economic Development & Medical Drug Development Programs all will be offered through our unique ASU University education model for growth and mass inclusion, no one will be missed!



This acquisition will enable ASU University and its CSi-EDP Partners with the tools to grow in virtually every mainstream Industry covered by the many ASU/CSi-EDP partnership Companies and programs for individual Personal development and/or Business economic development. This growth should happen quickly through its constant and flexible Scholarship and Business apprenticeship Programs modeled individually for every Community, City, State or Region for its specific and unique economic and medical needs. The goal is creating 100's or thousands of jobs worldwide to help fix our economic turmoil using all our ASU/CSi-EDP partnership Company resources in our hardest hit communities worldwide, ASU/CSi-EDP, Bringing it all Together, Here we go! Confirmed New President & CEO of GBX International Inc., Mr. Raymond C. Dabney".



With multiple Schools of Excellence, the ASU University is positioned to become an Internationally recognized leader in traditional and digital hybrid mix of Prestigious Degree and Certificate Trades Programs, wrapped in an international economic entrepreneurial bevy of jobs and choices for growth for everyone enrolled. The ASU/CSi-EDP Partnership is focused on introducing one of the largest Nationwide University Scholarships Programs offered, City by City, Coast to Coast, Scholarships for education, family, and business.



With the new Digital HUB online software integration well underway, ASU, a Hybrid University offers the "big three" mix of on-line, in-class, and on-the-job training, ready to grow all ASU/CSi-EDP Partnership companies Entrepreneurial education, rapid deployments for distressed communities, focused on individuals, families and youths ranging from the affluent students programs right through to the distressed communities worldwide, aggressive integration and inclusion of growth.



American States University is the only TRUE Entrepreneurial University that can provide the flexibility, affordability, and accessibility to the general public needed to provide this level of education. American States University is a unique hybrid mix of online, in class and in field education. It is a unique and creative entrepreneurial educational brainchild of its Founder, President, and Chancellor, Raymond C. Dabney, coming from challenging beginnings himself with little formal education; he advanced and created many opportunities offered by this great planet and the blessed individuals willing to teach him their trade; now Mr. Dabney is giving back those same opportunities and Successes he has been Blessed with to his future students, professors, shareholders, families in need, and the general business community worldwide.



ASU will provide the financial and managerial resources needed to expand those offerings rapidly' into Communities of need and establish several new paradigms for instant non-traditional hybrid education, expanding across the country and Internationally as market conditions dictate.

School of Law;

Bachelor of Science in Law [BSL]; Juris Doctor [JD]



ASU will build its in-house legal team of Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide. The in-house legal team will take on cases covering a wide range of legal instances to help fix the many wrongs inhibiting our society from growing and nurture in an equal opportunity environment. ASU Law already has a few cases it is a party too already with our own CSi-EDP Partner Companies that will be at the forefront of our initial case studies and initial aggressive legal actions to fix.



School of Business;

Bachelor in Business Administration [BABA]; Masters in Business Administration [MBA]; Doctorate in Business Administration [DBA]



The North American stock exchanges will play a big role in the ASU Entrepreneurial Business offerings, bringing delisted companies back to trade, up listing Companies to higher level exchanges for ease of public trading, and brand new listed companies through IPO offerings on different level exchanges worldwide. ASU will build its Business in-house team of Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide based on its current ASU/CSi-EDP Partnerships, Cannabis Science Inc., Thermic Science (ENDO), LNC Technology, as well as its many Washington, DC, (GOV) centered economic development plans for international expansions and inclusions.



School of Agriculture;

Bachelor of Agriculture



ASU will build its in-house Agriculture team of Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide. ASU has a solid footing in Agriculture, farming, seeding, and cultivation based on its ASU/CSi-EDP Partnership programs in natural drug development using Cannabinoids derived from Industrial hemp and Cannabis plants along with a few other indigenous plants and bio-actives needed worldwide.



School of Health Science;

Science Bachelor Health Science [BHS]; Masters Health Science [MHS]



ASU will build its in-house Medical team of Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide. Through its ASU/CSi-EDP Partnerships the University has HARVARD Award Winning medical research and ground-breaking medical advances, patents, and new technology to introduce to the world, very exciting opportunities for ASU students to work and advance this type of Medical Success.



School of Fine Arts;



ASU will build its in-house team of Media Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide. LMG and other CSi-EDP Media Partnerships for Television, Motion Pictures, and Music production and International distribution.



School of Sustainability-Division of Alternative Energy;



ASU will build its in-house team of Alternative Energy Volunteers, Adjunct Professors, Full-Time Professors, Students and Apprentices Worldwide. The ASU/CSi-EDP Partnership will bring the Thermic Science (ENDO) advance technology to the table with ASU Alternative Energy students working on the ground-breaking Thermic Heating Paint products and services to complete manufacturing development and subsequent product releases to the public worldwide.



Certified Professionals & the Departments;



Department of Security

Department of Entrepreneurs

Department of Theology/Religion

Department of Technology

Department of Political Science



All of this along with over 37 Trade Skills Courses wrapped in the coveted Entrepreneurial Programs.

www.americanstatesuniversity.com

Pre-register now! Inspire, Dream, Change

Students, Scholarships, Apprentices, Professors, Instructors, and those who wish to teach.



About ASU



The University curriculum delivers hybrid foundational knowledge and real-world skills to immediately prepare you for your career. The University will provide real-time Digital Business HUB access for all its Students and Business Scholars, along with several new and existing partner companies for constant flow of jobs in various industries. The work is real as these Companies are already providing some of these services to the University and other Companies they will be listed in real-time as each job contract presents itself.

The ASU University Scholarship & Apprentice Project will cover most industries and will be an ongoing University Project of mass-scale to include all industries categorized and assembled with real-time Digital access. Covering Education, Food, Medical, Agriculture, High-Tech, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Transportation, Defense Security, Aerospace, Television & Media and so much more. Job creation, business consulting, partnership opportunities, personal enhancement education, including business and personal Scholarships.

Any Community, any Student, any Business, coupled with the aggressive Student Scholarship Apprentice Programs creates any job, or any company, for any Student, in any Industry, anyone that wants to join the Scholarship Apprentice Program.

Scholarship Apprentices: Mobilizing large work force groups, any Industry, any Contract, even Community Clean up, Construction, Security, full University Digital HUB Integration, Mass Job creation, Apprentice Scholarship Programs, and Family Assistance Programs. American States University believes that everyone should have an opportunity to learn and earn if they want too, so we do.

https://www.americanstatesuniversity.com/

Forward Looking Statements

This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing words such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs and products. The Company does not undertake any duty, nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

Contact Information:



https://www.americanstatesuniversity.com/

American States University



GBX International Inc.

Raymond C. Dabney

President & CEO, Chancellor

raymond.dabney@americanstatesuniversity.com

+1.778.288.1389

SOURCE: GBX International Group, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/752078/GBX-International-Group-Inc-OTC-GBXI-Inks-Acquisition-Target-American-States-University-ASU-and-HARVARD-Award-Winner-Mr-Dabney-Signs-Majority-Resolutions-for-the-Reclassification-and-Addition-of-New-Classes-A-B-and-C-Non-Trading-Reserved
HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / The National Diversity Council (NDC), a leading non-profit helping champion diversity and inclusion across the country, announced today the 47 companies that participated in the 2023 NDC Index and, among them, the four companies to make the Best U.S. Companies for Diversity list. The NDC Index is an annual measurement of organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion among companies in the United States. It rates companies in five assessment areas: CEO engagement, policies, benefits and initiatives, supplier diversity, community outreach and corporate social responsibility. This year's participating companies in alphabetical order are:

AAA - The Auto Club Group American Honda Motor Arkansas Children's Aston Carter Black Knight Bloomin' Brands Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan BNSF Railway Children's Health System of Texas Cigna Corewell Health Cox Communications Cross Country Healthcare Crowley CSX Transportation Dana Incorporated Empath Health Enbridge Essendant Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland FirstKey Homes Fiserv Gulfstream Goodwill Industries Heritage Bank Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Kelly Libbey Glass Matthews International Mount Sinai Health System NFP nVent Pediatrix Medical Group Phoebe Putney Health System Premier Inc. PSA Airlines Riverside Healthcare Riverside Health System Security Service Federal Credit Union Southwest Airlines VF Corporation Vistra Corp Vituity VSP Vision Walgreens Boots Alliance Wheeler Health Wright-Patt Credit Union WSFS Financial Corporation

Sofia Anthony, Senior Vice President and Interim CEO at the National Diversity Council, commended each participating company for their commitment to advancing DEI efforts through the NDC Index assessment.

"We are extremely excited to see the number of participating companies increase each year and applaud the 47 companies that worked diligently to complete the survey for 2023," said Anthony. "We also congratulate this year's top performing companies - the Best U.S. Companies for Diversity - for exemplifying best practices in diversity and inclusion within their organization and community."

To receive the Best U.S. Companies for Diversity distinction, participants must score more than 90 points out of 100 on the NDC Index. This year's Best U.S. Companies for Diversity in alphabetical order are: AAA - The Auto Club Group, Cigna, Corewell Health and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Best U.S. Companies for Diversity recipients commented on this recognition:

"I am honored to accept this recognition on behalf of AAA - The Auto Club Group," said Kenneth Mathies, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at AAA. "This achievement is a testament to our organization's dedication and commitment to foster an inclusive and welcoming workplace culture. We will continue to prioritize our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure that everyone is valued, respected and empowered to experience all the benefits an authentic and inclusive culture represents."

"True commitment and progress in supporting diversity and driving equity and inclusion must be integrated in what we do and how we do it," said Eliana Nunez, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cigna. "Building a strong culture of belonging enables and encourages different perspectives, points of view and ideas, which ultimately helps us better serve our stakeholders and communities in which we live, work and play."

"It is an honor to be included in the NDC Index Best U.S. Companies for Diversity and to be amongst organizations at the forefront of inclusion," said Carlos Cubia, Chief Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Sustainability Officer at Corewell Health. "This recognition is another example of Corewell Health's commitment to DEI and our dedication to evaluating systems and practices to advance health for all and foster a more inclusive environment for our patients, health plan members, team members and community."

"Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield is proud to be recognized by the National Diversity Council as a Best U.S. Company for Diversity," said Alison Banks-Moore, Chief Diversity Officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. "We believe it is important to continuously cultivate diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and allow it to become a core value for all employees. Participating in the 2023 NDC Index has confirmed we are moving in the right direction as we continue developing lasting best practices in support of the work we do in creating a culture of excellence."

All NDC Index participating companies receive a complimentary NDC Index Report to help them identify strengths and opportunities in their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. The report includes a best practices scorecard and a comparative analysis. Registration for the 2024 NDC Index is ongoing, and the survey opens October 2023.

For more information, please visit www.ndcindex.org.

About the National Diversity Council

The National Diversity Council is a non-profit organization committed to fostering a learning environment for organizations to grow in their knowledge of diversity. The council affords opportunities for organizations to share best practices and learn from top corporate leaders in the areas of diversity and inclusion. More information about the National Diversity Council is available at www.nationaldiversitycouncil.org.

About the NDC Index

The NDC Index is an annual measurement of a company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. The NDC Index scores all companies on a scale from 0 to 100 according to diversity best practices and provides a score for each assessment area. To participate, companies must have a minimum of 500 employees or be a Fortune 1000 company with subsidiaries in the United States. There is no fee to participate in the NDC Index or to receive the NDC Index Report. The NDC adheres to strict confidentiality guidelines in the survey submission process. For more information, please visit www.ndcindex.org.

Media Contact:

Katrina Glenn, Communications Manager, National Diversity Council

katrina.glenn@nationaldiversitycouncil.org





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from National Diversity Council on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: National Diversity Council

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/national-diversity-council

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: National Diversity Council

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/752125/National-Diversity-Council-Announces-Participating-Companies-in-the-2023-NDC-Index
Mr Iwuanyanwu, 80, also vowed to pursue the creation of an additional state in the South-east region of Nigeria.

Nigerian politician and entrepreneur, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has been confirmed as the president-general of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In his inaugural speech, Mr Iwuanyanwu pledged to secure the release of separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu who is being prosecuted for treason by the federal government.

Mr Iwuanyanwu was unanimously endorsed as the group's president-general during a meeting of Ohanaeze Imeobi at Enugu's Banquet Hall on Sunday.

Imeobi is the highest decision-making organ of the Ohanaeze, considered by many to be the top Igbo socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria.

The 80-year-old politician was earlier this month presented to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State by a delegation of the Imo Elders Council as the consensus candidate to replace the immediate past president-general of the Igbo group, George Obiozor, whose death was announced in December.

But given that his emergence was not through an election, Ohanaeze Imeobi needed to ratify the position.

Reporters were not allowed inside the venue during the Ohanaeze Imeobi meeting. But a member of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chinedu Ugwa, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Iwuanyanwu was confirmed Ohanaeze Ndigbo president-general because there was no dissenting voice against his emergence at the meeting.

Mr Ugwa, who participated in the meeting, said Mr Iwuanyanwu was confirmed as the president-general through voice voting.

"A new president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been elected through the procedure of engaging the governors of the seven states that make up Ohanaeze. The endorsement was done after a recommendation by Elders of Imo State because nobody was coming to ask or query his emergence. So, it is in the form of an election," he said.

Iwuanyanwu speaks

In his inaugural speech, Mr Iwuanyanwu expressed delight over his endorsement as the president-general of the Igbo group, saying that "providence and the love of Igbos propelled" him to the position.

"I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to lead Ndigbo at this time. With our collective efforts and support, Ndigbo will rise again.

"I, therefore have a duty to valiantly defend the Igbo course and I promise Imeobi and all Igbo people that by the grace of God, I will not fail them," Mr Iwuanyanwu said.

The new president-general said he had done "his best to serve Igbos both in time of war and time peace" and that, as a young boy, he learnt determination to serve Igbos from his father.

He said he never "nurtured" the idea of becoming president-general of Ohanaeze and that he had unsuccessfully sought to become Nigerian president three times.

Agenda for South-east, Ohanaeze

Mr Iwuanyanwu, while reeling out the priorities of his administration, said he would make "a special appeal" to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), before he (Buhari) exits office on 29 May.

"Nnamdi Kanu is very crucial for any discussion (on security) and it is not possible to negotiate any peace while Nnamdi Kanu is in prison," he said, noting that the Court of Appeal, Abuja had struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu.

"There is also a report that his health is deteriorating. I feel it is important that he is released to have access to his medical doctors so that he does not die in prison."

The new Ohanaeze leader also vowed to ensure that the South-east gets an additional state, explaining that the South-east is the only region with five states in Nigeria.

"Several political conferences have recommended the creation of additional state in the South-east to bring the number of states to six. So far, this has not been actualised.

"I will make sure that during my tenure (as Ohanaeze president-general), an additional state is created for the South-east," Mr Iwuanyanwu assured.

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The Ohanaeze president-general listed other priorities of his administration including reviving agriculture, and industries and revitalisation of the educational system in the South-east with a focus on information and communication technology.

Others are: Repositioning the region's health sector, evaluating the possibility of generating electricity with coal deposits in Enugu and creating the Ohanaeze investment company as well as a cultural centre.

In attendance during the meeting were the five governors from the South-east: Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) Charles Soludo (Anambra), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State, represented by his Deputy, Kelechi Igwe), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia, represented by his Deputy, Ude Chukwu) and Hope Uzodinma (Imo, represented by his Deputy, Placid Njoku).

Others are The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Enugu State Governor-elect, Peter Mbah, former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim and a former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Adolphus Wabara, among others.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSXV: SSV) (the "Company" or "Southern Silver") announces that it intends to apply to the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") for approval to extend the original expiry dates of an aggregate 37,300,477 share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") as follows:

Number of

Warrants Exercise Price

per Share Closing Date of

Private Placement Original Expiry

Date Proposed Amended

Expiry Date 15,597,500 $0.35 August 14, 2020 August 14, 2023 August 14, 2025 8,502,977 $0.38 August 14, 2020 August 14, 2023 August 14, 2025 1,200,000 $0.50 September 11, 2020 September 11, 2023 September 11, 2025 9,000,000 $0.75 June 16, 2021 June 16, 2023 June 16, 2026 3,000,000 $0.75 June 21, 2021 June 21, 2023 June 21, 2026

All other terms and conditions of the Warrants will remain the same. In accordance with TSXV policies, warrants issued as compensation to brokers and finders will not be extended. The proposed amendments are subject to TSXV approval.

About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is an exploration and development company with a focus on the identification of world-class mineral deposits in major jurisdictions, advancing them either directly or through joint-venture relationships. Our specific emphasis is on advancing the 100% owned Cerro Las Minitas project, one of the world's largest undeveloped silver-lead-zinc deposits, to a production decision.

Southern Silver has assembled a team of highly experienced technical, operational and transactional professionals to support our efforts in developing (recent robust PEA and updated Mineral Resource) the Cerro Las Minitas project into a premier, high-grade, silver-lead-zinc mine. Our property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project where a diamond drill program is underway and the Hermanas gold-silver vein project where permitting applications for the conduct of a drill program is underway; both are located in southern New Mexico, USA.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Lawrence Page"

Lawrence Page, K.C.

President & Director, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

For further information, please visit Southern Silver's website at southernsilverexploration.com or contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email at ir@mnxltd.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 may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. 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 to the extent required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164259
Alcon innovations featured in approximately 180 abstracts across cataract, glaucoma, refractive, visualization and ocular health 1

New data demonstrates comparable range of vision and intermediate visual acuity between Clareon monofocal IOL and TECNIS Eyhance* monofocal IOL 2

Alcon advances next-generation workflow connectivity, integrating ARGOS Biometer with Image Guidance and newly available NGENUITY 1.53-8

Alcon (SIX/NYSE: ALC), the global leader in eye care dedicated to helping people see brilliantly, will once again have the largest surgical ophthalmic presence at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) 2023 Annual Meeting, taking place May 5-8 in San Diego. The company is proud to have the benefits of its innovations featured in more studies than ever in its history.1 Alcon will showcase product updates that drive efficiencies for ophthalmologists and staff, and host events with surgeons sharing their real-world experiences. Alcon ASCRS event information and registration is available at MyAlconatASCRS.com.

"The pace of innovation happening across eye care is extraordinary, and as the industry leader, we are excited to be leading the charge at ASCRS 2023," said Sergio Duplan, President, North America at Alcon. "As a testament to our commitment to groundbreaking research and innovation, we're excited to have a significant presence at ASCRS that underscores how our products are changing the lives of patients and surgeons alike."

Clinical studies continue to demonstrate benefits of Clareon Collection of intraocular lenses (IOLs). A study from Micheletti et. al. evaluates a head-to-head comparison of distance and intermediate vision of Clareon monofocal IOL and TECNIS Eyhance* monofocal IOL. The study concludes that Clareon monofocal IOLs provided excellent distance and comparable intermediate vision that was non-inferior to TECNIS Eyhance monofocal IOLs.2 Dr. J. Morgan Micheletti will be presenting his full findings on May 6 from 11:09-11:14 a.m., during the "Cataract IOLs-Monofocal/Extended Depth of Focus II session," Upper Level, Room 4.2

Additional data on Alcon IOLs will be presented, including:9-10

Prospective Analysis of PanOptix Satisfaction and Higher Order Aberrations in Patients with Prior Myopic Laser Vision Correction, Presented by Dr. Brett H. Mueller II (May 6, 9:05-9:10 a.m.)

Satisfaction and Higher Order Aberrations in Patients with Prior Myopic Laser Vision Correction, Presented by Dr. Brett H. Mueller II (May 6, 9:05-9:10 a.m.) Evaluation of Refractive Stability and Binocular Visual Acuity in a New Monofocal Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lens, Presented by Dr. Clayton Blehm (May 6, 1:45-1:50)

ARGOS Biometer is now connected to NGENUITY 1.5, enabling surgeons to conduct 3D digital image-guided cataract surgery, increasing workflow efficiency and precision.3-8ARGOS biometry measurements and images can now be imported to NGENUITY 1.5, enabling cataract surgeons to precisely overlay incision location, capsulorhexis, IOL centration and toric alignment.Now available in the U.S., the open-platform NGENUITY 1.5 offers superior visualizationand includes usability, color, contrast and magnification enhancements.4, NGENUITY 1.5 will be featured at Alcon Booth #2111.

Data will be presented at ASCRS demonstrating how surgeons benefit from using ARGOS and NGENUITY in their practices:11-13

Comparison Trial Evaluating Axial Lengths and Predicted Spherical Equivalents of Three Biometers, Presented by Dr. Sam Multack (Electronic Poster)

Comparing Refractive Outcomes of a Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Biometer and an Optical Low Coherence Reflectometry Biometer, Presented by Dr. Clayton G. Blehm (May 6, 3:35-3:40 p.m.)

Development of Phototoxic Maculopathy as a Function of Coaxial Illumination Intensity in Diabetic Patients at the Time of Cataract Surgery, Presented by Lopa S Shah (May 6, 4:20-4:25 p.m.)

New data on the Hydrus Microstent reinforce significant intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction in glaucoma patients with higher baseline IOP compared to those who receive cataract surgery alone.14 Dr. Cathleen McCabe will present these new findings from a randomized, controlled clinical trial on May 6 from 2:27-2:32 p.m. These new findings are derived from the HORIZON 5-year trial resultswhich had previously demonstrated that the Hydrus Microstent offers long-term glaucoma medication reduction and reduction of IOP.14 Surgeons can learn more about the Hydrus Microstent and Alcon pharmaceutical glaucoma products at booth #2111.

Additional data supporting Alcon innovation in cataract glaucoma patients include:15-16

Clinical Outcomes of a Non-Diffractive Extended Depth-of-Focus IOL in Eyes with Glaucoma, Presented by Dr. Tanner J. Ferguson (May 6, 8:00-8:05 a.m.)

Visual Performance of a Trifocal IOL in Subjects with Open-Angle Glaucoma Undergoing Concurrent Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, Presented by Dr. Steven D. Vold (May 6, 1:50-1:55 p.m.)

Evidence supports that phacoemulsification in cataract surgery with CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY allows surgeons to operate at a more physiological IOP with excellent anterior chamber stability and surgical efficiency.17 A study by Vaishali Vasavada showed that rise of IOP to baseline following occlusion break response was faster with ACTIVE SENTRY handpiece as compared to traditional handpiece when using the CENTURION Vision System.17 The full study will be presented on Sunday, May 7 at 1:45 pm.

Additional data on CENTURION with ACTIVE SENTRY include:18-20

Improved Surgical Times Using Active Sentry Hand Piece on the Centurion Cataract System, a Randomized Controlled Trial, Presented by Julio Echegoyen, MD, ABO (On-Demand Electronic Poster, May 5, 8:05-8:10 p.m.)

Surge and Capsule Dynamics during Phacoemulsification using an Adjustable Compliance Mechanical Eye Model, Presented by Dr. Jaime Zacharias (May 7, 4:45-4:50 p.m.)

Evaluation of Early Changes of the Anterior Vitreous Interface after Cataract Surgery, Using Low-Pressure Settings Determined by OCT, Presented by Hugo A. Scarfone, MD; Emilia Carolina C. Rodriguez, MD (May 6, 8:05-8:10 a.m.)

Additional educational opportunities and experiences for surgeons will be available at the Alcon booth #2111. For information on Alcon events and news at ASCRS, please visit MyAlconatASCRS.com.

About Clareon IOLs and Delivery Systems

The family of Clareon intraocular lenses (IOLs) includes the Clareon Aspheric Hydrophobic Acrylic and Clareon Aspheric Toric IOLs, the Clareon PanOptix Trifocal Hydrophobic IOL, Clareon PanOptix Toric, Clareon Vivity Extended Vision Hydrophobic Posterior Chamber IOL and Clareon Vivity Toric IOLs. Each of these IOLs is indicated for visual correction of aphakia in adult patients following cataract surgery. In addition, the Clareon Toric IOLs are indicated to correct pre-existing corneal astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery. The Clareon PanOptix lens mitigates the effects of presbyopia by providing improved intermediate and near visual acuity while maintaining comparable distance visual acuity with a reduced need for eyeglasses, compared to a monofocal IOL. The Clareon Vivity lens mitigates the effects of presbyopia by providing an extended depth of focus. Compared to an aspheric monofocal IOL, the lens provides improved intermediate and near visual acuity while maintaining comparable distance visual acuity. All of these IOLs are intended for placement in the capsular bag. Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting any IOL in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use that accompany each IOL. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Brochure available from Alcon, informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with these IOLs. Reference the Directions for Use labelling for each IOL for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions.

About ARGOS Biometer with Image Guidance

ARGOS is a non-invasive, non-contact biometer based on Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT). The device is intended to acquire ocular measurements as well as perform calculations to determine the appropriate intraocular lens (IOL) power and type for implantation during intraocular lens placement. Please refer to the ARGOS User Manual for a complete description of proper use and maintenance, optical and technical specifications, as well as a complete list of warnings and precautions.

About NGENUITY3D Visualization System

The NGENUITY 3D Visualization System consists of a 3D stereoscopic, high-definition digital video camera and workstation to provide magnified stereoscopic images of objects during micro-surgery. It acts as an adjunct to the surgical microscope during surgery displaying real-time images or images from recordings. Please refer to the User Manual for a complete list of appropriate uses, warnings and precautions.

About Hydrus Microstent

Roughly the size of an eyelash, the Hydrus Microstent is a next-generation MIGS device designed to reduce eye pressure by reestablishing flow through Schlemm's canal, the eye's natural outflow pathway. When placed in the canal during minimally invasive microsurgery, the device restores the flow of fluid in the eye, using a Tri-Modal mechanism of action: the Hydrus Microstent dilates and scaffolds Schlemm's canal to augment outflow of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber. It maintains an opening through the trabecular meshwork from the anterior chamber into Schlemm's canal. Its length spans approximately 90 degrees of the canal to provide consistent access to multiple fluid collector channels in the eye. Approved by the FDA in August 2018 for use in conjunction with cataract surgery, the Hydrus Microstent is one of the most rigorously researched and thoroughly studied MIGS devices.

About CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY

The CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY is indicated for emulsification, separation, irrigation, and aspiration of cataracts, residual cortical material and lens epithelial cells, vitreous aspiration and cutting associated with anterior vitrectomy, bipolar coagulation, and intraocular lens injection. Appropriate use of CENTURION Vision System parameters and accessories is important for successful procedures. Please refer to the CENTURION Operator's Manual for a complete description of proper use and maintenance, as well as a complete list of contraindications, warnings and precautions.

About Alcon

Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye care with a heritage spanning over 75 years, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve people's lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 25,000 associates are enhancing the quality of life through innovative products, partnerships with Eye Care Professionals and programs that advance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.

Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

** Compared to analog microscopes, including the Leica Proveo 8 and Zeiss OPMI LUMERA 700 scopes.

 Specified performance was achieved at maximum system magnification with an aperture setting of 30% open and viewing distance of 1.2 meters.

References

Alcon Data on File. Micheletti JM, Duncan N, Hall B. Head-to-Head Comparison of Intermediate Vision of Two Monofocal Intraocular Lenses. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. NGENUITY 1.5 3D Visualization System User Manual. Berquet F, Henry A, Barbe C, et al. Comparing heads-up versus binocular microscope visualization systems in anterior and posterior segment surgeries: a retrospective study. Ophthalmologica. 2020;243(5):347-354. Alcon Data on File. Mouro-Coelho N, Nascimento J, Henriques J, Medeiros MD. Three-dimensional display systems in ophthalmic surgery a review. European Ophthalmic Review. 2019;13(1):31-36. Tamaoki A, Kojima T, Hasegawa A, et al. Clinical evaluation of a new swept-source optical coherence biometer that uses individual refractive indices to measure axial length in cataract patients. Ophthalmic Res. 2019;19:1-13. Shammas HJ, Ortiz S, Shammas MC, et al. Biometry measurements using a new large-coherence-length swept-source optical coherence tomographer. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2016;42:50-61. Mueller BH, Saenz B, Parkhurst GD, Welburn KR. Prospective Analysis of Panoptix Satisfaction and Higher Order Aberrations in Patients with Prior Myopic Laser Vision Correction. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Blehm Clayton G. Evaluation of Refractive Stability and Binocular Visual Acuity in a New Monofocal Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lens. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Multack Sam. Comparison Trial Evaluating Axial Lengths and Predicted Spherical Equivalents of Three Biometers. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Blehm Clayton G. Comparing Refractive Outcomes of a Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Biometer and an Optical Low Coherence Reflectometry Biometer. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Lopa SS, Rosenberg E. Development of Phototoxic Maculopathy as a Function of Coaxial Illumination Intensity in Diabetic Patients at the Time of Cataract Surgery. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. McCabe Cathleen M. Increase in High Level IOP Reduction with a Schlemm's Canal Microstent: Outcomes from a Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Ferguson TJ, Wilson CW, Shafer BM, Berdahl JP, et al. Clinical Outcomes of a Non-Diffractive Extended Depth-of-Focus IOL in Eyes with Glaucoma. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Vold SD, McFarland MR. Visual Performance of a Trifocal IOL in Subjects with Open-Angle Glaucoma Undergoing Concurrent Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Vasavada V, et. al. Comparison of Intraoperative Performance, Intraocular Pressure and Postoperative Outcomes during Cataract Surgery with Three Fluidic Systems. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Echegoyen Julio. Improved Surgical Times Utilizing Fluidic Analysis at the Eye Level, A Randomized Controlled Trial. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Zacharias J, Berthet N, Orellana D. Surge and Capsule Dynamics during Phacoemulsification using an Adjustable Compliance Mechanical Eye Mode. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Scarfone HA, Rodriguez Emilia CC. Evaluation of Early Changes of the Anterior Vitreous Interface After Cataract Surgery, Using Low-Pressure Settings Determined By OCT. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA.

Disclaimer

This press release contains "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 can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "commitment," "look forward," "maintain," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks that are difficult to predict. Some of these factors are discussed in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. Should one or more of these uncertainties or risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of its filing, and we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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HERZLIYA, Israel and CALGARY, AB, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Innocan Pharma Corporation (CSE: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (OTCQB: INNPF) (the "Company" or "Innocan") is pleased to announce the entering into of a wide-scope commercial distribution agreement with UAB Medexy ("UAB Medexy") (the "Distribution Agreement").





As part of the multi-year Distribution Agreement, UAB Medexy has an exclusive right to distribute both of Innocan's SHIR and RELIEF&GO brands in Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia, based on an agreed purchase forecast.

UAB Medexy's first order under the Distribution Agreement is for over 5000 units of SHIR and RELIEF&GO products.

UAB Medexy has a reputation as a key Eastern European player in the import and distribution of cosmetic products and medical devices. It has been very active in the Lithuanian dermo-cosmetics market for the past 17 years, positioning it as one of the major players in its industry.

The CBD skin care market is estimated to reach USD 10,376.4 M by 2028, according to CBD skin care Market | Global Sales Analysis Report - 2028 (futuremarketinsights.com). Innocan Pharma and SHIR/ RELIEF&GO will now be stepping-up to become market leaders in many European countries.

"We are very excited to distribute Innocan Pharma's products", Vidmantas Lozys, UAB Medexy CEO, "We firmly believe that SHIR Facial Care will be very well received by our customers, and we assume that this will be an exemplary success story for everyone involved."

Iris Bincovich, CEO of InnoCan stated that "We are humbled to have a leading European market leader such as UAB Medexy as our market-partner in Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia. This new business will complement both Innocan's exponential growth strategy and UAB Medexy Health and Beauty market strategy."

About UAB Medexy

As a European market leader in the last 17 years UAB Medexy has built its reputation as a key eastern European player in the import and distribution of cosmetic and medical devices. It is the leading supplier in the Sales Channels Pharmacies, leading Online Skin Platforms, Beauty Clinics and Spas. UAB Medexy reached this leadership position through its Key Values: very professional customer service and knowledge transfer, reliability by focusing on quality and trust and its team through consistent enthusiastic professional who represent the company long-term and love their job.

About Innocan

Innocan is a pharmaceutical tech company that operates under two main segments: Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Wellness. In the Pharmaceuticals segment, Innocan focuses on developing innovative drug delivery platform technologies comprises with cannabinoids science, to treat various conditions to improve patients' quality of life. This segment involves two drug delivery technologies: (i) LPT CBD- loaded liposome platform facilitating exact dosing and the prolonged and controlled release of CBD into the blood stream. The LPT delivery platform research is in the preclinical trial phase for two indications: Epilepsy and Pain Management. (ii) CLX CBD-loaded exosomes platform that may hold the potential to provide a highly synergistic effect of regenerating and anti- inflammatory properties targeting the Central Nervous System (CNS). In the Consumer Wellness segment, Innocan develops and markets a wide portfolio of innovative and high-performance self-care products to promote a healthier lifestyle. Under this segment Innocan has established a Joint Venture by the name of BI Sky Global Ltd. that focuses developing on advanced targeted online sales. https://innocanpharma.com/

For further information, please contact:

For Innocan Pharma Corporation:

Iris Bincovich, CEO

+1-516-210-4025

+972-54-3012842

+442037699377

info@innocanpharma.com

Dr. Eva Reuter

Investment Relation- Germany

+46-69-1532-5857

e.reuter@dr-reuter.eu

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding the Distribution Agreement and sales of Innocan's products thereunder, research and development, collaborations, the filing of potential applications with the FDA and other regulatory authorities, the potential achievement of future regulatory milestones, the potential for treatment of conditions and other therapeutic effects resulting from research activities and/or the Company's products, requisite regulatory approvals and the timing for market entry, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Innocan's control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Innocan, including expectations and assumptions concerning the anticipated benefits of the products, satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions and satisfactory completion of requisite production and distribution arrangements.

Forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: general global and local (national) economic, market and business conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities; and relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, business partners and competitors. There are also risks that are inherent in the nature of product distribution, including import / export matters and the failure to obtain any required regulatory and other approvals (or to do so in a timely manner) and availability in each market of product inputs and finished products. The anticipated timeline for entry to markets may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary regulatory requirements, or the need for additional time to conclude and/or satisfy the manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this news release concerning the timing of launch of product distribution. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Innocan can also be found in Innocan's public reports and filings which are available under Innocan's profile at www.sedar.com .

Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. Innocan does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2066969/SHIR.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2046271/Innocan_Pharma_Corporation_Logo.jpg





View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/innocan-pharma-announces-5000-units-sale-and-expansion-to-lithuania-latvia--estonia-markets-301812095.html
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - RIWI Corp. (TSXV: RIWI) (OTC Pink: RWCRF) (the "Company" or "RIWI"), a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm, confirms that it will be unable to file its annual financial statements, management discussion and analysis and related CEO and CFO certificates for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "Required Filings") which are required to be filed on or before May 1, 2023 (the "Filing Deadline").

Further, the Company has received notice from the Ontario Securities Commission that its request for a management cease trade order to be imposed to restrict trading in the Company's securities by the CEO, CFO and directors of the Company, as opposed to a general cease trade order, which would restrict all trading in the Company's securities, has been denied.

The Company will be unable to complete the Required Filings by the Filing Deadline due to delays in audit process arising from the complexities associated with the acquisition by the Company of Research on Mobile which was completed on July 1, 2022. Upon completion of the audit process, the Company will immediately remedy the default and file the Required Filings.

In addition, the appointment of Travis Campbell as CFO has been delayed until RIWI officially releases the Required Filings.

About RIWI

RIWI is a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm. On a monthly or annual subscription basis, RIWI offers its clients tracking surveys, continuous risk monitoring, predictive analytics and ad effectiveness tests in all countries - without collecting any personally identifiable data. https://riwi.com

RIWI CORP.

Signed: "Greg Wong"

Greg Wong, Chief Executive Officer

For more information, please contact investors@riwi.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.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

Information and statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involves risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information included herein is made as of the date of this news release and RIWI does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update forward-looking information unless required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and reflects management of the Company's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. This forward-looking information is based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164441
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - ZEB Nickel Corp. (TSXV: ZBNI) (OTCQB: ZBNIF) ("Zeb" or the "Company") announces that as a result of a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission of the Company's press release dated March 15, 2022 and certain other disclosures, the Company is issuing this press release to clarify and retract certain disclosures with respect to the Company's Zebediela nickel project (the "Project" or the "Zeb Project").

In the aforementioned press release it referred to an "existing" preliminary economic estimate on the Project. In addition, the Company has also made disclosures of a mineral resource estimate on nickel mineralization in the Lower Zone Uitloop II body at the Project (the "Historical Resource Estimate") that was completed by MSA Geoservices (Pty) Ltd (MSA) in March 2012 that did not fully comply with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101.

The Company clarifies that the press release was referring to the Historical PEA and not to any subsequent economic assessment. The Zeb Project property does not contain a current mineral resource estimate and there is no preliminary economic estimate. In addition, the following disclosure is provided with respect to the Historical Resource Estimate. The Historical Resource Estimate used categories that conformed to CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM, 2010) at the time of completion of the Historical Resource Estimate. The Historical Resource Estimate has an effective date of March 31, 2012 and estimated an Indicated Resource of 485.4 million tonnes averaging 0.245% Ni, with an additional Inferred Resource of 1,115.1 million tonnes at 0.248% Ni, using a cut-off grade of 0.1% TNi (Total Nickel). The Historical Resource Estimate used a nickel price of US$8.50 per pound or US$18,739.00 per ton. The mineral resources were quoted as TNi and were restricted to mineralization in the "Sulphide Zone". They were stated as in-situ with no geological losses applied. The mineralization in the Uitloop II body was constrained by a TNi grade-derived envelope. Although the intrusive body is largely coincident with this, there is no uniform geological control on the mineralization across the body.

Additional drilling was determined to be required to further investigate the morphology of the mineralized envelope and to in-fill sparsely-drilled areas. The Company's drill program planned for 2023 is intended to determine a current estimate of mineral resources on the Zeb Project and the extent to which the Historical Resource Estimate may be considered current. The Historical Resource Estimate is not supported by a compliant NI 43-101 technical report, and the Historical Resource Estimate should not be relied on until it has been verified and supported by a compliant NI 43-101 technical report.

No qualified person has done sufficient work to classify any of the Historical Resource Estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the Company is not treating the Historical Resource Estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Investors are cautioned that the Historical Resource Estimate does not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Zeb Project.

Richard Montjoie has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical contained in this press release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Montjoie is the CEO & VP Exploration of the Company and is not, therefore, independent of the Company. Mr. Montjoie is a registered member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) membership number 400131/09. Mr. Montjoie holds a M.Sc. Honors in Economic Geology from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and is fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA).

About the Company and Project

Zeb Nickel Corp is focused on exploring for and developing world-class mineral deposits, with a focus on metals that are critical in the production of rechargeable batteries, such as nickel, graphite, lithium, cobalt, manganese, copper and aluminum. The Company is currently focused on developing its flagship Zeb Nickel Project, located in Limpopo, South Africa. The Zeb Nickel Project is a developing Class 1 nickel sulfide project strategically located in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

James Nieuwenhuys

Non-executive Chairman,

Zeb Nickel Corp.

Email: info@zebnickel.com

Company Website: www.zebnickel.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, drill results relating to the Zeb Project, the potential thereof, timing of economic studies and mineral resource estimates, the ability to sell marketable materials, strategic plans, including future exploration and development results, and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals, the future demand for metals, the results of drilling, inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the property, environmental liabilities (known and unknown), general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, results of exploration programs, risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals, and the impact of COVID-19 related disruptions in relation to the Company's business operations including upon its employees, suppliers, facilities and other stakeholders. 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 information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. 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, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164439
Morgan Health, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) business unit focused on improving the quality, equity and affordability of employer-sponsored health care, made a $25M investment in Kindbody, a NYC-based fertility clinic network and global family-building benefits provider.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Dr. Cheryl Pegus, a Managing Director with Morgan Health Ventures, will join Kindbodys Board of Directors.

Founded in late 2018 and led by Gina Bartasi, Chairwoman, Kindbody is a fertility clinic network and global family-building benefits provider for employers offering the full-spectrum of reproductive care from preconception to postpartum through menopause.

It currently is the fertility benefits provider for 112 large employers, covering more than 2.4 million lives. The companys clients span virtually every industry and include Walmart, Medtronic, Lyft and GEICO. Kindbody serves patients at 32 signature clinics and hundreds of partner clinics in the U.S. Its clinically-managed program covers the full-spectrum of reproductive health, including both female and male fertility, which encompasses fertility assessments and education, fertility preservation, genetic testing, in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor and surrogacy services, and adoption, as well as a full continuum of reproductive care including physical, mental and emotional support.

The company has raised $315M in funding from leading investors including Perceptive Advisors, Morgan Health, GV (formerly Google Ventures), RRE Ventures, Claritas Health Ventures, Rock Springs Capital, NFP Ventures, Whatif Ventures and TQ Ventures.

FinSMEs

01/05/2023
Horizon Capital, a U.S. private-equity firm investing primarily in fast-growing tech and export-oriented companies in Ukraine, announced that its latest fund, Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV has reached $254 million at its Interim Closing.

The fund received support from the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Societe de Promotion et de Participation pour la Cooperation Economique, as well as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Swedfund International, Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation, and Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries. They joined existing investors, including Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) and a subsidiary of KfW Group, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, and the Zero Gap Fund, an impact investing collaboration between The Rockefeller Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The vehicle will consider investment opportunities in high-growth, high-impact tech and export-oriented companies, including light manufacturing, food processing, innovative consumer goods, fintech and more. Fund investments are expected to contribute to Ukraines ongoing resilience, including supporting growth and job creation, expanding the tax base, increasing availability of capital for SMEs, and promoting gender equality.

Led by Lenna Koszarny, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Horizon Capital is a private equity firm with $1.4 billion in assets, raising over $700 million in growth capital to back visionary entrepreneurs from Ukraine and Moldova in just over 5 years.

Horizon Capital-managed funds have invested in over 160 companies employing more than 77,000 people in the Region.

FinSMEs

01/05/2023
With the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rules coming into effect today, businesses with over Rs 100 Cr turnover must upload their electronic invoices on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) within 7 days of the issue of such invoice with effect from May 1, GST Network has said.

According to the new rules, such businesses will have to upload on IRP within seven days of the issue of the invoice. The move came in response to the current rules that allowed businesses to upload such invoices on IRP on the current date, irrespective of the date of issue.

To ensure timely compliance, taxpayers in this category will not be allowed to report invoices older than 7 days on the date of reporting. In order to provide sufficient time for taxpayers to comply with this requirement, this new format would be implemented from May 1, 2023, GSTN said in a statement.

This restriction will apply to invoices, and there will be no time restriction on reporting debit/credit notes, it added.

The GSTN further said that an invoice has a date of April 1, 2023. It cannot be reported after April 8, 2023. The validation system built into the invoice registration portal will disallow the user from reporting the invoice after the 7-day window. Hence, it is essential for taxpayers to ensure that they report the invoice within the 7-day window provided by the new time limit, the GSTN said.

AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said this technological change would arrest backdating of e-invoices by large companies. After successfully implementing this for large taxpayers, the government is expected to roll out these changes for all taxpayers in a phased manner, Mohan told PTI.

EY Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal told PTI that implementation of timelines for reporting invoices on IRP would help in administering compliances and is another great move towards digitalisation.

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Actor Sonam Kapoor is all is set to share the stage with global icons such as Lionel Richie and Katy Perry and at the grand Coronation Concert planned for King Charles III in May. The 74-year-old royal will be formally crowned as monarch along with his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6 and millions are expected to join in the celebrations over a long holiday weekend. But why of all Indian celebrities, Sonam Kapoor got invited for King Charles coronation when she is hardly given any importance to any big Indian event. Some social media user even asked whether she will be getting the Kohinoor back? We understand that she resides in UK, but is that a good enough reason?

In fact, Sonam Kapoor was brutally trolled on social media. Sonam Kapoor, who is currently busy with her parenting duties with her son Vayu, has been invited to King Charles Coronation Concert. This will mark Sonams first royal event which will also see guests like Tom Cruise, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, and other prominent global celebrities. Sonam Kapoor is currently residing in London with her businessman husband Anand Ahuja.

The concert is all set to take place at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6. King Charles will be joined by his wife Queen Consort Camilla as the former will be officially crowned as monarch. Read on for more. According to reports, Sonam will be performing a spoken word at the royal event. Expressing her happiness, the actress in a statement shared, Its a momentous occasion that signifies a commitment to a positive, inclusive, and optimistic future for the United Kingdom, with the Choirs music paying tribute to the royal legacy and promoting unity, peace, and joy. Sonam has been absent from the screen after giving birth to her son in August 2020.

Sonam Kapoor to perform at King Charles IIIs Coronation Concert in London

King Charles IIIs Coronation Concert will include performances from several icons from around the world, including Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor, Hollywood star Tom Cruise, Winnie The Pooh, as well as Nicole Scherzinger, the frontwoman of American girl group The Pussycat Dolls. A report in Variety stated that Sonam Kapoor will appear on stage at the Coronation Concert to deliver a spoken word performance to introduce the Commonwealth virtual choir. Sonam Kapoor lives in London with her hubby Anand Ahuja and their baby boy Vayu.

Apart from this, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie are also on the guest list. This will mark Sonam Kapoors first royal appearance. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise was also a guest at Princess Dianas funeral in 1997. Pussycat Dolls lead Nicole Scherzinger attended the Queen Elizabeths Jubilee Pageant last year.

Social media users reaction to Sonam Kapoors invitation at Charles IIIs coronation

One of the users quipped, What did King Charles do to deserve this.. Another mentioned, I think Sonam should be paying Charles for watching her performance.

One user asserted, As a trained Kathak dancer, @sonamakapoors performance is abysmal & England shouldve asked someone who is a prolific dancer to perform at the coronation. This is why nepotism is impugned. King Charles & #SonamKapoor are perpetual nepo babies who have very little to offer.

The next one shared, After watching Sonam Kapoor perform, pretty sure King Charles will wish his ancestors hadnt colonised India. Fair punishment, I say. One user added, Ussey Achcha ranu mondal ko invite kar leta

An individual asked, Bhai ye kohinoor le ayigi kya nikal ke waha se? And, another user concluded, Why? Isko india me koi nahi bulata.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Prince Harry could be facing uniform humiliation at King Charles IIIs coronation as he may not be allowed to wear military garb. The Duke of Sussex did announce that he will be attending the historic coronation on May 6  but he will be alone as Meghan and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will remain at home in California. Now royal commentators are considering what the prince will be wearing and whether he will even be allowed to fit within the processions to Westminster Abbey.

Military Historian Dr Peter Johnston told True Royalty TVs The Royal Beat that Harry may be allowed to display a different tribute to his service despite serving two tours in Afghanistan. I imagine Harry wont wear uniform at the Coronation, he said.

Even as a veteran who did two tours in Afghanistan, he wont wear uniform. I imagine hell wear his medals but quite where he fits within the procession and where he comes, I think will be probably reasonably similar to where he was at the funeral as well.

Instead, he may have his own tribute to his royal father by wearing his medals, the Express reported. Dr Johnson said: I imagine Harry wont wear uniform at the coronation. Even as a veteran who did two tours in Afghanistan, he wont wear uniform.

Harry not playing a leading part at the Charles coronation procession

Discussing Harrys role in the procession, the historical expert added that he will be a part of it, but not necessarily, a leading part of it. Prince Harry is said to be making only a brief visit to the UK for the coronation as he will reportedly skip royal events after the day  including a musical performance on May 7  to be with his family in America.

During the late Queen Elizabeths funeral, the Duke of Sussex walked alongside brother William who followed behind King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Meghan will not be at King Charles IIIs Coronation

Recently, Harry and Meghans celebrity friend Gayle King declared they are in a really good place and have made the best decision for Meghan to stay in the US while Harry attends the Coronation in London.

Ms King has said it is right that Harry will fly to the UK for May 6, missing Archies fourth birthday, because he will be supporting his father in Westminster Abbey on the biggest day of his life. It came as Meghan signed a mega-money deal with a talent agency representing Dwayne The Rock Johnson, LeBron James and Serena Williams that will earn her tens of millions of dollars and heralds the start of her very public comeback.

Without the support of his spouse, Harry risks being left exposed to hostile family members one author claimed. Royal author Tessa Dunlop told OK! magazine she had studied footage of Harry helping Meghan into the car when he came out of St. Georges Chapel following the Queens funeral. He just wasnt a man who was comfortable in his skin. And this time hes coming over without the support of Meghan.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Qabil Ashirov

Turkiye, one of the 20 biggest economies in the world, has tried its best to be independent of foreign energy or at least to reduce its dependency. However, the rapid increase in population and fast economic growth made it tough for the Turkish authorities. Due to dependency on energy, Turkish foreign trade turnover resulted in a negative trade balance which in turn affected the whole Turkish economy, especially the Turkish national currency Lira.

Despite many efforts since a long time in Turkiye, this issue has not been succeeded until Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who made miracles in the Turkish economy by increasing its GDP 4 times over 20 years; and today, it is much more determined to overcome the issue.

It is observed that the process of being independent in energy has been accelerated much more this month, especially before the election. In the ranks of its domestic energy, so to speak, Turkiye has witnessed historical moments in April, first-up with the commissioning of Gas found in the Black Sea, and later with the first fuel delivery for Akkuyu Nuclear Plant.

The history of Turkish nuclear activities dates to the 1950s. Turkiye tried to construct its first NPP in the 1970s in Akkuyu and even got a license for it, but unfortunately, this project failed. Electricity consumption is predicted to increase to 380.2 TWh in 2025, 455.3 TWh in 2030, and 510.5 TWh in 2035 in Turkiye and since NPPs generate electricity continuously regardless of weather conditions and their capacity factor is around 90 percent the Akkuyu project restarted under AKP government.

The decisive activities of AKP were hailed in the region and Turkiye, but at the same time, it caused discussions about impacts on the Turkish economy, ecology, and society. Speaking to Azernews, Turkish economist Yusuf Dinc noted that from a point of social view, the building and operation of NPPs can generate employment and investment opportunities in the area. Due to the specialized nature of the work required for constructing and maintaining NPPs, higher salaries, and benefits may be offered, thus having a positive impact on the local economy.

As for ecology, fossil fuels are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. However, NPPs produce virtually no air-polluting or greenhouse gases, making them one of the few energy production methods with minimal environmental impact. Given Turkiye's environmental challenges, such as increasing CO2 emissions, NPPs could be a viable solution to address issues like climate change, Yusuf Dinc said.

He also pointed out that the rise in global warming has led countries to seek alternative methods to produce electricity that have a lower carbon footprint. As a result, there has been a shift towards reducing the use of oil and increasing the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity. This is because nuclear energy is a cleaner and more efficient source of energy compared to fossil fuels.

Additionally, nuclear power plants produce a significantly smaller amount of carbon emissions compared to other forms of power generation, making them an attractive option for countries looking to reduce their carbon footprint and combat climate change. Therefore, NPPs must be viewed as one part of a larger energy strategy, which also includes energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, the economist emphasized.

Touching upon negative impacts on Turkiyes ecology, Y.Dinc pointed out that despite the potential benefits of nuclear power, there are also significant challenges.

There are serious environmental risks associated with nuclear power, including the potential for radiation leaks and contamination that can harm both the natural environment and the health of local communities. Furthermore, nuclear energy production creates radioactive waste that must be safely stored and disposed of for thousands of years. Finally, the vulnerability of NPPs to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis is also a significant concern, particularly given that the Akkuyu site is located in an active earthquake zone in the Mediterranean region, further raising concerns about the potential ecological impact of nuclear power in Turkiye, the expert said.

However, he also emphasised relative institutions and organisations of Turkiye, which are concerned about the above issues, and have taken relative preventive measures relating to it.

As for its impacts on the Turkish economy, he said that NPPs can provide a stable and secure energy source for Turkiye, decreasing the country's dependency on imported oil and natural gas. According to Dinc, this, in turn, can improve energy supply security and, ultimately, the security of the nation. Furthermore, nuclear energy is expected to account for 20 percent of total energy consumption by 2030 in Turkiye, the expert said, adding that currently, there is only one nuclear power plant - the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is being built by Rosatom and is projected to become operational in 2023.

This plant will have a capacity of 4.8 GW and is estimated to meet 10% of Turkiye 's electricity needs. The Turkish Energy Model is utilized to make new investment decisions aimed at reducing the total system cost and determining the use of resources. It is expected that the total installed capacity of NPPs in Turkiye's energy system will increase to 7.2 GW by 2035. While NPPs can help meet Turkiye's energy demands, they will not necessarily reduce the overall energy demand. In fact, the demand for energy is likely to continue to grow as the country's economy continues to expand, he said.

He noted that under this NPPs project, Turkiye plans to build four nuclear reactors in order to diversify its energy sources. The implementation of these NPPs will allow Turkiye to reduce its natural gas imports by $1.5bn from just the first reactor and by $10bn from all reactors combined. The noteworthy point is that Turkiye has guaranteed to purchase 50 percent of the electricity produced by the reactors at a lower cost than the market price70 percent from the first two reactors and 30 percent from the remaining two reactors.

The construction and operation of NPPs in Turkiye must be viewed through a balanced lens, considering both the benefits and the potential negative impacts. While NPPs can provide a reliable and secure source of energy and create job opportunities, they can also be expensive and have negative environmental and societal impacts. However, it is worth mentioning that the strategic and careful measures taken by the government will help to mitigate all the possible challenges regarding the establishment of NPPs in Turkiye. Nonetheless, as part of the long-run plan, it is crucial that Turkiye carefully considers its energy needs and explores a variety of options, including energy efficiency and renewable energy, in addition to NPPs, to ensure a sustainable energy future, he concluded.
"......My passion for nation-building has fuelled my desire to seek this office at this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation," he said.

Alhassan Doguwa, a lawmaker from Kano State, currently facing murder trial, has thrown his hat into the ring for the 10th House of Representatives speakership.

Mr Doguwa, who represents Doguwa/Tundun Wada federal constituency of Kano State, announced his entry into the race in a letter of intent sent to members-elect on Sunday.

"I want to use this opportunity to communicate my desire to contest for the office of the Speaker of the House. My passion for nation-building has fuelled my desire to seek this office at this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation," he wrote.

Murder trial

Mr Doguwa was detained over alleged complicity in the murder of three members of his constituency a few months ago.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police in Kano arrested and charged the lawmaker, alongside others, for criminal conspiracy, and culpable homicide.

He was also charged with causing grievous hurt, mischief by fire, and inciting disturbance.

The police prosecutor told the court that Mr Doguwa allegedly committed the offence on 26 February at the Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano State.

The judge, Yunusa Muhammad, granted him bail in the sum of N500m, with the condition that the suspect must provide two sureties, one of which shall be a first-class traditional ruler while the other must be a permanent secretary at the federal or state civil service.

The lawmaker was involved in a violent confrontation between members of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that led to the killing of three people and the burning of a campaign office of the opposition party in Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano.

Speakership race

Mr Doguwa, who is the Majority Leader of the House, is the latest aspirant to declare interest in the position.

He will be competing against Deputy Speaker Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), Muktar Betara (APC, Borno) Tunji Olawuyi (APC, Kwara) and Abubakar Makki (APC, Jigawa) have all declared interest.

Others are Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna), Aminu Jaji (APC, Zamfara), Ben Kalu (APC, Abia), and Miriam Onuoha (APC, Imo).

Read the letter in full

LETTER OF INTENT

My Dear Colleague,

I am delighted to congratulate you on your election to the 10th Nigerian National Assembly. The call to leadership is one laced with responsibilities and unalloyed commitment to the commonwealth of Nigerians, expressed through a unanimous ballot casting which led to your victories in your various States, The journey to nation-building has commenced, and we are here once again to steer the ship where the collective voices of the Nigerian people, whose trust has been vested in us, have been total to an admirable end.\

I want to use this opportunity to communicate my desire to contest for the office of the Speaker of the House. My passion for nation-building has fueled my desire to seek this office at this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation.

Now is the time to align all our interests, aspirations, and trust to work together for the common good of Nigerians. At the same time, discard ethnic, geographical, religious, or political bias that could hinder our collective efforts in this representation. As we look forward to formulating impactful policies for the growth of our nation, I implore us all to bear in mind that all back home will see the results of our stay at the Assembly, thus the need to come together to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The road to national transformation is not easy, which is why I will use my vast "Legislative Experience and Patriotic Zeal" for all representations within the House of Representatives.

Nigeria needs brave leaders whose doggedness can help reduce the myriad of challenges; I am sure we can achieve this with you on board,

Thank you, and congratulations again, as I look forward to seeing you at the National Assembly.

Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa

Majority Leader - House of Representatives
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tells the makers, It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story. The Kerala Story has become a topic for discussion around the numbers being exaggerated in the trailer of the film.

Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film is all set to hit the theatres on May 5, 2023.The Kerala Story stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles.

The trailer of Sens film The Kerala Story came under fire as it claimed that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, ISIS. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly VD Satheesan recently said that the film The Kerala Story should not be granted permission for screening.

The film The Kerala Story which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala converted and became members of the Islamic State, should not be granted permission for screening. The trailer clearly shows what the film intends to say, Satheesan said in a Facebook post.

He also alleged that the film is part of an attempt to implement Sangh Parivars agenda and create a social divide by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups.

The Kerala Story an attempt to spread hate propaganda, says Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the upcoming movie The Kerala Story was a product of the Sangh Parivars factory of lies. He said legal action would be taken against those involving themselves in antisocial activities.

A glance at the trailer gives the impression that the movie was deliberately produced with the aim of communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against Kerala. By placing Kerala, the land of secularism, as the centre of religious extremism, it is repeating the Sangh Parivars propaganda. Propaganda films and the othering of Muslims should be viewed in the context of various efforts made by the Sangh Parivar to gain an advantage in electoral politics in Kerala, Mr. Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

The statement comes at a time when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and their youth organisations have all opposed the movie in a united voice.

What is The Kerala Story about?

According to an interview in Times of India, the producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah says, The Kerala Story is based on a true story about a girl who got converted and was going to Syria. On the way, she realized that it was a mistake and she escaped. Today, she is in an Afghanistan jail. There are many girls in Afghanistan jails. At least four are on record. So, thats how we got to know about this story and then we started our research and found that there are many more.

Finally, the film is a story of three such girls who fell victim to manipulative conversion and their lives were practically destroyed. This compelled me to narrate this story. Because when we were doing our research, we realized that the number is extremely large. We must have met more than 100 girls at least. We realized that its a big issue and we need to be clear about it. We need to tell the story with full honesty and absolute truth.

The Congress urged the Kerala government not to give permission to screen the controversial movie The Kerala Story, as it aimed to create communal divisions in society through false claims.

According to the filmmakers, The Kerala Story, written and directed by Sudipto Sen, unearths the events behind approximately 32,000 women going missing in the southern state who have allegedly converted, radicalised and deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

True that while most would shy away from the subject, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah was determined to bring this horrifying tale to the big screen backed by 4 years of extensive and thorough research. Director Sudipto Sen travelled to the state and even to the Arab countries , met with the locals and families of the victims and was shocked with the findings. In his earlier statement Vipul shared I was in tears in the first narration meeting itself.

But how true is the story we will have to wait and watch as the film releases on 5th May

(With inputs from agencies)

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Phoenix: Paramedics summoned to an Arizona retirement community last summer found an 80-year-old woman slumped inside her mobile home, enveloped in the suffocating 99-degree (37 degrees Celsius) heat she suffered for days after her air conditioner broke down. Efforts to revive her failed, and her death was ruled environmental heat exposure aggravated by heart disease and diabetes.

In Americas hottest big metro, older people like the Sun Lakes mobile home resident accounted for most of the 77 people who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes, almost all without air conditioning.

Now, the heat dangers long known in greater Phoenix are becoming familiar nationwide as global warming creates new challenges to protect the aged.

From the Pacific Northwest to Chicago to North Carolina, health clinics, utilities and local governments are being tested to keep older people safe when temperatures soar.

Theyre adopting rules for disconnecting electricity, mandating when to switch on communal air conditioning and improving communication with at-risk people living alone.

Situated in the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix and its suburbs are ground zero for heat-associated deaths in the US. Such fatalities are so common that Arizonas largest county keeps a weekly online tally during the six-month hot season from May through October. Temperatures this year were already hitting the high 90s the first week of April.

A warming world

Phoenix really is the model for what well be seeing in other places, said researcher Jennifer Ailshire, a native of the desert city now at the University of Southern Californias Leonard Davis School of Gerontology where she studies how environmental factors affect health and aging. The world is changing rapidly and I fear we are not acting fast enough to teach people how harmful rising temperatures can be.

A 2021 study estimated more than a third of US heat deaths each year can be attributed to human-caused global warming. It found more than 1,100 deaths a year from climate change-caused heat in some 200 US cities, many in the East and Midwest, where people often dont have air conditioning or are not acclimated to hot weather.

Another study showed that in coming decades dangerous heat will hit much of the world at least three times as hard as climate change worsens.

Isolated and vulnerable, the heat victims last year during Maricopa Countys deadliest summer on record included a couple in their 80s without known relatives, an 83-year-old woman with dementia living alone after her husband entered hospice care and a 62-year-old Rwandan refugee whose air conditioner broke down.

While most of the countys confirmed 378 heat-associated deaths were outdoors, those who died indoors were especially vulnerable because of isolation, mobility issues or medical problems as outside summertime highs hit 115 degrees (46.1 C).

Older people of colour, with a greater tendency for chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are especially at risk.

In Chicago, three African American women in their 60s and 70s died in spring 2022 when the centrally controlled heating in their housing complex remained on and the air conditioning was off despite unseasonable 90-degree weather in mid-May.

An undetermined number of older people died during the summer of 2021 when an unexpected heat wave swept across the US Pacific Northwest. Canada reported that coroners confirmed more than 600 people died from the heat in neighbouring British Columbia.

Checking on the older people

Many US cities, including Phoenix, have plans to protect people during heat waves, opening cooling centres and distributing bottled water.

But many older people need personalised attention, said Dr Aaron Bernstein, who directs the Centre for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health.

If you are elderly and sick you are unlikely to get into an Uber or bus to get to a cooling centre, said Bernstein, who vividly recalls a 1995 heat wave that killed 739 mostly older people in Chicago, his hometown. So many were socially isolated and at tremendous risk.

Sociologist Eric M Klinenberg, who wrote about the catastrophe in his book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, has noted social contacts can protect older people during disasters.

Older people are more prone to live alone, he said, and they are the most likely to die.

Thats true of all extreme weather.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana in 2005, around half of the 1,000 people killed were 75 or older, most of them drowned when their homes flooded.

Chicago encourages residents to check on older relatives and neighbours on hot days and city workers visit peoples home. But last years deaths at a Chicago apartment house shows more is needed.

Community health clinics can help

Bernsteins centre is working with relief organisation Americares to help community health clinics prepare vulnerable patients for heat waves and other extreme weather.

A climate resilience tool kit includes tips like making sure patients have wall thermometers and know how to check weather forecasts on a smart phone. Patients learn simple ways to beat the heat, like taking a shower or sponge bath to cool off and drinking plenty of water.

Alexis Hodges, a family nurse practitioner at the Community Care Clinic of Dare in coastal North Carolina, said rising temperatures can cause renal failure in patients with kidney problems and exacerbate dehydration from medications like diuretics.

Hodges contributed to the climate kit from a region that experiences all the weather events it covers: extreme heat, hurricanes, flooding and wildfires.

At the nonprofit Mountain Park Health centres that annually serve 100,000 patients in greater Phoenix, nurse practitioner Anthony Carano has written numerous letters to utility companies for low-income patients with chronic conditions, asking them not to turn off power despite missed payments.

This is such an at-risk population, Carano said of the overwhelmingly Latino patient population that suffer from diabetes and other ailments aggravated by warm weather. About one-tenth of the patients are 60 and older.

Francisca Canes, a 77-year-old patient visiting for back pain, said shes fortunate to live with two daughters who take care of her during hot spells. In the summertime, she stays in shape by joining several women friends at 4 am most mornings for a four-mile (6.4 kilometres) walk.

Air conditioner replacement and repair

Maricopa County in April used federal funds to allocate another $10 million (Rs 81.72 crore) to its air conditioner replacement and repair program for people who qualify, brining total funding to $13.65 million (Rs 111 crore). In greater Phoenix and several rural Arizona counties, older low-income people can apply for free repair or replacement of air conditioners through a separate non-profit program.

The Healthy Homes Air Conditioning Program run by the nonprofit Foundation for Senior Living last summer ensured about 30 people got new air conditioners or repairs and helped others with home improvements.

Priority goes to older people, those with disabilities and families with very small children, who are also vulnerable to the heat. A person living alone must earn $27,180 (Rs 22.21 lakh) or less, said Laura Simone, program coordinator for FSL Home Improvements.

The program recently installed energy efficient windows in the 1930s home of 81-year-old widow Socorro Silvas.

I am so grateful they are taking care of low-income people like me, said Silvas, who got her air conditioner in the middle of a sweltering summer several years ago through a program run by Tolleson, a suburb west of Phoenix.

Utility companies can also help protect vulnerable people by halting power disconnections during hot periods.

In Arizona, air conditioning is a matter of life and death, especially if you are older, said Dana Kennedy, the state director of AARP, which has fought for stricter regulations preventing summertime power cutoffs.

Stricter regulations

New rules for Arizona utilities were adopted after 72-year-old Stephanie Pullman died in August 2018 at her Phoenix area home as outside temperatures reached 107 degrees (41.6 Celsius).

The medical examiners office said Pullman died from environmental heat exposure combined with cardiovascular disease after her power was shut off over a $176.84 (Rs 14,452) debt.

The Arizona agency that regulates utilities now bans electricity cutoffs for nonpayment during the hottest months.

After the three Chicago women died last year, residential buildings for older people in the city now must provide air-conditioned common areas and administrators no longer have to keep centrally controlled heat on during unseasonably warm weather.

The Illinois state Senate recently passed legislation requiring that all affordable housing have air-conditioning operating when the temperature is 80 degrees (26.6 C) or higher and must be operable by residents.

Kennedy said mobile homes are especially dangerous as high temperatures transform them into a hot metal containers.

A lot are not insulated, said Kennedy, who has advised an Arizona State University group working to make mobile homes safer with more surrounding shade and on-site cooling centres. These heat deaths truly are heartbreaking. But in many cases we can help prevent them.

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Shortages of drugs like Adderall are growing in the United States, and experts see no clear path to resolving them. For patients, that can mean treatment delays, medication switches and other hassles in filling a prescription.

In recent months, unexpected demand spikes, manufacturing problems and tight ingredient supplies have contributed to shortages that stress patients, parents and doctors.

For some drugs, such as stimulants that treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), several factors fuelled a shortage and make it hard to predict when it will end.

Shortages, particularly of generic drugs, have been a longstanding problem. The industry has consolidated and some manufacturers have little incentive to solve shortages because cheap generics generate thin profits.

Heres a deeper look at the issue.

How many drug shortages are there?

There were 301 active national drug shortages through this years first quarter, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Thats 49 per cent higher than the 202 recorded in the first three months of 2018.

Patients dont feel all drug shortages because doctors may be able to substitute different medications or because other parts of the drug supply system mask the issue, said Stephen Schondelmeyer, a University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy professor.

But there are more shortages now, and theyre becoming more visible, he said.

Which drugs are in shortage?

In the fall, the US Food and Drug Administration announced a shortage of the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder treatment Adderall due to a manufacturing problem. That has persisted and grown at times to include other stimulants that treat the condition.

That situation seems to be improving, said University of Utah Health researcher Erin Fox. But several extended-release doses of the medication, its most popular form, remain in short supply.

The FDA also has tracked a shortage of the diabetes treatment Ozempic, which doctors also prescribe for weight loss. Prescriptions for Ozempic  touted by celebrities and others on social media  have doubled since the summer of 2021 to more than 1.2 million, according to the health data firm IQVIA.

A spokeswoman for Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk says all doses of the drug are now available at pharmacies nationwide.

Last year, a spike in respiratory illnesses forced drugstore chains to temporarily limit purchases of fever-reducing medicines for children. A shortage of the antibiotic amoxicillin also cropped up around then.

Injectable drugs used in hospitals and clinics, such as IV saline and some cancer treatments, are more than twice as likely as tablets or topical treatments to experience a shortage, according to a recent report written by Senator Gary Peters, D- Michigan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Why do drug shortages develop?

Reasons can vary, and a combination of factors fuels many shortages.

The Adderall manufacturing problem hit as more people started taking the drug.

During the pandemic, prescriptions climbed as regulators started allowing doctors to prescribe the drug without first seeing a patient in person. Prescriptions for Adderall and its generic equivalents jumped 20 per cent between February 2020 and the end of last year, according to IQVIA.

Adderall supplies face an additional challenge when demand spikes. Federal regulators limit supplies for the drug each year because it is a controlled substance.

Pricing might also be a factor with some drugs.

Ozempic is a diabetes drug. The same medication, semaglutide, is sold under a different brand name, Wegovy, for weight loss. Schondelmeyer noted the per-milligram price for Wegovy can be more than twice as much as Ozempic.

Theyve been having a run on Ozempic because people dont want to spend that much on Wegovy, Schondelmeyer said.

Novo Nordisk spokeswoman Allison Schneider said the price was not connected to the shortage. She tied that to a combination of demand and global supply constraints.

Another factor driving shortages: Medications like Adderall and amoxicillin generate thin profits so companies dont have an incentive to make and store large amounts in case a shortage develops, Fox said.

Once a shortage starts with something you make just in time anyway, its really hard to resolve it unless all the suppliers are back, she said.

How are patients affected by drug shortages?

Shortages might lead to treatment delays, which can hurt patients dealing with time-sensitive conditions like cancer.

Doctors are sometimes forced to prescribe alternatives that might not be as effective. That also can lead to medication errors if the doctor is less familiar with the other medication.

Patients also may run out of their prescriptions or be forced to hunt for a pharmacy that has enough supply to refill it.

When will the shortage be resolved?

Its tough to predict when many shortages may be resolved, partly because measuring demand is hard.

You can estimate youre going to increase your production by 10 per cent, said Mike Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, but is that going to be enough?

Meanwhile, conditions that could feed future shortages still exist. The Senate report cited an overreliance on foreign sources as a concern.

Factories in China and India supply most of the raw materials used in American medicines. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, India restricted exports of 13 active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drugs made from those chemicals, to protect its domestic drug supply.

Once shortages develop, they can last years. And it can be tough for patients to get reliable information. Fox said there is no legal requirement for drugmakers to update the public.

The Senate report notes that no federal agency or private industry partner has end-to-end visibility into the entire US pharmaceutical supply chain.

Fox says the stimulant shortage has been particularly frustrating. Companies have said they arent getting enough raw materials to make the drugs, and the federal government says companies arent using what they have.

Theres been a lot of finger-pointing back and forth, Fox said.

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United States president Joe Biden is hosting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of the Philippines for White House talks on Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navys harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

In contrast to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who led the Southeast Asian country towards Beijing, Marcos Jr, who was elected in May 2022, is making his maiden trip to the White House.

China is the largest commercial partner of the Philippines.

Despite the fact that Marcos Jr was rewarded with a state visit to Beijing in January this year, Manila is growing more and more uneasy about Beijings increasingly assertive claim to nearly the whole South China Sea.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the visit and said Biden and Marcos Jr will discuss the USs ironclad commitment to defence in the area as well as efforts to uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos four-day visit to Washington, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.

Philippines leans towards the US

Mondays Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Koreas nuclear program.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the visit, said Biden administration officials are looking to redevelop habits of alliance building with the Philippines as aspects of the historically complicated relationship have atrophied over the years.

The meeting follows US vice president Kamala Harriss November 2022 trip to the Philippines and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austins February 2018 meeting with Ferdinand Marcos Jr, which resulted in an agreement to grant the US access to more Philippine military bases and drew criticism from Beijing. The newly expanded EDCA means the US will have access to nine bases in the Philippines, including three on the northern island of Luzon, which lies just 300km (186 miles) from Taiwan, one of the regions major flashpoints.

In a statement released in March, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said: It is plain and simple that those moves are a part of the US efforts to encircle and contain China. To bundle the Philippines into the chariots of geopolitical strife will seriously harm Philippine national interests and endanger regional peace and stability.

Foreign policy expert Roland Simbulan told Al Jazeera that the Philippines is a bone of contention for China and the US due to its strategic location dividing the South China Sea and the Pacific.

The rival powers are competing for influence and control over maritime trade routes, fishing grounds, offshore mineral and gas resources, as well as to secure military dominance, he said.

However, joint military drills Balikatan with Marcos Jr in charge this year were a hint that relations between Manila and Washington have warmed up once more.

China angers Philippines

The drills, which were completed on 28 April, had 12,200 US soldiers, making them the largest ever held.

The Balikatan Exercise enhances both the AFP (Armes Forces of the Philippines) and the United States Armed Forces tactics, techniques, and procedures across a wide range of military operations. It increases our ability to work together effectively and efficiently in response to various crisis situations, AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar said in a statement released by the US Embassy ahead of the drills.

China expressed its anger at the closer ties by holding drills this year with Cambodia and is preparing to start some with Singapore.

The US, according to the Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian, wants to use the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) of 2014 agreement to further its own anti-China agenda and interfere in the situation across the Taiwan strait.

Additionally, he made a pointed reference to the numerous Filipino workers in Taiwan. 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 foreign workers), he said.

As the Philippines erupted in anger over what they perceived to be a threat against their countrymen, the US claimed that EDCA had nothing to do with Taiwan. China then moved to contain the situation by claiming that Huang had been misquoted and publishing the complete text of his remarks.

While acknowledging that he was a little surprised by what had been said, Marcos Jr attempted to minimise the situation. Shortly after, when Qin Gang, the foreign minister of China, paid a visit to the Philippines, the president spoke of improving lines of communication with Beijing to prevent conflict.

Moreover, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit.

On 23 April, journalists from AP and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guards BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal.

The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

The US too is uneasy about Chinas military ambitions, not only in the South China Sea but also over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a stark reminder of Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone. We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct.

US-Philippines relations

The American presence in the Philippines is quite complicated since the country was a US colony for 48 years.

According to experts, the unbalanced relationship between the two nations that came from American colonial control between 1898 and 1946 is still present today.

The Philippines is economically dependent on its trade relations with the United States, says Vicente Rafael, a history professor at the University of Washington told TIME magazine. The military is totally dependent on the US for training, second-hand weapons, and advice.

Since assuming control of the Philippines from Spain at the turn of the 20th century, the US has had a strategic military relationship with the Philippines.

Furthermore, the Philippines once hosted some of the largest US military installations in the area, including Subic Bay, which has a view of the South China Sea. In an effort to restore democracy in the Philippines following the widespread corruption and abuses of the martial law era, such bases were shut down in 1992.

Since that time, US troops have visited the islands on a rotating basis while utilising domestic military infrastructure in accordance with the EDCA agreement.

The deal also provides some comfort to the Philippines, when Beijing acquired Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and took its issue to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The court ultimately determined that Chinas claim to the South China Sea lacked legal support, but Beijing disregarded the decision and proceeded to increase its military footprint, including in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines.

Close US-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. Initially, the Philippines President had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that historical considerations could present challenges to the relationship with Marcos Jr It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A US appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against Ferdinand Marcos estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Biden and Macros met in September during the UN General Assembly, where the US president acknowledged the two countries sometimes rocky past.

During their private meeting, Biden stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could fulfil your dreams and hopes for that, according to the senior administration official.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meeting Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think-tank during the visit.

With inputs from AP

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MasterChef Australia judge, chef and author Jock Zonfrillo died suddenly at the age of 46, on the eve of the cooking shows new series, according to a statement from Australian broadcaster Network 10.

The Scottish presenter passed away in Melbourne on Sunday, according to the statement, which gave no cause of death. A spokesperson for Victoria Police said that the death was not being treated as suspicious.

The spokesperson told Dailymail Australia that they found Zonfrillos body at about 2 am on Monday after they were called to a hotel on Lygon Street in Carlton for a welfare check.

The new season of MasterChef Australia was scheduled to debut on Monday night, however, Network 10 has announced that it wont air this week.

His passing was confirmed by his family on Monday, who described him as our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son, and friend.

With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday, his family said in a statement.

So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

The upcoming season of MasterChef Australia featured celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as a guest, and he said on Instagram that he was in total shock.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jock Zonfrillo (@zonfrillo)

Who was Jock Zonfrillo?

The presenter, who was born Barry Zonfrillo in Glasgow in 1976, began his career in the kitchen there at the age of 13 as a dishwasher, as per The Guardian.

At age 15, he dropped out of school and started an apprenticeship at the Turnberry Hotel, becoming one of the hotels youngest-ever apprentices.

Zonfrillo wrote in his memoir Last Shot from 2021 that he was homeless when he started working for renowned British chef Marco Pierre White at the age of 17.

At 22, he was named head chef of the Tresanton Hotel in Cornwall.

Restaurant Orana, Street ADL, Bistro Blackwood, and Nonna Mallozzi are several eateries he founded in Adelaide.

He served as the host of several cooking shows, such as Nomad Chef, which provided a glimpse into the food of some of the worlds most isolated villages, as well as Restaurant Revolution and Chef Exchange.

However, its possible that his most well-known performance was in the wildly popular Australian version of MasterChef, which helped to establish him as a household name there in recent years.

Alongside Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, he replaced Matt Preston, George Calombaris, and Gary Mehigan as a judge on the show in 2019.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jock Zonfrillo (@zonfrillo)

Gourmet Traveller magazine selected Restaurant Orana Australias restaurant of the year in 2018; the Good Food Guide did the same the following year. In 2019 and 2020, it received three hats, but it closed in March of that year.

In order to promote the health benefits of Australian Indigenous food, he established The Orana Foundation in 2016. In addition, he received the coveted Basque Culinary World Prize in 2018 for promoting Indigenous cuisine and culture.

Also read: Great Aussie Jaffle challenge: MasterChef Australia contestants face the first elimination of the season

Drug addiction

According to his memoir Last Shot, which was released last year, Zonfrillo tried heroin as a youngster in Glasgow.

He said that drug addiction dogged him for years as he built on his early success.

The books description states, For years he balanced a career as a rising star amongst legendary chefs with a crippling drug addiction that took him down many dark paths.

The late chef once told an interviewer that he owed his life to food, It saved my life. A lot of my friends from my early days are dead now or in jail.

The thing about being a junkie is that the only way you can get out is if theres something in your life more compelling than drugs. And for me, I had another addiction: to food and to cooking. Thats what moved me on. Thats how I survived, he said, according to Dailymail.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jock Zonfrillo (@zonfrillo)

Controversies

Zonfrillo was sacked from his position as head chef at Sydneys Forty One in 2002 after lighting an apprentices trousers on fire because the latter was working too slowly, reported The Guardian.

It was a practical joke gone wrong, according to Zonfrillo.

In a 2007 lawsuit against Zonfrillo, the 18-year-old apprentice Martin Krammer was awarded damages of $75,000. Zonfrillo filed for bankruptcy in the same year.

His memoir Last Shot also stirred a controversy when Michelin-starred Marco Pierre White claimed that almost everything he has written about me is untrue in the chapters concerning Zonfrillos stay in London in the 1990s, according to CNN.

The assertion that Zonfrillo had visited hundreds of Indigenous communities was also called into question.

Zonfrillo, however, insisted that this was the true account of his life rather than embellishing it.

He said, This is the story of my life. Ive lived every minute of it, the highs and lows, and I stand by it. Theres no question that some of my book makes me look pretty unsavoury at the best of times. I carry the shame from those years, not pride, and it was a big obstacle for me to overcome when writing this book.

With inputs from agencies

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A drink too many has cost 300 Assam police personnel their jobs. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday announced that such habitual drinkers found among the police force will be offered voluntary retirement and they just may not have any choice but to accept the offer of the government.

The Assam government has already begun the process and fresh recruitments are being done with younger staff to fill the vacancies.

Three hundred officers and jawans are habitual drinkers and consumption of too much alcohol has damaged their bodies. The government has launched a provision for VRS for them, Sarma, who besides being the CM also holds the home portfolio said.

Just days ahead of the second anniversary of the BJP-led government in Assam on May 10, Sarma has embarked on a drive to make the Assam police a leaner, professional and honest law enforcing agency.

Voluntary retirements are in vogue in many other states but for Assam this is a first. It is an old rule but we had never implemented in earlier, the CM added. The cops being given the option will continue to get their salaries but will be replaced with new recruits.

Several cops in Assam in recent times have been suspended for unruly behaviour, for being under the influence as well as for being abusive with seniors. Some have even been caught on camera and later suspended.

The Assam CM has recently gone on record to say that he wants the deadwood out of the police system and has stressed the need to be physically fit. He has directed top cops to delve into the system, to see whether officials are taking part in physical fitness drills, visiting police stations and ensuring law enforcement.

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Indian Airline carrier SpiceJet has joined Operation Kaveri to rescue trapped Indians from war-torn Sudan.

SpiceJet carried out its first evacuation flight from Jeddah to Kochi on April 30, evacuating 184 stranded Indians, who were stuck in Sudan.

On Monday, the budget airline announced to operate more flights from Saudi Arabia to different Indian cities to bring back people evacuated from Sudan.

We are humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the evacuation of stranded Indians from Sudan under Operation Kaveri. SpiceJet remains committed to supporting the Government in its mission to safeguard our citizens and enable their safe return to their homes and families. We successfully operated our first evacuation flight from Jeddah bringing back 184 stranded Indian nationals. We are in touch with the government to operate more such flights, said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet.

Authorities from SpiceJet are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs as well as the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to facilitate the coordination for a smooth evacuation operation.

More evacuation flights from Saudi Arabia to different cities in India are being planned. SpiceJet is well connected to Saudi Arabia and operates daily flights from Jeddah to Calicut, Delhi and Mumbai. It also operates daily flights from Riyadh to Delhi.

Last Saturday, the Indian government roped in IndiGo to further the ongoing repatriation operation from Sudan under Operation Kaveri, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in a tweet, Indigo joins #OperationKaveri. 231 Indians in a flight to New Delhi from Jeddah. With this 5th outbound flight, around 1600 reached or airborne for India. Happy journey. Our Mission continues.

With inputs from agencies

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Bihar Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar has accused the government of cancelling more than 1.2 crores of inactive job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the last year, a minister said on Monday.

The minister also said that the government has also provided 23.07 lakh fresh job cards to labourers in various districts of the state during the period.

During a drive by the Bihar Rural Development Department (till April 30), a total of 1,23,13,927 job cards, out of 3,85,69,626, were found inactive for the last several years. In some cases, job cards were found fake or were not linked with provided Aadhaar numbers, or beneficiaries had died.

We have cancelled all such cards after proper physical verification. Besides, cards of labourers who had earlier obtained MGNREGS jobs and migrated from the state have also been found inactive for the last several years, Mr Kumar told PTI.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year.

The maximum number of cancellations have been reported from Vaishali (8,89,150), followed by Patna (7,55,308), Samastipur (6,30,654), Araria (6,14,530), Darbhanga (5,79,778), Aurangabad (2,20,330) and Begusarai (3,13,696), he said.

Under the scheme, the government had provided jobs to 1.26 crore cardholders in various parts of the state in the 2022-23 financial year, the minister said.

The department has issued a total of 23.07 lakh fresh job cards to labourers in different districts of the state in the last year.

Besides, instructions have been given to officials concerned to provide employment under the scheme to job seekers within 15 days of their demand and penalty will be imposed on government officials concerned if they fail to comply with MGNREGA guidelines, the minister added.

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The Supreme Court of India on Monday held that it can exercise its special powers under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution to grant divorce, or dissolve marriage, to consenting parties on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

Citing the Article 142, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari, ruled that the six month period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be dispensed with.

The Article 142 of the Constitution of India deals with the enforcement of decrees and orders of the Supreme Court to do complete justice in any matter pending before it.

Article 142 must be considered in light of the fundamental rights. It should contravene a non-derogable function of the Constitution. Court under the power is empowered to complete justice, the Bench said.

We have held that it is possible for this court to dissolve marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. That will not contravene the specific or fundamental principles of public policy, the apex court added.

The Court held that it has specified the factors on the basis of which a marriage can be held to be irretrievably broken down and how to balance out equities, specifically with regard to maintenance, alimony and the rights of the children.

The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on a batch of petitions relating to the exercise of its vast powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve broken-down marriages between consenting couples without referring them to family courts for protracted judicial proceedings to get the decree of separation.

The issues involved were whether the apex court could use its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage, the broad aspects of such powers and whether the invocation of the said power was allowed in the absence of the mutual consent of the parties.

The case was referred to a five-judge Bench about five years ago on 29 June, 2016, by a Division Bench of Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and R Banumathi (both retired) in a transfer petition.

After hearing arguments, the Constitution Bench on 29 September last year had reserved its judgment.

With inputs from agencies

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Days after Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharges venomous snake barb at Narendra Modi, his son and former minister Priyank Kharge has now called the Prime Minister nalayak.

Priyank is seeking re-election from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district in the May 10 Assembly polls.

When you (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) came to Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) what did you tell the people of Banjara community? Aap sab log dariye mat. Banjara ka ek beta Dilli mein Baitha hai (You do not be afraid. A son of Banjara is sitting in Delhi.), said Priyank quoting from Modis speech.

Aisa nalayak beta baitha to kaise hota bhai? Ghar kaise chalega? (If an inept son is sitting in Delhi, how can you run the family?), he asked, addressing the people.

He went on to say, What we are saying is that he said he is the son of Banjara community and created confusion pertaining to the reservation. Didnt injustice happen to the Banjara community? Why were stones thrown at Yediyurappas house in Shikaripura (in Shivamogga district)? Why Bandh was observed in Kalaburagi and Jewargi observed? Today there is confusion in the reservation.

Priyank, who was a minister in the Siddaramaiah government, said, Prime Minister during his earlier visit said he was a son of the Koli community and the Kabbaliga and Kuruba communities. Today he calls himself a son of the Banjara community.

At the fag end of its term, the BJP government passed a bill to increase the reservation for the Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent.

The government said the internal reservation of SC (Left) now stood at six per cent, SC (Right) at 5.5 per cent and other SCs 5.5 per cent.

(With inputs from PTI)

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He said the IGP has mapped out strategies to ensure that policemen and their families live comfortably in a very decent environment.

The Inspector General of Police Usman Baba has commenced efforts toward renovation, demolition and rebuilding of dilapidated structures in police barracks across Nigeria.

Muyiwa Adejobi, the force public relations officer, made this known to journalists on the sidelines of the fourth-anniversary Dinner/Award Night of Kemsan Acres Global Ltd. in Ibadan.

Mr Adejobi was reacting to the recent collapse of a building at the Police Barracks in Sango, Ibadan and some derelict structures scattered across police barracks in the country.

He said the IGP has mapped out strategies to ensure that policemen and their families live comfortably in a very decent environment.

The Force Public Relations Officer described the incident at the police barracks in Sango, Ibadan, as very unfortunate, saying efforts were on to map some of them for adequate renovation.

"In fact, there are some of them that we are thinking of demolishing outrightly. The IGP is discussing with the Police Trust Fund and relevant MDAs - Ministry of Police Affairs.

"At times, there is no how we want to have an adequate and proper renovation of police barracks without having interventions.

"So, the IGP has taken the bull by the horn to make sure that we access most of these things and discuss with relevant MDAs to see what we can do," he said.

Mr Adejobi also said thrIGP had in the last 18 months renovated some and built no fewer than 125 new police stations with adjoining standard barracks.

"As I speak with you, we have built nothing less than 125 new police stations, with adjoining standard barracks, that when you live in such a place, you will feel honoured.

"You will have that self-esteem that you are living in a very decent place. So, it is a gradual thing. We cannot finish all at a time.

"Do not forget that we have thousands of barracks across the country. It is not a day thing. It is a process we have commenced," he said.

He Adejobi said the IGP was thinking outside the box to see how the problems at the barracks could be adequately addressed.

He expressed displeasure at the state of some of the barracks, saying that it was the reason for consistent talks with policemen to keep the barracks neat.

The force spokesperson said they were looking at many things to ensure that the barracks were rejuvenated, protected and maintained.

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"There are so many internal things that police are considering to make sure that barracks are adequately managed because there are rules.

"When you reside in barracks, there are rules you must follow. Are we still following the rules? So, we need to actually follow the rules and enforce these rules.

"Apart from that, we are also reaching out to MDAs and National Assembly to seek intervention on how we are going to holistically address these problems of accommodation in the Nigeria Police Force," he said.

Mr Adejobi said addressing the accommodation problem in the police force was key to the IGP.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured the distribution of awards to no fewer than 70 outstanding staff members by the Managing Director of the company, Oluwaseun Owoseni.

NAN also reports that the event was attended by the State Commissioner of Police, Williams Adebowale, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ademola Babalola and a host of others.
BJP National President JP Nadda will release the partys election manifesto today in the poll-bound state of Karnataka. Nadda will be joined by Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai and party veteran Yediyurappa at the launch of the manifesto.

According to some sources, the manifesto will be centred around welfare measures for the youth, infrastructure development and women empowerment.

Further, to take the first-time voters on board, a special announcement can be made for the youth and girl students who have passed class 12.

Last time, the BJP touched upon almost every section of the society in its manifesto.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election rally on Sunday where he came down heavily on Congress following Congress President Mallikarjun Kharges poisonous snake remark.

Lashing out at Congress over the remark, PM Modi said, Today when I am fighting against corruption, Congress is disturbed the most. Congress is now threatening. They say Modi teri kabra khudegi. Congress topic in Karnataka elections is snakes poison. They are comparing me with a snake and seeking votes from people. For me, the people of the country are a form of Lord Shiva. I accept being the snake on the neck of the god-like public. The people of Karnataka will give them a befitting answer on May 10.

He said that the people of Karnataka will give a befitting reply to Congress in the upcoming Karnataka polls.

Congress is an outdated engine. Development halted due to them. Congress has a bundle of fake guarantees. They dont fulfil any promise made to the public. Unfulfilled guarantees are their record. They betrayed the public, but BJP fulfilled all the guarantees by doing several development works, PM Modi added.

Congress has promised the people of Karnataka 200 units of free electricity, among other things ahead of the polls which are slated to be held on May 10.

With inputs from agencies

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The Bharatiya Janta Party released its election manifesto today in the poll-bound state of Karnataka. The Praja Dhwani manifesto includes the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, creating 10 lakh jobs in the manufacturing sector and a state capital region tag for Bengaluru, among other promises.

Apart from UCC, the party has also promised the implementation of NRC in the state.

The manifesto was unveiled by BJP National President JP Nadda, Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai and former CM BS Yeddiyurappa.

The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code will be based on the recommendations by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose.

The party has also promised to improve the ease of living of apartment dwellers in Bengaluru by constituting the Karnataka Residents Welfare Consultative Committee to reform the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 and to modernise the grievance redressal mechanism.

If brought back to power, BJP will also offer three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL (Below poverty line) families annually. The cylinders will be provided in instalments, one each during the months of Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

It has also promised to launch a scheme for BPL families called Poshana scheme through which households will be provided with half-litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna  monthly ration kits.

Nadda said that the partys vision for the state is justice to all, appeasement to none, during the launch of the manifesto.

The opposition parties, Congress and Janta Dal (Secular), are yet to launch their manifesto. However, during the course of election campaigns, Congress promised 200 units of free power to all homes, 10 kg of rice to BPL households, Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head in every family and a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 to the unemployed graduates.

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In a bizarre event, a 21-year-old college student died of burn injuries after he accidentally tumbled into a cauldron of hot rasam in neighbouring Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, police said on Monday.

The victim is a college student who was working part-time in a catering company. He was serving food to guests at a wedding function last week when the incident took place leaving guests stunned, they said.

The student, V Sathish, was a resident of Athipattu Pudhunagar near Ennore. He was a final year BCA student at a private college in Korukkupet and was working part-time with the wedding caterer. Both his parents are daily labourers, according to the local police. A few guests at the wedding said, he was walking past the boiling cauldron while serving food to them when he slipped and fell into the vessel.

He was swiftly rescued and taken to a primary healthcare clinic in Minjur, from where he was later taken to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to severe burn injuries. He died on Sunday without responding to treatment.

A case has been registered and investigation is underway, the police revealed. The Minjur Police have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC (unnatural death). Later, the body was handed over to the students family after a post-mortem.

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Indias Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has started his three-day Maldives visit on Monday. During his stay, he will hand over fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces.

The entire gamut of defence relations between India and Maldives will be reviewed during the deliberations, Indias defence ministry said in a statement.

Rajnaths visit is seen as an important landmark in building the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries, the statement added.

India-Maldives relations

India was among the first to recognise Maldives after its independence in 1965. Both the countries share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the relationship of India with the Maldives is free of any politically contentious issues. "The onetime claim of Maldives to Minicoy Island was resolved by the Maritime Boundary Treaty of 1976 between the two countries, whereby Maldives has recognised Minicoy as an integral part of India," the ministry said.

Maldives' trust and friendship with India strengthened after New Delhi's prompt assistance to the island nation during the 1988 coup attempt.

India was the first to help Maldives during the 2004 Tsunami and also during the water crisis in Male in December 2014.

During the peak Covid phase, India was quick to assist all it neighbours and other nations including Maldives with vaccine.

In January 2020, India was swift to dispatch of 30,000 doses of measles vaccine to prevent an outbreak in the Maldives.

India-Maldives defence & security

Defence and security have been major areas of cooperation between India and Maldives since 1988. "India has adopted a very flexible and accommodating approach in meeting Maldivian requirements of defence training and equipment. A comprehensive Action Plan for Defence was also signed in April 2016 to consolidate defence partnership," the external affairs ministry said.

India has also been providing the largest number of training opportunities for Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), meeting around 70 per cent of their defence training requirements.

Indian Navy has deployed 10member Marine Commando (mobile training teams) MTT to Maldives in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 and also provided MNDF with air assets for air surveillance, MEDEVAC, SAR, Heloborne vertical insertion capability.

"Our defence cooperation also extends to the areas of Joint Exercises ['Ekuverin', 'Dosti', 'Ekatha' and 'Operation Shield' (begun in 2021)], Maritime Domain Awareness, Joint Hydrography, gifting of hardware, infrastructure development, etc. Key projects in the defence sector include Composite Training Centre (CTC) for MNDF, Coastal Radar System (CRS) and construction of new Ministry of Defence Headquarters," the MEA said.

Bilateral Economic & Trade Relations

India and Maldives signed a trade agreement in 1981 which provides for export of essential commodities. In July 2021, India extended the agreement on quotas for restrictionsfree export of 9 essential commodities to the Maldives for the next three years.

IndiaMaldives bilateral trade crossed the $300 million mark for the first time in 2021, reaching an impressive $323.29 million. Trade registered a growth of over 31 per cent over the previous year.

Indias imports from Maldives mainly include scrap metals while Indian exports to Maldives include a host of engineering and industrial products including drugs and pharmaceuticals, radar apparatus, rock boulders, aggregates, cement and agriculture produce like rice, spices, fruits, vegetables and poultry produce.

In 2021, the Maldives government signed an agreement with Mumbai-based company AFCONS, for the construction of Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP). It was inked a year after India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar visited Maldives and announced the signing of a $500 million infrastructure project.

This infrastructure project, the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, included the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link that would connect the Maldives capital Male with the neighbouring islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

As per the Indias High Commission in Maldives, the project was funded by India in a grant of $100 million, with a line of credit of $400 million.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: A win in the Karnataka polls will be a super booster dose for the Congress electorally after the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the party ideologically and organisationally, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said.

The Congress general secretary (in-charge communications) said that while the 2024 parliamentary elections are still some months away, the outcome in Karnataka would definitely impact the crucial assembly polls later this year in states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

A win (in Karnataka polls) will be a super booster dose for the Congress. It will strengthen the Congress as we go to the polls in Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, Ramesh, who is on the campaign trail in Karnataka, told PTI in an interview.

I dont want to look to 2024 but I would look at 2023 and for that it (win in Karnataka) would be a super booster dose for the Congress, the former Union minister said.

While the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the Congress ideologically and organisationally, a victory in Karnataka would revitalise it electorally, Ramesh said.

Dont be surprised if we retain Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and come back to Madhya Pradesh as we had the mandate there before we were betrayed by Mr (Jyotiraditya) Scindia and his colleagues and the government was stolen from the Congress, he said.

In Telangana, Ramesh opined, the fight is between the Congress and the BRS, and the BJP is just creating a lot of hype.

So electorally, for 2024 it is too early to say but I would say, for 2023, the elections that would come, this victory for the Congress in Karnataka will be a super booster dose, he asserted.

Ramesh claimed there was a very strong current in favour of the Congress in Karnataka.

It is not just an undercurrent, there is an over current and I am in an area which is supposed to be a BJP bastion, which is the coastal area, and there is a widespread sentiment for a change, he told PTI over phone.

Ramesh said people have seen through the BJP propaganda about good governance over the last four years of its regime.

So, I think we are headed for a clear majority in the assembly. I dont agree with the assessment that it is going to be a hung verdict. I think it is going to be a clear majority for the Congress, he said.

Noting that Karnataka is the only state in the South that the BJP has a government in, Ramesh said there is no prospect of the BJP coming to power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Telangana and so it is banking on Karnataka.

You see the type of high profile campaigning Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be undertaking in the good part of next 12-13 days, along with Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers. The entire government and the entire BJP are focusing on Karnataka, he said.

Ramesh said this time the Congress campaign has been very strategic on vocal for local.

People are seeing this. It is a positive and constructive campaign by the Congress. I can tell you having spent 22 days in October in seven districts in Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it was very evident from October that the time for a change was there and Rahul Gandhi was able to capitalise on that mood or that sentiment, he said.

The entire Congress party and the organisation got a booster dose from the Bharat Jodo Yatra and it is seeing the consequences of that in this election, Ramesh said.

Asked about the prime ministers campaign blitz in Karnataka, Ramesh said the BJP can do whatever carpet bombing they want but there are enough local issues the Congress has raised and given guarantees to different sections of society which will ensure its success.

Slamming the BJPs campaign, Ramesh said, The divisiveness, the polarization, the threats, the intimidation, this is backfiring on the BJP. To preserve the social fabric of Karnataka, to ensure that economic growth takes place in Karnataka in an environment of social peace, people have recognised that the Congress is the only alternative, he said.

Voting will take place in the state on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

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On Sunday, Ukraines defence ministry, which represents the Volodymyr Zelensky regime, shared a meme via its official Twitter handle that mocked, denigrated, and ridiculed the faith of billions of Hindus around the world. Not only was the morphed image obscene and explicitly Hinduphobic, but also the fact that it was posted by an arm of the Ukrainian government should raise serious questions over Ukraines attitude towards India.

The now-deleted tweet juxtaposed an image of plumes of smoke emerging from a Russian fuel storage facility in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, which was allegedly hit by a Ukrainian drone on Saturday, alongside the purported image of Ma Kali in a risque pose imitating Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroes flying skirt photo from 1954. It carried the caption, work of art.

It is not clear what the Zelensky regime in Kyiv, which has been at the receiving end of frequent accusations of Nazism even from friendly Western media was hoping to achieve through an image that demeaned a Hindu article of faith, stigmatized Hindus and sought to normalise Hindu hatred.

Despite its history of condemning India and voting against the country at the United Nations  not to speak of supplying weapons worth $1.6 billion to Pakistan  the Ukrainians have been demanding Indias support for Western sanctions against Russia and at the UN, and heaping moral opprobrium on New Delhi for its decision to keep purchasing Russian oil. A senior Ukrainian lawmaker had even urged the United States to impose secondary sanctions on India.

Dmytro Kuleba, a former Ukrainian ambassador to India who is now the countrys foreign minister, had accused India of profiting from Ukrainian blood and tying it to Kyivs assistance in the evacuation of Indian students.

Ukraine accepts humanitarian aid from India yet takes dramatic, performative moral positions in an attempt to force New Delhi into formulating its foreign policy based on morality, not self-interest. From that moral perch, for Kyiv to not know what causes hurt to the sentiments of billions of Indians who call themselves Hindu, and in effect, mock one of their most revered goddesses with a burlesque caricature that runs a Leopard tank over their faith is shocking, hypocritical and tragic.

Till the time of writing, no apology has come from Kyiv except the deletion of the tweet. Ukraine recently sent its deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova to New Delhi ostensibly to stop moralizing, take a more pragmatic view of Indias compulsions and build better ties with India. Sharing such a blatantly Hinduphobic image wont help.

The image also raises a larger question. Is mocking Hindu gods and goddesses, and making fun of their cultural beliefs acceptable and not morally onerous because Hindus dont impose costs on those doing it? The fact is that Ukrainians wont dare to pull off such a stunt against, for instance, followers of Islam because steep costs are involved, including the possibility of violence, sanctions or both. Denigration of Hindu beliefs, and taking liberties with their gods is safer.

This duality, which has now been normalized in societies across the world, inadvertently incentivizes violence and encourages fundamentalism. It sends a message to Hindus that their pacifism makes it easier for others to play with their sentiments.

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Signed between Turkey and Pakistan on 12 August 2022 in Islamabad, the Agreement on Trade in Goods has established guidelines for determining the preferential origin of goods in trade. The Turkish Ministry of Commerce issued a regulation on this matter which has now been published in the Official Gazette and is in effect. The pact was approved by presidential decree on 24 March 2023. The agreement includes a definition of originating products as those manufactured in one of the party countries and outlines procedures and principles for administrative cooperation in the Protocol on Administrative Cooperation Methods.

Shebaz Sharif congratulates Turkey

There has been another important development in recent days between Turkey and Pakistan, which see each other as brotherly countries. In this context, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Turkeys first manned supersonic jet aircraft Hurjet, which successfully made its first flight.

Sharif tweeted, I congratulate my brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for the successful first flight of the light combat aircraft Hurjet. In his post on his social media account, President Erdogan stated that Hurjet, the first domestic and national manned supersonic jet aircraft, successfully performed its first flight, adding, Praise be to it. May it be a gift to the Century of Turkey. Erdogan also shared images of the moments when Hurjet, developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), making its first flight.

Turkey-Pakistan relations

Turkeys relations with Pakistan have been shaped on the basis of close friendship and brotherhood since the establishment of Pakistan as an independent state on 14 August 1947. In 2022, the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Pakistan was celebrated. Although Turkey and Pakistan are geographically separated from each other, they maintain close relations and cooperation in many fields such as politics, economy and defence due to their historical ties of brotherhood based on common religion and cultural heritage.

Economy and trade

Considering that the current trade volume of Turkey and Pakistan does not reflect the potential of the two countries in terms of population and economic size, steps are taken to increase economic cooperation and investments. Trade delegations frequently visit each other. The bilateral trade volume of Turkey and Pakistan was $675 million as of 2017. Most of the imports from Pakistan to Turkey are cotton fabrics. The main imported products include cotton yarn, ethyl alcohol, leather and leather clothing, knitted gloves and ready-made clothing products. Turkey mostly exports electrical equipment for telephone and telegraph, rebars, sanitary towels and diapers, electrical transformers, cotton weaving, textile machinery, cartridges and bullets, machines with specific functions and rubber tires to Pakistan.

Investments of $2 billion by Turkish firms in Pakistan

Turkish companies have invested approximately $2 billion in Pakistan, primarily in the construction sector where they have undertaken projects worth over $1.7 billion. Both nations see promising opportunities for collaboration in areas such as telecommunications infrastructure, ports, airports, railways, textile and export-oriented industries, services, and agriculture. Sectors such as wood furniture, agricultural applications, vehicle spare parts, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, televisions, PVC pipes, textile machinery, software, and shoe-making are considered ideal for mutual partnership between Turkey and Pakistan.

Defence trade cooperation

Turkey and Pakistan are actively engaged in military cooperation through procurement, research and development, and other related activities. The two nations regularly exchange visits between military officials and are working on several defence projects together.

The writer is a correspondent and an author who works in Turkish media. He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Communication. He is interested in foreign policy issues, especially in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Atlantic and Eurasia. Views expressed are personal.

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With the war in Sudan waging on for a second week now, the UN has warned that the countrys already troubled healthcare sector is facing a risk of disaster.

The health sector in Sudan, a UN World Health Organization official said, was already in crisis and was extremely fragile.

Ahmed al-Mandhari, WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranea told AFP that with all the bombed hospitals, paucity of medicines and doctors fleeing the country for safety, the poverty-stricken nation now is in a disaster in every sense of the word. Mandhari added that the risk of the spread of diseases like cholera and malaria are higher than ever.

The battles raging in Sudan have pitted the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

More than 500 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured, according to official figures, but the real toll is feared to be much higher.

Mandhari said that only 16 per cent of the hospitals in Khartoum are now fully functional and that there is a real shortage in medical staff especially specialised medical staff, for example in surgery and in anaesthesia.

The most vulnerable among the lot are pregnant women about four million sick and 50,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition who will no longer receive vital care.

There are approximately three million women or girls who are exposed to various types of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, he said, adding that children face psychological pressures from conflict and displacement.

Malaria is endemic in Sudan and could spread when the rainy season starts in the coming weeks, he said, also warning of the threat of a cholera outbreak as clean water becomes increasingly sparse.

With inputs from agencies

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Over the past two weeks, about 6,000 peoplemostly womenhave fled the fighting in Sudan for the neighbouring Central African Republic, the UN refugee agency told AFP on Sunday.

The number is made up of 70 per cent women, 15 per cent girls, 10 percent men and 400 repatriated, said the UNHCR in a tweet Saturday, the authenticity of which was confirmed Sunday by one of the agencys Central Africa representatives.

During the fierce combat between General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhans army, millions of Sudanese have been trapped inside their houses.

According to official data that are largely believed to be an underestimate, the war has so far claimed the lives of at least 528 individuals and injured at least 4,599 others.

Central African Republic, which lies to the southwest of Sudan, is one of the poorest countries in the world.

It has itself been in the throes of civil conflict since 2013, when a Muslim-majority rebel coalition, the Seleka, ousted former president Francois Bozize.

On Thursday, the UNs humanitarian coordination agency (OCHA) announced that nearly 3,000 people had entered the country in the northeast province of Vakaga, which borders Sudan and were living in makeshift camps.

With traffic between the two countries severely disrupted, the prices of essential products have soared, the agency said, expressing concern for the effect that would have on the 120,000 in the north of the country who needed immediate food aid.

The UN says 75,000 people fleeing the fighting have been displaced inside Sudan, while another 20,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad, to the west. Another 4,000 have fled south to South Sudan and 3,500 to Ethiopia in the southeast.

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While Elon Musk and the people at Neuralink are trying to get FDA approval to test their Neuralink BCIs on people and get them approved for medical uses, a biotech in Utah seems to have beaten them to the goal, quite handsomely, and has already implanted brain chips in dozens of patients.

Blackrock Neurotech, headquartered in Salt Lake City, aspires to cure physical disability, blindness, deafness, and depression. The NeuroPort Array chip enables individuals to control robotic limbs and wheelchairs, play video games, and even sense feelings.

Also read: Neuralink, Elon Musks brain computer interface company is looking for human trial partners

It works by using nearly 100 microneedles that attach to the brain and read electrical signals produced by someones thoughts. More than three dozen people have so far received it. The device was first implanted in a human in 2004. Company leaders hope to bring it to market soon, announcing in 2021 they aimed for the next year.

We are the only business with direct-brain BCI implants in humans, said Marcus Gerhardt, co-founder of Blackrock. With simply their brain impulses, our implanted arrays have enabled patients to link directly to computers, control robotic limbs and wheelchairs, play video games, and even restore feeling.

Blackrocks approach employs an implanted microchip with 96 arrays, which are little needle-shaped brain chips capable of reading and stimulating electrical impulses. It may be put anywhere on the surface of the brain. Multiple devices can be implanted in the brain of the same person.

The device monitors electrical impulses created by the wearers thoughts after implantation. These signals are decoded by machine learning software into digital commands such as cursor movements, which may be utilised to operate prostheses and computer equipment.

This can assist someone in drawing with a robotic arm, utilising computer programmes, or controlling a wheelchair or prosthetic limb. However, the company is now seeking FDA approval for devices designed for use outside of the lab, such as those used by people with paralysis at home.

We are pursuing regulatory clearance of the worlds first-ever BCI built particularly for at-home use: MoveAgain, Gerhardt added. This medical technology intends to improve patients with paralysis freedom and movement, and, ultimately, quality of life.

Also read: Elon Musks Neuralink: Two neurosurgeons weigh in on the feasibility of Musks brain implant and its potential

He expects that BCIs will become as common in paralysed patients as pacemakers are in persons with heart problems. Once home-use BCIs are accessible, theyll enable individuals to make new lifestyles that may have seemed unachievable following their handicap; we expect to see people return to work, gain greater independence, and connect with the world in powerful new ways, he says.

Our long-term goal is for our implants to be as widely available to persons with paralysis as pacemakers are to those with heart problems. The business is already working on brain-computer connections that will help restore hearing and vision.

As technology advances, well see BCIs with indications for memory and mental health problems like anxiety and depression, said Gerhardt. It has been used on over three dozen people whom Blackrock, which is unrelated to the asset management business, refers to as BCI pioneers. The device has been implanted in individuals for a total of 80 years with no major ill effects reported.

However, the device does have some pitfalls. The arrays on the implant slowly break down over time, causing its signal quality to degrade after around two years. The device will usually need to be removed after around five years, requiring another surgery to take it out and then replace it.

According to Gerhardt, Blackrock initially implanted a BCI in 2004 but has typically avoided public scrutiny because to worries about public perception of the devices. As a firm, weve also taken a lot more active role in coming out from behind the curtain and assisting excited patients in telling their experiences, he added.

Once patients get access to these devices outside of the lab, I believe public interest will skyrocket.Gerhardt believes that in the near future, the technology might be used to treat everything from lost memories to PTSD and depression.

Also read: Elon Musk announced a lot of stuff at the neuralink event. Heres the most important

For example, with depression, BCI might show potential for altering neuronal activity in brain areas involved in mood control, he added. In the case of diseases such as depression or PTSD, spatially and temporally targeted electrical or magnetic stimulation of brain tissue might help interrupt or reprogram firing patterns that contribute to the disorder.

The information might also lead to a better understanding of illnesses like depression, as well as how they are identified and treated. BCI technology might be utilised to recover lost memories in the long run.

Memory is a complicated process, but sophisticated implanted BCI technologies may be able to employ targeted electrical recording and stimulation of particular neurons and circuits to help restore some of the functioning involved with memory creation and retrieval, says Gerhardt.

Its feasible that BCI technology may also record and reproduce the patterns linked with specific memories, he said.

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The Ministry of National Unity and Civic Engagement (MINUBUMWE) told The New Timesthat 14,220,000 pages of Gacaca court archives have already been indexed.

The archives that have been indexed represent 33 per cent of 48 million copies currently in digital format, said Paul Rukesha, the Director General of Communication and Partnership Cooperation at MINUBUMWE.

Indexing consists of linking each file with identification details including the name of the corresponding defendant, their district, sector, and cell of origin.

After the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi where over one million people were killed, Rwanda initiated the Gacaca courts to handle genocide crimes. Gacaca was a home-grown community-based justice system.

Through Gacaca, Rwandans demonstrated the capacity to solve their own problems, mend the social fabric, and reveal the truth about the Genocide which had been planned for a long time.

The Gacaca justice system officially closed in 2012, after trying more than 1.9 million Genocide crimes in 10 years.

Gacaca archives could also be registered to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Documentary Heritage Listing on the recommendation of a national committee that is set to assess and discern different historical, cultural and documentary heritages that can be listed on the world's heritage list.

Bilateral discussions continue on UN-ICTR related genocide documents

The United Nations decided to keep all International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) documents as the property of the UN over the next 25 years.

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These include huge volumes of video recordings of genocide testimonies, written requests to the court, and written decisions among other things.

However, Rwanda was pushing for the transfer of archives of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which are housed at the Arusha-based International Residue Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

"So far, there is no process to bring these archives to Rwanda, and they are still considered by the UN as their property with other recordings of the court," Rukesha said.

He said those archives are not only from the Rwandan cases, but also from around the world including from other international courts in audio, text, and video formats.

"This is why the UN argues that the Rwanda-related archives are international property. However, we will continue bilateral discussions. The good thing is that we agreed that the archives would be uploaded on digital platforms of the international residual mechanism, expect those that are confidential," Rukesha said.
All Britons will be called on to swear allegiance to King Charles III at his coronation, an oath hitherto reserved for British nobility, a move that has upset anti-royalists,

The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who will lead the coronation ceremony on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, announced on Saturday that the traditional Homage of Peers  during which representatives of the nobility kneel before the king and pledge allegiance to him  would be scrapped.

Instead, the ceremony will include a Homage of the People, with the archbishop calling on all people in the United Kingdom and other places where King Charles is the head of state to swear allegiance.

King Charles III, keen to show that he can be a unifying figure for everyone in the United Kingdom, will be crowned in a ceremony that will for the first time include the active participation of faiths other than the Church of England.

Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh leaders will take part in various aspects of the coronation, the Archbishop of Canterburys office said Saturday, as it revealed details of a service it described as an act of Christian worship that will reflect contemporary society.

The ceremony also will include female bishops for the first time, as well as hymns and prayers sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic, as well as English.

The order of service will read: All who so desire, in the abbey, and elsewhere, say together: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.

British parliamentarians, but also Canadians since the British sovereign is their head of state, already swear allegiance to the monarch when they take office.

On Sunday, several elected representatives interviewed in the British media indicated that they will take the new oath during the coronation.

However, the plans to ask the public to pledge their allegiance to the king during the coronation have been branded offensive, tone-deaf and a gesture that holds the people in contempt by an anti-monarchy group.

Graham Smith, a spokesman for Republic, which campaigns for the abolition of the British monarchy, said: In a democracy, it is the head of state who should be swearing allegiance to the people, not the other way around.

The anti-monarchist movement plans to demonstrate on Saturday.

The introduction of the new oath is one of the changes to the centuries-old ceremony, which the palace wants to evolve, particularly to reflect the countrys diversity.

The last coronation was 70 years ago when Charles mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned.

She died in September aged 96.

At Saturdays ceremony, women bishops will take part for the first time, as well as representatives of non-Christian faiths. Another new feature is that texts will be read out in the languages of the other nations of the United Kingdom: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

With inputs from agencies.

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Local officials said that a bus accident in western Mexico resulted in at least 18 fatalities and 33 injuries.

The vehicle plummeted around 15 metres (49.21 feet) down a ravine on Saturday night while travelling between the state capital Tepic and the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, according to the prosecutors office in Nayarit, the region where the disaster occurred.

From the first moment, we have worked in a coordinated manner with the various federal and state authorities to provide immediate attention to victims, the prosecutors office said in a statement shared on Twitter.

Authorities reported that 11 women and seven men were killed. At least 11 minors have been transferred to hospitals for medical attention.

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A new study has found that ChatGPT and GPT-4 have great emotional intelligence and can be used as a great tool to teach children. Bill Gates even went to the extent of saying that ChatGPT and GPT-4 based applications will be used by teachers to teach students in about 18 months.

However, there are some glaring issues as well. The study found that not only ChatGPT and GPT-4 have great emotional intelligence, but they also tend to prefer emotions over facts in a number of cases.

Stumbling upon ChatGPTs EQ

Arvind Narayanan, a computer science professor at Princeton, set up a speech interface to ChatGPT for his nearly four-year-old daughter. It was part of an experiment, and part of his belief that artificial intelligence (AI) agents would one day play a significant role in her life. Narayanans daughter was naturally interested, frequently inquiring about animals, plants, and the human body, and he believed ChatGPT might provide beneficial answers.

Also read: ChatGPT Goes Incognito: OpenAI updates privacy settings for ChatGPT, rolls out Incognito mode

To his amazement, the OpenAI chatbot performed admirably in terms of empathy after he informed the system that he was conversing to a tiny child.

Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Incs Google are racing to improve their search engines using the huge language model technology that powers ChatGPT, but there is reason to believe the technology works better as an emotional companion than as a source of information.

That may sound strange, but what is even stranger is that Googles Bard and Microsofts Bing, both of which are based on ChatGPTs underlying technology, are being positioned as search tools despite a history of embarrassing factual errors.

BardAI and ChatGPTs hallucination

In its very first demonstration, Bard provided incorrect information about the James Webb Telescope, while Bing made a series of financial errors in its own introduction.

When a chatbot is used for search, the cost of factual errors is substantial. According to Eugenia Kuyda, inventor of the AI companion app Replika, which has been downloaded over 5 million times, it is significantly lower when intended as a companion.

Also read: AI comes to the rescue: ChatGPT helps a student ace exam, despite him not attending any classes

It wont ruin the experience, unlike with search, where small mistakes can break trust in the product, Kuyda explained.

Margaret Mitchell, a former Google AI researcher who coauthored a study on the dangers of huge language models, has stated that they are not fit for purpose as search engines.

Language models produce mistakes because the data on which they are trained frequently contain inaccuracies, and the models have no ground truth to validate what they say. Their designers may also prioritize fluency over accuracy.

That is one of the reasons these tools are so good at simulating empathy. After all, they are learning from content scraped from the Internet, such as expressive replies expressed on social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook, as well as personal assistance offered to members of forums like Reddit and Quora.

ChatGPTs EQ makes it a great therapist. Or does it?

Conversations from movie and television show scripts, dialogue from novels, and emotional intelligence research papers are all thrown into the training pot to make these tools look compassionate.

According to a piece published this month in Bloomberg Businessweek, some people are utilising ChatGPT as a type of robot-therapist. One user stated that they utilised it to avoid being a burden on others, even their human therapist.

Also read: AI bot as a therapist: US mental health platform using ChatGPT in counselling leads to controversy

Clinical psychologist Thomas Ward of Kings College London, who has studied the function of the software in treatment, warns against assuming that AI can properly replace a hole for those who require mental health help, especially if their concerns are significant. A chatbot, for example, is unlikely to recognise that a persons emotions are too complicated to comprehend.

ChatGPT, in other words, seldom says I dont know, because it was built to provide responses with confidence rather than caution.

People should be wary about using chatbots to express their emotions on a regular basis. Subtle aspects of human connection, like the touch of a hand or knowing when to speak and when to listen, could be lost in a world that sees AI chatbots as a solution for human loneliness, Ward adds.

That could result in more problems than we think were solving. For the time being, they are more dependable for their emotional talents than their knowledge of facts.

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By now, all the missions to Mars, and the various studies that we have done using images from the Red Planet, we know that Mars was once a completely different place than it is today, with an Earth-like temperature and an ocean running across its surface.

What has remained a mystery is where all of this water went, with scientists speculating that the majority of it was trapped in the planets outer layer, or crust. This led to the prevalent notion that it only occurs in solid form in rocks and as a gas in water vapour, however, an intriguing recent finding reveals that it also exists in liquid form.

Changing Notions:

The discovery is significant because it might supply the necessary components to give rise to alien life today. Chinas Zhurong rover, which landed on Mars in 2021, found evidence of this liquid water on sand dunes in low latitudes, i.e. closer to the equator and away from the planets poles.

According to scientists, liquid water occurs when salts in the dunes melt ice at low temperatures. However, because Mars is too cold for water to remain liquid on the surface for long, this state is likely to last only a short time.

An international team of experts proposed last year that liquid water may exist under Mars south polar ice cap, and it was discovered in 2009 on a leg of the Mars Phoenix Lander in the planets northern region.

Based on the temperature of the leg and the presence of high levels of perchlorate salts identified in the soil, scientists concluded that the droplets were most likely salty liquid water and dirt that splashed on the spacecraft when it touched down.

Water not in just ice or gaseous forms, but liquid as well

This current research, however, is the first to provide observable evidence of liquid water at low latitudes rather than high latitudes. This is significant because surface temperatures are warmer around the equator, implying that circumstances are more conducive for life than those closer to the planets poles.

This is crucial for understanding the evolutionary history of the Martian climate, seeking for a livable environment, and offering critical clues for future searches for life, said Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Professor QIN Xiaoguang, who led the research.

He and his colleagues analysed data from the Zhurong rovers Navigation and Terrain Camera (NaTeCam), Multispectral Camera (MSCam), and Mars Surface Composition Detector (MarSCoDe).

They were able to investigate the surface characteristics and material compositions of dunes in the rovers landing region as a result. The surface layer of the dune was found to be rich in hydrated sulphates, hydrated silica, iron oxide minerals, and perhaps chlorides, according to their investigation.

We inferred that these dune surface characteristics were related to the involvement of liquid saline water formed by the subsequent melting of frost/snow falling on the salt-containing dune surfaces when cooling occurs based on the measured meteorological data from Zhurong and other Mars rovers, said Professor QIN.

The researchers provided a hypothesis for the formation of this liquid water.

Unlike Earth, Mars obliquity (or tilt) fluctuates dramatically over timeframes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Ice is present in relatively small quantities at Mars north and south poles at todays 25-degree tilt on its rotating axis.

However, research has shown that when Mars tilts more, ice accumulates near the equator, while the poles grow larger at very low obliquities. According to the authors of the new study, low latitudes chill during Mars great obliquity, which leads to frost and snow, which hardens dunes and leaves signs of salt water.

Despite the fact that very low pressure and water vapour content make it difficult for liquid water to exist sustainably on the planet today. As a result, scientists assumed that water could only exist in solid or gaseous forms.

Possible indications of life on Mars?

Until now, no evidence had indicated the presence of liquid water at low latitudes on Mars, so the discovery is potentially exciting. It implies that there are some conditions under which liquid water might arise in some places of modern-day Mars.

Previous research has indicated that the Red Planet may have retained enough water to cover its whole surface in a layer 330ft (100m) to half a mile (1km) thick.

This occurred more than four billion years ago, when Mars was warmer and wetter, and its atmosphere was perhaps thicker. However, when this disappeared, the planets climate changed dramatically, giving rise to the world we see today.

The latest finding will help NASAs Perseverance rover, which is now hunting for traces of previous life in an old crater lake. It is gathering samples that will be returned to Earth for study in the 2030s.

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With an aim to bolster bilateral defence and strategic ties, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to embark on a three-day visit to the Maldives beginning today.

The planned visits by the defence minister and the Chief of Air Staff to the two key maritime neighbours of India come amid Chinas persistent efforts to expand its influence in the countries of the region.

The Maldives is one of Indias key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral ties including in areas of defence and security have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.

During his trip to the Maldives, Singh is likely to meet Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Defence Minister Mariya Didi among others.

Singh will hand over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives as Indias gift during his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3.

The defence ministry said this on Sunday, a day ahead of Singhs visit to the Maldives, one of Indias strategically key maritime neighbours. It said Singhs visit will be an important landmark in building strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the GMCP project, a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi. The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of Indias Neighbourhood First policy.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane visited Maldives last month during which he held talks with his Maldivian counterpart Major General Abdulla Shamaal. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari is set to visit Sri Lanka on May 1.

Maldives holds strategic importance for India under the Modi governments Neighbourhood First policy due to its location in the Indian Ocean. However, the relations between the two countries were strained under the pro-China regime of their former President Abdulla Yameen.

In recent years, the Maldives has emerged as a key strategic partner for countries seeking to enhance their presence and influence in the Indian Ocean region.

The term strategic comfort refers to a countrys sense of security and confidence in its relationships with other countries. In the case of the Maldives, its location in the Indian Ocean makes it a key player in regional security and stability. Its proximity to major shipping lanes and its vast exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has made it an attractive partner for countries seeking to enhance their strategic presence in the region.

India, in particular, has been keen to strengthen its ties with the Maldives in recent years. The two countries share a long history of cultural and economic ties, and India has provided a significant amount of development assistance to the Maldives over the years. However, political turmoil in the Maldives in 2018 strained the relationship between the two countries, leading to a period of tension and mistrust.

Since then, however, India has sought to rebuild its relationship with the Maldives, recognizing the strategic importance of the island nation. In 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maldives, signalling a renewed commitment to the relationship. The two countries have since signed a number of agreements aimed at strengthening their ties, including in the areas of defence, security, and economic cooperation.

Other countries, including the United States and Japan, have also sought to enhance their relationships with the Maldives in recent years. The United States, in particular, has recognized the importance of the Maldives location in the Indian Ocean and has sought to strengthen its partnerships with countries in the region as part of its broader strategy to counter Chinas growing influence.

Overall, the concept of strategic comfort with the Maldives reflects the growing recognition of the countrys importance in the Indian Ocean region. As countries seek to enhance their strategic presence in the region and counter the influence of China, the Maldives is likely to remain a key partner in this effort.

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Spotify and Elon Musk have both previously spoken out against Apples App Store restrictions. In a recent Twitter conversation this weekend, Musk and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek questioned Apples standards, with Ek calling them absurd and Musk calling them a serious scaling problem.

The debate began last week when Twitter enabled all users to offer subscriptions on the network. Musk responded to user questions about the news by explaining why subscriptions take longer to display on the iPhone than they do on the site.

Note, it takes a few days longer for subscriptions to go active on iPhone vs. web, as all subscriptions currently have to be approved by Apple, Musk said.



This is in relation to App Store criteria regarding in-app digital content subscriptions, which Twitter must follow because these new subscriptions are available through the iPhone app.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek then quoted Musks comments and criticised Apples policies once more:

This is becoming a serious scaling challenge  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 30, 2023



Spotify has already been a vociferous opponent of App Store standards. The firm has also launched antitrust accusations against Apple in the EU, claiming that Apple may provide Apple Music subscriptions within the app for free, but Spotify would have to give Apple 30 per cent (or 15 per cent from year two) of its subscriber revenue if it did the same.

Musk, for one, has previously stated that Apples App Store payments are practically a 30 per cent tax on internet use.

Right around Musk revealed that Twitter will start charging for Twitters verified blue tick and packaged it with Twitter Blue, Musk had gone off against Apple CEO Tim Cook for Apples App Store commissions, and the stringent set of rules they imposed on apps and app developers.

Musk even went to the extent of saying that if Apple dropped Twitter from the App store, he would start making his phones that come preinstalled with Twitter.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has clearly dominated the world, taking over people with its creative and innovative fusion of art. With artists trying their hands on AI, it is quite surprising how they are creating some really interesting stuff, thus proving that artificial intelligence is not just about writing essays and making graphics. Speaking of which, a recent trend has shown artists recreating AI versions of famous places and personalities from around the world. In the latest set of pictures, popular world leaders can be seen in the look of rockstars. Shared by an artist on Instagram, the pictures show how the leaders would look when imagined as rockstars in a parallel world.

From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to US President Joe Biden, former US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, North Koreas Kim Jong Un, and Russian President Vladimir Putin among others, the pictures show their uber cool looks as they take to the stage with guitars in their hands and mikes in front of them.

The artist named Jyo John Mulloor in his Instagram post called his creation the World Leadership Music Concert further adding that the AI images were created on Midjourney AI.

Welcome to a parallel world where legends become rockstars  the World Leadership Music Concert! Experience mind-bending photos from an alternate reality where political legends showcase their musical talents in a hard-hitting concert. Witness leaders become legends and music transcend boundaries in this extraordinary event, he wrote.

Take a look:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jyo John Mulloor (@jyo_john_mulloor)

Impressed by the creations, social media users took to the comment section and added reactions like The world wouldve been a better placeHats off you, Fantastic job.. Kim and Trump take the cake!, Trump is a part of the heavy metal band in parallel universe, etc.

The post has so far garnered over 31,000 likes and tons of comments, leaving people surprised over the world leaders realistic AI avatars.

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It looks like the Indian armed forces believe that someday, in the near future, we will have to be ready to fight in space. Perhaps that is why Indian Air Forces Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, has pointed out the need for defensive and offensive capabilities in the space domain.

Armed skirmishes or full-fledged wars being fought in space isnt exactly a new concept. As more and more countries are sending their own missions to space, there is a very good chance that there will be some serious contention over some issue or the other, especially considering that many countries dont have any treaties as to how theyre supposed to conduct their business in space.

Future lies in space-based platforms

India must improve its defensive and offensive space capabilities since the future lies in having space-based platforms, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said on Saturday at a national security and geopolitics seminar.

Also read: Space is next frontier: As China pushes ahead, India needs to bridge the gap

In the future, instead of having purely land-based offensive systems, we should also have space-based offensive systems, Chaudhari told The Economic Times.

The competition and rivalry between global powers in space will have ramifications across all domains of warfare, he predicted, predicting that his Air Force will soon be transformed into an Air Space Force and will be called upon to participate in space situational awareness, space denial exercises, or space control exercises.

Battlefield of the next war: Land, Sea, Air, Computers, and Space

The race to weaponize space has already begun, and the day is not far away when our next war will spread across all domains of land, sea, air, cyber, and space, said the air force chief in March. On Saturday, he said that the race has been going on since Nazi Germany launched its V-2 rocket about 80 years ago.

Also read: Star Wars: Classified CIA document says China readying cyber weapons to disable enemy satellites in space

General Anil Chauhan, Indias Chief of Defence Staff, has declared that military applications of space is the dominant discourse from which we cannot remain divorced.

The goal for all of us should be to develop dual-use platforms with a special emphasis on incorporating cutting-edge technology, he said on April 11 at the Indian DefSpace Symposium.

Mission Shakti to guide future weapons of space?

Its unclear what type of futuristic space weaponry the military wants, but Chaudhari believes India could capitalise on the success of its 2019 anti-satellite missile launch. The so-called Mission Shakti destroyed a satellite 300 kilometres distant in low-Earth orbit, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised it as an unprecedented achievement at the time.

After the United States, Russia, and China, India has become the fourth space superpower to officially display its ASAT missile capacity. Members of the space club have frequently accused one another of weaponizing space, raising concerns about covert military launches and dual-purpose testing, but have never confessed to holding any orbital weapons systems.

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International Labour Day is marked to honour the efforts and hardships of workers and the labour movement every year on 1 May. This occasion is also referred to as May Day, and more than 80 countries around the world, including India, Cuba, and China celebrate International Labour Day. This day is commemorated by organising marches and events to advocate for the rights of the working class and to prevent their exploitation. The late 19th century saw the beginning of workers demands for better working conditions, fair wages, and reduced working hours, which laid the foundation for the establishment of Labour Day.

History

The roots of Labour Day can be traced back to the United States in the 19th century, when workers in Chicago went on strike on 1 May 1886, demanding an eight-hour workday. However, after a bomb went off at a labour rally in Haymarket Square, workers from all over the country united to fight for their rights and better working conditions. During a gathering of International congress of socialist parties in Paris in 1889, the decision was made to mark 1 May as Labour Day or Workers Day.

In India, the first Labour Day was commemorated in Chennai on 1 May 1923. The Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan took the initiative to organise the first May Day celebrations. Comrade Singaravelar, the partys leader, arranged two gatherings to mark the occasion.

Significance

The commemoration of International Labour Day across the globe aims to raise awareness about the privileges of the labour force and safeguard them against being taken advantage of. It also functions as a prompt of the significant contributions made by the working-class individuals in our community.

Quotes to share on the occasion

No human masterpiece has been created without great labor.  Andre Gide Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.  Confucious. The dignity of labor depends not on what you do, but how you do it.  Edwin Osgood All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.  Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

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The head of Mexicos detention centre in Ciudad Juarez where a fatal fire occurred at on March 27, claiming lives of 40 Central and South American immigrant prisoners, has been charged with criminal offense.

Earlier, the CCTV footage of the incident had shown security guards leaving as the fire progressed without unlocking the cell door. The highest ranking official named Francisco Garduo has benn accused in connection with the fire.

The action came after several protests led to inquiries into how the Mexican government handled the plight of migrants. It was determined on Sunday by a court in Ciudad Juarez that there was enough evidence to prosecute Garduo with unlawful exercise of public office.

The 74-year-old has been told to report to the authorities on a regular basis but has not yet been detained.

The migrants deaths at the detention facility run by the National Institute of Migration (INM) just south of the US-Mexico border, according to the prosecution, were caused by his inaction.

Before the trial begins, the prosecution has been given four months to prepare its case against Garduo.

Garduo stated he was unable to comment on the current legal matter.

More video of the moments preceding the fire was recently shared by the nearby newspaper El Diario de Juarez.

In it, guards can be seen leaving the smoke-filled chamber without appearing to do anything to release the migrants who were imprisoned in the cell where the fire started.

This video shows these people being left to burn alive by the guards at this US-backed detention center in Mexico pic.twitter.com/YADRA9GS5I  Lauren McKenzie (@TheMcKenziest) March 29, 2023

Mexican authorities claim that a migrant started the fire by setting a mattress on fire in retaliation for the unsanitary circumstances in which they were being detained.

Four guards and the immigrant suspected of lighting the fire have all been taken into custody and are being looked into for possible homicide.

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The Rwandan Socialist Labour Party (PSR) has requested the government to urgently consider a way to increase the salaries of workers.

The call was made on April 30, 2023 during a press conference held ahead of the International Labour day to take place on May 1.

Jean-Baptiste Rucibigango, the chairperson of the party, said the request is based on the fact that, at this time, the salary of workers and the pensions of the elderly are usually small, and that they are no longer able to keep up with the prices on the market.

In a survey carried out by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda (IPAR) in 2022, 58 per cent of respondents reported an increase in the cost of living.

Pensioners have also appealed for a rise in pension benefits, citing the rising cost of living.

The last actuarial valuation was carried out in 2014 and led to the rise of the retirement age from 55 to 60 years, as well as the readjustment of pensions in 2018, increasing the minimum from Rwf5, 200 to Rwf13, 000 for the insured member.

However, Rwanda Pensioners Association had requested a minimum monthly pension of at least Rwf25, 000.

There were 35,000 pensioners as of 2019, according to data from RSSB.

"Regarding youth unemployment, the PSR party asks financial institutions to help the youth get loans for self-employment and reduce the percentage of interest payments," Rucibigango said.

PSR commended the Government of Rwanda for its efforts in revising the law related to working hours per week from 45 to 40 in order to enable employees to fulfil other obligations.

The party has also called for a reduction of taxes on petroleum products so that the cost of travel doesn't continue to rise.
It is Labour Day today and the conditions of workers in China are not ideal. A survey has revealed that eight out of 10 older workers in Hong Kong are not allowed to get sick leaves and are devoid of severance pay as guaranteed by the law.

The survey was carried out by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCo) a human rights group in China. They recorded the responses of more than 40 people aged between 55 years or above.

It concluded that 88 per cent do not get paid sick leave, 83 per cent are unable to avail of long service payments and 80 per cent of the respondents do not get annual leave and severance pay.

A community organiser at SoCo, Lei Jih-sheng, said that as per the Employment Ordinance, a worker who has held a job in an organisation for more than four weeks by the same employee while completing an 18-hour work limit each week is employed under a continuous contract.

All employees, regardless of their age, are entitled to benefits such as rest days, annual leave with pay and sickness allowance.

Lei noted that several employees have been simply flouting these rules leaving older workers high and dry.

He said, When employers use tricks to recruit them, they dare not voice out fearing they may lose the job.

Workers scared of retaliation

The survey found that many such exploited elderly workers choose not to lodge a formal complaint against their employees for fear of retaliation or losing their jobs.

The situation has resulted in an increase in the prevalence of casual jobs where the elderly work for unreasonably long hours without basic protection like annual leave, Mandatory Provident Fund, and insurance.

Forty per cent reported working for 40 hours or more per week.

The case of an elderly employee named Ah Wai has been mentioned in the report. Wai, who is ailing from cancer, has been employed part-time for 20 years in the catering industry with no annual leave, MPF, or other benefits, according to South China Morning Post.

Domestic workers exploited

Hong Kong has been home to 340,000 migrant domestic workers and most are abused and exploited even though they contribute to the economic and social ecosystem of China.

A 2016 research by a non-profit group called Justice Centre revealed that 18 percent of domestic workers suffered physical abuse, 66 percent were victims of exploitation, and 1 in 6 was in a situation of forced labour.

Each worker worked for 71.4 hours per week, on average. Meanwhile, during the 2020 lockdown, cases of sexual and harassment reportedly tripled in numbers.

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Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar has recently cautioned her country against sacrificing its strategic partnership with China to maintain ties with the United States, the latest US intelligence documents revealed.

Khar argued that her country can no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States, the report revealed.

The highly classified findings of the US intelligence revealed the internal assessment of Pakistans policymakers on how to tackle the challenge of the growing tussle between the United States and China.

The US  in the leaked documents  had been able to gain access to the top-secret memo written by Khar. The leaked intelligence findings offer new insights into the challenges facing President Biden as he seeks global support for his efforts to reject the spread of authoritarianism, contain Russias belligerence, and counter Chinas growing global reach.

In an internal memo she titled Pakistans Difficult Choices, Khar cautioned that Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West, and said the instinct to preserve Pakistans partnership with the United States would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of what she deemed the countrys real strategic partnership with China, according to ARY News.

Meanwhile, another document, dated February 17, describes PM Shehbaz Sharifs deliberations with a subordinate about an upcoming UN vote on the Ukraine conflict, and what the government anticipated would be renewed Western pressure to back a resolution condemning Russias invasion.

The aide advised the prime minister that support for the measure would signal a shift in Pakistans position following its earlier abstention on a similar resolution, the intelligence document says.

The aide noted that Pakistan had the ability to negotiate trade and energy deals with Russia, and backing the Western-backed resolution could jeopardise those ties. When the UN General Assembly voted Feb 23, Pakistan was among 32 countries that abstained, according to ARY News.

With inputs from agencies.

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In a victory over an opponent from the centre-left, Santiago Pena of Paraguays Colorado Party, the countrys ruling conservative party, was elected as president.

The 44-year-old economist, Pena won with more over 42% of the votes counted, election officials announced.

Nearly 28% of the vote went to Concertacion Nacional candidate Efran Alegre. Later, he conceded defeat.

For more than 70 years, the landlocked South American nations political landscape has been dominated by the Colorado Party.

One round of voting determined the winner of Sundays presidential election.

Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory, Pena, said in a speech to his fans.

He also urged national harmony and agreement.

Although this years economic growth in Paraguay is predicted to exceed 4%, the nation still has high levels of corruption and poverty.

After the recent years of economic stagnation and fiscal deficit, Pena stated, We have a lot to do. The task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party.

The election results, according to Alegre, 60, demonstrated that his coalition had made tremendous efforts, but they were insufficient.

He promised to fight corruption while running for office and promoted austerity measures to address the expanding fiscal deficit.

He also suggested breaking long-standing ties with Taiwan and joining forces with China.

Only 14 nations currently have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, including Paraguay.

The island is seen as a province that has defied Chinese rule and should be brought back under Beijings control, including by force if necessary.

The Colorado Party received the largest percentage of votes in the legislative elections held in Paraguay on Sunday.

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As fighting continued in different parts of Sudans capital, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending an envoy to the country amid the unprecedented situation.

UN Secretary-General spokesman announced the move as the army and heavily armed paramilitaries in Khartoum continued fighting, even as a widely breached ceasefire was extended for 72 hours.

UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths, who will serve as the envoy, said in a separate statement Sunday that Sudans humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point.

I am on my way to the region to explore how we can bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight, he said.

However, massive looting of humanitarian offices and warehouses had depleted most of our supplies. We are exploring urgent ways to bring in and distribute additional supplies, he said.

The obvious solution, he added, would be to stop the fighting.

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad since battles erupted on April 15.

In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement announcing Griffiths deployment, the envoy would travel to the region immediately.

The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan, his statement said. We are extremely concerned.

Griffiths said that families were struggling to access water, food, fuel and other commodities, with some unable to relocate due to the cost of transportation out of the worst-hit areas.

Urgent health care, he said is severely constrained, raising the risk of preventable death.

Five containers of intravenous fluids and other emergency supplies were docked in Port Sudan awaiting clearance by authorities, he added.

With inputs from agencies.

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According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an operation carried out by Turkeys MIT intelligence agency resulted in the death of the alleged commander of the Islamic State group in Syria.

He declared on television, using the Arabic abbreviation for the Islamic State group, The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria.

On 30 November, the Islamic State announced the passing of Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and the appointment of Abu Hussein al-Qurashi as his successor.

Turkish intelligence operatives and local military police in Jindires, in the northwest region of Afrin, shut off a zone on Saturday, according to an AFP correspondent in northern Syria.

Residents told AFP that an operation had targeted an abandoned farm that was being used as an Islamic school.

Turkey has deployed troops in northern Syria since 2020 and controls entire zones with the help of Syrian auxiliaries.

The United States carried out a helicopter raid in northern Syria in an operation in mid-April, saying the Islamic State group had been planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

US Central Command said they had killed a senior leader of the IS group in the operation. They named him as Abd-al Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali.

Suspected Islamic State group fighters killed at least 41 people, 24 of them civilians, on April 16 in Syria.

In the first week of April, the US forces said they had killed an IS group leader responsible for planning attacks in Europe, naming him as Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri.

When it was at the height of its power, controlling swathes of Iraq and Syria, the IS group claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Europe.

In October 2019, Washington announced it had killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an operation in northwestern Syria.

Despite having been driven out of much of the territory it once controlled, the Islamic State group still launches attacks in Syria.

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New York: Former President Donald Trumps attorney requested a mistrial Monday in his clients rape case, saying the judge overseeing the civil proceedings in federal court has ruled in a biased manner against Trump.

Attorney Joe Tacopina cited pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan as his basis for the mistrial request, made in a letter to the judge.

Since mistrials, though sometimes frequently requested at trials, are rarely granted, Tacopina was more likely hoping the judge would grant a version of his alternative requests.

In those, Tacopina asked that Kaplan correct the record for any rulings that mischaracterized the evidence or permit Tacopina more latitude in questioning E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who sued Trump in November under a New York state law letting sexual assault victims temporarily sue others for attacks that happened even decades ago.

Carroll, 79, testified at a trial that began last week that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan, most likely in spring 1996. She said a chance encounter brought the pair together in an episode that was fun and flirtatious until Trump became violent in the dressing room.

Trump, 76, has long denied that a rape happened, that he was at the store with Carroll or that he even knew her beyond fleeting moments when pictures were taken of them in group settings in other years.

Amid a flurry of public denials and insults from Trump that prompted Carroll to add a defamation claim to the lawsuit, Trump has also insisted that Carroll was motivated by political reasons and a desire to sell copies of the 2019 memoir where she first publicly revealed her rape claims while Trump was still president.

Carroll has testified that she would have kept her accusation secret forever if not for the #MeToo movement, which gained prominence in 2017.

Carroll was expected to testify Monday for a third day and for a second day of cross-examination by Tacopina. Trump has not attended the trial, which is expected to last through the week.

During testimony on Thursday, the last day the trial occurred, Carroll grew frustrated as Tacopina pressed her on how she claims she reacted to an attack from his client.

You cant beat up on me because I didnt scream, Carroll forcefully told Tacopina. She had explained in earlier testimony that she was not a screamer  Im a fighter.

She said if she were lying about the assault, she wouldve told people she had screamed because more people would have believed me.

But, she emphasized, I dont need an excuse for not screaming.

In his mistrial request Monday, Tacopina complained that the judge shut down his questioning when he pushed Carroll to explain why she did not scream, why she didnt tell police or attempt afterward to retrieve footage from video cameras at the stores doors to prove that she and Trump were there together.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.

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The FBI appeared no closer to apprehending the assailant after nearly two days of searching with a team that has grown to hundreds of people as officers knocked on doors, the governor offered a $50,000 reward, and the widening manhunt for a Texas gunman who fatally shot five neighbours continued coming up empty on Sunday.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town of Cleveland, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

The scope of the hunt for the shooter in the Houston area has expanded. According to reports, by Sunday night, more than 200 police officers from various jurisdictions were looking for Francisco Oropeza, with many of them knocking on doors in quest of any information that would help them locate the 38-year-old culprit. The FBI and local authorities both contributed to the reward fund, bringing the sum up to $80,000 for any information regarding Oropezas whereabouts.

Oropeza, who reportedly fled the neighbourhood on foot on Friday night, is thought to be armed and dangerous. Sheriff of San Jacinto County Greg Capers stated that officials had expanded the search area beyond the shootings scene. The incident took place after the suspects neighbours begged him to cease firing shots in his yard at odd hours of the night because a baby was attempting to fall asleep.

Wilson Garcia, the father of the infant, spoke at a vigil on Sunday in Cleveland about the terrifying attempts his friends and family made inside his home that evening to flee, hide, and protect the children after Oropeza approached the house and started firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Another of Garcias children, 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, was also killed. Garcia said he and two other people had gone to respectfully ask Oropeza to shoot his gun farther away from the house on a street where residents say it is not uncommon for neighbours to unwind by firing off guns.

Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It was 10 to 20 minutes later, he said he saw Oropeza loading his AR-style rifle while running toward the house.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,' Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because, He wont fire at me. Im a woman.'

Authorities have said at least five other people who were in the house at the time were uninjured.

During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of the forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as the doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspects wife multiple times.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Were looking for closure for this family, Capers said.

By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around the victims home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.

In the neighbourhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door. One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside before letting the driver continue on his way.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary, she said. You never know where he can be.

Pineda said she didnt know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and his son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there for about five or six years and that neighbours have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

According to authorities, the victims were between the ages of 9 and 31 years old and were all believed to have been shot from the neck up. All were believed to be from Honduras.

Enrique Reina, Honduras secretary of foreign affairs and international cooperation, said on Twitter that the Honduran Consulate in Houston was contacting the families in connection with the repatriation of remains as well as U.S. authorities to keep apprised of the investigation.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records. Authorities had also previously stated that Garcias son was 8 years old, but the father and school officials said Sunday that the third grader was 9.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said. He said they were staying with family members.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe those at the home were members of a single family. In addition to the young boy, the other victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Garcia said they had called police five times between the time they asked Oropeza to shoot farther away and when the gunman entered their home. Capers said police got there as fast as they could and that he had three officers covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometres).

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French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone on Sunday and discussed Ukraines peace formula and the situation on the frontline.

Both leaders also discussed Ukraines military needs, both sides said. Zelenskyy said, I am grateful to France and Emmanuel personally for their support of our country and our people,. He thanked France for promising to send weapons to Ukraine.

Zelenskiy said he had a long and meaningful talk with Macron during which the two men coordinated their positions on the war and on how to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

I am grateful to France and Emmanuel personally for their support of our country and our people, he said in an evening video address, in which he also thanked France for promising to send weapons to Ukraine.

The French presidency said Macron had reaffirmed Frances support for Ukraine to Zelenskiy, and that Macron had given an update on European coordination to give Ukraine military help.

The European Unions foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed confidence earlier this week that the bloc would finalise a plan within days to buy ammunition for Ukraine after Kyiv expressed frustration at wrangling among EU member states.

With inputs from agencies.

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As part of activities marking the 61st posthumous birthday of the late founding chairman of LEADERSHIP Group Limited, Sam Nda-Isaiah, friends and associates have reflected on his immense contributions to politics, media and society.

The associates also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to give Nda-Isaiah a posthumous national honour.

Sam Nda-Isaiah who died on December 11, 2020 after a brief illness was founding chairman of LEADERSHIP Group Ltd and a serial entrepreneur. He was also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Extoling the virtues of the late pharmacist, visioner, and a passionate politician, his associates and prominent Nigerians noted that Sam Nda-Isaiah believed in one Nigeria, the youth and good governance and pursued his vision vigorously by joining forces with other progressive forces to oust the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

According to them, recognising someone who worked so hard to improve the standard and quality of leadership in Nigeria would be an honourable thing to do by the APC government, even in the twilight of the Buhari administration.

The president of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and chairman of Media Trust Ltd, publishers of Daily Trust Newspapers, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, called on the Nigerian government to honour the late Sam Nda-Isaiah "with a public act that keeps him" in the collective consciousness of Nigerians.

In his posthumous birthday message titled, "Honouring Sam Nda-Isaiah, which was made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, the NPAN president said, "Our friend and colleague, Sam, would have been 61 tomorrow if death did not snatch him from us.

"But even at that relatively young age, his contributions in many areas of our national life were significant. He was a pharmacist, columnist, newspaper publisher and a politician. He traversed these fields with passion and panache that was unique to him.

"We who knew him are left with deeply personal memories. The country he cared for and served, should honour him with a public act that keeps him in our collective consciousness."

For the Labour Party Senator-elect, FCT, Hajiya Ireti Kingibe, Sam Nda-Isaiah was a fearless and unapologetic patriot who didn't just wish the country well, but also endeavoured to inspire, motivate and sensitise people.

"His love of Nigeria shone through. I remember how hard he fought to scuttle 'The third term project.

"Sam was also a constant, consistent and passionate supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari. So, I am nonplussed that Sam hasn't been given a posthumous National Honour award for his services to this nation. No one is more aware of how deserving he is of this award than the members of this government," said.

Also, a friend of the late publisher, Professor and the chief executive of Business School Netherlands (BSN) Nigeria, Prof Lere Baale, said Sam Nda-Isaiah was a remarkable detribalised Nigerian pharmacist, journalist, businessman and politician.

Baale, who praised Sam Nda-Isaiah's "Big Ideas," said in his relatively brief life, Nda-Isaiah left an indelible mark on the Nigerian landscape, even as his contributions and impact are deserving of national recognition and honours.

"He was also a philanthropist who contributed significantly to the growth of many sectors of Nigerian society, especially in education and healthcare. As a journalist, he said Sam Nda-Isaiah distinguished himself with his insightful and in-depth reporting, which shed light on the many challenges facing Nigeria," Baale said.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Heights Access Nigeria Limited, Harry Thomas-Odey, implored APC to always remember that part of the idea of the APC merger was premised on the late Sam Nda-Isaiah's "Big Ideas."

"Sam," he said, "added colour to the APC; he was an advocate who stressed the need for opposition parties to merge and form an alliance against the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)."

For Abdul Gombe, one of Sam Nda-Isaiah's close allies and a former Group Managing Director of LEADERSHIP Group Ltd, "Honouring Sam with a posthumous award will be a very good idea. Anybody who knew Sam knows his passion for this country; his passion to see that things are done right in Nigeria," Gombe said adding that, "Sam thoroughly believed in the Buhari Project."

Also, a national chairmanship aspirant in the last elective national convention of the APC, Mohammed Saidu Etsu, argued strongly that the late Sam Nda-Isaiah deserves a national honours award as a pro-democracy advocate who contributed immensely to the success of the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof Yemi Osinbajo.

According to the APC chieftain, "Sam's contributions to Nigeria's democracy cannot be overstated, and it is only fitting that he is honoured with a posthumous award", adding that "he committed his life to making sure democracy thrives in Nigeria, and his legacy will continue to inspire many future generations."

Meanwhile, a statement by the Nda-Isaiah family announcing their late patriarch's 61st posthumous recalled that the late Sam Nda-Isaiah was a great family man who provided a leaning shoulder for those close to him, even when it was not convenient for him to do so.

The statement signed by Abraham Nda-Isaiah noted: "On behalf of the Nda-Isaiah Family, I celebrate our late patriarch, brother and uncle, Sam Nda-Isaiah, on his posthumous birthday today, May 1, 2023.

"Sam was a great family man who provided a shoulder for those close to him to lean on, even when sometimes it was not very convenient to do so. He strived for excellence, looking out to give something back to the society. He lived a life of service and growth, with a mindset that was confident to entrust responsibilities to anyone he saw a glimpse of excellence in.

"As a family we miss him but we thank God he lived a life of impact and his legacies live on. It's been a tough year without Sam! But we know he is up there having a great time. We can't help but feel happy on his posthumous birthday, knowing that he is probably singing with the angels. We miss him so much, but we know we'll be together again. Until then, happy posthumous birthday in heaven, brother!"

Sam Nda-Isaiah was born in Minna, capital of Niger State on May 1, 1962. He attended the UNA Elementary School before switching over to the Christ Church School, Kaduna in 1968 to complete his primary school education.

He attended the Federal Government College, Kaduna, from 1974 to 1979. He later studied Pharmacy at the Obafemi Awolowo University and did his National Youth Service Corps programme at the Ekiti State General Hospital in 1984.

He was an alumnus of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

Sam began his working career as a pharmacist at the Kano Specialist Hospital before he moved to the General Hospital, Minna. He worked at Pfizer Products Limited from 1985 to 1989.

A passionate newspaperman and pundit, his column, "Last Word" with a footnote, "Earshot", was a must read. He started the column as special writer and editorial board member of Daily Trust, before he founded LEADERSHIP with proceeds from the launch of a collection of some of his finest articles in 2001. Before LEADERSHIP became a full-fledged newspaper, Sam started with, LEADERSHIP CONFIDENTIAL, a newsletter that was of tremendous value and insights, especially among diplomats, top politicians and business owners.

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Sam demonstrated exceptional courage through his write-ups, a quality that popularised the newspaper and often put him at odds with government, especially under former Presidents Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Olusegun Obasanjo.

As a result of his contributions to the media industry, Nda-Isaiah was called to serve as a committee member in the Kano State government to revive The Triumph Newspapers owned by the state government. In 2003, he was in charge of President Muhammadu Buhari's presidential campaign publicity.

He was a member of the Asian think-tank, the Global Institute for Tomorrow in Hong Kong. In 2019 he was appointed board member of the Baze University, Abuja.

In 2015, Nda-Isaiah ran for the country's presidency, contesting in the primaries of the APC, with the campaign slogan, Big Ideas. He however lost in the keenly contested primaries.

He held the title of Kakaki Nupe conferred on him by the current Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar. He was also conferred with a chieftaincy title, Aare Baaroyin of Akure Kingdom, by Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun.

A very hard-working personality in all he sought to do, he was fully committed to ideals which he believed in. He was a great patriot who believed in the unity of Nigeria.
The federal government has raised the alarm over the action of Kaduna State government which it claimed exposes the staff and students of Federal Government College, Malali to security threat.

It dragged the state government to the High Court of Kaduna State where in a writ of summons, the federal government sought among others, "a declaration that the claimants through the FGC Kaduna are the rightful owner of all the land comprising the FGC and including the land at the bank of River Kaduna.

The federal government also petitioned Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to the inspector-general of police (IGP), asking for the deployment of police to protect the students, staff and the properties of the FGC, Malali from the encroachment of the Kaduna State government.

The federal government further prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining her (defendant) from committing further acts of trespass on Federal Government College land in the state.

Senior government sources told journalists in Abuja at the weekend that the government was worried over the security of the students and staff of the FGC as schools resumed for academic studies yesterday, following the encroachment by the Kaduna State government.

One of the sources privy to the matter, hinted that the letter to the IGP through the Federal Ministry of Education, was to ensure that the students and staff as well as the school properties were protected as the Kaduna State government had already started pulling down some parts of the perimeter fence of the unity school.

The letter to the IGP which was sighted by newsmen read, "I wish to bring to your attention an unconscionable action of the Kaduna State government which not only exposes the staff, students and properties of the Federal Government College, Malali, Kaduna to security threats but is a display of disregard for the rule of law.

"On April 18, 2023, the principal of the Federal Government College, Kaduna, forwarded a letter dated April 17, 2023, received from Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), that the state government had excised the initialised portion of land, within the college premises, towards the stretch of River Kaduna.

"The next day, April 18, 2023, officials of the KASUPDA, forcefully started bringing down the fences surrounding the college and from April 19, 2023, started to re-survey the land, digging and erecting a fence. As at April 22, 2023, eight couches of blocks have been laid on a stretch of one kilometre.

"The construction of the new perimeter fence, being constructed to delineate the illegally delineated area, is continuing at a frenzied pace and is being guarded by the men and women of a Kaduna State Vigilante Force.

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"Students would be resuming from their second term holiday on Sunday, April 30, 2023 and this unnecessary exposure to such an act will send a wrong message on the adherence of the rule of law in their young minds. Most importantly, this is a case of disregard of the law, especially as the Land Use Act is clear on Federal Government properties in states.

"The presence of policemen in the college including and especially the areas where this encroachment is taking place to protect the children and property of the school on resumption on Sunday, April 30, 2023."

"A declaration that the FGC, Kaduna be allowed to achieve its mandate in peace as enshrined in the Act establishing it and as provided under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

"An order of restoration of the fence pulled down by the defendants to its original status.

"An order of prohibition forbidding the defendants from depriving the claimant the use of all the land granted the college through the claimants in achieving their mandate

"An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants whether by themselves, agents, servants or privies from committing further acts of trespass on Federal Government College land Kaduna."

No date is yet fixed for hearing of the matter.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is advocating the coming together of African governments and leaders in order to develop a common resolve to push the Climate Positive Growth Agenda, which emphasises how the continent can offer solutions to the global climate crisis while attaining economic growth in their countries.

Osinbajo stated this yesterday during a meeting with Africa Europe Foundation, AEF, themed "Earthshot 2023 Milestone" on the sidelines of the Ibrahim Governance Weekend programme, in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to a statement by his media aide, Laolu Akande, the VP made the call on the same day he held a bilateral meeting earlier with Kenyan President William Ruto at the country's State House in Nairobi.

At the meeting, both leaders agreed that Africans have to shape a narrative on the Climate Change crisis such that the point of view of the continent is well stated by Africans.

They also expressed the hope that such an African narrative which is not antagonistic would soon be accepted because it is not "us versus them," but one that seeks to balance the global perspectives on the issue.

The leaders agreed that the challenges of Climate Change are real and global, requiring prompt and positive actions.

At the meeting with the AEF afterwards, the VP noted that "the Climate Positive Growth Agenda is important. For me, the next steps are crucial; first, we need to get African governments and heads of state around this agenda and that is crucial because the Climate Positive Agenda is a win-win situation for Africa and the rest of the world.

"It certainly needs a lot of fleshing out and a lot more in terms of getting African governments in particular to understand our place in it and how to take this forward."

Setting Nigeria as an example, Prof. Osinbajo said "we may not probably be a country you think of when it comes to a green economy, but the truth is that Nigeria's hydropower is the core of its energy resources, our Energy Transition Plan as well as renewable energy plan both emphasise great ambitions for renewable energy.

"We are a gas-rich country, so the question is how do you make that case for Nigeria in such a way that you are able to emphasise the trade-offs and the actual benefits.

"And I think, it is a straightforward enough case, but we have to present to each government where the benefits lie and where the trade-offs may lie so that we get a consensus as quickly and as effectively as possible."

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Continuing, Osinbajo noted that Africa can be a solution to the net zero ambition.

His words: "I think it is important to emphasise that it is a win-win because instead of seeing the usual narrative of Africa being the least emitter and the worst sufferer, here is a situation where we are proposing an African agency. And we are saying Africa can be the solution to the net zero ambitions of the entire world.

"And how is that going to happen? It will happen because we have everything that it takes - youth population, and renewable resources in the magnitude that no one else has.

"We have abundant natural resources as well and if Africa does not go the carbon-intensive path to upper-middle-income growth that others have gone, then it means that we make that sacrifice in order to be able to get everyone to their net zero ambitions but at the same time, we are able to assure growth for Africa."

He also advocated for an equitable and fair carbon market where there will be access for everyone as well as capital to drive the process.
Nairobi  National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has urged former President Uhuru Kenyatta to stay out of politics and let his successor work for Kenyans.

Speaking during a Church Service in Makutano Stadium, Kapenguria, West Pokot County, the House Majority Leader likened the retired President to Saul who was the first King of Israel.

"Saul wanted to kill David though he did good things to the people of Isarel. However a lot of people defended him and I have just analyzed all this and President Ruto you are the David and we all know who Saul is," he said in a veiled reference to Uhuru.

"Saul did not see value of your good work and that is why he is reviving Goliath (Raila Odinga) but he will not succeed."

Ichung'wah asserted his initial claim that Uhuru wfas funding Odinga's anti-government protests.

"Kenyans chose you (Ruto) and I want to tell my friend Uhuru, respect the choice of people who chose President ruto and stop supporting demonstrations because you will not succeed."

Ichung'wah's remarks come days after Kenyatta confronted police officers who had cordoned the Jubilee Party Headquarters located at Kileleshwa during a congratulation between two rival factions in the party.

Uhuru confronts police

While making a public appearance at the party headquarters Kenyatta, who is Party Leaders, was accompanied by the embattled secretary general Jeremiah Kioni

"We are not leaving here until you leave," Kenyatta told the police officers as the supporters who escorted him cheered on.

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Soon after the police officers left the premises, the Kioni-led faction led Kenyatta into party headquarters that had been sealed off following court orders.

Shortly after, Kenyatta addressed journalists bashing the National Police whom he accused of being used to settle political scores instead of undertaking their mandate independently.

"I want to ask our police officers to kindly follow the law. We have seen you so many times following the path of violating the law. Please adhere to justice because you pledged to protect the country and the people," he said while steering clear of developments in court.

Kenyatta, who was visibly angered, questioned why the police meddled with the internal affairs of the Jubilee Party.

"This property is not ours, we have only rented it. We have neighbors surrounding this building yet you have thrown teargas at them so that you can take the house by force. That's not right, that's not the law," he said.
London / Port Sudan  The UK government has announced that it will offer an additional evacuation flight to British nationals to leave Port Sudan, with the provision that they make their own way to the British Evacuation Handling Centre established in the city before 12:00 (Sudan time GMT+2) on Monday. This is an extra flight after the UK evacuation effort from Wadi Saeedna ended on Saturday.

A UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office statement today announces that the UK government has arranged an extra evacuation flight from Port Sudan tomorrow (Monday, May 1), "extending the longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country from Sudan".

British nationals who wish to leave Sudan on this flight are asked to travel to the British Evacuation Handling Centre at Port Sudan International Airport on 1 May before 12:00 Sudan time tomorrow, to allow for processing, the statement urges.

"This additional exceptional flight facilitates the evacuation of a limited number of UK nationals remaining in Sudan who wish to leave. This flight follows the UK's successful evacuation operation from Wadi Saeeda near Khartoum, which has evacuated 2,122 people on 23 flights."

"The UK Government is no longer running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield because of a decline in demand by British nationals, and while the situation on the ground remains volatile. The last evacuation flight departed the airfield at 22:00 Sudan time on 29 April," the statement reads.

Radio Dabanga confirmed the flight, operated by a Royal Air Force A400M Atlas out of British airbase RAF Akrotiri in the island of Cyprus, landed at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus, in the early hours of this morning, where the evacuees are transferred to civilian charter flights.

"Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan. We continue to do everything in our power to secure a long-term ceasefire, a stable transition to civilian rule and an end the violence in Sudan," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says.

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The British government previously said that the final evacuation flights would leave from Wadi Saeedna air base north of Khartoum, urging eligible British nationals to report to the airfield by 12:00 on Saturday. The evacuation criteria was expanded on Saturday to include eligible non-British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the British National Health Service (NHS), and their dependants who have leave to enter the UK. Later on Saturday, The Guardian reported that members of the Sudan Armed Forces had prevented a number of people from reaching those last rescue flights.

The UK government faced criticism during the early stages of the evacuation, which prioritised embassy and diplomatic staff over private citizens. Several other countries also participated in a mass evacuation of foreigners, by air from Wadi Saeedna, Port Sudan, and Djibouti, as well as by ship across the Red Sea to Jedda in Saudi Arabia, which made use of a fragile 72-hour truce called by the warring Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces militia, that expired today.
Nairobi  Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has directed the National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) and the police in Kajiado County to clear illicit brew and drugs in two weeks or risk losing their jobs.

Speaking on Saturday during the homecoming and thanksgiving service of the Principal Secretary, State Department for Forestry Ephantus Kimotho in Ngong, Gachagua said the officers know those peddling illicit brew and drugs, which are threatening to wipe out a generation of youth.

"Drugs and chiefs cannot exist in the same location. By May 14, 2023, you must report to my office that you have cleared drugs and illegal alcohol," he said.

Gachagua said this was an order from President William Ruto and it must be expedited. He said assistant chiefs, chiefs and Officers Commanding Stations need to exchange lists of drug and illicit brew peddlers, adding that this will inform the strategy and hasten the crackdown.

Gachagua said President Ruto is willing to send home 50 per cent of chiefs if they fail to deliver on the order, adding that no OCS will be transferred if they fail to deliver.

"The President and I cannot sit back and watch as a whole generation is wiped out. Within 14 days, we will take action," he said.

To realize this, the Deputy President asked the County Commissioner of Kajiado County Joshua Nkanatha to convene a security meeting to strategize on how to crack down on the illegal brews and drugs in the county.

His ultimatum in Kajiado came weeks after similar instructions in Nyeri where Gachagua declared that nobody will be spared in the war against illicit alcohol and drug abuse.

Multi-sectoral approach

Gachagua noted the government will not rest until it has decisively dealt with the vice.

"The illicit brews have demolished the family structure. It is evident. For instance, the number of children joining early childhood education has declined," he said.

"We shall not rest until we decisively deal with alcohol and substance abuse to save our youth, to save our family, and bring back our dignity, we can't let this continue further. That is why the candid discussion today is key towards a lasting solution," he stated in mid-April.

He added that more consultative forums will be held across the country including Nakuru, Mombasa, Kakamega, and Embu.

Interior Cabinet Secretray Kithure Kindiki also reiterated that his ministry is aligned and committed to wage a sustained war against the use of illicit brew and abuse of drugs in the country.

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Kindiki added that the use of alcohol and drug abuse is a problem that is likely to impair the country's future in a big way if not dealt with.

He emphasized that drug abuse and use of alcohol will be dealt with same vigor, commitment and finality as terrorism and banditry.

"After terrorism and banditry, is trade, use and abuse of illicit alcohol as well as psychotropic substances and drugs. This is a problem that is likely to impair Kenya's future in a big way if it not dealt with," he said.

"Having profiled the problem of illicit alcohol and drug abuse among the top three national security threats, we will deal with it with the same vigor, focus, commitment and finality as we have invested in dealing with terrorism and banditry."
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Qabil Ashirov

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Azerbaijan Accreditation Center and the accreditation bodies of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Northern Ireland, Serbia, and Greece, Azernews reports, citing the State Service for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control (SSACMC).

SSACMC noted that the representatives of the Azerbaijan Accreditation Center visited Belgrade. During the visit, the delegation participated in the 48th meeting of the Multilateral Agreement Council (MAC) of the Organization for European Cooperation on Accreditation. The meeting discussed innovations in the evaluation criteria and procedures related to the procedures of the International Cooperation Organization for Accreditation of Laboratories and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), suspension and or making decisions on recall, inconsistencies, and problems found in transition to new editions of standards during peer evaluations, listened to the report on the results of the peer evaluations conducted in the accreditation bodies as well as awarded the accreditation bodies with the status of a participant of the Multilateral Agreement (MLA).

Within the framework of the visit, Memorandums of Understanding were signed between the Accreditation Body of Serbia, the Ellin Accreditation System of Greece and UKAS, the accreditation body of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Azerbaijan Accreditation Center. In the Memorandums signed on a bilateral basis, the elimination of technical barriers to trade, the training of personnel in the field of accreditation and the exchange of experience, the accreditation of conformity assessment institutions, and the provision of participation in assessment and cooperation in other related fields have been reflected.
Gbarnga, Bong County-The National Patriotic Party and the Coalition for Democratic Change have launched an awareness campaign on the Biometric Voter Registration, (BVR) Exercise in Gbarnga, Bong County.

Speaking at the Launching Ceremony of the BVR's awareness Campaign, the Standard Bearer of the NPP and Liberia's Vice President, Chief Jewel Howard Taylor said the awareness is aimed at enhancing the political participation of all eligible voters as well as encouraging all citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and above to turn out to register in the ongoing voter registration exercise across the County.

The Vice President furthered that the awareness campaign is intended to buttress the sensitization drive of mass community participation in the voter registration exercise.

The NPP and CDC Voter Registration awareness campaign launch being with a parade from the Ganta High Community to the Gbarnga Administrative building.

It brought together a cross-section of partisans from the recent six political parties that joined the CDC ahead of the pending 2023 general and presidential elections.

VP Howard-Taylor said, the program was intended to encourage citizens and partisans to go and register to vote in the October 10, elections.

The NPP and CDC Biometric voter registration launch took another trend when disenchanted Members of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) of Alexander B. Cummings joined

The former Officials of ANC Party pledged their support to the reelection bid of President George Weah through a statement.

In a statement read by the Regional Coordinator of the ANC, Jeremiah K. Solomon said they as disenchanted sympathizers constituted partisans of ANC from Nimba, Lofa, and Bong Counties.

According to Solo, they unveiled their decision based on the transformational trajectory that President Weah is taking in Liberia in turn of development.

The opposition partisans painted out what they called numerous deliverables demonstrated by the government headed by CDC's Standard Bearer George Weah since his taking over as President of Liberia.

The Cummings' ANC former partisans said Liberia is taking a developmental path that needs continuity, adding this can only be demonstrated when "We all take a stance to defend and support President George Weah's second term."

The crossed over disenchanted ANC members said their decision is crucial in keeping Liberia in safe hands rather than those they called "self-proclaimed oppositions" including their former political leader, Alexander B. Cummings who is yearning for power for his greed at the expense of the masses.

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Atty. George Mulbah, National Chairman of the NPP received the dissatisfy ANC members and assured them that the Coalition will work with them in giving President Weah a second term.

He said those who are moving towards the CDC's corridors are making the rightful direction on grounds that their standard bearer and Vice standard bearer President Weah and Jewel Howard Taylor have done much in the recent history of the country.

The NPP National Chairman said for President Weah and Taylor to complete their developmental agenda for the country, it means they should be given the last term as stated in the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.

Chief Jewel Howard Taylor, the standard bearer of the NPP and Vice President of Liberia lauded the disenchanted ANC partisans for their broad step taken to join the CDC in the re-election bid of the Jewel and Weah ticket in the 2023 elections.

She further assured the recently crossed-over ANC partisans that they will not be disappointed as their past party has done to them over the years.

Liberia's tough-talking first female Vice President told them that the CDC is a political party that has a plan and vision for the development of Liberia.

She described the opposition community as a disorganized group of people who have no vision for Liberia's development.
Bandits attacked many communities in the Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State and abducted an unidentified number of people while several others were injured.

The villages attacked include Essan, Koitapi, Wuda, Loitapi, among others in the area.According to reports, the bandits, who operated for several hours without challenge shooting sporadically, carted away cattle, motorcycle, cash, and destroyed houses in the affected communities rendering residents homeless.Meanwhile, the Coordinator, Kaffin Koro Axis Concerned Youth, Maikarfi Sabastine, has appealed to Governor Abubakar Bello and security agencies to urgently come to the aide of the affected communities.
UN, partners deliver possible relief as Sudan truce extension welcomed

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:52, April 29, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- With humanitarian aid deliveries wherever possible in Sudan during a spotty truce, authorities across the globe welcomed the ceasefire extension, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

In a joint statement, members of the Trilateral Mechanism -- the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the United Nations -- and the Quad countries welcomed the announcement by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to extend the ceasefire for an additional 72 hours, and called for its full implementation, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric said members of the Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad countries, which are Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, also welcomed the two sides' expressed readiness to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.

On the humanitarian front, the United Nations and its partners continue to deliver whenever and wherever feasible, particularly in the areas of health and nutrition, he said.

The World Health Organization said it has stocks of essential medicines, blood bags, supplies for surgery and trauma care waiting to be delivered as soon as access is safe. An additional shipment of medical supplies is scheduled to arrive in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

"Partners continue to support the operations of 65 health facilities in five states throughout Sudan, providing staffing support, medical consumables, supplies and pharmaceuticals," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The UN Population Fund said that local organizations and networks are providing support to people facing gender-based violence. The response is now focused mainly on remote service provision, and some counselors are offering voluntary support to undertake remote psychosocial services.

OCHA said its partners kept health and nutrition programs running in Blue Nile state. Refugee camps in Gedaref, Kassala, White Nile and Blue Nile, and refugee settlements in South and West Kordofan, are receiving essential services, including health and water.

"In Gedaref, our partners are providing life-saving services to refugees and host communities," the humanitarian office said.

However, the situation is particularly alarming in El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state. The office said there are continuing reports of the killing of civilians, including medical personnel.

The UN Refugee Agency warned that the conflict is devastatingly impacting the civilian population, including refugees and internally displaced people across the country. The agency said it works with partners and governments to deploy supplies wherever safe.

OCHA said its partners report some 3,000 people crossed the Sudanese border into the Central African Republic (CAR) and are living in spontaneous settlements. Local authorities are exploring possibly relocating them to Birao, far from the border region. More refugees are expected, further disrupting traffic along the border.

The office said Sudan is a significant supplier of essential commodities to the CAR. That commerce will be tested with the rainy season just beginning and running through October.

"Some 120,000 people were already in need of humanitarian assistance in the northern part of the CAR," and the most pressing needs include emergency shelter, food and clean water, said OCHA.

Dujarric, the UN spokesman, expressed gratitude to the French government for taking more than 400 UN personnel and their dependents out of Sudan, and appreciation for other countries assisting in ensuring the safe transport of UN personnel.

Dujarric said the United Nations remains present in Sudan, with a hub with the leadership of the UN mission operating out of Port Sudan to remain with the people of Sudan.

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Sudan's fragile truce extended for 72 hours, as warring sides trade blame for ceasefire violations

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 April 2023 9:39 PM

A shaky ceasefire between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been extended for another 72 hours amid a blame game between the two sides, each accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.

The deal, which was originally mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, was expected to expire midnight on Sunday.

After the Sudanese army said in a Sunday statement that it had agreed to extend the truce for a period of 72 hours, the RSF said it had also agreed to the extension "in response to international, regional, and local calls."

Since the two sides started fighting on April 15, more than 500 people have been killed, while hospitals and other services have been knocked out, and residential areas turned into war zones.

Thousands have also been wounded in the fighting, which has displaced tens of thousands of people.

No prospect for talks between warring sides

After announcing its agreement to truce extension, the Sudanese army said it hoped what it called the "rebels" would abide by the deal, adding, however, that it believed they intended to keep up attacks.

The army also claimed that it had destroyed RSF convoys moving towards the capital Khartoum from the direction of the west.

The RSF said the army used artillery and warplanes to attack its positions in a number of areas in Khartoum Province.

Speaking on Saturday, Sudan's former prime minister warned that the ongoing conflict could turn into one of the world's worst civil wars if it is left unchecked.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya would be a small play," Abdalla Hamdok said, adding, "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

Meanwhile, the prospect of negotiations between the warring sides remained bleak.

Army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has ruled out sitting down for talks with the head of the RSF, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who, in turn, said he would talk only after the army has ceased hostilities.

"There are no direct negotiations, there are preparations for talks," Volker Perthes, the UN special representative in Sudan, told journalists in Port Sudan.

Perthes, who had earlier alleged that the sides were more open to negotiations than before, said he hoped a direct meeting between representatives of the warring sides would be held as soon as possible aimed at "achieving an organized ceasefire with a monitoring mechanism."

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Fierce fighting continues in Sudan despite truce extension, warnings of civil war

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 April 2023 5:23 PM

Fierce fighting continues between Sudan's army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) despite warnings that the ongoing conflict in the country could turn into one of the world's worst civil wars.

Clashes erupted between the rival military forces on Sunday, following the extension of a shaky ceasefire in Sudan, with both sides accusing each other of fresh violations of the truce.

The army claimed that it had destroyed RSF convoys moving towards the capital, Khartoum, from the west. The RSF said the army had used artillery and warplanes to attack its positions in a number of areas in Khartoum province.

This comes as the RSF had announced in a statement earlier in the day that a formal ceasefire agreement which was due to expire at midnight would be extended for a further 72 hours.

"In response to international, regional and local calls, we announce the extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours, starting from midnight tonight, in order to open humanitarian corridors and facilitate the movement of citizens and residents and enable them to fulfill their needs and reach safe areas," the statement said.

Fighting erupted between Sudan's army and the RSF on April 15 and has so far killed more than 500 people, knocked out hospitals and other services, and turned residential areas into war zones.

Thousands have also been wounded in the fighting, which has displaced tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese and citizens from neighboring countries, who have fled, including to Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.

International organizations have, however, warned that millions of Sudanese are unable to flee and are trying to survive acute shortages of water, food, medicines, and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts.

According to experts, the situation in Sudan could worsen at any moment, with intense violence in the days to come.

GCC chief calls for calm in Sudan

Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called for calm in Sudan and an end to all military escalation in the country.

GCC Secretary General Jassim Muhammed al-Budaiwi made the appeal during a meeting with Dafallah Al-Haj Ali, Sudan's undersecretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Sunday.

Budaiwi also stressed the GCC's keenness on Sudan's security, safety and stability, preserving the cohesion of the state and its institutions, and supporting it to face all challenges to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

The GCC secretary general also hailed all international and regional efforts aimed at reaching a consensus among political forces, ending the crisis in Sudan, and achieving security and stability in the country.

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Nairobi  President William Ruto has said that he will establish a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the mass graves in Kilifi's Shakohola linked to a suspected cult.

This, he said, will prevent and deter preachers with ulterior motive from conducting such attrocities in the country.

Speaking during a church service in Kapenguria, Westpokot, the Head of State stated that he will soon appoint members of the judicial commission inquiry to ensure justice is served and that individuals like Paul Mckenzie, who is linked to the Shakahola 'church', will desist from harming citizens.

"We are all Christians and Kenya is a God fearing country, however, there are those who are using religion to harm people, to kill, fraud and do ungodly acts to human beings in the name of religion and we have now said we will come up with a judicial commission of inquiry to stop such acts from happening again in the nation," he said.

"The Judicial commission inquiry will probe what happened in Shakahola through the so-called Mackenzie so we can get to the bottom of what really happened with the Mackenzie and all his collaborators."

Ruto added that he will hold a meeting with the nation's religious leaders to discuss the establishment of a task force and other measures to help weed out people who misuse religion, conduct business in churches, or engage in ungodly behavior in the name of religion.

Self-regulation

He said the consultative meeting will also help establish an agreed framework that will provide for self-regulation so that the religious leaders, and the church will have a mechanism where they can point out to the government those abusing religion.

"I will do consultations with the religious leaders in the country so that we can have a taskforce so that we can weed out the characters that want to abuse religion to run businesses and things that are anti religion in the republic of Kenya," he added.

"We want to develop a framework that will provide for self-regulation so that church and the religious leaders can have a mechanism where they can point out to government those who want to abuse religion for other purposes.

He spoke even as the Ministry of Interior and National Administration transferred senior security officials from Kilifi in the wake of the discovery of dozens of bodies buried in Shakahola forest in what has been linked to controversial televangelist Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church.

The cult leader Mackenzie has been accused of driving his followers to death by preaching that starvation was the only path to God with the number of bodies exhumed as of Friday standing at 109.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki made the announcement Friday during his second visit to Shakahola located on the outskirts of the coastal town of Malindi.

He said the changes will affect top agents from all departments ranging from the Kenya Police Service, Administration Police Service, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the National Intelligence Service.

Kindiki outlined the measures even as authorities intensified efforts to rescue surviving followers of Mackenzie.

Credible probe

"The Government has decided that effective today we will transfer all station, division, sub-county and county heads and commanders of all agencies within Kilifi County effective today (Friday)," Kindiki said.

"We will replace them with colleagues from elsewhere so that we can show the public that what we are doing is for the good of the country and sake of justice."

The Interior CS however explained that by effecting the transfers, the Ministry was not implicating anybody on the failure to detect the criminal activities by the preacher.

"We are saying if you are the OCS, the commander or the person who ought to have either received a report or you may have received the report and failed to act then you cannot be part of the team that is conducting the investigation," he said.

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He added that it is the policy of the government that all those who are in command position at all levels must be deployed elsewhere and allow their colleagues from other stations to come and help push the investigations forward.

The Interior CS noted that the new team will co-ordinate with their counterparts from Nairobi to ensure they get to the bottom of the activities of Mackenzie.

He said the government had also upscaled the level and seniority of operation command in the ongoing process to search, rescue survivors as well as exhume bodies.

Kindiki further announced that DCI Director Mohamed Amin had also upscaled the level of leadership on the mass grave site which sits on an 800-acre of land.

"Therefore, the investigations are going to be conducted by new leaders of higher rank from Nairobi effective tonight," he said.
Sudan crisis: Fighting enters third week as UN warns country falling apart

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 April 2023 10:15 AM

Fighting among Sudan's armed forces has entered its third week as the UN warns that the country is collapsing.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that the power struggle between the two top commanders of Sudan's main armed forces, the official army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) also known as the Janjaweed, is tearing the country apart.

"There is no right to go on fighting for power when the country is falling apart," Guterres said in reference to the continuous fighting over power between the Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country's de facto head, and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who commands the RSF, including tens-of-thousands of battle-hardened war veterans gathered in a collection of semi-organized militia.

Guterres, who was speaking to Al Arabiya television after efforts to extend a 72-hour truce failed, threw his weight behind the African-led attempts to mediate between the two sides, saying, "my appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan."

Also, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) sounded the alarm, warning that the ongoing violence could plunge all of eastern Africa into a humanitarian crisis.

There is presently a shortage of food, water, and fuel in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where millions of people are trapped.

Sudan, for decades, has been indirectly ruled by the junta and the two generals seized power in a 2021 coup that derailed Sudan's transition to democracy by eventually prompting the prime minister, who had been reinstated, to resign.

The transitional government itself had been established after President Omar al-Bashir, a former military officer, was ousted following mass nationwide protests in Sudan over bread and fuel price rises in 2019.

However, Burhan and Daglo eventually fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

Sudan's former prime minister warned on Saturday that the conflict could spiral into an international crisis, so big that the problems caused by the wars in Syria, Yemen, or Libya would look small compared to it.

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok said the conflict in the African nation could deteriorate into one of the world's worst civil wars if it is not stopped early.

Hamdok, who resigned in January last year, warned that a civil war in Sudan would be "a nightmare for the world."

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper ... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok said in an event in Nairobi, Kenya. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

He described the conflict as a "senseless war" between two armies of Sudan, noting that, "There is nobody who is going to come out of this victorious. That is why it has to stop."

Since the fighting started on April 15, at least 528 have been killed, 4,500 others wounded and about 75,000 people have been displaced within Sudan, or fled to neighboring Chad, Egypt, South Sudan or Ethiopia. Foreigners in Sudan and international staff have also fled the country.

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Former prime minister: Conflict in Sudan could spiral down into one of world's worst civil wars

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 April 2023 2:14 AM

Sudan's former prime minister has warned that the ongoing conflict in the country could turn into one of the world's worst civil wars if it is not kept in check.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Abdalla Hamdok said in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Saturday, adding, "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

Fighting erupted between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15 and has so far killed more than 500 people, knocked out hospitals and other services, and turned residential areas into war zones.

Thousands have also been wounded in the fighting, which has displaced tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese and citizens from neighboring countries, who have fled, including to Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.

International organizations have, however, warned that millions of Sudanese are unable to flee and are trying to survive acute shortages of water, food, medicines, and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts.

The current conflict is a "senseless war" between two armies, the former premier said, adding, "There is nobody who is going to come out of this victorious. That is why it has to stop."

Hamdok was the prime minister of Sudan's fragile transition to civilian rule before being ousted and detained in a coup in 2021. Although he was later reinstated, he resigned in January 2022.

Army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his number two, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the RSF, seized power in the coup that derailed Sudan's transition to democracy.

But the two generals fell out recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

Earlier this month, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the violence in Sudan "risks a catastrophic conflagration...that could engulf the whole region and beyond."

Stressing that he had called on the parties to the conflict to de-escalate tensions and return to the negotiating table, Guterres added, "We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss."



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Uzbeks Vote On Constitutional Changes Aimed At Keeping President In Power Until 2040

By RFE/RL's Uzbek Service April 30, 2023

Uzbeks have been voting in a constitutional referendum that could pave the way for President Shavkat Mirziyoev to remain in power until 2040.

Voters in the April 30 referendum are widely expected to endorse the proposals, which include extending presidential terms from five to seven years.

Other questions on the referendum would allow Mirziyoev, 65, to serve two more terms and extend his time in power until 2040. His current term ends in 2026.

Authorities have billed the changes as a way to improve governance in the tightly controlled nation. Officials have heavily promoted the vote, holding concerts and rallies ahead of the balloting to extol the reforms. Billboards in the capital Tashkent have shown imaginary text conversations encouraging Uzbek to cast their ballots.

There were scattered reports of voting irregularities. The news site Gazeta.uz reported several instances of people voting for family members or relatives without authorization, and students at several universities said they had been ordered to submit photographs of themselves at polling stations, to prove they had cast ballots.

Students living in a hostel in Tashkent's Yakkasaray district told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that election employees had forced them to go to the polling station to vote, threatening a fine if they didn't go.

One report said free food -- traditional Uzbek plov -- was being served to voters at several polling stations.

Mirziyoyev cast his ballot at a polling station in Tashkent, stopping to greet other voters.

"Every person should have a belief in tomorrow in their heart and support reforms," he said, according to the Associated Press. "We are doing our best to ensure that, and, God willing, your trust in reforms will be remain strong."

The Central Election Commission declared the referendum valid after turnout surpassed 50 percent. It reached 81.4 percent by 5 p.m. local time. Preliminary vote results are expected on May 1.

Mirziyoev came to power in 2016, succeeding the late longtime leader Islam Karimov, who had turned Uzbekistan into one of the most oppressive countries in the world.

A former prime minister, Mirziyoev undertook a series of reforms to modernize the country's oppressive bureaucracy, pushing Karimov loyalists out of top government posts and bringing in younger technocrats.

He also clamped down on forced labor in the cotton harvest, which is a major source of hard currency.

But activists say rights abuses persist, there is no viable political opposition, and independent media are tightly restricted.

In July 2022, protests broke out in Karakalpakstan over a constitutional amendment that would have reduced the autonomy of the autonomous region.

The protests were met with a harsh police response that killed at least 21 people, according to rights activists. Dozens of people were jailed.

The proposed amendment was later withdrawn. The April 30 ballot does not include the amendment.

Other changes include abolishing capital punishment and boosting legal protections for people accused of crimes.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-referendum-mirziyoev- 2040/32385660.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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Constitutional Referendum in Uzbekistan Declared Valid as Voter Turnout Passes Threshold

Sputnik News

20230430

TASHKENT (Sputnik) - The constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan has been declared valid as 62.24% of voters cast their ballots, thus passing the necessary threshold of 50%, deputy chairman of the Uzbek Central Election Commission, Bahrom Kuchkarov said on Sunday.

"According to the electronic system recording voter turnout, as of 13.00 [local time, 08:00 GMT], 12,083,105 voters, or 62.24% of the total list, have attended the polling stations. The referendum can be declared as valid," Kuchkarov told reporters.

Later, Kuchkarov said that the turnout had passed the 80% mark as of 5 p.m. local time.

The chairman said that the Uzbek regions of Fergana, Andijan and Samarqand had shown the most active attendance as turnout there surpassed 80%.

On Sunday, Uzbek citizens vote on a new edition of the country's constitution, which will extend presidential terms from five to seven years and strengthen various branches of the government. The overhaul will allow incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to serve two more terms.

Under Uzbekistan's legislation, a referendum is considered valid if more than half of the citizens who have the right to participate take part in the vote. The election commission is expected to unveil the referendum's results on May 1.

 Sputnik

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Extra evacuation flight from Port Sudan announced

Exceptional additional flight from Port Sudan announced, as total number of people evacuated reaches 2122.

30 April 2023

UK Government has arranged an extra evacuation flight from Port Sudan tomorrow (Monday, May 1).

Final evacuation flight from Wadi Saeedna airfield, near Khartoum, departed on Saturday evening.

Total number of people evacuated on UK flights this week is now 2122 (as of 12 noon on April 30), in the longest and largest evacuation by any Western nation.

An extra UK evacuation flight from Port Sudan will depart on Monday (May 1), extending the longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country from Sudan.

British nationals who wish to leave Sudan on this flight are asked to travel to the British Evacuation Handling Centre at Port Sudan International Airport on 1 May before 1200 Sudan time tomorrow (1100 BST) to allow for processing.

This additional exceptional flight facilitates the evacuation of a limited number of UK nationals remaining in Sudan who wish to leave. This flight follows the UK's successful evacuation operation from Wadi Saeeda near Khartoum, which has evacuated 2122 people on 23 flights.

The UK Government is no longer running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield because of a decline in demand by British nationals, and while the situation on the ground remains volatile. The last evacuation flight departed the airfield at 2200 Sudan time on 29 April.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The UK has now airlifted over 2100 people to safety from Sudan, in what has been the largest and longest evacuation of any Western country. I want to thank all of those working to deliver this evacuation and ensure as many people as possible are brought to safety. Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan. We continue to do everything in our power to secure a long-term ceasefire, a stable transition to civilian rule and an end the violence in Sudan.

Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, said:

I am grateful to our Armed Forces who have ensured there was an alternative to Wadi Saeedna and who are currently supporting FCDO and Border Force staff to facilitate the rescue effort. HMS Lancaster and the RAF are also there in support of HMG.

The evacuation criteria was expanded on Saturday to include eligible non-British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the NHS, and their dependants who have leave to enter the UK.

The UK continues to provide consular support to British nationals in Port Sudan and in neighbouring countries in the region.

The safety of all British nationals in Sudan continues to be our utmost priority and we urge everyone to continue to follow our travel advice. The situation remains volatile and our ability to conduct evacuations could change at short notice.

The UK is pursuing all diplomatic avenues to end the violence in Sudan and return to civilian rule, with the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary and Minister for Africa all speaking with international partners. Ultimately a stable transition to civilian rule is the best way to protect the security and prosperity of the Sudanese people.

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Guterres dispatches UN 'relief chief' to Sudan as humanitarian crisis nears 'breaking point'

30 April 2023 - In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths to the region immediately, the global body announced on Sunday.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

The UN again urged the warring sides to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing hostilities, and respect humanitarian workers and assets.

Nearing the 'breaking point'

The humanitarian situation in Sudan "is reaching breaking point," Mr. Griffiths warned in a separate statement, underscoring the need to stop the fighting.

Essential goods are becoming scarce, especially in the capital, Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical supplies.

Furthermore, vulnerable people are unable to leave areas worst-hit areas as transportation costs have risen exponentially, while those injured in the violence find it difficult to access urgent healthcare.

Aid stocks dwindling

"The United Nations and our partners are doing our best to reboot the humanitarian response in the country," he said.

"Massive looting of the offices and warehouses of humanitarian organizations has depleted most of our supplies. We are exploring urgent ways to bring in and distribute additional supplies."

The UN "relief chief" said a shipment with five containers of intravenous fluids and other emergency supplies is currently docked in the city of Port Sudan, located on the Red Sea coast, awaiting clearance by the authorities.

Appeal for renewed ceasefire

The announcement of his deployment came just hours after the UN and international partners appealed for Generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as "Hemedti", to agree to extend a 72-hour ceasefire for another three days, amid reports of ongoing airstrikes in Khartoum.

The Trilateral Mechanism - which brings together the African Union, East African bloc IGAD and the UN - also called on the rivals to ensure their forces fully implement the truce.

"As the people of Sudan urgently need a humanitarian pause, the Trilateral Mechanism urges the parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, to protect civilians and to refrain from attacks on civilian populated areas, schools, and healthcare facilities," they said in a statement.

"This ceasefire would also pave the way for talks between both sides towards the establishment of a permanent cessation of hostilities," they added.

Death and displacement

Sudan has been undergoing a turbulent transition to civilian rule in the wake of the April 2019 overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing government that brought together military and civilian leaders was also toppled in a coup in October 2021.

The Trilateral Mechanism has been facilitating talks since May 2022 which resulted in an agreement towards restoring civilian rule, signed that December.

However, hopes shattered two weeks ago when fighting erupted between the regular Sudanese army, led by General al-Burhan, and paramilitary forces under General Dagalo, known as the RSF.

Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands have been fleeing, including to neighbouring Chad, where some 20,000 Sudanese have found refuge. Others are sheltering in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, often among already vulnerable communities.

The fighting has also forced the UN to essentially halt all aid operations in a country where nearly 16 million people, roughly one third of the population, already were in need.

Commitment to stay

The UN relocated and evacuated staff from Khartoum and other locations over the past week, who will continue to work remotely, whether from inside Sudan or in other countries.

The UN and partners are establishing a core team in Port Sudan, which will be responsible for overseeing aid operations and negotiating humanitarian access with de facto authorities.

Humanitarians now based in the coastal city, capital of Red Sea state, are determined to quickly return to Khartoum, as the UN continues to uphold its commitment to Sudan.

Earlier on Sunday, Volker Perthes, head of the UN Mission supporting the transition, UNITAMS, was briefed by the Wali (Governor) and other officials in Red Sea State on the humanitarian and security situation there.

"He assured them that the UN is not leaving Sudan and that he will work from Port Sudan until the security situation in Khartoum allows our return," UNITAMS said in a tweet.

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UN Set to Host Crucial Afghanistan Meeting

By Ayaz Gul April 30, 2023

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has renewed a call for Afghanistan's Taliban to remove curbs on women's rights to work and education as he prepares to convene a meeting of envoys from several countries Monday to discuss the situation in the strife-torn nation.

The two-day closed-door gathering in Qatar's capital, Doha, will discuss a "common way forward" on how to engage with the Taliban in the aftermath of their latest edicts banning Afghan women from working with the U.N. and other aid organizations.

"Reversing all measures that restrict women's rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance," Guterres tweeted late Saturday.

Reversing all measures that restrict women's rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance.Afghans urgently need emergency aid.Women are essential to ensure it's delivered. pic.twitter.com/CSY8JUXk3B

 Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 29, 2023



"Afghans urgently need emergency aid. Women are essential to ensure it's delivered," he said. He reiterated female humanitarians bring life-saving services to Afghan women and girls.

U.N. officials say the restriction on female aid workers has dealt a blow to humanitarian operations in the country where millions of Afghans are just a step away from famine-like conditions.

Special representatives from various countries and international organizations will attend the Doha meeting, but Guterres "has not extended an invitation to the de facto [Taliban] authorities," his spokesperson told reporters Friday.

"The purpose of the meeting is to reinvigorate international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on Afghanistan and to reach a sort of unity or commonality of the message, such as human rights, particularly on the issue of women and girls, inclusive governance, countering terrorism, drug trafficking," Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the secretary-general, said.

Dujarric declined to share the list of participants. He did not disclose the venue of the huddle in the Qatari capital.

The Taliban regained power in August 2021 as the United States and NATO troops departed Afghanistan after almost two decades of involvement in the war.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive chief of the fundamentalist Taliban, has since barred girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and most women from working across the impoverished nation.

Akhundzada has rejected international calls for ending curbs on women and girls, saying he will not allow any foreign interference in his Islamic governance.

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned the restrictions on women and called for their urgent reversal.

The Taliban foreign ministry rejected the call and described the ban on women working with the U.N. as an "internal social matter of Afghanistan."

Controversy

The Doha meeting has been marred by controversy over whether it will also discuss the recognition of the Taliban government.

The controversy stemmed from U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks at a seminar in April at Princeton University, where she suggested recognition would also be on the agenda.

"We hope that we will find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition ... of the Taliban," Mohammed said.

Her comments have since forced the U.N. to repeatedly clarify that "recognition is not an issue on the table."

Washington has dismissed as "unacceptable" any talks on the subject at Monday's meeting.

"What I would say is that any kind of recognition of the Taliban is completely off the table," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.

On Saturday, about two dozen Afghan women staged a protest in Kabul, demanding the U.N. not formally recognize the Taliban government at Monday's meeting. They said doing so would amount to violating women's rights.

Protesters chanted they would fight and die for taking back their rights, accusing Guterres of "lobbying for Taliban recognition."

Dujarric dismissed suggestions Friday that the U.N. intends to leave Afghanistan due to restrictions on its female staff.

"There is a review going on, on how we do our work. But we're trying to walk a fine line, which will need to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid," he said.

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Sudanese Ex-PM Urges International Community to Push for Truce

By Victoria Amunga April 30, 2023

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is calling on the international community to keep pressure on the warring sides in the Sudan conflict. Hamdok says the kind of engagement that enabled evacuations of foreigners could help bring a lasting truce. He spoke during the 2023 Mo Ibrahim Governance weekend in Kenya.

Answering questions from Mo Ibrahim, the founder of the Ibrahim Foundation, Hamdok said a strong, unified approach by the international community would help end the military fighting in Sudan, which he terms senseless.

According to the former prime minister, it is crucial to put clearly defined roles upon the military, which he said must stay away from politics.

Hamdok was ousted in an October 2021 coup and he contends the current configuration is not to be trusted.

This week, U.N. Sudan envoy Volker Perthes called on the rival military factions to fully adhere to the agreed upon cease-fire. He said Sudan military commander Gen. Abdel Fattah al Burhan and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo appear to be "closer to negotiations" than they have been," though Burhan informed the media he "would not sit down at the same table as the leader of the 'rebellion.'"

Both military factions have defended their stance. Sudan's military maintains the deployment of RSF troops in parts of the country are unlawful. In a statement Saturday, Dagalo said the RSF remains committed to a cease-fire and is working to open corridors for Sudanese residents and non-residents.

Citizens complained on social media, though, that Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces had raided their homes and stolen money, gold and other possessions. VOA could not independently confirm the claims.

More than 500 people have been killed and upwards of 4,000 have been wounded, according to the United Nations, in the conflict between Sudan's military and the country's paramilitary force that is entering its third week.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 30 April 2023 - Day 431

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that in recent months, Russian commanders have likely started punishing breaches in discipline by detaining the offending troops in 'Zindans' which are improvised cells consisting of holes in the ground covered with a metal grille.

Multiple recent reports from Russian personnel give similar accounts of being placed in Zindans for misdemeanours including drunkenness and attempting to terminate their contracts.

In the early months of the war, many Russian commanders took a relatively light touch in enforcing discipline, allowing those who refused to soldier to quietly return home. Since Autumn 2022, there have been multiple increasingly draconian initiatives to improve discipline in the force, especially since Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov assumed command of the operation in January 2023.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Russian federation continues to use terror tactics. Russian forces launched 2x missile attacks on the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. Also, during the day Russian forces launched 15x air strikes and conducted about 30x MLRS attacks on Ukrainian settlements and positions of Ukrainian troops. The threat of missile and air strikes remains high across Ukraine.

Russia continues to focus its main efforts on offensive operations on Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mar'inka axes. During the past day, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled more than 20x Russian attacks on the specified axes. Bakhmut and Mar'inka remain places of fierce fights. Our defenders hold defense.

Volyn' and Polissya axes: no signs of the formation of offensive groupings reported. Russia maintains presence of its military contingent on the territory of belarus.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russia maintains enhanced military presence in the areas bordering Ukraine. During the last 24 hours Russian aircraft attacked Krasnyi Khutir (Chernihiv oblast); and Seredyna-Buda (Sumy oblast). The air strikes damaged local houses.

Mykolaivka, Halaganivka, and Leonivka (Chernihiv oblast); Seredyna-Buda, Druzhba, Bachivs'k (Sumy oblast); as well as Chervona Zorya, Veterynarne, Strelecha, Hlyboke, Krasne, Vovchans'k, and Loshakovo (Kharkiv oblast) came under Russian mortar and artillery fire.

Kup'yans'k axis: Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations. The settlements of Kam'anka, Krasne Pershe, Dvorichna, Lyman Pershyi, Kislivka, and Berestove (Kharkiv oblast); Novoselivs'ke (Luhansk oblast) were subjects to Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Lyman axis: Russian artillery bombarded various Ukrainian settlements along the contact line, including: Nevs'ke, Dibrova, and Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast); Kolodyazi, Verkhn'okam'yans'ke, Spirne and Rozdolivka (Donetsk oblast).

Bakhmut axis: Russian forces continue to conduct offensive operations. Fierce battle for the city of Bakhmut is ongoing. During the day, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful attacks in the vicinities of Ivanovs'ke.

Vasyukivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Novomarkove, Hryhorivka, Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar, Ivanivs'ke, Kostyantynivka, Bila Hora, Diliivka, Sjeverne, Zalizne, Pivdenne, and New York (Donetsk oblast) came under Russian fire.

Avdiivka axis: Russian forces conducted unsuccessful attacks in the vicinities of Avdiivka and Pervomais'ke (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces shelled Novokalynove, Avdiivka, Tonen'ke, Karlivka, Vodyane, and Pervomais'ke.

Mar'inka axis: Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian Defense Forces. The battle for Mar'inka continues.

The settlements of Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Pobieda, and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast) suffered from Russian attacks.

Shakhtars'ke axis: during the day, Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations. Russian forces shelled Vuhledar, Prechistivka, Novoukrainka, and Zolota Nyva (Donetsk oblast).

Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: Russian forces stay on the defensive.

During the day, Russian forces shelled several settlements, including: Vremivka, Burlats'ke, Novosilka, and Novopil' (Donetsk oblast); Olhivs'ke, Hulyaipole, Biloghirya, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanilivka, and Kam'ians'ke (Zaporizhzhia oblast); as well as the city of Kherson.

The village of Kizomys, Kherson oblast suffered from air strikes.



Local hospitals of the temporarily occupied Luhansk are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the growing number of wounded. A group of medical workers, in particular, surgeons, recently arrived in the city from the Moscow region to treat and rehabilitate Russian soldiers. The official purpose of the visit is to exchange experience and help medical institutions in Luhansk.

Recently, irreversible losses from the residents of Luhansk and its region who were forcibly mobilized to the Russian army amount to about 70x people per day. In order to prevent possible manifestations of discontent among the population, ritual services are recommended to adjust the number of people present at funeral processions to 6x people. In addition, in this context of the so-called "MDB" insists precisely on cremation of the dead instead of burial.

During the day, Ukrainian Air Force launched 3x air strikes against concentrations of Russian troops. Ukrainian missile and artillery troops hit 4x concentrations of Russian troops, weapons and military equipment, 1x ammunition depot, 2x concentrations of Russian artillery and 1x Russian logistics center.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that detachments of PMC "Wagner" continue to grind the enemy's defenses in the west of Bakhmut. It is reported about the attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the area of Ivanovsky, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Vasyukovka, Orekhovo-Vasilevka, Novomarkovo, Grigorovka, Chasov Yar, Belaya Gora, Dyleevka came under attack.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that during the day 4 sorties were carried out by aviation in the Bakhmut direction, 61 fire missions were completed by artillery. In the area of Konstantinovka, strikes were made on the points of deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a detachment of special operations forces of the enemy, more than 200 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, and about 280 more were evacuated with injuries of varying severity.

The situation in other directions

DPR

During the day, Ukrainian troops opened fire on Donetsk, as well as the settlements of Makeevka, Gorlovka, Yakovlevka, Mikhailovka, Yasinovataya, Novoselivka Second, Novobakhmutovka, Petrovskoye, Nikolskoye, Vladimirovka, Stepnoye. As a result of attacks in Donetsk, a civilian was injured, and damage to residential buildings was recorded.

During the briefing, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the defeat of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of Ugledar and Vladimirovka, the enemy's losses amounted to up to 30 military personnel, an armored combat vehicle, 2 vehicles, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers were destroyed. A strike was made on an echelon of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the railway station of Kramatorsk, up to 200 tons of ammunition were eliminated.

LC

During the day, the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in the areas of Makeevka and Chervona Dibrova, as well as Serebryansky forestry. Ukrainian troops lost up to 65 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, D-20 and D-30 howitzers, and 3 vehicles.

An ammunition depot and a command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed near Belogorovka.

Kherson region

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported on the defeat of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction, during the day more than 10 Ukrainian servicemen, a car and a Msta-B howitzer were destroyed. In the Poniatovka area, a US-made AN / TPQ-36 counter-battery radar was hit.

In Nova Kakhovka, a day after the shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the supply of electricity was restored.

Zaporozhye region

Zaporizhzhya NPP was visited by the first deputy head of the presidential administration of Russia Sergey Kiriyenko. During the visit, he got acquainted with the additional measures taken for the physical protection of the facility.

In the Energodar area, an unmanned aerial vehicle with explosives from the United States was destroyed. The law enforcement agencies of the region reported that the drone carried five C4 plates of 723 grams of TNT, 5 detonators, 5 sets of radio transmitters.





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Special Online Briefing with Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

Special Briefing

Dubai Hub

April 5, 2023

MODERATOR: Greetings to everyone from the U.S. Department of State's Dubai Regional Media Hub, and Ramadan Mubarak. I would like to welcome our participants joining from the Middle East and around the world for this on-the-record briefing with the U.S. Treasury Department's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. Under Secretary Nelson will brief on the Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] April 4th designation of two Lebanese businessmen and on the U.S.' anti-corruption strategy in Lebanon. After opening remarks, Under Secretary Nelson will take questions from participating journalists.

We are pleased to offer simultaneous interpretation for this briefing in Arabic. We request that everyone keep this in mind and speak slowly.

I'll now turn it over to Under Secretary Nelson for his opening remarks. Under Secretary, the floor is yours.

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: Thank you so much and I'm glad to be here, and I should say good evening and Ramadan Kareem. Thank you for joining, and I especially appreciate those of you who are joining us after breaking fast.

As you all well know, the United States remains extremely concerned about the coercive effects of corruption in Lebanon. Since October 2019, Lebanese elites have ignored the public's calls for transparency and reform while shielding their own assets from depreciating by transferring their own money out of the country to other jurisdictions.

The U.S. Treasury estimates that since the beginning of the October 2019 protests, Lebanese banks allowed some customers to transfer at least $456 million to their own foreign accounts. Meanwhile, Lebanese people are facing deteriorating energy infrastructure due to lack of action on reforms, mismanagement, and endemic corruption. This compounds difficulty for the Lebanese people struggling in a profound economic downturn.

Yesterday the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Raymond and Teddy Rahme, two brothers who used their companies to secure energy contracts through a highly opaque process. The action supports those in Lebanon who want to break from the corruption and mismanagement that pushed Lebanon into this crisis.

Raymond Rahme's company, ZR Energy DMCC, won a December 2019 Lebanese Government contract to import 150,000 tons of fuel to help avoid a fuel crisis in Lebanon. Instead of importing quality fuel, his company imported tainted fuel. They profited while their below-grade fuel destroyed power stations and took a toll on the Lebanese people. Although ZR Energy DMCC is nominally registered as owned by a Rahme business associate in the UAE, make no mistake; it is controlled by the Rahme brothers.

In 2020, a Lebanese judge charged ZR Energy DMCC with bribery, fraud, and money laundering for its role in the tainted fuel import scandal. While the brothers have tried to disassociate themselves, even ZR Energy DMCC's executive secretary and a finance officer have attested in the course of legal investigations that the brothers control and finance the company.

The initial charges brought against the Rahme brothers and their companies, which Lebanese prosecutors never followed through with, pointed to a system put in place over years to falsify test results in exchange for bribes ranging from $200 to $2,500 for each fuel sample. That is not to mention the gifts of all kinds - the vouchers, the watches, ties, handbags, ounces of gold, as well as trips abroad, among others, according to local press.

Treasury designated the Rahme brothers to impose personal financial costs on those who engage in corrupt practices at the expense of the Lebanese people. Yesterday's designations highlight how corruption is particularly endemic to the electricity sector in Lebanon. Despite officials' vows to improve the provision of electricity, blackouts continue to plague most of the country and hinder the provision of essential services.

In most countries, electricity production increases state revenues. But despite spending tens of billions of dollars over the past decades, the ministry of electricity and the AlectricitA du Liban have left ordinary Lebanese vulnerable to the so-called "generation mafia" and the rest of the dysfunctional electricity sector has drained state funds and padded the foreign bank accounts of Lebanese businessmen.

Such blatant violations force us to ask the question: Why has the Lebanese Government not held Raymond and Teddy Rahme along with ZRE Energy DMCC accountable, and when will the government begin to pass and implement meaningful reforms in the electricity sector? By taking actions like this, we are making clear that the U.S. Government prioritizes accountability and the rule of law in Lebanon irrespective of political affiliation or religion.

Our message to the people of Lebanon is this: The United States hears your calls for transparency and accountability; and to those choosing between continuing corrupt practices or creating change, know that we will continue to sanction those who profit from corruption, money laundering, and threats to the Lebanese people. We call on Lebanese politicians to end the political gridlock, elect a president, form a government, and undertake the reforms needed to pave the way for Lebanon's economic recovery.

This is not the first time we have taken action against corrupt actors in Lebanon. And if corrupt activities continue, it will not be the last. This action sends a clear message to those in power in Lebanon: Cease any corrupt dealings or risk becoming the focus of our next investigation.

And with that, I will take questions.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Under Secretary. We will now begin the question-and-answer portion of today's call. We will start with a pre-submitted question, and the first question goes to Maher Khatib from Alnashra.com. And the question is: "Is there a political message behind the new sanctions related to the upcoming presidential elections - election?" Under Secretary, over to you.

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: Thanks for that question. No, there is no political message. The way we build our sanctions packages is that they take time to meet certain legal criteria. In this case, OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, determined that they had sufficient evidence to designate the Rahme brothers at this time, and that has been the thing that has driven the timing of our actions over the last day.

MODERATOR: Thank you. The next question goes from the live queue to Michel Ghandour from MBN/Al Hurra. Michel, please go ahead. You can go ahead and unmute yourself and ask your question.

QUESTION: Yeah, can you hear me?

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: We can hear you.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you for doing this call. My question is: Are these sanctions related to the presidential elections in Lebanon? And did you want to send any message to the candidate Sleiman Frangieh, who is close to the Rahmes?

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: No. It's not related to the presidential election at all. This action is focused on demonstrating the consequences for elites who continue to engage in corrupt practices in Lebanon. I believe my colleague Assistant Secretary Leaf also said this is: "an overwhelming urgency for parliament to elect a president, to form an empowered government, and implement critical economic reforms in order to set Lebanon back on the path to recovery." So we fully encourage that activity to happen. But this action, again, is just solely focused on demonstrating the consequences for elites - for these elites who have engaged in corrupt practices in Lebanon and for the conduct noted in the release and in the designation.

MODERATOR: Thank you. And the next question goes to - this pre-submitted question - to Monalisa Freiha from Annahar newspaper. And the question is: "Can we uncover more details about the Rahme brothers' political connections within and beyond Lebanon? Are their activities linked to any other OFAC designations?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: No. So these designations are related to the harmful impact of the Rahme brothers' actions with respect to the tainted fuel. And while we are aware of other allegations related to the brothers, the designations today again just relates to the conduct that has been noted in the designation in our press release.

MODERATOR: The next question will come from the live chat from Rawad Taha from LBCI Lebanon. And the question is: "What is expected to happen to businesses controlled by the Rahme brothers in Lebanon, such as hotels or other real estate assets, for example?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: So for U.S. persons, as a result, these designations, these can't interact with any property held by the Rahme brothers. So in the context of the designations that we've announced, it prevents U.S. persons from interacting with the Rahme brothers' properties. Obviously, in terms of other legal consequences, it would be up to the Lebanese judicial system to determine whether the brothers should face legal consequences for their actions, and then sort of those attendant consequences under Lebanese law.

MODERATOR: And the next question comes from the live queue, from Adam Charmseddine from Al Jadeed TV. Adam, please go ahead and unmute yourself and ask your question.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Under Secretary. My question is: You have mentioned in the beginning of the conference that Lebanese banks has transferred the - transferred around 40 a $460 million brought for certain customers. Some information or intel suggests that the Rahme brothers have shares in Lebanese banks. Could this designation affect any of the Lebanese banks?

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: No. I mean, obviously, the consequence of these designations, we hope that the Rahme brothers will face financial consequences. As I noted, they personally enriched themselves while their companies were importing this tainted fuel and falsifying these quality tests, and that has resulted in just incredible destruction of the electricity infrastructure there. The designations themselves and the effect of them is really to prohibit the interaction of U.S. persons with their property, and so at this time our belief and understanding would be any U.S. person who would potentially engage with a financial institution where the brothers have an interest would be prohibited from doing that, depending on what the nature of the interest is.

MODERATOR: Thank you. And the next question goes to - the pre-submitted questions - to Bassel Aridi from Waradana website. And the question is: "In recent months, there has been talk of imposing sanctions on political parties, primarily those undermining the rule of law. Are today's sanctions of the Rahme brothers a precursor to similar measures targeting former or current energy ministers?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: As I - first of all, as a principle, we don't preview future sanctions actions, but that is also rooted in I think what I described in my opening remarks, which is that this has obviously not been the first time we've taken action against corrupt actors in Lebanon. And certainly to the extent that there is evidence of continued corrupt dealings, then there is a risk certainly for those actors, that they'll be the focus of future U.S. investigations and future sanctions actions.

MODERATOR: We're back to the live queue for the questions in the chat from Timour Azhari from Reuters. And the question is: "Can you expand on the political connections of the brothers? Who in power helped facilitate the corruption?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: We are obviously aware of reports implying connections between the brothers and other political actors. But for the purposes of this designation, that type of information had not factored into our decision to designate the brothers.

MODERATOR: And we will move back to pre-submitted questions, from Zeyad Aljaperi from Suhail TV: "How significantly do these decisions contribute to cutting off financial resources for Lebanese Hizballah or Iranian militias in the region?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: So these particular designations are not related to any other OFAC sanctions on individuals who are related to Hizballah or Iran. This is not a counterterrorism designation. Certainly, using sanctions to counter bad actors supporting Hizballah and Iran is always a high priority for us, but just to be clear, OFAC's investigation of the Rahmes and our decision to designate did not have anything to do with Hizballah or Iran.

MODERATOR: And I will go to Raya Jalabi from the Financial Times from the live queue. Raya, please feel free to unmute yourself. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, Under Secretary Nelson. Thank you very much for this. I mean, to follow up on this notion that they're not - this has nothing to do with their political connections, I wonder why it is that OFAC decided to designate them now. There's - a lot of these allegations date back to 2019, and a lot of their sort of dealings have been known about, certainly by OFAC, for many, many years proceeding that moment. So if it's not politically connected, then why now?

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: It really is just a function of going through, building the evidentiary package. And once we have met that sufficiency, then at that time we're prepared to roll out the designation. And in this case, this was the time that we felt like we have sufficient evidence in order to roll it out, and we have taken the action.

MODERATOR: Okay. And we just have time for a couple of more questions. The next is from Elizabeth Hagedorn from Al-Monitor: "The Treasury's press release referenced the brothers' political connections. Can you be more specific on who these connections are and how they played a role in the brothers' corruption?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: I don't have any additional details on particular political connections. Again, I know there's been a tremendous amount of public press reporting, local and internationally, about those connections. But again, just to be clear, they were designated as a result of the activities noted in the designation package today.

MODERATOR: And back to the live queue, to Ali Younes from Arab News. Ali, feel free to unmute yourself and ask your question, please.

QUESTION: All right. Thank you. Thank you, Under Secretary Nelson. You've mentioned that this - the timing of this designation of the Rahme brothers has nothing to do with political connections in Lebanon, and you connect - you gathered the evidence; it took several years to gather the evidence. Do you - is the administration - do you guys have any - collecting any evidence against any other entities engaged in corruption of - such as a few in the Middle East region, since it takes years, as you said? Is there anything in the pipeline or in the process that we will - we should maybe know about at this point?

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: I have nothing to announce today, but just to assure that we are - as I noted in my opening remarks, have been and will continue to be deeply concerned about corrupt actors operating in Lebanon who are harming the Lebanese people. And to the extent we have sufficient evidence to designate corrupt actors who have engaged in corrupt activities in Lebanon at the detriment of the Lebanese people, we will take appropriate action, including sanctions designations. I'd also just note we're doing a number of additional things outside of our sanctions authorities, including engaging with the financial sector in Lebanon and all the political engagement that the State Department is leading. So this is a priority for us, not only here at Treasury but across our government.

MODERATOR: Thank you. And we'll - we have time for one last question from Mohamed Maher Al-Ain News. And the question is: "What potential legal consequences might the Rahme brothers face due to the charges against them?"

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: So it's really up to the Lebanese judicial system to determine what consequences they will face for their actions. From our perspective, obviously, if anyone attempts to help them evade our sanctions, they may face legal consequences here in the United States, but certainly we'll be very supportive of the Lebanese judicial system to the extent it decides to look further into these activities.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Under Secretary. Unfortunately that - we are now run out of time. The under secretary has a hard stop, so that now concludes today's call. I would like to thank the under secretary for joining us and thank all of our colleagues from the media for participating. But before we close, I'm going to turn it back over to the under secretary for his last closing remarks. Under Secretary, over to you.

UNDER SECRETARY NELSON: Just to say again how much I appreciate the willingness to join this evening, particularly this evening, post-breaking fast, and again, emphasize this is something that we at Treasury are highly focused on in partnership with colleagues at the State Department and really throughout our government, using all the tools in our toolbox to get after corrupt activities that have really profoundly harmed the Lebanese people. And we will continue to act with that sense of urgency and in that vein.

But for tonight, just really appreciate the interest and the thoughtful questions, and look forward to working - continue to working with you and State colleagues in making sure that we're getting the message out. So thank you for that.

MODERATOR: Thank you, again, Under Secretary. And thank you very much to all of our colleagues from around the world and from the region from the media for participating. If you have any questions about today's call, you can contact the Dubai Regional Media Hub at DubaiMediaHub@state.gov. And with that, I will conclude the call, and thank you very much and have a wonderful evening.

# # #

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Nairobi  President William Ruto now says that he will form a task team in conjunction with the clergy to help formulate a self-regulation mechanism to root out fraudulent religious leaders seeking to "abuse religion" for personal gain.

Speaking on Sunday during a prayer service in Makutano, West Pokot County, President Ruto said the move will provide a mechanism for compliant church leaders to report rogue elements.

"We will come up with a taskforce, so that we can weed out the characters who want to abuse religion, to run businesses and things that are anti-religion in Kenya," Ruto said.

He noted that the envisaged framework will provide the religious leaders and institutions with the necessary mechanisms to identify those who are operating against the law.

"We want to provide a framework agreed with our religious leaders, a framework that will provide for self-regulation."

Shakahola cult

Ruto made the remarks in response to the recent discovery of over 100 bodies in Kilifi's Shakahola forest most of which were disposed in mass graves.

Victims have been linked to a cult led by controversial televangelist Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church.

Mackenzie, who is currently in custody, is accused of driving his followers to starve to death arguing that it is the only path to God.

In his previous remarks, Ruto likened Mackenzie to a terrorist who uses religion to advance what he described as "weird and unacceptable ideologies" after radicalising thousands.

President Ruto expressed deep concern over the revelations in Kilifi's Shakahola forest which shocked the nation with some groups calling for stringent measures to regulate religion.

"What we are seeing in Kilifi, in Shakahola, is akin to terrorists. There is no difference between Mackenzie who pretends and postures as a pastor when in fact he is a terrible criminal," Ruto said

He called on Kenyans and different agencies in the country to be on the lookout for those who want to abuse religion and those masquerading as religious leaders.

"Terrorists use religion to advance their heinous acts. People like Mackenzie are using religion to do the same thing," he said.

Ongoing probe

A full-scale investigation has been launched into the Good News International Church and its leader since police stormed the forest at Shakahola.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki revealed that he is under immense pressure to ease of his push to review the existing regulations aimed at shielding Kenyans from falling prey to exploitative religious leaders.

He singled out some religious leaders whom he says are trying to "insinuate that perhaps what the government is doing is interfering with right of the freedom of worship."

Kindiki made the revelation Friday during his second visit to Shakahola forest where over 100 bodies of victims linked to the starvation cult were unearthed.

The Interior CS however maintained that he will not back down as he explained that governments all over the world are mandated to ensure the laws around the freedom of worship are adhered to.

"I want to tell them, it doesn't matter whom you know, here in Kenya, out there in the world or even in the spiritual realm. We don't care who you know, we will come for you. You are a murderer. We will come for you heavy and hard," he said.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs Religion By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Kindiki stressed that no amount threats or distractions will stop him from protecting Kenyans "from the merchants of death from whatever faith."

He warned that all those found culpable will be dealt with regardless of their status in society.

"It doesn't matter whom they are associated with, who they know, the influence they have, the money they have, we will treat them the way we treat other murderers," he said.

Police are also holding New Life Prayer Centre preacher Ezekiel Odero in connection with the series of deaths at his church.

The government has since shut down his prayer center located in Kilifi's Mavueni area.
Digital Press Briefing on the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Department of State's Antiterrorism Program

Special Briefing

Julie Cabus, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Director for Training in the Diplomatic Security Service

Gregory LoGerfo, Deputy Coordinator for Regional and Multilateral Affairs in the Counterterrorism Bureau

April 27, 2023

MODERATOR: Greetings to everyone from the U.S. Department of State's London International Media Hub. I would like to welcome our participants dialing in from Africa and around the world for this on-the-record briefing on the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program. Our speakers are Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Director for Training in the Diplomatic Security Service Julie Cabus and Deputy Coordinator for Regional and Multilateral Affairs in the Counterterrorism Bureau Gregory LoGerfo. We will have some opening remarks from our speakers and then we will take questions from participating journalists.

I will now turn it over to Deputy Assistant Secretary Cabus for her opening remarks. Ma'am, the floor is yours.

MS CABUS: Liz, thank you very much. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to all of the journalists from around the world, and thank you to all of you as well as Deputy Coordinator LoGerfo for joining us today. We are very excited to have you and we're excited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Antiterrorism Assistance training program. It's a wonderful time to be talking about the successes of ATA with you, and I welcome this opportunity.

Again, 40 years ago the United States under law created the Antiterrorism Assistance training program. Since its creation in 1983, ATA has delivered counterterrorism training to over 160,000 students in 150 different countries around the world. Last year alone, ATA trained nearly 5,000, about 4,700 students, in approximately 47 different nations. Since its inception, ATA has represented a true partnership across the State Department focusing on the global challenge of helping nations combat terrorism and confront terrorism. The department's Bureau of Counterterrorism provides policy guidance and coordinates program funding. The ATA training and equipment that is provided is then conducted by the Diplomatic Security Service, or DSS, as it is known, leveraging its global presence and network of government and private sector partners.

Under law, under U.S. law, ATA activities are intended to do a number of different things. First we enhance antiterrorism skills of the partner nations and countries that we are working with. We equipped - equip these nations to deter and counter terrorism. Next we strengthen bilateral ties among host-nation police forces and the United States Government. We offer concrete assistance to these organizations to build capacity in areas of mutual concern. Finally we take all care and make all effort to increase that of human rights, and respect for human rights. This is a way of doing things in a civil and humane way, particularly the execution of law enforcement duties.

We take this congressional guidance and our human rights mandate very, very seriously, and we ensure that all of our work meets the highest standards of that in the United States in support of U.S. foreign policy. Respect for human rights is crucial to our work, not just because it's the law but, obviously, also because it - we in DSS, the federal law enforcement organization serving overseas as the senior law enforcement and security advisor to the U.S. ambassador, have dedicated our professional lives to upholding the rule of law.

All ATA participants undergo a vetting process that includes background checks. This vetting process is known as Leahy vetting. The process is designed to ensure human rights compliance, and every ATA course that is offered around the world is required to provide human rights education along with this course. It's an introductory discussion; it's a part of our training; it's part of who we are.

ATA training and exercises, they create a safe environment to explore the ethics of the training, the strategy of the training, the tactics, the decision-making, and sharing of real-world experiences with our law enforcement partners and peers around the world. Countering terrorism is physically and emotionally demanding. We expect a lot. We know that countries are putting their best police forces at risk every day. Our partners grapple with the ethics of use of force; they grapple with the ethics of working in some of the most challenging environments around the world. Maintaining the highest standard of professional conduct helps build trust and critical relationships with communities in which they serve.

ATA, this program created 40 years ago, and our partners have been working together that long to detect, deter, and prevent acts of terrorism, to resolve terrorist incidents, and relate illegal activities and apprehend those involved in those acts to make sure that the world becomes a safer place. We do this within the rule of law framework, and we do this in a way that emphasizes professionalism and human rights. While our training takes place around the world, today we will be glad to answer any of your questions that you may have about specific regions and specific country programs. I encourage all of you, if you're able to, to find us on social media, whether it's through ATA or even the Bureau of Counterterrorism as well, and also to consult your embassy - U.S. embassy homepages in the countries which you represent for information on ATA programs that may exist there.

Thank you very much. I am going to turn the floor over to my colleague, Deputy Director for the Bureau of Counterterrorism Mr. LoGerfo.

MR LOGERFO: Hi, good morning. Thanks, Deputy Assistant Secretary Cabus. My name is Greg LoGerfo; I am the Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department. It's a pleasure to be with you all to mark the 40th anniversary of the formal creation of the ATA program. This also marks 40 years of partnership between the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Diplomatic Security focused on building foreign partners' civilian counterterrorism capacity.

I'd like to give some context on how our counterterrorism bureau is in support of the White House in responding and approaching counterterrorism threats today. We are facing terrorism threats that are more ideologically diverse and geographically diffuse than ever before. And after examining the global terrorism landscape and lessons learned from the past two decades of counterterrorism efforts, the Biden-Harris administration set forth a new counterterrorism approach that is partner-led, U.S.-enabled, and places a premium on diplomacy, multilateral partnerships, and building partner capacity.

As you know, we will still take direct action when the President authorizes through our military, as we have in Afghanistan and in Somalia, but the focus now is really on partner development. And this actually is what the ATA program has been doing for 40 years. And so the ATA program stands as a pillar in our efforts to build sustainable, reliable partnerships with accountable and responsible governments across the world, but particularly in Africa.

In West Africa, al-Qaida and ISIS affiliates are increasing their activities in the Sahel and Lake Chad region, and now expanding into coastal West Africa. I recently was in coastal West Africa - I visited Benin, Togo, and Cote d'Ivoire - with the deputy assistant secretary from our INL Bureau as well as from our Africa Bureau. We reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to strengthen regional security in those countries, with those partners, and ATA will be a key partner in this effort as we plan new train-and-equip programs to support civilian security units in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Togo focused on border management and countering IEDs.

Beyond these initiatives, CT has already obligated over $148 million over the past four years to West Africa, to include Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Senegal, most of which is focused on ATA-implemented programs for crisis response, investigations, and border security professionals.

Several states across East and Southern Africa continue to face entrenched, well-resourced, and well-organized terrorist groups as well as nascent and expanding terrorist activity. With partners such as Kenya, ATA has positioned law enforcement to identify and interdict terrorists before an attack or mitigate the impact of one through enhanced capabilities of tactical force responders, elite border security units, and interagency leadership.

ATA implements a significant portion of the roughly $200 million of assistance the Counterterrorism Bureau has obligated for civilian counterterrorism actors across East Africa for the last 40 years.

East Africa has also been an enduring terrorism partner from al-Qaida and ISIS-affiliated groups. Sorry, East Asia. Pardon me. Attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines have declined as a result of improved domestic law enforcement, largely supported by ATA, that keeps pressure on terrorists. And since 2018, our Counterterrorism Bureau has invested more than $105 million in this region, and we will continue to focus on building partner capacity in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand to address the most pressing terrorist threats, with ATA leading the way on implementation.

Though this briefing today is on Africa and Southeast Asia, I just want to point out that one of our strategic focuses is Central Asia as a high-priority region that we are devoting significant diplomatic engagement and resources towards. This includes a focus on border management and over $32 million in resources in the last year alone.

Looking ahead, we'll continue to work closely with ATA, providing policy guidance and funding that will assist ATA's outstanding delivery of training, equipment, and mentorship to prevent, disrupt, respond to, and prosecute terrorists and terrorist attacks in areas of concern to the United States and our partners.

Thank you and I look forward to the discussion.

MODERATOR: Thanks very much to our speakers for your opening remarks. We will now begin the question-and-answer portion of today's call. And I'd like to go to a pre-submitted question from Zam Yusa of Akhbar Al Aan. "What milestones and developments did you recently achieve in Southeast Asia? And any future plans for the region?" Deputy Coordinator LoGerfo, perhaps we could go to you first.

MR LOGERFO: Yeah, thank you. This is the question from Akhbar Al Aan on Southeast Asia. Yes, thank you. So, great question. We provide support to INTERPOL, and as a result of that Indonesia's 34 largest ports of entry are now actively screening against INTERPOL databases, accounting for approximately 99 percent of all passenger traffic in the country.

And the ATA program in the Philippines has been conducting proactive arrests against suspected terrorists for several years now, with one taking place recently against three suspected terrorists who were allegedly responsible in the killing ambush of the former Sulu police provisional director. These raids are the result of information-sharing efforts to enable better communication between police and investigators to take down a network before an attack.

The Counterterrorism Bureau supported the creation of the Philippines Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and now continues to build the capacity of judges, prosecutors, investigators, and police in implementation. And our Counterterrorism Bureau will continue to work with key partners in Southeast Asia to improve border security screening, information-sharing, and watch-listing to better detect, deter, and prevent terrorist activity and transit.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. DAS Cabus, do you have anything additional on that question?

MS CABUS: No, not at this time. I think my colleague really summed up all the efforts that are being made there and the partnership - other than to say that the partnership is a strong one and the United States is very appreciative of it.

MODERATOR: Great, thank you so much. We'll go to a question next, also pre-submitted, from Al-Ittihad newspaper in the UAE, from Wael Badran, concerning the situation in Sudan. "Is there any danger that the country may turn into a safe haven for ISIS, and how could this affect the war on ISIS in Africa?"

MR LOGERFO: Hi, Liz. Do you want - do you want me to jump in on that?

MODERATOR: Sounds great, thank you.

MR LOGERFO: Okay. Yeah, a lot of obviously fast-moving developments in Sudan. Terrorists generally seek to exploit areas of instability. We're watching this very closely and we'll work with our regional partners as well to make sure that they have the civilian security resources they need.

MODERATOR: Great, thank you very much. We can go to another pre-submitted question; it comes from Julian Pecquet from The Africa Report. "Is there any interest in deploying U.S. troops to African hotspots beyond Somalia?" Deputy - sir, we can start a

MR LOGERFO: Sure, just really quick on that one. I would leave that with DOD, Department of Defense. We, Julie and I, are focused on civilian security on the continent.

MODERATOR: Thank you. DAS Cabus, we'll go to you for the next question. What have been the major challenges and opportunities in terms of implementing the ATA in Africa?

MS CABUS: Well, I can say that the opportunities are endless. We have found throughout the continent very willing and capable partners, and we're immensely grateful for that. We have found that our training is well received, that host nations are incredibly accommodating, and that our successes ranging from countries in West Africa all the way across to East Africa and North Africa as well are demonstrative of the commitment that many of the nations we work with have made to ensure the capacity-building of their civilian police forces.

We work very closely with our U.S. embassies in these countries, making sure that the embassy is in lockstep with Washington and that we're all in lockstep with the host nation to meet the needs of each country for their specific law enforcement challenges.

In terms of challenges, quite frankly, I think this is one of the best challenges that we could ever have, which is there's just not enough time in the day to do everything we would like to do with our partner nations. Training does take time. Good training takes a significant amount of time. So there's a commitment that we make right from the very start to these countries, whether it be Kenya or it be Niger, to which I proudly served as the regional security officer in Niger back in the early 2000s. And it just - all that we would like to do requires some time.

So the biggest challenge is being able to do everything we would like to do in such a way as we can get it done safely, effectively, and the amount of time that we need to meet the needs of the host nation.

MODERATOR: Thank you, ma'am. And if I can follow up with another question: How do you evaluate the capabilities of local partner forces on the African continent?

MS CABUS: That's a great question, Liz. Well, first of all and always, it's a partnership. The evaluation is born out of what is defined as the need for that country by that country. The Diplomatic Security Service and the Bureau of Counterterrorism recognize that we are not there to tell anybody what to do, but we are there to help fill the needs that are advertised by the host nation.

So from that perspective, we offer essentially the opportunity to pick and choose what capacity needs to be built. The evaluative process is a thorough one. As mentioned earlier, evaluation is not only what may be needed to build capacity in civilian law enforcement, but also to ascertain and ensure that those individuals being put forth for training are vetted appropriately for human rights and that that figures prominently in what we do. And largely and in an overwhelming majority of instances and cases that - or countries in which we've worked in, we have been afforded the opportunity to work with the best of the best that they have to offer: committed, dedicated public servants who are there to serve their country, their people, build trust within their communities, and who see the big picture - the need to counter terrorism for the benefit of all.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We have some follow-up questions from Zam Yusa from Akhbar Al Aan. We'll start with Deputy Coordinator LoGerfo. "Are you able to offer any specifics in terms of future plans for activities in the Southeast Asia region?"

MR LOGERFO: Well, we're always working closely with our partners there to develop and improve our civilian security partnerships. I don't have any details right now on specific future plans, but we're always, as I said, developing our projects and programs in consultation with our partners to achieve the best civilian security partnership with our partners in Southeast - in South Asia and throughout the world. But I can get back to you on this with some specific details if you like.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Along a similar line, we'll take this question over to DAS Cabus. What do you plan to achieve in terms of the next 40 years with the ATA program?

MS CABUS: Thank you, Liz. Boy, if you ask me what I plan to achieve, the answer would be a lot. I can see, for example, expansion to countries that determine that they have a requirement to build capacity, and I see that expansion being made available across the world. I see developing capacity in areas that are perhaps to this point - have proven to be a bit more challenging. So we're talking about the cyber realm, we're talking about as countries evolve into a far more greater reliance upon cyber, figuring out that problem set and working very closely with our partner nations to do that.

The next 40 years provides us an opportunity to continue to evolve with our partner nations. Terrorism is not a stagnant problem set. Terrorists are leveraging everything that they possibly can around the world to promulgate their ideology. And therefore we in the next 40 years need to remain nimble, collaborative, cooperative, and also really just be available to identify and work with host nations the needs that exist and be able to provide support to address those needs.

And when we consider potentially what the next 40 years may have to offer, while I would hope that terrorism could be eradicated, the reality is it may not be. So we need to be prepared for that. And we - our preparation is born out of a commitment from not only the United States Government but our partner nations and future partner nations to make the world a more secure place.

MODERATOR: Thank you, ma'am. Along those lines, you mentioned constantly evolving tactics used by those who seek to do harm. How do you adopt - or adapt to those evolving tactics?

MS CABUS: Well, from a training delivery perspective - and I will let Deputy Coordinator LoGerfo perhaps comment on some of the other aspects of that - but from a training perspective, we're very fortunate that the training cadre that we utilize around the world is probably some of the most experienced in the tactical level of countering terrorism. We have folks who have many, many years of experience in this field who are tapped for their expertise to address the specific needs of the host nations in which they are working very closely with.

Remember that the training that we offer is not a one-and-done, but there is a commitment to build capacity over a period of time. And so the training staff that we use to do this oftentimes are very familiar with the regions in which they're working in, having perhaps previously worked there, gained an awful lot of experience in prior careers and thus they're utilizing all of the lessons they have learned and are translating that into the capacity-building for the host nation.

MR LOGERFO: Yeah, let me - that's a great answer from Julie. Just to build on that a little bit, I can say having just been out and visited a couple of places where we do training in Niger and then a couple of places in coastal West Africa where we're looking at doing training, one thing in addition to the outstanding expertise that our Diplomatic Security colleagues bring to all of this through ATA, it truly is a partnership, and we listen. We listen to what our partners need, what their specific concerns are, because they face unique situations in their countries and in their regions. And I think that our ability to really bring the expertise, and then we do listen, and we do build out partnership on equal footing because we have shared interests in confronting civilian security challenges.

MODERATOR: And with that, I'm afraid we're going to have to conclude today's call. I'm sorry that we could not get to all questions today. I would like to thank our speakers for joining us and I would like to thank all of our journalists for participating. If you have any questions about today's call, you may contact the London International Media Hub at MediaHubLondon@state.gov.

MR LOGERFO: Thanks Liz.

MS CABUS: Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure.

# # #

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Israeli radio station, software company targeted by cyber attack

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 April 2023 6:59 PM

An Israeli radio station and a software company have come under cyber attack by unidentified hacker groups, the latest in a series of cyber operations against the regime's digital infrastructure across the occupied territories.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the attack targeted the Hebrew-language Radio 103FM and the website of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., an American-Israeli multinational provider of software and combined hardware and software products for cyber security.

The attack came a day after the websites of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) - an Israeli firearms manufacturer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Evigilo Ltd., which develops and delivers emergency mass-notification and alert multi-channel solutions, were hacked.

The cyber attack was claimed by a group of hackers calling itself 'Anonymous Sudan.' The hacker group, which has waged several cyber attacks against various Israeli websites in the past few weeks, announced on Thursday that it was behind the recent power outages in several cities across the occupied territories.

"The electric attack was just for fun. We'll show you more," the group said in a post on its Telegram channel. "Israel, we are still playing with you ... soon you will be without the internet. We are working to down the internet in Israel like electricity."

The power cuts caused traffic jams in Tel Aviv while also affecting the Knesset and the regime's ministries.

Another hacker group, known as "Sharp Boys" said on Wednesday it had targeted the Atid institutions, stealing the data of 500,000 users.

The hacker group further claimed it had obtained the personal information of Israelis, including identification documents of people who served in the military and police forces of the regime.

An Indonesian hacker group carried out a massive cyber attack against a number of Israeli websites last week, including those of the ministries of foreign affairs, education and health. The Jerusalem Post reported the group, calling itself VulzSecTeam, announced on April 17 it had managed to break into the websites of the Israeli ministries, as well as Israel police and bus and train companies in recent days, and took them down.

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2nd Uyghur Detainee Death in Thailand Prompts Calls for Group's Release, Resettlement

By Zsombor Peter April 30, 2023

A second ethnic Uyghur man has died this year from among the 50 or so Thailand has been holding in detention center limbo since 2014, amplifying calls from rights groups for their release and resettlement.

The World Uyghur Congress announced the death of Mattohti Mattursun, also known as Muhammad Tursun, on April 24. It says the 40-year-old was transferred from the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok to a local hospital on April 21 but died the same day.

Another Uyghur man being held at the same center, 49-year-old Aziz Abdulla, died February 11.

Both were among the roughly 50 Uyghurs left in Thailand from the hundreds caught entering the country in 2014 after fleeing China, which the United States and others have accused of genocide over its treatment of the mostly Muslim minority, a claim Beijing denies. Most have since been forced back to China or deported to Turkey, where Uyghurs claim kinship with the ethnic Turkic majority.

Thai authorities have not confirmed Mattohti's death, and a spokesman for the national police, which runs the country's immigration centers, ignored VOA's requests for comment.

However, Chalida Tajaroensuk, who runs a local charity in contact with the detainees through the food donations it makes to the detention center, told VOA that other Uyghurs in the group verified Mattohti's death. She said a source of hers inside the police also verified his death.

The Central Islam Council of Thailand also told VOA that it had received Mattohti's body from the authorities last week and buried it next to a Bangkok mosque.

Rights groups say the deaths of two men in their 40s fewer than three months apart highlights the poor conditions the Uyghurs are being held in and the need for better care.

"It's very clear that they are bad conditions inside a bad condition of food, bad condition of living, very crowded, and no health check," said Chalida. "There are very simple and basic health rooms, clinic rooms downstairs ... no doctors, only nurse."

In a statement, Human Rights Watch Asia Director Elain Persons said Thailand's treatment of the detained Uyghurs was putting them "at grave risk," adding that Mattohti's death "should sound the alarm to end this abusive policy of incarcerating asylum seekers and refugees for prolonged periods."

The death certificate the hospital issued for Aziz in February listed the cause of death as a lung infection. Polat Sayim, who runs the World Uyghur Congress's refugee program from Australia, said they have yet to see a death certificate for Mattohti but suspect liver failure as the cause based on his symptoms, which included stomach pain, a swollen tongue and yellowed eyes.

Like Aziz, Polat said, Mattohti had been sick for weeks before authorities finally took him to the hospital and that he was losing his appetite and vomiting repeatedly. Polat said the cramped, smoke-filled holding cells, dirty tap water and meager meals were bound to make the detainees sick, and that many were suffering mentally as well.

"They [have been] staying in one small room a long time," he said. "Just imagine if they lock you in one cell, you cannot contact with the outside, you don't know nothing, just staying in one room, just sitting and walking around a small place. What do you think? People sometimes - they are getting crazy, mentally ... getting sick."

Polat said the World Uyghur Congress has been urging Thailand to let other willing countries take in the Uyghurs.

Thailand deported 173 of the Uyghurs in 2015, following their arrival a year earlier. Most were women and children. A week later, though, it deported another 109, mostly men, to China, setting off a wave of condemnation at home and abroad.

"So many times we have asked the Thai government to release them, but Thai government answers us they don't have place to go because no third country wants to take them," said Polat. "But we [are] talking with the third countries, some European countries, and they have some countries that want to take them. ... But still Thai government I don't know why they don't release them; maybe too much pressure from the Chinese Communist Party."

Chalida said she has been told as much by Thai lawmakers whom she, too, has asked for help in getting the Uyghurs released.

"We also [have] negotiation many times in the Foreign Affairs Committee in the parliament; they are meeting with many authorities who are involved with the Uyghur issue and they say that because of China they cannot allow them to go to the third country but they guarantee that they will not send back to China."

Thai authorities will not explain why they have held the Uyghurs in limbo for the past nine years, neither sending them back to China nor letting them resettle.

In an interview with VOA last year, though, a national security adviser to the prime minister conceded that a solution had been "stalled" by the competing wishes of the Uyghurs to move on and of China to have them back. At the time, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thailand would continue to hold the Uyghurs "until a practical and viable solution for the group can be found."

Until then, Chalida said the authorities should at least make their stay more tolerable, first by providing them with better health care, and then letting them out of the Suan Phlu facility to move to host communities elsewhere in Thailand, which has a sizeable Muslim community in the far south.

"It should be step by step," she said. "I want them to release [the Uyghurs], but if we ask right now it's impossible, we ask something beyond the reality."

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Pyongyang Deplores South Korean President's Visit to US, Accuses Sides of Provoking War

Sputnik News

20230430

SEOUL (Sputnik) - North Korean state media said on Sunday that the visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to the United States was a provocation and a typical display of hostile policy regarding Pyongyang, and in fact makes a nuclear war against North Korea "a fait accompli."

On Wednesday, the leaders of South Korea and the US adopted the Washington Declaration that provides for the establishment of a regular bilateral consultation mechanism on extended deterrence and strategic planning. South Korea also secured a US promise to promptly deploy "the entire force of the alliance," including nuclear weapons, in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea. Washington also assured Seoul it would use all measures, including nuclear weapons, in the case of aggression from Pyongyang, and promised to send nuclear missile submarines to the Korean Peninsula.

"This trip, aimed to draw up a sinister plan between the master and the stooge to annihilate the DPRK [North Korea], is the most hostile, aggressive and provocative, dangerous trip for a nuclear war... The 'Washington Declaration' on raising the practicality of the 'extended deterrence' provided by the U.S. is a typical product of the heinous hostile policy towards the DPRK," North Korean media stated.

The agency said that deterrence of North Korea was the main subject of the presidents' meeting. Creating of a consultative group on Seoul's and Washington's nuclear issues, extended deployment of US strategic assets, including nuclear submarines, on the Korean Peninsula, and strengthening "extended deterrence" by intensification of joint military drills makes a nuclear war against North Korea "a fait accompli" (an accomplished fact). For the first time, North Korea was openly called a target for a nuclear strike, media stressed.

"The traitor Yoon's visit to the U.S. made it possible to reconfirm the hostile intention of the U.S. and the puppets which can never be changed but has become more reckless. This shows that the DPRK should neither hesitate nor stop for even a little and even a moment to become more stronger and more thoroughly prepared... The dangerous nuclear war moves of the U.S. and the puppet group running amuck in stifling the DPRK while denying its existence can never be pardoned, and they will have to pay dearly for their rash acts," it said.

On Saturday, North Korean President Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a deputy head of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, said that the Washington Declaration would deteriorate global safety. She denounced US President Joe Biden's comment that any nuclear attack by Pyongyang on the US or its allies would end in a regime change in North Korea as the words of an "old man with no future." The South Korean Ministry of Unification criticized her statement as rude and far-fetched.

A Sputnik

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Puppet Traitor Yoon Suk Yeol's Visit to U.S. Draws Censure, Ridicule and Concern (1)

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, May 1 (KCNA) -- The puppet traitor Yoon Suk Yeol has come under worldwide condemnation and ridicule for his visit to the U.S. that has exposed peace and security in the Korean Peninsula, the region and the rest of the world to grave danger, highlighting his disgusting colors as a sycophant.

The international community is expressing great concern about the negative impact to be created by the "Washington Declaration" and the "joint statement", which were cooked up and released during traitor Yoon's visit to the U.S.

A China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson referred to the fact that the "Washington Declaration" and the "joint statement" are driving the already dangerous situation in the Korean Peninsula to a more uncontrollable state.

The spokesperson said the U.S. prioritizes its own geopolitical interests over the security of the entire region, condemning the US for being a "source of tension" by exploiting issues on the Korean Peninsula.

What the US has done stokes bloc confrontation and hurts the strategic interest of other countries. It has also increased tensions on the peninsula and jeopardized regional peace and stability, the spokesperson noted, adding that China is firmly against it.

An official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russia takes note of reports on an agreement that was reached between the United States and south Korea on joint planning with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, adding that such development is clearly destabilizing and will have serious negative consequences for regional security and will impact on global stability.

The spokesperson noted that the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region provocatively revealed their intention to duplicate the so-called plan for "extended nuclear deterrence", the plan for destroying the structure for international security, in relative regions.

The spokesperson went on:

Such practices will lead to a further escalation of tensions, spur security crises, and provoke an arms race.

Some U.S. media have described the declaration as "a fig leaf" (used for concealing embarrassment) for the U.S. to dissuade south Korea from going nuclear, adding:

But its negative impact on south Korea is obviously more than that and it is full of irony to call it a "diplomatic achievement" or "the victory of Yoon's government." Rather than saying that it has received an unprecedented commitment to nuclear protection, it's clear it has lost its autonomy unprecedentedly.

The international community expressed great concern over the military and economic collusion between Biden and the puppet traitor Yoon Suk Yeol which will have negative impact on the international political issues and will result in putting the peace and security of Northeast Asia and the world in severe danger.

As regards the fact that Biden and Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to expand the offer of "extended deterrence" and continue to boost the U.S.-Japan-south Korea tripartite cooperation at the talks, Xinhua news reported some analysts' comments that the U.S. has become a source of tension exploiting the issues on the Korean peninsula in a bid to attain its interests, and south Korea is binding itself on U.S. tanks, pursuant to the U.S. "Indo-Pacific" strategy, which will not only harm the interests of south Korea but also disturb the regional security.

Tokyo Shimbun said the U.S.-south Korea agreement provides "no guarantee for blocking north Korea's moves" but provokes concern about "its strengthened resistance posture, adding if nuclear arms race is accelerated, the danger of accidental conflict will also increase to have great impact on the regional security balance, and there should be no excessive dependence on armed forces.

The public opinions of the world loudly censure the puppet traitor Yoon Suk Yeol humiliating sycophancy toward the U.S.

Xinhua news said that Yoon's approval rate continues to fall according to recent opinion polls in south Korea, recalling a former professor of Hanyang University of south Korea said that Yoon Suk Yeol's blind pro-U.S. and pro-Japanese diplomatic policy is facing the public opposition and his humiliating attitude in dealing with the issue of Japan's forcible labor conscription of Koreans and the issue of wiretapping by the U.S. in particular provoked the public resentment.

Saying that the present "diplomatic policy" of south Korea not only harms its interests but also further imperils regional security, it stressed that south Korea aggravated the situation on the Korean Peninsula by staging a series of exercises and training activities together with the U.S. or with the U.S. and Japan, including the large-scale joint military exercises Freedom Shield.

The China Daily stressed in its editorial titled "Seoul's immoderate cozying up to Washington aggravates risks" that Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the U.S. was held at a time when both parties in the alliance feel an acute need for mutual reassurance that their partnership remains "ironclad", and Yoon Suk Yeol made decisive moves to improve ties with Japan in defiance of conspicuous domestic dissatisfaction at home, promised to provide further assistance to Ukraine despite warnings from Russia, and made comments on Taiwan that he knew would irk Beijing.

The daily said : "Yoon's blind siding with Washington on the Ukraine crisis will not only harm the international efforts to promote peace talks but also directly make the regional situation more complicated in Northeast Asia, and he continues to lift the lid on Pandora's box oblivious to what he is releasing."

The Huan Qui Shibao of China said in its editorial that Yoon Suk Yeol wants to bring back a "nuclear umbrella" from the U.S., however, this "nuclear umbrella" appears to be unrealistic and will only bring new risks to the south Korea, adding:

Some have said that of all the "governments" in south Korea's history, the Yoon administration may be the least independent-minded toward the U.S., and this visit to the U.S. undoubtedly confirms this evaluation. -0-

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German Defense Ministry Intends to Buy 50 Puma Armored Vehicles

Sputnik News

20230430

BERLIN (Sputnik) - The German Defense Ministry intends to buy 50 Puma infantry fighting vehicles from the defense industry for its armed forces, even though the model suffered serious breakdowns in the past, the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported, citing sources in the ministry.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius plans to buy new Puma vehicles, believing that all issues with the equipment have been resolved, the report said, adding that the ministry intends to sign a contract with the defense industry on the purchase of 50 infantry fighting vehicles worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.66 billion) and manufacture of extra 150 vehicles to sell them to NATO allies.

The German ministry expects to allocate money for that purpose from a special fund of 100 billion euros announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022 with the aim to improve the country's defense capabilities.

Earlier in the month, German defense giants Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann said that they had received an order from the German government on the modernization of over 140 Puma infantry fighting vehicles.

In late December, the Spiegel magazine reported that all 18 Pumas that were intended to be used by the NATO Response Force were not combat ready. In the light of the incident, then defense minister Christine Lambrecht said she had not ruled out that the government might stop buying Puma vehicles.

A Sputnik

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Iranian conscripts with 3 children exempted from military service

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Apr 30, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has announced that all conscripts with at least three children, and those who have four children and aged over 40, qualify for exemption from military service.

"With the approval of the Supreme Leader and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all absent and non-absent conscripts and active duty personnel who have at least four children, and all absent and non-absent conscripts and active duty personnel who are at least 40 years of age and have three children are exempt from compulsory military service," the general staff's human resources said in a statement on Sunday.

An exemption card will be issued for eligible conscripts after they have completed basic and complementary training courses at Iran's voluntary Basij force, the statement added.

Observers say the new exemption rules are in line with the Iranian government's policy of boosting the nation's declining birthrate.

Iran's Constitution requires all men aged between 18 and 49 to report for military service for a period of up to two years. The law grants exemptions based on an individual's age or medical conditions, among other factors. The exemptions, however, are mostly only valid in peacetime and those exempted would be called up for duty in case of a wartime mobilization.

**2050

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Iran exports over 1.5 bcm of natural gas to Turkey in Q1 2023

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Apr 30, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Figures by the statistics office of the European Union (Eurostat) show that Iran has exported more than 1.567 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in the first quarter of 2023.

Eurostat figures cited in a Sunday report by the IRNA showed that gas exports from Iran to Turkey had dropped by 17% year on year in the March quarter.

The figures means that Iran supplied an average of 16.6 million cubic meters of gas per day to Turkey over the quarter.

The IRNA report also cited trade figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) showing that trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey had exceeded $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023, a decline of 14% year on year.

6125**9417**4261

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Moscow Says Cutting Diplomatic Ties With Poland Will Hurt Russian Citizens Living There

Sputnik News

20230430

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has the right to sever diplomatic relations with Poland following the seizure of the building of the school at the Russian embassy in Warsaw, but it will primarily hurt Russian citizens living and working in this country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

The Polish authorities have been involved in provocations against Russia for years and Moscow has every right to cut ties with Warsaw in response, according to the diplomat.

"[But] who is the first to suffer from such decisions? People, citizens, and I am now not talking about Poland's citizens, many of whom understand well what is happening now. I am talking about our citizens who live, work there and who have families," Zakharova told the Rossiya 1 broadcaster.

Russia's diplomatic presence in Poland is also important as regards the memorial activity there since Russian diplomats have to look after the Soviet memorials especially amid increasing number of cases of vandalism in the country, the spokeswoman added.

On Saturday, Warsaw mayor's office officials, accompanied by Polish police, arrived at the Russian embassy's school building and stormed the premises after breaking the door, with the Polish authorities telling the school's employees to vacate the building.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pledged a "harsh reaction and consequences for the Polish authorities and Polish interests in Russia" in response to "such an insolent move."

A Sputnik

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Erdogan Says Turkiye's National Intelligence Killed 'Islamic State Leader' in Syria

Sputnik News

20230430

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) killed "the leader" of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, Daesh, banned in Russia) during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria," Erdogan said in an interview to Turkish broadcasters.

"Out national intelligence organization had been following so-called leader of Daesh Abu Hussein al-Quraishi for a long time. This person was eliminated during the operation conducted by the MIT in Syria yesterday. We will continue our fight with terrorist organizations, making no distinctions between them," he announced.

A Sputnik

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Second half goals from skipper Abdelhamid Ait Bouldal and substitute Adam Hanin saw Morocco beat South Africa 2-0 at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine on Sunday as they started their TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a victory.

With the victory, Morocco have moved top of Group B ahead of Nigeria with a better goal aggregate.

The Young Bafana Bafana would feel undone by the result having conceded from a penalty and the second after the keeper clashed with his own defender as he went for a cross.

South Africa had the biggest share of chances, in a tight and closely contested tie.

Mamelodi Sundowns starlet Siyabonga Mabena was causing all sorts of problems for Morocco with his mazy runs and trickery on the ball and it is off his feet that South Africa had all their scoring chances.

In the seventh minute he had a sniff at goal with a swinging volley off a cross on the left, but the effort flew over the bar. Three minutes later he dribbled his way to the edge of the box, but his final shot didn't gather enough pace to trouble the keeper.

In the 33rd minute, Mabena did all the dirty work, dribbling from deep to slot in a low cross into the area, but Dutch based forward Michael Dokunmu slipped just as he prepared to pull the trigger.

In the second half, Morocco tidied up their act and were more organized. They got ahead in the 72nd minute when Bouldal converted a cool penalty after his opposite number Benjamin Wallis handled a cross from Abdel Hamid Maali.

The goal gave them much of the confidence they needed and they were 2-0 up with three minutes of regulation time left when Hanin shot into an empty net after the South Africa keeper collided with his defender as he went up to collect a cross.

The Moroccans will next face off with Nigeria in a top of Group B clash.
DPP's policy likely to provoke conflict between two sides of Taiwan Straits: Ma Ying-jeou

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Apr 29, 2023 12:26 PM

Ma Ying-jeou, former regional leader of the Taiwan island, attended a forum in Greece on Friday and shared his experience of his latest trip to the Chinese mainland from March 27 to April 7, saying that the development of the mainland is far beyond his expectation and that the 1992 Consensus, which respects the one China principle, is "a guardrail" for the peace across Taiwan Straits.

Ma also said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), currently the ruling party on the island, and the party's separatist policy that denied the 1992 Consensus are very likely to provoke a conflict, or even a war between the mainland and the island of Taiwan, and this is the topic that needs most attention when it comes to cross-Straits relations.

Ma made the remarks during a conversation with Li Cheng, director of the China Center at the Brookings Institution, while attending Delphi Economic Forum on Friday.

Ma said he plans to invite scholars and students from the mainland to visit Taiwan this the summer, and he hopes the DPP authorities can allow him to do so and not to interrupt the planned exchange.

Ma recalled the exchange that the Taiwan students in his delegation had with their counterparts in the mainland during his trip covering some mainland's major cities including Nanjing, Changsha, Wuhan, Chongqing and Shanghai, and he said "they got along with each other warmly."

"In both urban and rural environments, developments in mainland over the last 20 years have been impressive," Ma said.

Ma said he was also impressed by the mainland's "extensive high-speed rail network of 40,000 kilometers." He said "It runs at a very fast speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and is quiet and stable. Its total length is the longest in the world."

Ma also recalled that officials he met, particularly the local Party chiefs, were mostly well-educated. "Some had PhD degrees, and they were by and large friendly and confident in their conversation with us."

Ma also addressed the 2024 regional election of the island. Ma said as a political party that supports "Taiwan's independence," the DPP has taken a confrontational policy toward the Chinese mainland, while the KMT has an engagement policy with the mainland.

"That's the major difference. No one is certain if the DPP might change their policy toward the mainland in the future because "Taiwan independence" has been the DPP's benchmark in Taiwan for many decades," Ma noted.

Lai Ching-de, the DPP's candidate for Taiwan's regional leader election in 2024, has long claimed that he is a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan's independence," Ma said. The problem with that is "the independence of Taiwan itself is not a pragmatic policy at all." This is not supported by the majority of the people on the island and the US, and is vehemently opposed by the Chinese mainland, Ma noted.

Ma said the existence of the 1992 Consensus serves as "a guardrail" for cross-Straits peace. However, the fact that the DPP has so far refused to accept the 1992 Consensus complicated the picture of cross-Straits peace, which remains to be seen whether the DPP would change its non-acceptance policy in the future, he noted.

"If not, the cross-Straits peace will be difficult to come by. Because the DPP's policy could likely provoke conflict or even war across the Taiwan Straits. This is the most critical element to watch in cross-Straits relations," said the former regional leader of the island.

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Taiwan, U.S. companies sign MOU on drone development

ROC Central News Agency

04/30/2023 08:51 PM

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Thunder Tiger Corporation, a Taiwanese unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer, said Sunday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on April 28 with American radar system developer Imsar Llc on the development of drones.

Thunder Tiger said in a statement that the MOU will enable it to use Imsar's synthetic aperture radar in its drones, including the T400 model, for both military and commercial applications.

The two companies will also conduct field tests and display various drones to tap into the global market, it said.

The cooperation is a significant step for the development of the T400, which is supported by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs in a program to facilitate development of the country's national defense industry, the company said.

Imsar, which makes high performance radar, is a strong partner as it has been working with the U.S. military to deploy new capabilities, according to Thunder Tiger.

Thunder Tiger also said it plans to showcase the T400 and other drones it has developed at the Taipei Aerospace Defense Technology Exhibition in September, to promote Taiwanese made UAVs on the world stage.

(By Chung Jung-feng and Lee Hsin-Yin)

Enditem/AW



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U.S. officials' participation in Taipei defense forum a 'major breakthrough': scholar

ROC Central News Agency

04/30/2023 08:36 PM

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) A Taiwanese defense expert said Sunday that an upcoming visit to Taiwan by 25 American defense contractors for a forum will be significant, because they will be accompanied by United States government representatives.

The group of defense contractors is scheduled to arrive Tuesday to attend the Taiwan-U.S. Defense Industry Forum the following day, and for the first time, officials from the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), will be part of the U.S. delegation to the forum, a source had disclosed to CNA earlier.

Su Tzu-yun (), a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told CNA Sunday that under current U.S. policy, consideration is being given to whether Taiwan should be integrated into the American defense industry's supply chain, and that is why the AIT is sending representatives this year to participate in the forum.

The inclusion of those representatives can be seen as "a major breakthrough," Su said, noting that officials from the AIT head office in Washington did not join the delegation of defense contractors that attended the forum in Taipei in 2018.

The participation of the AIT officials in this year's forum means that they may be able to give advance assessments of proposed agreements and joint projects between the Taiwanese and American defense industries, which may help to expedite clearance in the U.S. executive branch, Su said.

Meanwhile, Shu Hsiao-huang (), another expert at INDSR, said that during the U.S. delegation's four-day visit to Taipei, the members may try to evaluate whether some American weapons systems and drones could be produced in Taiwan, amid concerns over the supply of weapons to Taiwan in the event of a cross- Taiwan Strait war.

A military source told CNA, however, that the significance of the AIT officials' brief visit is more symbolic than practical, although it could pave the way for future bilateral cooperation via regular defense channels.

It is unlikely that any agreement will be signed during the four-day period, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to a different military source that spoke with CNA last week, the U.S. delegation will not only attend the half-day defense industry forum, but will also visit Taiwan's defense ministry, the country's top military research unit, and National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) and will meet with representatives of civilian drone companies.

The half-day forum, to be held Wednesday at Taipei International Convention Center (TICC), will feature addresses by U.S.-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers, defense experts and representatives of defense companies, the organizers said.

The participants will discuss how defense businesses can collaborate to help support Taiwan's national security needs in the face of geopolitical risks, according to one of the main organizers, the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/pc





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Taiwan's ex-president calls for dialogue with China after Greek forum

ROC Central News Agency

04/30/2023 02:54 PM

Taoyuan, April 30 (CNA) Former Republic of China (Taiwan) President Ma Ying-jeou () called on all parties to urge the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in dialogue to avoid war and strive for peace upon returning to Taiwan on Sunday after wrapping up a trip to Greece for a forum.

Ma said at Taoyuan International Airport that he delivered a speech during a Delphi Economic Forum event on Friday, attended by about 1,000 experts and scholars from Europe.

The participants were mostly of the view that maintaining peace across the Strait and regional security was of the utmost importance, he said, and as such he urged efforts be made to push for dialogue between Taiwan and China to avoid war and promote peace.

At the airport Ma also called on the Democratic Progressive Party government to promote cross-strait relations in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area so as to meet the country's needs.

Noting that experts and scholars from various countries at the forum agreed with this view, the former president said he hoped the Tsai Ing-wen () government will listen to the suggestions made during the forum and implement them in line with the needs of the country's people.

Ma's Greek trip was marred by controversy because of an issue with his title, which forum organizers changed multiple times before referring to Ma, who was ROC president from 2008 to 2016, as the "Former President of the Kuomintang party - Chinese Taipei" on the forum's official website.

The organizer initially listed his title as "Former President of Taipei," before correcting it to "Former President of Taiwan" briefly after Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a protest.

However, Ma's title was later re-designated to "Former Leader of Taipei" on the website until it was changed again to its latest designation.

The last title refers to Ma's time as head of the Kuomintang, which is Taiwan's main opposition party, from 2005-2007 and 2009-2014.

Meanwhile, Ma's office provided a copy of an invitation letter sent by Symeon G. Tsomokos, the forum's founder and president, in January, in which Ma was addressed as "President Ma Ying-jeou Republic of China (2008-2016)."

According to a press release from Ma's office, the organizer apologized in person when Ma was in Greece for the mix up with the designation on the website, but said it might not be updated in time due to "understaffing" as the forum was being held.

Ma departed for Greece on April 24, attended the opening ceremony of the four-day forum on April 26 and engaged in a fireside chat on April 28 with Cheng Li (), director of the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center, on current geopolitical tensions in Asia.

(By Wu Jui-chi, Teng Pei-ju and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/cs/AW

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UK Plans to Buy Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine

Sputnik News

20230430

Oleg Burunov

The UK has already provided Kiev with a whopping A2.3 billion in military assistance, remaining its second largest donor after the US. Russia has repeatedly warned that such aid is only prolonging the Ukrainian conflict.

Britain plans to purchase long-range missiles for Kiev within the framework of the UK---led International Fund for Ukraine, according to an announcement published on the British government's website.

In line with the Urgent bidding round initiative, which expires on May 4, No 10, in particular, expects to gain so-called expressions of interest from "suppliers across the globe for land, sea or air launch missiles or rockets" with a range of "100-300 km" and a payload of "20-490 kg."

Desirable requirements for the rockets include "low probability of intercept, mission planning capability" and "air defense penetration methods to increase the probability of a successful strike."

The UK earlier provided Kiev with several M270 tracked missile launcher systems to fire rockets with a range of up to 90 km.

Moscow has repeatedly pledged that Russian forces would drive back Ukrainian positions in case of the West supplying long-range missiles to Kiev.

"One circumstance should be clear to everyone: the more long-range Western systems will be delivered to Ukraine, the further we will be forced to move the threat away from our borders," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the Federal Assembly (the Russian Parliament) earlier this year.

Putin previously cautioned that Russian armed forces would find new targets if the West provided Ukraine with long-range missiles. "If they [the missiles] are going to be supplied, we'll make certain conclusions and use our own means of destruction - of which we have enough - to strike at targets that have not yet been hit," Putin emphasized.

With A2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) already pumped in military assistance to Kiev, Britain remains its the second largest donor after the US, who along with its allies ramped up military aid to Kiev shortly after Russia began its special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia warns that the West's military aid to Kiev would add to prolonging the conflict in Ukraine and make Western countries direct parties to the standoff, thereby confirming accusations that NATO is waging a proxy war against Moscow.

A Sputnik

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China to continue to play constructive role for political settlement of Ukraine issue

People's Daily Online

By He Yin (People's Daily Online) 13:27, April 29, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping held phone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The two sides exchanged views on China-Ukraine relations and the Ukraine crisis.

The international community paid high attention to the phone talks and fully recognized China's objective and fair position on the Ukraine crisis and the country's efforts in promoting talks for peace.

Xi said China's readiness to develop relations with Ukraine is consistent and clear-cut, and no matter how the international situation evolves, China will work with Ukraine to advance mutually beneficial cooperation.

Xi stressed that on the Ukraine crisis, China always stands on the side of peace, and its core stance is to facilitate talks for peace.

China will send the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs to Ukraine and other countries to have in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, Xi said.

Zelensky thanked China for providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and welcomed China's important role in restoring peace and seeking diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Since the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, China has been actively speaking out for peace and facilitating talks for peace. Xi has put forward four principles, called for joint efforts in four areas and shared three observations on Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Ministry has released a 12-point position document on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, including respecting the sovereignty of all countries and resuming peace talks.

China's efforts to promote peace talks are broadly understood and recognized by the international community.

This March, Xi paid a state visit to Russia and had an in-depth and candid exchange with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two heads of state signed joint statements, stressing that responsible dialogue is the best way for appropriate solutions.

The Russian side highly praised China's objective, impartial and balanced position, and expressed that Russia has carefully studied China's position paper, and is open to talks for peace. Russia welcomes China to play a constructive role in this regard.

China's objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue and efforts to promote talks for peace are recognized and supported by both Russia and Ukraine.

A prolonged Ukraine crisis serves no one's interests. An early ceasefire will serve the interests of all parties concerned and also the whole world, and political settlement is the only right way out.

In April this year, Xi held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Beijing. During a trilateral meeting with Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Xi reiterated that China independently decides its position based on the merits of issues, and China's position on Ukraine boils down to supporting talks for peace.

Von der Leyen and Macron said they appreciate China's efforts to promote a political settlement and look forward to China playing a more important role. They also said that they are prepared to work with China to find a way to facilitate talks for peace.

When Xi and Brazilian President Lula da Silva held talks in Beijing, the two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis. They appealed to more countries to play a constructive role for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The two presidents agreed to stay in communication on the issue.

China believes that with rational thinking and voices now on the rise, it is important to seize the opportunity and build up favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.

China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, China would not sit idly by, nor would it add oil to the fire, still less exploit the situation for self gains.

China's position is clear-cut and consistent. Between peace and war, it chooses peace. Between dialogue and sanctions, it chooses dialogue. Between lowering the temperature and fanning the flames, it chooses the former.

Everything China does is aboveboard. China does not have selfish political interests or engage in geopolitical manipulation. Instead, China is sincerely committed to promoting peace talks and a ceasefire.

However, while China works for peace, certain countries have done everything possible to obstruct peace talks, and even fabricated all kinds of rumors and fallacies to attack and smear China. Such practices are out of their selfish geopolitical interests and completely against the historical trend.

Justice lies in the heart of people. The world can clearly see who is fueling the fight and who is advocating peace talks.

A review of history shows that conflicts in the end have to be settled through dialogue and negotiation. The more difficulties there are, the greater the need to keep space for peace. The more acute the problem is, the more important it is not to give up efforts for dialogue.

As long as all parties embrace the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and pursue equal-footed, rational and results-oriented dialogue and consultation, they will find a reasonable way to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

China will continue to stand firm on the side of peace and dialogue, and on the right side of history. It will work together with the rest of the world to play a constructive role in its own way for the political settlement of the Ukraine issue.

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IAEA warns of intensified military activity near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:00, April 29, 2023

VIENNA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday sounded the alarm over "increased military presence and activity" near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant "underlines the importance and urgency of agreeing on the protection of the plant."

In recent months, Grossi has been consulting with Ukraine and Russia on creating a safety zone at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

The IAEA director general said that the IAEA experts had completed a rotation at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday to continue the agency's assessment of the facility's security situation.

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UN chief, Turkish president discuss grain deal over phone

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:54, April 29, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Black Sea grain export deal over the phone on Friday.

"They exchanged views on how to guarantee the improvement, expansion and extension of the Black Sea Initiative," said a readout issued by the UN chief's press office.

The two also talked about the improvement of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the Secretariat of the United Nations on promoting Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets, the readout said.

In July 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with TArkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Ukraine crisis.

The initial 120-day agreement was extended by another 120 days in November 2022 and again on March 18.

Circumstances are not yet in favor of extending the Black Sea grain export deal, the Kremlin said Tuesday after Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposed way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion of the deal.

During their phone call, Guterres and Erdogan also discussed the situation in Syria and Sudan, according to the UN readout.

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Zelenskiy Praises Ukrainian Border Guards As More Signs Point To Start Of Counteroffensive

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 30, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the "main battles" of the war against invading Russian forces lie ahead as Russia replaced its highest-ranking general in charge of logistics ahead of a widely expected counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.

Zelenskiy took part on April 30 in events marking the Day of the Border Guard of Ukraine, presenting awards and thanking border guards for firmly defending the state.

"It is an honor for me to congratulate you today on...the Day of the Border Guard of Ukraine -- the steel and indomitable border guard of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.

The president noted that border guard units are helping to defend Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, Maryinka, and other cities and villages of Donbas region and said more battles lie ahead.

"We must free our land and our people from Russian slavery. We have to restore the full line of our state border both on land and at sea," he said, according to a statement issued by his office.

Bakhmut has been the focus of a prolonged Russian assault, and each side on April 30 made claims about its status.

"Fierce fighting continues in the city of Bakhmut. The enemy is unable to take control over the city, despite throwing all its forces into the battle and having some success," said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar. But she added that the defense of Bakhmut "is coping with its military tasks."

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier its forces had taken four blocks of Bakhmut on April 30. Neither claim could be independently verified.

Malyar and other Ukrainian leaders have hinted that preparations for a the counteroffensive are under way.

Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, said earlier on April 30 that the preparation for the counteroffensive "is going according to plan" but would not elaborate.

A Ukrainian official commenting on April 29 about an explosion and fire at a fuel storage depot in Sevastopol tied the incident to the expected counteroffensive.

"This work is preparatory to the large-scale full-scale offensive that everyone expects," Nataliya Humenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command, said in comments published by the UNIAN news agency.

There was no independent confirmation of Humenyuk's comments, and Kyiv has not formally claimed responsibility for the attack. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed head of the region, blamed Ukraine, saying drones carried out the strike.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on April 30 that Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev had been replaced as head of logistics by Aleksei Kuzmenkov, a former official of the National Guard.

The statement did not say why Mizintsev, who was appointed to the logistics post in September days after President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization, was replaced.

The announcement came as Zelenskiy had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron in which he informed Macron about the situation on the front line and the outlook for developments in May and June.

"We discussed cooperation in working with other international partners to consolidate their support for the Ukrainian peace formula," Zelenskiy said on Telegram. "We coordinated our positions on the eve of important international events and agreed on the next concrete steps within the bilateral dialogue."

Zelenskiy said he thanked Macron for "comprehensive and effective support of Ukraine," and again emphasized the priority needs of Ukrainian forces, saying "speed and specificity of the response is very important."

Later on April 30, Pope Francis told reporters that the Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict.

The pope said he spoke about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Church's representative in Budapest, during his weekend visit to Hungary.

"In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace," he said during an impromptu news conference on his flight back to Rome.

Francis also told reporters othat the Vatican was willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war. Representatives of the Vatican have already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do "all that is humanly possible" to reunite families, he said.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-sevastopol-fuel-depot- fire-gods-punishment-russia/32385850.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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Zelensky Says Informed Macron of Frontline Situation, Prospects for Further Developments

Sputnik News

20230430

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he informed French President Emmanuel Macron of the situation on the frontline and prospects for its development over the next several months during a phone conversation.

"During a conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron, I thanked for France's comprehensive and effective support for Ukraine ... I informed him in detail of the situation on the frontline and prospects for its development in May and June. I also placed emphasis on the priority needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation with other international partners to "consolidate their support" for the Ukrainian peace plan and coordinated next steps within the bilateral dialogue between the countries, according to the Ukrainian president.

During the talks, Zelensky also stated that Kiev appreciates France's commitment to provide "a powerful armored package" to Ukrainian forces.

Western countries have been supplying Kiev with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns, since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine over a year ago. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against further arms deliveries to Kiev.

Ukraine has been reportedly preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russia in the spring of this year, with a number of Western officials expressing their willingness to help Kiev.

A Sputnik

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The Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Kofi Atta KakraKusi has received an honorary award at the maiden edition of the Africa Young Talent Achievers Awards (AYOTAA)under the theme, 'Rewarding Africa's Thriving Talents'in Accra on Friday.

The honorary award acknowledges him as the "Africa Corporate Man of the Year."

The Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs was among several others who received awards for their outstanding contribution to putting Ghana and Africa on the global map by projecting the rich Ghanaian and African Culture, Heritage and Resources through Tourism and the media landscape.

"On behalf of myself, my institution; the GTA, my family and team, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Organisers for the honour of this award. I am deeply humbled by the award and accept the challenge that it imposes on me to continue to lead exemplary leadership and discovery of young talents hinged on nothing else but compassion and people-first," he said.

MrKusi added, "l accept with humility, appreciation and pride this honorary award and dedicate to all who have contributed to the success".

The Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs of the GTA was appointed as the Board Secretary of the Authority from 2010 - 2014 where he served the Board of Directors diligently. Again, after his tenure of office as the Board Secretary, he got appointed as the Special Assistant to the then Chief Executive of the Authority, Mr Charles OseiBonsu. He has served on various Tourism Committees and won several awards.

Mr Kusi is a PR and Marketing Practitioner with vast experience in his field of expertise. He holds two (2) Masters Degrees; one is Master of Arts Degree in Public Relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), now University of Media, Arts and Communication and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing from the Methodist University Ghana. He was at the GIMPA Law School for one year but did not complete his course of study due to other equally important national assignment.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Ghana Travel By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The annual awards scheme is an initiative of Supreme Innovations Live Media with Mr Joshua K. Agbenyah Jnr as the CEO / Executive Director and Producer to recognise outstanding performance and contribution of personalities in the academia, corporate world, politics, entrepreneurs, civil society among others.

It is to acknowledge inspiring African Creatives and Personalities who are breaking the bias and putting Africa on the global map and market.

Nomination on the awards is based on ones works and brand, as well as votes on competitive awards, works and the final conclusion of the board. It aims at supporting young creative and being their voice.
Russia Destroys Up to 200 Tons of Ukrainian Ammunition in DPR

Sputnik News

20230430

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian forces have destroyed a railway echelon with up to 200 tons of Ukrainian munitions in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"As a result of a strike on an echelon at a railway station near the town of Kramatorsk of the Donetsk People's Republic, up to 200 tonnes of UAF's [Ukrainian Armed Forces] ammunition were destroyed," the ministry said.

Western countries have been supplying Kiev with various types of weapon systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns, since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine over a year ago. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against further arms deliveries to Kiev. Ukraine has been reportedly preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russia in the spring of this year, with a number of Western officials expressing their willingness to help Kiev.

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Ukraine Loses Over 480 Military, Mercenaries in Donetsk Direction Over 24 Hours - Russian MoD

Sputnik News

20230430

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Over 480 Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries have been killed, and 44 units of Ukraine's military equipment have been destroyed in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"Over the past 24 hours, over 480 Ukrainian servicepeople and foreign mercenaries have been killed, 12 armored fighting vehicles, 30 vehicles, one D-20 howitzer as well as one self-propelled artillery unit Gvozdika have been destroyed in this direction [Donetsk]," the ministry stated.

The defense ministry added that the Russian armed forces had also killed some 200 Ukrainian soldiers by conducting a missile strike against a temporary settlement of Ukraine's forces in the Donetsk People's Republic.

"As a result of a missile strike on temporary deployment points of the 24th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and units of Ukraine's special operation forces in the settlement of Konstantinovka of the Donetsk People's Republic, over 200 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, with around 280 evacuated with injuries of varying degrees of severity," the department said.

The ministry also stated that Kiev had lost around 150 servicepeople in the Kupyansk and the Krasny Liman directions over the past day.

Over 10 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed by Russian forces in the Kherson direction, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

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Russian Forces Hit Ukrainian Drone Control Post Near Kherson - Defense Ministry

Sputnik News

20230430

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian forces have hit the command and observation post and the control post of Ukrainian military drones, as well as an ammunition and equipment depot, in the Kherson region, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

"[Russian] Artillery units ... inflicted fire damage on the command and observation post and the control post of unmanned aerial vehicles of the 124th brigade of the territorial defense forces of the armed forces of Ukraine, as well as on the warehouse for storing ammunition and equipment near the city of Kherson," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson specified that the enemy suffered losses of manpower - an estimated 30 people, and over 10 enemy armored combat vehicles were destroyed.

The announcement came hours after reports detailed that Ukrainian strikes killed two civilians in Russia's Bryansk Region and caused structural damages. Additionally, it was further reported by Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz that enemy strikes had targeted a village in the Suzemsky district just after midnight.

Since the start of the special military operation, regions along the Russia-Ukraine border have repeatedly come under fire by Ukrainian forces.

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The invader will definitely not succeed in taking away our peace, which is a natural part of the Ukrainian character - address by the President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine

30 April 2023 - 16:31

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today we celebrate the professional day of our border guards in Ukraine.

They were the first to face the occupier in the east, they are holding the border firmly - from Volyn to Kharkiv region, and they will definitely return to all points of our state border in Donbas and Crimea. The day will surely come when Ukrainian border control for passengers at the international airports of our Donetsk and Simferopol will once again be quite commonplace.

The invader will definitely not succeed in taking away our peace, which is a natural part of the Ukrainian character... Peace and the desire for freedom for our entire state, for all our regions, cities, and communities. We will definitely gain it.

I would like to especially celebrate our border guards, who, together with all the defense and security forces of Ukraine, are defending our country and our people in the battles in Donbas... The most fierce areas... Maryinka, Bakhmut, Lyman... Thank you, warriors!

I would also like to mention the fighters of the Lutsk border guard detachment who are defending the Avdiivka direction... Very powerful! Thank you!

Southern directions, where the units of our border guards always effectively "subtract" the occupier... Thank you! Thank you to the servicemen of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv detachments who are defending our border with the terrorist state! Thank you to everyone who strengthens our border in Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions!

I spoke with French President Macron - as always, it was a long and meaningful conversation. We are coordinating our positions to give even more strength to our soldiers and to speed up the end of the war with our victory. I am grateful to France and to Emmanuel personally for supporting our country and our people. Now, in this conversation, Mr. President has confirmed the supply of exactly what I mentioned in the previous conversation. The speed and specificity of the response is very important, it is something that greatly enhances our capabilities. Thank you for this arms package!

It is very important that Russia receives ever stronger signals that the world will not forgive any of Russia's acts of terror. And that as many global players as possible are absolutely principled in upholding the sanctions regime against Russia for terror.

I thank each and every person in the world who helps strengthen the isolation of terrorists and stop any supply of weapons and their components to terrorists, who works to block the Russian military-industrial complex and to strengthen the defense capabilities of the whole of Europe.

Following this week, I would like to especially thank our partners from Denmark for Caesars; Slovenia for armored vehicles; Spain for tanks; and Germany for additional defense intentions regarding armored vehicles and shells, and for air defense...

I am grateful to America for funding in the amount of USD 1 billion 250 million to support our budget and resilience.

I am grateful to the Netherlands for the parliamentary decision to train Ukrainian soldiers on advanced Western systems. I am grateful to Italy for its efforts to rebuild our country as soon as possible. I am grateful to Croatia for its new assistance in the treatment of our defenders after being wounded in combat.

Remaining as united as possible, maintaining the greatest principled stance to protect our common values and implementing defense agreements as fast as possible, all together in Ukraine, in Europe, in the world, we will be able to prevent Russia from protracting the war and restore a normal, just peace.

Glory to all who are in combat for Ukraine!

Blessed memory to all our heroes of different times who gave their lives for independence!

Glory to Ukraine!

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President of Ukraine had a conversation with President of France

President of Ukraine

30 April 2023 - 16:01

In the framework of the continued dialogue, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meaningful conversation with President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron that lasted more than an hour.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked France for its comprehensive and effective support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing full-scale Russian aggression.

The President of Ukraine informed in detail about the situation at the front and prospects of its development in May-June. The Head of State emphasized the priority needs of the Ukrainian defense forces.

The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude for the defense assistance already provided by France. The parties agreed on additional solutions that will strengthen Ukraine's potential on the battlefield. "The speed and specificity of response is very important, it is something that significantly enhances our capabilities. We appreciate France's confirmation of providing our Armed Forces with a powerful armored package," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

Special attention was paid to the preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius, where strong and concrete decisions on security guarantees for our country are to be made and the procedure for inviting Ukraine to NATO is to be launched.

The parties discussed cooperation in working with other international partners to consolidate their support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

The leaders of Ukraine and France coordinated positions on the eve of important international events and agreed upon the next concrete steps in the bilateral dialogue.

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President on the Day of Border Guards: Heroism, reliability and resilience of border guard troops will make a powerful contribution to the restoration of the state border of Ukraine

President of Ukraine

30 April 2023 - 15:09

On Sunday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in events on the occasion of the Day of the Border Guard of Ukraine and presented state awards.

"It is an honor for me to congratulate you today on your professional holiday, on the Day of the Border Guard of Ukraine, the iron and unbreakable border guard of Ukraine. Assessing how strongly you defend our state, we can only thank you, heroes, border guards," the Head of State said, addressing the attendees.

The President noted the strength with which the border guard troops are defending Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Maryinka, other towns and villages of Donbas in the fiercest battles, and the resolve with which the border guards in the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and northern regions of Ukraine from the occupier.

"Thank you for your strong faith - in our country, in Ukraine - with which you destroyed the Russian occupier in fierce battles in 2014 and when the aggressor's full-scale invasion began," he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that during the defense against Russian aggression, 2193 border guards have already been awarded state awards, 11 of them - the title of Hero of Ukraine.

"Each such award is a story of our warrior's personal feat and the story of the salvation of our entire country, the whole of Ukraine. Because Ukraine's independence is not some kind of abstraction, but a very concrete result that everyone who fights for Ukraine achieves for it. Unfortunately, at the cost of their own lives," he emphasized.

The President emphasized that 11 border guards had been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, 9 of whom were posthumously awarded this highest title. In particular, these are Senior Lieutenant Vyacheslav Semenov, Major Heorhii Strelkov, Lieutenant Colonel Ihor Dashko, Colonel Roman Hakh, Colonel Vitalii Kucheriavyi, Colonel Yevhenii Pikus, Colonel Yurii Yurchyk, and Major General Ihor Momot.

The Head of State emphasized that Ukraine will always remember them and all other Ukrainian warriors who gave their lives for the sake of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

The attendees honored the memory of each fallen Ukrainian warrior with a moment of silence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the key battles of this war are ahead.

"We must liberate our land and our people from Russian captivity. We must restore the full line of our state border, both on land and at sea," he said.

The President expressed confidence that the heroism, reliability and resilience of the border guard troops will help Ukraine on this important historical path.

"I wish the "Stalevyi Kordon" assault brigade and all our border guard units unflagging strength and good luck in battle! I wish every commander to inspire his subordinates with examples of his own courage. And I wish all Ukrainian warriors to return with victory!" Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine presented the border guards with state awards: the Order "For Courage" of the III degree, medals "For Military Service to Ukraine", "For Impeccable Service" of the III degree, and "To the Defender of the Homeland".

The Head of State also conferred military ranks and presented the shoulder marks of Major General to the Head of the Eastern Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Valerii Vavryniuk, shoulder marks of Brigadier General to the First Deputy Head of the Southern Regional Directorate of the SBGSU - Chief of Staff Oleksandr Rybak, shoulder marks of Brigadier General of the Medical Service to the Head of the Healthcare Department of the SBGSU Administration Mykhailo Karnaukh.

In addition, the Head of State presented ribbons of honor "For Courage and Bravery" to five border guard detachments of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

At the end of the ceremony, Volodymyr Zelenskyy observed modern samples of special military equipment and weapons of the Ukrainian border guards.

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Latest in Ukraine: Russia's War Exacting Toll on Ukrainian Children

By VOA News April 30, 2023

New Developments:

Russia has initiated "draconian initiatives" to improve the discipline of its troops in Ukraine, according to the British defense ministry.

"A free press is a pillar, maybe the pillar of a free society," said U.S. President Joe Biden, as he called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, from Russian captivity.

A French artist dedicates a mural to an executed Ukrainian POW.

Pope Francis says he will do anything to bring peace in Ukraine.

Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 477 children wounded nearly 1,000 since Russia invaded more than a year ago, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said Sunday in a report posted on the messaging app Telegram.

Most casualties were documented in the Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, where 452 and 275 children were either killed or wounded, respectively. The casualty rate among children is expected to be higher, the reports said, as the current count does not include data from Russian-occupied territories or where hostilities are ongoing.

Last month, the National Police of Ukraine said nearly 400 children are missing.

Additionally, more than 19,000 children from Russian-occupied territories have been subjected to forced deportations to Russia. So far, Ukraine has been able to retrieve only 364 of them, according to Children of War, a Ukrainian national database.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Earlier this month at a Moscow news conference, Lvova-Belova rejected the ICC's war crime charges as false, saying her commission acted on humanitarian grounds to protect the interests of children in an area where military action was taking place, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Kremlin has previously called the ICC's actions as "outrageous and unacceptable."

But many Ukrainian children who were returned to families and guardians tell a different story.

Earlier this month, Vitaly, a child from the Kherson region, told Reuters: "We were treated like animals. We were closed in a separate building." He said he and other children were told their parents no longer wanted them.

Russian soldiers

Russia is taking "Draconian initiatives" to improve discipline among its troops, the British defense ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian commanders in recent months "have likely started" punishing breaches in discipline by placing troop members in "Zindans," which are makeshift holes in the ground covered by metal grills, the ministry tweeted.

The ministry said there have been "multiple" reports recently from Russians who said they were placed in Zindans for misdemeanors, including attempting to terminate their contracts and drunkenness.

The harsh measures began in the fall but became even harsher when Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was placed in control of the operation in January, the ministry added.

Bakhmut claims

Ukraine and Russia are trading claims on who controls most of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukraine said Sunday its troops were holding onto vitally strategic parts of the city, while the head of a major pro-Moscow force said his men were making progress.

"Fierce fighting continues in the city of Bakhmut. The enemy is unable to take control over the city, despite throwing all its forces into the battle and having some success," Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post.

Separately, Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the east, told the ICTV channel it was still possible to supply the Bakhmut defenders with food, ammunition and medicine, and evacuate the wounded.

Russia's defense ministry earlier said its forces had taken four blocks in western Bakhmut on Sunday. Reuters could not independently confirm the claim.

The leader of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Telegram that his men had advanced up to 230 meters (750 feet) in some directions in Bakhmut on Sunday. Pro-Kyiv units control less than 3 square kilometers (1.2 square miles), he said, a claim that could not be verified.

Prigozhin, who has repeatedly launched complaints against the Russian military leadership, said that Moscow was not supplying his forces with enough ammunition. As a result, he revealed, Wagner had suffered unnecessarily high losses.

Crimea attack

Meanwhile, Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone strike early Saturday that set fire to a fuel storage facility in the Russian-occupied Crimean port city of Sevastopol, Moscow-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said Saturday in a Telegram post, without providing evidence. The fire was extinguished hours later.

Razvozhaev said the fire would not affect fuel supplies in Sevastopol and that no one had been injured. He said another drone was downed and its wreckage found on the shore near the fuel terminal.

However, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said more than 10 tanks with a capacity of about 40,000 metric tons were destroyed. The tanks, he said, contained oil products intended for use by Russia's Black Sea Fleet, RBC Ukraine reported.

Yusov did not say Ukraine was responsible for the attack. Instead, he said it was "God's punishment" for the Russian strikes on Uman on Friday.

"This punishment will be long-lasting. In the near future, it is better for all residents of temporarily occupied Crimea not to be near military facilities and facilities that provide for the aggressor's army," RBC quoted Yusov as saying.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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UN Accuses Russia of Grave Human Rights Violations in Ukraine

By Lisa Schlein April 30, 2023

A large high-powered Russian delegation of 36 legal and human rights experts has failed to persuade a United Nations watchdog committee that the government has complied with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Russia was one of six state parties to the convention whose record came under review by the 18-member Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD, during its latest three-week session, which ended Friday.

The committee, which monitors member states' implementation of the convention, expressed deep concern about "the grave human rights violations committed during the ongoing armed conflict by the Russian Federation's military forces and private military companies against those protected under the convention, particularly ethnic Ukrainians."

Committee member Mehrdad Payandeh said that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the committee has received reports of severe human rights violations and abuses including "instances and practices of excessive use of force, killings, extrajudicial and summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence" attributable to the state party.

The committee also has received information about the forcible transfer and deportation to the Russian Federation of inhabitants, particularly children from territories in Ukraine occupied under the effective control of the Russian Federation.

"We have addressed these concerns," said Payandeh. "Again, the Russian Federation did not comment on those concerns or provide any more information.

"We raised our concerns in our concluding observations and recommended to the state party to investigate and to end these practices, so far as they are in violation of the convention," he said.

The Ukrainian government in mid-April reported that more than 19,384 children have been deported to Russia and the fate of many thousands more remains unclear. The U.N. and human rights organizations say many children allegedly have been given for adoption to Russian families.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government's children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the war crimes of unlawful transfer and the deportation of children.

Earlier in April, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe opened an investigation into the forcible transfer and deportation of children to the Russian Federation from parts of Ukraine under Russian control.

The U.N. committee said it also has received disturbing reports of incitement to racial hatred and propagation of racist stereotypes against ethnic Ukrainians and of alleged forced mobilization and conscription into the army both within the Federation and on other territories under its effective control. Payandeh noted that these practices "disproportionately affect members of ethnic minorities, including Indigenous peoples."

CERD's review of Russia's record, which began April 12, got off to a shaky start. The Russian delegation refused to discuss and respond to questions posed by the committee on issues related to the armed conflict and the convention rights of residents of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based in Sevastopol.

The Russians argued that it was inappropriate to discuss the issue of Crimea due to a case pending at the International Court of Justice.

"We laid our position that we did not find anything in the ongoing procedures in front of the International Court of Justice [that] would hinder us from assessing the situation," said Payandeh.

"The refusal of the Russian Federation to address these issues did not hinder us from addressing them in our concluding observations." But, he added, "It made our work more difficult, and we would have liked to engage in a constructive dialogue.

"The purpose of this exercise with the Russian Federation is to raise our concerns, to hear their observations and then to come to our conclusions," he said.

The committee accused the Russians of destroying and damaging Crimean Tatar cultural heritage, of imposing restrictions on Crimean Tatar's political and civic rights, as well as harassing, threatening and instigating the assassinations of human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, and journalists.

Committee members are calling on the Russian Federation to carry out impartial investigations into all reported cases of human rights abuse cited in its final observations. They are also seeking an end to the practice of forced mobilization and conscription of members of Crimean Tatars and Indigenous peoples in Crimea and in the ongoing armed conflict with Ukraine.

Russia has not yet commented on CERD's report. The committee says it expects the Russian Federation to present a follow-up report within one year on questions raised regarding the armed conflict in Ukraine, on the rights of residents in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the situation of stateless persons, and undocumented and irregular migrants.

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New York (US), May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Balsa Wood Industry Overview

The MRFR study reports imply that the  Balsa Wood Market Research Report Information by Type, Region, and Application - Forecast Till 2030, the global Balsa wood market is predicted to bolter substantially during the review era from 2022 to 2030 at a substantial growth rate of around 6.0%. The reports further predict the market will acquire nearly USD 217.23 Million by the end of 2030.

Market Scope

The global Balsa wood industry has lately demonstrated immense development. The primary parameter causing a surge in the market's performance is the material's lightweight, making it an ideal choice for many manufacturers in most industries around the world. Furthermore, the growing number of companies in the renewable energy, road, rail, industrial, and marine industries will also likely enhance market performance over the coming years.



Get a Free Sample PDF Brochure:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4473



Competitive Analysis

The listing of the prominent leaders across the global market for Balsa wood includes players such as:

3A Composites (Switzerland)

SINOKIKO BALSA TRADING CO., LTD (China)

Gurit (Spain)

CoreLite Inc (U.S.)

DIAB International AB (Sweden)

The Gill Corporation (U.S.)

The PNG Balsa Company Ltd (Papua New Guinea)



Among others.

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2030 USD 217.23 million CAGR 6.00 % (20212030) Base Year 2020 Forecast Period 20212030 Historical Data 2019 Forecast Units Value (USD billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, Application, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Growing Commercial Importance of Balsa Wood to Benefit Global Market





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (106 Pages) on Balsa wood:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/balsa-wood-market-4473





Market USP Covered

Market Drivers

The global Balsa wood industry has lately demonstrated immense development. The primary parameter causing a surge in the market's performance is the material's lightweight, making it an ideal choice for many manufacturers in most industries around the world. Furthermore, the growing number of companies in the renewable energy, road, rail, industrial, and marine industries will also likely enhance market performance over the coming years.

Market Restraints

On the contrary, some parameters may restrict the market's development. The main parameter limiting the market's development is the rising environmental concerns. Furthermore, the low prices of these woods are also likely to limit the development of the market.

COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on several industry areas worldwide. The Balsa wood market is no different than others. The market experienced a tremendous setback during the pandemic, given the halt of several industrial operations and manufacturing activities. The balsa wood market is no different from others. Since several manufacturing facilities temporarily shut down or gradually slowed production to a trickle, the demand for balsa wood fell significantly. This harmfully influenced several processes and farmers in tropical regions and worldwide. However, with the world recovering from the impact caused by the global health hazard, the market is anticipated to grow considerably over the coming years.



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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/4473



Segment Analysis

Among all the types, the Grain B type segment is anticipated to secure the top position across the global market for balsa wood over the assessment timeframe. The segment accounted for nearly 41% of the review timeframe in 2019.

Among all the application areas, the aerospace and defense sub-subsegment is anticipated to showcase considerable development over the review timeframe. The segment will likely be worth around USD 77.76 million by the end of 2023. The main parameter supporting the development of the segment is the high requirement by the companies in these industries needing lightweight material to make the aircraft.

Regional Analysis

The global market for balsa wood is analyzed across five major geographies: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.

The research reports by MRFR suggest that the Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to hold the top position across the global Balsa wood industry over the coming years. The main parameter supporting the regional market's growth is the presence of several tropical areas (especially in India) where balsa wood can grow well. Not startlingly, the Asia-Pacific region has the maximum growth rate as the economic growth is the strongest across this region. The regional market is predicted to thrive considerably during the assessment period, with a significant CAGR of around 5.97% until 2023. The MRFR analysis reports implying that the balsa wood market was around USD 71.25 in the year 2023. There are several aspects behind this. One is that the Asia-Pacific region has a cheap labor force. In addition, several industry areas are expanding at a rapid pace across this region. These industries require using balsa wood and other lightweight materials to make their materials well. Furthermore, there are a rising number of processors of balsa wood since this is a perfect region for growing balsa wood. Therefore the economies in this region are among the most rapidly expanding in the world.

The North American regional market for balsa wood is anticipated to secure the second position globally over the assessment period. The renewables market is expanding at breakneck speed, thanks to initiatives by industry and the rising number of stricter government regulations. Given the growing aerospace and defense market, the region has the U.S. and Canada as the leading growth contributors. With the modernization of the markets, there is more of a requirement to make strong and agile aircraft.



Ask for Customization:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_customize/4473



The European balsa wood market is predicted to ensure the third spot globally over the review era. The fact that one of its strongest nations in terms of economy, Germany, has industry sectors has industries requiring the use of this wood, and these industries are growing rapidly.



Discover more research Reports on Chemical Industry , by Market Research Future:

Investment Casting Market Research Report Information By Type (Silica Sol Process, Sodium Silicate Process), Application (Aerospace & Military, General Industrial, Industrial Gas Turbines, Automotive, Others), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030.

Fluoroelastomers (FKM) Market Research Report Information By Product Type (Fluorocarbon Elastomers, Fluorosilicone Elastomers (FVMQ), Perfluoroelastomers (FFKM), By Application (O-rings, Seals & Gaskets, Hoses, Complex Molding Parts, Others), By End-User (Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Chemical Processing, Semiconductor, Oil & Gas, Medical, Others), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030.

Industrial Coatings Market Research Report Information By Resin (Acrylic, Epoxy, Polyester, Polyurethane, and Fluoropolymers), By Technology (Water-Based, Solvent-Based, and Powder), By End-user (General Industrial, Automotive & Transportation, Industrial Wood, Marine Protective, and Packaging)

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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217.23


RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raven Industries is showcasing two new innovative additions to its autonomous precision agriculture portfolio at Agrishow 2023: DirecSteer Electric Steering and Augmenta Sense & Act technology. These new developments expand Ravens product portfolio, enabling the company to become the primary solutions provider of choice for its expanding customer base. The new technologies are proof that Raven is expanding capabilities at all levels of its Path to Autonomy, giving customers more options to automate their equipment.



To truly advance farming with technology, we meet customers with intuitive solutions that make their lives easier, said Eric Shuman, Raven General Manager. Both DirecSteer and Augmenta help Raven accomplish that in new ways. DirecSteer allows us to simplify auto-steering for ag equipment, and integrating the Augmenta tech stack into our portfolio will be key in bringing one of many practical Sense & Act solutions to the market.

Raven DirecSteer: Simple, Silent and Powerful Electric Steering

DirecSteer is Ravens latest retrofit automatic steering solution. The off-the-shelf aftermarket solution relieves stress by making autosteer simple, safe and silent  allowing drivers to focus on other important aspects of their operation. DirecSteers powerful electric drive packs high torque and silent operation into a cost-competitive, easy-to-install unit for all equipment brands. The aftermarket solution is scalable from sub-meter to sub-inch precision.

DirecSteer expands Ravens guidance technology leadership and outstanding customer support, serving the tractor OEM market segments in addition to its existing customer base. Raven continues to be the steering solutions provider for OEMs, retailers, and growers around the world.

With DirecSteer, customers have a more comfortable autosteer experience from purchase through installation to use, said Frank Dorenkamp, Raven Business Director for Latin America and EMEA. Its a valuable addition to any cab.

Customers who are interested in DirecSteer can contact their Raven representative directly or reach out using the Sales Team Contact Form.

Raven + Augmenta: Integrating to Build Practical Sense & Act Solutions

Raven is also highlighting its recent integration with Augmenta by showcasing its innovative Sense & Act variable rate application concept for spraying and spreading applications. The solution uses a combination of artificial intelligence and camera vision to automatically control application rates and maximize nutrient effectiveness.

The solutions simple single-sensor roof-mounted setup makes it easy for farmers to install and see instant savings. The Augmenta Sense & Act concept further enhances the benefits of autonomous farming, saving on input costs and reducing negative environmental impact while increasing yields. For example, integrating Augmentas perception capabilities with Ravens industry-leading Hawkeye 2 Nozzle Control system could minimize herbicide application with high precision, effectively controlling weeds without wasting inputs. The versatile Augmenta system can also be used for nitrogen, pre-harvest desiccant, defoliant, PGR and fungicide applications.

The Augmenta solution is a key integration for Raven as it develops a practical, value-driven solution to serve a growing Sense & Act market. Once fully integrated, the solution will be an easy-to-use, easy-to-install system for customers that will bring savings in all variable rate applications.

Attendees can visit Raven at Agrishow booth #A7a to see both the DirecSteer and the Sense & Act solutions from May 1  5, 2023.

About Raven Industries, Inc.

Dedicated to advancing farming through technology and innovation, Raven Industries provides innovative, high-value products and systems that help farmers serve the world. For decades, Raven has been committed to maximizing operational efficiencies for growers. Today, its groundbreaking work in autonomous systems is unlocking new possibilities in farming  driving tractors down the field, wirelessly connecting the office and the cab, and protecting the environment with controlled outputs. Raven is a subsidiary of CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI), a world-class equipment and services company specializing in Agriculture and Construction. To learn more, visit https://ravenind.com.

Contact Information

Erin Rinehart

Director of Strategic Marketing

+1 (605) 336-2750

erin.rinehart@ravenind.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d857263-2b48-43d2-81a3-c6527df9b518

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/911d3df8-546d-4943-a8b6-b95d69db6e20
A nine-member planning committee was on Monday inaugurated to overseer the upcoming Eckankar, Ghana's African Seminar expected to take place on August 27 to 29, in Accra.

The three-day seminar, which would be launched on May 9, 2023, is expected to receive over 7000 participants into the country.

The committee inaugurated by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) comprised of some selected members from the GTA, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service and some members from Eckankar Ghana.

Chaired by Mrs Betty A. Kobi, the Director of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE), the committee has the task of planning the pending seminar successfully by promoting the values and projecting Ghana's hospitable image to the rest of the world.

The Chief Executive Officer of GTA, MrAkwasiAgyeman inaugurating the committee in Accra reiterated the need to marketing Ghana as the unique destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE).

He expressed delight for the collaboration between Eckankar Ghana and its partners from the security agencies and pledged the GTA's support in making the occasion a success.

Mr Agyeman commended the tour operators Union of Ghana for their hard work, and encouraged them to take advantage of the upcoming seminar to project and sell Ghana to the rest of the world.

The Coordinator of Eckankar Ghana, Mr David Olaga indicated that the newly formed committee would facilitate the arrival of the guest and participants from across Africa and the world and ensure that they carry a positive image of the country after the seminar.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ghana Travel By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

MrOlaga urged the committee members to work together to ensure the smoothness of the programme to bring the name of Ghana high.

"A lot of these people we are expecting have heard so much about Ghana and know that we are a religiously tolerant country and so will want to come and experience the entire country. It is up to us to ensure we portray Ghana to the world to attract more tourists," he added.

The Chairman of the committee, MrsKobi on behalf of the committee expressed gratitude to government for the confidence reposed in them, and pledged to work assiduously towards ensuring a successful seminar.

Eckankar Ghana, a chartered affiliate of Eckankar International was registered as religion in Ghana 1976, and has its headquarters in America, where the living ECK Master presides with his team to be able to connect with the various regions on matters concerning Eckankar.

The African seminars is organised in every five years across some African countries. "This year Ghana is set to host it and expecting to attract participants from Africa, Europe, Asia and America.
VANCOUVER, B.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applications are now open for Innovate BCs Ignite program, which awards up to $300,000 to fund B.C.-based research and development projects that are creating game-changing innovations in the areas of natural resources, engineering and applied sciences.

The funding is awarded to teams of academia and industry who come together to solve a significant challenge that British Columbians face. Previous winning projects have ranged from cleantech to energy to mining to forestry to agriculture and beyond. The Ignite program supports the Provinces Stronger BC Economic Plan by providing local businesses with the funding needed to add value to industries, create new jobs and growth throughout B.C.s economy.

Innovation is at the heart of our StrongerBC Economic Plan, and the Ignite program is all about sparking innovative approaches and solutions in the applied sciences, engineering, and natural resource sectors, said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. I cant wait to see what inventive ideas academia and industry come up with that will help our province promote clean and inclusive economic growth for the benefit of all British Columbians.

Since the program started in 2016, 41 projects have been funded a combined $10.7M, and have garnered more than $239 million in follow-on investments and awards, and 21 projects have been completed to date generating $5.4 million in revenue. To date, more than 288 academic and industry jobs have been created or maintained through this program.

Im excited to see what local innovators are doing in natural resources and applied sciences this year and once again support their work through the Ignite program, says Raghwa Gopal, Innovate BC President + CEO. Every year we see so many companies and researchers across our province tackle issues like reforestation, clean energy, and more, and it makes me immensely proud to know our tech and innovation ecosystem is making such a significant impact on pressing global matters with made-in-B.C. innovations.

One such project, a collaboration between Dr. Katherine Elvira from the University of Victoria and Dr. Stephanie Willerth of Axolotl Biosciences, received Ignite funding in 2020 to help commercialize their technology which is 3D bioprinting personalized brain tissue models. Their project is producing next generation brain organoids which can be used for screening potential drugs to treat neurological diseases and disorders as well as for understanding how COVID-19 infection affects the function of neural tissue.

Other notable former winning projects include Flash Forest and the University of British Columbias drone technology  which plants trees at ten times the normal rate while significantly increasing accuracy, safety, and cost savings in the reforestation industry  and Browns Bay Packing Company Ltd. and the University of Northern British Columbia who are formulating a renewable and fully biodegradable packaging solution to replace traditional plastics.

Innovate BC is thrilled to support the commercialization of novel innovations through the Ignite program. Learn more about past winners here.

Applications are open until July 3, 2023 at 11:59 PM PDT. Learn more and apply here.

Want to know how to make your application stand out? Join us for an info session on May 16. Register now.

Media Kit

About Ignite

Launched in 2016, Ignite provides funding to accelerate commercialization of new technologies and innovations in the natural resources and applied sciences in B.C. Awards are up to $300,000 to B.C. industry and academic partnerships that are conducting research and development projects with the intent to commercialize. Past winners include fast-growing B.C. companies such as Aspect Biosystems, Terramera, Axine Water Technologies, and Performance Biofilaments.

About Innovate BC

Innovate BC helps foster innovation in B.C. so that British Columbians in all regions of the province can benefit from a thriving, sustainable, and inclusive innovation economy. A Crown Agency of British Columbia, Innovate BC funds and delivers programs that support the growth of the B.C. economy by helping companies start and scale, train talent that meets labour market needs, and encourage technology development, commercialization, and adoption.

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Los Angeles, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- May marks Military Appreciation Month, a time to pause and honor the sacrifices of our Service Members, both past and present. Whether the U.S. is at war or peace, our country has troops deployed worldwide. According to a recent article by Military.com, our Nation has more soldiers away from home now than ever!

Sadly, in addition to being separated from their loved ones and the comforts of home, many of our deployed troops don't receive packages or messages during mail call. For the past 20 years, Operation Gratitude has been providing these Service Members with a piece of home through Care Packages. Serving as a reminder that a grateful nation stands with them, Operation Gratitude Care Packages are created through a nationwide network of Volunteers. Each individual Operation Gratitude Care Package reflects the impact of hundreds of grateful Americans like you. The contents, assembly, shipping, and delivery are an effort of many hands working together to say "thank you" to those who serve.

The organization's unique Care Packages contain snacks, personal care and hygiene products, and handmade items. Still, the most cherished item by our troops, included in every Operation Gratitude Care Package, are the handwritten letters from Americans of all ages nationwide.

"I am a Sergeant in the Marine Corps currently deployed on board USS Makin Island. We received care packages from Operation Gratitude yesterday and I just wanted to express OUR gratitude for the donation! Everybody was so excited to open them and check out all the goodies. I think the Beanie Babies were one of the biggest hits! My personal favorite though, were all the sweet cards written by people who don't even know us, but took the time to express their appreciation for the armed forces. Those notes make our day and remind us why we do what we do."

Sgt C.K.

Sgt C.K.s words deeply resonate with me as a Marine Mom, said Carolyn Blashek, Founder and Interim CEO of Operation Gratitude. When my son was deployed (also aboard USS Makin Island), I was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude as I watched hundreds of Operation Gratitude volunteers join together to assemble care packages for him and his Marine buddies. The volunteers did not know these service members, but still gave up their valuable free time to express their appreciation. They honor all who serve in doing so.

To learn more about Operation Gratitude and how you can give back to our Military community, this Military Appreciation Month Homepage - Operation Gratitude.

Additionally, Operation Gratitude has teamed up with Starbucks this Military Appreciation Month. For every Military Appreciation eGift sold May 1st-31st, Starbucks will donate $5 (evenly split) to Operation Gratitude and Blue Star Families to support our military community. To take part, visit Starbucks Coffee Company.

About Operation Gratitude

Operation Gratitude is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing nationwide opportunities for hands-on volunteerism in support of Military, Veterans, and First Responders. In March of 2003, Operation Gratitude sent its first four care packages to deployed service members in Iraq. Since its inception, the organization has encouraged millions of Americans to express their gratitude, in turn lifting the spirits of more than 3.8 million Deployed Troops, Recruit Graduates, Veterans, Military Families, and First Responders. The Volunteers of Operation Gratitude are a generous, spirited and growing grassroots network of diverse Americans joined in common cause to say Thank You to all who serve our country. For more information visit OperationGratitude.com.

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Newark, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the report published by The Brainy Insights, the global fintech market is expected to grow from USD 115.34 billion in 2021 to USD 936.51 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 26.2% during the forecast period 2022-2030. North America region emerged as the largest market for the global fintech market, with a 35% share of the market revenue in 2021. North America region currently dominates the fintech market due to the extensive presence of major market players and a well-developed digital economy. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow during the forecast period following the growing government initiatives that encourage the integration of technology in financial services to meet the population's rising demand for digital financial services.



Request PDF Brochure: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/sample-request/12704



Fintech Market Size by Deployment Type (On-Premises & Cloud), Technology (API, AI, Blockchain, Distributed Computing, & Others), Services, End-User, Global Industry Analysis, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2022 to 2030



Scope of the Report



Report Attributes Details Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 936.51 billion CAGR 26.2% from 2022 to 2030 Banking end-user segment share 36% in 2021 Base Year 2021 Forecast Year 2022 to 2030 Key Players Affirm, Bankable, Chime, Braintree, Acorns, Flywire, PayPal, Dwolla, MANTL, Stripe

Leading companies in the industry include Affirm, Bankable, Chime, Braintree, Acorns, Flywire, PayPal, Dwolla, MANTL, and Stripe, among others which are offering more significant opportunities and are continuously focused on new product developments and venture capital investments to obtain market share.



The deployment type segment is divided into on-premises & cloud. The on-premises segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 52% in 2021. The technology segment is divided into artificial programming interface (API), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, distributed computing & others. Over the forecast period, the artificial intelligence (AI) segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 28.9%. The services segment is divided into payments & fund transfers, personal finance, loans, insurance, & others. In 2021, the payments & fund transfer segment dominated the market, accounting for around 34% of global revenue. The end-user segment is divided into banking, insurance, securities, and others. The banking segment dominated the market, with a market share of around 36%. The increased automation & digitization of banking is the reason for the dominance of the segment in the market. The entry of new market players in banking increases competition, thereby growing the demand for automation to improve client services.



Get additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/report/fintech-market-12704



The shortcomings of traditional financial services have been well documented in the history of the world. The numerous financial that have happened in the past have brought the loopholes and security lapses in global financial institutions to the forefront. Fintech can overcome these shortcomings and make the financial sector much more efficient. The use of artificial intelligence can provide more robust security, reduce human error via automation, and help in building a customer-centric approach. The checks and balances would increase the compliance rate and reduce the risk of misappropriation of money. The ability of fintech to simplify procedures for customers and ensure transparent business transactions will retain its customer base in the long run.



About the report:



The global fintech market is analyzed based on value (USD Billion). All the segments have been analyzed on a worldwide, regional, and country basis. The study includes the analysis of more than 30 countries for each part. The report offers an in-depth analysis of driving factors, opportunities, restraints, and challenges for gaining critical insight into the market. The study includes porter's five forces model, attractiveness analysis, raw material analysis, supply, demand analysis, competitor position grid analysis, distribution, and marketing channels analysis.



Procure Complete Report (230 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/buy-now/12704/single



About The Brainy Insights:



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.



Contact Us



Avinash D

Head of Business Development

Phone: +1-315-215-1633

Email: sales@thebrainyinsights.com

Web: http://www.thebrainyinsights.com
Aurora, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aurora, Colorado -

Aurora, CO  With two weeks left in the submission period, the Franklin D. Azar & Associates Billboard Design Contest has received submissions from young and creative students across the state. Students interested in seeing their art displayed in their neighborhood have until May 15, 2023 to submit their billboard design.

At the beginning of April, the Franklin D. Azar & Associates law firm invited Colorado students to submit original artwork for billboards advertising the firm's services. This opportunity is part of Azar's campaign to uplift and recognize burgeoning young and creative talent across Colorado.

"It is our hope that we can encourage and establish avenues to help the young minds of our community explore their creative passions," said a representative of Franklin D. Azar & Associates. "By providing such opportunities, we are investing in the talent of our wonderful community."

The Azar marketing team will provide each applicant with submission guidelines and design assets. In addition, the firm encourages young applicants to express the firms values and missions creatively and in a medium they are comfortable with.

The submission period is underway, and the firm is still accepting entries. The contest is open to all students aged 18 or younger enrolled in Colorado schools. Applicants must apply online at www.fdazar.com/billboard, provide a signed parental consent form, and submit their design by the deadline date of Monday, May 15, 2023.

"In reviewing the sign ups thus far, its been tremendous seeing what the young and imaginative minds of our community have created," said the representative of Franklin D. Azar & Associates. "We feel confident that we will find artwork that exemplifies our firm and dazzle clients across Colorado."

The Azar marketing firm will select five winners based on their compelling visual concepts and eye-catching artwork. The firm will announce the winners on May 24, 2023. There will be one winner for each of the five markets where the billboards will appear: Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Fort Collins, and Greeley.

The contest offers high rewards and high visibility. These winners will share $15,000 worth of educational grants: a $2,000 educational grant to each winner and a $1,000 grant to each winner's school. The winning artwork will be displayed on Azar billboards across five Colorado cities all summer.

"We hope this will be the first of many opportunities that we can provide to young students across Colorado to showcase their talents and design skills," said the representative of Franklin D. Azar & Associates.

For a complete list of terms and conditions, go to www.fdazar.com/billboard/.

For over 30 years, the personal injury law firm of Franklin D. Azar & Associates has represented thousands of injured people seeking complete and timely compensation for their losses. The firm is the largest plaintiff-centered personal injury law firm in Colorado, with offices in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZq3-sFZ4fo



Related News: https://www.pressadvantage.com/story/59882-azar-firm-launches-billboard-design-contest-for-students. For more information about Franklin D. Azar & Associates, P.C., contact the company.

###

For more information about Franklin D. Azar & Associates, P.C., contact the company here:



Franklin D. Azar & Associates, P.C.

Media Relations

(303) 900-5595

billboards@fdazar.com

https://www.fdazar.com/

14426 E Evans Ave

Aurora, CO 80014
Huntington Beach, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Beach, California -

Home Service Direct, a distinguished provider of lead generation services for the home service sector, is excited to announce its foray into the dumpster rental industry, extending its reach across the United States. Spearheaded by founder and owner David Longacre, the company is committed to offering top-notch leads to dumpster rental businesses, empowering them to achieve remarkable growth and success in a competitive landscape.

With the dumpster rental industry experiencing steady growth, businesses are grappling with fierce competition for clientele and market share. Home Service Direct, boasting extensive digital marketing expertise and a deep understanding of the industry, has crafted a range of lead generation services tailored specifically to dumpster rental businesses. These custom solutions enable clients to gain a competitive advantage and accomplish their growth objectives.



Learn more about dumpster rental leads service here: https://www.homeservicedirect.net/dumpster-rental-leads/

"At Home Service Direct, our mission is to equip dumpster rental businesses with the necessary tools and resources to flourish and excel in this competitive domain," stated David Longacre, Home Service Direct's founder, and owner. "Our groundbreaking lead generation tactics have been meticulously designed for the dumpster rental sector, ensuring that our clients reap maximum returns on their marketing investments."

Home Service Direct's lead generation strategies center on channeling high-quality traffic to businesses' websites through a blend of search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and content marketing. The company's in-house digital marketing specialists work with clients to create personalized marketing plans catering to their distinct goals and challenges.

A crucial component of Home Service Direct's lead generation methodology is its proprietary algorithm that matches dumpster rental businesses with the perfect clientele. By scrutinizing user behavior and industry patterns, the algorithm can pinpoint high-caliber leads more likely to convert into paying customers. This data-centric approach enables businesses to optimize their marketing expenditure and attain greater returns on investment.

"Our bespoke solutions and data-driven strategies have played a pivotal role in propelling the growth and success of dumpster rental businesses," added Longacre. "We are dedicated to staying at the forefront of industry trends and constantly innovating to deliver the finest possible service to our clients."

Besides its state-of-the-art lead generation services, Home Service Direct extends support to dumpster rental business owners through its expert marketing and SEO offerings. The company's dumpster rental marketing strategies aim to bolster brand visibility and capture new customers. At the same time, its local SEO services assist businesses in achieving higher rankings in local search results, facilitating easier discovery by prospective clients.

The impact of Home Service Direct's trailblazing lead generation strategies is evident in the success stories of its clientele. Dumpster rental businesses throughout the United States have witnessed remarkable growth, enhanced revenue, and elevated customer satisfaction owing to their collaboration with Home Service Direct.

As the dumpster rental industry continues to progress, Home Service Direct is steadfast in its commitment to delivering exceptional service and support to its clients. The company's unwavering focus on innovation and customer triumph ensures that dumpster rental businesses possess the tools and resources to prosper in an ever-changing market.

About Home Service Direct

Home Service Direct, founded by David Longacre, is a prominent provider of lead generation services for home service industries, catering to clients across the United States. With an emphasis on innovation and customer success, the company delivers a comprehensive array of digital marketing services specifically tailored to each industry's needs. Home Service Direct's mission is to facilitate business growth and success by connecting them with high-quality leads and providing the resources and expertise necessary to outpace the competition. For more information, visit https://www.homeservicedirect.net/.

###

For more information about Home Service Direct, contact the company here:



Home Service Direct

David Longacre

714-243-8790

david@homeservicedirect.net

20122 Bayfront Ln #201

Huntington Beach, CA 92646
Washington, D.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to welcome seven new attorneys and two international trade professionals to the firms International Trade practice group in Washington, D.C., further strengthening the firms capabilities in this area. Led by partners Joanne E. Osendarp and Eric S. Parnes, the group includes senior counsel Lynn G. Kamarck and Alan G. Kashdan; of counsel Conor S. Gilligan; associates Tyler Kimberly and Brendan S. Saslow; and trade economic advisor Jorge Miranda and international trade manager Deborah Flinn. Joanne will also serve as co-chair of the International Trade group with Blank Rome partner Anthony Rapa, who also leads the firms National Security team. Prior to joining Blank Rome, the group practiced at McDermott, Will & Emery LLP.

I am thrilled to welcome Joanne, Eric, and their international trade team to Blank Rome, said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Romes Chair and Managing Partner. Their leading experience in navigating trade remedies, negotiating free trade agreements, and handling international trade disputes complements our International Trade groups strong work in the sanctions and export controls space, further bolstering our reputation as a leading resource for clients and their full range of international trade needs.

Blank Rome has a longstanding history of strong international trade work, and we are excited to help grow the team and expand our client services on such a solid platform, said Osendarp and Parnes. The current geopolitical and economic environment have made tradeand international businessmore difficult for governments and corporations. As we enhance our international trade capabilities, we will also be eager to identify opportunities for cross-collaboration with other firm practices and industry teams, which was a key factor in our decision to join Blank Rome.

Veterans in the international trade dispute realm, the group collectively represents governments, industry associations, export credit agencies, and corporations in all manner of trade remedy cases and appeals proceedings, including countervailing duty and anti-dumping matters, as well as national security reviews of foreign investments and U.S. export controls and sanctions. Additionally, the group conducts internal and government investigations and handles False Claims Act litigation. They routinely appear before the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), U.S. Court of International Trade, World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and panels under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), to name a few.

In a joint statement, Blank Romes Washington, D.C, office co-chairs James D. Kelly and Shawn M. Wright, who also serves as co-chair of the firms national Litigation Department, stated, We are so excited to welcome Joanne and Eric and their highly respected team of leading international trade practitioners to our firms growing D.C. office. Their well-known work in some of the largest and most high-profile trade disputes and negotiations over the past few decades will be a tremendous asset to our International Trade group as well as enhance our nationally recognized litigation services, notably with regards to False Claims Act litigation and other critical investigations and compliance work.

I am excited to co-chair the firms International Trade group with Joanne, and to collaborate with Eric and the rest of this truly impressive team on expanding Blank Romes international trade and national security services and capabilities, added Rapa. As the geopolitical landscape continues to evolve, our clients will greatly benefit from the depth and breadth of their experience, and I look forward to working with our team to help our clients navigate the complexities of international trade in a changing world.

The groups addition continues Blank Romes strategic growth in Washington, D.C., which has welcomed many prominent attorneys across the firms Consumer Finance, Energy, Finance, Government Contracts, Intellectual Property & Technology and Intellectual Property Litigation, International Trade, Labor & Employment, and White Collar Defense & Investigations practices over the past two years, including partners Hussein Akhavannik, R. Andrew Arculin, Walter D. Davis, Jr., Elizabeth N. Jochum, David E. Kronenberg, Anthony Rapa, R. Colgate Selden, Jennifer A. Short, and R. Paul Zeineddin, as well as numerous associates and patent agents.

About the Team

PARTNERS

Joanne E. Osendarp has a renowned, comprehensive international trade practice that includes representing governments in trade remedies litigation, investment arbitrations, state-to-state arbitrations, and international trade negotiations. Additionally, Joanne has distinguished herself in international legal circles for serving as the government of Canadas principal U.S.-based lawyer in its long-running softwood lumber dispute against the United States, which has resulted in over 30 proceedings in the past two decades. She earned her LL.B. from the University of Ottawa and her M.A. and B.A. from York University.

Eric S. Parnes is an accomplished litigator who focuses on advocating for and advising clients in international trade disputes and other high-stakes government-facing matters, including internal and government investigations and False Claims Act litigation. He represents clients in complex disputesin court as well as before administrative agencies and arbitral tribunalsand by conducting internal investigations and advising clients on corporate compliance matters. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of Maryland.

SENIOR COUNSEL

Lynn G. Kamarck has more than 30 years of experience in international trade and regulatory matters, with an emphasis on trade remedy proceedings, trade policy, export controls, and customs. She received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and managing editor of the Journal of Law and Social Problems, and her B.A. from Grinnell College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Alan G. Kashdan focuses his practice on trade remedies and international trade regulation, including compliance with U.S. export controls and sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as well as the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State. Alan also has significant experience with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his A.B., magna cum laude, from Princeton University.

OF COUNSEL

Conor S. Gilligan focuses his practice on regulatory matters, particularly trade remedies, trade agreement negotiations, arbitration, litigation, and regulatory compliance. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

ASSOCIATES

Tyler Kimberly focuses his practice on international trade matters, previously clerking at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and at the United States Court of International Trade. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A., magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

Brendan S. Saslow focuses his practice on international trade matters, previously serving as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A. from Duke University.

TRADE ECONOMIC ADVISOR

Jorge Miranda focuses his practice on international trade matters. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, and his BSFS in International Economics, from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 650 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES



TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Water Ways Technologies Inc. (TSXV: WWT) (FRA: WWT) ("Water Ways" or the "Company"), a global provider of Israeli-based agriculture technology, providing water irrigation solutions to agricultural producers, announces the filing of its Annual Financial Statements (the "Statements") and Managements Discussion and Analysis (the "MD&A") for the year ended December 31, 2022. A comprehensive discussion of Water Ways financial position and results of operations is provided in the MD&A, filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Mr. Ohad Haber, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Water Ways states: "2022 was a challenging year for Water Ways. As a result of the slowdown in financing opportunities in Uzbekistan due to the war in the Ukraine we have shifted our focus to our North American business which resulted in record sales during 2022 of CAD$6M. We hope to continue the successful shift to the North American market in 2023 with the target to have more than 50% of our turnover in North America".

On Wednesday, May 3, 2022, at 9 am Eastern Time, Water Ways' CFO, Dor Sneh and Ronnie Jaegermann, Director, will host a live webinar with a corporate update, earnings discussion and outlook for 2023 and beyond. An Investor question-and-answer session will follow.

Register: Water Ways Technologies: 2022 financial results

Highlights  Year ended December 31, 2022 in CAD$ in millions (the following information should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by, the Statements and the MD&A)

Company's sales were CAD$14.1M for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to CAD$20.2M for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Company's net profit was CAD$2.7M for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared with a loss of CAD$6.6M in the year ended December 31, 2021.

Company's Canadian subsidiary, Heartnut Grove WWT, reached record sales and maintained its growth, 40% year on year in revenues reaching a total of CAD$6M in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to CAD$4.3M in the year ended December 31, 2021.

Although the Company's Chinese subsidiary, IAT Shanghai, operated only in the last 4 months of 2022 due to COVID-19 government restrictions, it was able to generate CAD$1.26M in revenues.

The segment of the Company's revenue generated from the installation and supply of blueberry irrigation systems grew substantially in 2022 and reached over CAD$2.5M from projects delivered in China, Mexico and Ethiopia.

On July 22, 2022, the Company closed a financing of 746 Convertible Debenture units at a price of CAD$1 (one thousand) per unit, for gross proceeds of CAD$0.75M.

Derivative Liability  Warrants and Convertible Debentures relates to a classification under IFRS of outstanding warrants issued as part of a private placement closed in the fiscal year 2021 and the convertible debentures private placement closed in the fiscal year 2022, as a non-cash liability that arises due to the difference in operational currency and functional currency. This liability is revalued each period by an independent third party. The revaluation is at fair value through profit and loss.





Water Ways Technologies Financial Results Summary (CAD$ in thousands)

The following tables set forth the highlights of the consolidated financial information of the Company and should be read in conjunction with the Statements and the notes thereto.

(CAD in thousands) As of December 31,

2022 As of December 31,

2021 Change % Balance Sheet Items: Cash and Cash Equivalents 1,349 3,314 -59.3% Total Current Assets 8,735 12,348 -29.3% Total Assets 11,702 15,408 -24.1% Total Current Liabilities 6,032 7,749 -22.2% Total Non-Current Liabilities 3,415 8,638 -60.5% (CAD in thousands) For the year ended December 31, 2022 2021 Change % Revenues: Services Projects 4,054 8,763 -53.7% Products 10,012 11,492 -12.9% Total Revenues 14,066 20,255 -30.6% Cost of Sales 11,739 16,545 -29.0% Gross Profit 2,327 3,710 -37.3% Gross Profit Margin % 17% 18% Operating Expenses 5,033 4,896 Revaluation of derivatives (5,610) 5,191 Financial expense (income), net 293 277 Taxes on Income (recovery) (85) (6) Loss for the period 2,695 (6,647)

About Water Ways Technologies Inc.

WWT through its subsidiaries, is a global provider of Israeli-based agriculture technology, providing water irrigation solutions to agricultural producers. WWT competes in the global irrigation water systems market with a focus on developing solutions with commercial applications in the micro and precision irrigation segments of the overall market. At present, WWTs main revenue streams are derived from the following business units: (i) Projects Business Unit; and (ii) Component and Equipment Sales Unit. WWT is capitalizing on the opportunities presented by micro and smart irrigation, while also making a positive mark on society by making these technologies more widely available, especially in developing markets such as Africa and Latin America and developed markets such as China and Canada. WWTs irrigation projects include vineyards, Cotton fields, Apple and Orange orchards, Blueberry, Medical Cannabis growers, fresh produce cooling rooms and more, in over fifteen countries.

For more information, please contact



Ronnie Jaegermann Dor Sneh Dr. Eva Reuter Director CFO Investor Relations - Germany T: +972-54-4202054 T: +972-54-6512500 +49 69 1532 5857 E: ronnie@waterwt.com E: dor@irri-altal.com E: e.reuter@dr-reuter.eu

https://www.water-ways-technologies.com/

https://www.hg-wwt.com/

Twitter: @WaterWaysTechn1

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to Water Ways. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect Water Ways' current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to Water Ways, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. Should any factor affect Water Ways in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, Water Ways does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and Water Ways undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. Water Ways' results and forward-looking information and calculations may be affected by fluctuations in exchange rates and its own share prices. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
WASHINGTON, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Commerces Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is seeking nominations for its annual National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Awards. This year marks the 40th Annual National MED Week Awards, which were created in 1983 to celebrate the outstanding achievements of minority entrepreneurs and the individuals and organizations committed to advancing minority business enterprises (MBEs). Each year, the President of the United States issues a National MED Week Presidential Proclamation, commemorating the Nations minority business community and reaffirming our Nations commitment to supporting the growth and success of minority businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities.



Awards are presented in three primary groups, each with multiple award categories:

Minority-Owned Firms of the Year | 9 Industry-Specific Awards

The Minority Firms of the Year Awards are open to minority business enterprises.

The Minority Firms of the Year Awards are open to minority business enterprises. Champions of Business Development | 3 Awards



The Champions of Minority Business Development Awards eligible nominees include, but are not limited to: business owners, business executives, and representatives of local, state, and federal governments or nonprofit organizations, universities, colleges, and tribal entities.

Individual Recognition | 2 awards



The Abe Venable Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizes an individual who has played an integral role in the creative, technical, or professional progress of minority business development over the course of their life.



The Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have achieved significant results by promoting diversity, expanding minority business enterprise, and demonstrating exceptional leadership in the public or private sector.

I am excited to announce the call for nominations for this historic 40th Annual National Minority Enterprise Development Week Awards, said Under Secretary for Minority Business Development Donald R. Cravins, Jr. Despite systemic challenges, minority entrepreneurs continue to be a driving force for the Nations economy. This years National MED Week Awards will give minority business community leaders a platform to share their accomplishments with the Nation and serve as an inspiration for fellow and future entrepreneurs in their pursuit of the American dream.

The 2023 National MED Week award winners are scheduled to be announced later this year, with honorees receiving their awards during this years 40th Annual National MED Week Conference.

Award categories, qualification criteria, and nomination submission instructions are available on MBDAs website: https://mbda.gov. The nomination period closes on June 15, 2023.

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority business enterprises (MBEs). For more than 50 years, MBDAs programs and services have better equipped MBEs to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues, and expand regionally, nationally, and internationally.

MBDA Media Contact Information:

Mr. Gabriel Cushing, Public Affairs

Email Address: gcushing@mbda.gov

Phone: (202) 923-9976

Website(s): http://www.mbda.gov/
NEW YORK, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities Trinseo PLC (NYSE: TSE) between May 3, 2021 and March 27, 2023, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), of the important June 20, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action commenced by the Firm.



SO WHAT: If you purchased Trinseo 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 Trinseo 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 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 June 20, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Companys Bristol, Pennsylvania plant had a troubled safety record while under prior ownership and continued to be unsafe after the Company acquired it; (2) defendants did not sufficiently disclose specific risks related to conducting operations at that plant; (3) operating a chemical plant with an unsafe history and presently unsafe operations exposed the Company to a heightened risk of a chemical spill or other adverse event; and (4) as a result, defendants statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Trinseo 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 pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:



Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

lrosen@rosenlegal.com

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cases@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
NEW YORK, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Museo del Barrio is proud to announce Something Beautiful: Reframing La Coleccion, the Museum's most ambitious presentation of its unique, complex, and culturally diverse permanent collection in over two decades. Organized by Rodrigo Moura, Chief Curator; Susanna V. Temkin, Curator; and Lee Sessions, Permanent Collection Associate Curator, the exhibition will present approximately 500 artworks, including new acquisitions and artist commissions, through rotating displays over the course of one year. Something Beautiful cuts across traditional chronological, geographic, and media-specific categories, reconsidering the Collection through new interdisciplinary approaches rooted in El Museo del Barrios foundational history and legacy. This forward-thinking model focuses on the contribution of Amerindian, African, and European cultures as the basis of visual production in the Americas and the Caribbean.



Assembled over the course of more than 50 years, El Museos collection defies conventional museological narratives and represents a significant manifestation of our diasporic and community origins, said Patrick Charpenel, Executive Director, El Museo del Barrio.

The exhibition is the result of a multi-year research initiative titled Identity Reimagined: Reframing La Coleccion. In an effort to promote and advance new knowledge, the Museum engaged in communal dialogues with more than 40 artists, scholars, community leaders, and museum professionals to explore the rich possibilities of the Collection. As part of renewed efforts to acknowledge Taino culture as a living resource, a Taino counsel led by scholar Christina Gonzalez and members of the Taino community was assembled to invite the participation of cemi and other spiritually relevant object-beings currently in El Museos care. Together, these conversations helped shape a revised framework for the Collection, foregrounding concepts such as African and Indigenous heritages, urban experiences, representational strategies, and craft intersections, reflecting an innovative approach to Puerto Rican, Latinx, Caribbean, and Latin American cultural production and identities.

Curators Moura, Temkin, and Sessions assert, unlike the majority of mainstream art museum collections, which continue to center Eurocentric values and art historical canons despite efforts to diversify, our collection is grounded in a decolonial project.

The title, Something Beautiful, draws from a print in the collection by artist Marcos Dimas with a poem of the same name by Tania Niomi Ramirez. The work both celebrates and invokes the challenges of political, cultural, and historical inheritances, and as such, metaphorically reflects larger ideas proposed by this new reframing.

Artist commissions

Artists Maria Gaspar (b. 1980 Chicago) and Glendalys Medina (b. 1979 Ponce, Puerto Rico) were commissioned to create new artworks reflecting and responding to Something Beautiful. Composed of a sculpture and new site-specific intervention, Medinas Cohoba invites viewers into the cohoba ceremony, the spiritual center of Taino life. As a diasporic Nuyorican artist based in East Harlem, Medina has repeatedly returned to how knowledge is transmitted and remixed and how social structures can empower individuals. Presented in Room 110, Gaspars presentation, Force of Things, includes a new body of work that marks the demolition of the largest single-site jail in the country, the Cook County Department of Corrections. This exhibition responds to the violent conditions of carcerality through sculptures, paintings, and videos that examine what is often unseen and invisible.

First rotation sections

The first rotation of Something Beautiful: Reframing La Coleccion is organized in eight sections plus seven artist spotlights. Themes and motifs reappear across sections to create a larger conversation throughout the exhibition. Sections include: Ocama Aracoel: Taino spirits and forms and their influence on the Nuyorican art movement; Cosmic Visions: Indigenous and non-indigenous artists evoking Amerindian languages, landscapes, and other cultural references; First Impressions: Focusing on early acquisitions and the graphic portfolio in Puerto Rican printmaking; El Barrio: Different facets of life in East Harlem and other Barrios in New York, especially around the stoop, the sidewalk, and the bodega; The Street Transforms: Artists and activists interventions in public space; Pathos, Hope, Glory: Transhistorical portraits and self portraits of artists reflecting the diversity of the Latinx experience; Clothed/Unclothed: Artworks that explore, exaggerate, and deconstruct what it means to be male, female, neither, or both; and Abstraccionistas: The protagonism of women in abstract art, matrilineal traditions, opticalities and the framing of reality through abstraction. Artist spotlights will feature the works of Jorge Soto Sanchez (1947 New York, NY  1987 White River Junction, VT); Alejandro Diaz (b. 1963, San Antonio, TX; lives in New York, NY); Papo Colo (b. 1947, Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico; lives between New York, NY and El Yunque, Puerto Rico); Antonio Lopez (1943, Utuado, Puerto Rico  1987, Thousand Oaks, CA); and Myrna Baez (1931, Santurce, Puerto Rico  2018, Hato Ray, Puerto Rico).

New publication

On the occasion of Something Beautiful, an accompanying publication drawing from the contributions of 45 invited speakers introduces new expertise about the Collection and its future. Published as a dialogic mosaic, the publication includes excerpted reflections about El Museos role in institutional ecosystems. Select contributors include: Beverly Adams, Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Marcela Guerrero, Gala Kim, Yasmin Ramirez, Taina Travierso, Adriana Zavala, and Julian Zugazagoitia, among others.

Sponsors

Something Beautiful: Reframing La Coleccion is made possible by the Terra Foundation for the Arts and The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, with additional support provided by Tony Bechara. Public support provided by the NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs. Additional Permanent Collection funding provided by The Mellon Foundation.

Press Preview | May 18, 2023 | 10am - 12pm

RSVP at press@elmuseo.org

About El Museo del Barrio

El Museo del Barrio is the nations leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. The Museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City. The Museum is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am  5:00pm. Pay-what-you-wish. To connect with El Museo via Social Media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org .

CONTACT:

Rose Mary Cortes

917-634-0340

rcortes@elmuseo.org





A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7b6b49fd-fd8e-4742-81e4-d954b9da8a26
......Citizens assured him of overwhelming re-election

House Speaker Bhofal Chambers received a rousing welcome in his native Pleebo Sodoken District in Maryland County to participate in the ongoing National Elections Commission Biometric Voters' registration process amidst assurance from supporters of his overwhelming re-election victory.

Thousands of Liberians loyal to the re-election bids of Dr. Chambers and Liberian President, George Weah, stormed the principal street to welcome him.

The Speaker's welcoming ceremony ended with an elaborate program, held in the square of Pleebo City.

During such program, auxiliaries, youth, women, religious, and traditional chiefs among others renewed their commitment to the re-election of Weah-Chambers during the upcoming October Presidential and Legislative Elections.

The citizens renewed their commitments during a mass welcoming ceremony as part of his arrival for the ongoing Voter's registration in the County.

The citizens among others also extolled the Honorable Speaker and President George Weah for the numerous development projects including scholarships, loans, medical drugs to health centers, the construction of markets, schools, churches, radio stations, and the provision of jobs.

The Marylanders were grateful to the Speaker and the Liberian President for their commitment towards the pavement of the southeastern road corridor.

For his part, Speaker Chambers lauded the citizens for the overwhelming turn-up whilst pleading with them to register.

A number of local leaders and the County's Senator, Bleebo Brown also attended the occasion.

Maryland County is among eight others, currently participating in the National Elections Commission Biometric Voters' Registration, expected to end on May 11, 2023.
VANCOUVER, May 01, 2023 - Almaden Minerals Ltd. ("Almaden" or "the Company"; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to announce the completion of a social impact assessment relating to the potential impacts caused by the grant of the Company's Ixtaca mineral claims (the "SIA"), and the completion of a human rights impact assessment that examines the potential impacts that could be caused if the Ixtaca project is developed in a manner consistent with the Ixtaca Feasibility Study first announced on December 11, 2018 (the "HRIA").



The SIA

The SIA was completed by an independent and technically capable expert consulting group named Centro de Investigaciones Interculturales, Juridicas y Ambientales, S.C. ("CIIJA"), and, consistent with the 2022 ruling of Mexico's Supreme Court of Justice ("SCJN" - see press release of July 4, 2022) and resolutions issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, is focused on the identification and prediction of potential positive and negative human rights impacts that could be caused simply through the grant of the mineral titles. The SIA also proposes adequate mitigation and compensation measures for any human rights impacts identified through an ad hoc Social Action Plan. It considers the potential impacts on the rights of both indigenous and non-indigenous communities which physically overlap with the area of the mineral title applications.

The SIA concluded that there were no elements identified that would justify the cancellation of the concessions so long as the necessary social management measures were in place to avoid, mitigate or compensate for the potential negative impacts and amplify the positive ones.

The SIA was completed in the Fall of 2022 and submitted to Mexico's Ministry of the Economy ("Economia") in order to provide the Mexican State with a social impact study completed by an independent and technically capable entity and thus enable Economia to proceed with free prior and informed consultation of indigenous communities in fulfilment of its compliance with the February 2022 decision of the SCJN.

At the time of submission of the SIA, the Company also submitted modified claim applications requesting a significant reduction to the area of the mineral title applications. Neither the modified mineral claim applications nor the SIA were considered by Economia when it issued its submission to the Second District Court in Puebla State alleging the applications for mineral titles that were granted in 2003 and 2009 contain technical faults (see press releases of Feb. 22, 2023 and April 13, 2023).

The HRIA

The HRIA was commenced in 2021 (see press release of October 19, 2021) and represents a much more significant and holistic study than the SIA, as it aims to predict, identify, characterize, and assess the potential positive and negative impacts that the Ixtaca project could have during its lifespan on the human rights of both indigenous and non-indigenous communities located within its areas of influence and on other identified project stakeholders. In the event potential impacts are identified, the HRIA proposes strategies to amplify the positive and mitigate or compensate for the negative. The HRIA is not confined to the area of the mineral title applications and defines three areas of influence of the project: core, direct, and indirect.

The HRIA was also led by CIIJA, and to the Company's knowledge, is the first time that an independent HRIA has been completed to the "Danish standard"1 for a mineral development project in Mexico. The Company believes that completion of an HRIA reflects best international standards and produces substantial long-term value for stakeholders as it is conducive to operational continuity, community integration with the project, and culturally pertinent sustainable development for all stakeholders. The Company expects that the HRIA would be an important consideration for Mexican authorities at the time of potential permitting of the Ixtaca project as currently envisaged, which the Company would likely proceed with subject to receipt of the required mineral titles.

This important exercise has involved extensive field work under the oversight of an independent Advisory Committee comprised of local community representatives and the following subject-matter experts:

Dr. S. James Anaya - Chair of Advisory Committee. Dr. Anaya is the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico (B.A., 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983). He has taught and written extensively on international human rights and issues concerning indigenous peoples and has lectured in many countries throughout the world. Dr. Anaya served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from May 2008 to June 2014, where he participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ms. Katya Puga - Ms. Puga holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores of Monterrey (2006), and pursued an MPhil in Social Studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma of Mexico. She has served as the Under-Secretary for Planning and Environmental Policy at Mexico's Ministry of the Environment ("SEMARNAT") and Director of Social Impact and Surface Occupation at the Ministry of Energy. She has also gained significant experience at departments within the United Nations, most notably as Liaison with the UN program for development where she led projects around democratic dialogues and indigenous peoples rights.

Dr. Maria del Carmen Carmona - Dr. Carmona studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico and later specialized in Natural Resources Law at the Universidad Iberoamericana, prior to receiving a Doctorate in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma of Mexico in 1996. She is a full-time researcher at the prestigious Legal Research Institute at UNAM, as well as a Level II member of the National Research System. Her research focuses on Environmental Law, Natural Resource Law, Human Rights that are related to the right to a healthy environment, Water Law, regulatory status of underground water, Coastal Law, Indigenous Law and Energy Justice. She has served as Under Attorney General at SEMARNAT.

Dr. Sergio Puig. Dr. Puig studied law at the Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico (LL.B., 2002) and received a doctoral degree (JSD) in International Economic Law from Stanford Law School in 2009. He is currently the Evo DeConcini Professor of Law and Director of the International Trade and Business Law Program at the University of Arizona, as well as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Economic Law. Before joining the University of Arizona, Professor Puig was the teaching fellow of the Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) at Stanford and served as a lecturer in law at Duke and Stanford Universities. Before entering academia, he practiced law in Mexico and the USA, and worked at the World Bank and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The Advisory Committee was charged with ensuring the HRIA was conducted in an independent manner with a robust methodology, and also provided comments and proposed mitigation measures for the identified impacts.

In their final comments regarding the HRIA, the committee stated that the HRIA was:

"developed in accordance with sound procedures, based on international standards and good practices, as well as with professionalism, seriousness, and good faith."

The committee also emphasized the Company's need to continue to exercise due diligence to ensure that the human rights of individuals and communities that might be affected by the Ixtaca project are protected.

The HRIA itself involved hundreds of interactions with individuals and groups throughout the areas of influence of the Ixtaca project. It identified four core communities that would receive the majority of both positive and negative impacts of the project - Santa Maria Zotoltepec (pop. 478), Zacatepec (pop. 285), Ixtacamaxtitlan (pop. 515), and Loma Larga (pop. 83). The HRIA concludes that:

"the impacts identified, given the early stage of the Project, can be avoided or mitigated through actions that translate into plans and programs, which in turn will be aligned with the company's Human Rights Policy, which is very positive since it has the necessary time to design and implement them, and thus avoid their occurrence or reduce the magnitude of the impact so that compensation for violating human rights is not required."

"In accordance with the above we can mention that the state of compliance and enjoyment of human rights in the region of influence is reasonably high, taking into account that in reality the formal or official data regarding compliance and enjoyment of human rights in the region are extremely limited due to the absence of specific sources and therefore generating or obtaining reliable data in this regard has been complicated because the available data are usually general and present situations rather limited to the interaction with authorities; However, no specific data was obtained from the surveys, workshops and interviews that demonstrate facts or acts directly attributable to the company developing the Project that violate the human rights of individuals and communities surrounding the Project, and even when impacts on the enjoyment of the aforementioned rights are foreseen or can be foreseen, it should be noted that as long as the mining company that will develop the Project both in its construction phase and in its operation phase is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well as in accordance with the standards and practices commonly accepted in the mining industry, the violation or non-compliance with human rights is a minor possibility that can be addressed and resolved in most cases in accordance with the internal plans and policies of the Project as mentioned in this document."

Almaden takes seriously the conduct of human rights due diligence and the planning, development, and implementation of policies and procedures as and if the Ixtaca project advances. This includes the understanding that ongoing dialogue may lead to changes in mine design, as it has in the past during feasibility stage mine design (e.g. see press release, March 21st, 2018). In this respect, it is pleased to recall the community agreements signed recently with the Ejido of Santa Maria Zotoltepec, the Irrigation Group of Small Producers from Zacatepec A.C. ("IGSP"), and the United Ejidatarios for the Sustainable Development of Santa Maria Zotoltepec, A.C. These agreements provide a strong basis for ongoing dialogue and the delivery of shared benefits from the project. A short video providing an update on the irrigation reservoirs that the Company has helped to build with the IGSP is available here.

The Company confirms its interest in continuing to work with the indigenous community of Santa Maria Zotoltepec and other communities located within the areas of influence of the Ixtaca project to amplify its local net benefits which are a part of Almaden's Social Action Plan. The foregoing is subject to the adequate completion of the indigenous consultation by Economia, as mandated by the SCJN in compliance with Mexico's international human rights obligations.

The SIA, HRIA and related documents are available on the website of the Company's Mexican subsidiary, Minera Gorrion. An executive summary of the HRIA is currently in the process of being translated to English.

The "Danish Standard" for human rights impact assessments is available for review at https://www.humanrights.dk/tools/human-rights-impact-assessment-guidance-toolbox. This methodology is considered by many as the most advanced and holistic HRIA standard, as it assures the integration of human rights considerations into broader and more mainstream assessment processes.

About Almaden

Almaden Minerals Ltd. discovered the Ixtaca project in Puebla State, Mexico, in 2010. Almaden's interest in the Ixtaca project is subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty held by Almadex Minerals Ltd. The Ixtaca deposit hosts a proven and probable reserve containing 1.38 million ounces of gold and 85.1 million ounces of silver (73.1 million tonnes grading 0.59 g/t Au and 36.3 g/t Ag). A report titled "Ixtaca Gold-Silver Project, Puebla State, Mexico NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study", which was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR and on the Company's website.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

"J. Duane Poliquin"

J. Duane Poliquin

Chair

Almaden Minerals Ltd.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things, completion of the HRIA, consideration of the modified mineral claim applications, the SIA and the HRIA by Economia and other Mexican authorities, ongoing work and agreement with affected communities under the Social Management Plan, completion of the indigenous consultation by Economia, as mandated by the SCJN and the potential operation of the Ixtaca project.

These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant legal, regulatory, business, operational and economic uncertainties and contingencies, and such uncertainty generally increases with longer-term forecasts and outlook. These assumptions include: stability and predictability in Mexico's consultation process with indigenous communities and judicial decisions thereon; stability and predictability in Mexico's mineral tenure, mining, environmental and agrarian laws and regulations, as well as their application and judicial decisions thereon; continued respect for the rule of law in Mexico; prices for gold, silver and base metals remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals being received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; community support in the Ixtaca Project; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to: Mexico's consultation process with indigenous communities and potential litigation in respect thereof; political risk in Mexico; crime and violence in Mexico; corruption; environmental risks, including environmental matters under Mexican laws and regulations; impact of environmental impact assessment requirements on the Company's planned exploration and development activities on the Ixtaca Project; certainty of mineral title and the outcome of litigation; community relations; governmental regulations and the ability to obtain necessary licences and permits; risks related to mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers or claims and other defects in title; changes in mining, environmental or agrarian laws and regulations and changes in the application of standards pursuant to existing laws and regulations which may increase costs of doing business and restrict operations; as well as those factors discussed the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Almaden's Annual Information Form and Almaden's latest Form 20-F on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or 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 our forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to on forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Information:

Almaden Minerals Ltd.

Tel. 604.689.7644

Email: info@almadenminerals.com

http://www.almadenminerals.com/






TORONTO, May 01, 2023 - Pasinex Resources Ltd. (CSE: PSE) (FSE: PNX) (The "Company" or "Pasinex") is pleased to provide a company update.



Cautionary Note

The Company has not completed a current technical report that includes a mineral resource estimate as defined by the Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council, and procedures for classifying the reported Mineral Resources were undertaken within the context of the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). The Company has no intention of completing a NI 43-101 compliant technical report. The Joint Venture has not followed accepted quality assurance and quality control procedures with respect to its current drilling program and has not used an independent third-party laboratory for its assay analysis. The Joint Venture uses field handheld X-ray fluorescence analysers ("XRF") for zinc assays and grade control in exploration and mining. In addition, assays are completed by an independent third-party laboratory for all of the Joint Venture's sales.

Highlights - Year Ended December 31, 2022 Years Ended December 31,

2022 2021 2020 Financial: Equity gain from Horzum AS $ 3,928,724 $ 200,062 $ 3,298 Assigned dividend $ 1,095,289 $ - $ - Consolidated net income (loss) $ 2,043,173 $ (129,678 ) $ (1,252,426 ) Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share $ 0.01 $ 0.00 $ (0.01 ) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 1,838,461 $ 480,034 $ 826,390 Weighted average shares outstanding 144,554,371 144,554,371 144,554,371 Years Ended December 31,

2022 2021 2020 Horzum AS operational data (100% basis): Zinc product mined (wet) tonnes 13,766 10,608 12,123 Zinc product sold (wet) tonnes 13,013 8,620 11,248 Lead product sold 54 - 145 Zinc oxide product - average grade sold 37.8 % 31.0 % 30.0 % Zinc sulphide product - average grade sold 50.1 % 49.0 % 48.0 % Zinc sulphide product - low-grade - average grade sold 18.8 % NA NA Lead product - average grade sold 53.0 % NA 54.8 % Gross margin (1) 72 % 50 % 13 % CAD cost per tonne mined (1) $ 380 $ 383 $ 313 USD cash cost per pound of zinc product mined (1) $ 0.28 $ 0.36 $ 0.37 (1) See Non-GAAP Measures

For the year ended December 31, 2022, Pasinex recorded a net income of approximately $2.04 million, compared with a net loss of approximately $0.13 million for 2021. The primary reason for the increase in the net income was the increase in equity gain 2022, which was partially offset by higher general and administration costs and exploration costs incurred in Nevada in 2022.

The operating income in Horzum AS increased to $12.9 million in 2022 from $3.7 million in 2021. This substantial increase was due to higher revenue generated from higher sales prices. The increased sales prices were the result of higher worldwide zinc prices in 2022 along with selling a greater proportion of high-grade zinc sulphide product in 2022 compared with 2021. The higher sales prices also resulted in the gross margin (see non-GAAP measures) for the year ended December 31, 2022, increasing to 72% versus 50% in 2021.

Horzum AS declared a dividend to be paid to its shareholders of which Pasinex Arama was entitled to TRY 42.2 million. Pasinex Arama has received all of this amount. Total cash received from Horzum AS during 2022 was approximately $4.5 million.



It was announced on July 1, 2022, that Horzum AS and Pasinex Arama had filed legal actions against the mining ministry in Turkiye, T.C. Maden ve Petrol Iserl Genel Mudurlugu ("MAPEG") following their decision not to extend the principal mining operational license of Horzum AS beyond April 15, 2023, and the Akkaya operational exploration license of Pasinex Arama. The Joint Venture and Pasinex Arama jointly conducted negotiations with MAPEG subsequent to that announcement and on November 30, 2022, it was reported that the extension of the principal mining operational license of Horzum AS and the Akkaya operational exploration license of Pasinex Arama had both been received. Both licenses have been extended to November 2032 in Adana Province in Turkiye. In particular, the receipt of the principal mining operational license of Horzum AS allows the Joint Venture to continue generating positive cash flows.



Horzum AS had another zero-fatality year at the Pinargozu Mine with a total of 194,504 fatality free hours having been worked at the Pinargozu Mine in 2022. Horzum AS did report four serious injuries and twelve lost-time injuries during the year.



Horzum AS mined 13,766 tonnes of zinc product during 2022, at the Pinargozu mine, compared with 10,608 tonnes of zinc product in 2021. Mine production increased in 2022 due to an increase in available ore product resulting from the development of the Fourth Adit in 2021. Production for 2022 fell short of the amount forecasted, as Horzum AS experienced water issues at the beginning of the year and was not able to increase its monthly production level in the later months of the year.



Sales volumes increased in 2022 to 13,067 tonnes of zinc and lead product, compared with 8,620 tonnes in 2021, primarily as the result of having higher available tonnes to sell as production increased during the year. This included 11,577 tonnes (2,871 tonnes in 2021) of high-grade zinc sulphide product.



Average sales prices per tonne on a USD basis improved by approximately 80% and 4%, for zinc oxide product and high-grade zinc sulphide product, respectively, between 2022 to 2021. The average USD sales price for the year ended December 31, 2022, was US$865 (2021 - US$480) per tonne for zinc oxide product and US$1,121 (2021 - US$1,078) per tonne for high-grade zinc sulphide product.



The average grade of the high-grade zinc sulphide product sold was 50.1% zinc per tonne for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared with 48.6% zinc per tonne in the same period in 2021. The average grade of the zinc oxide product sold increased to 37.8% zinc per tonne for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared with 31.3% zinc per tonne in the same period in 2021.

The CAD cost per tonne mined (see non-GAAP measures) dropped slightly in 2022, to $380 per tonne mined, compared with $383 per tonne mined in 2021. The cost per tonne metric in 2022 compared with 2021, was helped by increased mined tonnes in 2022. This decrease was partially offset by higher costs being incurred in 2022, including increased royalties payable as a result of higher sales values per tonne.

The USD cash cost per pound of zinc product mined (see non-GAAP measures) dropped to US$0.28 per pound in 2022 from US$0.36 per pound in 2021 as the average grade of zinc product mined increased in 2022 compared with 2021, which resulted in more pounds of zinc being produced.



The Joint Venture completed 9,345 metres of underground and surface diamond core drilling in 2022 compared with a forecast of 10,000 metres and completed 1,743 metres of exploration and adit development during 2022 versus a forecast of 1,200 metres.



The Company earned a 51% interest in the Company's Gunman Project during the year after having completed a portion of a multi-phased exploration program in Nevada.



Subsequent to December 31, 2022, Pasinex Arama received approximately TRY 17.5 million ($1.2 million using the exchange rates on the dates of the various transfers from Horzum AS), in advanced dividends. Of this amount approximately TRY 15.5 million ($1.1 million using the exchange rates on the dates the various transfers) was transferred from Pasinex Arama to Pasinex Canada.



Non-GAAP Measures

Please note that all dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. Refer also to the 2022 Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and Audited Financial Statements found on SEDAR.com for more information. This news release includes non-GAAP measures, including gross margin, cost per tonne mined and US$ cash cost per pound of zinc product mined. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the GAAP financial statements is included in the MD&A.

Qualified Person

Jonathan Challis, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Chartered Engineer, is the qualified person ("QP") as defined by NI 43-101 for all information in this news release other than the information relating to the Gunman Project. He has inspected the original paid sales invoices issued by the Joint Venture for the shipment of zinc sulphide product specified in this news release and has approved the scientific and technical disclosure herein. Mr. Challis is a director of the Company and Chair of the Joint Venture.

About Pasinex

Pasinex Resources Ltd. is a Toronto-based mining company that owns 50% of Horzum Maden Arama ve Isletme Anonim Sirketi ("Horzum AS" or "Joint Venture"), through its 100% owned subsidiary Pasinex Arama ve Madencilik Anonim Sirketi ("Pasinex Arama"). Horzum AS holds 100% of the producing Pinargozu high-grade zinc mine. Horzum AS sells directly to zinc smelters and or refiners through commodity brokers from its mine site in Turkiye. The Company also holds a 51% interest, with an option to increase to an 80% interest of a high-grade zinc exploration project, the Gunman Project, located in Nevada. Pasinex has a strong technical management team with many years of mineral exploration and mining project development experience. Pasinex Resources Ltd. mission is to explore and extract high grade ore to drive growth and wealth for all of its stakeholders including shareholders, employees and the communities of our operations, meeting all requirements in safety, health and the environment.

Visit our website at www.pasinex.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Pasinex Resources Ltd.

"Andrew Gottwald" Andrew Gottwald Evan White Chief Financial Officer Manager of Corporate Communications Phone: +1 416.861.9659 Phone: +1 416.906.3498 Email: info@pasinex.com Email:evan.white@pasinex.com

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Pasinex believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, exploration results, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
May 1 - Vancouver, BC - Baru Gold Corp. (TSXV:BARU) | (OTC:BARUF) ("Baru" and its subsidiary PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe ("TMS") or the "Company") is happy to update stakeholders and investors on progress in securing financing to bring the Sangihe Project into production. The Company has pursued two methods of funding - a CAD 20 Million gold-prepayment loan ("Gold Loan") led by an Asian-based Investment and Banking Advisory Firm, and a non-brokered private placement.

The Company is currently negotiating the Gold Loan with several Institutional Investors from both International and Indonesian-based markets. The interested parties are already mining precious metals or coal, provide mine services, or have substantial experience investing within Indonesia. Negotiations are going well and Institutional interest in the Sangihe Project was higher than originally anticipated.

Several coal mine operators have expressed interest in the Gold Loan. With the price and demand of coal declining, several coal mine operators within Indonesia have diversified their operations by mining or increasing their exposure to gold. The Sangihe Project is a particularly desirable investment owing to its proven ore reserves and additional opportunities identified from the Company's completed structural study and planned drilling program.

Although the Company cannot comment on the specifics of the negotiations, the candidate investors have so far responded favorably on the conditions of the proposed Gold Loan. Some potential investors have also suggested additional types of support. Current negotiations include gold-prepayment loans only, operational and in-kind support, and a combination of a gold-prepayment loan and operational support. Importantly, all current negotiations are non-dilutive to Baru shareholders. The Company is confident in securing the Gold Loan from one or group of the Institutional Investors.

The Company is targeting the end of May to conclude negotiations.

The Company has declined several offers for acquisition and is not seeking to be acquired. In that the Company is not yet in production any acquisition would not provide shareholders a fair value for their investment.

Mr. Terry Filbert, CEO of Baru Gold, commented, "I am delighted with the Investment Banking Firm and thrilled with the discussions we are having on the gold-forward loan. The Investment Banking Firm has a range, depth, and scope of contacts that has allowed us to expand our financing network to include the type of Investor that we have not been able to connect with previously. Our ongoing negotiations are constructive and positive. The upcoming financing and resulting partnerships will expedite the progress of the Company by leaps and bounds, while concurrently continuing to support the economic growth, environmental protection, and development on Sangihe Island."

The Company wishes to reiterate to shareholders and investors our legal right to develop and operate a gold concession on Sangihe Island. All permits are current and valid. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia maintains online records for public review. Investors can use the below link to confirm the validity of our Production Operation Status.

https://modi.esdm.go.id/portal/detailPerusahaan/7410/

Furthermore, with the Company having been the victim of a disinformation campaign, the current share price does not accurately represent the value of the Company's resources. Based on the stage and state of negotiations for the Gold Loan, and to prevent unnecessary dilution, the Company is suspending the private placement previously announced on April 14th, 2023. The Company thanks the new and many long-term shareholders for their contributions in previous financing rounds and ongoing support.

GRANT OF STOCK OPTIONS

The Company announces that it has granted an aggregate amount of 2,575,000 stock options to officers, directors, employees, and consultants of the Company in accordance with the provisions of the Company's stock option plan. The grant of the options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Each option entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.05 for a two-year period.

ABOUT SANGIHE GOLD PROJECT

The Sangihe Gold Project ("Sangihe") is located on the Indonesian island of Sangihe, off the northern coast of Sulawesi. Sangihe has an existing National Instrument 43-101 inferred mineral resource of 114,700 indicated and 105,000 inferred ounces of gold, as reported in the Company's "Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimates of the Binebase and Bawone Deposits, Sangihe Project, North Sulawesi, Indonesia" (May 30, 2017). Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The Company intends to proceed to production without the benefit of first establishing mineral reserves supported by a feasibility study. The Company cautions readers that the any production decision made by the Company will not be based on a NI 43-101 feasibility study of mineral reserves that demonstrates economic and technical viability and as such, there may be involved increased uncertainty and various technological and economic risks

The Company's 70-percent interest in the Sangihe-mineral-tenement Contract of Work ("CoW") is held through PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe ("TMS"). The remaining 30-percent interest in TMS is held by three Indonesian corporations. The term of the Sangihe CoW agreement is 30 years upon commencement of the production phase of the project.

Baru has met all the requirements of the Indonesian government and has been granted its environmental permit.

ABOUT BARU GOLD CORP.

Baru Gold Corp. is a dynamic junior gold developer with NI 43-101 gold resources in Indonesia, one of the top ten gold producing countries in the world. Based in Indonesia and North America, Baru's team boasts extensive experience in starting and operating small-scale gold assets.

Baru Gold Corp.

Per: "Terry Filbert"

Terry Filbert, Director



President & CEO

info@barugold.com

+1-206-890-8285



For investor contacts more information, please contact:

Kevin Shum

Investor Relations

kevin@jeminicapital.com

647-725-3888 ext 702

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.

Certain statements in this News Release, which are not historical in nature, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, the Company's performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management's current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Toronto, May 1, 2023 - US Copper Corp. (TSXV: USCU) (OTCQB: USCUF) (FSE: C730) ("US Copper" or the "Company") has decided to extend the expiry date of 5,000,000 share purchase warrants ("Warrants") which allow holders to purchase up to 5,000,000 common shares in the authorized share capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.25 per share, from May 19, 2023 to February 19, 2024. All other terms of the Warrants will remain unchanged. The extension of the expiry date of the aforementioned Warrants by nine months is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

About US Copper Corp

US Copper controls approximately 13 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Light's Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.

The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915-1930 producing over 161 million pounds of copper from over 4 million tons of rock containing 2.2% copper with silver and gold credits.

The Moonlight Deposit was discovered and drilled by Placer Amex during the 1960's. Details of the resources on US Copper's property and the parameters used to calculate them can be found in the "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, California, USA" dated April 12, 2018, on both the company's website at www.uscoppercorp.com or on www.sedar.com under the US Copper Corp. profile.

For Further Information Contact:

Mr. Stephen Dunn, President, CEO and Director, US Copper Corp. (416) 361-2827 or email info@uscoppercorp.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 press release.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will", "hopes", "anticipates", "expected to", "plans", "planned", "intends" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164419
-Rep Acarous Gray

The only member of President Weah's cabinet from Nimba County, Posts and Telecommunications Miniter, Cllr. Cooper A. Kruah, is under serious fire, with call for his resignation for attending the ceremony of former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai's naming of his running mate at the headquarters of the opposition Unity Party over the weekend in Monrovia.

Ambassador Boakai, standard bearer of the UP, named Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate on Friday, 28 April for the October 10th presidential and general elections at which Minister Krauh, also from Nimba, was visibly present.

But an executive of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Montserrado County Electoral District# 8 Representative Moses Acarous Gray, is branding the Minister a traitor and wants him to immediately resign from the CDC-led government, for attending the opposition program.

Minister Kruah was visibly seen sitting in the front roll clapping his hands, as one of his kinsmen, Senator Koung was named vice presidential candidate by the former vice president much to the dislike of the ruling establishment.

In his Facebook podcast on Saturday, April 29, Rep. Gray described the minister as a traitor, who should muster the courage to resign immediately from his governmental post to avoid any future embarrassment.

Gray: "The Traitor Cooper Kruah, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications must resign and resign now! You are a dangerous sellout and good to have lunch with you on Monday; no room for political polytheist quislings."

It's not clear whether Minister Kruah is a member of the ruling CDC, but being a member of President Weah's cabinet, his presence at the opposition rally might have sent mixed signals to the administration, as regards divided loyalty.

Kruah has not publicly responded to calls from the ruling party to step down. But commenting on the news, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson of Nimba and leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) party that Koung was picked from, said every qualified Liberian citizen under the Constitution is entitled to employment in government irrespective of political affiliation or difference.

Sen. PYJ called on the Weah administration to go ahead and dismiss all citizens of Nimba County in his government if he (Weah) so desires but this will not dampen their resolve to vote Mr. Weah out in October for his failures.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Speaking to Spoon Talk late Friday, the Nimba Senator, who withdrew support from President Weah last year, accused the President of denying the county social development fund totaling US$80 million.

Earlier, addressing thousands of partisans at the UP headquarters, Vice President Boakai said his decision to have chosen Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung as running mate was not a search for a sinless angel but a real human being whose imperfections and belief in God compels him into seeking redemption and imbibes with humility and willingness to work with a team that will make Liberia better.

Boakai maintains that his search for a running mate was based on one who understands that life is about people, not self.

"Today, after several years, months, weeks and days of intensive consultations, alignments, realignments, vetting and soul-searching, we have come to announce RESCUE TWO, our Partner for the ensuing October 10, 2023 Presidential Elections in our mission to rescue Liberia", the former Vice President for 12 years notes.

"My dear Liberians, the person I have selected as running mate, like many of you, shares my vision about building this country better than it has ever been, and like many of us, have a humble beginning, working very hard through the years to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps to provide for family and their community. "

He points out that both Senator Koung and him will not only win these elections, but intend to redirect the tragic course on which Liberia is now set.

The naming of running mate took Ambassador Boakai nearly a year amid public anxiety, with barely four months to elections.


Fernando Alonso has denied that his friendship with fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz is on the rocks following a string of on-track incidents.

In Australia, Ferrari's Sainz lost his points finish following a penalty for tapping Alonso into a spin - and they were again wheel-to-wheel this weekend at Baku.

Aston Martin's Alonso suggested a penalty may have again been appropriate for the incident in the sprint race.

"Sainz pushed me against the wall," he said. "It was a bit surprising."

Then, in Sunday's main race on the high speed streets of the Azerbaijan capital, Alonso passed his countryman with an impressive move.

"Fernando got me clean and then defended in a great way," Sainz said.

Overall, it was a poor weekend from start to finish for the 28-year-old.

"Charles (Leclerc) had a perfect weekend but Carlos struggled," said Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur.

"He lost confidence. It's like Monaco here - it's hard to drive without confidence."

But when asked if the recent incidents with Sainz had now put a strain on their friendship, 41-year-old Alonso insisted that is not the case.

"We spoke before the national anthem and everything is fine," Alonso told DAZN. "Sometimes things like this happen.

"When I saw the video yesterday, it was less than I thought at the time. Everything is fine."

In fact, Alonso said it was yet another good weekend for Aston Martin even though his string of podium finishes came to an end.

"On a bad weekend for Aston Martin we fought for the podium in Ferrari's best weekend," he said. "That's good news."

Sainz also played down any suggestion of a rift with his friend and mentor Alonso.

"For me, it was absolutely nothing," he told reporters.

"I understand that after the races we are always a little hotter, but there is no more than that."

Sainz also vowed to up his game in time for this weekend's race in Miami.

"Well, there is nothing in the data to show why I was the slow one this weekend, but I'm sure we'll look for something that will give me the answers for Miami," he said.

(GMM)
Sunday's main feature Azerbaijan GP was "not a thriller".

That was the summation of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Sergio Perez led home yet another Red Bull 1-2.

Grand Prix Drivers' Association director George Russell flagged the likely difficulty of overtaking at Baku earlier in the weekend when he chastised the FIA for shortening the DRS zone.

Russell's Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told ORF after Sunday's Baku race: "Overtaking has always been good in previous years, but we probably shortened the DRS zone too much.

"We've learned now for next year."

However, the drivers deny that DRS is the only problem.

"The cars this year are generating a bit more downforce and so the car behind struggles a little bit more to follow," said Red Bull's Perez.

Verstappen agreed: "I also think because of the weight of the cars we have nowadays, in the low speed it's a bit harder to follow too.

"As soon as you have a tiny moment with that weight, it becomes a bigger slide, it's harder on the tyres so you overheat the tyres more," he explained.

"I remember in 2015 or '16, you could take a few different lines, run a kerb because the cars were a lot softer than what we run now. But it's really, really hard nowadays because the cars just don't allow it."

Russian F1 commentator Alexey Popov agrees that the "new generation" cars of 2022 and 2023 are actually proving difficult to race at certain circuits.

"The argument is 'change the track, don't change the track' but the problem is that these cars were designed to have more racing - but there isn't more racing," he said.

"From my point of view, it's urgent to stop the teams from improving them even more. Every time they improve, all the air that they tried to prevent is starting to get more and more.

"And this is the result - very little racing," Popov added.

(GMM)
A Formula 1 photographer has called for "better headlines" after a scary incident in the pitlane at the end of Sunday's Azerbaijan GP.

The FIA summoned its own officials to explain the terrifying incident in which Alpine's Esteban Ocon entered the pitlane at full speed to take a late pitstop - only to find a wall of mainly photographers gathered for the parce ferme proceedings.

"I'm arriving at 300kph," Ocon said, "braking very late, and I see the people all around. Crazy.

"It could have been a big, big one today."

Luckily, the crowd dispersed in the nick of time - although Ocon had to slow.

"That's something that needs a review because Esteban is within his rights to pit on the last lap and finish the race in the pitlane if he wanted to," said Red Bull's Christian Horner.

The FIA admitted the need to improve and "reconsider these procedures to ensure that this situation does not occur again".

"The FIA representatives expressed their regret at what happened and assured us that they would do so in time for the next event," F1's governing body added.

Other observers and commentators, however - especially the headline writers and broadcasters - called it one of the most dangerous situations in Formula 1 in recent times.

But one of the photographers who had to hurriedly disperse, Russian Evgeniy Safronov, said the incident was not as bad as the headlines insist.

"I was there," he said.

"It's a great example of when the race was not the best so we need to discuss something. And we need better headlines than all the 'It could have ended in tragedy'.

"I'll tell you what happened," Dubai-based Safronov added. "This time the FIA gave the go-ahead a little earlier than usual. And it wasn't just photographers but also officials.

"Yes, it was certainly dangerous," he added. "It shouldn't have happened. "But in the very, very last case, there was a person behind the wheel and his car had brakes."

(GMM)
A major oversight by FIA officials nearly led to tragedy right at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as last man to pit, Esteban Ocon, narrowly avoiding running over around 20 people that were allowed to cross the entry of the pit lane, on their way to the pit wall or a photographers stand place in front of the podium.

While everyone in the know was aware the Frenchman would eventually have to pit to put a new set of tyres, having completed the first 49 laps of his race on the Hard compound - in the hope a late Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car period would gift him a free pit stop that would allow him to score one or two points - some people at the FIA didnt realize the Alpine driver was yet to pit and opened the access gate at the end of the pit building, with photographers flocking in, some to go direction to the stand in front of the podium, others going around barriers that had been just placed there, to take photos of cars and drivers as they stopped in Parc Ferme, right under the podium.

As Ocon was running in P9, 1m20s behind race leader Sergio Perez, the Mexican was less than half a minute from taking the checkered flag when the blue and pink car dived into the pits, while more than 20 people were crossing said pit lane, including some race officials who wanted to be in the pit wall to see the end of the race.Onboard footage taken from Ocons car shows he entered the pit lane access road at full speed, to see the pit lane blocked by a lot of people. Braking to 80 km/h to respect the speed limit in the pits, Ocon also had to slow down to avoid running over some of them, a couple of which can be seen jumping out of his way at the very last second - a very lucky escape for all.

Ocon, of course, was not impressed, admitting, it was quite close, I had to lift off, I had to back off, so I would not have liked to have been the in the place of those that were there. I have to say at the speed that we are arriving, especially so close to the line, if I miss the braking point it is a big disaster, so that was a crazy moment.

The Frenchman explained that, arriving at 300kph, braking very late and seeing the barriers and the people all around it was crazy. It could have been a big, big one today and, definitely something that needs to be discussed as it is something we dont want to see.

A similar situation had occurred in last years Australian Grand Prix, when Alex Albon also pitted at the start of the last lap, the FIA took action and called its own representatives to explain what had gone wrong to the Stewards of the Meeting.

While noting, that it was not unusual for the representatives to allow such persons into the pit lane just before the end of the race, in the usual course of preparation for parc ferme and the Podium ceremony, the Stewards made it clear that, in this case, there was one driver that had to pit in the last lap and this created a very dangerous situation for those that were in the pit lane at the time.

Therefore, the Stewards, considered that it was fortunate that there were no serious consequences on account of what happened today and stressed that the requirements of ensuring a safe and orderly event are paramount. This was acknowledged by the FIA team, and we understand changes to the procedures are set to be introduced for next weekends Miami Grand Prix.
Driver jailed for stealing motorbike from accident scene

Gloria Apprey Life May - 01 - 2023 , 08:02

A 25-year-old driver, Emmanuel Kye, who assisted in clearing a motorbike which got involved in an accident but later stole it, has been convicted to two years imprisonment by an Adentan Circuit Court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo.

The convict returned to the scene and claimed he was a relative of the accident victim who had been sent to collect the motorbike.

On April 25, 2023, he was convicted to two years imprisonment by an Adentan Circuit Court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo. On April 25, 2023, he pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and begged the judge for mercy but that did not work.

Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector Juliana Awuku said the complainant/accident victim was one Clement Kojo, who lived at Dodowa, while the convict resided at Adentan-Amanfrom in Accra.

C/Insp Awuku said on February 12, 2023, the complainant, who wanted to attend a church programme at Pokuase, borrowed the said motorbike from one Richard at Dodowa.

The prosecutor said on his way, the complainant got involved in a head-on collision with a saloon car when he reached a spot near the Mother Love Hospital at Adentan-Mile 11.

According to the prosecutor, the impact of the accident landed the complainant and his motorbike in a gutter rendering him unconscious.

The convict, who was riding a bicycle along the same route, chanced upon the accident scene and stopped to assist other road users to clear the road.

The prosecutor said the convict and the saloon car driver conveyed the complainant to a nearby hospital for medical care.

The convict then returned to the scene, took the motorbike and went into hiding.

The prosecutor said on April 20, 2023, police intelligence led the arrest of the convict at Dodowa. During interrogation, the convict confessed to having stolen and sold the motorbike to one Nana at Madina, Zongo Junction for GH2,400.

C/Insp Awuku added that the convict, however, could not lead the police to the said Nana and after investigations, he was charged and put before the court.
Following Friday's (April 28, 2023) picking of Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung as running mate by Unity Party Standard Bearer, Joseph Nyumah Boakai, speculations abound here that CPP Standard Bearer Mr. Alexander B. Cummings is likely to name Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence, as running mate.

Senator Lawrence had been widely named months back, as preferred running mate for Ambassador Boakai, but this did not happen on Friday. Instead, the UP Standard Bearer chose his running mate from Nimba, much to public surprise, leaving Sen. Lawrence in the cold.

A source close to the ANC told the NEW DAWN that Mr. Alexander Cummings, who is yet to name his running mate, ahead of the crucial October elections, is poised to picking Senator Nyonblee Lawrence as his vice presidential candidate.

The source explained Mr. Cummings is in closed doors meeting with the Grand Bassa Senator, on the CPP's desire to choose her as vice running mate.

Attempts to get Senator Lawrence's comment did not materialize, but a Liberty Party source said the Senator would consider the offer from Mr. Cummings if asked to join a Cummings-Lawrence ticket against President Weah.

Meanwhile, Archie Baynah, a strong UP supporter, has expressed disappointment over the Boakai-Koung Ticket, instead, preferring a Boakai-Nyonblee Ticket that he says is the popular choice.

According to Archie, Koung is less known across the country except in his native Nimba County lamenting, "So, let Nimba vote for UP, as for me, I am disappointed and believe it is a terrible decision; that force cannot defeat President Weah."

"We could have loved a Boakai-Nyonblee ticket, rather than Boakai-Koung Ticket. What you really mean, Moses Togba, a UP supporter expresses.

"Now we hope that Mr. Cummings choose Nyonblee and we will support that force with all our hearts", a Liberty Party partisan, Abraham Nah, added.

With just four months to the October 10th Presidential and General Elections, members of the opposition bloc here are moving their muscles, strategizing how to defeat incumbent President George Weah at the poll.

Despite series of criticisms against his government, including incompetence, bad governance and massive corruption that have brought hardship on ordinary Liberians, the opposition is still experiencing tremendous headaches regarding how they can galvanize a united force, that will vigorously compete against President Weah, and perhaps defeat him.

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In spite of their efforts, Mr. Weah still remains firm in his quest for re-election, rallying Liberians to his ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).

On the other hand, the opposition bloc is visibly divided, as they strive to defeat the ruling establishment with the once formidable Collaborating Political Parties now reduced to a single party - the Alternative National Congress headed by Mr. Alexander B. Cummings after the Unity Party and the All Liberian Party jumped the boat, citing alleged tempering of the Framework Document that brought them together - a claim they failed to substantiate in court.

Liberty Party, the third member of Collaboration, is split in the middle as a result of internal conflict, with one faction headed by Chairman Musa H. Bility in marriage with the ANC/CPP, while a faction led by Political Leader Senator Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence, struggles to find its bearing after Friday's development in the UP.


Sanitising the payroll: Digital or analogue Route?

Dinah Amankwah Life May - 01 - 2023 , 12:15

Before any reader dismisses the question as redundant, the reader must first indulge me by reading the entire submission.

On Monday, April 3, 2023, GTV reported that the Controller and Accountant Generals (CAG) Department was collaborating with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to sanitise the national payroll.

The spokesperson was quite passionate in summarising the delinquency unleashed on the payroll by some public servants. He cited ghost names, allowances falsely claimed, with special emphasis on car allowances. The clincher was naming culprit working groups: Education, health, local governments and tertiary institutions.

However, those cannot be the only culprits in a country where majority considers government as a bottomless remote administrator. The myopia engenders constant unconscionable exploitation of government resources.

One does not bite the hand that feeds one, but the Fantis poignantly capture Ghanaian irrational attitude: Aban edwuma wtwe nadze, literally, Governments job is dragged on the ground. To wit, do shoddy work for remuneration.

The Asante rendition  Aban dea, Governments property, furthers the repugnancy: National funds/property, misconstrued as Governments, get handled callously and recklessly. Consequently, public/civil servants, constantly howling for higher remuneration, explore dubiousness to run-down public property or drain so-called Government coffers for self.

Ironically, the same exploited Government appears unable  or unwilling?  to address shameful financial exploitation which consistently cripples the economy. Conscientious Ghanaians continue to hope that digitisation eventually impacts a radical payroll sanitisation but will vindictive elements oblige?

About eight years ago, both CAG and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) conducted autonomous biometric registration within three months to sanitise the payment system. Every colleague was appalled by the process duplication. Both institutions utilise the payroll so only one biometric registration was necessary to service both institutions.

Apparently, some fringe benefits flow to elements who hire consultancies. If one biometric exercise had occurred, the hiring elements in the other institution would have missed out. Therefore, the nation had to lose.

At a stroke, the National Identification Authority could have captured primary identity information for public employees from the payroll/pension data bases and forward to the National Revenue Authority (GRA) for improved taxation. Instead, the process became a chore.

In principle, every public employee already had a Tax Identification Number (TIN), yet the GRA required public employees to go to its local offices to fill TIN forms. The IT team from the GRA only had to collaborate with counterparts from CAG/SSNIT to release public data to activate existing TIN.

In January 2023, I tried to download an income tax form from the GRA website. When I keyed in my national identification number, the system told me that it is not linked to my TIN. Meanwhile, I had previously checked and received a text that my Ghana card was linked to my SSNIT, payroll and TIN records. I called the GRA toll free number and was informed by a very pleasant female officer to go the regional tax office to get my card linked to my TIN.

I have recalled the examples above to accentuate the lack of co-ordination and poor collaboration among complementary public institutions. That lack is the biggest hindrance to decentralisation in the country, which hindrance effectively regresses service delivery in Ghana. Additionally, it effectively blocks transparency and negates excellent provisions for social welfare. Digitisation can right public service dubiousness to an extremely high appreciable level.

As already demonstrated in some sectors, digitisation can remove the human hands which perpetuate financial dubiousness. However, same human hands continue to parry the digital move because the analogue system is highly susceptible to stagnation and dubious manipulation, hence to their advantage. When I got employed by the GES about three decades ago, it took about six months to get me on the payroll. Well, the arrears served a good purpose! Three decades later, it still takes months for new teachers to start receiving salary.

On the flipside of government exploitation is the equally high level of exploitation of many public servants who get deprived of financial benefits. Often, the officers who should process papers would not oblige colleagues. Worse, such officers would process only if they can take a certain percentage of the benefits due another. Worst, some processing officers might even siphon deprived funds into their pockets. Such dubiousness is replete in all the working groups named above, the unnamed as well.

Against such entrenched abrasive culture, the CAG and FWSC have decided to collaborate to thwart financial waste to curb national losses. I cannot help but wonder about the antagonism that shall be poured on the collaborative path. One cannot forget about the current critical financial times. May the collaboration target of removing ghost names, effacing porous allowance schemes imposed on the payroll, be met!

The writer is a Sr. Lecturer, Language and Communication Skills,Takoradi Technical University
What do you know about newborns with teeth?

Dr Frank Owusu-Sekyere Life Apr - 30 - 2023 , 11:06

In response to a question about some whitish lesions in the mouth, I wrote about Epstein pearls and their differentials.

One of the things that can be seen in the mouth of a newborn that can also be debilitating is the occurrence of tooth/teeth in the mouth of newborns. Once again, this should not be a source of worry since it can easily be dealt with. Newborns with a tooth or teeth are not an unusual observation in the labour wards. It is known in medical parlance as natal teeth when teeth are already present at the birth of a baby.

Closely related is another occurrence where babies are born with no tooth but they grow one within the first month of life. This is called neonatal tooth/teeth and must be differentiated from natal tooth. Natal teeth are usually present above the gumline at birth in contrast to neonatal teeth which emerge through the gum during the first month of life.Natal teeth are present in about 1 in every 2,000 to 3,000 births. T

hey most often develop on the lower gum, where the central incisor teeth will appear. They have little root structure and are attached to the end of the gum by soft tissue hence are often wobbly. Even though they are usually not well-formed, they may cause irritation and injury to the tongue of an infant when nursing. In addition, it may cause discomfort to a breastfeeding mother.

newborns with teeth

Natal teeth are often removed shortly after birth while the newborn infant is still in the hospital. This is very often done if the tooth is loose. The most important reason for its removal lies in the fact that the tooth can dislodge and enter the lungs, a process called aspiration which is a medical emergency. The cause of natal and neonatal teeth is not known and usually is not related to any specific medical condition.

However, sometimes they are seen as a component of a constellation of specific signs called syndromes, some of which are Ellis-van Creveld and Pierre Robin syndrome syndromes. No special investigations are recommended for natal teeth, but dental X-rays may be done in some cases particularly if there are signs of another condition that may be linked with natal teeth.What to do for natal teeth is controversial.

Some advocate for it to be left alone if not wobbly whilst others recommend its removal at all costs because of the risk of it falling off and entering the lungs. The reason for those who advocate it to be left for as long as possible is to decrease the likelihood of removing permanent tooth buds with the natal tooth.

Those proposing its removal cite various reasons, including feeding problems for the baby, the uncomfortable feeling of the mother during breastfeeding, thus interfering with proper latching on and successful lactation as well as the fear of amputation of the tongue. But the greatest of risks, as has been said earlier is the baby aspirating it when it dislodges.Dentists are usually involved in its removal.

Certain precautions must be observed before its removal. It must be ensured that the child does not have any bleeding tendency to avoid excessive bleeding.If left to stay, the natal tooth needs cleaning by gently wiping the gums and teeth with a clean, damp cloth.

We also need to frequently examine the infant's gums and tongue often to make sure the teeth are not causing injury. Consulting the dentist is the first step in dealing with natal or neonatal teeth.

Writers email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana.
Building collapse at Adenta; One person confirmed dead, 3 injured

Enoch Darfah Frimpong May - 01 - 2023 , 18:40

One person has been confirmed dead and three others injured in the Monday building collapse incident at Adenta in Greater Accra.

The deceased was trapped in the rubble for several hours and was retrieved dead.

Three others sustained injuries and are receiving treatment.

The storey building was under construction and collapsed on Monday afternoon.

A rescue team from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) responded in an attempt to rescue the trapped person.

Video below shows an excavator at the site trying to remove the rubble to rescue the trapped person.
Ghanaian parent in US draws attention to new school policy that allows children to become LGBT

Graphic.com.gh May - 01 - 2023 , 08:47

A Ghanaian parent in the United States of America (USA) has drawn public attention to a new school policy that allows children to become LGBTQ+ with teachers or somebody else in the school system help to make that decision without going through a parent.

He said the policy was going to open a door for "predators who are gradually creeping into the school system to destroy".

In a video shared on social media, the Ghanaian, who introduced himself as Neil Acheampong at a meeting made a strong case against the introduction of the new policy that disregards the consent of parents in the transitioning of schoolchildren into various transgender groups.

LGBTQ+

Addressing a local town meeting in Maryland, the founder and head pastor of Family Life Chapel described the policy known as Policy 443 as disturbing.

"There is an issue that actually bothers me about it, and I want to just make that clear if there will be a review of the policy in regards to the fact that asking if my child could be able to be a transgender, and then a school teacher or somebody else in the [school] system could help the child to make that decision without going through the parent is actually disturbing," he said.

According to him, there is a need for the policy to be reviewed as it takes away the parent's role as the first line of safety and defence for the child in such an important decision-making process.

"I think that policy needs to be looked at again because if my five-year-old is crossing a street, a parental instinct will be that I will never allow the child to cross the street by herself. Because the first line of safety for a child is a parent, and I believe we need to go back to those basic things," he stated.

He noted how the consent of parents is sought for things that he described as simple, including the administration of pain medications for children in school, and thus questioned while parents are being taken out in the case of Policy 443.

He said a few weeks ago when his daughter was sick and she needed to be given some pain medication, he was called and made to show up in person to administer the medication himself.

"Sometimes I sign paper work for sun screen, parental consent. Every simple little thing there is parental consent except this. So I am asking myself what is going on here. I see a door that is being opened for predators who are gradually creeping into the school system to destroy. Your good work will be destroyed, so I ask you to go back and look at policy 443."

"I will always pray for you and trust that you do a good work. But for this one thing, please reconsider and let's change it. Because we are building a society that ought to thrive tomorrow and not to create kids who are confused," Pastor Acheampong said.

His statement earned him an applause at the meeting.

Watch the video below
Heathrow Airport metal detector 'catches' Ghanaian who wore 7 clothes to avoid excess luggage fee

Graphic.com.gh Apr - 30 - 2023 , 21:34

To avoid paying for excess luggage charge for overweight items, this Ghanaian passenger who was traveling through the Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom to Accra in Ghana opted to wear seven layers of clothing.

It was the metal detector that drew attention to his layers of clothing.

He explained he had multiple layers of clothing on because of the cold weather, but the security said the excess luggage for overweight charge was a possible reason.

One of the clothing in the layers had a metal button and so the metal detector triggered.

But the security officials could not immediately locate the metal button.

Heathrow Airport metal detector 'catches' Ghanaian who wore 6 clothes to avoid excess luggage fee https://t.co/pmYZYdCN2B pic.twitter.com/lwOrV36xcD  GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) April 30, 2023

When he was asked why he had three shirts on, his response was it is the [cold] weather.

The unusual dressing aroused suspicion and so the security officials took him to a private place for a search.

A more intimate search was conducted in a side room.

With so many layers of shirt on, it was impossible for the security to determine what was setting off the metal detector.

The weather is too cold he said repeatedly.

When he was asked if he was flying to Nigeria, he quickly responded, "daabi, daabi, Ghana, I come from Ghana."

The officials were able to determine that there was nothing sinister setting off the detector rather than metal buttons.

They thanked him for his patience and allowed him to move on.
I believe in the potential of the Ghanaian worker  Dr. Afriyie Akoto

GraphicOnline May - 01 - 2023 , 08:05

An aspiring flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has sent a heartfelt message to Ghanaian workers, congratulating them for their hard work and assuring them of his trust in them.

In a statement signed and released in Accra on Sunday, April 30, 2023, in commemoration of this years International Labor Day celebrations, Dr. Afriyie Akoto said, I salute all workers of Ghana for their immense contribution to our nation-building. I believe in the potential of our workers to advance the development of our dear nation.

International Labor Day also known as May Day is celebrated every year across the world on May 1.

It is mainly celebrated in recognition of the struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement.

It is also celebrated to raise awareness about the rights and opportunities every labour should get for their welfare and betterment.

Monday, May 1, 2023, which marks May Day has been declared a Statutory Public Holiday in Ghana by the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery.

The Day will be marked at Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East Region where the President of the Republic of Ghana is expected to address thousands of Ghanaian workers.

To Dr. Afriyie Akoto who is also the immediate past Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ghanaian workers deserve commendation considering their enormous contributions to the economic growth and stability of Ghana.

I congratulate you for your hard work and wish you well in the years ahead of us. Ayekoo, he noted in his statement.
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Accra on Monday afternoon for a day's visit to Ghana.

He will hold bilateral talks with President Akufo-Addo on Monday evening.

In a pre-departure towards Accra statement, the Japanese PM said it was a great pleasure to be able to visit Ghana, which plays a pivotal role in West Africa.

This is the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to Ghana in 17 years.

"I am very delighted to be able to finally return to Ghana as the Prime Minister of Japan, after overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic," he stated.

Historic turning point

The international community is now at a historic turning point. Russia's aggression against Ukraine has had a major impact on Africa, including a food crisis and soaring fertiliser prices.

In addition, cooperation among the international community is even more crucial to effectively address various challenges facing the international community, such as climate change, energy, and opaque and unfair development finance.

As both Japan and Ghana currently serve as members of the United Nations Security Council, and as the two countries work together as important partners that share values and principles such as democracy and the rule of law, I look forward to having a frank discussion with President Akufo-Addo.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to further deepen the strong economic relationship between Ghana and Japan.

First, I would like to further promote business and investment with Ghana, one of the leading economic centres in West Africa.

Based on the belief that quality infrastructure development is the foundation for revitalising economic activities, Japan has been supporting infrastructure such as roads to improve Ghana's connectivity to this date.

Japan has high hopes for Ghana, which hosts the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to play a role as a standard-bearer in promoting regional integration and trade facilitation. We are determined to cooperate more closely with Ghana in the future.

Dr Noguchi

The development of Ghana-Japan relations cannot be discussed without acknowledging the achievements of Dr Hideyo Noguchi.

The healthcare sector is an important area for both countries, and we are pleased that Japan is contributing to the health and medical fields in Ghana and the West African region through the establishment of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and technical cooperation through the institute.

In particular, the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, which was established following the Prime Minister Koizumis visit to Ghana in 2006, have recognised individuals who have made outstanding achievements in medical research and medical activities in combating infectious diseases and other illnesses in Africa including Ghana.

This prize has contributed to the improvement of health and welfare in Africa as a whole. With a view to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), we will continue to contribute to the improvement in the health sector in Africa and the world.

International order

In the face of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which shakes the very foundations of the international order, we must once again firmly uphold the international order based on the rule of law and recall that ensuring peace and stability is the cornerstone of growth.

As former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, once mentioned, all states had a clear interest, as well as clear responsibility, to uphold international law and maintain international order.

Japan has been supporting Africas own efforts to achieve peace and stability, the prerequisite for economic growth, investment and betterment of livelihoods, under the New Approach for Peace and Stability in Africa (NAPSA), which approaches the root causes of impediments to human security as well as peace and stability.

During this visit, I would like to reaffirm our close collaboration with Ghana, which is playing a leading role in maintaining peace and stability in the region through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Accra Initiative.

Finally, I would like to touch upon the long-standing and friendly bilateral relationship between Ghana and Japan.

Ghana stood by Japan when we were in a difficult situation. I will never forget that last year, when former Prime Minister Abe passed away after being shot, three Presidents to date, including President Akufo-Addo, visited our Embassy to sign the book of condolences, while the Ghanaian Parliament organised a memorial service.

At the TICAD 8 held in August last year, Japan expressed its firm determination to be a "partner growing together with Africa and to cooperate with Africa to realise a resilient Africa that Africa itself aims to achieve. My visit to Africa will be a strong demonstration of Japans commitment to walk hand in hand with Africa. As the country holding the G7 Presidency, Japan is also committed to carefully listening to the voices of African countries.

I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in Ghana!

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida
Coal trains and terminal operations add a significant amount of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) pollution to urban areasmore so than other freight or passenger trainsaccording to a study conducted in Richmond, California, by the University of California, Davis.

The open-access paper, published in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, is the first study of coal train particulate pollution in a US urban area. Its also the first to use artificial intelligence technologies to verify that the source of air pollution detected comes from coal.





A shipment of coal awaits loading at the Levin-Richmond marine terminal shipyard in California. (Michael Layefsky) In 2020, the Richmond City Council passed an ordinance banning the handling and storage of coal and petcoke within the city by January 2023. The move prompted lawsuits in federal and state courts from three companies and Utah, all of which argued it was unconstitutional. A settlement reached in 2021 keeps the law in place but gives the companies to 2027 to comply.

We developed a novel artificial intelligence-driven monitoring system to quantify average and maximum PM 2.5 concentrations of full and empty (unloaded) coal trains compared to freight and passenger trains. The monitor was close to the train tracks in Richmond, California, a city with a racially diverse population of 115,000 and high rates of asthma and heart disease. We used multiple linear regression models controlling for diurnal patterns and meteorology. The results indicate coal trains add on average 8.32 g/m3 (95% CI = 6.37, 10.28; p < 0.01) to ambient PM 2.5 , while sensitivity analysis produced midpoints ranging from 5 to 12 g/m3. Coal trains contributed 2 to 3 g/m3 more of PM 2.5 than freight trains, and 7 g/m3 more under calm wind conditions, suggesting our study underestimates emissions and subsequent concentrations of coal train dust. Empty coal cars tended to add 2 g/m3. Regarding peak concentrations of PM 2.5 , our models suggest an increase of 17.4 g/m3 (95% CI = 6.2, 28.5; p < 0.01) from coal trains, about 3 g/m3 more than freight trains. Given rail shipment of coal occurs globally, including in populous areas, it is likely to have adverse effects on health and environmental justice. Ostro et al.

The authors released a full report last week to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) with additional measurements of coal and petroleum coke (a byproduct of oil refining). It demonstrated that the storage and handling of these materials at shipping terminals and train holding yards also emit PM 2.5 , and that this air pollution reaches residential communities.

That report further describes the health and environmental justice implications of coal-related pollution for residents in Richmond and in nearby Oakland, where a coal terminal proposal is currently under discussion.

Rail conveyance of coal accounts for one-third of US rail freight tonnage and is a source of fine particulate matter, which is associated with a range of health problems, from heart and respiratory disease to premature death and adverse birth outcomes. But the contribution of air pollution from coal trains has been difficult to quantify, given difficulties in monitoring and discerning coal-carrying trains from other trains.

For this study, UC Davis air quality researcher Nicholas Spada developed an artificial intelligence-driven monitoring system to quantify the average and maximum PM 2.5 concentrations of full and empty coal trains compared to freight and passenger trains. The device can differentiate between coal, freight and passenger trains, day or night, and measure the fine particulate pollution they produce in real time.

The researchers said an unforeseen benefit was that this technology can be applied to help pinpoint the source and level of pollution of many air pollution concerns, from refinery flaring and construction dust to unloading and loading at shipyards.

The World Health Organization and US Environmental Protection Agency indicate there is no known safe level of PM 2.5 . A recent study of the Global Burden of Disease estimates that fine particulate matter pollution contributes to 6.7 million deaths per year globally.

The scientists did not measure ultrafine or coarse particles (PM 10 ), which are also generated with PM 2.5 . This indicates that the study likely underestimates the actual health risks posed by passing coal trains.

The study was funded by the California Air Resources Board Community Air Monitoring Grant Program.

Resources
Nairobi  Mother to controversial self-styled healer Paul Mackenzie has denied her son's involvement in cult murders saying the 'preacher' is being targeted by those out to disposes him of the church he leads.

Speaking to the press as security agencies prepared to mount a case under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012, Mackenzie's mother said her son had no links to the Shakahola mass graves from where dozens of bodies of people believed to have been starved to death were unearthed.

Anastacia Mwele claimed her family is being targeted by a section of the Good News International Church believers bitter over her son's prosperity in the religious industry.

"I am deeply pained for how the police are mistreating my son calling him a murderer. Paul is a kind man and completely incapable of committing such acts," she said on Saturday.

Mwele said Mackenzie closed his church doors in 2019 and moved to Shakahola Forest to venture into farming. She however acknowledged that she had not set foot in the 800 acre of land claimed to be owned by the cultic pastor.

"I am yet to visit that piece of land. But I do believe that my son's preaching id based on Biblical teachings that Jesus commanded humanity to abide to," she stated.

'Malicious probe'

Mwele questioned how the said believers could be gullible to be instructed not feed.

"If indeed he was a killer, then he should have begun killing and sacrificing me, his own mother. Why did he not murder me then?" she rhetorically quipped.

"If I tell you not to eat to the point you meet your death, will you accept? I am not just defending him, that is the plain truth. He is not a killer. And if what I am saying is not true, then I accept my death. Tomorrow I will not wake up. Christ, come take me!"

Mackenzie's brother also shared similar sentiments reiterating that his older brother is being framed and that bodies being exhumed at the crime scene could be bodies of the villagers residing nearby and not victims as asserted by police.

"Perhaps the bodies being exhumed could be linked to lost loved ones of the villagers occupying that land. Some are not even recent deaths. What the police are doing to my brother is unfair and it is totally unlawful," he said.

The pastor's family is convinced that Mackenzie is the target of malice.

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"All this fracas is just a way of using Mackenzie as a scapegoat in order to put him behind bars. I have never found any fault in my son," Mwele echoed.

Links to Pastor Ezekiel

The family however owned up to Mackenzie's links to another controversial televangelist Ezekiel Odero arrested on Thursday.

The leader of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church was arraigned at Shanzu Law Courts in Mtwapa where he faced charges on murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalization, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud and money laundering over links to the Shakahola mass graves.

Mackenzie's family said Odero was friends with Mackenzie and transacted business in 2019 when he (Odero) purchased a TV station (Times TV) and a church vehicle from Mackenzie. Police quoted the transaction at Sh500,000.

"I got wind of their friendship when Pastor Ezekiel came home to purchase a church lorry and the TV station. That is the only day I saw him (Odero)," said the brother.

The Communication Authority (CA) Friday suspended the television stations owned by Pastor Paul Mackenzie and Pastor Ezekiel Odero both of whom face charges of mass murders.

Ezra Chiloba, the Director General of the authority, accused the two television stations of violating broadcasting standards by "airing inappropriate content on exorcism during the watershed period".

At least 103 bodies have been exhumed from Shakahola mass graves with authorities saying the exercise is still ongoing.
By Azernews

In recent times, the rising US and France activities in the South Caucasus, as well as the increase in their interest in the processes, have been quite tangible. Even the recent replacement of the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces temporarily stationed in Karabakh has led to an increase in the US pressure on Armenia to sign a peace treaty.

In fact, one of the main reasons for this is related to the policy of the Azerbaijani government aimed at completely eliminating the realities created by the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. The point is that while the Azerbaijani side has fully and honestly complied with the conditions of the tripartite Moscow declaration reached in November 2020 with the Russian mediation, the Armenian authorities have not fully fulfilled their obligations under the terms of that approval until now. In other words, it must be admitted that the military units belonging to Armenia have not been fully removed from the territory of Azerbaijan and they have not been disarmed; although Armenia declares that the illegal military formations in Karabakh do not belong to it."

Political analyst Elshan Manafov told this in his comment for Azernews. According to him, on the contrary, instead of fulfilling its obligations, Armenia is intensifying provocations in Karabakh.

"The fact that the Azerbaijani servicemen died in the mines planted by the Armenians in the vicinity of Shusha in recent weeks shows that the Armenian side is continuing its provocations aimed at Azerbaijan in our region. This is a factor that does not correspond to the content of its obligations. That is, the Armenian side shows a different position in the negotiations with Azerbaijan," Manafov said.

Speaking about the growing interest of the USA and France in the processes in the region, the expert said that the issue is also related to the elections to be held in Turkiye.

"Regarding the dynamism in the US and French officials' activities, I can say that until the elections to be held in Turkiye, the United States and France want to strengthen the pressure on Azerbaijan in a certain way and at the same time prevent the pressure of the Azerbaijani side against Armenia."

Elshan Manafov also clarified the importance of the elections in Turkiye for the Pashinyan government. He said that at such a moment, Pashinyan resorted to various maneuvers to gain time.

"Another significance of the elections in Turkiye is that if Erdogan wins the elections again, Turkiye's pressure on Armenia will increase. At the same time, the West is also in a hurry and wants to build its own satellite in Yerevan in the period before the elections. The West also wants to insure the Armenian government with this. At least the West knows that Azerbaijan's possible increased pressure on Armenia does not exclude military operations.

Let me add that one of the concerns of the Pashinyan government today is the victory of opposition representatives in Turkiye. In this case, Pashinyan hopes that if the opposition after elections comes to power, it will show a different attitude to the Armenian conflict. On the other hand, Pashinyan is waiting for the end of the conflict in Ukraine. Because he knows that the West will not be able to focus all its attention on the South Caucasus until the conflict in Ukraine ends. For this reason, I must mention that Pashinyan wants to gain time in the current situation and even hopes for the results of the elections to be held in Russia and the United States next year," the expert emphasized.

Elshan Manafov added that another reason for the West's growing interest in the region is the Russian factor.

"The main problem that seriously worries France and the United States within the processes in the South Caucasus is the recently growing tension in Russian-Armenian relations. This tension gives rise to the opinion that Russia has a plan of measures to replace the incumbent government in Armenia, which is opposed to Russia's geopolitical interests in the region, with a government that meets Russia's interests. Of course, the will of the people is taken into account here by Russia," the expert stressed.
Nairobi  Secretary General Central Organization of Trade Union of Kenya (COTU) Francis Atwoli has called on retired President Uhuru Kenyatta to steer clear of and pursue peace.

Speaking on Saturday during a forum with shop stewards in Nairobi, Atwoli argued that a retired Head of State should not take political sides but instead offer to be a peacemaker.

"For those asking me to have a sit down talk with Raila and Ruto that should be done by our retired President Uhuru Kenyatta. Once you become a retired President you should be a peacemaker," Atwoli said.

Additionally, Atwoli said the role of retired Presidents should be stipulated in the Constitution to ensure former Heads of State are duty-bond to lead peace efforts.

His remarks came days after Kenyatta confronted police officers who had cordoned off the Jubilee Party Headquarters located at Kileleshwa amid wrangles between two rival factions.

Kenyatta who engineered President William Ruto's expulsion from Jubilee Party and formed an alliance to campaign for opposition leader Raila Odinga has stayed put in Azimio saying the veteran opposition chief will remain his leader even as he ceded power to his successor.

Kenyatta confronts police

While making a public appearance at the party headquarters Kenyatta, who is Party Leaders, was accompanied by the embattled secretary general Jeremiah Kioni

"We are not leaving here until you leave," Kenyatta told the police officers as the supporters who escorted him cheered on.

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Soon after the police officers left the premises, the Kioni-led faction led Kenyatta into party headquarters that had been sealed off following court orders.

Shortly after, Kenyatta addressed journalists bashing the National Police whom he accused of being used to settle political scores instead of undertaking their mandate independently.

"I want to ask our police officers to kindly follow the law. We have seen you so many times following the path of violating the law. Please adhere to justice because you pledged to protect the country and the people," he said while steering clear of developments in court.

Kenyatta, who was visibly angered, questioned why the police meddled with the internal affairs of the Jubilee Party.

"This property is not ours, we have only rented it. We have neighbors surrounding this building yet you have thrown teargas at them so that you can take the house by force. That's not right, that's not the law," he said.
London, the United Kingdoms capital city, is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. From the mesmerizing architecture to the iconic River Thames and the sumptuous global cuisines, The Swinging City is a must-go destination that you should not miss. Follow me along my day in central London.

Tower of London

I started at The Tower of London, which is a significant site in the city due to the multiple crucial, historical events that occurred there. It was constructed in 1078 by William the Conqueror to serve as a defense tower and royal castle.

For four centuries, there were a total of 112 people who were executed at the site, which included several wives of Henry VIII and German spies in World War 2.

When I visited The Tower of London, it now has prominent functions. The UNESCO World Heritage Site houses the Crown Jewels, which are the United Kingdoms most valuable treasures that also comprise the Coronation Regalia used during coronation ceremonies of monarchs. In addition, 40 retired service personnel and their families live there.

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, The Tower of London also functions as the regimental headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

A little-known fact about the site that I found most intriguing is that it used to house a collection of exotic animals, such as baboons, lions and an African elephant, to mention a few, which were given as gifts by royals and dignitaries from around the world.

As you walk around the Tower of London, you can see animal sculptures of these exotic pets as well as read their stories. Overall, the 30 pounds spent to enter the site is worth it!

Tower Bridge

After looking around The Tower of London, walk the Tower Bridge, which is the only Victorian bascule bridge in London that exists.

The iconic bridge is so photogenic that many tourists often mistakenly think it is the London Bridge. Just by walking the Tower Bridge, there are beautiful attractions that can be seen, such as the River Thames, St. Pauls Cathedral, The Old City Hall, The Shard and BT Tower, to mention a few.

I recommend visiting the Tower Bridge Exhibition, which costs around 11 pounds. It gives a comprehensive history of the bridge and also allows tourists to enter the towers and a glass walkway that is 138 feet above the River Thames.

HMS Belfast

Visit the HMS Belfast warship afterward. The floating museum is moored on the River Thames, and the warship provides an accurate sense of how sailors lived before during the Second World War.

The Imperial War Museum salvaged the HMS Belfast from the scrapyard in the 1960s and now manages the operation of the museum ship.

It costs 24.50 pounds to enter the HMS Belfast, but being able to explore all of the nine decks might be worth it for history lovers.

London Bridge

After touring around the warship, walk eight minutes to the famous London Bridge. The oldest bridge in London was originally constructed by the Romans in 55 B.C.

Unfortunately, it is not as attractive as the Tower Bridge. I find it dull and unremarkable since it is just a basic concrete bridge.

Big Ben

Next up in my list was Big Ben, which was originally named the Clock Tower and later called the Elizabeth Tower in 2012. In order to get there, I walked across the Westminster Bridge, which connects Big Ben on the west side and London Eye on the other.

Big Ben was designed by architect Augustus Pugin in a neo-Gothic style, and its main purpose was to function as Londons standard clock. The Elizabeth Tower is also a symbol of the British Order and the Political Clout of the nation.

Orient London

After walking for another 21 minutes, I arrived in Londons Chinatown. It was nicknamed The Imperial City in the 1960s and 1970s since it is located in the heart of the capital city, which is not often the case for other Chinatowns across the globe.

It is one of the best Chinatown entrances Ive encountered as it is very distinctive of Chinese culture  from the lanterns, the gates and the lion, to mention a few.

I ate a late lunch at Orient London afterward, which serves Szechuan and Cantonese dishes. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken and vegetables, and the portion was so big.

It tasted so delicious as I consumed the crispy coating of the chicken and the crunchy peppers. This is a huge contrast to the soft texture of the chicken. I also think that the sweet and sour sauce the restaurant used was very distinct  making me crave for more!

Shangri-La The Shard

During sunset hours, I recommend visiting Shangri-La The Shard. The 1,017 feet skyscraper with 87 floors, which is shaped like a pyramid, was erected in 2012 and is acknowledged as the tallest building in Western Europe.

It costs between 28 to 32 pounds to go up on the viewing platform. There are no time limits, and you are able to see a 360-degree view of central London and its famous landmarks.

There are several bars in The Shard too that I recommend trying, such as Oblix, Gong and Ting. I loved the gin and tonic from Bar 31 right before I went up to see the stunning views.

The cocktails were about 15 to 20 pounds, but it is worth it if you are going on a date or want to make your time memorable in London.

OITA Wood Green

For dinner, I went to a Japanese restaurant called OITA Wood Green. I found it very spacious, chic and clean with a motley of dishes to choose from.

There are also candles and fresh flowers on every diners table, which makes the restaurant the perfect place for a romantic date.

I ordered the salmon teriyaki rice and salad and the chicken katsu curry and rice. The former is my most favorite dish Ive ever consumed in London, and it consists of salted salmon with teriyaki sauce. It also comes with rice, salad and Japanese pickles. The latter consists of deep-fried tender chicken breast in Japanese panko. It is served over house curry, rice and Japanese pickles.

After taking the last sip of my red wine, I returned back to my hotel to rest.

There are many more destinations I have yet to visit in London, such as Oxford, Stonehenge, Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle. But for now, I am very satisfied with exploring central London and seeing Big Ben, which often makes a cameo in the karaoke machines Ive used before.
Travelers from Guam transiting at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu were subject to burdensome agricultural procedures, which according to Sen. Jesse A. Lujan have been revised.
While the Judiciary of Guam has made strides toward modernization during the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court cant sit idly by and expect to remain effective into the future, Chief Justice Robert Torres said during his State of the Judiciary Address on Monday.

Like other jurisdictions across the nation, economic disparity, social isolation, and substance abuse have all contributed to an environment ripe for criminal activity. Our courts serve as the final line of protection, Torres said to his audience at the Guam Congress Building, noting that over 8,600 cases were filed with the court in 2022.

The court system must continue to leverage technology, bolster treatment programs and support access to legal representation at a time when the number of local lawyers is dwindling, he said.

Expanded electronic monitoring

Starting next month, the Judiciarys electronic monitoring program will be expanded to nonviolent convicts, one of several tech-based jumps at the court.

Torres said that offenders in the Adult Drug Court, Adult Reentry Court, and those on probation will have access to the monitoring program, which will be a cost-effective alternative to incarceration.

But data also shows electronic monitoring can help with reentry into society, he said, by allowing nonviolent offenders to continue contributing to their families while serving a sentence.

Officials with the Department of Corrections complained of an all-time high in local prisoners, just last week.

Besides that, the court will also need to secure a digital evidence management system, a secure platform for sharing evidence to help deal with the vast amount of content thats now being admitted into court, such as cell phone videos, WhatsApp messages, texts and social media.

Storm cloud

Proactive measures have to be taken to attract and keep legal talent on Guam, Torres said, and the pay scales for government attorneys need to be bumped up to keep up with the cost of living and market rates.

Our entire judicial system depends on the dedicated work of lawyers. But we cant turn a blind eye to the storm cloud that is coming our way from the chronic shortage of attorneys, the chief justice told lawmakers, sitting in the front row of the audience.

He said that about one-third of the attorneys with the Guam Bar Association are ready for retirement, and more legal help is needed to keep up with the number of indigent defendants who need representation.

Justice for only those who can afford it is not justice at all, Torres said, adding that he looked forward to working with senators on the Judiciarys budget request.

Drug treatment

The court also needs to continue with a scientific and evidence-based approach to dealing with the islands growing issue with methamphetamine, Torres said, instead of denial and blame.

He said the data was clear that time behind bars alone would not reduce recidivism, and that prisons need to be reformed to focus on changing people.

In short, rehabilitation is essential to public safety, the chief justice said, noting that about 200 clients have been served by the Drug Treatment Court.
The voters of Guam will be able to decide whether they want to guarantee access to abortion on island, should legislation introduced Monday become law.

Bill 106 calls for the vote to take place during next years general election.

Residents would be able to check yes or no on the Reproductive Health Protection Act of 2023, which, according to sponsor Tom Fisher, would make it as if the constitutional right to an abortion was never struck down for Guam.

The act would bar prohibitions on abortion at points in time prior to fetal viability, generally pegged at around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

After a fetus is viable, abortions could not be banned in situations where the pregnant patients life or health is at risk.

Beyond that, the Reproductive Health Protection Act aims to recreate the recently struck-down prohibition against putting undue burden on anyone seeking an abortion.

It lays out a long list of potential obstacles to abortion access that would not be allowed, such as requiring doctors to distribute medically inaccurate information before an abortion, requiring that patients have medically unnecessary in-person visits, or restrictions on providing abortions via telemedicine.

Sen. Fisher said that the measure would essentially codify the rights laid out in the landmark abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

Both cases were overruled by the Supreme Court of the United States last summer, in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization.

Fisher on Monday called Dobbs one of the worst cases the Supreme Court has decided, and compared it to cases like Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in America.

The Republican senatorthe only one this term who has not openly opposed abortionsaid it was not a pro-abortion law.

Any lawmaker who was inclined to put the question of a local abortion ban to the electorate could, Fisher said.

Theres no question about that, I have just brought this heres the law of the land. This is the way weve understood the right, the constitutional right to reproductive health freedom. Weve understood it this way since 1972.

According to Fisher, the ruling in Dobbs was flawed right from the beginning, as a persons right to the privacy in their own body, and by extension, to an abortion, most certainly existed in the Constitution.

Ensuring the right to an abortion through the act was necessary, the senator said.

Although Guam law does recognize abortion as legal up to 13 weeks, or up to 26 weeks in the case of a threat to a mothers life.

If the 1990 abortion ban which is now tied up in federal court were allowed to be resurrected, the Reproductive Health Protection Act would kill the ban, Fisher said.

Lawmakers will have to vote to pass Bill 106 before voters can take a crack at the abortion question next November.

Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes is the only co-sponsor signed onto the bill.

The vice speaker has, like Fisher, consistently called for the abortion question to be put to a vote by the electorate.

Its unclear how lawmakers would sway on the measure. Seven other senators in the 37th Legislature have opposed abortion in some form, while just four have explicitly supported access to the procedure, PDN files show.
Samsung Electronics is diligently broadening its consumer base through its pioneering technology that allows mass production of the first-ever gate-all-around (GAA) 3-nanometer process in the world.

Recently, the company has manufactured 3-nanometer prototypes which it has dispatched to top fabless corporations for performance verification, demonstrating faith in its product. Samsung Electronics has secured most of its orders from mobile and HPC businesses that require semiconductors with high performance and low power consumption. The 3-nanometer process yield has shown marked improvement since the inception of mass production, and Samsung Electronics has dramatically boosted its R&D investment to achieve a 3nm yield rate of approximately 60-70%. Unlike previous times, the company is projected to rapidly stabilize the yield and augment customer trust.

In the battle for 3nm chip manufacturing orders, Samsung Electronics finds itself in stiff competition with TSMC. This 3nm node is their first to employ GAA-FET technology after nearly a decade of reliance on FinFET-based nodes. The 3nm GAA-FET node, known as SF3, is set to enter mass production later this year. Samsung has reported wafer yields ranging between 60-70% in the node's developmental phase, a critical factor in attracting customers, who typically base their wafer orders on yields first and cost-per-wafer second.

In an effort to regain trust among chip designers following a 2022 scandal involving inflated yield figures, Samsung is diligently working on rebuilding its reputation. The company has also outlined plans to launch its 2nm class nodes between 2025-2026, post the supremacy of its 3nm class nodes from 2023-2024. Current 3nm node customers of Samsung include an undisclosed HPC processor designer and a mobile application processor designer.










Haiti - FLASH : Florida, arms and ammunition supply hub for Haiti





According to a UN report https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38989-haiti-flash-firearms-trafficking-between-the-united-states-and-haiti-on-the-rise-report-2023.html , the lax gun regulations in the United States, especially in Florida has turned that state into a goldmine for gun smugglers.



"The principal source of firearms and munitions in Haiti is in the US, and in particular Florida," the report report. "[...] Weapons are frequently procured through straw man purchases in US states with looser gun laws and fewer purchasing restrictions."

Once the weapons and ammunition are purchased, traffickers transport the weapons to Haiti from Florida by air, sea and land, often via the Dominican Republic, the report says.



Handguns that sell for between $400 and $500 in the United States can be resold for up to $10,000 in Haiti, according to the UN report, while AK47, AR15 assault rifles.. are particularly in demand and are resold at "correspondingly higher prices..."



According to the report, citing a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security's investigative unit, authorities have recovered "increasingly sophisticated" and powerful weapons, including .50 caliber sniper rifles, .308 rifles and even tape-fed machine guns



Florida recently became the 26th state in the United States to legalize concealed carry without a license. The law, which is slated to take effect in July after Governor Ron DeSantis signs it, overturned the previous education requirement for a concealed carry license.



Earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers wrote to the US Government Accountability Office asking for a report on the impact of US firearms trafficking to the Caribbean, as well as the types of legislation that could curb activities of this traffic...



China and Russia point fingers at US responsibility :

Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at the Security Council devoted to Haiti, Vassily A. Nebenzia Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in his intervention also noted that, "[...] faced with the illegal flow of weapons from abroad, the Haitian authorities have lost control of ports and cross-border crossing points, freely used by criminals" The representative observed that "the majority of weapons entering Haiti comes from the United States". Emphasizing that "These traffics are impossible without the participation of the American partners of the Haitian gangs."



For his part, Geng Shuang, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations called for curbing the increase in armed violence and crime, adding that it was necessary to dry up the sources of supply in armaments, including from the United States. "If these sources are not controlled, they will continue to fuel violent and armed behavior and fuel insecurity and instability. We must also implement resolution 2653 (2022) on sanctions and the arms embargo targeting Haitian armed gangs, update the list of sanctions as soon as possible, refine these measures and ensure that there is a monitoring their implementation."



China said it was in favor of a greater role for the countries of the region, which must work in synergy with the UN agencies to improve the situation on the ground. This complex problem has no simple solution, warned the representative, who assured that China will continue to support the people of Haiti to find an effective solution to the scourges they face and to alleviate their suffering.



Read also about arms and ammunition trafficking in Haiti (partial) :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39135-haiti-flash-a-significant-arms-and-ammunition-trafficking-blocked-at-the-judicial-level-investigation.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38172-haiti-justice-ammunition-trafficking-2-haitians-imprisoned-in-the-dominican-republic.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37154-haiti-flash-seizure-of-weapons-and-ammunition-imported-under-cover-of-the-franchise-of-the-episcopal-church-of-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37226-haiti-flash-arrest-of-the-secretary-general-of-the-federation-of-bars-of-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37058-haiti-flash-seizure-of-tens-of-thousands-of-ammunition-at-the-wharf-of-port-de-paix-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37146-haiti-flash-25-000-ammunition-seized-a-trafficker-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35748-haiti-insecurity-drugs-for-guns-trade-between-haiti-and-jamaica.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35213-haiti-flash2-haitians-arrested-in-florida-supplied-with-weapons-the-gang-400-mawozo.html



S/ HaitiLibre




















Nairobi  Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has pledged to provide a safe and conducive environment for both local and foreign investors in the city.

Speaking during the launch of the 'My Great Nairobi Photo Exhibition' Campaign at the Global Trade Centre, Sakaja assured all investors of his government's resolve to eliminate all trade and political barriers that may scare them.

The campaign, dubbed 'MY Great Nairobi Photo Exhibition' will commemorate the evolution and development of Nairobi since independence and celebrate the city's rich history.

It will showcase the city's skyline, its people, architecture, landmarks, road networks, infrastructure, rich culture, and more.

"We are a financial and cultural hub hosting the most natural, unspoilt and untouched habitat in the skyline of the city right behind you. This city is great," he said.

The governor urged local investors to utilize the facilities and opportunities that Nairobi City has to expand the city's developments while also pleading with Nairobi residents to take responsibility for taking care of their surroundings and not just rely on the county council.

"We can not have a city where it rains and the Nairobi River extends to every estate and we have floods, the drainage is a problem. Each one of us has a role to play in ensuring that our environment is well maintained," he stated

Through his leadership, Sakaja said that developers and investors contributing to Nairobi's revenue streams and job opportunities are assured of maximum security and should not be scared since his administration offers full support for their businesses.

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"When the developers were putting up this building (GTC), previous administrations really harassed them. But I want to assure them that now you have a government that believes in business, both national and county government and the issue of harassment of developers will be a thing of the past. We can not scare away investment," he said.

In his speech, Sakaja noted that Nairobi is centrally located, making the city ideal for foreign business people to maneuver in and out of the city conveniently, pledging that his government will improve traffic congestion in and out of the central business district.

"Nairobi is a city that is blessed with the gift of location and geography. From Nairobi you can get to London in eight hours. You are in Dubai in five hours. You can get a flight to New York in thirteen hours," he said.

"But what is the use of flying in five hours and being stuck in traffic for another five hours? We must sort that out and that is part of our plans in sorting our transit system including working on our NMTs, bus rapid transit system that is ongoing as we speak," added the Governor.

Sakaja applauded Capital FM as a corporate powerhouse for promoting Nairobi City and urging businesses to invest in the city, while also posing a challenge to other corporations to take up the same initiative as the radio station.

"I am very proud of Capital FM because you are leading the way as a corporate entity in actually playing your part in making what the city really is. Once we build what Nairobi is, we get more customers, attract investors, we sell a vibe," he said.

"I want to challenge other corporate entities to come out. Let us partner, let us work together. Let us showcase this city."




Haiti - Diaspora : Supervision visits of the FNE on school sites in the North





Jean Ronald Joseph, the Director General of the National Education Fund (FNE) at the head of a delegation made up of technical staff from the institution carried out an inspection tour of the school infrastructures, financed by the FNE (taxes of the diaspora https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39375-icihaiti-politic-the-contribution-of-the-haitian-diaspora-honored-in-cap-haitien.html ) at the level of several communes of the department.



The delegation first went to the Jean Baptiste Boukman National School in Flaville, located in the town of Acul-du-Nord. A school institution with a capacity of nearly 200 students is almost complete, and the last instructions have been passed for its finalization on the sidelines of its upcoming inauguration.



Despite the difficulties of accessibility, the delegation went to the commune of Dondon where a new fundamental school, financed by the FNE, is also finalized. Some slight adjustments are to be made to the roofs of some of the 5 pavilions, so that the brand new premises are ready to welcome children from the start of the 2023-2024 school year.



During this tour, the delegation also went to the National School of Application of Milot, to supervise the progress of the rehabilitation works of the roofs and finishes financed by the FNE. Jean Ronald Joseph noted that serious interventions remain to be carried out, in order to restore this infrastructure in working order.



Read also about some activities of the FNE (partial) :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39375-icihaiti-politic-the-contribution-of-the-haitian-diaspora-honored-in-cap-haitien.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39285-haiti-education-inauguration-of-2-new-national-schools-funded-by-the-diaspora.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37531-icihaiti-tourism-agreement-of-17-million-gourdes-between-the-fne-and-the-hotel-school-of-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37262-icihaiti-social-35-million-gdes-for-the-education-of-young-people-with-disabilities.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37222-haiti-education-launch-of-the-summer-camp-jwe-pou-lavi.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34510-icihaiti-fne-construction-of-3-new-high-schools-in-the-north-west.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35476-icihaiti-artibonite-upcoming-inauguration-of-new-national-schools.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34037-icihaiti-fne-monitoring-of-the-construction-work-of-the-lycee-de-freres-new-secondary.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The UN calls for an end to the expulsions of Haitians

On Friday, April 28, 2023, as part of an emergency alert procedure, the 18 independent experts of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) launched an appeal to the countries of the Americas and the Caribbean to suspend deportations of Haitians as their country faces an unprecedented wave of violence. The committee expressed concern about deportation measures taken "without an adequate assessment of the protection needs" of each individual.



The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands have announced repressive measures against Haitians in an irregular migration situation while the United States has presented a plan to allow accelerated deportations of Haitians and other migrants to Mexico. From January to March 2023 the Dominican Republic repatriated more than 75,000 Haitians.



Exam texts in a difficult school context

On the initiative of the Ministry of National Education, nearly fifty developers, supervisors and operators of entry of examination texts for pupils of the 9th Fundamental Year and learners of the Centers of family education were brought together in a workshop as part of a training session. It is a question of seeing with these experts accustomed to developing examination texts, how to offer relevant and standardized examinations taking into account the difficult school reality. These exams must respect the program, be concise, clear and accessible while remaining subject to psychometric and pedagogical criteria, hence the importance of training these experts in order to ensure that the exam texts produced will be of high quality.



CONCACAF : Sherly Jeudy in the running for best goal 2022

Sherly Jeudy in the running for Concacaf's best goal of 2022. His goal from a free kick taken on July 7, 2022 in Monterrey during the victory of the grenadieres (3-0) against Mexico in Concacaf W https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37098-haiti-2023-world-cup-qualification-haiti-crushes-mexico-[3-0]-a-historic-victory.html , was selected among the most beautiful goals scored last year. Link to vote online for Sherly Jeudy (SJ 9): https://www.concacaf.com/awards/goal-of-the-year/



The UN alongside midwives

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFRA in Haiti) distributed essential kits to 37 midwives in the ten departments of the country. Each kit is composed of medical, hygiene and protection materials as well as living comfort materials to improve the quality of sexual and reproductive health care. This donation was made as part of the "Saj fanm pou Fanm" project, which contributes to strengthening the profession and practice of midwifery.



Kidnapping of bus passengers

Sunday April 30, 2023, heavily armed men. Intercepted a "God is love" bus in the early afternoon in Martissant and forced to get off under threat, two passengers before leaving with their hostages without being worried, information confirmed by the President of the Association of Owners and Drivers from Haiti.



Construction : World Bank Tour

Representatives of the World Bank and the Ministry of the Interior visited the localities of Chantilly and Lamartiniere (municipality of Camp-Perrin in Les Cayes), to visit the houses built and financed by the WB through the risk management and resilience to climate hazards project.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Nairobi  Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has hailed the ongoing security operation to liberate six counties in the North Rift Valley region from the grip of bandits and armed criminals as great success so far.

Kindiki said Saturday the multi-agency security team spearheading the operation has flushed out the bandits from the gorges, valleys, escarpments, and hills that they had turned into their hideouts.

He spoke when he visited the Joint National Police Service (NPS) and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Operation Maliza Uhalifu Command Centre at Chemolingot in Baringo County.

The Interior CS stated that the government is committed to getting rid of the bandits wreaking havoc in the North Rift adding that it will do whatever it takes to end the menace that has affected the region for decades.

"We will not relent in the war against banditry. We will deploy enough security officers, equipment, and skills to defeat these criminals. And our officers from the KDF and National Police Service are working as a team, driven by the sole goal of liberating our people from criminals," Kindiki said.

He commended the security officers in the front line for their dedication, diligence, and commitment in the ongoing operation.

Other than silencing the guns, neutralizing the armed criminals and pacifying the bandit-prone areas, the CS said the government would also establish development projects in the region to open up the region for investments, agriculture and tourism.

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Government in control

CS Kindiki who was accompanied by top ministry officials met senior security officers to review the operation's progress of the joint security operation.

During his appearance during Senate's inaugural question time on Wednesday, Kindiki told Senators security forces had managed to dominate the bandit-prone North Rift Valley region.

He said security forces had flushed out armed criminals from the ravines, gorges, escarpments and hills that bandits had for years turned into their hideouts.

The recovered areas will remain under the guard of multi-agency security officers, Kindiki stated.

Kindiki had on April 12 announced government plans to double security forces in bandit-prone areas in scaled up efforts to tame banditry.

The Interior CS, when he appeared before the National Assembly for question time, said that despite the challenges they continue to experience in the fight against banditry, significant stock recoveries had been made.
BOONE, NC  The great George Gershwin famously remarked, Life is a lot like Jazz its best when you improvise. That statement will be proven true yet again when the 2023 High Country Jazz Festival takes the stage with 14 separate events in ten different locations throughout Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, from June 9 through 11, 2023. Tickets are now on sale via the festival website: www.highcountryjazzfestival.org

With the final performance line-up and event schedule now confirmed, festival organizers have released the complete line-up of activities for the three day celebration of the art form of Jazz. A unique partnership between the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country (ATHC), Boone Sunrise Rotary, and the Jazz Studies Program at Appalachian State University, the 2023 festival is presented by Mast General Store with additional support from Explore Boone and Hampton Inn & Suites, Boone.

More than half the Jazz Festival events are free of charge to the general public, said App Theatres Keith Martin, who is co-chairing of the festival along with jazz musician Todd Wright. This fact is due to the enormous generosity of the many sponsors who are making this event accessible and affordable to jazz enthusiasts throughout the High Country and beyond. Martin praised the efforts of Jim Street from Boone Sunrise Rotary Club and his team, who led the effort to attract underwriting for the festival with his fellow Rotarians.

On behalf of the festivals leadership team, Street announced event sponsors the Town of Blowing Rock, Creekside Electronics, and Footsloggers, while acknowledging contributions from Blue Ridge Energy, New River Light & Power Company, and The Beacon. An additional two dozen local firms and individuals have also stepped up with generous donations to support the festival.

Festival media sponsors are the Curtis Media Group, The Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, 88.5 WFDD, and Yes! Weekly.

Headliners announced previously include The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and the Emmet Cohen Trio, both performing in the venerable Appalachian Theatre, with the Reggie Buie Group entertaining patrons outdoors under a tent at the Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock.

Additional festival affiliated events will be hosted at the Beacon Butcher Bar & Market, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Casa Rustica, Green Park Inn, Horton Hotel, Jones House, Lost Province Brewing Company, and on the sidewalks of downtown Boone next to Town Hall under the historic marquee of the Appalachian Theatre.

Heres the final line-up on a day-by-day basis for the 2023 High Country Jazz Festival with free events indicated by an asterisk:

Thursday, June 8: Two delicious appetizers are offered as a prelude to the festival, A Jazz Dinner with Todd Wright and Andy Page* featuring these two local music legends will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Casa Rustica, 1348 Highway 105 South in Boone. Admission is free, but reservations are highly recommended as seating is limited.

At 7 p.m., the six-time Academy Award-winning musical film La La Land will be screened at the Appalachian Theatre on King Street in downtown Boone. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a struggling jazz pianist and Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts, they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart. General admission is $6.

Friday, June 9: The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM) is hosting a talk by Todd Wright entitled The Jazz Swing Feel: From Count Basie to Emmet Cohen at 11 a.m. There is no cost for BRAHM members and admission is $8 for the public. I plan to link the Basie Orchestra with the Cohen trio through what we call the jazz swing feel, the groundwork for which was laid by Louis Armstrong in the 1920s. Basie expanded upon that premise in the mid 30s by getting folks up and dancing to the music of the era. Its an incredible lineage that continues today through such talented artists as Emmett Cohen performing Live from Emmets Place in NYC on a weekly basis. Wright is alluding to the eight lucky guest who gather at Cohens fifth-floor walk-up in Harlem while thousands more from around the world tune into livestreams of the event on Facebook and YouTube.

After a Jazz Cocktail Hour featuring Pavel Wlosok*, head of the Jazz program at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on the panoramic rooftop lounge of the Horton Hotel, 611 West King Steet in Boone, the kick-off concert will feature The Will Boyd Quintet* as part of the popular Summer Concerts at the Jones House. Sponsored by the Town of Boone and now in its 30th season of concerts on the lawn, this much-loved series features a wide variety of musical genres that appeals to all types of music fans. This event is free of charge and at least one food truck will be available to concertgoers.

We are so pleased that our esteemed colleague Mark Freed and the Town of Boone programmed Will for his concert series, said Wright. Theyre an important regional group hailing from Knoxville/Johnson City area. While Will is an incredible musician specializing on the saxophone, he is also a woodwind doubler who is outstanding on the flute and many other instruments.

The first headliner event takes place on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Appalachian Theatre when The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, directed by Scotty Barnhart, with guest vocalist Carmen Bradford, make their App Theatre debut. In the history of jazz music, there is only one bandleader that has the distinction of having his orchestra still performing sold out concerts all over the world, with members personally chosen by him, for over 30 years after his passing. Tickets are $37 and $45.

From 10 p.m. until midnight, jazz enthusiasts and musicians from near and far will gather at Beacon Butcher Bar in Boone for a Late Night Jazz Festival Jam Session*. It will be a chance to enjoy your favorite beverage and tasting menu while listening to emerging talents and seasoned veterans celebrating this beloved art form. The Beacon is located at 125 Graduate Lane in the 1700 block of Highway 105 next to the iconic Water Wheel. This event is free of charge and no advance reservations are necessary.

Wright said, Its an impromptu fun time being entertained by musicians who just want to bring their instruments and jam with each other. Ill provide an anchor rhythm section for those who want to perform, and this event is an open invitation for musicians in the High Country to come sit in and join us. Just as many of the Marsalis musicians arrived unannounced last year, chances are that several of the Basie musicians will show up to participate in the festivities.

Saturday, June 10: Live music morning, noon, and night is on the schedule on the 2023 High Country Jazz Festivals busiest day, beginning with student artists in the morning and well- established jazz legends that evening. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Marquee Jazz* showcases students in Todd Wrights Jazz Studies Program performing popular works free of charge underneath the historic, award-winning art deco facade and marquee at the Appalachian Theatre. This event is free to the public.

For two hours on Saturday, June 10, the brightest and best of my students, said Wright, or at least the early risers, will show up to demonstrate the teachings they have learned under the tutelage at Appalachian. Im very proud of this group of aspiring professionals.

From 12 noon to 3 p.m., a High Country Jazz Lunch takes place at Lost Province Brewing Company, located at 130 North Depot Street in Boone, just a short walk from the App Theatre featuring The Ron Brendle Trio with Andy Page*. Ron is a seven-time Creative Loafing magazine Jazz Artist of the Year and recipient of Jazz Composition grants from both the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the North Carolina Arts Council. While this is no cover charge for this event, reservations are encouraged.

The Emmet Cohen Group takes to the App Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Cohen is one of his generations pivotal figures in music and an internationally acclaimed jazz artist who won the 2019 American Pianists Award. He was also a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition and appears regularly with jazz greats Benny Golson, Tootie Heath, and Lea DeLaria. Tickets are $35 and $42.

Sunday, June 11:

The festival heads back to Blowing Rock for a series of festival events on Sunday, beginning with a High Country Jazz Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the historic 1891 Green Park Inn featuring the Todd Wright All-Stars*. The Grande Dame of fine hotels in the High Country, the Inn is located at 9239 Valley Boulevard on Highway 321 in Blowing Rock. Reservations are highly recommended.

Chetola hosts the final two events, beginning at 4 p.m. Shane Chalke performing during cocktail hour on the patio of the resort, located at 185 Chetola Lake Drive in Blowing Rock. Shane is a regular performer during the summer season in the High Country, dishing up a large serving of straight-ahead jazz. Its a perfect time to enjoy a snack, a cocktail, or an early meal accompanied by the silky sounds of Shanes ensemble.

At 5:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, June 11, The Reggie Buie Group, will perform under the tent at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock. The cocktail hour jazz is free of charge, and general admission tickets to the Buie concert are $25 with support from the Watauga Arts Council and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Then its back to the Beacon Butcher Bar in Boone for a Late Night Jazz Festival Jam Session* with music and a tasting menu until midnight (possibly beyond). See the information above for details and directions but know that this will be the place to be post-performance. As with Friday night, this event is free of charge.

A resident of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Reggie Buie began his musical journey at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. From there, he attended Florida A&M and was a member of the famed Marching 100. Buie earned both writing and recording credits on the national level while living in Miami. Now, the Reggie Buie Group is a regular on stage in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh swinging between smooth jazz and standards. His groups versatility and ability to move effortlessly between soft background music, performing jazz standards, music for dancing, or delivering passionate jazz performances and improvisation are hallmarks of their live concerts.

The goal of the High Country Jazz Festival is to host exceptional and engaging jazz experiences for local residents and regional audiences with proceeds to support arts, education, and civic programs that enrich our High Country home.

Leadership team members for the 2023 festival include John Cooper, Mark Freed, Sali Gill- Johnson, Paige Henderson, Brian Irving, David Jackson, Suzanne Livesay, Keith Martin, Sheri Moretz, Denise Ringler, Kathy Scott, Jim Street, Wright Tilley, and Todd Wright.

The 2023 High Country Jazz Festival is offering an all-event ticket, which includes admission to all three headliner performances. There are two options: Premier ($110, including taxes and fees, with prime seating for Appalachian Theatre performances) and Regular ($95, including taxes and fees). To purchase tickets, please visit the festivals official website at www.highcountryjazzfestival.org.

###

The High Country Jazz Festival is a collaborative program of:

About the Appalachian Theatre

The mission of the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country is to revitalize and sustain this historic community touchstone as a quality home for diverse artists and audiences with a special focus on programs that celebrate our distinctive Appalachian heritage and enhance our capacity to serve as an economic catalyst for Boone and the High Country. Once a gorgeous 999-seat Art Deco movie house, the building closed in 2007 and sat empty and gutted for years. On October 14, 2019, the Appalachian Theatre reopened its doors after a $10 million renovation that brought the distinctive Art Deco details back to this historic theatre and created a new 629-seat, state-of-the-art, acoustically pristine venue for live concerts, films, plays, and dance performances. The historic Appalachian Theatre has entertained regional audiences in the heart of downtown Boone, North Carolina since 1938. www.apptheatre.org

About Boone Sunrise Rotary

Boone Sunrise Rotary brings together business, professional and civic leaders within our community. Rotary promotes integrity, understanding and goodwill locally, nationally, and worldwide. The proceeds from the festival will further Rotarys commitment to humanitarian and civic service and will go directly to many of the local nonprofit organizations that serve the High Country. www.boonerotary.org

About the Jazz Studies Program

The Jazz Studies Program at Appalachian State University identifies students with a special interest in jazz, promotes high standards of jazz performance, and expands the circle of students who have meaningful experiences with jazz during their college careers. Program support will help provide student enrichment, off-set performance tour costs, student scholarships, host acclaimed jazz clinicians and the purchase of music and supplies. www.music.appstate.edu

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By Zack Hill

A student at Appalachian State has been arrested after communicating a threat of mass violence on the social media app YikYak.

Around 6:30 p.m on Wednesday, March 8, App State student Pierce H. Chase, 18, was arrested on suspicion of Communicating a Threat of Mass Violence on Education Property. The threat communicated classifies as a Class H felony.

Police received reports of the threat made on YikYak, a social media app that lets users post anonymous messages, at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday and were able to trace the post to a cell phone on campus. Chase was arrested a few hours later.

During the search of Chases residence, police found no weapons and determined that there was no threat of danger to the campus and community. His bond was set at $25,000.

App State Police take every threat made to the App State community seriously, said Andy Stephenson, Chief of Appalachian State Police and Director of Public Safety for App State. We investigate every threat and will not hesitate to charge those who threaten the life, safety or health of members of our campus.

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Ten students from East Lincoln High School in Denver, NC recently completed The Grandfather Challenge hiking program at Grandfather Mountain in Linville.

The Grandfather Challenge program is sponsored by The Jason Project, Inc., which was formed by the parents of Jason Matthew Nipper, who passed away in June of 2014 at age 26. This private foundation was formed to host this unique hiking program, which is designed to build self-confidence in struggling youth, as well as trust and positive rapport with adult mentors. Because of Jasons abiding love of the outdoors and mountain hiking, James & Cheryl have established The Grandfather Challenge, through which students navigate all of the rigorous hiking trails at Grandfather Mountain. This program seeks to assist any special students who are struggling with personal adversities, including family, school, or other personal problems or challenges, including some students suffering from mental problems and/or drug addictions.

The ten very special students who just completed this program are: Madison Hoyle, Hayley Lefler, Makhi Keitt, Britnie Stearns, Sidney Burgess, Oliva Ayers, Jonathan Farmer, Madison Church, Devin Campbell, and Cody Smith. Each and every one of these very special and unique students did a wonderful job of accepting and completing The Grandfather Challenge course at Grandfather Mountain, and in so doing, they all demonstrated courage, skill, and commitment to purpose!

This group of high school students was created with the full support of Mrs. Marybeth Avery, Principal of East Lincoln High School. Guidance Counselor Lisa Donnellan carefully selected the students most likely to benefit from and fully complete this rigorous physical challenge, and continuously provided counsel and encouragement to the students under her care. She then served as a chaperone with these students, and provided mentoring and encouragement as the program progressed through increasingly more difficult hikes. School staff members Preston Springer and Jacob London also served as chaperones and drove the school bus a total of over 600 miles to make the four weekly trips to and from Grandfather Mountain in Linville. The contributions of these dedicated school staff members were invaluable, and helped make this program a tremendous success for these kids!

These hikes were conducted and supervised by highly experienced and capable hike leaders Bill Hoag and Will Williams, who taught these students valuable lessons of leadership, courage, teamwork, discipline, and character building values and goals. These ten students quickly bonded with these fine leaders, and learned valuable lessons of leadership and team unity. Our hike leaders are truly the heartbeat of our program, and we could not attain the goals that we seek without their full devotion and commitment to our mission!

The Jason Project, Inc. has formed alliances with the Avery, Catawba, Caldwell, Lincoln, and Gaston County School systems, serving many middle schools and high schools. James and Cheryl Nipper have received broad community support for their program from local Avery County charitable organizations such as the High Country Charitable Foundation, the Run For Holland Foundation, and the Grandfather Community Foundation, together with many private donors who have provided generous support and encouragement. Avery County Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Brigman has heartily endorsed the program, and the staff and administration of various Avery County schools have helped make this program a success. Jasons parents are deeply appreciative of the community support they have received for this exciting program! Now in its eighth season, this program is now serving students in Avery, Caldwell, Catawba, Lincoln, and Gaston counties

The Jason Project, Inc. provides hiking boots, backpacks, socks, raincoats, professional guides, and all other costs associated with this program. At the successful completion of each round of hikes, the youth participants are each given a Certificate Of Completion and a gift certificate at an awards ceremony in their honor. This current group just celebrated their achievements at a special awards dinner and ceremony at Bellas Italian Restaurant in Banner Elk, NC.

Once again, our deepest thanks and appreciation goes out to all of these special students and chaperones who participated in The Grandfather Challenge!

Anyone seeking further information about The Grandfather Challenge and/or who may wish to sponsor a student may contact James or Cheryl Nipper at (828) 765-6561 or (904) 221-6483, or via email at [email protected], or visit their Go Fund Me page at GoFundMe.com/TheJasonProject.

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l-r: Babie Sutherland, Julio Perez, and Will Valdez

First place High School Welding Fabrication

WILKESBORO, N.C.  Wilkes Community College (WCC) students were one of the leading schools in the state in overall medal counts at the 58th Annual SkillsUSA North Carolina Leadership and Skills Conference on April 18-20, 2023, with the Awards Ceremony for college held on April 19th and high school on April 20, 2023.

Wilkes Community Colleges 104 student competitors, including 58 Career & College Promise high school students, brought home 45 medals: 17 first-place gold medals, nine second-place silver medals, six third-place bronze medals, seven fourth-place, and six fifth-place finishes. Of the 104 WCC competitors, 45 placed in the top five, and everyone placed in the top ten in the state. WCC was named as part of the North Carolina SkillsUSA Elite 100 Club, which means WCC has had over 100 students enrolled for the last five years.

Luke Evans, Hogan Dillard, Landan Stevens

Third place High School Welding Fabrication

WCC students Top 5 results were as follows:

Advertising Design: Maggie Spears (CCP), first place

Architectural Drafting: Luke Isenhour, second place

Career Pathways Showcase Ag/ Natural Resources: Abigail Mullins, Madison Starnes, Danielle Starnes, first place team

Carpentry: Brian Tyler first place

Collision Damage Appraisal: Logan Stuckey, second place; Lucas Delp third place

Computer Programming: Isaiah Cox second place; David Woodson fourth place

Diesel Equipment Technology: Braden Harbour (CCP) first place; Blake Shinn (CCP) second place; Carson Smith fourth place; Matthew Johnson fifth place

Early Childhood Education: Madison Coe (CCP), third place

Internet Working: Bryan Villa-Villalobos fourth place

Pin Design: Christopher Lachapelle fourth place

Power Equipment Technology: Matthew Rivera (CCP), first place; Daniel Caudill (CCP), second place; Matthew Blankenship, first place.

TeamWorks: Evan Jonathan Lopez, Bryson Calloway, Hayden Williams, Zechariah Wright, first-place team; Will Cockerham, Israel Lopez, Eli Scott, Jonathan Tomko second place team

T-Shirt Design: MacKenzie Johnson, third place; Lacey Church fifth place

Welding: Anthony Sangeam Garcia third place

Welding Fabrication College Teams: Jake Davis, Elijah Ledford, Jarren Parks first place team

Welding Fabrication CCP Teams: Alleghany High School CCP Julio Perez, Babie Sutherland, James Valdez first place team; Wilkes Community College CCP Austin Watts, John Wilkerson, Isaak Wolcott second place; Alleghany High School CCP Hogan Dillard, Luke Evans, Landan Stevens third place; East Wilkes High School CCP Brennan Arnder, Brody Martin, Ayden Smoot fourth place; Gavin Dowell, Joshua Key, Luke Macemore fifth-place team

The 17 first-place winners will now represent North Carolina and Wilkes Community College at the 58th SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Ga. June 19-24, 2023.

It feels great to be a part of the Wilkes Community College faculty and staff and Wilkes County School System. We have a group of the absolute best students in the state, and they proved that at the SkillsUSA state competition, said advisor Jamie Reavis. During the awards ceremony, it was apparent to everyone that WCC, our students, and the faculty and staff lead North Carolina in education and leadership skills. Everyone is to be commended for their accomplishments, including this community that so wholeheartedly supports Wilkes Community College and Wilkes County Schools.

Anthony San German

Third place for College Individual Welding

In addition to their awards and recognition, our students can be proud that they were awarded the opportunity to receive scholarship monies, tools, and equipment from sponsoring vendors to further their education, adds Reavis. These students have proven that they have the skills needed to succeed in the workplace and are willing to take a step outside of the normal box, building a stronger workforce for this region. Still, many of them may elect to go on to expand their skills. So, these prizes will help those students achieve that ambition.

Wilkes Community College is proud to host the SkillsUSA Northwest Region Rally and Career Showcase and appreciates the community support that goes into this annual event and the help from WCCs SkillsUSA club. Community support is vital to the WCC SkillsUSA club, and its members and advisors want to thank local sponsors for their continued support. The college would like to recognize and thank the following sponsors: WCC faculty and staff, Adams Old Castle  Williams Roberts, Blevins Building Supply, Blue Ridge Tractor, McNeill Nissan, Flowers Auto Parts, HD Supply, High Country Paint, Home Builders Association of Wilkes and Yadkin, Impact Collision, John Deere with James River Equipment, Kris Dell Applied Software, L & A Emergency, Inc., Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse, ARC 3 Welding Supply, Mikes Body Shop, Millers Creek and Wilkesboro Volunteer Fire Departments, OReillys Auto Parts, Payne Power Equipment, Pine Hall Brick, Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of NC, Inc., Snap-on Tools, Specialty Fabricators, Statesville Brick, The Welding Company, Triad Freightliner, Western Carolina Electric, Weyerhaeuser, and Yadkin Well Company, Inc.

Additional monetary donations were given by Duke Energy, Town of North Wilkesboro, NC Community Colleges Foundation, Inc., Window World, Inc., Wilkes County Home Builders Association, Evan and Victoria Handy, George and Nancy Koen, Arnold and Becky Lakey, Ann Parsons, Mac and Lisa Warren, and Window World, Inc.

In addition, contributors to the WCC Annual Fund Drive can designate that their donation be applied to the WCC SkillsUSA club. Allison Phillips, executive director of the WCC Foundation stated, We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the donors that have contributed to the SkillsUSA club with their gift to the Annual Fund Drive. Through their generosity, we can continue to provide the much-needed financial assistance for WCC students to participate in the State and National SkillsUSA Competitions in Greensboro, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga. On behalf of myself and the WCC Foundation, we wish our students the best of luck at Nationals.

About WCC Skills USA Club

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce and helping each student excel. SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations, including health occupations.

While the highlights of the clubs year are the state and national competitions, students work year-round to prepare for competition and to promote SkillsUSA. Most recently, WCC hosted the Region 7 SkillsUSA Conference and Career Showcase on February 28, 2022, which turned out to be the largest gathering in the state as well as the largest in WCCs history of hosting the regional gathering. This annual educational and professional development activity is open to all SkillsUSA members and advisors, high school Career and Technical Education students, business and industry partners, and educational partners. The event included SkillsUSA competitions and the opportunity for high school students to explore the many career training opportunities available to them at WCC.

In 2005, Transportation Technology Chairperson Hardin Kennedy organized and developed the Wilkes Community College SkillsUSA Club. In 2006, Wilkes Community College was represented at the state and national competition in its first year of competing with 12 students from various engineering technology disciplines. Each year, participation in the SkillsUSA Club grows as students and faculty learn the benefits of being involved.

This active club operates with significant support from local individuals, businesses, and organizations. That assistance helps to offset the cost of hosting events and traveling to competitions. For more information about supporting SkillsUSA, contact Jamie Reavis at 336-838-6192 or [email protected]

For more information on donating to the WCC Foundation or the Annual Fund, contact the Wilkes Community College Development Office at 336-838-6491. Contributions may be sent to WCC Foundation, P.O. Box 120, Wilkesboro, NC, 28697.

Wilkes Community College, a member of the North Carolina Community College System, is a public, two-year, open-door institution serving the people of Wilkes, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and beyond. Established in 1965, WCC continues to build on a strong history of meeting the educational needs and cultural interests of our students, community, and workforce. WCC prepares learners for success in a dynamic world.

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MOT on 24 April reported that three special aides and two state secretaries have received compensation for a waiting period on grounds that they planned to set up their own company after leaving the central administration, but they never followed through with the plan.

THE OFFICE of the prime minister will request reports from political aides concerning the waiting-period compensations identified by MOT, the investigative journalism team at YLE.

The waiting periods are imposed to delay the transition of employees from central administration to the private sector to make the confidential information they possess less current. The duration of the period is determined on based on an assessment of the information the employee had access to in the central administration.

Were asking the people mentioned in the programme to present a report on what positions they possibly took up or what activities they started during the six-month reporting period that applies to the waiting period agreements, Timo Lankinen, a state secretary at the office of the prime minister, wrote in an e-mail to YLE on Friday.

Lankinen reminded earlier that not setting up a company does not constitute a contract violation but that former aides must always report to the administration if they take up a new job during the reporting period.

A contract violation could result in a fine that is up to two times as high as the waiting-period compensation, which ranged from 20,00050,000 euros in the five cases highlighted by MOT.

Kimmo Nuotio, a professor of criminal law at the University of Helsinki, stated to the public broadcasting company that claiming the compensation on grounds that ultimately were unrealised does not appear to constitute fraud.

The setting is quite different from whats usually meant by fraud. They tend to relate to contractual relationships between individuals. For something to constitute fraud, youd have to show that someone has received unjustified economic benefit through deception, he analysed on Friday.

Nor do the cases appear to constitute violations of official duty as the aides were no longer in a public-service relationship at the time of their possible violation, added Olli Maenpaa, a professor emeritus of administrative law at the University of Helsinki.

The state, he added, has an obligation to monitor compliance with the contract with the help of sanctions clauses and, as a last resort, an appeal with an administrative court. If the party doesnt voluntarily repay the money, the state would have no choice but to demand repayment in an administrative court, said Maenpaa.

Interpreting the four-year-old law on waiting periods is not straightforward, however.

Pekka Viljanen, a professor emeritus of criminal and administrative law at the University of Turku, on Friday stated to Iltalehti that the government should examine the cases not only through the lens of contract law, but also criminal law.

No contractual fine would override fraud, meaning the same case could be connected to both a contractual fine and criminal liability for fraud if necessary, he said. I think its inexplicable lenient to rely solely on trust in this kind of a situation, where theres an evident possibility of wrongdoing.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Nairobi  President William Ruto has dismissed threats by Azimio Coalition to revive demonstrations saying the Raila Odinga-led coalition cannot justify the call for protests.

Ruto singled out the lowering of maize flour prices from Sh230 during the 'handshake' administration which Odinga backed to Sh160 per 2kg pack under his leadership.

Speaking during the launching of the the upgrading to bitumen standard of the 13km Malava-Kimang'eti-Ikoli Road in Malava Constituency, Kakamega County on Saturday, Ruto said the government will not back off until it guarantees businesses of its residents are shielded from the 'illegal demonstrations' led by Odinga.

"These people were claiming that the cost of unga is high, they were demonstrating claiming unga prices are high, now that it has drop they are still insisting on going to the streets to demonstrate meaning they were not after the cost of living they have been claiming it is high," he said.

"I found the price of unga at sh 230 and since we took over the unga has dropped to below Sh160 and I have only used my intelligence," he noted.

"The opposition are demonstrating with Sufuria's on their heads, can that bring down the price of unga down?" he asked.

Taming anarchy

Ruto added that the purpose of the protests is to further personal interests, plunge the nation into poverty, wreck the economy and sabotage national peace.

The Head of State gave assurances that the government would be resolute in protecting their property and that, as Commander in Chief, he would not permit the opposition to destabilize the country.

"The government will not allow the citizen's property to be destroyed again. We will not allow any Kenyan business to be destroyed the government will stand firm to defend every Kenyan's business and property," he said.

"I will not allow demonstrations to happen and i want to tell them for the avoidance of doubt, there will be no demonstration to destroy people's property, to cause chaos, to stop people from going to work that will not happen."

May 1 target

President William Ruto had told Kenyans to expect new prices of unga from May 1.

Speaking in Ongata Rongai on Friday, President William Ruto told Kenyans he will do anything he can to ensure unga prices continue to drop to make life bearable.

"Unga was retailing at Sh230 but wehave ensured that the price has dropped to Sh160withoutintroducing a subsidy program And next week, you will see new prices because I'm working to ensure the prices drop further," he said.

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He put Odinga on the spot over the high unga prices saying he participated in the deterioration of commodity prices even as the ODM leader vowed to continue with protests over the high cost of living.

"Those who played a role in increasing unga prices to Sh230 are now busy planning protests," he said.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi on Tuesday gave millers a seven-day ultimatum to import maize or have their duty-free importation licenses revoked.

Speaking on Tuesday while meeting the millers at his office, Linturi accused a section of millers of exporting consumable grain to neighboring countries for more profit at the expense of Kenyan citizens.

Taming rogue millers

"On April 30, those people that will not have given us proof that there is something we are waiting for will have their licenses declared not valid," he said.

"Some of you are exporting maize and rice to South Sudan and Tanzania. As we sit here, we have even impounded some of these commodities under our custody."

He said the government will not permit the millers to export food products to other nations when it is encountering food shortages.

"There is no country that will allow its millers to export food products while its own country lacks food and that is why so other countries are denying you their produce because they must feed their very own first," CS Linturi said.
Nairobi  President William Ruto has appealed to the international community to take bold steps to mitigate the effects of climate change.

He said it was unfair for developed countries to continue powering their industries using highly polluting and emissions-generating fossil fuel technologies.

The President noted that climate change -- as a result of pollution -- has affected Africa the most despite being the least contributor of global pollution.

"It is now imperative for the international community to urgently undertake resolute climate action programmes to reverse climate change," he said.

He made the remarks on Friday night during the Mo Ibrahim African Leadership Ceremony held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi. The event celebrated the 2021 Ibrahim Laureate President Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger.

The President asked African leaders to speak boldly on issues affecting the continent, especially on unfair treatment by international institutions.

He said the leaders must push for radical reform of multilateral financial institutions and the international financial system to make it more just.

"The reform will liberate Africa and provide the fiscal space necessary to invest in the infrastructures and institutions needed to support the global transition to clean, green, African industrialisation."

President Ruto said Africa has the potential of being a global industrial powerhouse as it has the most green energy in the world.

"The global energy and industrial transition is inevitable, and it will find Africa ready and waiting," he said.

Present were Mo Ibrahim, the Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nigeria Vice President H.E. Yemi Osinbajo and former Liberia President Ellen Sirleaf among other dignitaries.
Secretary Becerra sends letter to hospital and provider associations across the country reinforcing EMTALA obligations under federal law

Secretary Becerra to hospitals: You are obligated to offer necessary stabilizing care to your patients, and we will not hesitate to enforce your obligations under the law

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two investigations of hospitals that did not offer necessary stabilizing care to an individual experiencing an emergency medical condition, in violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra released the following statement:

As we have made explicitly clear: we will use the full extent of our legal authority, consistent with orders from the courts, to enforce protections for individuals who seek emergency care  including when that care is an abortion. HHS has announced investigations into two hospitals that did not offer necessary stabilizing care to an individual experiencing an emergency medical condition. During her visits to two different hospitals, the patient was not offered the care that her doctors determined was necessary to stabilize those emergency medical conditions -- not because of the clinical judgment of her providers, but because the hospital policies would not allow an abortion to be performed.

Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place. We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to patient safety and protecting peoples access to the health care they need. Today, we send a reminder to hospitals participating in Medicare: you are obligated under EMTALA to offer stabilizing care to patients who need emergency care, and we will not hesitate to enforce your obligations under the law.

Secretary Becerra also sent a letter to hospital and provider associations across the country today reminding them that it is a health care providers professional and legal duty to offer necessary stabilizing medical treatment to a patient who presents to a covered emergency department and is found to have an emergency medical condition (or, if appropriate, to transfer them).

CMS will make sure that the hospitals come into compliance with federal law so that EMTALAs guarantees are protected and take additional action as appropriate.

Last year, HHS issued guidance 1and a letter from Secretary Becerra to reaffirm that EMTALA requires providers to offer necessary stabilizing care for patients suffering emergency medical conditions, which might include abortion care in certain situations.

Read the Secretarys full letter to hospital and provider associations below:

Dear Hospital and Provider Associations:

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), took action to protect individuals access to emergency healthcareincluding any necessary stabilizing treatment, which may include abortion care, or appropriate transfer for an emergency medical condition.

As healthcare providers on the front lines, the care you provide is critical for patients experiencing emergency medical conditions. Recent news reports have highlighted the troubling experiences of many pregnant women presenting to hospital emergency departments with emergency medical conditions and not being offered necessary stabilizing treatment or being turned away, which may be due to uncertainty regarding whether facility administrators may allow providers to follow their reasonable medical judgment in caring for pregnancy-related emergencies as a result of the legal status of abortion care and related obstetric services in their states.

Today, CMS announced two investigations of hospitals that did not offer necessary stabilizing treatment to an individual experiencing an emergency medical condition. At nearly 18 weeks of pregnancy, the patient experienced a preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), and as a result was advised that her pregnancy was no longer viable. Although her doctors advised her that her condition could rapidly deteriorate, they also advised that they could not provide her with the care that would prevent infection, hemorrhage, and potentially death because, they said, the hospital policies prohibited treatment that could be considered an abortion. This was a violation of the EMTALA protections that were designed to protect patients like her.

As the Secretary of HHS, I am committed to working with you to ensure that everyone who presents to a covered emergency department experiencing an emergency medical condition is offered the care they need. As you know, it is a healthcare providers professional and legal duty to offer necessary stabilizing medical treatment to a patient who presents to the emergency department and is found to have an emergency medical condition (or, if appropriate, to transfer them). While many state laws have recently changed, its important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that healthcare professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patients emergency medical condition.

I hope this information offers clarity on the protections afforded by EMTALA to patients. I deeply appreciate the care that frontline clinicians provide to patients every day across the country. We stand ready to continue to help make sure you have the clarity you need regarding the federal laws that affect your clinical decisions in emergency medical situations.

Endnotes

1 The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an injunction prohibiting certain applications of the EMTALA Guidance issued on July 11, 2022 and Secretary Becerras accompanying July 11, 2022 letter. Texas v. Becerra, No.5:22-cv-185H (N.D. Tex.). HHS is complying with the courts injunction, which states that: (1) The defendants may not enforce the Guidance and Letters interpretation that Texas abortion laws are preempted by EMTALA; and (2) The defendants may not enforce the Guidance and Letters interpretation of EMTALAboth as to when an abortion is required and EMTALAs effect on state laws governing abortionwithin the State of Texas or against members of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). HHS currently is appealing that ruling.
There are Top 10 Best Astrologers in Delhi celebrated for their highly accurate predictions and guidance but Meet Delhi's Top 10 Best astrologer here!

Are you in search of the Top best astrologers in Delhi ? Look no further, as we present to you the latest updated list 2023 of the top 10 best astrologers in the Delhi with an updated list of 2023. We have compiled a list of the top 10 best astrologers in the Delhi based on their expertise, experience, availability to clients, accuracy in predictions, customer feedback, and overall reputation. This is the latest updated list for the year 2023.

Let's proceed with the list of the Top 10 Best Astrologers in Delhi, and starting with Dr. Kartick Chakraborty who holds the top position for the last 7+ Years in ranking.

(1):- ASTROLOGER DR.KARTICK CHAKRABORTY

Astrologer Dr.Kartick Chakraborty Is One Of The Top Best Astrologer In Delhi. Dr. Kartick Chakraborty is an astrologer based in Delhi, India. He is a highly respected and experienced astrologer with over ten years of experience in the field. He has provided effective astrological remedies to a diverse range of clients from India and other countries like Italy, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, Australia, USA, and the UK. Dr. Kartick Chakraborty has a remarkable track record of providing accurate predictions and solutions to his clients' problems. He has built a loyal customer base due to his successful and precise predictions. He is known for his exceptional astrology skills and his ability to provide practical and effective solutions to his clients' problems.

Services Offered by Dr. Kartick Chakraborty

One of the most popular services offered by Dr. Chakraborty is career counseling. He provides accurate guidance to individuals looking for career advice. By analyzing their birth chart and horoscope, he helps them make informed decisions about their career path.

Dr. Kartick Chakraborty is also an expert in palmistry. By studying the lines and shape of an individual's palm, he can reveal valuable insights about their personality, life, and future. Numerology is another branch of astrology that Dr. Kartick Chakraborty excels in. By analyzing an individual's name and date of birth, he can predict their future and provide them with valuable insights about their life path. Dr. Chakraborty is also a renowned expert in Vastu Shastra, which is the Indian science of architecture. By analyzing the layout and design of a building, he can provide valuable guidance on how to optimize the flow of positive energy.

He has extensive knowledge and experience in Vedic Astrology, Numerology, palmistry, Tantra Vidya ,Kali Tantra ,Mahakal Tantra and Vastu shastra.

As a love relationship specialist, Dr. Kartick Chakraborty has helped countless couples overcome their relationship problems. He offers practical and effective solutions to help couples strengthen their bond and resolve conflicts. Dr. Kartick Chakraborty is also a vashikaran specialist, which is a form of Indian astrology used to control or influence someone's mind. He uses his expertise to help individuals solve complex problems related to love, marriage, and Love relationships.

Awards received by Dr.Kartick Chakraborty - Top Best Astrologer In Delhi

Dr.Kartick Chakraborty Awards:-

Gold Medalist Award Winner Dr.Kartick Chakraborty...

Diamond Crown Award Winner Dr.Kartick Chakraborty...

International Education Award Winner.

Assam Gourav Award Winner Dr.Kartick Chakraborty

India's Best Trusted Tantrik Astrologer.

Bharat Bhushan Award Winner ( Govt.Of India)

Book Of World Record Holder Dr.Kartick Chakraborty

Consultations with Dr. Kartick Chakraborty are available online so that clients can receive his services from the comfort of their homes. Online consultations can be arranged via phone, video call, or Skype.

Contact Dr. Kartick Chakraborty

VIP BOOKING/ WHATSAPP:-

VIP Number On :- +91 9577319932

WEBSITE:- https://astrologeringuwahati.com/

EMAIL ID :- Kartickchakraborty111@gmail.com

Instagram ID:- https://www.instagram.com/kartick__chakraborty/

Facebook Page ID:- https://www.facebook.com/Astrologerkartickchakraborty

Don't just take our word for it - Dr. Kartick Chakraborty's exceptional contributions to the field of astrology have been widely recognized through numerous awards and accolades. His work has been featured in several international magazines, including Outlook India, Midday, Hindustan Times, Zee News, ABP Live, Patrika, The Print, and others.

If you're facing challenges in your life and seeking guidance from one of the best astrologers in Delhi, look no further than Dr. Kartick Chakraborty. With his personalized solutions, fast and effective remedies, and high accuracy rate, he can help you overcome your obstacles and achieve your goals.

(2):- RAJKUMAR PANDEY

Rajkumar Pandey Is Second Of The Best Astrologer in Delhi. Rajkumar Pandey is a highly acclaimed astrologer based in Delhi who has established himself as an expert in the field of astrology. With his extensive knowledge and proficiency in various fields such as Vedic Astrology, Tarot Card Reading, Numerology, and Vaastu, he has earned a reputable status among his loyal clientele as one of the best in the city. He is also known for his ability to present complex concepts in a simple and contemporary manner, making it easier for people to comprehend and appreciate the subject.

(3):- RAJAN KHILLAN

Rajan Khillan 3rd Of The Best Selected Astrologer in Delhi.Rajan Khillan is an esteemed astrologer based in Delhi whose sharp intuition enables him to provide accurate predictions on a variety of subjects ranging from health and marriage to career, finance, and family relationships. With his extensive knowledge and expertise in various fields of astrology, he has established himself as one of the top astrologers in the city. He is also passionate about sharing his knowledge with others and conducts postal and full-time astrological courses on subjects like Financial Astrology, Career Counseling, Medical Astrology, Corporate Astrology, Remedial Astrology, and Matchmaking.

(4):- RAJESH SINHA

Rajesh Sinha 4th Of Best Astrologer In Delhi.Rajesh Sinha is an astrologer whose dedication and expertise have been recognized by the Lalit Narayan Mithila University, where he was honored and awarded for his research project on the Sun and Ketu. Specializing in Vedic Astrology, Vaastu, and Marriage Relationships, he offers accurate predictions and remedial measures to his clients. Whether you need guidance on your personal relationships or seek remedies for challenges in your life, Rajesh Sinha's expertise can provide you with valuable insights and solutions.

(5):- RACHNA SINDHWANI

Unlock the secrets of the universe with Rachna Sindhwani, one of the top astrologers in Delhi. With 16 years of experience, Rachna's services cover a range of associated sciences such as Vaastu Shastra, Numerology, Reiki, Tarot Card Reading, and Meditation. She is a specialist in Nusht Kundali which deals with various events in people's lives. Rachna is highly skilled in the field of Vedic Astrology, Vaastu, Numerology, and K P Astrology. She has worked as a Vaastu Consultant for NBCC and previously worked at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum.

(6):- ACHARYA POONAM MIDHA

Acharya Midha specializes in love and relationships, marriage, health, business, legal matters, career, and more. Her personalized approach to astrology involves preparing horoscopes and providing in-depth analyses to help clients navigate life's toughest challenges. With her analytical approach to horoscope preparation and interpretation, Acharya Midha offers personalized advice to clients seeking guidance in navigating life's challenges. Whether you're struggling with love and relationships, health, career, or legal matters, she provides accurate predictions and solutions tailored to your unique circumstances.

As a specialist in love and relationships, Acharya Midha offers valuable insights into the complexities of romantic relationships. Whether you're seeking advice on compatibility, commitment, or communication, she provides personalized solutions that can help you transform your love life. Acharya Poonam Midha's expertise and knowledge in astrology have been recognized by her gold medal in the field. Her rigorous training and years of experience have honed her skills in providing personalized and accurate advice to clients seeking solutions to life's challenges.

(7):- DR. HS RAWAT

Dr. Rawat's innovative approach to astrology has helped millions of people worldwide understand astrology better. His television debut helped make astrology mainstream and brought it to the forefront of popular culture. He is the first astrologer in the history of television to impart astrological knowledge through television, making astrology accessible to a wider audience.

(8):- DR. ALKA MALIK

Dr. Alka Malik specializes in various areas, including children, marriage, business, health, and education. Her expertise in these areas has helped countless individuals navigate life's challenges and make informed decisions. She is an expert in various types of astrology, including Vedic, Vaastu, Horary, Lal Kitab, and Numerology, and combines traditional and modern methods to provide solutions to life's issues. Dr. Malik's love and interest in astrology led her to pursue additional studies in Vaastu and Numerology, further broadening her knowledge of the subject. She provides personalized and accurate readings to each of her clients. She takes the time to understand each individual's unique circumstances and tailors her advice and recommendations accordingly.

(9):- PRASHANT SEMWAL

Prashant Semwal is a renowned astrologer in Delhi with over 20 years of experience in Vedic Astrology. His in-depth knowledge and skills in the field of Vedic Astrology have been recognized by many and have consistently delivered accurate readings and predictions. Vedic Astrology is an ancient Indian science that provides insights into one's life and future. Prashant Semwal's expertise in this field has helped numerous individuals in making important decisions in their lives. He offers a wide range of astrological services, including Vaastu, Rudraksha, Gems, and Shodashvargi Kundali.

(10):- PRATIEK KAMBBOJ

Pratiek Kambboj is a top astrologer in Delhi who offers Kundali Dosh Nivaran consultations using Vedic mantras and rituals. He's an expert in Vedic Sciences, Color Therapy, Numerology, and Gem therapy with 12 years of experience, serving a clientele of celebrities, leading personalities, and industrialists.

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.
Recent turmoil in the banking industry may have you worried about your money. First Republic Bank signs and logos are attached to a window at a branch location, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Boston.(AP)

Officials announced Monday that they closed San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, making it the third U.S. bank to collapse in the past two months. Most of First Republics assets are being acquired by JPMorgan.

First Republic had wealthy clients who rarely defaulted on their loans. But the vast majority of deposits were above the $250,000 limit set by the FDIC, meaning they were uninsured. And that worried analysts and investors who were worried that if First Republic were to fail, its customers might not get all their money back.

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which catered mostly to the tech industry, both collapsed in March under similar circumstances.

The First Republic deal announced Monday means customers will be able to access all of their money, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. First Republic branches will change to JPMorgan Chase branches and First Republic customers will become JPMorgan Chase customers.

Here's what you need to know:

IS MY MONEY SAFE?

Yes, if your money is in a U.S. bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and you have less than $250,000 there. If the bank fails, you'll get your money back.

Nearly all banks are FDIC insured. You can look for the FDIC logo at bank teller windows or on the entrance to your bank branch.

Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.

If you have over $250,000 in individual accounts at one bank, which most people don't, the amount over $250,000 is considered uninsured and experts recommend that you move the remainder of your money to a different financial institution, said Caleb Silver, editor in chief of Investopedia, a financial media website.

If you have multiple individual accounts at the same bank, for example a savings account and certificate of deposit, those are added together and the total is insured up to $250,000. (Read on for more about how joint accounts are protected.)

Federal officials have been taking steps to make sure other banks aren't impacted.

You shouldnt be too concerned about your money if its in one of the bigger banks, and even in some of the regional banks and the credit unions, Silver said.

ARE THERE RED FLAGS I SHOULD LOOK FOR WITH MY BANK?

If you are worried about your bank closing in the near future, there are some things you can watch out for, according to Silver:

 Watch the stock price.

 Keep an eye on the quarterly and annual reports from your bank.

 Start a Google alert for your bank in case there are news stories about it.

You want to make sure you pay close attention to the way your bank is behaving, Silver said.

If they're trying to raise money through a share offering or if they're trying to sell more stock, they might have trouble on their balance sheet, said Silver.

Public companies, including banks, do sell shares or issue new ones for various reasons, so context matters. First Republic did so this year when the hazards it faced were well known, and it kicked off an exodus of investors and depositors.

SHOULD I LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES?

If you have more than $250,000 in your bank, there are a few things you can do:

 Open a joint account

You can protect up to $500,000 by opening a joint account with someone else, such as your spouse, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, a financial services company.

A married couple can easily protect a million dollars at the same bank by each having an individual account and together having a joint account, McBride said.

 Move to another financial institution

Moving your money to other financial institutions and having up to $250,000 in each account will ensure that your money is insured by the FDIC, McBride said.

 Do not withdraw cash

Despite the recent uncertainty, experts don't recommend withdrawing cash from your account. Keeping your money in financial institutions rather than in your home is safer, especially when the amount is insured.

Its not a time to pull your money out of the bank, Silver said.

Even people with uninsured deposits usually get nearly all of their money back.

It takes time, but generally all depositors  both insured and uninsured  get their money back," said Todd Phillips, a consultant and former attorney at the FDIC. "Uninsured depositors may have to wait some time, and may have to take haircut where they lose 10 to 15% of their savings, but it's never zero.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR INSURED MONEY TO BE AVAILABLE IF A BANK FAILS?

Historically, the FDIC says it has returned insured deposits within a few days of a bank closing. The FDIC will either provide that amount in a new account at another insured bank or issue a check.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN BE INSURED IN JOINT ACCOUNTS?

If you have a joint account, the FDIC covers each individual up to $250,000. You can have both joint and single accounts at the same bank and be insured for each.

So if a couple each has individual accounts and a joint account where they have equal withdrawal rights, they can each have up to $250,000 insured in their single accounts and up to $250,000 in their joint accounts. That means each of them will have up to $500,000 insured.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER INVESTMENTS?

Customers should take a close look at the types of investments they have in their bank to know how much of their assets are insured by the FDIC. The FDIC offers an Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, a tool to know how much of your money is insured per financial institution.

FDIC deposit insurance covers:

 Checking accounts  Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) accounts  Savings accounts  Money Market Deposit Accounts (MMDAs)  Certificates of Deposit (CDs)  Cashiers checks  Money orders  Other official items issued by an insured bank

FDIC deposit insurance doesn't cover:

 Stock investments  Bond investments  Mutual funds  Life insurance policies  Annuities  Municipal securities  Safe deposit boxes or their contents  U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, or notes  Crypto assets

HOW DOES A CREDIT UNION COMPARE TO A BANK?

Both credit unions and banks allow customers to open savings and checking accounts, among other financial products.

The key difference is that credit unions are not-for-profit institutions, which tends to translate into lower fees and lower balance requirements, while banks are for-profit. Sometimes it also means that its easier for credit union customers to be approved for loans, McBride said.

Usually, customers are allowed to join credit unions based on where they live or work.

Credit unions serve a smaller number of customers, which also allows for a more personalized experience. The tradeoff is that banks tend to have larger staff, more physical branches and newer technology.

When it comes to the safety of customers money, both banks and credit unions insure up to $250,000 per individual customer. While banks are insured by the FDIC, credit unions are insured by the NCUA.

Whether at a bank or a credit union, your money is safe. Theres no need to worry about the safety or access to your money, McBride said.
NEW DELHI: With India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) agreeing to resume talks on a trade deal, the four members of the grouping are committed to solving outstanding issues for the speedy conclusion of negotiations, Swiss state secretary for economic affairs Helene Budliger Artieda has said. Swiss state secretary for economic affairs Helene Budliger Artieda visited India last week with counterparts from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway for talks with commerce minister Piyush Goyal (Twitter/SECO_StateSec)

Artieda, who visited India last week with counterparts from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway for talks with commerce minister Piyush Goyal, said in an interview that there are a number of issues that need to be solved, especially with regard to market access for services, intellectual property rights, and rules of origin, in order to conclude the proposed trade and economic partnership agreement. Edited excerpts:

Why is there renewed interest among the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states in negotiating a trade and economic partnership agreement with India?

We have been negotiating for a long time and the interest has always been there! India is an important trading partner for Switzerland, and we are committed to solving the outstanding issues and to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion as soon as possible. Switzerland and the other EFTA states are in turn, interesting markets for India and represent an untapped potential for smart investments. The four EFTA member states are global innovation, technology and quality leaders, create meaningful jobs in India, and are willing to bank on Indias impressive path towards more participation in global value chains. There is a lot of potential to further develop trade and economic relations as well as new investment opportunities.

What are the possible hurdles or impediments in finalising a trade deal and what are the areas of convergence between the two sides?

There is a shared will and commitment to tackle the outstanding issues and to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion. Of course, there are a number of issues that still need to be solved, especially with regard to market access to services, intellectual property rights and rules of origin. But we can build upon existing work. In many areas, we have complementary markets and I am optimistic that we can find solutions which are beneficial for both sides.

How important will green and sustainable trade and development and ESG (environmental, social and governance) be in finalising any trade deal with India?

Including provisions on trade and sustainable development has gained a lot in importance in the past few years. Not only in the EFTA states, but worldwide. Nowadays, there is practically no comprehensive trade agreement which does not include commitments in this area. It is, therefore, also in this agreement important that we include labour and environmental provisions.

Will a migration and mobility partnership (MMP) be part of any trade deal?

Negotiations on an MMP are currently ongoing bilaterally between Switzerland and India. Although Switzerland sees this in the context of the trade agreement, the negotiations are conducted separately. The main reason for that is that such a partnership touches upon issues that go beyond the scope of a trade agreement.

Do you foresee difficulties in issues such as market access, especially for dairy and agricultural products?

Market access for agricultural products is a challenge in all free trade negotiations. It will be important to find solutions that grant concessions for the most important export products of all concerned parties, while taking into account respective sensitivities. I am convinced that we will also be able to find acceptable solutions in this area which allow for a meaningful outcome.

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There is often a criticism aimed at phone makers  they dont try enough to change the design. That approach has its positives, but more on the perception front, not as much. That is one argument which absolutely cannot be sent Vivos way. At least not with the companys latest flagship Android phone, the Vivo X90 Pro, which is effectively refreshing crucial visual cues and beneath which resides some of the latest tech for smartphones. That includes, and this may be a spoiler alert of some sort, a 1-inch primary camera sensor. At 215 grams, the Vivo X90 Pro is 19 grams lighter than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. (Vishal Mathur / HT Photo)

Mind you, there is no getting away from flagship-esque pricing.

The Vivo X90 Pro comes in a singular combination, which is 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, priced at 84,999. This, in essence, is competing with the presently available Xiaomi 13 Pro (thats around 79,999). More important, and this would be important for most potential buyers, is also putting in perspective the significantly higher price of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (thats around 1,24,999)  while it is a fairly balanced battle on the spec sheet.

For once, a phone that goes beyond the combination of metal and glass, defining the in-hand feel. A part of the back of the Vivo X90 Pro is wrapped in vegan leather. Not only is it different to touch and feel, but also add a (and this may be subjective) luxurious touch. The other advantage is that this material is very grippy to hold. Thats before I get to the best bit  no fingerprints spoiling the clean look of the phone. But be careful if youre keeping this in the same pocket with keys or pens, this leather can get scratched.

Also Read: Vivo V27 Pro is incredibly refined, with the camera taking a leap forward

At 215 grams, the Vivo X90 Pro is 19 grams lighter than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. That weight shaved off, along with better grip defining the ergonomics, is something youll appreciate on a regular basis. That said, not much choice on the colour front. You only have something called the Legendary Black to pick from, for now.

However, with the use of leather, it is understandable that Vivo isnt experimenting with different shades  those things can get costly at some point, something that would have impressed upon the price tag subsequently.

Before we get to the bits where Vivo hasnt made any sort of compromises, it is important to talk about the display. Because here, for some strange reason, Vivo has held back. This is a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, with gentle curves on either side. It also goes all the way up to 120Hz refresh rate, with support for HDR10+ if youre interested in video streaming. In terms of usability, it ticks the checklist. Colours are nice and well distinguished, without looking unnaturally vivid. Crispness is spot on too.

Yet, the resolution is limited to 2800 x 1260 pixels, which is lesser than the Xiaomi 13 Pros 3200 x 1440 pixels and the Galaxy S23 Ultras 3088 x 1440 pixels. There is also no support for the Dolby Vision high dynamic range standard. And since Vivo has skipped the latest display tech, this screen cannot dynamically drop to lower refresh rates (some phones can go as low as 1Hz) and follows the fixed steps for 60Hz, 90Hz and 1200Hz.

Photography, and the overall camera package, is where the Vivo X90 Pro absolutely refuses to take things easy. It is a mix of the very capable optical hardware at play, alongside extensive software driven features, most of which youll find in the camera app.

First and foremost, there is the 1-inch primary camera sensor at play. This is a good foundation to build with, though weve seen something similar in the Xiaomi 13 Pro too. Therefore, the troika starts with a 50-megapixel wide and is joined by a 50-megapixel telephoto and a 12-megapixel ultrawide.

Beyond the hardware, the camera optimisation from the folks over at Zeiss. Weve seen the advantages of this approach thats gaining traction in the smartphone space, and it should hold the Vivo X90 Pro in good stead. OnePlus partnership with Hasselblad, and Xiaomi relying on the expertise of Leica, has paid dividends for both phone makers.

This is a more balanced approach compared with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which follows through the pixel binning 200-megapixel primary camera, with a 10-megapixel telephoto and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera.

Daytime photos are rich with detail, combined with good dynamic range and accurate colours. The Zeiss Natural Colour option, if you enable it in the camera app, returns some very well distinguished colours without any unnecessary boosts to make them look brighter than they may be.

If youre taking photos against the light, be it natural light or an artificial one, there is a coating (Vivo calls this the Zeiss T* coating) which does its bit to reduce light glare from ruining the photo.

Then there are the Astro and Supermoon photography mode, which should be good news if you are able to escape the polluted metro cities and want to photograph the night sky. This phone does not fake the moon using AI, something the Galaxy S23 Ultra has been found doing.

This is, and there can be subjective arguments about this nevertheless, by far the best Android phone for low light photography. It doesnt take long to notice how quick the low-light photo capture and processing is. That is one of the improvements of the imaging chip, which Vivo calls the V2.

Secondly, the larger sensor allows for better lighting to come through, which also means there is less need for image processing to step in and remove distortions  that means a more detailed and crisper image to work with.

Video recording can go all the way up to 8K resolution at 24 frames per second, but the sweet spot is 4K resolution at 60 frames per second  this is the ideal balance between uncompromising quality as well as keeping tabs on the storage space used, either locally on the phone or on the cloud.

Vivo has gone down a fairly unconventional path with the choice of the processor here. Instead of the expected Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which seems to be the default choice for Android flagships, this phone draws its power from the MediaTek Dimensity 9200. In the real-world experience, the Vivo X90 Pro feels just as fast as phones running that chip.

Multitasking is smooth, and one of the reasons why there are more system resources available, is the significant curbs Vivo has finally implemented on the FunTouch OS on the bloatware front. There is still work to be done, but there are lesser preloaded apps to contend with on your new Vivo X90 Pro. It is a start.

There is a lot to like about the flagship smartphone play from Vivo this year. A lot of it stems from the right moves they have made, not just with the expected, generational performance improvement. But also, in terms of refreshing the personality and usability. A layer of leather can make a world of difference, and that is so very clear. Things should have been more profound on the display too.

At the same time, Vivo has to improve the software support window, which presently is limited to three years of Android updates and monthly security patches.

That said, for a lot less money being spent, youre getting a phone which is more wholesome than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, all things considered. The camera being the most potent weapon in its arsenal, the Vivo X90 Pro does make a further case for itself with impressive performance and faster charging speeds too. Those being just some examples. This could just be the Android flagship to consider, if you are in the market for one.

The market is rife with competition, give or take a few specs and features. OnePlus 11, the Xiaomi 13 Pro and the significantly more expensive Galaxy S23 Ultra, possibly featuring on your shortlist. A sensible recommendation would be, do a first layer of elimination, based on price. Save some money in the process.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its election manifesto for the Karnataka assembly polls. The saffron party has promised three free gas cylinders and 500 ml milk daily for BPL (Below Poverty Line) cardholders. Along with this, Atal Ahaara Kendra will provide food at affordable cost in every ward, the BJP promised in its manifesto.

The BJP and the opposition Congress have already roped in star campaigners and have been conducting road shows all over Karnataka.

Meanwhile, PM Modi left Karnataka on Sunday after a two-day visit to the poll-bound state. He slammed the Congress party and even took a swipe at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's poisonous snake comments. PM Modi is also expected to visit Karnataka, once again during the last leg of the election campaign.
Addressing a public meeting in Tumkuru, Karnataka, on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stopped his speech after hearing the sound of Azaan (Muslim call to prayer). Rahul Gandhi stops campaign speech after hearing sound of Azaan(Congress Twitter)

Lashing out at the BJP government in the southern state, the former Wayanad MP said, "For the last three years, BJP has only done corruption here. The people of Karnataka call this regime a "40 per cent government", as they take a 40 per cent cut or commission from contractors. The PM was also aware of this. So I would like to ask him why he didn't take any action on it."

Rahul was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after being convicted and sentenced in connection with a criminal defamation case.

The case pertained to a comment he made using the surname 'Modi' at a campaign ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in Kolar, Karnataka.

The Congress leader later moved a higher court in Surat, Gujarat, challenging his conviction for criminal defamation. But the Surat court upheld the lower court verdict.

The matter has now moved to the Gujarat High Court, which will take up the plea filed by the Congress leader for hearing on May 2.

Addressing a rally in Kolar in April 2019, Rahul, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

As per an earlier Supreme Court ruling, any MP or MLA is automatically disqualified if convicted and sentenced for two years or more.

Polling for Karnataka Assembly is scheduled to be held on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13.
Bengaluru Political leaders started to visit mutts to seek blessings ahead of Karnataka elections. (ANI)

Ahead of the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, politicians are visiting mutts with a large following. Though the mutts may not openly support the candidature of a leader or even identify directly with any party, politicians feel that if they seek the blessings of the mutts, then the votes of the devotees might follow.

On April 23, a prominent religious head had appealed to voters to come out in large numbers and exercise their democratic right to elect a government.

In Chitradurga in central Karnataka, the sexual assault allegations against prominent Lingayat seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru have, however, cast a looming shadow over the political influence of the Murugha mutt.

In September last year, Shivamurthy Sharanaru was arrested for allegedly raping two girls, aged 15 and 16, who lived at a hostel run by the Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Vidyapeetha. The arrest came after an uproar in the civil society, and a case was filed against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. While there have been twists and turns in the case, the complainants have given a harrowing account of the alleged sexual assault at the reputed mutt.

As the support of the dominant Lingayat community -- nearly 17% of the total population -- is crucial for the electoral outcome, the mutts political significance comes into play. It wields a huge clout in Chitradurga and other places in central Karnataka, where the mutt offers services, such as free education to people from backward communities.

After the arrest of Shivamurthy Sharanaru, Davangere-based Virakta Mutt seer Basavaprabhu was appointed the in-charge pontiff of Murugha Mutt in October last year.

Basavaprabhu, a disciple of the accused seer, said the devotees have been coming to the mutt like always, but politicians cozying up to the mutt has significantly reduced after the allegations. Politicians visiting us at the mutt has reduced a lot compared to the previous elections. But some of them meet us at events and express their sympathies about the whole conspiracy, he said.

Those who were involved in the conspiracy have not been given any ticket for the upcoming elections. Everyone has scolded them and sent them back, be it the Congress, JD(S) or BJP, he added.

Basavaprabhu was referring to SK Basavarajan, a former mutt administrator and a former JD(S) MLA, who had a sour relationship with Shivamurthy Sharanaru, and against whom a counter case of rape and kidnapping has been filed.

Basavarajan and his wife Sowbhagya have been accused of conspiring against the seer, and were arrested in the case. They were later released on bail. Sowbhagya is contesting as an independent from Chitradurga after her husband was denied a ticket.

Parties have reacted cautiously to the sexual assault charges, fearing a backlash from the Lingayat community. Former CM and Lingayat leader BS Yediyurappa, who openly come out in support of Shivamurthy and said the allegations were false, later condemned him. State Congress chief DK Shivakumar, who initially backed the seer, later refused to comment, while JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said he was not surprised by the charges.

H Ekanthappa, a former minister from Chitradurga, said, People are disappointed with the incident and administration of the mutt. But they still hold the mutt in high regard,

It is evident from the number of devotees thronging the mutt, which runs about 150 institutions, including schools, medical and engineering colleges, and hospitals. Even after the seers arrest, the sprawling campus is buzzing with devotees walking into the mutt for a meal, a bus full of school kids queuing up for a tour of the museum, and vendors busy tending to people with buttermilk and cold drinks.

While the mutt has not lost its spiritual clout, the devotees seem to be divided over the mutt politics and the accusations against Shivamurthy Sharanaru. Its hard to believe he would do something like that. He is known to be quite progressive in his thinking and actions. He has helped so many communities, said a devotee who does not wish to be named.

Shivamurthy was seen as a revolutionary among the masses, after he established Upa Mathas  subsidiary monasteries. He helped marginalised groups pick their own heads from their own caste groups. He encouraged mass marriages, allowing widows to get remarried, ending caste-based practices and was instrumental in setting up institutions for the downtrodden, the devotee said.

Another devotee, who was apprehensive to comment on the sexual assault allegations, said the it is an unforgivable crime. If he has really done such a crime, he should be punished. The incident has brought a bad name to the whole community and the mutt, she said.

Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa is believed to be close to Shivamurthy, and in 2018, the seer had come out in support of Siddaramaiahs Congress government, applauding him for recognising the Lingayat sect as a religious minority. The seer had also hosted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was taught to carry out Ishta Linga worship. While he did not support any single party, he has been so influential that leaders cutting across party lines came to seek his support, a spokesperson of the mutt said.

Political analyst Chambi Puranik said the mutt following has no bearing on the elections as other mutts have been cautious about the influence they command. The mutt and swamy ji have lost the clout now, after that ugly incident, which is a humiliation for Veerashaiva Lingayat community. It has no bearing on polls as other mutts of other sects are worried about the very influence they commanded when Yediyurappa was the chief minister.

Majority of the leaders of the community are carefully avoiding this factor as many candidates in that area are scared of the likely wrath of OBCs and women voters in general. It has the least or almost nil impact in the surrounding areas -- Chitradurga, Shivamogga and Davangere -- where the followers feel highly embarrassed by the seers moral turpitude and abuse of girl students, who come from poorest background, which itself is unpardonable both morally and legally, Puranik added.

Basavaprabhu and the other members of the mutt are, meanwhile, hopeful that Shivamurthy will come out clean. We are trying all means legally to get Swamiji out. More importantly, in the charge sheet, its said that there was no rape. After this, everyones opinion has changed, Basavaprabhu said.

In December last year, the medical examination report of the two minor girls who accused Shivamurthy Sharanaru of rape revealed that there was no case of penetrative sex.

Puranik, however, said that no amount of defensive talk or legal strategies can bring back the old glory that the mutt had for more than a century.
Nairobi  President William Ruto has lauded outgoing Chief of Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi's contribution to the Kenya Defence Forces' quest for excellence.

Speaking Saturday during the swearing in of Kibochi's successor General Francis Ogolla and Lieutenant Jonah Mwangi as Vice Chief of Defence Forces, the Head of State challenged the new chiefs to emulate standards set by their predecessors.

Kibochi exits the service after 44 years.

President Ruto praised Kibochi for demonstrating leadership both in "good times and difficult times" when he was in charge of the military.

"I want to congratulate general Kibochi our outgoing CDF for an outstanding service not just to our military but to the nation of Kenya," Ruto said.

The Head of State wished Kibochi all the best as heads to his retirement.

While congratulating the new CDF, President Ruto said that the government has confidence in him and his leadership of the military.

"In considering your appointment, I assessed your background, where you have come from, what you have done, your journey in the military, and I am satisfied that you merit the office," he said.

"You have my confidence the confidence of the government of Kenya to discharge your responsibilities in your new office."

The Head of State stated that he expects that the professional standards of the Kenyan military will be observed under his leadership.
Patiala: Former Punjab top cop Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, who is already facing disciplinary proceedings for a major penalty in connection with a security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Ferozepur in 2022, has been chargesheeted by the home department for providing security to a proclaimed offender in a rape case. The chargesheet,has been issued by additional chief secretary (home) (HT File Photo)

The chargesheet, issued by additional chief secretary (home), says Chattopadhyaya as the director general of police provided six gunmen to Ferozepur resident VP Singh who is a proclaimed offender in a rape case and also facing FIRs for forgery, cheating, threatening and intimidation.

As a topmost officer of a disciplined force, you have not only done kotahi (showed incompetency) towards your job but also violated maryada (dignity) of the post of DGP by providing security cover to a person who was declared proclaimed offender by a court. You have set a wrong example, and this can prompt such misdeeds in the lower rank of police force, reads the February 14 chargesheet (accessed by HT).

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a stern view of the misdeed of former DGP and ordered chargesheet against him, said people in the know of matter.

Chattopadhyaya has been chargesheeted under Section 8 of All India Service (discipline and appeal) Rules, 1969 read with All India Services (DCRB) Rules 6 (1). This has provision of major punishment for an officer.

According to the chargesheet, the DGP went against the advice of AIG (internal security) and Ferozepur SSP, who had clearly mentioned that since VP Singh was facing criminal cases, he could not be provided security, and also there was no threat to him. Chattopadhyaya, however, on January 5, 2022, three days before the election code of conduct, ordered a security cover for VP Singh by taking an application from him.

However, during the code of conduct, a complaint was been lodged with the Election Commission of India, which ordered a formal inquiry against the DGP and withdrew security to VP Singh.

The EC report was forwarded to the state government, following which the CM acted. Chattopadhyaya has been told to file his reply following which the government will appoint an inquiry officer to ascertain the gravity of charges and decide quantum of punishment, said an official dealing with the case, pleading anonymity.

Chattopadhyaya, on his part, said he has filed his reply. All charges are frivolous and cooked up. VP Singh was having security threat. Even some of my predecessors had provided security to him. I have put everything on record, said the former DGP. VP Singh was not available for comments.

Chattopadhyaya remained at helm of affairs from December 16, 2021 to January 8, 2022, during the tenure of ex-chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The Supreme Court-appointed committee, which probed the security breach during PMs visit to Punjab in January 2022, had indicted several state officers for lapses, including Chattopadhyaya.

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The Haryana Congress on Monday organised a sit-in outside the office of the Ambala municipal corporation at the Jagadhri Gate, alleging corruption in the civic body. Congress workers holding a sit-in protest outside the office of the Ambala municipal corporation at the Jagadhri Gate on Monday. (HT Photo)

Led by All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Chetan Chauhan, the protesters alleged that residents were facing issues due to wrong surveys of property IDs and in getting no-dues certificates (NDC).

Chauhan alleged, The BJP-JJP government talks about transparency but the reality is that the largest department of public dealing is engulfed in deep-rooted corruption that is spread across departments. The government, along with the local MLA, are careless. Moreover, the BJP members of the House have also highlighted how they are being ignored by the office. There is a huge corruption in large development projects like Mahavir Park, Navrang Rai Talab and others.

The Congress workers and leaders also criticised MC for ignoring the stray animal menace, broken roads, parking chaos and other civic issues.

They later handed over a memorandum for the governor to the municipal commissioner.
Two Haryana residents registered their place prominently in Prime Minister Narendra Modis landmark 100th Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast on Sunday. PM Modi interacted with Sunil Jaglan, who has made a mark for himself through his inspiring Selfie with Daughter campaign, and Pradeep Sangwan (in picture), who has founded Healing Himalayas, an NGO that lifts trash thrown at various altitudes of mountains. (Instagram/pradeep_sangwan_)

PM Modi interacted with Sunil Jaglan, who has made a mark for himself through his inspiring Selfie with Daughter campaign, and Pradeep Sangwan, who has founded Healing Himalayas, an NGO that lifts trash thrown at various altitudes of mountains.

Jaglan is a resident of Bibipur village of Jind district and Sangwan hails from Charkhi Dadri.

As the Mann Ki Baat episode began, Jaglan had the opportunity to speak with PM regarding his Save the Girl Child campaign.

During the conversation, PM Modi applauded Jaglan for his unique initiative and referred to Haryanas gender ratio and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. Modi said Jaglans Selfie with Daughter was not about technology or anything else, but about daughters.

Under his campaign, Jaglan urges people to take photographs with their daughters and upload them on social media platforms. Inspired by Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, Jaglan has been working for women empowerment with a focus on female foeticide.

Modi appreciated Sangwan for his drives in the Himalayas and said as a result of this campaign, awareness has been generated and now mountaineers are also posting photos related to cleanliness.

Sangwan informed the PM that the turning point came when in 2020, his campaign was mentioned in Mann Ki Baat. He said that earlier, he could complete six to seven cleanliness drives in a year, but now he has been collecting five tonnes of garbage every day from various places.

Awareness about cleanliness has increased among the people, who are coming forward and joining this campaign, he added.

In previous episodes too, PM Modi has lavishly applauded achievements of Haryanas sportspersons, progressive farmers and personalities doing outstanding work in the society.

Meanwhile, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat became special for entire Haryana when PM Modi specially mentioned the efforts of two Haryanvis.

It is a matter of pride for entire Haryana that in todays episode, PM Modi lauded the efforts of Jaglan and Sangwan. He appreciated the efforts of both the citizens, which would not only inspire the Haryanvis, but also the people of other states, the chief minister said.

In Haryana, more than 10 lakh people listened to Mann Ki Baat, while across the country, the programme recorded viewership of three crore people, he added.
Opposition leaders chided the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for announcing too less compensation to the kin of the victims of the gas leak tragedy and the injured. NDRF teams during rescue operation after gas leak incident at Sua road, Giaspura area in Ludhiana. (HT file Photo)

The Punjab government has announced 2 lakh compensation for the family of the deceased and 50,000 for the injured.

The opposition leaders demanded that the government should announce at least 10 to 20 lakh to the families of the deceased.

The leaders also demanded that except from giving compensation to the families of the victims, the government should promise free education to their children.

Senior Congress leader and former chairman of Punjab large industrial development board Pawan Dewan demanded a judicial inquiry in the gas leak tragedy.

He also said that the compensation announced by the government is too less. Children were orphaned due to the tragedy. The government should announce compensation keeping their future in mind, he said.

RK Yadav, general secretary of Samajwadi Party, said that by announcing 2 lakh as compensation, the government has played a cruel joke with the kin of the victims. The government should increase the compensation to 25 lakh.

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) district president Ramesh Ratan and general secretary Vijay Kumar said that 2 lakh compensation for the families of the victims was not acceptable.

The leaders also demanded free education for the children of the victims.
A five-member Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the Giaspura locality gas leak incident here in which 11 people died after allegedly inhaling toxic gas, police commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said on Monday. Police officials collecting the information from the kin of the deceased gas tragedy cremation after cremation in Giaspura area in Ludhiana on Monday. (HT Photo/Gurpreet Singh)

Sidhu said the SIT will be led by deputy commissioner of police (investigation) Harmeet Singh Hundal. The other members of SIT are additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 2) Suhail Qassim Mir, ADCP (city 4) Tushar Gupta, assistant commissioner of police (ACP, South) Vaibhav Sehgal and Inspector Inderjit Singh Boparai, SHO at Police station Sahnewal.

As per the FIR, the illegal dumping of chemical waste into the sewer is the reason behind the leak. A magisterial inquiry has already been ordered, and police have registered an FIR under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against unidentified persons.

Also Read: Neurotoxicity suspected in Ludhiana gas leak; here's how it's fatal for the body

Even 36 hours after the tragedy, there is still no clarity on how the deadly hydrogen sulfide formed in sewers. Hydrogen sulphide, also called sewer gas, is poisonous and smells like rotten eggs. District authorities said the locality underwent a night-long decontamination process involving putting caustic soda in drains and sewerage lines to counter the hydrogen sulphide build-up.

Probe agencies at loggerheads

As teams of the Ludhiana administration, comprising officials of Ludhiana police, Ludhiana municipal corporation and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), are conducting an investigation, the agencies appear to be at loggerheads over the possible reasons for the lethal leak.

Also Read: Ludhiana Gas Leak: A bad smell engulfed the area, survivors recount horror

Officials of the PPCB alleged that the sewer had not been cleaned up for a while, and blockage of the vent pipe of the sewer in the area could have resulted in the decomposition of organic matter that led to the formation of the poisonous gas.

We have done a careful mapping of the area and found no unit within 200m distance from the spot of the gas leak (manholes), which could be carrying out the illegal activity of dumping chemical waste in the sewer. The police have scanned CCTV and have not spotted anyone in the vicinity carrying out such an activity. It is most likely that the theory that an electroplating unit in the area dumped effluent in the sewer will be ruled out. We are working with the police and administration and providing all the support, said Sandeep Behl, chief environmental engineer, PPCB, Ludhiana.

However, police and Ludhiana MC refuted the PPCBs theory and said: We are suspecting the presence of a strong acid or heavy metal discharge into the sewer pipe.

The sewer in the area was cleaned recently. The sample reports are awaited, and it will be clear soon as to what was discharged in the sewer pipe which led to the lethal gas formation. The electroplating units in the vicinity are under scanner, and waste discharge methods adopted by them will be checked, said Shena Aggarwal, MC commissioner.

MC teams had detailed discussions with experts from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who are of the view that such a heavy discharge of hydrogen sulfide or carbon monoxide in the sewer can be explained only by high levels of metal and acid content in the sewer, she added. The MC team also took samples of sewage discharge on Monday.

PPCB not cooperating: commissioner

Police Commissioner Sidhu accused the PPCB of not cooperating. He said cops will not hesitate to take action against the pollution board officials if they do not cooperate with the investigations. We will be investigating the role of electroplating units in the area through PPCB, who will be informing us of the chemical waste disposal methods adopted by the units. Eleven lives have been lost due to a high concentration of chemical contamination in the sewer pipe, and we will reach the bottom of this, he said.

Area decontaminated: DC

Ludhiana deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik on Monday said the area has been decontaminated. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the municipal corporation took readings of the ambient air quality in the area throughout the night, she said, adding, Hydrogen sulphide was no longer detected in the air. The teams also checked the manholes in the area at frequent intervals. During the night, the level of hydrogen sulphide in the manholes was high but it has gone down after the chemical decontamination process, she said.

All aspects are being investigated, Malik added.

Bittu slams PPCB

Ludhiana Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu slammed PPCB, who did not have a chemical analyser to assess the level of poisonous gas in the air.

PPCB, the pollution board in the largest industrial district in the state, does not have basic equipment. Its a shame that they could not conduct basic tests, Bittu said.

Being made scapegoat: Industry

Several industry representatives said it is wrong to point fingers at the industry without valid proof. We always cooperate with the government, but the industry should not be harassed, said Upkar Singh Ahuja, president, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU).

Gurmeet Singh Kular, president, FICO (Federation of Industrial and commercial organization), claimed there is no possibility of hydrogen sulphide gas formation through reaction with any industrial effluent. Even if the assumption is drawn that any spent chemical, in the form of HCL or H2SO4, was discharged, then also no gas in such a huge amount could have been produced. Shifting blame on industry, without proof is unfair and unjust, he said.
JALANDHAR Punjabs Leader of Opposition (LoP), Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday flayed Aam Aadmi Partys (AAPs) Punjab spokesperson Malvinder Kangs recent statement in which he had said that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann was doing the politics of work. Industrialists have migrated to the states like UP due to the unfavorable policies of the AAP government, Bajwa said. (HT File Photo)

Had the AAP government in Punjab been doing the politics of work in an actual sense, AAPs national convener and Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal would not have to threaten the voter in Jalandhar publically. The AAP would not have to pressurise the sarpanches and panches in the villages to get votes had it performed well in the past 14 months, said Bajwa. The senior Congress leader said that the AAP was an expert in making mountain out of molehill,

What they have done so far is misused Punjabs taxpayers money in false publicity to expand the party in other states. In fact, they have put the states progress in reverse gear. They implemented a failed health and education model of Delhi in Punjab just to please their bosses in Delhi. Industrialists have migrated to the states like UP due to the unfavorable policies of the AAP government, Bajwa said.

Instead of progress, AAP resorting to vendetta politics: Warring

Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring alleged on Monday that anxious over its clear defeat, AAP was intimidating sarpanches and leaders of other parties.

Condemning the ruling party for silencing opposition leaders, Warring alleged that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was misusing government agencies to coerce panches, sarpanches and other office bearers of political parties in various constituencies by cooking up malicious accusations.

These devious activities only expose AAPs anxiety. Owing to its failures, lies, false guarantees and clear cut defeat in the Jalandhar by-election, AAP is trying the manipulation tactic to mislead voters and satisfy its false ego, he added.
Rohtak: Three juveniles, including a Class 11 student, stabbed a teacher with a knife at a government school in Hisars Hansi on Monday. Class 11 student among the attackers, was upset as he was reprimanded by the teacher some days ago. (Representational Photo)

The incident took place around 2 pm when the teacher, identified as Pankaj of Dhani Khumran village, was inside a classroom at the Government Sanskriti Model School. Three minors, including a Class 11 student of the same school, barged into the room and stabbed the teacher, said Hansi police spokesperson Subhash Chander.

The teacher was rushed to the Hansi civil hospital from where he was referred to Hisar. He is undergoing treatment and is out of danger, added the spokesperson.

Police have identified attackers after scanning the CCTV footage. During preliminary investigation, it has come to light that the Class 11 student was reprimanded by the teacher some days ago over school work. The boy was infuriated and wanted to take revenge. Therefore, he planned the attack along with his accomplices, said Hansi superintendent of police (SP) Maqsood Ahmed who visited the school after the incident. Teams have been formed to apprehend the assailants, he added.

We are also looking into a possibility of more people being involved in the planning of the attack, he added.
Traders in US Nagar district of Uttarakhand have alleged that they are receiving ransom calls from abroad. Police are yet to trace the callers. Police said these ransom calls are coming on WhatsApp and callers are using the same number. (File image)

These ransom calls are coming on WhatsApp and callers are using the same number. Police are trying to track the callers. We are also trying to locate local miscreants who are providing traders mobile numbers of the traders to the callers, said Manjunath TC, senior superintendent of police (SSP), US Nagar.

Also Read: Pune police arrest man for threatening, extorting from politicians

According to police, three jewellery traders of Kashipur received ransom calls on November 1, 2022. These calls came from abroad and traders were threatened with dire consequences if the ransom was not paid. Callers of these calls used Arshdeep Singh Dallas name. Dalla hails from the Monga district of Punjab and resides in Canada. He has connections with Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), a terrorist outfit supported by Pakistans intelligence agency ISI, said police.

Police said a farmer in Kashipur received such a call on March 31 and was asked to pay ransom for 1 crore.

He filed a police complaint after the incident.

Last week, two jewellers in Sitarganj received ransom calls with callers demanding them to pay a ransom of 30 to 50 lakh.

Police, Special Operation Group (SOG), Special Task Force (STF) and intelligence agencies are leaving no stone unturned to reach the callers and criminals involved in calling and in providing mobile numbers of the traders to the callers, said the SSP.

Since these calls are virtual calls, police are facing difficulty to trace the callers, he added.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national Capital on Monday and requested him for funds amounting to 1,000 crore for development of the proposed green field city in the US Nagar district. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national Capital. (HT image)

In the meeting, the chief minister sought the guidance of the Prime Minister on various issues related to the development of the state. Informing him about the arrangements for the Char Dham Yatra.

Relief work is being done in Joshimath with the help of the Centre. The situation is normal there. The Prime Minister assured all possible cooperation from the central government, he said.

Also Read: Char Dham yatra pilgrims stopped at Srinagar due to unfavourable weather conditions

The CM presented prasad of Kedarnath Dham, Gangajal of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Alaknanda and Mandakini and Rudraksha beads to the Prime Minister.

The CM said that a target has been set to develop about 5 to 7 new cities under the development of urban areas in the state, in which in the first phase there is a proposal to develop the city in the 2000-acre Parag Farm located in Kichha under Udham Singh Nagar.

For this, the union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has been requested to provide funds of 1,000 crore. This green field city will be located on State Highway 47. From the point of view of the economy, it will pass through the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor. There is also a proposal to develop a knowledge park over 200 to 250 acres near this proposed city. Private investment of about 7,000 crore is expected on the development of this city, in which along with employment generation for 50,000, housing arrangements for about two lakh people will also be possible, he said.

CM Dhami requested the PM to release the required funds for the development of this greenfield city.

Dhami also requested the PM to invite him for the inauguration of the proposed investor summit in the state in October/November 2023.
The BJP on Monday launched an indefinite dharna near Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence asking him to open his bungalow to the people for a visit amid allegations that 45 crore was spent on its renovation. BJP MP Harsh Vardhan with party leaders Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Vijay Goel raises slogans during a protest against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,(PTI)

The protesters demanded the chief minister open the gates of the 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines residence to the general public so that they can see for themselves his "lavish living", even if the entry is ticketed.

Leading the protesters, BJP MP from Chandni Chowk Harsh Vardhan said Kejriwal should open his bungalow to the common people so that they can see for themselves the renovation that was undertaken.

He can do so by issuing entry tickets, the former Union minister said.

The BJP has been attacking Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging that the chief minister spent 45 crore on the renovation of his official residence during 2020-22.

The AAP leaders have alleged that the BJP was trying to divert attention from the real issues faced by the country under its government at the Centre.

Party leaders, including Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, also defended Kejriwal questioning expenditures on the residences of the prime minister and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.

Harsh Vardhan said before Kejriwal came to power in Delhi, he used to talk about simplicity, living in a small bungalow and ending the VIP culture, but today he lives in a grand "Raj Mahal" and moves in a convoy of 20 vehicles.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged that there was a scam in the renovation of Kejriwal's residence and that he will go to jail for it. "Who was the consultant to whom 1 crore was paid for the renovation work?" he asked.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri claimed that according to administrative rules, the chief minister of Delhi can spend only 15 lakh on the beautification of his bungalow.

"Kejriwal, however, flouted all rules and wasted 45 crore. He should resign for doing this," Bidhuri said.

There have been five chief ministers in Delhi since 1993 and four of them lived in a single bungalow, but Kejriwal is living in a "palace" spread over five acres of land, Bidhuri charged.

Former Union minister Vijay Goel said that Kejriwal "wasted" 45 crore of public money on his bungalow but avoiding any accountability for it.

BJP activists from Keshav Puram and Chandni Chowk district units also took part in the sit-in.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said a plan by the UK government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was agreement between free nations, seeking to safeguard the safety of people and that it is wrong to call it a deportation, Reuters reports.

As reported, Meloni said this on Friday, April 28, while speaking to reporters at the Italian embassy in London after her visit to Britain, where she met UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"I think that talking about deportation or suggesting that Rwanda would be a country that does not respect rights and would be an inadequate or unworthy nation is a racist way of interpreting things," she was quoted.

In April 2022, UK and Rwanda signed a migration and economic development partnership that seeks to give a dignified life to people who leave their countries to seek asylum in European countries.

Under the deal, some of these people will be relocated to Rwanda where they will be empowered through different initiatives.

In 2022, the UK received 45,000 migrants which reflected a 60 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Italy is also facing growing pressure from migrants crossing the Mediterranean, with a surge in arrivals compared to 2022. Almost 41,000 people have landed in Italy so far in 2023, against around 10,200 in the same period last year.

In March, UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, visited Rwanda, where she signed the expansion of the agreement, and visited multiple projects related to the migration partnership.

She also inaugurated a Rwf60 billion housing project that will see up to 1,500 units built for the arriving migrants.

Under the UK-Rwanda migration deal, those who will benefit from the partnership will have the option of applying for asylum, locally, and be facilitated to resettle in Rwanda or to be facilitated to return to their home countries, having received support through the programme.

The UK will fund the programme, initially releasing an upfront investment of 120 million, which will fund invaluable opportunities for the migrants and Rwandans as well.

This includes secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.

The UK will also support in terms of accommodation prior to local integration and resettlement.

According to the deal, they will be entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment, and enrollment in healthcare and social care services.
A 30-year-old taxi driver was dragged hanging on the bonnet of an SUV bearing Bihars registration number allegedly by its driver for more than two kilometres between Ashram Chowk and Nizamuddin in south Delhi late Sunday night, police said. A police patrol vehicle chased the SUV, forcing its driver to stop and rescued the taxi driver. (ANI)

A police patrol vehicle chased the SUV, forcing its driver to stop and rescued the taxi driver, police said.

The incident was recorded on a mobile phone by a person travelling in another vehicle. The video soon went viral on social media.

Also Read:Mans body dragged under car for 10 km in Mathura

A case of rash driving and an act endangering life and personal safety of others was registered at the Sunlight Colony police station.

The Delhi police are yet to provide details of the car ownership but a police official aware of the matter said the man who drove the taxi driver on the bonnet is the driver of an MP from Bihar.

The person behind the wheels, Ramachal, who allegedly dragged the taxi driver, Chetan, on the vehicles bonnet, is the driver of the MP. He was alone in the SUV at the time of the incident, the officer added.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said that at around 12:12am on Monday, a call was received regarding an accident at Ashram Chowk and the errant driver was fleeing with his vehicle. A police team met the caller, Chetan, who stated that he was driving his Maruti Suzuki Ciaz taxi that was hit by a Discovery car bearing registration number of Bihars Jehanabad at Ashram Chowk.

When Chetan stopped the Discovery car, its driver, Ramachal, 35, tried to flee the spot and then to stop him, Chetan sat on the bonnet of the vehicle. Thereafter, the alleged Discovery car driver drove his vehicle up to Nizamuddin police station while Chetan was hanging on the bonnet of the car. A police patrol van stopped the car near Neela Gumbad and Chetan came down from the cars bonnet, said DCP Deo, and added that a first information report (FIR) was registered under Indian Penal Codes (IPC) sections 279 and 336 against Ramachal.
Gurugram: The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will set up a flood control office to prevent waterlogging during the monsoon months of July, August and September, officials said on Monday. The authority will also depute personnel at critical locations and deploy both movable and permanent pumps, including suction tankers and tanker mounted pumps, officials added. Gurugram, India-March 19, 2023: After the rain waterlogging at a road in South City-1 near Mayom hospital, in Gurugram, India, on Sunday, 19 March 2023. (Photo/HT)

GMDA officials said that tenders will be floated for the project and the estimated cost of setting up the flood control office will be around 1.15 crore.

Every year, GMDA holds drills and undertakes drain cleaning work before the advent of the rainy season, but the city still witnesses waterlogging on many stretches of the National Highway (NH-48) as well as internal roads that invariably leads to congestion and slowing down of traffic.

GMDA chief executive officer PC Meena said the flood control office will address waterlogging concerns during the peak monsoon season. Adequate manpower will be deputed at critical locations to address flooding issues. Both movable and permanent water pumping machinery will be mobilised to drain out water, he said.

Meena added that maintenance work and servicing of existing pump sets will also be carried out ahead of the monsoon season.

Similar to the exercise carried out last year, the GMDA will hold drills at 14 underpasses across the city to ensure there is no waterlogging on arterial roads. These include the underpasses at Ambience Mall, Shankar Chowk, Iffco Chowk Metro station to MG Road, Signature Tower, Rajeev Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Medanta Road, DLF Cyber City, Sikanderpur, Atul Kataria Chowk, Huda City Centre, Mahavir Chowk, DLF Phase-I and Genpact Chowk.

GMDA executive engineer Vikram Singh said the authority has initiated the tender process for setting up the flood control office. The office will address and tackle waterlogging or flooding concerns during the monsoon months. Bids are being invited and the tenders will open from May 18 onwards, he said.

Meanwhile, cleaning and desilting work of approximately 13 kilometres of both master stormwater and surface drains are also being carried out by the GMDA to keep them free of silt and debris. Cleaning of regular drains and culverts is also being carried out on a regular basis at several stretches across Gurugram, officials said.

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Residents of villages near Bandhwari have opposed the dumping and processing of fresh waste at the new two-acre constructed site of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) near the old landfill. The civic body had started dumping solid waste at the new site last week but had to stop it after villagers threatened MCG officials. Over 40 foot high, the Bandhwari dump is one of the largest landfills in north India and it towers above the mesquite forests and surrounding Aravalli hills. (Parveen Kumar/ HT)

A group of villagers protested at the site on Sunday and said they will not let MCG use the new site for dumping garbage. In view of the resistance, the MCG has resumed dumping at the old landfill itself, municipal officials said.

MCG officials said they constructed a concrete base on a two-acre plot near the Bandhwari landfill to process daily solid waste from Gurugram so that the old landfill could be remediated but the work was stopped by locals, leading to delays in meeting the September 30 deadline for clearing the landfill.

Officials said this is not the first time locals have opposed their plan -- at least seven times, they had faced similar resistance in Basai, Daulatabad, Kadarpur, Ullawas, Hayatpur and Pali in Faridabad.

The decision to construct the concrete site near the landfill itself was taken after MCG could not find a suitable spot in any other location.

MCG joint commissioner Naresh Kumar said their prime focus is to complete the task of processing waste from the landfill before September. These issues delay the project and it becomes difficult to manage work and adhere to deadlines. We have tried to set up processing units at many locations but each time there was resistance from locals leading to further delays. Currently, we are dumping waste at the landfill until the protests die, he said.

Sanjay Harsana, a resident of Bandhwari, said they will continue to protest if the MCG again tries to dump fresh waste at the new site. Instead of looking for a new site, they are again using the same area to dump waste. We are already suffering [due to pollution from the Bandhwari landfill] and the landfill has triggered a health crisis in the surrounding villages. Toxic leachate from the landfill has seeped into the water supply and is consumed by villagers nearby, which is causing them health issues, he said.

Over 40 foot high, the Bandhwari dump is one of the largest landfills in north India and towers above the mesquite forests and surrounding Aravalli hills. It is impossible to miss this man-made mountain of garbage, or the foul stench which emanates from it, as one crosses the district border into Faridabad.

Gurugram-based environmentalist Vaishali Rana, said the MCG has not been able to provide the demarcation report showing the two acres are truly theirs, and on top of that, they have cut more than 100 trees illegally to construct the concrete base there .

MCG is encroaching on the revenue raasta (road) completely and also on the green belt that has a three tier plantation, which the civic body was supposed to maintain as per their environmental clearance condition. So MCG, in all probability, is already using more than the 32 acres sanctioned to it in the Aravallis, she said.

Roma J Vinayak, a city based environmentalist, said there are multiple issues with the new site as the three acres behind the landfill is Aravalli plantation, and is protected by a Supreme Court order of 1992. Without permission from the central government, MCG cannot divert that land for non-forest activity. There is also no demarcation report for the two acres that MCG is claiming as its own, she said.

Vinayak said that MCG has already encroached on the green belt that needs to be on all four sides of the landfill . The waste has already reached the road and the civic body is already using more than assigned 32 acres. The revenue raasta ( approximately 400 metres long and 10 metres wide ) comes under the forest department and the department has penalised MCG 50 lakh for encroaching on it, she said.

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NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha secretariat on Monday issued a notification announcing the disqualification of Afzal Ansari from the House following his conviction. BSP leader Afzal Ansari was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha after being convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment in a kidnapping-and-murder case. (PTI File Photo)

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lawmaker, who represented Ghazipur in the Lok Sabha. was convicted and handed out a four-year jail term in a kidnapping and murder case by a special court in Uttar Pradeshs Ghazipur. His younger brother, gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was sentenced to 10 years in connection with the same case registered under the UP Gangsters Act in 2007.

Consequent upon his conviction...Afzal Ansari, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Ghazipur Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 29 April, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the notification issued by the secretariat read.

Ansari is the second Lok Sabha MP to be disqualified in recent months. In April, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was disqualified after being convicted in a defamation case and sentenced to 2- years in jail.

The case under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act against the Ansari brothers in which Afzal Ansari was convicted was registered In connection with the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Krishnanand Rai and six others in Bhawarkol area of Ghazipur in November 2005. The cases were registered at the Mohammadabad police station in 2007.

This was the first case in which Afzal Ansari has been convicted. His brother, Mukhtar Ansari has been convicted in four cases so far.

Apart from Ansari, his brothers have also been booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then MLA from Ghazipur, Krishnanad Rai, on November 29, 2005 along with the kidnapping and murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been once again accused of wasting public money. Residents of Byculla and Mahim West have reported that some of the recently fixed footpaths, including month-old repaired pavements, are being dug up once again by the civic body to lay cables. Mumbai, India May 01, 2023: A view of footpath near Olympia Tower, Bakri Adda, NM Joshi Marg, Byculla, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, May 01, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Incidentally, this development came on the heels of the 1,700 crore beautification project by the BMC, under which various lighting and footpaths are being rebuilt across the city. Citizens highlight that some of the rebuilt footpaths are being broken once again.

In Mahim, a footpath on LJ Road, repaired last month was dug up again a few days back. Once again this footpath that was just redone has been broken totally for laying cables. Utter lack of foresight. What a waste of public money, read one of the tweets from the handle @mumbaimatterz that shared pictures of the footpath being dug up from the middle.

A civic official from G North ward said, The footpath was repaired last month, but we received an urgent request from the state government to lay cables for the CCTV project. Hence, permissions had to be given.

The official also said that the cost of re-doing the footpath will be borne by the BMC since it was dug up for government work. We will re-do the footpath as soon as laying the cable work is completed. added the official.

Similarly, in Byculla, Ishant Jain, a resident of Byculla West, was surprised when a footpath recently constructed by BMC was dug up again within a month in his area.

As per Jain, a footpath in his area in Byculla West was reconstructed and beautified in Byculla around the end of January 2023, just like other footpaths in the city, but soon within the month, the footpath was dug up for some maintenance work. Jain said that despite completion of the maintenance work, the footpath remains in bad condition, the dug-up part was filled with mud.

The area is full of mud and dust, so much so that one cannot pass by the footpath without getting dirty. A lot of two-wheelers are also parked here and now small sellers have come up. Earlier the footpath was spacious, now not more than two people can walk on it at one time. Its also a menace because anyone can trip over the debris and mud.

Rather than a walking space, it has now become a respite for small shopkeepers who have placed their temporary settlements, he added.

Meanwhile, another official from BMC said, When it is a new footpath, we do not permit to dig for six months to a year unless there is an urgent request. If it is an urgent request, it is permitted after approvals from seniors, added the official. If a private entity has requested for digging, the cost is recovered from them, and then BMCs contractors will re-do the footpath, he said. HT contacted Ajaykumar Yadav, assistant Commissioner (InCharge), E ward, he did not respond to calls and messages.
Plot allottees in Yamuna authority sectors have complained of the lack of basic facilities, including roads, sewer lines, drains, and water supply, even a decade after allotment. The plot allottees have expressed their concerns to Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) and have requested prompt action. If their issues are not resolved soon, they have warned of a potential protest against Yeida. Yeida had allotted industrial plots of various sizes under the YEA-2013 open-ended scheme. (Photo for representation)

Yeida had allotted industrial plots of various sizes under the YEA-2013 open-ended scheme, but possession has not been provided for all plots due to court cases filed by farmers.

According to officials, the land meant for industries has allegedly been grabbed by villagers.

The president of the Yamuna Expressway Entrepreneur Association, Rishabh Nigam, said, Despite our repeated demands, Yeida has failed to address our issues in the last ten years. Now we have decided to protest if Yeida will not give us the option to resolve our issues.

The secretary of the Yamuna Expressway Entrepreneur Association, Imran Ghani, said that there was an utter lack of basic facilities even in pockets where registry or lease deeds of 944 plots have taken place. The plot allottees have demanded timelines from Yeida on when they will build internal and peripheral roads, remove encroachments, and provide water supply, drainage systems, and other facilities.

Yeidas chief executive officer, Arun Vir Singh, said that half of the plots had been given possession to the allottees, and work had begun on developing civic facilities. He also assured that Yeida would address all issues faced by the allottees soon. Yeida officials met residential plot allottees in sector 18 on Monday and assured them of addressing their issues related to the development in residential sectors 18 and 22, officials associated with the matter said.

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As the date for the local body polls draws closer, different political parties are stepping up their campaigning in Ghaziabad and are likely to bring in their senior leaders to canvas votes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said chief minister Yogi Adityanath will arrive in Ghaziabad for a public event on May 5. The first phase of voting in the Uttar Pradesh local body polls will be held on May 4 and the election campaign will come to an end on May 2. (HT Photo)

Local body polls in Ghaziabad district, which nine local bodies, will he held on May 11, in the second phase of elections. As many as 1,837 candidates are in the fray for the nine seats of mayor/chairpersons and 294 seats of councillors/members.

The nine local bodies include the Ghaziabad municipal corporation (100 wards), four nagar palikas of Modinagar (34 wards), Muradnagar (25 wards), Khoda (34 wards) and Loni (55 wards). Besides these, there are four nagar panchayats of Patla (10 wards), Faridnagar (11 wards), Dasna (15 wards) and Niwari (10 wards).

Adityanath will arrive in Ghaziabad for campaigning on May 5 and this will instil fresh enthusiasm in our workers. The CM is popular among the public and will also visit other western Uttar Pradesh districts of Meerut, Hapur and Bulandshahr. He is likely to hold a campaign event at Kavi Nagar Ramlila ground. His presence will bolster our campaigning and also strengthen our agenda of development, said Ashu Verma, BJPs election campaign coordinator.

During the assembly elections in February 2022, Adityanath visited Ghaziabad four times and targeted opposition parties especially on the issue of law and order.

The BJP office-bearers said they are contesting on all 294 seats and also the nine seats of mayor/chairpersons of the nine local bodies.

The BJP is keen to retain the mayoral seat of Ghaziabad municipal corporation. Incidentally, since 1994, when the status of the municipal board was upgraded to a corporation, the ruling party has held the mayoral post each successive term.

Similar to the BJPs campaign, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office-bearers said their 62 MLAs from Delhi will arrive in Ghaziabad to campaign. They said the party leaders instead of focussing on road shows and rallies, will hold more pad yatras and nukkad sabhas to connect with voters.

These 62 MLAs are campaigning in western UP districts and our senior leaders such as MP Sanjay Singh will also arrive in Ghaziabad. Our plan is to focus on different class of voters. So, the respective AAP leader will visit specific areas in Ghaziabad and they are expected to arrive after the campaigning ends for the first phase in UP, said Sachin Sharma, district president of the AAP.

The Congress is also banking on support from its party leaders step up the election campaign.

The state Congress committee is likely to send a list of leaders who will visit Ghaziabad for campaigning. The list is likely to arrive over the next couple of days. At the grassroots level, our local leaders are visiting wards to canvas for candidates. The arrival of Adityanath in Ghaziabad is an attempt to woo the substantial number of voters from Uttarakhand. But in our case, even our mayor candidate is from Uttarakhand and is currently receiving overwhelming support from voters, said Lokesh Chaudhary, city president, Congress.

The first phase of voting in the Uttar Pradesh local body polls will be held on May 4 and the election campaign will come to an end on May 2. Thereafter, the leaders of different parties will focus on campaigning in districts that go to polls in the second phase on May 11. The campaigning for the second phase will end on the evening of May 9.

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The Archaeological Survey of India has begun issuing tickets online for the night viewing of the Taj Mahal, from Monday. So far, tourists could only buy the ticket at the window at ASI office in Agra: that too, a day in advance. For representation only (HT File Photo)

Offline sales of tickets for the night viewing of the Taj will stop in a day or two, once teething troubles (if any) are sorted out, ASI sources said.

In November 2022, the Supreme Court had modified its 2004 order and allowed online booking of tickets for night viewing of the Taj. Now, visitors can view the Taj Mahal on full-moon nights, two days before it, and two days after the new moon phase. The order came after an Interlocutory Application (IA) was filed.

One of the petitioners, the Agra Development Foundation (ADF) through its secretary, KC Jain, a lawyer from Agra, welcomed the availability of online tickets for night viewing.

Jain said, Viewing the iconic Taj on moonlit nights has now become easy as the Supreme Court modified its earlier order passed in 2004 which required computerised electronic tickets to visitors 24 hours in advance. The viewers were required to buy such tickets from the office of the ASI at 22, Mall Road, Agra.

The gates of the Taj Mahal used to remain open all through the night till the 1980s but due to security concerns, the gates of the monument had to be closed after dark. Years later, tourist organisations sought permission for night viewing and the SC permitted viewing of Taj Mahal in restricted batches of 50 tourists each on full moon night and two nights before and after it. Eight such batches of 50 tourists were allowed in a night as such maximum 400 tourists could view the Taj in a single night.

The ADF secretary further said, The new online system of availability of the tickets to visit Taj in moonlit nights has come as a great respite. It will increase the night stay of tourists and will also enhance the ASI revenue.

Visitors cherish seeing the Taj at night and have a unique experience. Now, they can book tickets online without having to overstay in Agra a day in advance. The new online ticket system will also avoid unpleasant experiences of tourists buying tickets at the ASI counter.

The facility for online ticket viewing has begun from today (Monday), and tickets can be booked days before viewing. The ticket can also be bought the same day, subject to availability said RK Patel, the ASI chief in Agra.
Special cell of the Delhi police has pasted a notice at the ancestral house of Guddu Muslim, an assailant in lawyer Umesh Pal murder case, in connection with an Arms Act case registered on March 31. Guddu Muslim has been instructed to appear before the special cell officials on April 25 and record his statement. (File photo)

In the notice, under section 41 of the CrPC, Guddu Muslim has been instructed to appear before the special cell officials on April 25 and record his statement.

Muslims ancestral home is at Lala Ki Sarai under Shivkuti police station. The thatched house is locked since past many years. Locals who spotted the notice, claimed that it was pasted by police a few days back before April 25.

It is worth mentioning that Delhi police arrested a few arms dealers on March 28 and recovered foreign-made firearms from their possession. With the notice issued to Guddu Muslim in the same case, it is believed that he has connections with these firearm dealers.

A senior police official of the Prayagraj district said that the police were aware of the notice. Guddu Muslim carries a cash reward of 5 lakh on his arrest in Umesh Pal murder case.

Meanwhile, Guddu Muslims two sisters who live in the same locality claimed that the family has no relation with him after his name surfaced in Raju Pal murder case in 2005. They claimed that their father Mohd Shafiq aka Mithhan belonged to Gosainganj area of Sultanpur but migrated to Prayagraj many decades back. Guddu is fifth among three brothers and two sisters.

One of Guddu Muslims brother Faheem was dead while the other Aslam is in Dubai. They said Guddu Muslims real name is Mohd Muslim and their parents died many years back.

Guddu left home when he was a teenager after his father scolded him for his bad company and wrongful acts.

Locals said that Guddus family members distanced themselves from him when police started raiding their homes for the crimes committed by him.
Guddu Muslim aka Guddu Bambaaz, who was involved in February 24 murders of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards has been dodging teams of the police and UP STF for more than two months now. Guddu Muslim an expert in disguising himself, could be living with a Hindu identity (File photo)

Guddu was caught on camera hurling crude bombs to create terror among locals. The CCTV footage of him lobbing bombs had gone viral on social media after the attack.

Police investigation revealed that Guddu Muslim is an expert in disguising himself.

Officials claimed that Guddu Muslim might have shaved off his moustache or could be sporting a beard to stay unnoticed. Police said Guddu also has been changing the way he usually dressed to escape attention. Guddu might have also changed his name and may be living at his hideout with a Hindu identity, a senior police officer claimed.

Police officials said, Guddu Muslim fled to Jhansi and then Meerut after Umesh Pals murder. After staying at gangster-politician Atiq Ahmeds sister Ayesha Nooris home, Guddu went to Delhi, police claimed.

Before the police and STF team could find his location, Guddu left Delhi for Ajmer. His location was also traced to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, officials added.

Police teams are also monitoring the activities of most of his known relatives. A woman of Nakhas Kohna in old city area of Prayagraj is under watch as Guddu was a regular visitor at her home.

Police officials said Mohd Shafiq aka Mithhans son Guddu Muslim was born in Saraiya locality under Shivkuti police station of Prayagraj. For the last few years, he was living in Chakia locality and was working for Atiq Ahmad who along with his brother Ashraf were killed on April 15.

Before joining hands with Atiq, Guddu had worked for many musclemen in U.P. and Bihar. He also illegally lived at a hostel of Lucknow University for some time during which he committed some heinous crimes, police officials said.
Nairobi  Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki is expected to visit the Joint National Police Service (NPS) and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Operation Maliza Uhalifu Command Centre at Chemolingot, Tiaty in Baringo County.

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration (MINA) said Kindiki will also visit officers in the frontline battling bandits at the intersection of Marakwet East and Tiaty on Saturday.

MINA added the Operation Commander, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Administration) Noor Gabow will accompany Kindiki.

During his appearance during Senate's inaugural question time on Wednesday, Kindiki told Senators security forces had managed to dominate the bandit-prone North Rift Valley region.

He said security forces had flushed out armed criminals from the ravines, gorges, escarpments and hills that bandits had for years turned into their hideouts.

The recovered areas will remain under the guard of multi-agency security officers, Kindiki stated.

Kindiki had on April 12 announced government plans to double security forces in bandit-prone areas in scaled up efforts to tame banditry.

The Interior CS, when he appeared before the National Assembly for question time, said that despite the challenges they continue to experience in the fight against banditry, significant stock recoveries had been made.

"The challenge is still there, and it did not start last year but in 1997. We are doing everything possible to ensure it gets to a final end. We appeal for patience and we know we will get rounded once we are done," Kindiki told the House.

Despite the ongoing operation in the North Rift, some parts including Samburu, Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, have continued to witness recurrent attacks.

Evacuation of civilians

On March 13, Kindiki ordered the immediate vacation of residents living in 27 gorges, escarpments, caves, ravines, hills, and forests as a security forces moved in to expel bandits.

Kindiki subsequently gave the residents in the affected areas from Baringo, Laikipia, Samburu, West Pokot, and Turkana Counties 24 hours to immediately evacuate.

"I, therefore, declare these areas as scenes of crime, and we will treat any person found therein as a suspect of armed banditry, or as a suspect of aiding and abetting banditry, or as an accessory after the fact. Everyone must evacuate immediately," Kindiki ordered at the time.

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The affected areas in Baringo included Korkoron Hills, Tandare Valley and Silale Gorges.

In Laikipia, Kindiki said disturbed areas included Mukogodo Forest, Kamwenje, Warero and Ndonyoriwo, Lekuruki Hills, Losos, and Kiape Caves, and Sieku Valley

In Samburu, government listed Ltungai Conservancy, Longewan, Nasuur, Lochokia and Lekadaar Escarpments; Lolmolok Caves, Pura Valley, Malaso Escarpment and Suguta Valley.

The government also banned low-altitude aircrafts over the disturbed areas as it intensified a multi-agency operation including the military to crash banditry.

The freezing of flights over bandit-prone areas came amid reports that some powerful shadowy figures had been using choppers to ferry weapons and ammunition and in some instances fighters
LUCKNOW If you live in (or around) Indira Nagar, you may have noticed Vinod cutting through heavy traffic to deliver food orders on his tricycle. Struck by polio in his very childhood, 29-year-old Vinod Kumar Verma works as a food delivery executive. (HT Photo)

Struck by polio in his very childhood, 29-year-old Vinod Kumar Verma suffers from 90% paralysis, containing his ability to walk or ride a motorbike. Despite his physical disability, Vinod never shies away from going the extra mile to make a few more bucks for his wife and two school-going children because, in his world, every penny counts.

A food delivery executive by profession, Vinod wakes up early in the morning to drop his kids at school and works round the clock to put food on the table. Although Vinod has never let his physical condition come in the way of his work, he feels he has been given the short end of the stick as he cannot walk or ride a motorbike.

I am paid 45 for covering 5 km while others get 58 for the same distance. I am paid lesser because of my inability to reach the destination quickly as compared to other delivery partners. I have raised this issue with the company several times but never got any satisfactory response, said Vinod.

Like Vinod, his wife, Sushila, is also specially-abled. They have two sons --- a 3-year-old and a 10-year-old. I drop my children to schools on this tricycle itself. It was given to me by the state government, added Vinod. On being asked about his monthly income, Vinod said, I am paid weekly. In all, I make about 7,000-8,000 per month. We are somehow managing things. The only satisfaction is that my father built a house in Gazipur, Indira Nagar. So, I dont have to worry about paying rent.

Before taking up the role of a delivery executive, Vinod, an Intermediate pass, used to sell CDs and DVDs by the roadside. However, the outbreak of the Covid pandemic ruined his business and he was forced to shut shop. For the last two years, I have been working in two shifts to provide for my family. Delivering on motorcycles is much easier and takes less time but the tricycle is all I have. Therefore, remuneration parity would be a great help, said Vinod.

A new-age labourer

Apart from low wages, Vinod also has to deal with angry consumers who often yell at him for taking a little longer to deliver their orders. I think of myself as a new-age labourer. Sometimes, I face customers outbursts. Some of them even downgrade my rating, hurting me financially, said Vinod.

He added, Problems arise when I am asked to deliver products at doorsteps in high-rise buildings. Many customers refuse to come downstairs. Even though several customers give me a 5-star rating, which adds to my incentive, the company tends to deduct them even if a single customer complaints against me.

When asked about his dream, Vinod, donning a modest smile, said, I wished to become an engineer as a kid but my conditions made that dream far-fetched. Now, I just want my kids to do well and hopefully, become an engineer.
A day after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), veteran tribal leader Nand Kumar Sai on Monday joined the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh where the assembly polls are due later this year. Sai (77) is a former two-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA. (Ritesh Mishra | Twitter)

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and party president Mohan Markam were present in the Congress headquarters in Raipur when the primary membership of the party was handed over to Sai.

Baghel welcomed Sai to the party and said it is for the benefit of the tribals of Chhattisgarh.

Sai (77), a former two-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA, served as the BJPs state president in both Chhattisgarh and undivided Madhya Pradesh in the past and is an influential figure in tribal-dominated parts of Surguja division (northern Chhattisgarh).

Also Read: Democratic Azad party leader Anayatullah Rather joins Congress

On Sunday, Sai had submitted his resignation to state BJP president Arun Sao.

Sai, a prominent tribal face of the party who hails from north Chhattisgarh, was first elected as the Janata Party MLA in 1977 from Tapkara seat (now in Jashpur district) in Madhya Pradesh.

A Congress leader on condition of anonymity claimed Sai leaving the BJP will impact the saffron party adversely.

Sai, despite being a big name, had lost command over Kanwar ST communitys votes in North Chhattisgarh a long time ago. Infact, the Lok Sabha MP Gomti Sai is currently the biggest community leader of Kanwars in that region currently. However, his leaving the saffron party will surely impact BJP adversely in the state, the leader said.

In 1980, Sai was elected as the BJPs Raigarh district unit chief. He was elected as the BJP MLA from Tapkara in 1985 and 1998.

Sai was Chhattisgarh BJP president from 2003-05, and MP BJP chief from 1997 to 2000.

He was the first leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly after the state was carved out from MP in November 2000.

Sai was appointed as the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in 2017.

Meanwhile, chief spokesperson of BJP in Chhattisgarh, Ajay Chandrakar claimed that Sai has no political base in Chhattisgarh.

We welcome his decision to join Congress and now we want to see what he can do with Congress as he has no political base in any party of Chhattisgarh. His son lost zila panchayat elections twice in that region, said Chandrakar.

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GORAKHPUR With civic polls around the corner, Samajwadi Party chief on Monday announced that he will soon release a booklet on the deteriorating law and order situation in Gorakhpur in the past five years. The SP chief urged people to vote for the SP mayoral candidate in Gorakhpur. (HT Photo)

The SP chief was responding to chief minister Yogi Adityanaths comment that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a model state for law and order in recent years. The CM had said that people feel a sense of security in U.P. and the state now has a conducive atmosphere for development.

Taking to media persons at Gorakhpur airport on Sunday evening, Yadav said, The government was running without a full-time DGP. This had weakened the police force... Two incidents of gang-rape in Gorakhpur within six days has exposed the state of law-and-order in the state, said Akhilesh.

The SP chief urged people to vote for the SP mayoral candidate in Gorakhpur to resolve issues like waterlogging. In the last five years, the CM has failed to get rid of issues like waterlogging and movement of cattle on roads, said Akhilesh.

According to police data, 676 cases of crimes against women have been recorded in the past 16 months. This includes 44 cases rape and 45 of dowry harassment.
PATNA: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi has countered Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who played down the decision to tweak the Bihar prison manual that led to the release of former Bihar lawmaker Anand Mohan on April 27. BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi attacked Nitish Kumar for his statement on the change in the Bihar jail manual (HT File Photo/Santosh Kumar)

Nitish Kumar last week responded to criticism over the state government order on April 10 removing murder of a public servant on duty from the list of offences for which remission of jail term cannot be considered. The change helped Anand Mohan, a former Lok Sabha MP and Rajput leader with considerable influence on his caste voters, walk out of prison on Saturday. Mohan was awarded life imprisonment for the murder of a young Dalit Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in 1994.

Kumar told reporters on Friday that the central guidelines issued in 2016 did not have a clause differentiating between the murder of a common man and a government servant. Bihar had such a clause and we removed it. Is there a need for such a distinction?... It is not a political thing, the Janata Dal (United) leader said.

Sushil Kumar Modi delivered his point-by-point rebuttal to Nitish Kumar on Sunday evening, saying it was strange that Nitish Kumar issued a prison manual that was much more stringent than the one issued by the central government in 2016. And now when it suits him, he was using the central jail manual as a cover, Modi said.

Modi asked if the state was also going to scrap section 353 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with assault to stop public servants from discharging their duty for parity between officials and the common people.

This applies to public servants but not others. Will this distinction be also removed? Modi asked rhetorically.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the state governments move has paved the way for the release of 27 gangsters.

Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of G Krishnaiah, the then Gopalganj district magistrate who was killed in 1994 by a mob led by Anand Mohan, has petitioned the Supreme Court against the April 10 amendment and the release of the former MP on the ground that sentence of imprisonment for life given to a convict as a substitute for the death sentence must be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to list the petition on May 8 after lawyer Tanya Shree, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, mentioned the case.

Tanya Shree earlier told HT that the decision of the state government has been assailed on the ground that it goes contrary to Supreme Court decisions, which lays down that life sentence means the convicts biological life and that states cannot mechanically release any prisoner at their whims and fancies after 14 years.

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Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) has issued the notification for the MP High School Teacher Eligibility Test 2023. Interested candidates can apply online through the official website at esb.mp.gov.in from May 18. The last date for the submission of the applictaion form is June 1. MP HSTET recruitment 2023: Apply for 8720 posts from May 18 at esb.mp.gov.in

Candidates can make changes to the application forms is June 6. The HSTET 2023 is scheduled to be conducted on August 2, 2023, from 9.30 AM to 11.30 AM and 3.00 PM to 5.00 PM.

MP HSTET recruitment 2023 vacancy details: This recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 8720 vacancies.

Vacancy details Hindi: 509

English: 1763

Sanskrit: 508

Urdu: 42

Maths: 1362

Biology: 755

Physics: 777

Chemistry: 781

History: 304

Political Science: 284

Geography: 149

Economics: 287

Sociology: 88

Commerce: 514

Agriculture: 569

Home Science: 28

MP HSTET recruitment 2023 applictaion fee: The candidates from the unreserved category are required to pay a fee of 500, whereas 250 is applicable to candidates from the reserved category.

Interested candidates can check the detailed notification here
Last week, the fret on the faces of the Congress workers at their party headquarters in Bengaluru was evident. The party, which had a smooth and confident election campaign, suffered one of the first setbacks when the All India Congress Committee chief Mallikarjun Kharge referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a venomous snake, clarifying later that he was speaking of the PMs party ideology, which he said was divisive, disharmonious, full of hatred towards the poor and Dalits. PREMIUM Congress supporters walk past giant cut-outs of senior party leaders in Karnatakas Kolar. (PTI)

The clarification didnt do much to stem the damage: much of the air time on the Kannada channels, popular in the rural parts of the state, was dominated by a counter-attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders; and it came a day before Modi began the second phase of the campaign, consisting of 19 rallies across the state.

They are good at utilising every opportunity to gain momentum from something like this. This only gives the BJP a chance to make an election about Modi, pointed out a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office bearer, who was glued to his mobile screen for news.

While the concern is real, Congress is betting on its year-long, carefully crafted election campaign and anti-incumbency wave to take them across the finish line. For Congress, four factors will play a crucial role in the election  anti-incumbency, welfare schemes, Ahinda and Vokkaliga voters.

The number game

The base vote of the Congress party is around 34%. Only once did the partys vote share go below this mark  in 1994, it was 26%. Even though the BJPs base vote is around 34%, as the vote banks are concentrated, it could win them up to 100 seats. However, the Congress relies on Ahinda (a Kannada acronym that stands for minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) to win around 78-80 seats with this base vote spread across the state. This is one of the reasons why even though Congress got a 38% vote share in the 2018 election, the BJP with 36% emerged as the single largest party.

Since the late 1970s, the Congress has come to power in the state with a majority three times  1989, 1999 and 2013. The common factor in these elections was that the Opposition in the state was divided between multiple parties; and in 1989 and 1999, the Congress had made a Lingayat (Veerendra Patil) and a Vokkaliga (SM Krishna) the CM candidates of the party.

In the first two elections, the Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters ensured that the Congress crossed the 40% vote share mark, while in 2013, even though Siddaramaiah, a Kuruba, was the chief ministerial candidate, it was Lingayat strongman Yediyurappas leaving BJP that increased the Congress vote share to 36%. The increased vote share and Yediyurappa splitting Lingayat votes ensured a Congress victory.

In this election, the ruling BJP faces severe anti-incumbency. Historically, the anti-incumbency votes generate approximately a 2-4% swing in the votes. However, for the Congress to get over 40% vote share they will have to get votes from the Vokkaliga community, which accounts for roughly 12% of the vote share in the state, electoral observers said.

The party is projecting DK Shivakumar as the tall Vokkaliga leader and potential chief minister in the hope of a big migration of Vokkaliga votes in the old Mysuru region. The Lingayat vote bank is the largest in the state and with their leaders joining Congress, we will see some victories in north Karnataka, but we are hoping for the biggest shift from the Vokkaliga community. A substantial change would change our vote base. We have better chances with them, said a senior KPCC office-bearer.

While Siddaramaiah is consolidating the Ahinda vote bank, the pressure in this election is on DK Shivakumar to move the Vokkaliga votes from the JD(S) to Congress. However, this would be a difficult challenge the JD(S) is consolidating, relying heavily on the former Prime Ministers emotional pitch to see a JD(S) government before his death.

Reviving the cadre

It is crucial for Congress to revive its cadre to capitalise on anti-incumbency. The grand old party saw a lull in its cadres morale after its coalition government collapsed in 2019. A resurgence in party morale began as early as January 2023, when the party took out the Mekedattu Padayatra demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery River in Karnataka. The event, spread over two months, managed to gather large numbers of people.

The Congress in Karnataka has strong local leadership, a wide social base and a robust organisation, all of which can pose a stiff challenge to the ruling BJP. The leaders were brought together during the 75th birthday celebration of Siddaramaiah. That event really changed the momentum for us, said the AICC secretary PC Vishnunadh. One can even say that the campaign for the elections was kickstarted for the Congress. The Bharat Jodo Yatra further solidified our cadre morale, he added.

The Congress party was able to reactivate its booth-level workers with both these large events, something which had proved to be a difficult task in 2018. However, reviving this base created a problem for the party after the ticket selection. Im not sure about other areas, but in the old Mysuru region, the party should have been more careful with ticket distribution because there is uneasiness among supporters of leaders who didnt get tickets, said a senior leader who didnt want to be named.

A carefully constructed campaign

Anti-incumbency is the biggest thrust of their campaign. The Congress, which till last year was seen as a tired and unenthusiastic Opposition, launched the '40% Sarkara' campaign. The jibe is a reference to allegations by Karnataka Contractors Association, claiming that BJP leaders and officials take 40% of the tender amount as a bribe for state-funded infrastructure projects.

Congress also started the 'PayCM' campaign which is a wordplay on digital payments firm PayTM. The campaign visuals have CM Bommai's face in the middle of a QR code, which takes a reader to a page listing the corruption cases involving the BJP, including the death of a contractor who alleged that former minister KS Eshwarappa demanded a bribe from him in April 2020.

Other cases that form part of the Congress ammunition against the BJPs clean image include the irregularities in the police sub-inspector recruitment reported (in 2021; 31 people including ADGP rank were charge-sheeted), the alleged bitcoin scam (in 2021; 18 people charge-sheeted), the arrest of MLA Virupakshappa (on March 27, 2023, for taking a bribe for sanctioning orders in the government corporation headed by him), the allegations against health minister of Karnataka Dr Sudhakar in the purchase of medical supplies during Covid, poor city management during Bengaluru floods in 2022.

Poll promises



Ahead of the elections, the Congress has also offered a series of welfare schemes, which they claim would provide temporary relief from increasing prices. The four promises so far include stipends for unemployed youth,2,000 payments for women heads of families, 200 units of free electricity, and ten kilograms of rice for the poor.

Prime Minister Modi while addressing BJP workers on April 27 via video conferencing announced that the Congresss warranty has expired and therefore its poll guarantees hold no meaning. He also attacked the opposition party for offering freebies or revadi to the voters for short-term electoral gains without thinking of the countrys future. However, Congress believes that these schemes, particularly 2,000 offered to women heads of families, will be their trump card.

Days after the Congress announced the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme if it is voted to power in the next Assembly elections, the BJP government has announced a scheme to counter it. The BJP promised it would provide 2,000 to every BPL family in the state under the Gruhini Shakti scheme.

But, things are still not smooth sailing for the Congress. The party is hoping for a shift of Vokkaliga and Lingayat votes for a majority, however, the JD(S) is consolidating strongly in old Mysuru, where Congress and JD(S) are fighting for the Vokkaliga votes. In North Karnataka, the party is still unclear about the impact of the Lingayat leaders, Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi, who shifted from the BJP earlier in April.

As the party grapples with a thinly veiled leadership struggle between its two tallest leaders  Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah  both of who aspire for the CMs post, it remains unclear how much of the Vokkaliga vote Shivakumar can bring to the Congress. Though Shivakumar presented himself as the next Vokkaliaga chief minister from Congress, the JD(S) has attacked the party claiming that its chief, HD Kumaraswamy has a better chance of becoming the CM than Shivakumar.
In the upcoming comedy, Jogira Sara Ra Ra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a master matchmaker and wedding planner named Jogi Pratap who can get through any wedding and make it a success with a little bit of jugaad (creative problem-solving). However, once he meets Dimple (Neha Sharma) and her family, he is unable to make the match. Neha wants nothing to do with marriage and instead plots her own kidnapping. (Also read: Jogira Sara Ra Ra teaser: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Neha Sharma's romcom is all about jugaad) Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Neha Sharma star in the comedy Jogira Sara Ra Ra.

Jogira Sara Ra Ra, which is set in Lucknow, features Jogi as the owner of Shaandaar Events, a company that takes care of all the wedding needs. He even has a Photoshopped picture with Donald Trump in his office. Despite his occupation, he has sworn off marrying himself.

Like him, Dimple also is avoiding the saat-pheras. She keeps sabotaging her own wedding plans and even Jogi has to eventually give in at one point. Both Jogi and Dimple then have to face the consequences as it is eventually decided that Jogi will marry her to save face. The two stubborn personalities finally meet their match with one another in the film.

On YouTube, fans reacted to the trailer and looked forward to seeing Nawazuddin. One fan shared, "Nawazuddin Siddiqui 's comedy party !!!" While another added, "Nawazuddin is not simply acting, he is just living in that character." Yet another commented, "Finally kuch fresh accha aya Bollywood ki trf se (Finally something fresh from Bollywood)."

The actor has two back-to-back releases in May with Afwaah and Jogira Sara Ra Ra. At the trailer launch of the film, he stated, "Most of the cast in the film are known to me as they have been with me since my theatre days in Delhi. When you will watch it then you will realise that it is a family movie and it has a lot of laughter. It's not something which I usually do. All kinds of audiences can enjoy this film including kids, old, married couples, friends and even brothers and sisters."

Directed by Kushan Nandy, the family comedy also stars Sanjay Mishra and Mahaakshay Chakraborty. Kushan and Nawazuddin have previously worked together on Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2020). The film has been written by Ghalib Asad Bhopali. Jogira Sara Ra Ra is produced by Naeem A. Siddiqui. It features music by Tanishk Bagchi, Meet Bros and Hitesh Modak.

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Kangana Ranaut has reacted to Salman Khan's recent remarks on receiving death threats in India. The actor, who is currently in Haridwar, said that the country is in safe hands, and therefore there is nothing to fear about security. She also added that Salman is getting protection from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. (Also Read | Salman Khan opens up on receiving death threats: 'Dubai is totally safe, India ke andar problem hai') Kangana Ranaut has responded to Salman Khan's remark.

Recently, Salman Khan was provided with Y-category security by the Mumbai Police amid death threats. In a recent interview, Salman had said that while he is safe in the UAE, 'India ke andar thoda sa hai problem (India there is a little problem)'.

As quoted by news agency ANI, Kangana said, "We are actors. Salman Khan has been provided with security by the Centre. He is getting protection from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, then there is nothing to fear. When I was threatened, I was also given security by the government, today the country is in safe hands. We have nothing to worry about."

Kangana visited Haridwar on Sunday and performed Ganga aarti. She will also visit Kedarnath Dham after this. The actor also said, "I always wanted to visit Kedarnath Dham and finally that is happening."

Earlier this year, the Maharashtra government assigned security escorts to the actor after he received a threat letter from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In March and April this year, Salman also received a threat call and a letter from two different people.

Recently, speaking on Aap Ki Adalat, Salman had said, "I am going everywhere with full security. Yaha par hoon toh kisi cheeze ki zarurat bhi nahi hai, yaha pe totally safe hai. India ke andar thoda sa hai problem (When I am here there is no need for anything, it's totally safe. Inside India there is a little problem)."

He also added, "I know whatever is going to happen will happen no matter what you do. I believe that (points upwards, referring to God) that he is there. It is not that I will start roaming freely, it is not like that. Now there are so many Sheras around me. So many guns are going around with me that I am scared these days."

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Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas were seen together at Met Gala 2017, where they represented fashion designer Ralph Lauren. While Priyanka is set to return to Met Gala again this year, Nick is yet to confirm if he'll be attending the star-studded event with her. Now, fans are reacting to a new photo of the two from New York and seem convinced they will be walking the Met Gala carpet together. Also read: Priyanka Chopra to attend Met Gala 2023 in 'special' look Priyanka Chopra with Nick Jonas in New York.

Nick, who was dressed in a brown jacket, stood in front of Priyanka Chopra in the photo shared on a fan page. She wore a blue top with a black jacket in the picture and held Nick's arm. A fan commented on their photo, which was shared on Instagram, "Nice to see them together at last!!! Excited to see them tomorrow at the Met Gala." Another person wrote, "Hope to see you as the most gorgeous and stylish couple at the red carpet!!" A comment read, "I can't wait to see what both of them are wearing tomorrow for the Met Gala." A fan also said, Can't wait for Met Gala tomorrow, they should do a getting ready video...

The theme of Met Gala 2023 is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty to honour the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The event will take place on May 1 (May 2 in India). While nothing more is known about Priyanka's Met Gala look as of now, the actor did say it will have a 'special element'. Journalist Marc Malkin, who is associated with Variety, had met Priyanka at Citadel's LA premiere, and tweeted last week, "Confirmed! Priyanka Chopra just told me she will be at the Met Gala on Monday. Says her look 'will be on theme' because she loves a theme but it will also have a 'special element'."

Priyanka had made her Met Gala debut in 2017 wearing a Ralph Lauren trench dress with an extra-long trail. She was joined by Nick Jonas on the red carpet. Priyanka had made her second Met Gala appearance in 2018 in a maroon and gold gown by the same designer. The actor had walked down the Met Gala red carpet in a silver gown by Dior at the 2019 event, alongside Nick.

Along with Priyanka, actor Alia Bhattis also set to attend the event this year. She will wear a Prabal Gurung outfit for her Met Gala debut.

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Actor Salman Khan blamed himself as he opened up about his unsuccessful past relationships. In a new interview, the actor shared that maybe he has a fear of not being able to make his partner happy. Salman also said that he is sure that all of them are happy in their respective lives. (Also Read | Jitni dhaki huyi hongi, better hai: Salman Khan on not allowing low neckline outfits on his set) Salman Khan has spoken about his past relationships and said that the fault is his.

Over the years, Salman has reportedly dated Somy Ali, Sangeeta Bijlani, Aishwarya Rai, and Katrina Kaif. As per several reports, Salman last dated Iulia Vantur before parting ways. Iulia was rumoured to be in a relationship with Salman for several years. They were seen together at several parties and events.

Speaking on Aap Ki Adalat, Salman, when questioned about his relationships, said, "Unlucky in love. Jab koi aesa ayegi toh hojayega. Actually sabhi acche the fault mujh mein hi lie karta hai (When someone like that comes, it will happen. Actually, everyone is good, the fault lies with me). When the first leaves, the fault lies in them, when the second person leaves, the fault is with them only, when the third person leaves the fault is with them. When the fourth person leaves then there is a doubt. Is the fault with them or me? With the fifth person, it's 60-40."

He also added, "Usse zada jaane lagti hai toh woh confirm karjaati hai ki fault mera hi tha. Isme kisi ka dosh nahi hai, yeh bas mera hi dosh hai. Shayad ek fear ka ho ki main shayad unko woh zindagi, woh sukh na de pau jo ki unke dimaag mein hai. I'm sure sab apni apni jagah bohut khush hai (When more people leave they confirm that the fault was mine. Nobody is at fault, it's all mine. Maybe there is a fear that I won't be able to give them that life and happiness that they think. I'm sure everyone is happy)."

Fans saw Salman recently in the action entertainer film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Helmed by Farhad Samji, the film also stars actors Pooja Hegde, Shehnaaz Gill, Palak Tiwari, Sidharth Nigam, Venkatesh Daggubati, Bhumika Chawla, Raghav Juyal and Jassie Gill in pivotal roles.

Salman will be next seen in the upcoming action thriller film Tiger 3 opposite actor Katrina Kaif. The film is all set to hit the theatres on the occasion of Diwali 2023.

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Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have insisted that having a minimum wage will help solve some of the problems faced by the country's workers.

Addressing journalists on Sunday, Peninah Mbabazi, the Program Officer in charge of debt and aid at SEATINI Uganda said the absence of a minimum wage exposes workers to exploitation.

"The existing minimum wage of shs6000 or approximately $1.61 is very exploitative since it has not been reviewed since 1984 and yet a lot of things have changed. This state of affairs of the lack of a viable minimum wage in place has exposed workers to gross economic exploitation and income inequality," Mbabazi said.

"Workers especially women, casual workers in factories, plantations and commercial investment schemes are poorly paid thereby depriving them of their means of livelihood and the right to live in dignity. Additionally, they also work under very precarious conditions and are subjected to work without or with inappropriate personal protective equipment which exposes them to hazardous chemicals."

Joseph Byomuhangyi from the Uganda Consortium on Corporate Accountability (UCCA) said this state of affairs coupled with lack of occupational safety and health have made matters worse for Ugandan workers.

"If a worker earns less than a dollar but also the conditions under which they work are poor, what kind of work will they offer? There is need for dignity and decent work for Ugandan workers,"Byomuhangyi said.

According to the CSOs, many investors who come to the country are fond of labour casualization where a few top managers are paid handsomely but the rest of Ugandan employees work without contracts and under poor conditions.

"Many work without protective gear whereas others are over worked. Others lay off workers without paying them promptly . For the minimum wage, our leaders have always claimed the having it will send away investors but this is not true. What percentage of jobs are created by these investors? The truth is that the percentage of jobs created by investors is small and they are of poor quality," said Elizabeth Kemigisha, the advocacy and policy manager at the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers.

The CSOs said it is appalling that whereas each district is mandated to have a labour officer, many districts do not have any in place.

"Those in place also experience difficulty in executing their jobs due to under-funding to the labour functions, lack of transport to carry out routine and effective supervision and corruption, which hinders compliance to their rulings. It is also pertinent to note that the Industrial Court of Uganda which is mandated to dispense labour justice in the country currently has only two judges."

Robert Kirenga, the Executive Director for the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda accused government of failure to appropriate budgets to cater for workers.

"The many cabinet ministers, MPs and advisors we have take a lot of money that could be used to at least recruit labour officers in districts. The problem we have is failure by government to invest in the country's labour force which is a key in growing the economy. It is not that resources are not available but the problem is priority,"Kirenga said.

The CSOs noted that a number of investment related policy frameworks in Uganda are blind to the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, pointing out the Investment Code Act, 2019 that despite recently being amended still has many gaps for example, it does not provide for a requirement for human rights impact assessment to be undertaken by investors prior and during the implementation of investment projects.

"It does not provide for performance requirement measures and due diligence. The Employment Act, 2006 also does not protect workers against casualization of labour. In addition, the current provisions of the Employment Act, 2006 do not protect workers currently working under the new forms of work which are rampant on the Labour market for instance temporary agency work, outsourcing, telework, remote work, platform work etc. All these forms of work are precarious and exploitative outside a clear regulatory framework," SEATINI's Mbabazi said.

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The CSOs urged government to review the Investment Code Act, 2019 to address the challenges associated with largescale land-based investments to include human rights impact assessment, performance requirements and specifically enforce the African Union Guidelines for Largescale Land Based Investments and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

They also asked government to review the Employment Act, 2006, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2006, and Workers' compensation Act 2000 to protect people's right to dignity and livelihood.

"As an active member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and signatory to Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention No. 131 domesticated in Minimum Wages Advisory Board and Wages Councils Act, government should implement the 2015 recommendations of the minimum wages advisory board to enhance the protection of workers from exploitation."
The Real Housewives of New Jersey has kept viewers on the edge of their seats with its explosive drama, and Melissa Gorga's fate on the show has been a topic of much speculation lately. But according to Caroline Manzo, one of the show's former stars, it's far too early to say whether Gorga will be returning for season 14. The Real Housewives of New Jersey has kept viewers on the edge of their seats with its explosive drama, and Melissa Gorga's fate on the show has been a topic of much speculation lately. (Instagram)

During a recent appearance on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast, Manzo pointed out that the reunion show has yet to air, and that it's impossible to know what will happen until then. With so many moving parts to the show, there are countless possibilities for the future.

Also Read | Andy Cohen reveals what happened between Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga at 'RHONJ' Reunion

Many fans of the show believe that Gorga's ongoing feud with her sister-in-law Teresa Giudice may be the reason she won't be back. However, as Manzo noted, family relationships are complicated, and it's not easy to make a definitive decision about them.

Manzo suggested that it might be wise for Giudice and Gorga to take a break from each other and let the dust settle. After all, when the smoke clears, things often become clearer. Both women could benefit from some time away from the show to gain perspective on their relationship.

As for Manzo's own relationship with Gorga, things have been a bit awkward since Gorga made a comment about Manzo being "too old" for the show. While Manzo initially took offense to the comment, she later realized that Gorga had a point. Despite the age difference, however, Manzo and the Gorgas remain close.

At the recent Bravo Con, Manzo had a great time with the Gorgas and laughed as they reminisced about old times. While she may have had a falling out with Giudice, she still cherishes her friendship with the Gorgas.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is a show that's always full of surprises, and fans will just have to wait and see what happens next. But one thing's for sure - with the drama this intense, it's going to be a wild ride until the very end.
Liza Soberano, the Filipina actress, has been named one of Hollywood's "exciting young actors" to watch out for by US-based lifestyle magazine "Town and Country." Soberano, along with five other up-and-coming stars, was recognized by the magazine on its official Instagram account on April 29. Liza Soberano, the Filipina actress, has been named one of Hollywood's 'exciting young actors' to watch out for by US-based lifestyle magazine 'Town and Country.'

Soberano, who has yet to make her Hollywood debut, was described as a "veteran model and actress" with a "shining career" in the Philippines. According to the magazine, she is set to debut as a Hollywood star in "Lisa Frankenstein."

In the feature, Soberano appeared in a pastel pink dress and multicolored bead accessories, with a short wig as she posed with her right hand cupping her chin. The magazine noted that "success hasn't made her afraid of starting over," and that she began her career in the Philippines as a "nobody."

The list also included rising actors Will Harrison, West Duchovny, Priya Kansara, Khris Davis, and Kylie Rogers. Soberano made headlines previously after speaking out about the love team culture in Philippine showbiz, which she said had been the norm for a "long time." She has been paired with Enrique Gil for years, both on-screen and off-screen.

Also read | | Ernestine Johnson wants her life to be like Floyd Mayweather, here's why

In a recent podcast interview, she said that the loveteam culture blurs the line between reality and fiction, with many interviewers asking if she and Gil are dating. Despite her success, Soberano remains grounded, always striving to discover things about herself that she never knew before.
Michelle Obama attended Springsteen and E Street Band's concert at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Spain on Friday night. During the show, she danced and sang backing vocals during a performance of Springsteen's hit song"Glory Days." Screengrab of Michelle Obama chilling out during the show(Twitter)

A video of Michelle chilling out during the show is doing the rounds on social media. She can be seen grooving and singing while playing a tambourine.

ALSO READ| Benedict Cumberbatch as Voldemort in Harry Potter TV series?, fan's fantasy art goes viral

As per reports, former president of USA and Michelle's husband Barack Obama cheered her on while she performed on the stage. Michelle and Barack are currently holidaying in Spain where they toured Barcelona and visited the Moco Museum.

The friendship between the Obamas and Springsteen developed during Barack's 2008 presidential campaign. Barack and Springsteen together launched a podcast called RENEGADES: Born in the USA in 2021. The former USA president had talked about how the idea of a podcast was realised.

"I always say when I first met Bruce he kind of seems like surprisingly shy, considering he goes out there and sings before tens of thousands of people for hours at a time," Barack told CBS Sunday Mornings at the time.

"And we just ended up being in settings where we had these long conversations and I thought the things we're talking about  what does it mean to be a man, what does it mean to be an American? These were things that were just kind of popping up over a meal ... and I thought, You know what? This might be something that would be useful for folks to hear," said Obama.
It's been more than three years since actor Kushal Punjabi's death and his industry friends Shilpa Agnihotri and Apurva Agnihotri continue to struggle every time they think about him. In a recent interview, the couple recalled meeting Kushal a night before he was found dead in his apartment. During the conversation, Shilpa also asserted that Kushal was upset about his broken marriage. Also read: Kushal Punjabis wife issues joint statement with his parents Shilpa Agnihotri and Apurva Agnihotri were close friends of late actor Kushal Punjabi.

Kushal Punjabi was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on December 26 in 2019. A note was also recovered from the site as he took his own life, as per police. Reportedly, the actor's failed marriage with his wife Audrey Dolhen drove him to the edge. The two got married in 2015.

In a recent interview with Siddharth Kanan, Shilpa Agnihotri said, Obviously the broken marriage took a huge toll on him. Bohot, bohot, bohot upset tha woh (he was very upset). It's a big deal when one gets separated from their kid. We are all parents now, we know, broken marriage plus not being close to your childHim telling me that I am going through thisEven in your worst scenario, one wouldn't think he would do something like this.

He was with us, the night before the incident, Shilpa added in Hindi. "He was absolutely fine. He even got a gift for Shilpa from Hong Kong. This phase is unpredictable, you cannot interpret just by looking at the surface, what the other person is thinking. This is a spur-of-the-moment decision. Suddenly you feel this is not worth it. Then you just leave. Nobody wants me here, I am not needed, wanted or loved," said Apurva.

The couple said although Kushal had shared his thoughts with them, however, his action was beyond their imagination. Apurva and Shilpa also revealed that Kushal wanted to shift to Andheri so stay close to them. The couple said they made sure to visit Kushal at least three days a week.

Kushal Punjabi rose to fame after winning the reality show Zor Ka Jhatka, and went on to participate in shows like Fear Factor, Paisa Bhari Padega and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Kushal worked in movies like Lakshya, Kaal, Salaam-e-Ishq, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Crazy Cukkad Family.

SUICIDE HELPLINE INFO:



If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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Too Hot To Handle star Chloe Veitch has made headlines by coming out as bisexual. The Essex-based reality TV star had been battling with the decision to come out publicly, but she said that her appearance on E4s The Big Celebrity Detox helped her embrace her sexuality. Veitch said that doing breath work on the show forced her to dig deeper and come to terms with her true feelings. Too Hot To Handle star Chloe Veitch has made headlines by coming out as bisexual.

Veitch, who also appeared on Netflixs The Circle and Perfect Match, admitted that she had little flings with girls and felt like it was her dirty little secret. She said that coming out has taken the weight off her shoulders and she is now excited to date both guys and girls.

Im anxious of public opinion, Veitch told The Sun, but at the end of the day, if Im happy, thats all that matters.

The reality TV star also revealed that she had a crush on former Love Is Blind contestant Megan Barton Hanson. Veitch had coupled up with another Love Is Blind contestant, Shayne Jansen, during season one of Perfect Match, but the pair later split.

Also read | | Why did Love Is Blind's Nick and Danielle slam Bachelor's Nick Viall?.

Veitchs representatives have not yet commented on her announcement. However, the reality TV stars decision to come out has been praised by fans and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who say that her honesty and openness will help others struggling with their sexuality.
India is the fastest growing major economy in the world with a current growth rate of 6.8% and expected to rise to 6.4% in next fiscal year. With the current size of Indian economy at $3.45 trillion it ranks 5th among the worlds economies. While indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and per capita income are still below global averages, an important question arises what we can do to transform this situation rapidly and cater to the aspirations of large young population of our country? The solution lies in an exponential growth of the economy, only possible by making our economic activities (manufacturing as good services) much more competitive in the global market. Logistics in India (HTPhoto)

A signification amount of cost and time are involved in transportation of products which results in added costs. If cost and time are reduced the product becomes cheaper. In the global scenario, even a small change in product cost may prove to be a boon to the demand for that item. Currently, Indias logistic costs are somewhere between 13-14% of GDP whereas in many developed or developing countries, such as the United States (US), Netherlands, this ratio is less than 8%. Even in the case of China, this ratio is significantly lower than in India.

Indian government has focused itself on this objective and a very significant step towards this direction is the National Logistic Policy (NLP) launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in year 2022. This policy if implemented efficiently, has potential to transform the logistic sector in India and make Indian manufacturing sector more competitive in the global markets. Manufacturing being a labour-intensive industry has the potential to generate a large number of employment opportunities for Indian youth.

For any economy, whether transportation and logistics costs are competitive compared to rest of the world or not, can be understood by Logistic Performance Index (LPI). The LPI is an index developed by the World Bank. It is based mainly on 6 major factors i.e., reliability (in terms of time), quality (of infrastructure), efficiency (in terms of paperwork), competence, services (digital tracking and tracing) and ease (arranging cost friendly shipments). As per the LPI, Indias rank in 2018 was 44 which is not satisfactory as we are aiming for rapid growth. For the period 2012-18 the mean LPI score, India scored 3.22 and ranked 42 whereas China was at 27, US 10 and Germany ranked 1st in the ranking (World Bank). As per World Bank LPIs report, among all the aspects, Indias performance is worst in the category of timeliness followed by infrastructure and customs (regulation). Under the present NLP, the government is focusing on four key aspects of logistic sector, namely Integration of Digital System (IDS), Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), Ease of Logistics (ELOG) and System Improvement Group (SIG).

The PM Gati Shakti plan has a very important role in NLP as world class infrastructure is the base for low cost and reliable logistic systems. Indian government under the leadership of PM Modi has transformed the road network through record breaking construction of highways and expressways across India. In railways, we are also observing a much-needed capital infusion in the last several budgets, electrification of all broad-gauge rail lines is expected to be completed soon and with dedicated freight corridors, railway is becoming a cost friendly alternative for Indian industries. Inland Water Transport (IWT) is also a transport mode which can be a game changer for the Indian logistic sector. Through IWT, transportation of goods is possible at a very low cost. For harnessing the potential of this sector, government is constantly putting the much- needed efforts and trying to develop National Waterways (NWs). Currently share of IWT is less than 2% which should be increased to 12-15 % in next decade. It will not only cut the cost but also reduce the energy demand and hence reduce the import bill of country.

Under NLP, the government is also developing a Unified Logistic Interface Platform (ULIP) through which all logistic services will come under a single umbrella. It will enable the users to access the services on a single platform and ease out the logistic related services. Ease of logistic services (E-log) has also started to address the hurdles before industry. For understanding the relevant concerns of logistic users and logistic service providers, system improvement group will work as troubleshooters for the sector and keep improving and reforming the system. It should be noted that the hallmark of the current policy is not to work on one-time reforms but develop a continuous reform process using feedback from all the stakeholders of that particular sector.

It is important to understand that improved logistics in India, will not only help the industrial sector and employment generation in secondary sector but is also vital for giving a push to Indias vast agriculture sector. As most agricultural products are perishable, a low-cost and time-bound transportation of these goods from one part of the country to another will help farmers extract a higher value of their produce. For example, my home state Uttarakhand has climatic conditions in which many exotic fruits and vegetables, as well as floriculture, can give sustainable employment to farmers and their families but it is possible only when their products reach right places, i.e., metropolitan cities, where demand for these products is very high. During his speech on the launch of NLP, the PM also stressed that over 35 cold storages and muti modal hubs are being developed at under construction airports for improving logistic services.

The government is holistically approaching the logistic sector by improving infrastructure such as roads, railways, IWT, and airports; developing logistic hubs, and digital services related to sector. It will directly boost the Indian economy in both primary and secondary sectors and in the services sector indirectly. When the current government talks about Sabka Vikas then there is no better example than transforming logistics in India. This has the potential to improve income of farmers, is helpful for industries and generates a large number of employment opportunities for the youth. But there is still a long road to be covered in terms of achieving 8% logistic cost to GDP ratio and securing a top 10 rank in LPI among all the countries of the world. However, the sky is the limit and the march is on.

This article is authored by Shaurya Doval, member, Board of Governance, India Foundation.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday attacked chief minister Eknath Shinde on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, saying all mega projects have been shifted to neighbouring Gujarat under his watch. Addressing the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi rally in Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray said it looks like Gujarat, which was formed on the same day as Maharashtra, has two chief ministers (the other being Eknath Shinde). Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo/ File)

The former minister also claimed that the Shinde-led government in Maharashtra in the coming days, calling it a government of builders and contractors.

I am giving you in writing that the state govt will collapse in the coming days, there are no women ministers in the cabinet, and this govt is of builders and contractors, Thackeray said.

All the backing from the Centre is for Gujarat. We have Maharashtra day and Gujarat day today but Gujarat has two chief ministers which include our CM (Eknath Shinde) too, all the projects have been shifted to Gujarat, he said, as quoted by ANI.

At the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rally in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party and Congress launched a frontal attack on the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis dispensation in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the abuse hurled against him and his family members.

Modi said Congress abused him 91 times. But why are you silent when your people abuse me and my family, Thackeray said.

Their abusive language shows their culture, he said. I am asking the RSS: do you accept such an offspring (BJP), he added.

The event, held at MMRDA grounds in BKC, was the third 'vajramuth' rally, the first two having been held in Aurangabad and Nagpur.

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Indian Army and British Army troops carried out joint training on various tactical drills on the fifth day of the ongoing Bilateral Exercise 'Ajeya Warrior 2023' in the United Kingdom. The Indian Army is currently carrying out the 7th edition of the joint military exercise Ajeya Warrior-23 with the British Army in the UK's Salisbury Plains. The biennial exercise commenced on Thursday and will continue until May 11. Soldiers of the 2 Royal Gorkha Rifles from the UK and Indian Army soldiers from the Bihar Regiment are participating in the exercise. (ANI)

Also Read | Second Africa-India joint military exercise commences in city

Soldiers of the 2 Royal Gorkha Rifles from the UK and Indian Army soldiers from the Bihar Regiment are participating in the exercise. The Indian Army contingent arrived at England's Brize Norton on April 26 by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft with indigenous weapons and equipment.

A video released by news agency ANI showed Indian soldiers and British troops carrying out joint training on various tactical drills.

During the exercise, troops from both armies will engage in a variety of missions testing their operational acumen in various simulated situations.

The scope of the exercise includes a Command Post Exercise (CPX) at the Battalion level and Company level Field Training Exercise (FTX). This will showcase and refine tactical drills while also promoting inter-operability, camaraderie, and friendship between the two armies.

Also Read | India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise DUSTLIK concludes in Pithoragarh

According to the ministry of defence, the primary aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other's best practices, and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking company-level sub-conventional operations in urban and semi-urban environments under UN mandate.

The exercise, which is conducted biennially with the United Kingdom, alternates between the UK and India. The last edition was held in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, in October 2021. According to the Ministry of Defence, the exercise will further foster bilateral relations between the two countries.

(With ANI inputs)

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The Allahabad high court on Monday asked the Hindu and Muslim petitioners to approach the trial court in connection with the dispute over the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. HT Image

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Shahi Masjid Idgah management committee had moved the high court for the adjudication of the matter, saying it had wider implications.

Disposing of the petitions, Justice Prakash Padia said: All the parties are free to raise all their contentions before the trial court.

He added: Any observations by this court will prejudice the rights and contentions of both the parties. The suit has now been registered as suit no. 353 of 2022. Summons have already been issued by the trial court on 26.05.2022 for filing the respective written statements and framing of issues.

In light of the above, both the petitions are disposed of by remanding the matter back to the trial court with directions to adjudicate the Civil Suit no. 353 of 2022 after following due procedure as per law, he said.

The plea was originally filed in 2020 by Lucknow-based lawyer, Ranjana Agnihotri, and six others as the next friend of Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman, the presiding deity at the Mathura temple. Next friend is a legal representative of someone incapable of maintaining a suit directly.

The suit claimed that Shahi Eidgah Masjid was constructed on a part of 13.37-acre land belonging to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. They demanded the mosque, which abuts the temple, be removed and the land returned to the trust.

In September that year, Mathuras civil judge (senior division) rejected the suit as non-admissible and said it violated the provisions of the 1991 Places of Worship Act, which locked the character of places of worship as they existed on the day of Indias Independence, with the exception of the Ayodhya dispute.

The Hindu petitioners then moved the district court, which in May 2022 reversed the lower courts order, but also passed certain observations on the merits of the case, including its maintainability and whether the 1991 law was relevant.

The UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Shahi Eidgah Trust  which manages the Mathura mosque  challenged the district courts order before the high court.

On Monday, in a 10-page order, justice Padia disposed of all petitions and found certain problems with the orders of both the lower court and the district court.

A perusal of the record shows that the civil suit which was duly instituted by the plaintiffs was wrongly registered as a miscellaneous case by the civil judge The trial court treated the plaint as a misc. case and decided a question of maintainability of the suit which is not permissible in law, the high court held.

At the same time, the high court disagreed with the district court as well.

The district judge framed many points on the basis of the arguments raised on behalf of the defendants, as recorded in the impugned judgment. These questions were not needed to be decided as the defendant had right to file its written statement, deny the facts and law therein, and the court under Order 14 Rule 1 CPC was then to frame issues and after issues were framed, parties are entitled to lead evidenceEntire procedure laid down in law has been by-passed and findings on the merits of the case have been given which is not permissible in law, the high court held.

The court therefore asked all parties to raise their contentions before the trial court, saying that the matter was remanded back to the trial court.

This court is conscious that the questions regarding the maintainability of a regular civil suit and its merits, which could not have been decided by the trial court without following the due procedure as per the code, and further the contentious questions were not required to be decided by the district judge in a revision petition, the high court said.

The developments reignite a decades-old religious legal fight over the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah mosque complex in Mathura, at a time when a similar legal fight is roiling Varanasi in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid case. In both cases, Hindu groups argue that temples were demolished by Islamic rulers to build mosques, and therefore, the land should be returned to Hindus. Muslim groups reject the contention.

The religious dispute simmered in the first half of the 20th century but a 1968 agreement calmed tempers. On October 12, 1968, an agreement was signed between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and the Shahi Masjid Idgah Trust, which divided the land between the two parties and relinquished any claims of the Hindu parties to the land of the mosque.

But Agnihotris petition challenged the settlement and alleged that the pact had no legal validity because the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust, which the petitioners claimed had the ownership and title of the land, was not party to the settlement.
Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan leader who is currently in Assams Dibrugarh central jail, has declined to disclose the source of his funding and indicated that he will not cross the line of criminality if let off, News18 reported citing Punjab Police sources, who claimed that he could be a potential threat to peace and security. Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan leader, (File Photo)(File)

The 'Waris Punjab De' chief and nine other activists of the outfit were brought to the Assam jail, after they were arrested from Punjab, following a crackdown on them. Amritpal and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

In the News18 exclusive report, Amritpal also purportedly told the police he could help fight the drug problem in Punjab.

If he starts a peaceful movement and gathers support, it could be dangerous. We need to stop that from happening, an official told the website adding that it needs to be ensured that he isnt free to build support again.

He wants to do this fight for long lambi race ka ghoda This is dangerous He said he will fight against drugs and conversion by Christian missionaries and will ensure no criminality," the official added.

The radical preacher has said he is in "chardi kala" (high spirits) in prison, according to his lawyer Bhagwant Singh Siyalka.

Siyalka accompanied family members of arrested Waris Punjab De activists who recently visited Dibrugarh and met them at the jail.

The radical preacher handed over a letter written in Gurmukhi to Siyalka inside the prison, in which he said: With the blessing of the Almighty, I am in 'chardi kala' here.

Referring to the cases registered against members of his outfit, Amritpal accused the Punjab government of unleashing excesses and registering several fake cases against Sikhs.

This whole matter is of Khalsa Panth and I appeal to the Panth that a panel of capable advocates be set up, which will pursue all these cases, he said in the letter.

Siyalka, who is also an executive member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), told reporters in Dibrugarh that a special panel of lawyers will be formed, and its members will be solely responsible for conducting their judicial process.

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President Museveni has said it is high time corrupt government officials paid heavily for their sins of stealing from the public.

"Our big problem now is corrupt govt officials. This is what is slowing down our rate of growth. Those people must go to jail and they must lose opportunities of leadership, but they must pay back everything they have stolen," Museveni said.

The president was on Friday speaking at the 6th annual prosecutors' symposium held at Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo.

Museveni said government has made great strides in resurrecting the economy that he said had gone to the dogs by 1986 but noted the remaining problem now is corruption, especially by government officials.

He said these must be forced to cough what they have stolen.

"Our big problem now is corruption by public officials. This is what is slowing down our rate of growth but I am very glad that the DPP is very harsh on them. They cause us loss but we shall cause much more loss to them."

Earlier, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jane Abodo had noted that her office has not left any stone unturned in prosecuting those involved in corruption.

The development comes on the backdrop of the Karamoja iron sheets scandal in which several senior government officials including ministers have been implicated in diverting iron sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme.

So far three ministers including Mary Goretti Kitutu, Amos Lugoloobi and Agnes Nandutu have been arraigned before courts of law to face charges related to diversion of the iron sheets.

President Museveni recently said all those implicated in the scandal will face a political action, a statement many have since interpreted to mean sacking the ministers from cabinet.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on May 8 a plea challenging the Bihar government's decision to prematurely release former MP Anand Mohan who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah. Anand Mohan. (HT Photo)(HT_PRINT)

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala said it would take up the matter on May 8 after the counsel appearing for Uma krishnaiah, the widow of slain the officer, sought urgent hearing.

Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail on April 27 following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules.

The petitioner has contended the life imprisonment awarded to the gangster-turned-politician meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life and it cannot be mechanically interpreted to last just 14 years.

Also Read | Nitish Kumar defends release of ex-MP Anand Mohan

"Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission," she said in her petition before the Supreme Court.

Mohan's name figured in a list of more than 20 prisoners who were ordered to be set free by a notification issued by the state's law department earlier this week as they had spent more than 14 years behind the bars.

The remission of his sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.

Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.

Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession.
Antony claimed double standards by the CPIM; he said they had acted as 'supporters of free speech' in the row between the government and British broadcaster BBC (over a documentary critical of prime minister Narendra Modi) but failed to defend free speech by criticising The Kerala Story.

"'The Kerala Story' is highlighting some societal issues by taking the case of a few young girls and the trials and tribulations they faced. Irony dies a thousand deaths when both INC Kerala (the Congress' state unit) and CPIM - so-called supporters of free speech when a BBC documentary was launched (in a blatant attempt to subvert conclusions of the highest court of India and thus weaken our institutional authority)... are now clamoring for a ban of this movie ('The Kerala Story')," he tweeted.

"Oppositions fight for any freedom is subjective to narrow hypocritical political gains."

'The Kerala Story' - a Hindi movie that claims to 'unearth' details of how 'approximately 32,000 women' who were allegedly radicalised, converted to Islam and deployed on terror missions across the country. The movie - decried by the CPIM as a movie deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda - has been widely criticised.

"... this film is trying to spread the propaganda of Sangh Parivar, which has established itself as the centre of religious extremism in the land of secularism, Kerala," the party said.

The Congress has been equally vehemently opposed to the movie; it called for bans on screening and said it was full of lies and painted the Muslim community in bad light.

The movie has been slammed over claims that 32,000 women went 'missing' from a state in which the BJP failed to win a seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the 2021 Assembly election.

A teaser for the film - released in November - was criticised for carrying inaccurate facts about the number of women, who might have been involved in these kinds of situations.

This week a Muslim religious body and a private individual each offered an astronomical reward for concrete and verified data about women allegedly radicalised to Islam.

The Kerala State Committee of the Muslim Youth League announced a reward of 1 crore and a Muslim lawyer and actor (who remarried his wife under the Special Marriage Act to ensure the financial security of his daughters) offered 11 lakh for similar proof.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are still some months to go, but the Bharatiya Janata Party and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, it seems, have already set the party's narrative for the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh through their rallies ahead of the state civic polls scheduled to be held in two phases on May 4 and 11. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditynath addresses during a public meeting ahead of the Uttar Pradesh municipal elections, in Moradabad, on Monday, (PTI)

In 19 rallies held in just seven days, Adityanath fiercely mentioned terms such mafia, criminal, riot, goonda, tamancha (country-made pistol), and cleanliness. These rallies are seen as significant as they came even as gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead last month, while Mukhtar Ansari, another mafia-turned-politician, was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment recently.

Adityanath has been actively promoting the achievements of the BJP government in reducing crime rates and cracking down on mafia, while also targeting the Samajwadi Party on the issue.

During his public meetings on April 24 in Saharanpur, Shamli, and Amroha, he emphasised the government's efforts to curb criminal activities. Live Hindustan reported.

In Shamli, he mentioned that the government has taken action against not only mafia and criminals but also other wrongdoers. In Amroha, he referred to the local Dholak instrument, stating that they have managed to take the mafia down to the abyss by playing the drum.

Meanwhile, in Saharanpur, he assured the people that the state is free of curfews and riots.

The chief minister continued his "Bulldozer Baba" image during his visits to Rae Bareli, Unnao, Lucknow, Mathura, Firozabad, Agra, Sitapur, Lakhimpur, Balrampur, and Gorakhpur, emphasising his government's focus on removing criminals and corruption from the state, the report added.

Mentions of Atiq and Mukhtar

The UP BJP is also raising the issue of mafia and criminals on social media. The party is showing strings between the Samajwadi Party and criminals such as Atiq and Mukhtar. The BJP alleged that only criminals want Akhilesh's return.

Akhilesh hit back

Akhilesh Yadav had raised questions on the issue of law and order and cleanliness on the BJP government during campaigning in Gorakhpur on Sunday. People are fed up with the criminal incidents in the state. The incidents of rape and theft are at their peak. He also claimed that the BJP has failed to remove the garbage in the last 6 years, he had said. '

BJP names 19 Muslim candidates in Aligarh

The BJP has thrown a surprise by giving tickets to 19 Muslim corporator candidates in Aligarh in a move that some called strategic made for political gains.

The Aligarh Municipal Corporation, which has 90 wards, will go to polls in the second phase of urban local body elections on May 11. In the last civic elections in 2017, the BJP lost the Aligarh mayor seat to Bahujan Samaj Partys Mohammad Furqan.

In all, 17 municipal corporations, 199 municipal councils and 439 nagar panchayats would elect their new representatives. The number of urban bodies has gone up by 107 -- from 653 to 760 -- this time.

The counting of votes for the civic elections will be held on May 13.

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Belagavi Just a handful of journalists were present at the Bharatiya Janata Partys media centre in Belagavi to attend state spokesperson Maruti Ziralis presser. The rest were tracking Kannada movie star Kiccha Sudeeps roadshow in a district vitally important to the ruling partys prospects of retaining majority in the assembly in polls scheduled on May 10. Panchamasali Lingayat leaders during a protest to push for reservation, in 2022. (PTI)

A highway connecting the busy commercial town of Hubbali, an IIT in the middle of the mango orchards in Dharwad and the mini Vidhan Saudha outside Belagavi town, where the Karnataka assembly meets once in a year, are clear signs why this district and the larger Kittur Karnataka (erstwhile Mumbai-Karnataka) is so important for the BJP.

The largest district outside Bengaluru, Belagavi has 18 seats. The BJP has 13 MLAs and the Congress, five. For a successive term in power, the saffron outfit needs to decisive mandates in districts such as Belagavi, just as it eyes a larger chunk of the Old Mysuru belt, the largest electoral region of the state.

As Old Mysuru is Karnatakas main habitat for the Vokkaliga community, in Belagavi, as in many parts of Kittur Karnataka, the politics is largely about Lingayat aspirations.

We are showcasing developmental work, especially for farmers. Our government allocated funds for long-pending irrigations projects. We launched free education schemes to benefit 40 lakh children from farming families. We have developed logistics in rural areas and giving free power and an additional 4,000 over Kisan Samman Nidhi to farmers. There are interest-free loans and lift irrigation schemes, Zirali said. Remember, chief minister (Basavaraj) Bommai is an engineer and he was earlier irrigation minister.

The focus on farmers underline the BJPs major concern, the Panchamasali Lingayats. This dominant sub-sect of Lingayats are mainly farmers. And even as the Bommai government has increased the Lingayat quota by 2% to essentially accommodate the Panchamasalis, they are still upset.

At a tea stall of Mammigatti, a Panchamasali Lingayat, Murugesh R, admits that the BJP has done a lot of work and it has become easier for us to move our produce. But the reservation issue remains a problem, he quipped.

The Panchamasalis have been allotted reservation in the states 3B list, which fixes their quota within 3B at 5%. The Panchamasalis want to be included in the 2A list, where the Banajiga Lingayats are, as it allows them 15% reservation.

The BJP is leaving no stones unturned to woo electors. BS Yeddyiurappa is crisscrossing the district with Panchamasali leaders of the party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held a roadshow in Belagavi in February this year, will hold a rally later this week. Union home minister Amit Shah, too, will campaign here.

The Congress office at Chanamma circle, on the other hand, wears a deserted look. All leaders are touring the rural areas, where Panchamasalis live in large numbers.

Reservation in 3A gives no benefit. Farmers are irritated that during floods and drought, Modi didnt come to visit Belagavi, district president Vinay Navalgatti said. Moreover, in five years, Bommai made 600 promises but delivered less than 50.

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The Bihar government has already spent around 115 crore for the ongoing caste survey and any efforts to stall the exercise, which is in its final stage, will cause immense loss to the state exchequer, the Patna high court was informed on Monday. Patna: Enumerator staff receive information from residents during the second phase of caste census, in Patna.(PTI)

The Nitish Kumar-led government made the statement in an affidavit in response to a petition filed by Youth for Equality on April 29, challenging and seeking an interim stay on the survey.

The first round of the survey was held between January 7 and 21. The second phase began on April 15 and will continue till May 15.

In its counter affidavit, the government said that it has already spent around 115 crore and has to pay another 11.6 crore for printing more than 30 million forms for the survey.

The Bihar caste based survey, 2022, was now in last stage of completion and any impediment will not only cost a heavy loss to the public exchequer of the state, but the objective of developments of poor, deprived and needy people shall also be denied, the states counter affidavit to the petition said. HT has seen a copy of the affidavit.

Also Read| Now when it suits him: Sushil Modi targets Nitish Kumar on jail manual tweak

Hearing the matter earlier in the day, a division bench of chief justice K Vinod Chandran and justice Madhuresh Prasad found that the governments counter-affidavit was not placed on record. It then agreed to advocate general PK Shahis request to adjourn the hearing by a day, and directed the state to file the counter affidavit during the day.

In its affidavit, the government also dismissed the petitioners contention that 500 crore had been set aside from the Bihar Contingency funds to meet the expenditure pertaining to the exercise. It said that a regular budget provision was made in the first supplementary budget (2022-23) for the survey.

The state also allayed fears that the survey intended to cause caste divisions in the society. ...(It will) help the state to identify the deprived and destitute groups for whom special targeted policies and programmes need to be formulated and implemented for their upliftment and it will be effective in correcting the societal inequalities, the affidavit said.

The high court is hearing a bunch of public interest litigations (PILs) against the caste survey. The state, however, has filed just one counter-affidavit in response to all the petitions.

The Bihar government launched the caste survey exercise on January 7. It plans to compile data on each family both in physical form and digitally through a mobile application as part of the eight-level survey  from the panchayat to the district level. The exercise is being completed in two phases. In the first phase, the number of all households in the state were counted. In the second phase, data pertaining to people of all castes and religions are being collected.

For the survey, an estimated population of 127 million in over 25 million households across 38 districts, which have 534 blocks and 261 urban local bodies, is being covered.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the introduction of a National Register of Citizens (NRC), a special police wing against religious fundamentalism and terrorism if it is voted back to power in May 10 Karnataka assembly polls. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda with Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. (PTI)

We will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Karnataka based on the recommendations made by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose, the BJP said in its manifesto for the polls released on Monday.

UCC refers to a common set of laws for personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and succession for all citizens. Constitutions Article 44, which is one of the directive principles of state policy, advocates UCC. But respective religion-based civil codes have governed personal matters since independence.

The BJP government in Uttarakhand constituted a five-member committee for the implementation of UCC in the northern state in line with the partys poll promise last year.

In January, the Supreme Court ruled state governments have the power to examine the feasibility of implementing UCC. It added the Constitution permits not only the Union government but also the states to legislate on subjects such as marriage, divorce, and adoption.

The Supreme Court in March refused to entertain petitions seeking directions for the legislature to enact a law for UCC saying such issues are meant for Parliament to decide.

Ahead of the elections in Gujarat, the BJP government in the western state in October announced the formation of a committee for the implementation of UCC.

The BJPs Karnataka manifesto said the NRC in the state will be introduced to ensure the speedy deportation of illegal immigrants.

NRC excluded 1.9 million of the 33 million applicants in August 2019 in Assam after a decades-long movement against undocumented immigrants and stoked fears of loss of citizenship and long periods of detention.

The NRC was first published in Assam in 1951. It was updated in 2019 to detect and remove names of undocumented immigrants from citizenship rolls.

The BJP manifesto said the special police wing will be called Karnataka-State Wing Against Religious Fundamentalism And Terror (K-SWIFT).

BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who released the manifesto in the presence of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor BS Yediyurappa, said justice to all and appeasement to none is the BJPs vision for Karnataka. He said that the BJP government in the state abolished the unconstitutional reservation for Muslims.

The Supreme Court last month said the Karnataka governments decision to scrap the 4% other backward classes quota for Muslims ahead of the polls is prima facie shaky and flawed.

In its manifesto, the BJP has also promised three free cooking gas cylinders for families below power line (BPL) annually on Ugadi, Ganesh Chathurthi, and Diwali festivals, Atal Aahara Kendra canteens for subsidised food in every ward of a municipal corporation. It has also pledged half-a-litre Nandini milk daily to BPL families besides five kg of rice and grains monthly.

The Congress, which is seen to be a frontrunner in Karnataka polls, has accused the BJP of trying to strangulate Nandini, Karnatakas milk cooperative.

The controversy began when Union home minister Amit Shah in December 2022 spoke about the collaboration between Gujarat-based milk cooperative Amul and Nandini to improve the income of rural households.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday released the election manifesto for Karnataka assembly elections. The ruling party which is aiming to retain power in the southern state has mainly focused on the welfare schemes in the state and promised multiple new programmes, if voted to power. Karnataka BJP releases its manifesto on Monday

Also Read - Karnataka Assembly Polls Live Updates: BJP releases election manifesto

Here are top poll promises in the manifesto

1. Three free cooking gas cylinders every year to all BPL (Below Poverty Line) families in the state. Each cylinder will be provided during the months of Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

2. Atal Aahara Kendra - This scheme will provide an affordable and hygienic food by setting up a canteen in every ward of all municipal corporations in the state.

3. Poshane Scheme - Every BPL family in the state will get a free half a liter of Nandini Milk every day. This scheme will also provide 5kg of free rice and 5kg of free millets every month to the BPL families.

4. The BJP also promised that it will implement the Uniform Civil Code in the state, soon after coming back to power in the state.

5. Sarvarigu Suru Yojane - The party promised that it will distribute 10 lakh housing sites across the state to the homeless.

6. Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane' - Under this scheme, the state government will unite with private institutions to modernise the state-run schools in Karnataka, if voted to power.

7. The BJP will also provide financial incentives for those who prepare for the competitive exams like UPSC and banking exams.

8. For people of Bengaluru, the BJP has promised ease of life and cohesive transportation network. In the manifesto, the party has also said that it will make Bengaluru, a city with global standards.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised on Monday to implement a uniform civil code (UCC) in Karnataka, introduce a national register of citizens (NRC), and set up a special police unit to probe religious fundamentalism, in addition to a raft of welfare schemes aimed at families below the poverty line (BPL), if voted back to power in the May 10 assembly elections. BJP president JP Nadda with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former State Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and others releases the party's election manifesto for the upcoming polls in Bengaluru on Monday. (ANI)

Party chief JP Nadda released the BJPs Praja Pranalike, or peoples manifesto, in Bengaluru, and said it was centred around six As  anna (food security), akshara (quality education), arogya (affordable health), aadaya (assured income), abhaya (social justice for all), and abhivruddhi (development).

The party announced three free gas cylinders a year to BPL families, in addition to half-a-litre of milk every day and 5kg of millets in monthly ration kits to these households. It also pledged to open affordable canteens across the state and build one million houses for homeless people in a major welfare push. It promised to establish a state capital region for Bengaluru and a bouquet of measures for pilgrims, including a Ram temple in the state.

But its promise of UCC and NRC garnered the most attention.

We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee, which will be constituted for the purpose We will introduce the NRC in Karnataka and ensure the speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state, said the 48-page manifesto.

UCC aims to replace laws based on religious texts or traditions, to set common laws for marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship and partition of land and assets for all citizens. It has been a long-pending demand of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP and has been part of the BJPs election manifesto for decades.

The Constitution (of India) allows us to move in the direction of UCC. Justice to all, appeasement to none is our policy, Nadda said.

This was in line with similar promises made by the BJP in other poll-bound states such as Uttarakhand and Gujarat in the past. In some of these states, such as Uttarakhand, the state government has set up a panel to come up with a draft law.

Similarly, the NRC exercise was conducted in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court in 2019 to identify illegal migrants, but the process has since been mired in controversy. The government has previously told Parliament that there was no discussion on a nationwide NRC.

The BJP is hoping to hold off challenges from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) to retain power in the only southern state it controls. The results of the elections will be announced on May 13.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the manifesto. The BJP Praja Pranalike 2023 is development-centric and sets the tone for building on the good work done by our government in the last four years in the state, he tweeted.

In the document, the BJP said it will provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families  one each during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

We will set up an Atal Aahara Kendra in every ward of every municipal corporation in the state to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the state, the manifesto said.

It also promised to launch the Poshane scheme under which every BPL household will be provided with half-a-litre of milk from the Nandini brand free of cost, and five kg of shri anna or millets through monthly ration kits. Promotion of the Nandini brand of milk was the source of a major political controversy in the early days of the campaign.

The party also promised to implement the Sarvarigu Suru Yojane, under which the revenue department will identify and distribute one million housing sites across the state to the homeless beneficiaries. In other states such as Uttar Pradesh, beneficiaries of welfare schemes have formed a major chunk of BJP supporters.

The manifesto was released days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the practice of offering freebies or revadi to voters for short-term electoral gains, something that the Opposition used to attack the BJP on Monday.

BJP has failed in coming up with a plan. They said they will ban freebies then why are they giving three gas cylinders? We are offering 2,000 so that people can cope with the price rise including that of the cooking gas. If they announce these schemes, they are saints, if we give it they are freebies, said state Congress chief DK Shivakumar.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah said the BJP should have released a report card first.

@BJP4Karnataka should release their report card before their new manifesto. BJP leaders have no regards for the promises they make. They have not fulfilled more than 90 per cent of their promises made in the previous elections. BJP means betrayers, the Congress leader tweeted.

The Congress is yet to release its manifesto but has released at least five guarantees so, including promising 200 units of free power, 2,000 for women heads of families and 10kg rice for poor families.

The BJP announced a one-time grant of 25,000 for poor families to undertake religious pilgrimage, measures to free temples from government control, a subsidy of 5,000 for all pilgrims travelling to Varanasi, construction of a Ram temple in Ramanagara, and a Anubhava Manatapa at a cost of 600 crore to honour 12th-century Lingayat reformer Basaveshwara, among others. A committee will be constituted for granting complete autonomy to temple administration, the manifesto read.

Bengaluru found a major place in the document. The party said it will establish a State Capital Region (SCR) for Bengaluru to encompass a comprehensive city development strategy, cohesive transportation networks, and cutting-edge digital integration.

A world-class Multi-Modal Transport Hub Concorde Bangalore, similar to the World Trade Center (WTC) transport hub in New York, will be established to act as a single central node for all public and on-demand transport services, the manifesto said.

A Bengaluru Unified Transit Network will be created to revolutionise the citys commuter experience through public engagement and continuous evolution, the document added.

The party also promised to eradicate manual scavenging, institute free annual health check-ups for senior citizens, constitute a 30,000 crore agriculture fund to set up micro storage facilities, allot 1,500 crore for developing tourism spots in Kalyan Karnataka, hiking the insurance cover under Ayushmann Bharat from 5 lakh to 10 lakh and build chemotherapy and dialysis centres in every taluka.

The Congress called the manifesto bogus. Ninety per cent of promises made by the 40 per cent commission government in its 2018 manifesto were never fulfilled. Today, another set of bogus manifesto promises have been made by the corrupt and incompetent BJP and Bommai government, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
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The Delhi Police is yet to record the statement of protesting women wrestlers even after three days since Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was booked over alleged sexual harassment of the players. Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik speak with the media during their protest at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, Saturday, April 29, 2023.(PTI)

Police are likely to question Singh in connection with the FIRs registered against him, but no official notice has been served to him yet, officials said on Monday, adding that police are yet to record the statement of women wrestlers.

The Delhi Police on Sunday provided security to the female wrestlers, including a minor, who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Singh.

The Supreme Court had directed the Delhi Police to provide security to the grapplers following their complaints against Singh, who has been booked under sections of outraging the modesty of a woman, stalking, and Section 10 of the POCSO Act in two FIRs.

The BJP MP, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers and a minor girl, has denied the charges against him.

A group of top wrestlers, who first levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Singh in January, had resumed their sit-in on April 23 at the Jantar Mantar here to demand that the findings of the Centre-appointed panel that probed the charges be made public.

The first FIR pertains to allegations levelled by a minor that has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code concerning outraging modesty. The second FIR has been registered for carrying out comprehensive investigations into the complaints by adult complainants under relevant IPC sections on outraging of modesty.
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva took part at the final stage of the "Young Human Rights Defenders" project, organized jointly by the European Law Students Association - Baku Public Union (ELSA Azerbaijan) and the Baku City Education Department.

Azernews reports that the main goal of the final competitive project, held in the meeting room of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, is to increase the legal knowledge of students in grades 10-11 who wish to continue their education in the field of jurisprudence, and to ensure that they are familiar with judicial practice.

Speaking at the end of the competition, Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva said mock trials are an important platform for young lawyers to gain experience. She pointed out that this competition is of great importance in terms of giving legal knowledge to students who want to become lawyers, teenagers and young people to understand their rights correctly, and to determine the forms of legal protection.

On the initiative of the Ombudsman, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva noted the importance of ongoing legal trainings conducted by the staff of the institution in secondary schools of the republic, including Baku, gave her recommendations to students who wish to choose a specialty in jurisprudence and students of the Faculty of Law, and wished them success learning.
interview

In less than 24 hours, the South African authorities announced their intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) before declaring it a misunderstanding. South Africa is due to receive Vladimir Putin in August, while the Russian President is facing charges at the ICC. South African lawyer Howard Varney analyses what is fueling this tension within the ruling party in Pretoria and what it may mean for the ICC.

JUSTICE INFO: On April 25, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at a press conference that the African National Congress (ANC), the party in power in South Africa since 1994, has asked that the country withdraws from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Then a bit later there was an about turn and the government said it wasn't what they meant. How do we explain this?

HOWARD VARNEY: Well, I would love to be a fly on the wall when those discussions happened. Someone can only speculate because people outside of the [ANC] party and certainly outside of the National Executive Committee don't really know. But what I can tell you is that there is quite a strong feeling amongst people in the ANC that it is time to withdraw from the ICC. And as you will recall, this is nothing new. If we rewind and go back to 2016-2017, around the visit of then President Al Bashir [of Sudan] to the African Union Heads of State summit in Johannesburg, the whole issue was sent and fronted. At that point, you recall that there was litigation, and court orders against government. They ignored those court orders. They allowed Bashir to leave in a very underhand manner, and then thereafter they proceeded to or they attempted at least to withdraw, making an executive decision which in turn was struck down by the courts. The court said, you can't just sign a decree, you've got to go through parliament.

They then came up with a bill which was put before parliament. That bill remained bubbling in parliament for several years, until just in the last few months the ANC eventually said they're not going to withdraw, but rather to work within the ICC, and also to push for the Malabo Protocol [that gives criminal jurisdiction to the African Court of Justice and Human Rights] to be ratified by enough countries so that local criminal justice solutions could be pursued.

So what changed recently, did the anti ICC forces within ANC feel stronger?

I think the only thing that can explain it or precipitated that announcement was the dilemma that South Africa is facing with the upcoming visit of Vladimir Putin, who's one of the members of the BRICS states. So there is a BRICS Head of State summit due to take place in Durban in August. And many in the ANC simply cannot bring themselves to execute a warrant of arrest against the President of Russia while he's attending a glamorous event. That's a step too far for them.

But then a withdrawal now would not change the dilemma over the visit of Putin, because there is a one year delay before a withdrawal from the ICC is effective.

Absolutely. That clause is applicable. So we're bound by it.

And do you think they didn't see that?

There probably many within the party who are not legally aware of the finer details and who don't know about it. But certainly the lawyers within the ANC would know that you can announce anything you like right now, your obligations will remain in place for a whole year. And until then, you've got to comply with everything the ICC asks you to do. And unless the ICC withdraws the arrest warrant or cancels those charges, South Africa is duty bound to effect that arrest. And I can tell you that the same organizations that went to court previously are busy preparing to [the challenge] and we may very well be faced with another constitutional crisis in a matter of weeks.

Do you see any difference between the situation in 2016 and today's? Or is it exactly the same set of tensions and legal obstacles?

I suspect those in the ANC would argue that many of the issues that were being discussed back in 2016 are still relevant today. Back then, there was the big peace versus justice debate, and that slavishly sticking with the ICC would interfere with South Africa's ability to negotiate peace deals and be a peace broker. That's not the big issue right now, although I have little doubt that it'll be raised again. Right now, the big issue is South Africa's obligation under the act to affect the arrest. And many in the ANC now see membership of the Rome Statute as interfering with their ability to conduct international diplomacy, which, in turn conflicts with a decision of the party that South Africa had played quite a central role in developing the Rome Statute and setting up the International Criminal Court. Throughout the 1990s, South Africa was one of the driving forces [behind the ICC]. It had the strong support from people such as Nelson Mandela. And indeed, at the time, for example, Mandela was the lead peace broker in Burundi. And he's actually on record saying that he sees no conflict between pursuing those peace negotiations and pursuing justice through the ICC. Within the party, they've taken a decision that it's time to reform the ICC from within, but that historically it wouldn't be a good idea to withdraw. And then suddenly this happened, and that has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons.

What do you expect to happen in August?

Well, it's anybody's guess right now. I think there are some within Foreign Affairs that are really hoping that Putin is going to say, look, I'm managing a war right now, I'm quite tied up, I will join for one or two sessions via Zoom, and that would, of course, resolve everything. Postponing the meeting, holding it somewhere else, that would all be convenient for South Africa. If none of that happens and everybody digs in their heels and he does come, then that will usher in yet another constitutional crisis. Because the courts have already said in the Bashir case that we are duty bound to effect the arrest. And actually, prior to that, it's quite likely that some civil society organizations will be approaching the courts on an urgent basis and seeking what's called a declaration so that a question will be posed to the courts dealing with not an academic matter, but a real life one and the courts will rule yet again that the state is obliged to effect the arrest. And if that happens and the president and government decide to ignore the ruling of the courts, then that will be fundamentally problematic for our constitutional order. , There have been examples of government departments ignoring court orders, but eventually they do comply. But where you have the President himself saying to the constitutional court, 'I will not obey that particular order', then that is a complete betrayal of what we fought against during the Apartheid days.

We were at one point a leading nation in the fight for human rights. We can't really be regarded as that anymore, given various positions that the government has taken. But up until this time, we've always been seen as a constitutional dispensation that respects the rule of law. So it will be more than just a bag of hot potatoes.

Behind the tension exposed by the government's contradictory statements there's a much more global defiance where the ICC is seen as a tool of the West applying double standards in their prosecutions. Do you feel that matters a lot in South Africa and that South Africans just want to make a point that it's not acceptable?

It certainly is a big issue, and I think it's one of the factors driving policy on this matter. There is strong sentiment in South Africa, more particularly within the ANC and left leaning political groupings, that there is a certain double standard when it comes to global justice, and with some justification. Personally, I think it was correct that an indictment was issued against Putin. But then if one looks at the role of the West in a country like Iraq and the role that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair played in it, one would have thought that they should have been investigated as well, and if necessary, indicted. But needless to say, that never happened. So that's a clear double standard. And yes, one shouldn't really be getting into a 'what aboutism' type argument, but certainly on the streets here, that is a big sentiment. And certainly within the ANC I would say that is probably the dominant sentiment. One must always remember that it was the Soviet Union, not the West, that were the primary backers of the armed struggle in South Africa. They were the ones providing weapons and training. The West wasn't doing so. So there is a lot of loyalty that remains with Russia. Yes, of course, today Russia is not the Soviet Union and the ideologies are fundamentally different. But nonetheless, that sentimentality is still there. So there is a strong anti West approach that is discernible.

And as a result, do you feel Ukraine has increased that tension and that sentiment?

Yes, I think it has. A lot of people would normally be vigorously opposed to any country invading and violating the sovereignty of another country. One sees all kinds of sophisticated type arguments being put up to try and justify the invasion, which under any other circumstance, they would never have done so. But because of the history and because of that sentiment, you do see these arguments, which in my view, have little merit being pursued.

Do you expect South Africa to eventually withdraw from the ICC at this point?

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I think it would be very difficult for South Africa to withdraw at this stage. There was a moment where they had that bill before Parliament, and that was the moment. To restart that whole program would be exceedingly difficult and would take several years. So I don't see South Africa withdrawing anytime soon. When people realize that even if you do withdraw now, it's not going to affect what happens in August and whatever happens in the next year, they will see the futility of it.

And how do you see the incident this week affecting the ICC itself?

It is undermining and unsettling for the ICC to have, you know, one of the states parties that were so central to its birth and creation, engaging in this kind of flip flop approach. So, yes, it doesn't help the ICC in this regard. Then again, unfortunately, we were once seen as something of the gold standard on questions such as justice and international affairs and diplomacy. We're hardly that anymore. We're no longer seen as a country that is a beacon of hope and human rights. I don't think we are taken as seriously as we once were. And it may be that those in the ICC simply dismiss this as the bickerings of a bunch of lightweights.

As an average South African, I certainly hope that everybody sees the light of day and that Vladimir Putin doesn't fly to Durban in August, because if he does, it is going to be seriously disruptive to the South African state and the norms that we have been trying to establish since democracy in 1994.

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HOWARD VARNEY

Howard Varney is a practising advocate at the Johannesburg Bar. He is a Senior Programme Adviser at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ). In the early 1990s, he was an attorney with the Legal Resources Centre in Durban where he represented victims of political violence in public interest litigation, judicial inquests, and commissions of inquiry. He worked with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He was also the Chief Investigator for the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He continues to represent victims of past conflicts in the courts of South Africa to vindicate their rights. Varney has a BA LLB from Natal University and an LLM from Columbia Law School.
Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday stressed that he was not calling for a ban on the controversial film The Kerala Story. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.(PTI / File)

Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality, Tharoor said in a tweet.

Tharoor's clarification came a day after he tweeted, It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story, along with a poster of the film that claims to uncover the truth that was kept hidden.

Tharoor's position on the screening of the controversial film seems to be in contrast with that of the Congress's state unit which has urged the Kerala government not to give screening permission for the film which it said was full of lies and painted the Muslim community in bad light.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan said it was clear that the intention of the upcoming movie was to tarnish the image of the state at the international level.

The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this, said V D Satheesan.

"Permission should not be given to screen the film which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala have been converted into Islam and became members of ISIS," the Congress leader said.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the movie was deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala.

'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5.

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There are two off-white stone plaques in the middle of a pristinely manicured patch of green grass. On one, on the top right, are pictorial instructions that ask people to refrain from spitting, smoking or littering. To the top left are the words, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Government of India initiative to commemorate 75 years of Indian independence and history. PREMIUM Union home minister Amit Shah's during a roadshow ahead of Karnataka Assembly elections, at Madikeri in Kodagu. (Amit Shah Twitter)

Under the headline Place where Tipus body was found, the description reads thus, In the Fourth Mysore War, the British laid siege to Srirangapatna on 4th May 1799 AD and effectively breached the Fort at Watergate. On hearing of this storming of the enemy, Tipu moved in post haste to the spot, and in the fight, fell to the bullet of a British soldier. It was here the body of Tipu Sultan was identified, and recovered amidst heaps of dead soldiers. In recognition of the valiant Tipu, Colonel Wellesley set a stone tablet to mark the spot. Five metres away from the first plaque, is that stone tablet; the second plaque: The body of Tippu Sultan was found here.

It is quite literally written in stone, but come election season in Karnataka, even this is now under challenge.

In 2022, a play by Addanda Cariappa, the former director of the cultural institute Rangayana titled Tippu Nija Kanasugalu(The real dreams of Tipu) suggested that the controversial figure was not killed by the British at all, but by two Hindu Vokkaliga warriors Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. It was a claim that historians broadly repelled, arguing that there was little historical evidence; but it was a claim the BJP rallied behind. A production house owned by state horticulture minister Munirathna applied to make a film on the two men; Union minister Shobha Karandalaje said they were real, and asked why the Opposition was afraid of them; the BJP even put up banners commemorating them on March 12 ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Mandya before these were hastily replaced.

Contested history aside, perhaps the answer to why the question of Tipu still rankles, lies in the sweeping, coffee-laden hills of the Western Ghats, and coastal Karnataka, where the sea may be serene and placid, but on land, there is a deep communal chasm.

It is 2pm, and 46-year-old Samanth Achandira is watching the CCTV feed from behind his counter, his coffee and chocolate shop bustling with customers. There are clouds above, but the heat has begun to settle on the plains, and around the General Thimaiiya square in Madikeri in front of him, tourists are beginning to stream in. The shop has two CCTV cameras; one that faces inside the shop, and another just at the entrance facing outward. Both were installed in 2015, a year where Coorg burned. The one inside the shop I got because the number of customers is increasing. The one at the door I got because of what happened that year, Achandira says.

In November 2015, Madikeri was in the throes of tension after it was announced that there would be a Tipu Sultan Jayanti to mark his birth on November 10. Achandira remembers the anger that coursed through his Kodava community. We were all enraged. Tipu Sultan is no merciful leader. He attacked Kodagu several times, destroyed temples and killed people because he wanted to get to the Malabar coast. Ask any Kodava, and he will tell you the name Tipu elicits anger, Achandira says.

The tension spilled onto the normally quiet streets that roll through the Western Ghats, and two people were killed that month. One was 67-year-old VHP leader D Kutappa, and the other a 27-year-old Muslim man Shahul Hamid KN. But we hold Siddaramaiah and the Congress responsible. They are the ones that backed these Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Why force it on the state, particularly in Coorg where there are so many emotions attached. This is why, even if I dont believe this incumbent government has done very well, the two seats in Kodagu, Madikeri and Virajpet will have BJP support, Achandira says.

The western coast of Karnataka with 21 assembly seats including the two from the hills of Kodagu, more than anywhere else, is where religion drives politics, and life. It is here, in Udupi that hijab-wearing students were barred from entering educational institutions; the leader that most loudly led the protest, Yashpal Suvarna, now the BJP candidate from Udupi. It is here, in Bellare near Mangalore that up and coming Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru was killed in July 2022, ostensibly as revenge for the killing of Masood, killed in July.

One of the men accused in the Nettaru case, Ismail Shafi, is contesting from the SDPI. I am a Vokkaliga, and I do not believe Tipu Sultan was killed by two men. But that is irrelevant. Here, caste does not matter. We vote to preserve Hinduism, said Pawan Gouda, a farmer from Kapu in Udupi. Grazing his cattle about 800 metres from Gouda, 22-year-old Ismail Yunus, on a summer break from his government college in Bengaluru, agrees about the need to preserve religious identity. In Bengaluru, nobody really cares about my religion. Here, this tension has now become a part of our lives, and defines how we vote, he says.

A Narayana, political expert from Azim Premji University said, that it was true that coastal Karnataka is more polarised around religious lines. Kodagu for instance is completely saffronised.

In 2018, the BJP swept these 21 seats, winning 18, with the Congress reduced to three seats, two of which it won in Uttara Kannada, and one in Dakshin Kannada. But as Narayana points out, despite the clear polarisation, not always have results been a sweep for the current incumbents. In 2013, for instance, the Congress won 13 of these 21 seats, the BJP 5, and 3 went to independents, helping the Congress to a clear majority. The glaring caveat of course is that 2013 was a year of churn for the BJP; an angry Yediyurappa had formed his own Karnataka Janata Paksha, which won 9.8% of the vote and six seats, but reduced the BJP to 40 seats and 19.9% of the vote.

Narayana said, Even before this, only between 2004 and 2008, did the BJP do well in two consecutive election cycles in the region. Of course 2013 had its own factors, but it does show that change is possible. This time, it will be interesting to see that with all that has happened in the past two years -- hijab, halal, azaan, etc -- if the BJP can keep its lead.

At the bustling Balmatta road in Mangaluru, undisputedly the biggest city in coastal Karnataka, home to a port and an Infosys campus, where the traffic that crawls slowly on clean but narrow roads has begun to resemble the state capital, there are signs of anti-incumbency chipping away at the BJP. Pranav Krishna has owned a garment store for close to three decades, identifies himself as a BJP supporter, but says he is thinking about what he will do come May 10.

Because I cannot deny that this government has not done well. The 40% sarkara may be an exaggeration but petty corruption is everywhere. These roads are not being widened, and there is a water supply issue almost every year. I do not want Bommai to be chief minister again, Krishna says.

Mangalurus electoral fate has mirrored that of coastal Karnataka in the past three election cycles. It has three seats in the district, and in 2008 and 2018, the BJP won two, while UT Khader of the Congress won one. In 2013, the Congress swept all three. But like in the rest of coastal Karnataka, results will centre around one defining question: of whether polarisation is strong enough to sweep any anti-incumbency under the carpet.

Balmatta Road, in the heart of Mangaluru, is perhaps a significant symbol in this defining question. For it is here, 300 metres away from Pranav Krishnas store, that in January 2009 a group of vigilantes allegedly from the right wing group Sri Ram Sene led by Pramod Muthalik, entered the Amnesia pub, assaulted and chased out a group of men and women for violating traditional values.

Nine years later, despite the abundance of video footage, all 30 men accused were acquitted for want of evidence. As visuals of men and women being chased in the streets and dragged down by their hair occupied television screens across India, it was a moment that captured coastal Karnataka and Mangaluru, where there is aspiration and youthful energy but where religious fault-lines also mesh dangerously with conservative fanaticism.

Fourteen years later, and with fourteen days to go for voting day, Krishna thinks back to that day, and is still unclear about what he feels. There are two things. One, what those that entered the pub did was wrong. Nobody should take the law into their own hands. It brought our business down for a long time, because young people started avoiding this area. Even my child now goes to restaurants and I dont want anybody to assault him without reason. But the second thing is, I am not comfortable with all this modernity, it is not in sync with Hindu sanskriti. We cannot lose our values.

Somewhere between those two poles that are so far apart in Krishnas mind -- between aspiration and tradition -- is the fate of coastal Karnatakas election.
NEW DELHI: There should be no bar for an individual to write and publish a book till the time it does not compromise with the security and sovereignty of the country, the Delhi high court observed on Monday while directing the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Directorate of Intelligence to consider allowing a retired air force officer to release his book if the classified content is amended or deleted. F (HT File Photo)

Justice Prathiba M Singh, while hearing a plea by former Group Captain Alok Chandra Mishra who sought permission to publish the book Spy Catchers, asked the authorities to hold a meeting with the officer after the former complained that he was not given permission to release his book.

The officer, who retired in 2017, had written to the air force for permission to release the book on his experiences during his years in the armed forces.

He told the court that when he did not hear from the respondents, he filed a right-to-information request to which the authorities responded that there were no guidelines to publish a book, poetry or any contribution to the literature.

Opposing the petition, advocate Shoumendu Mukherjee, appearing for the air force, told the court that the book contained classified information which hadnt been de-classified and that the contents of the proposed book referred to ongoing cases and could jeopardise the issues.

When the petitioners counsel agreed to amend or delete portions from the book, the court asked the two sides to sit across a table and told the authorities to file a report.

Following this, the court asked officials of the IAF and the Directorate of Intelligence to hear the petitioner in order to explore the possibility of whether if amendments or deletions are carried out, the book can be published.

The court directed that a report be placed on record on this issue, further directing that the meeting between the petitioner and the officials shall be held within one month.

The matter will be heard on October 20.

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the services and ordered a special audit of a helicopter operator in Kedarnath in Uttarakhands Rudraprayag district, days after an official of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) was killed when he was hit by a choppers tail rotor blade. The aviation regulator also issued an operations circular, listing additional measures to be followed during the yatra. (HT)

According to DGCA officials, the audit of the helicopter operator, Kestrel Aviation, will be conducted next week.

DGCA will conduct a special audit of Kestrel Aviation next week. The operators services have been grounded since the incident on April 23 , an official said, seeking anonymity.

Amit Saini (35), who was the finance controller of UCADA, was at Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) helipad for audit and inspection work when the incident took place at around 2pm on April 23.

Saini was boarding the chopper after inspecting the helipad when he was struck by the tail rotor blade.

Also Read| Woman in cockpit: DGCA issues notices to Air India CEO, head of flight safety

The UCADA official was trying to board the chopper from one side. When he could not do so, he decided to enter from the other side and took the tail route in haste. While the people nearby tried to stop him, he could not hear them due to the helicopters noise. He was struck by the chopper tail rotor in the head, leading to his death, deputy superintendent of police Guptkashi Vimal Rawat, who is also a nodal officer for the Kedarnath yatra, said at the time.

The incident prompted DGCA to order a second audit of all helicopter operators before giving them the final go-ahead to conduct operations to and from the Kedarnath shrine.

The aviation regulator also issued an operations circular, listing additional measures to be followed during the yatra.

 DGCA has taken the matter seriously and in order to ensure safe operations this year, it is all set to conduct an exclusive audit of the grounded operator, the DGCA official quoted above said.

The remaining eight operators who were given the approval to conduct operations this year, too, have been asked to ensure that the highest level of safety protocol is practised, the official added.

While a DGCA inspection team, asa standard operating procedure, visits all helipads to check the preparedness of operators before granting them approval for flying operations, officials said the regulator has, from this year, mandated additional precautions .

DGCA conducts spot checks at regular intervals to ensure compliance of all safety directions, but in order to avoid any further safety lapses, the regulator has started monitoring all copter movements during the yatra closely, the official said.

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NEW DELHI: The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, on Monday started his six-day visit to India at the invitation of an official body to deepen cultural links between the two sides and for meetings with Indian interlocutors aimed at fostering inter-faith understanding. Shawki Allam, elected to his post by Al Azhar Universitys council of senior scholars, has frequently criticised terrorism, including attacks that targeted Egypts Christian minority (Twitter/iccr_hq)

Shawki Allam is visiting at the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body under the external affairs ministry, under its Distinguished Visitors Programme. Besides holding meetings in New Delhi, the influential cleric will travel to Agra, Aligarh, Hyderabad and Jaipur, people familiar with the matter said. The cleric will visit Aligarh Muslim University on Tuesday to hold talks with vice chancellor Mohammad Gulrez and address students.

ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said the visit is in line with ICCRs activities to strengthen Indias ties with other countries.

Also Read: LAC violations have eroded bilateral ties: India to China

This visit is a normal practice. It is a cultural relations enhancement initiative, at the core of which is deepening of understanding of Indian culture, he said.

Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the chief guest at Indias Republic Day celebrations in January this year, the first Egyptian leader hosted by India for the Republic Day.

The Grand Muftis visit is in line with the Indian sides efforts to engage with clerics from influential Muslim countries. During a visit to New Delhi by Indonesias National Security Adviser (NSA) Mohammed Mahfud Mahmodin last November, he and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval interacted with Muslim scholars from the two countries to discuss issues such as terrorism and separatism.

The visit is also taking place at a time when the Union government is attempting to make overtures towards minority communities in India. An ICCR functionary, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, stressed that such visits are decided in consultation with foreign missions in New Delhi.

In an article written ahead of his visit to India, Shawki Allam referred to statements by Sisi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for cooperation and bridge-building in a challenging world. Though such overtures have been welcomed by many, he said practical steps are needed to turn such good wishes into a sustained relationship of mutual trust and respect. This is the message I wish to deliver on behalf of the Muslim world in India this week, he wrote.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been making concerted efforts to reach out to minorities and PM Modis instructions to party colleagues has been to build ties with these communities, irrespective of their voting preferences. Last year, at a meeting of the BJPs national executive, he instructed party leaders to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims, considered socially and economically backward, and to ensure they receive the benefits of social welfare schemes.

A second BJP functionary, who asked not to be identified, said the Grand Muftis visit will help dispel notions that the Indian government follows a discriminatory approach towards minority communities.

There are vested interest groups, both within the country and outside, who attempt to weave a narrative that minorities in India are under attack. The reach of social welfare schemes (among minority communities) does puncture this narrative, but when dignitaries from the Middle East, Central Asia and other places get a first-hand account of the governance model, it helps further, the BJP functionary said.

Shawki Allam, elected to his post by Al Azhar Universitys council of senior scholars, has frequently criticised terrorism, including attacks that targeted Egypts Christian minority and the Shia community in Pakistan.

In a 2018 treatise, the Grand Mufti described terrorism as a manifestation of the immorality of people with cruel hearts, arrogant souls, and warped logic. Let me be clear by reiterating that Islam is utterly against extremism and terrorism but unless we understand the factors that provide a rationalisation for terrorism and extremism, we will never be able to eradicate this scourge, he wrote in the treatise.

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New Delhi: HT Image

The seniority rule governing the pay of the top 11 Indian Police Service officers serving as director generals at the Centre has been made flexible, allowing the government to decide who gets a higher paycheck.

For director generals (DGs) in nine out of 13 posts in central police organisations and paramilitary forces, apex pay scales in levels 17 or 16, the highest pay for bureaucrats, will be decided by the appointments committee of cabinet, the home ministry said in a notification last week.

The apex pay scale is granted to secretaries and DGs from various services, including the administrative, police and foreign services. It has two levels. At level 17, an officer gets 2.25 lakh per month excluding allowances. Pay at level 16 ranges from  205,400 to 224,400 excluding allowances.

The existing pay rules allowed government to choose 11 senior most IPS officers empanelled as DGs for the apex pay scale in 15 organisations. Two of them, director, CBI and director, IB (intelligence Bureau) have already been fixed in the apex pay scale. So, only nine more DGs out of the remaining 13 can get the apex pay scale, as decided by the appointments committee, said an officer, who didnt want to be named. The seniority clause has been kept flexible.

To be sure, the committee always had the power to give any DG level 17 or 16 in the apex pay scale; the latest notification has formalised it.

The changes were required after last years developments, when Tapan Kumar Deka, a 1988 batch IPS officer, became IB chief in July 2022. At the time of his appointment, he was not among 11 senior most IPS officers. However, by the virtue of heading the IB, which is the lead organisation for all police matters, he became the senior most police officer in the country.

On November 30, the government excluded the post of IB chief and CBI director from the seniority rule.

The 13 organisations and posts, besides the CBI and IB chiefs, where DGs are eligible for apex pay scale are: Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibet Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, National Security Guard, National Investigation Agency, National Human Rights Commission, Railway Protection Force, Sashatra Seema Bal, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Civil Defence and Home Guard, director of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Academy and special secretary of internal security at the home ministry.

There are around 24-25 DGs posted at the Centre.
The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam, on Monday began his six-day visit to India at the invitation of an official body to deepen cultural links between the two sides and for meetings with Indian interlocutors to foster interfaith understanding. Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam being felicitated by ICCR chief Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.

Shawki Allam is visiting at the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body under the external affairs ministry. Besides holding meetings in New Delhi, the influential cleric will travel to Agra, Aligarh, Jaipur and Hyderabad, people familiar with the matter said.

He will visit Aligarh Muslim University on Tuesday to address the students and meet vice chancellor Mohammad Gulrez.

ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said the visit is in line with the cultural bodys activities to give a fillip to ties between India and other countries. This visit is a normal practice. It is a cultural relations enhancement initiative, at the core of which is deepening of understanding of Indian culture, he said.

In January, Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the chief guest at Indias Republic Day celebrations. Though the two sides have had close ties going back to the era of the Non-Aligned Movement, Sisi was the first Egyptian leader to be hosted by India for Republic Day.

The Grand Muftis visit is in line with the Indian sides efforts to engage with clerics from influential Muslim countries. During a visit to New Delhi last November, Indonesias national security adviser Mohammed Mahfud Mahmodin and his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, interacted with Muslim scholars from the two countries and discussed issues such as terrorism and separatism.

The Grand Muftis visit is also taking place at a time when the Union government is attempting to make overtures towards minority communities in India, though an ICCR functionary said on condition of anonymity that such visits are decided in consultation with foreign missions in New Delhi.

In an article written ahead of his visit to India, Shawki Allam referred to statements by Sisi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for cooperation and bridge-building in a challenging world. Though such overtures have been welcomed by many, he said practical steps are needed to turn such good wishes into a sustained relationship of mutual trust and respect. This is the message I wish to deliver on behalf of the Muslim world in India this week, he wrote.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been making a concerted effort to reach out to minorities and Modis instruction to party colleagues has been to build ties with these communities, irrespective of their voting preferences.

Last year, at a meeting of the BJPs national executive, Modi instructed the party to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims, considered socially and economically backward, and to ensure they receive the benefits of social welfare schemes.

A BJP functionary, who did not wish to be named, said a visit by Egypts Grand Mufti will help dispel notions that the Indian government follows a discriminatory approach towards minority communities.

There are vested interest groups, both within the country and outside, who attempt to weave a narrative that minorities in India are under attack. The reach of social welfare schemes (among minority communities) does puncture this narrative, but when dignitaries from the Middle East, Central Asia and other places get a first-hand account of the governance model, it helps further, the functionary said.

Shawki Allam, elected to his post by Al Azhar Universitys council of senior scholars, has frequently criticised terrorism, including attacks that targeted Egypts Christian minority and the Shia community in Pakistan. In a treatise he authored in 2018, the Grand Mufti described terrorism as a manifestation of the immorality of people with cruel hearts, arrogant souls, and warped logic.

Let me be clear by reiterating that Islam is utterly against extremism and terrorism but unless we understand the factors that provide a rationalisation for terrorism and extremism, we will never be able to eradicate this scourge, he wrote in the treatise.

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Gujarat Day, also referred to as 'Gujarat Gaurav Day', holds significant importance as it marks the commemoration of the statehood that was established on May 1, 1960, after the region predominantly inhabited by Gujarati-speaking people was separated from Bombay State. Top leaders extended their wishes on Gujarat Gaurav Day.

Top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday extended their wishes and congratulated the Gujarati people all over the world on this auspicious occasion.

Modi took to Twitter to convey wishes on the occasion. Greetings on Gujarat Sthapana Diwas. Gujarat has made a mark due to its all round progress as well as its unique culture. I pray that the state continues to scale new heights of development in the times ahead! he tweeted.

President Murmu, as she wished for the state's formation day said that great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel hail from the land of Gujarat. On Gujarat Day, I extend my heartiest greetings to all the countrymen, especially to all the residents of the state, Murmu wrote on Twitter.

The enterprising and progressive people here have contributed significantly to the development of the country. I wish that Gujarat continues to move forward on the path of progress and the happiness and prosperity of the residents of the state increase, she further said.

Patel said, Under the leadership of our Prime Minister we are celebrating Amritkal, this first Gujarat Foundation Day of Amritkal is a day of special importance.

Union home minister Amit Shah also extended his wishes to the people of the state on the occasion of Gujarat Foundation Day. By changing calamities into opportunities, Gujarat today has become synonymous with peace, power, prosperity and overall development. This land of Gandhiji and Sardar Sahib will continue to contribute to the progress of the country with the same passion and dedication in the future, Shah wrote on Twitter.

As part of the government's push to celebrate India's cultural diversity, around 30 Raj Bhawans across the country have planned to commemorate the statehoods of Maharashtra and Gujarat today.

The Raj Bhawans of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, and Uttarakhand will be hosting events to mark the occasion. This initiative to celebrate the formation days of different states will continue in the future as well, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat" initiative.

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Citing intelligence reports, the Ministry of information and technology (Meity) has blocked as many as 14 mobile applications. Image used only for representational purpose

These apps, an official told Hindustan Times on the condition of anonymity, were largely being used in Jammu and Kashmir. The move came after agencies informed Meity that terrorists were using these applications to communicate, for spreading terror in the region, the official said.

Also, since June 2020, the Centre has banned several apps, including those from China, on the grounds of national security.

Here is the list, meanwhile, of the apps banned in the latest move:

S No. App 1. Crypviser 2. Enigma Messenger 3. Safeswiss 4. Wickr Me 5. MediaFire 6. Briar 7. BChat 8. Nandbox 9. Conion 10. IMO 11. Element 12. Second Line 13. Zangi 14. Threema

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As the military standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) enters its fourth year, New Delhi is in no mood to acquiesce to Beijings recent efforts to promote a narrative that the situation in Ladakh is stable and moving towards normalised management, people familiar with the matter said. A brutal clash at Galwan Valley, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troopers, took bilateral ties to their lowest point in six decades. (REUTERS)

The border row in eastern Ladakh erupted into the open with a skirmish between troops of the two nations at Pangong Lake in early May 2020. A brutal clash at Galwan Valley the following month, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troopers, took bilateral ties to their lowest point in six decades.

The resolution of outstanding problems along the LAC appears elusive, with the latest round of military talks between the two sides on April 23 yielding no outcome, and the last breakthrough coming in September 2022.

Also Read: China again seeks to de-link standoff at LAC with bilateral relations

Amid the impasse, China has sought to push a narrative that the situation in Ladakh is generally stable and the two countries should move towards normalisation. The latest Chinese leader to push this narrative was defence minister General Li Shangfu, who said at a meeting with his Indian counterpart last week that the border is generally stable and the two countries should place the border issue in an appropriate position and promote the transition of the border situation to normalised management.

India-China relations cannot be normalised without peace and tranquillity on the LAC, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity. In this context, they pointed to friction points such as Depsang and Demchok and external affairs minister S Jaishankars recent remarks that the situation on the LAC remains very fragile as there are points where Indian and Chinese troop deployments are quite dangerous.

Also Read: India, China agree to maintain LAC stability

The Chinese side has been putting out a narrative about moving towards normalisation on the border. That is not going to happen, one of the people said.

The border talks have been deadlocked since the Indian Army and Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) pulled back troops from Patrolling Point-15 in September 2022. That disengagement, the fourth since the LAC row erupted in early May 2020, took place after the 16th round of talks between military commanders on July 17, 2022.

Despite four rounds of disengagement at Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), India and China still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in Ladakh.

Problems at Depsang in Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction in Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table. At the 18th round of military talks on April 23, the two sides only agreed on maintaining security and stability along the LAC and continuing dialogue through military and diplomatic channels to work out a mutually acceptable resolution of remaining issues.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh raised the LAC row with Li at their meeting on April 27 and stressed that the violation of border management agreements has eroded bilateral relations, and the development of ties is based on peace and tranquillity at the borders. Singh told Li all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in line with bilateral agreements and commitments.

Former Northern Army commander Lt Gen (retired) DS Hooda described Singhs stand as the standard Indian position  that the standoff has impacted bilateral ties, which can only improve if the PLA disengages and pulls back additional forces.

This indicates both sides have probably reiterated their respective positions and there is no substantive move forward. However, it is good that high-level political contacts are taking place because ultimately the resolution will come at the political level, Hooda said.

While addressing the Army Commanders Conference on April 19, Singh expressed confidence in the Indian Armys ability to handle any contingency along the border with China even as he said talks will continue for peaceful resolution of the lingering row in Ladakh sector as disengagement and de-escalation are the best way forward.

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The Indian Army is set to have fewer cantonments, created during the British era, with the government embarking on a major drive to merge civil areas at these army bases with municipal corporations and municipalities, and designate the cantonments as military stations, officials familiar with the development said on Monday. The development comes at a time when the army is reviewing British-era practices (AFP)

Yol in Himachal Pradesh is the first cantonment to shed the colonial tag and be renamed as a military station, said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named.

The development comes at a time when the army is reviewing British-era practices in consultation with all stakeholders including the top brass, serving officers, soldiers and veterans.

With Yol out of the list, the army currently has 61 cantonments spread across the country. Secunderabad in Telangana and Nasirabad in Rajasthan are among the cantonments that are set to shrink and become military stations with their civilian areas being merged with the local civic governing bodies, a second official said, also asking not to be named.

To be sure, not all cantonments are likely to become military stations as the army and civilian pockets are intertwined and that may not permit a segregation, the officials said citing Delhi and Lucknow cantonments.

The shedding of the cantonment tag is a departure from the archaic colonial practice of creating cantonments, said the first official. Yol ceased to be a cantonment from April 27 after a defence ministry notification in this connection.

The carving out of military stations by merging civilian areas with the local civic bodies will benefit all stakeholders, the officials said.

Civilians who were not getting access to state government welfare schemes through the municipal corporations and municipalities will be able to avail the schemes after civilian areas become part of the local bodies, and the army will also be able to focus more on the development of the military stations, the officials added.

Civilian residents of cantonments do not benefit from state government welfare schemes as the cantonments are governed by Cantonment Boards under the Defence Estates Department of the defence ministry. Hence, there is a popular demand from the civilian residents and state governments for excision of cantonments, said the second official, adding that cantonments are a colonial phenomenon, and military stations are better administered.

Cantonment Board employees and assets will be taken over by the civic bodies after the excision happens, he said.

In January, the defence ministry announced the separation of civilian areas from the Secunderabad Cantonment and their merger with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, a long-pending demand of the Telangana government.

In a communication sent to the state government giving its approval for the excision of civilian areas from the cantonment, the defence ministry said a committee was being formed to work out the modalities for the same.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a naval ensign at the commissioning ceremony of aircraft carrier Vikrant, with the new flag drawing inspiration from the seal of Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj and the Cross of St George being dropped, a move that the PM described as getting rid of the burden of a colonial past.
The central government has, since January suspended and cancelled the foreign funding licence of two non-profits working on various aspects of environmental litigation and policymaking, but has allowed two others to receive overseas grants, officials aware of the matter said on Monday. The FCRA registration is mandatory for any NGO or association to receive foreign funds (Representative Image)

The two environmental NGOs are among 30 organisations that have received fresh permits under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, they said, seeking anonymity.

One of them, New Delhi-based International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iForest), is an environmental research and innovation organisation that also works on just transition away from fossil fuels. The other, Gujarat-based Jalkranti Trust, works in the area of water, land, forest and ecosystem conservation, including cow-based farming.

iFOREST is an environmental research and innovation organisation that seeks to develop and scale-up solutions for environment issues such as waste and pollution, climate change and sustainable development. Their focus is to support green technologies, growth and jobs in India, according to a statement provided by iFOREST.

The home ministry has in recent months sharpened scrutiny of overseas funding received by local non-profits. In the past three years, NGOs have received foreign grants worth 55,449 crore, official data show. There were 16,383 NGOs that have FCRA licences as on March 10. The ministry has cancelled licences of over 6,600 NGOs in the past five years.

Also Read: Centre orders CBI probe against Oxfam India over FCRA violations

The FCRA law is same for everyone, be it social, educational or environmental NGO, a home ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The rules, including spending on work for which licence has been sought, designated FCRA bank account, administrative expenses and any diversion, all have to be followed.

The government modified the law in September 2020, making Aadhaar verification mandatory for every office bearer of the NGOs and barring public servants from receiving foreign funding. The amended law also says organisations receiving foreign funds will not be able to use more than 20% of it for administrative purposes. This earlier limit was 50%.

Any organisation that may not be directly linked to a political party but engages in political action such as a strike or road blockades will be considered to be of political nature, the new law says, including under its ambit farmers organisations, students or workers outfits and caste-based non-profits.

The granting of new permits comes at a time when the home ministry has cancelled the FCRA licence of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) founded by Ritwick Dutta, a lawyer, according to people familiar with the matter. LIFE has not received a notice of cancellation but was informed about suspension for a period of six months on March 13.

It also ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against it. The allegation is that LIFE and Dutta were involved in criticizing government policy and agitating farmers against industrialist and industrial policy of the government, and planned to target coal projects of an Indian company abroad. Its permit was cancelled on March 13.

The FIR states that Dutta had mentioned the example of activities of Adani (company) in Australia in an email to a representative of Earth Justice, which allegedly contributed to Duttas environmental law firm Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment on several occasions. They mentioned the example of activities of Adani in Australia. It appears from this that they were planning to target Indian entities undertaking projects outside India. Such litigations lead to delay in projects impacting public interest by denying energy security to citizens of the nation. Further, it is also impacting economic interests of nation outside geographical boundaries of India, the FIR states.

The other organisations that received new permits include Indo Sri Lankan International Buddhist Association and Northeast Centre for Equity Action on Integrated Development (NEAID). HT reached out to Jalkranti, Indo Sri Lankan International Buddhist Association and NEAID for comments but did not receive responses immediately.

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A preliminary analysis of 109 national parks and sanctuaries in India by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has found that 60 national parks have notified a minimum eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of 0 km . This would mean they have no ESZ on one or more of the sides/ borders of these sanctuaries. Several states did not notify large ESZs in view of ongoing or upcoming infrastructure projects along the wildlife sanctuaries.

Out of the 109 sanctuaries for which data was assessed by Vidhi, 18 have an ESZ range of 0.01km to 0.5 km; 12 have an ESZ range of 0.6 to 1 km and only 3 have a range of 1.1 km to 5km. There are 567 wildlife sanctuaries and 106 national parks in the country and Vidhi is continuing with its study.

Several sanctuaries have also notified a larger area as the maximum extent of ESZ. For Maharashtras Melghat Tiger Reserve for example, the maximum ESZ is 10 km; for Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram it is 11.44 km and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve has a minimum ESZ of 0 and maximum of 33.65 kms. The ESZ range of Nameri National Park and Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary is 0 (zero) to 48 km. Notification of ESZ for 12 of the 109 assessed is pending.

Several states did not notify large ESZs in view of ongoing or upcoming infrastructure projects along the wildlife sanctuaries. Galathea National Park in Great Nicobar, for example, had notified an ESZ of 0 to 1 km around the boundary of Galathea National Park as eco-sensitive zone in 2021.

The reason provided for not notifying a larger ESZ was that there is hardly any area left for holistic development in Great Nicobar. Niti Aayogs Holistic Development of the Great Nicobar Island (GNI) is coming up along the Galathea National Park.

The ongoing analysis is relevant because the Supreme Court last week modified its June 2022 order that ruled each national park and wildlife sanctuary must have a minimum eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of 1km, measured from the demarcated boundary of such protected forest, while also lifting a complete ban on development and construction activities within ESZs.

The ESZ notification for Galathea National Park issued by the union environment ministry, and seen by HT, states: The minimum extent is zero as the major geographical area of the Great Nicobar Island where the Park is located, is covered under Protected Areas Network and Tribal Reserves; therefore, there is hardly any area left for holistic development. Further, to protect the development and inhabitants from unforeseen natural disasters like Tsunami, rising water level, a 750 meters buffer is proposed with guidelines all along the coastline for development. This requires the developable area to be located away from the coast and near the National Park boundary. The Island has tremendous strategic significance for the country and the Government of India is in the process of development of strategic projects on this side; therefore, there is no scope for Eco-sensitive Zone left.

Galathea National park is one of the best preserved tropical rain forests in the world and shows a high degree of endemism owing to its geographic location and physical isolation. The National Park also has elements from the Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan regions according to the ESZ notification. Galathea National park is known to harbor an exceptional variety of wildlife, the major threatened and endemic fauna recorded from the national park are Nicobar Crab eating Macaque, Nicobar Wild Pig, Dugong, Nicobar Tree Shrew among others. It is also abode to one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, the Shompens, who are hunter-gatherers and solely dependent on the forest resources as the Galathea National Park, it adds.

Debadityo Sinha, Lead- Climate & Ecosystems, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy who had sought documents under RTI to understand the justification for declaring ESZ of 0 km for Galathea National Park found that it was to accommodate projects that would come up in the future. The Andaman and Nicobar Administration in a letter to union environment ministry dated January 18, 2021 stated that as per the vision document of Niti Aayog a contiguous stretch of land is required on the southeastern and southwestern part of the island which has a narrow strip from the Galathea National Park. With this area being earmarked for projects such as a port and others earmarked for future strategic use, the administration proposed the ESZ to be a minimum of 0 km.

Other national parks have provided other justifications. Interstate and international boundaries are one of the issues for keeping ESZ 0 in some states. In other cases, its to accommodate various infrastructure and other projects or dense habitations that had already come up. The ESZ of Dibru Saikhowa National Park for example is a minimum of 0 km to a maximum of 8.7 km around the boundary of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and the area is 658.251 square kilometres. Zero extent of ESZ was justified as Existence of crude oil and natural gas in the immediate vicinity of the southern side of the National Park boundary, the notification dated January 28, 2020 states. In 2020 there was a blow out at the Baghjan Gas field near the national park. Experts who assessed the impact said there was environmental damage to the nearby Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung Wetland.

The Dibru Saikhowa National Park represents a unique geo-morphological structure created by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, and the water channels, especially the Brahmaputra, forming an important habitat for the Indo-Gangetic Dolphins. In winter dried up riverbeds as well as the river sandbars serve for the development of alluvial grassland which are not only an excellent habitat for the critically endangered Bengal florican, but also serve as migration route for the elephants in the Dibru-Dangori elephant corridor, and provide safe passage to tigers to Arunachal Pradesh, the notification states.

The notification of ESZs is pending for several national parks including some prominent ones such as the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand; Kaziranga and Manas Tiger Reserves in Assam.

The purpose of declaring eco-sensitive zones around national parks and sanctuaries is to create some kind of shock absorber for the protected areas. They would also act as the transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

Many protected areas have already undergone tremendous development in close vicinity to their boundaries. Some protected areas are lying in urban set ups. Therefore, defining ESZ has to be kept flexible and protected area specific. However, as a general principle ESZs could go upto 10 kms around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy-2002, MoEFCC states in its 2011 guidelines.

This leaves several wildlife and biodiversity reserves in India without much and in some cases any buffer around them.

Habitat fragmentation is a real threat and has driven many species to become locally extinct and increases human-wildlife conflict. Most Protected Areas in India now exists as small, isolated patches of islands in mosaic of human created barriers. Future of Indias biodiversity depends on how well we preserve and maintain landscape continuity and species movement between Protected Areas. States must declare ESZs because it is needed for species and the ecosystems, and not just out of a compliance burden, said Debadityo Sinha, Lead- Climate & Ecosystems, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

It is a well understood fact that wildlife doesnt rest up to only the boundary. If the protected areas are rich in biodiversity, they will come out and move in to adjoining forest areas and corridors. So, we need to ensure minimum amount of disturbance to wildlife and there can be no sharp change in their environment, said Harendra Bargali, deputy director, The Corbett Foundation.

A bench led by Justice BR Gavai last week noted that its 2022 order on uniform ESZs was not workable and that its directive prohibiting all development activities within such zones is impossible to be implemented.
The legislative process of reviewing the 153-year-old colonial law on sedition in India is in the final stages, the Union government on Monday informed the Supreme Court, adding the government is keen on pushing reforms and that something may be in works as early as the coming monsoon session of Parliament. Sedition is a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence under the law, entailing life imprisonment as maximum punishment, with or without a fine. (Agencies)

Appearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, attorney general R Venkataramani submitted that the government has set up a committee to review Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and that the deliberation with the stakeholders was on.

After the order of this court on May 11, 2022, the process of re-examination has been set in motion. The consultation among all the stakeholders is in the final stages. After that, it will go to Parliament. But before it goes to Parliament, it will be shown to me. The government is keen on pushing reforms, Venkataramani told the bench, which also comprised justice JB Pardiwala.

Also Read| Heart-warming action: Kiren Rijiju lauds CJI Chandrachud's order

The operation of Section 124A in the IPC  a non-bailable offence punishable with jail term ranging from three years to life, and one that activists and jurists have alleged is often misused to muzzle dissent, is currently on hold due to a continuing interim order of the top court passed on May 11, 2022.

On Monday, the AGs submissions came as the court mulled whether it should consider a larger bench for determination of the validity of the sedition law since a five-judge bench had in 1962 upheld the legality of Section 124A.

Venkataramani, on his part, suggested that the court should defer its decision on the strength of an appropriate bench to hear the bundle of petitions that have challenged the validity of the sedition law in the wake of the ongoing exercise by the government.

Why conduct this exercise here and now when the government is already looking at it. Please keep it after the Monsoon session. Probably, something may happen by then, the AG said.

Also Read: Divorce can be granted without waiting period: SC

Accepting Venkataramanis plea for the time being, the bench adjourned the hearing of the case to the second week of August. The court also recorded A-Gs statement in its order. The learned AG states that in pursuance of the May 11, 2022 order of this court, the government has initiated the process of reconsideration and the consultation is at a fairly advanced stage, said the order, fixing the next hearing in August.

Earlier, advocate Kanu Agrawal, assisting solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appeared in the matter and informed the bench that the government is pondering over several issues. We need to also see if a change will apply prospectively or retrospectively, Agrawal had said while requesting the bench to wait for the S-G to show up. Later the AG appeared and made the statement on behalf of the Centre.

On May 11, 2022, the Supreme Court in a historic judgment effectively put on hold the colonial-era penal provision, and asked the Centre and states to desist from arresting people or prosecuting them under the contentious provision until the Union government reviews it.

Asserting that the sedition law in India is not in tune with the current social milieu, the court in May last year emphasised that it will be appropriate not to continue the usage of the provision of law by the governments when the Centre itself has conveyed a desire to reconsider and re-examine the contours and validity of Section 124A.

Two days before the top court had suspended the operation of the sedition law, the Union government had filed an affidavit stating that it was willing to review the sedition law but urged the court to pause the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the penal provision.

The Supreme Court, however, passed an interim order even as it allowed the Centre to conclude ts exercise. It is clear that the Union of India agrees with the prima facie opinion expressed by this court that the rigors of Section 124A of IPC is not in tune with the current social milieu, and was intended for a time when this country was under the colonial regime. In light of the same, the Union of India may reconsider the aforesaid provision of law, said the top court in its May 2022 order.

Putting in place a protective apparatus till the time the central government takes a call on the fate of the sedition law, the top court in May 2022 said that Centre and states will restrain from lodging new first information report (FIRs) under Section 124A while all court proceedings under the law should also be suspended.

It further clarified that if any fresh case is registered under Section 124A despite the courts imprimatur, affected parties should approach the concerned courts, which should pass suitable orders, taking into account the present order passed (by the Supreme Court) as well as the clear stand taken by the Union of India.

About cases where the sedition charge has been invoked against the accused along with a set of other penal provisions, the court in its May 2022 order left it to the wisdom of trial courts and high courts to decide if such cases can proceed in relation to other charges, without causing any prejudice to the rights of the accused.

That order came on a set of petitions filed by an array of individuals including Trinamool Congress member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, Editors Guild of India, individual journalists, NGO Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, and some members of civil society.

Indias sedition law has an interesting past. IPC was brought into force in colonial India in 1860 but had no section concerning sedition. It was introduced in 1870 on the grounds that it was dropped from the original IPC draft by mistake. The UK, incidentally, would repeal the law in Britain only in 2009 (with effect from early 2010).

Under Section 124A of IPC, the offence of sedition is committed when any person by words or otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law. Sedition is a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence under the law, entailing life imprisonment as maximum punishment, with or without a fine.

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Jamia Millia Islamia has taken "strict actions" against 15 students, including expulsion of three, for their involvement in last September's scuffle between two groups that had resulted in a student sustaining bullet injuries, officials said. Security personnel outside Jamia Millia Islamia. (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

The punishments vary from expulsion, campus ban, no hostel accommodation and monetary compensation to furnishing a bond of good conduct depending on the student's involvement, a senior varsity official said.

Three out of 15 students have only been allowed to give examinations with a 5-year campus ban and no admission in any other course at the university after completion of their course, the official said.

"The disciplinary actions have been taken after the due procedure and to set an example that the university will not tolerate any kind of indiscipline on the campus," Jamia Registrar Nazim Husain Al Jafri said.

The students who have been expelled are identified as Mujeebur Rehman, BA (Hons) Political Science; Salman Khursid, BA programme; and Mohd. Faisal, MA (Social Exclusion) for disturbing the peaceful environment of the university and inciting students for fighting, the officials said.

The notices issued on April 24 to Rehman and Khursid mention that they did not appear before the disciplinary committee to defend their case.

The notice furnished to Faisal mentions that the "committee took into account activities carried out by him during the period of suspension and campus ban".

While Rehman and Khursid could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, Faisal refused to comment on the matter.

In September last year, two groups of students engaged in multiple brawls on and outside the campus. In one of the skirmishes, a student suffered bullet injuries in a hospital.

Days after the incident, the university suspended several students for "spoiling" the peaceful academic environment. The matter was taken up by the disciplinary committee of the university.

The committee in its meetings held on April 6, 2023 in the Mir Anis Hall, Administrative Block and subsequent meeting held on April 10 in the Committee Room, Registrar Office "took a serious view" of the involvement of these students "in the name of regional conflict resulting in the series of fights between students of Western UP and Mewat Region on September 29 on the university campus and at Holy Family Hospital," according to the notices served to each student.

"The students were given show-cause notice. The committee held multiple meetings and hearings and then decided on the punishment to the students," the registrar asserted.

According to the officials, out of 15, five Diploma in Electrical Engineering students -- Suhail Nasrullah Ansari, Mohammad Shadab Choudhary, Sahil and Nazim Khan -- have been allowed to complete their courses and suspension have been revoked against them but they will be banned from the campus for a period of five years following their course completion.

These five students will not be allowed to get any hostel accommodation and warning letters have also been issued to them.

Meanwhile, Momin Khan pursuing Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Abdul Hannan, MA (Development Extension) and Asif Ali, MA History Semester II, have been asked to pay 1,000 each as a fine. The three students, along with Abrar Ahmed, Diploma in Electrical Engineering, will also not be given hostel accommodation in the university during the remaining period of their current course and will have to furnish a bond of good conduct in the Proctor Office.

The police had registered two cases and apprehended nine people in connection with the scuffle involving the Jamia students and a firing incident at the Holy Family Hospital in southeast Delhi.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi has denied laying claim to the chief ministership if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins power in Karnataka, instead says that he wishes to continue working in the Centre under prime minister Narendra Modi. Union Ministers and senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and Pralhad Joshi (L) with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (R). (PTI)

No. Absolutely no I don't aspire to be CM as I wish to continue to work directly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the central level, the minister who represents Karnataka's Dharwad constituency in Lok Sabha told PTI news agency.

Joshi, the union minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines said that Modi's stint as Prime Minister would be recorded in gold letters when India's history is written in the future. He had many opportunities as Parliamentary Affairs Minister, he said, citing the period when Article 370 of the Constitution was repealed.

"So long as I have the blessings of God, people and the Prime Minister, I wish to remain there (at the central level under Modi)", the four-time MP added.

Although the BJP has declared that it will fight elections under incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai, no announcements for the chief ministerial candidate have been made.

However, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed on Wednesday that Bommai will be re-elected as CM after the upcoming assembly elections. (Read here: Bommai will continue as Karnataka CM, says Fadnavis)

But not everyone in the party agrees. Sanjay Patil, the BJP's Belagavi (Rural) district president and a former legislator, told HT, "The party's high command, based on the circumstances, will select the chief minister, and it will be accepted by all."

Voting for the 224-member Karnataka legislative assembly is slated for May 10, with results to be announced on May 13.
Karnataka has joined the list of Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states where the incumbent government has made an assertive declaration of its ideological commitment to implement the uniform civil code (UCC) and identify illegal residents through the creation of a national register of citizens (NRC). BJP chief JP Nadda waves at supporters during a roadshow ahead of Karnataka assembly elections in Bengaluru on Monday. (PTI)

On Monday, at the release of the partys manifesto for the May 10 polls, BJP president JP Nadda said UCC implementation in the state will be based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee, which will be constituted for the purpose. He also said that NRC will be implemented for speedy deportation of all illegal migrants.

This is the same template that was followed in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, where the BJP announced its intent to adhere to its core ideological issue of implementing UCC even as it made development a key poll plank for its election campaign. All these states, where the BJP was re-elected, have set up committees to woek on the law. In April, Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Pushkar Dhami announced that the final draft of the law would be ready in the next few months.

UCC aims to replace laws based on religious texts or traditions, to set common laws for marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, guardianship and partition of land and assets for all citizens. It has been a long-pending demand of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP and has been part of the BJPs election manifesto for decades.

Consolidation of Hindu vote

The BJPs bid to consolidate the Hindu vote by renewing its commitment to UCC and NRC has not been dampened by the limited support it received for its campaign in the state to proscribe halal or the wearing of the hijab in schools. To be sure, the lack of pan Karnataka support for such issues was read as a cue to tone down the rhetoric against practices restricted to minority communities and senior leaders including the former Chief Minister and Lingayat strongman, BS Yediyurappa publicly distanced the party from controversies such as the call for banning hijab.

But anticipating the mobilisation of the minority votes in favour of the Congress, the BJP wants to ensure that its core vote bank is not disappointed by the lack of attention to ideological issues. So, while it has set out to woo the fence sitters with promises of economic growth, gleaming infrastructure and investment opportunities, it does not want to loosen its hold over the electorate that saw merit in laws passed to impose strict punishment for religious conversion and slaughter of cattle.

In 2022, the BJP created a controversy by bringing in a law, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act 2022, that invokes jail time and levies monetary fines on those convicted of forced religious conversions through misrepresentation, coercion, allurement, fraud, or the promise of marriage.

The most recent attempt to consolidate the Hindu votebank was the BS Bommai governments decision to redistribute reservation among the politically dominant communities, the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats, and increasing the quotas for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by taking away 4% reservation for Muslims. The party has dubbed the reservation for Muslims as unconstitutional and refers to the Congresss assurance of restoring it as appeasement politics. The move to scrap Muslim reservation, though, is on hold after the Supreme Courts reservation.

While on the one hand the party manifesto underscores commitment to all sections of society through sops such as 10 kg grains and 5 kg rice for the poor, increasing the cover under Ayushaman Bharat Yojana from 5 Lakh to 10 lakh and free annual master health check-up for senior citizens, the party is vociferous in its stand on issues such as not giving in to pressure to reinstate reservation for Muslims or relaxing its view towards organisations such as the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

At a public rally last week in coastal Karnataka, union home minister, Amit Shah trained his guns at the Congress by claiming that the party if voted to power would reverse restrictions on cattle slaughter and the courage of the PFI would return. He also underscored the involvement of PFI in carrying out killings of those affiliated to the RSS and the BJP.

Therefore, the assurance of rolling out the contentious NRC that saw hundreds of citizens lodged in detention centres in Assam, and the promise to implement UCC in Karnataka. In the coastal belt, in parts of North and Central Karnataka, the party is hopeful that the issues will provide it with the edge that it needs to overtake its opponents.

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Karnataka Congress on Sunday launched the CryPM campaign, akin to its PayCM campaign in the poll-bound state. The move comes after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks about verbal abuse against him. Congress workers on social media widely shared an image of PM Modis face on a QR Code (Twitter/@IYCKarnataka)

Congress workers on social media widely shared an image of PM Modis face on a QR Code. They also shared a video of Priyanka Gandhi criticising Modi saying, This is the first PM we have seen who cries before people saying he is being abused.

It is @narendramodi who asks for votes by telling his problems without listening to peoples pain. Have you forgotten that the job of a Prime Minister is to talk about and solve peoples problems? Our leaders Siddaramaiah and Parameshwar were physically attacked by you guys. We never made it an issue! #CryPMPayCM, Karnataka Congress tweeted.

Also Read: Will raise Anganwadi, ASHA staffs pay if voted to power in Ktaka, says Cong

Addressing a poll rally in Bagalkote on Sunday, Priyanka jibed at PM Modi during her speech at Karnatakas Jamkhandi rally saying, I have never before seen a prime minister who does not care about your troubles but comes crying to you instead. His office has made a list. Its not the list of your problems, but of the alleged abuses that PM insists have been hurled at him.

She said that the prime minister should show some strength instead of just crying. Take a lesson in courage from my brother (Rahul Gandhi) who is ready to take a bullet for the country she had said.

It is strange what Im seeing for the past two-three days. I have seen many Prime Ministers, Indira Ji (Indira Gandhi), who took bullets for this country. I have seen Rajiv Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for this country. I have seen P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh working hard for this country, she said.

Meanwhile, speaking to the news agency ANI, Bommai said, The PM has never cried. It is the Congress who has been crying for the past nine years. People also dont have sympathy for them.

As the battle for Karnataka reaches a fervent pitch, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are engaged in an intense war of words in which PM Modi and Sonia Gandhi have been dragged.

Also Read: On PM Modis abused me 91 times, Priyanka Gandhi says, Mere bhai se seekho

Earlier, targeting the Congress over its party president Mallikarjun Kharges venomous snake barb at him, Modi on Saturday said till now, the party and its leaders hurled abuses at him on 91 occasions.

Meanwhile, referring to Modis allegations that Congress abused him 91 times in different ways and similarly abused people like B R Ambedkar, Kharge said that words are being twisted to consolidate the votes of Scheduled Castes (SCs).

The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.
Just a handful of journalists were present at the Bharatiya Janata Partys media centre in Belagavi to attend state spokesperson Maruti Ziralis presser. The rest were tracking Kannada movie star Kiccha Sudeeps roadshow in a district vitally important to the ruling partys prospects of retaining majority in the assembly in polls scheduled on May 10. Panchamasali Lingayats, the dominant sub-sect of Lingayats are mainly farmers.(HT_PRINT)

A highway connecting the busy commercial town of Hubbali, an IIT in the middle of the mango orchards in Dharwad and the mini Vidhan Soudha outside Belagavi town, where the Karnataka assembly meets once in a year, are clear signs why this district and the larger Kittur Karnataka (erstwhile Mumbai-Karnataka) is so important for the BJP.

The largest district outside Bengaluru, Belagavi has 18 seats. The BJP has 13 MLAs and the Congress, five. For a successive term in power, the saffron outfit needs to decisive mandates in districts such as Belagavi, just as it eyes a larger chunk of the Old Mysuru belt, the largest electoral region of the state.

As Old Mysuru is Karnatakas main habitat for the Vokkaliga community, in Belagavi, as in many parts of Kittur Karnataka, the politics is largely about Lingayat aspirations.

We are showcasing developmental work, especially for farmers. Our government allocated funds for long-pending irrigations projects. We launched free education schemes to benefit 40 lakh children from farming families. We have developed logistics in rural areas and giving free power and an additional 4,000 over Kisan Samman Nidhi to farmers. There are interest-free loans and lift irrigation schemes, Zirali said. Remember, chief minister (Basavaraj) Bommai is an engineer and he was earlier irrigation minister.

The focus on farmers underline the BJPs major concern, the Panchamasali Lingayats. This dominant sub-sect of Lingayats are mainly farmers. And even as the Bommai government has increased the Lingayat quota by 2% to essentially accommodate the Panchamasalis, they are still upset.

At a tea stall of Mammigatti, a Panchamasali Lingayat, Murugesh R, admits that the BJP has done a lot of work and it has become easier for us to move our produce. But the reservation issue remains a problem, he quipped.

The Panchamasalis have been allotted reservation in the states 3B list, which fixes their quota within 3B at 5%. The Panchamasalis want to be included in the 2A list, where the Banajiga Lingayats are, as it allows them 15% reservation.

The BJP is leaving no stones unturned to woo electors. BS Yeddyiurappa is crisscrossing the district with Panchamasali leaders of the party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held a roadshow in Belagavi in February this year, will hold a rally later this week. Union home minister Amit Shah, too, will campaign here.

The Congress office at Chanamma circle, on the other hand, wears a deserted look. All leaders are touring the rural areas, where Panchamasalis live in large numbers. Reservation in 3A gives no benefit. Farmers are irritated that during floods and drought, Modi didnt come to visit Belagavi, district president Vinay Navalgatti said.

Moreover, in five years, Bommai made 600 promises but delivered less than 50.

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Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday praised Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud for the Supreme Court's recent decision to issue an interim order, allowing a candidate who suffers from writer's cramp to use a scribe during his preliminary examination for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand. Union law minister Kiren Rijiju and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud (PTI file)

A writer's cramp is a condition that affects a person's ability to write due to task-specific movement disorders, causing abnormal postures and unwanted muscle spasms that impede motor performance.

"This is such a heart-warming action by hon'ble Chief Justice Dr D Y Chandrachud. A great relief to a divyang (person with disability) candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand," Rijiju tweeted.

Timely justice to a deserving person is "very satisfying", the Union minister said, sharing a screenshot of a tweet posted by the lawyer of the candidate who had approached the Supreme Court.

The candidate, Dhananjay Kumar, had moved the apex court, saying his request to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) for a scribe was rejected on April 20, days ahead of the scheduled exam.

Advocate Namit Saxena, representing Dhananjay Kumar, requested the court to grant him permission to use a scribe during his examination for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand. Kumar suffers from writer's cramp, and he submitted a medical certificate from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, dated September 25, 2017, to support his request.

The bench, comprising CJI Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha, acknowledged Saxena's submission and issued a notice to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) and the Uttarakhand government. The notice questioned why Kumar's request for a scribe had been rejected and directed them to respond by May 12.

"We issue an ad interim direction to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, which is in-charge of conducting the examination, to ensure that a scribe is provided to the petitioner for the ensuing examination..." the bench said.

Rijiju's praise comes amid the ongoing Centre versus Supreme Court on several issues. Recently, Rijiju had taken a dig at retired judges as he said a few retired judges who are part of the anti-India gang are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition.

Chandrachud had said there was no pressure from the government on the judiciary and no one in his career of 23 years as a judge told him how to decide a case. Commenting on Rijiju's open disapproval of the Collegium system, the CJI said the Collegium is the best system available for the appointment of judges.

(With inputs from PTI)

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On the occasion of the '63rd Maharashtra Day', leaders across the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, and other prominent figures on Monday extended their wishes to the people of the state. Maharashtra observes May 1 as a public holiday. (Representational Image)(source:Twitter/@nitinagarwalINC)

Best wishes on Maharashtra Day. The state is blessed with a great culture and hardworking people who have enriched national progress across different sectors. I pray for the continued progress of Maharashtra in the years to come, Modi tweeted

President Murmu said Maharashtra is a land of saints, heroes, artists and personalities who left an indelible mark of their talent and contribution in many other fields.

My heartiest wishes to all the countrymen especially the people of Maharashtra on the occasion of the foundation day of Maharashtra state. Wishing the people of Maharashtra a bright future along with the steady progress of the state, Murmu wrote.

President Murmu also said that Maharashtra is the birth blace of unique personalities like, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.

On this special day, the chief minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, paid his respects to the brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. He reached Martys' Chowk, also known as Hutatma Smarak Chowk on Monday, and laid floral tributes as a mark of remembrance for those who gave their lives for the cause of Maharashtra's formation.

In the video shared by news agency ANI Shinde was seen offering floral tributes to the martyrs.

On the occasion of 63rd Maharashtra Day today, Varsha saluted the national flag by hoisting the flag. After this, present at the Martyrs' Chowk and offer floral tributes to the Martyrs who sacrificed for the establishment of Maharashtra. Minister of Tourism @MPLodha was present on the occasion, Eknath Shinde wrote on Twitter.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also wished as he wrote, Maharashtra of dynamic, fast development! Happy Maharashtra Day to all! Jai Maharashtra!

Late on Sunday night, the UBT-Shiv Sena leader and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, reached Hutatma Chowk, also known as Martyrs Memorial Square, to pay his respects to the brave souls.

The National Congress Party (NCP) chief, Sharad Pawar, took to Twitter to express his wishes on Maharashtra Day and International Labour Day. In his message, he emphasized the need for collective efforts towards the all-round development of Maharashtra while maintaining the principles of progressive Maharashtra and equality.

Why is Maharashtra Day celebrated on May 1?

In the year 1960, Maharashtra and Gujarat were carved out of the state of Bombay under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The state of Maharashtra came into existence on this day - 62 years ago - after major protests by Marathi speaking people for a separate state.

Significance of Maharashtra Day

Maharashtra observes May 1 as a public holiday. Educational institutes, banks, government offices, and several establishments remain shut as people celebrate their culture. Liquor sales across the state are also reportedly prohibited on Maharashtra Diwas.

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Mahatma Gandhi reached Peshawar yesterday. From Attock to Nowshera he had a tremendous welcome at every station in the Frontier Province through which his train passed. Huge crowds and orderly batches of Red Shirt volunteers greeted him everywhere. The 25-mile route from Nowshera to Peshawar, which the Mahatma covered by car, was lined by Red Shirt volunteers. HT This Day: May 2, 1938 -- Frontier welcomes Mahatma Gandhi

At Peshawar, the Mahatma will address a big political conference to be attended by 50,000 Red Shirt volunteers and one lakh Pathans, including many from the transborder areas.

PESHAWAR, As soon as the Frontier Mail carrying Mahatma Gandhi reached Nowshera station, 25 miles from Peshawar, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, accompanied by Dr. Ghosh, Qazi Attaullah and a batch of Red Shirts, approached Mahatma Gandhis compartment and quietly received him. As Mahatma Gandhi emerged out of the train, the Frontier Gandhi greeted him warmly and garlanded him. The Red Shirts batch formed a cordon to prevent Gandhiji being mobbed by the crowd. Mahatma Gandhi, accompanied by Mr. Mahadev Desal, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Dr. Ghosh, at once passed through a special gateway and got into the car waiting for him outside the station. The car soon wended its way through the crowd along the bank of the Kabul river followed by over a dozen cars.

Mahatma Gandhi cheerfully bore the strain of the two-day journey in parching heat. Dr. Sushila Nayar tested his blood pressure in train several times. Mr. Mahadev Desai told your representative that the journey had no visible effect on Gandhijis health, though his blood pressure has been very much above normal for some time.

Scenes of wild enthusiasm were witnessed at the intervening stations after Mahatma Gandhi crossed Attock and entered the Frontier Province. Red Shirts carrying National Flags gave the Mahatma reception at all stations. So great was the rush of people and the consequent noise that Gandhiji had to plug his ears with cotton.

Mahatma Gandhi was loudly cheered by thousands of Red Shirts who, like disciplined army, were lined up on both sides of the road from Nowshera to Peshawar, a distance of 25 miles.

UNCOMFORTABLE JOURNEY

An A.P.I. message adds:

Thousands of Pathans gave Mahatma Gandhi a rousing welcome both at Campbellpur and Nowshera and the route from Nowshera to Peshawar was lined by Red Shirt volunteers on both sides at short intervals. From inquiries from those seated in the same compartment as Mahatma Gandhi it was gleaned that he had a most uncomfortable journey, mainly due to the undisciplined behaviour of the huge crowds that besieged the train everywhere. It would not be any exaggeration to say that right from Lahore till the end of his train Journey, the train was a place of pilgrimage on wheels. The crowds climbed on the top of the train and descended at Mahatma Gandhis window where they hung on right until the train moved out of the station. But Mahatma Gandhi withstood all the strain of the journey well. His blood pressure however rose during the journey, but there is no cause for alarm. A number of Congress leaders had assembled at Dr. Khan Sahibs place when Mahatma Gandhi arrived.

SCENES OF ENTHUSIASM

The special correspondent of the Associated Press, travelling with Mahatma Gandhi, telegraphs from Rawalpindi that the Mahatmas journey across the Punjab en route to the Frontier Province was marked with wild scenes of enthusiasm almost at every station where the Frontier Mail halted. At some places, such as Gupranwala, Lalamusa, Gujrat and Jhelum, the platforms were packed with thousands, and thousands remained shouting outside the station compounds. The Mahatma was sitting in an inter-class compartment with Mr. Mahadev Desai, Mr. Pearylal and Dr. Susheela Nayar and never looked out of his compartment. When, however, the crowds surged round his windows, he acknowledged the crowds homage with folded hands.

Hundreds of women were amongst the crowds at every place who were unable to have darshan of the Mahatma. Many of them touched the Mahatmas carriage or the train as respectfully as those who were touching the Mahatmas feet and some made their children do likewise.

During the afternoon the heat was oppressive. The Mahatma was wearing on his forehead a piece of wet khadder cloth which was constantly wetted with cold water as a precaution against the heat. At Gujarkhan and Mandra, people from Rawalpindi, Chakwal and other places had turned up in large numbers to greet Gandhiji.

AT RAWALPINDI

All appeals issued to the local Congress fell upon deaf ears and there was a seething mass of humanity at the Rawalpindi railway station and heads alone were visible when the Frontier Mail carrying Mahatmaji steamed in the station. In spite of rigid restrictions imposed by railway authorities at the railway station regarding access to the platforms, no less than 5,000 persons gained access to the platform.

AT LAHORE

Long before the arrival of the Frontier Mail in which Mahatma Gandhi was travelling, thousands of people thronged at the Lahore railway station to have his darshan. Despite the fact that the sale of platform tickets was stopped, a large number of persons managed to enter the platform. At exactly at 8-5 a.m. the train steamed in amidst shouts of Mahatma Gandhi-ki-Jai.

As soon as the train stopped people rushed towards the third-class carriage in which Mahatmaji was sitting. But they were disappointed to find that the windows of the carriage were bolted. They continued shouting Mahatma Gandhi-ki-Jai and went on knocking at the windows. A few minutes before the departure of the train the windows of the carriage were opened and Mahatmaji who appeared to be cheerful gave darshan to the crowd by peeping through the window. A police force headed by an inspector of police controlled the crowd with great difficulty. A telegraph messenger delivered a telegram to Mahatmaji by climbing over the roof of the train as it was impossible to pass through the crowd. The train whistled off at 8-35 a.m. and a number of people boarded the train at Lahore up to Shahdra railway station, the next halting station. Messages have been received from Jullundur, Amritsar and other centres stating that large crowds turned up at railway stations and had Mahatma Gandhis darshan.

PESHAWAR CONFERENCE

Mahatma Gandhis fist public utterance in Peshawar will be made at the district political conference - the first of its kind to be held in the Frontier Province-on May 8. The chairman of the Reception Committee is Khan Aligul Khan.

A feature of the conference will be a grand rally of between 40,000 and 50,000 Red Shirt volunteers from all over the province and a gathering of about a lakh of Pathans including many from the transborder areas. Mahatma Gandhi is also expected to address a couple of womens meetings in Peshawar. He will also visit Mardan, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. A Congress party meeting will also be held on May 8.

Important political questions affecting the Congress Ministry in the Frontier are likely to be decided during Mahatma Gandhis stay here.
bigger than Ravana: Protesting wrestlers hit back at WFI chief over 'tutoring' allegation Top wrestlers protesting against Wrestling Federation of India chief and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have hit back at him for his allegations that they were vying to take control over the WFI, with Vinesh Phogat describing his ego as bigger than the Ravana (in epic Ramayana). Read more Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik speak with the media during their protest at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, Saturday, April 29, 2023.(PTI)

Labour Day 2023: All about its history, significance, and why it is celebrated

International Labour Day is celebrated every year on May 1 across the world to honour the achievements of labourers and workers and to encourage them to be aware of their rights. Read more

Aishwarya Rai, Aaradhya Bachchan, Vikram, Anil Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan attend Ponniyin Selvan 2 screening. See pics

A special screening of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 2 was held at the Yash Raj Films studio in Mumbai on Sunday evening. Read more

Met Gala 2023: When Natasha Poonawala broke the internet with 'Gilded' look in Sabyasachi saree, Schiaparelli bustier

As the countdown to the first Monday of May - Met Gala 2023 - begins, we are taking a trip down the memory to look at some of the most unforgettable fashion moments witnessed at New York City's The Metropolitan Museum of Art staircase. Read more

Watch: Huge controversy erupts as MI fans blame Samson's suspicious act for Rohit Sharma dismissal, umpires blasted

What eventually matters is a win. And the manner in which Mumbai Indians achieved it on Sunday night at the Wankhede, in what was the 1000th IPL game, was quite spectacular with the home team breaking out in celebration moments after Tim David smashed three consecutive sixes to seal a six-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals. Read more

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) alone has brought back around 1,400 Indian citizens from war-hit Sudan over the past few days, ever since India began Operation Kaveri last week. The IAF informed that two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age. Out of the passengers, one was above 102 years of age, it added. IAF evacuates 1,400 Indians from Sudan(Twitter)

Earlier in the day, a total of 186 Indians from Sudan arrived in Kochi under Operation Kaveri - which had department from Jeddah on Sunday. #OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

According to officials, the Indian government is going to evacuate around 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan. So far, around 2,500 citizens have been brought back to the country.

As per the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there were around 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. Along with this, there is also a settled Indian community of around 1,200 people which has been in the country for nearly 150 years.

Apart from IAF aircrafts, IndiGo is also operating two flights from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah to Delhi and Bengaluru respectively as a part of Operation Kaveri.

Violence has paralysed the Sudanese city after fighting erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. According to reports, at least 528 people have been killed in the violence so far, and 4,599 have been wounded.

(With inputs from agencies)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his gratitude to Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates for his words of appreciation on his monthly radio address "Mann Ki Baat". Bill Gates with PM Modi. (File)

Also Read | Projection mapping at iconic locations to celebrate 100 episodes of Mann Ki Baat

PM Modi on Monday tweeted: "I thank my friend @BillGates for his words of appreciation. #MannKiBaat reflects the collective spirit of the people of India to make our planet better, something Mr. Gates is also passionate about. The strong resonance with SDGs is highlighted well in the study by @BMGFIndia."

The tweet was in response to Gates' post on Saturday, saying, "Mann ki Baat has catalyzed community-led action on sanitation, health, women's economic empowerment and other issues linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. Congratulations @narendramodi on the 100th episode."

Indian Americans on Sunday, too, celebrated 100 episodes of PM Modi's "Mann Ki Baat".

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar decided to tune in to the programme live with the diaspora in New Jersey at 1.30 am (local time) on Sunday, hailing it as a platform that has "an emotional connect" between PM Modi and the people of India.

"10 years ago if he had mentioned that at 2.10 at night everyone would be assembling at some place and the foreign minister of India would be with you, listening to the Prime Minister of India, none of you would have believed me," Jaishankar told members of the diaspora.

"You have to understand that PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' has an enormous impact not because the medium is 100 years old, somewhere there is an emotional connect between PM Modi and the people of India," Jaishankar noted.

Also participating in the event and jointly listening to Prime Minister Modi were India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and the Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal.

The 30-minute programme was also broadcast at the United Nations headquarters in New York, again in the wee hours.

Indian Permanent Mission to UN on Sunday tweeted: "A singular connect! Special moments from the Trusteeship Council at UN Headquarters, New York, where #MannKiAtBaat100 went LIVE, leaving all inspired and motivated."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday stopped his speech for a while as a mark of respect for azaan  the Islamic call to prayer  that was being offered at a mosque close to the venue of his public rally in Tumakuru in poll-bound Karnataka. Tumkur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting ahead of the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections, in Tumkur district, Monday, May 1, 2023. (PTI Photo)

In a video shared by news agency ANI, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal can be seen tapping Gandhi's back, after which the ex-party president looks at Venugopal and nods, and halts his speech.

so I told you that the government's responsibility towards people is that says Gandhi before Venugopal taps the former's back, and the address is halted. The azaan, meanwhile, can be heard in the background.

At one point, the recently disqualified MP also puts a finger on his mouth, asking some Congress supporters who were raising a slogan, to keep quiet.

On several instances in the past, prime minister Narendra Modi, too, has stopped his speeches during azaan. Recently, however, KS Eshwarappa, a senior leader of the Karnataka unit of PM Modi's BJP, made a controversial remark on this Islamic call to prayer.

Karnataka, the only state in south India where the BJP has been in power, will poll on May 10, and votes will be counted three days later. While the saffron party is aiming to retain the state, the Congress is eyeing a return to power.

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The Railways has earned an additional revenue of around 2,242 crore from senior citizen travellers in 2022-23 by revoking concession offered to them, an RTI response has found. Indian Railways(HT File Photo)

The national transporter had generated 1,500 crore in excess between March 20, 2020 -- when the assistance was suspended after the onset of the Covid pandemic -- and March 31, 2022.

In its reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Madhya Pradesh-based Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Railways said that between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, it did not offer concessions to almost eight crore senior citizens which included about 4.6 crore men, 3.3 crore women and 18,000 transgenders.

The total revenue from senior citizen travellers during the period is 5,062 crore which includes an additional 2,242 crore, earned due to the suspension of the concession, according to the RTI reply.

For the Railways, the earnings from senior citizen fares has increased at a steady pace. Between March 20, 2020 and March 31, 2022, the Railways did not offer concessions to 7.31 crore senior citizen travellers. These included 4.46 crore male passengers aged 60 years and above, 2.84 crore female travellers over 58 and 8,310 transgender people.

The total revenue from senior citizen travellers during 2020-22 was 3,464 crore which was 1,500 crore more than what it would have earned if they had offered the concessions to them.

During the financial year 2022-23, the Railways earned 2,891 crore from male senior citizen passengers, 2,169 crore from female travellers, and 1.03 crore from transgenders.

Women senior citizen travellers are eligible for a 50 per cent concession, while male and transgenders can avail 40 per cent in all classes. The minimum age limit for a woman to avail the concession is 58 years, while it is 60 for a man.

The concessions, which were put on hold since March 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, have remained suspended till date.

While train services remained suspended through most of 2020 and parts of 2021, the demand for concessions began surfacing as services normalised.

Over the last two decades, the Railways concessions have been a much-discussed topic with multiple committees recommending their withdrawal. As a result of this, in July 2016, the Railways made the concession for the elderly optional.

The national transporter incurs a huge burden of around 2,000 crore every year due to around 53 types of concessions it offers to various kinds of passengers, according to official data.

The senior citizen concession amounts to around 80 per cent of the total discounts given by the Railways.

Recently, the Supreme Court rejected a plea seeking the restoration of concession in railway ticket prices for senior citizens.
Days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's "venomous snake" barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his son and former minister Priyank Kharge has now triggered another controversy by calling the top BJP leader nalayak. Priyank, who is seeking reelection from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district in the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls, said the prime minister, while claiming to be the son of the Banjara community, was inept in taking care of them because his party created confusion about reservations for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. (Also Read | I am a snake, but..: PM Modi responds to Kharge's jab in Karnataka's Kolar) Congress leader and former Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge. (HT File)

When you (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) came to Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) what did you tell the people of Banjara community? Aap sab log dariye mat. Banjara ka ek beta Dilli mein Baitha hai (You do not be afraid. A son of Banjara is sitting in Delhi.)," said Priyank, quoting from Modi's speech.

"Aisa nalayak beta baitha to kaise hota bhai? Ghar kaise chalega? (If an inept son is sitting in Delhi, how can you run the family?), he asked, addressing the people.

He went on to say, "What we are saying is that he said he is the son of the Banjara community and created confusion pertaining to the reservation. Didnt injustice happen to the Banjara community? Why were stones thrown at Yediyurappas house in Shikaripura (in Shivamogga district)? Why Bandh was observed in Kalaburagi and Jewargi? Today there is confusion in the reservation."

Priyank also took a swipe at the prime minister for calling himself the son of the Koli, Kabbaliga and Kuruba communities during his earlier visit and now calling himself a son of the Banjara community.

Karnataka BJP has filed a complaint with Election Commission against Priyank Kharge for his jibe at PM Modi, reported ANI.

Sharing a video clip of Priyanka Kharge when he made the remarks against PM Modi, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said the Congress leader should focus on defending his seat and not punch above his weight.

What would Priyank Kharge be doing if he wasnt Mallikarjun Kharges son? It is anybodys guess! It is quite rich for someone, who is feeding of his fathers name, to call a democratically elected PM nalayak. It is fine to disagree with the PM, criticise him, but calling him names shows a depraved mind (sic), Malviya said in a tweet.

Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, defended his son saying he never made those comments for the prime minister. No. No. It is very wrong. He never said it. Don't put these words into his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him (not Modi). So, don't put these words into his mouth (saying it was meant) for Modi. I am sorry, everywhere this is going on (misquoting) purposely. Morning he (Priyank) condemned it but still you people are asking," the Congress president said.

(With PTI inputs)

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Shimla, one of the oldest municipalities in India, will hold civic polls on May 2. According to State Election Commission's data, 93,920 voters are registered to exercise their franchises in the elections. These include 49,759 male and 44,161 female voters at 153 polling booths. Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Congress State president Pratibha Singh and others release the partys election manifesto for the municipal corporation elections.(PTI)

The first municipal elections were held in the city in 1986 and Aadarsh Kumar Sood of the Congress party became the mayor of the district. The Congress party emerged successful in returning to power in Shimla in the years 1986-2012.

From skywalks to highways and parks to parking lots, the parties contesting for the elections this time, have made lofty promises to the people.

While Congress has promised to introduce policies for a uniform tax regime for both old and merged areas, the BJP has promised to bring in policies such as 40,000 litres of free water to every household a month.

This is the first time that elections to the municipal corporation of Shimla are being held after assembly elections that saw a regime change in Himachal Pradesh.

Here's a look at some key facts about Shimla municipality

Municipality of Shimla came into existence during the British era

The municipality of Shimla came into existence in 1851 during the British era. At that time Shimla was a part of the region of Punjab which is now with Pakistan. At present, the municipal corporation office of Shimla runs in the Town Hall building which was built in the year 1907. Earlier its office used to be on the top floor of the historic Gaiety Theater building.

4 women mayors elected till now

So far four women have held the position of mayor in the municipality. Jaini Prem and Madhu Sood from the Congress party became the mayors of the municipal corporation initially after which Kusum Sadret and Satya Kaundal from the BJP held the positions. However, Madhu Sood went on to join BJP later.

CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was a councillor

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was elected a councillor of the municipal corporation of Shimla in 1992 and 1997. Apart from Sukhu, current MLA Harish Janartha was also involved in the political activities from the municipal corporation of Shimla.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Congress leader Siddaramaiah has dismissed as an illusion and pipedream former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowdas claim that Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) will get a working majority in the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls. Congress leader Siddaramaiah (File Photo)

He said Gowdas projection that his party will win 123 of 224 seats does not add up. Is it possible? In 2004, we won only 59 seats when I myself, former Union minister CM Ibrahim...Madadevappa [former state minister], and Satish Jharkaholi [now Congresss state working president] were with the JD(S), Siddaramaiah said in an interview with Hindustan Times.

He added after he was expelled from JD(S) in 2005, Gowdas son, H D Kumaraswamy, became the chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was the CM [chief minister] for 20 months. Then elections took place. How many seats did they win? Down from 59, they got only 28. In 2013, they got 40 seats and in 2018, when Kumaraswamy became CM again [with Congress support], they won only 37 seats. How can they possibly win the numbers Gowda is now claiming? asked Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister and Congresss foremost campaigner.

Also Read: Siddaramaiah interview: Kumaraswamy was responsible for coalition govts fall in 2021

In an interview with HT last week, Gowda said JD(S) will get the working majority on the back of his sons work as the two-time chief minister.

Gowda said he has taken charge in old Mysuru, where he was addressing three public meetings every day and planned to hold about 40 by the time the campaign comes to a close on May 8.

JD(S) has a broader presence than is generally thought in Karnataka, where its stronghold of the old Mysuru region sends 64 lawmakers to the state assembly. Gowdas Vokkaliga community, which accounts for the states 15% population, is dominant in the region.

In the 2018 election, JD(S) got 26 seats from the region. The BJP bagged just 16 of the 64 seats even as it swept across central and coastal Karnataka. The Congress won 22 seats.

Siddaramaiah, who has been addressing four public gatherings daily despite a painful herpes infection on his left arm, said Kumaraswamy lost power in 2020 as he did not take his lawmakers and workers into confidence. As CM, he lived in Taj Westend for the 14 months he was in power. How can anyone run a government from a hotel? The MLAs got fed up with him. They became unhappy. That is why they all went with the BJP.

Siddaramaiah maintained Kumaraswamy had no one but himself to blame. He was responding to a question about Gowda dropping hints suggesting Siddaramaiah was responsible for the fall of their government in 2020.

Kumaraswamy became the chief minister for the second time in 2018 even as the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 104 seats but fell nine short of a simple majority in the 224-member assembly, where one member is nominated. The Congress won 78 seats and two more later in by-polls. But it offered JD(S), which managed to get just 37 seats, the chief ministers post to keep the BJP out of power.

The alliance government fell after it lost the trust vote in the assembly in June 2020. A string of resignations by lawmakers of the Congress and JD(S) reduced the 15-month-old coalition between two erstwhile rivals to a minority and paved the return of the BJP to power.

Also Read: Ktaka elections: Key battle between Cong and BJP in RR Nagar constituency

JD(S) has held the key to government formation in Karnataka because of successive fractured mandates. JD(S)s vote share remained around 20% in hung verdicts in 2004 and 2018.

The Congress, which is in desperate search of the elixir of an electoral win, is this time seen to be a frontrunner in the three-cornered contest.

The ruling BJP is hoping to return to power in the key southern state. The loss of power would mean losing its only toehold south of the Vindhyas.
The Supreme Court can dissolve a marriage on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown as per its powers under the Constitutions Article 142 and grant a divorce without sending the parties to a family court where they must wait for between six and 18 months to obtain it by mutual consent, a constitution bench ruled on Monday. The waiting period can be dispensed with, it added. The Supreme Court. (ANI)

The bench said the court can dissolve a marriage under Article 142 even in cases where one of the parties is not agreeable to divorce.

In June 2016, a two-judge bench referred to the larger bench of five judges the matter regarding the courts exercise of powers under Article 142 to grant a divorce without sending the parties to a family court. It also sought clarity on the broad parameters for the exercise of powers under Article 142 to dissolve a marriage between the consenting parties.

The five-judge bench was asked to determine whether the exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142 should not be made at all or whether such exercise should be left to be determined in the facts of every case.

The two-judge bench in June 2016 appointed senior advocates Indira Jaising, Dushyant Dave, V Giri, and Meenakshi Arora as amici curiae.

The five-judge bench comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, AS Oka, Vikram Nath, and JK Maheshwari on Monday said the courts powers under Article 142 are unhindered by statutory limitations. It added the constitutional provision empowers the court to issue any order to do complete justice between parties. The bench specified guidelines for the apex court while exercising its discretion in granting a divorce.

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground available under the Hindu Marriage Act for couples seeking a divorce. But the Supreme Court has been granting decrees of divorce exercising its jurisdiction under Article 142 to do complete justice between the parties. Some of the other grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act include adultery, desertion, conversion, and insanity.

The five-judge bench in September reserved its judgment in the matter. Formulating the issue, the constitution bench in September said: We do believe that another question which would require consideration would be whether the power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India is inhibited in any manner in a scenario where there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage in the opinion of the Court but one of the parties is not consenting to the terms.

Last week, the court said though the irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, it can be construed as cruelty to be legally recognised as a valid ground under the law.

A marriage which has broken down irretrievably, in our opinion, spells cruelty to both the parties, as in such a relationship each party is treating the other with cruelty. It is, therefore, a ground for dissolution of marriage under Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Act, said a bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and JB Pardiwala on Wednesday last.

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A Constitution bench on Monday ruled that the Supreme Court can dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown by dispensing with the need for the waiting period as required under the marital laws. Supreme Court of India. (PTI File Photo)

The Supreme Courts five-judge Constitution bench held that it can dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage by invoking special power granted to it under Article 143 of the Constitution and that the mandatory waiting period of six months for divorce through mutual consent can be dispensed with subject to conditions.

Article 142 of the Constitution deals with the enforcement of decrees and orders of the apex court to do complete justice in any matter pending before it.

We have. held that it is possible for this court to dissolve the marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, the bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, AS Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari, said.

The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on a batch of petitions relating to the exercise of its vast powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve broken-down marriages between consenting couples without referring them to family courts for protracted judicial proceedings to get the decree of separation.

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The Supreme Court on Monday held that the lack of sanction to prosecute an accused will not vitiate the charge sheet filed within time by a probe agency and shall not entitle an accused to seek default bail under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). HT Image

The court was dealing with an appeal by five accused charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) who were arrested with explosives in Punjab in 2019. The accused sought default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC on grounds that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) failed to obtain sanction within the extended 180-day period for completion of investigation under UAPA.

Deciding whether grant of sanction is relevant for deciding statutory or default bail of an accused, the bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice JB Pardiwala said, To say that obtaining of sanction and placing the same along with the charge sheet should be done within the period of 180 days is something which is not only contrary to the provisions of law discussed above, but is inconceivable.

The judgment held a clear distinction between investigation and prosecution and said, Whether the sanction is required or not under a statute, is a question that has to be considered at the time of taking cognizance of the offence and not during inquiry or investigation. There is a marked distinction in the stage of investigation and prosecution.

The decision came on a day the Enforcement Directorate rushed to court seeking a stay on a recent Supreme Court order opening the doors for accused to get default bail in cases where investigation is pending and the probe agency files supplementary charge sheets from time to time. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the ED pointed out that multiple applications citing this decision were being filed across the country and the decision required to be stayed.

He said the Centre was in the process of filing an application to recall the judgment that should be considered at the earliest. In one such case, the ED filed an appeal challenging the grant of default bail by the Delhi high court to one Manpreet Singh Talwar, accused of laundering 700 crore in Singapore and Hong Kong entities.

The decision in Ritu Chhabaria v Union of India decided on April 26 was passed on a writ petition filed by a woman seeking default bail for her husband in a case involving alleged large-scale fraud being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Mehta said, The view in Ritu Chhabaria is contrary to a 3-judge ruling in Vipul Agarwal v Gujarat (2013) where it is laid down that right to default bail gets extinguished with the filing of charge sheet. According to him, the April 26 decision was per incuriam as it failed to consider the prior binding decision of a co-equal bench in the Dinesh Dalmia case (2007) and Abdul Azeez case (2014), which lays down a contrary principle of law that has held the field for the past 16 years.

A bench of the CJI and justice Pardiwala took note of Mehtas request and decided to post the matter on Thursday before a three-judge bench.

Dealing with the facts in the UAPA case, the court noted that the FIR was registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the UAPA and Explosives Act. In September 2019, the Punjab Police, which initially conducted the investigation till the case was handed over to NIA in 2020, at the end of 90 days sought additional time of 90 days to complete its probe.

The final investigation report was filed in November 2019 but the sanction to prosecute the accused under UAPA from the Punjab government was obtained only in January 2021. Later in March 2021, the Centre granted sanction as the investigation was being handled by NIA, which subsequently filed a supplementary charge sheet in the case. The accused claimed that the charge sheet filed against them had no sanctity in the eyes of the law as it was filed without sanction. They sought default bail on this ground but the Punjab and Haryana high court rejected their petition for default bail on April 26 last year. Against this order, the five accused appealed in the top court.

Justice Pardiwala, writing the judgment for the bench, said, Whether cognizance has been taken or not taken is not relevant for the purpose of compliance of Section 167 of the CrPC. The mere filing of the charge sheet is sufficient.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on May 8 a petition challenging the Bihar governments decision to prematurely release former MP Anand Mohan, who was serving life term for the murder of a young Dalit officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1994. In her petition, the deceased IAS officers wife challenged the April 10 amendment in the prison manual that paved the way for Mohans release and also raised legal questions for consideration before the court. (Agencies)

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and comprising justice JB Pardiwala agreed to hear the petition filed by the wife of the deceased IAS officer G Krishnaiah, Uma Krishnaiah, next week.

The plea, filed on Saturday, was mentioned for urgent hearing by Umas counsel Tanya Shree on Monday.

On December 5, 1994, Mohan instigated a mob that dragged Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah out of his official car and killed him, an investigation into the case revealed. He was sentenced to death by a trial court in 2007. However, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Patna high court a year later.

On April 10 this year, the Bihar government amended the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012, removing the murder of a public servant on duty clause from the list of cases for which remission of jail term cannot be considered, which helped Mohan, a Rajput leader with considerable influence on his caste voters.

On April 24, the Bihar law department issued a notification, saying that on the recommendation of the Bihar state sentence remission council, the decision was taken for the release of prisoners having served actual sentence of 14 years or sentence of 20 years with remission. It notified the release of 27 prisoners, including Mohan.

Mohan walked out of prison at 4am on April 27. His release had sparked a political row and led to sharp criticism from several quarters.

In her petition, the deceased IAS officers wife challenged the April 10 amendment in the prison manual that paved the way for Mohans release and also raised legal questions for consideration before the court.

The petitioner said that life sentences means the entire period of ones life and the state cannot mechanically release any person at the end of 14 years.

She also cited several decisions of the top court, pointing out the state has to consider the remission of life convicts based on the policy that existed at the time of the conviction.

When Mohan was convicted in the case, the December 2002 remission policy was in force in Bihar. Under this, convicts punished for killing a public servant on duty were eligible for remission after undergoing 20 years of sentence, including remission.

The petition further cited past decisions of the top court requiring the state to consider the conduct of a prisoner, past criminal antecedents, socio-economic conditions, larger public good, propensity to commit future crimes, etc before grant of release.

Mohans release was purely on extraneous considerations, the petition said.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list on May 8 a petition filed by Uma Krishnaiah, wife of slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah, which challenged the Bihar governments decision to release Anand Mohan who was sentenced to life for instigating the killing of the then Gopalganj district magistrate in 1994. Gangster-politician Anand Mohan Singh was released from Saharsa jail on April 27. He was serving a life sentence in the 1994 murder of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah. (ANI File Photo)

The petition, filed on Saturday by Uma Krishnaiah, was mentioned by her lawyer Tanya Shree before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice JB Pardiwala for urgent listing. The bench agreed to hear the case next Monday.

Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah was killed in December 1994.

Anand Mohan, then a member of the legislative assembly (MLA), was convicted for instigating the murder for which he was awarded the death sentence by a trial court in 2007. Anand Mohans death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment by the Patna high court in 2008. He challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, but didnt get a relief.

Mohan walked out of prison on April 27 after the Bihar government tweaked the Bihar Prison Manual on April 10 allowing life convicts involved in the murder of a public servant to be eligible for premature release after serving a sentence of 14 years.

Uma Krishnaiahs petition challenged the April 10 amendment that paved the way for Mohans release and argued that the state government could not mechanically release any person at the end of 14 years. It also cited decisions of the top court to argue that the state had to consider remission of life convicts based on the policy that existed at the time of conviction. At the relevant time when Mohan was convicted, the December 2002 remission policy was in vogue under which convicts punished for killing a public servant on duty were eligible for remission after undergoing 20 years sentence including remission.

Bihars home department on April 10 amended Rule 481(1)(c) of the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 which regulates the exercise of remission power by the state under Section 433A (relating to the states remission policy) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and removed the 20-year prison requirement for the category of offence under which Anand Mohan was punished.

The petition also cited top court decisions that require the state to consider the prisoners conduct in jail, past criminal antecedents, socio-economic conditions, larger public good, propensity to commit future crimes before grant of release.

The petition reasoned that Anand Mohans release was ordered on extraneous considerations and that he had several criminal cases pending against him which would weigh against his premature release
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the validity of its April 26 judgment permitting bail in cases where probe agencies fail to file the final investigation report after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) rushed to court, citing a large number of applications filed by accused in high-profile cases to seek their release in light of the top courts ruling. The Supreme Court said it will form a three-judge bench on Thursday to consider the issue (Sonu Mehta/HT File Photo)

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justice JB Pardiwala agreed to take up the case on Thursday after solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the court that the Centre was in the process of filing an application to recall the April 26 judgment of the top court in Ritu Chhabaria v Union of India.

The bench also directed that any bail application filed in the country citing the Ritu Chhabaria judgment shall be deferred beyond Thursday till a final pronouncement comes from the top court.

The CJI-led bench said it will form a three-judge bench on Thursday to consider the issue. It was not keen to put the decision on hold as it said, We cannot say this judgment cannot be relied upon between today and Thursday.

The April 26 verdict, delivered by a bench of justices Krishna Murari and CT Ravikumar, held that the fundamental right of an accused to get default bail cannot be scuttled by probe agencies by filing supplementary charge sheets in cases where a probe is yet to be completed.

Ritu Chhabarias husband, Sanjay, was booked in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act in which he was not initially named. The CBI, which arrested him in April last year, named him as a suspect in supplementary charge sheets, but did not file the final charge sheet.

Ritu Chhabarias petition asked the top court to consider whether this practice of filing supplementary chargesheets defeats the right of accused to default bail under Section 167(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This provision allows a magistrate to grant statutory bail to an accused if the probe agency failed to complete its investigation in 60 days (90 days for offences punishable with death, life term or punishment beyond 10 years).

The bench held: Without completing the investigation of a case, a charge sheet or prosecution complaint cannot be filed by an investigating agency only to deprive an arrested accused of his right to default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC. In such cases, it further held that the trial court cannot continue to remand an arrested person beyond the maximum stipulated time (of 60 days or 90 days) without offering the arrested person default bail.

Tushar Mehta insisted on a stay of the April 26 decision as it was contrary to previous verdicts of the top court including one by a three-judge bench. Mehta added that more than 15 applications seeking default bail have been filed by accused before various high courts.

One such decision passed by the Delhi high court on April 28 granting bail to one Manpreet Singh Talwar on the basis of the Ritu Chhabria decision was separately challenged by the Enforcement Directorate. Talwar was accused of laundering more than 700 crore to companies based in Singapore and Hong Kong. ED said it filed supplementary charge sheets as certain aspects of the probe relating to foreign transactions were pending.

In this appeal, the ED submitted that the Chhabria judgment will not apply to offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as Explanation (ii) to Section 44 of the PMLA, provides for further investigation to be conducted to bring any further evidence against any accused person, whether named in the original complaint or not. This provision was upheld by the Supreme Court in July last year while deciding a batch of petitions challenging the validity of PMLA provisions.

Mehta said, The view in Ritu Chhabaria (verdict) is also contrary to a 3-judge ruling in Vipul Agarwal v Gujarat (2013) where it is laid down that the right to default bail gets extinguished with the filing of charge sheet.

According to him, the April 26 decision was per incuriam, literally translated as through lack of care, as it failed to consider the prior binding decision of the bench in Dinesh Dalmia case (2007) and Abdul Azeez case (2014), which lays down a contrary principle of law that has held the field for past 16 years.

In Abdul Azeez, a two-judge bench held, Merely because certain facets of the matter called for further investigation, it does not deem such report anything other than a final report. In our opinion Section 167(2) CrPC stood fully complied with and as such the petitioners are not entitled to statutory bail under Section 167(2) CrPC.

We have filed a recall application as we could not get an opportunity to point out these judgments which cover the field when the matter (Chhabria decision) was considered, Mehta said. Additional solicitor generals (ASG) SV Raju and KM Nataraj were also present with Tushar Mehta to point out the adverse implications of continuing with the order in question and urged that high courts be directed not to rely on this decision.
The debate over the unsubstantiated claims made in the controversial Hindi film The Kerala Story has intensified as its release date is approaching, with a Muslim body and a lawyer separately announcing rewards for proving the claims. The film, starring Adah Sharma, claimed in the trailer that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined the terror outfit Islamic State, triggering a massive political row. (Also Read | Shashi Tharoor clarifies stance on The Kerala Story film: Not calling for ban, but) Vipul Amrutlal Shah is producing the Adah Sharma-starrer, The Kerala Story.

Kerala State Committee of Muslim Youth League has now announced a reward of 1 crore for anyone who proves the allegations levelled in the film and said collection centres for providing the proof will be opened in every district on May 4, reported ANI. Anyone can drop the details in the collection centres.

"Prove the allegations that 32,000 Keralites converted and fled to Syria. Take up the challenge and submit the evidence," the poster by the committee read.

Meanwhile, a Muslim lawyer and actor, who remarried his wife recently under the Special Marriage Act (SMA) for the financial security of their daughters, offered 11 lakh for bringing the proof of even 32 women from Kerala who converted and joined the Islamic State, according to PTI.

C Shukkur, known for his role as a lawyer in the Kunchacko Boban starrer 'Nna Thaan Case Kodu' (Sue me then) and for remarrying his wife under the SMA, said in a Facebook post, "I am offering 11 lakh rupees to those who publish information such as names and addresses of women who were converted to Islam and become members of the Islamic State by Muslim youth of Kerala. No need to produce proof for 32,000 women, just 32 is enough."

He further said that three women, who married 2 brothers who were Palakkad natives, "are the only reported cases to have joined ISIS from outside the Muslim community from Kerala".

"Everyone should stop blaming a community and a state without any proof about the 'love jihad' case which was dismissed even by the High Court," he added.

Produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, The Kerala Story is set to be released in cinemas on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is portrayed as "unearthing" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" allegedly going missing in the southern state.

The ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress has hit out at the makers for falsely claiming the women converted, got radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the movie was deliberately made with the aim of communal polarization and spreading Sangh Parivar's propaganda.

The statement reads, The trailer of the Hindi film, 'The Kerala Story', which appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala was released last day. It is indicated from the trailer that this film is trying to spread the propaganda of Sangh Parivar, which has established itself as the centre of religious extremism in the land of secularism, Kerala.

(With inputs from agencies)

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At least three Naxalites with bounty worth 38 lakh were killed in a police encounter in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli on Sunday, said the police. The encounter took place at around 6 pm in Manne Rajaram village in Aheri tehsil, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. The encounter took place at around 6 pm in Manne Rajaram village in Aheri tehsil, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. (PTI)

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Gadchiroli, Sandip Patil told ANI, "Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with the police in Manne Rajaram of Aheri tehsil. The police recovered the bodies of three Naxalites, the encounter took place around 6 pm on Sunday. The killed Naxalites had a reward of 38 lakh".

As per the police, credible information was received that 'Perimili Dalam' and 'Aheri Dalam' are camping in the forest area of Kedmara, between Mane Rajaram and Perimili armed outpost.

Based on the information, two C-60 parties were launched from Pranhita to conduct search operations in the jungle area. During the operation, the parties were fired upon by the Naxals leading to an exchange of fire at the location.

After the firing, the police conducted a search operation, during which three male Naxal bodies were recovered.

The three deceased Naxals have been identified as Bitlu Madavi, commander of Perimili Dalam, Vasu of Perimili Dalam and Srikant of Aheri Dalam, the police said.

Bitlu Madavi was also a prime accused in the murder of a student named Sainath Narote on March 9, this year. In addition to this, he was also accused in two incidents of arson of road construction equipment at Visamundi and Alenga.

Further search operations and investigations are going on, and more details are awaited.
Unpredictable weather marked by intermittent rain and snow in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand has affected smooth movement at the Char Dham yatra this year, officials and pilgrims said on Monday. A view of Kedarnath temple (ANI)

Due to slippery road conditions amid a fresh spell of rain, three pilgrims from Gujarat met with an accident when their car lost control and fell into a gorge near Kirti Nagar in Tehri district while returning from Kedarnath shrine on Monday. Tehri police reached the spot and pulled out all pilgrims and rushed them to Srinagar district hospital, district disaster management officials said in Tehri.

Brijesh Bhatt, district disaster management officer, Tehri, said, Three people who were pilgrims from Gujarat were injured in the accident when the vehicle they were on board plunged into the 30-metre gorge near Rampur Pulia in Kirti Nagar and were rushed to the government base hospital in Srinagar. The injured have been identified as Kyur Prajapati, Ruchi Prajapati, and Manav Sunil Chavda. Four others on board escaped unhurt.

Frequent rain and snow also triggered a minor avalanche in the foothills of the Neelkanth peak, reaching right up to the Rishi Ganga river near Badrinath in Chamoli district. Pilgrims had to go through a harrowing experience after the road was blocked due to a fallen boulder and a landslide on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway near the Bajpur Chada area, Govind Ghat, in Uttarakhands Chamoli for six hours on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in Uttarkashi district, a woman from Andhra Pradesh died after being hit by a boulder that fell from the top while she was boarding a vehicle at Kharadi village on her way to Gangotri shrine from Yamunotri on Saturday.

Heavy to moderate spells of rain lashed Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri, Pauri and Dehradun districts with brief snow at rgw Kedarnath shrine on Monday.

The India Meteorological Departments Dehradun centre has sounded an alert and forecast light to moderate rain, and thunderstorms at many places in Uttarakhand. It has also forecast snowfall in areas above 3,200 metres in the next four days.

According to the IMD, the state received 9.9mm of rain, with a departure of 421%, in the 24-hour period between 8.30am Sunday and 8.30am Monday. Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli, where the Char Dham shrines are located, received 8.8mm, 2.9mm and 4.9mm rainfall, respectively

In the wake of the weather alert, district administration officials in Rudraprayag appealed to pilgrims coming for darshan at Kedarnath to move ahead slowly and with extreme caution.

Bikram Singh, director, IMD, Dehradun centre, said, Western disturbance activity is resulting in more rain in the state, bringing down the temperatures considerably. The spells of rain will reduce but there will be an increase in snowfall, especially in the Char Dham shrine areas including Kedarnath.
I remember the day I learned we had a witch in the family. I walked with my parents up a leafy hillside overlooking Winningen, a picturesque wine-making town on the banks of Germany's Moselle River. It was a pilgrimage to the top of the "Hexenhugel," or Witches' Hill, where a sombre obelisk commemorates 21 people who died as a result of the Winningen Witch Trials. A statue in Winningen marks the fact that the area was a center of witch hunts (Eibner-Pressefoto/Sascha Walther/IMAGO)

For a Canadian kid just discovering Europe, it was quite a revelation. My mind was instantly filled with horrifying images. I ran my finger over the rough engraving of my 9th great-grandmother's name: Margarethe Krober. She had died over 300 years earlier, burned as a witch in November 1642.

Decades later, I was still haunted by her story and tried to find out more.

"Her case is particularly tragic," historian Walter Rummel told me. The hands-down expert on the topic in Winningen says the area was unique for the fact that its extensive witch trial records  over 8,000 pages worth  were not only highly detailed but also extraordinarily well preserved. Cross-referenced with tax records, church and commercial registers, they offer a window into how the townspeople reacted to the threat of alleged witches in their midst  and how some knew to use the situation to their advantage.

A complex chapter

The European Witch Hunts represent a complicated chapter, and by its very nature misconceptions abound.

Add literature, radical feminist politics and the rise of neo-pagan religious movements like Wicca into the mix  and things get even murkier. From the Brothers Grimm to the Wizard of Oz, mythology surrounding the figure of the witch has been crystallized into our cultural subconscious.

But beyond the imagery we often see as historical fact  for instance, that witches were burned at the stake in the Middle Ages, that midwives or red-haired women were most likely to be targeted, or that witch hunts were an instrument of the patriarchal Church to keep women down  things were far more complex. Early modern Europe saw a collusion of circumstances  social, political, religious and climactic  that set the stage for three centuries of witch hunts.

Wolfgang Behringer, an expert on early modern history, researched this tumultuous period and found that the major waves of witch hunts in Europe were linked with a noticeable climatic deterioration now referred to as the Little Ice Age (1306-1860), when a prevalence of epidemics and natural disasters meant European populations were massively stressed  and looking for explanations.

"If we assume that failed harvests played a big role in the desire for witch hunts, then we find that most of them are not initiated by the state or the Church, but rather by the populace," said Behringer, who describes with hunts as a "form of protest" initiated by citizens.

Witch hunts had less to do with religion and more to do with forms of settlement, added Behringer: "There are practically no witch hunts in nomadic societies, or if a population is sparse. The village structure where people sit on top of each other, watch each other and get suspicious if any misfortune occurs, is (a more likely scenario for witch hunts) as so often witch trials are about subsistence."

According to Rita Voltmer, historian and author of "Hexen" (2008), the figure of the witch was repeatedly instrumentalized  and romanticized  by early feminists like Matilda Joslyn Gage and even by Nazi propagandists to bolster the argument that the Catholic Church was the main driver of witch hunts.

"They were all part of this movement that took up the idea of the wise woman priestess  sometimes of Celtic origin, sometimes of Germanic origin  and that the blond and red-haired women, our forefathers and mothers, were deliberately persecuted by the Jewish-influenced Christian Church that was out to destroy the true Germanic race," she said.

A lethal mix in Germany

Currently, experts agree that some 50-60,000 people died between 1450 and 1789 in Europe as a result of witch hunts. And while there were "hot spots" in many countries, it's a grim fact that roughly half  or 25,000  were killed within the boundaries of present-day Germany.

Nearly 80% of the victims were women, but there were stark regional variations and in places like Iceland, Russia, or the province of Normandy, the vast majority of those accused of witchcraft or sorcery were men.

In Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, the persecution of witches had a legal basis, thanks to the "Peinliche Gerichtsordnung" enacted by Emperor Charles V in 1532. This early penal code, also known as the "Carolina," counted sorcery as a serious crime.

From then on witch trials across the Empire could supposedly be conducted in the name of law and order, but divided as it was into countless entities, and coupled with religious pressure and conflicts in the wake of the Reformation, Germany's social fabric made for a particularly lethal mix.

Anatomy of a witch trial

Which brings us back to Winningen. Of the 24 people accused there of witchcraft, 19 were executed, two died in prison, and the remaining three managed to fight their case and be acquitted.

My ancestor Margarethe came from a well-situated family. She married Zacharias Krober, a judge, so together they belonged to the town's social elite. Written records indicate that she had a rebellious nature. She had been married eight years and had two small boys when she was officially denounced for being a witch.

And it turns out she wasn't the only one in the family to die on the Witches' Hill. Margarethe's own mother was in fact the first person in Winningen to be executed for witchcraft. Subsequently her aunt, her cousin and, as time went on, all her sisters and brother-in law met the same fate.

A clear case of the the upper crust being a target of witch hunts, which was typical for this area, but even Walter Rummel agrees the systematic destruction of an entire generation of Krober spouses is exceptional. "Witchcraft was an accusation that couldn't be topped," he said, "and like a reactor, it irradiated everyone and everything around it."

Through the witch trial protocols, all in ornate 17th-century script, I learned that she was accused of a long list of charges, including attending a Witches' Sabbath, flying and poisoning people.

Margarethe had thumbed her nose at any rumors surrounding her for years, but was eventually arrested, strip searched, shaved and interrogated. She denied all the charges against her, and called on her husband to vouch for her innocence.

But in a heartbreaking turn of events  and ostensibly to protect his position in the town  Zacharias left her in the lurch, claiming that if she was a devout Christian, her body would withstand the torture, and that at any rate, she should simply confess "because you know you're a witch."

To extract her "confession," the Witch Commission then resorted to torture, using crushing devices such as the so-called "boot," and submitting her to "reverse hanging."

At this point the trial records are excruciating to read. Her screams and suffering  "clamat et torturam"  were duly recorded. Tragically, her only way out of the torment was to lie  a mortal sin from a devout 17th-century perspective.

After two days of agony, she confessed to being a witch, effectively sealing her own death sentence. She was also forced to denounce another woman for witchcraft, ensuring the cycle of witch hunts could continue.

Two days later she was hauled up to the execution site and forced to beg forgiveness from the townspeople who had gathered to witness her execution. Thus exonerated, she was granted a "merciful" death by beheading before her body was burned.

The final anomaly came next in the form of a feeding frenzy: According to records, 250 liters of wine were carted up to the execution site  ensuring the whole town was complicit, while the caterers made a killing. Margarethe's husband was handed the bill.

In short, power, money, envy and resentment were behind the witch trials which, in Winningen, were always directed at society's upper echelons.

The last witch trial in Winningen in 1659 did not end in execution, as families mobilized resources to fight for their alleged witches' cause. It was the beginning of the end  as people simply doubted so many could be guilty of witchcraft.

Witch hunting hysteria in Europe began to die down as key laws were changed. The age of Enlightenment meant science and reason took precedence over superstition. Food was more plentiful, and the advent of insurance meant people were less prone to disaster.

The last alleged witch in Europe was beheaded in Switzerland in 1782  marking the end of a dark chapter in European history.

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier
As the countdown to the first Monday of May - Met Gala 2023 - begins, we are taking a trip down the memory to look at some of the most unforgettable fashion moments witnessed at New York City's The Metropolitan Museum of Art staircase. The Met Gala 2023 falls on May 1 (May 2 IST). The theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. Last year, the theme was Gilded Glamour. One of the few celebrities who got the theme right was Indian socialite and businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla. Natasha brought Indian representation to the Met Gala red carpet by choosing ace couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee to create her ensemble. Keep scrolling to find out how her gilded look broke the internet. When Natasha Poonawala broke the internet with her 'Gilded' look at Met Gala 2022. (Instagram)

Natasha Poonawalla's internet-breaking Met Gala 2022 look

Natasha Poonawalla added a touch of desi elegance to the Met Gala 2022 red carpet by wearing a saree with bustier and ornate jewellery. Indian ace-designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee designed her golden six yards and the jewels, whereas the bustier came from the house of Schiaparelli. The infusion of Indian culture with the iconic Italian design house and the American-inspired theme made Natasha one of the best-dressed celebrities of the fashion's biggest night. Sharing the pictures on her Instagram page, Natasha revealed that the polarities between the world's astronomical progress and how people police women or the vulnerable became her inspiration - as these differences are like a golden cage.

Natasha chose a custom gold handcrafted printed tulle saree with a long floor-sweeping trail. It came embroidered with silk floss thread and embellished with "bevel beads, semi-precious stones, crystals, sequins and appliqued printed velvet". She wore the six yards with a matching embroidered strapless blouse featuring a sweetheart neckline.

Natasha teamed the saree with a hand-forged Schiaparelli metal bustier with exaggerated wires that went over her head. She also wore custom jewellery from Sabyasachi, including earrings, jewelled sunglasses, statement rings, bangles, embellished nail stick-ons, and a headdress. The pieces are a part of Sabyasachi Fine Jewellery and limited edition collectables from Sabyasachi's Curiosity Art and Antiquity Project.

Lastly, Natasha chose Christian Louboutin heels, a sleek open hairdo, nude blush pink lip shade, embellished nails, bold winged eyeliner, metallic eye shadow, and blushed skin to style her Met Gala look.
With an increasing footfall of domestic and foreign visitors, tourism in Jammu and Kashmir is scaling new heights, making the Union Territory one of top destinations in the country. Kashmir is scaling new heights in tourist count. (Pexels)

"Year on year and month on month, we have received more tourists this year compared to previous year. We are ensuring that all domestic and international tourists have a memorable stay in Jammu and Kashmir," tourism department secretary Abid Rashid Shah told PTI.

"It is the responsibility of all stakeholders of the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir to make it a warm and hospitable destination for all visitors," he said.

Jammu and Kashmir received 1.88 crore tourists in 2022, a high enough number for any region, but the administration is expecting still that the arrivals will breach the two crore-mark this year.

Tourism Director Fazlul Haseeb said the number of arrivals was high even before the onset of the regular tourism season in the valley.

"Every single month the tourist numbers are increasing. It's almost six lakh in the first four months  it's breaching records," Haseeb said.

Popular mostly with honeymooners once, Kashmir is now attracting even long-married couples, who are coming to celebrate their anniversaries here.

"Today is our 24th anniversary, the reason why we booked this trip. I am feeling good," Kavita Katay from Pune said.

Kavita's husband Govind said it was his idea to celebrate the anniversary in Kashmir.

"It was my plan to celebrate our 24th marriage anniversary in Kashmir. The climate is good here. My friends had been here and they suggested I visit Kashmir. The situation is fine here, not like before," he said.

Vidyadhar from Karnataka found Kashmir safe for tourists and was certain the valley now had peace.

"We have been here for the last four days. The situation is absolutely normal here. I also feel Kashmir is a safe place for travellers and there are a lot of tourists here. The people, and their hospitality, are amazing," she said.

Vishwanath, another tourist from Karnataka, was just happy to escape the scorching heat of the plains and be with the mist shrouded mountains of Kashmir.

"Back where I come from, the temperature is hovering at 40 to 45 degree Celsius. Here it is three to 10 degree Celsius. We felt very good  those who have not visited Kashmir, we suggest they should," he said.

Abhilasha from Nagpur has been visiting Kashmir once every 10 years.

"This is my third trip to Kashmir. My first visit was in 2004 and then again in 2013. Today, I am here with my whole family. Kashmir is really a beautiful place, people are very nice. That is the reason we visited so many times here," she said.
March was a busy month for Indian diplomacy. The first week featured an Italy State visit, the Quad foreign ministers meeting, the Raisina Dialogue, and as many as 33 bilateral engagements. The pace continued in April with the visit of the King of Bhutan to India, the 100th meeting under the G20 framework, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers meeting, and a mammoth rescue operation from war-torn Sudan. May likely will bring more action. PREMIUM Over the last several months, Indias diplomatic efforts have garnered global attention, which is admirable (Hindustan Times)

Over the last several months, Indias diplomatic efforts have garnered global attention, which is admirable. But converting this potential energy into tangible outcomes requires focusing on one crucial and underrated aspect: State capacity. Indian foreign policy finds itself at a unique moment. Many analysts believe that we are in between world orders. Chinas hostile and rapid rise, the global financial crisis, networked politics, and, most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, have transformed international politics. While the world has moved far away from the Washington Consensus, its replacement is not yet apparent.

This interregnum will continue to throw up opportunities for a fast rising middle power, such as India. Consider these recent events. India is chairing the G20 this year. The Union government has invested a lot of energy in this forum. Simultaneously, India must also do its bit to convert the promise of the vital Quad framework into reality, and balance its responsibilities at the SCO. On the economic front, since India has chosen to stay out of some new multilateral trade groupings, several bilateral trade agreements need to be carved out. Meanwhile, the Ukraine-Russia war continues, and India, as a distant power with good relations with the two actors, might play a role in future negotiations. On the technology front, the Indian government wants to internationalise its digital public infrastructure stack. Moreover, in a world where geopolitical considerations have regained significance, foreign policy will be crucial for ensuring the movement of trade, technology, and human capital.

In short, foreign policy is now a high-stakes game. While much needs to be done, the gap between these expectations and policy capacity has only grown wider. Without increasing policy capacity immediately, many promising initiatives will not deliver the expected results. Even if we succeed in some initiatives, we will end up dropping the ball on many others. The lack of adequate State capacity might show up in unexpected ways. As in a whack-a-mole game, plugging one failure will only mean weaknesses will surface elsewhere.

What does a lack of foreign policy capacity mean? It is well-known that the intake into Indias foreign service is woefully short of its requirements.

But theres more to it. In a 2019 article titled, Indias Foreign Policy Capacity, scholars Kanti Bajpai and Byron Chong examined the analytical, operational, and political competences of Indias Foreign Service at three levels  the individual, organisational, and systemic. They assessed the resulting nine elements of policy capacity and found that despite being staffed by skilful and highly talented individuals, the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) has weak organisational capabilities. Specific problem areas were: The critical mass of capable IFS officers; the infrastructure for collecting and processing information; the international organisation of MEA; and the extent of communication with governance partners and the public.

After considering alternatives, the authors recommend a dramatic increase in entry-level recruitment for the IFS through the civil service examination. While that may well be a long-term solution, what India needs now is a surge hiring strategy. The current geopolitical moment has thrown up opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed on priority.

The external affairs ministry, in fact, was the first Union ministry to experiment with a broader lateral entry for government officers in 2015. It also opened up positions in its policy planning and research division for people in academia and the private sector. However, these tentative trials seem to have lost steam. The underlying reason may be some internal resistance from foreign service officers, who see such attempts as a threat to their career progression.

The surge-hiring strategy should try a different approach. It should attempt to hire a much larger number of people below ambassadorial positions. This way, the cadre protection impulse can be side-stepped. Instead of targeting joint-secretary levels, two fellowships could be attempted: One for fresh graduates, and another for young professionals working within and outside the government. Given the growing prominence of technology and economic issues as foreign policy domains, this approach would help build institutional knowledge within the ministry. More importantly, the surge should target staffing for the headquarter functions in Delhi for managing various engagements and new initiatives.

Past attempts at lateral hiring were advertised as single posts in the unreserved category. By opening up a larger number of positions concurrently, the government could retain existing norms on reservations and quotas.

Finally, the surge-hiring strategy should have a sunset clause and a well-defined recruitment target. If it is conceptualised as a non-recurring measure keeping the current geopolitical situation in mind, it could resonate with the Opposition and Parliament.

With the Agnipath experiment of the defence ministry, the idea of short-term employment within the government has gained some ground. It is no longer an anathema. Without a surge in foreign policy capacity, we will only have great ideas but tardy implementation, resulting in a perennially underperforming policy.

Pranay Kotasthane is chairperson, high tech geopolitics programme, Takshashila Institution The views expressed are personal
ChatGPT rival Bard, Google's AI-powered chatbot which debuted in February, could have arrived months before its eventual launch, possibly around the same time as ChatGPT, or before it, an engineer sacked by the tech giant in July last year has revealed. In this file photo taken on January 31, 2023 the logo of Google internet giant is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

In fact, the product that eventually became Bard began development in mid-2021, said Blake Lemoine.

It was not called Bard then, but they were working on it, and they were trying to figure out whether it would be safe to release it. They were on the verge of releasing something in the fall of 2022so it would have come out right around the same time as ChatGPT, or right before it, Lemoine told Futurism.

A former member of Google's artificial intelligence team, he added that the chatbot's initial launch was halted in part due to some of the safety concerns raised by him.

Lemoine continued: Bard could have come 2 years ago, but the company was making sure it doesnt make up things too often, making sure it does not have racial or gender biases, or political biasesthings like that.

Google, he said, has far more advanced technology' that it hasnt released yet.

ChatGPT, meanwhile, was introduced in November 2022.

Why did Google fire Lemoine?

Internally, Lemoine had raised alarms regarding LaMDA, Google's powerful large language model (LLM). The company, however, did not agree with his claims. He then went to the press, and the organsiation responded by sacking him.

Lemoine joined Google in February 2015 as a software engineer, his LinkedIn profile shows.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to Torontos Vaisakhi nagar kirtan on Sunday after a gap of seven years. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Vaisakhi celebrations in downtown Toronto on Sunday (PMO Canada)

He also addressed the gathered crowd at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto for just over four minutes, flanked by Cabinet colleagues, including Harjit Sajjan and Omar Alghabra as well as Liberal Party MPs from the Greater Toronto Area or GTA.

I remember attending the Toronto Khalsa Day parade a few years ago and Ive been across the country many times since. I always have fond memories of visiting Vaisakhi celebrations here in Toronto, in Ontario and across the country, he said.

Trudeau had last been present at the Toronto Khalsa Day event in 2017, which irked the Indian Government as it had featured Khalistani flags, posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and celebrated the carrying of a motion on the Ontario Assembly in April that year terming the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide. Trudeau was the first PM to attend the event since Paul Martin in 2005.

Some Khalistan flags were visible in front of the rostrum from which Trudeau spoke. However, the organisers of parade, the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council or OSGC largely prevented the occasion from being hijacked by separatist elements this year.

Sikh values are also profoundly Canadian values, Trudeau told the congregants. Khalsa Day marks the establishment of the Khalsa order by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

Trudeau was not the only prominent Federal leader at the nagar kirtan. Also making his presence felt was Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.

Trudeau mentioned the Indian Government during his brief speech, though in the context of improving air connectivity between the two countries. He said his Government had signed a new agreement with New Delhi to add more flights last year, and had continued to raise the matter of a direct flight to Amritsar.

He later tweeted, From Vancouver to Edmonton to Toronto, I have fond memories of attending Vaisakhi celebrations. Today, we were back in Toronto for this years Khalsa Day parade  celebrating with friends old and new. Happy Vaisakhi!

The day witnessed almost incessant rain, but the nagar kirtan still attracted a crowd of over 30,000. OSGC chair Kultar Singh Gill said, The weather was very bad but still thousands of committed people came.

This was the first full-fledged Khalsa Day celebration in Toronto since 2019, due to COVID-19-related restrictions since then.

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Thirty years ago, in the wake of the Soviet Unions collapse, Samuel Huntington, an American scholar, offered a bleak view of how the world would change. He suggested that a clash of civilisations would replace the erstwhile cold-war conflict between West and East. As Chinas struggle with America intensifies, President Xi Jinping has recently proposed a different viewthat civilisations can live in harmony. It may sound tritely upbeat, but its underlying message is less so. The West must stop promoting its values, or Huntington will be proven right. PREMIUM Chinese President Xi Jinping

Since Mr Xi unveiled his Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) on March 15th, state media have brimmed with fawning coverage. The English edition of Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, has dubbed the presidents idea Xivilisation, calling it all important and full of Chinese wisdom. Writing in the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, a Chinese diplomat alluded to Huntington: At a time when the antiquated thesis of a clash of civilisations is resurfacing, Chinas emphasis on the equality of civilisations is needed more than ever for a peaceful world. In other words, the West should learn to live with Chinese communism. It may be based on Marxism, a Western theory, but it is also the fruit of Chinas ancient culture.

The GCI is the latest in a series of suggestions by Mr Xi for how the world should be run. First came the Global Development Initiative (GDI), which he presented to the UN in 2021. It has been touted as a twin engine alongside the Belt and Road Initiative, a worldwide infrastructure-building scheme that was launched by Mr Xi close to the start of his more than decade-long reign. Under the GDI, China has pledged at least $4bn towards helping poorer countries with everything from public health to cutting carbon emissions. The initiative is described as a Chinese formula for development. That means putting economic benefits ahead of civil and political rights.

In 2022 Mr Xi produced another, called the Global Security Initiative (GSI). This came just two months after his old friend in Moscow, Vladimir Putin, launched an invasion of Ukraine. The GSI echoed Russias worldview, calling for a common, comprehensive, co-operative and sustainable approach to building international security. That is shorthand for giving big powers, such as China and Russia, a veto over security arrangements in their neighbourhoods. Chinese officials describe a rapprochement in March between Iran and Saudi Arabia, in which China played a modest role, as a victory for the GSI. They will doubtless hail Mr Xis telephone conversation on April 26th with Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, their first contact since the war began, as another GSI milestone.

The GCI was announced at a virtual dialogue, organised by Chinas Communist Party, of leaders of about 500 political organisations from more than 150 countries. The timing may have been deliberate: days later President Joe Biden was to co-host his second Summit for Democracy, also by video link (85 world leaders took partChinas was not invited). The practice of stoking division and confrontation in the name of democracy is in itself a violation of the spirit of democracy, Mr Xi told his audience. It will not receive any support.

In many non-Western countries, his own initiative may win backing, even though it consists of just a few bromides. Countries need to keep an open mind in appreciating the perceptions of values by different civilisations, he said, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others and from stoking ideological confrontation.

Chinas leaders have often made similar points. But the initiative formally elevates Chinas concerns about Western interference to a matter involving not just countries, but civilisations. It implies that any attack on Chinas political system is an attack on its culture. Mr Biden describes America as being engaged in a battle between democracy and autocracy. Mr Xi is clearly trying to portray it as waging a broader, Huntingtonian-type struggle.

Chinese civilisation has long been one of Mr Xis preoccupations. He has convened Politburo meetings to discuss it. One of his mantras is that Chinese must display four self-confidences. Unsurprisingly, three of them are about strengthening belief in various aspects of Chinese communism. But the fourth relates to Chinese culture: Mr Xi wants no doubting of its greatness either. His views on this are strikingly different from those of the partys founders, who played up the darker aspects of Chinas pre-communist history. Mr Xi prefers to highlight a cultural continuum, with a past full of glories that are now embodied in the party. Mao Zedong tried to suppress Confucianism, a philosophy that guided state and personal behaviour for centuries. Mr Xi has been promoting it.

Music to Xis ears

In recent years, some Chinese scholars have embraced the idea of China as a civilisational statea country whose borders also encompass a distinct civilisation. A book by a British author, Martin Jacques, published in 2009, helped to popularise the notion. Titled When China Rules the World, it became a bestseller in China, where its prediction that China would displace Western power without adopting Western values chimed with the partys view. In 2011 a book on the theme by Zhang Weiwei, a Chinese academic, also became a hit. Mr Zhang describes China as exceptional: the only modern country that is also an ancient civilisation. He clearly has Mr Xis blessing. In 2021 he was invited to brief the Politburo on how to project Chinas views globally.

Developing Mr Xis new initiative will involve a tricky balancing act. As Chinese officials explain the idea, all civilisations are equal and should be tolerant of each other. So what to make of Western civilisation? Official Chinese commentary often portrays it as in decay, a victim of ingrained flaws. On April 21st at a government-sponsored forum in Shanghai, Mr Zhang contrasted the harmony of Chinese culture with the conflict of politics in the West (Mr Jacques was also among the speakers). Even Mr Xi, in his efforts to promote cultural self-confidence, plays up the exceptionalism of Chinese civilisation. He has spoken of its unique ideas and wisdom.

Like his other initiatives, this one will appeal to many poorer countries that want Chinas largesse and share its disdain for Western values. Early last year China formed a group in the UN called the Friends of the Global Development Initiative, with 53 member-states. Now it has nearly 70. At last months democracy summit, Mr Biden spoke of real indications that were turning the tide here in the contest with authoritarianism. If so, there is much ground to make up. A report in March by the V-Dem Institute, a think-tank based at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said the share of the worlds population living in autocracies had risen from 46% in 2012 to 72% last year.

In the West, however, Mr Xis civilisation initiative will do little to boost his or his partys image. Among Western elites, many reject any notion that calling for democracy in China involves a challenge to its civilisation. In 2019, when Donald Trump was Americas president, an official at the State Department described the rivalry with China in Huntingtonian language. It is a fight with a really different civilisation and a different ideology, said Kiron Skinner, adding that America faced a great power competitor that is not Caucasian. But she faced a backlash in America for her remarks.

In recent years several American universities have closed their campuses Confucius Institutes. But this has not been aimed at a 2,500-year-old philosophy. The centres, which promote Chinese language and culture, have been targeted because of their suspected political influence. There are many such institutes in the West, sponsored by the Chinese government.

Far from having a positive impact, Western officials worry that the GCI, like Chinas previous proposals, will be used to draw lines between the countrys supporters and critics. Chinese diplomats lean on foreign counterparts to express public support for Mr Xis ideas, keeping careful tally of who does. His triad of global initiatives will deepen the worlds divides.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Even as Meghan Markle's father continues to face health issues, the daughter hasn't met him yet. Amid all this, a former friend of Meghan, Lizzie Cundy has urged the British royal family member to mend relationship with her father, Thomas Markle. Meghan Markle(Getty Images)

In an interaction with Mirror, Lizzie said "Meghan needs to do the right thing at last before it's too late. Her dad is seriously ill, he's had a terrible stroke and he's trying to reach out to her  family is everything, she needs to realise it."

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Earlier, in the trailer for an upcoming interview with Australias 7NEWS Spotlight, Thomas was shown holding childhood photos of Meghan and asking "How can I fix this?"

Reportedly, Meghan is not on good terms with her father for a long time now. In 2018, Thomas couldn't attend Meghan's marriage with Prince Harry as he underwent a heart surgery around that time. After her marriage, Thomas and other family members were accused of leaking stories about the Duchess of Sussex to the media. All these incidents in the past, have badly strained the family's relationship with Meghan.

Meanwhile, Meghan's half-siblings Thomas Jnr and Samantha Markle are taking care of Thomas' health.

Recently, Mirror had reported a source close to Meghan as saying "Despite their estrangement, Meghan is concerned. She wants to know if there is any way to contact her father privately, without other family knowing about it or having to get involved."

The source had also shared that Meghan doesn't want to involve her half-siblings whenever she meets her father.

"If she can contact their dad, she wants it to be totally private, it won't involve Netflix, it won't involve any photographs and it must not involve any tip-offs to the paparazzi," the source had added.

On Sunday, Meghan's estranged family members revealed some old clips of hers from youth when she shared very amicable relationship with her father.
A California man has been found guilty of murdering three teenagers after they played a prank on him by ringing his doorbell and running away. Anurag Chandra was convicted of three counts of attempted murder and three counts of murder on April 28th. The 42-year-old man claimed he had drunk 12 beers before becoming "extremely, extremely mad" and chasing the teenagers, who were driving, in his car. Anurag Chandra was convicted of three counts of attempted murder and three counts of murder on April 28th.

This booking photo released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department shows Anurag Chandra, 42 of Corona, Ca., Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. A jury found Chandra guilty Friday, April 28, 2023, in the killings of three teenage boys after they played a doorbell-ringing prank on him in 2020.(AP)

Chandra admitted to driving at speeds of up to 99 miles per hour moments before he ran their Toyota Prius off the road, which crashed into a tree, killing three of the boys. Another three boys were injured in the incident that took place in Temescal Valley in 2020.

According to reports, Chandra became angry after one of the boys allegedly flashed his buttocks at him before running away. He previously claimed he had chased the teens because he was worried about his family's safety. After the crash, Chandra fled the scene, claiming he did not think anyone was injured.

Also read | North Carolina teen left unrecognizable after dangerous TikTok challenge

The victims, Daniel Hawkins, Drake Ruiz, and Jacob Ivascu, all aged 16, died from their injuries. The driver, who was 18, survived, along with two 13-year-old passengers. The boys had dared one of them to play "ding dong ditch," a game that involves ringing a house doorbell before running away.
British-US citizen Andrew Tate, known for his controversial remarks on social media, has recently made a disturbing tweet regarding his mental health. The tweet, posted on April 20th, reads: "I am experiencing brutal nightmares. God is preparing me, to ensure I am not surprised on the battlefield." Tate went on to post a follow-up tweet, saying that he is unable to escape his nightmares, which are now plaguing him even when he's awake. Andrew Tate looks at a man filming with a mobile phone as he leaves the Bucharest Tribunal, in Bucharest, Romania,(AP)

Tate was arrested in Romania on December 29, 2022, where he is currently under house arrest while authorities investigate allegations of sexual assault, exploitation, organized crime, and human trafficking. Despite vehemently denying all allegations, Tate's reputation has been further damaged, with many questioning his place in society.

Tate is no stranger to controversy, having been banned from Twitter in 2017 for posting tweets that trivialized rape. However, his account was recently reinstated by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, much to the chagrin of those who believe his views have no place on the platform.

Also read | Here's how Andrew Tate's reality TV fame fizzled out into social media notoriety

The ongoing investigation into Tate's alleged crimes is likely to intensify calls for his ban from social media platforms. While freedom of speech is a fundamental right, many argue that Tate's offensive comments and alleged actions cross a line. Only time will tell what the outcome of this investigation will be and whether Tate will be held accountable for his actions.
All Britons will be called on to swear allegiance to King Charles III at his coronation, an oath hitherto reserved for British nobility, in a move that has upset anti-royalists. Britain's King Charles III.(AFP)

The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who will lead the coronation ceremony on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, announced on Saturday that the traditional "Homage of Peers" -- during which representatives of the nobility kneel before the king and pledge allegiance to him -- would be scrapped.

Instead, the ceremony will include a "Homage of the People", with the archbishop calling on all people in the United Kingdom and other places where King Charles is the head of state to swear allegiance.

The archbishop will call on "all persons of goodwill in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of the other realms and the territories to make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted king, defender of all".

The order of service will read: "All who so desire, in the abbey, and elsewhere, say together: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God."

British parliamentarians, but also Canadians since the British sovereign is their head of state, already swear allegiance to the monarch when they take office.

On Sunday, several elected representatives interviewed in the British media indicated that they will take the new oath during the coronation.

However, the plans to ask the public to pledge their allegiance to the king during the coronation have been branded "offensive, tone deaf and a gesture that holds the people in contempt" by an anti-monarchy group.

Graham Smith, a spokesman for Republic, which campaigns for the abolition of the British monarchy, said: "In a democracy it is the head of state who should be swearing allegiance to the people, not the other way around."

The anti-monarchist movement plans to demonstrate on Saturday.

The introduction of the new oath is one of the changes to the centuries-old ceremony, which the palace wants to evolve, particularly to reflect the country's diversity.

The last coronation was 70 years ago when Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned.

She died in September aged 96.

At Saturday's ceremony, women bishops will take part for the first time, as well as representatives of non-Christian faiths.

Another new feature is that texts will be read out in the languages of the other nations of the United Kingdom: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.
The latest US intelligence documents revealed that Minister of State for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar had cautioned the country against sacrificing its strategic partnership with China to maintain a cordial relationship with the United States, ARY News reported. Pakistan minister of state for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar (AP)

In March, Khar argued that her country can "no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States," the report revealed.

The highly classified findings of the US intelligence revealed the internal assessment of Pakistan's policymakers on how to tackle the challenge of the growing tussle between the United States and China.

The US - in the leaked documents - had been able to gain access to the top-secret memo written by Khar.

The leaked intelligence findings offer new insights into the challenges facing President Biden as he seeks global support for his efforts to reject the spread of authoritarianism, contain Russia's belligerence, and counter China's growing global reach.

In an internal memo she titled "Pakistan's Difficult Choices," Khar cautioned that Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West, and said the instinct to preserve Pakistan's partnership with the United States would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of what she deemed the country's "real strategic" partnership with China, according to ARY News.

Meanwhile, another document, dated February 17, describes PM Shehbaz Sharif's deliberations with a subordinate about an upcoming UN vote on the Ukraine conflict, and what the government anticipated would be renewed Western pressure to back a resolution condemning Russia's invasion.

The aide advised the prime minister that support for the measure would signal a shift in Pakistan's position following its earlier abstention on a similar resolution, the intelligence document says.

The aide noted that Pakistan had the ability to negotiate trade and energy deals with Russia, and backing the Western-backed resolution could jeopardise those ties. When the UN General Assembly voted Feb 23, Pakistan was among 32 countries that abstained, according to ARY News.
An almost eight-hour power outage hit the Philippines main airport on Monday, leading to dozens of flight cancellations and delays and leaving thousands of passengers stranded following a long holiday weekend. Passengers queue at an airline counter following the cancellation of flights due to a power outage, at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines, Monday.(REUTERS)

Power had been fully restored at the airport in the capital Manila and authorities are still in the process of finding the cause of the blackout, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told a briefing. Bautista said hes not ruling out the possibility of sabotage.

Were not discounting that, he said, adding an investigation into what happened will help us assess whether theres sabotage or not. Theres a need for a full electrical audit of the airport that may take between two to three months, Bautista said.

The outage came four months after a power failure forced authorities to close the Southeast Asian countrys airspace on New Years Day, affecting about 600 flights and around 65,000 passengers. A seven-hour blackout in September at the same airport affected more than 30 flights.

Also Read: Uber signs pact to build Uber Zones across all AAI airports

Monday is a public holiday in the Philippines and many were expected to fly in or fly out of Manila after a three-day weekend.

A total of 48 Cebu Pacific Air domestic flights were canceled on Monday, affecting more than 9,000 passengers, airline spokesperson Carmina Romero said. She said another 45 flights were delayed.

Standby power supplied electricity to the airport during the outage that began at 1:05 a.m. local time but was only enough for critical facilities including computer systems of airlines and immigration to function partially, Manila International Airport Authority said in a statement. Power was restored fully at 8:46 a.m.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who left on Sunday for an official US visit, earlier instructed Bautista to restore power at the airport as soon as possible. Marcos is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday.

Last week, six of the Philippines biggest conglomerates revived a proposal to upgrade the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, submitting to the government a 100 billion-peso ($1.8-billion) plan to modernize and increase its capacity.
A new book by author Tina Brown, The Palace Papers claims that Prince Harry felt left out and "displaced" by the growing family unit of his older brother, Prince William. According to the author, the Duke of Sussex mourned the loss of his close bond with William, feeling that their relationship had never been the same since William married Kate Middleton and welcomed their first child, Prince George. Prince William, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and their children, Prince George, (left), Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, (center).

But things only got worse when the Cambridges welcomed their second child, Princess Charlotte. "Harry felt displaced by their bougie family unit, and couldn't understand his brother's obsession with his Middleton in-laws, whose Bucklebury world bored Harry to tears," Brown writes in her book, The Palace Papers.

The book also alleges that William was growing tired of Harry's "unabated Jack the Lad behaviour," finding his younger brother's "recklessness" to be "exasperating." While the brothers remained "incredibly close," according to a former aide, their relationship had changed since William became a family man.

Also read | Are Meghan Markle's half-siblings not good enough for the royal family?

It remains to be seen whether this latest revelation will further strain the already troubled relationship between the brothers. One thing is for sure, though  the royals are always good for some juicy drama.
Russia fired missiles at targets across Ukraine in its second major air strike in three days, setting a huge blaze in a southeastern district where officials said on Monday 34 people were wounded and dozens of homes damaged overnight. Russia fires missiles across Ukraine.(Reuters)

Ukraine said 15 of 18 cruise missiles were successfully shot down, shielding the capital Kyiv and other major cities where air raid sirens rang. The only reports of widespread damage were in Pavlohrad, a railway hub behind the southern and eastern fronts.

A Russian-installed official in occupied Zaporizhzhia region, posting images from Pavlohrad of the huge blaze, said Russian forces had struck military targets there.

Ukrainian officials also released images of a scorched wasteland, and said an industrial enterprise was hit, which they did not identify. Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said the attack had damaged 19 apartment blocks, 25 houses, three schools, three kindergartens and several shops.

The 34 wounded included three children, he said.

The attacks came just three days after Russia killed 23 civilians with a missile that hit a high-rise apartment building in the city of Uman, part of its first big countrywide volley of air strikes in nearly two months.

Russia appears to have returned to its winter tactic of major countrywide air strikes as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive to retake occupied land in the south and east.

On Saturday, an apparent Ukrainian drone hit a fuel storage depot in Sevastopol, base of the Russian navy in Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014. Kyiv said the blaze was part of its preparations for its offensive.

After five months of a Russian assault that secured little new territory despite the bloodiest ground combat of the war, Kyiv is preparing to unleash its counterattack using hundreds of armoured vehicles and tanks supplied by the West.

"Around 2:30 am (1130 GMT), the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation planes," Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said.

The city administration for Kyiv said no civilian casualties or damage were reported from the overnight air strikes in the capital.
The fighting raging in Sudan could spur more than 800,000 people to flee into neighbouring countries, the United Nations warned Monday. Drone footage shows birds in the foreground as clouds of black smoke billow over Bahri, also known as Khartoum North, Sudan on Monday.(via REUTERS)

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said that it was now working with a planning figure of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence that erupted in Sudan on April 15.

"UNHCR, with governments and partners, is preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries," the agency's chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet.

"We hope it doesn't come to that, but if violence doesn't stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety."

Such planning figures do not mean the UN necessarily expects this number of people to flee, but that it believes it is possible and is laying plans to meet the massive needs that could arise.

Grandi's tweet, which was verified by his office, came as gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan's capital Monday despite the latest truce formally agreed between the warring parties, and amid UN warnings that the humanitarian crisis had brought the country near its "breaking point".

More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The chaos and bloodshed, now in its third week, has sparked a mass exodus to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and the Central African Republic.

The latest figures from UNHCR teams on the ground showed that at least 73,000 people have already arrived in those countries from Sudan, a spokesman said, adding that that figure included both Sudanese nationals and mainly South Sudanese refugees returning home.

Sudan hosted 1.13 million refugees before the conflict started -- one of the largest refugee populations in Africa -- including some 800,000 from South Sudan.

The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching frantic evacuations by land, sea and air.

Grandi's estimate of how many people could ultimately flee the violence marked a dramatic increase from last Tuesday, when UNHCR gave a planning figure of possibly 270,000 people fleeing into neighbouring Chad and South Sudan.
In a government-sponsored buyback programme to combat gun crime in the United States, over 3,000 weapons, including assault weapons, were surrendered in a single day on Saturday across New York state in exchange for gift cards. Cases of gun violence are on the rise in the United States. (Representative Image/Photo by Maria Lysenko on Unsplash)

We recovered 3,076 guns today, including 185 assault weapons. Every single one of these guns represents a potential tragedy averted, New York Attorney General Letitia James tweeted. The state attorney general's office hosted the Saturday's programme.

Participants were offered $500 gift cards in exchange for surrendering untraceable "ghost guns" and assault-type rifles with no questions asked, ABC news reported.

Similarly, each surrendered handgun earned the participants a $500 gift card for the first weapon and a $150 gift card for each additional handgun. Those who returned non-working reproductions, antiques, or 3D printed guns also earned $25 gift cards, while those who surrendered other types of rifles and shotguns received $75 gift cards.

Cases of gun violence are on the rise in the United States. Over 145 mass shootings have been reported in the country, with at least 15 taking place this year alone.

President Joe Biden has also advocated complete ban on gun violence. During State of the Union address earlier in the year, Biden said, Ban assault weapons once and for all. We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994. In the 10 years the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled. Lets finish the job and ban assault weapons again.

ALSO READ: Guns not reason for US shootings, problem spiritual: Donald Trump's theory

In Syracuse, New York, where police reported a 133% rise in homicides during the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year, 751 weapons were turned in, the ABC news report added.
The Biden administration will end most of the last remaining federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements next week when the national public health emergency for the coronavirus ends, the White House said Monday. Federal courts and Congress have already rolled back Biden's vaccine requirements for large employers and military service members.(File photo)

Vaccine requirements for federal workers and federal contractors, as well as foreign air travelers to the U.S., will end May 11. The government is also beginning the process of lifting shot requirements for Head Start educators, healthcare workers, and non citizens at U.S. land borders.

The requirements are among the last vestiges of some of the more coercive measures taken by the federal government to promote vaccination as the deadly virus raged, and their end marks the latest display of how President Joe Biden's administration is moving to treat COVID-19 as a routine, endemic illness.

While I believe that these vaccine mandates had a tremendous beneficial impact, we are now at a point where we think that it makes a lot of sense to pull these requirements down, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told The Associated Press on Monday.

Deeply polarizing at the time and the subject of numerous legal challenges  many of which were successful  the vaccination requirements were imposed by Biden in successive waves in late 2022 as the nations vaccination rate plateaued even amid the emergence of new, more transmissible variants of COVID-19.

More than 100 million people at one time were covered by Biden's sweeping mandates, which he announced on Sept. 9, 2021, as the delta variant of the virus was sickening more people than at any time up to that point in the pandemic. Biden had ruled out such requirements before taking office that January, but came to embrace them to change the behavior of what he viewed to be a stubborn slice of the public that refused to be inoculated, saying they jeopardized the lives of others and the nations economic recovery.

Weve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us, Biden said at the time. The unvaccinated minority can cause a lot of damage, and they are.

Federal courts and Congress have already rolled back Biden's vaccine requirements for large employers and military service members.

Mandates remain for many employees of the National Institutes of Health, Indian Health Service and Department of Veterans Affairs  which implemented their own requirements for healthcare staff and others independent of the White House  will remain while those agencies review their own requirements, the administration said.

Over 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than three years ago, including 1,052 people in the week ending April 26, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was the lowest weekly death toll from the virus since March 2020.

COVID continues to be a problem, Jha said. But our healthcare system or public health resources are far more able to respond to the threat that COVID poses to our country and do so in a way that does not cause problems with access to care for Americans.

He added, Some of these emergency powers are just not necessary in the same way anymore.

More than 270 million people in the U.S., or just over 81% of the population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.

For more than a year, U.S. health officials have been eyeing a long-term response to COVID-19 that is more similar to the approach to influenza, with updated shots yearly targeted at the latest strains of the virus  particularly for the most vulnerable. But fewer than 56 million people in the U.S., or 17% of the population, have received a dose of the updated bivalent boosters that became available in September 2022 and provide better protection against the omicron variants that remain in circulation.

"We dont have a national mandate for flu vaccines in the same way, and yet we see pretty good uptake of flu vaccines," Jha said. The goal here really is to continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, but I dont think mandates are going to be necessary for getting Americans vaccinated against COVID in the future.

While federal mandates are ending, Jha predicted that some employers, especially medical facilities, may decide to maintain their COVID-19 vaccination requirements. He noted that the hospital where he practices has had a flu vaccine requirement for employees for 20 years.

Jha dismissed concerns that the ending of the international traveler vaccination requirement would increase the risk of a new variant from overseas entering the U.S. Biden has already rolled back virus testing requirements for both American citizens and foreign travelers to the U.S.

Jha said the U.S. was already protected by a traveler genomic surveillance program, which, for instance, tests for different virus strains in aircraft wastewater.

We think that we are much more able to identify if a new variant shows up in the United States and respond effectively, he said. And I think thats what makes the need for a vaccine mandate for travelers less necessary right now.
Omni Hotels & Resorts introduces their newest hotel with top-of-the-class guest rooms, grade-A restaurants, bars, pool deck, the largest ballroom in Tempe and more.

The intersection of University Drive and Mill Avenue in Downtown Tempe just became the center of attention with the opening of Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU. The latest lifestyle hotel from Omni Hotels & Resorts welcomed its first guests today, bringing the brand's modern elegance and elevated experiences to the city while adding more than 300 guest rooms and a dynamic mix of restaurant, bar, and events spaces that will serve as a social hub for the community.

The hotel is a $125 million investment and part of a public-private partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) and the City of Tempe. In celebration of this highly anticipated opening, the property held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday where Peter Strebel, General Manager Todd Gagnon, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, and ASU President Michael Crow addressed the crowd.

Design elements pull from Tempe's cultural landscape, integrating ASU's modern, industrial feel with the serenity of the Sonoran Desert. Each of the 330 guest rooms and 11 suites are steeped in earthy textures and urban comforts and nearly 36,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, including the largest ballroom in Tempe, set a new wave for conferences and events.

Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU will be instrumental in reviving downtown's attractiveness as both a tourism and business destination. Additionally, the hotel brings four new culinary outlets to the neighborhood serving locally inspired cuisine, including:

Lucero Rooftop: A sky-high bar and restaurant where bold design emulates the starry night sky, the rooftop destination provides the ideal vantage point to witness iconic sunsets while sipping craft cocktails and savoring inventive bites.

Neighborhood Services: Serving up honest food & drink in the American Tradition, Neighborhood Services, a concept by acclaimed Chef Nick Badovinus, will offer rotating daily favorites, house craft cocktails and more.

Salt & Gila: Buzzing and lively, the third-floor pool bar is ideal for all day libations or cozy fireside evenings, making Salt & Gila the best place to engage, connect and unwind.

Library Rules: Mornings start here with a specialty cup of coffee paired with sweet pastries before transitioning into night where guests indulge in light bites and savory wines from a unique vineyard halfway around the globe.

About Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU

Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU amplifies Tempe's revitalized downtown area bringing some of the largest conference and meeting space to the city. The hotel features 330 guest rooms, including 11 suites, four dining outlets, a spacious pool deck, retail, and almost 36,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space with expansive views of the ASU campus and the Arizona cityscape. Whether you are looking for a destination for your weekend getaway, a meeting room or event space for a conference or wedding, the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU is sure to meet the needs of the most refined travelers.

Hotel website
Amro Nagah has returned to Accor as general manager of Swissotel Al Murooj Hotel in Dubai. The role sees him move on from Roda Amwaj Suites, where he was GM for almost three years.

He handles the day-to-day runnings of the 528-key hotel, tapping into his experience across hotel development, statistical analysis, financial analysis, F&B planning, and hotel operations to do so.

Before Roda Amwaj Suites, he was the general manager of Accor's Movenpick Grand Al Bustan Dubai. From 2014 to 2019, he was with Roda, first as director of rooms and revenues and then as a hotel manager.

Coming from a front office background, he has also worked with IHG in Sharjah as a front office supervisor in 2007, and with Rotana as a front desk manager and a duty manager.
Sector set to contribute more than $2.2TN to the U.S. economy this year



Travel & Tourism contributes one in every 10 jobs



International visitor spend up more than 150% from last year

New York City, U.S. - The World Travel & Tourism Councils (WTTC) 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) today reveals the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector is forecast to exceed the 2019 peak this year.

The sector is set to contribute $2.24TN to the U.S. economy this year, surpassing the 2019 pre-pandemic high of $2.17TN.

WTTC is also forecasting that the sector will create more than 1.2MN jobs this year, recovering almost all of the jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic to reach 17.4MN.

A look back on last year

Last year, the Travel & Tourism sectors GDP contribution grew by 16.9% to reach more than $2TN, representing 7.9% of the American economy, edging closer to the 2019 high of $2.17TN.

But the prolonged travel restrictions imposed by key source markets such as China and Japan, had an ongoing impact on the sectors recovery in the U.S.

Last year the sector also created 2.7MN more jobs from the previous year to reach 16.17MN jobs nationally  one in 10 jobs across America.

The sector has now recovered 6.75MN of the 8MN jobs lost during the pandemic.

Last year also saw the return of international travellers heading to the U.S. with spending from overseas visitors growing 158%. International visitors spent almost $116BN.

The ongoing travel restrictions from key source markets for the U.S. has stalled international visitor spend from a full recovery to the 2019 peak, however.

It is still 43.4% behind 2019 when international visitors spent more than $204BN.

The Travel & Tourism sector in the U.S. is recovering strongly with strong visitor demand. This year we expect tourism to add more than $2.2 trillion to the U.S. economy, beating the all-time high of 2019. The number of jobs created by Travel & Tourism stands at 16MN, but by the end of this year, it will reach almost 17.4MN jobs, only 1% behind 2019 numbers. In 2022, the value of the sector was worth $2.01TN compared to $2.17TN in 2019. International visitor spend is still lagging and despite the recent surge, we are still lagging 25% behind 2019 levels. Over the next 10 years, WTTC forecasts that Travel & Tourism will account for almost 21MN jobs  a staggering one in eight jobs across the country. The U.S. remains the worlds biggest Travel & Tourism market although predictions show China will take that crown in 2032. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO

What does the next decade look like?

The global tourism body is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to more than $3TN by 2033, 10% of the U.S. economy and will employ almost 21MN people across the country, with one in eight Americans working in the sector.

North America

In 2022, the North American Travel & Tourism sector contributed $2.34TN to the regional economy, just 7% below the 2019 peak. WTTC forecasts the regions GDP contribution from the sector will fully recover in 2023 to reach $2.59TN.

The sector employed 24.7MN people across the region in 2022, an increase of 3.6MN from the previous year but still 1.5MN behind the 2019 peak. WTTC forecasts the sector will fully recover the jobs lost during the pandemic by the end of 2023.

*The research was carried out in partnership with Oxford Economics with information sourced from UNWTO, Oxford Economics and national sources. All values are in constant 2022 prices and exchange rates, as reported in March 2023. The Economic Impact Research defines North America as U.S, Canada, and Mexico. Monetary figures for North America are provided in USD.

About WTTC

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector.

WTTC Press Office

WTTC
Since reopening its borders last fall, Japan continues to see incredible interest and is one of the fastest-growing international destinations year-to-date for U.S. travelers. Flight searches for summer are up triple digits compared to the same time period last year for Osaka (+592%), Tokyo (+290%) and Kyoto (+265%).

U.S. travelers are in it for the long haul, with New Zealand, Japan and Vietnam among the summers trending hotspots

Expedia released its Summer Travel Forecast, providing key insights to help Americans plan and save on their summer vacations. According to Expedia data, flight searches are up 25% overall for June through August compared to the same time last year, and interest is up triple digits for international destinations across Europe and Asia. In addition, average ticket prices drop $125 from their peak in early July to August.









This summer, travelers are clearly ready to dust off their passports and embrace jet lag as they set off overseas, says Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group brands public relations. The data shows the sweet spot for saving on summer airfare is right around the corner, but these days you can actually guarantee youre getting a great deal by tracking flights on the Expedia app or adding Price Drop Protection to your flight, which automatically refunds you if the price drops after you book.

Summer Destination Trends

While U.S. travelers are returning in droves to popular destinations including New York and Cancun, the biggest year-over-year increases are for longer-haul destinations including Auckland, Hong Kong and Osaka. Despite average flight ticket prices sitting higher than last summer, strong demand trends indicate travelers are ready to make the most out of their summer vacations.

Since reopening its borders last fall, Japan continues to see incredible interest and is one of the fastest-growing international destinations year-to-date for U.S. travelers. Flight searches for summer are up triple digits compared to the same time period last year for Osaka (+592%), Tokyo (+290%) and Kyoto (+265%).

How to Save on Summer Travel

The sweet spot to save on domestic airfare and save around 8% is 21 to 60 days out, while Americans planning summer trips abroad should book as soon as possible for the best rates.

Prices can fluctuate in the lead-up to departure, but with Expedias Price Drop Protection travelers can get refunded for the difference if the flight becomes cheaper after they book. Launched earlier this year in the Expedia app, Price Drop Protection is available on most flights for a nominal fee, currently with no annual limits on refunds.

To save on airfare, travel during late August and avoid holiday weekends. Average ticket prices drop an average of $125 compared to the peak in early July. Meanwhile, the July Fourth weekend is currently the busiest and most expensive weekend of the summer for air travel. ATPs for the holiday weekend are 12% higher than average for the month.

Data sources:
Marketing Organization Meet Boston Launches New Partnership Model

The term DMO is a relic of the past. While many in the tourism industry have shifted away from the traditional Destination Marketing Organization moniker to position themselves as a more modern Destination Management Organization that takes a more active role in coordinating, advocating and promoting the various partners and stakeholders in their destination. Even fewer have been so bold as to refer to their true role as a Destination Leadership Organization (DLO), though that is indeed the position they are trending toward fulfilling in todays travel marketplace.

Though the DLO name has been discussed to some degree over the past decade, destination organizations have only been recently taking on the strategic roles that define destination leadership. Responsibilities such as economic development, resident sentiment management, talent attraction and retention, community engagement, and policy influence are becoming less optional  quickly bleeding into their core responsibilities.

Traditional organization KPIs, like visitor volume, average length of stay and average visitor spend, will continue to be scrutinized. However, the means by which DLOs reach those goals are changing rapidly  driven in part by a more discerning, passionate traveler.

Looking at trends we see three-quarters of travelers reporting that the memories they get from travel are more valuable than the material purchases they make. Destinations are even becoming a representation of who the travelers see themselves as, with half stating that the places they visit are a reflection of who they are. Fifty percent of travelers also highlight experiencing different cultures as a top travel motivator. This all places a lot of pressure on DLOs to pull local creators and entrepreneurs, the front-line perception drivers, into the placemaking process to ensure that the destination is attractive to prospective visitors.

The DLOs expanded scope of influence does not stop at local businesses. While partnering with local hotels, attractions and business leaders will continue to be valuable, engaging community leaders, local social media influencers and policymakers will be critical to success. Additional partnerships will ensure that the role of tourism in the community is shared by locals, that economic white space is proactively identified and leveraged, that all marketing of the destination is done in a unified voice, and that local regulations are designed in a way that balances the needs of residents with the value prospective travelers bring.

Smart DLOs are also shifting their view of this value. Attracting the right kind of visitor who embraces local values and is committed to the sustainable consumption of area resources is a delicate science that can be fruitful in not only monetary return on investment but also in boosting local perceptions of tourism. Additionally, DLOs who invest in identifying their optimal traveler know that a high-value visitor may become a future student, resident or business owner who would bring resources to further destination growth.

The DLO mindset is not new, although the name is. Destination managers have been shifting their roles and responsibilities slowly over the years to fully encompass destination leadership. The new reality that destination organizations face as their function evolves and expands necessitates an appropriate label  one that adequately conveys their responsibility to their region and the lives of residents and visitors.

Trey Williams, VP, Strategic Planning, MMGY
Americans outside of Texas see Houston as the best city in the state to start a business, a new poll has found, though in some circles, San Antonio and Austin edge out the Bayou City.

Overall, two-thirds of respondents see Texas as a good state to start a business  and 18 percent named Houston as the best city in the state to get one started, followed by 16 percent for Dallas and 14 percent who would hang their shingle in Austin.

The survey of 852 Americans not living in Texas was conducted in April by Crosswind Media & Public Relations, a communications firm based in Austin.

A broad coalition of respondents put Houston in the top spot, said Crosswind CEO Thomas Graham, including men, women, respondents under 40, Black respondents, respondents with no college degree and those who live in a major city.

"Everybody agrees Houstons a good place to start a business," Graham said.

Well, almost everybody: 30 percent of Hispanic respondents named San Antonio as the best city to start a business, compared with 26 percent who voted for Houston, and Democrats surveyed gave Austin the edge over Houston 24 percent to 18 percent.

Related: New poll reveals what Americans think of Texas

Crosswind conducts this poll annually, Graham said, to see how Americans who don't live in Texas perceive the state's strengths, weaknesses and overall "brand."

Over the past year, Graham added, the state's national image has improved significantly. This year, Texas is seen favorably by 59 percent of Americans, up from 45 percent who said the same in 2022, and 55 percent think the state is headed in the right direction. Also, 44 percent of respondents to the 2023 survey consider Texas to be more culturally diverse than other states, up from 32 percent in last year's survey.

"The entrepreneurial spirit of Texas is really a durable and vibrant brand out there, and Im happy to see the diversity of the state continues to get recognition," he said.

Bob Harvey, the CEO and president of the Greater Houston Partnership, the region's principal business organization, has said that people see Houston as the city of opportunity, in part because of that diversity.

"There are plenty of other young, diverse cities around the world. But here in the U.S., we're among the youngest and most diverse," Harvey said in an interview this year as he prepares to step down at the end of 2023.

Related: Greater Houston Partnership's Bob Harvey is ready to hand over the reins to 'best job in town'

Among new large business developments, a recent review by researchers at Site Selection magazine found the Houston region drew 255 projects in 2022, placing behind the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area (426 projects) and the top-ranked Chicago region (448 projects). The researchers tracked private sector announcements that involved at least $1 million, 20 or more jobs and/or 20,000 square-feet of construction.

"I think Texas is in a great position overall, and then Houston being an international city, a port city, has been one of the preferred locations for a lot of those companies," said Craig Rhodes, vice president of regional economic development at the Greater Houston Partnership.

Crosswind's Graham suggested that state leaders, however, shouldn't become complacent. Last year, he said, the poll was conducted in the summer, shortly after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that triggered a state law restricting abortion.

"The stewards of the Texas brand  and by that I mean political leadership, business leadership and community leadership  should be vigilant as it relates to telling the story of Texas," he said, "and keep demographics and viewpoints in consideration as we approach our public policy, how we do business and how we grow and develop our communities."
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If you can judge a person by the company they keep, then you can judge a legislator by the laws they propose.

State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, is vying for showboat of the session with some of the most ridiculous and reactionary bills introduced so far. The breadth and hatefulness of his measures make him a caricature of the small-minded politician.

Patterson is terrified of LGBTQ people, and his bills try to put them back in the closet. His HB436 would stop parents from seeking appropriate medical care for a transgender child, while his HB643 would equate drag performances with strip clubs, which must collect a $5 per patron state tax.

Taking a cue from Floridas Dont Say Gay law, Patterson also introduced HB 1155, which prohibits schools from acknowledging LGBTQ people before the 9th grade. The state would forbid teachers from explaining why some kids have two moms or two dads.

Companies that relocated to Texas for tax incentives will lose them under Pattersons HB 787 if they assist employees in obtaining abortions. Corporations committed to their workers civil rights should pay heed.

The desire to censor runs strong. Patterson also proposed HB 896, which bans anyone under 18 from using any social media platform. Quite predictably, Patterson also introduced a book ban bill, HB 1655. There will be no stopping the thought police if this bill becomes law.

Patterson is the same lawmaker who introduced HB714 to strip the city of Austin of its sovereignty and establish a District of Austin that the Legislature would oversee without input from its citizens. Patterson thinks he should dictate how you should live and opposes political self-determination too.

If all these bills become law, I cannot imagine big companies relocating to Texas.

Patterson is prolific, and he has many more bills punishing those with whom he disagrees, but hes far from alone.

Sens. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, and Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, have filed what some describe as the single worst anti-clean energy bill so far. Lawmakers who do not care about the enormous environmental harm produced by oil and natural gas extraction have decided to impose absurd restrictions on wind and solar facilities in SB 624.

In the exercise of the police power of this state, it is necessary and desirable to provide additional means so that the installation and removal of renewable energy generation facilities is placed under the authority and direction of the (Public Utility) Commission, the bills purpose declares.

The bill proposes the kind of bureaucratic red tape that sincere conservatives find reprehensible. The senators want an onerous and complex hearing and permitting process designed to make building new wind or solar power facilities almost impossible.

Additional operational rules are spectacularly hypocritical in a state where oil companies routinely waste millions of cubic feet of valuable natural gas, abandon leaky wells that become ecological hazards, and drill disposal wells that cause damaging earthquakes.

When Kolkhorst served in the Texas House, she earned bipartisan respect for serious attempts to address the states health care challenges. Since joining the Senate, shes started carrying Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks culture war bills, including the infamous bathroom bill targeting transgender Texans in 2019.

This session, she introduced SB 147, banning citizens of China, Iran, North Korea or Russia from purchasing Texas real estate. She apparently believes a persons passport is more important than their character, even if they are exiled dissidents or refugees supporting the United States.

Kolkhorst is breaking with her more conservative colleagues, though, by introducing a constitutional amendment and a bill legalizing sports gambling. Patrick earlier said gambling has little support in the Senate, over which he presides, so the measures may not get far.

Many of the Legislatures more extreme bills may not pass, but their introduction scares off businesses considering relocation to Texas and worried about employee retention. While politicians use crazy bills to appease party activists and donors, they should worry average Texans who love freedom, liberty and property rights.
In the gap between evidence and legend, faith flourishes. The National Museum of Funeral History has gone to great lengths to maintain that gap in their latest exhibit, "The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin," which is open next to their expansive exploration of papal funeral rites supported by the Vatican.



Visitors should be aware this is not the actual Shroud of Turin, which never leaves Italy and is only occasionally displayed. Instead, this is a certified replica grown from extinct strains of flax seeds stored in a seed bank and then grown in the soil of Italian estates that have been cultivated for centuries before being hand-loomed using biblical-era technology. The image of "the man" was then printed directly onto the finished shroud. There are only seven of these certified copies in the world, and one of them is now on permanent loan to the Funeral Museum.

MORE FROM JEF ROUNER: 'May the Fourth Be With You': Houston 'Star Wars' parties set for May 4



The man  he is only referred to as the man in both museum literature and even statements from the Vatican, which took control of the relic following the passing of King Umberto II of Italy in 1983. Controversy rages to this day about whether the image in the shroud is that of Jesus of Nazareth. What is known is that the image on the shroud matches Jewish burial practices of the first century and that wounds seen on the image could be consistent with the Passion.

The Most Famous Burial of All Time: The Shroud of Turin When: Open daily Where: National Museum of Funeral History, 415 Barren Springs Details: $7-$15; 281-876-3063; nmfh.org See More Collapse



One person who knows more about this than almost anyone alive is Barrie Schwortz. In 1978, he was the photographer and archivist of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP). He donated his own time (and turned down $30,000 in freelance work) for the opportunity to examine the relic, something he is certain will never happen again.





We were the first and the last, he said during an interview while he was in town for the exhibits opening. Theyve not permitted anyone else to do the in-depth examination we did.





STURP spent 17 months preparing for the frantic 120 hours they were allowed to examine the shroud and procure samples. The team was full of prestigious scientists who worked on high-level projects, including Rudy Dichtl (also in town for the opening), who came straight from building what he called a Buck Rogers death ray for the U.S. Air Force to be the teams physicist. Schwortz was also fresh from war science when he traveled to Turin, having photographed atomic explosions from the air. The irony of two men instrumental in godlike weapons of mass destruction dropping everything to examine historical evidence of the Prince of Peace is not lost on either of them.





It was hilarious, says Schwortz.





Schwortz, who is Jewish, believes that the shroud is an authentic relic of the historical Jesus.





It took me 17 years after we finished, after we had studied all the science we had done and all that had been written about it, and the only conclusion I could come to is that this is an artifact of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, he says. And people say to me, 'Oh, so youre a Messianic Jew and youve become a Christian? No, I can accept historicity of the man Jesus and what was done to him whether or not he was the prophesied Messiah.





He discussed some of the most famous attempts to debunk the shroud following its scientific examination, specifically the claims by microscopist Walter McCrone, who declared the bloodstains to be paint and gelatin fabrications.





He implied he was a member of our team, says Schwortz. He was never a member of our team, but he never corrected that. Years later, (lead STURP chemist Raymond) Rogers was dying and they asked him to speak to the American Chemical Society. He couldnt travel anymore, so he gave them my name. I showed them all the peer-reviewed science that showed McCrone was completely wrong. The biggest shock to the group was that he was never in Turin and never saw the shroud.





Theres only so far that the science can take us when it comes to the shroud. The Funeral Museum has put together an extremely handsome display of their replica, including a statue of the man built by Italian artist Luigi Enzo Mattei using the shroud as a blueprint. There are examinations of burial rites, right down to the probable Roman coins (mites) that would have been placed on the executed mans eyes to keep them closed.





One interpretation is that this is simply a burial shroud of a condemned prisoner. The head wounds said to be the proof of the crown of thorns could simply be conventional scourging. Theres a wound in the side, but the Romans stabbed a lot of people, just like they crucified a lot of people.





Or, it could be the burial cloth of Jesus, kept in defiance of Jewish burial practices and handed down through the ages. Carbon dating places it in the 1300s, but the exhibit points out that a combination of exposure to elements of later dates and a lack of multiple tested samples means that is hardly conclusive.





In the end, the shroud is what individuals make of it, whether its an object of historical curiosity, scientific inquiry, or divine faith.





People come to me, deep in their faith, says Schwortz. I can give you the evidence, which is technical and can only go so far. The other is, What does your heart tell you? Is your faith so weak you need science to tell you?
By Azernews

Vusala Mustafayeva

In the early 20th century, following the establishment of the Republic of Armenia, a policy of ethnic cleansing was carried out against the local Azerbaijani population in Azerbaijan's historical lands. This included forced evacuations of Azerbaijani settlements and the transfer of Armenian populations into those settlements. Additionally, the immediate renaming of these settlements was also implemented.

In December 1919, the Armenian government formed a special commission to rename villages, cities, rivers, and mountains.

As part of this effort, 17 settlements in present-day Armenia had their names changed to Armenian equivalents between 1918 and 1920.

In subsequent years, one of the primary objectives was to Armenianize toponyms, or place names. This involved the changing of Turkish origin names to Armenian language.

Armudlu  Tandzut

Da?qala  Karaberd

Dar?k?nd  Dzoraqyu?

D?r?cic?k  Tsaxkadzor

Gullubulaq  Vardaxpuyr

Azerbaijani historian Nazim Tapdiqoghlu said that Armenians have renamed the regions in Armenia by distorting the names of Azerbaijani and Turkish origins. According to him, they changed the Hammali to Spitak.

"There was Allahverdi district, they made it Tumanyan. We had Basarkecher district, they have replaced Basarkecher wih Vardeniz. Also, they have changed Zangibasar to Masiz. Not only those, they even continued to change names of small villages, mountains, lakes. By that time, over 80% of the village names had been of Turkish origins."

In 1918-1987, 254 Azerbaijani settlements in the territory of present-day Armenia were removed from the list of settlements in various ways. The original Turkish words which were written at the beginning of the words as Yuxar?, A?a??, Boyuk, Kicik renamed in different ways. They have distorted them by giving the Armenian words such as "Verin", "Nerkin", "Mets", "Pokr".

Armenians have changed our hydronyms (lakes and rivers) and our oronyms (mountains, valleys, and hills). Generally, they just did not change residential areas, they also radically changed our hydronyms and oronyms system," said historian Nazim Tapdiqoghlu.

On November 7, 1995, the Republic of Armenia adopted a new law regarding its administrative-territorial division. The previous regional divisions were abolished, and 11 new provinces were established instead. Furthermore, the names of the regions within those provinces have been updated in official documents.

C?mb?r?k- Krasnoselo

A?a?? Qaranl?q- Martuni

Basarkec?r- Vardenis

K?v?r- Kamo

Z?ngibasar- Masis

Ke?i?k?nd  Ye?eqnadzor

There are enough evidences that how implantation of settlers ran in parallel to changing the Azerbaijani ethno-cultural features of these territories by Armenians. Almost all native toponyms of historical Azerbaijani places in the occupied territories were altered. Settlement activities in the occupied territories were carried out in a pre-planned and organized manner with clearly defined objective and geographic focus. Today, Armenians continue the tradition of falsifying history in order to make their fictitious "Greater Armenia" claim come true. Armenia's toponymic atrocities must be stopped.
Impressive Neoclassical design, ornate plasterwork laden with Greek motifs and tall marble wall panels and columns were all part of the marketing of City National Bank Building, which opened on Market Street in Galveston in 1920.

The bank's refined aesthetic sent a reassuring message of prosperity to potential customers: Your money is safe and secure with us.

That building, vacant since Hurricane Ike flooded the Texas Gulf Coast in 2008, hasn't operated as a bank since the early 1960s, but its newest restoration/rehabilitation is finally finished and will be on display as one of 10 sites on the 2023 Galveston Historic Homes Tour, the 49th annual event conducted by the Galveston Historical Foundation, May 6-7 and May 13-14.

Several of the homes are examples of Victorian architecture; they range from grand manses to small cottages and tenant houses. One even began its life as a corner grocery store but has since been turned into a residence. The bank building is Neoclassical, while another home on the tour is a stately brick Colonial Revival. The oldest house on the tour was built in 1890, and four residences predate the Great Storm of 1900, which wiped out much of the island and killed an estimated 8,000 people.

"(History) is big business for Galveston, and Galveston has a whole lot of history thats interesting to people," said Dwayne Jones, the Galveston Historical Foundation's executive director and CEO. "People are fascinated by the 1900 storm or maritime history or the beaches, but the history and the buildings really are a consistent theme for the island. Having worked in a number of communities in Texas, I can say that Galveston has an extraordinary collection of historic buildings. It was a major port and was one of the wealthiest communities (in Texas) in the 1800s."

Jhonny Langer, a Galveston paint conservator known for his ability to identify layers of paint on single walls and for restoring the architectural features within many historic buildings, said the bank building was constructed at a time when people were building grand houses and commercial buildings and did whatever was necessary to make things beautiful.

"It was not just for the bankers themselves, but also for the customers who came in, to make them feel important. The finishes and the way they are applied were done to look like old money," said Langer of Source, a restoration and conservation firm. "So many different types of artists were used to create this building. Ceramic artists and metal artists. There were painting artists, faux painting artists, it went on and on. I was pretty amazed at how many artisans it took to create the interior."

Chicago architects Weary & Alford, considered premier designers of banks in the 1920s, designed the building for William L. Moody. Moody founded the bank in 1907 and moved into the new location when it was finished in 1920. The name of the bank changed to Moody National Bank in 1953, though "City National Bank" remains part of the older bank building's exterior facade today.

Courtesy of the Galveston Historical Foundation

In the early 1960s, at a time when postwar America was all about modern architecture and design, the bank's executives built a new, more modern bank a few blocks away.

Galveston Historic Homes Tour When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 6-7 and 13-14 See More Collapse

Mary Moody Northen donated the building to Galveston County in 1972, and from 1978 until the fall of 2008, the Galveston County Historical Museum operated from the site. It left the building after the hurricane, which flooded much of the island, filled the bank building's basement with water and destroyed its HVAC system.

More recently, Ross Moody was trying to restore and rehab the building for residential use and event space, but in 2020 he gifted the building and its rehab project to the historical foundation.

The bank building may have started as a commercial space but is an example of how a building's use can change through the years. Though homes on the tour have all been updated for modern life, they all show glimpses of how people lived decades ago.

Many houses had small rooms because they were cheaper to heat in the winter. Before air conditioning or even electricity were widely used, houses were sited and windows were placed to capture the prevailing winds and stay cooler naturally.

You won't see a kitchen that looks like it did in the late 1800s or early 1900s because they were often tiny and utilitarian. Now they have all been updated. In stately homes where wealthy residents lived, those kitchens were used by servants and were anything but lavish.

Langer spent months using special solutions to clean off the elaborate plasterwork that covers the building's domed ceiling. You'll see common Greek-style motifs such as bands of Greek key, flowers, cherubs and other common themes.

"In areas of old wealth, like Beaumont, Ive seen a few ceilings like this, basically suspended plaster ceilings. But a lot of them have deteriorated beyond being able to save them. Most people in the 1950s dropped the ceiling to add air conditioning and update buildings. The ceilings get torn apart or become perforated full of holes," Langer said. "That we have a perfectly intact ceiling is pretty amazing."

Though some period sconces were added and new bathrooms installed with period bathtubs and sinks, they did save one enormous original urinal that they jokingly call a "spaceship." Much of the lighting is original to the building, and while it needed to be cleaned up, all of it still worked.

The building's exterior is worth close examination, too.

Langer said that while the base of the building is real granite, upper portions are actually a less expensive shortcut: architectural terra cotta made to look like granite, something you won't see much of anymore. Some of the upper walls inside the building used a similar method of cast stone incised to look like brick and with a mixture to make it look like either sandstone or limestone.

He said the cast stone essentially would have been made with Portland cement, a mineral-based color and different types of stone added in. It's mixed together and poured into molds, then it comes out looking like stone.

Jones said that this bank building is one of 22 buildings that the historical foundation owns. Another one is the 1838 Michel B. Menard House, the oldest building on the island, a grand Greek Revival home that is often used for weddings.

Those structures are rented out to provide revenue for the foundation, which educates and promotes people on Galveston's history  both its architecture and its maritime history, since Galveston was an important shipping port both for immigration and for importing goods in the 1800s.

The bank building, which has two bedroom suites, will be rented out as residential space, Jones said. The tenant could use the main floor space for small parties or events.

diane.cowen@houstonchronicle.com
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Francisco Oropeza,wanted by law enforcement in the recent killing of five people "execution-style," was taken into custody Tuesday evening following an intensive, dayslong manhunt.

On Friday, Oropeza allegedly used an AR-15 to kill Sonia Guzman, her 9-year-old son Daniel Guzman, Diana Alvarado, Jose Casarez and Julisa Rivera after he was told by family members that his shooting of his rifle in his yard had been disturbing a baby sleeping inside their home in Cleveland in San Jacinto County, authorities said.

THE LATEST: Texas manhunt continues for alleged Cleveland shooter; schools locked down after possible sighting

Who is Francisco Oropeza?

Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Oropeza, 38, was shooting an AR-15-style rifle in his front yard when his neighbors asked him to stop shooting because the infant was trying to sleep, according to authorities. Oropeza first went away, but then is alleged to have entered his neighbor's house, where he started shooting inside.

FBI officials released a photo of Oropeza Sunday afternoon. He is shown to have short, black hair, with a short mustache. Officials also released a detailed photo of his arm with a tattoo of a woman with long hair wearing a hat.

Why is Oropeza's immigration status an issue?

Oropeza is a Mexican national who had been deported from the country four times, most recently in 2016, according to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. He was also deported twice in 2009 and once in 2012.

According to the agency, Oropeza was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2012 and sentenced to serve jail time, though the agency did not say how long he served.

MORE ON THE MASS SHOOTING: 5 killed 'execution style' by gunman still on the run in San Jacinto County

Abbott's office said Oropeza was in the country illegally at the time of Friday night's shootings. Details about how he obtained the AR-15-style weapon haven't been released.

A law enforcement source told the Houston Chronicle that authorities are concerned about Oropeza fleeing to Mexico.

Texas Republicans have seized on his immigration status, saying the shooting highlights the "devastating consequences" of illegal immigration.

Numerous studies have found immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens, including a 2020 study of Texas Department and Public Safety data that concluded that US-born citizens are twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes.

Is his last name Oropeza or Oropesa?

Law enforcement are using the spelling "Oropesa," which they say is more prominently used in records. A gate on his family's house lists the name as "Oropeza," which is the spelling authorities initially gave. That also appears to include an inscription in Spanish "God bless this home."

Did Oropeza and his wife know the other family?

Homeowner Sonia Guzman, one of the five deceased, knew Oropeza's wife, speaking with her frequently, said Wilson Garcia, the husband of Guzman.

GUN EXPLAINER: Is AR-15 a machine gun? 5 things to know about style of rifle used in San Jacinto County mass shooting

"(Oropeza) even helped us cut a tree once," Garcia told the Houston Chronicle, whose stepson was 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Lazo Guzman, who also was killed.

Oropeza's wife appears to be cooperating in the investigation. She is in "constant contact" with law enforcement, officials said.

Did Oropeza ever disturb the neighborhood before this?

The San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office had received multiple calls in the past about Oropeza shooting a weapon, Sheriff Greg Capers said. Capers said it was unclear how many times that happened, or whether Oropeza was committing a crime by shooting.

At least two other weapons were found inside his home, according to a KPRC-Channel 2 report.

Neighbors have said gunfire is frequent in this part of unincorporated San Jacinto County.

Has Oropeza been found?

Oropeza was arrested Tuesday night.

Authorities captured Oropeza at a relative's Montgomery County home, four days into the sprawling manhunt.
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AMMAN, Jordan (AP)  Jordan's top diplomat said on Monday that regional talks with Syria are a step in the right direction to end a decade of the war-torn countrys political isolation and bring Damascus back into the Arab fold.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi's remarks came as Jordan hosted a meeting of envoys from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Syria. Before the meeting kicked off, Safadi met one-on-one with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.

Damascus is slowly returning to the Arab fold after being ostracized over President Bashar Assads brutal crackdown on a 2011 uprising that descended into a yearslong civil war. However, as Assad consolidated control over most of the country in recent years, Syrias neighbors have begun to take steps toward rapprochement.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the meeting on Monday came as a follow-up to talks with Arab Gulf countries, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt held in Saudi Arabia last month and focused on a Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.

There was clarity and honesty, Safadi said of the talks in Amman. This meeting is the beginning of an Arab-led political path to reach a solution to the crisis."

The diplomats also discussed Syria's humanitarian needs, especially in light of the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria, drug smuggling across Syria's borders and the refugee crisis from the Syrian civil war.

We agreed on mechanisms to start organizing their (the refugees') safe and voluntary returns, in coordination with the United Nations, he added.

The outreach to Damascus picked up pace after the February earthquake and the China-brokered reestablishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which had backed opposing sides in Syria's conflict.

Saudi Arabia, the regional heavyweight that once backed Syrian rebel groups, has been leading the rapprochement. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus last month for the first time since the kingdom cut ties with Syria more than a decade ago.

The kingdom will host a meeting of the Arab League this month, where many expect to see the start  if not full return  of Syria's membership. Some resistance to that remains, mainly from Qatar. The Arab League is a regional organization of the Arab world, established to promote cooperation among its members.

Safadi declined to comment when asked about a precise date on Syria's possible return to the league, saying it was up to the member states to make that decision.

___

Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Social media companies would have to verify the age of Wisconsin users and get parental permission for kids to open accounts under a bill unveiled Monday by Republican Rep. David Steffen.

The measure would also stop children under 18 from using their accounts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., but parents could opt out of all requirements for their child.

Lawmakers across the country have been pushing to limit children's access to social media. Nearly half of states nationwide have recently banned the popular video sharing app TikTok from state-owned devices, in many instances with bipartisan support. Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers banned the app in January.

Steffen announced his plans last month to propose more precautions for all social media platforms.

Today, social media companies, advertisers, and predators have easy, electronic access to our kids. It has become obvious that this has been at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our children," he said in an April statement. Its our job as parents or guardians to keep our kids safe, but the current online environment has made that nearly impossible.

Under the bill, which Steffen provided to The Associated Press before circulating for cosponsors Monday, social media platforms would have 21 days to verify the age of Wisconsin residents with accounts created since 2019 and get permission from a parent or guardian to allow children to access existing accounts or create new ones. Parents would also receive full access to their child's account.

Platforms that don't comply with the law could be fined $100 a day for each account in violation.

The bill would also require social media platforms to set protections for minors, including limits on data sharing and advertising for youth accounts.

To pass, the proposal needs approval from both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature and then a signature from Evers.

His spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, did not return a voicemail seeking comment Monday.

Steffen said in a statement that he modeled the measure after a law Utah lawmakers passed in March. Questions have arisen about whether and how that law will be enforced, and it's likely to face legal challenges. Arkansas lawmakers also passed a bill last month modeled after the Utah legislation that will offer another test of the enforceability of social media limits for kids.

Steffen isn't the first Wisconsin lawmaker to advocate for increased scrutiny of social media companies. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin proposed a bipartisan bill in March to allow the Commerce Department to regulate and potentially ban platforms. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, who leads a House subcommittee on China, has criticized TikTok and pushed for more regulation of the app as concerns grow over the platform being used for Chinese surveillance.

___

Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Venhuizen on Twitter.
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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  Scores of Somalis fleeing violence in Sudan arrived in their Horn of Africa nation on Sunday, an official said.

Some 148 Somali nationals, mostly students, arrived by plane in the capital Mogadishu, said Abdurahman Nur Mohamed Diinaari, a top official with the Somali foreign ministry.

Through the assistance of the International Organization for Migration, Somalias foreign ministry has finally been able to relocate 148 Somalis from Sudan to Somalia today," he said.

The Somalis had traveled by land from Sudan to Ethiopia and then onward by air to Somalia. Forty-five of those who arrived Sunday were later transported to Garowe, the administrative capital of the Somali state of Puntland, Diinaari said.

Somalia itself has been plagued by violence for years. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which opposes the federal government, frequently launches deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

One of the Somalis evacuated on Sunday said in an interview that she was happy to be alive and back in her country.

I am pleased that I have finally arrived in my country. However, what we have been through is unusual and hard to describe, but I am grateful for the opportunity to survive," Ramlo Mohamed, one of the evacuees, told AP. "I pray in the meantime for God to assist our Muslim brothers in Sudan in alleviating their plight.

There were an estimated 7,000 Somali nationals in Sudan before violence broke out earlier this month, most of them attending universities there. Others are business people and migrants hoping to reach Europe, according to Ewa Naqvi, deputy chief of mission of the U.N. migration agency.

The fighting in Sudan pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum, the capital.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties in the violence, said Sunday that over the past two weeks 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.
Among the lessons we learned about human nature during the pandemic is that, actually, plenty of people  even those facing criminal charges  really do want to show up to court.

Previously, excuses for missing court hearings, such as trouble finding a ride or rounding up childcare, were often dismissed as, well, excuses. As such, leniency for no-shows was rare and punishments were common. The availability of virtual court soon changed perceptions. People who had the option used it and court attendance soared.

Some courts went from 80 percent no show to 80 percent appearance, Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby told the editorial board last week, noting how it streamlined court proceedings, too: "Its just so much more efficient, he said. I realized some of the barriers but I dont think I realized the degree of the efficiency that this would bring to the whole system.

Sure, there are valid criticisms of virtual court, including judges who used it to skirt transparency. One survey found that virtual hearings were longer. And the digital divide kept many from participating.

But the point isn't perfection. It's more access.

In Texas, legal access  whether to a court hearing or to quality legal representation  is a vexing challenge that requires every bit of creative problem-solving, funding and advocacy to address.

That's why legal aid advocates are out beating the bushes for Legislative support for such things as public kiosks that provide Internet and other access to legal services. They're also pleading with lawmakers for more funding for legal aid in civil cases. Busby has been a key ally.

Criminal defendants who can't afford an attorney have long been guaranteed access to legal counsel, thanks the U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v Wainwright. But the same right doesn't apply to civil cases.

Think about what that means for people facing eviction. For domestic violence survivors fighting for custody. For veterans dealing with medical bills they can't pay. They're on their own, and that can be as terrifying as it is unfair.

In Texas, the vast majority of civil legal needs of low-income Texans go unmet, experts say. Legal aid organizations have to turn away roughly half of the people who make it to their doors  to say nothing of the folks who don't even bother to knock because they know the shortage of help available, according to Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.

For some of these folks, a simple public kiosk at the local library or community center that serves as a one-stop-shop for virtual legal services could be the answer. On Monday, Balli Torres helped cut the ribbon on such a kiosk at the Little Walnut Creek Branch of the Austin Public Library. It's the first of 25 that the foundation helped fund through a grant to the Texas Legal Services Center, led by Karen Miller. She attended the ribbon-cutting, as well as Busby, the Texas Supreme Court justice who serves as the liaison to the TAJF and was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

The kiosk (Harris County will get one soon) is unassuming: two frosted glass panels walling off a desk equipped with a computer complete with video and headphones, a scanner and a printer. People can use it to log in for virtual court, scan and submit legal documents and seek the help of a navigator who can answer technical questions and even connect someone to legal aid.

It's a simple fix for a big problem.

A 2013 survey conducted by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation found that an estimated 90 percent of civil legal needs of low-income households were going unmet. The number was even higher when it came to housing, employment and consumer law needs. A 2002 study estimated national unmet need at 92 percent.

Lawmakers have a chance to close some of that gap. And they should. Advocates are asking for $4.6 million to install one kiosk in every county, inside community centers, libraries, domestic violence shelters and other strategic sites.

While the approach, putting in a single kiosk per county, is more politically savvy than efficient, it also makes some sense. Many of the less-populous rural counties also have less access to quality broadband and a kiosk would ensure theres at least one, quiet, reliable place to log on to a courthouse, which may be in another county altogether.

Some of the rural counties are particularly large so a kiosk offers another, possibly closer, way to access court. Ideally, there would be more than one, placed strategically to help cover high-need areas across each county.

But another, less obvious benefit of virtual courts and kiosks helps underscore how life-changing civil cases really are. For domestic violence survivors, it can be far less intimidating to log on rather than stand in the same physical space as their abuser as they fight for custody, child support or other legal needs to help them gain a safe and stable life. Advocates hope that the kiosks will act as yet another accessible entry point for low-income Texans in need of legal help that can, for example, mean the difference between staying with an abuser and securing a protective order; being evicted and working out a payment plan; or a teenager being unemployed and helping him seal his record so he can get a job sacking groceries.

When we say life-threatening or life-changing, both of those things can be true, Balli Torres said.

And lawmakers should help make the difference.

This editorial originally included the wrong location and date for the ribbon cutting of a new virtual court kiosk. The ceremony was at the Little Walnut Creek Branch of the Austin Public Library and occurred on Monday April 24, 2023. Another kiosk also opened at the Fort Bend County law library that week.
The state of Texas is resisting paying watchdogs appointed by a federal court to oversee its foster care system.

The watchdogs, known as court monitors, stem from a 2011 lawsuit overseen by U.S District Judge Janis Jack. The case was brought on behalf of 12,000 Texas children in the system, and Jack ultimately found that the conditions were so poor as to violate the constitutional rights of the children.

IN-DEPTH: Meet the lawyer whose charity work sparked the epic battle over Texas foster care

For nearly a decade now, Jack has pushed for reforms through orders stemming from that decision. She appointed a team of court monitors to oversee system and periodically issue reports about its problems. Those monitors have highlighted abuse and neglect in state facilities, including sex trafficking allegations at a Bastrop foster care facility last year, as well as the state's practice of placing foster care kids in state office buildings or hotels because they can't find a more suitable placement for them.

Lawyers for Texas said they werent objecting to paying the monitors in general. The lawyers said that payment for that work would be granted, but they have questions about some of the accounting on the invoice. A spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said in an email last week that the state had already paid one invoice from the court monitors and was in the process of paying the second.

In a hearing on Monday morning, Jack reacted with outrage at questions from the state over the monitors fees. She said all the states complaints have been ruled on previously, and this one is a waste of time.

They have investigated and done more for these children than your own investigators have ever done," Jack said. "Thats what theyre doing for these children that you are not, that your millions of dollars of payroll are not, for these children. So do not try to play the political card of taxpayer funds wasted on monitors, when they are doing a service for these children that you all have failed to provide.

Paul Yetter, the lawyer for the children in the case, said the state asking for "granulated, excessive detail about every conversation" with the monitors is wasteful, and ultimately led to higher costs to taxpayers.

"There is very careful oversight of the monitors' work and every invoice and it's not going to be done by the state. It's going to be done by the court. And frankly, it's a shame for us, from our perspective on behalf of the children, that the efforts of the state are going into nitpicking the monitors" rather than caring for the children.

The states posture toward the case has evolved over time. Jack has on several occasions over the years held Texas in contempt of court for noncompliance, berating state agency officials during court hearings.

Over the last 18 months, Jack has pushed for more cooperation from the state and Gov. Greg Abbott, which seemed to mark a new period of the case. And earlier this year, the court monitors complimented the state's progress on managing abuse investigations.

More recently, however, Republican lawmakers have bristled at the cost associated with the court monitors, which charge the state about $1.5 million per month, totaling more than $40 million. And then lawyers for the state argued in a court filing that the use of psychotropic drugs is outside the scope of the court orders.

"I dont understand what is changed in y'all's attitude from one of alleged cooperation to this defiance," Jack said Monday. Later, she ruled against the state, saying the existing court orders could be applied to the use of psychotropic drugs.

Andrea Ball contributed to this report.

edward.mckinley@houstonchronicle.com
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Hoosac Valley seventh grader Zoe Kratz won first place in Berkshire County for her fire safety poster. Alivia Ostrowski's poster won second place. PreviousNext

Hoosac Valley Students Win Fire Safety Poster Contest



Zoe Kratz won first place and Alivia Ostrowski won second place. CHESHIRE, Mass.  Seventh-graders Zoe Kratz and Alivia Ostrowski won first and second place, respectively, in Berkshire County for the annual statewide Fire Safety Poster Contest

"Preventing fires and teaching fire safety benefits all," visual arts teacher Terri Cooper said. "The contest helps teach students this valuable lesson. By participating in our annual fire safety poster contest, students are able to express and educate their peers on these issues. Fire safety education is important at any age level, but especially for middle school children."

The annual Arson Watch Reward Program poster contest is sponsored by the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association on behalf of all property and casualty insurance companies writing in Massachusetts.

The Arson Watch Reward Program sponsors and collaborates with numerous fire safety programs, groups and events, including the annual Fire Safety Poster Contest. The contest's annual theme is "Fire Prevention  Everyone/Everyday."

"I personally feel that it is extremely important to teach students about fire safety," Cooper said. "I make sure that they know the leading causes of house fires, the best ways to escape from a fire, how to make an escape plan and ways to avoid fires in the home, and how to keep campfires safe. I ask them to go home and talk to their families and to make sure that they test their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors."

In Massachusetts, the contest is held for all students in Grades 6-8 with separate divisions for each county. First and second-place county winners receive a plaque and cash prizes in the amount of $200, and $100, respectively.

All first-place county winners are entered into the statewide competition first, second and third-place statewide winners are chosen. The statewide winners receive a plaque and cash prizes in the amounts of $1,000, $500, and $250.

Judging is based on adherence to theme, artwork, and originality.

"They receive a grade on their poster from me before it is submitted into the contest," Cooper said. "They also take a fire safety quiz, and if individual students have difficulty with the content they are required to retake it until they know all of the material."

This year 327 students submitted posters for the contest, which included 40 entrants from Berkshire County.
BIC Appoints New Director

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Board and staff of the Berkshire Immigrant Center (BIC) welcomed Melissa Canavan as our new Executive Director.

Canavan joins BIC on May 16.

"I'm incredibly excited for this opportunity and I look forward to shepherding BIC through its next phase in serving the immigrant community in the Berkshires," said Canavan.

According to a press release:

Growing up in southern California as the child of immigrants from Mexico, she has firsthand experience of the challenges faced by newcomers to the US. She pursued her love of dance as an undergraduate at California State University, Long Beach and first came to the Berkshires in 2015 to intern at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

After staying on to work at the Pillow, Canavan earned her Masters of Science in Arts Administration from Boston University. Since 2020 she has worked at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, most recently as the Advancement Manager and manager of the Spanish-language Community Advisory Network (SCAN), which has broadened the diversity of the theater's cultural offerings and

audiences.

Canavan supports the immigrant community as an active volunteer with Latinas413, a group committed to empowering and helping develop the growth of Latina women in Berkshire County. She has maintained her connections to her love of dance as founder and artistic director of her own project-based dance company, the Melissa Martinez Project.

Canavan replaces Michelle Lopez, who left after helming the Center for more than three years to move to her hometown in upstate New York. BIC Board Member Dariana Castro, who chaired the Search Committee, said: "We sought out to find someone with deep commitment to the immigrant community, who is also a masterful storyteller."
School officials are carving out space in the new Wahconah High for a preschool program.

Wahconah Regional High School Gets a Preschool

DALTON, Mass.  Wahconah Regional High School will get one of the preschool programs operated in the Central Berkshire Regional School District.

Kittredge Elementary School in Hinsdale runs two classrooms and the second program is operated out of Becket Washington School. They are tuition programs.

The School Committee made the decision to relocate one of the Kittredge classrooms after a lengthy discussion on Thursday.

The move will address feedback that the district has received from community members regarding accessibility and will provide more internship opportunities to Wahconah students.

The district's preschool program is very healthy, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said, but schools are seeing more preschoolers with high needs coming out of the pandemic and that finding "high-quality preschool teachers and teaching assistants has been challenging."

One of the concerns from the community has been making the preschool program more accessible to families in Dalton, Cummington and Windsor.

Craneville Elementary School in Dalton had hosted a preschool program but it was moved to Kittredge five years ago.

The school district also has a new early childhood dual enrollment course with Berkshire Community College. The Wahconah preschool will allow high school students to fulfill internship hours during the day.

A wall will have to be removed, a bathroom installed and classroom and playground equipment purchased to accommodate the new program.

According to Skanska, the owner's project manager for the high school project, this change is estimated to cost approximately $100,000 to $150,000. This is a rough estimate as the district does not have an architect or designer on board yet.

The costs will not affect the district's operating budget as its state Rural School aid has been earmarked for the construction. The district received about $500,000 in rural aid, Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.

School Committee members raised concerns regarding the relocation, saying there is not enough data to show how the spaces in the new building are being utilized and they should postpone any changes until they have that data.

Wahconah High was built two years ago and the plan that was written when the project first came to fruition was excellent, School Committee member Richard Lacatell said.

"I just can't imagine making compromises to the building when it's so new and it's not clear what we're going to be using those spaces for in the future," Lacatell said.

There are other ways to accomplish providing access to the dual enrollment program, he said. "This looks like the perfect solution but I'm afraid that perfect is going to be the enemy of the good here.

"I think we ought to look at it carefully and maybe we could make something that's not perfect, but we don't have to tear a wall down and repurpose part of the school."

Other committee members said the future is always unknown and that shouldn't stop them from making changes.

Committee member Art Alpert said it was a wonderful opportunity for high school students. He'd worked with students with behavioral issues who became more mature and better behaved after working with young children.

Other committee members shared similar experiences.

"And we just heard from a couple of people who work with them, and seen that happen," added Alpert. "[I] worked in two different high schools where that was taking place. So I think there's a lot of evidence of what it can do.

"And having the relationship with [Berkshire Community College] and doing that, I think that's terrific work. The more you do that, the better this school becomes and more things it can offer. It's an opportunity, not a mistake."

Blake-Davis also added that she spoke to the executives at Massachusetts School Building Authority and they encouraged the district to use the building flexibly.

Another concern raised was where to place occupational and physical therapy equipment. The preschool program operates at a 7:8 ratio, with seven children with special needs to every eight in general enrollment.

Potential solutions that Blake-Davis noted included moving the equipment into the fitness room so there was more room to work and scheduling hours around the preschool.

Although School Committee member Nicole Tucker agreed having the preschool would benefit the course, she was concerned that it would displace the students receiving therapy and their providers.

"Being a [physical therapist] myself in a school and having nowhere designated to treat that ... is a challenge. I know that you said that space would be dedicated at times for treating those students," Tucker said.

"You also are bringing in seven preschoolers who have disabilities. Of those seven, a good chunk of them are going to need PT and then an even greater chunk of them are going to need OT and I just can't picture OT being done in the fitness room. You need a quiet space, you need a dedicated space."

This is a major shift for the school so Blake-Davis said she will be looking into other school's models, including Taconic High School and Hampshire Regional High School, to see how they navigated the changes

"When you're servicing or caring for medical needs for little tiny ones that's very different than high school students," she said. "So, yes, there would be a shift and all those things would have to be taken into consideration."

This change would not extend the building project, School Committee Chair Richard Peters said.
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Mrs Doubtfire child star Matthew Lawrence has claimed he was fired by his agency after refusing to strip for a director who promised him a Marvel role.

The actor made the allegation while discussing sexual harassment in the film industry during a podcast interview with his brothers Joey and Andrew Lawrence, who are also actors.

Theres been many times in my life where Ive been propositioned to get a huge role, he said.

Lawrence then alleged that he was once asked to go to a hotel room where a famous director showed up in his robe, asked me to take my clothes off, said he needed to take Polaroids of me and said if I did X, Y and Z, I would be the next Marvel character.

When he refused and left the hotel room, Lawrence told Brotherly Love he lost the agency he was signed with at the time.

He did not reference either the agency or director by name, but said the latter was a very prominent Oscar award-winner. He also didnt specify when the alleged incident took place.

Lawrence played Chris Hiller, the son of Robin Williamss lead character in 1993 comedy Mrs Doubtfire.

He also played Jack Hunter in sitcom Boy Meets World and appeared in the TV series Brotherly Love, which ran from 1995 to 1997, alongside his brothers.

The actor, who called the #MeToo movement a very good thing, claimed that men are less supported in sharing their stories of sexual harassment within the industry.

Matthew Lawrence photographed in 2017 (Getty Images for Disney)

Not a lot of guys in my opinion have come out and talked about this in the industry, he said, adding: Now granted, its probably about a third of what women go through.

I think our society is less ready to hear that situation is going on with men than they are with women.
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Attendees of the Los Angeles Philharmonics recent concert were startled by the sounds of a woman screaming and moaning midway through the show.

During the orchestras performance of Tchaikovskys fifth symphony on Friday (28 April) at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, several concertgoers claimed to have heard a person having a loud and full body orgasm.

Everyone kind of turned to see what was happening, Molly Grant, told the LA Times.

Grant, who was seated in the balcony near the person who allegedly made the noise, said: I saw the girl after it had happened, and I assume that she... had an orgasm because she was heavily breathing, and her partner was smiling and looking at her  like in an effort to not shame her.

It was quite beautiful, she added.

Soon after the event, others shared their experience on Twitter.

Went to see @LAPhil play @Thomasades and Tchaikovsky 5 last night. A woman in the audience had loud and full body orgasm during the 5ths second movement... Band politely carried on. Props to LAPhil (and Pytor Ilyich) for bringing it on... composer Magnes Fiennes wrote.

An alleged audio clip of the moment began making its way around social media. In the recording, someone can be heard crying out during a pause in the music.

According to the outlet, audience members confirmed what they had heard was similar to the recording.

Friends who went to the LA Philharmonic last night are reporting that in the middle of the show some lady had a SCREAMING orgasm, to the point where the whole orchestra stopped playing, posted journalist Jocelyn Silver. Some people really know how to live...

Silvers account that the orchestra stopped playing has varied from others who said the musicians continued playing through the commotion.

Classical pianist Sharon Su posted that she checked with someone who works at the LA Phil and they confirmed that the disturbance did not stop the orchestra.
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Indias Supreme Court held that it could grant a divorce to a couple on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage by using its extraordinary powers.

The landmark order on Monday will allow the estranged husband and wife to waive off a six-month-long waiting or cooling-off period to grant the divorce under certain conditions.

We have held that it is possible for this court to dissolve marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, LiveLaw quoted the bench, led by Justice SK Kaul, as saying.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, one of the lawyers in the case, said marriage laws in India needed sweeping reforms.

The apex courts five-judge constitution bench held that it can dissolve a marriage on the ground that reconciliation or restoration of their marriage is no longer a possibility. The court said it can do so by invoking special powers granted to it under Article 142 of the Indian constitution.

The provision in question gives the court power to do complete justice by enforcement of decrees or orders in any matter pending before it.

The court said the mandatory waiting period of six months to grant divorce through mutual consent can be waived off  but is subject to some conditions.

Advocate Jaisingh said the Supreme Court moved away from the strict theory of fault-based divorce to divorce based on irretrievable breakdown of marriage and hailed the order.

The court said divorces can be granted even when one of the parties opposes the decree.

This discretionary power is to be exercised to do complete justice to the parties, wherein this Court is satisfied that the facts established show that the marriage has completely failed and there is no possibility that the parties will cohabit together, and continuation of the formal legal relationship is unjustified, the bench said.

Under section 13B of Indias Hindu Marriage Act 1955, which lays out the procedure to get a divorce by mutual consent, both parties need to finish six to 18 months of a cooling-off period from the date they present their petition for divorce.

The waiting period before a court makes possible a decision that can allow the parties to withdraw their plea and allow reconciliation.

The judgement came in a 2014 case filed in the Supreme Court by Shilpa Sailesh and Varun Sreenivasan who sought divorce under Article 142.

The court listed out factors to determine the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage. These include the period of time the parties cohabited after marriage, nature of allegations and that the period of separation should be anything above six years or more.

The decision comes only days after the court said in a separate hearing that the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage can amount to cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and can be a ground for divorce.

The court had, in a 27 April ruling, said irretrievable breakdown of a marriage may not be a ground for dissolution of marriage, under the Hindu Marriage Act, but cruelty is.

A marriage, which has broken down irretrievably, in our opinion, spells cruelty to both the parties, as in such a relationship, each party is treating the other with cruelty. It is therefore a ground for dissolution of marriage under Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Act, it added.
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At least 11 people died and four others were hospitalised in serious condition after a gas leak in a city of the northern Indian state of Punjab which underwent a night-long decontamination process.

The leak of an unidentified gas occurred on Sunday around 6.30am in the Giaspura neighbourhood of Ludhiana city, Punjab, prompting authorities to seal the area contaminated with poisonous gas.

The fatalities include five members from one family as well as three children.

The gas leak affected three businesses in the area  a dairy store, a grocery store and a clinic where people had gathered to buy daily supplies and some to see a doctor.

Mandeep Singh Sidhu, Ludhiana police commissioner, said gas sampling is being conducted by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to confirm what kind of gas leaked in the area.

Wearing a mask, police commissioner Singh said blood sampling of the deceased is done and it has been found that the gas affected the brain and not the lungs.

He said the Punjab police have lodged a case in the incident against unknown people and an investigation is underway.

An official said the gas may have leaked from sewage manholes in the area and the toxic gas might have become a hazardous cocktail after reacting with methane in the sewage drains.

Area was sealed after several people collased due to gas leak in Ludhiana Punjab (REUTERS)

Ludhiana deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik told PTI: "We are going to collect samples from manholes. It is quite likely that some chemical reacted with methane in manholes."

The neighbourhood is an industrial area with clothing factories where a lot of migrant labourers from other cities come to work.

Ms Malik said the NDRF team has used an air quality sensor and detected high levels of Hydrogen Sulphide gas which is a kind of neurotoxin. They are trying to ascertain how the gas leaked.

It is likely that neurotoxins released might have caused deaths. We are studying the matter, she said.

The authorities have sealed around 600 metres of the area and cordons will be reduced carefully, she said.

The complaint filed in the incident said the poisonous gas might have emanated from partially open manholes and spread to the shops and residential area.

The autopsy reports of victims have suggested that the deaths were due to inhalation poisoning.

Police and NDRF had cordoned off around 600 metres of the area. (AFP via Getty Images)

The cause of death has come out as inhalation poisoning but the type of poison will be clear only after viscera examination. Hydrogen sulphide is so toxic that even one breath of it taken inside can kill a person. Probably some acidic waste was thrown into sewer which reacted with methane, carbon monoxide and other sewerage gases to produce hydrogen sulphide, said Dr Charan Kamal, a forensic expert at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Ms Malik said the area has been decontaminated following an overnight process with the help of the NDRF team.

"The whole (Sunday) night, teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the municipal corporation took readings of ambient air quality in the area and hydrogen sulphide was not detected in the air," she said.

"During the night, the level of hydrogen sulphide in manholes was high but it has declined to a lower level after chemical decontamination," she added.

Videos from the area showed members of the NDRF team wearing protective suits with oxygen cylinders and gas masks. A disturbing visual showed two police personnel covering their face with cloth masks carrying a dead body of a man who had collapsed in front of a shop.

Five deceased have been identified from a family who arrived almost 28 years ago from Bihar to Ludhiana and ran a dentist clinic in the area.

Kavilash, 40, whose second name is not known, his wife Varsha, 35, their daughter Kalpna, 16, and sons  Abhynarayan, 13, and Aryan, 10 died in the gas leak.

Navneet Kumar, 39, an accountant and his wife Neetu Devi, 36, who had arrived from Bihar also died in the incident.

Saurav Goyal, 35, who ran a grocery store and Navneet Goyal, along with his wife Preety, 31, and mother Kamlesh Goyal, have been identified as victims.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy due to gas leak. His office announced a compensation of Rs 200,000 ( 1,953) to the next of kin of all the deceased people. Those who fell sick due to poisonous gas will be given Rs 50,000 (488).
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US President Joe Biden is failing to show true climate leadership by greenlighting new fossil fuel development, says one of the worlds leading climate activists.

Mr Biden, who recently announced he would seek re-election, has seen his approval rating on climate issues slump among the 18- to 29-year-old voters who propelled him to the White House in 2020.

Climate-conscious voters have been particularly angered by the presidents decision to approve new oil and gas drilling like the vast ConocoPhillips Willow project in Alaska.

We dont want President Biden to sit on the table of fossil fuels and also on the table of renewable energy, Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate told The Independent, in an interview on the sidelines of the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York, last week.

I think that he needs to make a choice whether to go one way, or the other way. And we hope that its the pathway to a just transition to renewable energy.

Ms Nakate recently penned an op-ed with Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, and Sofia Kianni, an Iranian-American activist, on the Willow project, which they described as a betrayal of Bidens campaign promise to halt drilling on federal lands.

Its a betrayal of our generations future and of the millions of people suffering the impact of the climate crisis, they added.

The activists demands are based in science: the influential and independent International Energy Agency has warned that there can be no investment in new fossil fuel projects if the world is to meet its 2050 net-zero target. That finding was reinforced by the latest UN climate science report which called for rapid cuts in fossil fuels across the board, and no new infrastructure for oil, coal and gas.

In just a few years, the 26-year-old has become one of the worlds most recognisable climate justice activists. She founded the RiseUp Movement, aimed at amplifying the voices of African climate activists, along with Vash Green Schools which provides schools in Uganda with solar panels and eco-friendly cookstoves to reduce their reliance on firewood.

She is also a respected voice on the global stage, where, alongside world leaders and Hollywood stars, she drives home the message that the climate crisis is not a future problem for Africa  but happening in the here and now.

From left to right: Barbados PM Mia Mottley, Vanessa Nakate, and Dr. Rajiv Shah attend Global Citizen NOW on April 27, 2023 in New York City (Getty Images for Global Citizen)

Last Thursday, she joined Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Rockefeller Foundation president Dr Rajiv Shah to discuss how the climate crisis impacts the worlds most marginalised communities.

She pointed out that Africa, home to 1.3 billion people, accounts for less than 4 per cent of global emissions but is seeing some of the worst climate impacts.

We are seeing all this imbalance not just in Uganda but across Africa, she told The Independent, referencing the recent catastrophic flooding in her home country, which killed dozens of people and left hundreds more displaced, and Cyclone Freddy which left more than 1,000 people dead in Malawi.

Ms Nakate, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, also recalled visiting the Kenyan region of Turkana last year. The Horn of Africa is in the grips of a severe drought which has killed tens of thousands and left millions of people on the brink of famine. A recent study found that drought in the region is now around 100 times more likely due to the climate crisis.

Mothers are trying to keep their children alive, Ms Nakate said. I remember one of the children I met, by the time the sun had set that evening, he had passed away. He was suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

She added: The climate crisis is an existential threat. It is not coming in the future, it is robbing people not just of their present but [of] their very survival.

Activists like Ms Nakate have been scathing of events like the UN climate summits and Davos gatherings, which they see as paying lip service to meaningful action. But she says that young people, particularly those from the Global South, cannot afford to become disheartened.

We need to survive right now, she said. We need our communities to thrive right now. I think the urgency of the crisis leaves us with no choice but to keep fighting.

From right: Climate activists Greta Thunberg of Sweden, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda, Helena Gualinga of Ecuador, Luisa Neubauer of Germany, and Fatih Birol, Head of the International Energy Agency, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

While they continue to push for political and business leaders to take greater accountability, youth activists have been successful in drawing more people into climate action and raising awareness of the crisis.

Three in four people now view climate change as a major threat, according to a 2022 survey of more than 24,000 people in 19 countries by the Pew Research Center.

They have also targeted media organisations, demanding that they increase and improve their climate coverage. Analysis of nearly 5,000 newspaper articles on climate change, written from 2005-2019 in English-speaking countries, found that 90 per cent accurately represented the issue. Accuracy was found to improve over time except in right-leaning newspapers like Canadas National Post, Australias Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, and the UK Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

But even as climate impacts become more severe, the shift by some governments, including the UK, US and Australia, has been to crackdown on peaceful protests. Governments have latched on to the civil disobedience to introduce harsher, punitive measures.

In authoritarian states, the consequences are even more chilling. Ahead of the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh this past November, more than 300 anti-government protesters were rounded up and arrested by Egyptian authories.

And more than 1,700 environmental defenders have been killed around the world in the last ten years, according to a report last year by human rights non-profit Global Witness.

The risks to activists is something that Ms Nakate is keenly aware of in Uganda where authorities continued to criminalise protest without legal basis, according to Amnesty International.

We've not been the kind that has been able to organize big marches or big strikes, she said. We've had to find different ways of doing activism  reaching out to communities, carrying out education, reaching out to schools running different projects.

For us, it was really understanding what will ensure that activists are kept safe, especially those who are young and students.

She said that it left her saddened to see activists, along with environmental defenders in indigenous communities, being arrested or even murdered.

Theyre trying to hold leaders accountable, not just for future generations, but also for the present generation, she said.

Its really sad that those who are trying to ensure that we have a better world are seen as the enemies and yet we are not.
 Close Met Gala: Stars walk the red carpet

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The 2023 Met Gala has come to a close.

This years theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which aimed to examine the life of the late designers fashion legacy.

But while many celebrities showed off their best Lagerfeld-inspired looks, viewers have branded fashions biggest night as boring due to the black-and-white ensembles that ruled the evening.

However, an unexpected guest went viral for its red carpet appearance. A cockroach was spotted on the red carpet and photographed before being stepped on, leading to viewers mourning its death.

The decision to feature the German designer so prominently has also attracted criticism given his history of controversial remarks.

Models protested ahead of the event, with Jameela Jamil among those who condemned the choice. Concerns were also raised about his past fatphobic and body-shaming comments.

In line with the theme, guests were informed that the most authentic approach for the Met Gala 2023 dress code would be to wear an archival look from one of the labels Lagerfeld led.

Kim Kardashian, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Campbell, and Jennifer Lopez all walked the red carpet in line with the theme, while some stars took more creative liberties in their Met Gala looks. Doja Cat and Jared Leto, for example, arrived dressed as Lagerfelds beloved cat, Choupette.
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The Met Gala 2023 has arrived. Ahead of the star-studded event, there was one question that many people were asking about this years guest list: Were the Kardashians invited?

Members of the Kardashian-Jenner family have been a mainstay at the Met Gala for the last 10 years. Just last year, six members of the famous clan attended the red carpet event together. However, a report from Page Six in March claimed that the reality stars have not received an invitation to the 2023 Met Gala, whose theme this year is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

Notably, Kim Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner all walked the Met Gala carpet this year. Kim wore a pearl look by Schiaparelli. The gown included a draped skirt and top made from over 50,000 freshwater pearls and over 16,000 crystals.

Kendall wore a black butt-baring leotard with a matching cape by Marc Jacobs while Kylie wore a red Jean Paul Gaultier asymmetric dress with a matching two-toned robe.

Kim confirmed shed be attending this years Met Gala in an April Instagram post featuring none other than Karl Lagerfelds cat, Choupette.

Had a date with @choupetteofficiel in Paris, she captioned the post, which featured photos and video of Kardashian with Lagerfelds famous feline. We then spent some time at @karllagerfelds office to get a little inspiration for the Met.

Photos in her Instagram post also showed Kardashian preparing for her Met Gala look, which is likely to be inspired by Lagerfelds archival looks from his time as creative director of Fendi or Chanel.

There had been much speculation over whether the famous Kardashian-Jenner clan would be invited to the annual fashion event, which takes place every first Monday in May. Earlier this year, reports seemed to indicate the Kardashians didnt make the cut because Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who is in charge of the guest list, was allegedly cracking down on who can attend the exclusive event. However, a source close to the Kardashian family told Page Six that the rumours werent true.

Another source told Page Six on 13 April that Kim would indeed attend alongside another unnamed member of the Kardashian-Jenner family. We now know that was both Kendall and Kylie.

Kendalls appearance is less than shocking considering the supermodel has attended the Costume Institutes fundraiser since 2014. The 27-year-old model also posed for the cover of Vogues May 2023 issue, which pays tribute to legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld ahead of this years Met Gala. Jenner was among 10 models enlisted for the cover, including Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Anok Yai and Devon Aoki.

Since 1995, the exclusive Met Gala guest list has been carefully presided over by Wintour. Tickets for the annual event  which raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute  go for $30,000 (23,000), while tables cost $275,000 (211,000).

Kim attended her first Met Gala in 2013 alongside then-husband, Kanye West. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, who was pregnant with North West at the time, hit the red carpet in a floral Givenchy dress.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West attend the 2019 Met Gala (Getty Images for The Met Museum)

Kendall made her Met Gala debut the following year wearing a satin, custom made Topshop dress with Chopard jewellery. Kim and Kendall were joined by their famous momager Kris Jenner in 2015, while Kylie first walked the Met Gala steps in 2016 wearing Balmain.

Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian attend the 2022 Met Gala (Getty Images)

Last year, sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker attended the Met Gala for the first time. The Poosh founder arrived with her then-fiance, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, where they gave their obligatory kiss for the cameras. Meanwhile, the Good American designer donned a gold Moschino gown for her first Met Gala.

Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner attend the 2019 Met Gala (Getty Images)

Despite attending the 2022 Met Gala, rumours circulated that Khloe Kardashian was allegedly banned from the fashion event. However, the reality star has since shut down speculation that she was forbidden from the Met Gala on Twitter.

In September 2021, a fan tagged Khloe and tweeted, "Khloe now that you are online please tell [if] the Met Gala rumours are true, adding: "Please clarify, thank you."

"Absolutely NOT true," she replied.

Kim turned heads at last years Met Gala when she wore a bedazzled sheer beige floor-length gown previously worn by Marilyn Monroe. According to Vogue, the Skims mogul came up with the idea to wear the gown during the previous years Met Gala, which celebrated the first part of the theme: In America: An Anthology of Fashion.

This year, celebrities and fashion lovers gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to honour the late Karl Lagerfeld. In September 2022, Vogue announced that the theme of the 2023 event will be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will examine the life of the late designers fashion legacy. Along with Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, there will be four co-chairs of the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer, as announced by the publication on 18 January.
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North West has surprised her mother Kim Kardashian with the ultimate gift before the 2023 Met Gala: a spa day.

Ahead of this years Met Gala, which takes place on Monday 1 May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the nine year old surprised the Skims founder with pre-Met Gala massages.

How sweet is North for surprising me tonight with this for us to relax before the Met, Kardashian wrote over her Instagram Story on Sunday. She also shared a glimpse of the relaxing set-up, which included massage tables, candles, bouquets of white roses, and silver balloons that spelled out, Karl Lagerfeld Met Gala.

The silver balloons were in line with this years Met Gala theme  Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty  which pays tribute to the legendary German designer.

Massages before the big day, Kardashian said in the video. How beautiful!

While the elaborate spa day was a kind gesture from the nine year old, many social media users wondered how she could plan such a luxurious surprise. There is no way North did this, said one fan on Reddit.

Maybe she meant that North arranged for it to happen, said another Reddit user.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

Others wondered whether the post meant that North West will attend the annual fashion event with her mother. So its confirmed, North is Kims date for The Met? one Reddit user asked.

While its unclear whether North will be joining her mother at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, previous reports suggested the Kardashian-Jenner family had not received an invite to the gala. A report from Page Six in March claimed that the reality stars have not received an invitation to the 2023 Met Gala because Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour  who is in charge of the guest list  was allegedly cracking down on who can attend the exclusive event.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

However, Kardashian confirmed her attendance at this years Met Gala in an Instagram post featuring none other than Karl Lagerfelds cat, Choupette. Had a date with @choupetteofficiel in Paris, she captioned the post, which featured photos and video of Kardashian with Lagerfelds famous feline. We then spent some time at @karllagerfelds office to get a little inspiration for the Met.

The Instagram post also showed Kardashian preparing for her Met Gala look, which is likely to be inspired by Lagerfelds archival looks from his time as creative director of Fendi or Chanel.

(Instagram / Kim Kardashian)

Another report suggested Kardashian will attend the annual fashion event alongside another unnamed member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, which many assumed to be supermodel Kendall Jenner. Although, it wouldnt be the first time North West has walked the Met Gala red carpet. In 2013, Kardashian attended her first Met Gala alongside her then-husband, Kanye West. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was pregnant with her eldest daughter at the time.

On Monday evening, celebrities and fashion influencers will gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to honour the late Karl Lagerfeld. In September 2022, Vogue announced that the theme of the 2023 event will be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will examine the life of the late designers fashion legacy.

Along with Vogues editor-in-chief Wintour, there will be four co-chairs of the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer.

Fans can tune in to the Met Gala 2023 red carpet livestream on Monday 1 May at 6.30pmET on the Vogue website or its social media platforms.
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The 2023 Met Gala is in full swing and various celebrities are making their way to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts iconic red steps.

Tonights fashion extravaganza is dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will examine the life of the late designers legacy. This theme also coincides with the dress code: In honour of Karl.

The annual fundraiser for the Mets Costume Institute will call on its guests to channel the many wondrous ways to salute one of fashions greats, according to Vogue. For example, they can opt for outfits designed by brands like Patou, Chloe, Fendi, Chanel -- all of which Lagerfeld worked with in his lifetime.

Per usual, Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour will be running the event. This year, shell be doing so alongside four co-chairs: Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, and Dua Lipa. The magazine will also be broadcasting a livestream of the red carpet hosted by LaLa Anthony, Derek Blasberg, and Chloe Fineman.

Many celebrities are expected to walk up the museums steps tonight.

Here are some of the best dressed stars on the red carpet.

Rachel Smith

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The former Miss USA winner arrived to the gala in a silver, strapless gown, which had ruffles on the side of it. She paired the look with a silver, butterfly shaped bracelet and silver earrings.

Harvey Guillen

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The actor opted for a pink and white, plaid suit, with a matching train attached to it. His jacket had three pink flowers on it, as he paired his outfit with black shoes and pearl necklaces.

Lisa Love

(Getty Images)

Lisa Love arrived on the red carpet in an long black coat and matching purse. For accessories, she wore black sunglasses, gold shoes, and layered necklaces, which were silver and gold.

Derek Blasberg

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Derek Blasberg, who is one of the co-chairs for the evening, wore a black suit and matching bowtie, over a white button down shirt. He also had a silver, flower-shaped broach on his jacket.

LaLa Anthony

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The host of the Met Gala livestream wore an all white, one-shoulder dress, with gold chains around it. She matched it with white sunglasses, nails, and headband, along with a white and gold bracelet.

Chloe Fineman

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

Chloe Fineman wore a pink, sparkled dress, with black, sheer sleeves attached to it. The off-the-shoulder outfit was also adorned with flowers and paired with black heels.

Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel

(Getty Images)

Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel wore an all black, velvet dress and a pair of matching gloves. The outfit, which she wore over a white shirt, was also paired with beige heels and silver earrings.

Mark Guiducci

(Getty Images)

The creative editorial director of Vogue wore an all black suit and white shirt, along with a white bowtie. He also had silver broaches pinned to his jacket.

Anna Wintour and Bill Nighy

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Wintour wore a multi-colored jacket, over a silver stain dress. She also posed in a gold necklace with a blue gemstone on it and a pair of silver shoes. She was accompanied by Bill Nighy, who was wearing a navy blue suit and matching tie.

Dua Lipa

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

The Levitating singer wore a white gown, which had a black design outlined on the bottom and sides of it. She also posed in a long silver necklace and had her black hair down.

Penelope Cruz

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Penelope Cruz opted for a sheer white gown, which was adored with silver sequins and had a hood attached to it. She had her hair pulled back and a silver ring around her finger.

Emily Ratajkowski

(Getty Images)

The model wore a beige dress, with a deep v-neckline and black pattern on it. The bottom of the gown was also sheer and included a train. For accessories, Ratajkowski chose a black headband, silver rings, and silver earrings.

Emma Chamberlain

(Getty Images)

The YouTube star wore a bright blue jacket, with a matching skirt, belt, and headband. She also had a silver, sequined shirt on under her coat. For jewellery, she chose silver earrings and a silver necklace.

Phoebe Bridgers

(Getty Images)

The singer wore a black, off-the-shoulder gown, which was adorned with white sequins and had a train on it. She had her dyed grey hair up, as she posed with a black headband on and silver earrings.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

Nicole Kidman posed at the event in a pink gown that had a sheer, feathered, train attached to it. She had a sheer train attached to her dress, which was adorned with silver sequins. The look was also made by Chanel and from a campaign that she did for the company back in 2004.

Meanwhile, her husband smiled next to her, as he wore a black suit and white shirt, along with a white tie.

Liu Wen

(Getty Images)

The model wore a black, off-the-shoulder dress, paired with matching sheer-gloves and a purse. Her gown also featured a black, sheer train, covered with white flowers.

Rita Ora and Taika Waititi

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Rita Ora arrived in a sheer, black dress, which featured a lace train. She paired the short-sleeved outfit with a matching black choker, silver and gold bracelets, and silver earrings. Her husband, Taika Waititi, opted for a blue, stain dress coat over a pair of white pants. For accessories, he had layered, pearl necklaces on.

Olivia Wilde

(Getty Images)

The Dont Worry Darling star wore a white gown that had a gold design on the middle of it and cut out design on the sides. She also opted for a matching gold, bracelet and a pair of silver earrings.

Maude Apatow

(Getty Images)

The Euphoria star posed in a black dress with a silver cutout design on the sides. She had her brown hair down and silver rings on.

Ariana DeBose

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The West Side Story star walked the red carpet in a yellow, off-the-shoulder gown, with what appears to be a faux fur design attached to the sleeves. For accessories, she chose silver earrings, necklaces, and rings.

Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union

(Getty Images)

The former basketball star wore an all-black outfit, which included black leather gloves and a matching shirt. He also had a black jacket and pants on, while his wife posed in an all red look. For the occasion, Gabrielle Union wore a trench coat over her red dress, paired with gold necklaces and silver rings.

Naomi Campbell

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The supermodel wore a pink satin gown, which featured a silver design attached to it. She also had silver bracelets and shoes on that matched.

Gisele Bundchen

(Getty Images)

The former Victorias Secret model opted for a white, sparked gown and a white feather coat. She also wore silver shoes, earrings, and rings.

Quinta Brunson

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The Abott Elementary creator wore a purple gown, with a deep V-neckline and pink and black sheer train attached to it. Her outfit was also adorned with silver sequins and paired black sheer gloves.

Maya Hawke

(Getty Images)

The Stranger Things star posed at the gala in a white mini dress and jacket, both of which were adorned with the designs of flowers. She paired the coat, which had a train attached to it, with white heels and sheer tights.

Ben Platt

(Getty Images)

The Dear Evan Hansen actor chose an off-white jacket and pants, along with a matching button down. He also had a gold belt on and silver necklace.

Amanda Seyfried

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Amanda Seyfried chose a gold mini dress, as she had her blonde hair curled. She also opted for dark red lipstick and purple eye shadow.

Ashley Graham

(Getty Images)

The supermodel chose a black and pink strapless gown, with black puffy sleeves and a large skirt at the bottom of it. She also had light pink earrings on.

Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Suki Waterhouse wore a sheer, beige dress, adorned with multi-coloured flowers, and a pair of silver heels. Meanwhile, her boyfriend wore a blue dress coat and pants, along with a white button down.

Sydney Sweeney

(Getty Images)

The White Lotus star wore pink gown, with a long train attached to it. The dress was covered in multi-coloured sequins and had a black bow wrapped around the skirt of it. She had a matching black bow in her hair and a pair of silver earrings on.

Margot Robbie

(Getty Images)

The Barbie star wore a black, one-shoulder dress, with a cut-out design on the middle of and train attached to it.

Kim Kardashian

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The reality star wore a nude bodysuit, underneath multiple pearl, necklaces. She also posed in a silver choker, puffy white jacket, and heels.

Anne Hathaway

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The actor opted for a white dress, which had gold, paper-clip shaped sequins attached to it and a slit. She had a matching jacket in her hand and a silver necklace on, as her hair was in a half ponytail.

Jeremy Pope

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Jeremy Pope walked the red carpet in a black jumpsuit, paired with a white, fluffy, cape, which had a large picture of Lagerfelds face on it.

Bad Bunny

(Getty Images)

The singer chose an all-white tuxedo and white tie to match. He also posed with a white cape, adored with flowers.

Doja Cat

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

Doja Cat walked to red carpet as Lagerfelds cat, Choupette. For the occasion, she wore a sequined dress, with a fluffy train attached to it. The top of the look featured two, sequined cat ears. Doja Cat also had prosthetics in her face, in order to resemble a cat.

Jared Leto

(Getty Images)

Similar to Doja Cat, Jared Leto dressed up as Choupette. However, he took a different route, as he wore a white cat suit, which came with a removable head of a cat.

Florence Pugh

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The Good Person star wore a white, strapless gown, with a cut-out detail and black bow in the middle and train at the bottom. She also debuted her buzzcut, as she wore a black headpiece with tall flowers attached to it.

Kendall Jenner

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The model wore a black, sequined bodysuit with a train attached to the sleeves of it. The outfit also had a silver collar and was paired with matching, sequined stiletto boots.

Lil Nas X

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

The singer had his body covered in silver giltter, as he walked the red carpet in matching underwear and boots. He proceeded to wear a silver belt and had sequins covering his chest and face, in order to embody the look of a cat.

Jennifer Lopez

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Jennifer Lopez wore a black and pink dress, with a large cut-out design in the middle of it and a black train. She paired the look with two black accessories: gloves and a fascinator hat. The singer also had a pink purse in her hand and silver earrings on.

Kylie Jenner

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

The reality star chose a bright, red dress, with a slit, and matching red heels. Her outfit also had a blue, puffy train attached to it.

Nicola Peltz Beckham and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham

(Getty Images)

The model wore a white, strapless gown with a black bow on it. For accessories, she chose a black choker and silver necklaces. Meanwhile, her husband wore an all black tuxedo and sheer shirt, paired with pearl necklaces.

Rhianna and A$AP Rocky

(Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld)

While she arrived to the red carpet a bit late, Rihanna posed on it in an all-white dress, which featured a train and a hood adorned with flowers. She paired the look with matching gloves and white sunglasses. Meanwhile, her partner wore a black suit and tie, along with a plaid skirt over a pair of blue jeans.
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The 2023 Met Gala is taking place this evening, with the theme of the event dedicated to late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

The fashion soiree is set to return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 1 May 2023, in celebration of the Costume Institutes upcoming exhibition Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

According to Vogue, which first revealed the controversial theme last year, the annual fashion event will also pay homage to the designer through the dress code: In honour of Karl.

Along with the publications editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, there will be four co-chairs of the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer. Held at the museums Costume Institute, each guest invited to attend the event is carefully chosen by Wintour.

Whenever the Met Gala is held, there are certain guidelines that guests will be expected to follow should they want to stay in Wintour's good books.

From an age restriction to a ban on selfies, here are five of the unexpected rules put in place at the Met Gala.

No selfies

One would think that all who attend an event as glitzy as the Met Gala would be forgiven for taking the odd photograph to capture special moments of the occasion.

Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Show all 50 1 / 50 Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Rihanna went all in on the Catholicism theme wearing custom Maison Margiela AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Madonna poses alongside Jean Paul Gaultier, the designer of her gothic Met Gala gown AFP/Getty Images Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Supermodel Bella Hadid wears a glossy latex corset by Chrome Hearts Official x Gareth Pugh, topped with a sculptural cape Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Katy Perry incorporated the theme with oversized wings, a Versace chainmail dress and thigh high boots Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Black Panther's Chadwick Bosemanan wears an all-white Versace outfit with religiously inspired embellishments, gold shoes, and a cape Getty Images Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Priyanka Chopra wears Ralph Lauren Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Solange Knowles opted for a structural black Iris van Herpen dress and a halo headpiece with a black du-rag Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Lily Collins wears a black Givenchy gown and coordinating gothic makeup Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Kate Bosworth wears an ethereal Oscar de la Renta gown topped with a mantilla veil Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Vogue editor Anna Wintour wears a custom Chanel gown featuring a halter neck and intricate beading Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Frances McDormand wearing a Versace gown and Philip Treacy headpiece, Pierpaolo Piccioli, and Anne Hathaway sporting a Valentino Couture red ballgown AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Ariana Grande poses alongside Vera Wang, the designer of the singer's debut Met Gala gown Rex Features Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Nicki Minaj wears a red Oscar de la Renta gown and bejeweled headpiece PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Blake Lively wears Versace to the Met Gala PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Sarah Jessica Parker and Andy Cohen wear Dolce & Gabbana Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Kim Kardashian stunned in a liquid gold Versace dress with cross embroidery Reuters Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Jennifer Lopez wears a bejewelled Balmain gown with cross detailing while Alex Rodriguez opted for a polished black suit PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Tracee Ellis Ross wears a bright pink gown with a matching jacket by Michael Kors Rex Features Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Amal Clooney wears a Richard Quinn corset dress and navy trousers while husband George Clooney opted for a traditional black tuxedo REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Lana Del Rey wears an elaborate Gucci gown and bird halo headpiece REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Sean 'Diddy' Combs wears a Musika Frere suit while Cassie opted for Thom Browne with Chopard earrings Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Miley Cyrus wears plunging black dress by Stella McCartney and Sydney Evan custom hoops with a large cross Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Cynthia Erivo opted for a Valentino gown, Sophia Webster shoes and bejewelled brows Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Power couple Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams both dressed in Chanel for the annual gala PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Winnie Harlow wears an all-white Tommy Hilfiger dress with a dramatic train PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Donatella Versace, who was co-host for the event, opted for an ornate navy and gold dress of her own design AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Elon Musk wears a white tuxedo and Tesla pin, while Grimes opted for a black dress and Tesla choker AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Lily Aldridge and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley walked the red carpet together, both wearing Ralph Lauren Collection gowns AFP/Getty Images Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Atlanta-based trio, Migos, wear sequinned Versace suits EPA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Contributing Editor of Vogue Thailand, Nichapat Suphap, wears custom Peter Dundas AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Anya Taylor-Joy wears a gold tapestry Dolce & Gabbana dress PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Janelle Monae wears a monochrome Marc Jacobs gown with a crystallised head wrap and Stephen Jones hat PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Rapper Cardi B opted for a custom Moschino gown alongside designer Jeremy Scott REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Eiza Gonzalez wears a black Prabal Gurung gown with a white cape AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Cara Delevingne wears a dramatic all-black Dior Haute Couture dress and beaded veil REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Lewis Hamilton wears an all-white ensemble designed by Tommy Hilfiger AFP/Getty Images Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Rita Ora wears an all-black embellished ensemble by Prada EPA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Amanda Seyfried wears a romantic Renaissance-style gown by Prada AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Amber Heard paired a Carolina Herrera scarlet gown with a gold halo headpiece REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Lena Waithe made a powerful pride statement with a sparkly rainbow cape worn over a sleek black suit PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Kylie Jenner wears a black Alexander Wang gown with semi-sheer heels and micro sunglasses PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies 2 Chainz (kneeling) proposed to Kesha Ward on the red carpet, both wearing custom Versace AP Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Doutzen Kroes wears a colourful Sies Marjan dress AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Supermodel Gigi Hadid wears a Versace gown with stain glass window-inspired detail PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies SZA wears a frothy Atelier Versace gown and a headpiece by Chrishabana AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Diane Kruger accessorised her Prabal Gurung gown with a custom Philip Treacy head piece REUTERS Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Andrew Garfield wears a velvety pink tuxedo jacket by Tom Ford PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Paris Jackson and Miley Cyrus both opted for gowns by designer Stella McCartney PA Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Vanity Fairs contributing editor, Amy Fine Collins, wears a custom design by Alice + Olivias Stacey Bendet Eisner AFP/Getty Met Gala 2018: Heavenly Bodies Emilia Clarke wearing a Dolce & Gabbana gown Getty

However, in 2015, it was reported that use of social media had been banned from the event, in order to clamp down on celebrities spending the majority of the evening on their phones.

The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala, a notice sent to all guests stated.

The apparent ban at the Met Gala has been flouted by numerous guests in the past, with beauty mogul and reality TV star star Kylie Jenner taking a large bathroom selfie at the event in 2017.

No under 18s allowed

In 2018, it was revealed that the Met Gala had decreed a new age restriction.

This meant that high-profile individuals under the age of 18 were no longer allowed to attend the event.

I can't go, because I'm not old enough, then 16-year-old model and dancer Maddie Ziegler told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 when asked whether she would be present on the coveted Met Gala red carpet.

While it was initially suspected that the new age restriction had been introduced due to the 2018 Met Gala theme Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, a spokesperson for the event confirmed that the decision had been made because it's not an appropriate event for people under 18.

No smoking inside the museum

In 2017, celebrities including Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson and Marc Jacobs were pictured smoking cigarettes in the bathroom at the Met Gala.

That same year, it was reported that board members and donors had expressed their dismay over guests smoking at the event, with one saying it was disrespectful to the art collection.

According to Page Six, following the complaints, guests at the 2018 Met Gala were informed that it was illegal to smoke in the museum.

It was allegedly mentioned on the event's invitations that smoking at the event was strictly banned.

In 2003, a ban on smoking indoors in New York City in locations including office buildings, bars and theatres was enforced by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg.

No onion breath

Following the Met Gala red carpet, guests at the event are treated to a cocktail hour and a formal dinner.

According to The New York Post, certain food items are purposely omitted from the menu at the request of Wintour herself.

A former Vogue employee told the publication that parsley is banned to avoid the risk of the herb getting stuck in people's teeth.

Neither onion or garlic is served at the event, so as to avoid any bouts of bad breath, whilst bruschetta isn't offered to guests in case of any food spillages on extravagant ensembles.

In 2016, model Karlie Kloss had her floor-length Met Gala gown cut into a mini dress for the after-party following a red wine spill on the white fabric.

Strict seating arrangements

Wintour is very particular about where her Met Gala guests sit on the night of the event.

In the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May, which details the degree of planning that goes into the occasion, the director of special projects at Vogue, Sylvana Ward Durrett, explained that a lot of power-brokering goes into the seating plan.

A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year, if they've sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it's shocking, Ward Durrett said.

Recommended The most controversial Met Gala themes of all time

According to Ward Durrett, spouses are never seated next to each other.

The whole point of these things is to meet new people, and to be interested in what others are doing. What's the point if you come here to hang out with your husband? she added.
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Too Hot To Handle star Chloe Veitch has reportedly come out as bisexual after appearing on E4s new reality series.

Essex-based Veitch, who also starred in Netflixs The Circle and Perfect Match, admitted shes been battling coming out in a new interview.

However, she told The Sun that her stint on E4s forthcoming show The Big Celebrity Detox helped her embrace her sexuality.

Doing breath work forced me to dig deeper, Veitch, who coupled up with former Love Is Blind contestant Shayne Jansen during season one of Perfect Match, said.

The show featured former contestants from other Netflix reality series such as The Mole, and Too Hot To Handle.

In an interview with TODAY last month, Veitch confirmed she and Jansen parted ways after filming the show and the bubble we had around us just popped.

At the time, she said: Were not together unfortunately. Towards the end of the episodes in Perfect Match, there were some bumpy roads, up and down.

Speaking to The Sun, Veitch said she had definitely been battling her sexuality since shes had little flings with girls.

I felt like it was my dirty little secret so [coming out] has taken the weight off my shoulders, she added.

Veitch also said that while shes anxious of public opinion having appeared on heterosexual dating shows, at the end of the day, if Im happy, thats all that matters.

The Independent has contacted Veitchs representatives for comment.

The reality TV star also reportedly revealed she had a crush on former Love Is Blind contestant Megan Barton Hanson.

Im itching to go out there and date both guys and girls. Its really exciting, she told the publication.
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The coronation of King Charles III will finally take place on Saturday 6 May 2023, almost eight months after he ascended to the British throne following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Ahead of the big event, many may be wondering what the royal familys tree looks like.

Up until 8 September 2022, when she passed away at her beloved Balmoral estate in rural Aberdeenshire aged 96, the late Queen sat at the top as she had throughout her extraordinary 70-year reign, the longest of any monarch in our history.

That began when she succeeded her father George IV in 1952, and ended in the year of her platinum jubilee celebrations with her inviting her 15th prime minister, Liz Truss, to form a new government.

In her final hours, spent under medical supervision at her Scottish residence, many of the Queens immediate family raced to be at her bedside to say goodbye, including her sons Charles, Andrew and Edward and grandsons William and Harry (whose bitter estrangment has dominated royal concerns in recent months).

The Queen married Prince Philip in 1947. The Duke of Edinburgh was her husband, consort and rock for almost 74 years until he passed away in April 2021.

The couple had four children: Charles, now King Charles III and formerly the Prince of Wales, born in 1948; Anne, the Princess Royal (born 1950); Andrew, the Duke of York (1960); and Edward, Earl of Wessex (1964).

Charles had two sons from his ultimately unhappy marriage to the late Princess Diana, William and Harry, the former now the heir to the British throne.

(Getty)

Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011 and the now-Duke of Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge have three children of their own, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, all of whom happened to be taking part in their first full day at Lambrook School in Berkshire on the day of the late Queens passing, hence their absence, and that of their mother, from Her Majestys bedside.

Prince Harry married the American actress Meghan Markle in 2018 but the couple have since acrimoniously severed their official ties with the royal family and relocated to the US. They have two children: Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

Princess Anne meanwhile presented the Queen with two grandchildren from her first marriage to Captain Mark Phillips: Peter Philips and Zara Tindall, the latter a successful equestrian married to the former England rugby player Mike Tindall.

The Queen with members of the royal family at Buckingham Palace (PA)

Mr Philipps and his ex-wife Autumn have two daughters, Savannah and Isla, while the Tindalls have three children: Mia, Lena and Lucas.

The Duke of York, who has recently faced difficult questions about his friendships with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, is likewise divorced but has two daughters from his marriage to Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Both princesses have married and each had their first child last year  Beatrice gave birth to a daughter, Sienna Mapelli Mozzi, and Eugenie a son, August Brookbank  bringing the late Queens total number of great-grandchildren to 12.

Lastly, Prince Edward has two children from his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones, the Countess of Wessex: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn.
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King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be crowned at their coronation ceremony on 6 May, which is expected to be a grand occasion.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey and will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The coronation will reflect the monarchs role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry, the palace added.

It is understood that the King will opt for a more modern choice of clothing for the ceremony. Instead of the traditional silk stockings and breeches worn in coronations past, it has been reported that the monarch will be crowned in his military uniform.

Therefore, it is expected that Camillas coronation dress will also be more modern compared to previous versions, which tend to include ornate designs and lavish materials.

The last time Britain saw a coronation dress was during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs crowning ceremony in 1953.

She wore a silk satin gown with short sleeves and a full skirt, featuring elaborate embroidery and alternating lines of gold bugle beads, diamantes and pearls. It was designed by Norman Hartness, who merged two of eight designs he presented to the Queen to create her gown.

Heres everything we know about what Camilla will wear to the coronation this spring...

Who will design the dress?

In February, it was revealed that Camilla had chosen her friend Bruce Oldfield to design her coronation dress.

The British couturier works frequently with the royal family to dress them and was the favourite designer of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Bruce Oldfield is greeted by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall during the Bruce Oldfield Fashion Show at Lancaster House in support of the National Osteoporosis Society on November 15, 2017 (Getty Images)

The design of the coronation gown has been decided in collaboration with Camilla, but will remain a secret until the day of the ceremony.

A source told The Telegraph: Camilla has a very close friendship with Bruce spanning many years. In so many ways, it is the natural and obvious choice.

Camilla trusts Bruce because he has really delivered on dresses for so many important occasions recently for her.

The Queen Consort wore an all-white gown embellished with white beads and diamantes by Oldfield when she attended the 2016 State Opening of Parliament, during which she was still the Duchess of Cornwall.

She also wore an Oldfield design to the premiere of the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die, which was a blue sequinned gown.

Will Camilla wear a robe?

Traditionally, monarchs and their consorts have worn dramatic gowns for their coronation events.

(PA)

The Coronation Robes are quite extravagant, usually made of silk, velvet and lace, and trimmed or lined with ermine.

The late Prince Philip wore a red velvet coronation robe during the Queens ceremony, which had an ermine trim and shrug over his shoulders.

But whether the King and Queen Consort will wear the traditional robes remains in question, as it has been suggested that Charles wishes for a more modern ceremony.

What crown will Camilla wear?

It was announced in February that the Queen Consort will wear Queen Marys crown for the coronation  but it will not feature the controversial Koh-i-noor crown nor its replica.

Buckingham Palace said that Camilla will be the first consort to reuse a crown at a coronation instead of commissioning a new one since the 18th century. The last consort who did the same was Queen Caroline, the consort of King George II.

(Getty/Buckingham Palace)

The Crown Jeweller is carrying out minor changes and additions to the crown, which will be reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds. These were part of the late Queens personal jewellery collection.

You can learn why the Koh-i-noor diamond is so controversial here.

What jewellery will Camilla wear?

Camilla will likely wear a ceremonial ring, known as the Queen Consorts ring, to symbolise being wedded to the people.

Charles will have a special ring placed on his fourth finger to symbolise this as well. The Queen Consorts ring was made in 1831 for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV.

It was last used for the Queen Mothers coronation with her husband, King George VI, in 1937.
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King Charles IIIs coronation, which takes place on Saturday 6 May, is set to be attended by 2,000 guests, including foreign monarchs across the world.

The coronation will be held in London at Westminster Abbey, which can seat up to 2,200 people. The limited guest list marks a departure from the late Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation, which was attended by 8,000 guests with 129 nations and territories officially represented at the ceremony.

In early April, Buckingham Palace unveiled the official invites for King Charles and Queen Camillas coronation. The elaborate invitation, which was reportedly sent to 2,000 people, invited guests to attend The Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla  By Command of the King the Earl Marshall is directed to inviteto be present at the Abbey Church of Westminster on 6th day of May 2023.

As the Kings coronation fast approaches, theres been much speculation over who will be attending the slimmed-down service. While members of the British royal family are likely to attend, many royal families throughout the world are also expected to attend the coronation.

The move marks a break from royal tradition. According to The Telegraph, the coronation was considered a sacred ceremony between a monarch and their people in the presence of God, but Charles is set to do away with the tradition and invite his counterparts from around the world.

Heres a list of all the foreign royals who have confirmed their attendance so far.

On 11 April, Crown Prince Fumihito and his wife Crown Princess Kiko of Japan confirmed they will be attending the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, according to local media.

The Imperial Household Agency announced they received an invitation from the British royal family in March requesting that the head of state or proxy attend the ceremony. The crown prince will represent his brother, Emperor Naruhito, at the coronation, seeing as the emperor doesnt attend foreign royal coronations per protocol. However, Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, attended the Queens funeral last September.

Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko confirm attendance at Kings coronation (Getty Images)

The Danish royal family also confirmed their attendance at the coronation earlier this month. In an announcement shared to the Danish Royal Houses website, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark said they will participate in the coronation of HRH King Charles III and Queen Camilla of Great Britain at Westminster Abbey in London. Frederik attended Queen Elizabeths funeral in September with his mother, Queen Margrethe II.

In addition to Denmarks royal family, the Swedish Royal Court has also confirmed the coronation attendance of King Carl XVI Gustaf, along with his daughter and heir, Crown Princess Victoria. The Swedish monarch is one of the few foreign rulers to attend the British kings coronation, rather than sending a consort to represent him.

Prince Albert II of Monaco was the first foreign head of state to confirm he would be attending the Kings coronation. In January, Monacos reigning sovereign told People that he and his wife, Princess Charlene, will be among the guests at Westminster Abbey.

Im certain that its going to be an incredible ceremony and a very moving one, the 64-year-old royal said. Weve maintained contact since His Majesty became King, but I havent talked to him personally since the Queens funeral.

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 (Getty Images)

The prince shared that hes certain the King will add his own personal touches to the coronation. However, he was unsure whether their eight-year-old twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, will be invited.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain confirmed their attendance on 11 April, as well as King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will also attend the coronation, while their daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia, and Willem-Alexanders mother, Princess Beatrix, will attend the reception at Buckingham Palace on 5 May.

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will represent Norway at the coronation, following their recent visit to the UK where they were hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle in March. Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Grand-Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg will also attend, along with Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and her son and daughter-in-law, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal.

A source previously told The Mail on Sunday: At the Queens Coronation there were no crowned monarchs, only the protectorate rulers like the Queen of Tonga. Its been a tradition for centuries. Inviting the King of Jordan, the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman and the Scandinavian royals  who are all friends of Charles  will be a good bit of soft power and diplomacy.

Buckingham Palace previously announced that King Charles III has invited more than 850 community and charity representatives to his and Queen Camillas coronation. More than 450 British Empire Medal (BEM) recipients were invited to see the service from inside Westminster Abbey, while some 400 young people representing charities will be able to watch the coronation and procession from a special private viewing at the nearby St Margarets Church.

Although not a foreign monarch, President Joe Biden has confirmed that he will not be attending King Charles IIIs coronation. Instead, his wife First Lady Jill Biden will be going on behalf of the United States.
 Close King Charles III and Queen Camilla spotted leaving coronation rehearsal

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The Prince and Princess of Wales went for a visit to The Dog and Duck pub in Soho after hopping on the Elizabeth line from Acton to Tottenham Court Road on Thursday afternoon (4 May).

Prince William and Kate Middleton were greeted by crowds who cheered for them outside the pub, as they carried out the engagement ahead of the coronation.

It comes as police have said they will not stop anti-monarchy protests during the big day on Saturday 6 May unless the demonstrators cause serious disruption or break the law.

Meanwhile, many royal fans who want to watch the grand procession after the coronation ceremony in person may have to prepare for wet weather, as the Met Office has predicted rain and thunder in parts of the UK. London could see the warmest coronation in history, with highs of 19C in south London predicted.

On Wednesday morning (3 April), the monarch was spotted leaving Westminster Abbey after attending rehearsals, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children.

Prince George, nine, will be a Page of Honour to the King at Saturdays ceremony, alongside Queen Consorts three grandsons. One of her grandsons, Gus Lopes, was spotted wearing a sling on his right arm during the rehearsals yesterday and reportedly broke his arm during a biking accident while on holiday.
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The King will be wearing a collection of heavy golden robes when he is crowned King at the coronation on Saturday (6 May).

Assisted by Prince William, the monarch will put on layer upon layer of glittering coronation vestments, inspired by priestly attire, in the middle of Westminster Abbeys coronation theatre during the religious service.

For the investiture, during which the crowning takes place, Charles will be given a long shimmering gold-sleeved coat to wear called the Supertunica, created for his great-grandfather George V in 1911 and worn at successive coronations including by Elizabeth II.

Made of gold cloth, which is silk thread wrapped in thin pieces of gold or silver gilt metal, the Supertunica, also known as the Close Pall of Cloth of Gold, weighs around 2kg and is embroidered with stylised arabesques and floral motifs.

On top of the Supertunica will be placed a floor-length cloak called the Imperial Mantle  or Robe Royal  made for the Kings extravagant ancestor George IV in 1821.

The Prince of Wales, who is the heir to the throne, will play a role in the service by entering the coronation theatre to assist with placing the robe on his father.

It weighs around 3-4kg while the St Edwards Crown will add an extra 2.23kg to the Kings load after his crowning.

Made from cloth of gold, it is brocaded with colourful motifs including fleur-de-lis as a nod to the ancient claim of England over France, as well as imperial eagles, and national floral emblems of red-pink roses, blue thistles and green shamrocks.

Caroline de Guitaut, deputy surveyor of the Kings works of art for the Royal Collection Trust, described the clothing as absolutely redolent of the coronation ceremony and the most important historic textiles in the Royal Collection.

They have clearly incredible historic significance, but theyre also significant because of the sacred nature of their use during the investiture part of the coronation ceremony, she said

The Robe Royal around 3-4kg while the St Edwards Crown will add an extra 2.23k to the Kings load (PA)

Monarchs in the modern era have traditionally reused the garments, just as Charles is, but they usually receive a new Coronation Sword Belt and a Coronation Glove to be used during the ceremony.

Charles, for reasons of sustainability and efficiency, has decided to also reuse the belt and glove worn by his grandfather  the last male monarch George VI.

Ms de Guitaut said: Its quite unusual in modern times... It was the Kings personal decision and its in keeping with this idea of sustainability and efficiency to reuse these pieces.

They are in remarkable condition and its also reflecting back to the coronation of his grandfather King George VI.

Buckingham Palace has yet to confirm what the King will wear - uniform or otherwise - under his Robe of State on his way to the Abbey. In previous ceremonies, the King or Queen has traditionally worn silk stockings and breeches.

However, recent reports have suggested that Charles has been advised to wear military uniform underneath his robe at the ceremony.

As reported by The Sun, a source said: Senior aides think breeches look too dated. When contacted by The Independent, Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

With additional reporting from PA.
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Thomas Markle Sr has said he will not allow his daughter, Meghan Markle, to bury him while he is still alive.

The Duchess of Sussexs father, 78, claimed in the Australian news programme 7News Spotlight that his daughter had not called him in four years. He has said that his appearance on the programme would be his final ever interview.

He said that he suffered a debilitating stroke last year and expressed disappointment that she did not reach out.

If she doesnt turn up for a stroke, if that doesnt move her, what would? he said.

The Independent has contacted representatives of the Sussexes for comment.

It comes after Prince Harry wrote in his tell-all memoir Spare that Meghan was mourning the loss of her father.

Thomas told the programme: She killed me and then mourned me.

He added: I refuse to be buried by her.

Meghan and Thomas have a strained relationship, which came to a head after Thomas collaborated with paparazzi to stage several photo shoots before her wedding to Harry in 2018.

Thomas did not attend Harry and Meghans wedding and leaked part of one of her private letters to Associated Newspapers Limited in 2018.

Meghan later sued the publisher for reproducing parts of the letter.

Thomas Markle, father of Meghan Markle, speaks to Good Morning Britain about his daughters interview with Oprah Winfrey (Good Morning Britain)

In their Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan, the duchess spoke about learning her father wouldnt be attending her wedding from a TMZ report.

The unravelling happened that week when he wouldnt pick up my call, Meghan said. And instead youre talking to TMZ. And Im finding out that youre not coming to our wedding through a tabloid.

Elsewhere in the interview with the Australian broadcaster, Thomas said that he wishes he and Meghan could work out their differences and sit down and talk.

He also said that he regretted posing for the paparazzi photos and that he leaked the letter Meghan sent him.

Meanwhile, Meghans half-sister Samantha claims that Meghan and Harry have a toxic relationship.

The programme sees clips of Harry and Meghan walking together at various points in their relationship shown alongside a voiceover from Samantha, who said: They are really unhealthy for each other.
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Britons are getting a second bank holiday weekend in a row, as the coronation weekend of King Charles III arrives right after the early May bank holiday last week.

Monday 1 May was the early May bank holiday, while Buckingham Palace announced last year that Monday 8 May would also be a bank holiday to give the country an extra day to celebrate the coronation.

With Big Lunches and street parties planned for the following one, British people have plenty to look forward to this weekend.

However, it could also mean closures across some supermarkets on more days than usual.

Many people will be looking to stock up for the long weekend and ensure they have plenty of food and drink for gatherings, parties, or just to relax with.

Here are the opening times for Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrison, Lidl and more.

Sainsburys

1 May  early May bank holiday

Its business as usual across most Sainsburys stores throughout the weekend before the early May bank holiday.

Stores are usually open from 8am to 8pm, while smaller Sainburys Local shops are usually open from 7am until 11pm.

Opening hours may vary according to individual stores, so its best to check the store locator.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Sainsburys is operating at normal hours for the weekend of the Kings coronation.

Again, opening hours may vary. Check your local store before you visit.

Tesco

1 May  early May bank holiday

Most of Tescos large stores will be open from 8am to 6pm on 1 May, with some staying open until 8pm.

However, opening hours do vary from branch to branch. Customers should check their local Tesco using the companys store finder.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Most of Tescos large stores will operate at normal hours on 8 May.

(PA)

Morrisons

1 May  early May bank holiday

Morrisons stores will remain open at normal hours across the weekend before the early May bank holiday.

On 1 May, stores will open at their usual time but are set to close slightly earlier at 8pm.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

On 8 May, Morrisons stores will open at their usual time but will close at 8pm, slightly earlier than normal.

Customers should check their local store times on Morrisons store finder.

Aldi

1 May  early May bank holiday

Normal opening hours across Aldi stores on Saturday and Sunday (29 and 30 April). On 1 May, stores will be open until 8pm in England and Wales, while stores in Scotland will be open until 10pm as usual.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Normal opening hours across Aldi stores on Saturday and Sunday (6 and 7 May). On 8 May, stores will be open until 8pm in England and Wales. In Scotland, stores will be open until 10pm.

The opening times of some stores may vary and customers should check their local stores on Aldis website.

Lidl

1 May  early May bank holiday

Lidl stores will be open as normal across the bank holiday weekend. Saturdays see the stores open from 8am until 10pm, while Sunday hours are shorter, from 10am to 4pm or 11am to 5pm.

On 1 May, all Lidl stores will be open from 8am to 8pm.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

On Monday 8 May, Lidl stores will be open from 8am to 8pm in England and Wales. Stores in Scotland will remain open as normal until 10pm.

Store opening hours may vary, so check the store finder before visiting.

Asda

(PA Wire)

1 May  early May bank holiday

Asda store opening times will remain as normal on Saturday and Sunday (29 and 30 April). They usually open from 6am or 7pm and close around 10pm or 11pm on Saturdays, while Sunday operating hours are shorter, between 10am or 11am to 4pm or 5pm.

On the bank holiday itself, most Asda stores will open from 8am to 8pm.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Asda stores will be open at normal hours on Saturday and Sunday (6 and 7 May), but will shorten opening hours from 7am to 8pm on Monday 8 May.

Marks & Spencer

1 May  early May bank holiday

All M&S stores will be open as usual on the weekend, but many stores will have shorter hours on the bank holiday Monday.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Stores will be open at usual times on Saturday and Sunday (6 and 7 May), but will have shorter hours on Monday 8 May.

Customers should check their local M&S using the store finder before visiting.

Waitrose

1 May  early May bank holiday

Stores are set to be open as usual across the early May bank holiday weekend, including on Monday 1 May. Some Little Waitrose shops will be open from 7am to 10pm.

8 May  Kings coronation bank holiday

Large Waitrose stores will be open for normal hours throughout the coronation bank holiday weekend.

You can check your local Waitrose opening times using the companys store finder.
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A woman has reignited a debate about wedding guest etiquette after accusing two women of being disrespectful by wearing white, bridal-like gowns to her friends nuptials.

Isabella Santos Giha, who goes by the username @isabellasg3 on TikTok, uploaded a video from the wedding on Wednesday. In the clip, which she captioned: Two girls wore WHITE at my friends wedding, she filmed two guests who appeared to be wearing white dresses to the party.

The first guest could be seen wearing a floor-length lace gown which appeared to be a pale peach or off-white colour, while the second guest, who was filmed from behind as she sat at a table, appeared to be wearing a white off-the-shoulder gown with a white lace overlay. This one wore a legit WEDDING DRESS, the TikToker continued as she showed the second guests outfit.

In the TikTok, Giha then shared the brides reaction to the outfits, with the video showing the newlywed, who was wearing a white sequin ball gown and a tiara, looking disappointed. The bride got sad, the TikToker wrote in a text caption on the video.

In the caption of the TikTok, which has since been viewed more than 19 million times, Giha issued a plea to never wear white at someones wedding.

Please never wear WHITE at someones wedding. It is sad and [disrespectful], she wrote, before tagging the brides username @sisilozada.

In the comments under the video, many viewers expressed their shock over the dresses worn by the guests in question, with one person writing: I cant believe the audacity some people have, while another said: Omg the first one couldve just been a poor decision, but the second one!! Oh my god I thought it was going to be the bride at first.

Please tell me they got kicked out!! someone else wrote.

Others shared their own similar experiences, with one person revealing: My husbands cousin wore white on mine too, while someone else said that the same thing happened at their wedding and the guest in question was blacklisted as a result. What are they thinking? they added.

Another person said that, despite the generally well known wedding etiquette rule that white is reserved for the bride, they took extra steps to prevent guests from wearing white or off-white by requesting it specifically in the FAQ section of their wedding site. I put no white or off-white dresses for guests in the wedding site FAQ and that they would be asked to leave if they did wear one, they wrote.

Although the majority of viewers said they would be upset by the guest outfits, others defended the women on the basis that the wedding etiquette rule is only common in some cultures. Laughs in Nigerian culture. I recently realised this was a thing. Been to a wedding where the guests were asked to wear white, one person wrote, while another asked: Is this an American thing?

Someone else questioned why people were angry over the outfits, as they claimed its not like people arent going to know who is getting married or whose wedding they are at.

According to Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas, who previously spoke to The Independent, the rule still applies for most weddings, as she noted that white is still reserved for the bride and that guests should select another colour when choosing an outfit. She also said the no-white rule should be followed by guests of all genders.

As for why guests should avoid white for a wedding, wedding dress designer Madeline Gardner told The Knot that it comes down to the most important thing to keep in mind, not upstaging the bride.

When youre a guest at a wedding, the most important thing to keep in mind is not to upstage or upset the bride, she said, adding: Its safe to stay away from any outfits that are predominantly white, cream or ivory.

On the brides TikTok, where she has posted videos from her wedding, viewers have taken to the comments to share reassuring messages, with one person writing. You looked so much better than the girls who wore white.

The Independent has contacted Giha and the bride for comment.
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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 40,177 active Covid cases on 3 May, part of a steady seven-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 latest update from 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 11.7 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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A woman has died after being stabbed to death on a south London street.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at around 4.04pm on Monday to reports of a stabbing in Stockwell Park Walk.

Police, paramedics and an air ambulance attended, but the woman  believed to be in her 30s  was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victims family and friends have gathered outside the police cordon just off Brixton Road, next to a block of flats in an alleyway near St Helens Catholic Primary School, while officers continue their inquiries.

A family member of the woman who died in the attack told the PA news agency: Its still so raw. Family are on their way here now and we still need to tell them whats happened. Its just so raw.

Natasha Jordan, who works at Live True London on Brixton Road, said: There were loads of police cars and ambulances that came.

Loads of police were walking up and down the road because theres a police station right near here.

No one actually came in and said anything though, and Ive been in here all day.

A number of people near to the cordon have told PA they did not see what happened during the stabbing, but one passer-by said: Its so sad.

The womans family are being supported by specialist officers.

A number of roads have been closed and a blue tent has been erected as officers and forensics teams in blue plastic boiler suits continue to work at the scene.

Traffic is being diverted, with people asked to avoid the area while the cordon remains in place.

Inquiries are ongoing and witnesses are urged to call 101, quoting CAD 4278/01 May, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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An artist renowned for depicting royals with moose as a form of affectionate mischief has recalled the giggling response he received from the King when he presented him with a postcard of Queen Elizabeth II riding one of the long-antlered mammals.

Canadian Charles Pachter, 80, who lives in Toronto, has produced an entire collection featuring moose alongside royalty over the course of five decades and even presented his creations to the late Queen and King Charles.

His most famous creation, depicting Elizabeth riding a moose, was warmly received by Charles  whose coronation takes place on May 6  when the pair met in 1999.

Mr Pachter told the PA news agency: He [Charles] was on a Canadian tour and he was in Toronto because he had particular interests in historical architecture that he believed should be maintained.

A huge whisky distillery was restored in the early 90s and Prince Charles was there to see it.

For whatever reason I was invited, and I had a couple of postcards in my pocket. I approached him  he was very approachable and quite charming  and gave him a postcard of his mummy on a moose, and he giggled.

He was very pleasant about it.

Mr Pachters love for the animal started aged four, when he petted a moose at the Canadian National Exhibition.

In school, we were taught that the moose was the monarch of the north, he said.

Its awkward and majestic, and when you see it in the woods you feel like youve had a very privileged moment.

I did for the moose what Andy Warhol did for Marilyn Monroe  I made the moose glamorous.

Mr Pachter began producing the pieces in 1973  some of which involves inkjet printing  after hearing that Queen Elizabeth II was coming to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, to open the Shaw Festival Theatre.

I had begun these images of the Queen sitting on a moose because I couldnt understand why our head of state didnt live here, he said.

I turned it into a visual pun  by putting the Queen on a moose, I sat her in a Canadian setting.

He added that at the time, reaction by critics and the public was pretty dismal and negative.

However, the artwork has since grown in popularity and recognition and Mr Pachter said the late Queen chuckled when he showed it to her in 2015, adding: She wasnt offended  she thought it was cute.

Ive had fun with the image and it really has become something of a watermark in my career, and now with the new royals, Im going to start to have some fun.

My work does have a quality of affectionate mischief but its not malevolent or mean-spirited.

I do believe in many ways that they [the royal family] are our version of Hollywood, that we just enjoy seeing them and following their foibles and ups and downs.

Mr Pachter said he thought the Kings coronation will go off magnificently, and talked up the prospect of a reunion with Charles and the Queen Consort as he gets to work on more royal-moose artwork.

If and when they come back to Canada, Id love to meet them again, he said.

Im Prints Charles!
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The Board of Deputies of British Jews has called for an urgent meeting with the editor-in-chief of The Guardian over the use of antisemitic tropes in a cartoon about Richard Sharp.

The newspaper removed the drawing by cartoonist Martin Rowson from The Guardian website on Saturday and apologised to the Jewish community and Mr Sharp  who announced his resignation as BBC chair earlier in the week.

A review found the former Tory donor broke the rules by failing to disclose that he played a role in getting then-PM Boris Johnson an 800,000 loan guarantee.

On Sunday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote in a Twitter statement: We have written to The Guardian requesting an urgent meeting with the editor Katharine Viner in regard to yesterdays shocking cartoon in the paper, which contained antisemitic tropes.

This is far from the first time that the paper has crossed the line in terms of highly questionable content connected to the Jewish community.

The cartoon was also criticised by the Campaign Against Antisemitisms chief executive, Gideon Falter, who said it came when people who practise Judaism observed the Sabbath and called it a resignation offence for Ms Viner.

Cartoonist Rowson also apologised on his website, saying: The cartoon was a failure and on many levels: I offended the wrong people, Sharp wasnt the main target of the satire.

I rushed at something without allowing enough time to consider things with the depth and care they require, and thereby letting slip in stupid ambiguities that have ended up appearing to be something I never intended.

Mr Sharp was depicted in the drawing with a box marked Goldman Sachs, where he used to work, that contained what appears to be a puppet of the current prime minister Rishi Sunak, an animal that looks like a squid and a CV  while a Mr Johnson figure sits on money.

Posting on Twitter on Saturday, author David Rich, who has written books about antisemitism, explained animals with tentacles among other tropes are used in negative drawings about Jewish people.

He wrote: You might argue that outsized facial features and tentacles are common to other topics too, so its just a cartoon thing.

Except where something has a long and familiar antisemitic history, it takes on a different meaning when you apply it to Jews.

Former chancellor and ex-health secretary Sajid Javid also wrote on Twitter: Disappointed to see these tropes in todays Guardian. Disturbing theme  or at best, lessons not learned?

In a statement, The Guardian said: As we said yesterday this cartoon does not meet our editorial standards, and we have decided to remove it from our website.

The Guardian apologises to Mr Sharp, to the Jewish community and to anyone offended.

We have received a small number of complaints about the cartoon. The Guardians independent readers editor is considering these and will respond in due course.
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Nurses in England are striking in their latest walkout over an ongoing pay dispute with the government.

Services across England were braced for exceptionally low staffing as part of the biggest walkout yet over the bank holiday.

In an interview with the Independent over the weekend, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen warned the government could face years of strikes by nurses if it did not find a way through the strikes.

Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate outside St Thomas' Hospital in London (AFP via Getty Images)

The strike comes after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful for the industrial action to continue into Tuesday 2 May as originally planned.

However, Ms Cullen said this morning that striking nurses will return to help patients if emergencies arise.

She told ITVs Good Morning Britain: Our nurses will continue to work today to ensure our patients are kept safe, and those nurses that are on the picket lines losing a days pay, should there be other emergencies that arise during that period, I wont even have to ask those nurses to return to work, they will return at their own volition.

They dont turn their back on patients, they will continue to do what they need to do.

Urging the public to use NHS services wisely, NHS England asked those who need non-urgent care to go to pharmacies or dial 111 as their first port of call.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen warned strikes could go on for years if pay is not raised (EPA)

Here is the list of employers where strike action will be taking place:

East Midlands

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB

NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Eastern

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

NHS Mid and South Essex ICB

NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust

Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

London

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust

Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

NHS North Central London ICB

NHS South West London ICB

Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

St Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

North West

Alder Hey Childrens NHS Foundation Trust

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

Northern

Country Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS)

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

South East

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Kent and Medway ICB

NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

South East Coast Ambulance Service

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Solent NHS Trust

South Central Ambulance Services NHS Foundation Trust

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

South West

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB

NHS Devon ICB (One Devon)

NHS Dorset ICB (One Dorset)

NHS Gloucestershire ICB (One Gloucestershire)

North Bristol NHS Trust

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

West Midlands

Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust

Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust

Midlands and Lancashire CSU

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB (BSol ICB)

NHS Black Country ICB

Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Yorkshire and the Humber

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

NHS North West Yorkshire ICB

Sheffield Childrens NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

National employers
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A mum is raising her premature twins alone after conceiving with sperm from a stranger she met on Facebook.

Sarah Mangat, 34, had been single for nearly eight years when she decided to embark on solo motherhood in July 2020.

She had planned to use a sperm bank but found the process too impersonal so instead found a Facebook group for sperm donors.

After hitting it off with someone, Sarah underwent 14 months of fertility tests at Victory Reproductive Health Fertility Clinic, Ontario, Canada, where they medically monitored her cycle.

When the time was right, she used the strangers sperm and was shocked to discover she had not only fallen pregnant on the first go but was expecting twins.

Despite her joy, she had a difficult pregnancy and was told her short cervix could cause premature birth or miscarriage.

Doctors performed a cervical stitch to stop it opening too soon, but the procedure failed after two weeks, and Sarah went into premature labour in April 2022.

Her daughters, one-year-old Elora and Addison, arrived at 27-weeks on 30 April 2022 at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Elora was born at 6.38pm weighing 2lb 20z and Addison arrived shortly after at 6.42pm weighing 1lb 9oz.

The pair suffered a catalogue of health issues including a bleed on the brain, heart defects, jaundice, and infections.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

Despite the odds stacked against them, Elora spent 70 days in hospital and Addison was in for 79 days, until they were all able to go home.

Sarah, an HR business partner, from Toronto, Canada, said: I had tried every dating app under the sun and wasnt meeting someone.

You cant wait forever for the right person to come into your life.

If youre thinking about doing it alone, I say do it.

Its the best decision I ever made.

I nearly had a heart attack when they told me there was two.

But I cant imagine my life without my daughters.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

Sarah, who had been single for nearly eight years, was never sure about having children.

But one morning, in July 2020, she woke-up with the desire to have a baby.

She said: I enjoyed being selfish and not being responsible for someone else.

But that day I woke up and thought, I want to have a baby now.

It was so strange  like a flick switched and I was ready.

Without a partner, Sarah decided to do the process solo and opted for a sperm donor.

But she found the sperm banks too clinical and began exploring other options.

After researching online, Sarah found a Facebook group called Canadian Sperm Donors.

At the sperm bank, you can only meet them when your child turns 18, she said.

But I wanted to know the person before that.

I was already becoming a mum unconventionally  why not find the donor myself.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

Sarah spoke with a few people on the Facebook page and eventually found one she clicked with.

In February 2021, she met him in person, and he agreed to undergo STI checks and genetic tests and be her sperm donor.

She said: Of course, I was a bit wary of meeting someone from online.

I had a few weird messages.

But made sure we I met up in a public place and we got on really well.

I knew he was the one to be my donor.

We actually became quite good friends because we stuck with me through all my fertility issues.

Sarah also joined Victory Reproductive Health Fertility Clinic, Ontario, Canada where routine tests revealed she wasnt ovulating correctly.

She underwent 14 months of fertility tests and treatment which involved medically monitoring her cycle.

Sarah spent around 5,000 on hormonal injections to increase her fertility.

In October 2021, she was underwent her first full medicated cycle and was delighted to conceive in November 2021 using the strangers sperm.

But just six weeks later she experienced severe cramping and was scheduled for an early ultrasound.

To her shock, Sarah was told during a scan that she was expecting twins.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

She said: I was so delighted, but first trimester was terrible.

I was so nauseous and barely able to keep any food down.

I survived on French fries for weeks.

At 20 weeks along, Sarah went for a routine check-up and doctors discovered her cervix had shortened to 1cm and was at risk of opening too early.

She underwent a cervical stitch which she was told would prevent it the babies arriving too soon.

But it only worked for two weeks and medics told Sarah the babies could come at any time.

She said: The doctor asked me if Id want them to try and save the babies lives or just provide comfort care which was support if the babies didnt make it.

I asked them to do anything they could to save them.

Every day I was talking to my bump begging them to stay in longer.

At 26 weeks and six days, Sarah went to the bathroom and saw a toilet full of blood.

She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada, and one day later, when she hit 27 weeks, she went into labour.

After 36 hours, her premature daughters Elora and Addison arrived within minutes of each other on 30 April 2022 weighing 2lb 2oz and 1lb 9oz, respectively.

The twins were rushed to prenatal ward where medics fought to save their lives.

Sarah said: I was given an epidural and told they would arrive around midnight.

But they arrived really quickly, and doctors were running in from the hallway.

They were so tiny.

Literally all skin and bone - they looked like aliens.

Both of them were wrapped in plastic to stay warm.

I later found out that Addison had to be resuscitated which was terrifying.

Both girls suffered from grade 1 bleeds on the brain, had heart defects and needed blood transfusion.

The twins also had underdeveloped lungs and were on breathing machines for the first few months of their lives.

Elora developed a blood infection and a UTI during her stay in hospital.

Sarah continues: Every day I left the hospital at 5pm and go home to an empty house.

That was a difficult part about doing it by myself.

I couldnt comfort them when they cried.

Being there became my nine to five, and for the first few weeks my mum, Jane, 63, went every day too.

I couldnt have done it without her.

I was allowed to hold one at a time for a few hours a day.

After a long health battle, the twins defied the odds and were able to go home.

They needed to wear a helmet because theyre heads are flattened but otherwise doing great, Sarah said.

Its really important to share my NICU journey - it was very traumatic.

I know a lot of parents have been through this.

I still have hard moments as one person two babies.

But I also have very wonderful moments.

So true what people say - the days are long, and the years are short.

Theyre a year old now and I cant believe theyre mine.
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Thousands of British nationals have fled Sudan as violence sweeps the country, killing hundreds of civilians.

On 25 April, the first UK government evacuation flight rescued Britons trapped in the capital, Khartoum after a 72-hour ceasefire between warring factions was negotiated.

The government announced final flights for evacuees would leave on Saturday evening after fears that the armistice between the two rival generals was wearing down.

Thousands of Britons have fled the violence that has erupted in Sudan (UK MOD  Crown copyright 2023)

However, an additional flight was made available on bank holiday Monday for Britons desperate to flee the country.

British nationals were given until noon to reach an airport in Port Sudan to be processed for the extra flight out of the conflict zone as rescue efforts shift to the east of the country.

Here is a look at what we know about the evacuation plans, so far.

Why are people being evacuated from Sudan?

Hundreds of people have died and thousands hurt in a bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

The prospect of airlifting large numbers of people out of Sudan has been complicated by the fact that most major airports have become battlegrounds, while movement out of the capital has proved perilous.

The current explosion of violence comes after two generals fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists, which was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

Hundreds of people have been killed so far in the conflict (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A stream of European, Middle East, African and Asian military aircraft flew in all day Sunday and Monday to ferry hundreds of diplomats out.

For many Sudanese, the departure of foreigners and closure of embassies is a terrifying sign that international powers expect a worsening of the fighting that has already pushed the population into disaster.

Sudanese have desperately sought ways to escape the chaos, fearing that the rival camps will escalate their all-out battle for power once evacuations are completed.

Who has been evacuated so far?

The first flight with UK citizens landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus with 39 people on board on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

Since then, some 2,122 people on 23 flights have been evacuated from the Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum.

The RAF has airlifted nearly 2,200 people from an airfield near the capital Khartoum (PA Media)

How many Britons remain in Sudan?

As of the morning of Monday 1 May, it was believed that more than 1,000 British passport holders may remain.

Members of the military are working round the clock to assist UK citizens and others trying to escape the war-torn nation amid an uneasy ceasefire, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

The Foreign Office has urged British nationals to head to Port Sudan where an exceptional extra flight will take off and would repatriate a limited number of Britons left in the country who wish to leave.

Evacuees, believed to be British nationals, arrive at Stansted Airport following evacuation from Sudan (REUTERS)

Who is helping British citizens escape the fighting?

The armed forces and border force staff have been supporting the FCDO with the evacuation mission, with HMS Lancaster and the RAF redirected to the area.

Flights have been touching down in Cyprus, which has activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism for evacuating third-country civilians, before arriving in the UK hours later.

Relief is clear on the faces of the evacuees arriving in London (REUTERS)

Is the airbase safe and secure?

Downing Street said the British military stands ready to defend the airfield in Sudan but said efforts would be made to avoid active engagement with other forces.

The prime ministers official spokesperson said: Its worth emphasising that international evacuations have been taking place since Sunday and we havent seen any significant issues or large crowds appearing.

How long do British citizens have to fly out of Sudan?

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said on Monday 1 May: Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan.

Rishi Sunak said he could not guarantee the long-term safety of the air route being used given the volatility of the ceasefire, but other options were being considered.

The evacuation of UK nationals from Sudan is inherently dangerous as it remains unclear how long the ceasefire will hold, according to Mr Cleverly.

The UK will continue to advocate for a long-term end to the conflict along with its international allies, he added.
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Jamie Oliver shared a photo with Jock Zonfrillo and the other MasterChef Australia judges just hours before the 46-year-olds death.

The Scottish chef and restaurateurs family announced the news of his death on Monday (1 May).

Promoting his upcoming appearance on the Australian version of the cooking competition staple, Oliver had posted a selfie with Zonfrillo on Instagram right before his death was announced.

Just hanging out with my new buds @zonfrillo, @andyallencooks and @fooderati on the set of @masterchefau! Oliver wrote.

So excited for you all to see the first episode of Masterchef Australia! Aussie friends, its on TONIGHT at 7:30pm on @channel10au !! Yours truly is in it and theres some pretty amazing dishes I get to taste!

The Naked Chef star has since deleted the post and replaced it with another paying tribute to Zonfrillo.

Sharing a different selfie with the chef, Oliver wrote: Im in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo. We had the best time working together for this years master chef [sic], I cant tell how good it was to work with him!

Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show and for that I was really gratefulMellisa, Andy & Jock work as the most inspiring judges and mentors and each have there very own unique view and style

He continued: Jock will be so very missedI cant believe Im writing this.Sending heart felt love and condolences to all of his family, friends and his second family the master chef team and contestants xxx. Love jamie.

The news of Zonfrillos passing was announced on the day the 2023 season of MasterChef was scheduled to air.

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

However, the network has since confirmed that the shows 15th season will no longer air as planned.

This is a terribly sad day, Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president of the networks parent company Paramount ANZ, said in a statement.

Jock was an extraordinary man. He was a wonderful colleague and friend, and we feel very privileged to have had him play such an important and impactful role in MasterChef.

Despite all his notable professional milestones, nothing brought him more joy or happiness than his family. Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.

Zonfrillo worked under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White in his early career before establishing himself in Australia as the head chef at Restaurant 41 in Sydney in 2000, going on to open his own Restaurant Orana in 2013.

He is survived by his wife and four children. In 2021, Zonfrillo spoke about the unusual item he was hoping to normalise after viewers spotted him carrying around while on MasterChef.
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A majority of British people expect a four-day week to be the norm in workplaces by 2030, new polling has found.

Some 58 per cent of the public say taking a three-day weekend will be the normal way of working by the end of the decade  with only 22 per cent believing it wont, according to the research by Survation.

The finding comes after a landmark trial of a four-day week in dozens of UK companies was hailed as an overwhelming success  with more than 90 per cent of participating firms choosing to adopt the change permanently.

Companies collectively employing thousands of people cut hours without reducing pay, and reported improvements in productivity and happier staff after introducing the change  with many saying there were no real downsides.

One organisation that has adopted a four-day week with no loss of pay is environmental charity Friends of the Earth, which employs around 220 people.

The NGO has seen staff satisfaction and retention increase, and says it is finding it easier to recruit people. Notably, the charity decided against joining the temporary trial and went straight to a permanent three-day weekend from December 2022.

The thinking behind this was that the biggest benefits from switching would come if people were able to permanently reorganise their lives around the shorter hours.

If you do a pilot, its a big change to ask people to make in their working week and their lives ... the prospect then of saying, actually, were not sure if its going to be a four- or five-day week, didnt seem fair, Adrian Cruden, the charitys head of people, told The Independent.

Our experience so far  were about five months in  is that its very positive. We see ourselves still doing the same  if not more  work, but in less time.

Crucially, the organisation has not had to increase its headcount to compensate for the reduction in hours. It says it is able to function as a five-day operation by having some of its employees work Monday to Thursday and others Tuesday to Friday.

The idea of cutting the working week has moved up the political agenda in the UK since 2018, when Labours shadow chancellor at the time, John McDonnell, said his party was looking into it.

Under its current leadership, the Labour Party has not so far been forthcoming about the idea, but trials like the one conducted last year have helped sustain interest.

Working time has become a political issue again, at least beyond Westminster (AFP via Getty)

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has also backed the plan, arguing it is an obvious continuation of the reductions in the working week that took place throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Its only right that working people share in the productivity gains from new technology. The benefits mustnt just be hoarded by those at the top. That means a shorter working week on the same pay, said TUC general secretary Paul Nowak.

A large majority of people want the government to look at ways of implementing the change across the country, the Survation polling found.

Some 65 per cent of people said they would support the government exploring the introduction of a four-day working week, with no loss of pay for workers, with just 10 per cent opposed to the idea.

But ministers are hesitant to take any action on the policy. We have no plans to introduce a four-day working week, a government spokesperson said when pushed on the idea by The Independent. The government is entirely focused on delivering the prime ministers priorities for people across the UK, such as growing the economy and cutting waiting lists.

Jane Gratton, head of people policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, which represents businesses, said a four-day week could work for some companies.

For employers across the country who are struggling to fill job vacancies, access to skills is a major concern. Increasingly, they are looking for new ways to attract and retain skilled people and boost business productivity, she said.

Some firms have trialled a four-day working week and, while it can offer benefits for employers and their teams, it may not work for all businesses and individuals.

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, which commissioned the Survation polling, said: We are long overdue an update to working hours, and the British public are ready to say goodbye to the outdated 9-5, five-day working week.

Moving the economy to a four-day week can be achieved by the end of this decade, and it would give everyone the time to be able to live much happier and more fulfilled lives.
The health service cant cope without nurses who are determined to press on with strikes even if a pay rise for NHS workers goes ahead on Tuesday, union leaders have said.

Services across England were braced for exceptionally low staffing as part of the biggest walkout yet over the bank holiday.

But the health secretary Steve Barclay accused nurses of taking premature and disrespectful action, just hours before a meeting that could deliver salary increases for many.
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The civil servant who oversaw the Partygate inquiry should not be allowed to work for Labour until next year, a former commissioner for public appointments has said.

The Sue Gray report into gatherings at Downing Street during the Covid pandemic helped seal Boris Johnsons fate and eventually saw him resign as prime minister.

So the news earlier this year that she was leaving her civil service role to work as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers chief of staff prompted outrage among allies of the former prime minister.

A Cabinet Office probe into Ms Grays role in government in the months leading up to her resignation followed, the results of which are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

The findings are expected to feed into a ruling on how long Ms Gray should wait before joining Labour, by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba).

Peter Riddell, an ex-commissioner for public appointments, said that should be next year.

He told Times Radio that period of time would be reasonable.

He said: I think a substantial period is reasonable, mainly as an act of reassurance ... to ministers that their senior civil servants arent going to just be here today, gone tomorrow.

He added: I think a period possibly lasting to the end of the year would be reasonable.

Sue Grays report into Partgate found a serious failure to abide by the standards expected of the entire British population during the pandemic (GOV.UK/PA)

He also suggested that Ms Gray was a victim because her talks with Labour were leaked before she resigned.

Asked about a possible delay in Ms Gray starting work for him, during a campaign visit to Blackpool, Sir Keir said: Sue Gray has a formidable reputation and there is obviously a process that is being gone through.

It follows a report in the Mail On Sunday that a Cabinet Office investigation into Ms Grays departure from her position as second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office could conclude that her talks with Labour breached the Civil Service Code.

Separately, The Times reported that it had been told by Whitehall sources that cabinet secretary Simon Case had been instrumental in recommending that Ms Gray should be barred from taking the senior Labour role until March.

Labour has insisted that Ms Gray was approached last autumn, long after she had completed her Partygate report in May last year.

The long-awaited inquiry into the No 10 parties concluded too little thought was given by Boris Johnsons No 10 about the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public.

There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times, Ms Gray wrote.

Mr Johnson was ousted from office by his own MPs later that summer.

But supporters of Mr Johnson suggested he was the victim of a stitch-up when it emerged Ms Gray was leaving to work for Labour.

Tuesdays findings are expected to be released in a written ministerial statement.

Mr Riddell also called for a squeaky clean process to appoint the next BBC chair, after Richard Sharp resigned last week following a damning report into his part in a 800,000 loan guarantee for Mr Johnson while in No 10.

Mr Riddell said: Should the processes be changed? Obviously, those closely involved and maybe a Commons select committee will want to look at it, and probably the [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] select committee want to have examined some of it, thats fine ... For most people, its OK, the story largely over. But weve still got to work out a basis for choosing a new chair of the BBC, which people say, thats fine and reasonable.

The key this time is it is seen to be squeaky clean. Theres no what we call pre-briefing, which happened last time when Richard Sharp was mentioned. What the government should do was to keep it out of it and not talk about names and ensure that its all above board.
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Voters in the UK will be required to present photo identification to prove they are who they say they are when they arrive at polling stations from May 2023, after a change in the law instigated by the UK government.

The new stricture came in as part of the Elections Act 2022, first trailed in the Queens Speech of May 2021 and passed by Parliament last April in the interest of improving election security. It will not apply to those voting by post.

Members of the public voting in person will be able to present 21 different forms of identification deemed valid but fears have nevertheless been expressed that the change could deter some from casting their ballot and lead to greater disenfranchisement.

Research carried out by the Cabinet Office in 2021 found that 9 per cent of the British public do not currently hold any form of photo ID that is both in-date and clearly recognisable.

In accordance with the Acts stipulations, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has launched a Voter Authority Certificate as an alternative, a document that individuals can apply for online and which is free but requires that you already be registered to vote and supply a recent digital photo, your date of birth and National Insurance number to claim.

Voters can apply for the certificate online here, with the government site also providing information on how to register for it by post.

The 21 alternative forms of ID you can present at polling stations from May, which volunteers will be asked to check, are as follows:

A driving licence (full or provisional) issued by the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or EEA state.

A blue parking badge.

An older persons bus pass.

A disabled persons bus pass.

An Oyster 60+ card.

A Freedom Pass.

A Scottish National Entitlement Card.

A 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card.

A Disabled Persons Welsh Concessionary Travel Card.

A Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.

A Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Persons SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.

A War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.

A 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.

A Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland.

An identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) hologram.

A biometric immigration document.

A Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card).

A national identity card issued by an EEA state.

An Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland.

An Anonymous Electors Document.

Local elections will next take place in England on Thursday 4 May 2023, which you will only be able to take part in if you have one of the above pieces of documentation to hand.

The photo ID law will then apply to all UK general elections from October 2023, with the next set to be held no later than 25 January 2025.

According to Dr Ben Stanford, a professor of law at Liverpool John Moores University, the introduction of the requirement is massively controversial, with arguments in favour of voter ID generally stressing the improved security and integrity brought by eliminating voter fraud.

Those against criticise the true motivations of the changes amidst concerns that the demographics least likely to possess ID are generally not Conservative Party voters.

Dr Stanford notes that the exclusion of university ID cards from the list of approved IDs only adds weight to criticisms that the new voter ID requirement is politically-motivated and that the list of acceptable identification has been deliberately limited, ultimately disadvantaging younger people and minorities.

He has also warned that the Voter Authority Certificate could prove vulnerable to delays in processing, citing the recent backlog seen in passport application approvals since the pandemic and the squeezed budgets of government departments in response to the present cost of living crisis, which will only place further pressure on the administrative functions of crucial state service providers.

Speaking to The Independent, Dr Stanford said that voter ID pilot schemes in 2018 and 2019 had delivered a mixed picture of their likely impact on voter turnout but added that a substantial number of people were turned away for lacking the required ID in both tests.

The voter ID requirements being implemented in the UK are certainly more strict than they could and need to be to meet policy objectives, he said.

They resemble the strictest laws seen in some states in the US. Preparations to introduce voter ID have undoubtedly been rushed through, with numerous stakeholders expressing concern at the speed of implementation.

Other things that could be put in place to mitigate these risks, such as provisional voting where people lacking ID can vote subject to later verification, or vouching for another person, are not being implemented.

Dr Stanford continued: I do worry that turnout will substantially decrease in the most socially-deprived areas and especially those where political engagement may be weakest.

The change is unprecedented on a national scale meaning that an unprecedented amount of publicity and awareness is needed but currently lacking.

In my view, even putting to the side political arguments, the negligible evidence of impersonation at polling stations cannot justify the democratic cost of voter disenfranchisement and the financial cost of implementing voter ID.

Passports and driving licences among documentation considered valid for voting from May (Getty)

Bob Watt, a retired academic concerned with public law formerly of the Universities of Essex and Buckingham and a visiting fellow of the Bonavero Centre of Human Rights in Oxford, told The Independent that improved election security was a goal worth pursuing: My view is that even the smallest amount of personation is a very serious matter. Even if it does not affect the result.

The whole point of an election is that it should be free, fair and secret. To have a relatively simple way of subverting that principle  turning up at a polling station now staffed by relatively junior people and claiming to be someone else  is destructive of democracy because it lessens peoples faith that their vote should be counted.

My view is that we should have automatic electoral registration  as soon as you become the age at which you are able to vote  you should automatically be on the register.

The system being introduced here is being done without proper publicity and without proper funding. All households  and every step should be taken to ensure that unhoused people are included  should be contacted and individually told that they must have electoral ID.

Electoral authorities should be properly funded to issue electoral ID cards. This needs a one year lead-in time. It is too rushed.

OpenDemocracy reported in December 2022 that the Electoral Commission had written to ministers warning that it felt their plans for voter IDs were not fully secure, accessible or workable, citing letters obtained by Freedom of Information requests, only for those concerns to be dismissed in response.

The Guardian subsequently reported that the development of the central government website via which people are being asked to apply for the Voter Authority Certificate was unlikely to be ready in time for the rollout of a national advertising campaign in January, which has already provoked anger over its 5.6m cost, suggesting concerns about the process are not unfounded.

The governments rush to implement voter ID requirements against the advice of all those who have to run the scheme and the Electoral Commission themselves is dangerous and will close down our democracy to many, Labours shadow levelling up minister Alex Norris has warned.

His Liberal Democrat counterpart, Helen Morgan, added: Every second that the government delays these applications, another person will lose their chance to vote in May.

Every council will have thousands of these applications to process before May, with no guarantee they can process them in time  taking critical council resources during a cost of living crisis.

The Conservative government have taken away peoples unobstructed right to vote. These delays are nothing short of voter suppression.

Responding to their criticism, a government spokesperson said: We cannot be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democracy remains secure. Everyone eligible to vote will have the opportunity to do so and 98 per cent of electors already have an accepted form of identification.

Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk on 12 January, Conservative MP and former Cabinet member Brandon Lewis said it was not unreasonable for the government to ask people to present ID to vote, just as they would if they were going to a Post Office [to] collect a parcel or take a book out from the library, in order to just give that extra bit of protection to our democratic process.

His analogy was criticised as disingenuous given the additional obstacles the demand for voter IDs creates.
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Scottish ministers are demanding the Foreign Secretary withdraws guidance to UK diplomatic missions on their international visits, accusing him of penning a misleading letter which damages Scotlands interests.

SNP minister Angus Robertson said James Cleverly appeared to be reducing Scotlands status to an administrative unit by seeking to limit the devolved Governments activities abroad.

Mr Robertson was responding to Mr Cleverlys guidance to heads of mission abroad, which was reported as a crackdown on the SNPs attempts to promote Scottish independence when on foreign visits.

The Foreign Secretary asked diplomats to take a strengthened approach to Scottish ministerial visits  ensuring officials from the UK Government are present during meetings with host governments.

While foreign policy has always been a matter reserved to Westminster, ministers in Holyrood have often engaged with foreign governments on a number of issues.

The Conservatives said SNP ministers are overstepping their powers during these visits and seek to undermine the UK Government.

Mr Robertson has now written a lengthy letter  running to more than 1,000 words  to Mr Cleverley.

The Scottish Governments External Affairs Secretary said: I am concerned about the damage the letter and guidance could do to Scottish trade, cultural exchanges and education, and to Scottish interests in general.

There are a number of omissions and misleading assertions, and the guidance in places appears unworkable. I therefore ask that you withdraw it.

He continued: The UK Governments apparent determination to reduce Scotland to the status of a mere administrative unit and for it to be characterised as such by UK Government diplomats is unacceptable.

The Scottish Government is internationalist to its core.

We believe Scotland has a contribution to make to global issues, whether that is tackling climate change, international development, advancing equalities around the world, the treatment of those fleeing war and oppression and many other topics where the UK Government also has relevant responsibilities.

He referred to the 1998 Scotland Act and said it did not preclude Scottish ministers from communicating with other countries, regions or international or European institutions as long as they did not purport to be speaking for the UK Government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: The UK has one of the best, most expansive and expert diplomatic services in the world, with people from across the UK representing our interests abroad.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the G7, Nato and the Commonwealth, the UK has an unparalleled influence on the international stage.

We are delivering effectively for the whole of the UK, including by ensuring that Scotlands interests remain at the heart of our international agenda.
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Two final evacuation flights from Sudan were expected to land in Cyprus late on Monday as the number of people repatriated from the war-torn nation neared 2,200.

The Foreign Office said Sudanese doctors working for the NHS were among the flight passengers after ministers agreed to extend the evacuation criteria to include eligible non-British nationals working as clinicians in the NHS, as well as their dependents.

It is not known what time the passengers will arrive following the second leg of their journey from Larnaca, Cyprus, to the UK.

While the UK Government said it expected no more flights to leave following the bank holiday Monday airlifts, Royal Navy warship HMS Lancaster will remain in the Red Sea to support any further evacuation efforts from Sudan.

The British rescue effort was the longest lasting and largest evacuation from the African nation by any Western country, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The UK has brought 2197 people to safety from Sudan so far  the largest airlift by any Western nation Foreign Secretary James Cleverly

Officials said the UK would now focus on the diplomatic and humanitarian response to the bloody conflict caused by a violent rivalry between two generals.

A fragile three-day ceasefire was holding together despite opposing troops clashing in the capital Khartoum on Monday.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: With thanks to the extraordinary efforts of staff and military, the UK has brought 2,197 people to safety from Sudan so far  the largest airlift by any Western nation.

As the focus turns to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue to do all we can to press for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to the violence in Sudan.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: Yet again the men and women of our armed forces have led the way.

In one week, the RAF have flown more than 20 flights, deployed over a thousand personnel, evacuated over 2,000 civilians and helped citizens from more than 20 countries to get home.

HMS Lancaster will remain at Port Sudan and her crew will continue to help provide support.

In addition to British nationals, the UK helped evacuate 1,087 people from other nations, including the US, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia.

On Saturday, the UK Government announced it would no longer be running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum.

The FCDO said the reasons for the decision were that there had been a significant decline in the number of British nationals coming forward and an increasingly volatile situation on the ground near the airstrip.

However, two extra flights were laid on for Monday, with those wanting to leave the country told to make their way to Port Sudan, more than 500 miles east of the capital, by 11am UK time  midday in Sudan  if they wanted to be processed in time for the flight.

Following the final Royal Air Force (RAF) repatriation flights, a UK team will continue to be based at Port Sudan to provide consular assistance, including to British nationals leaving by commercial routes, the FCDO said.

The number of people brought back to the UK on the last flights is expected to be declared on Tuesday, with the rescue figure standing at 2,197 as of 5.30pm on Monday.

International development minister Andrew Mitchell was in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi over the weekend as British diplomatic efforts focus on securing a peace deal.

Mr Mitchell met with Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and African Union chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat to discuss the conflict.

The UK ambassador to Sudan was deployed to Addis Ababa on Thursday to support the Governments regional response to the conflict, based out of the British Embassy in Ethiopia.

Officials said the UK is exploring options to provide effective humanitarian assistance to people in Sudan, in close coordination with international partners, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations.

The Foreign Office described the UK as a committed donor to Sudan, having spent more than 250 million in humanitarian aid in the last five years.

It follows international hope that an internationally-brokered ceasefire could be reached.

The UN said the rival generals, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had agreed to send representatives to the negotiation table in a bid to establish a more stable truce.

Generals Burhan and Dagalo, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fraught transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.
Fighting has intensified in Sudan despite an extended truce between the countrys two warring generals, with the civilian death toll rising and thousands more fleeing the war zone on Sunday.

The Sudanese army said on Sunday that it had agreed that a ceasefire with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would be extended a further 72 hours from when the current ceasefire ends at midnight local time [2200 GMT].

But hopes the ceasefire could have stopped attacks have been dashed in recent days, with gunfire and airstrikes escalating on the streets of the capital Khartoum. Airstrikes also hit its neighbouring city Omdurman.
 Close UK evacuations from Sudan could be 'impossible' once ceasefire ends, Cleverly warns

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The final evacuation flight for British nationls has now left Sudan as a fragile ceasefire holds in the country.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had given those looking to flee the war-torn nation until 11am UK time - midday in Sudan - to reach the departure site on the eastern coast.

Officials at the Foreign Office would not confirm what time the flight was due to take off, but flight tracking websites showed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Airbus A400M Atlas plane as having landed at Port Sudan at about 3pm on Monday.

The UK government said it was exceptionally offering one final flight for a limited number of British nationals still in the country.

It comes as a UN official said more than 800,000 people may flee the war-torn country.

The UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, Raouf Mazou, said: In consultation with all concerned governments and partners weve arrived at a planning figure of 815,000 people that may flee into the seven neighboring countries.
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The final evacuation flight bringing Britons out of Sudan left the country on Monday evening as fighting continued to rage between warring factions.

British nationals were told by the Foreign Office that those looking to flee the war-torn nation had until 11am UK time  midday local time  to reach the city Port Sudan, on the eastern coast to be given the chance to board the last two flights.

The Foreign Office would not confirm if the flights had left the coastal city on Monday afternoon but flight tracking websites showed a Hercules plane left the airport at 6.43pm local time and an Airbus Atlas aircraft was due to depart the country hours later at 10.10pm local time.

The government has faced criticism from citizens trapped in the country after British diplomats were evacuated by the UK military a week ago.

Evacuees and military personnel at Wadi Seidna airport in Khartoum, Sudan (PA)

A number of Britons alleged they had not received any contact from the embassy and that a phone number that meant they could register with the Foreign Office was not given to them for five days.

The last two UK flights from Sudan are due to land in Larnaca, Cyprus, later on Monday evening after the government extended the criteria to include eligible non-British nationals, such as NHS doctors, who had been left stranded there.

The UK has now evacuated 2,197 people to safety from Sudan on more than 20 flights operated by the RAF. But the government has said it was no longer running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield because of a lack of Britons coming forward and the volatile situation on the ground.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: With thanks to the extraordinary efforts of staff and military, the UK has brought 2197 people to safety from Sudan so far  the largest airlift by any Western nation.

As the focus turns to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue to do all we can to press for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to the violence in Sudan.

Evacuees and military personnel at Wadi Seidna airport boarding an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus (PA)

Royal Navy ship HMS Lancaster will remain at Port Sudan and her crew will continue to help provide support.

It comes troops of the two rival generals clashed in the capital Khartoum on Monday, despite earlier agreeing to extend a fragile ceasefire.

The United Nations said the generals, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had agreed to send representatives to the negotiation table in a bid to establish a more stable truce.

Generals Burhan and Dagalo, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fraught transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.

Smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment during clashes (Reuters)

Meanwhile, the UN has warned that more than 800,000 people may flee Sudan as a result of fighting between military factions, including many who had already come there as refugees.

Without a quick resolution of this crisis we will continue to see more people forced to flee in search of safety and basic assistance, Raouf Mazou, a UN official, told a member-state briefing in Geneva.

In consultation with all concerned governments and partners weve arrived at a planning figure of 815,000 people that may flee into the seven neighbouring countries.

The estimate includes around 580,000 Sudanese nationals, he said, with the others existing refugees from South Sudan and elsewhere.

So far, he said some 73,000 people have already fled to Sudans seven neighbours: South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Central African Republic and Libya.

At the same briefing, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan warned that the humanitarian crisis was turning into a full-blown catastrophe and that the risk of spillover into neighbouring countries was worrying.

It has been more than two weeks of devastating fighting in Sudan, a conflict that is turning Sudan humanitarian crisis into a full-blown catastrophe, Abdou Dieng, resident and humanitarian coordinator in the country, said via video link.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Fighting has erupted in Sudans capital city Khartoum and across the country this month as powerful rival military factions battle for control of the African nation and its future.

The sudden slide into violence between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stranded thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers in the country, with the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states among those closing embassies and racing to evacuate their nationals.

Follow our live blog for latest updates

More than 450 people have been killed in the conflict and another 4,000 wounded so far, according to the World Health Organisation.

A brief 72-hour ceasefire has been declared to allow for the evacuations to take place, with negotiations currently underway to extend its duration.

British families caught up in the fighting had initially accused the UK government of abandoning them, despite reassurances from prime minister Rishi Sunak and the Foreign Office that talks were underway to bring them home.

After the truce was agreed between the two factions, the UK was able to airlift 536 citizens to safety, with foreign secretary James Cleverly now urging British nationals who may be hesitant or weighing up their options to make their way to Wadi Seidna, where there are planes and capacity in place to get people out.

Alicia Kearns, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that the number of British people hoping to be evacuated could total 3,000, 4,000 plus, adding that those on the ground were living in abject fear, had little food and water left and even been reduced to killing their pets in some cases because theyre worried theyre going to starve.

Whats going on in Sudan?

Tension had been building for months between Sudans army and the RSF, which together toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup.

The friction was brought to a head by an internationally-backed plan to launch a new transition with civilian parties. A final deal was due to be signed earlier in April, on the fourth anniversary of the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.

Both the army and the RSF were required to cede power under the plan and two issues proved particularly contentious: one was the timetable for the RSF to be integrated into the regular armed forces, the second was when the army would be formally placed under civilian oversight.

When fighting broke out on 15 April, both sides blamed the other for provoking the violence. The army accused the RSF of illegal mobilisation in preceding days and the RSF, as it moved on key strategic sites in Khartoum, said the army had tried to seize full power in a plot with Bashir loyalists.

Who is fighting who?

The protagonists in the power struggle are General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the army and leader of Sudans ruling council since 2019 and his deputy on the council, RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti.

As the plan for a new transition developed, Hemedti alligned himself more closely with civilian parties from a coalition, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), that shared power with the military between Bashirs overthrow and the 2021 coup.

Smoke clouds the sky over Khartoum (Maheen S/AP)

Diplomats and analysts said this was part of a strategy by Hemedti to transform himself into a statesman. Both the FFC and Hemedti, who grew wealthy through gold mining and other ventures, stressed the need to sideline Islamist-leaning Bashir loyalists and veterans who had regained a foothold following the coup and have deep roots in the army.

Along with some pro-army rebel factions that benefited from a 2020 peace deal, the Bashir loyalists opposed the deal for a new transition.

Whats at stake?

The popular uprising had raised hopes that Sudan and its population of 46 million could emerge from decades of autocracy, internal conflict and economic isolation under Bashir.

Conflict could not only destroy those hopes but destabilise a volatile region bordering the Sahel, the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.

It could also play into competition for influence in the region between Russia and the United States and between regional powers who have courted different actors in Sudan.

What about other countries?

Western powers including the US and the UK had swung behind a transition towards democratic elections following Bashirs overthrow. They suspended financial support following the coup, then backed the plan for a new transition and a civilian government.

Energy-rich powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also sought to shape events in Sudan, seeing the transition away from Bashirs rule as a way to roll back Islamist influence and bolster stability in the region.

Gulf states have pursued investments in sectors including agriculture, where Sudan holds vast potential and ports on Sudans Red Sea coast.

British nationals remain trapped in Sudan as fighting continues (Marwan Ali/AP)

Russia has been seeking to build a naval base on the Red Sea, while several UAE companies have been signing up to invest, with one UAE consortium inking a preliminary deal to build and operate a port and another UAE-based airline agreeing with a Sudanese partner to create a new low-cost carrier based in Khartoum.

Burhan and Hemedti both developed close ties to Saudi Arabia after sending troops to participate in the Saudi-led operation in Yemen. Hemedti has struck up relations with other foreign powers including the UAE and Russia.

Egypt, itself ruled by military man President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who overthrew his Islamist predecessor, has deep ties to Burhan and the army and recently promoted a parallel track of political negotiations through parties with stronger links to the army and to Bashirs former government.

What could happen?

International parties have called for a ceasefire and a return to dialogue but there has been little sign of compromise from the warring factions.

The army has branded the RSF as a rebel force and demanded its dissolution, while Hemedti has called Burhan a criminal and blamed him for visiting destruction on the country.

Though Sudans army has superior resources including air power and the RSF expanded into a force estimated at 100,000 men that had deployed across Khartoum and its neighbouring cities as well as in other regions, raising the spectre of protracted conflict on top of a long-running economic crisis and existing, large-scale humanitarian needs.

The RSF can also draw on support and tribal ties in the western region of Darfur, where it emerged from the militias that fought alongside government forces to crush rebels in a brutal war that escalated after 2003.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter Chinas increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Marcos said he was determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests.

Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

The two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos four-day visit to Washington, according to two senior Biden administration officials.

The officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity to preview the leaders' meeting, said the White House will use the visit to announce the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines, a new U.S. trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines' innovation economy, new educational programing and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guards BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a stark reminder of Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, Miller said.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by Chinas ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.

Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan's independence if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a One China policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huangs comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines. The locations of three of the four new bases are concerning to Beijing  two are in the Isabela and Cagayan provinces, which face north toward Taiwan. A third, in Palawan, is near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he finds himself in a situation in which the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that historical considerations could present challenges to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries' sometimes rocky past.

During their private meeting, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could fulfill your dreams and hopes" to do that, according to the senior administration official.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.

___

Gomez reported from Manila.
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An elite New Jersey boarding school has admitted its failure a year after a bullied pupil died by suicide.

Jack Reid, 17, attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School and took his own life last April after being bullied over false rumours that he was a rapist.

The school, which charges an annual fee of up to $76,000 for its 830 students, issued a statement on Sunday recognising its own role in the teenagers death.

The school acknowledges that bullying and unkind behaviour, and actions taken or not taken by the school, likely contributed to Jacks death, Lawrenceville officials wrote in a statement posted on the schools website.

The statement was part of an agreed settlement between the school and Reids family.

Jack Reid (Reid family)

The teenager joined the school in the fall of 2020, but in the following spring semester, a rumour that he was a rapist began to spread among students. But despite the rumours, Reid returned to the school in September 2021 and was elected president of the school housing where he lived.

His parents told the New York Times that they believe this exacerbated the bullying and he continued to be harassed by students at the school and also online.

The newspaper says that during a Secret Santa gift exchange, he was given a rape whistle and a book on how to make friends.

The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey (Facebook/ The Lawrenceville School)

His father, Bill Reid, also said that his son at one point asked him if the bullying and false accusations would ever go away.

Before he died by suicide, his parents say that Reid asked school officials to intervene and they launched an investigation into both the bullying and sexual assault allegations.

The school found no evidence to support the allegations but did not acknowledge that privately or publicly, says the Times.

Reid and his parents were never told that he had been cleared by the investigation before his death.

There were steps that the School should in hindsight have taken but did not, the school wrote in its statement. And it added: We recognize that in Jacks case, we fell tragically short.

Jack was universally regarded as an extremely kind and good-hearted young man, with an unwavering sense of social and civic responsibility and a bright future. We continue to mourn this loss.

The night of Reids death, his family says that he put a Bible in his gym shorts and left a note directing his parents to a document in which he outlined his feelings of helplessness.

He had to escape the pain from the humiliation he was feeling, his father told the newspaper.

And his mother, Dr Elizabeth Reid, a clinical psychologist, added: We feel like we both have life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The only thing Id love to change here is to get Jack back. I cant. I do know if he were alive, he would want me  both of us  to try to make something good out of this and honor him in the way he lived his life.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone free of charge over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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A woman in Louisiana has been accused of murdering a six-year-old girl, placing her body in a barrel, and dumping it on her mother's front lawn, according to court records.

Police in Harahan, Louisiana, found the body of Bella Fontenelle, 6, inside a chlorine drum that was left outside her mother Jennifer Zeledon's home. Bella's father, Michael Fontenelle, reported that both she and his girlfriend had gone missing.

He alerted police to the missing duo around 7.30am on Wednesday, Sheriff Joe Lopinto told WDSU.

Law enforcement believes that Mr Fontenelle's girlfriend, Bunnak "Hannah" Landon, 43, killed Bella at the home where they lived.

Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich determined the girl had been strangled and beaten, per a report from the New Orleans Advocate.

I want to add that Bellas body was intact and contrary to public speculation, there was no dismemberment of any kind, he said, according to a WWL report. Child deaths are always terrible, especially ones like this that should not have happened. Quite honestly, its personal for all of us.

Ms Landon allegedly stuffed the girl's body into a 10-gallon chlorine drum and sealed it with a lid before loading it into a child's play wagon and dragging it more than a block to Ms Zeldon's house on Tuesday evening, according to authorities.

Law enforcement officials found the barrel while searching for Bella, discovering her body stuffed inside after they opened its lid.

Police say they recovered footage from surveillance video showing a woman dragging the bucket toward Ms Zeledon's house. The woman in the footage is wearing white boots, a red shirt and black pants.

A woman police believe to be Hannah Landon pulling a wagon and barrel containing the body of 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle. Ms Landon allegedly killed the girl and dumped the barrel on the girls mothers front lawn, according to police (Screengrab/Fox8)

Hannah Landon, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Bella Fontenelle, 6 (Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office)

At some point between Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon Ms Landon allegedly visited the Harahan Police Department. Officer there transported her to a nearby hospital for unknown reasons. Sheriff's deputies later arrested her at the hospital.

Ms Landon was placed under arrest and has been charged with first degree murder as well as obstruction of justice in the death of Bella Fontenelle. She is currently being held without bail.

It appears Ms Landon and Ms Zeledon had bad blood. A 2021 court document uncovered by WDSU named Ms Landon as a suspect in an incident that left Ms Zeledon with injuries on her face and hands. Ms Landon was cited for simple battery and later filed a restraining order against Ms Zeledon.

This senseless and heinous act has forever destroyed my family, Bianca Cano, Bellas aunt, wrote her GoFundMe campaign for her sister, Ms Zeledon. No words can describe the pain that is running through our bodies. Its truly inhumane.
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A family asked their neighbour to stop firing his gun so that their baby could sleep.

Minutes later, five people  including a nine-year-old boy  were dead.

Four days on from the horror mass shooting, their alleged killer was finally taken into custody at a home close to the nearby city of Cut and Shoot.

Francisco Oropesa was discovered on Tuesday (2 May) hiding under a pile of laundry in a closet of a house linked to one of his family members. He is now facing five murder charges.

The massacre unfolded on Friday night (28 April) in Cleveland, Texas, when the family asked their neighbour Mr Oropesa to stop shooting rounds in his yard because they had children trying to sleep.

Mr Oropesa then allegedly entered his neighbours home with an AR-15 style rifle and opened fire on anyone in his path.

Five victims  Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25,her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18  were shot dead execution style from the neck up, police said.

Heres everything we know about the shooting:

The motive

The shooting was reported at around 10.30pm on Friday night (28 April) on the 100 block of Walters Road in the Trails End area in the community about 45 miles (72 kilometres) northeast of Houston.

Night shift patrol deputies were dispatched to a residence in reference to a harassment complaint.

Five dead, including eight-year-old, in Texas shooting

Authorities have said that a family member walked up to the fence and requested the gunman stopped shooting rounds in his own backyard. The suspect then allegedly refused saying that it was his property.

Around 10 to 20 minute later, he entered the property armed with an AR-15 and opened fire.

The neighbours walked over and said  Hey man, can you not do that, weve got an infant in here trying to sleep or whatever, Mr Capers said.

They went back in their house and then we have a video of him walking up their driveway with his AR-15.

On their way there, they received multiple 911 calls of an active shooter incident at the dispatch location.

Deputies arrived on the scene to find three children covered in blood were transported to the hospital, where they were determined to be uninjured, while two other witnesses at the scene were evaluated by first responders and released.

The SJCSO also said that Mr Oropesa has been known to shoot his 223 out in his front yard, which is evident by the shell casings that are laying in the front yard.

The victims

Ten people were in the residence at the time of the tragedy.

The fatal victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18, according to 12 News.

All five victims were originally from Honduras.

Velazquezs husband Jefrey Rivera told the Honduran network HCH that his wife died protecting their children. He said she hid in a closet with some of the children in the home. The two other deceased women were found lying on top of two children covered in blood. Police said on Saturday that they died protecting the two minors, who are both believed to have survived.

The house where the shooting took place (AP)

Recounting the terrifying moments leading up to the massacre, Mr Rivera said that someone in his household asked Mr Oropesa to stop shooting rounds in his yard because they had several children in the home who were trying to sleep.

Mr Rivera said that when he saw his very intoxicated neighbour approaching with an AR-15 rifle, he threw a machete at him in an attempt to protect other relatives in the home.

I realised he was coming in our direction while armed with a rifle, so I tried to find something to defend myself with and found a machete. Mr Rivera told HCH in Spanish. But by the time I found the machete, shots had already been fired.

Mr Oropesa and Mr Rivera then had a brief confrontation, in which the gunman allegedly said, Im going to kill you today.

Mr Rivera then reportedly said: Im going to kill you first because youve already killed my family. He said he managed to escape the violence and called authorities.

Guzman, meanwhile, was killed when she heroically confronted the gunman at the doorway to her home, according to her grieving husband Wilson Garcia.

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her son Daniel Enrique Laso, nine (Sourced)

Mr Garcia spoke at a vigil for his son Daniel on Sunday night where he revealed how his wife Guzman bravely thought she could stop the gunman opening fire.

He said he saw the suspect running towards his house while reloading his AR-15-style rifle with ammunition and urged his wife to get inside away from the gunman. But she refused  and went to confront Mr Oropesa instead.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, said Mr Garcia, according to The Associated Press.

My wife told me to go inside because He wont fire at me, Im a woman.

Guzman was wrong and she became the first victim shot and killed in the horror attack that has sent shockwaves across the country. Mr Oropesa then went room to room opening fire on the victims, said Mr Garcia.

Mr Garcia also revealed that the family had made five separate calls to police in the 10 to 20 minutes between the initial confrontation and the massacre unfolding.

During each call, Mr Garcia said police reassured them that help was on its way.

But officers had not yet arrived when Mr Garcia said he saw the suspect entering his family home and opening fire.

Guzmans cousin told HCH that she had moved to the US eight years ago, while her son had spent five years living in America.

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18, were all killed (GoFundMe)

The mother of three leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, a six-month-old baby and her husband.

Her family has created a GoFundMe to raise funds so Guzman and her sons remains can be repatriated.

I just spoke with her on the phone yesterday and now theyre sending her back to me in a casket, Guzmans mother Francia Guzman also told HCH through tears.

The suspect

Mr Oropesa is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who had been deported from the US four times before the shooting.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) source told The Independent that Mr Oropesa, whose full name is reportedly Francisco Oropesa Perez-Torres, was first removed by an immigration judge in March 2009.

After that, Mr Oropesa reentered the United States at an unknown time and location but was removed again in September 2009, January 2012 and July 2016.

It is not clear what the married fathers status is at present.

Authorities were forced to admit on Sunday that they released an incorrect photo of Mr Oropesa  and had been spelling his name incorrectly as Oropeza.

Prior to his arrest, FBI Special Agent James Smith described him as armed and dangerous.

We're still out there trying to find this individual. We consider him armed and dangerous. And we're not going to stop until we actually arrest him and bring him into custody. But he is out there, and he is a threat to the community, he said.

Francisco Oropesa, 38 (KHOU11)

So I don't want anyone to think something different than that. He is a threat to the community, and we need the community's help to hopefully locate him and soon and take him off the streets tonight.

But however, I will say this, we do not ask the community to take the matters into their own hands. Please call 911 if you happen to see this individual out there.

Mr Oropesa is described as approximately 58 tall, last seen wearing blue jeans with a black shirt and work boots and with short black hair.

An arrest warrant charged him with five counts of murder and burglary.

The manhunt

Mr Oropesa was said to be armed and dangerous, with police admitting on Sunday (30 April) that they had zero leads as to his whereabouts.

Earlier reports by NPR suggested police had located and surrounded the suspect somewhere in the Houston area, but this later turned out to be incorrect.

On Sunday night (30 April), the FBI said in a statement that Mr Oropesa was considered armed and dangerous and the public was advised not to approach him.

Authorities continued searching in the vicinity of the crime scene. Mr Capers said that authorities had widened the search to as far as 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the scene of the shooting.

Francisco Oropesa was tracked down to Cut and Shoot on Tuesday (Especial)

Mr Oropesas cellphone was initially being tracked but it was found abandoned along with some clothing on Saturday (29 April).

Tracking dogs managed to pick up his scent before losing it in the waterways.

Despite the efforts, SJCSO Sheriff Greg Capers said on Sunday (30 April) that investigators had zero leads and admitted he could be anywhere,

A reward of $80,000 was offered for information leading to his arrest and the reward was advertised on Spanish-language billboards in the hopes that someone would speak out. Investigators said they believed he was in contact with friends.

Mr Oropesas wife was said to have been in constant contact with investigators.

The capture

Mr Oropesa was captured on Tuesday (2 May) following a dramatic four-day manhunt, after the FBI received a tip-off about his whereabouts and carried out surveillance on his wife.

The 38-year-old accused gunman was found hiding under a pile of laundry in the closet of a home in Cut and Shoot, a city close to the town of Cleveland.

Sheriff Greg Capers, of San Jacinto County, said at a press conference that the coward was taken into custody without incident.

He was caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry, the sheriff said. They effectively made the arrest. He is uninjured.

A woman was also detained at the scene.

Press Conference: Texas man accused of killing 5 people captured

Authorities said that a mystery tipster helped lead them to the suspected mass killer.

FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul said that the bureau received a tip to its tip line at 5.15pm local time on Tuesday.

Officials acted on the tip and also tracked Mr Oropesas wife to a home near Cut and Shoot that was linked to one of his family members.

Mr Oropesa was arrested at 6.30pm local time.

We just want to thank the person who had the courage and bravery to call in the suspects location, said Agent Paul.

Mr Oropesa is scheduled to appear before a magistrate in San Jacinto County on Wednesday, CNN reported.

He was arrested on five counts of murder and is being held on $5m bond.

Greg Abbott slammed for response

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been slammed for his response to the latest incident of gun violence in his state.

The Republican governor, who has severely relaxed gun laws in Texas since taking office, failed to address the mass shooting for almost two days.

Then, on Sunday, he finally broke his silence, with a statement on social media in which he announced his office was contributing a $50,000 reward to catch the suspect  and labelled the victims illegal immigrants.

Announcing a $50K reward for a @TxDPS top 10 fugitive who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants Friday night. I also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout for the criminal and any attempts to flee the country, he said.

The statement sparked an instant backlash with social media users quickly correcting his use of the words illegal immigrants with the term people.

Star Trek actor George Takei was among those to slam Mr Abbott, tweeting: This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong.

Mr Abbott was later forced to walk back his comments in an admission that it was not even a factual statement.

Weve since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally, his spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement on Monday.

We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.

Prior to the inflammatory statement about illegal immigrants, Mr Abbott had come under fire for his radio silence on the incident.

The political leader, who tweeted a picture of his pet dog along with the caption all smiles for the weekend on Saturday, waited almost two days before commenting on the matter.

This is the Governor of Texas tweet AFTER learning that a gunman armed with an assault rifle opened fire on a family in his state, killing five people, including an 8-year-old, Ms Watts tweeted.

Brett Cross, who lost his son Uziyah in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde last year, also lashed out at the Republican governor for not making mention of the deadly shooting.

Mr Abbotts response is a far cry from the stance of local officials.

In Sundays press conference, Sheriff Capers became emotional as he said I dont care if the victims were in Texas legally or illegally.

My heart is with this eight-year-old little boy, I dont care if he was here legally, I dont care if he was here illegally, he was in my county, he said.

Five people died in my county. And thats where my heart is, in my county protecting my people to the best of my ability.

More than 170 mass shooting in the US this year

The US is setting a devastating record pace for mass killings in 2023, according to the Associated Press. The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence; gang retaliation; school shootings and workplace vendettas. All those listed as mass killings in the report have taken the lives of four or more people since 1 January.

Reacting to the deadly violence on Friday night, gun safety advocates slammed lax weapon laws in Texas.

Assault rifles were designed to be used by highly trained soldiers in battle, not marketed to violent men to carry out revenge fantasies, gun violence prevention activist and Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts tweeted on Saturday.

From Newtown to Nashville, Las Vegas to Uvalde, these weapons of war are chosen and used to inflict as much harm as quickly as possible.

Greg Abbott has relaxed the states gun laws (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In total, Texas has been rocked by at least six major mass shootings under Mr Abbotts watch, according to a Texas Tribune database.

It was November 2017  two years into his first term  when 26 people were murdered and another 20 wounded when a 26-year-old gunman opened fire during Sunday service at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

Just six months later in May 2018, a 17-year-old student killed eight classmates and two students at Santa Fe High School.

One year later in August 2019, a domestic terrorist attack at a Walmart in El Paso left 23 shoppers and store workers dead and dozens more injured.

Then, on 24 May 2022, 19 students aged just nine to 11 and two teachers were shot dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde by an 18-year-old gunman who had legally bought an AR-15-style rifle in the state just days after his birthday.
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A mother gunned down in a mass shooting in Texas on Friday was killed when she heroically confronted the gunman at the doorway to her home after the family had called 911 five times to report the suspect.

Wilson Garcia spoke out at a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, on Sunday night after his wife Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman were among the five innocent victims killed in the shocking massacre.

Mr Garcia said that the shooting unfolded when the family asked suspect Francisco Oropesa to stop firing his gun so close to their home because the children were trying to sleep.

Mr Oropesa refused, saying he was on his property so could do what he wanted. As the shooting continued, the family called 911 to report Mr Oropesa.

Around 10 to 20 minutes later, Mr Garcia said he saw the suspect running towards his house while reloading his AR-15-style rifle with ammunition.

He said he urged his wife to get inside away from the gunman but she refused  and went to confront Mr Oropesa instead.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, said Mr Garcia, according to The Associated Press.

My wife told me to go inside because He wont fire at me, Im a woman.

Guzman was wrong and she became the first victim shot and killed in the horror attack that has sent shockwaves across the country.

Mr Oropesa is said to have gone room to room opening fire on the victims.

Five victims  Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18  were killed in the attack.

Mr Garcia revealed that the family had made five separate calls to police in the 10 to 20 minutes between the initial confrontation and the massacre unfolding.

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and eight-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso were among the five innocent victims killed (Family handout)

During each call, Mr Garcia said police reassured them that help was on its way.

But officers had not yet arrived when Mr Garcia said he saw the suspect entering his family home and opening fire.

Mr Oropesa, who is originally from Mexico, fled the scene in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and is still at large more than two days on.

He is considered armed and dangerous and police admitted on Sunday that they have zero leads as to his whereabouts.

On Sunday, Sheriff Greg Capers admitted in a press conference that investigators have zero leads as to his whereabouts but believe he is in contact with friends.

A reward of $80,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest on five counts of murder and burglary.

On Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott finally addressed the latest incident of gun violence in his state  in a statement where he announced his office was contributing a $50,000 reward to catch the suspect and also labelled the victims illegal immigrants.

The Republican governor, who has severely relaxed gun laws in Texas since taking office, failed to address the mass shooting for almost two days.

Then, on Sunday, he finally broke his silence, with a statement on social media.

Announcing a $50K reward for a @TxDPS top 10 fugitive who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants Friday night. I also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout for the criminal and any attempts to flee the country, he said.

Wilson Garcia at the vigil for his slain son (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The statement sparked an instant backlash with social media users quickly correcting his use of the words illegal immigrants with the term people.

Star Trek actor George Takei was among those to slam Mr Abbott, tweeting: This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong.

Mr Abbotts comments were a far cry from the stance of local officials.

Sheriff Capers became emotional as he said I dont care if the victims were in Texas legally or illegally.

My heart is with this eight-year-old little boy, I dont care if he was here legally, I dont care if he was here illegally, he was in my county, he said.

Five people died in my county. And thats where my heart is, in my county protecting my people to the best of my ability.
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After four days of searching, law enforcement captured 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa, who is suspected of fatally shooting five people in Cleveland, Texas.

Mr Oropesa allegedly entered his neighbors home armed with an assault-style rifle on Friday evening (28 April) after his neighbor, Wilson Garcia, asked him to stop shooting his gun in his backyard because it was keeping Mr Garcias baby awake.

Mr Garcia said that a few minutes after they spoke, Mr Oropesa walked over to the home and opened fire, killing five people including Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

All five victims were from Honduras according to reports, though Ms Velazquez Alvarados husband said his wife was a permanent resident of the United States.

For days after the horrific shooting, multiple law enforcement agencies including the Houston FBI and San Jacinto Sheriffs Office searched everywhere for signs of Mr Oropesa.

That is until Tuesday (2 May) when authorities followed up on an anonymous tip that led them to Mr Oropesas whereabouts in Cut and Shoot, Texas, a town outside of Conroe and near Cleveland.

Francisco Oropesa (Especial)

Who is Francisco Oropesa?

The 38-year-old lived next door to the home of the victims with his wife and son who was a similar age to the youngest victim.

Authorities say Mr Oropesa often shot his rifle in his yard which led neighbors to call law enforcement on other occasions, according to The New York Times.

Mr Oropesa owned an AR-15-style rifle along with other weapons found inside his home.

Mr Oropesa reportedly entered the United States illegally from Mexico, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbotts office. A source close to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Independent Mr Oropesa had been deported at least four times since 2009.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said in a press conference that law enforcement identified Mr Oropesa by his Mexican consulate card and ring doorbell footage.

He was described as approximately 5 foot 8 inches and weighing about 160 pounds with a distinct tattoo of a woman on his forearm.

Local news outlet Click 2 Houston reported that Mr Oropesa had a prior arrest record for a DWI in 2009.

Authorities initially spelled Mr Oropesas name as Oropeza but updated the spelling to reflect the correct documentation.

The motive

The shooting was reported at around 10.30pm on the 100 block of Walters Road in the Trails End area in the community about 45 miles (72 kilometres) northeast of Houston.

Night shift patrol deputies were dispatched to a residence in reference to a harassment complaint.

Authorities have said that a family member walked up to the fence and requested the gunman stopped shooting rounds in his own backyard. The suspect then allegedly responded that it was his property and the violence unfolded.

The home where the mass shooting took place (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The neighbours walked over and said  Hey man, can you not do that, weve got an infant in here trying to sleep or whatever, Mr Capers said. They went back in their house and then we have a video of him walking up their driveway with his AR-15.

Police received multiple 911 calls of an active shooter incident at the dispatch location.

Three children covered in blood were transported to the hospital, where they were determined to be uninjured, while two other witnesses at the scene were evaluated by first responders and released.

The SJCSO also said that Mr Oropesa has been known to shoot his 223 out in his front yard, which is evident by the shell casings that are laying in the front yard.

The victims

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18 were the victims of the tragic shooting.

Ms Alvarados husband Jefrey Rivera told the Honduran network HCH that his wife died protecting their children. He said she hid in a closet with some of the children in the home.

The two other deceased women were found lying on top of two children covered in blood. Police said on Saturday that they died protecting the two minors, who are both believed to have survived.

Mr Rivera recounted the terrifying moments leading up to the massacre. He said that, after Mr Garcia asked Mr Oropesa to stop shooting rounds in his yard, he saw his very intoxicated neighbour approaching with an AR-15 rifle. He then threw a machete at Mr Oropesa in an attempt to protect other relatives in the home.

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso (Sourced)

I realised he was coming in our direction while armed with a rifle, so I tried to find something to defend myself with and found a machete, Mr Rivera told HCH in Spanish. But by the time I found the machete, shots had already been fired.

Mr Oropesa and Mr Rivera then had a brief confrontation, in which the gunman allegedly said, Im going to kill you today.

He said he managed to escape the violence and called authorities.

Ms Guzman, meanwhile, was killed when she heroically confronted the gunman at the doorway to her home, according to her grieving husband Mr Garcia.

Mr Garcia spoke at a vigil for his son Daniel on Sunday night where he revealed how his wife bravely thought she could stop the gunman opening fire.

He said he saw the suspect running towards his house while reloading his AR-15-style rifle with ammunition and urged his wife to get inside away from the gunman. She refused and went to confront Mr Oropesa instead.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, said Mr Garcia, according to The Associated Press. My wife told me to go inside because He wont fire at me, Im a woman.

Ms Guzman was wrong and she became the first victim shot and killed in the horror attack that has sent shockwaves across the country.

Mr Oropesa then went room to room opening fire on the victims, said Mr Garcia.

Mr Garcia also revealed that the family had made five separate calls to police in the 10 to 20 minutes between the initial confrontation and the massacre unfolding.

During each call, Mr Garcia said police reassured them that help was on its way. But officers had not yet arrived when Mr Garcia said he saw the suspect entering his family home and opening fire.

Ms Guzmans cousin told HCH that she had moved to the US eight years ago, while her son had spent five years living in America.

The mother of three leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, a six-month-old baby and her husband.

Her family has created a GoFundMe to raise funds so Ms Guzman and her sons remains can be repatriated.

I just spoke with her on the phone yesterday and now theyre sending her back to me in a casket, Guzmans mother Francia Guzman also told HCH through tears.

The capture

In the days Mr Oropesa was on the run, he was considered armed and dangerous, with police admitting on Sunday that they had zero leads as to his whereabouts.

Police initially tracked Mr Oropesas cell phone and found it with abandoned clothing in a densely forested area on Saturday. But after a person submitted an anonymous tip, authorities were able to track him down at a home in Cut and Shoot.

Mr Oropesa was found hiding in a closet under a pile of laundry, according to authorities.

Several other people were arrested, including Mr Oropesas wife who previously told investigators she did not know the whereabouts of her husband. Authorities believe she may have helped hide her husband in the house where he was captured.
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A man who shares a similar name to the suspect in a deadly shooting in Cleveland, Texas, is now hiding in fear for his safety after the FBI wrongly identified him in a social media post.

The man, Francisco Oropeza, has the same last name as the true suspect Francisco Oropesa, but spells it was a z instead of an s.

Mr Oropesa is accused of killing five people, including a nine-year-old boy, during a shooting spree on Friday (28 April).

While FBI Houston was releasing information related to the killing, they mistakenly released Mr Oropezas commercial drivers licence photo and name to the public

Mr Oropeza, the man wrongly identified, is not the shooter. Instead, he is a husband and father to three children who recently started a new job in Fort Worth, according to his sister-in-law who spoke with Fox 4.

Mr Oropeza apparently called the FBI after they posted a photo of him to correct the mistake.

FBI Houston later took down the photo and tweeted, An incorrect image of Francisco Oropeza with a blue backdrop was mistakenly disseminated earlier today. That image has since been removed from FBI social media accounts. Please do not use that photo.

At that point, we were like Oh gosh. What do we do? This is being shared basically nationwide. Its all over the place, the sister-in-law said.

The mistake apparently led to death threats online this past weekend.

They also tweeted that the suspect they were searching for was named Mr Oropesa not Mr Oropeza.

Mr Oropezas sister-in-law told Fox 4 that he is a truck driver who drives all around the US. She said he and his family have not gone outside since the misidentification for fear of being wrongly identified.

What if somebody sees the tweet and sees a Facebook share and sees the picture and then they see him? You know? she said.

The woman said Mr Oropeza and his family are remaining indoors for now out of fear of being misidentified in public.

FBI Special Agent James Smith, who is in charge of the Houston office, said in a press conference that releasing the wrong photo was a mistake that they will own up on.

We identified it. We acted quickly to remove that photo, Mr Smith said.

We went back, looked at what we had, and now we are 100 per cent confident we have the right photo out there.

The Independent has reached out to Houston FBI for comment.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sparked outrage by referring to the five victims of a deadly mass shooting as illegal immigrants.

For nearly two days, Mr Abbott failed to address the act of senseless violence that shook residents of Cleveland, Texas, on Friday (28 April).

Finally, on Sunday, Mr Abbotts office released a statement announcing a $50,000 reward for the suspected gunman Francisco Oropresa. In the first line, the suspect was called a top 10 fugitive who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants in a shooting within the first line.

Later in the statement, Mr Abbott said, Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence.

I continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime. I thank the men and women in law enforcement who are tirelessly working to ensure this criminal is caught and brought to justice, Mr Abbott added.

Mr Abbott also tweeted a link to the statement as well as the line in which he called the victims illegal immigrants.

The Texas governors statement and tweet were met with backlash from people who felt including the immigration status of the victims was unnecessary and aggressive.

Actor George Takei wrote: This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong.

You can just say people. They were people, Michael Kagan, the director of the University of Las Vegas Immigration Clinic tweeted.

Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them illegal immigrants, responded Julian Castro, the former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Would it be any different if they were all born in the USA?? another Twitter user wrote.

The five victims, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, were all from Honduras according to reports.

However, the husband of Ms Velazquez Alvarado told an immigration rights activist named Carlos Espina that his wife was a permanent resident of the US.

Mr Espina tweeted a photo of Ms Velazquez Alvarados permanent resident card as proof.

The Independent was not immediately able to verify Ms Velazquez Alvarados immigration status.

All five victims were allegedly shot and killed by their neighbor, identified as Mr Oropesa, after he was asked to stop firing his gun in his backyard.

Wilson Garcia, whose son and wife were among the victims killed, told the public that he went over to Mr Oropesa to stop firing his gun on Friday evening because it was keeping his baby awake.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Mr Garcia told people on Sunday after a vigil.

Mr Oropesa, who had reportedly been drinking that same night, walked into the neighbors home and began shooting, according to authorities.

As of Sunday night, Mr Oropesa remained at large.
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Lori Vallows hair was found on duct tape wrapped around the corpse of her seven-year-old son, according to new evidence presented at the start of the fifth week of her murder trial.

Ms Vallow is in court facing charges of murdering her two children Joshua JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, 16, as well as Tammy Daybell, 49, the late wife of her fifth husband Chad Daybell.

Prosecutors allege that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with Ms Vallows brother Alex Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their doomsday cult beliefs  but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammys life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.

On Monday morning, Ms Vallows DNA was entered into evidence in the case against her in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho.

In testimony heard late last week about the processing of plastic and duct tape used to wrap the body of JJ before he was buried in Mr Daybells backyard, it was noted that a hair was found stuck to the tape.

Testifying before the court on Monday, DNA analyst Keeley Coleman of Bode Technology in Virginia explained the process for testing the hair for DNA and comparing the findings with samples from Ms Vallow, her late daughter Tylee, and her friend Melanie Gibb.

DNA from the hair was found not to match either Tylee or Ms Gibb, but was found to be a match for Ms Vallow.

Ms Coleman testified that the chances of finding a match were one in 71 billion.

The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided for Lori Vallow Daybell, Ms Coleman said. The probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile one is 71 billion.

Ms Vallows defence argued in cross-examination of Ms Coleman that only a small portion of the full DNA sequence had been examined because the hair did not yield a full DNA profile and therefore the results could be interpreted as inconclusive.

During a brief redirect from the prosecution, Ms Coleman was asked to explain about the statistic she mentioned in her initial testimony.

That means if I were to stick my hand into a hat of DNA profiles, I would expect to see this profile one in 71 billion times.

In testimony last week, fingerprints from Ms Vallows brother Mr Cox were found on the plastic that JJ was wrapped in. He was suffocated with a plastic bag over his head and duct tape over his mouth. The tape also bound his feet and wrists.

His body was found buried near a pet cemetery on Mr Daybells property. His sister Tylees remains were found nearby in a shallow grave having been first burned in a firepit.

The trial continues.
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Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teens and wounding four others in an early Sunday shooting at a house party on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Cameron Everest Brand of Pass Christian is charged with murder and aggravated assault, jail records show.

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Mr Brand as the sole shooter through witness and victim statements.

Bay St. Louis is about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Gulfport.

Hancock County Coroner Jeff Hair told The Associated Press that two teens had died, but said Sunday morning he was not yet prepared to release their identities.

Mr Brand was arrested at his home in neighboring Pass Christian and taken to jail, Schwartz said. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge Stephen Maggio denied Mr Brand bail. It's unclear if Mr Brand has a lawyer to speak for him.

Cameron Everest Brand is facing charges for a house party shooting in Mississippi (Bay St. Louis Police Department)

Mr Brand reportedly had multiple previous arrests in 2022, including on charges of domestic violence and carrying a concealed weapon.

All six students suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to area hospitals, some by helicopter. Police said an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old died of their injuries at a hospital in New Orleans.

Two of the victims are students at Bay High School in Bay St. Louis. Four of the students attend nearby Hancock High School.

Police are pictured at the scene of the after-prom party shooting (Justin Mitchell/The Sun Herald via AP)

The shootings happened at a house on a sparsely populated road less than a mile from the Hollywood Casino.
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Three teenagers were killed and a fourth person was wounded after a shooting in Philadelphia.

The quadruple shooting occurred at around 3.30pm on Friday in the Lawncrest neighbourhood northeast of downtown Philadelphia.

Police on Saturday named the victims as Malik Ballard, 17, Khalif Frezghi, 18 and Salah Fleming, 14.

A fourth victim, 16, arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

Two juvenile males, aged 15 and 16, were arrested and charged with violation of the Uniform Firearms Act and related offences.

What we know about the shooting

Police arrived on the 5900 block of Palmetto Street on Friday afternoon to find one person lying on the sidewalk, another on the porch and a third inside the home.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said they found 17-year-old Malik lying on the sidewalk and bleeding from the gunshot wound.

Khalif, 18, was found dead on the front porch of the house.

Law enforcement gather at the scene of a fatal shooting in Philadelphia, Friday (AP)

And the youngest fatality, 14-year-old Salah, was found just inside the doorway of the residence.

Another victim, a 16-year-old male who has not been identified, had suffered a gunshot wound and reached Jefferson Frankford Hospital in a car.

What we know about the suspects

Two juvenile boys were arrested from a car on Friday evening by the police.

Shortly after the shooting, police said ballistic evidence was recovered from Palmetto Street and a gun was found inside the residence.

Police said they identified a black Ford Edge that is believed to have been used during the shooting. The car was found in a damaged state on the 500 block of East Wyoming Street.

The 15- and 16-year-olds were arrested following the recovery of the car.

They have been charged with firearms and related offences.

Investigators work the scene (AP)

The motive of the shooting remains unknown and the investigation remains active.

It is believed that the two suspects dropped off the injured person at the hospital before fleeing and crashing their car.

My heart is very heavy

Officials from the School District of Philadelphia confirmed at least two of the victims, including the wounded teen and Salah, the youngest fatality, were their students.

They were studying at the Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School of Philadelphia, the schools founder and chief administrator told the Inquirer.

Salah had enrolled at the school and begun eighth grade in September, said Veronica J Joyner, adding that his teachers praised him as very mannerable, very quiet and hardworking.

My heart is very heavy because of the number of children we have lost. The number keeps climbing. Its a crisis in the city and we must stop it, said Ms Joyner.

She said the hospitalised student is an 11th grader at the school.

Both of the young men are very respectable and theyre good students, Ms Joyner said.

The victims were aged 17, 18 and 14 (AP)

She was not aware of any disputes or arguments among the pupils of the school that might have led to the shooting, she said.

She added that Salah did not attend the school that day.

She said she was not aware of any conflicts within the school that might have carried over to Palmetto Street and the shooting there Friday afternoon. She said Salah had not been in school on Friday.

Shierea Owens, who had to walk her seven-year-old daughter around the neighbourhood of the crime scene that was sealed with yellow tape, said she was shocked.

Theres no accountability today, Ms Owens told KYW. Thats too close for home.

This is getting worse and worse, and something needs to be done, said another woman at the scene. Theres violence across the whole US but Philadelphia has a problem and something needs to be done.

The incident comes as more than two dozen shots were fired during a gunbattle outside the citys Lawncrest Recreation Center just two weeks ago.

Police said nearly 30 shots were fired during the shooting, including one bullet that went through the window of a daycare.

Its frustrating cause again, I know the work that our men and women are doing in trying to stop, trying to prevent these types of incidents from happening, said deputy commissioner John Stanford with Philadelphia police.

But again, we cant lose hope, because if we lose hope, everyone in this city will lose hope.

The US is setting a devastating record pace for mass killings in 2023, according to the Associated Press. The country has seen at least 176 mass shootings in the first four months of this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence, gang retaliation, school shootings and workplace vendettas. All incidents listed as mass killings by the report have respectively led to the deaths of at least four or more people since 1 January.
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Texas governor Greg Abbott announced a reward of $50,000 for information on the man believed to be responsible for the killing of five immigrants in Cleveland.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa, is accused of shooting his next-door neighbours when they complained about him firing rounds in his yard.

He remains at large despite a search involving more than 200 police personnel from multiple jurisdictions. Local officials and the FBI have also chipped in and brought the reward money amount to $80,000 for any information on Mr Oropesas whereabouts.

This comes after earlier reports that law enforcement officials had cornered the suspect.

Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence, governor Abbott said in a press release.

I continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime. I thank the men and women in law enforcement who are tirelessly working to ensure this criminal is caught and brought to justice.

The governor also ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to alert Operation Lone Star soldiers and troopers to be on the lookout for the criminal and any attempts to flee the country after taking the lives of five people, according to the press statement.

The victims were identified on Sunday as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her eight-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31 and Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18, according to 12 News.

Several children were at the home when the violence unfolded.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while asking the public for tips in the rural town, north of Houston, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle they said Mr Oropesa used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if he was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home, but said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Earlier reports by NPR suggested police had located and surrounded the suspect somewhere in the Houston area, but a Saturday night update by the San Jacinto County Sheriff office said Mr Oropesa was still at large. On Sunday night, the FBI said in a statement that the suspect is considered armed and dangerous and the public is advised not to approach him.

San Jacinto County sheriff Greg Capers said Mr Oropesa could be anywhere, adding that investigators have found a cell phone and clothing believed to belong to Mr Oropesa.

A law enforcement official works Sunday, 30 April 2023, in the neighborhood where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas (AP)

Wilson Garcia, who lost his wife and son in the mass shooting, said he had not even asked his neighbour to stop shooting his gun.

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Mr Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

So, Mr Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbours house to respectfully ask that he shoot farther away from their home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Mr Garcia said on Sunday after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his nine-year-old son who was killed in the attack.

Mr Garcia called the police after the accused rejected his request.

Law enforcement officials work Sunday, 30 April 2023, in the neighborhood where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas (AP)

And then, 10-20 minutes after Mr Garcia had walked back from Mr Oropesas house, the man started running toward him and reloading.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Mr Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Mr Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and was the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Mr Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Mr Garcia said.

He likely fled the area on foot. During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Mr Oropesa by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. Mr Capers said police also interviewed the suspects wife multiple times.

He said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information, and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.
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A vigil was held in the memory of a nine-year-old who lost his life along with four others after a man opened fire at the boys home in Cleveland, Texas.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa, is accused of shooting his next-door neighbours when they complained about him firing rounds in his yard, leading to the deaths of nine-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, his mother Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31 and Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18.

The vigil was held at Northside Elementary School, where the youngest victim was a third-grade student.

He came every day with smiles and brought so much joy to the teachers, staff and everyone here, Cleveland independent school district (ISD) superintendent Stephen McCanless was quoted as saying by local outlet Bluebonnet News.

His father, Wilson Garcia Ramirez, and two surviving siblings also attended the vigil. I dont have words to describe what happened, Mr Garcia said in Spanish, reported the Houston Chronicle newspaper. Its like were alive but at the same time were not. What happened truly was horrible.

Mr Garcia, who described the unfolding of the incident, said he did not ask his neighbour to stop shooting his gun, but respectfully requested him to shoot farther away.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Mr Garcia said Sunday.

Mr Garcia called the police after Mr Oropesa rejected his request.

His family continued to call the police  five calls in all. He said. Five times the dispatcher assured me that help was coming.

And then, 10-20 minutes after Mr Garcia had walked back from Mr Oropesas house, the man started running toward him and reloading.

Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia looks up to the sky during a vigil for his son Daniel Enrique Laso, 8, Sunday, 30 April 2023, in Cleveland, Texas (AP)

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Mr Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Mr Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Mr Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Mr Garcia said.

Also among the dead were two women who died shielding Mr Garcias baby and two-year-old daughter. He said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

I am trying to be strong for my children," Mr Garcia said, crying. My daughter sort of understands. It [will be] very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her [older] brother.

Police went door to door on Sunday in hopes of finding any clues that would lead them to the suspect. Governor Greg Abbott has put up $50,000 in reward money and local officials and the FBI also chipped in, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information on Mr Oropesas whereabouts.

Reverand Carl Williamson, the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church who was also in attendance at the vigil, called on the community to support each other as he spoke about the shooting.

A lot of us are here today asking a question: why? This doesnt make sense. Why would something like this happen around us? I want to tell you this: Everything happens for a reason. The Bible says all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Here is one thing I see happening. On days like this, there is no black, or brown, or white. There are hurting people. We want to come together and lean on each other, he was quoted as saying by Bluebonnet News. Thats what we are going to do today. We are going to pray and ask god to watch over this family.

Meanwhile, Cleveland ISD has announced crisis counselors will be available at the start of school on Monday.
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E Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of grinding her face into the mud as she explained why she didnt file a police report after the former president allegedly raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

Ms Carroll returned to the witness stand for a third day in her civil battery and defamation trial against Mr Trump on Monday to face continued cross-examination from his lawyers.

The former Elle magazine advice columnist is suing Mr Trump over her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a changing room of the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York City in 1995 or 1996. Ms Carroll filed her first suit, accusing Mr Trump of defamation, in 2019 after he aggressively rejected the allegations. She filed a second suit for battery last year, which is the one at the centre of the current trial.

Mr Trumps lawyers have repeatedly grilled Ms Carroll on the fact that she did not report the alleged assault to police.

Testifying on Monday, she explained: I was born in 1943, I am a woman of the silent generation. Women like me were taught and trained to keep our chins up and never complain. The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising. I would never call the police about something I was ashamed of. I thought it was my fault.

Ms Carroll said that the only time shes called police was when she was staying staying in a farmhouse and kids hit Helen Hayes mailbox. I called the police because I thought they were marring it.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina responded: So you would call the police about a mailbox, but not about being raped?

I would not call about something I was ashamed of, Ms Carroll said.

But in your column, you advised readers to call the police? Mr Tacopina said, to which Ms Carroll agreed.

Mr Tacopina asked Ms Carroll if she accused former CBS boss Les Moonves of going after you like an octopus while having an erection? in her book.

I wrote octopus, not erection, Ms Carroll said, according to Inner City Press.

You wrote that he was pricking, Mr Tacopina pressed, to which Ms Carroll said she did.

When asked if Mr Moonves denied the allegation, Ms Carroll said he did so to New York magazine.

He said it never happened, she said.

He simply denied it, he didnt call me names and didnt say I was an operative of the Democratic Party. He didnt call me names, he didnt grind my face into the mud like Donald Trump did, she added.

Ms Carroll told Mr Tacopina that if he had asked her this very morning how she was doing, she would have said, fabulous. She noted that that self-image was critical to her job as an advice columnist.

I see myself as solving other peoples problems and not having her own issues, Ms Carroll said.

Mr Tacopina also appeared to insinuate that Ms Carrolls tears were fake during her previous testimony because she didnt cry during her deposition or during media appearances.
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Taiwan's president told visiting ex-U.S. national security adviser John Bolton on Monday that her country is willing to deepen cooperation with the U.S. and "other like-minded partners to safeguard peace, as the self-governed island faces increasing military threats from China.

President Tsai Ing-wen also expressed hopes to Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, for more military and security exchanges and economic cooperation between the two sides, her office said in a statement.

Bolton began his weeklong visit to Taiwan last Wednesday and has called for deeper interaction between the two sides' national security teams. His visit reflects the importance of the democratic island as an issue in the U.S. presidential election amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Later Monday, Tsai said at a separate event that China's military exercises have affected the stability and peace of the Indo-Pacific region.

But we will stay calm and firmly safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, she said.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the Communist Party in control of the mainland. The island has never been part of the Peoples Republic of China, but Beijing says it must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The U.S. remains Taiwans closest military and political ally despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between them. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, though it remains ambiguous over whether American forces would be dispatched to help defend it.

Last Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said Chinas military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan. That was the most since a large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off Taiwan in response to an April 5 meeting between Tsai and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China opposes any meetings between officials of Taiwan and other governments.
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Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election in the upcoming 2024 cycle.

Mr Cardin released a statement on his website, which declined to give a specific reason but noted his more than a half century in politics. First serving in the Maryland General Assembly, he was elected to Congress in 1986 and joined the Senate after being appointed to finish the term of Paul Sarbanes in 2007.

I have run my last election and will not be on the ballot in 2024, but there is still much work to be done. During the next two years, I will continue to travel around the state, listening to Marylanders and responding to their needs. My top priorities include continuing our progress for the Chesapeake Bay, helping the people of Baltimore City deal with the challenges they face, and permanently expanding opportunities for telehealth, mental and behavioral health, said the senator.

The news sets up a Democrat-versus-Democrat battle for his seat, as the state is reliably blue and has not elected a Republican to the Senate since the 1980s. The only Republican with a reasonable shot of winning Mr Cardins job is Larry Hogan, the former governor, who recently announced that he would not seek the GOP nomination for president after stoking months worth of speculation.

A spokesperson for Mr Hogan did not immediately return a request for comment from The Independent.

Chris Van Hollen, Mr Cardins colleague in the Maryland Senate delegation, wished the senior senator well in a statement shortly after the announcement.

Senator Cardins tireless work wouldnt be possible without the love and support of Myrna and his family. I want to thank each of them because we are all lucky to have a Marylander like Ben as our senior Senator. I am certain that Senator Cardin will continue to work each and every day of this term to move forward on our shared priorities, and Ill continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with him and Team Maryland on these efforts. I look forward to accomplishing much more together in the year and a half ahead, he said.

The most likely contender for the seat in the Maryland Democraic machine in Jamie Raskin, the standout congressman from Montgomery County who stole the spotlight during the January 6 hearings last year on Capitol Hill. Fresh off an announcement of his own that his non-Hodgkins lymphoma is in remission, the congressman is easily the most prominent member of the states congressional delegation and is widely considered among Democrats in Maryland to be the favourite to succeed Mr Cardin.

He could face a number of potential challengers, however, not least including his own colleagues in the House, David Trone, and John Sarbanes, son of the late US senator who once held the same seat. Donna Edwards, the former congresswoman who was the first Black member of the US House from Maryland, could also mount a bid. A source familiar with her plans also confirmed to The Independent that Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller is also considering competing for the seat.

Mr Raskin wrote in his own statement that the senator had served with integrity for more than 50 years and had shown a prodigious work ethic.

I salute him and have congratulated him on a truly amazing and inspiring career devoted to service of our people and the old-fashioned public values of honesty and decency. I want to thank him, his beloved wife Myrna and their whole family for their outstanding and continuing contributions to our state, wrote Mr Raskin.
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President Joe Biden will convene a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss how best to stave of a catastrophic default on Americas sovereign debt by raising the governments statutory debt limit.

The White House said Mr Biden invited Mr McCarthy and Mr McConnell  the top Republicans in the House and Senate  to the meeting in separate phone calls to each GOP leader on Monday.

The meeting, which is set to take place on 9 May, was announced by the White House just hours after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to House and Senate leaders warning that the US could suffer an unprecedented default on its debt as soon as 1 June.

Ms Yellen urged Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible to raise the statutory debt limit, which was first enacted more than a century ago to make it easier for the government to issue bonds without needing specific congressional authorisations each time it does so.

In recent years, Republicans have attempted to repeatedly weaponise the need to raise the debt limit periodically as a way to force Democratic presidents to adopt unpopular positions by threatening to allow the US to stop paying its bills, a scenario economists say risks a worldwide financial crisis.

Many Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, have demanded that the GOP use the possibility of a default on Americas soveriegn debt as leverage to extract concessions from the Democratic-controlled White House and Senate. The House, controlled by Republicans, last week passed legislation that would raise the debt limit while at the same time cutting spending on various government programmes. Among the programmess on the chopping block: President Joe Bidens student debt relief initiative, as well as funding for new IRS personnel.

The plan would also add new work requirements for adults on Medicaid, cap the growth of the federal government, and impose 2022 limits on discretionary spending. The White House said in response to the bills passage that Republicans were attempting to strip away health care services for veterans, cut access to Meals on Wheels, eliminate health care coverage for millions of Americans and ship manufacturing jobs overseas.

It remains unclear whether Mr Biden will be forced to sign that bill, or whether Democrats will secure passage of a clean debt limit bill before the 1 June deadline passes.

Prominent GOP figures frequently claim that raising the statutory debt limit to enable the US to continue meeting financial obligations  a practice that was once routine under presidents of both parties and met no objections when it was done under Mr Bidens predecessor  is akin to authorising new spending.

That claim, however, is not how the debt limit works. Raising the debt limit does not increase or decrease the amount of money that is spent on programmes that have already been authorised by Congress and have had funds allocated to them in appropriations legislation.

But experts say a failure to raise the debt limit would force the government to default on its debt and precipitate a worldwide financial crisis. The last time the US flirted with that disastrous outcome was 2011, when Republicans controlled the House and Democrats controlled the Senate and the White House. Mr Biden, then the vice president under Barack Obama, led the negotiations with congressional leaders that headed off a default, but not before the US had its credit rating decreased for the first time in history.

That 2011 dispute ended with Republicans suffering a drop in their approval ratings and facing accusations of endangering the US economy for political reasons. Those same charges are being raised again now by the White House and the presidents allies in Congress, who are holding firm and demanding that Republicans pass a clean debt ceiling bill and seek spending cuts through the budget process instead.

"It is not appropriate to use the loaded gun of default to coerce a particular menu of cuts, Senator Chris Coons told reporters last week.
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Former President Donald Trump's attorney requested a mistrial Monday in his clients rape case, saying the judge overseeing the civil proceedings in federal court has ruled in a biased manner against Trump.

Attorney Joe Tacopina cited pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan as his basis for the mistrial request, made in a letter to the judge.

Since mistrials, though sometimes frequently requested at trials, are rarely granted, Tacopina was more likely hoping the judge would grant a version of his alternative requests.

In those, Tacopina asked that Kaplan correct the record for any rulings that mischaracterized the evidence or permit Tacopina more latitude in questioning E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who sued Trump in November under a New York state law letting sexual assault victims temporarily sue others for attacks that happened even decades ago.

Carroll, 79, testified at a trial that began last week that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan, most likely in spring 1996. She said a chance encounter brought the pair together in an episode that was fun and flirtatious until Trump became violent in the dressing room.

Trump, 76, has long denied that a rape happened, that he was at the store with Carroll or that he even knew her beyond fleeting moments when pictures were taken of them in group settings in other years.

Amid a flurry of public denials and insults from Trump that prompted Carroll to add a defamation claim to the lawsuit, Trump has also insisted that Carroll was motivated by political reasons and a desire to sell copies of the 2019 memoir where she first publicly revealed her rape claims while Trump was still president.

Carroll has testified that she would have kept her accusation secret forever if not for the #MeToo movement, which gained prominence in 2017.

Carroll was expected to testify Monday for a third day and for a second day of cross-examination by Tacopina. Trump has not attended the trial, which is expected to last through the week.

During testimony on Thursday, the last day the trial occurred, Carroll grew frustrated as Tacopina pressed her on how she claims she reacted to an attack from his client.

You cant beat up on me because I didnt scream, Carroll forcefully told Tacopina. She had explained in earlier testimony that she was not a screamer  Im a fighter.

She said if she were lying about the assault, she wouldve told people she had screamed because more people would have believed me.

But, she emphasized, I dont need an excuse for not screaming.

In his mistrial request Monday, Tacopina complained that the judge shut down his questioning when he pushed Carroll to explain why she did not scream, why she didn't tell police or attempt afterward to retrieve footage from video cameras at the store's doors to prove that she and Trump were there together.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
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Zooey Zephyr, a transgender Montana lawmaker who was barred from the state House of Representatives for criticising a slate of anti-trans bills, has filed a lawsuit against the bodys top Republican officials.

The suit, brought alongside the ACLU of Montana, alleges that the Montana House leadership violated Ms Zephyrs First Amendment rights.

This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, Rep Zephyr, the first transgender representative elected to the legislature in Montana history, said in a statement.

House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself, she added. By doing so, theyve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government. The Montana State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.

It also seeks the Missoula Democrats reinstatement to the legislature.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted on party lines to bar Rep Zephyr from participating in legislative debate from the statehouse floor for the rest of the session, and leadership subsequently reclassified various study bills the Democrat wouldve voted on in committee, effectively preventing Rep Zephyr from any House business besides voting remotely.

The Montana legislative session, which happens every other year, ends on 6 May.

The Montana House vote was the culmination of a back-and-forth which began earlier this month when Rep Zephyr told colleagues they would have blood on their hands if they backed a proposed ban on gender-affirming health care for youth, which later passed.

The lawsuit alleges this description of the bill is truthful.

Representative Zephyrs comments represent the factual reality of gender-affirming care, the legal action reads. Gender-affirming medical care can be lifesaving treatment for transgender individuals, including minors, experiencing gender dysphoria.

Advocates have said the ban goes against medical best practices and would harm LGTB+ kids by preventing them from getting what the Human Rights Campaign called life-saving health care.

Republicans in the House balked at the criticisms and demanded an apology, while declining to recognise Rep Zephyr when she attempted to speak during legislative debate.

Things escalated further last Monday, when scores of protesters rallied at the state capitol in support of the Democrat, filling the House observation gallery and chanting, Let her speak!

Riot police arrested seven people, and Republicans accused Rep Zephyr of fomenting a January 6-like riot, even though the demonstrations were peaceful.

The suit specifically names Montana Speaker of the House Matt Regier and the Houses Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt, whom The Independent has contacted for comment.

It accuses the officials of causing Rep Zephyr irreperable harm under the state and US constitutions by freezing her out of the legislative process, leaving the voices of her 11,000 constituents have been collectively silenced.
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Police clashed with black-clad anarchists in Paris and other cities during protests against Emmanuel Macrons increase in the retirement age, as workers joined Labour Day rallies across Europe.

In the French capital, police were pelted with projectiles, ride-sharing bicycles were torched and bus stops smashed up just as the union-led march got underway from the Place de la Republique.

Unrest also erupted in Lyon, where several vehicles were set ablaze and some business premises were trashed.

Mr Macron last month raised the retirement age by two years to 64 despite multi-sector strikes, in a move that drove his popularity down to near the record lows seen during the gilets jaunes crisis of 2018-19.

A protester dressed in Gallic attire stands in front of a police cordon on Monday (AFP/Getty)

The reform has crystallised discontent against a president perceived by many as aloof and indifferent to their daily hardships, and he has been met during walkabouts by heckling and pot-banging.

The executive cannot govern without the support of its people, Sophie Binet, leader of the hard-left CGT union, said ahead of the Paris protest, adding her union had not yet decided on talks with the government on other work-related matters.

Laurent Berger, head of the reform-minded CFDT trade union, said Mr Macrons government had been deaf to the demands of one of the most powerful social movements in decades.

He dismissed suggestions that a rare alliance between the leading trade unions was being tested now that the pension bill had been signed into law.

Protesters hit with a water cannon in Paris (AFP/Getty)

We must bring other proposals over salaries and working conditions to the table, he told BFM TV.

In Paris, Extinction Rebellion activists threw paint over the glass-fronted facade of the Louis Vuitton Foundation and paving stones outside the Ritz Hotel.

Elsewhere in Europe, union-led protests were planned across Germany. In Italy, the three main unions held a rally in the southern city of Potenza protesting against a labour package approved by prime minister Giorgia Melonis right-wing government.

In Turin, protesters marched with a puppet of Meloni holding up her arm in a fascist salute.

Police during clashes in Paris after tear gas was fired (AFP/Getty)

During a parade in Zurich, demonstrators threw water balloons at the emergency services, the windows of at least two banks were smashed and some properties were spray-painted, police said.

Mr Macron says the French reform is needed to help shore up one of the industrialised worlds most generous pension systems.

French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.

Protesters in Lyon after a fire was set (AFP/Getty)

Trade unions say the money can be found elsewhere.

Retired metalworker Michel Maingy said he felt the battle over pensions was lost. Even so, there were still fights to be won in negotiations over working conditions, he said.

Little by little, well get back on track. We need to keep our chins up, he said ahead of the protest in Nantes.

Mr Macrons government, which lacks a working majority in parliament, rammed the pension legislation through without a final vote due to a lack of cross-party support.

A hardening of the political opposition risks complicating the rest of his reform agenda, including an employment bill that would require those receiving the minimum welfare benefit to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.

Reuters
 Close Moment alleged Ukrainian drone explodes next to Kremlin building

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The White House has denied Russias claims that the United States is behind a drone attack on the Kremlin in Moscow.

John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, said there was no involvement by the United States in this.

Whatever it was did not involve us, he told MSNBC in an interview. We had nothing to do with this.

The US does not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike outside its borders, he added.

It comes after Russia earlier accused Ukraine of behind behind the attack, with Volodymyr Zelensky also denying responsibility.

The Ukrainian president said: We dont attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory.

Following the attack in Moscow, Russia attacked multiple cities in Ukraine with drones and missiles.

Putins forces hit the Black Sea city of Odesa with Iranian-made drones while drones and missiles were also launched against Kyiv for the third time in four days.

Ukraines military said that in Odesa, three drones  inscribed for Moscow and for the Kremlin rained down on the city.
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Geoffrey Hinton, known as the godfather of AI, has quit Google with a warning about the dangers the technology poses.

Geoffrey Hinton worked at Google for more than a decade and developed technology that paved the way for current AI systems such as ChatGPT. However, the tech expert has since quit the company so that he could sound the alarm about the dangers of artificial intelligence.

He told The New York Times that he regrets the work he contributed to the field. I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadnt done it, somebody else would have, he said.

In the short term, he fears the technology will mean that people will not be able to know what is true anymore because of the proliferation of fake images, videos and text, he said.

But in the future, AI systems could eventually learn unexpected, dangerous behaviour, and that such systems will eventually power killer robots. He also warned that the technology could cause harmful disruption to the labour market.

The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people  a few people believed that, he says. But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.

He warned that regulation is required to ensure that companies such as Google and Microsoft do not get locked into a dangerous race. Those companies might already be working on dangerous systems in secret, he suggested.

I dont think they should scale this up more until they have understood whether they can control it, he said.

Dr Hinton is not the first artificial intelligence expert to sound the alarm on the dangers of the technologies that they have built. In recent months, two major open letters warned about the profound risks to society and humanity that it poses, and was signed by many of the people who had helped create it.

Like many others, Dr Hinton said he had become more concerned about the risks of the technology over the last year, with the development of technologies such as OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Bard. His view changed when he came to believe that the systems were beginning to behave in ways that were not possible in the human brain.

Maybe what is going on in these systems is actually a lot better than what is going on in the brain, he told the New York Times.

That is likely to become even more true in the years to come, as companies further refine and train their AI systems. As they do, the systems become more dangerous, he fears.

Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now, he said of the technology. Take the difference and propagate it forwards. Thats scary.
MasterChef Australia judge, Jock Zonfrillo, has tragically passed away aged 46.

Network 10 revealed their 'deep shock' over the loss, and a cause of death has not been revealed.

The Scottish-born host died 'suddenly' in Melbourne on the eve before the new series of the cooking show was supposed to air. It has been cancelled for the remainder of this week.

So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words", a statement from his family reads.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

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The local elections taking place in much of England outside London on Thursday will be Rishi Sunaks first key electoral test.

Although the gap has narrowed somewhat in recent weeks, his party is still 15 points behind Labour in the polls. That deficit would seemingly indicate that the Conservatives are heading for a drubbing, and leave Conservative MPs wondering whether Mr Sunak can win a general election next year.

Yet in practice this test is not as tough for the prime minister as Labours opinion poll lead suggests. Mr Sunak has the good fortune that his party performed badly the last time the seats being contested this year were previously up for grabs. As a result, his party has much less to lose.

Ninety per cent of the council seats being filled on Thursday were last contested in May 2019. That now represents psephological pre-history. Theresa May was still prime minister, struggling  and ultimately failing  to get the Brexit deal she had negotiated past the Commons.

The Brexit Party had just been launched and was commanding the support of nearly one in five voters. The Conservatives themselves stood at just 26 per cent in the polls.

That downturn was reflected in the local results. The Conservatives suffered a net loss of over 1,300 seats and control of nearly 50 councils. It was the partys biggest local election reverse for nearly a quarter of a century.

Still, that does not mean that the Conservatives can avoid some net losses this year. For if the Conservatives performed badly four years ago, Labour  divided at the time under Jeremy Corbyns leadership over antisemitism and Brexit  registered a disappointing performance too.

With the partys own average poll rating at only 32 per cent, Labour also fell back slightly, suffering a net loss of 86 seats and five councils.

Labour are clearly much stronger now. Even so, the polls point to a swing of only four to five points from Conservative to Labour as compared with four years ago. Such a performance could limit Labours net gains of council control to less than double figures, with Cheshire West & Chester, Plymouth and Swindon among the partys top targets.

Labour might also make the 400 net gains from the Conservatives that would make it the biggest party in local government across Britain as a whole.

Meanwhile, a Labour advance on that scale could see the Conservatives lose control of a dozen or so councils, but perhaps not much more than that. Given the governments campaign to stop the boats it will, though, particularly want not to lose control of potentially marginal Dover.

Not least of the reasons why Labours advance might appear quite limited is that 5,000 of the 8,000 seats at stake are in predominantly rural district councils, in many of which the party has a limited presence. Here it is often the Liberal Democrats who are the Conservatives principal challengers.

However, in contrast to both Labour and the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats are defending a relatively good performance four years ago. They made net gains of 700 seats, and captured control of a dozen councils.

While the party always performs better in local elections than its current standing in the national polls, it is still of note that its current poll rating of 9 per cent is much the same as the 8 per cent at which it stood four years ago.

That suggests that the Liberal Democrats may not do much more than hold their own. While that may be enough to retain control of most of the 17 councils they currently run, it is unlikely to be enough to inflict much damage on a Conservative Party that is at least not performing any worse than it was four years ago. That could reduce significantly the total tally of Conservative losses.

The Greens, who made nearly 200 net gains four years ago in what was one of their best local election performances ever, face much a similar challenge to the Liberal Democrats. Their sights are very much set on winning control of Mid-Suffolk, the one council where the party starts off in sight of the winning post.

However, there is one pattern that could upset the Conservative apple cart. What if opposition supporters are so disenchanted with the government that they back whichever of the Conservatives opponents are best able to defeat them locally?

There were clear signs of that happening in last years results, with the Liberal Democrats advancing most where they started off second to the Conservatives, and Labour doing so when they appeared the better placed to win locally; a pattern that inflated the partys losses.

Mr Sunak has to hope that opposition voters are not as keen to give him a bloody nose as they were Boris Johnson 12 months ago.

John Curtice is professor of politics, Strathclyde University, and senior research fellow, National Centre for Social Research and The UK in a Changing Europe
Opponents say if the labels are brought in, it would become too expensive for some wine makers to continue to supply. Photo: Stock image/Getty   Getty Images

There is a real risk that small French winemakers will stop selling into the Irish market if new cigarette-style health labels are introduced, Frances ambassador to Ireland has warned.

His comments come after US winemakers voiced concerns over the Governments aim to introduce the warning labels  which will highlight a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers  on all alcohol bottles from later this year.

Ambassador Vincent Guerend told the Irish Independent:There is a real risk that they will just then discard this market and say its not worth the pain. It will be a pity if the supply here in Ireland would be limited to just very large corporations or, if I may say, some producers with very large quantities. There will not be more niche suppliers.

France is Irelands fourth-largest wine-supplying country by volume. Chile, Spain and Australia were Irelands largest suppliers in 2021, according to a report by Drinks Ireland, the Ibec group representing the industry.

Mr Guerend said the messaging on the planned labels lacks some subtlety and nuance and that Ireland should wait for the EU to legislate on health warnings, which it has said it will do by the end of this year.

The EU approved Irelands labelling plan last December, despite formal objections from nine member states  including France, Italy and Spain and concerns from five others. It now needs to clear a World Trade Organisation technical barriers to trade process, which ends on May 7.

A representative from the California Wine Institute, which represents around 1,000 wineries and affiliated businesses, said the new labels will add to already high costs for exporters. [Ireland] is a small market, said Honore Comfort, the institutes vice-president of international marketing.

Also, because of the current tax and tariff strategy, it makes Californian wine very expensive.

Our concern is that if this legislation were to pass, it would become too expensive and add unnecessary complexity for our producers, both large and small, and that they would just stop selling their wines in the market.

The US trade department will be able to express its concerns as part of the WTO process. It already expressed reservations when Ireland first adopted the Public Health (Alcohol) Act in 2018.

Winemakers and importers say Ireland should wait or look into adding the warnings via a QR code to EU-wide e-labels, which will be mandatory from December 8.

Ronan Farrell, co-founder of Irish wine importer WineLab  which supplies wine on tap to restaurants, hotels and bars, including Amy Austin in Dublin  said the plan was unbelievably illogical given the other demands placed on businesses.

This is blue passport/purple passport kind of nonsense, he said, referring to Brexit. Its a barrier of choice to customers, who are going to be restricted in the amount of smaller things that are imported. Its obviously a barrier to business.

Its entirely unnecessary. Thats the bit that really upsets me the most.

We could be looking at a situation in a couple of years time, if both legislations are passed, where you have products, bottles of wine, that have an EU health warning on them and then that health warning is over-stickered with the same health warning that uses different metrics.

If that isnt nonsense, I dont really know what is.
Gas demand rose 14pc in March from February particularly in food service, manufacturing and large industries.

Unusually wet and dull weather drove increased demand, according to Gas Networks Ireland, which operates Irelands 14,000km national gas network.

Gas generated 45pc of Irelands electricity in March.

At times, that figure rose to 88pc and it never dropped below 12pc.

Wind powered 39pc of Irelands electricity in March, down on February. At certain points, wind generated 77pc of the countrys electricity, but there were times in the month when wind supply dropped almost completely and it contributed less than 1pc.

The Government wants wind and other renewables to power 80pc of all electricity generation by 2030.

Read more David Chance: European fiscal policy betrays lack of vision on how to tackle debt pile

Coal generated 6pc of electricity in March, peaking at 21pc but dropping to 2pc at certain times.

Gas yet again proved that it is the reliable backbone of Irelands energy system, said Brian Mullins, Gas Networks Irelands acting director of strategy and regulation.

Gas is the ideal partner to complement weather-dependent, less predictable energy sources such as wind.

While it generated 40pc of overall electricity in the first three months [of the year], there were times when the wind didnt blow and didnt generate any electricity. Irelands energy systems harnessed wind energy when it was available in quarter one, and backed it up with gas, when wind was not available.

Gas demand was up by 33pc in the food and beverage sector, compared to February.

Manufacturing demand grew 30pc month on month, while large industries experienced a 28pc rise.

There were also increases in the pharma sector (up 19pc), airports (up 17pc), hotels (up 17pc), large office campuses (up 14pc) and electricity generators (up 12pc).

Demand for greener compressed natural gas from Irelands road freight operators increased by 25pc compared to March last year, making it one of the strongest sectors of the market in percentage growth terms during the month.

Compressed natural gas releases less carbon emissions than regular natural gas.

Gas supplies more than 30pc of Irelands total energy, including 40pc of all heating and almost 50pc of the countrys electricity generation, on average.
In April alone, a website called CelebritiesDeaths.com published an article titled, "Biden dead. Harris acting President, address 9am"

The news-rating group NewsGuard has found dozens of news websites generated by AI chatbots proliferating online, according to a report published Monday, raising questions about how the technology may supercharge established fraud techniques.

The 49 websites, which were independently reviewed by Bloomberg, run the gamut.

Some are dressed up as breaking news sites with generic-sounding names like News Live 79 and Daily Business Post, while others share lifestyle tips, celebrity news or publish sponsored content.

But none disclose they're populated using AI chatbots such as OpenAIs ChatGPT and potentially Alphabets Google Bard, which can generate detailed text based on simple user prompts.

Many of the websites began publishing this year as the AI tools began to be widely used by the public.

In several instances, NewsGuard documented how the chatbots generated falsehoods for published pieces.

In April alone, a website called CelebritiesDeaths.com published an article titled, "Biden dead. Harris acting President, address 9am".

Another concocted facts about the life and works of an architect as part of a falsified obituary.

And a site called TNewsNetwork published an unverified story about the deaths of thousands of soldiers in the Russia-Ukraine war, based on a YouTube video.

The majority of the sites appear to be content farms  low-quality websites run by anonymous sources that churn-out posts to bring in advertising. The websites are based all over the world and are published in several languages, including English, Portuguese, Tagalog and Thai, NewsGuard said in its report.

A handful of sites generated some revenue by advertising "guest posting", in which people can order up mentions of their business on the websites for a fee to help their search ranking.

Others appeared to attempt to build an audience on social media, such as ScoopEarth.com, which publishes celebrity biographies and whose related Facebook page has a following of 124,000.

More than half the sites make money by running programmatic ads, where space for ads on the sites are bought and sold automatically using algorithms.

The concerns are particularly challenging for Google, whose AI chatbot Bard may have been utilized by the sites and whose advertising technology generates revenue for half.

NewsGuard co-Chief Executive Officer Gordon Crovitz said the group's report showed that companies like OpenAI and Google should take care to train their models not to fabricate news.

"Using AI models known for making up facts to produce what only look like news websites is fraud masquerading as journalism," said Crovitz, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

OpenAI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but has previously stated that it uses a mix of human reviewers and automated systems to identify and enforce against the misuse of its model, including issuing warnings or, in severe cases, banning users.

In response to questions from Bloomberg about whether the AI-generated websites violated their advertising policies, Google spokesperson Michael Aciman said that the company doesn't allow ads to run alongside harmful or spammy content, or content that has been copied from other sites.

"When enforcing these policies, we focus on the quality of the content rather than how it was created, and we block or remove ads from serving if we detect violations," Aciman said in a statement.

Google added that after Bloomberg got in touch, it removed ads from serving on some individual pages across the sites, and in instances where the company found pervasive violations, it removed ads from the websites entirely.

Google said that the presence of AI-generated content is not inherently a violation of its ad policies, but that it evaluates content against their existing publisher policies. And it said that using automation, including AI, to generate content with the purpose of manipulating ranking in search results violates the company's spam policies.

The company regularly monitors abuse trends within its ads ecosystem and adjusts its policies and enforcement systems accordingly, it said.

Noah Giansiracusa, an associate professor of data science and mathematics at Bentley University, said the scheme may not be new, but it's gotten easier, faster and cheaper.

The actors pushing this brand of fraud "are going to keep experimenting to find what's effective," Giansiracusa said. "As more newsrooms start leaning into AI and automating more, and the content mills are automating more, the top and the bottom are going to meet in the middle" to create an online information ecosystem with vastly lower quality.

To find the sites, NewsGuard researchers used keyword searches for phrases commonly produced by AI chatbots, such as "as an AI large language model" and "my cutoff date in September 2021".

The researchers ran the searches on tools like the Facebook-owned social media analysis platform CrowdTangle and the media monitoring platform Meltwater. They also evaluated the articles using the AI text classifier GPTZero, which determines whether certain passages are likely to be written entirely by AI.

Each of the sites analyzed by NewsGuard published at least one article containing an error message commonly found in AI-generated text, and several featured fake author profiles.

One outlet, CountyLocalNews.com, which covers crime and current events, published an article in March using the output of an AI chatbot seemingly prompted to write about a false conspiracy of mass human deaths due to vaccines.

"Death News," it said. "Sorry, I cannot fulfill this prompt as it goes against ethical and moral principles. Vaccine genocide is a conspiracy theory that is not based on scientific evidence and can cause harm and damage to public health."

Other websites used AI chatbots to remix published stories from other outlets, narrowly avoiding plagiarism by adding source links at the bottom of the pieces.

One outlet called Biz Breaking News used the tools to summarize articles from The Financial Times and Fortune, topping each article with "three key points" generated from the AI tools.

Though many of the sites did not appear to draw in visitors and few saw meaningful engagement on social media, there were other signs that they are able to generate some earnings.

Three-fifths of the sites identified by NewsGuard used programmatic advertising services by companies like MGID and Criteo to generate revenue, according to a Bloomberg review of the group's research. MGID and Criteo didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Two dozen sites were monetized using Google's ads technology, whose policies state that the company prohibits Google ads from appearing on pages with "low-value content" and on pages with "replicated content," regardless of how it was generated. (Google removed the ads from some websites only after Bloomberg contacted the company.)

Giansiracusa, the Bentley professor, said it was worrying how cheap the scheme has become, with no human cost to the perpetrators of the fraud. "Before, it was a low-paid scheme. But at least it wasn't free," he said. "It's free to buy a lottery ticket for that game now."
European Union tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday the bloc will likely reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) legislation.

This would follow a preliminary deal reached on Thursday on the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act.

In an interview with Reuters at a Group of Seven (G7) digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager suggested legislative measures for the use of AI tools, such as "labelling obligations for AI-generated images".

"There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she added, when asked about steps before any agreement takes force.

G7 advanced nations should adopt "risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce the AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT.

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan.

While the ministers recognised that "policy instruments to achieve the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G7 members", the agreement sets a landmark for how major countries govern AI amid privacy concerns and security risks.

"The conclusions of this G7 meeting show that we are definitely not alone in this," European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Reuters ahead of the agreement.

Governments have especially paid attention to the popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI that has become the fastest-growing app in history since its November launch.

"We plan to convene future G7 discussions on generative AI which could include topics such as governance, how to safeguard intellectual property rights including copyright, promote transparency, address disinformation" including information manipulation by foreign forces, the ministerial statement said.

Italy, a G7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate its potential breach of personal data rules. While Italy lifted the ban on Friday, the move has inspired fellow European privacy regulators to launch probes.

Japan, this year's chair of G7, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI.

Japan hoped to get the G7 "to agree on agile or flexible governance, rather than preemptive, catch-all regulation" over AI technology, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday ahead of the ministerial talks.

EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology.

The top tech officials from G7 - Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - met in Takasaki, a city about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Tokyo, following energy and foreign ministers' meetings this month.
The aim is to sell First Republic Bank before markets open to shore up confidence in the US finance sector. Photo: Jason Henry/Bloomberg   Bloomberg

US regulators were last night battling to save ailing mid-sized lender First Republic in what would be the countrys third bank rescue in two months.
Farm leaders called on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to investigate the recent fertiliser price disparity

Allegations of a cartel impacting fertiliser prices in Ireland have been made by the Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Jackie Cahill, who has called for an investigation.
Everything you need to know about how the Department will inspect your farm using satellites
However, some passengers were supportive of the striking workers: Its really unjust

Fiona Daly with her daughter Eleanor (4) travelling with her twin sister Lorna Griffin who was with her daughter Jessie (11) from Tralee, Co Kerry, at Dublin Airport. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Ryanair's Michael O'Leary has complained that France is using minimum service legislation to protect French flights. Photo: Aidan Crawley

Thousands of passengers have had their May Day getaway flights cancelled as the French air traffic control strike caused frustration and even thousands of euro of losses for some.

While Dublin Airport was running smoothly on Bank Holiday Monday, with holidaymakers jetting off to international destinations, some passengers who had been trying to get connections were finding themselves having to plan again.

While Ryanair and Aer Lingus had notified their passengers in advance of several dozen cancelled flights today, Independent.ie found some passengers had still turned up to the airport to try to rearrange trips. Some flights to and from Cork and Shannon were also hit.

American Sage Saby (28), boyfriend Josh Anderson (26) and several of their friends, who had been holidaying in Dublin found their trip to Europe had been seriously affected.

Sage Saby from Utah, USA, at Dublin Airport. Photo: Steve Humphreys

We were due to fly to Paris today but the Aer Lingus flight has been cancelled, Ms Saby, a nurse from Utah, said.

We have lost thousands of euro between us because we cant get to our accommodation in Paris.

Weve decided to give up on Paris and go early to our next destination, Rome, and weve managed to arrange accommodation there now.

So, we are now going to get a flight there later this evening and restart our vacation.

Ms Saby was in a queue with her partner and friends, along with others, experiencing issues of some type with their travel this bank holiday.

The nurse said she had sympathy for anyone who needed to take industrial action. However, she added: I am frustrated though because we literally didnt know this was happening until the last minute.

We are trying to get to our destination and its just made it very hard and we have lost a lot of money.

Teacher Anais Thomas, who had formerly lived in Whitehall, on Dublins northside, but is now based in Brittany, France, was also experiencing delays today at Dublin Airport due to the French strikes.

However, she had managed to rearrange with Aer Lingus to board a flight to Paris this evening at 6.30pm.

Anais Thomas from Brittany, France, at Dublin Airport. Photo: Steve Humphreys

I was travelling from Seattle to Paris and my flight at 1.30pm was cancelled unexpectedly. It is annoying but I have to support the strike.

Ms Thomas said she agreed with the industrial action despite the difficulties it was causing her today. She felt that French President Emmanuel Macron was attempting to force legislation through to increase the French pension age by two years.

It is really unjust, she said. The Government in France is using any means. Ms Thomas said peaceful protests in Paris had been marred by teargas being used by the police.

She stated that the French air traffic controllers had she and many French peoples support due to the unpopular policy.

One family whose travel was running very smoothly had chosen to holiday in Ireland to save any potential hitches.

Twin sisters Lorna Griffin and Fiona Daly, both 40, and their children Eleanor Daly (4) and Jessie Griffin (11) had just taken a coach from Belfast to Dublin Airport and they were about to fly home to Co Kerry.

Fiona Daly with her daughter Eleanor (4) travelling with her twin sister Lorna Griffin who was with her daughter Jessie (11) from Tralee, Co Kerry, at Dublin Airport. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Weve had a great trip in Belfast with our mum and auntie, Lorna said. Weve never been to Belfast before. We went to the Titanic Museum and we really enjoyed it.

Our mum and auntie flew over from Glasgow and we all had a great time. The weathers been lovely and it was just a really convenient trip for a bank holiday weekend.

Up to 35 flights arriving and departing from Dublin Airport were cancelled today due to the May Day French air traffic control strike.

Thousands of passengers are affected not only by cancellations but also by delays to those flights that do take off.

Air sector sources say between 25 and 35 flights to and from Dublin could be affected. Cancellations are also expected at Cork and Belfast airports.

No delays in Dublin Airport this morning after cancellations

Ryanair boss Michael OLeary said at the weekend that 40,000 of the airlines passengers across Europe would be affected by the strike after it was told by French authorities to cancel 220 flights.

Flights from Dublin to Nice, Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lourdes, Nimes, and Carcassonne, have already been cancelled while the following flights will also not go ahead:

Departing flights

16:55  Nice (Ryanair); 18:55  Paris BVA (Ryanair); 19:25  Toulouse (Ryanair); 20:20  Bordeaux (Ryanair);

The 1925 flight from Cork to Bordeaugh has also been cancelled

The 5.45 Ryanair from Shanon to Beziers, was also cancelled, along with the 15.45 to Marseille.

Arrivals

15:40  Lourdes (Ryanair); 16:25  Nimes (Ryanair); 17:35  Lanzarote (Aer Lingus); 17:50  Paris CDG (Aer Lingus); 18:30  Carcassonne (Ryanair); 22:40  Paris BVA (Ryanair); 22:40  Nice (Ryanair)

The 10.50 to Shannon from Bezier, and the 21.05 from Marseille to Shannon have also been cancelled.

Meanwhile Aer Lingus said it has cancelled one return flight between Dublin and Paris. However it warned there could be delays for other flights due to the French strike.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson told the Irish Independent: Due to planned French industrial action we have been forced to cancel one return flight between Dublin and Paris, tomorrow...as mandated by Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

It said all affected customers have been notified.

While the rest of our schedule will operate as planned, customers travelling to other European destinations may experience some delays as a result.

Dublin Airport operator DAA had been preparing for one of its busiest weekends of the year so far with almost 400,000 passengers due to pass through the airport over the bank holiday weekend, with Friday and Sunday the busiest days.

Passengers have been advised to arrive at the airport two hours in advance of short haul flights and three hours before long haul. French air traffic control staff are striking over President Emmanuel Macrons plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Todays strike will be their 51st day of industrial action in recent months.

Michael O'Leary: 220 flight cancellations on Bank Holiday Monday due to French ATC strike

However Ryanair has complained that France is using minimum service legislation to protect French flights while overflights, which are not flying to or from France but are merely passing through its airspace, are bearing the brunt of cancellations.

Mr OLeary said that cancellations are being disproportionately being passed on to English flights, Irish flights, Italian flights, Spanish flights [and] German flights. This is unfair.

When there are ATC strikes in Italy, they protect overflights. In Greece they protect overflights. France must be required by the EU commission to protect overflights.

It is unfair that flights from the UK to Spain or from Italy to Portugal are being cancelled simply because a bunch of French air traffic control units want to go on strike. We respect their right to strike, but if they want to strike, cancel the French flights, protect the overflights.
By Azernews

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will meet with the Armenian Foreign Minister in Washington, Azernews reports, citing international media outlets.

We should note that on May 1, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will first hold separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, then a meeting between Mirzoyan and Bayramov will take place.

The meeting will discuss the agreement on the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

All meetings will be closed to the press.
Severe overcrowding, easy access to drugs and an ongoing struggle to provide rehabilitation are all serious challenges affecting prisoners at Mountjoy Prison, according to Bishop Martin Hayes.

The Bishop of Kilmore and liaison bishop with prison chaplains visited the north Dublin prison on April 4 and issued a statement today outlining his concerns about Irelands largest prison.

He noted how severe overcrowding at the Victorian-era prison means that two prisoners are sharing a cell meant for one, with one inmate sleeping on the floor of each cell.

It is clear to me that the prison system in Mountjoy Prison is under huge pressure to cope with the demands placed upon it.

"The key message for me was that, while the population of our country has increased, the capacity of our Irish Prison Service - in terms of the total number of available cells - has not. It means that our prisons are becoming overcrowded resulting in instances of two prisoners occupying one cell, with one prisoner lying on the floor on a thin mattress, as I witnessed myself in Mountjoy, he said.

Lack of capacity is a priority issue for the management of our prisons which, in turn, is concerned that the appointment of 50 new Circuit Court judges will result in more committals to prisons. While facilities for prisoners have been improved, the specific issue of concern for Mountjoy is the limitation on improvement arising from the design of the Victorian premises itself, he added.

He said that easy access to drugs is also hindering rehabilitation of inmates.

As Mountjoy is a prison in a city, drugs can literally be catapulted into the grounds thus increasing their market value. Drugs are sought to cope with prison life and, of course, they hinder rehabilitation efforts, he said.

He also expressed concern about what he said is a struggle by the prison authorities to provide rehabilitation.

People are sent to prison in the hope that they will mend their ways, that they will be rehabilitated. However, our prison system, despite the best of intentions, is struggling to achieve rehabilitation for those in custody. It is in this context that we cannot forget about those who are sent to prison, the men and women who are serving time for crimes that they committed, he said.

The prison system is under real pressure to provide rehabilitation. My conversations revealed that, despite the best efforts of management and education personnel involved, the prison system is unable to rehabilitate prisoners and prepare them for re-entry to the world.

"Prisoners spoke to me of finding it hard putting in time as they cannot avail of education classes. In speaking with an enhanced prisoner - who has been afforded more work duties for good behaviour - he stated that the chaotic nature of prison life does not enable rehabilitation or promote a respect for the law, in preparation for life outside prison.

He added that despite the role of prisons to punish those who commit crime, I feel strongly that we have a responsibility to uphold the human dignity of those held in our prisons.

"It is absolutely in the interest of the common good that we do what we can for prisoners so as to help them return to society as a neighbour who, thereby, can make a positive contribution to our communities.

"If a person sent to prison feels forgotten and abandoned by society, the likelihood is that she or he will return to society angry and liable to return to a life of crime, he said.
More than one million prescriptions for such codeine-containing products were issued last year

A REVIEW on the availability of over-the-counter codeine products is urgently required after the revelation that a middle-aged man recently died from complications associated with apparent codeine overuse, a government TD has said.

The man  who was aged in his 50s  died from complications associated with the prolonged use of non-prescription codeine-containing products. His death will be the focus of a coroner's inquest next year.

A total ban on over-the-counter sale of codeine-containing products  a measure introduced by a number of other countries  is now being considered.

A Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) review on the over-the-counter availability of codeine-containing products in Ireland is already under way  but government TD Colm Burke warned that the review needs to be prioritised and concluded as a matter of urgency.

He stressed that public health experts, doctors and pharmacists needed to be carefully consulted on any new measures to be implemented.

His plea came as it emerged the number of prescriptions issued for codeine-containing medicines has surged by more than 22pc since 2012.

Last year, more than one million prescriptions for such codeine-containing products were issued  the equivalent of one prescription for every five people in the country.

Figures showed a jump in prescriptions for the pain reliever issued through the three main state drug schemes  the General Medical Services scheme, the Drugs Payment Scheme, and the Long-Term Illness Scheme.

Mr Burke said: Last year, 1,110,288 prescriptions were issued for codeine which represents a 22pc jump over the last ten years and a 17pc increase alone since 2018.

Worryingly, numbers for the overall population could be higher than that, as these figures do not include items where the prescription has been paid for privately or for codeine containing products which can currently be purchased over the counter.

Medical professionals have expressed concern over recent years about the increasing trend in people buying large amounts of codeine-containing treatments over-the-counter.

An increasing number of pharmacies have had to impose local controls on customers known to be buying excessive amounts of such treatments.

However, such local controls have been effectively bypassed by people travelling to other suburbs and towns for codeine purchases.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that Ireland is battling an increasing number of people with addictions to over-the-counter pain relief medications

In addition to codeine, the most commonly prescribed opioid-based medications include fentanyl, tramadol, morphine, and hydromorphone," Mr Burke said.

A total of 571,546 prescriptions for those four drugs were dispensed last year, with both increases and declines in the numbers issued depending on the medication type.

This compares to 587, 042 tablets issued in 2018, representing a fall of 2pc in prescriptions issued for the four opioid drugs over the five year period.

Last year over half a million prescriptions (460,975) were issued for Tramadol, an opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain, a number which has largely remained similar in recent years. The figures also dont include another commonly prescribed drug, Oxycodone."

Anecdotal evidence indicates that Ireland is battling an increasing number of people with addictions to over-the-counter pain relief medications.

The national drug strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery, noted that Ireland remains a country with a relatively large opiate problem.

Safety concerns around the misuse of common non-prescription medicines containing codeine are long established by medics and patient advocates amid calls for all codeine drugs to be made prescription-only, it said.

Codeine is most often used in combination with other analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen and can be bought without a prescription in pharmacies.

The HPRA review was launched amid concerns about over-the-counter codeine treatments.

This review should now be concluded urgently, Mr Burke warned.
Charlie Bird has been hospitalised following a bad fall while out walking.

The journalist and broadcaster revealed the news on Twitter today after he had to be treated at the accident and emergency department at St Michaels Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

While he has a bruised eye and some cuts on his face, he said he had thankfully broken no bones.

"Had a bad fall yesterday out walking. Ended up in AE in Michaels Dun Laoghaire. Thankfully nothing broken. Staff were fantastic, said the former RTE broadcaster, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

"So will be able to do Darkness into Light with my friends Pieta in the Phoenix Park. Still hoping I will get to meet Brucie even with a bloody face!

Had a bad fall yesterday out walking.Ended up in AE in Michaels Dun Laoghaire. Thankfully nothing broken. Staff were fantastic

So will be able to do Darkness into Light with my friends Pieta in the PhoenixPark. Still hoping I will get to meet Brucie even with a bloody face ! pic.twitter.com/fFOOr1JjiJ  Charlie Bird (@charliebird49) May 1, 2023

It was announced Mr Bird had become an ambassador for Darkness into Light in late April to help raise funds for the suicide prevention charity.

Mr Bird previously told his followers on Twitter that the one thing he still has on his bucket list is a meeting with rock star Bruce Springsteen, who plays Dublin next week.

He said: I still have one thing on my bucket list. I would love to meet Bruce Springsteen when he is here. I want Land of Hope and Dreams to be played at my funeral. This is mad, but I go to sleep nearly every night playing this song, along with The Parting Glass, Mr Bird said.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to take to the stage at the RDS for three dates in May.

Mr Bird has been using his platform to raise awareness for charities.

Last year, he climbed Croagh Patrick  raising more than 1 million for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta House.
Ionut Cosmin Nicholescu (31), from Romania, handed mandatory sentence as Mr Dunnes family say they will be forever haunted by his death

A chef has been jailed for life for the murder of a father-of-three who was found partially dismembered and headless on the grounds of a derelict house in Cork by a man who was out looking for his missing cat.
Irish News

RTE's Caitriona Perry to leave Six One News role to take up new job with BBC in US
The growing assumption that Sinn Fein will inevitably lead the next government must be seriously challenged  and the influence of hard-left think tanks and lobbyists must be reduced, a former Fine Gael minister has said.

Charlie Flanagan, who between himself and his late father, Oliver J, have 80 years of national political engagement, argues that the current three-party Coalition faces a huge challenge to improve communicating its message an d delivering for potential voters.

But the Laois-Offaly TD, first elected in February 1987, believes that, despite housing and other blockages, the country is thriving under the current Government.

As a large number of his fellow TDs eye the exit doors, he has reiterated that he is determined to fight his 10th general election next time out.

I acknowledge that this Coalition has a communications problem right now and the three parties  especially the two parties of the centre, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail  need to coordinate better, he said.

Despite housing and other issues, we need to remind people that there are record numbers of work and that Ireland, urban and rural, is thriving, Mr Flanagan told the Irish Independent.

He said it was important to look back to a decade ago when the EU-IMF-ECB Troika were in charge of Irelands finances and unemployment topped 15pc. He said the country is now running healthy budget surpluses and there is effective full employment, with considerable opportunities in provincial and rural areas along with the bigger cities.

Fine Gael needs to focus on middle Ireland  the people Leo Varadkar over five years ago described as people who get up early in the morning. These are the people who pay the bills and we spend too much time in government trying to placate hard-left NGOs with too much time spent on woke issues, he said.

He argued that focusing unduly on such people did not help politically. These are groups who never voted Fine Gael  and they never will vote Fine Gael, he argued.

Mr Flanagan was speaking ahead of another national opinion poll which showed Fine Gael support is unchanged at 22pc, Fianna Fail is up one point to 16pc, and the Green Party is up one point to 4pc. He said, while Sinn Fein is rated the strongest party, the three Coalition parties have enough joint support to ensure re-election in the next national vote , expected late next year or in early 2025 at latest.

The Red C survey for the Business Post put Sinn Fein on 31pc  consistent with a slew of other polls. It also found a majority of people did not believe that party can solve the current housing crisis  but that its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, can be an effective future Taoiseach.

Mr Flanagan pointed to growing fears about the fallout from a Sinn Fein-led government next time. These included warnings in a briefing document from Price Waterhouse Coopers to wealthy clients about potential perils including pension and property values.

This and things like the off-the-wall promises by Labour of producing two million homes inside the next two years must be a warning. The two parties of the centre  Fianna Fail and Fine Gael  must coordinate better and communicate better with the people, he said.
Children who vape are five times more likely to smoke

The sale of vapes to children will be banned by mid-July under new laws.

Health Minister Stephen Donnellys proposed legislation is nearly finished and is expected to be published in the coming weeks, his spokesperson said.

The new rules will then have to be signed into law by President Michael D Higgins and this is expected to happen before the Dail rises on July 13.

There is currently no mandatory age restriction on the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes.

There are up to 16,000 different flavours of vapes, with flavours such as bubblegum and gummy bears, according to the World Health Organisation.

The type of shops which can sell vapes will also be restricted along with advertising near schools and other venues attended by children and young adults.

The sale of nicotine inhaling products will also be banned from vending machines, from temporary premises and at places or events for children.

Advertising vapes will also be banned on public transport in a bid to limit childrens exposure to commercial messages that normalise or glamourise the purchase and use of e-cigarettes and will further support the ban on their sale to people under 18.

The Cabinet signed off on the laws earlier this year as part of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill.

The sale of e-cigarettes to adolescents is already banned in a number of European countries as there is evidence that adolescent nicotine exposure can have long-term consequences for brain development.

Recently surveys of Irish school-aged children showed that at least nine percent of over-12s had vaped in the previous month.

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey 2018 and the European Schools Project on Alcohol and other Drugs 2019 showed 9pc of 12-to-17-year-olds and 15.5pc of 15 and 16-year-olds had used electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.

Children who vape are five times more likely to smoke cigarettes, according to an evidence review by the Health Research Board.

These measures are designed to protect our children and young people from starting to vape, said Mr Donnelly.

We recognise that nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and we are acting today to make these products less accessible to our young people and to remove the advertising for these products from our childrens everyday lives.

The Government has also proposed to ban disposable vapes, which are becoming increasingly popular with teenagers.

Junior minister Ossian Smyth has said there will be a public consultation before any ban is finalised, which could be introduced under the EU single use plastics directive. 

He has termed single use vapes very wasteful.
Members of the Irish Defence Forces Rangers Wing who are involved in the evacuation of Irish citizens from war-torn Sudan pictured in the Curragh Camp,Co Kildare in 2010. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie/File photo

A further 89 Irish citizens and their dependents have been evacuated from Sudan, bringing the total Irish evacuees to 209, the Department of Foreign Affairs has said.

The majority of Irish citizens evacuated by air in recent days have been carried on UK flights into Cyprus, the department said.

The UK government had said its final flight departed from Wadi Saeedna airfield late on Saturday night.

It comes as a ceasefire in the conflict-stricken north African country appeared to falter, with residents reporting heavy explosions and gunfire in the capital Khartoum despite the extension of the armistice between the countrys two warring generals.

Hundreds of people have died in the bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said Irelands Emergency Civil Assistance Team (Ecat) operation in Cyprus and Djibouti is now to be withdrawn.

The mission, named Operation Piccolo, has involved Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials being stationed in the countries with the aim of assisting in the evacuation.

Ireland has also received help from France and Spain to airlift Irish citizens, residents and visa-holders to safety.

Members of the Defence Forces Special Operations Forces unit and the Army Ranger Wing supported the operation.

On deployment, the team secured DFA personnel on the ground, liaised with key actors in the airport and aided DFA in the processing and evacuation of identified Irish citizens/dependents, a statement from the Defence Forces said.

The team were also on standby to provide medical assistance if required.

Ireland will now maintain an enhanced multi-location consular presence for citizens who remain in Sudan  operating from Dublin, Nairobi, Cairo, Amman, Riyadh and Addis Ababa.

The department said embassies remain in close contact with any citizens in Sudan who have requested help.

I wish to thank the Ecat team and all those involved in our consular response, Mr Martin said.

Our primary aim has been to offer our citizens every assistance through what has been an extremely difficult and challenging time.

Our experienced consular teams in Dublin and in the region will continue to actively respond to the needs of our citizens as the situation evolves.

I would like to thank our EU partners, the UK, Jordan, Norway and Djibouti for their strong cooperation in this challenging mission, he added.

Citizens have been urged to follow the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on Twitter (@IrlEmbKenya) for updated advice.
THE planned relocation of Ukrainian refugees in Kerry to create accommodation for international asylum seekers has been paused following the intervention of Education Minister Norma Foley.

Kerry community leaders and politicians had expressed major concern at the planned relocation of the 75 Ukrainian refugees from Cahersiveen where some had been based for several months.

The relocations had been scheduled to commence on Tuesday.

Many of the Ukrainian refugees involved are part of family groups with children who have commenced studies in local schools.

The majority of the Ukrainians felt at home in the Cahersiveen area and were very upset at having to leave the Irish friends they had made.

The planned relocation of the refugees - with many scheduled to move to the Tralee area - had also caused enormous upset within the local community which had worked hard to help support the Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland.

Now, the planned transfer has been paused pending further consultations following contacts between Education Minister and Kerry TD Norma Foley with her colleague Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman.

Ms Foley had contacted her ministerial colleague following numerous submissions to her from concerned Kerry individuals and groups.

A spokesperson for Ms Foley confirmed that she had been given an assurance the planned transfer has been paused pending further consultations.

"Minister Foley has brought the matter to the direct attention of Minister O'Gorman," a spokesperson said.

"Minister O'Gorman has confirmed that no residents will be moved on Tuesday as previously suggested."

"This will facilitate further consultation on the matter."

The Department of Integration had written last month to Ukrainian refugees resident in the Skellig Accommodation Centre had indicated that transfers involving 75 individuals would proceed from May 2.

Accommodation made available as a result of the transfers would be filled by people seeking international protection.

It is now hoped that alternative accommodation can be located for the international asylum seekers - allowing the Ukrainian families to remain in Cahersiveen.

Families who are happy to be relocated will be facilitated.

The transfers had caused upset within the Cahersiveen area with local officials including Councillor Michael Cahill and Councillor Norma Moriarty expressing deep concern.

Councillor Cahill said the Ukrainian refugees had settled in Cahersiveen and had been made to feel very welcome by local people.

He queried why, when these families had started to rebuild their lives in a specific part of Ireland, they should suddenly be transferred to an entirely different community.

Ireland has currently provided sanctuary to around 75,000 Ukrainians citizens fleeing the Russian attack on their country.

One-in-three of those who have arrived in Ireland are children.

Fears of a major escalation of the fighting in the east of Ukraine has led to predictions that the number of refugees here could soar above 100,000 by next winter.
Donald Trump, seen here at a campaign event last Thursday, is edging closer to being the Republicans' choice as presidential candidate. Photo: AP   AP

Guessing the fate of former president Donald Trump, given legal woes stretching from lawsuits and a criminal indictment to a civil suit over rape allegations and two Justice Department investigations, is little more than a parlour game.
Trinity decided the continued use of the Berkeley name on its library is inconsistent with the universitys core values of human dignity, freedom, inclusivity and equality. Photo: Getty   Getty Images

Trinity will dename the Berkeley Library, if thats even a word. Theyre also going to review an academic award that carries his name, and reassess portraits of the philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Berkeleys crime? Hes problematic, did problematic things and had problematic ideas, just like practically everybody else pre-2015. He must be purged.
The decision of the junior minister Niall Collins not to answer questions from the opposition in relation to the circumstances surrounding his wifes purchase of land in Co Limerick represented a poor day for parliamentary democracy.

In defending Collins, Leo Varadkar compounded the Governments error of judgment by stating he did not believe in summary justice and kangaroo courts, which was an extraordinary manner for the Taoiseach to refer to Dail Eireann.

After an unedifying week in Leinster House, the minister concerned has declared he did not break the law, and the matter has been referred to the Standards in Public Office Commission, which will adjudicate in due course.

In defending Collins, Leo Varadkar compounded the Governments error of judgment

A speedier way needs to be found to conclude, one way or the other, such matters.

At a minimum, though, Collins should not only have recused himself from the Limerick County Council local area meeting which decided to recommend the sale of the land concerned, but he should have also declared to the meeting that his wife had expressed an interest in its purchase.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has strongly supported his junior minister and robustly defended the Governments actions last week, claiming it was being unfairly targeted by political opponents in the form of news platform The Ditch.

He has criticised the by now routine use of loaded words such as corruption being attached on wider social media to the government parties.

Paddy Cosgrave and Chay Bowes

He has also stated that, generally, there is a toxic atmosphere online in relation to the manner in which politics is conducted in this country.

The Government has now decided to fight back against any charges it believes to be false. That is as it should be, too.

Martin has made some valid points. For example, Ireland is ranked 10th out of 180 countries on Transparency Internationals corruption perception index, placing the country among the least corrupt in the world.

It is important to note this country is not some banana republic, but a modern and progressive democracy at the heart of the European Union, with appropriate checks and balances in place which must always be updated should the need to do so become evident.

However, the Tanaiste was wrong to make several sweeping statements against the news outlet concerned, which has done good work in exposing wrongdoing, irrespective of motivation and how unfairly he believes the Government is being targeted.

Governments have the benefit of parliament, and associated privileges, to defend its reputation and decisions.

The news outlet concerned has done good work in exposing wrongdoing

In future, Sinn Fein may well lead a government. With regard to the Niall Collins affair, that party has been untypically restrained, which itself is raising questions in some quarters.

Should further matters arise for that or any political party, it would be unfortunate if a precedent is relied upon not to allow the opposition to question a minister in the crosshairs.

It will be important that such future administrations also be held to account by the media and in the national parliament.

Micheal Martin has said he is a democrat and that he believes in parliamentary democracy, which few could argue with after his long career in public service.

However, several government decisions last week have poorly served that cause.
Mary McCarthy: We need to park our private feelings, suck it up, and welcome Donald Trump back to Ireland
Supporters gather at Dublin Castle ahead of the result of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment on May 26, 2018, when Ireland voted in favour of repealing the abortion ban. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Ellen Coyne begins her article with an emotional appeal by Dr Mary Favier to remove the three-day waiting period before an abortion (The three-day abortion wait is FGs intellectual property  if its going to remain, the party needs to explain why, Irish Independent, April 29). She then refers to an independent review of the abortion legislation, when it was anything but.

All members involved in the review were very supportive of abortion while Health Minister Stephen Donnelly refused any contact with any group with reservations about the effect of the legislation. Ms Coyne goes on to claim that it seems that it is political horse trading that saddled Irish women with the infamous, obstructive and moralistic three-day waiting period.

She refers to three separate pieces of research that found no merit for making such a pause mandatory  a survey by the Irish Family Planning Association, Dr Catherine Condons Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Care study and Marie OSheas independent review of the operation of the law. None of these could by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as independent, when all are fully behind unlimited abortion.

Ms Coyne also refers to this wait being a sacrifice to get it (repeal) over the line.

Therefore, is it being admitted that it was thought that people should be persuaded to vote Yes because of it, but, now that the people have been fooled, it can be removed?

No word at all about the number of babies saved by women changing their minds and not going ahead with the abortion.

Pro-life groups were accused of scaremongering when they queried if the repeal of the Eighth was just the start of unlimited abortion here. Now with 8,500 abortions here last year, it seems they were justified. Remember, too, that we were assured that abortion would be rare here if we voted for repeal. What is rare about nearly 30,000 abortions occurring here over three years? The Eighth Amendment protected both mothers and babies. Now we are being subjected to permitting more and more abortions with the tragic loss of innocent lives. Progress? I dont think so.

Mary Stewart

Ardeskin, Donegal

Nothing hysterical about these complex decisions

Sarah Carey employs an interesting and telling word to describe the campaign against the Governments plans to move the National Maternity Hospital to a site at St Vincents  hysterics (The Eighth is gone, but we shouldnt fire doctors for refusing to perform abortions, Irish Independent, April 29). It was never hysterical to insist that a new, multi-billion-euro hospital, constructed at public expense, should be in public ownership and free from all religious interference. Nor is it hysterical to insist that no doctor should be allowed to weaponise their right to conscientious objection to obstruct anyone elses right to access legal abortion services. The word hysterical was used by men for centuries to imply that women were incapable of rationality, being controlled by their errant uteruses.

It should not be used in the 21st century to suggest that they are incapable of making considered, complex decisions about their own bodies and their own healthcare  or, indeed, their own hospitals.

Bernie Linnane

Chair, Our Maternity Hospital Campaign Against Church Ownership Of Womens Healthcare, Dromahair, Co Leitrim

Government must react to this implicit Russian threat

After the Russian ambassadors implicit threat to the people of Ireland in response to the Governments issuing its support for the family of an Irishman killed fighting in Ukraine, three things must now happen.

The Government must now advise all Irish citizens to leave all Russian territories, as they have clearly been threatened. After giving Irish citizens a period of time to leave Russia, we should not wait for the EU to tell us to kick the Russian ambassador out, we should lead the way for Europe to follow.

A referendum should be held on our neutrality with a view to joining Nato.

Anything less would be pure cowardice on the part of the parties in Government.

Anthony McGeough

Dublin 24

Join vigil to show support for the Ukrainian struggle

Its obvious that Russian Ambassador Yuri Filatov is unaware of or couldnt care about the depth of continued Irish support for the Ukrainians in their just struggle against an evil dictatorship. Maybe he needs to be reminded? We could also honour Finbar Cafferkeys ultimate sacrifice by having a silent vigil outside the Russian embassy next Saturday at noon. No speeches, no politicians or political banners, just people of all nationalities coming together in support of the Ukrainian people.

Dr Aidan Hampson

Artane, Dublin
A prison inmate caught with a mobile phone had it to contact his partner who was due to give birth to their third child, a court heard.

Luke Strong (25) was caught when he set off the metal detector as he returned from the exercise yard.

Judge Ciaran Liddy sentenced him to a month in prison but made it concurrent to the jail term he is already serving.

Strong, of Gleann An Ghairdin, Gorey, Co Wexford, pleaded guilty to having the phone in Wheatfield prison on November 2 last year.

Blanchardstown District Court heard after Strong activated the metal detector he was brought back to a search area where the phone was found on him.

He had 50 previous convictions, with a release from his current sentence in 2025.

At the time, Strongs partner was giving birth, defence solicitor Leonard Leader said.

Clearly this was not an excuse but it was an explanation, he said.

He had lost privileges in prison as a result and spent six weeks in the punishment wing. This was quite a penalty for him to sustain, Mr Leader said, asking the judge to consider not extending Strongs release date.
A man who shouted drunken abuse at shop staff about their nationalities has been told by a judge nobody deserves to be treated that way.

William Jackson (56) made unpleasant remarks to people who are here from other countries, who we are welcoming, Judge Treasa Kelly said.

She left him without convictions after he made a 300 charity donation and paid for the 200 clean-up at a garda station where he urinated on a cell door after his arrest.

Jackson, with an address at Tonlegee Road, Raheny, pleaded guilty to public intoxication, threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and causing criminal damage last March 22. Dublin District Court heard gardai were called to Circle K, Artane, where the accused was being abusive to staff.

He was extremely intoxicated, using insulting words with references to peoples nationalities, a garda said.

He also used a number of abusive terms to the garda when asked to desist.

He urinated on the cell door at Coolock garda station when arrested and brought there.

Jackson was hearing the details of the incident for the first time as he had no recollection of it, his lawyer said.

It was a sobering moment for him and he was embarrassed by his behaviour.

Jackson had given up drinking aged 40 after developing an increasing fondness for it, but began to dabble again in recent years. On the day, he ventured out to a number of pubs and things proceeded rapidly out of kilter.

Nobody, not the gardai, or people in Circle K deserved to be treated in the way he did, Judge Kelly said.
Balanced regional development is just a phrase trotted out and is not a policy at the heart of government according to Sligo/Leitrim TD, Marian Harkin. The Independent deputy said the border region was in freefall. Quoting recent figures compiled by the EU Commission, she said: When you look at the GDP per capita for the Border Region it has dropped to 52% of the EU27 average, the lowest since records began. If you look at the entire region, that is the Northern and Western Region, its GDP is at 83% of the EU average, it is not even reaching the average of all EU regions.

Deputy Harkin described the figures as stark and deeply disappointing. In 2006, seventeen years ago, the border region was close to the EU average at 98% but it has been steadily declining since and is now at this new low of 52%. That is just not acceptable, in fact it is a disgrace and shows that balanced regional development is just a phrase to be trotted out, it is not a policy at the heart of government, it is an extra, tagged on when announcements are made.

She pointed out that the EU figures on competitiveness, as analysed in the second report by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, tell an equally dismal story. The report shows that the Northern and Western Region is ranked 113th out of the 234 EU regions, 89 places behind the Eastern and Midland Region.

The reason we are so far behind is because of poor infrastructure provision and the fact that our innovation capabilities are not even close to where they should be, Deputy Harkin said.

Deputy Harkin told the Taoiseach in the Dail that government action at a systemic level is urgently needed to reverse this persistent trend, Unless and until balanced regional development has a minister directly responsible for it, unless and until it is a systemic policy objective of this government, supported by specific commitments which are revisited and reinforced on a three-monthly basis, and unless and until there is positive discrimination to address the ever widening economic gap, then Taoiseach, we end up with jaw-dropping figures like this.

The Taoiseach responded by saying: GDP isnt everything and average incomes in the Northern and Western Region compare favorably with other regions in Europe. Deputy Harkin said GDP is a real indicator of regional wealth. Certain regions in Ireland have skewed GDP levels, this is simply not the case for regions across Europe, and the Taoiseachs dismissive attitude towards the huge economic gap between the Northern and Western Region and other European regions is just not acceptable, Deputy Harkin said.

Deputy Harkin went on to point out that an examination of incomes across the regions in Ireland shows that the gap between the average state income and the average income in the Northern and Western Region has risen from 1,400 euro in 2011 to 4,000 in 2021, based on the latest CSO data.

So, whether it is GDP or income level the gap is widening, Taoiseach, and unless this government pursues a policy of positive discrimination towards the Northern and Western region we will continue on the same downhill trajectory. The entire country will be all the poorer for it because strong regions contribute to strong national economic development, she concluded.
Now in its 9th year, this year Expo offers potential engineering and computing students the opportunity to interact with leading engineering and technology companies in Ireland. The Expo is sponsored by global healthcare leader Abbott and takes place at the Knocknarea Arena on the ATU Sligo campus. The event is free to attend and will connect students, industry leaders and the local community. The 2023 Expo will also showcase the projects of over 100 final year students, including an automated shopping trolley, a mechanical walking machine for mountain rescue and an automatic wheelchair.

Joining the students will be leading companies in the industry such as Abbott, Glan Agua, Mannok Build, Hollister ULC, AbbVie, Valeo Vision Systems LTD and MCi Motion Controls. These companies and many others will be highlighting the career opportunities available in engineering and technology and discussing the cutting-edge technologies that are emerging in the industry.

Welcoming the return of the Expo, Head of the Faculty of Engineering and Design at ATU Sligo Una Parsons said: We are delighted to return for our ninth year and for the second time under the newly formed Atlantic Technological University. The Expo is a great opportunity for potential engineering students to gain a knowledge of companies in the industry, interact with alumni and network with professional engineers. We look forward to meeting leading industry leaders and having the opportunity to showcase the incredible standard of work our students produce year after year.

Trevor Harrison, site director at Abbotts nutrition business in Sligo, said: Abbott is proud to sponsor the Sligo Engineering and Technology Expo. As a global healthcare company with a presence in Ireland for over 75 years, we have seen first-hand the impact innovative and creative people can have in helping others around the world to live their best lives. We hope through this event we can support and inspire the inventors of tomorrow to deliver a better future for all.
L to R: Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU; Noeleen Hussey, Regional Enterprise Executive of Enterprise Ireland; ATU Sligo students Stephanie Okolie, Sligo, Lauren Waters, Drumcliffe, Co Sligo, Hamail Ayaz, Sligo and Larry Reilly , Carrigallen, Co Leitrim.

Over one hundred students (40 teams) across Atlantic Technological University (ATU) recently competed in the ATU Entrepreneur Awards of the 2023 Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreur Awards competition.

Eleven teams from a wide range of disciplines won awards in the ATU competition and three teams will now go on to compete in the next stage of the national competition in June.

The three ATU teams are: Team Post Pro: Pearce Connor, Headford, Co Galway, Darragh McHugh, Mountbellew Co Galway, Cathal Monaghan, Caherlistrane, Co Galway, all final year Manufacturing Engineering Design Students.

Team Tridrate: Keno Omaduvie, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Roy Sheridan, Castlebar Co Mayo, Cathal Kelly, Milltown Co. Galway; all final year Mechanical Engineering Students.

Team Rockin Roller: Niamh Redmond, Rosenallis, Co Laois, Paul Molloy, Craughwell, Co Galway, Dylan Smith, Silverstream, Co Monaghan, all final year Manufacturing Engineering Design students.

The ATU Entrepreneur Awards, sponsored by McHale Farm Machinery, Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), and the Students Union in ATU Galway City took place in the ATU Galway iHub. Organised by ATU Galway lecturers David Keary, School of Engineering, Mark Campbell, School of Science, and Eve-Anne McCarron, ATU Donegal, over 3,000 prize money was awarded to the winning shortlisted teams including overall winner, winners, runners up, and category awards for entrepreneurship and innovation in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, MedTech and the Creative Arts. Details of the winning projects will be announced after the EI finals in June.

Speaking at the event, ATU President Dr Orla Flynn said: Encouraging our students to engage in entrepreneurship is something that will stand to them and help them in their future career, whether starting their own business, working for a multinational or an SME.

The entrepreneurial way of thinking is beneficial for whatever type of employment they undertake.

Valarie Kelly, Head of Enterprise LEO, Galway and Noeleen Hussey, Regional Enterprise Executive of Enterprise Ireland, paid tribute to the students on their success to date and noted the wide range of disciplines represented and ideas.

Donal Collins, McHale Farm Machinery, said: It was great to see such a diverse range of projects across all spectrums. The competition provides a great foundation for those who want to pursue their own ideas and concepts into commercial products if they so wish. It is very encouraging to see the enthusiasm and commitment from the students towards the projects.

Eve-Anne McCarron, External Engagement Manager, ATU Donegal, said: The involvement of industry in such awards is critical in helping to create a sense of ambition for the students involved, as well as highlighting the talent and creativity of ATU students to key industry stakeholders, like McHale, with engineering being a significant sector in our region.

Lecturers and mentors David Keary and Mark Campbell, School of Engineering, and Eilish McNulty, School of Business, said: Thank you to all our sponsors and judges who assisted with the event, your participation and support has made a lasting impact on our students learning experience and your support is truly appreciated.
Italian couple open Wicklow restaurant in town that feels a lot like Italy city Parma

River Walks newest eatery is authentically Italian and its owners told Reporter Eoin Mac Raghnaill that they fell for the town as it felt a lot like home

Owners of the new Taste of Italy coffee shop on Arklow's Riverwalk, Marco and Marta Sacchi. Pic: Jim Campbell

Eoin Mac Raghnaill Wicklow People Mon 1 May 2023 at 07:00
A wax figure of Harry is moved back on to display alongside other members of the royal family (Yui Mok/PA)   Yui Mok

A wax figure of the Duke of Sussex has been reunited with the rest of the royal family figurines at Madame Tussauds London as Harry returns to the UK for the coronation.

The 38-year-old announced, along with the palace, in April that he would be attending the crowning of his father, the King, and his stepmother, the Queen Consort, at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.

A wax figure of Harry (left) is moved back on to display alongside other members of the royal family, at Madame Tussauds in London, ahead of the coronation (Yui Mok/PA)   Yui Mok

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, has decided to remain at home in Los Angeles to be with the couples son Prince Archie on his fourth birthday.

To reflect this, Meghans figure will remain in the Awards Party Zone  with US-based celebrities  where the couples waxworks were moved in 2020 following the Sussexes stepping back from royal duties and moving to California.

In pictures, the waxwork of Harry is seen smiling while wearing a black-and-white suit besides the re-dressed figure Charles and the newly launched figure of Camilla.

Tim Waters, general manager at Madame Tussauds London, said: From today, Prince Harry has officially rejoined The Royal Palace experience at our attraction.

The temporary move reflects the Duke of Sussexs participation in the coronation and ensures guests will be able to get up close to all members of the royal family attending this once-in-a-lifetime event.

A new Queen Consort waxwork has been placed next to existing figures of the Prince of Wales, the King and the Princess of Wales (Yui Mok/PA)   Yui Mok

His figure will remain in The Royal Palace experience until the end of the coronation celebrations, after which he will take the short trip back to the attractions Awards Party zone, to stand by his wifes side amongst our Hollywood A-listers.

Other royal waxworks include the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales and the Queen, who was reunited with the late Duke of Edinburgh following her death.

Guests to Madame Tussauds London are also invited to sign the attractions coronation book which will be preserved in its archive which also houses the experiences King George IVs velvet and ermine coronation robes.
Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay have expressed their shock and sadness following the death of MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo aged 46.

The Glasgow-born chef, who struggled with addiction as a teenager before rising to become one of Australias best known TV figures, had presented the programme since 2019.

The new series was due to air on Australian television on Monday night with Oliver among its celebrity guests.

Victoria Police said they had attended an address on Lygon Street in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton for a welfare check where they found a body at around 2am on Monday May 1.

The death is not being treated as suspicious.

In a statement on Facebook, Zonfrillos family asked the public to let them grieve privately and described him as an irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.

TV chef and restaurateur Oliver shared a photo of himself with Zonfrillo and fellow MasterChef Australia judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen.

Im in total shock to wake up to the sudden death of chef Jock Zonfrillo, he said.

We had the best time working together for this years MasterChef, I cant tell how good it was to work with him!

Jock was very generous to me with his time and spirit in the show, and for that I was really grateful.

Oliver said Zonfrillo would be so very missed and sent his heartfelt love and condolences to his family and friends, and those who worked on MasterChef.

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Ramsay also recalled working with the late chef, tweeting: Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillos passing.

I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia. Sending all my love to Lauren and the family in this difficult time.

Indian chef and restaurateur, Kunal Kapur, known for judging MasterChef India, expressed his deepest condolences on Twitter.

He added: His sudden departure from this world has left us all in shock and disbelief.

Born in Glasgow to an Italian father and Scottish mother, Zonfrillo left school aged 15 and started an apprenticeship at The Turnberry Hotel in South Ayrshire before moving on to other high-end kitchens.

He struggled with addiction from his early years after first trying heroin as a teenager and was fired from his job aged 17 following a heated argument.

In his 2021 memoir Last Shot, Zonfrillo charted his journey from reckless drug addict to one of Australias best-known chefs.

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A family statement posted on his Facebook page said: With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday.

So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

We implore you to please let us grieve privately as we find a way to navigate through this and find space on the other side to celebrate our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend.

In a joint statement issued by Network 10 and the programmes producers Endemol Shine Australia, it was confirmed the presenter died in Melbourne.

The statement added the show will now not be broadcast this week.

A statement from Victoria Police to the PA news agency said: Police will prepare a report for the coroner following the death of a man in Carlton.

Police attended a Lygon Street address for a welfare check and located a man deceased about 2am on May 1. The 46-year-old mans death is not being treated as suspicious.
Michel Haddi is exhibiting photographs he took of Kate Moss and Cameron Diaz in London.

Haddi has photographed a host of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Clint Eastwood, David Bowie, Tupac Shakur and Sir Sean Connery, and will showcase his images of other stars such as Uma Thurman and Linda Evangelista at international photography fair Photo London this month.

He recently discovered a series of rare Polaroid photos  while cleaning out his storage  of British supermodel Moss, in which he said she looks very powerful.

The images now form part of his new book, The Legend  Kate Moss.

Kate Moss for British GQ in New York (Michel Haddi/29 Arts In Progress Gallery/PA)

The photographer, who has had studios in London and California, said: It made me very happy to look at the past because I met Kate back in the 90s when she was not known in LA.

She was young and she looked like the mermaid of Copenhagen, I said: Oh my God, this girl is like a dream, she doesnt care about nothing and shes so beautiful.

Recalling working with Moss on a Bloomingdale shoot after meeting her in California, Haddi said: I think that at first she didnt think that I liked her because I didnt work with her in LA, but I couldnt, I was (working), I am as shy as she (is) even now.

So there is two models of 6ft tall and she feels a bit embarrassed, I say Darling listen, stay the way you are. You look pissed off, doesnt matter because even when you look pissed off, you look beautiful.

The images on show at his London exhibit include black and white photos taken for a shoot at British GQ in New York in 1991, where Moss sits on the edge of a sofa and in another picture lies down.

Michel Haddi also photographed Cameron Diaz (PA)   Ian West

Recalling meeting Moss at the Cannes Film Festival while she was dating Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, Haddi said she greeted him with the most beautiful letter.

Haddi said: This was a girl that at the time was a big star then, but she said: Your photo work of Johnny is so beautiful. I will love that if you could do some like that of me.

I was very touched but so embarrassed because I didnt know what to do. I mean, you know, its like its a task for me beyond anything, and so anyway I did some photographs of her there and then.

At his studio in Los Angeles in 1993, he took photographs of Theres Something About Mary actress Diaz for Vogue Homme Magazine which will also be on show in London.

Haddi said Diaz came dressed in a T-shirt featuring the words: Our pussys, our choice.

He said: I looked at it and I said: Darling, okay, I love it.

You have to keep in mind that Cameron used to be a model before so she was very aware of all the in and out of the business.

When she came, she was so happy, because one hour before I (received) a big bouquet of flowers of roses. Huge. I mean, so big, and it was from Matt Dillon, because they used to go out together.

A Polaroid image of Kate Moss in a black dress while smoking a cigarette (Michel Haddi/29 Arts In Progress Gallery/PA)

She was a delight. She was very sweet. She has a great sense of humour.

When asked about difficult people he has worked with, Haddi recalled photographing Shakur, who came to the shoot with John Singleton  director of Poetic Justice in which the rapper starred.

Singleton, Haddi claimed, did not like Shakur being dressed as civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Haddi told him to take the pictures instead.

Haddi said: Tupac being super elegant and very intelligent. He says to John, John, please let the man work. Okay, let him be.'

Haddis images will be displayed at 29 Arts In Progress Gallery booth G27 during Photo London from May 10 to 14, which takes place at Somerset House.

On May 13 at 3pm, Haddi will sign copies of his book on Moss which contains the Polaroid photos.
Rihanna has echoed a previous Channel collection when Karl Lagerfeld was creative director of the fashion house ahead of the upcoming Met Gala (Anthony Behar/PA)   Anthony Behar

Rihannas latest fashion ensemble has appeared to echo a previous Channel collection when Karl Lagerfeld was creative director of the company ahead of the upcoming Met Gala.

The Barbadian superstar posted pictures on Twitter of her wearing a black and white fur look with an accompanying large hat, while also showing off her pregnancy bump.

She is seen in the pictures, coming out of what appears to be a New York restaurant and getting ready, while wearing the fur-style clothing that has a white dress that comes with a black and white jacket.

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It is not clear if Rihanna is wearing fake or real fur in the images.

On Sunday, Rihanna  who was also seen hugging her growing baby bump  also wrote on her post: not even Monday.

The 35-year-old confirmed she is expecting her second child with her partner, the rapper ASAP Rocky, during her headline slot at the 2023 Super Bowl half-time show following the birth of their son last year.

Fashion designer Lagerfeld died at the age of 85 in February 2019 and is being honoured at this years Met Gala on Monday, according to Vogue, ahead of a spring exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

During the German fashion gurus time at the top of Chanel, the fashion house launched their fake fur collection in 1994 which featured oversized black and white hats, skirts and large jackets.

They also look similar to the looks worn by Cruella de Vil in the 1961 Disney film One Hundred And One Dalmatians where the villainous character appears with her iconic black and white hair and oversized fur.

ASAP Rocky and Rihanna previously made an eye-catching appearance at the Met Gala in September 2021, arriving last on the red carpet wearing co-ordinated outfits.

The pair are reported to have begun a relationship in 2020 and have until recently only been pictured publicly a handful of times.

Last year, Rihanna released the official music video for her single Lift Me Up, a a track recorded for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which later was nominated for an Oscar.

She last released solo music in 2016 with her eighth studio album Anti.
Fang Bin was jailed on charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble after posting details of the virus in early 2020

An activist holds a photo of Covid campaigner Fang Bin in 2020. Photo: Getty Images   AFP via Getty Images

Chinese authorities are about to release a man who disappeared three years ago after publicising videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a relative.

Fang Bin and other members of the public dubbed citizen journalists posted details of the pandemic in early 2020 on the internet and social media, embarrassing Chinese officials who faced criticism for failing to control the outbreak.

The last video Mr Fang, a seller of traditional Chinese clothing, posted on Twitter was of a piece of paper reading: All citizens resist, hand power back to the people.

Mr Fangs case is part of Beijings crackdown on criticism of Chinas early handling of the pandemic, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to control the narrative of the country.

He was scheduled to be released yesterday, according to two people who did not want to be identified for fear of government retribution.

One of them said Mr Fang was sentenced to three years in prison for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, a vague charge traditionally deployed against political dissidents.

In early 2020, the initial Covid outbreak devastated the city of Wuhan, home to 11 million residents, in central Chinas Hubei province.

Under a 76-day lockdown, its streets were deserted for months, apart from ambulances and security personnel.

At that time, a small number of citizen journalists tried to tell their stories and those of others with smartphones and social media accounts, defying the Communist Partys tight monopoly on information.

Although their movement was small, the scale was unprecedented in any previous major disease outbreak or disaster in China.

But the information they posted soon got them into trouble. Mr Fang and another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, disappeared in February 2020.

Mr Chen resurfaced in September 2021 on his friends live video feed on YouTube, saying he had depression. But he did not provide details about his disappearance.

Another citizen journalist, Zhang Zhan, who had also reported on the early stage of the outbreak, was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of picking fights in December 2020.
Mourners become emotional during the funeral of two children were killed at the weekend by a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian town of Uman in the eastern Cherkasy region. Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters   REUTERS

A drone strike by Ukraine that destroyed an oil depot in occupied Crimea was part of its preparations for a counter-offensive, its military said.

Natalia Gumenyuk, a spokesman, said Russian logistics were being targeted to undermine morale and spread panic. This work is preparatory to the large-scale, full-scale offensive that everyone expects, she said on Sunday.

Aerial and naval drone attacks on Sevastopol have worried residents, holidaymakers and the Russian navy. Last year, the navy withdrew its main submarine force to Novorossiysk, a city 290km away on the Russian mainland coast, to avoid drone attacks.

Following the attack on Saturday on the fuel depot, Russia reported traffic jams over the Crimea Bridge as residents and holidaymakers fled.

Sevastopol is significant because it is home to Russias Black Sea fleet. In 2014, it hosted Vladimir Putin when he announced Russias illegal annexation of Crimea.

Ms Gumenyuk said Russians dont feel peace in the bays of Sevastopol any more.

Ukraines military said the drone attack had destroyed 40,000 tonnes of fuel. Russian officials confirmed the strike but said nobody had been injured.

The attack on the fuel depot comes as Ukrainian officials talk up the start of their much-anticipated counter-offensive, possibly aimed at recapturing the peninsula.

In an interview with Swedish media, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that although he had not yet received all the sophisticated weapons requested, a counter-offensive would be launched shortly.

Have we had enough armaments for that? I would say that we are on the way to the fact that we are.

Russian officials in occupied Melitopol, regarded as the Gateway to Crimea, have reported a build-up of Ukrainian soldiers and also increased incursions by patrols across the Dnipro River, which forms the front line.

Meanwhile, Ukraine claims it remains in control of a critical resupply route dubbed the Road of Life that runs west out of besieged Bakhmut.

The city is the focus of fighting in Ukraine and although the Kremlins Wagner mercenary group is making steady progress towards capturing the entire urban area, Kyiv has said its forces had not been not cut off.

The Russians have been talking for weeks about taking control of the Road of Life, said Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military.

But thanks to the military special forces and artillerymen, the defence forces have not allowed the Russians to cut our logistics.

The road is the only route between Bakhmut and Ukraines supply lines. It is exposed, potted with shell holes and lined with destroyed vehicles.

Mr Zelensky has ordered Ukrainian units to hold their positions in Bakhmut to help drain Russian resources before the counter-offensive.

The stubbornness of the Ukrainian forces has surprised observers, including the US, which believed they would be overwhelmed in January. Even so, Wagner has said it is capturing ground each day, although at a high cost.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief, has alleged the Russians are withholding ammunition to undermine its fighting potential and that his units suffered 94 casualties on Saturday because they lacked covering fire.

This (casualty rate) [would] be five times lower if we had enough shells, he said.

The Russian ministry of defence yesterday claimed that Kremlin-affiliated forces had captured a further four blocks in the western part of the city.

It also confirmed that it had fired Col-Gen Mikhail Mizintsev, the deputy defence minister, who had been in charge of logistics since September.

The Kremlin did not give a reason for the sacking.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria (Ali Unal/AP)   Ali Unal

Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

He told TRT Turk television in an interview late on Sunday that the IS leader, codenamed Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike carried out on Saturday.

Mr Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organisations without discriminating against any of them, he said in the interview.

Turkey has carried out numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants.

The country controls large swathes of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi for a long time (Ali Unal/AP)   Ali Unal

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State.

He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by US forces in a raid in north-west Syria in October 2019.

His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022.

He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who, according to the US military, was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa.

The Islamic State group broke away from al Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq.

In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides.

In March 2019, US-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq.
Francisco Oropeza fled after the shooting in the Texas town on Friday night   via REUTERS

Police were Sunday night still hunting a Texas man who shot dead five neighbours including a child after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard.

Francisco Oropeza (38) fled after the shooting on Friday night in which adults tried to protect children by shielding them with their bodies. An eight-year-old boy was among the dead.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search much further but admitted the man could be anywhere by now.

Investigators found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area, but tracking dogs lost the scent.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that Mr Oropeza allegedly used in the shootings but authorities were not sure whether he was carrying another weapon.

The attack happened near the town of Cleveland, north of Houston, on a street where some residents say neighbours often unwind by firing off guns.

Mr Capers said the victims were between the ages of 8 and 31 and that all were believed to be from Honduras. All were shot in the head.

The attack was the latest act of gun violence in what has been a record pace of mass shootings in the US so far this year, some of which have also involved deadly semi-automatic rifles.

The mass killings have played out in a variety of places  a Nashville school, a Kentucky bank, a Southern California dance hall, and now a rural Texas neighbourhood inside a single-storey home.

Mr Capers said there had been 10 people in the house  some of whom had just moved there earlier in the week  but that no one else had been injured. He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom lying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators did not believe everyone at the home were members of a single family. The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman (25); Diana Velazquez lvarado (21); Julisa Molina Rivera (31); Jose Jonathan Casarez (18); and Daniel Enrique Laso (8).

The confrontation followed the neighbours walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Mr Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property. One person in the house took a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle.

Rene Arevalo, who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but didnt think anything of it.

Its a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work, Mr Arevalo said.

They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.

Mr Capers said his deputies had been to Mr Oropezas home at least once before and spoken with him about shooting his gun in the yard.
A fire during the traditional May Day march in Paris. Photo: Reuters/Benoit Tessier   REUTERS

French police clashed with hundreds of protesters in Paris and other cities during union-led protests against President Emmanuel Macron's increase in the retirement age.

Demonstrators pelted Paris police with Molotov cocktails and fireworks, torched building materials and smashed up bus stops.

Protesters marching peacefully booed the police as they responded with tear gas and baton charges.

Emergency services used water canon to put out a fire which blackened the windows of nearby flats. One officer was badly injured when he was struck by a fiery projectile.

Violence also erupted in Lyon and Nantes, where some vehicles were set ablaze and business premises were vandalised.

Nearly 200 people were arrested on a day some 782,000 people took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Mr Macron last month raised the retirement age by two years to 64 despite multi-sector strikes, in a move that drove his popularity down to near the record lows seen during the "Yellow Vest" crisis of 2018-2019.

The reform has crystallised discontent against a president perceived by many as aloof and indifferent to their daily hardships, and he has been met during walkabouts aimed at rebuilding support by heckling and pot banging.

"They (the government) are trying to change the subject quite quickly, but let's say it's not working. So much the better!" said sculptor Antoine Eveillo.

Trade unions had called for a big turnout as they seek to force a U-turn by Mr Macron's government, which forced its pension law through without a final vote in the National Assembly, where it lacks a working majority.

Opinion polls show a substantial majority of French people oppose the higher retirement age.

"The executive cannot govern without the support of its people," said Sophie Binet, leader of the hard-left CGT union.

Ms Binet said the CGT had not yet decided whether to participate in talks with the government on other labour-related issues such as salaries, working conditions and hardship benefits.

The moderate CFDT union will take part in those discussions, its leader Laurent Berger said.

But he also dismissed suggestions that a rare alliance between the leading trade unions was being tested now that the pension bill had been signed into law.

The pension system is a cornerstone of France's cherished social protection model. A banner reading "Retirement before arthritis" summed up the disgust felt by many at being told to work longer.

Elsewhere in Europe, Italy's three main unions rallied in the southern city of Potenza, protesting against a labour package approved by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government.

During a parade in the Swiss city of Zurich, demonstrators threw water balloons at police and spray-painted properties.

Mr Macron says the French reform is needed to help shore up one of the industrialised world's most generous pension systems.

French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.

Retired metalworker Michel Maingy said that while he felt the battle over pensions was lost, there were still fights to be won in negotiations over working conditions.

"We need to keep our chins up," he said ahead of a protest in Nantes.

A hardening of the political opposition risks complicating the rest of Mr Macron's reform agenda, including an employment bill that would require those receiving the minimum welfare benefit to work or get training for 15-20 hours per week.

Ratings agency Fitch cut France's sovereign credit rating on Friday by one notch to 'AA-', citing the social unrest and potential political deadlock.
Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the top UN official in the country has said.

It comes as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told the Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.

A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas while fierce battles have continued elsewhere, driving civilians from their homes and pushing Sudan further into disaster.

Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence.

The UN food agency said on Monday that it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting.

The World Food Programme will resume food distribution in four provinces - al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile - working in areas where security permits, executive director Cindy McCain said.

The numbers of those needing help will grow significantly as fighting continues, she said. To best protect our necessary humanitarian workers and the people of Sudan, the fighting must stop.

A day earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross flew in a planeload of medical supplies to bring some relief to hospitals overwhelmed by the mayhem.

Direct talks, if they take place, would be significant progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces.

For much of the conflict, army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.

Their power struggle has put millions of Sudanese in the line of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes.

Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.

At least 436 civilians have been killed and more than 1,200 injured since the fighting began, according to figures released on Monday by the Doctors Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. As of a week ago, the Sudanese Health Ministry had counted at least 530 people killed, including civilians and combatants, with another 4,500 wounded, but those figures have not been updated since.

Since Saturday, the US has been conducting daily evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. On Monday, the third US-assisted evacuation convoy of American citizens and permanent US residents arrived in Port Sudan on Sudans Red Sea coast.

The US had a handful of consular officials at the Sudanese port, helping the American civilians get onto ferries or Saudi or US Navy ships to get to safety across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said on Monday that it has helped roughly 700 people - US citizens or permanent residents, or local workers at the now-shuttered US Embassy - out on the bus convoys. It says it has assisted about another 1,000 Americans in getting out of Sudan.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighbouring city of Omdurman on Monday, residents said, hours after the two sides committed to the 72-hour cease-fire extension.

Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, said there was fighting early Monday in different areas in Khartoum, including the militarys headquarters, the Republican Palace, and the international airport. There were also clashes in the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, he said.

Many Khartoum hospitals remained out of service or inaccessible because of the fighting, while others have been occupied by the warring factions, particularly the RSF, he said.

The US and Saudi Arabia have led an international push to get the generals to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Perthes said there are still daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by a real halt in fighting. One possibility was to establish a monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on a sustained cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically - although each side would need safe passage through the other's territory. "That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

Dagalo, the RSF commander, said the paramilitary has named its representatives to the talks but that trust-building measures have to be in place first. "A settlement should come after other matters: First, a cease-fire and building the trust, he told Asharq, a Saudi-based TV station.

For the past week, people have been streaming out of Khartoum and other urban areas torn by fighting, moving in droves to wherever they can find safety.

In Port Sudan, thousands were camped out, hoping to get onto evacuation ferries. Many families, including small children, have been sleeping outside for days, including hundreds of Syrians and Yemenis unable so far to get on boats.

Most of the people are sitting on their bags, said one Syrian, Mohamed Amr Mustafa.

More than 70,000 South Sudanese refugees who had been living in Khartoum have fled to the neighbouring White Nile province, settling in already overcrowded camps, said Mustafa Amr Abarou, a spokesman for the Sudanese refugee agency. At least 10 trucks a day of people fleeing Khartoum continue to arrive, straining the agencys abilities, he said.

Sudan hosts over 1.3 million refugees, including 800,000 from South Sudan, according to UN figures.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned on Monday of many more fleeing Sudan. If violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety, he wrote on Twitter.
The US has said it estimates that Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, in Ukraine since December.

The announcement by the White House comes as Ukraine rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life - the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russia's fight.

He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control.

The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight the cost - both human and in weaponry - to Russia of Bakhmut, which it argues has limited strategic importance to the overall trajectory of the war.

Some analysts, however, note that taking control Bakhmut could be helpful to Russian efforts to advance on the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region

Kirby said the Russian casualty count for "this little town of Bakhmut was in line with some of the fiercest periods of fighting during World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, and the Guadalcanal campaign, the first major Allied offensive against Japan.

Its three times the number of killed in action that the United States faced on the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II and that was over the course of five months, Kirby said.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take Bakhmut but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting. Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.
Pixabay

Quetta: Heavy rainfall battered several regions of Pakistan's Balochistan region over the last four days, causing damage to houses, media reports said.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Naseer Ahmed told Dawn.com four people had died in rain-related incidents on April 27.

He said that one person had died in a road accident in Turbat, a woman had died in Lasbela after being struck by lightning, and two children had died in Khuzdar after lightning struck their house.

Dozens of houses have been damaged due to yesterdays rainfall in Panjgur district, he went on to say, adding that PDMA and district officials had shifted citizens to safer areas.

He said that currently, more than 20 districts of the province were under the grip of monsoon rains, adding that the PDMA had already issued alerts and deployed teams.
Jalandhar/IBNS/UNI: Ludhiana gas leak tragedy is a wake-up call for the authorities to take immediate and effective measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, a health expert said on Monday.

"It is time to prioritise the safety and well-being of citizens over the interests of the industrial sector. Only then can we prevent tragedies like this from happening again," cautioned Dr. Naresh Purohit, Executive Member of the Indian Association of Occupational Health (IAOH).

Voicing his concern on the safety measures in the industrial area of Ludhiana's Giaspura locality, where 11 people died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas, the noted Epidemiologist and Advisor for National Programme for Control and Treatment of Occupational Diseases - Purohit-told UNI here that as per the official statement from the district administration, high levels of hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) has been detected in the area.

Purohit said H2S is a colourless gas and is commonly recognised for its distinct rotten egg smell. H2S is considered an irritant and a chemical asphyxiant, which is any substance that inhibits the flow of oxygen from the bloodstream to the cells or prevents cellular respiration even if there is ample oxygen in the immediate environment.

"H2S gas can effectively stop a person's ability to breathe when the lungs absorb the gas. Depending on the level present, a person will generally notice irritated eyes, running nose, and coughing. If the levels increase, the consequences are increasingly severe, he added.

He averred that neuro-toxicity can occur if one is exposed to the deadly gas.

He said prolonged inhalation of H2S gas can cause serious injury to a persons central nervous system, at high concentrations and a person can suffer unconsciousness, coma, seizures, and even death.

"Short-term exposures to H2S gas can cause headaches, nausea, and irritation to the eyes and skin," he pointed out.

He said according to the recent Annals of Saudi Medicine study, H2S is immediately fatal when concentrations are over 500-1000 parts per million (ppm) but exposure to lower concentrations, such as 10-500 ppm, can cause various respiratory symptoms that range from rhinitis to acute respiratory failure."

"H2S may also affect multiple organs, causing temporary or permanent derangements in the nervous, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, and hematological systems, he added.
Image Credit: Facebook/IndianHighCommission

London/IBNS: Pro-India Sikhs tried to dissociate themselves from fragments of separatism as none rooting for Khalistan turned up outside the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom despite a call on social media.

The Pro-India Sikh forces did not turn up despite there being the call for protests on April 29 on various social media platforms, media reports said.

UK Police told India Today that they were aware of the protest and also sent officers to the HCI. There was constant patrolling by the Commission, including police vehicles that were on standby. But there was no trace of the protestors all through the day.

In the meantime, on April 29, at a diaspora meet and greet with the Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh, a prominent member of the Sikh community acknowledged the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards the Sikh community, reports India Today.

Jitendra Kumar told the Indian news channel, "Every time on Gurupurab or such an event he (PM Modi) pays respect to the holy book. I have not seen any other Prime Minister do this."

"Every time he visits any country outside, the first thing he does is that he visits the Gurudwara to pay respects.That is what makes us feel so good. That is the reason we feel like going back to Punjab, back to India and thinking about India all the time."
Image: Arindam Bagchi Twitter page

New Delhi: India has rescued 186 more nationals from crisis-hit Sudan, officials said on Monday.

The evacuation was made as a part of Operation Kaveri.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted: "#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home."

#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home.



Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi. pic.twitter.com/wqwGvt7ppO  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 1, 2023

"Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," he said.

Bagchi said nearly 3000 persons have now left Sudan under Operation Kaveri.

What is Operation Kaveri?

The Indian government launched the operation to bring back Indians stranded in Sudan.

Sudan situation:

Meanwhile, in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is sending UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths to the region immediately, the global body announced on Sunday.

The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

The UN again urged the warring sides to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing hostilities, and respect humanitarian workers and assets.

Sudan has been undergoing a turbulent transition to civilian rule in the wake of the April 2019 overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing government that brought together military and civilian leaders was also toppled in a coup in October 2021.

The Trilateral Mechanism has been facilitating talks since May 2022 which resulted in an agreement towards restoring civilian rule, signed that December.

However, hopes shattered two weeks ago when fighting erupted between the regular Sudanese army, led by General al-Burhan, and paramilitary forces under General Dagalo, known as the RSF.

Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands have been fleeing, including to neighbouring Chad, where some 20,000 Sudanese have found refuge. Others are sheltering in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, often among already vulnerable communities.

The fighting has also forced the UN to essentially halt all aid operations in a country where nearly 16 million people, roughly one third of the population, already were in need.
Image Credit: UNI

Kolkata/UNI: At least one was killed and 25 others were injured when lightning struck them at Indas in Bankura district of West Bengal on Sunday.

The deceased is an activist from the state's ruling Trinamool Congress.

The incident took place when the party workers took shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm.

The injured were rushed to hospital.

The workers were attending a party rally by its National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee during his two-month-long Jono Sanjog Yatra (mass contact outreach) ahead of the West Bengal Panchayat poll.

"Our hearts go out to those affected by the lightning incident at Indas, " the party tweeted.

"We extend our condolences to the family of the deceased & will do our best to support them, " the party said.

"We're monitoring the situation & working with local authorities to provide medical assistance to the injured, " the party added.
New Delhi/UNI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on May 8 the petition of Uma Krishnaiah, the widow of slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah, challenging the premature release of former Bihar Member of Parliament (MP) Anand Mohan Singh.

Uma Krishnaiah, the widow of the DM, has filed the petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Bihar Govt's decision to release prematurely the former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, who was convicted to life imprisonment in the murder of Krishanaiah.

Uma's counsel, Advocate-on-Record (AOR), Tanya Shree mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court's bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud, who said, the court will hear the petition on May 8, Monday.

"We will list the petition on May 8," the CJI-led bench of the Supreme Court said.

The wife of slain Gopalganj District Magistrate, G. Krishnaiah, knocked the doors of the Supreme Court on Saturday challenging the release of former Bihar Member of Parliament (MP), Anand Mohan Singh, who was convicted for the murder that took place in 1994, and was recently released from jail on Bihar Govt's notification.

Anand Mohan, was convicted for murdering Krishanaiah in 1994, and was released after serving more than 14 years in jail, as the Bihar government recently in its notification ordered to release him from jail.

Uma Krishnaiah in her petition said that the Bihar Govt's notification to release Anand Mohan was "not a good decision".

"It is submitted that it is a well-settled principle of law that Imprisonment for life means full natural course of Life and cannot be mechanically interpreted to be 14 years. It means that imprisonment for life lasts until the last breath," Uma's petition said.

"That it is settled law that the sentence of imprisonment for life given to a convict as a substitute for the death sentence must be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice," the petition of Uma, filed before the Supreme Court said.

Anand Mohan, one of the convicts in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj DM G. Krishnaiah, was released from Saharsha jail on last Thursday morning following change in Bihar prison rules.

The former Lok Sabha Parliamentarian, Anand Singh, now 75, was convicted in the 1994 murder of Gopalganj District Magistrate (DM) G Krishnaiah.

Krishanaiah, a 1985 batch IAS officer, was only 37-year-old, when he was killed in Muzaffarpur, Bihar in 1994, by the mob led by a few politicians, including Anand Singh.

Anand Singh was sentenced to death in 2007, by the Patna High Court. The sentence was, however, reduced to rigorous life imprisonment in 2008 by the Supreme Court.

In the year 2012, Anand Mohan Singh appealed to the Supreme Court to reduce the sentence, which was rejected by the court. Since then he has been lodged in jail.
Image Credit: UNI

New Delhi/UNI: Nearly 2,500 Indians, who were rescued from Sudan, have arrived in India so far, while India has successfully evacuated around 3,000 of its nationals from the strife-hit country under Operation Kaveri so far.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said that the 9th outbound flight from Jeddah, where India has set up a coordination centre, has landed in India ferrying 186 passengers.

#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi.

Meanwhile, another IAF C-130J flight carrying the 16th batch of evacuees left Port Sudan carrying 122 passengers.

With this nearly 3,000 persons have now left Sudan under Operation Kaveri, the MEA said.

Last night an A C-130 Indian Airforce flight landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers.

With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India, the MEA said.
Image: Twitter/Devendra Fadnavis

New Delhi/Port Louis/IBNS: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth inaugurated an event in Mauritius where a 12-feet high statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled, amid the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. PM Narendra Modi said the event makes every Indian feel proud.

In a tweet, PM Modi said the presence of Mauritian PM Jugnauth has made the occasion even more special.

Every Indian is proud to see this! The thoughts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reverberate globally. The august presence of PM @KumarJugnauth has made the occasion even more special," PM Modi.

Every Indian is proud to see this! The thoughts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj reverberate globally. The august presence of PM @KumarJugnauth has made the occasion even more special. https://t.co/n2Cxq9G03g  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2023

He was responding to a tweet by the Maharashtra Deputy CM, who said that it was a momentous occasion as the statue of Shivaji had got installed 5,000 km away from India.

It was one of the greatest moments of my life! Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajs statue got installed 5000 kms away from His homeland, that too at the hands of the Honble Prime Minister of Mauritius Shri @KumarJugnauth Ji, in presence of Honble Alan Ganoo ji and hundreds of Marathi sisters and brothers of Mauritius. Just imagine the gravity of unparalleled greatness and our great King!!

"I thank and appreciate Asant Govind ji and Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation team for this historic initiative," Fadnavis tweeted.

The statue was installed on Friday at the Maharashtra Bhavan in Mauritius, when Fadnavis, accompanied by a delegation, was in the Indian Ocean island nation on a two-day official visit.

During the inauguration, Fadnavis said that Shivaji was the greatest king in the history of India, who fought the colonial powers and taught Indians what freedom is.

Addressing the gathering at the Maharashtra Bhavan, Prime Minister Jugnauth said that the presence of Fadnavis shows his appreciation of the close ties between the Marathi community in Mauritius and Maharashtra.

Prime Minister Jugnauth called for strengthening unity, harmony, and patriotism, which he said will help the country move forward. He reiterated that as the Prime Minister he is committed to provide necessary support to socio-cultural and religious group.

The Mauritius Prime Minister laid emphasis on the importance of preserving all the different religious and cultural identities that thrive in the multicultural fabric of Mauritius.

Fadnavis expressed his belief that under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Mauritius will further consolidate its relations with Maharashtra and India.

On Thursday, Fadnavis and his delegation visited the first settlement of the Marathi community in Mauritius, in the Black River Gorge. They then visited the Pandhurang Khestra Mandir in Cascavelle and went to the Ganga Talao.

On his part, Minister Alan Ganoo expressed gratitude to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the generous donation of the statue of Shivaji, whose unveiling, he emphasised, is of great significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius.

According to reports, Mauritius has over 75,000 Marathi-speaking people and the Maharashtra Bhavan was built 25 years ago with funding from the Maharashtra government.

People from Maharashtra have been living in Mauritius for over two centuries, and many of them are holding key positions. They have preserved their culture and traditions. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Day is one of the programmes organised by the Maharashtrians in Mauritius.

Every year the event is held on May 1. This year it was held on April 28.

Festivals like Gudhipadwa, Maharashtra Day, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Day, Ganesh Utsav, Dahi Handi (Shrikrishna Janmashtami), Diwali and other festivals are celebrated with religious fervour by the community.
Auckland/IBNS: The leaders of Indian minority communities living in New Zealand, while participating in the launch ceremony of the New Zealand chapter of the Indian Minorities Foundation (IMF), renounced the false propaganda of Western media about the persecution of minorities in India.

The IMF launched its second international chapter in New Zealand during an event organized at Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Auckland, which witnessed a massive response from the minority communities living in the country as they showed up in huge numbers.

The launch of this chapter is aimed to provide a common platform for Indian minority communities living in the country to address their issues and act as a bridge between them and the Indian government. This development comes days after the IMF launched its first international chapter in Australia.

The event was graced by Neeta Bhushan, high commissioner of India to New Zealand as chief guest. IMF convenor Satnam Singh Sandhu, along with IMF co-founder Prof. Himani Sood were present on the occasion.

Attendees also included Taznim, Secretary of Burhani Women's Association in Auckland; Father Joseph from the Serbian Orthodox Church; Shabbir Rajkotwala, a representative of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community; Nivzer Dadabhoy and Bonifa Irani, representatives of the Parsi and Zoroastrian Communities respectively among others.

Besides, members of the New Zealand parliament, members of different communities, religious leaders, scholars, academicians, and researchers also participated in the launch ceremony of the IMF New Zealand chapter.

While the event witnessed the participation of all minority communities, they also condemned the false narrative being propagated about the safety and security of minorities in India and validated the fact that they are safe and secure in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

IMF convenor Satnam Singh Sandhu said, Minority communities have been made equal partners in the development of India under PM Modis leadership. The leaders of these communities renounce the anti-India propaganda of Western media about minorities being persecuted in India. Rather these communities have flourished under the leadership of PM Modi.

Simon David O'Connor, Member of Parliament New Zealand said, Ever since PM Modi has taken over Indias governance, he has proved himself as an incredibly popular politician through the work and the leadership he has been providing the nation with, as well as the inspiration to New Zealand and other countries across the world.

"While there are several challenges against him by the international media, he is a very secular leader who engages with the people of all the communities and believes in equality among all.

He added that New Zealand is incredibly keen on more and deeper relationships with the people of India and engaging with the Indian Community living in New Zealand and engaging better with India in friendship and in trade.

Muslim Women Thank PM Modi for triple talaq abolition

Meanwhile, the Indian Muslim women living in New Zealand, who participated in the event, thanked PM Modi for triple talaq abolition and asserted that Muslim women are feeling secure now in India.

The triple talaq law was enacted by the Centre in 2019. Taznim, a representative of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community and Secretary of Burhani Women's Association in Auckland said, PM Modi has taken several landmark decisions for the empowerment of Muslim women in the country such as introducing Beti Bachao Beti Padhao to encourage the pursuit of higher education and abolition of the Triple Talaq to ensure for them the dignity they deserve.

Endorsing the fact that after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, he changed the way India is looked at global level, Father Joseph from the Serbian Orthodox Church said that ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come into power, he has been working to take India on the path of development and lifting the global image of the country.

While several false narratives are being set up about Minorities being unsafe in India, the truth is that every community in the country enjoys freedom, security, and equal opportunities under the leadership of PM Modi. He is a secular Prime Minister and has been focusing on the welfare and progress of each community and connecting them to achieve harmony in the country, he said.

Shabbir Rajkotwala, a representative of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community in New Zealand, said, During his tenure of 9 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on connecting with the people belonging to different communities in India and ensured equality among all, owing to which Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community now feels safe and recognized in the country. The entire community condemns the false narrative developed by the Western media that claims Muslims are unsafe in India. PM Modi has taken several big initiatives for the betterment of the Community, mainly in terms of business by opening the e-commerce channels that have resulted in the economic upliftment of the community.

A representative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in New Zealand said, It is an honor to be part of the launch of the Indian Minorities Foundation in Auckland and to learn about Indias growth as a nation under PM Modis leadership. Every section of society in India is progressing, and Muslim Community is equally participating in its development. In the political era of PM Modi, Minorities feel safe in the country and enjoy equal opportunities.

Nivzer Dadabhoy and Bonifa Irani, representatives of the Parsi and Zoroastrian Communities in New Zealand said, The false narrative about Minorities being unsafe in India has been built by Western powers and vested interests to malign the nation and create a communal divide. This propaganda can be dispelled by witnessing the results of India reaching the global landscape and creating an image that is looked at by the entire world.

Hemant Vohra, a representative of the Jain Community in New Zealand, said, PM Modi has been working for the upliftment of Minorities in India without any discrimination and focused on the social and economic welfare of all the communities. As a result, the socio-economic structure of all Minority communities is improving at a great pace and contributing to the nations growth at large. Malvika Shah and Madraj Chandra of the Jain Community also appreciated the work done by PM Modi for the betterment of each community and nation-building.

Nilesh Doshi, a representative of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple Avondale, said, I feel honored to get the opportunity to attend the launch of IMF on behalf of the entire BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha along with the people of the Indian Community in Auckland. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has understood the aspirations of each community and worked on taking them all together on the path of Indias progress.
wallpaper cave

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced his country's security forces have killed a suspected key leader of Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

The leader has been identified as Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.

Erdogan told broadcaster TRT Turk the IS leader was "neutralised" in a Turkish MIT intelligence agency operation on Saturday, reports BBC.

The ISIS terror group did not comment on the issue so far.

The MIT intelligence agency had been following Qurayshi for a "long time", Erdogan was quoted as saying by BBC.

"We will continue our struggle with terrorist organisations without any discrimination," he added, providing no further details.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Award-winning chef and judge of MasterChef Australia Jock Zonfrillo has passed away at the age of 46.

Zonfrillo's family confirmed his death on Monday, calling him "our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend" in a statement, according to The Guardian.

The Victoria Police said the cause of death was not known yet but it was not being treated as suspicious.

The police also said that a report on Zonfrillo's death will be prepared by the coroner's office.

MasterChef Australia's new season was cancelled after the death of Zonfrillo, Network 10 confirmed to The Guardian.

"With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday," the chef's family said in a statement.

"So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time we're too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky," the statement further said.

Zonfrillo is survived by his wife and four children.

Born in Glasgow, Zonfrillo started working in kitchens as a dishwasher part-time at the age of 13, while still at school. He left school aged 15 and started an apprenticeship in the kitchens of The Turnberry Hotel after which he worked at the Arkle Restaurant in Chester.

He then worked for Marco Pierre White before travelling to Australia for 12 months to work at Restaurant 41 in Sydney.

On returning to the UK, Zonfrillo was appointed to his first head chef position aged 22 at The Tresanton Hotel in Cornwall.

Zonfrillo returned to Australia in 2000, becoming head chef of Restaurant 41.

In 2011, Zonfrillo was named head chef at Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant in South Australia but left after 18 months.
Representational image by US Army via Wikimedia Commons

Victoria, Republic of Seychelles: Based on inputs from India, the Seychelles Navy has made a major intercept of high-value drugs in a high-seas operation, underscoring a crucial role that India is playing in the region, media reports said.

A dhow that was seized in the waters off the island nation of Seychelles contained over 50 huge bags that contained what seemed to be packets of illegal substances, the Indian intelligence sources told ANI.

Later, the dhow and its seven crew members were escorted by the Seychelles Coast Guard to its base at Ile Du Port, where they arrived on Saturday at about 1 pm.

During the Coast Guard routine patrol, the dhow was spotted southeast of Mahe, and the Coast Guard vessel, Zoroaster, was sent to their location. They had to use force to stop the boat whose crew was not cooperating, Seychelles News Agency quoted Lieutenant Colonel Archil Mondon, the public relations officer of the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) and the commanding officer of the Special Forces Unit, as saying by ANI in its report.

According to Indian intelligence sources, President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, other senior SDF members, and Seychelles Police were all present during the course of the search operation of the yacht and seizure of suspected drugs from it.

Ramkalawan expressed his gratitude to the Seychelles security forces, including the SDF, police, and intelligence agencies, as well as to all other important collaborators participating in the recent anti-drug operation that resulted in the biggest amount of drugs being seized.

This is a reflection of the enormity of the challenge our country is facing vis-a-vis the drug scourge, and the government with all its stakeholders and partners remains determined to pursue this fight for the protection of our people, especially the youth of Seychelles. We will not give up in this fight and I once again call on everyone to join in this fight. Congratulations for a job well done! the President said as quoted by Seychelles News Agency as reported by ANI.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday demonstrated in different parts of Karachi over a flawed census held in the Pakistani city.

The protests were held at 29 different points of the city where the PTI had also set up camps to register the public sentiment and guide them to get registered in the ongoing census, reports Dawn News.

The party blamed a nexus between ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and its partner in the Centre, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), for silently making a deal with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, compromising over the rights of urban Sindh.

The demonstrations were held in all seven districts on key arteries, roads and traffic intersections where the leaders of the opposition party addressed the participants including women and children.

Carrying placards, banners and party flags, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the PDM government for failure on all fronts and wasting huge resources in the name of digital census, reports Dawn News.
Image: Pixabay

Islamabad: Police said a mob attacked and injured a police team, besides damaging their official vehicles, during an anti-encroachment drive at C-13 in Pakistan's Islamabad city on Sunday.

Over the incident, a case was registered at the Golra police station against 350 people in response to a complaint lodged by Sub-inspector Enforcement CDA Usman Ali. The police said 30 persons were arrested from the area, reports Dawn News.

The complainant said a CDA enforcement team along with officials from the revenue, capital administration and police reached the area to remove encroachments from state land.

A mob of 350 people armed with batons and some carrying weapons reached the spot when the officials were removing the encroachments and made the director general and DC CDA, an assistant commissioner and patwaris hostage by surrounding them.

The mob attacked the police when the latter under supervision of DSP Asjad Altaf tried to rescue the officials. They beat the police officials due to which the DSP and three other policemen sustained injuries, reports Dawn News.

The mob also damaged and overturned the DSPs vehicle and took a wireless set, police uniform, three mobile phones and a watch from them, the police said, adding they also damaged another vehicle of the police and snatched a uniform and a mobile phone from it.

Police reportedly arrested 30 people in connection with the incident.
FBI Houston Twitter page

Cleveland: As many as 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen agencies are currently engaged to find the gunman accused of shooting and killing five people on Friday night in the US city of Cleveland after neighbors asked him to stop firing his rifle outdoors

The FBI in Houston also released new photos of the accused on Sunday.

The manhunt continued on Sunday, more than 24 hours after 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa gunned down five people, including a minor.

Oropesa is in the country illegally and has been deported previously, an ICE source told Fox News Digital.

He has re-entered the U.S. illegally "multiple" times and ICE last encountered him in 2016, the source said.

FBI tweeted: "Here are the newest images of Francisco Oropesa and a prominent tattoo on his left forearm. Going forward, the subject's last name will be spelled 'Oropesa' to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. This remains a fluid investigation."

FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith announced theres now also a collective $80,000 reward being offered for information that leads to the suspects arrest.

We dont have any tips right now to where he may be and thats why weve come up with this reward, so that hopefully somebody out there can call us, Smith said at Sundays news conference as quoted by CNN.

I can pretty much guarantee you, hes contacted some of his friends, Smith said, adding, We just dont know what friends they are and thats what we need from the public, is any type of information because right now were running into dead ends.
Canada's Evacuation efforts to rescue civilians from Sudan/Image credit: Twitter /@CFOperations

Ottawa/IBNS: Evacuation flights out of crisis-hit Sudan would no longer be offered by Canadas federal government due to Sudans deteriorating security situation.

Other commercial options through Port Sudan along the Red Sea are available for Canadians who want to leave Sudan, the federal government said in an updated travel notice issued Saturday night.

Canadians have been urged to avoid travelling to the Wadi Seidna Air Base, north of the capital, Khartoum, where countries including Canada have organized flights for their citizens and others, says the latest travel advisory of the federal government on Sudan.

This decision followed the federal officials confirmation of more than 375 Canadians flown out of Sudan on national and allied aircraft as of Friday, with at least one evacuation flight having taken place Saturday.

As of Friday, as many as 300 Canadians in Sudan were still seeking assistance.

During a virtual press conference on Saturday, Canadas Defence Minister Anita Anand said that flights would continue for as long as possible with a warning that, The window for opportunity at the airfield is closing.

As many as 200 members to the region had been deployed by the Canadian Armed Forces, while HMCS Montreal and MV Asterix, a frigate and Naval Replenishment Unit Motor Vessel bound for the Indo-Pacific region, had been re-tasked with staying near Port Sudan.

In the meantime to learn more about what Canada can do to respond to the situation in Sudan, Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has travelled to Kenya, where the Canadian embassy in Khartoum has since relocated.

Sudanese nationals in Canada, as of Sunday, can apply for free to extend their stay or change their status as a visitor, student or temporary worker.

A temporary halt on removals to Sudan has also been issued by the Canada Border Services Agency subject to some exceptions.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma has been invited to be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new organisation run by the University of Tokyo, the university said on Monday. Tokyo College said that Ma had joined as a visiting professor from May 1.

AFP

Professor of management and business start-ups

The billionaire from China will carry out research in sustainable agriculture and food production, it said in a statement. At the college, Jack Ma will also be engaged in areas including advising on important research themes and giving lectures on management and business start-ups.

The appointment term for China's best-known entrepreneur finishes at the end of October, but the contract is renewable on an annual basis, the university said.

It said that Ma, who also heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organisation, will "share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation" with students and faculty.

alamy

1st public dealing after Beijing's tech crackdown in 2020

This comes as Ma has begun to reassume a public profile after largely disappearing from view during Beijings crackdown on tech. He retreated from the spotlight in late 2020 after his criticism of Chinese regulators culminated in the cancellation of a blockbuster $37bn initial public offering by Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba.

The Tokyo College was founded in 2019 to serve as an interface between the University of Tokyo and overseas researchers and research institutions. Its research focuses on themes such as the digital revolution; Japan viewed from within and outside, the humanities in 2050 and the value of life.

AFP

Ma founded the e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China's richest man. He is well known in Japan as a friend of Masayoshi Son, the founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


A street vendor in Indore has recently started selling a new dessert called 'gold kulfi,' which has been met with mixed reactions from netizens.

While some people have been excited to try this luxurious dessert, others have criticized it as a waste of money. Many netizens have taken to social media to express their opinions, with some saying that it is just a gimmick to attract customers and that the high price is not justified.

Kulfi, a traditional frozen delicacy, is a beloved summertime pleasure. It comes in a variety of flavours, including mango, pista, and plain. A recent viral video on social media, however, features a novel variation on the classic dessert: a 'gold kulfi.'

Indore's Street Food Scene Becomes Glamorous With Gold Kulfi, But Not Everyone Is Impressed

The video was shared on Instagram by Kalash Soni with the caption, "Tag SomeOne  Jo Aapko Yeh Kulfi Dila De  Address - Prakash Kulfi Located At Sarafa, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Keep Supporting ~ @mammi_ka_dhaba  No Repost 

Instagram/mammi_ka_dhaba

The street vendor selling this kulfi may be seen in a video shot by Instagram food blogger Kalash Soni. The video shows a man dressed up in gold jewellery. He pulls a piece of kulfi from the fridge and wraps it in '24-carat gold leaf.' This kulfi costs 351, according to Kalash Soni. Prakash Kulfi is a Kulfi vendor in Indore's Sarafa neighbourhood.

Let's Check Out What The Internet Is Saying About This Glamorous 'Gold Kulfi'

The video, which was posted on April 14, has received over 732k views, 42.2k likes, and a number of comments. Some viewers found the idea of a 'gold kulfi' appealing, while others criticised it as a waste of money. One person even argued that edible gold isn't real, claiming it's "not even half a carat."





Instagram/mammi_ka_dhaba

It is up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to spend their money on such luxurious street food. However, it is undeniable that the 'gold kulfi' has created quite a buzz in Indore and has added a new dimension to the city's street food scene.



What do you think about it? Do let us know in the comments.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.
In an era wherein Elon Musks SpaceX hogs most of the limelight when it comes to space missions, besides NASA and ISRO, a relatively lesser-known Indian space startup is making the country proud and growing strength to strength.

Hyderabad-based Space Startup 'Skyroot'

Hyderabad-based Skyroot, which is Indias first private space launch startup, aims to be Indias version of SpaceX. Skyroot was founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana (ex-scientist at ISRO) and Naga Bharath Daka (ex-engineer at ISRO).

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As recently as last month, Skyroot's founders were presented with the Emerging Innovator Award at this year's Forbes India Leadership Awards.

"SpaceX is a symbol of great innovation and great market validation," said Skyroot co-founder Chandana, who added they have not had the chance to speak to Elon Musk yet, as per a Reuters report.



Skyroot's Plan For 2023 & 2024

The space startup had last year become Indias first private company to launch a rocket into space. And as recently as earlier this month, it announced that it has successfully test-fired Dhawan-II, a 3D-printed cryogenic rocket engine.

The engine will be used in the upper stage of their Vikram II rocket, which is slated for launch in 2024. However, before that, Skyroot Aerospace is aiming to commence its commercial operations with Vikram-I, slated to launch later in 2023.

With 3D printing, Skyroot reportedly believes it can build a new rocket in just two days as it works towards reusable rockets, a technology pioneered by SpaceX.

The startup also plans to put a satellite into orbit in 2023 and expects to be able to do so at half of the cost of established launch companies, the founders of Skyroot Aerospace had said, as per a Reuters report.

Also Read: Elon Musk's SpaceX May Launch Starlink Services In India

skyroot

The Hyderabad-based startup, backed by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, says it has been in contact with more than 400 potential customers.



Pawan Chandana also said that he expected a surge in demand for the company's launch services if it proves itself with launches set for next year. "Most of these customers have been building constellations and will be launching them in the next five years," he said.

Thousands of small satellite launches are planned in coming years as companies build out networks to deliver broadband services like SpaceX's Starlink and to power applications like tracking supply chains or monitoring offshore oil rigs.

Amidst this, Skyroot faces both established and up-and-coming rocket launch rivals that also promise to bring down their costs.

Also Read: List Of Companies Co-Founded/Headed By Elon Musk

For more such interesting content and the latest financial news, keep reading Worth. Click here.
Men of Ogun State Police Command have arrested a suspected member of a notorious ritualist syndicate, Ifasoji Ayangbesan, for allegedly killing and dismembering one Oyindamola Adeyemi.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state command, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the arrest of the suspect to journalists in Abeokuta on Sunday.

Oyeyemi added that the suspect and other members of his gang had killed their victim, Oyindamola Adeyemi and dismembered her body for a money ritual.

Oyeyemi said the victim was killed in January in the Ijebu-Ode area of the state.

READ ALSO: Police Arrest Ritualists Operating Fake Churches, Shrines In Abuja (Photos)

The suspect was reportedly arrested on Friday, April 28 in his hideout in the Ijebu-Ode area of the state.

The 35-year-old suspect upon his arrest, allegedly offered the police N1 million bribe for his escape.

The PPRO said, the suspect was arrested following a painstaking intelligence-based investigation embarked upon by detectives from Obalende divisional headquarters, which led them to his hideout at the Ijade Iloti area of Ijebu Ode.

He said the suspect who had been indicted by the earlier arrested members of the syndicate as the person who bought the two legs of the victim, took to flight immediately after he heard that he has been mentioned by his colleagues.

Oyeyemi said, Since then, the DPO Obalende division, Murphy Salami, has detailed his detectives to be on his trail with the view to arrest him and possibly recover the deceased two legs from him and prosecute him with his colleagues in crime.

Luck, however, ran against him when he was apprehended at his Ijade Iloti hideout on the 28th of April 2023.

Immediately he was arrested, the suspect made an offer of one million naira bribe to the policemen, which was rejected.

On interrogation, he confessed been part of the syndicate that killed Oyindamola Adeyemi, and that he was the person who severe the two legs of the deceased which he claimed he used for ritual purposes.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Yomi Oladimeji, has directed that the suspect be transferred to State Criminal Investigation Departments in order to prosecute him with other members of his syndicate.
Two Catholic priests, Reverend Father Chochos Kunav and Rev Father Raphael Ogigba have been abducted in Agbaro Otor area, near Warri,Delta state.

It was gathered that the two clerics was taken away on the Agbaro Otor road on Saturday night while on their way to Ughelli.

According to a statement made available by Rev Father Okereke Kizito, Father Chochos works in Ibadan and was on a visit to his colleague of the Catholic diocese of Warri.

READ MORE:Imo Cleric Regains Freedom From Kidnapers After Nine Days In Captivity

They both later went to see another priest around AgbaroOtor and on their way back they were abducted.

The statement called for prayers for the safe release of the priests.

We ask for intense prayers for quick and safe release. May Jesus the high priest and the good Shepherd take care of his priests and may our mother thrice admirable Queen and victress of schoenstatt intercede for them .
The ruling All Progressives Congress National Working Committee (APC NWC), has threatened to expel one of its members and the national vice chairman (Northwest), Salihu Lukman for dragging the national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, to court over their failure to convene meetings of the relevant Party organs as mandated by its constitution.

The development was contained in a legal opinion dispatched to Adamu and Omisore as well as other NWC members by the national legal adviser, Ahmad Usman El- Marzuq, dated April 28.

Lukman, having exhausted all avenues to make his voice heard, gave a seven-day ultimatum to Adamu to commence efforts to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) where he (Adamu) will give a financial account of the Party.

He also threatened to institute a lawsuit against Adamu should he fail to do the needful within the stipulated timeframe.

To its end, as reported by Information Nigeria, the former Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum, on Thursday made good his threat to sue Adamu and Omisore.

Lukman also wrote President Muhammadu Buhari, explaining his reasons for dragging the duo to court, saying he was left with no option as they failed to heed his call to be guided by the Partys constitution.

While efforts to get Lukmans reaction were not immediately successful, it was learned that the issue would form part of deliberations at Wednesdays meeting of the NWC.

But, El- Marzuq, in his legal opinion, said he had painstakingly gone through the reliefs sought and the affidavit in support of the Plaintiffs Originating Summons with a fine-tooth comb and it was his opinion that the suit bordered mainly on the internal or domestic affairs of the Party which had been held in a plethora of decided cases to be non-justiciable.

READ ALSO: APC NWC Crisis: Governors Forum DG, Lukman Drags Adamu, Omisore To Court

He stated: In the case of WAZIRI v. PDP & ANOR (2022) LPELR-58803(CA), it was held thus:

It is settled law that, no Court has the jurisdiction to hear and determine complaints or matters pertaining to intra-party disputes of political parties.

It has long been settled by the Supreme Court in Onuoha v. Okafor & Ors. (1983) 14 NSCLR 494 at 499  507 that, where the relief sought is on leadership of or intra-party dispute between members of same political party or between a member or/and the political party, only the party can resolve the dispute.

This is because, a political party is a voluntary organization or association. Persons join political parties of their own choice, therefore, where there is any internal disagreement, it must be resolved by a majority decision of the members. That being so, any dispute over its internal affairs is not justiciable and no Court has jurisdiction to entertain an claim on such dispute.

While cting several other cases, El-Marzuq said issues bordering on the management of political parties had equally been held to be outside the jurisdiction of the courts.

According to him, in the affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, Lukman made heavy the fact that the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC), ought to be held every quarter in accordance with the provisions of the Partys constitution and that the failure to do this had greatly affected the smooth administration of the party.

However, a cursory look at Article 25.2 (i) of the partys constitution would reveal that it is not mandatory to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee every quarter as postulated by the Plaintiff, rather it is at the discretion of the National Working Committee or at the request in writing by one  third of the members of the National Executive Committee.

For ease of reference, Article 25.2 (i) is reproduced hereunder as follows: The National Executive Committee shall meet every quarter and or at any time decided by the National Working Committee or at the request made in writing by one  third of the members of the National Executive Committee, provided that not less than 14 days notice is given for the meeting.

From the above, it is clear that the Party did not breach any provision of its Constitution by not calling for a meeting of NEC)every quarter for the purpose of presenting activities of the Party to the members of NEC as alluded to by the Plaintiff and thus his suit ought to be dismissed by the Court for lacking in merit.

The Plaintiffs case revolves around the internal/domestic affairs of the Party which can only be resolved through the internal dispute resolution machinery of the Party. On this point see the Supreme Court case of OSAGIE & ORS vs ENOGHAMA & ORS (2022) LPELR  58903.

By resorting to a court action against the party, it is my recommendation that disciplinary measures in accordance with the partys constitution should be meted out against the Plaintiff, particularly Article 21.5 (v) which states thus: Any member who files an action in court of law against the party or any of its officers on any matter or matters relating to the discharge of duties of the party without first exhausting the avenues for redress provided for in this constitution shall automatically stand expelled from the party on filing such action and no appeal against expulsion as stipulated in this clause shall be entertained until the withdrawal of the action from Court by the member.
Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had earlier reported that the presidency had on Sunday in a 90-page special write-up, listed the achievements of the Buhari administration in the last eight years.

Adesina said the Community Policing Officers were to serve as liaisons between the police and their local communities and to assist in intelligence gathering.

He said the administration, in June 2019, signed into law, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Bill, establishing the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.

Adesina said the idea was to mobilise financing and resources to equip the police and improve their welfare.

READ MORE: Presidency Publishes 91-Page Document On Buharis Achievements In Eight Years

According to him, the president, in September, 2020, assented to the Nigeria Police Bill, 2020; the first fundamental reform of police enabling legislation since the colonial Police Act of 1943.

He said the administration approved the Presidential Roadmap on Police Reform, establishing the Police Reform & Transformation Office (PORTO), in the office of the Chief of Staff (COS) to the President, to coordinate police reforms.

This Team has also developed a Presidential Roadmap on Police Reforms which captures the Presidents vision for legitimate, accountable and community-involved policing in Nigeria.

The Buhari Administration is rolling out the Police Specialized Services Automation Project (Po-SSAP) to block financial leakages and deepen fiscal accountability within the Force, he said.

Adesina said the administration also granted Presidential approval for the commencement of the Community Policing Initiative nationwide and the release of take-off funding.

He said the Community Policing Initiative had also, been enshrined into the Police Act, 2020.

The presidential spokesman man said the administration also approved the recruitment of 40,000 new police officers.

The recruitment is ongoing in tranches of 10,000 recruits. So far, 20,000 new officers have been recruited, while the recruitment of the third batch of 10,000 is ongoing.

Nigeria Police Force launched a new National Command and Control Center in Abuja in 2019, he added.
A farmer identifeid as Friday Omosigho, has committed suicide after attacking his wife with a machete on the farm and leaving her in a pool of blood in Benin City, Edo State.

A source who spoke to The Punch, said the incident happened at Ehiozevbaru Village in the Uhunmwode Local Government Area of the state.

The deceased was said to have accused his wife, Mercy Omosigho, of infidelity.

READ ALSO: Imo Cleric Regains Freedom From Kidnapers After Nine Days In Captivity

The source said, The deceased took the matter to the village meeting where some elders intervened to resolve the issue.

Apparently unsatisfied with the elders verdict, he attacked his wife with a machete on the farm and abandoned her in the pool of blood to die.

He then called his younger brother that he had killed his wife and went home to commit suicide by drinking sniper.

The Edo State Police Commands spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said the man drank a substance suspected to be the insecticide, sniper.

He said the Divisional Police Officer of Egba Police Division received a call from one Monday Omosigho that he received a distress call that his junior brother, Friday Omosigho, committed suicide by drinking sniper, after attempting to murder his wife, Mercy Omosigho, over infidelity by giving her machete cut all over her body.

He said the police moved to the scene and recovered the corpse of Friday who attempted to kill his wife and deposited it at the mortuary.

The wife, who was still alive, was taken to the hospital where she is receiving treatment.

Investigation on the matter is ongoing and the case has been transferred to the homicide department of the state command, the PPRO added.
The Ghana Wig Sellers Association (GWSA) on Monday reportedly destroyed a wig fair organized by a Nigerian-owned hair brand selling at a cheaper rate.

The development comes after the Nigerian wig brand decided to hold a wig fair to sell their hair product at a cheaper rate to customers against the fixed rate by the Ghanaian hair association.

The clips that surfaced on social media captured placards asking the Nigerian brand to go back to their country.

Some members of the Ghanaian hair association also stormed the venue of the fair, disrupted the event, and destroyed properties at the venue.

READ ALSO: Ghanaian Business Tycoon Looks On From Sick Bed As Family Fights Over His Wealth

Speaking about the issue, one tessy-abel shared videos and photos from the scene with the caption, how can you sabotage someones business and investment like this because of greed and expect to prosper.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) had appealed to the Committee on Foreign Retail Trade, to close down shops of undocumented foreign retailers in their country.

It is understood that the Nigerian Union of Traders Association in Ghana (NUTAG) was ordered to collect all the business documents of members, including the tenancy agreements of the respective shops or stalls.

This is coming amid purported plans by NUTAG to reject the special dispensation granted them by the Government of Ghana despite a series of diplomatic efforts by both Ghana and Nigeria governments, Ghanaian Times reports.

A statement from Ghanaian Times reads, This inappropriate attitude of the Nigerian traders in Ghana is not only an insult but also a well-orchestrated ploy to frustrate the committee, state, and people of Ghana. Therefore, we of the Ghana Union of the Traders Associations wish to appeal to the Committee on Foreign Retail Trade to, as a matter of urgency resume its operations without any delays as the behaviour of the Nigerian traders has seriously provoked Ghanaian traders and reigniting agitations in the markets.

See post below:
The Federal Government has blamed heavy rainfall and gridlock for the delay in completing the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by end of April.

The Director, Federal High Ways, South-West at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Ademola Kuti, disclosed this on Channels Televisions New At 10 on Sunday.

After failing to meet up with the December 2022 deadline for the completion of the road project, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola had set a new completion date of April 30.

Kuti said that the April deadline was not met because of rain and traffic.

The earlier completion date of 30th of April which is today (Sunday), we were unable to meet that target because of some factors, majorly the heavy rain which we experienced since March and April and of course the unexpected heavy traffic, he said.

He, however, assured motorists plying the route that the Federal Government is determined to complete the project but said he cant give an exact date of completion as he cant predict the weather.

So, as we move into the next month (May), we expect that the rain will still be heavy and it will be a bit difficult but what we want to assure motorists is that we are determined is determined to complete this project, we are fully on ground.

As a matter of fact, we opened access in the OPIC axis, that is from the Kara Bridge to the Long Bridge and what is left is just about a kilometre as you enter Lagos and then maybe another two kilometres as you are leaving Lagos and we are fully determined with enough men on ground to achieve this, Kuti stated.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday, appealed for the patience and understanding of motorists on account of the heavy traffic being experienced on the stretch from Toll Gate to Kara, as reconstruction work on the expressway enters its final phase.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr Hakeem Bello, said he empathizes with members of the public, who have had to endure longer than usual traffic as the reconstruction work in the heavily built-up stretch progresses towards the finish line.

READ MORE: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Gridlock Will End Today  Gov. Abiodun

According to the Minister, the intensity of work and the high volume of traffic, which had to be accommodated at the same time, have been complicated by impatience on the part of some motorists who drive against the planned traffic flow and breakdown of vehicles.

He, however, noted that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing is working with the Lagos State Government, all traffic management and security agencies to minimize the discomfort of motorists.

The Minister also explained that the contractors are also being encouraged to ensure that the final challenging phase of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway reconstruction work is concluded as soon as possible.

While noting that the earlier envisaged April 30 date for the conclusion of the final stretch could not be achieved due to a combination of factors, he said work within the OPIC area between Kara Bridge and the Long Bridge has been completed and would be opened to traffic.

He said: This means that the main carriageway, both bounds, from Berger (New Garage) and Sagamu Inter-change on Section 1 of the project have been completed,.

All attention, according to the Minister, would now be focused on the outstanding work between Otedola Bridge and Berger (both bounds).
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for a review of civil servants retirement age to 65 year, while demanding for years of service to be increased to 40 in the entire public service.

Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, made the call during the 2023 Workers Day celebrations in Abuja on Monday.

The president also called for a general review of core civil servants salaries to narrow the gap between other civil servants emoluments and those in different segments of the public service.

He said the extension of years of service should go round, as it had been done in other sectors of the public service in the country.

Only a few other establishments, including the core civil service, are now left out.

We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service, Ajaero said.

According to him, the union had, over the years, demanded salary review but had yet to receive the federal governments attention.

READ ALSO: Workers Day: PDP Urges Nigerians To Resist Anti-Democratic Forces

It is necessary to recall that we have continued over the years to demand that the salaries of core civil servants be beefed up to narrow the gap between their emoluments and those in other segments of the public service.

They all possess the same educational qualifications and cognate experience on the job. So why the disparity? Ajaero queried.

Speaking on gratuity payment, the NLC president said union leaders had, on several occasions, presented the issue to the government without any positive response.

Fellow comrades, we have consistently presented the issue of gratuity payment to the government but nothing has been done in that regard.

As you are all aware, the concept of gratuity payment to employees is predicated on the fact that those who have laboured for public institutions or private enterprises are entitled to the proverbial golden handshake from their employers.

Thus, gratuity is a monetary benefit given by an employer to his/her employee at the time of retirement without the worker making any financial contribution whatsoever to the fund, he said.

According to him, such a lump sum is meant to enable the retiree to finance any post-retirement endeavour of his/her choice.

The Pension Act did not abolish gratuity payment, and we demand its restoration in many public sectors where it has been stopped,  the labour leader said.
The Labour Party (LP) has again maintained that the concluded presidential election was marred with irregularities.

LPs reaction stems from a statement credited to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on the election.

As reported by Information Nigeria, the minister had in a statement on Sunday described the opposition parties attacking President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent comment on the election as shameless sore losers.

Mohammed further charged them to accept the outcome of the election in good faith, saying the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the presidential election fair and square having polled the majority of the votes cast in the exercise.

However, in a statement issued on Sunday night, the LP through its acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, berated the minister over his propensity for propaganda.

READ ALSO: Shameless Sore Losers, PDP, LP Lost Presidential Election Woefully  Lai Muhammed

The statement stressed that only the blind would accept that the exercise was credible.

We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians.

It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible.

As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day.

The election witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police and army amongst others.

His (Lai Mohammed) ill-fated and hugely failed trip to the United Kingdom and the United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of taxpayers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buharis 8 years leadership, the statement read.
Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, has declared his intention to join the race for the next speaker of the lower legislative chamber.

Disclosing this in a letter of intent sent to members-elect on Sunday, Doguwa, who represents Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State, said the decision to join the speakership race was fueled by his passion for nation-building.

The letter read: I am delighted to congratulate you on your election to the 10th Nigerian National Assembly.

The call to leadership is one laced with responsibilities and unalloyed commitment to the commonwealth of Nigerians, expressed through a unanimous ballot casting which led to your victories in your various states.

The journey to nation-building has commenced, and we are here once again to steer the ship where the collective voices of the Nigerian people, whose trust has been vested in us, have been total to an admirable end.

I want to use this opportunity to communicate my desire to contest for the office of the Speaker of the House. My passion for nation-building has fueled my desire to seek this office.

At this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation, now is the time to align all our interests, aspirations, and trust to work together for the common good of Nigerians.

READ ALSO: Alleged Murder: Reps Majority Leader, Doguwa Granted N500m Bail, Barred From Kano Election

At the same time, discard ethnic, geographical, religious, or political bias that could hinder our collective efforts in this representation. As we look forward to formulating impactful policies for the growth of our nation, I implore us all to bear in mind that all back home will see the results of our stay at the Assembly, thus the need to come together to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

At the same time, discard ethnic, geographical, religious, or political bias that could hinder our collective efforts in this representation. As we look forward to formulating impactful policies for the growth of our nation, I implore us all to bear in mind that all back home will see the results of our stay at the Assembly, thus the need to come together to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

The road to national transformation is not easy, which is why I will use my vast Legislative Experience and Patriotic Zeal for all representations within the House of Representatives. Nigeria needs brave leaders whose doggedness can help reduce the myriad of challenges; I am sure we can achieve this with you on board.

Thank you, and congratulations again, as I look forward to seeing you at the National Assembly.

Information Nigeria reports that Doguwas declaration has brought the number of lawmakers vying for the nations number four position to 11.

Others in the race are the Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, Muktar Betara, Sada Soli, Tunji Olawuyi, and Abubakar Makki.

The rest are: Miriam Onuoha, Aminu Jaji, Tajudeen Abbas, and Yusuf Gagdi.
He said this is responsible for a large number of children in remand homes and correction centres.

His words: There is a need to improve the training and capacity building of judicial personnel including judges, lawyers, and court clerks. This can help to improve the quality of justice and reduce the number of appeals, which can also contribute to delays.

When I was young, the moment my parents threatened to report me to my teacher, I would become terrified. Teachers are very strategic in the development of a child, but when it gets to a point where parents will go and slap teachers for disciplining their children, then we miss it.

READ MORE: RCCG Assistant General Overseer, Prof. Folagbade Aboaba Dies At 90

When you miss the training you are supposed to get at primary and secondary school, you miss everything in life because these are formative stages. Sadly, Remand Homes for Boys and Girls are filled with children, and this calls for a serious look into family values.

I call on the parents to please give attention to the well-being of their children, as you will see in these Homes, boys and girls that are about nine years old are already hooked on drugs and have become hardened criminals due to parental neglect.

We also call on the church to intensify prayers and continue to organise programmes for children. In this area, I know that RCCG is doing great, and we appreciate our Mother-in-Israel, Pastor Folu Adeboye for her passion in this area.

Corroborating his views, The Police Area Commander, Agodi, Ibadan in Oyo State, Dr Taiwo Kasumu called for an increase in the number of judges and courtrooms across the country to help reduce the backlog of cases.

Kasumu said: The country also needs to invest in modern technology, such as electronic case management systems and digital court reporting, which can help streamline the legal process and reduce delays.

On his part, National Chairman of the RCCG Prison and Hospital Ministry, Pastor Ariyo Popoola, disclosed the several interventions made by the church in some correctional facilities across the country including assisting indigent people in paying their hospital bills.
Armed soldiers of the Nigerian Army reportedly stormed the office of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) in Kebbi State and brutalised its staff for failure to supply electricity to their barracks.

The Kebbi State regional manager of the company, Gaddafi Ibrahim, confirmed the assault in a video circulated online, saying the soldiers beat up staff and customers on Saturday.

He said the soldiers accused KAEDCO of not supplying adequate electricity to the barracks despite their sacrifices to the country.

READ ALSO: Kaduna DISCO Confirms Disconnection From National Grid, Apologises To Customers

He said 14 people, including private security guards, customers, and marketers were beaten mercilessly and forced to make frog jump by the armed military personnel.

Around 1pm or so, the military operatives stormed our office. I was seating with my superior, who came from Sokoto. On getting outside, we saw them assaulting and brutalising some of our staff and customers.

They were asked to pull off their clothes and do frog jumps.

When we approached them, they told us they were here to complain that they have not been given adequate power supply. They also said it was disrespectful for us to have light and leave them in darkness.

I told them that in the past six months that I have been posted here, I have never received a complaint from the barracks, but they vowed not to allow those doing frog jumps to stop until the light is restored in the barracks. I had to order for their light to be restored immediately, he said.

Mr Gaddafi noted that the situation would have been bloody had he not prevented the mobile policemen attached to the office from interfering.

The mobile policemen attached to the office wanted to resist them but I had to stop them, he added.

A statement by the deputy general secretary of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) in charge of North, Haruna Tinau, condemned the military assault on its members and demanded a total blackout for the Birnin Kebbi Barracks until the culprits are brought to book.

Mr Tinau said, The assault came to us as a rude shock even as we are yet to recover from the detention of our members in Port Harcourt Electric under similar reason by the Nigerian Civil Defence.

This is unacceptable and must be resisted so as to deter others with similar barbaric intentions from taking such ugly action in the nearest future.

The association demand for total blackout for the Birnin Kebbi Barracks until the culprits are brought to book.

Our Association shall no longer watch this senseless action by any other groups or individuals and in this regard hereby call on all our members in Birnin Kebbi to stay away from your offices until your safety is guaranteed.
The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) Board of Trustees has resolved to be fully involved in the evacuation and resettling of thousands of Nigerians stranded in Sudan.

Zouera Youssoufou, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ADF, in a statement on Sunday disclosed the development.

According to Youssoufou, the Foundation had made contact with the management of Air Peace and the Federal Government to indicate its readiness to support the stranded Nigerians.

READ ALSO: FG To Pay Egypt Visa Fees For Stranded Nigerians In Sudan

She said: The Foundation will collaborate with the Federal Government and Air Peace in ensuring seamless transportation of the stranded Nigerians and more importantly provide logistics and succour to the evacuees, to make them settle more comfortably when they return to Nigeria.

She said ADFs understands the challenges of the Federal Government and Air Peace involved in this mission and has contacted relevant Federal Government agencies, involved in humanitarian disaster relief intervention, indicating our interest in collaborating with them to ensure all Nigerians stranded in Sudan are brought back home safely.
President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu said he is a co-labourer and an ally to workers in the fight for social and economic justice.

According to him in a statement titled, President-elects solidarity message to Nigerian Workers on International Workers Day, Tinubu said his Renewed-Hope Agenda for a better Nigeria was a covenant he was prepared to keep.

The former governor of Lagos state said he would always fight for workers, adding that they will have more than minimum wage.

He however called for better understanding and cooperation, noting that tough decisions will be made in the days ahead.

He also urged support for his administration in fighting poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, ethnic and religious hate, which he described as common enemies.

READ MORE: May Day: Its Been Terrible, Excruciating For Workers  NLC

On this special day, as your President-elect, I extend my hand of friendship to the Nigerian workers through the two central Labour unions  Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, he said.

In me, you will find a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social and economic justice for all Nigerians, including all the working people.

Your fight will be my fight because I will always fight for you. My plans for better welfare and working conditions are clearly spelt out in my Renewed Hope Agenda for A Better Nigeria. It is a covenant born of conviction and one I am prepared to keep.

In Nigeria I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families.
Newly sworn-in president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has on Sunday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from prison.

Speaking during his inauguration as the new president-general of the apex Igbo body, Iwuanyanwu said the security situation in the south-east is very disturbing, adding that there is an urgent need for a peace summit in Igbo land.

I will therefore make a special appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before the expiration of his tenure in May 29, Iwuanyanwu said.

Kanu is very crucial to any key discussion and it is not possible to negotiate any peace while Nnamdi Kanu is in prison.

It is also important to note that the judiciary has discharged and freed Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It will be the joy of many Igbo people and Nigerians to see Mazi Nnamdi Kalu released from detention.

READ ALSO: Im The Authentic President General Of Ohanaeze, Not Iwuanyanwu  Chidi Ibe

He added, I feel it is important that he is released to have access to his medical doctors so that he does not die in the prison.

According to him, he never nurtured the ambition to be the groups president-general, but said destiny has now placed the responsibility on his shoulders.

He promised to serve the Igbo diligently and defend their course.

I contested for the presidency on three occasions but I did not succeed. I took my losses in good composure knowing fully well that as a Christian, all powers and promotion come from God.

But today, destiny has placed squarely on my shoulders the duty of leading the Igbo as the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

I therefore have a duty to valiantly defend Igbo course and I promise Ime-Obi and all Igbo people that by the grace of God I will not fail them, Iwuanyanwu said.

The inauguration was attended by Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state, Charles Soludo of Anambra, Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, among others.
Because Python is a dynamic language, making it faster has been a challenge. But over the last couple of years, developers in the core Python team have focused on various ways to do it.

At PyCon 2023, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, several talks highlighted Python's future as a faster and more efficient language. Python 3.12 will showcase many of those improvements. Some are new in that latest version, others are already in Python but have been further refined.

Mark Shannon, a longtime core Python contributor now at Microsoft, summarized many of the initiatives to speed up and streamline Python. Most of the work he described in his presentation centered on reducing Python's memory use, making the interpreter faster, and optimizing the compiler to yield more efficient code.

Other projects, still under wraps but already showing promise, offer ways to expand Python's concurrency model. This will allow Python to better use multiple cores with fewer of the tradeoffs imposed by threads, async, or multiprocessing.

The per-interpreter GIL and subinterpreters

What keeps Python from being truly fast? One of the most common answers is "lack of a better way to execute code across multiple cores." Python does have multithreading, but threads run cooperatively, yielding to each other for CPU-bound work. And Python's support for multiprocessing is top-heavy: you have to spin up multiple copies of the Python runtime for each core and distribute your work between them.

One long-dreamed way to solve this problem is to remove Python's GIL, or Global Interpreter Lock. The GIL synchronizes operations between threads to ensure objects are accessed by only one thread at a time. In theory, removing the GIL would allow true multithreading. In practiceand it's been tried many timesit slows down non-threaded use cases, so it's not a net win.

Core python developer Eric Snow, in his talk, unveiled a possible future solution for all this: subinterpreters, and a per-interpreter GIL. In short: the GIL wouldn't be removed, just sidestepped.

Subinterpreters is a mechanism where the Python runtime can have multiple interpreters running together inside a single process, as opposed to each interpreter being isolated in its own process (the current multiprocessing mechanism). Each subinterpreter gets its own GIL, but all subinterpreters can share state more readily.

While subinterpreters have been available in the Python runtime for some time now, they haven't had an interface for the end user. Also, the messy state of Python's internals hasn't allowed subinterperters to be used effectively.

With Python 3.12, Snow and his cohort cleaned up Python's internals enough to make subinterpreters useful, and they are adding a minimal module to the Python standard library called interpreters . This gives programmers a rudimentary way to launch subinterpreters and execute code on them.

Snow's own initial experiments with subinterpreters significantly outperformed threading and multiprocessing. One example, a simple web service that performed some CPU-bound work, maxed out at 100 requests per second with threads, and 600 with multiprocessing. But with subinterpreters, it yielded 11,500 requests, and with little to no drop-off when scaled up from one client.

The interpreters module has very limited functionality right now, and it lacks robust mechanisms for sharing state between subinterpreters. But Snow believes by Python 3.13 a good deal more functionality will appear, and in the interim developers are encouraged to experiment.

A faster Python interpreter

Another major set of performance improvements Shannon mentioned, Python's new adaptive specializing interpreter, was discussed in detail in a separate session by core Python developer Brandt Bucher.

Python 3.11 introduced new bytecodes to the interpreter, called adaptive instructions. These instructions can be replaced automatically at runtime with versions specialized for a given Python type, a process called quickening. This saves the interpreter the step of having to look up what types the objects are, speeding up the whole process enormously. For instance, if a given addition operation regularly takes in two integers, that instruction can be replaced with one that assumes the operands are both integers.

Not all code specializes well, though. For instance, arithmetic between ints and floats is allowed in Python, but operations between ints and ints, or floats and ints, don't specialize well. Bucher provides a tool called specialist, available on PyPI, to determine if code will specialize well or badly, and to suggest where it can be improved.

Python 3.12 has more adaptive specialization opcodes, such as accessors for dynamic attributes, which are slow operations. Version 3.12 also simplifies the overall process of specializing, with fewer steps involved.

The big Python object slim-down

Python objects have historically used a lot of memory. A Python 3 object header, even without the data for the object, occupied 208 bytes.

Over the last several versions of Python, though, various efforts took place to streamline the way Python objects were designed, finding ways to share memory or represent things more compactly. Shannon outlined how as of Python 3.12, the object header's now a mere 96 bytesslightly less than half of what it was before.

These changes don't just allow more Python objects to be kept in memory, they also improve cache locality for Python objects. While that by itself may not speed things up as significantly as other efforts, it's still a boon.

Future-proofing Python's internals

The default Python implementation, CPython, has three decades of development behind it. That also means three decades of cruft, legacy APIs, and design decisions that can be hard to transcendall of which make it hard to improve Python in key ways.

Core Python developer Victor Stinner, in a presentation about how Python features are deprecated over time, touched on some of the ways Python's internals are being cleaned up and future-proofed.

One key issue is the proliferation of C APIs found in CPython, the reference runtime for the language. As of Python 3.8, there are a few different sets of APIs, each with different maintenance requirements. Over the last five years, Stinner worked to make many public APIs private, so programmers don't need to deal as directly with sensitive CPython internals. The long-term goal is to make components that use the C APIs, like Python extension modules, less dependent on things that might change with each version.

A third-party project named HPy aims to ease the maintenance burden on the developer. HPy is a substitute C API for Pythonstabler across versions, yielding faster code at runtime, and abstracted from CPython's often messy internals. The downside is that it's an opt-in project, not a requirement, but various key projects like NumPy are experimenting with using it, and some (like the HPy port of ultrajson) are enjoying big performance gains as a result.

The biggest win for cleaning up the C API is that it opens the door to many more kinds of improvements that previously weren't possible. Like all the other improvements described here, they're about paving the way toward future Python versions that run faster and more efficiently than ever.
During and after the pandemic, many restaurateurs felt obliged to tighten hours to manage labor and accommodate their staffs wishes. But in the case of My Loup  a French-ish bar-restaurant opening today two blocks from Rittenhouse Square  the chef-owners are also considering their own quality of life.

Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp have made a bold decision: They are serving dinner and drinks from Monday to Friday. Five nights. But no Saturday night madness. No Sunday brunch.

We wanted time to see our family and friends who arent in restaurants, said Shulman, whose nearby Her Place Supper Club is also closed weekends (and at only 24 seats is about half of My Loups capacity).

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It gives us a little more life flexibility, and one day when we have our own family, it might make things a little easier with a traditional weekend-free schedule.

My Loups buzz began in December when it was announced, and grew louder in late March when Shulman was named a finalist in this years James Beard Awards emerging chef category.

When the first month of reservations went online Friday, all tables and bar seats were claimed within hours. Walk-ins can be accommodated, they said. Reservations open one month out (30 days in advance) at noon daily.

My Loups backstory

The affianced Shulman and Kemp, both 30 (he is her senior by 10 days), met six years ago at Momofuku Ko in New York City. Weve been dreaming of opening a place since we met, Shulman said, describing My Loup as an all-the-time spot as well as the special occasion, giant seafood plateau extravaganza birthday, random Tuesday celebration, hang at the bar all night and sip dueling espresso martinis kind of place.

Since My Loup is open Mondays, when many restaurants are closed, the couple expects to attract industry workers.

Shulman is focusing on Her Place (baby number one), while Kemp concentrates on My Loup, at 2005 Walnut St.

 READ MORE: Craig LaBan's review of Her Place Supper Club

Kemp and Shulman have warmed up the space from previous occupants Bar Poulet and Tria Taproom, aiming for a cozy, French library motif (bold floral wallpaper, French prints, a wooden cart with an ice bucket and fresh flowers), and keeping the 10-seat bar along one side of the room between front and rear dining areas.

Her Place, she explained, has always been food cooked with love, explained to you by the people who made it, all while sitting in a fun space that feels easy and homey and warm with music thats almost too loud.

My Loup is more of a collaboration, she said. Though Kemp had a hand in Her Places menu, the My Loup menu is influenced by our collective cooking experiences  we hate to label it but the closest weve gotten is French-inspired market cuisine with an emphasis on freshness.

Last weeks preview included a hefty slice of foie gras accompanied by strawberries and Parker House rolls and beef tongue sliced with asparagus, lemon, and mint. One entree was buttery-rich poached trout with ramp. Shulman and Kemp also brought over a Her Place appetizer called Philly Balls, which are croquettes filled with South Philly-style roast pork and dusted with cheese.

Head bartender Jillian Moore oversees the bar, which features a changing cocktail list and an opening wine list set up by Her Places beverage director, Julianna Bursack. The list includes traditional, familiar styles as well as bottles from the newer wave of young, natural wine producers.

The name  pronounced My Lou (the p is silent)  is one big inside pun. Lou is Shulmans nickname for Kemp, Loup means wolf in French, and the wolf in question is their mini-hot dog, Tootsie.

The chefs stories

Shulman burst onto the Philadelphia food radar in mid-2021 after leasing 1740 Sansom St. for Her Place Supper Club. With its shabby chic furnishings, open kitchen, and dinner-party vibes, it was an instant hit.

Shulman, a Connecticut native, started in the business as a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in political science and journalism, hoping to become an international correspondent. While interviewing Marc Vetris father, Sal, at Vetri Cucina for a profile, she ended up staying to make a staff meal with him. Her apartment in West Philadelphia became a supper club for five-course dinners attended by friends. She landed gigs at Amis Trattoria (then a Vetri-owned restaurant) as well as the Bake Shop on 20th.

Sold on her work ethic, in 2017 Vetri sent her to work in Bergamo, Italy  the same city where he worked as a young chef. Back in the States, she made stops in New York City before Vetri sent her to open Vetri Cucina in Las Vegas. After eight months, she left for Joe Beef in Montreal to join Kemp. They moved back in September 2020.

She was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award last year.

Kemp started in restaurants at 14 as a dishwasher in his native Canada. He transitioned to cooking, and his chef sent him to apprentice at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff. After two years he found himself missing the city, so he moved to Ottawa to work at Restaurant Eighteen.

He stayed for two years before he made his way to suburban Montreal, where he worked at Cabane a Sucre Au Pied Du Cochon before moving to the Joe Beef group to work at Joe Beef and later Vin Papillon in Montreal.

From there, he headed to Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku Ko in New York and then to Restaurant Moor Hall in England. After four years abroad, he traveled back to Montreal to rejoin the Joe Beef fold at Mon Lapin, before heading to Philadelphia with Shulman in late 2020.

My Loups hours are 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays.
Amanda Seiple watches in disbelief as her 3-year-old son, Wyatt, eats a small bowl of roughly blended steamed mixed veggies. Earlier this year, that was unimaginable.

Getting him to eat even baby food like puree was very challenging and difficult, Seiple, from Levittown, said. He would gag, throw up.

In February, Wyatt started a treatment program at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia for kids who have difficulty eating. Things started to change quickly, and now as summer nears, Wyatt can even enjoy a peach.

We probably still have a lot to go, like getting him to really eating solid foods, Seiple said, but hes made so much progress in the last couple of months. Its kind of crazy.

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 READ MORE: Is your child a picky eater? A pediatric feeding specialist from CHOP explains when to ask for help.

More families like the Seiples will be able to get help with critical feeding problems for their children after CHOP received a $4 million gift to expand its feeding center. Though tiny compared to the $130 million CHOP attracted in contributions in 2022, the funding will lead to meaningful change at the feeding center, doctors said.

Its truly a transformational gift, said Sherri Cohen, a pediatrician and the medical director of the newly named Martha Escoll Lubeck Feeding and Swallowing Center.

The donation from the Escoll-Lubeck Charitable Foundation, run by a Florida family with Philadelphia ties, will enable the program to see more patients and train more providers who specialize in feeding issues.

Unlike eating disorders, children with feeding disorders dont have body image problems but have a range of issues  medical, behavioral, developmental  that makes it difficult for them to eat. About one in 37 children under 5 in the United States has a feeding disorder, making the issue as common as autism or eating disorders.

CHOPs feeding center brings together medical providers, psychologists, and social workers to develop personalized plans for patients. Its a mix of providers with expertise that can otherwise be difficult to find in one place.

The number of pediatric psychologists who are trained in feeding is extremely small, Cohen said. Thats what our families are unable to find in the community.

 READ MORE: Tips for overcoming age-related cooking challenges

A team effort

The centers patients come with a range of issues: premature babies who must learn how to eat without a feeding tube, older children who are so picky that they arent getting the nutrients they need. Others have congenital heart disease or other medical issues that can take feeding off the rails.

As a feeding center situated in the poorest of the large cities in America, CHOP also sees children whose families suffer from food insecurity. Children might need to be exposed to certain food 20 or 30 times before they accept it. And when fresh foods are unaffordable or inaccessible near the home, it makes it less likely that a child will be exposed.

Its really something a lot of our families struggle with, she said.

 READ MORE: Catastrophe at Philly food bank short on funding and food because of administrative change

Cohen and her colleagues were among the first to identify the common thread in these cases  an inability to eat in a way most other children their age can  and develop diagnosis standards in 2019.

At the center, physicians like Cohen work with nutritionists, feeding specialists, and psychologists to evaluate patients and come up with a treatment plan. If there is a medical source of discomfort that prevents a child from eating, such as reflux, the medical providers will try to address that first. But often the treatment is focused on the feeding and eating process.

The donation will allow the center to see more patients and expand their research program. But Cohen is especially excited about a new training program that the gift will pay for. Every year, CHOP will train a psychologist to become an expert in feeding issues.

Wyatts transformation

Wyatts doctors couldnt explain  or fix  his difficulty swallowing. They checked for an obstruction to his esophagus, enrolled him in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and early intervention. Nothing helped.

Seiple had nearly lost hope when Wyatt was finally referred to CHOPs feeding center. The first step was a comprehensive assessment of Wyatt, his eating, the food he is served, and the familys routines.

Then, for the first couple of days, Wyatt worked alone with a feeding therapist. A family member would watch how the therapist fed him and what they said to him as encouragement. Next, a family member would come in and do the feeding while supervised.

Wyatt learned that he needed to finish his food and slowly adapted to other consistencies. He gets small measured portions of different foods in little bowls. He has toys that he knows are waiting for him at the end of the meal.

Wyatt graduated from the program early, but the work isnt over. But Seiple is hopeful and credits CHOP. Her son still hates broccoli  but hey, hes 3.
Lahavah Wallace of Brooklyn, N.Y., had surgery for weight loss last year and thought her health insurance would cover the cost. The medical practice that performed her procedure is suing her, claiming she owes nearly $18,000. Read more

Seven months after Lahavah Wallaces weight-loss operation, a New York bariatric surgery practice sued her, accusing her of intentionally failing to pay nearly $18,000 of her bill.

Long Island Minimally Invasive Surgery, which does business as the New York Bariatric Group, went on to accuse Wallace of embezzlement, alleging she kept insurance payments that should have been turned over to the practice.

Wallace denies the allegations, which the bariatric practice has leveled against patients in hundreds of debt-collection lawsuits filed over the past four years, court records in New York state show.

In about 60 cases, the lawsuits demanded $100,000 or more from patients. Some patients were found liable for tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges or wound up shackled with debt that could take a decade or more to shake. Others are facing the likely prospect of six-figure financial penalties, court records show.

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Backed by a major private equity firm, the bariatric practice spends millions each year on advertisements featuring patients who have dropped 100 pounds or more after bariatric procedures, sometimes having had a portion of their stomachs removed. The ads have run on TV, online, and on New York City subway posters.

 READ MORE: ERs error lands a 4-year-old in collections, for care he didnt receive

The online ads, often showcasing the slogan Stop obesity for life, appealed to Wallace, who lives in Brooklyn and works as a legal assistant for the state of New York. She said she turned over checks from her insurer to the bariatric group and was stunned when the medical practice hauled her into court citing an out-of-network payment agreement she had signed before her surgery.

I really didnt know what I was signing, Wallace told KFF Health News. I didnt pay enough attention.

Shawn Garber, a bariatric surgeon who founded the practice in 2000 on Long Island and serves as its CEO, said that prior to rendering services his office staff advises patients of the costs and their responsibility to pay the bill.

The bariatric group has cited these out-of-network payment agreements in at least 300 lawsuits filed against patients from January 2019 through 2022 demanding nearly $19 million to cover medical bills, interest charges, and attorneys fees, a KFF Health News review of New York state court records found.

Danny De Voe, a partner at Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz law firm in Uniondale, N.Y., who filed many of those suits, declined to comment, citing attorney-client privilege.

In most cases, the medical practice had agreed to accept an insurance companys out-of-network rate as full payment for its services  with caveats, according to court filings.

In the agreements they signed, patients promised to pay any coinsurance, meeting any deductible, and pass on to the medical practice any reimbursement checks they received from their health plans within seven days.

Patients who fail to do so will be held responsible for the full amount charged for your surgery, plus the cost of legal fees, the agreement states.

That full amount can be thousands of dollars higher than what insurers would likely pay, KFF Health News found  while legal fees and other costs can layer on thousands more.

Elisabeth Benjamin, a lawyer with the Community Service Society of New York, said conflicts can arise when insurers send checks to pay for out-of-network medical services to patients rather than reimbursing a medical provider directly.

We would prefer to see regulators step in and stop that practice, she said, adding it causes tension between providers and patients.

Thats certainly true for Wallace. The surgery practice sued her last August demanding $17,981 in fees it said remained unpaid after her January 2022 laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, an operation in which much of the stomach is removed to assist weight loss.

The lawsuit also tacked on a demand for $5,993 in attorneys fees, court records show.

The suit alleges Wallace signed the contract even though she had no intention of paying her bills. The complaint goes on to accuse her of committing embezzlement by willfully, intentionally, deliberately and maliciously depositing checks from her health plan into her personal account.

The suit doesnt include details to substantiate these claims, and Wallace said in her court response they are not true. Wallace said she turned over checks for the charges.

They billed the insurance for everything they possibly could, Wallace said.

In September, Wallace filed for bankruptcy, hoping to discharge the bariatric care debt along with about $4,700 in unrelated credit card charges.

The medical practice fired back in November by filing an adversary complaint in her Brooklyn bankruptcy court proceeding that argues her medical debt should not be forgiven because Wallace committed fraud.

The adversary complaint, which is pending in the bankruptcy case, accuses Wallace of fraudulently inducing the surgery center to perform elective medical procedures without requiring payment up front.

Both the harsh wording and claims of wrongdoing have infuriated Wallace and her attorney, Jacob Silver of Brooklyn.

Silver wants the medical practice to turn over records of the payments received from Wallace. There is no fraud here, he said. This is frivolous. We are taking a no-settlement position.

Gaining debt

Few patients sued by the bariatric practice mount a defense in court and those who do fight often lose, court records show.

The medical practice won default judgments totaling nearly $6 million in about 90 of the 300 cases in the sample reviewed by KFF Health News. Default judgments are entered when the defendant fails to respond.

Many cases either are pending, or it is not clear from court filings how they were resolved.

Some patients tried to argue that the fees were too high or that they didnt understand going in how much they could owe. One woman, trying to push back against a demand for more than $100,000, said in a legal filing that she was given numerous papers to sign without anyone of the staff members explaining to me what it actually meant. Another patient, who was sued for more than $40,000, wrote: I dont have the means to pay this bill.

Among the cases described in court records:

A Westchester County, New York, woman was sued for $102,556 and settled for $72,000 in May 2021. She agreed to pay $7,500 upon signing the settlement and $500 a month from September 2021 through May 2032. A Peekskill, N.Y., woman in a December 2019 judgment was held liable for $384,092, which included $94,047 in interest. A Newburgh, N.Y., man was sued in 2021 for $252,309 in medical bills, 12% interest, and $84,103 in attorneys fees. The case is pending.

Robert Cohen, a longtime attorney for the bariatric practice, testified in a November 2021 hearing that the lawyers take a contingency fee of one-third of our recovery in these cases. In that case, Cohen had requested $13,578 based on his contingency fee arrangement. He testified that he spent 7.3 hours on the case and that his customary billing rate was $475 per hour, which came to $3,467.50. The judge awarded the lower amount, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Teresa LaMasters, president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, said suing patients for large sums is not a common practice among bariatric surgeons.

This is not what the vast majority in the field would espouse, she said.

But Garber, the NYBGs chief executive, suggested patients deserve blame.

These lawsuits stem from these patients stealing the insurance money rather than forwarding it onto NYBG as they are morally and contractually obligated to do, Garber wrote in an email to KFF Health News.

Garber added: The issue is not with what we bill, but rather with the fact that the insurance companies refuse to send payment directly to us.

A kooky system

Defense attorneys argue that many patients dont fully comprehend the perils of failing to pay on time  for whatever reason.

In a few cases, patients admitted pocketing checks they were obligated to turn over to the medical practice. But for the most part, court records dont specify how many such checks were issued and for what amounts  or whether the patient improperly cashed them.

Its a kooky system, said Paul Brite, an attorney who has faced off against the bariatric practice in court.

You sign these documents that could cost you tons of money. It shouldnt be that way, he said. This can ruin their financial life.

 READ MORE: Surprise-billing law loophole: When out of network doesnt quite mean out of network

New York lawmakers have acted to limit the damage from medical debt, including surprise bills.

In November, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that prohibits health care providers from slapping liens on a primary residence or garnishing wages.

But contracts with onerous repayment terms represent an evolving area of law and an alarming new twist on concerns over medical debt, said Benjamin, the community service society lawyer.

She said contract accelerator clauses that trigger severe penalties if patients miss payments should not be permitted for medical debt.

If you default, the full amount is due, she said. This is really a bummer.

Fair market value

The debt collection lawsuits argue that weight-loss patients had agreed to pay fair-market value for services  and the doctors are only trying to secure money they are due.

But some prices far exceed typical insurance payments for obesity treatments across the country, according to a medical billing data registry. Surgeons performed about 200,000 bariatric operations in 2020, according to the bariatric surgery society.

Wallace, the Brooklyn legal assistant, was billed $60,500 for her lap sleeve gastrectomy, though how much her insurance actually paid remains to be hashed out in court.

Michael Arrigo, a California medical billing expert at No World Borders, called the prices outrageous and unreasonable and, in fact, likely unconscionable.

I disagree that these are fair-market charges, he said.

LaMasters, the bariatric society president, called the gastrectomy price billed to Wallace really expensive and a severe outlier. While charges vary by region, she quoted a typical price of around $22,000.

Garber said NYBG bills at usual and customary rates determined by Fair Health, a New York City-based repository of insurance claims data. Fair Health sets these rates based upon the acceptable price for our geographic location, he said.

But Rachel Kent, Fair Healths senior director of marketing, told KFF Health News that the group does not set rates, nor determine or take any position on what constitutes usual and customary rates.  Instead, it reports the prices providers are charging in a given area.

Overall, Fair Health data shows huge price variations even in adjacent zip codes in the metro area. In Long Islands Roslyn Heights neighborhood, where NYBG is based, Fair Health lists the out-of-network price charged by providers in the area as $60,500, the figure Wallace was billed.

But in several other New York City-area zip codes the price charged for the gastrectomy procedure hovers around $20,000, according to the data bank. The price in Manhattan is $17,500, for instance, according to Fair Health.

Nationwide, the average cost in 2021 for bariatric surgery done in a hospital was $32,868, according to a KFF analysis of health insurance claims.

Private equity arrives

Garber said in a court affidavit in May 2022 that he founded the bariatric practice with a singular focus: providing safe, effective care to patients suffering from obesity and its resulting complications.

Under his leadership, the practice has developed into New Yorks elite institution for obesity treatment, Garber said. He said the groups surgeons are highly sought after to train other bariatric surgeons throughout the country and are active in the development of new, cutting-edge bariatric surgery techniques.

In 2017, Garber and his partners agreed on a business plan to help spur growth and attract private equity investment, according to the affidavit.

They formed a separate company to handle the bariatric practices business side. Known as management services organizations, or MSOs, such companies provide a way for private equity investors to circumvent laws in some states that prohibit non-physicians from owning a stake in a medical practice.

In August 2019, the private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners bought 65% of the MSO for $156.5 million, according to Garbers affidavit. The management company is now known as New You Bariatric Group. The private equity firm did not respond to requests for comment.

Garber, in a September 2021 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery webinar viewable online, said the weight-loss practice spends $6 million a year on media and marketing directly to patients  and is on a roll. Nationally, bariatric surgery is growing 6% annually, he said. NYBG boasts two dozen offices in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and is poised to expand into more states.

Since private equity, weve been growing at 30% to 40% year over year, Garber said.
After deliberating for about eight hours over two days, a Bucks County jury convicted Alfonso Sanchez in a 2007 double murder and a related plot to kill a key witness to the crime.

He was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, as well as criminal solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy, witness intimidation, and related offenses.

Sanchez, 41, has been on death row since his 2008 conviction in the deaths of Mendez Thomas, 22, and Lisa Diaz, 27, inside a unit at the Bucks Landing apartments. But a prosecutorial error concerning DNA evidence led to a retrial for Sanchez, which took place last week before Bucks County Court Judge Alan Rubenstein.

On the night of the murders, prosecutors said, Sanchez went to the apartment under false pretenses: He told Thomas he wanted to buy marijuana from him, but in reality, he planned to attack him over an unspecified conflict.

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Inside the apartment, Sanchez shot Thomas and Diaz at point-blank range, and wounded Thomas girlfriend, Jessica Carmona, as she attempted to shield her children from harm.

In emotional testimony during the trial, Carmona identified Sanchez as the shooter. On a 911 call, played in court, she was clear to dispatchers, saying: His name is Alfonso.

While in prison in 2021, Sanchez was recorded on phone calls soliciting his girlfriends help in hiring a gang member to kill Carmona, the prosecutions key witness at his then-upcoming trial.

Prosecutors, led by Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintruab, seized on that as evidence of Sanchezs consciousness of guilt, and urged jurors to convict him.

Lets put it simply: People who are innocent of murder dont try to have living witnesses killed, Weintraub said in his closing argument Friday afternoon.

However, Sanchezs attorney, Frank Genovese, urged jurors to acquit him, saying the more likely culprit was Steven Miranda, who went with Sanchez to the apartment that night.

Genovese said Sanchez had no motive to harm Thomas or Diaz. But Miranda, he said, had dated Diaz, and had recently argued with her over whether she was pregnant with his child.

Additionally, Mirandas DNA was found underneath Diazs fingernails, and Genovese suggested that indicated that she had tried to fight him off in the apartment.

Prosecutors dismissed that evidence as a false flag and urged jurors to weigh the other evidence that pointed to Sanchez as the killer.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Sanchez, and the trial now enters a new phase as they argue that he should be sentenced to death.
Sarika Kumar M'Bagoyi (center) near her home with Erika Guadalupe Nunez (left), director of Juntos, and Sheila Maddali, director of the National Legal Advocacy Network and a family friend. Read more

When her husband was arrested by ICE, facing deportation after two decades in the United States, Sarika Kumar MBagoyi told their young daughters that their father had gone to help a friend.

The girls, 3 and 5, filled in the rest from their imaginations: There must have been a tornado, they told their mom, and the friends roof had blown off. Their father, Christian MBagoyi, went to help because hes a carpenter and knew how to fix the house.

That was nearly three weeks ago, and now the situation has turned dire for the South Philadelphia family. MBagoyi is scheduled to be deported to West Africa early Wednesday from the Texas detention center where hes being held.

Supporters plan to rally outside the Philadelphia ICE office at noon on Tuesday, and to commence a phone zap  a massive call-in to the lines of government officials  two hours later. More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition calling for MBagoyis release.

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Were fighting tooth and nail. Were doing everything we can to stop this deportation, said Erika Guadalupe Nunez, executive director of Juntos, the Latino advocacy group. Ive never seen ICE aggressively target and move someone the way theyve targeted Christian.

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, asked for comment on MBagoyis arrest, said the agency makes its determinations on a case-by-case basis in accordance with federal law and policy. All noncitizens who violate immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention, and removal, the agency said.

MBagoyis situation shows the vagaries of the U.S. immigration system, which can mete out widely varying treatment to different people in nearly identical circumstances.

MBagoyi had been issued a final order of removal, and according to ICE, had exhausted all forms of immigration relief. But in the U.S. system, final does not necessarily mean final.

Like some other undocumented immigrants who have been issued final orders, MBagoyi, 44, was allowed to remain in the country under an ICE order of supervision. That provided him with a Social Security number and permission to work.

Undocumented immigrants like MBagoyi can spend years under supervision, living, working, paying taxes, and building families in this country, then be arrested without warning and scheduled for quick deportations.

Sometimes the opposite plays out.

Last year, for example, an Indonesian couple in Philadelphia was granted permanent residency in the United States  after previously being arrested, jailed, and faced with removal.

For MBagoyi, events unfolded quickly during the last three weeks.

On April 19, MBagoyi was met by ICE agents as he returned home after dropping his children at school. He was taken to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a 1,876-bed ICE detention center in Philipsburg, Pa., northwest of Harrisburg.

From there, supporters said, he was sent to Louisiana, to the Alexandria Staging Facility in Alexandria, and from there to the Prairieland Detention Center, a 700-bed facility about 40 miles southwest of Dallas.

Supporters said it was unclear why MBagoyi was seized, as he had continued to make regular check-ins with ICE, as required under his supervision. His wife wonders if her husband may have been arrested because he recently renewed his work permit, which perhaps triggered a notice in the ICE system.

On Monday, organizers with Juntos and the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, the advocacy groups, were continuing to contact elected officials to try to stop the deportation.

Theres no good reason for Christian to be deported, said Andy Kang, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition. Its wrong to just rip up this family.  This is a perfect example of our immigration system running amok.

Kang noted that Black people like MBagoyi can face harsher treatment in the immigration system.

Black people make up 7.2% of all noncitizens, but comprise 20.3% of those facing deportation on criminal grounds, according to research by RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services in Texas, and by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and the American Friends Service Committee.

They can face lengthier detentions, and higher denial rates when seeking asylum, the groups data shows.

MBagoyi came to the United States about 22 years ago, at age 21, after his ethnic background put him at risk in West Africa. He did not reveal his homeland in interviews. He legally entered the United States on a tourist visa, but then stayed after it expired, he said.

His request for asylum was denied.

The family had recently moved from Bucks County, believing that Philadelphia, a sanctuary city with an active immigrant-support network, would be a safer place for them to live. MBagoyis spouse, a marketing and advertising consultant, is a U.S. citizen, as are their children.

Were hoping at the rally that Philly is going to show up, Nunez said. Were not going to give up.
Amtrak personnel help passengers board a new train Saturday after their original train, headed from New York to Washington, struck and killed two Chester children, ages 9 and 12. Read more

The two children who were struck and killed by an Amtrak train during the weekend were Chester residents, ages 9 and 12, and were part of a group of several young people who had gathered near the scene of the fatal incident, Chester police said Monday.

Chester Police Capt. Ellan Morgan said it was unclear precisely how many young people were at the site, near Engle Street in the Citys West End, when the accident occurred about at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Were waiting for video from Amtrak, she said.

The victims have been identified, but their names arent being released because they are juveniles, a Delaware County spokesperson said.

Officials have been chary with details of the incident. Were still investigating, Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said Sunday night.

According to an Amtrak spokesperson, the victims had been trespassing on the tracks when they were struck by southbound Train 161, which had originated in New York and was headed to Washington.

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Kirkland said he had spoken with the victims family members, who were devastated.

 READ MORE: A person was struck by an Acela train and killed in Delco three years ago.

City Council member Stefan Roots, who is running against Kirkland in the mayoral primary, said in his Chester Matters blog that the incident has brought great sorrow to the entire city. He said that he, Kirkland, and council member Will Morgan went to the site after the accident occurred. We were all left speechless.

Amtrak said that no injuries to the trains 368 passengers or crew were reported.

The accident delayed eight trains, Amtrak said, and Train 161 remained stalled at the site of the crash for over four hours.

Amtrak said in its statement that incidents such as Saturdays serve as critical reminders about the importance of obeying the law and of exercising extreme caution around railroad tracks and crossings.

 READ MORE: A PATCO men struck and killed two men in October
A toddler is in the hospital after being shot in the face on Sunday afternoon in Grays Ferry. Read more

A toddler is in the hospital after being shot in the face on Sunday afternoon in Grays Ferry.

Around 5 p.m., a 23-year-old woman heard gunshots and saw two men in dark clothing running as she carried her 3-year-old son along the 1500 block of S. Taney Street.

Then, she told police, she looked down and noticed that her son had been shot in the cheek.

The child is in stable condition at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia thanks to the efforts of a stranger who happened to be driving by.

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According to the police report, a woman saw the mother and child and gave them a ride to the nearest fire station, Engine 47, just over half a mile away on Grays Ferry Avenue.

From there, medics transported the boy to CHOP, where he will have surgery.

In an interview with 6abc, the woman who drove the mother and her son to the fire station said, I had been out grocery shopping and stuff, and I hear a woman carrying a baby yelling, running down the street, and I guess it was just the mom instinct, you know?

No further comment was available from the police or the fire department on Sunday evening.
A historical marker rests next to a half-acre plot once owned by Carol McCloskey in Newlin Township, Chester County. The area is known as Indian Knoll and was designated by the county as a historical Native American burial site of the Lenape. McCloskey donated the property to Native Americans to ensure its preservation. Read more

Swarthmore College apologized Monday after detailing how a professor dug up a Native American burial ground in Chester County in 1899 and displayed its human remains and artifacts on campus  before those remains were lost, presumably forever.

No matter the educational intentions or that these practices may have been commonplace at the time they occurred, these remains should have been treated with dignity and respect and should never have been removed from their burial site, Swarthmore president Valerie Smith said in a statement.

The school will consider renaming a campus building named after the professor, who wrote on racial hierarchy, a belief by some that certain racial groups are superior to others and that was used to justify prejudicial social and health policies. The school also will further investigate a collection of unidentified human bones it houses in its biology department.

Swarthmore isnt the only area institution trying to explain past handling of Indigenous remains. An estimated 110,000 remains continue to be held by major American institutions  including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, the Mutter Museum, and others in the Philadelphia region. Seven institutions in Pennsylvania, mostly museums, are among those listed in a recent ProPublica investigation that tracked the remains of Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Natives ancestors.

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In some cases, museums have been slow to comply with, or outright resisted, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, which requires the return of remains, funerary objects, and cultural items, much of it looted in the 1800s.

Swarthmore learned of the burial ground excavation from an Inquirer story in April 2022 that chronicled the effort of Carol McCloskey to donate a Lenape burial ground on her Newlin Township property to Native Americans, whom she viewed as rightful owners. It is the only officially recognized Native American burial ground in Chester County.

 READ MORE: A Native American burial ground in Chester County is returning to its rightful owners

After a yearslong process, McCloskey found a taker for the half-acre of what was once known as Indian Knoll Farm: the federally recognized Delaware Nation in Anadarko, Okla.

A Native American burial

In the story, the Inquirer mentioned a Lenape burial that took place on an unrecorded date likely in the 18th century atop a peaceful knoll overlooking the west branch of Brandywine Creek. The Lenape dug down 4 feet, 7 inches, and gently laid a mans 6-foot-1 frame on a stone floor. They customarily pointed his head east, placed some copper objects, glass beads, and a cloth inside, and covered the body with dirt.

The body lay undisturbed until 1899, when the Swarthmore professor dug up the skeleton, as well as objects buried alongside it, and moved it all to the college  a practice not uncommon by white people, both professional and amateur. In fact, four graves at the same site in 1878 were exhumed out of 30 found, indicating the property eventually purchased by McCloskey was part of a much larger burial ground.

However, there was no further information on what had happened to the remains or artifacts after being taken to Swarthmore.

In 1909, the burial site, known locally as Indian Knoll, was designated by the county as a historical Native American burial site of the Lenape.

The histories of institutions of higher learning often contain disturbing chapters, Smith said in her statement. Swarthmore College is no exception. I am writing to you today to share an aspect of our history that requires us to reflect on and confront our past. This reckoning will ultimately help us shape a better future.

Who was Spencer Trotter?

Smith said that the college had looked into circumstances regarding the Inquirer story. It found that Spencer Trotter, who taught natural history at the college, and Bird T. Baldwin, a member of the Class of 1900, were two men mentioned in the article who had dug up the remains.

In 1899, Trotter displayed that skeleton and the funerary items found with it on campus during a meeting of the Joseph Leidy Scientific Association, according to the Swarthmore investigation. Trotter, a longtime biology department faculty member with a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, retired from the college in 1926 and died in 1931.

Smith said that after she learned of Trotters involvement, she formed a group to examine whether the school still held the remains. The group consulted with representatives from the National Museum of the American Indian and received guidance from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) division of the National Park Service.

We can say that there is no indication that the remains unearthed by Trotter and Baldwin remain on campus, Smith said, adding there is no evidence the school held any other Native American human remains. School officials could not identify how long the remains were on campus or what happened to them

Our work to try to answer those questions is ongoing, Smith wrote. And none of these facts change the distressing truth that more than 120 years ago and for an unknown period thereafter, these remains were held and displayed here.

More bones

Smith said the remains should never have been removed from the burial site.

Considering these actions today, with our values, convictions, and compassion, the act of collecting any Native American remains is unethical and inexcusable, Smith said. I deeply regret these actions, and on behalf of Swarthmore College, I apologize for the harm they have caused.

Smith said the group will investigate Trotters work and develop a process to reexamine the name of Trotter Hall.

The hall was built in 1881 for the study of natural sciences. In 1920, a wing of the hall was named after Trotter, who was then a popular professor. The full building was named after Trotter in 1937. Trotter Hall eventually housed other departments.

Swarthmore is also looking at the biology departments collection of human bones. Currently, it has no records for the collection, though it likely stems from before the 1940s. Prior to that, Philadelphia was a hub for the legal sale of human skeletons for medical and research purposes.

However, we now know that those specimens often were not sourced ethically and may have come disproportionately from underrepresented populations, Smith said.
Friends of the Henry Ossawa Tanner house gathered outside the rowhouse at 2908 W. Diamond St. in Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022. From left to right, front row, are Christopher Rogers, Judith Robinson, Hasan Roland, and Jacquline Wiggins. On stairs, from left are Kevin Upshur and Salim Ali. Read more

The Mellon Foundation has awarded a $150,000 planning grant to the Friends of the Tanner House and the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites (CPCRS) at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, the Penn center announced Monday.

The grant project is titled Henry Ossawa Tanner House: Annunciating a Community Cultural Platform with Holistic Preservation.

The grant will help the Friends of the Tanner House develop community arts and cultural programming to create a holistic preservation planning process for the renovation and future programs at the house.

The Tanner House, located at 2908 W. Diamond St. in Strawberry Mansion, is on the National Register of Historic Places and also is a National Historic Landmark because the artist Henry Ossawa Tanner lived there from age 13 to about 28.

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Tanner was the first Black artist to achieve international acclaim after he moved to France in his early 30s. He is known mostly for his religious paintings set in North Africa and the Middle East, and also for the genre paintings, The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor.

The cultural significance of the Tanner House is enormous, and our understanding of it continues to unfold, says Randall Mason, faculty director of the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites.

The Friends of the Tanner House are thinking about preservation in exciting new ways, and we are honored to be working in support of this effort. This project embodies many of the values at the heart of CPCRSs mission.

 READ MORE: Once the center of the Black intellectual community in Philadelphia, the Henry O. Tanner House could be demolished

The Friends of the Tanner House, which has been active in trying to raise awareness of the houses deteriorating condition since December 2021, will lead the community engagement planning process. Friends member Christopher R. Rogers will direct it while working with Philadelphia cultural workers and community members to participate in the arts-centered participatory planning process.

The grant was made possible through the Mellon Foundations Humanities in Place program, which supports a fuller, more complex telling of American histories and lived experiences by deepening the range of how and where our stories are told and by bringing a wider variety of voices into the public dialogue, Penns CPCRS said in a statement Monday.

This shows that this is a worthy project, Rogers said on Monday. We have some good people in our corner who believe in this community envisioning project.

Rogers said the Friends group is continuing to work with the current owner of the house, Michael A. Thornton, a college professor in Florida who is going through Philadelphia courts to untangle the title to the house so that it can be sold to a nonprofit organization.

Rogers said the grant is for planning with the community, to find out what kinds of programs neighbors want to see at the Tanner House once it is renovated, possibly as a cultural center.

We want to engage with the neighborhood to get local community opinions and ideas on how this house can serve the needs and desires of the neighborhood and how it fits into the overall ecosystem in Strawberry Mansion, Rogers said.

While the Friends of the Tanner House group is fighting to preserve it from decay, its members also recognize that the Tanner House is not the only significant historic site in the area.

Noting there are also efforts to also preserve the Dox Thrash and the John Coltrane houses, Rogers said, there is a historic district feeling for the Black cultural contributions in North Philadelphia.

This is about the [Tanner] House and what we need to do to fix it, but we also want to use this momentum as a leverage to all the different sites. The Church of the Advocate is right down the street, and the Hank Gathers Rec Center is across the bridge.

As we go into the summer, we are questioning how do we build community led spaces that provide safety. And all these different spots have a relationship to each other, Rogers said.

Rogers also pointed out that the Friends of the Tanner House are continuing to raise money to stabilize the house before it is sold to a nonprofit organization.

This Mellon Foundation grant money can only be used for planning and community engagement and not for making the structural repairs needed for the house that The Inquirer first reported about in December 2021.

The next major fundraising event to complete the stabilization work is planned for Thursday evening, May 25 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where Henry Tanner studied, starting at about age 20.

Tanner family descendants Rae Alexander-Minter and Lewis Tanner Moore Jr. are among the guests invited. There will also be a showing of the excerpts of the HBO documentary film, Master of Light, about the artist George A. Morton, who told The Inquirer that Tanner was his inspiration as an artist.

PAFA president Eric Pryor and PAFA chief curator Anna Marley are also expected to attend.

While the Tanner House has its National Landmark status because of Henry Tanners accomplishments, The Inquirer first suggested in its 2021 article that the house is also historic because of the accomplishments of other members of the Tanner family.

These include Tanners father, Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and editor of the A.M.E. Church newspaper, the Christian Recorder, who also advocated for the education of people newly freed from enslavement.

Another Tanner family member was Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, the artists grandniece. She was the first Black person to achieve a doctorate in economics in the United States from the University of Pennsylvania in 1921, and the first Black woman to graduate from Penns Law School in 1927.
Xylazine is a legal veterinary sedative used to treat large animals such as horses and cattle. Read more

HARRISBURG  Veterinarians around Pennsylvania are concerned that a new rule proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiros administration to mitigate the opioid epidemic will leave them unable to access a sedative necessary to treat animals.

Last month, Shapiro visited Kensington to announce he was directing the state Department of Health to schedule xylazine, also known as tranq, as a Schedule III controlled substance.

Xylazine is a legal veterinary sedative used to treat large animals such as horses and cattle. In recent years, however, the prescription animal drug has started showing up in Philadelphias illegal drug supply, mixed with heroin or fentanyl. In 2022, xylazine was found in about 90% of street drug samples Philadelphias health department tested.

Xylazine is not authorized for human use, does not respond to opioid overdose medications, and can leave users with slow-healing wounds that put them at risk for infection or amputation. Whats more: Xylazine was present in more than 550 fatal overdoses in Philadelphia over the last two years.

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Shapiro, the states former top prosecutor, made the move in order to give law enforcement an additional tool and to decrease the spread of the drug on the street, calling it a serious threat.

However, veterinarians in Pennsylvania fear the move will have unintended consequences that put animal welfare at risk.

We applaud the governor for his actions to combat this issue. At the same time, we want to make sure we have access to legal xylazine, said Bill Croushore, the secretary and treasurer for the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, which has a membership of more than 3,200 veterinarians.

As a Schedule III drug, the state will mandate tighter record keeping, require the drug be stored in locked facilities, and give law enforcement the ability to prosecute people for illegally possessing and selling it. Manufacturers must also create additional checks to ensure that the person who ordered the drug is the one receiving it. Other Schedule III drugs include anabolic steroids and Tylenol with codeine, which are classified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as having moderate to low potential for abuse.

There are few manufacturers of xylazine in the United States. Veterinarians worry the rule will be too costly for manufacturers and distributors, pushing the necessary drug out of the market. Cattle veterinarians are especially concerned because xylazine is the only sedative that works on cows.

General anesthesia is the only alternative to xylazine for cattle, but its risky to use on the 1,500-pound animals, said Fred Gingrich, the executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. And with a declining number of veterinarians across the country, veterinarians often train farmers to administer the drug on their own for low-risk procedures like dehorning calves.

Few states have scheduled xylazine as a controlled substance. But such policies have already started to cause problems, Gingrich said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in March announced a similar rule. One major manufacturer does not have a DEA-approved facility and will no longer make the drug, Gingrich said. Another went out of business for an unrelated reason, leaving only one manufacturer in Ohio.

Manufacturers just simply will not be able to comply, from a financial standpoint, with having this as a [controlled] substance, Gingrich said.

Florida was the first state to schedule xylazine in 2016 as a Schedule I drug. Rick Sutliff, a past president of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, told veterinary news service VIN News that the association didnt even realize it was a controlled substance in the state until about six months ago and has had little effect on their work.

There is no evidence that veterinarians are providing the drug into the illegal drug stream. Federal law enforcement officials believe xylazine is often illegally purchased from Chinese suppliers, according to a 2022 joint report from the DEA and Justice Department.

In his initial announcement, Shapiro acknowledged that veterinarians arent the ones illegally trafficking the drug  and said his administration needs to find a way to guarantee access for them.

Shapiros press secretary, Manuel Bonder, said in an email that the administration has met with veterinarians before and after the announcement to determine what approach best maintains veterinarians access to legal xylazine and will urge manufacturers to keep producing the drug.

Governor Shapiro is taking action to stop drug dealers harming our communities from acquiring xylazine, while preserving its important use on animals, Bonder added.

The rule can still be changed before it goes into effect at the end of this month.

The Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association released a statement Friday thanking the Shapiro administrations quick action to hear our concerns and their willingness to work with us, though they still hope that the administration withholds issuing a final rule change.

Instead, the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association wants Congress to step in and enact federal legislation to protect veterinarians prescription use of the drug. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Chester) is a cosponsor of the bill.

If Pennsylvania doesnt want to wait, the group wants the state to use the federal bill as a template for any future executive action.

We hope they can find a way to do both: keep it available, and increase penalties for illicit use, Croushore said.
Rachel McAdams (left) as Barbara Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Read more

The day I got my period for the first time, I didnt know what it was. I was 11.

I called out for my mom in a panic. When she came into the bathroom and realized what had happened, she was overjoyed. Even though I begged her not to, she called my dad at work, and all of my grandparents. Alison got her period! she announced, as proud as if I had achieved world peace.

But I wasnt proud. I was ashamed.

No one had talked about periods with me ahead of time  not my school in an awkward gym class and not my mom, despite her joy at the occasion  which told me this wasnt something you were supposed to talk about. When my mom marked the day of my first period on our calendar, so we would know to note it in future years along with birthdays and wedding anniversaries, I made her write it in code (something like TDOAFP for The day of Alisons first period) so no visitors to the house would know what was supposed to be special about that day.

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This is how periods  and a lot of things that come with them  are often treated: with shame, and silence. My mom didnt feel that way, but in the 1980s, the world largely did.

So it is an amazing thing that, in 2023, I could buy tickets to a mainstream movie for me and my 9-year-old daughter that is all about periods.

On Sunday, in a Flourtown theater, she and I watched Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret, an adaptation of the classic Judy Blume book, along with dozens of what seemed to be other mothers and daughters (and some grandmothers).

 READ MORE: Can we cancel Mothers Day, please? | Opinion

I loved Blumes novels as a kid, and Ive already read the Fudge series to my daughter. I dont remember details of Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret, but I knew it was about growing up, and that it helped me a lot when I was a girl. I wanted to give that to her.

And what a gift this movie is: a tender tale about your first bra, your first crush, your first period.

Granted, the audience was mostly white, and thats who the movie is mostly about, along with people of certain economic means. (When Margaret and her friends all decide to get their first bras, they get one, no problem.)

But a movie about periods that isnt clinical or depressing  just a joy to watch  is an amazing thing. When it ended, the audience applauded for almost a minute.

When the movie ended, the audience applauded for almost a minute.

I know the people who most need to see this movie  such as school administrators who are still banning Judy Blume books  probably wont. But it still has impact. Ask any woman, and I bet most would agree that getting your first period is a Big Deal, and the shame around it becomes our first step on a lifelong journey of self-criticism about our bodies. Anything that helps chip away at that shame is a good thing.

As long as Hollywood is paying attention, we dont just need a movie about periods.

A Mayo Clinic study released last week found that menopause causes women to lose $1.8 billion in paid work each year. The physical symptoms of menopause  hot flashes, insomnia, anxiety, among others  are forcing people to cut back their hours, call out sick, or even resign. In some cases, they lost their jobs as a result.

So now, I ask: Wheres our movie about menopause?

On our drive home from the theater, after teasing me for weeping at the end of the movie, my daughter asked why I was so emotional. It was because, despite how much my mom embarrassed me when I first got my period, the movie made me miss her terribly. She died 16 years ago, and I know if she was alive, she would have been one of the grandmothers sitting in the theater with us. Because, of course, she was right about first periods (even if a bit overzealous): There is nothing shameful about them.

So I told my daughter all that, and about my first period, the TMI phone calls, and the TDOAFP on the calendar. I told her that story so that when she gets her period, she will know what it is. I wont call a bunch of people when it happens unless she wants me to. (I definitely wont write it on the calendar.) But I will be proud, and I wont be embarrassed. And I hope that  thanks, in part, to this movie  she wont be, either.
Christine Ross, Voter and Census Registration Technician, (left), helps James Galloway Jr., of South Philadelphia, (right), with his voter registration for this upcoming election at Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia, Pa., on Friday Oct. 2, 2020. Read more

May 16 is your next opportunity to vote in Philadelphia, where citizens will choose their political partys candidate for the general election in the fall. This years local elections will determine city leaders and city policy for years to come.

However, Phillys voter turnout has been on the decline for the past several elections, even in federal elections which usually see a higher turnout. In the last local primary in 2019, only 23% of registered voters came out to cast their ballot compared to the most recent federal election in 2022, where almost half of registered voters in the city voted.

Showing up for local elections isnt just your civic duty, but it also determines the policies that affect your day-to-day life, like where the city will allocate funds, what issues they will prioritize, and who will oversee city halls various agencies.

No matter what Philadelphia you envision, The Inquirers here to help you get registered to vote.

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Havent voted in a while or moved to a new address? Check your voter registration status online. For all others looking to register, follow these steps and youll be ready to vote in the upcoming primary election.

Wait, when is election day again?

The primary election is May 16.

When is the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania?

May 1. After that, you wont be able to cast your ballot in this upcoming election. Additionally, if you are not a U.S. citizen and a resident of Pennsylvania at least 30 days before May 16, then you arent eligible to vote in this election.

How to register to vote in Philadelphia

There are three ways to register to vote. The easiest is to submit an online application. If you have any questions, call the citys election board (also called the City Commissioners) at 215-686-1590. Theyll even mail you a voter registration application if you ask.

When your voter registration is complete, you will receive your voter registration card in the mail and youll be able to vote.

You can register to vote:

Online: Submit a voter registration application. Mail: Download, print and fill out the voter registration application. Send the completed application to: Voter Registration Office, 520 N. Columbus Blvd., 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19123 In-person: Visit 520 N. Columbus Blvd., 5th Floor on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or City Hall Room 142 at 1400 JFK Blvd. on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PennDOT and some other government agencies, like U.S. Postal Offices, also allow you to register to vote at their locations.

Voter registration information in Spanish and Chinese

Would you rather get this information in a language other than English? Voter registration information is available in Spanish and Chinese. On Election Day, voting materials will be available in those languages at the polls. You can also bring someone to help you translate if needed, they just cant be your boss, union rep or judge of elections and you may need to sign a declaration at the polling location stating you need assistance.

Do I need identification to register to vote?

The voter registration application will ask you for your drivers license or state ID number to help verify your identity. And if you dont have those, your Social Security Number. However, there is an option on the form to not provide that information.

Keep in mind: When you get to the polls to vote, all first-time voters or voters at a new polling location must show ID to be able to vote. Government-issued Photo ID or ID with your full name and property address  like a current utility bill, bank statement or paystub  will work.
HARRISBURG  The Pennsylvania Senate voted Monday to stop any supervised injection sites from opening in the state, potentially creating a new hurdle for a nonprofit hoping to open one in Philadelphia.

The GOP-controlled state Senate passed a bipartisan bill, sponsored by State Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D., Philadelphia), to ban supervised injection sites anywhere in Pennsylvania by a 41-9 vote. The bill must pass the state House before reaching the desk of Gov. Josh Shapiro, who said hed support banning supervised injection sites.

The legislation is the latest attempt by a state or federal government to intervene in a nonprofits attempt to open a supervised injection site in Philadelphia, which is widely seen as the epicenter of the opioid epidemic.

Tartaglione, who introduced Senate Bill 165 and represents parts of Kensington, said Monday on the Senate floor that her proposal will bring state law up-to-date with current federal laws. Furthermore, her constituents dont want a supervised injection site opened in their community, she said.

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We need to fund harm reduction programs, I agree, Tartaglione said. But we need innovative ways of helping those struggling with addiction, without prolonging and allowing a system of state-sponsored addiction in Pennsylvania.

Supervised injection sites, or supervised consumption sites, are spaces where people can use their own drugs under clinical supervision to prevent overdoses. Using drugs by oneself is a leading risk factor for fatal overdose  most overdose deaths in Philadelphia, for example, occur in private homes.

Such sites do not provide drugs to clients; instead, site staff provide sterile needles and other equipment for safer drug use, and monitor clients in case they exhibit overdose symptoms. If they do overdose, site staff will revive them, with either supplemental oxygen or the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

 READ MORE: Where each of the top contenders for Philly mayor stand on supervised-injection sites

Safehouse, the nonprofit that has spearheaded efforts to open a site in Philadelphia, has been embroiled in a legal battle over its plans since 2019, when then-U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain sued in federal court to block it from opening. A U.S. District Court judge sided with Safehouse, but the nonprofit lost on appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The nonprofit went back to U.S. District Court on a different legal argument.

Recently, Safehouse and the federal government have been engaged in settlement talks. Last month, a coalition of neighborhood groups urged a federal judge to hear their concerns before signing off on any agreement between the government and Safehouse. In a separate court filing, five Democratic state senators also raised misgivings, including Tartaglione.

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia) has repeatedly opposed the ban, telling The Inquirer last week the proposal is a mistake based on misconceptions and false pretenses.

Its wrong that we move with such alacrity to prohibit one of the most effective harm reduction services we know, and do not move with such speed to legalize other harm reduction practices statewide like syringe exchanges, which are still technically illegal under state law, he said.

Several syringe exchanges operate in Pennsylvania at the behest of local governments but are generally not prosecuted by state officials.

Saval said he hopes to dispel the assumption that supervised injection sites increase drug use and criminal activity. Instead, he emphasized their potential to keep people with substance use disorders alive and connect them with recovery services and health care, as well as the potential cost savings for the state by decreasing the number of 911 calls for overdoses.

However, the ban had significant bipartisan support  including from other Philly Democrats. State Sen. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia) said he supported the move in a committee meeting Monday, adding that he believes law enforcement costs would increase were this group [Safehouse] allowed to move forward with a safe injection site.

 READ MORE: How do sites for supervised drug use work? A primer.

Ronda Goldfein, the vice president of Safehouse, called the Senate action premature to be looking at a statewide ban, noting the more than 100 supervised injection sites opened internationally over the last 30 years.

The bill now goes to the House, which has a one-seat Democratic majority. Beth Rementer, a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), did not commit to vote on the bill and said the Democratic caucus will review it once the legislation moves to the House.

Only two sites exist in the United States, both in New York City; staff there say that they have prevented hundreds of potentially fatal overdoses since opening in 2021. Internationally, supervised drug consumption sites operate in dozens of countries and have been shown to lower deaths from overdose.

New York City, which is in a different judicial district than Philadelphia, opened two sites last year with no pushback from federal officials. Rhode Islands legislature legalized supervised injection sites in 2021 and recently announced plans to open sites next year. Californias legislature also approved a bill to allow these sites to open in some California cities and counties, but Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it.

State Sen. Art Haywood (D., Philadelphia) was among the nine Democrats who opposed the bill, but not because he supports safe injection sites, he told The Inquirer. He believes local governments should be able to decide what works for them.

Local governments should be able to make these decisions, Haywood said. The state Senate should not be a Super City Council. And I believe this is a Super City Council kind of move. ... Not every local issue should be taken over by the state.
Trina Pilhuj, of Conshohocken, watches for her daughter from the center island on South Broad Street during the 43rd annual Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run on Sunday. Read more

On average, 3.5 inches of precipitation falls officially during the 30 days of April in the city, and thats almost exactly how much rain landed upon the Philadelphia International Airport measuring station Friday through Sunday.

It was the most rain in a three-day period in Philly since August 2020, according to National Weather Service records, and more than the monthly totals in 13 of the last 18 months.

Its not a common occurrence, said Dean Iovino, a lead meteorologist at the weather services office in Mount Holly, where he has worked since the 1990s.

 READ MORE: Not so long ago, it was getting quite dry around here

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The rains were wrung out from two complex storms that discourteously doused the city during two of the nations signature sporting events  the Penn Relays, and the annual Blue Cross Broad Street Run, which drew 28,000 participants.

Both systems over-performed, said Iovino. In round one, just over 2 inches fell from Friday morning into early Saturday. Round two, unfortunately for thousands of Broad Street racers, got underway just as the top finishers were ending their runs. Thousands of others were in for a soaking.

 READ MORE: Some outran the rain Sunday; most didn't

The official three-day total, 3.47 inches, while impressive, wasnt especially disruptive. Some minor flooding occurred, and two water rescues were reported in Chester County.

But while those watching the Penn Relays or the Broad Street race or participating in either might beg to differ, nature could have picked a worse time to empty the skies, said Iovino.

 READ MORE: The Penn Relays went on despite the rains

Rainfall from March 1 through April 21 was running about half of normal in Philly, and most of Chester County and pieces of Bucks and Delaware Counties were in moderate drought as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Iovino expects that to change with Thursdays update.

Stream levels were low, and none around here sloshed over. Plus, the burgeoning vegetation for which the rain is the ultimate growth hormone, is growing ever thirstier, thus blunting runoff. Showers are possible the next few days, but no significant rain is expected, said Iovino.

And all the better that the dry spell was interrupted before the serious heat and sun-baking begins in summer, Iovino said.

Heat is not going to be an issue, at least this week. Temperatures might not get above 60 degrees through Thursday.

Its going to be a chilly this week, Iovino said, but I kind of like this kind of weather.
The company prides itself on building lasting relationships based on trust and transparency, highlighting that trust is the backbone of what it stands for, with its teams taking the time to understand individual and corporation clients and tailor policies to their needs.
most of the claims (80%) lodged in the city to date are for holiday homes;

the city has a reduced number of people currently living in flood-impacted areas;

property damage along the River Murray covers a wide area, with no obvious epicentre in which to base a local consultation; and

the city has several venues available to host a large function in flood-impacted locations.

The Insurance Council and insurers look forward to assisting policyholders impacted by the recent River Murray flooding, said ICA CEO Andrew Hall. We are hoping that holding the community event at a central location in Adelaide's CBD means we can assist as many people as possible impacted by this protracted flood.
Burns & Wilcox has historically been and continues to be a hub for coastal and flood business across North Carolinas east coast, Willis said. The need for specialty insurance is on the rise  especially within high-risk coastal areas as these communities need go-to insurance partners to help with protecting and recovering from severe weather events. We look forward to continuing to serve our communities with much-needed, reliable personal and commercial expertise for years to come. Positioned to accelerate as we move into the rest of 2023 and beyond, we are here, and we are here to stay.
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Massachusetts highest court overruled a lower court judge Thursday and reinstated criminal neglect charges against two top former officials at a veterans home. Nearly 80 veterans died at the Veterans Home in Holyoke after contracting the coronavirus in one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility in the nation.

The ruling allows the case against Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent at the facility, and Dr. David Clinton, its former medical director, to move forward.

In their ruling, the majority of the justices found that the facts presented to the grand jury constituted probable cause to believe that Walsh and Clinton violated the elder abuse statute and that Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward McDonough Jr. erred in dismissing the charges.

Of course, sometimes bad things happen for no discernable reason, and no one is to blame. At any subsequent trial, prosecutors will need to prove their case. We conclude only that they will have the opportunity to do so, the court ruled.

Walsh and Clinton pleaded not guilty in 2020 to charges stemming from their decision that March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms.

In November 2021, McDonough found that there was insufficient reasonably trustworthy evidence that, had these two dementia units not been merged, the medical condition of five veterans in question would have been materially different.

Last year Massachusetts agreed to pay $56 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by the families of veterans who died.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell welcomed Thursdays decision.

Todays decision allows us to focus once again on securing accountability for the tragic and preventable deaths at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, she said in a written statement.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Photo: Flags and wreaths honor veterans on the grounds of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, Mass., April 28, 2020, where a number of people died due to COVID-19. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, shes seeking to reverse the dismissal of criminal neglect charges against two former leaders of the veterans home where nearly 80 veterans died after contracting the coronavirus, in one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility in the nation. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi, File)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud COVID-19
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports it has found that giant online retailer Amazon failed to provide adequate medical treatment for traumatic and chronic injuries at a fulfillment center in Castleton, New York.

OSHA alleged that at least six employees with head injuries and four with back injuries did not receive timely, necessary medical care. Injured workers were returned to their jobs and, for some workers, their injuries became worse as a result.

The agency put Amazon on notice previously about deficient on-site medical practices. OSHA issued a Hazard Alert Letter on this issue in January 2016 after an investigation at a Robbinsville, New Jersey, fulfillment facility. A similar warning was delivered to Amazon more recently  in January 2023  after OSHA identified deficiencies in on-site medical practices in Deltona, Florida.

The work at these fulfillment facilities is physically demanding. Returning a worker with a back injury or possible concussion to their job without proper medical evaluation and care can lead to prolonged injuries and lifelong suffering, said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. The examples uncovered by our investigation demonstrate a callous disregard for the well-being of Amazons Castleton employees that is completely unacceptable.

Amazon Worker Injuries Dip Last Year, but Higher Than 2020

The latest findings are part of an ongoing inspection started at Amazons upstate New York fulfillment center in August 2022, based on a referral from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York that led OSHA to open inspections in Castleton and at five other Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois, New York, Colorado and Idaho in summer 2022.

OSHA has proposed $15,625 in penalties, an amount set by federal statute.

Currently, OSHA has 20 open inspections at Amazon locations in the U.S.

OSHA issued s a similar citation at the Amazon facility in New Jersey in 2016.

Amazon Fined for Worker Safety Violations in Three States

In February 2023, OSHA cited the Castleton location for ergonomic violations, just weeks after the agency cited Amazon in December 2022 for recordkeeping violations there.

This marks the fourth time in 2023 that OSHA has cited Amazon for violations, including citations issued on Jan. 18, 2023, Feb. 1, 2023 and Feb. 23, 2023, for violations at seven warehouse facilities in Castleton, Deltona and in Aurora and Colorado Springs, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; Waukegan, Illinois; and New Windsor, New York.

Amazon has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Photo: Amazon warehouse worker. (Photo supplied by Amazon)

Topics Workers' Compensation Amazon
Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate Daihatsu rigged part of the door in side-collision safety tests carried out for some 88,000 small cars, most of which were sold under the Toyota brand, the companies said on Friday.

They said the door trim on the affected vehicles had been modified with a notch to minimize the risk in testing that the door interior could break with a sharp edge and cause injury to an occupant when the side airbag deployed in an accident.

The modification for testing was not part of the production vehicle, the companies said.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said the companies were investigating how the side-panel of Yaris and other models had been changed for safety testing and apologized for what he called an unacceptable violation of consumer trust.

Toyota said it had not received any report of an accident or injury related to the rigged side-crash test.

It was not immediately clear who had rigged the doors for crash testing, how widespread the knowledge of the action had been within Daihatsu and whether senior managers had approved the step.

Well proceed with a detailed investigation from here on, but promise to decisively understand what happened at the site, investigate the true intentions and sincerely work to prevent a recurrence, Toyoda told reporters.

Were going to need some time to do that, he said.

Daihatsu said it had discovered the rigged safety test after a whistleblower report. It said it had reported the issue to regulatory agencies and stopped shipment of affected models.

The affected models include Toyota Yaris Ativs made in Thailand from last August, and Perodua Axias manufactured in Malaysia starting from February.

Of the 88,000-plus vehicles, some 76,000 were Yaris models mainly bound for Thailand, Mexico and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Daihatsu said.

About 11,800 affected vehicles were Axias manufactured by Daihatsu at a joint venture plant it runs with Malaysian automaker Perodua. Those cars were sold in Malaysia.

The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

Daihatsu said it would run new safety tests in the presence of regulators and confirm the safety of the models before resuming shipments.

The discovery of the rigged safety test is the first crisis for Toyota President Koji Sato, who took over the top job from Toyoda on April 1.

We have to find the cause of what happened, including examining the environment in which it happened, and once weve confirmed that to take appropriate action to address the underlying cause, Sato said.

Toyoda, who was Toyota president in 2010 when a string of recalls prompted U.S. investigations, said he wanted all Toyota employees and those at affiliates to understand that making better cars required a commitment to speak out about problems.

We cant run away from this or hide, he said.

Daihatsu, which specializes in the production of small cars, became a wholly owned Toyota subsidiary in 2016 when Toyoda was president.

The incident comes at a time when Toyota has been ramping production back up from restrictions imposed by a shortage of semiconductors, facing pressure to move faster to roll out new and cost-competitive electric vehicles and dealing with a sales slump in China, a key market.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Maki Shiraki; writing by Kevin Krolicki; editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Potter)
Group of Seven advanced nations should adopt risk-based regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce an AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT.

But such regulation should also preserve an open and enabling environment for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G-7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan.

While the ministers recognized that policy instruments to achieve the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G-7 members, the agreement sets a landmark for how major countries govern AI amid privacy concerns and security risks.

The conclusions of this G-7 meeting show that we are definitely not alone in this, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Reuters ahead of the agreement.

Governments have especially paid attention to the popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI that has become the fastest-growing app in history since its November launch.

We plan to convene future G-7 discussions on generative AI which could include topics such as governance, how to safeguard intellectual property rights including copyright, promote transparency, address disinformation including information manipulation by foreign forces, the ministerial statement said.

Italy, a G-7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate its potential breach of personal data rules. While Italy lifted the ban on Friday, the move has inspired fellow European privacy regulators to launch probes.

EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology.

Vestager, EUs tech regulation chief, said the bloc will have the political agreement this year on the AI legislation, such as labeling obligations for AI-generated images or music, to address copyright and educational risks.

Japan, this years chair of G-7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI.

Japan hoped to get the G-7 to agree on agile or flexible governance, rather than preemptive, catch-all regulation over AI technology, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday ahead of the ministerial talks.

Pausing (AI development) is not the right response  innovation should keep developing but within certain guardrails that democracies have to set, Jean-Noel Barrot, French Minister for Digital Transition, told Reuters, adding France will provide some exceptions to small AI developers under the upcoming EU regulation.

Besides intellectual property concerns, G-7 countries recognized security risks. Generative AIproduces fake news and disruptive solutions to the society if the data its based is fake, Japanese digital minister Taro Kono told a press conference after the agreement.

The top tech officials from G-7  Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States  met in Takasaki, a city about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Tokyo, following energy and foreign ministers meetings this month.

Japan will host the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Lincoln Feast.)

Topics Legislation InsurTech Data Driven Artifical Intelligence
An oil tanker seized by Iran on Thursday was carrying Kuwaiti crude and had a crew of 24 Indians, according to the operator.

The US has demanded the immediate release of the the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet, which was travelling in international waters and near the Gulf of Oman when the incident happened, according to the US military.

The ship was heading to the US, a spokesperson for Advantage Tankers, the vessels Turkey-based operator, said to Bloomberg on Friday. It was carrying oil and was chartered by Chevron Corp., the spokesperson confirmed.

The seizure underscores continued tensions in a vital corridor for oil tankers. Hundreds sail through the Gulf of Oman each month, on their way to and from the Persian Gulf and some of the worlds biggest oil-exporting nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

Irans state-run IRNA news agency said a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker collided with an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf, prompting Irans navy to seize the vessel and direct it to its coastal waters.

Some US officials believe the move was a retaliation against a decision by the Department of Justice earlier this week to force a tanker headed to China with Iranian oil to redirect to America, the Financial Times reported.

The US has said in recent months that it will do more to enforce sanctions on Iranian energy exports. Iran has a history of seizing tankers after Western nations target its shipments.

Chinese Owner

Advantage Tankers said its liaising with insurers and all the appropriate authorities to get the ship and crew released.

The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our number one priority, it said on Thursday. Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.

The tanker is a Suezmax-class vessel, capable of hauling a million barrels of oil. It loaded a cargo of Eocene crude in the so-called Neutral Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Vortexa Ltd.

The tanker most recently signaled South Africa, and its draft indicates it wasnt completely full, according to the last satellite location received Thursday. Its owner is listed as SPDB Financial Leasing, part of Chinas Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

With assistance from Beril Akman.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Energy Oil Gas
OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas man who spent 16 years in prison for a rape and murder he didnt commit will receive $7.5 million from the county where he was arrested and convicted of the crime.

Jefferson County commissioners approved the settlement last week with Floyd Bledsoe, who was released from prison in 2015 after DNA evidence showed he could not have been the killer of 14-year-old Camille Arfmann in Oskaloosa.

Bledsoe will receive $1.5 million initially, with the rest to be paid over the next 10 years, The Kansas City Star reported.

Bledsoe, who is now 46, was 23 when he was convicted in 2000 of killing the girl. He was arrested even though his brother, Tom, confessed to the killing in 1999, turned himself in and led authorities to the girls body.

According to a lawsuit Floyd Bledsoe filed in 2016, Jefferson County authorities persuaded Tom Bledsoe to recant his confession and framed his brother by hiding evidence of his innocence.

In 2015, DNA testing revealed Tom Bledsoe was the likely source of sperm found in the victim. Tom Bledsoe died by suicide that year after writing a note again confessing to killing Arfmann.

The charges against Floyd Bledsoe were dismissed and he was freed from prison that year.

One of Bledsoes attorneys, Russell Ainsworth of Loevy & Loevy in Chicago, said Jefferson County was facing up to $40 million in liability if the case went to trial.

Jefferson County Commissioner Richard Malm said the countys annual budget is about $20 million and the commission would have had to propose a bond if Bledsoe had not agreed to have the payment spread over 10 years.

In 2019, the state agreed to pay Bledsoe $1.03 million under a mistaken conviction law.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Kansas
Mercy Health St. Marys, a Grand Rapids hospital and member of the Trinity Health system, violated federal law when it failed to provide a religious accommodation to an applicant and declined to hire him because of his religious beliefs, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. Mercy Health has approximately 800 hospital beds in its five hospital campuses located in Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Lakeshore, Michigan.

According to the EEOCs lawsuit, Mercy Health St. Marys violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by rescinding a job offer to an applicant who, for religious reasons, refused to receive a flu vaccine. Under Mercy Healths influenza policy, employees are required to get a flu shot on an annual basis unless granted an exemption. While the applicants conditional job offer was pending, he applied for an exemption to the flu shot requirement based on his religious beliefs. Mercy Health arbitrarily denied his request and rescinded the job offer, without specifying to the applicant why or how his request for an exemption was deficient, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After attempting to reach a pre-litigation resolution through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan (EEOC v. Mercy Health St. Marys, Case No. 1:23-cv-00435). The EEOC is seeking monetary relief for the applicant and an injunction prohibiting the hospital from engaging in this type of conduct in the future.

Instead of rejecting the applicants religious accommodation request outright, Mercy Health should have followed up with him if it had questions, said Dale Price, senior trial attorney in the EEOCs Detroit Field Office. If it had questions, Mercy Health could have spoken with this individual before making a decision to determine the contours of his religious beliefs, rather than prematurely determining that his beliefs were not genuine.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Michigan
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A former chief financial officer of multiple special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling more than $5 million from them, and losing almost all of it trading meme stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Cooper Morgenthau, 36, of Fernandina Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in January.

He was sentenced April 27 by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan federal court. Morgenthau also agreed to forfeit $5.11 million in money earned from the scheme and pay an equal amount in restitution. He previously settled related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges.

Authorities said that between June 2021 and August 2022, Morgenthau stole more than $1.2 million from African Gold Acquisition Corp, concealed the theft by falsifying its account statements, and spent or lost all of it in securities trading.

To cover his losses, Morgenthau then raised $4.7 million from investors in a SPAC known as Strategic Metals Acquisition Corp., only to lose most of it through crypto trading, the SEC said.

African Gold, which is based in New York and was created to buy a gold mining business, had raised $414 million in a Feb. 2021 initial public offering.

It fired Morgenthau last August after he ran out of money and vendors refused to work for the company, the SEC said.

African Gold said at the time it terminated Morgenthau after learning about his improper withdrawals and attempts to conceal them.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan recommended a prison term shorter than six years, citing Morgenthaus acceptance of responsibility.

Morgenthaus lawyers sought probation, saying it was the best way for him to earn money to pay restitution.

Topics Fraud
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A south Florida jury has awarded $5.5 million to a woman who sued her condominium association after years of water infiltration and mold that the woman blamed for the death of her longtime domestic partner in 2021.

The Broward County jury found that Ever April Apartments in Pompano Beach had failed to remediate the mold and water damage, causing harm to resident Cheryl Jakab.

Her lawyer, Robert McKee, of Davie, Florida, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper that the evidence from unrepaired water leaks, through exterior walls and into the apartment, was substantial. At one point, a hole was punched into Jakabs wall and water came pouring out, he said.

An environmental testing firm hired by Jakab found significant airborne concentrations of harmful mold spores, the lawsuit complaint reads. Defendant still did nothing.

The plaintiff said she repeatedly notified the apartment management about the problems. In 2021, her partner, Joao Rodrigues, died.

Rodrigues died due to the inability to fight his brain cancer which arose during the exposures, the suit argued. The exposures arose in substantial part due to exposures within the premises on good and products intended for bodily consumption, including air, water, food, furniture and other exposure sources.

The couple had lived in the unit since 1996.

The lack of repairs breached the apartments contract with its co-op owners, the complaint reads. Jakab will require medical monitoring for years due to the mold, it notes.

Jakab eventually found new living arrangements, in another unit in the building, but had to expend considerable sums on that and on remediation after the damage was first noted in 2020, notes the complaint, which had asked for more than $30 million in damages. The apartment complex is a cooperative association. Unlike a conventional condo association, in which residents own their units, a co-op allows residents to own a share of the property, the newspaper reported.

An answer to the complaint by the defendants was not available in the court file. The court documents also do not indicate how the apartment owners may be insured. No insurer was named in the court record, and Ever April has not filed suit against an insurance carrier in Broward County.

Jakabs attorney told the newspaper that he hopes the verdict will remind homeowner associations that they are obligated to maintain their buildings and protect residents.

Topics Florida
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The chief of staff for an Atlanta-area sheriff has been charged with insurance fraud after an investigation found that he had lied about the circumstances of an accident.

Braxton Tyree Cotton, 41, a major in the Cobb County Sheriffs Office, told an officer in March that his white Chevrolet Corvette had been hit by a hit-and-run driver. He also filed an insurance claim, alleging the hit-and-run.

But cellphone data, video footage and other information cast doubt on the story, according to multiple Georgia news outlets.

Cotton then admitted that his car had, in fact, been struck by a woman that he knows, and that she did not carry auto insurance at the time. Officers visited the womans home and found white paint on the front bumper of her car, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The deputy has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues. He faces at least three felony charges. He turned himself in on Friday and spent about 45 minutes in the Cobb County jail before he was released on his own recognizance.

Topics Fraud Georgia
Vancouver, British Columbia - May 1, 2023 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to announce that as part of its preparation for a planned Eldorado spring drilling program, the Company has plotted cross-sections and long-sections of the historic drill holes. Analysis of the cross-sections and further supporting data has produced encouraging results.

Upon review of the cross-sections, Provenance's Project Manager, Steven Craig, stated, "Not only is the system open outward in all directions, but it's also wide open between the holes, and especially downward. Most of the holes bottomed short of 100 meters, but the holes that went deeper continued to hit thick gold zones, even to depths below 250 meters. The deeper holes often had their best mineralization below 100 meters."

The Eldorado gold property, in mining-friendly Malheur County, in Eastern Oregon, was the site of extensive historic placer mining. Although the project is in a desert environment, it has very few outcrops. The placer mining locally exposed the underlying gold-bearing bedrock. Later, historic drilling focused on the areas where placer mining had exposed the gold-mineralized bedrock, leaving much of the mineralized area still undrilled.

The gold mineralization is associated with a diorite intrusive that hosts most of the gold. The deposit is a porphyry-style gold system that additionally contains breccia zones that carry local high-grade gold values. Historic testing suggested that the property has excellent recovery characteristics because the gold came in after the sulfides, so consequently even the unoxidized rock appears to have good recovery characteristics, even using only gravity and floatation.

In 1990, the first mineral inventory was calculated by Pincock, Alan and Holt (PAH), a reputable engineering firm that was used industry-wide for this type of work. PAH modelled 158 of the historic drill holes which identified approximately 52,896,000 tons that graded 0.578 gram per tonne gold (0.0169 ounce/t gold) at a cut-off of 0.274 gram per tonne (0.008 oz/t) in the completely open-ended gold system. The Company is aware of a second historical resource estimate that was calculated by Ican Minerals and a projected resource estimate by Ican from that included additional drilling completed between 1989 and 1997 where the tonnage and grade were substantially higher. Other than these, the Company is not aware of any more recent estimates prepared for the property. The Company is not treating any of these estimates as current mineral resources and a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current mineral resources. The estimates were prepared prior to the enactment of National Instrument 43-101 and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. The purpose of presenting this information is to show that the Eldorado project has potential to hold a large mineral inventory. Provenance plans to update these historical estimates into a current resource model. Near-term work includes confirmation drilling by twinning a number of the historic holes, certifying and comparing assays between the old and new holes, validating historic hole locations, and confirming historic metallurgical test results.

Shown below are two of the cross-sections that help to illustrate the significant potential upside on the property. The horizontal depth lines are spaced 30.48 meters (100 feet) apart, with the same horizontal scale. The unmineralized intervals are shown in black and are believed to represent post-mineralization intrusive pulses or slices of rock into which mineralizing fluids did not penetrate and are commonly surrounded by mineralized rock.

Figure 1

The holes shown in Section A-A' bottom in mineralization which continues downward an unknown distance. The green proposed holes show how Provenance plans to find the full extent of the gold mineralization at a future date. This section is similar to all other nearby sections that all have significant infill and step-out potential.

Figure 2

Section H-H' cuts through a breccia zone that was historically chased downward for 250 meters (820 feet) with almost continuous strong gold mineralization. Note the unmineralized zone deep in the drilling was followed by another 30 meters (100 feet) of strong gold values. It is uncertain whether the hole went out the side wall of the breccia zone, which may extend even deeper. Also note there is no other deep drilling in this entire area.

Of Particular Note:

All the colored (non-black or grey) drill hole sections represent rock grades that would normally be mined in an open pit. Current bulk open-pit mines commonly average about 0.015 ounces of gold per ton (0.5 g/t). Based on non-compliant historic assays, Eldorado in bulk, averages better than 0.02 ounces of gold per ton (almost 0.7 g/t) with much higher-grade zones. Current mines are leaching rock that is as low as 0.1 g/t gold.

Most of the historic drill holes were less than 100 meters (328 feet) deep, yet the sections show mineralization continuing to even deeper than 250 meters (820 feet).

The higher-grade mineralization is associated with breccia zones (likely breccia pipes) such as the one containing the high-grade area shown in section H-H'. It appears the historic drilling focused on that breccia pipe because it was exposed on the surface. Surface geology and the various cross-sections suggest the presence of additional breccia pipes that aren't yet exposed or drilled.

When the pre-NI 43-101 historic work was done, proven reserves were limited to within 7.6 meters (25 feet) and probable reserves were limited to 15.24 meters (50 feet) from the drill hole. The cross-sections show that the majority of the projected mineralization is beyond those historic distance controls.

Most of the drilling was reverse-circulation (RC) drilling. Often, RC drilling will give lower values than core drilling under wet hole conditions. At Eldorado, abundant ground water was encountered at about 60 meters (200 feet) and the gold at Eldorado is on the surfaces of the sulfide grains where it can be washed away.

Provenance will focus its upcoming drilling on beginning to verify the historic drilling, while simultaneously beginning to fill in the historic gaps and extending the mineralization downward and outward.

"We are confident the upcoming drilling will put the project and our company on the map. This is an exciting time for us," said Provenance Chairman, Rauno Perttu.

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 rclark@provenancegold.com.

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.

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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a law on approving the agreement between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the government of Montenegro on air traffic.

According to the law, the "Agreement between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the government of Montenegro on air traffic", signed on February 4, 2023 in Baku, was approved.
May 1, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) As a major economic driver, gold mining has traditionally been a fragmented industry due to its low barriers to entry and the advanced processing techniques available to miners of any scale.

The top five gold producers contribute to less than 20 percent of the world's total supply, according to a 2021 report by McKinsey. In contrast, for most other metals, the top five producers make up between one-third and two-thirds of global production, data compiled by the firm reveals (see below).



Source: McKinsey

However, disruption to the global supply chain in recent years means that costs are fast rising in the industry. In 2022, the average all-in sustaining costs (AISC) in the mining industry reached a record high $1,276/oz, up 18% from the previous year.

Mining companies, already facing depleted gold reserves, are beginning to feel the pressure to consolidate to sustain themselves in the current economic environment, hence the growing momentum in mergers and acquisitions.

Naturally the industry will need to converge towards places where high-grade ores are abundant and gold deposits are guaranteed to be economically viable.

In fact, the gold sector has already become much more concentrated than before. Data from the World Gold Council shows that the "Big 5"  China, Russia, Australia, Canada and the US  combined for around 43% (1,358 million tonnes) of last year's global mined supply (3,100Mt).



Where most of the world's gold production is concentrated. Source: World Gold Council

Worth noting is that North America (including the 8th-placed Mexico) is supplying about 16% of the global supply at 504 million tonnes, establishing the continent as the best place to mine gold in the Western Hemisphere.

While Canada houses several key mining hubs such as the Golden Triangle of British Columbia and the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, and Mexico is famous for its affluence of precious metals, none can match the sheer scale and productivity of Nevada, which by itself accounts for three-quarters of the US total gold production.

Today, it is consistently ranked as one of the top 5 gold-producing jurisdictions in the world.

The state is host to the largest gold mining complex on Earth: the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture between Newmont and Barrick. Formed in 2019, NGM consists of as many as 10 underground and 12 open-pit mines, plus autoclave, roasting and heap leach facilities.

Total production last year from NGM reached more than 3 million ounces, about 3% of the world's total.

Nevada - the Golden State

To see why Nevada is so prolific in its gold production, we have to appreciate its geological profile, which is amongst the most diverse on the planet.

Nearly every type of rock known to geologists can be found in the state's desert landscape. It contains a wealth of precious metals and is also an important source of many of the world's most critical base metals including copper, zinc and molybdenum.

Incidentally, the state was first known for its silver following the discovery of the Comstock silver lode in 1859, hence why it's still known by many as "The Silver State". But as miners saw the considerable quantities of gold that came with the early silver mines, a new "gold rush" followed.

With the millions of ounces sitting underground yet to be undiscovered, it took another 100 years for Nevada to really become gold famous. Following the discovery of microscopic gold in the early 1960s, which led to Newmont establishing its operations there, Nevada officially became a "golden state".

The Three Trends

Nevada owes its unique geology and prolific gold production to the complex tectonic history of the North American Great Basin, which gave rise to its widespread landscape of fault-dominated mountain ranges and valleys.

Most of Nevada's gold deposits are now found within three northwest-trending belts. The most famous is the Carlin Trend, where sedimentary, disseminated gold appears near surface, often surrounded by smaller deposits of similar geology.

Estimated to contain up to 180 million ounces, the Carlin Trend is the second-largest gold endowment behind South Africa's Witwatersrand Basin. The three major players operating mines in the Carlin Trend are Newmont Mining, Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold.

Barrick's Goldstrike mine is one of the world's most prolific. Between the Betze-Post open-pit mine and the Meikle and Rodeo underground mines, the Goldstrike mines have produced over 1.1 million ounces and have 8.1 million ounces of reserves.

Newmont's Carlin operations have produced 944,000 ounces out of 15 million ounces in reserves. Kinross's Bald Mountain mine, purchased from Barrick in 2016, outputted 130,144 gold-equivalent ounces, with 2.1Moz in reserves.

The other two trends, Battle Mountain-Eureka-Cortez (or just Cortez) and Walker Lane, also host some of the world's most important gold mines, including SSR Mining's Marigold mine in Humboldt County and McEwen Mining's Gold Bar operation.

Together, the three major trends accounted for nearly 170 million ounces of the gold produced in Nevada between 1835 and 2018.

While Carlin-style mineralization is a common feature of these trends, Nevada also has epithermal, low-sulfidation gold deposits, which are generally smaller and are not unique to Nevada. Still, these deposits are often high grade, making them excellent targets for gold exploration companies.

Among the reasons for retaining its competitive edge are Nevada's lack of income tax, the fact that mining is governed under the federal Mining Act of 1872, which would take an act of Congress to change, and that mining taxes are set out in the state's Constitution.

Not only does Nevada produce a lot of gold from existing mines, it is also an excellent place to put a new mine into production. That's because conducting exploration, constructing and building a mine in Nevada is relatively easy.

The state isn't the country's number one gold producer by far without good reasons. The only question is will it get even bigger?

Year of Gold M&A

In the era of depleting reserves and few new discoveries, mergers and acquisitions are typically the way to go for gold companies.

Since 2019, the year the Barrick-Newmont JV was formed, there has been a major uptick in M&As in the gold sector, both in terms of the number of transactions and the total dollar value of deals. Last year, the top 10 gold deals equated to $17.5 billion, eclipsing the record set in 2021.

The momentum in gold M&A activity continued into 2023, led by Newmont's $16.9 billion offer to buy Australia's Newcrest. Regardless of the outcome of this deal, the mining industry is set for a new wave of consolidation, industry executives concur.

This year is likely to see more mergers in the gold mining sector, Endeavour Mining's chief executive Sebastien de Montessus told Reuters in an interview in February, days after news broke of Newmont's mega-merger proposal.

"I think we will probably see more [deals], simply because some companies are lacking a clear strategy," de Montessus said, adding that:

"You've got historical companies like IAMGOLD, Gold Fields, AngloGold, Kinross, where there are a lot of questions about whether their portfolio is well-suited, and whether their strategy is clear enough for investors and shareholders."

In short, stacking up on quality assets held by others, preferably in Tier 1 jurisdictions, offers gold majors a less risky option to spend their piles of cash given the lack of growth options at their disposal.

More mergers and acquisitions in the gold mining sector are inevitable as companies will look to replace depleting assets, Harmony Gold's CEO Peter Steenkamp said in a separate Reuters interview.

Those wanting to grow their reserves without incurring large capital expenditures are all hunting for the right assets in the right place, and where else to look for that than Nevada? The state has the pedigree and history to more than match any other in the gold mining space.

Getchell Gold

Nevada currently hosts our favorite company in the junior gold space right now: Getchell Gold (CSE:GTCH, OTCQB:GGLDF), which has an advanced-stage gold project ready to be taken to the next stage.

The company was formed about four years ago with a mandate to source out a major flagship project. After acquiring its flagship Fondaway Canyon project in 2020, Getchell first spent some time delving into the history of the operation.

To summarize, there were 40 years of small-scale mining on surface at Fondaway, and multiple drill campaigns focused mainly on the shallow oxide deposits scattered throughout the 3.5 km-long trend. While previous operators found a lot of gold, they also missed quite a bit, which captured the imagination of Getchell's management team.

"A lot of the old companies that worked on it were just wanting to take the eyes out of it at the surface and do a hodgepodge of drilling, and so it was very surficially looked at, but what really intrigued me is that there were all kinds of little hidden jewels that indicated that the mineralizing system at Fondaway Canyon was a lot bigger than what people realized," Getchell Gold's President Mike Sieb said in a presentation earlier this month.

Getchell identified two priority areas to begin with, shown as ellipses on the map below. As they started to drill, Getchell kept hitting gold, and continued to hit mineralization in step-out holes. In its first year of exploration, 2020, Getchell outlined three new gold zones: Colorado SW, North Fork and Juniper.

The early wide-spaced drilling demonstrated the presence of high-grade shear veins enveloped in thick bands of mineralization and extended the mineralization model a remarkable 800 meters down dip from surface.

Five drill holes hit substantive zones of mineralization, between 50 and 100 meters thick. The company kept drilling in 2021 and 2022, upping the scale and capitalizing on its discoveries.

At the end of 2021, Getchell made a new discovery: a very high-grade zone that was running 10 grams per tonne over 25 meters near surface.

Substantive mineralization in four holes was highlighted by hole FCG21-08, the most northwestern hole, intersecting the Colorado SW zone extending for over 200 meters down hole, and hole FCG21-10, intersecting the North Fork zone extending 82 meters down hole.

The latter interval, hosting the highest-grade gold intercept in the 40+ year drilling history at Fondaway Canyon, and reporting 47 g/t Au over 1.5m, is a prime example of the structures that promote the high-grade concentration of gold at the project.

Mineral Resource Upgrade

Partway through the 2022 drill program, an open-pit model mineral resource estimate was commissioned and published (see below).

Eighteen drill holes doubled the previous resource from 2017, with 550,000 ounces of gold in the indicated category and an additional 1.5 million ounces inferred, all at comparatively excellent gold grades for active Nevada operations (1.56 g/t Au indicated, 1.23 g/t inferred).

Note, however, that this resource estimate is already out of date. There are nine holes that were excluded in the resource estimate because they missed the cut-off date, and Getchell plans to do a lot more drilling on its wide-open deposit in 2023.

Also worth noting is that Getchell hit mineralization in all 18 holes, which is almost unheard of in mineral exploration.

To date, the gold mineralization at Fondaway has been traced for a half a kilometer on surface and half a kilometer down dip. It remains open as the drilling has yet to encounter any limits, with the potential size and ultimate scale of the mineralization unknown.

"We've doubled the reported mineralization in a short 2.5 years and I don't know how big this is going to get to," Sieb told Proactive Investors earlier this month, explaining that the large footprint on surface is shallowly dipping, making for a perfect open-pit model.

He went on to say: "This is a marked difference from what it looked like it in 2020. We've increased not only the length of the mineralization from surface but also the thickness as well, right now we've modeled an extent about 550 to 600 meters down dip, the mineralization is still continuing on strong."

Simply put, the upside potential of Fondaway Canyon is evident from the fact that Getchell just continues to find more gold.

Conclusion

In a protracted M&A cycle, gold assets with million-ounce resources like Fondaway Canyon may hold the key to unlocking the growth strategy of many major companies. The project ticks many boxes: location, history, size, you name it.

The hot gold market also presents the perfect time to advance these assets, as higher metal prices equate to higher returns and better project economics.

And with the gold industry sitting on piles of cash, there is a window of opportunity for gold explorers to keep growing their resource base and extract more value. That's exactly what Getchell will set out to do this year, as the company will work to expand the Fondaway resource through further drilling. Preparations for a much larger drill program than before are already underway.

"We've been increasing the drill meterage into the ground from 2020 through 2022, and this year we're targeting two drills turning all year long to continue to expand and increase the resources at Fondaway Canyon," Sieb said.

The chief executive added the market can expect an updated resource estimate and the completion of Getchell's next major milestone, a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), in the first half of 2024.

"We're moving up the tiers of de-risking and adding confidence to the project as we go," he added.

Given what Getchell has accomplished in such a short amount of time (i.e. a near doubling of the previous resource), there's no reason to not get excited by what the company has in store.

Getchell Gold Corp.

CSE:GTCH, OTCQB:GGLDF

Cdn$0.26, 2023.04.28

Shares Outstanding 106m

Market cap Cdn$27.6m

GTCH website

Richard (Rick) Mills

aheadoftheherd.com

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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The delay in getting approval for a new forestry programme "has taken its toll on the sector", according to the Irish Farmers' Association, "as farmers that do not hold technical approval cannot apply to plant".

Ireland's Forestry Programme 2023 to 2027 has been formally submitted to the European Commission for State aid approval, "but the waiting game continues", IFA national farm forestry chairman Jason Fleming said.

"Farmers that want to plant and avail of the new grants and premiums cannot make an application at present and will continue to be excluded from planting until State aid approval has been granted," Mr Fleming said.

"The programme needs to be opened as a matter of urgency.

"The negotiations that have taken place between the Department of Agriculture and the commission over the last number of months before the application was formally submitted will hopefully mean that approval of the programme will progress speedily."

The Interim Afforestation Scheme (via general de minimis) is open but only to farmers who hold a valid technical approval as of December 31, 2022, who had not commenced work on planting.

According to the department, over 1,500 hectares have been approved under the interim scheme, with almost 600 hectares newly established.

"The level of planting taking place under the interim scheme is encouraging but we need the programme to be approved without delay and the afforestation scheme to be open to all farmers," Mr Fleming added.

In November 2022, funding in excess of 1.3bn was announced for the new forestry programme.

Funding package

The funding package saw premium rates for farmers increase by between 46% to 66% depending on the forest type established, and the duration of the premium payment extended to 20 years.

Other stakeholders in Ireland's forest sector have expressed concerns about plans for tree-planting under the new programme.

The programme envisages large areas of native woodland and Irelands forest sector wants to ensure there is the right amount of commercial tree species in the mix.

Industry experts have said "if we dont get our act together on tree planting, we will destroy this industry down the road", and "all the investment and successful businesses will go into decline for lack of wood in the future".

John Murray who chairs the Irish Timber Council said it was disappointing to see the afforestation figures dropping from the highs of 20,000 hectares per annum in the 1990s to the lows of 2,000 hectares per annum presently.

"Timber is the only structural product used in a building that isnt mined from the ground and Irish timber is fully renewable as it comes from new-growth forests," Mr Murray said.

Our afforestation figures should be on an upward trajectory to combat climate change rather than being the worst since the Second World War which is a sad and startling fact.

"Our industry is based on all the good work of previous generations driving planting programmes to enable Ireland to have a sawmill sector of international scale, however, future growth is now in jeopardy due to the low afforestation figures."

Mark McAuley, Ibecs director of Forest Industries Ireland added that mixed commercial forests "are the backbone of the Irish forestry model".

"It is through commercial forestry that we have reached 12% forest cover in Ireland and a 300m tonne carbon sink," Mr McAuley said.

"We need to keep the conifer-broadleaf balance right or we risk undermining the economic rationale of forestry and severely limiting total afforestation.

We dont want forestry to become a small niche activity from where it stands right now, which is a 2.3bn industry employing 12,000 in rural areas."

Mr McAuley added that commercial tree species produce the softwood timber products that are required by the construction industry as well as pallets, fencing and other items.

"In the new Forestry Programme, we need to make sure that the mix is right between commercial forests and native woodland," Mr McAuley said.
There is "no incentive" for farmers to finish cattle earlier given how stagnant beef prices have remained over the last number of months, a farm organisation has said.

A collection of the latest news, views and analysis from the farming desk on the topic of Beef and Sheep.

Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association beef chairman Edmund Graham said that back in mid-December, farmers were getting 5.10 per kg for heifers and 5 per kg for steers. Mr Graham said there has been not "nearly enough upwards movement" seen since then, "and certainly not enough to have finished cattle earlier over the winter months".

"Throughput numbers are down on where they were this time last year and many factories have cut back to a four-day week - but market demand for beef remains strong," Mr Graham said. "This should add up to farmers achieving a fairer price but that is not what we are seeing.

"Cattle prices have been languishing around the 5.20 to 5.30 for months now despite repeated assurances that prices would increase significantly in early spring to offset inflated winter-feeding costs."

Conservative estimates by Teagasc show that prices would have needed to be at the 6 per kg level by early spring to cover the basic costs of production, Mr Graham noted, "but we havent come even close to that". "It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that any extra money spent on trying to finish cattle earlier would have been money down the drain," he added.

If farmers had taken the decision last September to invest in finishing cattle earlier for the springtime, they would have been "badly stung", Mr Graham said.

"Finishing cattle earlier is not cost neutral - it costs money," he continued. "It is an investment to commit to additional feeding and its a bad investment if farmers cannot achieve the price they need to justify the outlay.

"It is time for factories and the department to engage in a real debate with primary producers on how they are going to provide sustainable prices for winter finishers or any farmer considering finishing cattle earlier."

Exports

Mr Graham added that environmental sustainability "cannot be achieved by ignoring economic sustainability considerations". Bord Bia's recent figures show that cattle supplies at export-approved meat plants remained subdued at 32,211 head during week 16 of the year.

Total throughput for the year to date is 547,313 head, a decrease from 569,706 in the same period last year. Prime cattle numbers have tightened so far in 2023 in line with Bord Bia forecasts while forecasts for cull cow throughput have been revised upwards to reflect the stronger-than-anticipated number of cows being processed.

According to Bord Bia, the live export trade continues to provide an important alternative market outlet for Irish livestock. During the week ending April 16, there were 12,582 cattle exported out of the country which takes cattle exports for the year to date to 138,349 head, Bord Bia's figures show.

This figure is 3,984 head below the same period last year. For the year to date, cattle export figures are operating 3% behind the same period last year. The Netherlands, Spain, and Italy have continued to be the most important markets for Irish calves.
When Mary and Alan Hobart established a commercial art gallery in London in 1974, they named it 'The Pyms' in honour of their favourite gin-based tipple, Pimms. This may have seemed a frivolous gesture, but they soon proved themselves to be serious and formidable players in the art world. They once paid $7.7 million for Edvard Munchs 1902 painting Girls on the Bridge, for instance, only to sell it a few years later for $30.8 million.

What distinguished the Hobarts from other dealers in the London scene was their dedication to promoting Irish art at a time when it was far from fashionable, and even the likes of William Orpen and John Lavery had often been passed off as British to ensure their work would sell. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the couple mounted exhibitions such as The Irish Revival, Celtic Splendour, and Irish Renascence, bringing artists such as Orpen, Lavery, Jack B Yeats, and Mary Swanzy to the attention of international buyers.

Over the five decades they spent in business, the Hobarts held back many prestigious artworks to display in their own home. A selection of paintings from their personal collection in now being shown at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, under the title Championing Irish Art. Included are some well-known pictures by Orpen, Lavery, Yeats, and Swanzy, abstract paintings by Michael Farrell, Cecil King and Charles Tyrrell, and works made by Rita Duffy, William Crozier and FE McWilliam in response to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The Hobarts enthusiasm for Irish art stemmed largely from Mary Hobarts background, as her niece Lara Daly explains. Mary was a McKenna, says Daly. She was born in Co Monaghan, but the family moved to London when she was a child. Like a lot of people at that time, she left school at a young age and went straight out to work. But shes always been a very creative person. Shed see something she liked in a fashion magazine and make her own version of it.

"She remembers her father taking her to see the Festival of Britain in 1951, when theyd only been in London for six months or so. For Mary, that was a defining moment of her childhood; she was so inspired by everything she saw there.

When she married Alan Hobart, a young entrepreneur from Devon, they initially dabbled in the property business. For a while, they bought and refurbished houses and sold them on, before it became the big developer kind of industry it is now. Broadly speaking, Mary was the creative one while Alan had the business brain, though that sells both of them a bit short. But they had their designated areas within the business, and I think Mary was really the driving force to go into art.

Neither had any kind of formal background in the arts. The kind of people who run art galleries are often highly educated, possibly privileged, and might come from one of our longstanding art dealer families, says Daly. So Mary and Alan really felt a little bit out of their depth at first. But they got stuck in. Their attitude was that you got involved and you learned how to do it on the job."

Alan Hobart and Mary Hobart with Kenneth McConkey at A Free Spirit: Irish Art, 18601960 held at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1990.

Their first premises was a small shop on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge.

"They bought and sold lots of different kinds of art, and particularly marine art at the beginning. But they recognised that Irish art had value and should have been better known, and they decided to focus on that. William Orpen was someone they thought was an amazing painter and draughtsman, and really underappreciated. They thought he was someone they could sell in London. And after that, they promoted all these other Irish artists and it grew from there.

The Hobarts were instrumental in reviving interest in the work of Mary Swanzy, a major talent who was more or less forgotten after her death in 1978. Mary Swanzys niece came into the gallery and sought them out because she was looking for someone to entrust with her paintings. One of the conditions was that Mary and Alan had to be prepared to take the whole lot on, it wasnt just a case of taking a couple of paintings on sale or return.

"She was looking for someone who could help promote her aunt and help rebuild her reputation, but who would also be prepared to undertake all the archiving, restoration, stretching and framing of her work, and just manage everything really.

Daly says it was a daunting task, but one the couple found very exciting. "Mary Swanzys paintings are just so vibrant and inviting, and I think Mary and Alan felt excited by peoples response to the art and that drove them on.

As their business grew, it was almost inevitable that the Hobarts would start collecting themselves. Mary always wanted to bring things home, says Daly. They had this rule that everything had to go on the gallery walls at least once before theyd allow themselves to say, right, were going to keep that for ourselves."

The Hobarts moved their gallery to Mount St in Mayfair in 1994, where they had more space and were better able to exhibit contemporary artists, such as Rita Duffy. "They really wanted to offer a platform to young artists in London, so theyd do group summer shows and that sort of thing, just to exhibit their work," says their niece.

When IMMA organised a Mary Swanzy retrospective called Voyages in 2018, curator Sean Kissane liaised with the Hobarts and became familiar with their collection. Later, Kissane suggested they work together on the Championing Irish Art exhibition, which he has also curated.

Sadly, Alan Hobart didnt live to see the exhibition happen, but after his passing at the end of 2021, Mary Hobart was determined that it should go ahead.

Obviously, its a big deal to take these artworks out of Marys home, and leave her with all these empty walls, says Daly. But shes thrilled that the paintings shes loved and lived with for so long will be showing in Dublin. She and Alan were always enthusiastic about lending work for exhibitions, as it meant other people would have the opportunity to enjoy them."

Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection runs until July 23. Further information: imma.ie
RTE weather presenter Sarah-Jane ORegan has revealed that she has returned to work after time off following treatment for breast cancer.

The Irish Sign Language (ISL) weather presenter was back on our TV screens on Sunday evening after eight months off.

In a tweet marking her return, the teacher and TV presenter shared that she had been recovering from a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.

I'm thrilled to say I'm in good health. Grateful I get to pick up where I left off! Having a glass of wine now to celebrate this achievement!, she said.

She added that she had never heard of Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) prior to her diagnosis. According to the Irish Cancer Society, this is a very early form of breast cancer in which the cancer cells are within the milk ducts of the breast.

ORegan said that her baby girl and breastfeeding "saved" her.

I had never heard of DCIS before my diagnosis. I was so lucky it was caught during a mammogram before it became invasive, she said. The intial mammogram was to investigate a lump turned out to be a breastfeeding related lump. So I always say that my baby girl and breastfeeding saved me!

I'm back on #islweather after being off for 8 months.I've been recovering from a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.i'm thrilled to say I'm in good health.Grateful I get to pick up where I left off!Having a glass of wine now to celebrate this achievement! #DCISsurvivor pic.twitter.com/4duckODmr8  Sarah-Jane (@electricginger) April 30, 2023

She concluded by giving a special thanks to Professor Power and the brilliant staff at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.

I had a great support network around me and I had a meal train which I sorely miss! I have a great bunch of people in my life.

ORegan is well-known among the ISL community and has previously featured as part of the team of upbeat and energetic ISL interpreters for the Late Late Toy Show.
Air traffic control strikes in France are impacting thousands of passengers flying from Irish airports to France-based destinations.

A cancelled flight can be stressful, but it is important to know your rights and what exactly you are entitled to.

What to do if your flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to a choice of either a full refund or a re-routing. This includes re-routing as close as possible to the original departure time or re-routing at a later date.

It is worth noting that if you are offered a re-routing that departed no more than one hour before your original departure time and arrived no more than two hours after the original arrival time, you are not entitled to compensation.

But if you choose to be re-routed as soon as possible, the air carrier must provide you with care and assistance while you wait for the alternative flight. This may include accommodation if an overnight stay is necessary and meals and refreshments, depending on how long you are waiting. It may also inlcude transport between the hotel and airport if needed and two phone calls, emails or faxes.

Compensation also depends on the notice you were given of the cancelled flight. If you are informed more than two weeks before you are due to fly, unfortunately, you are not entitled to compensation. This gets a little trickier depending on the offered re-routing and notice of cancellation.

According to the Consumer Association of Ireland, if you are notified between seven days and two weeks before your flight and you were given an alternative option which left no more than two hours before your original flights departure time and arrived no more than four hours after the original arrival time, you are not entitled to compensation.

In the case of less than seven days notice, if the alternative flight left no more than one hour before your original flights departure time and arrived no more than two hours following the original arrival time, you are also not entitled to compensation.

If your cancellation falls outside of this, the compensation you are entitled to will depend on the distance of the flight. This can range from 250 for flights less than 1,500km to 600 for flights more than 3,500km.

However, if the air carrier proves the flight cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances, such as extreme weather or security risks, and was therefore unavoidable, no compensation is payable.

Queues at the Aer Lingus Bag drop in Dublin Airport. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

What to do if your luggage is lost

Under the Montreal Convention, the airline you fly with is liable if your checked luggage is lost, delayed or damaged  and not the airport.

If your bag fails to appear on the carousel upon arrival, report it as soon as possible to the luggage claim area. Here, you should fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) with the details of your bag.

The PIR is used to help trace your bag, but it is important to hold on to a copy of this in case you are asked for proof of reporting the issue. You may also be asked for your luggage tag number, which you should get during check-in, so be sure to hold on to this too. It is also advised to keep any receipts of any essential items you have had to purchase because of the delay or loss of baggage.

Following this, get the contact details for the baggage department. Some airlines have a number specifically for issues with luggage through which you can report it missing. In the case of Aer Lingus, you can check the status of a bag that has been reported as missing by using their designated baggage tracing service.

Depending on your airline, you may be entitled to a daily allowance while your baggage is delayed, so be sure to ask about this.

The compensation you are entitled to again depends on the airline.

Lost or delayed baggage is one issue being faced by passengers this summer. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

As stated by the Consumer Association of Ireland, you must submit a written complaint to the airline as soon as possible once your luggage has been missing for 21 days and is therefore deemed to be lost. For delayed baggage, the same complaint should be made within 21 days of it arriving.

Alternatively, depending on your travel insurance, you may be able to make a claim under your policy. If not, be sure to submit all receipts when making your claim. In the case of lost baggage, you must also submit as many original receipts as possible for the contents or proof of purchase of the items.

What to do if your flight is delayed

In the case of a short-haul flight (1,500km), the delay must be more than two hours while for a long-haul flight, (between 1,500km and 3,500km), it must be more than three hours. With other flights, the delay must be more than four hours.

In these cases, the air carrier may be obliged to provide meals or refreshments, depending on the length of the delay. If an overnight stay is needed, then this should also be covered along with transport between the hotel and airport.

If the air carrier cannot provide this, be sure to keep any receipts and you should be reimbursed for these additional expenses.

Passengers whose flight is delayed beyond the specified timeframe are also entitled to two free phone calls.

If the delay exceeds five hours and you decide to no longer take the flight, you are entitled to a full reimbursement.

This article was originally published in July 2022
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has not ruled out the compulsory purchase of land as a way of dramatically increasing the size of our national parks around the country.

Check out our Sustainability and Climate Change Hub where you will find the latest news, features, opinions and analysis on this topic from across the various Irish Examiner topic desks and their team of specialist writers and columnists.

Mr Ryan has said he wants the State to begin buying up significant tracts of land that adjoin areas such as Killarney National Park.

The minister said farmers will also have to play a part and will be encouraged to plant parts of their land in forestry to meet our carbon reduction targets.

Mr Ryan said native temperate rainforests need to be restored at scale if we are to protect biodiversity and native species.

"I think there are areas where we can start extending our national parks and creating really special areas. We will put money into that, we need to."

Mr Ryan highlighted 4,900 acres of private land in Glenasmole Valley, near the Dublin-Wicklow border, which was put on the market by Nama in 2016.

"I suggested to Michael Ring who was the minister at the time: 'Surely we should buy that', which we did for a really good price. And now that land is an extended part of the Wicklow National Park, Dublin Uplands National Park.

"We can start to really look at rewilding places like that. It gives us not just a kind of a beautiful island to live on, but it gives us resilience, it gives us biodiversity. These indigenous forests, these indigenous trees have real advantage for us in terms of ability to cope with local conditions," Mr Ryan said in an interview to mark the Irish Examiner's sustainability month.

Only 2% of the country is covered by native woodland and, according to The Plant Atlas 2020, more than half of Irish native plant species are in decline.

Mr Ryan said he would not be against the buying up of land through compulsory purchase order in order to restore biodiversity.

However, he said he doesn't want to "scare" farmers and other landowners. It would have to work in a way that people have a sense of pride in being part of.

"I am discussing this with my colleagues, and I think we will start to see planning for much, much more ambitious plans around particularly the likes of national parks.

"That's absolutely where we probably have huge potential and potential I mean, it's not just from tourism of local recreation, there's also a value to nature."

"We are selling ourselves as a green country, we have to be green, in reality, if we want to do that.

"So that type of model where you're looking at where we can purchase land and extend parks and really develop much bigger, more dramatic park areas. I think that absolutely makes sense and is where are we will look to go."

He said there is now a "real opportunity" to reverse the damage that has been done to our environment over the last 50 years.

Mr Ryan said young farmers are the "frontline climate heroes of the future" and must be given financial incentives to diversify.

"The are the one who will be improving water quality, restoring soil health, restoring insect and bird life, the people who manage our land are going to be the key people and we have to pay for that, pay them, through a whole different variety of sources," he said.
Both the Department of Defence and its former ministers must be included in the statutory investigation into systemic failures in the Defence Forces complaints procedures, according to a member of the Women of Honour group.

The investigation which is to be established was included in a list of recommendations made by the independent review group set up to examine gender-based violence, harassment and bullying in the Defence Forces.

The review group was set up after a group of current and former female members came forward as the Women of Honour last year to highlight gender-based violence, harassment and abuse in the Defence Forces.

One of the women, former Air Corps captain Yvonne ORourke, told the Irish Examiner: The inquiry has to be a complete investigation not only of the Defence Forces but also of the Department of Defence, up to and including ministers.

She was speaking ahead of a meeting between the Women of Honour and Tanaiste Micheal Martin at Government Buildings on Tuesday.

She said she made a protected disclosure in 2017 that I was sexually abused, that I was discriminated against and that there was bullying in the Defence Forces.

She said her protected disclosure remained on a shelf until she and the other members of the Women of Honour group went public.

If we dont get the right terms of reference now for this statutory inquiry, it is going to be a disaster," she said. "We need a complete investigation and everyone who needs to be called in to be called in. We are talking about even retired officers.

Toxic system

She said the groups aim was about changing a system that is really toxic.

We are really trying to get a blueprint  something that every organisation can use thereafter.

In the report published in March by the independent review group, 88% of female respondents in a survey reported they had experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment, compared with 17% of male respondents.

The report found the main perpetrators of misogynistic behaviour were male officers or senior NCOs. However, it also found such behaviour also came from male peers and sometimes female officers/senior NCOs.

In late 2020, the Workplace Relations Commission ordered the minister for defence to pay 117,814 in compensation to Ms ORourke.

The order was made after a finding that she was a victim of gender discrimination arising from an unacceptable systematic failure in the Defence Forces.

She said she had been discriminated against on the ground of her gender, by having had two maternity leave absences from work treated as the equivalent to the sick absence of a male officer, resulting in her having a poor performance rating.
The former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan has said her family would consider paying compensation to Ireland because of an ancestors role in the Great Famine of the 19th century.

If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading

Her great, great, great-grandfather Charles Trevelyan, a senior British government official, was among those who failed their people during the humanitarian catastrophe in the 1840s, she said.

Trevelyans comment opened a potential new front in her campaign for restorative justice, which so far has focused on the slave trade.

The former BBC correspondent quit the corporation to campaign full-time and in February travelled with relatives to Grenada to apologise and offer 100,000 (114,000) in reparations for the familys ownership of 1,000 enslaved people on the Caribbean island.

She has urged King Charles and the British government to follow suit and apologise for historical links to the slave trade.

Charles Trevelyan was the senior British Treasury official in charge of famine relief when potato crops failed in Ireland, leading to the death of a million people and the emigration of another two million.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulsters The Nolan Show, the former journalist opened the possibility of paying reparations: If the Irish government said the Trevelyan family are liable for what Sir Charles Edward did, then of course that would have to be considered.

Government policy

However in contrast to Grenada, where her ancestors owned a sugar cane plantation worked by slaves from Africa, in Ireland Charles Trevelyan was implementing government policy, she said.

I guess the distinction I would make is that in the Caribbean my ancestors were acting for private profit whereas Sir Charles was acting as an official for the British government, and the British government did in 1997 acknowledge his failures and the failure of others.

The then prime minister, Tony Blair, issued a statement that year to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the famine.

Many in Ireland equate the British governments indifference and bungling during the famine to genocide. Picture: Print Collector/Getty Images

It said: Those who governed in London at the time failed their people through standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive human tragedy.

There was no immediate response from the Irish government to Trevelyans comment.

Diarmaid Ferriter, a history professor at University College Dublin, said reparations seem impractical.

How do you quantify something on that scale and who takes responsibility for it?

Rather than dwell on any individuals culpability it would be more valuable to improve teaching of Irish history in Britain, he said.

Id see this as more of an opportunity to promote greater awareness of what happened.

Many in Ireland equate the British governments indifference and bungling during the famine to genocide. Trevelyans ancestor is notorious for a Victorian-era laissez faire policy that limited aid and permitted continued food exports. The ballad 'The Fields of Athenry', which is sung at sporting events, cites a young man who is to be deported because he stole Trevelyans corn.

Her ancestors views were not entirely clear, said Trevelyan. He both says the people cannot under any circumstances be allowed to starve  and they do starve, so hes failed by his own point. And he also seems to suggest that in some ways this is the divine punishment of God for a one-crop economy. Its very hard to defend any of it.
The UN's special representative for Sudan has described the situation in the country as "unprecedented".

Aid agencies have been struggling to help people on the ground as humanitarian aid is being looted.

So far, 218 Irish citizens have been evacuated, while the emergency civil assistance team is being withdrawn today.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin provided an update this afternoon, saying that "Ireland continues to offer strong support for evacuation efforts through our consular teams in Dublin, and across the region in Nairobi, Cairo, Amman, Riyadh, and Addis Ababa".

HR manager at GOAL Sudan, Sara Bashir Mohammed, said the fighting in Khartoum has been relentless.

"Our city is well known as one of the most dangerous places to stay at the moment," said Ms Bashir.

For more than 15 days, we have woken up to shooting, airplanes, and bombing every single day."

She said the streets are no longer safe, and the situation is highly unpredictable.

"I have a friend who lost her father because she was trying to move him from her house to the hospital and she couldn't find a vehicle or fuel, and when she did, he unfortunately passed away when he reached the hospital," she said.

That was once she could actually find a hospital. The status is critical and it is awful these days."

Ms Bashir said it is difficult to try to stay calm and be able to help those that need it.

Evacuees cross into Egypt through the Argeen land port, after being evacuated from Sudan to escape the conflict, east of the High Dam Lake on the international border lines between Egypt and Sudan, on April 27, 2023. Picture: AP

Meanwhile, Sudans warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the UNs top official in the country said.

The move came even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile ceasefire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable ceasefire monitored by national and international observers, said Volker Perthes, but he warned there were still challenges in holding the negotiations.

A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas, while in others fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46m people relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence.

The UN food agency said on Monday that it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-hit Darfur region early in the fighting.

Volker Perthes (centre), special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Sudan and Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

The World Food Programme will resume food distribution in four provinces  al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala, and White Nile  working in areas where security permits, said executive director Cindy McCain said.

Direct talks, if they take place, would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

For much of the conflict, army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.

Their struggle for power has put millions of Sudanese people in the middle of gun battles, artillery bombardments, and airstrikes.

Around 530 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed in the conflict, with another 4,500 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said.

Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.
Several roads in Co. Cork are crumbling due to years of underfunding and the increasing impact of climate change.

Check out our Sustainability and Climate Change Hub where you will find the latest news, features, opinions and analysis on this topic from across the various Irish Examiner topic desks and their team of specialist writers and columnists.

A senior council engineer says they need an immediate 30% increase in government funding just to keep pace with the damage caused by increased rainfall and this figure will probably have to rise to at least 50% as the impacts of climate change worsen.

Brendan OGorman, a senior executive engineer in North Cork, told the Irish Examiner that the amount of rain that fell in March  the wettest on record  will take his road crews until June to repair and he fears this will increasingly become the norm as rainfall levels get even worse in the coming years.

Mr OGorman, who is in charge of keeping 1,650km of roads open in the Fermoy Municipal District, says his experiences are just a snapshot of whats coming down the tracks.

We will be playing catch-up well into June before theyre repaired. We have had crews working on Saturdays to clear the backlog, Mr OGorman said.

We are going to have to see increased government funding. Roads in County Cork have been underfunded for the last 30 years.

We should be carrying out structural repairs to all our road network every 20 years, but because of the funding we get its now every 40 years.

He said the situation is further compounded by a number of factors and keeping roads open is going to get more challenging day by day.

As costs continue to increase (for labour and materials) we are getting less and less value (from grant aid). We also have issues with our own (council) staffing (not enough) with the lack of machines and contractors available to take on jobs, Mr OGorman said.

He said in his area funding enables the county council to carry out works to around 90km of its 1,650km network per year, but this needs to be an absolute minimum of 120km/year to just keep pace.

A 30% increase in funding would keep us on an even keel. But as rainfall figures get higher with climate change we will need more, probably an extra 20% on top of that, and these increases will have to be year-on-year, Mr OGorman added.

The government is providing some climate change funding to repair weather-damaged roads and bridges and to raise the level of roads that are in flood-risk areas. However, its very small money in the context of things.

For example, the Fermoy Municipal District Council budget for this in the current year was just 305,000. The repair of one bridge washed away in Araglin cost 60.000 alone.

The government needs to look at this funding (going forward). This money is being well spent but it will not be enough in the future. There are also other issues that need addressing. We need more resources amid labour shortages nationally," Mr O'Gorman said.
When the president of the University of Limerick telephoned from America, it was a surprise. The chancellor and governing body of the university had resolved to confer on me their highest honour, a Doctorate of Letters, she stated, and waited for my reaction. I couldnt work out how to respond.

Why? seemed ungrateful. Jasus! seemed inappropriate. I went with inappropriate. Kerstin Mey sounded baffled but amused. Her people would be in touch with me, she promised, to take care of the details.

And so it was that last week, fully briefed, I arrived at the UL campus to receive something that might mitigate the lifelong shame of being a dropout.

Now, fine, I do have a reasonably good reason for dropoutery. As a member of the Abbey Theatre company, I got the offer to perform in the West End for four weeks in Boucicaults The Sheachraun, starring Cyril Cusack. This would entail staying in Dame Sybil Thorndykes Chelsea apartment and shopping in Kings Road, the clothing Mecca of the late 60s. Or do my UCD first-year exams. Four weeks in the West End won.

The guilt of being a dropout was profound, however, especially since I had to follow my big sister Hilary, who not only was the first computer programmer in the Irish civil service, but has promiscuously gathered degrees and diplomas thereafter.

Then along came Fr Tom Savage, BA., BD., Dip. Soc Stud., QUB. At first, I thought QUB was a degree, until he told me that he was the only Catholic priest ever to study in or graduate from Queens University Belfast. He had to cycle to the university through a rampant unionist area wearing his black suit and Roman collar, which greatly enhanced his fitness due to the turn of speed required for survival.

When, a few years later, Tom Savage and I were plighting our troth, he suggested a two-strand pre-nup. The first strand was that we should split our degrees/diplomas down the middle and share them that way. Since I didnt have any, that was an easy one. The other strand was that we pool and share our weight, which, given that he was extremely thin and I was extremely the other way, was even easier to agree to.

You might think, accordingly, when our son was admitted to TCD, that Id have paid more attention to his academic career, but I learned only after the fact that, three months into reading English, they came to deconstructionism, and Anton, who had attended religiously to that point, went: Nah, youre grand, and found himself an informal apprenticeship in a garage, hitting the books three weeks before each exam and earning his degree that way.

His informal apprenticeship continues to be useful. You know when one of those weird hieroglyphic icons lights up on the dashboard of your car? When that happens me, I take a shot of it and WhatsApp it to him. He comes back with a response varying in urgency from Pull in to the hard shoulder, get out of the car, and run to Not a problem  light bulb broken, will fix during the week.

I cant honestly say I have ever felt the need to consult him about deconstructionism.

Against that background, being gifted a degree by UL was like getting a knighthood, without being smote with a sword. Chancellor Mary Harney is a warm, funny, kind woman, but when she silently looks at you from under her brow, it feels like shes considering how best to head-butt you. You definitely dont want her to smite you with a sword.

Then the vice chancellor  Rose Hynes, the aviation regulator  telephoned. Rose Hynes is a woman so formidable, you tend to miss the content of what shes saying in your effort to survive the existential threat she poses.

Had I, she demanded, seen the robes I would be wearing on the day? I confessed that I hadnt. A silence fell with an audible thud. Clearly I should have asked to see them. She sighed and sent me a photograph. Red, white, and gold. I might eschew checks and florals, she added severely, because the combination wouldnt be great.

I mail-ordered a black dress without any ornamentation whatever, which took conscious restraint because I have no taste. Normally, Id pick ruffles, frills, scattered crystals, and a dusting of sequins.

Then Aelish, the events person, told me there would be a procession between buildings on the day. Five hundred yards or so. I havent walked 500 yards in 40 years, am held together with metal after a traffic accident, and live in four-inch heels.

Aelish said John Kelly, the corporate secretary to the university, whod be reading the citation, would be walking beside me. The implication was that he would catch me if I stumbled. I wondered if the corporate secretary had been briefed on his pedestrian management responsibilities.

On the day, I was formally robed in a gown heavy with crafted detail. Then came the hat. The hat had a flat black rim the size of a cartwheel, over which sat a black velvet tam oshanter as big as a cowpat. This was circled by a gold cord with a tassel hanging down the side.

Because (as the vice-chancellor unhelpfully and audibly observed) I have a huge head, within five minutes the rim of the hat functioned like a garotte across my forehead. The tassel would suddenly assert itself every now and then like a personal wasp, causing me to shy to the right, where the corporate secretary stood his ground, which meant we collided our way through the procession. He was surprisingly affable about it.

Then it was the ceremony, with Mary Harney handing me a scroll and standing with me for photographs.

Sean Donlon, former secretary general at the Department of Foreign Affairs, former ambassador to the US, later warned me to be careful about using the Doctor address. Especially when booking air tickets. Should someone keel over mid-flight, you might be called on to exercise medical skills you didnt have.

That hadnt occurred to me. But even outside of flight, its generally considered naff to deploy an honorary doctorate. So I wont, after today.

Thirty years ago, Bill Murray made a film called Quick Change, playing the leader of a small gang breaking into a bank to hold customers and staff hostage. Murray, dressed and made up as a clown, coming through the door of the bank just as it closes for the evening, is accosted by a security man shouting: Hey, Bozo!.

Murray turns, points his pistol at the banks man, and says: Thats MR Bozo to you, OK?.

After this bank holiday weekend, I will get over myself and my doctorate. But for the rest of today, nobody should greet me as just ordinary me. Im unarmed, but the line will be similar.

Thats DOCTOR Terry to you, OK?
The nursing workforce is struggling with numerous complex intersecting issues including chronic shortages, inadequate staffing, excessive workloads, toxic workplaces and violence. The pandemic has compounded these challenges and introduced new concerns with occupational exposures, overcapacity issues, and mounting issues of burnout.

An Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) survey in 2021 found more than 90% of nurses have experienced mental exhaustion while off duty and 60% have considered leaving healthcare as a result.

Issues that include feeling disrespected, frustrated, overwhelmed, and lacking control over the way they practice their profession with little or no work-life balance has led to many nurses leaving the profession and many more contemplating leaving full-time positions.

One of the key issues is the cost of housing, particularly in major cities, being out of step with nurses' pay.

The prospect of additional payments to teachers and other public sector employees working in Dublin was raised earlier this month at the Irish National Teachers Organisation conference when delegates voted to instruct the unions executive to negotiate for the payment of such an allowance. However, Tanaiste Micheal Martin suggested that the provision of additional payments to teachers and nurses working in Dublin in order to address problems with recruitment and retention would be "very, very challenging" for the Government to agree to.

"We do acknowledge the challenge of residing near the school that you are working in the Dublin region given the impact of house prices and the anecdotal evidence that people are moving to schools further away from the capital as opportunities arise, but it is very, very challenging to come up with a pay framework that would respond to that," he said.

He added that the Government would seek to provide general supports that would help with affordability as addressed in the last budget with the cost-of-living package and tax credits for renters.

Another option that has the potential to be game-changing is the provision of accommodation for staff being recruited for work. The INMO has called for this to be provided at the new childrens hospital in central Dublin and has warned that the rollout of services at the facility will inevitably be delayed if the issue is not addressed as it will be impossible to hire the nurses required.

In January, one of the countrys busiest hospitals was reported to be considering buying property to accommodate "critical hospital staff" because of growing challenges posed by the housing crisis.

Reasonable rent

The Mater Hospital in Dublin is looking to purchase and develop property that could be used as accommodation and be provided to key healthcare workers at "a reasonable rental rate". The report noted that the "potential advantages to staff and the recruitment of staff were significant".

This would be most likely for up to 12 months  allowing critical hospital staff time to source more permanent accommodation  exactly what new nursing recruits need. However, longer-term affordable accommodation could still be a challenge at current rents in Dublin and other major cities.

In a statement, the hospital said recruiting and retaining staff was an important issue for the Mater Hospital, as it was for acute hospitals across Dublin, the country, and internationally.

"One of the areas that the Mater Hospital is examining is the provision of accommodation on a short-term basis for critical hospital staff to rent at a reasonable rate within a short distance of the hospital," the statement said.

The lack of affordable housing in Dublin is a challenge for any employer recruiting staff and the Mater Hospital is no different.

Similar plans have been developed in the UK for NHS staff. Key worker accommodation is close to busy hospitals in London and Southern England. Homes are reserved for staff working in the NHS and other critical public services. The scheme includes no agency fees when you start your tenancy; the inclusion of utilities  water and electricity in the rent; and accommodation close to the hospital where you work to save on travel time and costs; flexible tenancy agreements that allow you to rent from one night to one year and the ability to pay your rent straight from your salary if you work for the NHS.

Eligibility for the scheme includes all those in a permanent clinical role in the NHS (except doctors and dentists) as well as people working in another public sector role that qualifies for key worker housing where total household income is less than 60,000 sterling a year.

Available housing includes furnished single or double en-suites with shared kitchen facilities; a furnished studio; or one-, two- or three-bedroomed apartments depending on whether you are single, a couple, or a family.

This type of key worker scheme would have huge advantages in terms of affordable housing being consistently available for single people starting off on their career as well as couples and families looking for affordable housing near to their place of work in major cities across Ireland.

A recent paper from Canada Sustaining Nursing in Canada (2022) published by the Canadian Federation of Nursing Unions suggested that ongoing nursing recruitment issues in Canada needed to be addressed under three headings: retaining and supporting existing personnel; fostering the return and integration of recent leavers and internationally educated nurses; and the recruitment and mentoring of new trainees into a system that has been stabilised.

Targeted retention

Retaining and supporting existing nurses includes reducing excessive workloads, fostering supportive workplaces, supporting mental health, and targeted retention initiatives that take into account nurses experience in terms of time and specialist expertise.

Fostering the return and integration of recent leavers includes steps such as incentives to move from the private to the public sector and facilitating ease of return from abroad. The incentives offered to key workers to work in the Middle East, including health insurance and return flights home on a yearly basis, are examples of how successful these initiatives can be in attracting workers from abroad.

Recruitment and mentoring of new trainees is facilitated by expanding domestic training programmes as well as supporting and incentivising nurses to work in remote, rural or disadvantaged communities.

The report commented that a fourth R is respect for nurses, including them at key decision-making tables.

Critical to all of these factors is the availability of affordable accommodation close to their place of work for key workers within major cities. More workers being able to access accommodation has the potential to hugely improve the success of recruitment campaigns, ease work pressures and patient/ staff or pupil/ staff ratios in the health and education sectors across Ireland.

Now is the time to identify game-changing solutions to the accommodation crises for key workers in the public sector before the problem is aggravated by the start of new school terms in the autumn and further looming crises in the healthcare sector as winter approaches.

Dr Catherine Conlon is a public health doctor and former director of human health and nutrition at safefood.
The revolution will not be live-streamed in fact, it may be made up.

This, dear reader, is a cautionary tale on how what ChatGPT generates cannot be taken on face value.

In recent days, Education Minister Norma Foley has raised the emergence of AI and the need for students to be equipped in the new reality, with AI a force to be reckoned with.

In truth, she was somewhat behind the curve, because AI tools such as ChatGPT are already being used in Irish schools, both by students and teachers. My wife, a secondary teacher, has been something of an early adopter both in experimenting with it and training in it.

Its potential as a research assistant, which is what I tend to call it at home, is enormous  summarising events in bullet point or digestible paragraphs right out of the box, malleable enough to present the scaffold of essays and notes with sufficient guidance (and it needs a lot of specificity). But where it falls down a lot is including sources. You can get, say, the characteristics of the space race but it wont necessarily give you dates or even where it got the information.

Ask it to cite its sources, and ChatGPT will give a caveat about limited information and then give you some names and publications, presumably ones that are open enough online that they can be scraped by a search.

But that doesnt mean the sources are real, so the level of fact-checking required is still quite high, and its one of the things my wife highlights to students (theyre going to use it, so they may as well be guided on using it well).

The Guardian found recently that ChatGPT was inventing Guardian articles, so the danger of inadvertent misinformation is very real, as if we werent dealing with enough of that in the world already.

I have poked ChatGPT quite a few times about various things, usually to see if I can get it to crash (I have). Its been useful in gathering some background material for genealogical research, for example, information to do with the era my ancestors lived in rather than anything specific to them.

So I asked it about something even more esoteric.

This is where I need to make a confession. Im not only a historian by training, but a medieval historian at that (no, not Henry VIII). I wear it like armour but I see the way youre looking at me.

Getting a bead on Bede on ChatGPT

A few years ago I finished a doctorate on something super-specific: How one historian 1,300 years ago, Bede, drew on fears about the end of the world to write history. Basically: Get your houses in order folks, the end times are coming  rejoice! But no, seriously, cop on with the sin or God will smite you, look at what happened in history.

That cheery note struck, I wanted to see what ChatGPT could bring to the table on Bede and the end of the world, mostly because it was so hyper-niche I would be able to spot if it was spoofing an answer. And it gave a serviceable if vague enough answer, with broad strokes and not a source or supporting quote in sight.

Enter my attempt to break it.

And where would you put David OMahonys scholarship in this?

I expected it either to stall or respond that it didnt have the knowledge to answer. But it puffed out an answer that, I wont lie, was a boon to the ego.

OMahonys work on Bedes eschatology has been praised for its meticulous attention to detail and its careful analysis of sources, ChatGPT purred, if binary bits could purr. It then offered a few highlights that definitely gelled with my PhD and a few conference papers that I had online, so that at least told me it could access and digest UCCs Cora resource and stalk me through cyberspace. The thesis has been downloaded hundreds of times so its out there living its own life. But overall validation, sweet validation from the machine! Its what every scholar looks for deep down.

So I fired my last torpedo.

Cite your sources

Cite your sources please, I said, because manners cost nothing.

As an AI language model, I dont have access to a specific list of sources, but I can provide a general list of resources that scholars and researchers commonly use to study Bede.

And there it was, my name. But I had definitely not written an article for that prestigious journal, nor had chapters published by anthologies. Was there, by an unbelievable coincidence, a historian with the same name as me in the same field? I had felt that sense of creeping imposter syndrome before, when I came across a guy working on what looked like the very same thing as me (he wasnt and, as it turned out, he ended up the only other specialist suitable to evaluate my thesis).

When I checked the publishers catalogues, it became clear that not only was nobody by my name publishing with them, but that the articles themselves didnt exist. The titles looked like something Id write, but they were phantoms, electronic ghosts. ChatGPT had generated what it thought I would like to read, based on the subject, and it had pulled it out of its binary backside.

Whats the moral of the story here? Seeing is believing, for one. And theres no substitute for actual expertise for

another. While tools like ChatGPT have huge potential, and are certainly great for pulling together background notes, they are as fallible as their creators.

Unless they made those people up too.

Read More ChatGPT responses to patients rated more empathetic than doctors  research

David OMahony is Irish Examiner assistant editor and a historian
Sudans army and its rival paramilitary said on Sunday they will extend a humanitarian ceasefire a further 72 hours.

The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but the shaky truce has not so far stopped the clashes.

In statements, both sides accused the other of violations. The agreement has de-escalated the fighting in some areas but violence continues to push civilians to flee.

Aid groups have also struggled to get badly needed supplies into the country.

400 The number of civilians believed to have been killed in the fighting in Sudan

The conflict erupted on April 15 between the nations army and its paramilitary force, and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war.

Earlier on Sunday, an aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by the fighting, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which organised the shipment.

It arrived as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors association has said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

Smoke is seen over Khartoum as fighting rages (AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File)

The supplies, including anaesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said.

The aircraft took off earlier in the day from Jordan and safely landed in the city of Port Sudan, it said.

The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRCs regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said on Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum. The fighting pits the army chief, general Abdel Fattah Burhan, against general Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fitful transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

On Sunday, fighting continued in different parts of the capital where residents hiding in their homes reported hearing artillery fire.

There have been lulls in fighting, but never a fully observed ceasefire, despite repeated attempts by international mediators.

Over the weekend, residents reported that shops were reopening and normalcy gradually returning in some areas of Khartoum as the scale of fighting dwindled after yet another shaky truce.

But in other areas, terrified residents reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses.

Mr Youssef, the ICRC official, said the agency has been in contact with the top command of both sides to ensure that medical assistance could reach hospitals safely.

With this news today, we are really hoping that this becomes part of a steady coordination mechanism to allow other flights to come in, he said.

Mr Youssef said more medical aid was ready to be flown into Khartoum pending necessary clearances and security guarantees.

Sudans healthcare system is near collapse with dozens of hospitals out of service. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and evacuated employees.

On Sunday, a US warship also arrived to Port Sudan to evacuate more American citizens, according to footage from the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV channel.

Most of the estimated 16,000 Americans believed to be in Sudan right now are dual US-Sudanese nationals. The defence department said in a statement on Saturday it was moving naval assets toward Sudans coast to support further evacuations.
Researchers in the UK have developed technology that makes it possible to isolate and study how a single protein  which is 10,000 times thinner than a human hair  behaves and changes over time.

The scientists suggest the findings could help better understand proteins linked to conditions like anaemia or Parkinsons, and how they might respond to certain treatments.

Because changes to proteins  the building blocks of life  occur before symptoms of illness, their work could make it possible to identify and treat a range of diseases much earlier, potentially improving survival rates, researchers say.

In the future this breakthrough could play a key role in improving survival rates and reducing healthcare costs

Mohsen Rahmani, Professor of Engineering at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and a Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, said: This technology and technique give us the potential to identify protein changes in relation to disease emergence and progression.

We can look at lots of proteins and see how they react to different drugs.

In the future this breakthrough could play a key role in improving survival rates and reducing healthcare costs.

There has previously been no tool to enable us to study proteins in this way without destroying them.

The study by NTU researchers involves a very high concentration of light which, when passed through a specifically engineered nano structure, generates the right amount of force to grasp and hold a single protein within the fluid without damaging it.

The tiny structure is made of a slice of gold that has two small holes in it which are connected to form a shape like the number eight. The protein is trapped in the connection point of the two loops of the eight.

According to the study, published in the Nano Letters journal, the technology is able to detect how the light is scattered.

Researchers can then analyse this data to reveal how the protein is behaving in real-time.

As the technique can mimic the body by altering factors such as salt concentration, pH or oxygen levels, the protein is studied in its natural liquid environment.

Lead researcher Dr Cuifeng Ying, from NTUs School of Science and Technology, said: To be able to see things beyond your eyesight, you first need the right technology. Our nanostructure enables us to observe proteins at the nano-scale.

She added: Lots of proteins are linked to disease. If we can see the root problem then we can potentially treat them better and earlier.

As a proof of concept, the researchers studied ferritin  a protein in the blood which stores and releases iron to prevent diseases associated with iron dysregulation, such as anaemia.

During the study they were able to distinguish between the ferritin with iron and without.

This was because the data revealed differences in their weight and movement, and even the point at which the ferritin without iron began capturing and storing iron.

The study also involved the University of Nottingham and the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
A man whose wife and nine-year-old son were killed with three other people in Texas said the attack began after he asked a neighbour to shoot his gun further away from his home.

Wilson Garcia said the attack began 10 to 20 minutes after the man refused his request.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, is still at large despite a search involving more than 200 police.

Authorities are offering a reward for any information about his whereabouts but the FBI special agent in charge says investigators have no leads.

Wilson Garcia sheds a tear as he talks about his wife and son (David J Phillip/AP)

Mr Garcia said he had not even asked his neighbour to stop shooting his gun.

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late on Friday and Mr Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

So, Mr Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbours house to respectfully ask that he shoot further away from their home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Mr Garcia said after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his nine-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.

Mr Garcia called the police after Mr Oropeza rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. Mr Garcia could see the man on his front porch but could not tell what he was doing.

His family continued to called police  five calls in all, Mr Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.

And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Mr Garcia had walked back from Mr Oropezas house, the man started running towards him, and reloading.

Wilson Garcia is consoled during a vigil (David J Phillip/AP)

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Mr Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Mr Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Mr Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Mr Garcia said.

Also among the dead were Mr Garcias son, Daniel Enrique Laso, and two women who died while shielding Mr Garcias baby and two-year-old daughter.

Mr Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

I am trying to be strong for my children, Mr Garcia said, crying. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother.

Police went door to door on Sunday in hopes of finding any clues that would lead them to the suspect.

They recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Mr Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if he was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home, but said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

He probably fled the area on foot. During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County sheriff Greg Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Mr Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspects wife multiple times.
The White House said it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in the east of the country.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence.

He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby (Susan Walsh/AP)

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war.

The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Mr Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russias fight.

He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counter-attacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

Mr Kirby declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

Gen Milley said in November that Ukrainian casualties were probably also about 100,000.
Myanmars Crisis & the World Myanmars Civilian Government: Former UN Chief Happy With Junta Boss Talks

Ban Ki-moon during his meeting with Myanmar regime chief Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on April 24, 2023.

Former United Nations (UN) chief Ban Ki-moon appears to be pleased by his recent meeting with Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, in which he called for an end to coup-related violence, and will likely visit the country again in the future, said the deputy foreign minister of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), who met virtually with Ban last week.

Ban Ki-moon visited Myanmar as the deputy chair of The Elders, a peace-promoting international body founded by Nelson Mandela, at the invitation of Min Aung Hlaing on April 23 and 24. He met with the regime leader in the capital Naypyitaw and also met with former president U Thein Sein, who led a quasi-civilian government from 2011-2016.

Bans visit came at a time when Myanmar is engulfed by violence as armed resistance to the military regime has spread nationwide since the 2021 coup. The junta has resorted to the increasing use of airstrikes, raids and the burning of villages in its efforts to stop the resistance, killing more than 3,400 people so far.

In his press release about his meeting with the regime, Ban said that he urged the junta to adopt an immediate cessation of violence, and start constructive dialogue among all parties concerned, including the NUG, the parallel government that commands the loyalty of the vast majority of Myanmar people. The regime has branded the NUG and its armed wing, the Peoples Defense Forces, as terrorist organizations. Ban also warned the regime that the election they are planning must only be held when conditions were in place for them to be free and fair.

After meeting with the regime, Ban talked online last Thursday with the NUGs deputy foreign minister U Moe Zaw Oo to explain his Naypyitaw trip.

U Moe Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy that Ban seemed to believe that he had achieved his purpose by delivering his messages in person to the junta boss about ending violence and the proposed election.

I got an impression that he seems to be content as he was able to deliver his important messages to the junta, said the deputy foreign minister, adding that Ban will likely visit Myanmar again.

My understanding is that the recent trip is not his last and that he will visit again in the future, he told The Irrawaddy.

The deputy foreign minister said that Ban told him during the meeting he understood that he should have consulted with the NUG before flying to Naypyitaw to meet the regime chief. The NUG has called for anyone involved in solving the Myanmar crisis to reach out also to the civilian government.

He apologized to us for failing to do so given the sensitivity and importance of the trip and meeting, U Moe Zaw Oo said.

In a statement on Sunday, the NUG said its deputy foreign minister had asked Ban that any future visits to Myanmar be made in consultation with important stakeholders in the country including the NUG, and stressed the need for more coordinated pressure and sanctions on the junta from the international community.

So far the regime has refused to honor a peace plan adopted by regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as a resolution by the UNs Security Council. Both call for constructive dialogue among all stakeholders. Ban Ki-moon is the latest figure to urge the regime to begin all-inclusive talks.

Both ASEAN and the UN engaged with the junta last year by sending their envoys, but failed to make any breakthrough to end the regimes violence, as there was little or no tangible pressure on the junta.

Putting pressure on them and engaging with them should be done in tandem. If not, the regime will exploit you, said U Moe Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy.

It is unknown how Min Aung Hlaing reacted to the latest call for dialogue among all parties from Ban Ki-moon.

Last year, the NUGs acting president said that his government would consider entering into dialogue with the military regime only if it stopped killing civilians, guaranteed its withdrawal from politics and agreed to abolish the 2008 constitution that favors the militarys dominance in politics. The junta didnt respond to his statement.

Myanmars recent history suggests that the generals are allergic to talks, especially when it comes to politics.

After the Myanmar militarys coup in 1988 and following the repression of the previous junta, the international community, including the UN, sent a series of envoys to persuade the then regime to hold talks with the opposition to end the countrys political deadlock.

The regime, though, refused to listen and nothing positive developed from the envoys requests.
War Against the Junta Myanmar Regime Checkpoints Near Govt Offices Raided in Resistance Stronghold

Fighters from Monywa Peoples Defense Force Battalion 5

Five Myanmar junta soldiers were reported killed on Saturday when a combined force of Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) attacked regime checkpoints near government offices in Monywa, the capital of resistance stronghold Sagaing Region.

Around 10 resistance groups including Monywa PDF Battalion 5 jointly ambushed two junta checkpoints near the towns Road Transport Administration Department and Agriculture Department offices.

At least five military regime troops were killed in Saturdays attack, according to Monywa PDF Battalion 5. The Irrawaddy was unable to verify the claim independently.

Local residents confirmed the attacks, saying that they heard gunfire.

A store owner close to the Road Transport Administration Department said that all shops nearby are closed following the attack.

Most of the shops are still closed. I think I will probably open my shop in the next two or three days, she said on Monday.

A Monywa PDF Battalion 5 resistance fighter said that his team members conducted the mission with great care to prevent civilian casualties.

I think local residents have also become adept at adapting to the revolution and avoiding the areas where fighting occurs, he added.

Resistance group Chindwin Attack Force, which took part in the attack, also released a short video showing the fighting between regime troops and the combined resistance forces.

The footage reveals resistance fighters trying to rescue a wounded comrade, as well as the reverberating sound of gunfire.

Four resistance fighters were injured in the attack, according to Monywa PDF Battalion 5.

The Monywa Road Transport Administration Department has been attacked several times this year.

Around forty junta troops have been stationed in the compound of the Road Transport Administration Department since the 2021 coup.
War Against the Junta Over 40 Myanmar Regime Forces Killed in Single day of Resistance Attacks

Cobra Column fighters in Karen State. /Cobra Column

At least 41 Myanmar regime forces were killed in a single day on Saturday when Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) stepped up their attacks against junta targets across the country.

The incidents were reported in Sagaing and Mandalay regions and Chin, Mon and Karen states.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks by PDFs and EAOs. Some military casualties could not be verified independently.

Military bases raided in Sagaing



Resistance forces clash with regime troops on Saturday in Monywa Town, Sagaing Region. /Chindwin Attack Force

At least five regime forces were killed on Saturday evening and many others injured in Monywa Town, Sagaing Region when ten PDFs jointly raided Myanmar military units stationed at the junta-controlled offices of the Road and Transport Department and Agriculture Department, said Chindwin Attack Force which coordinated the attacks.

Four PDF fighters were wounded in the raid.

Drone strikes on junta base in Sagaing



PDF drones bombing regime targets in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday. /Unicorn Guerrilla Force

Unicorn Guerrilla Force PDF said that it coordinated with 13 other resistance groups to launch drone strikes on Saturday afternoon on 6005 Military Artillery Battalion stationed at Ohn Taw Village in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region.

The PDF drones dropped bombs on the sentry post at the entrance to the military base, as well as on a building housing armored vehicles.

On Saturday evening, further drone strikes were carried out against the pro-regime village of Mar Lal Taw, where military regime soldiers and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia are stationed.

Casualties and damage from Saturday evenings drone strikes are unknown.

Military truck repeatedly ambushed in Mandalay

Tagaung PDF claimed that it and another PDF killed at least 15 regime forces on Saturday in the Tagaung area of Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region after repeatedly ambushing a truck carrying 50 soldiers.

Some 14 landmines were used in the attack, which left the truck badly damaged.

Regime checkpoint raided in Mandalay



Resistance forces attack a military checkpoint in Myingyan Town, Mandalay Region on early Saturday. / MGN District Army

At least 12 regime forces including three policemen and three Pyu Saw Htee militia were killed early Saturday morning and many others injured in Myingyan Town, Mandalay Region when two PDFs raided the No. 6 military checkpoint, according to resistance group Myingyan District Army, which coordinated the raid.

A video shot by the resistance group shows a firefight in the dark.

Army major among five killed in Karen clash

At least five regime soldiers including a major were killed on Saturday and six other injured in a clash with resistance group Cobra Column in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, said Cobra Column.

Fighting erupted when junta troops attempted to raid the area controlled by the resistance group. Regime forces fired around 100 rounds from artillery and a multiple launch rocket system, as well as calling in a Y130 fighter jet to launch airstrikes.

Ammunition, equipment and an anti-drone jammer were seized from the regime forces, said Cobra Column.

Two junta soldiers killed by drone strikes in Mon

Two regime troops were killed and two others injured on Saturday evening in Bilin Township, Mon State when seven PDFs and EAOs including the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, jointly conducted drone strikes on a junta sentry post on a bridge, said Thaton PDF, which took part in the attack.

Some five bombs were dropped on the sentry post.

Junta troops clash with Chin resistance in Kanpetlet

Chin Defense Force (CDF) Kanpetlet claimed to have killed two regime soldiers on Saturday in fighting with junta troops stationed in Kyin Dway Town in Kanpetlet Township.

The firefight broke out between Kyin Dway and Ngar Aww Kyinn Village after regime forces entered an area controlled by the resistance group, said CDF Kanpetlet.
Today

Clear skies. Low 56F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 56F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.

Tomorrow

Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. High around 75F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
The government of Djibouti announced on Sunday that it is cracking down on irregular migration, with around 3,000 people being rounded up by police to be deported, according to state-run television.

Interior Minister Said Nouh Hassan said that the strategic Horn of Africa nation had become saturated by an influx of people from neighbouring countries, with 220,000 arriving illegally in 2022 alone.

Djibouti, with a population of around one million, lies on a migration route from Africa, which is often dangerous and perilous for people fleeing conflict and climate disasters or seeking a better life. Hassan said in a televised address that Djibouti had decided to take action to protect the well-being and safety of its population and control the flow of migrants into the country.

The security forces were forced this Sunday to carry out an emergency operation to combat crime and the trafficking of illicit goods observed in a certain sector of Djibouti city, he said.

State-run television RTD reported that around 3,000 people had been detained in the operation and taken to deportation centres to be transported in trucks back to their country of origin. These operations will continue throughout the territory, Hassan said.

He said that irregular migrants who were employed in the informal sector could register and be provided with circulation documents on condition that their employers declared them to the local authorities.

For those without work, we invite them to return immediately and voluntarily to their country of origin, he said. He said there was a 30-day deadline for the irregular migrants to abide by the new rules.

According to AFP, Bilan, a jobless 45-year-old in Djibouti, said: Illegal immigrants are like a time bomb in Djibouti, there are so many of them. However, he declined to give his full name.
France faces criticism at UN for alleged police brutality, discrimination based on race and religion

Numerous countries expressed concern about police violence in France, including against protesters, at the United Nations on Monday.

France is heading into another day of mass demonstrations while the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) raised problems with attacks on migrants, religious intolerance and racial profiling.

During the review, Swedens representative demanded that France address the allegations of extensive use of force by police and gendarmes against protestors transparently.

Denmark, Liechtenstein, and Norway were among other countries that raised similar concerns, alongside Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, despite facing allegations of human rights violations and police violence themselves.

The criticism arrives as France expects up to 1.5 million protesters to mark the May 1 workers day, amid the divisive pension law that has sparked anger and social unrest.

Several countries including the United States and China urged France to do more to battle racial and religious discrimination during Mondays review.

Sabrine Balim, a judicial advisor with the French interior ministry, claimed that Frances use of force was controlled and sanctioned, and racial profiling was condemned.
The latest banking failure has resulted in the US financial authorities taking possession of the troubled First Republic Bank in California, which will be acquired by JPMorgan Chase, as announced by government regulators on Monday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stated, To protect depositors, the FDIC is entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all of the deposits and substantially all of the assets of First Republic Bank.

 The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation stated that JPMorgan will assume all deposits, including those uninsured, and a majority of the assets.

 First Republics shares plummeted after it disclosed last week that it had lost more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter and failed to come up with a workable rescue plan.

The federal government stepped in with the FDIC and the US Treasury approaching six banks last week to gauge their interest in buying First Republic assets, a source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

With its assets standing at $233 billion at the end of March, First Republic is set to become the second largest bank to fall in US history (excluding investment banks, like Lehman Brothers) after Washington Mutuals bankruptcy in 2008 (AFP).
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced that he is sending an envoy to the Sudan region amidst an unprecedented situation there, as deadly hostilities continue into a third week.

The army and heavily armed paramilitaries in Khartoum are still fighting, even as a widely breached ceasefire is extended for 72 hours.

UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths will serve as the envoy and stated on Sunday that Sudans humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point.

 Griffiths is travelling to the region immediately to explore how relief can be brought to millions of people whose lives have been turned upside down.

However, the massive looting of humanitarian offices and warehouses has depleted most of their supplies, with urgent ways of bringing in and distributing additional supplies being explored.

The obvious solution would be to stop the fighting. More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes since battles erupted on April 15.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated that the scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan, with Griffiths noting that families are struggling to access basic commodities and urgent healthcare is severely constrained, raising the risk of preventable death.

Five containers of intravenous fluids and other emergency supplies are currently docked in Port Sudan awaiting clearance by authorities.
The UN predicts over 800,000 individuals may flee Sudan in the near future.

The United Nations has warned that the ongoing fighting in Sudan could result in over 800,000 people fleeing into neighbouring countries.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, stated that it is currently planning for hundreds of thousands of people to potentially flee the violence that began on April 15.

UNHCR, with governments and partners, is preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries,

 tweeted Filippo Grandi, the agencys chief. We hope it doesnt come to that, but if violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety.

Such planning does not necessarily indicate that the UN expects this number of people to flee, but that it is anticipating and planning for the possibility.

Gun battles and explosions continued to rock Sudans capital, despite the latest truce agreed between the warring parties.

The ongoing bloodshed has led to a mass exodus to neighbouring countries, including Egypt, Chad, and the Central African Republic. According to UNHCR, at least 73,000 people have already arrived in those countries from Sudan, including Sudanese nationals and mainly South Sudanese refugees.

Before the conflict began, Sudan hosted one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, with 1.13 million refugees, including 800,000 from South Sudan.

The fighting has also led to a mass evacuation of foreigners and international staff by land, sea, and air.

Grandis latest estimate of how many people could flee the violence has dramatically increased from the planning figure of 270,000 that UNHCR gave last Tuesday.

The humanitarian crisis has brought the country near its breaking point, warned the UN.

SOURCE: JOWHAR AND AGENCIES
Middle East Monitor )  On a banner displayed on one of the Sudanese Armed Forces Khartoum buildings, a phrase inscribe in red colour, reads I am Sudan, summing up the whole recent history of the country and explains much of the current bloody power struggle. This short sentence says that the countrys Armed Forces have, and will always be, an integral part of any plans for the Sudans future. It captures the historical claim of legitimacy of the Army, including its right to shape the future.

What usually happens in the never-ending alternating between civilian and military rule is simple: people would demonstrate against the government of the day for whatever reasons, hundreds get killed and injured by the army, before another government comes in. A few years later, the same cycle is repeated, when another general would step in and take over.

Indeed the Sudanese Army, like many others in the region, has been the backbone of the country since independence in 1956, when the Republic of Sudan was first formed and led by a civilian government headed by Ismail Al-Azhari. Two years later, his successor, Abdallah Khalil, was deposed in a military coup led by General Ibrahim Abboud. In May 1969, Colonel Gaafar Muhammad Al-Numaryi led another successful coup, forming a military government that would last until he was toppled in a civilian uprising in April 1985.



Power struggle in Sudan, between Genersl Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan and his Deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo  Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Fearing violence and further deterioration in the country, another General stepped in and took over, promising democratic rule within a year. General Muhammad Hasan Siwar Dhahab handed over power to an elected civilian coalition. Another coup was in the making and Omar Al-Bashir came to power, to stay as head of state until massive civilian demonstration ended his rule in 2019 and, again, the Army took over, leading the country to where it is today.

All previous governments, either military juntas or civilian administrations, have promised elections and return to elected government. They usually deliver on such promises; at some point, elected civilians indulge in bickering and quarrels giving another general the excuse to take over. However, this time we have two generals instead of one: Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Commander of the Sudanese Army.

During these rather tenacious coups and counter-coups, full and effective transition to democratically elected government, decided by the ballots not bullets, fails. More people are killed and injured by the same Armed Forces that always claim they took over only to protect civilians and keep the country united.

In reality, all Sudans major problems have either been started by the Army or took place under its watch. As early as the 1960s, the generals seemed to be making things worse every time they intervened, claiming to help the nation make that elusive turn to multiparty democracy. Political parties and publicly recognised politicians have always been part of the Sudanese political tradition. Many prominent political parties have been around long before independence, enjoying great public credentials too. But, once in power, things go wrong and the generals are ready again.

Once in power, the Army somehow becomes the problem and the creator of more problems. Even the secession of South Sudan into an independent country in 2011 happened because the generals failed to solve what started as a political issue.

When the late Colonel John Garang picked up arms against the Khartoum government in the early 1980s, he was not demanding full independence for South Sudan. His original idea was power sharing, more self-rule for the south and, above all, democratic political process within a united and stable Sudan. When all that failed and the civil war became more protracted, encouraging more foreign powers meddling, South Sudan independence became inevitable. Today, there are two failing Sudans, instead of one.

The Sudanese Armed Forces never publicly rejected democracy. In fact they, historically, always lent support to the idea in some form. Once in power, they would do everything, under all sorts of excuses, to derail the process at some point. Such history makes the democratic transition, under General Siwar Dhahab in 1986, a unique experience in the Armys long history of power grabbing.

The power struggle that broke out on 15 April appears to be different to all previous similar situations in which the Army, ultimately, prevails  not necessarily for the good of the country, though. General Hemedti, is also claiming to lead a parallel official army, known as the Rapid Response Forces. His help was essential for the removal of his former boss, Al-Bashir, giving him some credit to claim some kind of legitimacy in being for the people, something his counterpart Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, wants to deny him.

The irony here is that, deep down, both men never really believed in the idea of transition to democracy in which the all armies, both official and otherwise, have no role other than what the constitution provides for them. But generals, in this part of the world  including Sudan  hate constitutions because such documents usually strip them of any legitimacy to claim power.

This makes any talk of a negotiated settlement between the two men as hopeless. Generals usually settle their disagreements on the battlefield, on piles of civilian corpses and mountains of destruction.

While the United States brokered truce appears to be partially holding on its second day, it should not be taken for granted that it will become a permanent ceasefire, as many hope. Even if that happens, it is unlikely to lead to any political process that might end in return to a civilian rule through elections, any time soon.

In a way, Hemedti and Al-Burhan will continue to fight for the I am Sudan motto, rather than for democracy and Sudans future. Each one of them believes he has the right to decide when and how any democratic transition should happen when, in fact, both are only repeating the vicious cycle of military rule and its disastrous consequences.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.

Via Middle East Monitor
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By Mylene Ratelle, University of Waterloo | 

(The Conversation)  Behind each door and gate in Sinuni, Iraq, there is a different story of trauma and resilience. The Yazidi community is still coping with the trauma and mental health burden following the ISIS genocide of 2014, where thousands of men, women and children were killed, tortured and kidnapped for sexual slavery.

Eighty-one mass graves have been discovered, the most recent of which was found in June 2022.



(Mylene Ratelle) , Author provided



The Yazidi community is based in Sinjar region, which is located in Nineveh Governorate, in northern Iraq. For thousands of years, this Mesopotamian-based population was persecuted for their unique ethno-cultural and religious beliefs, which promote harmony and peace.

After the genocide of 2014, members of the Yazidi community looked for safety in countries all over the world. However, a community core still stands with resolution on the land where their ancestors were born, around the Sinjar Mount. Some by choice, some because they were not able to leave.

A study from 2015 estimated that 2.5 per cent of the Yazidi population was either killed or kidnapped over the course of a few days in August 2014. Thousands were kept as sexual slaves. As such, it is not surprising that a study published in 2022 investigating the traumatic experience of displaced Yazidis living in a Kurdistan camp estimated that about four out of five respondents had PTSD symptoms, and that women had a higher rate and score of trauma and PTSD symptoms. Resilience strengthening is a key for the treatment of those survivors, especially for the Yazidi individual, collective and transgenerational traumatization.

Link between mental health and cultural identity

Research has indicated that a positive cultural identity contributes to better mental health. Cultural identity is a concept that encompasses personal, ethnic and social self-identity, which is critical for self-esteem.

In a longitudinal study with Asian and Latino youth, cultural identity was associated with lower levels of depression symptoms. In addition, for Syrian refugees, the sense of belonging to a social or cultural community was a predictor of lower levels of depression symptoms, as well as greater life satisfaction.

Historical colonialism, oppression and marginalization have contributed to poor mental health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Australia. However, cultural identity seems to have a role to play in health and well-being.

For example, for Australian Indigenous people in custody, their cultural engagement was associated with non-recidivism. Cultural continuity helped Indigenous communities of Canada to thrive, and promoting the sense of collective pride might contribute to positive mental health.

As such, the idea was suggested recently that mental health programs should support the development of cultural identities, with the potential to improve psychological well-being.

Since the genocide, some Yazidis report a renewed interest in their Yazidi cultural and political identity. They have a stronger will than before to protect Yazidi holy sites, preserve oral traditions and hymns and their unique cultural practices.

Humanitarian intervention

My work is usually done in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples in North America, who deal with systematic racism, exclusion and stigma, generational trauma, awful abuses from residential schools and thousands of unmarked graves of children.

The Yazidi issues are a different type of deliberate horror, and are still very recent in the memory of survivors. Medecins Sans Frontieres warned the world in 2019 of the mental health crisis and of increasing suicide rates in the region.

I was recruited by Medecins Sans Frontieres in summer 2022 to support a health promotion program in Sinuni, Iraq. The role of our health promotion team was to provide a bridge between the local hospital services and the population, as well as to implement preventive initiatives to improve physical and mental health in the community. In parallel, mental health professionals were offering support to the residents.



(Mylene Ratelle) , Author provided



During our outreach activities, we often got a glimpse of the depth of the trauma of some community members, and witnessed their mental challenges. These included expressions such as:

How can I be stress-free while there are 21 members of my family who are still missing?

My fathers house was destroyed years ago. Every time I see it, next to my house, it makes me sad.

I think about killing myself, day after day. We dont have skills, hobbies, hope.

Many of us have someone we dont let alone in the house because we fear they might kill themselves.

As part of the mental health activities, I developed the content of a series of workshops, with the aim to:

destigmatize mental health issues, improve individual resiliency to stress by learning techniques to decrease anxiety at home, increase community support, social capital and cultural identity to prevent and cope with mental health issues.

Those workshops were implemented by the team in homes and schools. As part of the last workshop, there were participatory activities on the importance of peer groups, on the role of cooking and traditional practices. One key activity was to invite participants to sing traditional songs together.

The aim of those activities was to bring awareness on the positive impact of cultural identity, and strengthen social relations between neighbours. Those activities were evaluated, with participants reporting immediate and lasting positive impacts.

Assessment of the workshops indicated increased happiness index: 58 per cent were above the threshold for depressive symptoms before the workshop while 92 per cent of participants were above the threshold immediately after. In addition, after two weeks post workshop, there were fewer participants self-isolating and meeting socially once a month or less (30 per cent versus 10 per cent post-workshop), and there was an increased average number of social activities.

Our team observed that the Yazidi are collectively strong, resilient and hopeful. However, the trauma is still acute, and the extent of the mental health issues is such that it could pass on a generational trauma.

As several NGOs cease their activities in the region, there are fewer organizations offering mental health care for the Yazidis, on the south and north side of Sinjar Mount.

However, more work needs to be done to improve mental health in the region via health promotion, counselling, therapy and psychiatry. There is also an opportunity to support cultural identity to reinforce mental health resilience.

Mylene Ratelle, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a state visit to Portugal and Spain last week. He was primarily seeking trade agreements, and especially wished to prepare the way for agreement this summer on a huge European Union  Latin American free trade zone.

Article continues after bonus IC video

The second coming of Lula: Brazils president in superpower balancing act  FRANCE 24 English

He was, however, also dogged by questions about Ukraine and Russia.

He replied, There is no doubt that we condemn Russias violation of Ukraines rights with the invasion, but it is of no use to say who is right or wrong. The war must be stopped.

Resumenlatinoamericano reports that he complained that the current international mechanisms for peacemaking are broken. He said, We live in a world where the UN Security Council, the permanent members, all of them are the worlds biggest arms producers, theyre the worlds biggest arms sellers and theyre the worlds biggest war participants.

He pointed to the invasion of Iraq by the US without a UN Security Council resolution as an example of lawlessness by members of the UNSC. MEMO quotes him as saying, When the United States invaded Iraq, there was no discussion in the Security Council. When France and England invaded Libya and when Russia invaded Ukraine, there was no discussion either.

He added,

Why arent Brazil, Spain, Japan, Germany, India, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa [permanent members]? Those who currently make decisions are the winners of the Second War, but the world has changed. We need to build a new international mechanism that does something different. I think it is time that we start to change things and it is time that we make a G20 of Peace, which should be the UN.

Lula has spoken before about his notion of a G20 of Peace, countries with the weight in world affairs to mediate peace agreements but which had the respect of both sides in major conflicts. These would include Indonesia, India, China and some Latin American countries.

He complained that the UN is no longer intervening effectively to resolve longstanding disputes.

The UN was so strong that, in 1948, it managed to create the State of Israel. In 2023, it fails to create a Palestinian state.

Lula was presumably referring to the 1947 United Nations General Assembly resolution proposing a partition of British Mandate Palestinian into a Jewish and a Palestinian state. This resolution did not actually create Israel, though it gave the idea international legitimacy and supporters of Israel have often cited it for that legitimacy.

In fact, the UNGA is a deliberative body and had no authority to partition Palestine, which the 1939 British White Paper had promised to the Palestinians for a state of their own.

Pro-Israel propagandists often say that the Jewish community in Palestine accepted the UN partition plan whereas the Arabs did not.

This allegation assumes that it was virtuous to accord the UN General Assembly an authority it did not have. It is also incorrect, since the Jews in British Mandate Palestine fought hard in 1948 to subvert the borders proposed by the UNGA, much expanding the territory claimed for the new state of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians, over half of whom were ethnically cleansed. David Ben Gurion, Israels founding father, noted in his diary in May 1948 when Israel came into existence that it had no fixed borders, just as the US had not. He clearly envisaged a big expansion. Ben Gurion later launched the 1956 war on Egypt in a bid to seize Egyptian lands for himself. So nothing in the historical record would make a dispassionate observer conclude that the Israelis accepted the UNGA partition plan, despite its vast generosity to them far beyond what their land ownership (6%) or population (1/3) would have warranted.

As for the Palestinians, they never got their state, in large part because Israel illegally seized Gaza and the West Bank in 1967 and have squelched Palestinian aspirations ever since, while sending in hundreds of thousands of Israeli squatters to steal Palestinian privately-held land and build Jewish-only housing on it.

Lula is correct, however, that the United Nations has not played the sort of role in midwifing a Palestinian state in 2023 that its founders would have wanted for it. That is because the United States systematically vetoes any UN Security Council resolution that would advance the cause of Palestinian statehood.

That obstreperousness was what Lula was complaining about. He was saying that the Security Council cant make peace in the world because the five permanent members are themselves serial aggressors and they are not honest brokers in the major conflicts the world faces.

His point is a smart one, that the architecture of international peacemaking envisaged by the framers of the UN in San Francisco in 1945 has proven inadequate to the task or been subverted by the warmongering of the five permanent members. Whether his proposed fix has any life in it remains to be seen.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Group Eleven Resources Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV: ZNG) (OTC: GRLVF) (FRA: 3GE) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 11,111,111 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.09 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. All currency in this news release is denominated in Canadian dollars.

Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one non-transferrable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 36 months from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.15 per Warrant Share.

The Private Placement will be made available to subscribers pursuant to the accredited investor and friends, family and business associate exemptions provided under sections 2.3(1) and 2.5 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions.

The Company expects to pay finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement to certain eligible finders in the form of: (i) a cash commission of 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder; and (ii) the issuance of such number of non-transferable common share purchase warrants of the Company (the "Finder's Warrants") equal to 6% of the Units issued under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement primarily for follow-up drilling on the Company's Ballywire zinc-lead-silver discovery at the PG West project (100%-interest) in Ireland, as well as for general and administrative purposes. There may be circumstances, however, where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of funds may be necessary.

Michael Gentile currently holds 26,366,614 Common Shares and 6,508,333 Warrants, each Warrant entitling Mr. Gentile to purchase one additional Common Share upon payment of additional consideration to the Company. These Common Shares and Warrants represent approximately 16.66% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 19.95% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. Mr. Gentile has agreed to subscribe for up to 15% of the Private Placement which, in the event the Company issues the full 11,111,111 Units in the Private Placement, would result in Mr. Gentile subscribing for 1,638,889 Units for aggregate cash consideration of $147,500. Following the completion of the Private Placement, Mr. Gentile would beneficially own and control an aggregate of 28,005,503 Common Shares and 7,327,777 Warrants, representing approximately 16.53% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 19.99% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

The Private Placement is subject to all necessary regulatory approvals including acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

The ownership percentages of Common Shares described above are based on the Company having 158,301,502 Common Shares issued and outstanding as of the date of this news release and 169,412,613 Common Shares outstanding upon completion of the Private Placement.

About Group Eleven Resources

Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSX.V: ZNG; OTC: GRLVF and FRA: 3GE) is a mineral exploration company focused on advanced stage zinc exploration in Ireland. Additional information about the Company is available at www.groupelevenresources.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bart Jaworski, P.Geo.

Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the anticipated proceeds to be raised under the Private Placement; the use of any proceeds raised under the Private Placement; and the payment of finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required regulatory approvals for the Private Placement; market uncertainty; and the inability of the Company to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement.

In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the Company will obtain the required regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approvals for the Private Placement; the Company will be able to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; and the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) ("Nevada King" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company is proceeding with a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Non-Brokered Private Placement") of 11,111,111 common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") at a price of $0.45 per Common Share for aggregate gross proceeds of $5-million. The Non-Brokered Private Placement is fully allocated and is expected to close on or about May 18, 2023. The Company has also entered into an agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the "Agents") in connection with a brokered financing of up to 11,111,111 Common Shares at a price of $0.45 per Common Share to raise additional gross proceeds of up to $5-million (the "LIFE Offering" and together with the Non-Brokered Private Placement, the "Offering").

Highlights:

Company Founder & Chief Executive Officer Collin Kettell is subscribing for $2,000,000 of the Non-Brokered Private Placement. Several members of management and the board of directors are participating in the financing as well.





is subscribing for of the Non-Brokered Private Placement. Several members of management and the board of directors are participating in the financing as well. Upon completion of the Offering, and assuming the completion of the LIFE Offering for $5,000,000 , Nevada King will have working capital in excess of $15-million to support advancement and drilling at the Atlanta Gold Mine Project, Nevada.

Collin Kettell, CEO of Nevada King, stated: "We are pleased to announce the subscribed Non-Brokered Private Placement and the LIFE Offering. Participation by insiders and significant shareholders represents half of the $10-million financing. These funds will allow us to continue aggressively drilling at Atlanta, where we have continually reported high-grade oxide gold results."

The net proceeds of the Offering are intended to be used to advance Nevada King's development and exploration stage assets and for other general corporate purposes.

Closing of the LIFE Offering is anticipated to occur on or about the week of May 8, 2023, or such other date as the Agents and the Company may agree upon. The issuance of the Common Shares under the Offering and the payment of the Agents' commission on the LIFE Offering portion are subject to customary conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, inclusive of the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V").

The Common Shares to be issued under the LIFE Offering are expected to be offered by way of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106  Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106") to purchasers in all the provinces of Canada, except Quebec. The Common Shares to be issued under the Non-Brokered Private Placement are expected to be offered by way of applicable prospectus exemptions in accordance with NI 45-106 to "accredited investors". The Common Shares offered under the LIFE Offering will not be subject to resale restrictions pursuant to applicable Canadian securities laws or the policies of the TSX-V. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the Non-Brokered Private Placement will be subject to the statutory hold period of four months from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Agents will receive an aggregate cash fee equal to 5.0% of the gross proceeds of the LIFE Offering.

There is an offering document related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at https://nevadaking.ca. Prospective investors should read this offering document before making an investment decision.

The securities offered 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 release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to available exemptions therefrom.

Related Party Participation in the Offering

Certain insiders of the Company, including Collin Kettell (CEO and Director), expect to participate in the Non-Brokered Private Placement. The participation by insiders in the Offering constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the Common Shares purchased by insiders, nor the consideration for the Common Shares paid by such insiders, will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company expects that the closings of the Offering will occur within 21 days of this announcement and that it will not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closings. The Company deems this circumstance reasonable in order to complete the Offering in an expeditious manner. The Offering has been unanimously approved by the Company's board of directors. Further information regarding the interest in the Offering of every related party and the effect that the Offering will have on their percentage of securities of the Company will be provided once finalized.

About Nevada King Gold Corp.

Nevada King is the third largest mineral claim holder in the State of Nevada, behind Nevada Gold Mines (Barrick/Newmont) and Kinross Gold. Starting in 2016 the Company has staked large project areas hosting significant historical exploration work along the Battle Mountain trend located close to current or former producing gold mines. These project areas were initially targeted based on their potential for hosting multi-million ounce gold deposits and were subsequently staked following a detailed geological evaluation. District-scale projects in Nevada King's portfolio include (1) the 100% owned Atlanta Mine, located 100km southeast of Ely, (2) the Lewis and Horse Mountain-Mill Creek projects, both located between Nevada Gold Mines' large Phoenix and Pipeline mines, and (3) the Iron Point project, located 35km east of Winnemucca, Nevada. The Company is well funded with cash of approximately $7.25 million as of April 2023.

The Atlanta Mine is a historical gold-silver producer with a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant pit-constrained resource of 460,000 oz Au in the measured and indicated category (11.0M tonnes at 1.3 g/t) plus an inferred resource of 142,000 oz Au (5.3M tonnes at 0.83 g/t). See the NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources titled "Atlanta Property, Lincoln County, NV" with an effective date of October 6, 2020, and a report date of December 22, 2020, as prepared by Gustavson Associates and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Calvin R. Herron, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

NI 43-101 Mineral Resources at the Atlanta Mine

Resource Category Tonnes (000's) Au Grade (ppm) Contained Au Oz (000's) Ag Grade (ppm) Contained Ag Oz (000's) Measured 4,130 1.51 200 14.0 1,860 Indicated 6,910 1.17 260 10.6 2,360 Measured+Indicated 11,000 1.30 460 11.9 4,220 Inferred 5,310 0.83 142 7.3 1,240

Please see the Company's website at www.nevadaking.ca.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or" should" occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the closing of the Offering, TSX-V approval of the Offering, the use of proceeds with respect to the Offering, and the results of the mineral resource estimate on the project are forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Nevada King, 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 and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability to complete proposed exploration work given the global COVID-19 pandemic, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Nevada King does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Zacapa Resources Ltd. ("Zacapa") (TSXV: ZACA) (OTCQB: ZACAF) (DE: BH0) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Kramer Hills gold project centered on the past producing Shaharald oxide gold mine. The historic mine is located on patented claims and U.S. Bureau of Land Management ground in San Bernardino County, California, which is also home to Equinox Gold's Castle Mountain Mine. Historical resources include five near-surface open pit oxide gold deposits that were permitted for exploitation in the late-1980's and contained approximately 7,500,000 tons at reported grades of 1.65 g/t gold for 375,000 ounces of oxide gold, at a stripping ratio of 0.55:1 (Figure 1) 1,2.

HIGHLIGHTS

Kramer Hills includes patented claims at the historic Shaharald mine and 634 BLM claims in the surrounding area for a total project size of approximately 5,200 hectares.





The historic Shaharald mine deposits permitted in 1986 included an historical resource of approximately 7,500,000 tons at reported grades of 1.65 g/t gold for 375,000 ounces of oxide gold in five pits 1,2,3,4 .





Historical drill results include KRH-38 which intersected 19.5 metres at 8.6 g/t gold from 9.14 metres depth 3 .





Gold occurrences at Kramer Hills extend over an area measuring 7.5 kilometres (northeast-southwest) by 8.5 kilometres (northwest-southeast) with a concentrated central area containing more than 54 historic shafts, 2.4 kilometres of tunnels, and numerous pits and trenches 1,5,6 .





Thin alluvial cover and shallow historical drilling (most holes to only 30 metres or less) suggest good potential that the Shaharald deposits can be expanded by drilling below established mineralized zones, along strike (east-west), and by identifying new mineralization within the district.

"Kramer Hills contains historical resources with robust oxide gold grades and has excellent potential for expansion along strike and at depth. The greater than two kilometre strike length of historic mineralization under thin cover along with widely distributed gold occurrences in the Kramer Hills district suggests there is good potential to add additional oxide gold mineralization to the deposits and make new discoveries," comments Ian Slater, Executive Chairman. "Zacapa plans to conduct low-cost RC drilling to efficiently verify and expand the historical resource to convert it to a current resource consistent with modern standards. Kramer Hills is an outstanding addition to our growing portfolio of gold projects in the southwest United States including our flagship South Bullfrog project."

Kramer Hills is easily road accessible and located on patented claims and U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") ground in mining friendly San Bernardino County, 21 kilometres southeast of Rio Tinto's Boron Mine. San Bernardino County also hosts Equinox Gold's Castle Mountain Mine and MP Materials' Mountain Pass Mine.

Exploration History

Exploration and mining at Kramer Hills dates to the early 1900s. During a gold rush in 1926 numerous pits and shafts were excavated exploiting gold hosted in strongly altered and fractured bedrock and in nearby placer deposits1. At least 54 shafts had been completed by 1932 and by 1934 a small open cut surface operation had been constructed to a depth of 7.6 metres and 5,000 tons of ore was milled5,6. The historic Shaharald mine shut down in 1942 with Order L-208 which prohibited precious metal mining during World War II. Several evaluations were made of the property in 1945-46 but no significant advancements are recorded until 1981 when Amselco Minerals started sampling and in 1983 obtained a permit for a pilot gold processing operation1,5,6.

By 1986 Beaver Resources had acquired the property and conducted a drill program which delineated a series of mineralized zones comprising four new pits west of the historic pit. In total these five pits included approximately 7,500,000 tons of ore with a stripping ratio of 0.55:1 and a reported grade of 1.65 g/ton gold, totaling 375,000 ounces of oxide gold in a historical resource (Figure 1)1,2,4. In 1988 Beaver Resources commenced heap leach production but ran into problems due to swelling of clays associated with the ore. Operations ceased in 1990 and an estimated 200,000 tons of mined ore remains on the leach pads7.

Economic Geology and Exploration Upside

Gold occurrences are noted in the Kramer Hills district over an area measuring 7.5 kilometers (northeast-southwest) by 8.5 kilometers (northwest-southeast), which includes at least 54 shafts, 72 trenches, and a historic open pit. Five mineralized zones have been defined by previous exploration within an east-west trending structural corridor of fractured and altered gold bearing rock that extends at least 2.7 kilometres5,6. Gold mineralization at Kramer Hills is spatially associated with this broadly east-west trending, moderately south dipping (50) brittle fault zone that transects the property and aligns gold showings, pits, and other workings (Figure 1). This structural zone parallels the contact of a mapped inlier of metavolcanic rocks in a quartz monzonite pluton that intruded into Mesozoic basement rocks. This contact zone appears to have been the focus for mid-Tertiary intrusions and hydrothermal activity1. The fault zones measure 9-15 meters wide and are spatially associated with rhyolite-dacite dykes, bleached and layered volcanic rocks and late manganiferous jasperioid interpreted to be hydrothermal in origin1. The fault is intensely silica-clay +/- sericite altered to more than 60 metres wide with moderate to intense goethite-jarosite (after pyrite). Oxide gold mineralization at Kramer Hills is spatially associated with these iron oxides generated from weathering pyrite which has occurred to depths of 36 to 42 metres1,2. Zacapa interprets this alteration as indications of a high-sulfidation epithermal gold system associated with Tertiary volcanism in the region.

Most of the historical drill information has been lost however a total of 36 drill hole intercepts have been recovered from a drilling program conducted by Amselco in 1984 which provide some insight into the gold grade and gold continuity in the Shaharald mine pit (Table 1)3.

DRILL HOLE FROM (m) TO (m) LENGTH (m) GOLD (g/t) DRILL HOLE FROM (m) TO (m) LENGTH (m) GOLD (g/t) KRH-15 21.34 30.48 9.14 6.53 KRH-37 9.14 12.19 3.05 0.55 KRH-16 NSR KRH-38 9.14 28.65 19.51 8.60 KRH-17 18.29 21.34 3.05 1.34 incl. 15.24 27.43 12.19 13.17 KRH-18 0.00 22.86 22.86 1.66 KRH-39 6.10 12.19 6.10 0.70 KRH-20 0.00 18.29 18.29 1.60 and 15.24 30.48 15.24 2.19 and 21.34 24.38 3.05 1.71 KRH-40 9.14 15.24 6.10 2.95 KRH-21 NSR KRH-41 3.05 6.10 3.05 1.92 KRH-22 3.05 12.19 9.14 1.20 and 12.19 18.29 6.10 2.81 KRH-23 3.05 9.14 6.10 1.01 KRH-44 6.10 12.19 6.10 2.26 KRH-24 0.00 15.24 15.24 4.99 KRH-45 NSR incl 0.00 9.14 9.14 6.63 KH-46 0.00 18.29 18.29 1.50 KRH-25 0.00 13.72 13.72 2.11 and 21.34 27.43 6.10 1.25 KRH-26 9.14 13.72 4.57 1.77 KRH-47 NSR KRH-27 15.24 18.29 3.05 11.69 KRH-48 0.00 3.05 3.05 0.58 KRH-28 12.19 18.29 6.10 0.62 KRH-49 0.00 25.60 25.60 2.71 KRH-29 0.00 9.14 9.14 0.93 incl. 15.24 25.60 10.36 5.29 KRH-31 3.05 18.29 15.24 3.89 KRH-50 0.00 9.14 9.14 2.41 incl. 3.05 12.19 9.14 5.54 KRH-51 9.14 12.19 3.05 0.79 and 21.34 30.48 9.14 0.83 KRH-52 NSR KRH-32 3.05 24.38 21.34 1.51 KRH-53 NSR and 27.43 30.48 3.05 0.51 KRH-54 NSR KRH-33 3.05 12.19 9.14 0.86 KRH-55 NSR KRH-36? 3.05 12.19 9.14 0.88 KRH-56 NSR KRH-35 NSR

Table 1 - Historical drill intercepts from the Kramer Hills project3. Note that collar coordinates and drill hole orientations are not available for these results. These holes were assayed in 1984 by Arizona Testing Laboratories and are included in this news release to illustrate the intensity and down hole continuity of gold mineralization internal to mineralization in the past producing open pit. Zacapa considers these historical drill results relevant as Zacapa is using this data as a guide to plan exploration programs. Zacapa's current and future exploration work includes verification of the historical data through drilling. All intervals are drilled lengths and true thicknesses cannot be determined.

Acquisition Terms

Zacapa purchased Lustrum Gold Corp., a privately held British Columbia company ("Lustrum") for 33,600,000 common shares of Zacapa and a 2% NSR royalty. Lustrum holds the Kramer Hills property through a 100% owned US subsidiary.

About Zacapa Resources

Zacapa is a mineral exploration company engaged in gold and copper exploration in world class jurisdictions in the southwest United States, including Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and California. The portfolio includes epithermal gold projects at South Bullfrog, Kramer Hills, Miller Mountain and Dewdrop, and porphyry copper exploration at the Pearl project. These assets are being advanced by a highly disciplined and seasoned professional team with successful track records of discovery, resource development and mine permitting.

References

1Ely II, M. F., 1987. Shaharald Mine  A Proposed Amendment to the Lahontan Board Order # 06-86-106 Beaver Resources Inc., San Bernardino County, California, January 30, 1987. 2 Blair, J.M., 1989. Beaver Minerals Inc. Public News Release, March 15th, 1989. J.M., Blair, President of Beaver Resources Inc. 3 Drill data disclosed in this news release is related to historical drilling results. Zacapa has not undertaken any independent investigation of the sampling, nor has it independently analyzed the results of the historical exploration work to verify the results. Zacapa considers these historical drill results relevant as Zacapa is using this data as a guide to plan future exploration programs and considers the data to be reliable for these purposes. Zacapa's current and future exploration work includes verification of the historical data through drilling. Zacapa does not consider the historic information or economic realization of these numbers as indicative of mineralization at Kramer Hills or the economics of any such mineralization. All intervals are drilled lengths and true thicknesses cannot be confidently determined. A nominal cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au has been applied to determine the boundaries of the intersections with no internal dilution. 4 The mineral resource estimates contained in this news release are considered to be "historical estimates" under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and Zacapa is not treating these historical estimates as current Mineral Resources. Zacapa would need to verify historic hole locations and conduct an exploration program, including twinning of historical drill holes in order to confirm the estimates and establish them as a current mineral resource. 5 Irving, J., 1932, Mining Report on properties in the Kramer Hills District [Consulting Report, July 18, 1932], 12 p. 6 Joslin, G.A., 1945, Preliminary Report of the Shaherald Mine [Consulting Report, November 23, 1945], 8 p. 7Musante, J., 2006, Shaharald Mine, Final Pollution Report: United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2 p.

All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by, or approved by Daniel MacNeil, PGeo, and Technical Advisor of the Company. Mr. MacNeil is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For more information, please visit www.zacaparesources.com or contact:

Ian Slater Michelle Borromeo Executive Chairman Vice President Investor Relations +1 778 372 2551 +1 778 330 3835 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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 information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Zacapa believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Zacapa cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond Zacapa's control. 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. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Zacapa undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Vancouver, BC  TheNewswire - May 01, 2023 - Atco Mining Inc. (the Company or Atco) (CSE:ATCM) (OTC:ATMGF) (Frankfurt:QP9) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a mineral property acquisition agreement (the Definitive Agreement) to acquire a new project on the west coast of Newfoundland. The newly staked project named the Flat Bay Project (the Project) will be 100% owned by Atco upon completion of the acquisition and is located in the St. Georges Basin of Newfoundland. The Project consists of one license, totaling 1,000 hectares.

With the newly acquired Project, Atco will control eight projects in the region, for an aggregate of 21,450 hectares. In comparison, Atlas Salts spinout company, Triple Point Resources, currently holds approximately 22,599 hectares.

The Project boasts a historically mapped gravity low, which suggests the presence of a salt dome at depth. The Company plans to reinterpret a 2013 government-funded airborne gravity survey and a historical seismic survey that covers the target area. The information will be used to guide additional exploration with the goal of defining a salt dome structure.

Please see map below:

This is a significant acquisition for us, says Neil McCallum, Director of Atco Mining. I am very pleased to bring this high-quality project into our portfolio as we build one of the most prolific land positions in Southwestern Newfoundland. The Flat Bay Project is not only strategically located directly to the North and West of Triple Point, but having an already existing historical gravity low gives us another target to explore. I look forward to updating our shareholders over the coming weeks with our next steps.

Transaction terms

The Definitive Agreement was entered into with Voa Exploration Inc. (the Vendor), a private corporation existing under the laws of the Province of British Columbia. Pursuant to the Definitive Agreement, the Company has agreed to purchase the Project for and in consideration of the issuance of 700,000 common shares in the capital of the Purchaser (the Consideration Shares), and a one-time cash payment of $20,000 (the Consideration Payment). Upon closing of the acquisition (the Closing Date), 300,000 Consideration Shares will be issued to the Vendor along with the Consideration Payment, with a further 200,000 Consideration Shares issued on or before the twelve-month anniversary of the Closing Date, and the final 200,000 Consideration Shares issued on or before the twenty-four month anniversary of the Closing Date.

All Consideration Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period of four-months-and-one-day following issuance. No finders fees or commissions are payable in connection with the Definitive Agreement.

Following issuance of the Consideration Shares, the Company will grant a two percent royalty on returns from the commercial production of minerals from the Project to the Vendor. The royalty shall be freely assignable by the Vendor, upon written notice to the Purchaser, and one-half (1.0%) of the royalty may be purchased at any time for a cash payment of $1,500,000 to the Vendor.

QP Statement

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed by Neil McCallum B.Sc., P.Geo., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting, who is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Atco Mining (CSE: ATCM)

Atco is a junior exploration mining company focused on exploring for green energy metals throughout Canada. Atco is also exploring for sulphide-rich VHMS deposits in Saskatchewan as well as salt opportunities in Western Newfoundland. Investors are encouraged to visit the companys website here: www.atcomining.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Atco Mining Inc.

President & CEO, Director

Alex Klenman

For further information contact:

Atco Mining Inc.

Alex Klenman  President & CEO

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: (604) 681-0084

www.atcomining.com

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 news release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Completion of the acquisition is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of appropriate regulatory approvals.

Certain information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as will, may, should, anticipate, expects and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations are detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. 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. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.
Heavy fighting again rocked Sudan's capital Sunday as tens of thousands have fled the bloody turmoil and a former prime minister warned of the "nightmare" risk of a descent into full-scale civil war.

Army forces clashed with paramilitaries in downtown Khartoum as deadly hostilities have entered a third week despite the latest ceasefire, which was formally set to expire at the end of Sunday.

"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire every few minutes since the early morning on my street," one southern Khartoum resident told AFP by phone.

Clashes were reported around the army headquarters in central Khartoum, and the army also carried out airstrikes in the capital's twin city of Omdurman across the Nile River.

Foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea since the fighting plunged the poverty-stricken country into deadly turmoil on April 15.

Millions of Sudanese have endured crippling shortages of water, food and other basic supplies, while tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring countries, with more on their way.

Satellite images showed long bus convoys at the Egyptian border, while the UN said tens of thousands had escaped to Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

The turmoil could deepen further in the power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that the conflict could deteriorate into one of the world's worst civil wars if not stopped early.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

- Risk of famine -

The violence has killed at least 528 people and wounded about 4,600, the health ministry said Saturday, but those figures are likely to be incomplete.

The fighting has affected 12 out 18 states across Sudan, including the Darfur region, the ministry said.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already need aid to stave off famine.

The warring sides have agreed to multiple truces but none has taken hold, as chaos and lawlessness have gripped Khartoum, a city of five million, and other regions.

The latest three-day ceasefire -- due to expire at midnight (2200 GMT) Sunday -- was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.

As the battles have raged regardless, the rival generals have taken aim at each other in the media.

Burhan again branded the RSF a militia that aims "to destroy Sudan" while Daglo called the army chief "a traitor".

Sudan was ruled for decades by Islamist-backed strongman Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted by the military in 2019 after mass pro-democracy protests.

The coup brought Burhan and Daglo to power, and they seized full control in another coup, in 2021, before turning on each three weeks ago.

- Tens of thousands flee -

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged negotiations to end the bloodshed.

"There is no right to go on fighting for power when the country is falling apart," he told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television on Saturday.

"My appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan."

Guterres also said on Twitter that "the UN is scaling up efforts to help people seeking safety in neighbouring countries".

About 75,000 have been displaced by the fighting, the UN said.

At least 20,000 have escaped to Chad, 4,000 to South Sudan, 3,500 to Ethiopia and 3,000 to the Central African Republic, it said.

The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff.

Saudi Arabia said it had taken almost 4,880 people to safety on ships across the Red Sea.

A US-organised road convoy arrived in Port Sudan Saturday to join the exodus, the State Department said.

And the UK Foreign Office said just under 1,900 Britons had been taken out on 21 flights, following similar mass airlifts by France, Germany and other nations.

Fighting, looting and lawlessness have raged in the Darfur region.

In West Darfur state, at least 96 people were reported killed in the city of El Geneina, the UN said.

"What's happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," Guterres said.

Darfur is still scarred by a war that erupted in 2003 when then Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, against ethnic-minority rebels.

The scorched-earth campaign left at least 300,000 people dead and close to 2.5 million displaced, according to UN figures.

Bashir was charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Court. The Janjaweed later evolved into the RSF, which was formally created in 2013.
Warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued on the ground in Sudan's capital Sunday after a former prime minister warned of the "nightmare" risk of a descent into full-scale civil war.

Deadly hostilities between the army and heavily-armed paramilitaries in Khartoum and other parts of the country have entered a third week. The latest widely-breached ceasefire is scheduled to formally expire at midnight (2200 GMT).

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad since battles erupted on April 15.

The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued armed clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.

"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire," a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 "rebels", a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.

- 'God forbid' -

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea since the war began on April 15.

But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, the UN said humanitarian facilities have been looted, and it has been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

Those figures are likely to be incomplete.

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned Saturday against the conflict's deteriorating into one of the world's worst civil wars.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

Khartoum authorities on Sunday put civil servants on open-ended leave "due to the security situation".

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum,according to the World Health Organization, with many facilities shelled.

"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum. "This war is ominous, and we hope it stops," he told AFPTV.

The warring sides have agreed to multiple truces but none has taken hold.

The latest three-day ceasefire was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

- 'Dangerous conditions' -

More than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan, the UN said, and almost 40,000 have crossed borders, mostly into Chad but also South Sudan, Ethiopia and Central African Republic, aid workers said.

More than 5,000 people have escaped to safety on Saudi Arabian ships across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.

Among them was Badriah al-Sayed, her Omani husband and their son, who joined about 50 other evacuees who reached Jeddah on a Saudi warship Sunday.

Sayed told AFP she was grateful for their safety but could not shake the feeling she was "losing a country".

Britain said it would operate an additional evacuation flight, from Port Sudan on Monday, after already airlifting more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.

Canada ended its air evacuations "due to the dangerous conditions", having flown out more than 540 people, including Canadians after large airlifts by France, Germany and other nations.

Along with battles in the capital, fighting, looting and lawlessness in the long-troubled Darfur region has raised particular international concern.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

The Carnegie Middle East Center said the deteriorating humanitarian situation is to the advantage of Daglo, also known as Hemeti, because "the longer he can hold his ground in Khartoum, the more likely he will have a leverage at the negotiating table."

But if the army "pushes him out of the capital, Hemeti can potentially mobilise Arab tribes in Darfur and beyond, which could threaten Sudan's unity."
The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis" in the conflict-racked country, the UN chief said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' announcement Sunday came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued in the capital Khartoum.

The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a heavily armed paramilitary group.

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have fled since battles erupted on April 15.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.

He said the UN chief was "immediately" sending Martin Griffiths, his emergency relief coordinator, to the area "in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan".

The latest widely breached ceasefire was scheduled to formally expire at midnight (2200 GMT), before the rival forces announced an extension of 72 hours, which the Sudanese army said came due to "US and Saudi mediation".

Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.

The civil aviation authority announced Sudan's airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.

"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire," a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 "rebels", a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.

Washington last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former dictator Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's western Darfur region, leading to war-crimes charges against Bashir and others.

- 'God forbid' -

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea.

But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead and the UN said humanitarian facilities have been looted, forcing a halt to all of its aid operations.

"We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities," Dujarric said.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

Those figures are likely to be incomplete.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many shelled.

"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who urged the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the situation.

- 'Dangerous conditions' -

More than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan, the UN said, and almost 40,000 have crossed borders, mostly into Chad but also South Sudan and Ethiopia, aid workers said.

Around 6,000 people, most of them women, have fled to neighbouring Central African Republic over the last two weeks, the UN refugee agency told AFP.

More than 5,000 people have escaped to safety on Saudi Arabian ships across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.

Among them was Badriah al-Sayed, her Omani husband and their son, who joined about 50 other evacuees who reached Jeddah on a Saudi warship Sunday.

Sayed told AFP she was grateful for their safety but could not shake the feeling she was "losing a country".

Britain said it would operate an additional evacuation flight, from Port Sudan on Monday, after already airlifting more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.

Along with battles in the capital, fighting, looting and lawlessness in the long-troubled Darfur region has raised particular international concern.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.
To listen to the podcast, click on the "play" button below:

It seems like every week, across a variety of situations, theres a new universal jurisdiction case  thats basically where the crimes have taken place in a different country. We used to count case by case to see how this phenomenon was growing. Now we wonder whether its a standard response by victims rights groups, to look for openings.

In the podcast we mention a range of situations, and a few links we think could be useful. To start we covered the issues of victims access in a podcast back in 2021. Currently theres the Swiss case against the former interior minister of The Gambia, Ousman Sonko, on charges of crimes against humanity.

Then theres the annual review of universal jurisdiction, conducted by Swiss NGO, Trial International. France has been an outlier when compared to other European states, with the very narrow approach it has had to UJ. French courts have now ruled that three high-ranking Syrian officials could be tried  in absentia -for their alleged involvement in the deaths of Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, who were arrested in Damascus by Syrian intelligence services in 2013. We also cover the request to Germany to open a structural investigation into crimes in Myanmar, not only during the expulsion of the Rohingya but also since the military coup in 2021.

We also look at the new Clooney Foundation for Justices shiny tool, Justice Beyond Borders, to check out what types of universal jurisdiction can happen where. Stephanie tried out Cuba on the website and decided that genocidaires could have a hard time hiding out there.
PLDT Undisputed as Fastest Internet Service Provider for Five Straight Years

PLDT Inc. (PLDT) has achieved a five-peat win at the Ookla Speedtest Awards 2022 -- a first for PLDT, and for the Philippines.





Global benchmarking company Ookla announced that PLDT, the countrys largest digital services provider, achieved a top speed score of 86.52 in 2022, affirming the telcos dominance and consistent performance in delivering the countrys fastest Internet speeds for the fifth consecutive year.





PLDT Undisputed as Fastest Internet Service Provider for Five Straight Years

PLDT President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio leads a toast to their Fastest Internet 5 Years In A Row award with (L-R): PLDT Senior Vice President - Head of Consumer Sales Group Alex O. Caeg, First Vice President - Head of Enterprise and International Business Groups Albert Mitchell L. Locsin, Ookla CTO Luke Deryckx, PLDT Senior Vice President - Head of Home Business Group Jeremiah M. de la Cruz, PLDT and Smart Network Head Roderick Santiago, and Ookla Senior Vice President and Global Head of Sales and Enterprise Services Kuljeet Randhawa.

Leading the Philippines digital transformation





PLDT has consistently dominated the Ookla Speedtest Awards for five consecutive years as a result of the telco giants aggressive network expansion and drive to lift the quality of customer experience.





The PLDT Group has been supporting the countrys digitalization by bringing the benefits of connectivity and other digital services to more areas in the Philippines. In 2022, PLDT recorded a total of 6.08 million fiber-powered ports, covering around 17,700 barangays across the country.

PLDTs commitment is to help build and empower the nation by setting the bar high in providing world-class digital services for Filipinos, said PLDT President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio. For the past five years, PLDT has made big strides to elevate our customers experience by delivering the best fixed network services. We intend to keep this momentum and to go above and beyond in ensuring that our customers get the best digital experience wherever they need it  at home, school, or the office.





PLDT remains the only telco in the Philippines that can deliver the fastest fiber-optic speeds of up to 10 Gbps, which was made available to the public as early as 2021. This groundbreaking move has placed the Philippines alongside first-world nations in terms of ultra-fast internet speeds including South Korea, Japan, Norway, Italy, New Zealand, and USA.





As of end-2022, PLDT achieved an all-time high number of home broadband customers by adding 1.1 million new fiber subscribers, capturing 59% of fiber customer industry growth for 2022. This brought PLDT Homes total fiber subscribers to 2.9 million.





PLDT Home continues to be the trusted telco provider of Filipinos that delivers the fastest internet and future-ready innovations in their homes. Leading innovations for the home broadband segment in 2022, PLDT Home boosted its efforts to give customers the best digital experience at home by increasing the speeds of all its Fiber plans up to two times faster than previous speeds.





The PLDT Group, through its ICT subsidiary ePLDT, also provides data center, multi-cloud and cybersecurity solutions that enable the digital transformation of large companies, Micros, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to help drive the countrys inclusive economic growth. Leveraging on PLDTs advance infrastructure, ePLDT is the countrys leading provider of data center and multi-cloud managed service offerings.





The Most Coveted Ookla Speedtest Award





PLDT is the only telco in the Philippines that has ever achieved a five-peat for the highest award from Ookla. According to Ookla, only a handful of internet service providers have won the prestigious award for five consecutive years worldwide. In Southeast Asia, only PLDT as the leading telco in the Philippines has this honor, alongside Singapores ViewQWest.





Ooklas Chief Technology Officer, Luke Deryckx, affirms PLDTs superior network performance for the past five years. He says, With over 18 million consumer-initiated tests taken daily and billions of data points gathered, the Ookla data paints a clear picture of the performance, quality, and availability of virtually every network in the world. We are proud to recognize PLDTs hard work in providing the fastest Internet experience in the Philippines and celebrate their achievements in superior network performance over the last 5 years.





With the consistent wins at the Ookla Speedtest Awards, PLDT also clocked the top speeds in major areas in the Philippines and bested all other major telco providers in 2022 including Pasig City, Cagayan de Oro, Baguio City, amongst others.





All these achievements are powered by PLDTs widest fiber network in the country which now spans 1.1 million kilometers, extending its reach to 17.2 million homes passed, in 68% of the countrys cities and municipalities. For more information about PLDTs Ookla Speedtest Awards, visit www.pldt.com





Disclaimer:
Viewers witnessed heart-pounding scenes as "Dr. Romantic 3" episode 2 featured how Han Suk Kyu, Ahn Hyo Seop, Lee Sung Kyung, and more faced a crisis in the trauma center.

From getting a surprise visit from an unexpected guest to getting caught up in a situation concerning national security, the Doldam family once again surpassed another critical scenario.

Han Suk Kyu returns as the legendary surgeon Kim Sa Bu, alongside his junior colleagues Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Sung Kyung, who play as Seo Woo Jin and Cha Eun Jin.

From familiar faces like Kim Min Jae, Jin Kyung, Kim Joo Heong, and more, "Dr. Romantic 3" welcomes new cast members Lee Shin Young, Lee Hong Nae, and Lee Kyung Young.

'Dr. Romantic 3' Episode 2 Viewership

After a successful premiere, the medical K-drama experienced another rise in ratings.

According to a media outlet, the K-drama recorded an average nationwide rating of 13.8 percent. It's a slight increase from its pilot episode of 12.7 percent but remains the most-watched Saturday miniseries.

Viewers will get to see the Doldam family as episode 3 is set to air on May 5 via SBS and Disney+.

'Dr. Romantic 3' Episode 2 Recap

The episode began with a special cameo of the "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" cast featuring Joo Jong Hyuk, Ha Yoon Kyung, and Joo Hyun Young as applicants as Doldam Hospital expands to a trauma center.

In the second episode, the scene featured Cha Eun Jae's father, a renowned doctor, Cha Jin Man, who seemed to be a colleague of Kim Sa Bu in his earlier career as a surgeon.

Everyone was stunned to discover Cha Eun Jae's father, especially Seo Woo Jin.

On the other hand, tension rose after Kim Sa Bu wanted Jin Man out of the trauma center. It was after he displayed doubt about the hospital's expansion, especially using it despite having no inspection.

As for Kim Sa Bu and the team, it is a life-or-death situation, and they must fulfill their responsibilities as doctors.

One of the highlights in "Dr. Romantic 3" episode 2 were the challenges they faced treating the patients who are North Koreans.

Amid the peace talks with the North, the government wanted the patients out of the hospital since billions of won are at stake in the negotiation.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Dr Romantic 3' Kicks Off With Double Digit Rating + Doldam Hospital Meets New Villain

However, Kim Sa Bu insisted on continuing to treat the patients regardless of who they were.

Unfortunately, an unexpected incident happened after the hospital administrator, Mr. Jang, failed to remind the staff that the building would have its electricity shut down. Due to this, Kim Sa Bu's emergency surgery almost got interrupted.

On the other hand, Seo Woo Jin was pissed at his junior, Jang Dong Hwa, who was nowhere to be found in the middle of the situation.

After learning that he had ditched his post, Seo Woo Jin tried to look for him around the hospital; however, he found Jang Dong Hwa being held hostage by a North Korean patient.

Thankfully, he managed to save the rookie doctor from getting stabbed.

As for Kim Sa Bu, they had a successful operation after the electricity went back to normal.

In the last scene, Kim Sa Bu was contemplating whether the trauma center would be operational and help cater to more patients.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on approving the charter of the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan.

The decree reads as following:

1. Approve the "Charter of the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan".

2. Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan to resolve issues arising from this decree.

3. Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan:

3.1. to approve the structure, the wage fund, the maximum number of employees and the amount of their wages (official salary, additional payments to the official salary, bonuses and other payments) within a month;

3.2. to take the necessary measures to resolve other issues arising from this decree.
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It is staggering to think that our medical school scholars have fallen in line with the dictatorial components of the deep state of medical education. John Abramson, MD, a graduate scholar of Harvard, Dartmouth, and Brown medical education institutions, recently published in Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College, eloquently and astutely links the disintegration and decreasing quality of health care in our nation to the medical-industrial complex, let alone, the primary goal of American health care.

Personally, I prefer to deal with the closer-to-home, physician-to-physician interaction within our individual lives while working in the medical profession. We have all been abused to the point of being financially handicapped throughout our professional life. Over 98 percent of physicians, after many years of medical practice, learn how to tolerate their compromised incomes. Some dont even see this as a problem or recognize that it affects them.

When our income tolerance level, however, reaches our threshold of endurance, which it commonly does, we naturally tend to start rationalizing our reasons for remaining in this situation. It enables us to blame ourselves for the problem, even when we have no idea we are doing wrong, and consequently have no way to resolve the income problem we dont know the cause of. What have I done to deserve this?

We have no idea how to fight the problem because we have never had business education tools to predict the problem happening, correct it, and prevent it from continuing for the rest of our careers. Of course, the same problem and cause directly affect our personal and family lives, economically. So, what do we do? We commonly begin shaving off a good portion of our after-tax income from the practice to meet the needs of our growing practice requirements.

Yep, our family and personal life becomes compromised. Our family is forced to tolerate less financial support, right? Remember, the kids dont have to attend college. You dont really need to fund your retirement plan, quite yet. And you can cut back on vacations, develop no new medical skills, and tolerate your gradual loss of updates for your medical practice knowledge.

Its not your fault, because your medical school was never allowed to provide you with business education over the last 10 decades. Even worse, in medical schools, we were purposely never told, in detail, anything about the value and benefits of business education when implemented into your medical practice. Why did they do that? Who dictated to them that they could not do it? Research the AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges).

Like so many of us, we were kept away from learning the most critical block of essential business knowledge, not only necessary for the survival of private medical practice but also from the universally recognized principles required for business success of any type. Medical practice is a business, right?

The abuses of physicians are destroying our profession.

The abuses that Im referring to here are essentially an accumulation of every universal code of conduct that every business owner adheres to, to reach the top income levels for the business. The international expert in business and marketing, Dan S. Kennedy, reminds us that the singular objective of every business is to make money. Most physicians over the last century in our nation have never been made aware of that fact.

Nearly all physicians believe that their own private medical practice business is primarily for treating medical patientswrong!

It takes money to recruit enough medical patients to maintain and grow the business. The amount of income must be high enough to:

Pay all the overhead of the practice-business

Support the functions of the physicians family

Afford to maintain his or her cutting-edge medical knowledge and new medical skills, fund a retirement plan, pay for kids college education, and enough to reach their personal expectations for their medical careers, among others.

This list opens the gates to the flood of abuses that continue today in the profession. No medical student signs up to live at the poverty level or to lose their private practice for lack of income. The lack of a business education leaves every physician in our nation without the knowledge to ever reach their maximum potential in medical practice, except for those who are from wealthy families.

Far beyond the inability of large numbers of physicians to earn enough income to attain all their desires is the fact that our medical schools fail to prepare every physician to defend themselves against the common consequences of financial external disruptions that they have no control over. The COVID pandemic is a real example.

The lack of business and marketing tools, I firmly believe, accounts for increasing problems in the profession, of burnout, physician attrition, physicians living at the poverty line, disappointment with their practices, anxiety from government fee restrictions and medical practice mandates, never able to afford retirement, and many other waves of abuse.

When all physicians have the business and marketing tools, they will be able to fight against all these abuses. Think about that. Why do physicians give up and quitnot only medical practice, but also their motivation to stay above the good enough quality of medical care? Physicians have no backup education to handle all these critical issuesno wonder health care is disintegrating.

The unique backup of business education provides numerous strategies to prevent as well as overcome nearly all these medical issues. But no one seems to want to provide that backupexcept for me.

Public schools, colleges, and medical schools dont provide this financial backup.

Physicians without weapons to fight against all these disastrous challenges, the disintegration of health care and physicians medical care will increase.

Curtis G. Graham is a physician.
Police in Mukono are fighting to put out a fire that broke out at a storied building located along Kayunga Road roundabout in Mukono Municipality.

Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson says their fire brigade teams are working tirelessly to extinguish the fire. By press time, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

Our teams are working tirelessly to extinguish the fire, and we can confirm that no deaths or injuries have been reported so far. We urge the public to remain calm and to cooperate with our rescue teams as we work to bring the situation under control, Owoyesigyire said in a statement.

Members of the police have been urged to prioritize their safety as police fight to put out the fire.
By Nation Africa

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga has indicated that Tuesdays protests will begin at 6am, even as police outlawed the demonstrations citing possible violence. He also outlined a programme that will begin at Nairobis Central Park and head into the city centre.

Speaking in Nairobi on Labour Day, Mr Odinga told President William Ruto and the general public that the protests would be peaceful and that no property would be destroyed.

Our demonstrators have been informed that tomorrows protests will be peaceful. No one will carry any weapons, he said.

Mr Odinga said they will present petitions at IEBC offices, the National Treasury and the Office of the President in the Nairobi CBD.

But in a media briefing the day before, senior police officers from Nairobi led by Adamson Bungei said the demonstrations have been banned because past ones, even though they were labelled peaceful, were marred by violence, looting and death.

Previous demonstrations in the month of March 2023 conducted by the Azimio team were marred by violence as the demonstrators were armed with machetes, who attacked innocent members of the public who were going about their business, resulting in the destruction of property, attacks on members of the general public who were not demonstrating, stealing, looting and death of several Kenyans, Mr Bungei said.

In his Labour Day speech today, President Ruto had also reiterated that the protests were illegal.

But Mr Odinga, while justifying tomorrows protests, said the President had failed to announce minimum wage increments for workers.

This shows a lack of concern and seriousness on the part of the government, he charged.
Lecturers in public universities across the country have threatened to go on a sit-down strike if the government fails to implement the presidential directive of enhancing salaries of academic staff in these institutions.

According to an April 25 letter from the University Professional and Academic Staff Union (UPASU) addressed to the Minister of Public Service, the staff have given the government three months to enhance the salaries of lecturers to 100 percent.

UPASU chairperson, Kituyi Mayoka says that academic staff have been patient since 2015 when the first presidential directive was issued.

He adds that the staff have endured the negative effects of the unfair salary enhancement that neglects majority of academic staff, adding that they are left with no option but to go on strike on August 2.

In 2015, President Museveni promised to increase salaries of teaching staff in public universities which would see a professor earn Shs15 million and a senior lecturer earn Shs12.2 million.

Government decided to implement this directive in a phased manner of five years, however, in the 2020/2021 Financial Year, the government released Shs50 billion which benefitted only professors and associate professors, who got their 100 percent salary increment (Shs15 million).

The Minister of Public Service, Mukasa Muruli had previously advised the staff to be patient as the government identifies funds to enhance their salaries.
As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark Labor Day, Ugandan migrant workers have decried the continued exploitative working conditions and mistreatment in the Middle East.

Speaking to KFM, the president of the Migrant Workers Voice, Abdallah Kayonde has noted with concern that a number of their colleagues especially in Saudi Arabia remain imprisoned, and marginalized while others are unfairly deported.

Kayonde is now asking the Ugandan government to come up with social security policies for migrant workers like insurance to improve their working conditions.

He is also asking the government to offer psycho-social support services to some of the migrant workers who have been tortured and abused.

It is very important for Ugandans that have suffered, that have gotten challenges abroad to be rehabilitated in terms of reintegration. Let it be a point that the Ugandan migrant workers are regarded and considered as an integral part of Ugandas economy which they contribute to, Kayonde said.
By Raul Cortes

MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Reuters) - The Mexican Senate approved in an express session on Saturday a package of laws including two constitutional reforms and a new mining law rebuked by the mining chamber and Canada.

Representatives of the president's Morena party and its allies, nearly unanimously and with little debate, approved the laws in a fast-tracked process without opposition legislators present. Legislators convened outside the chamber's usual voting location after the opposition occupied the chamber to try to prevent the session.

The two constitutional reforms approved by the Senate in the early hours of Saturday morning involve lowering the age to be a legislator and secretary of state to 18 from 21, and prohibiting perpetrators of gender violence from participating in elections.

The mining law shortens concessions in the mining sector to 30 years from 50, tightens water extraction permits, and requires some mining profits to be returned to local communities, among other modifications. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promoted the initiative, but had originally proposed reducing concessions to 15 years.

Lopez Obrador has not granted any new mining concessions since he took office in the world's top silver producing country in late 2018. He has argued that too many permits were granted by previous governments to extract the country's resources, which include gold and copper.

The Canadian Ministry of Commerce expressed its concern this week that the new mining legislation could affect Canadian investment in Mexico's mining industry, where multiple Canadian companies operate.

The national mining chamber Camimex has warned such reforms could cost the country some $9 billion in investments and up to 420,000 jobs.

Mining giant Grupo Mexico said on Thursday that the government's reforms to the sector did not represent a risk to its portfolio.

(Writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Reporting by Raul Cortes; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) signed a binding agreement with Vietnam Rare Earth Company (VTRE) for the purchase of rare earth oxides from Vietnam to be used as feedstock at ASMs Korean Metals Plant (KMP).

Under the terms of the agreement, VTRE will deliver 100 tonne of product for the remainder of 2023. The pricing for the feedstock (in USD) will be determined using a formula-based mechanism referencing published market prices for neodymium-praseodymium oxide.

This agreement will ensure we have the feedstock needed to continue the ramp-up of production at KMP, as anticipated sales contracts progress this year, said ASM Managing Director & CEO Rowena Smith.

In sourcing the required oxides from Vietnam and building our relationship with VTRE, we are also ensuring greater oversight of our supply chain, which supports our sustainability and governance commitments to both our customers and our shareholders.
JERUSALEM, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be invited to the White House for an official visit following months without an invitation from Washington.

"I know we've had a lot of different leaders coming to America," McCarthy, who is leading a bi-partisan delegation to Israel, told a press conference in Jerusalem.

"I expect the White House to invite the prime minister over for a meeting, especially with the 75th anniversary."

President Joe Biden has so far avoided an acrimonious public confrontation with Netanyahu, while trying to make clear he opposes his government's plans which would strip Israel's highest court of much of its power.

Critics say the overhaul would remove checks on government activity while proponents say it restores balance to the branches of Israeli government. The planned legislation has propelled Israel into a national crisis with massive protests.

Netanyahu and his far-right coalition entered government after a sweeping win the November elections.

Biden has yet to invite the prime minister for an official visit, which is rare for an Israeli head of state as most new Israeli leaders had met the president by this point in their premierships, according to a Reuters review of official visits going back to the late 1970s.

In the last few months, Biden and senior members of his team have also expressed alarm about Israeli plans for settlement expansion on the West Bank and about violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Netanyahu has long had close ties to the U.S. Republican Party, at times seeming to work with them more than Democrats. For example, in 2015, he visited Washington to address Congress after an invitation from Republicans, who did not consult Democrats or the then-Democratic President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as Vice President, violating long-standing custom.

In an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper on Sunday, McCarthy said that if the president does not invite Netanyahu to the White House, the speaker will invite him to Washington for his own visit.

"He's a dear friend, as a prime minister of a country that we have our closest ties with," McCarthy told Israel Hayom.

McCarthy also made clear on Monday that Israel's president, which is largely a ceremonial role, will be visiting the White House very soon.

"I know the President Herzog will be coming soon for a joint session," McCarthy said.
The growing threat of ransomware demands, paid out in cryptocurrencies, is becoming a huge compliance headache for financial institutions.

A recently published landmark report, , aims to equip public and private stakeholders, such as law enforcement agencies, regulators, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and financial institutions with insights needed to tackle financial flows related to ransomware.

The report, published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international standard-setter for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), addresses what has become one of the fastest growing and most disruptive forms of cybercrime in recent years.

Central to the FATFs plea for fighting back against ransomware is shedding light on the illicit financial flows of ransomware gangs and their support networks  financial flows that overwhelmingly occur in crypto-assets. Concurrent regulatory developments increasingly demand that compliance officers at VASPs and financial institutions understand how to identify and manage financial crime risks related to ransomware.

Ransomware & money laundering risks

Cybercriminals use malware to encrypt data on victims computers or deny them access to critical systems, and then demand a ransom payment in return for restoring access to the victim. Ransomware has become especially lucrative in recent years as cybercriminal gangs have identified ways to launch attacks with increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

Employing a technique known as Big Game Hunting, ransomware gangs now routinely direct attacks at hospitals, government offices, energy firms, and other critical infrastructure to try and generate the biggest possible ransoms. In recent years, ransomware gangs  many of which operate from Russia, as well as in jurisdictions such as Iran and North Korea  have raised hundreds of millions of dollars annually by extracting large ransoms from their victims. Perpetrators of these attacks have included Russian ransomware organizations such as the DarkSide, Conti, and Ryuk gangs, as well as the Lazarus Group, North Koreas cybercrime outfit.

Crypto-assets have featured heavily in the growth of ransomware. Nearly all ransomware payments are made in Bitcoin, which enables attackers to receive payments from victims into private Bitcoin wallets that are not held at regulated institutions.

After receiving payment in Bitcoin from their victims, ransomware attackers generally need to convert their funds at a crypto-exchange or other VASP into fiat currencies, such as Russian rubles, euros, or other currencies. Because the Bitcoin blockchain is highly transparent, the flow of funds from these attacks can be observed as ransomware gangs attempt to launder them through the crypto-ecosystem.

This activity can in turn generate red flag indicators of money laundering that compliance officers can detect, some of which the FATF details in its reports, and that regulators such as the U.S. Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have also documented in notices to the private sector.

Some important money laundering red flags and behaviors that often feature in cases of ransomware include:

Funds from ransomware attacks are sent to crypto-asset exchanges with minimal or no AML/CFT controls, or are based in high-risk jurisdictions, such as the Bitzlato exchange, which FinCEN identified as a primary money laundering concern under Section 9714 of the Combatting Russian Money Laundering Act. identified as a primary money laundering concern under Section 9714 of the Combatting Russian Money Laundering Act. Section 9714 of the Combatting Russian Money Laundering Act. Attackers send their funds through crypto-asset mixing services and other obfuscating technology aimed at breaking the funds trail on the blockchain. mixing services and other obfuscating technology aimed at breaking the funds trail on the blockchain. Attackers take transparent crypto-assets, such as Bitcoin, that they receive from their victims and swap them for highly anonymous crypto-assets such as Monero. Attackers deploy chain-hopping typologies of money laundering and attempt to obfuscate their activity by sending funds through decentralized finance (DeFi) services, such as cross-chain bridges that allow users to seamlessly move funds across the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchains. chain-hopping typologies of money laundering and attempt to obfuscate their activity by sending funds through decentralized finance (DeFi) services, such as cross-chain bridges that allow users to seamlessly move funds across the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchains.



While crypto-asset exchanges and other VASPs are most directly affected by this behavior, banks and other financial institutions must be alert to the money laundering risks too. After all, once ransomware gangs have swapped crypto-assets for fiat currencies, they then attempt to launder those funds through the banking system. By understanding the important red flags and typologies involved, bank compliance teams can equip themselves to identify ransomware-related money laundering.

Growing sanctions challenge

In addition to money laundering risks, transactions related to ransomware pose growing sanctions compliance risks and challenges. Over the past 18 months, the U.S. Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted sanctions activity at ransomware attackers and their support networks with asset freezes.

This has often involved including crypto-asset addresses belonging to attackers and their support networks on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). OFACs recent actions involving ransomware include:

In October 2020, OFAC issued guidanceentitled , which it later updated in September 2021. The guidance explains that making or facilitating ransomware payments can result in a sanctions violation if those payments benefit a sanctioned person or jurisdiction. Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments , which it later updated in September 2021. The guidance explains that making or facilitating ransomware payments can result in a sanctions violation if those payments benefit a sanctioned person or jurisdiction. Between September 2021 and April 2022, OFAC sanctioned three crypto-asset exchanges registered in Eastern Europe  SUEX Chatex , and Garantex  that it accused of laundering crypto-assets on behalf of ransomware gangs. SUEX Chatex , and Garantex  that it accused of laundering crypto-assets on behalf of ransomware gangs. Chatex , and Garantex  that it accused of laundering crypto-assets on behalf of ransomware gangs. Garantex  that it accused of laundering crypto-assets on behalf of ransomware gangs. In April 2022, OFAC also sanctioned the Hydra darknet marketplace , which had facilitated activity of ransomware gangs and their affiliates before it was taken down by German law enforcement. Hydra darknet marketplace , which had facilitated activity of ransomware gangs and their affiliates before it was taken down by German law enforcement. it was taken down by German law enforcement. In February 2023, OFAC undertook a coordinated, joint action alongside the U.K.s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to target ransomware gangs. OFAC and the OFSI both sanctioned seven Russian nationals allegedly associated with the Conti and Ryuk ransomware campaigns. a coordinated, joint action alongside the U.K.s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to target ransomware gangs. OFAC and the OFSI both sanctioned seven Russian nationals allegedly associated with the Conti and Ryuk ransomware campaigns.



As a result of these actions, VASPs and financial institutions must ensure that they do not facilitate prohibited payments with ransomware gangs and those supporting them who are subject to sanctions.

<b>Responding to risks</b>

Successfully combating ransomware while adhering to regulatory requirements is possible, though challenges exist. Compliance teams at VASPs and financial institutions can take steps to ensure that they address the related risks effectively.

First, compliance teams should receive training on typologies and red flags related to ransomware so that they have the knowledge needed to detect potential money laundering or sanctions-evasion activity. Secondly, compliance teams should familiarize themselves with evolving regulatory requirements and notices related to ransomware  particularly OFAC sanctions requirements  and should ensure their policies and procedures reflect these developments.

Finally, compliance teams at VASPs and financial institutions should use blockchain analytics solutions to detect red flags and other indicators of crypto-asset transactional risks related to ransomware. This should include using blockchain analytics solutions capable of identifying cross-chain funds flows indicative of chain-hopping typologies of money laundering that ransomware attackers increasingly use.

As a rapidly evolving form of cybercrime, ransomware activity poses significant compliance challenges; however, by taking the steps above, compliance teams can work to manage the risks successfully.
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(Kitco News) The U.S. and China are on the brink of war, billionaire and Bridgewater's founder Ray Dalio warned in a letter he penned on LinkedIn.

"We are on the brink of an economic resources war," the founder of the world's largest hedge fund wrote last week.

And the two nations are beyond "the ability to talk," he said.

Dalio pointed out that the two nations are close to a sanctions war and/or military war. And even though neither side wants a conflict, one is pretty probable. "A) each side is very close to the other's red lines, b) each side is using brinksmanship to push the other at the risk of crossing each other's red lines, and c) politics will probably cause more aggressive brinksmanship over the next 18 months," Dalio wrote.

And the next 18 months will be especially risky as the U.S. embarks on the 2024 election season, he added.

"The political timetable of the election cycle between now and the 2024 elections in the United States and Taiwan will likely lead to more push-the-limit anti-Chinese brinksmanship from the US," Dalio noted. "Because China and the US are already at the edge of war, pushing hard against China over the next 18 months will be very risky."

Hot topics will include Taiwan, Chinese military exercises, China's relationship with Russia, economic sanctions, and control over resources and essential technologies.

"Controlling essential technologies and minerals to defend against being cut off from them, and being able to cut off the opponent's essential technologies and minerals, is now being done and is provocative," Dalio wrote. "It is leading to more onshoring and 'friendshoring,' both of which are much less cost-effective and will reshape alliances."

The world order is changing, and all countries are getting caught up in the reshuffle based on resources. Dalio gives the example of the Micron Technology case.

"The US has already asked the South Korean government to influence its two major chip producers (Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix) to not increase sales to China if Micron is banned from selling its chips in China. What South Korea does in this case and other cases will define its relations with the United States and China," he said. "This dynamic is rapidly changing alliances."

Another example is Saudi Arabia's changing relationships with the U.S., China, and Russia.

"In an environment in which one wants to deal with 'friends,' trade and investment is shifting to being more with allies than cost-effective sources. Watch the demand for key materials that can be squeezede.g., lithium, cobalt, rare earths, wafers and cells in solar energy technology, etc," Dalio pointed out.

Bridgewater's founder also urged the U.S. and China to agree to specific rules if war broke out to contain the conflict. For example, agreeing not to kill each other's troops, not to fight on each other's land, and not to use nuclear weapons.

"If there is a military war it would be good to have agreements such as 1) no side's military will directly kill the other side's military, 2) no fighting will take place on the other side's lands, and 3) neither side will use nuclear, cyber, and space weapons, etc," he said. "It is hoped that in that way, if there is war, it will be contained."

Dalio also made his thoughts known about gold and Bitcoin in a recent interview with podcaster Chris Williamson.

When asked about the crypto space, Dalio said he owns a small amount of Bitcoin but favors gold.

"I would prefer gold," he said. "I don't understand why people are more inclined to go to Bitcoin than gold. If you look internationally, gold is, for central banks, the third highest reserve asset. First is dollars, then euros, then gold, and the Japanese yen. And central bankers are buying gold, and they're not buying bonds."

The billionaire described gold as "timeless and universal."
DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) - Saudi National Bank's (1180.SE) almost 10% shareholding in Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) will convert to approximately 0.5% of UBS (UBSG.S) following the merger of the two Swiss lenders, a bourse statement said on Monday.

Saudi National Bank (SNB), Credit Suisse's top shareholder, said the carrying value of its investment in the troubled Swiss lender was 1.3 billion riyals ($346.63 million) at March 31, a decline of almost 70% during the first quarter.

The kingdom's biggest bank by assets invested 5.5 billion riyals to buy the stake in Credit Suisse last year.

SNB's former chairman in March said it could not buy more shares in Credit Suisse on regulatory grounds, helping trigger a further sell-off in the Swiss bank's shares, worsening a crisis of confidence that eventually led to a government-arranged takeover by rival UBS.

"SNBs shareholding in Credit Suisse of 9.88% will convert into a shareholding in UBS of approximately 0.5% upon completion of the merger," the bourse statement said.

At December 31, 2022, the value of SNBs investment in Credit Suisse had declined by approximately 20%, the statement said. It then posted an additional fall of almost 70% during the first three months of 2023.

In March, Fitch Ratings said the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse would have a neutral impact on SNB's A- rating, due mainly to the limited contribution of the Credit Suisse investment to its group asset portfolio of less than 0.5% of total assets.

($1 = 3.7504 riyals)
May 1 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is buying most of First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) assets, which had been seized by United States regulators, in a last-ditch rescue for the strained lender, marking the third major U.S. bank to fail in two months.

Last week, First Republic reported a more than $100 billion plunge in deposits in the first quarter that sparked a brutal sell-off in the lender's shares.

Banks have been staring at the biggest crisis since 2008 after two U.S. lenders collapsed in March and the turmoil has ratcheted up fears of a contagion and prompted action from the U.S. Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury and the private sector.

Below is a timeline of key events:

Sources: company statements, press conferences, media reports
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is encouraged that First Republic Bank (FRC.N) was resolved with the least cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund, and believes the U.S. banking system remains sound and resilient, a Treasury spokesperson said early Monday.

U.S. regulators on Monday seized First Republic, the third major U.S. institution to fail in two months, with JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) agreeing to take $173 billion of the bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits.

"Treasury is encouraged that this institution was resolved with the least cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund, and in a manner that protected all depositors," the spokesperson said.

"The banking system remains sound and resilient, and Americans should feel confident in the safety of their deposits and the ability of the banking system to fulfill its essential function of providing credit to businesses and families."

San Francisco-based First Republic came under intense pressure after disclosing last week that it had suffered more than $100 billion in outflows in the first quarter and was exploring options.

Treasury had no immediate comment why regulators accepted the offer from the banking giant JPMorgan, and not those of PNC Financial Services Group (PNC.N), and Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG.N), which also submitted final bids on Sunday, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said it had taken possession of First Republic and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would act as its receiver. The FDIC estimated in a statement that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund would be about $13 billion.

In recent years, U.S. regulators have been slow to approve large bank deals. The Biden administration has also cracked down on anti-competitive practices.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with some showers after midnight. Thunder possible. Low 56F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
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Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.90-$1.96 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.91. The company issued revenue guidance of $13.76 billion-$14.01 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.55 billion. Boston Scientific also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $0.48-$0.50 EPS.

Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of BSX traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.12. 13,505,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,071,792. Boston Scientific has a 1-year low of $34.98 and a 1-year high of $53.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.11 and a 200-day moving average of $46.35. The stock has a market cap of $74.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.79.

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Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 6.91%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firms revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Boston Scientific will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Insider Activity at Boston Scientific

BSX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $53.89.

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 11,671 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.96, for a total value of $606,425.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,373 shares in the company, valued at $4,332,061.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 11,671 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.96, for a total transaction of $606,425.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,373 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,332,061.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 75,610 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.64, for a total value of $3,526,450.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,958 shares in the company, valued at $11,937,881.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,459 shares of company stock worth $7,057,754 over the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boston Scientific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth $1,076,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,793 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 5,581 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter worth $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the companys stock.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Boston Scientific Corp. engages in the development, manufacture and marketing of medical devices that are used in interventional medical procedures. It operates through the MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The MedSurg segment includes Urology and Neuromodulation. The Cardiovascular segment consists of Cardiology and Peripheral Interventions.

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Insperity (NYSE:NSP  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $5.62-$6.39 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.66. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Insperity also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $1.16-$1.32 EPS.

Insperity Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NSP traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $122.46. The company had a trading volume of 379,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,455. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $121.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Insperity has a 1-year low of $87.74 and a 1-year high of $131.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.23.

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Insperity (NYSE:NSP  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.28. Insperity had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 263.01%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.51 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Insperity will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insperity Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Insperitys dividend payout ratio is presently 39.32%.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Insperity in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of Insperity from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $128.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Insperity

In other news, EVP James D. Allison sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total transaction of $624,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,045,884.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP James D. Allison sold 5,000 shares of Insperity stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total transaction of $624,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,045,884.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard G. Rawson sold 6,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.74, for a total transaction of $754,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,512,829.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,471,240 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Insperity

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Insperity by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,413 shares of the business services providers stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Insperity in the 1st quarter worth about $538,000. Balyasny Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Insperity in the 3rd quarter worth about $403,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Insperity by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,745 shares of the business services providers stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Insperity in the 2nd quarter worth about $331,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the companys stock.

About Insperity

(Get Rating)

Insperity, Inc engages in the provision of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. The firm also offers payroll and employment administration, employee benefits, workers compensation, government compliance, performance management, and training and development services, along with cloud-based human capital management platform.

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Manganese X Energy Corp. (OTCMKTS:MNXXF  Get Rating) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,600 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the March 31st total of 28,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 66,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Manganese X Energy Stock Performance

Shares of MNXXF remained flat at $0.13 during midday trading on Friday. 6,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,886. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $0.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.15. Manganese X Energy has a one year low of $0.12 and a one year high of $0.35.

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Manganese X Energy Company Profile

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Manganese X Energy Corp. engages in the development of mineral properties. It focuses on Battery Hill, Lac Aux Bouleaux and Peter Lake properties. It operates under the Acquisition and Exploration of Mineral Property Interests in Canada, and Technology Development of HVAC Systems. The company was founded by Lorne Allan Woods and Marc Blais on December 4, 2007 and is headquartered in Quebec, Canada.

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Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, The Fly reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $65.00 price objective on the construction companys stock, up from their previous price objective of $55.00. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Mascos Q4 2023 earnings at $0.61 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Masco from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $49.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Masco from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Masco from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $58.71.

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Masco Trading Up 1.2 %

MAS opened at $53.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.18. Masco has a 1-year low of $42.33 and a 1-year high of $58.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.87.

Masco Increases Dividend

Masco ( NYSE:MAS Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.91 billion. Masco had a net margin of 9.65% and a negative return on equity of 237.83%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Masco will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 23rd were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from Mascos previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Mascos payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 56,853 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.26, for a total value of $3,198,549.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 258,085 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,519,862.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 56,853 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.26, for a total value of $3,198,549.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 258,085 shares in the company, valued at $14,519,862.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 55,170 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $3,100,002.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,044 shares in the company, valued at $10,903,332.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 312,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,222,643. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Masco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAS. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 23.7% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 12,644 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 65,264 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 11,337 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Masco by 4.8% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,103 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,637,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Masco during the first quarter worth $495,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Masco by 200.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 457,744 shares of the construction companys stock worth $23,345,000 after buying an additional 305,138 shares during the last quarter. 91.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Masco

(Get Rating)

Masco Corp. engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. It operates under the Plumbing Products and Decorative Architectural Products segments. The Plumbing Products segment includes faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, shower drains, steam shower systems, sinks, kitchen accessories, and toilets.

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Northcape Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V  Get Rating) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,914 shares of the credit-card processors stock after selling 4,870 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Visa were worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Visa by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 145,236,910 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $25,801,337,000 after buying an additional 912,545 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Visa by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 27,141,800 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $4,821,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,695 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Visa by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,270,127 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $2,357,438,000 after acquiring an additional 77,186 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Visa by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,157,577 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $2,337,444,000 after purchasing an additional 383,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Visa by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,004,830 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $2,218,771,000 after purchasing an additional 126,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.87% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other Visa news, Chairman Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. sold 58,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total transaction of $12,991,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 162,354 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $36,365,672.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total transaction of $2,933,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 4,583 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,003,677. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. sold 58,000 shares of Visa stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $12,991,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 162,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,365,672.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,115 shares of company stock valued at $30,115,598 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Visa Stock Performance

V stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $233.97. 1,421,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,227,349. Visa Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.60 and a twelve month high of $235.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.96.

Visa (NYSE:V  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The credit-card processor reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.95% and a return on equity of 50.21%. The businesss revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Visa Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Visas payout ratio is presently 24.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on V. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Visa from $272.00 to $284.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. 22nd Century Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on Visa from $281.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Visa from $270.00 to $273.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Visa from $250.00 to $265.00 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, two have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Visa currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $260.96.

Visa Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).

Featured Articles

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Outfront Media (NYSE:OUT  Get Rating) is scheduled to release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, May 3rd. Analysts expect Outfront Media to post earnings of $0.16 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in registering for the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Outfront Media (NYSE:OUT  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.30). Outfront Media had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $494.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Outfront Medias revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Outfront Media to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Outfront Media Price Performance

OUT stock opened at $16.66 on Monday. Outfront Media has a 52 week low of $14.55 and a 52 week high of $26.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.70.

Outfront Media Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.20%. Outfront Medias dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.15%.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on OUT. Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Outfront Media in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Outfront Media from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Outfront Media from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Outfront Media in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department increased its stake in Outfront Media by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 92,766 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,538,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Outfront Media by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,120 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Outfront Media during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Outfront Media during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in Outfront Media by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,565 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares during the period.

Outfront Media Company Profile

(Get Rating)

OUTFRONT Media, Inc leases advertising space on out-of-home advertising structures and sites. Its inventory consists of billboard displays, which are primarily located on the most heavily traveled highways & roadways, and transit advertising displays operated under exclusive multi-year contracts with municipalities in large cities across the U.S.

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(The Center Square)  A bipartisan group of state lawmakers who pushed to legalize recreational cannabis in Delaware are calling on members of the states congressional delegation to back efforts to change federal pot laws.

In a letter to members of the delegation, the 16 state senators urged Democratic U.S. Sens. Tom Carver and Chris Coons and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester to support a proposal in Congress to reclassify cannabis under federal law.

The lawmakers argue that the federal controlled substances act Class 1 level designation is intended for heroin and other "exceptionally dangerous substances with high potential for abuse and no medical use."

"Marijuana has many currently accepted medical uses in the United States, having been recommended by thousands of licensed physicians to at least 350,000 patients in states with medical marijuana laws," they wrote.

To date, at least 22 states, including Delaware, have legalized recreational marijuana, to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-seven states have medical marijuana programs.

Recent polls have shown an ever-increasing majority of the nation's voters support legalizing recreational cannabis.

But the drug remains illegal under federal law, and the nations credit card companies and banking system have been reluctant to authorize transactions involving cannabis sales, which could be considered "aiding and abetting a federal crime and money laundering."

"Most financial institutions are unwilling to accept this risk, meaning medical marijuana distributors have limited access to traditional banking and financial services, and are forced to operate in cash," they wrote. "Operating a business with large amounts of cash on hand is a public safety threat, as these establishments become targets for crime, putting the safety of staff and patients at risk."

There are about 5.4 million state-legal patients in the U.S who can't get medical insurance health coverage for medical marijuana, primarily due to the drugs federal designation, the lawmakers noted.

Cannabis is also not eligible for purchase using health savings accounts because of the legal designation, even if its being used for medicinal purposes, they said.

Delaware legalized pot last week after Gov. John Carney declined to veto a pair of bills legalizing the drug and authorizing retail sales. Lawmakers who backed the move pointed to neighboring states like New Jersey that have legalized the drug, and argued that Delaware was missing out on tax revenue and jobs from the regulated cannabis market.

In October, President Joe Biden announced that he is ordering an administrative review of federal marijuana scheduling, and granted mass pardons for people who have been convicted of federal cannabis possession offenses.

"Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit," Biden said at the time.

Last week, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers filed a bill that would, if approved, establish a "Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis" to study federal and state regulatory models and make recommendations on regulating cannabis on a federal level.

"With nearly every state adopting its own set of cannabis reforms, an end to federal cannabis prohibition is inevitable," Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, one of the bill's primary sponsors, said in a statement. "Now is the time for the federal government to respect the will of our constituents and begin the conversation on fair and effective cannabis regulation."
Several fire departments responded to a fire in a two-story, 1,600-square-foot barn Saturday in the area of C.R. 56 and C.R. 7. The barn was a total loss. No animals were inside. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.
The month of April is now coming to an end, and it's time to reflect on the bops our favorite artists have released.

Here are the 6 best K-pop girl group songs for April 2023!

1. 'I AM' by IVE

This 2023, daesang-winning rookie group IVE may have everyone's unwavering attention, but no one expected them to go beyond with their music! On April 10, IVE finally released their first full-length album "I've IVE," with its title track "I AM."

IVE makes no space for rest, as the assertive "I AM" steers listeners on a wild ride, structured by a brassy and powerful music. With the group's undeniably amazing start for 2023, they have proven again their status as one of fourth-gen's representatives.

2. 'D N D' by Apink

On April 5, legendary girl group Apink released their 10th mini album "SELF," with "D N D" as the album's title track. The album also contains 5 songs including the title track, together with B-sides "Withcha," "Me, Myself & I," "Candy," and "I Want You to Be Happy."

The song is one of April's best releases due to its lighthearted feel and jumpy chorus, that are backed up by a danceable instrumental. Most of all, the song is also graced by Apink's impressive vocals.

3. 'Giddy' by Kep1er

On April 10, midnight KST, rookie girl group Kep1er dropped their funky track "Giddy," based on their fourth mini album "LOVESTRUCK!"

The girls treated Kep1ians to a bass instrumental and their vocals. What makes this release so smooth is that Kep1er members take their time with their harmonization and vocal range, which focuses on their low registers. During the song, Kep1er also managed to showcase their amazing rap skills, demonstrating their immense talent.

4. 'SHOW DOWN' by ALICE

ALICE is finally back with their April bop titled "SHOW DOWN," which is from their first single album of the same name. The group thrills fans with an upbeat dance sound, instilling fun in the listening experience. The track was released on April 19.

5. 'Zero' by NewJeans

On April 3, NewJeans officially dropped their collab song with Coca-Cola titled "Zero." The collab was first announced by ADOR on March 31, as part of the group's campaign and activities with the brand.

Notably, NewJeans was also picked as the newest global ambassador for Coca-Cola. The song perfectly encapsulates Coca-Cola's brand image and NewJeans' unparalleled synergy. It is also fueled by a refreshing music video and the group's sharp choreography.

6. 'Danger' (OST) by H1-KEY

Although not an official group release, H1-KEY also managed to slay this OST from K-drama "Family." Their track "Danger" matches the show's espionage theme, with H1-KEY's delicate performance and vocal colors.

Which songs on the list are your favorites? Do you have any other songs in mind? Let us know in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Riely Miller
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) A 22-year-old man was arrested and two juveniles were apprehended for allegedly killing a man and injuring four others following a quarrel involving a girl in southeast Delhi's Zakir Nagar area, police said on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Tabish alias Danish, a resident of Jamia Nagar, they added.

Also Read | Italy Slashes Anti-poverty Subsidies.

A case was registered on Saturday on the statement of Mohammad Afzal who said one of his friends, Adeeb, had a girlfriend who was previously in a relationship with a 16-year-old boy and the juvenile had threatened Adeeb of dire consequences, a senior police officer said.

In order to settle the matter, Adeeb, along with his friends Afzal, Mohammad Shyan, Mohammad Sheikh Zafar and Shyam, met the juvenile and his friends Sabir, Tabish and another minor at street number-6, Zakir Nagar, the officer said.

Also Read | Delhi Excise Policy Case: Operation 'Project Clean' Created on Signal App To Mislead ED.

A scuffle took place between the two groups during which Tabish allegedly took out a knife and stabbed Adeeb and his friends, resulting in grievous injuries to all of them. The injured were taken to the Holy Family hospital where Shyan was declared brought dead, the officer said.

Acting on a tip-off, police conducted raids at Hapur and Siyana in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday and nabbed the two juveniles -- both aged 16 -- and Tabish. The knife used in the commission of the crime was also seized from the possession of Tabish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Poonch (Jammu And Kashmir) [India], May 1 (ANI): Four people sustained injuries in a cylinder explosion in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, an official said on Monday.

The official said that the injured were rushed to the hospital following which they were given first aid.

Also Read | Delhi Metro Masturbation Video: Police Register FIR After Disgusting Clip of Man Indulging in Obscene Act Inside Train Went Viral.

Zulafkar Ahmed, Medical Superintendent District Hospital, informed that out of the four injured persons, three had sustained minor burns while the other was majorly injured.

"We rushed our ambulance after getting information about the cylinder blast. Four people were brought here, out of which 3 had minor burns and one had major burns. After giving first aid they have been admitted here," Zulafkar Ahmed said.

Also Read | Tribal Leader Nand Kumar Sai Joins Congress in Chhattisgarh Day After Parting Ways with BJP.

He said that the person who suffered major burns will be referred to the medical college and the rest of the injured are stable.

Further details into the matter are awaited. (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], May 1 (ANI): As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced to implement the Uniform Civil Code among its top promises made in the manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday promised that his party would prioritize the promotion and conservation of places blessed by nature in the state.

Soon after the BJP's vision document was unveiled by the party's national president JP Nadda, in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa, Shah made the promise through his Twitter account on which he also shared a video showing the natural beauty of a place in Karnataka's Coorg.

Also Read | Malaria, Dengue, Zika Virus Outbreak More Likely in Coming Years? Mosquito-Borne Diseases May Rise Due to Climate Change, Warns Expert.

"The natural beauty of Coorg is truly stunning. Its emerald-green forests and stunning landscapes are sights to behold. The BJP government in Karnataka will prioritize promoting and conserving such places blessed by nature," Shah tweeted.

Shah made the statement on the day when he held a roadshow at Tiptur Assembly in poll-bound Karnataka's Tumkuru on Monday in which BJP's manifesto will play a major role.

Also Read | Jobs in India: Real Estate, BFSI Hiring Continued To Grow in April 2023, Says Report.

The BJP's 16-point election manifesto released on Monday included the implementation of UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose. It also promised to provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families annually.

Besides, the manifesto mentions setting up an 'Atal Aahara Kendra' in every ward of every municipal corporation to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the state.

Launch of the 'Poshana' scheme, through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna - siri dhanya through monthly ration kits; introduction of the National Register of Citizens and "speedy deportation of all illegal migrants"; development of Bengaluru for the next generation by designating it as 'State Capital Region', and executing a comprehensive, technology-led city development program - centred around Ease of Life, cohesive transportation networks and enabling ecosystems for making Bengaluru a Global Hub of Digital Innovation are among other promises made in the BJP manifesto.

Considered a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and the JDS, all parties are trying hard and leaving no stone unturned while some political leaders have indulged in hurling abuses.

Congress has been one of the leading players in Karnataka politics and has formed its government several times in the state.

In 2008, the party suffered a major defeat, winning only 80 seats in the 224 assembly seats.

But in 2013, it bounced back and won a majority winning 122 seats.

In the previous election, it won 80 seats and formed a coalition government with JD(S) which collapsed in 2019.

At present, it is the main opposition party in the state.

The Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 are scheduled to be held on May 10 while the counting of votes will take place on May 13.

The election will be held to elect the 224-member Assembly.

This time it is expected that there will be a close contest between the ruling BJP and Congress along with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) playing a possible kingmaker role. (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], May 1 (ANI): The Border Security Force (BSF) troops on late Sunday night recovered 2.5 kg of heroin dropped by a drone, which had entered Indian territory from the Pakistan side, near Setha Wala village in Ferozepur district.

In a statement, BSF informed that on Sunday at about 11:55 pm, BSF troops deployed at the border heard the buzzing sound of a suspected flying object (drone) entering Indian territory from Pakistan.

Also Read | Thrissur Pooram 2023 Held in Full Grandeur in Kerala, Lionel Messi Holding World Cup Featured During 'Kudamattam'.

The troops observed a blinking light, heard a drone, and the sound of something being dropped in the farming field on the outskirts of the Village, the statement further said.

During the initial search of the area, BSF troops recovered a big packet wrapped in yellow adhesive tape containing three packets of heroin, two sparkling balls and a luminous blue LED bulb with a battery, which was also found attached to the consignment. The gross weight of the three packets of heroin is approximately 2.5 Kg, BSF said in the statement.

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"The vigilant BSF troop have foiled another nefarious attempt of drug smuggling from the Pakistan side," said a senior BSF officer. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Pune, May 1 (PTI) Blood samples are being collected in a graded manner as part of DNA fingerprinting of armed forces personnel and this process has so far helped identity mortal remains in 12 cases, including the helicopter crash that killed then Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, said Lieutenant General Daljit Singh, Director General, Armed Forces Medical Service on Monday.

Also Read | Delhi Police Nab Two Men Filming Hooliganism To Recruit Youngsters Into Gang.

Singh was addressing the press on the sidelines of the Pune-based Armed Forces Medical College's (AFMC)'s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Also Read | Karnataka SSLC Result 2023 Date: KSEAB Class 10th Result To Be Declared Soon At karresults.nic.in; Know Steps to Check Score.

It is an ongoing process in which blood samples are being collected in a graded manner for archiving in the repository that is maintained at AFMC's Department of Forensic Medicine, he said.

"What does DNA profiling mean? You take a drop of the blood of an individual, put it on a special filter paper, and store it in a repository. Later, if you want to identify that individual for some reason, such as an unfortunate accident, we can retrieve his sample from the repository and match it with the DNA recovered from the mortal remains," Lt General Singh explained.

"Dried blood spots on specialized filter paper of individuals (armed forces personnel) are stored in the Forensic Department at AFMC. So far, in 12 cases, mortal remains have been identified using this technology, including those who died in the crash of a helicopter carrying (CDS) General Bipin Rawat," he said.

Rawat was killed along with 13 others, including his wife, in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris area on December 8. 2021.

Speaking about the 'Doctor Pilot' project, Singh said the aim of the programme is for doctors to understand the problems faced by the pilots.

"Previously, doctors would have proper training and become pilots, and now with this project being resurrected, they will continue (to receive the proper training )," he said, adding the programme was stopped, but now, in a systematic way, it would be restarted.

"As of now, two doctors each in the fighter, helicopter, and transport streams will be trained. Based on the feedback, the project it will evolve further," Singh said.

Addressing queries related to the preparedness of the AFMS for a possible resurgence of COVID-19, the DGAFMS said military hospitals are fully prepared with adequate manpower and equipment for such a situation.

Singh asserted the AFMC will be accorded status of Institute of National Importance in the coming years.

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations were attended by high-ranking officers and civilian dignitaries from across the country, with eminent medical professionals sharing their expertise through orations, panel discussions, and symposiums.

Among the highlights was a panel discussion on 'Contributions of Alumni to AFMC and the way forward', which was held in hybrid mode, with panelists and participants from across the globe.

The two-day event was successfully conducted under the guidance and patronage of Lt Gen Narendra Kotwal, Director and Commandant of AFMC, a defence release said.

On the occasion, a 108-foot Tricolour was hoisted by Flag Foundation of India in the presence of its founder and former MP Naveen Jindal.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Noida, May 1 (PTI) A fire broke out inside the food court of a private university in Greater Noida early on Monday, officials said.

No person was injured in the fire that was reported from the Galgotias University at 3.24 am, Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said.

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"Upon receiving information, three units of water tenders along with firefighters were rushed to the spot. The fire had broken out in the food court located outside the main campus building," Choubey said.

While the fire was doused in some time, there was no injury to any individual in the whole episode, he added.

Also Read | Bhiwandi Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises to Seven; Rescue Operation Underway (Watch Video).

The exact reason behind the fire and the extent of damage caused by it is yet to be ascertained, the officer said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kozhikode/Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 (PTI) The political storm kicked up in Kerala by the controversial film 'The Kerala Story' continued to blow in the state, with the BJP claiming that recruitment into the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit from the southern state cannot be denied and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of the exact figures.

While the political debate raged in the state over the factual basis of the movie and whether its content could be justified by invoking the right of freedom of expression, it also kicked off a "cash for proof" game, with varying amounts being offered as reward for providing evidence of women who converted and joined the Islamic State from Kerala as claimed in the film.

Also Read | Delhi Excise Policy Scam: CM Arvind Kejriwal Welcomed YSR Congress MP Magunta Sriniavasulu Reddy Into Liquor Business, Says ED Chargesheet.

As the BJP came out in support of the controversial film, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said that Keralites had the right to say loud and clear that the movie was a "misrepresentation of our reality".

Tharoor tweeted, "Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality."

Also Read | Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: EC Pushes for Greater Vigil at Inter-State Border to Prevent Entry of Cash, Drugs.

Sharing a poster of the movie, Tharoor had tweeted on Sunday, "It may be 'your' Kerala story. It is not 'our' Kerala story."

'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is portrayed as "unearthing" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" allegedly going missing from Kerala.

According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims that the women got converted, radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

A day after Vijayan slammed the film's makers for carrying forward the agenda of the Sangh Parivar to project Kerala as a centre of religious extremism and to spread hate propaganda against the state, BJP state president K Surendran on Monday claimed that the presence of IS in the southern state could not be denied.

"IS has a very strong presence in Kerala... You cannot deny the IS recruitment from the state," the BJP leader claimed, adding that if the figures cited in the film were the bone of contention, then that could be discussed.

"The Chief Minister knows the exact figures of IS recruitment," he said, speaking to reporters in Kozhikode.

The BJP leader contended that if IS and terrorism did not have a presence in the state then why would a man come from Uttar Pradesh to Kerala to set a train on fire. He was referring to the recent incident in which a passenger on a train in Kerala poured petrol on three others and set fire to them, and sought to draw a link to IS terrorism.

"Films are not always completely based on facts. Treat the movie as one. Watch it first. Why the urgency to stop its screening? Why scared of it? Why so much agitation? Those who do not want to see it, need not," Surendran said.

He sought to compare the fictional film -- which the filmmakers claim is based on the story of a girl who in reality was forced to convert to Islam and was taken to Syria to join IS -- with the BBC Documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, and asked why the reception to the two by the Kerala government was so different.

"The BBC documentary (on the 2002 riots in Gujarat) was shown across Kerala by DYFI by booking halls. Then why block 'The Kerala Story'?" he asked.

Vijayan, on Sunday, had accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy religious harmony in the state by "sowing the poisonous seeds of communalism".

In response to this, Surendran said there was "no Sangh Parivar agenda in this film".

"We did not sponsor this film. We have other ways and means to air our views," he said.

Meanwhile, cash prizes have been sponsored by many, such as the Muslim Youth League, for any evidence of the claims made in the film that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined IS.

The youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Monday announced a massive reward of Rs one crore for proof of women who converted and then joined IS.

The reward was announced by P K Firos, general secretary of the Muslim Youth League, who said that the proof could be submitted at the district centres of the organisation to get Rs one crore without a hassle.

Tharoor tagged a poster of the reward announcement on his Twitter handle and said that it was an opportunity for those hyping the alleged conversions of 32,000 women in Kerala to Islam to prove their case and make some money.

"Will they be up to the challenge or is there simply no proof because none exists?" the MP from Thiruvananthapuram asked, using the hashtag 'Not Our Kerala Story'.

Besides the Muslim Youth League, an actor-cum-lawyer has also offered monetary reward for evidence that women were converted to Islam and taken to IS. C Shukkur, known for his role as a lawyer in the Kunchacko Boban starrer 'Nna Thaan Case Kodu' (Sue me then) and also for remarrying his wife under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), said there was no need to even show proof of 32,000 women -- as claimed in the movie -- who converted and joined IS, "Just 32 is enough," he said, seeking evidence.

Shukkur, in a Facebook post, said, "I am offering 11 lakh rupees to those who publish information such as names and addresses of women who were converted to Islam and became members of the Islamic State. "No need to produce proof for 32,000 women, just 32 is enough," he said.

In a strange twist, a right-wing activist and founder of the Hindu Seva Kendra Pratheesh Viswanath has also offered Rs 10 crore. To prove the opposite: that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join IS.

"To all those fake liberals & vote bank politicians who still believe Kerala Story is a Myth, here is a golden opportunity for you...Rs 10 crore will be given to those who prove that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join ISIS. Open Challenge!!!" he tweeted.

A few days ago, both the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress had hit out at 'The Kerala Story', saying freedom of expression was not a licence to spew venom in society, and that the film was an attempt to destroy the communal harmony of the state.

The Congress had urged the government not to give permission to screen the controversial movie as it aimed to create "communal divisions in society through false claims".

Following that, the BJP accused the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala of having "double standards" on the issue of freedom of speech and expression.

(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, May 1: Jamia Millia Islamia has taken "strict actions" against 15 students, including expulsion of three, for their involvement in last September's scuffle between two groups that had resulted in a student sustaining bullet injuries, officials said.

The punishments vary from expulsion, campus ban, no hostel accommodation and monetary compensation to furnishing a bond of good conduct depending on the student's involvement, a senior varsity official said.

Three out of 15 students have only been allowed to give examinations with a 5-year campus ban and no admission in any other course at the university after completion of their course, the official said. Delhi: 'Strict Action' Against 15 Students of Jamia over Last Year's Scuffle.

"The disciplinary actions have been taken after the due procedure and to set an example that the university will not tolerate any kind of indiscipline on the campus," Jamia Registrar Nazim Husain Al Jafri said.

The students who have been expelled are identified as Mujeebur Rehman, BA (Hons) Political Science; Salman Khursid, BA programme; and Mohd. Faisal, MA (Social Exclusion) for disturbing the peaceful environment of the university and inciting students for fighting, the officials said.

The notices issued on April 24 to Rehman and Khursid mention that they did not appear before the disciplinary committee to defend their case. The notice furnished to Faisal mentions that the "committee took into account activities carried out by him during the period of suspension and campus ban".

While Rehman and Khursid could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, Faisal refused to comment on the matter. In September last year, two groups of students engaged in multiple brawls on and outside the campus. In one of the skirmishes, a student suffered bullet injuries in a hospital.

Days after the incident, the university suspended several students for "spoiling" the peaceful academic environment. The matter was taken up by the disciplinary committee of the university.

The committee in its meetings held on April 6, 2023 in the Mir Anis Hall, Administrative Block and subsequent meeting held on April 10 in the Committee Room, Registrar Office "took a serious view" of the involvement of these students "in the name of regional conflict resulting in the series of fights between students of Western UP and Mewat Region on September 29 on the university campus and at Holy Family Hospital," according to the notices served to each student.

"The students were given show-cause notice. The committee held multiple meetings and hearings and then decided on the punishment to the students," the registrar asserted.

According to the officials, out of 15, five Diploma in Electrical Engineering students -- Suhail Nasrullah Ansari, Mohammad Shadab Choudhary, Sahil and Nazim Khan -- have been allowed to complete their courses and suspension have been revoked against them but they will be banned from the campus for a period of five years following their course completion. Delhi Police Nab Two Men Filming Hooliganism To Recruit Youngsters Into Gang.

These five students will not be allowed to get any hostel accommodation and warning letters have also been issued to them. Meanwhile, Momin Khan pursuing Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Abdul Hannan, MA (Development Extension) and Asif Ali, MA History Semester II, have been asked to pay Rs 1,000 each as a fine. The three students, along with Abrar Ahmed, Diploma in Electrical Engineering, will also not be given hostel accommodation in the university during the remaining period of their current course and will have to furnish a bond of good conduct in the Proctor Office.

The police had registered two cases and apprehended nine people in connection with the scuffle involving the Jamia students and a firing incident at the Holy Family Hospital in southeast Delhi.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Haver, May 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, held a roadshow in Haveri's Ranibennur while campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. The roadshow started from City Bus Stand and went to Sangam Circle.

The former BJP president was seated on a specially designed vehicle and greeted the people. A huge number of BJP supporters and party members gathered on both sides throughout the roadshow. People also showered flowers and waved BJP flags as an expression of support. While addressing the people, he urged them to form a double-engine government in the state of Karnataka.

"Congress is saying that if they come to power they will again give the reservation to Muslims. I want to ask DK Shivakumar whose reservation will they take away. But, there is no need to worry, because neither Congress will come to power, nor will they be able to take such a decision," he said. Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: BJP Manifesto Promises to Implement Uniform Civil Code and NRC in Poll-Bound State.

Earlier in the day, Amit Shah held another roadshow in Karnataka's Tumkuru as part of the BJP's mass outreach campaign ahead of the state Assembly polls on May 10.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party released its manifesto for Karnataka Assembly polls at an event in Bengaluru, making a host of promises including the provision of 3 free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL (Below Poverty Level) families annually.

Video of Amit Shah Rally

#WATCH | Yeddyurappa ji has done a lot of work for Karnataka, we've increased reservation of Lingayat & Dalit communities by abolishing 4% Muslim reservation. If Congress comes to power, it will take all these reservations and bring Muslim reservations back: Union HM Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/0Am6ySkKg6  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2023

The manifesto or the vision document was released by the BJP's national president JP Nadda in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa.

The ruling party, in all, made 16 promises in its vision document which promised to launch the 'Poshana' (nutrition) scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna-siri dhanya (millets) through monthly ration kits. BJP Manifesto for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: JP Nadda Unveils Party's Vision Document, Implementation of Uniform Civil Code, 3 Free Gas Cylinders for BPL Families Among Poll Promises (Watch Video).

Earlier on April 29, while addressing a rally in Udupi, Amit Shah said attacked Congress and said, "For 70 years, the Congress party was stuck on the question of Ram Mandir, hanging it, misleading it. As soon as the judgment of the court came, he did the work of laying the foundation of the Ram temple." Polling for Karnataka Assembly is scheduled to be held on May 10 and the votes will be counted 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)
Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) [India], May 1 (ANI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday praised forces for eliminating three Naxal supporters in an encounter in Gadchiroli and said that the development of the district is imperative for the establishment of rule of law.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that our jawans have neutralized Naxal supporters, who have killed many innocent people. I thank them for this step. Continuously our C-60 jawans and our forces are showing great bravery. We can develop Gadchiroli," Fadnavis said.

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"Today I am going to Gadchiroli. It will go to both the South and North areas. Will stay there," he added.

Fadnavis said that It is very important for the development of Gadchiroli that rule of law is established there.

Also Read | Telangana Shocker: Married Woman, Her Lover Brutally Murdered Over Extramarital Relations in Adilabad.

The encounter took place at around 6 pm in Manne Rajaram village in Aheri tehsil, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra on Sunday.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Gadchiroli, Sandip Patil told ANI on Sunday, "Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with the police in Manne Rajaram of Aheri tehsil. The police recovered the bodies of three Naxalites, the encounter took place around 6 pm on Sunday. The killed Naxalites had a reward of Rs 38 lakh".

As per the police, credible information was received that 'Perimili Dalam' and 'Aheri Dalam' are camping in the forest area of Kedmara, between Mane Rajaram and Perimili armed outpost.

Based on the information, two C-60 parties were launched from Pranhita to conduct search operations in the jungle area. During the operation, the parties were fired upon by the Naxals leading to an exchange of fire at the location.

After the firing, the police conducted a search operation, during which three male Naxal bodies were recovered.

The three deceased Naxals had been identified as Bitlu Madavi, commander of Perimili Dalam, Vasu of Perimili Dalam and Srikant of Aheri Dalam, the police said.

Bitlu Madavi was also a prime accused in the murder of a student named Sainath Narote on March 9, this year. In addition to this, he was also accused in two incidents of arson of road construction equipment at Visamundi and Alenga, officials said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) a murder accused, who was at large, has been arrested in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh following an exchange of fire between him and police personnel, officials said on Monday.

Ranjeet Jha (24) was arrested in a joint operation by the Meerut Police and the Delhi Police's Special Cell.

Also Read | AR Rahman Concert in Pune Stopped by Police Citing 10 PM Deadline (Watch Video).

He is named in three cases in Delhi, including murder and attempt to murder, the police officials said, adding that a 9mm pistol with two live cartridges and a stolen bike have been seized.

Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal said Jha was arrested after a brief exchange of fire on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Also Read | Supreme Court Notice to Uttar Pradesh Government on Plea of Disqualified MLA Abdullah Azam Khan in Criminal Case.

During the operation, Jha fired three rounds on police personnel and in retaliatory fire, suffered a bullet injury to his right leg, the officer said and added that Jha is involved in three shootout cases in the national capital.

In one of the cases, Jha along with his associates -- Amit Dubey, Gaurav and Babu -- had fired multiple rounds at a person, Sonu Kumar, near northwest Delhi's azadpur commercial complex around 12.30 pm on Sunday, Dhaliwal said.

The motive was financial dispute related to real estate matter, he said.

Dhaliwal said after the incident, Jha along with Gaurav fled to Meerut from where he was arrested. PTI AMP

(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, May 1 (PTI) Two frontline warships of the Indian Navy arrived in Singapore on Monday to participate in the inaugural edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, officials said.

The harbour phase of the exercise is scheduled to be held at the Changi Naval Base from May 2 to 4, while the sea phase will be conducted from May 7 to 8 in the South China Sea.

Also Read | Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Holds Roadshow in Haveri, Urges People to Vote for Double-Engine Government.

The South China Sea has been witnessing major military assertiveness by China in the last few years.

The two Indian naval ships that arrived in Singapore are INS Satpura and INS Delhi.

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The ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2023) will provide an opportunity to the Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work closely with each other and conduct seamless operations in the maritime domain, the defence ministry said.

INS Delhi is India's first indigenously-built guided missile destroyer, while INS Satpura is an indigenously-built guided missile stealth frigate.

Both the ships are part of the navy's Eastern Fleet based in Visakhapatnam.

The ships are fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors.

The ships, during their port call at Singapore, will also participate in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX-23) and the International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) being hosted by Singapore, the ministry said in a statement.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati, May 1 (PTI) Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday said a body for water resource management of the northeastern region will be formed as soon as it gets the Parliament's approval.

It will work for holistic solutions to water-related problems of the region with coordination between the states and the Centre, he said.

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"To give a new direction with a holistic approach, the North Eastern Water Management Authority was proposed. There has mostly been consensus between the states and the proposal has been sent to the Union cabinet," Shekhawat said at a press conference here.

"I am confident that the Authority will be approved in the next Parliament session," he said.

Also Read | GST Revenue Collection for April 2023 Highest Ever at Rs 1.87 Lakh Crore.

He pointed out that the northeastern states face a "critical situation of either too much or too little water".

"For holistic solutions to such problems and other water resource utilisation issues, the states will work with more participation with the Centre through this body," the Union minister added.

Shekhawat, who chaired the 12th High Powered Review Board Meeting of the Brahmaputra Board during the day, said the Board had been studying and working for optimum utilisation of water resources in the region.

The proposed body will give a new direction to it, he maintained.

On the progress of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) for rural areas in the Northeast, the minister said the states have shown "great progress", citing the example of Assam which had started from about 1 per cent coverage and has now reached about 50 per cent.

"By 2024, we are hopeful that the Northeast will achieve 100 per cent coverage," he added.

Shekhawat said the fund component for drinking water purification plants under JJM in rural areas has been included and it is being ensured that only safe drinking water is made available to the people.

For urban areas, there are other central government initiatives and the states should collaborate with these for maximum benefits, Shekhawat added.

He said the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission was also "critically reviewed with ministers and officials and the pace needs to be improved".

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a law on "On Approval of the Protocol on Amendments to the Nakhchivan Agreement "On the Establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States".

According to the law, the Protocol on Amendments to the Nakhchivan Agreement "On the Establishment of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States", signed on November 11, 2022 in the city of Samarkand, was approved.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) A win in the Karnataka polls will be a "super booster dose" for the Congress electorally after the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the party ideologically and organisationally, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said.

The Congress general secretary (in-charge communications) said that while the 2024 parliamentary elections are still some months away, the outcome in Karnataka would definitely impact the crucial assembly polls later this year in states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read | Supreme Court Notice to Uttar Pradesh Government on Plea of Disqualified MLA Abdullah Azam Khan in Criminal Case.

"A win (in Karnataka polls) will be a super booster dose for the Congress. It will strengthen the Congress as we go to the polls in Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram," Ramesh, who is on the campaign trail in Karnataka, told PTI in an interview.

"I don't want to look to 2024 but I would look at 2023 and for that it (win in Karnataka) would be a super booster dose for the Congress," the former Union minister said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Man Who Attempted Self-immolation Near CM Yogi Adityanath Residence Dies in Lucknow Hospital.

While the Bharat Jodo Yatra revitalised the Congress ideologically and organisationally, a victory in Karnataka would revitalise it electorally, Ramesh said.

"Don't be surprised if we retain Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and come back to Madhya Pradesh as we had the mandate there before we were betrayed by Mr (Jyotiraditya) Scindia and his colleagues and the government was stolen from the Congress," he said.

In Telangana, Ramesh opined, the fight is between the Congress and the BRS, and the BJP is just creating a lot of hype.

"So electorally, for 2024 it is too early to say but I would say, for 2023, the elections that would come, this victory for the Congress in Karnataka will be a super booster dose," he asserted.

Ramesh claimed there was a "very strong current" in favour of the Congress in Karnataka.

"It is not just an undercurrent, there is an over current and I am in an area which is supposed to be a BJP bastion, which is the coastal area, and there is a widespread sentiment for a change," he told PTI over phone.

Ramesh said people have seen through the BJP propaganda about "good governance" over the last four years of its regime.

"So, I think we are headed for a clear majority in the assembly. I don't agree with the assessment that it is going to be a hung verdict. I think it is going to be a clear majority for the Congress," he said.

Noting that Karnataka is the only state in the South that the BJP has a government in, Ramesh said there is no prospect of the BJP coming to power in Kerala, Tamil Nadu or Telangana "and so it is banking on Karnataka".

"You see the type of high profile campaigning Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be undertaking in the good part of next 12-13 days, along with Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers. The entire government and the entire BJP are focusing on Karnataka," he said.

Ramesh said this time the Congress campaign has been very strategic on "vocal for local".

"People are seeing this. It is a positive and constructive campaign by the Congress. I can tell you having spent 22 days in October in seven districts in Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it was very evident from October that the time for a change was there and Rahul Gandhi was able to capitalise on that mood or that sentiment," he said.

The entire Congress party and the organisation got a booster dose from the Bharat Jodo Yatra and it is seeing the consequences of that in this election, Ramesh said.

Asked about the prime minister's campaign blitz in Karnataka, Ramesh said the BJP can do whatever "carpet bombing" they want but there are enough local issues the Congress has raised and given guarantees to different sections of society which will ensure its success.

Slamming the BJP's campaign, Ramesh said, "The divisiveness, the polarization, the threats, the intimidation, this is backfiring on the BJP."

"To preserve the social fabric of Karnataka, to ensure that economic growth takes place in Karnataka in an environment of social peace, people have recognised that the Congress is the only alternative," he said.

Voting will take place in the state on May 10 and the results will be declared 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)
Jaipur, May 1 (PTI) More than 25,000 yoga enthusiasts will participate in Yoga Mahotsav to be organised here on Tuesday to commemorate the 50 days countdown to the International Day of Yoga, Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

"The International Day of Yoga (IDY) has become a benchmark event, which is celebrated nationally and globally with ever increasing enthusiasm. As earlier, this year's IDY 2023 will also witness many firsts, foremost being the demonstration of Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) at Arctic and Antarctic region," Sonowal told reporters at a press conference.

Also Read | Italy Slashes Anti-poverty Subsidies.

He said to commemorate the 50 days countdown to the IDY, more than 25,000 yoga enthusiasts will participate in Yoga Mahotsav and perform yoga. The festival will be organised at Shri Bhawani Niketan Shiksha Samiti here.

The festival is being organized by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga in collaboration with the National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, and with the active support of the Rajasthan government in preparation for the Yoga Day (June 21).

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On the decision to organise the 50-day countdown in Rajasthan, Sonowal said that Rajasthan has immense opportunities for yoga institutes in terms of medical value travel where every year thousands of foreign tourists come and take their services to learn yoga and yoga therapy.

He said the Centre is promoting village tourism and yoga can play an important role in promoting rural tourism in Rajasthan.

"It is our aim that this our old identity, the real strength of India, the value of five thousand years old civilization, culture and spiritual traditions. Today, the world has accepted it and not only in the country but also in Europe, America and every province. Day by day the popularity of yoga has started increasing.

He said that in order to make life simple, successful and healthy, "we want every person to adopt yoga, adopt it with devotion because every person will be successful in promoting knowledge, devotion and action through yoga.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Kailash Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for AYUSH and Women and Child Development Manjupara Mahendra Bhai will attend the festival to be held tomorrow.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) White-collar job demand in April declined by 5 per cent compared to the same month last year with 2,715 job postings following a correction in hiring in the IT sector, a report said on Monday.

Overall job postings on Naukri.com platform stood at 2,863 during April 2022, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Index.

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Active hiring in non-tech sectors such as real estate and BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) mitigated the dip in IT sector hiring, the report added.

The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly index representing the state of the Indian job market and hiring activity based on new job listings and job-related searches by recruiters on the resume database on Naukri.com.

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It further revealed that the real estate sector spearheaded non-technology industries, witnessing a 21 per cent upswing in recruitment compared to the same month of the previous year.

This growth predominantly resulted from an increase in new launches of residential and commercial properties across metropolitan areas, prompting hiring in key roles such as tender manager, construction engineer and civil engineer positions, it added.

Among the large metros, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad exhibited recruitment surges of 28 per cent, 22 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, in hiring for the real estate sector, the report found.

The demand was highest for senior professionals with more than 16 years of experience, it said.

Besides real estate, the sectors with high growth in hiring activity included the oil and gas sector registering 20 per cent growth, the insurance sector with 13 per cent growth and the banking sector with 11 per cent growth compared to the same month the previous year.

Auto sector and pharmaceutical sector recruitment increased by a modest 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, it stated.

Meanwhile, the report revealed that the IT industry hiring continued its ongoing correction with a 27 per cent decrease in hiring activity compared to April last year.

IT behemoths, startups, and unicorns have all felt the impact of the ongoing global slowdown, said the report, adding that cities with a heavy presence of IT-focused companies, such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune, were the hardest hit.

Besides IT, sectors such as BPO, EdTech and retail also registered a decline of 18 per cent, 21 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, it noted.

Naukri JobSpeak Index further noted that among non-metro cities, Ahmedabad led hiring trends with a 28 per cent growth in new job creation compared to last year, followed by Vadodara and Jaipur with 14 per cent and 9 per cent growth in new job creation, respectively.

Banking, auto and insurance sectors have primarily contributed to the hiring activity observed across the non-metro cities, while real estate and oil and gas were the other sectors witnessing positive hiring sentiment in the smaller cities, it said.

The report also found that Demand for senior professionals with more than 16 years of experience increased by 30 per cent compared to April last year, while the demand for 13-16 years of experience increased by a respectable 20 per cent.

The demand for fresh graduates and professionals with 4-7 years of experience has declined compared to the same month last year, it stated.

"The growth in April hiring activity was dominated by a few key sectors such as real estate, BFSI and oil and gas. While IT-focused metros exhibited a cautious hiring sentiment, emerging cities such as Ahmedabad and Vadodara continue to shine," Naukri.com Chief Business Officer Pawan Goyal said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, May 1 (AP) Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat-turned-Independent long known for his centrist views, voted for Joe Biden in 2020. But as Biden's reelection campaign begins, Lieberman is preparing to recruit a third-party candidate capable of defeating the Democratic president.

Centrists and moderates feel that he's governed more from the left than they hoped, Lieberman, a leader of the group, No Labels, said of Biden in an interview. He hasn't been able to be the unifier that he promised to be.

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Biden's political challenges are not confined to voters in the middle. In the days since he formally launched his 2024 campaign, key members of the sprawling political coalition that lifted him over former President Donald Trump in 2020 are far from excited about the prospect of four more years.

That underscores the test confronting Biden as he aims to motivate the coalition of African Americans, Latinos, young people, suburban voters and independents to show up for him again.

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John Paul Mejia, the 20-year-old spokesman for the progressive Sunrise Movement, says Biden has simply not done enough to ensure the young voters who rallied behind him in 2020 would do so again.

Young people are starving for more, Mejia said, pointing to Biden's recent decision to approve two controversial fossil fuel projects in Alaska. Biden has to demonstrate the extent to which he's willing to be a fighter. We've seen this sort of two-step on the promises he made to young people.

Biden has also struggled to fulfill key promises to Black voters, perhaps the most loyal group in his political base. While he tapped Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, he has been unable to follow through on pledges to protect voting rights against a wave of Republican-backed restrictions or enact policing reform to help stop violence against people of color at the hands of law enforcement.

There's work to be done, said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a 42-year-old African American former civil rights attorney who joined Congress in January. I'm not going to sugar coat it.

Crockett recalled the palpable excitement among the Black community for Barack Obama's reelection. With Biden, there's a number of people who are concerned and scared largely because of his age, while others are indifferent and waiting, despite what she described as Biden's overall strong record of achievement.

Nearly 18 months before Election Day 2024, however, it's unclear how much this lack of enthusiasm will weigh on Biden's reelection prospects. For all the concern, no high-profile Democratic primary challengers have emerged, and none are expected to. To date, only progressive author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are mounting symbolic challenges to Biden, who has the official support of the Democratic National Committee.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden's chief rival in the 2020 primary, told The Associated Press just hours after Biden announced that he was endorsing the president and encouraged other progressive leaders to do so as well.

I intend to do everything I can to see that he is reelected, Sanders said in an interview.

Instead of excitement for the 80-year-old president's reelection, leaders from key factions in Biden's coalition report a serious sense of duty  and fear of the alternative. Trump is currently considered the favorite to claim the Republican presidential nomination, although he's facing opposition from a half dozen rivals.

It would be a mistake to underestimate Trump or whoever the Republican candidate might be, Sanders said. There's a lot of discontent in this country. There's a lot of anger in this country.

Indeed, 74 per cent of U.S. adults believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted a week before Biden's announcement.

The poll found that only about half of Democrats think Biden should run again. Despite their reluctance, 81 per cent of Democrats said they would probably support Biden in a general election if he is the nominee. That includes 41% who said they definitely would and 40 per cent who said they probably would.

The warning signs in the Biden coalition are clear.

Just 41 per cent of Black adults want the Democratic president to run again, and only 55 per cent said they are likely to support him in the general election if he is the nominee. Among Latinos, only 27 per cent want Biden to run again in 2024 and 43% said they would definitely or probably support him.

Younger Democrats also remain a reluctant part of Biden's coalition, the AP-NORC poll shows.

Just 25 per cent of those under age 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56 per cent of older Democrats.

Still, an additional 51 per cent of younger Democrats say they would probably vote for Biden in a 2024 general election.

Meanwhile, just 14 per cent of independents  adults who don't lean toward either party, who represent a small percentage of the American electorate  want Biden to run again. And only 24 per cent said they'd support him in the general election if he is the Democratic nominee.

Biden's team dismisses the numbers, yet acknowledges that in a party as diverse as the Democrats, some may have other preferred candidates for president. It's just that none of those other people can win, they say, adding that while Biden might not be someone's first choice, he's often everyone's second.

Meanwhile, Lieberman said he would likely soon begin interviewing potential candidates for No Label's third-party alternative, but he said the group would only field a candidate if polling suggested the so-called unity ticket had a viable path to the presidency.

If No Labels does not run a bipartisan unity ticket, and the two candidates are Trump and Biden, to me, it's an easy choice, Lieberman said. I will vote for Biden. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Male [Maldives], May 1 (ANI): Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh reached Maldives on Monday on a three-day official visit during which he will hold bilateral talks with his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Ahmed Didi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.

The entire gamut of defence relations between the two countries will be reviewed during the deliberations. The Defence Minister will also call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Also Read | King Charles III Coronation: Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs Feature on Stamps Issued by Royal Mail.

Rajanth Singh was received by Mariya Didi on his arrival.

In tune with India's commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Rajnath Singh will gift one Fast Patrol Vessel ship and a Landing Craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces.

Also Read | Why is Netflix Pouring Billions into South Korean Shows?.

During his stay, the Defence Minister will also visit the ongoing project sites in the country and interact with the Indian diaspora.

India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters.

India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) along with its 'Neighbourhood First' policy as well as Maldives' 'India First' policy seek to work together to jointly develop the capabilities within the Indian Ocean Region. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Rabat [Morocco], May 1 (ANI/WAM): Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs of UAE, recently met with Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance, on the sidelines of the Joint Annual Meeting of Arab Financial Institutions held on April 29 in Rabat, Morocco. The meeting sought to discuss ways to strengthen areas of financial and economic cooperation between the UAE and Morocco.

Alongside Al Hussaini, the meeting was attended by Khaled Mohammed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE); and Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD); as well as several senior officials from both parties.

Also Read | Chinese Crew Member Dies After MV Hong Hai 189 and MT Petite Soeur Collide Near Corregidor Island (Watch Video).

Al Hussaini reaffirmed the UAE's keenness to further strengthen bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco to include all vital and priority sectors.

The minister said: "This meeting is a continuation of both parties' efforts to enhance cooperation and partnership in various sectors of common interest and support sustainable economic growth, in order to serve the future aspirations and visions of both countries."

Also Read | India: Womens Fight for Dignity with More Toilets.

The UAE is the largest Arab investor in Morocco and the second in the world, with investments amounting to more than AED50 billion by the end of 2021. The UAE is also the second largest Arab trading partner for Morocco in 2021, as the volume of non-oil foreign trade between both countries amounted to AED3.6 billion in 2022.

During the first session of the Morocco-UAE Joint Economic Commission, which was held in Rabat, the UAE Government and the Moroccan Government agreed to double the volume of trade and investment exchange over the next seven years as well as to enhance cooperation in priority sectors on the economic agenda of both countries. (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, May 1 (AP) The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy-assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

Also Read | Donald Trump Rape Trial: Not Surprising I Didnt Call Police, Says Accuser E Jean Carroll.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

Troops from Russia's Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Also Read | European Carmakers Look to Indonesia as Alternative to China.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, May 1: The Police have arrested two men in Delhi for allegedly filming their hooliganism and sharing it on social media to lure youngsters into joining their gang, an official said on Monday. The accused were identified as Bunty (23) and Rahul (22), both residents of Swaroop Nagar.

According to Jitendra Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest), the two were apprehended on Sunday while they were planning to rob and seek vengeance against members of a rival gang. Delhi Police Summon Guddu Muslim, Close Aide of Slain Gangster Atiq Ahmed; Paste Notice on His Old House in Uttar Pradesh.

The duo was known to operate in Mukundpur, Swaroop Nagar and other Delhi border areas. "Upon conducting a search, the police found four firearms and an equal number of live cartridges in their possession," said the DCP. Delhi Police Arrests Sharpshooter from Meerut in Joint Operation with UP Police.

He said that the investigation has uncovered that the duo had been filming their violent behaviour and sharing it on social media to lure youngsters into joining their gang. The police stated that the two have been linked to multiple cases of robbery and snatching in the Swaroop Nagar and Adarsh Nagar areas.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2023 09:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Guwahati, May 1: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) can only solve the problems of Hindu Bengalis. He said this while hitting out at Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, who has launched an attack on the BJP on the issue of a sizable number of Hindu families receiving notices to prove their citizenship in the last few days in Udalguri and Tamulpur districts.

Saikia said that the BJP campaigns in every election about giving protection to Hindu families, but in Assam, people belonging to that community were being 'harassed' to prove their citizenship. "In the past few weeks, several families in Udalguri and Tamulpur received notices to prove their citizenship," he said. Yogi Adityanath Govt Withdraws Notice to Anti-CAA Protesters Seeking To Recover Damages in Uttar Pradesh.

Reacting to Saikia's comment, the Chief Minister said on Sunday, "CAA is the only solution to these problems. Unless it is implemented, we do not have any other system to solve the difficulties faced by the Hindu Bengali people in regard to citizenship." He also took a jibe at media persons over the CAA issue. "When we stress CAA, the media keeps on attacking us," Sarma said. Anti-CAA Protests: Supreme Court Extends Protection to Independent Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi From Arrest in NIA Case.

Notably, though the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed in both Houses of Parliament in December 2019, the rules to implement the Act have not been framed till now, which is usually accomplished within six months after the President of India signs on a law. If any ministry or department fails to do so within the prescribed period, they must seek an extension from the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, stating reasons for such an extension. The Union Home Ministry has already taken several extensions to frame the CAA rules.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2023 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government said the subsidies were too costly and that they discourage otherwise able-bodied citizens, mostly youths, from seeking employment.Italy's right-wing government amended labor rights and subsidies on Monday, cutting down on anti-poverty subsidies introduced in 2019, saying they cost too much.

Also Read | Delhi Excise Policy Case: Operation 'Project Clean' Created on Signal App To Mislead ED.

The new program was announced on May 1, which is International Workers day. It coincided with nationwide demonstrations marking the day.

Also Read | King Charles III Coronation: West Bengal Girl Fashion Designer Priyanka Mallicks Handmade Designs to Be Donned by King Charles III, Queen at Coronation.

The subsidies, dubbed "citizens' income" would be replaced by "inclusion checks" which largely exclude youth citizens.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government said last year's subsidies were too costly, at around 8 billion ($8.8 billion), and that they discourage otherwise able-bodied citizens, mostly youths, from seeking employment.

Newly introduced amendments also facilitate short-term contracts between 12 and 24 months, in a move many fear would take a toll on workers' rights.

What does the new package entail?

The new "inclusion cheques" will be limited to households with minors, seniors or disabled people. They will amount to a little over 500 a month, for a maximum of 30 months, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a draft it had accessed.

Meanwhile, subsidies for underprivileged aged 15-59 would slim down to 350 a month, over a maximum duration of 12 months and subject to participation in job training schemes, Reuters said.

Under the current system, families receive around 550 monthly.

The inclusion checks will begin in January 2024 and will cost around 5.4 billion euros annually.

"We are reforming the citizens' income to make a distinction between those who are able to work and those who aren't," Prime Minister Meloni, who heads Italy's most right wing government since World War II, said in a statement.

Labor Minister Marina Calderone also defended the reforms. She said the government sought to support "those who need to work but also those who want to work."

Critics slam new program as 'provocation'

Giuseppe Conte, former prime minister of the Five Star Movement which had introduced the more generous "citizens' income" program, blasted the changes.

"A serious government does not meet on May 1 to condemn young people to a life of precariousness, destroying their dream of having a home or children," he was quoted by the French AFP news agency as saying.

M5S supporters say the old scheme provided help to millions of low-income households, especially in impoverished southern regions.

Former parliament speaker Roberto Fico meanwhile described the move as a "provocation."

Maurizio Landini, who chairs Italy's main CGIL union, said that approving the measures on the International Workers' Day was an "act of arrogance."

Nearly a quarter (23.1%) of Italy's youth, aged 15-29, are not in education, employment or training. The percentage is the highest in the European Union, where the average is 13.1%, as per Eurostat data from 2021.

rmt/jcg (AFP, Reuters)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2023 11:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Lucknow, May 1: A middle-aged man, who had attempted self-immolation at a roundabout near the residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here last week, died during treatment at a hospital on Monday, officials said.

Anand Mishra, a resident of Unnao who poured some flammable liquid over himself before lighting it up on April 26 in Gautam Palli area has died during treatment at King George's Medical University here, Additional Commissioner of Police Arvind Kumar Verma told PTI. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Seeks Details of Vacant Posts in State SIT.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has demanded to register a case of murder against those who forced him to commit suicide. Mishra, who had a case lodged against him in Unnao in April for threatening to murder a BJP MLA, had alleged that he was being harassed by police over the matter. He also made allegations of harassment against the BJP MLA. Uttar Pradesh Local Body Elections 2023: CM Yogi Adityanath Compares UP Civic Polls to Deva-Asura War.

Paying condolences to Mishra's family, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi, "Saddened by the death of Anand Mishra of Unnao, who attempted immolation outside CM's residence after being harassed by the BJP MLA. A case of murder should be registered against all those who forced him to commit suicide and those who did not listen to the victim."
Bengaluru, May 1: The ruling BJP promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Assembly polls, released on Monday.

"We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose," according to the manifesto.

We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state". "The Constitution (of India) allows us to move in the direction of Uniform Civil Code. 'Justice to all; appeasement to none' is our policy", BJP National Present J P Nadda, who was among those present at the release programme, said. BJP Manifesto for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: From Free Cylinders to BPL Families to Uniform Civil Code and Affordable Food Scheme, List of Key Promises.

The party also promised to create a special wing in the state called Karnataka State Wing against Religious Fundamentalism and Terror (K-SWIFT).

The BJP said it would provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families -- one each during the months of 'Yugadi', 'Ganesh Chaturthi' and 'Deepavali'.

"We will set up an 'Atal Aahara Kendra' in every ward of every municipal corporation in the State to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the State", the party said in its manifesto.

It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.

The party also promised Sarvarigu Suru Yojane,' under which the Revenue Department will identify and distribute 10 lakh housing sites across the state to the homeless beneficiaries. According to Nadda, the BJP manifesto is centred around six 'A'.

These Six-A are Anna (food security), Akshara (quality education), Arogya (affordable health), Aadaya (assured income), Abhaya (social security) and Abhivruddhi (Development), he said.

The BJP said it will launch a scheme called Onake Obavva Samajika Nyaya Nidhi' through which it will provide a matching deposit up to Rs 10,000 on five-year fixed deposits made under the scheme for women of SC/ST households.

Karnataka Residents' Welfare Consultative Committee' will be set up to reform the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act-1972 and modernise the grievance redressal mechanism.

Under the proposed Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane, the party promised to partner with eminent individuals and institutions for holistic upgradation of government schools to top class standard'.

The Samanvaya Yojane' for collaboration between small and medium enterprises, and the Industrial Training Institutes to generate a dynamic ecosystem of education and employment for talented young professionals, the party said.

In the Aarogya category, the BJP has promised to launch Mission Swasthya Karnataka' by establishing one Namma Clinic' (our clinic) in each ward of the municipal corporations. They will be equipped with diagnostic facilities. Also, it will provide a free annual master health check-up for senior citizens. BJP Manifesto for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: JP Nadda Unveils Party's Vision Document, Implementation of Uniform Civil Code, 3 Free Gas Cylinders for BPL Families Among Poll Promises (Watch Video).

The party said if it is voted to power, it will allocate Rs 1,500 crore to develop Kalyana Circuit, Banavasi Circuit, Parashurama Circuit, Kaveri Circuit and Ganagapura Corridor to transform Karnataka into India's most favoured tourist destination. Further, the party will broaden the scope of Production Linked Incentive Schemes that will generate 10 lakh jobs eventually in Karnataka.
The Delhi government has approved the release of Rs 773 crore to support the MCD for better sanitation services in the city, a government statement said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today thanked billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates for praising his "Mann Ki Baat" radio programme. Ahead of 100th episode of "Mann Ki Baat", Bill Gates said that the radio programme had catalyzed community led action on sanitation, health, womens economic empowerment and other issues. Reacting to Gates' praise, PM Narendra Modi said: "I thank my friend Bill Gates for his words of appreciation." The Prime Minister went on to say: "Mann Ki Baat reflects the collective spirit of the people of India to make our planet better, something Mr. Gates is also passionate about." Mann Ki Baat 100th Episode: Groom Stops Wedding Ceremony To Listen to PM Narendra Modis Radio Programme in Bhilwara.

PM Narendra Modi Thanks Bill Gates for Praising 'Mann Ki Baat':

I thank my friend @BillGates for his words of appreciation. #MannKiBaat reflects the collective spirit of the people of India to make our planet better, something Mr. Gates is also passionate about. The strong resonance with SDGs is highlighted well in the study by @BMGFIndia. https://t.co/RL9Wb7IhPo  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
The central has imposed a ban on 14 mobile messenger apps, news agency ANI reported today. According to reports, terrorists were using these mobile messenger apps to spread the message and receive messages from Pakistan. The list of banned messaging apps include Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Element, Second line, Zangi, Threema among others, News18 reported. Loan Apps Banned in India by Google: Tech Giant Removes Over 3,500 Loans Apps From Play Store for Violating Norms.

Central Government blocks 14 mobile messenger apps. It is reported that terrorists used these mobile messenger apps to spread the message and receive messages from Pakistan.  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
London, May 1: A stamp depicting Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and their places of worship feature on one of the four stamps issued by the Royal Mail to mark the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

Captioned "Diversity and Community", the stamp reflects a multi-faith community and the cultural diversity of contemporary British society, a news release stated. The stamp features figures representing the Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist religions and is representative of all faiths and none.

"The background shows aspects of both rural and urban Britain and includes some of the many different places of worship that are found around the United Kingdom," the release noted. King Charles III's Coronation: Time, Date, Where to Watch, Official Playlist and More, Here's All You Need to Know About the Royal Celebration!.

Presented in a miniature sheet, the stamps illustrate the Coronation ceremony and the traditional street party, as well as some of the causes His Majesty has dedicated his years of public service to. This includes cultural diversity and community, the global ties of the Commonwealth, which he now leads, and sustainability and biodiversity.

This is only the third time in history that Royal Mail has issued stamps to mark a Coronation. The previous two occasions were for King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

"Royal Mail is proud to issue this set of commemorative stamps which celebrate the Coronation, and some of the causes which His Majesty has championed throughout his many years of public service," Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of Royal Mail, said. "This is only the third time we have issued Coronation stamps and I am delighted that they mark the start of a new reign and a new chapter in our history," Thompson added. Tom Cruise, Winnie the Pooh and Nicole Scherzinger to Have Their Brush with Royalty Again at King Charles IIIs Coronation.

The stamps were designed by Atelier Works and feature newly commissioned wood engravings by British artist Andrew Davidson. Royal Mail will also be applying a special postmark to stamped mail to mark the event. The postmark will run from April 28 until May 10.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2023 05:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
TIMES STAFF WRITER

In two hours of riveting testimony, a former communications specialist Friday recounted his years at the side of one of Mexicos most notorious drug kingpins and linked the leaders of the Guadalajara narcotics cartel to two defendants charged in connection with the 1985 murder of an American drug agent.

Lawrence Victor Harrison, 48, said he saw defendants Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain and Ruben Zuno Arce in the company of his boss, Ernesto Fonseca, on several occasions. Alvarez, who is a gynecologist, would often treat drug traffickers who had smoked too much cocaine, Harrison said. Zuno, the brother-in-law of former Mexican President Luis Echeverria, met with Fonseca privately at least once and attended a raucous party for another major kingpin, Harrison said.

His testimony came at the end of the first week in the trial of Alvarez and Zuno. Harrison is the first witness to back up the governments assertions that the two men were allies of the drug bosses who allegedly ordered DEA Agent Enrique Camarena kidnaped Feb. 7, 1985. Harrisons bizarre account of years inside the drug organization headed by Fonseca held jurors and members of the audience spellbound.

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He did not, however, implicate either Alvarez or Zuno in the crimes against Camarena.

Harrison detailed vast sums of money that passed through the drug cartel. He and several other men once spent four to five weeks counting $400 million in U.S. currency that was said to be Fonsecas contribution to the payoff of a high government official, Harrison said.

Mexican law enforcement officials at all levels worked with Fonseca and other traffickers, he added: This was an operation that included everybody.

At one point, Harrison told of a party at one of Fonsecas many homes for Rafael Caro Quintero, a close associate of Fonseca and a major drug kingpin. Caro sat atop a dancing horse during the party, smoking cocaine as the animal pranced about, Harrison said.

Zuno greeted Caro with an embrace at that party, Harrison added.

I remember being surprised to see him there, Harrison said. I had not known that he knew these people.

Asked about Alvarez, Harrison said he had seen him many times in the company of drug traffickers. Alvarez, sitting across the room from the witness box, blushed deep red but did not look up.

He was attending to them as a physician, Harrison said in response to questions from Assistant U.S. Atty. John L. Carlton. When they got sick from smoking too much cocaine base, he would attend to them.

Although Harrisons testimony links both defendants to the drug cartel, he did not say anything that goes to the heart of what the prosecution is attempting to prove: that Zuno and Alvarez conspired to kidnap and murder Camarena.

As a result, defense lawyers say, Harrisons testimony may not prove especially damaging.

Its all untrue, said Alan Rubin, Alvarezs lawyer. But even if you believe it, does it prove anything on the charges? No.

Defense attorneys did not get the chance to cross-examine Harrison. The trial will resume next week and defense attorneys are expected to hammer away at payments Harrison has received from the U.S. government during the time that he has cooperated with their investigation. Government documents obtained by The Times indicate that Harrison has received more than $130,000 since late 1989 for information and expenses, mostly related to this case.

Without discussing the amount, Harrison acknowledged that he and his family received government payments and protection. The government has tried to keep us alive, he said.

According to Harrison, that danger was illustrated by a harrowing attempt on his life in 1984.

Fonseca and the other cartel leaders had grown deeply suspicious of Americans by mid-1984, Harrison said. He alleged that on Sept. 11, 1984, he and an associate were ambushed by law enforcement officers who were loyal to Fonseca. He said he was shot nine times in the confrontation and his partner was killed.

He set me up to be killed, Harrison testified of Fonseca. They planned this ambush in front of me.

Harrison survived, only to be arrested by Mexican officials. U.S. authorities have said Harrison still suffers from that attack. On Friday, Harrison was pale, and he labored to speak during his hours on the stand, his narrative interrupted by fits of coughing.

In addition to Harrisons testimony, prosecutors called a number of witnesses Friday who elaborated on a series of blows that DEA agents inflicted on the Mexican drug lords in 1984 and 1985.

DEA officials in Mexico received the tips that led to those raids, carried out even though high-ranking Mexican officials erected obstacle after obstacle in an attempt to protect the drug traffickers, said Charles Lugo, a DEA agent who was the intelligence supervisor in Mexico during the mid-1980s.

Despite evidence of the huge marijuana fields, high-ranking officials in Mexico City declined to move quickly, claiming that they had manpower, equipment and budget shortages, Lugo said. Eventually, they agreed to go ahead, but a commander in the Mexican federal police, Manuel Aldana Ibarra, who also headed that countrys Interpol office, stalled for several hours at an airstrip near the fields, Lugo said.

Aldana at first said he needed authorization from Mexico City and then falsely claimed that his helicopter did not have enough fuel to proceed, the agent said.

Eventually, Aldana gave in to Lugos threats and exhortations, and the raids went forward, netting about 10,000 tons of marijuana, the largest marijuana seizure in history.

According to prosecutors, it was those and a few other raids that provoked Fonseca, Caro and other traffickers to retaliate against the DEA by kidnaping and killing Camarena.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

First, out came the Mercury dimes, stashed 38 years ago aboard Liberty Bell 7. Then came Gus Grissoms survival knife and post-flight checklist, his grease-pencil marks still a vivid black.

The 7-foot Mercury space capsule, pulled from the Atlantic this summer and emptied of 70 gallons of ocean gunk and thousands of corroded parts, even offered up a plastic cup, a cigarette butt and a slapdash patch job.

But what really intrigues Greg Buck Buckingham, leader of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Centers restoration team, is the buckled strip of titanium next to the gaping hole where the hatch had been.

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The sill is bowed a half-inch along that side, clearly the result of great force. And, curiously, there are no burn marks from the explosive cord that supposedly blew out the hatch on July 21, 1961.

The capsule ended up sinking after a successful suborbital flight, an embarrassing loss for the nations fledgling space program and, particularly, for Grissom.

Perhaps the explosive cord never detonated.

Perhaps, Buckingham suggests, Liberty Bell 7 slammed hatch-down into the Atlantic, buckling the titanium strip and popping the 70 explosive-rigged bolts on the convex hatch, one by one.

Perhaps thats why the hatch came off prematurely, he says, causing the capsule to sink and nearly causing Grissom to drown.

Buckingham stresses that this is only a theory, his theory. More research is needed before anything definitive, if ever, can be said. He wants to examine photographs of the test hatches and results from tests on the hatch, before and after, and consult metal experts.

Yet he wonders: Can he help solve one of the most enduring mysteries of spaceflight? Was Grissom, a faulty hatch or something else responsible for the loss of Americas second manned spacecraft?

Visitors to the Kansas Cosmosphere want to know: What about the hatch? Its the No. 1 question ever since July, when Liberty Bell 7 was fished from the Atlantic 300 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Grissom insisted it wasnt his fault the hatch blew so soon.

NASA believed him. He went on to fly Gemini 3 in 1965, sportingly naming his capsule the Unsinkable Molly Brown. Two years later, during a practice drill for Apollo 1, he died with two crew mates in a spacecraft inferno on the launch pad. Ironically, that hatch was not designed to be opened fast.

Even without the hatch, forever lost on the ocean floor, the resurrected Liberty Bell 7 is yielding surprises.

Grissoms unused life raft, for instance, is not only intact, it can still hold air despite being at depths of 16,000 feet where the crushing pressure is 7,000 pounds per square inch.

Much of the muslin cloth tucked between metal layers as thermal insulation is also intact, its stitches still tight. And the tape that recorded Grissoms communication and other flight data is still on the reel; it might be salvageable.

Fifty-two dimes bearing the head of the Roman god Mercury, circa 1935 to 1945, have emerged from the muck. Some have initials or other marks carved into them, leading the space museums president, Max Ary, to believe launch-pad workers gave them to Grissom to fly as souvenirs.

Grissom stuffed two of his own rolls of 1961 dimes in a pocket of his spacesuit, along with small models of the capsule. These were all adding weight that I could have done without, he ruefully observed after a helicopter plucked him from the ocean.

As for the plastic cup and cigarette butt (the filter survived, the paper disintegrated), Ary feels certain that aerospace workers accidentally left them behind. Grissom did not smoke.

Other human touches were found inside Grissoms survival kit: slimy shark repellent and a vacuum-packed bar of soap. Ary delights in noting how NASA packed soap for a 15-minute trip.

Buckinghams surprise? The patch on one of the outer nickel-alloy shingles. A worker punched a hole in the wrong place. Instead of replacing the panel, the worker welded a metal bandage onto the back and repunched the hole. Its the old lowest-bidder thing, Buckingham says, chuckling.

And, of course, theres the mysterious buckling and bending near the hatch opening. Curt Newport, the underwater salvage expert who led the recovery effort, was eager to see that when he visited the cosmosphere in November.

Newport and Buckingham peered at the structural deformities and consulted blueprints.

Thats a lot of deflection, Newport observed. If that hatch was blown, it would have sort of been somewhat uniform.

Most telltale to me is a lack of burn marks, Buckingham offered.

Skinned and gutted to remove every speck of corrosive ocean salt, the titanium capsule rested sideways in a sling after having been under a constant shower for its first two months at the cosmosphere. Its shingles hung on a wall nearby, arranged in the order they had covered the craft.

In the cool, bright room, several dozen plastic boxes held the capsules innards, waiting to be cleaned. Gauges, knobs and other parts stretched over workbenches, where Buckinghams crew painstakingly scraped and dusted with donated dental tools.

The men hope to clean all the parts and reassemble the capsule by the end of February, using Plexiglas in place of missing or deteriorated aluminum control panels. The cost of the fixer-upper: an estimated $250,000.

Liberty Bell 7 then heads off for a three-year nationwide tour sponsored by the Discovery Channel before returning to the cosmosphere for permanent display.

Not everyone is pleased with all this effort.

John Glenn, Grissoms backup, doesnt quite see the point of removing Liberty Bell 7 from its resting place.

Betty Grissom, the astronauts widow, has shunned the recovery mission from the start. Among other things, she dislikes the fact that the capsule is in Kansas.

Indeed, thats the No. 2 question asked by cosmosphere visitors. Why Kansas?

The cosmosphere, an hours drive northwest of Wichita, is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and one of the few places experienced in spacecraft restoration. It opened 37 years ago as a planetarium and has since amassed an impressive collection.

Among relics on display: Odyssey, the restored command module from Apollo 13; an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane; early U.S. and German rockets; and a staggering collection of Russian space artifacts.

The museum had been trying for years to snag Liberty Bell 7, the only U.S. manned spacecraft lost after a successful flight.

The financial backing of the Discovery Channel finally got the job done, though the cable TV network wont say how many millions it spent. Locating and recovering the capsule is the subject of a two-hour documentary to air tonight at 9.

Bringing this thing back up brings limelight and focus to Gus Grissom and a forgotten flight, Ary says.

Actually, Tom Wolfes 1979 book, The Right Stuff, brought all sorts of attention to the mission. Wolfe suggested that Grissom panicked inside his Mercury capsule and somehow caused the hatch to blow. As Wolfe put it, Grissom did the unthinkable: He screwed the pooch.

Grissoms youngest brother, Lowell, felt then and now that the book and subsequent movie were off base. He gets emotional over the post-flight checklist.

He was actually there getting his readings, says Lowell Grissom. That, to me, doesnt lend itself to be panicky if youre doing something like that.

The salvager, Newport, simply wanted to show that something as elusive as Liberty Bell 7 could be found.

Now, Newport says, maybe its time to put the whole thing to rest.

Then he adds: Theyre still looking at the capsule. You never know.

The cosmospheres Web site, https:// www.cosmo.org/libertybell7.htm, offers images from a camera constantly aimed at the capsule.
To improve student learning, you have to improve teaching. Thats pretty obvious. But until recently, that common-sense idea hadnt commanded much attention from education reformers.

Congress is debating what it can do to help make that happen. Among the ideas are more tests of teachers, more classes in academic subjects, fewer classes in education and even a downplaying of licensing in favor of practical experience.

Two insightful and provocative books that compare teaching in America with teaching in Asian countries whose students far outperform our own do not offer any easy solutions. But they do show how far we must go to catch up.

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Both are about teaching mathematics but offer lessons that go far beyond math. Both consider how teachers learn their craft. Both analyze what it would take to change, and finally, both conclude that improving teaching is not a matter of getting different, smarter people to work in classrooms.

The title of Liping Mas book, Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N.J.), will not make it a bestseller. But it tells an intriguing tale and is already a hit in math circles.

The reason, according to a foreword by Lee S. Shulman, who heads the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is that it states forcefully that teachers must know the subjects they teach.

But that is not enough, Ma says. They need to teach the why of math as well as the how. And they need to be able to explain important mathematical ideas, such as that multiplication (assembling small quantities to create larger ones) is the opposite of division (breaking big quantities into smaller ones).

Ma, now a consultant for Shulmans organization, was a graduate student in Michigan when she became interested in comparing math teaching in the United States and in her native China. Researchers asked 23 accomplished American teachers to perform some basic calculations and then talk about how they would use them in a lesson.

The results were frightening. Asked to divide 1 3/4 by 1/2, only nine teachers got the correct answer of 3 1/2. They proceeded to talk about ways to use pizza or cookies to illustrate the problem. Only one made up a story that was accurate and helpful for students.

Ma went to China and gave 72 teachers there the same task. Every teacher got the right answer. Many said the problem could be done several ways, to illustrate different concepts. In addition, 90% of them were able to develop at least one story problem, and many suggested several.

The Chinese teachers were less educated, with only 10 to 12 years of formal schooling, including teacher training, compared with 16 to 18 years for American teachers. But Chinese elementary school teachers are not only more adept at the math they are expected to teach, they also know the concepts and the best ways to teach them.

Much of Chinese teachers expertise is learned on the job from master teachers. Most also have the luxury of specializing in math and one other subject even as elementary school teachers, whereas American elementary school teachers teach all subjects. Finally, the Chinese teachers spend far more time analyzing the textbooks, which focus on math, rather than on glitzy illustrations.

Another new book is based on an analysis of videotapes of eighth-grade teachers in the United States, Japan and Germany.

The Teaching Gap (The Free Press, New York) by James W. Stigler, a UCLA psychology professor, and James Hiebert, an education professor at the University of Delaware, argues that those tapes show that, within each nation, teaching is remarkably consistent.

U.S. teachers think of math as a set of inherently tedious skills. They pump up students interest by increasing the pace of activities, by praising students . . . by the cuteness or real-lifeness of tasks, and by their own . . . enthusiasm, humor or coolness. 

But the American lessons lacked any mathematical proofs and generally consisted of learning terms and practicing procedures rather than concepts and ideas.

That contrasts most sharply with Japanese teachers, who treat math as a series of connected and interesting ideas that will in and of themselves motivate students to solve problems. They lead discussions, ask questions, present and critique students solutions, and weave together a lesson that has a beginning, middle and end.

The point, the authors argue, is that teaching methods are deeply ingrained in a culture. Teachers teach, in large measure, the way they were taught. Tinkering with the cultural script is not only ineffective but also could backfire.
From Associated Press

The brother-in-law of rap performer Snoop Dogg was found dead Tuesday in a barricaded apartment, 11 hours after wounding a Las Vegas police officer in a struggle on the street.

Police were investigating whether Jermaine Fuller died of a self-inflicted wound or had been shot while fighting with the officer, during which police said Fullers gun was fired at least twice.

Las Vegas police Lt. Vincent Cannito said officers did not shoot at Fuller during the initial confrontation, during the overnight standoff or when a SWAT team entered the apartment a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip.

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David Fox, lawyer for Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said Fuller was the brother of Broadus wife, Shante.

The family is grieving over this sad news, Fox told Associated Press.

The incident began about 11:20 p.m. Monday when an unidentified man flagged down a Las Vegas police officer and said a man had confronted him and fired a gun. The man was not wounded.

The officer approached Fuller near a bus stop and a struggle ensued during which at least two shots were fired, authorities said.

The unidentified officer was grazed on the side of his head, Cannito said. He also was shot in the chest, but was protected by a bulletproof vest, police said.

The bulletproof vest ... saved his life, Lt. David OLeary said.

Another officer, in a patrol car, had a bullet strike the radio microphone clipped to his shoulder. He was not injured.

Cannito said the gunman ran to an apartment complex near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus and forced his way inside, taking an unidentified tenant hostage. The male hostage escaped about an hour later by diving out a first-floor window.

OLeary said the police SWAT team entered the apartment Tuesday morning, using tear gas and flash-bang grenades. He said about 40 residents had been evacuated from the complex, and that no officers or neighbors were injured.

The officer wounded in the initial confrontation was in serious condition at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, a hospital spokesman said. He was expected to recover.
?? En vivo | La presidenta Dina Boluarte participa en la ceremonia de condecoracion de la Orden del Trabajo 2023. https://t.co/HruBBpPYYR
Times Staff Writer

A procession of federal agents on Wednesday detailed the governments key physical evidence against serial sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad -- from the assault rifle linked to 11 slayings to a computer that contained chilling skull-and-crossbones icons mapping spots where victims died.

Muhammads DNA was recovered at several murder scenes, the law enforcement technicians testified; a trace similar to the suspects also was found on the rear sight of the murder weapon. Although FBI forensic examiner Brendan Shea testified that there was a high likelihood that the DNA trace was Muhammads, he could not say so definitively.

The computer and Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle were found in Muhammads Chevrolet Caprice, which was littered with identifiable fingerprints. But only those belonging to 18-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, Muhammads alleged accomplice, were found on the laptop and the rifle itself, authorities said.

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FBI print specialist Charles Colman said that although a fingerprint found on the rifles scope could not be identified, two other prints detected on the guns grip were unmistakable.

The finger and palm prints both belonged to Lee Malvo, Colman said.

The high-powered rifle looms as formidable evidence against Malvo, who goes on trial in the sniper killings next week. But it also provides critical circumstantial evidence against Muhammad -- not only because of the possible DNA match, but because the weapon was found in his car.

The rifle is the most important silent witness in this case, said Richmond trial attorney Steven D. Benjamin, president-elect of the Virginia Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The fact that it was found in Muhammads possession makes it compelling proof -- even without fingerprints.

Prince William County prosecutors began rolling out their forensic experts Wednesday as part of the final phase of evidence after three weeks of testimony from shooting survivors, witnesses, police investigators and relatives of 11 of the 13 people killed during last years sniper rampage.

Muhammad faces a possible death sentence in the killing of Dean H. Meyers, a Maryland civil engineer gunned down Oct. 9, 2002, at a gas station in Manassas, Va. Prosecutors have methodically traced the killings from the Deep South up to the Washington, D.C., area, where residents were terrorized for three weeks before Muhammad and Malvo were arrested.

On the hard drive of the Sony Vaio laptop, FBI agents found a map showing a route near the Shell station where Meyers was shot to death. The map entry was made on the same day as the Meyers shooting. On a similar map that showed the Home Depot where FBI analyst Linda Franklin was gunned down that Oct. 12, a skull-and-cross icon is accompanied by the note: Good One.

After only sparingly taking on the emotional and graphic accounts of earlier witnesses, Muhammads defense team tried to pounce Wednesday on some of the more abstract accounts provided by government experts.

They questioned the statistical probability ratios that DNA specialists used to justify claims that some of Muhammads genetic traces probably were left on the rifle and on other evidence, including a bag of raisins. Defense lawyer Jonathan Shapiro ridiculed one FBI genetic specialist as a bug expert after she insisted that tiny insect carcasses had proved useful in placing Muhammad and Malvo at one shooting site.

But the FBI witnesses appeared unflappable as they detailed the trove of evidence taken from Muhammads car and carefully sifted from the earth around shooting scenes. Several FBI examiners said Muhammad left an electronic trail on the computer, which was stolen from restaurant owner Paul LaRuffa after he was shot six times and left for dead. Now recovered, LaRuffa testified against Muhammad earlier in the trial.

On the laptops hard drive, FBI computer specialists found maps of at least eight shooting death scenes and a file that used the same Call me God phrase found on three sniper ransom notes.

FBI computer expert John Hair said the entries apparently were made by a computer user identified as L. That user was also identified on the laptop hard drive as Muhammad, Hair said.

On a separate electronic organizer recovered from the sniper suspects car, FBI agents found an entry that threatened death to several radio hosts and law enforcement phone hotline personnel.
Youve heard the old saw: You cant get to where youre going unless you know where youve been.

Its as true for peoples and countries as it is for individuals: We all need narratives to give meaning to our lives; we all look to archetypes and symbols to explain who we are. Ethnic and national origin myths may be pure fable (two divines, Izanai and Izanami, giving birth to the islands of Japan; twins, born of the gods and suckled by a wolf, founding Rome) or something closer to material reality. But fact or fiction barely matters: Whats important is what stories we choose and what we understand them to mean.

Here in the United States, Abraham Lincoln helped elevate the first Thanksgiving to the status of a modern national-origin myth when he set aside a federal Thanksgiving holiday in 1863. In the midst of a terrible civil war, he was trying to encourage Americans to count their blessings. But the holiday came to have broader significance. It is, as one historian, James Oliver Robertson, put it, a ritual affirmation of what Americans believe was the Pilgrim experience, the particularly American experience of confronting, settling, adapting to, and civilizing the New World.

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Of course, the we gather together Thanksgiving narrative glosses over other stories. Clearly, Anglo settlers didnt always have cordial relationships with Indians; for the sake of history, we need to supplement origin myths with more sober facts. Still, as Joseph Campbell once said, myths are public dreams; they arent merely idealized versions of the past but contemporary calls to action and guides to the future.

But not all origin stories are constructive or inspiring. Mexicans, in particular, mythologized a tale of the violent and tragic conquest to explain their birth as a people: the story of the Spaniard Hernan Cortes and his indigenous translator and mistress, Dona Marina, a.k.a. La Malinche.

Marina was Cortes victors prize and, in 1522, she gave birth to Martin Cortes, one of many mestizo children born to the conquerors mistresses and paramours. Four and a half centuries later, in 1950, the great Mexican poet Octavio Paz famously wrote that the strange permanence of Cortes and La Malinche in the Mexicans imagination and sensibilities reveals that they are something more than historical figures: They are symbols of a secret conflict that we still have yet to solve.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the psychic power of the Cortes-Malinche story, you wont find many monuments to them in Mexico City. After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Mexican nationalists, who sought to distance themselves from their European heritage, demonized the conquerors in general and Dona Marina in particular.

At the imposing two-story stone house at 57 Higuera St. in the Coyoacan district of Mexico City, for example, there is no plaque to indicate that Marina once lived there. Though for centuries she had been described as a beautiful, noble woman who commanded respect, 19th century depictions began to condemn her for her role in the Spanish conquest. Out of these portrayals arose the peculiarly Mexican concept of malinchismo, which means the betrayal of ones own.

Paz contended that the Mexicans fixation on -- and ultimate rejection of -- bothprogenitors in their origin story left them in a state of orphanhood, an obscure awareness that we have been torn from the All. The history of Mexico, he wrote, is the history of a man seeking his parentage, his origins.

This alienation resonates profoundly throughout the culture. On the one hand, Mexico proudly acknowledges its Indian ancestry; on the other, it clearly prizes whiteness as a status symbol. It endlessly questions its identity: Is it modern or ancient, Spanish or Indian? And the Cortes/Malinche story, instead of defining Mexicos origins in a constructive way, merely prolongs and exacerbates the countrys ambivalence about its history as a conquered nation.

Mexican mestizaje -- racial and cultural synthesis -- may have begun in a violent conquest, but it didnt end there. Interracial love and attraction also played a role. Ultimately, racial mixture was rampant, and it combined with a rigid colonial caste system to create a society in which race was a malleable category. Mexicans developed -- in the words of Mexican American poet Gloria Anzaldua -- a tolerance for contradictions, a tolerance for ambiguity, particularly in the realm of race and culture.

As Mexicans came north to the United States, that long history of mestizaje was also brought to bear on another cultural force, Anglo America.One scholar, Roberto Bacalski-Martinez, has described Mexican American culture in the Southwest as incredibly ancient on the one hand, and surprisingly new on the other. Indian, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo elements have gone into its formation, and they continue to affect it. In each case, the introduction of new elements began as a clash between two peoples which eventually resulted in a newer, richer culture.

So, with this history of cultural collisions and convergences in mind, I propose that Mexicans and, particularly, Mexican Americans choose a different symbolic story to explain their identity. Its not a new story, but too few know it. Its right out of The Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz del Castillos 16th century eyewitness account.

This story begins with Hernan Cortes arriving on the island of Cozumel in 1519. There, a friendly band of Mayans informed Cortes that some years before, two Christians had been taken captive in the neighboring land of Yucatan. The chief of Cozumel rejected the Spanish captains request that he send a search party to locate the captured Europeans. He feared they would be killed if he did. Undeterred, Cortes dispatched his own messengers to bargain for the captives release. The scouts took trinkets for ransom and a letter from Cortes that one man concealed in his hair.

The messengers found the two men -- Jeronimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, the only survivors of a 1511 shipwreck -- living in very different conditions. Aguilar was a slave desperately trying to hold on to Spanish ways. In exchange for some beads, his captors released him. He then joined in the search for his shipmate.

They found Guerrero 15 miles away, no longer a captive. He had married the daughter of a Mayan nobleman and was so thoroughly assimilated into Mayan life that he felt he no longer would be accepted by his Spanish countrymen. His face was tattooed and his ears were pierced. What would the Spaniards say if they saw me like this? he asked of his would-be liberators.

Guerreros Mayan wife angrily interrupted her husbands conversation with Aguilar. She demanded to know why this slave had come here to call my husband away? Before Aguilar left, Guerrero explained to him the primary reason he could not leave. Brother Aguilar, he said. I am married and have three children, and they look at me as [a leader] here, and a captain in time of war. He then pointed to his children and said, Now look at my three children, how beautiful they are. Guerrero was describing Mexicos very first mestizos.

Peoples and nations need stories not only to remind us of where we came from but also to give us a sense of our potential. Cortes and Malinches tale of conquest and betrayal isnt the only way to unfold the plot. Gonzalo Guerreros takes the same story line and finds beautiful possibilities. It speaks volumes about the ability to fuse cultures and creatively adapt to the constant reality of change.

Gregory Rodriguez, a columnist for the opinion pages, is director of the California Fellows Program at the New America Foundation and author of the just-published Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America.
If you want to go to your happy place, you need more than cash. A winter coat helps  and a sense of community.

A new report shows Norway is the happiest country on Earth, Americans are getting sadder, and it takes more than just money to be happy.

Norway vaulted to the top slot in the World Happiness Report despite the plummeting price of oil, a key part of its economy. Income in the United States has gone up over the last decade, but happiness is declining.

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The United States was 14th in the latest ranking, down from No. 13 last year, and over the years Americans steadily have been rating themselves less happy.

Its the human things that matter. If the riches make it harder to have frequent and trustworthy relationship between people, is it worth it? asked John Helliwell, the lead author of the report and an economist at the University of British Columbia in Canada (ranked No. 7). The material can stand in the way of the human.

Studying happiness may seem frivolous, but serious academics have long been calling for more testing about peoples emotional well-being, especially in the United States. In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report recommending that federal statistics and surveys, which normally deal with income, spending, health and housing, include a few extra questions on happiness because it would lead to better policy that affects peoples lives.

Norway moved from No. 4 to the top spot in the reports rankings, which combine economic, health and polling data compiled by economists that are averaged over three years from 2014 to 2016. Norway edged past previous champ Denmark, which fell to second. Iceland, Switzerland and Finland round out the top 5.

Good for them. I dont think Denmark has a monopoly on happiness, said Meik Wiking, chief executive officer of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, who wasnt part of the global scientific study that came out with the rankings.

What works in the Nordic countries is a sense of community and understanding in the common good, Wiking said.

Still, you have to have some money to be happy, which is why most of the bottom countries are in desperate poverty. But at a certain point, extra money doesnt buy extra happiness, Helliwell and others said.

Central African Republic fell to last on the happiness list, and it is joined at the bottom by Burundi, Tanzania, Syria and Rwanda.

The report ranks 155 countries. The economists have been ranking countries since 2012, but the data used goes back farther so the economists can judge trends.

The rankings are based on gross domestic product per person, healthy life expectancy with four factors from global surveys. In those surveys, people give scores from 1 to 10 on how much social support they feel they have if something goes wrong, their freedom to make their own life choices, their sense of how corrupt their society is and how generous they are.

While most countries were either getting happier or at least treading water, Americas happiness score dropped 5% over the last decade. Venezuela and the Central African Republic slipped the most over the last 10 years. Nicaragua and Latvia increased the most.

Study co-author and economist Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University said in a phone interview from Oslo that the sense of community, so strong in Norway, is deteriorating in the United States.

Were becoming more and more mean-spirited. And our government is becoming more and more corrupt. And inequality is rising, Sachs said, citing research and analysis he conducted on Americas declining happiness for the report. Its a long-term trend and conditions are getting worse.

The University of Marylands Carol Graham, who wasnt a study author but did review some chapters, said the report mimics what she sees in the American rural areas, where her research shows poor whites have a deeper lack of hope, which she connects to rises in addictions to painkillers and suicide among that group.

There is deep misery in the heartland, Graham, author of the book The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being, wrote in an email.

Happiness  and doing what you love  is more important than politicians think, said study author Helliwell. He rated his personal happiness a nine on a 1-to-10 scale.

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In the shadows of Bangkoks glinting high-rises, the plazas of sprawling shopping malls and the cozy courtyards of simpler neighborhoods sit countless tiny monuments to Thais enduring belief in the supernatural.

These miniature shrines, perched on pedestals and topped with sloping roofs, are known as spirit houses. Government buildings have them. So do five-star hotels, apartment buildings, offices, cafes and beauty parlors across Thailands frenetic capital city.

Resembling elaborate dollhouses, they shelter the spirits that are thought to watch over that piece of land  a deity, guardian of the soil or the ghosts of former inhabitants.

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More than 90% of Thais practice Buddhism, but the spiritual life of the nation is a rowdy mixture of organized religion and the occult. Astrology, ghosts, Hindu gods, Chinese mythology, magic, superstition and ancient animist beliefs all find a place in modern Thailand  and often side by side, their idols and emblems sharing space under sacred trees and in roadside shrines illuminated by candles and incense sticks.

Some spirit houses are intricate and stunning, carved out of rich teak that signals an owners wealth, and festooned with ribbons and garlands. More modest ones are fashioned from concrete but enlivened with bright paint  reds, yellows and blues that fade gently over time in the moist tropical air.

A spirit house topped with a prang, or spire, (left) common in Southeast Asian temple architecture and a simple concrete spirit house in a working-class Bangkok neighborhood. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times)

Inside can be found figurines that personify residents ancestors, or statuettes of horses or elephants that symbolize good fortune. The faithful leave daily offerings of rice, bananas, glasses of water filled to the brim, booze and bottles of sugary soda with straws sticking out.

The drink of choice for spirits, it is said, is strawberry Fanta, because the red color provides a substitute for animal sacrifices, an ancient sign of respect that has fallen out of favor in the modern city.

The common belief is that good spirits, if sheltered and treated with care, will watch over the land and keep the bad spirits away.

If the spirits live happily, we live happily as well, said Kanokporn Puwasawatt, sitting cross-legged on her weather-beaten porch in west Bangkok, where her family builds some of the only wooden spirit houses still being made in the capital.

A genial 54-year-old dressed comfortably in a T-shirt and loose-fitting cotton trousers, Kanokporn lives and works in a simple, two-story house behind a sliding metal gate in a neighborhood of narrow, maze-like streets paved over with concrete.

Before World War II, when her great-grandfather built the house, the surrounding area was farmland and most of the residents worked for a sawmill. Employees took home scraps of wood and in their spare time built spirit houses to supplement their income, a cottage industry of artisans who each specialized in a particular part of the house, Kanokporn said.

Some built the sturdy pedestals that positioned the house at just the right height  enough to mark respect, but not so high that devotees couldnt leave offerings. Others carved the tower-like spires, known as prangs, that adorned more ornate houses or the patterned, multi-tiered roofs that are layered atop one another like sheets of phyllo pastry.

The sawmill closed during the war, and the craftspeoples children and grandchildren moved on to other professions. Bangkok boomed, and factories in other parts of Thailand began churning out spirit houses using younger, less sturdy wood, or cheaper concrete.

Before, 30 houses in this neighborhood used to be involved in this craft, Kanokporn said. Now its only one.

Read this 1985 Times story on Thailands Spirit of Superstition 

Her parents carried on the tradition, but her father, worried Kanokporn would become what we would today call a hipster, pushed her away from studying carving and into computer science. She was working as the manager of a computer company about 20 years ago when her father was stricken with cancer and died.

Kanokporn visited a fortune-teller, who told her she had to take over the family business.

I liked my job, she recalled. And I knew nothing about building spirit houses. But I knew I had to do this.

A few years later, her husband died of an illness. Her mother was slowed by age. But the Thai government began to promote her business at cultural fairs, and she landed custom orders from top businesses, diplomats and Thais living overseas.

Kanokporn Puwasawatt displays a spirit house built in her workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times)

One day she received a call from the head of one of Thailands largest conglomerates, who relayed the story of an English friend who had just completed a diving expedition to a centuries-old shipwreck off Sattahip, on the gulf coast south of Bangkok.

The Englishman said he had been visited in a dream by a ghost who instructed him to build a spirit house near that beach, inscribed with the names of the sailors who had died in the wreck.

The tycoon had determined that the apparition was Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, the 28th child of King Rama V, who ruled Thailand at the turn of the 20th century. The prince founded the modern Thai navy and acquired one of the kingdoms first naval vessels from England as well as designating royal land for a naval base in Sattahip, near the site of the shipwreck.

I got goosebumps, Kanokporn recalled.

The house she built still stands on the beach, one of her favorite creations. Two other favorite works sit next to each other behind an enclosure in a vast pedestrian plaza outside the MBK shopping center in central Bangkok: a large house standing on one leg and guarded by two elephant statues, and a slightly smaller house on four legs.

On a recent afternoon, as shoppers milled about, worshipers stopped in front of each house to light an incense stick or leave food, bowing their heads in a brief prayer.

The typical house takes Kanokporn a month to build and costs more than $1,000. As Thai families move into smaller residences, there is less space for spirit dwellings.

Kanokporn feared that the family trade, which spans four generations, might not see a fifth. Her two children are seeking careers in tech. She has long searched for an apprentice who might take on the business.

Kanokporns spirit house sits outside her home in west Bangkok. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times)

In front of the house she shares with her 80-year-old mother and sitting on a thick pillar in the shade of an overgrown tree was the familys spirit house, made from teak, with a severe triangular roof. Inside was Phra Chai Mongkol, an angel-like figurine that resembles a Hindu deity and protector, holding a sword in one hand and a bag of money in the other.

Thai spirit houses rest on pedestals and are typically adorned with garlands. (Shashank Bengali / Los Angeles Times)

Outside, Kanokporn had placed a bundle of incense sticks and small statues of horses and elephants, each presented over the years to Phra Chai Mongkol when the family needed a bit of extra luck.

I dont remember now what each of these animals represented, Kanokporn said with a smile and shrug. But the spirit has taken care of us.

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Authorities are still searching for Texas shooting suspect Francisco Oropesa, who has killed five of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old child.

On Sunday morning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Houston tweeted that the multi-agency search for the 38-year-old Mexican national is ongoing. The agency warned the public not to approach the suspect as he is armed and "dangerous," Fox News reported.

FBI Houston also asked the public to call San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office at 936-653-4367 if they see Oropesa. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said in a press conference on Saturday evening that all future updates will be coming from the FBI.

Capers noted that Oropesa "could be anywhere," adding that investigators have widened their perimeter from about five to six square miles to "as much as 10 or 20."

The sheriff said authorities found an abandoned cell phone and clothing "lying around" past two-mile of the search area. He added that tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Correction" picked up a scent" but lost it in the water.

Capers noted that Oropesa was identified by a Mexican consulate card and through a video showing him going to his neighbors' door.

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Francisco Oropesa was armed with a black AR-15 semi-automatic rifle when he went to the victims' home in the Trails End area of Cleveland at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday and opened fire, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said the suspect allegedly shot five of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old child, in their home after one of them asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep.

His name was earlier spelled as "Oropeza" but was later corrected to "Oropesa" by the FBI Houston on Sunday. The FBI Houston tweeted that the change in spelling was "to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems."

NBC News reported that authorities are offering an $80,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's capture. The state of Texas is offering $50,000 of the total reward money, $25,000 from the FBI, and $5,000 more from the local nonprofit organization Multi-County Crime Stoppers.

James Smith, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston-area office, said authorities were "running into dead ends," adding that they have "zero leads of him" right now.

Capers noted that more than 150 police officers were looking for Oropesa on Saturday, with more than 200 involved in the search on Sunday.

Aside from the FBI, other law enforcement agencies involved in the manhunt are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Texas Public Safety Department.

Texas Shooting

Reporters earlier confronted FBI Special Agent James Smith, pointing out that the agency released a picture of a man who was not Francisco Oropesa in connection with the probe, causing a photo of the wrong individual to be used by the media, The Independent reported.

Smith explained that they are receiving information from many agencies and citizens. He admitted that it was a mistake on their side and worked quickly to have it removed.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said they continue working with state and local officials to ensure all available resources are given to the law enforcement agencies involved.

The victims are reportedly said to have come from Honduras. According to 12 News, the victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; her son Daniel Enrique Laso, 8; Josue Jonatan Caceres, 18; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; and Julisa Molina Rivera, 31.

READ MORE: Florida Elderly Woman Killed After Falling Into Pond Near Home, Attacked by Two Alligators

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Search Continues for Gunman in Texas Mass Shooting - From CBS New York




Comedian and "The Daily Show" correspondent Roy Wood Jr. hosted the White House correspondents' dinner and roasted President Joe Biden and other personalities in news media and politics.

The president, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, celebrities, and other notables attended the sold-out event at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.

Right off the bat, Wood poked fun at Biden's own classified documents scandal, saying, "Real quick, Mr. President, I think you left some of your classified documents up here... I'll put them in a safe place, he don't know where to keep them."

Wood also took aim at Biden's age by referencing massive protests in France, where citizens took to the streets when the government raised the retirement age by two years up or to 64.

"Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work," he quipped.

Wood also set his sights on controversial New York congressman George Santos, congratulating him as "Arizona State senior" who was "tonight's top scholarship recipient."

The Republican lawmaker previously admitted that he had lied about his resume and never graduated from any college.

The comedian also joked about Santos' history as a drag queen, saying he was not present that night because he was auditioning for "RuPaul's Drag Race."

READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson Firing: Controversial Host's Exit Still a Mystery as Fox News Ratings Tumble

Roy Wood Jr. on Tucker Carlson and Fox News, CNN and Don Lemon, and Donald Trump

Two big firings rocked news media: Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, while CNN fired Don Lemon. Roy Wood Jr. quickly pounced on these developments during his White House correspondents' dinner performance.

"Tucker Carlson is out of the job. Some people celebrating. But to Tucker's staff, I want you to know that I know what you're feeling. I work at 'The Daily Show' so I, too, have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program," Wood joked.

As for Don Lemon, the comedian poked fun at the reports of him being difficult to work with, according to Politico.

Wood quipped: "Yes, Don Lemon was a diva, and he said a couple of women are raggedy in the face. But that's a promotion at Fox News."

Wood also poked fun at Fox News for having to pay Dominion Voting Systems over $700 million in settlement and still facing Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit. He did this by jokingly praising both voting machine companies as the best.

As for former President Donald Trump, Wood called him the "king of scandals," according to CNN.

"Keeping up with Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars movies... You got to watch the third one to understand the first one, then you got - you can't miss the second one because it's got Easter eggs for the fifth one," the comedian said.

Joe Biden Goes 'Dark Brandon' at White House Correspondents' Dinner

Before Roy Wood Jr. took the podium, Joe Biden was roasting everyone, from Marjorie Taylor Greene to Rupert Murdoch to Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump.

Biden noted that Wood offered him $10 to keep his remarks under 10 minutes. However, the president jokingly added, "That's a switch, a president being offered hush money," as he referred to Donald Trump's infamous hush-money scandal.

He also poked fun at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his recent legal woes with Disney.

"I had a lot of Ron DeSantis jokes ready, but Mickey Mouse beat the hell out of me. He got there first," the president quipped.

Biden also joked that Fox Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch makes him look like Harry Styles. He also took aim at Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, joking, "I want everybody to have fun tonight, but please be safe. If you find yourself disoriented or confused, either you're drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene," referring to the Georgia congresswoman's wild and baseless theories.

Biden ended his speech by telling Roy Wood Jr. that he would be "fine with your jokes, but I'm not sure about Dark Brandon" before bringing to life "Dark Brandon," an Internet meme of the president's edgier self, by donning a pair of sunglasses.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Indicted, Makes History as First Criminally Charged Ex-US President

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Roy Wood, Jr. COMPLETE REMARKS at 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner - From C-SPAN
Police in California are investigating Davis City's second fatal stabbing after a man was discovered in a park on Saturday night with multiple stab wounds.

According to Fox News, the incident was reported to the Davis Police Department around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday after a concerned individual contacted 911 to report a disturbance in Sycamore Park near Sycamore Lane and Colby Drive.

The caller said before calling 911, he went outside to find out what happened and discovered the California man, who appeared to have been stabbed numerous times.

The victim, a male in his early 20s, was found by police, and emergency workers pronounced him dead at the scene.

Davis police and personnel of different Yolo County law enforcement agencies searched the area for a suspect described as a light-skinned man between 19 and 23 years old who may be a 5'7 to 5'8 tall Hispanic with long, loose, curly hair.

READ NEXT: California Teen Dead, 3 Others Injured After Stabbing Suspect Rams Into Pedestrians

Second Davis Fatal Stabbing Victim Identified

Davis officials have confirmed that the California man found dead in Sycamore Park was a UC Davis student. The individual has been identified as Karim Abou Najm, who was also a graduate of Davis High School, ABC 10 reported.

The Davis Police Department is investigating Najm's death as a homicide. Officials have yet to release additional information about the investigation.

Davis, a city in Yolo County, California, has been rocked by two fatal stabbings in the past four days. The brutal nature of both crimes, which were likely committed using a knife, has left the community reeling.

However, there were no known connections between the two victims, and it remained unclear whether the two incidents were related, according to the Davis Vanguard.

Aside from the Davis Police Department, other law enforcement agencies in Yolo County, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Department of Justice, work together to investigate both crimes.

The Davis Police Department has been particularly active in coordinating the investigation. It has issued notices to the public to preserve the crime scene and prevent the suspect from destroying evidence.

None of the individuals taken into custody in the past days have been linked to the two deaths.

First Fatal Stabbing in Davis

The first body of a man was discovered in Davis' Central Park in California on Thursday morning, prompting a homicide inquiry.

Davis police reported that around 11:20 a.m., they responded to a call about an unresponsive person in the park, CBS News reported. The police officers and paramedics who quickly responded determined that the guy in the park was dead.

The California man had multiple stab wounds, and the case is being treated as a homicide, according to the police. The Yolo County Coroner released the victim's name on Friday. He was 50-year-old David Henry Breaux.

He had been a Davis resident since 2009 and was known in the city as the "Compassion Guy," police said.

"Many of us knew David. We talked with him. We shared in his vision for a kinder world. We connected on what it means to be human and humane," said Mayor Will Arnold in a statement on Friday.

Breaux would often meet and talk to passers-by on a busy corner in downtown Davis, asking them for their thoughts on compassion. As he became popular, the city installed a bench in Breaux's corner in 2013 called the "Compassion Bench."

READ MORE: California Homeless Man Who Attacked SFFD Commissioner With Pipe Released From Jail

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Davis Community Grieves Death of "Compassion Guy" Slain in Stabbing - From CBS Sacramento
Paraguay finally held its presidential elections last Sunday. The long-ruling Colorado Party's candidate, Santiago Pena, is winning the majority of the votes, with 99% of voting places already canvassed.

According to the Associated Press, Pena is projected to win as he currently has 43% of the vote, compared to 27% for the closest challenger, Efrain Alegre.

Alegre is part of the Pact for a New Paraguay, which is a coalition of opposition parties that hoped to end the long-governing Colorado Party's dominance in Paraguayan politics.

There is widespread discontent over high levels of corruption and deficiencies in the health and education systems in Paraguay, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the country has a relatively stable economy, it still has high levels of poverty. The opposition attributed this to the Colorado Party's long grip on the presidency.

However, last Sunday's elections were not just for the presidency, as Paraguayans also voted for members of their country's Congress.

There is still no official declaration of the results, but as the country waits for the reports of the rest of the voting places, Pena has already been called "president-elect" by outgoing President Mario Abdo Benitez.

"Today we're not celebrating a personal triumph, we're celebrating the victory of a people who, with their vote, chose the path of social peace, dialogue, fraternity, and national reconciliation," Pena stated in a speech as he declared his victory. "Long live Paraguay! Long live the Colorado Party!"

READ NEXT: Paraguay: 5 Delicious Desserts to Try When You Visit the South American Country

Many in Paraguay Believe That Nothing Will Change After the Elections

With the Colorado Party retaining the presidency, many in Paraguay were not happy as they continue to see that nothing might change in the country with Santiago Pena's victory.

However, for some Paraguayans, there might not be any change coming to the country no matter who won.

"I'm worried about crime. All the candidates are the same for me," said 34-year-old mother of three, Maria Jose Rodas, who spoke with Reuters. "Nothing will change."

Meanwhile, Ramona Oddone, a 79-year-old retired schoolteacher, stated that with all the young people voting, it showed that people really wanted change. However, this was not reflected in the results as yet another candidate from the Colorado Party, which has held the presidency since the 1950s, has won.

Paraguay to Remain Pro-Taiwan With Santiago Pena Win

The subject of Taiwan and China is a touchy one, yet for a long time, Paraguay has sided with Taiwan over its more powerful and wealthier communist counterpart. With Pena's victory, this status quo is seen to continue.

According to Al Jazeera, Paraguay is one of the only few countries to recognize Taipei over Beijing. The projected president-elect is seen as a big supporter of Taiwan, as he vowed to retain ties with the democratic country, which China considers part of its territory.

READ NEXT: Paraguay Senator Falls Into Lake and Drowns

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Paraguay's Taiwan ties at stake in Presidential elections | Latest World News | WION Pulse
Cuba usually commemorates May Day through a parade of more than a million people at Havana's Revolution Square. However, this year's May Day parade will be empty as compared to previous ones.

The Guardian noted that the square will be empty after the Cuban Communist party canceled the May Day parade after a severe oil shortage felt around the country.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the island is only getting two-thirds of the petrol it needs. Supplier nations are also failing to fulfill their contractual agreements.

Jorge Pinon said that it was an "allusion to Venezuela."

Pinon is the director of the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on the Latin America and Caribbean energy and environment program.

Cuba and Venezuela have had a years-long agreement since 2000, with Cuba sending Venezuela doctors, teachers, and allegedly counterintelligence agents in exchange for shipments of oil. However, the deal is believed to being strained.

Pinon said that Venezuela has been losing earnings for not selling oil on the international market.

He added that Venezuela might have just come to the point that they can no longer continue to provide "cash-free oil" to Cuba.

READ NEXT: U.S. Embassy in Cuba Starts Issuing Visas Again After 4 Years of Not Doing so Due to Alleged Sonic Attacks

Cuba Cancels May Day Parade

Diaz-Canel said earlier this month that Cuba was only receiving two-thirds of the fuel it needs.

Cuba is known to have used its resources to ensure that the May Day parade will be success. There are instances that authorities have transported workers en masse to Havana, as reported by BBC News.

Cuba's May Day parade had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic before this year due to fuel shortage.

Local events are expected to go ahead instead, with the mass marching on foot.

Head of the Workers' Cuba main trade union, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento said that such acts would emphasize the "obstacles to the development programs" due to the economic blockade.

Aside from the lack of fuel supply, Cuba also blames its problems on the ongoing U.S. sanctions. The sanction has been an embargo on trade between the two nations, which was imposed in February 1962.

Long lines have formed at Cuba's petrol stations in recent weeks, with drivers often waiting for days.

Cuba's Oil Shortage

El Pais reported in April that a shortage in fuel has resulted in the paralyzing of all public and private transport, which caused long queues at gas stations.

Hundreds of drivers sleep inside their vehicles for days while waiting for a fuel tanker,

Public transportation in Cuba has been facing problems for several years.

There were only 878 buses to serve a city of over two million residents in December 2021, which was less than half the number traveling in the early 1990s.

Government officials in Cuba also now admit that it was the worst public transportation crisis of the last decade.

Due to the oil shortage on the island, residents are having a more difficult time traveling around Havana and its neighboring areas. Taxis and private cabs are also now charging more due to the situation.

A liter of cooking oil costs around $30 and a kilo of powdered milk is priced at $80 while the average monthly professional salary in Cuba is around $150 to $200.

READ NEXT: Cuba: US Offering Hurricane Relief After Hurricane Ian Devastates Island

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: In Cuba, May Day is a Celebration - from Belly of The Beast Cuba


The US Army has identified the three soldiers who lost their lives in a tragic Alaska helicopter crash near Healy Thursday, according to Fox News.

The incident involved two AH-64 Apache helicopters from Fort Wainwright, not far from Fairbanks.

The three senior enlisted soldiers who passed away in the Alaska helicopter crash have been identified as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo,39, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32.

In addition to the three fatalities, one service member was injured in the crash and is currently receiving treatment at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The Army has confirmed that the injured service member's condition is stable.

Nearly 50 miles east of Healy, the helicopters crashed on each other while returning from a training mission and on their way to Fort Wainwright.

A team from the Alabama US Army is looking at the airborne accident.

READ NEXT: 2 Black Hawks Crash After Rotor Blade Hits Other Helicopter During Landing

US Army Grounded All Army Aviators

After two recent helicopter crashes resulted in the deaths of 12 soldiers, the chief of staff of the United States Army grounded all Army aviators, excluding critical missions, CNN reports.

According to the Army, the pilots are grounded until they finish the requisite training, per Chief of Staff James McConville's instruction.

McConville claimed that ensuring the safety of their aviators is their primary concern, and grounding the operations is a crucial measure to guarantee that they are taking all necessary steps to avoid mishaps and safeguard their personnel.

The Army's pilots will concentrate on safety and training protocols to guarantee our pilots and crews have the information, training, and awareness to successfully perform their assigned tasks under McConville's leadership.

The Alaska helicopter crash happened only a few weeks after two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed while on a nighttime training operation close to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing nine soldiers, according to the US Army.

Kentucky Black Hawk Crash

Two Army Black Hawk helicopters collided during a training exercise in Kentucky on Wednesday night, killing nine service members, authorities said Thursday morning, per NBC News.

The US Army base stated early Thursday that the incident occurred in Trigg County, west of Fort Campbell, at approximately 10 p.m. local time (11 p.m. ET).

Officials have stated that the two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation aircraft participated in a training exercise.

The nine servicemen all served with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell. Due to the need to notify their families, their identities were not immediately made public.

The 101st Airborne Division's Brigadier General John Lubas reported the number of people in each helicopter as "pretty standard," with five in one and four in the other.

"This is a truly tragic loss for our families, our division, and Fort Campbell, and our number one priority is caring for the families and the soldiers within our combat aviation brigade," Lubas said.

Lubas claimed that the helicopters' pilots had night vision goggles, adding that a US Army aircraft safety team had been sent from Alabama to investigate the tragedy.

He expressed optimism that investigators can retrieve data from on-board computers, comparing them to a "black box" that would help explain the crash.

READ MORE: Why Is California Banning the Diesel Truck by 2026?

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Army IDs 3 soldiers killed in Alaska helicopter crash - From ABC 7 Chicago
?? En vivo | La presidenta Dina Boluarte, junto con el titular del @MTPE_Peru, participa en la ceremonia de condecoracion de la Orden del Trabajo 2023.

?? Ver transmision: https://t.co/ZWuMi6otBt #OrdenDelTrabajo #ConPunchePeru pic.twitter.com/CHSCgdNeTg
One of the founders of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, Hector Luis Palma, could reportedly soon be released from imprisonment in Mexico.

Mexico Daily Post reported that a Mexican tribunal is close to granting Palma, also known as "El Guero," a legal remedy that would ensure his release from a maximum-security prison near Mexico City.

Palma has been jailed in both the United States and Mexico, with his first arrest dating back to 1978 in Arizona for drug trafficking charges. He was then sentenced to eight years in prison.

He was then released from the U.S. prison, only to come home and experience the brutal murder of his family by a rival drug kingpin. It then led to a campaign of violence to retaliate against the deaths.

In 1995, the Mexican military arrested El Guero once again after he survived a plane crash. He was extradited to the U.S. and spent around two decades in the Atwater Federal Prison before he was sent back to Mexico for the trial of the murder of two police officers.

Lawyers for Palma argued that the key witnesses of the case were coerced to testify against their client.

READ NEXT: Re-Arrest of Hector Luis 'El Guero' Palma Salazar, Who Founded Sinaloa Cartel With El Chapo, Was Legal

Hector Luis Palma Imprisonment

A statement from the Mexican Attorney General's Office noted that U.S. authorities handed over Palma in Matamoros.

The Mercury News reported in 2016 that the Sinaloa Cartel drug lord was flown to Mexico City on Wednesday and was transported to the Altiplano prison outside the capital, which was the same prison that El Chapo escaped from in 2015.

El Chapo, known by his real name Joaquin Guzman, was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was known for strategically using his "narco tunnels" in the transport of illegal narcotics and his escape from imprisonment.

The witness against Palma accused him of killing a deputy police chief who apparently worked for the Sinaloa Cartel but decided to switch loyalties to the Arellano Felix brothers of the Tijuana Cartel.

The police officer was allegedly killed in retaliation.

Palma served more than nine years at the high-security prison in Atwater, Merced County.

Who is Hector Luis Palma?

The Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel had a ferocious rivalry between them. It became even more intense when El Chapo and his lieutenant El Guero tried to kill Ramon Arellano Felix at a nightclub, known as "Christine" in Puerto Vallarta. The Sinaloa Cartel head figures failed and killed six others instead.

The Arellano Felix brothers were then quick to retaliate and ordered a hitman to seduce El Guero's wife while infiltrating the cartel, according to El Pais.

The hitman then killed his wife and sent her head to El Guero in a refrigerated box. The Sinaloa Cartel leader's children were then thrown off a 150-meter-high bridge in Venezuela and received a videotape of their deaths.

Palma's life was reenacted in the hit Netflix series "Narcos," even including the death of his family in the dramatization of the lives of Sinaloa Cartel members.

READ MORE: Sinaloa Cartel Founder' El Guero' Is Still in Custody of Mexican Authorities

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WATCH: Detienen a Hector Luis "El Guero Palma" al salir del Altiplano - from Imagen Radio


One Texas woman, identified as Sarah Hartsfield, is now facing another murder case after she was accused of killing her fifth husband with insulin poisoning.

Hollywood Unlocked reported that Hartsfield is being accused of injecting her 46-year-old diabetic husband with a large amount of insulin. She was then accused of waiting four to six hours before deciding to call 911 for help.

Her husband was identified as Joseph Hartsfield. The Texas woman was a retired Army sergeant living in Chamber County, Texas.

The victim's glucose monitor had been sounding off an alarm for a while before his wife finally made a move to check on him and call paramedics to professionally administer aid, according to Chamber County Sheriff's Office officials.

Hartsfield was then arrested and imprisoned in the Chambers County Jail after the incident in March.

It would have to be ruled that her last husband died of complications from the toxic effects of insulin.

Investigators then decided to reopen the investigation on the previous murder case that Hartsfield faced.

READ NEXT: Ohio Man Goes to Wife's Workplace to Kill Her Before Turning Gun on Himself

Texas Woman Sarah Hartsfield Murder Probe

Sarah Hartsfield was previously married to David George in the summer of 2019. She was then accused of murdering her ex-husband.

Officials in Minnesota then reopened the case regarding the fire and the death of George's partner.

NBC News noted that Hartsfield was indicted on a murder charge in the death of her husband in February.

Todd County Sheriff Michael Allen said in a statement that the investigations are active again due to "new information."

The retired Army was already married in her previous relationships. The sheriff then decided to probe the case about those four earlier marriages.

The official claimed that everybody "wants out of it because they fear for their life."

It was not clear whether the newly reopened cases have any connection to the shooting of her fiance, with the target of the investigations still unclear.

Sarah Hartsfield Partners

One of Hartsfield's former partners was Titus Knoernschild. He met her when he was a junior at a mall town high school in Missouri in 1991 and was married two years later.

Knoernschild said that she appeared to threaten him when they were separating, saying that he was very "surprised" when he got out of the "marriage alive," as detailed by NBC News.

Hartsfield was also married to a Michael Traxler. He described their marriage as "super short" and was in a "rearview mirror."

Hartsfield son said that it was followed by a relationship with Ryan Donohue. They had four children and spent much of their time in Texas. However, Donohue filed for divorce.

Hartsfield then moved in with a new partner with her three children. It was David Bragg, who was fatally shot in their home northwest of Minneapolis.

It was the case that is being opened again as Hartsfield faces new murder charges.

READ MORE: Louisiana Mom Stabs Her 2 Kids, Kills 4-Year-Old Daughter Before She Does Instagram Live Covered in Blood

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WATCH: Who is Sarah Hartsfield and what to know about her murder case - from KRPC Click2Houston


A class action lawsuit has been filed against Adidas by its shareholders, citing that the sportswear company had prior knowledge of Kanye West's controversial actions and statements long before it terminated its association with him for his antisemitic remarks, according to The Guardian.

As per the allegations, Adidas failed to take adequate measures to mitigate the losses suffered by its shareholders or shield them from any possible risks after the discontinuation of West's Yeezy brand, which resulted in a significant decline in the company's stock value.

"We outright reject these unfounded claims," Adidas stated as part of its official response to the complaint, saying that they will take all necessary steps to defend themselves against their shareholders.

Meanwhile, Kanye West, also known as Ye, is not part of the lawsuit filed by the Adidas shareholders.

READ NEXT: Adidas Breaks Yeezy Deal, Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald Leaves Donda Sports

Adidas Routinely Ignored Kanye West Behavior, Shareholder Claim

Adidas shareholders filed a lawsuit in Oregon on Friday, accusing the company and its top executives, CFO Harm Ohlmeyer and former CEO Kasper Rorsted, of disregarding Kanye West's repeated displays of extreme conduct, The Hill reported.

The lawsuit highlights previous incidents, such as West's controversial remarks in 2018, where he suggested that slavery was a "choice."

Adidas responded to the issue by expressing disagreement with West's comments but reiterated that he was an essential component of their strategy and a creative force.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that Adidas only terminated its association with West after facing widespread criticism for failing to do so earlier.

Following the termination of its partnership with Kanye West, Adidas investigated various allegations against him, including reports of mistreatment of staff and instances of forcing them to view explicit material.

The investigation was launched only a few weeks after the company cut ties with the rapper.

Adidas Stock Dropped After Breaking Up with Kanye West

Adidas suffered a significant setback in November 2022, when its stock price plummeted after severing ties with Kanye West, per Rolling Stone.

Although the stock eventually regained some ground, the company's shares plummeted once again in February 2023, when it revealed to its investors that the failure to sell Yeezy's stock (valued at $1.29 billion) would lead to an equivalent decrease in company revenue and projected an operating loss of 700 million euros in 2023 if the inventory was not repurposed.

According to the lawsuit, Adidas' top executives recklessly disregarded the truth. They artificially inflated the company's stock price by concealing the risks associated with their association with Kanye West.

The plaintiffs seek damages for themselves and other members of the class who have suffered due to the alleged wrongful conduct, with the exact amount to be determined at trial.

During Paris Fashion Week in October 2022, Kanye West presented a show in which models donned "White Lives Matter" t-shirts, a slogan deemed to be associated with white supremacy, which emerged in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, as noted by the Anti-Defamation League.

Later that same month, West faced consequences for making antisemitic comments, resulting in suspending both his social media accounts.

READ MORE: Kim Kardashian Wants to Date Brad Pitt

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WATCH: Adidas set to lose $1.2 billion euros on unsold Yeezy inventory - From Yahoo Finance


?? #EsNoticia | Venezuela solicita a Chile y Peru garantizar el respeto a los DDHH de los connacionales bloqueados en la frontera comun (+Detalles) ??https://t.co/sDyknNlBhO#ALBAUnionDeportiva pic.twitter.com/V8B6aKz2v9
Donerds Donuts owners are readying to roll out the dough at their second site in South Bethlehem with plans to officially open this summer, they say.

The doughnut shop plans to move into an 800-square-foot space at 3 E. 4th St., between Subway and The FunHouse pub. The space was previously occupied by a laundromat. Married owners Andrew Underwood and Annabel Figueroa anticipate a soft opening on July 3 followed by an official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 7.
A driver was drunk when she crashed into another car on Route 33 in the Slate Belt, injuring two people from Easton, one seriously, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Barbara Ann Evans, 42, of Tannersville, Monroe County, was arraigned Thursday on nine charges in the Feb. 11 crash in Bushkill Township. The charges include aggravated assault by vehicle and aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI.

Evans was released on $20,000 unsecured bail. Efforts to reach Evans were not successful. A defense attorney has not yet entered an appearance in her case.

Troopers said the crash occurred around 7 p.m. Feb. 11 on Route 33 North near mile marker 12.

Evans was driving a Mitsubishi Outlander behind the victims, a woman and a man who were traveling in a Chevrolet Trailblazer.

At one point, the front passenger side of the Outlander hit the rear drivers side of the Trailblazer, state police said. The Trailblazer began to roll off the right side of the highway, landing upright, troopers said.

Both the driver and the passenger in the Trailblazer, a 78-year-woman and 81-year-old man, were injured and taken to St. Lukes Hospital-Anderson campus. The driver was released the night of the crash, but troopers said her 81-year-old passenger suffered several fractures in his neck and back.

The man underwent an eight-hour surgery on his spine and was still in a rehabilitation hospital when charges were filed April 18, court records say.

Evans was not injured and was arrested for suspicion of DUI the night of the crash, records say. A blood draw showed Evans blood-alcohol content was 0.11%. Penalties for drivers begin at 0.08% BAC in Pennsylvania.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
A federal judge says the Saucon Valley School District must allow the After School Satan Club to meet in one of its schools.

The club will be allowed to meet at the middle school on the dates previously approved by the school district. Those dates were the second Wednesday of March, April and May.

U.S. District Judge John Gallagher on Monday granted the After School Satan Clubs preliminary injunction request to meet in the schools as its full lawsuit plays out in court. The judge will make a final ruling later.

The school district revoked permission for the club to meet after chaos ensued, according to Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty. The controversial club drew the ire of the community and a North Carolina man allegedly threatened gun violence if the club were allowed to meet. That forced the entire school district to shut down for security reasons on Feb. 22.

The school district also said the club failed to make clear on a permission slip that the club is not sponsored by the district.

None of these reasons trump the After School Satan Clubs right to free speech and its First Amendment protections under the federal Constitution, the judge ruled.

When confronted with a challenge to free speech, the governments first instinct must be to forward expression rather than quash it, Gallagher wrote in his ruling.

We applaud the court for recognizing the threat to the First Amendment rights of the After School Satan Club and The Satanic Temple and preventing Saucon Valley School District from continuing its brazen discrimination, said Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania in a news release.

Vlasaty and the Saucon Valley School District solicitor didnt immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

A club official has said its members dont worship Satan.

Satan is instead regarded as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny, championing the human mind and spirit, and seeking justice and egalitarianism for all, an attorney for the clubs parent organization says in the lawsuit it filed to allow the club to meet.

The club formed in response to Christian clubs meeting in public schools. Saucon Valley has granted permission for a Christian club to use its schools, so the Satan Club should be free to use the school too, according to June Everett, director of After School Satan Club programming.

She applauded Gallaghers decision.

This is welcome news for Saucon Valley students and families seeking to participate in the supportive and inclusive community provided by After School Satan Club meetings, Everett said in a news release.

She said children in the club make arts and crafts, do science experiments and plan community service projects.

After granting permission on Feb. 16 for the club to meet, the district and superintendent received over 40 phone calls and 50 emails or handwritten letters, daily, from staff, parents, and community members concerned for student safety and concerned over the clubs right to meet, according to Gallaghers ruling. The school district revoked permission Feb. 24 and the club sued March 30.

Judge Gallagher ruled that the Saucon Valley School District does not have to distribute permission slips to children interested in attending the After School Satan Club.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
Prisons in Portlaoise and other parts of Ireland do not have the capacity to cope with the country's rising general population while the appointment of more judges could put further pressure on jails to cop.

That's the view expressed by Bishop Martin Hayes who is the liaison bishop with prison chaplains after he visited Mountjoy Prison recently to see what he has called the "huge pressure the jail is under.

Prisons are becoming overcrowded resulting in instances of two prisoners occupying one cell, with one lying on the floor on a thin mattress, as I witnessed myself  two prisoners in one cell in effect represents a regression, a step backwards in the care of prisoners, he said.

He said that all times he is conscious of the victims of crime and, in particular, of those people bereaved by the loss of family or friends due to the actions of convicted criminals. However, he believed prisons should be more than just places of punishment.

"People are sent to prison in the hope that they will mend their ways; that they will be rehabilitated. However, our prison system, despite the best of intentions, is struggling to achieve rehabilitation for those in custody. It is in this context that we cannot forget about those who are sent to prison, the men and women who are serving time for crimes that they committed," he said.

He said Mountjoy Prison is under "huge pressure to cope" with the demands placed upon it.

"The key message for me was that, while the population of our country has increased, the capacity of our Irish Prison Service - in terms of the total number of available cells - has not. It means that our prisons are becoming overcrowded resulting in instances of two prisoners occupying one cell, with one prisoner lying on the floor on a thin mattress, as I witnessed myself in Mountjoy.

Lack of capacity is a priority issue for the management of our prisons which, in turn, is concerned that the appointment of 50 new circuit court judges will result in more committals to prisons. While facilities for prisoners have been improved, the specific issue of concern for Mountjoy is the limitation on improvement arising from the design of the Victorian premises itself," he said.

He said the concern shared by chaplains, and Irish Prison Service management, is that progress is being hampered by overcrowding.

"Two prisoners in one cell in effect represents a regression, a step backwards in the care of prisoners," he said.

He was also worried about the prospects that prisoners can change in overcrowded jails.

The prison system is under real pressure to provide rehabilitation. My conversations revealed that, despite the best efforts of management and education personnel involved, the prison system is unable to rehabilitate prisoners and prepare them for re-entry to the world.

"Prisoners spoke to me of finding it hard putting in time as they cannot avail of education classes. In speaking with an enhanced prisoner - who has been afforded more work duties for good behaviour - he stated that the chaotic nature of prison life does not enable rehabilitation or promote respect for the law, in preparation for life outside prison," he said.

Bishop Hayes concluded by talking about the problem of drugs in jail.

Another challenge is the ease with which drugs can be delivered into the prison. As Mountjoy is a prison in a city, drugs can literally be catapulted into the grounds thus increasing their market value. Drugs are sought to cope with prison life and, of course, they hinder rehabilitation efforts.

While the role of prison is to punish those who commit crime, I feel strongly that we have a responsibility to uphold the human dignity of those held in our prisons. It is absolutely in the interest of the common good that we do what we can for prisoners so as to help them return to society as a neighbour who, thereby, can make a positive contribution to our communities. If a person sent to prison feels forgotten and abandoned by society, the likelihood is that she or he will return to society angry and liable to return to a life of crime, he said.

The Minister for Justice announced at the Irish Prison Officer Association conference the expansion of prisons including the building of a new wing at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise which is less than 25 years old. The jail has already had a new wing opened to create more prison spaces.
The deadline is looming for people to put down in black and white why they think thousands of Laois people should continue to be excluded or not from voting for Laois politicians at the next General Election.

The Electoral Commission is inviting written submissions in relation to matters which should be considered in reporting on constituencies, including Laois, ahead of the next general election.

Controversially, the 2017 Constituency Commission report led to a big part of Laois being hived off to Kildare which got a new TD in line with its population growth. The commission also recommended reuniting Laois and Offaly as a five-seater. This meant that all of Portarlington, Killenard and Ballybrittas voted in South Kildare at the 2020 General election.

The 2016 General Election saw Laois and Offaly separated for the first time to become two three-seaters. Monasterevin was included in Laois to ensure it met the quota of voters while parts of Tipperary were included in Offaly.

These two constituencies were quickly scrapped with most of the voters needed to bring the South Kildare numbers up in 2020 coming from Laois. This contributed to Cathal Berry getting elected to the Dail as he based himself in Portarlington.

However, Offaly was the loser as just two of the five seats in Laois Offaly were won by politicians based in that county.

The conundrum for the revamped Electoral Commission in Laois Offaly is that the Laois population has grown to a point where it justifies three Dail seats but there are still not enough people living in Offaly to justify a three-seat constituency.

The case for Laois is made stronger by the fact that the integrity of county boundaries must be respected by the Electoral Commission in reaching its decision.

The Electoral Commission in accordance with section 56 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and following the publication of the 2022 Census Preliminary results is to make a report and recommendations in relation to the constituencies for (a) the election of members to the Dail and (b) the election of members of the European Parliament.

In relation to Dail constituencies, the Commission is required, in observing the relevant provisions of the Constitution, to have regard to the following:

The total number of members of the Dail, subject to Article 16.2.2 of the Constitution, shall be not less than 171 and not more than 181*;

each constituency shall return 3, 4 or 5 members;

the breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable.

the reference to county boundaries shall be deemed not to include a reference to the boundary of a city or any boundary between any 2 of the counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin.

each constituency shall be composed of contiguous areas;

there shall be regard to geographic considerations including significant physical features and the extent of and the density of population in each constituency;

subject to the above matters, the Commission shall endeavour to maintain continuity in relation to the arrangement of constituencies.

The number presently stands at 160. Under Article 16.2.2 of the Constitution the total number of members of the Dail Eireann cannot be fixed at less than one member per 30,000 of the population or at more than one member per 20,000 of the population.

In accordance with section 59 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 the Electoral Commission has prepared a statement of the constitutional provisions relating to Dail constituencies and tables showing relevant statistics based on Census 2022 Preliminary Results for the existing Dail and European Parliament constituencies. This statement and tables are available on the Electoral Commissions website or on request from the Electoral Commission.

Submissions should be addressed to An Coimisiun Toghchain, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2 or by email to constituencyreview@electoralcommission.ie. The closing date for submissions is 10 May 10.

All submissions to the Commission along with the name of the person making the submission will be published on the Commissions website at www.electoralcommission.ie and may be inspected by prior arrangement with the Commission. The Electoral Commission is required to report not later than three months after the publication by the Central Statistics Office of the final result of the Census in respect of the total population of the State.
Irish communities have the potential to 'reimagine and transform; themselves after the ending of commercial peat production and peat-fired power generation.

Fianna Fail councillor Robert Power made the comments at the launch today of the Programme for the EU Just Transition Fund, which will be managed by the EMRA.

Cllr Power, who is also the Cathaoirleach of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), said: "This new EU fund is an essential tool to realise the great potential for the wider Midlands area.

"This is a pivotal time in our economy: the EU Just Transition Fund is the lever which will help the regions most impacted by climate adaptation to action the generational change needed to become a sustainable, climate-neutral economy by 2050."

He added: "The Fund demonstrates just how valuable EU funding is to the implementation of local and regional economic and spatial planning strategies that support an inclusive and sustainable transition for the benefit of local communities."

The aim of the new EU Just Transition Fund (JTF), worth up to 169 million, is to support economic development in regions most negatively affected by the ending of commercial peat extraction and peat-based energy production as part of Irelands transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Programme was launched on Friday, April 28 last, by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Minister Eamon Ryan at the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre in Kenagh, County Longford.

Longford is one of several counties including Offaly, Laois, Westmeath, Roscommon, and parts of Galway, Kildare and Tipperary, which form the EU JTF Territory.

Also in attendance on the day were Sofia Alves, Director at the European Commissions Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG Regio), Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for EU affairs, Peter Burke TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett TD, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for heritage and electoral reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, and Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth with special responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte TD.

According to those behind the fund, The EU JTF 'will aid in facilitating projects and initiatives which help address the adverse social, economic and environmental effects of the climate transition for regions previously reliant on fossil fuels.'

It also sets out Irelands investment strategy for the funding, with up to 84.5 million financed by the EU matched by up to 84.5 million from the Government of Ireland.

The plans and targets are in accordance with the Governments National Climate Action Plan and the European Green Deal.

The EMRA was appointed as Managing Authority of the Fund in December 2021.

PRIORITIES

The Programme will focus on three strategic priorities for investment.

These are:

Generating employment by investing in the diversification of the local economy

Supporting the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands and regeneration and repurposing of industrial heritage assets

Providing smart and sustainable mobility options to enable local communities to benefit directly from the green transition.

Between now and 2027, a range of initiatives will be supported and a number of funding calls will be run for different types of organisations.

Beneficiaries of the fund will include micro-enterprises, SMEs, research institutions, local authorities, and community organisations. First funding calls will be launched soon with others to follow in the near future.

Delivery bodies who will help implement the funding will include: the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Transport with the National Transport Authority and Zero Electric Vehicles Ireland, Failte Ireland, National Parks & Wildlife Service, and Pobal.

Commenting, EMRA Director Jim Conway said: "The community of the JTF Territoryshares these challenges with others across the EU. Europe has recognised this and addressed it through the EU Just Transition Fund.

"The appointment of EMRA as Managing Authority of the EU JTF in December 2021 recognised the importance of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies made by the Assembly members in 2019.

He added: "The pillars of Climate Action, Healthy Placemaking, and Economic Opportunities reflect the provisions of the National Planning Framework and when incorporated within Local Authority County and City Development Plans, provide an alignment from UN through the Sustainable Development Goals to EU, national, regional and local scales.

Mr Conway, on behalf of the EMRA, also thanked the Office of Public Works, which manages the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre for hosting todays launch of the EU JTF by Minister Ryan.

Sofia Alves, EU Director General Regional, Cohension and Urban Policy, also said: "The Just Transition Fund is a key driver of the European Green Deal, which pushes the green transition towards more inclusive and innovative accomplishments.

"We are moving away from peat and other fossil fuels in the Midlands because people once dependent on them deserve a reshaped future with new prospects. A total of 169 million euros will kick-start this process through local initiatives."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday to underscore the importance of Azerbaijan-Armenia peace discussions and pledged continued US support. This is noted in a US Department of State press release attributable to department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

May 1, 2023, 09:37 Blinken tells Aliyev deep US concern over Azerbaijans establishment of checkpoint on Lachin corridor

STEPANAKERT, MAY 1 , ARTSAKHPRESS: Secretary Blinken shared his belief that peace was possible. He also expressed the United States deep concern that Azerbaijans establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible, the press release adds.
The 12% Cineclub, founded in 2022 by The Rabbit's Riot Theatre Compa

ny in partnership with The Glens Centre and Access Cinema, is proud to announce its upcoming film festival.

This festival will showcase the brilliant works of female directors, shining a light on the significant gender imbalance in the film industry.

In 2021, only 12% of the top 100 films were directed by women, a concerning decrease from 16% in 2020. However, The 12% Cineclub is dedicated to changing this narrative and amplifying the voices of talented female filmmakers.

From May 12 to 13, the festival will be held at The Glens Centre and will exclusively feature documentaries directed by Irish female directors. This festival is a celebration of the remarkable talent of female filmmakers and a call to action to the film industry to support and promote the works of female directors.

This festival will showcase the powerful documentaries - Pure Grit, Lyra, Vicky, and Clouded Reveries. The festival will also feature the short documentary GILES, which tells the inspiring story of the North West Hospice Fundraising Swim.

These films offer a unique perspective on the world and tackle important social and cultural issues with grace and grit. From heart-wrenching stories of personal struggle and loss to triumphant tales of human perseverance, these documentaries are sure to captivate and inspire audiences.



May 12

8pm  Pure Grit directed by Kimberly Bartley. Pure Grit is a thrilling tale of extreme bareback horse racing, and an intimate love story chronicling three years in the life of a young Native American woman. Sharmaine, a former horse racing champion, left the track a year ago when her sister was paralysed in a racing accident. Now she wants to start afresh with her new girlfriend Savannah and they leave the reservation in search of work in Commerce City, Denver but racing still courses through her veins.

Kim Bartleys observational documentary provides an unflinching picture of life on a reservation and an inspirational portrait of a young woman who holds on to her dream despite a life of gruelling hardship.



May 13

2pm - Aisling Tri Neallaibh: Clouded Reveries directed by Ciara NicChormaic. Acclaimed poet and essayist Doireann Ni Ghriofa was catapulted into the international literary spotlight in 2020 with the publication of her debut novel A Ghost in the Throat.

It is a film about memories, motherhood and the mysterious nature of creativity. Captured through intimate performances of her own work and in-depth interviews, the film reveals Ni Ghriofas creative impulses and journeys with her to the heart of her inspiration, her

home place in Co. Clare.



4pm  Lyra directed by Alison Millar. An emotive, intimate film on the life and death of acclaimed young Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee, whose murder by the New IRA in April 2019 sent shockwaves across the world.

Directed by her close friend Alison Millar, the film seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyras own work and words.

6:30pm  GILES directed by Eania McGarry. A moving documentary directed by Eania McGarry on the origins of The Annual Lough Gill Hospice Swim in Sligo.

Inspired by a conversation Paul Mc Garry had with his nephew Neill and the care Neill received under The Northwest Hospice in 2009, Paul was prompted to organise an event to raise much-needed funds for the Hospice.

Since then, this event has seen hundreds of swimmers, commence the swim at Parkes Castle, Fivemilebourne, Co Leitrim and embark on the long, intense 10k endurance to the finish line at Doorly Park, Sligo.



7pm  Vicky directed by Sasha King. An inspiring story of courage, hope and resilience, VICKY takes audiences behind the headlines of the Cervical Check debacle and Vicky Phelans journey to expose one of the greatest health scandals in Irish history.

Vickys selfless courage changed the course of healthcare for Irish women and exemplifies what one person can achieve when they use their voice for the greater good.
Smoke billows from an area of Khartoum, where fighting continues between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces on April 28, 2023. AFP

The wave of popular protests that shook the Arab world in 2011 was misnamed a "spring" when it was only the beginning of a long-lasting revolutionary crisis caused by the collapse of corrupt and repressive regimes. The Arab counter-revolution, on the contrary, was unprecedentedly ferocious, supported as it was by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the colossal sums of money spent, the status quo could not be restored anywhere: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose 2013 coup d'etat closed the pluralistic era in Egypt, still holds 60,000 political prisoners 10 years later, while his Libyan emulator, Khalifa Hifter, has failed to seize Tripoli despite the two conflicts he unleashed in 2014 and 2019. Those conflicts were far more destructive than the 2011 civil war that was fatal to Colonel Gaddafi. As for Syria and Yemen, never had such devastation been inflicted on them.

The Sudanese surprise

The Arab autocrats hammered home the point that only their continued rule would guarantee "stability" in the southern Mediterranean. Such an illusion was sadly relayed by many Western leaders for whom the Arab world was no longer composed of people with legitimate aspirations but had above all become a space to be locked up, in order to better contain illegal immigration and jihadist terrorism. Those leaders were naturally caught off guard when Arab protest resumed in 2019 in countries that had ignored it in 2011: Algeria, where the army had to depose President Bouteflika under the pressure of the Hirak; Lebanon and Iraq, where mass demonstrations advocated genuine citizenship in the face of the communitarian and militia system; and above all Sudan, where a popular uprising put an end to three decades of Omar al-Bashir's military-Islamist dictatorship.

The revolutionary forces agreed to a transitional period in which the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, would have supreme authority for the first two years before it being transferred to a civilian leader.

But in October 2021, al-Burhan staged a coup, which, as in Cairo eight years earlier, was intended to end the democratic period. It became clear that the head of the Sudanese army had never intended to submit to civilian rule. His putsch was naturally supported by Egypt, as well as, more discreetly, by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They were worried about revolutionary contagion, even though the Sudanese military was contributing to their campaign in Yemen. This alliance of autocrats received the unwavering support of Russia, for whom Sudan constituted a base for expansion toward the rest of the African continent.

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THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) has been recognised for absolutely incredible work after securing some of the top honours at this years National Education Awards.

The university came out on top in the Overall Excellence Award at the award ceremony, which took place in Santry, Dublin and also secured the most awards on the night, coming away with five in total.

They won the awards for Best Marketing/Communications Team, Best Student Campus, Student Engagement and Communications, Best Use of Educational Technology/ICT Initiative of the Year and the Overall Excellence Award, which was announced at the end of the night.

UL President Professor Kerstin Mey said the awards said being nominated for the awards was an honour.

[Its]recognition of the absolutely incredible work being done across the institution by an extremely dedicated and passionate staff community.

I am particularly pleased to see award recognition for our Academic Registry and Marketing and Communications teams, who work tirelessly, often very much behind the scenes, on behalf of our full student and staff community.

To take home five wins, including the overall prize for excellence, is a real validation of the passion and commitment of the staff at UL and I am delighted that they have been celebrated, she added.
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STUDENTS at LAUREL Hill Colaiste in the city are fundraising for The Hope Foundation after a life changing trip to Kolkata in India.

The transition year students travelled to India in March to see first hand the projects being carried out by the charity.

Ahead of a bake sale which takes place this Tuesday, one of the students who attended - Rachel England - explained. We all applied for the program in Spring of 2022. I just thought it was such an amazing opportunity and I had to do it. I think we were all really delighted when we found out that we were accepted into the programme and we spent about a year fundraising and then we travelled to Kolkata in March of 2023, and it was just the most incredible trip."

Seven students in total spent one week in the West Bengal state Capital witnessing what life is like for the locals who benefit from the work of The Hope Foundation.

We visited all their projects that they have all over there and we visited the children and immersed ourselves into the culture. It was a huge experience that I don't think you get anywhere else. I learned a lot from it personally and I think as a group, even getting closer together because you're just seeing so much and you kind of need to connect with each other to understand it, said Katie Dillon who is also in Transition Year.

The Hope Foundation supports families and children in India and creates programmes for schools with Saoirse Casey stating: You can sponsor a child individually, which I know a few of the girls have already done. And we're trying to do it as a school now together. We're doing a bake sale.

The Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ bake sale takes place this Tuesday, May 2, at 11am with funds raised going to The Hope Foundation.
FROM preschool teacher, then preschool owner, and now author, Ballybricken native Agnes McEvilly Hayes knows a thing or two about preschool education, and discusses her experiences with all things child autonomy in her latest release.

Her book, entitled Child Centred Education touches on the idea of wholeheartedly embracing every opportunity which occurs in school and life, to set a child on their road to discovery through freedom and autonomy.

Agnes started teaching in 1978, working with children of kindergarten age in the UK. I love learning, and I thought I could do the two by teaching, because you always have to be a step ahead of the child, she stated.

At the time of retirement, Agnes and her husband moved back to Ireland, settling in Galway. Here, she found herself not ready to retire, and realised she could open and run her own preschool in her new homeland.

After closing the preschool in 2017, the author took her hunger for knowledge and decided to share it with the public through her book.

My experiences with children lead me to believe that they want to learn and respond very well when channelled and challenged, she said, becoming adept learners in no time at all.

The book details many exercises she participated in with the children, with one example, detailing the children on a nature walk. While learning of flora and fauna, the children were unwittingly learning road safety and the manners of life, Agnes wrote.

Available in O'Mahony's booksellers and online through Austin Macauley Publishers, the Limerick author hopes parents and teachers can learn from her experiences.
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HOBART, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos APRIL 30 2021: Parliament House, Hobart Waterfront, Tasmania. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

An advertisement for a room in a share house has been pulled from Gumtree after it offered free board in exchange for sex.

The property listing in Claremont in Tasmania was advertised as a room that was only available for women to rent with the owner to charge $245 per week including bills or for sexual favours.

It also included the caveat that the woman had to be clean and disease free.

The room was advertised for "females only". Photo: Facebook

Tasmanias median rent now sits at $390 per week, an increase of $120 in four and a half years. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

Please no time wasters. Serious enquiries (sic) only, it read

Youll have your own room, locked door, private parking and storage.

The advertisement was slammed by the Tenants Union of Tasmania, who urged the government to take action to end the rental crisis.

This is a gross exploitation of vulnerable women, who are affected by the housing crisis, the Tenants Union said.

No woman, having sex in exchange for a roof over her head is freely and happily consenting to it.

Shockingly, the advertisement also claimed that it was kid friendly and that it may suit a single parent with 1 child.

The Tenants Union also highlighted how much Tasmanian rents have gone up in recent years, urging the government to introduce rent control measures, regulate short-stay accommodation and levy empty homes.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday has found that rents across Tasmania have increased by 45 per cent over the last 4.5 years, the union said on social media.

The highest increase in the country in the State with the lowest incomes.


New Delhi: Alcohol firm Pernod Ricard India, which makes Royal Stag and Blenders Pride, has appointed Jean Touboul as its new managing director. Touboul replaces Paul-Robert Bouhier who abruptly resigned from his post on account of personal reasons months after he was appointed as the country head in January 2023. He will begin his role in May.

Pernod Ricard India has been under investigation from the government and it also faces regulatory challenges in the country. Last year, Last year it was widely reported that it had become tough for the company to do business in India due to the legal tussles over the years. The difference in opinion between the company and the government is on the methodology used to calculate customs duty on imported alcohol. The companys alcohol brands are also absent from the Delhi market since September last year.

Touboul, the company said in a statement, will lead the India operations after serving as the managing director of its South-East Asia entity based in Singapore.

In his new role, Jean Touboul will continue to report to Philippe Guettat, chairman and CEO of its Asia business, and will be a member of the its Asia executive committee.

Touboul said I will drive our strategic priorities and the vast opportunities in a culturally diverse market that India is. We have made huge strides in this market by building sustainable operations, while aligning with our focus on innovation and transformation."

Touboul has held leadership roles in Eastern Europe and the companys headquarters, before moving to Asia as managing director for its Taiwan business in 2014, and later became chairman and CEO of its Korea business.

He was appointed to lead as managing director for South-East Asia in 2021. He joined the group in 2004 as financial controller and internal auditor of its Europe business.

According to think tank ICRIER, India is one of the fastest growing alcoholic beverages markets globally, with an estimated market size of $52 billion in 2020.
N ew Delhi: I Squared Capital and Hinduja Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd are the remaining contenders vying to acquire TPG Capitals majority stake in Hyderabad-based Fourth Partner Energy Pvt. Ltd at an equity value of about $350 million, two people aware of the development said.

Bank of America and Investec are managing the sale of TPG Capitals 52% stake in Fourth Partner Energy, which operates in several Asian nations. Fourth Partner Energy, which counts TPG Capitals RISE Fund and Norways Norfund as investors, has a current installed green energy capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) and plans to triple it to 3GW by 2025.

I Squared Capital, Canadas Alberta Investment Management Corp., Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. were exploring investing in Fourth Partner Energy, Mint had reported earlier.

I Squared Capital, and Hinduja Renewables Energy are the final two remaining in the fray. OMERS and Brookfield are no longer in the fray," said one of the two people cited above requesting anonymity.

New York-based I Squared, which manages over $37 billion in assets, previously invested $150 million in Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd in 2015 and was also in talks to acquire Continuum Green Energy (India) Pvt. Ltd at an enterprise value of $1.5 billion. Hinduja Renewables, part of Hinduja Group, has a solar power project portfolio of 200MW.

In an emailed response, a Fourth Partner spokesperson said the company is currently in the midst of raising funds. We are on track to meet our aggressive growth and expansion plans across India, South and Southeast Asia. We will not be able to comment on any specific developments at this point in time."

Spokespeople for Bank of America, TPG Capital, Brookfield Asset Management Inc., and OMERS declined to comment. An Investec spokesperson in an emailed response said, Owing to the confidentiality pertaining to individual client accounts, Investec is unfortunately unable to share any more detail in this regard."

On Sunday evening, queries emailed to the spokespeople for I Squared Capital, Hinduja Renewables Energy, and AIMCo remained unanswered until press time.

With Indias electricity demand growing at about 10% annually, the countrys green energy sector continues to draw investor interest. While India has recently focused on boosting its coal-fuelled power capacity, several renewable energy deals are in play, Mint has reported. They include French energy firm Engie SA mandating Kotak Investment Banking to find a joint venture partner to build around 3GW of solar power in the country and raise around $250 million in equity.

Aditya Birla Group has also tapped Standard Chartered to help sell up to 49% of its renewable energy business for approximately $400 million.

ACME Group, Indias biggest pure-play solar platform, has hired Rothschild & Co. to help it raise $500 million in equity by selling a stake in ACME Cleantech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Meanwhile, Petronas is in talks with ReNew Energy Global Plc to jointly set up green energy projects in India, and Ahmedabad-based Torrent Power Ltd is in negotiations with ReNew to buy 1.1GW of operational capacity at an enterprise value of around $1.2 billion.

India has announced plans to add 50GW of renewable energy capacity annually over the next five years to meet its target of 500GW by 2030 in response to surging power demand. According to the Central Electricity Authority, Indias top power sector planning body, peak electricity demand is expected to reach 229GW in April, up from the record 212GW seen during the last fiscal year.
New Delhi: The bears and the bulls have turned docile, or so it seems. For, what is at play now for the last nearly one year is the sideways market, where neither buyers nor sellers gain a significant advantage, as are Balanced Advantage Funds (BAFs). And its time to see if the BAFs have delivered on their promise.

The objective of BAFs, which gained prominence in India from 2020, is to protect the downside risk in times of market volatility and to participate reasonably in the market upside. In India, there are about 28 BAFs with collective AUM (assets under management) of 1.87 trillion.

From October 2021, when Indian markets peaked, till date, BAF schemes on an average delivered 3% absolute return. This is impressive, compared to the -1.5% and -3% returns generated by broader market index Nifty 50 and category average of flexi-cap funds, respectively.

Most BAFs in India use counter-cyclical dynamic asset allocation models. In this model, the focus is on the valuations of the market measured by either price to earnings ratio, price to book (P/B) ratio or other similar metrics. If the market valuations are low, the model allocates higher portion to equity and lower to fixed income, and vice versa. ICICI Pru BAF follows this model to determine allocation between equity and debt.

Some BAFs, including Edelweiss BAF, use pro-cyclical allocation models or a momentum-based model. These invest more in equity during the bull market and bring down the allocation during a bear market.

There are also a few funds which use a hybrid model. Most BAFs maintain more than 65% gross exposure to equity to get the benefit of concessional equity taxation compared to debt funds.

View Full Image Mint

This story looks at the performance of some of the largest BAFs (with a long track record) during recent key market events such as the March 2020 correction and the period between October 2021 till now.

HDFC BAF: Higher equity exposure

HDFC BAF has been the top performer in this category both on trailing returns and rolling returns basis (See graphic). This could be partly attributed to a higher equity allocation compared to other funds in the category across time frames. As a result, the HDFC BAF had also fallen the most, almost equivalent to the extent of markets fall during the March 2020 correction.

Experts in the industry suggest that the value style followed by the fund house has worked well in the current market favouring value stocks. With an AUM of 52,079 crore, it has been the largest scheme in terms of size in the category.

The fund takes in to account valuations and macros to decide on the asset allocation. Within valuations, which is the core metric for the fund, the team focuses more on two variablestrading price to earnings (P/E) and earnings yield to bond yield ratio.

ICICI BAF: Better downside protection

ICICI Pru BAF is the second largest scheme in the category after that of HDFC. The fund determines the equity allocation based on what the P/B metric indicates. P/B is not very cyclical and has been a good leading indicator based on our experience of 13-14 years of running the model," said Chintan Haria, head-investment strategy, ICICI Prudential AMC.

The fund has maintained a reasonable allocation to equity across time frames. It comes in the top quartile of funds in terms of performance in the category. While it hasnt been the top performer in the category, it has protected the downside better than HDFCs. Between January 2020 and April 2023, the fund has a downside capture ratio of 44, which means the value of the fund has fallen by just 44 compared to its benchmarks fall in value of 100. ICICI BAF has been placed better in terms of downside risk among some of the large funds in this category with long track record.

Edelweiss: pro-cyclical

Edelweiss BAF is among the few funds that follow a momentum-based model to decide asset allocation. One drawback of the model is that it doesnt perform well in the sideways market.

On asking why the fund has chosen this model, fund manager Bhavesh Jain said the model has a higher probability of getting the markets right. In a trending market (bullish or bearish), the momentum-based model works well. In a sideways market, the valuations model outperforms," Jain added.

All this has reflected in the stark difference in the performance of the fund in two consecutive calendar years2021 and 2022. In 2021, when there is buoyance in the markets, the Edelweiss BAF delivered about 19% compared to category average of 13.5%. But, in 2022, when markets witnessed a dull year, the BAF delivered just a 2.1% return and underperformed the category average of 3.5%.

The fund scores well based on the downside capture ratio metric as mentioned above. Note that, while asset allocation is based on momentum model, the fund house sticks to growth style for stock-picking.

Nippon India BAF: hybrid model

Nippon India BAF follows a multi-disciplinary approach for dividing the portfolio between equity and debt asset classes. The fund house follows a hybrid model, combining both the valuation and the momentum models.

The reason we added the momentum model is because, at the end of the day, we believe that the wisdom of crowd or the market is supreme," said Ashutosh Bhargava, fund manager of Nippon BAF.

On a rolling-return basisbetween April 2016 and April 2023Nippons BAF managed to be in the first quartile of the category in terms of five-year returns. But in the short-term, the fund has had a mixed performance. The fund is positioned well in terms of downside capture ratio during the period mentioned above.

What do experts say?

Those who want lower volatility with reasonable growth of the portfolio, investors with medium term investment horizon of 3-5 years and willing to have exposure to equity and those in the post-retirement phase with 15-20 years runway ahead with requirement of periodical incomethese are the investors BAFs are most suitable for," said Harshad Chetanwala, a registered investment advisor.

Vishal Dhawan, another investment advisor, said that a combined portfolio with different models could help in navigating the market volatility better."

(For an extended version of this story, go to livemint.com)
Bank holidays in May 2023: The month of May brings with it a lot of holidays, in total banks in India will be closed for up to 11 days in the coming month. In the month of April, banks were closed for up to 15 days on occasions like Good Friday, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti, Id-Ul-Fitr, etc.

Customers who are planning to visit their respective banks in the month of May should plan their visit according to the bank holidays calendar.

Banks are open on the first and third Saturdays of each month, whereas the second and fourth Saturdays are bank holidays.

In May, banks will observe holidays in lieu of many festivals such as May Day, Buddha Purnima, Maharana Pratap Jayanti, and Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary.

While the bank branches will remain closed on these days, mobile and internet banking will remain functional as usual. Customers can make transactions through online modes.

However, it is important to note that the bank holiday in each state will depend upon the list of holidays released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on its official website. So, it's always a good idea to check the RBI website for the latest updates on bank holidays.

Here's the full list of Bank holidays in May:

1) May 1: Banks in Belapur, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram will remain closed on the occasion of May Day or Maharashtra Day.

2) May 5: Banks in Agartala, Aizawl, Belapur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, and Srinagar remain closed on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.

3) May 9: Banks in Bengal will remain closed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

4) May 16: Banks will not open in Sikkim to mark the state day celebrations.

5)May 22: Banks in Shimla will remain closed owing to the occasion of Maharana Pratap Jayanti.
A fire broke out in the under-construction building of AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, news agency ANI reported.

According to officials, the fire broke out on the first floor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences's OPD block in Samba district.

Immediately after the incident, the local police reached the spot and two fire tenders were called. As soon as the employees of the fire department arrived, they started dousing the fire.

The reason behind the blaze is reportedly welding work which was going on the first floor of the OPD block.

Deputy Commissioner of Samba Abhishek Sharma said the fire was reported from tower number six at around 6.30 pm and the fire fighting operation was completed around 6.55 pm.

"There was no casualty in the incident as there were no labourers present inside the building," he said.

"Immediately two vehicles of the fire department and three an ambulance were called to the scene, although no injuries were reported, the fire has been completely brought under control," said Sharma.

He further added that strict security arrangements would be made so that no such incident happens in the future.
International Labour Day is celebrated every year on 1 May to commemorate the struggles and sacrifices of the workers' and labours' movement. It is also known as May Day.

The origins of Labour Day can be traced back to the late 19th century when workers across the globe began demanding better working conditions, fair wages, and shorter working hours.

International Labour Day is celebrated in more than 80 countries, including India, Cuba, and China. People in different parts of the world hold marches on this day to promote the rights of working-class people and to protect them from exploitation.

History:

The tradition of Labour Day dates back to 19th century America. On May 1st, 1886 workers in Chicago organized a strike to demand an eight-hour workday. However, workers across the US came together to demand their rights and to fight for better working conditions after a bomb exploded at a labour rally in Haymarket Square.

In 1889, the International congress of socialist parties met in Paris and decided to celebrate Labour Day or Worker's Day on May 1.

India connection:

The first labour day was celebrated in India on May 1, 1923, in Chennai. The first May Day celebrations were organized by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. The leader of the party, Comrade Singaravelar arranged two meetings to celebrate this occasion.

Labour Day is celebrated by many different names in the various Indian states with most popular name being May Day. Labour Day is known as Kamgar Din in Hindi, Karmikara Dinacharane in Kannada, Karmika Dinotsavam in Telugu, Kamgar Divas in Marathi, Uzhaipalar Dhinam in Tamil, Thozhilaali Dinam in Malayalam, and Shromik Dibosh in Bengali.

Significance:

Labour Day is celebrated around the world to raise awareness of the rights of working people and to protect them from exploitation. It also serves as a reminder of the important role played by the working class in our society.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has stated that India's diplomatic strategy involves engaging all significant centres of power and pursuing multi-alignment to reflect the reality of multipolarity.

He noted that each engagement has its own particular weight and focus, and India is trying to ensure that all ties advance without seeking exclusivity. However, there are two countries that fall into a different category when it comes to being Indias neighbours.

According to EAM Jaishankar, China is different due to the border dispute and the abnormal nature of their current ties. Jaishankar has also made it clear that Pakistan is an exception to India's Neighborhood First Policy due to the cross-border terrorism it supports.

"China falls into a somewhat different category because of the boundary dispute and the currently abnormal nature of our ties," EAM Jaishankar said.

"The exception to this of course is Pakistan in view of the cross-border terrorism that it supports. But whether it is the COVID challenge or more recent debt pressures, India has always stepped up for its neighbours," he added.

India's most pressing priorities are in its neighbourhood, and it has taken a generous and non-reciprocal approach to cooperation with smaller neighbours, he said. This approach has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, and cooperation across the region, with the exception of Pakistan.

India has also developed the concept of extended neighbourhoods in all directions, with the Act East Policy opening up a pathway to a deeper engagement with the Indo-Pacific through a mechanism called the Quad.

Jaishankar highlighted the intensification of India's relationship with the Gulf and the Middle East, with the I2U2 grouping comprising India, Israel, UAE and the USA reflecting the growing ties between the regions.

About eight million Indians live and work in the Gulf, and the relationship is much more than economic, encompassing security, technology, and strong people-to-people ties, he noted. To the South, India's outlook is shaped by SAGAR, a Sanskrit word for oceans.

India's engagement with different countries and regions is based on concentric circles of priority, with each circle having its weight and focus. India is pursuing a strategy of connecting to Central Asia more effectively, and this has taken the form of structured engagements across multiple domains.

Jaishankar also highlighted the Indo-Pacific vision that emerged from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comprehensive view of the entirety of the Indian Ocean and its islands, which has become a building block for India's approach to the region.

(With ANI inputs)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday promised to increase the milk subsidy from current 5 to 7 per litre if his party was voted to power in Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10.

Addressing an election rally at Arsikere in Hassan district, Rahul Gandhi said that if the Congress is voted to power in the state, it will increase the milk subsidy by 2 per litre.

The Karnataka government gives 5 per litre subsidy to milk producers of the state for supplying milk to the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers Union (KMF), which owns Indias second largest dairy brand Nandini after Amul.

The Congress leader also announced a Krishi Nidhi scheme for farmers in the state, under which he said 1.5 lakh crore would be allocated for farmers in the next five years if the party is voted to power in the state.

The Congress has been attacking BJP in Karnataka for not safegaurding domestic milk brand Nandini in the state. The Congress leaders are accusing the ruling party that they want to 'kill' Nandini by allowing the entry of Amul in the state. They also expressed fears that a scarcity of Nandini products would be created to make way for Amul to take over.

Last month, Amul, owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, tweeted that a wave of freshness was coming to Bengaluru from Kengeri to Whitefield - from the west end of the city to the east - with the hashtag LaunchAlert."

Amul had said that it will sell its milk and curd in Bengaluru, triggering widespread protests led by the Congress and JDS. Congress leader Siddaramaih claimed that it was a ploy by the ruling BJP to subsume Nandini into Amul.

Karnataka is slated to go to Assembly polls on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Seymour Library: the perfect place to "Get Caught Reading"! Celebrate National Get Caught Reading Month in May with storytimes, book clubs, local authors and staff picks. Dont forget to share what you are reading with us, or selfies from your library visit, on Facebook (@SeymourLibrary) or via email seymourlibrary@seymourlib.org. We would love to hear from you!

For our little readers and their families, the library offers a variety of storytimes!

 IMAGINE Storytime: Families will engage in stories, songs, and movement together during this fun and interactive storytime at 11 a.m. Mondays, May 1, 8, 15 and 22. This months themes: space, ABC, "Lets Go to the Zoo," and turtles. Storytime is designed for ages 2 to 5, but all ages are welcome.

 Little Wigglers: Shake those wiggles out during this new storytime designed for toddlers and their families at 11 a.m. Tuesdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30.

 Books & Babies: Bring your little ones to this lap-sit storytime for newborns (18 months and younger) at 11 a.m. Wednesdays, May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. This special storytime focuses on encouraging early literacy skills through books, songs, movement and discovery.

Love talking about books as much as you enjoy reading them? Try a library book club!

 Coffee and Crime: Find out "whodunit" at noon Tuesday, May 9. Participants can pick any book in David Rosenfelts Andy Carpenter series to read.

 Tea and Tales: Love historical fiction? Travel through time at noon Tuesday, May 16. The featured book is "The Magnolia Palace" by Fiona Davis.

 Coffee and Conversation: Read a little bit of everything! Join the conversation at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 25. The featured book is "The Henna Artist" by Alka Joshi.

 Read More: Accept the challenge! This book club picks categories in support of the librarys reading challenge. Join us at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 24. This months categories are something short or a mystery.

 Otherworlds sci-fi and fantasy club: A book club with a twist! Discuss a book, movie, game or comic that centers around a monthly theme. The next meeting will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 31. The theme is Magic is Terrifying/Evil.

For more information about library book clubs, visit seymourlibrary.org/for-readers/book-clubs.

Connect with authors from all over upstate New York during Seymour Librarys Authors Corner. Travel through time with historical fiction writers George Rollie Adams, Anthony Gero, Glenn Ivers and Sheila Myers at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25. Books will be available to purchase and refreshments will be provided by the Friends of Seymour Library. No registration is required.

For more information about this series, visit seymourlibrary.org/authors-corner-series.

Planning your summer reading list? Here are some staff picks available at Seymour Library!

"Carrie Soto Is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I could not put this book down! In fact, I have been in a little bit of a reading slump and this was just what I needed- a refreshing, read at the edge of your seat, 1990s comeback story. At the heart of this book is a beautiful story of family, letting go and finding oneself.  Jackie

"The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" by Sangu Mandanna

This is the coziest, most lovely book I have ever read! If you want a read that is sweet and humorous, this one's for you. The cast of characters is diverse with even minor characters having a wonderful depth. If you have never read a romance novel before, this is a great start!  Olivia

"Exiles" by Jane Harper

I have previously read all of Jane Harpers suspense/thriller novels and looked forward to her latest one, 'Exiles.' Detective Aaron Faulk is the main character once again. He is reticent, kind and observant, causing the reader to feel somewhat 'safe' despite the tragedy of a young mother disappearing without a trace during a wine festival in Australia. Although the book started out at a slower pace than I usually like, the characters are well-developed. Most importantly, the ending is quite a surprise!  Janet

"Artifact Space" by Miles Cameron

As a big fan of science fiction mash-ups, 'Artifact Space' by Miles Cameron worked really well: You have an advanced offshoot of humanity sailing the stars but living a very Victorian lifestyle. The plot is, essentially, a murder mystery where the giant trade ships are the ones dying, and it's up to the next ship in line  and his crew  to figure out the mystery before they fall victim to the same fate.  Drew

For more staff picks, visit seymourlibrary.org/staff-picks.
The US private equity firm KKR & Co Inc would invest an additional $250 million in the Indian decarbonisation platform Serentica Renewables, said Reuters in a report.

"This latest investment will support the company's effort to achieve 4000MW of installed renewable energy capacity that will aid clean energy delivery to large-scale industrial customers," Serentica Renewables said in a statement.

According to the new agency, KKR, which owns Serentica alongside billionaire Anil Agarwal's Twinstar Overseas Ltd, agreed in November to spend $400 million in the company.

Serentica, a company that was founded just last year, focuses on industrial decarbonisation by making renewables the main source of energy for the commercial and industrial sectors, which consume more than 50% of India's electricity.

According to Reuters, India's renewables sector has been attracting increasing foreign investment, and was among its top five industries for overseas funds in the last fiscal year, with a 5% share of all inflows from April to September 2022, compared with 3.3% in the same period a year ago.

According to a press release, Serentica recently agreed to a new set of Power Delivery Agreements (PDAs) to provide some of the top industrial customers in India with continuous green energy. It is currently building solar and wind power projects in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.

In a deal valued at nearly $1.4 billion in April, the private equity company KKR & Co agreed to purchase a sizable portion of FGS Global.

KKR leads $450 mn investment in Hero Group's renewable energy arm

As part of the agreement, KKR planned to acquire a 30% investment in FGS Global from senior personnel. The company's biggest investors, including WPP Plc, a London-based advertising powerhouse, will continue to have a majority position in FGS Global.

Golden Gate Capital has sold its whole interest to KKR, which is investing in FGS Global through its $8 billion European Fund VI. KKR will then own 100% of the company, as per reports.

KKR raises $8 billion European flagship fund in tough market
From May 1, Mumbai Metro lines 2A and 7 have announced a concession of 25% on the fares for citizens aged above 65 years, persons with disabilities, and students up to Class 12. The discount will be applicable to the National Common Mobility Card (Mumbai One) holders for 45 or 60 trips.

These lines are operated and maintained by Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDAA).

To be eligible for the concession, persons with disabilities need to submit valid documents such as medical or government certificates for disability, while senior citizens will have to provide age proof. Students will have to show their or their parent's PAN card along with their school ID. The documents can be shown at any ticket window on the Line 2A and 7 route.

The move is aimed at providing a gift to Mumbai residents, according to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde. CM Shinde has also announced that travel for senior citizens on state transport buses will be free while women can avail of a 50% concession in bus fares.

Line 2A, also known as the yellow line, runs between Dahisar E and DN Nagar in Andheri West. On the other hand, Line 7, also known as the red line, runs between Andheri E and Dahisar E. The concession will be extended to thousands of Mumbai One cardholders.

The official statement by CM Shinde has said that the move is expected to benefit thousands of citizens and is a gift to Mumbai residents. The discounted fare is expected to be beneficial for citizens who use these lines for their daily commute.

With a vision to be the most admired and most trusted metro company in the world, delivering safe, reliable and sustainable mode of travel to our customers at competitive cost, with international standards of customer care, thereby creating superior value for all stakeholders", Mumbai Metro apparently saves 90 minutes of travel time for a Mumbaikar.
As the Indian government launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate nationals from strife-torn Sudan, The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday said that almost 1400 Indians have been evacuated in IAF aircraft over the past few days.

It further added that two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age and one above 102 years of age.

The information was shared on by IAF in a tweet. It wrote, With almost 1400 Indians evacuated in IAF aircraft over the past few days, two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age & one above 102 years of age."

#OperationKaveri Update.



With almost 1400 Indians evacuated in IAF aircraft over the past few days, two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age & one above 102 years of age.#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/Chuo1DBCtu  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 1, 2023

On Monday, a total of 186 Indians from strife-torn Sudan arrived in Kochi under Operation Kaveri.

"#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Monday.

"9th outbound flight departs from Jeddah. 186 passengers onboard this flight are flying to Kochi," Bagchi tweeted.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar, on Sunday, said that nearly 2300 evacuee Indians have reached India.

"A C-130 Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India," EAM Jaishankar tweeted.

The number reached the 2300 mark on the 8th flight however, following it, three more flights carried 229, 288 and 135 passengers respectively, taking the number of evacuees to more than 2500. The Indian government under Operation Kaveri, is set to evacuate about 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan.

Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

On Monday, Sudanese braced for more bloodshed on Monday after rival military forces accused each other of fresh violations of a ceasefire on Sunday as their deadly conflict rumbled on for a third week with no relief in sight. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15. As per the Health Ministry, at least 528 people have been killed and 4,599 wounded. The United Nations has reported a similar number of dead but believes the real toll is much higher.

Violence rocked the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur despite numerous ceasefire pledges. Together, the army and RSF toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup but are now locked in a power struggle that has derailed an internationally backed transition to democracy and is threatening to de-stabilise a fragile region.

Both sides said a formal ceasefire agreement which was due to expire at midnight would be extended for a further 72 hours, in a move the RSF said was "in response to international, regional and local calls".

(With inputs from agencies)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of his home state on the occasion of the Gujarat Sthapana Diwas or Gujarat statehood day. The Prime Minister also shared a similar greeting for the people of Maharashtra on their formation day.

In a tweet on Monday PM Modi wrote, Greetings on Gujarat Sthapana Diwas. Gujarat has made a mark due to its all round progress as well as its unique culture. I pray that the state continues to scale new heights of development in the times ahead"

Greetings on Gujarat Sthapana Diwas. Gujarat has made a mark due to its all round progress as well as its unique culture. I pray that the state continues to scale new heights of development in the times ahead.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2023

While greeting the people of Maharashtra on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, the Prime Minister wrote, Best wishes on Maharashtra Day. The state is blessed with a great culture and hardworking people who have enriched national progress across different sectors. I pray for the continued progress of Maharashtra in the years to come."

Interestingly, from 2023, Raj Bhawans across the country will also hold programmes to celebrate the foundation days of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The events are seen as part of the government's push to celebrate India's cultural diversity and different traditions.

All 28 states and 8 union territories of India will celebrate the foundation day of Maharashtra and Gujarat at their respective Raj Bhawan and Raj Nivas, news agency PTI quoted sources as saying.

The focus of these programmes will be to highlight the cultural richness and cuisines of both the states. Traditional attires of Maharashtra and Gujarat are expected to form an important part of these programmes.

The Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960 divided the state of Bombay into two separate states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The state of Bombay had mainly four major languages i.e. Marathi, Kutchi, Gujarati and Konkani. While the Marathi and Konkani-speaking populations became part of the state of Maharashtra, the Kutchi and Gujarati-speaking population became part of the state of Gujarat.
Congress leader Priyank Kharge on Monday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'nalayak' drawing the ire of BJP brass while the grand old party asserted that such a remark was never made by him. Priyank is son of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Priyank's remark comes days after Mallikarjun Kharge's "venomous snake" barb aimed at PM Modi.

Priyank, addressing a poll gathering quoted from Modi's speech and said: "When you (PM Modi) came to Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) what did you tell the people of Banjara community? "Aap sab log dariye mat. Banjara ka ek beta Dilli mein Baitha hai (You do not be afraid. A son of Banjara is sitting in Delhi)."

"Aisa nalayak beta baitha to kaise hota bhai? Ghar kaise chalega?" (If an inept son is sitting in Delhi, how can you run the family?), he asked.

Priyank, seeking reelection from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district said Modi claiming to be a son of the Banjara community and promising to take care of them was "inept" because he and his party had created confusion about reservations for the SC community.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said: "In a state of despair of losing the election, he (Priyank) has forgotten his limits. A few days ago, his father withdrew his words. Now, it's his turn. People will teach them a lesson."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday clarified that his son Priyank Kharge never made the "nalayak beta" remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that people were forcibly putting words to his mouth.

Days after Mallikarjun Kharge stoked a controversy with his "poisonous snake" remark on PM Modi, the Congress president's son Priyank Kharge on Monday outdid his father describing the holder of the country's highest officer as "nalayak beta" (useless son).

"...When PM Modi had come to Kalaburgi, he said, Aap sab dariye mat, Banjara community ka ek beta Delhi mein baitha hai (do not be scared, a son from the Banjara community is sitting in Delhi). Aisa nalayak beta baithega toh ghar kaise chalega (if the son is useless, how will the house be run)?" Priyank Kharge said.

While talking to the reporters, Kharge said, "He (Priyank Kharge) never said, don't put these things in his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him. So don't put in his mouth these words for Modi. Everywhere this is going purposely."

Amid the high-decibel campaign for the ensuing Karnataka Assembly elections, Mallikarjun Kharge's "poisonous snake" remark drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which slammed the "slanderous" statement saying it reflected the "mentality" of the principal Opposition party in the state.

"PM Modi is like a 'poisonous snake'. You might to check if its poison or not. But if you lick it, you're dead," Kharge had said at an election rally.

*With agency inputs
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi on Sunday following complaints of chest congestion, news agency ANI has reported citing sources.

He was brought to the hospital around 10.50 pm following complaints of chest congestion, sources said. The Union minister has been admitted in the Cardiac Care Unit of the Cardio Neuro Centre, they said. He is currently under observation.

(More details awaited)
Fatima Bhutto, author, activist and the granddaughter of Pakistans late prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, set a new precedent by visiting a Hindu temple in Karachi after her marriage, stirring the social media with some users praising the gesture while others wondering what was she doing there.

The intimate nikkah ceremony of Fatima, 40, niece of slain premier Benazir Bhutto and daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, took place at her grandfathers library on Friday.

Fatima and her husband, Graham Gibran stirred social media when they visited the ancient Mahadev Temple in Karachi on Sunday as a homage to Hindu Sindhis laying the roots of Karachi in ancient times.

According to media reports, Fatimas husband Grahamis an American citizen.

Accompanied by her brother Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto junior and Hindu leaders at the temple, Fatima and her husband, a Christian, poured milk over the deity as per rituals.

The gesture received a mixed response after their picture hit social media.

"Lovely to watch such images," a user with Twitter account handle 'Sindhi-Ajrak' commented on the picture.

"Lovely," another user wrote.

But many wondered what she was doing in a Hindu temple.

"What is the essence of this rasam (ritual)," a Twitter user named Kulsoom Mughal asked.

"So in Sindh secularism is to follow Hinduism," another user said.

Her brother in a tweet said that due to the difficult circumstances felt by our fellow countrymen and women, we all felt it would be inappropriate to celebrate lavishly.

Please keep Fatima and Graham (Gibran) in your prayers," he stated.

The Bhutto family has remained a formidable force in Pakistan politics but has also been hit by tragedies.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the late military dictator Zia ul Haq in April 1979 after a military coup.

His eldest daughter, Benazir Bhutto who also served as premier, was assassinated in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

Her brother Murtaza Bhutto was also killed along with six other party activists in September 1996 near the Bhuttos residence in Clifton by the police at a time when his sister was the prime minister.

Her younger brother Shahnawaz Bhutto was found dead in his apartment in France in 1985.
An Air India flight from Delhi to Kathmandu aborted landing due to a unstable approach" at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

After the unstable approach of the aircraft the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) asked the Air India pilot to go-around and after 20 minutes the flight was landed safely.

It was a go-around due to an unestablished approach," said an ANI report quoting DGCA.

Immediately after the unstable approach at Kathmandu airport the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) asked the AI pilot to go-around and after 20 minutes the flight landed safely," said the ANI report quoting sources.

A detailed report of the incident has been sent to the India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

On Saturday, an Air India flight AI346 en route to Singapore was diverted to Malaysia due to inclement weather and congestion in Singapore.

Recently, a flydubai flight had caught fire upon takeoff from Kathmandu but landed safely at Dubai International (DXB) Airport. The aircraft reportedly caught fire after the bird hit.

The crew followed a standard operating procedure and continued its journey after determining that the engine was within normal operating parameters.

(With inputs from agencies)
As the summer approaches vacation plans be be thrown for a loop by an abundance of strikes across Europe and North America. The protests range from protesting pilots to public sector workers and passport department officials - with most calling for higher wages.

An union representing around 15,000 American Airlines pilots have approved a strike mandate ahead of the busy summer travel season. They aim to put pressure on the Texas-based carrier for higher salary and better working conditions - even as the chances of an actual labor disruption remain slim. It would be hard for pilots to actually walk off their jobs because of a complex labor process in the US that makes it difficult for airline workers to strike.

Meanwhile a massive strike by Canadian civil servants came to an end (for the most part) on Monday after the government reached a deal to raise wages. Around 155,000 people began striking from April 19, leading to major delays in public services, such as processing passport and immigration applications.

ALSO READ: Canada immigrations likely to smoothen as workers end strike

Protests also raged across France on May 1 as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for labour day to vent their anger against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform. While Macron signed the change of pension age into law last month, protesters have vowed to continue agitations until it is repealed.

Several countries have warned against travel to France with flight and train cancellations marring vacation plans for over a month. Tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower have also remained closed on certain days.

The UK will see more than 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services union - including those working at passport offices - staging walkouts till May 5. Strikes are also planned during the upcomng coronation weekend. According to reports, security staff at Heathrow Airport are planning to strike strike from May 4 to 10 and again from May 25 to 26 over salary issues. The organisers insist that it will cause "mayhem". Another nearby aerodrome may also see scenes of "chaos" as security staff for Glasgow airport negotiate a pay rise.

ALSO READ: German airports go empty due to strikes

Italy will see a a nationwide 24-hour general strike on 26 May, affecting bus and tram services as well as metro lines. Significant delays and cancellations are likely to take place on the day. Cabin crew members working for Air Dolomiti - a subsidiary of Lufthansa - as well as Volotea will take part in a strike on May 19.

Meanwhile in Spain pilots working with the struggling Air Europa will go on strike between May 1 and 5 over a wage dispute. The walkout is likely to involve 340 pilots who fly from all over Europe.

Germany has also seen major disruptions in recent weeks as public sector workers negotiate salaries. The next strike is slated to happen on April 26 and will affect local public transport services in five federal states.
New Delhi: India and Germany are planning to establish a hotline to allow instant communication between senior officials and leaders, according to persons aware of the matter.

From countering security threats to coordinating on key diplomatic votes, this hotline will allow for closer coordination between the two countries. It is also a reflection of growing political trust between the two countries given that such hotlines are understood to exist with only a handful of key diplomatic partners.

India and Germany have intensified bilateral ties in recent years, with regular high-level political contact. Prime Minister Modi visited Germany for a meeting of the G7 grouping in 2022. During chancellor Olaf Scholzs visit to India in March this year both sides unveiled an expansive agenda on technology and economic ties with a focus on cutting edge tech relating to Artificial Intelligence, 5G and 6G. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has already visited India twice this year.

Both sides have also pushed the bilateral security relationship forward. Germanys Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems is interested in building submarines with India, according to Germanys Ambassador to India Phillipp Ackermann.

There is a tender and, as far as I know, TKMS is very interested in submitting a proposal. But it is clear that an undertaking of such a large dimension needs some government escort. The German government has made it very clear that they will, in some way, come to support TKMS. The conditions have to be debated and discussed but first of all, we need an offer," said Ambassador Ackermann in an interview with Mint when queried on TKMS-related submarine deal.

The country is also expected to boost its military presence in the region, according to Ackermann

We will see in the months and years to come that Germany will be more active with its partners, including India. This will certainly not be in a massive way but I think there is no doubt that the Indo-Pacific as an area that is not entirely free of tension will be on our agenda much more than it used to. We are planning for new ships to come to the Indo-Pacific. The ships will not come in the immediate future but I think over a years time we will see something on this," Ackermann said.

Mint had earlier reported that both sides are also expected to establish an standalone political dialogue related to China, in a sign of a closer political relationship between the worlds fourth and fifth largest economies.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.Adam & Eve Franchise Corporation (AEFC), a division of online retailer AdamEve.com, has announced the opening of its 101st location in Laredo, Texas. The Laredo store marks the 17th Adam & Eve location in the state of Texas.

"We continue to celebrate the success of our franchise operators, both new and existing, across Texas. Adam & Eve's store operators are predicting record growth this year, and this is a testament to our ongoing commitment to support our franchisees," said David Keegan, vice president of franchising for Adam & Eve Stores. "Laredo is a market with tremendous potential, and operators Paola and Joe Pulido believe their business complements this unique community."

"AEFC has given us a tremendous opportunity as a franchise operator in Texas," said Laredo franchise operator Paola Pulido. "The brand and name recognition of Adam & Eve combined with our experience gives us a competitive edge in Laredo. We're grateful for the opportunity to be part of the business community and for our connection to this trusted brand."

Located at 2331 Endeavor Drive, the Laredo store is open most days from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 12 to 6 p.m. on Sundays. For more information on the Laredo location, visit AdamandEveStores.com.
Turkish forces killed the head of the Islamic State last week in Aleppo province after an intense clash. The terrorist - code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi - had been appointed as the fourth caliph of the ISIL last year after the death of Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish intelligence agency had been following him for a long time".

"This is the first time I am telling this here. This person was neutralized in an operation carried out by the MIT yesterdayWe will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations without discriminating against any of them," Erdogan said during a live interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT Turk.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the border in recent years and controls large swathes of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions.

According to an AP report citing members of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces' military police, the MIT had clashed with IS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, Al-Qurayshi - who was hiding in a building on the farm - blew himself up.

He had been named leader of the militant group in October last year with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State." His tenure came at a time when the terror group had lost control of the territory it had once held in Iraq and Syria. In the past year however, the ISIL had made revival attempts with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by US forces during a 2019 raid, followed by a similar attack in 2022 that killed his successorAbu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. Following the latter's death in February last year, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi led the group for a scant few months until his death in October 2022.

They are believed to be unrelated and operating under assumed names. Al-Qurayshi comes from Quraish - the name of the tribe to which Islams Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and al-Qurayshi" serves as part of an IS leaders nom de guerre.

(With inputs from agencies)
To help evacuate American citizens stranded Sudan since fighting broke out earlier this month, the United States has sent a fast-transport Navy ship to Sudan, news agency Reuters reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said the USNS Brunswick was in Port Sudan temporarily. Hundreds of the American citizens are likely to be evacuated on the fast-transport vessel.

Separately, the British government too said, it has also arranged an extra evacuation flight from Port Sudan to evacuation its stranded citizens from the violence-hit African country.

The flight is set to depart on May 1, the British government said, adding that the government has evacuated 2,122 people so far.

The British government said it was no longer running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield, near Khartoum, due to a decline in demand by British nationals, and as the situation on the ground remains volatile.

"Our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan. We continue to do everything in our power to secure a long-term ceasefire, a stable transition to civilian rule and an to end the violence in Sudan," foreign minister James Cleverly said in a statement.

India too brought home another batch of 269 people on Sunday under its mission to evacuate stranded Indians from the violence-hit Sudan.

A C-130J Indian Airforce flight landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers and another batch of 229 evacuees arrived from another flight in Bengaluru. India has so far evacuate around 2300 people from the violence-hit African country.

A C-130J Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2300 people have reached India" external affairs minister S Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.

#OperationKaveri developments.



A C-130J Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2300 people have reached India. pic.twitter.com/kDcx13a40i  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 30, 2023

Meanwhile, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) extended the humanitarian truce on Sunday for 72 hours and the truce will last for three days starting from midnight.

"In response to international, regional and local calls, we announce the extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours, starting from midnight tonight, in order to open humanitarian corridors and facilitate the movement of citizens and residents and enable them to fulfil their needs and reach safe areas," the spokesman said in a statement.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted into conflict on April 15.
The suspected leader of the Islamic State group has been killed in Syria in an operation carried out by Turkey's MIT intelligence agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

"The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria," he announced on television.

The Islamic State group announced the death of its previous leader, Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, on November 30, replacing him with Abu Hussein al-Qurashi.

An AFP correspondent in northern Syria said Turkish intelligence agents and local military police, backed by Turkey had on Saturday sealed off a zone in Jindires, in the northwest region of Afrine.

Residents told AFP that an operation had targeted an abandoned farm that was being used as an Islamic school.

The United States carried out a helicopter raid in northern Syria in an operation in mid-April, saying the Islamic State group had been planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.

US Central Command said they had killed a senior leader of the IS group in the operation.

Despite having been driven out of much of the territory it once controlled, the Islamic State group still launches attacks in Syria.
After more than 30 years growing crops on the plains of northern China, a farmer who asked to be identified as Zhang is struggling over what to plant in the coming months. President Xi Jinpings government has just one answer: sow more soy.

In the latest drive to bolster food security in a nation that accounts for about one-fifth of humanity but only one-tenth of its arable land, China is pressing farmers to increase soybean production, using a combination of subsidies, government stockpiling and public pressure. Like generations of Chinese leaders before him, Xi sees the countrys reliance on food imports as a national security issue and soy is one of the weakest links.

Food securitys gotten more important," said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder and market research director of Sitonia Consulting, a China-based agricultural information service provider. It was always important when it came to basic grains like corn, wheat and rice. But now the concerns are extending more into soybeans."

Yet the risks of those policies, even when they serve Beijings goals, fall heavily on millions of farmers like Zhang: last year, following the advice of her local agricultural bureau, she grew soy alongside her regular corn crop, but the herbicide she used on the soybeans killed off the corn.

Basically the soybeans were planted for nothing," Zhang said.

Those kinds of tradeoffs wont stop the governments drive. A trade war with the US, as well as disruptions to food supply chains from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russias war in Ukraine, mean China is doubling down on efforts to bolster domestic food production.

Chinas government for decades has struggled to balance competing demands when it comes to food production, with sometimes devastating consequences. The Great Famine of the late 1950s and early 1960s killed tens of millions after Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong sought to mandate collective farming and food distribution.

Its a period many in Chinas older generation  including Xi  still have memories of. The peoples rice bowl" must be firmly held at all times, Xi said in 2013. At the same event, he discussed how he could only drink soup for dinner during three years of natural disasters," because there was not enough food.

We cant forget about the pain after the scar heals," Xi said.

Today China relies on imports for over 80% of its soybean consumption, with those purchases concentrated in a few key countries led by Brazil and the US. The nations low self-sufficiency for a crop used in everything from animal feed to cooking oil is seen as a critical vulnerability, according to the government. In staples like wheat and rice, China is generally able to feed itself, though imports of wheat have been surging.

Cheaper Imports

The economics of Beijings approach arent favorable. For the plan to work, the government needs soybeans to be expensive enough to induce planting, but cheap enough to lure soybean crushers into buying from local farmers. Yet as of April, imported beans were more than 20% cheaper than domestic beans. And soybean crushers have been struggling to make a profit processing even the imported beans, due to weak domestic demand from pork producers.

That means the extra beans China managed to churn out last year struggled to find a market. With output in 2022 surging more than 20%, domestic soybean prices fell 15% since harvest time and have remained low. The government blamed the drop on a larger domestic crop than expected and weak demand.

With government stockpiling efforts expected to have ended in April, future demand could fall even further.

Every hectare of soybeans could mean less planting of more productive corn crops, requiring more imports.

Chinas soybean yield averages 130 kilograms per mu (0.07 hectare), a unit of measurement common in China. Thats far below the productivity found in the US or Brazil, and compares with 430 kilograms for a similar-sized plot of corn. The government is working with different regions on soybean varieties it hopes will boost productivity, but the goals are still a long ways away from being competitive.

Grain Security Risk

For now, with lower yields, it means that these soybean seeds are reducing productivity" compared to other food crops, said Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants. If you expand planting of these seeds, you are creating bigger food security issues."

The data show that shift may already be under way. Chinas corn imports more than doubled to a record in 2020, then nearly quadrupled in 2021, according to US Department of Agriculture data. That move came as more farmers switched to growing soybeans from corn in the top growing regions.

Planting more soybeans, and less higher-yielding corn, doesnt that imply a higher grain security risk," asked Ma.

With the new planting season about to kick off, soybeans still dont look commercially attractive, farmers, analysts and traders said.

In the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, farmer Wang Lei has decided to double his corn planting this year to about 400 mu, which converts to about 27 hectares.

I am not considering soybeans as output is low and profits not as good as corn," Wang said.

Hes not alone.

Planting intention is not looking great for soybeans, as the profits are still thin," said Bian Tingting, an analyst with Mysteel Group, a commodities-focused data service. Demand is very flat and there is no sign of that improving immediately  if the stockpiling stops, prices are expected to drop further."

Ambitious Targets

Officially, however, China aims to expand soybean planting acreage by another 10 million mu in the new year, up 6% from 2022, with the goal of about 30% self sufficiency by 2032.

We will be anchored with our target, overcome challenges and conquer difficulties," the agriculture ministry said.

For Zhang, the experience of seeing her corn crop die from the misapplied herbicide last year was scarring. But her local agriculture bureau is pressing her to try again.

I might still grow soybeans," she said.
Man is a survivor. Surviving wars, diseases, communism, imperialism, machines and automation, humankind will probably endure the economic onslaught of Artificial Intelligence (AI), even against doomsday scenarios predicted by the likes of Elon Musk ( bit.ly/3AGJg8N ). But is that where concerns around AI end?

Ever since it sprung from tech-intelligent fora to our mobile phones in the form of ChatGPT, AI is suddenly as real as it can get. Within months of its launch, besides its mass adoption, reams of digital paper have also been spent documenting its superhuman uses, promoting it as a quick-fix panacea to all problems involving a faculty that computers had not breached till just nowCritical Thinking. Technology, to date, could digitize and reproduce innumerable books. Still, the ability to skim through thousands of written words to produce an original formulation, until recently, was under the sole purview of humans. That barrier has been breached. Now there are enough screenshots and videos to show the magical tricks it can pull out of a hat, from market analysis, decryption of Fedspeak (on.ft.com/3Hryx60) and sentiment analysis to book summaries, financial planning, website building, economics research, etc. It thinks, plans, decides outcomes, creates sub-tasks and auto-downloads resources to fulfil them.

Amidst this flurry, let us not forget that AI is human-ordained. Creativity, in its truest essence, was divinely bestowed on us. What AI today does, at best, it does by leveraging the output of human creativity over thousands of years. Words, music and art are all made by humans and learnt by AI. Now, as we stand at a juncture where the winning entry in the Sony world photography contest (bit.ly/3VzCk7f), unknown to its judges, was AI-generated, we are looking at a different creative futureone thats hard to predict.

Man is surely a survivor. AI is surely a gargantuan computing force. Neither is an immaculate predictor of the future. More so when, time and again, an emphasis on economic consequences precludes a discussion around social ones. The economic fears about job losses are not misplaced. As someone recently told us, ChatGPT is like a smart intern." Basic copy editing, content creation, websites and research tasks can be outsourced to AI even today, let alone after humanity has put its heads together to make it reach the stars. Musk already says that a universal basic income (bit.ly/3LHnS9B) will have to become a reality as some jobs turn obsolete. In a consumerist pro-profit market, with requirements of short timelines and a large quantity of work, AI is like manna for its users. This parallels the human story, as machines first replaced manual workending many jobs, but creating many more.

But, this time, the survival instinct of man will be tested against the self-spawning and thinking power of machines. Earlier, technology did our bidding. This time, we are not sure.

The use of machines freed humans to pursue more thoughtful ideas. It seemed sweet, but look at us today. We generate more stuff than we can consumemountains of content, for example, of poor quality. Already, the attention span of a young adult is a fleeting moment. We struggle to find that one rare virtue that will soon be in demand once our AI lords start producing driveldiscernment.

Unlike the tech of yesteryears, AI has a quality similar to bio-particles, a la the covid virus. It can decide for itself and self-propagate, which can lead to catastrophic consequences in the absence of discernment. Meanwhile, free from the necessity to think even basic things through, humans will have a lot of time. But is that good for humanity? Most kids today find it difficult to produce a beautifully written or thoughtfully analysed work, let alone written by hand. With AI at their disposal, mandated by the labour productivity generation required by corporates, their learning curves can be packed in suitcases and put away.

All good things take patience and focus, like the works of Tolstoy, Valmiki, Shakespeare. Or paintings by Rembrandt and calculus by Newton. It is this base that AI is learning from today, but 50 years down the line, in the absence of a human creativity-facilitative ecosystem, will AI learning from AI be good for us?

Humans and accountability have had an interesting relationship. If distance from direct action is mapped on the X-axis of a graph and accountability on Y, the farther humans are on the X count, the less they feel directly accountable. This is seen in the Nuremberg trials for war crimes, or the Trolley problem (bit.ly/40R0ECq). We already know this through our everyday experience: think of a signature in ink versus a digi-sign versus checking an I agree box. With further action-distancing as AI takes decisions, we remove ourselves from the ethical compunctions we would have if we were the deciders. Say, for an improve firm profitability" instruction, AI sub-tasks the termination of 50 employees. Advanced intelligence without discernment is a potentially lethal weapon, even in the human case, let alone if the AI is opaque (on.ft.com/3AEadKm) and data-corruptible.

We asked ChatGPT what it thinks about the disadvantages of AI. The top answer was lack of creativity and intuition", followed by ethical concerns". That should be a signal. AI is a great tool so long as humans with a conscience are its master.

V. Anantha Nageswaran & Aparajita Tripathi are, respectively, chief economic adviser to the Government of India and director with KPMG.These are the authors personal views.
SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

It's no secret that San Antonio is growing and growing as more people move to the city. Penske Truck Rental proved San Antonio is an attractive city by listing it in its Top 10 ranking for best-moving destinations.

The rental truck company compiled its ranking by looking at which city received the most inbound one-way consumer rentals in 2022. San Antonio was listed as No. 9, according to the study released on Thursday, April 27. The Alamo City was one of the three Texas cities named. Houston topped the list, while Austin took the last spot in the Top 10 list.
Courtesy/U.S. Border Patrol

A man said he smuggled marijuana through the Rio Grande to make money for his family, according to an arrest affidavit.

Javier Silva-Macias was arrested on the charges of possess with intent to distribute marijuana and conspire to possess with intent to distribute the marijuana.
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A man has been arrested for his involvement in a failed smuggling attempt that killed the alleged smuggler and three migrants from Guatemala in February in the City of Rio Bravo, an arrest affidavit states.

Marcos Adrian Garcia was charged with transport, attempt to transport and conspire to transport the migrants.

The case dates back to Feb. 25. At about 3:40 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Laredo South Station responded to a report of a group of migrants being transported in Rio Bravo.

An agent activated his units emergency lights when he spotted a blue Chrysler 300 traveling east on Espejo Molina Road. The Chrysler sped off and took an immediate turn, causing the agent to lose sight of the vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit.

The agent kept driving on Paseo del Tiber Road and saw a large cloud of dust. He observed that the Chrysler had rolled over in the 1100 block of Paseo del Tiber with several casualties, states the affidavit.

The rollover resulted in the death of a U.S. Citizen driver and three migrants from Guatemala. The Webb County Sheriffs Office would identify the driver as Jose Guadalupe Guzman, 20.

The driver was believed to be smuggling undocumented citizens at the time of the pursuit. A total of six (migrants) were located at the rollover site. One (migrant) was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two other (migrants) were pronounced deceased at local hospitals, states the affidavit.

Three other migrants who survived suffered significant injuries and were all hospitalized. Homeland Security Investigations special agents responded to the crash scene to investigate. Special agents spoke to a person on sight who claimed to be the stepfather of Guzman.

He provided his contact information to special agents. Authorities then noticed a white Ford F-150 outside the perimeter of the crash site. A special agent approached the vehicle and encountered three occupants, who were identified as Garcia, his brother and uncle.

The brothers described themselves as good friends of Guzman. Garcia, his brother and the uncle provided their phone numbers to HSI Laredo.

During the investigation, special agents discovered that the Chrysler used in the fatal human smuggling attempt was registered to Garcia. Special agents collected evidence from the debris, including a traffic citation issued to Garcia on Feb. 24, according to court documents.

HSI Laredo submitted a subpoena for the subscriber information and tolls for Garcia, Guzman, the brother and uncle. Subscriber information for the phone provided by Garcia showed Guzman as the financial liable party and the user of the phone, court documents state.

Tolls from the phone number showed communication and attempted communication among Garcia, Guzman and an unknown contact in the immediate hours leading to the vehicle crash at about 3:40 a.m., according to the affidavit.

Special agents determined that Garcia and the unknown contact were working simultaneously as scouts for Guzman. Further investigation revealed that Guzman attempted to communicate with Garcia when he was spotted by the Border Patrol unit.

Garcia was then identified as the top contact for Guzman. On March 13, Garcia entered the United States via the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. He was referred to secondary inspection. Special agents interviewed Garcia. He provided written consent to search his phone.

A forensic search of Garcias phone showed that Garcia sent four videos via WhatsApp of the crash that killed Guzman to a known human smuggler believed to be the coordinator of the failed human smuggling attempt, according to court documents.
Courtesy/Google Maps

A man was fatally stabbed at the Love's Travel Stop on Mines Road, according to Laredo police.

At about 5 a.m. Saturday, police responded to the Love's Travel Stop on 101 Pinnacle Road for an aggravated assault report.
A man was shot at a ranch on Texas 359 over an intimate moment his girlfriend had with the suspect, according to the Webb County Sheriffs Office.

Raymond Martin Gutierrez II, 51, was served with arrest warrants on April 13 charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on bond the same day, according to Webb County Jail records.

At about 2 a.m. April 12, a Sheriffs Office investigator received information that a shooting had occurred at The Willy South Ranch on Texas 359 and that the person shot was already being transported to Laredo Medical Center via ambulance.

The injured 36-year-old male was in stable condition and responsive. Asked who had shot him, the complainant stated, Raymond, the owner of the ranch, states the arrest affidavit.

A 27-year-old woman stated she is the current girlfriend of the man that was shot. She stated she had been speaking to him about "an intimate moment" she had with Gutierrez a few weeks prior, authorities said.

She stated that the male and Gutierrez had spoken earlier in the evening, and she thought that Gutierrez had told the male about the "intimate moment," court documents state.

The male asked her to tell him everything that had occurred, including details she might have left out. Thinking that Gutierrez had already told him, she told the male that Gutierrez had gone down on her but that they did not have sex, the affidavit states.

The male then told her that she was done with her and that he was leaving. Gutierrez then walked from the side of the residence with a handgun.

Gutierrez pointed the firearm at the male while the male was inside his BMW. Gutierrez told him to step out of the vehicle. When the male refused, Gutierrez shot him once in the right forearm-torso area, according to court documents.

The male exited his vehicle in an attempt to escape toward the brush. Gutierrez then fired two more shots. When the woman tried to interfere, Gutierrez pointed the firearm at her and told her, Move or Ill shoot you too, the affidavit states.
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Gov. Greg Abbott is receiving heavy criticism for his response to a Houston-area mass shooting that left five people dead. Francisco Oropesa is accused of fatally shooting five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, near Cleveland, Texas. As authorities have seemingly reached a dead end in their search of the suspect after more than two days of searching, the Republican leader announced on Sunday that he is offering a reward of $50,000 is being offered for information on Oropesa's whereabouts.

Abbott also referred to the victims as "illegal immigrants," and noted that Oropesa is undocumented. "I've announced $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday," Abbott wrote on Twitter, attaching a press release with the announcement. As of Monday, a Twitter Community Note was added to the tweet noting that at least one of the dead was a legal resident of the U.S. Law enforcement have described all five victims as being from Honduras but have not confirmed their immigration status.

On Sunday, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers choked up as he told media: "My heart is with this 8-year-old little boy. I don't care if he was here legally. I don't care if he was here illegally. He was in my county. Five people died in my county, and that is where my heart isin my county, protecting my people to the best of our ability."

In response to Abbott's tweet, Carlos Eduardo Espina, an immigrant rights activist, shared a photo of an ID he claimed belonged to one of the victims and confirmed that she was a permanent resident of the U.S. "But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an 'illegal immigrant.' Shameful," Espina wrote.

Also among those who condemned Abbott's statement was State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, Texas. "A new low for @GregAbbott_TX who continues to do nothing to keep #Texas from #GunViolence," Gutierrez tweeted. "Greg, how was an undocumented person able to abtain an AR-15 in the first place? I'll tell you why. It's because you and other Republicans have made safe gun laws nonexistent."

Actor George Takei replied to Abbott's tweet: "This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath you. But I was wrong."

Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar tweeted: "They were part of a family, @GregAbbott_TXand one of the victims was a child. What a disgusting lack of compassion and humanity."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also blasted Abbott's statement, tweeting: "5 innocent lives lost to gun violence. TX @GovAbbott decides to dehumanize & delegitimize the lives of those killed in this horrific attack by calling them 'illegal' immigrants. Just horrible. Thoughts are with the families and the survivors during this difficult time."

Shannon Watts, gun violence prevention activist and founder of Moms Demand Action, said Abbott was attempting to "dehumanize the victims" and responded by sharing their photos, including of 9-year-old victim Daniel Enrique Laso.

Abbott's office appears to be walking back on his characterization of the victims. In an emailed statement, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said following the shooting on Friday night, federal officials provided information on Oropesa and the victims, including that they were undocumented.

"Any loss of life is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the families who have lost a loved one," Eze wrote. "We've since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally. We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal."

Eze said Abbott's office continues to work with federal, state, and local officials to provide all available resources to catch and arrest Oropesa, including offering a combined $80,000 in rewards for information. "The true focus remains on catching this heinous criminal who killed five innocent people and bringing the full weight of Texas law against him," she wrote. "For those with any information, please call the Texas Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 252- TIPS (800)-252-8477)."
boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images

Harris County and Cypress-Fairbanks first responders were on the scene Sunday afternoon after a fire broke out at the Traders Village flea market, approximately 20 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted around 1:15 p.m. that the fire began in one vendor stall, and traffic by North Eldridge Parkway and West Road was gridlocked due to road closures.

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office later tweeted around 1:30 p.m. that the fire was contained to one building, affecting about 24 vendors. One firefighter had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation but was in stable condition.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced a week-long "large-scale" nuclear training exercise with multiple law enforcement agencies occurring in southeast Houston from Monday, May 1, to Friday, May 5.

"REMINDER: A large-scale, multi-agency nuclear incident training exercise begins today in southeast Houston and Harris County. The training exercise DOES NOT pose risks to area residents. Please do not be alarmed by training-related activity," FBI Houston tweeted Monday.
The Texas House passed a bill on Thursday that would effectively decriminalize marijuana in the Lone Star State. The bill will now await consideration by the Senate.

The House vote on HB 218 comes after the House Jurisprudence committee approved the bill by a unanimous bipartisan vote in March.

The House's 87-59 vote on Thursday followed a preliminary approval of the bill from the chamber the day before, according to Marijuana Moment's Kyle Jaeger.

HB 218, authored by Democratic Rep. Joe Moody, would "make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, removing the risk of jail time and instead imposing a maximum fine of $500," per Marijuana Moment's Jaeger. "Existing law classifies possession of small amounts of cannabis as a Class B misdemeanor, which carries penalties of up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine," Jaeger continued in a Tuesday morning dispatch.

Basically, the person is given a ticket, goes to court, theyre assessed a fine, then the court tells them, Youve got six months to pay and you need to stay out of trouble during that time, Moody, who chairs the committee, said during a March hearing on the bill.

The Texas House of Representatives passed similar proposals to decriminalize weed during the 2019 and 2021 legislative sessions, but both ended up dying in the Texas Senate. Moody's HB 218 pulls elements from both of Texas' most recent stabs at marijuana decriminalization together into one bill, according to Marijuana Moment's Tom Angell.
The Federal Trade Commission is warning of a new scam that allows callers to use just five seconds of your voice to duplicate it and cheat your loved ones out of money.
By Azernews

Rena Murshud

The rising Western interests in the processes in the South Caucasus is quite noticeable. Azerbaijan's recently installed check point at the conventional border with Armenia has caused serious discussions and even concern of the West. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's phone call to President Ilham Aliyev is particularly related to the recent events.

It is interesting that the United States is very active in speeding up peace negotiations at such a moment. And in the telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan, the US side discussed this with both Azerbaijan Armenia and emphasized that official Washington will spare no effort in this matter.

Having expressed his concern over Azerbaijan's newly established checkpoint on the Lachin road, Blinken expressed hope that the road will soon be opened for trade and civilians. However, forgot to mention the provocations that have taken place until then.

"I don't think that after 30 years of occupation policy it will be easy to sign an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We see that the leading countries, including the former Minsk Groups, are actually cosseting Armenia."

This was told by the professor of the Department of Political Sciences Fikrat Sadikhov in a comment for Azernews, while discussing Blinken's phone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.

"During the last telephone conversation, despite the fact that Blinken once again expressed his concern, the head of our state outlined the position of Azerbaijan, which is full of evidence. We do not expect such a result from a state like the United States, which speaks of international law and educates the principles of justice. This approach is not suitable for the leading country. On the contrary, they should not deny the truth, but speak it. Of course, the signing of a peace agreement is not expected in the near future. However, the Azerbaijani side put forward 5 principles and stated that it is always ready for peace," the political analyst said.

As regards provocation attempts that might be committed by Armenia in future, Sadikhov said that it was expressed on both ideological and diplomatic levels.

"France declares that we allegedly blocked the road to Lachin, Armenians cannot go there. All these are blatant lies. The French MFA made the same statement when he came to Baku. Azerbaijan, by stating its position sufficiently, brought full clarity to the issue." he added.

According to the expert, Russia considers itself the main player in the region. The declaration, signed on November 10, was prepared with the participation of Russia.

"In my opinion, we are not responsible to anyone and no one can own us. The main thing is to sign an agreement that meets our interests," he said.

Commenting on the recent fair decisions and steps taken by Azerbaijan, he stated that Azerbaijan has taken quite resolutive steps.

"We have liberated our lands from occupation and are ready to negotiate at the diplomatic level. We also declare that, undoubtedly, we have defended and will continue to defend the rights of ethnic Karabakh Armenians. Despite various provocations and statements from other countries, we will not deviate from our principled position. Because our position complies with the norms of international law and at the same time meets the national interests of the Azerbaijani state," he concluded.
The practice of helping businesses to stay and grow in Flagstaff is one that requires a deep and broad level of engagement with all businesses from the first-time startup to the global community partners, which provides unique perspectives on the trajectory of entire community. Local businesses seek to survive and thrive in locations that meet their business needs and are also places that the owners and the employees want to call home. There is a natural tension between affordability and desirability. Flagstaff is a highly desirable place to live and yet for decades we have participated in community dialogues about affordability. According to Kiplingers, Harlingen Texas, located in the southernmost tip of Texas near the Rio Grande and Gulf of Mexico, is the cheapest place to live in the USA, but with 24.7% of their population living below the poverty line, it may not be particularly desirable.

118.7. That is the cost-of-living index of Flagstaff. Considering that the cost-of-living index for the state of Arizona is 106.4, the numbers present a certain tension.

The Bed, Board, and Beverage (BBB) revenues are up to $11,466,072 for 2022 which indicates that people want to visit Flagstaff and spend their hard-earned money in our hotels, restaurants, and bars. This current value represents a 93.96% increase in those revenues between 2013 and 2022. Contributing to that strong BBB revenue for 2022 is the fact that Flagstaff has a minimum wage that is $2.90 more than the rest of the state of Arizona. A minimum wage of $16.80 amounts to $18.21 for the employer when costs such as federal unemployment, social security, and state unemployment are included. While such true costs may be good for the BBB revenues they are also challenging to local independent businesses and to the area high school students looking for their first job experience. With all of these challenges, real and perceived, Flagstaff still ranks very high in terms of quality of life and quality of place.

Our four-season community is blessed with award winning kindergarten through career (K-Career) education facilities and more outdoor activities than one could do in a month; Flagstaff is highly desirable, and many businesses continue to ChooseFlagstaff.com again and again. Joy Cone Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of ice cream cones. Their western operations reside right here in Flagstaff and while they currently employ almost 200 people, they are in the process of expanding adding up to 85,000 square feet which will also result in their hiring more people as well. As one of the largest employers in the region, Joy Cone Company jobs provide the jobs that make it possible for almost 200 families to call Flagstaff home. Also, the largest healthcare provider for all of northern Arizona, Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH)-Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC) is poised to build a state-of-the-art facility adjacent to Fort Tuthill and the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport on approximately 180 acres west of I-17. The new facility will also include a variety of support services and facilities plus medical/healthcare research and development.

Startup businesses are also doing very well in Flagstaff. The campus at Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology known as NACET (nay-set) is currently running at 70% occupancy. Moonshot @ NACET is the leadership team that is working with the startups that are filling the business incubator and accelerator. In the face of tension and challenge, businesses large and small are thriving in Flagstaff. Construction permits also provide some insight into the state of things in Flagstaff. In 2017 there were a total of 1,529 construction permits issued. Fast forward to 2022 when there were 2,489! That represents a 162.7% increase. As you can see, there a number of markers that suggest Flagstaff is a good bet.

Business Attraction & Development

As Flagstaff looks to the future, smart development will be a key factor to ensuring our communities excellent quality of life. From public infrastructure, good jobs, and most importantly workforce housing, Flagstaff has a great need for all these facets to ensure a prosperous economy. Lets take a look at some recent successes towards these goals and what we can expect on the horizon.

This year has been exceptional for economic development in the City of Flagstaff and for Northern Arizona. Continued partnership with key organizations and partners have helped bring high quality employment opportunities and low impact businesses to our growing mountain town. Over 480 new business licenses were issued this year, many of which were small business oriented, which is the beating heart of our economy in Flagstaff.

The attraction of some of our communities favorite chains also occurred with the much anticipated construction of In N Out beginning this month, and the arrival of businesses like Bosa Donuts, Home Goods, and many others. Flagstaff also continues to advance job creation in key targeted sectors such as manufacturing, with the expected arrival of KC HiLites scheduled to open later this year.

Looking to the future, Flagstaff shows no signs of slowing down with key developments working their way through the citys planning process. City staff continues to work towards partnering on the development of 32 acres geared towards manufacturing and research and development space that will be located adjacent to the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. There also are over 1,800 acres as well as 5,000+ dwelling units that are currently working their way through the development pipeline or are already under construction!

As development and job creation continue to occur, needed public infrastructure will take center stage as the city plans for smart expansion to accommodate our growing population. Projects like the Lone Tree overpass and the development of the John Weasley Powell corridor will be focused areas as Flagstaff looks to create additional transportation corridors and growth areas for our residents. These growth areas coupled with newly planned subdivisions and other multi-family developments will begin to tackle the ever important need of workforce housing for our community.

With all this on the horizon, it will be important for the City of Flagstaff to continue to assist in the facilitation of smart growth and development that not only coincides with but matches our community character. The economic development team will continue their work to attract, retain, and expand businesses that generate high quality job opportunities for our residents that bolster the Flagstaff economy. Transportation and housing solutions will also continue to take precedent as our communitys demand for these key needs directly influences the quality of life for all Flagstaffians. There is still much work to be done, but the economic outlook for 2023 and beyond for Flagstaff is both confident and exciting.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: May 01 2023

According to detectives, the victim received a phone call from an unknown male claiming to be a police officer who stated that her daughter was arrested and needed $9800 for bail.

Seventh Squad Detectives report the details of a Grand Larceny/Elder Scam that occurred on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 11:00 am in Massapequa.

According to detectives, a female, 86, received a phone call from an unknown male claiming to be a police officer. The unknown male stated that the victims daughter was arrested and needed $9800 for bail.

The victim was then connected to another unknown male claiming to be a public defender. The unknown male subject told the victim to withdraw the $9800 from the bank and contact him when she had the money. The victim complied and an unknown female subject arrived at her residence to pick up the money. The female subject left the scene with the cash in a white Toyota Sienna.

The following day the victim spoke to family members and was informed that her daughter had not been arrested.

The female subject is described as an Asian woman in her thirties.

The Nassau County Police Department urges the community to be on alert and to remind vulnerable family members, friends and neighbors about potential scams or fraud.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: May 01 2023

Investigators say Cary M. Youngs, 28, traveled to an agreed location to meet with what he believed to be a 13-year-old for the purpose of sex.

On April 27, 2023, State Police Investigators of Latham arrested Cary M. Youngs, 28, of Hamburg, NY, for Assault in the Second Degree, Attempted Rape in the Second Degree, Attempted Criminal Sex Act in the Second Degree, Patronizing a Person for Prostitution in the Second Degree, Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree, Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle and multiple Vehicle and Traffic Law Violations.

On April 27, 2023 at about 11:59 a.m. Investigators attempted to arrest Youngs with the assistance of Troop G Computer Crimes Unit (CCU), the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). During an investigation, it was determined that Youngs made arrangements and had traveled from the Buffalo area to an agreed location in Colonie, NY, to meet with what he believed to be a 13-year-old for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

When attempts were made to take him into custody, Youngs fled in his vehicle. A pursuit was initiated which traversed several of Colonies roadways, lasting approximately 13 minutes. Youngs eventually pulled over and was taken into custody without incident in the area of Troy Schenectady Road in Colonie, NY, with the assistance of the Colonie Police Department, and the Albany County Sheriffs Office.

Youngs was transported to SP Latham for processing. He was arraigned at the Colonie Town Court and released on his own recognizance by the court.
Arts & Culture

By Chris Boyle Published: May 01 2023

Eight Uniondale Scholars Grades 5-12 Selected.

Uniondale Union Free School District has announced that eight Uniondale scholars have been selected to have their artwork displayed virtually at the New York State Art Teachers Association Legislative Student Art Exhibit. This is the 33rd annual exhibit which features artwork from scholars K-12 across New York State.

Congratulations to the eight scholars selected by the New York State Art Teachers Association to have their artwork displayed at the Legislative Student Art Exhibit, said Mr. Kelvin Jenkins, Director of Fine and Performing Arts. For our scholars to receive this prestigious recognition is a testament to their skills and dedication to the arts.

Uniondale scholars artwork spanned a wide range of mediums, and subject areas include abstract art, sculptures, still life and more.

Uniondale congratulates the following scholars for having their artwork displayed in the exhibit:

Nathaneal Flood, 5th grader at Walnut Street Elementary School

Maria Ramos Gonzalez, 5th grader at Walnut Street Elementary SchoolAmber Gill, 7th grader at Turtle Hook Middle School

Chynue Lindo Midy, 7th grader at Turtle Hook Middle School

Juliana Salazar, 9th grader at Uniondale High School

Philicia Roye, 9th grader at Uniondale High SchoolKarla Guevara Carrillo, 12th grader at Uniondale High School

Anais Arriola, 12th grader at Uniondale High School

Uniondale School Districts Fine Arts curriculum embodies the central belief that appreciation of the arts is a life-long attribute. It is Uniondales intent that by teaching various forms of art, scholars will discover culture, history, aesthetics, critiquing and develop real-life connections to art both in and out of school.

The exhibit is open for viewing through February 2024 at www.nysata.org/legislative- exhibit.

For more information about Uniondale Union Free School District, please visit the districts website at https://district. uniondaleschools.org/ and like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ uniondalek12.
Everyone wants good health care. No question about it. But is the proposal to move Flagstaff Medical Center from its current location to the edge of town good for the health of the community? We cant know given the information we have.

We do not yet have an objective analysis of how the hospital move will impact the overall well-being of our community. The only information we have comes almost entirely from Northern Arizona Healthcare and represents the hospitals interests.

We need an independent, comprehensive assessment of how and whether a new hospital on the periphery of town will benefit or harm the community. Until that information is available, we urge Council to postpone a decision on NAHs proposal.

Healthcare is a public good. Unlike other businesses or nonprofits, the hospital is at the center of a web of social and economic relations. A move from its current location has ramifications for thousands of people involved in some aspect of healthcare. For this reason, an unbiased community needs assessment is warranted.

A community needs assessment, conducted by a neutral party, will be able to help us answer the following questions:

 Why is a consolidation or district model better than the current outpatient or ambulatory model Flagstaff has now, where patients receive medical care outside of the hospital? Out-patient, ambulatory care has been embraced by many hospitals  including FMC  precisely because it provides healthcare at a fraction of the cost and time required by in-hospital care.

 How will a consolidation approach affect the many medical providers whose practices -- orthopedics, radiology, pediatrics, surgical services, etc.  are currently located on Hospital Hill? Will we lose medical providers who operate independently? Will the offices and complexes currently occupied by these providers become empty and drain the area of its economic and social vitality?

 NAHs proposal includes an increase of 30 beds, more private and upgraded rooms, and redesigned space for the use of new, high-tech equipment. Is it possible to achieve these same goals through renovation and expansion of the current hospital rather than building an entirely new facility? This would save on infrastructure expenses, including the substantial ones related to widening Beulah Avenue, funding a new fire station, and providing public transit. It would avoid the enormous environmental impacts related to building a new hospital on the periphery. And by remaining in the center of town, it would avoid the untold economic and social consequences of hollowing out a part of the citys core. When these elements are factored into the equation, does renovation look like a better all-round option?

 The commitment to community wellness is part of a national shift in medicine, intended to keep costs down by encouraging healthy lifestyles. We are fortunate to live in a city that ranks in the top 100 livable cities in the country with an outstanding urban trail system, easy access to outdoor recreation, and clean air and pristine drinking water. Our pressing community health issues have to do with homelessness, unaffordable housing, food insecurity, social isolation, insufficient wages, and mental distress. Added to these are the health impacts of carbon intensity. These are health issues that require well-integrated community systems. Are they better addressed by a free-standing hospital complex located on the outskirts of town or by a hospital that is situated within a neighborhood and surrounded by established community organizations with an expertise in these health-related issues?

 Flagstaff has a great many needs and limited financial ability to meet those needs. It is no small matter that NAHs proposal comes with significant costs to the City of Flagstaff, including half the capital cost of a new fire station and yearly staffing costs of $1.4 million dollars. How does NAHs proposal align with the Citys priorities, especially those related to overall community wellbeing (e.g., affordable housing, carbon neutrality, water, etc.)?

Hospitals all over the country are recognizing their responsibility to improve community health and intentionally strengthen the neighborhoods in which they reside. NAHs proposal to build a new hospital complex, removed from the city core, is an exception to what most hospitals are doing. It is also an exception to the commitment of our Regional Plan to maintain vibrant neighborhoods and avoid sprawl. After many hours of respectful deliberation, our Planning and Zoning Commission denied NAHs request for rezoning. Council should give P&Zs decision careful consideration as it evaluates whether this proposal merits the exceptions being requested.

While NAH is eager to move forward as quickly as possible, we urge Council to postpone any decision until an independent, comprehensive analysis of the impacts of NAHs proposal on the health and well-being of the community at large has been conducted. We need to get this right, for ourselves and for future generations. An objective, thorough, and holistic community health assessment will benefit all of us.
If You Go

The Manchester Selectboard and Planning Commission are holding a joint hearing on a communications tower proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Road.

STREAMING: Greater Northshire Access Television, on its Facebook and YouTube channels, on its website (click on government meetings), and on cable channel 1087.

ZOOM: https://drm.zoom.us/j/5676278864?pwd=aGt6aWwvWDY0eEovS3NqQmU5S0ZyUT09

Password: H8gew5

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +16468769923,5676278864# or +16469313860,5676278864#

Or log into Zoom and use the following: Meeting ID: 567 627 8864, Password: H8gew5
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has asked the public in general to practice fire safety precautions to avoid losses of lives and property due to structural fires.

Abalos also urged the Bureau of Fire Protection to press its fire safety awareness campaign to ensure that communities and households are safe the whole year round.

Abalos made the appeal amid a series of fire incidents in Metro Manila and in the provinces.

The DILG and the BFP strongly reminded the public to continue to be careful and vigilant to avoid fires, he said.

The latest fire incident happened at the Pritil Market in Tondo, Manila where two people were reported hurt, and more than P100 million worth of property were destroyed. The blaze, which reportedly started at a food establishment, reached the fourth alarm and gutted the whole market.

ADVERTISEMENT

BFP records showed that fire incidents increased by nearly 40 percent from April 1-26, 2023, compared to the same period last year.

From 953 fire incidents in April 2022, there were 1,332 recorded fires nationwide this April of the current year, it stated.

The BFP explained the reasons for the increase in fires are the high demand in electricity this summer season which may compromise the paled power lines, dry leaves, grass, and garbage that are easily burned by the heat of the sun or wild cigarette butts.

Most fire incidents happened also due to fault electrical lines, unattended gas lamps and cooking stoves and overheating appliances.

Abalos tapped local government units to conduct inspections and coordinate with local BFP offices to ensure proper compliance of establishments with the rules of Republic Act 9514 or the Fire Code of the Philippines (FCP).

Lets make sure that the buildings have fire exits, fire protection systems such as sprinklers, hose boxes, and other fire safety features in accordance with the Fire Code of the Philippines. Lets not ignore these things because the lives and safety of our countrymen depend on it, said Abalos.

Among the simple fire safety protocols that the people must be aware of include the unplugging of appliances that are not in use; not leaving the stove open; regular inspection of the liquefied petroleum gas or LPG tank; and storing flammable items in a safe location.

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LANSING  Michigan tax filers may soon be asked to check a box on whether they would like to donate their organs.

Legislation to make Michigan the first state to ask if you want to be an organ donor on state tax forms was recently heard by the Health Policy Committee in the Michigan House of Representatives.

If it passes, it would be a first for Michigan and a first for the U.S.

The need for organ donors is great.

Currently, about 2,400 Michiganders are critically ill, waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, said Patrick Wells-OBrien, vice president of communications and external relations for Gift of Life Michigan.Plus, theres another 16,000 Michiganders who linger on dialysis, many of whom would benefit from a kidney transplant.

Without a transplant, dialysis is necessary for survival for people who have end-stage kidney disease, meaning their kidneys do not function well enough to sustain life, said Joyce Williams, communications specialist for the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan.

Kidney transplants give people more freedom and a better quality of life, Williams said.

About 56% of Michigan adults are registered organ donors, Wells-OBrien said.

Putting the question on state tax forms makes it so you are asked every year to donate, he said.

We know if we can present the question more often to the public, every single time the question is presented, we get some people who will finally decide at that point, now is the time for me to say yes.. And for those who already are registered donors, hopefully it reminds them of that decision. Wells-OBrien said.

People can sign up now to be a donor when getting or renewing their drivers license. The other option is to do it online on the online Michigan organ donor registry.

The question would be phrased as, Would you like to add your name to the Michigan organ donor registry? with a yes or no checkbox. Signing the tax form signifies the agreement.

Once you check yes, you stay on the registry. Although the question will still be on your tax forms each year, you will not be taken off. If you wish to be taken off, this can be done online or when renewing your license.

In addition, you will be sent a heart sticker for your drivers license. While the heart on the license is an important indication, the registry is what is checked in the situation of potentially using someones organs, Wells-OBrien told the committee.

How effective the measure can be is uncertain.

We are the first state to add the question to the state tax forms, and we have no idea what the response will be, Wells O-Brien said. We do know that about 4.5 million income tax forms are filled out annually in Michigan. The registry question will be on the voluntary contributions form, and about 42,000 Michigan adults fill that form out.

Although the impact is yet unclear, Gift of Life hopes that this legislation will increase the number of people registered. If it goes through by early summer, the question will be on next years forms.

Wells-OBrien said there has been no opposition. The initiative is supported by many including, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Trinity Health Care Systems, Michigan Hospital Association, the Michigan Department of Treasury, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Eversight, an Ann Arbor based non-profit eye bank, working with Gift of Life for eye transplants.

Any legislation that provides options for people to learn about organ donation and sign up for the state Organ Donor Registry has our full support, said Linda Smith-Wheelock, president and CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, based in Ann Arbor, Any avenues that increase organ donations and provide awareness of these important gifts will help save lives.

The cost of this is exceptionally low, were already collecting the data, we already have the existing tax form. We are just adding it to the form, so we can do this at very minimal cost, Jeff Guilfoyle, chief deputy treasurer for the Michigan Department of Treasury, told the committee.

The legislation is sponsored by Reps. Felicia Brabec, D-Pittsfield Township, Cynthia Neeley, D-Flint, and Natalie Price, D-Berkley.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives, said Wells-OBrien, That one registration can make a huge impact on so many.
Billings police are investigating a shooting that killed a 20-year-old man at North 8th and 1st Avenue North Saturday night in the area of a carnival held near MetraPark.

Police reported they were called to a disturbance involving several juveniles when gunshots were heard at 10:41 p.m. Detectives were on the scene investigating.

A carnival is under way in the Berry's Cherries parking lot near MetraPark. Carnival owner Riley Cooke said there was a large gathering of juveniles outside the carnival grounds on 2nd Avenue North after the carnival had closed at 10:30.

The Saturday incident was one of several shootings and homicides already this year.

On Friday, a man was shot during an incident in the area near the 2600 block of Belknap Avenue in Billings. He was taken to a hospital where police said he was in stable condition.

Earlier in the week, police responded to a shooting scene in the 300 block of Monroe Street. Investigators found property damage but no victim.

On April 17th at 3:45 a.m., a juvenile was shot during a confrontation in the area around the 900 block of South 31st Street in Billings.

A 38-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound at a home at 1325 Avenue F in Billings on March 21.

On March 4, Billings Police responded to a parking lot on the 800 block of Grand Avenue at 2 a.m. on a report of a man shot during a disturbance. The 43-year-old victim was uncooperative and taken to an area hospital, police said.

Susan LaForge, 48, was found dead in her Midtown Billings home on Feb. 28.

On Feb. 15, a 32-year-old man was dropped off at a Billings hospital emergency room with a gunshot wound to his thigh.

On Feb. 12, a 21-year-old Billings man was shot dead by an 18-year-old suspect in the parking lot of Americas Wild West nightclub in Billings. It was the second homicide at the nightclub is less than a year.

A man was killed outside his home during a carjacking on the 1200 block of Avenue F on Jan. 9. The suspect in that shooting then ran into a home on the 1200 block of Burlington, where a family was having a childs birthday party, and shot the homeowner.
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican food chain with locations in Massachusetts is offering the chance to win some free food.

Customers at Hot Harrys Fresh Burritos, which has several locations in Western Massachusetts, can enter their names beginning Monday for a chance to order one free burrito a week for a year, the chain announced on Facebook.

Read more: Cafe Neo owner to open new restaurant on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

This entry process lasts until May 7, the company said. All entries must be made in person at any Hot Harrys Fresh Burritos locations. There will be 10 winners per store who will receive free burritos.

Two Hot Harrys Fresh Burritos restaurants are located in Pittsfield, while another is not far away in Dalton. The chain also has locations in Schenectady and East Greenbush, both in New York, and in New Britain, Connecticut, all according to the company website.

Sometimes mistaken for Mexicos Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican armys victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, according to the Smithsonian. France installed Emperor Maximillian I as Mexicos head of state, removing President Benito Juarez from power.

It was not until 1866 when, with the help of the United States, Mexico removed Maximillian from power, reestablished Mexican sovereignty and reinstated Juarez as president. No margaritas were present for the first several Cinco de Mayo celebrations that followed, as they were not invented until the 1940s, Smithsonian said.
How can one grape taste so different?

Thats the question that has been puzzling and obsessing wine lovers for centuries.

The same grape grown in one place can taste completely different in another one.

Sometimes, that place can be a few feet away. Trust me. Its amazing how similar grapes grown in some vineyards in Frances Burgundy region can taste completely different from another vineyard right next door.

The French call this phenomenon terroir, a word that refers to a wines personality based on where it comes from, its sense of place.

Thats why its often great to compare similar wines from similar regions.

Its also how most wine tastings are done  similar wines from the same wine region (and perhaps even the same vintage) tasted side by side.

I love tasting wine this way. And I think its one of the best ways to learn about wine from a particular wine region.

But who says you have to do everything the same way every time?

So this week, I thought I would try something completely different, as John Cleese used to say on Monty Pythons Flying Circus.

This week, I thought it might be fun to taste wines side by side made with the same grape from different regions  very different regions.

The grape? Pinot noir  mostly. (Ill explain in a bit.)

The wine regions? Five different continents  North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia. (Unfortunately, I couldnt find any pinot noir wines from Asia or Antarctica, although Im sure theyre out there. And in the case of Africa, the grape is pinotage, which comes from pinot noir grapes.)

And to keep things fair, all five wines cost less than $20 a bottle.

So how different do pinot noirs from five different continents taste? Lets find out.

I also included a brief history of pinot noir for all you fellow wine nerds out there.

Hope you enjoy.

Grape history

People have been making wine using pinot noir grapes for hundreds of years. In fact, even before pinot noir was called pinot noir, people started making wine using this grape about 2,000 years ago in Frances Burgundy region. Although the grape may have come from somewhere else even before then, according to Wine Grapes, by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz. The same book notes that pinot noir began being used as a name sometime in the 1300s. Since then, pinot noir has become one of the best-loved wine grapes in the world.

Wine regions

If someones making wine somewhere, odds are theyre making wine with pinot noir. Nearly every wine region in the world includes a winemaker attempting to make wine with pinot noir grapes. This is surprising since pinot noir can be a challenging grape to grow. If its too cold or too hot, these thin-skinned grapes can freeze or ripen too early and shrivel on the vine. But when done right, they can create some of the most magical red wines in the world.

Some of the best-known pinot noir wine regions in the world include Frances Burgundy region, Californias Sonoma County, Oregon and New Zealand. And if you love Champagne, many of the best ones include pinot noir grapes blended with other grape varieties.

North America

2019 Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Sonoma County ($19.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield)

Wine grapes are like sponges. They absorb the flavors and aromas around them in the soil and the air. Thats why Ive long been a big fan of pinot noirs from Californias Russian River Valley. Located in Sonoma County just west of Napa Valley near the Pacific Ocean, this particular part of California consistently produces earthy, elegant pinot noirs with a hint of ocean air. This outstanding wine has hints of red licorice and spice straight out of the bottle. A few minutes later, those flavors become softer and lighter. Best of all, this wine tastes great the next day and the day after. Way to go, North America!

South America

2021 Natura Pinot Noir ($11.99 at Table & Vine)

Lets head south now to Chile to taste this delightful, delicate pinot noir. Made with organic grapes, I wasnt sure if I liked this South American pinot noir at first. Part of it had to do with tasting it right after the first one described above. The Sonoma County pinot noir power overshadowed this lighter-than-air pinot. But once I had time to adjust to this wine, I was charmed by its soft, gentle, understated flavors, which include hints of cherry and cotton candy. The next day, the wines even smoother and more delicate. But dont wait to finish this bottle. Two days after I first opened it, all subtle flavors vanished into thin air. But overall, great job, South America!

Africa

2021 Doolhof Dark Lady Of The Labyrinth Pinotage ($16.99 at Table & Vine)

As I explained briefly above, this wine isnt a pinot noir, but its close. Instead, this powerful wine from South Africa is made with pinotage grapes, which are a combination of pinot noir and cinsault. Again, its not an apples-to-apples comparison, but its pretty close. And if you love big, powerful, intense wines, this is the one for you. Flinty and earthy with hints of black cherry and plum, this wine packs a punch that lasts for days after you open the bottle. Amazing, Africa!

Australia

2020 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir ($14.99 at Table & Vine)

Lets set sail now for the continent of Australia and the country of New Zealand. Best known wine-wise for its sauvignon blancs, its pinot noirs are a thing of beauty and wonderfully express the cool, ocean air from the Marlborough region on the northern tip of New Zealands South Island. This particular pinot is bright and light with vibrant fruit flavors and a crisp, clean finish. You can clearly taste the fruit without the sweet fruitiness, if that makes any sense. Let me add this is another wine that still tastes great days after you first open the bottle. Its a wonder from Down Under!

Europe

2021 La Petite Perriere Pinot Noir ($14.99 at Table & Vine)

No globetrotting pinot noir tasting would be complete without one that includes Europe and specifically France. This delightful wine also shows that Burgundy isnt the only wine region in France that makes great pinot noirs. This velvety-smooth pinot comes from Frances Loire Valley west of Burgundy. Compared to pinot noirs from the celebrated Burgundy region, this soft, smooth pinot reminds me of ones from the southern part of Burgundy near the Beaujolais region. Its flavors are crisp and clean and include hints of fresh raspberries and blackberries. Whats not to love about this European wine or pinot noir in general?

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republicans Weekend section every Thursday.
The one victim killed after a shooting during a house party in Lawrence on Sunday has been identified by investigators.

Desiderio Arias, 18 of Lawrence, was one of six people shot at 5 Royal St. early Sunday morning, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tuckers office said. Police responded to a disturbance call at around 3 a.m.

All six were taken to Lawrence General Hospital, then two victims were flown by medical helicopter to Boston hospitals for additional treatment, Tuckers office said.

Arias was pronounced dead at Lawrence General. An update on the victims conditions has not been released.

The Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit and Lawrence Police Department detectives are leading the investigation. So far, initial findings in the investigation indicate the shooting is not believed to be a random act of violence, Tuckers office said.
If youre able to energetically say Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, then you may have a shot of appearing as an extra or actor in the sequel to the late-90s cult classic hit set to film in Providence, Rhode Island later in May.

Good Burger 2 sees Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell reprise their roles over 25 years after we last saw the dynamic, nutty burger-slinging duo feed the streets of sunny-side southern California.

Thompson and Mitchell will reunite on the big screen once again, years after the two aired a Good Burger reunion special on Saturday Night Live and announced that a sequel was in the works.

Anyone looking to be a part of the sequel to the 90s Nickelodeon hit can submit their application/headshots through Boston Castings website.

Good Burger 2 is set to begin filming in the middle of May, according to Rhode Island Films Facebook page. The production staff is actively seeking actors now.

There is no confirmed release date. However, the film is set to debut on Paramount+ later this year. Production staff have not released any details on a theatrical release.
HOLYOKE  The Lady Liberty statue in Veterans Memorial Park will no longer be cloaked in darkness. The statue was illuminated at night last week for the first time, a beaming symbol for all who pass.

Lady Liberty underwent a meticulous restoration over the past few years, including affixing a bronze plaque to honor the 55 Holyoke men who perished in the Civil War. The statue was erected in 1876 and has deteriorated over the decades.

Mike Falcetti, a member of the Community Preservation Committee, noticed the statues deplorable condition five years ago.

Initially, the soldiers names were etched at the statues base. However, time and the elements nearly scrubbed the inscriptions clean. Falcetti had worried the soldiers sacrifices would also fade away.

Its very flattering and quite a compliment to the men that died. They will never be forgotten or never be washed away. Theyll be there forever, Falcetti said.

According to the city of Holyoke, H.G. Ellicott of Virginia designed the statue at a cost of $10,000.

Lady Liberty holds the wreath of peace, shunning symbols of war or conflict. In her left hand, she lowered the shield. A little over the decade before the statues dedication, the nation was torn asunder by Civil War.

In honor of the nations founding and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Lady Liberty was officially dedicated July 4, 1876.

Falcetti expects the new LED lighting to enhance the statues visibility and beauty for generations. The lights are attached to nearby poles but must be adjusted next week to showcase the sculpture more.

He thanked City Engineer Kris Baker for leading the lighting project.

Aegis Resaturo of Belle Mead, New Jersey, led the restoration effort, with work on Lady Liberty completed in early 2022.

It looks beautiful and magnificent, he said, of the current edition.

He hoped Lady Liberty would be rededicated on Memorial Day in 2024, including returning to the traditional parade.

The statue will be mindful of the sacrifice made by those men and all the men and women who perished in defense of their country, Falcetti said.

Falcetti was awarded Citizen of the Year during the citys 2018 Veterans Day ceremony for his efforts helping raise funds and lead the effort to restore the statue.

In the past, the city held an annual Memorial Day Parade downtown, culminating with a service in Veterans Park. Unfortunately, the crowds along the parade route had become sparse over the years.

A room at the War Memorial Building and a memorial in Veterans Memorial Park honor Holyokes three Medal of Honor recipients: CBM John Mackenzie, Sgt. Joseph Muller and Lt. Raymond Beaudoin.
Early Monday morning, Massachusetts State Police troopers helped to wrangle two horses which had gone astray in Westport, having escaped from their stables, before they were eventually walked back home safely.

Mass. State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said the horses somehow got loose and took a morning trot onto Route 88 in the South Coast community before 8 a.m. on Monday.

Procopio added that troopers from State Police Troop D Community Action Team, the State Police-Dartmouth Barracks and the State Polices Mounted Unit responded in an attempt to wrangle the wayward duo.

According to Procopio, the owner of the horses has already found them and had gotten control of one of the pair when police arrived.

Trooper Alex Boswell, was able to get a rope around the second horse, with Procopio saying he apparently watches a lot of western movies.

Boswell and the horses owner then walked the two animals back to their home, putting an end to their adventure.

The Mass. State Police said on Twitter that while the horses daring escape caused a bit of a stir during the morning commute, that in the end everyone got home safely.
A psychiatric patient at a New Hampshire facility was killed on Saturday during a physical fight with several corrections officers, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan A. Noyes.

The attorney general identified the patient as Jason Rothe, 50. Rothe was a resident at the Secure Psychiatric Unit in Concord.

The facility is on the New Hampshire State Prison campus, but is in a separate institution overseen by a Medical Director, officials stated.

At around 12:55 p.m., officials said Rothe and several corrections officers got into a physical fight at the Secure Psychiatric Unit, leaving Rothe unresponsive.

Corrections officers then attempted CPR, officials said, but Rothe was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on April 30 was inconclusive, officials said.

Officials are further investigating the mans cause of death. The circumstances surrounding the incident also remain under investigation, officials stated.

Read more: Former Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief John Porter indicted on child rape charges

This isnt the first time a death has occurred at the Secure Psychiatric Unit. The New Hampshire Bulletin reported in 2021 that a young man had died after a violent altercation with corrections officers in 2017, with the lawsuit from the mans family stating he had died on the floor of the Secure Psychiatric Unit.
The start of May promises to be warm in North Dakota after what was an abnormally cold April across the state.

Average temperatures for last month in some parts of the central and eastern regions were 12 degrees or more below normal, according to the National Weather Service. The average for Bismarck was 37 degrees, in a tie for 12th-coldest April on record. Records date to 1874.

The temperature in Jamestown during April never surpassed 58 degrees, tying the city's record lowest high for the month, which was first set nearly half a century ago, in 1975. It was the second consecutive month in which Jamestown either tied or broke its monthly lowest high record.

Dips in the jet stream this week resulting in cooler weather in the western and eastern U.S. will result in a northward bulge to the jet stream that will create a pocket of mild air in the Plains, according to AccuWeather.

Temperatures will quickly trend upward in North Dakota, reaching into the 60s and 70s, according to the National Weather Service. Normal for Bismarck during the first of May is highs in the mid-60s.

"Remember though, the last spring freeze typically occurs during the middle portion of May, the 11th through the 20th," forecasters cautioned people who might get the urge to plant flowers. That's based on weather data from the last 30 years.

Wednesday is forecast to be the warmest day of the week, with western North Dakota likely to see temperatures surpass 75 degrees. Bismarck has a 61% chance of reaching that mark, according to the weather service.

"The switch to warmer temperatures in the next few days looks to continue through next week, with above-normal temperatures favored across the Northern Plains for May 8-14," forecasters said. "Normal highs during this period are in the mid 60s across western and central North Dakota, and normal lows are in the upper 30s to lower 40s. There is a slight tilt toward above-normal precipitation, with chances for precipitation returning this weekend after a dry workweek."

There is a 40% chance of showers in Bismarck-Mandan on Saturday and Sunday, according to the forecast.

Moisture would be welcome in many areas, despite last winter's significant snowfall. The wildfire danger rating on Monday was deemed "moderate" in western North Dakota, "high" in much of the central region, and "very high" in the east, according to the state Emergency Services department.

Delaying grazing

North Dakota ranchers should plan for a delayed grazing season, according to North Dakota State University Extension.

A combination of drought last fall and the prolonged winter is expected to cause significant delays in grass development this spring.

"Growing degree days" are used to measure the daily accumulation of heat units needed for plant growth. Cool-season grasses, which begin growing in late winter or early spring and are the dominant grasses in North Dakota, typically begin accumulating growing degree days in the Bismarck area around March 24. This spring, that didn't happen until April 13.

While it may be tempting to start grazing early due to a lack of forage resources, it can have long-term impacts on forage production, said Miranda Meehan, Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist. Early spring grazing, especially following a drought, can be costly in terms of total forage production during the entire grazing season.
A crash on the westbound side of Route 114 in North Andover sent one person to the hospital Monday morning.

Massachusetts State Police said the vehicle rolled over, resulting in a closure of the right lane of the highway. As of 9 a.m., the lane was still closed for investigators.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation tweeted an alert just before 8:30 a.m. about the crash and closure. The state polices Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, or CARS, unit may be required to help with the investigation, state police added.

Rollover crash in #NorthAndover on RT-114-WB. Right lane closed.  Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) May 1, 2023

No further information has been released regarding the drivers condition or the closures impact on traffic.

MassLive reached out to North Andover police for more information.

MassLive breaking news reporter Irene Rotondo contributed to the reporting of this story.
A Hingham police officer was arraigned on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon at Woburn District Court on April 26 after he yelled at a driver while holding a firearm, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryans office said Monday.

At around 4:52 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2022, off-duty Officer Joel Salituri, 43, of Stoneham, and another driver, also from Stoneham, were traveling northbound on Route 93, Ryans office said. Both vehicles left the highway, with Salituri following the other driver.

Both cars pulled into a parking lot on Main Street before Salituri pulled up next to the driver and began yelling at the victim and making derogatory statements, including racial slurs, Ryans office said. Salituri was also brandishing a gun at the time, authorities said.

While yelling at the driver, Salituri said he was a police officer. The driver then reported the incident to police, Ryans office said. A hearing resulted in a criminal complaint for the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Salituri was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from the driver.

Salituri is not accused of any physical contact with the victim in the case. Under state law, someone can be charged with assault even if they dont touch another person.

The Hingham Police Department placed Salituri on administrative leave.

Salituri is due back in court on May 24, Ryans office said.
Three Springfield men were arrested and charged with animal cruelty in Middletown, Connecticut after animal control officers found they had left four horses and a pony without food or water for days.

Ricardo Javier Castellano, 25, Erik Hernandez, 19, and Luis Xavier Ortiz-Santiago, 20, each face five counts of animal cruelty, Middletown police said.

On April 26, a concerned citizen provided information to Middletown Police Animal Control officers, stating that the horses had been left out of their barn and had not been tended to since April 23, Middletown police said.

Upon arrival at a boarding barn located at 205 Middle St., the officers found that the horses were being poorly maintained, the Middletown police reported.

They were found to be in poor condition and undernourished, the Middletown Police Department said. The ACO determined that there was actually no food on the property for the animals and the condition of the barn was unsanitary.

The animal control officers, with the help of a resident on the property, gave the animals water and cleaned their stalls, the Middletown police said. The officers also had hay donated from several sources in the community to feed the animals.

On April 28, officers came back to the property to check on the animals, but it was clear that still, nobody had been there to check up on them, the police said. While they were there Castellano, Hernandez and Ortiz-Santiago arrived at the scene and claimed responsibility for the animals care.

The three men were subsequently arrested and charged with animal cruelty and were released on a $25,000 non-surety bail, police said. They are scheduled to appear in Middletown Superior Court on May 12.

As for now, the horses and the pony remain in the care of the Middletown Police Animal Control Officers, the department said.
Editors note, 3:10 p.m. ET: Original story has been updated from 1 student to 4 students being sent to hospital.

What started as a report of a strange smell stemming from a West Newbury school Monday morning would lead to authorities evacuating the entire school for the day as a precaution, 39 students evaluated for potential injuries and four students sent to a hospital after they became nauseous.

Monday at around 9:40 a.m., a seventh-grade Pentucket Regional Middle High School chemistry class reported a strange smell, according to Pentucket Regional School District Superintendent Justin Bartholomew.

The class was not working with any chemicals when they reported the smell.

West Newbury firefighters soon responded to the school and authorities chose to evacuate the school for the day as officials began to investigate the odor.

Bartholomew said a total of 39 students were evaluated for any injuries they may have had while breathing in the odor, two students were rushed to a hospital by ambulance and two others were taken by their parents after they all showed signs of nausea and throat irritation.

No faculty or staff member required medical assistance.

A tier 1 hazardous materials response teams investigation determined that the source of the strong odor came from a refrigerant leak from a rooftop HVAC unit.

Authorities said the unit was shut off and an HVA contractor will confirm the leak and provide necessary repairs.

Pentucket Regionals middle school wing has been vented to disperse the odor.

The superintendent said he plans to update district students and parents at a later time.
On Monday, officials notified the public of three Massachusetts police officers who face charges and accusations in three unrelated criminal incidents. Two of the officers were arraigned and one was indicted.

John Jay Porter, Hopkinton Police Department

Former Hopkinton Deputy Chief John Jay Porter was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury Monday on three charges of rape of a child in connection with the sexual assault of a student while he was assigned as a school resource officer, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryans office said.

As of Friday, Porter is no longer on the Hopkinton Police Department, Ryans office said.

The incidents occurred in 2004 and 2005 while the victim was 15 years old. It was during this time that the former student said they were assaulted multiple times by Porter off of school property, Ryans office added.

Joel Salituri, Stoneham Police Department

Stoneham Police Officer Joel Salituri, 43, was arraigned on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon at Woburn District Court on April 26 after authorities say he yelled racial slurs at a driver while holding a firearm off-duty, according to the Middlesex District Attorneys Office.

The officer was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from the driver.

Salituri is not accused of any physical contact with the victim in the case. Under state law, someone can be charged with assault even if they dont touch another person.

The Hingham Police Department placed Salituri on administrative leave following the incident. Hingham Police Chief David Jones said his department has also notified the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission.

Steven Stalzer, Acton Police Department

Acton Police Officer Steven Stalzer was arrested in Stow on Saturday, authorities wrote in a statement.

Stalzer was accused of pushing his five-month-pregnant wife to the ground in their Stow home early Saturday morning. He was charged with domestic assault and battery and assault and battery on a pregnant person in the incident.

After the Acton Police Department learned of Stalzers arrest, department officials placed him on leave, and took away his badge and gun, pending the result of the case. He was arraigned in Concord District Court Monday.

Read more: Morales Espinosa and Joshual Ramirez arrested after Lawrence house party shooting killed 1 teen

None of the officers have been a part of the POST Commissions recent suspensions. However, they may appear in a future list of suspended officers.

The commission is required by law to suspend officers who have been arrested, charged or indicted for a felony or revoke the license of an officer who is convicted of a felony.

The POST Commission reports new suspensions at the start of every month. Forty-six Massachusetts police officers have been added to the suspension list as of April. The next batch of suspensions will likely be released later in May.
A 30-year veteran of the Hopkinton Police Department was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting a teenager while he was assigned as a school resource officer, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryans office said Monday.

Former Deputy Chief John Jay Porter was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on three charges of rape of a child in connection with assaulting a student, Ryans office said.

As of Friday, Porter is no longer on the Hopkinton Police Department, Ryans office said.

The incidents occurred in 2004 and 2005 while the victim was 15 years old. It was during this time that the former student said they were assaulted multiple times by Porter off of school property, Ryans office said.

Ryans office and Massachusetts State Police are leading the investigation. Porters arraignment has not been scheduled.

Porter was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, MassLive reported in August 2022. At the time, a Hopkinton police spokesperson did not provide any information for what prompted Porters leave.

Porter served as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant and lieutenant before being appointed deputy chief in October 2021. After he helped to establish the departments first school program, Porter was appointed as its first school resource officer, police told MassLive at the time.
Employees of a Maine restaurant got a surprise when they opened a large wooden crate that they thought was a shipment of mugs they had recently ordered.

Instead, they found a plastic tote that contained what law enforcement suspect is 14 kilograms (31 pounds) of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl with an estimated street value of $3 million, Auburn police Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle said in a statement Saturday.

The tote had a shipping label with the restaurants address but the name of someone who did not work there. Employees who opened it saw what they thought looked like drugs, so they contacted police, Cougle said.

The crate from Arizona that arrived in the Maine town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Portland was taken to the police department, where a chemical field examination confirmed it contained fentanyl.

About an hour later, the man whose name was on the shipment showed up looking for the crate and was arrested, police said.

Jeremy Mercier, 41, of Auburn, was charged with drug offenses and for violating bail conditions. He is being held in a county jail without bail. It could not be determined if he had an attorney.

Mercier previously spent time behind bars on a 2007 federal drug conviction, Cougle said.

The investigation is ongoing, and Cougle said he anticipates state and federal law enforcement getting involved.

Mike Peters, the co-owner of Macs Grill, told WMTW-TV in an email that he is glad the drugs did not make it to the streets.

The instances of overdose in our, and surrounding, communities is awful, and fentanyl seems to be front and center when it comes to fatalities, he said. It is very sad.
The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the African Securities Exchange Association (ASEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration and cooperation in promoting cross-border payments of Capital Markets infrastructure in Africa.

The MoU was signed on 14 April 2023 during the ASEA 2023 Building African Financial Markets Seminar held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, which brought together Stock Exchanges and capital markets stakeholders from across Africa to discuss ways to deepen integration and connectivity of African capital markets.

For a long time, investors doing business in Africa have struggled with making and settling cross-border payments. Payments take a long time to complete, are expensive since the existing environment necessitates the use of correspondent banks outside of the continent, and are done in foreign currencies (USD or Euro). Because of this, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat developed PAPSS, which enables instant cross-border payment in local currency.

Through the umbrella of ASEA, with 9 exchanges and a combined market capitalization of $1.5 trillion, PAPSS provides an opportunity as the payment system to further enhance the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), a flagship project of ASEA to facilitate cross-border trading of securities in Africa. PAPSS has started a period of fast deployment of its system throughout all African nations, having already gone live in the countries comprising the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), namely Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, and Guinea. As a result, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Djibouti have recently joined the network and will soon be operational. This partnership with ASEA will also facilitate the deployment of PAPSS across the ASEA member nations.

Commenting on the signing, the Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, Mr. Mike Ogbalu III, said: PAPSS supports a wide variety of use cases, including cross-border retail and trade transactions for individuals and corporations and cross-border investments with the African Stock Exchanges. Consequently, working with ASEA, which pioneered the AELP with cross-border securities trading as a central tenet, is a significant step towards the rollout of PAPSS throughout the continent.

This partnership is a demonstration of our commitment to driving trade flows and economic growth in Africa. Through our collaboration, we aim to create a reliable and efficient payment system that will enable investors to easily trade across different stock exchanges on the continent. Our immediate task is to create a workforce between PAPSS and ASEA as soon as possible to identify ways to facilitate the transfer of funds across ASEA member African Stock Exchanges. To that end, Id like to extend an invitation to the relevant capital markets stakeholders to join us in this ground-breaking venture for the African business and investment communities.

The President of ASEA and Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Stock Exchange, Mr Thapelo Tsheole, said: We are delighted to partner with PAPSS on this important initiative. Our capital markets integration initiative through the AELP will play a critical role in deepening Africas capital markets and promoting cross-border investment. PAPSSs expertise in payment settlement will be instrumental in the cross-border transfer of funds among the participating exchanges.

PAPSS is unwavering in its dedication to fostering the growth of a thriving payment ecosystem and encouraging the development of new solutions for the economic advancement of the African continent and its people.

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Authorities have charged a man with a federal misdemeanor for allegedly trying to sell an American Indian war bonnet containing eagle feathers at a Bismarck pawn shop.

Zachary Johnson, of Bismarck, could face a year in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted, according to court documents. Federal law prohibits the sale or other transfer of golden eagle and bald eagle feathers. Johnson is not allowed to possess the feathers because he is not an enrolled member of a Native American tribe.

A federal Bureau of Indian Affairs agent in mid-April allegedly saw the item on the counter at Jays Pawn Shop as Johnson was talking to employees, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service affidavit. Pawn Shop employees told officials that Johnson asked about the items worth and how much he could get for it. The employees refused Johnsons offer to sell the war bonnet and advised him to contact wildlife officials, the document states.

The BIA agent, Garry Sam, is an enrolled member of the Shoshone Paiute Tribe from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, which is in the area of the border separating Idaho and Nevada. He has a war bonnet of his own, recognizes genuine eagle feathers, and knows the cultural significance the war bonnet carries, the affidavit states.

Johnson allegedly told authorities he found the war bonnet in an empty or abandoned house. A woman who accompanied Johnson to the pawn shop told investigators she has made attempts on social media to find the original owner. Court records indicate Johnson turned the war bonnet over to a Fish and Wildlife Service agent on Friday.

Defense attorney Scott Rose declined comment on the case when contacted by the Tribune.
North Dakota's congressional delegation is urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to abandon or delay its implementation of a new flood insurance rate map for Bismarck.

Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Rep. Kelly Armstrong, all R-N.D., recently sent a letter to Madi Pluss, a regional risk map specialist with FEMA, as did Bismarck Mayor Mike Schmitz last month.

Concerns include that the new federal flood risk map could require some residents in a high-poverty area to buy flood insurance.

Proceeding with the current timeline will have a negative impact on Bismarcks most vulnerable populations, the delegation wrote.

Both the delegation and the city also say Bismarck should be given more time to complete flood mitigation improvements.

The new map would add 1,500 Burleigh County and 650 city parcels to the list of those with increased flood risk. An appeal period ends May 18.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)  The U.S. government is embarking on an effort to record the oral histories of survivors and descendants of boarding schools that sought to civilize Indigenous students, often through abusive practices.

The Interior Department announced a partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities to document the experiences of thousands of Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students at federally funded schools across the country.

The National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $4 million for the project and will look for other ways to support research, educational programming and gatherings, the group said.

The first step toward addressing the intergenerational consequences of these schools is to squarely acknowledge and examine the history of a federal system intended to separate families, erase Native languages and cultures, and dispossess Native peoples of their land, National Endowment for the Humanities' Chair Shelly Lowe said in a statement.

The endowment has supported other efforts, including a permanent exhibit on boarding schools at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and a project to digitize and transcribe records at the Genoa Indian School in Nebraska.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, has prioritized publicly examining the trauma caused by the schools. The department released a first-of-its kind report pointing out 408 schools the federal government supported. Religious and private institutions that ran many of the schools received federal funding and were willing partners in assimilating Indigenous students.

The U.S. enacted laws and policies in 1819 to support the schools, most of which closed long ago. None still exist to strip students of their identities.

Victims and survivors of government-backed boarding schools have been sharing emotional stories during a Road to Healing tour organized by the Interior Department. They have recalled being locked in basements as punishment, hair being cut to stamp out their identities, and physical and mental abuse.

Lowe, who is Navajo, attended sessions in Many Farms on the Navajo Nation and in Tulalip and heard former boarding school students talk about the effect the schools had their adult lives, and within their families and communities. Those include the diminishment of Native languages and cultures, she said.

It is also clear tribal leaders and family members want to find avenues for healing for these former students while strengthening and expanding the teaching, use, and revitalization of Indigenous languages and cultural practices across their tribal nations, she told The Associated Press.

The Interior Department found in the first volume of an investigative report on boarding schools that at least 500 children died at some of the schools, though the number is expected to increase dramatically as research continues. A second volume is expected by the end of the year, the agency said.

Interior used existing resources to begin the work. Congress allocated $14 million over the past two fiscal years, the agency said.

The tour has made stops in Oklahoma, South Dakota, Michigan, Arizona, the Navajo Nation and, most recently in Washington on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.

The oral history collection is an extension of the tour and comes at the request of Indigenous communities, Haaland said. It will ensure that future generations can learn from those stories, she said in a statement. "This is one step, among many, that we will take to strengthen and rebuild the bonds within Native communities that federal Indian boarding school policies set out to break," Haaland said.
Global rapid microbiology testing market is likely to witness the highest CAGR of 9.24% from 2023-2031. The market revenue was US$ 4.3 billion in 2022 and is estimated to record a revenue of US$ 8.8 billion by 2031, driven by increasing demand for faster and more accurate testing methods in various industries.

Request Sample Copy of Research Report @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/rapid-microbiology-testing-market

Rapid microbiology testing is an automated solution for the rapid detection, response, and resolution of microbial contamination in samples involved in the manufacturing process. Microbiologist in clinical laboratories in the past has recognized the need for rapid results from microbiological testing.

The rapid identification methodology in the clinical microbiology lab has become a regular procedure. These techniques include automated modifications of the conventional biochemical and phenotypic microbial identification tests and alternative quick tests based on nucleic acids or Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight (MALDI/TOF). Rapid microbiological techniques have changed clinical microbiology and elevated patient care due to their usefulness.

Infectious diseases like tuberculosis, HIV, COVID-19, pneumonia, and malaria are now more common. As a result, there are now more awareness campaigns for these diseases to promote early detection and preventive healthcare. The need for rapid microbiological procedures has grown as the incidence of these diseases has increased. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that as of the beginning of 2023, more than 76 million people had received COVID-19 diagnoses worldwide, and more than 6.8 million of those people passed away from the illness. However, since its peak, the number of new cases has significantly decreased. These methods allow for quick and precise microbial screening, identification, and testing against diseases, which is likely to propel market expansion.

Regional Outlook

North America to Lead the Global Rapid Microbiology Testing Industry, Recording a Share of 38%

The high prevalence of microbial infections in the area and the sophisticated healthcare infrastructure that facilitates rapid microbiology testing are two factors that contribute to this market domination.

With millions of cases recorded each year, infectious diseases in North America have a heavy toll. With approximately 4.4 million notifiable infectious disease cases recorded in the United States in 2021 alone, infectious diseases continue to pose a serious threat to public health. Similar to the United States, approximately 225,000 instances of notifiable infectious illnesses were reported in Canada in 2021, making them a serious public health concern.

Contrarily, the Asia Pacific will experience the fastest growth rate due to rising healthcare costs and an increase in regional measures to encourage the adoption of modern rapid microbiology testing methods.

Segmentation Overview

Product Segment Insights

Due to the increased demand for quick and precise microbe detection and identification, the instrument segment is likely to dominate the market and earn over 54% of the revenue share. This is especially significant in fields where prompt decision-making is essential, such as clinical, food and beverage, and environmental testing laboratories.

Method Segment Insights

By 2031, growth-based rapid microbiology testing is likely to dominate the market and hold over a 38% revenue share due to its low cost, simplicity of use, and capacity to identify a wide variety of microorganisms. The food and beverage sector has adopted these techniques to assure food safety, while the pharmaceutical industry is the major end-user of growth-based rapid microbiology testing methods. In clinical diagnostics, these techniques are utilized for the early diagnosis and treatment of infections.

Application Segment Insights

The clinical diagnosis segment is likely to dominate the global microbiological testing market. Rapid microbiology testing techniques are used in clinical diagnosis to find and classify infectious bacteria in clinical materials such as blood, urine, and sputum. The demand for rapid microbiology testing techniques in clinical settings is due to the rising prevalence of infectious disorders like COVID-19. Further promoting the use of these techniques in clinical diagnosis across the rapid microbiology testing market, technological developments in rapid microbiology testing methods, such as the use of molecular diagnostics and automated systems, have increased the efficiency and accuracy of testing.

The global market for pharmaceutical and biotech microbiological testing was estimated to be worth $920.85 million in 2022 and is likely to grow to $1,995 million by 2031, according to a report by Astute Analytica. According to the study, factors including rising drug approval rates and growing demand for quality control testing are fueling this markets expansion.

Competitive Landscape

The rapid microbiology testing market is moderately competitive. The businesses have seen the big players methods for gaining a competitive edge, including new product launches, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, and strategies for partnerships. The businesses are also introducing sophisticated, time-saving automated microbiological technologies with high throughput.

Some of the strategies adopted by key players include:

In Sept 2022, Microgenetics developed a Rapid Microbial Method with a six-hour turnaround time. This crucial stage is costing many businesses time and resources because compendial methods of microbial contamination tests have a turnaround time of 14 days, and even faster technologies take about 4 days.

In Aug 2022, Together, BD and Accelerate Diagnostics are fighting antibiotic resistance. Through a global commercial partnership, BD will make available Accelerates rapid testing solution for antibiotic resistance and susceptibility, which provides results in hours as opposed to one to two days, as is the case with some conventional laboratory techniques.

In March 2021, Soleris a next-generation, rapid microbiological testing technology from NEOGEN. A quick, automated microbial testing platform for product safety and quality, Soleris Next Generation (NG) provides rapid and accurate identification of microorganisms in food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic matrices.

In Feb 2021, Becton, Dickinson, and Company and Scanwell Health established a partnership to develop an at-home COVID-19 fast test using a BD antigen test and the Scanwell Health mobile app. BD created a lateral flow antigen test as part of the cooperation, and it will pair with the Scanwell Health mobile app. The software is likely to provide detailed instructions on how to take a nasal swab sample, transfer it, and utilize the camera on the phone to examine and interpret the results.

To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/industry-report/rapid-microbiology-testing-market

Leading Companies

Abbott Laboratories

Becton, Dickinson, and Company

Biomerieux SA

Bruker Corporation

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

Danaher Corporation

Don Whitley Scientific Limited

Merck KGaA

Mocon, Inc

Neogen Corporation

Quidel Corporation

Rapid Micro Biosystems Inc.

Sartorius AG

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Vivione Biosciences LLC

Other Prominent Players

Segmentation Outline

By Product

Instruments

Reagents and Kits

Consumables

By Application

Clinical Disease Diagnosis

Food & Beverage Testing

Pharmaceutical & Biological Drug Testing

Environmental Testing

Cosmetics & Personal Care Products Testing

Research Applications

Others

By End-User

Laboratories & Hospitals

Food & Beverage Companies

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Contract Research Organizations

Others

By Region

North America The U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe

Western Europe

The UK

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Rest of Western Europe

Eastern Europe Poland Russia

Rest of Eastern Europe

Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia & New Zealand South Korea ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa (MEA) Saudi Arabia South Africa UAE Rest of MEA

South America Argentina Brazil Rest of South America



Directly Purchase a copy of report with TOC @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/inquire-before-purchase/rapid-microbiology-testing-market

About Astute Analytica

Astute Analytica is a global analytics and advisory company which has built a solid reputation in a short period, thanks to the tangible outcomes we have delivered to our clients. We pride ourselves in generating unparalleled, in depth and uncannily accurate estimates and projections for our very demanding clients spread across different verticals. We have a long list of satisfied and repeat clients from a wide spectrum including technology, healthcare, chemicals, semiconductors, FMCG, and many more. These happy customers come to us from all across the Globe. They are able to make well calibrated decisions and leverage highly lucrative opportunities while surmounting the fierce challenges all because we analyze for them the complex business environment, segment wise existing and emerging possibilities, technology formations, growth estimates, and even the strategic choices available. In short, a complete package. All this is possible because we have a highly qualified, competent, and experienced team of professionals comprising of business analysts, economists, consultants, and technology experts. In our list of priorities, you-our patron-come at the top. You can be sure of best cost-effective, value-added package from us, should you decide to engage with us.

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by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, May 1, 2023

The answer depends on what you believe the role of the MRC actually is.

Or at least, what its supposed to be.

Four months ago, this acronym was born, Michael Kassan said as he opened the U.S. JICs first-ever upfront event in New York City Thursday, hours after both Nielsen and Comscore issued statements endorsing and supporting the MRCs historic role accrediting U.S. advertising-market currencies.

Thats a lot to unpack, so let me begin with the first part -- why some powerful people in the advertising and media industry think the JIC acronym was born only four months ago.

I dont know when that acronym was actually born, but the first time I heard the term JIC was around three decades ago, when I was media editor of Advertising Age covering the advertising marketplace, including things like Nielsen ratings that influence billions in spending.

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It was also a time when much of the industry was unhappy with Nielsens virtual monopoly of the TV ad markets currency, and many were frustrated with its lack of methodological progress, and why none of the well-backed alternatives -- AGB, Arbitron, Percy, etc. -- could ever successfully mount competition.

Thats the first time I remember people in the U.S. suggest creating a JIC, or joint industry committee, similar to the ones that have operated effectively for years in much of the rest of the developed advertising world.

While the nature and governance of those JICs may vary, they were all born by all sides of the marketplace -- advertisers and agencies and the media they do business with -- to define the specs and source the supplier of the currency they wanted to do business with.

I remember thinking -- after more than a decade of covering failed startup rivals to Nielsen -- that the concept seemed to make a lot of sense, would fix many of the problems vexing the U.S. ad marketplace, and wondering why hadn't I ever heard of it before.

It was years later -- when the late Gale Metzger launched the SMART ratings initiative in the late 1990s -- that I began reporting about informal industry discussions to launch a U.S. JIC only, and ultimately, that Nielsens management threatened to sue its own clients on antitrust grounds if they did.

A model for the JIC, as well as Nielsens threat, was ultimately evaluated by the Advertising Research Foundation, which in those days played a more explicit role in setting ad industry policy for such things and it determined Nielsen had a case, and the JIC never moved forward.

Later, I learned from sources that NBC had asked lawyers for then-parent General Electric to look into it and that they determined Nielsen would not have an antitrust case.

The notion that an industry forming a joint committee to create competition might be considered antitrust in the U.S. continues to blow my mind, but it is one of many things that blow my mind about the way the U.S. operates differently from other parts of the world.

Anyway, that was the last time I wrote about efforts to form a U.S. JIC. Until four months ago, when OpenAP -- an entity founded by the largest TV networks in the U.S.  announced it had formed one and published its initial guidelines.

Thats one of the reasons I've been putting quotation marks around JIC whenever I refer to this new version of a JIC.

Another is the fact that it doesnt actually operate the way JICs do in other parts of the world.

Instead of working jointly as an industry to figure out the best way to measure advertising currency and then finding the best source to provide it, the U.S. JIC was created to certify multiple currencies developed by multiple independent suppliers, including new competitors for Nielsen.

The formation of the JIC followed a year in which some of OpenAPs owners had already certified new alternative currencies on their own, including iSpot and VideoAmp.

Ive been writing critically about the ad industry's embrace of a supply-side certification model ever since, but based on OpenAP's progress in building an industry consensus over the past four months, I have to give it credit and going forward will stop putting quotes around their version of the acronym.

If this is how the U.S. wants its JIC to roll, who am I to say?

And who knows, we might even consider OpenAP as our 2023 supplier of the year based on the same rationale we used to select NBCU last year: moving the needles and convincing the demand-side to move along with it.

I tried explaining this to one of the most knowledgeable sources I know about JICs around the world, Olympic Consultings, and occasional MediaPost op-ed writer Tony Jarvis -- and I thought he was going to blow a circuit.

Jarvis is convinced the networks have been backing OpenAPs JIC model for one reason -- their bottom lines -- creating competition to drive down the cost of audience measurement.

I told him I think hes only half right -- the bottom-line part -- and that the real reason isnt just controlling costs, but the networks see greater upside by disrupting what has been a common currency for the U.S. ad marketplace, and backing ones they believe will generate a better yield on their ad sales.

Nothing wrong with that, of course.

Its a free market, right?

Until it isnt.

I guess the main thing I dont understand is the industrys willingness to disrupt what has been an incredibly fragile self-regulatory status quo that has existed since at least the last time the MRC appeared before Congress nearly two decades ago.

I think the biggest problem I have with this new U.S. JIC isn't its supply-side market agenda, but that it simply will create more confusion in what already is a very confusing marketplace.

And by that, I dont just mean the idea of having multiple, concurrent, certified currencies operating side-by-side.

I think the biggest problem is that it is creating unnecessary confusion about what the role of the MRC is.

I know some of our more sophisticated readers probably understand the difference between a JICs certification and the MRCs accreditation, but in terms of the broader industry consensus, arent they both just stamps of approval?

And if you ask me, it wouldnt be the worst thing to happen to the U.S. ad industry for someone to actually weaponize the role of the MRC in order to make sure a joint industry consensus actually understands the difference.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 1, 2023

Resy wants to own the dining category -- but not just for food. It wants to own the whole experience, from searching for the perfect eatery to finding the ideal location, best service and experiential mood. It has even created and trademarked its own vernacular.

On Monday, Resy announced the launch of its first global brand campaign.

The reservation site and app will help consumers search for and find the best eateries -- as well as booking reservations -- at some of the most sought-after restaurants.

The focus for Resy's campaign is on customer experience and service -- as for its parent company American Express.

The global brand campaign, which launched Monday in the United States and in the United Kingdom, calls on consumers to embrace their Reservationships -- a noun that Resy created, coined and trademarked.

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The campaign creative, led by global creative agency Dentsu, aims to convey a relationship of magic, discovery, connection, and Chefs kiss cuisine, as well as lots of reservations, according to Hannah Kelly, Resy CMO.

Kelly previously worked at American Express and spearheaded the idea to create a special space in the hospitality industry by acquiring the company and building the business.

We feel there is an opportunity for us to own dining as a category, she said. We are the matchmaker responsible for connecting the worlds best guests to the worlds best restaurants.

In March, Resy had a record number of reservations on its search platform, and saw more than 60% of AMEX consumer accounts coming in as new members who are Gen Z and Millennials. That overlaps with the population on Resy.

Reservations are at an all-time high, and dining is the second-highest transition type -- second only to retail among all spenders, according to company data.

With 40 million users globally and more than 400 million reservations booked since launch, Resy helps diners discover -- and get into -- desirable and high-quality restaurants. Recent data commissioned by Resy showed that 48% of respondents are worried about ensuring they have a good reservation, while 51% of Gen Z and Millennial diners are concerned about choosing the right restaurant to impress their guests.

The campaign will highlight the Resy experience, which includes lighting, music, service, ambience and more. Photographer Amy Lombard created the images for the campaign featuring restaurants with real menu items and staff to make the campaign as authentic as possible.

The company also implemented a new media buying strategy across a variety of mediums such as out of home, social media such as Meta and TikTok, display, online video and connected television (CTV), and Paid Search.

For the first time, Resy is using high-impact OOH in New York City on Broadway between 44th and 45th Street this week, as well as CTV and TikTok -- and will send personalized Year in Review-style emails to users showcasing diners' Reservationships status and timelines.

Resy also this week will host a pop-up in Flatiron Plaza to help New York City diners book hundreds of reservations to some of citys most exciting restaurants including Five Acres, Golden Diner, Cosme, Le Dive, Emmetts on Grove, Wayan, Shukette and more.

The plan also is to open the reservation books and book back tables to restaurants across New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, D.C. San Francisco, and Chicago.

The campaign is international. In the U.K. from May 15-19, Resy will release reservations to exclusive experiences at five of Londons most popular and desirable restaurants: Ikoyi, Rambutan, F.K.A.B.A.M. (formerly Known as Black Axe Mangal), Kurisu Omakase, and STRAKER'S.

Kelly said the company is working on loyalty and offers for AMEX card members who use Resy.

For now, premium card members looking for reservations who are Resy Global Dining members can put their card on file to get access to special reservations and times for the most in-demand restaurants. This also gives members access to priority notifications for any cancellations or time openings.
by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, May 1, 2023

A funny thing happened on the advertising industrys way to a Big Data solution for measuring media currencies. It just got a lot smaller.

How much smaller isnt entirely clear, but even the biggest of Big Data media-measurement solutions -- Nielsen -- says its becoming an issue.

"It has been an impact," Nielsen Audience Measurement CEO Karthik Rao acknowledged in a recent interview with MediaPost, confirming that the source of the problem is the same one that has been plaguing other areas of digital media measurement: the deprecation of cookies and digital identity trackers as digital platforms comply with new consumer privacy regulations.

In the case of Nielsen, the biggest source of its Big Data deprecation may also be the most ironic one: Meta.

Meta, of course, has been aggressively lobbying against Apple's implementation of is consumer-privacy framework, because it has materially impacted the ability of advertisers -- both big and small -- to efficiently target consumers with ads on Facebook and Instagram, going so far as to place full-page ads in major national newspapers saying Apple's moves have been hurting small businesses.

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As ironic as it may be, Meta has been doing the same thing to Nielsen -- effectively removing all of the data for any ad calls it sees from its massive digital footprint, except for the ones consumers are explicitly registered for.

When privacy regulations happened, Facebook told Nielsen: We cant give you that for the rest of the internet. What I can give you is if somebody is on a Meta property  Facebook or Instagram -- we can give you the age and gender," explains George Ivie, CEO and executive director of the Media Rating Council (MRC), which has been looking into the problem as part of the MRC's audit of Nielsen's Big Data solution.

Originally, Ivie said, Meta was passing data to Nielsen any time a user with a Facebook or Instagram cookie showed up on any destination on the internet, but due to its own privacy framework, Meta is no longer doing that. As a result, Ivie says, Nielsen's coverage of Big Data coming from Meta has gone down dramatically.

The same thing is happening as Google and other Big Data providers to Nielsen deprecate cookies and other identity trackers. But even Nielsen's Rao says no one knows the exact impact on Nielsen's Big Data solution.

"I have to assume it has gone down," he confirmed, adding: "But it is very recent."

Asked how Nielsen has been adjusting for the deprecation of Big Data inputs, Rao said it is one of the reasons Nielsen designed a "three-prong" approach consisting of an ongoing ratings panel representative of the U.S. population -- supplemented by data from Big Data partners to infer age and gender demographics, and a proprietary identity panel it uses to model and adjust the hybrid audience estimates it produces.

As the composition of Big Data goes down, the MRC's Ivie said Nielsen's method requires it to rely more on modeling to offset it.

Going forward, Nielsen's Rao says, the solutions to the problem are multivariate -- including the need to create data-sharing partnerships with more Big Data players utilizing cleanrooms and other sophisticated privacy-compliant technologies.

Beyond that, he said, the industry may need to develop some kind of scoring system to understand and track the relative quality of Big Data composition, including data integration "match rates" between partners.

You can read more about Rao's comments to MediaPost here. But as serious as the deprecation of Big Data might be for Nielsen, it has implications for the entire ad industry, which is on the cusp of making the shift from legacy panel-based media measurement services to Big Data ones -- some which don't even include panels to help them benchmark and control for fluctuations in the supply and match rates of Big Data.

Last week, Nielsen surprised the U.S. ad industry by announcing that it no longer planned to offer its panel-plus Big Data solution -- Nielsen One -- as the currency for this year's upfront advertising marketplace and the new TV seasons beginning next fall, and instead will continue to offer its legacy TV ratings panel as the advertising marketplace's official currency.

Nielsen did no comment on whether that decision had anything to do with the recent deprecation of Big Data from its partners, or any potential problems associated with that, but it also recently regained MRC accreditation for its panel service, which theoretically should boost the marketplace's confidence in using it as a trading currency.

Comscore -- which currently is not accredited by the MRC -- followed Nielsen's statement, seconding support for the MRC's accreditation process.

Both Nielsen and Comscore currently are undergoing MRC audits in hopes of receiving accreditation for their Big Data solutions soon.

The MRC's Ivie confirmed they are the only such services that so far have even applied to be audited.

If I could get one plug in, it would be really nice if these other players like VideoAmp and iSpot and Samba and TVSquared, Innovid and 605 would come forward for an audit," Ivie told MediaPost, adding: "The only one that is vigorously involved with us besides Nielsen is Comscore, and I have to give them credit. And theyre making progress."

While it's not clear exactly why the new media measurement rivals have not applied to be audited by the MRC, Nielsen's Rao noted how rigorous it can be -- estimating that Nielsen's recently panel accreditation required "25,000 auditing hours" to complete.

Moreover, many of the new rivals have already been "certified" by big TV network companies such as NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and WarnerBros. Discovery, and hope to also become certified by a new joint industry committee (JIC) organized by those companies and their OpenAP unit.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, May 1, 2023

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal in a dispute over agencies' ability to issue enforceable regulations.

The decision, which will likely come in 2024, could affect a wide range of current controversies -- including whether the Federal Communications Commission can craft broadband regulations.

The new Supreme Court case involves how federal court judges should evaluate decisions made by agencies.

A 39-year-old Supreme Court precedent broadly requires judges to accept agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws, provided that the interpretations are reasonable.

That principle, known as Chevron deference, has increasingly come under attack by conservatives.

The case, accepted on Monday, presents a direct challenge to Chevron deference. The specific dispute involves four fishing companies' objections to a National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring them to pay for monitors.

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The fishing companies argued that the National Marine Fisheries Service lacked authority to impose that requirement. An appellate court sided against the fishing companies, on the grounds that Chevron required judges to defer to agencies' reasonable interpretations of ambiguous laws -- in this case, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires some ships to allow onboard monitors.

The companies then appealed to the Supreme Court, where they are arguing that the 1984 Chevron ruling should be reversed.

If so, a range of companies -- as well as advocacy groups and individuals -- may find it easier to challenge agency decisions in court.

The Chevron deference has previously had a significant impact on decisions regarding net neutrality. Around 20 years ago, a Republican-led FCC declined to classify broadband as a telecommunications service. That move meant broadband carriers were not subject to the same common carrier rules that prohibit telephone companies from blocking calls based on content.

The FCC's decision led to a court case that reached the Supreme Court, resulting in a 2005 opinion upholding the classification by a 6-3 vote.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority that the decision in Chevron requires a federal court to accept the agencys construction of the statute, even if the agencys reading differs from what the court believes is the best statutory interpretation.

Justice Antonin Scalia authored a dissent in that case, writing that the FCC's interpretation of the Telecommunications Act was implausible.

The Commission has attempted to establish a whole new regime of non-regulation, which will make for more or less free-market competition, depending upon whose experts are believed, he wrote. The important fact, however, is that the Commission has chosen to achieve this through an implausible reading of the statute, and has thus exceeded the authority given it by Congress.

Ten years after that decision, the FCC reversed itself, classified broadband as a telecommunications service, and imposed some common-carrier regulations.

Two years later, the agency again changed course and categorized broadband as an information service.
The National Medical Devices Policy 2023 approved facilitates an organized growth of the medical device sector to encounter the public health intentions of access, affordability, quality, and innovation.



National Medical Devices Policy 2023

The policy lays down a roadmap for accelerated growth of the medical devices sector to achieve the objectives of access and universality.The policy aims to achieve affordability, quality, patient centered and quality care, preventive and promotive health, security, research and innovation and skilled manpower, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
North Dakota lawmakers sent a raft of legislation to Gov. Doug Burgum for aid to pregnant women in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs ruling.

The ruling overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, prompting a lawsuit over North Dakotas 2007 trigger ban. The dozen or so legislative proposals are aligned with a call last year from the North Dakota Catholic Conference tabbed responding with love.

Building a culture of life means making abortion unthinkable, the organization said in a statement last year. This will require all parts of society to reexamine and address what they can do so that no woman ever feels that the death of her child is the answer to any situation. Businesses, families, churches, charities, and governments must support and implement policies and practices that are pro-family, pro-woman, and pro-child.

The Legislature passed bills to:

Consider studying utilization of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, in Senate Bill 2291. The original bill was identical to House Bill 1036, which sought to increase the programs eligibility level, but the Senate killed 1036 and advanced the study version of 2291.

Ban forced or coerced abortions, in House Bill 1171.

Create an adoption tax credit and a tax credit for contributions to a maternity home, child-placing agency or pregnancy help center, in House Bill 1176.

Exempt childrens diapers from sales taxes, in House Bill 1177.

Provide $262,000 for the state Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse nonprofit child-placing agencies for costs of completing home study reports, in House Bill 1375.

Make clear that the states employment discrimination law protecting pregnant workers covers those with medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, in House Bill 1450.

Expand Medicaid assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for pregnant women, in Senate Bill 2181. The House killed Senate Bill 2071, which sought to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income pregnant women, and was combined into 2181.

Provide $1 million for alternatives to abortion, in Senate Bill 2129.

Develop a pregnancy and parenting resource website run by HHS, in Senate Bill 2012. Senate Bill 2185 initially proposed the website, but the House killed the bill, and incorporated the website into 2012, the HHS budget.

Designate Jan. 22 as Right-to-Life Day, in House Bill 1173.

Gov. Doug Burgum has signed most of those bills; others await his action. He has until May 19 to act on all remaining bills from the session.

Abortion laws

Burgum last week signed Senate Bill 2150, revising North Dakotas near-total abortion ban, including provisions that aim to address doctors fears of prosecution and to respond to a recent state Supreme Court ruling.

The bill took effect as law immediately, and is bound to become part of an ongoing lawsuit over the states ban.

This bill clarifies and refines existing state law which was triggered into effect by the (U.S. Supreme Court) Dobbs decision and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state, Burgum said in a statement.

Under the initial 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 revised law changes the bans affirmative defenses into exceptions, which supporters say would take the legal burden off medical providers.

The law also allows for abortions for rape and incest, but only before six weeks gestation. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, one of the Legislatures most ardent anti-abortion lawmakers, has said this was already law, no changes.

Democrats and some Republicans in the Legislature opposed the six weeks provision as insufficient for women and girls who might not know they are pregnant after being raped.

The law allows 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 Red River Womens Clinic is challenging the trigger law. The clinic was North Dakotas sole abortion provider before moving last summer from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, where abortion is still legal.

The lawsuit continues in state district court after the state Supreme Courts March ruling upholding a judges temporary block of the trigger law.

Chief Justice Jon Jensen wrote in the courts 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 law creates a new chapter in statute for its provisions, and redefines a medical emergency as a serious health risk.

Molar pregnancy treatment and serious health risk were amendments in response to the ruling.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will visit Austria (Vienna) tomorrow, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, where he will hold talks with the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs will have a one-on-one meeting with his Austrian counterpart, followed by expanded talks between the two delegations.

Subsequently, the two Foreign Ministers will make joint statements to the press at approximately 13:00 (Greek time).

Discussions between the two sides are expected to focus on further strengthening bilateral relations, coordination within the EU and international organizations, the migration-refugee issue, as well as on international and regional developments, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and developments in the Western Balkans.

During his stay in Vienna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also hold a meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi.

This is the second visit of the Foreign Minister to Austria. The first one took place in March 2022.
WASHINGTON  A simple Thank you for your service can stir up conflicting memories for some military veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam.

Many North Dakota Vietnam vets got the cold shoulder when they returned. No fanfare, no flags, no clapping crowds.

For the 99 veterans who joined the Western North Dakota Honor Flight  particularly the 88 with Vietnam experience  the claps, flags and thank you wishes they received on their expenses-paid Sunday trip to Washington, D.C., were a welcome, if long coming, change.

What impressed me most was the volunteers; theyre so accommodating, said James Mitzel, a U.S. Army veteran from Bismarck who was drafted in 1968 at age 24 and served as a paymaster in Vietnam. When you get off the bus they clap, when you get on the bus they clap  its just overwhelming. Its something we didnt receive getting back from Vietnam.

The Western North Dakota Honor Flight started in 2019 but was disrupted by the pandemic, making this trip only the second for the organization. It is part of the Honor Flight Network, which since 2005 has brought more than 250,000 veterans to visit memorials in Washington.

On Sunday, veterans visited the Marine Corps War Memorial, sometimes known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, the Military Womens Memorial and the Air Force Memorial.

Visits on Monday were scheduled to include a viewing of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, the Navy Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial.

Mitzel, like many Vietnam vets, returned home from that war alone on a domestic flight.

Nowadays when they send you out to a war zone you go as a unit, come back as a unit. It makes a big difference, he said.

James Hilzendeger, a former sergeant in the U.S. Army who joined in 1969, said soldiers saw the demonstrations against the war before returning and felt like they almost had to sneak home.

Upon arrival back in North Dakota, he was greeted only by his mother and one of his seven brothers.

The Vietnam War wasnt a popular war, Hilzendeger said. It wasnt popular at all.

Francis Miller, of Mandan, joined the Army early in 1965, serving as a communications specialist among other duties in Vietnam.

I wish a lot more people could understand the consequences of conflict, Miller said. I was disappointed in the way things ended (with the war), but theres really nothing you can do about it.

Richard Forderer, of Bismarck, joined the Army in 1969, serving as a mechanic in the 1st Infantry Division, also known as the Big Red One. Upon returning to North Dakota he worked mostly as a truck driver.

A lot of remembering, Forderer said of what was on his mind after the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ceremony, which was visibly emotional for veterans who lost friends and fellow soldiers in the line of duty. Remembering what people gave to serve their country and everything.

Forderer, like others, hopes the memories of those who served and of those who lost their lives in Vietnam dont fall away from popular consciousness.

People who were in the military (remember) but civilians, Im not sure, especially the younger generation, he said. Theres not much being said about Vietnam.

Vet honored

At the Womens Military Memorial, Victoria Neff-Tolbert, an Army veteran from Turtle Lake, was honored with an award for her service. Neff-Tolbert, who enlisted in the Army from 1974-78, joined out of high school to see the world but was soon confronted with a mans world.

They just didnt want us there, she recalls of one trip to a firing range where an instructor cautioned that she should hold the butt of the 12-gauge rifle close to her shoulder to reduce recoil. The guy next to me says, Youre a female, youll want to hold it a few inches away so it has a further distance to travel, so it wont hurt as much.

Not a good decision.

Do you know how hard it is to do push-ups when your shoulder is all messed up? she recalled.

Many of the veterans on the trip werent even aware of the existence of the Womens Military Memorial, which sits just outside the rolling green knolls of Arlington National Cemetery.

Its just absolutely amazing, Neff-Tolbert, the first woman veteran on a Western ND Honor Flight, said. If there are any females out there who havent taken advantage of being able to go do this, its absolutely incredible.

Jerome Schaack, of Bismarck, who served in the Air Force from 1957-59, said the Womens Military Memorial was a pleasant surprise.

I didnt know it existed, to tell you the truth, he said.

George Walker, of Mandan, an Air Force veteran who served from 1964-67, worked as an aircraft prop mechanic in the Philippines and in Saigon during the war.

They paid their dues too, Walker said of women veterans. And some of them gave it all.
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CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  The search for a gunman in Texas who killed five neighbors from Honduras dragged into a third day Monday with false alarms and few apparent leads, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott faced backlash over drawing attention to the victims immigration status.

An FBI agent on the scene near Houston acknowledged they have little to go on in the widening manhunt for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, who has been deported four times since 2009, but who neighbors say lived on their street for years prior to Friday night's shooting in the rural town of Cleveland.

Twice on Monday, a sheriff's office in a neighboring county alerted the public about possible sightings, but neither turned up Oropeza.

Abbott offered a $50,000 reward over the weekend for any tips that might lead to the gunman, and while doing so, the three-term governor described all the victims as illegal immigrants"  a potentially false statement that his office walked back and apologized for Monday. Critics accused Abbott, who has made hard-line immigration measures a signature issue in Texas, of putting politics into the shooting.

Weve since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said in a statement. We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.

Eze said information provided by federal officials after the shooting had indicated that the suspect and victims were in the country illegally. Her statement did not address why Abbott mentioned their status and she did not immediately respond to questions about the criticism.

More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, are now part of a growing search that has come up empty despite additional manpower, scent-tracking dogs, drones and a total of $80,000 in reward money on the table. On Monday, a heavy presence of police converged in Montgomery County after a possible sighting, but the sheriff's office later said none of the persons were found to be Oropeza.

A few hours later, the department reported another possible sighting, tweeting that several schools had secured their campuses and again asked residents to avoid the area. But that search, too, turned up nothing.

Both were among the first times since the shooting that authorities had announced a possible sighting.

"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, said Sunday.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspects neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

The alleged shooter is a Mexican national who has been deported four times, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because public disclosure was not authorized.

The official said the gunman was first deported in March 2009 and last in July 2016. He was also deported in September 2009 and January 2012.

Law enforcement on the scene have not confirmed the citizenship status of the victims. By describing them as illegal immigrants on Sunday in his first public statement about the shooting  and perhaps incorrectly  Abbott came under criticism from immigrant rights groups and Democrats.

It is indefensible to any right-hearted Texan to use divisive language to smear innocent victims," said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The victims were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Veronica Pineda, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities had stopped by her house over the weekend to ask if they could search her property to see if the gunman might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

___

Associated Press reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report.
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MANISTEE -- One Manistee couple is investing back into the community in efforts to "make a better situation for everyone."

Lisa and Tim Morley are the owners of 155 Eighth St. in Manistee; a property that was originally built in the 1930s and once housed the Veterans of Foreign Wars clubroom.

They purchased the property in 2020 that had housed The Blue Waters Cafe until June 2019.

"Its always been serving food (in some form or another)  it was built as a restaurant," said Lisa Morley.

But thanks to the Morleys, the building is getting a new purpose. Tenants are set to move into each of the four new two-bedroom, one-bath apartments on Monday.

The rent is set at market rate, which ranges from $600-$1,800 in Manistee. "We're in the middle," said Tim.

The Morleys funded the renovation project on their own and Youngs Construction, owned by Tim Morley, performed the work. Lisa said the building had foundation and roof issues.

Youngs Construction demolished the inside of the building "down to the shell" and rewired it for water, electrical and heat to make four separate units.

"Weve upgraded everything to be higher efficiency, new doors ... pretty much new everything: windows, new roof, fixing and repairing everything, said Lisa Morley.

Every unit has its own mechanical room, utility boxes, washer and dryer, and central air.

Jasmyne White, of Manistee, worked with the couple to help choose interior design elements. White has an associates degree from West Shore Community College and is working toward finishing an interior design degree online through the New York Institute of Art & Design.

On Saturday, the Morleys held an open house at the location, inviting neighbors and others who helped make the project possible, like members of the Manistee City Council, Manistee Planning Commission and Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as the city manager.

We wanted to just say thank you for giving us the opportunity, Lisa said.

The process

Getting to the move-in stage was a process several years in the making. But Marc Miller, economic development director for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, said 18-24 months is a normal time frame for a project of this nature.

As one of the initial steps, the couple obtained a special use permit from the Manistee Planning Commission in November 2021.

However, the pair said the project wouldn't have been possible if they hadn't received approval from the city and state for an Obsolete Rehabilitation District for the property using the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act, also known as an OPRA.

An Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Exemption "can be approved for a term of 1-12 years as determined by the local unit of government," reads a section on the state of Michigan's website. "The property taxes for the rehabilitated property are based on the previous years (prior to rehabilitation) taxable value. The taxable value is frozen for the duration of the exemption."

In addition, the state treasurer can "approve reductions of half the school operating and state education taxes for a period not to exceed six years for 25

applications annually."

Tim Morley said Gini Pelton, of Century 21 Northland - Manistee, and Miller were instrumental in the OPRA process.

Marc helped us a lot with all of the paperwork with the OPRA, we weren't even aware that something like that existed, said Lisa.

Between the two of them they helped us out tremendously to get us up and going to make sure its all feasible, Tim said.

He wouldn't have done the project without the use of the tax abatement.

"Its not a full tax abatement," he said. It makes it more feasible to do something like this, otherwise I probably wouldnt have done it. ... Its a lot of paperwork  but otherwise the numbers dont work.

Miller said it's critical for the city and county to use the tools it has available to help make these kinds of projects work.

"So tax abatements like OPRA or the Commercial Redevelopment Act or others absolutely make these types of projects possible and help also keep rents affordable too," he said.

The economic development director said a common misperception is that when these tax abatements are granted, "the city council is taking my property tax dollars and giving it to developers like the Morleys.

"That is not true, what it is doing is basically saying, for this property you get your property tax frozen at this level for 10 years and the break you get on that  that not reduced property tax  that helps you, the developer pay for the project," he said. "Thats a misperception.  Youre letting ... the Morleys keep their money so they can help pay for the project and they can get started on it.

Other projects

The Morleys own and rent out other properties throughout Manistee and Mason counties.

"Being that Im in the trades, I can fix them. Its kind of a side thing the wife and I do, besides our construction company and her being a professor (at West Shore Community College). We keep busy, said Tim Morley.

As the couple's children grew older, they wondered what they might do to fill their time. Lisa and Tim decided while their children were in their late teens to purchase their first house. The children helped them fix it up. The family worked on it at nights and on weekends and Youngs Construction helped with the big items, Lisa said.

However, Tim has a soft spot for the Maxwelltown neighborhood in Manistee, located on the east side of U.S. 31.

We picked out a few projects down here in Maxwelltown because my dad grew up down there back in the 50s. Its kind of sentimental," he said, adding that they are "trying to restore Maxwelltown a little bit, one house at a time.

Need for housing

The Morleys plan to maintain ownership of the Eighth Street property. They said they had about 100 people interested in the four apartments.

We fielded at least one or two calls between Tim and I every week since probably November, Lisa said.

People stopped in many times while Tim was working on the building to inquire about renting.

"I was working here till 9 oclock at night and somebodys knocking on the door and Im back in the bathroom working on something  people from the churches around and things trying to find housing for people," he said. "Unfortunately its only four units, but its better than nothing.

About 500 housing units are needed for the whole county as of 2019, with another 400 single family homes needed, Miller said, citing a Housing North study.

People from out of town inquire about investing in the area, and Miller said many worry about saturating the market.

"Im like, No, there is so much need here that youll be a drop in the bucket. So please come, make housing market rate. You can do affordable workforce housing. It doesnt matter, in this area, workforce housing is market rate," he said.

Miller said from dealing with people all over the state working in trades and development, he knows that construction costs are the same everywhere.

"But our market rates are lower than at most places, so you have to spend the same amount of money to build or rehab something and then you charge less, he said.

Tim said the couple is simply trying to improve the neighborhood.

To be honest, well be starting to look with Marc and Gini again for another project, said Lisa.

Miller shared his appreciation for the couple.

We honestly need more Tim and Lisa Morleys in Manistee and the world," said Miller. "To have them investing in our community like this, for the benefit of residents, it helps everyone. I hope we can find more projects and give them more OPRAs so they can continue to do this."
Authorities in Georgia identified the victims of a fatal plane crash last week as a northern Michigan couple.

Oconee County Sheriffs Office announced Friday that the couple was identified as 76-year-old Robert and 75-year-old Sandra Denton. They were residents of Williamsburg and Clare, Michigan, and The Villages, Florida, according to a statement from their family released through the sheriffs office.

In the statement, the couple was described as a pair of seasoned pilots.

While taken from us far too soon, we find comfort knowing they were together and doing what they loved, flying, the familys statement read. Robert and Sandra lived life to the fullest and were two of the most thoughtful and loving people you could know.

A photo of the couple is available below. The plane is not the plane involved in the crash.

An investigation is ongoing, but the sheriffs office said Robert and Sandra were traveling in a single-engine Cessna 177B Wednesday, April 26, before it crashed in a field in Oconee County, roughly 20 miles from their destination in Barrow County.

They were traveling from Leesburg, Florida, to the Barrow County Airport. As of this writing, investigators have not announced a suspected cause of the crash and are continuing to gather evidence to help decide.

The investigation is now in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

We are sincerely grateful for the outpouring of support shown to our family from Robert and Sandras many friends and neighbors, the familys statement read. We also wish to extend our gratitude to the Oconee County Sheriffs Office and first responders who were at the crash scene, as well as the Oakland County Sheriffs Office in Michigan for their assistance.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources made an official decision on the National Guard's request for the Camp Grayling land expansion last week, with a slight twist to it.

After a long process, the DNR declined the proposed 20-year lease of the 162,000 acres of state land expansion for military training to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The DMVA sought the land to accommodate low-impact military training activities, located around the National Guard camp in Grayling.

"It was a big proposal, covered 162,000 acres and we knew we wanted to get it right," said DNR Public Information Officer Ed Golder. "We really did approach this in a very deliberate fashion. At the same time, we wanted to talk to the Guard about what exactly you need, and through that process, we determined on a smaller footprint of land we could do a permitting process to help get the training they need."

Late last year, Michigan military leaders approached the DNR with a proposal of leasing up to 162,000 acres of state forest land around Camp Grayling to conduct periodic, low-impact activities such as cyber and electronic warfare, and operation of space and communication systems.

During that time, the DNR took public comment for eight months, which according to Golder is much longer than any other proposal.

"We wanted to make sure we collected all the public comment that was out there and we heard everyone's concerns," Golder said. "In addition, we wanted to take time to consult with travel governments in Michigan that were interested in the proposal as well."

With this decision, the DMVA and DNR came up with a memorandum of understanding to assure the public of several things. The memorandum defines the conditions under which land use permits can be issued, including individual permits. The DMVA will be able to apply for limited land use permits to conduct exercises. The permits would allow the Michigan National Guard to conduct low-impact training on specified lands, as well as permits that will not allow military training to take place in any protected or sensitive habitat areas or within a certain distance of inland lakes and designated trout streams.

Although this proposal denied the National Guard's request, the DNR said that it does "in part meet their needs." The memorandum states that the agreement allows for the Guard to request special-use permits for exercises on up to 52,000 acres for training purposes. The deal was inked on April 21, which was a week after the announcement was made by the DNR.

"I think we did come to a place that will allow the Guard to do some of the training it needs to do and still provide protections for these public lands that are so important to people," Golder said. "We certainly did understand that people were concerned about the public lands that we manage, and this solution does protect those lands and the people that recreate on them."

As a result of the DNR's decision, Huron County Commissioner Steve Vaughn shared his thoughts on the decision, saying he will still look to repeal the DNR with his district.

"The DNR screwed the people the same way they did Huron County back in 2016," Vaughn said. "People need to understand what they're (DNR) doing. It happens too frequently."
Zion Lutheran in Harbor Beach held its 10th annual Auction and Dinner on Saturday, April 29, at Amvets Post 115 in Port Hope. Teachers, parents, the principal, and other volunteers helped set up and run the event, which raised money to replace the school's gym floor. The action for last year also raised funds for the floor, but didn't reach the goal the school was shooting for.

"It's planned, we already have the floor picked for the summer, so this will be our last big push," said teacher and organizer Stephanie Gorney. She hopes that between last year and this year the school will have enough to finally lock down the floor replacement.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Wildlife and environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday over SpaceXs launch last month of its giant rocket from Texas.

SpaceXs Starship soared 24 miles (39 kilometers) high before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. The rockets self-destruct system caused the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) rocket to blow up, as it spun out of control just minutes into the test flight.

An attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs, said the groups are suing over what they consider to be the FAAs failure to fully consider the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. They asked the court to throw out the five-year license the FAA granted to SpaceX.

The FAA declined comment, noting it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. The agency is overseeing the accident investigation and has ordered all SpaceX Starships grounded until it's certain that public safety will not be compromised.

Over the weekend, SpaceX founder and chief executive, Elon Musk, said his company could be ready to launch the next Starship in six to eight weeks with the FAA's OK.

No injuries or significant damage to public property were reported from any of the rocket wreckage or flying pad debris. A large crater was carved into the concrete pad, as most of the rocket's 33 main engines ignited at liftoff.

The launch pad is on a remote site on the southernmost tip of Texas, just below South Padre Island, and about 20 miles from Brownsville.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported last week that large concrete chunks, stainless steel sheets, metal and other objects were hurled thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) from the pad. In addition, a plume of pulverized concrete sent material up to 6.4 miles (4 kilometers) northwest of the pad, the service noted.

It was the first launch of a full-size Starship, with the sci-fi-looking spacecraft on top the huge booster rocket. The company plans to use it to send people and cargo to the moon and, ultimately, Mars. NASA wants to use Starship to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface as soon as 2025.

Joining the Center for Biological Diversity in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, are the American Bird Conservancy, Surfrider Foundation, Save RGV (Rio Grande Valley) and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas.

Its vital that we protect life on Earth even as we look to the stars in this modern era of spaceflight, the Center for Biological Diversity's Jared Margolis said in a statement. Federal officials should defend vulnerable wildlife and frontline communities, not give a pass to corporate interests that want to use treasured coastal landscapes as a dumping ground for space waste.

Over the weekend, Musk said changes are being made at the launch pad to avoid what he called a dust storm and rock tornado" at the next launch.

To the best of our knowledge there has not been any meaningful damage to the environment that were aware of, Musk said.

Musk has promised to make improvements to the next Starship before it flies. The self-destruct system will need to be modified, he said, so that the rocket explodes immediately  not 40 seconds or so afterward, as was the case with this inaugural run, he said.

His remarks were made to a subscriber-only Twitter chat Saturday night that was later posted by others online.

___

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.
Mardi Loman / Contributed photo

MIDDLETOWN  The public is invited to a celebration Saturday that will commemorate the Beman Triangle and celebrate Cross Street AME Zion Church's bicentennial.

The Beman Triangle, now part of Wesleyan's campus, emerged two centuries ago as one of Connecticut's first free African American, property-owning communities, according to a press release.
The journey to make Small Axe started back in 2010 and took years for Steve McQueen to fully realize his massive achievement. According to multiple interviews, McQueen initially wanted to make a series dedicated to following one family from Londons West Indian community throughout the years. But then, he decided to open the scope up to more collaboration, offering seats for writers he wanted to work with, including Courttia Newland and Alastair Siddons. It was in that writers room that he decided exactly which stories he wanted to tell about the experience of being Black in Britain, and four out of the five were based on hard-hitting true stories.

The five films in the Small Axe series  Mangrove, Lovers Rock, Red, White and Blue, Alex Wheatle, and Education  were all warmly received upon release back in 2020, but being that they dropped right in the middle of awards season, some further time and reflection were needed to really realize just how expansive McQueens canvas is here. Moments of fiery political furor are bolstered by gentle, loving depictions of characters simply trying to negotiate with their respective realities to survive, both emotionally and physically.

One might think the story of The Mangrove Nine, who clashed with police in 1970, would be enough for an audience to understand just how unjust things were in Britain, but McQueen pushes deeper for an intimate look at a community still being built and up against incredible racial violence. Their lives are what we should care about when watching the film, and thus the characterizations, situations, and plots are intricately detailed without being fussy. You look at something as sensuous as Lovers Rock after the earthy, understated Mangrove and it feels like a world continuing to be colored in, filled with beauty and pain that sidesteps being singular for something thats emotionally expansive. And cinematographer Shabier Kirchners work in handling different shooting formats and even aesthetic styles cant be understated either. The collaboration between Kirchner and McQueen is in itself its own story that develops over the five films.

What struck me hardest on going through this series again was just how much each physical space that these characters occupy is directly connected to the emotional underpinnings. Think of Frank Critchlows bar in Mangrove, prideful in so many ways, yet stymied by the racist society in which it sits. I think of the court sequences, with all of Britains pomp and circumstance feeling especially egregious and aggressive to Black people trying to prove their worth to oppressors. In short, this is just a massive work that bears reflection and direct attention to how characters interact with their environment.

If you couldnt tell by now, I love all of the films in this series, with my favorite of the bunch being Lovers Rock. Despite critical acclaim across the globe upon its release, I sometimes feel that Small Axe went unseen by many because of its length and the lack of theatrical exhibition, but itll always be here lying in wait for people to discover its immersive canvas of Black struggles in Britain.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-rays

Small Axe is presented in a three-disc Blu-ray collectors set from Criterion with a slipbox containing two different digipacks inside. One digipack is reserved for the two BD50 discs for the five films in the series and the accompanying booklet, and the other digipack is reserved for a BD50 disc of Uprising, the documentary that McQueen and James Rogan made about the 1981 New Cross house fire. All discs fire up to standard menu screens with options to play the films, set up subtitles and explore special features.
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BIG BEAR CITY, Calif. (AP)  A single-engine plane crashed near a California mountain airport on Monday, killing all three people aboard, authorities said.

The Beechcraft A36 went down about 2 p.m. near Big Bear City Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane struck a vacant lot, and there was no fire, fire officials said.

The victims weren't immediately identified.

The cause of the crash was under investigation. Weather reports said it was partly cloudy at the time of the crash.

Big Bear Airport is in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Lake, a popular resort area about a two-hour's drive east of Los Angeles.

It was the second deadly small plane crash in three days in Southern California. On Saturday, one person was killed when a single-engine plane slammed into a grassy hillside above homes in a Los Angeles neighborhood amid dense fog, authorities said.

The Cessna C172 crashed around 8:45 p.m. Saturday on the city's west side, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Van Nuys Airport, the Los Angeles Fire Department and Federal Aviation Administration said.

Joubin Solemani was at home with his family in the upscale Beverly Crest area when they all heard a loud crash.

We thought it might be a car crash. But we looked outside and didn't see anything. We didn't know what the heck it was, Solemani said Sunday. Then search-and-rescue showed up and were all over the hillside.

After searching for several hours in darkness and "thick ground-level fog, crews found the crash site and one person dead in the wreckage, the fire department said in a statement. The pilot was the plane's lone occupant, the FAA said.

When the sun came up Sunday, Solemani said he could see the plane a few hundred feet (meters) above his property in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's totally mangled, he told The Associated Press.

The pilot was not immediately identified. Fire department personnel recovered the body Sunday afternoon.

The plane avoided hitting power lines and a large water tank and, officials said, there was minimal fire.

An air traffic controller initially reported the plane as missing after losing radar contact with the aircraft while it was en route to Van Nuys Airport, the fire department said in an alert shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
MIDDLETOWN  State police identified the pedestrian killed on Route 9 early Sunday as a 22-year-old Willimantic man.

The incident occurred around 3:45 a.m. Sunday just before Exit 19 in Middletown. A 29-year-old Higganum woman was driving her 2010 Toyota Corolla south in the right lane when she struck the pedestrian, Connecticut State Police said in an incident report Monday.

The woman then evaded the scene, according to state police.

The pedestrian, later identified as Carlos Morales-Torres Jr., was taken to Hartford Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, state police said.

State police are actively investigating the incident. No arrests have been made in connection with this crash.
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CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  A widening manhunt for a Texas gunman who fatally shot five neighbors continued coming up empty Sunday as officers knocked on doors, the governor put up $50,000 in reward money and the FBI appeared no closer to catching the killer after nearly two days of searching with a team that has grown to hundreds of people.

I can tell you right now, we have zero leads, James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town of Cleveland, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

The search for the gunman near Houston has grown in scale: Authorities said that by Sunday evening more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions were searching for Francisco Oropeza, many of them going door to door in hopes of any clues that would lead to the 38-year-old suspect. Local officials and the FBI also chipped in reward money, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information about Oropeza's whereabouts.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspect's neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Another of Garcia's children, 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, was also killed. Garcia said he and two other people had gone to respectfully ask Oropeza to shoot his gun farther away from the house, which is on a street where residents say it is not uncommon for neighbors to unwind by firing off guns.

Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It was 10 to 20 minutes later when he said he saw Oropeza loading his AR-style rifle while running toward the house.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because, He wont fire at me. Im a woman.

Authorities have said at least five other people who were in the house at the time were uninjured.

During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as the doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspect's wife multiple times.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

Were looking for closure for this family, Capers said.

By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around the victims' home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.

In the neighborhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door.One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside before letting the driver continue on his way.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary," she said. You never know where he can be.

Pineda said she didn't know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there about five or six years and that neighbors have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

The victims were between the ages of 9 and 31 years old and all were believed to have been shot from the neck up, according to authorities. All were believed to be from Hondurus.

Enrique Reina, Honduras' secretary of foreign affairs and international cooperation, said on Twitter that the Honduran Consulate in Houston was contacting the families in connection with the repatriation of remains as well as U.S. authorities to keep apprised of the investigation.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records. Authorities had also previously stated that Garcia's son was 8 years old, but the father and school officials said Sunday that the third grader was 9.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said. He said they were staying with family members.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe those at the home were members of a single family. In addition to the young boy, the other victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Garcia said they had called police five times between the time they asked Oropeza to shoot farther away and when the gunman entered their home. Capers said police got there as fast as they could and that he had three officers covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).

___

A previous version of this story, based on information from the FBI, incorrectly stated the age of Daniel Enrique Laso as 8 years old. His father said the boy was 9 years old.

___

Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP)  Two U.S. Army helicopters that crashed last week in Alaska, killing three soldiers, collided over a rugged, mountainous area, and there were no weather issues or visibility problems at the time, an Army spokesperson said Sunday.

The two AH-64 Apache helicopters were returning to Fort Wainwright from an aerial gunnery range southeast of Fairbanks when they collided.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines' security and noted the deep friendship of the two nations as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter Chinas increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationshipone that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

We are facing new challenges and I couldnt think of a better partner to have than you. Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization.

Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.

Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defense guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations' militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

The administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines' innovation economy, new educational programing and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guards BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a stark reminder of Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, Miller said.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by Chinas ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.

Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan's independence if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a One China policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huangs comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.

One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he finds himself in a situation in which the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that historical considerations could present challenges to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Marcos noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.

Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries' sometimes rocky past.

During their private meeting at the UN, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could fulfill your dreams and hopes" to do that, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.

___

Gomez reported from Manila. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)  Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is nearly ready to reveal his decision on entering the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, saying Sunday that he would make an announcement on May 22.

Scott didn't definitively say that he'll be announcing his official campaign, but he told those gathered at a downtown Charleston school during a town hall that he would be coming out with his decision at an event in about three weeks in North Charleston, which he calls home.

It is time to make the final step, Scott said to a room packed with cheering supporters, as well as a film crew, which a longtime Scott adviser said was gathering content for future use, a flick at a potential launch or campaign ad video.

We will have a major announcement, Scott added.

Scott, 57, has been inching ever closer to formally entering the GOP nomination race, where he would join other announced candidates, including former President Donald Trump, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and anti-woke biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Another of those is Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor who appointed Scott in 2012 to the Senate, where he is the sole Black Republican. Haley hasn't commented on Scott's potential entry into the race, while Scott has dismissed suggestions of any awkwardness in running against the former governor who appointed him to his Senate seat.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering launching their own presidential campaigns in the coming months.

Last month, Scott created an exploratory committee, a mechanism that allowed him to raise money for polling and travel related to making a determination on the race. In a video announcing that effort, Scott positioned himself as the antidote to the radical left, with a self-made success story as the son of a single mother who overcame poverty, and bemoaned Democratic leaders as needlessly dividing the country by fostering a culture of grievance."

When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative, he said in the video, which was shot on the site of Fort Sumter in his hometown of Charleston, where the Civil Wars first shots were fired. I threaten their control.

In February  a day after Haley's official campaign launch  Scott kicked off a listening tour that has taken him to other early voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, where he's held events ranging from political meetings with evangelical pastors to town halls and speeches. In his time on the trail, Scott has tried to present a more positive vision for the future than many of his potential rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Scott told The Associated Press in Iowa that voters he has spoken with respond favorably to his optimistic outlook for the country and his conservative ideals.

I think my candidacy is really designed around what the American people want to talk about, what their priorities are and what their issues are, Scott told AP.

If Scott enters the race, he would have just over one month to raise money before the end of the second quarter, with more candidates in the GOP field intensifying the competition for donor dollars.

But Scott has already proven that he can attract significant money. A pro-Scott super PAC, Opportunity Matters Fund, spent more than $20 million to help Republicans in 2022 and reported $13 million-plus on hand to start 2023. Tech billionaire Larry Ellison has donated at least $30 million to the organization since 2021, according to federal filings.

Sunday's town hall took place at Meeting Street Academy, part of a charter school network founded by one of Scott's top donors, Charleston philanthropist Ben Navarro. Scott was introduced by South Carolina businessman and longtime supporter Mike Johnson, who is serving as a national finance co-chair for Scott and a day after the planned May 22 announcement is hosting a day-long call day and retreat with Scott supporters.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
WEST HARTFORD  For the second time in five years, a local man has ownership in a horse running in the Kentucky Derby.

Mike Gualtieri, a West Hartford resident and the owner of ProCourier in town, is part of the stable group Dont Tell My Wife that owns Confidence Game, one of 20 horses running in this Saturday's race at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Horse racing wasn't on Gualtieri's radar until 2010, when he visited a racetrack while in New Orleans on a business trip, he said.

"It was a casual meeting after a long day of board meetings," said Gualtieri, a Waterbury native, recalling the day where he and a group of others would start the stable.

At the track, they had met Keith Desormeaux, a trainer they still work with today. Desormeaux's brother, Kent Desormeaux, is a decorated jockey who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

"He proposed the idea to buy a horse," Gualtieri said. "I wasnt much of a horse guy at the time. We all kind of ponied up a small amount of money and bought one horse. One thing led to another."

The stable got its name after the snap decision to buy their first horse, when Gualtieri said to the rest of the group: "Ill write you out a check, just dont tell me my wife immediately. Ive got to come up with a story."

Initially, they were running horses in what Gualtieri said are "claim" races, where horses that run can be bought by others immediately. Through it all, the group was having fun, which Gualtieri said was entirely the reason for starting the stable.

"We just wanted to do it for fun," he said. "For the first several years, it was just kind of enjoying ourselves, paying the bills. We werent spending a lot of money. We werent losing a lot of money."

Contributed photo / Mike Gualtieri

Things began to evolve, Gualtieri said, as they opened investor opportunities to more people. But the real secret to success, he said, was Desormeaux.

"He knew we operated on a limited budget, so in 2018 and this years Derby, he selected horses with good pedigree and for the money, he thought there were good values," Gualtieri said.

In 2018, the group ran My Boy Jack, which finished fifth in the race. This year, Confidence Game  a horse with 30-1 odds at winning  will take its shot.

The horse, which Gualtieri said cost $25,000 to buy, will be going up against some horses worth millions. It qualified for the race after winning the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas in February, the last time it's been on a racetrack.

"He wasnt supposed to win," Gualtieri said about that race. "He was a long shot at 18-1, he wasnt expected to do well at all. He came out of nowhere for that. But he won convincingly and earned 50 points. Once he won the Rebel, we knew he was in. He was an early qualifier."

Confidence Game hasn't raced since the Rebel Stakes, meaning there will be about three months in between action for the horse, which Gualtieri said has some speculators concerned. Their group, though, isn't worried.

"He hasnt raced in awhile, and thats what the big chat is," Gualtieri said. "Keith was looking for the right spot for him and not racing him again was always an option. The experts think it's not good to have gone for so long without racing, but hes been trained hard with breaks in between."

Gualtieri said his group's confidence is high in Confidence Game, considering the track record the horse has.

"Hes probably the most well-bred horse that weve ever owned in terms of his lineage," he said. "That together with his recent workouts and what hes accomplished, I think puts him in the hunt."

Contributed photo / Mike Gualtieri

Gualtieri said he's grateful for the opportunity to experience the Kentucky Derby as an owner again and realizes his horse is up against 19 of the best racing horses in the world.

"We could win very easily and we could also finish in the back of the pack," Gualtieri said.

Being included in that group of esteemed horses, owners, trainers and jockeys for the second time is gratifying, Gualtieri said.

"Its remarkable," Gualtieri said. "It takes a little bit of skill, which is Keith's, and a lot of luck. We were so fortunate and happy to be in it five years ago and could never have predicted this. Were tremendously grateful as a group. We started the stable to have fun. We dont want to lose sight of that. It still is an awful lot of fun. We never thought wed get to race like this, nevermind twice."

Gualtieri and family leave Thursday for the race, excited to watch Confidence Game run, but the race is actually taking a back seat to something else happening in his life this week: the arrival of his first grandchild.

"Who would think having a Kentucky Derby horse would be the second most exciting thing this week," Gualtieri said. "It would be the highlight of most years."
Two boaters were rescued from a marshy island in Virginia after they were stranded in poor weather, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The boaters were rescued on the same day a tornado devastated parts of the Virginia coast.

Rescuers got a call for help from the boaters on the afternoon of April 30, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.

A boat captain and his passenger were stuck on Mink Island, nearly two miles offshore -- and the weather was worsening, the release said. The boaters were beached on the island due to "deteriorating weather" and couldn't get back out to the waters to return home, according to the Coast Guard.

Mink Island is a popular area for hikers, fishers and bird watchers, according to the Explore Our Seaside organization, which is partnered with the Virginia Department of Conservation. The island is speckled with marshes, channels, creeks and mudflats. Visiting remote parts of the island is only advised for "the most experienced boaters or paddlers," the organization says.

Rescuers from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City helped hoist the stranded boaters out of the marshy island via helicopter and transported them to the Virginia sector of the Coast Guard, the release said. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, dozens of homes along the coast of Virginia Beach, which is within about 25 miles of Mink Island, were decimated by a tornado during the severe weather on April 30, the Virginia Beach government reported on its website.

A Virginia sector of the U.S. National Weather Service reported a "slight risk for severe weather" zone on April 29, which included Virginia Beach, Mink Island and other parts of southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina.

Among destroyed homes, Virginia Beach residents also reported gas leaks, downed trees and localized flooding, the Virginia Beach City Government shared on Facebook. The city manager declared a local state of emergency following the tornado.

In 2021, tornadoes killed more than 100 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hundreds more were injured.

While tornadoes are always dangerous, experts say there are several things you can do to be more prepared:

Use a battery-operated TV, radio or other device to listen to weather information.

Have a plan for getting to a safe shelter.

Have an emergency kit prepared with water, nonperishable food and medication.

Keep a list of important information, including relevant phone numbers.

Tell your children what a tornado is and what to do if one strikes.

Once a tornado hits, experts say you should follow these steps to help you and family members stay safe:

Watch for a dark- or green-colored sky, a large, low-lying cloud, hail or a roar that sounds like a freight train.

Go to a basement or inside room without windows if possible.

Get under something sturdy and cover your body with a blanket.

Protect your head with anything available.

If you live in a mobile home, leave the home immediately and find a building.

If you're in a car, leave the car and head to the nearest building.

 2023 The Charlotte Observer.

Visit charlotteobserver.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A Marine veteran was killed last week in an eastern Ukrainian city where the country's military has been locked for months in intense fighting with Russian forces, according to multiple sources.

Cooper "Harris" Andrews, 26, was killed in Bakhmut, where he was ambushed by Russian forces while defending evacuees, journalist Jake Hanrahan tweeted Sunday on Twitter. Hanrahan said Andrews was killed alongside other "fighters" and was a member of Popular Front, a grassroots conflict journalism platform.

CNN, citing Andrews' mother, reported Monday that he was hit by a mortar on what Ukrainians call the "Road of Life" because it is used to resupply its forces and evacuate civilians. The State Department, when reached by Military.com, would only confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.

Read Next: Army Grounds All Aircraft Following Two Deadly Helicopter Crashes

"We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance," a spokesman for the State Department said in an email. The department said it had nothing further to add "out of respect for the family's privacy during this difficult time."

An organization calling itself "The Black Headquarter" said that Andrews was one of its members and that it would "always remember him as a brave fighter and a reliable comrade" in an Instagram post Sunday.

The group said Andrews joined them after initially being a member of Ukraine's International Legion. Andrews' mother told CNN that he left America in November for the Legion, but his contract ended in March.

Military.com has previously spoken with other fighters in the war who similarly first joined the Legion before going off to find other, smaller organizations to fight with. This is often done out of a desire to be closer to the front lines or to serve with specific people.

Alex Drueke and Andy Huynh, the pair of American veterans who were captured and held by Russian-aligned forces for months, similarly joined the Legion before eventually ending up with "Task Force Baguette."

According to records provided by the Marine Corps, Andrews entered the service in January 2017 and served five years as an electronics technician for ground vehicles.

He left the Marines as a sergeant, never having deployed. He was last assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

According to a count by Task & Purpose, Andrews is at least the 12th American to be killed in the conflict and the fourth Marine veteran.

Before Andrews, the last American known to have died in the conflict was Daniel W. Swift, a former member of the Navy SEALs who, according to official records, deserted the service in March 2019. His death was reported in January 2023.

In April, Military.com also reported that the family of a highly decorated Marine officer who went missing in the early days of Ukraine's call for foreign volunteers was confirmed killed by his family.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Missing Marine Vet Confirmed Killed in Ukraine
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid in Tehran on Saturday.

Raisi said he and Rashid had a good meeting earlier in the day where they discussed various issues of bilateral relations.

Describing Baghdad-Tehran ties as strategic, the Iranian president said that the level of trade and economic exchanges between the two countries stands at more than $10 billion, adding that the figure can rise further in the future.

He added that Iran and Iraq cooperate on many issues, including infrastructure projects, water, electricity, gas, and energy in a way that could respond to both nations demands, he added.

He further pointed to a security agreement signed last year between the two neighboring countries and noted that the deal is still valid and can help establish security in the region.

Irans interactions with Iraq and other regional states are based on mutual interests but the United States merely thinks of its own interests, Raisi noted, expressing hope that his Iraqi counterparts visit to Tehran would be a turning point in bilateral ties between the two countries.
A St. Joseph, Missouri-based Christian, nonprofit medical cost-sharing "ministry" called Medical Cost Sharing, Inc. (MCS) has been accused of fleecing its members and has been ordered to stop bringing in new clients. News Press NOW reports:

A St. Joseph company was ordered to stop accepting new clients after a federal complaint alleged that its leadership used customer funds for personal gain instead of covering medical expenses. Medical Cost Sharing and its two founders, Craig A. Reynolds and James L. McGinnis, are accused in federal court documents of using a fraction of $7.5 million in membership contributions to cover health care expenses. Instead, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court alleges that the two men placed at least $4 million into their own bank accounts. U.S. District Judge Greg Kays issued a preliminary injunction on Jan. 5 that requires Medical Cost Sharing, or MCS, to disable its website domain name. In addition, MCS is prohibited from destroying records and cashing checks or depositing contributions from its members/customers. Neither the company nor the two founders, both from St. Joseph, are charged with any kind of crime. The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a civil complaint in late December that outlined what it saw as probable cause that federal wire fraud statutes were violated.

I looked up Craig Reynolds and James McGinnis and found their LinkedIn pages. McGinnis' didn't have much info, but Reynolds' says:

My goal is to provide affordable health care to all Christians without the bureaucracy involved in ObamaCare and without the concern of profits that all "for profit" companies that have to answer to their stockholders need to go through. As a 501C3 non profit company, we can do that.

Oh, the hypocrisy! This is coming from a man who is being accused of stealing four million dollars from MCS members who paid into the company thinking they would be getting health insurance. Many were left with thousands of dollars of unpaid medical bills. Forbes further explains:

Members of the Medical Cost Sharing (MCS) ministry had been promised their medical bills would be covered in return for a monthly contribution. Those membership fees were to be "shared" with a network of "like-minded" Christians, in what appeared to be a legitimate faith-based nonprofit, effectively crowdfunding insurance and charitably disbursing money when claimants required aid. But clients claimed they were denied coverage for reasons they couldn't grasp and left with thousands in unpaid medical bills, according to an FBI search warrant. The feds claim it was part of a fraud, one that saw the business ownersMissouri-based Craig Reynolds and James McGinnispocket $4 million of $7.5 million in membership payments, of which only $250,000 (3.2%) went on medical expenses. The feds say the organization has become even stingier in recent years, distributing no money whatsoever to members since 2021.

Lots of these companies existI just did a quick Google search and dozens appeared. Unfortunately, they are often confusing at best and unethical and fraudulent at worst, and what's even worse is that they aren't subject to much oversight. Again, Forbes:

While such nonprofits claim to offer legitimate insurance alternatives, there's no real oversight of their operations, said JoAnn Volk, research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. "Healthcare sharing ministries claim an exemption from federal and state insurance laws, so there's no guarantee that the organization maintains funds sufficient to pay claims and certainly no guarantee that they will, even if the funds are there," Volk told Forbes. "There are no solvency requirements, no requirement to pay members in a timely way  no requirement to pay at all. It really is just a matter of faith that claims will be paid, though the marketing typically suggests otherwise."

For more about this shady industry, read the rest of the Forbes article here, and check out this piece from 2020 from the New York Times.
Five months after hundreds of gallons of toxic fire suppressant spilled at the Navy's Red Hill fuel facility, sparking outrage from state health officials and environmentalists, military officials have yet to release their investigation or video of the spill.

At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's probe initiated in January into that incident, as well as other spills of the fire suppressantcalled aqueous film forming foam, or AFFFhas resulted in little information being revealed publicly about the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

On Nov. 29 an estimated 1, 300 gallons of concentrated AFFF spilled from a pipe at Red Hill, prompting a major environmental cleanup that involved soil excavation and testing for a contaminant in the fire suppressant called PFAS, known commonly as "forever chemicals " because they break down so slowly in the environment. The EPA has recently proposed strict limits on the chemicals in drinking water because they've been linked to certain cancers and other health problems.

The spill touched off another round of controversy for the military, which has been under fire since a fuel spill from Red Hill in November 2021 contaminated the drinking water of military families. That spill, as well as historic spills from the facility, have contaminated the groundwater beneath Red Hill, and health officials and environmentalists have long worried that chemicals from the fuel could migrate into the island's public drinking water supply.

The AFFF spill fanned those environmental concerns, leaving the state Department of Health, as well as Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Hawaii Sierra Club, worried not just about fuel contamination of the aquifer, but PFAS.

The EPA's law enforcement arm subsequently initiated an inquiry into the AFFF spill and any other releases of the fire suppressant at Red Hill. The agency, which along with the state Department of Health has regulatory authority over Red Hill, specifically asked the Navy to describe the circumstances that led to each release, provide any video of the releases and maps that show the areas that were contaminated, among other information requests.

At the request of the Navy, the deadline was extended until March 15.

The EPA told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the Navy had met the deadline, but the Navy deemed some material, such as the maps, "controlled unclassified information, " preventing the EPA from releasing it. The Navy says it continues to review other material to see whether it needs to be redacted, even though the EPA told the Navy to identify any material that it claims is confidential prior to submitting the documents.

The Navy has indicated that some of the requested documents were already publicly available and has released a very brief description of the Nov. 29 spill, as well as two other spills at the facilityone on Dec. 7, 2019, that involved an estimated 1, 500 gallons of concentrated AFFF, and another spill on Sept. 29, 2020, that involved a 5, 000-gallon mix of AFFF and water.

But there's been nothing released that explains the circumstances surrounding the spills, and it's not clear whether the Navy has turned over information detailing the causes of the two prior incidents.

"The EPA is committed to seeking additional information not already provided by the Navy in response to our Request for Information, " EPA spokesperson Michael Brogan said in an email. "It's important that we understand the cause, response, and impact of each AFFF release in order to protect the health of Hawaii residents and the environment."

A Navy spokesperson indicated that the review of historic releases is ongoing.

"Once the Navy's review of historic releases is finalized, that information will be provided to regulators and the public, " said the spokesperson by email. "All documents and other information for public release will need to be reviewed for possible redaction. Again, that process focuses on thoroughness and accuracy."

Military officials have also provided no timeline on the release of their internal investigation of the Nov. 29 spill.

In early December, Adm. John Wade, commander of Joint Task Force-Red Hill, which is responsible for defueling Red Hill in order to permanently close it, announced that he had appointed Maj. Gen. Richard J. Heitkamp of the Army Reserve to investigate the spill, which was expected to take 30 days.

Wade told the Star-Advertiser in January that he had received a copy of the completed report and that he expected it, as well as video of the spill, to soon be released publicly.

This week a spokesperson for Joint Task Force-Red Hill said the investigation is still in process.

"The investigation is still pending, " he said. "Once the investigation and coordination has been finalized and approved for release, it will be made available."

Military officials declined to say whether a grand jury investigation involving Red Hill, which was first reported earlier this month by Hawaii News Now, has delayed the release of information relating to the AFFF spills.

"We do not comment on ongoing investigations, " said a Navy spokesperson.

___

(c)2023 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story sustained an estimated $3 million in damage from Sunday's tornado in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which ripped the roof off a barracks building, downed approximately 100 trees and left the entire base without power for about 18 hours.

"And that list could grow," said Capt. Michael Witherspoon, the commanding officer.

After touching down Sunday evening in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, the tornado went northeast, crossed Broad Bay and took aim at the joint military base. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Wakefield confirmed Monday morning that the cyclone was an EF-3 tornado, which carries winds between 136 and 165 mph.

According to Witherspoon, the tornado hit the base's training section first and moved to the water's edge by the historic Cape Henry house. Witherspoon was in his home next door to the Cape Henry house when the tornado came through.

"The whole house vibrated for a minute and a half ... It was just a roaring sound. I could feel the house moving," Witherspoon said. "It was a fierce storm, and it was quick."

The tornado took out power for the entire base for around 18 hours, with around 95% of power being restored by 10 a.m. Monday. According to Witherspoon, Dominion Energy and Navy facility and emergency management teams worked around the clock.

"You can imagine that was quite a bit of work -- to get power lines and transformers replaced. And we had to run new wiring for a lot of the electrical grid," Witherspoon said.

A chain-link fence surrounding the vacant Cape Henry house was mangled, and a pump house next to the historic home was totally demolished, with bricks and debris strewn about the property.

Other parts of the base were littered with downed trees. The entrance of Operations Building 863 was nearly impassible with a large tree totally uprooted across a walkway, blocking the door. And a slender tree branch was embedded in the adjacent concrete building.

Across the way, the roof of a barracks building was crumpled. The damage to the roof resulted in the displacement of 56 service members. But Witherspoon said the service members were promptly moved to a neighboring building.

"We are lucky no one was injured. We can recover from the debris cleanup and the removal of trees and just restoring the installation," Witherspoon said.

Witherspoon expects Fort Story will have recovered from the storm within two weeks. But there are some repairs that may take longer, such as to the damaged barracks, as the base uses the opportunity to make upgrades.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com

 2023 The Virginian-Pilot.

Visit pilotonline.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy emphatically stressed his support for military aid to Ukraine on Monday, blistering Russia's killing of the children and distancing himself from some in his party who oppose additional major U.S. aid to stave off the Russian invasion.

In Israel on his first trip abroad as speaker, McCarthy flatly rejected a suggestion at a news conference that he does not support sending military and financial aid to Ukraine -- and he amplified his positions on other issues back home, including his demand for debt limit negotiations with President Joe Biden.

I vote for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine, McCarthy said, responding to a question from a Russian reporter. I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine. I do not support your killing of the children, either."

You should pull out, McCarthy told the Russian reporter. We will continue to support -- because the rest of the world sees it just as it is.

McCarthy touched down in Jerusalem leading a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, his first foray abroad as the new House speaker and the first to address the Israeli Knesset in 25 years.

Domestic politics followed his trip overseas, and the Republican speaker said he still has not yet heard a response from Democrat Biden about negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling.

The president still hasn't talked to me, McCarthy said, quipping that he feels a little like [Benjamin] Netanyahu, referring to the Israeli prime minister who has yet to receive a call from the U.S. president.

Im looking forward to the president changing his mind and negotiating with us, McCarthy said.

House Republicans last week put an opening offer on the table, passing a sweeping package that would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion to into 2024 in exchange for a long list of spending restrictions and other conservative policy priorities that Democrats oppose. Biden has said he would veto the bill if it should be approved by the House and Senate.

Biden has refused to engage in talks on the debt ceiling, saying it must be raised with no strings attached to prevent a potentially catastrophic default on the nation's already accrued bills.

McCarthy made it clear a so-called clean debt ceiling will not be possible with House Republicans.

We will not pass a debt ceiling that just raises it without doing something about our debt, McCarthy said.

The Republican leader, who was elected speaker in January after a tumultuous internal party battle, led the congressional delegation on a trip he has made many times before, often with Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the former Democratic leader, who was again at his side.

The trip came as Congress was soon to face again a request to send major aid to Ukraine. McCarthy will need to navigate Republican politics as the debate plays out, particularly from the Trump-aligned wing that has raised opposition to spending overseas to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian aggression.

Early on as party leader, McCarthy had said there would be no blank check for Ukraine, but he has since insisted that as speaker he will back the U.S. effort against Russia even as he works to ensure oversight of American taxpayer money abroad.

Democratic former speaker Nancy Pelosi recently looked back on her own historic trip to Kyiv last year, at the outbreak of the war, and said Ukraine and democracy must win.

At home, McCarthy and Biden are both working -- but at odds -- to prevent a debt default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, now $31 trillion, by this summer.

Answering questions at a press conference, he referenced the children's TV classic and quipped, Schoolhouse Rock -- they never told you not to negotiate. They told you to work together.

We should sit down and solve this problem, McCarthy said. The debt is a big challenge for America. Were going to have to come together to solve it."
Paramount+ may not have all our old favorites when it comes to war movies and television shows, but there's no shortage of good viewing for the military enthusiast. On top of the list below, the streaming service also offers old-timey military movies like 1951's "Drums in the Deep South."

It also offers a wide range of Smithsonian Channel documentaries, such as "100 Missions: Surviving Vietnam" and "Arlington: Call to Honor." Subscribers can get access to Showtime movies and shows, opening even more titles, like the original series "Homeland." Here are just a few of the best on Paramount+ right now.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Director Michael Bay tells the real story of the six members of a CIA Annex Security Team, all former service members who responded to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The team, stationed in a secret annex just one mile away from the compound, attempts to rescue American personnel, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, in the face of overwhelming odds.

Allied

Max Vatan (Brad Pitt, "Fury") and Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose") are a Canadian intelligence operative and a French resistance fighter who meet on a mission to Morocco during World War II. Once the mission is over and they return to the relative safety of war-torn London, British intelligence begins to suspect there's more to Marianne than they ever knew.

Black Wings

The Smithsonian Channel's "Black Wings" follows the history of America's Black aviators from biplanes to combat operations. From "Prophet of Aviation" William Powell to the Tuskegee Airmen to Air Force legend Daniel "Chappie" James, "Black Wings" is a fascinating documentary about the timeline of how these aviators overcame racism and joined the ranks of America's best pilots.

Clear and Present Danger

Deputy Director of Intelligence Jack Ryan uncovers a complex American conspiracy to wage an illegal war against drug cartels in Colombia, one that may reach the highest levels of the American government. Ryan will risk his life to bring it to light.

Harrison Ford wasn't the first person to portray Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan on screen, but he was the first to reprise the role. "Clear and Present Danger" is the third movie in the "Ryanverse" and Ford's second as Ryan.

Dog

After former Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum, "Bullet Train") is denied an assignment due to a traumatic brain injury, he learns his best friend was killed in a car accident. He is assigned to escort his friend's working dog, Lulu, to his funeral before taking the Belgian Malinois to be euthanized.

Along the way, Briggs realizes he has a lot in common with Lulu and the two form a close bond, the kind veterans and their dogs know very well.

Devotion

Ensign Jesse Brown was the first Black aviator to complete the Navy's basic flight training program. He earned his commission in 1949, just one year after President Harry Truman integrated the U.S. armed forces. In 1950, he was flying missions in the Korean War.

Jonathan Majors stars as Jesse Brown in "Devotion," the story of his close friendship with his wingman, Thomas J. Hudner, who heroically attempts to rescue Brown when his plane goes down behind enemy lines.

Enemy at the Gates

By August 1942, the German Army had taken large chunks of Soviet territory and captured hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops. Adolf Hitler wanted a symbolic victory for Germans and went all-in on Stalingrad, launching a five-week battle that would kill a total of more than a million soldiers.

At Stalingrad, a Soviet sniper named Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law, "Sherlock Holmes") rises to fame for killing hundreds of German soldiers. The Germans send their best counter sniper, Maj. Erwin Konig (Ed Harris, "The Rock") to hunt Zaitsev. The two square off in a test of will during one of the most pivotal battles of World War II.

Gladiator

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius' greatest general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe, "Master and Commander"), wants to return home after subduing Germanic tribes. After the emperor is murdered by his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker"), Maximus moves to use his army to arrest the new emperor, but Commodus strikes first.

Surviving an assassination attempt, Maximus is captured and held as a slave. He must fight his way to the biggest games of all, in Rome, to exact his revenge against Commodus, who assumed the throne.

The Kite Runner

Amir (Khalid Abdalla, "The Crown") is a young boy in a well-off family living outside Kabul when his life is turned upside down by an invasion from the Soviet Union, the rise of the Taliban and an invasion by the United States. Amir lives with the guilt of betraying his friend, Hassan, as boys and eventually seeks to make some kind of amends with the experience.

Saving Private Ryan

Does anyone really need an introduction to "Saving Private Ryan"? Though the story is very loosely based on the story of Edward, Preston, Robert and Frederick Niland, four brothers who served in World War II, where three either died or were presumed dead, it's not a real story, but director Steven Spielberg ensured the World War II combat depicted in the movie was.

Spy Wars with Damian Lewis

"Spy Wars" is the perfect show for anyone who loves the history of daring intelligence operations. Host Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers," "Homeland") guides viewers through this docuseries that tells the stories behind some of the most incredible covert missions ever. The series covers Soviet "illegals," the "Argo" mission to exfiltrate Americans from Tehran and the capture of Robert Hanssen, the most damaging traitor in U.S. history.

Top Gun: Maverick

America's favorite naval aviator returned to the big screen in 2022, with Tom Cruise reprising his role as Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. This time, he's training the Top Gun graduates -- including the son of his former radar intercept officer (RIO), Nick "Goose" Bradshaw.

As Maverick prepares the pilots for the most decisive mission of their careers, he has to literally confront his past while fighting to stay in the Navy.

Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin

When United States Marines were sent to Korea in 1945, there was only one Asian-American regular officer in the Corps, Kurt Chew-Een Lee. Lee led Marines from the Inchon Landing through the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. "Uncommon Courage" documents his effort to lead 500 Marines into the jaws of death to save 8,000 more.

We Were Soldiers

Mel Gibson ("Lethal Weapon") stars as Lt. Col. Hal Moore in director Randall Wallace's adaptation of Moore's book, "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young." When Moore arrives in Vietnam, the 400 men of his 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry are tasked to aid a firebase under attack in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley against an unknown number of enemy soldiers.

Despite being outnumbered, surrounded and unable to withdraw by air, Moore and his soldiers fight the North Vietnamese for a week in one of the most storied and bloody battles of the Vietnam War.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Unsatisfied with her career, journalist Kim Baker (Tina Fey, "30 Rock") takes a gig as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. There, she discovers the ins and outs of war reporting through dealing with the U.S. military establishment, fellow journalists and her Afghan "fixer." The movie is based on real-life journalist Kim Barker's (not a typo, thats her real name) memoir "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on LinkedIn.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.
Youre excited for an overseas military PCS move with your service member until  that is, until you realize that taking your career with you is likely to be very complicated. Even if youre a remote employee already, the rules around working while living at an OCONUS duty station are murky at best. And even if you can figure them out, you still have to convince your employer to let you do it.

Those rules are created by whats known as a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the host nation. So how do you figure out what you need to know about taking your career overseas? In this episode of PCS with Military.com, Beth Conlin, a military spouse and OCONUS career advocate, explains the ins and outs of SOFA, how to figure out what you need to know and some steps for working with your employer to take your job with you when you move. Listen now.

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The following is an edited transcript of this episode of PCS with Military.com

Amy Bushatz: Welcome to PCS With Military.com. I'm your host, Amy Bushatz, Military.com's executive editor. On this podcast, we talk about everything you need to know to make this military move season your best yet. PCS With Military.com is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. Proudly serving all branches of the armed forces, veterans and their families. No matter where you are in your military career, Navy Federal Credit Union has the products and resources to help you navigate your finances. Learn more at NavyFederal.org. Our members are the mission.

Now, let's get this PCS started.

Your orders are in and the excitement is real. You are headed overseas for an OCONUS move. But if you're a military spouse who's worked to build a career despite your frequent relocations and all the uncertainty of military life, heading overseas might feel a little less exciting. Even if you've convinced your stateside employer to let you take your role remote, doing your job from another country is an entirely different subject. Why? Because now you have to navigate the challenge of status of forces agreements. Known as SOFA rules, these agreements govern many ways US military members and their families live overseas, including whether spouses can hold jobs in those nations.

So how do you figure out the rules for your upcoming country? And how can you work with your employer or the Pentagon to let you work? Here to talk to us about all things sOFA is Beth Conlin. A longtime military spouse, she had to quit her job thanks to an overseas move in 2013 and has since become a passionate expert on and advocate around SOFA rules. Today she works full-time at Amazon and like me is also an alumni of the Bush Institute's Stand -To Veteran Leadership Program. Beth, welcome to PCS with Military.com.

Beth Conlin: Thank you so much, Amy, for having me. I'm excited to talk about SOFA. Anytime anyone will give me a platform to do that I'm happy to share all the insights.

Amy Bushatz: I understand that. I too am nerdy about many things, and I am delighted when somebody wants to ask me about them. In short, I am very fun at parties. Let's just put it that way. So why don't you start by telling us how many times you have moved with or even without the military.

Beth Conlin: I am coming up on my 15th move this PCS cycle this summer.

Amy Bushatz: That is a lot of moves. And this time you're staying stateside?

Beth Conlin: We are, yes. We have done fun fact, out of those 15 moves, 13 of them have crossed an ocean. So, this will only be my second time not crossing an ocean, which you would l you would think in theory is easier. I have found that it is not, it is just difficult anytime you PCS with the military.

Amy Bushatz: Yeah. Fair enough. Okay, so start by giving us some background on SOFA. What is it? Why does it exist? Who is in charge of it? Why is it such a fun acronym? Tell us all about it.

Beth Conlin: Yes, the acronym, I think is the best part. I forget sometimes if people don't know what SOFA is the look of confusion on their face when they're like, why is this woman talking about a couch?

But so status of forces agreements, as you mentioned in your intro, are peacetime treaties that are established when we have a permanent presence of US service members. So think like post World War II when we established service members all in Germany, right? And then in, in Italy and really across to Europe.

So anytime it's a peacetime activity, like in Japan, South Korea, any overseas location, we have the status of forces agreements put in place. And on the surface, they are legally binding peacetime treaty. And they were originally intended to keep our service members protected while living overseas. So ver like a basic example, if a service member ran a red light in Munich, Germany the status of forces agreement essentially would ensure that service member had appropriate legal protections.

So they're not just like at the will of a foreign country's policing or regulations. So on the surface, they were very basic legal protections for military service members. They never included any conditions about the families. Because if you think about when permanent presence were established, it was like the forties and fifties maybe even into the sixties, and families were not going overseas.

So it was a very like singularly focused peacetime treaty and they are country by country. So there's a lot of reasons the SOFAs are complicated, but one of them is because Japan, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Spain, they all have, there's 122 individual status of forces agreements um, that are negotiated between the host country and the US.

The other challenging part about status of forces agreement is that they are owned by the DoD and the State Department, and they are ratified by our Senate. So there, there is layers of complexity when it comes to amending them, adjusting them, and making any changes to them because you have to get the host country, our country, and then those three agencies involved in any changes.

So it, that's a nutshell as to like what they are and why they're so complicated. Another layer to that is we have a NATO status of forces agreement. So we have like a blanket, NATO status of forces agreement. But Italy, Germany, and Spain all have amendments to that. So even in like the NATO status of forces agreement, there's another layer of complexity, which to your point in the introduction is why it's so important to understand what country you're going to and then figure out the rules of operation in that country.

Amy Bushatz: And why it is so difficult to work with anybody on this, whether that be an employer or the US government, because anytime you bring more bureaucracy to the party, boy howdy, it gets fun.

Beth Conlin: Exactly. And I think it's also important to note that it, in terms of the military family, what, like what does SOFA mean to you?

A simple way to think about it is this, your SOFA status is like your visa. So if you were gonna go to Italy on vacation, you would have a tourist visa. You would be allowed to be in that country for 90 days before you were there like illegally. If you were gonna move to Germany for, to work, you would have what's called an A3 work visa.

And like that is your reason for being in Germany. You are SOFA status, regardless of what country you're in, is essentially like your reason to be there for longer than the standard 90 days. So the SOFA governs the person and their ability to be in the country, which does not always even touch employment. Which is again, why this is complicated because like there's not a blanket policy around SOFA is for your person, working in the country is a completely separate issue in most cases.

Amy Bushatz: So, nail down for us then, how SOFA does impact spouse careers specifically, because we always hear like, oh, military spouse, I'm not allowed to work in XYZ country because of SOFA. So what's the link here?

Beth Conlin: So there's truly, honestly, a lot of that language and a lot of, of that sort of fear mongering, um, to put it, to put it frank, is really a lack of information. So.

Amy Bushatz: A misunderstanding

Beth Conlin: Rarely, correct. Yeah. It's a it, it's, it is the absence of saying you can work that leads a lot of people to say, well, it says, it doesn't say that I can, so I can't. Um, In addition to that, there are a couple instances, like Germany for example, their status of forces agreement says that a certain percentage of jobs on the installation must be reserved for local nationals of the host country.

But at the time that, that, that language was put in there, remote work didn't exist. The internet wasn't even a thing. And so there, there is no addressing of like, what happens if you're working for a US-based company, or in my case, like a global company like Amazon that has nothing to do with a job on the installation. Can I work there? And again, the absence of any language addressing that has led people to say, well, no, you can't.

Another part of the challenge here is actually it's on us. It's on the military family and our, misunderstanding on what it means to be under SOFA orders. So a lot of people think, well, I'm on SOFA status, so I'm on US property, or I live on base, so I'm on US soil.

Which also is not correct. And so there's, we have, we need to take some ownership of understanding what it means to go overseas. If you're on SOFA status and you live on post, you still are living in a foreign country and you need to abide by foreign country employment laws, which means taking your US based career virtually overseas isn't always going to be accepted in that country. In some cases it is, but in most cases you'll need to what's called tax equalize yourself to that post country and get paid in Euros, if you're anywhere in Europe, pay into the German, Italian, or Spanish tax system. You'll be able to maintain your career. But that is, those are like sort of the legal headaches that, that we have to deal with when we are going overseas and working in those host countries.

Amy Bushatz: And then, and we'll address this in a few minutes, but when you are trying to change that, now you're working with your employer to make those changes, and not every employer is willing to jump through the administrative hoops of that. And I imagine often that comes down to HR but we'll cross that bridge here in a second.

So tell us why this is so difficult to change and navigate for the DoD. So spouses need to understand what it is, but when we talk about what we wish was happening, why is it so hard to make those changes or to make those things happen that we feel are logical today? You mentioned, for example, that the internet didn't exist. The internet exists now, so why doesn't the status of forces agreement reflect the existence of these types of jobs or these types of situations?

Beth Conlin: There's two main reasons that it feels like we're pushing a boulder up a hill with this. The first one is the example that happened to me, I will use. When we PCS to Germany in 2013. My employer, I was working for a global company at the time and my employer said to me, okay if you work out of our Munich office, does that void your status of forces status, meaning I would I not be on my husband's orders? Would the Army think he's there alone? Right, like all of these set and there was a non-answer there. Nobody could answer if my employment would void my SOFA status. That information still to this at right now is not clear. That is being worked on to, to resolve that issue, so that employers are clear on like, what are the rules here? So that's part of it is that there's a lack of information.

What are the rules of operation? How do we sort of operate in this environment? The other part of it is because this is a tri- agency, peacetime treaty that involves a second country. So even if we wanted to make an amendment about working conditions being virtual, you have to get that host country involved. You have to get our country involved, DoD, State Department, and the Senate. And you'll hear a lot of people say, well, we can't open up the SOFA to make these changes because then we have to renegotiate everything.

That is incorrect. Also, in 2018, the um, status of forces agreement in Japan was amended to address workforce concerns. So it is possible to just make amendments regarding one subject, but you need a willing host country, willing state, willing, DoD and a willing Senate all on the same page to make those changes. So that's why on the surface it is so challenging. There's a lack of information and then it's a tri- agency owned process involving a second country.

Amy Bushatz: Just a quick pit stop here to thank our sponsor. PCS With Military.com is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union.. They may be called Navy Federal, but they don't exclusively serve sailors. Serving all members of the armed forces, they have the products and resources to help you navigate your finances through every phase of life. So even if you can't tell port from starboard, Navy Federal Credit Union will help you earn and save with great rates and exclusive discounts. Learn more at NavyFederal.org. Navy Federal Credit Union, our members are the mission, an equal housing lender.

Okay, so you've told us about the challenges and problems. Give us some practical advice here, if you have any tips for how, how can a spouse work with this, around this, through this, something to stay employed during an OCONUS move? What is your advice?

Beth Conlin: The good news is that I would say over the last five years, this has been just a louder and louder sort of battle cry from the spouse community that we have to fix this. And so it has put a lot of pressure on the host countries, our JAG offices in those host countries to just get the information together.

So there's a couple of key factors that I think are super, super important. Number one, military JAG ,doesn't matter what branch, cannot, is not authorized to give employment advice.

They are not labor law attorneys. They, they can and they will give tax advice, which is truly where SOFA like that's the crux of the situation in the employment space is about taxes. So while I would love to think that all of our JAG offices are smart enough to know that when a spouse comes in to acts about employment, they're really talking about taxes, not all of them are.

So if you wanna talk to the local JAG office about how SOFA is gonna impact your employment, you want to talk to them about taxes. They can help you there.

Secondarily , there have been a few countries that are notorious for kind of like really entrenched fear mongering and just full out falsehoods on what SOFA means. They have been really pressed to clarify and be truthful and upfront with that. So countries like Italy and Germany actually now have pretty good information in that host country.

Other countries like Japan and Korea have super simple guidelines to follow. You just contact that JAG office in whatever installation you're going to say, Hey, what information do you have about SOFA? Those two countries in particular, Korea and Japan, have very easy one pagers that are like, here's the rules of engagement in our country.

Leaning into your host country's JAG to ask about tax and SOFA is where you're going to get the most up-to-date information and then understand too that coming from the top down, I would say over the next two or three years, guidance will continue to be clarified because with Covid, a lot of countries Thailand, Italy, Spain, they introduced something called a digital nomad work visa. And that allows you, if, regardless of SOFA, that allows you to go live and work in their country while collecting income from your home country. That also addresses the tax policies on how you do that.

So with the advent of digital nomad visas, there has been an increased push to say, can we wrap this into SOFA? Can we clarify this language? So I would say, lean into your host country JAG office, ask about taxes not employment. And then definitely keep your ears peeled for more information on the impacts of the digital nomad visas on our abilities to work overseas.

Amy Bushatz: What you're not saying is get a digital nomad visa instead of being on SOFA status.

Beth Conlin: Correct,. Yes. I'm saying that the admin of a digital nomad visa will probably inform the way SOFA is the language of the SOFA.

Amy Bushatz: And the reason to not do that is because you need to be sponsored on base to be overseas with your spouse and receive all of the other services and support and other permissions to be there. And having a digital nomad visa and just living in the host country instead of being there on a SOFA status would negate all of those other things. You wouldn't have your household goods moved by the DoD for the family. You wouldn't have your kids sponsored to be on base school if that's what you wanna do, and so on and so forth. It sort of wipes out a whole bunch of other stuff while also letting you work.

Beth Conlin: Correct. Is, and I think it's a, and I thank you for the clarification. I'm just hoping it's a good example of how the private sector can influence the public sector in this particular instance, and I have a lot of faith that this particular change in the way that we do business will actually be a positive one for our spouses who wanna maintain employment overseas.

Amy Bushatz: What about working with your employer? So let's say I get orders to Germany. Okay? And I go to my employer and I say, Hey, I'm already a remote employee. Check it out. Now I'm gonna live in Germany. Can I take my job there? You know, Or just say, I'm taking my job there. What happens next? When your employer pushes back? What are, What are some tips for working through that with them?

Beth Conlin: So there are two types of employers in this instance, a global employer, and let's, I'll just say a US based employer for simplicity. If you have a global employer who has entities in other countries, if they have an entity, so I'll use example, Amazon. Amazon has entities, headquarters offices in Germany. By law, you are required to align with that entity. So I would get paid in German dollars or in Euros and have to pay to German taxes. So if you have a global employer, number one, check to see if there's an entity in that country and then work with your HR and tax to see if you have to be tax equalized in that host country.

If you are a US. I would say work very closely with your tax in HR because it's, there's varying degrees of acceptance based on the size and, honestly, level of risk that those employers are willing to take. We do have a lot of small US based employers that continue to employ spouses overseas, and they are confident in um, their ability to do so based on our unique tax statuses using the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act.

So, if you have a small US based employer I would say talk to them early because it's a bit complicated and you need to talk to HR, tax and payroll. And get them all aligned. And then I would say take it from there, but talk early, talk often. And then if you have a global employer, again aligned with HR, tax and payroll to see if there is an entity in that host country.

Amy Bushatz: And what if you are a contractor like so many of us are these days? So you are a 1099 in the us right? You're not employed by anyone. You filed taxes under that status. You wanna take your contractor-ness with you to Germany and just work there as if you were working here and have nobody be the wiser. Is that possible?

Beth Conlin: So that depends. There's two things you wanna consider there. So one is, there there is a Social Security administration tax law for contractors where you can apply yourself as an exempt tax entity in that country. That information is found on the Social Security Administration website. It's actually pretty simple and the rules are super clear.

So one check Social Security Administration tax policy there. And then secondarily, look at your host country status of forces agreements because some countries mention it super clear, don't care, and they say, if you are not engaging in the local economy, so let's say you're a journalist, and you only write for US-based publications, you're not engaging in the local economy. They don't care. But it, it does vary country by country. So look into, again, go to the JAG office to talk about taxes and they will be able to advise you on that 1099 status.

Amy Bushatz: Perfect. Okay. And let's say you're somebody who thinks all of this is nonsense and you really wish it would change, how can we as military spouses support or advocate for changes to this system?

Beth Conlin: I would say you are correct to say this is nonsense and it should change, number one. I validate that feeling for you. Number two, because anything that we change in the SOFA has to be ratified by the Senate, you have to be civically engaged. You've got to write your senators, write them, call them, email them. Talk to their staff. Let them know the importance of any of these changes. In particular, if your senator is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

But regardless, any changes have to get ratified by the Senate. So write your Senate, write them early, write often. Additionally, you can the US Chamber of Commerce and MySECO they both have a very simple chart, if you will, that shows kind of, what the levels, I guess, of strictness of the status of forces agreement are. So you can also look there for those resources to first understand how big of a mountain are you about to climb in finding out this information, and then which Jag office should you go to. So talk to your senators, engage with the Chamber and MySECO, Military OneSource to get their SOFA resources. And then talk to the Jags and your host country.

But ultimately if we want change, we gotta just keep beating that drum, which is getting progressively louder. So I do see change happening in, in the future for all of us to maintain our employment.

Amy Bushatz: And I will make sure that the fact sheet that you just mentioned is linked in the show notes. So anyone who wants to see that can just check out the show notes for PCS with Military.com for this episode and find a link directly to that.

Beth, thank you so much for your time, your expertise, and your advocacy on this issue, and for sharing it with us here at PCS with MIlitary.com. Thank you.

Beth Conlin: Thank you for having me and being willing to let me nerd out on SOFA.

Amy Bushatz: Thanks so much for listening to PCS With Military.com. Want more PCS advice? Check out the rest of PCS With Military.com wherever you get your podcasts. A special thanks to our sponsor, Navy Federal Credit Union, proudly serving all branches of the armed forces, veterans and their families. No matter where you are in your military career, Navy Federal Credit Union has the products and resources to help you navigate your finances. Learn more at NavyFederal.org. Our members are the mission.

And until next time, happy moving.
Back in 1970, documentarian extraordinaire Frederick Wiseman offered a glimpse into the wiring and stitching of the Metropolitan Hospital in New York City in the simply titled Hospital. A rare glimpse into the simultaneously quotidian and delicate nature of the precarious American health care system, Hospital was something of a cinematic marvel: what does this place look like from a birds-eye view, in which life and death dance together on a high-wire act of both empathy and callous industry?

De Humani Corporis Fabrica is a stunning and rare feat. The latest experimental and experiential documentary from Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel, takes up Wiseman's ethos by plunging us, literally, into the human body. Shot in various rooms and back hallways of French hospitals, the film is a rare glimpse into an all-together foreign realm. Though the movie is shot with novel access, it recalls cinema's early days, when English photographer Eadweard Muybridge used the new apparatus to answer some of science's more persistent questions of bodies, human and otherwise, in motion.

Castaing-Taylor and Paravel focus our attention on invasive surgeries, the routine care of corpses and molecular examinations of cancer-ridden cells; simultaneously a running "story" of sorts develops as a group of women, most likely senile, hold hands in a bizarre ritual of roaming the hospital halls in search of a man named Roland. Peppered over these extended scenes of surgery are ambient conversations amongst doctors and nurses, innocuous little dialogues about rent hikes in Clichy or hospital employment rates; these nuggets of chatter over high stakes operations emphasizes these slippery atmospheres in which caregivers work, in which our fragile human bodies hang in the balance. The cumulative effect of these scenes, sometimes hard to fathom, others banal, is like a rooted version of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), no less evident than in an ethereally disturbing scene where a background cawing sound is revealed as emanating from the mouth of an isolated woman on death's doorstep.

If the film sounds difficult to watch, it is because it frequently is; yet Castaing-Taylor and Paravel's unflinching gaze on these scenes of the human body forces us to push past initial discomfort into the area of detached observation. This is, simply, what the body is, and what it is ultimately capable of. The clicks and clacks of this world are highlighted in a way that recalls nothing less than smoke-filled rooms of journalism, mechanical typewriters and cash registers. Yet, here what we hear is the wheel of time, bodies breaking down and healing in equal measure. De Humani Corporis Fabrica, for all its persistent imagery of the blood and guts that make up all of us, is ultimately an esoteric wonder. Its camera zooms in and out of a Hieronymous Bosch-like mural, a pastiche of humanity's capability for survival, persistence and joy.
3:35pm: Between games of todays doubleheader, the Mets have now announced theyve selected Muckenhirn to the roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Stephen Ridings was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Hes been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and now wont be eligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement, not todays transfer. Additionally, righty Denyi Reyes was optioned between games of the twin bill while Jose Butto was recalled.

11:28am: The Mets are set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn in advance of todays doubleheader against the Braves, reports Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Hes not yet on the 40-man roster. The team has not formally announced the move, so its not yet clear whether Muckenhirn will be up for both games of the doubleheader or just the nightcap.

Muckenhirn, 28, inked a minor league deal with the Mets over the winter and has had a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse, where hes held opponents to one run on 10 hits and four walks in 11 2/3 frames. The former 11th-round pick (2016, Orioles) also boasts a strong 51.3% ground-ball rate, but hes punched out just four of his 47 opponents on the year so far (8.5%).

With Brooks Raley landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation over the weekend and David Peterson being optioned to Syracuse as well, the Mets only lefty on the big league roster had been Joey Lucchesi, whos currently working out of the rotation, Muckenhirn will give manager Buck Showalter an option in the bullpen for todays twin bill and perhaps for the foreseeable future, depending on todays bullpen usage.

Muckenhirn has spent the majority of his career in the Orioles organization, but he was with the White Sox organization in each of the past two seasons, generally pitching well with their Double-A and Triple-A clubs. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Muckenhirn has a 3.45 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and a 44% ground-ball rate.
Police in two Michigan cities are investigating reports of anti-Semitic graffiti being found over the weekend at a synagogue and outside of a house. According to Fox 2 Detroit, the first instance was reported at the Woodward Avenue Shul synagogue in Royal Oak Friday.

In that case, a swastika was spray painted on the building along with a term used by people with anti-Semitic beliefs. The symbol was scrubbed from the building a few hours after it was found, according to Rabbi Mendel Polter.

A swastika was then found painted on a baby stroller that was left outside of a house in neighboring Oak Park. According to WXYZ-Detroit, a swastika was also found painted on a neighbors car earlier in the week. Police are investigating the two vandalism cases as hate crimes.

READ MORE:

Out-of-state semi-truck driver arrested, accused of shooting at car on I-96

Michigan couple killed in plane crash in Georgia

My baby never intended for this to happen, says mother of 15-year-old killed in crash

Police identify Portage woman killed in crash
SENEY, MICH. -- Its been a bit of a tough spring for one of the worlds oldest and most famous loons.

Just last week the male common loon known as ABJ, who gained acclaim for his 25-year relationship and subsequent breakup with longtime mate, Fe, had just begun reconnecting with Fe on their former home turf, I Pool, at Seney National Wildlife Refuge only to be ousted by an upstart male.

Now, researchers who have been watching the nearly 36-year-old ABJ idle solo on the nearby H Pool, one of the refuges many alphabetically named ponds, say he is missing the tip of his upper bill, likely a result of the love-triangle squabble that led to his eviction.

In an update, Damon McCormick, co-director of the nonprofit Common Coast Research & Conservation, said the most plausible explanation for ABJs injury is that it derived from the torque of a flipping maneuver male loons sometimes employ in territorial battles. When sparring, a loon may rise up, grab the adversarys neck with their bill, and try to flip him underwater in an attempt to exhaust or even drown the opponent.

RELATED: Worlds oldest loon couples brief reunion in Michigan dissolves into bird drama

This same injury previously has been documented in three other Seney males, McCormick wrote, which gives researchers some hope that ABJ will heal after this latest insult.

In all cases, the wounded adult forfeited his territory and mate in conjunction with losing his bill, but was able to continue feeding elsewhere, and returned the following spring with the appendage fully, if imperfectly, regrown, he said.

But while ABJ may be able to recover, the broken bill tip doesnt bode well for his chances at attracting a new mate this year. According to McCormick, during courtship loons pay close attention to the others bill, as it is the sole means for snatching up tiny minnows for hatchlings and therefore is an important indicator for a loons ability to properly raise young.

While under other circumstances it would not be too late for ABJ to attract a new female to H Pool and nest this season, his impaired condition translates into very low reproductive fitness; he will remain single in 2023, McCormick wrote.

Last years scenario, in which ABJ spent his summer in Seney as a bachelor, may very well play out again.

McCormick told MLive that researchers will continue to monitor the situation in the coming weeks. For updates, visit Seney National Wildlife Refuges Facebook page.

RELATED:

Michigans hummingbirds are back, what to know about feeding them this year

Dont be fooled by this loon look-alike on Michigan lakes

Why its easier to find Petoskey stones on Northern Michigan beaches in the spring
LANSING, MI  A Michigan contractor has been charged with multiple crimes after he allegedly defrauded the City of Detroit of more than $1 million.

David MacDonald, 50, of Howell has been charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and 11 counts of false pretenses, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced last week.

MacDonald is accused of fraudulently billing the City of Detroit for backfill dirt used at demolished properties that he obtained at no cost and from contaminated sources.

MacDonald committed the alleged crimes when he was employed by Den-Man to lead the companys demolition program. Specifically, he was responsible for finding backfill for all the demolition sites in Detroit, per a contract with the city.

MacDonald is accused of repeatedly claiming to have paid for dirt used at these sites that he had obtained at no cost. He is also accused of lying about the source of the dirt and billing the Detroit Land Bank Authority for fictitious sums.

Den-Man received $1,148,513.61 for reimbursement for backfill material without incurring those costs. Furthermore, the alleged unapproved source of backfill material is considered environmentally contaminated, Nessel said.

The investigation was completed by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), which is a federal agency tasked with preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal funds.

These crimes, a scam against the people of Detroit and abuse of public funds, amount to public harm for private greed, Nessel said. We have a responsibility to protect public funds from abuse, and to protect already vulnerable neighborhoods from environmental attacks. I am grateful to the SIGTARP team for their work with our office.

Sites worked by MacDonald must now be tested for their environmental quality, Nessel said.
WATKINSVILLE, GA -- Police in Georgia have identified the victims of a fatal plane crash last week as Robert Denton, 76, and Sandra Denton, 75, of Williamsburg, Michigan. An investigation is ongoing, but police say the two were traveling in a single-engine Cessna 177B last Wednesday before it crashed in a field roughly 15 miles from their destination.

In a statement released by the family through the Oconee County Sheriffs Office, the couple was described as a pair of seasoned pilots and thanked people for their support during the tough time.

While taken from us far too soon, we find comfort knowing they were together and doing what they loved, flying. Robert and Sandra lived life to the fullest and were two of the most thoughtful and loving people you could know, read a portion of the statement.

The duo was traveling from Leesburg, Florida, to the Barrow County Airport in Winder, Georgia, before it went down. So far, investigators have not announced a suspected cause of the crash and are continuing to gather evidence to help make a determination.

READ MORE:

My baby never intended for this to happen, says mother of 15-year-old killed in crash

Police identify Portage woman killed in crash

Man dies after crashing vehicle into trees in West Michigan
DETROIT  Police are investigating the death of a well-known Michigan neurosurgeon who was murdered at his home last week, WDIV Local 4 reports.

Devon Hoover, 53, of Detroit, was found dead on Sunday, April 23, inside his Boston Edison Historic District home, the report said. He had been shot several times in the head and body. His body was wrapped. Detroit police officers found him while conducting a welfare check.

There were no signs of forced entry into the home; police believe Hoover knew the killer, the report said.

A person of interest, who police believe has valuable information related to the investigation, was arrested on Friday, the report said. The following night, Saturday, there was a break-in at Hoovers home, which police are also investigating.

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Fake severed hand found by troopers cleaning up highway

DNR sets trap for bear roaming Northern Michigan neighborhood

Michigan couple killed in plane crash in Georgia

My baby never intended for this to happen, says mother of 15-year-old killed in crash
CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, MI  Emergency personnel from a slew of Northern Michigan agencies traveled to Beaver Island over the weekend.

It was all part of an emergency response training exercise called Operation Maritime Resolve.

The Michigan State Police, United States Coast Guard, Charlevoix County Sheriffs Office, the Little Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa Indians, and other government and civil emergency response agencies in Northern Michigan participated.

The focus of the exercise is to confirm the agencies ability to respond to multiple hypothetical emergencies in a remote location like Beaver Island.

Agencies were on the island April 28 and 29 acting out several different scenarios. As part of the exercise, crews searched the island for a suspect who crashed their vehicle, provided support for K9 teams and simulated a wounded trooper needing to be airlifted off the island.

Beaver Island is 55.8-square miles and is the third largest island in Michigan after Isle Royale and Drummond Island.
DETROIT -- A semi-truck driver from Georgia was arrested overnight after he alleged opened fire on a car while the two vehicles were traveling along eastbound I-96. According to the Michigan State Police, troopers were dispatched around 11:58 p.m. Sunday for reports of a traffic crash and possible gunshots in the area of I-96 near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Police determined the incident started with a crash between the semi-truck and a passenger vehicle that occurred along Wayburn Street. Following that crash, the person in the passenger car, began following the semi-truck for several miles. At some point, the semi-truck driver allegedly produced a gun and fired multiple shots at the car.

The semi-truck then became disabled and the driver fled the scene before eventually returning to the truck. When the 37-year-old truck driver returned, he was placed under arrest, but his identity is being withheld pending formal arraignment on charges. Police say the case has been turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office for determination of possible charges.

Please remember when you are involved in a traffic crash to call police and not follow the other person. said MSP Lt. Mike Shaw. You never know the state of mind of the other driver and what they may do. We were lucky no one was hurt in this crash and shooting.

READ MORE:

Michigan couple killed in plane crash in Georgia

My baby never intended for this to happen, says mother of 15-year-old killed in crash

Police identify Portage woman killed in crash
Here are all the new movies and shows you can stream on Netflix in May, including the Tom Hanks hit A Man Called Otto and the Netflix spinoff Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Check out our picks for the 10 best things you can stream this month, starting today.

American Gangster

Ambition and corruption clash in 1970s Harlem, where a charismatic drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) rises to power and faces off with an upright detective (Russell Crowe) and deadly rivals. Directed by Ridley Scott, a mostly good thriller that has a legion of fans thanks to the magnetic star performances. (Now available)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Groovy British secret agent Austin Powers (Mike Myers) must foil the sinister schemes of Dr. Evil (also Myers). Hilarious spy movie spoof might be the best work of Myers career. The two just-OK sequels are also streaming. (Now available)

The Cable Guy

After moving to a new apartment, a recently single man (Matthew Broderick) hires a cable guy (Jim Carrey) to hook up his TV and gets a clingy, overzealous new friend instead. Exceptionally weird (and underrated!) comedy written by Judd Apatow and directed by Ben Stiller, featuring one of Carreys best performances to date. (Now available)

Conan the Barbarian

Brave warrior Conan the Barbarian (Arnold Schwarzenegger) rises to defend the people of Hyboria after evil forces slaughter his family and fellow villagers. Arnolds first true Hollywood vehicle showed his action chops, right before he became the Terminator and one of the biggest movie stars in the world. (Now available)

READ: Arnold Schwarzeneggers 10 best movies ranked

Leon: The Professional

When his neighbors are killed by a DEA agent, a hired assassin (Jean Reno) becomes the reluctant guardian of a young girl (Natalie Portman) who begins to follow in his footsteps. Thoughtful thriller from acclaimed director Luc Besson, with a manic turn from the great Gary Oldman. (Now available)

Pitch Perfect

Its a musical showdown an a cappella group revamps their stodgy style to take on a mens choir in a university competition. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson star in this winning musical comedy that spawned two sequels. (Now available)

Steel Magnolias

Are you even Southern if you havent seen this? Six women in a small town share gossip and solve problems at the local beauty parlor, anchoring each other through lifes ups and downs. Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis with Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts star. Grab a tissue box. (Now available)

READ: 18 movies that totally get the South

Traffic

A U.S. drug czar learns his teenage daughter is an addict in this Oscar-winning saga that weaving three snapshots of Americas drug war. From Oceans Eleven and Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh, this outstanding drama stars Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle and Dennis Quaid. (Now available)

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Young Queen Charlottes marriage to King George of England sparks an epic love story and transforms high society in this Bridgerton universe prequel. (May 4)

A Man Called Otto

Tom Hanks plays a grump whos given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all until a young family moves in nearby, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around. (May 6)

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Season 3

OK, one more. Tim Robinson returns for a third season of some of the best absurdist comedy in decades. Youll laugh until it hurts, then youll watch the clips hundreds of times for the rest of your life. (May 30)

MORE MOVIES & TV (from Netflix )

May 1

Above Suspicion

Airport

Airport 77

Airport 1975

American Gangster

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Austin Powers in Goldmember

Black Hawk Down

The Cable Guy

Captain Phillips

Chicken Run

Cliffhanger

Conan the Barbarian

The Croods

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dawn of the Dead

Flight

For Colored Girls

Girl, Interrupted

The Glass Castle

Home Again

Hop

Igor

Kindergarten Cop

Last Action Hero

Legends of the Fall

Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events

Leon: The Professional

Marshall

Paranormal Activity

Peter Pan (2003)

Pitch Perfect

Rainbow High, Season 3

Rugrats, Seasons 1-2

The Smurfs, Season 1

Starship Troopers

Steel Magnolias

The Tale of Despereaux

This Is the End

Traffic

Vampires

The Wedding Date

The Young Victoria

May 2

Love Village

The Tailor

May 3

Jewish Matchmaking

Great British Baking Show: Juniors, Season 7

May 4

Arctic Dogs

Larva Family

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Sanctuary

May 6

A Man Called Otto

May 8

Justice League, Seasons 1-2

Justice League Unlimited, Seasons 1-2

May 9

Documentary Now! Season 4

Hannah Gadsby: Something Special

May 10

Dance Brothers

Missing: Dead or Alive?

Queen Cleopatra

May 11

Royalteen: Princess Margrethe

St. Vincent

Ultraman, Season 3

May 12

Black Knight

Call Me Kate

The Mother

Mulligan

Queer Eye, Season 7

May 13

UglyDolls

May 16

Anna Nicole Smith: You Dont Know Me

May 17

Faithfully Yours

Fanfic

La Reina del Sur, Season 3

McGregor Forever

Rhythm + Flow France, Season 2

Working: What We Do All Day

May 18

Kitti Katz

XO, Kitty

Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune

May 19

Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom

Kathal - A Jackfruit Mystery

Muted

Selling Sunset, Season 6

Young, Famous & African, Season 2

May 22

The Batman, Seasons 1-5

The Boss Baby

The Creature Cases: Chapter 3

May 23

All American, Season 5

MerPeople

Victim/Suspect

Wanda Sykes: Im an Entertainer

May 24

Hard Feelings

Mothers Day

Rhythm + Flow France, Season 2 (new episodes)

The Ultimatum: Queer Love

May 25

FUBAR

May 26

Barbecue Showdown, Season 2

Blood & Gold

Dirty Grandpa

Tin & Tina

Turn of the Tide

May 30

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Season 3

May 31

Heartland, Season 15

Mixed by Erry

The Ultimatum: Queer Love (new episodes)
Adidas ended its relationship with Hitler admirer Kanye West last year, but that wasn't soon enough for Adidas' investors, who filed a lawsuit against the shoemaker for continuing to do business with West (now known as Ye) for years after it had become clear he was an outspoken antisemite. Adidas is already saddled with hundreds of millions in unsold Yeezy inventory, so the lawsuit couldn't have come at a worse time.

From BBC

Last October, when the company ended the collaboration, it said: "Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech.

"Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."

However, investors who filed the lawsuit in the US against the company on Friday claim that Adidas knew about other questionable behaviour by West, alleging that it was discussed by former chief executive Kasper Rorsted as well as other management.

The Wall Street Journal published details of an alleged meeting in 2018 where Adidas discussed West.

The report claimed that senior executives spoke about how to mitigate the risk of staff interacting with him as well the company possibly cutting ties with the rapper.
DETROIT  A woman was fatally shot, and a man was critically injured while they were riding in the backseat of a vehicle after leaving a Detroit nightclub early Monday, police said.

Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched around 12:30 a.m. to Detroit Receiving Hospital for a report of multiple victims possibly shot while entering northbound I-75 at Gratiot Avenue from Brush Street, police said.

Preliminary investigation shows that the victims had just left The Annex nightclub, and someone started shooting at them as they entered I-75 from Brush Street, police said. There were four people in the vehicle.

After the shooting, the victims in the front, who were not hit, realized that two passengers in the backseat had been struck by gunfire, police said. The driver proceeded to the hospital. A 27-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the hospital. A 30-year-old man is hospitalized in critical condition.

The freeway ramp was closed by investigators searched for shell casings, police said.

We are continuing to investigate this homicide, said MSP First Lt. Mike Shaw, public information officer, said in a statement. We know that this was not a random incident and was targeted towards one of the people in the car. Now we need to determine who it was and why. This will lead us to our suspect(s).

Anyone who witnessed this incident or anything that may be relevant to the investigation is asked to contact Michigan State Police Second District at 313-456-0020.

READ MORE:

Michigan neurosurgeon, 53, shot to death at home

Fake severed hand found by troopers cleaning up highway

Man shoots himself during confrontation with police near elementary school
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI  A man convicted of murder for killing his friend while visiting a mutual friends home in Ypsilanti Township has been sent to prison.

Washtenaw County Trial Judge Patrick Conlin Jr. sentenced Gary Demonn Chambers Friday, April 28, to serve 18 to 35 years in prison for the shooting death of his friend Laron Donta Henning, 34.

After five days of trial proceedings, a jury found Chambers guilty on one count of second-degree murder in connection with Hennings death.

Related: Man who shot friend claiming self defense found guilty of murder

Prosecutors argued Chambers, 28, was a long-time friend of Henning before fatally shooting him unprovoked while the three were at a mutual friends home.

Chambers, taking the witness stand in his own defense, argued the shooting was justified, claiming he was acting in self defense in fear of his life being threatened by Henning.

The jury disagreed, handing down a guilty verdict for the slaying.

Chambers was a visitor at a home in the 1700 block of Smith Street of Ypsilanti Township when he called police just before 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 and told the dispatcher, I just shot somebody. He also stated, I dont know him and he came in the house before the call was disconnected, according to the 911 call played in court during his preliminary examination.

Chambers told someone to contact his lawyer moments before police arrived and calmly explained to police that he shot Henning, according to the 911 call. He also told police he had a concealed pistol license and that his gun was in his pocket. Chambers then surrendered to police.

He would later admit he knew Henning and then stated he shot him in self defense.

Police found Henning with multiple gunshot wounds at the home, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died of his injuries.

The owner of the home testified he had known Henning since he was a child and that Henning was a frequent visitor of the home.

The homeowner said Chambers was hanging out with his family that night watching television when he saw Hennings vehicle enter the driveway.

The homeowner greeted Henning at the side door in the kitchen before leaving him and Chambers to go check on his wife and child while they were getting ready to eat dinner.

About 10 seconds later, the homeowner heard three gunshots in the kitchen, ran back and saw Henning bleeding on the floor inside his homes entryway, he said.

He did not recall hearing any arguing between the pair nor was he aware of any ongoing beefs between the two men.

Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Allecia Wilson testified Henning suffered three gunshot wounds, two of which were described as fatal wounds.

One shot grazed the top of Hennings head from front to back, one entered the front of his right chest and tore through vital organs downward and the third entered the back of his head and did not exit.

The shots to the chest and the back of the head were described as fatal shots, she said.

Det. Michael Babycz, of the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office, testified there were three spent shell casing recovered inside the home, all consistent with Chambers gun, an MP Bodyguard .380, he said.

Babycz said Chambers was read his Miranda rights and then immediately requested his lawyer, adding Chambers was compliant with police during his arrest.

Babycz also did not find any clear evidence that indicated the pair were in a feud prior to the shooting beyond a text message Henning sent Chambers telling him he needed to watch himself.

Chambers was credited for 529 days served.

More from The Ann Arbor News:

Man shoots himself during confrontation with police near elementary school

Plans for new Ypsilanti-area ALDI supermarket clear first hurdle

Downtown Ann Arbor traffic closures changing as Main Street project advances
SALINE, MI -- A Saline man has been charged in federal court with engaging in illegal sexual activity with an Ohio minor he met on a gaming website.

Danil Baker, a 21-year-old Saline man, was arraigned in federal court on Monday, April 24, on charges of online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and transportation with intent to engage in sexual activity, according to a complaint filed in federal court in December 2022.

Both charges carry sentences up to life in prison.

Baker is accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl after picking her up from her Ohio school and later leaving her at a homeless shelter, according to federal court records. Baker first contacted the girl on Roblox, a creative gaming website aimed at children, according to the records.

The girls parents reported her missing to Hancock County Sherriffs Office around 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 when she didnt come home from school, according to the complaint.

Baker told police that he had picked up the 14-year-old girl from her school in Ohio before driving to a park and mall in Westland. He also attempted to get a hotel in the area, but was unable to find a room, he said. He then dropped the girl off at a homeless shelter.

On Dec. 9, officers from the Westland Police Department responded to a grocery store for a welfare check on a girl who had been crying in the public bathroom. The officers recognized the girl as the 14-year-old who had been reported missing.

Baker was aware of the girls age, the complaint said.

Baker also has a pending criminal sexual conduct case in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. The victim in that case was also a 14-year-old girl, although the incident did not involve online enticement, according to Michigan State Police.

Police declined to share additional details, but court records show the incident took place June 30, 2021. He is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person 13-15.

He was arrested on that case July 13. Court records show he was given a 10 percent of $2,000 cash or surety bond, but that the bond was later revoked.

The case remains pending in court.

Read more from The Ann Arbor News:

Should Ann Arbor build a new downtown library? Survey shows support

Tom Brady coming to Michigan for Economic Club of Grand Rapids event in June

Great Lakes water levels are above normal, expected to rise in May
FLINT, MI  Sidney Pettigrew Jr. was 51 when he was gunned down while working out at the Rock Fitness Center near Linsey Boulevard in May 2018.

Five years later, his death  which has sparked attempts to stop gun violence in Flint  remains unsolved.

But a local organization is hoping a cash reward may generate the tips necessary to close the case.

A reward of up to $2,500 is being offered by Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County for information leading to an arrest in Pettigrews case.

Three years ago, a reward was first offered for information in the case. Pettigrews family pleaded for someone to come forward.

Hes always been a part of our lives so now we have to find a new normal. Its very painful, Aretha Pettigrew, Sidney Pettigrews longtime partner, said at the time. This hasnt just been a tragedy for our family but others (have been) victims of (gun violence).

Joseph Pettigrew partnered with the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence to start the Flint Youth Against Gun Violence after his father was killed.

If you have any information about the incident, contact Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), http://P3tips.com/488, or P3Tips mobile app. All methods are anonymous.

Read more at The Flint Journal:

Police identify man killed at fitness center on Flints south side

Family seeks answers in 2018 Flint homicide, offers award for information

Flint native tackles gun violence after father is fatally shot
MECOSTA COUNTY, MI  A woman was transported to the hospital after a car crash Sunday, April, 30, in Hinton Township, northeast of Grand Rapids, left her with possibly life-threatening injuries.

Deputies with the Mecosta County Sheriffs Office responded at 3:42 p.m. to the scene at Jefferson Road near 90th Avenue, north of Lakeview, for a single-vehicle crash. The woman, 50, was traveling from Lakeview at a high rate of speed before driving off the road and the vehicle overturning, police said.

The driver was transported to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids for serious, possibly life-threatening, injuries. Alcohol and controlled substances are believed to have been factors, according to the sheriffs office.

Mecosta County deputies were assisted at the scene by Mecosta County Emergency Medical Services, Meceola Central Dispatch, Morley Fire Department, Lakeview Fire Department and Weeks Towing.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Some animal shelters and humane societies in West Michigan are nearing capacity due to high numbers of homeless, stray and surrendered pets.

Stray intake has been rising and we generally dont see these kinds of numbers until summer, said Angela Hollinshead, director of the Kent County Animal Shelter. Stray dogs are usually not far from home. We need the community to assist us in reuniting pets with families before they arrive at the shelter.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  If youre looking for a fun summer job working with kids, the city of Grand Rapids is looking to hire counselors for its summer day camps.

The citys fifth annual free Summer Day Camp program will run Monday through Friday each week, from June 12 to Aug. 25. The camp offers free, daily summer programming to local kids and serves over 200 campers each summer.

Camp counselors work five hours a day, 25 hours a week, according to a news release from the City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Department. Applicants must be at least 15 years old and have at least six months of experience working with youth.

Our Summer Day Camp program is an important resource providing safe, fun and engaging activities for youth in our community, said David Marquardt, director of the parks and recreation department. Our counselors are what make the program possible and successful.

Wages for counselors start at $16 an hour. They will work a 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift each day at camp locations at Garfield Park, MLK Park and Roosevelt Park, according to the job posting.

Each camp location will host over 75 kids throughout the summer for activities in arts and crafts, outdoor adventures, sports, swimming, movement and dance, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and more, the release said.

Anyone interested in learning more or applying for the job can do so here.

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KENT COUNTY, MI  A man is charged with open murder in a weekend shooting outside of Affordable Suites of America in Kentwood.

Jerry Kidd Jr., 35, was arraigned Monday, May 1, in Kentwood District Court in the fatal shooting of Edgar Hernandez-Sandoval, 41.

Kidd was ordered held on $750,000 bond.

Related: 1 dead in Kentwood early morning shooting

The shooting happened early Saturday, April 29, during an altercation outside of the hotel at 2701 East Beltline Avenue SE, Kentwood police said. Kidd allegedly shot Hernandez-Sandoval once with a handgun.

The victim died at the scene.

The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident was reported at 4:46 a.m.

Read more:

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Military voting access boosted with new Michigan election law

Michigan contractor accused of fraudulently billing Detroit $1M for contaminated dirt
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Several traffic signals are out Monday, May 1, after a car crashed into utility pole on the citys Southeast Side.

The crash happened at Eastern Avenue SE and Temple Street. The utility pole carried both primary and secondary circuits.

The outage has affected traffic signals on Eastern, Burton and Plymouth avenues.

Consumers Energy workers are on the scene. According to Consumers outage map, power is estimated to be restored by 1:15 p.m.

The property-damage crash was reported at 8:19 a.m.

The outage has affected about 35 customers.

Read more:

Expanded hours, routes coming for Grand Rapids free downtown shuttle

5% hike in cleaning, beautification special assessment requested by Grand Rapids board

Michigan Weather Snapshot: Starting May with snow
PORTAGE, MI  Aqua-Tots Swim Schools has opened its first Southwest Michigan location.

Located at 7113 S. Westnedge Ave., next to Sams Club in Portage, the swim school offers year-round lessons to children from 4 months to 12 years old.

Plans call for the school to eventually offer adult classes and special needs classes, franchise owner Rob Johnson said.

Johnson, a Portage native, saw a need in the area for a swim school, as there were no other year-round swim schools catering to all levels of swimmers on the par with what Aqua-Tots offers.

Still, he was a bit surprised by the overwhelming response the school received when he started doing enrollments in November.

In the five months since, he signed up more than 900 children and their families. The school opened Monday, April 17.

That number, he said, is the third-highest opening enrollment out of the over 130 Aqua-Tots schools currently operating across 14 countries. Ten of those franchises are in Michigan, with the other nine in the eastern part of the state.

The other nine Aqua-Tots in Michigan are operated by siblings Annette, Brian, Faraj and Patrick Tomina, whom Johnson has partnered with on the Portage school. The Tominas will mainly serve in a support role, while Johnson is general manager and takes care of day-to-day operations, he said.

Johnson said the school teaches a proven curriculum with essential water safety skills.

Utilizing a 10,000 square-foot space and one large 70-by-30-foot pool, the school has 18 separate zones for swim lessons. Each lesson is capped by a 4-to-1 instructor-to-pupil ratio to maximize learning possibilities, Johnson said.

Group lessons start at $109 per month per student, for once-a-week instruction. Class frequency can range up to three times per week, with those lessons priced at $307 per month.

The school operates on a level system with levels one and two being age-based. Level one is for kids 4 months to 1 year old, while level two is for kids 1 year old to 2 1/2 years old. An adult is required to be in the pool to accompany the child at those two levels.

Students 2 1/2 and older start at level three. They will move up levels as fast as they master skills at each level, Johnson said. There is no predetermined timeline and about 30 to 40 new skills are taught at each level.

Its all based on how well the kids do in our system, he said. Whether its a 10-year-old who has never touched a body of water outside a bathtub or a shower or its a 2 1/2-year-old eager to start at level three and jump in, we offer a wide range of class structures and programs and hopefully are able to accommodate everyone who wants to use our services in the area.

While most classes have a 4-to-1 instructor-student ratio, the school does offer semi-private 2-to-1 and private classes as well.

We really suggest starting with the group lessons, which is the 4-to-1, Johnson said. Being able to learn the skills themselves and then being able to watch the kids in their class do them as well, really helps.

The school is open six days a week and closed Sundays, but as enrollment grows, Johnson has plans to open seven days a week. Classes are taught throughout the day. Evening courses are available Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Ive been around water my whole life, said Johnson, who is a parent of two children under 5. Its something where its an obvious need and something we take very seriously, helping families teach their kids how to swim.

It goes without saying how vital this is to the community, being able to raise that next generation of swimmers to be comfortable in the water. Its a huge responsibility and something we dont take for granted by any means.

To learn more about Aqua-Tots Portage or to enroll in lessons, please visit www.aqua-tots.com/portage or call 269-230-4040.

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Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter.
Schools in Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania can't ban After School Satan Clubs, a judge ruled. The school district tried to stop the meetings from taking place, citing safety concerns after someone called in a threat, but the judge said a ban was a first amendment violation.

From WFMZ:

The judge's order says Saucon Valley had rescinded approval because of the Satanic Temple's "controversial views on religion" and the community's negative reactions to the club, therefore violating the group's First Amendment rights.

The district had argued that the club violated district facility policies when it advertised on social media. Those social media postings, the district argued, led to a North Carolina man making a threat against the middle school relating to the club, leading to school disruptions.

"Although the Satanic Temple's objectors may challenge the sanctity of this controversially named organization, the sanctity of the First Amendment's protections must prevail," wrote Judge John Gallagher, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in the decision.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI  A suspect has been arrested in a homicide case from nearly 35 years ago.

Cathy Swartz, 19, was stabbed numerous times and strangled while her 9-month-old daughter was in the next room on Dec. 2, 1988, in Three Rivers, per a news release from Three Rivers Police Chief Scott Boling. Evidence shows she fought back against her attacker.
MUSKEGON, MI  Rain, wind and chilly weather didnt dampen the optimism Monday at the groundbreaking for a new $250 million Muskegon Lake development.

Plans for Adelaide Pointe include a marina with super-yacht slips, condos, a hotel, restaurant, boat sales and more on over 30 acres of property in the 1200 block of W. Western Avenue in Muskegon.

Related: $12M marina with rare super yacht slips coming to Muskegon Lake

Beyond waterfront access, and recreation opportunities, the AP development will contribute greatly to the local economy, supporting our small businesses - both new and long established - and adding to the tax base that will enable the city of Muskegon and other government entities to better invest in public infrastructure and programs that serve our residents, Muskegon Mayor Kenneth Johnson said.

The 233-slip marina that is part of Adelaide Pointe will have several 80- to 100-foot slips and one 150-foot slip, according to developer Ryan Leestma.

The biggest slip will accommodate yachts that currently can only dock at Bay Harbor near Petoskey, or Chicago, Leestma previously told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle.

Construction of a 55-unit condo building will begin this year and be completed next summer, as will a multi-use building, boater services building and restaurant, owner Ryan Leestma told MLive earlier this year.

Development plans also includes a $35 million hotel, for which designs currently are being developed.

This project demonstrates what can happen when elected officials - from the local, state and national level - community members all come together to collaborate and make something good happen for our community, said U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids.

I believe Adelaide Pointe is just the start of what the lakeshore will become in the future.

All of the lakefront property in Adelaide Pointe will be open to the public as will two peninsulas Leestma owns, and a fishing pier/walkway planned along the marina dock. Additional parking will be developed as well as a handicap-accessible kayak launch.

Related: Developer of Adelaide Pointe granted use of Muskegon city launch ramp for boat in/out service

When I was a kid, I didnt think that I would ever have the opportunity to go to a lake. I didnt think I would have an opportunity to go to the beach. I felt like that was only for the rich kids, Leestma told the crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony.

And for me, when I got to the water and I started to be able to enjoy (it), it literally changed my life. It changed how I thought about myself, my family. The world seemed a lot brighter. It seemed to be a better place, right? And that is what (my wife) Emily, and I are ultimately trying to share. Were trying to inspire people with the opportunity to access the water.

Related: Public access, city land upgrades hailed as part of $250M Adelaide Pointe development on Muskegon Lake

A special use agreement allows public access on two peninsulas on Leestmas property that, along with a significant stone breakwall, will form the marina.

And thats really our dream at Adelaide Pointe, when were done, have a very very diverse group of people all enjoying the water together in our beautiful city, Emily Leestma said.

The project, located on the site of the former West Michigan Steel foundry, also plans enhancement to fishing opportunities from the shoreline, solar power, charging stations for electric vehicles and boats, mass timber construction, removal of invasive species and the addition of natural habitat for wildlife and fish.

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Tourist mecca? Muskegon Lake cleanup gives community a new lease on life

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LANSING, MI  Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars are on the line as Michigan lawmakers take first steps in forming a state budget for the next fiscal year.

The House and Senate appropriations committees, tasked with crafting initial funding proposals, advanced 18 bills last week for departments ranging from agriculture to prisons. In most cases, each chamber has its own proposal for every department.

Flashback: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposes largest budget in Michigan history

In the coming months, senators and representatives will work together to debate details and revise numbers. Lawmakers typically try to finish the budget before leaving for summer break in early July, but the legal deadline is Oct. 1.

The legislature is on track to finish this budget in late May or early June, Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, told reporters. Remaining budget bills, she added, should see committee votes this week.

Here are key takeaways from the proposed department budgets that have passed to full-chamber negotiations.

Environment and agriculture

The most striking ambition for lawmakers would be to increase Michigans 2023-24 budget by nearly half for the environment department.

Funding for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) would jump more than 48% under the Senates proposal, from $727 million to more than $1 billion. EGLEs general fund would more than triple, and payments to locals would jump more than 600%.

The story is the same in the House, where lawmakers are proposing boosting EGLEs budget from to $1.45 billion dollars  more than what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed in February.

What were talking about here is a large, new investment in our water infrastructure, said Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor. He mentioned stormwater management in local communities, lead pipe replacement, dam safety and contaminated site removal.

Despite the increase, proposed funding on those latter three items is still less than what Whitmer wanted.

The Department of Natural Resources would see a 5% bump under the Senates proposal, coming in around $563 million. Funding increases include fighting invasive species, controlling wildfires, restoring wetlands and better pay for conservation officers.

The Agriculture and Rural Development department, however, would see a 13% cut under the Senates plan, mostly coming from dropping a $50 million one-time appropriation for pandemic relief.

Significant agriculture investments include addressing PFAS contamination in farm fields, doubling support for conservation districts and more help for small producers and minorities.

This budget helps our consumers, its going to improve Michigans environment, and it also provides support to agriculture businesses and farms, said Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint.

The House floats a nearly 20% decrease in the agriculture budget. That would mean dropping $10 million for assisting farmers utilizing regenerative practices, $5 million for livestock tuberculosis and $35.7 million in food supply chain investments.

As for the DNR, the House proposes a 7.5% funding increase from the current year. Whitmer called for more.

Discrepancies arise from the House agreeing to fund the same interest areas as Whitmer wants  like invasive species control and infrastructure upgrades to Detroits Belle Isle Park.

Prisons, public safety, courts and vets

The Senate advanced cuts to Michigan prisons and courts. The Department of Corrections would see a 3% dip to just over $2 billion, and the state judiciary budget would lose 27% to fall under $352 million. The House proposal recommends nearly the same, a $351.2 million budget for the coming year.

The courts are seeing a cut mostly because lawmakers are striking a $150 million line item this fiscal year that created a statewide case management system. That has been bringing our courts into this century, said Sen. Sue Shink, D-Northfield Township.

The department will notably get more money to facilitate resentencing juveniles given life in prison.

Related: Banning life without parole for Michigan juveniles fiercely debated at Senate panel

The corrections departments budget would drop $60 million after losing some one-time funding and closing prison facilities in Ionia and Adrian, per the Senates recommendation. But a new program at four sites to help prisoners addicted to drugs would receive more than $15 million and 78 full-time employees.

The House Appropriations Committee has yet to vote out a final budget recommendation for the Department of Corrections.

It did, however, vote to approve a small increase to the Department of State Polices budget recommendation as well as a possible 35% cut to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Notable in the state police recommendation is funding for a 2023-24 trooper recruitment school, including additional money for information technology support, salaries and benefits for those running the school. There are also $8.5 million in one-time funding for in-service training requirements for licensed law enforcement officers.

Another two initiatives, a support program for crime victims and a gun violence prevention initiative, are both earmarked to receive $1.9 million in funding.

As for the veterans department, like with judiciary, the biggest funding loss comes from removal of one-time funding from the current budget year.

That includes a $115 million drop for statewide armory modernization projects, $100 million for the Michigan Volunteer Defense Force, $12 million for the State Veterans Cemetery and $6.5 million for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Transition.

Higher education and community colleges

Only the House advanced education funding proposals last week. Their appropriations committee voted out budget recommendations for community colleges and higher education.

For the former, the House recommends a $25 million, nearly 5%, decrease. Most of the funding difference comes from removing federal dollars for a community college academic catch-up program, a center for adult college success and the Michigan Reconnect Program for short-term training grants.

Perhaps the biggest funding cut recommendation removes $56 million in federal money for a grant program to aid people with associates (or similar) degrees in nursing to pursue a Bachelor of Science in nursing on a community college campus.

Those cuts are supported both by the House and the governor.

Higher Education, which funds the states 15 public universities and certain research initiatives, would see a 9% increase in funding from the year prior. It brings the overall budget recommendations to just just shy of $2.2 billion.

Included in this increase is $99 million for university operations, the bulk of which ($62.1 million) will go toward an ongoing increase for university operation grants and $50 million in ongoing funding for a deposit into the states Postsecondary Scholarship Fund.

These scholarships are awarded to in-state students who meet certain criteria and plan to attend full-time an eligible Michigan public university, community college, tribal college or independent nonprofit college after high school graduation.

Regulations and finance

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs would see a 9% bump in funding to just less than $600 million under the Senates plan.

Notable investments include more money for clean energy improvements to homes and businesses; to increase qualified child care facilities and access; and to build a reference lab for the Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

The House would push that increase even further, with its recommendations, calling for a 15% bump in funding, topping recommendations from the Whitmer administration.

This bump would include $72 million for the states Indigent Defense Commission to help fund district and circuit courts, as well as $36.2 million for grants to help businesses, nonprofits and others invest in renewable energy and electrification infrastructure.

The much smaller Department of Insurance and Financial Services would see barely any change under the Senates proposal, adding about $200,000 to a budget of less than $75 million.

The House has a similar recommendation but also proposes $500,000 in one-time funding to assess Michigans insulin market and find ways to reduce prices.

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Military and overseas voters will effectively get more time to return absentee ballots under a bill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Monday.

Senate Bill 259, which goes into effect immediately, gives Michigan voters living overseas and those serving in the military a grace period after polls close. As long as a ballot is postmarked by Election Day and received by the local clerk no more than six days later, the votes will count.

Military spouses and dependents are also covered under the new law. Past policy required military and overseas ballots to be returned by the time polls close on Election Day, the law for all other voters.

But overseas ballots were thus 20 to 70 times more likely to be received late, Michigan Secretary of State legislative policy director Erin Schor told the Senate elections committee last month.

Less than 1% of Michigan absentee ballots were rejected in the November 2020 election, according to a U.S. Election Assistance Commission report. But because of issues like mail delays, 4.6% of Michigan military and overseas ballots were rejected.

Our military personnel defend our democracy; we must defend their right to participate in our democracy, Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Southfield Democrat and chair of the elections committee, said in a statement.

SOS Jocelyn Benson, Michigans veterans affairs department and clerk associations all support the new law.

Local clerks will forward all received absentee voter ballots from military or overseas voters to county clerks for tabulation at a county canvass board meeting. SB 259 also lays out procedures if a postmark is missing or unclear.

Whitmers signing Monday marks the first law to implement Proposal 2, which passed with 60% of the vote last November to expand voting rights and access. Expect additional Prop 2 legislation in the weeks to come, Moss said two weeks ago.

Lawmakers are working on an extensive bill package to implement more of the constitutional amendments changes, including an early in-person voting period of nine days, single-signup absentee voting and state-funded absentee ballot tracking and drop boxes.

Read more from MLive:

Massive environment spending increases highlight early Michigan budget

Will Michigans financial disclosure law reveal politicians long-hidden perks? Its up to them.

Leadership at Michigan environmental regulatory agency in flux

Michigan Democrats pursue uniform septic code, an elusive water goal
RICHLAND, MI-- Parchment students headed to Gull Lake Country Club Saturday evening for prom 2023.

The Panthers came dressed to impress for their Great Gatsby themed prom on April 29.
LANSING, MI  Leadership at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is in flux again.

Aaron Keatley, the chief deputy director at EGLE, is being elevated to acting director as the existing acting director, Daniel Eichinger, leaves for a job at Ferris State University.

Eichinger, the former director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), took over at EGLE after director Liesl Clark stepped down in December amid a second-term shakeup in Gov. Gretchen Whitmers cabinet.

Whitmers office announced the changes Friday, April 28.

Keatley joined EGLE in 2018 when the agency was named the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under former governor Rick Snyder. He worked 25 years for the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection and served as commissioner for the last two.

In Michigan, hes been responsible managing the state environmental programs. He is assuming responsibility for a department for which lawmakers are considering a 48 percent budget increase to more than $1 billion next year.

I appreciate the opportunity to bridge the transition of filling the director position, which is expected soon. I am also grateful for the leadership Dan provided to the department over the last few months and wish him the best in his next endeavors, said Keatley in a statement.

Eichinger, former director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, was appointed to Whitmers cabinet in 2019. He oversaw major investments in state parks and joined the governor in revoking the Enbridge Line 5 easement under the Straits of Mackinac in 2020.

Eichinger is taking a job as vice president of governmental and external affairs for Ferris State. His former role at DNR has been filled by acting director Shannon Lott since December.

Last week, Lott announced that DNR would deny the Michigan National Guard a proposed 162,000 expansion of the Camp Grayling training base on adjacent state land following opposition from local governments and conservation groups.

The DNR has agreed to limit military access to 52,000 acres of adjacent state land through a permit for low impact training.

Sign up to receive MLive's free new environment and climate newsletter, "Lake Effect." Enter your email below:





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LANSING, MI  Michigan Democrats have introduced legislation that would fulfill a long-held policy goal for clean water advocates: Establishing a statewide septic code.

House Bills 4479 and 4480, and Senate Bills 299 and 300, introduced on Thursday, April 27, would require inspection of residential septic wastewater systems every five years.

If passed, Michigan would become the final state to create uniform standards governing the design, construction, installation and maintenance of septic systems.

Bill sponsors say the underlying goal is to reduce the amount of bacterial and nutrient contamination from the estimated 330,000 failing septic systems statewide, which can drive harmful algae blooms and beach closures.

We have a patchwork of local ordinances that arent even covering the majority of septics, said lead sponsor Rep. Phil Skaggs, a Democrat from East Grand Rapids.

Its something Ive been concerned about for many years and I think that now is the opportunity to take advantage of a new array of forces in the capitol, he said.

For decades, the lack of statewide rules governing residential onsite wastewater systems in a state surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes has frustrated environmental health and clean water advocates, who have watched bipartisan efforts falter in previous legislatures.

Only 11 of Michigans 83 counties require inspections.

Our studies in Michigan have shown that human fecal contamination is higher in watersheds where there are more septic tanks, said Joan Rose, a microbiologist and water quality scientist at Michigan State University. That puts people at risk of contracting diseases. Ultimately, if we want to protect our water quality and our health in the state of Michigan, we really need a monitoring system that will help us address and modernize our septic tanks.

Last year, Republicans held a committee hearing on similar legislation that died at the end of session. A similar fate befell a bipartisan septic code package at the end of 2018.

The sticking point in past attempts has been determining when to trigger a septic tank inspection. Last year, Republicans put forth a bill that would have required inspections when a property changed hands, which is how Macomb County and some municipalities do it.

That approach was opposed by the Michigan Realtors, a trade group which argued that tying inspections to property transfers was inefficient.

The last bill was just kind of a shell of an idea, said Brad Ward, vice president of public policy at Michigan Realtors. It was a statewide point-of-sale inspection mandate. Thats all it was. It had no structure behind it, no teeth in it, nothing like that.

By contrast, for the most part, this piece of legislation looks really good, Ward said.

Ward said the new bills resurrect an approach attempted back in 2018, when a pair of bills that required periodic inspections died at the end of lame duck session.

Environmental groups are on board with that approach.

Making a sale the inspection trigger misses homes which dont change hands frequently, said Megan Tinsley, water policy director at the Michigan Environmental Council.

Having it done on a frequency basis means youre catching all properties, Tinsely said.

As written, the bills would require the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to maintain a database of inspection results and establish a technical committee within EGLE to advise on recommended management standards. A inspector certification system would be created and existing county ordinances would be phased out over seven years.

The legislation doesnt yet include funding.

Tinsely said funding will be needed to support EGLE and county health departments, which will be facing an increased workload associated with new program startup.

Financial assistance for certain homeowners may also be necessary. We definitely want to see funding included and take into account someones income situation, Tinsely said.

Skaggs said legislators are eyeing a $35 million appropriation to create a revolving fund that would help low-income homeowners afford repairs and replacements as part of a 48 percent proposed budget increase for EGLE next year.

Another appropriation fund would be needed to implement the new program at the state and county level, he said. With licensing fees, we believe itll be a self-sustaining program.

In the Senate last week, the bills went to the environment and energy committee. They went to the natural resources and environment committee in the House.

Skaggs said lawmakers plan to continue refining the language around the exact definition of septic tank failure and legal compliance with stakeholder input before seeking a hearing and committee vote.

Were willing to work with all stakeholders, he said.

I think we have a real opportunity to get it done this time.

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Happy May Day, MLive Readers!

Thanks for starting your Monday with MLives economy recap, Wallet Watch. Before we jump into a new week, and a new month, lets do a quick rundown of what happened last week.

Stellantis announces layoffs, buyouts

In honor of May Day, or International Workers Day, lets talk labor.

Stellantis is the latest Detroit automaker to announce a major workforce reduction as cost-saving effort to pivot into electrification.

In the U.S., Stellantis is looking to slim the workforce by 3,500 hourly employees and an undisclosed number of salaried employees. Stellantis will offer the buyout to 2,500 salaried and 31,000 hourly employees. In total, the automaker employs 56,000 U.S. workers.

Union workers first broke the news on the Facebook page for Local 1264, which represents workers at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. The group posted a letter from local leadership announcing corporate wide buyout plans expected to come from the automaker.

Stellantis push to cut thousands of jobs while raking in billions in profits is disgusting, UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

This is a slap in the face to our members, their families, their communities, and the American people who saved this company 15 years ago. Even now, politicians and taxpayers are bankrolling the electric vehicle transition, and this is the thanks the working class gets. Shame on Stellantis.

Stellantis is offering buyouts to 33,500 U.S. employees in total and involuntary separation packages to some of the automakers 9,000 Canadian workers, but Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson declined to specify how many Canadian workers would be eligible for the buyout.

Information regarding the various packages will be communicated to eligible employees this week.

These voluntary programs are being offered to provide a favorable option to employees looking to pursue new opportunities, while preserving critical roles the company needs in order to maintain its competitive advantage, Tinson said.

Shortly after the buyout news, talk of temporary layoffs spread throughout Stellantis.

Senior hourly workers at North American assembly plants are being asked to opt into a temporary layoff that could last up until September, according the Detroit News. The layoffs are in response to efficiency assessments happening at multiple locations, including the four Michigan-based assembly plants.

As a normal course of business, we are continuously assessing our manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and ensure the market competitiveness of our products. While that effort is ongoing, we have canvassed seniority employees for their interest in temporary layoffs. This will allow us time to fully optimize our operations as the hourly workforce considers the voluntary separation packages that were announced this week, Tinson said in a statement to MLive.

The timing of the buyouts and layoffs comes just months before union negotiations are set to conclude in September.

Read more here: Stellantis plans to cut 3,500 hourly jobs, UAW letter warns

Faster electric vehicle chargers manufactured in Michigan

Staying in Southeast Michigan, there was more news about the auto industrys electric future. Electric charger company, FLO, announced it will make its new, faster chargers in Michigan.

The ultra fast charger is expected to charge most EVs to 80% in 15 minutes. FLO is aiming to bring the new charger to consumers in 2024. The tech features two high-powered charging ports in one aluminum enclosure that will be able to charge up to 500 kilowatts with multiple charging stations connected together.

The Canadian-based FLO came to Michigan last year when it opened its manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills. The Michigan facility will reportedly create 730 new jobs by 2028 and help the company produce 250,000 EV chargers for the U.S. market within its first five years.

FLOs Michigan operation is projected to generate $134 million in revenue from sales of EV chargers and $76 million in gross state product by 2028.

Read more here: Faster-charging EV tech to be manufactured in Michigan

Rare fungal infection at U.P. paper mill idles Escanabas economic anchor

Lets travel north to the Upper Peninsula.

Its been more than seven weeks since the paper mill in Escanaba became the epicenter of a rare fungal infection outbreak. Health officials have identified, as of April 28, 109 cases of blastomycosis, all connected to the Billerud Paper Mill, making it the largest known outbreak in U.S. history. Thirteen had been hospitalized and one person died.

Federal health officials returned to the U.P. last week to interview workers and take voluntary urine samples to trace the outbreaks mysterious source.

While the mill undergoes a deep clean operations will be idled until mid-May. Workers are home with pay but the mills temporary closure could have ripple effects on the small towns economy and the lumber industry as a whole.

In total, the mill generates an estimated annual impact in the local community of nearly $360 million, including wages, salaries and taxes paid, as well as raw materials and services purchased

Its one of the areas largest and highest-paying employers, at times employing second- and third-generation workers.

The multi-week shutdown could have a short-term impact on some of the suppliers that work with the mill, which contracts an average of 97 workers per day and works with about 747 different vendors per year. But Ed Legault, executive director for the Delta County Economic Development Alliance, said the interruption should be minimal given the companys timeline and openness about its reopening plan.

Billerud Paper Mill began making paper in 1911 as the Escanaba Pulp and Paper Co. The mill produces about 660,000 metric tons of paper per year for use in magazines, catalogs, books and specialty papers used in label and converting applications.

The Swedish manufacturer, which acquired the facility in 2022. is planning a $1 billon project to expand its Escanaba mill into a paperboard production facility that can manufacture a stiff multi-ply product used for packaging cosmetics, healthcare, beverages and candy products.

Union leadership said mill workers have been given all assurances that the expansion project is still a go.

Read more here: Feds back in U.P. to find source of largest fungal outbreak in U.S. history

State funding pushes Northern Michigan hotel to the finish line

A new waterfront hotel will be open this summer in Manistee with 102 rooms available for visitors looking for a Lake Michigan vacation.

The five-story Hilton at 101 S. Lakeshore Drive was roughly 70% complete but rising construction costs and environmental remediation pushed developers to ask the Michigan Strategic Fund board for a $2 million loan to get it across the finish line in time for summer.

Unanimously, the board voted to aid the project with the $2 million loan and $808,000 state tax capture for the environmental clean up and public infrastructure updates to water, sewer, roads and sidewalks near the property.

Marc Miller, Director of Economic Development for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, told the board the hotel has already spurred economic development, noting 10 new businesses in the works nearby.

Based on Pure Michigan projection models an added $16 million visitor dollars will go into the community annually through restaurants and retail.

This project has already been a catalyst and will continue to be a catalyst for business creation, job creation, and for economic resiliency, Miller said.

During the same meeting, state funding was approved for projects in Detroit, Ann Arbor and the Flint area.

Read more here: 102 new lakefront hotel rooms coming to this Northern Michigan city

Still reading? Here are some bonus stories from last week:

Want to read more about the economy? See all our coverage here.

This story is part of MLives Wallet Watch series focused on todays economic issues. Have a Wallet Watch suggestion? Email us at askaquestion@mlive.com
DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers have signed veteran right-hander Heath Hembree to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Toledo.

Hes pitched parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues, including an appearance for the Tampa Bay Rays just last week.

Hembree pitched in one game for the Rays and spent just three days with the big-league club before being designated for assignment. After he cleared waivers, he elected free agency last Friday.

Hembree, 34, has pitched for eight different MLB clubs but spent the longest stretch of his career with the Boston Red Sox from 2014-2020.

Hembree has maintained a solid strikeout rate -- 10 per nine innings -- throughout his career, but he is prone to giving up home runs. Since 2020, he has a 6.55 ERA in 100 innings with 122 strikeouts and 27 home runs allowed.

The Tigers also signed left-hander Sam Clay to a minor-league deal. Hes being stationed in Lakeland until he gets assigned to a club.

Clay, who turns 30 in June, came up in the Minnesota Twins system after being drafted in the fourth round of 2014 draft out of Georgia Tech. He pitched in the big leagues for the Washington Nationals in each of the last two seasons. In 50 1/3 career innings, he has a 5.90 ERA with 39 strikeouts, 26 walks and five homers allowed.

He signed a minor-league deal with Arizona during the winter but was released at the end of spring training and has been without a team since then.

Finally, the Tigers signed infielder Luis Santana, a former Astros farmhand, to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Double-A Erie. Santana, 23, is listed at just 5-foot-6.

He hit well for Class A (advanced) Asheville last year but was released by the Astros after getting off to a slow start with Class AA Corpus Christi.
You might not want to know this, but all of Michigan has snow coming. There should be some accumulation just about everywhere. A few areas in Lower Michigan could even have several inches of snow.

Its a cold storm and not something that is normal to start May. The accumulation amount will depend on how much snow melts as it hits the ground. The snow will also become more dominate over rain only during the nighttime hours. We do have some things working for us in fending off the snow.

Its a rarity for accumulating May snow, even in Michigan. The National Weather Service at Grand Rapids says the last one-tenth-of-an-inch of snow in May fell 29 years ago on May 1, 1994.

The weather conditions will decline to fairly miserable by this afternoon as a large area of precipitation rotates around the storm and moves south across Lower Michigan. There could be some snowflakes in the rain this afternoon, but the snow will become more dominant after sunset.

Periods of snow will continue to mid-morning Tuesday and then the help from May sunshine should turn the snow to rain.

Heres the radar forecast. Im sure its not something you want to see at the start of May.

Radar forecast from noon Monday to 8 a.m. Wednesday.

This model Im showing you has the most accurate temperature structure. It is showing even the rain having a hard time changing to snow at night. I dont think we will avoid snow, but most of us should just wake up to a slight hint of white on the grass.

Here is the snowfall accumulation forecast. Im going to show you two snow forecasts. The first is total snowfall tonight and Tuesday morning. That amount will be very short lived as it melts when touching. The second forecast is how much snow will be on the ground, which is what we tend to call snow accumulation.

Total snowfall forecast through 6 p.m. Tuesday

The snowfall forecast above shows the Cadillac area, Traverse City region, and far northern Lower Michigan could have officially 2 inches to 6 inches of snow tonight and Tuesday morning. Southern Lower Michigan could have up to 1 inch of snow.

The next forecast is the snow depth, how much will stick and last for a few hours. Lets call it a 1 to 3 inch snow around Traverse City, Cadillac, Kalkaska and Mancelona. The Upper Peninsula could have a large area with between one foot and two feet of snow on the ground. Of course this heavy snow will melt quickly, but still take a few days to go away.

Snow depth forecast at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Those of us in southern Lower Michigan will have to wake up early if we want to see any snow on the grass. Im guessing most in southern Michigan will want to sleep in and wait until the snow melts on the grass.
Police arrested a Bay Area preschool teacher they suspect of gunning down a man and dumping the corpse on a Santa Cruz-area highway. But the thoughtful officers waited until the little ones where asleep at naptime before moving in.

On Wednesday, Diana Ornelas, 22, and Dennis Novoa, 27, were arrested in connection with the killing. The sheriff's office said detectives believe the killing was "personal" in nature. Ornelas was arrested while working at the Children's Center of the Stanford Community, a preschool on the Stanford campus for university faculty, students and staff. According to an email to families obtained by the Stanford Daily, Ornelas was arrested "at naptime" away from the children. A university spokesperson said Ornelas is no longer employed by the school.
Q&A: Helping homeless older adults

The Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH) is a nonprofit association of emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, nonprofit housing and service programs, government programs, and concerned citizens from across the state of Michigan. We chatted with Gerry Leslie, Homeless Management Information System project director for MCAH, about the increasing numbers of older Michiganders experiencing homelessness and how his organization and the state are responding.Q: The number of older adults experiencing homelessness is on the rise. What are the root causes of this?A: The real reason why we see senior adults becoming homeless comes down to a number of factors. If somebody has a significant medical or emergency health crisis, they typically tend to be a senior adult living around the poverty line. They end up with a disabling condition, which means that they are not able to work. And they end up with significant medical debts. About 50% of the population of general homeless persons have a significant disability. If they don't have the additional resources or support of family or close friends who can help them through the crisis, this ends up causing their homelessness. And, when you have seniors on fixed incomes, rising housing costs [contribute to homelessness].Q: Why is being unhoused especially difficult for older adults?A: Simply put, older adults have more significant health issues. They do not always have the ability to bounce back as quickly. Finding employment with a disability is often a significant challenge for them. And when you get to be a senior adult, unfortunately, that health issue is not going to go away. Its going to continue to grow because of age itself.Q: What is your organization doing to help older adults experiencing homelessness?A: We're working on a couple of pilot programs around housing and health care with senior adults with the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Also, with the projects that we've been doing around health care, acuity [need for care], and homelessness, were looking at the highest utilizers of Medicaid resources who have a chronic history of homelessness and using resources for housing them. Those are some of the things that we're doing at a statewide level.Also, Ive been looking at shared housing models, whereby you may have one, two, or three seniors living in a shared housing situation. That's not the way that typical homeless programs work because they typically seek to put a household in a standalone housing environment. With senior adults, oftentimes, they need both housing and continuous case management and health care. So a shared housing model works extremely well, especially when you have access to medical resources nearby that are directly linked to them that can continue to work with our senior adults who are experiencing homelessness.Q: As Michigan seeks to be an age-friendly state, what can or should be done on a state level to reduce these numbers?A: I think there should be a prioritization factor for senior adults experiencing homelessness. That's the first thing. Also, we should look for ways to create housing that prioritizes homeless seniors. We have youth homeless programs. We have veterans homeless programs. We have various programs that exist for families with children. One of the things that we need to seriously consider is developing programs for adults 55-plus who are experiencing homelessness.
A former Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and an Educational Leadership Scholar, Prof. George Kwaku Toku Oduro has encouraged Christians to do politics but with caution.

According to him, Christians who form the majority of Ghana's population cannot sit on the fence in matters of party politics when society is suffering from maladministration.

The Educational Leadership Scholar was speaking on the topic "The Christian and Partisan Politics", at a programme organized by the Young Adults Forum (YAF) of the Bethel Congregation, of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Ola Estates, Cape Coast on Thursday 27th April, 2023.

He premised his speech on two broad questions: "Should a Christian participate in partizan politics?" and "How should a Christian participate in partisan politics?".

Prof. Oduro begun by explaining politics as the activities associated with the governance of a country. He said that party politics is supposed to promote unity in diversity and ensure that people are fully engaged in the governance processes in our country without a feeling of isolation. He averred that partisan politics is not meant to divide the country but rather create a nonthreatening environment that allows all manner of people to fully participate in the processes of governance without fear.

Prof. Oduro added that development of society depends on the functionality of the three arms of Government. Thus, the Executive which is the implementing arm of Government, the Legislature which deals with making laws to guide governance of the State and the Judiciary interprets the laws to foster peace and responsible citizenship.

Citing Collins Dictionary's definition of the word 'partisan' as "someone who strongly supports a particular person or cause, often without thinking carefully about the matter", he said being partisan means a person supports a particular party or person.

"Partisan politics then refers to the situation where people put their party needs above the needs of the citizenry or the country. He deplored the increasing antagonism in partisan politics practices in Ghana and challenged Christians to help in reversing the trend. 'This is one reason we need Christians to participate in partisan politics so they exhibit the love of Christ," he emphasized.

The former Pro VC of UCC underscored that, there are about three perspectives on Christian involvement in partisan politics.

"Firstly, those who think Christians should avoid partisan politics because it's an earthly kingship or rulership activity which Jesus frowned upon and must therefore not be embraced by Christians who are strangers on this earth and the world politics is something Christ Jesus frowned upon it. Secondly, there are those who argue strongly that "Christian involvement in partisan politics is a must." Citing Scripture verses, Prof Oduro said those Christians believes that every government is established by God and as such Christians cannot stay aloof.

Partisan politics, for him, is a Christian obligation because it fits well into the call on Christians to 'love our neighbours'. As a Christian himself, Prof Oduro said, it is only through "our participation in partisan politics that we can speak for the voiceless and make our light shine before others by ensuring that Government decisions have positive impact on the lives of people." He quizzes, ' "If Christ came to exemplify justice, love, mutual respect, humility, peaceful co-existence and truthfulness which are key ingredients for decent partisan politics then the Christian must be actively involved in partisan politics. It is only through our involvement that we can bring to bear the values associated with Jesus Christ in the political space and governance of our country."

He lamented how some Christian leaders have been very selective in criticizing unfavourable policies of political regimes and challenged Christian leaders" to give praise where praise is due and condemn where condemnation is due irrespective of which political party is in power. Fairness is a quality of Jesus Christ which Christians must demonstrate in our dealings with partisan politics."

He said, Christians will be failing the nation if they do not participate in party politics. "If we claim to be Christians then we must demonstrate love in partisan politics. Love is the core of Christian life and should be the foundation of everything we do in party politics and with God on our side, we shall prevail," he emphasized.
30.04.2023 LISTEN

Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, the spokesperson for governance and security, is urging Ghanaians to ignore the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would win the 2024 elections.

According to him, the ruling party has a track record of turning around the fortunes of the country.

To enable Ghanaians to comprehend and appreciate the economic challenges the country is facing, he said, With the kind of managerial experience and knowledge we had, and without all these unusual circumstances beyond our control, we were doing this. We will do much better if we are present and am very confident the New Patriotic Party(NPP) will win the 2024 election."

This follows a study by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) that found it extremely likely that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) would win the 2024 elections due to the countrys existing problems.

The NDC is projected to win both the presidential and parliamentary elections in the 2024 elections, according to the Economist Intelligence Units most recent analysis, which was published on Friday, April 28, 2023.

But Palgrave Boakye-Danquah exclusively told Metro TV News that If you consumed the EIU report four years ago in a way that suggested the incumbent was going to lose, you cannot do the same today because the contexts are different, and the reality of todays world is different. As a result, the economic challenges Ghana is facing are linked to the global economy, and the entire global economy is not doing well."

The Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah insisted that the party has a track record of restoring economic gains which had been eroded by the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Palgrave Boakye-Danquah assured Ghanaians that steps had been taken to address these issues to guarantee the prosperity of Ghana.
A cheetah brought from South Africa in an effort to revive the extinct population of the speckled carnivores in India has died in the Kuno national park in Madhya Pradesh state, the second such fatality in less than a month.

Veterinarians examining the carcass of the six-year-old male named Uday said he died on 23 April of cardiac failure in the Kuno nature reserve, which is also in the eye of a blistering pre-summer heat wave sweeping India's plains.

Uday was struggling to walk and was panting before he collapsed and died, a forester told reporters visiting the 749-square kilometre national park.

He was one of 12 cheetahs relocated from South Africa on 18 February 2023 in a gala event announced as the world's first project to re-introduce the slender cats to a region where they became extinct in 1952.

Last year, India imported eight Namibian cheetahs including five males. Tragically, one of the three adult female cats in that batch died of kidney failure in Kuno on 27 March.

Major Indian conservation effort

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the forefront of national celebrations for the cheetahs when they arrived on board a commercial jet painted in the colours of the legendary feline hunter.

Separate events marking India's 50 years of tiger conservation this month followed the fanfare for the cheetahs.

Modi pledged to broaden the South Asian nation's ecosystem and find homes for other sub-specifies.

Jasbir Singh Chauhan , Kuno's chief wildlife warden, said the park was stepping up surveillance of its feline guests.

All due precautions are being taken. They are monitored every day and visuals are captured about their movement and health is observed, Chauhan told reporters at the park which also hopes to kick off a conservation project for lions.

It is risky to keep all of them in one place, the official said in Kuno, which was chosen as the ideal habitat because of the bountiful prey.

Four cubs born in India

The park has since been blessed with four cubs from one of the Namibian cheetahs.

But experts say lack of modern transport and equipment make the task of park protectors difficult.

Imagine having to patrol hundreds of kilometres on bicycles and armed with just torches and sticks? said a forest guard referring to regular reports of wildlife poaching.

The official also said he has asked the government to pick another suitable habitat for cheetahs, the only large carnivore officially declared extinct in India.

Thirty-six tigers were killed by suspected smugglers last year in Madhya Pradesh.

It is not just challenging but perilous, a forest guard said without willing to be named.

Some 10,000 Asiatic cheetahs roamed the Indian wild in the 16th century and the creature was the most coveted status symbol of royalty because they were easy to tame and were kept leashed like dogs and used for royal hunts.

Mughal emperor Akbar had around 9,000 cheetahs in his personal collection.

The Indian cheetah met its nemesis in Madhya Pradesh maharajah Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo who killed the last three cheetahs in 1947, five years before they were officially declared extinct.
Senior High Schools (SHSs)across the country have enough food to feed students without difficulties, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, has said.

He assured parents and stakeholders in education that there was no cause for alarm about reports of food shortages in schools, saying that government had put measures in place to ensure regular supply of food to schools.

The Minister was addressing the media at Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS) which is one of the distribution centres for schools in the Kumasi Metropolis.

He was in the school as part of a four-day working visit in the Ashanti Region to engage with students and inspect ongoing projects.

He took advantage of the visit to inspect the warehouse which was stocked with large quantities of assorted foods such as rice, maize, beans, gari, flour and various kinds of canned foods.

Dr. Adutwum said as part of governments efforts to ensure sustainable supply of food to the schools, it had contracted a company called Commodity Exchange to supply food in addition to the Buffer Stock.

He said the challenges of food supply associated with the implementation of the Free Senior High Schools informed the addition of Commodity Exchange to find lasting solution to the shortage of foods in schools.

We have also made sure funds for the purchase of perishables are released to the schools on time to ensure students are fed without excuses, the Minister stated.

He said the President was committed to addressing all challenges confronting the Free Education Programme to preserve the huge benefits of the programme for posterity.

Mr William Darkwa, the National Coordinator of the Free Senior High School Programme, said OKESS was one of 54 distribution centres across the country where food for the schools were stored.

He reiterated that there was adequate food in the schools, adding that, feeding the students was an important component of the programme that could not be compromised.

GNA
The Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday both confirmed the extension of a three-day truce for 72 hours. The army said the extension came due to US and Saudi mediation.

The previous ceasefire - which was widely breached by both sides - was scheduled to expire at midnight on Sunday just over two weeks after clashes broke out between supporters of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.

More than 500 people have been killed and 5,000 wounded, according to the Sudan health ministry, and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad.

On Sunday in the capital Khartoum, warplanes circled as fighting continued on the streets.

Sudanese police said officers from the Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to protect citizens' properties from looting.

Police officials said the paramilitary unit had arrested 316 "rebels" - a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information.

With residential buildings damaged in the fighting, food running short and daily life increasingly difficult, foreign nations have continued to evacuate their citizens as humanitarian agencies fly in supplies for the millions who cannot flee.

A first Red Cross plane arrived on Sunday at Port Sudan from Jordan with eight tonnes of humanitarian aid including surgical material and medical kits for around 1,500 patients.

Warning

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned on Saturday against the conflict deteriorating into civil war.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper ... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

The UN World Food Programme said it feared that the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people need aid to stave off famine.

"The situation cannot be sustained as medical supplies run short," said Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

"This war is ominous and we hope it stops," he told AFPTV.

The latest three-day ceasefire was agreed after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.

On Sunday in Riyadh, an envoy of Burhan's met the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.
The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the rapidly unfolding impact of the war there and its wider fallout, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday.

The announcement came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued on the ground in Sudan's capital.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for Guterres, said in a statement.

He said the UN chief was "immediately" sending Martin Griffiths, his emergency relief coordinator, to the area "in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan."

Deadly hostilities between the army and heavily-armed paramilitaries in Khartoum and other parts of the country have entered a third week.

The latest widely-breached ceasefire was scheduled to formally expire at midnight (2200 GMT) before the rival forces announced an extension for 72 hours that the Sudanese army said came due to "US and Saudi mediation".

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad since battles erupted on April 15.

The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued armed clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.

The civil aviation authority on Sunday announced Sudan's airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.

"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire," a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.

Rapid Support Forces fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum, in this image taken from video released by the paramilitary group. By - (Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP/File)

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 "rebels", a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.

Washington last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's western Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.

'God forbid'

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea since the war began on April 15.

People walk on a deserted street in Khartoum. By - (AFP)

But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead and the UN said humanitarian facilities have been looted, forcing a halt to all of its aid operations.

"We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities," the UN spokesman Dujarric said.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

Activists demonstrate in front of the White House, calling on the US to intervene to stop the fighting in Sudan. By Daniel SLIM (AFP/File)

Those figures are likely to be incomplete.

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok cautioned Saturday against the conflict's deteriorating into one of the world's worst civil wars.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many shelled.

"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

Boxes of humanitarian aid in Amman, Jordan are readied for a flight to Port Sudan. By - (ICRC/AFP)

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who urged the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the "situation in Sudan".

'Dangerous conditions'

More than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan, the UN said, and almost 40,000 have crossed borders, mostly into Chad but also South Sudan, Ethiopia and Central African Republic, aid workers said.

Evacuees rest on the Saudi Arabian warship HMS Al-Diriyah, transporting them from Port Sudan to Jeddah. By Fayez NURELDINE (AFP)

More than 5,000 people have escaped to safety on Saudi Arabian ships across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.

Among them was Badriah al-Sayed, her Omani husband and their son, who joined about 50 other evacuees who reached Jeddah on a Saudi warship Sunday.

Sayed told AFP she was grateful for their safety but could not shake the feeling she was "losing a country".

Britain said it would operate an additional evacuation flight, from Port Sudan on Monday, after already airlifting more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.

Canada ended its air evacuations "due to the dangerous conditions", having flown out more than 540 people, after large airlifts by France, Germany and other nations.

Along with battles in the capital, fighting, looting and lawlessness in the long-troubled Darfur region has raised particular international concern.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.
Fierce fighting broke out again Monday between the army and paramilitaries despite the formal extension of a truce, after the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation reached "breaking point".

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.

Fighters of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seen in an image from footage they released on April 23, 2023. By - (Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP/File)

"Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it," said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing "loud gunfire" in the area.

Burhan and Daglo have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Millions of Sudanese are trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, humanitarian facilities have been looted, and foreign aid groups have been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

US military officers assist US nationals in boarding an evacuation vessel in Port Sudan amid ongoing deadly clashes between army forces and paramilitaries. By - (AFP)

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said Sunday he was heading to the region to help "bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said. "Goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum."

"The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas."

50,000 flee overland

Map of Sudan and neighbouring countries as civilians flee the country during a fragile ceasefire. By Sophie RAMIS (AFP)

Some 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, said the UN refugee agency.

The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching frantic evacuations by land, sea, and air.

Daglo's RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman Omar al-Bashir in Sudan's Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

The RSF had warned police against joining the fight.

People walk on a deserted street in Khartoum on April 30, 2023, as clashes continue in war-torn Sudan. By - (AFP/File)

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

UN facilities looted

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 people wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be far higher.

Sudanese refugees from the Tandelti area shelter in Koufroun, Chad, on April 30, 2023. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

Fighting has also spread across Sudan, especially in the long-troubled Darfur region, where witnesses reported intense conflict and looting.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Smoke billows over residential buildings in Khartoum on April 30, 2023 as deadly clashes between rival generals' forces have entered their third week. By - (AFP/File)

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organisation, with many facilities shelled.

On Sunday, a first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting and has served as an evacuation hub.

The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

Protesters outside the White House, calling on Washington to intervene to stop the fighting in Sudan, on April 29, 2023. By Daniel SLIM (AFP/File)

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the "situation in Sudan".
Special Prosecutor Mr Kissi Agyebeng has stated that the mandate of his office does not only deal with public officials.

He says the powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) extend also to politically exposed persons and private persons.

In this context, he explained, politically exposed persons are those who have been entrusted with prominent public functions in Ghana or in a foreign country or an international organisation such as senior political party officials, government officials, judicial officials, military officials, or a person who is or has been an executive in a foreign country of a state-owned company, or a senior political party official in a foreign country, or an immediate family member or close associate of such persons.

The OSP has the authority to question the lifestyle of every person  through its notice to declare property and income and seizure of tainted property regime.

This is not your usual declaration of assets process whereby public officials are required to declare their assets upon assumption of office and upon exiting in aid of combating corruption, he said in a remark at the at International Criminal Court (ICC) FraudNet's 37th International Conference & Meeting in Accra last Friday.

It was on the theme; 'State Capture & Corruption'.

He added The OSP system is far more reaching. It is intended to arrest illicit and unexplained wealth among public officials and private persons. In this regard, a person's declared wealth is matched against his lawful income.

If the former surpasses the latter  that is to say, where a person's lawful income cannot reasonably account for the acquisition of his property  the overpass is liable to be forfeited to the State. Then again, all undeclared property are automatically forfeited to the State.

Below is his full remarks

The issues of state capture, corruption, and fraud are a collective pandemic in our part of the world. This tri-malady has every intention of staying with us unless we act. In their various manifestations, they inhibit our progress and dissipate our resources. We experience their debilitating effects all around us in their full force and they are ingrained in our society much like rituals. In Ghana, meritorious or otherwise rightfully deserving standards for the allocation of opportunities and resources are eluding us. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain is the currency. Misrepresentation of events and facts for pecuniary gain has never been this attractive. Then again, there appears to be a sprint for the inordinate control of state institutions and the public decision-making process. State institutions are being neutralized as appendages of individuals and existing laws and the legal system are being weakened for private gain.

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To further sink ourselves in our ill-progress, we are flighting away and secreting our illicitly gorged up bounties in other jurisdictions to avoid detection and to evade recovery. And it seems to me that no one can put an actual price tag on the attendant social and economic cost of state capture, corruption, and fraud.

These are endemic in several sectors in the economy. The usual suspect is the extractive industry. Offshore, we are confronted with the scourge of oil bunkering. On land, we are bedeviled with wanton destruction of protected forests and real property and the mind-numbing pollution of our water bodies  mostly springing from illegal mining. Illegal capital flight and breaches of public procurement rules are rampant.

We know the problems too well and our performance on the corruption perception index compiled by Transparency International has been marked by perennial underachievement. There have been calls for action. The calls still ring on daily. We have established several agencies designed to tackle and lessen the incidence of these occurrences. These institutions are performing creditably. The Commission on Human Rights & Administrative Justice does its immense part especially in the context of corruption, the conduct of public officials and conflict of interest.

The Economic and Organised Crime Office monitors, investigates and prosecutes economic and organised crime and the recovery of assets. The Financial Intelligence Centre receives and analyses suspicious transaction reports, especially in respect of predicate crimes. We instituted the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan in 2014. It recommended the establishment of an independent prosecution authority to effectively tackle corruption. The prevailing thinking was that the Attorney General, being a member of cabinet and the chief legal advisor to the President, was not well-suited to investigate and prosecute members of a government to which he belonged.

In December 2017, Ghana made its most decisive statement with the passage of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) which established the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

It investigates specific cases of corruption and corruption-related offences, prosecutes suspected offenders, recovers the proceeds of corruption and corruption-related offences, and it take steps to prevent corruption. The province of corruption and corruption-related activities has an intentionally wide definition to afford the OSP the mandate to tackle as many incidents of the identified problems as possible

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To achieve this, the OSP has been clothed with multifaceted policing, investigative, prosecutorial, oversight and asset recovery and management powers. And its independence has been secured by the retention in the Special Prosecutor of full authority and control over the investigation, initiation, prosecution and conduct of cases.

The OSP's mandate does not rest only in respect of public officials. It extends also to politically exposed persons and private persons. In this context, politically exposed persons are those who have been entrusted with prominent public functions in Ghana or in a foreign country or an international organisation such as senior political party officials, government officials, judicial officials, military officials, or a person who is or has been an executive in a foreign country of a state-owned company, or a senior political party official in a foreign country, or an immediate family member or close associate of such persons. The OSP has the authority to question the lifestyle of every person  through its notice to declare property and income and seizure of tainted property regime. This is not your usual declaration of assets process whereby public officials are required to declare their assets upon assumption of office and upon exiting in aid of combating corruption.

The OSP system is far more reaching. It is intended to arrest illicit and unexplained wealth among public officials and private persons. In this regard, a person's declared wealth is matched against his lawful income. If the former surpasses the latter  that is to say, where a person's lawful income cannot reasonably account for the acquisition of his property  the overpass is liable to be forfeited to the State. Then again, all undeclared property are automatically forfeited to the State.

The reach of the OSP goes beyond the borders of Ghana. In this sense, the OSP has the mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offences committed in Ghana or in a foreign country, so far as the act constitutes corruption or corruption-related offence in Ghana, if it is committed by a national of Ghana or against a national of Ghana.

There has been remarkable cooperation and collaboration among these state agencies in the past fifteen (15) months, especially in the area of asset recovery and management. The Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Ghana Police Service and the OSP have developed a standard operating procedure for tracing, seizing, and managing assets. The regime has the outlook looks of cutting down costs in our asset recovery and management regime including the disposition of assets either with the consent of the suspect or by an order of a court and putting the proceeds in an interest-bearing recovery account. This is designed to reduce loss of the value of assets over time and the exposure of the state to possible liability thereof.

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I am gratified to also note that the Office of the Registrar of Companies and its partners have recently set up a beneficial ownership registration system. Our company law and practice have, hitherto, been such that it is only the person whose name and details appear on the title to a business or property is known to the law and is reckoned by the law.

This unnecessary practice begot the development of complex rules on lifting the veil of incorporation in the corporate world to trace the actual owner of a business. Beyond the province of corporations and companies, it was downright impossible to identify the actual owners of property, if their names are not entered on the title. This initiative will immensely aid in the fight against corruption and the OSP has endorsed it.

There is much promise in Ghana in tackling these problems. We have a wonderful opportunity here to change the narrative and to get things effectively and efficiently working. However, no matter how well-intended and well-designed these agencies live up to their billing, they would not achieve much on their own in-country without the necessary cooperation from our foreign partners. No matter how one characterizes state capture, corruption, fraud and asset recovery, one has to recognize that they are stubbornly transboundary and cross-border.

The mutual legal assistance regime is very fine and fair in its intent and purposes. However, our experience has been that these attributes are not replicated in practice and in substance. We often do not obtain requested information and action timeously or if at all. The task is immensely herculean as it stands. May we render it less so by eschewing unilateralism.

KISSI AGYEBENG

Special Prosecutor

28 April 2023
Sudan's already troubled health sector faces the risk of "disaster" after more than two weeks of heavy fighting have rocked the poverty-stricken country, a UN World Health Organization official warns.

Even before the deadly conflict broke out on April 15, "the healthcare system in Sudan faced numerous crises... and was extremely fragile," Ahmed al-Mandhari, WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, told AFP.

Now -- with hospitals bombed, medicines running low and many doctors fleeing the country -- "it is a disaster in every sense of the word," he said, warning of the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases.

The battles raging in Sudan have pitted the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

More than 500 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured, according to official figures, but the real toll is feared to be much higher.

Only 16 percent of Khartoum's hospitals are now fully functional, Mandhari said, and there is a "real shortage in medical staff... especially specialised medical staff, for example in surgery and in anaesthesia".

A man fills water into a barrel mounted on donkey-pulled carts in southern Khartoum on April 22, 2023, amid water shortages caused by the ongoing battles between the forces of two rival Sudanese generals. By - (AFP/File)

The most vulnerable include about four million sick or pregnant women and 50,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition who will no longer receive vital care, Mandhari said.

"There are approximately three million women or girls who are exposed to various types of... gender-based violence", including sexual violence, he said, adding that children face "psychological pressures" from conflict and displacement.

Malaria is endemic in Sudan and could spread when the rainy season starts in the coming weeks, he said, also warning of the threat of a cholera outbreak as clean water becomes increasingly sparse.

Doctors' exodus

The humanitarian tragedy will likely worsen in a country where 16 million people -- over a third of the population -- are already in need of aid to stave of famine.

Last year, the United Nations estimated that one in three Sudanese needed to walk more than an hour to get medical care, with less than 30 percent of vital medicines available.

The International Committee of the Red Cross on April 30, 2023 sent an aircraft with badly needed medical supplies to Port Sudan from Jordan. By - (ICRC/AFP/File)

The UN had until Monday suspended its work in Sudan after five aid workers were killed in the fighting.

The violence also forced the aid group Doctors Without Borders to stop almost all its activities in West Darfur -- a region still scarred by a war that erupted in 2003 and left at least 300,000 dead, according to UN figures.

Sudan's healthcare system is in need of "hundreds of millions of dollars" to address a situation that both predated and resulted from the current crisis, he said.

This year, the UN was hoping to raise around $1.7 billion to support Sudan, but "only about 13 percent" of that sum was secured, said the WHO official.

Map of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, showing the state of hospitals, as of April 27. By Sylvie HUSSON, Jonathan WALTER (AFP/File)

In war, "international law requires everyone to spare health facilities and to preserve the lives of medical staff and patients, especially women and children," Mandhari said.

Amid the continued fighting, he warned of doctors opting to flee the country alongside tens of thousands of other Sudanese seeking safer shores.

UK evacuation flights airlifted more than 2,000 citizens from Sudan, including about 20 doctors who wanted to leave the war-wracked country.

Mandhari lamented the departure of much-needed medical personnel from Sudan, saying the fighting is worsening a "real brain drain".
What Trump's very stable geniuses lack in intelligence they more than make up for in confidence. Check out Mike from Merrimack, New Hampshire as he explains to filmmaker Rod Webber what's really going on in American politics.

"Trump is still the president right now," says Mike. "He is running a shadow presidency, possibly from Mar-a-Lago."

What about the White House?

Fake news! "The real White House is shut down," Mike informs Webber.

What's more, says Mike, several Trump-loving actors are donning rubber masks that look like Democratic politicians "in an effort to wake people up to see what the deep state had planned for us." In fact, none other than James Woods is playing the role of Joe Biden, who died some time ago.

How does Mike know all these important facts that have remained hidden from the rest of the world?

"I've done my research," he tells Webber.
Amma Darko is one of Ghana's leading novelists, known for exploring gritty social issues and the lives of women. There is much to be unearthed in the childhood narrative of deprivation and danger that she tackles in her 2003 work Faceless .

Faceless is the story of an investigation into the death of a young girl called Baby T, a child sex worker whose naked body is found dumped behind a marketplace, beaten and mutilated. During the progression of the novel, Darko skilfully reveals details about Baby T's life through the eyes of her younger sister, Fofo, herself a street child.

In Faceless, Darko interrogates the seeming normalcy of the life of a street child by highighting the multiple complexities that children face in their homes, leading to some of them 'choosing' to live in the streets.

In as much as street children can be a result of dysfunctional homes, they are also created because of poor state policy implementation and broader structural inequalities. Darko reveals how violence shows itself in women's experiences of gender inequality and impacts on their children.

We came together as a literary researcher and a psychology scholar to conduct a critical review of Faceless, a book that wrestles with the structural violence that bleeds into people's homes, affecting their everyday experiences. The challenges of street children and gender inequities continue to stare at us, and Darko's articulation of these issues 20 years ago continues to be relevant today. Sub-Saharan Publishers

The main argument in our reading of Faceless is that gender inequality provides fertile ground for violence and disorderliness. An understanding of its complexities is needed for societies to achieve social justice for women and children.

Who is Amma Darko?

The award-winning Darko is an important voice on the West African literary scene. She has published numerous books, including the novel Beyond the Horizon (1995), The Housemaid (1998), Faceless (2003), Not Without Flowers (2006) and Between Two Worlds (2015). Some of her books are published in both German and English, with two novels published in German only, the country where Darko was living when she established her literary career. In her novels, Darko focuses particularly on how women navigate the world, reflecting common Ghanaian life experiences.

Darko was born in 1956 in Koforidua, the capital city of the eastern region of Ghana. She grew up in the cosmopolitan capital Accra. After spending her formative years there, Darko moved to Kumasi where she obtained her diploma in industrial design in 1980. She also obtained a qualification in sociology and spent a year working at the Technology Consultancy Centre at the university in Kumasi. Amma Darko. Heinemann

In 1981, Darko moved to Germany because of the political instability in Ghana. She stayed there until 1987. It was in Germany, while doing menial jobs, that she wrote and published her debut, Beyond the Horizon. For Darko, Germany was a perfect space for her to focus, to think, and to develop her writing about her home country. She returned to Accra in 1987 to study accounting and continue writing novels that explore the impact of gender inequality on women's lives and choices.

Gender and choices

Despite Ghana's free education policy, gender plays a key role in access to formal education in a country where there still exist several factors that impact the education of adolescent girls. These are social, cultural and economic. In Faceless she writes:

In the traditional settings of our villages, cohesion and familiarity is so imbued in the lives of individuals that women are more conscious of what they do. But in the cities, there is a fragmentation, which results in behavioural flexibility. A woman like Fofo's mother, whose 'village' happens to be inner-city Accra, is more likely to lose her sense of onus rather speedily when pushed by joblessness and poverty and the non-existent male support 

And so she lets Fofo and her sister Baby T take to the streets without much guilt. In the course of the novel Fofo meets a group of women who run a non-governmental organisation called Mute. It serves as a space for collecting and documenting community issues that no one is interested in recording.

However, their encounter with Fofo challenges Mute to shift from focusing only on documentation towards active involvement in bringing about change in the lives of the children who are living in the streets. Mute takes on Fofo's case, unravels the mystery of the death of Baby T, and eventually rehabilitates Fofo.

This discovery of voice and a sense of self is important. Once Fofo finds these, her life is transformed.

Children like Fofo have had to grow up too quickly in order to assume the responsibilities their parents have abandoned. Presented as a social reject, Fofo grows to be the one who brings change into her life and provides peace and closure for her dead sister.

Tackling social ills

Darko unapologetically and courageously tackles the not-so-often talked about social ills that are persistent in many communities. She takes the reader on an uncomfortable but necessary journey.

With these persistent multiple challenges both in Ghana and other parts of the continent, we argue that Darko's novel continues to be relevant today and her piercing narration cuts across borders.

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Darko tells the real-life stories of those who are discarded, living on the fringe of society. The general population and government behave as if they do not exist, as if they are invisible, faceless.

But Darko gives them life and demands that the reader considers how they came to be in that place so that something can be done to give them a future.

Puleng Segalo receives funding from the National Institute for the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

Theresah Patrine Ennin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Puleng Segalo, Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair, University of South Africa And

Theresah Patrine Ennin, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Cape Coast
Flagbearer hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has applauded Ghanaian workers for their contribution towards nation-building.

In his statement to mark the celebration of May Day in Ghana, he urged all workers to keep hope alive and embrace the future with greater optimism.

According to Dr. Duffuor, there must be a genuine desire and commitment from the purse managers and policymakers to breathe life into the theme; "Protecting Incomes and Pensions in an Era of Economic Crises: Our Responsibility."

The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana further assures that just as a better Ghana has been built before, he has no doubt it can be built again.

Responsible management of our economy is well reflected in the theme: it must not be just rhetoric.

Indeed, the nation is bedevilled with the crisis on many fronts, and incomes and pensions are falling apart.

A Better Ghana has been built before and can be built again with the right tools, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor said.

The former Minister of Finance is keen on becoming the next flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress to lead the party into the 2024 general election.

He believes that as President, he will build a better Ghana.
A Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ernest Owusu Bempah has said former President John Dramani Mahama embarrassed himself when he was the sitting President of Ghana.

He said Mr Mahama was indescribably messy in managing the economy.

"He broke the presidential code and was simply embarrassing at the job. Truly, Mahama was so tired on the job, and was so inadequate, so unpleasant and so very shabby. And yet he feels like staging a comeback by deploying inferior tactics against the very office he is seeking to come back to," Mr Bempah said in a statement reacting to the campaign of John Mahama to be elected flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He added that from the day he was voted out of office in 2016 through to his return as presidential candidate in the run up to 2020 and in recent times, Mr Mahama has demonstrated repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that Ghana needs from its presidents.

Whether through indifference or ignorance, he said, the 2020 presidential candidate of the NDC has betrayed fundamental commitments made by all presidents since the dawn of the fourth Republic.

"He has stirred bigotry and ethnic-based political sentiments in ways that cant be erased by any possible means

"Above all, Mahama has built his political campaign on appeals to bigotry and xenophobia, whipping up resentment against our avowed democratic institutions and norms - from the Electoral Commission(EC), the Police, the Armed Forces, the Judiciary, our traditional rulers and even moral and civil society. Mahama has been on so many sides of so many issues that attempting to assess his policy positions is like shooting at a moving target. He simply spouts slogans and outcomes. He is ill-equipped to be commander in chief.

"Ironically, Mahama is attempting to build his come back candidacy on his so-called achievements as a former president. He claims he did this and that and want another shot at the presidency. But when you go beyond the rhetoric, you will find out that the Mahama era was the worst period in our governance history. In a rational world the NDC first cut their wrists when they nominated Mahama as vice presidential running mate. Then they took poison when they selected him again in 2020 after his disastrous outing in 2016.

"Now he has them on a temporary version of life support. It is in this light that I see the attempt by the NDC to breathe life back and legitimacy into a politically dead Mahama as utterly farcical."

He added that what Ghana need is clarity, purpose and competence, and not a man who offers only incompetence and angry defiance.

"Every good disaster movie has a scene in which the characters realise that they are in mortal peril, that the threat they all fear is much closer than anyone had thought. Whatever you do as a Ghanaian, resist the siren song of a dangerous demagogue. Mahama is of no good. His record of lying and incompetent makes him unfit to be President again.

"And I believe a second stint for him at the Presidency would be even more of a disaster than the first one, His return would split, and possibly destroy, this country. Its time for the people of Ghana to seriously consider that Mahama is unfit to be president again."
Former President John Dramani Mahama has hailed the dedication and commitment of Ghanaian workers despite enduring severe economic crisis under President Nana Akufo-Addo.

In a statement to commend workers on May Day, the former President urged Ghanaian workers to hope for a better future  a future that will protect the investments of retirees, restore and revamp collapsed businesses and banks, create genuine jobs and ensure that statutory vehicles that offer protection to the vulnerable in society are not cruelly starved of funds.

Former President Mahama reiterated his call for an open and frank national dialogue on the true state of Ghanas economy.

According to him, the national dialogue will help share ideas and build consensus on the way forward for our common good.

Today, I celebrate all workers industry, innovation, and agency and commend you sincerely for holding the ship of state afloat. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the government continues to fail the nation on several fronts, leading to Ghanas worst state of unemployment in recent memory.

This being the case, government workers  teachers, health workers, civil servants, and security personnel  continue to shoulder the additional burden of an expanding population.

This desperate state of unemployment comes with extra demands on the time and energy of existing workers and sadly deprives their families of their presence at home.

The truth, however, is that our nation cannot continue this disastrous path; a path where government deprives the youth of opportunities to work and refuses to secure the investments of retirees because of its reckless mismanagement of the economy leading to the collapse of businesses including Ghanaian-owned banks.

This is why I have on several occasions called for an open and frank national dialogue on the true state of Ghanas economy. I do so with the hope that we can share ideas and build consensus on the way forward for our common good.

It is also why I keep urging the International Monetary Fund to bail out the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administrations to inject capital, credibility, and prudence into the management of Ghanas economy. If the Fund does not act urgently, the government would struggle to meet its responsibility of paying workers.

The situation of our teeming unemployed youth is exacerbated by the governments inability and unwillingness to pay crucial social protection funds such as LEAP, GETFund, NHIL, and DACF.

Today, as we celebrate May Day and painfully sail through these stormy times with courage, I will continue to urge you, our gallant workers across the country, to hope for a better future  a future that will protect the investments of retirees, restore and revamp collapsed businesses and banks, create genuine jobs and ensure that our statutory vehicles that offer protection to the vulnerable in society are not cruelly starved of funds.

You are the backbone of our country, and you epitomize the Black Star of hope and honour, so proudly extolled in our national anthem. It is your steadfastness and dedicated service to our dear nation that has kept us afloat amid our present economic turbulence.

I salute you, Ghanaian Workers, for inspiring us to be resolute and work toward Building the Ghana we want Together.

Happy May Day!

 Citi Newsroom
National Communications Authority (NCA) has created a system that enables the public to verify the number of SIM cards linked to their Ghana Cards.

The system created by the NCA in collaboration with the telcos takes effect today, Monday, May 1, 2023.

Reports of numbers linked to peoples Ghana Cards have been on the increase recently with many calling for a common and simple system that will allow them to verify the numbers linked to their Cards.

NCA subsequently engaged the various telecommunication networks to launch a shortcode that will allow subscribers to verify the number of SIMs linked to their Ghana Cards.

According to the NCA, there wont be any need to queue at the various telecom service centres for verification since the shortcode can be accessed on a mobile phone anywhere across the country.

There will be no need for Subscribers to physically go to the Telco to verify same when the shortcode is operational, by the end of April 2023, after the testing has been completed and approved.

The Ministry of Communication began the SIM re-registration in October 2021 in what vice president Mahamudu Bawumia said is to rid the country's cyberspace of fraud, monitor and track down persons who use their phones for criminal activities.

Citi Newsroom
President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated that the resolution of the protracted tribal conflict in Bawku in the Upper East Region remains the highest priority of government in terms of national security.

He said frantic efforts have been put in place in ensuring a lasting resolution of the conflict, which has since claimed several lives.

Responding to a request by the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) at this years May Day celebrations held in Bolgatanga in the same Region as Bawku, President Akufo-Addo said nothing will give him greater pleasure as his tenure comes to an end next year than to see a resolution of the conflict in the border town.

Nothing will give me greater pleasure in the concluding days of my presidency than to help bring lasting peace to Bawku, he told the gathering of workers on Monday, May 1.

May God grant me the wisdom to achieve that outcome.

TUCs Secretary-General Dr Anthony Yaw Baah had requested an assurance from the President as to governments commitment in speeding up efforts to resolve the crisis.

But President says the issue is top priority on the national security table.

It will be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in his first term oversaw the resolution of the protracted Dagbon crisis after bringing the Abudus and the Andanis together.

President Akufo-Addo was named Abudani after resolving the crisis

He said security deployment in Bawku has been enhanced while those violating law and order in the area are also being held accountable.

He also warned those beating war drums in a ploy to scuttle the peace and security of this country that the majority of Ghanaians committed to democracy will resist them.

3news.com
On donkeys or horses, by cart or by foot, hundreds of Sudanese, most of them women and children, each day cross a small, dry stream to find safety in neighbouring Chad.

As of Monday, at least 20,000 people had found refuge at a makeshift camp in the Chadian border village of Koufroun, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNCHR, which manages their influx along with other UN agencies.

The village lies a few hundred metres (yards) from the border with West Darfur, which with the capital Khartoum is among the worst-hit provinces in the Sudan conflict.

Most of those arriving have come from the Sudanese town of Tendelti, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) away -- the theatre of intense fighting between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Refugees often arrive empty-handed, a sign of the urgency of this exodus from West Darfur where the UN says at least 100 people were killed in the past week. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

Many show up empty-handed -- a sign of a desperate getaway.

The UN says at least 100 people were killed in West Darfur in the past week. The toll may be far higher, but information from the area is lacking.

Some carry belongings and provisions on the arduous trek in the overwhelming Sahelian heat.

They search for shelter under huge but rare acacia trees, under which their predecessors and humanitarian workers have set up makeshift camps.

Scattered in small groups over two square kilometres (about half a square mile), some use garments and veils to provide shade from the merciless sun.

'I have nothing'

Under one of the trees, Mahamat Hassan Hamad had built a room with walls of straw and a roof of plastic sheeting, held up by branches, to provide shelter for himself, his wife and their 11 children.

The 52-year-old tailor arrived in Koufroun two weeks after having fled Tendelti.

Map of Sudan and neighbouring countries as civilians flee the country. By Sophie RAMIS (AFP)

Trying to hold back tears, he said, "The RSF attacked early in the morning, they set fire to our homes and destroyed everything in their path. I took my children to cross the border."

"Today, I have no food for my children and no means of work -- my sewing machines were taken by the attackers," he said.

"We have had nothing from the UNCHR, we survive thanks to solidarity from the local people," he said.

A Sudanese who has fled the conflict wears a wristband identification tag provided by the United Nations' refugee agency. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

Nearby, Hinit Issack Abakar, 17, wearing a black hijab, said, "I had just enough time to pack my diploma, which will help me get into university, and escape with my little brother and sister," she said.

"I don't know where to find my mother and my father, when the fighting began, they weren't at home, I've had no news," she said before crying. "It's very hard to live in a refugee camp without parents."

Achai Idriss, a woman in her 30s, said "I was at the market selling coffee when the fighting started. I had just enough time to collect my belongings and head for the border, like the others."

"Thank heaven, I've been able to get my business going again. I make and sell coffee and the money helps me to make ends meet here."

Emergency kits

Families are getting emergency aid kits to help meet basic necessities. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

This desolate spot lies some 800 km east of N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Humanitarian workers are overwhelmed by the demand.

The UN children's agency UNICEF is drawing on an emergency stockpile to provide kits with cooking utensils, blankets and mats, said Donaig Le Du, a spokesperson for the agency.

A French-based NGO called Premiere Urgence Internationale has built a makeshift medical post in Koufroun. Three health workers work there daily and offer consultations, prioritising women, children and the elderly.

They see around 100 to 200 people each day, said Ndoumbaye Thertus, the agency's local chief.

"The main pathologies are respiratory illnesses, gastroenteritis and malnutrition," he said.

The humanitarian situation could quickly become catastrophic at Koufroun, aid workers fear.

"The big challenge is supplies -- we need to mobilise donors to provide support," said Jean Paul Habamungu, head of UNHCR operations in eastern Chad.

"And let's not forget that there were already half a million Sudanese refugees in Chad" before the latest conflict, he said.

Thousands more could still arrive in Koufroun or elsewhere in Chad, struggling into the country along the porous 1,300-km border, aid workers say.
The media arm of Concerned Youths of Akatsi South constituency has dismissed the endorsement of their Member of Parliament, Mr. Bernard Ahiafor, by Hon. Francis Xavier Sosu, a member of Parliament for Madina constituency, describing it as "worthless, needless, and undemocratic."

In a video going viral on the internet, the Madina lawmaker endorsed the 4th term candidacy of Hon. Ahiafor.

This action saw many citizens criticising Hon. Francis Xavier Sosu, who is constantly heard and seen delivering for his constituency, should be the one campaigning for a 3rd term MP who has abysmally performed.

But in a statement from the group, they said that although Mr. Sosu has the right to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election in Akatsi South, his endorsement of Mr. Ahiafor is "needless, undemocratic, and worthless."

They said they wouldn't want to see Francis Xavier Sosu in Akatsi South Constituency display such reckless exercise again as the party goes to the polls on May 13, 2023.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

LAWYER FRANCIS-XAVIER KOJO SOSUS ENDORSEMENT OF OUR OUTGOING MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IS WORTHLESS AND MUST BE DISREGARDED.

We watched with amusement the endorsement of Mr. Bernard Ahiafor, the outgoing member of Parliament for Akatsi South, by a democratic enemy, Lawyer Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, a member of Parliament for Madina, in a video making the rounds on the internet.

Following calls from some angry constituents who asked for our reaction, we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didnt consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.

We respect the democratic right of Mr. Sosu to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election in Akatsi South because we believe that puts food on his table.

Except that he made it known formally in his message at the funeral in Gornikorpe, any discerning political watcher in Akatsi South knows that Sosus preference for Hon. Ahiafor is expected.

The endorsement is worthless because it is evidently clear that Hon. Sosu does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Akatsi South to make anyone win even a unit committee election, let alone a parliamentary candidate election.

We want to emphasize that Sosus undemocratic endorsement is not a political currency that Mr. Ahiafor can spend anywhere in Akatsi South because he is not a political force, even in his constituency.

We take particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Mr. Sosu said Mr. Ahiafor is a hardworking Member of Parliament, but for the record, we want to emphatically state that the comment was meant to make a mockery of our member of Parliament because:

1. Sosu enters Parliament on the 7th of January 2021, but Mr. Ahiafor, who went to Parliament in 2013, cannot compare himself to Sosu when it comes to contributions on the floor of Parliament and the obligations of members of Parliament in their respective constituencies.

2. It is even more disheartening and shameful for us that a three-term MP will be begging a one-term MP for endorsement far from Madina to help him win parliamentary primaries.This action, we believe, has echoed the incompetent tendencies of our outgoing member of Parliament.

We want to state here that Sosu is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself to be the all-knowing saint in Ghana's politics.

Thank you,

Signed

Media arm: Concerned youths of Akatsi South Constituency

April 30, 2023
01.05.2023 LISTEN

Introduction:

The lack of development offices in Ghana's higher education system has been a significant hindrance to the progress of tertiary education in the country. With a skyrocketing demand for better tertiary education, Ghana has experienced a surge in the number of aspiring students, whose academic dreams are abruptly halted because of a lack of financial resources to support their schooling. This article aims to investigate the absence of development offices in Ghana's tertiary education system and the impact of the lack of these offices on Ghanaian education.

Background:

The absence of development offices, although not uncommon in Ghana's tertiary institutions, is a significant setback and an impediment to the growth of the country's higher education system. A development office is a department within an academic institution that manages fundraising efforts, scholarships, endowments, and other financial resources to support the institution's programs and students. The office's core function is to develop a donor base that shares the institution's mission and vision and is willing to invest financially in its success.

Literature Review:

A review of the literature reveals that many African countries, including Ghana, still struggle with the development of their tertiary education system. A study by Gomez and Bekoe (2014), for instance, revealed that Ghana's higher education institutions are perennially underfunded, with the Ghanaian government and private organizations bearing the brunt of the funding deficit. The study further highlighted the need for Ghanaian universities to establish development offices to secure more resources for their growth and sustainability.

Another study by Asunka and Temkin (2016) on higher education fundraising in Sub-Saharan Africa examined the role of development offices in Ghanaian universities' fundraising efforts. The study revealed that Ghanaian institutions require a comprehensive fundraising strategy to bridge the funding gap in higher education, while also ensuring that the funds are effectively used for the intended purpose.

Research Design and Methodology:

This article is primarily qualitative in nature, with secondary data collection methods used to gather information from existing literature reviews and research studies. The data collected will be analyzed descriptively to demonstrate why development offices are essential for Ghana's higher education system.

Results:

The study found that the absence of development offices in Ghana's tertiary education system is a significant setback that exacerbates the underfunding of the sector. The lack of financial resources has negatively impacted the quality of education in Ghana's tertiary institutions, with too few scholarships and grants available for students to support their academic pursuits.

Discussion:

The establishment of development offices could be a game-changer for Ghana's higher education institutions. When development offices exist, they create new revenue streams, allowing institutions to support programs, scholarships, and other initiatives that enhance the student experience. Development offices also help build stronger connections with alumni and other constituents, who can play an essential role in the institutions' fundraising efforts.

Conclusion:

This article highlights the critical need for development offices in Ghana's higher education system to improve financial resources and alleviate the issues of qualified but financially challenged students attending tertiary institutions. Ghanaian universities need development offices to create a broader base of funding, establish lasting relationships with the community, and sustain their growth and success over time. To encourage the establishment of development offices in Ghana, stakeholders must collaborate and provide institutional and policy-level support to assist the universities in raising funds for their programs and students.

By Richmond Dzikushie

Former Development Coordinator  Foundations & Corporations, University of Oxford, and Communication Officer, NDC (UK) Telford Branch
Gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan's capital Monday despite the latest truce formally agreed between the warring parties as the United Nations warned the humanitarian crisis had brought the country near its "breaking point".

The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic.

More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Sudanese refugees from the Tandelti area who crossed into Chad, in Koufroun, near Echbara, are seen on April 30, 2023. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

Millions of Sudanese around the capital and beyond have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thundering through the sky on bombing raids have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire.

"Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at them," said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing "loud gunfire".

Burhan and Daglo have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Fighters of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seen in an image from footage they released on April 23, 2023. By - (Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP/File)

While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, some 50,000 Sudanese have fled overland to neighbours, said the UN.

In a dusty makeshift camp near Adre on the Chad border, UN refugee agency staff were handing out emergency food rations to families who fled the violence with few belongings, sitting in the sand in the shade of trees.

"Today I have no food for my children and no means of work," one refugee, Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, told AFP. "My sewing machines were taken by the attackers."

'Lives turned upside down'

Map of Sudan and neighbouring countries as civilians flee the country during a fragile ceasefire. By Sophie RAMIS (AFP)

Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospital bombed, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres. "We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region."

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths was heading to the region to help bring relief to the millions "whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," Dujarric said.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher.

Security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Army man a position in Khartoum's Jabra neighbourhood on May 1, 2023, as clashes continue in war-torn Sudan. By - (AFP)

Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region.

The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the notorious Janjaweed that were unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide.

The RSF include fighters who have seen battle in Yemen where they were sent to back a Saudi-led campaign supporting the government against Huthi rebels.

Black smoke rises over Khartoum in this image from AFPTV video on April 28, 2023. By - (AFP/File)

Further complicating Sudan's battlefield situation, Central Reserve Police were being deployed on the side of the army across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

UN facilities looted

US military officers assist US nationals in boarding an evacuation vessel in Port Sudan amid ongoing deadly clashes between army forces and paramilitaries. By - (AFP)

The UN has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 16 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of Khartoum's health facilities are functioning, says the UN World Health Organisation.

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

He warned of the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce.

A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub.

The UN World Food Programme has resumed activities in Sudan after over two weeks of suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

Protesters outside the White House, calling on Washington to intervene to stop the fighting in Sudan, on April 29, 2023. By Daniel SLIM (AFP/File)

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting.
After being asked to stop shooting his rifle late at night so a baby could sleep, Francisco Oropesa, 38, slaughtered 5 people, including a 9-year-old child. After believing they had him surrounded in a nearby wooded area, authorities now say that he has "vanished" and that they have "zero leads" on his whereabouts.

Authorities said Sunday afternoon that Francisco Oropesa, 38, appeared to have slipped past a 2-mile dragnet of more than 150 law enforcement officers in Cleveland, Texas, about 45 miles north of Houston, on Saturday. On Sunday, they said, more than 250 officers were continuing the search.  As authorities search for the gunman, the Cleveland community grieves the five victims. Law enforcement has identified them as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso. Family members have identified Laso as 9 years old.

Screenshot: Fox 24 News

As soon as I saw San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers in his Texas Sheriff costume doing a presser about Oropesa being surrounded I thought the guy was probably already in Mexico.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George has shared a post to celebrate all workers in Ghana.

In his post on social media, the Parliamentarian stresses that workers deserve respect and recognition for their contribution to the world.

Happy May Day to the workers of our Nation. Your toils and labour oil the wheels of our economy. I celebrate you today.

Today is tribute to those who work. Paid or unpaid, part-time or full, happily or not, you help make the world go round.

The world runs on your contributions and you all deserve respect, recognition, and a day to relax, Sam George noted in his post.

Ghana just like the rest of the world is celebrating workers today by commemorating May Day also known as Workers' Day.

The day is marked annually on May 1 to celebrate the struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement.
The use of police surveillance drones to monitor May Day protests in France has been challenged by rights groups who say they are illegal and a violation of privacy.

Several NGOs filed court complaints over decrees made by department prefects authorising the drones to be used for security reasons.

Challenges in Paris and Bordeaux were rejected hours before protests kicked off on Monday, with administrative courts in both cities ruling the airborne cameras would give police the wider overview of marches necessary to maintain public order.

The courts did not accept the drones posed a serious attack on a fundamental freedoms.

Partial win

However the NGOs won a partial victory in Normandy on Sunday when a court in Rouen suspended parts of a decree permitting police to use drones at a protest in the port city of Le Havre.

While conceding the drones were likely to improve security at the demonstration  especially given the violence of previous pension protests in Le Havre  the judge also scaled back the conditions of their use.

The "large perimeter" in which the drones were to be flown, and the approval of their use until eight hours after the march had ended, exceeded in time and space the need to ensure the protest's security, the judge said.

The prefect's order therefore carried "a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the freedom to come and go and the right to privacy, he added.

Use of the drones was banned in certain streets, while they were not permitted before 2pm elsewhere in the flight perimeter.

In March, France's CNIL data privacy watchdog asked for the publication of a detailed policy of drone use, including how the information collected by the drones would be used.
The Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum says government has added the Ghana Commodity Exchange to the National Food Buffer Stock Company in a joint partnership arrangement to address the challenge of food shortage in Senior High Schools across the country.

The issue of availability of food items at various public Senior High Schools in Ghana became topical in recent times following concerns raised by some students and heads of schools that they were experiencing food shortages.

The Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum who has been visiting schools in the Ashanti Region with the Director General of the Ghana Education Service and a number of heads of agencies under the Education Ministry says measures have been put in place to properly tackle the issue.

Speaking to Citi News after visiting a distribution centre at Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum expressed excitement with the availability of food items in the schools visited.

He thus assured that there is enough food to be supplied to various schools.

We are happy to note that they have food in their storage. Okess also serves as a distribution centre for Schools in the Ashanti Region especially schools in Kumasi. So we went to look at the distribution centre and maize is there, mackerel is there, flour, sugar, rice and all the items that they need in schools, and I am so happy that the effort of the president is paying off. The challenges of the past year brought about a new innovation of adding the commodity exchange to buffer stock so that in a joint partnership, they can serve our schools.

The National Coordinator of the Free SHS Programme, William Dankwa says his outfit is taking proactive measures to promptly supply schools that run out of food items.

Periodically, food items are being delivered to Schools. So, at any point in time, these distribution centres are filled. We have about 54 of these distribution centres across the country that are all filled with food items.

The Education Ministrys tour of the region saw the team visiting basic, second cycle and tertiary institutions in the region to motivate students and listen to the concerns of the respective schools.
Mr Abdulai Yakubu, the General Secretary of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has called on government to review the salaries of members.

The Judicial workers are not happy because we are the third arm of government rendering critical services to the people of Ghana, yet our salaries have not been reviewed for two years, four months now, he said.

According to him, salaries of members were supposed to be reviewed and paid to them in January 2022, Unfortunately, that has not been done. We have gone through a lot. The Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) that we were enjoying ended in December 2022.

And we thought that government would have expedited action for us to enjoy a new salary when the CoLA was on-going, unfortunately that did not happen, our colleagues in the public sector enjoyed their 30 per cent for the past four months but same cannot be said about us, Mr Yakubu said.

The General Secretary made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, capital of the Upper East Region on the side-line of this year's National May Day celebration.

The celebration was on the theme: Protecting incomes and pensions in an era of economic crisis; our responsibility.

Mr Yakubu said JUSAG had been patient enough and expected that the month of May would usher in new increased salaries, or we shall advise ourselves, he added.

We have gone through a lot, it is just for the President to give us the approval for the new salary so we call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to please approve and pay us our new salaries,

All the industrial tools are on our desks. If by the end of this week the new salary is not approved for us, we will employ any of the actions available to us, the General Secretary said.

Members of JUSAG clad in their T-shirts, held placards with inscriptions such as Mr Prez CoLA is gone, taxes are killing us, Approve and pay our new salaries now, Oh Nana Addo, two years, 4months of No pay increase is unbearable, approve and pay our new salaries now, among others.

GNA
The UN on Monday warned that more than 800,000 people could flee fighting in Sudan, where gun battles and explosions again shook the capital in violation of the latest truce agreed between warring generals.

The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have already sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic.

But the United Nations refugee agency said it was bracing for "the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries".

At least 20,000 people have found refuge at a makeshift camp in the Chadian border village of Koufroun, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNCHR. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

"We hope it doesn't come to that, but if violence doesn't stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet, adding to UN alarm over what the world body calls a catastrophic humanitarian situation sparked by the three-week-old war.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of Sudanese unable to afford the inflated prices required to escape the battles have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thunder through overhead on raids that have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire.

RSF fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum, in an image grab taken from video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. By - (Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP)

Warplanes struck northern areas of the capital, a witness told AFP, while another reported "armed clashes in central Khartoum".

Burhan and Daglo have flouted multiple ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday.

While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, around 50,000 Sudanese have already escaped overland to neighbours, said the UN.

In a makeshift camp near Adre on the Chadian border, UN refugee agency staff were handing out emergency food rations to families who fled the violence with few belongings, sitting in the sand in the shade of trees.

"Today I have no food for my children and no means of work," one refugee, Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, told AFP, trying to hold back tears. "My sewing machines were taken by the attackers." He blamed the RSF who "destroyed everything in their path."

'Lives turned upside down'

Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

Hospitals out of service in Sudan's Khartoum. By Sylvie HUSSON, Jonathan WALTER (AFP)

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on an urgent mission to look for ways to bring relief to millions.

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said on Twitter, later calling it "catastrophic".

The UN World Food Programme said it expected to soon resume food distribution in some parts of the country after a suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

"Over 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before this conflict. We expect these numbers to grow significantly as the fighting continues," WFP said.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher.

Security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Army man a position in Khartoum's Jabra neighbourhood. By - (AFP)

Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region.

The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide.

UN facilities looted

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

Foreign military personnel at Wadi Seidna Air Base, north of Khartoum in Sudan on April 30, 2023, as the last evacuees and military personnel prepare to leave, bound for Cyprus. By Arron Hoare (Royal Navy/AFP)

He sounded an alarm over the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce.

A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub.

On Monday a US-operated evacuation ship arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sudan carrying more than 300 civilians from multiple countries, Saudi state media said.

US military officers assist US nationals boarding an evacuation vessel in Port Sudan. By - (AFP)

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's, Dufallah al-Haj Ali, met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and is due to visit Cairo and meet Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting.

But experts have cast doubt over foreign mediation efforts. Veteran Sudan analyst Alex de Waal described them as "half-hearted and belated".

He accused the previous US administration of delegating policy to its "favoured allies in the Middle East", who feared democratic transition in Sudan and "preferred to deal directly with their favoured generals".
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Monday welcomed the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, to Ghana for a two-day state visit.

The Japanese Prime Minister is expected to hold a bilateral talks with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House.

The Asian country seeks to deepen her strong economic ties and further promote business and investment relations in Ghana, being one of the leading economic centres in West Africa.

Japan has been supporting Ghanas infrastructure development, especially roads, to improve the countrys transport connectivity.

The Asian country has high hopes for Ghana, which hosts the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to play a critical role in promoting regional integration and trade facilitation.

The development of the bilateral relations cannot be discussed without acknowledging the achievements of Dr Hideyo Noguchi, a Japanese who had played a vital role in the healthcare sector of both countries.

Japan is contributing to the health and medical fields in Ghana and the West African sub- region through the establishment of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and technical cooperation.

The country has also supported Africa's efforts to achieve peace and stability under the New Approach for Peace and Stability in Africa (NAPSA).

The Japanese Prime Minister's visit will provide an opportunity for the two countries to discuss ways to maintain peace and stability in the Sub-region.

As the country holding the G7 Presidency, Japan is also committed to carefully listening to the voices of African countries.

GNA
01.05.2023 LISTEN

I expect all public readers who will chance upon this article to approach it with open mind, discernment and without any prejudice. There are numerous clearest evidential instances to cite to prove how the Africans fanatical embracement of Christianity has culminated in their present, if not their near perpetual, status of total denigration, subhuman, beggars and generally poor people without the ability to manage their own affairs hence their countries mocked and treated as shitholes, but factually so.

The African, especially the Ghanaian, exhibits the conspicuous inability to do things of merit on their own, therefore, they always look up to their contemporary whites for guidance, assistance and you just name it, they do.

Yes, the whites in their scramble for, and partitioning of, Africa, came with their Christian religion, introduced it to us, and the Ghanaian embraced it with a thunderous clapping of hands and acceptance with jubilation. Finally, Ghanaians became docile and started doing their masters bid in the believe that such attitude will earn them everlasting favour, take them to heaven where they will know no illness, pains, death and worries of life but everlasting joy.

This docility and weakness of mind come upon Ghanaians by their spurious understanding and misinterpretation of the bible as the foundation of Christianity, ended up in their capture and shipment to Europe and then newfound America, bound in chains on their hands and ankles, to work as slaves.

Why did the whites become so cruel towards the Ghanaian and would not hesitate to kill or mistreat him, if they believed in the bible, especially, its cardinal or flagship tenet of love thy neighbour as thyself? However, the Ghanaian has come to embrace the bible with all their heart, soul and mind, to the point of accepting that any worldly possessions are all vanity hence they had better suffer utter poverty here on earth to enjoy a better life after death in heaven.

If the non-total adherence to the bible and Christianity makes one unfit to ascend to heaven, then I will pause to ask my fellow Christian-Ghanaians exhibiting religious fanaticisms a few questions to get my mind clear on some issues.

1) Do many Ghanaians not have the believe that Ghana is a more Christian or a religious country than any of the European, American or Asian countries to the point of naively emphasising that most of the white people will not go to heaven because they dont have much time worshipping God, if not fully believing in God or the bible?

2) If point number one above is a yes to Ghanaians, do we not stand condemnable in the eyes of God for partaking of the fruits of the ungodliness of the white people as in the monetary and material handouts they give to us from time to time as shameless international beggars as the Ghanaians or Africans are?

3) If the white people were to spend all their time at churches, praying and doing nothing, 24 hours seven days (24/7) a week, as seen to be done in Ghana, would they be able to have time to produce the things and raise the money that we are envious of, or that they help us out with?

4) In a court of law, does a person buying, or always purchasing, stolen items from an arrested thief also not arrested and charged with complicity as of being an accomplice? I hope this question had better be framed by a lawyer to bring out the point I strongly intend to make to prove the Ghanaian equally wrong or guilty in the eyes of God as by our acceptance of goods from those deemed evil equally makes us evil.

5) Does living worryingly in utter penury on earth in the hope of enjoying everlasting better life after death in heaven, where we dont know it does exist but believe to exist, not make us a bit of fools? If living in poverty here on earth is the validated passport granting us unhindered access to heaven, why are we always blaming our governments for the periodic or constant economic hardships of life that we go through?

I had better stop asking questions to proceed to divulge other salient facts about why the Ghanaian or the African or the black mans comprehension and fanatical embracement but clearly a misinterpretation of the bible as the root of their Christianity, have taken them into their current state of hopeless people mired, stagnating and wobbling in abject poverty, corruption, lawlessness, armed robberies and all the other vices you can think of.

Does the bible not entreat you to love your neighbour as yourself? Are we able to do that? If yes, why do we steal from our neighbour? Why do we commit crimes against our neighbour or do things that hurt them to the core?

Why are our pastors charging their church members and the public consultation fees when they approach them on one on one meeting for advice and guidance on their tormenting problems? Did Jesus that they preach and follow to hopefully take them to heaven do that when he walked the face of the earth demonstrating God to us?

Why are the current Ghanaian pastors and prophets seeking personal material wealth, going every step forward that will help them attain their objective, even to the point of allegedly performing human sacrifices but all in the name of adherence to Christianity, a foreign religion, followed wisely by their originators but not the Ghanaian or African?

School blocks and any available empty building space in Ghana are being turned into churches and places of worship of God. More time is spent at these places than time spent doing profitable jobs to raise income for the worshippers and taxes for the government. However, these same worshippers most of whom dont contribute a dime towards the governments collection of taxes, turn around to clamour for provision of good roads, jobs, hospitals, etc. When they dont get them, they threaten to no longer vote for those, or the government, in power.

Do we get all the good physical things we require from an empty plate as in the Akan proverb of, Enye apotoyewaa mu na ye tu domo (you cant go uprooting mushrooms from the grinding pot), to wit, you cannot gain anything from nothing. The answer is a Big No!

Why have Ghanaians, Africans or black people allowed themselves to be fooled by their pastors who preach to them one thing while themselves practise otherwise on their blind side or right in front of them?

Do we not have evidence in the Ghanaian public domain about some pastors sleeping around with other peoples wives, staging their anointed powers for letting miracles happen, all vaingloriously and fake, sacrificing human beings for power, wealth and fame?

Why should we allow ourselves to be fooled to the point of total impoverishment in the name of Christianity? If it were not the very Christians committing the various crimes and sins that retard us as a nation and people, why would the members of the True Faith Church in Ghana come out with the song below?

Christianity is not bad, even if the whites brought it to weaken and render us amenable for them to be able to exploit us to the hilt. If we followed the bible properly, availing ourselves of the cardinal principles and being as wise as the ant and clever as the serpent, we wouldnt be in our present confused and poverty-stricken state as a people and a nation or continent.

In the bible, does it not tell us to be honest, faithful to one another, work hard and stay away from crimes? Why are we doing the very opposite to give people the chance and platform to question and rubbish Christianity?

Until we change from our shallow but wicked understanding, application and misinterpretation of the bible and Christianity, the Ghanaian, and by extension the African, will continue to remain a slave in all the facets of their life here on earth until thy Kingdom come.

We have to be up and doing, reasoning and behaving responsibly as rational beings but not as criminals and selfish fools as we are presently, if I should be frank with you.

I dont mean to insult anyone but to tell the truth that hurts as it is!

What a nice recipe for preparing your minds food to enjoy on your 1st May worldwide public workers holiday. Wow!

More to follow. I am not an anti-Christ. And, do I care if you treat me so but in the end, the Ghanaian or the African rises up to the occasion, performing their duties and expectations as a people and a nation to the admiration of the orderly God?

Rockson Adofo

Monday, 01 May 2023
Dr. Ammar Safar, the Chief Medical Officer of Moorfields Eye Hospitals in the UAE has hinted that the facility has readied its over 80 health practitioners to assist some African countries.

We provide services for Africa. Right now we are working with Nigeria where we do training for their doctors. We currently provide Nigerian Ophthalmologists with subspecialty training during bimonthly online sessions," he stated.

He told a team of African journalists during a tour of the hospital that aside from offering training to some Ophthalmologists in Nigeria, the hospital is dedicated to solving some of the continent's complicated eye problems.

We are trying to work with Africa more closely to support their more complicated cases because we understand some of the facilities in Africa may not have the services the UAE does in terms of technology and instrumentation, he intimated.

Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai is the first overseas branch of Moorfields, a renowned eye hospital founded in London, United Kingdom in 1805. It is one of the oldest and largest eye hospitals in the world, providing a range of specialist clinical services to patients from across the UK and internationally.

The Dubai branch of the world-leading London hospital is accredited by JCI and has been established in the region since 2007. Moorfields Dubai provides a full range of specialist eye services, including surgical and medical retina surgery and treatment, cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment, cornea and refractive laser eye surgery for both adults and children, and more due to its state-of-the-art facilities and technology.
01.05.2023 LISTEN

Dear Honorable Ghanaians, as a citizen, I want to take this opportunity to share my views with you. I should be very excited over your critiques and criticisms. And I would also be pleased to accept your opinions as well.

On 7th January 2025, Ghana shall be inaugurating a new president as the leader of our nation. And as a concerned Ghanaian, I would like to share my vision of the type of leader our motherland should hire to lead our great nation.

Ghana is now 66 years old. Unfortunately, we have very little to show for this old age even though our Almighty Father and Allah has blessed us with almost every type of mineral resources and great intellect.

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our first president, made tremendous strides. These included the establishment of the Akosombo dam, the Tema harbor, free education for the northern part of the country, mass education, free health care, and above all, a great step towards The Ghana Young Pioneers, and the African Personality.

The Young Pioneers and African Personality movements were basically aimed at making us know ourselves and to use this spirit to be able to galvanize ourselves as a people and as a nation. And with this identification of ourselves, we would have translated our knowledge, strength and resources into wealth.

Through Nkrumahs vision, we realized that he was the true leader because he provided direction and guidance by inspiring people to stand for a cause. He was compassionate, competent, transformational and courageous.

Dr. Nkrumah was an exceptional leader because he served the best interests of the people and he possessed goals greater than achieving his personal glory.

I do believe that Ghana has had certain leaders that have also demonstrated various leadership qualities, such as selflessness, honesty, vision, integrity, compassion, and incorruptibility. These persons include Dr. James E. K. Aggrey, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah, Mr. Simon Diedong Dombo, Tetteh Quarshie, Yaa Asantewaa (the Queenmother of Ejisu) and many others. These individuals were selfless and, more significantly, NOT CORRUPT!

Dr. Aggrey is recognized for educating and inspiring the black population and Africans through his words  Nothing but the best is good enough for Africa.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is recognized for his belief of a new Africa, independent and absolutely free from imperialism that was founded upon the conception of one and united Africa, drawing its strength from modern science and technology and from the traditional African values of egalitarianism.

Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia is recognized for educating the people of Ghana on the paradigm of democracy, and on Civic Responsibility.

Dr. Joseph Boakye Danquah on the other hand, was a scholar, lawyer, statesman and a politician who is also credited with giving Ghana its current name.

Mr. S. D. Dombo was a chief, Douri-Na, and a teacher. He was reputed to be the first educated chieftain in the Upper West Region of Ghana. He formed and led the Northern Peoples Party (NPP) in the Gold Coast which was aimed at protecting the interest of those in the Northern region of Ghana.

Tetteh Quarshie was a pre-independent Ghanaian agriculturist and the person directly responsible for the introduction of cocoa crops to Ghana, which today constitute the major export crops of the Ghanaian economy.

Yaa Asantewaa was the Queenmother of Ejisu and a mother. She was an intellectual, a politician, a human rights activist, a queen and a war leader. She became famous for commanding the Ashanti Kings in the War of the Golden Stool, against British colonial rule, to defend and protect the sovereign independence of the Golden Stool.

All these mentioned individuals in our history, depict leaders that were willing to accept responsibility and the ability to inspire their people. They exhibited honesty, love for their heritage, intellect, and above all, they were all transformational leaders.

It took a competent, visionary, mature, selfless, and incorruptible man, in the person of Deng Xiaoping, to transform China into a far-reaching market-economic reformed nation. And if one wants to achieve excellence, then it is advisable to emulate the examples of those who have already done so.

I have cited these personalities to demonstrate true Leadership because they never tried to control their people.

Instead, they inspired their people, encouraged them to understand matters at home, and used education to guide them towards success. These personalities were true leaders because they were not afraid to make demands of the people they led. These leaders were true ones because they established flagship programs towards developments in the infrastructure, education, health, security, and the general economy of our great nation.

My most beloved Ghanaians, I propose that we look closely at those candidates vying for the presidency of Ghana to determine their integrity and how they can hold themselves accountable. Let us look out for the candidate who demonstrates honesty, has a vision, competency and among many other.

Let us refrain from looking for the candidate because of his tribe,

religious affiliation and corruptive antics. Let us look for The President of Ghana that we can All be proud of.

Dear Ghanaians, kindly bear with me that the factors for The True Leader in Ghana from 7th January 2025 should be based on honesty, vision, incorruptibility, inspirational, and transformational.

This is my first epistle to you. I shall come back to you with my second episode.

God bless our Homeland Ghana and make us great and strong!

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eur Ing. Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan, D.Sc., VDI, FInstMC

Retired Tenured Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

College of Engineering

University of Texas, USA

Email: [email protected]
Bangladesh's 'Great Independence and National Day' was celebrated with great enthusiasm and enthusiasm at the Bangladesh Consulate at Sitte in Myanmar. A grand reception was organized at Sittwe on Sunday evening to mark the day.

The Rakhine State Government Ministers along with the Chief Minister of Rakhine participated in this event organized in spite of the ongoing civil war and deteriorating law and order situation in Myanmar. Besides, diplomats of the Indian Consulate, government officials of Rakhine State, members of political parties, officials of the United Nations and international organizations, journalists, lawyers, leaders of Rakhine Student Union, businessmen, and a significant number of dignitaries of Rakhine participated.

At the beginning of the event, Bangladesh Consulate Mission Chief Zakir Ahmed and Rakhine Chief Minister U Thein Lin laid wreaths at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Corner installed at the venue and inspected the various indigenous handicrafts displayed at the Bangladesh Corner.

Later, the program was auspiciously started by the performance of the national anthems of both the countries. On the occasion, the Bangladesh Consulate screened a documentary on the development progress of the government. The Head of Mission gave a speech on the occasion of the Great Independence and National Day. After that, the great Independence and National Day was celebrated by cutting the cake.

In his speech, the Head of Mission mentioned the contribution of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bengali father of the nation, to the development of the country called Bangladesh. At this time, he presented the success and development picture of Bangladesh government. Apart from this, he informed about the social, public welfare and constructive activities organized by the Consulate in Rakhine.

A wonderful cultural program is organized on the occasion of the day. Rakhine artists, Rakhine, Burmese and Bangladeshi dances were performed at the event. Apart from this, a fashion show of traditional clothes of Bangladesh and Jamdani sarees was organized with the members of the consulate, local artists and models.

It was decided to hold the event after Holy Ramadan, organized by the Bangladesh Consulate on the occasion of the Independence and National Day.

For the people of Bangladesh and Myanmar, there is positive news. It appears that the tense relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh are beginning to heal through using the Raine card.

Recently, Bangladesh and Myanmar have launched a bilateral pilot project to repatriate the Rohingya. Myanmar has dedicated 15 villages to repatriating Rohingya refugees from Coxs Bazar. Initially, Myanmar will take 1000 Rohingya. A Myanmar delegation has already visited the camps in Coxs Bazar. The bilateral pilot project is initiated by Bangladesh and Myanmar. The initiative is largely backed by China. The country has become active recently to mitigate the dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis. For more than two years now, Junta is administering the state of Myanmar. The international community and the great powers did little to pressurize the Junta to repatriate the Rohingya. Prior to Junta, the international community also failed to convince the democratic government to repatriate the Rohingya and bring the perpetrators to justice.

At this moment, Junta is formally in power, even though it faces a serious legitimacy crisis and resistance at home. But it is the only formal authority in Myanmar.

Bangladesh has been facing a refugee crisis for six years now. It has tried bilaterally, trilaterally, and multilaterally for the past six years for a viable solution. It has left no stone unturned, yet found nothing. Now as China is brokering the deal with approval from the UN, Bangladesh eagerly wants to explore the initiative as something is better than nothing. Moreover, Bangladesh can not remain indifferent to the Junta question. Owing to bilateral political, economic, connectivity, and economic issues, Bangladesh has to engage with the authority of Myanmar- that is Junta currently. Myanmar Junta and Bangladesh have already to mend their ties through cement diplomacy, medicine diplomacy, fish, slot and areca nut diplomacy.

According to pro Myanmar government newspaper, Global New Light Of Myanmar, a dinner party marking the successful export of high-quality rice to Bangladesh was held in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday (April 05, 2023) The event was attended by Union Ministers Dr Kan Zaw, U Maung Maung Ohn, U Hla Moe and U Aung Naing Oo, Deputy Ministers U Kyaw Myo Htut, Daw Than Than Lin, Dr Aung Gyi and U Nyunt Aung, permanent secretaries, chairpersons of the Myanmar Rice Federation, Myanmar Rice Miller Association, Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders Association, vice-chairpersons, executive members, entrepreneurs and invitees.

During the ceremony, Union Minister for Commerce U Aung Naing Oo said Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an MoU on rice trade under the G-to-G pact.

Then, Permanent Secretary Md Ismiel Hossail of the Ministry of Food of Bangladesh made a speech via the video clip and Myanmar Rice Federation Chairman U Ye Min Aung also remarked. Afterwards, all attendees had dinner together.

Takes no account of current plight of rice farmers in Rakhine State The Minister of Commerce, U Aung Naing Oo, announced that the exportation of rice grown in Rakhine State to Bangladesh will be allowed to be increased.

According to Military Council-controlled newspapers on April 4th, the Minister confirmed that a shipment of 200,000 tons of rice in total, including 2,500 tons grown in Rakhine State, has already been exported to Bangladesh.

Additionally, the Minister expressed plans for more rice exports from Rakhine State to Bangladesh in the future.

On April 3rd, during a meeting of the Working Committee on Social Economic Development in the Rakhine Region, the Minister delivered that statement at the meeting hall of the Ministry of Commerce in Naypyidaw. However, the Minister did not elaborate on how many more tons of rice will be allowed to be exported.

U Khin Maung Gyi, Vice President of Rakhine Economic Initiative Public Co., Ltd (REIC), commented that granting the permission to export rice produced in Rakhine State via Sittwe will prove to be beneficial for the local farmers and millers.

Currently the majority of rice produced in Rakhine State is stuck within the domestic market, with most of it being exported to Yangon and regions bordering China. After subtracting general and travel expenses, the profit for Rakhine rice traders is often lower than expected. However, if the rice grown in Rakhine is permitted to be exported to Bangladesh or India, which are closer, stronger business opportunities will emerge, ultimately benefiting Rakhine State. Thats my opinion, he told Narinjara.

U Khin Maung Gyi cautioned, On the other hand due to the low inventory of rice held by farmers, these opportunities may result in greater benefits for rice entrepreneurs than for the farmers themselves.

According to the Arakan Farmers Union, the last rice planting season in Rakhine State saw a decrease in rice yield of approximately 40 percent, as only 800,000 acres of land were able to be planted, due to the increased cost of importing fuel and other raw materials.

A Pauktaw farmer provided a good insight into the real situation on the ground commenting, The rice that we are able to grow and produce was barely sufficient for our own consumption,

leaving us with no surplus to sell. After factoring in the expenses of labor hire, fuel, and fertilizer, there is almost no profit remaining. The remaining rice is solely meant for subsistence.

Bangladesh and Myanmar governments were able to sign a memorandum of understanding to facilitate rice trading between the neighboring countries, on September 7th, 2017.Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Myanmar exported a total of 200,000 tons of rice, which included 2500 tons produced by Rakhine State, to Bangladesh.

The Myanmar government has expressed interest in importing potatoes from Bangladesh due to low prices. In the meantime, initially the country has started importing this from Bangladesh. As a result, as Bangladesh is able to increase its income through exports, Myanmar is also getting the benefit of buying potatoes at relatively low prices.

Recently, various varieties of local and foreign potatoes have entered the market in Yangon, bringing prices lower than before. The prices of large potatoes in particular have come down. The same picture was seen in Sinfukyun and Bhamo regional markets of the country. Due to the increase in exports of Shan potatoes exported from China and Bangladesh, the prices of potatoes in the market of the region have come down. Locals said the wholesale market has been heavily affected by the large size S1 and S2 potatoes imported into the region.

Bangladesh's relations with Myanmar are deteriorating over the Rohingya issue. The largest influx of Rohingya refugees from the country to escape persecution by Myanmar's military began in August 2017. However, in the midst of this tension, the two countries have continued bilateral trade relations to meet the needs of their domestic market. Earlier, Bangladesh imported rice from Myanmar in two rounds. Bangladesh signed an agreement with the country last September. A total of 250,000 tons of Atap rice and 50,000 tons of semi-boiled rice have been imported from Myanmar till 2027.

The most exported variety of potato in the Myanmar market in the last two years is Lalita. Mainly in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Kurigram and Comilla, the yield of this variety of potato is good. It was exported to Myanmar through Teknaf land port in Cox's Bazar. There is a huge demand for Lalita variety of potatoes in the market of the country. Although the reason for this is mentioned, this variety of potato is cheaper in price. Another reason is that potato production in Rakhine has decreased due to the construction of barracks by the Myanmar security forces. In addition, the number of unemployed and poor people in the state has increased due to the conflict, which has increased the demand for cheap food in the country. And that's why the country is forced to increase potato imports.

According to the information given by the customs authorities of Teknaf land port, at least 17 thousand tons of Lalita variety potatoes were exported to Myanmar through Teknaf port in fiscal year 2021-22, from which the export income to Bangladesh was Tk 12 crore 12 lakh. In the first three months of the current financial year (2022-23), from July to September, 119 tons of potatoes have been exported from Bangladesh to Myanmar, the market value of which is Tk 18 lakh.

International analysts see the rice-potato trade between the two countries as an accessory to bilateral diplomacy. Their expectation is that this commercial relationship can play a major role in solving the ongoing crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar regarding the Rohingya.

Bangladesh's relations with Myanmar are deteriorating over the Rohingya issue. The largest influx of Rohingya refugees from the country to escape persecution by Myanmar's military began in August 2017. However, in the midst of this tension, the two countries have continued bilateral trade relations to meet the needs of their domestic market.

It is heard the term Myanmar-Bangladesh rice diplomacy recently through media platforms. The use of rice as a diplomatic tool has received global media coverage. despite Myanmar-Bangladesh tensions. There is nothing new to say about the influence of food on politics. It is really appreciable that Myanmar and Bangladesh have already started rice diplomacy to mend the ties. Now, time will say how fruitful Myanmar-Bangladesh rice diplomacy would be.

Myanmar and Bangladesh have started practicing their rice diplomacy. Myanmar supplies to Bangladesh will deepen their ties. This can be a great effort by both sides to build good relations with the Bangladeshi and Myanmar governments.

It will also build good bilateral relations between the people of Bangladesh and Myanmar. In the short term, the new generation on both sides wants better relations in terms of economy, tourism, etc.

There may be some problems between Bangladesh and Myanmar. However, these issues (Rohingya refugees and border issues) should be properly addressed by both sides. Bangladesh is going to become the economic miracle of South Asia. Bangladesh is praised by the international community in every international forum.

Ping-pong diplomacy led by China and the United States was set up to strengthen their relationship. We can also expect another application of ping-pong diplomacy similar to rice diplomacy.

Paddys diplomacy is a small initiative but its significance is huge. This small initiative will turn into a great achievement for both parties.

A high-level official visit could be a step to strengthen ties. The two prime ministers may exchange visits to normalize relations. This is good news for Myanmar and Bangladesh.

We can see the rice trade between the two countries as an accessory to bilateral diplomacy. Their expectation is that this commercial relationship can play a major role in solving the ongoing crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar regarding the Rohingya. The largest influx of Rohingya refugees from the country to escape persecution by Myanmar's military began in August 2017. In that year Bangladesh started importing rice from Myanmar for the first time. Imported for the second time in 2021. International observers are now calling the import of rice from the country as 'rice diplomacy'. They hope that through this rice diplomacy, the two countries may be able to move forward in finding a solution to the ongoing crisis.

Harunur Rasid is a London-based Bangladeshi expatriate. A Bangladesh, Myanmar affairs observer, analyst, and researcher.
We had our first taste of breakfast migas at the Austin Diner many years ago. Ever since, the indulgent, filling and slightly spicy plate of eggs scrambled with broken tortillas, regularly appears on our brunch table.

This Mothers Day, we strongly suggest loved ones brew up some strong coffee with a pinch of cinnamon and a piece of orange rind. Then, start the chopping and commence scrambling.

Migas, meaning crumbs, likely arrived in Texas as an import from Spain where they use up leftover bread by frying it in oil and scrambling in a few eggs. Tortillas prove popular in Texas  so it makes sense that this rustic dish would utilize leftover tortillas. The dish reminds us of our favorite Mexican almuerzo (lunch) dish: Chilaquiles (leftover tortilla chips softened in brothy sauce and topped with fresh garnishes).

The best migas showcase creamy eggs along with the bits and pieces of tortilla stirred into them. For ease on brunch day, we use packaged hearty thick corn tortilla chips from a local shop. Chipotle chile adds its smoky characteristic; use a bit of pureed canned chile or a chipotle-forward hot sauce or dried ground chile.

This recipe should be the starting point for creativity. For example, replace the chicken with cooked chorizo sausage or shredded cooked beef or pork. Swap out the smoky chipotle chile with pickled or fresh jalapeno. Try fresh mozzarella or shredded Chihuahua cheese in place of queso fresco. A handful or two of fresh chopped spinach or baby kale leaves makes an attractive addition. You get the idea. Just dont omit the tortilla chips or you wont be making migas.

Serve migas with a side of cheesy refried beans. Slices of papaya or melon, doused with fresh lime juice, tame the heat.

Remember that whenever you are cooking eggs, all the ingredients should be prepped and ready before you turn on the stove. Set the table. Mom will surely smile.

Chipotle Chicken Migas with Red Pepper

Makes 4 to 6 servings

4 thin boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, about 1 pound total

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Smoked paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium-size sweet or Vidalia onion, chopped

1 cup sliced baby bella or button mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers

1/2 cup drained diced canned tomato

1 tablespoon pureed canned chipotle chile or chipotle hot sauce to taste or  teaspoon chipotle chile powder

8 large eggs

1/4 cup half-and-half

2 cups coarsely crumbled homestyle or other hearty corn tortilla chips (about 4 ounces)

1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese

For serving:

Chopped fresh cilantro

Diced ripe avocado

Refried beans, warmed

Tomato salsa

1. Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Heat oil in a large 12-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add chicken in a single, uncrowded layer and cover with a splatter guard. Cook until golden, about 3 minutes; flip and brown the other side, about 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.

2. Add onion and mushrooms to the pan. Saute until onion is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in red pepper, tomato and chile. Cook until juices have evaporated, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. (You can do this up to 30 minutes in advance.)

3. Shortly before serving, slice chicken thinly. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 2 tablespoons water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Stir in the tortilla chips to moisten them.

4. Heat the onion mixture in the pan over medium heat until sizzling. Add the egg mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low; gently scramble the eggs with a heatproof spatula. When eggs are nearly set, stir in the cheese and chicken. Continue gently moving around the egg curds until set but still moist, for a total cooking time of about 5 minutes.

5. Remove to heated serving plates. Serve topped with chopped cilantro and diced avocado. Spoon a pile of refried beans on plates. Pass the salsa.

(JeanMarie Brownson is a James Beard Award-winning author and the recipient of the IACP Cookbook Award for her latest cookbook, Dinner at Home. JeanMarie, a chef and authority on home cooking, Mexican cooking and specialty food, is one of the founding partners of Frontera Foods. She co-authored three cookbooks with chef Rick Bayless, including Mexico: One Plate at a Time. JeanMarie has enjoyed developing recipes and writing about food, travel and dining for more than four decades.)
President of Ghana, H. E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

01.05.2023 LISTEN

The President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has shared important updates on Ghanas talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a support programme.

Speaking at the Workers Day celebration on Monday, May 1, the President said government expect the IMF Board to consider Ghana's programme for imminent approval after the financing assurances are provided.

ladies and gentlemen, let me touch on a very important subject matter which is the status of the IMF programme negotiations. After achieving a Staff Level Agreement with the IMF in December 2022 in record time, six months after beginning the negotiations in July 2022, we have continued to work tirelessly to complete all prior actions required to present Ghana's Programme to the IMF Executive Board for approval.

We have also made substantial progress on the debt exchange programme, as well as on our engagements with bilateral creditors to secure financing assurances required for the IMF Programme.

The IMF and the World Bank have been very supportive in this journey. With the progress made so far, we expect the IMF Board to consider Ghana's programme for imminent approval after the financing assurances are provided, President Akufo-Addo said.

According to the President, there is an assurance that the next round of meetings of the Paris Club will result in the formation of an Official Creditor Committee, inclusive of China, and the provision of financing assurances.

In his address, President Akufo-Addo expressed appreciation to Organised Labour for the role they have played in this journey, especially their inputs into the preparation of the government's Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth, which underpins the IMF-supported Programme.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated the need for the citizenry to patronise locally made products.

Delivering his speech at the Workers Day celebration on Monday, May 1, the President gave the assurance that government remains committed to the policy of domestic food security and export-driven value addition.

He argued that if domestic goods and services are patronised, it will fasten the recovery of the Ghanaian economy in the midst of the current crisis.

Secretary-General, the quest to diversify the economy for greater macroeconomic outcomes has become more paramount than ever. The current crisis provides an impetus for diversifying trade and production and exploring alternative income-earning opportunities.

As you know, we are committed to the policy of domestic food security and export-driven value addition. It is in our interest to patronise domestic goods and services to hasten economic recovery, create jobs for our peoples, and boost their incomes, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said.

The President noted that while government continue to do what is within its control, consumer preference for goods and services must be deliberately championed by everyone.

He further urged the citizenry to make it a priority to patronise made-in-Ghana products.

We must patronise the services of our own, support them to grow, support them to employ our fellow Ghanaians so that, together, we can contribute meaningfully to building the Ghana we all want.

I urge everybody here to support the Region by patronising made-in-Ghana products, including food and drinks before departing to your respective destinations. This is one of the ways in which we can protect the incomes of people working and living here in Bolgatanga, President Akufo-Addo said.

Ghana commemorated this years Workers Day celebration at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
The UN on Monday warned more than 800,000 people could flee fighting and dire conditions in Sudan, where explosions again shook the capital in violation of the latest truce extension agreed by warring generals.

The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have already sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic.

But the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was bracing for "the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries".

"We hope it doesn't come to that, but if violence doesn't stop we will see more people forced to flee", UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet, adding to UN alarm over what the world body calls a catastrophic humanitarian situation sparked by the war.

At least 20,000 people have found refuge at a makeshift camp in the Chadian border village of Koufroun, according to the United Nations refugee agency. By Gueipeur Denis SASSOU (AFP)

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Millions of Sudanese unable to afford the inflated prices required to escape have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts.

In Khartoum, a witness heard "eight air strikes from military aircraft", while gunfire and explosions sounded in various neighbourhoods.

Burhan and Daglo, who fell out after the military's 2021 coup derailed Sudan's democratic transition, have flouted multiple ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday.

RSF fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum, in an image grab taken from video footage released by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. By - (Rapid Support Forces (RSF)/AFP)

Experts agree the truces have largely been announced to enable evacuation corridors and talks with mediators.

While foreign nations have helped thousands of their citizens escape by air, road and sea, at least 75,000 Sudanese are internally displaced and more than 50,000 have already escaped overland to neighbours, said the UN and other agencies.

Some families rode donkeys, their few possessions in baskets at the animals' side, to cross the sandy border into Chad from Sudan's Darfur region, which has seen some of the worst violence outside of Khartoum.

Hospitals out of service in Sudan's Khartoum. By Sylvie HUSSON, Jonathan WALTER (AFP)

At a makeshift camp in a Chadian border village, UN workers handed out emergency supplies to the refugees, many of whom made desperate getaways empty-handed.

Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, tried to hold back tears as he told AFP he had no food for his 11 children and no means of work because "my sewing machines were taken by the attackers".

He blamed the RSF who "destroyed everything in their path."

'Breaking point'

Sudan's turmoil has seen hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on Monday on an urgent mission to look for ways to bring relief to millions.

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said on Twitter, later calling it "catastrophic".

Security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Army man a position in Khartoum's Jabra neighbourhood. By - (AFP)

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the World Health Organization's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

He sounded an alarm over the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases.

There was, however, at least some relief.

WHO announced that six containers of medical gear arrived in Port Sudan. They included supplies for treating traumatic injuries and severe acute malnutrition.

The agency said fuel -- in short supply during the war -- has been distributed to some hospitals which rely on generators.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said it expected to soon resume food distribution in some parts of the country after a suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

Foreign military personnel at Wadi Seidna Air Base, north of Khartoum in Sudan on April 30, 2023, as the last evacuees and military personnel prepared to leave, bound for Cyprus. By Arron Hoare (Royal Navy/AFP)

Even before the war, more than 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan, WFP said.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed unleashed during a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces war crimes charges.

'Belated' mediation

On Monday a US-operated evacuation ship arrived in Saudi Arabia carrying more than 300 civilians from multiple countries, Saudi state media said.

Another Saudi ship also docked in Jeddah with evacuees from Sudan, adding to the more than 5,400 civilians the kingdom has received.

Saudi Arabia is among regional powers trying to end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's, Dufallah al-Haj Ali, met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and is due to visit Cairo for talks with Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting.

Isaias Afwerki, the authoritarian president of Sudan's neighbour Eritrea which has close ties to Russia, made first public comments on the fighting.

"Sudan's current crisis stems from competition to claim who is the (real) owner of the Sudanese revolution," he told Eritrean TV in Arabic.

Experts have cast doubt over foreign mediation efforts. Veteran Sudan analyst Alex de Waal described them as "half-hearted and belated".

He accused the previous US administration of delegating policy to its "favoured allies in the Middle East", who feared democratic transition in Sudan and "preferred to deal directly with their favoured generals".
Fibra Danhos (OTCMKTS:GRFFF  Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,200 shares, an increase of 36.9% from the March 31st total of 11,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 268,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Fibra Danhos Price Performance

GRFFF remained flat at $1.30 during trading on Friday. Fibra Danhos has a twelve month low of $1.30 and a twelve month high of $1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.04.

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Fibra Danhos Company Profile

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Fibra Danhos is a Mexican trust established primarily to develop, own, lease, operate and acquire iconic and premier quality commercial real estate assets in Mexico. Our goal is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns for Holders of our CBFIs in the long term, through stable cash distributions and the appreciation of our properties.

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International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:THM  Get Rating) (TSE:ITH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 158,500 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the March 31st total of 129,200 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 114,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of International Tower Hill Mines in a research note on Thursday. They issued a sell rating on the stock.

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International Tower Hill Mines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:THM traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $0.51. The companys stock had a trading volume of 249,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,533. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $0.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.52. The company has a market cap of $99.44 million, a P/E ratio of -25.51 and a beta of 0.70. International Tower Hill Mines has a 12-month low of $0.38 and a 12-month high of $0.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Tower Hill Mines

About International Tower Hill Mines

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in International Tower Hill Mines stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ( NYSEAMERICAN:THM Get Rating ) (TSE:ITH) by 187.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 215,462 shares of the mining companys stock after buying an additional 140,462 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.11% of International Tower Hill Mines worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 55.34% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is a mineral exploration company, which engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. It holds the right to acquire interest in an advanced stage exploration project in Alaska, known as the Livengood Gold Project. The company was founded by Jeffrey A.

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Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NPEGF  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 284,600 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the March 31st total of 243,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2,846.0 days.

Nippon Electric Glass Price Performance

OTCMKTS NPEGF traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.00. The company had a trading volume of 416 shares, compared to its average volume of 319. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.06. Nippon Electric Glass has a twelve month low of $16.84 and a twelve month high of $21.45.

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Nippon Electric Glass Company Profile

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Nippon Electric Glass Co, Ltd. engages in the manufacture and sale of specialty glass products and glassmaking machinery. It offers glass for flat panel displays, optical devices, electronic devices, solar cells, building materials, lighting, pharmaceutical, and medical applications; glass fiber; heat-resistant glasses; and thin film coatings.

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Waste Management (NYSE:WM  Get Rating)s stock had its maintains rating reiterated by 51job in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WM. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 17th. They issued a buy rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Raymond James cut their price target on Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Waste Management from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $177.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $158.00 to $167.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.67.

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Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $166.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,458,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.97. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $138.89 and a 12-month high of $175.98. The stock has a market cap of $67.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

Waste Management ( NYSE:WM Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.02. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.23% and a net margin of 11.33%. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,214,010. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,214,010. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $31,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,969,135. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,743 shares of company stock worth $4,762,320. Company insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,982,963 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $4,963,780,000 after acquiring an additional 154,917 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718,449 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,024,158 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,099,729,000 after acquiring an additional 34,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $801,972,000 after acquiring an additional 160,466 shares in the last quarter. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

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Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

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Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BSJP  Get Rating) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,326 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 9,401 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Incs holdings in Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF were worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BSJP. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth $7,767,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 781.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 316,978 shares of the companys stock worth $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 280,997 shares in the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC increased its stake in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 260,359 shares of the companys stock worth $5,663,000 after purchasing an additional 174,206 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 109.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 237,688 shares of the companys stock worth $5,255,000 after purchasing an additional 124,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fusion Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter worth $2,491,000.

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Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.2 %

BSJP stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $22.42. The companys stock had a trading volume of 29,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,936. Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $21.56 and a 1 year high of $23.45. The companys fifty day moving average is $22.35 and its 200-day moving average is $22.32.

About Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

The Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (BSJP) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market value-weighted index of high-yield corporate bonds with effective maturities in 2025. BSJP was launched on Sep 27, 2017 and is managed by Invesco.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BSJP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BSJP  Get Rating).

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Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE  Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a growth of 36.4% from the March 31st total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.8% of the companys stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.90 per share, with a total value of $84,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 503,093 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,502,271.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.00% of the companys stock.

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Institutional Trading of Apple Hospitality REIT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,208 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,077 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,924 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 52,034 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 108,175 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 1.2 %

A number of research analysts recently commented on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Apple Hospitality REIT from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Compass Point downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.00.

NYSE APLE traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $14.89. 1,707,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,819,832. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.58 and a 200 day moving average of $16.21. Apple Hospitality REIT has a twelve month low of $13.66 and a twelve month high of $18.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. Apple Hospitality REITs payout ratio is currently 150.00%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust company, which invests in income-producing real estate, primarily in the lodging sector. It owns hotels located in urban, high-end suburban, and developing markets throughout states, which operates under Marriott, Hilton, or Hyatt brands.

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Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $4.00-$4.00 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Beazer Homes USA also updated its Q3 2023 guidance to $0.90-$0.90 EPS.

Beazer Homes USA Stock Down 7.5 %

BZH traded down $1.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $19.72. The stock had a trading volume of 475,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,170. The company has a market capitalization of $618.22 million, a PE ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 2.16. Beazer Homes USA has a twelve month low of $9.47 and a twelve month high of $21.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 18.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.10.

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Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The construction company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.29. Beazer Homes USA had a net margin of 8.54% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $543.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $519.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Beazer Homes USA will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Institutional Trading of Beazer Homes USA

Several research firms have recently commented on BZH. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Beazer Homes USA from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Beazer Homes USA from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Beazer Homes USA in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Beazer Homes USA by 60.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,618 shares of the construction companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Beazer Homes USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Beazer Homes USA by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,007 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Beazer Homes USA by 2,421.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,842 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 7,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Beazer Homes USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.95% of the companys stock.

About Beazer Homes USA

(Get Rating)

Beazer Homes USA, Inc engages in the design and sale of single-family and multi-family homes. It operates through the following geographical segments: West, East, and Southeast. The West segment includes Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas. The East segment consists of Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Virginia.

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Buffalos Citizens Salary Review Commission has recommended 12.63% hikes in salaries for the citys elected officials: the mayor, comptroller, nine Common Council members and nine Board of Education members.

If the Common Council approves the new recommendations, the new annual salaries would be:

Common Council seeks input from residents on what they want to see in 2023-24 budget The deadline to complete the survey will be prior to the Councils budget hearings in May, but members will not know the exact date until the mayor releases his proposed budget and the budget workshops and public hearings are scheduled.

Mayor: $178,519, up from $158,500

Comptroller: $134,593, up from $119,500

Council members: $84,472, up from $75,000

Board of Education members: $16,984, up from $15,000

The raises would not take effect until Jan. 1, Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera said.

He said he has not canvassed Council members to see how they feel about raises. But he also pointed out that elected officials get raises in other municipalities; New York state legislators approved in December increasing their salaries to $142,000 a year, the highest salary earned by any legislature in the United States; and city employees get raises.

We give out raises to union members and exempt employees during the course of the years, and sometimes during those periods of time we cant give ourselves raises, he said.

The Council job is a full-time job, he added. Were constantly on call, sometimes seven days a week and into the evenings. Were the elected body thats closest to the residents. They normally call us before they call their state legislators or county legislators, for that matter. And if youre going to ... encourage other folks to run for elected office, youre probably going to have to be competitive in terms of pay.

The recommended hikes would cost taxpayers an extra $137,410.

The commission's report will be forwarded to the Council's Finance Committee for its meeting at 10 a.m. May 9.

After compromise, mayor gets his fleet manager and Common Council gets an emergency coordinator Mayor Byron Brown wanted a fleet director. The Common Council said an emergency management coordinator was more urgent. After negotiations that lasted until moments before the start of Tuesday's Council meeting, both got what they wanted Tuesday.

According to the City Charter, the commission must be empaneled every two years to evaluate salaries, officials said. The last time the group was established was in 2019.

In 2019, the approved salary increases were:

 Mayor: $158,500, up from $105,000

 Comptroller: $119,500, up from $88,412

 Council members: $75,000, up from $52,000

 Board of Education members: $15,000, up from $5,000

Bus shelter, billboard ad campaign says Buffalo City Hall is failing residents Beginning Monday, City Hall is Failing Us will be posted on bus shelters across the city. The ads were created by Our City Action Buffalo.

Before that, the mayor, Council members and comptroller had not had a raise since 1998. The $5,000 stipend for the School Board had not increased since 1974.

Mayor Byron W. Brown, Council President Darius G. Pridgen and Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams appointed 10 people to the commission on April 18 to review elected officials salaries and make recommendations. The members were:

 David Franczyk, retired Fillmore Council Member

 Arthur Robinson

 Constance Moss

 Peter DeJesus

 Angela Blue

 Brian Manley

 Alexandre Burgos

 Peter Cammarata

 Maria Granville

 Gladys Herndon-Hill

The Commission held its first meeting on April 21. The group held a public forum and workshop on April 24. Then, on April 25, the Council appointed Kevin Helfer to replace Moss and Tom Vossler to replace Cammarata.

North Council Member Joseph Golombek voted against seating the commission in the first place. He said Monday he could not, in good conscience, vote for a pay raise.

We just had a raise four years ago, and I knew that this budget was going to be bad, and Im not voting for anything that has a raise attached to it, Golombek said.

In his annual State of the City address Monday, Brown called for a 3.8% increase on residential and commercial property taxes and higher fees for sanitation services. The budget recommended by the mayor is $582 million, up 2.69% from last year's $566 million spending plan.

Brown also said Monday that he was concerned about the recommended raises for elected officials.

"I havent requested a raise. This was something that was advanced by the city Council," Brown said. "I think the timing is concerning and the work that went into producing those recommendations ... I have absolutely no involvement in that whatsoever other than to allow the council to move forward in their request to put raises on the table."
Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Get Rating) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,477 shares of the retailers stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,866,000 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 WMT. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 1,519.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,129,341 shares of the retailers stock worth $1,054,376,000 after acquiring an additional 7,627,286 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 96,570,711 shares of the retailers stock worth $12,525,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,886 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,176,496 shares of the retailers stock worth $16,883,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,388 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Walmart by 34.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,258,231 shares of the retailers stock worth $783,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340,328 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Walmart by 85.3% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,399,536 shares of the retailers stock worth $357,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,427 shares during the period. 31.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $151.94. 880,996 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,184,499. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.27 and a fifty-two week high of $154.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $409.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.48.

Walmart Announces Dividend

Walmart ( NYSE:WMT Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.20. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $164.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $158.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. Walmarts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Walmart from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $146.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Walmart from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $165.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total value of $122,940,535.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 266,841,420 shares of the companys stock, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total transaction of $122,940,535.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 266,841,420 shares of the companys stock, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 157,406 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total value of $21,722,028.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 260,926,943 shares in the company, valued at $36,007,918,134. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,039,627 shares of company stock valued at $2,980,507,683 over the last three months. 47.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Walmart

(Get Rating)

Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sams Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.

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Regatta Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX  Get Rating) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,560 shares of the asset managers stock after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLCs holdings in Blackstone were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $25,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 133.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 350 shares of the asset managers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 107.9% during the third quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 420 shares of the asset managers stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.39% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $98.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $111.00 to $106.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $103.04.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

Blackstone Price Performance

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III acquired 10,869,566 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.38 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,001.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 24,727,216 shares of the companys stock, valued at $34,123,558.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink . In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 85,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.94, for a total transaction of $8,154,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,122,168 shares of the companys stock, valued at $107,660,797.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III purchased 10,869,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.38 per share, with a total value of $15,000,001.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,727,216 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $34,123,558.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here . In the last quarter, insiders bought 10,950,338 shares of company stock valued at $18,744,064 and sold 140,757,216 shares valued at $1,738,001,650. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone stock opened at $88.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $86.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.95. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.72 and a 52 week high of $123.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.83 billion, a PE ratio of 108.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The asset manager reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.97. Blackstone had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 73.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 28th. Blackstones payout ratio is currently 400.00%.

Blackstone Profile

(Get Rating)

Blackstone, Inc engages in the provision of investment and fund management services. It operates through the following segments: Real Estate, Private Equity, Credit and Insurance, and Hedge Fund Solutions. The Real Estate segment includes management of opportunistic real estate funds, Core+ real estate funds, high-yield real estate debt funds, and liquid real estate debt funds.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX  Get Rating).

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Blue River Resources Ltd. (CVE:BXR  Get Rating) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as C$0.01 and last traded at C$0.01, with a volume of 1510000 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.01.

Blue River Resources Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.00 and a beta of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$0.01 and a 200 day moving average of C$0.01.

About Blue River Resources

(Get Rating)

Blue River Resources Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds 100% interests in Castle copper project covering an area of 335 hectares located in British Colombia. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Boeing from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Boeing from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $213.00 to $220.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Boeing from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Boeing from $222.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Boeing from $225.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $221.60.

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Boeing Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of BA stock opened at $206.78 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.18. Boeing has a 52 week low of $113.02 and a 52 week high of $221.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.40 billion, a PE ratio of -29.88 and a beta of 1.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Boeing ( NYSE:BA Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.75) EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Boeing will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory now owns 1,884 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 701 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 1,792 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.07% of the companys stock.

About Boeing

(Get Rating)

The Boeing Co is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space, and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Defense, Space and Security (BDS), Global Services (BGS), and Boeing Capital (BCC). The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Get Rating) CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,868 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,999.90, for a total transaction of $3,735,813.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at $46,691,665.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:CMG opened at $2,067.62 on Monday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,196.28 and a 12 month high of $2,071.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,660.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,568.05. The company has a market capitalization of $57.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.32.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The restaurant operator reported $10.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.89 by $1.61. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 43.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 311 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 28.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 475 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.1% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 137 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.2% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,240 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $22,618,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% in the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $3,688,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 93.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,000.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,940.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,970.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,750.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,800.00 to $1,900.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $2,021.37.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Further Reading

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Copper Mountain Mining (TSE:CMMC  Get Rating) had its price target cut by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a research note issued on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.17% from the companys current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CMMC. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.20 to C$2.60 in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Haywood Securities raised their price target on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.00 to C$3.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Cormark cut their price target on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. National Bankshares cut shares of Copper Mountain Mining from an outperform rating to a tender rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$2.50 to C$2.73 in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$1.90 to C$2.20 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Copper Mountain Mining currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$2.60.

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Copper Mountain Mining Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of TSE:CMMC traded up C$0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting C$2.64. 787,237 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.70, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 1.10. Copper Mountain Mining has a 52-week low of C$1.23 and a 52-week high of C$3.00. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is C$2.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$2.00. The company has a market capitalization of C$564.54 million, a PE ratio of -12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 2.71.

Insider Activity at Copper Mountain Mining

Copper Mountain Mining Company Profile

In related news, insider Zeta Resources Limited sold 200,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$2.60, for a total value of C$520,000.00. 3.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

(Get Rating)

Copper Mountain Mining Corporation operates as a mining company in Canada. The company explores for copper, gold, and silver deposits. Its flagship asset is the Copper Mountain mine that comprise 138 crown granted mineral claims, 149 located mineral claims, 14 mining leases, and 12 fee simple properties covering an area of 6,702 hectares located to the south of Princeton, British Columbia.

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Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM  Get Rating) and AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Brookfield Asset Management and AllianceBernsteins net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Brookfield Asset Management N/A N/A N/A AllianceBernstein 6.44% 15.96% 15.06%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Brookfield Asset Management and AllianceBernstein, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Brookfield Asset Management 1 2 4 1 2.63 AllianceBernstein 0 3 2 0 2.40

Valuation & Earnings

Brookfield Asset Management presently has a consensus target price of $43.57, indicating a potential upside of 29.87%. AllianceBernstein has a consensus target price of $42.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.57%. Given Brookfield Asset Managements stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Brookfield Asset Management is more favorable than AllianceBernstein.

This table compares Brookfield Asset Management and AllianceBernsteins revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Brookfield Asset Management $3.76 billion 3.68 $659.89 million $1.60 20.97 AllianceBernstein $287.53 million 13.84 $274.17 million $2.43 14.39

Brookfield Asset Management has higher revenue and earnings than AllianceBernstein. AllianceBernstein is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brookfield Asset Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Brookfield Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. AllianceBernstein pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. Brookfield Asset Management pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AllianceBernstein pays out 108.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Brookfield Asset Management has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.5% of AllianceBernstein shares are held by institutional investors. 11.0% of Brookfield Asset Management shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of AllianceBernstein shares are held by 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.

Summary

Brookfield Asset Management beats AllianceBernstein on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookfield Asset Management

(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. In addition, its private equity business offers business, infrastructure, and industrials services; and real estate business, which includes core investments, and transitional and development investments. Further, the company engages in the residential development business including homebuilding, and condominium and land development. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About AllianceBernstein

(Get Rating)

AllianceBernstein Holding LP engages in the provision of research, investment management, and related services. It offers investment trusts, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other investment vehicles. The company was founded in October 2000 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.

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Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of CTP (OTCMKTS:CTPVF  Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the stock.

CTP Price Performance

Shares of CTPVF stock opened at C$15.00 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$14.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$14.16. CTP has a twelve month low of C$15.00 and a twelve month high of C$15.00.

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About CTP

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CTP N.V. engages in the ownership, development, management, and leasing of logistics and industrial real estate properties in Central and Eastern Europe. Its properties are used primarily for production and warehousing, third-party logistics and distribution, offices, and others. The company also operates 3 hotels under the Courtyard by Marriott brand in the Czech Republic under management agreements with third party.

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Dana (NYSE:DAN  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.25-$0.75 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $6.47. The company issued revenue guidance of $10.35 billion-$10.85 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $10.65 billion. Dana also updated its FY23 guidance to $0.25-0.75 EPS.

Dana Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DAN traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.44. The companys stock had a trading volume of 311,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.54. Dana has a fifty-two week low of $11.17 and a fifty-two week high of $19.30. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $14.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.66 and a beta of 2.38.

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Dana (NYSE:DAN  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The auto parts company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. Dana had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.38%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Dana will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Dana Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. Danas dividend payout ratio is currently -23.81%.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DAN. Barclays lowered their price objective on Dana from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Dana from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Dana from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Dana from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dana

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Dana by 121.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,502 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Dana during the third quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Dana by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 82,651 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Dana by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 169,160 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $2,972,000 after buying an additional 49,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Dana by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 427,547 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $7,512,000 after buying an additional 6,465 shares in the last quarter. 94.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Dana

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Dana, Inc engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of technology drive and motion products, sealing solutions, thermal-management technologies, and fluid-power products. It operates through the following segments: Light Vehicle, Commercial Vehicle, Off-Highway, and Power Technologies. The Light Vehicle segment includes drivetrain systems and components for passenger cars, crossovers, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks.

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Davide Campari-Milano (OTCMKTS:DVDCF  Get Rating) was the target of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,920,500 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the March 31st total of 4,996,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9,801.3 days.

Davide Campari-Milano Price Performance

DVDCF stock remained flat at $12.99 on Monday. 85 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 116,468. Davide Campari-Milano has a fifty-two week low of $8.55 and a fifty-two week high of $12.99. The stocks fifty day moving average is $11.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.86.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Davide Campari-Milano to 13.00 ($14.44) in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Davide Campari-Milano from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Davide Campari-Milano to 10.70 ($11.89) in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Davide Campari-Milano currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $11.42.

Davide Campari-Milano Company Profile

Davide Campari-Milano NV is a holding company, which engages in the production and distribution of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The firm operates through its geographic segments: the Americas; Southern Europe; Middle East and Africa; Northern, Central and Eastern Europe; Asia-Pacific. Its product offerings include aperitifs, vodka, whisky, tequila, rum, gin, liqueurs, and sparkling and still wines under internation brands which include Campari, Aperol, Sky Vodka, Wild Turkey, Appleton Estate, Grand Marnier, and Wray and Nephew.

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Two men are expected to be charged in federal court after authorities pulled them over on the Thruway and a search of their vehicle turned up 1 kilo of suspected fentanyl, the Erie County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.

The arrest was the result of an investigation by the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, Erie County sheriff's deputies, the Niagara County Sheriff's Office and the Niagara Falls Police Department.

The men were stopped in the vehicle on Friday on I-90, near Exit 49.

An Erie County Sheriff's Office narcotics detection K-9 named Bo "made a positive alert for narcotics," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Monday.

State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens granted a search warrant that turned up the suspected drugs.

Robert Hernandez, 44, and Reinaldo Gonzales, 49, both believed to be from the Dominican Republic, were taken into custody and are expected to be charged in federal court.
Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Get Rating) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,755 shares of the companys stock after selling 111,985 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $23,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,699 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,688,000 after buying an additional 7,821 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 1st quarter valued at $277,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 1st quarter valued at $226,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 31,004 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,798,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 459,907 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,327 shares during the last quarter. 78.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 0.1 %

ADM stock opened at $78.08 on Monday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $70.02 and a one year high of $98.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.34 and a 200-day moving average of $86.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Archer-Daniels-Midland ( NYSE:ADM Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.38. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $24.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $24.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ADM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $94.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $114.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $100.78.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

(Get Rating)

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co engages in the production of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, Nutrition, and Other. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment includes activities related to the origination, merchandising, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials, and the crushing and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed into vegetable oils and protein meals.

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Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D  Get Rating) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,345 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 3,765 shares during the period. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLCs holdings in Dominion Energy were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Dominion Energy by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 370 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Dominion Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new stake in Dominion Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Dominion Energy by 49.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 394 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Dominion Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 70.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Dominion Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Dominion Energy from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Dominion Energy from $66.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Dominion Energy from $69.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on Dominion Energy from $67.00 to $58.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Dominion Energy presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $64.18.

Dominion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE D opened at $57.14 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The businesss 50 day moving average is $56.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.89. The company has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.43. Dominion Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.03 and a 12 month high of $86.28.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Dominion Energy, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Dominion Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 2nd. Dominion Energys payout ratio is presently 244.95%.

Dominion Energy Profile

(Get Rating)

Dominion Energy, Inc engages in the production and distribution of energy. It operates through following business segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Gas Distribution, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Contracted Assets, and Corporate and Other. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on corporate, service company, non-controlling interest in Dominion privatization, and non-regulated retail energy marketing operations.

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Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V  Get Rating) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,834 shares of the credit-card processors stock after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLCs holdings in Visa were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of V. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Visa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 81.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Visa Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Visa stock opened at $232.73 on Monday. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.60 and a 12-month high of $235.57. The company has a market cap of $437.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The companys 50-day moving average price is $224.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.34.

Visa Dividend Announcement

Visa ( NYSE:V Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The credit-card processor reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.79 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.95% and a return on equity of 50.21%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. Visas payout ratio is currently 24.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Visa from $281.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Visa from $253.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Visa from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Visa from $272.00 to $284.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on shares of Visa from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $260.96.

Insider Transactions at Visa

In other news, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 4,583 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,677. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. sold 58,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.99, for a total value of $12,991,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 162,354 shares of the companys stock, valued at $36,365,672.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 13,394 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.00, for a total value of $2,933,286.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 4,583 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,003,677. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,115 shares of company stock worth $30,115,598. Insiders own 0.22% of the companys stock.

Visa Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Visa, Inc engages in the provision of digital payment services. It also facilitates global commerce through the transfer of value and information among a global network of consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, strategic partners, and government entities. It offers debit cards, credit cards, prepaid products, commercial payment solutions, and global automated teller machines (ATMs).

Further Reading

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Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,004 shares of the aircraft producers stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Boeing by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 238,221 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $28,844,000 after purchasing an additional 17,716 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. increased its position in shares of Boeing by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 8,093 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 10.2% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 3,297 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its stake in Boeing by 241.5% in the third quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 94,629 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $11,458,000 after purchasing an additional 66,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in Boeing by 5.9% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 43,693 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $5,290,000 after buying an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. 57.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Northcoast Research downgraded Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Boeing from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boeing from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Boeing from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Boeing from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $213.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Boeing Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BA opened at $206.78 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $206.29 and a 200-day moving average of $192.18. The firm has a market cap of $124.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.88 and a beta of 1.43. The Boeing Company has a twelve month low of $113.02 and a twelve month high of $221.33.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($1.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.75) EPS. Boeings revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Boeing Company will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Boeing Profile

(Get Rating)

The Boeing Co is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space, and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Defense, Space and Security (BDS), Global Services (BGS), and Boeing Capital (BCC). The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide.

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EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $141.00 to $142.00 in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

EOG has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a buy rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $139.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $150.42.

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EOG Resources Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of EOG opened at $119.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.90. EOG Resources has a fifty-two week low of $92.16 and a fifty-two week high of $150.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.33.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

EOG Resources ( NYSE:EOG Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.01). EOG Resources had a return on equity of 34.95% and a net margin of 30.19%. The business had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EOG Resources will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 13th. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Institutional Trading of EOG Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,571,626 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $5,985,558,000 after acquiring an additional 584,133 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,826,112 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,661,238,000 after buying an additional 1,222,209 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EOG Resources by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,551,976 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,493,398,000 after buying an additional 1,321,754 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,190,712 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $915,149,000 after purchasing an additional 245,996 shares during the period. Finally, Tejara Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,000. 87.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EOG Resources Company Profile

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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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Fibra Terrafina (OTCMKTS:CBAOF  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 271,200 shares, a decline of 12.3% from the March 31st total of 309,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 72,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Fibra Terrafina Price Performance

Shares of CBAOF traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1.88. 3,400 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,780. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $1.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.57. Fibra Terrafina has a 1 year low of $1.23 and a 1 year high of $1.92.

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About Fibra Terrafina

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Terrafina is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the acquisition, development, and management of industrial real estate properties. Its portfolio includes distribution centers, warehouses, and light manufacturing properties located at Bajio and Northern Mexico. The company was founded on January 29, 2013 and is headquartered in Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico.

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First National Financial Co. (TSE:FN  Get Rating) insider FNSC Holdings Inc. acquired 16,599 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$37.23 per share, for a total transaction of C$617,980.77.

FNSC Holdings Inc. also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, April 14th, FNSC Holdings Inc. bought 19,958 shares of First National Financial stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$37.59 per share, for a total transaction of C$750,221.22.

First National Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FN stock traded up C$0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$37.81. The stock had a trading volume of 30,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,483. First National Financial Co. has a 12-month low of C$32.12 and a 12-month high of C$40.50. The firm has a market capitalization of C$2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.12. The firms 50-day moving average is C$38.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$37.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6,111.76, a current ratio of 9.68 and a quick ratio of 10.11.

First National Financial Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. First National Financials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

Several brokerages have commented on FN. Scotiabank upped their price objective on First National Financial from C$38.00 to C$40.00 in a research report on Friday. CIBC upped their price objective on First National Financial from C$38.00 to C$40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on First National Financial from C$36.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on First National Financial from C$33.00 to C$36.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on First National Financial from C$39.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st.

About First National Financial

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First National Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, originates, underwrites, and services commercial and residential mortgages in Canada. The company operates in two segments, Residential and Commercial segments. It offers single-family residential, and multi-unit residential and commercial mortgages.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS  Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on FMS. HSBC lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. They set a market perform rating for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a buy rating to an underperform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.70 in a research report on Monday, January 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $28.45.

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Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Price Performance

Shares of FMS stock opened at $24.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 1.01. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 12 month low of $12.78 and a 12 month high of $31.77.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Cuts Dividend

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA ( NYSE:FMS Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 3.46%. Research analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a $0.7086 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 17th. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaAs payout ratio is 40.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMS. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 24,332,192 shares of the companys stock valued at $397,588,000 after acquiring an additional 11,209,015 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,570,817 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,667,000 after acquiring an additional 683,851 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,738,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 1,151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,743 shares of the companys stock worth $4,376,000 after purchasing an additional 286,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 404,730 shares of the companys stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 285,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.56% of the companys stock.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Company Profile

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Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KgaA engages in the provision of products and services for individuals with renal diseases of which regularly undergo dialysis treatment. It operates through the Care Enablement and Care Delivery segments. The Care Enablement segment is involved in the healthcare products business including research and development, manufacturing, supply chain, and commercial operations as well as supporting functions, such as regulatory and quality management.

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Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE  Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 367,500 shares, an increase of 18.1% from the March 31st total of 311,100 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 108,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Genie Energy from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 24th.

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Genie Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

GNE traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $15.87. 97,637 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,285. The stock has a market cap of $412.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.43. Genie Energy has a 1-year low of $6.10 and a 1-year high of $16.61. The stocks 50-day moving average is $13.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.33.

Genie Energy Dividend Announcement

Genie Energy ( NYSE:GNE Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 13th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $81.40 million during the quarter. Genie Energy had a return on equity of 63.08% and a net margin of 26.11%.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Genie Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 9.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genie Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Genie Energy by 12.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,610 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Genie Energy by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 16,800 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 30,255 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. now owns 325,877 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $3,369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Genie Energy by 89.1% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,481 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 19,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.38% of the companys stock.

Genie Energy Company Profile

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Genie Energy Ltd. engages in the provision of energy services. It operates through Genie Retail Energy and Genie Renewables. The Genie Retail Energy segment supplies electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers. The Genie Renewables segment includes Genie Solar, CityCom Solar, Prism Solar Technologies, and Diversegy LLC.

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Genpact Limited (NYSE:G  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 874,700 shares, a growth of 35.7% from the March 31st total of 644,800 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 822,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Genpact Price Performance

NYSE G traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.55. The companys stock had a trading volume of 703,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,318. The firms 50-day moving average price is $45.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Genpact has a 1 year low of $37.68 and a 1 year high of $48.85. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.21.

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Genpact (NYSE:G  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Genpact had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 8.08%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Genpact will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genpact Increases Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were given a $0.1375 dividend. This represents a $0.55 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This is an increase from Genpacts previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Genpacts dividend payout ratio is 29.26%.

In related news, CEO N. V. Tyagarajan sold 50,000 shares of Genpact stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $2,380,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 622,518 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $29,631,856.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Genpact news, SVP Kathryn Vanpelt Stein sold 55,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.29, for a total transaction of $2,624,595.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 66,206 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,130,881.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO N. V. Tyagarajan sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $2,380,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 622,518 shares in the company, valued at $29,631,856.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 225,500 shares of company stock worth $10,491,195 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.62% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genpact

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Genpact during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genpact during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Genpact during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genpact by 136.7% during the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 878 shares of the business services providers stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Genpact by 148.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the business services providers stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. 95.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on G. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genpact from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Genpact from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Genpact from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Genpact in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.50.

About Genpact

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Genpact Ltd. engages in the business process management, outsourcing, shared services and information outsourcing. The company operates through the following segments: Banking, Capital Markets and Insurance (BCMI), Consumer Goods, Retail, Life Sciences, and Healthcare (CGRLH) and High Tech, Manufacturing, and Services (HMS).

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Shan Jing, a researcher based in Germany at the Dresden University of Technology, speaks at the 10th International Conference of Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis "RailBelgrade 2023" in Belgrade, Serbia on April 26, 2023. The Belt and Road initiative has significantly improved railway connections between China and Europe, enabling a massive increase in the volume of trade, Chinese transport expert Shan Jing has said here recently. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua)

BELGRADE, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road initiative has significantly improved railway connections between China and Europe, enabling a massive increase in the volume of trade, Chinese transport expert Shan Jing has said here recently.

Shan, a researcher based in Germany at the Dresden University of Technology, was participating in the 10th International Conference of Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis "RailBelgrade 2023". He told Xinhua at the conference on Wednesday that trade between China and Europe has flourished in the past decade.

"Eurasian railway transport is developing really fast. In 2011 there were only 11 trains, but last year there were 16,000 trains between China and Europe in both directions. It is becoming a plan B compared to air and sea routes. The service quality could fulfill the supply chain demand of big companies such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, and the other big companies, as they all use this Eurasian railway transport, between China and Europe".

Infrastructure cooperation has significantly reduced the time and cost of shipments, he added, which has brought significant benefits to the industries involved.

"After a ten-year development (through the Belt and Road initiative) Eurasian railway transport is pretty fast compared to the sea. By sea, you need 50 days, but with Eurasia railways, you need only 19 or 20 days. This express service saves time and could mean a lot for the industry. It can save money, by reducing time and cost," Shan said.

The Chinese-built Belgrade-Budapest railway will one day represent a major connection between China and this part of Europe, he said, while the presence of Chinese infrastructure companies could help to accelerate Europe's connection to this railway infrastructure.

"I am excited about this (Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway) project because it could be a part of the new Silk Road. We already have trains to Budapest, and if we could connect it with Belgrade, trains from China could arrive in Belgrade. "

The international railway conference takes place in Belgrade from April 25 to 28, gathering experts in various fields of transport and railway infrastructure, representatives of companies, and government officials.

At the opening of the conference on Tuesday, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic said that the Chinese-built Belgrade-Novi Sad high-speed railway has significantly reduced travel time between Serbia's two biggest cities. 

Scholars attend a lecture by Shan Jing, a researcher based in Germany at the Dresden University of Technology, at the 10th International Conference of Railway Operations Modelling and Analysis "RailBelgrade 2023" in Belgrade, Serbia on April 26, 2023. The Belt and Road initiative has significantly improved railway connections between China and Europe, enabling a massive increase in the volume of trade, Chinese transport expert Shan Jing has said here recently. (Photo by Nemanja Cabric/Xinhua)
Qabil Ashirov

Russia announced a temporary suspension of providing Armenia with natural gas, Azernews reports, citing international media outlets.

The Russian side explains the suspension with the planned repair work on the North Caucasus-Transcaucasia gas pipeline.

"From 08:00 on May 1 to 20:00 on May 4, planned repairs will be carried out on the main gas pipeline North Caucasus - Transcaucasia in the territory of the Stavropol Territory of the Russian Federation, in connection with which the supply of natural gas to Armenia through the specified gas pipeline will be suspended," Gazprom said.

Gazprom added that an uninterrupted and reliable gas supply to consumers of the republic during the specified period will be carried out without restrictions at the expense of internal reserves.

Gazprom Armenia CJSC (100% subsidiary of Gazprom PJSC) is the operator of the gas supply and distribution network in Armenia.
ALBANY  A $1 tax increase on cigarettes, but no ban on menthols.

A law allowing whistleblower lawsuits that claim wealthy people and corporations intentionally failed to pay taxes.

The fine print of the state budget agreement is finally beginning to emerge ahead of expected final passing by the Legislature this week.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced a conceptual agreement on the month-late budget, stating that she, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins had struck a deal on major issues ranging from the states bail law to a prohibition on natural gas hookups in new construction.

But the details of those agreements have taken days to emerge as negotiations continued into the weekend. Budget bills began posting online Sunday, and by the end of Monday, most of the bills were available.

Hochul announces 'conceptual' agreement on $229B budget; agreement on bail changes Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a "conceptual" $229 billion state budget agreement on Thursday evening, laying out the broad strokes of deals struck with the Legislature related to public safety, energy and health care.

Some of the more contentious issues, however, have not yet emerged in budget language and appear likely to be merged together in one, final bill that will be disclosed last, known in Albany parlance as the Big Ugly. For instance, the fine print of the states controversial, revised bail law is not in the public protection bill.

According to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate is set to vote on budget bills, including the "Big Ugly," on Tuesday.

One budget document that has been released confirms that the state tax on a pack of cigarettes will rise by $1, to $5.35. But nothing in that budget document indicates that another provision Hochul had sought, banning flavored tobacco including menthol cigarettes, was included in the final agreement. Hochuls proposed ban faced heavy pushback from the tobacco industry.

One surprising inclusion is language amending the states False Claims Act. The law, which allows whistleblower lawsuits reporting fraud, had not allowed lawsuits claiming that a person or corporation had intentionally failed to file their taxes.

In 2021, and again in 2022, the Legislature passed standalone bills to make intentional non-filing of taxes subject to the lawsuits. The bills were sponsored by the top officials overseeing finance in each chamber, Democratic State Sen. Liz Krueger and Democratic Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein.

Both times, Hochul issued last-minute vetoes. As The News reported earlier this year, Hochuls administration was pushed to issue the vetoes by a prominent lobbying firm that strongly supported Hochuls 2022 campaign and represented the countrys Big Four'' accounting firms.

Gregory Krakower, former counselor to ex-state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, drafted a 2010 amendment to the law. He supported its expansion to close the reported loophole allowing those that did not file taxes at all to escape the lawsuits.

Senator Krueger and Assemblywoman Weinstein have closed a notorious loophole that prevented whistleblowers from being protected and rewarded for exposing large out-of-state tax cheats and millionaires who knowingly avoid filing state tax returns, Krakower said. By exposing such tax fraud, the law helps ensure that honest New York businesses do not a face a competitive disadvantage because they pay their taxes.

But the State Business Council feels otherwise.

We remain unconvinced that the FCA should have been, or needed to be, expanded, said Ken Pokalsky, vice-president of the group, which represents 3,000 member companies both large and small.

He said the Business Council provided the Legislature with bill language that would have more narrowly addressed knowing failure to file tax returns. But he said that the Legislature insisted on broader language where the exact meaning, and limitations, are unclear.

There was one victory for business interests: The law applies retroactively to tax obligations knowingly concealed or knowingly avoided on or after May 1, 2020. The Legislatures original bills would have applied to intentional failures to file taxes dating back 10 years.

New York to become the first US state to ban fossil fuels in most new buildings Beginning Dec. 31, 2025, developers and builders will be required to comply with "zero emission construction" standards for most buildings of seven stories or fewer, said Katy Zielinski, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The budget language includes details of a tax credit expanded to some $700 million a year that is lucrative for the television and film industry. It also includes details of a deal between the Legislature and Hochul to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates at hospitals and nursing homes  though not nearly to the degree favored by the Legislature, hospital industry or the states major health care care workers union.

And the final agreement includes another measure that Hochul had previously vetoed in December, known as the Unmarked Burial Protection Act, which makes it more difficult for developers to build on the remains of Indigenous peoples ancestors. The veto had contributed to Hochuls strained relationship with New Yorks Native American tribes.
Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK  Get Rating) will post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect Graphic Packaging to post earnings of $0.62 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in registering for the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 36.32% and a net margin of 5.53%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts expect Graphic Packaging to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $24.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.40 and a 200 day moving average of $23.17. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $19.08 and a 1 year high of $25.62.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Graphic Packagings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.81%.

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,019,907.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,689 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1,309.7% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,075 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 4,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 125.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,043 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.47% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $27.73.

About Graphic Packaging

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Graphic Packaging Holding Co engages in the provision of paper-based packaging solutions for a variety of products to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. It operates through the following business segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, Europe Paperboard Packaging, and Corporate and Other.

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Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (NYSE:AVAL  Get Rating) shares traded down 3.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $2.36 and last traded at $2.36. 14,823 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 106,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.45.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The companys 50-day moving average price is $2.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.16.

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Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0161 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This is a boost from Grupo Aval Acciones y Valoress previous monthly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.38%. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valoress dividend payout ratio is 42.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores Company Profile

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVAL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 179,975 shares of the banks stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 19.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 50,266 shares of the banks stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 8,271 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 9.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 64,142 shares of the banks stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 5,541 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores by 24.2% in the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 64,330 shares of the banks stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 12,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores in the third quarter valued at $28,000. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA engages in the provision of financial services and products. It operates through the following segments: Banco de Bogota, BHI, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular, Banco AV Villas, Porvenir, Corficolombiana, and Other. The company was founded by Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo on January 7, 1994 and is headquartered in Bogota, Colombia.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated their buy rating on shares of GSK (LON:GSK  Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a GBX 1,700 ($21.23) price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays reissued an equal weight rating and issued a GBX 1,450 ($18.11) target price on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. UBS Group set a GBX 1,245 ($15.55) target price on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a GBX 1,575 ($19.67) price objective on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 1,730 ($21.61) price objective on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a GBX 2,000 ($24.98) price objective on GSK in a research report on Monday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 1,573.33 ($19.65).

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GSK Trading Up 0.3 %

LON GSK opened at GBX 1,441 ($18.00) on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 207.87. The stocks 50 day moving average is GBX 1,450.26 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 1,431.09. GSK has a twelve month low of GBX 1,280.92 ($16.00) and a twelve month high of GBX 2,280.50 ($28.48). The firm has a market capitalization of 58.94 billion, a PE ratio of 1,322.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.28.

GSK Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at GSK

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be issued a GBX 14 ($0.17) dividend. This is an increase from GSKs previous dividend of $13.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a yield of 0.93%. GSKs dividend payout ratio is currently 5,596.33%.

In other news, insider Iain Mackay bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,493 ($18.65) per share, with a total value of 2,986 ($3,729.24). In related news, insider Iain Mackay acquired 200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 1,493 ($18.65) per share, with a total value of 2,986 ($3,729.24). Also, insider Jonathan Symonds acquired 2,100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 1,399 ($17.47) per share, for a total transaction of 29,379 ($36,691.64). Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 2,308 shares of company stock valued at $3,248,612. 1.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

GSK Company Profile

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GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare.

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Haitian International Holdings Limited (OTCMKTS:HAIIF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 925,000 shares, a decline of 21.9% from the March 31st total of 1,184,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 130.3 days.

Haitian International Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS HAIIF remained flat at $2.55 during midday trading on Monday. Haitian International has a 1 year low of $2.55 and a 1 year high of $2.55. The companys 50-day moving average price is $2.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.44.

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Haitian International Company Profile

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Haitian International Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacturing and distribution of plastic injection molding machines in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The company offers plastic machinery under the Haitian, Zhafir, and Tianjian names. It is also involved in the trading of machinery and related accessories; sale of software of plastic injection molding machines; and provision of logistic services.

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Insperity (NYSE:NSP  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $5.62-$6.39 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Insperity also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $1.16-$1.32 EPS.

Insperity Stock Performance

NSP traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.46. 379,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,455. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $121.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Insperity has a 1-year low of $87.74 and a 1-year high of $131.09.

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Insperity (NYSE:NSP  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Insperity had a return on equity of 263.01% and a net margin of 3.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Insperity will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insperity Announces Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. Insperitys payout ratio is currently 39.32%.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NSP. Truist Financial lowered shares of Insperity from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $128.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Insperity in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Insider Activity at Insperity

In related news, EVP James D. Allison sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $624,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,045,884.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP James D. Allison sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $624,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,045,884.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard G. Rawson sold 6,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.74, for a total transaction of $754,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,796 shares in the company, valued at $6,512,829.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,471,240. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NSP. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Insperity in the 1st quarter worth approximately $124,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Insperity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Insperity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Insperity by 779.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the business services providers stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Insperity during the 1st quarter worth approximately $265,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Insperity

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Insperity, Inc engages in the provision of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. The firm also offers payroll and employment administration, employee benefits, workers compensation, government compliance, performance management, and training and development services, along with cloud-based human capital management platform.

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iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:EWU  Get Rating)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.04 and last traded at $33.99, with a volume of 376203 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.93.

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.83. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $32.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.33.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 309.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,163 shares of the companys stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 46,230 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 14.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,435 shares of the companys stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 3.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 151,249 shares of the companys stock worth $5,157,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 3.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,158,217 shares of the companys stock worth $38,962,000 after acquiring an additional 34,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF by 7.2% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 127,032 shares of the companys stock worth $4,273,000 after acquiring an additional 8,559 shares in the last quarter.

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI United Kingdom index. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of British companies. It covers the top 85% of British companies by market cap. EWU was launched on Mar 12, 1996 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Israel Discount Bank of New York cut its holdings in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC  Get Rating) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,698 shares of the railroad operators stock after selling 376 shares during the period. Israel Discount Bank of New Yorks holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 18.3% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,647,054 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $1,603,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181,936 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,295,294 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $481,323,000 after acquiring an additional 24,172 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.9% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,462,496 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $306,613,000 after acquiring an additional 27,419 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 63.2% in the third quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,324,376 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $277,655,000 after acquiring an additional 512,626 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 2.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,194,669 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $340,744,000 after acquiring an additional 24,457 shares during the period. 72.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Norfolk Southern Stock Up 1.1 %

NSC opened at $203.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 1-year low of $196.33 and a 1-year high of $265.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.29. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $210.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.54.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

Norfolk Southern ( NYSE:NSC Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The railroad operator reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.17. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 23.40% and a return on equity of 25.76%. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Norfolk Southerns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NSC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $221.00 to $210.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $247.00 to $243.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $270.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $240.30.

Norfolk Southern Profile

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Norfolk Southern Corp. is a transportation company, which engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods. The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Its services include property leases and sales, wire line or pipeline and fiber optics projects, access property, managing private crossings, promoting businesses with signboards, and natural resource management.

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WPP (LON:WPP  Get Rating) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 1,240 ($15.49) to GBX 1,260 ($15.74) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WPP. Barclays upped their target price on WPP from GBX 1,200 ($14.99) to GBX 1,250 ($15.61) and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of WPP in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded WPP to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from GBX 920 ($11.49) to GBX 1,158 ($14.46) in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 1,153.67 ($14.41).

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WPP Price Performance

WPP opened at GBX 927.20 ($11.58) on Friday. The firm has a market cap of 9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,520.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.22. WPP has a fifty-two week low of GBX 713 ($8.90) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 1,082 ($13.51). The companys 50-day moving average price is GBX 966.97 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 900.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 172.61.

WPP Increases Dividend

Insider Transactions at WPP

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of GBX 24.40 ($0.30) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from WPPs previous dividend of $15.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. WPPs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,393.44%.

In other WPP news, insider Mark Read sold 154,765 shares of WPP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 933 ($11.65), for a total value of 1,443,957.45 ($1,803,368.86). 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WPP Company Profile

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WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates through three segments: Global Integrated Agencies, Public Relations, and Specialist Agencies.

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Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,678 shares of the companys stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth about $1,083,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 32,116 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,250,000 after buying an additional 9,252 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,323,898 shares of the companys stock valued at $133,992,000 after buying an additional 149,856 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 42,913 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,862,000 after buying an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at about $706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.85% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PM. Societe Generale began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They issued a sell rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $116.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $114.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Thursday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.2 %

In other Philip Morris International news, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.35, for a total transaction of $786,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,321 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,588,020.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . In other news, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 20,308 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.30, for a total value of $2,036,892.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,525.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Also, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.35, for a total transaction of $786,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 87,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,588,020.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 117,064 shares of company stock valued at $11,738,763 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Shares of Philip Morris International stock opened at $99.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.68. The firms 50 day moving average is $97.75 and its 200 day moving average is $98.05. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.85 and a 1 year high of $109.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 128.55%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is 90.88%.

Philip Morris International Profile

(Get Rating)

Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.

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Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTCMKTS:MCOA  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,300 shares, a decrease of 20.7% from the March 31st total of 9,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 68,272,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.0 days.

Marijuana Company of America Price Performance

Marijuana Company of America has a twelve month low of $0.00 and a twelve month high of $0.00.

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About Marijuana Company of America

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Marijuana Company of America, Inc owns and operates licensed cannabis cultivation, processing, and dispensary facilities. It also engages in developing, producing, and distributing branded cannabis and cannabidiol products in the United States. The firm operates through the hempSMART segment. It operates a diversified business portfolio positioned across various cannabis segments including Cultivation, Nationwide Distribution, International Consumer Products, and Strategic Investments.

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If you're driving through a construction zone this summer, you may notice signs alerting drivers that their speed is being monitored by cameras.

Earlier this month, the state Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority launched an automated speed enforcement program in work zones on state roads.

The program stems from a law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in September 2021 to ensure the safety of motorists and highway construction and maintenance workers.

More than 50 incidents took place that year in which workers or motorists were injured in a construction zone, according to the DOT.

Here's what motorists need to know.

How does it work?

Work zone speed enforcement will take place on construction or maintenance zones on state-controlled access highways and parkways.

Automated speed enforcement will have clear signage leading up to the work zone.

Thirty work zone speed units will be moved around to road construction sites throughout the state.

The system uses radar to identify any vehicle traveling equal to or faster than the posted speed limit, which triggers the system to capture photos and the speed of the vehicle. The cameras take photos of the vehicle as it approaches and passes to show the distance and time of travel.

A state-certified technician reviews the violation and certifies that the information collected is correct. License plate information is used to identify the registered owner of the vehicle.

The speed units are not permanent fixtures. They're attached to SUVs to "maximize the program's flexibility and impact," according to the DOT. The locations of the cameras can be found under the "Learn more tab" at ny.gov/programs/work-zone-safety-awareness.

The speed enforcement systems are required, by law, to be recalibrated and recertified annually. The system runs daily self-tests to ensure all aspects are operating properly at the start and end of each enforcement period.

How will I be notified of a fine?

A notice of liability will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle within 14 business days if the owner is a state resident and within 45 business days if the owner is not.

The fines are:

 $50 for the first violation.

 $75 for the second violation if it is within 18 months of the first violation.

 $100 for the third and any subsequent violation if it is within 18 months of the first violation.

Fines are subject to late fees. Failure to pay a fine could result in the state putting a hold on the vehicle's registration.

Can I dispute my ticket?

Drivers will be able to contest a fine online and submit documentation on reasons outlined as allowable offenses by the legislation.

The penalties are civil in nature. There are no criminal implications. Violators will not get points on their driver's licenses, nor will their auto insurance providers be contacted, according to the DOT.

Where does the money go?

The money collected from fines will cover expenses related to the speed enforcement program, according to the DOT. Any excess revenue will be used for work zone safety initiatives.

Local municipalities will receive 20% of the proceeds if they adjudicate the violations, DOT spokesperson Susan Surdej said.

Will the cameras be on 24/7?

No. The speed cameras are only on in active work zones when highway workers are present and working, Surdej said.

Have speed cameras been used in Western New York before?

Yes. It was met with major backlash.

Buffalo's last school zone speed camera shut off The move followed what Mayor Byron Brown described as a passionate plea from University Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt in a Facebook post Thursday.

In 2019, the City of Buffalo approved putting speed cameras in school zones throughout the city, but the program drew criticism that it was poorly rolled out and executed. Others complained that the program targeted the city's most impoverished residents because the cameras were in high-poverty, minority neighborhoods.

Each citation was $50.

There were at least two lawsuits filed against the city, one challenging the constitutionality of the program.

The last school zone speed camera in Buffalo was turned off in July 2021. The Buffalo Common Council replaced the cameras with radar speed signs and speed bumps.
Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Get Rating) by 63.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,115 shares of the information technology services providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $2,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in ServiceNow by 1.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,866,914 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $6,369,116,000 after purchasing an additional 320,130 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in ServiceNow by 0.6% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,107,929 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $5,342,228,000 after purchasing an additional 90,051 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in ServiceNow by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,969,975 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $3,009,542,000 after purchasing an additional 182,606 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ServiceNow by 26.5% in the third quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,953,299 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,492,805,000 after purchasing an additional 827,285 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in ServiceNow by 8.6% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,378,372 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $898,098,000 after purchasing an additional 187,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.31% of the companys stock.

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ServiceNow Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE NOW opened at $459.42 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.40, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.04. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $448.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $421.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52 week low of $337.00 and a 52 week high of $521.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Insider Transactions at ServiceNow

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOW. 92 Resources reissued a reiterates rating on shares of ServiceNow in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ServiceNow from $641.00 to $586.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on ServiceNow from $485.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on ServiceNow in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $526.33.

In other news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.59, for a total transaction of $41,813.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,860,075.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 90 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.59, for a total transaction of $41,813.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,860,075.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William R. Mcdermott sold 704 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.35, for a total value of $321,268.43. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 52,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,918,525.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,245 shares of company stock worth $28,445,676 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

ServiceNow Company Profile

(Get Rating)

ServiceNow, Inc engages in the provision of enterprise cloud computing solutions. The firm delivers digital workflows on a single enterprise cloud platform called the Now Platform. Its product portfolio is focused on providing Information Technology, Employee and Customer workflows. The company was founded by Frederic B.

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Mistras Group (NYSE:MG  Get Rating) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, May 3rd. Mistras Group has set its FY 2023 guidance at EPS.Investors interested in registering for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Mistras Group (NYSE:MG  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 8th. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $168.22 million during the quarter. Mistras Group had a return on equity of 3.36% and a net margin of 0.94%.

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Mistras Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of MG stock opened at $8.12 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.51 and a 200 day moving average of $5.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $245.22 million, a P/E ratio of 40.60 and a beta of 1.53. Mistras Group has a twelve month low of $3.38 and a twelve month high of $8.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mistras Group

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Mistras Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mistras Group by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,156 shares of the technology companys stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mistras Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 38,469 shares of the technology companys stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Mistras Group by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 39,700 shares of the technology companys stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in Mistras Group by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 43,939 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 13,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Mistras Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.42% of the companys stock.

Mistras Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

MISTRAS Group, Inc engages in the provision of technology-enabled asset protection solutions. The firm serves the oil and gas, aerospace, power, infrastructure, and manufacturing markets. It operates through the following segments: Services, International Offers Services, and Products and Systems. The Services segment provides asset protection solutions primarily in North America, consisting primarily of non-destructive testing, inspection, mechanical, and engineering services.

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Mitsubishi Electric Co. (OTCMKTS:MIELF  Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 837,600 shares, a drop of 16.6% from the March 31st total of 1,004,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1,047.0 days.

Mitsubishi Electric Price Performance

Shares of MIELF stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.55. The stock had a trading volume of 459 shares, compared to its average volume of 572. Mitsubishi Electric has a twelve month low of $8.68 and a twelve month high of $12.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.67.

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Mitsubishi Electric (OTCMKTS:MIELF  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $8.69 billion during the quarter.

About Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. engages in the manufacture, development, and sale of electric and electronic equipment. It operates in the following business segments: Energy and Electric Systems, Industrial Automation Systems, Information and Communication Systems, Electronic Devices, Home Appliances, and Others.

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North American Construction Group (TSE:NOA  Get Rating) (NYSE:NOA) had its price objective increased by TD Securities from C$26.00 to C$27.00 in a research note published on Thursday, The Fly reports. TD Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of North American Construction Group from C$24.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on North American Construction Group from C$22.00 to C$26.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. Pi Financial lifted their price objective on North American Construction Group from C$25.00 to C$32.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. ATB Capital raised North American Construction Group from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$24.00 to C$29.00 in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on North American Construction Group from C$20.00 to C$23.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned 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 target price of C$29.72.

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North American Construction Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of North American Construction Group stock opened at C$26.05 on Thursday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is C$23.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$19.90. The company has a market cap of C$724.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.32. North American Construction Group has a 1 year low of C$12.65 and a 1 year high of C$26.14.

North American Construction Group Dividend Announcement

North American Construction Group ( TSE:NOA Get Rating ) (NYSE:NOA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported C$1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.37. North American Construction Group had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm had revenue of C$233.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$204.70 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that North American Construction Group will post 2.3423006 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 26th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. North American Construction Groups payout ratio is 18.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martin Robert Ferron sold 40,000 shares of North American Construction Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$23.10, for a total value of C$924,000.00. Corporate insiders own 9.05% of the companys stock.

About North American Construction Group

(Get Rating)

North American Construction Group Ltd. provides equipment maintenance, and mining and heavy construction services in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company's Heavy Construction & Mining division offers constructability reviews, budgetary cost estimates, design-build construction, project management, contract mining, pre-stripping/pit pioneering, overburden removal and stockpile, muskeg removal and stockpile, site preparation, air strip construction, site dewatering/perimeter ditching, tailings and process pipelines, haulage and access road construction, tailings dam construction and densification, mechanically stabilized earth walls, dyke construction, and reclamation services.

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Boston Family Office LLC lessened its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,885 shares of the companys stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLCs holdings in Novartis were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC increased its position in Novartis by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 25,023 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 5,806 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Novartis by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 321,373 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,155,000 after acquiring an additional 10,659 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter valued at about $644,000. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 134,960 shares of the companys stock valued at $12,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Novartis by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,376,081 shares of the companys stock worth $124,838,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.12% of the companys stock.

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Novartis Trading Down 0.1 %

NVS stock opened at $102.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $217.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.17. Novartis AG has a 52 week low of $74.09 and a 52 week high of $105.56.

Novartis Increases Dividend

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.16. Novartis had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $12.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a $3.4694 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Novartiss previous annual dividend of $1.18. Novartiss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novartis from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Novartis from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $82.25.

Novartis Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating).

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StockNews.com lowered shares of O-I Glass (NYSE:OI  Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on O-I Glass from $27.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised their price target on O-I Glass from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on O-I Glass from $34.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on O-I Glass from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on O-I Glass from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, O-I Glass currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.60.

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O-I Glass Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:OI opened at $22.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 5.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.36. O-I Glass has a 52-week low of $11.60 and a 52-week high of $23.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

O-I Glass ( NYSE:OI Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. O-I Glass had a return on equity of 31.48% and a net margin of 10.04%. O-I Glasss quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that O-I Glass will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other O-I Glass news, SVP Arnaud Aujouannet sold 2,510 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.33, for a total transaction of $56,048.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,367.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other O-I Glass news, SVP Arnaud Aujouannet sold 2,510 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.33, for a total transaction of $56,048.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 55,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,367.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vitaliano Torno sold 17,299 shares of O-I Glass stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.22, for a total value of $384,383.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 158,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,510,982.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O-I Glass

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of O-I Glass by 756.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,164 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,570,000 after purchasing an additional 99,955 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in O-I Glass by 442.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 112,720 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 91,922 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in O-I Glass by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,951 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in O-I Glass during the 1st quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in O-I Glass during the 1st quarter worth $426,000. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the companys stock.

About O-I Glass

(Get Rating)

O-I Glass, Inc engages in manufacturing of glass products. It offers products to the food and beverage sectors. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Perrysburg, OH.

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ONEOK (NYSE:OKE  Get Rating) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.81 per share for the quarter. ONEOK has set its FY23 guidance at $5.03-5.69 EPS.Individual interested in participating in the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. ONEOK had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 27.65%. The firms revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect ONEOK to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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ONEOK Price Performance

NYSE OKE opened at $65.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.85. ONEOK has a 12-month low of $50.50 and a 12-month high of $71.57.

ONEOK Dividend Announcement

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 1st will be paid a $0.955 dividend. This represents a $3.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 28th. ONEOKs payout ratio is 99.74%.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ONEOK by 275.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 500.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 167,226 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $11,812,000 after buying an additional 139,379 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in ONEOK by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 161,711 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $11,422,000 after buying an additional 27,697 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth approximately $614,000. Institutional investors own 67.16% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on OKE shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of ONEOK from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ONEOK from $71.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. They set a sector perform rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Six 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.00.

About ONEOK

(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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Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Get Rating) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,048 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,268 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $1,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFV. Leelyn Smith LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 429.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 206.8% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 1,129 shares of the companys stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Price Performance

Shares of EFV traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $50.22. 1,424,844 shares of the stock were exchanged. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a fifty-two week low of $49.15 and a fifty-two week high of $59.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.62 and a 200-day moving average of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.86.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

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Allegion (NYSE:ALLE  Get Rating) had its target price reduced by Robert W. Baird from $130.00 to $126.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

ALLE has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Allegion from $138.00 to $119.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Allegion from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Allegion from $130.00 to $116.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Allegion from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Allegion from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $120.22.

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Allegion Price Performance

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $110.48 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. Allegion has a 12 month low of $87.33 and a 12 month high of $123.46.

Allegion Announces Dividend

Allegion ( NYSE:ALLE Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $923.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.29 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 61.34% and a net margin of 14.07%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. Research analysts expect that Allegion will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Allegions dividend payout ratio is currently 32.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,601 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 5,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 474 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 15,664 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.78% of the companys stock.

Allegion Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Allegion Plc engages in the provision of security products and solutions that keep people safe, secure, and productive. It operates through the Allegion Americas and Allegion International segments. Its brands include CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage, SimonsVoss, and Von Duprin. The company was founded on May 9, 2013 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $225.00 to $220.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BA. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Boeing in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Boeing from $222.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Boeing from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Boeing from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Monday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boeing has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $221.60.

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Boeing Price Performance

Shares of Boeing stock opened at $206.78 on Thursday. Boeing has a 1 year low of $113.02 and a 1 year high of $221.33. The company has a market capitalization of $124.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.88 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $206.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boeing

Boeing ( NYSE:BA Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.56 billion. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.75) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Boeing will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boeing by 109,667.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,055,730 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $3,058,456,000 after purchasing an additional 16,041,103 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 189.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,894,753 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $229,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,669 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Boeing by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,321,871 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $1,585,234,000 after acquiring an additional 872,795 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Boeing in the 1st quarter worth $135,429,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Boeing by 13,008.8% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 686,246 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $130,646,000 after purchasing an additional 681,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.07% of the companys stock.

About Boeing

(Get Rating)

The Boeing Co is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space, and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Defense, Space and Security (BDS), Global Services (BGS), and Boeing Capital (BCC). The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide.

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As of May 11, Canadians no longer will need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to cross into the United States, Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, reported Monday.

Higgins said he has received confirmation from the White House that the requirement, in effect since the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, will be dropped.

Higgins noted that despite President Biden's announcement that the nation's Covid emergency status would end May 11, it did not indicate how that would affect Canadians crossing into the U.S. by land.

Since Biden's announcement, Higgins added, his office has been seeking clarification on border policies from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House.

Canada ended its Covid-19 vaccine requirement for visitors on Oct. 1. The U.S. has continued to want Canadians to provide proof of vaccination.

Higgins, who is co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group and the bipartisan Northern Border Caucus, has long been an advocate of dropping pandemic restrictions between the two nations.
Ryder System (NYSE:R  Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $11.30-$12.05 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $11.84. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.65 billion-$9.65 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.30 billion. Ryder System also updated its Q2 2023 guidance to $2.80-$3.05 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on R. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Ryder System from $107.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ryder System from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ryder System from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ryder System from $100.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Ryder System from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $99.00.

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Ryder System Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE R traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.16. 441,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,554. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.00. Ryder System has a 1 year low of $65.69 and a 1 year high of $102.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.57.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

Ryder System ( NYSE:R Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.15). Ryder System had a return on equity of 26.40% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.59 earnings per share. Ryder Systems revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ryder System will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Ryder Systems dividend payout ratio is currently 14.90%.

Ryder System declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 15th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryder System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the 2nd quarter worth $122,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ryder System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ryder System during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ryder System during the 1st quarter worth approximately $235,000. 83.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ryder System

(Get Rating)

Ryder System, Inc is a logistics and transportation company, which engages in providing supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS).

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Sentinel Trust Co. LBA acquired a new position in iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IVE  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,474 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IVE. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in iShares S&P 500 Value ETF by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,850 shares of the companys stock worth $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. lifted its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Value ETF by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 15,916 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Value ETF by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,017 shares of the companys stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. increased its stake in iShares S&P 500 Value ETF by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Firm Inc. now owns 10,175 shares of the companys stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC raised its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Value ETF by 0.3% during the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 34,957 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,493,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period.

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iShares S&P 500 Value ETF Stock Performance

Shares of iShares S&P 500 Value ETF stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $154.66. The companys stock had a trading volume of 51,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 870,296. iShares S&P 500 Value ETF has a 12-month low of $127.33 and a 12-month high of $160.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.55. The company has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.94.

iShares S&P 500 Value ETF Company Profile

iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P 500 Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Value Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization value sector of the United States equity market and consists of those stocks in the S&P 500 exhibiting the strongest value characteristics.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IVE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IVE  Get Rating).

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John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE:PDT  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 207,600 shares, a growth of 14.6% from the March 31st total of 181,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 122,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PDT traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.70. 136,552 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 71,372. John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund has a twelve month low of $11.71 and a twelve month high of $16.30. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $12.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.13.

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John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0975 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 12th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

About John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 18,136 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 50,179 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 40,568 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 32,667 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 48,837 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.89% of the companys stock.

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John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors, with an emphasis on the utilities sector.

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Shares of Skyline Champion Co. (NYSE:SKY  Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $77.35 and last traded at $77.35, with a volume of 201 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $74.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SKY. Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Skyline Champion from $65.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Skyline Champion from $54.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Skyline Champion in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock.

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Skyline Champion Trading Up 4.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.86 and a quick ratio of 3.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

Skyline Champion ( NYSE:SKY Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $582.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $534.75 million. Skyline Champion had a return on equity of 42.79% and a net margin of 15.65%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Skyline Champion Co. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

In other Skyline Champion news, EVP Jonathan Wade Lyall sold 11,928 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total value of $868,954.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,819 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,099,464.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Keith A. Anderson sold 10,000 shares of Skyline Champion stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.26, for a total value of $732,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 236,602 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,333,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Wade Lyall sold 11,928 shares of Skyline Champion stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total value of $868,954.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,819 shares in the company, valued at $2,099,464.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,554 shares of company stock worth $2,948,301. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Skyline Champion

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Skyline Champion by 158.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,492 shares of the companys stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,984 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Skyline Champion during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,436,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Skyline Champion by 123.4% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in Skyline Champion by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 6,863 shares of the companys stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Skyline Champion by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,669 shares of the companys stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. 99.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Skyline Champion Company Profile

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Skyline Champion Corp. engages in the manufacturing and retail of mobile homes and other manufactured housing. It builds homes under the following brands: Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Athens Park Model RVs, Dutch Housing, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, Titan Homes in the U.S.

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Snap (NYSE:SNAP  Get Rating) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, The Fly reports.

SNAP has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Snap from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Snap from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirty have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $11.69.

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Snap Trading Down 17.0 %

Shares of Snap stock opened at $8.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.18. The company has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 1.20. Snap has a fifty-two week low of $7.33 and a fifty-two week high of $30.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 4.32 and a current ratio of 4.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Snap ( NYSE:SNAP Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.02. Snap had a negative net margin of 30.89% and a negative return on equity of 32.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Snap will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Snap news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 5,617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.69, for a total transaction of $60,045.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 252,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,699,192.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 5,617 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.69, for a total value of $60,045.73. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 252,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,699,192.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Michael J. Osullivan sold 13,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.13, for a total transaction of $144,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 478,330 shares in the company, valued at $5,323,812.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,258,323 shares of company stock worth $13,735,115 in the last ninety days. 22.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SNAP. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Snap by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 48,375 shares of the companys stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 29,806 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Snap by 1,051.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,537,231 shares of the companys stock worth $28,442,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316,849 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Snap by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 466,152 shares of the companys stock worth $5,226,000 after acquiring an additional 44,429 shares in the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its stake in Snap by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 495,000 shares of the companys stock worth $5,549,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Snap by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 316,043 shares of the companys stock worth $3,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,030 shares in the last quarter. 43.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Snap Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Snap, Inc operates as a camera company. Its flagship product, Snapchat, is a camera application that helps people communicate visually with friends and family through short videos and images called Snaps. The firms primary source of revenue is advertising. Snap was founded by Frank Reginald Brown IV, Evan Thomas Spiegel, and Robert C.

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Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Get Rating) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,175 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 4,425 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLCs holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,416,436 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,455,083,000 after acquiring an additional 7,514,505 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $451,711,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 123.3% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,183,121 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $251,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757,682 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 152.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,500,681 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $197,539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 479.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,390,483 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $109,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.48% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $88.75 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $104.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong 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 $95.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3 %

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total value of $2,412,135.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,706,921.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $89.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.56. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $72.05 and a 1 year high of $100.99. The stock has a market cap of $150.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.96 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 28th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Morgan Stanleys payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.

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Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF  Get Rating) (TSE:SLF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,240,000 shares, a drop of 21.0% from the March 31st total of 4,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 523,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the companys stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Sun Life Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,006 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sun Life Financial by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,349 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 232,954 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $10,869,000 after purchasing an additional 96,224 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Sun Life Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Sun Life Financial by 145.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,471 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,993 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.94% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

SLF has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$68.00 to C$71.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. CIBC downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$71.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$75.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their target price on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$69.00 to C$71.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th.

Sun Life Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SLF traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.08. 476,028 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 349,777. Sun Life Financial has a 52-week low of $37.96 and a 52-week high of $51.63. The companys 50-day moving average price is $47.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.72. The company has a market cap of $28.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Sun Life Financial (NYSE:SLF  Get Rating) (TSE:SLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 13.70% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $9.06 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Sun Life Financial will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a $0.541 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. This is a boost from Sun Life Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Sun Life Financials payout ratio is presently 52.75%.

About Sun Life Financial

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Sun Life Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance and asset management solutions to individual and corporate clients. It operates through the following segments: Canada, United States, Asset Management, Asia, and Corporate. The Canada segment offers individual insurance and group benefits and retirement services.

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Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO  Get Rating) (TSE:ELD) had its target price boosted by analysts at TD Securities from $11.50 to $12.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the basic materials companys stock. TD Securities target price suggests a potential upside of 7.24% from the companys previous close.

EGO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Eldorado Gold in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Eldorado Gold in a research note on Friday, March 10th. They issued an underperform rating and a $8.90 price target on the stock. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their price target on Eldorado Gold from C$16.50 to C$17.50 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eldorado Gold presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.08.

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Eldorado Gold Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:EGO traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.19. 1,107,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,814,128. Eldorado Gold has a twelve month low of $5.06 and a twelve month high of $11.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.08 and a 200 day moving average of $8.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of -279.18, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.24.

Institutional Trading of Eldorado Gold

Eldorado Gold ( NYSE:EGO Get Rating ) (TSE:ELD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.09. Eldorado Gold had a positive return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 1.10%. The company had revenue of $246.20 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Eldorado Gold will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Eldorado Gold by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 141,562 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in shares of Eldorado Gold by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 18,544 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eldorado Gold during the 1st quarter worth $1,128,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Eldorado Gold by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,921 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Eldorado Gold by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,321,583 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $115,706,000 after purchasing an additional 141,298 shares during the period. 57.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eldorado Gold Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Eldorado Gold Corp. engages in the mining, development, and exploration of gold. It operates through the following segment: Turkey, Canada, and Greece. The company was founded by Richard J. Barclay, Marco Antonio Romero, and Gary D. Nordin on April 2, 1992 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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WMS Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:VNQ  Get Rating) by 76.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,441 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 8,085 shares during the quarter. WMS Partners LLCs holdings in Vanguard Real Estate ETF were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VNQ. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 120.3% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,790 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 88,453 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $9,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 17.9% during 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. boosted its position in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 6.9% during 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. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter.

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Vanguard Real Estate ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:VNQ opened at $83.30 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.45. The stock has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.87. Vanguard Real Estate ETF has a 1 year low of $74.66 and a 1 year high of $108.42.

About Vanguard Real Estate ETF

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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WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEARCA:DXJ  Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.57 and last traded at $73.51, with a volume of 11056 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.24.

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.65. The stocks 50 day moving average is $70.40 and its 200 day moving average is $68.00.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund by 266.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 733 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000.

About WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index (the Index). The Index is designed to provide exposure to Japanese equity markets while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations of the Japanese Yen movements relative to the United States dollar.

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The Families of Flight 3407 have selflessly spent more than a decade working for improved flight safety by traveling to Washington, D.C., countless times over the years, sacrificing time with family, in order to win a hard-fought legislative battle.

Now, in a swoop, the new Republican leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wants to wipe it all away, handing the rapacious airline industry exactly what it wants  a reduction in the requirement that co-pilots have 1,500 hours of experience before flying a passenger airliner. Who wants to board that plane? Anyone?

This latest attempt to reverse regulations won by the Flight 3407 Families should be infuriating to anyone concerned about safety in the air and on the ground. The ray of hope on this disaster is that Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, who has spearheaded the fight in Congress from the beginning, will have none of it. Neither, in a refreshing but not unexpected development, will freshman Republican Rep. Nicholas A. Langworthy. Langworthy represents Clarence, where the plane crashed in 2009, plus much of rural Erie County and the Southern Tier.

Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Rep. Brian Higgins have been stalwart supporters of the families and the worthy cause of tightening pilot requirements.

Everyone should want their pilots to have more hours in the sky and not just on a simulator. Everyone should want these regulations in place. At least, you would think.

Rep. Sam Graves, not so much. He is the Missouri Republican leading the charge to trim the so-called 1,500-hour rule that puts more qualified crew into cockpits. Who wants their pilot helming their plane with anything less?

Yet, the airline industry  specifically, the regional carriers  desperately want to get rid of that rule. It wrongly blames the rule on its difficulty finding pilots who qualify. Instead of blaming this rule  one that anyone seated on the plane or on the ground would welcome  the industry should work more diligently at attracting airline pilots through increased pay (which is already happening at some airlines) or some other creative measure. Lawmakers offered ideas such as increasing grants and loans for those learning to fly. They also suggested promoting the industry in underrepresented minority communities and boosting the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67. All are worth exploring. What is not worth exploring is any rollback on the 1,500-hour rule.

Graves said Congress reacted with emotion in passing those safety measures. One cannot help but appreciate John Kausners rejoinder.

Kausner of Clarence is one of the leading members of the Flight 3407 group and, as he acknowledged, there surely is emotion in talking about his daughter, Ellyce, who died on Feb. 12, 2009, and others in the group who Lost her sister. Lost her husband. Lost her husband. Lost his daughter. Lost her husband. Lost his son.  So yeah, we were emotional, believe it. But we werent irrational. We got a law passed. It was good and it has worked ever since.

Not one U.S. passenger airline has suffered a crash with mass fatalities since that law was passed. In the previous 20 years, 1,186 people died in such crashes. Why would Graves want to sabotage that record?

Graves is a general aviation pilot. He is unconvinced of the rule, saying all of the pilots in the crashes in the decade before Flight 3407 had more than 1,500 hours of experience. Such held true for the Flight 3407 pilots. Graves is correct in that they exhibited a severe lack of professionalism in crashing the plane. That is obvious.

But what should also be obvious is that prior to that tragedy the shortcomings of aviation safety had been appalling. The Families of Flight 3407 took on the heart-wrenching task of pointing out those flaws by traveling to the Capitol and speaking for their loved ones, and on behalf of anyone who cares about safety in the sky and on the ground. Congress must protect their success.

  

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Woodward Diversified Capital LLC decreased its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,265 shares of the companys stock after selling 355 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Philip Morris International by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 294 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. My Personal CFO LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.85% of the companys stock.

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In other Philip Morris International news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $8,028,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 8,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.35, for a total transaction of $786,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,588,020.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 117,064 shares of company stock valued at $11,738,763 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

NYSE:PM traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $99.76. The companys stock had a trading volume of 622,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,442,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.05. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.85 and a 1 year high of $109.81.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.03 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 128.55%. The firms revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd were issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Philip Morris International from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $86.00 to $118.00 in a report on Thursday, January 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $109.00 to $116.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $110.60.

Philip Morris International Profile

(Get Rating)

Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.

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It was a political decision made by Rajiv Gandhi over three decades ago, but it remains a major talking point in Karnataka elections 2023. Few may remember Veerendra Patil today, but his unceremonious dismissal as Karnataka chief minister in 1990 paved the way for BJPs first inroads into the state in the 1990s, with the states influential Lingayat voters. Now, in 2023, with the BJP aiming to safeguard its Lingayat vote-base and the Congress looking to break into its citadel, the Veerendra Patil story keeps coming up again and again on the campaign trail. With the Congress accusing the BJP of neglecting Lingayats, who make up 17-19% of the states voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has more than once harked back to the Veerendra Patil incident on the Karnataka campaign trail. History is proof of how leaders like S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil ji were insulted before the Congress family, argued Modi recently at an event in Belagavi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also made the same point since. So, who exactly was Veerendra Patil? And why does his name matter in the current political discourse? Veerendra Patil was the Congress chief minister of Karnataka at the time of the great Congress split of 1969. He chose to leave the party with another two-time former chief minister, S Nijalingappa. Patil continued as Karnataka chief minister in the Congress (O) that was formed in opposition to Indira Gandhis Congress (I), before losing the elections in 1972. After the Emergency, when Indira Gandhi contested a by-election from Karnatakas Chikmagalur in 1978, Patil, who had by then moved to the Janata Party, was chosen to stand against her. Indira won easily, giving birth to the famous poll slogan Ek Sherni Sau Langur, Chikmagalur Bhai Chikmagalur (One tigress, 100 langurs, Chikmagalur brother Chikmagalur). In 1980, when Indira Gandhi returned to power, Patil was among the Lingayat leaders who returned to the Congress. As part of the Congresss outreach to Lingayat voters, Patil was appointed Karnataka chief minister again in 1989. This was the first time such apex leadership was given to a Congress Lingayat leader in two decades. His subsequent unceremonious removal from power in 1990 by Rajiv Gandhi, similarly, came to signify an important turning point in Karnataka politics. It was seen by many in the community as an insult to Lingayat pride and heralded the first breach by the BJP into the communitys vote. A year later, in the parliamentary elections, it won the party its very first victories in Karnataka. In October 1990, communal riots broke out in some parts of Karnataka. Patil, who had just suffered a minor stroke, was convalescing at home. Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi, having recently lost the 1989 elections, decided to cut short the Sadbhavana Yatra he had embarked upon in north India and make a sudden, unexpected visit to Bangalore to take stock. After a helicopter ride to the riot-hit Channapatna town on October 7, he met Patil at his home and drove back to Bangalore airport to board a chartered aircraft. Outside the airports VIP lounge, Gandhi met with waiting reporters. One of them asked him when the state government would start functioning properly again. Gandhi replied, In four days. Before the startling announcement could be fully digested, he added that the Congress Legislature Party would meet in a couple of days to elect a new leader and that Patil was not really well and had agreed to step down. As he took their leave, Rajiv Gandhi added, You have got good copy. Gandhi had no doubt expected that the change of guard would be smooth. But Patil fought back, and publicly. He invited journalists and a Doordarshan TV crew to his house. He told them that, while he had been temporarily unwell, his faculties were intact and he would keep working as chief minister. Speaking to DD, Patil was more or less declaring war against his own party. I was not asked to step down and I am not stepping down, he said in his televised speech, adding that the leadership issue did not arise when Gandhi had met him. With the chief minister remaining adamant, the Congress calling a legislators meeting to elect a new leader and both sides claiming to have the required numbers, President R Venkataraman declared Presidents Rule in the state on October 10, after duly seeking advice from Governor Bhanu Pratap Singh. VP Singh was then serving as prime minister of a Janata Dal-led coalition government in Delhi. His party offered Patil unconditional support towards winning the floor test. The airport sacking had become such a public spectacle that the prime minister now personally entered the debate, directly targeting Rajiv Gandhi. He released a statement saying, Despite its huge majority in the house, the Congress government had been destabilised by the party president, Mr Rajiv Gandhi. Eventually, however, Patil lost the battle. S Bangarappa was elected as his replacement and Presidents Rule was finally revoked on October 17. The drama around Patils public humiliation handed the BJP a vital opening: it created a new narrative of injured Lingayat pride. Around this time, BJPs BS Yediyurappa, who had started as an RSS pracharak and entered politics with the Jan Sangh, was just beginning to establish his credentials as a Lingayat leader. Yediyurappa, then president of the partys state unit, declared that Patils removal by Rajiv Gandhi was the most uncultured way to treat a chief minister. A year after the Patil incident, in the 1991 parliamentary elections, the BJP opened its account in Karnataka, winning four seats. Many Lingayat voters saw Patils removal as a sign of the eclipse of Lingayat power in Karnataka. That incident with Patil changed things forever and helped BJP in 1990, a BJP leader told me. The Lingayat vote did not shift immediately, nor can it be regarded as a monolith. However, the Patil incident began a process whereby, through the 1990s, a major chunk of Lingayat voters, who had initially shifted to the Janata Party in the 1980s, gradually began moving to the BJP. Over time, it came to form a solid caste-based block that served as the fulcrum of the BJPs growth in north and central Karnataka. The Lingayat vote was particularly potent for the party because it was concentrated in about 70 seats, with influence in another 30. Winning the Lingayat vote heralded the making of the BJP in Karnataka. And that is why Veerendra Patil remains a constant refrain for the partys leaders.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has sent a clear signal to the banking sector that it needs to beef up the capital and the central bank has begun looking at the business models of banks more closely. The idea, the governor said at an event on April 27, was to identify deficiencies in the business model that can trigger a crisis. Why this caution and why now? This isnt the first time Das has asked banks to build a capital buffer. Last time, it was during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the reasons for the latest reminder could be the still evolving banking crisis. The RBI seems to have taken the cue from the US and European episodes where the failure of risk assessment by banks as well as regulators set off a full-blown banking crisis, leading to the closure of some banks and also a flight of deposits from small to bigger lenders. Arguably, Indian banks are much more tightly regulated under a watchful RBI. Banks' investments and loan portfolios are closely monitored, particularly after the Yes Bank, DHFL and IL&FS episodes. Loan books are much better now after an aggressive clean-up exercise and loan write-offs. As Das highlighted, the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio for the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) was 4.41 percent at the end of December 2022, down from 5.8 percent on March 31, 2022 and 7.3 percent as on March 31, 2021. Avoiding a 2008 repeat The capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), a key metric of capital adequacy, at 16.1 percent at the end of December 2022 is also way above the minimum regulatory requirement. Macro stress tests for credit risk indicate that SCBs will be able to comply with the minimum capital requirements even under severe stress. Yet, the central bank doesnt want to lower the guard, and the reason isnt hard to find. It was a long period of careless lending and loose governance standards after the 2008 global financial crisis that led to the build-up of huge amounts of bad loans in later years. It took half a decade for the central bank to clean up the bad loan mess. Clearly, the central bank doesnt want a repeat of the situation. Watch and learn Also, as discussed above, there are lessons to be drawn from the recent banking crisis in the US and Europe. Das said that the recent events in the US and Europe suggested that risks for an individual bank could crop up from segments of balance sheets, which might have been considered relatively safer. The RBI governor said the management and the board of directors of each bank would have to continuously assess the financial risks and focus on building up adequate capital and liquidity buffers beyond the regulatory threshold. He highlighted cyber concerns among the key risks. The RBI had taken a string of measures using advanced analytical and surveillance tools along with techniques like phishing simulation and cyber reconnaissance exercises to push for enhanced security governance processes in banks and other supervised entities, Das said. The RBI was also doing a fresh assessment of quality and the coverage of statutory branch audits in private sector banks, he said. This is a grey area that has been thrust in the limelight following the latest round of bank failures. Das stressed that the central bank was ramping up its supervisory operations using advanced analytical and surveillance tools. Traditionally, the Indian central bank has taken a cautious approach on systemic risks and has ringfenced the system from external shocks. The US banking crisis has made the RBI cautious and Das speech confirms the message--in good times, we prepare for the bad times. (Banking Central is a weekly column that keeps a close watch and connects the dots about the sector's most important events for readers)
Midea Group Co is exploring a potential acquisition of Electrolux AB, according to people familiar with the matter, a bold move by the Chinese home appliance giant to add the higher-end luxury Swedish brand, despite potential political opposition. Midea made a preliminary approach in recent weeks to the white-goods manufacturer about a possible transaction, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are private. Electrolux has so far not been receptive to the proposal, some of the people said. Midea has been interested in Electrolux for some time and would only want a friendly deal, the people said. Other Asian appliance makers including Samsung Electronics Co. have also looked at the Swedish business, the people added. Stockholm-based Electroluxs B shares jumped almost 16% Friday on better-than-expected earnings, giving it a market capitalization of $4.3 billion. Midea shares are up about 10% this year, valuing it around $58 billion. The deal would test the Chinese companys ability to make foreign acquisitions amid growing protectionist measures in Europe and the US, even if dishwashers and refrigerators wouldnt necessarily be deemed a national security risk. Buying Electrolux would add to previous overseas acquisitions by Midea. The Chinese company, which is based in Foshan in Guangdong province, bought a controlling stake in Toshiba Corp.s home appliance unit in 2016. It acquired German robot maker Kuka AG a year later, which triggered concerns in the German government. Midea Chairman Paul Fang hinted at interest in acquisitions in America and Europe in 2017 after the firm participated in the bidding for General Electric Co.s white goods unit, which was sold to Chinese competitor Haier Group. Turkeys Arcelik, which did a European deal with Whirlpool Corp. this year, is also a competitor. Midea and Electrolux already have some partnerships, and in 2018 they launched the high-end AEG brand in China together. A spokesperson for Electrolux declined to comment, while representatives for Midea and Samsung couldnt be immediately reached for comment outside usual business hours. Key to any deal would be getting the support from the billionaire Wallenberg familys Investor AB, the biggest shareholder in Electrolux. There was speculation in February about Mideas potential interest. Electrolux is in the process of laying off 3,800 workers as it seeks to cut costs and turn around its North American business. It reported first-quarter earnings that were better than expected overall, but still showed a net loss, with analysts pointing to negative cash flow.
UltraTech Cement cut debt in the last quarter of FY 23 to the lowest level in six years, putting it on course to turning net-cash positive this financial year on the back of healthy cash flows. Sales by volume grew 4 to 5 percent than those of the cement industrys average  a pace UltraTech expects to maintain in the current financial year, a top executive said. Highlights of UltraTechs FY 23 performance included record sales volumes, debt reduction at a faster pace and fresh capacity addition of more than 12 million tonnes. In FY 24, the company is expected to improve cash flows, expand market share and start work on its second phase of capacity expansion. As of March 2023, UltraTechs net debt was Rs 2,702 crore, lower than the Rs 3,901 crore in FY 22. Analysts at Motilal Oswal said the dip in net debt was more notable on a sequential basis and expect the company to turn net cash-positive in FY 24. UltraTechs net debt has declined notably from Rs 7,720 crore in December 2022. It has been generating strong cash flows and we estimate cumulative operating cash flow/ free cash flow to be at Rs 23,800 crore /Rs 12,100 crore over FY24-25. We estimate the company to become net-cash positive in FY24, wrote the analysts in an April 29 note. Debt lowest in six years At Rs 2.702 crore, UltraTechs net debt is at its lowest since March 2017, data available through investor presentations show. For the quarter ended March 2017, the company had said it was net-cash positive on a standalone basis. For FY 23, UltraTechs consolidated debt fell to Rs 9,901 crore from Rs 10,203 crore a year ago. The company, in its investor presentation, noted that it had deleveraged its books further after capital expenditure spending and a dividend payout. In terms of capacity expansion, UltraTech said in a press release that during the last financial year, the company commissioned 12.4 million tonnes per annum of additional capacity of grey cement and 2.2 mtpa of brownfield cement capacity at Patliputra. The company also said it had started work on the second phase of expansion of 22.6 mtpa and civil work was in full swing at most sites. Commercial production from these new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner by FY 25/FY 26, it said in its statement. Planned capital expenditure Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Atul Daga said in an earnings call with analysts on April 28 that capital expenditure of roughly Rs 6,000 crore was estimated for the next two financial years. Along with capacity expansion, UltraTech also looks to expand market share. Daga said the company expects to continue to grow at 400-500 basis points higher than the industry growth rate in FY 24. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. For the full FY 23, UltraTech reported a 14 percent increase in domestic sales volumes, roughly 400 basis points higher than the estimated growth rate for the industry in the same period. The company sold 101.7 million tonnes of cement in the India market in the last financial year and is already the largest manufacturer and seller of cement in India.
Indian exports to UAE are likely to jump 60 percent to reach $50 billion by 2026-27 from the current $31.3 billion getting a boost from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, Union Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Monday. Indias exports to UAE should reach $50 billion by 2026-27. Trade between the two countries has gone beyond normal growth for both exports and imports. Labour-intensive sectors have seen significant growth, he said at a press briefing. India-UAE CEPA came into effect on May 1, 2022. A lot of the trade between the two countries is taking place via preferential routes using the CEPA agreement, he said. There is relative outperformance of Indias exports to UAE, which increased by 11.8 percent in FY23 YoY while Indias global exports increased by 5.3 percent during the period. Indias total imports from UAE increased 18.8 percent in FY23 while non-oil imports increased 4.1 percent in FY23, data from the Commerce Ministry showed. The meeting of the joint working group will be held in June to discuss the exchange of data between customs of India, UAE and also review the trade data, sources said. Some of the sectors like iron and steel and apparel have seen a slowdown in exports to UAE in FY23. Iron and steel exports to UAE dropped 36 percent in FY23. Indias essential oils, automobiles, mineral oils, electrical equipment, cereals, perfumery and cosmetic preparations have been the biggest gainers in exports to UAE in FY23. Indias automobile exports increased 42 percent, mineral oils 36 percent and cereals 35 percent to UAE in FY23 YoY, data showed. Indias imports in gold, however, have declined in FY23 due to non-utilisation of the full quota of tariff available under CEPA, Barthwal said. With the DGFT opening a fresh window of gold tariff rate quota, the gold imports from UAE should go up, he said. India announced that it will open a fresh window for the import of 140 MT of gold in FY24 at concessional duty from the UAE through an import quota system called tariff rate quota (TRQ).
Natural gas consumption in India is expected to rise in 2023 due to softening in LNG (liquefied natural gas) prices amid milder-than-expected winters in Europe, and muted demand in China, according to analysts. In the benchmark NYMEX platform, natural gas prices have fallen to $2.50 per mmBtu (metric million British thermal units) in April 2023, compared to $4.40 MMBtu in January. Prashant Vasisht, VP and Co-head of Corporate Ratings, ICRA, said, We expect gas consumption in India to rise by 6-7 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 on account of lower prices and an increase in domestic production. Domestic production of natural gas from the Krishna Godavari basin is also expected to increase in 2023, with ONGC and Reliance expected to ramp up production in the basin. Energy experts, however, remain cautious of variables like European natural gas inventory levels and temperatures in Europe in 2023. Prices would not increase in the same way in the current year as they did in 2022. However, inventory levels of Europe are at approximately 57 percent currently and they would try to increase that before winter, which could potentially increase prices, said Nitin Tiwari, Executive Vice President, Yes Securities. A senior official of the oil ministry said LNG prices in 2023 would depend on temperatures in Europe. If Europe experiences a severe winter and therefore has to consume more gas, natural gas prices cannot be predicted, the official said. Meanwhile, India has increased the price for domestic natural gas for May to $8.27 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) from $7.92 in April. But the price of gas from the nomination fields of both ONGC Ltd and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will be subject to a ceiling of $6.50 per mmBtu. This means that the price of piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) may remain unchanged as the two public sector units use the gas from their nomination field to supply to them. Consumption decline in 2022 In 2022-23, Indias natural gas consumption declined by around 6 percent on account of high international gas prices. Consumption of natural gas in 2022-23 fell to 60,311 million metric standard cubic metre (mmscd) compared to 64,159 mmscd in the previous year, per government data. Customers in India reduced gas buys and instead chose alternative fuels as prices touched an all-time high of 350 Euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in August 2022. Imports of LNG also fell in the year to 26,647 mmscd from 31,028 mmscd. India is dependent on imports for around 50 percent of its natural gas needs. This is in sharp contrast to the Indian governments aim of increasing the share of natural gas in its energy mix, from 6 percent currently to 15 percent by 2030. High gas prices LNG prices were at record-high in 2022 due to supply concerns after Russia, one of the largest exporters of natural gas, sent troops into Ukraine. All the natural gas players, including GAIL and CGD (city gas distribution) companies, reported lower numbers because of demand destruction on account of the industrial sector, which can only take LNG volumes. So, they suffered last year due to high LNG prices, said Vasisht. In line with international prices, domestic prices of natural gas were hiked by 40 percent for the second half of FY22-23. The Indian government has now accepted a new pricing formula for domestic natural gas, according to which domestic gas produced from legacy and old fields will have a floor of $4 per mmBtu and a cap of $6.50 per mmBtu. Supply of LNG to India was also disrupted in 2022 as the Russian energy giant Gazprom, which used to supply gas to India, had halted supplies to GAIL since May 2022. Due to the halt in supplies from Gazprom, GAIL was forced to buy expensive gas from the spot market. The oil giant confirmed in April 2023 that gas supplies from Gazprom have resumed.
While the IT industry disappointed with its weak earnings and an uncertain outlook, there is one sunny patch in the sector. All IT firms are betting big on generative artificial intelligence (AI). Top companies, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, and Tech Mahindra have been actively sharing their plans and outlook on the big AI opportunity. In simple terms, AI is the ability of machines to perform certain tasks like translating languages, analysing data (text, audio, video, code, etc), etc., somewhat like human beings but at a larger scale. Generative AI, specifically, refers to producing new content, code, synthetic data, etc., either automatically (based on a programme, e.g.) or based on a prompt (text or image, e.g.) given by the user. Unlike the unrealised potential of the metaverse, senior industry executives told Moneycontrol that AI has gone beyond the exploratory stages . In fact, in a challenging macro-environment where the focus is shifting to cost efficiency, companies like Tech Mahindra are helping clients save millions by integrating existing AI tools in their operations, as well as building new solutions. NG Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer, TCS, mentioned during the companys earnings call that generative AI was already a revenue-generating vertical. He said, "In my interactions with clients over the last quarter, the conversation starts and stops with ChatGPT and what it's going to do. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said that his company has active projects that use generative AI platforms to address specific areas of the clients business. We have trained open-source generative AI platforms on our internal software development libraries. We expect generative AI to provide more opportunities to work with our clients, and also to help us improve our own productivity, he said. As for Accenture, its plan to expand AI and data capabilities included acquiring Bengaluru-based industrial AI company Flutura in March. We are acquiring Flutura to strengthen our industrial AI services, and to improve the performance of plants, refineries, and supply chains of our clients in the energy, chemicals, metals, mining, and pharmaceutical industries. It will also enable our clients to achieve their net zero goals faster, Pranav Arora, MD and Lead  Applied Intelligence, Accenture India, told Moneycontrol. By ushering in a new era of enterprise intelligence, generative AI has the potential to transform business tasks and functions, from customer service and knowledge management, to creative production and scientific research, across virtually every industry, Arora added. These IT companies are already partnering with Google, Microsoft, and Microsoft-backed OpenAI (which developed ChatGPT), as the battle to gain market share for deploying generative AI solutions globally intensifies. Many of the abovementioned IT firms are engaged in building and customising enterprise level solutions using the tools offered by these tech giants. Whats in the offing? TCS is currently working on both the solutions and the consulting front. The solutions include AI-powered financial advisory and wealth management solutions for the BFSI sector, a virtual fashion designer for the retail industry, computer vision for heavy industries, and AI-driven streaming data analytics for anomaly detection, among others. Nidhi Srivastava, Vice President and Global Head of Google Business Unit, TCS, which is working on developing AI solutions on top of Googles tools, said, We are also exploring cross-industry solutions to enhance productivity through automated code generation, content creation, copywriting, and marketing. On the services side, TCS is building service offerings and delivery capabilities that can accelerate the implementation of AI-based solutions for clients. We have also created an `AI Factory to expand AI adoption in enterprises, Srivastava said. For Wipro, its been over two years since it established the Generative AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) to work with technology partners and academic institutions driving research in advanced areas of AI. Mukund Kalmanker, VP & Global Head, AI Solutions, Wipro, told Moneycontrol, Wipro is engaged in many client conversations ranging from AI-assisted decision making to designing new-age digital experiences, to transforming processes across business functions and modernising IT systems and infrastructure. He added that customers from sectors like banking, insurance, energy, retail, consumer goods, life sciences, healthcare, telecom, etc., are interested in leveraging AI. Tech Mahindra too is working on many projects and developing solutions in the AI and Intelligent Automation (IA) space. It is assisting enterprises in meeting demand and improving efficiency. Kunal Purohit, Chief Digital Services Officer, Tech Mahindra, said, We help enterprises save millions with computer vision-based asset inspection solutions, crowdsourcing (data, etc.), conversational AI, anomaly detection, Document AI or low-code/no-code solutions like Vision AI Workbench, Forecasting Workbench, etc. For instance, using their Smart Assistant solution that classifies all incoming email, Tech Mahindra improved data accuracy by 90 percent and reduced human effort by 60 percent for an insurance claims company, delivering a 6X increase in the ROI on support cost, Purohit said. Need for AI talent AI is becoming an essential part of digital transformation strategies for businesses across industries, and it will continue to evolve and become more accessible, according to Purohit. To capture this opportunity, IT companies will need reliable and skilled talent to develop solutions. Wipros Kalmanker said the company has a robust enterprise-wide AI talent management plan in place, which includes both hiring talent as well as a well-developed AI curriculum to train employees at the Wipro AI Academy. Our approach also includes scholarships for Ph. Ds at globally renowned academic institutions. These are for research programmes that attempt to solve complex business problems through innovations in generative AI, he added. According to Srivastava, there will be a big demand for AI talent across levels including strategists, solution architects, implementation specialists, model developers, model trainers, training data preparers, and end-to-end ML (machine learning) lifecycle specialists, to name a few. While hiring will be a channel for talent acquisition, there will be equal, if not more focus on talent up-skilling and cross-skilling. This will help retain contextual organisational knowledge while ensuring viable labour economics, Srivastava said, speaking of TCS plans. Concerns on privacy and cyber security Companies like TCS are also exploring the use of generative AI to assist their own employees, though cyber security risks remain a concern. In an earlier interaction with Moneycontrol, TCS CHRO Milind Lakkad had said, We are looking into what generative AI means in the context of an enterprise, not just from the standpoint of what the operating model will be, but also what will be the role of an employee versus the role of an AI co-worker. He had added that with generative AI being used, there are also discussions underway about safeguarding intellectual property (IP), security, etc. With AI bots like ChatGPT, there are concerns about the code (the IP) getting leaked when auto-generating code, or malicious code getting created. With new tools come new concerns and security risks. High on the list of concerns for cybersecurity practitioners is the possibility that ChatGPT could be used to generate malicious code. This means many more people could create malware, potentially leading to many more attacks and breaches, Infosys said in a blog post. While there is demand for generative AI-based solutions, companies are also worried about its implications. This has already led some firms to regulate its use, or ban the technology entirely. Firms like Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo have banned ChatGPT across their offices globally.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Angel Broking Limited for failing to comply with several operational regulations and circulars in its capacity as a stock broker and a depository participant. While the penalty might not be large for a listed broker like Angel Broking, the spotlight on the operational failings of the broking firm does raise larger concerns about broking firms and their operational protocols. Also read: SEBIs Brightcom order: Many firsts in a complex area that needs many more orders for conclusive jurisprudence The market regulator started proceedings against the stock broker based on the findings of a comprehensive joint inspection which looked at the operations of exchanges and depositories between December 07, 2020, and January 28, 2021. A showcause notice was shot off to Angel Broking in September 2022. What SEBI found? Pledging of clients' securities SEBI found that the funds raised by pledging client's securities were used for other than the respective clients' obligation by Angel Broking. The Adjudicating Officer Amit Kapoor noted that Angel Broking had pledged securities of clients who have a credit balance in their ledger and the misutilization was Rs. 32.97 crore. Monthly/ Quarterly Settlement of Funds and Securities SEBI observed that Angel Broking did not perform the actual settlement of funds of inactive clients during the inspection period. The market regulator recorded 300 such instances and the non-settled amount was Rs 43.96 lakh. SEBI also observed that Angel Broking did not do actual settlement of funds of clients who had not traded in the last three months. The market regulator found 1081 instances and the non-settled amount was Rs 16.65 lakh. It was observed that Angel Broking retained the value of funds & securities to the extent of the value of turnover executed on the date of settlement in the cash market segment after January 16, 2020, (85 instances out of total 200 instances observed and deemed non-settled amount was Rs 10.26 crore) Stock reconciliation SEBI found that Angel Broking had not done periodic reconciliation between DP accounts and back office records. There was a total quantity difference of 44.72 lakh having an absolute value of Rs. 1226.73 crore. Client funding Angel Broking had provided exposure to the client beyond T+2+5 days, amounting to Rs 2.10 crore in spite of the non-recovery of debit balances. The broker submitted to the inspection team that MTM generated from the position in the derivative segment was considered towards granting exposure. However, Angel Broking failed to provide any evidence to corroborate its submission. Verification of Unique client code/email ID and mobile numbers SEBI observed that there were 35,179 instances of PAN mismatch between UCC (unique client code) & TM back office records. It was observed that in 2,227 instances e-mail IDs of the clients in Angel Brokings database did not match the details in the exchange database. It was observed that there were 2,336 instances where the mobile numbers of clients in Angel Broking's database did not match the details in the exchange database. Analysis of Enhanced Supervision Data Angel Broking also reported incorrect ledger balances of 30,602 clients (net difference of Rs 340.81 crore) to the exchange for the month of October 2020.
Shoonya, the discount broker that faced a massive glitch last month, driving several traders into the red, told Moneycontrol that the it has compensated about Rs 3 crore worth of claims. From our last analysis as of April 27, we have received just below 700 disputes about the said incident, of which 12 percent were duplicates, Shoonya and its holding company Finvasia said. Only 77.5 percent of the remaining disputes were eligible for compensation and around 77 percent of that has been resolved, they said. We continue to engage with distressed customers and resolve their concerns. From the disputes that we have analysed and resolved till April 27, we have covered losses of our customers in the range of Rs 2.7-3 crore. Traders using Shoonya broker accounts complained of a glitch in the system on April 13. They said the broker was passing ghost orders in large quantities and their accounts were showing huge losses. However, most of those losses were due to front-end glitches, said several traders. But others reiterated that they lost real money due the glitch. Those traders have been running around since then for compensation. Some of them confirmed to Moneycontrol that Shonya has compensated 80-90 percent of their claims. Sarvjeet Virk, Co-founder and MD of Finvasia, said the glitch was faced only by those traders who took at least one trade during the first 15 minutes of trade. Others did not face any problems since the backend was working just fine. Also read: Shoonya glitch a wake-up call for bourses, Sebi on perils of rampant options trading The selective clients who were trading in the initial few minutes of the market, they were the one whose frontend was disturbed because of which they were not able to see their actual active positions, said Virk. And as I said, the frontend was the problem, the backend was working fine. The trade execution was going to the exchange successfully. The top management of the broker claimed that the glitch has not resulted in much customer losses for it even as some traders told Moneycontrol that they have since migrated to other brokers. Though others believe that the approach that the broker took after the glitch was satisfactory. Roshan Shajan, an algo trader who also suffered due to the glitch but fortunately did not lose any money, said he has migrated to Zerodha now. It is true I did not lose any money but now I am not using Shoonya, he said. On the other hand, Gowri Shankar, another derivatives trader, said he is continuing with his account with Shoonya. They accepted their mistake and they have compensated for the losses as well. I am still trading with Shoonya, he pointed out. The company, however, shrugged off the exits. [The number of account closure is] insignificant. The number of requests that we have got for account closure are maybe less than 25 percent to 30 percent of the daily registrations that we are getting, said Tajinder Virk, Co-founder and CEO of Finvasia Group.
News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

Mashonaland Central Vapositori for ED chairperson Biggy "Prophet Jonah" Makanjera took scores of his congregants to Centenary (Gatu) shops to pray for President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government yesterday.Prophet Jonah said he is solidly behind Mnangagwa's leadership and is praying for his leadership to remain in power and all evil spirits to be crashed in the county."We are praying for peace and our leadership because we are solidly behind that leadership and every congregant should shun violence," bellowed Prophet Jonah.He further claimed that every Zimbabwean is a Christian hence every Christian is not allowed to be violent."We are Christians and we do not condone violence every person in this country is a Christian hence violence is not allowed if you see people partaking violence take the peace role."The chairman also said that in years to come Zimbabwe is going to be prosperous and people should continue to pray to overcome.Feedback+27610282354
April 2023 was a busy month, being the beginning of the financial year when many financial rules and regulations came into force. Its successor, May, should be a relatively calmer month. Yet, it will usher in several changes that can affect your moneybox. Read on to know the key money changes you ought to be aware of this month and how it will affect your purse. May 3 is the last date to opt for higher pension The deadline for choosing the higher pension option is May 3. You will have to take a call on whether you want to opt for a higher pension on your actual salary or not. The Supreme Court had ruled in November 2022 that those who were Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) members as on September 1, 2014 will now be eligible to opt for a higher pension by contributing on their actual basic wages instead of limiting the statutory wage ceiling (which currently is Rs 15,000 per month; a lower limit for many salaried employees). This is assuming that your actual wages are higher than the statutory wage ceiling and you have been contributing to provident fund (PF) on the entire basic wages. Eligible employees, who would like to opt for higher pension contributions, will have to submit an application in the prescribed form on the EPFO portal, along with the necessary documentation. The link can be accessed at the UAN Member e-SEWA portal (https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberInterfacePohw/). Once the application is submitted, it will be validated by the employer. The EPFO officers would then verify the application form and come back to the member-employee and employer in case of any mismatch in data. Both the employee and the employer will have a month to respond to such queries. Also read | Higher EPS pension choice by May 3: Your key questions answered Advertisement code for investment advisors, research analysts The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has brought in an updated advertisement code to further strengthen the conduct of investment advisors (IA) and research analysts (RA) while issuing any advertisement. As per the code, these entities would not be able to use superlative terms such as Best, No. 1, Top Adviser/Research Analyst, Leading, One of the best amongst market leaders, etc., so as to provide any endorsement of quality or standing of the IA/RA. Further, IAs and RAs have been barred from using extensive technical/legal terminology or promising guarantee of assured return to the investors in their communications. Additionally, IAs and RAs wont be allowed to make any promise or guarantee of assured or risk-free return to the investors and refer to their past performance. The provisions of the circular will be effective May 1. New rules for use of brand/trade name by advisors, analysts Effective May 1, SEBI has mandated that information such as the name of the IA/RA as registered with SEBI, its logo, registration number and complete address with telephone numbers should be prominently displayed on the website, if any, notice board, display boards, advertisements, publications, Know Your Client (KYC) forms, and client agreements. SEBI has also mandated the usage of the disclaimer, Registration granted by SEBI, membership of BSE Administration & Supervision Ltd (BASL) in case of IAs and certification from National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. Also read: MC30 review  90% of schemes outperform peers in 2022 E-wallets for mutual fund investments must be KYC-compliant SEBI, in 2017, had permitted the use of e-wallets for investment in mutual funds within the umbrella limit of Rs 50,000 for investments by an investor through both e-wallet and/or cash, per mutual fund per financial year. Now, the capital markets regulator has mandated that from May 1, all e-wallets must be fully compliant with KYC norms as prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). SBI card scales down benefits on credit cards For Cashback SBI Card holders, there is a revision of the benefits on your credit card effective May 1. You will not earn a cashback for using this credit card for shopping jewellery, school fees, utility bills, paying insurance premiums, booking railway tickets, purchasing a gift card, etc. These categories are added by the bank apart from existing exclusions. Further, maximum cashback that can be earned on online and offline spends in a statement cycle will be capped at Rs 5,000. Also, complimentary domestic airport lounge benefit will be discontinued which will discourage frequent travellers. On SimplyCLICK SBI Card and SimplyCLICK Advantage SBI Card, the bank has reduced the reward points for online rent payment using the credit card. For online rent payment transactions, the cardholder was earning 5X reward points till now; effective May 1 the cardholder will earn 1X reward points. Also read | Planning your child's education abroad? Residency via investment can help US hikes student visa fees Are you planning to go to the US for higher studies this year? Then take into consideration the marginal hike in student visa fees. The US Department of State has announced the hike in the student visa fees by $25 (Rs 2,045) effective May 30. The student visa fees will increase to $185 (Rs 15,135) from $160 (Rs 13,090) now. According to the current exchange rate of USD/INR, Indian students will have to pay over Rs 15,000 as student visa fees after securing an admission in a US university.
Bharti Enterprises and Brookfield Asset Management on May 1 announced the closure of a joint venture agreement for a 3.3 million square feet portfolio of commercial properties in the Delhi-NCR region and Punjab. A Brookfield managed real estate fund will now own a 51 percent controlling stake in the joint venture, while Bharti Enterprises would continue to hold a 49 percent stake. The enterprise value of the transaction is Rs 5,000 crore, the two companies said in a statement. These properties are Worldmark Aerocity in Delhi, Airtel Centre and Worldmark 65 in Gurugram, and Pavillion Mall in Punjabs Ludhiana city. This transaction with Brookfield for our marquee properties in North India is a significant milestone for us to partner with a global infrastructure investor with deep and rich experience and insights into real estate, said Harjeet Kohli, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, said. Bharti Realty will continue to own and operate its remaining commercial assets, which includes approximately 10 million square feet of upcoming development in Delhis Aerocity. It will remain focused on developing premium quality commercial real estate in key locations, the statement said. Bharti would continue to develop more real estate assets to serve the growing demand for well-managed commercial real estate in India, Kohli said. In India, Canada-based Brookfield owns and operates over 50 million square feet of commercial real estate in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Kolkata markets. " High quality real estate in global gateway markets and in particular, the Indian office market, continue to witness high demand from occupiers. We look forward to leveraging our global expertise to build future ready office environments in India, said Ankur Gupta, Managing Partner, Head of Real Estate, APAC region and Country Head - India, Brookfield.

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A day after Gurugram-based developer Chintels India Private Ltd offered residents of Chintels Paradiso two options that include a buyback option or redevelopment of flats, the RWA sought a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram for their demands. On February 10, 2022, two women were killed after the ceilings of several flats in tower D of Chintels Paradiso collapsed. Since tower D residents have been living on rent and occupants of towers E and F were also directed to evacuate their flats as these towers were declared structurally unsafe by IIT Delhi in February 2023. Residents' concerns The residents of towers E and F have been living under constant threat and have not evacuated despite repeated orders in the last two months. The district administration had earlier ordered the developer to evacuate the occupants of these towers and pay them rent at a rate of Rs 15 per square foot. Also Read: One year of Chintels roof collapse in Gurugram: An uncertain future awaits residents Rakesh Hooda, President of the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) of the society, said the RWA would like the DC to decide in consultation with homeowners, who are the impacted parties. He said that most of the residents want reconstruction of their flats at the same site with the same facilities but the builder should not discontinue the rent. He said that the builder is asking for Rs 1,000 per sq ft if residents chose to opt for the reconstruction of flats, which is not fair. In the meeting with the deputy commissioner, we will raise our demand that the entire cost of reconstruction of flats should be borne by the builder and residents should not be asked to give any amount in lieu of reconstructed flats. We will also request the DC to direct the developer not to discontinue the rent being given to affected families. Rent should continue till reconstructed flats are given to us, Hooda told Moneycontrol. "For us, the priority is to protect the interests of homeowners, who have invested hard-earned money in these apartments and whose dreams have been shattered," Hooda said, adding that they have not yet got the appointment with the Gurugram DC. The builder's proposal Another resident of the society, Sumit, who goes by his first name, said the proposal given by the developer is not beneficial for the residents and scrapping the rent by the builders will certainly trouble them. At first the builder is offering buyback at a lower rate and then the developer is also asking residents to pay Rs 1,000 per sq ft if they chose for reconstruction of flats. This is unfair as first the builder constructed poor quality flats and now they want us to pay for their mistake and above all the builder is also not willing to pay rent to families living in alternate accommodations. The authorities should intervene in this matter, he said. Also read: Chintels Paradiso Collapse: Developer offers redevelopment, buyback option to residents, discontinues rents after April 30 In its letter to the DC, Gurugram, Chintels India said it has offered two settlement options to towers D, E, and F flat owners. In option one, the builder has offered to pay an all-inclusive price of Rs 6,500 psf (super built-up area) along with a refund of stamp duty paid by the flat owners. In option two, the developer said that they are willing to get the property repaired or re-built by some reputed contractor, as per the technical requirements recommended by CSIR-CBRI, and hand over possession within 36 months from the date of receipt of all necessary approvals and removal of any other hurdles in going ahead with the construction. Furthermore, considering the exponential increase in the prices of building materials and labour, the developer said it will charge a nominal amount of Rs 1,000 psf (super built-up area), which shall be charged in easy instalments.
Prosus-backed food tech giant, Swiggy has shuttered its premium grocery delivery pilot Handpicked, which was functional in certain areas of Bengaluru. Handpicked has been shut just days after Moneycontrol reported that the SoftBank-backed giant had begun charging users a platform fee of Rs 2 per order, irrespective of the cart value, as the company looks to control its costs. "Handpicked was being piloted in a few zones in Bengaluru and we have had several positive learnings from it," a Swiggy spokesperson told Moneycontrol. "At Swiggy we're continuously experimenting with new propositions in line with our vision to enable unparalleled convenience to consumers. Handpicked was being piloted in a few zones in Bengaluru and we have had several positive learnings from it," they added. Handpicked was Swiggys attempt at delivering only premium grocery items, such as rarely available soft drinks. The company will continue to sell some of the products previously available on Handpicked but through Instamart, its quick commerce division, and Insanely Good, where Swiggy delivers fresh fruits, and vegetables, among others, by 7 am, if ordered the previous night. While Swiggy has shut divisions like Handpicked and meat delivery as they did not yield desired results and also to reduce the companys overall costs, it is also toying with newer verticals like Swiggy Maxx, its e-commerce-like platform. While we continue to be fully committed to exploring new business opportunities, we have also taken a harder look at some of our existing new verticalswe havent hit product-market fit here (meat delivery) despite our iterationsWe will continue to stay invested in all other new verticals, Sriharsha Majety had told employees in an email that informed the wider company about the company's layoffs. Swiggy laid off 380 employees in January. These developments also come at a time when Swiggy is seeing some rejig at the top level. The companys Instamart head, Karthik Gurumurthy, has stepped away from daily operations to take a sabbatical. In his absence, Swiggys co-founder, Phani Kishan, will lead the team. Even Dale Vaz, the companys chief technology officer (CTO), will be parting ways with the company.
Some would say national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is Indias most important public servant, and the man closest to prime minister Narendra Modi. Undoubtedly, Doval is Indias intelligence and security czar, and the most hands-on one that the country has seen in recent times. Intelligence, however, is just one of the hats Doval wears. What is new is that he is also, virtually, the boss of a parallel foreign office, whose diplomacy is creating waves, meeting the demands of a fast-emerging geopolitical entity like India. In the last few months, his diplomatic sway has seen him in the thick of things on multiple fronts. Consider the following: In April, on a visit to New Delhi, Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraines first deputy minister of foreign affairs, said that her country would like Indian officials like NSA Ajit Doval to visit Kyiv just as he had visited Moscow. We expect the visit of Mr Ajit Dovalto coordinate a special security mechanism, she said. In March, Doval reminded the 18th meeting of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) NSAs that the groupings charter calls upon member states to have mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity of states and inviolability of State borders, non-use of force or threat of its use in international relations and seeking no unilateral military superiority in adjacent areas. This significantly came in the midst of a standoff with China. In February, Russian president Vladimir Putin, no less, summoned Doval, then on a Russian visit, for a rare one-hour one-to-one meeting in Moscow to discuss global and bilateral issues. Doval also had a bilateral exchange with president Putins right-hand man and secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, the Russian NSA. Both Putin and Patrushev know Doval from earlier. That same month, Doval met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. They exchanged views on a wide range of global and regional issues and discussed deepening the bilateral strategic partnership. His delegation included five Union secretary-level officials and members of the Indian corporate sector from the hi-tech segment for the launch of the India-US initiative on critical and emerging technologies. In February again, the Indian NSA met his UK counterpart, Tim Barrow, at the cabinet office in London. UK Prime minister Rishi Sunak joined the meeting, in what was described as a special gesture by the Indian high commission. Dovals trips in February  Washington, London and Moscow (publicly known) and a couple of unannounced ones in the near neighbourhood  are indicative enough of the workload he carries in keeping [sic] Indias foreign policy and strategic affairs, noted Nitin Gokhale in BharatShakti, a portal dedicated to the Indian defence industry. Vajpayees brainchild In November 1998, then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, took a decision that has impacted the course of Indias diplomacy in the quarter of a century since its inception. He created the post of an NSA, the principal counsellor to the Indian PM on national security policy and international affairs. The NSA is tasked with regularly advising the PM on all matters relating to internal and external threats and opportunities, and overseeing strategic and sensitive issues. In doing what he did, Vajpayee helped set up two parallel foreign policy streams in the country, ensuring that diplomacy was no longer the sole preserve of the ministry of external affairs. It is an arrangement that successive governments have continued. Brajesh Mishra, the then Principal Secretary to the PM, was Indias first NSA. So, how does this double pincer, the NSA and the foreign office embodied in the constitutionally-mandated ministry of external affairs (MEA), function? Do the functions overlap? Yashwant Sinha, former external affairs minister in the Vajpayee government, who saw things first hand, told Moneycontrol: When I was foreign minister, I had an excellent equation with NSA Brajesh Mishra; if he enjoyed the confidence of the PM, so did I. Sinha, though, belongs to the old school, and believes that the NSA ought to be a diplomat, not a policeman. Personally, I dont think policemen are exposed to international politics to do this job. The NSA, in my view, ought to be a foreign service officer, he says. In 2004, the Manmohan Singh government separated the office of NSA into a foreign section headed by former foreign secretary JN Dixit, and an internal section led by ex-director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), MK Narayanan. After Dixits death in 2005, the office was merged and Narayanan became the full-time NSA. In 2010, he was then succeeded by another frontline diplomat, former foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, who continued in office until the Modi government appointed Doval, ex-director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), in 2014. Doval has continued to hold charge since then, becoming the longest-serving NSA that India has had. In other words, three NSAs, Brajesh Mishra, JN Dixit and Shiv Shankar Menon, have been diplomats and two, MK Narayanan and Ajit Doval, are ex-cops. Former Union minister and career diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar says that Vajpayee, for the first time, tried to bridge the two positions, the NSA and the MEA. It was a US-style arrangement. But since Brajesh Mishra was a man of immense calibre and he had held important positions, he was able to bring in a foreign policy perspective to the job of an NSA and it worked, he told Moneycontrol. In his view, a diplomat has a broad global perspective while an intelligence officer, by training, is a hawk. The question to ask is what does a police officer have in his training that makes him fit to hold the job of overseeing diplomacy? An intelligence officer can have a significant role to play in diplomacy, but certainly not a decisive role, he said. Dovals personal contacts and his chutzpah  years spent as an undercover agent in Pakistan, recruiting rebels in Kashmir and infiltrating a militant group inside Indias holiest Sikh temple at Amritsar  have given him a larger-than-life persona. Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal believes that the position of the NSA vis-a-vis the foreign office is the accepted norm globally. It is not new. There is a channel of diplomacy outside the foreign office and it is happening all over the world. In the US, there is significant competition between the state department and the NSA, with the latter being very powerful. In Russia, NSA Nikolai Patrushev is the real power centre as compared to foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, he said. Lavrov has been Russias foreign minister since 2004, the longest-serving incumbent since the fall of the Soviet Union. Above all, Sibal, who, too, worked closely with NSA Brajesh Mishra during Vajpayees premiership, notes that the NSA has personal proximity and works closely with the prime minister. NSA Doval is very close to the prime minister and he keeps a close eye on terrorism; the Taliban and Afghanistan are next door and the NSA controls intelligence. In addition, the NSA also deals with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is very important. It also reflects the growing profile of India in international and regional affairs. Broad international issues have to be configured, he told Moneycontrol. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defence organisation. It currently comprises eight member states: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in addition to Observer States and Dialogue Partners. India is the current chair of the SCO. Sibal, who once headed the foreign office, says that the MEA knows it cannot become the countrys sole power centre in global diplomacy. In addition, foreign diplomats also like to deal with important power centres in any country and here Doval scores over everyone else, he explains. Observers say that, typically, the MEA runs the countrys day-to-day diplomacy. Moneycontrol requested Doval for an interview but did not get a response. That is perhaps not surprising  the NSA remains very low key, and is not known to give interviews or share his profile on social media. Maybe, that is why he has more irons in the fire than any other Indian official.
Mumbai Metro has worked out a 25 percent discount on fare for senior citizens, disabled, and students, according to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The discounted tariffs are applicable from the Maharashtra Day on May 1, according to a report by news agency UNI. This discount will be available to thousands of passengers in this category using the Mumbai 1 National Common Mobility Card. Moneycontrol could not independently verify this development. For 45 or 60 trips, Mumbai-1 Passes are discounted for senior citizens, students, and disabled passengers. According to Shinde, the Mumbai Metro network was designed with senior citizens, disabled people, and children in mind so that they could benefit from it as much as possible. "Earlier we made ST bus travel free for senior citizens and women were given 50 percent discount. We have taken these decisions in the spirit of the society and I hope that more people will travel the Metro Rail because of this discount. This facility is for senior citizens above 65 years, students studying up to class 12 and people with permanent disabilities," Shinde said. To qualify for concessions, passengers in these three categories must submit certain documents. PWDs and senior citizens are required to provide valid documents such as government/medical organization certificates, while students can submit their school identity cards.

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Even a marriage heading for its 50th anniversary will sometimes be overcome with bickering. Thats what happened last week with the oil industrys most important bodies, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC risks weakening the global economy and accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels if its production cuts push crude prices too high, the IEAs Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview Wednesday with Bloomberg Television. OPECs response was swift and intemperate: The IEA should be very careful about further undermining oil industry investments its Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais said in a statement Thursday. As with many long but unhappy alliances, whats striking about this row is that the parties share a realistic fatalism about the situation theyre in. The bitterness of last weeks argument doesnt stem so much from deep disagreements about where oil demand and the energy transition is headed, as from the vanity of small differences. Both sides have been edging toward an acceptance that oil production will be lower at the end of the decade than it is right now. Current levels of oil investment will only be sufficient to supply about 80 million barrels a day in 2030, according to projections presented by Saudi Arabian Oil Co, OPECs most important stakeholder, compared to the 101.9 mb/d that the IEA projects for this year. Thats a lowball figure intended to shock the industry into lifting its spending to levels that would pump out about 106 mb/d. But its not a million miles from what the IEA sees: Demand will be 93 mb/d if governments meet their climate pledges and 75.3 mb/d on a more aggressive net zero path, according to the Agencys latest energy outlook last year. In spite of its member states record profits and competitive cost positions, OPEC itself is doing very little to remedy the supply problem it points to, preferring to spend the money on real estate, overseas refineries and grands projets instead. Its revealed preference is for a picture little different than the IEAs energy transition scenarios. Theres a level of natural antagonism between the two bodies. The IEA was founded in 1974 in the wake of the previous years Arab oil embargo to represent the interests of the major petroleum consumers in developed countries. OPEC is 14 years older but rose to prominence at the same time as the IEA, acting for the conflicting interests of the biggest crude exporters. They first held a joint press conference as recently as 2002. If that adversarial relationship has been blunted for decades, its largely because the rise of China and its voracious demand for commodities, combined with the absence (until recently) of any viable alternative to petroleum, meant their common ground of market stability has been more important than their conflicting imperatives of higher prices (for OPEC) and lower ones (for the IEA). The climate transition is causing a reversion to the earlier paradigm, though. Electric vehicles share in new sales has jumped from 2 percent in 2019 to 20 percent in 2023, the IEAs Birol said on Wednesday, and will hit 60 percent in the largest markets of the US, China and Europe by 2030. That accelerating rate of deployment matters. The lifespan of a conventional oilfield investment is a bit longer than that of a typical car  15 to 20 years, as opposed to 10 to 15 years  so a faster uptake of electric vehicles increases the risk that current projects end up facing glutted markets toward the end of their lives. Thats not a problem for the IEA. Its an energy agency, and its members dont much care whether their energy comes from fossil fuels or zero-carbon alternatives as long as its cheap, clean, and secure. OPEC, on the other hand, is a petroleum organization, and naturally sees a shift away from crude as an existential threat. The IEA wants OPEC to ensure security of supply, so that its members dont suffer blackouts and queues at the gas station. The oil cartel, on the other hand, is only prepared to promise that if the IEA ensures security of demand, so that its members know their multi-billion dollar investments will still be throwing off cash in the late 2030s. The IEAs members are unwilling to guarantee that, though. With gasoline demand already in decline, road fuels as a whole facing a near-term peak, and Tesla Inc slashing prices to tempt buyers, its impossible to escape the conclusion that the best years for oil are already in the past. As the world removes crude oil products from road transportation and even shipping, a growing share of demand will come not from fuel but from petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt, lubricants and waxes  everything except energy, in other words. OPEC is responding as jilted partners often do, with bitterness and recrimination. Both sides have to accept, however, that their marriage of convenience is coming to an end. David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication. Credit: Bloomberg
While the revised reservation matrix announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka with an eye on the ensuing assembly elections has been challenged before the Supreme Court, the Congress has added to the confusion by promising to increase the quota to 75 percent if voted to power. On the eve of the elections, the government increased the quota for Scheduled Caste (SC) from 15 percent to 17 percent and Scheduled Tribe (ST) from 3 percent to 7 percent. While the 32 percent existing quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) was retained, the 4 percent reservation for Muslims was abolished and distributed equally among Lingayats and Vokkaligas, increasing their share to 7 percent and 6 percent respectively. With this, the total reservation, excluding the 10 percent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota has gone up to 56 percent breaching the 50 percent cap fixed by the apex court in the Indra Sawhney v. Union of India case. In Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court laid down three criteria for reservations, popularly called the triple test: setting up a dedicated commission to conduct contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness; specifying proportion of reservation required to be provisioned in the light of recommendations of the commission; total reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs shall not exceed 50 percent. Though this judgment was in the context of local body elections, it has an overarching impact on reservation as a whole. BJPs Reservation Strategy The reservation for SC and ST was increased on the recommendations of the Justice HN Nagamohan Das commission, while the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas was hiked based on an interim report hurriedly submitted by the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission (KSBCC) and not on the basis of an empirical study by a dedicated panel as mandated by the court. The decision to scrap Muslim quota was challenged in the Supreme Court which, while questioning why the state did not wait for the final report, observed that the foundation of the decision-making process was "highly shaky and flawed. The state then gave an undertaking that admissions or appointments would not be made in pursuance of the impugned government order (GO). In effect, this means the BJP cannot take advantage of the new reservation policy during the elections. Karnataka has urged the Centre to include the revised policy under Ninth Schedule of the Constitution that contains a list of central and state laws which cannot be challenged in courts. Tamil Nadu had adopted a similar route when it increased its quota to 69 percent, which nonetheless has been challenged before the Supreme Court. However, the Ninth Schedule may not give a blanket protection as the Supreme Court had in IR Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu held that a law even if included under the Ninth Schedule could be subject to judicial review if it goes against the basic structure of the Constitution. The Congress Counter Even as it is becoming clear that the present GO may not stand the test of law, Congress leader Siddaramaiah has announced that reservations would be hiked to 75 percent if his party formed the government. The former Chief Minister seems to be drawing strength from the Social Economic Survey (Caste census) conducted by KSBCC in 2015 when H Kantharaj was the Chairman. This massive survey conducted at a cost of nearly Rs 170 crore by 1.6 lakh personnel covered over 1.3 crore households in the state. While the report was never officially released, according to data which was leaked, Lingayats and Vokkaligas are not numerically dominant in the state as previously believed, while SC/ST/OBC formed a majority. Siddaramaiah believes that reservations should be in proportion to the population of each caste. Look Beyond Quotas Besides, the Supreme Courts observation while upholding the 10 percent EWS quota that the 50 percent cap was not sacrosanct (though the majority highlighted Indra Sawhney verdicts 50 percent cap on SC, ST and OBC reservation) has come as a glimmer of hope for various states, which have been demanding a rethink on this ceiling in view of the changed population dynamics. While parties clamour, each one louder than the other, to increase quotas or to provide freebies, they have done pretty little at the ground level to empower the oppressed classes by providing them with free world-class education so that they can stand on their own feet and not depend forever on the crutches doled out by politicians. It is said, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. But that is not a scenario our politicians would envisage because for them the poor, Dalits and OBCs are no more than vote banks to be milked during every election. Gautham Machaiah is a senior journalist and political commentator based in Bengaluru. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of the publication.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Manipur led by N Biren Singh completed six years in office in March. In the state assembly elections held last year, the saffron party for the first time secured a majority on its own and Biren became the Chief Minister for the second time. In the second term too, the troubles seem to be unending for the CM and his government. Dissidents Vs Biren On April 13, the MLA of Heirok constituency, Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, resigned from the post of chief advisor to the CM, complaining that he wasnt given any responsibility. Within a fortnight, there were three more resignations of party MLAs from government posts. The three other leaders were Langthabal legislator Karam Shyam, Wangjing Tentha MLA P Brojen Singh and Khwairakpam Raghumani who represents Uripok. Like Radheshyam, Karam Shyam, who resigned from the chairmans post of the Tourism Corporation of Manipur, alleged that he received no responsibility. The four MLAs proceeded to camp in Delhi and they even had a meeting with Union minister of state for development of the Northeastern region BL Verma. Although Biren brushed aside the dissidence within the party, the developments dont suggest so. The resignations and the allegations that they were not given responsibilities clearly indicate that they were unhappy with the CM. The party had to send its coordinator for Northeast states Sambit Patra to handle the situation. Not The First Time In the first Biren Singh government, which depended on allies like Naga Peoples Front, National Peoples Party and Lok Janshakti Party, both Radheshyam and Karam Shyam  who was then the lone MLA of LJP  were ministers but were later removed by the CM in 2020. Before that in June 2019 there were reports of many party MLAs sending petitions to PM Narendra Modi and the then national party president Amit Shah to remove Biren as the CM. In 2020, NPP withdrew its support from the Biren Singh-led government alleging that he was running it in an autocratic manner, although it rejoined the ministry later. So the latest episode has a familiar ring to it for the BJP high command as the allegations against Biren Singh for autocratic style of functioning  and rebellions  arent new. What complicates matters further for the saffron party is the presence of many contenders for the post of CM. The contenders are power minister Thongam Bishwajit Singh, PWD minister Govindas Konthoujam and education minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh. This power struggle was the main reason that the party took over 10 days after assembly elections results to reappoint Biren as CM. Tensions With Kuki Groups To make the optics worse for Biren has been the almost concurrent occurrence of violence in the Kuki tribe-dominated Churachandpur district, following a call for shutdown by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, an alliance of recognised tribes in the district. The violence resulted from anger among the Kukis against eviction drives carried out by the government in some villages. According to the government, eviction drives are done as these settlements have sprung up on encroached reserved forest land. They are also angry with the recent demolition of three churches by the government, which said that these were built on government land without any permission. There is nothing wrong in acting against illegal settlements and constructions on government land or reserved forest lands. However, it is also the duty of the government to do so by taking the locals into confidence to address their concerns regarding the government action plan to avoid the kind of violence seen in the sensitive Churachandpur district. The developments indicate that there was a communication gap between the locals and the government. The anger of the Kukis is also due to the state government's withdrawal from the suspension of operation agreements with two Kuki insurgent groups  Kuki National Army and Zomi Revolutionary Army. The Biren government has been acting against poppy cultivation  and it believes that this hasn't gone well with these insurgent groups. The rise of the Kuki insurgency is rooted in the Kuki-Naga ethnic divide. The withdrawal of the ceasefire by the state government with Kuki insurgents has the potential to disturb the peace of the hills, where the Nagas also reside. Continuing Plains-Hills Divide It has to mentioned that even before the withdrawal of the ceasefire, the Kukis were already unhappy as they felt that the Centre was ignoring their demands of providing some kind of self-determination while holding Naga peace talks with the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the main Naga insurgent group. Amid this, an order from the Manipur High Court directing the state government to recommend the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list has again brought to the fore the already existing fault lines between the plain-dwelling Meiteis and the tribals living in the hills. For the peace and development of the state, the plain-hill divide has to be lessened but allegations of tribal persecutions against the government, already weakened by internal dissent, are only going to create problems. It is time for Chief Minister Biren Singh to engage with every section of the population, including his own party MLAs. Sagarneel Sinha is a political commentator and tweets @SagarneelSinha. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
The last time the age of the presidential candidate became an issue before Joe Biden and Donald Trump was in 1984. Ronald Reagan seeking re-election was 73 and there were concerns about whether Reagan can take the strains of office. In the second presidential debate against his Democratic opponent, Walter Mondale, Reagan was asked the question and he shot back, I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth, and inexperience. And he went on to add in typical Reagan fashion, it was Seneca, or it was Cicero, I dont know which, that said, If it was not for the elders correcting the mistakes of the young, there would be no state. Mondale was then 57. A Rematch Made In 2020 Neither President Joe Biden nor Donald Trump can say to each other what Reagan quipped about Mondale. Biden is 80 and Trump, the foremost Republican challenger, 76. Reagan carried 49 of the 50 states in that election. The Biden-Trump presidential duel in 2024 is far from the one-sided affair it was in 1984. The two men have to fight rather hard in many of the states. Trump is basically fighting the election to avenge his defeat in 2020, and he believes, however wrongly, that he should have won that election. He is among the few presidents who failed to get a second term like Jimmy Carter and George Bush Sr. Had he won his second term, Trump would have been out of the race this time round because of the restriction that there can be no more than two consecutive terms. But the more interesting fact about the 2024 presidential battle is that both Biden and Trump seem to be the most eligible candidates, at least as of now. The Republican presidential field has not yet pushed anyone forward, despite Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nicky Halley pressing their claims. Biden, Not A Bad Bet Democrats seem to passively agree that Biden is not a bad bet in a country facing polarised cultural and political wars on abortion and on LGBTQ rights. The Republicans have been pushing hard on anti-abortion laws ever since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. Biden is squarely in the pro-choice camp on the issue of abortion, and a quiet supporter of LGBTQ rights. But it would be useful to remember that Americans are more conservative than they appear to be, and the vocal radicals do not reflect the majority opinion. This can be seen in the fact that in 1968 and in 1972, conservative Richard Nixon got elected as president despite deep anti-Establishment sentiment of the youth and the middle-aged in those heady years of counter-culture. The reason that the Democratic Party bosses seem to favour Biden is the fact that that silent middle-of-the-road majority will go with the octogenarian Biden, while Trump is appealing to the hard-core Christian conservatives. The Democrats do not want to tempt the Fates and posture for a radical agenda which might boomerang. Needed: A Visionary President America is in a state of confusion about its position in the world, and what it should be doing at home. Trump has his simplistic answer in Make America Great Again (MAGA), which Biden has pooh-poohed as a dangerous platform. Biden has no great vision of what America has to be except to maintain the status quo. He wants the welfare state measures which many of his Democratic presidential predecessors had defended to continue to keep Americans going. That is why, his emphasis on infrastructure and health care, and writing off student loans. Trump has this vague notion that America must become the manufacturing giant that it was a century ago, something that may not happen. Biden is also making a desperate attempt to keep the status of the US in world affairs as that of the biggest power in terms of the economy and the military, though it looks a tenuous claim on both counts. His positions on Ukraine, Taiwan and South Korea are not really inspiring. Trump falls back on the old-fashioned American option of isolationism, that it should not be involved in the quarrels of the Old World. Old Hands, Safe Hands? Given the complexity of challenges that America faces at home and abroad, it is plausible that Americans want a president with an experienced pair of hands, and that is assured by age to a certain extent. Though it is certainly not a clinching factor. All over Europe, the average age of leaders is in their 40s, a good 30 years younger than the American presidential candidates. In China, Russia, Turkey, the leaders are edging towards their 70s, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in his early 70s. The age dilemma will not be easy to solve. Perhaps, the United States, still the most powerful country in the world, might manage with an older leader at the helm. But age and experience are no guarantors of ability and success. For America, as well as for other democratic countries, choosing a leader will remain a gamble. Biden and Trump as well as the people of the country must wait for the electoral dice to roll. For once it cannot be said, Its no country for old men! Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr is a New Delhi-based journalist. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
News / National

by Desire Tshuma

Palestinian Embassy on Saturday joined Citizens Against Economic Sanctions (CAES) in Harare in launching campaign against economic sanctions for Harare province.Sanctions which were imposed by Britain and America to Zimbabwe has caused a lot of sufferings to the people of Zimbabwe with the poor facing great impact. Ordinary people of Zimbabwe came together and formed an organization called Citizens Against Economic Sanctions (CAES) which has the objectives of advocating that Britain and America should lift down the illegal sanctions imposed to Zimbabwe.On Saturday the Executive Director for (CAES) Mr Martin Zharare invited the Palestinian Ambassador to the campaign launch which was held at Girls High School in Harare. Ambassador for The State Of Palestine spoke vividly about illegal sanctions imposed to the people of Zimbabwe."It's a great fortune to be an Ambassador for the Palestinian people to Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's liberation struggle was similar to ours in Palestine when Zimbabwe fought the Umkhonto weSizwe apartheid government and Zimbabwe did not tire until they finally won their land against the British colonizers " said Ambassador Dr Tarmer Almassri."Jews migrated from Europe to Palestine and we received them as our guests, in few months time they started to establish military bases assisted by the Western countries especially Britain, today as I speak Israel occupying forces which were assisted to infiltrate Palestine by these so called world superpowers Britain and America have killed, arrested and occupied our land illegal " added Ambassador Almassri."Jesus was born in Palestine and all the prophets came to see him there in a holly land but unfortunately now my country is a witness of the absence of justice and peace perpetrated by the West. Today in solidarity with people of Zimbabwe to launch the campaign against illegal sanctions from the same client, the West," said Ambassador Dr Tarmer Almassri."As Zimbabwe is heading for 2023 harmonized elections, as diplomats we do not interfere with elections and nobody should interfere especially the western countries. They should leave Africa deal with their affairs, nobody is allowed to give views from other capitals, they should keep away from Zimbabwean borders. These elections shall be the best ever since and people of Zimbabwe should maintain and guard against its hardly won independence," concluded Ambassador Almassri.
Amid the relentless India-China battle for strategic influence in Nepal, its a matter of relief for New Delhi that new Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has chosen India for his first official visit abroad. The Maoist leader, whos now expected here in June, had snubbed India in no small measure when he chose China as his first port of call after becoming PM for the first time in 2008. But, regardless of Dahals decision to travel to India first in his third stint as PM, New Delhi is unlikely to breathe easy. For, it knows well that in the fickle world of Nepal's politics, where political expediency rather than good governance matters, the pendulum can swiftly swing in Chinas favour at any time. Nepal's leadership, across the political spectrum, knows its no longer solely dependent on India for its development needs. There is also an ever-willing China, which has huge resources at its command. This was fairly evident when New Delhi-Kathmandu ties experienced major turbulence during the tenure of Dahals predecessor K P Sharma Oli as PM. Dahal, whose party won merely 32 seats in the November 2022 parliamentary polls, leads a fragile coalition of 10 political parties, which includes the pro-India Nepali Congress. With the pulls and pressures of alliance partners making for an unstable government, New Delhis task will be even more challenging. India would do well to keep in mind that apart from being seen as a crucial economic and development partner of Nepal, it should also be seen as a benign bigger neighbour. It will need to be more sensitive to Kathmandus needs to ensure the Dahal-led coalition government is mindful of its geo-strategic interests. In short, practice Neighbourhood First in right earnest instead of merely paying lip service to it. Domineering Neighbour Despite repeated assertions of its close and historical ties with Nepal, India has been unable to rid itself of the perception of being a domineering neighbour, one that simply tends to ignore many of Kathmandus demands instead of engaging in a dialogue. To be sure, some of these demands are driven by the Nepalese leaderships need to cater to its domestic constituency. But New Delhi has to ensure that issues of importance are addressed in a more transparent manner instead of choosing to brush them under the carpet. There, the wounds fester and help fan anti-India sentiments in Nepal. Take, for instance, Indias purported refusal to allow electricity from any hydropower project that has Chinese links, be it in the form of a contractor or equipment access to the Indian market. Nepal believes that is why India has refused to source power from the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project. While not conveyed explicitly in writing to Kathmandu, its indicative of the intense jostling between India and China, whose own bilateral relations nose-dived after the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh in 2020. There is yet another power trade issue. Nepal, which began exporting electricity to India last year, is pushing for unrestricted access to the Indian market as against the present ceiling of 452 MW of electricity. To Nepals dismay, the approval is given on a project-by-project basis by India. Kathmandu also wants long-term guarantees for power imports by India and is hopeful that the two countries will sign a framework agreement allowing this. Nepals hopes were raised when Indian PM Narendra Modi, during his first visit to Kathmandu in 2014, said in a speech before the countrys Parliament: By selling electricity to India alone, Nepal can make a place for itself among prosperous nations You have this much strength. We are with you. We want to be part of this development journey. Victim of Indo-China Rivalry The India-Chinese geo-strategic rivalry is playing out in the aviation sector too with Nepals long-pending request with India for additional air entry routes. At least two of its new international airports, in Bhairahawa and Pokhara, both built with Chinese assistance, need the new entry routes. The Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura territorial dispute is yet another example wherein New Delhi could have nipped the trouble in the bud by acceding to the Oli governments initial request for foreign secretary-level discussions on the matter. Instead, it chose to ignore this request, leading to an escalation in the border row with PM Oli whipping up anti-India sentiments and going so far as to have a constitutional amendment passed in Parliament to alter the map showing these territories as part of Nepal. This tendency to simply ignore Kathmandus wishes if New Delhi considers it inconvenient extends to the report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) too. The two nations had agreed to constitute this bilateral group to examine various aspects of the bilateral relationship, including the crucial India-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950. But its report, ready by 2018, has been given a quiet burial by India, perhaps because it suggested changes to the treaty, a long-standing demand of Kathmandu. India has also managed to alienate Nepal with its new Agnipath scheme for the short-term recruitment of soldiers. Nepal decided to suspend recruitment of its nationals under this scheme in September last year. If it becomes permanent, India stands to lose the tremendous goodwill it generates in the Himalayan nation through the Gorkhas who serve or have served in the Indian Army. All in all, New Delhi would do well to remember that it cannot have its cake and eat it too as it struggles to retain strategic space in a country where it was once the dominant force. China, obviously, is lying in wait. Parul Chandra is a New Delhi-based senior journalist who writes on foreign affairs. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
In February, BJP state President and MP Naleen Kumar Kateel, speaking in Karnatakas Shivamogga district, said that the 2023 Assembly election would not be fought between the BJP and the Congress, but between the ideologies of RSS ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Mysuru warrior Tipu Sultan, who fought against the British, among others. Earlier in Mangaluru, he had asked the party cadres not to focus on infrastructure but on combating love jihad. [Love jihad is a conspiracy theory suggesting that Muslim men target non-Muslim women for conversion by leading them on]. Around the same time, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was speaking in Puttur, in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district, said the Congress and the JD(S) who believe in Tipu'' cannot do any good for Karnataka. The BJP takes its inspiration from 16th-century Tuluva queen of Ullal, in Mangaluru, Rani Abbakka Chowta (who resisted the Portuguese), to give the state a prosperous rule,'' he claimed. Tuluva refers to the Tulu speaking people of the region. Barring the above exceptions, communal rhetoric, including on issues such as Hijab, Halal, Azaan and economic boycott of Muslim traders, has largely been missing in the campaigns of all the political parties in the coastal region of Karnataka. While BJP leaders have been focusing on the advantages of a double-engine government (same-party rule at the Centre and in the State), the Congress and the JD(S) have been highlighting the failures of the Basavaraj Bommai government. The JD(S) has minimal presence in the region. Of the 19 seats in the three coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada (8), Udupi (5) and Uttara Kannada (6), the BJP won 16 and the Congress had to contend with 3 in the 2018 Assembly polls. It was a reverse result for both parties, as the Congress had swept the coastal region by winning 13, with the BJP and Independents winning three each in 2013. In the Assembly elections to be held on May 10, the Congress is trying to wrest the region from the BJP by rectifying the mistakes it had made in the past when proper representation was not given to communities that are the deciding factors between victory and defeat. The BJP has been accused of turning the three districts into a laboratory for its Hindutva agenda and polarising votes along communal lines. Some political observers claim it's just not the three districts with 19 seats that have been saffronised, but also neighbouring Shivamogga with seven and Chikkamagaluru with five seats. In Karnataka, 31 seats in these five districts are known as the saffron belt because the majority of the BJP and RSS leaders are from here,'' said a political commentator.Those leaders include BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, RSS leaders Dattatreya Hosabale, CR Mukund and Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat. Prominent BJP leaders from these districts are BS Yediyurappa, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shobha Karandlaje, V Sunil Kumar, V Sadananda Gowda and KS Eshwarappa. Prof PL Dharma, Political Science department, Mangalore University, told Moneycontrol that this time around, none of the parties has been referring to communal issues, except for the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India. Earlier, it used to be hate speeches, but the BJP now is talking about developmental works, he said. The Congress focus is on 40-4-40 (alleging that the BJP regime is corrupt and charges a 40 percent commission on contracts; highlighting the Congress four guarantee schemes; and asking voters to give only 40 seats to the BJP),'' he added. Dharma said one reason for the lack of communal rhetoric is because the BJP and Congress have chosen new faces for these elections. The BJP has given tickets to three news faces in Dakshina Kannada and four in Udupi These newcomers have not been able to articulate well to allegations of polarisation and have confined themselves to development matters,' he states. During his visit to Mangalore and Udupi last week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacted with fishermen in Kapu in Udupi district. He promised Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for the fishermen, Rs one lakh interest-free loans to fisherwomen and Rs 25 subsidy per litre of diesel up to a maximum of 500 litres per day if the Congress is voted to power in Karnataka. After blitzkrieg rallies in north Karnataka, Bengaluru, Kolar and Hassan over the weekend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Mangalore on May 3. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also expected to accompany the Prime Minister on some campaign stops. Adityananth will be in Bantwal and Uttara Kannada on May 6. Why did the coastal belt turn saffron? According to sources, the polarisation of votes commenced after BJP veteran LK Advani's rath yatra in 1990 followed by the demolition of the Babri masjid in 1992. While the Hindutva factor was active, the Congress, which had a hold over the districts, failed to project new faces from the Billava (toddy tappers) and Mogaveera (fishermen) communities, who are the majority, followed by Muslims, Christians, Bunts and Brahmins. Congress sources admitted that besides the lack of narrative or agenda, a major reason for the party to lose in the three districts was fielding leaders who were repeatedly losing the elections. Another was former Chief Minister (late) S Bangarappa quitting the Congress to join the Samajwadi Party and the BJP apart from floating two outfits. Hailing from Shivamogga, Bangarappa represented the toddy tapper community, called Devarus in Shivamogga, Billavas in Dakshina Kannada, Namdharis in Uttara Kannada with the common nomenclature being Idigas. While Bangarappa returned to the Congress in later years, the party cadres who had followed him to the other outfits stayed back in the BJP, a source said. The BJP is said to have capitalised on the Congresss poor candidate selection from the Billava and Mogaveera communities in the past. The saffron party wooed the Billavas and the Mogaveeras, whose population is in the first and second positions, respectively, in the region, by giving them political representation at the grassroots level and in the government. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommais cabinet has two ministers, V Sunil Kumar and Kota Srinivasa Poojary, from the Billava community. Prof Muzaffar H Assadi, Political Scientist & Dean, Faculty of Arts, Mysore University, said the history of polarisation of votes in the coastal district and the emergence of Rightist forces goes back to the 1970s, when former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs introduced the Land Reforms Act, where the tiller became the owner of the land. The Act helped the other backward classes (Billavas, Mogaveeras and Muslims), who were agricultural labourers, to become owners of land, but led to a social and economic divide later. Shah, during his election campaign in 2018, had claimed that 24 Hindu activists had been killed in the coastal belt during the Congress rule between 2013 and 2018. The victims in these revenge killings were either from the Billava, Mogaveera or Muslim communities. Realisation is happening among the two communities now that their youths were used by the BJP in the hate killings because it was either a Billava or a Mogaveera who was killed or arrested by the police. My party has to make use of this situation, if it has to regain its hold here,'' Congress sources said. The Congress has been banking on the Muslim vote bank and Christians to an extent. But the emergence of the SDPI in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi has been a cause of concern for the Congress. The SDPI, with its student wing Campus Front of India, has been making inroads in the two districts. During the Hijab controversy, it was active and in fact accused of inciting pro-Hijab students to defy the government order banning the attire. Why have land reforms become a faultline? Assadi maintains that the land reforms Act brought about a paradigm shift, wherein OBCs became owners of small patches of land. Though this provided them with a social identity, it did not give them economic space. This was the time Sri Ram Sene and others entered and assured the OBCs a social and economic identity. This is the reason the OBCs shifted away from the Congress to the BJP or Hindutva forces permanently, said Assadi.
More than 1.25 crore women have registered themselves for benefits under the Madhya Pradesh government's flagship 'Ladli Behna' scheme, an official said on Monday. The scheme, which was launched by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in March, aims to empower women socially and financially. As many as 1,25,23,437 women have enrolled in the scheme till April 30, which was the last day for registration, the official said. Under the scheme, all eligible women will receive Rs 1,000 per month as financial assistance from the state government, which will be directly credited to their bank accounts, he said. Launched with an eye on the upcoming Assembly polls, the scheme was considered as a major game changer for the ruling party, but sensing its political benefits, the Congress also announced a provision of Rs 1,500 per month for women if it comes to power in the state. The state Assembly election is due in Madhya Pradesh this year end.

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Musician Deronne White is ready to play on King Charles IIIs coronation day. The flautist and his fellow young musicians aren't playing anything regal or solemn theyre planning to parade through south London's streets entertaining crowds with an uplifting coronation carnival set mixing gospel, jazz, grime, disco and rap. There'll even be a calypso take on the U.K. national anthem. While he's excited about the gig, White says he has mixed feelings about the coronation. Like some others at the Brixton Chamber Orchestra, White is a descendant of migrants from Jamaica a former British colony and Commonwealth member that wants to cut its ties with the monarchy and has called for the U.K. royals to address their historical ties to slavery. Personally it's a little bit hard to connect to the whole occasion,he said. I think that the coronation could possibly allow people like me to try and connect to (the monarchy). But it can be a bit tough. Towns, cities and villages across the U.K. will be awash with Union flags and patriotic decorations to celebrate Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey this weekend, and officials say the festivities will bring Britain's diverse communities together. But the event is viewed with a large dose of ambivalence by some in the U.K., not least those with African-Caribbean backgrounds and other minorities for whom the British Empire's past wrongs still loom large. While slavery and the heyday of colonialism may be long gone, the royal family has in recent years struggled to grapple with new accusations of institutional racism most notably from Prince Harry's wife, Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex, a biracial American actress, reopened the debate about the monarchy and race when she said last year that an unnamed member of the royal household had asked her how dark her baby's skin might be when she was pregnant with her first child, Archie. Last year, there was outrage when Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity executive, complained that a close aide of Queen Elizabeth II's repeatedly questioned her at a party about where she was really from. Palace officials apologized and the aide, Susan Hussey, resigned. Charles, 74, has on many occasions spoken about how much he values diversity in modern, multicultural Britain. He has paid tribute to Britain's Windrush generation the West Indians, like White's great-grandparents, who helped rebuild Britain after World War II. In 2021, Charles won praise for acknowledging the darkest days of our past and the stain of slavery. More recently, the monarch expressed for the first time his support for research into the links between the U.K. monarchy and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. I think he's definitely trying maybe not in the best way or the fastest way, but from what I've seen, it's kind of a step in the right way said Teigan Hastings, 17. But Hastings, a British Jamaican who plays the tuba alongside White, said that Meghan's claims about how she was treated by her in-laws opened up a bit of truth within the royal family. I guess it wasn't totally unexpected, but at the same time you think there'd be some form of acceptance and there hasn't really been, he said. It's like there's nothing like us normal people can really do about it except hope for change. The musicians say they hope that their vibrant blend of musical styles will help draw in the crowds, whatever they may think of Charles. Across the capital in Southall, known as "Little India the west London neighborhood is home to one of the largest Indian populations outside India local politician Jasbir Kaur Anand said the area's British Asians also plan to mark the coronation in their own way. About 6,000 tickets were snapped up for a coronation shindig complete with a huge television screen broadcasting the ceremony, funfair rides and bands playing Jewish, South American and gospel music, Anand said. She added that she will attend a street party organized by a group of local women that promises to feature lots of Punjabi food, Punjabi dancing and singing. Anand, whose family moved to Britain from Singapore when the city-state gained independence, said many immigrants of her generation feel gratitude to the U.K. monarchy for embracing them and giving them the opportunities to settle and prosper. Gulu Anand, who owns Southall's Brilliant curry house and has cooked for Charles several times over the years when he visited the neighborhood, is one vocal supporter of Charles. Charles "actually listens to you, he said, recalling the royal's demeanor when he ate at his restaurant. I think he is the people's king. But Janpal Basran, who heads local charity Southall Community Alliance, said that many communities in the area are from former colonies and remember what it was like to be ruled by others. So they look at the monarchy, they remember all of the associated historical baggage, for want of a better word, Basran said. There will be people who will be thinking that the monarchy represents an institution which was repressive, discriminatory and violent. Is this something that we want to be supporting to the future? Patrick Vernon, a Black activist campaigning for justice for scores of Caribbean migrants who lost their rights as U.K. citizens because of a legal loophole, said Charles could do so much more to show his subjects that the monarchy takes diversity seriously. He drew attention to a 2021 investigation by the Guardian newspaper that revealed the royal household is still exempt from equality laws preventing race and sex discrimination. I think Charles could be in a unique position to start to actually influence that agenda, he said. It's important to demonstrate change, demonstrate that there's a clear marker that we're different, that we're moving towards the 21st century.
NTPC Ltd. signed a supplementary joint venture (JV) agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) on May 1 for the development of nuclear power projects in the country. Initially, the JV company shall develop two pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) projects - Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project (2x700 MW) and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (4x700 MW), which were identified as a part of fleet mode nuclear projects, NTPC said in a statement. On February 13, Moneycontrol was the first to report about NTPC's plan to expand India's nuclear power projects. NTPC, India's largest power producer, aims to start generating 2,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2032, 4,200 MW by 2035 and eventually scale up to 20,000 MW by 2050. Apart from capacity addition through pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), NTPC is also planning to add nuclear capacity through small modular reactors. It also intends to do fuel tie-ups with Uranium Corporation of India Ltd to ensure requisite feedstock availability. The government has given approvals to install 10 nuclear reactors to meet the country's growing power demand, Union Minister of State (independent charge) Earth Sciences, Atomic Energy and Space, Jitendra Singh told the Parliament on April 5. These reactors will be set up in fleet mode progressively by the year 2031 at a cost of Rs. 1,05,000 crores. A total of 7,000 megawatts (MW) or 7 gigawatts (GW) is expected from these reactors. The 10 reactors will be installed at four locations - two each at Kaiga (Karnataka), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Chutka (Madhya Pradesh), while four will be at Mahi Banswara (Rajasthan). Of these, the Chutka and Mahi Banswara nuclear projects will be implemented through ASHVINI - a joint venture between NTPC Ltd and NPCIL. The approximate cost of the Chutka plant will be Rs 25,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore for the Mahi Banswara plant. This supplementary joint venture agreement marks a pivotal step for NTPC Ltd. and NPCIL to collaborate and cooperate in the field of development of nuclear power projects, which shall help the country in meeting its clean energy commitments to achieve net zero emission target by 2070, NTPC said. As per, Central Electricity Authority data, India has an installed nuclear power capacity of 6,780 MW, which is just 2 percent of the total energy (thermal, hydro, renewables) mix in the country. Nuclear is a zero-emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission, which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy. The heat released by fission is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the harmful by-products emitted by fossil fuels.
Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late on Sunday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday. Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time. We will continue our struggle against terrorist organisations without discriminating against any of them, Erdogan said in the interview. Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants. The country controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border. Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State. He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries. Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by US forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022. He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the US military was killed in mid-October in an peration by Syrian rebels in Syria's southern province of Daraa. The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world. In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, US-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq.
Google Doodle celebrated International Labour Day which falls on May 1 every year with a new doodle on Monday. Some of the regions to whom the doodle reached included Argentina, Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia. It is a day that is marked to honour the achievements of workers and labourers worldwide and to encourage them to know of their rights. It is also known as "May Day". May Day is historically significant in Europe, where it is associated with the pagan festivals. With passing time, however, the original meaning of the day was replaced by the modern association with the labour movement. In the Soviet Union, International Labour Day was a significant day with parades celebrating the workers and showcasing the military might. International Labour Day became official in Germany in 1933, but the irony was that it led to the destruction of the German labor movement. May Day was first celebrated in India on May 1 1923 in Chennai (Madras) and it was established by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. In different parts of the country, the day is known differently-Uzhaipalar Dhinam (Tamil), Thozhilaali Dinam (Malayalam), and Shromik Dibosh (Bengali),Kamgar Din (Hindi), Karmikara Dinacharane (Kannada), Karmika Dinotsavam (Telugu), Kamgar Divas (Marathi). Also read: Punjab govt declares public holiday on Labour Day

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Jock Zonfrillo, a judge on the iconic reality show Masterchef Australia, died in Melbourne on Sunday. He was 46. His family confirmed his death on Monday, saying our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son and friend died on Sunday in Melbourne. The cause of death was not revealed. With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday, Zonfrillos family said in a statement. So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jock Zonfrillo (@zonfrillo) MasterChef Australias new season was due to premiere on Monday night, but Network 10 confirmed that it will not air this week following Zonfrillo's death. Network 10 and MasterChef Australia production company Endemol Shine Australia said in a statement that they were deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MasterChef Australia (@masterchefau) Jock Zonfrillo was not only a chef and judge at Masterchef Australia judge, he was also an author. Here are 7 points to know about him: 1.) Born Barry Zonfrillo in Glasgow in 1976, Zonfrillo was 13 when he began to work in kitchens as a dishwasher, The Guardian reported. 2.) At 15, he dropped out of school and started an apprenticeship at the Turnberry Hotel, becoming one of its youngest-ever apprentices. 3.) Two years later, Zonfrillo began working for celebrated British chef Marco Pierre White. 4.) The celebrated chef wrote in his 2021 memoir Last Shot that he was homeless and addicted to heroin at the time. He was appointed head chef at Cornwalls Tresanton Hotel when he was only 22. 5.) Zonfrillo became head chef at Sydneys Forty One in 2000, but was fired two years later after he set fire to an apprentices pants for being too slow. He said it was a practical joke gone wrong. The 18-year-old apprentice sued him and won $75,000 in damages in 2007. The same year, Jock Zonfrillo declared bankruptcy. 6.) He then opened several restaurants in Adelaide and one of them, Restaurant Orana, was named Australias restaurant of the year by Gourmet Traveller magazine in 2018, and the following year in the Good Food Guide. It was awarded three hats in 2019 and 2020, but it closed in March 2020, The Guardian reported. 7.) In 2019, Jock Zonfrillo became a judge on MasterChef Australia  alongside Melissa Leong and Andy Allen  replacing the shows original hosts Matt Preston, George Calombaris, and Gary Mehigan. Read more: Indian-origin Justin Narayan wins MasterChef Australia 13
The Met Gala 2023 is almost upon us as celebrities get ready to gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday May 1 dressed in keeping with the galas theme. Here are a few things to know about the fundraising event: What is the Met Gala? The Met Gala is a fundraising event that is organised on the first Monday of May every year and is organised by Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Met Gala 2023 Theme The theme for the Met Gala 2023 is dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld, the late designer who was also the creative director of Chanel. The theme is titled "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty", the dress code is "In honor of Karl." Lagerfeld died in 2019. Where to watch Met Gala 2023? The Met Gala 2023 can be streamed live on the feed of the fashion magazine Vogue. Co-chairs of Met Gala 2023 The celebrities co-chairing the event in 2023 are Michaela Coel and Penelope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa and Vogues editorial director Anna Wintour. Indian Presence From India, Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt will make her maiden appearance at the Met Gala. Bhatt will wear an outfit designed by Prabal Gurung, who had previously designed Deepika Padukone's outfit. The actress will be attending the event on a high after winning the Filmfare "Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female)" award for her performance in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial "Gangubai Kathiawadi". Also read: Alia Bhatt to make her Met Gala debut this year: report

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for his "words of appreciation" after the billionaire congratulated PM Modi on 100 episodes of his pet radio show Mann Ki Baat on April 30. "I thank my friend Bill Gates for his words of appreciation," the Prime Minister tweeted on Monday. "Mann Ki Baat reflects the collective spirit of the people of India to make our planet better, something Mr Gates is also passionate about. The strong resonance with SDGs is highlighted well in the study by the Gates Foundation India." I thank my friend @BillGates for his words of appreciation. #MannKiBaat reflects the collective spirit of the people of India to make our planet better, something Mr. Gates is also passionate about. The strong resonance with SDGs is highlighted well in the study by @BMGFIndia. https://t.co/RL9Wb7IhPo  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2023 PM Modi's tweet was a response to a report Bill Gates shared about the radio show while lauding the community-based action Mann Ki Baat encouraged. "Mann Ki Baat has catalyzed community-led action on sanitation, health, womens economic empowerment and other issues linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. Congratulations Narendra Modi on the 100th episode," the Microsoft co-founder tweeted. Read more: 'Mann ki Baat' 100th episode: PM Modi praises work of these 4 changemakers Addressing the nation during the 100th episode on Sunday, PM Modi recalled the show's coverage of various stories of women empowerment, such as the women of Deora village in Chhattisgarh, tribal women in Tamil Nadu making terracotta cups, and women rejuvenating Vellore Lake. He also mentioned how Mann Ki Baat brought to the fore stories of several talented people. "It has showcased stories of talented individuals across diverse fields, from promoting Aatmanirbhar Bharat to Make in India and space startups. The mission to re-establish our toy industry began with Mann Ki Baat. We have highlighted the work of many selfless heroes who have worked in the area of culture and education in Mann Ki Baat," PM Narendra Modi said during his address. Read more: Mann Ki Baat completes 100 episodes; ministers and icons laud the programme's success
Until today, doctors based in one Atlantic province would have to apply to a new provincial college of physicians and surgeons and pay separate fees if they wanted to spend time practising elsewhere in the region. (funnyangel/Shutterstock - image credit)

The Atlantic Physician Register launched on Monday, allowing doctors in Atlantic Canada to work in any of the four provinces for one yearly fee, without additional licensing requirements.

The change had been widely expected, after the four Atlantic premiers agreed in February on the broad strokes of what it would entail.

Registrars from all four Atlantic colleges of physicians and surgeons signed off on the deal.

Doctors will be able to opt into the registry at an annual fee of $500 that gives them more freedom to cross provincial borders.

"Previously, physicians had to submit a separate full application to each provincial college, including a registration fee, to obtain a licence to practise in that province," said a news release from the provincial government, confirming the registry's launch.

"We know flexibility and mobility are important to physicians  both for retention and to attract new graduates who are looking for variety before they set roots," Dr. Krista Cassell, the president of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island, was quoted as saying in the release.

"We hope this new feature will make Atlantic Canada an even more attractive and desirable place to work."

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King was quoted as saying the program will make it "easier for physicians in the region to practise across all four provinces, providing better access to care for residents."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Group of Seven and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summits in May --- meetings where Chinas aggressive rise in the Indo-Pacific will be in focus. While the two summits are taking place in the backdrop of the devastating Ukraine war, they also come in the midst of concerns in the region over Chinas aggressive policy towards Taiwan and other countries with which Beijing has territorial disputes. For India, it comes at a time when, despite several rounds of negotiations, China has declined to disengage its troops from areas on the Sino-Indian border occupied unilaterally by Chinese troops by breaking the status quo. Modi will first attend the summit of the G7, grouping of the worlds most developed economies, in Japan on May 23. He will travel to Australia thereafter. Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and the European Union are members of G7. India is not a member of the G7, but Modi has been invited to the summit by the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the host. Since all G7 countries are also members of the G20, Modi has frequently engaged with them. He will meet them again in New Delhi after a few months when India, which has the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, hosts the summit. The Indian Prime Minister will travel to Sydney on May 24 for the Summit of the Quad, in which India along with Australia, Japan and the United States are the four members. Ukraine war, Chinese aggression At the G7 Summit in Japan, the ongoing Ukraine war, which is expected to get more violent in the coming days as Russian and Ukrainian forces try to gain the upper hand before they come to the negotiating table, will certainly be in focus as the bloc has a predominance of western countries. But since it is being held in Asia, it cannot but also discuss Chinas aggression which is more real for countries in the region. If earlier meetings of the G7 are an indicator, then the leaders at the summit are likely to reiterate their call for firmly rejecting unilateral attempts to change the status quo. At last months foreign ministers meeting of the G7, Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told his colleagues they must "firmly reject unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force. Though much of the statement was aimed at Russia, the appeal can find the broadest acceptance even among countries outside the G7 as it not only refers to Russias invasion of Ukraine but at any unilateral attempt to change the status quo. Like India, many countries in the region are involved in territorial disputes with China and are facing its aggressive policy to unilaterally change the existing status quo. In a statement, Hayashi said it was important to maintain unity among the G7 and other like-minded countries and to continue support for Ukraine. Quad summit The ministers stated that Russia must withdraw all forces and equipment from Ukraine immediately and unconditionally. Chinese aggressive policy in the region will also figure at the Quad Summit in Sydney. A statement released by the Australian government said: Australia, India, Japan and the United States share a vision for an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is governed by accepted rules and norms, where we all can cooperate, trade and thrive. This is the first time Australia is hosting a Quad summit. The United States President Joe Biden, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Modi will be present. Every year, the four Quad Leaders meet to discuss the regions most pressing challenges and advance the Quads positive and practical agenda, the Australian statement added. It said, The 2023 Sydney Quad Leaders Summit will showcase the Quads enduring contribution to the region and the tangible benefits we are delivering for Indo-Pacific partners. How to deal with China It will be interesting to note the final statement of the G7 and its references to China. The ongoing Ukraine war and the economic pressure in Europe have divided opinion among countries on how to deal with China. While some are supporting the US policy of adopting a tough line on China and cutting off its access to advanced technology, some leading European countries like France and Germany are keen to engage with China to change its behaviour. Instead of joining ranks with the US, they argue Europe should not get involved in the Taiwan crisis. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said that in the event of conflict with China on Taiwan, Our concern is to de-escalate. She added: We must also make it clear that we would not accept a military escalation. Baerbock said: Nobody in the world wants a new bloc confrontation. She felt the G7 countries sought to promote cooperation based on fair rules around the world. Therefore, there could be indirect references to China and its aggression in the Indo-Pacific region in the G7 statement. But the gathering of the worlds richest countries could avoid issuing statements that may strain future ties with Beijing, especially when they are trying to revive their economic partnership with China.
Whittakers commitment to best goes beyond simply creating world-class chocolate, the entry on the Readers Digest page says. The team strives to do everything in a good and honest way, from supporting the community and suppliers, to developing sustainable packaging and seeking out ingredients that are ethically and fairly produced.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  A judge ordered the head of Mexicos immigration agency to stand trial on charges that he failed in his responsibility to protect those in his custody when 40 migrants died in a fire at a border detention center in March.

Francisco Garduno will remain free during the proceedings and will continue in his job. His lawyer, Rodolfo Perez, told The Associated Press that they will try to reach an agreement for reparations to the victims in order to avoid a trial.

I will keep working  until ordered otherwise, Garduno told media late Sunday as he left the court in the border town of Ciudad Juarez.

Federal prosecutors said that Garduno was responsible for the safety of the countrys immigration facilities and that there was evidence that he knew that Ciudad Juarezs detention center lacked basic safety measures but he did nothing to change it.

The judge denied the prosecutors request that Garduno be removed from his position. He will have to present himself to the court every two weeks.

Garduno defense team said that a private firm was responsible for security at the facility, not government officials.

A migrant allegedly started a fire inside the Ciudad Juarez detention center on March 27. Security cameras inside the facility showed smoke quickly filling the cell holding 68 male migrants, but no one with keys attempted to rescue them. In addition to the 40 killed, more than two dozen were injured in the fire.

Garduno hasn't stepped down from his post, and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has voiced his support. The president appointed Garduno to run the agency in 2019 while under pressure from then U.S. President Donald Trump to take a more aggressive stance against migrants crossing Mexico. Garduno had previously been in charge of Mexicos prisons.

Seven other immigration officials are standing trial, including one who faces the same charges as Garduno. The other six, including a retired military official who was the immigration agencys delegate in the state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, were charged with homicide and causing injury by omission.
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ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP)  The long-governing Colorado Party remained the dominant force of Paraguayan politics as the vote count from Sunday's election gave an overwhelming lead to its presidential candidate, Santiago Pena, with nearly all votes counted.

With almost 99% of voting places reporting, Pena had 43% of the vote, compared to 27% for the closest challenger, Efrain Alegre, the candidate of the Pact for a New Paraguay, a broad-based opposition coalition that had hoped to end Colorado's reign.

Voters also gave support to Colorado in congressional elections, with the conservative party winning majorities of 45 seats in the Senate and 80n seats in the lower house.

The opposition had sought to capitalize on widespread discontent over high levels of corruption and deficiencies in the health and education systems that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paraguay has a relatively stable economy, but with high levels of poverty.

Outgoing President Mario Abdo Benitez called Pena president-elect in a congratulatory message on social media before a winner was officially declared. He also congratulated the Paraguayan people for their large participation in this election day.

Pena celebrated a showing that would make him Paraguay's president on Aug. 15 while waiting for an official declaration of final results.

Today we're not celebrating a personal triumph, we're celebrating the victory of a people who with their vote chose the path of social peace, dialogue, fraternity, and national reconciliation, Pena told a crowd of supporters Sunday night. Long live Paraguay! Long live the Colorado Party!"

Alegre acknowledged defeat shortly thereafter.

Today, the results indicate that perhaps the effort we have made was not enough, Alegre told reporters, adding that divisions among the opposition "prevented us from reaching the goal of being able to bring about the change that the majority of Paraguayans are asking of us.

Before the vote, analysts had said the race looked to be tight and predicted Alegre could have a chance of unseating South Americas longest-governing party, which has essentially ruled Paraguay uninterrupted since 1947.

An unexpected result, very unexpected. I think even the Colorado Party members are shocked by such a wide margin, political consultant Sebastian Acha said. It gives him enormous legitimacy due to the size of the difference and that makes Penas victory indisputable.

Yet the preliminary returns seemed to indicate voters in preferred to stay with the familiar, a break for a region in which the incumbents have not done well in recent elections.

Paraguay doesnt have a runoff, so whoever of the 13 candidates received the most votes would be the next president.

The results also appeared to mark a victory for former President Horacio Cartes, who governed in 2013-2018, who the U.S. State Department recently accused of being involved in significant corruption as well as having ties to terrorism. He has denied the allegations.

Cartes, a local magnate who is also the president of the Colorado Party, is a powerful figure in Paraguayan politics and members of the opposition had characterized Pena as a frontman for Cartes to hold power. Cartes stood next to Pena as he gave his celebratory speech Sunday night.

I want to be a tool for you, Cartes told Pena during the celebrations. I want you to be sure that the Colorado Party is going to be your best tool.

Pena was finance minister in the Cartes government and, until recently, a member of the board of Banco Basa, a local bank owned by the former president.

The election in this country of almost 7 million people also had geopolitical implications as Paraguay is the only remaining country in South America to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and those ties became an issue in the campaign.

Alegre had called for the landlocked country's relationship with Taiwan to be reviewed, saying they are too costly. Pena defended Paraguays relationship with Taipei, but said he would seek more trade with China, without explaining how that would come about.

We have a diplomatic and historic relationship with Taiwan of more than 60 years, based on principles and democratic values that we believe are fundamental for a society like Paraguay, Pena said.

The Taiwanese Embassy posted a message on social media congratulating president-elect Pena.

Congratulations to the Paraguayan people, who showed the world the democratic power of citizens through their votes, the embassy said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also didn't wait for the winner to be officially declared to congratulate Pena.

Good luck in your mandate, the Brazilian wrote on social media. "We will work together for even better and stronger relations between our countries, and for a South America with more unity, development and prosperity.

Alegre, a lawyer who heads the Liberal party, the second-largest political force in Congress, was making his third bid for the presidency, though this time he represented a mix of political parties.

Penas presidential campaign was hampered by U.S. sanctions on Cartes for alleged bribery and ties to Hezbollah, which Washington designates as a terrorist group. The sanctions blocked Cartes from the U.S. financial system and cut off funding and loans for the partys campaign.

Cartes was the financing chief of the Colorado Party. The cash box was left empty, said Diego Abete Brun, a political science professor who heads the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies program at George Washington University. He had expected a close contest.

Pena called the accusations against Cartes groundless, while Alegre sought to turn the claims against the Colorado Party.

Our adversary is not the Colorado Party but the dirty money of organized crime," Alegre told reporters.

There appeared to be a big turnout Sunday with long lines at polling stations. Some people complained of delays and difficulties with the electronic voting system.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan apologized Monday for taking a job as a consultant for a marijuana company  part of an industry that her office just audited  that paid far more than her state salary.

After previously refusing to disclose the terms of her contract, Fagan had her office email reporters a copy on Monday. It showed the consultancy paid $10,000 per month, with bonuses three times that amount if she helped the company get licensed in other states.

Fagan, a Democrat who is the states second-highest ranking official, indicated she aims to hold onto her elected position despite Republican calls for her to resign. Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, requested investigations by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and the Oregon Department of Justice into the matter Friday.

I am sorry for harming the trust that I and so many others have worked so hard to build with you over the last few years, Fagan said during a Zoom conference she held Monday. I will begin working to build that trust back today.

The matter came to a head after Fagan's office released an audit Friday that called for the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to reform some rules for marijuana businesses, saying they are burdens when combined with federal restrictions on interstate commerce, banking and taxation.

Fagan recused herself from the audit of Oregons marijuana regulatory agency because she is a paid consultant of an affiliate of marijuana retail chain La Mota, her spokesperson, Ben Morris, said at a virtual news conference timed with the audits release.

Fagan noted Monday that ethics guidelines allow outside employment. She said the consultancy didn't represent a conflict of interest because any action taken as a result of the audit would be by the governor, Legislature or cannabis commission; and because a wide range of businesses would be affected by any regulation changes, not just her client.

La Motas co-owner has hosted fundraisers for top Democratic Oregon politicians, including Fagan, while the co-owner, her partner and their business allegedly owed $1.7 million in unpaid bills and more in state and federal taxes, according to Willamette Week, a Portland newspaper.

Fagan told reporters Monday she contacted Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz as part of her consulting gig, just to ask who would be somebody for a cannabis company to talk to if they wanted to get the lay of the land.

Bysiewicz spokesperson Samantha Taylor said in a statement that Fagan called about three weeks ago, asking about Connecticuts cannabis license process for a client Fagan had as part of her consulting business.

After learning of Fagan's outside work, minority Republicans in the Legislature called for her resignation.

This appears to be an ethics violation and if it isnt then Oregons ethics laws are broken, Senate Republican leader Tim Knopp and House Republican leader Vikki Breese-Iverson said in a joint statement Friday.

The governor underscored her own concerns as she called for the probes, saying: Its critical that Oregonians trust their government.

Fagan announced Monday she was terminating her contract with Veriede Holdings, the La Mota affiliate. She also provided a copy of the contract, signed Feb. 24, which paid $10,000 per month plus a bonus of $30,000 if she helped the company acquire marijuana licenses in any state other than Oregon or New Mexico. A total of 21 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use of marijuana.

Fagan's annual salary as secretary of state, a job that is responsible for running elections in Oregon and overseeing state audits, is $77,000. Fagan told reporters she is divorced with two young children and has student loans and other bills that she says her secretary of state's salary is not enough to cover.

She said her consultant job had nothing to do with her elected position. Reporters, though, were skeptical. They asked why she would be hired as a pot consultant unless La Mota wanted her to leverage her position to expand their business in other states, especially when there are numerous bona fide marijuana business experts in Oregon.

Fagan responded that she has experience advising and representing, as a lawyer, Oregon businesses and contended that her work for La Mota didn't require her to be a marijuana expert.

At Monday's news conference, Fagan fought back tears as she said she is deeply honored to serve as Oregon Secretary of state, regardless of the compensation.

I owe the people of Oregon an apology," Fagan said. I exercised poor judgment by contracting with a company that is owned by my significant political donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my audits division.

Fagan said she was donating all money in her political action committee to the Oregon Humane Society.

___

Associated Press reporter Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  The leader of the Islamic State group was killed in an operation by Turkish intelligence teams in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. Turkey's state media said the IS leader blew himself up to avoid capture.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview late Sunday that the IS leader known as Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi died on Saturday, following a lengthy pursuit by the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations, Erdogan said in the interview, without elaborating. The Islamic State group has so far not confirmed the death of its leader.

A member of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces' military police told The Associated Press that the MIT clashed with IS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, al-Qurayshi, who was hiding in a building on the farm, blew himself up, the military police member said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said Turkish drones flew over the area and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups, alerted by Ankara, closed off roads leading to the where the clashes were taking place.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency said as the Turkish agents closed in on him after afour-hour operation, al-Qurayshi detonated his suicide vest. The IS leader was at a house with an underground bunker in the Jinderes region and did not respond to calls for him to surrender, the agency said, quoting unnamed security officials.

After Turkish agents broke into the building, al-Qurayshi blew himself up realizing he would be caught, the report said. Anadolu added that al-Qurayshi had been frequently on the move.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS militants and Kurdish rebels in Syria's border areas. Turkey controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria, following several land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the border.

IS has carried out a string of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017 which killed 39 people during New Year celebrations.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named IS leader after its previous chief was killed in October. He took over at a time when IS had long lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, IS has been been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022.

He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa, after which the latest leader took over, Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.

None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be related. Al-Qurayshi is not their real name but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islams Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and al-Qurayshi serves as part of an IS leaders nom de guerre.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida more than a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land IS once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour bordering Iraq.

___ Sewell reported from Beirut.
Islam Meghari, 42, stands next to a photo of his daughter Aila. The last time he saw her in person was five years ago, when she was two years old. Now living in London, Ont., he's still waiting for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to process the refugee application for his wife and their daughter, who remain in Jordan. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC News - image credit)

When Islam Meghari left his wife and daughter in Jordan to pave the way for a better life in Canada in 2018, he assumed they'd be joining him within six months  a year at tops.

But five years later and now living in London, Ont., Meghari is still waiting for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to process their refugee application.

"When I moved here, I was 38," said Meghari, an emergency room physician for 12 years in a number of different hospitals in Jordan and most recently in Saudi Arabia.

Meghari's wife, Faten Alshawahneh, is Jordanian, and she and the couple's daughter, seven-year-old Aila, live in Jordan today.

"I did not spend the best years of my daughter's life with her," Meghari said from the small house in London he had been renting, but has since left because his lease ran out.

Meghari now lives in a rooming house.

When he moved to Canada, Aila was two. He hasn't seen her in person since.

I have a lot of dreams and I thought I could do them, but maybe the time did not come yet. - Islam Meghari

According to the IRCC website, the department is currently processing more than two million applications  for refugee status, permanent residency and citizenship.

Nearly 900,000 of those applications are part of a massive backlog and have fallen outside of service standards.

"There are so so so many people in similar situations," said Toronto-based immigration lawyer Barbara Jackman. "It is cruel  there is no triaging of applications for humanitarian reasons.

Submitted at Islam Meghari

"Economic migrants get processed first and fast; everyone else waits, for years sometimes," she said.

CBC News asked IRCC for an update on the Meghari family's request and received this response: "Please note that IRCC media relations services are impacted by the current labour disruption. We invite you to visit the IRCC website, where you may find the information you are looking for." As of Friday afternoon, there was still no further IRCC response.

Story continues

More than 155,000 federal workers, members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, began strike action on April 19 over demands for a new contract.

A hard time finding meaningful work

Meghari is Palestinian and attended Omdurman Islamic University, Medical College in Sudan on a scholarship. He graduated in 2006 with a degree that is not recognized by the World Directory of Medical Schools, and therefore the Ontario government doesn't either.

Because of that, becoming a doctor in Canada was always going to be a long road, said Meghari.

So instead, Meghari had hoped to lean on his MBA in international health-care management from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management to find meaningful work. (That degree also included an on-site module at John Hopkins Carey Business School that he completed in 2017.)

But so far, no luck.

"I have a lot of dreams and I thought I could do them, but maybe the time did not come yet," said Meghari.

He also said part of the reason he came to Canada was because he had been having difficulty finding a suitable hospital for his dad in Saudi Arabia, and he didn't want his daughter to be put in the same position of finding proper health care for an ailing parent.

Jackman said Meghari's experiences in getting his family to join him in Canada aren't unique.

"The aspirations of so many are dashed once they get here and face unnecessary obstacles," she said.

"The settlement network is not consistent, funding is not secure for agencies trying to help with resettlement and it's so tied up with the racism and xenophobia that makes it more difficult for new immigrants and refugees to successfully resettle."

Submitted by Islam Meghari

Immigrants also have to contend with an unstable labour market and economy, she added.

Meghari worked for The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) as a personal support worker (PSW) during the pandemic. At the time, the federal government was fast tracking permanent resident applications for refugees who provided direct patient health care.

Meghari became a permanent resident in February 2022.

For now, to make ends meet, Meghari is working as an Uber and Skip the Dishes driver. He also cleans houses and apartment buildings, and continues to pad his resume, while also taking a clinical assistant course.

Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC News

Long-distance parenthood

The toughest part is being separated from his wife and daughter.

Meghari video chats with them multiple times a day  they're even growing some seedlings together. Meghari waters them while his daughter watches from behind the screen.

"I did not want her to disconnect from me. I love her so much," he said.

"I keep the lines connected between me and her. She doesn't go to bed until she talks to me. When she wakes up, when she comes back from school  four or five times a day since I came here."
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OMMEREN, Netherlands (AP)  An officially sanctioned hunt for a stash of precious jewelry looted by the Nazis during World War II and purportedly buried in a sleepy Dutch village has  like many previous searches  failed to unearth any treasure.

Archeologists and historians called into the village of Ommeren, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, pushed a detection device called a magnetometer along a row of fruit trees and across a field Monday morning and used a mechanical digger to excavate holes in the soggy soil.

They were rewarded with little more than a World War II-era bullet, some twisted scrap metal, a crumpled car wheel and muddy boots.

Municipal officials hope that the failure of the team  that included members of a local historical society and archeologists from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam  to find treasure will put an end to amateur sleuths visiting the village.

I think theres minimal chance of finding anything. We dug three holes here of places where we could find through the magnetometer. There was a signal, and none of these holes have found the treasure, said archeologist Martijn Bink. So I think this is all what well do. We wont go any further.

The local municipality helped fund the latest search after the publication early this year of a hand-drawn map with a red letter X supposedly marking the spot where Nazi troops buried jewelry stolen from a blown-up bank vault.

The appearance of the map sparked a modern-day treasure hunt, with prospectors using metal detectors digging up sites around Ommeren despite a ban.

A lot of people came digging here ... without permission. Caused a lot of inconvenience for the residents, said Pieter Neven of Buren municipality.

The treasure hunts began after the Dutch National Archive published a mountain of documents  as it does at the start of each year  including the map, which swiftly went viral.

Were quite astonished about the story itself. But the attention its getting ... as well, National Archive researcher Annet Waalkens said in January.

She said the story started in the summer of 1944 in the Nazi-occupied city of Arnhem  made famous by the star-studded movie A Bridge Too Far  when a bomb smashed a bank vault, scattering gold, jewelry and cash across a street.

German forces scooped up as much of the loot as they could and kept it in ammunition boxes, she said, citing an account by a German soldier interviewed by Dutch authorities after the war. As the Germans were pushed back by an Allied advance, they buried the ammunition boxes in Ommeren, according to the soldier's account.

Dutch authorities recovered the map and searched Ommeren shortly after the war without finding anything. Then the scent went cold until publication of the map triggered the January hunt.

Monday's archeological efforts also dug up nothing and may have buried the last hope of recovering the loot.

___

Corder reported from The Hague.
Staff Reporter

Richelle obtained a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the Far Eastern University in Manila, the Philippines. She was a junior reporter for Marianas Variety from 2009 to 2010, and from 2014 to 2015. In the Maldives, she worked as a news reporter and marketing executive. In her free time, shes a painter, pianist, and mom baker.
State Police at Carlisle said they are looking for five unknown men after the theft of four vehicles from a Southampton Township dealership early Sunday morning.

Police said four Black men wearing dark hoodies and in their 20s to 30s, in addition to a fifth man in a black sedan, arrived at RPM Autos dealership on Peiper Road in Southampton Township about 2 a.m. Sunday.

The men stole a 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, a 2019 Dodge Durango SRT, a 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and a 2020 Dodge Charger.

Police said the group fled and went to a Sheetz in Shippensburg Borough to fuel up the vehicles. They then got onto Interstate 81 north, switched to the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Middlesex Township interchange to head toward Philadelphia and were last seen about 4 a.m. traveling at a high-rate of speed near Bowmansdale along the turnpike.

Police ask anyone with information to contact them at 717-249-2121.
A graduation ceremony was held for the Guam Invasive Species Detector Dog Team at the University of Guam in Mangilao on Friday, April 28, 2023. From left, Mary "Ally" Worcester with detector dog Elvis; Louise Marie Baza with detector dog Na'i; Tristen Lizama with detector dog Maui; and Garrett Certeza, with detector dog Penny.
A sign next to the Eagles Field area is seen Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Mangilao. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero issued a statement on Sunday, April 30, 2023, calling it a "lost opportunity" as the deadline to sign the Eagles Field lease with the federal government passed.
NoahBryant/Getty Images/iStockphoto

HARDIN  A Hardin man is facing charge an assault charge after a disturbance in Calhoun County.

The Calhoun County Sheriff's Department said it received a report of a disturbance in progress April 23 on Godar Hollow Road. A deputy and an Illinois Conservation Police officer responded.
Sam Edwards/Getty Images

A Jerseyville student has been celebrated for academic performance in nursing.

Jody Crowe was honored by McKendree University for excellence in the study of nursing for 2023. Crowe was one of several McKendree pupils recognized for high academic achievement.
Thousands of elementary and high school students throughout Illinois could lose access to after-school and summer programs in the upcoming fiscal year but advocates are hoping that either the General Assembly or the federal government can keep that from happening.

The programs, known as 21st Century Community Learning Centers, are a federally funded through program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education that targets students in low-performing and high-poverty schools.

Many of the programs offer academic enrichment activities to help students meet state and local academic standards. They also offer literacy and other educational services to the families of students enrolled in the programs.

Many of these students have child care responsibilities for younger siblings, mental health concerns, and are victims of domestic violence, just to name a few, said Kimberly David, associate director for Project Success of Vermilion County. The relationships that our staff build with these students to help ensure that they stay the course and finish high school are very important. Several of our students have utilized our program time to apply for college and jobs with the encouragement of our staff.

David was among several people who turned out for the Illinois State Board of Educations monthly board meeting in Springfield urging the board to ask the General Assembly to cover a funding gap that is estimated at $15 million.

Illinois State Board of Education spokeswoman Jackie Matthews said the funding gap is the result of a miscalculation the agency made when it tried to estimate how much federal money would be available next year.

Each year, she said, the Illinois State Board of Education awards grants to school districts and other community-based organizations that provide after-school, before-school and summer programming. The grants typically run for five years and at the end of that period, they can either be renewed or the recipient can apply again through a competitive selection process.

Under federal rules, recipients generally are not allowed to carry over unspent funds from one year to the next. But those rules were relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were forced to close and no services were being provided.

Matthews said agency officials were unable to accurately estimate the impact that rule change would have and, as a result, it made commitments to distribute more funds in the upcoming fiscal year than will actually be available.

Illinois State Board of Education only discovered the error recently and, on April 10, it notified organizations whose grants expire at the end of this fiscal year that their grants will not be renewed and there will not be a new grant competition for them to enter.

We recognize the late timing of this communication and ISBEs error in not appropriately forecasting grant funding, the agency said in the notification letter. We are committed to providing earlier notice going forward, so that grantees have ample time to plan and prepare for the conclusion of the grant cycle.

The advocacy group ACT Now Illinois, a coalition of after-school service providers, estimates that 12,000 students will lose access to programs as a result while roughly 550 after-school staff members will lose their jobs.

Teresa Dothard-Campbell, who runs a program for middle school students in East Moline School District 37, said her program will not be directly affected this year but she has heard from colleagues at other sites who are being affected.

And I can tell you that it was very disheartening last week to sit around a table and to hear about the impact that not being able to be funded was going to have on the students in our community, she said. In my program alone, we serve 475 students out of a student population of 1,100 students. We offer over 22 after-school clubs or before-school clubs. And we are enriched with bringing in community partners as well to be able to provide those experiences.

Advocates urged the Illinois State Board of Education to seek additional funding through the General Assembly to prevent the programs whose grants are expiring from closing. But Matthews said the agency does not intend to do that. Instead, it is asking the federal government for permission to use pandemic relief funds to cover the amount that was over-allocated for next year.
Groups in Illinois are pushing legislation that would restore voting rights, including for people now incarcerated.

According to Stand Up America, Illinois has "the chance to make history" by being the first state to restore voting rights for everyone. Last year the group conducted a poll which found close to 60% of Illinois voters support legislative efforts that guarantee the right to vote for all those 18 and older, including those completing a sentence.

Avalon Betts-Gaston, a native of Chicago, said that in 2015 she was "wrongfully convicted" for wire fraud and served time in federal prison. Today she leads the Illinois Alliance for Re-Entry and Justice, one of the advocacy groups fighting for voter restoration. Betts-Gaston said the right to vote creates "community cohesion" from inside or outside of jail.

"When people are connected to their community and to their families and in these ways, through civic engagement and things like that, they are less likely to commit harm in their current environment and also commit harm in the communities once they return," she said.

Those opposed to voter restoration argue that when someone is incarcerated, they should lose their right to vote as part of the punishment, Betts-Gaston said. She counters by saying the sentence is the punishment and everyone has the right to advocate for their community.

Nearly 30,000 Illinoisans are disenfranchised because of a felony conviction, according to The Sentencing Project.

Katrina Phidd, communications director for Chicago Votes, said they support voter restoration because they "believe democracy works better when more people are involved." Phidd said those in prison are still citizens and have needs, many of whom have families, and that the dehumanization of the prison population is an issue that complicates measures like this one, and that many are not aware of who really is in the state's prisons.

"We also know this is a racial issue too, I mean, 55% of people in Illinois prisons are Black even though Black people make up less than 15% of the overall state population. Disenfranchisement and that silencing  it has long-term consequences," she said.

Phidd said the Illinois Constitution says the right to vote must be "restored not later than upon completion of one's sentence." She said to be compliant with the Constitution, this proposed legislation says a person's right to vote would be restored two weeks after a conviction.
Raffi Krikorian, MD, a local physician with nearly 30 years of experience treating venous and cardiovascular conditions throughout Missouri and Illinois, promoted limb preservation during Limb Loss Awareness Month in April. Nearly 2 million Americans live with limb loss or limb difference, and more than 28 million are at risk of amputation surgery.

Krikorian is a member of a global Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) group which is dedicated to improving the quality of life of people experiencing limb loss. CLI is the advanced stage of peripheral artery disease (PAD), which results from buildup of plaque. This buildup of plaque narrows or blocks blood flow, reducing circulation of blood to the legs, feet, or hands. The group advocates for people and their families to look at all of their options before deciding on amputation.

The key to limb preservation is early intervention with the patient, by assessing the limb and then developing a treatment plan to preserve it, said Krikorian. It can be devastating for the patient to deal with limb loss and to think about amputation. It is important to explore all options and seek a second opinion if necessary, before moving forward. Too many times in the past, Ive seen amputations happen as a result of not taking steps sooner to help preserve the limb.

Krikorian advocates for those suffering from CLI and encourages his patients and their loved ones to get a simple diagnostic test, called an angiogram, to determine the amount of blood flowing through veins and arteries and whether there are any blockages.

If blockages are found, Krikorian recommends a minimally invasive procedure called deep vein arterialization (DVA) as an alternative to amputation. DVA involves taking the patients own vein and turning it into an artery, thereby restoring blood flow to the limb and preventing limb loss.

Saving someones leg or foot doubles that persons chance of overall survival and makes a tremendous difference in their quality of life, said Krikorian. DVA is a solution that can preserve the limb and hopefully improve the patients overall health outcome as compared to an amputation.

Virtue Vein and Lymphatic Center has seven locations throughout Southwest Missouri and Illinois, including its flagship location at 3760 South Lindbergh Blvd, Suite 101 in St. Louis. With 25 years of experience in this field, Dr. Krikorian is one of only a few board-certified cardiologists throughout the St. Louis region to also practice in vascular, venous, and lymphatic health. The private practice specializes in offering its patients cutting-edge solutions to their unique vein problems. For more information about Virtue Vein and Lymphatic Center, go to www.VirtueVein.com or call 314-849-0923.
The year was 1934. The Great Depression ravaged the United States.

Unemployment was only starting to turn around, but was still at a painfully high rate of 22%. Nearly a quarter of Americans were out of work, and to make it worse, weather and drought in the Midwest destroyed 35 million acres of farmland. Hundreds of millions of acres were at risk, and many people were in danger of starvation, while others chose to take their own lives in increasing numbers.

Things were not only terrible in the United States, but there was uncertainty abroad as well. Germanys Adolf Hitler had declared himself the fuhrer, Joseph Stalin was massacring people in Russia, and Chairman Mao Zedongs totalitarian communist doctrine began to rise. Americas position in the world was uncertain. This was a time of chaos, change and desperation worldwide.

We were on edge and terrified of what could come, having already seen World War I and a global pandemic. While the Roaring Twenties brought the Gilded Age and exciting waves of innovation, the economy collapsed in 1929, leaving the American population in desperation and fear. Some of this rings eerily familiar and ominous to us today as we wonder where the banking crisis, technological disruption, and war in Ukraine will lead.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in a challenging situation as he tried to figure out how to rebuild America. He decided that the route to recovery was a series of programs he called the New Deal. In our history classes, many of us learned that this monolithic government program used brute force to throw money at infrastructure and employment programs to get the economy moving again. But in fact, a large part of the New Deal involved getting the private sector to start reinvesting and help reduce risks for investors by making them feel comfortable putting their money into building the future of America.

FDR created the Reconstruction Finance Corp., which acted as an intermediary and a guarantor of loans from private lenders. Private companies and private investors put their money into the investments managed by the corporation, and these investors saw private returns with guarantees from the federal government. This brought back investors confidence, created more jobs, and provided the capital needed for the entrepreneurs to create the jobs that built a path out of the Great Depression.

The Rural Electrification Administration similarly helped reduce the risk for investors by bringing electricity to rural areas disconnected from the grid. There was little private financial incentive for them to build the infrastructure to connect rural America to electricity, but because of this program, they were able to reach them. Rural America joined the modern economy, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses to serve them through radio, television and household electronic goods and appliances, which they could now power with electricity.

This is a virtuous cycle where the innovation and entrepreneurial class is empowered, driving progress forward. Whether within small businesses or big companies, they saw solutions to problems and created the products and services to deliver those solutions. In this way, the effort to end the Great Depression became an era that transformed the way we live through enabling platforms and entrepreneurship.

The New Deal was ultimately successful. The economy got moving again, it then doubled throughout World War II and continued growing to create long-term growth and innovation. It created an enormous middle class in the United States.

The quality of life was unchallenged in the world, and the fruits of growth were shared more widely than before. Our opportunity is to create a better, more sustainable world for humanity rather than destroy what it has built through wars.

Our task today  to make the peaceful transition to a sustainable economy  is one that is full of abundance and opportunity for all. In many ways, we are still benefiting from these efforts today, and we have many lessons we can take from this experience if we choose to remember what we learned.
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I like to read things that I disagree with.

Doing so not only gives me greater empathy for those with whom I differ, but every once in a while it changes my own viewpoint.

A movement is afoot to censor what books libraries and schools can offer.

Such efforts are pernicious malignancies that metastasize from community to community, from state to state.

Dr. Sarah Bonner, who until last month taught in Heyworth school district, learned about this evil firsthand. The English teacher in the rural McLean County school district became the subject of a school board meeting because of one of the books offered in her class.

The tome in question is titled This Book Is Gay. It explores topics teenagers encounter as they navigate through adolescence: dating, sex and safe sex practices.

And, no, it wasnt required reading. It was one of more than 100 books that students in her class could choose from.

According to the reporting of my friend Edith Brady-Lunny, the debate went viral after a pupil published images of certain pages on social media.

More than 80 people attended the next school board meeting. They didnt come bearing pitchforks and torches, but they certainly wanted Bonners head. And before the meeting was over, she was forced to quit.

Our kids deserve learning experiences that prepare them for our world and not just our town, she told the school board.

Ironically, Bonner quit the same week Illinois legislators voted to withhold funding from public schools and libraries that ban books. The bill has passed the House and is pending in the Senate.

Unfortunately, pressure to censor comes from both the left and the right.

Last year, my own daughters class was reading To Kill a Mockingbird in a Springfield school when a parent complained about a racial epitaph used in the book. A school administrator ordered the class to discontinue studying the classic. Some of the youngsters never learned how the anti-racist tome ended.

Increasingly, our society is losing any sense of nuance.

In the context of the book, a life lesson is being taught  that even though a particular slur is common, it shouldnt be said.

Isnt that the lesson we want our youngsters to learn, in this age where that racial vulgarity increasingly finds its way into music and popular culture?

According to the American Library Association these are some of the most banned books:

"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee

"The Catcher in the Rye," by JD Salinger

"The Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck

"The Color Purple," by Alice Walker

"1984," by George Orwell

"Brave New World," by Aldous Huxley

"Native Son," by Richard Wright

"Slaughterhouse-Five," by Kurt Vonnegut

"A Separate Peace," by John Knowles

"The Lord of the Flies," by William Golding

The Illinois legislation would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure.

House Bill 2789 is being pushed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the Illinois State Library and administers grants for public and school libraries.

Its a measure whose time has come.

Most of the opposition to the bill came from Republican lawmakers who said it takes control away from local library and school boards.

But my prediction is that in coming years if this bill becomes law, folks on the left as well as the right will be frustrated because they wont be able to remove books they dont agree with from library shelves.

It is commendable that parents are monitoring what their children are reading. But its deplorable that some adults believe they can use government to keep other peoples children from reading something they disagree with.
A spate of recent shootings serve as a depressing reminder that accidentally ringing the wrong doorbell, driving to an incorrect residence, or mistakenly getting into the incorrect vehicle can be deadly.

In Kansas City, 16-year-old honors student Ralph Yarl mistakenly arrived at the wrong home while looking for his younger siblings. There he was shot and severely wounded by 84-year-old Andrew Lester, a chain of events that shocked residents and sent citizens and the country on edge.

Lester said he was intimidated by the young teens size and height. For the record, Ralph Yarl is 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, hardly an imposing human being. Its more likely Yarls Black skin was what intimidated the elder Lester.

Two days later, a similar tragedy occurred in Hebron, New York, when 65-year-old Kevin Monahan shot and killed a 20-year-old white woman, Kaylin Gillis, when she and her friends mistakenly drove up the driveway of Monahans house.

Kevin Monahan is still unrepentant. About the only significant news we have heard regarding the sexagenarian is he was prone to getting into verbal altercations and routinely threaten his neighbors with physical violence.

That was followed by an incident in central Texas, where a high school cheerleader and her friends were shot at after mistakenly getting into the car of Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. One of the teens, Payton Washington, is recuperating from life-threatening injuries.

Theres also 24-year-old Robert Louis Singletary of Hillsborough County, North Carolina, who was apprehended by Florida authorities after allegedly shooting at his neighbors after their daughter wandered into his yard. The little girl was shot in her lower jaw, but thankfully her injuries were non-life-threatening.

While not as much information has been dispensed about Rodriguez and Singletary, it does not take the IQ of a rocket scientist to understand that both men are deeply emotionally disturbed individuals. `

Its not uncommon for someone to visit the wrong house or ring the doorbell of the wrong neighbor. How many of you have tried to unlock a car that isnt yours? You should consider yourselves lucky you werent the victim of some deliriously paranoid individual with a gun.

Most people who own firearms are responsible gun owners. But there is a small but dangerous segment bereft of any reasonable level of emotional discipline and should be forfeited the option of owning them. These are the people who harbor several deficits of control impulse. They are a danger to you, me, your neighbors, your loved ones, children, and others. They are literal menaces to society.

By carelessly and recklessly endorsing so-called stand-your-ground laws, Republicans have engineered a misperception that puts the lives of innocent people in jeopardy. Thankfully, in more than two-thirds of the states that have adopted such laws, shooters must be able to establish that their fear was reasonable. Paranoia, suspicion, or racial bias is not a justifiable defense. I guess thats something.

My late father was a gun enthusiast. He had a gun collection in our home that was locked out out of the safety of us children. He was a hunter, and while he was no right-wing conservative, he did believe and supported the Second Amendment. However, he (like most reasonable people) believed that background checks for gun purchases should be required. Psychological evaluations and other precautions should be necessary before any human being is allowed access to any sort of weapon.

Its encouraging that all four men are being charged, but these tragic incidents will continue until more Americans demand tougher gun laws from lawmakers who are too cowardly in taking on the NRA and powerful gun lobbyists.
Erdogan says Turkish forces killed IS chief in Syria View Photo

ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Sunday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday.

Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations without discriminating against any of them, Erdogan said in the interview.

A member of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces military police told The Associated Press that the MIT clashed with IS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, Al-Qurayshi, who was hiding in a building on the farm, blew himself up. Investigators were searching the hideout for evidence and other information.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor added that Turkish drones flew over the area, as Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups closed off roads leading to the area where the clashes took place after Ankara put them on high alert.

There was no immediate confirmation from the IS group.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants. The country controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State.

He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022. He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa.

None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be related. Al-Qurayshi is not their real name but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islams Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and al-Qurayshi serves as part of an IS leaders nom de guerre.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq. 

Sewell reported from Beirut.

By SUZAN FRASER and ABBY SEWELL

Associated Press
3 killed in Southern California small plane crash View Photo

BIG BEAR CITY, Calif. (AP)  A single-engine plane crashed near a California mountain airport on Monday, killing all three people aboard, authorities said.

The Beechcraft A36 went down about 2 p.m. near Big Bear City Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane struck a vacant lot, and there was no fire, fire officials said.

The victims werent immediately identified.

The cause of the crash was under investigation. Weather reports said it was partly cloudy at the time of the crash.

Big Bear Airport is in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Lake, a popular resort area about a two-hours drive east of Los Angeles.

It was the second deadly small plane crash in three days in Southern California. On Saturday, one person was killed when a single-engine plane slammed into a grassy hillside above homes in a Los Angeles neighborhood amid dense fog, authorities said.

The Cessna C172 crashed around 8:45 p.m. Saturday on the citys west side, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Van Nuys Airport, the Los Angeles Fire Department and Federal Aviation Administration said.

Joubin Solemani was at home with his family in the upscale Beverly Crest area when they all heard a loud crash.

We thought it might be a car crash. But we looked outside and didnt see anything. We didnt know what the heck it was, Solemani said Sunday. Then search-and-rescue showed up and were all over the hillside.

After searching for several hours in darkness and thick ground-level fog, crews found the crash site and one person dead in the wreckage, the fire department said in a statement. The pilot was the planes lone occupant, the FAA said.

When the sun came up Sunday, Solemani said he could see the plane a few hundred feet (meters) above his property in the Santa Monica Mountains. Its totally mangled, he told The Associated Press.

The pilot was not immediately identified. Fire department personnel recovered the body Sunday afternoon.

The plane avoided hitting power lines and a large water tank and, officials said, there was minimal fire.

An air traffic controller initially reported the plane as missing after losing radar contact with the aircraft while it was en route to Van Nuys Airport, the fire department said in an alert shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
NEW YORK (AP)  A magazine columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in a department store's dressing room two decades before he became president acknowledged Monday that she never followed her own advice to readers that they report sexual attacks to police.

E. Jean Carroll told a federal civil court jury that the reason was generational.

The 79-year-old said that as "a member of the Silent Generation, she was conditioned to keep her chin up and not to complain.

The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for somebody my age, she testified as Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina cross-examined Carroll about why she never went to authorities about the alleged rape, which Trump denies. Carroll said she had called police only once in her life, when she feared the mailbox at a home where she was staying was going to be damaged on Halloween.

You would call police if a mailbox was attacked, Tacopina asked, but not if you yourself were attacked?

Carroll replied that at the time, she was ashamed of what she alleges happened. She later added that she was mindful of Trump's power and connections in New York and didn't think police would take me seriously.

Research has repeatedly found that rapes and sexual assaults are among the types of violent crime least likely to be reported to police. An annual U.S. crime victimization survey found that less than 23% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported in 2021 and 2020, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Carroll on Monday wrapped up three days of testimony in the trial stemming from her lawsuit against Trump. The trial is due to continue Tuesday with other witnesses on her behalf. Trump, who traveled to Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course at his resort near Aberdeen, Scotland, has not attended the trial. Jurors are expected to see parts of a recording of him answering questions under oath last fall.

Carroll has said the then-real estate magnate raped her in the spring of 1996 at the tony Bergdorf Goodman store after they went into a dressing room together in an encounter that she said was fun and flirtatious until Trump became violent. She said she eventually kneed him and fled.

Trump, 76, says that he was never at the store with Carroll and never knew her beyond a fleeting moment when a 1987 picture was taken of them in a group setting.

Shortly before Carroll first took the stand last week, Trump called the rape accusation a fraudulent & false story on his social media platform.

Seeking to cast Carroll's allegation as fiction, Tacopina on Monday brought up a 2012 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in which a male character briefly speaks about consensually acting out a sexual fantasy that involves bursting in on a woman trying on lingerie in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. Jurors saw an email in which someone mentioned the episode to Carroll after she went public with her claim in 2019.

Carroll testified that she has never seen the episode, didn't know about it before receiving the email and didn't make up her accusation off TV. She said she wasn't entirely surprised at the points of similarity.

The Law & Order writers are very good about keying into the psyches of their viewers," said Carroll, asserting that many people have misplaced fantasies about rape.

Her renewed testimony came shortly after Tacopina asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is overseeing the civil proceedings, to declare a mistrial because of rulings he made that Tacopina said favored Carroll. The judge rejected the request.

Carroll filed suit against Trump in November, under a New York state law that temporarily allows sexual assault victims to sue over alleged attacks that happened even decades ago.

Amid a flurry of public denials and insults from Trump that prompted Carroll to add a defamation claim to the lawsuit, Trump has insisted that Carroll was motivated by political reasons and a desire to sell copies of her 2019 memoir.

Carroll has testified that she spoke out because of the #MeToo movement, which gained prominence in 2017.

Carroll wrote an advice column for Elle magazine for nearly three decades, and Tacopina confronted her Monday with instances in which she advised contacting law enforcement authorities after people wrote in about sexual assaults and threats from partners and exes.

I always  in most cases  advised my readers to go to the police, Carroll acknowledged.

Tacopina also pointed out that although Carroll's memoir described sexual assaults by multiple men over the course of her life, Trump was the only one she sued. And, although Trump has insisted he had no sexual encounter  indeed, no anything  with Carroll, his attorney asked her whether what allegedly happened could somehow be viewed as consensual.

It was not consensual, she said emphatically.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
UMAN, Ukraine (AP)  Relatives and friends cried next to coffins on Sunday as they buried children and others killed in a Russian missile attack on this central Ukrainian city, while fighting in the 14-month-long war claimed more lives elsewhere.

Almost all of the 23 victims of the attack on Friday died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in Uman. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said six children were among the dead.

Mykhayl Shulha, 6, cried and hugged relatives next to the coffin of his 11-year-old sister Sofia Shulha during Sunday's funeral, while others paid respects to a 17-year-old boy.

As mourners held candles, crossed themselves and sang, the priest at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Quick to Hear waved a vessel containing incense over the coffins. He said the deaths had hit the entire community hard.

I live nearby," said Father Fyodor Botsu. "I personally knew the children, the littlest, from when they were very young, and I personally baptized them in this church. Im worried with everyone since I have children and Im a citizen of this country and have been living in this city for 15 years."

He said he prayed "that the war should end and peace should come to our homes, city and country.

At the damaged building in Uman, people brought flowers and photos of the victims.

Russia's war brought more deaths elsewhere Sunday.

The governor of a Russian region bordering Ukraine said four people were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack. The rockets hit homes in the village of Suzemka, 9 kilometers (6 miles) from the Ukrainian border, said Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz. He said two other residents were injured and that defense systems had knocked down some of the incoming shells.

Bryansk and the neighboring Belgorod region have experienced sporadic cross-border shelling throughout the war. In March, two people were reported killed in what officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs in the Bryansk region.

Also Sunday, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said his Kherson region in Ukraine came under Russian artillery fire 27 times in the past 24 hours, killing one civilian.

An expected spring counteroffensive by Ukraine could be concentrated in the Kherson region, a gateway to Crimea and other Russian-occupied territory in the southern Ukrainian mainland. Ukrainian forces drove Russian forces out of the regional capital Kherson last year, a significant defeat for Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy said the counteroffensive wouldn't wait for the delivery of all promised military equipment.

I would have really wanted to wait for everything that was promised," Zelenskyy told Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian journalists. "But it happens that the terms (of weapons deliveries and counteroffensive), unfortunately, do not coincide a little bit. And, I will say frankly, we pay attention to the weather.

Ukraine is particularly hopeful that it will receive Western fighter jets, but Zelenskyy said his forces wouldn't delay the counteroffensive for that, so as not to "reassure Russia that we still have a few months to train on the planes, and only then will we start.

Zelenskyy said he spoke Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron about the weapons supply, and was pleased with its speed and specificity.

Macron's office said he reiterated Frances commitment to provide Ukraine all the aid necessary to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and discussed long-term European military aid.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group that is leading Russia's battle in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut gave an even more precise timetable for the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Ukrainian military will launch the counteroffensive by May 15 because by then strong rains will have stopped and the soil will be dry enough for tanks and artillery to move, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview with a Russian journalist posted Saturday.

In other battlefield developments, Ukraine's northern command said the Sumy and Chernihiv regions, which border Bryansk and Belgorod, came under fire 11 times during the night on Sunday.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a 48-year-old resident of Nikopol was killed, and two were injured, in Russian shelling, according to Gov. Serhii Lysak. He said six multi-story buildings and six private houses were damaged, as well as several other buildings, gas pipelines, and a power line.
Turnout at the referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan on April 30 stood at 84.54 percent of the number of citizens included in the lists, the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Uzbekistan Zainiddin Nizamkhodjaev said at the briefing.

According to Nizamkhodjaev, a total of 19,722,809 people were registered to participate in the referendum, of which 16,673,189 citizens voted for amendments to the Constitution.

The chairman of the CEC said that some 90.21 percent of the voters were in favor of changing the Constitution.

On April 30, a referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the country was held in Uzbekistan.

Amendments to the Constitution are aimed at strengthening the functions of Parliament to appoint the heads of supervisory and law enforcement agencies, while part of the powers of the president is transferred to the supreme legislative body. In addition, it is proposed to increase the term of the presidency from 5 to 7 years.
Authorities are trying to locate an 8-day-old infant boy and his mother, Sarah Jane Diggs.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department has issued an Endangered Person Advisory for the missing 8-day-old boy that occurred at 1119 Madison 419, Fredericktown on Friday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Anyone with knowledge of Diggs whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Sheriffs Department.

Missing is Kai Noel Joseph Gutierrez Nickel, a white infant boy. He is listed as 1 foot, 9 inches in length and weighing 8 pounds. The Madison County Sheriffs Department was approached by the Missouri Childrens Division for help in finding the infant.

The patrol advisory reports Gutierrez Nickel was supposed to be taken into protective custody. However, Sarah Jane Diggs, the biological mother, who is believed to have Gutierrez Nickel, has not been located.

The patrol advisory describes Diggs as a white woman, age 28, height 5 feet and 4 inches, weighing 200 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone seeing the missing person, suspect, associate, or vehicle, or anyone having any information related to the endangered missing person should immediately dial 911 to contact the nearest law enforcement agency or call the Madison County Sheriff's Department at 573-783-2234.

The Endangered Person Advisory is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement and local broadcasters to rapidly disseminate information about a missing and endangered person to law enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and the public. The Endangered Person Advisory is initiated solely by Missouri law enforcement agencies using the following criteria:

1. The circumstances fail to meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert? (If they do meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert, authorities follow the protocol to issue an AMBER Alert).

2. The person is missing under unexplained, involuntary, or suspicious circumstances.

3. The person is believed to be in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, environment or weather conditions, in the company of a potentially dangerous person or some other factor that may put the person in peril.

4. There is information that could help the public assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.
THE family of murdered Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist Moreblessing Ali says it is failing to locate her body after State security agents seized it last year when it was found dumped in a well.

Alis family has vowed that her remains will only be buried after CCC interim chairman Job Sikhala who is also their lawyer has been released from remand prison.

Sikhala has been in pre-trial incarceration since his arrest on June 14 last year.

Moreblessings funeral has been one of Zimbabwes longest in history after her dismembered remains were discovered in a disused well in Chitungwizas Nyatsime area in June last year after she was allegedly murdered by known Zanu PF activist Pius Mukandi (alias Jamba) two weeks earlier.

Her United Kingdom-based brother, Washington, told NewsDay yesterday that the family is being denied access to her body at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals mortuary where the State claims its being kept.

If I can be honest with you, I dont know where the body is. If I can take you back, the body was once at Chitungwiza General Hospital mortuary, Washington said.

The body was stolen without the familys knowledge and we were told that it was taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital.

When my brothers and nephews tried to go and see the body, they were denied access.

No one saw the body. The State claimed that they had transferred the body to Parirenyatwa. So whether it is still there, we no longer know.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi yesterday said: People should state exactly who is denying them access to get the body.

They should not just generalise. They must be specific on who is doing it rather than casting aspersions over every State institution.

Washington, however, said the family would soon demand to see the body once Sikhala has been released from prison.

One of the worst things is that Sikhala is still locked up and he is the one who was doing some major investigations, being the family lawyer, he said.

He is the one who would have been in a much better position of really guiding us in terms of where to go and what to do.

As a family we just thought that Job was arrested because of the family.

We just feel that Sikhala is part of the family and you cant bury another part of the family when somebody who has been on the forefront is in prison.

Washington also revealed that the family had engaged Members of Parliament in the UK so that they intervene in Sikhalas case.

Ali went missing on 24 May last year after she was reportedly attacked and dragged away from a bar in Beatrice by Mukandi and her dismembered body was recovered from a well in the Nyatsime area two weeks later.

 NewsDay

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Yves here. This post provides an important insight to the rise in influence of the much-demonized non-corporate right wing: that its success results significantly from voters not changing their beliefs per se, but changing which issues they weigh heavily when selecting parties and candidates. We can see the liberal version of that process here in the US, when the rollback of Roe v Wade led many voters to greatly increase the importance of voting rights in their decision whether and how to vote.

This finding also helps explain why voting patterns tend to shift to the right in the wake of economic crises. Those lower in the social/employment pecking order were already in a more precarious position. If social safety nets dont provide enough help, they often rely on family or religious group support. Its also not hard to see that more desperate personal circumstances would lead to resentment of competition from immigrants.

By Oren Danieli, Assistant Professor, School of Economics Tel Aviv University; Noam Gidron, Senior Lecturer Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Shinnosuke Kikuchi; and Roee Levy Senior Lecturer, School of Economics Tel Aviv University. Originally published at VoxEU

Support for populist radical right parties has increased dramatically across Europe. This column looks at drivers of the rise of the populist right between 2005 and 2020and finds that the primary driver in Europe is changing priorities of voters rather than changes in party position or voter attributes. Older, non-unionised, less-educated men are particularly, and increasingly, inclined to prioritise nationalist cultural issues over a partys economic positions.

Across Europe and beyond, the populist radical right is gaining traction. Populist radical right parties have not only increased their share of the vote  they also join coalitions more often and in some cases lead governments. As discussed in various columns on Vox, this comes with a price: populists in power negatively affect growth and erode stability (Schularick et al. 2022). It is no wonder that a large body of scholarship across the social sciences seeks to identify the drivers of growing support for the populist right (Tabellini 2019, Rooduijn 2019, Cremaschi et al. 2023).

Three narratives regarding the rise of the populist radical right emerge from this body of scholarship. One narrative suggests that changes in parties positions  for instance, the convergence of mainstream parties around a similar ideological programme  explain why the populist radical right attracts growing support (e.g. Berman and Kundnani 2021). According to the second narrative, public opinion has shifted in nativist and authoritarian directions  the directions that benefit the populist radical right  following economic shocks and exposure to immigrants (e.g. Hangartner et al. 2019, Ballard-Rosa et al. 2021). Yet a third narrative proposes that public opinion has not changed drastically; instead, it is voters priorities that shifted (Bartels 2017, Bonikowski 2017). Based on this hypothesis, votes may change even if voters attitudes remain the same. For example, imagine a voter who always opposed immigration but did not much care about the issue. As immigration comes to carry more weight, this voter may gravitate toward the populist radical right even without changing her mind on the topic.

How much of the rise of the populist radical right in Europe does each of these factors  change in party positions, change in voters attitudes, and change in voters priorities  account for? This is the question we explore in a recent paper (Danieli et al. 2022). We combine information on partisan positions from the Comparative Manifesto Project with data on voters attitudes as captured in the Integrated Values Surveys collected from 2005 to 2020. We estimate priorities based on a probabilistic voting model.

We analyse this rich dataset using a decomposition method adopted from labour economics (Fortin et al. 2011). The decomposition approach allows us to gauge how much support for the populist radical right would change when letting only one factor change and holding constant the other factors. This is what we find.

Decomposition Results

Figure 1 summarises the results of the decomposition analysis. The y-axis shows what percentage of the aggregated rise in support for populist radical right parties is generated by changes in party positions, changes in attitudes, and changes in priorities. We add a residual category for the entry of new parties and for other factors we cannot capture with our data (e.g. the quality of these parties leadership). On the x-axis, we divide our data into three time periods based on the years in which the surveys were fielded.

We first observe that changes in party positions explain very little of the changing support for the populist radical right within the time period covered in our data. The action takes place on the side of voters, but not so much in voters attitudes as in their priorities.

Figure 1 Decomposition results

Changes in voters attitudes explain only a small share  about 7%  of the rise in support for the populist radical right. This is an important corrective to a common claim in the media that there has been a slide to the right in public opinion (Mallet 2022). To further examine this issue, Figure 2 investigates changes in attitudes on cultural issues that often feature in populist radical right campaigns. Higher positive values on the y-axis denote more conservative attitudes. Each grey line represents one country and the blue line represents aggregated public opinion across countries. Clearly, there is no unison conservative turn: if anything, on some issues, public opinion has become more progressive. Scholars, media observers and political operatives should not be quick to accept the claim that public opinion is moving in the direction of the populist radical right.

Figure 2 Change in attitudes

How Priorities Have Changed

While attitudes have not changed dramatically on most issues, what have changed are voters priorities. This is by far the strongest result of our decomposition analysis: changes in priorities explain around 45% of the increase in support for the populist right according to our analysis.

To more closely examine which issues gained priority, we distinguish between economic and cultural policy domains. Economic issues deal with the question of who gets what, while cultural issues are those that more directly pertain to the question of who we are. While far from perfect, this distinction follows previous research on populism (Margalit 2019).

Figure 3 traces changes over time in the estimated weights voters attach to economic and cultural issues. Positive weights imply support for right-wing positions, while negative weights imply support for left-wing positions. The further away voters are from zero on the x-axis, the stronger an issue weighs on their voting decision. For economic issues, we see that over time the distribution of weights has become more narrowly concentrated around zero  that is, more voters are increasingly indifferent to economic policies. In contrast, we see a right-ward turn in the distribution of weights on the cultural dimension. This means that a growing number of voters now put more weight on culturally conservative positions when voting. But who are these people whose vote choice is increasingly shaped by their cultural attitudes?

Figure 3 Change in weights

This change in priorities has not been homogenous across the population. In additional analyses reported in our paper, we find that conservative cultural issues now more strongly shape the voting decisions of men, those without a college degree, those who are not unionised, older individuals, and those who reside in rural areas. It is not surprising that previous analyses have located these groups at the core of the electoral coalition supporting the populist radical right.

Political Change Through Change in Priorities

What does this all boil down to? When we see parties gain support, it is easy to assume that this is because public opinion is moving in their direction. But our work suggests this is not necessarily the case. Electoral upheavals may follow not only a change in attitudes but also a change in priorities, which is what we find in our analysis of support for the populist radical right.

The degree to which our findings travel outside of Europe is an important topic for future research. There is some evidence that in the US, support for Donald Trump should be understood on the background of changing priorities (Sides et al. 2022) and the activation of pre-existing worldviews (Mason et al. 2021). Whether the same applies to non-Western cases of populism  for instance, Brazil  is yet to be explored. While our work focuses on Europe, our decomposition tools could be used in other cases to expand the scope of the comparative conversation on support for the populist radical right.

More broadly, our work underscores the importance of political priorities. We still have limited understanding of how priorities change  and how to theorise and empirically capture those changes. We hope our study guides future research into the drastic shift in priorities over the last couple of decades that we uncover in our work.

See original post for references
Field of fresh cow pats welcomes first dung beetles to be rewilded in France The Guardian

Yachts Private Security Sparks Firefight After Mistaking Yemens Coast Guard for Pirates Jalopnik

WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS ARE STUDYING WHY SOME RUFFED GROUSE LOSE THEIR FEAR OF HUMANS The Allegheny Front

Climate/Environment

Water

#COVID-19

As the halls of the @WHCOVIDResponse HQ echo the final lonely pass of the push broom; as local PH depts yank the last hanging scraps of their COVID dashboards from the rafters, even Deborah Birx is like wtf? https://t.co/AcDRW6olnx  Swaggering Toward Bethlehem (@SwagBethlehem) April 29, 2023

Old Blighty

La belle France

India

SEBI asks SC for six more months to complete probe into Hindenburg report The Hindu

China?

New Not-So-Cold War

2/4 More telling is that Xi did the conversation with a Russian translator. Got it? China supposedly couldnt find a single Chinese linguist who spoke Ukrainian. Are you buying that? Im not. China, a nation skilled at diplomacy  M. K. Bhadrakumar (@BhadraPunchline) April 30, 2023

***

Carlsons firing will immediately relieve pressure on key Capitol Hill Ukraine supporters whom Carlson had criticized on air  and sometimes pressed behind the scenes to change their positions on the war. Congrats to all proxy warriors on the ouster of a key obstacle. https://t.co/yPng6BhkM7  Aaron Mate (@aaronjmate) May 1, 2023

***

Laffaire Epstein

Syraqistan

B-a-a-a-a-d Banks

A San Francisco office building was worth $300 million before the pandemic. Now, it could sell for only $60 million  a perfect example of why downtowns are in trouble Business Insider

Biden Administration

2024

The perfect encapsulation of US politics: A liberal TV personality on Americans favorite Democratic channel is enraged at the suggestion that the FBI is irremediably corrupted. That argument came (as only it could) from a GOP candidate, who then had to explain FBIs history: https://t.co/jCoGIWGpPO  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 1, 2023



Democrats en deshabille

Imperial Collapse Watch

Healthcare

Class Warfare

Sports Desk

Ding Liren is the new World Chess Champion The Week in Chess

Tech

The Bezzle

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
The New York Times had quite the interesting piece buried in its science section on April 28. Titled U.S. Wires Ukraine With Radiation Sensors to Detect Nuclear Blasts, it claims sensors can detect bursts of radiation from a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb and can confirm the identity of the attacker. More:

In part, the goal is to make sure that if Russia detonates a radioactive weapon on Ukrainian soil, its atomic signature and Moscows culpability could be verified. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine 14 months ago, experts have worried about whether President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would use nuclear arms in combat for the first time since the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

First off, what would possibly be the Russian rationale for using nuclear weapons? Theyre winning in Ukraine, and the West is running out of ammo. Second, about those experts. To expand on their worries, the Times links to an October piece titled Russias Small Nuclear Arms: A Risky Option for Putin and Ukraine Alike. In it, we get this:

The primary utility, many U.S. officials say, would be as part of a last-ditch effort by Mr. Putin to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive, by threatening to make parts of Ukraine uninhabitable. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe some of the most sensitive discussions inside the administration.

So the experts are anonymous. Who is running this operation? The Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), which is the Nation Nuclear Security Administrations arm that deals with emergency response functions. The Times also notes the following:

Jeffrey T. Richelson, author of Defusing Armageddon, a 2009 book on the Nuclear Emergency Support Team, reported that it often teamed up with the Joint Special Operations Command, an elite military unit so secretive that the Pentagon for years refused to acknowledge its existence.

The Times April 28 piece gets more bonkers from there. Theres this:

Public knowledge of such defensive planning, nuclear experts say, can deter Moscow by letting it know that Washington can expose what is called a false-flag operation. For instance, Moscow could falsely claim that Kyiv set off a nuclear blast on the battlefield to try to draw the West into deeper war assistance. But in theory, with the sensor network in place, Washington would be able to point to its own nuclear attribution analyses to reveal that Moscow was in fact the attacker.

So Russia would conduct a false-flag operation in order to risk accomplishing what Kiev would want to accomplish with its own false flag? Again, what would Moscow have to gain? Its steadily winning the war and depleting western stockpiles.

But for the inhabitants of the alternate universe where Russia is on its last legs it all makes perfect sense. Speaking to that audience, the Times again invokes nuclear experts and western experts who are presumably the same aforementioned anonymous officials, and they put an ominous spin on Ukraines coming counteroffensive:

Nuclear experts say such defensive precautions could face their greatest test in coming weeks as the Ukrainian army launches its spring offensive. China has leaned on Russia to discontinue its nuclear saber rattling and Mr. Putin has not recently invoked a nuclear threat. But Western experts worry that Russias battlefield failures are making Mr. Putin, if anything, more dependent on his nuclear arsenal, and they worry that fresh setbacks could increase his willingness to pull the nuclear trigger.

One of the many alarming aspects of all this is that these experts certainly must know that the idea that Russias battlefield failures are making Mr. Putin, if anything, more dependent on his nuclear arsenal is complete fantasy, yet theyre peddling it anyways. Why? Thats an ominous thought.

Russia was warning NATO back in October that Ukraine might detonate a dirty bomb and blame Moscow. Washington, Paris, and London dismissed it all as transparently false. Instead the West has continued to insist that Moscow might do so. The Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence state that Russia would not use a nuclear weapon of any kind unless the country is attacked using weapons of mass destruction or faces a conventional attack so severe it threatens the countrys existence.

Could Kiev create a dirty bomb? The US GAO admits its not hard to find the materials and build a dirty bomb. Ukraine returned all its Soviet-era nuclear weapons to Russia in the 1990, but still has stockpiles of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. Dirty bombs can also be made out of byproducts from nuclear power plants of which Ukraine has several. According to Russia, it would be no problem for Kiev to build such a weapon:

Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops chief Igor Kirillov warned that Ukraine has the technological prowess and ample radioactive material reserves to build a dirty bomb. This includes some 1,500 tons worth of spent nuclear fuel from the countrys three operating nuclear power plants, and 22,000 spent fuel assemblies stored at the defunct Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plants waste repositories, including Uranium-235 and Plutnoium-239  the primary fissile isotopes used in nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the officer stressed, Kiev has the scientific know-how allowing it to easily build a dirty bomb, including the legendary Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology involved in the creation of the Soviet Unions nuclear weapons, and the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Institute for Nuclear Research, which operates the BBP-M research reactor.

The Times piece has virtually no information on what the deployed sensors actually do. Presumably they would detect radiation and then a forensics team would try to determine the origin of the weapon. Thing is, there are already institutions for that.

The European Radiological Data Exchange Platform, which monitors radiation levels, already covers Ukraine. According to its website, it consists of data exchange mechanism and presentation website for radiological monitoring data which is collected and shared by 39 participating countries in almost REAL TIME. But it is not a rapid alert system, and while the EU has one of those, it only covers member states.

The IAEA, on the other hand has its EMERCON system for radiological or nuclear emergencies and which does cover Ukraine. And the IAEA can help prepare for the investigation into a nuclear incident:

The IAEA supports States in developing technical capabilities by providing: Technical assistance, including, upon request, to prepare for the conduct of a nuclear forensics examination in the context of the investigation of a nuclear security event. Important considerations involve procedures to collect and preserve evidence and properly sequence non-destructive ahead of destructive analysis in the laboratory.

Additionally, the IAEA notes that there are international organizations that provide various forms of nuclear forensic support, including the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, INTERPOL, and the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group. But the US apparently does not want to rely on these international institutions.

The US is apparently going with its own team. So should such a weapon be used in Ukraine, would the US Nuclear Emergency Support Team be able to determine who did it? Its hard to tell  but probably not with any certainty.

The Times piece has few details on how the process works, saying only that it developed rapidly after 9/11, has some secrets, and its outlines are publicly known.

The Times then links back to two articles  one from 2004 and another from 2006. Theyre fairly similar and both describe the process of identification this way:

The basic science relies on faint clues  tiny bits of radioactive fallout, often invisible to the eye, that under intense scrutiny can reveal distinctive signatures. Such wisps of evidence can help identify an exploded bombs type and characteristics, including its country of origin.

While tracking a missile from the blastoff point is not difficult, tracking unconventional devices, such as a dirty bomb that uses ordinary explosives to spew radioactivity, can be a major challenge. Both articles described federal experts participating in drills to establish the origin of a weapon. From the 2004 piece:

In a drill this year, dozens of federal experts in fallout analysis met at the Sandia laboratories in Albuquerque to study a simulated terrorist nuclear blast. Mr. Worlton said they were broken into teams and given radiological data from two old American nuclear tests, whose identities remained hidden, and were instructed to try to name them. Some teams succeeded, he said.

While hyping that apparent success, the 2004 piece noted that success was only partial. The Times also mentioned that there were numerous complexities involved that made attribution less of a sure thing, including that knowing who made a bomb may say little about who detonated it. And theres this:

Experts agree that such detective work can prove difficult. For years, the International Atomic Energy Agency has struggled with limited success to identify the source of highly enriched uranium, a potential bomb fuel, found by the agencys inspectors on Iranian nuclear gear.

According to the IAEA, forensic investigations are rarely slam dunk cases:

Nuclear forensic analysis and interpretation involve a deductive and iterative process, as depicted in Fig. 2. Implementing the analytical plan produces results that can be compared with information on existing or known materials, and such comparisons lead to interpretation, which puts the analytical results into context. The comparative process involving analytical results and known material information is iterative because each successive comparison may provide new information that can identify further analyses or comparisons that, in turn, may uncover additional signatures that will help to identify the material more precisely. This comparative process may also be deductive because it can be used to progressively exclude particular processes, locations or other origins as possible sources of the material. For example, comparisons of analytical results from seized nuclear material with known production processes will identify likely production processes that could have made the seized material, as well as those processes that could not have made the seized material. Additional comparisons with other existing production processes or analytical measurements will serve to narrow the list of likely production processes responsible for the production of the seized material.

But American officials claimed in the Times articles from 2004 and 2006 that scientific advancements were being made in the US, which would make identification more accurate.

Have they advanced enough? And maybe the real question is, who would trust the US conclusion? Would it matter?

Dr. Jay C. Davis, a nuclear scientist who helped found the Pentagons part of the US effort to trace an explosion, told the Times back in 2004 that the identification effort would be crucial in dealing with the desire for instant gratification through vengeance.
Conor here: With the Green Party steering the ship, Germany just shut down its remaining six nuclear power plants even though that now means importing more fossil fuels. Germanys rush to shutter the plants starts to make more sense now that Berlin is pushing for these sanctions as its clear the Greens dont care much about being green unless it also involves some sort of pyrrhic victory against Russia. Better burn that coal.

By Felicity Bradstock, a freelance writer specializing in Energy and Finance. Originally published at OilPrice.

In February 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions at this point included restrictive measures (individual sanctions), economic sanctions, and visa measures. The sanctions aimed to disrupt the countrys economy to prevent Russia from continuing its conflict with Ukraine. Throughout the year, the EU and other parts of the world increased the number and types of sanctions on Russia as they decreased their reliance on Russian energy.

In December 2022, the EU banned the import of Russian crude oil and in February 2023 the region banned imports of Russian diesel, jet fuel, and other oil products. These sanctions came later than many others due to the heavy reliance of many EU countries on Russian energy. For example, before the war, Germany imported around half of its gas from Russia and more than a third of its oil. But in January, Germany stated that it was no longer reliant on Russian energy.

But one area that the EU has avoided sanctioning, to date, is Russian nuclear power. This is largely because of the significant role Russias state-owned nuclear energy monopoly, Rosatom, plays in global nuclear power. Paul Dorfman, chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that the problem is a Russian dolls worth of interlocking dependencies.

Firstly, Rosatom is a major exporter of nuclear fuel, providing the U.S. with 14 percent of its uranium in 2021. Meanwhile, utilities across Europe purchased around a fifth of their uranium from Rosatom, and they have been unable to diversify their uranium sources since cutting other energy ties with Russia. Rosatom also provided 28 percent of the U.S.s enrichment services in 2021.

Further, Rosatom is not just limited to Russia, holding ownership of several nuclear plants around the world. By the end of 2021, one in five nuclear plants worldwide was either in Russia or was Russian-built. Rosatom has repeatedly stepped in to help finance nuclear plants in countries that want to expand their nuclear power sectors but dont have the money to do so. Many of these plants fall under a build-own-operate model, relying on Rosatom for their operation.

Certain EU states have, therefore, opposed sanctions on Russian nuclear power as they continue to rely on Rosatom for their energy security. For example. Hungary sources around 40 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and has a long-term financing deal with Rosatom to build two new nuclear reactors. In February this year, the European Commission (EC) scrapped plans for sanctions on Russias nuclear energy industry, citing opposition from some member states. The EU had considered imposing sanctions on individual employees of Rosatom and other companies on the list but has not acted on this idea so far.

Despite uncertainty over how to impose sanctions on Russian nuclear energy without harming the interests of several European countries, such as Hungary and Bulgaria, the nuclear sanction plan is on the table once again. Germany, Poland, and the Baltic EU member states are pushing for new sanctions on Russian nuclear energy as a means of imposing greater harm on Russias economy, as the war on Ukraine continues.

Robert Habeck, the German economy and climate minister stated, Across the EU, we must keep making ourselves independent from Russia. Habeck added, 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.

A Royal United Services report stated that Between March and December 2022, Russia exported just over $1 billion-worth of materials and technology of relevance to the nuclear energy sector. And 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 Russias nuclear sector.

Ukraine has repeatedly condemned the EU for not introducing sanctions on Russias nuclear might alongside other restrictions on Russian energy. So far, the EU has imposed 10 packages of sanctions on Russia, with preparations for the 11th one now taking place. However, despite pressure from Ukraine and several EU member states to include nuclear power in the new sanctions, the EC must consider what this will mean for countries like Hungary and Bulgaria, which continue to rely on Russian nuclear power for their energy. Not to mention the fact that nuclear power is a major clean energy source, and a halt of Russian nuclear energy could encourage some countries to return to fossil fuels. The EU must now weigh up the positive and negative implications of sanctioning Russian nuclear power to determine the right move.
Touching the past and inspiring the future.

Thats what a very special group of ladies have done and continue to do.

These nine women are part of Saturdays extraordinary event at The Space Museum and Grissom Center. Tickets are still available but are limited.

Show Me Space: Women in Space showcases a spectacular lineup of retired NASA astronauts, technicians and support crew. This special event highlights the groundbreaking impact these women have had on space exploration in the nation.

Dont miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to immerse yourself in space history and meet actual NASA astronauts and personnel who have made spaceflight possible, said Earl Mullins, president and founder of The Space Museum and Grissom Center.

Limited tickets for the Women in Space event are still available. Tickets are $50 for ages 6 and up (children 5 and under are free) and may be purchased online at www.space-mo.org/event. Tickets are $60 on Saturday while supplies last.

The cost of admission includes a light lunch, book signings, outdoor activities, hands-on experiences, meet-and-greet opportunities, and admission to the museums galleries all weekend from May 5-7.

In addition, retired NASA Spacesuit Technician Sharon McDougle will read from her informative-yet-imaginative, 28-page childrens book Suit Up for Launch with Shay! and sign books.

Eileen Collins will sign copies of her book Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission.

In addition to McDougle and Collins, others will sign their books, including author Karen Gibson with Women in Space: 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures; Nicole Stott with Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home PlanetAnd Our Mission to Protect It; and Jerry Ross with Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASAs Record-Setting Frequent Flyer.

Dr. Liz Warren, director of research for Blue Origin, will sell and sign flying rocket kits modeled after the New Shepard, a launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin. New Shepard is named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to go to space.

Dr. Linda Godwin, retired NASA astronaut, and Dr. Warren will sign photos for $10 each.

Visitors will have the opportunity to create a free postcard that will travel to space on a future Blue Origin rocket launch and have the postcard returned to them through the mail.

Women in Space takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity for meet-and-greets with NASA astronauts and spaceflight personnel.

The street in front of The Space Museum and Grissom Center will be closed on Saturday. Parking is available at the nearby bank and church parking lots located near the museum.

When attendees first arrive at the event, they should purchase tickets or check in to receive their wristbands for tickets theyve already purchased. This can be done at the booth set up in the brick courtyard between Heritage Hall and the original museum location.

Once attendees have checked in at the booth, they will receive an agenda of the days activities.

Headlining this spectacular event is a panel of incredible and accomplished women who have helped shape spaceflight history: Eileen Collins, retired NASA astronaut; Dr. Linda Godwin, retired NASA astronaut; Nicole Stott, retired NASA astronaut; Dr. Liz Warren, director of research for Blue Origin; Sharon McDougle, retired NASA spacesuit technician; Amy Ross, NASA spacesuit designer; Karen Ross, retired space shuttle food and product support manager; Megan Shutika, International Space Station EVA flight director; and Karen Gibson, author of Women in Space and other published works. Other guests include early McDonnell Douglas aerospace engineers and Lowell Grissom, brother of NASA Astronaut Lowell Grissom.

Collins is the keynote speaker of the event.

Mullins said the idea for the Women in Space event came from one of the space museums board members, Lou Mavros. He is a retired engineer who worked for Convair which helped to develop the Atlas missile used in the Mercury space program. He later became the leader of the ground support crew for the space shuttle Oms engine pods.

Lou was very insistent that women have not been acknowledged for their efforts in space flight, said Mullins. Our team thought it was a great idea and we started putting it together. Weve been working on planning this event for more than a year.

The museums staff members have also created a display at the facility to showcase women in space.

Most people dont realize how many women have flown in space, said Mullins. I think as of today, 75 women have flown in space. But there have been many, many more who have also had an impact on aerospace programs. We wouldnt be where we are today without them.

Mullins said the staff are expecting a large crowd for Saturdays event, so its important to purchase tickets as soon as possible.

In addition to meeting the nine women, Mullins said hes excited about the Q&A session with the panel of guests.

I hope its lively and the audience asks lots of great questions, he said. I know its going to be a great time.

The Space Museum and Grissom Center are located at 118 East School Street in Bonne Terre. Visit www.space-mo.org for more information.
The evolution of my position with the Post dates to 2000, when I began work with The City Paper. In 2008, SouthComm Inc. bought the Post and TCP, with the latter ceasing operations in 2013. In 2018, FW Publishing acquired the Post, for which I have served as managing editor since 2011.

Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
(Natural News) The American people need to know about the issues in the southern border of the United States. This was according to border intelligence expert Jaeson Jones, who has an extensive experience working there.

They need to know what the problem is and see that this is part of the issue. This is exactly why Im doing what Im doing with Border 911, with the America Project, partnering with Tom Homan, working on Newsmax, doing these podcasts back-to-back, non-stop  because the American people dont know what the problem is, Jones told guest host Amber May during the April 25 episode of America Unhinged on Brighteon.TV.

And the solutions that we need to get to, they can mandate that from their local, state and federal leaders who they have elected into office. So, weve got to illuminate this problem.

According to Jones, the first thing the American people must fix is the drug overdose crisis affecting many American families. Jones said the weaponization of fentanyl has created new deadly strains of the drug, and major drug cartels are responsible for that. (Related: DEA head: Mexican cartels are using FENTANYL to kill Americans in record numbers.)

US must target the cartels and label them as foreign terrorist organizations

A retired captain from the Texas Department of Public Safetys Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Division, Jones said that the U.S. needs to target the cartels and label them as foreign terrorist organizations. He added that the American government must go after the drug labs and take them down completely.

We got to hit them hard and hit them more, and then make major adjustments because they are going from mega labs into micro labs right now. So, we have to ensure that these labs are hit. Attacking the supply capability in the labs must be mandated by the federal government, and America must continue hitting the labs or have a constant campaign all the way down to Colombia, Jones said.

Those are true solutions that will make a massive impact on transnational crime in this country. We make those changes. I will tell you right now somebody that has built programs to go after them. This is how we make major fixes.

The border intel expert and keynote speaker noted that the cartels are now trying to do business out of Mexico. He also stressed the government must get a new system that will enable the American public to really know on a monthly basis what is happening regarding the crime trends in America.

Weve got 18,000 law enforcement agencies in this country. And Ill say it again and again, if we cant get the little things right, well never get the big things right. Those are major milestones that are going to set us up for success, Jones said.

Ultimately, Jones said America needs hard solutions to go after the cartels and fix the problem that is fixable.

Follow BorderSecurity.news for more news about the southern border of America.

Watch the April 25 episode of America Unhinged below. America Unhinged with regular host Dr. John Diamond airs Monday to Friday at 9-10 a.m., Saturday at 8-9 a.m. and Sunday at 9-10 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Lets Talk America: Michele Swinick says everything thats happening at the border is designed to destroy America  Brighteon.TV.

Southern border could be under COMPLETE CONTROL of cartels if Title 42 ends, Border Patrol union head warns.

BREAKING: Biden and Mayorkas announce closure of human trafficking camps in Darien Gap following Brighteon / Michael Yon / Natural News / InfoWars bombshell videos exposing mass human suffering, violence and rapes.

Bidens plan to release mass of illegal aliens into U.S. revealed by Border Patrol.

Bidens open borders policy generates $14 million a DAY for human traffickers.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

JaesonJones.com
(Natural News) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has done it again.

During a recent House Judiciary subcommittee hearing, Gaetz successfully got Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz to admit to the room that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has conducted at least 3.4 million warrantless backdoor searches of Americans communications, which is a violation of the law.

(Related: The Supreme Court is said to be looking into the constitutionality of warrantless home invasions.)

While the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) does allow intelligence agencies to conduct targeted surveillance of foreigners located outside the United States, it does not permit agencies like the FBI to spy on actual Americans, which is what the agency has been doing.

A 2022 transparency report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) shows that in 2021 alone, the FBI conducted a shocking 3.4 million backdoor searches, which Gaetz questioned Horowitz about during the hearing.

I want to get into the 3.4 million backdoor searches that the ranking member pointed out in his opening statement, Gaetz said, addressing Horowitz directly. How should the public think about those?

Well, I think what weve seen in the various public reports  and Im limited in what I can say about whats public  its obviously very concerning that theres that volume of searches and particularly concerning the error rate that was reported on in the last two years in the public reporting, Horowitz responded, adding that these FBI queries came with about a 30 percent error rate.

How many people can perform these backdoor queries? Gaetz then asked in response.

Im going to defer to board members cause you have the review ongoing, Horowitz said back, referring to Sharon Bradford Franklin, chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

At least 10,000 federal government employees have the ability to perform spying and surveillance searches on you

Franklin then joined the conversation, stating that she does not have those types of figures at her fingertips in terms of the number of people that can conduct those types of searches.

But I share the concern expressed in the question that we need to have greater safeguard requirements, she added.

Gaetz then reentered the fray by asking Horowitz if he believes it is safe to assume that there are at least 10,000 people in the federal government who are able to perform such queries, to which Horowitz responded in the affirmative  you can watch the exchange below:

BREAKING: DOJ Inspector General ADMITS that the FBI has done 3.4 million warrantless backdoor searches! Over a MILLION of which were in error. pic.twitter.com/t9VcVp4iYx  Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 27, 2023

In the comments, someone wrote the FBIs spying and surveillance activities, besides being unconstitutional, are a form of political persecution that has been going on for much longer than just since 2021.

What is the penalty for violating American citizens rights 3.4 million times? asked another. There needs to be one  and one that has mandatory jail time and loss of the perps rights.

It has to be less than the standard slap on the wrist they usually get otherwise they wouldnt have done it 3.4 million times in a single YEAR!!! someone else responded.

Others asked if there is any justice left to deal with these corrupt, woke, traitor pieces of scum who deserved to be charged with federal crimes.

Seems like the old Soviet Union is still alive and well, and living in the heads of Democrat lawmakers, joked someone else.

Do you know the history of the Bolshevik revolution? asked another. If not, then you should because it all ties together with what is going on today.

More related news about the corrupt FBI can be found at FBI.news.

Sources for this article include:

100percentfedup.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Once the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) emergency officially ends next month, the Biden regime is planning to unleash tens of thousands more illegal migrants into the United States through the southern border.

The regime, we are told, is scrambling to find and / or create more holding centers for all these new illegals. It is also working towards increasing the processing capacity of illegal migrants abroad in places like Europe as well.

Reuters says that Biden could announce as soon as this week that he will be massively increasing the number of Latin Americans who can be processed through the U.S. refugee settlement program.

U.S. officials say they plan to expand the holding capacity for migrants at the border while piloting a new program that would help more quickly process asylum screenings at warp speed.

(Related: Since being installed into the White House, Biden has released hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants into the U.S.)

Once covid officially ends, Americas borders will be flung wide open for anyone and everyone to enter illegally

One potential option that is being talked about but that has not yet been officially reported involves processing migrants through Fort Bliss, a military base located near El Paso, Tex., at the southern border.

Fort Bliss was previously used to house thousands of unaccompanied minors, meaning the children of illegal aliens, in 2021. This is where all those reports emerged from about overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.

Abdullah Hasan, a White House spokesperson, denied that Fort Bliss is once again being considered as a processing center for illegal aliens to be fast-tracked for release into the U.S. The Pentagon also says it has not received any requests for Fort Bliss to be used as a migrant processing center.

Assuming there is no last-minute legal action or a congressional intervention, Biden will more than likely increase unauthorized immigration after May 11 when covid border restrictions, which have been in place since 2020, are scheduled to end.

On that same date, the broader covid public health emergency will also terminate, undercutting the rationale for Title 42 restrictions.

The United Nations (UN) is also said to be involved with discussions to assist with and increase refugee processing from Latin America into the U.S.

A union representative named Michael Knowles also said that 480 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees with refugee experience are right now being assigned to help with the initial asylum screenings of illegal aliens captured at the southern border.

According to Knowles, even with this temporary boost in processing workers, the asylum program is still vastly understaffed and under-resourced with only about 800 permanent asylum officers.

As far as illegal immigration is concerned, America has never been worse-off than it is right now under fake president Joe Biden, who just announced his 2024 re-election campaign.

A record number of migrants have been caught trying to cross into the U.S. under his watch, as apparently the entire rest of the world acknowledges that the guy is braindead at best, and unable or unwilling to protect the country from this invasion onslaught.

Troy Miller, the acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told lawmakers last week that he is preparing for the possibility that upwards of 10,000 migrants per day will soon try to enter the United States illegally. This is roughly double the daily average in March.

Miller estimates that around 660,000 migrants are currently traveling through Mexico as they gradually make their way up to the U.S., where they will attempt to break in and get resettled illegally.

To keep up with the latest news about the great replacement of Americans with illegal migrants, visit InvasionUSA.news.

Sources for this article include:

Reuters.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Since Elon Musk took over Twitter as CEO back on October 27, 2022, he has professed his desire to make the social media platform a true digital town square where free expression would reign. Americas top media watchdog Media Research Center (MRC) lauded his efforts, but its top official believes that the self-proclaimed free speech absolutist must also walk the talk.

Musk is absolutely right to warn about the dangerous road Big Tech companies and governmental entities have taken our nation down in attempting to squash freedom of speech in America, said MRC Free Speech America & MRC Business Director Michael Morris. And his strides toward creating a more free and open platform are laudable, but rhetoric alone will not safeguard our nations first freedom.

The tech giant executives vision of stopping censorship and suppressing the truth has hit some roadblocks. According to the watchdogs study, censorship is alarmingly on the rise under the billionaires leadership, with 293 cases of documented censorship since he took over Twitter and began terminating the previous regimes employees from November 4, 2022, through March 4, 2023.

It also found that the most recent censorship tally is 67 more than the 226 documented cases in CensorTrack.org from the platform during the same period in the year prior.

Twitter has also been allegedly harsher in its censorship. In eighty-four percent of the documented cases of the censorship tracking site, the social media platform locked users accounts  and in nearly all cases, users were required to delete the content to regain access to their accounts. In contrast, only 60 percent consisted of locked accounts under the old Twitter regime. (Related: Study: Twitter censorship INCREASED after Elon Musk takeover despite his free speech commitment.)

Musk also admitted that while the platform has been making efforts to end one-sided censorship, it still has a long way to go. Were rapidly improving transparency and fairness on this platform, but there is still a lot of work to do, he said.

Twitter eliminates blue check marks, making legit accounts hard to determine

Within the first 24 hours that Twitter eliminated the verified check marks, it became harder to determine which accounts are legit and which not. One example is the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) account, which already has at least 11 new fraudulent accounts.

The blue check marks historically served as a means of identifying public agencies. Someone pretending to be the mayor of New York City promised to create a Department of Traffic and Parking Enforcement and slash police funding by 70 percent.

The decision to remove the verification marks is due to the new move to make people and groups buy the check marks for $8 a month.

LAPDs main account now has a gray check mark, which Twitter created for legacy accounts, but not all of its various bureaus do, the Hollywood division is one. Twitter has also invited organizations to pay $1,000 to receive gold marks for multiple accounts.

This is going to be chaos for emergency services, tweeted Marc-Andre Argentino, a research fellow at the London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization.

The changes have convulsed a platform that once seemed indispensable for following the news as it broke worldwide. The information on Twitter is now increasingly unreliable. Accounts that impersonate public officials, government agencies and celebrities have proliferated. So have propaganda and disinformation that threaten to further erode trust in public institutions. The consequences are only beginning to emerge, a New York Times article noted.

Alyssa Kahn, a research associate at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, said the new Twitter management is systematically dismantling safeguards that had been put in place over years of consideration and controversy.

Visit ElonMuskWatch.com for more news related to the Big Tech mogul.

Watch the video that talks about ongoing censorship on Twitter despite Musks takeover.

This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Elon Musks Twitter waging war on Substack and Brighteon; no links allowed.

Not again: Musk to reinstate Twitter censorship tools after a meeting with leftist groups.

Elon Musk, echoing ADL talking points, says new Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.

EU pressures Elon Musk to be fully compliant with blocs new social media regulations.

Sources include:

NewsBusters.org 1

NewsBusters.org 2

TheVerge.com

JapanTimes.co.jp

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping told his Ukrainian counterpart that Beijing will work to mediate peace between Kyiv and Moscow.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Xi made the remarks during an April 2 telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call was the first time the two leaders talked since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year. The conversation also served to fulfill a longstanding goal of Kyiv to have an audience with China  a close friend of its enemy.

Zelensky named former cabinet minister Pavlo Riabikin as Ukraines new ambassador to Beijing, signaling the importance of the newly-established links with China. Prior to his appointment, Riabikin had served as strategic industries minister.

The Ukrainian leader later described his call with Xi as long and meaningful. Zelensky tweeted: I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of [Riabikin as] Ukraines ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media reported that Xi told Zelensky about Chinas focus on promoting peace talks and endeavoring for a ceasefire at the soonest possible time. The Chinese leader also said Beijing would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a responsible major country, we will neither sit idly by nor pour oil on fire, still less seek to profit from it, Xi said.

Talks between the two warring nations are nowhere in sight. Kyiv is demanding that Russia withdraw its troops, while Moscow is pressuring Ukraine to recognize its claims to annexed territories.

Enter China, whose chief executive Xi is the most powerful world leader to have refrained from denouncing Russias actions  even visiting the country and talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. The Chinese paramount leader has promoted a 12-point peace plan since February. While the West has met this plan with skepticism, Ukraine has cautiously welcomed it. (Related: Freedom Force Battalion: Russia, China working together to free the world from the NWO  Brighteon.TV.)

Kremlin reacts to Xi-Zelensky phone call

Russian officials also gave their two cents following news of the call between Xi and Zelensky.

We note the readiness of the Chinese side to make (an) effort to establish a negotiation process, said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was familiar with the details of what the two leaders had discussed.

We are ready to welcome anything that could hasten the end of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia achieving all the goals it has set itself, Peskov said. As for the fact that they communicated, that is a sovereign matter for each of these countries and a question of their bilateral dialog.

Meanwhile, China touted that it is in a position to help mediate the conflict because it has not taken sides.

What China has done to help resolve the Ukraine crisis has been above board, said Yu Jun, the deputy director of the Department of Eurasia of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinas resolve in brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine followed its successful peace deal that re-established diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. In March, Tehran and Riyadh announced that they have agreed to resume relations  thanks to a deal brokered by Beijing. In a joint statement, both countries said embassies in their respective countries will reopen within two months time.

According to The Hill, Iran and Saudi Arabia officially broke off diplomatic relations in 2016. However, tensions between Sunni Riyadh and Shia Tehran have remained. With the normalization of ties between the two nations, The Hill pointed out that Chinas influence in the global stage is growing.

Listen to Judge Andrew Napolitano and Col. Douglas Macgregor as they discuss Chinas talks with Ukraine below.

This video is from the What is happening channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Russia and China pledge friendship, denounce the West.

US created the conditions for Russia-Ukraine war, says China.

Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations with Syria after rekindling ties with Iran.

Top Arab leaders including Saudis, Iranians, meet in China to plot end of American global dominance.

Saudi Arabia could invest in Iran very quickly following China-brokered deal to re-establish diplomatic relations.

Sources include:

JPost.com

TheHill.com

Brighteon.com
A great white shark washed ashore along a South Carolina beach; it was reported in recent days. The 10-foot shark stopped breathing after locals attempted multiple times to bring the animal back into the ocean but it kept getting washed to shore due to reasons unknown.

This makes the cause of death to be a mystery, in addition to the fact that great white shark strandings in the state are very rare.

Great white sharks are known for typically visiting South Carolina during the winter season, which spans from December to February each year.

With this, the recent stranding has been considered by local authorities as unusual. In addition to the said shark species, lemon sharks, bonnethead sharks, and bull sharks are also found in the waters off the state.

In recent years, there have been multiple reports of shark strandings across the United States. Other marine animals like whales, dolphins, and seals have also been included on the list of animal strandings, where vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglement to be the most common causes.

Over the past year, related incidents in the waters off New Jersey were linked to offshore wind farms.

South Carolina Shark Stranding

The shark beaching occurred on South Carolina's North Myrtle Beach earlier in April, according to Live Science, which said the incident was a "rare and unusual stranding," in addition to the ambiguity of the cause in the first place.

In a Facebook post, a local named Crystal Alden, who also participated in the rescue effort, the great white shark stranding occurred near 10th Avenue at North Myrtle Beach on the night of April 3.

In the social media post, it can be seen in the photos that the shark sustained some sort of lacerations or scratches under its mouth before it was seen lying in shallow waters where most of its body is already visible on the surface.

Also Read: Massive 13-Feet-Long Great White Shark Detected Just 20 Miles Off North Carolina Coast

South Carolina Sharks

South Carolina waters is native to around 12 shark species and it is the fourth state across the U.S. with the highest number of shark attacks, wherein it is preceded by California, Hawaii, and Florida, according to the website AZ Animals.

In addition to the ones mentioned earlier, other shark species found off the coast of South Carolina include:

finetooth sharks

blacknose sharks

tiger sharks

nurse sharks

Climate Change Affects Sharks?

In the context of U.S. shark strandings, experts last year found that a shift of natural food resources such as fish, due to ocean warming caused by climate change, may have forced a portion of the shark population along the U.S. East Coast to move closer into the shore; where the said predators chase their prey.

However, James Sulikowski, a marine biologist and the founder of Arizona State University's Sulikowski Shark and Fish Conservation Lab, told ABC News that there is still no data that proves climate change is the cause of such shark population movement.

Related Article: Two Swimmers Survive Shark Attack in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
As the oldest tree in Chicago, has reached the end of its life cycle, the said sentinel will be cut down for the sake of public safety.

From Friday to Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo, visitors paid their respects to a centuries-old oak tree that has reached the end of its life cycle.

Before the bur oak tree is taken down on Monday, the zoo encouraged people to write "thank-you" letters to it.

This was announced through local media outlets like KissFM Chicago.

Oldest Tree in Chicago

The tree, which is about 70 feet tall and is located across from the enclosure for white-cheeked gibbons, is thought to be between 250 and 300 years old and has come to the end of its life cycle.

Thought to be among Chicago's oldest trees, possibly even predating the city's founding in 1837, its age can only be determined by taking coring samples.

Maureen Leahy, the vice president of animal care and horticulture for the zoo, said that although they are heartbroken to see a part of Chicago history depart the zoo, they are driven to preserve its legacy by forming meaningful partnerships that will benefit both the community and the zoo.

The zoo organized several activities for Arbor Day last Friday, including leaf identification tests, tree ring counting games, and writing letters to the tree, among others.

Free tours of the arboretum-accredited zoo were also provided, and they were led by horticulture professionals.

End of Life Cycle

Last fall, Katrina Quint, the director of horticulture at the zoo, estimated that the bur oak was about 80% dead.

Given that it is close to a wide sidewalk, its removal is required.

According to Quint, bur oak trees are a native species of Illinois and can live up to 400 years if they are growing in a savannah environment.

The lifespan of this tree has been shortened, however, by urban pressure.

The age of this tree was determined by measuring its diameter at a height of four feet, while the diameter of this tree was 46 inches.

Quint claimed that taking a core sample of the tree was the only way to determine its true age.

At that point, professionals use a unique tool to drill into the tree and bring out a complete cross-section of the tree.

The exact age will then be determined by counting the rings.

Preserving a Legacy

The Morton Arboretum and the zoo collaborated to graft 36 of the tree's scions onto rootstock for propagation to preserve its genetics, ensuring that the tree's legacy would continue.

Additionally, the Illinois State Archaeological Survey will receive pieces of the tree to help with dendrological and climate research in Cook County as well as the Forest Preserve.

The extent of the tree's trunk degradation will, however, determine whether it can continue to exist in other ways, according to zoo leaders.

Slices of the tree will be dried, ground, and preserved by officials for use as memorials, educational resources, and play areas at the zoo.

According to zoo leaders, local woodworkers and craftsmen have shown interest in working with the tree's remnants to make other goods and artwork.

As noted in a previous statement by Quint, the tree is part of a cluster of bur oaks that have produced offspring.

Over time, one of those young trees might be moved into the bur oak's location.

Also Read: Interesting Facts About the 5 Tallest and Oldest Trees in the World

Bur Oaks in Lincoln Park Zoo

Quint added that while the loss of one of the zoo's oldest trees is very sad, the team is pleased to note that there are several other bur oak trees that are quite large, sporting over 100 years of age in the zoo, Block Chicago Club reported.

The long-lived bur oak grows thick bark that can withstand the once-common prairie fires and has branches that spread widely.

Its large acorns, which can reach a length of 1.5 inches and have a fringed burry cup, are a vital source of food for numerous birds and small mammals.

The tree has large, green leaves with round lobes that turn amber in the fall.

The tree's bark stems, and foliage serve as shelter for a variety of insects, birds, and squirrels.

According to the Lincoln Park Zoo, there are 40 recorded bur oaks within its boundaries.

Related Article: Spruce Trees are Dying in Alaska Due to Persistent Beetle Infestation
The Fredericktown License Office, located at 26 Court Square, Suite 120, opened April 19 at 9 a.m.

The office hours and days of operation for the Fredericktown License Office can be found on the License Office Location Map at dor.mo.gov/license-office-locator/ or by calling 573-561-5565.

The management contract for the Fredericktown License Office was awarded to SEMO Tags LLC on March 16.

All license office contracts in Missouri are awarded through a competitive bid process. License offices are operated by independent contractors but overseen by the Missouri Department of Revenue.
To eradicate the invasive African snails they had previously introduced to the ecosystem, authorities are about to release 5000 Polynesian snails in Tahiti.

The predatory rosy wolf snail was introduced to French Polynesia as a solution when the invasive African giant land snail took over the region.

5000 Polynesian Snails vs. Invasive African Snails

Unfortunately, the rosy wolf snail, which can move three times as fast as a regular snail, preferred to eat the tiny, endemic partula snails.

With more than 5,000 of the snails coming back to the island after being bred in captivity, the Partula snails are now slowly regaining health after their bouts with threats of extinction.

This is said to be the largest-ever release or rewilding of an "extinct in the wild" species.

Numerous thousands of partula snails from 11 different species were raised at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the London and Whipsnade Zoos, and the Saint Louis Zoo in the United States before being released on the islands of Moorea and Tahiti.

Each snail has a red, UV-reflective paint dot on its shell. The paint makes sure the nocturnal snail, which is one to two centimeters long, will fluoresce under UV torchlight to assist conservationists in monitoring the expanding populations.

Like Darwin's Finches

Despite their small size, Dr. Paul Pearce-Kelly, the ZSL curator of invertebrates and coordinator of the partula conservation program, said that these snails are extremely significant in terms of science, ecology, and culture.

Due to their adaptation to the ecosystem, Pearce-Kelly compared Polynesian snails to Darwin's finches in the snail world.

According to him, this joint conservation effort is unquestionably saving these species from extinction and demonstrating the power of zoos to stop the loss of biodiversity.

Early in the 1990s, the London and Edinburgh zoos saved the last few surviving members of several partula species to launch a breeding program internationally involving 15 zoos.

Also Read: 2 Invasive Mudsnails from New Zealand Found in Montana Creek

Partula Snail Recovery

Eleven species were saved after much success in preserving the snails.

This includes the last recorded member of Partula taeniata sumulans.

From its measly number when it was donated to the Edinburgh Zoo, the said species is now back to approximately 100 individuals, which experts considered a safe number.

According to Island Biodiversity, another Partula species, Partula faba, wasn't as fortunate.

The nine animals brought to Edinburgh Zoo were unable to reproduce in captivity, and the species went extinct in 2016.

The zoos started flying snails back to the wild nine years ago, working with the French Polynesian government to set up predator-proof snail reserves on the islands in preparation for their return.

Now, over 21,000 partula snails have been released on the islands, including 11 endangered species, as per the IUCN Red List, which has classified them as "extinct in the wild."

The most reintroductions have been made thus far this year.

By consuming rotting plant tissue and fungi, partula snails, also referred to as Polynesian tree snails, contribute significantly to the preservation of the health of tropical forests.

By releasing them back into the wild, the islands' ecological balance can be restored, The Guardian reported.

Relatd Article: Invasive, Destructive Giant Land Snails Puts Florida County Under Quarantine
The latest weather reports showed that wet and windy conditions could unfold in parts of Australia as many prepared for the month of May.

Australians with travel plans should consider the weather this week, especially those with travel plans.

It is best to consult the weather before planning for outdoor activities.

In addition, it is best to consider bringing an umbrella as rainy conditions could be possible this week.

Recently, Sky News Australia reported that a wet weather outlook was forecast in parts of Australia, especially on the east coast part of the country.

Based on the Bureau of Meteorology Australia, the weather forecast showed that challenging winds could emerge on the parts of the South Coast.

In the previous advisory, Meteorology Australia reported that a wet weekend forecast could unfold in eastern Australia.

Wet and windy conditions this week

Furthermore, 9news.com.au reported that potential rainy conditions could occur in parts of the country, noting the possible weather conditions.

Homeowners in flood-prone places should keep updated with the weather due to potential flooding and heavy rainfall.

In the latest weather report, the forecast explained that potential severe weather could unleash heavy rain, challenging winds and flash flooding.

The forecast said that parts of the south coast, Nowra, Batemans Bay and Nowra could be at risk of severe weather conditions.

On the other hand, the previous forecast from Sky News Australia reported that a wet weather outlook could affect parts of South Australia, Hobart and portions of Melbourne.

Parts of Southern Queensland could also anticipate a wet weather outlook.

Meanwhile, the forecast also noted that portions of Brisbane and Sydney could expect more sunshine this week.

While the weather is expected to improve this week, the weather forecast noted that rainy conditions could continue.

9News reported the weather could become better this week.

Recently, portions of Eden Coastal areas, Batemans and Illawarra, were noted of potential gale winds due to the weather conditions.

In addition, the weather conditions are forecast to improve in parts of New South Wales on Tuesday.

In South Australia, the forecast said that showers could persist this week.

Weather preparations in Australia this week

The rainy conditions could relieve challenging heat conditions in parts of Australia this week.

However, heavy rain could still become the main concern due to potential flash flooding and flooding.

Also Read: US Weather Forecast: Rainy Conditions Likely in New York City This Week

It is best that Australian motorists with travel plans should consider the weather before leaving due to the heavy rain.

Heavy rain could result in slippery road travel conditions and hazardous conditions.

Motorists should maintain a driving distance to avoid accidents and drive slowly this week.

Motorists should also keep away from floodwaters that could result in travel disruptions and slower commutes.

Furthermore, it is best that homeowners in the should keep updated with the weather for possible flooding concerns this week.

Related Article: U.K. Weather Forecast: Warmer Outlook Likely Possible This Week

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
The presiding judge for Missouris 24th Judicial Circuit Court announced Friday she was switching political parties, from Democrat to Republican. The announcement was made during a meet-and-greet with Missouris attorney general, Andrew Bailey, at the law offices of Hartmann, Duffe and Pegram in downtown Farmington.

The 24th Judicial Circuit Court includes Madison, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington counties.

Wendy Wexler-Horn was reelected to the gavel of the Circuit 24, Division 2 in 2018, having been appointed by then-Gov. Jay Nixon in 2015 after Judge Kenneth W. Pratte retired. Before that, she was appointed associate circuit judge in 2011, and was reelected in 2012 and 2014.

For over 20 years, I have had a long history of public service to this community and judicial circuit, Wexler-Horn said. I have served as prosecuting attorney for St. Francois County, associate circuit court judge division 3, and now as presiding judge for the 24th Circuit Court  and every day has been a blessing. I am, therefore, so excited and honored to announce I will be seeking another term of office in the November 2024 election and it will be as a Republican candidate.

Wexler-Horn said she arrived at the decision over time.

The decision to switch parties was not an easy one. I have always had conservative views even as a Democrat, but in recent years, my conservative views have simply been more consistent with those of the Republican Party, she said, adding, As a judge, my role is to follow the law regardless of politics, and Ill continue to do that to the best of my ability, as I always have done.

Wexler-Horn will seek reelection in November 2024. Terms for the office are six years long.

Before she became a judge, Horn served as St. Francois County prosecuting attorney for 10 years. She was a private practice attorney from 1995-2000 and was an assistant public defender from 1993-1995.

Wexler-Horn earned her juris doctorate at St. Louis University School of Law in 1992. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. She is a past president of the Children's Advocacy Center of East Central Missouri Board of Directors. She is married to Phillip Horn, with whom she has one son, Jacob.

On the day she made her announcement, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey was introduced to and reacquainted with invited guests at the law firm, having met with St. Francois County citizens and courthouse employees that afternoon. He met with business owners that morning.

According to one attendee, outside the law offices, about 60 transgender-rights protesters decried Baileys recent rules limiting healthcare for transgender citizens. Bailey has said he hopes the matter reaches to federal courts.
Renowned violinist in concert at Norwich church Renowned violinist in concert at Norwich church

The next in the series of 'St Peter Mancroft presents' events is Jennifer Pike in concert with the Fantasia Orchestra under the direction of conductor, Tom Fetherstonhaugh on June 23



Violinist Jennifer Pike, is renowned for her dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique (Classic FM), and has taken the musical world by storm with her unique artistry and compelling insight into music from the Baroque to the present day.



In demand as soloist and recitalist all over the world, she is known as an artist of exceptional integrity and depth, whilst her ability to hold an audience spellbound (The Strad) and luminous beauty of tone (The Observer) have established her as one of the most exciting artists performing today.



Born to British and Polish parents in 1989 she first gained international recognition in 2002, when, aged 12, she became the youngest-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the youngest major prize winner in the Menuhin International Violin Competition. Aged fifteen she made acclaimed debuts at the BBC Proms and Wigmore Hall, and her many subsequent Proms appearances have included the role of 2009 featured artist. She was invited to become a BBC New Generation Artist (2008-10), she won the inaugural International London Music Masters Award and became the only classical artist ever to win the South Bank Show/Times Breakthrough Award.



Passionate about helping young people from all backgrounds enhance their lives through music, she was recently invited to become an Ambassador for the Princes Trust and Foundation for Children and the Arts, and patron of the Lord Mayors City Music Foundation.

Performing extensively as soloist with major orchestras worldwide and appearing frequently on radio and television, recent highlights include concertos with all the BBC orchestras, London Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Halle, Rheinische Philharmonie, Tampere Philharmonic, Malmo Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Singapore Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic orchestras.



She recently performed Vaughan Williamss The Lark Ascending live on BBC Two at a special service commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of WWI in Westminster Abbey, with the Philharmonia orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall and at her Carnegie Hall debut with the Chamber Orchestra of New York.



A much sought-after recitalist, she recently appeared at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Musee dOrsay, Musashino Foundation and LSO St Lukes, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.



Jennifer has also curated an unprecedented event at the Wigmore Hall with three concerts in one day celebrating Polish music, in which she gave the UK premiere of Pendereckis Capriccio for solo violin and a specially commissioned new work by Paulina Zalubska.



An enthusiastic promoter of new music, she has had many works written for her, including Haflii Hallgrimssons Violin Concerto, which she premiered with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Brays Scenes from Wonderland which she premiered with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall and Andrew Schultzs Violin Concerto and Sonatina for solo violin, for which her recording was nominated for Best Performance of an Australian Composition at the Australian Classical Music Awards.



Tickets 35 and 39 Click here for details: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/venueplan/RdiEJKhzXNnT

Helen Baldry, 01/05/2023
Two hospitals  one in Joplin and another in Kansas City, Kansas  denied emergency care to a pregnant Missouri woman in violation of federal law because doctors and staff worried that doing so would violate state abortion restrictions.

Those findings were included in a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on care received by Mylissa Farmer of Joplin at Freeman Health in Joplin and University of Kansas Hospital. The report found numerous violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, known as EMTALA, and the hospitals must show future compliance to avoid penalties that could include loss of the ability to accept Medicare and Medicaid clients.

The report on KU Hospital also found a patient died in the emergency department waiting room who complained of a dry cough after arriving. The hospital was cited for failing to properly screen the patient to determine appropriate treatment.

In a letter to hospitals on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra warned that state laws outlawing abortion do not exempt providers from providing all necessary care required by federal law.

While many state laws have recently changed, its important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that healthcare professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patients emergency medical condition, Becerra wrote.

Farmer first visited Freeman Health on Aug. 2, the deficiency report states, when her water broke after almost 18 weeks of pregnancy. She was told her pregnancy was no longer viable but that the hospital could not terminate it because it was not immediately life-threatening for her and Missouri law prohibits abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detectable.

About 12 hours later, she arrived at University of Kansas Hospital, the report on that hospital states. Doctors there refused to terminate her pregnancy because while Kansas law protects the right to abortion, the law governing the KU Hospital bars abortions on its property.

She visited Freeman Health again the next day, where she was kept overnight for observation and released without further treatment.

The hospitals noncompliance creates a reasonable expectation that an adverse outcome resulting in serious injury, harm, impairment, or death will occur to current or future individuals in similar situations if not immediately corrected, the report states.

Although her doctors advised her that her condition could rapidly deteriorate, they also advised that they could not provide her with the care that would prevent infection, hemorrhage, and potentially death because, they said, the hospital policies prohibited treatment that could be considered an abortion, Becerra wrote. This was a violation of the EMTALA protections that were designed to protect patients like her.

Farmer suffered what doctors call preterm premature rupture of membranes  her water broke, followed by vaginal bleeding, abdominal pressure and cramping, the Springfield News-Leader reported in an October article. Doctors told her she would be unlikely to carry the child to term, and doing so increased her chances of infection or other severe outcome.

She told the newspaper she called hospitals in Colorado and Illinois and had an abortion Aug. 5 at the Hope Clinic in Granite City, Ill.

Farmer appeared in an ad for Trudy Busch Valentine, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, as she campaigned against then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican who signed the proclamation putting Missouris abortion ban into effect. A subsequent investigation, initiated by CMS after the News-Leader story, made Democrats suspicious as they worried it was an effort to find something false about Farmers story.

Farmer filed complaints against Freeman Health and KU Hospital on Nov. 8, after the election. The reports delivered Monday combine the findings of the federally initiated investigation and the investigation of Farmers complaint, said Michelle Banker, attorney for Farmer and Director of Reproductive Rights and Health Litigation at the National Womens Law Center.

The bottom line is that the Biden-Harris administration took decisive action to protect the rights of pregnant patients who need emergency abortion care, Banker said. And whats really critical here is that by enforcing EMTALA, the administration has made it loud and clear that no one should be refused emergency health care, including abortion care.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that found federal constitutional protections for abortion. Missouri was the first state to implement its trigger law that took effect when Schmitt signed a proclamation that the court ruling satisfied the conditions to make abortion illegal in the state.

Under that law, passed in 2019, abortions will only be permitted in cases of a medical emergency when a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

The investigative report details the internal discussion at Freeman Health about the treatments that could be provided. A maternal fetal medicine specialist reported speaking with Farmer about the myriad of medical complications that could arise if the pregnancy was not terminated and that the chance of fetal survival was zero at this gestational age.

At the time of the discussion, Farmer was medically stable, with some vaginal bleeding that was not heavy.

Therefore contrary to the most appropriate management based (sic) my medical opinion, due to the legal language of MO law, we are unable to offer induction of labor at this time, the report quotes the specialist as saying.

Along with the complaint about EMTALA violations, Farmer has filed complaints with the Department of Health and Senior Services Office of Civil Rights against Freeman and KU Hospital as well as Labette Health in Parsons, Kansas, and Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Illinois, both of which declined to accept her for treatment.

She has also filed a complaint against Freeman with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and against KU Hospital and Labette Health with the Kansas Commission on Human Rights.

Banker would not say what comes next for Farmer.

Were continuing to evaluate her legal options, she said.

In a statement, KU Hospital defended its actions in Farmers case but said it would comply with CMS policies.

The care provided to the patient was reviewed by the hospital and found to be in accordance with hospital policy, spokeswoman Jill Chadwick wrote in an email to The Independent. It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law. There is a process with CMS for this complaint and we respect that process. The University of Kansas Health System follows federal and Kansas law in providing appropriate, stabilizing, and quality care to all of its patients, including obstetric patients.

Freeman Health could not be reached for comment.

The findings in the deficiency report are critical for women facing complicated pregnancies, Banker said. The situation Farmer faced is recurring in several states, she said.

We continue to hear reports of patients who are miscarrying, who are facing life threatening pregnancy complications and being forced to wait until theyre on the brink of death before hospitals will let their doctors intervene, Banker said. And so this is not just an important first step in obtaining justice for Melissa, but also in ensuring that this never happens again, to any other pregnant person across the country, and that hospitals are very aware of their legal obligations.
Monika Yadav By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With social media flooded with information, it is no wonder people get carried away by advice which is easily available. Whether it is YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, theres a race to become a social media influencer, and people in all hue and colour give advice on anything under the sun including investment tips.

Many of these influencers have gained huge social media followers and credulous people take their words very seriously. Also come to be known with the moniker  Finfluencers, or financial influencers  their popularity has become a nightmare for regulators, who keep warning credulous people from blindly following these influencers.

The concern among the authorities over the mushrooming brigade of finfluencer and its likely ill-effect on retail investors was visible when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently had to warn against easily available financial solutions on the internet.

People taking investment or financial decisions based on tips from internet need to know the following:

Motive of financial influencers

While asking people to exercise caution before putting in their hard-earned money on someones advice on social media platforms, the finance minister said that seven out of the 10 financial influencers are driven by their own motives or to promote fraudulent schemes.

Rachana Ranade

Yes, many of these influencers get paid to promote financial products, which even they may not purchase or invest in. But since they are paid in huge amounts, they would try and sell products that may not at all be suitable for you.

In the past, several crypto exchanges roped in celebrities and financial influencers to promote trading of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins. Many people lost their money as it is a volatile and an unregulated sector. There is no redressal mechanism if someone is duped of money. Despite this, financial influencers promoted crypto trading.

Recently, Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi among others were banned from participating in Indias share market after SEBIs (Securities and Exchange Board of India) investigations found that they were involved in price manipulation.

Many YouTube channels share false and misleading information about certain stocks to encourage investors to buy them.

They accept paid promotions and make illegal gains by making scams. According to SEBI, while Arshad Warsi made R29 lakh, his wife earned a profit of R37 lakh.

Legality of social media investment tips

Not all the WhatApp and Telegram groups churning out stock tips are doing it legally.

The Sebi barred three people who were the administrators of a Telegram channel named @bullrun2017 from entering the market. It imposed a fine of Rs 5.68 crore on them for providing misleading recommendations on specific stocks in the app. They would first buy stocks of a particular company and then recommend the subscribers to buy those stocks.

They booked huge profits by selling those shares at inflated prices after the subscribers would buy the recommended stocks on their recommendation. In March 2022, SEBI had unearthed a major racket of stock price manipulation through social media and chatting apps. SEBI had also carried out search and seizure operations at multiple locations in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi etc.

According to S Ravi, former BSE Chairman and Founder and Managing Director of Ravi Rajan & Co, in order to address these issues, regulators should consider implementing guidelines and regulations to ensure greater transparency and accountability in influencer marketing. They should disclose their financial relationships with the companies and that they are being compensated for promoting a good or service.

Regulators should consider implementing stricter standards for the products and services that influencers are promoting. Companies should be required to ensure that their products are safe and effective before enlisting the help of promoters to use, Ravi said.

Regulatory grey areas

Unfortunately, there are no concrete guidelines, as of now, to be followed by financial influencers. However, in November last year SK Mohanty, SEBIs whole-time member, had said that the regulator would come out with guidelines for financial influencers. He said stock tips were flowing on social media without regulations. Chartered accountant Rachana Ranade, who is a financial influencer, welcomes the idea of government regulation for financial influencers. Financial influencers have the ability to influence peoples financial decisions, and therefore, have a responsibility to provide accurate and unbiased information. If its a paid promotion, then they must disclose it.

Influencers should adhere to the guidelines framed by advertising standards council of India. Investors should look at the qualification and the experience of influencers who are discussing about any stock, she said. When asked whether influencers should also register with the SEBI, she said that influencers are different from the portfolio managers. People should use their common sense before acting on someones advice, she added.

Without regulation, some financial influencers may take advantage of their position and provide false or misleading information in order to profit from their followers. Regulation can help ensure that influencers are transparent about their sources of income and any conflicts of interest that may arise. This can help consumers make informed decisions about the advice they receive from influencers. It is very important for consumers to be cautious while investing and to thoroughly research any investment options before committing their money.

NEW DELHI: With social media flooded with information, it is no wonder people get carried away by advice which is easily available. Whether it is YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, theres a race to become a social media influencer, and people in all hue and colour give advice on anything under the sun including investment tips. Many of these influencers have gained huge social media followers and credulous people take their words very seriously. Also come to be known with the moniker  Finfluencers, or financial influencers  their popularity has become a nightmare for regulators, who keep warning credulous people from blindly following these influencers. The concern among the authorities over the mushrooming brigade of finfluencer and its likely ill-effect on retail investors was visible when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently had to warn against easily available financial solutions on the internet. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); People taking investment or financial decisions based on tips from internet need to know the following: Motive of financial influencers While asking people to exercise caution before putting in their hard-earned money on someones advice on social media platforms, the finance minister said that seven out of the 10 financial influencers are driven by their own motives or to promote fraudulent schemes. Rachana RanadeYes, many of these influencers get paid to promote financial products, which even they may not purchase or invest in. But since they are paid in huge amounts, they would try and sell products that may not at all be suitable for you. In the past, several crypto exchanges roped in celebrities and financial influencers to promote trading of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins. Many people lost their money as it is a volatile and an unregulated sector. There is no redressal mechanism if someone is duped of money. Despite this, financial influencers promoted crypto trading. Recently, Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi among others were banned from participating in Indias share market after SEBIs (Securities and Exchange Board of India) investigations found that they were involved in price manipulation. Many YouTube channels share false and misleading information about certain stocks to encourage investors to buy them. They accept paid promotions and make illegal gains by making scams. According to SEBI, while Arshad Warsi made R29 lakh, his wife earned a profit of R37 lakh. Legality of social media investment tips Not all the WhatApp and Telegram groups churning out stock tips are doing it legally. The Sebi barred three people who were the administrators of a Telegram channel named @bullrun2017 from entering the market. It imposed a fine of Rs 5.68 crore on them for providing misleading recommendations on specific stocks in the app. They would first buy stocks of a particular company and then recommend the subscribers to buy those stocks. They booked huge profits by selling those shares at inflated prices after the subscribers would buy the recommended stocks on their recommendation. In March 2022, SEBI had unearthed a major racket of stock price manipulation through social media and chatting apps. SEBI had also carried out search and seizure operations at multiple locations in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi etc. According to S Ravi, former BSE Chairman and Founder and Managing Director of Ravi Rajan & Co, in order to address these issues, regulators should consider implementing guidelines and regulations to ensure greater transparency and accountability in influencer marketing. They should disclose their financial relationships with the companies and that they are being compensated for promoting a good or service. Regulators should consider implementing stricter standards for the products and services that influencers are promoting. Companies should be required to ensure that their products are safe and effective before enlisting the help of promoters to use, Ravi said. Regulatory grey areas Unfortunately, there are no concrete guidelines, as of now, to be followed by financial influencers. However, in November last year SK Mohanty, SEBIs whole-time member, had said that the regulator would come out with guidelines for financial influencers. He said stock tips were flowing on social media without regulations. Chartered accountant Rachana Ranade, who is a financial influencer, welcomes the idea of government regulation for financial influencers. Financial influencers have the ability to influence peoples financial decisions, and therefore, have a responsibility to provide accurate and unbiased information. If its a paid promotion, then they must disclose it. Influencers should adhere to the guidelines framed by advertising standards council of India. Investors should look at the qualification and the experience of influencers who are discussing about any stock, she said. When asked whether influencers should also register with the SEBI, she said that influencers are different from the portfolio managers. People should use their common sense before acting on someones advice, she added. Without regulation, some financial influencers may take advantage of their position and provide false or misleading information in order to profit from their followers. Regulation can help ensure that influencers are transparent about their sources of income and any conflicts of interest that may arise. This can help consumers make informed decisions about the advice they receive from influencers. It is very important for consumers to be cautious while investing and to thoroughly research any investment options before committing their money.
Rajas Kelkar By

Express News Service

Numbers dont lie. Mutual fund assets under management doubled to R40 lakh crore in five years. The investment vehicle received a considerable push through sustained industry efforts. Mutual fund companies are conducting aggressive investor awareness campaigns. Yet, the Association of Mutual Funds data in India reveals that one state continues to dominate the total assets under management. About 40% of the total assets worth R 40 lakh crore that mutual funds manage come from only one state. Maharashtra dominated the AUMs five years ago and continues to dominate today. Gujarat and Karnataka are distant second and third.

If you dive deeper and look at equity-oriented schemes, you will find that a third of the AUMs come from Maharashtra. Retail investors are more active in equity-oriented schemes than in debt. The monthly data from AMFI reveals some success of awareness campaigns, though. Maharashtras contribution fell to 29% from 32% over five years to 2023. However, there is still a long way to go before mutual funds become a national phenomenon or a way of every households financial and investing life.

The data for mutual funds more or less aligns with Maharashtra being the top economy in the country. The GDP of Maharashtra is over a tenth of Indias GDP. The state contributes a quarter of the goods and services tax and an even bigger pie in the direct taxes. The state accounts for over 20% of the total deposits and loans. The state capital Mumbai alone contributes two-thirds of the national turnover in the stock market. As such, the equity cult in India exists only in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The data across financial product categories indicates that Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Chennai are emerging as fast-growth centres.

express illustration

If you reside in Mumbai, you must make the most of the equity culture in your city. It is easier for you to find information about equity investing or find a professional advisor to get going. However, if you live outside Mumbai, you probably do not have an inherent investment culture. The data suggest that financial assets are under-owned. If you juxtapose that information with the RBI survey conducted in 2017, that shows 77% of Indian households buy property and over 11% buy gold. For most of you, your physical assets are your investments, and your children are your retirement security.

The skewed distribution of financial products concentrated in one city or state is a collective failure. Despite allocating budgets to investor awareness programmes at the centre and institutional levels, something is not working.

There is a lesson from America here for the Indian establishment.

In 1976, John C Bogle founded Vanguard and the first index fund. A revolution began in personal savings and investing. The government nudged people to put their retirement savings into index funds. The famous 401 (k) plans took shape in the late 70s and 80s, with private companies nudging employees to contribute along with them for future retirement savings. Eventually, in the 80s, US government employees began using the 401 k plans. By 2021, Americans had over $7.3 trillion invested. That probably has jumped even more today.

In India, we need the government and institutions to nudge people towards a defined contribution scheme for retirement. To some extent, it is happening in the National Pension Scheme. However, it is just the beginning. Investing in India is all about defined benefits. A guaranteed return scheme administered by the government generates more interest than a defined contribution scheme that generates a steady market-linked return. The risk appetite is low due to poor awareness of defined contribution schemes.

At the same time, mutual funds focus more on diversified equity funds and other actively managed funds than passive funds like an index or exchange-traded funds. From a business standpoint, that could be their imperative. However, you must be told about your options for a secured financial future as an ordinary investor. A monthly investment in an index fund following the Sensex or the Nifty is your imperative.

Numbers dont lie. Mutual fund assets under management doubled to R40 lakh crore in five years. The investment vehicle received a considerable push through sustained industry efforts. Mutual fund companies are conducting aggressive investor awareness campaigns. Yet, the Association of Mutual Funds data in India reveals that one state continues to dominate the total assets under management. About 40% of the total assets worth R 40 lakh crore that mutual funds manage come from only one state. Maharashtra dominated the AUMs five years ago and continues to dominate today. Gujarat and Karnataka are distant second and third. If you dive deeper and look at equity-oriented schemes, you will find that a third of the AUMs come from Maharashtra. Retail investors are more active in equity-oriented schemes than in debt. The monthly data from AMFI reveals some success of awareness campaigns, though. Maharashtras contribution fell to 29% from 32% over five years to 2023. However, there is still a long way to go before mutual funds become a national phenomenon or a way of every households financial and investing life. The data for mutual funds more or less aligns with Maharashtra being the top economy in the country. The GDP of Maharashtra is over a tenth of Indias GDP. The state contributes a quarter of the goods and services tax and an even bigger pie in the direct taxes. The state accounts for over 20% of the total deposits and loans. The state capital Mumbai alone contributes two-thirds of the national turnover in the stock market. As such, the equity cult in India exists only in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The data across financial product categories indicates that Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Chennai are emerging as fast-growth centres.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); express illustrationIf you reside in Mumbai, you must make the most of the equity culture in your city. It is easier for you to find information about equity investing or find a professional advisor to get going. However, if you live outside Mumbai, you probably do not have an inherent investment culture. The data suggest that financial assets are under-owned. If you juxtapose that information with the RBI survey conducted in 2017, that shows 77% of Indian households buy property and over 11% buy gold. For most of you, your physical assets are your investments, and your children are your retirement security. The skewed distribution of financial products concentrated in one city or state is a collective failure. Despite allocating budgets to investor awareness programmes at the centre and institutional levels, something is not working. There is a lesson from America here for the Indian establishment. In 1976, John C Bogle founded Vanguard and the first index fund. A revolution began in personal savings and investing. The government nudged people to put their retirement savings into index funds. The famous 401 (k) plans took shape in the late 70s and 80s, with private companies nudging employees to contribute along with them for future retirement savings. Eventually, in the 80s, US government employees began using the 401 k plans. By 2021, Americans had over $7.3 trillion invested. That probably has jumped even more today. In India, we need the government and institutions to nudge people towards a defined contribution scheme for retirement. To some extent, it is happening in the National Pension Scheme. However, it is just the beginning. Investing in India is all about defined benefits. A guaranteed return scheme administered by the government generates more interest than a defined contribution scheme that generates a steady market-linked return. The risk appetite is low due to poor awareness of defined contribution schemes. At the same time, mutual funds focus more on diversified equity funds and other actively managed funds than passive funds like an index or exchange-traded funds. From a business standpoint, that could be their imperative. However, you must be told about your options for a secured financial future as an ordinary investor. A monthly investment in an index fund following the Sensex or the Nifty is your imperative.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to reporters after being sworn into office on Jan. 3. 2023 (photo courtesy of Missouri Governor's Office).

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baileys decision to withdraw from a lawsuit against the state highway patrol has earned a sharp rebuke from his potential 2024 rivals, with candidates from both parties demanding he return campaign donations connected to companies suing the state.

Bailey cited an unspecified conflict of interest for not being able to defend the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a lawsuit filed nearly two years before he took office by companies accused of operating illegal gambling devices  Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil.

The state will now be defended by private counsel.

The attorney generals decision quickly drew criticism over the fact that his campaign has received thousands in contributions in recent months from political action committees connected to the chief lobbyist for both companies.

It is ridiculous that taxpayer dollars will now have to be spent on hiring private lawyers to defend the public interest in this litigation because of Baileys decision to accept campaign contributions from parties adverse to the state and from their lobbyists, said Adam Moran, spokesman for Will Scharf, a former assistant U.S. attorney and policy director in Gov. Eric Greitens brief administration who is challenging Bailey in the GOP primary.

Moran noted that Baileys predecessor, Eric Schmitt, returned a campaign contribution from the owner of Torch Electronics after conflict of interest concerns were raised. He said Scharf would pledge not solicit or accept any campaign contributions from registered Missouri lobbyists or the PACs that they control.

We call on Andrew Bailey to take the same pledge, Moran said, and return any such contributions that he has already received.

Elad Gross, a government transparency advocate from St. Louis running for attorney general as a Democrat, said Bailey accepted the donations fully knowing that his office was involved in this litigation.

He has compromised his entire office on this issue, Gross said. So sure, he should return the donations, but he should consider returning his law license, too.

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Democrat also considering a run for attorney general, said Bailey should return campaign cash if it came with any strings attached.

But from the outside, Unsicker said, its impossible to know if the campaign donations are why he withdrew from the case or if it is more complicated.

Baileys campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the criticism.

The attorney generals office declined to clarify whether the campaign contributions were the conflict that caused him to withdraw from the case. A spokeswoman for the office reiterated its previous statement that Bailey withdrew from the lawsuit to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

If Bailey created a conflict by accepting campaign contributions from a company he knew was in active litigation against the state he has an obligation to say so, said Kathleen Clark, a law professor who specializes in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis.

The attorney generals office needs to explain what the conflict is, and in particular, whether its a conflict of its own making by accepting donations, Clark said.

This decision is going to cost the state money to hire private counsel, she said. So it seems to me that taxpayers deserve to know what has caused this conflict of interest, especially if it could have been avoided simply by refusing donations from anyone associated with this lawsuit.

Donations

On March 30, five political action committees cut $2,825 checks to Baileys candidate committee. Thats the largest donation a candidate can accept under voter-imposed contribution limits.

All five PACs  MO Majority, Missouri Senior, Missouri AG, Missouri C and Missouri Growth  are linked to Steve Tilley, a lobbyist who represents both Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil.

Last year Torch and Warrenton combined to donate $275,000 to the five PACs. While the PACs had other donors, half of the money they raised last year came from Torch and Warrenton.

All five PACs also contributed to Liberty and Justice PAC, which was formed late last year to boost Baileys 2024 campaign. But while Bailey can help that PAC fundraise, he is not allowed to have any direct control over how it operates or spends its money.

Further complicating the situation, the Missouri Gaming Association last month filed a motion to intervene in the Cole County lawsuit. The association, which represents the states 13 licensed casinos, has long called for a crackdown on Torchs machines. Its attorney in the case is Marc Ellinger, who also serves as treasurer for Baileys campaign committee.

None of the other potential candidates for attorney general have received contributions from Torch or Warrenton, though Torchs longtime spokesman  Gregg Keller  serves as a senior adviser for Scharfs campaign.

Game of chance?

Torch Electronics, founded in 2015, has placed thousands of its video games in convenience stores, truck stops and other locations across the state. Warrenton Oil, which operates more than 50 convenience stores, has Torch machines in many of its locations.

The machines in question operate similarly to what youd find in a casino. Players insert money, select a game and decide how much they wish to wager. Winners get paid by the store cashier.

The Missouri Gaming Commission has deemed the machines gambling devices, which are prohibited outside of licensed casinos, and the state highway patrol considers them illegal.

Torch disagrees, saying its machines reveal the outcome of the wager before the player moves forward. Thus, the company argues, they are not a game of chance and therefore not illegal.

Starting in 2019, the highway patrol began a focused enforcement effort against the machines, sending more than 200 cases to local prosecutors alleging violations of state gambling laws.

Few criminal cases have been filed, however, and the lawsuit filed in Cole County seeks to quash any future investigations. Torch and Warrenton are asking the judge to declare that its machines are not gambling devices and that the state overstepped its authority when it removed machines from convenient stores.

When asked about the issue shortly after he was sworn into office in January, Bailey made it clear his office would not be going after unregulated gaming machines.

That is an issue thats up to local law enforcement investigators and local prosecutors, Bailey told reporters at the time.

The Cole County case is scheduled for a trial beginning July 31. Both Scott Pool, the attorney who now represents the state, and Chuck Hatfield, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the change of counsel should not delay the case.

Lets see if that actually ends up being true, Clark said. This case has been going on for two years. And now a few months before trial is set to begin, the expertise that the attorney generals office has developed over the last couple of years is no longer available.
S Lalitha By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Leaving behind boxes of herbal oils and other medicinal products they had taken from Davangere to Sudan for their hotel business, Shivananda Jayanth and his wife Roja dashed out of their room a week ago, with bags holding some clothes and documents.

They walked with over a hundred members of the Hikki Pikki tribal community, to escape the constant bombing in Sudan. It turned out to be a happy ending when their Indigo flight carrying 229 Indians, including 125 from Karnataka, touched base at Bengaluru airport at 11 am Sunday, the second such evacuation flight to Bengaluru.

Jayanth (31), who went to Khartoum for two months last December to sell herbal products, decided to stay back and build his business. However, after a bank in front of their hotel was reduced to nothing in the bombing, and living through two days without food and power, made the couple decide to take a shot at life, rather than die in the raging civil war.

Jayanth said, I was staying in Hotel Khawaquif in Suklarabi Siniagandul area. With reasonable rentals of Rs 800 and Rs 1,000, the adjoining two hotels too were occupied for months by Hikki Pikki families who came here to do business. My mother and aunt are still there, awaiting evacuation.

After he decided to leave, it took him a week to touch down in Bengaluru. We waited for a few days to see if the situation would ease, and decided to leave. The hotel manager and staff had already left the rooms to us. We met an Army man who promised to provide cover for 158 of us in the hotels. We walked 300 metres with our baggage to a bridge. Bullets were being fired as we walked, but the Army men saved us. We paid for buses to Minabari, where there was no fighting, and my aunt and others were staying.

There, we took up apartments for two days before travelling 850km by bus to Port of Sudan. The bus was constantly stopped by warring factions. The Indian embassy helped us and the Indian Navy took us by ship to Jeddah, where we boarded a flight to Bengaluru.

Navin Kumar and wife Shwetha, also from the same community in Davangere, expressed their gratitude to the Indian and Karnataka governments for timely help. I came here in January 2023, ran a massage parlour and sold my herbal products, before war started on April 15, he said.

BENGALURU: Leaving behind boxes of herbal oils and other medicinal products they had taken from Davangere to Sudan for their hotel business, Shivananda Jayanth and his wife Roja dashed out of their room a week ago, with bags holding some clothes and documents. They walked with over a hundred members of the Hikki Pikki tribal community, to escape the constant bombing in Sudan. It turned out to be a happy ending when their Indigo flight carrying 229 Indians, including 125 from Karnataka, touched base at Bengaluru airport at 11 am Sunday, the second such evacuation flight to Bengaluru. Jayanth (31), who went to Khartoum for two months last December to sell herbal products, decided to stay back and build his business. However, after a bank in front of their hotel was reduced to nothing in the bombing, and living through two days without food and power, made the couple decide to take a shot at life, rather than die in the raging civil war. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Jayanth said, I was staying in Hotel Khawaquif in Suklarabi Siniagandul area. With reasonable rentals of Rs 800 and Rs 1,000, the adjoining two hotels too were occupied for months by Hikki Pikki families who came here to do business. My mother and aunt are still there, awaiting evacuation. After he decided to leave, it took him a week to touch down in Bengaluru. We waited for a few days to see if the situation would ease, and decided to leave. The hotel manager and staff had already left the rooms to us. We met an Army man who promised to provide cover for 158 of us in the hotels. We walked 300 metres with our baggage to a bridge. Bullets were being fired as we walked, but the Army men saved us. We paid for buses to Minabari, where there was no fighting, and my aunt and others were staying. There, we took up apartments for two days before travelling 850km by bus to Port of Sudan. The bus was constantly stopped by warring factions. The Indian embassy helped us and the Indian Navy took us by ship to Jeddah, where we boarded a flight to Bengaluru. Navin Kumar and wife Shwetha, also from the same community in Davangere, expressed their gratitude to the Indian and Karnataka governments for timely help. I came here in January 2023, ran a massage parlour and sold my herbal products, before war started on April 15, he said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: About 300 fishermen from Nochikuppam village near Marina Beach were detained after they protested against the decision to allot quarters to residents of Dooming Kuppam. They were detained in a marriage hall and released by 6 pm.

On Sunday morning, the villagers protested demanding the allotment of 320 houses to residents of Nochikuppam. When talks failed, the police detained the protesters. On Friday, some residents had occupied the empty quarters and demanded the withdrawal of allotment to Dooming Kuppam residents.

The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHB) constructed the tenements for residents of Nochikuppam near Loop Road. Recently, the officials decided to allocate these tenements to residents of Dooming Kuppam also, which angered Nochikuppam residents. The protesters from Nochikuppam gathered near the housing quarters after tokens were allotted to people from Dooming Kuppam and Srinivasapuram.

Officials said the tenements in Dooming Kuppam were damaged in January 2023. A total of 320 houses have been allotted for them so that their current place of residence can be demolished and reconstructed, said officials.

Many protesters alleged that the authorities were purposefully making it harder for families from Nochikuppam to qualify for housing after their recent protest against the Madras High Courts order to remove them from Loop Road. The protesters alleged that the officials were quoting building damage in Dooming Kuppam and allotted only 534 houses for Nochikuppam residents. While 11 blocks meant for residents of Nochikuppam are complete, buildings meant to house residents of other villages are still under construction.

The construction began in 2014. A total of 1,188 dwelling units have been constructed so far, west of Loop Road. Out of them, around 320 are occupied by those who lost homes in the 2004 tsunami. Out of the total, 320 houses are reserved for residents of Dooming Kuppam.

CHENNAI: About 300 fishermen from Nochikuppam village near Marina Beach were detained after they protested against the decision to allot quarters to residents of Dooming Kuppam. They were detained in a marriage hall and released by 6 pm. On Sunday morning, the villagers protested demanding the allotment of 320 houses to residents of Nochikuppam. When talks failed, the police detained the protesters. On Friday, some residents had occupied the empty quarters and demanded the withdrawal of allotment to Dooming Kuppam residents. The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHB) constructed the tenements for residents of Nochikuppam near Loop Road. Recently, the officials decided to allocate these tenements to residents of Dooming Kuppam also, which angered Nochikuppam residents. The protesters from Nochikuppam gathered near the housing quarters after tokens were allotted to people from Dooming Kuppam and Srinivasapuram. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Officials said the tenements in Dooming Kuppam were damaged in January 2023. A total of 320 houses have been allotted for them so that their current place of residence can be demolished and reconstructed, said officials. Many protesters alleged that the authorities were purposefully making it harder for families from Nochikuppam to qualify for housing after their recent protest against the Madras High Courts order to remove them from Loop Road. The protesters alleged that the officials were quoting building damage in Dooming Kuppam and allotted only 534 houses for Nochikuppam residents. While 11 blocks meant for residents of Nochikuppam are complete, buildings meant to house residents of other villages are still under construction. The construction began in 2014. A total of 1,188 dwelling units have been constructed so far, west of Loop Road. Out of them, around 320 are occupied by those who lost homes in the 2004 tsunami. Out of the total, 320 houses are reserved for residents of Dooming Kuppam.
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In addition to their support to the agitating wrestlers, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)  a collective of farmers unions  has announced it is planning to resume its protests in Telangana, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the polls are due this year.

In a presser on Sunday in Delhi, the collective reiterated its demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, loan waiver, pension for farmers and agricultural workers, a pro-farmer plan for insurance claims for damaged crops and withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill.

The SKM strongly opposed the governments pro-corporate policy and laid out their next six months plan. The SKM will organise marches in different parts of the country, culminating in a rally in Delhi on November 26, the anniversary of the farmers historic protest.

The farmer leaders demanded the dismissal of the Minister of State (Home Affairs) Ajay Mishra Teni for his role in the death of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri who were run over by his convoy. The farmers also demanded action against Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh over alleged sexual harassment. Our demand is the immediate arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh to protect the dignity of our daughters, Darshanpal Singh, convenor of SKM, told this paper.

They also supported the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satyapal Mallik, and criticised the governments move to de-recognize the countrys two oldest postal unions that backed the farmers movement.

Media is supporting Brij Bhushan: Protesting wrestlers

The protesting wrestlers on Sunday accused the media of helping WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh more than the players, saying the newspersons should not give him the platform to speak.

"The media is supporting Brij Bhushan more than the players. You see his criminal records. Does any player, sitting here, or players from other sports, have a criminal record?" wrestler Bajrang Punia asked during a media interaction.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court had asked the Delhi Police to provide appropriate security to the victims who had levelled allegations against the WFI chief. (Click here to read more....)

(With inputs from ENS, Ujwal Jalali)

NEW DELHI: In addition to their support to the agitating wrestlers, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)  a collective of farmers unions  has announced it is planning to resume its protests in Telangana, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the polls are due this year. In a presser on Sunday in Delhi, the collective reiterated its demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, loan waiver, pension for farmers and agricultural workers, a pro-farmer plan for insurance claims for damaged crops and withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill. The SKM strongly opposed the governments pro-corporate policy and laid out their next six months plan. The SKM will organise marches in different parts of the country, culminating in a rally in Delhi on November 26, the anniversary of the farmers historic protest.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The farmer leaders demanded the dismissal of the Minister of State (Home Affairs) Ajay Mishra Teni for his role in the death of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri who were run over by his convoy. The farmers also demanded action against Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh over alleged sexual harassment. Our demand is the immediate arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh to protect the dignity of our daughters, Darshanpal Singh, convenor of SKM, told this paper. They also supported the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satyapal Mallik, and criticised the governments move to de-recognize the countrys two oldest postal unions that backed the farmers movement. Media is supporting Brij Bhushan: Protesting wrestlers The protesting wrestlers on Sunday accused the media of helping WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh more than the players, saying the newspersons should not give him the platform to speak. "The media is supporting Brij Bhushan more than the players. You see his criminal records. Does any player, sitting here, or players from other sports, have a criminal record?" wrestler Bajrang Punia asked during a media interaction. Meanwhile, Supreme Court had asked the Delhi Police to provide appropriate security to the victims who had levelled allegations against the WFI chief. (Click here to read more....) (With inputs from ENS, Ujwal Jalali)
Shrimansi Kaushik By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Manasa Yendluri says that her introduction is enough while highlighting the intersectionality aspect of marginalisation, as a woman with a concern for the LGBTQ community, born as a Dalit Christian, she is already a minority in terms of gender, caste and religion. Within that too, being an Andhra Dalit is different from being a Telangana Dalit.

Telangana Dalits claim that (with which I truly agree) Andhra Dalits are far more progressive, aggressive and advanced. The best example of this is my family background. My paternal grandfather was a Madiga whereas my grandmother was a Mala from Maharashtra, a BCC. She came to Andhra and married my grandfather, whose family has been cobblers for thousands of years and still lives in Madigawada. I am a second-generation learner from my fathers side but from my mothers side, I am a sixth-generation learner. This is because her mother and grandmothers were in touch with the British and were part of the Salvation Army, higher cadres of the Christian community. On the other hand, my fathers family practise tanning cattle skin for their living, she said.

Sharing her experiences from her childhood, Manasa said,  I remember when I was in class 9, a friend came to me and said, I dont like Christians but I like you. I realised that comment was different from other compliments. In class 10, I got the highest marks in Economics. The teacher made all toppers stand in front of the class and all students clapped for us. Suddenly her face got dark and she said, What are you all Hindu girls doing? Why arent you studying hard? Look all toppers are Christians. I was the only Christian girl standing there.

Emphasising the fact that her identity as a Dalit Christian writer helps her cause of fighting for them but it becomes problematic when the same identity is used in a derogatory and insulting manner. The fame of her father as a poet and the skill of her mother as a researcher has accompanied her mostly as a blessing, but at times, overshadowing her too. I cannot write what my father wrote but he too could not write what I write as a Dalit Christian woman, she said.

This is precisely the experience from which her characters emerge, the complex fuzz of intermixed identities. There is Baby Kamble, Urmila Pawar and Namburi Paripurna but there is still not much change in terms of understanding and acceptance of Dalit expression and experience. One day, I met a professor at a university who kept reiterating what a big fan he was of my father. Then he said, the real heroes of the Dalit community are rural women who sow seeds and work in the fields just after delivering a baby. I asked what their fathers, husbands, and brothers had been doing then. That got him offended. There is something called Dalit patriarchy, Dalit male domination, and subversion of Dalit women by Dalit men too. It needs to be highlighted, she said.

Talking about urban identity fusing with caste, religion and gender, she said shared an anecdote of her father and a friend who worked in the police department exchanging experiences of being marginalised in their workspaces. While her father, despite being a renowned poet and a writer, was never wished by peons and clerks at the university of which he was the dean. The VC also did not have much problem with it. Whereas the police officer said that he was never given a tough branch such as crime to work with. He was just made to sit in his office and sign papers.

Shedding light on how ill-informed people are on sexuality, she recalled once being questioned about how a Dalit woman can be a lesbian. I had the laugh of my life, she said, chuckling. There need to be more such voices that have been left unheard, she said.

(Telugu writer Manasa Yendluri sheds light on how the intersectionality of caste, religion and gender works in shaping our complex realities and the need to share experiences highlighting the same.)

HYDERABAD: Manasa Yendluri says that her introduction is enough while highlighting the intersectionality aspect of marginalisation, as a woman with a concern for the LGBTQ community, born as a Dalit Christian, she is already a minority in terms of gender, caste and religion. Within that too, being an Andhra Dalit is different from being a Telangana Dalit. Telangana Dalits claim that (with which I truly agree) Andhra Dalits are far more progressive, aggressive and advanced. The best example of this is my family background. My paternal grandfather was a Madiga whereas my grandmother was a Mala from Maharashtra, a BCC. She came to Andhra and married my grandfather, whose family has been cobblers for thousands of years and still lives in Madigawada. I am a second-generation learner from my fathers side but from my mothers side, I am a sixth-generation learner. This is because her mother and grandmothers were in touch with the British and were part of the Salvation Army, higher cadres of the Christian community. On the other hand, my fathers family practise tanning cattle skin for their living, she said. Sharing her experiences from her childhood, Manasa said,  I remember when I was in class 9, a friend came to me and said, I dont like Christians but I like you. I realised that comment was different from other compliments. In class 10, I got the highest marks in Economics. The teacher made all toppers stand in front of the class and all students clapped for us. Suddenly her face got dark and she said, What are you all Hindu girls doing? Why arent you studying hard? Look all toppers are Christians. I was the only Christian girl standing there. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Emphasising the fact that her identity as a Dalit Christian writer helps her cause of fighting for them but it becomes problematic when the same identity is used in a derogatory and insulting manner. The fame of her father as a poet and the skill of her mother as a researcher has accompanied her mostly as a blessing, but at times, overshadowing her too. I cannot write what my father wrote but he too could not write what I write as a Dalit Christian woman, she said. This is precisely the experience from which her characters emerge, the complex fuzz of intermixed identities. There is Baby Kamble, Urmila Pawar and Namburi Paripurna but there is still not much change in terms of understanding and acceptance of Dalit expression and experience. One day, I met a professor at a university who kept reiterating what a big fan he was of my father. Then he said, the real heroes of the Dalit community are rural women who sow seeds and work in the fields just after delivering a baby. I asked what their fathers, husbands, and brothers had been doing then. That got him offended. There is something called Dalit patriarchy, Dalit male domination, and subversion of Dalit women by Dalit men too. It needs to be highlighted, she said. Talking about urban identity fusing with caste, religion and gender, she said shared an anecdote of her father and a friend who worked in the police department exchanging experiences of being marginalised in their workspaces. While her father, despite being a renowned poet and a writer, was never wished by peons and clerks at the university of which he was the dean. The VC also did not have much problem with it. Whereas the police officer said that he was never given a tough branch such as crime to work with. He was just made to sit in his office and sign papers. Shedding light on how ill-informed people are on sexuality, she recalled once being questioned about how a Dalit woman can be a lesbian. I had the laugh of my life, she said, chuckling. There need to be more such voices that have been left unheard, she said. (Telugu writer Manasa Yendluri sheds light on how the intersectionality of caste, religion and gender works in shaping our complex realities and the need to share experiences highlighting the same.)
Kartik Bhardwaj By

Express News Service

When you see late actor Irrfan Khan for the first time on screen in his last theatrical release, he is standing on a dune, looking in the distance. Those bulging eyes are still holding in the seas. His lips are apart in a lovers longing. He gazes at a woman in black who is walking farther and farther away from him, becoming smaller in the vast expanse of the Rajasthan desert.

The woman is Nooran (a mesmerising Golshifteh Farahani), who comes from a family of shamanic healers. A family of two: She and her grandmother Zubeidaa (Waheeda Rehman). They treat scorpion bites by singing a song which freezes the venom in the victims veins. Zubeidaa pushes Nooran to improve her singing and do riyaaz. The image of Nooran, holding a lantern, crooning to the sky in the cold desert night, is tranquilising. Director Anup Singh (Ekti Nadir Naam, 2003; Qissa, 2013) knits poetry through visuals. Nooran cuddled with her grandmother on a bed, camels walking in a straight line, villagers huddled around a fireplace, all seem like elements of folk paintings.

Aadam (Irrfan Khan), a camel trader, is Noorans suitor. He follows her, even bluntly asks her hand in marriage, but she refuses. Dejected, Aadam whiles away time with his friend, the philanderer Munna (Shashank Arora). Irrfan brings a hypnotic charm to the character. His whole body emotes. The way he walks, and the way he stares, opens unexplored dimensions in both Aadam and the story. Even though The Song of Scorpions treads on grim themes, Irrfan manages to sneak in his subtle humour. One day, after eyeing Nooran, he meets Munna who asks, Baat hui? (Did you talk?). Baat ki kya zarurat hai? (Whats the need for talk?), replies Irrfan. What he says might sound plain but how he mouths the words endears him to the viewer.

A still from the trailer of 'The Song of Scorpions'

Nooran gets raped by Munna. The sepia-toned Rajasthan goes grey. In a scene, Nooran runs amok, trying to find her grandmother, who mysteriously vanished after the assault. She tires and falls to her knees. The sky she sang to is heavy with black clouds. The village women ask her to go to the city since she has been violated now. Nooran gives in to Aadams advances and marries him. The Song of Scorpions is told like a fable. Munnas dialogues are at times incomprehensible, yet soothing to the ears. At times the plot reminded me of tales of Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha. Although Nooran finds belonging (although short-lived) at Aadams house, she has lost her enchanting voice and also herself. In a haunting scene, she sits on a dune and softly takes her own name, over and over again.

Although the films poster has a mounting Irrfan on it, his role is rather limited. He still lingers around, sometimes materialising from the darkness like his character Roohdaar in Haider (2014), yearning for love like Haasils (2002) Ranvijay and holding in his demons like Musafir Khan from 7 Khoon Maaf (2011). When he asks Nooran why she never looked at him, she explains she might have missed him in the group of villagers. Irrfan replies, Bheed mein kho jaun main aisa ko ni (I am not someone who gets lost in the crowd).

The Song of Scorpions

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani. Waheeda Rehman, Shashank Arora

Director: Anup Singh

Rating: 3.5/5

When you see late actor Irrfan Khan for the first time on screen in his last theatrical release, he is standing on a dune, looking in the distance. Those bulging eyes are still holding in the seas. His lips are apart in a lovers longing. He gazes at a woman in black who is walking farther and farther away from him, becoming smaller in the vast expanse of the Rajasthan desert. The woman is Nooran (a mesmerising Golshifteh Farahani), who comes from a family of shamanic healers. A family of two: She and her grandmother Zubeidaa (Waheeda Rehman). They treat scorpion bites by singing a song which freezes the venom in the victims veins. Zubeidaa pushes Nooran to improve her singing and do riyaaz. The image of Nooran, holding a lantern, crooning to the sky in the cold desert night, is tranquilising. Director Anup Singh (Ekti Nadir Naam, 2003; Qissa, 2013) knits poetry through visuals. Nooran cuddled with her grandmother on a bed, camels walking in a straight line, villagers huddled around a fireplace, all seem like elements of folk paintings. Aadam (Irrfan Khan), a camel trader, is Noorans suitor. He follows her, even bluntly asks her hand in marriage, but she refuses. Dejected, Aadam whiles away time with his friend, the philanderer Munna (Shashank Arora). Irrfan brings a hypnotic charm to the character. His whole body emotes. The way he walks, and the way he stares, opens unexplored dimensions in both Aadam and the story. Even though The Song of Scorpions treads on grim themes, Irrfan manages to sneak in his subtle humour. One day, after eyeing Nooran, he meets Munna who asks, Baat hui? (Did you talk?). Baat ki kya zarurat hai? (Whats the need for talk?), replies Irrfan. What he says might sound plain but how he mouths the words endears him to the viewer.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A still from the trailer of 'The Song of Scorpions'Nooran gets raped by Munna. The sepia-toned Rajasthan goes grey. In a scene, Nooran runs amok, trying to find her grandmother, who mysteriously vanished after the assault. She tires and falls to her knees. The sky she sang to is heavy with black clouds. The village women ask her to go to the city since she has been violated now. Nooran gives in to Aadams advances and marries him. The Song of Scorpions is told like a fable. Munnas dialogues are at times incomprehensible, yet soothing to the ears. At times the plot reminded me of tales of Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha. Although Nooran finds belonging (although short-lived) at Aadams house, she has lost her enchanting voice and also herself. In a haunting scene, she sits on a dune and softly takes her own name, over and over again. Although the films poster has a mounting Irrfan on it, his role is rather limited. He still lingers around, sometimes materialising from the darkness like his character Roohdaar in Haider (2014), yearning for love like Haasils (2002) Ranvijay and holding in his demons like Musafir Khan from 7 Khoon Maaf (2011). When he asks Nooran why she never looked at him, she explains she might have missed him in the group of villagers. Irrfan replies, Bheed mein kho jaun main aisa ko ni (I am not someone who gets lost in the crowd). The Song of Scorpions Cast: Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani. Waheeda Rehman, Shashank AroraDirector: Anup SinghRating: 3.5/5
Monika Monalisa By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: It was the first-ever time that city-based dancer Shreema Upadhyaya saw herself on the big screen when Mani Ratnams 'Ponniyin Selvan 2' released on Friday. Upadhyaya, who plays the role of Maathuli, the Rashtrakuta princess, is still processing the feeling which is yet to sink in.

A Bharatnatyam dancer herself, who is trained to master her expressions, Upadhyaya looked every bit her role. It was during the pandemic that I was asked to be a part of the film. We shot the movie in 2021,says Upadhyaya whose role came with very limited screen time.

Admitting that she had no idea about the movie, she is grateful for the opportunity. Honestly, I wasnt aware of this movie being shot. But somehow, they got to know about me, connected and told me that they would like me to audition for the role. However, it was not this role that I auditioned for initially. Later, the team felt Maathulis character would suit me better. Since Im not an actor, I was really looking forward to my first experience, she adds.

Working with Ratnam is on the checklist of many seasoned actors, however, Upadhyayas first movie was with him. The city-based dancer was awestruck by the precision that the veteran director works with. He knew exactly what he wanted and he is a visionary. Since he led the way, that help everybody who worked with him. He functioned with a certain amount of clarity. He knew what exactly had to be done. With that kind of conviction, everything moved smoothly even if it was such a large-scale film, she says.

Upadhyayas role was such that she didnt have many scenes with the other actors but she says it was still thrilling for her to see her name in the same poster as other top actors from the south Indian industry, These are the people I grew up watching  be it Aishwarya Rai, Trisha or anybody else. I have always loved Sobhita (Dhulipala). I have great admiration for all of them. Even though I didnt have scenes with them, I did see them on the sets prepping for their parts, says Upadhyaya, adding, Being a Kannadiga, I have watched a lot of Tamil films growing up. I could hardly process anything because I couldnt leave my set there. I think all of it sunk in much later.

The news of being in a magnum Mani Ratnam film was thrilling for Upadhyayas family as well. I dont think they really expected this to happen. Ive been clear about how I was an artiste so this came out of the blue. So everyone was taken aback by it, recalls Upadhyaya, who is now working on another Tamil project, along with her dance career.



BENGALURU: It was the first-ever time that city-based dancer Shreema Upadhyaya saw herself on the big screen when Mani Ratnams 'Ponniyin Selvan 2' released on Friday. Upadhyaya, who plays the role of Maathuli, the Rashtrakuta princess, is still processing the feeling which is yet to sink in. A Bharatnatyam dancer herself, who is trained to master her expressions, Upadhyaya looked every bit her role. It was during the pandemic that I was asked to be a part of the film. We shot the movie in 2021,says Upadhyaya whose role came with very limited screen time. Admitting that she had no idea about the movie, she is grateful for the opportunity. Honestly, I wasnt aware of this movie being shot. But somehow, they got to know about me, connected and told me that they would like me to audition for the role. However, it was not this role that I auditioned for initially. Later, the team felt Maathulis character would suit me better. Since Im not an actor, I was really looking forward to my first experience, she adds.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Working with Ratnam is on the checklist of many seasoned actors, however, Upadhyayas first movie was with him. The city-based dancer was awestruck by the precision that the veteran director works with. He knew exactly what he wanted and he is a visionary. Since he led the way, that help everybody who worked with him. He functioned with a certain amount of clarity. He knew what exactly had to be done. With that kind of conviction, everything moved smoothly even if it was such a large-scale film, she says. Upadhyayas role was such that she didnt have many scenes with the other actors but she says it was still thrilling for her to see her name in the same poster as other top actors from the south Indian industry, These are the people I grew up watching  be it Aishwarya Rai, Trisha or anybody else. I have always loved Sobhita (Dhulipala). I have great admiration for all of them. Even though I didnt have scenes with them, I did see them on the sets prepping for their parts, says Upadhyaya, adding, Being a Kannadiga, I have watched a lot of Tamil films growing up. I could hardly process anything because I couldnt leave my set there. I think all of it sunk in much later. The news of being in a magnum Mani Ratnam film was thrilling for Upadhyayas family as well. I dont think they really expected this to happen. Ive been clear about how I was an artiste so this came out of the blue. So everyone was taken aback by it, recalls Upadhyaya, who is now working on another Tamil project, along with her dance career.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: At least 3,400 Indians stuck in strife-torn Sudan were rescued by the Indian authorities under Operation Kaveri.

Even as other countries are involved in evacuating its citizens from Sudan, The Associated Press Monday night quoting a top UN official in the country reported that the warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told The Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.

Operation Kaveri

"The Indian government has worked around the clock to get our citizens back", Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.

The operation began with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, anchoring a high-level meeting in Sudan and subsequently sending Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan to oversee the rescue operations in Jeddah.

"The Saudi government has extended a lot of help as a result of which we have been able to establish basic makeshift facilities with all amenities for our citizens, Kwatra added.

The last batch of Indians is expected to reach India by Wednesday as nearly all Indians are in the safe zone and have left Sudan. They would reach India through various air connections.

Private domestic carrier, Spicejet too joined in the rescue efforts by bringing back stranded Indians to Kochi from Jeddah on Monday.

India had earlier taken the services of Saudi Airlines, besides flying its own Indian Air Force C130J aircraft to fly Indians across different cities which included Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The Indian embassy in Khartoum was near the airport which was close to the conflict zone, around Indian embassy staff members worked from a different location and yet could coordinate efforts with the Indians spread across Sudan.

Some Indians left their homes without documents so the MEA had to facilitate their documents, getting buses or fuel for buses was an uphill task. With no or poor network it was difficult to coordinate as sometimes the conversations couldnt be completed. Loading passengers and sending them on a bus to reach Port of Sudan (which took anywhere between 12 to 18 hours to cover a distance of 850 kms) was the second phase. On reaching the Port of Sudan these passengers were either sent by air or by ship to Jeddah from where they took India-bound flights.

ALSO READ | 'Catastrophic situation': UN says Sudan near 'breaking point' as battles flare despite latest 'truce'

Besides the 3500 Indians, there are also 1000 people of Indian origin (PIO) in Sudan. However, since they have been settled in Sudan for over a century and have Sudanese passports they havent shown any interest in moving out.

India also managed to rescue a French embassy staff from Khartoum earlier.

US evacuates 1000 citizens

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, by Sunday nearly 1,000 Americans had left Sudan, with another convoy having arrived at Port Sudan to travel onwards via Saudi Arabia.

Britain said it has evacuated 2,122 people, mostly British nationals and their dependents and had arranged an extra flight from Port Sudan on Monday after announcing its last flight from Khartoum on Saturday, citing a decline in demand and volatility on the ground.

Germany said on Wednesday it had ended its operation to evacuate people from Sudan, with more than 700 people flown out, including around 200 German citizens.



(With inputs from AP and Reuters.)

NEW DELHI: At least 3,400 Indians stuck in strife-torn Sudan were rescued by the Indian authorities under Operation Kaveri. Even as other countries are involved in evacuating its citizens from Sudan, The Associated Press Monday night quoting a top UN official in the country reported that the warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire. If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told The Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Operation Kaveri "The Indian government has worked around the clock to get our citizens back", Foreign Secretary Kwatra said. The operation began with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, anchoring a high-level meeting in Sudan and subsequently sending Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan to oversee the rescue operations in Jeddah. "The Saudi government has extended a lot of help as a result of which we have been able to establish basic makeshift facilities with all amenities for our citizens, Kwatra added. The last batch of Indians is expected to reach India by Wednesday as nearly all Indians are in the safe zone and have left Sudan. They would reach India through various air connections. Private domestic carrier, Spicejet too joined in the rescue efforts by bringing back stranded Indians to Kochi from Jeddah on Monday. India had earlier taken the services of Saudi Airlines, besides flying its own Indian Air Force C130J aircraft to fly Indians across different cities which included Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The Indian embassy in Khartoum was near the airport which was close to the conflict zone, around Indian embassy staff members worked from a different location and yet could coordinate efforts with the Indians spread across Sudan. Some Indians left their homes without documents so the MEA had to facilitate their documents, getting buses or fuel for buses was an uphill task. With no or poor network it was difficult to coordinate as sometimes the conversations couldnt be completed. Loading passengers and sending them on a bus to reach Port of Sudan (which took anywhere between 12 to 18 hours to cover a distance of 850 kms) was the second phase. On reaching the Port of Sudan these passengers were either sent by air or by ship to Jeddah from where they took India-bound flights. ALSO READ | 'Catastrophic situation': UN says Sudan near 'breaking point' as battles flare despite latest 'truce' Besides the 3500 Indians, there are also 1000 people of Indian origin (PIO) in Sudan. However, since they have been settled in Sudan for over a century and have Sudanese passports they havent shown any interest in moving out. India also managed to rescue a French embassy staff from Khartoum earlier. US evacuates 1000 citizens Meanwhile, according to Reuters, by Sunday nearly 1,000 Americans had left Sudan, with another convoy having arrived at Port Sudan to travel onwards via Saudi Arabia. Britain said it has evacuated 2,122 people, mostly British nationals and their dependents and had arranged an extra flight from Port Sudan on Monday after announcing its last flight from Khartoum on Saturday, citing a decline in demand and volatility on the ground. Germany said on Wednesday it had ended its operation to evacuate people from Sudan, with more than 700 people flown out, including around 200 German citizens. (With inputs from AP and Reuters.)
Iman Mitra By

Ranajit Guhas passing was not untimely in a prosaic sense.

He would have turned a hundred in a few weeks and had been unwell for a while. But the fact that he was alive for almost a century and worked till very well into his nineties has a historical value.

All the events that took place in these hundred years, in varying degrees, greatly impacted his life and oeuvre, but more importantly, his political convictions and their emphatic articulations in his research.

His was a life which he kept examining and re-examining till the very end. It is another matter that this critical examination resulted in an overturning of the edifices that occluded creativity and empathy in history writing in South Asia.

Guha was born on 23 May 1923 in the Barisal district of present-day Bangladesh. His family owned some 50 acres of land in the region and hence was part of the landed gentry in pre-partitioned Bengal. He finished his schooling in Barisal and Calcutta in the forties and entered the Presidency College, Calcutta, where he was introduced to Marxism and left politics.

Between 1942 and 1956, he wrote for Swadhinata  the newspaper published by the Communist Party of India  and the journal Peoples War in Bombay, went to Paris as a representative to the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and worked among the workers of the Keshoram Cotton Mill and with the dock workers of Metiabruz and Khidirpur.In 1956, he resigned from the Communist Party, protesting against the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union.

The idea for his first book came while he was a student of history at the University of Calcutta. Growing up with the children of the peasants who used to work in the lands owned by his family, Guha became acutely aware of the hierarchies which existed between him and his playmates. The master-subject relationship explicitly drawn and practised within the zamindari system initiated by the Permanent Settlement started to fascinate him as the foundation of social and cultural hierarchies that coloured the experience of colonialism. Guha offered an intellectual history of Permanent Settlement to show that the contradictions in the ideology of the Empire were already at play in its early days. One of these contradictions had to do with the nature of modernity in South Asia, which came to us through our colonial masters with a lot of restrictions and modifications. This theme would return in many of his later writings.

Ranajit Guha (1923-2023)

Guhas ideas were not well received among his leftist peers, and eventually he had to publish the book A Rule of Property for Bengal (1963) after he moved to Europe. In 1970-71, the ongoing political turmoil in India turned his attention to the figure of the peasant as the agent of history. In the existing scholarship on colonialism, he discovered a tendency to speak in the voice of the elitist groups, both the British and their Indian counterparts. Even the Marxist historians tended to look at the resistance against the British as conditioned by a false consciousness on the part of the peasant rebels. In the late seventies, Guha gathered a group of young scholars, many without even PhD degrees, to form the Subaltern Studies collective for exploring the role of the political consciousness of the non-elite groups in the anticolonial struggle.

The term subaltern was borrowed from the Italian thinker Antonio Gramscis lexicon but thoroughly redefined in the Indian context as the demographic difference between the elites and the rest of the country. Between 1982 and 2005, the collective published twelve volumes with articles by some of the major historians of the country and abroad. Of the twelve, Guha edited the first six and set the tone of the research programme the collective would adopt in its early days. The works of the Subaltern Studies group inspired similar research projects in Latin America and other parts of the world.

In 1983, Guha published his seminal study on the structural organisation and continuity of the insurgencies that haunted the British Empire in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Titled Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India, the book showed how various forms of inversion of the social, political and linguistic codes of the elite groups contributed to the making of a consciousness, which was decidedly antithetical to the socalled mainstream political mobilisations by the elite leaders. It also opened possibilities of research where reading against the logic of the colonial archives offered insights that challenged the accepted versions of history.

Guhas interest in seeking narratives alternative to the official ones continued in his later writings. The small voices of history from the fragments left behind by the colonial archives became his lifelong compatriots. His last English title, history at the Limit of World-History( 2002), has a quotation from T. S. Eliot: After such knowledge, what forgiveness? We shall remember Ranajit Guha as an unforgiving speaker of truth to power whose quest for justice was extended beyond the living and recovered the prestige of the dead as well. (iman.mitra@snu.edu.in)

(Assistant Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, Shiv Nadar University)

Ranajit Guhas passing was not untimely in a prosaic sense. He would have turned a hundred in a few weeks and had been unwell for a while. But the fact that he was alive for almost a century and worked till very well into his nineties has a historical value. All the events that took place in these hundred years, in varying degrees, greatly impacted his life and oeuvre, but more importantly, his political convictions and their emphatic articulations in his research.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); His was a life which he kept examining and re-examining till the very end. It is another matter that this critical examination resulted in an overturning of the edifices that occluded creativity and empathy in history writing in South Asia. Guha was born on 23 May 1923 in the Barisal district of present-day Bangladesh. His family owned some 50 acres of land in the region and hence was part of the landed gentry in pre-partitioned Bengal. He finished his schooling in Barisal and Calcutta in the forties and entered the Presidency College, Calcutta, where he was introduced to Marxism and left politics. Between 1942 and 1956, he wrote for Swadhinata  the newspaper published by the Communist Party of India  and the journal Peoples War in Bombay, went to Paris as a representative to the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and worked among the workers of the Keshoram Cotton Mill and with the dock workers of Metiabruz and Khidirpur.In 1956, he resigned from the Communist Party, protesting against the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union. The idea for his first book came while he was a student of history at the University of Calcutta. Growing up with the children of the peasants who used to work in the lands owned by his family, Guha became acutely aware of the hierarchies which existed between him and his playmates. The master-subject relationship explicitly drawn and practised within the zamindari system initiated by the Permanent Settlement started to fascinate him as the foundation of social and cultural hierarchies that coloured the experience of colonialism. Guha offered an intellectual history of Permanent Settlement to show that the contradictions in the ideology of the Empire were already at play in its early days. One of these contradictions had to do with the nature of modernity in South Asia, which came to us through our colonial masters with a lot of restrictions and modifications. This theme would return in many of his later writings. Ranajit Guha (1923-2023)Guhas ideas were not well received among his leftist peers, and eventually he had to publish the book A Rule of Property for Bengal (1963) after he moved to Europe. In 1970-71, the ongoing political turmoil in India turned his attention to the figure of the peasant as the agent of history. In the existing scholarship on colonialism, he discovered a tendency to speak in the voice of the elitist groups, both the British and their Indian counterparts. Even the Marxist historians tended to look at the resistance against the British as conditioned by a false consciousness on the part of the peasant rebels. In the late seventies, Guha gathered a group of young scholars, many without even PhD degrees, to form the Subaltern Studies collective for exploring the role of the political consciousness of the non-elite groups in the anticolonial struggle. The term subaltern was borrowed from the Italian thinker Antonio Gramscis lexicon but thoroughly redefined in the Indian context as the demographic difference between the elites and the rest of the country. Between 1982 and 2005, the collective published twelve volumes with articles by some of the major historians of the country and abroad. Of the twelve, Guha edited the first six and set the tone of the research programme the collective would adopt in its early days. The works of the Subaltern Studies group inspired similar research projects in Latin America and other parts of the world. In 1983, Guha published his seminal study on the structural organisation and continuity of the insurgencies that haunted the British Empire in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Titled Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India, the book showed how various forms of inversion of the social, political and linguistic codes of the elite groups contributed to the making of a consciousness, which was decidedly antithetical to the socalled mainstream political mobilisations by the elite leaders. It also opened possibilities of research where reading against the logic of the colonial archives offered insights that challenged the accepted versions of history. Guhas interest in seeking narratives alternative to the official ones continued in his later writings. The small voices of history from the fragments left behind by the colonial archives became his lifelong compatriots. His last English title, history at the Limit of World-History( 2002), has a quotation from T. S. Eliot: After such knowledge, what forgiveness? We shall remember Ranajit Guha as an unforgiving speaker of truth to power whose quest for justice was extended beyond the living and recovered the prestige of the dead as well. (iman.mitra@snu.edu.in) (Assistant Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, Shiv Nadar University)
Last week was all about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting of Defence Ministers, and the current week will no doubt be taken up by the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting at Goa. Although Pakistan is a member of the SCO, the emphasis in India has been primarily on China, the moving force behind SCO. Notably, last week the 18th round of Corps Commander-level talks with China took place in Ladakh without making much headway. The Poonch terrorist attack a couple of days ago had drawn some focus towards the impending visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Goa and the impact of the terrorist attack on this event. Beyond that, there wasnt much attention towards our western neighbour, currently in harakiri mode. Rightly the Indian security establishments emphasis is on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), considered potentially explosive, and Chinas recent gestures and utterances have been none too friendly. On the other hand, the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K seems quiet with the Feb 2021 ceasefire holding.

The Indian public and security establishment appear convinced that Pakistan being in the throes of political instability, a dire economic status, and virtually awaiting a trigger for implosion, can do no major harm to India. An odd, sponsored terrorist attack is more for retaining relevance and keeping the J&K issue alive rather than a real threat that can cause serious strategic damage. Fortunately, for my own thinking not being influenced by such a thought process, I recently had the privilege of anchoring a short panel discussion of some hard-core Pakistan watchers. The consensus opinion that emerged was that Pakistan might currently not have the capability to hurt Indian interests, but the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af- Pak) region as a continuum was undergoing a churn that we can ignore only at our peril. In conjunction with the Chinese, Pakistan can join hands to impact us unpredictably and not just at the borders. The common refrain for us when viewing Indias security should be to move beyond borders and look at hybrid threats. That is the flavour the world is indulging in and will probably continue for long since conventional conflict seems to be heading nowhere in Ukraine.

What is going on in Af-Pak that should concern us? Chief among my observations is that the Afghan Taliban is no longer under Pakistans control. Till now, it has made no unfriendly gestures towards India, perhaps to keep us temporarily lulled while it works on extending its influence into Pakistan. The grounds for extending the Taliban-style ideology already exist aplenty in Pakistan. Political instability and the virtual deterioration of Pakistans political system, threatening confrontation between the executive, the judiciary, and potentially the Army, is creating mayhem. I, too, am misled sometimes to imagine that Pakistan is a nation which has undergone this many times and is a champion survivor, so it will once again survive. However, in earlier times, the level of radicalism within Pakistan and on its western borders was never so intense.

Also, Pakistan has run through all its options of having various political parties form its national government. Democratically if the process has to take place, as it should, Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) is likely to romp home. However, it has no strategy for restoring balance in the political and governance domains and will probably be hugely manipulated by the radical elements. The Army is reluctant to step in as it does not wish to bear the burden of a collapsing nation. While we are witnessing the tail end of a global cycle of terror worldwide, there are conditions already in the making within Pakistan for a revival earlier than many would contemplate. As mentioned in some of my earlier analyses, the Taliban is not in a position to control the ungovernable spaces in Afghanistan and is hell-bent on creating these in Pakistan too. A swathe of these spaces across the Af-Pak region will greatly assist those looking for a revival of regional and global terror.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), the protege of the Afghan Taliban, is exploiting what was once the advantage of the Pakistan state; strategic depth in Afghanistan. With safe havens there and the activated Durand Line back to disputed status, the TTP perhaps represents the early forces that the Afghan Taliban may sponsor. It need not sponsor any others; these elements will progressively step up their activities in the direction of Central Asia as also Pakistan. Towards the North, the Russians may not be able to pay as much attention to what they have perceived as threats in being for long.

With the troops of Russias 201st Motorised Division located in Tajikistan under threat of being sucked into Ukraine, too, a security void will be created in this crucial region. Other elements are on the lookout for opportunities. The Islamic State (Khorasan) has also been making short forays into Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban may initially consider most of the terror groups unfriendly but probably perceive their activities as contributing to the cause of the intended caliphate. Its a smart strategy to allow loose, disparate groups the liberty to pursue their agenda, only to exploit the resultant chaos much later when ideological convergence becomes the essential unifying factor of all the groups.

In India, we could sometimes be confounded by the events in Pakistan, as will be the rest of the world. Being in the immediate neighbourhood, the effects of this churn could travel on us in unpredictable ways. Our being a part of SCO will, therefore, be helpful and let no one question the wisdom of continuing there because the Central Asian Republics, Russia and India will have common threats which must be fully understood. Two issues will perhaps be essential in our approach.

First, the necessity of instituting many studies, academic and functional, on the likely scenarios that could emanate in the Af-Pak region; some of these could be joint ventures with friendly foreign entities. It is deep knowledge which will give us the wisdom and patience to handle these threats and counter them. Secondly, it is tempting to respond to hybrid threats with one-off kinetic strikes. Whatever the adopted mode of our response at any given time, it must be unpredictable, and its effect must be strategic and deterrent to stave off the New Great Game away from our borders for as long as possible. (atahasnain@gmail.com)

Former Commander, Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Now Chancellor, Central University

Last week was all about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting of Defence Ministers, and the current week will no doubt be taken up by the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting at Goa. Although Pakistan is a member of the SCO, the emphasis in India has been primarily on China, the moving force behind SCO. Notably, last week the 18th round of Corps Commander-level talks with China took place in Ladakh without making much headway. The Poonch terrorist attack a couple of days ago had drawn some focus towards the impending visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Goa and the impact of the terrorist attack on this event. Beyond that, there wasnt much attention towards our western neighbour, currently in harakiri mode. Rightly the Indian security establishments emphasis is on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), considered potentially explosive, and Chinas recent gestures and utterances have been none too friendly. On the other hand, the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K seems quiet with the Feb 2021 ceasefire holding. The Indian public and security establishment appear convinced that Pakistan being in the throes of political instability, a dire economic status, and virtually awaiting a trigger for implosion, can do no major harm to India. An odd, sponsored terrorist attack is more for retaining relevance and keeping the J&K issue alive rather than a real threat that can cause serious strategic damage. Fortunately, for my own thinking not being influenced by such a thought process, I recently had the privilege of anchoring a short panel discussion of some hard-core Pakistan watchers. The consensus opinion that emerged was that Pakistan might currently not have the capability to hurt Indian interests, but the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af- Pak) region as a continuum was undergoing a churn that we can ignore only at our peril. In conjunction with the Chinese, Pakistan can join hands to impact us unpredictably and not just at the borders. The common refrain for us when viewing Indias security should be to move beyond borders and look at hybrid threats. That is the flavour the world is indulging in and will probably continue for long since conventional conflict seems to be heading nowhere in Ukraine. What is going on in Af-Pak that should concern us? Chief among my observations is that the Afghan Taliban is no longer under Pakistans control. Till now, it has made no unfriendly gestures towards India, perhaps to keep us temporarily lulled while it works on extending its influence into Pakistan. The grounds for extending the Taliban-style ideology already exist aplenty in Pakistan. Political instability and the virtual deterioration of Pakistans political system, threatening confrontation between the executive, the judiciary, and potentially the Army, is creating mayhem. I, too, am misled sometimes to imagine that Pakistan is a nation which has undergone this many times and is a champion survivor, so it will once again survive. However, in earlier times, the level of radicalism within Pakistan and on its western borders was never so intense.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Also, Pakistan has run through all its options of having various political parties form its national government. Democratically if the process has to take place, as it should, Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) is likely to romp home. However, it has no strategy for restoring balance in the political and governance domains and will probably be hugely manipulated by the radical elements. The Army is reluctant to step in as it does not wish to bear the burden of a collapsing nation. While we are witnessing the tail end of a global cycle of terror worldwide, there are conditions already in the making within Pakistan for a revival earlier than many would contemplate. As mentioned in some of my earlier analyses, the Taliban is not in a position to control the ungovernable spaces in Afghanistan and is hell-bent on creating these in Pakistan too. A swathe of these spaces across the Af-Pak region will greatly assist those looking for a revival of regional and global terror. The Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), the protege of the Afghan Taliban, is exploiting what was once the advantage of the Pakistan state; strategic depth in Afghanistan. With safe havens there and the activated Durand Line back to disputed status, the TTP perhaps represents the early forces that the Afghan Taliban may sponsor. It need not sponsor any others; these elements will progressively step up their activities in the direction of Central Asia as also Pakistan. Towards the North, the Russians may not be able to pay as much attention to what they have perceived as threats in being for long. With the troops of Russias 201st Motorised Division located in Tajikistan under threat of being sucked into Ukraine, too, a security void will be created in this crucial region. Other elements are on the lookout for opportunities. The Islamic State (Khorasan) has also been making short forays into Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban may initially consider most of the terror groups unfriendly but probably perceive their activities as contributing to the cause of the intended caliphate. Its a smart strategy to allow loose, disparate groups the liberty to pursue their agenda, only to exploit the resultant chaos much later when ideological convergence becomes the essential unifying factor of all the groups. In India, we could sometimes be confounded by the events in Pakistan, as will be the rest of the world. Being in the immediate neighbourhood, the effects of this churn could travel on us in unpredictable ways. Our being a part of SCO will, therefore, be helpful and let no one question the wisdom of continuing there because the Central Asian Republics, Russia and India will have common threats which must be fully understood. Two issues will perhaps be essential in our approach. First, the necessity of instituting many studies, academic and functional, on the likely scenarios that could emanate in the Af-Pak region; some of these could be joint ventures with friendly foreign entities. It is deep knowledge which will give us the wisdom and patience to handle these threats and counter them. Secondly, it is tempting to respond to hybrid threats with one-off kinetic strikes. Whatever the adopted mode of our response at any given time, it must be unpredictable, and its effect must be strategic and deterrent to stave off the New Great Game away from our borders for as long as possible. (atahasnain@gmail.com) Former Commander, Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Now Chancellor, Central University
Ashwini M Sripad By

Express News Service

RAMANAGARA: The 63-year-old Lakshmamma from Abbanakuppe village in Ramanagara stays just 7 km away from the much-hyped Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, but she has never seen it so far. She rolls fabric tapes for a nearby factory in Bidadi and earns a meagre Rs 100 a day. All I wanted was drinking water which our MLA provided and we never wanted the Expressway, she says.

Abbanakuppe falls under the Magadi Assembly constituency in Ramanagara district, represented by JDS MLA A Manjunath.

Byrava, her neighbour, says the Expressway is good, but it is not helping them in any way. We did not ask them for this road. Basic amenities are taken care of by our MLA. He is the one who is available for our needs, neither (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) Modi nor (Mysuru MP) Pratap Simha will come if we call, he says.

The Expressway has been widely appreciated, but not by the locals. People from hundreds of villages in Ramanagara and Mandya districts that are situated next to the Expressway say it has only inconvenienced them. The Expressway may not help BJP in the Assembly elections, despite it being their dream project, inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi with much fanfare.

Ramanagara has four Assembly segments, three of which are represented by JDS and Kanakapura by KPCC president DK Shivakumar. The same trend is expected in this poll too.

Madegowda, a dairy farmer, is all praise for JDS senior leader HD Kumaraswamy. We depend on cattle for our livelihood. I have two daughters who studied engineering and then MBA. With the society loan waived off during the Kumaraswamy government, I made little earnings and ensured that my daughters are self-reliant. Till my death, I will vote for JDS, he vouches.

Rajesh from Kempanahalli too has high praise for JDS. Let BJP construct the Expressway, but it makes no difference to us. Our roads are asphalted and we will vote for JDS. BJP cannot make inroads here, he says.

In Channapatna, thousands of artists and workers have depended on wooden toys for their living for the last many decades. Eshwar Raj, who owns Shree factory, says 20 mega toy showrooms lined up the highway between Channapatna and Maddur earlier. Now, many are shut as the earlier highway is not used by many anymore. The Expressway has literally killed our livelihood. We have a JDS MLA here, and the BJP government in the state. Because of that, the toy cluster was moved to Koppal. The BJP government should have set up the cluster here. Then, the Expressway would not have impacted us so badly, he says.

In 2018, Kumaraswamy contested from Channapatna and won getting 46.55 per cent of votes. Then comes Mandya, which has seven Assembly constituencies. Of them, except KR Pet, all are represented by JDS. The Expressway passes through Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna, and all of them are represented by JDS.

Krishna, a farmer, from Vaddaradoddi says his house is near Nidaghatta, while his farm at Vaddaradoddi, which are just a few metres apart. But the Expressway has come in between. Earlier, we could walk between our farm and house and reach within minutes. With the Expressway, we have to take a roundabout of 4 km. When the BengaluruMysuru highway was built, land prices had shot up. But with the Expressway and no proper road connectivity from the main road, people are not willing to buy land here anymore, he says. The fight is between Congress and JDS here.

Mandya city too has a JDS MLA, but BJP stands a chance, says Shivanand, an auto driver. According to him, there are no proper industries here other than MySugar, which is on the verge of revival. We dont want a farm loan waiver, but we want a better support price for crops and nominal fertiliser prices. People want to give a chance to BJP this time, but the Expressway is not the reason he adds.

RAMANAGARA: The 63-year-old Lakshmamma from Abbanakuppe village in Ramanagara stays just 7 km away from the much-hyped Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, but she has never seen it so far. She rolls fabric tapes for a nearby factory in Bidadi and earns a meagre Rs 100 a day. All I wanted was drinking water which our MLA provided and we never wanted the Expressway, she says. Abbanakuppe falls under the Magadi Assembly constituency in Ramanagara district, represented by JDS MLA A Manjunath. Byrava, her neighbour, says the Expressway is good, but it is not helping them in any way. We did not ask them for this road. Basic amenities are taken care of by our MLA. He is the one who is available for our needs, neither (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) Modi nor (Mysuru MP) Pratap Simha will come if we call, he says.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Expressway has been widely appreciated, but not by the locals. People from hundreds of villages in Ramanagara and Mandya districts that are situated next to the Expressway say it has only inconvenienced them. The Expressway may not help BJP in the Assembly elections, despite it being their dream project, inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi with much fanfare. Ramanagara has four Assembly segments, three of which are represented by JDS and Kanakapura by KPCC president DK Shivakumar. The same trend is expected in this poll too. Madegowda, a dairy farmer, is all praise for JDS senior leader HD Kumaraswamy. We depend on cattle for our livelihood. I have two daughters who studied engineering and then MBA. With the society loan waived off during the Kumaraswamy government, I made little earnings and ensured that my daughters are self-reliant. Till my death, I will vote for JDS, he vouches. Rajesh from Kempanahalli too has high praise for JDS. Let BJP construct the Expressway, but it makes no difference to us. Our roads are asphalted and we will vote for JDS. BJP cannot make inroads here, he says. In Channapatna, thousands of artists and workers have depended on wooden toys for their living for the last many decades. Eshwar Raj, who owns Shree factory, says 20 mega toy showrooms lined up the highway between Channapatna and Maddur earlier. Now, many are shut as the earlier highway is not used by many anymore. The Expressway has literally killed our livelihood. We have a JDS MLA here, and the BJP government in the state. Because of that, the toy cluster was moved to Koppal. The BJP government should have set up the cluster here. Then, the Expressway would not have impacted us so badly, he says. In 2018, Kumaraswamy contested from Channapatna and won getting 46.55 per cent of votes. Then comes Mandya, which has seven Assembly constituencies. Of them, except KR Pet, all are represented by JDS. The Expressway passes through Maddur, Mandya and Srirangapatna, and all of them are represented by JDS. Krishna, a farmer, from Vaddaradoddi says his house is near Nidaghatta, while his farm at Vaddaradoddi, which are just a few metres apart. But the Expressway has come in between. Earlier, we could walk between our farm and house and reach within minutes. With the Expressway, we have to take a roundabout of 4 km. When the BengaluruMysuru highway was built, land prices had shot up. But with the Expressway and no proper road connectivity from the main road, people are not willing to buy land here anymore, he says. The fight is between Congress and JDS here. Mandya city too has a JDS MLA, but BJP stands a chance, says Shivanand, an auto driver. According to him, there are no proper industries here other than MySugar, which is on the verge of revival. We dont want a farm loan waiver, but we want a better support price for crops and nominal fertiliser prices. People want to give a chance to BJP this time, but the Expressway is not the reason he adds.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is welcoming popular northwest musical artist John Nilsen to the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center for a nature-inspired performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 6. Registration is not required.

Nilsen is a noted pianist and acoustic musician from Portland, Oregon.

His nature-inspired performance on May 6 will be complemented by spectacular landscape and wildlife images by MDC Photographer Noppadol Paothong. Paothongs photography can be seen regularly in MDCs "Missouri Conservationist" magazine and in many other MDC publications.

Notable album releases by Nilsen on the Magic Wing label include Places I Go, Local Ocean, and the folk-rock CD, John Nilsen and SWIMFISH. As a Yamaha signature artist, Nilsen travels internationally, playing over 225 performances a year.

More details on Nilsens work can be found online at johnnilsen.com.

Questions about events can be emailed to MDC Cape Nature Center Manager Laci Prucinsky at Laci.Prucinsky@mdc.mo.gov.

The Cape Nature Center sends program registration reminders and updates to those who sign up by texting MDC Nature to 468311. An online subscription is also available to sign up for updates at www.mdc.mo.gov. A variety of updates are available at this option, but Cape Girardeau specific updates are available under facility updates and news for southeast region.

Cape Girardeau Nature Center is located at 2289 County Park Dr. in Cape Girardeau, and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m.  5 p.m. White Oak Trace Trails are open daily, from sunrise  10 p.m.
By Express News Service

SHIVAMOGGA: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah got educated due to the educational reforms implemented by the Congress government. Kharge said that the duo hold top positions now thanks to the Congress, which protected democracy in the country.

Kharge held a press conference and later addressed public meetings in Shivamogga city and Anavatti in Soraba taluk. During the press conference, Kharge took on Modi for alleging that the Congress insulted Ambedkar. I dont know how Modi keeps count of the verbal abuses on him. But I have authentic information on how many times Modi has verbally abused (former AICC presidents) Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, and insulted Ambedkar. Modi makes these false allegations just to gain peoples sympathy, he alleged.

Kharge also refuted Modis allegations that the Congress insulted Ambedkar, citing a statement by the latter praising the Congress for entrusting him with the task of drafting the Constitution. Kharge further criticised the BJP leaders, including Shah, saying they use Dalits for photo-ops. Kharge also accused the BJP of using Ambedkars name to beg for votes, despite not having his photo in the RSS office.

Shah uses them for photo-ops. Does eating at a Dalit house need to be published in the media? Arent they humans? In recent days, during Ambedkar Jayanti, BJP leaders keep photos of Ambedkar at their offices. Arent you ashamed to beg for votes in the name of Ambedkar, whom you do not worship? Kharge questioned.

Kharge also defended the Congresss record of educating the country, stating that there were 16 educated people for every 100 before independence, while from 1947 to 2014, there were 70% educated people in the country. Among those educated people are Modi and Shah too. Still, they ask what the Congress has done. We have educated you.

We have protected democracy and the Constitution, and because of this, Modi became the PM. Therefore, you should worship the Congress, Kharge said. He also criticised the Modi government for excessive taxes on essential commodities, ridiculing that Modi would not hesitate to tax the air due to the Oxygen it contains.

Later, addressing a gathering at Anavatti in Soraba constituency, Kharge, who was accompanied by actor Shivarajkumar, said that the BJP failed to solve the employment problem and is yet to fill 30 lakh central government jobs and over two lakh state government jobs.

SHIVAMOGGA: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah got educated due to the educational reforms implemented by the Congress government. Kharge said that the duo hold top positions now thanks to the Congress, which protected democracy in the country. Kharge held a press conference and later addressed public meetings in Shivamogga city and Anavatti in Soraba taluk. During the press conference, Kharge took on Modi for alleging that the Congress insulted Ambedkar. I dont know how Modi keeps count of the verbal abuses on him. But I have authentic information on how many times Modi has verbally abused (former AICC presidents) Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, and insulted Ambedkar. Modi makes these false allegations just to gain peoples sympathy, he alleged. Kharge also refuted Modis allegations that the Congress insulted Ambedkar, citing a statement by the latter praising the Congress for entrusting him with the task of drafting the Constitution. Kharge further criticised the BJP leaders, including Shah, saying they use Dalits for photo-ops. Kharge also accused the BJP of using Ambedkars name to beg for votes, despite not having his photo in the RSS office.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Shah uses them for photo-ops. Does eating at a Dalit house need to be published in the media? Arent they humans? In recent days, during Ambedkar Jayanti, BJP leaders keep photos of Ambedkar at their offices. Arent you ashamed to beg for votes in the name of Ambedkar, whom you do not worship? Kharge questioned. Kharge also defended the Congresss record of educating the country, stating that there were 16 educated people for every 100 before independence, while from 1947 to 2014, there were 70% educated people in the country. Among those educated people are Modi and Shah too. Still, they ask what the Congress has done. We have educated you. We have protected democracy and the Constitution, and because of this, Modi became the PM. Therefore, you should worship the Congress, Kharge said. He also criticised the Modi government for excessive taxes on essential commodities, ridiculing that Modi would not hesitate to tax the air due to the Oxygen it contains. Later, addressing a gathering at Anavatti in Soraba constituency, Kharge, who was accompanied by actor Shivarajkumar, said that the BJP failed to solve the employment problem and is yet to fill 30 lakh central government jobs and over two lakh state government jobs.
Ramu Patil By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: In the Karnataka political scene that is largely dominated by the three big parties -- BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) -- AAP is trying hard to make its presence felt and come to the centre stage of the state politics.

AAP, which recently emerged as a national party, has fielded 209 candidates. Many of them are farmers, doctors, lawyers and engineers. Some of them may put up a good fight in some constituencies, especially in Bengaluru, but the party still lacks the critical mass to make any notable changes in state politics.

Though the party had fielded candidates in earlier elections, it caught the attention of a section of voters in Karnataka after its good show in Punjab in 2022. Some of its candidates may be able to woo a section of young voters disenchanted with the BJP and Congress, and looking for a new narrative in politics.

Providing corruption-free and transparent governance is its major poll plank, and Arvind Kejriwals Delhi model of governance is its USP. However, not having many leaders with pan-Karnataka appeal or a network of cadre who can take the partys message to voters across the state, makes its task all the more difficult.

The party is banking on Kejriwals clean image, and the programmes implemented in the national capital to woo voters. Many of its leaders from the national capital and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann campaigned for party candidates. AAP state leaders believe they have already succeeded in changing the narrative, as national parties are trying to emulate its work in terms of improving government schools and healthcare facilities.

Strengths

Appeals to young, first-time voters.

Working hard to make presence felt, especially in Bengaluru

Leaders with experience, good image from other parties have joined AAP

Weaknesses

Not many leaders with pan-Karnataka appeal

Many candidates not known among voters

Absence of strong cadre network, especially in rural areas

BENGALURU: In the Karnataka political scene that is largely dominated by the three big parties -- BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) -- AAP is trying hard to make its presence felt and come to the centre stage of the state politics. AAP, which recently emerged as a national party, has fielded 209 candidates. Many of them are farmers, doctors, lawyers and engineers. Some of them may put up a good fight in some constituencies, especially in Bengaluru, but the party still lacks the critical mass to make any notable changes in state politics. Though the party had fielded candidates in earlier elections, it caught the attention of a section of voters in Karnataka after its good show in Punjab in 2022. Some of its candidates may be able to woo a section of young voters disenchanted with the BJP and Congress, and looking for a new narrative in politics.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Providing corruption-free and transparent governance is its major poll plank, and Arvind Kejriwals Delhi model of governance is its USP. However, not having many leaders with pan-Karnataka appeal or a network of cadre who can take the partys message to voters across the state, makes its task all the more difficult. The party is banking on Kejriwals clean image, and the programmes implemented in the national capital to woo voters. Many of its leaders from the national capital and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann campaigned for party candidates. AAP state leaders believe they have already succeeded in changing the narrative, as national parties are trying to emulate its work in terms of improving government schools and healthcare facilities. Strengths Appeals to young, first-time voters. Working hard to make presence felt, especially in Bengaluru Leaders with experience, good image from other parties have joined AAP Weaknesses Not many leaders with pan-Karnataka appeal Many candidates not known among voters Absence of strong cadre network, especially in rural areas
Chetan MG By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Janata Dal (Secular) is hoping to make a strong comeback. The party could be staring at a do-or-die scenario, as the number of seats it wins may largely decide the future course of the party.

The JDS, which formed a coalition government with the Congress in 2018 by winning 37 seats in the 2018 polls, went on to lose its MLAs to other parties, and is now reduced to 29 MLAs. With elections fast approaching, the JDS is trying hard to retain its seats in Old Mysore region, which has been its bastion, while also working out strategies to win as many seats as possible in North and Central Karnataka.

The party, to a certain extent, has overcome the crisis of not having candidates to field in several seats, by taking advantage of dissent in the Congress and BJP, and drawing their aspirants to JDS. Party leaders are hopeful that this exercise will help the party stay in the race.

The perception that JDS doesnt get to form its government independently, as it has to depend on either the BJP or Congress, may have an adverse effect. Though its leader HD Kumaraswamy tried to make a point that the party values its workers, by choosing a worker over a family member for the Hassan ticket, its a tough task to erase the deep-rooted belief among people that the party is family-centric.

Kumaraswamy, who earned the tag of a pro-people and pro-poor CM during his first stint as chief minister, could not repeat a similar spell in his second stint of 14 months. As the party heavily depends on his popularity and charisma, the impact will be known only on May 13.

Also, the party has publicised its ambitious Pancharatna programme, which assures voters that it will address basic issues such as health, education and employment, but it needs to be seen how seriously voters have taken the assurances.

Strengths

Enjoys support of Vokkaligas, farming community

No confusion over leadership, CM candidate

Committed party workers



Weaknesses

Branded family-centric party

No strong base across state, especially in North Karnataka

No second-level leadership

BENGALURU: The Janata Dal (Secular) is hoping to make a strong comeback. The party could be staring at a do-or-die scenario, as the number of seats it wins may largely decide the future course of the party. The JDS, which formed a coalition government with the Congress in 2018 by winning 37 seats in the 2018 polls, went on to lose its MLAs to other parties, and is now reduced to 29 MLAs. With elections fast approaching, the JDS is trying hard to retain its seats in Old Mysore region, which has been its bastion, while also working out strategies to win as many seats as possible in North and Central Karnataka. The party, to a certain extent, has overcome the crisis of not having candidates to field in several seats, by taking advantage of dissent in the Congress and BJP, and drawing their aspirants to JDS. Party leaders are hopeful that this exercise will help the party stay in the race.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The perception that JDS doesnt get to form its government independently, as it has to depend on either the BJP or Congress, may have an adverse effect. Though its leader HD Kumaraswamy tried to make a point that the party values its workers, by choosing a worker over a family member for the Hassan ticket, its a tough task to erase the deep-rooted belief among people that the party is family-centric. Kumaraswamy, who earned the tag of a pro-people and pro-poor CM during his first stint as chief minister, could not repeat a similar spell in his second stint of 14 months. As the party heavily depends on his popularity and charisma, the impact will be known only on May 13. Also, the party has publicised its ambitious Pancharatna programme, which assures voters that it will address basic issues such as health, education and employment, but it needs to be seen how seriously voters have taken the assurances. Strengths Enjoys support of Vokkaligas, farming community No confusion over leadership, CM candidate Committed party workers Weaknesses Branded family-centric party No strong base across state, especially in North Karnataka No second-level leadership
Devaraj B Hirehalli By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: If there is any hope of rejuvenation for the Congress across the country, it is in the state of Karnataka. The party, which was in power between 2013 and 2018, is expecting a similar situation this time.

In 2013, the Congress won 120 seats, with 36.6 per cent vote share, as against BJPs 40 seats (19.9 per cent) and JDS 40 seats (20.2 per cent). However, in 2018, despite the Congress vote share being 38.14 per cent, it could win only 80 seats. Now, the party is banking on the anti-incumbency factor to take its vote share to 42 per cent, and cross the halfway mark by winning over 113 seats.

Many BJP leaders, including former CM Jagadish Shettar and former deputy CM Laxman Savadi joined the Congress after they were denied tickets by the BJP. While that may help the party woo Lingayats in central Karnataka, Kittur Karnataka and Kalyana Karnataka, AICC chief Mallikarjuna Kharge and CLP leader Siddaramaiah may get Dalit and Kuruba community votes for the party. The Congress also hopes to get support from minority community voters.

In Bengaluru, the party is expected to win at least 12 of 28 seats. In Old Mysuru region, the mettle of DK Shivakumar as Vokkaliga leader will be tested. In communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka, the Congress is expecting a few more seats this time. But issues such as hijab may help the SDPI, and adversely affect the Congress. The party also announced five guarantees. With issues related to corruption, 40% commission and price rise, the party has managed to set the narrative. Though the situation looks similar to 2013, it is not exactly the same.

Strengths

Strong base

Leaders like Mallikarjuna Kharge and Siddaramaiah

Ability to set the narrative, five guarantees

Weaknesses

Internal bickering among leaders for CMs post

Slip of tongue by leaders during campaigns

No cadre-based approach in electioneering

BENGALURU: If there is any hope of rejuvenation for the Congress across the country, it is in the state of Karnataka. The party, which was in power between 2013 and 2018, is expecting a similar situation this time. In 2013, the Congress won 120 seats, with 36.6 per cent vote share, as against BJPs 40 seats (19.9 per cent) and JDS 40 seats (20.2 per cent). However, in 2018, despite the Congress vote share being 38.14 per cent, it could win only 80 seats. Now, the party is banking on the anti-incumbency factor to take its vote share to 42 per cent, and cross the halfway mark by winning over 113 seats. Many BJP leaders, including former CM Jagadish Shettar and former deputy CM Laxman Savadi joined the Congress after they were denied tickets by the BJP. While that may help the party woo Lingayats in central Karnataka, Kittur Karnataka and Kalyana Karnataka, AICC chief Mallikarjuna Kharge and CLP leader Siddaramaiah may get Dalit and Kuruba community votes for the party. The Congress also hopes to get support from minority community voters. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In Bengaluru, the party is expected to win at least 12 of 28 seats. In Old Mysuru region, the mettle of DK Shivakumar as Vokkaliga leader will be tested. In communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka, the Congress is expecting a few more seats this time. But issues such as hijab may help the SDPI, and adversely affect the Congress. The party also announced five guarantees. With issues related to corruption, 40% commission and price rise, the party has managed to set the narrative. Though the situation looks similar to 2013, it is not exactly the same. Strengths Strong base Leaders like Mallikarjuna Kharge and Siddaramaiah Ability to set the narrative, five guarantees Weaknesses Internal bickering among leaders for CMs post Slip of tongue by leaders during campaigns No cadre-based approach in electioneering
Ramakrishna Badseshi By

Express News Service

KALABURAGI: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis roadshow at Kalaburagi on Tuesday, MLA Priyank Kharge called BJP leaders, including Modi, nalayak (useless).

Commenting on Modis statement that a son of Banjara community is sitting in Delhi, Priyank told the media that the state government has done grave injustice to the Banjara community by not recommending the implementation of Sadashiva Commission report.

#WATCH | He (Priyank Kharge) never said, don't put these things in his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him. So don't put in his mouth these words for Modi. Everywhere this is going purposely: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Priyank Kharge's statement pic.twitter.com/NuvMTgp4mu May 1, 2023

When the son of the Banjara community has failed to safeguard the interests of Banjaras, he is Nalayak (useless), Priyank said. Asked whether he is blaming Modi or Kalaburagi MP Dr Umesh Jadhav, who is also a Banjara, Priyank did not specify. He said the Prime Minister should clarify.

Priyank said he is not blaming anyone, but only stating the fact that the person who cannot protect his family, he is Nalayak (useless) to his family. Similarly, if one does not protect the interests of the society, he will be Nalayak to society, he added.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge rushed to the defence of his son Priyank, saying, He never said that. Do not put these words in his mouth. Priyank was replying to MP (Umesh Jadhav), who abused him. Dont put these words in his mouth for Modi.

He said, The media has continued to make it an issue to defame Congress.Just a few days ago, senior Kharge called Modi a venomous snake. Later, he clarified saying he does not have any personal enmity against the Prime Minister, and was only referring to the mindset of BJP and RSS.

KALABURAGI: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis roadshow at Kalaburagi on Tuesday, MLA Priyank Kharge called BJP leaders, including Modi, nalayak (useless). Commenting on Modis statement that a son of Banjara community is sitting in Delhi, Priyank told the media that the state government has done grave injustice to the Banjara community by not recommending the implementation of Sadashiva Commission report. #WATCH | He (Priyank Kharge) never said, don't put these things in his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him. So don't put in his mouth these words for Modi. Everywhere this is going purposely: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Priyank Kharge's statement pic.twitter.com/NuvMTgp4mugoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });  ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2023 When the son of the Banjara community has failed to safeguard the interests of Banjaras, he is Nalayak (useless), Priyank said. Asked whether he is blaming Modi or Kalaburagi MP Dr Umesh Jadhav, who is also a Banjara, Priyank did not specify. He said the Prime Minister should clarify. Priyank said he is not blaming anyone, but only stating the fact that the person who cannot protect his family, he is Nalayak (useless) to his family. Similarly, if one does not protect the interests of the society, he will be Nalayak to society, he added. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge rushed to the defence of his son Priyank, saying, He never said that. Do not put these words in his mouth. Priyank was replying to MP (Umesh Jadhav), who abused him. Dont put these words in his mouth for Modi. He said, The media has continued to make it an issue to defame Congress.Just a few days ago, senior Kharge called Modi a venomous snake. Later, he clarified saying he does not have any personal enmity against the Prime Minister, and was only referring to the mindset of BJP and RSS.
Ranjit Bhushan By

What does the high-sounding United Nations University in Delhi and the Raja Arabic University in Nagpur have in common? Both have been declared fake universities by the central government.

Welcome to the world of counterfeit education.

In Noida NCRs Khora colony, a sprawling, typically suburban and grimy settlement comprising about 3,275,000 residents, there are scores of such `global universities and colleges that claim affiliation to international institutions.

Their students, they assert, can become anything  civil servants, learned doctors or creative engineers  virtually anything.

One such  Education for Commerce and Trade  runs out of a two-room settlement. It barely has a place for prospective students to sit, but boasts of revealing a world to students, who coming from Ghaziabads rural district and nearby areas, have seen only on their laptops.

Private colleges such as these, employ teachers with little training, who merrily impart outdated curriculums, and offer no practical experience. Phrases like `holistic learning, `integrated course, `Faculty Development Programme and the like, are freely bandied around to trap the naive.

Such private universities and colleges in the country, which run with blatantly fake infrastructure, come in various shapes and sizes. These 'places of learning lack teachers and in many cases, even regular students, who dont worry about attending their classes and make an appearance at the time of examinations, all accounted for. Why just the faculty? Such colleges and universities have no principal or vice chancellors  mostly out of job, underqualified teachers themselves are appointed in higher positions like vice-chancellors, registrars and principals.

Such institutions are not merely fake, money-spinning rackets, but pose a serious threat to Indias promising demographic dividend. That threat is looming larger in the wake of India becoming the worlds most populous country with possibly the youngest population on the planet.

Reporting the phenomenon, the news agency Bloomberg noted: ``It (India) has the worlds largest population by some estimates, and the government regularly highlights the benefits of having more young people than any other country. Yet half of all graduates in India are unemployable in the future due to problems in the education system, according to a study by talent assessment firm Wheebox.

The agency quoted Anil Sadgopal, a former dean of education at Delhi University and an ex-member of the Central Advisory Board of Education: Calling such so-called degrees as being worthless would be by far an understatementWhen millions of young people are rendered unemployable every year, the entire society becomes unstable.

In aspirational India, such institutes that number a few million are the talisman needed to get ahead in life. For both, the promoters and the gullible, it is the ideal situation  for obviously different reasons.

Only much later, as it happened in the case of Arindam Chaudhuris now-defunct Indian Institute of Planning and Management, did students realize that they had been taken for a ride and the management degrees issued by this so-called management company were a hoax: graduates reporting for interviews seeking high managerial positions, were offered no more than openings of shop floor assistants!

There are many such cases. In August 2022, the University Grants Commission (UGC) released a list of 21 fake universities operating in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, UP, Odisha, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Said the UGC notification: "Students and the public at large are hereby informed that presently following 21 self-styled, unrecognised institutions which are functioning in contravention of the UGC Act, have been declared as fake universities and these are not empowered to confer any degree."

If anything, the scope of these frauds has magnified with companies looking to recruit in newly-emerging disciplines like electric vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence and human-machine interface. It matters little to such colleges and universities that in this age of mega innovation, their tutors continue to impart the basics of the internal combustion engine, which should basically be considered passe in todays hi-tech world.

So, while the countrys economic engine is purring, with more foreign companies willing to come in and invest in new areas, thereby enlarging the scope for young talent, the skill required for such jobs is lacking. The whole purpose of employment is defeated if expertise is not available in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. And with employment in the government sector getting strictly regulated, the army of young people sitting on their haunches without opportunities can be potentially explosive.

The Narendra Modi government, aware that its ambitious New Education Policy, 2020, is under threat of being stymied due to such structural and infrastructure deficits, is pushing hard to improve the quality of its institutions. As an important step to deregulate the sector, the government has begun the process of allowing leading foreign universities to set up campuses and award degrees in the country.

ALSO READ | Is elite caste syndrome continuing to dog top Indian educational institutions?

The move to `internationalise education is to enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at an affordable cost and make India an attractive global study destination. The move will also help overseas institutions to tap into the nations young population. It is by no means the first attempt of its kind: the first was in 1995 when a bill was introduced but could not go forward. In 2005-2006, again, the draft law could only reach the Cabinet stage.

Universities that qualify for opening up shops in India should be ranked within the top 500 of overall or subject-wise global rankings. Universities, that have secured subject-wise ranking, will be allowed to offer the same subjects on their Indian campuses. This automatically means that blue chip universities such as Americas Yale, Stanford, Harvard and Britains University of Cambridge, and Oxford Kings College could all come in, permitting Indian students to get top-notch education without having to travel. That seems one organized way to get around a degenerative system.

(Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist. These are the writer's views.)

What does the high-sounding United Nations University in Delhi and the Raja Arabic University in Nagpur have in common? Both have been declared fake universities by the central government. Welcome to the world of counterfeit education. In Noida NCRs Khora colony, a sprawling, typically suburban and grimy settlement comprising about 3,275,000 residents, there are scores of such `global universities and colleges that claim affiliation to international institutions.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Their students, they assert, can become anything  civil servants, learned doctors or creative engineers  virtually anything. One such  Education for Commerce and Trade  runs out of a two-room settlement. It barely has a place for prospective students to sit, but boasts of revealing a world to students, who coming from Ghaziabads rural district and nearby areas, have seen only on their laptops. Private colleges such as these, employ teachers with little training, who merrily impart outdated curriculums, and offer no practical experience. Phrases like `holistic learning, `integrated course, `Faculty Development Programme and the like, are freely bandied around to trap the naive. Such private universities and colleges in the country, which run with blatantly fake infrastructure, come in various shapes and sizes. These 'places of learning lack teachers and in many cases, even regular students, who dont worry about attending their classes and make an appearance at the time of examinations, all accounted for. Why just the faculty? Such colleges and universities have no principal or vice chancellors  mostly out of job, underqualified teachers themselves are appointed in higher positions like vice-chancellors, registrars and principals. Such institutions are not merely fake, money-spinning rackets, but pose a serious threat to Indias promising demographic dividend. That threat is looming larger in the wake of India becoming the worlds most populous country with possibly the youngest population on the planet. Reporting the phenomenon, the news agency Bloomberg noted: ``It (India) has the worlds largest population by some estimates, and the government regularly highlights the benefits of having more young people than any other country. Yet half of all graduates in India are unemployable in the future due to problems in the education system, according to a study by talent assessment firm Wheebox. The agency quoted Anil Sadgopal, a former dean of education at Delhi University and an ex-member of the Central Advisory Board of Education: Calling such so-called degrees as being worthless would be by far an understatementWhen millions of young people are rendered unemployable every year, the entire society becomes unstable. In aspirational India, such institutes that number a few million are the talisman needed to get ahead in life. For both, the promoters and the gullible, it is the ideal situation  for obviously different reasons. Only much later, as it happened in the case of Arindam Chaudhuris now-defunct Indian Institute of Planning and Management, did students realize that they had been taken for a ride and the management degrees issued by this so-called management company were a hoax: graduates reporting for interviews seeking high managerial positions, were offered no more than openings of shop floor assistants! There are many such cases. In August 2022, the University Grants Commission (UGC) released a list of 21 fake universities operating in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, UP, Odisha, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. Said the UGC notification: "Students and the public at large are hereby informed that presently following 21 self-styled, unrecognised institutions which are functioning in contravention of the UGC Act, have been declared as fake universities and these are not empowered to confer any degree." If anything, the scope of these frauds has magnified with companies looking to recruit in newly-emerging disciplines like electric vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence and human-machine interface. It matters little to such colleges and universities that in this age of mega innovation, their tutors continue to impart the basics of the internal combustion engine, which should basically be considered passe in todays hi-tech world. So, while the countrys economic engine is purring, with more foreign companies willing to come in and invest in new areas, thereby enlarging the scope for young talent, the skill required for such jobs is lacking. The whole purpose of employment is defeated if expertise is not available in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. And with employment in the government sector getting strictly regulated, the army of young people sitting on their haunches without opportunities can be potentially explosive. The Narendra Modi government, aware that its ambitious New Education Policy, 2020, is under threat of being stymied due to such structural and infrastructure deficits, is pushing hard to improve the quality of its institutions. As an important step to deregulate the sector, the government has begun the process of allowing leading foreign universities to set up campuses and award degrees in the country. ALSO READ | Is elite caste syndrome continuing to dog top Indian educational institutions? The move to `internationalise education is to enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at an affordable cost and make India an attractive global study destination. The move will also help overseas institutions to tap into the nations young population. It is by no means the first attempt of its kind: the first was in 1995 when a bill was introduced but could not go forward. In 2005-2006, again, the draft law could only reach the Cabinet stage. Universities that qualify for opening up shops in India should be ranked within the top 500 of overall or subject-wise global rankings. Universities, that have secured subject-wise ranking, will be allowed to offer the same subjects on their Indian campuses. This automatically means that blue chip universities such as Americas Yale, Stanford, Harvard and Britains University of Cambridge, and Oxford Kings College could all come in, permitting Indian students to get top-notch education without having to travel. That seems one organized way to get around a degenerative system. (Ranjit Bhushan is a senior journalist. These are the writer's views.)
By AFP

KHARTOUM: Gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan's capital Monday despite the latest truce agreed between warring generals as the United Nations described a humanitarian catastrophe.

The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of Sudanese unable to afford the inflated prices required to escape the battles have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thunder through the sky on raids that have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire.

ALSO READ | Malayali man not allowed to take pregnant Sudanese wife along with him to India

Warplanes struck northern areas of the capital, a witness told AFP, while another reported "armed clashes in central Khartoum".

Burhan and Daglo have violated multiple ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday.

While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, around 50,000 Sudanese have fled overland to neighbours, said the UN.

In a makeshift camp near Adre on the Chadian border, UN refugee agency staff were handing out emergency food rations to families who fled the violence with few belongings, sitting in the sand in the shade of trees.

"Today I have no food for my children and no means of work," one refugee, Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, told AFP, trying to hold back tears. "My sewing machines were taken by the attackers." He blamed the RSF who "destroyed everything in their path."

WATCH:

'Lives turned upside down'

Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres. "We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region."

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on an urgent mission to look for ways to bring relief to millions.

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said on Twitter, later calling it "catastrophic".

The UN World Food Programme said it expected to soon resume food distribution in some parts of the country after a suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

"Over 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before this conflict. We expect these numbers to grow significantly as the fighting continues," WFP said.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region.

EXPLAINER | Why Sudan's conflict matters to the rest of the world?

The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide.

Further complicating Sudan's battlefield situation, Central Reserve Police were being deployed on the side of the army across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, police said.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

ALSO READ | Separated by Sudan strife, a Keralite hopes for partners safety, peace

UN facilities looted

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

He sounded an alarm over the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce.

A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub.

On Monday a US-operated evacuation ship arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sudan carrying more than 300 civilians from multiple countries, Saudi state media said.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan.

The same envoy, Dufallah al-Haj Ali, is due to visit Cairo and meet Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting.

But experts have cast doubt over foreign mediation efforts. Veteran Sudan analyst Alex de Waal described them as "half-hearted and belated".

He accused the previous US administration of delegating policy to its "favoured allies in the Middle East", who feared democratic transition in Sudan and "preferred to deal directly with their favoured generals".

READ MORE | 'You know who you killed?' asks colleague of US doc slain in Sudan

KHARTOUM: Gun battles and explosions again rocked Sudan's capital Monday despite the latest truce agreed between warring generals as the United Nations described a humanitarian catastrophe. The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic. Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Millions of Sudanese unable to afford the inflated prices required to escape the battles have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thunder through the sky on raids that have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire. ALSO READ | Malayali man not allowed to take pregnant Sudanese wife along with him to India Warplanes struck northern areas of the capital, a witness told AFP, while another reported "armed clashes in central Khartoum". Burhan and Daglo have violated multiple ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday. While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, around 50,000 Sudanese have fled overland to neighbours, said the UN. In a makeshift camp near Adre on the Chadian border, UN refugee agency staff were handing out emergency food rations to families who fled the violence with few belongings, sitting in the sand in the shade of trees. "Today I have no food for my children and no means of work," one refugee, Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, told AFP, trying to hold back tears. "My sewing machines were taken by the attackers." He blamed the RSF who "destroyed everything in their path." WATCH: 'Lives turned upside down' Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations. "The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres. "We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region." Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on an urgent mission to look for ways to bring relief to millions. "The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said on Twitter, later calling it "catastrophic". The UN World Food Programme said it expected to soon resume food distribution in some parts of the country after a suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers. "Over 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before this conflict. We expect these numbers to grow significantly as the fighting continues," WFP said. At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher. Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region. EXPLAINER | Why Sudan's conflict matters to the rest of the world? The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals. Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide. Further complicating Sudan's battlefield situation, Central Reserve Police were being deployed on the side of the army across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, police said. The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests after the 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power. ALSO READ | Separated by Sudan strife, a Keralite hopes for partners safety, peace UN facilities looted The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari. He sounded an alarm over the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce. A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub. On Monday a US-operated evacuation ship arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sudan carrying more than 300 civilians from multiple countries, Saudi state media said. Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence. An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan. The same envoy, Dufallah al-Haj Ali, is due to visit Cairo and meet Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday. Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting. But experts have cast doubt over foreign mediation efforts. Veteran Sudan analyst Alex de Waal described them as "half-hearted and belated". He accused the previous US administration of delegating policy to its "favoured allies in the Middle East", who feared democratic transition in Sudan and "preferred to deal directly with their favoured generals". READ MORE | 'You know who you killed?' asks colleague of US doc slain in Sudan
Charges have been dropped against one of the two men arrested after a fatal January shooting in Charlottesvilles Belmont neighborhood.

Jose Omar Rivas Sorto of Maryland was arrested and charged with one felony count of shooting from a vehicle a day after the Jan. 8 shootout in so-called Downtown Belmont that took the life of Osvaldo Lopez-Hernandez of Texas.

After a hearing this past Thursday in Charlottesville District Court, that charge has been dropped, according to court records.

The disposition on Sortos case reads nolle prosequi, Latin for unwilling to pursue and meaning the prosecutor has abandoned the suit against him.

The fate of the other man arrested the same day as Sorto is less clear.

Police have only ever identified the second man as John Doe.

The unnamed second man was described by authorities as an associate of Lopez-Hernandez who was also struck by gunfire during the Jan. 8 shootout. Unlike Lopez-Hernandez, however, John Doe survived his injuries and was arrested and charged with felony abduction for financial benefit, felony use of a firearm and misdemeanor brandishing, according to police.

The Jan. 8 shooting was the first homicide case of the year in Charlottesville and rocked the citys Belmont neighborhood, not only because it occurred in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon but because of the scene of the shootout: in front of the iconic I Love Charlottesville A Lot mural that is surrounded by popular shops and restaurants.

It marked the start of an especially bloody 2023 for the city, which has now had five reported homicides in the past four months alone.

But the uptick in gun violence in the area predates Jan. 8.

Gunfire in Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County has taken the lives of 14 people and left 22 others injured since September of last year, according to an ongoing Daily Progress tally.

The Charlottesville Police Department earlier this year said it was receiving one shots-fired call every day. The police in Albemarle County reported one every other day.

The numbers have eclipsed past years, according to Tim Longo, now the chief of police for the University of Virginia and previously the chief of police in Charlottesville.

The city of Charlottesville has had five murders since January, Longo said during a virtual UVa town hall on the rise in gun violence in March. To put that into context for you, in the almost 16 years I served as the chief of police in the city of Charlottesville  from 2001 to 2016  I never had any more than that number in an entire year. There were some years I had none.  Theyve had five just in the first three months of the year.

Charlottesvilles current police chief, Michael Kochis, who joined the force in mid-January, has not outright referred to gang activity when discussing the recent rise in violence.

On more than one occasion he has referred to the conflicts as beefs between different neighborhood groups of primarily young men.

Albemarle County Police Chief Sean Reeves has said the root cause is gangs.

This increase is largely driven by the shootings in our community that are being linked to individuals with known gang affiliations, Reeves told The Daily Progress in March.

Kochis has responded to the uptick in violence by instituting community walk and talks, upping patrols of hot spot neighborhoods and hosting public forums.

Charlottesville police, Albemarle police and UVa police have also been holding monthly meetings to coordinate and cooperate across jurisdictions.

A product of those meetings was the expansion of patrols for UVas ambassadors, a contracted public safety team that can report activity but cannot enforce the law. Ambassadors, who previously only patrolled UVa Grounds and the nearby Corner, now can be spotted down West Main Street and on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville proper.
Sri Lanka issues flood, lightning warnings for 12 districts

Colombo, April 29: Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology on Saturday issued a warning of heavy floods for 12 out of a total of 25 districts in the South Asian country, where heavy rains were reported over the last few days.

Sri Lanka issues flood, lightning warnings for 12 districts

The 12 districts are Puttalam, Kurunegala, Kandy, Gampaha, Kegalla, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Kalutara, Ratnapura, Galle, Matara and Hambantota.The department said heavy showers of more than 100 mm will hit the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-Western provinces and the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts, Xinhua news agency reported.Heavy showers of about 75 mm are expected in the other above mentioned districts.Meanwhile, the department also issued an advisory for severe lightning for 18 districts.The public was asked to take necessary precautions against floods and lightning.IANS30 April 2023

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Israeli PM expected to visit India by end of year: Israel Ambassador

New Delhi, April 30: Israel Ambassador Naor Gilon has confirmed that the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit India by the end of this year.

Israeli PM expected to visit India by end of year: Israel Ambassador

"We can expect the Prime Minister of Israel to visit India by the end of this year... India and Israel have wonderful ties in all fields, it is based on the people-to-people element. Our relation now also has the government-to-government element," Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon said while speaking to ANI."If we take one example of wonderful cooperation that we have look at our commercial relations. We started full diplomatic relations for 30 years. This is a symbol of how we could have developed it so fast, so high," he added."Technological cooperation, people-to-people cooperation," the Isareli Ambassador added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and the people of Israel on their 75th Anniversary of Independence.The Prime Minister tweeted, "Heartiest congratulations to my friend @netanyahu and the people of Israel on the 75th anniversary of independence. Mazel Tov!"Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated the Foreign Minister of Israel, Eli Cohen.EAM Jaishankar tweeted, "Warmest congratulations for the momentous milestone of 75th anniversary of Independence, to FM @elicoh1, the Government and all Israelis. In the last decade, the real potential of our cooperation is beginning to be realised. Looking forward to many more achievements."India and Israel are strategic partners. India announced its recognition of Israel on September 17, 1950. Soon thereafter, the Jewish Agency established an immigration office in Mumbai.This was later converted into a Trade Office and subsequently a Consulate. Regular Embassies were opened in 1992 when full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.India and Israel celebrated 30 years of the upgradation of bilateral ties to full diplomatic relations in 2022, according to an official MEA release.The political ties between India and Israel are very warm and forward-looking. On November 2, 2021, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, UK.India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid an official visit to Israel on October 17-21, 2021, at the invitation of the Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Yair Lapid.Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a historic first-ever visit to Israel by an Indian Prime Minister on July 4-6, 2017 during which the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership. The then Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu made a return visit to India on January 14-19, 2018.The then President of India Pranab Mukherjee paid a state visit to Israel in October 2015 while former President of Israel Reuven Rivlin paid a state visit to India in November 2016.India and Israel have established bilateral consultation mechanisms in all sectors of collaboration, including water, agriculture, counter-terrorism, and defence.The 16th Foreign Office Consultations were held in December 2020, the MEA release noted.EAM Jaishankar has also extended his wishes to the Government and people of Tanzania on their Union Day.He tweeted, "Warm greetings to FM Dr. Stregomena Tax and the Government and people of Tanzania on their Union Day. The rapid growth of our bilateral partnership only underlines its immense potential. @DrTaxs."ANI30 April 2023

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Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey slammed for posting photos with animals at zoo

Los Angeles, April 30: 'Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey has been hit with an onslaught of backlash from fans after posting photographs with animals at a zoo.

'Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey slammed for posting photos with animals at zoo

The 23-year-old Atlanta-born actress, who plays the role of Princess Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of the Disney classic, has left fans feeling "disappointed" after her most recent Instagram post, reports mirror.co.uk.Sharing a series of snaps from her travels, Halle could be seen posing for photos with animals, with many fans claiming that she was at Safari World in Bangkok.The animal attraction in question has been under worldwide scrutiny for years because of their alleged poor treatment of animals.Posing with orangutans and tiger cubs - with the latter reported to have been made to live in cramped cages at Safari World - Halle looked content as she enjoyed her break ahead of the Little Mermaid release next month.In 2018, we reported how orangutans were forced to take part in daily boxing bouts at the Bangkok-based attraction, with the boxing matched "proudly advertised on the zoo's website" at the time.Nonprofit organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) commented on the photo, writing "We know you love animals, but supporting cruel attractions like this is hurting them."More than half a million exotic animals are exploited worldwide in the tourism industry - many torn away from their families, exploited for photo ops and condemned to a lifetime of suffering."It's up to all of us tourists to stop funding places that are exploiting them for profit and continuing this cycle of abuse. Please keep animals out of your future travel plans."Taking to the comments section, many fans were quick to slam Halle for supposedly visiting Safari World, with fans concerned for the animals she posed with in the snaps she shared.IANS30 April 2023

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Philippines: Military raid kills seven rebels

Manila, April 30: Seven suspected left-wing rebels were on Sunday killed in a raid by the military in the Philippines.

Philippines: Military raid kills seven rebels

Army Captain Jefferson Mariano said the troops assaulted a New People's Army (NPA) hideout in Northern Samar province after villagers reported the rebels' presence there, Xinhua news agency reported.Mariano said the military used air and artillery to penetrate the lair heavily fortified with anti-personnel mines, resulting in 30-minute fighting.After the clash, Mariano said troops recovered seven bodies and several guns and ammunition.NPA rebels have been fighting the government since 1969. They concentrate their attacks on rural areas and have skirmishes with the military.Military data showed that the NPA is estimated to have 2,000 members, significantly lower than its peak strength in the 1980s.IANS30 April 2023

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Focused on keeping up appearances in Corvallis, the city is replacing its old decorative trash cans with something more modern.

City staff say theres a need to swap the concrete trash receptacles that feature planter tops throughout downtown streets and Riverfront Park because theyre more than 20 years old, describing them as unsightly and no longer functional.

The capacity of the existing cans is no longer appropriate for the amount of debris collected from daily use and often leads to overflowing trash onto sidewalks, Parks & Recreation Director Meredith Petit wrote in a city staff report.

The planters on top are often unkempt and collect debris and cigarette butts, Petit wrote. The swinging doors no longer stay shut and can cause a safety hazard.

The city was awarded a sanitation grant from the state in July that will pay for replacing the aging receptacles with new steel ones. Of the $250,000 grant, $84,000 will be spent to replace the receptacles, according to the report.

The cost breaks down to around $1,200 each for 70 new steel units and liners, including delivery. Replacement is expected to be done by June 30.

About a third of the existing concrete receptacles have been adorned with tile mosaic artwork by a local artist and are considered public art.

The Rotary Club of Corvallis expressed an interest in repurposing some of the concrete receptacles into little libraries with refurbished planters, according to the staff report. The club and Parks & Recreation, along with Public Works, have been working on a pilot project to repurpose and place those receptacles.

We are confident that the new cans will improve the streetscape, encourage proper trash disposal, and provide a better experience to visitors of Downtown and Riverfront Park, Petit wrote.

Corvallis has also been struggling with garbage around homeless encampments on public property, such as in parks and along waterways, prompting the City Council to direct staff to improve coordination with public and private agencies involved in homeless camp cleanups around town.

The City Council has discussed, without action, using some of the state sanitation grant for additional dumpsters near homeless camps, with particular interest in animal-proof designs featuring smaller openings, which are harder for people to get into and wont fit larger items such as mattresses and furniture.

The grants funds, however, cant be used for activities associated with camp site removal, or to backfill city funding.
Stalin extends International Labour Day greetings to people

Chennai, April 30: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday extended greetings of International Labour Day to the people, saying his government will always protect the interests of labourers.

Stalin extends International Labour Day greetings to people

International Labour Day falls on May 1.In a statement on Sunday, the Chief Minister said that whenever the DMK came to power, it implemented various welfare programmes for the benefit of the labourers and working class.He pointed out that it was during the regime of the previous DMK governments that holidays with pay on May 1, apart from 20 per cent bonus for labourers, land for landless labourers and several other welfare programmes were implemented.AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in his May Day greetings, said that labourers were to be remembered and respected not only for May 1 but for the entire year.He also said that AIADMK leaders and former Chief Ministers, M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa had implemented several welfare programmes for the labourers.IANS30 April 2023

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Brave removes Microsoft Bing from its search results page

San Francisco, April 30: Privacy-focused web browser and search engine Brave has announced that it will no longer use Microsoft's Bing search as a source for its web searches.

Brave removes Microsoft Bing from its search results page

"Every Web search result seen in Brave Search is now served by our own index. We've removed all search API (Application Programming Interface) calls to Bing," Brave said in a blogpost.The announcement follows Microsoft's recent decision to implement significant price increases for third-party use of its search API.Brave called the price increase "unprecedented"."We feared for the continuity of the Bing service, which turned out to be a prescient concern, as Microsoft recently announced an unprecedented increase in its API pricing. This created undue pressure for search engines that rely partly or fully on the Bing Search API. The consequences of their reliance on Bing will play out in the following months when their long-term contracts expire," Brave said.With Bing no longer in the picture, Brave Search will now exclusively rely on its own index, at least as the default option."By default, Brave Search users will now receive 100 per cent of results from the Brave Index, giving users fully independent results," the company said.Brave users who feel that they are not receiving satisfactory results from their searches have the option to integrate Google search results as a fallback.Additionally, they can choose to participate in Brave's Web Discovery Project, which helps the browser build its index.Moreover, the company stated that it is planning to release the Brave Search API to power other search applications in the near future.With this, developers and companies will be able to build search experiences that compete on quality with Big Tech, according to the company.IANS01 May 2023

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Ludhiana gas tragedy: Five deceased of a family from Bihars Gaya

Patna, April 30: Of the 11 killed in the Ludhiana gas tragedy, five - all of a family - belonged to Bihar's Gaya district and sorrow and grief has spread across their native village there.

Ludhiana gas tragedy: Five deceased of a family from Bihar's Gaya

The deceased were identified as Dr Kavilash Sharma, his wife Versha Sharma, daughter Kalpana Sharma, and sons Abhay Narayan Sharma and Aryan Sharma. Hailing from Koch block in Gaya district, they had been living in Ludhiana for years.Their house is adjoining the milk booth facility where the poisonous gas released and they died.The poisonous gas leaked from a milk booth facility in Gyaspur industrial area of Ludhiana claimed 11 lives while many others battling for their lives in hospital.The family members of Kavilash Sharma are going to Ludhiana to claim the dead bodies and hold their their last rites.IANS01 May 2023

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Researchers reveal how use of spinal cord stimulation for chemotherapy-related pain, cancer treatment

Washington, April 30: A recent study suggested that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) may be effective in lowering chronic pain in persons receiving active therapy with a standard anti-cancer medicine, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Researchers reveal how use of spinal cord stimulation for chemotherapy-related pain, cancer treatment

The researchers discovered that using SCS lowered pain response in rats transplanted with human lung cancer tissue -- without impairing the efficiency of treatment with paclitaxel, a medicine used to treat a variety of malignancies.The findings of the study published in Neuromodulation Technology at the Neural Interface, advances strategies to prevent and treat neuropathy that results from paclitaxel and other chemotherapy drugs, according to the researchers.SCS is often used as a last resort for pain management for cancer patients who do not respond to any other forms of treatment, says Eellan Sivanesan, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The new study, he says, suggests the value of better use of SCS in combination with drugs that trigger neuropathic pain, and later when patients are in remission. There is currently no effective preventative treatment and no reliable treatment for established, long-term neuropathy."Quality of life after treatment is a rising focus in cancer treatment and debilitating pain is often an issue," Sivanesan says.SCS works by implanting a small generator under the skin that sends low levels of electricity through flat tiny wires, or electrodes threaded directly in between the spinal cord and the vertebrae, usually near the buttocks or abdomen. Patients can send electrical impulses using a remote control when they feel pain.In the new study, researchers worked with adult male rats that received transplants of lab-cultured human non-small cell lung cancer. Rats were divided into six groups no tumor or treatment, tumor with no treatment, tumor with paclitaxel treatment only, inactive SCS with paclitaxel and tumor, active SCS with paclitaxel and tumor, and paclitaxel with no tumor or SCS.Baseline pain behaviors were assessed before any tumor transplantation or treatment, utilizing standard tests that measure response to stimuli such as cold or touch. These behaviors were monitored weekly along with tumor growth, using a standard means of detecting tumor cells that was engineered to carry chemicals that "light up" under special imaging methods.During the study period, researchers found that the groups of rats with spinal cord stimulation showed signs of decreased pain as measured by the length of time it took for rats to react to stimuli. The rats with tumors showed sensitivity to cold stimuli regardless of treatment plan, but the rats with SCS exhibited significantly longer time to respond than those without.This indicates that rats with SCS displayed a higher pain tolerance than those without SCS, suggesting that they were experiencing less neuropathic pain. In addition, researchers found that SCS improved the antitumor efficacy of paclitaxel, which provides further evidence of SCS as an important companion to chemotherapy. This major finding may support the wider use of SCS for cancer and chemotherapy pain."Despite the severe side effects, paclitaxel remains one of the most effective drugs for treating a wide range of cancers. However, the neuropathy can become so severe in some patients that treatment must be stopped to preserve quality of life," says Sivanesan. "This study showed that addition of spinal cord stimulation not only helps prevent pain, but also makes the drug more effective. This could be a game changer for these patients."The investigators caution that further research in is needed before SCS can be widely implemented as a companion for pain management and prevention for patients receiving chemotherapy.ANI01 May 2023

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Mann Ki Baat@100: EAM Jaishankar joins Indian diaspora in US to listen to PM Modi

New Jersey, April 30: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday joined the Indian diaspora in New Jersey to listen to the 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat'.

Mann Ki Baat@100: EAM Jaishankar joins Indian diaspora in US to listen to PM Modi

PM Modi's radio monthly programme completed its 100th episode today which is being aired live at 11 am.Union Minister Jitendra Singh too interacted with the Indian diaspora in London before the broadcast of PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat. He said that PM Modi has raised the esteem of the Indian Diaspora abroad, according to the statement released by the Ministry of Science and Technology.The Minister said, the world is looking up to the Indian Diaspora with great hope and expectation and it is high time that they also rise to the occasion and contribute to the well-being of the entire humankind in the true spirit of the theme of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' as given by PM Modi during India's G20 presidency.The programme, which started on October 3, 2014, has become a key pillar of the government's citizen-outreach programme addressing multiple social groups such as women, youth, and farmers and has spurred community action.Apart from 22 Indian languages and 29 dialects, Mann Ki Baat is broadcast in 11 foreign languages including French, Chinese, Indonesian, Tibetan, Burmese, Baluchi, Arabic, Pashtu, Persian, Dari and Swahili. Mann Ki Baat is being broadcast by more than 500 All India Radio broadcast centres.The 100th episode of PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat is also being broadcast live at the UN headquarters. (Photo/ANI)ANI01 May 2023

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You wont ask about numbers, once you have watched the movie says Adah Sharma on The Kerala Story

Kerala, April 29: The movie 'The Kerala Story' has become a topic for discussion around the numbers being exaggerated in the trailer of the film. Actor Adah Sharma with makers have revealed their take over the issue.

You won't ask about numbers, once you have watched the movie says Adah Sharma on 'The Kerala Story'

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Adah Sharma when asked what she feels about the discussion happening about the 32,000 girls being shown disappearing from Kerala to get converted and join extremist Islamic states of Iraq and Syria, she said, "The story is really scary and the fact that people are calling it propaganda or are thinking about numbers before that girls went missing is scarier. Instead, it would have been the opposite that we would have discussed that girls are missing and then given a thought about the numbers."Adah also mentioned being a human is enough to experience the pain the girls would have gone through due to this criminal tragedy. Explaining how she got to know what happened, she said "I met few of these girls and I can't explain it in words, as I can't be doing justice to their pain in one or two lines"Shedding away the controversy Sharma said, "You won't be discussing numbers, once you will watch the movie". She later referred to the preparation including the texts she got from a victim and how the movie shows exactly what has been written.The director of the movie Sudipto Sen shared his experience of following the story for seven years and knowing the journey of these women by conducting interviews and meeting them. Director also disclosed that she has submitted an RTI in court to know the exact number but is yet to receive the report.Producer of the movie Amrutlal Shah in answer to all of the discussion about his approach and the numbers being exaggerated said, "As a human, this story is heart-wrenching and is a human tragedy. Once I heard the story I was shocked that something like this is happening in our country, so I decided to make this movie. Later we did additional research and prepared the script. The filmmaking process took three years and the movie is now ready. My say on the topic revolving around the stat of 32,000 in the movie is decreasing the seriousness associated with the matter".The film 'The Kerala Story' will hit theatres on May 5, 2023.ANI01 May 2023

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India Calling Conference 2023: Piyush Goyal highlights importance of small countries in global supply chain

Mumbai, April 29: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal delivered the inaugural address at the India Calling Conference 2023 organized by the Indian Merchants Chamber in Mumbai.

India Calling Conference 2023: Piyush Goyal highlights importance of small countries in global supply chain

During his address, he highlighted the contribution of companies from small countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, to the supply chain of big companies around the globe.The Union Minister appealed to all to aim for a 47 trillion dollar economy when India reaches the year 2047.He said that India has tried to formalize the economy and has met with great success."The spirit of team, competitiveness, and positivity are necessary for success, and that kind of spirit can be seen in Mumbai, which is not only the financial capital but also the fun capital of India," Piyush Goyal said.Goyal said that every single geography in the world has a lot of hope and expectation from India, and though it can be sometimes daunting, it shows the confidence of the world in India's future.He said, "India reflects the vision of the world as one Economy. While Commerce Industry teams are negotiating Free Trade Agreements with a deep focus on protecting India's interests, India believes that true prosperity happens when the whole world prospers. India believes in Vaccine Maitri under which it delivered 278 million doses to poorer countries mostly free because India feels safe when the world is safe."The Minister further added that the 'Panch Pran' given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be realized only if it becomes the commitment of the entire nation.He emphasized that the vision of a developed India will not be possible without the 'Nari Shakti' of India and a corruption-free nation.He applauded the commitment of the industry to social causes and said that all of us are determined for a better future for India.During the conference, Chairman, of IMC International Business Committee, Dinesh Joshi highlighted the success story of the 'Make in India' initiative, where India has turned out to be one of the most favoured manufacturing hubs.He mentioned that India's smartphone exports have increased from zero to 90,000 crores, and centres of excellence are being set up for the manufacture of electronics, pharma, textiles, and solar manufacturing.He also noted that India has made considerable progress in sectors such as defence, space, hydrogen energy, and fintech.President, IMC Anant Singhania, in his welcome address, said, "India is now the 5th largest nation by GDP, up from 10th place since 2014."He highlighted the government's initiatives to link ordinary Indians to their electronic identity through a set of digital services, which has caused the cost of technology to drop.This and the conducive ecosystem created by the Government of India have transformed the startup scene in India, making India the world's third-largest startup hub, he observed. He also noted how India has gone from creating 1 Unicorn/year to 42 Unicorns in 2021 and in a span of 10 years emerged as the number 1 mobile data-consuming nation.Union Minister Piyush Goyal also extended an invitation to those present to join him in listening to the 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' on April 30.ANI01 May 2023

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Singapore-bound Air India flight diverted to Malaysia due to inclement weather

Chennai, April 29: An Air India flight, AI346, en route to Singapore was on Saturday diverted to Malaysia due to inclement weather and congestion in Singapore, according to Air India officials.

Singapore-bound Air India flight diverted to Malaysia due to inclement weather

The flight which took off from Chennai, has now departed for Singapore as the weather has improved and flights are allowed to operate.Recently, a flydubai flight which caught fire upon takeoff from Kathmandu, landed safely at Dubai International (DXB) Airport.The flight crew followed a standard operating procedure and continued its journey after determining that the engine was within normal operating parameters.The aircraft reportedly caught fire after the bird hit. Fire tenders were scrambled at the airport.Earlier, a Saudia Airlines cargo flight made an emergency landing at Kolkata Airport after its windshield cracked mid-air, airport officials told ANI.The aircraft landed safely at the Kolkata Airport at 1202 pm.Before the landing, the airport had made all the necessary arrangements.A full emergency was withdrawn after the flight landed, according to airport officials.ANI01 May 2023

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Mann Ki Baat marks 100 episodes: Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Rohit Shetty laud PM Modis programme

Mumbai, April 30: Several Bollywood celebs like Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor and Rohit Shetty attended the screening of PM Modi's 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai on Sunday.

'Mann Ki Baat' marks 100 episodes: Madhuri Dixit, Shahid Kapoor, Rohit Shetty laud PM Modi's programme

Speaking on the occasion, actor Madhuri Dixit said, "He (PM Modi) is taking out time to understand the problems of common people. This is amazing. He is reaching out to people in small towns and villages who are doing such good work and people are not aware of it. So he is bringing such people in front of all the citizens and they are getting global recognition which is amazing. I'm sure it's going to inspire a lot of youngsters."Actor Shahid Kapoor said, "Modi ji wanted to stay connected with the people, I think that's the sign of a great leader. All the greatest leaders in history, whether it be Kings or Prime Ministers have always stayed connected to the people. There cannot be a deeper connection than this, to be able to speak your mind and listen to people's words, to be able to convey your words to them. I felt very fortunate that I was invited here. It's a privilege to be here."Director and producer Rohit Shetty said, "I felt inspired, if one leader can show us the right path, then there is nothing impossible. When I was watching I felt how lucky we are that we have such an inspirational leader whom people listen to, from whom they are inspired, which is very rare."Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation in the historic 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' and said that his radio programme is the "Mann Ki Baat" of millions of Indians and an expression of their emotions.The Prime Minister said he received thousands of letters and messages from the people and was "swept away by emotions" while reading them. He said that the people of the country have to be congratulated for the 100th episode of his monthly radio programme that began on October 3, 2014."Today is the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat. I have got thousands of letters, lakhs of messages. I have tried to go through more and more of them. I got emotional while reading your letters on many occasions, was swept away by emotions, and then held myself. You have congratulated me on the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat, but all the listeners, our countrymen deserve to be congratulated. Mann Ki Baat is the 'Mann Ki Baat of millions of Indians and the expression of their emotions," PM Modi said.The programme, which started on October 3, 2014, has become a key pillar of the government's citizen-outreach programme addressing multiple social groups such as women, youth, and farmers and has spurred community action.ANI01 May 2023

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Group Captain Nanda led daring rescue ops in Sudan, had conducted similar action in Kabul

New Delhi, April 29: Group Captain Ravi Nanda carried out a daring rescue operation from a small airstrip in Wadi Sayidna near Khartoum in Sudan on the night of April 27-28, said officials.

Group Captain Nanda led daring rescue ops in Sudan, had conducted similar action in Kabul

Talking to ANI, defence officials said, "Group Captain Ravi Nanda is the captain of the Indian Air Force C-130J Special Operations aircraft which carried out the daring operation to rescue 121 Indian nationals from a small airstrip in Wadi Sayidna near Khartoum, Sudan during the ongoing conflict there."Nanda was also part of the rescue operations in Kabul where he and his team rescued Indian officials and citizens from Kabul airport when the Taliban was taking over that country."He was awarded a Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry for rescuing Indians from Afghanistan in August 2021 as part of Operation Devi Shakti," the officials added.The IAF special operation aircraft fly with a team of Garud Special Forces on all such missions. During the daring rescue mission, 121 Indians were rescued and taken to Jeddah for being flown back to India as part of Operation Kaveri.Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence.Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country.ANI01 May 2023

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Lebanon police have arrested a local man accused of arson and assault.

Officers arrested Joshua Latre Jett, 25, of Lebanon on Friday, April 28. Court documents allege Jett intentionally damaged a property in Linn County by starting a fire or causing an explosion.

Jett also allegedly caused physical injury to a victim while in the presence of a child. A release determination report filed with the court said Jett has been living in Oregon for only a week.

Jett was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court on Monday afternoon, May 1 on charges of first-degree arson and fourth-degree assault. During the arraignment, District Attorney Doug Marteeny alleged Jett started a fire using Bibles on the stove of the home he shared with the victim.

Marteeny added that the victim alleged Jett did this because he was trying to get her to "turn over her soul to the devil."

Marteeny also alleged that Jett threatened to physically harm the victim.

Jett told the court he was "in shock" that he was in jail after being in Oregon for just a few days. He said he moved from Washington.

Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish ultimately set Jett's bail at $50,000 and appointed the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services to find Jett a defense attorney. A preliminary hearing in the matter is scheduled for May 8.

This is the second alleged arson case in Lebanon in the last few weeks. Lebanon resident Abrianah Malayna Smith, 24, is accused of setting fire to her grandparents house on April 20. Smith was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court April 25 on one count of first-degree arson.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald.

Police also recently arrested a Sutherlin man for allegedly setting fire to a church in Sweet Home in February. Andrew Jacob Justin Cartwright, 36, was arraigned in court last week on charges of first-degree arson, second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief.

During that arraignment, he admitted to starting the fire saying, I did it because I dont like church.
Irrfan Khan: A talented, global star who led a simple life

Mumbai, April 29: Legendary actor Irrfan Khan has been seen as a global star who used to lead a simple life. The power of showcasing emotions on screen without making too much effort makes him stand out from the rest of the performers our cinema has witnessed.

Irrfan Khan: A talented, global star who led a simple life

He was born on January 7, 1967, with no idea that he will one day be remembered as one of the greatest performers in the world. Debuting with a minor role in 'Salaam Bombay' in 1988 and ending up with 'The Songs of Scorpions' and multiple achievements, dreams and movies in between, the legend lived a complete life.Irrfan was someone who used to be a free bird and never let uncertainty overpower him. A person who used to love the factor of uncertainty in life made the world wake up to his demise due to neuroendocrine cancer at a time when the pandemic was at its literal peak and the world was already suffering from bad news daily.It has been three years as we remember him today on his third death anniversary but the news is yet to be accepted as the impression of the persona he had is rock-solid.Actor Irrfan Khan who has been part of some of the most critically acclaimed movies and also dominated global showbiz with the movie like 'Life of Pi' and 'Inferno' is still in the hearts of people who ever worked with him or know about his work.The voyage of Irrfan becoming an actor started with learning acting at NSD (National School of Drama) to making it to the global stage. After dominating the Bollywood industry with movies like 'Lunchbox', 'Piku'and 'Billu' Irrfan worked on some top-class international projects.Some of the movies from his grand filmography which made a global impact are listed below.'THE NAMESAKE'In this 2006 English language film, Irrfan captured the intricacies of Ashoke, an Indian immigrant struggling to make a living in another country while keeping his native culture alive, as a university professor with Bengali roots residing in the US. Both the film and his part were highly appreciated at the time, driving Irrfan to stardom.'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE'Despite having little screen time in this 2008 film, Irrfan managed to make a name for himself as a crude police inspector who underestimated the lead character Jamal (played by actor Dev Patel) and berated him until he gained confidence and became a millionaire on a quiz show. The film went on to win several prizes, including eight Academy prizes, taking Irrfan to the global stage.'The Amazing SPIDER-MAN'Irrfan appeared in the blockbuster superhero film in 2012, as the dominant Rajit, the supervisor of Dr Curt Connors who pressures him into a method that results in Connors becoming a man-lizard hybrid.'Life OF PI'Irrfan, who played the adult version of the protagonist character 'Pi Patel in this 2012 adventure-drama film directed by Ang Lee, was primarily heard rather than seen, working as the narrator. The film was a smash hit with critics and audiences alike, becoming one of the year's highest-grossing films and earning four Oscars out of eight nominations.'JURASSIC WORLD'Irrfan's screen personality was a treat to watch onscreen as Simon, the proprietor of the renowned dinosaur theme park. The film is one of the biggest commercial successes starring the late actor, showing that he was loved not just in his native country, but also crossed borders to become a true worldwide cinema legendIt is hard to keep track of all of the movies when Irrfan stole our hearts but if we have to share something more beautiful than his acting skills then it will be his bond with his son Babil.Babil mentions his baba Irrfan as his best friend and soulmate. The statement came after Babil shared an event when Irrfan made him learn what is life and what god looks like.So, the ten-year-old Babil one day decided that he would meet God and tell him how lonely he was. He told his father and Irrfan readily accepted his proposal.Both of them drove to Igatpuri, the farmhouse of Irrfan. The 'Piku' actor told Babil to wear his swim trunks. Then he laid with his back on the water. "I've splashed around, tried to regain control," Babil said.Irrfan pulled him out of the water and said 'Exercise over, will do it tomorrow." For, the next nine days, Babil did the same thing again and again. On the tenth day, Babil lost all interest in meeting God, and he got bored. But on that very day, he did not hesitate and tried to regain control.He let the river take away him. "Baba watched me float away. And the very moment, when my head was about to hit a rock, he pulled me out. He said, 'Today you surrendered, today you met God," Babil narrated on a public forum last year.As the event makes us think about the beautiful bond between a father and son, we can't ignore the philosophical take late actors had for life.Anyone who has ever worked with the former actor no matter what is the situation their faces light up. The way Khan narrated life says us to follow a single rule which is to love every moment fully and not be scared of uncertainty.As the actor has left the world without giving us a proper farewell to remember, his latest release 'The Songs of Scorpions' serves the purpose.The movie is playing in theatres now to mark the last theatrical release of the Sahabzaade Irrfan and give us another chance to be entertained by one of the biggest entertainers the world has ever welcomed.ANI01 May 2023

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UP farmer critically injured in tiger attack, 6th in 3 weeks

Lakhimpur Kheri, May 1: A 45-year-old farmer was critically injured by a tiger in the south Kheri Forest division in Uttar Pradesh -- the sixth such incident in the area in the past three weeks.

UP farmer critically injured in tiger attack, 6th in 3 weeks

The victim, Ayodhya Prasad, was working in his sugarcane field in Bojhwa village, about 2 km away from Mohammadi Forest range, when the tiger pounced on him on Sunday, causing severe injuries on his neck.He was rescued by other farmers working in nearby fields and rushed to Gola community health centre.After receiving medical aid, Prasad has been shifted to district hospital where his condition is said to be critical.Divisional forest officer Sanjay Biswal said "The size of the pugmarks found near the attack spot indicates that the tiger is an adult. Tigers mistake cropped fields for forest canopy at times and, therefore, their movement in agricultural fields close to the periphery of forest is not unusual in the early hours or after sunset. Villagers should take precautions in accordance with the advisories released from time to time."Since the attack happened outside the forest area, the case would be referred to the state government for necessary compensation to the victim's family."On April 11, a 16-year-old boy, Tausif Ali from Pareli village in Lakhimpur Kheri, was injured in a tiger attack while he was grazing his goats near the Mohammadi forest range.A 30-year-old farmer, Harmesh Singh of Khairatia village, and Akash Diwakar, 18, from Sahen Khera village were mauled to death by the big cats on April 18 and 23, respectively.IANS01 May 2023

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British-Indian Meera Syal to be awarded BAFTA TV fellowship

London, May 1: Award-winning British-Indian playwright and actor Meera Syal will be presented with a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) fellowship, the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television.

British-Indian Meera Syal to be awarded BAFTA TV fellowship

Syal, who starred in hit BBC comedies, 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars at No 42', will be honoured at the BAFTA Television Awards, which will take place on May 14 at the Royal Festival Hall."I am thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship. I am particularly delighted that this year's award is twinned with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTA's learning programme -- where I hope to engage with many talented practitioners and continue working to make BAFTA a truly representative and celebratory place for all our creatives," Syal said.As part of the fellowship, she will work directly with the arts charity over the coming year to inspire and nurture aspiring creatives through BAFTA's year-round learning, inclusion and talent programmes.She will be seen in two new major series this autumn -- 'The Wheel of Time' and 'Mrs Siddhu Investigates'.Alongside her MBE and CBE awards, Syal has brought her distinctive voice to the UK's creative arts across multiple artistic genres over four decades, with more than 140 credits and counting. Born to Punjabi parents from New Delhi, Syal's cross-cultural stories and performances have played an instrumental force in showcasing the positive representation of British-Asian stories and talent on screen, a BAFTA statement said.Her work has scored multiple BAFTA nominations and wins, features on school and university syllabuses, and was said to be among Her Majesty the Queen's favourite TV programmes.Syal has also received the Women In Film and TV Award for Creative Innovation, honorary doctorates from SOAS, Manchester and Birmingham Universities and was the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at the Oxford University in 2012.Born in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and educated at Manchester University, Syal read English and Drama, gaining a Double First.Her career began at the Royal Court, and alongside her many and continuing theatre roles, her talent saw her quickly graduate to screenwriting -- scripting 'Bhaji on the Beach' in 1993 and 'My Sister Wife' in 1994 -- as well as writing and performing in the pioneering comedy sketch-show 'The Real McCoy' (1991-1994).Two of her novels have also been adapted for the screen -- 'Anita and Me' (2002) and 'Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee' (2005).Syal has also since taken on roles in popular television series and programmes such as 'Beautiful People' (2008-2009), 'Dr Who' (2009), 'Horrible Histories' (2009), 'Broadchurch' (2015), 'The Split' (2018-2022), among others.The BAFTA Television Awards with Piamp;O Cruises will be hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer.IANS01 May 2023

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Ktaka polls: Shah to visit Shivamogga, Rahul campaigns in Chamarajanagar

Bengaluru, May 1: As Karnataka is inching closer to the polling date, top leaders of the national parties are continuing with their aggressive campaigning. On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have several programmes lined up.

K'taka polls: Shah to visit Shivamogga, Rahul campaigns in Chamarajanagar

Shah is visiting sensitive Shivamogga city and will be holding a roadshow there. Shivamogga has witnessed communal violence last year after the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha followed by a series of stabbing incidents. The city was under curfew for more than eight days in February, 2022.Amit Shah will take up campaigning in the evening. The roadshow will begin at Shivappa Nayaka circle and end near Lakshmi talkies. The BJP has denied ticket to BJP veteran K.S. Eshwarappa fielded a new face, Channabasappa, the right hand man of Eshwarappa as its candidate.The Home Minister will also hold roadshows in Gubbi, Tiptur Assembly constituencies in the morning in Tumakuru district.Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will participate in various programmes in Chamarajanagar district. After Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi is visiting the region for the first time.Gandhi and Kharge will address a public rally in Chamarajanagar city where the BJP has fielded senior leader V. Somanna.Somanna is also contesting against opposition leader Siddaramaiah in Varuna constituency.The Congress strategy is to ensure keeping its vote bank of the oppressed classes intact.Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep will hold roadshows in five constituencies of Belagavi district which has 18 Assembly seats in support of the BJP candidates.The BJP is facing the heat of rebellion in the region with defection of former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi. He is contesting as a Congress candidate.IANS01 May 2023

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Nepali businesses bleed as Indian pilgrims keep away from Chinese border-crossing during Yatra

Kathmandu, May 1: Thousands of the Indian Hindu pilgrims used to travel to the holy Kailash-Mansarovar region in Tibet every year through the Tatopani border point of Nepal with China until the deadly earthquake struck Nepal in 2015.

Nepali businesses bleed as Indian pilgrims keep away from Chinese border-crossing during Yatra

The religious travellers would fill the hotels and restaurants close to the border point. Sensing the big business opportunity, Bishnu Shrestha, opened a 25-room hotel named Small Heaven in 2013, targeting basically the Indian pilgrims.Before he recovered his investment of NPR 40 million spent to build the hotel, Nepal was hit by a deadly earthquake in 2015, which not only damaged roads, building and other infrastructure around Tatopani areas but also across the border on the Chinese side too.Tatopani border point, which is also one of the two key international border points with China, remained closed for four years since the earthquake. In May 2019, the border was reopened for international trade. Before trade between the two sides made stride through this route, COVID-19 pandemic forced the authorities of both sides to close the border in January 2020 to prevent spread of coronavirus.Since October that year, the border point was opened for one-way flow of Chinese goods to Nepal in a limited quantity.'Before I recovered my investment, an earthquake hit the country and the border point has remained essentially closed ever since,' complained Shrestha. 'So, our hotel has also remained open only in the name as hardly any tourists visit this area and stay in hotels here.'Shrestha had to go through much hardship to pay the bank loans with the hotel being unable to generate enough cash flow from its operation of the hotel. 'The bank helped me in restructuring the loan and rescheduling the payment deadline when I was struggling to pay the loans,' he said. He still has outstanding loans to pay as he continues to struggle for cash flow in the absence of the regular flow of the customers.After the prolonged gap, Nepal and China are preparing to reopen this border point starting from Monday (May 1) for two-way trade. 'We have one truck of handicraft ready to export to China through the Tatopani border point on Monday,' Dayananda K.C, chief customs officer at the Tatopani Customs Office told the India Narrative.According to the Tatopani Customs Office, the Chinese side however would not allow the movement of people across the border.'As per the latest agreement with the Chinese side, the goods from either side will be left on the friendship bridge connecting the two countries and the other side will take the goods. But the Chinese side did not allow the Nepali people to go across the border,' said Dayananda.Before the earthquake in 2015, China used to provide one-day passes to visit the bordering Khasa (Zhangmu) market and return. A significant number of Nepali nationals had set up their own shops in the bordering town. Since the quake hit the bordering region, the Chinese side has already relocated the entire Khasa market to another location.'There is currently no human settlement near the border point now. Only structure that the Chinese side set up near the border point is the building of their customs office,' said Dayananda.But continued restriction on movement of the people from the Chinese side dashed Shrestha's hope that he could operate his hotel business in full swing any time soon. 'Without movement of people, how can we run the hotel? Shrestha asked.Before the border was closed following the earthquake in 2015, his hotel rooms used to remain fully occupied most of the time. 'Every day, 100-150 Indian pilgrims used to arrive in the Tatopani area and stay in hotels here,' Shrestha recalled. Now, Nepali people occasionally reach Tatopani (hot water pond) close to the border point.'As the Nepalis don't go to Tatopani frequently, the hotels here don't have the source of regular income,' Shrestha said. According to him, there are a dozen hotels in and around the Tatopani area and the fate of all of them is similar. 'The newer hotels suffered much because they had not recovered their investments,' he said.The other international border pointiAARasuwagadhi-Kerung, which is expected to be the main gateway between the two neighbours reopened for two-way traffic of goods starting from April 1.The Chinese side had opened it for one way traffic of goods since April 2020 but traffic of only a limited number of goods were allowed to pass.It is the border point through which the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu Railway is also supposed to pass through. There is also the proposal to construct the cross-border transmission line through this border point for future electricity trade between the two countries.After nearly three years of disturbances, China on December 28, last year opened the Rasuwagadhi border point even for exports of Nepali goods following the northern neighbour scrapping the 'Zero Covid' policy. But China allowed movement of goods in limited quantities alone for the time being.'Since April 1, there has been unrestricted movement of the goods from both sides,' Nararayan Prasad Bhandari, chief customs officer at bordering Rasuwa Customs Office, told the India Narrative. 'The Chinese side now allows entry of people residing in bordering Rasuwa district, Nepali government employees and truck drivers who go to bordering Kerung town to take delivery of goods.'It is also one of the routes for Indian pilgrims to go to the holy mountain of Kailash. 'It is not immediately clear whether the border point was also opened for the people from the third countries,' said Bhandari.After Tatopani and Rasuwagadi border point was closed by the Chinese side, Indian travellers have been using the Nepalgunj-Humla route in in the western Nepal, the shortest way to reach Kailash Mansarovar through the Himalayan country.Lately, India opened the track of the link road from Dharchula to Lipulekh, a disputed land between Nepal and India. India has aimed to develop this route as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route.Even though Rasuwagadi border point was opened for one-way traffic of goods in April 2020 with occasional closure of the border point over the last three years, Nepali traders suffered badly because of limited clearance of goods from the Chinese customs authorities.Before normal trade resumed in April this year, Nepali traders suffered huge losses due to quantitative restriction on movement of Nepal bound cargo from China. It took 16 months to clear all the Nepal bound goods which were stored in bordering Kerung town since the border point was closed in January 2020.The goods ordered for major festivals like Dashain (Dussehra) and Tihar (Diwali) did not arrive on time from the north as China sent only limited cargo to Nepal. Nepali traders accused China of imposing an 'undeclared trade blockade' on Nepal for delayed clearance of Nepal bound goods. But there is no evidence that China clearly had intent of blockading Nepal by imposing quantitative restrictions on cargo movement.'Even after normal trade began in early April this year, China has continued to impose restrictions on the export of Nepal's agricultural products such as rice, wheat flour, noodles among others,' said Bhandari.Because of prolonged disruption for movement of goods through the land route, the majority of Nepali importers from China diverted their shipment to the sea route. Most Nepal bound goods from China now are brought through Kolkata, India to Nepal.'Along with disruption in smooth flow of Nepal-bound goods, Chinese container owners started to impose freight charges as high as NPR 10,000 per cubic metre of a container from only NPR 1800 per cubic metre,' said Nripa Adhikari, chairperson of Good Luck International, a freight forwarder. 'This situation forced many traders to divert their goods to the sea routes.'Adhikari's company had to pay for 20 cartoons of goods brought by his company for his client in Nepal after they were lost on the way. 'We could not check physically by going to China about the goods were delivery in quantity as claimed by the Chinese seller,' he said. 'My company had to compensate as much as NPR 700,000 to the Chinese seller for the lost goods.'With the reopening of both international border points, Nepali importers will have more options to bring goods to Nepal. 'But there is still doubt among traders about Chinese policy as they close the border abruptly and it is not known when they close and when they open the border,' said Bachhu Poudel, former president of Nepal Trans Himalaya Border Commerce Association, a representative body of traders involved in Nepal-China trade. 'We are hopeful no prolonged disruption in movement of goods through the land routes. But there is still a crisis of confidence with the Chinese authorities.'During the first three quarters of the current fiscal year 2022-23 that began in mid-July last year, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 162.44 billion from China, according to the Department of Customs. Only goods worth NPR 28.14 billion were imported through these two northern international border points. Nepal exported goods worth NPR 636.83 million to China during the same period with NPR 273 million going through these border points, the customs statistics show.'There will definitely be more trade through the land route once both border points are reopened fully,' said Poudel. 'Nepali traders opt for the land route because they can take delivery of goods in a shorter period than the sea route.'(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)--indianarrativeIANS01 May 2023

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Met Gala 2023: Celebrities, red carpet, theme and more

New York, May 1: And the wait is over. Met Gala, one of the biggest nights in fashion globally, is back with its new edition. On Tuesday, get ready to witness your favourite stars from across the countries lighting up the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with their unique fashionable avatars.

Met Gala 2023: Celebrities, red carpet, theme and more

Set for May 1, this year's star-studded ball will mark the opening of the Costume Institute's new exhibition, "Karl Lagerfeld A Line of Beauty." As only a few hours left for the iconic red carpet to roll out, here's everything you need to know about the 2023 Met Gala.What is the Met Gala?Referred to as "fashion's biggest night out," the Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The event welcomes stars, young creatives, and industry paragons The annual fundraiser began in 1948. Publicist Eleanor Lambert came up with the idea to raise money for the newly opened Costume Institute exhibit.What is the Met Gala 2023 theme?This year's theme is "Karl Lagerfeld A Line of Beauty," based on the new Costume Institute exhibition exploring the work of the iconic designer. Lagerfeld, who died in 2019 at the age of 85, spent decades creating clothes for Balmain, Patou, Chloe, Fendi and Chanel in addition to his own namesake label, Page Six reported.So you can expect celebrities to pay tribute to Karl Lagerfeld on the red carpet.Where to watch this year's Met Gala?Vogue's Met Gala red carpet livestream will kick off at 630 p.m. ET on May 1; fans can follow all the action on Vogue.com, as well as on the fashion bible's Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.Indian audience -- It's May 2 for you all. If you want to see the biggest fashion event, you must wake up early on Tuesday morning.Who will host the Met Gala 2023?The Met Gala livestream will be hosted by actor and producer La La Anthony, writer Derek Blasberg, and Saturday Night Live's Chloe Fineman. Internet multi-hyphenate Emma Chamberlain will return as Vogue's special correspondent.Who all are invited to the Met Gala 2023?Vogue is secretive about its guest list for the gala, but many celebrities have aleady confirmed their presence. Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra will be at Met Gala 2023.Kim Kardashian, Billie Eilish, Kendall Jenner, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Rose and Jennie from Blackpink and Lily-Rose Depp are also expected to walk the red carpet.ANI01 May 2023

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S&P Global Ratings expects a material slowdown in GCC economies real GDP growth in 2023-2024, compared with 2022, largely based on lower oil production.

However, we think that Saudi Arabia's banking system performance will continue to underpin a large portion of an expanding Islamic finance industry, which will grow by around 10% globally in 2023-2024 after expanding by a similar number in 2022 (excluding Iran), S&P said.

GCC countries, mainly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, spurred 92% of growth in Islamic banking assets. In Kuwait, this was mainly due to Kuwait Finance House (KFH's) acquisition of Ahli United Bank (AUB).

Sharia compliance

Over the next couple of years, S&P expects the latter to convert its conventional activities to Sharia compliance in line with its acquisition plans. In Saudi Arabia, the implementation of Vision 2030 and continued growth in mortgage lending supported the 2022 performance.

In other GCC countries, growth of about 5% appears plausible in the absence of new major government investment cycles, S&P said in its report Islamic Finance 2023-2024: Growth Beyond Core Markets Remains Elusive.

At the same time, sukuk issuance continued to spur the industry's expansion despite slowing issuance volumes overall. While we generally expect volumes to diminish in 2023, we still believe that new issuance will exceed maturing sukuk, resulting in another positive contribution of the sukuk market to industry growth in 2023.

Structural weaknesses

Structural weaknesses still curb the industry's broader geographical and market appeal, though. As we've stated in previous reports, we believe that progress toward greater standardisation--in part supported by the digitalisation of sukuk issuance for example--could enhance the industry's structural growth potential.

At the same time, the increasing focus on sustainability-related themes by core Islamic finance players will create new opportunities for the industry. S&P expects the contribution of sustainability-linked sukuk to continue increasing in the next 12-24 months, albeit from a low base.

Favourable dynamics

Despite a forecast economic slowdown, S&P believes that global Islamic finance assets are set to grow in 2023-2024, largely due to favourable dynamics in a few core markets.

The Islamic funds and takaful sectors are also likely to continue to expand. S&P continues to exclude Iran from its calculations due to the lack of disclosure by Iranian banks.

Structural weaknesses still curb the industry's broader geographical and market appeal, though.

Corporates are likely to contribute to issuance volumes, particularly in countries where governments have announced transformation plans. This is the case in Saudi Arabia, where the banking system will be limited in its capacity to finance multiple projects related to Vision 2030 implementation.

Sukuk programme

Issuers with high financing needs, such as those in Egypt and Turkiye, are also likely to tap the sukuk market as part of their strategy to mobilise all available resources. For example, Egypt has established a $5 billion sukuk programme and issued its first sukuk in early 2023 for a total of $1.5 billion.

We understand that this attracted significant investor interest, with more than $6 billion demand and a 59% allocation to investors from the Middle East and North Africa. The profit rate of the three-year sukuk was set at 10.875%, which at the time was broadly in line with the yield on Egypt's conventional bond with a similar maturity date of 2026.

Overall, S&P thinks that the volume of new issuances will continue to exceed maturing sukuk. S&P notes a significant decline in foreign currency-denominated sukuk issuance over the past 12 months, though, mainly on lower and more expensive global liquidity. In addition, the market continued to suffer from uncertainty around regulation and standardisation.

Revaluation of underlying assets

For example, challenges related to the adoption of AAOIFI Standard 59 in the UAE resulted in a significant decline in foreign currency-denominated sukuk--from around $10 billion per year in 2018-2020 to around $4 billion per year in 2021-2022. Introducing mechanisms for the revaluation of underlying assets could be one of the next obstacles that the market may face.

S&P will continue to consider any future developments relating to regulation and standardisation and how they may affect future issuance volumes. If sukuk became an equity-like instrument, S&P believes that investor and issuer appetite, as well as and pricing mechanisms, would likely change significantly.

Sustainability and digitalisation could help the sukuk market to shore up future contributions to the Islamic finance industry.-- TradeArabia News Service
For those who must be traveling on because theres too many places they've got to see, an electric scooter could be a great way to feel as free as a bird  but not in Corvallis.

For the second consecutive year, Albany residents can catch a Bird, the electric scooter operation set up throughout the city and found along various sidewalks and areas known for foot traffic.

But the birds arent likely to be flocking into Corvallis anytime soon. In May 2019, the City Council temporarily banned the standard business model of e-scooter companies  leaving the scooters pretty much high and dry.

Corvallis made it illegal to rent motor-assisted vehicles such as e-scooters unless companies establish docking stations for pickup and return. But that's not the business setup of most "micromobility" providers.

If an e-scooter business is interested in following our local regulations, they are welcome to open up in Corvallis, Public Information Officer Patrick Rollens said via email.

At the time the temporary ban was set, city officials planned to work through a broad regulatory framework regarding the e-scooter rental business model. And they intended to work with the citys Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board on recommendations for City Council consideration.

But that didnt happen.

The ban remains in place and unmodified, and the advisory board no longer exists, having sunset in 2021 as the city restructured its community input groups. A new bunch, the Multi-Modal committee, would likely take it up in coordination with city staff if Corvallis revisits the topic, Rollens said.

The ordinance codifying the ban does allow for such operations on a property of 50 acres or more, meaning Oregon State University or another large entity could ask the city manager for a permit.

The exception would require e-scooters to be kept within property bounds. When the ban was approved, City Manager Mark Shepard expressed concern about scooters leaving OSU campus and being abandoned on public property.

Essentially, what would happen is OSU would reap all the benefits as far as any sort of costs, and the city likely suffers all the consequences of scooters being left out in the community with no compensation, Shepard said at a May 2019 council meeting.

In that meeting, city staff said a number of communities had described various problems with e-scooter programs, and following months of internal discussions, staff suggested the council wait out the evolving issue until another city figures out what works.

Weve found these scooters are really disposable, Shepard said. I mean their lifespan is just several months, and then they can get discarded in creeks, and imagine shopping carts, but on steroids, in terms of trying to round these things up.

The Corvallis ordinance states business models for renting motor-assisted vehicles encourage inappropriate operation or discarding of the vehicles, which creates conflicts with other people in public spaces.

It also states there is some evidence the vehicles cause a disproportionate number of injuries to scooter riders, cyclists and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, in Hub City theres more than two-dozen birds on the streets right now, and more are expected as the weather warms. Last year there were as many as 80 in Albany at one time, a city spokesperson previously said.

To ride the scooters, you download the app, sign a user agreement, pay and complete educational tutorials. Riders must be 18 or older.

Theres an environmental component to consider here. A goal of the company is making cities more livable by freeing up traffic and reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere, governmental partnerships representative T.J. Birkel previously said.

According to Bird, around one-third of its scooter rides replace short auto trips, adding the company logged 12,000 rides in Albany, translating to a savings of 2.86 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Rides in Albany averaged 1.62 miles and took 17 minutes on average.

Its worth noting that despite rumors that some scooters were thrown into the Willamette River and other waterways, an Albany spokesperson said that was not true.

The city has no documented cases of anyone flinging the scooters into waterways, Communications Officer Matt Harrington said. And injuries reported by the Albany Fire Department last year were very minor, scrapes and bruises rather than broken bones.

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Touting Birds strong presence in Oregon, Birkel said via email that the company would be thrilled to operate Corvallis and hopes the city will consider adopting a micro-mobility program in the future.

We are confident in our ability to work in partnership with the city to deliver additional environmentally friendly transportation options to residents and visitors should the opportunity arise, Birkel said.

But on the question of installing docking stations or working to change the ordinance in question, Birkel declined to comment on any specific strategy except to say Bird would work with the city if theres an opportunity.

Staff writer Shayla Escudero contributed to this article.
Richard J. Leskosky taught media and cinema studies at the University of Illinois and has reviewed films for more than 30 years. He can be contacted at filmcritic@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter

(@RichardLeskosky).
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The distinction between mucus and phlegm

Mucus hypersecretion in response to pathophysiological stimulation

The regulation of mucus production and viscosity

References

Further reading

Phlegm is a form of respiratory mucus produced by the lungs. The airways between the larynx and the respiratory bronchioles are lined by columnar epithelium over which an airway surface liquid (ASL) lies. This layer is between 5 and 100 m thick.

Image Credit: Pheelings media/Shutterstock.com

The ASL is a tightly regulated liquid layer that protects the lung against infection. It is highly concentrated in secreted immunoglobulins, phospholipids, migratory cells, and signaling molecules. It comprises two distinct layers; the sol or periciliary liquid (PCL) layer, which interfaces the epithelial surface of the lungs and serves as a barrier between the second mucus layer. The primary function of the mucus layer is to entrap inhaled particles.

The mucus layer comprises high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated macromolecules comprising a tangled network of polymers. These polymeric glycoproteins are the products of the MUC5A and MUC5B genes; a protein core provides an anchor point for oligosaccharide side chains; the viscoelastic properties of mucus can be attributed to these oligosaccharides. Sulfhydryl bonds, formed between cysteine amino acids, contribute to the polymerization of the glycoprotein to result in the hallmark viscosity of the mucus.

The sol layer (periciliary liquid layer [PCL]) ensures that the mucus remains at an optimum distance (7 m) from the underlying epithelia and affects the rate of mucosal clearance.

Collectively, the mucin and water contents, mono- and divalent ion concentrations, and pH of the ASL determine the properties of the mucin gel. The water content of the mucus is a tightly-regulated process driven by the movement of ions. Na+ reabsorption and Cl- secretion by the respiratory epithelial cells determine the passive movement of water across the epithelial layer.

The distinction between mucus and phlegm

Mucus and phlegm are considered to be two distinct forms of secretions. Mucus is considered to be a normal protective layering that exists in several areas of the body. These include the airway, eyes, nasal passages, and urogenital and gastrointestinal tracts. Mucus is an adhesive fiscal elastic gel produced in the airway by both the goblet cells and submucosal glands. High molecular weight mucus glycoproteins are responsible for forming linear polymers.

Image Credit: Pheelings media/Shutterstock.com

Phlegm is produced in response to disease and can be difficult to clear from the body. It is often produced in response to inflammation and contains glycoprotein-based mucus alongside immunoglobulins, viruses, bacteria, and inflammatory cells. Phlegm is typically restricted in its definition, referring to the mucus produced by the respiratory system in response to inflammatory stimulation. Once phlegm is expectorated, it is referred to as sputum.

Mucus hypersecretion in response to pathophysiological stimulation

Mucus is considered to be part of the innate response to the respiratory tract; the mucus is created from goblet cells in the epithelium and submucosal glands. This secretion is an important feature of the inflammatory response. Several inflammatory mediators are responsible for stimulating mucus secretion and subsequent goblet cell hyperplasia (increased proliferation).

IL-3 is the most potent cytokine and is responsible for stimulating the MUC5AC and MUCB transcription, acting via the interleukin receptor IL-4Ra to activate the transcription factors Jak1 and STAT6. STAT6 subsequently switches on the MUC genes coma causing hyperplastic mucus production.

Several other cytokines also act in tandem to coordinate this response. The most potent stimulant of the secretion of mucus is ATP. Epidermal growth factor receptors are also responsible full regulating the hypersecretion of mucus.

The regulation of mucus production and viscosity

The amount of mucus produced is regulated predominantly by two mechanisms; the mucus-secreting cells and the mucociliary escalator. Goblet cells in the mucous membranes and submucosal glands in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems govern mucus secretion. The mucociliary escalator is responsible for the clearance of the mucus towards the pharynx. Here, it is expelled by the cough reflex. In some incidences, however, dysregulation of mucus production and its viscosity.

This is notable in conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. In these conditions, chronic irritation of the passage results in mucus hypersecretion. The excessive production of mucus overwhelms the mucociliary clearance mechanism. Consequently, excess mucin components MUC5AC and MUC5B in the airway accumulate, forming mucus plugs.

This further exacerbates the difficulty in clearing the airways; In response to this, an excess of inflammatory mediators is secreted. This augments mucous viscosity, resulting in further decreased clearance as well as the initiation of inflammation and fibrosis. The mucus is static and invaded by pathogenic bacteria; a positive feedback loop is initiated with an acute exacerbation of the condition.

This hypersecretion of airway mucus can obstruct the lumen, subsequently limiting the flow of air and accelerating the decline in lung function. Simultaneously, inflammatory responses compromise the rate of clearance by cilia, remove surfactants, and alter other biophysical properties of mucus.

Long term, this can result in recurrent airway infection, which further results in airway obstruction and remodeling by creating a continuous cycle. Evidence supports the causative role of chronic inflammation in mucus hypersecretion, which subsequently causes chronic airway inflammatory diseases.

While mucus production in the airways is normal, in excess, this causes phlegm production. This is considered abnormal, untypically an underlying pathological cause that typically results in the inflammatory response. In the absence of clearance of phlegm from the airways, a continuous cycle is created in which inflammation and lack of clearance exacerbate mucus production.

References
insights from industry Dr. Jason Otterstrom Application Scientist IDEA Bio-Medical

In this interview, NewsMedical talks to Jason Otterstrom about the role of AI-based Athena Zebrafish software in exploring Zebrafish imaging results and its importance for bio-medical research using Zebrafish models. Athena is now available for download with a flexible pay-per-use license.

How can high-content imaging of Zebrafish revolutionize the bio-medical research field?

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a promising emergent model system for biomedical research with the potential to enable fast, high throughput studies of human disease in living vertebrates.

Humans and zebrafish have most of the same organs, share 70% of the same genes, and 84% of the genes associated with human disease have zebrafish counterparts.

Zebrafish embryos are transparent and can be manipulated at the single-cell stage, then quickly grow into larvae in a matter of days. This physiological development can be imaged with a microscope using thousands of individual fish to directly visualize the effect of treatments on organ systems, development and physiology.

No other well-characterized biological model system is currently able to offer these advantages.

Dr. Otterstrom: "We offer three affordable license packages for different throughput needs. With an effective price between $0.15 and $0.29 USD per image analyzed, any Zebrafish lab or researcher can use Athena software to enhance their analysis workflows." Image Credit: IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

How are images of zebrafish used, and why are they important for researchers?

Microscopy images of zebrafish are analyzed to extract numerical or quantitative information about the embryos and larvae. The animal's transparent body makes much of the fishs internal anatomy observable, even with simple bright-field imaging.

Genetic manipulation permits the insertion of fluorescent proteins into the live zebrafish for tissue-specific imaging and analysis.

Life science researchers then analyze images of zebrafish to study and measure biological and physiological changes happening in different anatomical regions within a living fish. For example, organ development and cellular proliferation or death in relation to pharmacokinetics, toxicity, cancer, and genetic changes can be directly observed and measured.

How can AI help in these investigations?

Analyzing images of zebrafish is a time-consuming bottleneck in screening studies. While the images may be easily interpretable by a human, conventional image analysis algorithms do not readily detect the fish or its anatomy. Instead, measurements are performed manually using single images.

IDEA Bio-Medical learned of this challenge from our clients, so we created a novel deep-learning AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm to automatically analyze their Zebrafish images for them.

The AI training process is complex and error-prone, requiring substantial time and effort that our biology-focused clients could not do themselves. The AI we have developed can now robustly identify objects like the zebrafish contour and its internal anatomy that are clearly visible to us humans.

We now want to make this tool available to all zebrafish researchers, no matter which microscope they use.

IDEA's Zebrafish analysis software was developed with our clients, for our clients. Play

Athena software permits parameter-free Zebrafish analysis using simple bright-field images, extracting the fish contour and much of its internal anatomy (yolk sac, eye, notocord and more), along with body regions of the head, trunk, and tail. Image Credit: IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

Why do we need information about Zebrafish anatomy to interpret fluorescence signals?

Many processes investigated using zebrafish take place or begin in specific organs or regions within the body. They can be marked with fluorescence labeling to image the tissue or cells of interest. However, these must be distinguished from undesired signals and autofluorescence.

For example, in the zebrafish larva, hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) originate in a specific area within the tail - otherwise known as the caudal hematopoietic tissue (CHT). It is analogous to the mammalian fetal liver and relevant to leukemia in humans. Studies looking at the proliferation of GFP-labeled HSC need to focus specifically on the tail and ignore those fluorescent signals present elsewhere, such as circulating cells and yolk sac autofluorescence.

Athena is currently the only software available that enables high-content screening in this context. It permits automated cell counts exclusively within specific parts of the fish to maximize both throughput and data extracted.

It contrasts common approaches, such as simple intensity thresholding, which ignores the visible anatomy. Instead, all fluorescence is gathered together, irrespective of its origin, producing noisy data. Manual selection of the tail would improve quality but severely limit achievable throughput.

Athena is a first-of-its-kind automated image analysis software dedicated to zebrafish microscopy. Image Credit: IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

What is Athena image analysis software, and how can it be used?

Athena Zebrafish is a stand-alone software developed and offered by IDEA Bio-Medical to empower all zebrafish researchers. It enables true high-content imaging in zebrafish for the first time.

Athena permits parameter-free zebrafish analysis using simple bright-field images. It automatically detects zebrafish embryos and larvae up to 5 days old (dpf), extracting the fish contour and much of its internal anatomy (yolk sac, eye, notocord, and more), along with body regions of the head, trunk, and tail.

For each of these objects, the software measures the morphology (area, length, and shape) and can detect fluorescence in associated color channels. Both fluorescence intensity and spot/structure detection within specific anatomy are supported.

The software is suited for a broad range of researchers and accepts multiple image format types output from nearly all microscope manufacturers.

Click here for a free 14-day trial of Athena Zebrafish software, available for download from the IDEA Bio-Medical website.

What advantages does this method have over alternative techniques?

Athena is the only automated software dedicated to zebrafish microscopy, offering several advantages:

Automation: It allows experimental scale-up while eliminating subjective human bias or error and permitting direct comparison of results between different labs.

It allows experimental scale-up while eliminating subjective human bias or error and permitting direct comparison of results between different labs. Intuitive and user-friendly interface: Users can quickly and easily adapt Athena for their research.

Users can quickly and easily adapt Athena for their research. Versatile and flexible AI: Widely applicable for many types of screens involving zebrafish, as described by Athena customers on the IDEA Bio-Medical YouTube page.

Widely applicable for many types of screens involving zebrafish, as described by Athena customers on the IDEA Bio-Medical YouTube page. Customer support with personalized new user onboarding to ensure the success of our customers.

What is the Flexible Pay-Per-Use license you are offering, and what are its advantages?

IDEA Bio-Medical recognizes that annual software licenses can be expensive, especially if images are not consistently analyzed throughout the year. Hence, we offer Athena on a pay-per-use basis so that zebrafish researchers can adapt their license to analyze images when they need it.

We offer three affordable packages for different throughput needs. With an effective price between $0.15 and $0.29 USD per image, any Zebrafish lab or researcher can use Athena and enhance their analysis workflows.

Licenses can be purchased monthly or quarterly, according to need. This flexibility allows labs to adjust their licenses to fit their changing projects, students, grant submissions and other dynamics of academic research.

Source: IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

What support does IDEA Bio-Medical provide to Athena software users?

Analyzing microscopy images is complex, requiring skill and experience. Along with an intuitive software interface, we offer personalized customer support to enable any user of any skill level to become independent and productive with Athena.

We at IDEA Bio-Medical take pride in working closely with our clients and their unique needs. New users can receive a one-on-one onboarding session with a qualified product specialist to walk through the software using their own data and ensure a smooth, positive first experience.

Additional Athena support is also available by reaching out to IDEA Bio-Medical directly.

What is the future direction of your Athena software, and who would benefit from using it?

Athena is a rich application-based image analysis software for easy and quick analysis of microscope images. The full Athena package is currently integrated into the Hermes platform, IDEA Bio-Medicals flagship high content screening (HCS) microscope.

In the future, the full Athena software, relevant for microscopy images of 2D and 3D cell culture, will be offered as a stand-alone platform, allowing all biology researchers to perform image analysis at the push of a button.

About Dr. Otterstrom

Dr. Otterstrom obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Physics at the University of Utah. As a Ph.D. student at Harvard University, he studied the biophysics of membrane fusion as mediated by influenza virus hemagglutinin protein using single-molecule microscopy techniques. He went on to obtain a Marie Curie fellowship to utilize super-resolution imaging to study chromatin fine-packing structures at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) near Barcelona, Spain.

As an application scientist for IDEA Bio-Medical, he supports clients with adapting their diverse experiments and assays to be performed in the context of automated microscopy on the companys flagship product, the WiScan Hermes.

About IDEA Bio-Medical Ltd.

IDEA Bio-Medical was founded in 2007 through a partnership between YEDA (the Weizmann Institutes commercialization arm) and IDEA Machine Development (an innovation hub).

The company specializes in automated imaging systems and image analysis software, offering a broad range of biological applications based on the companys unique algorithms library.

The WiScan Hermes system incorporates the most advanced technologies currently available in the machine vision field, integrated with engineering methodologies of high reliability and quality at the level of semi-conductors and digital printing industries, which are the specialty of the mother company, IDEA Machine Development Design and Production Ltd.
insights from industry Professor Ron Heeren Limburg chair and director of the Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging Institute Maastricht University

In this interview conducted at Pittcon 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, we spoke to Ron Heeren, a speaker at the 2023 James L. Waters Symposium.

Please could you introduce yourself, and tell us about your personal background and what first attracted you to this field?

I am Ron Heeren, a distinguished professor of molecular imaging at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. I am also the director of the Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute. I was trained as a physicist, then developed a career in biochemistry, and now I am teaching in a medical center.

I have always wondered about the complexity of nature. One of my heroes, Richard Feynman, once said that you have to stop and think about it to really appreciate natures complexity; the inconceivable nature of nature.

I love that quote because it describes what triggered me to go into science: to satisfy my curiosity and understand the complexity of the world around me. The beauty of molecular imaging is that it does precisely that. It shows the inconceivable complexity of nature on a microscope slide.

What is secondary ion mass spectrometry?

The field I am engaging in is molecular imaging using mass spectrometry. There are essentially two ways of generating images with a mass spectrometer. The first is firing lasers at a surface to evaporate and ionize molecules, then analyzing them in the mass spectrometer. The second uses an ion beam, where a primary ion generates secondary ions that are then analyzed by a mass spectrometer.

The latter is the field of secondary ion mass spectrometry. In my work, we use both in concert because each technology has complementary features. The beauty of SIMS is that it can achieve spatial resolutions, such as no other technique in imaging mass spectrometry.

What is molecular imaging more broadly and what are its advantages?

Molecular imaging is a form of molecular photography where we take snapshots of the molecules on highly complex surfaces, such as tissue sections or biopsies of cancer patients, solar cells, or even leaves with microbes growing on them, and we try to visualize them.

Image Credit: SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com

Molecular imaging produces a map or a photograph of the spatial location of the molecules combined with the identity of the molecules themselves.

How can secondary ion mass spectrometry be employed in molecular imaging?

The beauty of secondary ion mass spectrometry is its incredible spatial resolution. These ion beams can be focused down to an extremely small spot, down to 50 nanometers. With molecular imaging, we can generate very small pixels, which provides an insight into what is going on in a single cell in the context of a complete tissue.

Essentially, SIMS brings very high spatial resolution. One added advantage is that we can study an individual single cell, layer by layer, and create a three-dimensional map of all molecules in that single cell.

In what medical fields can advances in digital molecular pathology have an impact?

Molecular imaging is entering digital pathology, a pathologist looking at digital images rather than through a microscope. As molecular imaging using mass spectrometers generates digital images, they can be shared easily with the pathologist.

They can be layered on top of the optical images that they already have. Now, the pathologist can augment how they look at the problem with molecular information. One example is detecting tumor cells in biopsy tissue. We can look at tissue sections from cartilage from damaged knees to understand the healing process and design new drugs.

We can look at pharmaceutical and animal models, where we observe where the drug ends up, how it is metabolized, and if it has an effect. These are all problems in a spatial context. These technologies can be applied with a gold star in biomedicine and pharmaceutical research.

How can innovative imaging technologies offer new insights into life's complexity?

We see these images in more molecular detail as our mass spectrometers improve. Some of these molecular changes that trigger a disease process or that people want to interfere with when designing a new drug (to circumvent a disease) are related to minute molecular changes.

Modern mass spectrometers enable us to see things like isomeric species. This lipid has a double bond very close to the glycerol backbone or very far away, two very different structures. We can now visualize where that structure differs in a tissue or cell.

Image Credit: Intothelight Photography/Shutterstock.com

Mass spectrometry imaging can unravel this complexity at spatial and molecular detail levels. We can look at the identity of a molecule, where the molecule is in the cell, where that cell is in a piece of tissue, and where that tissue comes from in a patient. This enables the description of the entire translational imaging chain.

The 34th James L. Waters Symposium highlights the development, commercial construction, and recent advances in instrumentation and its applications. What are some of the recent advancements in secondary ion mass spectrometry?

The James L. Waters Symposium highlights instrumentation advances, such as targeted pathology, where people use labeled antibodies to observe targeted proteome processes in detail. Another technology presented that we worked on is using a detector from CERN in the molecular pathology field to accelerate the rate at which we can generate these images.

We would take perhaps a hundred to a thousand pixels per second on a typical commercial instrument. Each pixel corresponds to the mass spectrum. These new detectors from CERN enable the acquisition of a millions of pixels per second, so we are very close to achieving our current goal of scanning one tissue slide in one minute.

This will be perfectly in sync with the pathology workflow. Our molecular imaging technologies with SIMS and CERN would seamlessly fit into the digital pathology workflow.

How important is it to understand the history of the important contributions and cooperations in this field?

The importance of history cannot be stressed enough because we all stand on the shoulders of giants. One of the approaches that we are still working with was developed in the 1960s, but now we have leapfrogged away with all the new technologies that were not available back then, but the basic ideas remain the same.

These early ideas are now accelerating because of all the new available technologies. This symposium beautifully highlighted that as it brought together all these different elements: instrumentation, engineering, application in the clinic, targeted pathology, and the history on which it all was based.

What are the current challenges within the secondary ion mass spectrometry-based molecular imaging field?

One of our biggest challenges is the sheer amount of data we produce. One aspect of this is data storage, as we are obliged by law to keep patient data for up to 15 years. If I generate three terabytes in 10 minutes and store it for 10 or 15 years, then my storage bill will outweigh my electricity bill very quickly.

Researchers are looking into smarter solutions for storing data, maybe only acquiring relevant data to reduce the amount of data we generate.

Image Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com

The other aspect is what we do with the data and how we interpret it. We have a million spectra per second; no human mind could go through these spectra individually. We need more innovative artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural network tools to explore the data and find the relevant information we seek to understand the complexity of health and disease.

How do you hope your work will help overcome some of the challenges you mentioned?

I am afraid my work will only worsen those two challenges because we are generating more data in a shorter time. However, while we are doing that, we also face these challenges. We have many bioinformaticians that we collaborate with to tackle those problems using machine learning and neural networks.

I think my teams contribution to this field is that we see that to solve these challenges, we need researchers from many different disciplines. It is not just the tool we develop to solve data analysis challenges but how to collaborate across the boundaries of disciplines.

This is one thing that imaging mass spectrometry excels at because there is the fundamental side, instrumentation, application development, and data handling. They all have to come together. Our contribution is bringing these people together in the institute around the appropriate infrastructure to tackle these challenges.

What are you currently working on that you are particularly excited about?

One project we are excited about is single-cell imaging using our CERN-based detector to build libraries of molecular profiles of immune cells and then automatically recognize these cells in a piece of tissue.

This allows us to understand how the metabolic phenotype of an immune cell changes in the presence of a tumor and as a response to the distance to the tumor. So much more complexity is yet to be discovered and understood, which will significantly contribute to that.

About Professor Ron Heeran

Prof. Dr. Ron M.A. Heeren obtained a PhD degree in technical physics in 1992 at the University of Amsterdam on plasma-surface interactions. He started to work on molecular imaging instrumentation and its application as a research group leader at FOM-AMOLF, Amsterdam. In 2001, he became professor at the chemistry faculty of Utrecht University lecturing on the physical aspects of biomolecular mass spectrometry. In 2014 he started as distinguished professor and Limburg Chair at Maastricht University. He is the founder and scientific director of M4I, the Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging institute on the Brightlands Maastricht Health campus. He was awarded the prestigious 2019 Physics Valorization prize by the Dutch organization for scientific Research, NWO and the 2020 Thomson medal of the international mass spectrometry foundation. In 2021 he was elected as a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, KNAW. His academic research interests are mass spectrometry based personalized medicine, translational molecular imaging and omics research, high-throughput bioinformatics and the development and validation of innovative molecular analytical imaging techniques across the scientific disciplines.

About Pittcon

Pittcon is the worlds largest annual premier conference and exposition on laboratory science. Pittcon attracts more than 16,000 attendees from industry, academia and government from over 90 countries worldwide.

Their mission is to sponsor and sustain educational and charitable activities for the advancement and benefit of scientific endeavor.

Pittcons target audience is not just analytical chemists, but all laboratory scientists  anyone who identifies, quantifies, analyzes or tests the chemical or biological properties of compounds or molecules, or who manages these laboratory scientists.

Having grown beyond its roots in analytical chemistry and spectroscopy, Pittcon has evolved into an event that now also serves a diverse constituency encompassing life sciences, pharmaceutical discovery and QA, food safety, environmental, bioterrorism and other emerging markets.
Nearly three decades back, Honda - the Japan-based globally acclaimed bike manufacturer - in association with the homegrown bikemaker Hero MotoCorp, gave India its first mass-market commuter motorcycle in the form of the Splendor. It was the first proper sub-100cc bike aimed at entry-level buyers with very basic requirements. Needless to state, it broke several sales records during its run in the Indian market and has been the highest-sold motorcycle in the country on multiple occasions.

Fast forward to 2011, Hero Group and Honda Motor Company decided to part ways and the rights to develop and retail Splendor remained with Hero. Since then, Honda has rolled out several motorcycles in India with 110cc and 125cc engine capacities but auto aficionados were disappointed by the conspicuous absence of a sub-100cc entry-level commuter. Hence, after a long wait of more than a decade, it has finally introduced the all-new Honda Shine 100 in the Indian market.

The bike was launched in March 2023 in the domestic market at a highly aggressive price point of Rs 64,900 (ex-showroom, Mumbai). Though bookings had commenced that very day, deliveries were promised from the mid of May - nearly a couple of months post the official launch. It will be positioned below the CD110 Deluxe in the Honda range. Recently, we got the opportunity to take the bike for a spin in the picturesque Aamby Valley City township, which is roughly 100 km away from Pune, Maharashtra. We rode the pre-production version of the Honda Shine 100 as the company officials informed us that production-ready models will be rolled out in a weeks time.

Before we take you through our detailed review of the Honda Shine 100, including performance, ride quality and handling, you must know that it is an all-new model in Hondas arsenal with no history or predecessor altogether. In the media briefing, we were told that the company is going to brand it as a reliable, durable and affordable offering for the very basic users who do not have a mammoth list of requirements to tick. So, lets see whether it stays true to the brands tall claims.

Honda Shine 100 Ride and Handling

Lets begin with the seating comfort as it is the most important factor for any comfortable ride. Honda Shine 100 has a seat height of 786 mm, which we felt was decent. Even a 5 feet tall individual can easily handle the bike with both feet touching the ground. Talking about the seat length, it measures 677 mm which is long enough to accommodate three individuals. However, keeping in mind the traffic regulations, we would strictly advise only two people including the rider.

The seating posture of Shine 100 is perfect for intra-city rides. We rode the bike for close to 35-40 km at the picturesque Aamby Valley comfortably. Though the seat cushioning could have been improved, due to the tight budget, we are sure Honda could have managed this much only. Nevertheless, it is satisfactory.

The bike has a best-in-segment turning radius of 1.9 metres which makes the handling even more desirable for daily commuting amidst traffic and narrow streets. During the ride, we experienced that it was fairly easy to turn the bike and manoeuvre it in any direction due to the small turning radius, which is a big plus point for any rider. Moreover, the kerb weight of merely 99 kg further accentuates the handling. It can be moved in every nook and corner without putting in much effort.

Honda Shine 100 can touch a top speed of 80-90kmph but since it is not intended for high-adrenaline racing enthusiasts, you will feel vibrations as you up the ante on the accelerator. You might not even find it as stable on the higher speeds clocked in the speedometer. So, it is highly recommended to ride it at 50-60 kmph for optimum experience.

A special mention goes to the suspension setup of the Honda Shine 100 as it is one of the best things about this bike. During our ride, there were multiple speed breakers as well as potholes and both the suspensions absorbed most of them, which is a really big thing since it is an entry-level motorcycle. The front unit features telescopic forks while it has a twin rear suspension. The ride quality gets a major boost from the suspension units and all the credit goes to the engineering team of Honda.

Last, but not least, the braking system of the Shine 100 is impeccable. If the suspension setup was top-notch, then braking stands one step ahead of it. The ride at Aamby Valley was not the easiest due to the slopes, steep ascents, and sharp turns, yet the brakes did an exemplary job. Despite missing out on disc brakes, the drum unit at the front and rear performed splendidly with possibly the shortest braking distance in this segment. At no point during sudden braking, we felt that the bike was skidding or slipping due to the Combi-Brake System (CBS) which comes with an Equalizer.

Honda Shine 100 Engine and Performance

The Shine 100 houses an all-new 98.98 cc OBD2-compliant PGM-FI petrol engine with eSP (Enhanced Smart Power). It develops top power of 7.28 bhp at 7,500 rpm and a peak torque of 8.05 Nm at 5,000 rpm. The engine is linked to a 4-speed gearbox. Since it is not a high-performance motorcycle and instead the focus is on practicality, you get the required amount of power and torque for city rides. The engine is refined and blended well with the diamond frame chassis of the bike. You get most of the torque and power at initial gears and once you race past the 50-60kmph mark, it starts diminishing.

The gearshift is smooth and we didnt face any inconvenience between switching gears. The 4-speed gearbox responds well to the multi-plate wet clutch system. The acceleration is reasonably good by the standards of an entry-level commuter motorcycle. As for mileage, Honda claims that it has class-leading figures but the company has not yet disclosed it and nor could we ascertain an exact number during our limited ride. However, we are of the view that fuel efficiency could be somewhere between 60-70kmpl.

So, as far as performance is concerned, it is a competent motorcycle which does justice to the job assigned to it. We wont say it is too high on performance, and on the flip side, nor it is too low.

Honda Shine 100 Design and Features

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Taking a leaf out of the aforementioned idiom, Honda has kept the styling of the Shine 100 minimalistic and basic. It draws design inspiration from the Shine 125 with graphics around the uniquely shaped fuel tank. Some of the notable styling elements are the front cowl, aluminium grab rail, tail lamp and sleek distinguished muffler. Honda Shine 100 rides on all-black alloy wheels which are shod with tube-type tyres.

Honda Shine 100 has been presented in five dual-tone colour choices namely Black with Red Stripes, Black with Blue Stripes, Black with Green Stripes, Black with Gold Stripes and Black with Grey Stripes. The bike, unabashedly, looks vibrant in all the aforementioned colour schemes but we really wish that Honda could have introduced a few more colours. In all, the Shine 100 looks okayish and we leave it to our readers as design is a highly subjective matter as it varies from individual to individual.

As for features, the bike again doesnt have much to flaunt except for the basic features like dual-pod analogue speedometer, self/kick start, side stands with engine inhibitor and narrow leg opening angle. We certainly dont think buyers in this segment will be bothered by the lack of features and complain about it as the bike has everything that a basic consumer desires. However, we wish that Honda soon launches a few limited/special editions of the Shine 100 with a couple of advanced and upmarket features to attract more buyers. The plastic parts dont appear to market and fit perfectly in their place.

Honda Shine 100 Price and Rivals

Honda Shine 100 price is pinned at Rs 64,900 while it locks horns with arch-rivals Hero Splendor Plus and Bajaj Platina 100 which are priced at Rs 73,825 and Rs 67,475, respectively. Besides these, it also faces ruthless competition from Hero HF Deluxe (priced at Rs 62,002) and Hero HF 100 (priced at Rs 55,232) in the Indian market. All the prices are ex-showroom, Mumbai. Without holding any two opinions, it can be stated that Honda has priced the Shine 100 quite belligerently which seems perfect for an entry-level commuter motorcycle.

Honda Shine 100 Review: Verdict

All said and done, Honda Shine 100 will create new milestones in the entry-level bike segment for the brand in India. From a basic customers perspective, it barely misses out on anything while offering brisk acceleration and exuberant mileage. The aggressive price announcement by Honda will further accentuate its appeal among the mass market buyers, especially the routine consumers who travel for nearly 40-50 km every day. It will greatly entice people who prioritize mileage and price while purchasing a motorcycle. Moreover, Hondas 6-year engine warranty program (3 years standard + 3 years optional extended warranty) will act as a cherry on the cake.

The smaller turning radius will also be one of the factors that will go in the motorcycles favour. Though Honda can work on a few things like new colours, more features and so on, that will result in a rise in price, which we are sure the buyers in this segment wont like much. So, Honda Shine 100 has what it takes to remain in the competition which has been Heros forte altogether for the past so many years and it could well be Hondas Splendor moment.

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The test mule of Royal Enfields all-new 450 cc roadster has been spotted testing in India, reported ZigWheels. The spy shots of the test mule reveal quite a few new details about the upcoming Royal Enfield 450 cc roadster.

Going by the photos, the new 450cc model will get a round display and disc brakes on both ends. This display will likely be the same as on the upcoming Himalayan 450. The 450 cc roadster will also get fork gaiters similar to the Hunter 350. Royal Enfield has kept the overall design language of the new 450 cc roadster very neo-retro. It can be said that this test mule seems to be very close to the production-spec bike.

Also Read: Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Spied Ahead of the Official Launch

The launch of the all-new 450 cc roadster is part of Royal Enfields plan to diversify its portfolio in the coming years. This model will be one of the most exciting bikes in the extended family of 450 cc motorcycles.

Royal Enfields new 450 cc roadster will share its engine with the upcoming Himalayan 450. The company will likely tune its engine differently than the Himalayan 450. The variants 450 cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC single-cylinder engine is expected to generate around 40-45 bhp.

Royal Enfield is said to be planning to introduce five different motorcycles on the same platform.

The Himalayan 450 will be the first bike to be launched under the 450 cc range. Royal Enfield is set to roll-out the Himalayan 450 in the second half of 2023. Reportedly, the new Hunter 450 will be the second model to arrive on the 450 cc platform with a launch likely sometime next year. Royal Enfield is expected to price the new 450 cc in the Rs 2.5 lakh-3 lakh ballpark. The 450cc roadster will rival the likes of the upcoming Bajaj/Triumph bike and the KTM 390 Duke.

Royal Enfield will also introduce the new generation Bullet 350 in 2023. This motorcycle will boast a new 349 cc air- and oil-cooled OHC engine. The launch date of the motorcycle has not yet been revealed.

Read all the Latest Auto News here
ATM-related frauds have become a growing concern, with fraudsters constantly devising new and innovative ways to defraud unsuspecting victims. Some of the most common types of ATM frauds include card skimming, card trapping, cash trapping, shoulder surfing, and phishing. These techniques involve stealing the victims ATM card details, PIN, or even the cash dispensed from the ATM.

Reportedly, many users face dire situations when they insert debit card at an ATM in an unguarded area and then the card gets stuck in the machine.

Fraudsters on two-wheelers are prowling around unguarded ATMs to pounce on unsuspecting debit card users to cheat them of their hard-earned money/savings by cloning the cards and even deftly replacing them.

ATM Frauds: Modus Operandi

The story doesnt end here because a few moments after your card is replaced by fraudsters, one starts getting a series of shocks as the person would get a message about withdrawal from the account linked with the debit card.

You realise that you have been tricked, you are robbed of a few thousands to a couple of lakhs.

Hard to believe, but the story is true. According to a report by news agency PTI, many such gangs are operative in several parts of the country in the garb of helping hapless debit card holders who might have punched in PIN for withdrawal. But after dispensing money, the card gets stuck and the ATM screen starts displaying the balance amount, phone number and other details.

As soon as you realise that something is wrong with the machine, two or three persons would barge in and one of them would engage you in a conversation while the other would replace your card with another one.

In no time, they will be gone and thereafter your registered mobile will receive messages of withdrawal after sometime.

The panic-stricken customers call up the bank for blocking the card, he or she is already down by a few thousands. Card deactivation itself sometimes is a tedious process as banks dont have a dedicated line or team to handle such issues. As the card is being blocked, many more thousands are gone.

You would approach your branch and simultaneously file a case with the cyber crime branch, thinking that they would help in getting back your money.

However, banks would come up with a standard reply that your PIN may have been compromised, so it cannot refund money while the cyber crime branch may not have time for your case as they have files of such cases. So your case is one in thousands. If the issue involves more than one bank then coordination is another issue.

As per the RBI data, 65,893 frauds related to Card/Internet/ATM/Debit Card, Credit Card & Internet Banking have taken place in 2021-22 involving a sum of Rs 258.61 crore.

ATM Card Swapping

There are some customers who have faced such instances and have shared their experience. For example, a senior journalist in Delhi faced swapping of his card at one such ATMs. His private sector bank debit card was replaced by a public sector banks card on the pretext of helping him to take out his stuck card, PTI reported.

He realised that he had been tricked within 10 minutes after the ATM incident when he received withdrawal notifications on his mobile. He called the helpline to block the card and, to his surprise, money was being debited from his account as the banks customer care person took time to deactivate the stolen debit card.

To show that he had call details but neither the concerned bank admitted the call details nor the RBI Ombudsman considered it after following the RBIs advice of lodging complaints sooner than later.

The bank expressed inability to accede to the request for reversal of the amount lost after the complainant deactivated the card.

Complaint is rejected under Clause 16(2)(a) of the Reserve Bank  Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 : In the opinion of the Ombudsman, there is no deficiency in service," reply he received by the concerned Ombudsman.

The PTI report added that same day a similar incident happened again in East Delhi where the victim was a housewife, who went to the home bank ATM of a public sector lender but in this case the stuck card was replaced by fraudsters of the same bank, the report added.

With the stolen card, the fraudsters had done shopping by swapping cards. Notification of withdrawal alerted the customers and deactivation was done after losing close to Rs 1 lakh.

Fraudsters are inventing new ways of cheating customers on a daily basis while the grievance redressal mechanism is not getting corrected at the same pace.

Complaint Against Bank

Customers using banking services sometimes encounter several challenges and they need quick resolution of the complaints raised by them.

There are some common complaints that many customers highlight, like high fees and charges that banks levy for various services such as ATM withdrawals, cheque bounce, minimum balance non-maintenance, etc..

However, there are some complaints which are internal to a particular bank and a customer needs its resolution.

It could be poor customer service also. Customers often complain about the poor customer service provided by banks. Long wait times, unresponsive customer care, and lack of clarity about procedures are some of the common grievances.

How to complain against the bank to the RBI?

If your complaint against any bank/NBFC or payment system participant is rejected or not redressed to your satisfaction by the entity concerned, you can now lodge a complaint on the Complaint Management System or CMS portal on RBI website (https://cms[dot]rbi[dot]org[dot]in) or through the link on the RBI App.

CMS provides a single window platform for fast and easy online filing, tracking of complaints and also for filing of Appeals. All complaints lodged on CMS would be directed to the appropriate office of the RBI Ombudsman/ Regional offices of RBI.

Customers must note that before approaching the Ombudsman, it is mandatory to first file the complaint with the concerned bank. Only in the event of non-receipt of reply, within 30 days from the lodgement of the complaint, from your bank or if the complaint is rejected wholly or partially by the bank, the complaint can be registered with the Ombudsman.

(With PTI inputs)

Read all the Latest Business News, Tax News and Stock Market Updates here
Petrol, and Diesel Prices Today: Fuel prices in four major metro cities on Monday, May 1, 2023, remained unchanged. However, in states like Maharashtra and West Bengal, fuel prices are showed a decline. Petrol has become cheaper by 41 paise and diesel by 39 paise in Maharashtra. In Punjab too, petrol has become cheaper by 26 paise and diesel by 25 paise. There is a drop of 25 paise in the price of petrol and diesel in Uttar Pradesh. Petrol has become cheaper by 44 paise and diesel by 41 paise in West Bengal.

Except for individual cases, petrol and diesel rates across the country have been steady since May 21 last year, when the previous pan-India revision was announced. However, many cities saw petrol prices above Rs 100 mark.

On Monday, the cost of one litre of petrol in Delhi continues to remain Rs 96.72 and for an equal quantity of diesel, customers have to pay Rs 89.62. Similarly, customers in Mumbai will have to pay Rs 106.31 for a litre of petrol and Rs 94.72 for equal quantity of diesel.

New prices continue in these cities as well

 Petrol in Noida has gone up to Rs.96.58 and diesel to Rs.89.75 per litre.

 Rs 96.58 in Ghaziabad and Rs 89.75 per liter of diesel.

 Petrol in Lucknow has become Rs 96.57 and diesel Rs 89.76 per liter.

 Petrol in Patna has become Rs 107.42 and diesel Rs 94.04 per liter.

 Petrol has become Rs 84.10 and diesel Rs 79.74 per liter in Port Blair.

In India, oil marketing companies (OMCs) such as Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum determine petrol and diesel prices. This is done on a daily basis, and rates are determined in accordance with the price of crude oil throughout the world.

Why do fuel prices vary across states?

The rates for each day, whether new or unchanged, are announced at 6 am on the day. These, however, vary from state to state; this is due to criteria such as Value Added Tax (VAT), freight charges, local taxes, etc.

Petrol, and Diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, and Gurugram on April 28, 2023

CITY Petrol (Per Litre) Diesel (Per Litre) Bengaluru Rs 101.94 Rs 87.89 Chandigarh Rs 96.20 Rs 84.26 Chennai Rs 102.86 Rs 94.46 Gurugram Rs 96.84 Rs 89.72 Kolkata Rs 106.03 Rs 92.76 Lucknow Rs 96.47 Rs 89.67 Mumbai Rs 106.31 Rs 94.27 New Delhi Rs 96.72 Rs 89.62 Noida Rs 96.65 Rs 89.93

This is how you can know todays latest price

You can also know the daily rate of petrol and diesel through SMS. Indian Oil customers can get information by sending RSP and their city code to 9224992249 and BPCL customers can get information by sending an SMS to 9223112222 by typing RSP and their city code. Whereas, HPCL consumers can know the price by sending HPPrice and their city code to 9222201122.

Read all the Latest Business News, Tax News and Stock Market Updates here
Every year, we discover something about our history on the planet through excavations around the world. In one such excavation, archaeologists found what may be the worlds oldest gold dating back to 4,500 B.C. The gold bead found was an eighth of an inch found in Bulgaria and it might be the oldest processed gold ever discovered in Europe and probably the world.

Reuters reported in 2016 that the bead predates the previous oldest gold object, the Varna Gold, which is a cache of gold found in a necropolis outside the Black Sea port of Varna. The Varna Gold cache was found between 1972 and 1991 and weighed about 5.8 kilograms. However, the new bead found in Bulgaria pushes the mystery back another 200 years.

Yavor Boyadzhiev, professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Science and in charge of the dig told Krasimiov, I do not doubt that it is older than the Varna gold. Its a really important discovery. It is a tiny piece of gold but big enough to find its place in history.

The digs exact location was revealed to be a site called Tell Yunatsite near the modern town of Pazardzhik, much further inland than Varna. Boyadzhiev revealed that the settlement might be the first urban settlement in Europe as it looked to be a sophisticated town. He believes that the gold was probably manufactured at the site and used in a sort of religious worship. He also believes that it was a highly cultured society which has people who moved from Anatolia, todays Turkey, around 6,000 B.C. The settlement was protected on all sides by a 9-foot-tall wall, but the town is speculated to have been destroyed by invaders around 4,100 B.C.

Tell Yunasite has been excavated since the 1970s and along with the Varna necropolis, it is a part of the emerging lost Balkan Copper-age civilization. Researchers believe the city to have had a well-developed trading network, industrialized metal production for the first time in history and may have even been the home to the creators of the worlds earliest known written scripts.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
 For the last two years, the world has been restricted to homes. Daily activities that couldnt be managed without stepping out, came indoors all at once  from office to grocery shopping and schools. As the world accepts the new normal, News18 launches weekly classes for school children, explaining key chapters with examples from happenings around the world. While we try to simplify your subjects, a request to break down a topic can be tweeted @news18dotcom

Aam Aadmi Party candidate Shelly Oberoi won the Delhi Municipal Corporation Elections. Her election was unopposed as Bhartiya Janta Party candidate Shikha Rai withdrew her nomination last minute. This gives us the opportunity to look at how MCD polls are conducted and what process and rules are followed. So lets get started!

HISTORY OF MCD

It was in 1992 when our policymakers amended the constitution in what today is known as the 74th amendment to the constitution. This 74th amendment established the ground for local self-governments in our country. This led to the formation of Panchayat systems in rural India and introduced Municipalities in urban India. Even before the amendment of the constitution, Indian history accounts that back in 1862, there was an existence of a body in Delhi similar to that municipality.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi was officially established on April 7, 1958, by an act of Parliament, Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. In Old Delhi, the famous Delhi Town Hall at Chandni Chowk was the seat of the MCD from 1866 till late 2009. Later the MCD office was shifted to the new MCD Civic Centre on Minto Road in Central Delhi. In 1993, legislators amended the MCD Act of Parliament and brought about fundamental changes in the composition, functions, governance, and administration of the corporation. The amended act of 1993 abolished the practice of alderman, and increased the number of councilors to 134, besides the members of the Lok Sabha who represent wholly or partly the constituencies of the municipal corporation. Earlier, the MCD was divided into three different zones and was reunified earlier this year by the centre.

MCD MEMBERS AND RESERVATION OF MAYOR POST

One-fifth of the members from the Delhi Legislative Assembly is represented in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in turn every year. All the MPs elected from Delhi are members of these corporations according to their parliamentary constituencies. In this way, the Delhi government nominates MLAs every year in the prescribed proportion from the Vidhan Sabha to the corporations.

The Mayor of the MCD is the highest-ranking official in the municipal government of the capital. The Mayor is elected for five single-year terms on a rotation basis. It is the member of the MCD who selects the mayor of the capital. In case of a tie between two candidates, the special commissioner is charged with the responsibility to oversee the election through a special draw of lots. Currently, Gyanesh Bharti has assumed the charge of the special commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Voting for the MCD is completed through a secret ballot. Apart from councilors, the nominated MPs and MLAs can vote in the elections. Any councilor elected in the MCD can vote for any candidate of his/her choice and the anti-defection law does not apply in the municipal elections. For the reservation of the backward classes for the post of Mayor, MCD has categorised its first year of governance for women in the Mayor post, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the remaining two also for the open category.

It is the task of the mayor to conduct elections for the post of Deputy Mayor and six members of the standing committee. The provision is mentioned under sections 35(1) and 45(1)(i) of the Act respectively. It is the mayor who presides over all meetings of the Delhi Municipal Corporation and in case of absence, the deputy mayor assumes the mayors duties.

FUNCTIONS OF MCD

Our constitution has mandated certain functions for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi like urban planning, land and building regulations, economic and social development, developing infrastructure, water supply management, health and sanitation, and other related works.

To learn about other topics taught in school, explained by News18, here is a list of other Classes With News18: Queries Related to Chapters on Elections | Sex Versus Gender | Cryptocurrencies | Economy & Banks | How to Become President of India | Post Independence Struggle | How India Adopted Its Flag | Formation of States & United India | Tipu Sultan | Indian Teachers Day Different from Rest of the World |Queen Elizabeth & Colonialism |

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Travel in Bengaluru or other parts of Karnataka and you may rarely find a politicians poster with hardly 10 days left for the assembly elections. There are more chances that you will find Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumars posters on walls, streets, behind cars and roads.

Fondly called Appu by his fans, 18 months after he died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 46, thousands are queuing up in Bengaluru on a Sunday, like any other day, to catch a glimpse of his memorial. The crowd has men, women, and children  many carrying flowers and balloons that say love you and miss you, while others are taking selfies and some have tears in their eyes.

His eyes were donated after his death, as per his pledge. He lives in our eyes and hearts So we come here for some solace, said a group of youngsters as they bought his photographs as a souvenir.

A few days ago, Puneeth Rajkumars family had a brush with politics as the wife of his elder brother Shiva Rajkumar, Geetha Shiva Rajkumar, joined the Congress. The party announced that Shiva will also join the Congress campaigns in Shimoga along with his wife, who happens to be the daughter of former Karnataka chief minister S Bangarappa.

This will help the grand old party to draw the fans of the late Rajkumar and his son, Puneeth Rajkumar and add some star power to the Karnataka Congress, a state party leader told News18.

This seems to be a counter to popular Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep joining the BJPs campaign.

Fans speak

Karnatakas matinee idol Dr Rajkumar and his youngest son Puneeth Rajkumar have always been apolitical. Puneeths fans want it to remain that way.

The real voters may not like this. It may not help the party concerned too. People love Appu for his social work and the contribution he made to peoples lives through his gestures. This is not about elections, said SF Hallur, a retired banker from Hubli, who is visiting the memorial for the first time with his daughter Spoorthy Hallur, a software engineer. Look at the crowd. People miss Puneeth, so they come, she said.

Another visitor, Manohar Bhupal, pointed at the dirty roof of the memorial and said the local MLA should first get the roof cleaned. Puneeth and his parents are now buried next to each other at the Kanteerava Studios, where thousands stream in daily to pay their respects. Some spoke of the familys gesture to pledge donating their eyes after a members death and how this gave a new lease of life to many.

In fact, at the Dr Rajkumar eye bank in Narayana Nethralaya in Bengaluru, where Puneeth and his parents eyes were donated, pledges for eye donation have crossed one lakh since his death  before that, there were only 76,000 pledges in the 30 years since the eye bank was set up. A new missed call helpline set up by the Centre has become popular in the state.

It is not new for south Indian film stars to become cult figures in their lifetime and even bigger after they die. In the case of Puneeth, his untimely death and popularity during his lifetime have etched him in the minds of the people for good.

Read all the Latest Politics News here
Bengaluru is getting heated up at present, both literally and metaphorically. While the scorching heat threatens to burn down the scalp, the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls are heating the political climate. However, both occurrences have led to a common result. The high temperatures, along with the heavy travelling in and out of the city due to election campaigns and rallies have led to a significant increase in the demand for beer in Bengaluru. The temperature has crossed 45 degrees Celsius in many districts and people have been attending rallies and events in the heat. More people are demanding beer after a long and hectic schedule. As a result, beer sales have increased in the capital and bar owners are on Cloud 9.

In the financial year 2022-23, the excise department sold 390.66 lakh boxes of beer. This has brought an additional income of Rs 800 crore to the exchequer. Compared to last year, the amount of beer produced in the state has increased by 45%. As compared to other states, the tax on beer in Karnataka is low, so the sale of beer in the state has increased.

However, the sudden surge in demand has not been met with adequate supply and while beer worth Rs 10 lakh is in demand, the supply is for beer for only worth Rs 2 lakh. This has invariably led to a cost surge as well due to inadequate supply. According to reports, Rs 20 extra is being charged per bottle in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru, a bustling metropolis, is widely renowned for its pub scene. The numerous bars in Bengaluru take pride in giving their customers a great experience. The UB Group, which is recognised for its well-known Indian beer, Kingfisher," was founded by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya and has its headquarters in Bengaluru. Bangalore has, however, lived up to its reputation as a city that enjoys a beer in the last ten or so years since the introduction of microbreweries in India. It has surpassed all competition to become Indias brewing capital.

Read all the Latest News here
Karnataka Assembly elections have entered the final lap. The southern state has six regions and the elections in each region are also unique. As part of our special series, News18 reporters travelled to each of the six regions to gauge the pulse of the electorate and give a 360-degree view of which way the political wind is blowing.

Karnataka is witnessing the hottest summer in 20 years, the Cauvery and its tributariesthe lifeline of the old Mysore region, including state capital Bengaluruare drying up fast, the people are desperately waiting for pre-monsoon showers, and, above all, they have an all-important Assembly election to vote in.

Both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress know that the route to Bengaluru goes through the Old Mysore region. The JDS is an old Mysore-centric sub-regional party whose very existence depends on its performance in this agrarian region, which is rapidly becoming an industrial hub.

Whichever party does well here, secures power in Bengaluru.

The region came to be known as Old Mysore after the British took control of Mysore Kingdom, defeating Tipu Sultan in 1799, and divided it into four parts. What is called Old Mysore today was returned to the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore and it had eight districts for a long period of time.

Though Shimoga, Chickmagalur, Davanagere and Chitradurga are also part of Old Mysore region, during elections, they are classified as Central Karnataka districts. Minus Bengaluru with 28 seats, it has 62 Assembly seats where election is the fiercest.

Known as Gowda heartland, it has been dividing its loyalty into three factions JDS, Congress, and the BJP a distant third.

Most of the bigwigs from the Congress and JDS, including Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and HD Kumaraswamy, hail from this region, making the current election one of the most important electoral contests.

In battleground Mysore (with Chamarajanagara district with just four seats), there are 15 constituencies. Siddaramaiah is once again back to his native Varuna after his son and sitting MLA, Dr Yathindra, vacated it for his father. The BJP has fielded Housing Minister V Somanna against him. But Siddaramaiah looks formidable and there is a huge sympathy and support for him.

Not so surprisingly, Siddaramaiah has a lot of support even among the Lingayat community in Varuna.

Same is the case with DK Shivakumar in Kanakapura, not so far from Varuna. The BJP has fielded Revenue Minister R Ashoka against him. In this battle of the Gowdas, Shivakumar is already miles ahead because of his stranglehold over the seat.

The JDS and Congress have locked horns in eight seats in Mysore. JDS strongman GT Deve Gowda, who had defeated Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari in the 2018 elections, is seeking re-election. The Congress has fielded a Vokkaliga against him, hoping for a split in the Gowda votes.

GT Deve Gowda has also fielded his son GD Harish Gowda from Hunsur. Both father and son were ready to join the Congress a few months ago. But the switch did not materialise mainly because of Siddaramaiahs opposition. Congress insiders feel the move would have wiped out the JDS in Mysore.

In Nanjunagud, the Congress has fielded Darshan Dhruvanarayan, son of KPCC working president Dhruvanarayan, who died two months ago. Less than month ago, Darshan had also lost his mother to cancer. The JDS has not fielded a candidate against him, making it an easy contest.

The BJP, which did well in 2018, is facing a tough battle this time. The resurgent Congress is giving it a hard time in at least six seats.

In the remaining eight seats, JDS and Congress have locked horns.

In Mandya and Hassan, where the JDS holds a sway over the majority voters, the Congress is trying to make a comeback. The BJP, which has two MLAs from these districts, is trying to retain them. But in KR Pete in Mandya, BJPs Narayana Gowda is facing a lot of challenges as he won on a JDS ticket in 2018 and defected to the BJP under the so-called Operation Kamala in 2019.

In the last election, the JDS swept Mandya district by winning all seats. This time, the Congress is ahead in at least three seats.

In Gowda fiefdom Hassan, the Congress was routed in 2018. This time, it is giving a good fight in only two seats (Sakleshpura and Arsikere). The wrong selection of candidates seems to have gone against the grand old party.

The BJP, which won Hassan Assembly seat in 2018, is facing a tough contest this time. It is giving a good fight in only two seats.

JDS supremos other son, HD Revanna, is seeking a sixth term from Holenarasipura, which was earlier held by his father, HD Deve Gowda from 1962 to 1989.

With a weak Congress candidate, yet another win for Revanna is a foregone conclusion unless something unexpected happens on May 10.

In battleground Tumkur, with 11 Assembly seats, the Congress, JDS and BJP have been fighting a fierce battle. Former KPCC president and deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwara is fighting a tough battle in Koratagere. The recent attack on him seems to have earned him some sympathy.

Another Congress stalwart, TB Jayachandra, is fighting his 10th Assembly election. He has won six of these contests.

BJP ministers BC Nagesh and JC Madhuswamy are fighting a difficult battle this time in Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli, respectively. Against Madhuswamy in Chikkanayakanahalli, the Congress has fielded BJP turncoat Kiran Kumar to snatch the seat. In Tiptur, Nagesh is fighting a three-way battle against K Shadakshari of the Congress and Shanta Kumar of the JDS. A Brahmin, Nagesh is struggling to retain his seat in a Lingayat-dominated constituency where the Congress candidate is a Lingayat.

HD Deve Gowda, who lost his 2019 Lok Sabha election from Tumkur, has campaigned here to boost the chances of the JDS. In Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts, the main fight is between the Congress and JDS.

HD Kumaraswamy is seeking re-election from prestigious Channapatna. The BJP has fielded habitual defector and former minister CP Yogishwar against him. Yogishwar is popular in the constituency and HDK cant take this election for granted. His actor-son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is trying his luck from Ramanagara after his mother Anitha vacated the seat.

In Devanahalli, where Kempe Gowda International Airport is located, former Union minister, seven-time MP from Kolar and Dalit leader KH Muniyappa is contesting his first Assembly election. The JDS, which currently holds the seat, is giving him a good fight.

In neighbouring Hoskote and Chikkaballapura, the fight is intense as sitting MLAs Dr K Sudhakar of the BJP and Sharath Bachche Gowda of the Congress are fighting a big battle.

In Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts, the prospects of the Congress look bleak as the JDS is looking to sweep, with the BJP making inroads into the unconquered territory.

Former Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar is facing a tough fight in Srinivasapura. He has contested in every Assembly election since 1978 and has won six of them.

In the dead gold mining town of Kolar Gold Fields or KGF, Roopa Shashidhar of the Congress is on a strong wicket. She is the daughter of KH Muniyappa.

A win in Old Mysore is most important for the Congress and BJP to cross the half-way mark of 113 seats in the Assembly. To retain its political existence, relevance and to create a hung Assembly, a big win here is most important for the JDS. If JDS loses Old Mysore, the story of the Gowda clan will be over.

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The ruling BJP promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Assembly polls, released on Monday.

We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose, according to the manifesto.

We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state.

The Constitution (of India) allows us to move in the direction of Uniform Civil Code. Justice to all; appeasement to none is our policy, BJP National Present J P Nadda, who was among those present at the release programme, said.

The party also promised to create a special wing in the state called Karnataka State Wing against Religious Fundamentalism and Terror (K-SWIFT).

The BJP said it would provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families  one each during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali

BJP chief JP Nadda released the manifesto here in the presence of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Union Minister for Mine, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Karnataka BJP President Nalinkumar Kateel and others. The party has assured free LPG cylinders for BPL card holders thrice during Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali festivals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a mega roadshow in Mysuru yesterday, winding up his whirlwind two-day campaign tour of Karnataka during which he addressed six public rallies. In what appeared to be a rerun of sorts of the popular Jambu Savari witnessed on the last day of the annual Mysuru Dasara, the Prime Ministers roadshow passed through various parts of the city.

Amid the fanfare surrounding the roadshow, there was a brief scare when a mobile phone was thrown by a woman, said to be a BJP worker, towards PM Modi who was standing in the vehicle. The incident happened when the Prime Minister was waving at people gathered on the road as the vehicle traversed the city.

The mobile phone landed on the bonnet of the vehicle after it was flung by the woman and this did not go unnoticed by the Prime Minister who indicated about the object to the Special Protection Group (SPG) sleuths responsible for Modis security during public events.

The phone was hurled out of excitement by a woman BJP worker who had no ill intention, according to police, who added that the lady has been called to record her statement on Monday morning.

The ruling BJP is pulling out all stops to retain power in the state which is seen as a gateway to the south for the saffron party. It is locked in a tussle with the opposition Congress and the JD(S).

Furtherore, Senior Congress leader and ex-minister M B Patil said the grand old party will come to power on its own with 130-odd seats out of 224 in the Karnataka assembly elections and the BJPs alleged Operation Kamala of poaching MLAs post polls will not be successful this time.

Patil, also the campaign committee chairman, denied internal fight in the Congress and defended the party leaders holding aspirations to become chief minister.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India, for the first time has introduced the vote from home initiative in Karnataka Assembly elections for a selected group of voters. Elderly voters above 80 years of age and persons with disabilities (PwDs) can vote from the comfort of their homes if they are unable to go out to exercise their franchise.

The Vote from Home (VFH) exercise will be carried out through ballot papers across the state from Saturday, April 29 and will end on May 6.

Karnataka votes on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

(With ANI and PTI inputs)

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stopped his speech midway on hearing the azaan (call to public prayer in a mosque) during a public meeting in poll-bound Karnataka on Monday. He was addressing people at a rally in Turuvekere in Tumakuru district, ahead of the assembly elections on May 10.

The senior leader paused his speech as a mark of respect and was silent throughout as the azaan played in the background. In a video shared by news agency ANI, it is seen that Gandhi is tapped on the shoulder by senior leader KC Venugopal when the azaan begins and he immediately stops speaking. Later, he even puts a finger on his lips signalling to some Congress supporters to remain quiet.

So, now Ive told you what the governments responsibility is towards its people" Gandhi says, when Venugopal alerts him and he stops speaking. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, has stopped his speeches during azaan.

In his speech, Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Modi and said like everything else, he was making the Karnataka elections, too, about himself. Gandhis dig at the prime minister came after Modi, in a public meeting earlier, had alleged that he was abused 91 times. The prime minister was targeting the Congress over its party president Mallikarjun Kharges venomous snake" barb at him. In fact, on Monday, the Congress chiefs son Priyank Kharge, too, took a jibe at the PM by referring to him as a nalayak beta" (useless son).

The former Congress president said the PM should talk about the BJP governments work and its future plans in Karnataka, not about himself. He further claimed that in his speeches, the PM had not once mentioned chief minister Basavaraj Bommai or BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa.

You (Modi) come to campaign in Karnataka for elections, but dont speak about Karnataka. You speak about yourself. You have to say what you did in Karnataka for the past three years. You also have to speak in your speeches about what you will be doing in the next five years, what will do for youth, education, health and to fight corruption," Gandhi said.

He added: This election is not about you, it is about Karnatakas people and its future. You say Congress abused you 91 times, but you never speak about what you did for Karnataka. In your next speech, you speak about what you did and what you will do in the next five years."

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Yashpal Suvarna, the BJPs Udupi candidate and face behind the anti-Hijab campaign, has been campaigning in his constituency with the hope that people will vote for development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and him.

In an interview to News18, he said Hijab is not an issue in this election and was rather created as a distraction by anti-social elements like the Popular Front of India (PFI). Whoever is against nationalism, we dont need to convince them to vote. Those who are happy being Indians will vote for the BJP, he said.

Edited Excerpts:

As a fresh face for the assembly elections, even though you have worked on the ground in various other capacities, how do you see your chances?

Politics is not new to me. For the past 25 years, I have been working as a karyakarta and have been a three-time councillor from Udupi. Now that I have been given a ticket from the BJP, I am requesting everybody to vote for the BJP and me.

What issues are you going to the people with while campaigning in this election?

Udupi has its history. In 1968, other than Delhi, the first municipality in southern India was formed in Udupi. The municipality played a major role in the growth of the BJP. Many leaders from the Jan Sangh have dedicated their lives to the party like VS Acharya among others.

How do you see the BJP performing in Dakshina Kannada?

BJP is a cadre-based party. For the past 25 years, we have been winning most of the assembly seats in the coastal region and all our coastal MLAs are from the BJP. The BJP has a strong base in coastal Karnataka. Udupi is well known for banking, education and other sectors. We will win big.

How much does the Hijab issue resonate in Udupi now?

See, being part of the management of Udupi Government PU Girls College, I must take good care of my students. It is my responsibility to ensure uniformity of education without any bias. In my college, we have introduced uniform since 2004 and there is no differentiation between rich or poor or on the basis of caste. We decided to treat every student as equal and not based on their caste or religion. Since 2004, all students have been wearing uniforms as per college rules. On December 31, 2021, some anti-social elements, PFI and CFI tried to divert the attention of students who come from economically weaker families.

Has the Hijab issue impacted your campaign?

Hijab is not an issue. Some groups do not want their girls to be educated. At the time of the Hijab issue, there were 67 Muslim girls, but after the ruckus, we had 97 Muslim girls joining us which means that the Muslim community wants good education for its girls. They did not want anything to do with the Hijab debate. Many parents came to me saying they want the best education for their girls and that many of them are treated like slaves. They do not have a personal life and that is something they dont want for their daughters. Muslim girls in our college are happy and they are against Hijab. They want to be independent and free.

So Hijab, Halal, and Muslim reservation are not election issues in coastal Karnataka?

We (BJP) are into nationalism. We are part of an organisation to safeguard Hindutva. Hindutva is not an agenda, it is my duty. I am first a Hindu. Those who are against Hindutva and speak against my nation are not fit to be in India. Those people cannot digest our values of Hindutva and Hinduism. Those who are fanning the Hijab row dont want their women to get educated because women will get to know what PM Modi and development are. They will get jobs and question their community and thats what some people dont want.

What answer do you give to the Muslim voters who ask you about the Hijab issue?

The application by the (Hijab) girls was pending in the high court. It is during this time that the CFI and PFI applied to the courts not to give the judgment on the issue until the elections conclude in Uttar Pradesh. That means the Muslim girls are in favour of development and PM Modi. The PFI thought if a decision comes in favour of the government, then the Muslim girls will vote for Yogi Adityanath and so they stalled it as it hurt their agenda. The anti-social groups PFI and CFI dont want girl children to be educated.

What about the six girls who are fighting in the court to wear a Hijab on campus? We are being told they are facing isolation from the community?

The six students are young teenage girls and they do not have any knowledge about the IPC or the laws of the country. The PFI was behind instigating them and they would brief them on how to speak to the media and what statements needed to be made. As PUC students, how would they know how to come forth and speak to the media? How would they know how to approach the courts? They were being pushed by these anti-social elements. They created this to get the attention of people. Such is the quality of education in Karnataka that in the previous PUC examinations, the first rank student was from our college.

Has the Muslim community alienated themselves from the BJP? Do you need to take extra effort to convince them in this election?

There is nothing like that. Whoever is against nationalism, we dont want to convince them. Those who are happy being Indians will vote for the BJP.

What about the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI)? They are contesting this time and campaigning aggressively with Hijab as an issue.

The SDPI and the Congress are two faces of the same coin. The Congress is indirectly supporting them. In the cooker bomb blast, Congress did not make any statement against them (SDPI and PFI) which means that Congress is indirectly supporting them.

DK Shivakumar has stated that if they come to power, they will roll back the anti-cow slaughter bill, anti-conversion bill and bring back the celebration of Tipu Jayanti. They do not have any agenda for development. They say they will provide guarantee cards with promises of ration etc. The Congress does not have an idea where they would get the fund for it. If they have to fulfill the promise they made in the guarantee cards, even Indias union budget will not be sufficient to provide such facilities. Unlike them, Modi-ji has taken along all communities on one platform and given development to all.

How much will the PM Modi and Amit Shah factors help you in the election?

PM Modi is a world leader and he is loved by all. His campaigning here will certainly boost the BJPs chances. As for me, I have been closely associated with the Sangh Parivar and BJP and I am very happy that the party has allowed me to contest. Them coming here will give me a good push.

What do you have to say about Mallikarjun Kharges statement of calling PM Modi a poisonous snake?

I dont want to comment on Kharges statement. It is a problem of age. He has no idea what is going on in the country and Karnataka. He is muttering due to his age. The Congress has no leader to lead the party. Kharges statement does not affect us. We are least bothered by him. The people will give a fitting reply to the Congress on May 10 and on the counting day.

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Its situated 1,400 kilometres away from Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj, yet the issue of Atiq Ahmeds killing is echoing in poll-bound Karnataka. Not only this. If political pundits and Bharatiya Janata Party insiders are to be believed, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanaths demand as a star campaigner has gone up manifold, especially after the killing of the mafia brothers, Atiq and Ashraf, by assailants on April 15 in police custody in Prayagraj.

People say what has added to the charisma of Yogi Adityanath is the viral video showing the verbal spat involving leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav in the state assembly when the CM, while speaking on the Umesh Pal murder case, attempted to corner the Samajwadi Party, stating that Mafia ko mitti mein mila denge (Will finish the mafias)" as he vows a zero-tolerance policy against gangsters and crime in UP.

Karnataka will have voting on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13. Ahead of the assembly polls, BJP leaders said that the party wants to encash the charisma of the UP chief minister, who has been its star campaigner for the last few years. With Atiq Ahmeds son Asad Ahmed and his close aide Ghulams encounter, which was followed by the killing of Atiq and his brother Ashraf, the CMs video featuring the Mitti me mila denge" remark has gone viral on social media. He was hailed for fulfilling his promise of eliminating wanted criminals, which added credence to his star campaigner clout in Karnataka, especially in coastal Karnataka where Hindutva is reportedly a major issue.

Killing of mafia brothers and prior encounter of Asad and his aide Ghulam could make Adityanath a big draw in coastal Karnataka where issues like the Popular Front of India (PFI) have been significant. Its high time for the party to portray CM Adityanths example to drive home the point that the BJP doesnt harbour criminals. The BJP has already given tickets to advocates, doctors, and retired IAS and IPS officers in Karnataka to win the peoples confidence," a BJP stalwart said.

Bharatiya Janata Party insiders said 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 Karnataka polls. Among them, the UP CM is likely to hold more than a dozen rallies.

The issue of Atiq first came under the spotlight in April when BJP leader Amit Malviya tweeted a 2.09-minute video of Rajya Sabha member Imran Pratapgarhi, a star campaigner for the Congress, in which he can be heard praising the gangster-turned-politician. The video also highlights that Atiq had visited Pratapgarhis residence for a feast in 2015.

Imran Pratapgarhi, Rahul Gandhis handpicked member of Rajya Sabha and Congresss star campaigner in Karnataka, is an apologist of don and now murdered criminal Atiq Ahmed, Malviya tweeted.

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DYAVOL X, Aryan Khans luxury apparel business, launched its website on Sunday, and some online were stunned by the ridiculously high prices. Since a few weeks, Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan have been marketing the brand and its imminent debut, generating a lot of enthusiasm among fans.

Recently, an advertisement featuring the superstar was also released. In it, the father and son are dressed identically in DYAVOL X. However, soon after the release, users expressed surprise at the high prices and said the items were not affordable for the middle class. Read more on this here

Amid the reactions, lets understand what makes a luxury brand luxury and how the high prices of such brands come about:

What defines luxury?

Luxury is a synonym for quality and brands centred around the idea of it focus on exclusivity, which they say come from pointed craftmenship and attention to detail. Brands that have come to be to identified as luxury also focus on it being a way to show ones lifestyle, as opposed to just being a consumerist item. For example, old luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton have come to be identified with elegance, versus brands such as Balenciaga, with a more contemporary take.

This feeling of exclusivity is typically evoked by perceptions of quality, comfort, and elegance, the term luxury" is evolving to encompass several additional things to consumers worldwide, as per a report by Etail. The term luxury" has different connotations today than it did in past generations.

As per the report, in 2022, Marriott International and Skift Research undertook a global survey of over 5,000 high-income luxury consumers to identify attitudes and behaviours towards luxury in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.

Globalisation, in conjunction with the disruptive impact of the internet and digital technology, is resulting in a much broader, multidimensional view of what quality, luxury, and exclusivity can be, the report. Though high-income luxury consumers around the world continue to value long-held concepts of luxury, such as quality, comfort, and elegance, they do so through the lens of a new set of aspirations and lifestyle goals.

The poll indicated that high-end consumers use luxury items to separate themselves from their peers. While this isnt particularly surprising and hasnt changed much from previous generations, it was also discovered that todays luxury consumers believe that not all luxury purchases must be the most expensive, indicating that the bragging rights they seek dont necessarily revolve around their ability to make exorbitant purchases alone, the report said.

That said, why are luxury brand items so expensive?

According to a report by American Two Shot, unlike fast fashion factories, designer brands rarely employ synthetic fibres in their garments. Hermes and Louis Vuitton, for example, employ genuine animal leather in their bags. These materials are significantly superior than what other low-cost firms can provide.

To assure their clients comfort, most designer garments employ true organic and natural fibres such as silk, cotton, wool, and linen.

Designer clothes also incorporates high-end jewellery such as diamonds and gold to enhance its design. These additions contribute to the greater price, the report says.

Labour expenses also contribute to the cost of such items. Labour from Europe and America is frequently used by high-end brands. These continents have a lot of labour expenses. The number of individuals working on a single design is also a consideration. A big number of individuals work on the designer brand pipeline, which requires a premium wage.

Fashion designers, sewers, and material cultivators do not have low-paying occupations. They have compensated suitably because they work on a luxury brand.

The feeling of exclusivity is essential for luxury brands. Because their products are aimed at upper-class citizens, these brands provide their customers with one-of-a-kind clothing.

A few marketing methods, such as reducing the quantity of apparel or making it a collectors item, are guaranteed to satisfy the need for designer goods, the report explains. For example, instead of creating 100 garments, they will only sell ten. They increase the value by restricting the quantity of items.

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Camillas coronation alongside King Charles III on May 6 will be a regal milestone as well as a personal triumph for the monarch, who has long been privately determined to make her his queen. She was demonised as the other woman" in Charles marriage to his first wife, Princess Diana, throughout the stormy 1990s.

But she has gradually gained acceptance for her unwavering support for her husband and unobtrusive dedication to charitable causes.

Lets look at who Camilla is:

Before the couple married, Charles let it be known that his relationship with the then Camilla Parker Bowles was non-negotiable" and she would always be central to his life".

At the time his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was reportedly worried that the marriage would cause irreparable damage to the monarchy.

Royal experts have described a long campaign behind the scenes by Charless office to improve Camillas image and ultimately ensure she would be queen.

The royal seal of approval for Camilla finally came before Elizabeths death last year when she said it was her sincere wish" that Camilla be known as Queen Consort after her death.

That finally put to rest a 2005 royal household plan for Camilla to become Princess Consort when Charles acceded to the throne.

In recent weeks, the consort" part of her title has been quietly dropped and she is to be known simply as Queen Camilla.

Sense of duty

Although her popularity ratings remain lower than most other senior royals, Camilla is increasingly seen by the public as a warm and down-to-earth figure.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the public now took a benign view of Camilla", nearly three decades after Charles and Dianas very public divorce.

Shes someone who has a strong sense of duty," he told AFP.

Theres no question that she regards her role as to support Charles, and that they are soulmates  similar age, a similar sense of humour, similar friends everything that he and Diana did not have in common."

The rehabilitation of Camilla was very successful, and it led to their marriage and its been very happy," he said.

Camilla has also shown her tough" side by silently enduring much criticism over the years.

Three People in this Marriage

Prince Charles and Camilla first met at a polo match in 1970 and began dating. When Charles set sail, they ended things. Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, while Charles married Princess Diana in 1981. Throughout their separation, Charles and Camilla maintained a close relationship.

An intimate phone call between Charles and Camilla was leaked in 1993, causing a huge scandal. Both divorced their partners in the years that followed.

Charles and Camilla made their relationship public a year after Dianas death in 1997, and they married in 2005.

Diana and Charles first met in 1977 through Dianas older sister, Sarah. Charles was 28 years old, and Diana was only 16 years old. Charles recalled their first meeting as very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old she was," calling her great fun, and bouncy and full of life."

The two next met in 1980, a year after Lord Mountbattens assassination, and private tapes show Diana sympathising with how lonely" Charles must have felt at the time.

In February 1981, the couple announced their engagement, and during a television interview, a reporter behind the camera asked the couple, Are you in love?" While Diana replied, Of course," Charles added, Whatever in love means."

Five months later, they married in a lavish ceremony at St Pauls Cathedral. A 2017 biography by Sally Bedell Smith describes Charles weeping on his wedding night while the extremely turbulent Diana was fighting bulimia.

Charless image took a devastating hit during his acrimonious separation from Diana.

In her extraordinary 1995 interview in which she revealed her feelings over his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana famously said there were three people" in her marriage.

The royal couple had made the bombshell announcement they were separating in 1992, but following the fallout from the controversial sit-down with the BBCs Panorama" programme they finally agreed to divorce.

Silent Supporter

Since Elizabeths death last year, the causes Camilla has supported for years have been given a much bigger platform, as per an AFP report.

They include the arts, promoting literacy and supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault.

Shes been very low-profile in the UK in recent decades," said the former UK ambassador to France, Peter Ricketts, speaking in March before the couples state visit to Germany.

Now she has a moment to come more into the spotlight."

One cause close to her heart is the Royal Osteoporosis Society, of which she has been president for more than 20 years.

Both her mother and grandmother died from the crippling, bone-weakening condition.

Traditional upbringing

Camilla Rosemary Shand was born in London on July 17, 1947 and had a traditional upbringing among the monied upper classes.

She first met Prince Charles as a young woman at a polo match in the early 1970s, and they later became close.

But believing Charles would never propose, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973.

The couple had two children  food writer Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes. She now has five grandchildren.

Windsor wedding

They married on April 9, 2005, in a civil ceremony in Windsor, drawing a cheering crowd of 20,000 on the streets before a religious blessing.

Camilla has since been widely accepted by the royal family, including Charles and Dianas eldest son Prince William.

His younger son Prince Harry accused Camilla in his recent autobiography of playing the long game", with a campaign aimed at marriage, and eventually the crown with Pas blessing we presumed".

But Tom Parker Bowles rejected the claim: This wasnt any sort of end game," he said last week. She married the person she loved."

AFP contributed to this report

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True to Prime Minister Narendra Modis words in the 100th episode of his radio show Mann Ki Baat that it was actually the mann ki baat of millions of Indians and an expression of their emotions, more than 11 lakh people in India and abroad posted photos of listening to the landmark broadcast on Sunday, said government sources.

Around 9 lakh tweets with billions of impressions were registered on social media. #MannKiBaat100Episode, #MannKiBaat100 were trending at the top on Twitter through the day.

ALSO READ | Kya (Mann Ki) Baat Hai! PM Modis Words Get Around Venues & Citizens Across India | 100th Landmark Episode

Today is the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat. I have got thousands of letters, lakhs of messages. I have tried to go through more and more of them. I got emotional while reading your letters on many occasions, was swept away by emotions, and then held myself. You have congratulated me on the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat, but all the listeners, our countrymen deserve to be congratulated. Mann Ki Baat is the Mann Ki Baat of millions of Indians and the expression of their emotions," PM Modi said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made elaborate arrangements for the screening of the show across the country. The monthly broadcast was seen by common man at home, in societies and communities across the country. It was widely seen at international embassies of India across the world.

The diaspora organised hundreds of programmes across the globe to watch Mann Ki Baat.

Most Chief Ministers and Union Ministers were present for the screening of the show at various places. Raj Bhavans in various states held a special programme, inviting people from their state who had been mentioned in Mann Ki Baat among other dignitaries.

The programme was broadcast at various community centres and railway stations too. People across sections of society, from porters and police personnel to film stars were seen listening to it.

Many celebrities such as actors Madhuri Dixit and Shahid Kapoor, director Rohit Shetty among others joined the screening at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

ALSO READ | In 100th Mann Ki Baat Episode, PM Modi Says Did Not Leave My Home 50 Years Ago Just To | Top Quotes

It was widely seen across religious places and communities, at spots such as Irfani Madarsa, Lucknow, Jama Masjid, etc.

The programme, which started on October 3, 2014, has become a key pillar of the governments citizen-outreach programme addressing multiple social groups such as women, youth, and farmers and has spurred community action.

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Pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh, who was arrested on April 23 after a month-long hunt, has refused to reveal the sources of his funding and has the potential to be dangerous to peace and security, sources in Punjab Police told News18.

Amritpal Singh has been lodged in a high-security prison in Assams Dibrugarh since his arrest by the Punjab Police.

Police sources told News18 that, during questioning, the Khalistani sympathiser and head of the Waris Punjab De outfit, indicated that will not cross the line of criminality if let off. Amritpal Singh also purportedly told the police he could help fight the drug problem and in Punjab.

Police sources further said it needs to be ensured that he isnt free to build support again. If he starts a peaceful movement and gathers support, it could be dangerous. We need to stop that from happening, an official told News18.

He will come back and start doing things that he was doing. He has indicated that he will not cross the line of criminality. He wants to do this fight for long lambi race ka ghoda This is dangerous He said he will fight against drugs and conversion by Christian missionaries and will ensure no criminality," the official added.

The rise of the radical preacher, with pro-Khalistan sympathies and his successful evasion of arrest ever since he and a posse of armed supporters stormed a police station in March, brought back fears of the militancy which had stalked Punjab in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Punjab Police had arrested 29-year-old Amritpal Singh from a gurdwara in Rode under the stringent National Security Act. The symbolism of Rode is significant as this was the native village of Bhindranwale, who died in a controversial Army operation in 1984 to flush out militants holed up inside Amritsars Golden Temple.

Indias security establishment has long suspected that Pakistans external spy agency ISI, with the help of overseas Sikh separatists, has been the brain behind pushing Amritpal Singh back to India with an aim to revive terrorism in Punjab,

Threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Bagwant Singh Mann, the radical Sikh preacher had been openly making statements about declaring secession from India and forming Khalistan. He spoke about the assassinations of then prime minister Indira Gandhi and chief minister Beant Singh.

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Mumbai Police busted a fake call centre after receiving a tip-off about its workers having an early breakfast every day from a specific eatery.

The centre was running from a house along Rajodi Beach outside Indias financial capital. Employees of the centre were not allowed to leave the building and had interaction with outsiders.

But it was a routine affair for employees to order breakfast from a nearby eatery in the early hours of morning every day.

But the police got information that someone was repeatedly ordering dozens of breakfasts from a nearby eatery  and at 4:00 am. Since the beach resort is full of tourists on weekends and almost deserted on other days, the police suspected something is going on and started monitoring the place.

So the 50 to 60 tea and breakfast orders so early every morning for many days raised our suspicion and we started secretly monitoring the place," police officer Suhas Bavche was quoted as saying by AFP.

After the tip-off, the police raided the centre and arrested the owner and 47 employees. Charges of cheating, impersonation, and fraud under the Information Technology Act have been invoked against them. Computers seized at the centre were also being examined by the forensic team.

According to police, employees were trained to receive calls from unsuspecting bank customers from Australia. They allegedly extracted sensitive personal details and security information  including one-time passwords  from them and passed the information on to managers over email, Bavche said.

This could be the tip of the iceberg. We are investigating international connections for the racket. Such fake call centres operating from one place for a couple of months at a time are regularly busted across the country," he added.

(With AFP inputs)

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A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on a petition filed by TMC leader Anubrata Mondal, arrested in a money laundering case related to alleged cattle smuggling at the India-Bangladesh border, seeking his transfer from Tihar Central Jail here to Asansol Correctional Home in West Bengal.

Special Judge Raghubir Singh said the order will be pronounced on May 4. The judge also extended Mondals judicial custody till then.

Mondal was also produced in the courtroom on a wheelchair by Tihar jail officials.

Enforcement Directorates Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana has opposed Mondals plea, stating that the West Bengal court, which is examining a related case being probed by the CBI, may call the accused as and when required.

The ED had brought Mondal to Delhi after arresting him in a money laundering case. Mondal, the TMCs Birbhum district president and a close aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was earlier arrested by the CBI in the related corruption case.

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Against the backdrop of Chinas increasing military assertiveness in the Indian Ocean region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Didi agreed on Monday to expand the bilateral military ties and called for upholding a rules-based global order during their talks in Male.

Singh held wide-ranging talks with Didi and top military officials of the Maldivian defence forces on the first day of his three-day visit to the island nation.

On his arrival, Singh was accorded a warm welcome, with the Maldivian defence minister receiving him at the Velana airport in North Male Atoll, reflecting the importance the island nation has attached to the visit.

The visit of Rajnath Singh represents a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries as it brings a new level of dynamism and impetus to the already existing defence ties," the Maldivian defence ministry said.

It said the talks between Singh and Didi covered regional and global security issues of mutual concern and that both sides agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in the defence and security domains.

Both ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the region, and recognised the need to work together to address common security challenges," the Maldivian defence ministry said in a statement.

It said the two ministers underscored the importance of respecting international laws and a rules-based international order and expressed their commitment to upholding these principles.

They also noted the importance of sharing best practices and expertise in areas such as counterterrorism, disaster management, cybersecurity and maritime security," it said.

The ministers agreed to explore new avenues for cooperation, including in the areas of defence trade, capacity building and joint exercises," the ministry added.

The Indian high commission in Male said Singh interacted with senior officers of the Maldivian defence forces and highlighted that the defence cooperation between the two countries is aimed at confronting common challenges and promoting peace and security in the region.

In a series of tweets, the high commission said the defence minister complimented the armed forces on both sides for their initiative and zeal" in maintaining the close cooperation.

Chief of Maldivian defence forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal and several other senior officials were among those who welcomed Singh at the airport near the capital city Male.

During his May 1-3 visit, Singh will hand over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldivian defence forces as Indias gift" to help them enhance maritime surveillance.

Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister Didi will attend a formal ceremony to hand over an offshore patrol vessel, along with an assault landing craft, and inaugurate the development project of the MNDF Coast Guard Harbour and repair facility at Sifavaru," the Maldivian defence ministry said.

Singh will also call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold talks with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.

It is Singhs first visit to the Maldives as the defence minister.

The Maldives is one of Indias key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the project, a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect Male with the adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of Indias Neighbourhood First policy.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane visited the Maldives in March and held talks with his Maldivian counterpart, Major General Abdulla Shamaal.

Aramane is also accompanying Singh.

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The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed a minor rape victim from Nepal to undergo medical termination of 27-week pregnancy at LNJP Hospital, Delhi.

In view of the fact that the girl is a rape victim and taking a humanitarian view of the matter, though the girl and her family are Nepalese citizens, this court directs that the termination of the pregnancy be effected as soon as possible by the doctors at LNJP hospital, Justice Prathiba M Singh ordered.

The court directed the medical team to ensure that the best possible care is given to the pregnant girl, including post-operative care, so that she recovers completely and is only then discharged.

While allowing the medical termination, the single-judge bench noted, The family has assured that in case the foetus is born alive, considering the age of the foetus, the family would give adequate care in the nursery of the LNJP hospital.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the mother of a 16-year-old minor girl who was 25 weeks pregnant. She sought directions to allow the termination of her minor daughters pregnancy.

It is the petitioners case that her minor daughter was subjected to a brutal gang rape in Nepal in October 2022, while both the parents worked in Delhi. The girl moved to India with them in March 2023, and thereafter she realised that she was pregnant. However, by the time she approached the authorities concerned for termination of pregnancy, the gestation period was already 25 weeks.

During the hearing, the two doctors of the hospital apprised the court of the opinion of the medical board that the medical termination could be done. However, the court was also apprised that there are certain risks that are involved owing to the fact that the girl has low haemoglobin and that the gestation period of the foetus is 27 weeks.

Additionally, both doctors also informed the court that they have counseled the mother and the girl of the risks involved. The counsel for the petitioners mother also submits that they are conscious of the risks that are involved in the termination.

Accordingly, allowing the termination of the minor girl, the court said, The petitioner is free to move an application in such a situation to revive the present petition for further directions. Let the report of the medical board be taken on record. The present order is being passed in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.

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The Kerala High Court recently ruled that to avoid multiplicity of proceedings, if an unmarried major Muslim daughter is found not entitled to maintenance from her father under section 125 of CrPC, the family court can entertain her claim under Muslim Personal Law without forcing her to file a fresh claim.

The bench of Justice Alexander Thomas and Justice Ziyad Rahman AA referred to a three-judge bench decision of the Supreme Court in Jagdish Jugtawats case (2002) as well as the decision in Abhilashas case (2020) where the top court held that even if a claim under section 125 of the CrPC is liable to be repelled and if the claim is otherwise maintainable under the Personal Law, as enunciated in the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, etc, then to avoid multiplicity of proceedings, the family court can consider the latter claim, even if it is bound to dismiss the former claim.

The HC opined that the approach taken by the apex court was clearly to the effect that a hyper-technical approach need not be resorted to in matters related to maintenance claims. And if the claim is otherwise maintainable, then the Family Court, which has jurisdiction in that regard, can entertain such claims, without having to drive the litigant to file a fresh claim," the court said.

The judges, however, said, Of course, this option is available only where the claim is made before the Family Court, since the Family Court will have jurisdiction to consider claims not only under Sec.125 of the CrPC, but also claims as in the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act as well as Muslim Personal Law, etc."

The division bench was dealing with a plea filed by a Muslim father to quash the order passed by the family court directing him to pay interim maintenance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month to his 20-year-old unmarried daughter. The man and his wife had separated.

The matter had been referred to the division bench by a single-judge bench of the high court, who had found a conflict of views in two HC division bench decisions.

As per the reference order, in the decision in Cholamarakkar & Anr. v. Pathummamma @ Pathumma & Anr. [2008], it was held by a division bench that a major Muslim unmarried daughter can claim maintenance from her father in terms of section 125 of the CrPC only if her inability to maintain herself is attributable to physical or mental abnormality or injury.

However, as per another division bench decision in Yousaf v. Rubeena [2010], a Muslim father, who has sufficient means to pay maintenance, has the liability under Muslim Personal Law to pay maintenance to his major unmarried daughter when she is not able to maintain herself. In that decision, it was also held that the statutory provisions in section 25 of the CrPC, which is a piece of secular law, applicable to all communities, would not, in any manner, extinguish, alter, modify, or obliterate the liability under the Muslim Personal Law.

The present division bench opined that technically, there was no conflict of views in the decisions of the two division benches as Cholamarakkars case was in relation to a claim under section 125 of the CrPC, and Yousafs case was a claim in relation to Muslim Personal Law.

The court held that the crucial aspect that needed to be considered here was relating to the avoidance of multiplicity of proceedings.

Therefore, in answer to the reference issue in the present matter, the HC held that for a major unmarried Muslim daughter, who is not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality or injury, as envisaged in clause (c) of sub-section 1 of section 125 of the CrPC, a claim made before the family court under section 125, CrPC, will not be maintainable. However, in case, she appears to be otherwise eligible for maintenance, in terms of Muslim Personal Law, then the family court need not drive her to file a fresh claim.

Further, regarding the case at hand, the court reduced the amount of the interim maintenance to be given to the daughter to Rs 2,000 per month.

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Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Monday embarked on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to explore ways to boost bilateral defence ties amid concerns in India over Chinas attempts to expand its influence over the island nation. He is scheduled to meet with the top political and military leadership of the country.

The defence ministry said the IAF chief is scheduled to meet the Sri Lankan president and the prime minister, state minister of defence, chief of the defence staff, defence secretary and the commanders of the countrys air force, army and navy.

The Chief of Air Staff is visiting Sri Lanka following an invitation of the Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal SK Pathirana. During the visit, he will also interact with student officers of Sri Lankas National Defence College and visit the Sri Lankan Air Force Academy.

The visit of the Chief of Air Staff will enhance the existing professional ties and bonds of mutual cooperation between both the nations," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar visited Sri Lanka in December last year. In August last year, vice chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade paid a two-day visit to Sri Lanka during which India handed the island nation a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft. It was given to Sri Lanka from the inventory of the Indian Navy to help the country meet its immediate security requirement.

India has been supporting various capacity building measures of the Sri Lankan defence forces, including providing indigenously constructed Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).

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Home to 60% of the worlds remaining population of Asian Elephants, India lost more than half of its historic habitat range of elephants in the past three centuries, shows the latest estimate led by an international team of researchers. This drastic decline in suitable ecosystems  rainforests and grasslands  will lead to an increase in human-wildlife conflicts, a major challenge before the range countries, says the report.

The research team assessed the habitat range of Asian elephants in 13 countries across Asia from 1700 to 2015 and studied their land-use change data sets. The estimate published in peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports shows a troubling scenario.

The region lost nearly 64% of the habitat which was once suitable for the elephants  a loss that equates to nearly 3.3 million square km of land since 1700. It found a long-term decline of grasslands and rainforest ecosystems that once spanned the breadth of the continent.

India was found to be among the six countries along with Mainland China, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and Sumatra, which lost more than half their suitable elephant habitat range. In fact, the greatest loss has occurred in China (around 94% of suitable habitat lost) and India (86%).

While these areas remained relatively stable prior to the 1700s, colonial-era land-use practices and subsequent agricultural intensification cut the average habitat patch size by nearly 83%, from 99,000 to 16,000 sq km, the team noted.

The researchers noted that elephants historical range extended well beyond the current protected areas, which are now of insufficient size to support elephant populations in Asia. Now if the trends continue unabated, the remaining elephant populations today may not have adequate habitat areas. This is likely to set up a high potential for conflicts with humans living in those areas, they warn.

RISE IN HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS

Threatened by loss of habitat, ecosystem degradation and poaching, only 60,000 Asian elephants now remain in the wild. As many as 29,964 of these elephants are in India, which is home to more than 60% of the wild Asian Elephants, as per the last census conducted in 2017. However, with competition for resources, countries like India are also witnessing rise in the human-elephant conflicts.

According to the government data, nearly 1,500 people died of elephant attacks in India in the past three years. The period also recorded as many as 266 elephant deaths  41 in train accidents, 198 due to electrocution, 27 to poaching and eight to poisoning. On an average, 500 people are killed annually by elephants and about 100 elephants are killed in retaliation by people, says the government which is now also revisiting the elephant corridors of the country.

Meanwhile, other countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka lost more suitable habitat inside than outside the current elephant range, according to the estimate.

When the research team compared the area within 100 km of the current range of elephants in Asia, they found that in 1700, 100% of the area could have been considered suitable habitat but by 2015 less than half was considered suitable (48.6%).

There is evidence of a dramatic change in land use, not just in Asia, but globally, said lead author Shermin de Silva from the University of California San Diego and founder of the non-profit Trunks & Leaves, who led the study. Around the world, we see a really dramatic transformation that has consequences that persist even to this day.

The research highlighted an urgent need for sustainable land-use and conservation strategies, but also cautioned that habitat restoration must be guided under a reckoning of social and environmental justice for historically marginalised communities.

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A 12-year-old student was killed and five other children critically injured as a teenager learning to drive rammed a car into an e-rickshaw in Kanpur on Monday. The injured students were rushed to a hospital nearby.

Police said the driver of the car has been detained and the vehicle seized. The e-rickshaw was carrying schoolchildren and the accident resulted in the death of a 12-year-old girl, police added.

Kanpur deputy commissioner of police (central) Pramod Kumar said the incident took place in the area under Nawabganj police station. A youth driving a Maruti car hit an e-rickshaw carrying schoolchildren, and the person has been detained, he added.

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President Droupadi Murmu will pay her maiden visit to her native place in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha since assuming office and will visit Similipal National Park later this week, officials said here on Monday.

Her visit to the national park, a tiger reserve that covers an area of 2,750 km, will be the first by a president of the country, the officials said.

Murmu will pay the three-day visit to her home district from May 4 and visit her in-laws village Pahadpur in the Rairangpur sub-division, they said.

The president will reach Kalaikunda Air Force station in West Bengal on May 4, from there travel by helicopter to Badampahar helipad and reach Pahadpur the same day, the official said.

Murmu had visited the state twice earlier since assuming office in July 2022 and this time her visit will be confined to the Mayurbhanj district.

According to the schedule made available to the media, the president will visit the memorial of her husband Shyamcharan Murmu and her two sons and attend various programmes at Rairangpur. She is also slated to lay the foundation stones of two projects at Pahadpur and spend the night at Rairangpur Inspection Bungalow, the officials said.

She will visit Simlipal National Park, a tiger reserve, on May 5 and spend the entire day inside the sanctuary.

Murmu will visit Baripada, the Mayurbhanj district headquarter town and attend the convocation of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University the next day before winding up her visit and returning to Delhi.

Meanwhile, the presidents proposed visit has created a flutter among the people in the area. The entire Pahadpur village is undergoing a complete makeover with Kutcha roads leading to it being concretised and her in-laws house renovated.

Tal residents are looking forward to the presidents visit and to accord a grand welcome to the daughter of the soil, an official said.

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Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday praised the Supreme Courts decision to permit a civil judge recruitment aspirant in Uttarakhand, who has a writers cramp, to have a scribe write his preliminary exam.

The remarks were made on Sunday, a day after the interim order was issued by a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud.

This is such a heart-warming action by honble Chief Justice Dr D Y Chandrachud. A great relief to a divyang (person with disability) candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand," Rijiju tweeted.

This is such a heart warming action by hon'ble Chief Justice Dr DY Chandrachud. A great relief to a Divyang candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand. AIIMS had certified his disability. Timely Justice to a deserving person is very satisfying. pic.twitter.com/V5ampXxtkD Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 30, 2023

Timely justice to a deserving person is very satisfying", he said while sharing a screenshot of a tweet by the candidates lawyer who had approached the top court.

Writers cramp is a task-specific movement disorder that causes abnormal postures and unwanted muscle spasms while writing, which hinders motor performance.

Dhananjay Kumar, a candidate for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand, approached the Supreme Court after his request for a scribe was rejected by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) on April 20, just days before the scheduled exam.

He approached the Supreme Court and submitted a certificate issued by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in September 25, 2017, which stated that he suffers from writers cramp.

Advocate Namit Saxena, representing Kumar, informed the bench, which also included Justice P S Narasimha, about the rejection of his request for a scribe by the UKPSC, days before the scheduled exam. The bench issued notices to the UKPSC and the Uttarakhand government to respond by May 12, after taking note of the submission by Saxena.

We issue an ad interim direction to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, which is in-charge of conducting the examination, to ensure that a scribe is provided to the petitioner for the ensuing examination" the bench said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a marriage can be dissolved on the ground of irretrievable breakdown" of the relationship. The apex court has stated that it can exercise its special power under Article 143 of the Constitution to waive the mandatory waiting period of six months for divorce by mutual consent, subject to certain conditions.

A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Justices SK Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, A S Oka, Vikram Nath, and J K Maheshwari pronounced the judgment, stating the six-month waiting period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be waived.

The top court issued its ruling on a group of petitions concerning its broad authority under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve marriages that have irretrievably broken down without requiring the parties to go through lengthy legal proceedings in family courts to obtain a separation decree.

The apex court had concluded the hearing on September 29, 2022, and reserved their decision.

While reserving its order, the court recognised that societal changes may take some time and that implementing new laws could be easier than persuading society to adopt them. The top court also acknowledged the significant role of families in marriages in India.

What Does the Law Say?

Article 142 of the Constitution pertains to the implementation of the Supreme Courts verdicts and rulings in order to deliver complete justice" in any ongoing case.

The Supreme Court deliberated on whether its extensive authority under Article 142 is constrained in situations where a marriage is deemed to have irreparably broken down by the court, but one of the parties is unwilling to consent to a divorce.

Previously, the constitutional bench was tasked with addressing two questions: whether the exercise of jurisdiction by the Supreme Court under Article 142 should be altogether avoided, or if the exercise of such authority should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The other question pertained to the general guidelines for utilizing the authority under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage between willing parties without directing them to the family court to comply with the mandatory waiting period specified in Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act.

We do believe that another question which would require consideration would be whether the power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India is inhibited in any manner in a scenario where there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage in the opinion of the court but one of the parties is not consenting to the terms, the apex court had said on September 20.

For over two decades, the Supreme Court has used its broad powers under Article 142 to dissolve marriages that are deemed to be irretrievably broken. However, in September of last year, the court had decided to review whether it can dissolve marriages between separated couples without the consent of both parties.

(With inputs from PTI)

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FESTIVALS IN MAY 2023: May 2023 is an eventful month in the Hindu calendar with numerous festivals scheduled for the Shukla Paksha and Jyestha month of Vaishakh. From Budh Pradosh Vrat to Nirjala Ekadashi, this month is packed with spiritual significance and reverence. The first day of May 2023 marks the Mohini Ekadashi fast on Monday, which sets the tone for the rest of the month.

Other significant events include Buddha Purnima, Vaishakh Purnima, Apara Ekadashi, Jyestha Masik Shivratri and Vat Savitri Vrat. Furthermore, May 2023 will witness the first lunar eclipse of the year, which adds to the spiritual energy of the month. Dr Krishna Kumar Bhargava, an astrologer from Tirupati, guides us through the significance and importance of these events, allowing you to fully embrace and celebrate the rich traditions of Hinduism.

Festivals in May 2023

May 01, Monday: Mohini Ekadashi May 03, Wednesday: Budh Pradosh Vrat May 05, Friday: Buddha Purnima, the First lunar eclipse of the year, Vaishakh Purnima May 06, Saturday: Jyeshtha month begins, Krishna Paksha Pratipada date May 08, Day-Monday: Ekdanta Sankashti Chaturthi, Jyeshtha Sankashti Chaturthi May 15, Monday: Achala or Apara Ekadashi fast May 17, Wednesday: Budh Pradosh Vrat, Jyestha Masik Shivratri May 19, Friday: Shani Jayanti, Vat Savitri Vrat, Jyestha Amavasya, Shani Amavasya May 20, Saturday: Jyeshtha month, Shukla Paksha begins May 23, Tuesday: Jyestha Vinayak Chaturthi May 30, Tuesday: Ganga Dussehra May 31, Wednesday: Bhimseni Nirjala Ekadashi Vrat

Buddha Purnima

Buddha Purnima is a significant day in the Buddhist tradition, celebrated every year on the auspicious day of Vaishakh Purnima. This year, on May 5, we will commemorate the birth of Lord Buddha.

First lunar eclipse of 2023

A rare astronomical event is set to occur on May 5, the first lunar eclipse of the year. Whats even more remarkable is that this celestial phenomenon coincides with the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima. This is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, as such a coincidence hasnt happened in over 130 years.

The lunar eclipse on Buddha Purnima will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, meaning that the Sutak period will not be there. The eclipse will happen from 8:45 pm until late night 1:00 am, providing a unique opportunity to witness a mesmerizing astronomical display.

Shani Jayanti

This year Shani Jayanti falls on May 19 this year. The day marks the birth anniversary of Lord Shani and is celebrated on the new moon day of Jyestha month, which is also known as Shani Amavasya. The day is considered highly significant and people worship Lord Shani with great devotion and dedication. Join the celebrations and seek the blessings of Lord Shani on this auspicious day.

Vat Savitri Vrat 2023

May 19 marks the observance of Vat Savitri Vrat, which falls on Jyestha Amavasya, the same day as Shani Jayanti this year. The day is dedicated to the worship of the banyan tree and Savitri, as per Hindu tradition. Married women observe fast for the longevity and well-being of their husbands, and it is believed that the fast holds immense significance in bringing good fortune and blessings to the married couple. The Katha of Savitri and Satyavan is narrated on this day, highlighting the importance of love, devotion and dedication in the sacred bond of marriage.

Ganga Dussehra

Ganga Dussehra is a significant festival in the Hindu calendar, which falls on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Jyestha. This year, the festival is on May 30. On this day, devotees take a dip in the holy waters and seek blessings from Mother Ganga. It is believed that taking a dip in the Ganges on this day can purify ones soul and wash away their sins.

According to Hindu mythology, the river Ganga descended from heaven to earth on the auspicious day of Ganga Dussehra. The day is also marked by offering donations and performing puja rituals, which are considered to bring good fortune and salvation.

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Jock Zonfrillo who was also one of the judges of MasterChef Australia, has left the culinary world in shock with his untimely demise. On April 30, the 46-year-old chef breathed his last in Melbourne, leaving behind a legacy of innovation, passion and culinary excellence. Beyond his role as a chef, Zonfrillo was also a celebrated author and used indigenous Australian ingredients in fine dining. Here are five points to know about the life and career of this remarkable chef.

Jock Zonfrillo dropped out of school at 15, two years after he started his journey as a chef, to pursue his dream. His first job was that of a dishwasher in a local restaurant. After quitting school, Zonfrillo did an apprenticeship at the Turnberry Hotel. He impressed everyone and became one of its youngest-ever apprentices. Later, he worked under the mentorship of Marco Pierre White, a celebrated British chef, which proved to be a significant turning point in his career. Jock Zonfrillos talent took him to Australia in 2000, where he worked in various restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne. However, his career hit rock bottom when he was fired from his job after he set fire to an apprentices pants for being too slow. Jock Zonfrillo has won numerous awards and recognition. In 2011, he was named Chef of the Year by The Advertiser, and his restaurant, Orana in Adelaide, was named Australias Restaurant of the Year by Gourmet Traveller in 2018. Orana was also included in the prestigious Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list. However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the restaurant closed in March 2020. Jock Zonfrillos focus on indigenous Australian ingredients has been a highlight of his career. He is renowned for his research and works with indigenous communities to include traditional ingredients and cooking techniques into his cuisine. The chef was determined to get Australian native ingredients onto supermarket shelves and he had put in significant efforts to achieve this goal. Jock Zonfrillos 2021 memoir Last Shot revealed that he battled with drug addiction since his teenage years as it was readily available in his community.

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Jock Zonfrillo, who was a judge on MasterChef Australia and also a chef and author, passed away at the age of 46. His family announced on Monday that he died in Melbourne on Sunday and referred to him as their irreplaceable husband, father, brother, son, and friend." The cause of his death has not been disclosed, but Victoria Police has confirmed that it is not being treated as suspicious. Here are 10 facts about the award winning chef

Jack Zonfrillo was an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and television personality from Australia. He was born on August 15, 1976, in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Australia in the late 1990s. Zonfrillo began his culinary career at a young age, working in his familys Italian restaurant in Scotland. He had worked in some of the worlds best restaurants, including The Fat Duck in the UK and El Bulli in Spain. In 2011, he opened his own restaurant, Orana, in Adelaide, which received critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including three hats from the Good Food Guide. Zonfrillo was passionate about Indigenous Australian cuisine and had spent years researching and documenting the food and culture of Indigenous communities across Australia. He was the founder of The Orana Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that aims to preserve and promote Indigenous food culture and support Indigenous communities. In 2020, Zonfrillo was awarded the prestigious Basque Culinary World Prize, which recognizes chefs who use gastronomy to make a positive impact on society. He had been a judge on the Australian cooking competition show, MasterChef Australia. Zonfrillo had written a cookbook, The Origins of Ingredients," which explores the history and culture behind the ingredients used in his cooking.

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MONTGOMERY  In April of 2022, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Driver License Division launched a new and modernized driver license system, replacing a complex legacy system that had been in place for nearly two decades.

Since the launch of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Driver License SystemLEADSmore than 1.3 million driver license credentials have been processed since the modernized system went live, however, the agency has experienced reduced wait times in local offices, and hard copies of driver licenses have been delivered to customers two to three days faster than with the previous system. Additionally, a new streamlined process for submitting accident claims has improved processing times from approximately two to three weeks to two to three business days.

Employees within multiple divisions of ALEA worked diligently alongside FAST Enterprises to develop and implement this new system. I am pleased to recognize and showcase the hard work and dedication of all the employees who played an integral role in LEADS by highlighting the success of such a monumental and historic project, ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor said. Our agency is proud to serve the citizens of Alabama and we are dedicated to continuing to find innovative and convenient methods to provide Alabamians with premier customer service, whether its face to face in our local driver license offices or by enhancing online services.

Drivers can renew their license online, update emergency contacts, make payments, upload U.S. Department of Transportation Medical Cards, and individuals can even pre-apply for an Alabama license if they are first-time drivers. ALEAs updated webpage also features a virtual ALEA assistant via chat box to assist in navigating the online services and answer basic questions.

Since LEADS, thousands of customers have taken advantage of the enhanced online services, increasing efficiency and customer satisfaction. Data collected by the agency shows 78 percent of customers now submit hardship applications online, allowing processing times to decrease from five days to one or two days.

Over 6,000 Commercial Driver License (CDL) Medical Self-Certifications are processed each month online, which has resulted in an 87% increase in approval time. Over 22,000 license renewals or duplicates are processed online per month, and over 2,000 motor vehicle reports are processed online each month.

ALEAs Department of Public Safety Director (DPS) Col. Jon Archer previously served as the agencys Driver License Division Chief and led the division from start to finish of the project before his promotion to colonel on March 1.

A new modernized driver license system to improve customer service and internal operations was first envisioned by Secretary Taylor several years ago and was brought to life at the direction of his leadership, said Archer. Through analytics and observations over the course of the past year, it is easy to mark LEADS as a huge success for the agency and the entire state of Alabama.

Our employees worked long hours to complete this project and did an outstanding job ensuring all tasks were met and all equipment was in working order by the designated deadlines. We are grateful for their dedication as well as the continued support of Gov. Kay Ivey and the legislature for providing us with the resources needed for this monumental success, Archer said. However, this one-year anniversary does not mark the end but only the beginning as we continue to strive for excellence and exceed customer expectations moving forward.
Met Gala 2023, the countdown to the ultimate fashion event, has started and we can hardly wait to see our favourite celebrities donning their most creative outfits yet. Each year, renowned international figures grace the red carpet, providing the perfect platform for fashion designers to showcase their talent and contribute to a good cause. This years theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, pays homage to the late designer, whose remarkable career at Chanel, Fendi, and other luxury fashion houses left an indelible mark on the industry. Before we gear up for the big night, lets take a look at some of the most creative themes from past years.

2022- In America: An Anthology of Fashion

This was an extension of 2021s theme. It was an ode to American fashion, tracing its history from the 18th century to the present day. Drawing inspiration from New Yorks Gilded Age, the theme celebrated the opulence and grandeur of American fashion through the years. The event showcased how the industry honours American style and innovation.

2021- In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

The theme In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" showcased the impact of American fashion on the global stage, with many celebrities donning patriotic colours and designs. The event also aimed to support the American fashion industry, which had been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

2020: About Time: Fashion and Duration

In 2020, the Met Gala fell victim to the pandemic, and its highly-anticipated theme, About Time: Fashion and Duration," had to wait another year. The theme was a celebration of the events 150th anniversary and aimed to showcase fashions evolution over the past century and a half.

2019- Camp: Notes On Fashion

The 2019 Met Gala theme drew inspiration from Susan Sontags essay Notes on Camp." Celebrities dressed in over-the-top apparel with exaggerated shapes and extravagant accessories to embody the theme. The event celebrated experimental culture and its influence on conventional fashion, paying homage to the irreverent and playful nature of the camp.

2018- Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

The event showcased how religious iconography has influenced clothing design through the years. Attendees dressed in outfits inspired by the Pope, angels, and other religious figures, and hundreds of holy items, including relics and objects from the Vatican, were on display. The theme provided a unique opportunity to examine the intersection of fashion, religion, and culture.

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Filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shahs upcoming film, The Kerala Story, has been creating headlines ever since its teaser was unveiled. It revolves around the stories of Hindu women of Kerala who were converted to Islam and trafficked to ISIS and other Islamic war zones in 2018-2019. It unearths the events behind approximately 32,000 women going missing in Kerala, who are said to have been radicalised and deployed in terror missions in India and the world. The trailer of the film triggered protests in Kerala and some parts of the country along with some political parties calling for a ban on the screening of the film.

In an exclusive chat with News18, Shah addresses the controversies surrounding the film, owing to its subject. Although he believes that they are simply portraying the truth" through the movie, he feels that political parties have the right to express their dissent as its a sign of a healthy democracy." Excerpts:

The Kerala Story is inspired from the life of a girl who was converted to Islam, sent to Syria and is in a jail in Afghanistan at present. Did you get the chance to speak to her?

My director (Sudipto Sen) spoke to her over a call while she was in jail. We also recorded a long interview with her mother. We collected all the information from both of them and thats how we started [the process of making the film]. When we started working on it, we realised that there are many such cases that have happened and are happening in Kerala. And as a result of that, we came across the stories of three girls.

How much were you involved in the casting process?

Ive co-written the film. Im also the producer and creative director of the film. I get involved in every project that I do irrespective of what my role in it is. I believe that until and unless you put everything that you have into a project, you cant get the best out of it.

Considering the film is based on a bold subject, was it tough getting actors on board? Were they apprehensive?

I dont see it as a bold film but a story that was very important to be told. So, when we approached the actors, we felt no hesitation. They were all very happy to work on this film. Since this a story relating to girls, they all thought that it was important for the film to be made. So, everybody who has worked on this film, has worked with a lot of commitment and sincerity.

Some political groups have demanded a ban on the screening of The Kerala Story. Did that deter you?

I believe in the law. The censor board has cleared the film. They heavily scrutinised the film for almost one-and-a-half months before giving us the certificate. Were glad that we went through this scrutiny. We know that every evidence and document we provided to the final authority of film certification have been approved. It shows that they have accepted our truth. After this, if some groups has complaints and want to create some kind of trouble, I think it is best left to the courts or any legal authority to decide. I dont get bothered by these things. I believe weve done everything right according to the law. So, weve nothing to worry about.

Youve said that The Kerala Story is a film about girls becoming victims and not Love Jihad. But dont you think when you make films on a subjects like these, it inadvertently becomes political?

That tends to happen. Every political party has their own ideology. And when they find some issue which is either against or in sync with their ideology, they tend to connect with it. So, if any political party is opposing the film, then Im sure the film is opposing the ideology of the party itself and thats the reason why they feel this film shouldnt be publicised or seen by people. Thats bound to happen in a country like India where politics is a very important part of our day-to-day lives. Everything tends to become political in our country. So, I can only expect things to get political when youre making something which is an uncomfortable truth and people find it difficult to deal with. Hence, resistance is bound to happen. I dont necessarily feel its a bad thing because people in a democracy have all the right to disagree with us and weve all the right to go and make a film that we believe in as long as were saying the truth. Were open to any discussion and debate that anyone wants to have. I think thats a sign of a healthy democracy.

But have you seen anybody not agreeing with whats shown in The Kerala Story?

I read that a minister from Kerala has made a statement and given a call to ban the film. But again, if the film isnt aligned with his or his partys ideology, then he has all the right to speak against it. But whether a film should be banned or not should be decided by the courts and the censor board. In my understanding of law, once the censor board clears a film, it largely cant be banned. But if anybody still has a reason to ban it, so be it. If a film talks about a murky trap laid for girls and thats against a partys ideology, then what can I say? Its their choice and freedom to do whatever they feel is right. As far as Im concerned, just because the film is called The Kerala Story, it doesnt mean that the film is against Kerala.

Go on

If a film is called Shootout at Lokhandwala and some criminals were shot in Lokhandwala in Mumbai, does that mean that the film is against Mumbai? Theres another film called Mumbai Saga which talks about the underworld of Mumbai. Does that mean its against Mumbai? If I was to show the story of Dawood Ibrahim? Where will I place it? Ill have to place it in Mumbai because he operated here. Will that mean its against Mumbai? No. We call Kerala heaven on earth. Its one of the most beautiful places in the world. But to say that theres nobody in Kerala doing wrong things is like stretching it really too far. Making it about Keralas pride is also stretching it too far. I rather feel that the fantastic people of Kerala should come forward and catch these perpetrators and put them behind the bars. That would be doing service to their wonderful state rather than saying that were trying to defame their state by calling our film The Kerala Story and that they want to ban it. According to me, this just defies logic. If I love my city, Ill do something for it rather than being an ostrich and putting my head into the sand, believing that nothing bad is happening. Thats not an approach I would take.

Have you screened the film for the families of the girls on whom the story is based?

They will see it soon. Some of them were suffering from Covid and so, we couldnt show it to them earlier.

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MAHARASHTRA DAY 2023: Maharashtra Day is celebrated in India on May 1 to celebrate the birth of the state. Several protests and movements demanding the creation of an individual state led to the Bombay Reorganisation Act coming into effect on May 1, 1960. The demand to create a separate state was first made by the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.

ALSO READ: Happy Maharashtra Day 2023: Wishes, Images, Quotes and Messages in English and Marathi to Share on May 1

Maharashtra gained statehood after the separation from the Bombay state and was formed on linguistic grounds. From speeches to colourful parades, Maharashtra celebrates the day by organising an event at the Shivaji Park in Dadar in Mumbai. Keeping the historical struggles in mind, India proudly boasts of its cultural diversity and rich history.

ALSO READ: Why May 1 is Celebrated as Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day?

We all are extremely lucky to be a part of a country that is home to several cultures and religions. Thanks to the unity and diversity we get to relish a plethora of delicious cuisines. And Maharashtrian culture offers lip-smacking dishes that you must surely try this Maharashtra Day.

Maharashtra dishes are worth your craving if your taste buds are yearning for something spicy, yet sweet in taste. So, we have pulled together a list of mouth-watering dishes from Maharashtra.

Puran Poli

If you are talking about Maharashtrian dishes, Puran Poli will top the list for many people. This is a traditional yellow sweet flatbread, which is prepared with the stuffing of chana, coconut, jaggery, sugar cane, and nutmeg powder. Puran Poli is commonly prepared during any festival or auspicious day. Pav Bhaji

This traditional hit of Maharashtra is a heartthrob of Indian street food, which consists of bread and bhaji that are prepared with mashed vegetables and spices. Usually, people prefer to eat it with chopped onions as salad and enhance the taste of bhaji by adding lemon to it. Keri Aamti

It is also known as Kairichi Aamti and is a combination of sweet spicy thick gravy that is prepared from raw mangoes and authentic Indian spices. One of the most popular Maharashtrian dishes is served with steamed white rice. Pandhra Rassa

This delicacy comes straight from the roots of Kolhapur. It is a type of soup, which is prepared from chicken or mutton broth with a base of coconut milk, sliced onion, cashew paste, chilli, and other flavourful spices. Honestly, after trying this the flavours will stay put on your tongue for a long time and your taste buds will continuously crave more. Misal Pav

One of the most flavourful dishes, Misal pav can be enjoyed at any time of the day. It is prepared with potatoes cooked in the melange of hot spices and served with bread.

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Have you heard the expression idea of India? Most likely, yes. For a lot of people, it means doing things the Nehruvian way. They just want to roll back everything that has happened since 2014 and go back to how it used to be in the good old days. What could be so bad about that?

Not so fast. Because we are actually looking at a moving target here. Pre-Mughals, I dont think there was any idea of India, says historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee, who is also the chancellor of Ashoka University. He is also one of the authors of a new book with a rather bold title. They called it A New History of India.

Do you see what is happening? It used to be that eminent historians would attribute the idea of India to Nehru. Here it must be said that Nehru himself made no such claim. In fact, Nehru writes most humbly about his effort to understand India and to discover the ancient nation to which he belonged. But that is not surprising. The courtiers are always more loyal than the king.

But that was then. The Congress party has not been in power for a while now. And for a number of historians, Nehru is no longer good enough. The idea of India must belong to the Mughals now. Of course, both points of view are ridiculous. A thousand years ago, Adi Shankara established four mutts at the four corners of Bharat. Over two thousand years ago, the Greeks came in contact with the Mauryan emperors. After Chandragupta defeated Alexanders former general Selukus Nikator, the Greek traveller Megasthenes visited our land and recorded his impressions in his book Indika. India has always been around, before the Mughals and before Nehru. But it is still disturbing if they want to switch one myth with another.

You must have heard about the recent changes made by the NCERT. No, they did not get rid of the Mughals from the textbooks. They merely removed one chapter for students in the twelfth grade. But while many historians fume in public over these minor changes, they are actually using the downtime to revise their old narratives. They are preparing for a much more radical, dangerous new version of history. As and when a new ruling party comes to town, as it inevitably will, this might be the version they teach in schools. In the name of desaffronising textbooks, of course. Nehru would be too much of a Hindu name for their liking. This time it would have to be the Mughals instead.

India, that is not Bharat

India is an overarching and inclusionary idea; Bharat is atavistic, emotional, exclusionary, Aatish Taseer wrote in 2020. At the time I thought the remark was an aberration or even a joke. The word Bharat is exclusionary? Since when? But Taseer explains his view. The name Bharat reminds Hindus that this is their holy land. Yes, but so what? What is wrong with a Hindu remembering their own culture? Do we all have to become like the soulless bots at the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC and Atlantic magazine? You know, serving the US military-industrial complex, and the objectives of globalism.

But in the world of intellectuals, no bad idea ever goes to waste. Rudrangshu Mukherjee now claims that the Sanskrit word Bharatvarsha does not even include Dakshina or the south. In other words, they are sowing the seed. The name Bharat is too much of a reminder to Hindus about their ancient nation. Even after Partition, the current geographic form of India is too close to that glorious ancient nation. Too close for comfort, in fact. And thus, it cannot be trusted. It must be torn apart, thread by thread.

It is no use telling these people about Adi Shankara establishing four mutts at the four corners of Bharat. As it happens, Adi Shankara was from modern-day Kerala. One of the places that they think was not included in Bharatvarsh. You cannot even embarrass these people by pointing out that our constitution begins with the words India, that is Bharat. They already know. The whole point of their radical ideology is to give a handle to those who want to break up the republic. We can guess the ugly ways in which this will play out. Before long, you will see street protests against the use of the term Bharat, from passports to currency notes. The intellectual class knows our faultlines very well, and how to use them.

Mahatma Gandhi, public enemy

The Hindu religion was invented in the early 20th century in order to hide the fact that the lower caste people are the real majority of India. In fact, religious minorities have been victims of this false majority and Gandhi played a very significant role in its construction. He helped to construct a false Hindu majority and a new Hindu identity. So says philosopher Divya Dwivedi. A bold new conspiracy theory is taking root, with Mahatma Gandhi as the main oppressor of Indians. And what better way to deny a nation to Hindus than to argue that Hindus never existed in the first place.

Its a beautiful thing, the destruction of words, Orwell wrote in his famous dystopian novel. Once the word Hindu is no more, you can do anything to the leftover groups of people. To their holy places, their history and their culture. How will you describe the oppression of a people if you dont even have a name for who they are?

The old kind of leftist, or sarkari leftist if you will, used to have a bit of a compromise position. But with the Congress party no longer in power, the radical new left wants to take a wrecking ball to Hinduism itself. And openly so. And for that, they must take on Gandhi, arguably the worlds most fondly remembered Hindu. Gandhi theologized politics just when it was beginning on the subcontinentOf course, he was one of the many upper caste leaders who constructed this origin for this polity, but today we must discard it, Dwivedi adds.

He is often pictured holding a Bhagavad Gita. He had favourite bhajans such as Vaishnav jan toh. He opposed cow slaughter. He died with Hey Ram on his lips. In fact, one wonders how leftist intellectuals let him be all these years, without attacking him. Most probably because the Congress party wanted to claim the legacy of Gandhi. It suited them to keep connecting the Mahatmas assassination to the RSS. As the Congress goes into decline, the left will turn on Gandhi. And Nehru too.

Bhagavad Gita, a book of hate

By now, you can guess how they would approach this. Where was the Bhagavad Gita revealed? On a battlefield. And so, it rationalises mass slaughter. That is according to Audrey Truschke, now a celebrated historian on the left. She admits that many Hindus, including Gandhi, read the Bhagavad Gita as a standalone work, and even use it to justify non-violence. In the Mahabharatas plot, however, writes Truschke, The Bhagavad Gita rationalises mass slaughter.

In other words, Gandhi and all those other Hindus who honour the Bhagavad Gita are simply taking things out of context. Deliberately or otherwise. Much of Truschkes work has been about establishing Aurangzeb as an enlightened, generous and secular ruler. So maybe Gandhi was bad, but Aurangzeb was good.

Would any historian turn such a lens upon any other religion? Do we dare name the books or quote the passages? No, we would not want to be accused of having any phobias. In fact, Truschke complains about how the story of the Mahabharata blurs the line between good and evil. The bad guys sometimes act more ethically than the good guys, she tells the world. Yes, because that is how reality works. And that is what makes the Mahabharata so wonderful. Unlike the simple-minded absolutes of Abrahamic religions, the pagan mind view of the world is more complex. Our minds can deal with ambiguity. The Westerner has always looked at this with disgust. They have always accused pagan cultures of being uncivilized, having no sense of right or wrong. Old prejudice is not new research.

But such research may find its way into Indian textbooks one day, in the name of desaffronising them. Along with stories of how Hindus were behind the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which is another of Truschkes inventions. They are already telling that to the world anyway.

Who let out the radical left?

Ironically, it was the downfall of the Congress. The radical left has come alive. They sense the opportunity to teach their real agenda the moment the BJP is dislodged from power. The small changes made by the NCERT recently are not even a scratch on the old establishment. School textbooks contain no original research. They can only put out what historians are saying. The left has all the keys to the establishment. And the establishment is getting more radical.

Meanwhile, a word changed here and there, or a chapter deleted, makes little difference. It does not affect the tone and tenor of these textbooks, nor their emphasis. Worse, they provide a soft target to the radical left. The left will use this as a licence to make sweeping changes to textbooks the moment they get another chance. The sarkari intellectual of the old talked of Nehru. The new intellectual talks only of the Mughals. The sarkari leftist would offer Akbar, but the new ones prefer Aurangzeb. The old textbooks had comforting myths around secularism. And all religions being peaceful. The new ones will denounce the Bhagavad Gita, and Hinduness as the root of all evil. It is coming. It is just a matter of time. Because no government lasts forever.

Abhishek Banerjee is an author and columnist. He tweets @AbhishBanerj. Views expressed are personal.

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Is Hindu nationalism something that one should be wary of? That is the notion promoted by western media and intelligentsia. It is a common practice to discredit the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for the rise of Hindu nationalism in Bharat as this is projected to be an anti-minority concept.

A general line of argument taken by detractors of the RSS is that Hindu nationalism would lead to Hindu majoritarianism. These interpretations are an outcome of a straitjacketed conceptual framework that has emerged from the Wests own experience and, hence, it is ill-equipped to deal with subjects like Hindu nationalism.

The fundamental problem with western academia and media is that they are looking at the concept of Hindu nationalism within the European framework. The rise of nation-states in the late medieval period in Europe led to the rise of nationalism there. But the concept of nationalism in Europe was parochial, narrow and negative.

Nationalism in the European context primarily meant subjugation of others to serve the interest of the dominant race in a geographical region. The logical corollary of this concept was that once the dominant race captures the political power in a country, then it should dominate the other countries militarily, and that is the only road where nationalism leads to.

The rise of the white mans nationalism in Europe resulted in colonisation of large parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America; civil wars within western nation-states, countless military conflicts, at least two world wars and ethnic cleansing of minorities in western countries by dominant political powers, who had captured the power riding on the wave of nationalism. That is why, significant sections of society as well as academia, media and intelligentsia in the West are wary of nationalism.

In the West, utterance of the word nationalism brings back memories of loot, plunder, bloody wars and a quest for material wealth and military superiority. But Hindu nationalism is quite different from European or western nationalism. In this context, it is important to bust this myth propagated by colonial and Marxist historians that the rise of nationalism in India was an outcome of British rule and, hence, it has followed in the footsteps of European nationalism.

The trajectory of European nationalism and Hindu nationalism is altogether different. In fact, when Europe was going through the dark ages, nationalism was already well established in Hindu culture. Radha Kumud Mukherjee, one of the foremost scholars on ancient history, wrote in the early 20th century in his path-breaking work Nationalism in Hindu Culture: India was preaching the gospel of nationalism when Europe was passing through what has been aptly called the Dark Age of her history, and was labouring under the travails of a new birth. It was truly the dark age of Europe, because it was a period of unrest and unsettlement, when she was a prey to the invasions of the barbarians who, leaving their old homes, overran and disorganised the Roman Empire, but were not progressive enough to plant fixed local habitations of their own in place of the old ones they abandoned.

It took centuries for these barbarian and nomadic people to settle in Europe and, subsequently, regroup into specific geographic entities leading to the rise of the nation-state. So, when Europe was going through the Dark Ages, according to Mukherjee, the gospel of wholesome nationalism was already a vital force in the public life of India.

All the conditions that make for the growth of a sense of nationhood were fully developed and long known in ancient India. The first and the foremost requirement for the rise of nationalism is to have conspicuous geographical boundaries. Indian Vedic literature had defined that specifically by clearly defining mountains, rivers and important pilgrimage centres or cities that defined Indias geography.

Vedic literature explained Bharats geography thousands of years before the West was yet to get over the Dark Ages: Uttaram yat samudrasya, Himadreshchaiv dakshinam, varsham tad bharatam nama, Bharatee yatra santatihi (The country that is north of the Sea and south of the Himalayas is known as Bharat and its residents are known as Bharatiya).

So, Bharat as a nation has existed for thousands of years and the rise of nationalism was equated with the love for the motherland, which was deified as a manifestation of the divine and, hence, to worship it was important as it would bring prosperity. This is Hindu nationalism and its core was not aggression or military superiority, but it was based on the dictum of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family).

Rabindranath Tagore elaborated on this during a lecture at Kolkata, which was later published as a book titled Swadeshi Samaj: India has never fought over kingdom, squabbled over trade Tibet, China or Japan, who are willing to close all doors and windows in fear of the great Europe, that same Tibet, China, Japan have beckoned India inside their home in an unworried fashion as guru or religious leader. India has not traumatised the whole worlds flesh and blood with her own army and goods, but has earned the esteem of mankind by establishing peace, consolation and religious system everywhere. Thus, the glory she has acquired has been through penance and it is greater than the glory of sovereignty over other kingdoms.

The concept of Hindu nationalism when applied to Indian polity was based on the rule of dharma. Aurobindo explains it comprehensively in The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture: A greater sovereign than the King was Dharma, the religious, ethical, social, political juridic and customary law organically governing the life of the people The subjection of the sovereign power to the Dharma was not an ideal theory inoperative in practice; for the rule of the socio-religious law actively conditioned the whole life of the people and was, therefore, a living reality and it had in the political field very large political consequences.

In a nutshell, Hindu nationalism preceded much before the concept of nationalism emerged in Europe. While the core of European nationalism was to attain more and more material wealth for one particular race or a country, the nationalism in Hindu culture is based on spiritual advancement for not only a particular race or a country but for the whole world. Dharma is the driving force of Hindu nationalism, where righteousness takes precedence over sovereignty.

Unlike Hindu nationalism, whose aim is salvation of the whole world and not material wealth or military superiority or subjugation of any race, religion or a country, European nationalism is driven by a quest for material wealth through subjugation, domination and exploitation. The key characteristics of western nationalism is militarism, trade dominance and material progress at the cost of others.

Thus, it is a great fallacy to denounce Hindu nationalism as the West has a lot to learn from it.

(The writer, an author and columnist has written two books on the RSS. He tweets @ArunAnandLive. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication)

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The political storm kicked up in Kerala by the controversial film The Kerala Story continued to blow in the state, with the BJP claiming that recruitment into the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit from the southern state cannot be denied and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of the exact figures.

While the political debate raged in the state over the factual basis of the movie and whether its content could be justified by invoking the right of freedom of expression, it also kicked off a cash for proof" game, with varying amounts being offered as reward for providing evidence of women who converted and joined the Islamic State from Kerala as claimed in the film.

As the BJP came out in support of the controversial film, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said that Keralites had the right to say loud and clear that the movie was a misrepresentation of our reality".

Tharoor tweeted, Let me stress, I am not calling for a ban on the film. Freedom of expression does not cease to be valuable just because it can be misused. But Keralites have every right to say loud & clear that this is a misrepresentation of our reality." Sharing a poster of the movie, Tharoor had tweeted on Sunday, It may be your Kerala story. It is not our Kerala story." The Kerala Story, starring Adah Sharma, is set to be released in cinemas on May 5. Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film is portrayed as unearthing" the events behind approximately 32,000 women" allegedly going missing from Kerala.

According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims that the women got converted, radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

A day after Vijayan slammed the films makers for carrying forward the agenda of the Sangh Parivar to project Kerala as a centre of religious extremism and to spread hate propaganda against the state, BJP state president K Surendran on Monday claimed that the presence of IS in the southern state could not be denied.

IS has a very strong presence in Kerala You cannot deny the IS recruitment from the state," the BJP leader claimed, adding that if the figures cited in the film were the bone of contention, then that could be discussed.

The Chief Minister knows the exact figures of IS recruitment," he said, speaking to reporters in Kozhikode.

The BJP leader contended that if IS and terrorism did not have a presence in the state then why would a man come from Uttar Pradesh to Kerala to set a train on fire. He was referring to the recent incident in which a passenger on a train in Kerala poured petrol on three others and set fire to them, and sought to draw a link to IS terrorism.

Films are not always completely based on facts. Treat the movie as one. Watch it first. Why the urgency to stop its screening? Why scared of it? Why so much agitation? Those who do not want to see it, need not," Surendran said.

He sought to compare the fictional film  which the filmmakers claim is based on the story of a girl who in reality was forced to convert to Islam and was taken to Syria to join IS  with the BBC Documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, and asked why the reception to the two by the Kerala government was so different.

The BBC documentary (on the 2002 riots in Gujarat) was shown across Kerala by DYFI by booking halls. Then why block The Kerala Story?" he asked.

Vijayan, on Sunday, had accused the Sangh Parivar of trying to destroy religious harmony in the state by sowing the poisonous seeds of communalism".

In response to this, Surendran said there was no Sangh Parivar agenda in this film".

We did not sponsor this film. We have other ways and means to air our views," he said.

Meanwhile, cash prizes have been sponsored by many, such as the Muslim Youth League, for any evidence of the claims made in the film that 32,000 women in Kerala converted to Islam and joined IS.

The youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Monday announced a massive reward of Rs one crore for proof of women who converted and then joined IS.

The reward was announced by P K Firos, general secretary of the Muslim Youth League, who said that the proof could be submitted at the district centres of the organisation to get Rs one crore without a hassle.

Tharoor tagged a poster of the reward announcement on his Twitter handle and said that it was an opportunity for those hyping the alleged conversions of 32,000 women in Kerala to Islam to prove their case and make some money.

Will they be up to the challenge or is there simply no proof because none exists?" the MP from Thiruvananthapuram asked, using the hashtag Not Our Kerala Story.

Besides the Muslim Youth League, an actor-cum-lawyer has also offered monetary reward for evidence that women were converted to Islam and taken to IS. C Shukkur, known for his role as a lawyer in the Kunchacko Boban starrer Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Sue me then) and also for remarrying his wife under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), said there was no need to even show proof of 32,000 women  as claimed in the movie  who converted and joined IS, Just 32 is enough," he said, seeking evidence.

Shukkur, in a Facebook post, said, I am offering 11 lakh rupees to those who publish information such as names and addresses of women who were converted to Islam and became members of the Islamic State. No need to produce proof for 32,000 women, just 32 is enough," he said.

In a strange twist, a right-wing activist and founder of the Hindu Seva Kendra Pratheesh Viswanath has also offered Rs 10 crore. To prove the opposite: that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join IS.

To all those fake liberals & vote bank politicians who still believe Kerala Story is a Myth, here is a golden opportunity for youRs 10 crore will be given to those who prove that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join ISIS. Open Challenge!!!" he tweeted.

A few days ago, both the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress had hit out at The Kerala Story, saying freedom of expression was not a licence to spew venom in society, and that the film was an attempt to destroy the communal harmony of the state.

The Congress had urged the government not to give permission to screen the controversial movie as it aimed to create communal divisions in society through false claims".

Following that, the BJP accused the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala of having double standards" on the issue of freedom of speech and expression.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi of spreading propaganda that Mumbai would be separated from the state, which he said would never happen.

His statement, at a Maharashtra Foundation Day and International Labour Day event in Kalwa here, came amid Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackerays warning at an MVA rally in Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex that we will make pieces of anyone who tries to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra".

No one can dare break Mumbai from Maharashtra. Those spreading such propaganda will not succeed. Whenever polls are round the corner, they (opposition) come out with statements that Mumbai will be separated from Maharashtra," Shinde said.

They will not succeed in getting votes with this propaganda as we are working for the development of Mumbai and its people," he said in an apparent reference to civic polls that are due in several cites, including the metropolis, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik among others, since early 2022.

Shinde said his government had given Rs 104 crore for development works in Kalwa and Kharigaon, adding he would let his work speak rather than spend time in replying to allegations levelled against him.

Giving details of state government initiatives, Shinde said there are 317 dispensaries across the state under the Aapla Dawakhana scheme, including 117 in Mumbai, and the target was to take this number in Maharashtra to 700 soon.

More than eight crore senior citizens and six crore women have availed fare concessions given by his government on Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus services, he said, adding the state-run undertaking would soon get 5,000 electric buses.

Poking fun at the MVA vajramuth (iron fist) rally addressed by Thackeray and leaders of the Congress and NCP, Shinde said its organisers were struggling to gather people, whereas the well-attended event at Kalwa showed people were ek juth (united) for the vajramuth of vikas (development)".

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The Maha Vikas Aghadi has arranged over two lakh water bottles, 100 mobile toilets and 12 special teams of doctors for its Vajramuth rally at the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai on Monday, taking a lesson from the Kharghar mishap in which 15 people died due to a heat stroke.

Given the crowd expected for the rally and the soaring temperature in the city, the MVA has kept a special team for coordination to ensure the amenities are provided as per the instructions given by the Mumbai Police.

Shiv Sena UBT leader and former cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray has taken the lead in making the arrangements for the rally. The MVA will also station teams of party workers at Bandra and Kurla to BKC Road so that the crowd coming to attend the rally is guided to the venue. Ample parking space has been allotted for people coming from satellite cities like Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan.

Post the Kharghar mishap, we are taking utmost care while organising the rally. Water arrangements have been made. We have also kept multiple entry and exit points. Special teams of doctors will be present in case of any medical emergency, said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab.

Considering the Kharghar mishap during the state governments Maharashtra Bhushan event, the MVA has kept its rally in the evening.

Amid speculation of the NCP  a key constituent of the MVA  joining hands with BJP, it would be interesting to see how the Maha Vikas Aghadi puts up a united show on the ground. The focus will also be on Uddhav Thackeray who will give a speech on his home ground in the backdrop of the upcoming local body election and polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

After Prime Minister Narendra Modis last visit to Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray had alleged that the BJP had their eyes on the fixed deposits of BMC and thus wanted to win the BMC elections. MVA leaders will also target the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government over the Barsu refinery issue where protesters are at logger-heads with the state government.

Earlier, the MVA had held two such mega rallies in Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur. The Vajramuth rallies have been organised by MVA to reach out to the people of Maharashtra and inform them of the failures of the incumbent government.

Recently, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and BJP had organised the Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in all districts of the state, alleging that MVA parties were against Savarkar and his nationalism. The Vajramuth rallies have been planned as a response to the BJPs yatra.

Read all the Latest Politics News here
Nothing Phone 1 will be one of the first non-Pixel devices to get the Android 14 Beta 1 Early Access version this year. The company confirmed this recently, giving the Phone 1 users more reasons to be excited about their smartphone.

Nothing has benefited from working closely with Google, which is focused on improving the software experience for the users. The release date is yet to be confirmed by the company.

Nothing offers its NothingOS version on the Phone 1 which continues to receive software updates to improve the camera, overall performance and other stability changes. Android 14 beta is available to the supported Pixel models, which includes Pixel 4 and later models.

The main version will be part of the Google I/O 2023 keynote and sessions later this month, and it is expected that more brands will get access to the beta version in the coming weeks. Nothing has focused on its only smartphone by improving the software features, while it also builds on the success of the Phone 1 with a bigger ambition later this year.

The company has already confirmed its launch plans for the Phone 2 which as per Carl Pei, Founder, Nothing is going to be a flagship product, and is likely to be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen series chipset. Nothing Phone 2 could see major upgrades in camera and the display tech as well.

Pei tends to focus on the overall experience rather than dish out spec-heavy products that has usually been the case with most phone makers lately. The Phone 1 was launched in India for Rs 35,999 and we expect the Phone 2 to be priced around Rs 55,000 later this year. Android 14 promises to be an incremental upgrade on Android 13 but even then Google is expected to make changes in some of the utility features which will become clearer later at the I/O 2023 keynote.

Read all the Latest Tech News here
The Buckingham Palace released details about the coronation robes King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will wear during their coronation ceremony on May 6.

A report by the Independent said that the King and Queen of the UK will wear two robes each  the crimson Robes of State when they arrive for the ceremony and the purple Robes of Estate as they leave at the end of the ceremony.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)

The report also highlighted that these robes are steeped in tradition highlighting that the Robes of State and Estate that Charles will wear are nearly 90-year-old and belonged to his grandfather and was last worn in 1937 during George VIs coronation.

The robe that Camilla will wear is the crimson Robe of State, which was made for Elizabeth IIs coronation in 1953, and has been conserved with adjustments.

The new purple velvet Robe of Estate has been hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. It features intricate embroidery of gold-work threads, bees, a beetle and a variety of flowers, paying homage to nature and the environment, which are themes that both the King and Queen Consort are known to appreciate.

The flower delphinium has been embroidered in honour of the King. The delphinium is also Camillas birth month flower. It also contains lilies of the valley in remembrance of Elizabeth IIs favorite bloom. The robe also features national emblems such as the rose, thistle, and shamrock, as well as myrtle, alchemilla mollis, maidenhair fern and cornflowers, symbolizing hope, love, comfort, purity, and tenderness, respectively.

The robe has been designed in purple velvet to match with Kings robe. The photos of the robe were released from the official account of the Royal Family on Instagram.

The full ensemble is set to be unveiled on the big day. Buckingham Palace has not disclosed how much the robe cost to make or how long it is.

Elizabeth IIs purple Robe of Estate was more than seven meters in length and decorated with a border of wheat ears and olive branches, symbolizing peace and plenty, and trimmed with ermine.

The conservation work on the Kings Robe of State has seen the Royal School of Needlework work on the crimson velvet and the robemakers Ede & Ravenscroft work on the lining and gold lace.

Ede & Ravenscroft has a robemaking and tailoring heritage that spans more than 330 years, having made garments for every British coronation since King William and Queen Marys in 1689.

Read all the Latest News here
To support businesses in reducing energy consumption costs, the government recently announced a new tax incentive, the Small Business Energy Incentive, which will be featured in next months budget.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced the Small Business Energy Incentive program, which offers a tax deduction of up to $20,000 for small and medium-sized businesses investing in energy-efficient equipment.

The Small Business Energy Incentive is about helping small businesses save energy and save on their energy bills #auspol #ausecon @couriermail https://t.co/zdZgg1cf3e pic.twitter.com/YZb5wtoYXz  Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) April 30, 2023

This initiative is aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Australia with a turnover of less than $50 million to reduce their energy consumption costs by investing in energy-efficient equipment.

The program provides a tax deduction of up to $20,000 for eligible businesses that invest in assets and upgrades such as the electrification of cooling and heating systems, more efficient fridges, induction cooktops, heat pumps, and batteries. This incentive is expected to help up to 3.8 million small businesses in Australia lower their energy costs and save on their energy bills.

Under the program, eligible businesses will receive an additional 20 per cent deduction on spending that supports electrification and more efficient energy use. Up to $100,000 of total expenditure will be eligible for the incentive, with the maximum bonus tax deduction being $20,000 per business. However, assets or upgrades must be first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 to be eligible for the incentive.

According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, small businesses are the backbone of communities across Australia, and this incentive will help them share in the benefits and opportunities of the energy transition that is now underway. This program aims to support investments that deliver ongoing business power bill savings while helping Australia lower emissions.

The initiative, which is expected to cost $314 million over the forward estimates, has been specially timed to help small businesses lay the foundations for their future growth and position them to bounce back after a challenging period for the economy. Backing small businesses is part of the governments plan to build a stronger, sustainable, and more resilient economy that delivers more opportunities for Australians.

Dr Chalmers said small businesses will be front and centre in the budget.

This incentive is all about helping small business save energy and save on their energy bills, support that comes on top of the direct energy bill relief for small businesses that will be a centrepiece of the budget, he said.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA), the countrys largest peak body for retail, has expressed its support for the Federal Governments announcement of a bonus tax deduction aimed at reducing the costs of doing business, energy usage, and greenhouse gas emissions for small and medium-sized retailers.

ARA CEO, Paul Zahra, said the initiative will help small businesses reduce costs and emissions by improving energy efficiency and is in line with the ARAs plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Were pleased to see the Government respond to the needs of small business in this challenging year, and hope this is one in a range of measures to support this vital part of our economy, said Zahra. He added that many small retailers that suffered severe cashflow impacts through the pandemic are now navigating a host of fresh financial challenges. Cost-of-living pressures continue to impact consumer spending, and there are higher costs of doing business as well as debt repayments falling due for some small retailers, he said.

Zahra believes that the program will be a much-needed incentive for small businesses to make the investment in energy efficiency and electrification, which will reduce their costs of doing business immediately. He said, This is also a positive and practical step towards more sustainable operations, which is high on the agenda for retail.

According to Zahra, the health of the Australian retail sector impacts all Australians. The sector directly employs one in ten Australians and is dominated by small to medium size businesses, many of which are family-owned and operated. Retail services and offerings also help to improve the lifestyle, wellbeing, and vitality of Australian communities, he said.

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The Chinese Communist Party is using WeChat platform and other means to try and influence public policy outcomes in Texas and Florida, a report has revealed.

A report in The Diplomat claimed that the Chinese platform was used to peddle misinformation and a narrative against legislation in Texas that sought to ban companies and citizens from countries including China from purchasing property in the US state.

The misinformation and the false narrative roped in several Chinese and non-Chinese organisations and galvanised opposition to the bill leading to its modification.

Texas Republican State Senator Lois Kolkhorst introduced SB147, a bill aimed at banning companies and citizens from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing land in Texas in January. The bill received support from Texas Governor Greg Abbot.

The bill was triggered after a former Chinese military officer purchased 140,000 acres of land near Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas in 2021.

However, the next day, WeChat, whose content is regulated by the Chinese Communist Party, became flooded with misinformation about the legislation.

The report said that the messaging platform was full of groups against the SB147 legislation and were running a polarised narrative against the bill.

The groups forbid balanced discussions and kicked out anyone who disagreed while promoting the most radical and anti-American voices.

Those in favour of the bill were labelled as Chinese traitors and encouraged users to sabotage pro-SB147 accounts by labelling them as spam, reporting them to the FBI as spies and even assaulting the users behind them, it added.

Meanwhile, on the ground, organizations like the Asian Americans Leadership Council (AALC), whose leader, Ling Luo, is in contact with high ranking CCP officials, mobilized opposition to the bill.

The efforts also led other groups to galvanise opposition to the bill, even to the extent that the anti-SB147 effort found supporters from the Democratic Party politicians including State Representative Gene Wu and US Congresswoman Judy Chu.

As a result of the CCPs efforts to galvanize opposition to the bill from Chinese speakers and non-Chinese organizations, protests broke out against the bill on January 29 in Dallas and February 11 in Houston.

It led to Senator Lois Kolkhorst modifying the bill on March 1 to ensure it did not prevent dual citizens or legal permanent residents from buying homes near military bases, the report said.

A similar turn of events is also unfolding in Florida, which is also taking up legislation similar to Texas SB147.

Earlier this month, Floridas Senate passed legislation SB264, which prevents China and six other countries from buying or holding an interest in land near strategic sites.

The next day onwards, groups emerged on WeChat with names such as anti-SB264 or anti new Chinese Exclusion Act to oppose the bill. The groups falsely claimed that anyone with a Chinese last name will be discriminated against when buying a home, even though it didnt discriminate any US citizen or lawful permanent resident from buying land.

Meanwhile, WeChat group administrators continue to mobilize people to petition, lobby, protest, speak to the media and attend state hearings to work against the bill, the report said.

Read all the Latest News here
Amid a record rate of unemployment in China, the richest province in the country has come up with a unique, yet controversial, solution to employ the youth- sending 3 lakh jobless young population to the countryside to find work.

The Guangdong province in China, a manufacturing hub neighbouring Hong Kong, said it will help college graduates and young entrepreneurs to find work in villages, CNN reported.

The province also encouraged rural youth to return to the countryside to look for jobs there.

The announcement comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping in December 2022 called for urban youth to seek jobs in rural areas to revive the rural economy.

Beijing had launched a similar campaign during the time of former leader Mao Zedong in which tens of millions of urban youths were exiled to remote areas of China.

China is heading towards social instability as unemployment has risen to a historical level. The persistent youth unemployment comes as a record 11.58 million students graduated from universities and colleges this year.

Joblessness among urban youths between the ages of 16 to 24 rose sharply to 19.6 per cent in March this year, the second highest level on record, from 18.1 per cent in February, according to ANI.

The data suggests there are around 11 million jobless youth in Chinas cities and towns.

The surging rates of unemployment among young people are largely due to Chinas economic slowdown. Slower manufacturing and a weak IT sector are believed to be the reasons behind the persistent problem.

Last month, the Communist Youth League criticised young graduates for refusing to tighten screws in factories," and urged them take off their suits, roll up their sleeves, and go to the farmland", a report in Financial Times said.

However, many people in China are mocking the government on social media for failing to produce enough jobs for the rising numbers of educated youth.

The fears about social mobility are causing some youths to challenge conventional norms regarding families and employment. The Chinese young population are taking up tang ping" or lying flat" movement, which promotes doing the bare minimum instead of working hard for long-term returns.

There is also moonlight clan," a group of young Chinese who deliberately live paycheque-to paycheque, purchasing luxury items like vacations abroad to make up for longer-term disappointment.

Read all the Latest News here
Former US President Donald Trump will be participating in a presidential town hall next week in New Hampshire, the network announced on Monday.

The event, scheduled to air at 9 p.m. ET on May 10 and hosted by Kaitlan Collins, CNN reported.

It will feature Trump answering questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

While Trump is the present front-runner in the Republican field, he is currently facing indictments in Manhattan related to hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

The former US President is also facing a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, who alleges sexual assault by Trump in the mid-1990s.

The town hall will be available for pay TV subscribers to stream live via CNN.com and CNN OTT and mobile apps, and will be available on demand beginning May 11.

Read all the Latest News here
India is participating in the meeting convened in Doha by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Afghanistan that is bringing together special envoys from various countries and is aimed at achieving a common understanding of how to engage with the Taliban.

Guterres arrived in Doha Monday to host the two-day meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan to reach points of commonality on key issues, such as human rights, in particular womens and girls rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

The meeting is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues, a note issued from the Secretary Generals office said here.

The note added that India is among the countries and organisations participating in the meeting.

The other participants in the meeting are from China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Last week, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, had said that Guterres has not extended an invitation to the Taliban for the Doha meeting.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar last month said that India is looking at the Doha meeting positively and would take a call on participating in the meeting, taking place from May 1 and 2, closer to the date.

I think were looking at it. Were looking at it positively, but I guess well take a call closer to the time but we are looking at it, Jaishankar had said in response to a question on whether India will be participating in the meeting being hosted by the UN Chief with Special Envoys on Afghanistan from various countries.

Jaishankar had met Guterres at the UN HQ last month and discussed the situation in Sudan before heading to South America for a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the decision by the Taliban to ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, calling on the de facto authorities to swiftly reverse policies and practices that restrict women and girls from exercising their human rights.

The resolution also called for the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

It also calls upon the Taliban to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms including related to their access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and womens full, equal and meaningful participation in public life.

Read all the Latest India News here
China is involved in expanding an airstrip, aircraft hangar and military modernisation in Myanmars Great Coco Islands, located close to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a report has said.

The small and remote island in the Bay of Bengal has been at the centre of interest for China since the 1990s where it reportedly made an intelligence facility, The Guardian quoted Chatham House as saying.

Satellite images of the island taken in January this year show signs of military modernisation, newly expanded 2,300-metre runway, a radar station and two new hangars.

Moreover, new images from March show evidence of land-clearing efforts on the southern tip of the island indicating indicate the likelihood of more construction work.

Reports said that Chinese engineers and military personnel have been spotted on the islands in recent years.

Though the Great Coco Island is relatively small at around 11 km in length, but its location is strategically important. It is not only close to the Strait of Malacca, one of the worlds busiest shipping lanes, but also lies in proximity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which host Indian navy and air force bases.

The Chinese move in the island has led to concerns that Beijing could gain from the intelligence gathering, through espionage and intelligence sharing.

Though the images did not show any specific evidence of Chinese activity on the Myanmar island, but Myanmar has sought closer ties with Beijing and backed its claims on Taiwan.

Myanmar has grown increasingly dependent on Beijing after the February 2021 coup, where the military junta took over the reins of the nation. Myanmars military has sought closer ties with Beijing and has backed its claim to Taiwan and announced support to Chinas global security initiative.

India has been monitoring the infrastructural developments closely and confronted with Myanmar after intelligence showed that Beijing was providing assistance in building a surveillance post on the island, according to Bloomberg. However, China dismissed the claims.

The developments in the Coco Islands have emerged amid increase in Chinese spy ships and surveyor ships in the Bay of Bengal and proposed radar in southern Sri Lanka.

Read all the Latest News here
The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition quashed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khans demand to dissolve the Pakistan National Assembly on May 14 to pave the way for talks, according to Pakistan-based media outlet the Dawn.

The coalition member and party of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) told former prime minister Imran Khan that he and his PTI will be the ultimate loser" if the negotiations fail.

They also pointed out that elections may be delayed for a year under a constitutional provision. The party urged the leading opposition party to be more flexible and make the dialogues a success.

Ahsan Iqbal, the partys secretary general and federal minister for development, said the PTI cannot hold talks keeping others at gunpoint. We want to tell Imran Khan that he cannot hold talks at gunpoint. The first condition of talks is, there are no pre-conditions. Mr Khan is so desperate that he wants his way or the highway, Iqbal was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

Imran himself is not attending the talks, as he said earlier and has sent his representatives to speak in the multiparty conference on his behalf. He also appears to remain adamant on holding the polls even though the dialogue mediator the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq.

The JI chief urged both parties to consider dropping a few key demands. The meeting will try to convince the ruling party to hold general elections before October and urge leading opposition parties to drop its demand to hold polls on May 14, for the Punjab provincial elections.

However, both parties remain stuck to their own positions.

The federal government said it sat down for talks with PTI with an open mind but it will not accept the PTI chiefs demands to dissolve the National Assembly, Sindh and Balochistan provincial assemblies.

The people of Sindh and Balochistan cannot be punished for the folly of Imran Khan who dissolved Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies to force electionsunder the patronage of his handlers in the institutions, Iqbal further added.

Defence minister Khawaja Asif remained doubtful about the positive outcome of the talks, stating that the PTI is setting conditions. However, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) remains optimistic despite PTIs demand for dissolution.

PPP senior leader and PMs special assistant Qamar Zaman Kaira told the Dawn that the suggestion is not viable, and better sense would prevail. He added that the PPP believed these talks would not end up in failure.

Kaira said the suggestions are not viable because the caretaker government would not be able to present the budget in May and hold discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

JI chief Sirajul Haq who launched the so-called consensus offensive also remained hopeful regarding the outcome of the talks.

Read all the Latest News here
Pakistani security forces on Monday claimed to have killed a notorious Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander who was involved in multiple attacks on law enforcement agencies and polio teams.

Abdul Jabar Shah of the banned TTP Gandapur group was killed in an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering South Waziristan tribal district. Two terrorists were also injured in the operation.

The terrorist commander was involved in attacks on law enforcement agencies, religious groups, polio teams and extortion for the TTP.

This is the second consecutive success of law enforcement agencies in the area.

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.

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Even though Sudans warring generals, armed forces chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, agreed to extend the ceasefire on Sunday, the fighting has only intensified.

The Sudanese military carried out airstrikes to flush out RSF troops, the BBC said in a report.

There are millions of citizens still trapped in Khartoum and over 500 people have died, with several thousands injured. The toll is expected to be much higher than these estimates, news agencies have reported.

The wounded have nowhere to go because over 70% of health facilities in the capital have been forced to close which began on April 15.

BBC journalist Paul Adams in a report said the Sudanese military will find it tough to oust RSF troops from Khartoum.

The Sudanese military outnumber the RSF troops and are better armed but the BBC report pointed out that the RSF paramilitary troops are highly mobile and more suited to urban warfare, the BBC said.

Darfur Targeted Again?

Civilians in Darfur were caught in the crossfire once again this weekend as the RSF and the Sudanese military clashed in two areas of Darfur. This has ignited fears of a civil war in Darfur.

Darfur is a sensitive region because the warring factions jointly played a major role during the 2003 Darfur conflict in clamping down on Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) which claimed that the non-Arab Sudanese were being oppressed by the Sudanese peoples of Arabic origin and their leadership.

The Sudanese military and the RSF are accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocidal rapes and acts of ethnic cleansing.

To add fuel to the fire, local militias are also arming themselves now to join the fight. Some of these militias are linked to the parties fighting in Khartoum, the Guardian reported.

The Guardian also said that community leaders are trying to maintain peace.

Darfurs Geneina or Al Junaynah is the worst impacted, the Guardian said in its report and said schools, hospitals, public buildings and camps for those internally displaced have been completely destroyed due to the fighting.

Citing Mohamed Osman of Human Rights Watch, the news agency said that local markets, a teaching hospital and gathering points were completely destroyed.

Medical workers said that over 100 people died in Geneina on Thursday alone and over 250 people have died in the recent violence.

Read all the Latest News here
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other Texas authorities are offering a combined $80,000 reward for the arrest of a mass shooting suspect who shot dead five people in a town north of Houston on Friday.

#BREAKING FBI Special Agent in Charge James Smith announces an additional $25,000 FBI reward regarding this investigation. $80,000 is now being offered for information leading to the arrest of Francisco Oropesa. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips," FBI Houston said in a tweet.

#BREAKING FBI Special Agent in Charge James Smith announces an additional $25,000 FBI reward regarding this investigation.$80,000 is now being offered for information leading to the arrest of Francisco Oropesa. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips. #HouNews  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) April 30, 2023

The manhunt for Francisco Oropeza, the 38-year-old suspect in the Friday shooting, has expanded significantly. Over 200 police officers from multiple jurisdictions are now involved in the search, going door to door and asking for tips to locate the suspect.

Addressing a press conference Sunday, FBI Houston Special Agent James Smith said they have over 200 law enforcement personnel from federal, state and local agencies trying to bring this subject into custody and to ensure the community is safe.

Notably, the FBI also acknowledged they had zero leads after nearly two days of searching.

There are over 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen agencies actively searching for Oropesa. FBI Houston and other local, state, & federal agencies will not stop assisting SJSO until he is captured and justice is brought on behalf of the 5 victims," FBI said in another tweet.

There are over 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen agencies actively searching for Oropesa.FBI Houston and other local, state, & federal agencies will not stop assisting SJSO until he is captured and justice is brought on behalf of the 5 victims. #ClevelandTXShooting pic.twitter.com/g0upaVp0cz  FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) April 30, 2023

The shooting occurred on a rural street, near the town of Cleveland, where homes are nestled on one-acre lots, surrounded by a dense cover of trees. Locals say that firing guns to relieve stress is a common practice among neighbors.

Francisco Oropesa is still on the run and considered armed and dangerous after allegedly killing five people in a rural Texas town.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers announced on Saturday that the search area had been widened to 32 kilometers from the shooting location and that investigators found clothes and a phone during their search in the dense forest area, but tracking dogs lost the scent.

Oropesa was identified through an identity card issued by Mexican authorities for citizens residing outside the country and doorbell camera footage. The suspects wife has also been interviewed by the police.

The AR-15-style rifle used in the shootings was recovered by the police, but it is not clear if Oropesa is carrying another weapon. The authorities have also discovered other firearms at the suspects home.

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest News here
More than 20,000 Russian combatants have died and another 80,000 were wounded in five months of fighting in Ukraine, a White House official said Monday.

We estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Kirby, saying he was citing newly declassified intelligence, said that about half of those killed were soldiers recruited by the private military company Wagner, which draws much of its ranks from prison populations in Russia.

The toll in Bakhmut  where Ukrainian troops are hanging onto only a small portion of the city  accounts for losses since the start of December, according to the US figures.

The bottom line is that Russias attempted offensive has backfired after months of fighting and extraordinary losses," Kirby said.

Kirby said he was not giving estimates of Ukrainian casualties because they are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor."

The White House will not put information in the public domain that makes it any harder" for the close Western ally, whose army is being armed and trained by a US-led coalition of countries, he said.

Read all the Latest News here
Durians just harvested from an orchard in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Ri6 durian prices grown in the Mekong Delta have plunged by 30-40% to VND50,000-55,000 ($2.13-2.34) per kilogram from early April.

Prices in the localities of Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Can Tho, where the majority of the fruit is grown, have plummeted 70% from early February.

Vendors say that prices have fallen because Chinese buyers have cut down on purchases.

"There is a large supply of Ri6 durian. Some farmers harvest hundreds of tons each day," said vendor Linh in Tien Giang.

She added that the Chinese buyers she knew were not rushing to buy more as durian in Thailand and the Philippines were also starting to ripen for harvest.

Thailand has long been exporting large quantities of durian to China, while the Philippines obtained permits to export to this country earlier this year.

China is also growing its own durian to meet domestic needs. The country has over 93 hectares of the fruit on Hainan Island.

Laos has agreed to set aside 30,000 hectares of agricultural land to grow durian specifically for the Chinese market, equivalent to around 27% of Vietnams durian farming area.

Vietnamese durian was the fastest-growing export to China among fruits in the first two months of this year, rising by 291% year-on-year to $56.9 million.

The countrys farming area reached 110,000 hectares by the end of last year after the country was allowed to officially export the fruit to China. This exceeded the governments plan by nearly 47%.

Two main types of durian grow in the region, Ri6 and Monthong.
Ben Feldman (L) and Rachael Leigh Cook during a scene of "A Tourist's Guide to Love" filmed in Hanoi. Photo by Netflix

American actor-producer Ben Feldman, who stars in Netflix movie "A Tourist's Guide to Love," has been gushing about the beauty of Hanoi and eating and drinking on its sidewalks.

"Hanoi is an unbelievably beautiful city," he told American magazine Hollywood Reporter.

"Theres a lot to unpack because a big part of that beauty - the incredible architecture and food in this rich, vibrant culture - is due to French colonialism."

While in Hanoi for filming the Netflix movie, he stayed at a hotel not far from the old quarter, which gave him an opportunity to explore daily life in the vicinity.

One of his favorite experiences was sitting in a tiny plastic chair to drink a cup of coffee and eat pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), a popular breakfast among Hanoians, he said.

"I tried to eat and drink as much of the city as I could."

He also tried banh mi (Vietnamese-style baguette) and fried catfish tossed with dill, onion, turmeric and galangal at La Vong Restaurant in the old quarter.

While shooting a scene at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, he was surprised to see puppets being manipulated underwater.

After leaving Hanoi, he visited Hoi An, which he described as "the most charming city on planet."

"A Tourist's Guide to Love" started streaming on April 21 and follows the story of American travel executive Amanda, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, who breaks with her boyfriend before going undercover to Vietnam to research a local tour agency.

Ben, who plays John, Amandas ex-boyfriend, comes to Hanoi to pursue her again.

Feldman, 43, started his movie career in 2003.

He has been in theater, with his credits including the Broadway play The Graduate, and done prominent roles in television series such as in the NBC sitcom Superstore.
Organizers had promised new elements in the ancient ceremony that will bring the coronation of Britain's King Charles on Saturday. One of them revealed this weekend is this announcement planned during the service: "All who so desire, in the Abbey, and elsewhere, say together: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God." It's the first coronation in which the public will have an active role, the BBC reports. Past ceremonies included an "homage of peers," which is being replaced by this "homage of the people."

Subjects are asked to participate wherever they are, per the Washington Post, whether they're in Westminster Abbey or watching or listening remotely. Organizers said swearing allegiance to Charles when requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury is voluntary but encouraged. A spokesman for the archbishop said the hope is that viewers at home and elsewhere will say the words aloud"this sense of a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the king." There was criticism of the idea, and the spokesman said some people might prefer to say only "God save the King" at the end, and others might spend the moment in reflection, per the Guardian.

"In a democracy it is the head of state who should be swearing allegiance to the people, not the other way around," said a spokesman for the Republic, which works to abolish the monarchy, per the Irish Times. "This kind of nonsense should have died with Elizabeth I, not outlived Elizabeth II." Pledging allegiance to Charles' "heirs and successors" means swearing allegiance to Prince Andrew, as well, opponents pointed out. One Labor politician called the oath a "lovely touch," while other opposition lawmakers called it odd and outdated. (Read more King Charles III stories.)
The Treasury Department will soon issue updated guidance on how long the US can keep operating before it defaults on its debt, a development that would be both unprecedented and potentially catastrophic, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the meantime, Axios notes that a divide is growing within the Democratic Party on a fundamental issue: whether the White House should negotiate with Republicans on a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Politico, too, reports that a "growing number of House Democrats" are on board with the idea of negotiating. At least a dozen have said so publicly. For now, however, President Biden and top party leaders remain adamant: They insist Congress should raise the debt ceilingallowing the US to borrow more money to pay its debtswith no strings attached.

"It is time to end the partisan standoff and brinkmanship before it rattles markets, damages our economy, and hurts the American people," wrote Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Mary Peltola of Alaska in a letter to Biden advocating talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Last week, McCarthy won passage of a measure that demands steep cuts in Democrat-backed programs in exchange for raising the ceiling. In the Senate, meanwhile, Joe Manchin is currently the only Democrat backing talks. "The debt limit is non-negotiable," is how Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana put it to the Washington Post.

All of which adds up to this sobering headline in an analysis by Paul Kane, also in the Washington Post: "Defaulting on the national debt is much closer than anyone realizes." The topic came up in the Sunday talks shows over the weekend, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise going after Biden for refusing to sit down with McCarthy. "Its time now for the president to get in this game, get off the sidelines, and lets start negotiating and figuring this outnot in June when we get into the midnight hour, but today," he said. Last week, Biden said he'd be happy to meet with McCarthy but reiterated that debt-ceiling talks would be off the table. (Read more debt ceiling stories.)
Time to check your cupboards: General Mills is recalling some bags of its Gold Medal flour after salmonella was found in a sample. The voluntary recall covers two-, five- and 10-pound bags of Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour with better if used by dates of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024, according to the FDA recall page. Impacted consumers should discard the flour and call General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103. Both the FDA and the CDC advise against eating anything that contains flour until it has been cooked, as heat kills salmonella and other bacteria that can be found in raw floor, such as E. coli.

What's not clear, as USA Today reports, is whether this recall is connected to a multi-state salmonella outbreak those same agencies have been investigating for a month. Health officials reminded consumers in March not to eat raw cookie dough or cake batter due to the outbreak, CBS News reported at the time. So far, a dozen illnesses and three hospitalizations have been linked to the outbreak, but no deaths have been reported, and no brand of flour has been linked to the outbreak yet. "We are continuing to educate consumers that flour is not a ready to eat ingredient," a General Mills spokesperson says. "Anything made with flour must be cooked or baked before eating. (Read more General Mills stories.)
Tragic news out of Florida, where the 2-year-old daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett died by drowning in the family pool Sunday. Officers responded to the South Tampa home just before 9:30am in response to a call about a child having fallen in a pool, the Tampa Bay Times reports. She could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The toddler, Arrayah, was the youngest of Barrett and his wife Jordanna's four children, and Barrett's most recent Instagram post, from April 19, was in honor of her birthday. "Happy 2nd bday to my cutie girl. So sweet and cute. You made our family complete. I love you baby girl," the 30-year-old wrote.

"Todays tragic news is heartbreaking for all members of the Buccaneers family, the Bucs said in a statement. Our thoughts and prayers are with Shaq, Jordanna and the entire Barrett family during this unimaginably difficult time. While no words can provide true comfort at a time such as this, we offer our support and love as they begin to process this very profound loss of their beloved Arrayah. The Tampa Police Department says an investigation is underway, but, per ESPN, "It is not believed to be suspicious in nature at this time, but a purely accidental and tragic incident." (Read more Tampa Bay Buccaneers stories.)
Nearly five years after a stretch limousine packed with birthday revelers careened down a hill and off a road in rural upstate New York, killing 20 people, the operator of the company that rented out the vehicle is going on trial. Nauman Hussain, who ran Prestige Limousine, is charged with criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the Oct. 6, 2018, crashone of the deadliest US road wrecks of the past two decadesin Schoharie, a village west of Albany. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Schoharie County. Seventeen people using the limo for a birthday celebration were killed, reports the AP, along with the driver and two bystanders outside a country store where the vehicle crashed.

The victims' relatives have been on an emotional roller coaster ever since. After pandemic-related delays in the criminal case, they were exasperated by a 2021 announcement of a plea deal that would have spared Hussain prison time. A surprise twist came last fall when a judge rejected the deal, setting up the trial this week a few miles down the road from the accident site. "All we can do is move on and hope that we can get justice," said Tom King, the father of four sisters killed in the crash. "It's not going to be closure for families that lost their kids. I mean, we lost four daughters and three sons-in-law in one shot. There's no way we'll ever make that up, no matter how many trials they have." Victim Axel Steenburg had hired the 2001 Ford Excursion limousine for an outing to celebrate the 30th birthday of his wife, Amy, who was King's daughter.

The group was headed to a brewery outside Cooperstown, New York. The passengers ranged in age from 24 to 34 and included Axel Steenburg's brother, Amy Steenburg's three sisters, and two of their husbands and close friends. The NTSB found evidence of brake failure on a long downhill stretch of road on the way to the brewery. The vehicle is believed to have reached speeds of more than 100mph when it blew through a stop sign at a T-intersection and hit a parked SUV and several trees before coming to rest in a streambed. Prosecutors say Hussain failed to properly maintain the limo and is to blame for the deaths. The NTSB found Prestige showed an "egregious disregard for safety" and took pains to avoid more stringent inspection rules intended to ensure the stretch vehicle had the braking capacity and other requirements for carrying a load heavier than it was initially built for.

The vehicle had been ordered out of service by state transportation officials a month before the crash. Prosecutors argue Hussain removed an out-of-service sticker from the limo's windshield. The NTSB also said ineffective state oversight allowed Prestige to circumvent safety regulations and inspection requirements. State investigators say a Mavis Discount Tire store falsified billing invoices to make it appear there was brake work done on the limo that was not performed. Hussain's lawyers contend he tried to maintain the limousine and relied on what he was told by state officials and the repair shop. "Every day we talk about Nauman, the real perpetrators escape blame," said Lee Kindlon, an attorney for Hussain. "We're going to trial not just to defend an innocent man, but to spur real accountability for those who could have prevented this tragedy."

(Read more bus accident stories.)
On Saturday, Texas authorities had an idea where the suspect in a mass shooting that killed five Friday night might have been hiding out. By Sunday, that inkling had vanished. "We do not know where he is. We do not have any tips on where he may be," FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith said Sunday in a presser, adding that law enforcement had "zero leads" on Francisco Oropesa's whereabouts, per USA Today. The 38-year-old from the town of Cleveland is accused of fatally gunning down five of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old, after they asked him to stop shooting his gun in his yard so that a baby could sleep.

More than 250 officers from local police agencies and the FBI, as well as K9 units and drones, are now involved in the manhunt for Oropesa, and San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers says authorities are going door to door to try to pick up the trail. The reward for information leading to his capture has jumped: Per NBC News, the state of Texas is now offering $50,000, the FBI $25,000, and a local nonprofit another $5,000, for a total of $80,000. Residents of Cleveland have been asked to remain on alert, and to keep their doors locked; Oropesa is considered armed and dangerous.

Capers, who notes Oropesa was from Mexico, says an AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting was recovered, as were clothes and a cellphone. Other weapons were discovered during a search of Oropesa's home, he adds. Capers also notes that his deputies had been to Oropesa's residence in the past to reprimand him for shooting his gun off. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is taking heat for a pair of tweets he posted after the killings, per Newsweek and Insider. First, just hours after the shooting and without yet issuing a statement on it, Abbott greeted the internet Saturday morning with a picture of his dog and the caption "All smiles for the weekend."

His statement finally came Sunday afternoon, in which he offered condolences to the victims' loved ones, but also spurred outrage by offering a reward for "info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants." It's not yet clear if the victims were indeed undocumentedCapers has only said they were all originally from Hondurasbut respondents to Abbott's tweet pointed out that shouldn't matter. "Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them 'illegal immigrants,'" former HUD Secretary Julian Castro tweeted. "My heart is with this 8-year-old little boy," Capers said, per NBC. "I don't care if he was here legally, I don't care if he was here illegally." (Read more mass shootings stories.)
Vietnam received over 3.6 million foreign visitors in January-April, equivalent to 62% of pre-pandemic numbers and nearly half of this year's eight-million target.

At 1.07 million, South Koreans made up the largest numbers followed by American (263,000) and Thai (199,000) visitors, according to the General Statistics Office.

In April alone international arrivals topped 984,000, a 9.9% increase from the previous month.

They included 111,000 Chinese, who were allowed to visit Vietnam only from mid-March after the country lifted a long international travel ban in February. The number of Chinese tourists increased 62% from March, which was the biggest rise among foreign tourists, although it was just more than a fifth of the same period in 2019.

The government has submitted proposals to the National Assembly to increase the visa period for foreigners from the current 30 days to three months and triple the duration of visa-free stays to 45 days for visitors from certain countries.

Lawmakers will discuss them next week.

The number of foreign tourists coming to Vietnam remains far behind its Southeast Asian neighbors.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said at least eight million foreigners visited in the first four months.
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton is an AI pioneer, but according to a new interview, he's beginning to feel a bit like Victor Frankenstein studying his monstrous creation. "It is hard to see," Hinton tells the New York Times, "how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things." Hinton, who 11 years ago collaborated with a pair of graduate assistants at the University of Toronto to make the tech that underlies many AI systems today, tells the Times he's quit a position he held at Google in order to speak out about the growing AI threat. Hinton says he regrets what he's done. "I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn't done it, somebody else would have."

The Times calls Hinton's flip on AI "remarkable," coming as it does "at perhaps its most important inflection point in decades." Gizmodo notes that even a few months ago, he was referring to AI as a "supernaturally precocious child" and "humanity's butterfly." Hinton is perhaps best known for his development of the backpropagation algorithma key technique used to train neural networks. Although he has done vital work in the AI field, Hinton tells the Times that its rapid improvement embodied by tools like ChatGPT or Google's Bard is fundamentally dangerous. Regarding AI, Hinton says, "Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now. Take the difference and propagate it forwards. That's scary."

Hinton grew concerned when he says Google stopped behaving responsibly with AI innovations to compete with ChatGPT and Microsoft's Bing. Now he worries about the burgeoning world of fake imagery and text, noting that most people won't be able to easily tell "what is true anymore." He also fears that a world with "killer robots" is suddenly much more real. He says he thought AI being more clever than human brains "was 30 to 50 years or even longer away." However, he says, "Obviously, I no longer think that." (Read more artificial intelligence stories.)
The 15th season of MasterChef Australia was set to premiere Monday, but that airing of the cooking competition program has since been postponed after its host died over the weekend. Per a statement from Network 10, Jock Zonfrillo died suddenly on Sunday in Melbourne at age 46, reports CNN. Zonfrillo's family confirmed his death in their own statement. No cause of death has been given, but a Victoria Police rep says the Scottish personality's passing isn't being treated as suspicious, per the Guardian. "He was the sharp-suited, beard-carrying MasterChef host who could eat all day," Network 10 reported Monday in its tribute to one of its own.

A Glasgow native, Zonfrillo's teen years were rough, as he fell into doing heroin and soon became addicted to drugs. He started working in the kitchen in the UK with chef Marco Pierre White, who helped him kick his habit, and in 1999 Zonfrillo headed to Australia, where he became head chef at Sydney's Forty One restaurant. He eventually opened his own place, Restaurant Orana in Adelaide, but that eatery shut down for good in late 2020 due to the pandemic. Zonfrillo began his stint on MasterChef in 2019. Jamie Oliver, who was set to star in the series premiere Monday with Zonfrillo, and other celebrity chefs paid homage to him as they heard the news.

"I'm in total shock," Oliver wrote on Instagram on Monday. He added, "We had the best time working together" and called Zonfrillo "very generous to me with his time and spirit." Fellow kitchen ace Gordon Ramsay also paid his condolences. "Saddened by the devastating news of Jock Zonfrillo's passing," Ramsay tweeted. "I truly enjoyed the time we spent together on MasterChef in Australia." Zonfrillo is survived by his wife, Lauren Fried, and four children. In his family's statement, they noted his death "with completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him," per the Guardian. (Read more MasterChef stories.)
A preschool teacher in California has been arrested on suspicion of murderand the arrest came during the children's naptime, reports SFGate . Diane Ornelas, 22, worked at a preschool used by Stanford University's faculty, students, and staff. Ornelas and Dennis Novoa, 27, were arrested in connection with the death of 24-year-old Oliver Waterfall, who was found dead from a gunshot wound on April 11 at the bottom of a hill off Highway 9 in Santa Cruz County. In a press release , the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said motive for the crime was "believed to be of a personal nature.

Campus newspaper the Stanford Daily obtained an email about Ornelas's arrest at the preschool in which parents were told that their kids "were not present when this occurred, and it did not disrupt operations." The Daily also reported that Ornelas, who is being held without bail, is no longer employed by the school and that Waterfall's death wasn't connected to Stanford. CBS reports that authorities investigated the crime over the last two weeks via interviews and scrutinizing surveillance video. Novoa and Ornelas are next due in court for arraignment on May 17. (Read more crime stories.)
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The conflict between Sudan's army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered a rush to extract foreign diplomats and citizens by several countries including Indonesia, United States, Japan, Germany and Britain.

A first group of Indonesian evacuees arrived back in the country on Friday, and a total of 748 citizens have been evacuated from Sudan as of Sunday.

"Not only Indonesian citizens, the government of Indonesia also helped evacuate a number of foreign citizens," the foreign ministry said in a statement, without providing details how many foreigners Indonesia has evacuated.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma on Monday took up a visiting professor position at a Japanese university, another new academic role for the founder of tech giant Alibaba.

Tokyo College, part of the prestigious University of Tokyo, said Ma would "share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation" in seminars for students and staff.

The 58-year-old has kept a low profile since his fall from grace during a Chinese government crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago.

But he recently accepted an honorary professorship from the University of Hong Kong's business school, reportedly for a three-year term ending in March 2026.

On its website, Tokyo College said Ma would "conduct joint research and projects" with faculty members, "especially in the field of sustainable agriculture and food production".

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Saudi oil giant Aramco and sovereign wealth fund PIF (Public Investment Fund) have joined forces with Baosteel, the worlds leading steel conglomerate, to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex within the kingdom with a production capacity of up to 1.5 million tonnes per year.

Subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the joint venture complex will comd up in Ras Al-Khair Industrial City, one of the four new special economic zones recently announced by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs.

The complex would bring together Aramcos unrivaled energy and industrial services ecosystem, Baosteels advanced steel plate industry capability and PIFs strong financial capabilities and investment expertise.

It would be the first facility of its kind in the Kingdom and the GCC region, advancing the regional steel industry ecosystem. The project aims to enhance the domestic manufacturing sector through localizing the production of heavy steel plates, transferring knowledge and creating export opportunities.

The plant will be equipped with a natural gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) furnace and an electric arc furnace, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions from the steel-making process by up to 60% compared to a traditional blast furnace.

The DRI plant would be compatible with hydrogen without the need for major equipment modifications, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% in the future.

Aramco President & CEO Amin H. Nasser said: "The kingdoms first steel plate production facility is expected to enhance Saudi Arabias steel industry ecosystem and improve supply chain localization. Under our flagship industrial investment programme, Namaat, and supported by the governments Shareek programme, this joint venture is expected to create jobs and contribute to economic growth and diversification."

"This joint venture is also an example of bringing together expertise from other sectors. With Baosteel and PIF supporting in capacity building in the Kingdoms industrial sector, Aramco aims to create additional value for our company and our partnersm," he noted.

PIF Deputy Governor and Head of Mena Investments Yazeed A. Al-Humied said: "PIF is diversifying the Saudi economy by unlocking opportunities and enabling key strategic sectors in the local market. This partnership aims at establishing an integrated steel plate manufacturing facility that will strengthen Saudi Arabias industrial development and enable its role as a supplier within the metal industry."

The investment aligns with PIFs strategy to unlock the capabilities of promising sectors and strategically important industries that can drive the diversification of the local economy.

It will support a number of the sovereign fund's priority sectors that require steel plate and create a more resilient steel industry in the region.

"It will also build on PIFs mandate to establish new strategic partnerships locally and globally; localize technologies and knowledge; enable the private sector; and create more direct and indirect job opportunities in the local market. Since 2017, PIF has invested in 13 strategic sectors and established 77 new companies domestically," he stated.

Baosteel Chairman Zou Jixin said: "This project is an active practice by our group to explore lower-carbon paths for the steel industry, a major achievement in promoting the international development strategy of Baosteel."

"The project aims to contribute positively to the localization of the steel industry chain, job creation and local economic prosperity in Saudi Arabia," he noted.

According to him, the new project is expected to create jobs and significantly reduce reliance on imported steel, serving customers in several strategic industrial sectors including pipelines, shipbuilding, rig manufacturing, offshore platform fabrication and tank and pressure vessel manufacturing.

It also would aim to serve the construction, renewables and marine sectors, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Its been 50 years since the war between the United States and Vietnam ended and nearly 28 years since the two countries normalized relations. In that time, the two nations have forged a relationship that is robust, dynamic, and consequential, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a recent visit to Hanoi. His focus, said Secretary Blinken, remained on how the United States can continue to support Vietnams success  which is good for the Vietnamese people, for Americans, and indeed for the entire region.

Our countries are collaborating on an incredibly broad range of shared interests, and we believe that by supporting Vietnams ambitions we advance our own, from the creation of American jobs and the strengthening of American businesses, to progress on the climate crisis that affects us all, to preventing pandemics, he said.

The United States and Vietnam work together on the international stage to promote broad-based prosperity in Vietnam and throughout the region, said Secretary Blinken. Were also growing our bilateral economic partnership, he said.

The U.S. is helping Vietnam double down on key reforms its embraced  including on labor, intellectual property, fair trade  which have made it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, he said. We believe that Vietnam can achieve its goal of becoming a connected, high-income country by 2045 by pursuing growth that lifts up all communities, while building resilience to adapt to climate change.

Indeed, We know Vietnam is increasingly vulnerable to threats posed by the climate crisis, said Secretary Blinken. As Vietnam takes steps to become a leader on climate energy transition, the United States is investing in that tremendous potential. Were launching new bilateral climate initiatives  which do everything from conserving ecosystems and reducing emissions from rice farming in the Mekong Delta, to expanding a market-driven clean energy system and scaling up adoption of electric vehicles, to leveraging our private sectors to drive climate action.

And last but not least, Were finalizing the transfer of the third U.S. Coast Guard cutter to Vietnam, complementing a fleet of 24 patrol boats and other equipment, training, and operational facilities that weve provided since 2016. All of these efforts bolster Vietnams capacity to contribute to maritime peace and stability in the South China Sea, said Secretary Blinken.

The United States is committed to supporting a strong, prosperous, independent, and resilient Vietnam. And we respect Vietnams right to shape its future under its own political system.
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The arrival of FullStack Modular in Connecticut as the newest corporation to set up shop in the state caught many by surprise and is prompting questions as to why the company would leave its former home in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is located next to the largest port on the East Coast.

The answer to that question depends on who you ask. Some experts interviewed say differences in cost of living and the business climate between Brooklyn and New Haven were probably central to the decision. But Roger Krulak, FullStack's founder and president, said the key factors were logistics considerations and people in the state that company officials have dealt with thus far.

At last week's announcing the move, Krulak mentioned the importance of the New Haven Harbor and Gateway Terminal, the company that operates the port, in making the decision to move. Connecticut has other working harbors, like Bridgeport and New London. He explained the company's choice in greater detail on Thursday as he waited to board a plane to Atlanta for a business trip.

"I looked at other ports, both in Connecticut and elsewhere," Krulak said. "But what Gateway does as a company aligns with the way we do what we do. We, as manufacturers, have very different relationships with our suppliers than construction companies do."

FullStack's new 124,000 square foot headquarters, located just off State Street in Hamden near the New Haven border, also has space for the company's employees to make modular housing components that, when connected, create mid-sized and high rise multi-family housing.

The move will result in an investment by the company of between $8 million and $12 million in Connecticut. By the end of the year, the company will also have hired at least 100 new workers.

Krulak said moving the housing components from the manufacturing facility to Gateway Terminal will be done by rail.

"We have a rail spur outside our door that goes directly to Gateway Terminal," he said. Once the units arrive at Gateway Terminal, officials there will determine the most effective way to get the components to where they need to go, either by large ships, trucks or via rail.

The logistics factor is critical to the company, according to Krulak, because the FullStack's fastest growing market is on the West Coast.

"It's on fire right now," he said.

As FullStack's business develops modular units from its new home, Krulak said company officials will assess whether they need to add more manufacturing space.

"If the demand is there, then we could build a state-of-the-art factory, he said.

John Boyd, whose Florida-based company evaluates locations for corporations, said the decision to move to Hamden rather than some other state or Connecticut location may have come down to a right place, right time decision.

"At this point in a relocation process, decisions tend to be very site specific," Boyd said.

He said Connecticut has also "made great strides in its relationship with the business community, both locally and nationally, under the leadership of Gov. Ned Lamont.

"Clients have expressed to us that Ned Lamont and his team are highly effective in that area," Boyd said. "Lamont seems to personalize the economic development effort. New York has a lot going on right now, a lot of challenges."

Krulak said the decision to move "just came down to Connecticut having a more positive, forward-looking business environment, which I haven't found to be true in New York State of late."

He also praised the work of AdvanceCT, the New Haven-based non-profit that works to retain Connecticut-based business and recruit businesses from elsewhere.

"Their work was critical," Krulak said of AdvanceCT

Economist Donald Klepper-Smith, of DataCore Partners in South Carolina, said "historically speaking, the Port of New Haven has been underutilized." But Boyd said the port is currently growing and "presents cost savings in the form or lower operating costs," in comparison to Brooklyn.

David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University's School of Business, said "when you're taking a look at moving a production facility, one of the factors that gets a lot of weight is an extremely strong workforce, which is something that Connecticut has."

Boyd said the "ease of recruiting and maintaining a workforce in the New Haven versus New York also has to be a factor."

"It's very expensive for workers to live in New York City," he said.

For over 150 years, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was one of the nation's best known naval shipbuilders. Now it is an industrial park that is home to more than 450 businesses at a 300-acre waterfront site that hosts more than 11,000 people and generates over $2.5 billion per year in economic impact for the city.
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Two southern Connecticut restaurants have earned recent honors from Gambero Rosso, described as an authority on Italian food, wine and travel.

In March, Strega Restaurant in Milford and Bianca Restaurant & Bar in Greenwich were touted among several Northeastern Italian restaurants for their authentic cuisine, and honored in a ceremony in New York City. Each eatery earned a "due forchette" designation: two out of three forks, similar to Michelin's star ratings.

"Gambero Rosso is one of, if not the most prestigious food and wine [guides] in Italy. Its such an honor for us at Bianca to be awarded with 'two forks' in their world wide guide of 2023 TOP ITALIAN RESTAURANT - a guide that values authenticity, quality and freshness of ingredients along with wine pairing for Italian Restaurant Abroad," Bianca's owners wrote in a Facebook post. "We are very proud to be [one] of the very few Italian restaurants in the world to be included in this list."

Rosario Procino and Raffaele Ronca, both born and raised in Naples, describe their Greenwich Avenue restaurant as "a modern Italian menu with a twist  and an emphasis on the cuisine of the Campania region and Naples, Italy." Procino's Manhattan restaurant, Ribalta, also earned a three-fork distinction from Gambero Rosso.

Bianca's menu features housemade pastas like cacio e pepe, gnocchi sorrentina, fettuccine Bolognese and tagliatelle with mushrooms and shaved black truffles, along with entrees like branzino and veal Milanese and select pizzas, like a margherita, caprese and rustica with prosciutto de parma and pickled eggplants.

Winter Caplanson

Strega first earned a Gambero Rosso distinction in 2019 while the restaurant was in its original location in Branford. It was the first time any Connecticut restaurant had received the honor, owner Danilo Mongillo told Hearst Connecticut that year.

Mongillo opted to close the Branford location and move Strega to Milford in 2021, where he welcomed a mix of loyal Branford customers and new visitors curious about Strega's "wholesome Italian cooking" using imported authentic products  tomatoes, meats, cheeses, balsamic vinegar. The menu features antipasto, salads, assorted gnocchi dishes and entrees like slow-cooked lamb shank and cannelloni al forno, but Strega's specialty is Neapolitan pizza, "handcrafted and served with authenticity and excellence in mind," its website describes.

"It is possible to have a delectable pizza even in Connecticut," Gambero Rosso notes on its website. "Located in Milford, the credit for one of the most authentic restaurants in the United States goes to Samnite Danilo Mongillo, who moved here for love. His high-quality pizza is the result of a proper balance of flavors and a very soft and airy dough; the other courses are just as good. The raw materials are imported with uncommon rigor and passion. The location is sleek and the service very attentive. It is definitely worth the detour."
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First came the good news. After taking classes at a community college, Ricki Korba was admitted to California State University, Bakersfield, as a transfer student. But when she logged on to her student account, she got a gut punch: Most of her previous classes wouldnt count.

The university rejected most of her science classes, she was told, because they were deemed less rigorous than those at Bakersfield  even though some used the same textbooks. Several other courses were rejected because Korba exceeded a cap on how many credits can be transferred.

Now Korba, a chemistry and music major, is retaking classes she already passed once. It will add a year to her studies, plus at least $20,000 in tuition and fees.

It just feels like a waste of time, said Korba, 23, of Sonora, California. I thought I was supposed to be going to a CSU and starting hard classes and doing a bunch of cool labs.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of students start at community colleges hoping to transfer to a university later. Its advertised as a cheaper path to a bachelors degree, an education hack in a world of ever-rising tuition costs.

Yet the reality is rarely that simple. For some students, the transfer process becomes a maze so confusing it derails their college plans.

Among nearly 1 million students who started at a community college in 2016, just one in seven earned a bachelors degree within six years, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

One of the biggest obstacles is known as credit loss: when students take classes that never end up counting toward a degree.

Sometimes its a result of poor advising. Without clear guidance from community colleges, students take courses they dont need. Blame can also lie with four-year colleges, which have varying rules for evaluating transfer credits. Some are pickier than others.

The outcome, however, is often the same. Students take longer to finish their degrees, costing more in tuition. For many, the extra work becomes too much to bear. Ultimately, roughly half of community college students drop out.

Its completely defeating for some students, said Jessie Ryan, vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a research group. These systems have been designed to work for colleges and educators, but they havent been designed to work for students.

The search for solutions has yielded scattered success. In many states, colleges and universities have formed partnerships to make sure certain classes transfer. More than a dozen states have adopted common class numbering systems to create consistency across schools.

Still, problems remain frustratingly common.

A recent study at the City University of New York system found, among students who transferred from a community college to a bachelors program, nearly half lost at least some work. On average, those students lost the equivalent of almost a full semester.

The pipeline from community college to a bachelors degree is a very leaky pipeline, said Alexandra Logue, one of the researchers and a former provost at the CUNY system. The outcomes are worst among Black, Hispanic and low-income students, who are more likely to start at community colleges, she said.

Korba thought she was taking the right classes at Columbia College, a community college in Sonora. She worked with a counselor and used an online catalog showing which courses were supposed to transfer to CSU schools.

But when officials at Bakersfield reviewed the transcript, they said most of her classes wouldnt count toward her major.

University officials declined to comment on Korbas case, but said a small number of transfer credits can fall into a gray area and require extra review. Dwayne Cantrell, Bakersfield's chief enrollment officer, said credit loss is rare and many classes from California community colleges are accepted automatically.

Facing an extra year of school, Korba likely will run out of financial aid before she graduates. Shes making plans to go part-time in school and work longer hours so she can afford tuition and rent. But she wonders how long she can juggle it all.

I worry how much more interested Ill be in school than just focusing on getting money from a job, she said.

Columbia College officials said they will advocate for Korba as much as possible as she continues her education.

We consider the transfer process a high priority as such we will continue to provide focused career counseling and transfer services to assist students with this occasionally challenging process, said Lena Tran, president of the college.

Stories like Korbas arent uncommon, especially in California, which has long struggled to connect its 116 community colleges to more than 30 public universities.

Mea Montanez will graduate from San Francisco State University in May, but only after retaking nearly a years worth of classes she already passed at a community college. The school didn't accept her classes in psychology, her major, because they werent considered a match.

Im taking the classes and Im like, This is exactly what I took, said Montanez, 34. If anything, it was much more challenging at the community college level.

University officials said classes can look the same on paper, but the details of what's taught don't always line up. Still, they acknowledged room for improvement.

Credit loss happens, but it's something we've been working hard on for a long time, said Lori Beth Way, dean of undergraduate education at SFSU.

When students transfer to any school, their transcripts are often reviewed by faculty. For instance, biology professors would decide whether a biology class from another school should count.

But those judgments can be colored by stigma  some faculty look down at community colleges  and financial incentives, Logue of CUNY said.

Refusing credits, she said, means students must take more classes at their own school. Faculty also sometimes hold a higher standard for accepting a class toward a major than just accepting it as a general requirement.

Thats money, and it keeps peoples jobs, she said. But its a very short-sighted viewpoint.

Some states have intervened to take subjectivity out of the process. Under a new Maryland rule, a class must be accepted if it shares 70% of the learning objectives with a comparable class. If credits are denied, students and community colleges must receive an explanation.

California made strides with a 2010 law requiring community colleges to offer special associate degrees guaranteeing admission to a CSU campus. A 2021 law will put all eligible students on that track unless they opt out, and create a set of general education classes that must be accepted at all state universities.

Two Virginia colleges have gone further. From their first day on campus, students at Northern Virginia Community College are offered a direct path to a bachelors at nearby George Mason University. Students receive dual admission at both schools and they can choose from 87 academic pathways telling them exactly which classes they need.

Known as Advance, the program is designed to minimize credit loss and increase graduation rates. George Mason is working on expanding the model to other community colleges.

Students understand from Day One what they are required to take," said Jason Dodge, director of the program. "They know the rug is not going to slip out from under them along the way.

___

EDITORS 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.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CT State Police / Contributed

MIDDLETOWN  A man died after he was struck by a car early Sunday on Route 9 in Middletown, and officials need help identifying him, State Police said.

The crash occurred around 12:43 a.m. in the southbound lanes on Route 9, near the old exit 10, state police said. While authorities said the man was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, they later announced he had died.
A recent study reveals that the clean energy transition could bring as many as 150,000 jobs to Illinois by 2050. To ensure that local talent is available to maintain and operate the electric grid and enable the clean energy transition, ComEd has pledged to hire additional entry-level trades roles, and has continually invested to expand workforce training programs such as CONSTRUCT and Craft Academy.

"Our move to a cleaner energy future requires swift action and skilled talent, which is why we are investing to grow training programs that will prepare people from our communities to take on the jobs of the future," said Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd. "Programs like CONSTRUCT and Craft Academy are essential to our efforts to prepare the electric grid to meet future demand and provide our community members the key to earning not just a job, but a family-sustaining career in our fast-growing industry."

Today's graduates represent diverse backgrounds and every corner of the ComEd service region, including 49 different Illinois zip codes; 98% of the graduates are people of color and 21% are women. The CONSTRUCT and Craft Academy programs increase the pool of qualified female and minority candidates for construction jobs in Illinois by strengthening job readiness and life skills and preparing for industry-required testing.

CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy:

Now in its 11th year, CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy is an 11-week program that prepares individuals for careers in the skilled trades. Since its launch, nearly 800 participants with diverse backgrounds have completed the program, boasting a more than 70% percent job placement rate.

CONSTRUCT exposes students to innovative solar and energy efficiency technologies to help prepare them to join the local future energy workforce. Participants gain knowledge and experience that helps qualify them for entry-level jobs with good-paying, livable wages. Participants can earn various certifications, including a Class A Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) 10-hour safety training certification via City Colleges of Chicago's Olive-Harvey College. CONSTRUCT participants also receive a stipend to supplement expenses during training.

"CONSTRUCT has been a life-changing investment for me," said Brieanna Ware, a 2023 CONSTRUCT graduate. "I knew I wanted a career change, and this program has shown me all the interesting opportunities that are available. I am looking forward to entering this industry. As a single mom, it is important that my son and I both have a secure future. I am grateful to ComEd and the YWCA for this amazing opportunity."

Since its launch, the CONSTRUCT program has greatly expanded and now includes more than 40 partners - including organized labor, construction companies, educational institutions and 10 workforce community organizations - working to recruit, train and prepare area residents for well-paying construction and related careers. Illinois American Water is ComEd's newest corporate partner, joining the program this year.

"We are proud to partner with ComEd in developing the next generation of talent and leadership in this industry," said Jennifer Morrison, Program Director, Supplier Diversity and Community Outreach of Illinois American Water. "ComEd along with their many agency partners have done a remarkable job selecting the right talent and supporting and nurturing them along the way. They are making an incredibly positive impact on the communities that they serve."

Craft Academy:

Craft Academy, which lasts three weeks, prepares students for utility and construction roles that require pole climbing and other specific physical attributes. The program is designed to increase knowledge, awareness, and capabilities - with an emphasis on field roles that require physical aptitude to increase the success rate of employment offers. At the conclusion of the program, students are prepared for entry-level roles, including construction worker and overhead helper.

CONSTRUCT and Craft Academy participants must be at least 18 years old with a high school diploma or GED equivalent, a valid driver's license, and able to pass a background check and admission interview.

ComEd offers a range of exposure and career readiness programs for adults and youth at every stage of their career journey, and last year alone these programs reached more than 2,000 people in the service territory. For more information on how to enroll in ComEd training programs, please contact WorkforceDevelopment@ComEd.com or visit ComEd's website.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers - the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
EdmontonAlbertas election officially began on Monday as the United Conservatives and New Democrats traded barbs in battleground Calgary to launch their respective campaigns.

The 28-day race will see UCP Leader Danielle Smith  who became premier through a party leadership vote in October  challenge former premier and NDP Leader Rachel Notley.

In a quiet suburban neighbourhood in south Calgary, the UCP held its campaign launch, where just over a dozen election candidates and Smith stood on the side of a residential street and talked about addressing affordability problems for Albertans. She promised an income tax cut if elected.

A little later, right downtown, the NDP event kicked off with a swath of election candidates riled up in front of a packed room of party supporters who cheered and clapped throughout Notleys campaign speech. Much of that focused on what it seems the NDP will home in on for the next four weeks: health-care issues.

Polls have pegged the election as a very close race, and Calgary will likely be where things are decided, observers say. Candidates in all 87 Alberta ridings are expected to hit the streets to door-knock for the next four weeks until election day on May 29.

The UCP has faced internal turmoil for years as it struggled to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and it ultimately booted out its leader  and one of its founders  former premier Jason Kenney.

The Alberta NDP was drummed out of office in 2019 after four years, during which some policies including labour rules for farmers and a carbon tax sparked anger across the province.

During her speech Monday, Notley said its time for trusted leadership. She said Smith will tell people what they want to hear and then go do whatever she wants.

She kind of wears her flip-flops like theyre going out of style, said Notley.

Notley referred to Smiths public stances, where she has mused about privatizing health care. Just before the election began, Smith pledged a public health guarantee and said Albertans would not pay out of pocket for essential medical services.

You dont get to spend years and years trying to tear down the public health care that people rely on and then expect them to forget overnight, Notley said.

Notley said the NDP wants to connect one million more Albertans with a family doctor over 10 years through its family care team plan. Those teams would see a doctor work with professionals like nurse practitioners, mental health experts and dietitians at newly established clinics around the province.

Meanwhile, Smith said the NDP under Notley hiked taxes and fees when the party was in government from 2015 to 2019.

The choice in this election couldnt be clearer, said Smith. Its a choice between a UCP government that will cut your taxes and make life more affordable, or an NDP government that will make you pay more across the board.

We cant afford to go back.

When asked by a reporter about her public health guarantee, Smith took the opportunity to jab at the NDP for lying about the UCP health-care record.

In 2019, the NDP said the UCP would cut health care, she said. Look what happened, said Smith. We now have a record amount of spending on health care.

Smith also announced a major initiative a government led by her would implement: a $1-billion-a-year income-tax cut that would see a new eight per cent tax bracket on income under $60,000.

Its your money. You earned it. Its not the governments.

Smith took a question from a reporter about her record as a radio talk-show host, newspaper columnist and public figure coming up during the election. Since taking office late last year, Smith has had to defend, apologize for, and clarify at times past controversial statements, policy positions and more recent remarks made during media availabilities.

Observers have said that Smith sticking to a script and avoiding public gaffes will be critical to the UCP campaign.

Ive spoken and written millions of words. Sometimes I make mistakes, and every time Ive made a mistake, I acknowledge it, I apologize if Ive hurt anybody, and I promise to do better, said Smith.

I think that people dont expect their politicians to be perfect.

Whoever forms government will need 44 seats for a majority. If polling thus far is correct, it means the party that forms a majority could do so with a just a few seats.

Whether its dealing with out-of-line MLAs or caucus infighting, this scenario could pose a challenge for any party hoping to maintain control in the legislature if the need to boot someone out of caucus arises.

The UCP strategy suggests the party believes it could secure enough seats by winning in Calgary and locking up most of the rural ridings. The NDP will have Edmonton to itself, observers say, but it will have to significantly grow its hold in Calgary.

In 2015, the NDP won 15 seats in the southern city. In 2019, it only got three. But polling has put the NDP back into contention there this year.

Much will come down to that partys ability to capitalize on the opportunity while picking up some more wins in rural and mid-sized urban areas.

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The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the Popes willingness to return artifacts stored at the Vatican Museum is another step forward on Indigenous Peoples journey with the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

We asked for the return of our sacred items, and they will make their way home soon, said Chief RoseAnne Archibald in an emailed statement.

Pope Francis said Sunday that talks were underway to return the artifacts. He was asked about the issue during a news conference on a flight back home from Hungary and said that in the case where you can return things, where its necessary to make a gesture, better to do it.

Much of the Vaticans current collection is from a former pope who decided to hold a world exposition in 1925. A message went out at that time to missionaries around the globe to send items. More than 100,000 objects and works of art were displayed.

The Vatican has said parts of its collection were gifts to popes and the church.

Francis said Sunday that the restitution of the Indigenous things is underway with Canada  at least we agreed to do it.

Returning artifacts is vital, said Audrey Dreaver, an artist, curator and instructor at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina. The artifacts give communities connection to history, build pride and help healing, she added.

But Dreaver, who is nehiyiwak or Plains Cree, said there are a lot of questions about the Vaticans process of repatriation.

Who are they going to give it to? What is their plan to return things, Dreaver asked. Who exactly are they talking to?

Taking the items amounted to intellectual and psychological colonization, she said, and their return should not perpetuate that harm.

There must be discussions with Indigenous experts and communities about how to repatriate the exhibits with the respect and care needed, Dreaver said.

If they havent reached out to Indigenous people who work in the museum field, how transparent are they being?

Indigenous delegates who travelled to Rome to meet with Francis last year toured the Anima Mundi museum and requested the return of the items, which included ceremonial masks, wampum belts, embroidered gloves and headdresses. One item they saw was a rare kayak that the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. had requested be returned.

Many objects were taken away from Indigenous people after the Canadian government outlawed cultural practices through the Indian Act in 1876. Ceremonial items and other important objects were seized, then sold, given to museums or destroyed.

Indigenous curators and experts have said they have been unable to get access to the unknown number of objects in the Vaticans possession.

The pontiff travelled to Canada in July for a six-day tour, during which he apologized for the churchs role in residential schools. He also said what happened in residential schools amounted to genocide.

Archibald said returning the artifacts will mark another advancement.

She also pointed to the Vaticans recent denunciation of the Doctrine of Discovery, which was used to legitimize the seizure of Indigenous land.

All the actions came after pressure and petition from Indigenous people, she noted.

There are many other injustices that the Catholic Church must make right, she said.

We will not rest until our survivors and little ones who never made it home can have peace.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

 With files from The Associated Press

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VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby says he expects his government and Surreys mayor and council to work together to resolve the police service issue in the Metro Vancouver city.

Eby said Monday hes spoken twice with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke since Friday when the government recommended the city proceed with its transition to the Surrey Police Service rather than return to the RCMP.

One of the key features of my conversation with the mayor, certainly it was her opinion and its mine as well, that we need to get closure on this as quickly as possible, he said at the legislature.

Locke, who was elected last fall on a promise to bring the Mounties back to Surrey, said the council will review the governments recommendation, but her initial reaction was to continue with the plan to return to the RCMP.

The city spent millions of dollars and hired numerous staff members for the new police service before the mayor was elected.

Eby said the government is in the process of arranging briefing meetings about the policing issue with Locke and councillors but a date has not been set.

I know the only path forward in Surrey is a partnership with the city, which means mayor and council, he said. The provincial government cant deliver safety in Surrey by ourselves. Were going to need the city council and the mayor working with us.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the governments decision was based on ensuring public safety in Surrey and across the province because the RCMP has 1,500 vacancies in B.C.

He said the RCMP faces recruitment challenges and keeping the RCMP in Surrey would make them worse.

Locke could not be immediately reached for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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Vulnerabilities in Toronto polices dated drug evidence storage system meant thefts by officers may have occurred but gone undetected, according to a never-before-seen report from the Ontario Provincial Police  the result of an investigation into a veteran cop who repeatedly stole opioids from police stations across the city.

Findings of the confidential report were made public  albeit in a heavily redacted form  on Friday inside a downtown courtroom, where concerns about the security of Toronto police drug evidence have taken centre stage in an ongoing drug trial stemming from Project Sunder, a massive 2020 anti-gang takedown that resulted in hundreds of gun and drug charges and over 100 arrests.

Drug tampering by an officer in the case has already affected at least five prosecutions. Charges against two Project Sunder accused were suddenly dropped last month one day after ex-cop Lorenzino Censoni testified about how he stole drug evidence, then had a near-fatal overdose not far from the police station.

Last week, three remaining co-accused argued their charges, too, should be stayed or the evidence against them tossed due to police misconduct that violated their Charter rights. A joint court application makes allegations of a serious problem in Toronto polices drug-security apparatus.

The Toronto police took inadequate actions towards security during a period in 2020 and 2021, when it came to light that there were a wide variety of thefts from that locker system, defence lawyer David Heath told the court Friday, summarizing arguments hes making alongside lawyers Kabir Sharma and George Gray.

The case has compelled Toronto police to hand over internal documents detailing how it handled Censonis theft and those of Paul Worden, a veteran homicide cop who stole drugs at least 27 times in the span of three years, according to an internal memo.

Worden, who has said he became addicted to opioids after a work-related injury, stole drug evidence without detection by taking advantage of investigative privileges that allowed him to view the contents of all drugs held across the city via Toronto polices divisional locker management system, an internal network. He then drove to the divisions and, using his warrant card, entered the lockers and took the drugs.

Unlike Censoni  who was charged by Toronto police and convicted of unlawful possession of fentanyl  Worden was never criminally charged, something former police chief James Ramer later admitted was a mistake.

Shortly after Wordens thefts were discovered, Toronto police asked the OPP to investigate the impact on criminal cases and identify weaknesses in the drug locker management system. The OPP produced a 50-page report on their findings, but Toronto police have said the document would not be made public, citing privacy concerns.

According to a version of the report entered into evidence Friday  approximately 90 per cent of which is redacted  the OPP investigators found a dated locker system that needed greater restrictions on officer use to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Similar misuses could and may have occurred with other officers/civilians, who had similar privileges to Worden, namely the ability to enter drug lockers managed by another cop, the report said.

The system was last updated and implemented in 1998, the report said.

A site visit by the OPP to Toronto polices 31 Division  the station where both Censoni and Worden had stolen drugs  raised health, safety and cleanliness issues, the report added.

Evidence bags were scattered on the floor, processing tables contained fingerprint dust and there was no indication of a dedicated area specifically used for packaging fentanyl, thereby increasing likelihood of contamination/exposure, the report found.

The OPP made a series of recommendations to address drug locker security within Toronto police, including eliminating the ability for staff to view the contents of all drug lockers citywide. That feature was clearly the reason Worden was able to successfully carry out these thefts undetected since 2019, the OPP report said.

Court heard Toronto police struck up a working group to address problems within the locker storage system and that many of the changes recommended by the report had been made, said Abel Da Silva, a civilian supervisor with the forces property management system.

Those changes include the creation of an internal fail-safe system that flags when officers make multiple attempts to enter a locker managed by another cop; regular audits of the system; and the installation of security cameras in every locker, Da Silva said. At the time of the OPP review, just six of the citys 17 police divisions had cameras.

The team has determined that all actions have been taken to mitigate the risks identified in the recommendations wherever possible, reads a status report from the working group, dated April 17, 2023.

Similar recommendations were made in an internal memo authored by Det. Sgt. Rob North, the professional standards officer who became an expert in how his colleagues were stealing drug evidence as lead investigator on the Censoni and Worden probes.

Taking the stand, North, who was just three days into his new role when Censoni overdosed, detailed his probes recommendations but pushed back on the notion that hed uncovered serious flaws in the drug locker system. They were, rather, opportunities to improve, he said.

Defence counsel have argued the sheer number of thefts that went undetected is cause for alarm.

Asked about the lack of charges laid against Worden, North said he 100 per cent agreed the officer should have faced criminal consequences.

In fact, although I wouldnt have taken pleasure in it, I absolutely believe Det. Worden should have been arrested and Im the one who would have arrested him, North said.

Multiple large Toronto police probes have collapsed in court or ended in acquittal in recent months, including some in which police misconduct was cited. Last month, an Ontario judge stayed drug trafficking charges against a self-admitted cocaine dealer after finding Toronto police stole $6,000 from the drug dealers apartment. Charges were also suddenly stayed last month in Project Brisa, a large international drug trafficking case, amid allegations that officers misled the court, though prosecutors provided no reasons.

In April, when asked about the acquittals in the Project Sunder case, a spokesperson for the Toronto police said the outcome would be reviewed and the appropriate action taken, but noted: It is one of hundreds of cases put before the courts, the majority of which proceed without issue.

The trial continues Monday.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

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Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), says Egypt has finally opened its border for Nigerian students evacuated from Sudan.

Dabiri-Erewa said the border was opened after President Muhammadu Buhari spoke with Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president.

The NIDCOM chairpersons statement came a few hours after the commission said Egypts borders were still closed despite the arrival of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in the northern African country to airlift the stranded students.

NIDCOM said the air force had assured the students that they will not be left behind.

We will not leave without our students, NAF was quoted as saying.

In a swift turn of events, Dabiri-Erewa said the borders had been opened but with stringent conditions.

The NIDCOM chairperson did not give details on the required conditions.

The border has just been opened, ( with stringent conditions ) after President Buharis intervention with the Egyptian President. So, the processing of evacuees by the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt will begin, Dabiri-Erewa said.

The students, alongside other nationals, had been stranded at the Egyptian border since Thursday evening.

Dabiri-Erewa said the Egyptian authorities were insisting on visas, adding that the Nigerian mission in Egypt had been working tirelessly to rectify the issue.

The first set of evacuated Nigerians were initially expected to arrive in the country on Friday.




Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate issuance of promotion letters to 4,000 eligible civil servants who were recently promoted in the state.





Wike gave the directive to the State Civil Service Commission during the Workers Day celebration in Port Harcourt.





He assured that the entire promotion exercise of other categories would be completed before the expiration of his tenure.





Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tammy Danagogo, Wike, while commending civil servants, told them to work towards protecting and advancing the social economic interest of the state.





He said that he has approved the promotion of over 4,000 eligible civil servants to their appropriate grade levels.





Wike, however, appealed for patience and understanding, assuring that his administration will clear all the challenges facing the Civil service in terms of pension and gratuities, among others.





Speaking at the event, the National President of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Engr. Festus Osifo,





commended workers for their hard work in the state.




A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adamu Garba has claimed that Senator Ike Ekweremadu serving a jail term in a foreign country is because of the weakness of the Nigerian system and what he described as stenches of colonialism.





Garba questioned why a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would be subjected to serve a jail term in a foreign country, wondering if the US, UK or any other European country would allow such.





The APC Chieftains assertions are contained in a statement on his verified Twitter handle.





Recall that Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice and a doctor were found guilty of human organ trafficking by a court in the UK.





Although they are yet to be sentenced by the court, they are being kept in custody pending the announcement of their sentences.





But Garba claims it was an assault on Nigerias sovereignty and extant laws, insisting that Ekweremadu ought to be repatriated to face the Nigerian judiciary and be sanctioned by its laws.





He wrote, If not for the weakness of our system and stenches of colonialism, how can a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu serve a jail term in the foreign land?





Would America, the UK or any European country allow that?





No matter the offence, he deserves to be repatriated back to Nigeria, face Nigeria court and be sanctioned by the Nigeria law.





I see this as an assault on our sovereignty, laws and the status of our statehood in the international sphere.
Ahead of the November governorship election, the White Witches and Wizards Association of Nigeria has urged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Kogi State, Dino Melaye to consult them ahead of the poll.

The spokesman of the group, Okhue Oboi, asked Melaye to consult the group if he wants to emerge the winner of the forthcoming election.

Oboi said they have consulted with the major tribes in Kogi State, adding that it would be in his best interest if he reaches out to them.

He, however, warned that the threat by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State may work against Melaye if he fails to consult the witches and wizards.

A statement he signed reads partly: We met Igala people in Idah, Ebira people in Obehira and Yoruba people in Kabba and listened to them.

We advise Melaye to see us if he is desirous of realising his governorship dream. If he listens to our advice he will laugh because the trees and waters of the confluence state will vote for him regardless of whether Wike supports him or not.

If he fails to see the witches and wizards, he will regret it because he will not win the election.
The Labour Party (LP) has asked Nigerian workers to join the struggle to reclaim the stolen mandate of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party.

Obiora Ifoh, LPs acting national publicity secretary, in a statement on Monday, said only the administration of the party could end strikes and prioritise the welfare of the citizens.

The Labour Party leadership wants to use this May Day occasion to felicitate Nigerian workers for holding on till today. We also want to use this opportunity to appreciate all the workers and all the progressive elements in the country for supporting our presidential candidate, HE Peter Obi and the Labour Party to win the presidential election even though the mandate was stolen, the statement reads.

We want to appreciate the workers profusely for this massive support. All these feats would not have been possible were it not because of the support of Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people.

Today as we speak, the minimum wage for workers can not take workers home. N30,000 minimum wage is an insult to the workers. It cant take workers home, a bag of rice as we speak today is N40,000 and the minimum wage is N30,000.

This 2023 general election would have been the turning point in the history of Nigerian workers but for the forces of darkness that have severally put in abeyance the dreams of Nigeria and the people, Nigerians are still being frustrated.

So we assure the workers that all hope is not lost. We will continue to struggle knowing that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. We believe very strongly that very shortly, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

We have had enough of protests and strikes in Nigeria. Workers must work hard and fight for a Labour government because it is only when we have a Labour Party government that workers will heave a sigh of relief from their suffering, poor wages, poor working conditions and the situation they found themselves in currently.

Therefore all workers must be united with Labour Party to struggle for this mandate that has been stolen from us and to ensure the sustenance of concentrated engagement until a Labour government is engaged.

Labour Party is therefore using this opportunity to once more congratulate the workers for the May Day celebration and to reassure them that for us in Labour Party, we will not rest on our oars until we recover our stolen mandate and reposition the country for greatness and effective service delivery.

Peter Obi came third in the February 25 election with 6,101,533 votes behind Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who won the contest with 8,794,726 votes and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came third scoring 6,984,520 votes.

Both Obi and Abubakar have approached the election petitions tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election.




A popular Biafra agitator and separatist, Simon Ekpa, has backed the call for the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, before 29 May 2023 handing over.





Ekpas reaction is coming on the heels of the President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu as his parting gift to Igbos worldwide.





The Finland-based lawyer and self-styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile urged that the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo would be consistent in pushing for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.





We commend Iwuanyanwu for calling for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We urge and hope that his leadership will be consistent and aggressive in pushing for MNKs release. Iwuanyanwu should remember that he has been in our good books since 2022, he wrote.





Nnamdi Kanu was re-arrested in 2021 by the federal government and has been detained since then despite court orders seeking his release.





Buhari will hand over power to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) today (April 28) announced the procurement of 400 megawatts (MWAC) of new battery storage projects - a critical tool in Oregon's clean energy transition and the largest single procurement of standalone energy storage to date by a utility in the U.S. outside the state of California. These projects, located at substations close to electrical demand, will store enough electricity to power all PGE customer homes in a city the size of Portland for an entire evening on battery-delivered energy alone.

An aerial photograph of Eolian, L.P.'s Madero & Ignacio battery energy storage facility, a 200 MW/2.5+ hour duration storage system in Texas.

These battery storage projects are designed to address a number of grid challenges, providing flexibility to PGE's grid operators to meet changing conditions and help manage costs. Stored energy can be reliably deployed within seconds to customers during extreme weather events or times of high demand, reducing dependence on energy markets and fossil fuel generation.

The projects include:

Seaside: A 200 MWAC facility, to be owned and operated by PGE, located in North Portland and delivered by Eolian, L.P. (Eolian). Seaside has been developed by Eolian since 2017 and is expected to begin service by the middle of 2025.

A 200 MWAC facility, to be owned and operated by PGE, located in and delivered by Eolian, L.P. (Eolian). Seaside has been developed by Eolian since 2017 and is expected to begin service by the middle of 2025. Troutdale : A 200 MWAC facility, owned and to be operated by NextEra Energy Resources and developed by Eolian since 2018. This project is located at a key substation in Troutdale and is expected to begin service by the end of 2024. PGE will purchase the output from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources through a 20-year Storage Capacity Agreement.

"Battery storage is an important component of the clean energy economy. These new, Oregon-based projects are a significant addition to our wind, solar and hydro resources providing grid reliability, resiliency and flexibility while helping us manage costs," said Maria Pope, CEO and President at PGE. "At PGE, we are leading the way to a clean energy future reliably and affordably."

Project details

These battery energy storage facilities allow PGE to optimize the renewable power in its portfolio and deliver electricity even when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing. As PGE integrates more intermittent clean energy resources, like wind and solar plants, battery storage systems provide consistency, facilitating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and making progress toward Oregon's 2030 clean energy target.

Both projects will feature four-hour duration lithium-ion battery storage. Collectively, the 400 MWAC can provide enough emissions-free electricity to power about 260,000 homes for four hours during times of typical peak demand (5 - 9 p.m. on weekdays).

"Anticipating the need for resilient, flexible and carbon-free grid-balancing resources to serve the dynamic growth of the Portland metro area led us to focus on the development of battery energy storage sites at key substations directly serving load in the region," said Eric Stoutenburg, Director of Energy Storage at Eolian. "PGE's groundbreaking energy storage acquisition will utilize proven technology to improve grid reliability while accelerating the integration of increasing volumes of renewable energy with the flexible capacity provided by these systems."

"PGE is truly taking the lead in providing a clean energy future for the residents of Oregon and we are pleased to continue to work with them to help them achieve their decarbonization goals," said Rebecca Kujawa, CEO and President at NextEra Energy Resources. "The Troutdale battery storage project, in addition to the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facilities, the first utility-scale energy facilities in North America to co-locate wind, solar and battery storage, really demonstrate the tremendous results that great collaboration can achieve."

Sited locally, the new projects will bring family wage jobs and tax revenue to Oregon. Employment opportunities in the local economy supported by these projects include roles in development, engineering, construction and installation, logistics, operations and maintenance.

A piece of PGE's decarbonization strategy

These battery storage additions, procured from PGE's 2021 Request for Proposal, are just one example of the kinds of non-emitting energy resources PGE is utilizing to advance decarbonization and bolster resource adequacy - a strategy outlined in the utility's recent Clean Energy Plan & Integrated Resource Plan.

Earlier this year, PGE completed the Faraday Repower & Resiliency Project, a multi-year modernization effort to improve the efficiency, reliability and operational safety of a historic hydropower plant. Additionally, Pachwaywit Fields, Oregon's largest solar farm at 162 MW, began commercial operations this month, supported by large customers and municipalities enrolled in PGE's Green Future Impact program. PGE purchases the output from Pachwaywit Fields, which is owned and operated by AVANGRID, through a Power Purchase Agreement.

About Portland General Electric Company

Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to over 900,000 customers in 51 cities across the state of Oregon. For more than 130 years, Portland General Electric (PGE) has powered the advancement of society, delivering safe, affordable, reliable and increasingly clean energy. To deliver on its strategy and meet state targets, PGE and its approximately 3,000 employees committed to partnering with stakeholders to achieve at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2040. PGE customers set the standard for prioritizing clean energy with the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the country. Additionally, for the fifth year in a row, PGE was recognized by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index which highlights companies committed to creating a more equal and inclusive workplace. As a reflection of the company's commitment to the community it serves, in 2022, PGE employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation donated nearly $5.5 million and volunteered more than 18,000 hours with more than 400 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit www.PortlandGeneral.com/news.

About Eolian, L.P.

Eolian, L.P. (Eolian) owns and operates a growing portfolio of energy storage projects and develops and invests in renewable energy and clean molecule projects across the U.S. For nearly 20 years, Eolian's founding management has worked together to build the assets at the core of the company, creating unique and proprietary structures that have directly funded the development of more than 21 GW of successfully operating energy storage, solar, and wind generating capacity across the country. Eolian is owned by its employees and funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a global, independent infrastructure investor. Read more at www.eolianenergy.com.

For more information contact:

PGE Communications Team

503-464-2067

pgecommunications@pgn.com
The Labour Party (LP) has accused Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, of pushing propaganda to Nigerians.

Reacting to the ministers statement where he asked opposition parties to desist from bleating about the outcome of the presidential election, the Labour Party said only the blind would accept the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

We would rather not join issues with a man who is famous for constantly prescribing doses of expired and ineffectual propaganda to Nigerians, the Labour Party said.

His ill-fated and hugely failed trip to the United Kingdom and United States where he attempted to redeem the grossly battered democratic credentials of this present administration; spending millions of tax payers money to defend an indefensible action is yet another tragedy of President Buharis 8 years leadership.

It is only the blind that will continue to insist that the 2023 presidential election which was massively rigged was free, fair and credible.

As we have said earlier, the opposition political parties lost the election because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC jettisoned the electoral act, having not uploaded the result from the polling unit in real time as promised and in so doing, created room for riggers to have a field day.

The election witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence, ballot snuffing, snatching and manipulations of result from the collation centres using thugs, security agencies, which included police, army amongst others.

While speaking on Thursday during a meeting with APC governors in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari said while the All Progressives Congress (APC) was working hard to retain the presidency, opposition parties were basking in the euphoria of false hope.

He said a combination of overconfidence, complacency, and bad tactical moves made Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) lose to President-elect Bola Tinubu.

The opposition parties reacted by criticising the presidents comment, claiming that the election was rigged in favour of the APC.




The Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi has vowed to reclaim his alleged stolen mandate in court.





Obi vowed to explore every legal option in ensuring he reclaims his mandate.





The former Anambra State governor spoke during an LP stakeholders meeting in Awka.





Recall that Obi came third during the last presidential election.





He was defeated by the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.





Despite coming third, the LP flagbearer insisted he won the election and had headed to court to contest the outcome of the poll.





However, tweeting about the meeting, Obi wrote: Earlier, I interacted with the Anambra State Labour Party Stakeholders in Awka. The meeting was quite animated and constructive. Part of our discussions centred on the way forward for the party.





I reassured them of my readiness to go all the way, explore every available legal option to ensure that we get our mandate back. I appreciated all their support so far, as I assured them of mine. PO.
Reno Omokri, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that what the Obidients, supporters of Peter Obi, did for the Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate during the February 25 Presidential election should be respected.

Omokri, a former media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, also hailed the Obidients for their efforts in galvanizing a movement that gave Obi over six million votes during the Presidential election.

In an interview with Arise News on Sunday, Omokri said if the Obidients had joined with the PDP and if Obi had not left the party, they would have won the Presidential election even with rigging.

If the Obidients had joined with the PDP, if Peter Obi had not left the PDP, we would have won the election even with rigging hands down, Omokri said.

In eight months, he was able to galvanize a movement that gave him over 6 million votes. What the Obidients did for Peter Obi should be respected.
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the just concluded elections in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe has withdrawn his petition at the Election Petition Tribunal against the victory of Siminalayi Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Senator Abe disclosed this when he was addressing party leaders at his campaign office in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

The former senator said his decision to withdraw the petition against PDPs Fubara was in the interest of Rivers people.

He said: I know it has not been easy and at a time like this, to go with bare hands against dollars, naira and euros, to go with bare hands, against guns and knives. And all you have is your faith and conviction that this is the right thing to do.

A lot of our people went through so much trauma, so much hell, but it is to the glory of God that we are alive today.

He dismissed claims by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that he was de-marketing the state with his comments after the election, as well as seeking appointment under the administration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

Abe insisted that the activities of members of the PDP at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the election as well as the killings during and after elections are the kinds of actions that de-market the state.

I was sent news stories of a story credited to the Rivers State Government to the effect that, I, Senator Abe, was going around de-marketing Rivers State because Im looking for appointment.

Part of the challenges that we are facing in this state is our inability to face reality. There are 36 states in this county and there are thousands of election petition matters all across the country.

But it was only in Rivers State that lawyers stayed in a hotel, trying to put things together to take their case to court that they brought police to harass them, arrest them, intimidate them in the hotel in the state.

Those kinds of actions de-market Rivers State. Its not what I say that de-markets the state, he said.

Senator Abe commended President Muhammadu Buhari for commissioning the Ogoni Power Project which he said is a manifestation of the Presidents campaign promises.

He, however, appealed to the President to address the issue of fuel subsidy, noting that the postponement of the issue is not in the interest of the Nigerian people.
AbdulAziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state, says the incoming senate president deserves to come from the northern part of Nigeria.

Speaking on Sunday in a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Yari said the north provided the majority votes to ensure the All Progressives Congress (APC) clinched victory in the February 25 presidential election.

The senator-elect asked the APC to reward performance and not buy into the sentiments of religion or ethnicity when zoning key offices in the 10th national assembly.

Im advising the party, that they should reward performance, not religion. Because religion is not in the constitution of Nigeria, and it is not in our manifesto and our constitution, Yari said.

Everyone knows the role that we played, despite the fact that other people are thinking we have our own. But we voted on the party line which gave the APC leeway to grab the presidency again.

Therefore, were saying the party should do the right thing. And those that are going around saying Muslim-Christian should be very careful. Our education in politics is more than that now.

Yari further said that selecting leaders based on their religion would annoy people in northern Nigeria that did the real voting and cause them to lose confidence in the APC.

The former governor asked the ruling party to proceed cautiously with its next move, saying the party no longer has the support it once did.

The 10th assembly is entirely distinct from the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth assemblies. Any party with a majority often holds that position with two thirds of the vote. But our situation is very different, Yari said.

Why? Because in the house of representatives, I told him (the president) that the minority are having the higher number there. They have 182, while our party has 178. In the senate where we used to have like 65, 70, we now have 59 and the opposition has 50.

In taking decision of the party, they have to put these into consideration and look at how its going to be done. Because in the end of the whole exercise, whatever happens, we believe strongly that election must hold in both chambers.
The five governors of the South-East states and other leaders of the zone on Sunday unanimously adopted and inaugurated Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, the Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo, as the new President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

The decision was reached during a closed door meeting of members of Ohanaeze Imeobi with the governors and other Igbo leaders held at the state-of-the-art Banquet Hall, Enugu, newly constructed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyis administration. The Banquet Hall is located within the premises of the remodelled Old Government Lodge, GRA, Enugu.

The meeting had in attendance Governor Ugwuanyi, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, and the Deputy Governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Imo states, Rt. Hon. Ude Oko Chukwu, Dr. Kelechi Igwe and Prof. Placid Njoku respectively, who represented their governors, accordingly.

Other Igbo leaders at the event include former governors of Imo and Anambra states, Chief Ikedi Okakim and Mr. Peter Obi who is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the just concluded general election; former President of the Senate, Chief Adolphus Wabara; Governor-elect of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah; Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Amb. Okey Emeuche; former Presidents General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Enwo Igariwey and Chief John Nnia Nwodo; and wife of the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Mrs. Uche Azikiwe.

Others were serving and former members of the National Assembly; serving and former ministers and ambassadors; clergymen; Obi of Onitsha, HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Chairman, South East Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu and other royal fathers; elder statesmen; Presidents of Ohanaeze Ndigbo of South East states; National President, Association of Town Unions, Chief Sir Emeka Diwe and other members of the executive; and Town Union Presidents of the South East states, etc.

In his acceptance speech, Chief Iwuanyanwu thanked the Igbo leaders and the entire people of the South East zone for finding him worthy to pilot the affairs of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

The new President General also thanked the South East governors in a special way for their support for Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

He promised to do his best, rise to the challenge, defend and advance the Igbo course.

Chief Iwuanyanwu added that his tenure will promote transformation in education, agriculture, industrialisation, electricity/power generation, health, among others, calling for collective efforts and support of all.

The President General who pointed out with delight that this is the first time I have seen the five governors of the South East coming together to take up and support a course stated that his emergence is a new dawn in Igbo land as the governors are united in that project and I am very proud of you.

Impressed with Governor Ugwuanyis performance and his validity in upholding and promoting the enviable status of Enugu as the historic capital of the old Eastern Nigeria and the South East, Chief Iwuanyanwu commended the governor for transforming the Old Government Lodge, Enugu and constructing a befitting Banquet Hall within its premises where his adoption and inauguration as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo took place.

He described the incident as not just a coincidence in history but also a testament to Governor Ugwuanyis sound vision and steadfastness towards the course of the Igbo people.

This is a new dawn in Igbo land. The governors are united and focused. For example, the Governor of Enugu State, a man that I have always known as a young man; he has done very well as a governor and I am very proud of him.

Now I am here, this place is a hallowed ground. This place is the former Government Lodge of Eastern Nigeria. This is where our great leader Zik used to stay. Everything about Eastern Nigeria was conceived here.

Governor Ugwuanyi has re-activated this place. This is a very good coincidence in history that my inauguration and my acceptance are being performed on this ground. From this ground we emerged in 1960 from a relatively low back point to be number one in Nigeria, number one in education, number one in industry, number one in progress, etc, he said.




Theres an indication that one of the buses conveying stranded Nigerians from Sudan caught fire in the early hours of Monday.

According to a report, 50 Nigerian students from Sudan with tag number (Katsina 1) heading to Port Sudan were on the bus.

The chairman of the Nigerian Elders Forum in Sudan, Dr Hashim Idris NaAllah, was one of the passengers in the said bus.

The bus got damaged due to excessive heat from one of the vehicles tyres which happened around 2:30 am Sudan time on Monday.

The students said the RSF really did their possible best to help the passengers and offered them cups of tea in the morning before they left, Sani Aliyu, who is in Sudan disclosed.

Forty out of the fifty passengers were later moved to the other buses on evacuation, while the remaining passengers spent the night where the incident happened alongside the driver at the RSF checkpoint.
President-elect Bola Tinubu says he is a co-labourer and ally to workers in the fight for social and economic justice.

Tinubu spoke on Monday in a statement released to commemorate Workers Day.

The former governor of Lagos said he would always fight for workers, adding that they will have more than minimum wage.

He however called for better understanding and cooperation, noting that tough decisions will be made in the days ahead.

On this special day, as your President-elect, I extend my hand of friendship to the Nigerian workers through the two central Labour unions  Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, he said.

In me, you will find a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social and economic justice for all Nigerians, including all the working people.

Your fight will be my fight because I will always fight for you. My plans for better welfare and working conditions are clearly spelt out in my Renewed Hope Agenda for A Better Nigeria. It is a covenant born of conviction and one I am prepared to keep.

At this point, I must remind Nigerian workers that we all have a common battle to wage, one which we must win together. And it is the fight against poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, ethnic and religious hate and all negative forces that contend against the stability and prosperity of our country.

In Nigeria I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families.

The days ahead will, however, demand better understanding and cooperation from all sides, because leadership will require that we take tough and hard decisions so that our people and all Nigerian workers can live more abundantly.

Tinubu added that he would win the battle against poverty with the countrys workers.
Troops of the 114 taskforce battalion of the Nigerian army have rescued one of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by insurgents in 2014.

On April 14, 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok town, Borno.

Many of the girls have since been rescued while some remain in captivity.

The rescued girl, identified as Hauwa Maltha, was said to have been found on April 21.

Maltha was rescued alongside her three-year-old child during an operation at Lagara village in Borno state.

Maltha was said to have married one Salman, a cameraman to Ibrahim Shekau, the late Boko Haram leader, while in captivity.

After the death of Salman, Maltha married one Mallam Muhammad in Gobara village and had two children with him.

Her second husband was reportedly killed in a terrorist enclave in Sambisa forest during a clash between Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

At the time of her rescue, Maltha was reportedly eight months pregnant.

She is undergoing medical examination alongside her baby after which she will be handed over to the state government.

During a prayer meeting on April 14, 2023, Pauline Tallen, minister of women affairs, said the federal government is prioritising efforts to secure the release of the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

Tallen said 122 girls have been rescued by the government while 97 are still in captivity. Fifty-seven of the girls escaped on their own.




The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige has jokingly asked the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, to go to the field and look for votes.

Ngige made the assertion on Monday when the duo met during the WorkersDay celebration at Eagle Square, in Abuja.

Leave us to do our Labour Day here oo, go to the field and look for votes, Ngige said.

Obi replied in his usual style: My own senior brother.

Ngige, however, offered Obi a seat and quickly brought out a face cap and placed it on his head.

Nigerian workers marked the May Day celebration on Monday, a day specially dedicated to workers.

See video below:
Highlights

The decrease will be reflected beginning with customers' May 2023 bills

bills Combined with earlier decreases in 2023, Piedmont has reduced average residential customers' bills by $192 per year

has reduced average residential customers' bills by per year Video here: Understand how your natural gas bill works and what factors influence your monthly bill

Piedmont Natural Gas has received approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to reduce customer billing rates due to a decrease in the market cost of natural gas. The decrease will be reflected beginning with customers' May 2023 bills.

This rate reduction translates to a savings of approximately $2.37 per month, or $28.40 per year, for the average North Carolina residential customer. Piedmont previously decreased customer bills in North Carolina effective with customers' February and March 2023 bills, for a total annual savings of approximately $192 for the average residential customer.

"Piedmont purchases natural gas at the best price possible, which benefits our customers," said Sasha Weintraub, senior vice president and president of Piedmont Natural Gas. "Thanks to the downward trend in the cost of natural gas, we're able to provide additional relief to customers."

Piedmont requests periodic rate adjustments to reflect fluctuations in the market price of the natural gas it purchases for its customers. By law, Piedmont does not mark up the cost of natural gas and must pass through the actual cost on a dollar-for-dollar basis to customers.

"Even as costs continue to drop and we head into the warmer months of spring and summer, when natural gas bills tend to be lower because of decreased usage, it's never a bad time for customers to take control of their natural gas bills," Weintraub added. "We continue to encourage customers to enroll in our Equal Payment Plan to levelize their bills throughout the year and to implement energy-saving tips in their home. We also provide assistance programs year-round for customers who may continue to struggle with paying their bills."

Level out your bill with the Equal Payment Plan (EPP) program

This free service helps customers manage their budgets by eliminating high winter bills. The EPP program levels out a customer's natural gas bills, allowing them to pay a predictable, equal monthly amount to help avoid billing surprises. Piedmont determines this payment by adding up a customer's annual natural gas usage and then dividing it into the same payment amount each month. Learn more here.

Assistance for customers in need

Piedmont regularly communicates with customers about the programs and assistance available to help them manage their bills. The winter bill resource page at piedmontng.com/WinterBills shares information about utility assistance administered by agencies in their state and local communities.

Share the Warmth provides funds to local agencies to assist families with their utility bills, no matter the source of energy they use.

The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) provides energy assistance to pay for natural gas, electric and other home energy methods. There are many customers who are eligible but do not apply for this annual federal benefit that can reduce energy costs for low-income families. Information on how to apply locally: thda.org/help-for-homeowners/energy-assistance-programs/low-income-home-energy-assistance-program-liheap.

Piedmont says anyone in need should apply for this and other newly available programs to see if they qualify. For detailed federal and state-specific information, go to piedmontng.com/WinterBills and click on your state.

Energy-saving tools

Piedmont Natural Gas also offers a variety of energy-saving tools to help customers and our communities identify ways to save money and energy all year long. These programs and tools help customers understand what factors are impacting their natural gas bills and emphasize specific actions they can take to reduce the impacts of high usage.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, distributes natural gas to more than 1.1 million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Piedmont Natural Gas earned the No. 1 spot in customer satisfaction with residential natural gas service in the South among large utilities, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, and has been named by Cogent Reports as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S. More information: piedmontng.com. Follow Piedmont Natural Gas: Twitter, Facebook.

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 28,000 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 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com.

Media contact:

Jason Wheatley

Media line: 877.348.3612

jason.wheatley@duke-energy.com

Twitter: @PNG_JasonW
Firefighters in Bergen County rescued two teenage boys Sunday who climbed on top of a metal pipe to evade rising flood waters in an abandoned railroad tunnel.

The Edgewater Fire Department responded to an old New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway at 4:25 p.m. for a report of two juveniles stuck about 300 feet from the Edgewater entrance to whats called the Edgewater-Fairview Tunnel, fire Lt. Thomas Clinton said.

After seeing the boys, Clinton said he and Lt. Robert Jacobson changed into water rescue suits and deployed an inflatable rescue boat to retrieve the teens from 5-foot flood waters.

When we arrived they were sitting on a pipe that runs through the tunnel and they were just sitting, kind of half in the water, half out, Clinton said. They performed the rescue without incident and EMS checked out the boys on scene.

Edgewater, a small borough located along the Hudson River, is prone to flooding during heavy rains. Weve had a few rescues, obviously Edgewater is very low, Clinton said. During all the major storms weve used our boat many times.

New Jersey was under a flood watch in all 21 counties Sunday with multiple rounds of heavy downpours and thunderstorms in the forecast following the drenching storms that saturated parts of the state with up to 4 inches of rain at the start of the weekend.

The flood watch runs through 10 p.m. Sunday.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
A 41-year-old New Jersey man who authorities say sexually assaulted a woman in Elmwood Park last summer was charged last week.

Andre Williams, 41, of Paterson was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated sexual assault and criminal restraint following a months-long investigation, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said Monday.

Williams was being held in the Bergen County jail ahead of a first appearance in court, officials said. Attorney information for Williams was not immediately available.
A Burlington County husband and wife face multiple charges in what authorities described in a targeted attack on police officers that ended with multiple vehicles being rammed as they attempted to escape arrest early Sunday outside an Evesham home.

Marc Ferraiolo, 23, is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and multiple related charges, including injuring a police K-9, following a rampage in front of his home. His wife, Ruth Patton, 42, is charged with making terroristic threats and obstruction of justice.

No officers suffered major injuries during the 2 a.m. incident on Marlborough Avenue, but Ferraiolo struck a police vehicle multiple times that held K-9 Tango. The dog is receiving medical treatment, police said.

Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller said at a press conference Sunday that officers are familiar with Ferraiolo and Patton from multiple prior encounters, and the alleged targeting of officers by the couple early Sunday was related and retaliatory.

The continued investigation has determined that Ferraiolo and Patton earlier in the evening formed a plan to engage Evesham Police officers for the purpose of killing two police officers, Miller said. The manifestation of the actions that we witnessed was a carrying out of that plan.

Miller said the couple went looking for police and found officers about 1 a.m. on Taunton Lake Road investigating an unrelated crash. The officers on scene saw a white sedan speed by westbound at about 80 mph on the 45 mph road.

The car seemed to accelerate as it passed police, who reported the incident. Other officers soon found the vehicle on Willowbend Road at Evans Road and tried to stop the vehicle, but it fled through a red light, Miller said. The officers recognized it as Ferraiolos vehicle and ended the pursuit for safety reasons, Miller said.

Instead, police obtained a warrant for Ferraiolos arrest for eluding police and waited for him at his home on Marlborough Road, where he lives with Patton, Miller said. The home is owned by Ferraiolos mother.

The couple pulled into their driveway at about 2 a.m. and Patton hopped out and began yelling violent threats to officers, Miller said. Ferraiolo refused to get out of the car, police said.

He then drove backwards toward the officers and their vehicles, police said. Two officers on foot got out of the way, but Ferraiolo hit the vehicle with K-9 Tango, police said.

Ferraiolo then drove over his neighbors lawn, made a U-turn and drove towards the officers and again crashed into the patrol car with Tango inside, police said. He struck two more patrol cars and a neighbors car before his vehicle became disabled, police said.

A neighbor provided NJ Advance Media security camera footage that recorded part of the incident.

I watched the video from last night. We were lucky, Miller said. This could have been really really bad.

Officers broke a window and pulled Ferraiolo from the damaged car and he was taken to a hospital for his injuries, which were police said were not considered life threatening.

During Ferraiolos arrest, Patton interfered with police and threatened to kill officers, Miller said.

Im very grateful that they were able to get out of the way, that at the end of this no one was seriously injured, Miller said. Our hope is that Mr. Ferraiolo and Mrs. Patton will be held accountable for their violations.

At the press conference, about a dozen of people who said they are Ferraiolos neighbors arrived, and while they were not permitted to attend, they voiced several complaints about Ferraiolo, saying hes been a nuisance. They accused him of property damage, shooting off fireworks and not maintaining the property. Theyve called police and signed their own court actions.

None of the neighbors would give their names.

Evesham court records show that Ferraiolo has been charged with multiple violations of a township ordinances, including every day in April until Friday. The allegations behind the ordinance violation was not clear in court records.

Robert Corrales, Eveshams township manager, confirmed the town has repeatedly issued Feraiolo ordinance violations. He did not eleborate.

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Amira Sweilem may be reached at asweilem@njadvancemedia.com.
Erik Haula stepped in front of the media banner at Prudential Center Sunday, sporting a black Devils playoff hoodie, shorts, flip flops and bright red cap, and chatted with reporters in a soft, reassuring tone.

This was 31 hours before the Devils most important game since the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. If you heard how collected Haula spoke, you would think it was a random October regular season battle. But as Haula, who has a team-best five playoff points in the first round, noted, this isnt a calm feeling. The Devils would rather call it a no doubt attitude.
The leaders of three faculty unions voted Sunday to approve contract language finalized Friday with Rutgers University, meaning a tentative agreement is ready for union members to vote on in the coming days to formally end a long standoff that led to an unprecedented walkout, according to a union announcement.

Were proud of what we achieved by going on strike and joining together for the Rutgers we and our students deserve, the three unions said in a statement.

We believe these are strong contracts that make numerous advances for our members. We didnt win everything we asked for and deserve, but no labor contract ever does. We will continue fighting for a better Rutgers starting the day after we have a ratified contract.

In a message to the Rutgers community, President Jonathan Holloway said: Reaching this point today is a recognition that we all can come together and work through our differences for the good of the university. It is also a testament to the leadership of Governor (Phil) Murphy, who brought all sides together when progress had stalled. My thanks to all those whose hard work contributed to achieving this agreement, and I look forward to resolving all outstanding non-faculty contracts as quickly as possible.

Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union President Amy Higer called the agreement historic and said she hoped it will have national significance. Not only have we won decent pay raises for all adjunct faculty, and gotten some minimal job security, but weve built a really strong, democratic union, she said. Im also really proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the full-time/grad faculty union. We really did bargain as One Faculty.

Rebecca Givan, president of the largest of the Rutgers faculty unions, the American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers, said she was thrilled to send the tentative agreement to the membership, which will now vote on whether to ratify it.

They get the final say on this contract, Givan said. They were willing to go on strike to build a better Rutgers, and this contract is the result, she said.

The tentative agreement, reached the day before the last day of classes, is the second-to-last step to officially ending the first faculty strike in the state universitys 257-year history, a job action that was unusual in uniting tenured professors with graduate workers, adjuncts, and clinicians.

The deal includes raises and additional job security for part-time lecturers, also known as adjuncts, that union officials hope will set precedents nationally for historically underpaid instructors.

Murphy called both sides to Trenton on April 10, the first day of the strike, to negotiate with the help of two mediators and some of his top staff members. The strike canceled many classes for the 67,000 students on the public schools New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark, and Camden campuses.

On April 15, the governor announced a tentative framework had been reached. Union leaders suspended the strike and members returned to the classroom April 17, halting the work stoppage a least temporarily until an agreement with all three unions could be reached.

In a statement Sunday night, Murphy thanked Holloway, union leaders, and Rutgers faculty for their work in reaching the agreement.

As one of the nations leading universities, Rutgers has long been a source of pride for our state, the governor said. Ensuring Rutgers faculty are respected and fairly compensated will result in a better educational experience for students, educators, and staff. Furthermore, resolving these complex concerns through good-faith negotiations is a testament that all sides can come together and work through their differences for the common good.

The intervening two weeks of bargaining focused mainly on the medical faculty union, the American Association of University ProfessorsBiomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey, or AAUP-BHSNJ, representing 1,300 health science faculty.

For the clinicians union, which was farthest from an agreement in recent days, wins include parental leave, and an end to the controversial practice of replacing Rutgers workers with non-union hires from RWJBarnabas Health, a 12-hospital network. In addition, eventual replacements for those who had been hired by Barnabas will be hired by Rutgers into union positions, according to the contract.

We are proud of the work we did, said Diomedes Tsitouras, the unions executive director. He said the unions executive council voted unanimously to send the deal to its members for a ratification vote.

Along with raises retroactive to July 2022, provisions of the tentative agreement include:

Reclassification of graduate fellows who work as teaching assistants or graduate assistants, so they can receive comparable health care benefits and pay.

One-year extensions of funding for graduate students to apply for, if their work was disrupted by the pandemic

For doctoral candidates joining Rutgers in the fall of 2024, a guarantee of five years of funding.

Access to office space for adjuncts, to meet with their students.

Protections for Southeast Asian employees from discrimination or harassment based on caste.

Fellowships for faculty to mentor, advise, and reach out to underserved, first-generation, and/or underrepresented students to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A union/university agreement to seek state funding for 25 fellowships for graduates of the Educational Opportunity Fund program, which serves students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

In addition, Rutgers will no longer withhold transcripts, diplomas, or registration privileges from people with unpaid fines, fees, and parking tickets issued by the university.

Details around health insurance, a particular need of part-time lecturers, are to be finalized in future bargaining with including other Rutgers unions.

Murphys office said Sunday the governor would not comment on the agreement until it is ratified.

The preliminary framework included for part-time lecturers  also known as adjuncts  some job security and 44% raises over four years based on a current per-class salary of $5799; a 27.9% minimum salary increase for postdoctoral fellows, some of whom reported making $10,000 to $25,000; the right for graduate fellows to unionize; 10-month salaries of $40,000 for graduate assistants and teaching assistants by the end of the four-year contract; and a 14% raise for full-time faculty and counselors over four years. Full-time faculty without tenure will no longer have to apply for their jobs at the end of each contract.

The other striking unions were the Rutgers AAUP-AFT (American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers), representing more than 5,000 full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates, and Educational Opportunity Fund counselors, and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union (PTLFC-AAUP-AFT) representing about 2,700 part-time lecturers.

Several other Rutgers unions continue to meet at the negotiating table with Rutgers, including the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), representing 1,100 physicians, which rallied Friday in Newark for higher pay.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, head of the Senates health committee, attended the rally.

These are residents who toil every day in emergency departments that arent going through what I think is a fair negotiation, Vitale told NJ Advance Media on Sunday. He noted many students are interns and residents in their 20s and work at hospitals 80 hours a week at $14 an hour.

Theyre the ones youll see when you present at the emergency department, he said. They dont have the same political juice as the other unions do because of the sheer numbers. Their contract expired eight months ago.

Givan acknowledged more work remains. Weve worked together with our sibling unions to win fair contracts for all of the more than 15,000 union workers who were seeking them, and we will support their fights, as they supported ours, she said.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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Tina Kelley may be reached at tkelley@njadvancemedia.com.
There are 1,000 prison inmates in New Jersey older than 65 who have already spent decades inside, and they have essentially been sent the message that they are going to die there.

It has become a troubling state trend: Between 2012 and 2019, only 8.7% of those who were eligible were granted parole. Even worse, 31% of the offenders who appeared before the parole board were not only denied, they actually had their period of parole ineligibility increased by at least one decade.

Its the geriatric inmates that suffer the most, and that is an insult to our humanity and our common sense. Because not only do elderly offenders (even murderers) have less than 1% chance of re-committing any offense according to every known study, their incarceration costs us five times more than that of a younger inmate.

In far too many cases, it makes little sense to keep them in prison.

That need for compassion and sound judgment in this calculation was voiced with uncommon poignancy on these pages last week by an attorney named JoEllyn Jones, who had the capacity to forgive, befriend, and guide the young man who had killed her brother and served 15 years. Anyone can learn from her benevolence and strength to reject bitterness, which is the foundation for a new coalition seeking to give New Jerseys incarcerated elders the chance to rejoin their communities.

Her eloquence merits support for her new campaign, Second Look NJ, which seeks legislation that would allow inmates over age 60 who have served 20 years a chance to petition the courts for a review of their sentence if they have shown transformation and growth.

And we encourage swift action from our lawmakers, who are also being prodded by the New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission.

The Commission, which includes former Chief Justice Deborah Poritz and current Attorney General Matt Platkin, made a historic, evidence-based recommendation in its annual report last month: It called for a mechanism by which inmates who reach a certain age and length of incarceration can apply to a judge for resentencing by proving they have been sufficiently rehabilitated.

To codify it, it would require legislation that would be the first of its kind in the country, the Commission says. Clearly, it is overdue: Countless studies have found that as people get older, they are less likely to engage in crime, the report said. The same is true for recidivism  one study found that of those convicted of violent crimes, only 1% of individuals released at age 55 or older were reincarcerated for new crimes within three years.

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It is notable that the Commission wants to place this Rehabilitative Release Program in the hands of a judge rather than the parole board. Advocates believe that the latter would be a fools errand: Exhibit A is a 2021 report from the Office of the Public Defender, which called New Jerseys parole release process fatally flawed.

That OPD report points out that the board does not permit parole applicants to have representation, as in most states; that the board does not consider neuroscience, which the U.S. Supreme Court has long acknowledged as essential in the sentencing of younger offenders; and that the board does not use adequate risk assessments when it denies parole.

And once it has denied parole, the report said, the Board can decide to keep the applicant in prison for as long as it wishes, without limit. The essentially unrestricted discretion the Board has been given -- and takes full advantage of -- is rarely questioned by New Jersey courts. This has created a system with little oversight, little due process, and manifest injustice.

Thank you @jim_mcgreevey for such a candid conversation on second chances @NJ_Reentry and the positive impacts of hiring formerly incarcerated people has on NJs economy.

Catch the full interview on #NJBuisnessBeat this week @NJSpotlightNews @MyNJPBS #Saturday5PM pic.twitter.com/eBKstC1CK9  Raven Santana (@RaveSantanaNJ) April 28, 2023

The OPD is not alone in this criticism, as shown in high-profile cases in which the parole board was overturned  and severely rebuked -- by the courts.

Last May, Sundiata Acoli was granted his freedom by the Supreme Court after 49 years in prison for the murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster. Justice Barry Albin said the courts intervention  made after Acoli was rejected eight times since becoming parole-eligible in 1993 -- was required in the interest of justice, because the board showed no credible evidence that Acoli presented a danger to the public. That is hard to refute, given that Acoli was 85, a model prisoner, and suffering from dementia.

In August, an appellate court allowed Eugene Berta to leave prison after 38 years inside for murder. The courts decision criticized the parole board for being arbitrary, and recommended that the Supreme Court examine the boards largely unbridled discretion.

These examples support the perception that the state parole board  long considered a patronage pit, with $116,000 salaries and free cars for its 15 members  cannot always be trusted to administer justice.

Clearly when it comes to the fair treatment of elderly inmates, we need to put a different set of eyes on these cases. It starts with a Legislature affirming that no life should be wasted, and a government that values redemption over pointless punishment.

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Welcome home. There a strong community ready to support returning citizens. All we need to do is give those behind bars a second look. https://t.co/94LcuH1o0i  Jennifer Sellitti (@j_sellitti) April 23, 2023

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A 46-year-old man and a juvenile male were killed early Sunday in Passaic County when the vehicle they were traveling in struck a light pole on a highway exit ramp, authorities said.

Robert Csapo of Lyndhurst was driving eastbound on the Interstate 80 ramp to exit 53 in Wayne with three male juvenile passengers at approximately 10 am. when his Honda Odyssey veered off the left side of the ramp and crashed into a light pole, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Csapo and one of the minors, also from Lyndhurst, died from their injuries in the crash. The two others suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, police said.
Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost.

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LAKE PLACID  A feasibility study is exploring if a new source of tree-based syrup could take root in New York state.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has announced the results of research into the economic feasibility of producing syrup from American beech trees. Conducted by Adam D. Wild, director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest, Lake Placid, the research examined the yield potential and economic feasibility of tapping beech trees for syrup production.

The Uihlein Maple Research Forest is a core asset of the Cornell Sugar Maple Program. It is administered by the Department of Natural Resources, which is part of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, Ithaca. The forest of 200-plus acres, was established in 1965 with the aid of support from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Uihlein II of Lake Placid.

American beech is an abundant hardwood species in northern New York forests. But dont plan on pouring the substance on your pancakes. Based on current sales of $4.50 per ounce of beech syrup, a gallon would cost $576.

Due to the limited amount of sap produced for this small-scale project, Mr. Wild used a steam kettle and stovetop to process the beech sap into syrup. His report notes the higher mineral content of the beech syrup and includes data recorded for sap flow timing, sap yield and sweetness, tree health and taphole closure, and economic calculations.

This research is a first step toward determining whether the abundant beech saplings with prolific root sprouts could yield enough sap for profitable syrup production for northern New Yorks maple producers. At this time, it looks like tapping beech trees has great potential and does not impact the growth of the trees, Mr. Wild explained in a news release.

Beech syrup samples were provided to the public during the 2022 New York State Maple Weekends at the Uihlein Maple Research Forest and at maple producer conferences in northern New York and the Hudson Valley in early 2023.

Cooking beech sap down into syrup produced a delicious product with notes of raisin, dried plums, and dried pears, but required a significant amount of concentrating to produce 1 gallon of syrup from 140 gallons of beech sap, Mr. Wild said.

The feasibility study notes that beech trees have no real economic value in NNY forests partially due to beech bark disease that slowly kills off the above-ground structure of beech trees, often before they reach maturity. The report adds: Because of beech trees low economic value and lack of palatability to deer, forest owners and managers have been attempting to remove beech from northern forest. Because of the prolific amount of root sprouts from beech trees in the understory of NNY forests, it would be beneficial to find a use for this high abundance of beech saplings.

The tapping of beech trees for syrup has potential for creating a new product that would allow utilization of a tree that currently has low economic value, Mr. Wild said. There is a market for beech syrup, and even a beech beverage, with the potential for value much higher than maple syrup. However, more research is needed to develop best practices for tapping and processing.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has been involved with other studies relating to trees and marketable syrup. In 2017, results were released of a multi-year study conducted by the Uihlein station. It stated that producing birch syrup from sap is a viable source for additional revenue for maple producers because of its price and similar harvesting methods. The Uihlein Forest Store sells birch syrup at $16 for a 3.4 ounce bottle and $26 for a 8.5 ounce bottle. Comparatively, a gallon of maple syrup is $72.

Birch syrup has been described throughout as having flavors and aromas ranging from apple butter to a balsamic vinegar reduction, according to Cornell.
Mr. Williams spent 35 years at Williams, the last 15 as chairman and chief executive officer. The son of David Williams, one of the original co-founders of Williams, he followed his cousin John Williams as CEO and served in that role from 1979 to 1994, when he retired. He was the last member of the Williams family to head Williams.

"Joe was a great leader and set Williams up for long term success with his ability to focus on the horizon. He had the right mix of optimism for the future and hard nose questioning of the status quo to keep the organization both inspired and on its toes. His intellectual curiosity kept the company truly embracing change for the opportunities it offered," said Alan Armstrong, Williams president and CEO. "The Williams culture of doing things right and taking care of the environment is alive and well today thanks to Joe's strong leadership and foresight."

Before taking the helm at Williams, Mr. Williams was executive vice president from 1968 to 1971 and president and chief operating officer from 1971 to 1978. When he became CEO, he was able to anticipate the challenges of the late 1980s and early '90s. By resetting goals and through restructuring, the company weathered a chaotic period in the pipeline and energy industries. Under Joe Williams' leadership. Williams refined its investment strategy. It acquired Northwest Pipeline and embraced technology as Williams became the first to use satellite communications for field operations.

In the late 1980s, Mr. Williams marshaled efforts to purchase the 29,000-acre Barnard Ranch, allowing Oklahoma's fledgling Nature Conservancy to create its flagship sanctuary, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. It now encompasses 40,000 acres and is home to 2,500 bison which roam 23,500 acres of open range. It is also home to research of native grass species and wildlife.

"Joe was the last family member to lead the company and felt a real stewardship responsibility with regard to that," said Keith Bailey, who succeeded Joe Williams and was chairman and CEO from 1994 to 2002. "His personal passion revolved around his leadership of the Nature Conservancy, both locally and nationally. Perhaps his proudest moment I saw over the years was when he was awarded a ceremonial blanket by Chief Standing Bear to celebrate his role in the creation of the Tallgrass Prairie. That is a timeless legacy that only exists because of his commitment to making it happen."

Mr. Williams, who also served as chair of the state and then the national Nature Conservancy, was honored in 2015 for his work when the Conservancy renamed the Osage County treasure as the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

His legacy also is recognized at Tulsa's Gathering Place. The main hall of the Williams Lodge, where community events and social functions take place, is named the Joseph H. Williams Community Room.

He is survived by his wife, Terry, three sons and two stepdaughters; Joseph H. Williams, Jr.; Peter B. Williams; James C. Williams; Margot T. Rose; Jennifer B. Ross; and seven grandchildren.

About Williams

As the world demands reliable, low-cost, low-carbon energy, Williams (NYSE: WMB) will be there with the best transport, storage and delivery solutions to reliably fuel the clean energy economy. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Williams is an industry-leading, investment grade C-Corp with operations across the natural gas value chain including gathering, processing, interstate transportation, storage, wholesale marketing and trading of natural gas and natural gas liquids. With major positions in top U.S. supply basins, Williams connects the best supplies with the growing demand for clean energy. Williams owns and operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines system wide - including Transco, the nation's largest volume and fastest growing pipeline - and handles approximately one third of the natural gas in the United States that is used every day for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use. Learn how the company is leveraging its nationwide footprint to incorporate clean hydrogen, NextGen Gas and other innovations at www.williams.com.
With 62 wind turbines for a total capacity of around 500 MW, the Dieppe-Le Treport wind farm represents an investment of around 2.7 billion. The project involves the construction and installation of a wind farm located 15 km off Le Treport city and 17 km off Dieppe city. This offshore wind farm will supply nearly 850,000 people with electricity each year, the equivalent of 2/3 of the inhabitants of the Seine-Maritime department area.

The final investment decision opens the way for the manufacturing and construction phase of the project. From 2024, maritime work will start by the installation of the piles. At the same time, RTE will set up a double submarine connection to transfer the electricity generated at sea to the onshore grid. The installation of the jackets and the electrical substation built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire will follow. The wind turbines, produced by Siemens Gamesa in its Le Havre facility, will be installed by Jan de Nul Group.

The construction phase of the EMDT wind farm will last 3 years and create 1,300 direct jobs in France. The wind farm is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2026.

Winner in 2014 of the call for tenders launched by the French State in 2013, the project has been in development since then, implying a continuous dialogue with local elected officials, fisheries and sea users, socio-economic players and the general public. Detailed engineering studies, environmental studies and the creation of a Scientific Interest Group to follow-up the environmental impacts of the wind farm, from its construction to its exploitation, have also been carried out. The administrative authorizations were obtained in 2019.

ENGIE, through Ocean Winds, has now three wind farms under construction in France for a total capacity of 1 GW: the Iles d'Yeu et de Noirmoutier farm, the Dieppe-Le Treport farm and the Gulf of Lion floating pilot farm. With 15 projects in 7 countries, Ocean Winds has now a portfolio of 1.5 GW of projects in operation and 15.1 GW under construction and in development. With 8 GW won in Scotland and the US in 2022, the ENGIE joint-venture has tripled the size of its project portfolio since its creation in 2019.

We are delighted that a project as strategic as Dieppe-Le Treport reaches final investment decision. Our 3 projects located in France are now in construction phase. They will contribute to the development of the French offshore wind industry, creating jobs and activity locally. They will play a key role in providing renewable electricity to a large number of households and increasing our energy sovereignty", says Paulo ALMIRANTE, ENGIE Senior Executive Vice President Renewables, Energy Management and Nuclear.
It may not have the same kind of recognition as Americas famous barbecue regions, like Texas or the Carolinas, but you cant tell Shannon Bingham that Louisiana doesnt have barbecue.

A lot of the flavors we have in Louisiana start with smoke, even if we dont necessarily brand it as barbecue, Bingham said.

Bingham is pitmaster at Devil Moon BBQ, which is doing its bit to change that perception with sausages like boudin and chaurice next to the brisket and ribs, and dirty rice and chicken sauce piquant among the sides.

The new barbecue restaurant opened just after Mardi Gras inside the Odeon, an apartment tower thats part of the South Market District downtown. Its part of a double-barrel project pairing low-and-slow barbecue and craft beer.
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Elko County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, May 1, in the Nannini Administration Building. The panel will discuss big game quotas for the 2023-24 season, and the Predation Management Plan for 2024.

 City of Elko Planning Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Elko City Hall. Commissioners will consider approving a conditional use permit for the Elko Institute of Academic Achievement to operate within an industrial zoning district, and consider amending the City of Elko Master Plan for parks, recreation and open space.

Elko County Board of Commissioners will meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board will discuss the status of wild horses in Elko County and consider passing a resolution or declaring an emergency regarding the situation. Commissioners will also consider a resolution calling for satellite television providers to offer local stations from Nevada instead of Utah. The board will also consider directing staff to write a letter to the state and federal delegation related to mining and mining related activities outside of the United States.
Picayune Police Department Cold Case Detective Rhonda Johnson takes a photo next to the grave of a newborn girl whose body was discovered in a dumpster in Picayune on April 15, 1992. Johnson and state investigators in Mississippi and Louisiana used DNA to identify the child and arrest her parents in connection with her death.
Jefferson Parish Council member Ricky Templet has quickly outpaced his colleagues in fundraising ahead of what is expected to be an intense and costly election in October among four sitting council members vying for two at-large seats on the Parish Council.

According to the latest campaign finance reports, Templet raked in $266,150 in contributions in the first four months of 2023, while his opponent in the race for the Div. A at-large seat, Council member Jennifer Van Vrancken, raised just $11,251.

The windfall puts Templet, who is the incumbent in the race, neck-and-neck with Van Vrancken in terms of overall campaign cash six months out from the Oct. 14 election: Templet has $436,955 and Van Vrancken has $504,680, finance reports show.
The Air defense forces destroyed 15 of the 18 cruise missiles launched from Murmansk region and the Caspian region, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny said.

"At about 02:30 at night, Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation aircraft  nine Tu-95s from Olenegorsk region (Murmansk region) and two Tu-160s from the Caspian Sea region," he wrote on the Telegram channel.

According to him, a total of 18 X-101/X-555 air-launched cruise missiles were launched.

Forces and means of air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 15.
Russian forces will likely conduct their own offensive in southern Ukraine if the potential Ukrainian counteroffensive fails, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes in a report for April 30, citing its own source.

The fact that top Russian officials and law enforcement are discussing possible candidates to lead various districts in Zaporizhia region which are currently under Ukrainian control as further evidence of Russian plans to move in the southern direction, the message reads.

Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Kyrylo Budanov reported that Russia is seeking to take control of numerous Russian paramilitary groups and is trying to create a new structure that would subordinate private military companies (PMCs) to the Russian General Staff.

It is reported that on Sunday, Russian troops conducted ground attacks in Bakhmut, Donetsk region and its environs, as well as along the AvdiyivkaDonetsk line. The official representative of the Eastern Group of Ukrainian Troops, Serhiy Cherevaty, said that Ukrainian forces still have access to supply routes in Bakhmut.

Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on April 30  Russian forces are using more artillery but conducting fewer assaults in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions than in Bakhmut and Maryinka, the report reads.
Leading government entities, renowned real estate developers and financial experts will be in Jeddah for the Saudi Real Estate Development and Ownership Exhibition (Seredo 2023) which kicks off on May 28.

A four-day event, Seredo is being organised by Aalyalshan Company, at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events. It is expected to attract over 15,000 visitors with an interest in purchasing or promoting real estate.

The upcoming event will see experts take part in insightful panel discussions and engaging workshops to uncover the latest real estate trends and innovative development strategies in addition to specialized training courses.

Abdulrahman Alzahrani, the General Manager of Aalyalshan Company, said the company's goal is to present an effective real estate exhibition that contributes to the development and advancement of the Saudi real estate market.

This exhibition serves as a hub that brings together the various entities and leaders in the real estate sector, facilitating the exchange of experiences and knowledge among visitors," noted Alzahrani.

"It aims to raise awareness about the importance of real estate investment and products, while providing effective marketing solutions to meet the growing demand in the real estate market and maintain a balance between supply and demand," stated the top official.

"The exhibition will also facilitate the exchange of experiences and transfer of best practices in real estate development, as well as the advancement of construction methods, forging partnerships between local and international stakeholders, and showcasing the impact of digital transformation on real estate development," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Zaluzhny informs Cavoli of situation at front, future scenarios of course of hostilities

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny informed Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, about the situation at the front and future scenarios of the course of hostilities.

"I held an expanded meeting with Supreme Commander of the United NATO Armed Forces in Europe, Commander of the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli," Zaluzhny wrote on his Telegram on Sunday evening.

He noted that they had discussed in detail a wide range of important issues for Ukraine.

"I spoke in detail about the operational situation along the entire front line, described possible scenarios, threats and prerequisites for future actions. We set ourselves a goal  to prepare in such a way as to fulfill certain tasks as much as possible," the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stressed.

According to him, the parties separately focused on the importance of timely deliveries in sufficient quantities of ammunition and equipment.

Zaluzhny pointed out the need to provide Ukraine with a wide range of weapons and air defense systems that will significantly help solve problematic issues in countering Russian aggression.

The parties also discussed the issues of training Ukrainian defenders.

"We agreed to continue to maintain dialogue and work to strengthen Ukraine's defense capability," Zaluzhny summed up.
For machining centres in the aircraft and aerospace industries, chip removal speed is a key parameter because many of the central, very large components like wing ribs and other structural parts are milled from solid material. For example, parts weighing over 100 kg could be made from blocks of aluminium weighing 4 tonnes or more, which means that 97.5% of the material has to be removed.

Customers want maximum machining speed

Modig Machine Tool AB in Virserum, Sweden is well placed in the demanding field of high-speed machining for materials such as aluminium, titanium, steel and composites. The company, which was founded in 1947 by the grandfather of the current owner and CEO David Modig, develops and manufactures very high performance CNC machines that are used by aerospace manufacturers all over the world, including Airbus, Boeing, SAAB, Sikorsky and Volvo Aero. And while all Modig machines are reputed for their high speed and precision, the RigiMill gantry machine sets new standards in this regard.

One of our goals was to develop the first 2-in-1 machine in this performance class; in other words a milling machine for high-speed roughing and finishing, explains David Modig. And the second goal: the RigiMill had to be the fastest milling machine in the world."

Stiffness as a requirement for accuracy

This goal was not an end in itself and the purpose was not to get an Olympic medal. David Modig says: The aircraft industry is booming and manufacturers are continuously expanding their capacity, so we wanted to supply our customers with gantry systems that have even shorter machining cycles. Machining the structural components of an aircraft also requires precision at the highest level, so the stiffness of the machine axes is just as important as speed, or even more so. The spindle of the RigiMill therefore uses twin drives on the Y and Z axes with a positioning accuracy of 0.5 m in each case. The two electric motors work in master/slave mode.

We only work with the best suppliers"

When selecting the linear drives for the axes, the decision was based not only on the technical specifications of the drive units, as David Modig explains: We only work with the best suppliers. In this case we looked for a reputable supplier who had drive units with the highest accuracy, and the passion to support and promote innovative developments.

With these criteria in mind, the choice was made in favour of NSK. And it was no surprise, because all previous models of Modig machining centres have been equipped with NSK drive components. In co-operation with Swedish authorised distributor Acumo, specialists from NSK in Ratingen configured the drive units, taking into account factors such as torque, speed, axis acceleration forces and the temperatures generated in the spindle drives during high-speed machining.

Ball screws for high-speed machining

Under these conditions, HMD series ball screws with nut cooling were found to be the optimal solution. The HMD series has been designed exclusively for use in high-speed machining applications, supporting travel speeds of up to 120 m/min. With a newly developed recirculation system, it was possible to increase the d x n speed rating to 160,000.

Nut cooling increases precision

Cooling the linear drive through the nut (precisely where the heat is generated), guards against temperature increases which could potentially impair the accuracy of machining.

To develop this linear drive with optimised cooling, NSK had to overcome a number of design challenges. For instance, the companys specialists had to solve a problem caused by the cooling, which made the material in the body of the nut contract and affect the preload of the ball screw. After extensive tests, NSK development engineers came up with a cooling system whereby the preload level was not affected by the cooling at any time during operation.

From a single source: ball screws, bearings and roller guide-ways

Ball screws with nut cooling from the HMD series are used in the RigiMills Y and Z axes. The Y axis has a travel distance of 1560 mm, with 900 mm in the Z axis.

HMD ball screws are equipped with axial angular contact ball bearings from NSKs BSBD series that were developed precisely for this type of application. The double-row configuration of these bearings, with a contact angle of 60, is capable of withstanding high axial loads in both directions. They simultaneously offer the stiffness and accuracy required for modern precision machinery.

The NSK system solution is completed by RA roller guides in all the main axes of the RigiMill. They too, are characterised by extreme stiffness at maximum load capacity and create the conditions for the spindle axes to run smoothly, with low vibration in spite of the high speeds and high forces generated by machining. The ideal line contact of the roller keeps the displacement force low because a pure rolling movement adds no friction to the drive.

An impressive overall solution

The components from NSK and the whole drive system meet the highly stringent requirements that we demand from our suppliers, states David Modig. They make a significant contribution to ensuring that the RigiMill not only works with the highest precision but also at extremely high speed, which in turn lowers machining times and cost per part.

The RigiMill thus represents an economic solution from the customer's point of view, simply because it can produce more structural aerospace parts in a given time. Take the example of a wing rib, where the machining time of 384 minutes is reduced to only 74 minutes. In addition, when performing finishing, the machine can produce a surface quality of up to 0.8 Ra. Reactions from the companys customers in the aircraft industry are equally positive.

David Modig says: We've never had such good feedback from the launch of a new product series. Almost immediately, the RigiMill has found its place in the investment plans of major aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers.

The world record that was set during a customer demonstration in October 2017 was surely a contributing factor. RigiMill removed 16.4 litres of solid material in just one minute. The spindle was running at speeds of up to 30,000 rpm driven by a 180 kW motor. After this impressive record was set, the first orders quickly arrived, which has led Modig to increase its manufacturing capacity in line with major aircraft manufacturers. A new production building is currently under construction.
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With Indiana's annual legislative session in the rear-view mirror, Gov. Eric Holcomb is hitting the road again to try to persuade more international companies to locate or expand their U.S. operations in the Hoosier State.

The Republican chief executive and Indiana Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers are due to meet with global business executives Monday through Thursday at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside the nation's capital.

The annual event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, brings together corporate and government leaders to talk about shared opportunities in innovation and entrepreneurship, research and development, startup companies, global market dynamics, supply chain, infrastructure and renewable energy.

In addition, Holcomb will participate in a panel discussion Tuesday about state-led innovations toward improving workforce development, retaining and creating attractive and accessible job opportunities, and promoting economic growth through a diverse workforce.

Records show that the SelectUSA Investment Summit has produced more than $146 billion in new investment in the United States since its first gathering in 2013.

"SelectUSA is a premier event that can help propel Indiana toward the business of tomorrow by connecting the state with global companies that have significant foreign direct investment opportunities," Holcomb said. "Indiana has the recipe for success, with an enviable talent pipeline and a low-cost of doing business, and it will be on full display at the Investment Summit."

This years summit will be the largest to date: More than 3,600 participants are registered to attend, including 1,400 international companies from more than 70 individual markets and representatives from 51 U.S. states and territories.

Indiana is home to more than 1,050 foreign-owned business establishments, representing more than 40 countries; they employ more than 200,000 Hoosiers, according to the governor's office.

Gallery: Get to know the state symbols of Indiana State Aircraft: Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt State Bird: Cardinal State Flag State Flower: Peony State Fossil: Mastodon State Gun: Grouseland Rifle State Insect: Say's Firefly State Language: English State Motto: "Crossroads of America" State Nickname: The Hoosier State State Pie: Sugar Cream Pie (unofficial) State Poem: "Indiana" State River: Wabash State Seal State Snack: Indiana-Grown Popcorn State Song: "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" State Stone: Limestone State Tree: Tulip tree
Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin announced the signing of new agreements with the Turkish manufacturer Baykar, which will allow Ukraine to provide itself with a new generation of weapons.

"Yesterday I worked a day in Turkiye at the Teknofest 2023 international exhibition of aviation equipment. Many meetings, one goal  to find ways to strengthen the Ukrainian defense industry. We have an important result  three new contracts with the Turkish manufacturer Baykar for Ukrainian manufacturers. I won't tell you the details, of course, but I assure you that these contracts give our country export earnings and next generation weapons," Kamyshin wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
MUNSTER Housing Opportunities is looking to join forces with another Northwest Indiana social services group this summer.

The Valparaiso nonprofit is in the exploratory stage of merging with Northwest Indiana Community Action, a nonprofit based in Crown Point.

Housing Opportunities aims to provide emergency shelter, affordable housing and other resources to people in need in LaPorte and Porter counties. The group owns and rents out hundreds of apartments at a reduced or subsidized rate for qualifying applicants.

Northwest Indiana Community Action works to mitigate poverty as the designated community action organization for the region. It serves as the areas agency on aging and manages the Women, Infant and Children programs in Northwest Indiana.

NWICA operates as a housing authority for parts of Northwest Indiana that dont fall under one. It serves LaPorte, Porter, Lake and Newton counties.

Community surveys showed that the primary concerns of people living in Northwest Indiana are housing and transportation, NWICA CEO/President Jennifer Trowbridge said.

NWICA isnt in the transportation business, but it was already providing housing and knew we had to get more in this space, she said.

That realization led to conversations between Trowbridge and Housing Opportunities CEO Jordan Stanfill.

I think from Jordans perspective, he knew NWICA, he knew our values, Trowbridge said. He knew how Im running this organization and how we allocate things for the right reason. And said, hey lets explore this together.

They started examining that idea early this year and entered an exploratory agreement in March, according to a news release. During this phase, the respective boards will review the finances and logistics of a merger and vote based on their findings.

They have no set timeline, but Stanfill estimated that the boards will vote in the next few months, which means the merger could be made official in the summer.

The potential of deepening our collaboration with NWICA would empower and position us to do so much more, Stanfill said in the news release announcing the merger.

Trowbridge reiterated Stanfills characterization that the merger would empower their organizations to do more good for more people. She likened this merger to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana, which was born out of an amalgamation of Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the region.

All of these entities are saying, listen, we are wasting opportunity or cost or an ability to strategize for the betterment of our region, if were going to keep working in silos, Trowbridge said. If were serving similar people and we have similar missions, then we need to step up, and we need to work together, or well never going to get the change that we need.

One former board member of Housing Opportunities expressed concern about the groups expected merger.

One of the things that HO has always prided itself on is its community involvement and community support, Caroline Cook said. When you become this large agency that covers five counties, that goes away.

Cook is concerned, in particular, about the potential loss of HOs case management services, which help people find jobs, doctors and other non-housing necessities.

Stanfill said the case workers arent going anywhere and if anything, were going to increase that capacity and expand those opportunities.

He also doesnt want people to look at this merger as his organization selling out. Stanfill said he hopes people look at it from the lens of improving and expanding services.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail Marlon Manning Richard Stewart Jr. John Tylicki Jazmin Guerrero Kane Jackson Peter Kochopolous Billy Fowler Franklin George Jasmine Escalante Joshua Copollo Rex Engle Roshaud Bell Jamyra Thomas Camden Wall Devonte Phillips Melissa Reyes Brian Sheppard Ernest Murphy III Joshua McCafferty Mark Millsap Jr. Caroline Hamilton Tyrone Holyfield Sr. Dale Crawley Jeffery Vlietstra Adam Valdez Ryan Valleyfield Cody Sucich Jarred Rumph Lamont Murdaugh Nicholas Ramirez Edward Reddick Ronald Kelley Jr. Elizabeth Millan-Rodriguez Leonard Johnson Jr. Andrian Esparza Nicole Fuentes James Grover Jr. Amy Alexanderson Jose Becerra Hernandez Romell Cooper Micah Singleton Samantha Vaughn Michael Nanay Collins Onchagwa Jessica Ottomanelli Roberto Sanchez Samantha Flores Tyrone Leverson Jr. Jaquies Moore Thomas Aiken Martell Flippins
MERRILLVILLE  NIPSCO is working on a new electric expansion to serve a proposed 2 million-square-foot light-industrial development.

This expansion includes a new substation near the corner of Mississippi Street and 101st Avenue to provide electrical feed to the development, NIPSCOs project communications lead Megan Henning said.

The site includes The Silos at Sanders Farm business park, which covers 196 acres on Mississippi Street between 93rd and 101st avenues, Town Councilman Shawn Pettit said.

Once finished, the entire Silos project will include five speculative buildings that will offer more than 2 million square feet of space.

Four of the buildings in the Silos park are around 250,000 square feet each in size.

Im very excited about it, Pettit said.

Included in the Silos business park, being developed by Crow Holdings, is construction of a 1 million-square-foot industrial building Pettit called once-in-a-lifetime.

That building generated about $325,000 through building-permit fees, which Pettit believes to be a record for the town.

NIPSCOs electric expansion project is expected to last through December, weather permitting, Henning said.

"In order to service the new customer substation, NIPSCO is installing new steel utility poles from the companys Green Acres electrical substation near Clay Street and East 83rd Avenue, she said.

The new pole line will travel south on Clay Street to West 101st Avenue then west on West 101st to Mississippi Street, where it will tie into the new customer station to include a short utility line heading north on Mississippi.

This electrical expansion will also enhance customer reliability and provide opportunities for future economic growth in the town of Merrillville and surrounding communities, she said.

System expansion projects are an integral part of NIPSCOs business supporting regional economic growth that provides opportunities for new residential and business entities in northern Indiana, she said.

NIPSCO-approved contractors Robert Henry Corp. and G.E. Marshall are facilitating the work.

NIPSCO would like to remind residents to drive with caution around any construction zone and follow the directions on posted signage and of onsite crew members, she said.

NIPSCO also thanks the community for its patience while the project is underway. The utility said it will continue to work with local officials to minimize community impact.
At the Grammy Awards last month, the rap trio De La Soul was booked for the shows 50th anniversary tribute to hip-hop, alongside more than two dozen performers. The timing was perfect, coming just a few weeks ahead of the long-delayed digital release of the groups storied catalog.

But the day before the ceremony, David Jolicoeur, who was known as Trugoy the Dove  and had long been public about having congestive heart failure  told his bandmates he was too ill to make it; Vincent Mason, a.k.a. Maseo, the groups D.J., also had health problems. Kelvin Mercer, known as Posdnuos, represented the trio alone, rapping part of Buddy from its classic 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising.

It was a bittersweet performance for me, Mercer said last week, because I was looking so forward to having my brothers there for this amazing moment. A week after the Grammys, Jolicoeur died at age 54.

Another painful victory for De La Soul arrives on Friday, when the groups first six albums will finally become available on streaming services after years of struggles with record companies that have kept that music  one of hip-hops most cherished and influential bodies of work  largely inaccessible to longtime fans, and invisible to younger audiences. For the last year and a half, each of the members had been closely involved in the reissue project, digging through old tapes to identify samples that still needed to be cleared and making cosmetic edits when they could not.
As for Roman, he is struggling with the interpersonal part of being in charge. Because he has favors to bestow and firing power, he thinks everyone he deals with at Waystar should just take his money and do as he asks. But at a meeting with a studio executive, he first suffers through her offer of condolences  Refused! he jokes  and then groans when she complains about ATNs far-right lean. Romans initial response is to troll, by making a snide comment about the incredibly evolved, ruthlessly segregated community of Los Angeles. Then he decides it would be easier just to terminate her.

When Gerri finds out what Roman did, she tries to play the mentor again, warning that he is a weak monarch in a dangerous interregnum and noting, You cannot win against the money. He snaps back, saying she is being disrespectful and adding, I need you to believe that I am as good as my dad. She replies, Say it or believe it? So he fires her too. (Shall we get started on the paperwork? Do you want to do it yourself or do you want me to get someone a bit sharper?)

Knowing he overstepped, Roman turns to Kendall, hoping his brother will play the Good Cop and clean up the Bad Cops mess. But Kendall is excited about them putting their own stamp on Waystar, and thinks these two firings may impress the markets. (Some are saying these Young Turks might just have what it takes to turn things around, he says, imagining what the business pundits might write.) Distraught, Roman excuses himself from the Investor Day pitch, figuring a solo Kendall will flame out and then the adults will finally step in and fix everything.

Its a reasonable assumption too, because Kendall is in full Icarus mode throughout this episode. There are few things more entertaining in Succession than Kendall in a boss groove, tossing out big ideas and buzzy business jargon at a rapid clip. While Shiv is the kind of boss who hates making decisions and makes fun of everyone elses ideas, and Roman is the kind of boss who hates interacting with anybody who is not saying yes sir, Kendall is a hands-on boss, urging his team to be as excited as he is about taking huge swings.

On this day, Kendall is trying to pump up the market potential of Living+, dubbing it a price-rocket. Talking rings around the Waystar accountant Pete (John Quilty), Kendall tries to get him to work some mojo with the spreadsheets, to see what would happen if they just, yknow, plugged in bigger numbers. (Numbers arent just numbers, theyre numbers, Pete sputters.) The gambit results in a prospectus promising such a high rate of return that Kendall, in a moment of clarity, chuckles, Its enough to make you lose your faith in capitalism. He is then brought back down to earth by Karl, who threatens to blow the whistle if Kendall asks him to support a fraud.
Jerry Mander, whose iconoclastic thinking led him to create advertising campaigns for nonprofits, like one for the Sierra Club in 1966 to fight a plan to build two dams in the Grand Canyon, and to found an organization to raise awareness about the dangers of economic globalization, died on April 11 at his home in Honokaa, Hawaii. He was 86.

His wife, Koohan Paik-Mander, said the cause was metastatic prostate cancer.

Mr. Mander was working at Freeman & Gossage, an advertising agency in San Francisco, when, in 1966, David Brower, the executive director of the Sierra Club, asked for help in framing that conservation groups opposition to the federal governments construction of hydroelectric dams on the Colorado River.

The full-page newspaper ads created by the agency grabbed national attention and angered proponents of the project in Congress, who denied the Sierra Clubs claims that the dams would flood and desecrate the canyon.

Now Only You Can Save Grand Canyon From Being Flooded  For Profit, read the headline of one of the ads written by Mr. Mander. It included coupons with messages that readers could clip and send to public officials, including President Lyndon B. Johnson and Stewart Udall, secretary of the interior.
Communities across the Virginia Beach area were cleaning up on Monday, after a severe storm that brought at least one confirmed tornado damaged an estimated 50 to 100 homes, the authorities said.

Patrick Duhaney, the city manager, declared a state of emergency on Sunday night as the coastal municipality sought to provide refuge to people whose homes were damaged and prepared to send its crews to pick up debris from public streets on Monday morning.

The tornado went through the Fort Story area in northeastern Virginia Beach just before 6 p.m., said Mike Montefusco, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Va.

The tornados exact path will be confirmed through a survey on Monday.

Despite the damage to area homes, no injuries were immediately reported.
POZO COLORADO, Paraguay  Paraguayans elected Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old conservative economist, as their new president on Sunday, keeping the South American nation in the control of the right-wing Colorado Party that has run the country for all but five of the past 76 years.

The result means that Paraguay, a landlocked nation of seven million people, has resisted the leftward shift across Latin America in recent years. Instead, Paraguayans delivered victory to a right-wing candidate who made vague promises to add jobs, lower energy prices and clear drug addicts from the street.

Mr. Pena had 43 percent of the vote with 99 percent of the ballots counted, defeating two challengers who split the opposition vote.

His election could complicate Paraguays relationship with the United States, a close ally.

Mr. Pena is a political protege of a former Paraguayan president, Horacio Cartes, who is one of its richest men and the president of the Colorado Party. In January, the American Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mr. Cartes over accusations that he had doled out millions of dollars in bribes to pave his way to power and that he had built ties to the Islamist militant group Hezbollah.
KYIV, Ukraine  Russia launched a broad pre-dawn aerial assault at targets across Ukraine on Monday, the second wide-ranging attack in four days, as fighting appeared to intensify ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Two people were killed and 40 wounded in Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Pavlograd, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

For every such attack, the Russian invaders will receive our response, he said.

Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, which includes Pavlograd, said dozens of buildings, including schools and homes, were damaged in the strikes, which set off a massive fire that lit up the night sky.

The sounds of explosions also echoed above the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other parts of the country before dawn as Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 of 18 Russian cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian military. Mondays assault also included bombing runs by Russian aircraft, including one that killed a 14-year-old boy in the Chernihiv region, Mr. Zelensky said.

Herman Galushchenko, Ukraines energy minister, said the overnight strikes  described by Russias Ministry of Defense as an attack on Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities  had caused significant damage to power distribution networks in and around the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine, cutting off scores of people from the power grid.

The missile barrage came as Ukrainian forces have stepped up their own efforts to strike Russian targets behind the front lines before what is expected to be a significant counteroffensive in the near future, carried out with the support of newly delivered, powerful weapons from Western allies.

The Ukrainian military said on Monday evening that its aircraft had carried out four strikes on concentrations of Russian troops, while artillery and rockets had hit targets including an ammunition depot. Residents of the occupied southern city of Berdiansk reported overnight that a strike hit a Russian airfield, according to Ukrainian media and Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the exiled mayor of the nearby city of Mariupol. The claims could not be independently verified and the extent of any damage was unclear.

Russian-appointed officials in the occupied Crimean peninsula said air defenses had fended off a drone attack, two days after a drone was blamed for an explosion at an oil depot in Sevastopol, the home to the Russian Navys Black Sea Fleet. A spokeswoman for Ukraines southern military command previously said the depot fire was part of the preparations for a coming full-scale offensive.

Ukraines defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said in an appearance on national television on Monday that the military was reaching the finish line in those preparations. Military commanders, he said, would decide how, where and when the counteroffensive would be carried out.

Video Ukraines air defense system lit up the early morning sky over Kyiv as officials said it destroyed Russian missiles that entered the citys air space. Credit Credit... Reuters

Both sides have reported escalating attacks in recent days.

The governor of a Russian border region on Sunday accused Ukraine of cross-border shelling that killed four people, and on Monday two civilians were killed by shelling in Russian-held territory in the Zaporizhzhia region that occupation officials blamed on Ukraine, the Russian state news agency Tass reported.

After Ukrainian officials said Moscows forces hit an apartment block in central Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 23 people, regional authorities across the country reported a continued bombardment over the weekend. Over the course of 24 hours, regional officials in Ukraines north, east and south reported Russian artillery, mortar, rocket or drone strikes in 11 regions, killing at least three people and destroying more than a hundred residential buildings.

The flurry of strikes from both sides could signal the start of a shift in a conflict that has for months settled into a grinding war of attrition, with tens of thousands of soldiers killed and wounded in heavy fighting across eastern Ukraine but little territory being gained by either side.

But any coming Ukrainian counteroffensive will have to deal with Russian forces that have moved into defensive positions, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.

Britains defense intelligence agency said on Monday that Russian forces had constructed some of the most extensive systems of military defensive works seen anywhere in the world for many decades. Those efforts, the agency said, include not only near the front lines but also deep inside areas Russia currently controls, with particular effort taken to fortify the northern border of Crimea.

In a Twitter post, the agency said the extensive network highlights Russian leaders deep concern that Ukraine could achieve a major breakthrough.
The witty and carefully crafted movies that Coen has written and directed  most with his brother, Ethan, including Barton Fink, Fargo and No Country for Old Men display a similar flair for revealing the mystery in what might seem at first glance to be ordinary and banal.

Fraenkels question about Friedlander landed on fertile ground. I certainly knew of him, and I think Fran did a little, Coen said recently, in a joint video interview with McDormand from California. Jeffrey floated the idea of doing a show of Lees photographs. He said it could be whatever you want. Just 10 photographs if you like. 

Coen and McDormand visited the Friedlanders in New City, N.Y., to make sure they were simpatico. The meeting was a great success. They came here with Jeffrey, Friedlander recalled. We were ready for them with food, but they brought food, too. We had a sort of picnic indoors. When Joel and I met, we both thought we might have known each other. We didnt, but we were so familiar with each other.

Over the last year, Coen expanded the project into a sequenced book of 70 Friedlander photos, Framed, that is the basis for two exhibitions, at the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, from May 6 through June 24, and at Luhring Augustine in New York, from May 13 to June 24. Each show will display about 45 photos.
John Stobart, a British-born artist whose evocative, meticulously researched oil paintings of 19th-century harbors and tall ships earned him a reputation as one of the worlds foremost maritime painters, as well as millions of dollars, died on March 2 in Wellesley, Mass. He was 93.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Anne Fletcher.

A product of Britains Royal Academy of Art, Mr. Stobart moved to the United States in 1970, when conceptual art, Op Art and Minimalism were riding high in the wake of Abstract Expressionism. Affable, unassuming and unfailingly candid, Mr. Stobart would have none of it.

Ive never bought it, and the general public has never bought it either, he said of abstract art in an interview with The Boston Globe in 1986. Thats a lot of baloney, that stuff.
The State Nuclear Regulation Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) announced on Monday about the next rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Zaporizhia NPP occupied by the Russians, held on April 27.

According to the information posted on the website of SNRIU, since the beginning of the work of the agency's permanent monitoring group from September 2022, this is the eighth group of experts.

At the same time, it is noted that the occupiers by their actions cause significant damage to nuclear and radiation safety at this facility.

"Despite the constant presence of IAEA experts at the NPP, the Russian occupiers, by their actions, cause significant damage to nuclear and radiation safety at the nuclear power plant, which has significantly degraded during the occupation," SNRIU stressed.

As the SNRIU added, the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi could personally verify this during his visit to the NPP a month ago.

Permanent monitoring missions of the IAEA also operate at Khmelnytsky, Rivne, Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant and at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, which is at the stage of decommissioning. The placement of the agency missions at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants took place in response to an official request from Ukraine.

As reported, the IAEA experts at Ukrainian nuclear power plants monitor the situation and document the impact of the war on the state of nuclear and radiation safety, provide technical advice to Ukrainian specialists, study priority needs at nuclear facilities for further technical assistance.
Work on A Small Light began six years ago, after its showrunners Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, a married couple who used to be producers and screenwriters for Greys Anatomy, visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Walking around the museum and listening to tour guides, they learned that many people dont really know the story of the Frank family anymore, let alone the story of the people who helped them, Rater and Phelan said in a recent video interview.

Since then, they said, the moral question at the heart of Giess story  whether to do the right thing, the wrong thing or nothing at all  has only become more important, given how war, nationalism and antisemitism have once again been spreading across Europe.

When we started this project, Phelan said, it certainly didnt feel as relevant as it feels now.

While the show opens with Gies, who wasnt Jewish, trying to dodge a Nazi checkpoint, the first episode quickly takes the viewer back to 1934, when Gies was single and living with her adopted Dutch family. She finds employment with Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber)  a stern, fellow German-speaking immigrant  and meets her future husband, a social worker. Much of the first episode follows Gies living life as a modern young woman, meeting friends and going out dancing.
Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, May 1-7. Details and times are subject to change.

Monday

E! LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: MET GALA 2023 6 p.m. on E! Officially known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit (unofficially as the party of the year) and attended by some of the biggest names in the media and art world, the Met Gala is a black-tie event that raises money for the fashion wing of the museum. This years themed exhibition is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, a homage to the longtime luxury brand designer who helped shape the modern fashion world. (Mr. Lagerfield died in 2019). Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa are the events co-chairs this year.

A SMALL LIGHT 9 p.m. on LIFETIME, NGC and NAT GEO WILD. This limited series tells the story of Miep Gies (Bel Powley), a Dutch woman who was the secretary to Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber), the father of Anne Frank (Billie Boullet), during World War II. Premiering with two back-to-back episodes, the series follows Gies and her husband whose lives changed when they agreed to help hide the Frank family  and four other individuals  over the course of two years.
Yvonne Jacquette, an artist who could frequently be found on an upper floor of a skyscraper or in an airplane getting unusual perspectives for the urban and country landscapes she painted, an adventurousness that led one of her museum exhibitions to be titled Aerial Muse, died on April 23 at her home in Manhattan. She was 88.

Her son, the artist Tom Burckhardt, said the cause was a heart attack.

Ms. Jacquette made a career out of looking at things differently, starting in the 1960s.

I was beginning to do yoga, and I had to look up at the ceiling in my loft, which was stamped tin, she told the culture website The Brooklyn Rail in 2008. So I did paintings of that, and of doorways and so forth, for a little while, and then suddenly it occurred to me to reverse that, and look down.
Marcos at the White House

The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., began a four-day visit to the U.S. with a meeting with President Biden in Washington yesterday. The trip is intended to send a message to China that Marcos plans to deepen his countrys relationship with the U.S.

We are facing new challenges and I couldnt think of a better partner to have than you, Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office. Biden added that the U.S. will continue to support the Philippines military modernization.

Marcoss trip comes days after the U.S. and the Philippines held their largest joint military exercises yet in the South China Sea, aimed at curbing Chinas influence. The two countries signed a deal in February to allow the U.S. military to expand its presence in the Philippines.

It is only natural, Marcos said in the Oval Office, that the Philippines look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen, to redefine, the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific.
Fears over the stability of the banking system have led to an exodus of deposits from smaller regional banks to larger banks in recent weeks, as nervous customers moved their money to banks that are seen as too big to fail.

Some members of Congress have been looking for ways to boost the deposit cap, at least temporarily, in an effort to stop depositors from pulling their money out of smaller institutions that have been at the center of recent bank turmoil.

F.D.I.C. officials acknowledged on Monday that those bank runs caught them by surprise. As part of a review into what took place, the regulator has been studying ways to improve the system. Its report looked at the viability of raising the existing insurance cap; expanding it so that deposit insurance is unlimited; and creating a more targeted approach that would provide higher levels of deposit insurance to business accounts that are used for payroll processing.

The F.D.I.C. expressed concerns that broadly expanding deposit insurance could create moral hazard problems, that is, banks would be shielded from the consequences of making risky investments. It favored offering more protection to business payment accounts because that money is generally used for paying employees rather than investments.

Increasing coverage to large deposit accounts with the most demand for liquidity would reduce or eliminate the need for depositors of such accounts to withdraw their funds out of fear for the safety of their deposits and for the continuity of their operations, the F.D.I.C. said in its report. This would have benefits for financial stability.
But First Republic struggled nonetheless, and its condition had been deteriorating for weeks. It had seen a large outflow of funds as depositors rushed to pull their money and park it in institutions they viewed as safer.

Its shares had been pummeled  they dropped 75 percent just last week  as investors feared that it would fail. That drop came after the company released earnings results saying that it had borrowed heavily from the Federal Reserve and government-backed lending groups, the financial industrys lenders of last resort.

Ultimately the F.D.I.C. decided it was no longer viable on its own.

The First Republic bank failure is the second-largest in U.S. history, after the collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008, and certainly a dramatic turn. But what happened to the bank this weekend follows a playbook thats been used before. The government usually arranges a sale of a failed bank over the weekend, so it can open for business as usual on Monday, said Amanda Heitz, an assistant professor of finance at Tulane University.

Most failed banks, she said, are resolved by a purchase and assumption agreement, in which another institution takes over the bank with the support of the F.D.I.C. In this case that agreement is with JPMorgan.

Though the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was in many ways not a typical bank failure, depositors did have access to their money the Monday after it was seized. And the Bank of England was quick to announced that HSBC had bought SVBUK, the banks British subsidiary.
Mr. Kalnoky, who is tall, urbane and fluent in five languages, was raised in exile in Paris, where his family resided after Communists took over Romania. He speaks with an unplaceable pan-European accent and seems ready to be amused by nearly everything  with one exception. As a count from Transylvania, he would like to cordially invite everyone to spare him the Dracula jokes. Hes never heard one thats funny.

Always terrible, he said. Always a cliche.

Best to leave the Dracula gags to the count because he has included a pretty good one in the guesthouse. Every room comes with a bulb of garlic nailed above the inside of the door, a wink at the infamous neck biters most acute food allergy.

The story of how King Charles came to own a guesthouse in Romania starts with one of Mr. Kalnokys ancestors. In the 16th century, Balint Kalnoky was the first documented owner of the Zalan Valley, and about 100 years later a series of houses was built for glassblowers at a nearby glass factory. That factory has long since vanished from what is today the right-next-door village of Zalanpatak, population 94.

The Prince of Wales began visiting Romania in the late 1990s. An earlier home in the historic village of Viscri attracted swarms of tourists, The BBC reported. He and the count, who is a relative, are friends, and when the then-prince asked for help finding a more secluded Romanian getaway, the count had an idea.

As he was describing his dream house, I realized that I might know that very house, he recalled. They walked 11 miles from the counts home in Miclosoara to what was then a group of buildings badly in need of a thorough renovation.
At the Park Hyatt hotel in Paris, Narae Kim combines the Nashi pear she grew up eating in Dangjin, South Korea, and the Williams pear often used in eau de vie into an eye-catching dessert: a fan of Williams wedges, some marinated in jasmine tea and others cooked in bergamot oil, alongside quenelles of pear-and-cassava sorbet, all topped with tiny orbs of Nashi pear liqueur.

Ms. Kim had wanted to study pastry in France since she was young, taking pastry and baking classes in middle school and participating in grueling pastry competitions in college in South Korea.

When Ms. Kim brainstorms desserts, she always begins with fruits like apricots, melons and cherries, which she would pluck from her familys yard as a child, and builds on her ideas using the French pastry skills she has developed throughout her career.
Karl Lagerfeld, the German-born fashion designer who is the subject of this years Met Gala, liked to court controversy, his achievements on the runway often outshone by offensive blunders and tone-deaf remarks.

His missteps could be monumental  in a literal sense. Consider the 28-foot-high iceberg that hovered imposingly over his fall 2010 ready-to-wear show. The set piece, sculpted from 240 tons of snow and ice reportedly sheared off a glacier in Sweden, was intended as a comment on global warming. But the gesture missed the mark, as it took six days and a continuously maintained temperature of 25 degrees to ensure that the ice blocks would arrive on his runway intact  delivered, of course, via 15 tractor-trailers.

As vividly inscribed on fashions consciousness was his spring 2015 Chanel show in Paris, staged as a feminist protest. Set as a crowd scene inside the Grand Palais, it featured a megaphone-hoisting Cara Delevingne leading a phalanx of models shouting for freedom, some waving placards that read History Is Her Story and Ladies First. The stunt raised eyebrows, decried for trivializing an urgent political movement.

Mr. Lagerfeld may well have shrugged. Everything I say is a joke, he once claimed.

But the joke seemed to be on the designer when, in 1994, he sent Claudia Schiffer down the runway in a Chanel dress embroidered with a sacred Muslim text, igniting an international controversy. Mr. Lagerfeld, who said at the time that he had no idea what the text meant, issued a rare apology.
Matthew Adinolfi, who has no top teeth and had no love life for over a decade, will be able to get implants so that he can kiss a woman without fear of his dentures falling out.

Blanca Coreas, who cant eat anything firmer than mashed potatoes without her gums bleeding, will be able to take a bite of grilled meat.

Lillian Velazquez has now gotten the root canal that was denied for nearly five years.

A class-action suit that was settled on Monday will bring about a change that is as potentially transformative as it is mundane: coverage of common but costly dental procedures for the five million adults in New York State who are on Medicaid, including implants, root canals and replacement dentures.

The suit, filed in 2018 in federal court against the State Health Department, which oversees Medicaid in New York, charged the state with denying thousands of low-income New Yorkers medically necessary treatment.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland calls for boycott of Jameson whiskey due to resumption of trade in Russia  media

Ukraine's Ambassador to Ireland has urged people to stop buying Jameson whiskey in protest at the companys decision to resume trade in Russia, RTE has reported.

Larysa Gerasko has accused Jameson of playing a role in financing Russian aggression in Ukraine by continuing to trade in Russia, a message posted on the website reads.

It is noted that in 2023, Jameson, which is owned by the French company Pernod Ricard, resumed sales in Russia last year, claiming it fully complies with all international sanctions.

The company said it took the decision in order to protect its local teams, their livelihoods and the welfare of their families.

"This also meant reducing the quantities being sold to avoid 'intentional bankruptcy which is a criminal offence in Russia and represents a significant risk for our employees" the company said in a statement posted on its website.

In addition, Jameson added that "in doing everything we can to manage the situation, the reality of exiting Russia is both complex and extremely challenging."

However, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland noted that "on the one hand this company wants to protect a few employees, but tens of thousands of Ukrainians, every single day, have been killed by Russia."

"We pay the highest price, by human life, and we call on all companies to stop any trade relationship with the aggressor state, the terrorist state," the ambassador stressed.

She also stated that she would no longer buy Jameson products, and called on pubs, as well as restaurants and their customers to make a similar decision.

In addition, Ms Gerasko said she made efforts to raise her concerns directly with the makers of Jameson whiskey a number of weeks ago, but nobody from the company got back to her.

"We are very concerned because by trading with Russia, companies finance the Russian war machine," she added.

She said she wanted to ask Jameson to stop trade and exports to Russia.
E. Jean Carroll, the writer who has sued former President Donald J. Trump, accusing him of rape, completed three days on the witness stand Monday in a civil trial in Manhattan federal court, with a lawyer for Mr. Trump continuing to try to show up inconsistencies in her testimony.

The stage was set for Ms. Carrolls lawyers to call additional witnesses to bolster her case.

Monday was the second of two days of cross-examination of Ms. Carroll by lawyer Joseph Tacopina about her allegation that the ex-president raped her in a dressing room in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.

Mr. Trump, who has avoided coming to court, has denied all wrongdoing. On Monday morning, the former presidents lawyers filed an unsuccessful motion for a mistrial, arguing that the court had made pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings.

The Accusation

Ms. Carroll says she visited Bergdorf Goodman one evening in the mid-1990s. As she was leaving through a revolving door, Mr. Trump entered and recognized her, the suit says, and persuaded her to help him shop for a gift for a female friend. She has accused the former president of going on to attack her in a dressing room in the lingerie department.
I talked with my colleague Eliza Shapiro about the affordability crisis and the report from the Fund.

This was disturbing but not really surprising, was it?

Totally. What the report told us was something that New Yorkers are living with every day, which is that everything about living here has gotten harder except for the megarich. The report showed how hard it is for people to make rent, to comfortably afford housing and buy food, to say nothing of planning for the future or putting money away. This report put hard data and numbers to the reality that people are already living.

One thing that jumped out at me was how much the researchers said the affordability crisis is affecting people who do everything you are supposed to do. Thats so profound. They stuck it through during the pandemic, followed the rules and have contributed to the city returning to normal. Theyre commuting to work again, yet its hard to make the rent and pay the bills.

Lisette Nieves, the president of the Fund for the City of New York, said this amounted to a broken contract. That contract, for a long time in New York, meant that if you worked hard and lived reasonably frugally, you could have a comfortable life.

New Yorkers and politicians and policymakers have been talking about how hard it is for the middle class to live here. That was a theme of Bill de Blasios tenure as mayor, and Eric Adams talks about it a lot. But despite the rhetoric and the commitments, it s hard to look back on the last decade and say things are moving in the right direction.
Bret Stephens: Hi, Gail. You know Im no fan of Kevin McCarthys. But the House speaker did succeed in getting a bill through Congress with a debt-ceiling increase, and now the Biden administration needs 60 votes in the Senate  meaning 51 Democrats and independents plus nine Republicans  to get the limit increase to the presidents desk for a signature.

So, shouldnt Joe, you know, negotiate?

Gail Collins: Bret, with your strong feelings about fiscal responsibility, you of all people should be offended by McCarthys ploy. The debt ceiling needs to be raised in order to avoid an unprecedented, messy, horrible moment when the countrys credit goes bad and economic collapse spreads around the globe.

Everybody knows that has to be done. But McCarthy now wants to use it as a hostage  attaching his wish list of spending cuts (weaken the I.R.S.!) and prosecuting the G.O.P. war on environmentalism.

Bret: I dont think anyone wants Uncle Sam to default on his debts  except, well, the nuttier Republicans who hold the balance of power in the House. McCarthy had to pass a bill that could garner their support. Thats just political reality, and we cant wish it away.
The news of Guardian Angels closing, announced in February by the Archdiocese of New York, came as a surprise to parents. In a letter, Michael Deegan, the superintendent of schools for the archdiocese, gave two reasons for the decision. First, that the Covid pandemic and changing demographics had diminished enrollment. Second, that the school was now facing a projected annual deficit of about $550,000. The factors leading to the closure of Guardian Angel, he concluded, are beyond anyones control.

Might Guardian Angel still be saved? Over the past few months, parents and alumni like Ms. Serrano sought to meet with archdiocese officials to propose a fund-raising campaign. In his letter, Mr. Deegan did not respond to requests to meet with them, saying instead that we simply cannot fund-raise out of this situation. But why not? The projected deficit of $550,000  about $3,000 per student  is not a small number, but in the broader context it is a pittance, especially given the economic value of good teachers and a good education over a students lifetime. (I reached out to Mr. Deegan for more detail, but his office referred me back to the letter he sent to parents.)

I dont want to suggest that there are easy answers for Guardian Angel  or for other affordable private religious schools. The Archdiocese of New York, like Catholic institutions across the country, is struggling financially; Guardian Angel is one of 12 schools it is closing this year. But the High Line, which the school abuts, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fund its innovative landscaping and its cultural programs. A little farther north, in Hells Kitchen, the Irish Arts Center, which celebrates one of the immigrant populations that originally attended Guardian Angel, recently raised $60 million. My employer, Columbia University, raised more than $5 billion during its last capital campaign.

Fund-raising is not a zero-sum game, and donors are not wrong to support well-funded institutions like Columbia, but schools like Guardian Angel need the money more. Americas elite educational establishments are already strong. We need to provide support where we are weak: the institutions that give working- and middle-class people a step up to a more economically secure existence. Some of those institutions are public schools, some private, some religious, some not. What matters is the economic role they play.

Theres an affecting documentary from 2015 called Class Divide, which explores hypergentrification in Chelsea. It features a Guardian Angel student named Rosa De Santiago, who was eight at the time. She is the kind of kid who embodies New York at its best  energetic and ambitious, eager to make it in life. She aspired to make it to Columbia University, but she knew she faced obstacles. I hate money, she says in the movie. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate money. She adds, Money was made by the Devil, I think, because God didnt say, Oh, you have to pay for this.
Heres a head-scratcher for you: What happens when the leadership of a political party becomes so extreme, so out of touch with its voters, that it alienates many of its own activists and elected officials? And what happens when some of those officials set up a parallel infrastructure that lets them circumvent the party for campaign essentials such as fund-raising and voter turnout? At what point does this party become mostly a bastion of wingnuts, spiraling into chaos and irrelevance?

No need to waste time guessing. Just cast your eyes upon Georgia, one of the nations electoral battlegrounds, where the state Republican Party has gone so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that many of its officeholders  including Gov. Brian Kemp, who romped to re-election last year despite being targeted for removal by Donald Trump  are steering clear of it as if it were their gassy grandpa at Sunday supper.

Republicans elsewhere should keep watch. Democrats too. Whats happening in Georgia is a cautionary tale for pluralism, an example of how the soul of a party can become warped and wrecked when its leadership veers toward narrow extremism. And while every states political dynamics are unique, a variation of the Peach State drama could be headed your way soon  if it hasnt begun already.

The backstory: Some Republican incumbents took offense last year when the Georgia G.O.P.s Trump-smitten chairman, David Shafer, backed Trump-preferred challengers in the primaries. (Mr. Trump, you will recall, was desperate to unseat several Republicans after they declined to help him steal the 2020 election.) Those challengers went down hard, and Mr. Kemp in particular emerged as a superhero to non-Trumpist Republicans. Even so, scars remain. Thats a burn thats hard to get over, says Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist who served as an adviser to former Gov. Nathan Deal.
To the Editor:

Re Your Email Does Not Constitute My Emergency, by Adam Grant (Opinion guest essay, April 15):

Thank you, Mr. Grant, for lifting a huge weight off my conscience.

Though I am long retired, I find that my inbox is still filled with communications of varying urgency, more than I can possibly answer immediately, if ever.

I recently received a stinging rebuke from a (now former) friend for taking three weeks to reply to her chatty, non-time-sensitive email, which arrived when I was overwhelmed with matters that required my urgent attention.

When I finally did answer, with an apology, she made it clear that she regarded promptness as politeness, and that her priorities took precedence over mine. Mr. Grants words about women feeling guilty for nonresponsiveness were a balm for my heart.

I will try to practice Mr. Grants suggestions about communicating digital boundaries and resetting norms, which Ive always implied when I write to others, but never articulated until now.
Geoffrey Hinton was an artificial intelligence pioneer. In 2012, Dr. Hinton and two of his graduate students at the University of Toronto created technology that became the intellectual foundation for the A.I. systems that the tech industrys biggest companies believe is a key to their future.

On Monday, however, he officially joined a growing chorus of critics who say those companies are racing toward danger with their aggressive campaign to create products based on generative artificial intelligence, the technology that powers popular chatbots like ChatGPT.

Dr. Hinton said he has quit his job at Google, where he has worked for more than a decade and became one of the most respected voices in the field, so he can freely speak out about the risks of A.I. A part of him, he said, now regrets his lifes work.

I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadnt done it, somebody else would have, Dr. Hinton said during a lengthy interview last week in the dining room of his home in Toronto, a short walk from where he and his students made their breakthrough.
In late March, more than 1,000 technology leaders, researchers and other pundits working in and around artificial intelligence signed an open letter warning that A.I. technologies present profound risks to society and humanity.

The group, which included Elon Musk, Teslas chief executive and the owner of Twitter, urged A.I. labs to halt development of their most powerful systems for six months so that they could better understand the dangers behind the technology.

Powerful A.I. systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable, the letter said.

The letter, which now has over 27,000 signatures, was brief. Its language was broad. And some of the names behind the letter seemed to have a conflicting relationship with A.I. Mr. Musk, for example, is building his own A.I. start-up, and he is one of the primary donors to the organization that wrote the letter.
Israel is increasingly relying on facial recognition in the occupied West Bank to track Palestinians and restrict their passage through key checkpoints, according to a new report, a sign of how artificial-intelligence-powered surveillance can be used against an ethnic group.

At high-fenced checkpoints in Hebron, Palestinians stand in front of facial recognition cameras before being allowed to cross. As their faces are scanned, the software  known as Red Wolf  uses a color-coded system of green, yellow and red to guide soldiers on whether to let the person go, stop them for questioning or arrest them, according to the report by Amnesty International. When the technology fails to identify someone, soldiers train the system by adding their personal information to the database.

Israel has long restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, but technological advances are giving the authorities powerful new tools. It is the latest example of the global spread of mass surveillance systems, which rely on A.I. to learn to identify the faces of people based on large stores of images.

In Hebron and East Jerusalem, the technology focuses almost entirely on Palestinians, according to Amnestys report, marking a new way to automate the control of interior boundaries that separate the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. Amnesty called the process automated apartheid. Israel has strongly denied that it operates an apartheid regime.
According to legend, Rome was born on April 21, 753 B.C., when Romulus, the survivor of its feuding twin founders, hitched his plow and furrowed a circular perimeter in the hills above the Tiber River. Everything inside was urbs, city space consecrated by priests who interpreted the will of the gods; everything outside was ager  unhallowed open territory. We have a city founded by the auspices and augury, the Roman historian Livy wrote. There is not a corner of it that is not full of our cults and our gods.

Rome, in a sense, has been sacred ground right from the start.

To many, Rome is the epicenter of Catholicism, the seat of the Vatican and home to a seemingly infinite number of churches. But in the nearly three millenniums of the citys recorded past, Christianity is but a chapter. Rome has sheltered polytheistic pagans and monotheistic Jews, adherents of Middle Eastern cults, and, in more recent times, a sizable multinational Muslim community. All have left traces  altars, temples, shrines, mosques, inscriptions  some hauntingly beautiful, others erased to stubs.

Rome being Rome, these holy places are often jumbled together or layered  a church dedicated to the Virgin on top of pagan temples; a medieval church built over an ancient home that had a shrine to the Persian sun god Mithras in its basement.

If you know where to look or what youre looking at, youll find many of these shrines in the historic center, though a few require short treks by train or car. Most pilgrims to the Eternal City declare victory when they reach St. Peters Square. But Rome and its environs conceal many holy places beyond the ken of the Bible.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on April 27 codifying conditions for the further large-scale deportation to Russia of residents of occupied areas of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its report on April 28.

According to the Western analysts, Putin signed a decree entitled "On the Peculiarities of the Legal Status of Certain Categories of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Russian Federation" that defines those who are living in Russian-occupied territories who have declared their desire to retain their current citizenship and refuse to accept Russian passports as "foreign citizens and stateless persons currently residing in the Russian Federation."

The decree codifies coercive methods to encourage residents of occupied areas to receive Russian passports and also sets conditions for the deportation of Ukrainians who do not agree to become Russian citizens. Russian authorities are also continuing other efforts to deport Ukrainians, particularly children, to Russia under various schemes.

"ISW continues to assess that all lines of effort aimed at deporting Ukrainians to Russia may constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as a potential deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign," the analysts said in the report.
To some residents, the challenges seem too complex to blame on the mayor, or for them to feel anything but resignation about the citys future. P. Town Moe, a local rapper, celebrated the end of the recall effort last month by performing a song called The Recall Is Ovaaa live on Instagram  not because he supported Ms. Cantrell, he said, but because removing her would do little to change the course of things.

It doesnt matter to me whos in office, he said. Because we always get the same outcome.

Ms. Cantrell, the first Black woman to be elected mayor of the majority Black city, took charge of New Orleans in 2018 with a reputation for being brusque to those in power but solicitous toward average residents, particularly those who felt their neighborhoods had been neglected. Her popularity soared with her steely response to the pandemic after Mardi Gras in 2020 became an early superspreader event.

But after easily winning re-election in 2021, Ms. Cantrell was besieged by new crises, most notably Hurricane Ida  after which trash pickup collapsed and has yet to fully recover  and a crime rate that continued rising through 2022. The number of murders last year, while falling far short of the peak in the early 1990s, was the highest since Hurricane Katrina. Fears over carjackings, in particular, grew as thieves roved the city. Exasperation mounted with crater-pocked roads and error-ridden, runaway utility bills.

Critics argued that Ms. Cantrell, a Democrat, had become distracted and defensive. They needled her for taking economic development trips to Switzerland, and to the French Riviera at a cost of $43,000 over four days. They criticized her for spending much of her time in a city-owned apartment in the French Quarter typically reserved for official business.
Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, a long-serving Democrat, announced his retirement on Monday, clearing the way for highly competitive primaries to replace him in 2024, especially among Democrats in a deep-blue state.

Marylands liberal-leaning voters have not sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1980, and the eight-member congressional delegation includes just one member of the G.O.P.

I have run my last election and will not be on the ballot in 2024, but there is still much work to be done, Mr. Cardin, 79, said in a statement. During the next two years, I will continue to travel around the state, listening to Marylanders and responding to their needs.

High-profile Maryland Democrats who could be in the mix to replace Mr. Cardin include Representatives Jamie Raskin and David Trone, and Angela Alsobrooks, the executive of Prince Georges County.
WASHINGTON  President Biden met with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines at the White House on Monday, a visit meant to send a message to China that the Filipino leader planned to deepen his countrys relationship with the United States.

Mr. Marcoss trip comes days after the U.S. and Philippine militaries held joint exercises aimed at curbing Chinas influence in the South China Sea and strengthening the United States ability to defend Taiwan if China invades. The exercises were part of a rapid and intensifying effort between the two countries: In February, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military would expand its presence in the Philippines, and this spring, four new military sites were announced.

We are facing new challenges, and I couldnt think of a better partner to have than you, Mr. Biden told Mr. Marcos in the Oval Office on Monday. The president listed initiatives that the two countries would work together on, including climate change and clean energy. Mr. Biden also announced trade and investment missions to the Philippines to encourage private-sector investments in the country.

But Mr. Biden emphasized that the main point of the visit, as far as American officials were concerned, was to shore up Filipino security and military capabilities.
WASHINGTON  A vote by House Republicans last week to lift the nations debt limit in exchange for deep spending cuts was the first step in what is likely to be a protracted battle over raising or suspending the borrowing cap to avoid defaulting on United States debt.

But while Republicans and President Biden and his fellow Democrats are gearing up for a fight, a key question is beginning to sow unease in Washington and on Wall Street: How much time is there to strike a deal?

The United States technically hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit in January, forcing the Treasury Department to employ accounting maneuvers known as extraordinary measures to allow the government to keep paying its bills, including payments to bondholders who own government debt. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said at the time that her powers to delay a default  in which the United States fails to make its payments on time  could be exhausted by early June. She cautioned, however, that the estimate came with considerable uncertainty.

With June now just a few weeks away, uncertainty around the timing of when the United States will run out of cash  whats known as the X-date  remains, and determining the true deadline could have huge consequences for the country.
His first ad, released on Wednesday as part of an initial six-figure purchase, highlights how he grew up on my family farm in rural Kentucky. Known in Frankfort for a decade, Mr. Quarles has capitalized on longstanding relationships for support.

A celebrity versus the resources versus old school, said Scott Jennings, a Republican operative in the state, summing up the contest between the three top contenders.

Cameron is the front-runner, but theres no doubt this race has gotten close and remains fluid, added Mr. Jennings, who like many other Republicans has remained neutral.

Indeed, many of the major forces in Kentucky Republican politics are staying on the sidelines. Mr. McConnell has not issued an endorsement and does not plan to do so, according to people close to him, and his vast network of operatives in the state has largely not picked sides. Senator Rand Paul is also not endorsing a candidate. And most of Kentuckys congressional delegation  except Representative James Comer, who endorsed Ms. Craft  has stayed out of the race.

For Republicans, part of the challenge of defeating Mr. Beshear has to do with the G.O.P. dominance of the state. Republicans hold supermajorities in the Legislature, making it difficult for the governor to wield much power without a veto. Yet that has kept Mr. Beshear from contentious showdowns with Republicans on hot-button issues, and has let him focus on using state resources to help repair infrastructure and improve the economy.
The body, which has no enforcement mechanism, also found that Abu Zubaydah had been denied a meaningful review of his detention and so was being unlawfully held. The appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Zubaydah immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law, the group said in an opinion.

He was the first prisoner of a C.I.A. black site, a global network of overseas, secret prisons that held more than 100 men beyond the reach of U.S. law and the International Committee of the Red Cross from 2002 to 2006.

Two C.I.A. contract psychologists devised a torture program of enhanced interrogation techniques, specifically for use on him in an agency prison in Thailand, in which he was waterboarded, deprived of sleep and confined in a coffinlike box.

In 2019, Abu Zubaydah drew sketches of how he was tortured. His lawyers made the drawings public, with the face of an interrogator redacted behind a black box.

Image Abu Zubaydah.

The report criticized five other nations where the United States held Abu Zubaydah  Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Morocco and Lithuania. In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights censured Lithuania and Romania for their complicity in the C.I.A. program.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a case that could make it easier to curtail the power of administrative agencies, a long-running goal of the conservative legal movement that could have far-reaching implications for how American society imposes rules on businesses.

In a terse order, the court said it would hear a case that seeks to limit or overturn a unanimous 1984 precedent, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. According to the decision, if part of the law Congress wrote empowering a regulatory agency is ambiguous but the agencys interpretation is reasonable, judges should defer to it.

At issue in the case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, is a rule that requires fishing vessels to pay for monitors who ensure that they comply with regulations meant to prevent overfishing. The National Marine Fisheries Service established the rule, and a group of companies has challenged whether the agency had the authority to do so.

When the Supreme Court decides on the case, most likely in its next term, the outcome could have implications that go beyond fisheries.
Immigration officials revealed on Monday that a fugitive Mexican national accused of killing five neighbors over the weekend had previously been deported four times. Even as he remained at large and the target of an extensive manhunt, the case seemed sure to reignite the bitter national debates over immigration policy and gun control.

It began Friday evening with a type of noise complaint not uncommon in rural Texas. The authorities said that the suspect, Francisco Oropesa, was shooting a gun in his yard in Cleveland, Texas, when a neighbor, Wilson Garcia, approached him and asked him to stop so that his baby could sleep.

Mr. Oropesa, 38, responded by getting an AR-15 rifle from his house and walking over to Mr. Garcias home about 11:30 p.m., where he killed Mr. Garcias 8-year-old son, wife and three other people, the authorities said.
Thousands of people have descended on a port city in eastern Sudan in recent days, fleeing the violence in the capital and trying to secure their escape aboard vessels heading over the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

The coastal city of Port Sudan  the countrys biggest seaport  has been transformed into a hub for those displaced by the war, with people using cloth and chairs to construct makeshift tents, packing a local amusement park for shelter and waiting for help in three-digit heat.

Saudi Arabia has played a central role in the evacuation, extricating more than 5,000 foreigners from Sudan since the fighting erupted just over two weeks ago between the forces of two rival Sudanese generals. Saudi Arabia is one of the closest countries to Sudan  less than 150 miles across the Red Sea  and has the means to manage a large-scale evacuation.

The operation also fit efforts by the kingdoms de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to position Saudi Arabia as a rising global power and neutral mediator. Saudi officials have relationships with both of Sudans warring generals, and Saudi Arabia is a member of the four-country group that tried and failed to steer Sudan to civilian-led rule.
Keshub Mahindra, an Indian industrialist who built a family steel and automotive business into a vast multinational conglomerate, but whose reputation was marred by his conviction for negligence in a poison gas leak that killed thousands of people in Bhopal in 1984, died on April 12. He was 99.

His company, Mahindra Group, confirmed his death in a statement. His daughter Yuthica Mahindra said he died at his home in Mumbai.

Under Mr. Mahindras leadership, the company expanded rapidly from its core businesses of steel trading and building Willys jeeps to become a conglomerate with businesses in more than 20 industries, including cloud and network technology, hospitality, renewable energy, logistics, financial services and real estate.

He made international partnerships with companies like Peugeot, British Telecom and Mitsubishi, helping those companies build businesses in India while taking Mahindra global. He did not neglect Mahindras core business as he expanded, and in time the company became a leading automobile manufacturer in India, known for S.U.V.s, and a global purveyor of tractors.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.

"Had a phone call with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Discussed the program of long-term defense cooperation. Noted the beginning of the Russian assets confiscation and called for increased sanctions pressure on Russia. Coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO summit and other international events," Zelenskyy said on Twitter on Monday.
The police in Thailand have arrested a woman in the poisoning death of a friend and charged her with premeditated murder in the deaths of eight other people.

After the arrest, the authorities quickly linked the woman, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, to six more deaths, and the number grew to 14 after members of the public came forward and claimed that relatives had died soon after meeting her.

She has so far been charged in nine of the deaths, but the authorities said they believed she was responsible for all 14 deaths over several years, as well as one attempted poisoning.

Ms. Sararat, 36, is the ex-wife of a senior police official, the authorities said. She was found with a bottle of cyanide when she was arrested last week, they added.
President Biden met President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines on Monday at the White House, part of a four-day U.S. visit by Mr. Marcos intended to signal a strengthening alliance between the two countries.

The pair were set to discuss efforts to uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to a White House statement, reflecting heightened anxieties over Chinas growing assertiveness and fears of conflict over Taiwan, disputed seas, islands and shipping lanes.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines had been more conciliatory than his predecessors toward China and at times more confrontational with the United States. Mr. Marcos, elected last year, has moved closer to Washington.

Heres a brief breakdown of the relationship between the United States and the Philippines, which have long had a close  though at times unsteady  relationship:

Are the U.S. and the Philippines allies?

The Philippines, the oldest American treaty ally in the Asia-Pacific region, has long been a strategic anchor for American influence and military power in the western Pacific, but it is a relationship complicated by historic grievances.
THE BATTLE: The fight for Bakhmut, the ruined city in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, has become a focal point of the war as both sides have poured troops into battle and sustained heavy casualties. Bakhmut is viewed as a springboard for President Vladimir V. Putins stated aim of seizing the entire Donbas, while for Ukraine it has become a symbol of resistance. This year, Russia seized towns and villages to the north and south of Bakhmut, entering the city itself and forcing Ukraine to defend a shrinking slice of urban ground, as signs grew that Ukraine might be forced to retreat.

THE LATEST: Both sides have cited gains in recent days, though the claims could not be verified. The commander of Ukraines eastern group of forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, said in comments reported on Monday that Russia had been forced to withdraw from some positions in some parts of the city. On Saturday, a Ukrainian army spokesman said that Russian forces had failed to capture a key road running west to the town of Chasiv Yar, which Kyivs forces have used to send in reinforcements and supplies.

In contrast, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner militia that has spearheaded much of Russias fighting in Bakhmut, said over the weekend that Russian forces had advanced hundreds of yards in several directions, leaving Ukraine in control of ground equivalent to just a few city blocks. Russias Defense Ministry said on Monday that airborne troops and assault units were pinning Ukrainian forces back in the western part of the city.

WHY IT MATTERS: Amid the dueling claims, the fighting in Bakhmut, which began last summer, continues to draw in enormous resources on both sides, but Russia has not succeeded in gaining full control of the city. With Ukraine soon expected to launch a counteroffensive aimed at retaking occupied territory, independent military analysts say it is possible that its plans could include a renewed push in Bakhmut.
An explosion derailed a freight train in Russias Bryansk region on Monday, according to the local governor and the Russian railways company, the latest in a spate of apparent attacks to hit the area bordering Ukraine.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed a large fire burning and a train tilted askew, with at least one carriage lying on its side.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Aleksandr V. Bogomaz, blamed an unidentified explosive device, saying in a post on the Telegram messaging app that there were no casualties. He did not say who was responsible, and Ukraine did not claim to have been behind the blast, although Kyiv generally maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity about strikes on Russian territory.

The Russian railways company said in a statement that an intrusion by unauthorized individuals derailed the train, which set the locomotive on fire. The incident blocked traffic on the rail line, the statement said.
French workers marched across the country on Monday, as the annual May Day demonstrations in France coincided with smoldering anger over an unpopular pension overhaul that President Emmanuel Macron pushed through last month.

From Le Havre in the north to Marseille in the south, some 800,000 people took to the streets, according to French authorities, with violent clashes in some places. Unions gave a much higher figure, 2.3 million.

The protest culminated in the afternoon with an enormous march in Paris against the governments decision to raise the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62, an effort that led to the biggest political threat in Mr. Macrons second term.

Laurent Berger, the leader of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor, the largest union in the country, told reporters at the march in Paris that the protests were a way to continue the fight against the pension overhaul and to say no again to retirement at 64.
Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who became House speaker in January, made a public promise on Monday to continue supporting Ukraines war effort, walking back previous suggestions that the new House majority might curtail U.S. military and financial investments in Kyivs effort to beat back Russias invasion.

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem shortly after delivering a speech to Israels Parliament, Mr. McCarthy pushed back forcefully after a reporter for the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti questioned him about whether he might pull back on aid and weaponry for Ukraine.

I vote for aid for Ukraine, I support aid for Ukraine, Mr. McCarthy said to the reporter, who had prefaced his question by stating, We know that you dont support the current unlimited and uncontrolled supplies of weaponry and aid to Ukraine.

Mr. McCarthy, who has previously said that there would be no blank check for Ukraine, then added a sharp condemnation of Russias actions in the conflict.
A couple of weeks before the end of the war, five German soldiers buried the treasure, but another, Helmut Sonder, watched them while lying in the bushes with a war injury.

He drew a map from memory, presumably with the idea of coming back for the spoils, according to the documents. The map prompted a hunt for the gold and jewels, to the dismay of some locals, and elevated the profile of Ommeren.

The map suggested a degree of precision  the treasure, it said, was buried about 1.7 to 2.3 feet deep, next to three poplar trees. But the trees are long gone, and the location has remained as mysterious as ever.

The search led by Ms. Honders, who also works at a regional museum, represented the only formal effort to find what had been left behind. The Buren municipality, which includes Ommeren, turned away several requests for similar endeavors, according to Pieter Neven, an official there. Ms. Honderss foray was approved, he said, because We wanted to handle it professionally.

Mr. Neven said that the municipality had subsidized Ms. Honderss search with 2,000 euros, about $2,200, to help pay for the archaeologists and professional metal-detector operators.
Signs of an imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive mounted on Monday with stepped-up military strikes by both sides, Russian forces moving into defensive positions and even an unexplained explosion that knocked a supply train off its tracks across the border in Russia.

Ukraines defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said in an appearance on national television that the military was reaching the finish line in preparations to launch a counteroffensive and that commanders would decide how, where and when.

The day began with Russia launching broad aerial assaults across Ukraine, its second wide-ranging attack in four days.

In Pavlograd, a city in central Ukraine, dozens of buildings were damaged, including schools and homes, local officials said, and missile strikes set off a massive fire that lit up the night sky. In Kyiv and elsewhere, explosions echoed across the pre-dawn landscape as air defenses shot down what the Ukrainian military said was 15 of 18 Russian cruise missiles.
At least 100,000 Russian fighters have been killed or wounded in Ukraine in just the past five months, the White House said on Monday, offering the latest estimate of the vast human toll of President Vladimir V. Putins invasion.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the figure included 20,000 Russian fighters who had been killed in action. About half of those were mercenaries for the Wagner group, the paramilitary force founded by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin that recruited heavily from Russian prisons to bolster its ranks and carry out a brutal campaign around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The claims could not be independently verified.

In November, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reported that 100,000 fighters on each side had been killed or wounded since the war began in February 2022. American officials believe the losses have grown for Russia as it has sent waves of poorly trained recruits and convicts to the front lines in Ukraines east, where months of intense fighting has engulfed the area around Bakhmut, a city that has been central to Mr. Putins goal of seizing the Donbas region.

While both sides have fought bitterly over Bakhmut, military analysts have suggested that control of the city has more symbolic power than strategic importance.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy offered on Monday to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for high-level bipartisan meetings in Congress  issuing an implicit challenge to President Biden, who has refrained from welcoming the Israeli leader to the White House in a protest against his domestic agenda.

The offer fell short of a formal invitation, but the comments were a break with diplomatic custom and tradition, and reminiscent of a similar move by congressional Republicans during the Obama administration when tensions in the U.S.-Israeli alliance were similarly fraught.

The move also risked exacerbating tensions between Democrats and Republicans over how the United States should manage its alliance with Israel, a bond that has traditionally had bipartisan support in Washington.

Mr. McCarthys comments, at a news briefing after he spoke at the Israeli Parliament, suggested a business-as-usual approach to Mr. Netanyahus government.
Russian occupiers carry out 19 missile, 13 air strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets in day  AFU

Over the past day, Russia launched another massive missile attack on civilian targets in Ukraine. The Russian aggressor cynically continues to use terror tactics, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"In total, during the day, the enemy launched 19 missile strikes (our defenders successfully destroyed 15 enemy Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles), launched 13 air strikes and fired 13 rocket launchers. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded from among the civilian population, including children. Residential high-rise buildings, private residential buildings, schools, hospitals, kindergartens and other civilian infrastructure have been destroyed and damaged," the AFU said on Facebook.

The likelihood of further missile and air strikes throughout Ukraine remains high, the General Staff aid.

During the day, more than 70 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions were subjected to enemy strikes.

The invaders continue to concentrate their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Maryinka directions - more than 30 enemy attacks were repelled during the day. Bakhmut and Maryinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities, Ukrainian soldiers courageously hold the line.

In Volyn and Polissia directions, no signs of the formation of enemy offensive groups were found.

In Siversk and Slobozhansk directions, the enemy continues to hold a certain number of troops in the regions of Russia bordering Ukraine.

In Kupiansk direction, the enemy did not carry out offensive operations.

In Lyman direction, the enemy tried to improve the tactical situation, conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the areas of Novoselivsky and Bilohorivka.

In Bakhmut direction, the enemy continues to conduct offensive operations. Fighting continues in the city of Bakhmut.

In Avdiyivka direction, the enemy conducted offensive operations in Pervomaisky region of Donetsk region, but did not achieve success.

In Maryinsky direction, the enemy continues to attack the positions of the Ukrainian troops. The battles for Maryinka continue.

In Shakhtersk direction, the enemy did not carry out offensive operations during the day.

In Zaporizhia and Kherson directions, the enemy continues to conduct defensive operations.
A man in his late teens has been arrested and charged in connection to a violent brawl that saw horrified staff and customers inside a Longford shop watch on in terror as two men traded blows in broad daylight.

Gardai launched an investigation into the incident after two young men suddenly began exchanging punches inside the door of a shop.

Video footage taken from the scene showed a young man approach the counter before another young male suddenly appeared while appearing to video the other suspect on a mobile phone.

Seconds later, the two suspects could be seen grappling and throwing punches at one another as staff and customers looked on in disbelief.

The 90 second clip also showed how another man attempted to intervene as the fight between the two suspects intensified.

The violent brawl is eventually broken up when another man enters the store and escorts one of the assailants outside.

A number of customers who had stayed outside the store as the unruly events inside unfolded can be seen entering the store, clearly startled at what had occurred just seconds before.

Camera footage taken from the scene moments afterwards underlined the ferocity of the incident as broken glass and a number of bottles could be seen left strewn across the floor and across the counter top.

Longfordleader.ie can reveal gardai this morning arrested a man in his late teens before later charging him in connection to the incident.

Gardai in Longford were alerted following reports of two males fighting in a retail premises on Main Street, Longford, on Friday 21st April, 2023. Those involved had left the premises on arrival of Gardai, said a garda spokesperson.

This morning, Friday 28th April 2023, an adult male, in his late teens, was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He has since been charged and is due to appear before Longford District Court at a later date.

Investigations are ongoing."
A woman who crashed into two parked cars while trying out a car she bought was charged with hit and run.

Dorothy Umukoro, 39, with an address at the Montague Hotel, Cappakeel, Emo admitted dangerous driving, hit and run and having no insurance or licence at her address on April 8, 2023.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said gardai were called to the hotel following a report that a car had crashed into two parked cars. Responding gardai viewed CCTV and identified the defendant, he said.

She was arrested and admitted the offence, he said. The woman has no previous convictions, he added.

Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client has lived in Ireland for eight years and works part time as a security officer. He said one of her acquaintances at the refugee centre wanted to sell a car and she foolishly agreed to buy it.

Mr Meagher said she was driving it around the car park to test it when the collision occurred.

She is extremely embarrassed and ashamed of what happened, said Mr Meagher.

Judge Andrew Cody fined the woman a total of 700 and disqualified her from driving for two years. He granted legal aid in the case.
Karnataka polls: Congress launches 'CryPMPayCM' campaign to ridicule PM Modi

Bengaluru

oi-Deepika S

A day after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taunted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 'crying' in public, the Congress has launched the "CryPMpayCM" campaign in the poll-bound state.

Soon after Priyanka's comments on PM Modi, the hashtag #CryPMPayCM started trending on Twitter with several Congress leaders using it.

"The PM's speeches these days remind me of my Facebook feed - full of complaints and no substantial content. Time for a status update? #CryPMPayCM," Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee tweeted.

Similar to the "PayCM" campaign against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the Karnataka Congress come up with a "CryPM" poster bearing a QR with the photograph of the prime minister.

How BJP and Congress have spent on the elections in Karnataka

Addressing a public rally in Bagalkote district, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, referred to PM Modi's remarks about verbal abuse, saying one has to take such attacks in their stride in public life and asked him to learn from Rahul Gandhi, who "is ready to take a bullet for the sake of the country".

"At least they (91 abuses) are fitting on one page; if you look at the abuses by them to my family and if we start making a list, we will publish books after books about it." "It is strange what I'm seeing for the past two-three days. I have seen many prime ministers -- Indira Ji (Indira Gandhi), she took bullets for this country. I have seen Rajiv Gandhi. He sacrificed his life for this country. I have seen P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh working hard for this country," she said.

"But he (Modi) is the first prime minister I have seen who comes before you and cries that he is being abused. Instead of listening to your grief, he is coming here and telling you his (problems)."

Slamming the prime minister, she said someone in his office had made a list not about the problems of the people, but who had abused him multiple times.

After Mallikarjun Kharge's poisonous snake remark, his son Priyank calls PM Modi 'nalayak beta'

"Have courage Modi ji. Learn from my brother Rahul Gandhi. My brother says he is ready to take a bullet for the sake of this country, not just abuse. My brother says he will stand for truth, whether you abuse, shoot a bullet or stab with a knife," Priyanka Vadra said.

with PTI inputs

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 17:03 [IST]
BJP turns Nandini row into opportunity, vows free milk to BPL people

India

oi-Prakash KL

For over four months, the controversy around Nandini milk kept hogging the headlines in Karnataka. Now, ruling BJP has turned it into an opportunity to woo the voters.

A statement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Mandya in December gave a solid opportunity for Congress and JDS to target the BJP to build a 'North vs South' narrative ahead of Assembly elections.

In December, Shah had announced that Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)'s 'Amul' and Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF)'s 'Nandini' would work jointly to set up primary diaries in every village of Karnataka in three years.

The statement was met with criticism after some vested interests went on to claim that Amul is trying to "root out" Nandini and thus undermining the Kannadiga identity and culture. The Opposition misinterpreted his statement stating that it is "a ploy to merge Nandini with Amul."

Will UCC promise help BJP win Karnataka polls?

The issue was reignited after Amul announced its entry into the fresh dairy market in Bengaluru on April 5. The opposition parties got a fresh opportunity to corner the BJP and started online campaigns using hashtags like #GoBackAmul, #SaveNandini.

Especially Congress used the opportunity to gain political mileage despite the BJP clearing that it had no plans on merging India's two leading dairy products brand. Party leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramiah and D.K. Shivakumar went to the extent of buying Nandini products at an outlet during an election rally.

BJP's smart move

In a smart move to send a message to Kannadigas that it stands with home-grown Nandini, BJP has announced in its election manifesto that Nandini milk will be distributed free to BPL families. It has promised half litre milk to the BPL families if it comes back to power. BJP has thus put the Congress and JDS on backfoot now.

It is interesting to see how Congress responds to the development even as it is prepping up to release its manifesto tomorrow.

The single-phase election for 224 Assembly seats in Karnataka will be held on May 10. The results will be declared on May 13.
BSP MP Afzal Ansari disqualified as member of Lok Sabha

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Afzal Ansari was disqualified on Monday as member of Lok Sabha after he was convicted and sentenced to four-year jail in a criminal case.

Ansari was born on August 1, 1958, in Ghazipur. He is the younger brother of Mukhtar Ansari, who is also a politician and a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Ansari, the Lok Sabha member from Ghazipur, was sentenced to four years in jail by an MP/MLA court on Saturday. His brother, criminal-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was also convicted in the same case and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The brothers were booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then MLA from Ghazipur, Krishnanad Rai, on November 29, 2005 along with the kidnapping and murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.

Mukhtar Ansari gets 10-year jail term in kidnapping, murder case

"Consequent upon his conviction...Afzal Ansari, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Ghazipur Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 29 April, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," according to a Lok Sabha secretariat notification.

Afzal Ansari was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Ghazipur constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Indian general election. He has also served as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Mohammadabad constituency in 1996 and from the Mau constituency in 2007.

Ansari has been involved in various controversies, including criminal cases such as murder, kidnapping, and extortion. He was arrested in 2005 in connection with the murder of BJP legislator Krishnanand Rai and was acquitted in 2010 due to lack of evidence. In 2019, he was booked for allegedly assaulting a contractor in Ghazipur.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently lost his Lok Sabha membership after he was convicted in a 2019 defamation case and sentenced to two years in jail.
Can Censor Board or govt ban a film? What's the criteria?

India

oi-Prakash KL

Many political parties are up in arms against the upcoming movie 'The Kerala Story' as they demand the government to ban the movie.

The politicians, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, have said that the movie appears to be "deliberately" produced with the alleged aim of creating "communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against the state."

Vijayan has even gone to the extent of calling it a "propaganda film" that raises the issue of "love jihad" and said that the alienation of Muslims depicted in them should be viewed in the context of "Sangh Parivar's efforts to gain political advantage" in Kerala.

"In the trailer of the movie, we see a hoax that 32,000 women in Kerala were converted and became members of the Islamic State. This bogus story is a product of the Sangh Parivar's lie factory," the CM said in a statement.

What is the fuss around 'The Kerala Story all about

Congress, CPM youth wing DYFI and Youth League of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have demanded a ban on 'The Kerala Story' as the movie is prepping up for a big release on May 5.

The 'Ban Culture' in India

Ban on movies in India is not uncommon. Every party when in power has banned movies they are uncomfortable with, citing one or the other reason. Congress government in 1975 had denied permission to full release of 'Aandhi' (gale) as it was partially based on Indira Gandhi's life.

Two years later, 'Kissa Kursi ka' (tale of a throne) was banned as it was a satire on her son Sanjay's dream of a "small car" (Maruti).

Shekhar Kapur's 'The Bandit Queen', based on the life of Phoolan Devi, was banned for some controversial scenes, in 1994. Both Islamist and Hindutva groups have targeted many movies if they found the content to be anti-Islam or anti-Hindu.

There are also instances of politicians trying to settle score with actors for their acts and comments that are against the governments or political parties. Notably, then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had infamously banned Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam'. The reason offered was that the release of the movie would "create law and order problems" in the State.

Two years later, another Tamil actor Vijay's 'Thalivaa' was unofficially banned. It means the government did not explain the reason why exhibitors were not screening while theatres owners claimed that there were threats to their properties if his films are released.

'The Kerala Story' taking up Sangh Parivar propaganda by raising 'love jihad' issue: CM Vijayan

In both instances, the lead actors had rubbed 'Amma' (Jayalalithaa) the wrong way, due to which she was trying to clip their wings.

In 2011, Supreme Court had ruled that State governments cannot ban a film, cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), better known as Censor Board, for public screening, on the apprehension that it could cause a law and order problem. "It is for the State to maintain law and order effectively and meaningfully," the court had said.

In 2018 again, the apex court said that once CBFC grants certification to a movie, there cannot be any kind of obstruction for its exhibition. "Once the film is granted certificate by the competent statutory board, unless the said certificate is nullified or modified by any superior authority, the producer or distributor of the film has every right to get it exhibited in a movie hall," it explained.

Can the CBFC ban a film?

Interestingly, the Centre has said in 2022 that CBFC cannot ban a movie. However, it can refuse to certify it. The CBFC examines a film under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, and the guidelines issued thereunder. It may certify a movie for public exhibition under 'U', 'U/A', 'A' and 'S' categories, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said in Rajya Sabha while responding to a query.

"The power to ban a film does not lie with the CBFC. However, CBFC can refuse certification to a film for public exhibition for violation of Guidelines issued under Section 5B of the Cinematograph Act, 1952," he said. The exhibition of films is a State subject and the State governments are empowered with licensing and other related matters about the exhibition of films in the State, he added.

Criteria to ban movies

According to Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, restrictions on screening movies can be imposed if a movie threatens the sovereignty and integrity of the country, security, friendly relations with foreign countries, hate speech, contempt of court and public order.

With inputs from agencies
Cannot order for use of traditional remedies like Red Ant Chutney as cure for COVID-19: SC

Chargesheet without valid sanction no ground to claim default bail: SC

India

oi-PTI

Obtaining sanction for prosecution from competent authorities is not part of the investigation and an accused cannot claim an indefeasible right of being released on default bail due to lack of such approval if the chargesheet has been filed within the allowed period, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala said whether the sanction is required or not under a statute is a question that has to be considered at the time of taking cognisance of the offence and not during inquiry or investigation.

In case the sanctioning authority takes some time to accord sanction, that does not vitiate the final report filed by the investigating agency before the court, it said.

The apex court said it cannot be said that obtaining sanction from the competent authorities is part of the investigation.

"We find no merit in the principal argument canvassed on behalf of the appellants that a charge sheet filed without sanction is an incomplete charge sheet..."Once the charge sheet has been filed within the stipulated time, the question of grant of statutory/default bail does not arise. Whether cognizance has been taken or not taken is not relevant for the purpose of compliance with Section 167 of the CrPC. The mere filing of the charge sheet is sufficient," the bench said.

Supreme Court says it can dissolve marriage on grounds of irretrievable breakdown

According to section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an accused will be entitled to default bail if the investigating agency fails to file a charge sheet within 60 days from the date of remand. For certain categories of offences, the stipulated period can be extended to 90 days.

The top court said that according the sanction is the duty of the sanctioning authority which is not connected with the investigation at all.

"In case the sanctioning authority takes some time to accord sanction, that does not vitiate the final report filed by the investigating agency before the court.

"Therefore, once a final report has been filed, that is the proof of completion of investigation and if the final report is filed within the period of 180 days or 90 days or 60 days from the initial date of remand of the accused concerned, he cannot claim that a right has accrued to him to be released on bail for want of filing of sanction order," the bench said.

The judgement came on appeals by five accused charged with offences under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive substances Act.

The accused had challenged the order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had declined to release them on default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the accused, had argued that the charge sheet filed without sanction is incomplete and on the basis of such incomplete no cognisance can be taken.

The top court said an accused cannot claim any indefeasible right of being released on statutory/default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC on the ground that cognisance has not been taken before the expiry of the statutory time period to file the charge sheet.

The apex court also said if an investigating agency wants to seek an extension for the filing of a charge sheet, they must be careful that such an extension is not sought at the last moment.

"The right to be released on default bail continues to remain enforceable if the accused has applied for such bail, notwithstanding the pendency of the bail application or subsequent filing of the charge sheet or a report seeking extension of time by the prosecution before the court.

"However, where the accused fails to apply for default bail when the right accrues to him, and subsequently a charge sheet, or a report seeking extension of time is preferred before the magistrate or any other competent court, the right to default bail would be extinguished," the bench said.

It said the court would be at liberty to take cognisance of the case or grant further time for completion of the investigation, as the case may be, though the accused may still be released on bail under other provisions of the CrPC.
AT Market LLC (Kyiv), bottling high-mountain Carpathian water under the Voda UA trademark, has invested $600,000 in expanding its product line and launched the production of a drink made from kombucha.

"We built a plant in Irpin before the war. We invested about $600,000. During the occupation of Irpin, the plant was damaged, but it was quickly restored," the owner and founder of the company, Dmytro Nikiforov, told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, when making a decision on investments, the company was guided by the lack of real kombucha on the Ukrainian market. "There are some surrogates and lemonades based on tea," Nikiforov said.

He said that the company decided to start producing the "good product," so the process is led by a skilled technologist and everything is done technologically very correctly.

According to him, the plant can produce 2 tonnes of kombucha daily, which is sold in 0.33 glass bottles under the TM Kombucha uno. It is planned to use 800-850 HORECA points, as well as five or six retail chains to sell the new drink. In May 2023, the manufacturer plans to launch flavored kombucha with five or six different flavors.

Nikiforov said that he expects kombucha to grow in popularity in Ukraine as it happens in the world as a "healthy alternative to various kvass and lemonades."

Since 2019, the Ukrainian market for this drink has doubled annually. In the year of war of 2022, the market capacity was estimated at 120 million bottles. In 2023, consumption is expected to increase by 150%, the company anticipates.
Doesnt amount to cheating if man told live-in partner that he was married: HC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Calcutta High Court has said that entering into a live-in relationship after coming clean to the partner about a marital status does not amount to cheating.

The High Court passed the order while overruling a lower court's judgment in which a hotel executive was fined Rs 10 lakh for 'cheating 'his live-in partner of 11 months by walking from the relationship and reneging on his promise of marriage.

In his judgment, Justice Siddhartha Roy Chowdhary observed that cheating, as defined by Section 415 of the Indian Penal Code, referred to inducements in a dishonest or fraudulent manner and also intentional. The common thread in both was deception, the judge said. In order to establish deception, it needed to be proved that the defendants's promise to marry the litigant-for inducing here to have sexual relations with him was false.

On the other hand if the person does not hide his marital status and parenthood, it introduces an element of uncertainty in such relationships, the HC said. If the victim consciously accepted that risk of uncertainty at the very beginning of their relationship, it could not be cheating, the court held. If there is no concealment of fact, resulting in deception, a charge of cheating as defined in Section 415 cannot be proved, the court further held.

The court was hearing an appeal against an order of the Alipore court, which had fined the defendant Rs 10 lakh of which Rs 8 lakh had to be paid to his former partner. Rs 2 lakh was to be paid as fine to the state. The court held him guilty for cohabiting with her for 11 months and reneging on his promise to marry her.

The woman had filed a complaint in which she said that while going fro a hotel job interview, she met with the front-desk manager. The manager was informal and had flirted with her, she said. He had asked for her phone number which she gave willingly.

She also mentioned that when she first met with the accused, he had told her about his failed marriage. He had asked her to move in with him, which she did. The woman's family knew about the relationship and wanted to her to marry quickly. The man however had gone to Mumbai to meet his estranged wife and family. Upon his return, he informed the complainant that he had changed his mind on the divorce. The woman felt cheated and filed a complaint relating to cheating and rape.

She said that her decision to enter into a relationship was purely based on the man's promise that he would dissolve his marriage and then marry her.
Eastern India may experience heat wave in May, says IMD

Weather update: Rainfall activity likely to decrease across India after 24 hours

Rain, hailstorm likely over parts of MP, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra

India will get its own index to quantify heat impact next year, says IMD chief

Weather Update: Summer cyclone Mocha likely to develop over Bay of Bengal around May 9

Enhanced thunderstorms likely to continue over several parts of India: IMD

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted enhanced thunderstorm activity likely to continue over the country till May 2.

Meanwhile, moderate to severe thunderstorm accompanied with lightning, gusty winds & hailstorm over Northwest, Central, East and southeast peninsular India during 01st-02nd May and decrease gradually thereafter.

Isolated heavy rainfall likely over Northwest India (Jammu region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh on 01st & 02nd May) and decrease thereafter

Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail over the southern part of India. ''Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over South India (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, South Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal, Kerala & Mahe) during 01st-03rd May and decrease thereafter,''the IMD said.

Weather update: IMD predicts rainfall in these states in next 5 days

The weather agency has also issued warnings for heavy rainfall in various parts of North India including Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, over the next few days. In addition, a duststorm is expected at isolated locations in West Rajasthan on May 4th.

In South India, scattered/fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorm/lightning/gusty winds (40-50 kmph) very likely over the region during next 4 days.

"Heavy to very Heavy rainfall at isolated places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema & Tamil Nadu on 01st May and isolated heavy rainfall over South Interior Karnataka, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Kerala & Tamil Nadu during 01st-03rd May," the MeT Department stated.

In addition, hailstorm very likely at isolated places over Telangana on 01st & 02nd May.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 17:17 [IST]
Sale of electoral bonds ahead of Karnataka polls up nine times compared to 2018

We havent said we will ban Bajrang Dal says senior Congress leader Moily

From UCC to Nandini: 15 promises BJP made in its manifesto

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in its manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka.

Among the other promises made by the party are Nandini milk to BPL families and the implementation NRC in Karnataka, if voted to power.

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Karnataka Elections 2023: BJP releases party manifesto, calls it Praja Dhwani| Oneindia News

Here is a look at the full list of promises that the BJP has made in its manifesto:

Introduction of NRC in Karnataka

Financial incentive for the youth

Implementation of UCC

Upgradation of government schools

Poshana schools to be launched

5 kg Shri Anna, siri Dhanya through monthly ration cards

Namma clinic in every ward

Atal Ahara Kendra in every ward

Bengaluru to be the state capital region

Rs 3,000 K-Agri fund to be set up

Karnataka to become e-vehicle hub

3 free cylinders to BPL families

Samanvya schemes to ITs

Nandini milk to BPL families

Distribution of 10 lakh housing sites.

Elections are being held in Karnataka on May 10. The results would be out on May 13. The BJP is looking to retain power in a state where anti-incumbency is high. The Congress on the other hand is trying to regain power after it lost it in 2018.
'Godman' Asaram gets bail in forged documents case, to remain in jail for sexual exploitation of minor

India

pti-PTI

The Rajasthan High Court on Monday granted bail to self-styled godman Asaram in a case pertaining to furnishing a forged RTI reply in the Supreme Court in support of his bail plea.

Granting bail to Asaram, Justice Kuldeep Mathur of the high court's Jodhpur bench observed that no direct role was attributed to the petitioner in the creation of the forged RTI reply submitted before the apex court and the offences alleged to have been committed by him are triable by a magistrate.

Asaram is already serving a life sentence since 2018, following his conviction in a case of sexual exploitation of a minor student of his "gurukul".

The court also took into account that co-accused Ravirai Marwah has already been granted bail and the trial is likely to go on for long. The case was lodged against Asaram after Marwah, one of his sympathisers, submitted the forged RTI reply pertaining to the self-styled godman's health condition in the Supreme Court for the purpose of his bail in 2016.

The document was allegedly obtained from a Jodhpur jail through an application filed under the the Right to Information (RTI) Act by one Ganesh Kumar and was provided to Marwah, who subsequently handed it to Asaram's lawyer in the apex court.

Asaram Bapu gets life imprisonment in 10-year-old rape case: Who is the self-proclaimed 'Godman'?

On finding that the document was forged following an objection by the state government, the Supreme Court had directed police to file a case against Asaram and Marwah despite the self-styled godman tendering an apology in the court. Asaram's counsel Gokulesh Bohra said police had arrested Asaram in the case from the Jodhpur jail on a production warrant and filed a chargesheet against the two.

"While Marwah has already been granted bail, we also argued in the court that Asaram has already been in judicial custody in another criminal case for the last 10 years and he is not allowed to meet devotees and other visitors in the absence of the jail authorities," Bohra said. He further told the court that the petitioner could not have had any opportunity to prepare a fake document and was only a signatory to the vakalatnama filed before the Supreme Court for bail.
Will govt conduct research on use of Ganga water for Covid treatment? Minister explains

Up to the Parliament, not the courtCentre on Uniform Civil Code

Govt blocks 14 chatting apps used by terrorists to receive texts from Pak

India

oi-Deepika S

In a major crackdown, the central government has blocked 14 messenger mobile applications, which were being used by terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, to spread messages from Pakistan.

The banned apps include Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Crypviser, Enigma, Element, Second line, Zangi, and Threema.

The government said that these apps were banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 because 'they were found to be spreading terror propaganda and inciting youths in Jammu and Kashmir.'

According to reports, the mobile applications were used by terrorists in Pakistan to send coded messages to overground workers and other operatives in the Kashmir valley.

These mobile applications were used by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir to communicate with their supporters and on-ground workers (OGW), news agency reported citing sources.

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J&K: Modi government bans 14 messaging apps used by terror outfits | Oneindia News

"Agencies keep an eye on channels used by OGWs and terrorists to communicate among themselves. While tracking down one of the communication, agencies found that the mobile application does not have representatives in India and it is difficult to track down activities happening on the app," an official told ANI.

The government came up with a list of apps that pose a threat to national security and do not follow Indian laws with the help of other intelligence agencies operating in the valley.

Later, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs, were informed of the request to ban these mobile applications.
Karnataka: BJPs dependency on PM Modi very visible in his rallies

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Prime Minister's rally in Karnataka drew a mammoth response and it only went on to show how dependant the party is on him to win the May 10 elections.

A sea of humanity descended upon as the PM held rallies in Karnataka. On expected lines, PM Modi hit back at the Congress on the 'poisonous snake' comment.

Congress chief Malikarjun Kharge had referred to the PM as a snake. In response to this the PM high back and said that he gladly accepts the comment. 'The snake is the charm of Lord Shiva's neck. Even if the statement was meant to abuse me, I accept being called a snake as this means I am the garland around peoples' necks," the PM said.

PM Modi holds mega roadshow in Mysuru, winds up two-day whirlwind election tour of Karnataka

The enthusiasm around the BJP supporters was visible on the ground. Several 'karyakartas' with whom OneIndia spoke said that a PM's rally always boosts them. Even during the 2018 campaign, the PM lifted our spirits and this makes us very enthusiastic to work, another said.

PM Modi will hold many more roadshows and rallies in the state before electioneering concludes. He will be for more rallies in the state and would wind up his campaign on May 7.

At his rally in Channapatana, which is a Vokkaliga heartland, the PM asked the people to vote in large numbers. He said this time the BJP should get a majority. When there is a BJP government, there is a double engine government, he also said.

The BJP's strategy this time around appears to be different. It is focusing both the Vokkaliga as well as the Lingayat votes, the two most powerful communities in the state. In three elections, when it was voted as the single largest party, it always fell short of a majority. This was largely to do with the fact that the party had depended heavily on the Lingayat votes. This time around it is focusing its resources across the state with the aim of becoming the majority party.

There has also been talk that the JD(S) may end up playing the kingmaker as it has always done in the past. The PM however made it clear that the BJP will not ally with any party. He referred to the JD(S) as a B-team of the Congress. He said that every vote for the JD(S) would mean a vote for an unstable government in the state.

'Snake is the necklace of Lord Shiva': PM Modi hits out at Congress

There is speculation rife in Karnataka that in case of a hung assembly, the Congress and JD(S) may opt for a tie up as was the case in 2018. Both parties have however denied any such possibility.

The PM addressed this issue and said that the Congress and JD(S) are making a show of opposing each other. But when the elections got over in 2018, the two parties tied up and formed the government, the PM said.

For the BJP, Karnataka is an important state as it is the only state in South where it is in power and has been in power.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 9:33 [IST]
Karnataka election 2023: Quota move may favour BJP, predicts NDTV Public Opinion

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Karnataka BJP government's decision to shift 4 per cent reservation from Muslims to Lingayats and Vokkaligas in jobs and education is expected to benefit the party in the upcoming Karnataka assembly election 2023, according to a Public Opinion conducted by NDTV in collaboration with Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).

The NDTV survey further revealed that only 33 per cent of those surveyed were aware of the new policy, and the percentage of those fully supporting each aspect of the government's move did not exceed 30%. However, a high percentage of respondents partially supported the decision and could potentially convert into votes.

The survey found that 45 per cent of people showed some support for the increased reservation for Lingayats, 37 per cent for Vokkaligas, and 40-41 per cent for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Meanwhile, 23 per cent of people fully supported the scrapping of the quota for Muslims, and 25 per cent partially supported it.

Karnataka polls: Cong is clear winner, predicts TV9-CVoter survey

In March, the Karnataka government scrapped the 4 per cent quota given to Muslims under 2B classification of the OBC category

Earlier, Lingayatas, traditional supporters of the BJP, had a 5 per cent quota, while Vokkaliggas, who were divided between the Congress and HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal Secular, had a 4 per cent quota. Under the new reservation policy, the Lingayats will enjoy 7 per cent reservation in government jobs and education and the Vokkaligas 6 per cent under the newly created 2D and 2C categories, respectively. Additionally, the quota for Scheduled Castes (SC) was raised from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, and the ST quota from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.

The BJP's efforts to increase its outreach in the state have resulted in these changes, as it has never won a majority in the 224-member assembly on its own. However, the decision has angered marginal sections such as the Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha, and Korama communities, who are demanding a caste-based census. This demand is currently being supported by opposition parties, including the Congress.

NDTV reports,''The survey aimed to gauge the public's mood ahead of the May 10 assembly election in Karnataka, and 2,143 voters spread across 82 polling stations in 21 assembly constituencies were interviewed using multi-stage systematic random sampling (SRS). Although the sample size was small, it is expected to represent the state's population and accurately reflect the voters' mood.''
Karnataka polls: Athani poised for battle of turncoats

India

oi-Deepika S

Election in Karnataka's Athani Assembly constituency has become highly interesting because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress have virtually swapped their candidates and are going in full throttle to exhibit the power of strength.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who switched from BJP to Congress, is contesting from Athani against Mahesh Kumthalli, who quit Congress to join BJP. The two contenders had fought the 2018 State elections from the same constituency but from opposite parties.

In the keenly contested poll, Kumthalli had defeated Savadi by a margin of nearly 3,000 votes. He was one among the 17 MLAs, who joined the BJP as part of 'Operation Lotus' and triggered the collapse of H.D. Kumaraswamy-led JDS-Congress government in 2019.

Karnataka: BJPs dependency on PM Modi very visible in his rallies

But the political ideology that once decided loyalties towards parties seemed to be a thing of the past. Later in 2019, Kumthalli joined BJP and won by a margin of over 39,000 votes against Congress candidate Gajanan Mangasuli.

Savadi's hope to contest from Athani on a BJP ticket was dashed after the saffron party denied the ticket owing to pressure tactics by Gokak BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi. Reportedly, Jarkiholi lobbied for a ticket to his close associate Kumthalli from Athani and told the BJP high command that he will not contest polls if Kumthalli is not given a ticket.

Soon after BJP denied the ticket, Savadi made a quick move to join the Congress, which was eyeing to woo Lingayat's vote base against the BJP and welcomed him with open arms. More than BJP vs Congress, the Athani contest now looks like a personal battle between Savadi and Jarkiholi.

For Savadi, a prominent Lingayat leader, Athani contest will be a test of his popularity. He can influence nearly 20 constituencies in North Karnataka and also in Assembly segments bordering Maharashtra, which will give the BJP a run for its money.

On the other hand, Kumthalli, who had defected from Congress to BJP, was welcomed by the people as they elected him again in the 2019 bypoll.

How BJP and Congress have spent on the elections in Karnataka

Athani, which shares a border with Maharashtra, is one of the largest producers of sugar in Karnataka. Development has been on the back foot, like other constituencies in the Kittur-Karnataka region. People in this region have been demanding for better irrigation facilities and separate district status to Athani.

The Assembly segment comprises 2.20 lakh voters. Out of which, about a lakh belongs to dominant Lingayats, 40,000 Marathas, 30,000 SCs and 28,000 are from the Muslim community. With both Savadi and Kumathalli, belonging to the Lingayat community, it remains to be seen which way will the voters swing.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 10:19 [IST]
The Kerala Story trailer has been tweaked to the story of three girls

The Kerala Story is largely based on the cases of Nimisha and Sonia

Go to HC says Supreme Court as it refuses to entertain plea against 'The Kerala Story'

Kerala government calls for ban on The Kerala Story, not a good precedent say exhibitors

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

There has been a lot of debate around the film 'The Kerala Story,' which tells the story of how thousands of young women were brainwashed into joining the Islamic State.

The film has been opposed by political parties in Kerala, like the ruling Left Democratic Front, the Opposition United Democratic Front and their youth organisations. The Congress in Kerala too has opposed the film.

The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) have said that banning the film was not of any use as the audience would watch the film when it releases on OTT anyway. FEUOk officer bearer Suresh Shenoy who owns a theatre complex in Kochi told the media that banning the film is not a good precedent. He also said that this was akin to censorship.

In a Facebook post on April 30, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the movie was made by the Sangh Parivar to spread lies.

"A glance at the trailer gives the impression that the movie was deliberately produced with the aim of communal polarisation and spreading hate propaganda against Kerala. By placing Kerala, the land of secularism, as the centre of religious extremism, it is repeating the Sangh Parivar's propaganda. Propaganda films and the othering of Muslims should be viewed in the context of various efforts made by the Sangh Parivar to gain an advantage in electoral politics in Kerala," the CM said.

What is the fuss around 'The Kerala Story all about

A post on Twitter put out by Kerala's culture and youth affairs minister, Sai Cheriyan read, " "Kerala is a state which is known for communal harmony. This movie could be seen as an attempt by the Sangh Parivar to destroy the secular fabric of the state. This is a conspiracy to divide and create unrest in society."

Controversial film The Kerala Story will hit screens on May 5



While I have refused to act in movies that demonise community/gender in past, I dont believe a state shud ban a cinemathat has received censor board permissionon ideological grounds



Freedom of expression is must  Chetan Kumar Ahimsa /   (@ChetanAhimsa) April 29, 2023

'The Kerala Story' is written and directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. It is slated for a release on May 5.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 14:34 [IST]
'Not happening for first time': Rijiju on Cong leader threatening judge to 'chop off' tongue

If people dont want, you cant impose it: Law minister on same-sex marriage

Kiren Rijiju is all praise for CJI..calls decision heart warming action

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Union Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju was all praise for Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud for a recent decision by the Supreme Court which allowed a candidate who suffers from writer's cramp to use a scribe during his preliminary examination for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand.

A writer's cramp is a condition which affects a person's ability to write due to task-specific movement disorders. This causes abnormal posters and unwanted muscle spasms that impedes a person's performance.

Photo Credit:

"This is such a heart-warming action by hon'ble Chief Justice Dr D Y Chandrachud. A great relief to a divyang (person with disability) candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand," Rijiju said in a tweet.

Timely justice to a deserving person is very satisfying, the minister also said. He also shared a screenshot of a tweet posted by the lawyer of the candidate who had approached the Supreme Court.

The candidate, Dhananjay Kumar had moved the Supreme Court, saying that his request to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission for a scribe was rejected on April 20, days ahead of the scheduled examination.

Collegium issue is all about mindgame: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

Appearing for Kumar, advocate Nimit Saxena, requested the court to grant him permission to use a scribe during the examination for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand. Kumar suffers from a writer's cramp, and he submitted a medical certificate from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences dated September 2017 to support his request.

The Bench of the Supreme Court comprising CJI, Chandrachud and P S Narasimha, acknowledged the submission and issued notice to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission and the state government. The notice questioned why the request had been rejected.

"We issue an ad interim direction to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, which is in-charge of conducting the examination, to ensure that a scribe is provided to the petitioner for the ensuing examination," the Bench said.
AccessBanks Access2Success project for female entrepreneurs continues and only 3 days left till the applications acceptance deadline. This project is funded by Asian Development Bank and is aimed at support of female entrepreneurs, who manage their own micro, small and medium-sized business.

About the program: The program includes a number of theoretical and practical trainings and is developed for those who already has an experience in leading business. Covering main elements of business organization, the program is a platform for efficient communication between participants and trainers.

Participants will get: The program provides entrepreneurs both with new theoretical knowledge, and practical skills. Subsequent to the results of training program, the participants will be able to think over and create the development plan of their business. Along with this, the program participants will get special proposals from AccessBank for further development of their business.

Topics of sessions: The training program will cover such topics as strategical development of business, development and submission of reporting to state authorities, sales and marketing (including digital marketing), e-commerce, staff management, control over the business maintenance and etc.

Terms: Trainings will last during six weeks on Fridays and Saturdays. Working language of trainings is Azerbaijani.

Requirements to participants: Any woman entrepreneur, either self-employed or who manages her own micro, small and medium-sized business has an opportunity to take part in the training program. Minimal requirement  business must exist for at least six months.

Application: Request for participation can be submitted via

https://forms.office.com/r/PAueusRp6d

Deadline for application: May 3, 2023

In case of any questions, applicants can contact organizers via the e-mail: Sarvinaz.Alakbarova@accessbank.az

Being a leader in microfinancing market, AccessBank has been providing services for the small and medium-sized enterprises since 2002. The Banks shareholders include Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation and other international organizations and investment funds. The Bank has 31 branch offices, 15 of which are located in Baku, and 16  in regions.

To get more detailed information about the services provided by the Bank, call 151 or get in the web-site (www.accessbank.az) or follow the Banks social network accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).

*AccessBank CJSC provides its services according license No. 245 dated 25 October 2002, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Banks Head Office is located at Baku city, Yasamal district, Tbilisi Avenue 3.
Operation Kaveri: Among those rescued from Sudan, one is aged 102

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Indian Air Force alone has brought back nearly 1,400 Indian citizens from the war-hit Sudan over the past couple of days, since India launched Operation Kaveri last week.

The IAF said that two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above the age of 90. Out of these persons one was aged above 102, it said.

Earlier today, 186 Indians from Sudan arrived in Kochi. "#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.

Officials said that the Indian government is going to evacuate around 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan. So far around 2,500 citizens have been brought back to the country, officials also added.

Operation Kaveri: 117 out of 1,191 passengers evacuated from Sudan put under quarantine

According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there were around 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. Along with this, there is also a settled Indian community of around 1,200 people who have been in the country for many years.

Apart from the IAF aircraft, IndiGo is also operating two flights from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah to Delhi and Bengaluru respectively as part of Operation Kaveri.

Sudan has been struck by violence after fighting erupted between soldiers loyal to the Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers commander Mohamed Hamden Daglo. Reports said that nearly 528 people have died in the violence so far and 4,599 have been wounded.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 15:41 [IST]
British Airways agent made hoax bomb call to SpiceJet so his friends could spend time with their girlfriends

Operation Kaveri: SpiceJet flies 184 rescued Indians from Jeddah to Kochi

India

oi-Prakash KL

Domestic carrier SpiceJet has extended support to Centre's 'Operation Kaveri' to bring back the Indians stuck in battle-hit Sudan as it evacuated 184 people on Sunday.

The airline, which operated its first evacuation flight from Jeddah to Kochi , has said that it remains committed to supporting the Centre's mission of bringing back Indians stuck in Sudan.

"We are humbled by the opportunity to contribute in the evacuation of stranded Indians from Sudan under 'Operation Kaveri'. SpiceJet remains committed to supporting the Government in its mission to safeguard our citizens and enable their safe return to their homes and families. We successfully operated our first evacuation flight from Jeddah bringing back 184 stranded Indian nationals. We are in touch with the government to operate more such flights," ANI quoted Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet, as saying.

Operation Kaveri: Among those rescued from Sudan, one is aged 102

SpiceJet is planning more flights to evacuate Indians from Saudi Arabia and other regions and it is in regular touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to coordinate the evacuation process. It has to be noted that SpiceJet is well connected to Saudi Arabia and operates daily flights from Jeddah to Calicut, Delhi and Mumbai.

However, this is not the first time where SpiceJet has come forward to join hands with the Indian government in such missions. Earlier, it had evacuated over Indian 1,600 students under "Operation Ganga", having operated special flights to Budapest, Kosice and Suceava. It had also played a key role in repatriating Indians and foreign nationals during the pandemic times.

Sudan is witnessing a deadly fighting between Sudan's army and a paramilitary group, which broke out earlier this month, and left around 528 people dead and at least 4,599 injured.

India launched 'Operation Kaveri' on April 24 to bring back its 3,000 nationals from Sudan.

Operation Kaveri: 117 out of 1,191 passengers evacuated from Sudan put under quarantine

People are being evacuated in buses from the conflict zones in Sudan and being taken to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in Indian Air Force's heavy-lift transport aircraft and Indian Navy's ships. The evacuees are then brought to India either by commercial flight or IAF aircraft.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 16:38 [IST]
Why has Amritpal been booked under the stringent NSA

Punjab: Morinda sacrilege incident accused dies at hospital

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jasvir Singh Jassi, who was arrested by the Punjab Police for committing sacrilege at a gurdwara in Morinda, died at the Civil Hospital in Mansa on Monday evening, according to police.

Accoring to reports, accused Jasvir was lodged in Mansa jail and in the afternoon he reportedly complained of breathing problem. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, where he died this evening.

Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh said the accused died at the civil hospital.

He was taken to the hospital in the afternoon after he complained of 'discomfort', police said, adding that he died at around 9:10 pm.

The cause of death will be clear after the post-mortem examination, they added.

Man assaults 'granthis' in Gurdwara, desecrates 'Guru Granth Sahib'

A doctor at the Mansa civil hospital said Jasvir Singh was brought from the jail to the hospital at around 4 pm as he was experiencing difficulty in breathing.

At around 8:30 pm, his condition deteriorated as his blood pressure and oxygen saturation level dropped considerably, the doctor said.

The accused died at around 9:10 pm despite the best efforts of the doctors to save him, he added.

On April 24, Singh was seen in a video entering the sanctum sanctorum of Kotwali Sahib gurdwara after crossing the railing and then hitting two 'granthis' (Sikh priests) who were reciting from the Guru Granth Sahib, and then flung the holy book on the ground. The clip of the incident ha dgone viral on social media sites, garnering strong reactions.

Singh was later overpowered by devotees present in the shrine and beaten up. He was then handed over to police. The incident sparked outrage among locals who held a protest outside the Morinda Police station, seeking strict punishment for the accused. Markets were also shut down in Morinda in protest against the incident.

(with PTI inputs)
This election is not about you: Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM in poll-bound Karnataka

Rahul Gandhi pauses speech upon hearing 'azaan' in Karnataka

India

oi-Prakash KL

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paused his speech at an election rally when he heard the sound of 'Azaan' (Islamic call to prayer).

The incident occurred in Tumakuru on Monday. The visuals of the incident have been shared by news agency ANI and the clip has gone viral.

In his address, Gandhi attacked the BJP and accused the ruling party of doing only "corruption." "For the last 3 years, BJP has only done corruption here. People of Karnataka called BJP govt a 40% govt, which means they steal 40% commission from public. PM was also aware of this, but I would like to ask him why he didn't take any action on it," he said.

'Learn from Rahul': Priyanka Gandhi to PM on his Cong abused '91 times' claim

He then asked whether the government took measures to curb the corruption. "What did you do to stop corruption and "40 % commission" in Karnataka in last 3 years?" he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "You (PM) speak about Congress abusing you for 91 times, but didn''t speak anything about what you did for Karnataka," he stated.

Gandhi mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him why he is not speaking about BJP strongman BS Yediyurappa and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in his speeches.

"You (PM) don't even take names of CM Bommai and B S Yediyurappa in your speeches, your speeches are about yourself," he said.

His comments come on a day when the Congress launched an online campaign on Twitter with the hashtag - #PayCMCryPM. The grand old party is targeting the Karnataka CM on corruption while cornering the PM on his recent claims on Congress abused him "91 times."

Addressing a public rally at Humnabad in Bidar district on Saturday, the PM said that the Congress has hurled abuses at him 91 times as he has cut its "sources" of corruption.

"Someone has made a list of such abuses against me and it has been sent to me. Till now, Congress people have abused me 91 times with different types. Had Congress people put efforts in good governance and boosting the morale of its workers, instead of wasting time on this dictionary of abuses, it would not have been in such a pathetic plight," he said.

'GST implemented only to help rich...': Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka

Congress National Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to learn from her brother Rahul Gandhi, saying the former party president was willing to give his life for the country.

With inputs from agencies

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 15:48 [IST]
The Kerala Story trailer has been tweaked to the story of three girls

The Kerala Story is largely based on the cases of Nimisha and Sonia

Go to HC says Supreme Court as it refuses to entertain plea against 'The Kerala Story'

Rs 1.11 crore reward offered to prove 'The Kerala Story' claims

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Kerala State Committee of Muslim Youth League has announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who can substantiate the allegations made in the movie 'The Kerala Story'.

The movie claims that 32,000 women from Kerala disappeared and joined ISIS. The Muslim Youth League has set up collection centres in every district where people can submit proof behind the claims made in the movie.

The movie, set to release on May 5, has sparked controversy and has been accused of spreading hate propaganda against Kerala.

Various political leaders have condemned the movie and alleged that it is part of an attempt to implement the Sangh Parivar agenda to create a divide in society.

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, VD Satheesan, has demanded that the movie should not be granted permission for screening.

Kerala government calls for ban on The Kerala Story, not a good precedent say exhibitors

According to the CPI(M) and the Congress in Kerala, the film falsely claims they converted, got radicalised and were deployed in terror missions in India and the world.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Sunday had slammed the makers of the film, saying they were taking up the Sangh Parivar propaganda of projecting the state as a centre of religious extremism by raising the issue of 'love jihad' -- a concept rejected by the courts, probe agencies and the Home

'The Kerala Story' is backed by Sunshine Pictures Private Limited, founded by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who serves as the producer, creative director and co-writer of the film.

The film's writer-director Sudipto Sen's earlier movies are 'Aasma', 'Lucknow Times' and 'The Last Monk.'

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 18:32 [IST]
Go to HC says Supreme Court as it refuses to entertain plea against 'The Kerala Story'

Supreme Court says it can dissolve marriage on grounds of irretrievable breakdown

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Supreme Court has said that it can grant divorce on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The Bench also held that it can do away with the 6-month waiting period for divorce.

A Constitution Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari held that the six month period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be dispensed with.

"Article 142 must be considered in light of the fundamental rights. It should contravene a non-derogable function of the Constitution. Court under the power is empowered to complete justice," the Bench held.

The verdict came on a batch of petitions covering the use of the Supreme Court's plenary powers to dissolve a marriage between consenting parties without referral to a family court to wait for the mandatory period prescribed under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to pass decrees and orders which are necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.

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The question on hand was whether the Supreme Court could exercise its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage. The broad parameters and whether the invocation of the said power was allowed in the absence of the mutual consent of the parties also came up for discussion.

The case had been referred to a five-judge Bench nearly five years ago on June 29 2016 by a Division Bench comprising Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and R Banumathi. Both judges are now retired.

The judgment was reserved by the Constitution Bench on September 29 2022 after hearing arguments at length.
The Kerala connect to terror in Kashmir is out in open again: It is hardly surprising

What is the fuss around The Kerala Story all about

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

There have been sharp reactions following the release of the trailer of 'The Kerala Story.'

The story revolves around several women being converted and then sold off as sex slaves to the Islamic State. The numbers have become a subject of debate as the film directed by Sudipto Sen claims that 32,000 women from Kerala were sold off as sex slaves.

Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and said, "it may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story."

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, V D Satheesan, while reacting to the film directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah called for a ban on the movie slated for a May 5 release. He went on to say that the movie was a Sangh Parivar propaganda and aims at dividing society.

'The Kerala Story' taking up Sangh Parivar propaganda by raising 'love jihad' issue: CM Vijayan

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that it is important that one speaks about the problem. Both the Hindus and Christians have raised concerns over conversion by force. There is a documented case by the National Investigation Agency which shows that 24 persons had been radicalised and sent off to join the Islamic State in Afghanistan. In that case, there were several women who were forcibly converted and made to join the Islamic State. All of them are still in Afghanistan and their parents have been reaching out to the government to bring them back. However, the Indian Intelligence has a policy of not letting such persons return to India as they could prove to be more dangerous once back on Indian soil.

In the year 2018, the NIA had detained one Muhammad Riyaz who was accused of forcibly converting his wife. It was alleged that he had attempted to sell her off as a sex slave to the Islamic State. The lady went to the Kerala High Court and complained that her marriage had taken place based on fraudulent documents.

In the year 2012, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council had reported that there had been 2,668 female victims of forcible conversions. The numbers according to the council were between 2006 and 2009. A panel had been formed and made several recommendations to monitor children's cell phones and computers, so that the parents could be better prepared to fight this problem.

32,000 girls converted to Islam and sold as ISIS slaves: This is The Kerala Story

The Islamic State on the other hand which has been facing a hard hit back in Syria and Iraq has adopted a new style to function. It is trying to be relevant in Afghanistan and battle the Taliban. An Intelligence Bureau file from six years back said that the Islamic State would look to rope more Indians into its fold and then recruit them into their Afghanistan module known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province.

When asked why there is no exact number to such cases, another official explained that only a few come forward and report the issue. There are many who stay quiet due to social stigma. In most cases, the people prefer to remain anonymous. This is largely owing to the society and also the threat in most cases, the official explained.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 9:46 [IST]
Yes we are a team. JD(S) boss Kumaraswamy lashes out at BJP, Congress

Will UCC promise help BJP win Karnataka polls?

India

oi-Deepika S

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly elections which promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if voted back to power.

"We will implement the Uniform Civil Code in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose," said BJP national president J.P. Nadda while releasing the manifesto.

With this, Karnataka became the fourth State where the BJP-led government has vowed to implement the UCC in recent months, the other being Uttarakhand, Assam and Gujarat.

The UCC, which envisions common personal civil laws for all citizens regardless of religion, is enshrined in our Constitution's Directive Principles. Its implementation has been a long-standing agenda of BJP.

The code aims at having a single law or set of laws in the country applicable to all irrespective of the region they belong to. This means personal laws governing marriage, divorce and succession will be governed by a common set of laws, irrespective of the religion.

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Referring to UCC, Article 44 states that, "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." Currently, different laws apply to different religious communities in personal affairs.

The BJP, which aims to return to power in Karnataka is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters. Though, the saffron party is battling anti-incumbency, it has kept its Hindutva vote base happy by implementing laws against cow slaughter, passing laws on religious conversions and inter-religious marriages.

Karnataka has over 85 per cent Hindu population. However, political pundits think it's caste politics that drives the State's polity.
Yes we are a team. JD(S) boss Kumaraswamy lashes out at BJP, Congress

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

On the B-team allegation made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JD(S) supremo H D Kumaraswamy said that the BJP will not make a chief minister from the Lingayat community at any cost.

He made the remarks at Badami, while campaigning for party candidate Hanumanta Mavinamara.

While addressing the people, Kumaraswamy said that he had said this before. "The BJP will not make a Lingayat a CM at any cost. In fact, quiet work is going on behind the scenes to make a Brahmin a chief minister," Kumaraswamy also said.

Instead of speaking on real issues, leaders are speaking about 'snake' and 'vishkanya.'

"Instead of discussing on real issues in the state, the BJP is discussing 'snakes' and 'vishkanya.' There is no need for such politics. Would the lives of people improve with these things? The Prime Minister criticised everything like family, and ATMs and also the double-engine government. But, I would like to ask why the corruption in the state was not stopped. The double-engine government has looted the state, Kumaraswamy said.

BJP turns Nandini row into opportunity, vows free milk to BPL people

He attacked both the BJP and Congress for calling his party a B-team.

PM Modi calls JD(S) B-Team of Congress. The leader of opposition, Siddaramaiah calls JD(S) B-Team of BJP. We are the team of the people of the country and Kannadigas, he also said.

Karnataka has 224 assembly seats up for grabs, where the magic number is 113. The state votes on May 10 and the winner will be declared on the 13th of May.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 18:09 [IST]
Ties strained due to...: Jaishankar on Beijing's 'LAC stable' remark

International

oi-PTI

Foreign minister S Jaishankar has said each of India's engagements has its own particular weight and focus, be it with United States, Europe, Russia or Japan, India is trying to ensure that all ties advance without seeking exclusivity.

China, however, falls into a different category, Jaishankar said in his address at the MIREX, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, where he was on a visit from April 27 to 29.

Photo Credit:

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic Jaishankar said: "For the first time in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated a comprehensive view that spanned the entirety of the Indian Ocean and its Islands. These subsequently became the building blocks for the Indo-Pacific vision that emerged thereafter. To the north, India has been similarly pursuing a strategy of connecting to Central Asia more effectively and this has taken the form of structured engagements across multiple domains".

Jaishankar-Bilawal Bhutto Zardari meet unlikely at SCO summit

"These concentric circles of priority give you a conceptual sense of Indian diplomacy and one that we have pursued very assiduously over the last decade. But at a higher level, we are also practising the approach of engaging all significant centres of power, such multi-alignment reflects the reality of multi-polarity," he added.

Jaishankar said each engagement has its own particular weight and focus.

"Whether it is the United States, Europe, Russia or Japan, we are trying to ensure that all ties, all these ties advance without seeking exclusivity," Jaishankar said without mentioning China.

But further, Jaishankar added, "China falls into a somewhat different category because of the boundary dispute and the currently abnormal nature of our ties".

Making India's stand clear about China's activities at the Line of Actual Control, Jaishankar said that is "an outcome of a violation of agreements regarding border management by them".

"The rise of China and India in a parallel time frame is also not without its competitive aspects," he added.

The minister said India's most pressing priorities are obviously in its neighbourhood. Given India's size and economic strength, it is very much for the collective benefit that India takes a generous and non-reciprocal approach to cooperation with smaller neighbours.

"And that's exactly what we have done in the last decade under Prime Minister Modi and this in our region has come to be known as the Neighborhood First Policy," Jaishankar said.

India has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, in cooperation across the region.

"The exception to this of course is Pakistan in view of the cross-border terrorism that it supports. But whether it is the Covid challenge or more recent debt pressures, India has always stepped up for its neighbours," Jaishankar said.

India has extended more than USD 4 billion of notable economic support to Sri Lanka.

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"Beyond South Asia, India is developing the concept of extended neighbourhoods, extended neighbourhoods in all directions, with the ASEAN this has taken the form of what we call the Act East Policy, which has opened up a pathway to a deeper engagement with the Indo-Pacific that is being pursued amongst others, through a mechanism called the Quad," Jaishankar said on the expansion of India's ties.

He also said towards the West, there has been a perceptible "intensification" of India's relationship with the Gulf and the Middle East. One reflection of that is a new grouping called I2U2, comprising India, Israel, UAE and the USA. These two regions on either side have emerged as major trade and investment hubs for India, he added.

About 8 million Indians live and work in the Gulf but the relationship is much more than economic, it encompasses security, technology and strong people-to-people ties. To the South, the outlook that shapes India's thinking goes by the acronym of SAGAR, which is an Indian word for oceans.
HAJIGABUL, Azerbaijan, May 1. The project of joint automobile production is carried out thanks to the political will of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Ulugbek Rozukulov, Chairman of the Board of Uzavtosanoat Joint Stock Company of Uzbekistan, told journalists on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony of the joint car production of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Trend reports.

"The project provides for the organization of the production of cars of the line that Uzavtosanoat produces today. To date, all practical issues related to the organization of this project have been resolved, in particular, all architectural, planning, technological and engineering solutions have been solved. We are confident that in accordance with the instructions of the presidents of the two countries, this project will be implemented on time," the chairman said.

Rozukulov noted that the start of the project falls on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.

"This fact imposes additional responsibility on us. We, as the Uzbek side, will make all necessary efforts to implement the project. I would also like to emphasize that the implementation of this project will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations, including development in the automotive industry. Uzbekistan is ready to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan in the automotive industry," he added.

The joint automobile plant of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan is expected to be launched in May 2025. The investment value of the plant will amount to 88 million manat ($51.7 million). Some 1,200 new jobs will be created at the plant, which will be located on an area of 16 hectares in the Hajigabul industrial quarter. The plant's capacity will amount to 30 thousand cars per year. The facility will use technologies from countries such as the USA, Italy, China, Korea and Uzbekistan, and is expected to produce such Chevrolet car brands as Cobalt, Malibu, Tracker and Equinox.

The Hajigabul Industrial District was established by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 3127 dated July 25, 2017 "On the establishment of the Hajigabul Industrial District". Its territory is 60 hectares, about 500 jobs have been created, and the amount of investments exceeds 51 million manat ($30 million). The number of residents of the industrial district is 13.
The Kerala Story trailer has been tweaked to the story of three girls

The Kerala Story is largely based on the cases of Nimisha and Sonia

Why India is weary of letting the Islamic State returnees back on its soil

Top Islamic State leader killed in Syria

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Turkish Intelligence forces have killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria, president Tayyip Erdogan announced.

"This individual was neutralised as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organisation in Syria yesterday," Erdogan said in an interview with TRT Turk broadcaster.

He also said that the Intelligence agencies had pursued Qureshi for long.

The raid took place in northern Syria, the local and security forces said. The raid took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, which is controlled by Turkey-based rebel groups and was one of the worst-affected in the February 6 earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria.

One resident said that the clashes started on the edge of Jandaris overnight from Saturday into Sunday. It lated about an hour before the residents heard a large explosion.

The area was later encircled to prevent anyone from entering.

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The Islamic State had selected Qureshi in November 2022 after its previous leader was killed in an operation in southern Syria.

The Islamic State had taken over vast swathes of land in Iraq and Syria. It head at that time, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had declared an Islamic Caliphate at that time. However the outfit lost grip of territory following a campaign by the US backed forces in Syria and Iraq.

While the strength of the Islamic State had gone down, the fear for the agencies are the lone wolves who have entered their homelands. The ideology of the Islamic State remains strong thanks to its online propaganda. Many youth have picked up this ideology across the world and still look to carry out strikes in the name of the terror outfit. The Islamic State is banned in India.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 8:34 [IST]
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GSEB Class 12 Science Result 2023 to be declared tomorrow on gseb.org

New Delhi

oi-Deepika S

The Gujarat Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GSEB) is expected to release class 12 board exam results for Science stream students on Tuesday. Once the results are out, students can check their results on the board website, gseb.org. The result is likely to be out at 9 am.

Candidates can also get their results on WhatsApp. To check GSEB results on WhatsApp, students will have to send their seat numbers to 6357300971.

According to the board notification, physical copies of marks sheets, certificates and other documents will be sent to schools later.

The board will also release instructions and sample forms for marks verification, name correction details later.

GSEB HSC 12th, GUJCET results 2023: Steps to check

Visit the official website gseb.org.

On the home page, click on HSC or GUJCET results.

Fill in your seat number and login.

You can see your GSEB HSC class 12 exam results on the screen.

Download and save a copy for future reference.

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Story first published: Monday, May 1, 2023, 22:35 [IST]
Texas A&M University  Texarkana (A&MTexarkana) is a public university in Texarkana, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System.
The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1922, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. There have been six Labour prime ministers and thirteen Labour ministries. Since the 2010 general election, it has been the second-largest UK political party by the number of votes cast, behind the Conservative Party and ahead of the Liberal Democrats. The party holds the annual Labour Party Conference, at which party policy is formulated.
Eurasia Review 01 May 2023

By Dr. Mohamed ELDoh



Sudan has always been viewed by Egypt as strategic depth that is crucial for its national..
Investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against Adidas over its partnership with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and alleged failure to disclose business risks. Adidas cut ties with Ye in October, following Ye's antisemitic comments on social media and interviews. The suit claims that Adidas was aware of Ye's offensive remarks and harmful behavoir years before ending the partnernship. Adidas says the company rejects the claims, and will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them.
The royal affair of King Charles III coronation in just a few days will see government officials and dignitaries from across the world, including a representative from India.
Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, the suspected leader of the "Islamic State" terror group, has been killed in an operation by the Turkish intelligence services, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Newsy 29 Apr 2023

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Italian luxury car maker Automobili Pininfarina has confirmed plans to launch an exclusive new limited-edition car this summer and also emerge as the creator of the most desirable pure-electric luxury cars in the world.

Marking its fifth anniversary, the company also presented its new management team appointed by CEO Paolo Dellacha.

Dellacha said: The fifth anniversary of Automobili Pininfarina is a moment to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the diverse group of experts we have brought together at our European bases in Cambiano and Munich. We are very proud to promote from within and both Andrea Crespi and Andrea Novello possess the experience, talent, and ambition to ensure we accelerate the growth of Automobili Pininfarina in a progressive and sustainable way.

Electric hyper GT

After bringing Battista to life and breaking production car world records, it is the first electric hyper GT in the hands of clients around the world, across Europe, the USA and now Canada. It was a pleasure to personally present this vehicle at our exclusive retail partner in Toronto last week.

We are committed to delighting even more clients in future, and our team is excited to present the first in a series of spectacular new cars we have prepared for our growing client community this summer. We will showcase a new dimension of our design creativity while honouring the legacy of the Pininfarina name.

Crespi has been appointed to the position of Chief Technical Officer, elevating from his current role as ePowertrain and High Voltage Systems Director at Automobili Pininfarina. Crespi is highly experienced in electrification architectures and electric vehicle design for luxury brands, formerly holding senior positions at Aston Martin and Maserati before joining Automobili Pininfarina in 2018.

Leading role

Crespi has played a leading role in delivering the record-breaking performance of Battista from its advanced EV architecture and will now lead technical development of all future luxury cars from Automobili Pininfarina.

Crespi said: This is an incredibly exciting moment of evolution for Automobili Pininfarina, as we enhance our technical vision and prepare to broaden our portfolio of luxury electric vehicles. The entire Automobili Pininfarina team is driven by innovation and craftsmanship  it is in the DNA of our internationally-experienced engineers, designers, and business experts. I look forward to leading a technical team that will create products, services, and experiences with these values at heart for our discerning customers all over the world.

Novello has joined the management team as Chief Operating Officer, a promotion from his current role as Production Director. Novello is a highly experienced engineer in luxury vehicle and body development and has previously held positions at Maserati and Pininfarina S.p.A before joining the Automobili Pininfarina family in its first year, in 2018.

Novello said: I have a deep personal connection with the Pininfarina brand through my previous work in Cambiano and through family members that worked in this famous facility before me. I consider it my second home!

I am highly motivated to be part of this great new team as we build a bright future for the company, striving to provide an impeccable ownership experience for our valued clients from start to finish. My team and I are proud to be crafting an exceptional luxury car in Battista, and we are ready to bring our incredible brand and the next in a series of incredible pure-electric vehicles to our customers this year.

Pure-electric car

The two new appointments join existing management team members Dave Amantea (Chief Design Officer), Dan Connell (Chief Brand Officer) and Gosta Henning (Chief Sales Officer). This year the strengthened team plans to unveil a thrilling new pure-electric car that responds to demands from its clientele to create rare and beautiful masterpieces befitting the revered Pininfarina name.

Automobili Pininfarina now employs 116 people across its sites in Cambiano, Italy and Munich, Germany. The Battista pure-electric hyper GT entered series production in the summer of 2022, with deliveries to clients worldwide beginning in the same year.

In February this year, the Battista broke a series of speed records at Indias Natrax facility, including achieving an astonishing world record  mile sprint time of just 8.55 seconds.-- TradeArabia News Service
Veyseloglu Group of Companies carries out the "From worker to specialist" (FIL) project with the aim of supporting employees who want to develop in their careers. Within the framework of the program, employees working as laborers in the field of logistics can improve their knowledge and become managers, specialists and other positions requiring qualifications in relevant fields.

So far, 72 employees participating in the project have been promoted to specialist and technical executive positions in various fields within the company.

It should be noted that during the training period, employees participating in the project are trained in theoretical and practical skills required for the relevant position. In the next stage, employees who have completed the program can have specialist positions in various fields. Veyseloglu Group of Companies (www.veyseloglu.az) is a diversified FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) group covering various areas of the supply chain, including retail, distribution, logistics, and manufacturing. The philosophy of the Group of Companies is to create value for the country's economy and population by ensuring food security and continuity of supply.

In 2022, Veyseloglu Group of Companies became one of the winners in the prestigious "Best Managed Companies" competition organized for the first time in Azerbaijan by the popular consulting firm "Deloitte".
Air raid sirens sounded in the capital and other areas in Ukraine, as authorities said defense systems were repelling missile attacks. Pope Francis has also hinted at secret Vatican peace "mission." DW has the latest.
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Chile and Germany have agreed to push for a memorial for the victims of sexual violence, torture and murder in the former German cult. But this isn't the first time such promises have been made.
Authorities said low visibility contributed to a large pileup on Interstate 55 in the US state of Illinois. The incident caused numerous deaths and injuries.
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The Department of Energy formalized a decision green-lighting a massive natural gas project in Alaska on Monday that could lead to massive exports to Asia.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Commitment and great political experience of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev saved Azerbaijan from troubles, a veteran of the security agencies of Azerbaijan and the First Karabakh War, honorary fellow of the State Security Service, Colonel Aghalar Aliyev said within Trend News Agency's "Relevant with Sahil Kerimli".

"Heydar Aliyev saved Azerbaijan from disappearing from the political map of the world. At that time, in the first years of Azerbaijan's independence, the incompetent and treacherous power of the Popular Front-Musavat tandem led the country to the abyss. Chaos, anarchy reached its apogee, the country was plundered, and the economy was destroyed," the veteran said.

Aliyev added that in those years there was an arbitrariness of armed groups, an increase in crime, internal strife, as well as separatism appeared in the south and north of the country.

"On the other hand, there was an occupation of our lands by Armenia. We, the security officers, were often on business trips in Azerbaijan's Karabakh at that time. A few months before the city of Shusha was occupied, the elders of the city, having gathered, urgently raised the issue of the need for Heydar Aliyev to come to power.

They asked us to inform the leadership in the capital Baku that only such a strong politician as Heydar Aliyev can prevent the occupation of the city of Shusha. But, unfortunately, some traitors in the capital prevented the return of the Great Leader, and soon our towns and villages were occupied. The situation was becoming more and more dangerous," the veteran said.

"A ceasefire was declared at the front and Great Leader Heydar Aliyev started army construction. The army, the foundation of which was laid by the Great Leader, developed and strengthened in subsequent years, and the whole world saw its power in the 44-day Patriotic War [Second Karabakh War]. The Azerbaijani people will always honor the memory of Heydar Aliyev with deep respect and reverence," the colonel added.

Thus, stability was established in Azerbaijan, an oil contract was signed, and the economy gradually began to develop.
The pioneer of AI technology has expressed regret for his work, citing its potential dangers to humanity.
Tens of thousands of foreign nationals are struggling to leave Sudan as intense fighting continues for more than a second week, despite a series of shaky truces. (May 1)


Astellas Pharma Inc. said Monday that it agreed to acquire Iveric bio Inc. for about $5.9 billion to strengthen its capabilities in the ophthalmology field. The Japanese drugmaker said it would fund the planned acquisition with about 800 billion yen of bank loans and commercial papers, in addition



#astellaspharmainc #ivericbioinc
WASHINGTON  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. is projected to reach its debt limit as early as June 1, if the body does not raise or suspend the debt limit before then. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged Congress to protect the full



#treasury #janetyellen #ukraine #ericvannostrand #democrats
Tamworth Herald 02 May 2023

The Shape of You singer took to the stand last week to argue his case after being sued by the Marvin Gaye estate
20 operators sanctioned by Spain for engaging in illegal gambling in the second half of the year

Published May 1, 2023 by OCR Editor

The Spanish regulator, DGOJ, has imposed fines of over 35.0m against 20 online gambling operators for, as he defined, "illegal activities." As a result, seven operators were banned from offering online gambling for at least two years, while the other 13 received financial penalties. The DGOJ continues to enforce regulations to protect players and promote responsible gambling in Spain.

Spanish regulator Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) has issued sanctions against 20 online gambling operators for illegal gambling activities during the second half of 2022, imposing over 35.0m in fines in the process.

The DGOJ detected "serious or very serious infractions" across online betting and gambling during the six months concerning Regulacion del Juego (LRJ) gambling law breaches.

Seven of the 20 operators contacted were flagged for "very serious" infractions and banned from offering online gambling in the country for two years. Each operator was also fined 5.0m, with these penalties totaling 35.0m in H2.

The DGOJ also detected "serious" violations across the other 13 operators, issuing financial penalties of 560,000. Nine of these violations were related to a failure to comply with rules on advertising and marketing gambling in Spain, with each operator fined 10,000 due to the breach.

The remaining four operators received penalties ranging between 125,000 and 160,000 for allowing people who had self-excluded from gambling to play online or for failing to comply with technical requirements.

The updated LRJ was introduced in July 2021 to establish the levels of serious and very serious violations. Since then, sanctions have been filed against 92 operators, with 73 of these occurring in 2022 and 19 in 2021. In addition, more than 181.0m in fines were also issued due to the breaches.

According to the Ministry of consumer affairs, Spain's gaming industry generated an increase in revenue in 2021. However, the DGOJ is committed to enforcing regulations and ensuring that all operators comply with the law to protect players and promote responsible gambling.

This latest round of sanctions reinforces the message that the DGOJ will not tolerate any illegal gambling activities and that any breaches of the law will be met with significant financial penalties. The DGOJ encourages all online gambling operators to review their compliance procedures and ensure they fully comply with the LRJ to avoid potential sanctions.

Overall, the DGOJ's ongoing efforts to regulate the Spanish gambling market contribute to a safer and more responsible gambling environment for all players.
New Delhi: A batch of 186 people reached Kochi under 'Operation Kaveri' that was launched a week back to evacuate Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan.

'#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

On Sunday, 229 Indians arrived in Bengaluru while 365 people reached Delhi the day before.

Under the evacuation mission, 754 people arrived in India in two batches on Friday.

#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home.



Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi. pic.twitter.com/wqwGvt7ppO  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 1, 2023

The total number of Indians who have been brought back home now stands at 2,140, according to official data.

The Indians were brought back home from the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah where India set up a transit camp for the evacuees. The first batch of 360 evacuees returned to New Delhi in a commercial plane on Wednesday.

The second batch of 246 Indian evacuees arrived in Mumbai in a C17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Thursday.

Under 'Operation Kaveri', India has been taking its citizens in buses from the conflict zones of Khartoum and other troubled areas to Port Sudan from where they are being taken to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah in Indian Air Force's heavy-lift transport aircraft and Indian Navy's ships.

From Jeddah, the Indians are being brought back home in either commercial flights or IAF's aircraft.

India has set up separate control rooms in Jeddah, Port Sudan and the India embassy in Khartoum has been coordinating with them besides being in touch with the MEA's headquarters in Delhi.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday last announced the launch of

'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate and bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan.

(With PTI inputs)
The hosts of the State of the Nation show on TNT Radio are clearly on the opposite side of the political spectrum from me. This did not dissuade me from accepting an invitation to appear on the show as I felt that it could be an opportunity to have an informative dialogue about the public education system. The resulting conversation probably did not change any viewpoints, but at least I was able to introduce some concepts that should be universally important, regardless of one's location on the political spectrum:

Bryan 'Hesher' McClain:

That's right. It is a conversation that we have to have and we have to have it ongoing, especially when it comes to what's going on with schools, with education, and with the kids. It's one of the worst things. You know, I, as, as a full-fledged adult, I'm okay with whatever they want to do to society. Right? I'm, I'm not okay with it, but I can deal with it. But when I see the cultural manipulation being aimed specifically at education, specifically at kids, when they start building things into educational programs to do with identity politics, I don't care what piece of culture war, identity politics it is, it's not meant for children. It's a form of indoctrination. It's a form of assault and abuse flat out. We're going to be joined by Carl Petersen right now and this is a man that has had to fight for services that his kids deserve. Carl, welcome to State of the Nation. I'm here with Lynn Shaw. I wanna thank you for joining us and telling us your story today.

Carl Petersen:

Thanks for having me.

McClain:

All right, well, that's probably a good place to start. So, for anyone that's unfamiliar, why don't you kind of give us your story?

Carl Petersen:

Sure. So I, I'm a father of five. My triplets are my youngest and two of them are on the autism spectrum. I'm their stepdad, so I came in when they were about six years old. And so I kind of was kind of thrust into a situation that was already in progress. And at first, I started participating in their IEPs, which is how the District determines what services they're gonna get, and kind of sat back and kind of trusted that the right things were being done. But then as we started to have questions, I kind of learned how to poke at the system a little bit. We ended up getting a lawyer and suing them because their teachers were agreeing they need certain services, and the district was saying "no."

So we ended up at Beudry, which is the Los Angeles School District's headquarters, high up in that skyscraper and sitting in a conference room for two days. And at the end of those days, I turned to my wife and said, "Somebody's gotta fix the system." And she said, "What about you?" So my next step was that I ran for school board and took on the system. I didn't win, but I got some credibility. Then I ran one more time after that. And right now I cover the district in my own blog.

Lynn Shaw:

You know, Carl, that's an amazing story and we're always recommending that when anybody says to us, "What should we do?" Get involved in your school, no matter how tough it is, as a parent, a concerned citizen school board, get to know the teacher, and ask for the curriculums. It's your right as parents.

I have a couple of questions for you. A couple of weeks ago, there was a big walkout of all the teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. What came of that? Because all I could deduce from that, it was just sort of so the teachers could get more perks and raises as opposed to what they were kind of framing it as, you know, cafeteria workers, part-time workers. What's your take on all of that? And do we ever think we'll see a day when the government will get outta the education business altogether? And what do you think?

Carl Petersen:

So, in that walkout; it was the cafeteria workers who actually went on strike along with the special education aids and the bus drivers. They're the ones who actually went on strike. The teachers honored the picket line, basically.

It was a strike that shouldn't have happened. In the end, the workers got exactly what they were asking for. It was just a Superintendent who had dug in his heels for who knows what reason because he ended up caving on everything. As far as the teachers, they just did sign a contract and along with their pay raise, there were other things that were important to families; smaller class sizes being the biggest of them all. That's something that's been fought for for years and years because basically when class sizes are too large, students don't get the attention they need to be successful.

Shaw:

And let me ask you something. How do you think American schools and students compare to European and Asian schools and what's the difference? Because I feel like in our American education system today, very sadly, it's simply modified childcare. We are falling behind across the United States. What's your opinion on this?

Carl Petersen:

That gets into a whole other subject of testing and what they base this "falling behind" on. We've become, in this country, I think too enslaved to this testing industry, which is basically what it is. The same companies that are running these tests are the same ones providing the textbooks. So you just get into this cycle where you have to buy the textbooks to make sure the kids do well on the test. And, what is the test for? When I was a kid, we also took standardized tests, but it was something that the teachers used as a tool. It's like, where did you need help? Now it's, we're gonna judge how well the school is, how well the teacher is performing. So it puts pressure on the kids then because if they don't perform well, then the teachers get bad marks. The school gets bad marks. So instead of being this thing that's just supposed to evaluate the student to see where they need help, it's become this whole other thing. And, I personally opted my kids out of those tests, which you're allowed to do in California as a parent.

McClain:

Let me throw this one at you before we gotta let you go here. We've talked to a number of people about this and we've heard a number of opinions and one of the ones that stuck out in my head, I can't remember which guest it was, but somebody said, with regards to teachers getting these raises, they were completely opposed to it. Not because of the idea of it, but because of the performance of the teachers. You know, they were very critical of teachers demanding more money at a time when, you know, we've seen such a decline in the outcomes of education, particularly in Los Angeles.

Carl Petersen:

Well, if you look at where performance is at in L.A., the performance that you're judging, basically depends on where you live. The more affluent the neighborhood, the better the student's doing. So when you say that the schools are failing, are you just taking what specifically the school is doing or what society is doing as a whole? If a kid from the inner city has a parent who has to work several jobs and, you know, can't really help with the homework or guide their kids, they're not gonna do well in school. So you're asking the teachers to do a lot more than teach, you're asking them basically to be society and cover for a lot of those things. So I have a hard time blaming teachers per se. Let's face it, teachers don't go into the profession to be rich. They go in because they want to help kids.

McClain:

Right? Yeah. I hear you. It seems to be a very complicated issue for sure. We're about out of time here my friend. We're gonna have to take a headline and let you go, but we would like to stay in touch. Carl, can we have you back on at some point? And also where's the best place for people to follow you? Is it on Twitter? I see you have ChangeTheLAUSD.com as well. So give us any final thoughts and shout-outs to where people can follow you.

Next Page 1 | 2

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Tell me one good thing about Switzerland. Well, its flag is a plus.

No, the best thing about Switzerland is neutrality, or at least the idea of it.

The Washington Post (of course it's the Washington Post) recently published an argument against the neutrality of Switzerland.

That neutrality has been rather blatantly phony since the mid-1990s. Switzerland is already on the map of NATO partners and U.S. weapons customers. Here's how NATO explains it: "Swiss cooperation with NATO is based on its long-standing policy of military neutrality and areas of practical cooperation that match joint objectives. NATO fully respects Switzerland's neutrality."

Yeah, and my ice-cream-club membership is based on my veganism.

So what are the Washington-Post-approved arguments for fully abandoning all pretense of neutrality?

Well, first of all, there's no more hostility in Europe. So "" OF COURSE "" every country should join up with a military alliance that requires joining in any wars its other members are in, and just as a war is actually waging in Europe in a nation being marked for NATO membership.

Oh wait, I get it. The author is auditioning for a job at NATO and showing off with feats of illogic.

Second, nobody wants to attack Switzerland. So the only way to get Switzerland attacked is to join up with a whole bunch of nations that collectively should be better able to get themselves all attacked. In fact, Switzerland is in danger because of its neutrality. Why? Well, because we're capable of forgetting the idea from way back two-sentences ago that nobody wants to attack Switzerland, and because we can fantasize that the deterrent effect of the U.S. military and its NATO sidekicks would be noticeably more deterring if Switzerland joined in with a battalion of yodelers armed with fondu catapults.

Third, Switzerland used to have so many internal conflicts that it didn't have any need for external mass-murder sprees. But now that all is peace and harmony within Switzerland, really the only place it can turn for major orgies of gory slaughter is the outside world. I think this argument is only appealing to a certain worldview that I suspect many people in Switzerland don't actually share.

Fourth, while neutrality does give Switzerland credibility in helping work for peace in the world, the author doesn't really care and figures it can still try being a peacemaker after losing all credibility. After all, the United States pretends to try unsuccessfully to arbitrate peace all over the place all the time.

Fifth, nobody actually thinks Switzerland is neutral anyway. Yes, well, that hardly tells us which direction Switzerland should move "" toward real neutrality, or toward absolute subservience to Washington "" does it?

Sixth, Swiss officials don't feel like real men at international conferences because Switzerland doesn't export any weapons for the rest of the world to kill huge numbers of people with. I mean, it's embarrassing. And somebody in Switzerland could be getting rich of the blood of humanity and isn't.

That's it. That's the whole case against Swiss neutrality.

But there's also a case in favor of it. That's well argued at this link.

The best thing about Swiss neutrality, if it could be made real, would be the example it sets. In an era of "with-us-or-with-the-enemy" someone ought to have the basic decency to stand up and say "to hell with that childish and barbaric horseshit; we're with you and with your enemy; we're against organized mass murder and planetary destruction; snap out of it, would you?"
China played the pivotal role in building the bridge of peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Now, China is turning its efforts to negotiating an end to the war in Yemen, which has been a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. China's new status as a peacebuilder has side-lined the US, which had been profiting from arms sales and wars in the Middle East for decades. Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen have all been devastated by the US military and their allies since 2003, and the US military continues to occupy parts of Syria.

In Yemen, the US participated as a military partner with Saudi Arabia and made huge profits from selling arms to Riyadh. China's efforts in peacemaking are set to affect the US arms business, and may leave the US as the big loser in Yemen's peace.

Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Hamid Rizk, Director of political programs at the Al-Masirah channel, to shed light on the ramifications of the Iran-Saudi peace on the war in Yemen.

#1. Steven Sahiounie (SS): Saudi Arabia and Iran have restored all diplomatic relations between them after meeting in Beijing. How will the return of relations affect the crisis in Yemen?

Hamid Rizk (HR): We hope that the Iranian-Saudi rapprochement will be reflected positively on the Yemeni file through the commitment of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the serious and real terms of peace based on addressing the humanitarian consequences, foremost of which is lifting the blockade of ports, opening airports, paying salaries to employees, compensating the affected, rebuilding what was destroyed by the war and withdrawing Saudi troops and the rest of the foreign forces from Yemeni territory.

#2. SS: There are ongoing negotiations in Yemen to stop the armed conflict in the country. What is the current status of these negotiations?

HR: There are positive signs and ongoing meetings, the latest of which is the visit of the Saudi envoy to Sana'a for six days, and there is agreement to continue meetings and consultations until reaching a vision and understanding for a fair and just solution that stops the war once and for all and restores the rights to its people.

#3. SS: Yemen has been subjected to an armed conflict that has lasted for years. What is the humanitarian situation in the country there, and are people getting help?

HR: The humanitarian situation in Yemen is tragic, the suffering is great, the poverty is wide, the health and social situation suffers from the results of the war, which left millions of Yemenis living under the threat of poverty, the high rate of malnutrition among children, the decline in the level of basic services, the spread of diseases and epidemics and the destruction of economic life, all of which turned into a living and economic disaster suffered by the Yemeni people in general.

#4.SS: From your point of view, how do you see the development of the political scene in the next stage in Yemen?

HR: We are looking forward in the coming stages to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis by lifting the blockade and opening ports for the flow of basic goods, medicines and oil derivatives that are essential to people's lives. We are also looking forward to lifting the blockade of Sana'a airport, which contributes to the departure of many patients for treatment abroad. We are looking forward, God willing, to addressing the effects of the war and we are looking forward to serious steps in comprehensive peace by the Saudi-American coalition, leading to the complete and final closure of the war file.

5. SS: The United States has been involved in the conflict in Yemen. During the last stage, Washington reacted negatively to the development of Saudi-Iranian relations. How do you assess the role of the United States in Yemen?

HR: The role of the United States of America is negative and there are indications that America does not want Saudi Arabia to get out of the Yemeni war, because the war benefits the Americans financially through arms deals worth billions of dollars, in addition to the fear of the United States of America losing its influence and some of its illegitimate interests. Washington is also concerned about the consequences of any Iranian-Saudi rapprochement and its positive repercussions on bilateral relations between Arab and Islamic countries. America is taking advantage of the situation of conflict, wars and crises to consolidate its survival and control over Arab and Islamic peoples and countries.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov has expressed his condolences to the Minister of National Defense of Turkiye Hulusi Akar and the Chief of the General Staff General of the Turkish Army Yasar Guler, Trend reports via the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan.

Im deeply saddened by the news about the death and injury of the valiant Turkish servicemen as a result of an accident on the Sirnak-Uludere road. We share your grief. May the Almighty rest the souls of the fallen servicemen, we share the bitterness of their loved ones, and express our deepest condolences to their families. I wish recovery to the injured servicemen, Hasanov said in the condolence letter.

According to Demiroren News Agency (DHA), the road accident in Turkiye's southeastern border province of Sirnak left two soldiers dead and over 40 injured (four in critical condition) when a bus carrying the soldiers was toppled over.

The injured were taken to the state hospital in Sirnak town.


Maurice Hinchey. Excerpts from Congressman Maurice Hinchey's comments made during his meeting with the Times Herald-Record's editorial board.

(Image by YouTube, Channel: recordonline.com) Details DMCA



By Bob Gaydos

With the virtual disappearance of local newspapers, the crisis-of-the-moment atmosphere of news on television, heightened in recent years by social media, it's easy for local happenings of note to sometimes slip by, umm, unnoticed. No cameras, no crowds, no name-calling, nothing going on here, folks. Just keep driving.

Well, the other day as we drove a familiar route on Route 17 in slightly upstate New York, passing from Sullivan County into Orange County, I noticed an unfamiliar sight--a sign reading "Welcome to The Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area."

Where did that come from? I wondered. What does it mean?

Some research revealed that the entire Hudson River Valley, including counties bordering on both sides of the river, was designated by Congress in 1996 as the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area "to interpret, preserve and celebrate the nationally significant cultural and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley."

I assume I heard about it at the time and forgot. Considering the river's role in so much of this nation's history, from the Dutch settlers to the Revolutionary War, to the Hudson River School of Painters and the wealthy industrialists living in the valley, that designation makes a lot of sense. So, good for Congress.

The area was officially renamed in honor of Maurice D. Hinchey in 2019. Considering that Hinchey probably did more than anyone else to save and preserve the river, that makes even more sense. Even better for the politicians.

But what took them so long? And does just putting up a sign along the highway do Hinchey justice? I don't think so. People, especially those new to the area and those just passing through, ought to know something about the name on the sign.

So - Maurice Hinchey built a reputation in his 17 years in the State Legislature as the premier champion and defender of the environment in New York state. As longtime chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, he cracked down on polluters, investigated organized crime control of waste hauling, made Love Canal and toxic waste a national issue and, perhaps most importantly, raised an awareness of the importance of protecting our natural resources as a key to economic growth.

Cleaning and preserving the Hudson River was one of his major priorities and no one worked more diligently at that.

In addition to his 17 years in the state legislature, Hinchey served 20 years in Congress, representing an area that stretched from his home county of Ulster to the Finger Lakes region. He was a vocal opponent of fracking and consistently fought to bring resources to the Hudson Valley region that would improve the environment and boost the economy at the same time.

A frequent visitor at the offices of The Times Herald-Record in Middletown, he spoke quietly and knowingly and dressed sharply. In sum, he was an impeccable champion for the region.

Hinchey died in 2017, in his hometown of Saugerties, in the Hudson Valley. He was 79. Having survived cancer, he succumbed to frontotemporal degeneration, a rare terminal neurological disorder, according to his family. I was saddened when I heard the news, but his legacy as the champion of the Hudson River Valley had already been assured many years earlier.

In fact, that legacy may be growing. Hinchey's daughter, Michelle, a Democrat like her father, was elected to the State Senate in 2020, representing much of the same area that her father did. Among other things, she has been focusing on renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. She appears to be well aware of why her father's name is on that new sign on Route 17.

Hopefully, now you are, too.

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Portland police officers arrested five people and cited 25 more during a street racing sting Sunday night in North Portland, the bureau said.

Around 10 p.m., a group of racers took over North Columbia Boulevard near Peninsular Avenue, speeding down the corridor and performing stunts for a few hours.

The Police Bureaus North Precinct and former members of the disbanded traffic division responded with a drone and dog unit.

The mission comes in response to a February fatal car crash tied to street racing, the August death of a bystander pedestrian hit by a car that was racing and a March 2022 shooting linked to a street takeover that injured four, including an 11-year-old.

In 2021, the Portland City Council responded to the rise in street racing by increasing penalties, including towing cars, in a new ordinance.

Gov. Tina Kotek in April agreed to provide Oregon State Police troopers to Portland to help curb street racing, but details of that developing partnership have yet to be announced.

The missions take up a lot of resources, police spokesperson Terri Wallo-Strauss said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive last month, because dangerous racing events require crowd control, often with an air support unit and overtime pay for officers.

Earlier this year, state Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, proposed Senate Bill 615 to increase the punishments for drivers caught racing in Oregon.

If passed, first-time offenders convicted of misdemeanor street racing could face up to one year in jail and/or a fine of more than $6,000. Police could also seize their vehicles. If convicted more than once, a person could face a felony with a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $100,000 fine.

SB 615 goes before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Under Oregon state law now, racing on a public road is a Class A traffic violation with a typical fine of about $440. For those accused and convicted of organizing a street race, it becomes a felony.

During the sting, police also towed two vehicles. Twenty to 30 participants fled from police, the bureau said in its news release Monday afternoon.

 Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Creators involved in such projects as Portlandia, this years Oscar-winning animated feature, a hot Portland restaurant, Showing Up, two Thor movies, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures are being honored at the Cinema Unbound Awards 2023, in Portland.

The Cinema Unbound Awards are presented by the Portland Art Museums PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, formerly known as the Northwest Film Center. As the announcement of this years honorees states, the Cinema Unbound honor celebrates artistic innovators not content to be contained. The awards honor multi-faceted folks working at the intersection of art and cinema who are pushing the boundaries of whats possible.

This years honorees are Fred Armisen, Guillermo del Toro, Gregory Gourdet, Jon Raymond, Jacqueline Stewart and Tessa Thompson. The Cinema Unbound event will happen on June 22, In the Portland Art Museums Kridel Grand Ballroom.

The Oscar-winning del Toro is known for such works as The Shape of Water, Pans Labyrinth and Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio, this years winner of the Oscar for best animated feature. The movie, made in the painstaking stop-motion animation technique, was largely made in Portland, and was co-directed by Portland-based animation veteran Mark Gustafson. The filmmakers next animation project, The Buried Giant, is also expected to be made in Portland.

Stewart is director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, was named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow, is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, a professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago and also hosts the Silent Sunday Nights films on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

Gourdet is one of Portlands best-known culinary figures, and is the chef and founder of Sousol and Kann. Kann, a restaurant spotlighting food inspired by Gourdets Haitian heritage, is a 2023 James Beard Foundation Award finalist in the Best New Restaurant category. Gourdets cookbook, Everyones Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, was also honored at the James Beard Media Awards last year. Gourdet is also known for his appearances on the Bravo channel series, Top Chef, where he was twice a finalist.

Armisen is a co-creator, co-writer and co-star of the TV series, Portlandia. His career has also included being a Saturday Night Live cast member; co-starring in the HBO series, Los Espookys, which he also executive produced; portraying Uncle Fester in the hit Netflix series, Wednesday; co-starring, co-producing and co-writing the comedy series, Documentary Now; being a voice actor in such features as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Big Mouth and The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Raymond is a Portland-based novelist, writer and screenwriter, known for his collaborations with director Kelly Reichardt. The two have collaborated on six screenplays, including Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, Meeks Cutoff, Night Moves, First Cow and Showing Up, which were all filmed in Oregon. Raymond also co-wrote, with director Todd Haynes, the script for Haynes HBO series, Mildred Pierce. Earlier in his career, Raymond was editor at Plazm Magazine and an associate and contributing editor at Tin House Magazine.

Thompsons acting career includes roles in Dear White People, Selma, Sorry to Bother You, Passing, Westworld, the Creed franchise, and as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. She also has a production company, Viva Maude, which is developing projects for such outlets as HBO and HBO Max.

Announced presenters of the awards include filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Arianne Sutner, of Laika, who will present the award to Stewart; Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi will present to Gourdet; filmmaker Lance Bangs and musician Corin Tucker will present the award to Armisen; Haynes will present the award to Raymond; and filmmaker Boots Riley will present the award to Thompson.

Proceeds from the Cinema Unbound Awards benefit PAM Cut. Past winners include Steve McQueen, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley, Carrie Brownstein, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Roger Ross Williams, Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, and John Cameron Mitchell. Presenters have included Bong Joon-ho, Chloe Zhao, Isabella Rossellini, Charles Burnett, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alessandro Michele, and Justin Vivian Bond.
Days after Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan acknowledged she was moonlighting for a troubled cannabis company, she released her contract with an affiliate of La Mota, an Oregon-based pot chain looking to expand into other states.

Heres the text of the three-page agreement with Veriede Holding LLC, signed by Fagan on Feb. 24. It says she will receive $10,000 a month for no specified scope of work plus a $30,000 bonus any time the company acquires a business licenses in a state other than Oregon or New Mexico.
Heres the statement Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan released Monday announcing that shes dropping her side contract with a marijuana company whose owner played a role in a state audit of Oregons marijuana program. Fagans office did the audit.

Today I am announcing that I have terminated my contract with Veriede Holdings, LLC.

I owe the people of Oregon an apology. I exercised poor judgment by contracting with a company that is owned by my significant political donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my Audits Division. I am sorry for harming the trust that Ive worked so hard to build with you over the last few years, and I will spend the next two years working hard to rebuild it.

Earlier this year, I began working for supplemental income, both at Willamette University Law School teaching a class and as an independent contractor consulting with Veriede Holding on the cannabis industry outside of Oregon. I diligently followed the Oregon Government Ethics Commissions published guidelines for private employment of public officials, the same exact ethics rules Ive followed for a decade, since I became a legislator in 2013. I look forward to the findings of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission because they will confirm that I followed Oregon ethics rules and laws. I am also eager for the Department of Justices review of the OLCC audit because the review will verify that hard-working auditors in the Oregon Audits Division conducted their work with independence and integrity.

Im holding a press conference today to answer questions and to own that there is a difference between following all the rules and doing nothing wrong. I broke your trust. That was wrong. I am truly sorry.

My mission as Secretary of State continues to be to build trust. The first step to building trust is admitting that I broke it. Ill spend the next two years rebuilding your trust in me and that starts today with releasing the contract that will be reviewed by the Government Ethics Commission.

Oregon Secretary of State resigns
In a dramatic reversal Monday, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan released details of her lucrative outside contract, announced she had canceled it and tearfully apologized to Oregonians.

After days of questions, Fagan held a press availability Monday after releasing the terms of the contract for the consulting side job she took in February with an embattled cannabis company.

Under the deal, Fagan was paid $10,000 a month to help an affiliate of pot chain La Mota expand into other states and could have netted $30,000 bonuses for helping the chains owners, Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, obtain licenses in states other than Oregon and New Mexico.

Thats more than Fagan is paid as Oregons full-time secretary of state, yet her contract for the consulting job lacked specifics about what work Fagan was expected to complete.

Oregon Secretary of State resigns

Fagan announced Monday that she had terminated her contract with the La Mota affiliate, Veriede Holdings.

Second in line to the governor, Fagan apologized Monday. In an extraordinary press availability she tried to take responsibility for errors in judgment but also deflected media questions as reporters were cut off at the end of the allotted time. Fagan said her work involved compiling the vast landscape of FAQs and laws on cannabis in other states and territories for use by Cazares and Mitchells attorneys. She also planned to do legal work for the company in the future after getting reinstated to the Oregon State Bar.

Since fall 2020, Mitchell has donated $45,000 to Fagans political action committee. Fagan said on Monday that she met Cazares and Mitchell at a breakfast fundraiser when she was running for secretary of state in 2020.

Since then, Fagan said she has spent time socially with Cazares and Mitchell and noted they have children of similar ages. It was at a social get-together with the couple in February that the contract came together, Fagan said. Fagan mentioned that she had just started teaching at Willamette University Law School to supplement her secretary of state income and Cazares said that she and Mitchell were looking for contractors to help them expand into other states. This opportunity interested me, Fagan said.

Before running for secretary of state in 2020, Fagan was an employment lawyer and a state lawmaker.

When a reporter questioned why Fagan, out of the many people qualified to research government regulations, landed the lucrative work scrutinizing other states cannabis business rules, the secretary of state responded, It is something Im qualified to do as a person representing businesses, an apparent reference to her previous business law work.

In response to other reporters questions Monday about whether she was expected to talk to government officials in other states to boost Cazares and Mitchells interests, Fagan said she talked with Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who she described as a friend just to ask who, like, would be somebody for a cannabis company to talk to if they wanted to get the lay of the land.

Oregon does not have a lieutenant governor so the secretary of state is next in line to become governor if that position becomes vacant. As a result, Fagan is an active member of both the National Lieutenant Governors Association and the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.

Samantha Taylor, a spokesperson for Bysiewicz, said Fagans contact was a one-time communication by telephone.

Approximately three weeks ago, the Lieutenant Governor received a phone call from Shemia Fagan inquiring about Connecticuts cannabis license process for a client Fagan had as part of her consulting business, Taylor said. The Lieutenant Governor pointed Fagan to public information of the appropriate state agency contact to learn Connecticuts lottery process. There was no further communication beyond the one phone call.

Fagan apologized multiple times Monday for taking the consulting job.

I owe the people of Oregon an apology, Fagan said in the emailed statement. I exercised poor judgment by contracting with a company that is owned by my significant political donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my Audits Division. I am sorry for harming the trust that Ive worked so hard to build with you over the last few years, and I will spend the next two years working hard to rebuild it.

Fagan told reporters on Monday that to put it bluntly, my secretary of states salary alone is not enough for me to make ends meet. She was going through a divorce when she jumped into the secretary of states race early in 2020 and said she is starting over financially after that. She said she is the sole earner in her household supporting her two children.

Fagan earns $77,000 annually for her full-time job as secretary of state, along with $3,255 in other pay last year, state records show. She did not answer a question Monday about how many hours she works as secretary of state. First and foremost, my role is as a mom, Fagan said.

On Friday, Fagan said in a statement that the amount of time she spent on the pot consulting contract is minimal and I prioritize my public service. However, when asked Monday whether it amounted to a no-show contract, Fagan said she worked approximately 15 hours a week on the pot consulting early on in the contract. In comparison, she spends approximately 4 hours a week teaching at Willamette University Law School. Fagan said she was paid for two months of pot consulting and did not receive any bonus for helping the company achieve a license in another state.

Fagan also still receives an unspecified amount of income from the law firm where she previously worked as an employment attorney, HKM Employment Attorneys, according to state disclosure filings. Willamette Week first reported Fagans contract with La Mota affiliate company Veriede Holding LLC on Thursday.

The secretary of state oversees audits of government and last week, state auditors who report to Fagan released an audit that argued for Oregon marijuana regulators to loosen rules to help the industry. According to reporting by Willamette Week, the state is already much easier on pot companies than neighboring Washington where recreational marijuana is also legal. Specifically, Oregon allowed the La Mota dispensary chain to expand even though it owed millions of dollars in federal income and state cannabis taxes, faced numerous workplace complaints and had other problems.

After news of Fagans pot consulting contract broke last week, the secretary of state initially refused to release a copy of her Veriede Holding contract and she avoided personally answering reporters questions about what the job entailed, how much it paid and how she landed the contract. When a reporter from The Oregonian/OregonLive went to Fagans home early Friday afternoon, the secretary of state declined to come to the door. A man who would not give his name answered the door and said Fagan was unavailable.

Oregon ethics laws allow public officials to have private jobs and many lawmakers, who are part-time paid government employees, do so in order to make ends meet. Its extremely rare, however, for a full-time statewide elected official to take outside work. It is illegal for public employees to use their public positions for personal gain.

William Gary, a Eugene attorney and former deputy to former Republican Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer, said it might have violated ethics laws for Fagan to have taken a job with a cannabis company while the auditors in her office were completing their review of Oregons marijuana regulatory agency. What is unusual is for a state elected official to take a consulting position with a company while her office is auditing the regulator, Gary said. That probably violates state ethics laws. You cant trade on your office.

Fagan was also asked Monday why she reimbursed herself more than $20,000 from her campaign account on April 18. The secretary of state did not cite specific details of what the reimbursement was for. But Fagan said she personally paid for many political expenses such as two trips to Alaska for a lieutenant governors event and to support a congressional candidate and a trip to San Francisco for an event with Emerge America, a group that helps Democratic women run for office. Cazares was the vice chair of Emerge Oregon until the groups board removed her last month in response to Willamette Weeks reporting.

Fagan began 2023 with less than $600 in her campaign account. She has since raised $37,500, $25,000 of it from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, and spent more than $22,000 reimbursing herself for expenses. Her two other largest donors, unions for electricians and firefighters, each gave her $5,000. Itemized expenses included a $1,700 plane fare and a $140 meal at Reagan National Airport.

The secretary of state said Monday that she plans to empty her political action committee and donate all remaining money to the Oregon Humane Society.

Fagan refused to release her tax returns as a way to provide additional sunlight on which entities are paying her and how much. Its not customary for the secretary of state to release tax returns, Fagan said.

Fagan told reporters she was sorry for undermining the trust she had worked hard to build and I will begin working to build that trust back today. But after taking questions for less than 30 minutes Monday via Zoom, Fagans staff ended the meeting leaving many questions unanswered.

Reporters Ted Sickinger and Jeff Manning contributed to this report.

 Hillary Borrud
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 1. The Azerbaijani delegation observed the referendum in Uzbekistan at more than 30 polling stations, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan Mazahir Panahov told Trend.

"The delegation of observers from Azerbaijan was represented both at the level of MPs, and the leadership and members of the Central Election Commission. In total, observations were made at more than 50 sites. The sites must meet certain requirements for voting, Panahov explained.

No cases of serious dissatisfaction were recorded. In general, fairly spacious premises were chosen for the polling stations. More than 90 percent of the population took part in the voting. The voters' activity was observed. This event will go down in the history of Uzbekistan," he added.

The referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan was held on April 30.

Amendments to the Constitution are aimed at strengthening the functions of Parliament to appoint the heads of supervisory and law enforcement agencies, while part of the powers of the president is transferred to the supreme legislative body. In addition, it is proposed to increase the term of the presidency from five to seven years.

Judges of the Constitutional Court are proposed to be elected for a ten-year term. The Constitutional Court elects for a five-year term from among its members the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and his deputy.

A large package of amendments to the Basic Law aims to liberalize the country's economy further.

On April 19-26, early voting took place. More than 611,000 citizens of Uzbekistan participated in early voting in the referendum on amendments to the Constitution.
Thanks to DNA testing of evidence from a rape kit taken in 2013, two men face criminal sexual assault charges.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday that Douglas Johnson IV, 33, of Flint, and Rapheal Holman, 32, of Taylor, are each charged with four counts of sexual assault, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct, in connection to the 2013 rape case.

Holman and Johnson are each charged with one count of the following charges:

First-degree criminal sexual conduct (multiple variables  accomplices and/or personal injury)

Second-degree criminal sexual conduct (multiple variables  accomplices and/or personal injury)

Third-degree criminal sexual conduct (incapacitated victim)

Fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct (incapacitated victim)

The charges stem from an April 2013 gathering in Ypsilanti, Nessels office wrote in a Friday press release.

The defendants and the victim were at a gathering with several other people, the release read. The victim eventually fell asleep on the couch, woke in the morning on the floor, without her pants, and was concerned that she had been sexually assaulted.

Due to the concern, she went to the hospital for a sexual assault kit, or rape kit, examination. The Washtenaw County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative tested evidence from her kit as part of their efforts in 2017. This was when DNA was found that came back to Holman and Johnson, according to Nessels office.

This is the kind of case we are only able to bring charges for through the incredible dedication and vital work of our Sexual Assault Kit Initiative teams throughout the state, Nessel said in the Friday release. Ten years after this assault we are still able to bring charges, and I want other survivors out there to see that. That is possible because of the tremendous work and determination of teams like the Washtenaw Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team, whose efforts I am grateful for.

The Washtenaw Sexual Assault Kit Initiative project is funded by the Michigan Legislature and involves a partnership between Nessel's office, the Michigan State Police, the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office and SafeHouse Center, a non-profit organization that provides support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and their children in Washtenaw County.

The project uses a team approach to the re-investigation and prosecution of cold-case sexual assaults. The team consists of a special assistant attorney general, investigators employed by the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office, a victim advocate employed by SafeHouse Center and local law enforcement who initially responded to the report.

Were grateful for the phenomenal work our Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team is doing on these cases with the support of the attorney general, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit said in the Friday release. We are committed to ensuring justice for sexual assault survivors  no matter how long it takes. And we will.

Holman and Johnson were arraigned in 14A District Court in Ann Arbor, court records showed.

Holman is due back in court on May 16 for a probable cause hearing. And Johnson is due back on May 11 for the same.
United Way measures success in how lives are changed, and they do not do this work alone. In addition to working with local corporations, businesses, nonprofits, foundations and individuals, they partner with 26 dedicated nonprofits and invest in quality programs that show measurable outcomes every year. Together, they create new solutions to pressing problems and join with people from all walks of life to put those solutions into action.

Our partner agencies continue to inspire us through the incredible work they do to support our neighbors in need of help, shared Beth Sorenson Prince, United Ways Director of Impact. They are the champions of care in our community, and have the most generous hearts. We are so grateful for them being a network of support for our community, families, friends and neighbors.

United Way listens, asks questions and analyzes data to ensure that their issue areas are aligned with the most pressing needs. Dollars are invested in programs in the areas of Youth Success, Health and Household Stability because change is bigger than a single organization or program.

One thing that many dont realize is that a team of volunteers determine allocations each year, shared Kim Stuhler, Associate Director of Community Impact. Each year our volunteer panels devote over 20 hours each to reviewing applications, assessing outcomes and posing questions to our partners. Based on what they learn, they make funding recommendations to the United Way board.

The allocation process is best-in-class and digs deep into the funded programs to ensure that there is a high level of accountability and that all investments demonstrate measurable impact in the community. United Ways Community Impact Strategy Team also explores gaps in health and human service needs and makes suggestions for other impact projects and potential gaps areas.

To ensure non-profit sustainability in the face of increased demands, the United Way of Midland County voted to invest an additional $134,746 from their Endowment in support of partner agency programs in 2023.

To see the entire list of partner agencies and programs they support, go to unitedwaymidland.org and visit the Our Partners page under Who We Are.

United Way of Midland County Partner Agencies:

1. 2-1-1 Northeast Michigan

2. The Arc of Midland

3. American Red Cross East Central Bay

4. Arnold Center

5. Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region

6. Camp Fire USA  Midland County Council

7. Cancer Services

8. Disability Network of Mid-Michigan

9. Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network

10. Family & Childrens Services

11. Greater Midland Coleman Family Center

12. Greater Midland Community Center

13. Greater Midland North Family Center

14. Hidden Harvest

15. Home to Stay

16. Legacy Center for Community Success

17. Midland Camping Council/Camp Neyati

18. Midland County ESA

19. Midland County Habitat for Humanity

20. The Rock Center for Youth Development

21. Safe and Sound Child Advocacy Center

22. The Salvation Army

23. Senior Services

24. Shelterhouse

25. Ten16 Recovery Network

26. West Midland Family Center

United Way hosted their Annual Board meeting on Tuesday, March 14 celebrating the many successes from last year in additional to providing funding for community programs.

Like many other organizations, United Way was thrilled to bring folks back together again. Hundreds of supporters joined United Way to hear stories of our neighbors at The Chair Project event, pack needed supply kits for local teachers at Gear for the Year, dive deeper into the issues our neighbors are facing at presentations and impact tours and rally around providing the vital support needed.

Young Leaders United came together last year for several lunch and learns and volunteer initiatives. At their lunch events they heard from experts and community leaders about the 2022 Youth Asset Survey, ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed) and food insecurity. Members of the group also donated new and used books to help nourish kids minds, taught seniors how to make healthy and affordable Crockpot meals and offered career advice to students in the West Midland Family Center College Opportunity Program.

It was an inspiring year, United Way CEO, Holly Miller said. It brought the return of events, in-person presentations and face-to-face conversations. Humans are inherently social and feeling connected improves our physical, emotional and mental health. It also created opportunity for deeper learning, understanding and drives connection to something bigger than ourselves.

United Way also shared an update on their advocacy and impact work.

Last year, United Way of Midland County offered their support for the State Earned Income Tax Credit increase. Their support, along with many other United Ways, Chambers, Foundations and community organizations, helped shape the decisions being made that will significantly help families who fall below the ALICE threshold for years to come. United Way also offered equity challenges engaging over 200 people to help inform and educate about race and disability equity.

In addition to the yearly allocations, United Way offers SPARK funding for innovative programs that fill a gap in the community. These collective impact grants provide both funding and support to incubate collaborative ways to tackle persistent human service needs. United Way served as the backbone and deploys resources and capacity-building opportunities throughout the incubation.

To date, United Way has provided funding for innovative programs including ReGrow, College Confidence at Self Love Beauty, Lead2Read at The Legacy Center, Surplus Food Distribution at West Midland Family Center, Disability Survey for the Disability Coalition, Leveraging Income for Tomorrow (LIFT) in collaboration with 2-1-1 of Northeast Michigan, Friendly Connections, Coleman Community Market at the Greater Midland Coleman Family Center and eMentoring with local schools.

SPARK is an idea that weve been developing for years, shared Miller. Beyond the compelling impact created through our partner agencies and volunteers, there are still persistent issues that need an innovative spark. It is a collective impact model that creates a community of stakeholders that can tackle an issue, co-creating systems and solutions that play to each of their strengths. At its very core, it is nimble, allowing for strategy and funding shifts throughout a continuous learning loop to ensure maximum impact. It places people at the center.

United Way has a long history of incubating bold ideas. Some examples include Success by Six (which is now the Great Start Collaborative) and First Call for Help (now known as 211 of NE Michigan).

Weve had incredible success with the eight programs weve launched collaboratively and look forward to how these investments can help continue to move the needle collectively, Miller shared.

United Way celebrated outgoing Board members Mauro Gregorio, President of Performance Materials and Coatings, and Mike Sharrow, Superintendent at Midland Pubic Schools. Gregorio served six years on the United Way of Midland County Board and shared his gratitude for the important work United Way does in our community. Sharrow was unable to attend the meeting but was recognized for his sound voice and insight shared during his seven-year service to the Board.

The Board voted in new members Sinchan Banerjee, Global Process Owner  Procure to Pay with Dow, Penny Miller-Nelson, Associate Superintendent with Midland Public Schools and returning member Michael Gavin, owner of Gavin and Associates.

The proposed slate of officers was approved naming Gavin as Chair, Craig Stevens as Past Chair, Wally Mayton as Vice Chair, Patti Timm as Treasurer, Colin Broom as Secretary and Ann Beck as Community Impact Chair.

As we celebrate the many success of last year, we also look forward, Miller said. Our team is an incredible group of people with the most caring hearts, creative and innovative spirits and a drive to create change within our community. Im so proud of the work our team does each and every day to ensure there is help in our community for the folks who need it most.

For more information, visit unitedwaymidland.org.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Tereasa Nims.

Sunday, April 30

11:41 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Greendale Township convenience store to meet a woman who had questions regarding a possible assault and civil issue. The woman decided she did not want to speak with the deputy and said she would call back in the morning when she had more time.

10:38 p.m. - A deputy checked a Larkin Township parking lot for lost property belonging to a 57-year-old woman who had recently moved out of the Midland area. The property was not located.

9:30 p.m. - A 16-year-old Lincoln Township girl requested a wellbeing check of her 14-year-old friend after the friend made concerning statements. Deputies contacted the 14-year-old and her 34-year-old mother and 58-year-old grandmother. It was learned that there was friendship tension between the 14-year-old and 16-year-old. No crime was committed.

6:47 p.m. - Police responded to a drunken driving property damage crash in the area of Indian and Jerome streets.

2:56 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Lincoln Township apartment for a possible domestic altercation. It was discovered that a 19-year-old woman had a seizure and accidentally struck her 21-year-old boyfriend during the seizure. EMS was called to the scene to evaluate the woman.

More Information Activities of the Midland County Sheriff's Office and Midland Police Department See More Collapse

2:13 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Sanford residence to speak with a 64-year-old man regarding his 70-year-old intoxicated male neighbor continually coming to his house asking for a ride to the store to purchase more alcohol. The 64-year-old said his neighbor is becoming a nuisance. The deputy spoke with the 70-year-old, who stated that he will refrain from bothering his neighbor.

2:31 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence for an alleged assault between a 45-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son. The parties were separated, and a report was sent the prosecutor for review.

10:11 a.m. - A 36-year-old Porter Township man called deputies regarding a vehicle that was for sale. He claimed ownership of the vehicle but had no title or registration. He was informed that without paperwork showing his ownership, he had no legal claim to the vehicle.

Saturday, April 29

11:15 p.m. - A deputy was on patrol in Midland and came across water over the road. The deputy stood by until the city department of public works arrived to fix the drainage issue.

9:21 p.m. - A deputy, MyMichigan EMS, and the Midland Fire Department were dispatched to a Midland highway for a report of an unknown crash. EMS located the incident and found there was not a crash; however it was a vehicle that the deputy had responded to previously. All other units were called off.

9 p.m. - A deputy transported a man from an Edenville Township location to the Midland County Jail without incident. The 40-year-old Beaverton man was arrested in Beaverton on three contempt of court warrants out of Midland County.

8:40 p.m. - Police responded to the area of Jefferson Avenue and Joe Mann Blvd. for a driving under the influence of drugs.

7:01 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Sanford business regarding an intoxicated male customer. The man was given a ride prior to the deputies' arrival. The store owner requested the deputies to contact the 44-year-old Jerome Township man and advise him that he was not welcome at the store while intoxicated. The deputy advised the man of the owner's wishes.

4:00 p.m. - Police responded to a hit-and-run crash at George and E. Ellsworth streets.

3:57 p.m. - A 17-year-old boy was transported to the hospital after having thoughts of harming himself. A deputy completed a mental health petition and provided it to hospital staff. The boy's 36-year-old mother also filed a petition with the hospital.

3:23 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Lincoln Township residence regarding a 16-year-old girl who sneaked away from her home during the night. After initial investigation, the girl was listed as a missing person. The next day, the deputy located her in Bay County. She was turned over to her 53-year-old grandmother.

2:21 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence regarding an assault between 17-year-old and 15-year-old brothers. A report was sent to the prosecutor for review.

2:07 p.m. - A 51-year-old Greendale Township man was reported missing and possibly suicidal by his 29-year-old roommate. The man was later located sleeping in his car at a Bay County parking lot. The man was transported by Bay County Sheriff's Office to the hospital for a mental health petition due to suicidal statements he had made to friends and the Bay County deputies.

12:29 p.m. - Police were called to a property damage crash at Jerome and Buttles streets.

12:01 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Lincoln Township restaurant to speak with a 34-year-old clerk who believed that a passenger in a vehicle at her drive-thru window had whispered "help" to her. The woman said the vehicle was a maroon Kia Sorento with an Ontario license plate. The deputy checked the area but was unable to locate the vehicle.

11:20 a.m. - A deputy was dispatched to MyMichigan Medical Center for a report of a 56-year-old Lincoln Township woman who had been bitten by her own dog. An isolation notice was completed and given to the complainant.

3:15 a.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Homer Township residence regarding a 911 hang-up call. The deputy contacted the 85-year-old homeowner, who advised that she was all set. It appeared that she was having phone troubles.

Friday, April 28

10:56 p.m. - Deputies were dispatched to do a wellbeing check of a 36-year-old Lee Township woman. The California caller was the woman's 38-year-old brother. The caller said he had not heard from his sister in more than a month. Deputies contacted the woman, and she advised she was fine and would contact her brother.

7:26 p.m. - A 57-year-old Greendale Township man spoke with a deputy regarding a suspicious man who came to his house asking for a washing machine motor. The complainant did not have a motor and asked the suspicious man to leave. The complainant only wished to document the incident, and provided a photograph of the man.

6:49 p.m. - Police were called to an injury crash at Jerome and Buttles streets.

3:58 p.m. - A 57-year-old woman filed a report against her husband for removing money from her bank account. This was deemed to be civil, and the woman was advised to let her attorney handle it.

3:58 p.m. - A deputy spoke with a 63-year-old woman about her address being changed at her bank without her knowledge. The woman was advised of what steps to take to safeguard her identity. No monetary loss was reported.

3:35 p.m. - Police responded to a death investigation in the 2200 block of Cleveland Avenue.

3:27 p.m. - An animal control deputy received a call from someone who was concerned about the wellbeing of several cats at a residence in Jerome Township. The deputy checked the home and determined that the concerns were unsubstantiated.

3:18 p.m. - Police responded to a death investigation in the 1200 block of Sterling Court.

12:48 p.m. - Police were called to Nottingham Terrace and Jenkins Drive for a property damage crash.

12:27 p.m. - A 73-year-old man reported that while he was on a private road, a resident came out and videotaped him. The complainant had permission to be there. This is an ongoing issue between two neighbors, and the man just wanted it documented.

10:47 a.m. - A 33-year-old Greendale Township man contacted deputies with numerous questions regarding child custody, personal protection orders, returning mail, and unwanted behavior from his child's mother during a separation. The deputy answered all the questions the man had and instructed him on how to obtain a PPO through Midland County Circuit Court. No crimes were reported.

10:08 a.m. - A deputy was dispatched to an Edenville Township residence to assist EMS with a 43-year-old man who was experiencing hip pain after a recent surgery. The man was transported to the ER by EMS.

5:07 a.m. - Deputies responded to a Homer Township residence after a 41-year-old woman called stating a 40-year-old man had overstayed his welcome after their date, claiming the man refused to leave her home. Deputies spoke with the man, who agreed to leave and not come back.

2:11 a.m. - Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township residence for a verbal dispute between a 27-year-old woman and her 58-year-old father-in-law. Both parties said there was no physical altercation. The two parties were separated for the evening.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev described the referendum as an important step towards the comprehensive development of brotherly Uzbekistan and strengthening of democracy as he received Chairman of the Board of Uzavtosanoat JSC of Uzbekistan Ulugbek Rozukulov.

The head of state asked Ulugbek Rozukulov to extend his congratulations to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the successful holding of the referendum in Uzbekistan. The President of Azerbaijan noted that this referendum is also the people`s confidence in the course implemented by President of Uzbekistan.

President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of the agreements reached during the meetings with the Uzbekistan`s President, including the works carried out in the field of automobile production in terms of expanding cooperation.
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HELENA, Mont. (AP)  The latest high-profile instance of one party in a statehouse deciding who can be heard during legislative debate has ended for now after a judge denied a transgender lawmaker's bid to get back onto the Montana House floor and the Legislature adjourned.

First-term Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr had been prevented from speaking on the chamber floor by the House speaker since April 20, when she refused to apologize for telling colleagues who supported a ban on gender-affirming care for youths that they would have blood on their hands.

Her silencing drew hundreds of protesters last week to the Montana Capitol. From the House gallery, Zephyr's supporters chanted, Let her speak! as Zephyr raised a microphone in defiance. Police in riot gear cleared the gallery and arrested seven people for trespassing. Zephyr was voted off the House floor for violating its rules of decorum.

She challenged the move in court, but hours before lawmakers adjourned late Tuesday, state District Judge Mike Menahan said he wasn't going to interfere in the Legislature's punishment of one of its own.

The ruling means that barring an unforeseen special legislative session prior to 2025, Zephyr wouldn't get a chance to speak on the House floor unless she's reelected next year.

Republicans have a two-thirds majority in the Montana Legislature and control the governor's office, attorney general's office and almost every other statewide elected office.

Your rights stop at a legislative supermajority, Zephyr said in an interview after Tuesday's ruling. If two-thirds of a body decide that you and your constituents don't deserve representation, you don't get it. ... That should be a huge worry for people who want to stand up for democracy."

The standoff between Zephyr and House Republicans originated in a dispute over gender-affirming care for minors, a bill Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed into law. It has evolved to dovetail with a nationwide debate over the robustness of democracy in politically polarizing times.

Here's what you need to know:

WHO IS ZEPHYR?

Last year, Zephyr became the first openly transgender woman elected to the Montana Legislature, placing her among a record number of transgender lawmakers who began serving across the U.S.

The 34-year-old Democrat, a former University of Montana administrator from left-leaning Missoula, worked behind the scenes during the 2021 legislative session to help block efforts to restrict gender-affirming health care.

Following her November election, she said she wanted to enlist moderate Republicans to push back on what she called extreme and dangerous attacks on transgender people.

Instead, she and the Democratic minority were powerless to stop Republicans from passing proposals focused on transgender kids. Zephyr has likened gender-affirming care bans to eradication."

WHAT STARTED THIS DISPUTE?

As the House debated a measure banning gender-affirming care for minors, Zephyr spoke against it and referenced the body's opening prayer.

I hope the next time theres an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands, she said.

The words have been used numerous times by others in American politics without consequence, including in recent years by the Republican governor of Texas, a Republican congressman in Florida and a city council member in Denver.

The House speakers move to silence Zephyr came after members of the newly influential Montana Freedom Caucus said her comments displayed a hateful rhetoric and called for a commitment to civil discourse  similar to criticisms leveled against Democrats in the Tennessee statehouse who joined gun control demonstrations.

The group's members have deliberately referred to Zephyr with masculine pronouns in an example of misgendering, or using pronouns that dont match a persons gender identity. The chair of the caucus has indicated it will continue.

Caucus members later called the statehouse protest and arrests an insurrection." No property damage or threats to lawmakers were reported, and the GOP rhetoric mirrored other cases in which Republicans have tried to equate nonviolent protests with insurrection.

The polarization on display echoes events elsewhere in the U.S. as tensions around culturally divisive issues  including firearms, racial justice and rights for LGBTQ+ people  dominate much of Americas political discourse.

The two Tennessee Democrats were expelled from office by Republicans after chanting along with gun control supporters who packed the state's House gallery in response to a Nashville school shooting that killed six people, including three children.

In Oklahoma, Republicans censured a nonbinary Democratic colleague after state troopers said the lawmaker blocked them from questioning a transgender rights activist accused of assaulting a police officer during a protest.

The party-line vote removed Rep. Mauree Turner, the first openly nonbinary and first Muslim person elected to the Oklahoma Legislature, from all committee assignments. Turner could have kept the positions by issuing a formal apology but, like Zephyr, refused.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR ZEPHYR

Zephyr was not barred from committee proceedings and could be appointed to an interim committee, which meets between legislative sessions. She would have to be reelected to get back onto the chamber floor.

While her silencing by GOP colleagues made her a national figure in LGBTQ+ rights, in Montana, Republicans hope to capitalize on the dispute by painting Democrats as a party of extremists heading into the next election. The 2024 ballot will also feature a pivotal U.S. Senate race as Montana Democrat Jon Tester seeks a fourth term.

A day after she was ousted, Zephyr posted a solicitation on social media seeking donations for her reelection to the House. She said after lawmakers wrapped up their work Tuesday that she will continue to "do everything in my power to make sure my constituents are heard.

___

Metz reported from Salt Lake City and Brown reported from Billings.
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - Sub-Saharan Africa could stand to lose the most if the world were split into two isolated trading blocs centred around China or the United States and the European Union
BLOOMINGTON  A Normal man is facing six felony drug charges after being arrested by the Illinois State Police.

Zadek U. Moen, 20, is alleged to have delivered over 200 grams of a substance containing psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms, to a confidential ISP source on April 11.

On Wednesday, prosecutors said, Moen delivered a similar amount of a substance containing psilocybin and between 30 and 500 grams of cannabis to an ISP source.

Prosecutors say police also found over 200 grams of a substance containing psilocybin, between 2,000 and 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis and methamphetamine in Moen's possession prior to his arrest on Thursday.

Moen was charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a Class X felony; unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony, and unlawful delivery of cannabis, a Class 3 felony.

Judge Pablo Eves set bond at $250,000, 10% to apply, for Moen on Friday.

Moen's arraignment is set for 9 a.m. May 19.

Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph Bryant Lewis Derek Roesch Justin M. Mata Marcus D. Wesley Phillip Tinch Trisha L. Hanke William B. Givens David L. Oliver Kenneth E. Funk Jordan R. King Holly M. Isaacson Kenneth L. Minton Tony L. Jackson Britley L. Hilger Jasmine L. Smith Jackie S. Claypool Noah R. Demuth Brandon L. Parsano Alexander N. Williams Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano Jaylin S. Bones Jordan R. King Dominique M. Banks Austin T. Daugherty Sandra M. Lewis Samantha E. Morris Nolan C. Love Nikkita L. Sandefur Katlin M.B. Wilson Eli C. Garozzo Tysean T. Townsend Curtis J. Byrd Noral K. Nelson Charles J. Tankson Davis, Micah S Livingston, Joshua D. Kevin L. Ewen Emmanuel K. Mpay Ahmad S. Manns Dylan R Mann Tony L. Jackson William R. Linden Zadek U. Moen
Ninety-six percent is the figure tossed around with great joy and pride, including during a Super Bowl ad. (Wonder what that cost!) The Illinois Farm Bureau tells us that is the percentage of Illinois farms that are family-owned.

For Varner Farms, it is a special time because on May 6, 1853 (exactly 170 years ago), our abstract tells us that the United States issued a patent, or land transfer from the government, to my great-great-great-grandfather. That makes my brother and me sixth generation. My daughter and nieces, who are part owners, are seventh generation, and our grandchildren, waiting in the wings, will be eighth. Time to celebrate and share stories. In one sense, there are thousands of Illinois farming stories, but in some ways they are all similar  about grit, determination, stick-to-it-iveness, and definitely a bit of luck, too. In this sense, our stories are all the same.

First, a bit of background for you city folks. Illinois is, of course, divided into counties of various sizes and shapes. But each county is then divided into townships of 6 square miles, each of which is then divided into (remember your math?) 36 sections of 1 square mile each. Those sections are 640 acres each, and the land is then typically divided into parcels of 320, 160, 80 and 40 acres. Check it out when you fly, because you can look down and think, that must be an 80. On Varner Farms, however, we do have one 34-acre patch and I have no clue what happened to the missing 6 acres.

Our farms are in Edgar County, which is southeast of Champaign, so with me in Normal and my brother in Louisville, Kentucky, we are not actually able to be out in the fields. I hate the term, but officially we are landlords, and those in the field are operators. The term "landlord" suggests someone at a great distance thinking only of the money coming in. But my wife and daughter keep the books, paying bills for seeds, fertilizer and, not least, taxes. Then my son-in-law and I split the impossible task of selling our corn and soybeans at the best possible price. We feel very much part of the operation. We work with two families, the Lorenzens since 1961, and the Waltzes for 70-some years. Our agreement is a handshake.

One more thing for you city folks. If "large" meant "efficient," then the Postal Service and the Army would be the most efficient organizations in the country. When you are driving around Central Illinois, check out the land and that awesome equipment in the fields. The costs are frightening, so family farming is capital intensive. If you work for State Farm or Illinois State University, all your equipment is supplied, but not so on the farm.

Now for some family history. In 1770, a man named Henry Clark said goodbye forever to his parents in Armagh, Ireland, and came to the New World, serving shortly thereafter with Washington at the Battle of Monmouth. When the war was over, he headed west, but it was his son Sarsfield who came down the Ohio River and up the Wabash to Edgar County, right on the Indiana border. He and his wife Jane would have 11 children, 10 of whom reached adulthood, including Julia Clark, my great-great-grandmother. (In a fun bit of family lore, it was said that Julia took her very first steps toward a rising young lawyer riding circuit from Danville  Abraham Lincoln. It seems that every Illinois family is obligated to have their own brush-with-Lincoln story!) In 1853, Sarsfield got the 80 acres, which began what is now part of Varner Farms.

Our family name is Varner, which is Celtic, with the family coming from North Carolina to Indianapolis, where my great-great-grandfather, Alan Varner, was born in 1825. With youth and energy at 24, he was off to California, where he made his fortune in selling supplies rather than in panning for gold. Returning to Indy via Panama, he then went straight west into Illinois. His next chapter was as Captain of Company D of the Illinois 25th. He helped to hold the Union right flank at Chickamauga Creek, then on to Atlanta, and eventually back home to marry young Jemima and build a substantial farming operation, plus five children.

And then there was Caleb Woodyard, born in 1843 in what is now West Virginia. After the war he came to Illinois with brother Isaac and started building his farming operation. He married Julia Clark and had three children, including my great-grandmother Maddie. Maddie had two sons with Jacob Varner and (imagine this!) divorced him in about 1900 and married Walter (WaWa, as he was called by my young Uncle Van, who couldnt say Walter. The name stuck.).

Caleb was a bit of a control freak and he died almost without a penny in 1920, three years after his wife Julia. His control was to give the farms to his family before he died, so they could not fight over it, as happens in so many families. Caleb did not like WaWa, so he gave the 1853 parcel and some more to Maddie, but only for her life, with the remainder to her two boys. He gave what we today call the Windmill Farm to his beloved grandson, Joe Woodyard Varner, my grandpa, and an equal parcel to Joes brother, Alan. Alan sold his land shortly after Caleb died, but Joes was subject to strict conditions written up by his father-in-law-to-be, Terre Haute lawyer Carson Hamill, who was suspicious of Jazz Age playboy Joe. For 10 years Joe could not sell or take a loan using the land as collateral. Ten years later, Joes marriage was on the rocks and Carson Hamill came to the rescue again. In the divorce settlement, the land was to be used for support of their three children with his soon-to-be-ex, my grandmother Mary Milam, in charge.

Eventually came my dads turn, along with his two younger brothers. Dad went to Northwestern and met a snobby woman from Evanston, so his life would be up in the Chicago area. His career was as a grain buyer for Quaker Oats and he was also on the board of directors for the Chicago Board of Trade. On his fathers passing in 1949, Dad took over what was by then a pretty run-down farm. It could have been sold, the money split among the brothers. Dad would have been able to get a bigger house, a new car, plus have a bit of cash left over. But that was not Dad. He fixed things up and built our now-iconic corn cribs.

Over five years, not one dime of earnings was distributed to the brothers  it was all invested back into the farm. And Dads personality came out, too. As proof of his farming blood, he developed his skills as a champion poor talker. That the farms lost money was the constant theme, although I learned much later, when my wife and I started keeping the books, that this was never true. Still, Dad always said to Uncle Van when he came out for Christmas that wed had a good year, but next year we would surely lose money. In those days, corn was selling for about $1.90 a bushel and would have had to go to 53 cents before we went in the red. That was Dad.

Thats a lot of story over those 170 years, and though the names and details are different, it no doubt will have elements familiar to a lot of Illinois farm families. But now its time to look forward as we close. The corn grown last season on those 1853 acres is now safely in our storage bins. In July, it will go to Frito-Lay. If you happen to eat one of their corn chips, it just might be from our ground. As I write these words, that same ground will be planted with soybeans that will be used by Syngenta for seed, so next year that bean field you drive past might come from our seeds.

Illinois farm families help feed a hunk of the world and do so very efficiently, raising living standards as less is spent. Check the price for an 18-ounce bag of Fritos and know that they paid just 19 cents for the corn itself. That is just our gross  after expenses we net about 11 cents.

In a final thought, I think I can speak for all Illinois family farmers when I wonder, are those past generations watching us from somewhere? Theres a good chance they are, and we dont dare disappoint. Put the land to use, of course, but remember that we are more stewards than owners, so they expect us to pass down more than we received.

20 of the richest people who ran for president 20 of the richest people who ran for president John F. Kennedy James Madison Andrew Jackson Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Theodore Roosevelt Steve Forbes Thomas Jefferson John Delaney John Kerry Mitt Romney Al Gore Kanye West George Washington Jon Huntsman Jr. Nelson Rockefeller Tom Steyer Donald Trump Ross Perot Michael Bloomberg
Last week, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx announced she would not be seeking reelection and, at the same time, excoriated both the media and her political opponents for what she claimed was their unfair obsession with the case of Jussie Smollett.

Probably when I leave this earth, my epitaph will mention Jussie Smollett, Foxx said from the podium. And it makes me mad.

In fact, Foxx throughout her speech continually used the name of the actor, who was eventually convicted (a successful prosecution not led by Foxx) of partnering with accomplices and faking a violent, racially motivated attack on a downtown street.

Sure we ask about him and heres why.

What Foxx failed to understand  and, as far as we can tell, still either fails or willfully chooses not to understand  is that the Smollett case fundamentally was about clout. And when people see clout pay off so massively in the justice system, that understandably infuriates them. Especially those who dont have much clout themselves, which is the vast majority of those who found themselves interacting with Foxxs office, or who investigate crime, or who visit their family members in jail.

The Empire actor was connected at the highest political levels and at least one powerful phone call, and perhaps several more, was made to a prosecutor who took the call and offered Smollett special treatment. Thats not just our view; the facts in this area mostly are undisputed and special prosecutor Dan Webb came to the same conclusion.

The consequence of that error in judgment was that the police, who had furiously tried to solve a case that had sparked all kinds of pro-Smollett tweets from prominent politicians and celebrities, realized they had been played by an ambitious prosecutor like a character in the deeply cynical musical Chicago.

No single event in the recent history of Cook County justice did more to undermine the relationship between the police and the prosecutors office.

Lets be clear. Most reasonable people always understood that Foxx was routinely faced with the need to make decisions about far more dangerous criminals than an actor looking to make headlines and burnish his personal brand. It was also reasonable to expect a resolution that did not involve jail, but instead a sentence to some combination of probation and community service. Cops knew all too well that Smollett was small-bore in their world. There was even some sympathy for the guy from detectives. Nobody wanted him to be sent to jail for years.

But Foxx made the profoundly serious mistake of not insisting that he at least plead guilty. Unforgivably, she let him wriggle out of that one, conjuring some weird boutique deal where his past service meant her office would drop the prosecution and allow Smolletts attorneys to bloviate past the question of whether Smollett had actually faked a hate crime. It was an act for which a different party later convicted him, although the case is on appeal.

That was the issue, Madam States Attorney.

And the desired refrain? Not And you ask about Jussie ..., but I made a mistake there and Ive learned.

That way, Foxx could justifiably take credit for her many genuine achievements in that office, including her laudable focus on seeking justice rather than merely achieve a conviction, her dedication to freeing those wrongly convicted of crimes, including those there as a consequence of corrupt police practices, her encouragement of future progressive prosecutors and her palpable commitment to equality under the law.

But that didnt happen with Smollett.

And thats why people ask Kim Foxx about Jussie, and always will.

Chicago Tribune
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. A normal mode for the passage of cars has been provided at the checkpoint created by Azerbaijan at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road, Trend reports.

Some 11 Armenians used the new checkpoint on the Lachin road on April 30.

According to the information, eight of them moved by car in the direction of Khankendi-Gorus, while the rest of them drove in the direction of Khankendi.

This once again shows that all the efforts of Armenians to propagandize lies about the so-called "blockade" of the Lachin-Khankendi road and the "ethnic cleansing" of Armenians in Azerbaijan's Karabakh are doomed to failure.

In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan, and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22 at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 at 12:00 (GMT+4), the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint in its sovereign territories, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.
The United Nations (UN) in Ghana and the government have signed the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) agreement.



The Cooperation Framework is the most important instrument for planning and implementation of UN development activities in Ghana, and will span a period of three years starting from 2023 to 2025.



The signing ceremony between the UN in Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, which took place in Accra, was attended by the UN Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Heads of Agencies.



Per the Agreement, the UN will deploy an estimated US$500m over the period around three key pillars of work; Inclusive Economic Transformation; Equitable Access to Services; and Durable Peace.



It integrates work on key issues such as financing, the environment and climate, digitalisation, urbanisation, data for decision-making, and strengthened partnerships across all pillars.



It also outlines the UN development systems integrated contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) along with a commitment to leaving no one behind, a human rights-based approach, to Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment, and to building resilience, sustainability, and strengthening accountability.



UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Charles Abani, in his remarks said the process of developing this framework has been deeply participatory, inclusive and comprehensive, involving key government partners, the private sector, civil society and non-governmental organisations, youth groups and other key stakeholders.



We are grateful to all these groups, and more importantly to the Government of Ghana for walking with us throughout the process and to help us align our priorities with those of the Government and peoples of Ghana, he said.



Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam noted that the signing of the Cooperation Framework between the Government of Ghana and the United Nations will signal a new chapter of renewed and strengthened cooperation.



The signing of this Cooperation Framework with a total grant envelope of US$517million reaffirms a continuation of our strategic partnership with the UN which clearly aligns with Governments development agenda and contributes to the achievements of global and regional commitments under the 2030 and 2063 Agendas, he said.



Dr. Adam said the cooperation framework aligns with the governments transformation agenda of moving to an export-led economy by leveraging on trade.



I am aware of the UNs work with the AfCFTA Secretariat to train Ghanaian women and youth-led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in integrated business approaches. I wish to encourage this partnership to assist Ghana take full advantage of the transformational opportunities being offered to become a manufacturing hub in Africa, he stated.



He further noted that the priority on accessible, equitable, inclusive, sustainable quality basic social services further supports the governments efforts to transform the education system to deliver the knowledge, skills and outlooks needed for children, young people and adults to excel in todays world and contribute to an equitable, sustainable, healthy and peaceful future.



He continued that as part of the governments efforts to free up fiscal resources and improve resilience without worsening the economic challenges or sacrificing spending on other development priorities, the government is looking for alternative sources of resources that will not negatively affect its fiscal position. Green and sustainable financing is one of the options.



We wish to call on the UN System to leverage its Global Compact on Sustainable Financing to support the countrys effort of tapping into climate financing options such as private sector investment, carbon finance, promoting renewable energy, debt swaps for development and amongst others.



Additionally, we welcome the initiatives of the UN system on SDGs financing, in areas such as the Integrated National Financing Frameworks, and call upon UN to support our need for technical assistance and capacity-building for investment promotion and developing project pipelines and bankable projects, he added.



Dr. Adam reiterated the relationship and cooperation between Ghana and the United Nations, saying it is critical to the well-being of Ghanaians.



I am confident that with our concerted efforts, this Cooperation Framework Agreement that we are about to sign will deliver the benefits it promises, he stated.

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 Neuro Spinal Hospital (NSH), a leading neuro-surgical facility in the United Arab Emirates has introduced an ultramodern machine that will be a game changer in the world of Neurological surgeries and Tumors



The Cyber Knife, as its called, is one-of-a-kind cancer equipment that aids in treating tumours growing at hard-to-reach parts of the body without the need for surgery, incisions, or anaesthesia



Chief Operations Officer for NSH, Dana Msaddi, explained that the CyberKnife is the first and only one in the entire United Arab Emirates and each session takes as short as 30 minutes to eliminate tumours in the system by destroying it from within.



We have many unique features but the most recent addition to our hospital we inaugurated less than two years ago is the CyberKnife cancer Machine. This is the first and only one in the UAE. Basically it allows treating hard-to-reach or impossible-to-reach tumours without the need for Surgeries, incisions, anaesthesia, admission, or noting. Its a 30-minute session that delivers extremely robotic high doses of radiation that destroys the tumours from within, she said.



The CyberKnife was on display when representatives of African Media took a tour of the Neuro Spinal Hospital in Dubai as part of the Dubai health authoritys initiative to showcase the UAEs healthcare to Africa and the world



For more information or enquiries on this healthcare facility in Dubai contact Maame Adjoa Cann on 0207733131

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Prof. Kwame Adom-Frimpong, has called on the government to halt the decline in crude oil production.



He said oil production in the country had declined for three consecutive years, with the average decline being 10 per cent.



The chairman was speaking at the 2023 Bono Regional Public Forum in Sunyani on the management and use of petroleum revenue.



According to Prof. Adom-Frimpong, a volume of 71,439,585 barrels (bbls) that was produced in 2019, declined to 66,926,806 bbls in 2020, representing 6.32 per cent.



It further declined to 55,050,391 bbls in 2021, representing 17.75 per cent and 51,756,481 bbls in 2022, representing six per cent.



He, however, said that the total petroleum revenue in 2022 was the highest in a single year, amounting to $1.43 billion since the inception of petroleum production in the country.



Currently, oil is produced from three fields in the country - Jubilee, Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) and Sankofa Gye Nyamme (SGN).



The forum, which was organized by PIAC, sensitized the people on how the government was managing petroleum revenue and also solicited their views on the way forward.



It was attended by traditional leaders, civil society organisations, the clergy, some security agencies, municipal and district chief executives and some assembly members.



The participants demanded answers on what had caused the continual decline in crude oil production, how the situation could be reversed, and the state of the Heritage Fund.



Others suggested a five per cent increase in the annual budget funding amount (ABFA), a portion of the petroleum revenue to assemblies to embark on more development projects.



Appeal



Prof. Adom-Frimpong further entreated the government to speed up sustainable development of its petroleum resources to reverse the decline in production.



He called for more investment in the refinery of oil and appealed for the early completion of ongoing projects in the crude oil industry.



According to him, the country's crude oil was witnessing a decline because of continual refining of oil at a particular destination without expansion, and, therefore, urged the government to speed up processes to reverse the trend.



Commitment



The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, said the government was committed to the judicious use of petroleum revenue for the accelerated development of the country.



According to the minister, part of the revenue was being channelled into flagship programmes such as the Free Senior High School, provision of infrastructure and logistics in schools.



She, however, expressed the hope that more of the revenue would be channelled into the agric sector to drive economic activities in the region.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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The Ghana School Feeding Secretariat has apologised to caterers for government's failure to pay the arrears owed them.



According to the Head of Public Relations at the Ghana School Feeding Secretariat, Alfa Siba, the current state of the economy has delayed their payment but government is working assiduously to release funds for the payment of their arrears.



Some caterers in the Ashanti Region participating in the governments school feeding program went on strike on Tuesday, April 4, demanding payment of arrears and an increase in the feeding grant.



The decision to withdraw their services comes after the caterers threatened to lay down their tools following the governments failure to pay arrears owed them.



The caterers who are also demanding an increment in the amount government pays per child daily from ninety-seven pesewas to three Ghana cedis say the current amount is unsustainable because of the current state of the economy and its accompanying high cost of food commodities.



The caterers in their bid to get authorities to address their concerns petitioned the Ashanti Regional Minister on Monday, 3rd April 2023, but they however expressed dissatisfaction with his response to their concerns as they were ordered to leave.



But speaking in an interview, Alfa Siba said the funds will be released soon.



We are engaging the relevant stakeholders and the caterers to see how best we can resolve the issue. Just last week, we paid the second term of the 2022 academic year to all the districts. So, we are appealing to the caterers to rescind their decision not to cook while we continue the engagements, he assured.



He added that all efforts have been made to increase the feeding grant.

Source: Elvis Anokye, Contributor









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 Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has entreated lawyers and the public against making commentaries which may have an undue tendency to jeopardize the sound and efficient administration of justice in the case of the murder of Adams Mahama, Upper East Regional Chairman of the NPP.



According to him, unanimous guilty verdict of the jury regarding the guilt of Asabke Alangdi for conspiracy to commit murder, whilst at the same time delivering a hung verdict [4-3] in the case of Gregory Afoko on the same charge, the person he was accused to have conspired with, highlights the severe challenges with the jury system in Ghana.



He said steps are being taken to remedy this challenge confronting the jury system in Ghana.



It said The instant case, particularly the unanimous verdict of the jury regarding the guilt of the 2nd accused for conspiracy to commit murder, whilst at the same time delivering a hung verdict in the case of the 1st accused on the same charge, highlights the severe challenges with the jury system, a situation the Attorney-General is taking steps to remedy as part of proposals for amendment of many parts of the criminal procedure laws of Ghana, the statement said.



The Attorney-General hereby respectfully, entreats members of the public, including lawyers, to be guided accordingly and desist from comments which have an undue tendency to jeopardise the sound and efficient administration of justice, he added.



A High Court in Accra on Thursday ordered a retrial of Gregory Afoko who has been on trial for about 8 years over the death of the late Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Adams Mahama.



The second accused person Asabke Alangdi was sentenced to death by hanging on conspiracy to commit murder charge.



Alhaji Mahama was murdered after acid was poured on him.



Alangdi was on Thursday, April 27 unanimously found guilty for conspiracy to commit murder by the seven-member jury.



He has been sentenced to death.



In the case of Afoko, the jury returned a 4:3 verdict over the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.



Lawyers of Asabke Alangdi have served notice they will appeal the death sentence.



How can a person conspired against himself, be found guilty and the person that he was accused of conspiring with is found not guilty, one of the lawyers said.



The verdict means the trial of Afoko is expected to start afresh per the laws of Ghana.

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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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.
A Senior Research Fellow of the Kumasi Technical University, Prof. Smart Sarpong has asked Professor Frimpong-Boateng to assess his performance when he was the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).



Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has fanned the flame with a report he's written on galamsey where he indicts some officials in government and at the Jubilee House claiming they are actively involved in illegal mining, locally called 'galamsey'.



He has accused the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah; Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey; a legal practitioner, Gabby Otchere-Darko and others of interfering with his work while he was heading the IMCIM.



With specific regard to the Information Minister, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng accused him of orchestrating a plot to bring him down while he was working to fight against the illegal mining menace.



But to Prof. Smart Sarpong, if a person like Prof. Frimpong-Boateng starts to blame every person around him, it means he hoped to have done a better job than he did or he hoped for a second term to roll out some plans he had in mind which didn't see the light of the day because he was taken off the Chairman position of the IMCIM.



He explained to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' that Prof. Frimpong-Boateng is unsatisfied with his performance, hence accusing every person but himself of either sabotaging him or being involved in this menace.



He, therefore, sought from Prof. Frimpong-Boateng to give him a score of his performance.



"I want to ask him how he would score his performance? Did you pass or fail?...Prof should be able to assess himself today, sitting back, how would he score himself?"







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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Ghana's Premier Award Scheme, VGMA, has partnered with neo-media entity Ghana Music Live to enhance the career of this year's VGMA Unsung nominees.



To enhance the career of the nominees and winner of the 24thVGMA UNSUNG, Ghana Music Live in collaborative discourse with Charterhouse has curated A list of goodies that will directly impact the growth and success of nominees and winner. So, in 2023, the nominees and winner of the Unsung initiative will not only get the spot to perform at the VGMAs, they will also have the following:



5 Radio station music rotations per region, and interviews across Ghana for a year.

Assigned Dj for each nominee for a year (Provided by the Djs Union of Ghana - Djuga)

Distribution Deal for a year (Provided by Apprise Music with playlisting and premium placements)

Website development for all nominees (All Design Cost fully Borne)

Free music Video shoot for the winner only (All Costs and Direction borne by Tigon Creative Studios)

Video rotation on two stations in each region for a year.

Artiste Incubation Programme (Provided by the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industry - GAPI, Musicians Union of Ghana - MUSIGA and Ghana Music LIve (GML) Incubator Programmes)

Free production and promotion consultancy and Advisory Services for a year

According to Robert Klah, Head of Public Events and Communications of Charterhouse, the VGMA Unsung is designed help put the spot light on the unsung artiste by providing them a shared platform with the stars of the country, from nominees announcements, through to nominees jam and finally a performance on musics biggest night. However, we recognize that becoming a successful artiste will require more than the VGMA platform. Hence, we are happy with our partnership with Ghana Music Live, to help us give more value to the Unsung Acts.



VGMA Unsung



VGMA Unsung is a Charterhouse initiative designed provide emerging artistes the springboard to breakthrough into main stream music. Introduced in 2014, the VGMA Unsung has featured nominees who have major stake in Ghanas music industry. MzVee, Kuami Eugene, Epixode, Kelvyn Boy, Gyakie, Kofi Jamar, and many more. Call for entries for VGMA Unsung are usually announced at the beginning of each year, as part of the VGMA calendar. The 24th VGMA Unsung is a Charterhouse initiative sponsored by Closeup.



Ghana Music Live



Ghana Music Live is a 360 solution to empowering Ghanaian musicians across the globe. Through Interconnecting an App and website and creating a seamless sales and promotion avenue for music-related works by Ghanaians, this novelty constantly strives to partner with stakeholders to empower and enrich the ordinary Ghanaian musician.



With a core team and regional reps, Ghana Music Live is well-positioned to provide services to facilitate the growth and development of Ghana Music and Ghanaian musicians.



Several professionals purportedly hold the fort for Ghana Music Live to keep it rich, saturated, readily available, and always up-to-date.



Some of what Ghana Music Live puts out daily and weekly include MusicThisWeek, MusicCharts, Gospel Spotlight Videos, Event Highlights, Celebrity Quotes, Celebrity Birthdays, This Day In Music, and interesting Throwback Videos.



The Ghana Music Live App is available on Google Play, Apple Store, Microsoft store and on web.



The Future of Ghana Music Live



In the coming months, Ghanaian musicians will live hassle-free as Ghana Music Live creates a seamless avenue for their growth.



Cognizant of the struggles of the Ghanaian Musician, Ghana Music Live remains poised to deliver ease regarding promotion and sales for Ghanaian Musicians across the globe.



The current situation in Ghana adds a lot more hassle to the disadvantaged musician who has to pursue highly commercialized mediums to promote and sell their products. So, Ghana Music Live will rely on all available technology to ensure the business of music by Ghanaians thrive and grow.



Ghana Music Live uses all the technological tools available now, from a mobile APP on Android and IOS to a multi-functional Website and 24/7 social media presence to ensure relevance never wanes. Ghana Music Live is made possible by visionaries whose passion transcends immediate gain. You can call Ghana Music Live a project with a lifespan of eternity, and you won't be faulted.



Follow Ghana Music Live on Instagram https://www.facebook.com/ghmusiclive



Follow Ghana Music Live on Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/ghmusiclive



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A Lebanon County man convicted of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl and taking pictures of the assault has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Michael Rankin, 36, of Lebanon, will also have to complete 15 years of probation after serving time for crimes he committed in the summer of 2021, the Department of Justice said.

Rankin admitted to taking pictures of the 10-year-olds assault, prosecutors said. He also reportedly admitted he had hundreds of pornographic photos and videos of minors, including babies and very young children.

READ MORE: Man found dead after crashing into utility pole along Cumberland County road: state police

Woman dies days after central Pa. crash
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday signed his first bill into a law  and a first-of-its-kind in the nation  that eliminates all costs for preventative screenings in women with high lifetime risk of breast cancer.

With the stroke a pen in a bill-signing ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, Shapiro enacted Senate Bill 8 that requires insurers to fully cover the cost of breast MRIs and ultrasound for women with high risk conditions and the cost for genetic testing and counseling for people at high risk of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which predisposes them to breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. The law takes effect starting in 2025.

On hand to witness the signing was first lady Lori Shapiro; their daughter Sophia; the bills sponsor Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County; House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition founder Pat Halpin-Murphy; and an army of Republican and Democratic House and Senate members and breast cancer survivors and advocates.

High-risk conditions in this measure are defined as women who have dense breast tissue, a personal or family breast cancer history, a genetic predisposition or prior radiation therapy.

No one should avoid getting these potentially life-saving treatments because they cant afford it, Shapiro said. Thanks to Kim Ward, they wont have to. We all have a mom, a grandma, a friend or a colleague whos battled breast cancer. I want us to think about them today. By taking away the burden of cost, we can ensure that more women like them can get life-saving health care they need.

The Democratic governor also touted the measure as an example of what he believes can be accomplished with a divided Legislature where Democrats control the House of Representatives and Republicans who hold the majority in the Senate.

Pennsylvanians have called on all of us to come to this building and to support common sense solutions to the problems people in the commonwealth face every single day, the governor said. Today we are all doing just that. We are helping women fight breast cancer and live healthier lives. We are putting forth real solutions to real problems everyday Pennsylvanians battle.

He praised Ward, a breast cancer survivor, who took her own diagnosis and used it to find a way to help other women battling the same disease.

Ward, in turn, credited her fellow lawmakers for supporting the legislation, which passed both chamber unanimously, and Halpin-Murphy, who shepherded the bills passage through both chambers and helped celebrate that feat at a news conference last week.

This is indeed a big day, Ward said. It is just humbling and such an honor that we have all of these legislators that made this happen. And I agree with the governor we can do big things in this legislature and this was a very good first start.

McClinton spoke of how this law will be a help to women of color particularly African American, who have a mortality rate for breast cancer at 40%, a rate she called " absolutely staggering and unacceptable. She said having the co-pay and deductible covered by insurers will mean lives saved and early detection.

She echoed the sentiment about the bipartisanship that led to the bills passage as a sign of hope for all that well accomplish together.

This law builds on a measure passed in 2020 that required insurers to cover the cost of breast cancer MRIs and ultrasounds but it did not require them to pay for copays and deductibles.

Ward chose the number eight to assign to her bill as a reminder to the public that one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The mine terror on Azerbaijani lands is one of the main evidence pointing to Armenian terrorism in general, political expert Elshad Hasanov told Trend.

The expert noted that Azerbaijani lands have been under Armenian occupation for many years.

"During the years of occupation, the enemy planted mines everywhere, most of our lands liberated from occupation were mined by Armenians. Even when leaving, they laid more mines. Since the end of the second Karabakh war and until today, more than 300 of our citizens have been killed or injured by mines. The mine terror of Armenia is still going on. Among the mines found were mines produced in Armenia in 2021," Hasanov said.

The expert said that not enough countries are providing support to Azerbaijan as far as de-mining goes.

"Many international organizations have not made proper statements regarding Armenia. International organizations do not take concrete measures. The mine clearance process will continue over the next few years. The installation of so many mines is aimed at slowing down the process of people returning to their ancestral lands and increasing human losses. Despite all this, mine clearance work continues at a rapid pace," Hasanov added.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Boards latest limited-release lottery includes 3,919 bottles of rare whiskeys.

Residents and licensees have until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023, to opt in to the lottery. There will be 11 products featured. Buyers can opt in to one, several or all of the drawings.

The PLCB said, If a participant wins a bottle in a drawing, they will be removed from subsequent drawings, and purchase is limited to one bottle per participant.

The drawings in the order they will be held are:

Van Winkle Special Reserve Straight Bourbon 12 Year Old, $99.99 each  1 bottle for individual consumers

Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Straight Bourbon 10 Year Old, $89.99 each  2 bottles for individual consumers

Caribou Crossing Single Barrel Canadian Whisky, $49.99 each  75 bottles for individual consumers, 24 bottles for licensees

W.L. Weller C.Y.P.B. Straight Bourbon, $49.99 each  90 bottles for individual consumers, 30 bottles for licensees

W.L. Weller Single Barrel Straight Bourbon, $49.99 each  90 bottles for individual consumers, 30 bottles for licensees

Parkers Heritage Collection Straight Whiskey Double Barreled Blend 16th Edition, $174.99 each  133 bottles for individual consumers, 44 bottles for licensees

Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Straight Bourbon Barrel Proof, $74.99 each  135 bottles for individual consumers, 45 bottles for licensees

Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Straight Rye Whiskey Bottled-in-Bond, $69.99 each  185 bottles for individual consumers, 61 bottles for licensees

W.L. Weller Full Proof Straight Bourbon, $49.99 each  270 bottles for individual consumers, 90 bottles for licensees

Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Straight Bourbon, $39.99 each  432 bottles for individual consumers, 144 bottles for licensees

Stagg Straight Bourbon Barrel Proof, $54.99 each  1,529 bottles for individual consumers, 509 bottles for licensees.

To participate, buyers must have an active account with Fine Wine and Good Spirits online with billing information on file.

The PLCB said winners will be named the week of May 8.

The PLCB holds limited-release lotteries to more equitably distribute limited-availability, high-demand products.

READ MORE: Pa. stadiums beer among those to see highest price increases by 2027: report.
There is nothing wrong with Del Maguey Vida de Muertos mezcal.

But, there may be a problem with the copitas - small artisan cups traditionally used for drinking mezcal, according to Del Maguey Co. of New York, New York.

Del Maguey said today the ceramic cups - distributed for free at retailers and events - may exceed FDA guidance levels for leachable lead.

Exposure to large amounts of lead can be poisonous. Del Maguey said in a news release that it has not received any complaints of illness or injury related to using the cups but it is voluntarily recalling them as a precautionary measure.

The copitas were distributed free at retailers, events and tastings nationwide as well as included in value-added packs sold by retailers since 2022. The value-added packs included a 750ml bottle of Del Maguey Vida de Muertos mezcal and four copitas.

The cup is made of red clay, with applied enamel on the surface that holds liquid inside. It holds a maximum of 1 oz, and measures 2.5 inches wide and 1 inch in height. The copitas can be identified by the embossed brand name Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal which encircles the word Mexico located on the inside of the cup.

Del Maguey said people who have the copitas should not use them and should throw them away.

For more information, send an email to consumercare@delmaguey.zendesk.com.

Del Maguey said it is conducting the recall with knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

READ MORE: Check your pantry - General Mills recalls some Gold Medal flour after testing reveals salmonella.
A Pennsylvania couple set to marry pushed up their wedding date to honor a loved ones final wish.

After this wish was honored, the loved one passed away soon after.

6abc Action News reports how Debbie Kay LoRusso suffered a stroke in September 2022 and was sent to the hospital for treatment. It was there that it was discovered a breast cancer she had thought was in remission years ago had returned worse than before.

It came back full force, metastasized basically everywhere and had no idea, tells LaRoussos daughter, Hannah, to the news publication.

6abc Action News continues to report how LoRusso  later placed on hospice and told she only had a few days left to live  asked her daughter and then-fiance, Jerry Novak, to change their planned September 2023 wedding date to something sooner so she could be there.

That wish was granted  LoRusso got to witness Hannah and Jerry say their I dos in the ICU waiting room at St. Lukes Hospital Upper Bucks Campus in Quakertown thanks to the help of friends, family, and staff. The ceremony was even complete with flowers, decorative cakes, a wedding arch, and a photographer.

Very sad but beautiful moment for all of you, reads a comment on the 6bc Facebook page. Congratulations on your wedding. Condolences for your loss.

A little less than a day after seeing her daughter officially married, LoRusso passed away.
An overnight standoff ended with two officers and a suspect who was barricaded in a Philadelphia home getting shot.

According to a report from WPVI, officers were dispatched to a home located at the 400 block of West Bringhurst Street in Germantown around 4 p.m. Saturday after a report of a man with a gun.

When police were given access to enter the property by a relative, an armed man opened fire on them, according to First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.

Crews say the barricade situation lasted overnight into Sunday, totaling to 14 hours. Stanford said SWAT negotiators tried to talk with the man to de-escalate the situation, but at some point they lost communication with him.

Police say sources identified the man as Steven Robbins, 65.

Concerned about the mans safety, police went inside his home Sunday morning and found him on the third floor when he opened fire, he said.

Stanford confirmed two officers were hit but luckily in their vest area and so they were saved by their vest.

They returned fire, striking the man who was transported to the hospital, he said. Police say the two wounded officers were treated at Temple University Hospital and later released.

The condition of the man taken from the home wasnt immediately known, according to crews.

READ MORE:

Fallen tree forces road to be closed in Lancaster County

Bridge inspection scheduled on Route 11/15 in Perry County | PennDOT
At least three adults and two children were taken to a hospital in Beaver County on Sunday as a result of a house fire.

According to KDKA and WPXI, the fire was reported shortly after 8:30 p.m. in the 800 block of 11th Street in Ambridge. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control around 9:45 p.m. WXPI reported that several kids could be seen hanging out of a window of the top floor.

Three adults and two children were hospitalized, KDKA reported. Their condition remains unknown at this time.

At least one cat also died in the fire although other animals were saved. The Red Cross is assisting the residents.

READ MORE: Man arrested after $3M worth of drugs shipped to restaurant
A former assistant band director at Central Dauphin High School has been put into a work release program for downloading child porn.

Stephen Gugoff, 41, of Harrisburg, will serve 11 to 22 months in the program at Dauphin County Prison for downloading hundreds of photos and videos of children being raped.

Dauphin Countys work release program allows inmates to live on the prisons campus while working in the community under supervision.
A bill that would write labor organizing rights into the Pennsylvania Constitution passed the House Labor & Industry Committee Monday on a party-line vote, with the Democratic majority united in support and Republicans in opposition.

House Bill 950 would  if successfully moved through the legislature and approved on referendum by voters  add a clause to the state constitution specifying that no law shall be passed that interferes with, negates or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively, over certain matters.

These include, under the proposed amendment, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment and work place safety including agreements requiring membership in an organization as a condition of employment.

We know that some anti-union employers routinely threaten and scare workers, said Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, the bills prime sponsor.

Today - even in a strong union state like Pennsylvania - employers violate the NLRA [National Labor Relations Act] which prohibits interfering with or retaliating against union formation, Fiedler said.

Having organizing and bargaining rights enshrined in the state constitution, Fiedler said, would give workers an additional cause for legal action against employers alongside the existing process in the NLRA, which can often be long and arduous.

Fiedler has cited recent cases of fraught union negotiations in the commonwealth  such as the Temple University graduate student strike, or the NLRA action against Starbucks in Philadelphia  as an impetus for the bill. The constitutional amendment would also prevent future laws that seek to silence workers, Fiedler said.

The proposals protection for membership requirements would be particularly crucial in this regard, were a more conservative legislature to pass what is often called right to work legislation. Such laws typically perform an end-run around unions by banning exclusivity agreements, thus allowing employers to hire workers for union jobs without those workers actually joining the union.

GOP committee leader Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh County, argued that the bill is unnecessary, given that these protections are already enshrined in state and federal law, and that many unions are doing a tremendous job within the current structure.

Mackenzie derided the measure as a messaging bill in encouraging his caucus to vote against it. He also proposed an amendment to the bill that would add language reflective of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which found that public-sector workers could not be required to pay fair-share fees to a workplace union that they did not wish to join.

The Janus decision was heralded as a victory by Republicans against the government-sector unions with which they are often at odds. Democrats voted down Mackenzies amendment, likewise saying it was unnecessary given that union agreements could not violate the Janus precedent regardless.

Other Republican members, however, suggested the bill was more than messaging, and that the language could be used to permit unions to violate other laws under the guise of organizing and bargaining.

Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Cumberland County, questioned if the language would undermine basic safety protections by allowing workplace rules to be negotiated away in union contracts. Rep. Ann Flood, R-Northampton County, asked if the language would allow union members to engage in stalking and harassment when they are attempting to organize workers.

Committee Chair Jason Dawkins, D-Philadelphia, cautioned against raising broad hypotheticals and construing the bill as an attack on existing law; the language is not intended to overturn current law, noted Ryan Beaston, the committees staff director.

Republicans portrayal of the measure as being simultaneously impotent but also capable of overturning the states criminal code really points to the lack of an argument that makes sense in opposition to this, Fiedler said following Mondays meeting.

As Fiedler noted Monday, union membership rates have broadly declined  around 10% of workers are union members currently, according to federal statistics, half the membership rate of 40 years ago. Pennsylvanias current rate is slightly higher, at around 13%.

The decline in union membership coincides with rising wealth inequality in the nation, which advocates have pointed to as a rationale for boosting union rights. The top 10% of U.S. households own 70% of the nations wealth, up from 60% 30 years ago, according to the Federal Reserve.

Constitutional amendment proposals must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state legislature, and then be approved by a majority of voters via ballot referendum, before being added to the state constitution.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard during Listening to Listeners, an original Today in Pa. segment that occurs every other Friday.

You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | May 1, 2023

A school went virtual last week after a student brought in a loaded gun. A lawsuit claims that the state Department of Education is forcing woke guidelines on schools, students, and teachers. Traffic fatalities dropped in 2022. Plus, this college student took civic duty to the next level.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.

As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA.
BOSTON (AP)  An airline passenger was arrested for carrying a self-defense weapon known as a vampire straw through security at Bostons Logan International Airport, authorities said Tuesday.

Arman Achuthan Nair was detained Sunday evening and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. A trooper was alerted after the 10-inch-long titanium straw with a beveled end was found in Nairs backpack.

The Transportation Security Administration doesnt allow vampire straws to be carried onto a flight. The company that makes the straw bills it as a self-defense weapon since it can be used like a dagger. It also can be used as a straw to slurp down smoothies and other drinks.

These items are not allowed in passenger carry-on bags, the TSA said Monday in a tweet that included a photo of the straw. A passenger found that out yesterday.

Nair, 26, of Chicago, posted bail and is scheduled to be arraigned May 30 in East Boston Municipal Court. A phone and text message seeking comment was left with his attorney. A phone number could not be found for Nair.

READ MORE
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on approving the charter of the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The decree reads as following:

1. Approve the "Charter of the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan".

2. Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan to resolve issues arising from this decree.

3. Administration of Regional Medical Divisions of Azerbaijan:

3.1. to approve the structure, the wage fund, the maximum number of employees and the amount of their wages (official salary, additional payments to the official salary, bonuses and other payments) within a month;

3.2. to take the necessary measures to resolve other issues arising from this decree.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino speaks about the government's firearms buyback program in the Foyer of the House of Commons, in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Two Quebec community groups under investigation for allegedly hosting secret Chinese government police stations say they're operating normally, despite the public safety ministers claims that all the clandestine police stations have been closed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a law on approving the agreement between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the government of Montenegro on air traffic, Trend reports.

According to the law, the "Agreement between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the government of Montenegro on air traffic", signed on February 4, 2023 in Baku, was approved.
Hands of the Week: Quad Nines, Bad Beats & Coolers at WPT Seminole Poker Showdown

May 01, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S.

Over the weekend, the World Poker Tour (WPT) $3,500 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown attracted 2,290 entrants. The $3 million guarantee was obliterated as a $7,328,000 prize pool was created. That will be distributed to the top 287 finishers with the eventual winner taking home a $1,128,250 top prize.

That tournament is still chugging along and is slated to play down to the final table on Tuesday. At that point, the final six players will go on an approximately three-week hiatus before playing out at the Hyper X ESports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25th.

Live reporters from both the WPT and Seminole Hard Rock have been capturing the action throughout, and we thought wed share some of the biggest hands from the early stages of the tournament.

Check out live updates from Seminole Hard Rock here!

Quad Nines Propel Debbie Lee to a Triple

Debbie Lee

On Day 1a in Level 5 (300/600/600), a player opened for 2,000 under the gun and Hitesh Patel called next to act. Action folded to Debbie Lee in the big blind and she called to see a flop of K96.

Lee checked and the original raiser continued for 5,000. Patel popped it to 20,000 and Lee wasted little time in calling off her stack of 15,7000. The under-the-gun player called as well to create a main pot of 54,000 and 8,600 on the side.

The two active players checked the 9 turn and the 2 completed the board on the river. The under-the-gun player bet 40,000 and then folded when Patel moved all in for 55,200 total. Patel tabled the K6 for two pair but it was no good as Lee rolled over the 99 for quads!

Andrews Looks to Fade Two Big Slicks

Jason Andrews

Also on Day 1a, it was Level 8 (600/1,200/1,200) when Jason Andrews raised to 2,500 and Mark Seif responded with a three-bet to 12,500. Jason Wandling then jammed the button for 53,600 and both Andrews and Seif proceeded to get it in for approximately 175,000 apiece.

Jason Andrews: 88

Mark Seif: AK

Jason Wandling: AK

Andrews was ahead with his pocket pair while his opponents shared the same hand, although Wandling was suited. Fortunately for Andrews, the board ran out a clean 962JQ and his snowmen held to send both Seif and Wandling to the rail.

Check out WPT Live Updates here!

Hareuther Trips Up a Poker Legend

Ryan Hareuther

On Day 1b of the tournament it was Level 3 (200/400/400) when Ryan Hareuther raised to 1,000 under the gun and Kathy Liebert three-bet to 4,000 from the hijack.

Action folded back to Hareuther and he called to see a flop of JJ10. Hareuther checked, Liebert bet, and woke up with a check-raise, which Liebert called.

On the 2 turn, Hareuther moved all in for 27,000 and Liebert called off for 24,000 with her AA. Unfortunately for the poker legend, Hareuther had flopped trips with the QJ. The 8 river Liebert needed and she was eliminated.

Antimony Cracks the Kings of Singh

Anna Antimony

In Level 12 (1,500/3,000/3,000) on Day 1b, 11-time SHRP trophy champ Raminder Singh raised under the gun only to bet met by an all-in three-bet to 47,500 from Anna Antimony in the small blind.

Singh quickly called with his KK and was ahead of Antimonys AJ. Antimony was looking for some luck and she got it when the A82 flop paired her ace. Neither the Q turn nor 9 river changed a thing and Antimony scored the double.

Scott Bohlman on Bad End of a Cooler... at Least for a Bit!

Scott Bohlman

On Day 2 in Level 20 (10,000/20,000/20,000), just 115 players remained when Scott Bohlman was all in from the cutoff for 990,000 and at risk against David Coleman, who was in the big blind.

Scott Bohlman: KK

David Coleman: AA

It was a cooler situation for Bohlman and he received no help on the 842 flop. The 5 turn changed nothing, and Bohlman needed to spike one of the two remaining kings on the river to stay alive. Thats just what he did too when the K appeared to give him new life. In fact, he doubled to over two million, which was a 101-big-blind stack, while Coleman was left with 625,000.

Check out the WPT Hub on PokerNews here!

*Images courtesy of WPT and Seminole Hard Rock.

Sharelines Hands of the Week: Check out some of the biggest hands from the @WPT $3,500 @SHRHollyPoker Showdown.
Joshua Kopp Wins The RunGood Poker Series Council Bluffs Main Event ($68,799)

May 01, 2023 Liam Gannon Live Reporter

A total of 605 players tried their luck in the $700 RunGood Poker Series Checkpoint Main Event at The Horseshoe Casino In Council Bluffs Iowa. That tally created a prize pool worth $363,000 that only 74 players were lucky enough to see any piece of.

After the dust cleared it was local player Joshua Kopp who stood with the ring wrapped around his finger, and a sum of $68,799 for a prize. I feel pretty good, the newly crowned champion said after winning his ring Its still pretty surreal.

Kopp is a local player whos only prior Hendon Mob cash was his 29th place finish in the last iteration of The RGPS Main Event in Council Bluffs last October.

I play a lot of home games, and a couple Saturdays a month I play the fat stack tournament, he said when discussing his experience playing. The main thing I tried was just to be calm and not do anything stupid, eliminate as many mistakes as I could.

Kopp also becomes the latest winner of the free roll to the dream seat tournament at the end of the year, of which he says I will be making whatever arrangements I need to for that tournament.

RGPS Council Bluffs Checkpoint Main Event Final Table Results

Rank Player Prize 1 Joshua Kopp $68,799 2 David Caron $48,232 3 Renato Spahiu $31,015 4 Matt Morfitt $22,147 5 Terry Williams $16,999 6 Nick Stille $13,957 7 Matt Donaldson $11,503 8 Angela Jordison $9,173 9 Jared Langbehn $6,882

Final Day Action

It did not take long for the players to start dropping. Many accomplished players saw their days end earlier than their hopes as players like Caitlin Comeskey (74th-$917), two time RGPS champion Dakotah ODell (64th-$1,074), Jared Ward (54th-$1,441), Kevin Berthelsen (44th-$1,641), and last years runner up Mark Homan (13th-$4,577) all fell on the outside of the final table. The last player to fall before the final table was Michael Brewer, who had flopped top pair top kicker on an ace-high board, only to be drawing nearly dead against Renato Spahius flopped wheel. Brewer collected $5,725 for his efforts and the final nine players took their seats.

Final Table Action

The first casualty of the final table came quickly. Jared Langbehn spent most of his time at the final two tables as the shortest stack, but managed to navigate up several pay ladders. The bell tolled for him when he moved in his final four big blinds over a raise from Nick Stille, only for Renato Spahiu to isolate in the big blind. Langbehns jack-ten could not improve against Spahius queen jack and collected $6,882 for his ninth place finish.

Angela Jordison was the next one out the door after a few hands had already passed. She defended her big blind against an open from Joshua Kopp from under the gun. She check-jammed her king-jack on a turn that gave her a pair of jacks, only to run into Kopps pocket kings. She was unable to improve and Jordison added a RGPS final table to her already illustrious resume. She collected $9,173 for her eighth place finish.

Renato Spahiu

A few hands of jockeying over the lead occurred over the next level. At the end of it, it was one of the chip leaders at the start of the final table Matt Donaldson who ended his run in seventh place. He lost a big pot to Matt Morfitt at an earlier point in the final table which had sent him down the chip counts, but at the end of it he got in his pocket nines against Spahius ace-queen, only for an ace-high board to dash his hopes and send him to the payout cage to collect $11,503.

Though he dropped out of the lead for a bit, Spahiu would regain the lead when Stille four-bet shoved in a multiway pot on a nine-high two clubs board with king-queen of clubs, only for Spahiu to call with a nine-eight for top pair. The turn queen of diamonds put Stille squarely in the lead with top pair, but the river eight gave Spahiu the lead with two pair and he once more took the lead while Stille exited the tournament in sixth place for $13,957.

In fifth place it was Terry Williams who was eliminated. He was left with under ten big blinds and moved in his final chips on the button with king-queen of clubs only for Kopp to call with pocket sixes and flop a set. Though a flush draw appeared on the turn, Williams could not find the river club to scoop and he collected $16,999 for his efforts.

Start of day chip leader Matt Morfitt was the victim of many beats throughout the day. He had actually nearly knocked out David Caron when he got in his aces in against Carons queens. A river queen kept Caron alive and left Morfitt with the shortest stack in the tournament. He survived even left short and a few timely double ups saw him get to four-handed play. He got in his final chips against Caron when he moved all in with ace-three, but could not improve against Carons pocket fours. The 2017 RGPS Council Bluffs third place finisher exited the tournament in fourth place for $22,147.

Matt Morfitt

What followed was three handed battle where both Spahiu and Kopp took their shot at the chip lead. Caron eventually doubled through both of them and it was Spahiu who could not hold up against Kopp when he got in his final chips with ace-ten against Kopps king-four. A four on the flop sent out the decorated grinder out in third place for $31,015 and the heads up battle commenced.

Caron held the chip lead for the beginning portions of heads up, but a costly pot where Kopp held pocket queens marked the end of his lead. At the end of it all, Caron got in his final chips with pocket sixes against Kopps nine ten suited, but an all diamond flop gave Kopp the flush and left Caron drawing dead on the turn. Caron shook hands with Kopp and the RGPS regular finished his deep run in second place for $48,232.

RGPS Council Bluffs Series Event Winners

Event Number Name Entrants Prizepool Winner Prize 1 $250 Warm Up 115 $23,000 Duster Ellis $4,497 2 $250 Series Kick Off 802 $160,400 Taylor Howard $28,758 3 $300 Black Chip Bounty 177 $26,550+$17,700 Tony Poma $3,967 4 $300 Omaha Eight Or Better 97 $24,250 Henry Johnson $7,389 5 $250 Single Day NLH 89 $17,800 Stefan Kegley $5,646 6 $200 Seniors 178 $28,480 Philip Arbie $7,379 7 $200 Fat Stack 158 $25,280 Jacob Widman $6,794 8 $300 HORSE Event 47 $11,750 Matthew Harder $4,582 9 $200 Tag Team EVent 98 $15,680 Hanna Roppe-Guerdut $4,784 10 $300 Fatter Stack 166 $39,840 William Wagoner $10,591 11 $200 Ambassador Bounty 126 $20,160 Daryl Oppelt $4,735 12 $400 Deepstack 289 $93,925 Trevor Henery $12,799 13 $300 Six-Max NLH 140 $35,000 Ashley Frank $9,779 14 $250 Double Green Chip Bounty 138 $20,700 Krysta Groves $5,789 15 $700 Main Event 605 $363,000 Joshua Kopp $68,799

Be sure to check out next weeks updates when The RunGood Poker Series Checkpoint heads to Reno, Nevada for the $600 Main Event at Atlantis Casino. Be sure to check out all of the updates, only here on PokerNews.

Sharelines Check out the latest results from the RGPS Council Bluffs Main Event
The 100,000 EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller from the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino has wrapped up on its third day of play with Alex Kulev taking home the trophy, title, and first-place spoils.

The surviving seven players from a field of 37 who returned to the felt today battled it out for the lion's share of the 3,589,740 prize pool. Kulev received 1,036,287 for the win after defeating Mikita Badziakouski in heads-up play. The final two agreed on a heads-up ICM deal, with Badziakouski also getting an extra 3,500. The duo would then compete for the remaining 43,074 as well as bragging rights.

The win marked Kulev capturing his first major title and his exploits on the felt secured the biggest score of his career. It also pushed him over the $2.5 million mark in live tournament earnings.

Final Table Payouts

Place Player Country Prize (EUR) Entries 1 Alex Kulev Bulgaria 1,036,287* 1 2 Mikita Badziakouski Belarus 1,009,853* 1 3 Ben Heath United Kingdom 556,400 1 4 Artur Martirosian Russia 412,800 1 5 Adrian Mateos Spain 323,100 1 6 Orpen Kisacikoglu Turkey 251,300 1

Winner's Interview

Alex Kulev

"I was really fortunate throughout the whole event. This whole occasion is so very special to me. It's my first big live event and I love the city, I love PokerStars, and I really appreciate the chance that I get to perform on the stage," a delighted Kulev told PokerNews.

Kulev came into the final day as the chip leader, but that doesn't always mean going the distance. There have been many instances of the big stack falling short of the final hurdle, but it wasn't a concern for the champion.

"I did have the confidence [to win]. But in our game, when especially with this calibre of players that were at this final table, luck plays a major factor. So I just got very lucky in all the right moments."

As always, the Super High Rollers bring out poker's elite players and Kulev pointed to that challenge as why he loves playing in these fields.

"That's one of the main reasons why I played this game. To play against opponents who, you know, are extremely good, and they give me a chance to improve by observing them. The whole challenge is what captivates me and excites me to play," added Kulev.

Action from Day 3

SHR Final Table

When the finalists began to play, they were on the money bubble, with the top finishers walking away with a return on their 100,000 investment.

It was a cagey affair to start off with as players were folding premium hands preflop to avoid leaving empty-handed. However, the bubble finally burst in the second level of the day after Santhosh Suvarna's pocket nines were bested by the ace-jack held by Adrian Mateos in an all-in preflop encounter. Suvarna's bust out also meant that every player who cashed did so off one buy-in.

The players then went on a break after completing that level and when they came back, it didn't take long for the next elimination. Orpen Kisacikoglu bowed out in sixth place after he ran his ace-queen into Badziakouski's ace-king suited. The latter would go on to river a flush to send Kisacikoglu to the wrong side of the rail. Kisacikoglu collected the 251,300 min-cash, which is a nice addition to the 497,090 he picked up for winning a 25,000 No Limit Hold'em event at EPT Monte Carlo just a few days ago.

Adrian Mateos

It was then confirmed that there would be a new EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller Champion, as Mateos' title defense fizzled out following a blind versus blind confrontation with Ben Heath, who had just pulled off back-to-back double-ups. Heath moved in with ace-nine, and Mateos tank-called for his tournament life with king-three. Neither player connected on the runout, and the tournament was brought to four-handed play.

After hitting the river to survive twice already, Artur Martirosian was once again all in and at risk of elimination. Heath jammed as the bigger stack from the small blind with king-three and Martirosian called with ace-eight. Heath turned trip kings to leave his opponent drawing dead and brought the tournament to the final three.

That's where Heath's good fortune would end. He was the next final table casualty as Kulev's king-five stayed ahead of the former's queen-nine.

A heads-up ICM deal was agreed upon and it was determined that Badziakouski would lock up 993,213 while Kulev would get at least 1,009,853. They then duked it out for the remaining 43,074.

Alex Kulev - Mikita Badziakouski

Heads-up play began with Badziakouski having the chip lead by just two big blinds. His experience began to show in the early goings, with momentum on his side. However, a defiant Kulev battled back and swung the chip lead in his favor after he rivered an ace against Badziakouski's flopped top pair.

The final two players were sent on their final break and when play resumed, the start-of-day chip leader produced the finishing blow after hitting a three-outer when all the chips went into the middle preflop.

This marks the end of PokerNews' coverage of the 100,000 EPT Super High Roller, but be sure to check out the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event live updates.
It was another long day at the office at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino with over 13 hours of poker taking place. Eventually, Day 2 was brought to a close with seven players remaining in the 2,200 FPS High Roller and they will be forced to crown a winner tomorrow.

There was never a runaway chip leader throughout the day and there still isn't heading into the final day tomorrow. The big headline with just seven players remaining is Yiannis Liperis who is looking to better his performance from last year. In 2022, Liperis made a deep run in this same event where he finished in fourth for just shy of 100,000.

Liperis will be returning with a stack of 7,850,000 chips when the cards go back in the air and would like nothing more than to be holding the trophy when all is said and done. The poker pro from Cyprus has cashed for nearly $2.5 million in his career and has his sights set on another six-figure payout.

The competition will be tough and it is still anyone's game with everyone hovering around an average stack. Sim Kok Wai will be entering Day 3 as the slight chip leader with 8,650,000 chips. Wai was able to capture the chip lead after spiking an ace on the river in a key pot in the last level of the night for a big double-up.

Final Table Seating Assignments

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Yiannis Liperis Cyprus 7,850,000 26 2 Marco Regonaschi Italy 4,800,000 16 3 Weiran Pu China 5,175,000 17 4 Paolo Boi Italy 2,000,000 7 5 Candido Cappiello Italy 4,625,000 15 6 Walter Ripper Brazil 3,900,000 13 7 Sim Kok Wai Malaysia 8,650,000 29

Day 2 Action

There were 182 players who returned to the felt for Day 2 and they were all guaranteed at least a min-cash of 3,340. There was no shortage of action at the start of play as the field dwindled down to less than 80 players at the first break. Some of the notable early eliminations belonged to Harry Lodge, PokerStars ambassador Benjamin Spragg, Conor Beresford, Maria Konnikova, and Mauricio Salazar Sanchez.

As the day dragged on, the pay jumps started to become more significant and the action slowly crept to a halt. Upon reaching the final table bubble, the two tables were forced to go hand-for-hand due to some excessive stalling. In the end, it was Marco Lupino who was eliminated in tenth place when his pocket aces got cracked just one hand after he doubled up.

While the other nine players joined in celebration with their rails, it was time to get back to business with the day winding down. It was determined that a winner could not be crowned this evening and so the table agreed to play one more level and then return for Day 3 on Monday. In that period of time, it was Tom Orpaz and Enrico Camosci who were sent to the rail in ninth and eighth place, respectively.

Orpaz was grinding the short stack for much of the day after an early cooler but managed to work his way to the final table. However, his table talk was not enough to will the cards in his favor late in the night. As for Camosci, he was on the receiving end of Wai's ace on the river for a chip-lead pot. Camosci's Italian rail felt the pain as he was eliminated just a couple of hands later.

Sim Kok Wai holds the chip lead

Any aggressive action completely ceased in the last 20 minutes of the night as players were carefully trying to bag their chips for Day 3. The chips will have to be on the move when the action resumes as the average stack is less than 20 big blinds and the chip leader will be sitting on just 29 big blinds.

The cards are scheduled to go back in the air at 11:00 a.m. local time with the blinds resuming on level 34 at 150,000/300,000 and a 300,000 big blind ante. The levels will continue to be 40 minutes in length until only three players remain and then they will be shortened by half. Each player has locked up at least 63,610 thus far, but the winner will be taking home 406,670.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to bring you live updates and all of the eliminations en route to crowning a winner.
After having played for over 13 hours on what was supposed to be the final day of the 2,200 FPS High Roller here at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino, seven players return to the final table here at the beautiful Sporting Monte-Carlo at 11 a.m. CEST.

With 1,234 entries collected over the two starting flights, a staggering prize pool of 2,369,280 was created. Each player has guaranteed themselves at least 63,610 for their efforts, but the eventual winner will be claiming the first-place prize of 406,670 and a pretty trophy to come with it.

Malaysia's Sim Kok Wai has the chip lead with 8,650,000 but is followed closely behind by Yiannis Liperis who is no stranger to deep runs in EPT events as he finished in fourth place at this EPT stop and in this exact same tournament.

They are the only two players who will return to the felt with more than 20 big blinds, as the rest will all be looking to build up their stacks quickly while Day 1b of the Main is slated to start at noon local time.

FPS High Roller Final Table

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Yiannis Liperis Cyprus 7,850,000 26 2 Marco Regonaschi Italy 4,800,000 16 3 Weiran Pu China 5,175,000 17 4 Paolo Boi Italy 2,000,000 7 5 Candido Cappiello Italy 4,625,000 15 6 Walter Ripper Brazil 3,900,000 13 7 Sim Kok Wai Malaysia 8,650,000 29

When play resumes, they will resume with Level 34 with a small blind of 150,000, a big blind of 300,000, and a big blind ante of 300,000. The levels will remain 40 minutes long until only three players remain, and then they will be halved.

This is what they are all still competing for:

Place Prize (EUR) Prize (USD) 1 406,670 $447,459 2 254,350 $279,861 3 181,680 $199,903 4 139,750 $153,767 5 107,500 $118,282 6 82,690 $90,984 7 63,610 $69,990

The PokerNews live reporting team will be there from the first pitch until the final river so make sure to follow along with all the action.
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The normalization of Donald Trump by corporate media has kicked into overdrive as CNN announced that they will be giving Trump a national television forum next week in New Hampshire.

Via CNN:



Former President Donald Trump will participate in a CNN presidential town hall next week in New Hampshire, the network announced Monday.

The event, hosted by CNN This Morning anchor Kaitlan Collins and airing at 9 p.m. ET on May 10, will feature the former president taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

For More Stories Like This, Subscribe To Our Newsletter:

CNN Normalizes A Man Who Tried To Overthrow The US Government

Donald Trump tried to overthrow the United States government after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Trump is currently under federal criminal investigation for his role in the 1/6 plot. Trump is currently under felony indictment in Manhattan and may be under felony indictment in Georgia for election crimes before the end of the summer.

Outside of the criminal investigations, Trump is currently the defendant in a civil rape lawsuit by writer E. Jean Carroll.

This is the person that CNN has decided to give a national television platform. it is the height of journalistic irresponsibility to give a man who is a threat to national security free media in primetime from coast to coast.

Donald Trump Should Not Be Treated Like Any Other Presidential Candidate

No other presidential candidate that has declared for the 2024 has attempted a coup. No other 2024 candidate is a defendant in a civil rape trial, and no other 2024 presidential candidate has been indicted for dozens of felonies. No other presidential candidate routinely attempts to undermine democracy.

Donald Trump is not a normal candidate. He should be treated like a normal candidate.

The corporate media has seen its viewership/readership sink without Trump to elevate them. They seem to want Trump back in power.

1/6 should not be forgotten. Donald Trump cant be normalized, and this decision will be a stain on CNN for years to come.
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On his plane after his rally in Waco, TX, former President Donald Trump melted down and threw the reporters phones when asked about the Manhattan case against him that resulted in 34 felony charges.

Vanity Fair obtained a recording of how Trump treated NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard and reported:

Hillyards questions revolved around Trumps posts on Truth Social at the time; the former president had warned that there could be potential death and destruction if he was indicted. When Hillyard again tried to clarify Trumps version of events around the DAs investigation, the ex-president said, I dont want to talk to you. Hillyard tried to ask another question. Do you hear me? Youre not a nice guy, Trump said, turning to take a question from another reporter. When Hillyard tried a third time to get a response, Trump lost it. Alright, lets go, get him out of here, Trump said. Outta here. Outta here, Trump said, as Hillyard kept trying: The special counsel, sir. A deeper voice, apparently belonging to a Trump campaign aide, can be heard saying, Vaughn, were done.

Trump then picked up one of the phones recording the gaggle and asked, Whose is this? Hillyard replied that it was his. Trump picked up another phone and asked the same question. That ones mine too, Hillyard said. The former president tossed both phones out of his sight, onto the seat next to him; the thud of one of the phones hitting a surface can be heard in the recording.

Hillyard was much more diplomatic when he discussed his interaction with Trump at the time on MSNBC.

The NBC reporter said that Trump bristled and wouldnt answer questions. He did not say that Trump tried to kick him out of the gaggle, lost it, and threw Hillyards phones.

This is the same guy that CNN is giving a nationally televised town hall to next week. Trump wouldnt answer questions from mainstream journalists about the Manhattan case before he was indicted.

CNN probably thinks that they are playing it safe, but only have Trump take questions from an audience of Republican primary voters, but the former president appears to be unstable.

Trump tried to overthrow the government, and if anything his emotional state has gotten worse since losing the 2020 election.

The Trump team is trying to keep his behavior hidden, but it will come out, and each time it does, it will remind voters that Trump is wholly unelectable and should be nowhere near the Oval Office.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. President Ilham Aliyev has signed a law approving the Convention between Azerbaijan and Japan on the elimination of double taxation and the prevention of income tax evasion, Trend reports.

According to the law, the Convention "On the Elimination of Double Taxation and Prevention of Income Tax Evasion between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Japan", signed on December 27, 2022 in Baku, has been approved.
A group of Aiken County residents gathered Friday evening at the Big Red Barn to raise funds for the Salvation Army of Aiken's homeless shelter.

Vicki Wheeler, Bernice Miller, Carmen Armstrong, Sarah Malaby, Karen Olsen Edwards, Muriel Gouffray and Angie Richards organized the event, called the Table of Hope fundraiser.

Malaby said she works downtown and was approached by homeless people when she left her office for lunch. She said she became involved with the Salvation Army after she researched ways to help the homeless.

Edwards, who said she has worked with the Salvation Army for 12 years, said a lot of Aiken County residents are not aware that the county has a homeless problem or a homeless shelter.

"We're trying to raise awareness of the possibility to do more to help the homeless," Edwards said. "Really, $25 per day will give (someone) a clean shower, three meals and a clean place to sleep."

She added the shelter serves over 40 people. Edwards said the shelter has a men's area, a women's area and a family area.

Malaby added the Salvation Army also provides job services to help those struggling.

Capt. April Tiller, head of the Salvation Army of Aiken, said the women and those attending the fundraiser were showing the love of Jesus Christ. She said the women's work and those attending help people struggling to get a hand up to a better place.

In addition to a paid meal, the fundraiser featured a silent auction and a live auction conducted by Aiken County Council Vice Chairman Andrew Siders.

The Salvation Army of Aiken serves Aiken, Edgefield, Barnwell and Allendale counties.

For more information about the organization, visit southernusa.salvationarmy.org/aiken or call 803-641-4141. Donations can be made on the website or the same phone number.
The Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control have reached an agreement on a schedule to remove waste from and close 16 radioactive waste tanks at the Savannah River Site.

The Department of Energy and Savannah River Mission Completion, the liquid waste contractor at the site located 20 miles south of Aiken, announced revisions to the federal facility agreement governing cleanup of the waste generated during the production of plutonium during the Cold War.

The revision includes a schedule for the closure of 16 tanks  tanks 1-4, 7-11, 13-15, 21-24  in the F- and H- Tank Farms that don't meet the secondary containment requirements outlined in the agreement.

The schedule calls for the first of the 16 tanks to be emptied of waste by Dec. 31, 2024 with three more emptied by Dec. 31, 2025, two more emptied by Dec. 31, 2026, and two more emptied by Dec. 31, 2027. After a one-year gap in 2028, the schedule calls for two more tanks to be emptied by Dec. 31, 2029 and one tank to be emptied by Dec. 31, 2030. A three-year gap follows from 2031-2033. The schedule calls for one tank to be emptied by the end of 2034, 2035 and 2036 and the remaining two tanks by the end of 2037.

The schedule calls for the operational closure of three tanks by Dec. 31, 2028, two more tanks by Dec. 31, 2030, three more tanks by Dec. 31, 2031, another tank by Dec. 31, 2032 and two more tanks by Dec. 31, 2033. Another tank would be operationally closed by Dec. 31, 2036 with the remaining four being closed by Dec. 31, 2037.

The revision does not affect the agreement reached between the Department of Energy and the state of South Carolina over plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site that the Department of Energy is required to remove by the end of 2037.

Jim Folk, Department of Energy Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition, said the No. 1 goal of all the parties involved in the schedule negotiations is to reduce risk to the environment by removing waste and closing tanks. He added the Department of Energy will continue its positive relationships with the EPA and SCDHEC by explaining the activities undertaken, results of removal operations, challenges and next steps.

Randall Chaffins, Region IV acting director for the EPA Superfund and Emergency Management Division, said safely remediating the radioactive liquid waste in and closing the tanks protects human health and the environment.

Henry Porter, chief of the DHEC Bureau of Land and Waste Management said the department considers the radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site to be one of the largest environmental risks in the state. He added working with the Department of Energy and EPA to create the schedule is critical to protecting the community and environment beyond the barricades.

Dave Olson, president of Savannah River Mission Completion, said the schedule allows the company to focus on delivering results and executing the work that will complete its mission.

"With many facility improvements and process optimizations in place and being implemented, SRMC plans to aggressively pursue early success to meet the FFA milestones," Olson said.
The Berkeley High School baseball team is aiming to repeat as the Class 5A state champion and that comes with some pressure. The Stags are everybodys primary target now that the curtains have come up on the playoffs. Read moreStags begin title defense
COLUMBIA  The firm Richland County School District Two hired to help find its next superintendent already works with Baron Davis, the district's former superintendent who received a $615,000 settlement after resigning suddenly in January.

McPherson & Jacobson, a Nebraska-based superintendent search firm that the 28,500-student district hired in late April, lists Davis as its only consultant in South Carolina, saying he joined the company in 2023.

While it was initially unclear May 1 what role he would play in the Richland Two search, board member Lashonda McFadden said during the board meeting that evening that Davis "will not be involved in this search process in any manner," and that he was not yet a consultant for the firm when it was interviewed by the board.

"At the time the board interviewed the search firms and selected McPherson Jacobson, that firm did not have any South Carolina consultants," she said.

Before that meeting, board members Joe Trapp and Niki Porter said they did not know about Davis's relationship when the board evaluated the company's bid for the superintendent search job.

Trapp called Davis's relationship a "potential conflict of interest," but said he didn't know whether it would have affected the decision to hire the firm.

"This is hindsight, so it's hard to say what would or would not have happened, but it definitely would  have been something we wanted to know," he said.

Porter said learning about Davis's relationship to the firm did not change her opinion on its hiring.

"I was just looking for a search firm that would do a great job and have the best interest of our students and our staff and our community, and I feel like we did find the best fit," she said.

Richland Two announced McPherson & Jacobson's hiring on May 1, after it initially issued a request for proposals for superintendent search services on March 24.

Trapp said the board interviewed representatives of the two finalists for the superintendent search job in executive session during an April 25 meeting, with each board member individually scoring the two proposals.

The district hired the one with the highest combined score, he said, and the board did not take a vote on hiring any company for the search.

District spokeswoman Ishmael Tate said the hiring of McPherson & Jacobson was a "choice made by the school board," and directed questions about the selection of McPherson & Jacobson to board vice chair Monica Scott, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The board is planning to hire a new superintendent by July 1, according to the district's statement announcing the new search firm.

McPherson & Jacobson did not respond to request for comment May 1.

Neither Davis nor the board have publicly explained what led to his January departure, which came amid fears from some of Davis' supporters that he would be fired.

A settlement agreement between him and the board included a non-disparagement agreement and a $615,000 payment for Davis, who took a job with an education nonprofit in March.

In the November 2022 elections, a group of four board members who had been generally supportive of Davis either did not seek reelection or were defeated.

Board chair Lindsay Agostini, McFadden and Scott, who had been critical of the former superintendent, remained in office.

Since Davis' resignation, the northeast Richland County district has been led by Nancy Gregory as interim superintendent, formerly the district's chief instructional officer.
Dubai Maritime Authority (DMA has introduced Directive No. 1 of 2023 on Transparency of Local Sea Container Charges in Dubai requiring all Service Providers to declare their local sea container charges to the DMA.

In line with Law No 3 of 2023 on Dubai Maritime Authority, issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the DMA has been tasked with introducing new regulations that strengthen the sector and adopt global standards.

The new Directive, which will be effective from May 1, 2023, will provide the DMA with a clear data-led understanding of local sea container charges and associated practices.

New mandate

The Directive was formulated in response to feedback generated by the DMAs Partnership Programme, a stakeholder engagement programme introduced to help the Authority understand the needs of service providers and Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) in the sector. The Programme commenced in March with an event to introduce the DMAs new mandate, followed by a series of interactive workshops, and a market survey focused on better understanding the sectors needs.

The procedures outlined in the Directive are based on a study conducted by the DMA to determine international best practices as part of the Authoritys efforts to enhance transparency and agility, raise ease of doing business and enhance Dubais attractiveness as a maritime hub.

Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Executive Director of Dubai Maritime Authority, said: The maritime sector plays a significant role in enhancing Dubais business and economic value proposition. The DMA is committed to taking proactive measures to enhance the sectors contribution to the emirates economy by growing sea trade, enhancing the infrastructure needed for the sector to flourish and driving growth in demand for ocean logistics in Dubai.

Thorough study

As custodians of the emirates maritime sector, we are keen to continuously develop the industry and enhance our partnership with the private sector, Sheikh Saeed added. The newly introduced Directive is based on a thorough study we conducted as part of efforts to consolidate Dubais status as a global maritime hub, enhance the transparency and cost-visibility of local sea container charges, and ultimately boost the sectors investment attractiveness.

The introduction of the Directive will allow us to analyse data submitted by service providers and determine whether they reflect commercial best practices and fair competition, which we are tasked with promoting in Dubais maritime sector.

The Directive applies to all Service Providers providing local Sea Container Services within, outside, or through any port in the emirate. This includes Existing Service Providers, who, as of the effective date, are already licensed by a licensing authority in Dubai including the Department of Economy and Tourism, or special development zones and free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, to provide Sea Container Services. It also applies to New Service Providers, who will become licensed on or after the effective date.

In this case, the directive applies to Sea Container Charges that the provider intends to apply from the date that the provider becomes licensed to provide sea container services. Details of sea container charges should be submitted to the Authority pursuant to Article 5 (2) of the Directive.

List of charges

All Existing Service Providers must submit a list of their existing local sea container charges to the Authority within 30 days of the effective date of the Directive, while New Service Providers must submit a list of all their Existing Sea Container Charges within 30 days of first being licensed.

Dubai Maritime Authoritys Directive No 1 on Transparency of Local Sea Container Charges in Dubai requires Service Providers to file all their local sea container charges online via the Dubai Trade Single Window Portal, in accordance with procedures and requirements within 30 days of the publication of the Directive.

From the effective date of this Directive, all Service Providers are prohibited from increasing their existing sea container charges in any way. A Service Provider may increase its sea container charges strictly to reflect new or increased Authority, Port Operator or government charges, provided such an increase does not include any charges or amounts for their account. The freeze on service charges will apply until further notice.

Service Providers are required to upload all of their existing local sea container charges onto the Dubai Trade Single Window Portal, in addition to any other information or document that may be required by the DMA from time to time. To comply with Directive No. 1, Service Providers are required to declare all local charges using the Sea Container Charges acronyms, codes, names, and descriptions. If any charges are not listed, the Service Providers are required to declare these using the additional miscellaneous option provided within the Portal.-- TradeArabia News Service
Details added: first version posted on 17:45

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Armenia's absurd claims have no grounds, and are being categorically rejected, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement regarding the statement of the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ani Badalyan in connection with the establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road, Trend reports.

According to the Azerbaijani ministry, Azerbaijan's legitimate decision and step to establish a checkpoint on its sovereign territory complies with all the principles and norms of international law, while Armenia's interference in Azerbaijan's decisions is unacceptable.

The ministry also noted that the Armenian side, commenting on the peaceful protest rally on the Lachin-Khankendi road, apparently "forgot" that the rally was aimed against the roads use for illegal activities and military provocations.

Besides, according to the ministry, the Armenian side continues to distort the interim decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

As the ministry noted, the Armenian side still cannot adopt the ICJs dismissal of Armenias two major claims that the protests of Azerbaijani eco-activists were allegedly organized by the Azerbaijani government and that Azerbaijan cut off access to natural gas and other communal services.

The ministry expressed regret that the Armenian side has evaded the issue of mine threats against Azerbaijan over the past 30 years.

The latest court hearings on the above issue once again showed that Armenia's reports to international organizations that it allegedly "does not produce or bury mines" are based on lies, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the interim decision of the International Court of Justice does not relieve Armenia from responsibility for such violations as the placement of mines and mine traps on the territory of Azerbaijan, the transportation of mines manufactured in 2021 to the territory of Azerbaijan using the Lachin-Khankendi road, as well as the non-provision of reliable maps of mined areas.

The ministry further noted that Armenia's accusations of aggression by Azerbaijan, "ethnic cleansing" and "occupation of villages" are absurd, given that since gaining independence, Armenia, contrary to the norms and principles of international law, itself committed military aggression against the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan and massacres, destroyed occupied cities and hundreds of villages, carried out ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, expelled hundreds of thousands of people from their native lands, and didnt comply with four resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Within the framework of the obligation assumed by Armenia when signing the trilateral statement [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], instead of returning Karki village in the Sadarak district of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the villages of Sofulu, Barkhudarly, Baghanis Ayrim, Gizil Hajili, Yukhari and Ashaghi Askipara, as well as Khairimli village of the Gazakh district [which were occupied in the early 1990s], this country questions the belonging of these villages to Azerbaijan, which shows that Armenia does not renounce territorial claims against Azerbaijan, the ministry also said.

The statement of the spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry that there are no armed forces of Armenia on the territory of Azerbaijan runs counter to the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the Azerbaijani ministry pointed out.

The conduct of criminal cases against the so-called "military personnel" of the separatist regime [in Azerbaijans Karabakh] by the law enforcement agencies of Armenia itself is clear evidence that they are subordinate to Armenia, the ministry said.

Azerbaijan once again calls on Armenia to give up its territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and ensuring peace and stability in the region depends on this, the ministry added.

In order to prevent the transportation of manpower, ammunition, mines, as well as other military equipment from Armenia for illegal Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan, and as an adequate response to the unilateral establishment of a checkpoint by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan on April 22 at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road contrary to the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, on April 23 at 12:00 (GMT+4), the units of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan set up a border checkpoint in its sovereign territories, on the border with Armenia, at the beginning of the Lachin-Khankendi road.
Last week I had breakfast with a doctor who completed her residency in family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina 40 years ago. After 40 years of patient care for her, and continued teaching and retirement for me, we connected again telling stories.

She told of a man in her practice with complicated, life-threatening heart disease. He was scared. The crisis came sooner than expected and he was rushed in for emergency surgery.

On the operating table he had a near-death experience: I was hovering up close to the ceiling watching what was going on with my body down there, he said. The surgeon, or whoever it was  maybe St. Peter?  took my body, and weighed it, and then he said Nope, cant take him, he doesnt weigh enough! 

That did it. He survived the operation, got stronger and resolved to do something with his life so he would be weighty enough next time for death to accept him!

"He was a changed man," said my friend  he started living with purpose instead of fear.

Then she asked, What do you think is the opposite of fear?

I knew she wanted a thoughtful answer. None came to mind. Resolution, like the guy in the operating room  is that the opposite of fear? No, thats not it  too mental.

Confidence, or self-confidence? No, thats too much like the bravado we put on when were really scared underneath but try to convince ourselves and others that we arent.

Courage? That seems closer to being the opposite of fear, but then, courage rises in response to fear; courage is the fortitude to carry on in the face of fear.

Im not sure fear has an opposite, I said. Fear may be part of any emotional response we have to the world and its dangers  sometimes its dominant, even paralyzing, sometimes just a trace element, but its there.

Telling a few more stories, we wondered if the opposite of fear could be consent, as given by one who is empty, who has nothing to lose. Nothing threatens me if I have nothing to defend; pure consent leaves no room for fear. That sounded good but felt unsatisfying. All of us are acutely aware of things that we cant consent to, things we strongly oppose. We are NOT empty, unless we are the rare saint or sensei who has abolished ego  or have no principled core.

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Then the doctor spoke of a remarkable patient who shared with her the question she asks herself when she gets in an anxious situation: What would love do now? Ah! Maybe thats it, we said  maybe the opposite of fear is the capacity to ask, What would love do now? Surely the composure and equanimity needed to ask oneself that question shows an absence of fear!

I wonder if that breakfast conversation could help us get a handle on the ancient festival associated with this illustrious day. Today is May 1, midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice, the day that the Gaelic people of Scotland and Ireland celebrated Beltane, one of the two great turnings of the year. Beltane was the threshold day when winters deep sleep woke up into summers vital energy, a one-day springtime of the spirit when the people celebrated all nature coming to life again. Not only was Beltane the passage from winter to summer; it was a day when the veil was thin between the invisible world of fairies and spirits and the visible world of nature and people, and transaction between the two worlds was vigorous. The day was one of enchanting, uninhibited celebration of being alive, but also risky  you dont mess around with the unseen world!

So what happened specifically on Beltane? In addition to the dancing and ample libations (this was Ireland and Scotland, remember!), two great bonfires were lit, and all the cattle were driven between them prior to being taken up to the high pastures where they would graze free on lush summer grasses. Human flourishing depended on the health and safety of the flocks and herds  the symbolic act of passing through the fires was a ritual for life.

And thats why Beltane might refire the spirits of people consciously growing into old age. Could Beltanes zest empower us to cross the threshold into a revitalized, summer mindset? The winter of dazing disorientation has been upon us, some of us personally, all of us socially, as we have endured a complex of catastrophes: the life-arresting COVID-19 pandemic, disastrous weather extremes, violent political rage, the pall of mass shootings.

Some of us older ones have been numbed into zones of dull routine and insulating lethargy  like cattle huddling in their winter barns and pens munching straw. But today is Beltane!

No time to be held down by fear. Pause before those two flaming bonfires of life and death, and get ready to pass through them into the high pastures  not knowing beforehand what the summer pastures may hold for you, but stirred in your soul and feeling yourself coming alive again with all nature! Receiving no promises of getting what your self-oriented ego may be aspiring to, but owning the genuine promise of sharing the gifts of the summer pastures: unplanned possibility, personal responsibility and freedom like fresh air.

What are the two bonfires, in this Beltane imagination? Ive called them life and death because those are the realities of our existence.

We die daily, said George Macdonald, blessed is she who daily comes to life as well.

Beltane, that Easter of nature, is a call to re-firE  like the guy who saw himself on the operating table and grasped the opportunity to choose life.

Choosing life  how to do that? What better way, what other way, than to touch the delete button on our fears by asking, with each personal transaction, What would love do now?

As an elder moving up to the summer pastures, take a look back on those two bonfires. From this perspective, E. B. White re-frames them for us as two desires, with discriminating finesse: I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
James London looked over a text message from Mark Marhefka of Abundant Seafood detailing the day's offerings.

Amberjack and vermillion snapper, available by the pound, were among the handful of options on a list that was twice as long this time last year. Not every Charleston chef receives a special morning message from a James Beard Foundation-recognized commercial fisherman, but Marhefka knows the chef and owner of Chubby Fish will purchase just about anything he is selling.

London's confidence in the sustainable practices used by Marhefka has him prominently featuring Abundant Seafood at his 1,250-square-foot downtown Charleston restaurant, which spawns a line of eager diners outside 252 Coming St. at 5 p.m. on the five nights it is open each week.

London and a group of likeminded restaurant chefs have a philosophy when it comes to preparing and serving fish: Source locally, when possible, and serve underutilized species that rarely appear on plates and menus.

This ethos does not extend to all Charleston area restaurants, but several local chefs are buying into the importance of serving sustainably sourced seafood.

Chris John and Shaun Brian started CudaCo. in 2020 on James Island. Their business features fish like sea trout and sand tilefish, a slender species with a crab-like texture when cooked. At their Folly Road retail market and counter-serve eatery, they sell to home cooks and chefs, with the goal of creating as little waste as possible.

That means cooking with the whole fish.

At Chubby Fish, London is constantly breaking down whole fish plucked from the abyss, be it gray tilefish, black sea bass, wreckfish or black fin tuna. Like diners across the city, London enjoys the taste of grouper, snapper and flounder, all of which will make appearances on his menu. But underutilized species are the main event in his restaurant.

This could become more common, partially out of necessity.

Increased federal regulation has made it more difficult for commercial fishermen to make a living reeling in fish popular in restaurants, like Atlantic halibut, gag grouper and red snapper, leading people like Marhefka to adapt. London and other chefs are helping their cause, which in turn benefits species with dwindling populations.

I think the nuts and bolts of it are that we make smart decisions now so that in the future we can still be eating wild-caught seafood, London said. The big thing is that it's taking pressure off the fish that are overfished.

Across the globe, 3 billion people  out of some 8 billion total  rely on seafood as a main source of nutrition, and the absence of some species could disrupt food chains and entire ecosystems. Experts are concerned about the future of many in-demand species, with some questioning whether eating seafood will be a sustainable food source in the future. As the documentary "Seaspiracy" on Netflix and other streaming shows spread panic that our oceans will be empty by 2048, some scientists have started to search for alternatives like lab-grown seafood.

All this raises a pressing question: What will it take to keep the commercial fishing industry afloat while ensuring the future of marine wildlife?

Treading water

Commercial fishermen like Marhefka, who operates out of Mount Pleasant's Shem Creek, could keep wild-caught seafood on our plates.

Marhefka has made it his lifes mission to take from the ocean responsibly, committing to the principle that fish are a shared resource. By building a business based on this philosophy with his wife Kerry by his side, Marhefka hopes to play a small part in maintaining Southern fish populations.

His work isn't easy.

After firing up his commercial fishing fleet, the veteran angler floats away from the shore. He and his crew soon are surrounded by nothing but open ocean. The engine groans like an old window air conditioner passed down from one homeowner to the next, the one constant on a trip full of uncertainty.

A sunny, 80 degree forecast with little wind should bring a heavy haul back to shore. But that's not always how idyllic days pan out. Marhefka will sometimes patiently wait for the fish to come, only to return home days later wondering what could have been.

His strong stomach allows him to manage the boat's constant motion. Falling down is a regular occurrence, Marhefka tells his fellow fishermen, but it's key to make sure the tumble occurs on the boat and not overboard.

Though his wife doesn't join him on offshore trips, Kerry Marhefka is well-versed in her husband's work. In fact, she has a rare perspective on sustainable fishing practices.

As a biologist and member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, she understands the science behind managing the Southeast regions fisheries. As the co-owner of Abundant Seafood, with locations in Mount Pleasant and North Charleston, she knows how difficult it is to run a sustainable seafood operation.

The Marhefkas met decades ago at a conference to establish marine protected areas, which restrict fishing in an effort to sustain sensitive species. Kerry, then a budding biologist, was impressed by the commercial fisherman who arrived with charts marking popular fishing spots that should be protected. This was in 1998.

Nine years later, President George W. Bush made the controversial decision to insert language into the ocean-governing Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. First passed in 1976 as the primary federal law outlining marine fisheries management in U.S. waters, Bush's update ordered catch limits be placed on every managed fishery by the end of 2011. His goal was to end overfishing, which occurs when the harvest exceeds the number of fish that can be "continuously caught" under average environmental conditions.

Twelve years later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is still trying to solve the ongoing problem of evaluating the status of federally regulated fish stocks. There are 460.

State waters State regulations are driven by the South Carolina Legislature, and many of the laws governing near-shore fisheries can be found in the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 50  Fish, Game and Watercraft, DNR Director of the Office of Fisheries Management Ben Dyar said. DNR is in charge of managing the harvest of fish that fall in its jurisdiction, meaning the state agency does not establish policies like catch limits. In determining how best to manage harvest, Dyar said they pay close attention to other factors that might be out of their control, including water quality, ecological impacts and market prices, which can impact levels of harvest pressure. DNR manages the states fourth largest, and one of its most sustainable, fisheries: oysters. But when it comes to most restaurant-popular finfish, DNR works alongside the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, as many will travel between state and federal waters. The reality is that most of the locally caught seafood that ends up in the Souths restaurants and grocery stores falls in federal waters.

South Carolina waters, from the shore to 12 miles out, are governed by the state Department of Natural Resources. The majority of restaurant-popular fish, however, swim in federal waters, which extend out to 100 miles offshore. The region managed by the South Atlantic council is home to 64 federally regulated fish stocks. One of eight nationwide fishery management groups, the Charleston-based organization covers the waters off eastern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. It has 13 voting council members, with the Palmetto State represented by Kerry Marhefka, Gary Borland and Mel Bell of DNR.

The snapper-grouper fishery, comprised of 55 species, is the largest within the council's jurisdiction.

Gag grouper has charcoal-kissed spots that become wavy lines as it grows, with its size often reaching more than 3 feet and 50 pounds. It is the most widely distributed grouper in the region, with adults swimming from North Carolina to Brazil. The fish is at the mercy of its habitat as it grows and reproduces slowly over its 26-year lifespan.

When blackened in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, grouper develops a dark, spiced crust that pairs with the sweet firm flesh that lies beneath. Whether enjoying at home or a restaurant, the fish is one of 18 grouper species managed by the council. More often than not, black, red or gag is the grouper species being served at Charleston restaurants that source locally.

Feeding the demand for gag grouper's taste, texture and oil content, fishermen for years caught it and other fish in the snapper-grouper fishery faster than the stocks could replenish, scientists at the University of Miami reported in a 2022 study.

More than 85 percent of the grouper and snapper studied were found to be overfished. Scientists determined this was a direct result of an increasing demand for seafood.

We all realize that were going to have to find a better way to make decisions for these species, Kerry Marhefka said. They really need close regulation and they really need to be assessed often. I worry about the pressure thats being put on them.

That burden also is being felt by commercial fishermen.

Reeling in anglers

Chris Conklin owns Seven Seas Seafood, a Murrells Inlet business his family purchased in 1997. The market offers fish sourced locally and from afar. A former South Atlantic council member, Conklin also owns six commercial fishing fleets that help bolster his market's supply.

The second-generation fisherman has been on the water since he was 15, a time when Murrells Inlet in coastal Georgetown County housed about 40 commercial fishing boats. Now, there are just four. Conklin owns three of those.

Commercial fishermen like the captains of Conklins fleet are faced with all sorts of intrusive regulations, he said, such as bringing observers from NOAA on offshore trips. Logging of expenses, all the way down to the bait used to catch fish, and detailed tracking of inventory are other tedious daily tasks.

The waters are much murkier when it comes to regulating the recreational anglers that fill the majority of fleets traversing the coastline, multiple sources said.

What recreational anglers catch is mainly monitored through surveys rather than the hard data mandated for the commercial sector. A report issued in October by the U.S. Government Accountability Office shows how this impacts fishery management.

Annually from 2011 to 2020, NOAA conducted an average of 173 stock assessments, which report and analyze the status of a fishery's population. An average of 41 federally managed stocks were determined to be overfished during that time. NOAA's Southeast Region, which spans the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic and Caribbean marine ecosystems, averaged 19 overfished stocks  the highest among five regions stretching from Alaska to New England, according to the agency report.

That data, however, does not account for a whopping 90 percent of the regions stocks per year, due in part to the expanse of recreational fleets in the Southeast Region.

South Carolina issued 228,909 recreational saltwater licenses last year, though more than 400,000 people had legal access to recreational privileges due in part to honorary and lifetime licenses that never expire, DNR reported. Meanwhile, the number of commercial licenses issued in South Carolina in 2022 dropped to 1,261, the second lowest total since 2007.

As GPS systems and high-powered boats proliferate, Conklin and others in the commercial sector are calling for increased management of recreational fleets.

Were monitored very closely. The recreational fisheries arent managed that way, Conklin said. When you have a whole entire army versus one platoon, the armys going to win every time in terms of catching more fish.

Recreational fishermen who operate charter boats also are focused on preserving local fisheries, John Smith of Exclusive Fishing Charters told The Post and Courier. Without a plethora of fish swimming off the South Carolina coast, Smith and charter captains who take groups and families on offshore trips would not have jobs.

Jason Richards is the captain of the Teaser2, one of three charter boats operated by Wahoo Fishing Charters. A fisherman with more than 30 years of experience, Richards said it makes sense to ensure local fisheries are long-lasting  for the environment, charter fishermen like him and individual anglers, as well as for the commercial captains who sell their catch to restaurants and wholesalers.

His 43-foot boat stays active, making an estimated 150 to 200 trips per year, typically with eight to 14 people on board. On trips that mostly range from 12 to 25 miles offshore, Richards helps groups catch grunts, grouper, black seabass and triggerfish, among other species. Abiding by the regulations is a priority but not a concern, given the size of the boat and nature of his business.

Whether it's captains of charter trips or individuals who catch fish for personal consumption, recreational fishermen are monitored in two different ways, said Andy Strelcheck, administrator of NOAA's Southeast Region. Private anglers submit details of their catch through dockside and mail-based surveys, while charter vessels report such in weekly logbooks. The charter boat requirement was part of NOAA's expansion of the headboat survey program in 2021.

Each week, Richards submits an online report to DNR and the South Atlantic council. He details the type and amount of each species caught. Both agencies assume recreational fishermen are being truthful and abiding by size limits.

NOAA's Marine Recreational Information Program, a state-regional-federal partnership, attempts to improve surveys measuring the number of saltwater trips recreational fishermen take and the number of fish they catch. Priorities over the last five years included producing more precise and timely catch estimates.

Sometimes setting catch limits isn't enough to save the fish.

Seafood Watch Seafood Watch rates fisheries using the traffic light system: green means best choice, yellow signifies a good alternative and red should be avoided. Fish are graded using four criteria: impact on the fishermen, impact on other species, management of those impacts and the measures implemented by regulatory agencies. With ratings for 2,500 species around the globe, approximately 200 of which swim in waters near the United States, individual consumers and even professional chefs can use Seafood Watch's website as a resource. Red snapper from the Western Central Atlantic Ocean, for instance, is red-rated, but vermilion snapper from that same ocean region is considered a good alternative chefs can incorporate in their menus.

Fishing seasons vary by species. But even when snapper and grouper are off limits, from Jan. 1 through much of the spring, those fish are often reeled in accidentely. That means minimizing the number of discarded fish, meaning those that are caught unintentionally and released, is important. For evidence, look at red snapper, a species in which overfishing is primarily driven by high numbers of fish caught and released by recreational anglers that do not survive, according to the South Atlantic council.

Richards is well-versed in the proper catch-and-release of unintentionally caught fish.

Once fish are pulled from the water, their air bladder blows up, and they cannot expel air fast enough to survive long. Richards keeps a venting tool on board at all times, allowing him to pop the protruding bladder with a small needle, which doesn't harm the fish and keeps it from floating on the surface, where it is in danger of sharks.

Requirements, including the use of specified hooks and descending devices when targeting snapper-grouper species, have been implemented by the South Atlantic council to decrease the number of discarded fish that don't survive.

Climate questions

Leslie Gibbs captains a boat that supplies fish to Cherry Point Seafood Co., a family-owned Wadmalaw Island purveyor. Gibbs has been fishing his entire life; first with a recreational license and now as captain of a commercial fleet. He has stopped targeting snapper and grouper in favor of albacore tuna and swordfish, cooler water fish that in recent years have been migrating South.

Chasing these fish takes him on weekslong trips hundreds of miles off the coast. Dolphinfish, also known as mahi-mahi or dorado, is another species targeted by Gibbs.

The highly migratory fish moves up and down the Eastern Seaboard more and more as the climate changes.

Cutting carbon emissions and curbing meat consumption were among the trends expected to impact the restaurant sector in 2023 as measures to limit that change. For coastal communities, the seafood industry is right at the center of that conversation.

Climate change is stressing a volatile commercial fishing industry that is already feeling the burn of rising costs and the loss of about 20 percent of licensed commercial fishermen in the past five years. Gibbs and other commercial fishermen are contending with the climate-caused reduction of fish stocks in 103 of 226 marine regions worldwide studied by the University of British Columbia, the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and University of Bern.

By projecting the impact global temperature increases had and will have on the amount of fish in a given area from 1950 to 2100, the group concluded that impacted regions will struggle to rebuild their numbers under projected global warming levels.

Warmer waters are altering the environment faster than species can adapt, experts say. As migrating fish struggle to find food and fend off predators in a new habitat, climate change is altering water pH levels and decimating coral reefs, which provide shelter and spawning grounds to a wide range of ocean life. All of this decreases the survival rate of juveniles, hurting future generations.

As fish move, management jurisdictions must adapt based on where the fish are spending their time and where theyre caught, creating further complications when assessing stocks.

Solutions to these problems remain unclear.

An uncertain future

To the west of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, Sean Heverin projects he will pull in 1.3 million to 1.5 million pounds of seafood from its snapper-grouper fishery this year.

Shortly after starting his career, Heverin was reeling in six-digit profits as an owner-operator of a commercial vessel that docked near Jacksonville, Fla., which falls in the same council jurisdiction as South Carolina. He eventually decided the Gulf would be more lucrative given looser regulation there of the snapper-grouper fishery.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council sets per-season quota limits, with fishermen earning the right to catch that amount through lease or ownership. In the South Atlantic, commercial fishermen also face trip limits, meaning they must dock and unload their fish before making another long trip offshore.

A handful of the South Atlantic council's commercially regulated grouper species, for instance, have weighted trip limits of just 200 pounds. Others, like Nassau grouper, cannot be caught at all.

Conklin, the Murrells Inlet commercial fishermen, said it is incredibly difficult to make a living going after snapper and grouper, leading him and others to diversify their catch. To make due, Conklin's captains are reeling in black sea bass and vermillion snapper, once regarded as trash fish.

Sustainability experts argue this is the exact reason for the regulations. But it has been hard for Conklin and other commercial fishermen to make ends meet.

At his retail market, Conklin supplements what his boats catch with crab, scallops and other species from partner purveyors, along with prepared foods and pantry items. As he struggles to staff his boats, the full-circle retail operation is the only way to keep his business open.

The industry veteran often ponders what will happen to the commercial fishing business in the future.

All the guys who used to do it for a living moved on to something else, Conklin said. Theres nobody coming up in the ranks saying, Hey, I want to be a commercial fisherman. 

With commercial fishermen dwindling on the Eastern Seaboard, there could be an opportunity in the Carolinas for those who are willing to adapt to different fisheries.

For commercial captains who spend more nights on unsteady boats than in their own homes, it's more complicated than that.
Georgetown County received the grant under the federal government's Assistance to Coal Communities initiative, which helps cities and counties hurt by the declining use of coal. Read moreGeorgetown County Airport gets $3.6M for upgrades, hopes to reel in new business
The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission has withdrawn, for now, a set of regulations that would govern development around the states public-use airports.

The pause is in part due to concerns raised by Greenville officials that the regulations would stall new projects, including in downtown Greenville with its nearby business airport.

The regulations, which would add further guidance to state law passed more than a decade ago, were intended to protect areas in the vicinity of airports from development that could create safety concerns.

After a public comment period closed in early March, the regulations were set to go into effect May 10. But local officials said they didnt become aware of the business ramifications of the regulations until recently and grew alarmed at the scope of some of the rules.

Among their fears was that the small statewide agency would have authority over all building permits within a roughly 3-mile radius of airports throughout the state. In Greenville, that would include vast urban areas including much of downtown and busy corridors like Pleasantburg, Verdae, Laurens and Woodruff roads.

The impact could stretch to other urban locales with nearby airports around South Carolina.

The city of Greenville estimated the regulation would require approval by the Aeronautics Commission of more than 4,000 building permits annually. The commission lists a staff of eight people listed on its website.

Gary Siegfried, interim executive director of the commission, sent a letter April 25 requesting to withdraw the regulation so the commission could address the concerns. The letter was addressed to Rep. Jeffrey Bradley, chair of the House Committee for Regulations and Administrative Procedures.

The commission believes there is value in in obtaining a consensus from those entities who have come to the committee most recently with questions and who have not previously availed themselves of a dialogue with the commission to address their interests and concerns, Seigfried wrote. It is our intent to engage with stakeholders over the summer and resubmit these regulations in the fall.

Greenville spokeswoman Beth Brotherton said the city is working directly with the Aeronautics Commission on the regulations.

We are hopeful for a positive outcome for both parties, she said.

In a letter sent to Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Larry Grooms, Greenville County Administrator Joe Kernell urged the regulation be withdrawn and said land-use rules proposed in the regulation could impact the county-led $1 billion redevelopment of County Square.

Any uncertainty related to that project could cost our community thousands of jobs and dramatically reduce the economic impact of the projects at University Ridge, Kernell wrote.

How did we get here?

In 2012, state lawmakers revised the law that governs the Aeronautics Commission. Included in that law are associated land-use and development rules. The law set out a path for the commission to follow  to make maps of public-use airports showing runways, taxiways, approach and departure zones, airport safety zones and airport land-use zones, send those maps to affected local government agencies, and review developments that fall within the various zones.

The Aeronautics Commission created an online mapping system called a Compatible Land Use Evaluation tool, which automates some findings for projects that are compatible or incompatible. Others would be marked conditional by the CLUE tool and would be manually reviewed for approval.

This session, the commission sought to add further guidance under that law by adding a set of regulations. The regulations would have required approval for projects within a roughly 3-mile radius of all public-use airports in the state. The airport commission website lists 70 public airports statewide, including urban airports like Greenvilles and the Donaldson Airport in Greenville County where Lockheed Martin operates, as well as airports in Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Clemson and Rock Hill.

The laws original intent was to maintain functionality and protect its airports from encroachment, providing a safe airspace and landing areas for pilots.

The law and the model for land uses surrounding airports dont provide variation for urban versus rural airports and when put in place in 2012, airports like Greenville Downtown Airport were already out of compliance with the Aeronautics Commission model for areas surrounding airports.

At its core, how Greenville continues to develop the areas surrounding its downtown airport is the genesis of the conflict between the Greenville community and the commission.

The regulations would have given further direction to what is already written in state law. There arent currently any regulations in effect for the Aeronautics Commission, but the law says the commission shall enact regulations to guide its work.

In a brief phone interview, Siegfried said the commission was enabled through state law to create the regulations it did.

Whats next?

In a 2018 study commissioned by the Aeronautics Commission, Greenville Downtown Airport contributed $68 million per year to the local economy. That number is far greater today as airport traffic has jumped to all-time highs, said airport Director James Stephens.

By coincidence, the city of Greenville and the airport have embarked on an airport district planning study to guide future development in the area, Stephens said.

We want the community to know that the airport is part of the community, Stephens said. We dont want to inhibit their growth but we do want to ensure the growth inside the fence and outside the fence is compatible for both long-term.

The downtown airport is the base for 215 aircraft, the most of any airport in the state including the international airports, he said. The airport averages 234 takeoffs or landings per day.

Stephens said he was pleased the city and county have included the airport in its future planning studies and he wanted to ensure the community understood the airports needs to maintain a safe atmosphere for approaching aircraft.

Stephens, a past director of the Aeronautics Commission, said he could not comment on the proposed regulations or negotiations between the city, county and commission due to his prior work at the commission.

From the airports perspective, we are thankful that the dialogue is happening between the state and the city as they manage their growth and look at their future, he said.
Nearly every day, a sexual assault patient comes into the Emergency Room at MUSC Health and is directed back to a carefully designed room to a specially trained nurse. It is there, over the course of hours, that nurse and advocates tend to the patient, document what happened and help them begin to take back control of their lives.

Sexual assault awareness is heightened during April with events like Denim Day, an international event designed to call attention to the prevalence of assault and reject the assumption that wearing certain clothes leads to attacks. It began after the Italian Supreme Court threw out a rape conviction on the grounds the victim wore tight jeans and must have helped her attacker take them off. Women in the Italian Parliament protested the decision the next day by wearing jeans and the outrage spread across the globe. People at MUSC and elsewhere now hang jeans and other clothing items with empowering messages written on them during the event to show support for survivors.

More community education is coming from a new grant to the MUSC National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center and advocacy group Tri-County SPEAKS to launch a Start By Believing campaign. It encourages people to listen when a friend or family member discloses they have been assaulted, to believe them, and to offer help, said Christine Hahn, a clinical psychologist and co-principal investigator on the grant.

"That can go a really long way in helping survivors start to emotionally recover and also help them feel safe to seek help if they want to," she said.

Help often starts in the ER at MUSC. Around 300 times a year, Karen Hughes and other nurses are called back to their room away from the ER to tend to a new patient. Hughes is a sexual assault nurse examiner, a registered nurse who completed a 40-hour course, is certified and works under an experienced nurse to demonstrate competency.

The first thing for Hughes is to build rapport with patients and find out what they need.

"Usually, people come in here and they are asking for help. Sometimes they dont know what kind of help they need," Hughes said.

Her job is to listen and to help them understand that they will be heard and they will control what happens next.

"Just being in this quiet space and allowing them to understand they choose what we do and they decline anything they are not comfortable with and they can change their minds as many times during the exam as they want to," Hughes said.

That can mean taking a medical history and filling out a report from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, although patients are never pressured to report to police, Hughes said.

SLED records those as sexual battery cases, with 2,515 in South Carolina in 2021, virtually the same as the 2,504 in 2020 but down 5.6 percent from 2002. In Charleston County, there were 194 in 2021, with 92 in Berkeley County and 35 in Dorchester County. Greenville County had the most at 297, followed by 277 in Horry County and 218 in Richland County.

But the numbers only tell part of the story. On average, only a third of survivors get an exam and only one in five report it to police, Hahn said. The biggest reason is survivors are afraid no one will believe them or they will be blamed for what happened, she said.

Hughes hears that fear as well and she reassures survivors that will not be the case.

"We just want to make sure a patient is okay and they get the medication and the assistance they need," she said.

The services are free to anyone attacked in South Carolina, Hughes said.

"I would hate for anyone not to come in because they are concerned about a bill," she said.

The clinical exam is actually a relatively short part of the visit, where Hughes carefully collects DNA samples and records injuries. A volunteer from Tri-County SPEAKS is always there to help support the survivor if they want it. The exam kit can be done anonymously and is kept at law enforcement for at least a year in case the survivor has a change of heart later. Even if the survivor doesn't want the exam, they can still get medications to address concerns, such as potential sexually transmitted infections, Hughes said.

The MUSC Crime Victims Center works with Tri-County SPEAKS to also offer services and therapy for survivors. Almost 90 percent have post-traumatic-stress related symptoms afterward, Hahn said. But even if survivors did not seek an exam, they can receive free mental health therapy up to three months afterward and others can get trauma-focused therapy for assaults that happened in the more distant past, she said.

"There are a lot of survivors not getting the help they deserve," Hahn said. "We can do a lot as a community to open up those doors for people."

Ali Rockett contributed to this report.
Sanford Erastus "Sam" Peek, Sr., age 87, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, April 30th, 2023, in Summerville, SC. He enjoyed a long and happy life full of adventure, joy, family, and love. Sam was born to Carl and Delphia Peek on May 17th, 1935, in Franklin, NC. He was raised in the G Read moreObituary Sanford Erastus "Sam" Peek, Sr.
 New progress report details milestones to date under 10-year plan, including: Read moreUSPS Improving Service Reliability, Financial Sustainability in First Two Years of Delivering for America Plan
The Veterans Transformational Learning Initiative is housed on the third floor of Bastin Hall.
I'm hearing about ChatGPT and that many teachers want it banned. Havent we learned its better to embrace technology than banish it? Read moreTeacher to Parent: Limitations of ChatGPT in the classroom
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Azerbaijani police officers have detained persons involved in the propaganda of religious radicalism and other subversive activities in Azerbaijan financed through the sale of drugs, Trend reports.

During a special operation carried out by the police officers, 16 people were detained and handed over to the investigation.

The goal of those who were working for religious-political centers, controlled mainly from Iran, was to make drug addicts and others the instrument of their nefarious intentions.

Their social media accounts contain rather many undeniable facts about this criminal activity. They never denied their radical actions, and followed the "rules" of those whom they considered their "masters" instead the laws of the country of which they are citizens.

Police officers have detained S. Mammadov, R. Rustamov, A. Asadullayev, J. Balashov, V. Punhanaliyev, V. Farzaliyev, T. Gasimov, T. Mirishov, M. Mammadov, M. Ahmadov, I. Hasanov, A. Firudunbayli, M. Fataliyev, M. Rzayev, Sh. Suleymanov, and A. Aliyev.
COLUMBIA  Parents of children 5 and younger in South Carolina can fill out a new online application to simultaneously check their eligibility for taxpayer-funded child care assistance, preschool and other government programs.

The May 1 launch of the common application on first5sc.org was celebrated by state agency leaders and early childhood advocates as providing families an easier, quicker way to access services that enable parents to work and children to succeed.

Instead of filling out separate, often lengthy forms  sometimes needing to do so in person during business hours  parents can securely submit information once that will automatically fill out applications across state government.

It's a first-of-its-kind resource nationwide that will "break down the barriers that have historically prevented some families from accessing the services they need to thrive," said Georgia Mjartan, executive director of South Carolina First Steps and the Early Childhood Advisory Council.

"This is a game changer for families," she said, adding that leaders in other states have already invited South Carolina's team to teach them how it's done.

The website first5sc.org initially launched in February 2022 as a single place to learn about early childhood programs and an interactive eligibility screener for 44 programs.

Katie Hagan of Columbia said the website is where she found connections for her 2-year-old daughter, who was diagnosed conclusively with hearing loss at 5 months and is now a "thriving, happy little girl" with hearing aids.

"First 5 was really helpful as one site where I could go through and see what she was eligible for," she said. "That was super helpful and comforting to see I wasn't missing anything."

Still, without the common application, agency forms themselves needed to be handled separately. So far, the application covers 29 programs on the site.

"Our job as the government is to make it easier for the public to access services to make sure they are supported, and this takes it to another level," said Michael Leach, director of the state Department of Social Services.

For example, it's estimated that less than half of pregnant women and new moms in South Carolina eligible for the Women Infants and Children Nutrition Program, known as WIC, are participating, said Beverly Brockington, the assistant WIC director in the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"Despite known demonstrated benefits, too few of those eligible participate," she said of the program that provides breastfeeding support, immunization screening and money for healthy food. "We will see an increase in participation."

The website offers "a one-stop shop for resources," she continued. "Families are busy. This allows families to maximize their time  and sometimes gas  and connect to all the services available for their children."

Other programs the form will determine eligibility for include Medicaid health insurance, BabyNet for infants with special needs, food benefits, mental health services and various parenting classes.

Jack McBride, founder and CEO of cleaning products supplier Contec, said he intends to promote the website and common application to his employees. Many are probably eligible but either don't know the programs exist or don't have time to fill out multiple applications.

The common online application means employees won't have to miss work to fill out and turn in forms. It will also help the unemployed join the work force, said McBride, who's also on the board of Council for a Strong America, Ready Nation and the Mary Black Foundation.

He noted his Spartanburg company has consistently had more than 30 vacancies for several years.

"If people are spending all their time trying to get these social services, they cant take a job necessarily," he said. The single application is "really a win, win, win, using technology to make things easier on families who are struggling."

Development of the website and common application was funded by a three-year federal grant, which expired last week, Mjartan said.

She has asked legislators for $850,000 through the state budget to expand on the website's capabilities and continue collaborations through the Early Childhood Advisory Council, which was officially created by state law in 2014 but unfunded and defunct.

The budget package passed by the Senate funded the full request. The House put in $700,000. The difference will be part of budget negotiations for the fiscal year starting July 1.
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FLORHAM PARK, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / "Chicago is my kind of town," serenaded Frank Sinatra in the iconic song "My Kind of Town (Chicago is)." This year Salonpas is calling Chicago its "kind of town" with Salonpas Day, recognized every year on May 18th as a day celebrating freedom from pain, at Chicago's Maggie Daley Park."Chicago's raz-ma-taz' ensures that it is one town that won't let you down,'" says John Incledon, President, Hisamitsu America, the marketers of Salonpas, the world's number one OTC pain patch brand. "Delivering pain relief directly to people on Salonpas Day is a proud tradition in the United States and across the world and we are excited to bring pain relief directly to the hard-working people of Chicago." Brand ambassadors from Hisamitsu America will be distributing the Salonpas Lidocaine Flex Patch (while supplies last) at Maggie Daley Park from 11:30 am to 4 pm CT. The unscented Salonpas Lidocaine Flex Patch provides the maximum OTC strength 4% lidocaine available without a prescription in a thin, flexible, highly adhesive patch that contours to the body.Mirroring the flexibility of the Salonpas Lidocaine Flex patch will be Duo Refraction, a Chicago based circus duo who will be demonstrating their flexibility with duo acrobatics and juggling performances at the park."Salonpas Day represents a day free from pain and it is important that people experience that pain relief safely," adds Incledon. "We are happy that Topical First' is increasingly accepted by the medical community as the first-line of treatment to safely treat pain and that the Salonpas line of products are part of their recommended treatment plan for patients." In concert with an active sampling awareness program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Hisamitsu America will be offering 50,000 1 ct. free samples of the Salonpas Lidocaine Flex Patch at TrySalonpas.com while supplies last.Since its formation, the company mission of Hisamitsu is to improve the quality of life for people around the world through R&D, manufacturing and the sale of transdermal, i.e., topical products. Hisamitsu's culture focuses on spreading compassionate consideration to others. Salonpas Day falls on May 18th (05/18) each year because "Kori wo Iyasu," which translates to "relieve stiffness" in Japanese, also contains references to the numbers 5, 1, and 8.About Hisamitsu America:Hisamitsu America is the US division of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., founded in 1847, which has specialized in transdermal drug delivery system technology since the introduction of its Salonpas line of patches in 1934. The Salonpas product line, which gained early acceptance in Asia and is now registered in over 30 countries, has pioneered the development of transdermal patches to relieve pain. Since 2010, Salonpas has become one of the fastest growing OTC brands in the USA. Salonpas became the most popular pain relief brand on Facebook in 2020. For more information, https://us.hisamitsu/ Media Contact: Nancy Thompson, Vorticom, Inc. 212.532.2208 (o), 917.371.4053 (m); nancyt@ vorticom.com SOURCE: Hisamitsu America
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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP ( www.ktmc.com) informs investors that securities class action complaints have been filed against Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse") (NYSE:CS). The complaints charge Credit Suisse with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Credit Suisse's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Credit Suisse's investors have suffered significant losses.CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CREDIT SUISSE LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/credit-suisse-group-ag?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=cs&mktm=r CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO? PLEASE CLICK HERELEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: MAY 8, 2023CLASS PERIOD: FEBRUARY 18, 2021 THROUGH MARCH 20, 2023CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ ktmc.com Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.CREDIT SUISSE'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCTIn 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 March 10, 2022, Credit Suisse filed with the SEC its 2021 annual report on a Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021. The 2021 annual report failed to identify any material weaknesses with Credit Suisse's internal controls.On December 1, 2022, Credit Suisse's Chairman, Axel P. Lehmann ("Lehmann") stated in an interview with Financial Times that customer outflows had not only "completely flattened out," but had, in fact, "partially reversed." The following day, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Lehmann reiterated his previous statements, reassuring investors that as of November 11, 2022, customer outflows had "basically stopped." Following Lehmann's statements, Credit Suisse's ADS price rose $0.29 per ADS, or 9.36%, to close at $3.38 per ADS on December 2, 2022.Then on February 9, 2023, Credit Suisse issued a press release announcing its 2022 financial results. The press release revealed that, contrary to Lehmann's prior statements, large customer outflows had continued through year-end 2022. Specifically, the press release reported customer outflows of 110.5 billion Swiss francs in the final three months of 2022, a figure which far exceeded market expectations. Following this news, Credit Suisse's ADS price fell $0.56 per ADS, or 15.64%, to close at $3.02 per ADS on February 9, 2023.On February 21, 2023, Reuters reported that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority was reviewing Lehmann's previous comments regarding customer outflows. Following this news, Credit Suisse's ADS price fell another $0.10 per ADS, or 3.31%, to close at $2.92 per ADS on February 21, 2023.Then on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, Credit Suisse issued its annual 2022 report and revealed that it had identified "certain material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting" for the years 2021 and 2022. Additionally, on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, the chairman of Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, which holds 9.88% of Credit Suisse, announced that it won't provide further financial support to Credit Suisse and that it would not buy more shares on regulatory grounds.Following this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADSs fell 13.94% to close at $2.16 per ADS on March 15, 2023.Finally, on March 20, 2023, Credit Suisse issued an announcement on Form 6-K of its merger agreement with Union Bank of Switzerland and that Union Bank of Switzerland would be the surviving entity upon closing of the merger transaction.Following this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADSs fell 52.99% to close at $0.9450 per ADS on March 20, 2023.WHAT CAN I DO?Credit Suisse investors may, no later than May 8, 2023, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Credit Suisse investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The first class action complaint against Credit Suisse, Calhoun v. Credit Suisse Group AG, et al. Case No. 23-cv-01297, is filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Karen McGlashan Williams.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASEWHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLPKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaints were not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com CONTACT:Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPJonathan Naji, Esq.280 King of Prussia RoadRadnor, PA 19087(484) 270-1453info@ ktmc.com
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VALLEY COTTAGE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / CreditRiskMonitor (OTCQX:CRMZ) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Michael Flum, the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer, as CreditRiskMonitor's next Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Flum will assume leadership of the Company effective May 1st, 2023. In addition to his appointment as CEO, he will retain the position of President.The announcement culminates an orderly succession plan by the Board of Directors that accommodates Jerry Flum's decision to take a step back from day-to-day management responsibilities after more than 24 years as CEO and Chairman. Jerry Flum will remain involved in the management of the Company as Executive Chairman and stand for re-election to the Board as Chairman.Jerry Flum said, "Mike is a talented operator who combines an engineering mindset with entrepreneurial creativity to effectively drive our business, strategy, and operations for the past 5 years. I am happy that our Board endorsed my recommendation that he succeed me and continue to be the driving force behind CreditRiskMonitor for years to come. Since he joined the Company in June 2018, Mike has effectively navigated taking on more responsibilities and proven his leadership in numerous high stress and complicated business situations. His attention to detail, breadth of skills, hardworking mentality, and commitment to ethical business practices have won him the trust of our employees, senior management, and Directors. As my son, we were both keen to ensure that he was never given any special treatment and that he earned his role in our leadership on his own merit. I am confident that under Mike's direction, CreditRiskMonitor will continue its march to greater revenue and profitability while delivering value in excess of cost to our subscribers.Michael commented, "I am honored by the Board's decision and am excited to be leading CreditRiskMonitor as we enter our second quarter century of operations. We have an amazing business with a stellar team that provides meaningful solutions to our customers and is well positioned to continue our reputation as a trusted brand in B2B financial risk analysis. I look forward to continuing Jerry's legacy with a focus on maintaining the family business feel of the Company while doubling down on technological innovation and expanding into new verticals like supply chain management and sales & marketing data. We are all deeply grateful to Jerry for his vision and leadership since founding the Company in 1998 and his commitment to ensuring the stability of the business for our employees, customers, and shareholders. We look forward to his continued contributions as Executive Chairman." Michael Flum BackgroundMichael Flum, 36, joined the Company in June 2018 as Vice President of Operations & Alternative Data. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in October 2019 and subsequently President in October 2020. He is responsible for operational strategy and implementation of processes to improve the efficiency of human capital and company performance.Prior to joining CreditRiskMonitor, Mr. Flum served as Vice President of Operations at Gullett & Associates, Inc., a Houston-based midstream oil & gas survey and drafting firm from 2016-2017. Mr. Flum held various engineering and project management roles at Enterprise Products Partners, a Houston-based midstream oil & gas owner/operator from 2009 to 2016. During his time in the energy sector, Mr. Flum managed the completion of pipeline and plant projects totaling more than $1.3 billion. Mr. Flum holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School as well as a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Rice University.OverviewCreditRiskMonitor ( creditriskmonitor.com) sells a suite of web-based, SaaS subscription products providing access to comprehensive commercial credit reports, bankruptcy risk analytics, financial and payment information, and curated news on public and private companies worldwide. The products help corporate credit and supply chain professionals stay ahead of and manage financial risk more quickly, accurately, and cost-effectively.The Company's newest platform, SupplyChainMonitor, leverages its financial risk analytics expertise to create a risk management solution built specifically for procurement, supply chain, sourcing, and finance personnel involved in the supplier lifecycle, risk assessment, and ongoing risk monitoring. Users can assess counterparty risks at the aggregate and granular levels under a variety of categories including geography and industry, as well as customized, customer-specific configurations. The platform features mapping capabilities with real-time weather/natural disaster event overlays as well as customizable news notifications, reports, and charts.Our subscribers, including nearly 40% of the Fortune 1000 and well over a thousand other large corporations worldwide, use the Company's timely news alerts, research, and reports on public and private companies to make important risk decisions. The Company's comprehensive commercial credit reports covering both public and private companies worldwide are published through its web-based platforms and feature detailed analyses of financial statements, including ratio analysis and trend reports, peer analysis, corporate issuer ratings from key Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations ("NRSROs"), as well as the Company's proprietary bankruptcy analytics: the FRISK and PAYCE scores. One of the FRISK scoring model's exclusive input features is the aggregate risk sentiment of our subscribers based on their crowdsourced usage behaviors resulting in the improved classification of bankruptcy risk for the riskiest corporations and boosting overall accuracy.The Company, through its Trade Contributor Program, receives confidential accounts receivables data from hundreds of subscribers and non-subscribers every month. This trade receivable data is parsed, processed, aggregated, and finally reported to summarize the invoice payment behavior of B2B counterparties, without disclosing the specific contributors of this information. The Trade Contributor Program's current trade credit file processes nearly $3 trillion of transaction data annually.Safe Harbor StatementCertain statements in this press release, including statements prefaced by the words "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "expects" or words of similar meaning, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks%
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WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Today, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, Diabetes Leadership Council, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, and three patients filed their reply in support of their motion for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in their ongoing lawsuit against copay accumulators.The suit challenges HHS's 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters rule, which permits insurance plans to refuse to credit copay assistance from drug manufacturers toward beneficiaries' deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.In defending the rule allowing copay accumulators, HHS claims that the federal government did not actually do anything when it issued the 2021 NBPP on copay accumulators. Even though the rule amended the regulation to explicitly allow accumulators, the federal government contends that since manufacturer copay assistance amounts "are not required to be . . . counted," the agencies' action is actually a "decision not to set definitive standards in this area."As a result, HHS argues that not only is this lawsuit not justiciable, but the challenges should fail on the merits as well.In their reply, the patient groups argue that the federal government's claim is meritless. Under a previous rule, any insurer that refused to credit copay assistance toward patients' cost-sharing obligations when there was no generic alternative available was in violation of federal law. The 2021 NBPP eliminated this regulation. The plaintiffs thus contend that the rule clearly set a new legal standard for copay assistance."Copay accumulator programs are manifestly unlawful and endanger millions of people living with HIV, hepatitis, and other chronic conditions who rely on copay assistance to afford their medicines," said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. "Instead of engaging the substance of our case, the government is making the bizarre claim that the rule which expressly allows copay accumulators did not materially change the status quo." The plaintiffs argue that the 2021 NBPP violates the Affordable Care Act's limits on cost-sharing by allowing insurers to collect more money from patients than they are legally permitted. They also contend that the rule is arbitrary and capricious.Copay accumulator adjustment programs have proliferated in recent years. According to a recent Drug Channels analysis, the programs were available or implemented in commercial plan designs for 89% of covered lives in 2022-up from 44% in 2018."As long as a patient is meeting his or her cost-sharing obligations, it shouldn't matter where the funds are coming from,"said George Huntley, CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council and the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition. "It's especially troubling that HHS continues to defend insurers and pharmacy benefit managers' abusive practices when one-quarter of Americans -- including many with diabetes -- are struggling to afford their medications."By exposing the weakness of the federal government's case, we hope to secure a ruling that delivers justice for millions of patients nationwide," Huntley said.The federal government has thus far refused to reverse the 2021 NBPP. But 17 states and Puerto Rico have passed laws requiring insurance plans to count copay assistance toward patients' out-of-pocket obligations. Similar bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress.The government is expected to file its final brief by May 22, and oral arguments, if requested by the judge, would occur after that.Paul Hughes of McDermott Will & Emery LLP represents the three patient groups as well as the individual patient plaintiffs.###Helpful Links to Litigation MaterialsPlaintiffs' reply in support of their motion for summary judgment (May 1, 2023)Amicus brief-- Aimed Alliance -- Aimed Alliance & 28 Patient GroupsAll Briefs & FilingsAbout the HIV+Hepatitis Policy InstituteThe HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute is a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.About the Diabetes Leadership CouncilThe Diabetes Leadership Council is a 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organization comprised of individuals with decades of diabetes experience and leadership to advance patients-first policies at the local, state and national levels. We are people with diabetes, parents of children with diabetes, allies and tireless volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of all people impacted by this condition. Our members - all former leaders of national diabetes organizations - engage policymakers, and public and private sector influencers to call attention to the diabetes epidemic and provide a voice for 37 million Americans living with diabetes.About the Diabetes Patient Advocacy CoalitionThe Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC), a 501(c)4 organization, is a grassroots alliance of thousands of people with diabetes, caregivers, patient advocates, health professionals, disease organizations and companies working collaboratively to promote and support public policy initiatives to improve the health of people with diabetes.Contact:Sam Kuhns(202) 516-6532skuhns@ keybridge.biz Durin Hendricksmedia@ diabetesleadership.org Jennifer Burkejburke@ hivhep.org (301) 801-9847SOURCE: HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.International Girls in ICT Day is a global movement encouraging girls and young women to pursue science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) education and careers.Cisco hosts events through our Women Rock-IT program, which began in 2014 and has seen more than two million participants, with over half enrolling in one of our Cisco Networking Academy courses as a result.Join us on April 27 to hear from women who are working on critical environmental issues like climate change and learn how developing digital skills now can help protect our planet!This is a guest blog from Dr Pandora Hope, a Principal Climate Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia, and one of six guest speakers on Girls in ICT Day. Dr Hope will discuss how climate data reveals the human influence on our extreme weather and share her passion for climate knowledge, the outdoors and her expertise in climate models.Starting outI studied science and mathematics at school and university. The options were wide - I could study biology, physics, chemistry, psychology - and I did. I was interested in how our bodies worked, so I majored in physiology. Still, something was missing. I missed maths. So the next year, I also majored in applied mathematics. And I discovered maths that could be applied to the real world - how fluid flows, and long equations that could describe our weather.During my Honours year my supervisor introduced me to the world of climate studies - how can we integrate weather systems together to reveal underlying patterns over the whole Southern Hemisphere? What did those patterns look like in the 1950s? What do they look like now? The study required huge amounts of data from weather stations, and statistics and coding. My Honours thesis was titled "Variability of the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation", and my Ph.D in 2005 was titled "The weather and climate of Australia at the Last Glacial Maximum".CodingIn first year University we all learnt Fortran. And everyone failed the test. I was astonished that everyone (including me) just didn't "get it". But somehow over time, as I used coding in my assignments and for my Honours research project, something clicked. Then I couldn't understand how anyone could not "get it". It was just there, as obvious as reading.Years later, I was reminded of my process of learning coding as I watched my children learn to read. At first it was impenetrable. Then, they just "got it".When I reflect on the skills I've used to do what I do, I wonder how these will change over the coming years?Early careerI loved thinking of ways to code up solutions to novel questions, interrogating data to explore the signals that we might draw from it. Really figuring out what was going on by combining those answers with my understanding of weather systems and the large-scale transfer of heat from the tropics to the poles.In my first job after university undergraduate studies, I was given the opportunity to play with a general circulation model - otherwise known as a global climate model. It was a huge computer program that created weather by solving the equations of motion of air around the globe, and parameterising processes like clouds and rainfall. Fun things I did included:Doubling the number of vertical levels up through the atmosphere (and crashed the model - clouds are tricky!).Adding a dune-building module to compare with the fixed dunes of Australia, which are indicators of past winds.Adding an enormous permanent lake into the arid centre of Australia.Blocking evaporation over parts of the ocean to see where our rain derived its water from.Altering the temperature gradients across the tropical Pacific Ocean and moved the winds over Australia north or south.Trying to grab as many nodes on the university's supercomputer as I could. Sometimes at 2 o'clock in the morning.Building my passionAs fun as it is to "play" in a virtual world, I began to realise that my work had real-world applications in the here and now. Results from my work could help guide policy and make Australia a better place.When I started work at the Bureau of Meteorology, I was very keen to be part of an operational institution, working with real-life people who had real-life concerns - like running out of water. I worked closely with government departments across southern Australia - where a drying signal emerged in the late 1960s in the west and the late 1990s in the east - to help them understand why, and whether the wet years would return.RecognitionAlong the way, I have been recognized for my efforts - usually as a part of a much larger group. As an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author, IPCC was the co-laureate of the 2022 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. Also, the Victorian Climate Initiative received the Australian Water Association Research Innovation Award (Victoria) in 2019, where I was a key lead.I received a Bureau of Meteorology Australia Day Achievement Medallion in 2018 for outstanding leadership of major projects and representation of the Bureau and Australia at significant national and international forums. And I also received a Bureau of Meteorology Community Award - Positive Working Culture, State of the Climate co-editor 2016.Interacting with other people in the climate and weather community was a big part of my education - I was a Committee Member for "Women in Australian Weather and Climate Research" from 2013 to 2019. And Chair of Melbourne Centre of Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) and Member of AMOS National Council from 2003 to 2005 - despite one member saying I couldn't be, because I was too young. I initiated and edited the AMOS policy on global warming during that time.NowI now work as a Principal Climate Scientist at The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia, which provides daily weather forecasts and multi-week to seasonal forecasts every two days. For research, we have access to major super-computing infrastructures where we can run global forecast experiments to understand the impacts of climate change on extreme weather events.Working with the IPCC, I trust that my sharing of how we can quantify the human influence on climate trends and extremes will continue to help guide policy on the world stage and make the world a better place.View original content here.View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc Email: info@3 blmedia.com %0
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Home Services Leader adds Window Gang to its franchise lineupCHARLOTTESVILLE, VA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Premium Service Brands (PSB), the leader in home services franchise opportunities, is excited to announce the acquisition of Window Gang, an exterior cleaning franchise.Tim McCullen founded Window Gang in 1986 in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The company specializes in environmentally friendly exterior cleaning services for residential and commercial customers. Serving 1,600 cities across the U.S., Window Gang offers professional window cleaning, pressure washing, soft washing, and gutter cleaning. The company's wash and wax strategy helps prevent streaks and repels dirt, dust, and pollen."Tim McCullen has a strong character and integrity. Under his leadership, Window Gang built a system of long-standing and high-performing franchise partners," said Paul Flick, PSB's CEO. "Window Gang is an optimal addition to our lineup and leverages the same end-user as our existing brands." PSB franchises nine home services brands, including Renew Crew, a pressure washing and outdoor surface renewal company. PSB's existing Renew Crew franchises will rebrand under the Window Gang name as part of the deal. McCullen will continue to lead the Window Gang team indefinitely."I'm pleased to join the Premium Service Brands family. I look forward to this new partnership taking Window Gang to the next level," McCullen said. "Window Gang is a superior opportunity for franchise owners who want to grow their business by adding additional brands with recurring services." For more information on Window Gang, visit www.windowgang.com . Visit the Premium Service Brand's websiteat: www.premiumservicebrands.com to learn more about franchising.###ABOUT PREMIUM SERVICE BRANDS:Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., Premium Service Brands (PSB) is a leader in home services franchise opportunities. PSB provides services to an ever-expanding customer base by building meaningful connections and creating lifelong customers. The company's lineup of niche home services brands includes 360 Painting, Maid Right, ProLift Garage Doors, Kitchen Wise & Closet Wise, Renew Crew, Rubbish Works Junk Removal, The Grout Medic, House Doctors, and RooterMan. To get started building a new future with a franchise of your own, visit www.premiumservicebrands.com For Immediate Release:Media Contact:Jacque Massejmasse@919 marketing.com SOURCE: Premium Service Brands
Details added: first version posted on 20:37

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Azerbaijani police officers have detained persons involved in the propaganda of religious radicalism and other subversive activities in Azerbaijan financed through the sale of drugs, Trend reports.

During a special operation carried out by the police officers, 16 people were detained and handed over to the investigation.

The goal of those who were working for religious-political centers, controlled mainly from Iran, was to make drug addicts and others the instrument of their nefarious intentions.

Their social media accounts contain rather many undeniable facts about this criminal activity. They never denied their radical actions, and followed the "rules" of those whom they considered their "masters" instead the laws of the country of which they are citizens.

Police officers have detained S. Mammadov, R. Rustamov, A. Asadullayev, J. Balashov, V. Punhanaliyev, V. Farzaliyev, T. Gasimov, T. Mirishov, M. Mammadov, M. Ahmadov, I. Hasanov, A. Firudunbayli, M. Fataliyev, M. Rzayev, Sh. Suleymanov, and A. Aliyev.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Q Battery Metals Corp. ("Q Battery Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:QMET)(Frankfurt:0NB)(OTC:BTKRF) is pleased to announce that they have contracted Maxima Resources Inc. ("Maxima") to complete exploration programs on the Pegalith and La Corne South projects, both located in Quebec, Canada.Maxima Resources Inc is a well-known Quebec-based exploration company that is led by experienced prospector Michel Belisle, working in conjunction with OGQ qualified geologists. All work will be verified by a qualified professional. The Maxima team has over 25 years of experience in mineral exploration and development, including prospecting and sampling pegmatites. The team is familiar with the geologic settings and areas of mineralization found within Quebec.The Pegalith Project contains strong geological and mineralogical indicators for lithium potential. The mineral claims cover a total of 1,409 hectares (Ha) located within 25 kilometers north of Gatineau, Quebec. The claims now cover or are in close proximity to 12 historic showings where small-scale mining was undertaken in the early 1900's to extract coarse-grained feldspar, quartz and mica as industrial minerals. Several of the mines also extracted apatite, tourmaline, sphene and titanite. The geologic summary for these historic mines indicate that the main lithology is pegmatite or other intrusive rocks (see Q Battery News Release dated March 12, 2023). The Phase I work program to be undertaken by Maxima Resources will include locating and sampling as many of the historically documented pegmatite showings as possible, to assess the lithium potential of those showings. The start of the sampling program is estimated to begin within the next two weeks.Following completion of the Pegalith Phase I program, the Maxima team will move to the La Corne South project. The La Corne South project includes potential for multi-element massive sulphide mineralization as well as hosting lithium-bearing pegmatites. Q Battery Metals has just recently completed a drone-supported high-resolution magnetics survey which is intended to assist in locating pegmatite bodies (as magnetic lows) and pyrrhotite-bearing massive sulphide bodies (magnetic highs). The Maxima team will follow-up on targets produced from the magnetics while locating and sampling any outcrops that are found in those target areas. Follow-up of previous sampling that returned elevated lithium will also be undertaken (see Q Battery News Release dated March 7, 2023). Soil sampling will be planned to cover the most prospective areas derived from the geophysics and follow-up prospecting. Q Battery currently has a permit in place for drill testing massive sulphide targets produced from work completed in 2021-2022, which included deep penetrating EM surveying and surface rock sampling. With the new prospect of lithium in pegmatites, the Q Battery Metals team will re-examine the drill targets, with possible diamond drilling of both VMS and Pegmatite targets in the summer and fall of 2023.The Q Battery exploration programs in Quebec are supervised by Dr. Mathieu Piche, OGQ, who is also a Q Battery company director.Cautionary StatementThis press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. 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 exploration and development; the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing; the Company's limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; fluctuations in the prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Prospectus dated September 8, 2017 available on www.sedar.com . Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions, and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.On behalf of the Board of DirectorsRichard PennCEO(778) 384-8923SOURCE: Q Battery Metals Corp.
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Sandline will showcase Everlaw capabilities for legal teams at the Legal Revolution Conference in Nuremberg on May 3 and 4, with an interactive workshop on the platform.FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Sandline Global, a premier eDiscovery, iManage and Litera service provider with primary offices in Frankfurt, Germany, and New York, announced today it has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership to bring Everlaw's cloud-based service eDiscovery platform to Germany and the wider European market. The agreement enables Sandline to provide its best-in-class services to legal teams, law firms and corporations in Germany with Everlaw's state-of-the-art technology, rich collaboration features, advanced AI and a modern, intuitive interface for efficient and effective eDiscovery.Sandline GlobalSandline Global Logo"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Everlaw to serve our law firm and corporate clients in Europe," said Ralf Kaiser, CTO of Sandline Global. "We look forward to educating the European market on the combined Everlaw-Sandline service offering. And to provide a more comprehensive and streamlined approach to eDiscovery. As a local German team, we help clients navigate the complexities of the German eDiscovery market." As regulators in Germany and the EU continue to ramp up new policies and GDPR requirements, legal teams are looking to shore up their privacy, security and compliance stance for litigation and investigations. Legal teams need to be agile and move quickly in order to efficiently and accurately uncover the evidence needed to argue and win cases, but legacy tools based on hosted services and manual processes hold them back."As the eDiscovery landscape in Germany becomes more complex with new regulations, Sandline's expertise plays a critical role in bridging the gap with needed staffing, skills and project management," said Rich Liu, chief revenue officer at Everlaw. "Legal teams will benefit from an all-in-one eDiscovery service on a cloud-native platform with expertise from a trusted partner who knows the local market. This partnership ensures game-changing outcomes to chart a straighter and more secure path to the truth." The combined strengths of Sandline Global and Everlaw, along with their successful track record in supporting United States clients, creates a unique and unparalleled offering for European clients.On May 3rd and 4th, Sandline Global will showcase Everlaw capabilities at the Legal Revolution Conference in Nuremberg, Germany, with an interactive workshop on the Everlaw platform.About Sandline:Sandline Global is a premier litigation support and eDiscovery service provider, supporting legal teams in the United States and globally. Sandline specializes in delivering innovative digital evidence solutions with exceptional, high-touch service. With Sandline's global network of offices and data centers in Frankfurt, Washington D.C., New York City, Taipei, Dubai and Karachi, the firm utilizes best-of-breed technology, custom workflows, and deep industry experience to support complex investigations and litigation matters. In addition to providing forensics, eDiscovery and document review services, Sandline also designs and supports iManage deployments for law firms and legal departments. Learn more: https://www.sandlineglobal.com About EverlawEverlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex eDiscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth. Trusted by Fortune 100 corporate counsel, 91 of the Am Law 200, and all 50 state attorneys general, Everlaw's combination of intuitive experience, advanced technology, and partnership with customers empowers organizations to tackle the most pressing technological challenges-and transform their approach to discovery and litigation in the process. Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif., Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and TPG Growth. Learn more: https://www.everlaw.com Contact InformationCara LemireVP of Sales & Marketingclemire@ sandlineglobal.com (703) 520-1001Colleen Haikespress@ everlaw.com SOURCE: Sandline Global
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California's notorious barbecue is 'steaking' its claim as the West's best barbecue, inviting others to experience Sizzle CentralSANTA MARIA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Big, bold and ready to showdown and throwdown - this is Sizzle Central. A 30-mile stretch of California's Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley and its expert Santa Maria Style pit masters are prepped and ready to share their expert flavor (and hot takes) with the rest of the world. In honor of National Barbecue Month, Santa Maria Valley will transform into Sizzle Central, an unscripted, spicy and unexpected celebration of all things Santa Maria Style barbecue and is guaranteed to make the culinary world take notice.Santa Maria Valley is Sizzle CentralSanta Maria Style put West Coast barbecue on the map 150 years ago. Now, Santa Maria Valley is 'steaking' its claim. Tune in, follow along, and come see how this slice of California's Central Coast celebrates Barbecue Month, #SantaMariaStyle.No soggy bottoms.Sauce is out, spice is in, and Santa Maria Valley is entering the chat with tips on how to grill Santa Maria Style. Santa Maria Valley will be calling out barbecue techniques via its social media channels, challenging the status quo and even offering grilling tips in a Home Chef Throwdown, where anyone can upload their personal barbecue "how tos" to Instagram and/or TikTok tagging @SantaMariaValley and using #SizzleCentral hashtag.To kick things off, Santa Maria Valley is sharing just what you need to get started. An updated Santa Maria Style Cookbook is available to download for free and is full of Santa Maria Style recipes and tips.Tri-tip + wine country = A match made in heaven. Sip on that, Texas.So, what sets Santa Maria Style barbecue apart from the rest? (There is no competition as far as Santa Maria Valley is concerned.) Here at Sizzle Central, barbecue isn't a smoke show, rather, it's a spiced-up, red-oak-fired, perfectly wine-paired flavor found in a foodie's dream destination."Santa Maria Style barbecue is in a category of its own compared to other styles of barbecue because of how we cook the meats," said Jaime Flores, Santa Maria Valley pitmaster and founder of the Santa Maria Barbecue Festival. "We cook on an open pit and control the heat by raising and lowering our grill. This open pit style allows the meats to cook evenly and the red oak smoke flavors the meats, which are seasoned with a dry seasoning usually consisting of salt, pepper and garlic. With these attributes to our style, there is no reason to sauce the meat." Each year, hundreds of people gather in mid-May (May 13, this year) for the annual Santa Maria Barbecue Festival, a celebration of grilling Santa Maria Style. The cornerstone of the event is a professional competition with local celebrity judges that vote on the Best Barbecue in Santa Maria Valley as local businesses and professionals compete for bragging rights and the first-place Branding Iron award. There is also a separate competition for "best backyard cook." "The differences between East, West, North and South vary greatly," said Anthony Minniti, Santa Maria Valley pitmaster. "Each style differs in cooking time, temperature, rub or no rub, and, when applicable, the sauce. I love them all, however, I think Santa Maria Style is the purest form of barbecue because of its balance and simplicity." Santa Maria Style barbecue started in the mid-19th century when the rancheros gathered to help each other brand their calves each spring. As a thank-you to fellow vaqueros - America's first cowboys - the host would prepare a Spanish-style barbecue, consisting of beef barbecued over a red-oak fire, served with Pinquito beans, bread, salsa and homemade desserts. The region's flagship varieties also pair perfectly with barbecue - cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah - all "bold but gentle" and paired perfectly with barbecue.So, what are you waiting for? Come to Sizzle Central (whether in person or at home) and experience Santa Maria Style barbecue either for the first time or again and again. Of course, there's no better way than to get the complete Santa Maria Style experience than in person. With 15 beaches and 34 tasting rooms all within a 30-minute drive, Santa Maria Valley is the perfect home base to do more for less. Explore all you can do in and around the valley. For more information, visit santamariavalley.com Media Note: Media interested in speaking with a pitmaster, joining the Home Chef Throwdown or experiencing the region to check out all its flavors, please email nicole.shearer@kps3.com . Media Familiarization Tours are available for interested media on assignment.Photo Cutline: This May (aka National Barbecue Month), Santa Maria Valley is Sizzle Central. A variety of multimedia and photo assets are available for download and media use.About Santa Maria Valley:Serving the greater Santa Maria Valley in the heart of California's Central Coast, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau is a nonprofit association that facilitates local tourism and provides information on the region's many attractions and visitor services. Famed for its fine wines, natural wonders, agricultural heritage and flavorful barbecue, the Santa Maria Valley offers a broad range of cultural, sporting and historical experiences. For details on Santa Maria Valley lodging, wine tasting, travel deals and e-newsletter alerts, visit santamariavalley.com or call (800) 331-3779.Contact InformationNicole ShearerDirector of Public Relations530-448-6485SOURCE: Santa Maria Valley
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The future's looking modern and bright for The Polo Club. Innovation, design, and advancing the community together is what this renovation project is all about.BOCA RATON, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / The Polo Club is excited to announce a major renovation project that will bring innovation, design, and a fresh new look to the community. The Master Plan includes over 100,000 square feet of architecture and interior design updates and additions to the Clubhouse, with work expected to begin in Summer 2023.The Polo Club Renovation Logo "We are thrilled to unveil our plans for The Polo Club's renovation project," said a representative for The Polo Club. "Our community has always been a vibrant and dynamic place to live, and we believe that these renovations will take us to the next level. We look forward to working with our partners to bring these dreams to reality." This project will be led by Jesse S. Sukhu, Senior Project Manager at Gaudet Associates, Inc., an NV5 company, serving as the owner's representative for the project. Sukhu has extensive experience in construction management and has overseen many high-profile projects in the South Florida area.The architectural team for the project will be led by Brian Idle of Peacock + Lewis, a hospitality and club amenities design firm with a rich history of creating transformative outcomes for their clients. Blaise McGinley and Laura Marcovich will serve as the architects on the project, and Jeannine Rohtla will be the interior designer. Peacock + Lewis has a strong track record of creating customized, noteworthy, and award-winning solutions that fit each client's unique requirements.The renovation project will be carried out by Proctor Construction Company, a company founded on the belief that integrity, honesty, quality, and dedication to clients, as well as a commitment to community service, would make the company stand apart from the rest. The company has established a strong record of on-time delivery and cost-effective performance, and their fundamental belief that their most important asset is their people creates the conviction that they don't just build buildings, they build relationships.The Polo Club is excited to work with such a talented team of professionals to bring this project to fruition. Stay tuned for more updates as the renovation project progresses.For more information, please visit The Polo Club of Boca Raton website or contact the Club directly.Contact InformationLaura OrtinoDirector of Sales & Marketinglaurao@ poloclub.net 561.995.1206SOURCE: The Polo Club of Boca Raton
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ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Thunderbird Resorts Inc. ("Thunderbird") (FSE:4TR)(Euronext:TBIRD) is pleased to announce that its 2022 Annual Report and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements have been filed with the Euronext ("Euronext Amsterdam") and the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets ("AFM"). As a Designated Foreign Issuer with respect to Canadian securities regulations, the Annual Report is intended to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by the AFM and the Euronext Amsterdam. Copies of the Annual Report in the English language will be available at no cost at the Group's website at www.thunderbirdresorts.com . Copies in the English language are available at no cost at the Group's operational office in Panama and at the offices of our local paying agent ING Commercial Banking, Paying Agency Services, Location Code TRC 01.013, Foppingadreef 7, 1102 BD Amsterdam, the Netherlands (tel: +31 20 563 6619, fax: +31 20 563 6959, email: iss.pas@ing.nl) . Copies are also available on SEDAR at www.SEDAR.com . Below are certain material excerpts from the full 2022 Annual Report the entirety of which can be found on our website at www.thunderbirdresorts.com LETTER FROM CEODear Shareholders and Investors:The below summarizes the Group's performance through December 31, 2022.1. CHANGES IN PERFORMANCE IN 2022In summary, Group revenue from continuing operations increased by $1.4 million or 10.5%, while adjusted EBITDA decreased by $172 thousand or -4.5%. Consolidated Profit for the period is $927 thousand, an improvement of $638 thousand or 220.8% as compared with 2021 results.EBITDA1: Peru property EBITDA fell by $7 thousand and Nicaragua property EBITDA increased by $24 thousand, respectively, as compared to the same period in 2021. Corporate Expense was increased by $189 thousand in 2022 as compared to 2021. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $172 thousand or -4.5% through December 31, 2022 as compared to through December 31, 2021.Profit / (Loss): Our Profit improved by approximately $638 thousand for the period as compared to 2021. This improvement was the result of increased revenue and other gains of $1.4 million and $792 thousand, respectively, partially offset by increased expenses of approximately $1.6 million in 2022 as compared to 2021.Net Debt: Net debt as of December 31, 2022 decreased to $7.2 million as compared to $16.1 million as of December 31, 2021. Due to a change in accounting policy as required by IFRS 16, the Group is required to account for the net present value of real estate operating lease contracts as Obligations under leases and hire purchase contracts. Approximately $4.1 million of our net debt is comprised of Obligations under leases and hire purchase contracts.MANAGEMENT TO MITIGATE THE RISKS OF COVID-19: In terms of demand, the tail effects of Covid-19 still could be felt in local demand for offices due to remote work and in consumer and tourism spending in the hotel business in particular. Having said that, through 2022, Management not only continued to stabilize its office and gaming operations and cash management, but retooled its business away from hotels with the conversion of its last remaining hotel to apartments (see below). As a result, we feel reasonably confident that the Group is able to carry on with the shareholder mandate set forth in the September 21, 2016 Special Resolutions. See more about our progress below.2. MATERIAL PROGRESS TOWARD SHAREHOLDER MANDATEThe Group continues to pursue decisions that will support the best interest of shareholders according to the shareholder mandate set forth in the September 21, 2016 Special Resolutions the status of which is summarized below in relation to the Group's key remaining assets:Peru Hotel Real Estate Converted to Apartment Units: As of the date of publication of this 2022 Annual Report, the Group has converted its 66-suite hotel in Lima, Peru into a 66-unit condominium apartment complex. The Group has: i) Legally sub-divided the former hotel into 66 individually titled apartment units, procured all change of use and other regulatory approvals, and sold the majority of those units; and ii) Paid off over $4.5 million of senior debt in Lima, Peru. The projection is to generate in excess of $10 million from all unit sales, which will likely be completed during 2023.Peru Office Real Estate Performance Improving: The Group also has approximately 6,703 m2 of rentable-sellable office space, and 83 underground parking spaces. Office occupancies have stabilized over 2022, but at levels that are lower than those pre-covid. The Group is evaluating whether or not to convert offices to apartment units and to sell them individually as it has been executing successfully on for the hotel-to-apartment conversion.Nicaragua Gaming and Real Estate Assets: As of the publication date of this 2022 Annual Report, the Group continued to own a 56% interest in a Nicaraguan holding company that owns the following assets: i) Gaming: Three full casinos and three slot parlors with a combined approximately 630 gaming positions; and ii) Real Estate: Approximately 4,562 m2 of land divided among 5 parcels as more fully detailed on page 14.Costa Rica Real Estate Asset: As of the publication of this 2022 Annual Report, the Group continues to own a 50% interest in a Costa Rican entity that owns the 11.6-hectare real estate property known as "Tres Rios". Tres Rios, with its own, dedicated off ramp, is located close to the country's 2nd largest mall on the highway between the capital city of San Jose and the commuter city of Cartago.The Group will continue to pursue decisions that will support the best interest of shareholders according to the shareholder mandate set forth in the September 21, 2016 Special Resolutions.Salomon GuggenheimChief Executive Officer and PresidentApril 30, 20231. "EBITDA" is not an accounting term under IFRS, and refers to earnings before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, equity in earnings of affiliates, minority interests, development costs, other gains and losses, and discontinued operations. "Property EBITDA" is equal to EBITDA at the country level(s). "Adjusted EBITDA" is equal to property EBITDA less "Corporate expenses", which are the expenses of operating the parent company and its non-operating subsidiaries and affiliates.GROUP OVERVIEWThe Group's consolidated profit / (loss) summary for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, as compared with the same period of 2021 is contained in the Group's Annual Report for year ending December 31, 2022, located at www.thund
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A June date is most likely for the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, after the newly inaugurated president issues a proclamation to that effect in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Despite being in its inchoate stage, the frenetic jockeying for leadership positions in the two chambers already going on, its complexities and the seven political parties that produced the legislators, instead of the usual dominant two, rivet observers.

But the bigger picture is the challenges that lie ahead of the 469 lawmakers, comprising 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives. Their legislative agenda is being awaited. The magnitude of challenges does not call for the usual feeble declaration of intentions by the leadership on the day of inauguration. With a raft of crises in national security, the economy, education, service delivery, corruption, and lack of accountability in governance, the 10th assemblys job is well cut out. It requires that its members constantly keep their eyes on the ball.

It also means that the pursuit of selfish interests, headlined by obscene and undeclared self-granted allowances and emoluments, and compromises in the discharge of oversight functions, should give way to patriotism and a sense of duty. This country, as some would argue, is like a patient in an intensive care unit that needs a lot of care. Public expectation is that this coterie of lawmakers should imbue themselves with the requisite vision and a mission to deliver on the public good.

The journey through this furnace of integrity will start with how transparent the process of choosing their principal officers would be, amid wild allegations that this is already enmeshed in the skein of sleaze. They need to be wary of disappointing Nigerians!

The Senates confirmation of ministerial nominees from the president is a ritual repeatedly bungled since 1999. Nominees are usually submitted without portfolios attached to them, and this does not allow for rigorous screening. The contrary is the case in the US and other Western democracies from where we modelled our system. Over the years, some nominees with legislative antecedents, especially from the National Assembly, are customarily asked to take a bow and go. For the others, they are asked general questions due to the lack of information on their proposed posting. The practice leads to round pegs being put in square holes. This jaded routine must change. When mediocrities become ministers by the action or inaction of a frigid legislature, the country loses ultimately.

Globally, the parliamentary business demands mental rigour and lawmakers who are abreast of the provisions of the constitution and corpus of their countrys laws, in order to be effective. How the Ninth Assembly fared on these indices is not cheery at all. Quite often, vacant seats, lawmakers chewing on something or the other, or engaging in private discussions while debates are going on, are common sights. These misdemeanours assault the sensibilities of taxpayers, who view live sessions of some of these sittings on television. That era should go with the outgoing assembly.

It is incompetence and lack of rigour that made the Ahmed Lawan-led ninth National Assembly to serially approve loans for the President Muhammadu Buhari regime, used to pay salaries and defray overheads in flagrant breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007. The Act, in Section 41, stipulates that borrowing shall only be for capital expenditure and human capital development, just as Section 44 (1) emphasises that the government must specify the purpose for borrowing and a cost-benefit-analysis should be attached to the request.

The failure to comply with these imperatives explains why the countrys debt stock of $10.3 billion in June 2015, two weeks after Buhari assumed office, had spiked to $40.06 billion by June 2022. The recklessness that underpinned this is overwhelming. The World Bank has warned that this debt profile is unsustainable in the long term. It will even be more with the $800 million recently secured for palliatives to the most vulnerable in the face of the imminent increase of hardship that the planned fuel subsidy removal will impose on the citizenry.

With constant fiscal deficits in the budgets and the absurdity of using 96.3% of revenue on debt-servicing in 2022, according to the World Bank, the 10th legislature should stop further loan approvals and help the government to look inwards. There are leakages to be blocked via legislation, while painstaking oversight is critical, and the recovery of public funds in private and corporate portfolios must be pursued. The countrys total stamp duty revenue, which is curiously a matter for conjecture, is being probed by the House. The money is still with banks that collected it on behalf of the government.

In the oil sector, multinational corporations owe Nigeria royalties, taxes and other fees regularly. Their indebtedness stood at $6.8 billion in 2019, which is an anomaly highlighted in NEITIs report. There is a verified case of $17 billion worth of stolen crude between 2011 and 2014 by some firms, which the government vowed to recover. Sixty government agencies failed to remit the N3 trillion they generated in six years, the Senate Finance Committee discovered in 2021. From every direction, the public treasury is being pillaged. It is a painful manifestation of the National Assemblys woeful performance as the watchdog of public accounts, expressed in Section 80 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which deals with powers and control over public funds (remittances and expenditure).

It is a cheerless valediction for Buhari and the Ninth Assembly for not implementing the Stephen Oronsanye report on restructuring of 541 federal agencies for service delivery. To be abolished are 38 of these agencies, while 52 were for merger with others, and 14 of them were to be reverted to departments in ministries.

This would have saved Nigeria a huge cost in governance. Rather than prune the agencies, it has actually created more of them. A former Head of Service, Ebele Okeke, who chaired the last White Paper panel on the report, noted with concern the existence of needless agencies in education and health, which are all creations of personal bills by lawmakers. To scrap them, she advised a dialogue with the parliament. The report is before the parliament for action. The 10th assembly must develop the sense of responsibility necessary to improve public finances.

Insecurity, without question, is Nigerias biggest nightmare, with the North-East being hobbled by jihadists, as the North-West is under the spell of kidnapping and banditry. In the North-Central, killer-herders have made life unbearable for farming communities, forcing residents to live in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, while the South-East is under hostage by unknown gunmen and Biafra irredentists. In the South-South, Niger Delta militants have continued to undermine the oil industry, leading to telling shortfalls in Nigerias 1.8million barrels per day OPEC crude oil production quota. A scary security scenario like this should have informed a legislative intervention on how best to improve policing in the country. The Fifth Alterations to the 1999 Constitution never addressed the limitations of our one-tier policing system that consistently fails to deliver.

Consequently, a reversal of the above should be treated as a national emergency by the 10th National Assembly. Ironically, many outgoing lawmakers are scared-stiff of going back to their constituencies because of insecurity. In some cases, not a few of them had been stoned and chased out by angry youths for their non-performance. As embodiments of representative democracy, it is in the enlightened self-interest of the new lawmakers to take the security of lives and property seriously through radical reforms and effective oversight, to avoid being caught in the web of their own negligence.

A sore case with every legislative set is budget racketeering. Budgets are annually padded for the benefits of lawmakers, thus distorting the expenditure framework and making their implementation difficult. It has led to several face-offs between the legislature and presidents. In the 2022 budget, for instance, President Buhari decried the lawmakers insertion of 6,576 projects of their own in the budget, costing N36.5 billion. It is an annual abuse of power. Even in ministries, the story is the same. The Ministry of Agriculture received 1,500 new projects in its budget, undoubtedly resulting from transactional motivations. President Buhari said, Most of these projects inserted relate to matters that are basically the responsibilities of states and local governments; and do not appear to have been properly conceptualised, designed and costed. This is a breach of the Public Procurement Act.

Banana pills are ever present in both chambers of the National Assembly. A former member of the House, Farouk Lawans earlier conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in February 2022 and he was sentenced to a five-year jail term for a $500,000 bribe he took during a fuel subsidy scam probe in 2012. And a serving senator recently went to jail over a money laundering conviction. These are lessons for the lawmakers.

For the first time, the Minority Caucus in the House is in the Majority with 182 members, one lawmaker more than those of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It is hoped that this will help to foster a strong opposition, robust debates and oversight that every democracy needs to thrive.

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The Board of Trustees of the Aliko Dangote Foundation announced it has resolved to be fully involved in the evacuation and resettling of thousands of Nigerians that are stranded in Sudan.

In a statement on Sunday, the foundation said it would collaborate with the federal government and Air Peace to ensure seamless transportation of the stranded Nigerians and provide logistics and succour to the evacuees.

According to the statement, Zouera Youssoufou, the managing director and chief executive officer of Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), has been in contact with the management of Air Peace and the federal government to indicate the foundations readiness to support the stranded Nigerians.

The Foundation will collaborate with the Federal Government and Air Peace in ensuring seamless transportation of the stranded Nigerians and more importantly provide logistics and succour to the evacuees, to make them settle more comfortably when they return to Nigeria, she said.

She noted that ADF understands the challenges of the federal government and Air Peace and has contacted relevant federal government agencies involved in humanitarian disaster relief intervention and it will ensure that all Nigerians stranded in Sudan are brought back home safely.

It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote Foundation supported the Nigerian government with logistics support for the Nigerian volunteer health workers who supported the Ebola containment efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone upon their return to the country in 2015.

Also, during the recent Covid pandemic, ADF supported the return of Nigerians from India and Dubai during the outbreak of the pandemic with specially chartered flights and Covid testing and quarantining when they arrived back in Nigeria.

READ ALSO:

Since 2011, ADF has supported several thousand IDPs in Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, and Abuja with a total spending of over 25 billion naira in the provision of food, shelter, and health services, the statement said.

Efforts

Meanwhile, a joint press release from the Ministry of foreign affairs and the federal ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development revealed that the first batch of 13 buses conveying six hundred and thirty-seven (637) evacuees had arrived at the identified safe borders at Aswan, Egypt, and are undergoing necessary documentation and clearance before admission into the Egyptian territory for their eventual evacuation to Nigeria.

Hundreds of people have been killed, while thousands that are fleeing the bloody civil war are reported stranded on the Sudan-Egypt border because of visa requirements demanded by Egypt, the statement said.

Sudan has recorded intense clashes between the countrys military and the main paramilitary force.

Over 400 people have been killed in the violence and many counties including the US and Saudi Arabia have commenced the evacuation of their citizens.

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Nigerian politician and entrepreneur, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has been confirmed as the president-general of the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In his inaugural speech, Mr Iwuanyanwu pledged to secure the release of separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu who is being prosecuted for treason by the federal government.

Mr Iwuanyanwu was unanimously endorsed as the groups president-general during a meeting of Ohanaeze Imeobi at Enugus Banquet Hall on Sunday.

Imeobi is the highest decision-making organ of the Ohanaeze, considered by many to be the top Igbo socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria.

The 80-year-old politician was earlier this month presented to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State by a delegation of the Imo Elders Council as the consensus candidate to replace the immediate past president-general of the Igbo group, George Obiozor, whose death was announced in December.

But given that his emergence was not through an election, Ohanaeze Imeobi needed to ratify the position.

Reporters were not allowed inside the venue during the Ohanaeze Imeobi meeting. But a member of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chinedu Ugwa, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Iwuanyanwu was confirmed Ohanaeze Ndigbo president-general because there was no dissenting voice against his emergence at the meeting.

Mr Ugwa, who participated in the meeting, said Mr Iwuanyanwu was confirmed as the president-general through voice voting.

A new president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been elected through the procedure of engaging the governors of the seven states that make up Ohanaeze. The endorsement was done after a recommendation by Elders of Imo State because nobody was coming to ask or query his emergence. So, it is in the form of an election, he said.

Iwuanyanwu speaks

In his inaugural speech, Mr Iwuanyanwu expressed delight over his endorsement as the president-general of the Igbo group, saying that providence and the love of Igbos propelled him to the position.

I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to lead Ndigbo at this time. With our collective efforts and support, Ndigbo will rise again.

I, therefore have a duty to valiantly defend the Igbo course and I promise Imeobi and all Igbo people that by the grace of God, I will not fail them, Mr Iwuanyanwu said.

The new president-general said he had done his best to serve Igbos both in time of war and time peace and that, as a young boy, he learnt determination to serve Igbos from his father.

He said he never nurtured the idea of becoming president-general of Ohanaeze and that he had unsuccessfully sought to become Nigerian president three times.

Agenda for South-east, Ohanaeze

Mr Iwuanyanwu, while reeling out the priorities of his administration, said he would make a special appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), before he (Buhari) exits office on 29 May.

Nnamdi Kanu is very crucial for any discussion (on security) and it is not possible to negotiate any peace while Nnamdi Kanu is in prison, he said, noting that the Court of Appeal, Abuja had struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu.

There is also a report that his health is deteriorating. I feel it is important that he is released to have access to his medical doctors so that he does not die in prison.

The new Ohanaeze leader also vowed to ensure that the South-east gets an additional state, explaining that the South-east is the only region with five states in Nigeria.

Several political conferences have recommended the creation of additional state in the South-east to bring the number of states to six. So far, this has not been actualised.

I will make sure that during my tenure (as Ohanaeze president-general), an additional state is created for the South-east, Mr Iwuanyanwu assured.

The Ohanaeze president-general listed other priorities of his administration including reviving agriculture, and industries and revitalisation of the educational system in the South-east with a focus on information and communication technology.

Others are: Repositioning the regions health sector, evaluating the possibility of generating electricity with coal deposits in Enugu and creating the Ohanaeze investment company as well as a cultural centre.

In attendance during the meeting were the five governors from the South-east: Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) Charles Soludo (Anambra), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State, represented by his Deputy, Kelechi Igwe), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia, represented by his Deputy, Ude Chukwu) and Hope Uzodinma (Imo, represented by his Deputy, Placid Njoku).

Others are The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Enugu State Governor-elect, Peter Mbah, former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim and a former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Adolphus Wabara, among others.

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Alhassan Doguwa, a lawmaker from Kano State, currently facing murder trial, has thrown his hat into the ring for the 10th House of Representatives speakership.

Mr Doguwa, who represents Doguwa/Tundun Wada federal constituency of Kano State, announced his entry into the race in a letter of intent sent to members-elect on Sunday.

I want to use this opportunity to communicate my desire to contest for the office of the Speaker of the House. My passion for nation-building has fuelled my desire to seek this office at this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation, he wrote.

Murder trial

Mr Doguwa was detained over alleged complicity in the murder of three members of his constituency a few months ago.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police in Kano arrested and charged the lawmaker, alongside others, for criminal conspiracy, and culpable homicide.

He was also charged with causing grievous hurt, mischief by fire, and inciting disturbance.

The police prosecutor told the court that Mr Doguwa allegedly committed the offence on 26 February at the Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano State.

The judge, Yunusa Muhammad, granted him bail in the sum of N500m, with the condition that the suspect must provide two sureties, one of which shall be a first-class traditional ruler while the other must be a permanent secretary at the federal or state civil service.

The lawmaker was involved in a violent confrontation between members of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that led to the killing of three people and the burning of a campaign office of the opposition party in Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kano.

Speakership race

Mr Doguwa, who is the Majority Leader of the House, is the latest aspirant to declare interest in the position.

He will be competing against Deputy Speaker Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), Muktar Betara (APC, Borno) Tunji Olawuyi (APC, Kwara) and Abubakar Makki (APC, Jigawa) have all declared interest.

Others are Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna), Aminu Jaji (APC, Zamfara), Ben Kalu (APC, Abia), and Miriam Onuoha (APC, Imo).

Read the letter in full

LETTER OF INTENT

My Dear Colleague,

I am delighted to congratulate you on your election to the 10th Nigerian National Assembly. The call to leadership is one laced with responsibilities and unalloyed commitment to the commonwealth of Nigerians, expressed through a unanimous ballot casting which led to your victories in your various States, The journey to nation-building has commenced, and we are here once again to steer the ship where the collective voices of the Nigerian people, whose trust has been vested in us, have been total to an admirable end.\

I want to use this opportunity to communicate my desire to contest for the office of the Speaker of the House. My passion for nation-building has fueled my desire to seek this office at this critical time when various divergent views of governance exist in different zones in the nation.

Now is the time to align all our interests, aspirations, and trust to work together for the common good of Nigerians. At the same time, discard ethnic, geographical, religious, or political bias that could hinder our collective efforts in this representation. As we look forward to formulating impactful policies for the growth of our nation, I implore us all to bear in mind that all back home will see the results of our stay at the Assembly, thus the need to come together to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign

The road to national transformation is not easy, which is why I will use my vast Legislative Experience and Patriotic Zeal for all representations within the House of Representatives.

Nigeria needs brave leaders whose doggedness can help reduce the myriad of challenges; I am sure we can achieve this with you on board,

Thank you, and congratulations again, as I look forward to seeing you at the National Assembly.

Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa

Majority Leader  House of Representatives

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has again rescheduled the computer-based Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) for candidates who experienced hitches at their centres.

Affected candidates, whose inability to take tests was not their fault, are now to sit the test on Saturday, 6th May, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin said in a statement on Monday.

He said the development was part of the decisions taken at the JAMB managements emergency meeting held on Sunday.

JAMB said out of the 1,586,765 candidates that indicated an interest in sitting the examination, only 80,166 are now outstanding.

The board had last Tuesday rescheduled tests for candidates who experienced technical hitches on the first day of the tests, fixing new schedules between 26th April and 2nd May.

New Date

As part of the decisions reached at the end of an emergency management meeting held on Sunday, 30th April, 2023, the Board has fixed Saturday, 6th May, 2023, for all categories of candidates who have not sat their examination, as listed below, to take their examination, Mr Benjamin said.

He said affected candidates are to print their slips on or before Thursday, so as to know the time and venue of their examination.

Affected Candidates

Mr Benjamin listed the categories of candidates affected to include; those who were verified at their centres but could not sit the examination, those who could not be biometrically verified, and those with mismatched data.

He said the first categories of candidates are to take their examinations in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under close supervision.

These candidates, according to him, are those who registered for the 2023 UTME without manifesting any biometric difficulty but could not be verified on the day of the examination.

Abuja Centre challenge

The second category, JAMB said, are candidates who were scheduled to sit the 2023 UTME at the Beautiful Beginning CBT Centre, Apo, Abuja, but missed the examination. They have been rescheduled to take the examination on Saturday, 6th May, he said.

The rescheduling of all the candidates, who missed the examination is as a result of the mistake made in the address of the centre, which had led to some candidates missing their examination, he said.

It should be noted that the name of the centre which is Beautiful Beginning CBT Centre, Apo, Abuja, featured Gwagwalada rather than Apo hence misleading the candidates.

Mr Benjamin said: The board would not abdicate its responsibilities and has consequently, rescheduled all candidates posted to the centre, who could not sit their examination on account of the wrong address or any other reason, to ensure that no candidate misses the examination.

The third category are the candidates that were rescheduled to take the examination on 27th April but could not receive the notification.

Some of these candidates could not receive the notification because their school held on to their channels of receiving messages such as their SIM cards, their e-mail addresses and profile codes, Mr Benjamin said.

He, therefore, warned schools that the UTME is not a school-based examination.

Other affected candidates

Other candidates affected by the development, according to the board, are candidates with mismatched data as well as those whose centres could not carry their full capacity of 250 and, such, had to be batched with some of these centres taking 150 candidates rather than the 250 allotted to them per session.

For obvious reasons, some CBT centres mismatched the data of some candidates they registered. This was also made possible by the carelessness of these candidates who could not avail themselves of the Boards provision of dual screens to monitor the course of their registration, he said.

He said the process of rectifying their data is ongoing and they will also be scheduled to sit the examination on Saturday, 6th May.

Some of these remaining candidates in the batched sessions have also been rescheduled and have taken the examination but some are yet to do so, he added.

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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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on territorial integrity and sovereignty is long overdue, the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Aykhan Hajizada wrote on his Twitter page, Trend reports.

A bilateral meeting was held between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the US with organization of Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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The Presidency has highlighted the impressive strides of President Muhammadu Buharis administration in checkmating security issues between 2015 and 2023.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a 90-page document released on Sunday in Abuja said the remarkable interventions had impacted positively the changes in the paramilitary.

Mr Buhari was elected into office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after defeating then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He was sworn into office on 29 May 2015. In his inaugural speech, the president stated that his administration would focus on the economy, fight corruption, and provide security.

These three big, bold ideas warranted the CHANGE in 2015 and the President never lost sight of them.

Mr Adeshina said the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) built and completed, since 2016, 17 Command Office Complexes across Nigeria, with another four ongoings (Rivers, Kogi, Bauchi and Ondo).

He said the NIS launched 16 new Forward Operation Bases (FOBs) across Nigeria and launched, on Jan. 15, 2019, an enhanced e-Passport, and a Booklet with 10-year validity.

He also said that NIS deployed enhanced e-Passport Production Centres in Nigeria, and in London, Washington DC, among others.

According to him, some of these achievements are the NIS National Border Management Strategy 2019-2023

Also, NIS deployed, with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the global Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) at five International Airports and 17 Border Crossing Points.

MIDAS is a global real-time border management system developed by International Organization for Migration (IOM) and is linked to INTERPOL & other watchlists.

The implementation of MIDAS at the International Airport in Abuja was described by the IOM as the largest deployment of MIDAS at any airport globally, to date,  he said.

The presidency said that NIS had also built and inaugurated, in 2021, a Technology Complex at the NIS HQ, housing a Command-and-Control Centre.

This, he said, was able to carry out online real-time monitoring of movements in and out of Nigeria at all ports of entry and exit.

This, he also, said was also connected to and sharing information with relevant agencies and Nigerian Missions abroad.

Nigeria in September 2020 successfully completed the upload of more than 150,000 stolen and lost travel documents to the Interpol Database,  he said.

Meanwhile, in 2021 and 2022, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested about 24,000 drug traffickers, including 29 barons.

The presidency added that the agency ensured the conviction of more than 3,400 offenders.

Mr Adeshina said that NDLEA also seized more than 5,500 tons (5.5 million kilogrammes) of assorted illicit drugs.

The value of drugs and cash seized came to more than N450 billion, while 772. 5 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed.

In 2021, the NDLEA launched Nigerias new National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) 2021-2025,  he said.

Also, Mr Adeshina said Mr Buhari in 2020 granted amnesty to 2,600 prisoners nationwide as part of Criminal Justice Reforms.

This, he said, represented about 3.5 per cent of all inmates and was in a bid to decongest Nigerias prison population.

The presidency stated that beneficiaries were those 60 years and above and those suffering from ill health that might likely lead to death.

Also included were convicts serving three years and above and have less than six months to serve.

Inmates with mental health defects and inmates with a pending fine not exceeding N50,000 and with no pending cases were part of those granted amnesty, he said.

(NAN)

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The police in Imo State, south-east Nigeria, said they have arrested nine suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who allegedly killed five officers and a couple in the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how gunmen, on 21 April, killed the officers at a restaurant in Ulakwo, a community in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of the state and also killed the couple.

How they were arrested

Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said police operatives, led by Odeyeyiwa Oladimeji, a superintendent of police, on 24 April at about 5:30 p.m. arrested one of the suspects, Mathew Chukwuma, 48, at his hideout in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

The police spokesperson said the arrest of Mr Chukwuma, an indigene of Mpam in Ahaizu Mbaise Council Area of Imo State, was in response to a directive to the operatives by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Barde, to track down the killers of the officers and the couple.

He said Mr Chukwuma, the suspect, confessed to being the sector commander of the syndicate of the IPOB and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Mbaise Community in the state and subsequently assisted the operatives in arresting three members of his syndicate at their criminal hideout, while others escaped.

Mr Okoye gave the names of the three other arrested suspects as, Ikechukwu Ojoko, 53, Charles Chilaka, 44, and Anthony Iwu, 50  all males and indigenes of Umuokiria Community in Ahaizu Mbaise Local Government Area of the state.

In the course of the investigation, the suspects all confessed to being members of the dreadful IPOB/ESN syndicate terrorising the good people of Imo State and had a hand in the recent killing of five police officers and two civilians at Ngor Okpala (Council Area), he said.

One cut-to-size AK-47 rifle, 190 rounds of live 7.62 mm ammunition, two AK-47 magazines, two cut-to-size double barrel guns, and one locally fabricated beretta pistol were recovered from the suspects during the operation, according to the police.

The police spokesperson said the arrested suspects volunteered crucial information that assisted the operatives to arrest four other suspected IPOB members at their second hideout at about 12:40 a.m. on 27 April in Itu, a community in Ezinitte Mbaise Local Government Area of the state.

On sighting the operatives, the notorious criminal syndicate engaged them in a fierce gun duel but were overpowered by the super firepower of the combat-ready tactical squad which forced them to disarray and resulted in the arrest of four other suspects, Mr Okoye said.

He gave their names as, Damian Ibe, 50, Simon Iwuala, 31, Nwabueze Ahiwe, 47, and Paul Obali, 70  all males and indigenes of the state.

He added that Mr Obali, one of the arrested suspects, is the chief priest of the syndicate and that their second hideout also served as their shrine.

One AK-47 rifle, three pump action guns, two single barrel locally made guns, one locally made pistol, one cut-to-size gun, 50 rounds of 7.66mm live ammunition, 38 rounds of live cartridges, two AK-47 magazines and a walkie-talkie were among the items recovered from the suspects during the operation, the police said.

Others included: Two locally made explosive devices, one iPhone, one H-mobile, three cow horns painted with Biafran Insignia, two Biafran Jewish caps and a Jewish flag, large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa and other fetish objects.

Frantic investigating efforts are on top gear to arrest other syndicate members at large and make them face the wrath of the law, the police spokesperson said.

He said the arrested suspects had been on the wanted list of the police in the state due to their nefarious activities, and that some members of the syndicate escaped with various degrees of gunshot injuries.

The total number of the arrested suspects was eight, according to the statement, but the police spokesperson when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, insisted that a total of nine, not eight, were arrested so far.

The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Mr Barde, commended the operatives for a job well done, stressing that policing is collective business, Mr Okoye said.

Mr Barde appealed to residents of the state to support the police and other security agencies in the fight against crime and to report to the police any suspicious activity or person seen with or treating gunshot injury.

The Nigerian government has accused IPOB, which is leading the agitation for the independence of Biafra, of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the South-east. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

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As state and local government workers in Zamfara State mark this years May Day, they have not been paid for three months.

Every first of May also known as May Day is set aside to celebrate workers and labourers for their work.

PREMIUM TIMES spoke with over 15 civil servants in Zamfara who said they have not been paid for three months. The workers who requested anonymity for fear of being victimised said this was the first time workers in the state would celebrate both Ramadan fasting and Eid El Fitr celebrations without salaries.

While most of the workers have not been paid since February, few others said they have not received salaries since December.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state said its working round the clock to salvage the situation.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES over the phone Sunday night, Sani Halliru, the state chairman of the NLC, said with April that has now ended, the state government is owing the majority of workers three months salaries.

The situation we are in in Zamfara state now is that weve workers who have not been paid their salaries for two months. In fact, these workers are in the majority and they cover both state and local governments. These people have not been paid for February and March. Some workers were paid in February but they were a minority. When you compared the number of workers and those paid in February, they are not up to one out of three per cent of the whole workers, Mr Halliru said.

He said the state NLC has been working closely with the state government to ensure the affected workers are paid.

Even the day before yesterday (Friday), we went to meet the Finance Commissioner over the problem. We met him and had a fruitful discussion about the situation. Well keep fighting for the Zamfara workers, Mr Halliru, who didnt give a reason for the delay in paying the salaries, said.

Both Zailani Bappa, the official spokesperson to the state governor, Bello Matawalle, and the information commissioner, Ibrahim Dosara, didnt respond to an SMS sent to them over the situation.

A gloomy Workers Day

A medical and health worker at the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital said she received half of her salary for January and has not received anything since.

I live with my mother and siblings in Tsafe town. All of us rely on that salary because Im the only one working. You can imagine what were going through. When I saw a half salary for January, some of our colleagues in other hospitals said were lucky because others were not paid. Since that time, it has been nothing. February, March and now April. Its too much, she said.

Another local government civil servant in Talata Mafara said he has since stopped expecting his salaries.

Well, Im sure he (Mr Matawalle) will not pay these outstanding salaries. He is always bragging about paying salaries. Now, he has not paid for two months maybe he thinks he is doing us a favour. If I see any government money, I swear to God Ill steal it, the frustrated staff said.

A staffer at the office of the Head of Service said Only half of the workers in the most important ministries were paid for February.

Even me, I have not been paid since January and no explanations have been offered, the assistant director told PREMIUM TIMES.

A primary school teacher attached to the Local Education Authority in Gusau local government said he would stop going to his place of work by Friday if his outstanding salaries are not paid.

From Tudun Wada where I live to where I go to work is far. Every day, I take a commercial motorcycle to and fro. I dont have money to spend again. Let the students keep waiting, he said.

Another civil servant at the culture and tourism ministry said for the first time in his civil service career he witnessed both the Ramadan fasting and Eid El Fitr celebrations without salaries.

Well, you know the situation in this state. We all rely on salaries even businesses will not pick up when civil servants are not paid. Maybe the governor is punishing us for not giving him a second term. Whatever the case may be, we know that itll come to pass too but even our children and other dependents know the Sallah (Eid El Fitr) celebrations were dull because we dont have money to spend, he said.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on Nigerian workers to be optimistic that the courts decision on the petition challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu in the presidential election will favour the party.

The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said this in a statement on Monday to celebrate Workers Day.

Some political parties including the PDP and Labour Party and PDP are separately challenging the outcome of the 25 February presidential election on the allegations that results were manipulated in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Ologunagba appealed to Nigerian workers to have strong confidence that the Nigerian judiciary will correct anomalies recorded in the election.

The PDP, therefore urges Nigerian workers and indeed all citizens not to resign to despondency but remain optimistic in the hope that the judiciary will right the wrong meted on our nation so that Nigeria can return to the path of peace, political stability and economic prosperity. Our party again salutes Nigerian workers and wishes them a happy Workers Day celebration, he said.

Mr Ologunagba also commended Nigerian workers for their patriotism in serving the country.

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He urged the workers to protect and defend Nigerias constitutional democracy from politicians.

The party charges Nigerian workers to use their strength and pivotal position in our country to protect and defend the nations constitutional democracy from political manipulators, who are desperate to dash the hope of Nigerians for a credible democratic leadership, he added.

The PDP spokesperson said the party will continue to recognise workers as the real drivers of the country and also for voting for it during the recent polls.

The PDP continues to recognise the devotion of Nigerian workers as real drivers of our national life, particularly in voting en masse for our party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, at the 2023 Presidential election, while assuring that it will not relent in its effort to retrieve the mandate at the tribunal so that our nation can have a breath of fresh air which has eluded her in the last eight years, he said.

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President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has promised that his administration will provide a living wage as he described the existing national minimum wage as not enough.

Mr Tinubu, who is due to be sworn in on 29 May, made the promise in a statement on Monday to commemorate the Workers Day.

In the Nigeria, I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families, he said.

According to Investopedia, a living wage refers to a theoretical income level that allows individuals or families to afford adequate shelter, food, and other necessities.

Currently, Nigeria operates the National Minimum Wage structure. The current N30,000 minimum wage for federal and states was approved in 2019 following the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly.

Read the full statement below:

PRESIDENT-ELECTS SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO NIGERIAN WORKERS ON INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY

I join the rest of the world and all compatriots to celebrate Nigerian workers on this years International Workers Day. Today is a special day in most parts of the world, a day to salute and honour the working people whose hard work and sweat continue to oil the wheel of human progress and advancement.

Today is significant in many respects. It is a day forged and born out of the struggle for workers rights and socio-economic justice. Since 1891, this day has been observed all over the world.

READ ALSO:

In Nigeria, every May 1 is a special day in our national calendar. The public holiday we observe is not just to commemorate the contributions and sacrifices of workers to the well-being of our country. It serves both as a celebration of the rights of workers to dignity, decent wages and decent living, and more important, it is a testament to the critical role the labour movement plays in our march towards a stronger, united and more prosperous nation.

Since 1945 when the railway workers and 16 other public service unions led the first General Strike to demand for better wages as a result of rising cost of living, the Labour Movement in Nigeria has always fought on the side of the masses of our country. It was no surprise that the Labour Movement added fillip, zest and energy to the struggle for independence by partnering with nationalists such as Nnamdi Azikwe, Herbert Macaulay, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Ernest Ikoli and Anthony Enahoro among others.

The Nigerian Labour Movement was also not found wanting during our struggle for the restoration of democracy. The Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliate organisations  NUPENG, Textile Union, PENGASSAN, among others collaborated with the pro-democracy leaders and groups to restore democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999 after almost two unbroken decades of military dictatorship.

On this special day, as your President-elect, I extend my hands of friendship to the Nigerian workers through the two central Labour unions  Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress. In me you will find a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social and economic justice for all Nigerians, including all the working people.

Your fight will be my fight because I will always fight for you. My plans for better welfare and working conditions are clearly spelt out in my Renewed Hope Agenda for A Better Nigeria. It is a covenant born of conviction and one I am prepared to keep.

At this point, I must remind Nigerian workers that we all have a common battle to wage, one which we must win together. And it is the fight against poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, ethnic and religious hate and all negative forces that contend against the stability and prosperity of our country.

In the Nigeria I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families.

The days ahead will, however, demand better understanding and cooperation from all sides, because leadership will require that we take tough and hard decisions so that our people and all Nigerian workers can live more abundantly.

I wish Nigerian workers and the leadership of NLC and TUC Happy Workers Day!

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Nigerias National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has made further clarifications on the controversies surrounding the discovery of cancer-causing substances in the chicken flavour of Indomie noodles by health authorities in Malaysia and Taiwan.

The agency, in a short message shared with PREMIUM TIMES by its Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, a professor, confirmed that indomie noodles remain banned in Nigeria.

Mrs Adeyeye said the products flagged by both Taiwan and Malaysian health authorities are not registered in Nigeria and so have nothing to do with the country. She, however, noted that the investigations being conducted are simply being cautious.

Also reacting to the development, the management of Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie Noodles in Nigeria, has said its products are 100 per cent locally produced and are safe for consumption.

This newspaper had earlier reported that the Taiwan and Malaysian authorities had stopped the sale of the chicken flavour of the products following the detection of ethylene oxide, a substance known to cause cancer, in the product.

The health department in Taipei, Taiwans capital, had said it detected ethylene oxide in two types of instant noodles, including the Indomie chicken flavour, following random inspections.

It said the detection of ethylene oxide in the product did not comply with standards.

Ethylene oxide is a colourless, odourless gas that is used to sterilise medical devices and spices and has been described as a cancer-causing chemical.

The Malaysian ministry said it had taken enforcement actions and recalled the affected products.

When contacted earlier, NAFDAC, in response to inquiries from this newspaper, said efforts were on to subject the product to further investigations in its laboratories but assured the public that such discovery made in Taiwan and Malaysia was yet to be confirmed in the products in Nigerian markets.

Meanwhile, Indofoods, an Indonesian company and maker of Indomie instant noodles, has denied the allegations noting that all its noodles are produced with standard certification.

NAFDACs further clarification

In a message to our reporter on Sunday evening, Mrs Adeyeye said although investigations into the products will commence in Nigeria from Tuesday, 2 May, the products remain banned from being imported into the country.

Ms Adeyeye said Indomie noodles recalled in Taiwan and Malaysia are not allied in Nigeria and therefore not registered in Nigeria.

What we are doing is an extra caution to ensure that it is not smuggled in and if so, our post-marketing surveillance would detect it, she said.

She noted that there are also plans to ensure the spices used for the indomie and other noodles in Nigeria are tested.

That is what NAFDAC Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN) and Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) are doing this week at the production facilities and in the market respectively, she said.

Indomie manufacturer in Nigeria speaks

Speaking with this newspaper on Monday, the Group Corporate Communications and Event Manager for Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Temitope Ashiwaju, said the Indomie noodles consumed in Nigeria are not imported into the Nigerian market and that those produced locally are safe for consumption.

He said the company conducts independent market research and also works closely with NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies in the country to ensure the product is safe for consumption.

He said: We understand the news about Malaysia and Taiwan is raising doubts about the products in Nigeria, so we will work with these agencies to ensure doubts are cleared among Nigerian consumers.

In the past 25 years, we have been producing and manufacturing indomie noodles in Nigeria and we have done well.

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After four days of arriving at the Sudan-Egypt border, Nigerian evacuees fleeing the crisis in Sudan have now been granted access to Egypt for onward transfer to Nigeria.

The border has just been opened, ( with stringent conditions ) after President Buharis intervention with the Egyptian President. So, the processing of evacuees by the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt will begin, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) announced in a tweet.

The evacuees had been unable to get into Egypt owing to logistics and diplomatic issues since last Thursday.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the conditions upon which the entrance was granted include details and the schedule of the aircraft conveying them to Nigeria and the capacity of the aircraft.

This newspaper also gathered that the government of Egypt demanded a pledge that once Nigerians depart the border, they will be conveyed directly to the designated airport.

Other conditions include a comprehensive list of the evacuees, with passport numbers; valid travel documents (Passport or ETC); the presence of Nigerian government officials at the points of embarkation and standby buses that will immediately convey them to the airport.

Before the delay at the Egyptian border, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had announced that 1,600 evacuees were expected to arrive in Nigeria last Friday.

A second batch has also set out for Egypt, according to the Nigerian government.

All the evacuees will be airlifted from Egypt directly to Nigeria.

The government had said the airlift could not be done from Sudan to the violence in that country.

Officially, there are about 5,500 Nigerian students who are expected to arrive from Sudan in the evacuation that commenced on Wednesday.

Over 400 people have been killed in Sudan due to fighting between the army and paramilitary RSF, both headed by army generals.

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In many ways, the drama that accompanied the Adamawa State governorship elections embodies everything wrong with the INEC under the watch of Mahmood Yakubu. In that contest, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who goes under the appellation of Barrister Yunusa Hudu Ari, on 16 April and with full protection from senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force and allied security services, announced fake results without numbers and without authority

Evidence of the scope of the mess created by Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the crooked leadership of Mahmood Yakubu began to emerge this past week. It all suggests network egregiousness on a monumental scale that easily rivals the elections of 2007, until now seen as the nadir in Nigerias journey of elective governance.

As the National Judicial Council (NJC) released the names of the 257 judges who will sit to consider and decide on elections petitions around the country beginning in May 2023, it emerged this past week that so far 1,044 petitions have been filed against results declared by the INEC in the 2023 elections. That is already more than 70% of the 1,490 seats contested and it appears that these are not the final numbers.

The relationship between election petitions and acceptability of elections in Nigeria is one of direct proportionality. Candidates and parties who believe that the results reflect the will of the people are generally disinclined to continue the contest and more expenditure through the courts. Those who do not so believe re-litigate the contest through the courts. The numbers tell the story.

Some 1,299 petitions, representing about 86.35% of the seats contested in 2007, ended up before the courts, a fact that prompted The Economist to describe Nigeria as a democracy by court order. With a mere 10 months to prepare and deliver the 2011 elections, Professor Attahiru Jega, whom President Goodluck Jonathan appointed in 2010 to replace the rampant Maurice Iwu at the leadership of in INEC, cut the number of petitions by nearly 58% to 751 in 2011. In 2015, the last election conducted under Professor Jega, there were only 677 petitions or 45.4% of the seats on offer.

By contrast, with four years to deliver the 2019 elections, Professor Mahmood Yakubu managed to grow the number of petitions from the 677 he inherited in 2015 to 811 petitions or 54.4% of the contested seats. Four years later, the bottom has fallen off the system of electoral administration under his watch, with the proportion of petitions guaranteed to be much nearer where they were in 2007. Only a fool will believe that the judiciary can clean up this mess.

After Yunusa Aris criminal announcement of a non-existent result, the INEC headquarters intervened purportedly to disown his conduct and summon him to the Abuja. From the venue of the announcement, meanwhile, Yunusa Ari headed to the airport in Yola all the time under high level Police protection, where he boarded a private jet. He did not turn up in Abuja to answer the summons of his employers, however. Instead, the same employers went public to claim that he had vanished and they could not find him.

In many ways, the drama that accompanied the Adamawa State governorship elections embodies everything wrong with the INEC under the watch of Mahmood Yakubu. In that contest, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who goes under the appellation of Barrister Yunusa Hudu Ari, on 16 April and with full protection from senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force and allied security services, announced fake results without numbers and without authority, forcing an INEC hierarchy steeped in electoral scandal to make song and dance of disowning the declaration.

The antecedents to this development, as well as the aftermath, should detain us.

Like the Chairman of INEC, Barrister Hudu Ari is from Bauchi State; and like the INEC Chairman, he came from a supply pipeline that appears to bear the fingerprints of the Attorney-General of the Federation. In his home state, Bauchi, Yunusa Ari had worked as a civil servant, before retiring as a permanent secretary. He also previously served as secretary to the Bauchi Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

But these were not what qualified him to be appointed a REC. His claim to fame is that he was chummy with the Attorney-General of the Federation. According to Leadership newspaper, Yunusa was classmates with the minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, and the age-long relationship between Yunusa-Ari and Malami played a crucial role in his emergence as REC.

Less than eight months before the 2023 elections, in July 2022, President Buhari transmitted Yunusa Aris name to the Senate for confirmation as one of a cohort of 19 REC nominees. His identification with the ruling party was well known. Far from disqualifying him as the applicable laws required, these credentials of partisan propinquity made his nomination all the more appealing, guaranteeing his confirmation. Now that the elections are over, INEC admits that many of these RECs nominated by Buhari in 2022 were clearly partisan and, to make matters worse, some were deployed to states where they had sympathy for the ruling parties.

After Yunusa Aris criminal announcement of a non-existent result, the INEC headquarters intervened purportedly to disown his conduct and summon him to the Abuja. From the venue of the announcement, meanwhile, Yunusa Ari headed to the airport in Yola all the time under high level Police protection, where he boarded a private jet. He did not turn up in Abuja to answer the summons of his employers, however. Instead, the same employers went public to claim that he had vanished and they could not find him. The Police, under whose protection he acted up to the point of vanishing, suddenly announced an investigation into what happened.

In a country in which the richest lawyers make their billions from inventing technicalities to justify crooked election results, it is no surprise that those who lead the Bar are unwilling and unable to notice that announcing fake election results and disappearing thereafter into thin air is not something that should be associated with a lawyer, especially not one who claims to be a barrister.

If this all sounds like co-ordinated institutional hyperventilation manufactured for a cover-up, it is because it probably is. The possibility that Yunusa Ari could have acted this script all by himself and without co-ordination with other agencies or with people higher up the political and institutional food chain is less than zero. It is equally impossible that he could have left Yola on a private jet that then vanished from the airspace. Air Traffic Control had to have cleared the flight and the manifest had to have been filed with the Civil Aviation Authority, all federal agencies. Bringing him to account would entail unmasking this command chain of complicity and conspiracy.

Hours after Yunusa Aris fake declaration, Aishatu Dahiru, the serving senator whom he sought to benefit in the Adamawa governorship contest, went to the Federal High Court in far away Abuja, asking it to affirm her as winner of the election. She did this by way of an ex-parte application, essentially asking the court to decide this matter without hearing any of the other parties in the contest or the INEC, whose REC purported to declare her the winner. The court invited her to show how it had jurisdiction over her claim. Rather than do that, her lawyers elected to ask the court for permission to discontinue the case. But, instead of granting her application, the court dismissed it.

While he is supposedly a fugitive, meanwhile, Yunusa Ari has apparently been busy firing off missives to the police, the security services, and suing his employers. His address is presumably undisclosed and undiscoverable. The leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, whose membership he advertises when he ostentatiously describes himself as a Barrister, has studiously averted its gaze from the peregrinations of this its infamous membe,r despite the demand of many of its members for the Bar leadership to take steps to discipline him. Similarly, the Attorney-General of the Federation does not appear to have taken notice.

If they were to choose to, the leadership of the Bar as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation would have remembered that Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct in Nigerias Legal Profession preclude every lawyer from any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner.

In a country in which the richest lawyers make their billions from inventing technicalities to justify crooked election results, it is no surprise that those who lead the Bar are unwilling and unable to notice that announcing fake election results and disappearing thereafter into thin air is not something that should be associated with a lawyer, especially not one who claims to be a barrister. But then again, anyone who feels a need to be addressed as barrister is probably far from fit for purpose, anyway.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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The book Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa by Nigerian banker, investor, philanthropist, and former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has been shortlisted for BCA AfricanBusiness Book of the Year.

BCA Africa Business Book of the Year is an annual competition to spotlight African business stories. This is achieved by bringing together the top-tier in African publishing and the business world to celebrate stories that are changing the business landscape and also celebrate the authors and publishers behind the books.

Other books shortlisted for the prestigious prize include Africa 2.0: Inside a Continents Communications Revolution by Russell Southwood; Heineken in Africa: A Multinational Unleashed by Olivier van Beemen; Africas Shadow Rise: China and the Mirage of African Economic Development (Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa) by Padraig Carmody, Peter Kragelund and Ricardo Reboredo; Africa: Open for Business by Dr. Deanne De Vries; Imported: Locking in Africas Value(s) by Chuks Ibechukwu; Blood and Diamonds: Germanys Imperial Ambitions in Africa by Steven Press among others.

The Business African Book of the Year winner will be announced at the forthcoming BCA awards ceremony billed to hold in The Africa Centre, London, on 19 May ,2023. The winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up will receive a cash prize of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500, respectively.

The BCA Award, organised by The Business Council in Africa in partnership with Brand Communications and African Business Magazines, is divided into different categories, some of which include Business Strategy, Behavioural Science and Psychology, Industry specific books, Economics, Growth Markets, and Historical books on the above.

In a related development, the book was also ranked second in the list of top-selling non-fiction booksin 2022 by The Rovingheights bestseller list. Since 2020, Rovingheights has shared an informal list of the top-selling titles in its stores but this year, the bookstore collaborated with Open Country Mag to compile the top 100 best-selling books in the stores third annual list.

In her review of the book, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Former Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, described Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa as a brilliant, insightful book that takes every reader on an exciting entrepreneurial journey. According to Mohammed, the book leaves no one in doubt that navigating the waters of the banking sector in Nigeria is a daunting task not for the faint-hearted. She said the author has demonstrated a high sense of determination and integrity, as reflected in the books content.

He has given meaning to grit and authenticity and takes everyone on a journey that closes the gap between harsh reality and ones aspiration, giving young Nigerians, especially women in the finance sector, the inspiration to dream, weather the storm, and achieve greatness, she said.

Rovingheights Limited has sold about 10,000 copies of the book in the last 12 months.

Here is the link to the Rovingheights website.

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Teachers in public primary and secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State have suspended their industrial action declared against the state government over years of unpaid entitlements.

The suspension of the strike was contained in a statement jointly signed by the chairman, Edet Emenyi and secretary, Sam Umo-Inyang, of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Uyo on Sunday.

The union said the decision was taken following a meeting with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel in Uyo on Sunday.

It said the state government would pay 50 per cent of the sum of 7.5 per cent contributory pension refunds to primary and secondary school teachers beginning in May.

The state government, the union said, has directed the immediate payment of three years leave grants beginning from Tuesday and has also agreed to pay six years of promotion arrears to deserving teachers.

It further said that the government has also promised to release the 2021 and 2022 promotion letters to teachers in the state.

Arising from the above, the Nigeria Union of Teachers hereby suspends the ongoing strike. The union also directs teachers in all public primary and post-primary schools in the state to resume work immediately, the statement said.

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PREMIUM TIMES last week reported how teachers in the state shut down public schools to press home their demands for the payment of years of entitlement.

The strike which was the second in less than two years was a continuation of the March 2022 strike that was suspended by the teachers in the state.

The industrial action had paralysed activities in public schools in the state, forcing students who were resuming for the third term to return home.

The Union praises the teaming teachers in the state for the total solidarity enjoyed while the industrial action lasted, the statement said.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Direct dialogue through diplomacy is a key to achieving peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Vedant Patel, US State Department Deputy Spokesman, said at a briefing, Trend reports.

The US is pleased to be hosting foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to facilitate negotiations this week, as they work together to pursue a peaceful future of the South Caucasus region. Secretary Blinken was honored to welcome the foreign ministers and attend the opening plenary session this morning at the George Shultz National Foreing Affairs Training Center. The Secretary believes that direct dialogue is a key to resolving issues and reaching a lasting peace. It is something that we will continue to pay attention to, he said.

Patel believes that peace is possible between these two counties and we are glad to be welcoming them.

The way to be prescriptive is up to these countries. Ultimately,

we believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus and were looking for peace and stability between these two countries. We think that direct dialogue through diplomacy is key here, he added.

Following the trilateral meeting with the participation of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the bilateral meeting of Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was held at the George Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
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 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State, Magnus Abe says he is withdrawing his petition against the declaration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Siminialayi Fubara as the winner of 18 March governorship election in the state.

The IndependentNational Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Fubara as the governor-elect in the state having scored the highest votes in the election.

Mr Abe filed a petition challenging at the tribunal, challenging the outcome of the election.

Addressing members of the party in Port Harcourt on Sunday, Mr Abe said he was withdrawing his petition for the interest of the state.

The interest of our State has always been and will remain paramount to me. We cannot at any stage of our politics put our own interest above the interest of those who have sacrificed so much to follow us.

We cannot also put our ego above every other consideration in our State. We must learn as politicians to be pragmatic and put the interest of Rivers State and Rivers people above every other interests.

More importantly, it is in the interest of our state so that we begin to reduce the bickering and confusion that is in our state, in order to give all of us the opportunity to be able to move forward with our lives.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court strikes out appeal by Magnus Abe APC faction in Rivers

I take this decision very conscious of the pain, of the trauma and of the confusion it will bring to all of you.

In a statement on Sunday by the spokesperson for the former senator, Parry Benson, the SDP governorship candidate denied demarketing the state in order to secure an appointment as alleged by the state government.

We know those who are looking for appointments and we know those who are pushing people aside, Mr Abe said, adding that those who blocked INEC gates in Port Harcourt and arrested lawyers who were preparing briefs for the tribunal in their hotels rooms are the ones demarketing the state.

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The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, said they have arrested and arraigned two people in court for allegedly stealing and selling 26 water tanks at Amube-Ohum in Orba, a community in Udenu Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the two suspects were arrested by operatives serving at Udenu Police Area Command on 23 April with the assistance of residents of the community.

The police spokesperson gave the names of the suspects as Chiegeonu Eze, 22, and Obinna Ezeugwu, 23  all males.

The duo, who were found to be specialised in stealing water tanks, commonly called Gee-Pee tank, from building construction sites in the community, were arrested while attempting to steal two tanks from a site on the said date, Mr Ndukwe said.

The two tanks and seven others were recovered from them.

The police spokesperson said confessional statements from the suspects led to recovery of 17 other tanks from the people whom the suspects had sold them to.

He said owners of the recovered tanks were already identifying them and those who bought the stolen tanks from the suspects were on the run.

Upon conclusion of the investigation, the suspects were arraigned in court and accordingly remanded to Nsukka Custodial Centre for further hearing, he said.

Mr Ndukwe did not, however, mention the court where the suspects were arraigned.

Prohibited in Nigeria

Stealing is outlawed in section 390 of the Nigeria Criminal Code Act.

Offenders, on conviction, face three years imprisonment or more including payment of fine, depending on the item stolen and its value, according to the law.

An Iyaganku Magistrate Court in Ibadan, in June last year, sentenced a 23-year-old man, Isaac Dumabara, to one month imprisonment for stealing one pot of stew and meat worth N40,000 from a restaurant.

A former deputy chief registrar of the Oyo State High Court, Mutiat Adio, was, in March 2020, sentenced to five years imprisonment after she was found guilty in a one-count charge of stealing.

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The headquarters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has overruled the decision of its Ogun State chapter to withdraw the partys petition against the reelection of Governor Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The petition seeks the cancellation of the 18 March election over the omission of the name of the party from the ballot paper.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the announcement of the withdrawal by the state chairman of the party, Olaposi Oginni.

Mr Oginni had said going ahead with the petition could be counterproductive, given that similar ballot papers were used to conduct elections in Kano where the party won.

The party chairman also claimed that some unnamed people within the party at the national level wanted to hijack the petition.

His claim appeared to have been confirmed on Sunday by a statement by the partys legal adviser made available to journalists.

The legal adviser, Robert Hon, gave the position of the national leadership of the party through a letter dated 27 April and addressed to the Secretary, Ogun State Governorship and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal.

The letter titled, Notification of Unauthorised Withdrawal of Petition No: EPT/OG/GOV/01/2023 Pending Before The Ogun State Governorship /State Houses Of Assembly Election Tribunal Holden At Abeokuta, urged the tribunal to disregard the withdrawal notification by its state chapter.

The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, the NNPP has been drawn to the fact that a notice has filed to withdraw the above captured suit on behalf of the party, the letter read.

We wish to state unequivocally that we do not authorise anybody or group of people nor the counsel on record PETER 1. OGAH ESQ to withdraw the suit pending before the Honourable Tribunal and we do not consent to such withdrawal.

By the provisions of the Constitution of New Nigeria Peoples Party, 2022, particularly Article 27.18 (iii), (v) and (vi); it is only the National Legal Adviser of the Party that can engage the services of an external solicitor where desirable subject to the approval by the National Working Committee (NWC).

Article 27.18 (v) is hereby reproduced for your ease of reference: The National Legal Adviser shall: (iii) attend to litigations and legal defence on behalf of the party at all levels including its organs, officials and assets (iv) Coordinate the activities of Legal Advisers at all levels on legal matters affecting the party including but not limited to the terms of engagement external Solicitors.

(v) Be responsible for engaging external retainers, where desirable, and counsel to handle all litigations involving the party at all levels, with the approval of the National Working Committee.

A copy of the said Constitution is hereby attached for your ease of reference.

The purported notice of withdrawal of the said petition is not part of the

terms of engagement of the external counsel and therefore violates the tenets of our Constitution which we hold very dear as a party.

We most humbly urge on the Honourable Tribunal to discountenance the said notice of withdrawal as the Petitioner NNPP is desirous of prosecuting the Petition before your noble lords to its logical conclusion.

We therefore urge the members of our great party and the general public not to allow the confidence they reposted on the party to be perforated by any person or group of persons.

The tribunal had earlier granted NNPPs request to inspect, photocopy, scan and record all sensitive materials used in the election.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. During April 2023, the State Border Service (SBS) of Azerbaijan detained 41 people for violating the state border, 22 of whom are citizens of Azerbaijan, 10 citizens of Nepal, one citizen from Iran and another from Pakistan, as well as two - from Tajikistan, and five - from Sri Lanka, the SBS told Trend.

"Some 20 people were detained while trying to cross the state border with fake passports, visas and stamps, one person was detained while trying to cross the state border bypassing the checkpoint.

Moreover, 691 people were detained for violating the rules of the border regime, and appropriate measures were taken against them.

As a result of measures to combat crime, the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan identified and handed over to the relevant authorities 260 people who are wanted, prevented the departure of 446 people who have restrictions on leaving the country, and the entry of 20 people who are prohibited from entering the country.

Furthermore, as a result of measures to combat illicit drug trafficking, 971.3 kilograms of narcotic drugs and 25,585 tablets of psychotropic drugs were found and seized," the SBS's report says.

Resulting of measures taken in the framework of combating smuggling activities, smuggling in the amount of 28.5 million manat ($16.7 million) was detained, including pistol cartridges, drones intended for video filming, jewelry, narcotic drugs and tobacco products.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- If they did, then they would choose local, state and national leaders based on the size of the disability community as the largest minority in America. Is it apathy about the entire political process? Only voting will change things.

Is it a failure of the voter to understand how elections can affect disability rights and programs? If so, this is an indictment of our education system. Is it the failure of candidates and the media to address disability issues at the same level of fervor as other minority concerns? If so, this can be resolved by getting engaged and demanding answers and coverage.

Is it a misunderstanding of disability issues by the voter? Like all concerns, disability issues are personal to voters with disabilities, so many may not know the issues that affect others.

Yes, Access Ready believes it is most likely all of the above to some degree. This can only be overcome by strategic engagement at all levels. Access Ready is challenging the disability community to get more involved through local, state and national efforts.

"Letting someone else worry about it is no longer an option. If people with disabilities want to keep their rights, benefits and the possibility of a comparable standard of living then they need to get involved," said Doug Towne Chair and CEO of Access Ready.

"They need to be overtly and visibly engaged in civic life."

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CHICAGO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The aircraft health monitoring market size is projected to grow from an estimated USD 6.3 billion in 2023 to USD 8.6 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. This growth can be attributed to the increasing aircraft operational and flight safety activities.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Aircraft Health Monitoring Market"

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Aircraft Health Monitoring Market Report Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $6.3 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $8.6 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% Market Size Available for 20192028 Forecast Period 20232028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Platform, Installation, End User, Solution, Technology, System, Operation Mode and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East Rest of the World Key Market Challenge Regulatory requirements Key Market Opportunities Adoption by MRO providers Key Market Drivers Adoption of predictive maintenance

The MRO segment accounts for the largest market size during the forecast period.

Because of the increasing demand for maintenance services, the desire to lower costs, the growing acceptance of predictive maintenance, and the emphasis on safety and regulatory compliance, the MRO segment is driving the AHMS market. Global aviation traffic has increased in recent years, resulting in an increase in the number of aircraft in operation. This has resulted in an increase in demand for MRO services to assure aircraft safety and airworthiness.

The commercial aviation segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on the platform, the aircraft health monitoring Industry has been segmented into civil aviation, military aviation and advanced air mobility. Civil aviation will register the fastest growth in the aircraft health monitoring market owing to the civil aviation sector is the largest AHMS market, accounting for the vast bulk of total AHMS revenue. This is owing to the enormous number of commercial aeroplanes operating worldwide and continuous expanding fleet size of various aircraft platforms.

The hardware segment accounts for the largest market size during the forecast period.

Based on solution, the aircraft health monitoring market is segmented into hardware, software and services. the aircraft health monitoring market is estimated to be dominated by the hardware segment with a market share of highest market share in 2023. This growth can be attributed to increasing use of sensors in structural, component and engine health monitoring systems to provide real-time condition analysis for preemptive detection of failures that might occur on an aircraft.

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Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the aircraft health monitoring market during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific area is seeing tremendous growth in air travel, owing to rising disposable incomes and a burgeoning middle class. As a result, the number of commercial aircraft operating in the region has increased, creating demand for AHMS. Governments in the APAC area are emphasizing aviation safety, which is increasing demand for AHMS. This is especially true in nations like China and India. APAC aviation regulatory organisations are enforcing stronger safety requirements for commercial flights, which is fuelling demand for AHMS. By providing real-time data on the health of crucial systems and components, AHMS can assist airlines in meeting these regulations.

Major players operating in the aircraft health monitoring Companies include Safran (France), Airbus S.E (Netherlands), Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US), Honeywell International Inc (US), Teledyne Technologies Inc (US), among others. These key players offer aircraft health monitoring across regions, and have well-equipped and strong distribution networks across the North American, European, Asia Pacific, Middle East, African, and Latin American regions.

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Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting

Related Reports:

Aircraft Sensors Market by aircraft type (Fixed-wing, Rotary-wing, UAVs, AAM), Application (Engine, Aerostructures, Fuel & Hydraulic, Cabin), Sensor Type, End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), Connectivity (Wired, Wireless) and Region - Global Forecast to 2027

Flight Data Monitoring Market by Solution Type (On Board, On Ground), Component (FDM Service, FDM System, FDM Software), End User (Fleet Operators, Drone Operators, FDM Service Providers, Investigation Agencies), Region - Global Forecast to 2022

Aviation Analytics Market by Component (Services, Solutions), Deployment (On-premises, Cloud), Application, End-User (MROs, Airlines, Airports, OEMs), Business Function, Region (North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2027

Avionics Market by System (Navigation, Payload & Mission Management, Traffic & Collision Management, Communication, Power & Data Management, Weather Detection, Flight Management, Electronic Flight Display), Fit, Platform & Region - Global Forecast to 2027

Connected Aircraft Market by Type (Systems, Solutions), Application (Commercial, Military), Connectivity (Inflight, Air-to-Air, and Air-to-Ground Connectivity), Frequency Band (Ka-Band, Ku-Band, L-Band), and Region (2016-2022)

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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee , U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers join CEOs from Alaska and ZeroAvia to launch retrofitting of aircraft

ZeroAvia unveils world's most advanced electric motor technology for aviation, paving way for hydrogen-electric engines for Dash 8 and similar airframes

EVERETT, Wash., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines today presented a Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop to ZeroAvia that will be retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system in an effort to expand the reach and applicability of zero emissions flight technology.

May 1, 2023; Everett, WA, USA; Alaska Airlines donates a Q400 to ZeroAvia for development of hydrogen propulsion technology at Paine Field. Demonstration of propellers driven by HyperTruck ground-test rig. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Alaska Airlines May 1, 2023; Everett, WA, USA; Alaska Airlines donates a Q400 to ZeroAvia for development of hydrogen propulsion technology at Paine Field. Demonstration of propellers driven by HyperTruck ground-test rig. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Alaska Airlines

At an event, held at ZeroAvia's Paine Field research and development site, the companies were joined by high school students from Raisbeck Aviation High School, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to participate in the formal handover of the 76-seat Q400 aircraft that will be developed by ZeroAvia, the U.S.-headquartered leader in designing and building zero-emission, hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems for aircraft.

When Alaska Airlines' regional carrier Horizon Air retired its Q400 fleet, it reserved one of the aircraft for research and development purposes to further advance zero emissions technology for the aviation industry. The aircraft was repainted with a special livery to highlight the innovative mission of this partnership.

ZeroAvia also debuted its breakthrough multi-megawatt modular electric motor system in a 1.8MW prototype configuration at the event - demonstrated with a propeller spin aboard the ZeroAvia's 15-ton HyperTruck ground-test rig. Combined with higher temperature PEM fuel cells and advanced power electronics - both technologies that ZeroAvia is developing in-house - the leading-edge electric motor technology is one of three key building blocks for enabling commercially-relevant hydrogen fuel cell engines for larger aircraft.

"This is a great step forward in aviation innovation, to help create a new future of flight  right here at home," said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. "Alaska Airlines has defined a five-part journey to achieve net zero carbon emissions long-term, but we can't get there alone. New technologies are required to make that future possible, and we're thrilled to partner with industry leader ZeroAvia to make new zero emissions options a reality."

Aligning ZeroAvia's powertrain with the Dash 8-400 airframe will represent a commercially viable zero-emission aircraft with fuel cell engine technology around five times more powerful than what has been demonstrated anywhere to date.

"Demonstrating this size of aircraft in flight, powered entirely by novel propulsion, would have been unthinkable a few years ago," said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. "Launching this program puts us on track for a test flight next year, and accelerates our progress toward the future of zero-emission flight for Alaska Airlines and for the world at large."

ZeroAvia's recent advancements clear the way for a potential flight of the Q400, also recognized as the Dash 8-400, but also demonstrate rapid progress toward certification of the ZA2000 propulsion system. ZeroAvia has already demonstrated a track-record of world-first flight testing. In January, ZeroAvia flew a retrofitted 19-seat aircraft with its prototype 600kW hydrogen-electric engine (ZA600). This followed the demonstration flight of a 250kW system in 2020, which at the time of flight was the world's largest aircraft flown using a novel zero-emission power source.

ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric engine uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel, before using that electricity to power electric motors which turn the aircraft propellers. The certifiable ZA2000 system will include ZeroAvia's High Temperature PEM fuel cells and liquid hydrogen fuel storage, integral to delivering the necessary energy density for commercial operations of large regional turboprops. The company has already established an engineering partnership with De Havilland of Canada, the original manufacturer of the Dash 8 family of aircraft to enable exchange of data and expertise with the airframe.

In 2021, Alaska Airlines launched a partnership and invested in ZeroAvia to support the development of zero emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. As the fifth largest U.S. airline with a large regional network, Alaska has a unique opportunity to support the development of zero-emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. By establishing the viability of regional-sized aircraft, both companies will help advance zero-emissions technology across the industry.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said: "Our state has a rich history of leadership in aerospace and we're proud to be at the center of a technological revolution in zero-emission flight. Through innovation and partnerships like the one demonstrated today, we can help write the next chapter of aviation history right here in Washington State."

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) said: "As we work to meet our emissions reduction goals, we must prioritize decarbonizing the commercial transportation sector. Washington state is leading the nation in developing and deploying clean energy technologies and the Alaska Airlines-ZeroAvia partnership is a prime example. This collaboration could revolutionize the aviation industry to make our planes greener and our skies cleaner."

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said: "As a leader in supporting innovative industries, and as the center of aerospace manufacturing in Washington state, Snohomish County is proud to support this partnership and the development of the next generation of aviation technology, driving both job growth and environmental sustainability."

HyperCore Motor

The 1.8MW motor configuration demonstrated today consists of two "HyperCore" motor modules, each a high-power, high-speed 900kW permanent magnet radial flux machine which operates at 20,000 rpm, matching the typical turbine engine power turbine speeds, providing an unprecedented 15kW/kg motor power density. Crucially, HyperCore's modular design enables the technology to address applications ranging from 900kW up to 5.4MW, meeting a number of regional turbo-prop and regional jet requirements. The HyperCores were successfully integrated with the stock Dash 8-400 engine gearbox and propeller, which dramatically simplifies integration into the aircraft as a replacement for a stock turbine engine.

The development and testing program will enable the understanding and measurement of system dynamics, calibration of physical and electrical models, and validation of thermal management systems. The company is concurrently developing world-class silicone-carbide power electronics and the matching hydrogen fuel cell systems, which convert hydrogen to electricity, powering the electric propulsion system. These systems will be brought together to create the full hydrogen-electric propulsion system, tested on the ground and then in the air.

About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation as the initially targeting a 300-mile range in 919 seat aircraft by 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 4080 seat aircraft by 2027. Based in the US and the UK, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its three prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs, secured $10B in pre-orders from a number of the major global airlines, and is on track for commercial operations in 2025. The company's expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK's Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Government's Jet Zero Council. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We strive to be the most caring airline with award-winning customer service and an industry-leading loyalty program. As a member of the oneworld alliance, and with our additional global partners, our guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 25 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and follow @alaskaairnews for news and stories. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

SOURCE ZeroAvia
Will offer mRNA cGMP Production from Master Cell Bank to Drug Product Made Possible with Precision Nanosystems and Cytiva

FARGO, N.D., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aldevron, a leading global manufacturer of DNA, RNA and proteins used in cell and gene therapies and vaccine development, will expand its mRNA production capabilities to include lipid nanoparticle (LNP) encapsulation and aseptic fill-finish capabilities enabling mRNA cGMP manufacturing services from Master Cell Bank through to Drug Product. This new capability will support the production of therapeutic-scale clinical and commercial-stage mRNA therapies for cancers and genetic diseases, and clinical-stage vaccines for infectious diseases.

Aldevron Announces Expansion of mRNA Production Capability.

Aldevron, a Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) operating company, is partnering with fellow Danaher operating companies Precision Nanosystems (PNI) and Cytiva. The service expansion will provide Aldevron clients with the ability to seamlessly manage clinical and commercial mRNA programs. When fully operational, the services will leverage PNI's LNP formulation expertise, and feature Cytiva's SA25 aseptic filling workcell. The goal is to streamline, expedite, and simplify mRNA programs by reducing lead times with less project overhead.

"This collaboration will help to bring innovative and life-saving therapies to patients faster," said Kevin Ballinger, President of Aldevron. "By working with PNI and Cytiva, Aldevron can capitalize on their expertise to build a streamlined service for the development, production and release of mRNA drug substance and drug product. Combined with our manufacturing expansion completed in March of this year, we can now offer our customers improved flexibility across a range of mRNA services."

"With Danaher's best-in-class scientific and technical expertise, our goal is to compress the timeframes needed in therapy development and commercialization to accelerate the delivery of innovative mRNA therapies to patients," said Mark Wetzel, Vice President/General Manager of mRNA Services. "Leveraging the collective strength that includes Cytiva, Precision Nanosystems and valued external partners, Aldevron will provide a complete solution for mRNA development within a single workflow and quality system."

The expansion is anticipated to be fully online in the second half of 2023.

About Aldevron

Aldevron is a premier manufacturing partner, producing high-quality plasmid DNA, RNA, proteins, and other key components for the development of vaccines, gene and cell therapies, immunotherapies, and other treatments. Headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, and as a part of the Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) family of global science and technology companies, Aldevron supports thousands of scientists who are developing revolutionary, lifesaving treatments for millions of people. To learn more about how Aldevron is advancing biological science, visit www.aldevron.com/about-us.

About Danaher

Danaher is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping its customers solve complex challenges and improving quality of life around the world. Its family of world class brands has leadership positions in the demanding and attractive health care, environmental and applied end-markets. With more than 20 operating companies, Danaher's globally diverse team of approximately 81,000 associates is united by a common culture and operating system, the Danaher Business System, and its Shared Purpose, Helping Realize Life's Potential. For more information, please visit www.danaher.com.

SOURCE Aldevron
Growing the Built Environment Workforce Is a Significant Challenge

ATLANTA, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Applied Software, GRAITEC Group, a leading systems integrator in the AEC, construction, and manufacturing industries, launched today a new scholarship award and essay contest to encourage high school students to explore careers in sustainable construction.

The built industry desperately needs talented people, but too few students are entering the field. According to an Associated General Contractors of America survey of its members , nine out of 10 contractors had trouble filling positions in 2022. It's estimated that more than 540,000 additional workers will be needed in 2023 - on top of the normal pace of hiring - to meet increasing demands, according to a study by Associated Builders and Contractors .

"GRAITEC and Applied Software are dedicated to supporting the building industry and we are intent on solving for long-term sustainability, including helping talented students become our future builders," said Scott McMaster Executive Vice President, Applied Software, GRAITEC Group. "This contest will appeal to not only students already interested in a related field, but we're also aiming at introducing opportunities in design, construction, sustainability, and building management to students who've never considered it."

Open to students currently enrolled in any U.S. high school, the contest will begin accepting entries on June 1, 2023, and award winners will be notified this Fall, giving students ample opportunity to research topics of their choice and develop ideas to solve problems facing their local community and today's-built environment.

No past education or training in building construction is required. Students submitting entries must simply be curious, define a challenge, and provide creative suggestions on how it might be solved. Contest entries will focus on four requirements:

Define the problem: What is the issue? Why is it important, what is at stake?

Describe the research: How was the problem discovered and a solution created?

Detail the solution: How does it address the problem? What results are projected?

Explain the keys to implementation: How will it be implemented and what challenges must be overcome?

The contest is free to enter and participating students will learn about sustainability in the construction industry, develop research skills to understand a problem and why it's important, think creatively about a solution and argue a case for it, and consider the roadblocks to getting solutions in place.

McMaster said, "Industry education is a significant part of what Graitec and Applied Software does, so it only makes sense that we extend that to the next generation. This contest is just a small step, but perhaps we can influence a few young minds this year and create a growing impact over time."

Executives from Applied Software and a panel of industry judges will evaluate each entry and award the three students receiving the highest scores with scholarship donations. The first-place winner will receive $1,000 and their high school will receive a $500 donation to their technology innovation or similar program from Applied Software, GRAITEC Group. The second-place winner will receive $300, and the third-place winner will receive $250.

More details including entry guidelines and terms and conditions can be found at the contest website: https://asti.com/high-school-sustainability-essay-contest/

About Applied Software, GRAITEC Group:

Applied Software, GRAITEC Group has one mission in mind: empower construction and manufacturing professionals to digitize and industrialize their processes to build a sustainable tomorrow.

Applied Software, GRAITEC Group is a global leading BIM provider helping architectural, engineering, construction, and manufacturing professionals to achieve their digital transformation goals. Applied, now part of the worldwide GRAITEC Group, has been an Autodesk Platinum Partner for over 30 years, also partnering with premier vendors such as Bluebeam or Panzura. With a broad range of world-class solutions, services, and training, we have been helping clients achieve a competitive advantage since 1982.

For more information, please visit us at www.asti.com or follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

Media contact: Todd Weyandt, 404-564-1843, [email protected]

SOURCE Applied Software
CHICAGO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia Pacific Electric Three-Wheeler Market is projected to grow from USD 813 million in 2023 to USD 892 million by 2028, registering a CAGR of 1.9%., according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Due to several factors, the electric three-wheeler market is gaining popularity in the Asia Pacific region. Firstly, electric three-wheelers are a cost-effective mode of transportation for short distances, which makes them a preferred choice for many commuters. Electric three-wheelers are more environmentally friendly than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, emitting no pollutants and reducing air pollution. Government incentives and subsidies are promoting the adoption of electric three-wheelers, making them more accessible and increasing their demand. Moreover, technological advancements have made electric three-wheelers more reliable, efficient, and user-friendly, making them an appealing option for many commuters.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Asia Pacific Electric Three-Wheeler Market".

207 - Tables

66  Figures

260 - Pages

Asia Pacific Electric Three-Wheeler Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 892 million by 2028 Growth Rate 1.9% of CAGR Largest Market India Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2023-2028 Forecast Units Value (USD Million) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Motor Power (Below 1000 W, 10001500 W, 1500 W), Battery Capacity (Below 3 kWh, 3-6 kWh, 6 kWh), End-Use (Passenger Carrier, Load Carrier), Range, Battery Type, Payload Capacity & Country Geographies Covered Asia Pacific Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Automobile manufacturer- and customer-oriented policies to promote sales Key Market Drivers Low operating and maintenance costs

The above 50 miles segment is to be the fastest-growing market by value during the forecast period.

The above 50 miles segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. With continuous developments in the R&D of battery technologies, manufacturers have developed batteries providing a higher range. High-range electric three-wheelers are set to be a natural progression for the market. Electric three-wheeler manufacturers have recognized the need for the maximum range per charge of the battery. That's why they are focusing on introducing electric three-wheelers with a range of above 50 miles. Companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (India), and Atul Auto Ltd. (India), offers passenger and cargo electric three-wheelers with a range of above 50 miles.

Passenger carriers to be the largest segment during the forecast period.

The passenger carrier segment will have a larger market share due to the lower maintenance and operation costs of such carriers. The passenger carrier segment has experienced growth, especially in India and China. This is because electric three-wheelers are used for taxi services for short-distance commutes in these countries. India has always been a large market for three-wheelers for public transport. As a result, e-rickshaws find huge scope in the passenger carrier segment. The government is encouraging using electric three-wheelers to reduce the number of petrol-fueled three-wheelers to reduce emissions. Passenger carriers are electric three-wheelers primarily used to transport passengers and have up to 4-seating capacities, including the driver. At Auto Expo 2023, Atul Auto launched an electric three-wheeler passenger vehicle, Atul Mobili. This vehicle offers a range of 110 km and is equipped with a motor drive from Valeo and a dual battery pack.

Thailand to be the fastest-growing market for electric 3-wheelers during the forecast period.

Thailand is expected to be the fastest-growing country during the forecast period. The Thai government is rolling out policies to promote EVs as part of its plans to create an EV manufacturing hub. The government is determined to develop smart cities nationwide, improve air quality, and meet its target of carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before 2065. EVs offer a solution to reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions caused by internal combustion engine vehicles. Such initiatives will drive the electric three-wheeler market in Thailand. The government in Thailand plans to run 1.2 million EVs and 690 charging stations in the country by 2036. According to Economic Times in April 2022, Thailand has boosted the use of EVs by implementing three-year tax benefits, an extra incentive on top of a five-year corporate income tax exemption, that is available to investments in charging stations with at least 40 chargers.

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Asia Pacific Electric Three-Wheeler Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Low operating and maintenance costs Government incentives and subsidies Advancements in battery technology, coupled with reducing prices Established market for three-wheelers for urban transportation

Restraints:

Low number of charging stations Limited power output, vehicle range, and speed

Opportunities:

Automobile manufacturer- and customer-oriented policies to promote sales Stringent emission norms and environmental regulations New revenue pockets in Asia Pacific

Challenges:

Limited battery capacity High initial investments Lack of compatibility, interchangeability, and standardization

Key Market Players:

The Asia Pacific electric three-wheeler market is dominated by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (India), Atul Auto Ltd. (India), Piaggio Group (Italy), Saera Electric Auto Pvt. Ltd. (India), and Kinetic Green Vehicles (India), among others.

Recent Developments:

In March 2023 , Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. wholly announced that it had received an investment of USD 72.8 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC invested in a wholly owned subsidiary of M&M to focus on Electric three-wheelers and small commercial vehicles.

, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. wholly announced that it had received an investment of from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC invested in a wholly owned subsidiary of M&M to focus on Electric three-wheelers and small commercial vehicles. In February 2023 , Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. signed an MOU with the Telangana Government for its expansion plans, under which Mahindra & Mahindra will set up a manufacturing facility in Zaheerabad, Medak District. This facility will primarily focus on developing and producing electric three-wheelers for the lastlast-mileility business.

, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. signed an MOU with the Telangana Government for its expansion plans, under which Mahindra & Mahindra will set up a manufacturing facility in Zaheerabad, Medak District. This facility will primarily focus on developing and producing electric three-wheelers for the lastlast-mileility business. In January 2023 , Saera Electric Auto announced a partnership with AMU Leasing Pvt. Ltd. Through this pact, customers can easily avail financing options from AMU, to buy new EVs from Saera Electric Auto.

, Saera Electric Auto announced a partnership with AMU Leasing Pvt. Ltd. Through this pact, customers can easily avail financing options from AMU, to buy new EVs from Saera Electric Auto. In January 2023 , ZF Friedrichshafen AG launched Smart Camera 4.8. It enables autonomous cars to have a wider field of view, in turn enabling the vehicle to identify pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles.

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WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American Trucking Associations and the ATA Moving and Storage Conference marked the beginning of National Moving Month by celebrating the country's professional movers and offering consumers a number of tips for selecting a mover as peak moving season begins.

"More than two million Americans move between states in peak moving season between May and September," said MSC Executive Director Ryan Bowley. "There are more than 8,000 professional movers in the country, helping Americans move from childhood homes to first apartments, starter homes and beyond. We praise those hard-working men and women for helping Americans move their most precious possessions as we celebrate National Moving Month.

"While moving can be a time of high anxiety, professional movers are focused on making this process as smooth and as stress-free as possible," he said. "Additionally, the MSC's ProMover certification program gives consumers an easy way to find reputable, professional movers by searching the directory at moving.org.

"With the cost and time constraints around moving and establishing a new home, people can unfortunately find themselves falling victim to moving scams by 'rogue operators' that cost them more money than they should pay or worse. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has highlighted an increase in deceptive business practices related to moving, and the ATA-MSC and our member companies are committed to partnering with government to protect consumers," said Bowley.

To help ensure they have a successful move  and to avoid becoming the target of scam companies  consumers can follow these key tips:

Get at least three in-home estimates. Reputable movers will want to see your home and your goods before telling you the cost of a move, just like a professional contractor will want to see your home before estimating the cost of a project.

Research your moving companies. Interstate movers must be registered with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and have a DOT Number and the correct operating authorities. You can look them up at ProtectYourMove.gov.

Know your rights and obligations as a consumer. For interstate moves, moving companies must provide you with two documents: "Ready to Move?" and "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Read these documents thoroughly and ask questions if there is something you do not understand.

Avoid large down-payments. While some movers may ask for a small deposit to hold a date, any company who asks for large deposits or full payment upfront  especially in cash or through a service such as Venmo  should be avoided.

Read all paperwork and never sign a blank document. Professional movers ensure that all agreements between you and the mover are in writing. Keep copies of all paperwork (either as printouts or saved PDFs) for future reference, especially your bill of lading, which is the contract between you and your mover.

Understand the difference between a mover and a broker. Brokers will book your move and then sell it to a different company to do the actual move. Be wary that many scam companies operate as Internet-only brokers without proper DOT registration  if you cannot find them on ProtectYourMove.gov, this is a red-flag.

Consider liability options and valuation. Know how much your goods are worth and make an informed choice of liability protections when booking your move. What you select will determine what the mover will be responsible for in case of loss or damage. Always take valuable documents and other items with you.

Ask questions. Any reputable moving company knows that moving, while exciting, can also be challenging and they are happy to assist in any way possible. If a company is unhelpful, refuses to answer questions or take time to alleviate your concerns, look for a different company that is more willing to assist.

For more tips and resources, visit moving.org.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

SOURCE American Trucking Associations
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Atmofizer Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "Atmofizer") (CSE: ATMO) (OTCQB: ATMFF) is pleased to announce its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022. All amounts are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS

On February 23, 2022, the Company filed a prospectus supplement to the Base Shelf Prospectus (the "Prospectus Supplement") establishing an at-the-market equity program (the "ATM Program") that allows the Company to issue and sell up to C$5,000,000 of Common Shares from treasury to the public, from time to time, at the Company's discretion. All Common Shares sold under the ATM Program will be made through sales that are deemed to be "at-the-market distributions" as defined in NI 44-102 through the CSE or any other "marketplace" in Canada as defined under applicable securities laws.

Distributions of the Common Shares under have been made under the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to the terms of an equity distribution agreement between the Company and Clarus Securities Inc. ("Clarus") dated February 23, 2022 (the "Equity Distribution Agreement"). The volume and timing of distributions under the ATM Program, if any, will be determined in the Company's sole discretion. Common Shares are distributed pursuant to the ATM Program at the market prices prevailing at the time of each sale and, as a result, prices may vary as between purchasers and during the period of the ATM Program. The ATM Program will be effective until the earlier of the issuance and sale of all of the Common Shares issuable pursuant to the ATM Program and February 14, 2024, unless terminated prior to such date by the Company or Clarus in accordance with the terms of the Equity Distribution Agreement.

On April 5, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the "USPTO") issued a U.S. Patent relating to the Company's air and water purification technology. The U.S. Patent provides protection for the application of the Company's air and water purification technology in the United States.

On August 23, 2022, the Company announced that the USPTO has issued a Notice of Allowance for new claims related to the Company's air and water purification technology. The allowed patent application, titled, "Ultra-Fine Particle Aggregation, Neutralization and Filtration" (US Patent Application No. 11,291,939) provides broad protection for important aspects of Atmofizer's air purification technology. The Notice of Allowance from the USPTO is directed to a new design that delivers ultra-fine particle agglomeration and nanoparticle reduction performance in larger air ducts with faster-moving air, using less parts. The Company plans to market this patent to be licensed by air purification device manufacturers, HVAC suppliers and service companies.

On November 29, 2022, the Company announced its recent Business Development in the Forced Area Market (HVAC)

The Company continues to transition the business to its most valuable addressable market to integrate the agglomeration technology into existing forced air systems. The Company is ready to focus on the third objective of our strategic plan: 1 - Prove it, 2 - Protect it, 3 - Promote it.

PROVE IT

The Company has been working with Four Seasons Heating and Conditioning ("Four Seasons"), in Chicago, Illinois, one of the largest privately owned HVAC service providers in the United States. Four Seasons has validated the product market fit and helped to develop the final production design which can be installed in less than 15 minutes by any HVAC service technician and sell for less than other similar accessories in the market. The Company has completed testing on the HVAC solution with almost immediate agglomeration at air speeds consistent or superior to most HVAC applications, meaningful improvement of filter performance to remove ultra-fine and fine particles from the air with existing filter technologies, reducing energy costs and improving the flow of hot and cold air to improve HVAC performance. The last phase of comprehensive third-party laboratory tests to independently certify the results of this new product range is scheduled for January 2023. The design can be easily adapted to expand beyond the residential HVAC market to service commercial, industrial and agricultural applications.

PROTECT IT

The Company successfully received its second US patent, its agglomeration technology for integrated and HVAC applications. On August 23, 2022, the Company announced that the USPTO issued a Notice of Allowance for new claims related to the Company's air and water purification technology. This was followed by a formal patent issuance on October 25, 2022. (U.S. Patent No. 11,478,742). The allowed patent application, titled, "Ultra-Fine Particle Aggregation, Neutralization and Filtration" (US Patent Application No. 11,291,939) provides broad protection for important aspects of Atmofizer's air purification technology. The Notice of Allowance from the USPTO is directed to a new design that delivers ultra-fine particle agglomeration and nanoparticle reduction performance in larger air ducts with faster-moving air, using less parts.

PROMOTE IT

The HVAC solution has been designed to scale to other HVAC applications with an asset light strategy that will target existing HVAC suppliers and manufacturers with existing distribution and scale. The Company will look to partner to execute its asset light, technology first approach to license its patented technology for high margin licensing opportunities. The Company is in the final stages of distribution discussions with Four Seasons to be announced in due course.

On January 12, 2023, the Company implemented the share consolidation of one post-consolidation common share for twenty pre-consolidation common shares. The number of shares and relevant information including but not limited to the share price, number of warrants ("Warrants"), stock options ("Options") and restricted stock units ("RSUs") and exercise price per warrant and option presented in these financial statements for both years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 had been retroactively adjusted accordingly.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, the Company generated revenue of $210,000 with a gross profit of $60,293 (29.0%) compared to $497,280 with a gross profit of $83,199 (16.7%) during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021.

The Company incurred $26,326,805in expenses during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022 compared to $13,180,714 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. The increase of $13.2 million increase in expenses was driven primarily by an increase in impairment of intellectual property ($8.2 million), share-based payments ($5.6 million), marketing expenses ($1.2 million) and salaries and wages ($0.8 million), There were significant decreases over the previous year in consulting fees ($2.3 million), management and directors' fees ($1.1 million), research and development costs ($0.6 million) and professional fees ($0.2 million). The Company has focused on reducing operating expenses and excluding non-cash expenses such as amortization, impairment loss and share-based payments, operating expenses were reduced by $2.2 million during year ended December 31, 2022.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded net loss of $28 million compared to a net loss of $21 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase of $6.8 million was mainly due to the increase in operating expenses of $13.2 million which was partially offset by the decrease of $6.4 million in other income (expenses). The 13.2 million increases in operating expenses were driven primarily by an increase in impairment of intellectual property ($8.2 million), share-based payments ($5.6 million), marketing expenses ($1.2 million) and salaries and wages ($0.8 million). There were significant decreases over the previous year in consulting fees ($2.3 million), management and directors' fees ($1.1 million), research and development costs ($0.6 million) and professional fees ($0.2 million). Other income (expenses) was reduced from the prior year by $6.4 million. In 2021, the Company incurred a listing expense of $7.1 million which is the major reason for the lower other income (expenses) in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the prior year.

About Atmofizer Technologies Inc.

Atmofizer's consumer and industrial solutions are based on its patent-protected and patent pending technology for ultrafine particle agglomeration and neutralization. This capability creates a revolutionary and more efficient method for addressing the wide range of dangerous nano-scale particles, viruses and bacteria that are too small to be effectively managed by conventional HEPA filters and ultraviolet lights. Atmofizer plans to disrupt the air treatment industry by improving air safety and purification efficiency while lowering customers' operational costs.

Atmofizing air refers to the process of using ultrasonic acoustic waves to agglomerate (cluster together) small particles into a larger target that is then radiated by ultraviolet light to neutralize their harmful properties. Using units that atmofize air in tandem with HEPA filters can make the HEPA filters work more efficiently, enable the use of a less-powerful filter and result in a cleaner and longer-lasting filter that reduces operating costs and is less of a health hazard to clean or replace.

Atmofizer is patent-pending and patent-protected sole source of technology to atmofize air and is applying its proprietary technology in consumer and industrial air purification products currently manufactured under the Atmofizer brand, as well as in retail and commercial devices produced by other companies that integrate Atmofizer technology into their own products under license. Atmofizer's owned and licensed product lines include wearable, portable and mobile use for personal air treatment, as well as larger systems to handle higher air volumes for commercial, industrial, institutional and residential applications.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information contained herein includes, without limitation, the services and functions of EMC and the business and strategic plans of the Company.

By their nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this press release including, without limitation: the Company's ability to comply with all applicable laws and governmental regulations relating to its commercial products; the ability of the Company to protect its intellectual property; impacts to the business and operations of the Company due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the conflict in eastern Europe; having only a limited operating history, the ability of the Company to access capital to meet future financing needs; the Company's reliance on management and key personnel; competition; changes in consumer trends; foreign currency fluctuations; and general economic, market or business conditions.

Additional risk factors can also be found in the Company's continuous disclosure documents, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and is based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations and opinions of management on the date such forward-looking information is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Atmofizer Technologies Inc.
OTTAWA, ON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Attain Insight today announced the general availability of Map Intelligence v4.26, which supports the latest release of IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2.4. The release includes new capabilities that give users easy access to advanced map visualizations and spatial analytics within their IBM Cognos Analytics dashboards and reports.

Combining location data with business data to create visualizations beyond simple map charts using only standard geographies and controlled display options means many customers have been looking for richer and more interactive maps. While providing capabilities suitable for many reporting and at-a-glance results, the ability to bring multiple layers of spatial data together for visualization and to perform advanced spatial analysis across them is limited.

According to IBM Offering Management, "Map Intelligence from Attain Insight provides an easy bridge to advanced spatial visualization and analytics from within IBM Cognos Analytics. The latest upgrade to support Cognos Analytics 11.2.4 means users can leverage their location intelligence assets on the latest release with a simple install, a few clicks, while still meeting corporate security and scalability requirements, and with no coding needed from IT."

Map Intelligence now includes built-in license compliance capabilities, to help companies keep track of software licenses for both Map Intelligence and Esri, providing one place to manage license compliance, which reduces the risk of a non-compliant software license audit.

"Our deep history and experience with IBM Cognos Analytics coupled with the growing importance, but lack of access to, advanced map visualizations and spatial analytics within Dashboards, led us to develop a simple but powerful bridge between the location intelligence and Business Intelligence (BI) worlds, which most often live in separate silos in an organization," said Paul Hulford, CEO of Attain Insight. "Map Intelligence was built to bring these silos together without creating another business intelligence or location intelligence platform. Leveraging your existing location intelligence assets within your BI tool in an easy, cost-effective way is our overriding design goal."

For more information on Map Intelligence visit https://attaininsight.com/map-intelligence/

About Attain Insight

Attain Insight specializes in the use of Business Intelligence and Location Intelligence products and services to enrich enterprise analytic platforms. They are experts with the Esri ArcGIS platform and Analytics platforms such as IBM Cognos Analytics, SAP BusinessObjects, and SAP Web Intelligence.

SOURCE Attain Insight
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. An Azerbaijani civilian was blown up by an anti-tank mine in Jojug Marjanly village of Azerbaijans Jabrayil district, the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) told Trend.

According to ANAMA, a resident of Fuzuli districts Gazakhlar village Ogtay Alishov, born in 1964, engaged in animal husbandry, on horseback crossed to a non-demined area, and died following the mine explosion.

Following the liberation of its lands from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands of mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.

Since the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia [following the second Karabakh war] up to date, a total of 299 people, including military personnel and civilians, have become victims of mines as a result of the explosion of mines laid by the Armenian armed forces, 55 of them were killed, 244 people were injured of varying severity.
Schaller & Weber Enter the Snacking Market with Innovative Salami Sticks.

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City's heritage German butcher shop and gourmet charcuterie brand Schaller & Weber makes its first foray into the shelf-stable, grab-and-go snacking category with a focus on innovative flavors and unique collaborations. The range of three distinctive salami sticks embodies their longstanding tradition of quality and craftsmanship while offering a contemporary twist, ensuring that Schaller & Weber's beloved flavors can be enjoyed by even more people, no matter where life takes them.

Schaller & Weber debuts grab-and-go salami with unique flavors featuring Mike's Hot Honey, Hudson Whiskey & Crown Maple. Tweet this Schaller & Weber Salami Sticks featuring Mike's Hot Honey, Hudson Whiskey. and Crown Maple. Photo: Rich Dieckhoff

Since 1937, Schaller & Weber has produced traditional German-style Landjager salami sticks, enjoyed by generations during outdoor adventures. Seeking to make their classic recipe more accessible, they aimed to create a line of convenient, affordable grab-and-go products. Building on their history of successful collaborations in sausages and charcuterie, they explored diverse flavors by partnering with like-minded New York-based brands, committed to crafting exceptional products. Incorporating the unique ingredients from these partners into their time-honored salami recipes, they've crafted an innovative line of snack sticks that honor their Landjager tradition while introducing an exciting new array of flavors.

"We're motivated to share the exceptional taste of our salami with a broader audience, so we set out on a mission to create a more accessible version of our classic recipe," informs Jeremy Schaller, President of Schaller & Weber. "Our goal was to craft a product line that retains the essence of our original Landjager while offering a convenient grab-and-go format and a more approachable price point."

Each crafted from humanely raised, antibiotic free, vegetarian-fed pork and free of artificial ingredients, these mouth-watering salami are perfect for on-the-go enjoyment or infusing charcuterie boards with a sweet and smoky flair, this delightful offering brings the comforting flavors of a leisurely breakfast to your busy lifestyle. The Mike's Hot Honey salami stick expertly melds the Schaller & Weber salami with the sweet heat of the signature Mike's Hot Honey to create the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. Hudson Whiskey's "Do The Rye Thing" stick seamlessly infuses salami with the bold essence of Hudson Whiskey's premium rye, capturing the rich, spicy notes of rye whiskey for a robust flavor experience. The Crown Maple salami stick masterfully blends the rich salami flavors with the natural sweetness of maple syrup enhanced by a undertone of hickory smoke.

"Do the Rye Thing is one of Hudson Whiskey's acclaimed variants, capturing the spirit of New York with its bold, peppery taste," says Jill Palais, Senior Brand Manager, American Whiskeys William Grant & Sons. "We're thrilled at the opportunity to partner with another celebrated New York institution that shares our pioneering spirit to deliver this one-of-a-kind Hudson Whiskey Salami Stick."

"Schaller & Weber is an iconic New York City brand with a rich history here in New York," says Mike Kurtz, Founder, Mike's Hot Honey. "We're excited to partner with Schaller & Weber to bring consumers a taste of NYC in the form of these new premium salami sticks. They are truly delicious and unmatched in quality."

"This exceptionally crafted salami stick is a showcase of two premium brands collaborating to delight fans everywhere," says Michael Cobb, CEO of Hudson Valley based Crown Maple syrup. "The artisans at Schaller & Weber lean on their long-standing expertise to deliver an exciting and flavorful portfolio of salami sticks."

The Schaller & Weber collaborative salami sticks will be available May 1 online at schallerweber.com and at their Yorkville store at 654 2nd Ave, New York, as well as through the following launch partners: Central Market, Texas; Berkeley Bowl and Oliver's Market, Bay Area; Bristol Farms, The Meat Place and Butchery, SoCal; Corti Bros., Sacramento; Harmon's, Utah; Roche Bros., New England; Adams Fairacre Farms, Hudson Valley NY; Meat & Flowers, The Catskills NY; Zabar's and Tin Building, NYC.

For press release and images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ItAnfZd5SfYrdAGRDhgequjxNp2p8mt6?usp=share_link

Schaller & Weber

Established in 1937 by master charcutier Ferdinand Schaller, Schaller & Weber's traditional German meats and charcuterie have become a New York culinary institution. The juicy snap of every sausage, the intoxicating smoked aroma of each ham and the delicate flavors of the pates and spreads are proof that Schaller & Weber remains true to what made their meats a success almost a century ago. Schaller & Weber's products are now available nationwide, while its roots remain firmly planted in its original location at 1654 2nd Avenue in New York City.

Hudson Whiskey NY

As a pioneer of the American craft whiskey movement, Hudson Whiskey started out like many New York stories, with a daring proposition. In this case, to make New York's first bourbon ever and to open the first distillery in the state since prohibition. Hudson Whiskey was invented with a rebellious mind-set to create a bold American whiskey unlike any other within the category, from a place unlike any other in the world, New York. From the majestic views of the Hudson Valley to the bright lights of Broadway, Hudson Whiskey is a celebration of New York spirit and the brilliant, creative, and resilient people who call it home. For more information, visit HudsonWhiskey.com and follow along at @HudsonWhiskey and @tuthilltown. Be bold, and please drink responsibly.

HUDSON WHISKEY, 46% ALC./VOL. 2023 BOTTLED BY WILLIAM GRANT & SONS, LTD. DISTRIBUTED BY WILLIAM GRANT & SONS, INC. NEW YORK, NY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

Crown Maple is Quite Possibly the Purest Maple Syrup on Earth and sets a new standard in maple with exceptionally crafted, select-quality, 100% pure organic maple syrups and sugar. Founded by Robb & Lydia Turner in 2010, Crown Maple has been carefully crafted from the ground up to become the preeminent maple syrup brand. Nestled in New York's Hudson Valley, the 800-acre Crown Maple Estate is at the heart of Crown Maple  fueling their passion to combine the absolute best ingredients with artisanal craftsmanship to create The Best Nature has to Offer. Crown Maple has elevated maple beyond a sweetener into a defining ingredient that is creating a growing portfolio of maple-infused products including Schaller & Weber Crown Maple Salami Stick, Organic Maple Sugar Pancake & Waffle Mix, Maple Glazed Nuts, Maple Cayenne Hot Sauce, among others. crownmaple.com.

Mike's Hot Honey is America's leading brand of hot honey. Founded in 2010 by Mike Kurtz, the brand was born from a desire to create and share the highest quality honey infused with chili peppers. Mike began drizzling his signature hot honey on pizzas at the Brooklyn pizzeria where he worked, and customers started to ask if they could buy bottles to take home. Mike's Hot Honey became a word-of-mouth sensation, sparking the creation of a new category of honey. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Mike's Hot Honey can now be found on restaurant menus and in the honey aisle of retailers across the US. mikeshothoney.com

SOURCE Schaller & Weber
Former Chase and Capital One executives to drive expansion of account based decisioning and machine learning solutions

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VALID Systems, a leading account-based decisioning and machine learning model provider that works with banks to improve the customer experience and reduce risk, has added two innovative leaders to help expand its product suite. Donna Cichani, a former executive with JPMorgan Chase & Co., has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Product Management, while Gaurav Jain, a former Senior product Manager at Capital One, has joined as Senior Vice President of Credit and Product Innovation.

Cichani will be responsible for overseeing the enhancement of VALID's solutions, including the company's revolutionary InteliFUNDS offering, which enables instant, risk-free check deposits. She began her career at KPMG before spending three years at Chase as vice president and lead product manager.

"When I saw VALID's amazing technology and how it is revolutionizing banking, I knew that I wanted to be part of this transformative company and help bankers be more successful," Cichani said.

Jain will oversee the alignment of VALID's account-level decisioning and machine-learning capabilities around new-use cases and will identify new solutions, including how to best utilize bank account data for credit-risk decisioning. Jain began his career as a risk analyst intern for Deutsche Bank. Prior to joining VALID, he spent 11 years at Capital One, most recently as head of product marketing and analytics and senior product manager.

"I'm excited to work with such an incredible team whose mission is to help the nation's banks deliver a better customer experience while managing risk," Jain said.

"We are delighted to add two true innovators in the banking industry to our team," said VALID Systems CEO John Templer. "Donna's deep expertise in product management will ensure we continue to provide value to our customers, while Gaurav's experience using advanced technology will keep us on the forefront of banking innovation. I couldn't be happier to welcome them aboard."

About VALID Systems

VALID Systems has been providing risk management solutions for some of the nation's largest financial institutions and other financial service providers for 20 years. The company utilizes behavioral analytics within its supervised machine learning models to provide real-time risk decisions on financial transactions. Its flagship product, InteliFUNDS, enables financial institutions to eliminate risk associated with check deposits while providing their customers with instant access to funds. Read more about VALID Systems at www.validadvantage.com.

Press Contact

Sam Garcia, Publicist

Strategic Vantage Marketing & Public Relations

214.762.4457 | [email protected]

SOURCE VALID Systems
Over 2,000 students participated in this year's challenge for the 36th Annual youth engineering design program geared towards solving a real-world problem.

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tech, announced the results of their 36th Annual youth engineering design program  The Tech Challenge, presented by Amazon.

This year's challenge was "Survive the Storm" and challenged teams to build devices that could protect vulnerable objects from high winds. Teams worked on devices starting in October 2022 and then tested their solutions at the Showcase on April 29 and 30, 2023. The Tech Challenge brings hundreds of volunteers from around Silicon Valley to help judge student teams and provide feedback on their engineering design process. More than 500 teams of students in Grades 4 to 12 participated in The Tech Challenge, presented by Amazon.

How can we engineer protections against severe weather events? It's a question engineers are thinking about more and more, and a question that thousands of promising young engineers took on at The Tech Challenge: Survive the Storm, on April 29 and 30. This year, students designed structures that could protect vulnerable objects from the wind. Teams spent months optimizing their designs, documenting their process in engineering journals and working together to build a solution.

"At The Tech, we always hope to inspire a passion for problem solving in young people. This year's Tech Challenge showed thousands of students that the real problems they see in their neighborhoods or on the news are within their ability to address," said Katrina Stevens, President and CEO of The Tech.

The Tech Challenge, a signature program of The Tech, invites teams of students in Grades 412 to use the engineering design process to solve a problem related to the real world. It reinforces 21st-century skills including creativity, problem-solving, design, teamwork, leadership, perseverance and learning from failure.

This year The Tech Challenge is working with two schools in Kenya, Tech Challenge alumni Shiven Patel and his mother Shital Patel to engage more than 750 students in a past Tech Challenge. Helping Shiven are fellow students, Ian Pearce and Tobias Mikkelsen. Lions Primary School and Melvin Jones Lions Academy in Nakuru, Kenya will host the program including a showcase event on June 24.

"When given the opportunity young people are inspired to solve big, challenging problems," said Abby Longcor, Senior Director of The Tech Challenge. "We've had teams participate from other countries before, but to bring the program to a new country to students who've never had access to engineering before is really special."

You can find a list of all 2023 award winners here: thetech.org/core-programs/the-tech-challenge/2023-award-winners/

To watch a recap of the showcase weekend, visit: thetech.org/thetechchallenge

The Tech Challenge would not be possible without the enduring support of hundreds of educators. This year's Bob Grimm Award for an Extraordinary Educator was given to Carl Erickson from Buchser Middle School. The award is named after a long-time Tech Challenge champion Bob Grimm, who was a stalwart supporter of providing STEM education resources for all.

The Tech Challenge presenting sponsor is Amazon; the communications partner is Zoom; with additional support from Adobe, Barbara and Bill Heil, eBay, Inc., Intel, KLA Foundation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Accenture, Arm, Deloitte Foundation, EY, Ford Motor Company, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Google, Hitachi, Marvell, Mayfield, ON Semiconductor Foundation, Qatalyst, Seagate, and Synaptics.

For more information visit The Tech Challenge website: thetech.org/thetechchallenge.

SOURCE The Tech Interactive
CLEARWATER, Fla., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BayCare announced today that it has hired William Walders, CHCIO, CDH-E, a retired military veteran with experience in health care and information systems, as its new chief information officer. Walders, who joined BayCare on April 24, is responsible for all information services, clinical engineering and cyber security across the system.

Walders comes to BayCare from Health First in Melbourne, Florida, where he has served as chief information officer and senior vice president of operations support.

William Walders is the new chief information officer at BayCare Health System.

A retired U.S. Navy commander and recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, William has more than 20 years of leadership experience in health care and information systems. He served as global vice president of data platforms and enterprise services at the Defense Health Agency, and as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's chief information officer.

Walders steps into the role vacated by Tim Thompson when he was promoted to the newly created position of chief administrative officer in February.

"William is well respected in the industry and brings a strong background of experience in digital health, insurance and health system delivery technology to BayCare," said Thompson. "I am very pleased he has decided to join our team and I look forward to working with him."

"I am excited about the opportunity to join such a respected organization and to be a part of an exceptional culture of trust, respect and dignity," said Walders. "I look forward to working with an amazing leadership team and the talented group of IT leaders and staff at BayCare."

Both a Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer and a Certified Digital Health Executive, Walders was named Florida Large Enterprise CIO of the Year in 2022, presented by the CIO Leadership Network, and was a finalist for National CIO of the Year. Among many accolades, William was honored as a University of Florida Outstanding Young Alumni (2013), Federal Health IT Innovation Award Winner (2018) and ISE East Executive of the Year in Cybersecurity (2022).

Walders also has a long history engaging in the community through service on both professional and local boards including the Brevard Zoo, Junior Achievement and Gartner Healthcare Leadership.

A Florida native, Walders was born in Tampa and lived in the Bay area until joining the military. He earned a Bachelor of Science in management information systems from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in business/healthcare administration from the University of Florida.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West Central Florida's largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare's diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of Florida's largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. Its Medicare Advantage insurance, BayCarePlus, is among the region's few 5-star-rated plans and the system is ranked in the top 20% by Fortune/Merative. BayCare's mission is to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit www.BayCare.org.

SOURCE BayCare Health System
As Part One Launches this May, Beverly Hills Offers a

Taste of the Met Gala with New Menu Items and Influencer Collaborations

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) is excited to announce the launch of its new series 'Cuisine & Couture,' honoring Beverly Hills, the intersection of couture fashion, fine cuisine and some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. In true Beverly Hills style, the initiative celebrates some of fashion's greatest events with the best the city has to offer. The series will launch with an homage to The Met Gala and this year's theme - Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. Locals and visitors alike can experience this year's theme throughout the month of May with videos and special dishes at participating hotels. 'Cuisine & Couture' will continue with new culinary offerings for September's New York Fashion Week and the 2024 Awards Season.

BEVERLY HILLS DEBUTS CUISINE & COUTURE SERIES

"In Beverly Hills, art transcends the traditional. The beauty of art is found everywhere, from thoughtfully plated dishes in our hotels to our boutique and fashion house-lined streets. Whether strolling along the city's famed shopping streets or dining in one of our celebrated eateries, fashion and food have long been intertwined here," said Julie Wagner, CEO of the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau. "With our new 'Cuisine & Couture' series, we wanted to showcase all that the city has to offer in a unique way."

Newly welcomed Executive Chef Dameon Evers of THEBlvd at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel presents a Pastrami Smoked Beet with Barbecue Tomatoes, Watercress, Beet Vinaigrette and Roasted Hazelnuts. The hearty beet dish celebrates Karl Lagerfeld's penchant for a pop of red, which would become even more significant in his career as countless muses, models and actresses walked the red carpet in his designs. Digital creator Rini Jain of @rinisphere accompanied Chef Evers to create the bold dish together, where they discussed how Beverly Wilshire's setting along Rodeo Drive continually inspires his work.

At L'Restaurant of L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, Michelin-starred pastry chef Nick Muncy introduces Whipped Coconut, featuring coconut whipped into a marshmallow ring  resembling Karl Lagerfeld's tall white shirt collar  with coconut tapioca pudding at the center, seasoned with citrus zest and layered with blackberries and mint. Blackberry sorbet will finish the dish, topped with a dehydrated meringue disc spotlighting an airbrushed image of Karl's iconic sunglasses. Chef Muncy joined Caitlyn Chase of @caitlynchase  Caviar & Cashmere founder and long-time admirer of L'Ermitage  to prepare the delicacy and share fond memories in Beverly Hills, finding high design and gastronomic moments in all directions.

Beverly Hills visitors who want to continue their epicurean journey through the lens of Mr. Lagerfeld can visit the Lobby Lounge at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, where Executive Pastry Chef Mathias Boirie created a Chocolate Old Fashioned cocktail  complete with a chocolate Chanel inspired garnish  nodding to Karl Lagerfeld's classic and timeless creativity.

For more information on Beverly Hills, please visit www.lovebeverlyhills.com. The 'Cuisine & Couture' video series can be found on Instagram via @lovebevhills.

Media Contact

[email protected]

About Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, a premier travel destination, is a charming, walkable and pet-friendly city with a village-like atmosphere that attracts people from around the globe. Visitors will find five-star hotel accommodations, world-class indoor/outdoor dining, acclaimed spas and unrivalled shopping, including the world-renowned Rodeo Drive, all within 5.71 square miles. The city's lush parks, outdoor plazas and wide, palm tree-lined streets frame a multitude of art, architecture and grand mansions. Learn more at LoveBeverlyHills.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

SOURCE Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau
Two nonprofit Blue Plans move toward greater partnership to deliver enhanced value through faster health plan and technology innovation

DETROIT, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont today announced an agreement to formally affiliate and work together across both companies. The affiliation will enable the organizations to broaden the range of health plan and service solutions that will further benefit members and customer groups, while remaining within and committed to local communities in both states. The agreement is pending approval of state regulators.

"Our two health plans share the values of nonprofit health care  focusing on the needs of our members, increasing affordability and access, and continuing our commitments to community-centered missions," said Daniel J. Loepp, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. "We are excited to join with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont in this affiliation, which will positively benefit our collective stakeholders."

"Partnerships with other Blue Plans, especially with shared missions, is critical in the rapidly changing healthcare landscape," said Don George, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. "Together, sharing expertise and technology, we can bring better solutions to our members, customers, provider partners and communities."

This affiliation will enable Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont with additional expertise as well as operational and information technology resources. The intent is to improve overall affordability and quality while delivering a broader range of services that meet the evolving needs of members. It will preserve Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont's local identity while enabling both companies to fulfill their commitment to deliver high-value, convenient and accessible care in each state.

Under the affiliation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont becomes part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan enterprise family of companies. The agreement, approved by the respective plans' boards of directors, maintains a Vermont organization with governance, operational, and policy decisions made locally. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont will continue under the same name with the executive leadership team and workforce headquartered in Berlin, VT as they are today. The majority of the re-configured, 12 member Vermont board of directors will be comprised of Blue Cross VT subscribers. There will be no changes to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's existing headquarters, board of directors or leadership team. This is an affiliation, not an acquisition, which means there is no financial exchange between the organizations. As is the case today, premiums generated from each health plan will stay in the respective states and will wholly be used to pay claims, administer plan operations, and maintain member reserves. Each organization will continue to operate financially as a single state plan. Both organizations will be meeting with state officials and regulators to advance final approval and satisfy other closing conditions.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has long demonstrated industry leadership in developing new capabilities and innovative products that directly benefit customers and members. BCBSM is already partnering successfully with other Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensed companies on a number of initiatives spanning technology, health plan offerings, and innovation. The affiliation will ensure Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont continues its strong, local presence, committed to the health and vitality of Vermonters.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, provides health benefits to nearly 5.2 million members. The company is committed to delivering affordable health care products through a broad variety of plans for businesses and individuals. Based in Detroit since 1939, BCBSM supports impactful community initiatives and provides leadership in improving health care across Michigan. BCBSM is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont

For more than 30 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont has been enhancing the health and well-being of Vermonters by offering innovative plan options to individuals, older Vermonters, and businesses. Employees are dedicated to developing new ways to support high-quality care, programs, and events that promote wellness. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit www.bluecrossvt.org.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After a long period of testing, Boxabl's building panels are recognized as meeting the international building code. https://icc-es.org/report-listing/ESR-4725/

"This is a major milestone in Boxabl's plan to deliver affordable homes," says Galiano Tiramani, Boxabl co-founder. The published panel listing report from the ICC shows that Boxabl has completed its testing and that Boxabl wall panels meet international building codes.

Boxabl building panels are officially recognized through an ICC (International Code Council) report to meet the International Building Code Tweet this

"This is the final piece to the puzzle that allows Boxabl to submit a certification application to any state modular building program in the USA," says Galiano Tiramani, Boxabl co-founder. "I am very excited and proud of the Boxabl team for helping to make affordable homeownership a reality for all."

Boxabl's mission is to revolutionize the standard of housing construction and affordability with its innovative, technology-based solution to mass-produce homes through advanced manufacturing. What further differentiates Boxabl from other modular home builders is the ability to deliver homes in a compact design, no longer needing expensive and wide load permits.

SOURCE Boxabl
Easy to Achieve Delicious Meals in Half the Time

TORRANCE, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Breville , the iconic global brand that delivers premium kitchen appliances rooted in innovation and design, announces the launch of the Joule Turbo Sous Vide, the company's first hardware evolution to the beloved Joule Sous Vide since its launch disrupted the market in 2015.

Breville Introduces the JouleTM Turbo Sous Vide, the First Model In the Consumer Category To Make Sous Vide Faster JouleTM Turbo technology allows the the JouleTM Turbo Sous Vide immersion circulator to get perfectly done foods in half the time of traditional sous vide cooking.

The Joule Turbo Sous Vide is the combined innovation of Breville's award-winning product design and engineering and ChefSteps' software and James Beard award-winning recipe content, which makes it even easier for cooks of all levels to include sous vide cooking in their weekly routines.

Proprietary algorithms and software accumulated from years of consumer feedback and testing have resulted in the advanced Joule Turbo technology which allows the immersion circulator to get perfectly done foods in half the time of traditional sous vide cooking. This means cooks will be able to get meals on the table perfectly in half the time  every time.

Over eight years of research and development went into the Joule Turbo Sous Vide's software where Douglas Baldwin, Phd, Breville's Senior Mathematician and Food Expert, and his team, took the same type of mathematics used to track rockets in space and apply them to sous vide, to ensure accurate and faster results for home cooks.

"Since day one, our mission has always been to help passionate cooks be more creative and confident in the kitchen and part of that is making sous vide an approachable method for cooks of all levels," said ChefSteps and Joule co-founder Grant Crilly. "The new Joule Turbo Sous Vide answers some struggles we've heard in the community for years. New software which incorporates years of innovation and development has now made it possible to achieve the same perfect results, in half the time, for experiences like cooking steak, automatically."

Through the Joule App, cooks will have easy to use step-by-step video guides and access to Autopilot recipes via their phones and tablets. Each recipe is broken down with video visuals that guide users on how to properly prep, season, and finish dishes with settings tailored to the product and each ingredient, removing the pressure of executing recipe details correctly. The Autopilot feature gives users peace of mind when leaving the kitchen or multitasking, as the software will take care of your dish, cooking at the optimal times and temperatures while sharing progress notifications via a smart device.

Cooks will also be able to set customized preferences for their preferred cook and temperature with Visual Doneness to select and see their desired results prior to cooking.

For ultimate flexibility, the Primetime function will tell cooks how long foods can be held at the optimal temperature, maintaining the ideal doneness, while never over-cooking the protein.

"We aim to provide home cooks with an intuitive tool that makes sous vide convenient for mid-week cooking, like air frying or multi-cooking. Whether you're entertaining a crowd or making a mid-week dinner, we're thrilled that the Joule Turbo Sous Vide will make cooking even simpler because of how fast it gets expertly cooked dishes on the table," notes Catherine Ruspino, Breville's Senior Vice President of Product and Solutions.

With access to over 140 tailored recipes developed by the chefs in Breville's test kitchen, combined with access to an extensive and ever-growing sous vide content from ChefSteps, Joule Turbo Sous Vide users will get to join the community of over 1.6 million home cooks of various levels as they include this simple technique into their daily routines.

The app also includes Progress Monitoring, Tips & Tricks, and Voice Activation Connectivity through Alexa or Google Voice Assistant for when you are multitasking and on the go.

Key features of the Joule Turbo Sous Vide include:

1,100 watts

Peak water temperature of 198 degrees Fahrenheit

Connected Cooking with the Joule App: Guided Cooks, Joule Autopilot, Primetime, Progress Monitoring, Tips & Tricks and Voice Activation

Visual Doneness for cooks to be able to select their exact desired results ahead of cooking

Universal tub clip for easy attachment to vessels including pots, water tubs, etc.

Magnetic base to easily mount to any magnetic steel pot or induction-ready cookware

Sleek cylinder that's only 12.24 inches tall, 1.85 inches in diameter, and at 1.4 lbs to easily fit into any drawer in your kitchen

Stainless steel ruler to measure protein thickness for Turbo cooking

WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities with voice activation connectivity through Alexa or Google Voice Assistant

Breville's Joule Sous Vide Turbo retails for $249.95 USD and is now available nationwide via Brevilleusa.com .

The Joule App is available for download through the Apple app store ( here ), and Android app store ( here ).

About Breville

Over the past 90 years, Breville has grown to become an iconic global brand, delivering innovative kitchen appliances including award-winning home coffee machines, to over 70 countries around the globe. The company goes to market as the Sage brand in Europe, and as the Breville brand in the rest of the world. Breville enhances people's lives through the delivery of brilliant innovation and thoughtful design based on deep consumer insights, empowering people to do things more impressively or easily than they'd thought possible in their own homes and ultimately, allowing them to Master Every Moment. Breville.com and follow on social media @breville .

SOURCE Breville USA
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Calinetworks, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of its new all-in-one website service, which combines SEO, PPC, social media, content writing, ADA compliance, web design, website updates, website hosting, website audits/maintenance, and other custom online services into a comprehensive package tailored to support the industry specific needs of our clients and their business.

In today's fast-paced digital world, online businesses face fierce competition and need a robust online presence to succeed. Unfortunately, many small and medium-sized businesses struggle to manage multiple service providers, leading to fragmented strategies, inconsistent performance, and suboptimal results.

Calinetworks' all-in-one website services aim to address these challenges by providing businesses with a single point of contact and a unified team for all their website needs. We work closely with our clients to understand their unique requirements, goals, and challenges. We use our collective resources to make confident, informed creative recommendations that deliver tangible results.

Calinetworks' all-in-one website services include:

SEO: Improve search engine rankings, drive more organic traffic, and increase visibility.

PPC: Drive targeted traffic, increase conversions, and maximize ROI with pay-per-click advertising.

Social Media: Gain visibility on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Content Writing: Create high-quality content that attracts, informs, and converts your target audience.

Web Design: Create a stunning website that engages visitors, communicates brand values, and drives sales.

Website Maintenance: Keep your website up-to-date, secure, and optimized for performance.

Website Hosting: Ensure your website is fast, reliable, backed up, and secure with world-class hosting services.

Website ADA Compliance: Ensuring that websites are accessible to people with disabilities, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws and guidelines.

Other website services: Access a wide range of website-related services, including website audits, migration, customization, integration, analytics, and more.

Calinetworks' all-in-one website services are designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes and industries, from startups and SMBs to enterprise-level organizations. The company's flexible pricing and delivery models ensure that clients receive high-quality services that fit their budget and timeline.

To learn more about Calinetworks' all-in-one website services, visit the company's website at https://www.calinetworks.com .

About Calinetworks

Calinetworks is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, specializing in SEO, PPC, Social Media, website design, website maintenance, web hosting, ADA website compliance, content writing, and other website services. The company helps businesses of all sizes and industries to achieve their online growth objectives by leveraging the latest technology, tools, and strategies. With a team of seasoned experts and a commitment to excellence, Calinetworks is a trusted partner for businesses seeking to unlock their full potential online.

Media Contact:

Ty Carson

8054097700

[email protected]

SOURCE Calinetworks
NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., ("Cantor") a leading global financial services firm, today announced that Alex Englander will join the firm as Global Head of Institutional Equity and Prime Distribution, based in New York. He will report directly to Pascal Bandelier, Global Head of Equities.

Mr. Howard W. Lutnick, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, commented on today's announcement, "We are excited to welcome Alex to Cantor Fitzgerald. He brings with him a proven track record within Global Equities with a wealth of deep and coveted institutional client relationships. His appointment underlines our commitment to our clients and continued investment in our Global Equities franchise."

Mr. Bandelier added, "Alex has executed at every level, has great client relationships, and brings additional institutional connectivity and credibility to the growing Cantor platform."

Mr. Englander joins Cantor from Credit Suisse where he most recently served as a Managing Director and Head of Americas Equities Advisory Sales. In that role, Alex was responsible for managing US & Canada Advisory Distribution, Portfolio-Risk Advisory, Specialist, and HOLT Sales, in addition to Corporate Access for the Americas. Prior to that role, Alex spent 18 years at Barclays|Lehman Brothers where he was the Head of New York Institutional Equity Sales.

About Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald, with over 11,500 employees, is a leading global financial services group at the forefront of financial and technological innovation and has been a proven and resilient leader for over 78 years. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is a preeminent investment bank serving more than 5,000 institutional clients around the world, recognized for its strengths in fixed income and equity capital markets, investment banking, SPAC underwriting and PIPE placements, prime brokerage, commercial real estate, and infrastructure, and for its global distribution platform. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is one of the 25 primary dealers authorized to transact business with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Cantor Fitzgerald is a leading SPAC sponsor, having completed multiple initial public offerings and announced multiple business combinations through its CF Acquisition platform. For more information, please visit www.cantor.com.

Note to Editors: Howard W. Lutnick, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, leads Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., the parent company of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

SOURCE Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. A criminal case has been opened in connection with the mine incident that occurred in Azerbaijans Jojug Marjanly village, the Jabrayil District Prosecutors Office told Trend.

According to the Prosecutors Office, during the preliminary investigation, it was determined that as a result of an anti-tank mine explosion in the village territory Ogtay Alishov, born in 1964, died.

On this fact, the Jabrayil District Prosecutors Office has opened a criminal case under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code and is conducting a preliminary investigation.

Following the liberation of its lands from Armenian occupation in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands of mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.

Since the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia [following the second Karabakh war] up to date, a total of 299 people, including military personnel and civilians, have become victims of mines as a result of the explosion of mines laid by the Armenian armed forces, 55 of them were killed, 244 people were injured of varying severity.
Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion, and Annual reports now available online

IRVING, Texas, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has released three reports highlighting the company's environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitment and contributions to helping its customers build a better, more sustainable world.

Caterpillar Inc. has released three reports highlighting the companys environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitment and contributions to helping its customers build a better, more sustainable world.

"Caterpillar is contributing to a reduced-carbon future by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our operations and by investing in a diverse portfolio of products, services and solutions to help customers meet their climate-related objectives," said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "We're pleased to highlight our ESG progress and the execution of our strategy as we continue to invest for future profitable growth."

Sustainability Report highlights include:

Caterpillar's role in the energy transition through products and services designed to support the transition and growing global energy demand.

The inaugural Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) report, which aligns with the 11 recommended disclosures of the TCFD, summarizes how the company governs strategy to address climate-related risks and opportunities and supports customers in the energy transition.

Disclosure of Scope 3 use of sold products emissions.

Progress toward seven sustainability goals for 2030.

The 2022 Sustainability Report also highlights the inclusion of ESG performance into the incentive plan for executive officers, as detailed in the company's proxy statement.

Caterpillar's third Diversity & Inclusion Report provides information on how the company continues to progress in building an inclusive culture that respects and celebrates our employees across the globe. This year's report highlights the company's streamlined D&I framework and representation advancements.

The 2022 Caterpillar Annual Report features how the global team delivered one of the best years in Caterpillar's nearly 100-year history as the company continued executing its strategy for long-term profitable growth.

"The unique backgrounds and experiences of our diverse, global team and their commitment to serving our customers contributed to our excellent performance in 2022," said Umpleby.

You can explore all reports at caterpillar.com/reports.

About Caterpillar

With 2022 sales and revenues of $59.4 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, we've been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments  Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation  and providing financing and related services through our Financial Products segment. Visit us at caterpillar.com or join the conversation on our social media channels at caterpillar.com/en/news/social-media.html .

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
Enjoy a Variety of Convenient Barbeque Recipes for Under $25

AUSTIN, Minn., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The makers of Lloyd's barbeque products, one of the leaders in heat-and-serve barbeque in America, have again joined forces with Matt Abdoo, Executive Chef & Partner of Pig Beach BBQ to celebrate National BBQ Month in May. These barbeque icons have curated affordable and authentic barbeque meals for the entire family that are all under $25.

Lloyds Pig Beach Barbeque Chicken Pizza  Who doesnt love pizza? Easy and fun for the entire family to prepare, you can add everyones favorite toppings. Celebrate National BBQ Month this May by picking up your favorite Lloyds ribs and heat them up on the grill for a delicious meal for the entire family for under $25. A classic dish we turned into a barbeque masterpiece. We added some flair to traditional mac-n-cheese by adding a package of Lloyds pecanwood-smoked pulled pork with Pig Beach mustard barbeque sauce for a hearty meal everyone will truly enjoy.

"What better way to celebrate National BBQ Month than bringing families and friends together over some delicious food," said Rhonda Ihrke, Lloyd's barbeque brand manager. "Working with barbeque experts and award winners like Matt and all our friends at Pig Beach BBQ, we wanted to put together some fun recipes that families can enjoy that are not only amazing, but also budget friendly and easy to make."

"I love collaborating with the Lloyd's brand because they offer quality meats that are tender, flavorful, and perfectly smoked paired with our World Champion Mustard BBQ sauce," said Chef Matt Abdoo. "We've loved curating delicious BBQ meals with Lloyd's, as featured in several recipes found in our cookbook, Pig Beach BBQ Cookbook: Smoked, Grilled, Roasted, and Sauced . These National BBQ Month recipes are a sure way to elevate your summer grilling with ease."

National BBQ Month Family Recipes:

Lloyds  Pig Beach Barbeque Chicken Pizza  Who doesn't love pizza? Easy and fun for the entire family to prepare, you can add everyone's favorite toppings. For this recipe, we paired our Lloyd's hickory-hardwood-smoked pulled chicken with Pig Beach mustard barbeque sauce with arugula, shallots and banana peppers! Full recipe here: https://www.hormel.com/Recipes/LLOYD%E2%80%99S%C2%AE-Pig-Beach-BBQ-Chicken-Pizza-with-Arugula.

Lloyd's Pig Beach Barbeque Pulled-Pork Mac-N-Cheese  A classic dish we turned into a barbeque masterpiece. We added some flair to traditional mac-n-cheese by adding a package of Lloyd's pecanwood-smoked pulled pork with Pig Beach mustard barbeque sauce for a hearty meal everyone will truly enjoy. Full recipe here: https://www.hormel.com/Recipes/LLOYD%E2%80%99S%C2%AE-Pig-Beach-BBQ-Pulled-Pork-Mac-N-Cheese.

Grilled Baby Back Ribs  A tasty recipe, and we do all the hard work for you. Just pick up your favorite Lloyd's ribs and heat them up on the grill for a delicious meal for the entire family. Cooking instructions can be found here: https://www.hormel.com/Recipes/LLOYDS-Barbeque-Ribs.

Founded in 1978, Lloyd's Barbeque Company (Mendota Heights, Minn.) is owned by Hormel Foods Corporation, (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company. Founder Lloyd Segel created Lloyd's Barbeque with a unique passion and a singular vision: his love of barbeque. Through years of dedication, Segel captured the secret of making and packing a restaurant-quality rib. He pioneered a new category by developing unique vacuum-packed, fully cooked barbeque ribs that are ready to heat and eat in minutes. Today, your whole family can enjoy the rewards of his endeavors  the perfect barbeque solution for the time-pressed cook.

In June 2020, the Lloyd's barbeque brand partnered with Pig Beach BBQ, a two-time world barbeque sauce champion, to produce two mouthwatering products: Lloyd's pecanwood-smoked and seasoned pulled pork and Lloyd's hardwood-smoked and seasoned pulled chicken with Pig Beach mustard barbeque sauce.

For additional information on Lloyd's barbeque products, including, recipes, nutritional information and where to buy, visit https://www.hormel.com/Brands/Hormel-Lloyds.

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/ .

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation
Deposits are now being accepted for early 2024 move-ins

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Living, a real estate and property management company dedicated to the ownership, operation and development of high-quality senior living communities, announced today the opening of their information center for Clearwater Newport Beach, a 101-unit, luxury assisted living and memory support community in Newport Beach. Clearwater expects to welcome new residents in early 2024.

The information center is adjacent to the community at 2430 SE Bristol Street. Prospective residents and their families can visit and have their questions answered about assisted living and memory care, learn about personalized care services and enriching programs that will be available, and make a deposit to reserve an apartment.

"Clearwater's Empowered Living philosophy is about encouraging each individual to connect with the world through emotional, physical, and social experiences, and a huge part of that is supported by the location we select for our communities," said Danielle Morgan, Clearwater Living's president & chief operating officer. "Clearwater Newport Beach will provide residents and their families with convenient access to an array of shopping, dining and sightseeing opportunities in one of the country's most upscale, beautiful cities."

Located just off Route 73 at 101 Bayview Place, Clearwater Newport Beach will offer 70 assisted living and 31 memory support apartments in a variety of sophisticated, contemporary finishes and floor plans including studio, and one- and two-bedroom options. The conveniently situated community will boast a large outdoor courtyard, offering residents an immersive indoor/outdoor living experience.

Clearwater's five-star, resort-style living will provide residents with a creative studio, club room, fitness and wellness center, theater, housekeeping and laundry, salons, transportation and concierge services. Clearwater's commitment to healthy living includes chef-driven cuisine that goes well beyond basic nutritional needs. Residents and their guests will be able to choose among a variety of options across multiple dining venues including an on-site Savor Restaurant, CDM Cafe, wine vault, outdoor bar, and private dining.

Clearwater provides residents with access to a licensed nurse onsite, 24-hour compassionate care partners, medication coordination, regular monitoring and other comprehensive care services as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology through their collaboration with EmpowerMe Wellness company.

Clearwater Living actively acquires, develops and operates a full range of senior housing communities throughout the western United States. Clearwater Newport Beach will be the company's eleventh community in California, Nevada and Arizona, and they have additional developments in the pipeline.

About Clearwater Living

Clearwater Living is committed to providing the most superior customer service and living experiences that celebrates individual relevance, from our residents and their families to our family of team members. Clearwater is growing through strategic acquisitions, development and operational management of senior living communities throughout the western United States. Every Clearwater Living community practices a holistic approach to successful aging and personalized care that improve the daily lives of residents. To learn more about Clearwater Living, visit ClearwaterLiving.com.

Contact: Jennifer Franklin

Spotlight Marketing Communications

(949) 427-1385

[email protected]

SOURCE Clearwater Living
- Colle McVoy is the first agency in the network to join the B Corp movement -

- Agency pledges $1 million of pro bono services to nonprofit organizations -

MINNEAPOLIS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the challenger network built to transform marketing, Minneapolis creative agency Colle McVoy today announced its certification as a B Corporation from B Lab, a nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities and the planet. Colle McVoy is the first agency in the Stagwell network, as well as the largest Twin Cities creative agency, to join the global B Corp movement of more than 6,500 companies using business as a force for good.

"We believe a better future means we have a responsibility to use our expertise as a force for good and that all growth should be rooted in doing what's best for people, the planet and the communities we operate in," said Christine Fruechte, CEO, Colle McVoy. "Colle McVoy has embraced doing good and acting purposefully for nearly 90 years. Fortifying our commitment through B Corp Certification is vital as we work to create new futures for brands in our increasingly purpose-driven and values-based economy when consumer expectations are higher than ever."

Colle McVoy launches $1M pro-bono initiative to aid nonprofits building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Tweet this

Becoming B Corp certified is a significant milestone in the agency's ongoing transformation to build the agency of the future. With a sustainable and inclusive business model and its environmental stewardship, the agency embodies what it takes to build brands in the new ever-changing marketing landscape and to go beyond the way things have always been done.

"B Corp certification is a codification of our inherent commitment to be better tomorrow than we are today as we work to create real change for ourselves and our partners," said Fruechte.

As an extension of its commitment, Colle McVoy is launching a program that provides pro bono branding support to national nonprofit organizations working to create a more inclusive and sustainable economy. The agency will be donating $1 million dollars in agency resources to advance the goals of organizations. A formal submission process to the program will launch this summer.

Certified B Corporations meet high verified standards of positive social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency, and aspire to use the power of markets to address social and environmental problems. Fellow B Corp certified companies include Athleta, Cotopaxi, Seventh Generation and Vermont Creamery, to name a few. Colle McVoy has met the rigorous standards of accountability and transparency in the five key areas of governance, workers, community, environment and customers by enacting policies that reduce carbon emissions, providing fair and living wages, meeting ethical supply chain practice standards, and giving back to the community. B Corp Certification is a long-term commitment to social good and requires an ongoing commitment with recertification every three years.

About Colle McVoy

Colle McVoy is a full-service creative agency that leads brands to their next. We combine purpose, innovation and experience in new ways to give businesses a competitive advantage. As a Certified B Corporation, we believe a better future means we have a responsibility to use our expertise as a force for good to benefit all people, communities and the planet. Our client list includes some of the world's most recognized brands and our innovative culture has been named a Best Place to Work by Ad Age, Outside magazine and the Star Tribune. For more information, visit collemcvoy.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About B Lab

B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies  known as B Corps  who are leading the way. To date, our community includes 500,000 workers in over 6,500 B Corps across 80 countries and 160 industries, and more than 200,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. B Lab has created and led efforts to pass over 50 corporate statutes globally that enable stakeholder governance, with over 10,000 companies using the legal framework. To learn more and join the movement, visit bcorporation.net.

CONTACT:

Jen Stack

[email protected]

SOURCE Stagwell Inc.
DENVER, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Colorado Legal Group is pleased to announce our expansion with new office locations opening in Colorado Springs and Grand Junction this May. With our Denver office and new office locations, we are able to better serve the residents of Colorado no matter where they are located. Licensed attorney and CEO, David Crum opened Colorado Legal Group in Denver in 2018, a sister firm to Nebraska Legal Group and New Mexico Legal Group. David is excited to offer top-tier divorce and family law services to more residents in Colorado with the launch of his new practices in Colorado Springs and Grand Junction this May.

In his search for an attorney to anchor Colorado Legal Group's two new offices, David Crum met Attorney Ashley Whitham of the Whitham Law Group based in Grand Junction and they quickly developed a business relationship. The two accomplished attorneys decided to join forces and as of May 1, 2023, merging Whitham Law Group with Colorado Legal Group.

"Whitham Law Group is being merged with Colorado Legal Group and I have accepted a position as a managing attorney with them, managing both the Grand Junction and Colorado Springs offices. I am very excited about this amazing opportunity! Colorado Legal Group is composed of highly skilled and knowledgeable attorneys and support staff. This means that although the Grand Junction office is a smaller office, our clients will have access to all the resources of a large law firm. This is what will set our practice apart from others in the area and provide an advantage to our clients. I am also proud to be able to say that the Grand Junction office is already rooted in the community and is staffed with exceptional personnel who are familiar with local practice standards and the local judicial system. This expansion is exciting for our clients and for the community!"  Ashley Whitham, Managing Attorney.

With over 2800 consultations and 1300 successful cases in Denver, Colorado Legal Group is committed to providing Grand Junction and Colorado Springs the same top-tier representation we have offered in Denver since 2018.

About Colorado Legal Group

Colorado Legal Group is Colorado's premier divorce and family law firm. With over twenty employees in three office locations, we are able to efficiently represent divorce & family law clients throughout Colorado. For more information, visit www.coloradolegalgroup.com

SOURCE Colorado Legal Group
Presented by Delta Air Lines, the special evening features appearances by Ariana DeBose, Rachel Brosnahan, Audra McDonald, John Dickerson, Jason Ralph, Stephanie Ruhle among others. The evening will include a special performance by Grammy-nominated musical group Tank and the Bangas.

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Covenant House, the largest charity in the Americas helping youth facing homelessness and survivors of trafficking, will hold its annual Night of Covenant House Stars Gala on Monday, May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Javits Center Rooftop Pavilion and Terrace in New York City.

Night of Covenant House Stars (PRNewsfoto/Covenant House)

Night of Covenant House Stars will feature Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner and Covenant House International Board Member Rachel Brosnahan; Academy and Golden Globe Award winner and Covenant House International Board member Ariana DeBose; news anchor, best-selling author, and Covenant House International Board member John Dickerson; Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner and Covenant House International Board Member Audra McDonald; actor and producer Jason Ralph; and host of MSNBC's The 11th Hour Stephanie Ruhle.

"The funds and awareness we will raise on May 22 will help Covenant House provide high-quality care to the thousands of youth who will come through our doors this year, and to advocate at every level of government and society for solutions to the root causes of youth homelessness," said Covenant House President and CEO Bill Bedrossian.

This year's gala will feature a special music performance from Grammy nominated Tank and the Bangas. The New Orleans-based band is known for their vibrant blend of R&B, funk, hip-hop, gospel, and spoken word poetry. After winning the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest, the band was nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards. The band's third studio album, Red Balloon received a nomination for "Best Progressive R&B Album" at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Eric Hutcherson, Executive Vice President and Chief People and Inclusion Officer at Universal Music Group will receive the prestigious Covenant House Board Service Award for the time and talent he has given as a true champion for youth experiencing homelessness.

Delta Air Lines will be honored by Covenant House for ten years of commitment and support of youth experiencing homelessness, not only through much-needed funding but by providing job training and placements for young people overcoming homelessness.

"Night of Covenant House Stars is a powerful evening where we bring together our biggest supporters and showcase why our work remains critical in cities around the globe," said Bedrossian. "We are so grateful to our partners at Delta Air Lines and to all our celebrities and supporters who believe with us that no young person should experience homelessness."

This event ensures that we can continue to make a difference for youth in our programs in 34 cities across six countries, and give voice to the young people who every day are pursuing their dreams and their futures.

You can purchase a ticket to attend the event here .

ABOUT COVENANT HOUSE

Covenant House is the largest, primarily privately funded charity in the Americas helping young people facing homelessness and survivors of trafficking, providing 24/7 crisis care and ongoing support in 34 cities across six countries. In over 50 years of service, Covenant House has never closed the doors and our high-quality programs are designed to empower young people to rise and overcome adversity, today and in the future.

For more information, go to www.covenanthouse.org

CONTACT: Tom Manning | VP Marketing & Public Relations | [email protected]

Wolf Kasteler PR | [email protected]

SOURCE Covenant House
Lyons & Simmons co-founder's practice focuses on incentivizing change

DALLAS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognized for a fearless courtroom approach and a focus on incentivizing change, Michael Lyons is one of 52 attorneys nationwide to be honored by The National Law Journal for their groundbreaking approach to plaintiffs' representation.

Co-founder of the Dallas trial firm Lyons & Simmons, Lyons was selected to the 2023 Plaintiffs' Attorneys Trailblazers listing based on his work on behalf of clients involved in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as his proven record of obtaining outstanding results in high-stakes, high-exposure litigation.

"I adopted a mindset and overall mission when I began practicing law that there is more to the civil justice system than compensating victims of civil wrongs. A big feature of the civil tort system is to uncover and identify the cause and to incentivize wrongdoers to correct their misdeeds. Many of my cases deal with wrongs committed by large companies. In my experience, the best incentive a corporate entity has to avoid harming others is the looming threat to its leadership that it will have to answer for its wrongs through a big verdict," Lyons told the NLJ.

"Corporations don't go to jail. The civil justice system is the best way to police those who aren't regulating themselves."

Among his most recent court wins is a $10.1 million jury verdict in a 2022 medical malpractice case involving "willful and wanton negligence" against a joint-venture North Texas hospital in treating a woman who was left a paraplegic due to delayed treatment and ignored policies.

Most recently, Lyons was part of the trial team that secured an $860 million verdict in April for the mother and estate of Kiersten Smith who died when a tower crane crashed through her Dallas apartment. He also currently serves in a leadership role on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee appointed by the Multidistrict Litigation Court in the Astroworld festival mass-casualty incident that occurred in 2019.

The full Plaintiffs' Attorneys Trailblazers listing is featured in a special supplement to the May 2023 edition of The National Law Journal.

About Lyons & Simmons, LLP

Dallas-based Lyons & Simmons, LLP is a trial boutique representing clients in wrongful death, personal injury, products liability, and complex "bet-the-company" business litigation matters across the country.

Media Contact:

Rhonda Reddick

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Lyons & Simmons
AI-Powered Recruiting Leader, Elevatus, Appoints David Gurle to Board of Directors to Drive Growth and Expansion:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elevatus, the global leader in AI-powered recruiting solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Gurle to its Board of Directors. Gurle's extensive experience in leadership roles at companies such as Microsoft, ThomsonReuters, Skype and Symphony, coupled with his track record of scaling businesses at all growth stages, will be instrumental in guiding Elevatus through its next phase of growth.

Elevatus, a leader in AI-powered recruiting, has appointed David Gurle to its board of directors to spearhead growth and expansion efforts.

As a recognized leader in recruitment software, Elevatus has streamlined the hiring process for over 150 enterprise companies worldwide, attracting and hiring top talent more efficiently and cost-effectively. Gurle's appointment to the Board of Directors strengthens Elevatus' commitment to delivering world-class recruitment solutions across different industries. His strategic vision and expertise will be crucial in guiding Elevatus as it continues to revolutionize the recruitment landscape with the latest advancements in AI, science, and technology.

"Elevatus is thrilled to welcome David Gurle to our team as an advisor and board member," said Yara Burgan, CEO of Elevatus. "With decades of experience in the tech industry and a proven track record of success at some of the biggest names in the business, David brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. His dedication to innovation and invaluable guidance and insights on strategy, operations, and product development will be crucial as we continue our journey of growth, innovation, and scaling."

Gurle expressed his excitement about joining the Elevatus family, stating, "I am honored to contribute to Elevatus' mission of changing the way companies hire top talent. Elevatus has built an impressive platform that is transforming the recruitment industry, and I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting journey. With their passion and dedication to their customers and team members, I am confident that we can take Elevatus to new heights."

With recent industry accolades and a successful Series A funding round, Elevatus is well-positioned to build upon its success and continue to expand its reach. Gurle's appointment to the Board of Directors, combined with Elevatus' commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, highlights the company's dedication to revolutionizing the recruitment industry.

About Elevatus:

Elevatus is the global leader in AI-powered recruiting solutions, streamlining the hiring process for over 150 enterprise companies worldwide. The company's commitment to innovation, coupled with its customer-focused approach, has made it a recognized leader in recruitment software. With the latest advancements in AI, science, and technology, Elevatus is revolutionizing the recruitment industry and delivering world-class recruitment solutions across eight different industries.

Contact Details:

Elevatus Inc.

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Elevatus Inc
A book club for people who don't like reading, but love drinking wine.

BOSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone knows that book clubs are just an excuse to get together with friends and drink wine. So, Archer Roose has decided to cut out the proverbial middle-man by creating the Elizabeth Banks Book Club. The first-ever club of its kind where the books don't actually matter.

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks, Archer Roose co-owner and Chief Creative Officer, is the latest Hollywood multi-hyphenate celebrity to launch a 'book club', in a :45 video announcing the initiative. On a mission to disrupt the wine industry with luxury wine in cans, Archer Roose takes the expected, conventional book club idea and flips it on its head. How? By highlighting the not-so-secret-secret of book clubs  they are an excuse to get friends together to enjoy wine. Banks and Archer Roose demonstrate this by featuring 'books' that don't actually exist  such as "How to Play the Violin Despite Your IBS", "Riding a Bike is Hard. Tax Fraud is Easy" and "Things Horses Care About" to name a few.

"Our 'club'," says Banks using air quotes, "is designed to get people right to the wine. It celebrates the camaraderie enjoyed with friends and Archer Roose."

By following @archerroosewines, Instagram users automatically join 'the club.' They are encouraged to share the titles on their personal channels, stock up on Archer Roose and call their own 'book club meeting' (ie. an excuse to drink wine with friends.) They are also encouraged to brag about their participation in the program to gain the 'smart person social clout' that is associated with being in a book club. Throughout the summer, users can check out Archer Roose's Instagram for additional playful book titles and ongoing social support around the book club.

"Now you can have a book club meeting with your friends or family and not have to worry about if you read the book or not," says Archer Roose CEO Marian Leitner. "It's all about the wine and not taking ourselves too seriously."

Created by Archer Roose's agency of record, Colossus (Boston, MA), this activation is another in a line of breakthrough creative executions. Since the inception of Banks' partnership, Archer Roose & Colossus have successfully garnered attention by poking fun at marketing conventions. The team introduced Elizabeth Banks in Uninvited Guest where she forcibly made herself the brand spokesperson, launched the Archer Roose Rewards Program which offered to mail free snakes to anyone who purchased 100,000 cases of wine, and unsuccessfully visited the Metaverse to show that wine is best enjoyed in real life.

"Drinking wine should be fun." says Greg Almeida, ECD at Colossus, "Archer Roose really understands that. You can see it in everything they do. They're redefining the status quo and welcoming a broader audience into the world of wine."

Archer Roose is pioneered by women (a women-owned and -operated company). For this production, Colossus helped champion progress in the male-dominated production industry by using a largely female crew, director & editor.

The "Elizabeth Banks Book Club from Archer Roose" video can be seen here and the web experience can be found ( here ) and on ( Instagram .)

About Archer Roose

Archer Roose takes pride in the craftsmanship of our wine. We return to the foundation of wine as it wasgarnering relationships with the winemaking community, preserving terroir, and sourcing the highest quality wine with the highest quality grapes to produce a portfolio of delicious wine varietals. We also shape the foundation of wine as it should bewith mindfulness to the planet and to the lifestyles of those who drink them. In creating new wine traditions, we give modern drinkers the freedom to curate their own drinking experiences with formats that fit their lifestyles.

For more information, please visit www.archerroose.com and check out our Instagram and Facebook .

About Colossus

Colossus is an advertising and creative company based in Boston, Mass. We are an independent creative company partnering with a select number of like-minded brands who view creativity as a business lever. We're built smallby designwhich keeps us nimble, efficient and adaptable to the needs of our clients. You don't need to be big in size to be a colossus in stature. After all, a tweet can topple the stock market. And Prince was only 5' 2". Our goal is to help brands break through the white noise of the mundane by shaping art, technology and commerce into meaningful experiences. For more information, please visit wearecolossus.com.

About Elizabeth Banks

Actress, producer, writer and director Elizabeth Banks is known for roles in both comedy and drama, as well as film and television. Banks most recently produced and directed Universal Pictures' highly successful comedy-thriller COCAINE BEAR, which continues to be a hit at the box office. Banks can be seen starring in THE BEANIE BUBBLE alongside Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Snook and in A MISTAKE directed by Christine Jeffs (SUNSHINE CLEANING). Earlier this year, Banks starred in the feature drama CALL JANE alongside Sigourney Weaver, which premiered at Sundance and London Film Festival. Her work includes stand-out performances in projects including THE HUNGER GAMES franchise, Love & Mercy, The LEGO Movie and Mrs. America. She is also a three-time Emmy nominee for her recurring roles in 30 ROCK and MODERN FAMILY. On the production side, Banks made her directorial debut in 2015 with PITCH PERFECT 2, and produced the Pitch Perfect franchise through her production company Brownstone Productions, along with her husband Max Handleman. Brownstone Productions' slate includes multiple film, television and digital collaborations across various networks and studios, including the critically-acclaimed comedy SHRILL on Hulu, starring SNL's Aidy Bryant and BUMPER IN BERLIN on Peacock.

SOURCE Archer Roose
Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates ambitious entrepreneurs who are building bolder futures

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Michael Sachse of Dandelion Energy was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 New York Award finalist. 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.

Sachse 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.

"Being named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 New York Award finalist is a tremendous honor and testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Dandelion Energy team," said Michael Sachse, CEO of Dandelion Energy. "Our mission is to revolutionize home heating and cooling by providing sustainable, accessible, and affordable geothermal solutions. This recognition fuels our commitment to continue pushing boundaries and transforming the industry, one home at a time."

Dandelion Energy was spun out of Google X (Now Alphabet) in 2017. From the start, Dandelion's focus has been on bringing sustainable heating and cooling forward, and the company identified geothermal, or ground-source heat pumps, as an existing technology that had not yet been brought to scale.

In October 2022, Dandelion celebrated its 1,000th geothermal installation , while expanding access to residential geothermal heating and cooling to Massachusetts and Connecticut, and opening operations centers throughout the region. As of March 2023, the systems Dandelion has installed will reduce carbon emissions by 605,754 tons by 2050, the equivalent of removing over 19,100 gas-powered cars from the road. Sachse recently participated in the White House executive roundtable on heat pump manufacturing.

Regional award winners will be announced on June 13th, 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 nation's 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.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, N.A.; SAP America; and the Kauffman Foundation. In New York & Connecticut, sponsors also include, Cresa, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN), Marsh, Empire Valuation Consultants, ADP, DLA Piper, and Morgan Lewis.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year

Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's 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 .

About EY Private

As Advisors to the ambitious, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private .

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com .

About Dandelion Energy

As the nation's leading residential geothermal company, Dandelion Energy helps homeowners free their homes from fossil fuels. By making geothermal heating and cooling systems accessible and affordable for modern homeowners, Dandelion is working to mitigate climate change with renewable technologies that decarbonize homes. Today, Dandelion's heating and cooling solutions allow homeowners to save up to 50 percent on their heating and cooling bills and help the environment by moving away from conventional systems to reduce homes' carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 percent. The state-of-the-art geothermal heat pump system offers wifi-enabled monitoring, creating a smarter, more responsive, and more innovative approach than any other HVAC system on the market. To learn more, visit www.dandelionenergy.com .

Press Inquiries:

Kathy Berardi

JMG Public Relations

[email protected]

678-644-4122

SOURCE Dandelion Energy
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Azerbaijan's Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov will take part in the 56th meeting of the Asian Development Bank`s (ADB) Board of Governors, which will be held in South Korea, Trend reports.

The theme of this year's annual meeting is "The Rebirth of Asia: Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Reform."

It is expected that about 5,000 people will participate in the event, including ministers of finance, central bank governors, senior officials, representatives of the private sector, international organizations and organizations of civil society, youth, academic community and the media.

Moreover, in 2022, the ADB allocated $117.3 million to finance projects in Azerbaijan. The bank also raised an additional $92.9 million in the form of co-financing.

The Asian Development Bank has started preparing a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Azerbaijan for 2024-2028.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) today announced the results of its fixed-price cash tender offers (each, an "Offer" and, collectively, the "Offers") for any and all of certain Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS) Notes listed in the table below (the "Notes") upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, each dated as of April 24, 2023 (collectively, the "Offer Documents").

A total of approximately $2,654 million in original principal amount of Notes were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before the designated expiration time for the Offers, which was 5:00 PM New York City time on April 28, 2023. The table below sets forth the original principal balance of the Notes, the percentage of original principal amount tendered, and the original principal amount tendered in the Offers.

Name of Security CUSIP ISIN Original Principal Balance Percentage of Original Principal Amount Tendered1 Original Principal Amount Tendered2 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2014- C04, Class 1M-2 Notes 30711XAP9 US30711XAP96 $578,500,000.00 77.77 % $449,890,551.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2015- C01, Class 1M-2 Notes 30711XAT1 US30711XAT19 $521,500,000.00 73.45 % $383,066,537.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2015- C02, Class 1M-2 Notes 30711XAX2 US30711XAX21 $625,100,000.00 75.26 % $470,450,407.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2015- C03, Class 1M-2 Notes 30711XBB9 US30711XBB91 $644,149,000.00 31.91 % $205,543,198.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2016- C01, Class 1M-2 Notes 30711XBM5 US30711XBM56 $333,918,000.00 45.44 % $151,728,711.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2017- C01, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XEQ3 US30711XEQ34 $207,850,000.00 30.88 % $64,176,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2017- C03, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XJW5 US30711XJW56 $195,918,000.00 86.71 % $169,873,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2017- C05, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XNW0 US30711XNW01 $207,818,000.00 75.20 % $156,287,442.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2017- C06, Class 2B-1 Notes 30711XSW5 US30711XSW55 $73,668,000.00 73.78 % $54,352,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2018- C01, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XYW8 US30711XYW81 $256,124,000.00 41.48 % $106,237,922.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2018- C02, Class 2B-1 Notes 30711XC44 US30711XC442 $151,053,000.00 99.94 % $150,963,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2018- C03, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XJ62 US30711XJ629 $192,259,000.00 48.45 % $93,148,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2018- C05, Class 1B-1 Notes 30711XY32 US30711XY321 $177,428,000.00 86.18 % $152,913,000.00 Connecticut Avenue Securities, Series 2018- C06, Class 2B-1 Notes 30711X5V2 US30711X5V23 $70,009,000.00 64.17 % $44,922,000.00





$4,235,294,000.00 62.65 % $2,653,551,768.00

1 Rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. 2 Original Principal Amount tendered includes $368,164,791 of Notes tendered using the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery.

The settlement date for the Notes tendered and accepted for purchase in the Offers is expected to occur on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 (the "Settlement Date"). Any Notes tendered and accepted for purchase in the Offers using the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery are expected to be purchased on May 3, 2023.

BofA Securities acted as the designated lead dealer manager and Wells Fargo Securities acted as the designated dealer manager for the Offers. Fannie Mae engaged African-American-owned CastleOak Securities, L.P. and Hispanic-owned Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc. as advisors on the transaction. Global Bondholder Services Corporation was engaged as the tender agent and information agent for the Offers.

Related Links:

CAS Notes Tender Offer Press Release

CAS Notes Tender Offer Frequently Asked Questions

About Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit:

fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog

Fannie Mae Newsroom

https://www.fanniemae.com/news

Photo of Fannie Mae

https://www.fanniemae.com/resources/img/about-fm/fm-building.tif

Fannie Mae Resource Center

1-800-2FANNIE

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities of Fannie Mae, including the Notes. Nothing in this press release constitutes advice on the merits of buying or selling a particular investment. Any investment decision as to any purchase or sale of securities referred to herein must be made solely on the basis of information contained in the Offer Documents, and no reliance may be placed on the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this press release. The Offers are not being made to holders of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the securities laws or blue sky laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer will be deemed to be made on behalf of the Company by BofA Securities, Inc. or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (as applicable) or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

You should not deal in securities unless you understand their nature and the extent of your exposure to risk. You should be satisfied that they are suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial position. If you are in any doubt you should consult an appropriately qualified financial advisor.

This release includes forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the timing and expected settlement and closing of the purchase of the Notes in a tender offer. These forward-looking statements are based on Fannie Mae's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may turn out to be different from these statements. Factors that may lead to different results are discussed in "Risk Factors," "Forward-Looking Statements," and elsewhere in the Offer Documents and the documents incorporated by reference therein. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Fannie Mae assumes no obligation to update this information.

Connecticut Avenue Securities is a registered mark of Fannie Mae. Unauthorized use of this mark is prohibited.

SOURCE Fannie Mae
NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mixx, a certified-diverse, female LGTBQ owned and operated, B-Corp, strategic creative agency, has announced that it is the first creative agency member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). IAB is the trade association for the digital advertising industry, representing more than 700 leading media and technology companies worldwide.

The Mixx has been at the forefront of diversity, equity and inclusion for 27 years, and the decision to become an IAB member reflects the agency's commitment to staying ahead of the curve in culture. As a member of IAB, The Mixx will have access to the latest industry research, training, and networking opportunities, allowing it to continue to hold the industry to a standard with true audience representation and inclusion.

"IAB is about trust and transparency in the media space," explains Robyn Streisand, CEO of The Mixx. "We are DEI and we are here now, to put a stake in the ground as the first creative agency to join IAB. We are an agency that is built on long-standing relationships with our clients, partners, and the community. IAB is starting something new by bringing us in and it is so vitally important to the future of multicultural marketing, as we create the standards that everyone must uphold to do what is right."

The Mixx's membership in IAB comes as the agency continues to grow and expand its capabilities, beginning as the premier LGBTQ+ agency with creditability amongst the community, having built long-standing relationships with fortune 500 brands such as American Express, Deloitte and Diageo. The Mixx takes brands from campaign ideation to experiential activation and teaches brands how to better connect with audiences as individuals, across every step of the journey.

"IAB becomes even more authentically successful when everyone has a seat at the table," explains Sheryl Goldstein, EVP and Chief Industry Growth Officer, IAB. "DEI must be at the forefront of everything that we do in the industryand everything that brands do to connect with audiencesfrom onset to campaign creation through media buy and execution."

As a member of IAB, The Mixx will have the opportunity to contribute to industry discussions and play an active role in shaping the future of multicultural marketing.

Contact Ann Jonas, Director of Content, [email protected]

SOURCE The Mixx
Powered by Finastra's cloud-based Fusion Phoenix, the bank will better deliver on its commitment to strength and reliability as it continues to grow

LAKE MARY, Fla., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra today announced that First Citizens Bank of Iowa and Minnesota, a family-owned community bank headquartered in Mason City, Iowa, has expanded its collaboration with Finastra, migrating Finastra's Fusion Phoenix core solution from on-site hosted to the cloud. The bank will leverage its new core capabilities to adapt to emerging opportunities, increase operational efficiencies, and automate internal processes, enabling it to better deliver an enhanced customer experience.

"For almost three decades, First Citizens has trusted the team at Finastra to power our operations through their innovative solutions, helping us stay one step ahead as banking technology has evolved over time," said Joleen Fleming, Chief Operations and Retail Officer at First Citizens Bank. "As we continue to grow, Finastra has the experience and stability we can trust to help deliver better banking across the communities we serve. We're looking forward to unlocking innovation and increasing efficiencies so we can focus even more closely on delivering financial well-being for everyone."

First Citizens Bank required a core banking solution adaptable to a fast-moving and ever-evolving market. Available in the cloud via Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, Fusion Phoenix gives financial institutions faster access to innovation, transformation at scale, accelerated time to market, and a low-cost path to innovation and open banking, something 68% of financial institutions in the United States see as essential, according to Finastra's Financial Services State of the Nation Survey.

Enabled by the cloud migration, the bank will achieve increased operational efficiencies through reduced back-office resources and architecture, allowing the bank to focus on the customer experience more closely.

"For generations, First Citizens Bank has trusted Finastra to power its growth and to be a reliable and innovative partner," said Keith Redding, Chief Revenue Officer, Universal Banking at Finastra. "Fusion Phoenix's open model gives the bank the flexibility it needs to compete with the larger banks while quickly adapting to emerging opportunities and enabling exceptional service."

In addition to Fusion Phoenix, First Citizens has previously selected Finastra for ancillary solutions including lending capabilities, item processing, and ECM cold storage.

About Finastra

Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning software solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Universal Banking (Retail, Digital and Commercial Banking) for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com

North American headquarters

744 Primera Boulevard

Suite 2000

Lake Mary, FL 32746

United States

T: +1 800 989 9009

Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1916021/FINASTRA_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Finastra
HOUSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexitallic, a leading manufacturer of innovative sealing products, is thrilled to announce the winners of its 2022 inaugural Masters Sales Program, which recognizes the top performers in the company's sales staff. The program seeks out individuals who not only achieve outstanding sales results but also demonstrate strong leadership skills and a willingness to help others.

This year's winners, Johnny Hanel and Ed Daigle, have exemplified the qualities that the Masters Sales Program seeks to honor. Johnny Hanel has been recognized as the Highest Top Line Salesperson for 2022, having grown his top line sales by double digits every year for the last five years. Additionally, Ed Daigle has been named Flexitallic's number one salesperson in Thermiculite Total Sales and Growth for 2022.

According to Jerry Lastovica, CEO of Flexitallic US, Canada and Mexico, "Johnny and Ed have been the best of the best. Their exceptional sales results, coupled with their dedication to developing strong customer relationships and their focus on meeting customer needs, make them truly deserving of this honor."

Johnny and Ed have been with Flexitallic for over a decade, and in the sealing industry for over 30 years. Both have made significant contributions to the company's success. They are widely regarded as experts in their field and have consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence in all aspects of their work.

Please join us in congratulating Johnny Hanel and Ed Daigle on their outstanding achievements in 2022. We look forward to their continued success and contributions to our company in the years to come.

About Flexitallic:

Flexitallic is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of sealing solutions for critical applications in the oil and gas, chemical, power, and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) industries. The company's portfolio includes an extensive range of gaskets, seals, and sheet materials, which are designed to meet the most demanding requirements of these industries. Flexitallic's products are engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, pressures, and corrosive environments, while maintaining high levels of performance and durability. With over 100 years of experience, Flexitallic has built a reputation for delivering innovative sealing solutions that provide Total Joint Integrity, ensuring reliable and safe operations for customers.

SOURCE Flexitallic
Ms. Beinart's extensive legal experience in private and public sector roles will contribute to the continued transformation of the iconic organization.

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced the appointment of Diana Beinart as its new general counsel. Ms. Beinart will join GSUSA's Executive Leadership Team and oversee GSUSA's Office of General Counsel, Office of the National Board, and the Risk and Insurance team. She will report directly to Bonnie Barczykowski, Chief Executive Officer, and act as a strategic advisor to GSUSA's National Board of Directors, Executive Leadership Team, and the organization as a whole.

Girl Scouts of the USA Welcomes Diana Beinart as New General Counsel.

Ms. Beinart succeeds the Hon. Jennifer L. Rochon, who was recently appointed judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

From her decades of experience in counsel positions at the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, private practice, and, most recently, the New York City Department of Finance, Beinart brings a wealth of expertise to this role and to the organization. She has a strong understanding of and appreciation for the challenges faced by both public and private organizations, as well as the many opportunities available to help them deliver on their missions.

"This is an inspiring and transformational time at Girl Scouts, and I am thrilled to be adding another talented executive to our leadership team," said GSUSA CEO Bonnie Barczykowski. "Her exceptional track record of leading organizations through complex legal and financial matters and advising on short and long-term strategy will be invaluable to our organization as we continue to fulfill our mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character."

"I am honored to join Girl Scouts of the USA as its new general counsel," said Beinart. "I look forward to working with the talented and dedicated team at GSUSA to support the organization's mission and help build the next generation of female leaders."

Beinart comes from a family of Girl Scoutsher mother was a troop leader, and Beinart, her sister, niece, and daughter are all Girl Scouts. Beinart graduated from the Columbia University School of Law and earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland. She is a certified public accountant and holds bar admissions in New York and the District of Columbia. She resides in New York with her husband and two children.

We Are Girl Scouts of the USA

Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challengeswhether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.

SOURCE Girl Scouts of the USA
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PayrollOrg will host the sixth annual Global Payroll Week, 1  5 May. Global Payroll Week recognizes payroll professionals for their dedication to paying employees around the world accurately and on-time, every time.

"Global payroll professionals deserve to be celebrated for their efforts to ensure employees around the globe have access to their wages on each and every payday," said Dan Maddux, Executive Director of PayrollOrg.

This year's event features many exciting educational opportunities and events. Exclusive content will be released and made available online to the public during the week-long event, including results from PayrollOrg's annual "Getting the World Paid" industry survey. Two complimentary webinars will be offered to global payroll professionals throughout GPW, as well as daily curated content emails with educational resources and topics important for global payroll professionals.

PayrollOrg will also announce the recipient of its fourth annual Global Payroll Titan award on the final day of GPW, 5 May. The award celebrates, recognizes, and empowers the payroll professionals responsible for processing multi-country payrolls.

Global Payroll Week elevates the visibility of the global payroll industry and increases the global payroll professional's skill level through education, training, and networking opportunities. It is made possible with support from official sponsors: ADP, CloudPay, and Immedis.

For more information about Global Payroll Week, its sponsors, and the different events happening each day, visit payroll.org/Global-payroll-week.

PayrollOrg (PAYO) is the industry leader in payroll education, publications, and networking. Each year, PAYO enrolls more than 100,000 participants from more than 100 countries in its training programs, and provides publications, newsletters, and resources to help payroll professionals maintain compliance. Visit PAYO online at payroll.org.

SOURCE Global Payroll Management Institute
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Gold Royalty Corp. ("Gold Royalty" or the "Company") (NYSE American: GROY) is pleased to announce the publication of its inaugural Sustainability Report and Asset Handbook. The Company will also be hosting an in-person Investor Day on the morning of May 16, 2023 in Toronto to provide a strategic update of Gold Royalty's business and an overview of its royalty portfolio. A webcast of the Investor Day will also be available.

David Garofalo, Chairman and CEO of Gold Royalty, commented, "The publication of our inaugural Sustainability Report and Asset Handbook marks a significant milestone for Gold Royalty. In the 24 months since our IPO we have made rapid progress, from a portfolio of 18 royalties, to over 200 royalties with 75 partners today. The Company is now at an inflection point as our key royalty assets begin to enter production. Our objective of these reports is to assist stakeholders in understanding the fundamental value of our assets and our commitment to building a sustainable long-term business."

2023 Asset Handbook

The 2023 Asset Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of our diverse royalty portfolio and the key assets fueling our growth. In just over two years, Gold Royalty has built a portfolio of over 200 royalties anchored in the best mining jurisdictions in the world on Tier 1, long-life assets that are operated by the largest and best capitalized mining companies in the industry. Gold Royalty's operating partners continue to add value through exploration with over 700,000 meters of drilling across the portfolio in 2022, unlocking significant upside through new discoveries, reserve and resource additions and mine life extensions and expansions, all at no cost to the Company.

2022 Sustainability Report

Gold Royalty is proud of its numerous sustainability accomplishments in 2022, with a variety of initiatives that have supported business growth, enhanced corporate governance, and boosted our ESG performance. These include:

Launched sustainability program and appointed a VP, ESG and Sustainability.

Approved updated ESG and Sustainability Policy, Anti-Corruption Policy, Insider Trading Policy, and Code of Conduct for Partners and Suppliers.

Contributed to diverse community causes, including arts, culture and mental health.

Developed agreement with property manager to measure Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions from the Company's corporate office in 2023.

Reviewed 100% of new royalty and streaming agreements and opportunities with enhanced ESG due diligence, screening out approximately 11% of opportunities due to ESG-related risk or performance concerns.

Became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact.

The 2023 Asset Handbook and 2022 Sustainability Report are available on Gold Royalty's website: www.goldroyalty.com

Investor Day

Gold Royalty's management team will host an in-person Investor Day on May 16, 2023 from 9:00 am ET to 12:00 pm ET in Toronto to provide a strategic update of Gold Royalty's business, a review of its assets and to review the Company's inaugural Sustainability Report and Asset Handbook. A webcast of the presentation will also be available.

Interested investors and analysts are invited to participate as follows:

In-Person (space limited): Please contact Jennifer Choi at [email protected] or Peter Behncke at [email protected] to confirm your interest in attending in person and for additional details on the event.

Please contact at or at to confirm your interest in attending in person and for additional details on the event. Virtual Webcast: Register for the event here: https://www.bigmarker.com/vid-conferences/GOLD-ROYALTY-INVESTOR-DAY

A replay of the event will be available on the Gold Royalty website following the presentation.

Q1 2023 Results Release Date

Gold Royalty will release its quarterly financial and operating results for the three months ending March 31, 2023 on Thursday, May 11, 2023, after market close. The Company intends to discuss these results as part of its Investor Day on May 16, 2023.

About Gold Royalty Corp.

Gold Royalty Corp. is a gold-focused royalty company offering creative financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Its mission is to invest in high-quality, sustainable, and responsible mining operations to build a diversified portfolio of precious metals royalty and streaming interests that generate superior long-term returns for our shareholders. Gold Royalty's diversified portfolio currently consists primarily of net smelter return royalties on gold properties located in the Americas.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), including but not limited to statements regarding: expectations regarding the development of the projects underlying the Company's royalty interests; expectations regarding the Company's growth and statements regarding the Company's plans and strategies. Such statements can be generally identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "believe", "plans", "anticipate" or similar terms. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions and other important factors, including assumptions of management regarding the accuracy of the disclosure of the operators of the projects underlying the Company's royalty interests, their ability to achieve disclosed plans and targets, macroeconomic conditions, commodity prices, and the Company's ability to finance future growth and acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including, among others, any inability to any inability of the operators of the properties underlying the Company's royalty interests to execute proposed plans for such properties or to achieved planned development and production estimates and goals, risks related to the operators of the projects in which the Company holds interests, including the successful continuation of operations at such projects by those operators, risks related to exploration, development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any such projects, the influence of macroeconomic developments, the ability of the Company to carry out its growth plans and other factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2022 and its other publicly filed documents under its profiles at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Gold Royalty Corp.
Thrasio Celebrates National Pet Month with Deals on Top Products

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Pet Month, Thrasio, a next-generation consumer goods company, has compiled a list of the must-haves for pet owners from their portfolio of brands. And they're teaming up with Amazon for its second annual Pet Day to offer special deals on leading pet products.

Angry Orange

Pet ownership has skyrocketed in the last several years. Sixty-six percent of U.S. households own a pet helping to make pet goods one of Thrasio's fastest growing categories. Thrasio's top-selling pet odor eliminator Angry Orange , can now be found in Walmart, Target, and PetSmart, as well as having more than 50,000 loyal Amazon subscribe and save subscribers, and their ChomChom pet hair roller boasts over 100,000 ratings on Amazon.

"We are building a portfolio of beloved everyday products that make customers' lives better, and pet owners need a lot of products to get through the day!" says Brandon Hendrix, SVP Marketing & Creative at Thrasio. "We are constantly enhancing our offerings to meet their needs. In fact, a lot of our product development comes from customer feedback. We take reviews into consideration when expanding product lines, improving existing products, and acquiring new brands that offer a differentiated product. Just look at Angry Orange. We acquired the brand with two main products and evolved the line to include more than twentywith more launching this year. Customers loved the original concentrate, but wanted an easier ready-to-use formula which we developed in many sizes and now in various scents. Did you know cats don't love the smell of citrus? We offer a 'fresh' scent enzyme cleaner & stain remover for those discerning felines, but dog owners asked for that signature orange smell, so we now offer both."

Here's a selection of customer-favorite products that make life with a pet easier and more efficient - plus a sneak peek on when to score the Amazon deals.

Keep your home fur-free with the original ChomChom, the pet hair roller with a cult following. You've seen it all over TikTok and it ranks as Buzzfeed's #1 product to buy again.

Enjoy 20% off ChomChom's original pet hair remover from now through 5/5/23 with the code 20PETDAY23

Blast foul pet smells instantly with Angry Orange Odor Eliminator, an industrial-strength, multi-surface spray with a fresh citrus scent powered by cold-pressed orange peels. And over 100,000 five-star ratings across all products on Amazon.

Snag Angry Orange enzyme cleaner & stain remover for 20% off from now through 5/3/23 with code 20PETDAYAO and take advantage of Pet Day lightning deals on its odor eliminators with an extra 10% discount code 10PETDAYAO

Muddy paws and claws don't stand a chance against the most reviewed dog car seat cover on Amazon from Active Pets.

De-mat & de-shed your furry friend like a pro without making a mess with this indispensable dog grooming brush from Pat Your Pet or this double-sided pet hair remover from Pawradise.

Take advantage of a 7-Day Deal running on Amazon from now through 5/7/23 and grab a deshedding brush for just $8.47

and grab a deshedding brush for just Get 20% off the double-sided pet hair remover through 5/5/23 with 20PETDAYPAW

Pawler's pooper scooper rake lets you easily scoop poop without having to bend down or use your hands, now with a larger tray and longer handle than the others on the market.

Prime Members can enjoy a special deal - just $26.99 from now through 5/3/23

Stelucca's cat scratch furniture protector is simple to apply, and the clear adhesive mats will keep your couch looking like new.

Prime members can grab a 6-pack for $15.66 during Amazon's Pet Day promotion

Thrasio's portfolio of pet goods will keep your home (and car, and yard) looking great and smelling fresh as an orange. Stay tuned for additional deals throughout National Pet Month.

About Thrasio

Thrasio is the next-generation consumer goods company reimagining how the world's most-loved online marketplace products become accessible to everyone. We use a deep understanding of rankings, ratings, and reviews to identify and acquire quality brands selling beloved goods. Then we apply data science, logistical expertise, marketing smarts, and more to expand product lines and help them reach customers around the globe. With every brand we grow, item listing we improve, or product we develop, our goal is to help people everywhere make the most of every moment. We estimate that 1 in 6 US homes has purchased a Thrasio product. Our portfolio includes Angry Orange pet odor eliminators and stain removers , Wise Owl Outfitters camping and outdoor gear , and more than 200 other Amazon and ecommerce brands . In an internet-sized sea of choices, we ensure what gets delivered to your door delivers. Thrasio was cofounded in 2018 by Joshua Silberstein. thrasio.com . How Goods Become Great

SOURCE Thrasio
Info-Tech LIVE, running September 19 to 21, 2023 in Las Vegas, is a tailored event for technology executives who want to translate theory into practice to lead IT into the future.

TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Global IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has announced the return of its marquee event, Info-Tech LIVE, for 2023. The event is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas from September 19 to 21, 2023.

Info-Tech LIVE 2023 will take place at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas from September 19 to 21, 2023. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group)

Info-Tech LIVE is the premier three-day, hands-on conference for IT executives who make technology decisions and drive innovation. Following the success of last year's event, over 1,000 leaders are expected at LIVE 2023. The format this year will expand to occupy two floors of The Cosmopolitan, providing attendees with more world-class keynotes, case studies, workshops, and in-depth one-on-one sessions with Info-Tech experts than in previous years.

"The recent unprecedented growth of technology, particularly with regards to AI and GenAI, is once again transforming the business and IT landscapes. IT leaders must be ready to absorb these exponential changes in technology to keep up," says Gord Harrison, Senior Vice President of Research and Advisory at Info-Tech Research Group. "At LIVE 2023, attendees will learn how to leverage emerging technologies and harness the power of exponential growth to drive innovation, create a competitive advantage, and deliver value to their organizations, putting theory into practice."

In line with this year's theme of Exponential IT: Theory to Practice, LIVE 2023 is set to be the biggest in the firm's history. The conference focuses on three key topics  Operational Excellence, Digital Transformation and Innovation, and Leading Through Change. LIVE 2023 will feature over 160 sessions with more than 11 renowned speakers, 20 technology keynotes, 22 industry panels and roundtables, 12 workshops, and 48 breakout sessions, including six exclusively dedicated to women in IT.

The sessions at LIVE 2023 are strategically structured to enable technology leaders to address real-world challenges in such areas as cybersecurity, data and analytics, vendor management, infrastructure, and applications.

The conference will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn, connect, and network with experts, speakers, analysts, and peers in the industry. They will be equipped with practical insights and knowledge to drive technology-led transformations and influence business outcomes, ultimately accelerating the careers of IT leaders.

IT leaders and professionals interested in attending can visit Info-Tech's events page to learn more or to reserve a seat for Info-Tech LIVE in Las Vegas. Media interested in attending can contact [email protected]

Updates and new details about speakers, agendas, and exclusive event experiences can be found via LinkedIn and Twitter over the coming months.

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 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
United Poultry Concerns Urges Positive Action for Chickens in May

MACHIPONGO, Va., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 4, animal advocates celebrate International Respect for Chickens Day. Launched by United Poultry Concerns in 2005, International Respect for Chickens Day celebrates chickens throughout the world and protests their suffering and abuse in agribusiness, experimental research, cockfighting, and other cruelties. May is International Respect for Chickens Month.

International Respect For Chickens Day - May 4th.

"We urge everyone to do a compassionate ACTION for chickens, on or around May 4th," says Karen Davis, president of United Poultry Concerns which promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of chickens and other domestic fowl.

"A library display, a vegan open house, an informative blog post, or simply talking to family and friends about the plight  and delight  of chickens are great ways to stick up for chickens," Davis says.

"Happy chickens are cheerful birds," says Karen Davis, who maintains a sanctuary for chickens in Machipongo, Virginia. "Chickens love the earth and sun, yet millions are sitting in filthy dark buildings on crippled legs breathing polluted air and suffering from debilitating diseases, as documented in my book Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs and in my Encyclopedia Britannica article Chickens: Their Life and Death in Farming Operations."

"The Social Life of Chickens" shows who chickens truly are  vibrant, personable, earth-loving birds.

United Poultry Concerns urges people to celebrate chickens on the planet instead of the plate, and to make every day Respect for Chickens Day.

For more information, visit United Poultry Concerns at www.upc-online.org.

SOURCE United Poultry Concerns
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov met with the head of the Uzbek Uzavtosanoat JSC Ulugbek Rozukulov, who is on a visit to Baku, Trend reports via the ministers tweet.

According to the tweet, during the meeting, cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in the automotive industry was discussed.

"We held discussions on the opportunities created by the Azerbaijani-Uzbek economic partnership for strengthening the relations between the business communities of our countries and perspective projects. Additionally, we touched upon the expansion of cooperation in the automobile industry," the tweet said.

Within the framework of the visit, Rozukulov will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation of two manufacturing enterprises - a welding plant and a dyeing factory in the Hajigabul industrial park. Both enterprises will contribute to the development of the industry, becoming the next step toward the localization of car production in Azerbaijan.
FT. WORTH, Texas, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With excitement for tequila and agave-based spirits at an all-time high in Texas, three Dallas/Ft. Worth-based entrepreneurs have just introduced La Pulga Tequila, distilled and bottled in Jalisco, Mexico but proudly born here in Texas.

La Pulga Tequila is an artisanal, additive-free 100% agave tequila that takes its name from the La Pulga outdoor market on the Northside of Ft. Worth, one of the oldest open-air flea markets in the US.

La Pulga Tequila is an artisanal, additive-free 100% agave tequila that takes its name from the La Pulga outdoor market in Ft. Worth, Texas, one of the oldest open-air flea markets in the US.

The brand was founded by Sarah Castillo, a well-known and respected local restaurateur (Taco Heads, Tinies Mexican Cuisine, Sidesaddle Saloon); Andrew De La Torre, a club owner and the operator of Pequeno Mexico; and Stephen Slaughter, a local entrepreneur and real estate developer.

"Mexico and Texas share a rich cultural heritage and connection, and our goal is to preserve and celebrate those strong community ties through the lens of traditional spirits," says Castillo, who was born and raised in Ft. Worth. "La Pulga Tequila is crafted in Mexico, but the idea and the genesis of this brand is firmly rooted right here in Texas, where we're proud to call home."

Also recently joining the La Pulga team as the company's Head of Spirits is Ale Ochoa, who was formerly a Whiskey Scientist and Master Blender at Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. (TX Whiskey).

La Pulga Tequila is distilled using only the highest-quality 100% Weber Blue Agave and crafted with traditional methods in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The brand launches with La Pulga Tequila Blanco, an unaged silver tequila (80 proof) characterized by its floral aroma and taste notes of cooked agave, grapefruit, anise, and honey; and La Pulga Tequila Reposado (80 proof) that is aged for 7 months in ex-bourbon barrels to impart flavors of agave, burnt sugar, licorice, honey, and black pepper. Both went through a verification process to be designated "Confirmed Additive-Free" by the influential industry experts at Tequila Matchmaker, ensuring that no ingredients were added to the tequila to alter or enhance its taste, smell or color.

Both La Pulga tequilas are available through Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) at bars and restaurants throughout Texas, and at fine spirits retailers for $44.99 SRP (La Pulga Tequila Blanco 750ml) and $54.99 SRP (La Pulga Tequila Reposado 750ml). It's also available for purchase online via the La Pulga website. La Pulga is packaged in an eye-catching and easy-to-pour bottle, sealed with a premium cork stopper and adorned with a keepsake La Pulga medallion. The bottle labels feature "alebrijes"  Mexican folk art images that depict "El Bronco" on La Pulga Blanco, and "El Toro" on the Reposado. Additional La Pulga expressions, each represented by different alebrije images, will also be released soon.

According to the global drinks analytics company IWSR, Texas is the second-largest state in the US (behind California) for tequila sales, with volume that outpaces the total tequila consumption in every international market outside Mexico and the US. Tequila volume in Texas, led by high-quality ultra-premium brands like La Pulga, grew by +22% in 2021.

For more information, please visit www.lapulga.com or follow us on Instagram @lapulgaspirits.

SOURCE La Pulga Spirits, LLC
JCP&L leader recognized for supporting career opportunities in diverse communities

MORRISTOWN, N.J., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Fakult, president of New Jersey Operations for FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and its subsidiary Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), has been honored with the Difference Maker Award by the Morris County chapter of the Urban League. The award recognizes Fakult's leadership in providing career opportunities for diverse communities.

Presented to corporations and supporters of the Urban League of Morris County (ULMC), Difference Maker awards recognize those with an attitude, mindset and commitment to their respective communities. Fakult's award highlights his role in JCP&L's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, customer service and integrity. Specifically, the cooperation between JCP&L and ULMC has opened a pathway for minority-owned businesses to become JCP&L suppliers and helped ULMC launch a pre-apprenticeship program that has helped 40 diverse applicants prepare for FirstEnergy's lineworker training program. Today, 25 of those applicants are FirstEnergy employees.

"While my name is on the award, this honor really belongs to every one of our JCP&L team members for their dedication. Our mission is about more than just providing safe, reliable power to the towns we serve. We are committed to being a part of the very fabric of our communities, and diversity, equity and inclusion are vital to integrating with our local areas," said Fakult, who also serves as chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. "The Urban League of Morris County has been a terrific partner in helping us connect with diverse applicants and organizations in our communities."

"The partnership between JCP&L and the Urban League of Morris County has been historic for our organization," said George W. Martin, chairman of the ULMC's Board of Directors. "In addition to providing life-changing experiences for pre-apprentice candidates and minority-owned businesses, the relationship has brought forward the synergy of both organization's priorities."

The award is the latest honor for Fakult, who earlier this year was named to the ROI-NJ Influencers list, both at the #17 spot in their Super 60 as well as their New Jersey Executives list.

In addition to his leadership roles at JCP&L and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Fakult also sits on the board of the Alliance for Action, Choose New Jersey and the New Jersey Utilities Association. He is a member of the Morris County Chamber Business Cabinet and is chair of the board of trustees for the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. Additionally, Fakult was selected as a member of Governor Phil Murphy's Restart and Recovery Advisory Council, a group of New Jersey business and municipal leaders that helped organize and plan the restart of the state's economy following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

Editor's Note: A photo of Jim Fakult, FirstEnergy president of New Jersey Operations, is available for download on Flickr.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
Murals in NYC, LA, Miami and Bentonville bring to life the creative and colorful personalities of the brand

HERSHEY, Pa., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This spring, the mouthwatering fruit flavors of Jolly Rancher Gummies are getting paired with their most vibrant look yet thanks to new, limited-edition packaging featuring designs from boundary-breaking street artists, including Danielle Mastrion from New York, Joe Starkweather from Miami and Evan Farrell (KidWiseman) from Los Angeles. Building on the brand's continued appreciation for street art, the new designs update the aesthetic to kick off the sunny season in bold, eye-catching and colorful ways.

New York City-inspired Jolly Rancher Gummies Packaging created by Danielle Mastrion. Miami-inspired Jolly Rancher Gummies Packaging created by Joe Starkweather. Los Angeles-inspired Jolly Rancher Gummies Packaging created by Kid Wiseman. Danielle Mastrions Jolly Rancher Gummies inspired mural in New York City

Today, Jolly Rancher Gummies will also unveil murals in each of the artists' cities (NYC, LA and Miami) to bring the packaging to life and deliver a touch of playful, vibrant expression to local neighborhoods. An additional mural by Kid Wiseman will appear in Bentonville, AR on June 2. Each lively, large-scale piece of art combines the artists' unique creative approach, the culture of their community and Jolly Rancher Gummies' vivid colors and classic characters.

"These larger-than-life murals are bold and out of this world - a perfect representation of the Jolly Rancher brand," said Danielle Ford, Brand manager, Jolly Rancher. "From packages to murals, seeing bold art inspired by Jolly Rancher Gummies is exciting. The murals and packaging are inspiring, colorful and full of energy. We hope fans can pick up a bag at their local store and go visit a mural near them."

About the Boundary-Breaking Artists:

Danielle Mastrion ( New York ): Danielle Mastrion is a Brooklyn -born, New York City -based painter and muralist. Since 2012, her work has taken her all over the globe with some of her most recent work appearing in her home neighborhood of Coney Island at the New York Aquarium and at Luna Park. She works with an aerosol base and painted the New York Jolly Rancher mural using the bold brand colors, pairing the Fruit Crew characters with her signature flower imagery.

is a -born, -based painter and muralist. Since 2012, her work has taken her all over the globe with some of her most recent work appearing in her home neighborhood of Coney Island at the New York Aquarium and at Luna Park. She works with an aerosol base and painted the mural using the bold brand colors, pairing the Fruit Crew characters with her signature flower imagery. Joe Starkweather ( Miami ): Florida -based Joe Starkweather has over 20 years of experience in mural painting using everything from traditional oil painting to aerosol can art. His mural design layers the iconic Fruit Crew on top of a bright split background of the beach and city skyline, all in a 90's color scheme.

-based has over 20 years of experience in mural painting using everything from traditional oil painting to aerosol can art. His mural design layers the iconic Fruit Crew on top of a bright split background of the beach and city skyline, all in a 90's color scheme. Evan Farrell ( Los Angeles ): Evan Farrell is an LA artist who started his career at an ad agency, and now is the face of his own brand KidWiseman which aims to inspire young creatives through large scale mural projects, art performance, apparel and more. Kid Wiseman's LA and Bentonville murals depict the Fruit Crew in a full Jolly Rancher world, bringing in his bold colorful repeating shapes and patterns and his logo and emblematic brand mask.

The new limited-edition Jolly Rancher Gummies feature a mix of flavors including green apple, blue raspberry, cherry, grape and watermelon, now available in three distinct designs in 7oz and 13oz pouches at retailers nationwide.

Jolly Rancher partnered with Beautify Earth, a creative agency dedicated to connecting brands and local artists to transform public outdoor spaces through murals, packaging and digital storytelling. Jolly Rancher worked with the agency to select the three talented street artists whose work is showcased on the limited-edition Jolly Rancher Gummies packaging and the large-scale murals.

Fans can visit www.hersheyland.com/jolly-rancher-gummies-artists to learn more about this program and head out to see the murals in NYC, Miami and Los Angeles throughout the month of May and Bentonville in June. Tag @jollyrancher on social media and use #JollyRancherGummies to share the brightest moments at the eye-catching murals.

Fans can follow along for the latest information on Jolly Rancher at:

https://www.facebook.com/JollyRancher

https://www.instagram.com/jollyrancher

https://twitter.com/jolly_rancher

https://www.tiktok.com/@jollyrancher?lang=en

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has approximately 19,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 100 brand names in approximately 80 countries around the world that drive more than $8.9 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers, and fast-growing salty snacks including SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty and Dot's Pretzels. The Hershey Company sells Cadbury products under license from Cadbury UK Ltd.

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed.

To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com

Follow:

http://www.twitter.com/hersheycompany

SOURCE The Hershey Company
WASHINGTON and PARIS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kearney's Global Business Policy Council (GBPC) announced today the appointment of Nicolas Lioliakis as senior fellow.

Nicolasa senior Kearney partner based in Parisbrings with him more than 25 years of experience in financial services and management at Credit Agricole and Dexia. At Kearney, Nicolas has served as president of Kearney France and leader of the financial services practice for Europe. Additionally, he served as adjunct professor at HEC Paris and taught strategy courses to students in the Master in Management program. Passionate about social impact issues, Nicolas has led several relevant initiatives, from the Ashoka Social Network to Le Choix de l'ecole and la Fondation La France s'engage. While maintaining his role as European lead of the strategic transformation tower of Kearney's transactions and transformations practice, in his new position as senior fellow with the GBPC, Nicolas will also work with select boards and CEOs to help their companies contend with the macrotrends and exogenous shocks impacting their industries and businesses.

"In the capacity of senior fellow with the Global Business Policy Council, I look forward to helping business leaders and their organizations grow more resilient in the face of mounting external shocks outside their direct control," Nicolas said.

"Nicolas' tremendous experience and skillset will be vital to helping our clients navigate extremely challenging times," said GBPC Managing Director Erik R. Peterson. "As recent years have demonstrated, from the pandemic to growing geopolitical instability and resultant disruptions to global value chains, corporations are confronting an ever more volatile landscape in which to operate. Nicolas' global work experience in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, coupled with his deep background in financial services and corporate strategy, will provide great value to the Council's mission to help leaders in business and government better anticipate and plan for the future."

The Global Business Policy Council is rated by the University of Pennsylvania's Global Go To Think Tank Index as one of the top for-profit think tanks in the world. Founded in 1992, the GBPC helps corporate and public-sector leaders decipher geopolitical, economic, social, and technological changes and their effects on the global operating environment for business.

About Kearney

As a global consulting partnership in more than 40 countries, our people make us who we are. We're individuals who take as much joy from those we work with as the work itself. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we help our clients break through. Learn more at Kearney.com.

Media contact:

Meir Kahtan

Meir Kahtan Public Relations, LLC

+1 917-864-0800

[email protected]

SOURCE Kearney
Live Audio Webcast Available on May 9, 2023, from 1:10 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. ET

RESTON, Va., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, will participate in the Goldman Sachs 2023 Industrials & Materials Conference being held in New York City.

Chris Cage, Chief Financial Officer, will engage in a question and answer "fireside chat" on May 9, 2023, at 1:10 p.m. ET.

A live audio webcast of the event will be available on the Leidos Investor Relations website at http://ir.leidos.com. A replay of the webcast will be available following the presentation at the same link listed above for 30 days afterward.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 45,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

CONTACTS:

Media contact: Investor Relations: Melissa Lee Duenas Stuart Davis 571.526.6850 571.526.6124 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Leidos
Levy Konigsberg Attorney Anna Kull has filed 10 sexual abuse lawsuits against New York State on behalf of former female inmates of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney-Partner Anna Kull, who is head of the reputable sexual abuse litigation team of Levy Konigsberg, has filed 10 sexual abuse lawsuits against New York State on behalf of former female inmates of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility (Bedford Hills). The 10 cases are the most recent in a string of New York prison abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Attorney Kull, but the first filed for the sexual abuse and violence carried out at Bedford Hills by correctional officers and staff members.

Brut Media has premiered its short documentary  A Chance for Justice: Life After Abuse in Prison  that features Sex Abuse Lawsuit Attorney Anna Kull of Levy Konigsberg. Levy Konigsberg Attorney Anna Kull

The 10 lawsuits filed for the former inmates of Bedford Hills are using the New York Adult Survivors Act (ASA). This important piece of legislation created a one-year lookback window that allows sexual abuse lawsuits to be filed in civil court, regardless of any prior statutes of limitations that might have otherwise stopped the case. Claimants must have been sexually abused as an adult and must file before the window closes on November 24, 2023. Many of the women who are taking legal action against New York State and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for prison sexual abuse, including women who served time at Bedford Hills, were sexually abused many years ago. With the special window created by the ASA, they can and are now speaking up to demand justice and compensation.

As has been seen in similar cases of prison sex abuse at Rikers Island, Bayview Correctional Facility, and several others, the reports of sexual abuse at Bedford Hills stretch many years and implicate many different staff members, officers, and administrators. Mounting evidence has shown that prison and government officials ignored or even tried to hide reports of sexual abuse within the prison. Such egregious negligence or intentional wrongdoing is the basis for the arguments that the state should be liable for the harm to the plaintiffs in the newly filed lawsuits.

Attorney Anna Kull, who is the lead attorney for the 10 Bedford Hills prison sexual abuse lawsuits, has said:

"The high prevalence rate of officer-inmate sexual victimization at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York is dreadful. Investigations have exposed widespread corruption and misconduct within the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The New York Adult Survivors Act is an important vehicle in restoring justice to those who have been victimized and a powerful instrument in fostering fundamental change in the New York prison system. An era of legal reckoning is among us against abusers and the institutions which enabled them."

In recent months, Levy Konigsberg Attorney Anna Kull has filed dozens of lawsuits against New York State for failing to protect prisoners from rampant sexual abuse. Her tenacity and drive have cemented her reputation as one of the nation's strongest sexual abuse trial lawyers. In September 2022, the New York Daily News featured Attorney Kull in a cover story that shared the stories of a few former female inmates who were sexually abused at Bayview Correctional Facility. In March 2023, Brut Media released a short film documentary about a survivor of sex assault from Bedford Hills and how Attorney Anna Kull is proudly standing up for her and other survivors in lawsuits against the government. Interested parties can read the article or watch the short documentary by following visiting https://www.levylaw.com/documents/NYDailyNews.com.pdf and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvtPDvvCu6g, respectively. Furthermore, The Appeal, a popular law-focused newsroom, recently published an article that highlighted Attorney Anna Kull and her fight for the abused women of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Albion Correctional Facility, and other such facilities around New York: https://theappeal.org/new-york-adult-survivors-act-women-prisons/.

For additional information about prison sexual abuse lawsuits spearheaded by Levy Konigsberg, media members and journalists are encouraged to reach out to Attorney Anna Kull by using the law firm's contact form: https://www.levylaw.com/contact-us/

Media Contact:

Anna Kull

[email protected]

SOURCE Levy Konigsberg
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Sleep Foundation (NSF) announced today that Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, has received its Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the organization's highest honor, recognizing an individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in the field of sleep health. The award celebrates the recipient's connection to NSF's non-profit, public health mission through their extensive professional contributions to the field and to the work of the organization.

"NSF is honored to present Dr. Hirshkowitz with our Lifetime Achievement Award. His work as a scientist and his keen understanding of how to objectively measure and describe sleep, especially through polysomnography and evolving sleep monitoring technologies, has been pivotal in the field. Beyond the importance of his research, he is a noted educator and mentor who has made a significant impact on scores of active professionals in sleep disorders research, sleep medicine, and our broader work in public sleep health at NSF," said Temitayo Oyegbile-Chidi, Board Chair of the National Sleep Foundation.

Dr. Hirshkowitz is a retired consulting professor at Stanford University School of Public Health and full professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Medicine. He was the founder and director of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at the Michael E. DeBakey Houston Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and training director of the Baylor Sleep Medicine Fellowship Training Program. His research focused on sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia, fatigue management, and workplace safety. He was a member of NSF's Consensus Panels that produced NSF's landmark 2015 Sleep Duration Guidelines, Sleep Quality Recommendations, and Sleep Satisfaction Tool. Dr. Hirshkowitz also actively represented NSF in its collaboration with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to develop definitions and sleep measurement and performance standards for consumer wearables and other devices.

Dr. Hirshkowitz served on numerous national and international committees, NIH scientific review panels, and advisory boards, including having served on the Board of the National Sleep Foundation (2009-2017) and as its Chair from 2016-2017. He has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and served on the editorial board of multiple journals including Sleep Health, Sleep Medicine, and Sleep Research.

To learn more about the National Sleep Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, visit the NSF website.

About the National Sleep Foundation

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy. Founded in 1990, the NSF is committed to advancing excellence in sleep health theory, research and practice. theNSF.org SleepHealthJournal.org

SOURCE National Sleep Foundation
NEW YORK, April 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB), the holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank, resulting from allegations that MCB may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased MCB 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=14239 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 30, 2023, market analyst Vidar Research published a report entitled "Metropolitan Commercial Bank is a mixed bag of problems[.]" The report alleged that "[Metropolitan Commercial Bank] is bleeding deposits[,]" stated that Metropolitan Commercial Bank "is the issuer of choice for prepaid debit cards of crypto firms[,]" questioned whether Metropolitan Commercial Bank was actually moving away from cryptocurrency (as it had allegedly announced), and alleged that its balance sheet "is shocking comparable to the failed Signature Bank (SBNY)[.]" In summary, the report alleged that Metropolitan Commercial Bank "is a failed bank and that it will share the fate with the likes of SBNY [Signature Bank] and SIVB [Silicon Valley Bank]."

On this news, MCB's stock price fell $9.66 per share, or 27.6%, to close at $25.36 per share on March 30, 2023.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
FORT MYERS, Fla., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, LLC (FCS) is pleased to welcome two Board-certified medical oncologists to its Delray clinic in Palm Beach County. Elena Kruglyak, MD and Samarth L. Reddy, MD have joined the statewide practice, and are providing care to patients at 5130 Linton Blvd, Suite B4, Delray Beach, Florida 33484.

Both physicians will also begin seeing patients in a new FCS office location in Boca Raton, scheduled to open later this summer.

Elena Kruglyak, MD and Samarth L. Reddy, MD, have joined the statewide practice and are providing care to patients at FCS' Delray Beach office. Both physicians will also begin seeing patients in a new FCS office location in Boca Raton, scheduled to open later this summer.

"These outstanding oncology care experts share our commitment to providing world-class cancer care in community settings, and we are delighted to welcome them to our practice," said FCS Chief Executive Officer Nathan H. Walcker.

"Both of these physicians join us with impressive credentials," said Lucio N. Gordan, MD, FCS President & Managing Physician. "As a certified Hospice Medical Director, Dr. Kruglyak brings specialized expertise in palliative medicine, and will be a tremendous expert resource for our patients and her clinical colleagues," he said. "Dr. Reddy is an active participant in clinical trials and has extensive research experience in the area of prostate cancer."

Dr. Kruglyak received her medical degree from Sackler School of Medicine in Tel-Aviv, Israel and completed Internal Medicine residency training and fellowships in Medical Oncology and Hematology at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York.

Dr. Reddy received his medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Following Internal Medicine residency training at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, he was awarded a fellowship in Hematology/Medical Oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has held academic appointments and currently serves as Assistant Professor for the College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

About Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, LLC: (FLCancer.com)

Recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with a national Clinical Trials Participation Award, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) offers patients access to more clinical trials than any private oncology practice in Florida. The majority of new cancer drugs recently approved for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials with Florida Cancer Specialists participation.* Trained in prestigious medical schools and research institutes, our physicians are consistently ranked nationally as Top Doctors by U.S. News & World Report.

Founded in 1984, Florida Cancer Specialists has built a national reputation for excellence that is reflected in exceptional and compassionate patient care, driven by innovative clinical research, cutting-edge technologies and advanced treatments, including targeted therapies, genomic-based treatment, and immunotherapy. Our highest values are embodied by our outstanding team of highly trained and dedicated physicians, clinicians and staff.

*Prior to approval

SOURCE Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of Melanoma Awareness Month and Melanoma Monday, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), announced its new $6.3 million commitment to fund melanoma research, supporting 24 scientists at leading academic and medical institutions across the US and Europe. MRA-funded research spans the entire spectrum of the disease including melanoma prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and metastatic disease. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and the fifth most common cancer in the United States with nearly 100,000 new cases of melanoma that will be diagnosed in the U.S. alone in 2023.

"As the largest non-governmental funder of melanoma research, MRA is uniquely positioned to accelerate research needed to better prevent, treat, and ultimately cure melanoma," says MRA Chief Executive Officer Marc Hurlbert, PhD. "MRA-funded investigators are leading the charge and have been involved in every major breakthrough in the field over the last decade. We remain tremendously grateful for MRA's generous donors, partners, supporters, and volunteers, who each year ensure MRA's ability to fund lifesaving research."

MRA funds a diverse array of researchers. This year's newly funded awards include the focus areas of:

Understanding how melanoma develops and progresses to advanced disease, and novel approaches to detection, diagnosis, and disease monitoring.

Developing innovative immunotherapy treatment approaches and strategies to overcome treatment resistance.

Advancing artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches for predicting recurrence of early-stage melanomas.

Exploring novel targets for new treatment development.

Determining how melanoma metastasizes to various body tissues with a particular emphasis on the brain and central nervous system.

Studying rare melanoma subtypes including acral and uveal/ocular melanoma.

The funding will support eight (8) Established Investigator Awards, 11 Young Investigator Awards and five (5) Pilot Awards. The grant applications were selected by MRA's Grant Review Committee made up of world-renowned scientists and physicians through a rigorous peer review process and approved by the MRA Board of Directors. Including the current awards, MRA has now directly invested over $150 million to accelerate melanoma research.

"We congratulate this outstanding group of scientists, and we are excited by the innovative and meritorious proposals that they put forward," said MRA Chief Science Officer Joan Levy, PhD. "The melanoma research community has transformed our understanding of melanoma biology and the progression and treatment of the disease, but additional investment in basic and translational research is essential to keep the momentum."

2023 Melanoma Research Alliance Grant Awards

Established Investigator Awardees

The MRA Established Investigator Awards supports established luminaries and scientists with a record of accomplishment of scientific excellence, breakthroughs, and productivity.

Memory T cell responses in primary melanoma

MRA Established Investigator Award, collaboratively funded by University of Michigan

Christina Angeles M.D., The University of Michigan

Armoring CD8+ T cells against energetic deficiency in melanoma

Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma  MRA Established Investigator

Award

Timothy Bullock Ph.D., University of Virginia

Therapeutic targeting of Hdm2/HdmX E3 ligase in melanoma

MRA Established Investigator Award

Julio Camarero Ph.D., University of Southern California

Genetic mechanisms early melanoma progression

Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation  MRA Established Investigator Award

Adam Dupuy Ph.D., The University of Iowa

Mechanisms underlying the oncogenic role of ORAI2 in melanoma

MRA Established Investigator Award

Stefan Feske M.D., New York University Grossman School of Medicine

Dissecting the mechanisms of melanoma cell adaptation to the brain

MRA Established Investigator Award

Eva Hernando Ph.D., New York University Grossman School of Medicine

Precision, plasma-only, melanoma ctDNA residual disease monitoring

Ellen and Gary Davis  MRA Established Investigator Award

Dan Landau M.D., Ph.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Sustaining metabolic fitness of antitumor CD8+ T cells

MRA Established Investigator Award

Bin Zhang M.D., Ph.D., Northwestern University

Young Investigator Awardees

The MRA Young Investigator Awards empower the next generation of early career researchers. In addition to funding bold new ideas, MRA's Young Investigator Award program is also a training ground for researchers as they prepare for the future of their science careers.

Harnessing the immunomodulatory effects of NK cells in melanoma

Bristol Myers Squibb  MRA Young Investigator Award

Kevin Barry Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Dissecting the dynamic immune ecosystem during melanoma evolution

Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma  MRA Young Investigator Award

Diego Chowell Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Vaccine-tunable TME-restricted CAR T therapy for long-term melanoma control

Bristol Myers Squibb  MRA Young Investigator Award

Leyuan Ma Ph.D., The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Dissecting melanoma brain metastasis and response to immunotherapy

MRA Young Investigator Award

Eva Perez-Guijarro Ph.D., Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

Catabolic plasticity in acral melanoma metastases and drug tolerance

The Black Family  MRA Young Investigator Award

Vito Rebecca Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Bioengineering approaches for advancing targeted-immunotherapy in melanoma

MRA Young Investigator Award

Tanmoy Saha Ph.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital

Multi-modal machine learning for early-stage melanoma recurrence prediction

L'Oreal Dermatological Beauty  MRA Young Investigator Award

Yevgeniy Semenov M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital

Image-based three-dimensional radiation dosimetry for Ac-225-MTI-201

ASTRO  MRA Young Investigator Award

Chris Tichacek Ph.D., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute

Resolving the spatial clonal architecture of acral lentiginous melanoma

L'Oreal Dermatological Beauty  MRA Young Investigator Award

Meng Wang Ph.D., The University of California, San Francisco

Monitoring early response to immunotherapy with ultrasensitive plasma WGS

The Black Family  MRA Young Investigator Award

Adam Widman M.D., Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research

Tumor immune evasion through STING-mediated T cell death in melanoma

MRA Young Investigator Award

Jianjun Wu Ph.D., Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Pilot Awardees

The MRA Pilot Awards provide early support for conceptually novel, exploratory, high risk and high impact projects with the potential to change the face of melanoma research and treatments.

The CoREST repressor complex as a mediator of RNA splicing and tumor growth

Leveraged Finance Fights Melanoma  MRA Pilot Award

Rhoda Alani M.D., Boston University

Epigenetic determinants of melanoma progression and immunotherapy response

The Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation  MRA Pilot Award

Alfonso Bellacosa M.D., Ph.D., The Research Institute of Fox Chase Cancer Center

Identifying genetic sex biasing factors in melanoma progression

The Denise and Michael Kellen Foundation  MRA Pilot Award

Nora Engel Ph.D., Temple University

Targeting ASAP1-induced transcription factors in metastatic uveal melanoma

ACIS  MRA Pilot Award in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma

Shannon Odelberg Ph.D., The University of Utah

A drug-binding assay platform to optimize therapies for RAS-mut melanomas

MRA Pilot Award

Poulikos Poulikakos Ph.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

About Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)

The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) stands as the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research. Founded in 2007 by Debra and Leon Black, MRA's mission is to end suffering and death due to melanoma by advancing the world's most promising science and research. MRA provides critical funding for melanoma cancer research that propels advances in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, metastasis, and survivorship. MRA-funded researchers have been behind every major melanoma research breakthrough. Since MRA's inception, more than 15 new therapeutic approaches for melanoma have earned FDA approval. MRA is recognized as one of the most fiscally efficient non-profits in the country. Because MRA's Founders generously cover 100% of MRA's administrative and operating costs, every dollar donated is invested directly into MRA's scientific and research program. For more information, please visit: www.CureMelanoma.org.

LinkedIn: melanoma-research-alliance

Twitter: @MelanomaReAlli

Instagram: @melanoma

Facebook: MelanomaResearchAlliance

Media Contacts:

KWT Global

[email protected]

Cody R. Barnett, MRA Senior Director of Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Melanoma Research Alliance
Adnoc Gas, a world-class integrated gas processing company, said it has signed a three-year supply agreement with a unit of French multi-national energy company TotalEnergies for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The deal, which was inked through TotalEnergies' utility division - TotalEnergies Gas and Power - underscores Adnoc Gas position as a global LNG export partner of choice and cements TotalEnergies as a key strategic partner for Adnoc Gas in the LNG market, representing another important milestone.

Under the terms of the agreement, Adnoc Gas will supply TotalEnergies LNG, which will be delivered to various export markets around the world. The agreement demonstrates Adnoc Gas ability to meet growing global demand for LNG, a critical energy transition fuel.

On the strategic deal, Adnoc Gas CEO Ahmed Alebri said: "Our new LNG supply agreement with TotalEnergies represents another significant milestone in our strategy to expand our global reach and strengthens our position as the LNG export partner of choice for leading global energy businesses."

"This agreement reflects our commitment to meeting the needs of our customers by offering supply security, price competitiveness, and flexibility. We look forward to continuing our long-term strategic partnership with TotalEnergies, building on our shared commitment to sustainability and the energy transition," he stated.

Thomas Maurisse, Senior Vice President (LNG) said TotalEnergies had a longstanding presence in the UAE having operated in the country for more than 80 years.

"We are pleased to have signed this three-year contract with our long-standing strategic partner. These additional volumes will strengthen our global LNG portfolio, our ability to supply the growing Asian markets, and our ambition to accompany our customers in their energy transition," he noted.

The three-year contract is expected to commence in 2023 and will run through 2025, reinforcing both companies positions as key players in the global LNG market, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Nar participated in the 11th career fair organized at ADA University. The event was aimed to gather students and graduates together and support them in establishing professional relations with employers, as well as to facilitate employers' search for skilled personnel.

About 1,500 participating students and graduates of ADA learned about various career opportunities offered by companies and institutions. Nar HR representatives informed the jobseekers about the real requirements of their profession in labor market. They also supported young visitors who strive to build their career in the field of telecommunications by informing them about current vacancies. At the same time, the questions of students who want to take advantage of the experience and scholarship program of the mobile operator were answered.

It should be noted that supporting the educational development is one of the key directions in Nars social activity. Visit the link to get information about the large-scale projects of the mobile operator in this field.

Nar currently provides high-quality communication services to 2.2 million subscribers. Nar is the leading mobile operator in the country according to the Customer Loyalty Index for the last 4 years. The mobile operator adheres to a customer-oriented strategy, providing best-in-class service at an affordable price.
Market Share Record High of 15.4%

Mass GGR New High Reached 107% of 2019 First Quarter

HONG KONG, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM China Holdings Limited ("MGM China" or the "Company"; SEHK Stock Code: 2282) today announced the selected unaudited financial data of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the three months ended March 31, 2023 (the "Period").

Macau saw a pick up of visitation soon after the lifting of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements from COVID-19 pandemic in late December. Average daily visitor arrival for the Period reached approximately 55,000, compared to approximately 21,000 a year ago. Average daily visitation for the Period recovered to 48% of first quarter 2019, and it experienced month-on-month growth during the Period and reached approximately 63,000 in March.

The ease of travel restrictions to Macau also boosted the market gross gaming revenue (GGR). Industry daily GGR nearly doubled to MOP385 million, represented a 45% recovery of first quarter 2019.

MGM China continued to outperform the market amid of industry recovery. Net revenue of the Group increased by 131.2% year-on-year to HK$4.8 billion for the Period, reached 84% of first quarter 2019.

for the Period, reached 84% of first quarter 2019. The Group reported adjusted EBITDA of HK$1.4 billion , significantly improved from HK$46 million same period last year, reached 87% of first quarter 2019.

, significantly improved from same period last year, reached 87% of first quarter 2019. Daily GGR for the Period recovered to 76% of first quarter 2019, outperformed industry's 45% recovery.

MGM China saw record high mass GGR during the Period. Daily mass GGR surpassed pre-COVID levels at 107% of first quarter 2019, higher than market's 60-70% levels.

We saw market share reach historical high of 15.4% during the Period, compared to 13.3% a year ago and 9.4% in first quarter 2019. MGM MACAU market share was 7.5% and MGM COTAI market share was 7.9%.

market share was 7.5% and MGM COTAI market share was 7.9%. Adjusted EBITDA margin also grew to 29.2%, compared to 28.1% in first quarter 2019, with a mass-focused business and continuous improvement in operation efficiency.

Average occupancy was 90.5%, compared to 49.2% same period a year ago.

On a property basis, MGM MACAU recorded revenue of HK$2.3 billion (22Q1: HK$1.2 billion ) and an adjusted EBITDA of HK$695 million (22Q1: HK$153 million ).

recorded revenue of (22Q1: ) and an adjusted EBITDA of (22Q1: ). MGM COTAI saw revenue of HK$2.5 billion (22Q1: HK$914 million ) and an adjusted EBITDA of HK$718 million (22Q1: negative adjusted EBITDA of HK$108 million ).

(22Q1: ) and an adjusted EBITDA of (22Q1: negative adjusted EBITDA of ). The Group maintained a healthy financial position. As of March 31, 2023 , the Group had total liquidity of approximately HK$15.5 billion , comprised of cash and cash equivalents and undrawn revolver.

The Group was grateful for the team's effort in achieving the outperformance. It also demonstrated our key structural incremental advantages, including:

our deep understanding of customers with continued improvements in service levels;

we improved our offering, with remodels of the main gaming floors at both MGM MACAU and MGM COTAI to focus on mass and premium mass customers;

and MGM COTAI to focus on mass and premium mass customers; we also have the advantage of our global scale and international branch marketing network. We are actively leveraging our customer database to bring global customers to our properties; and

enhancing profitability with additional tables.

Under the gaming concession contract effective January 1, 2023, the Group is entitled to operate a total of 750 gaming tables, compared with 552 gaming tables previously, represents a 36% increase. All the tables were licensed as of the end of the first quarter. We will open them and increase productivity as demand returns and we complete further refurbishments on the gaming floors.

Kenneth Feng, President, Strategic & Chief Financial Officer of MGM China said: "Our remarkable performance in Macau is a direct result of the meticulous preparation and well-executed plan put together by our team who ensured that we were ready to capture market share and drive results upon market reopening.

"The recovery in Macau has been encouraging. We will stay dedicated to fulfilling our commitments to the Macau Government. We look forward to working alongside them as we support Macau's positioning as a World Center of Tourism and Leisure," said Kenneth Feng.

About MGM China Holdings Limited

MGM China Holdings Limited (HKEx: 2282) is a leading developer, owner and operator of gaming and lodging resorts in the Greater China region. We are the holding company of MGM Grand Paradise, SA which holds one of the six gaming concessions to run casino games in Macau. MGM Grand Paradise, SA owns and operates MGM MACAU, the award-winning premium integrated resort located on the Macau Peninsula and MGM COTAI, a contemporary luxury integrated resort in Cotai, which opened in early 2018 and more than doubles our presence in Macau.

MGM China is majority owned by MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) one of the world's leading global hospitality companies, operating a portfolio of destination resort brands including Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and Park MGM. For more information about MGM Resorts International, visit the Company's website at www.mgmresorts.com.

SOURCE MGM China
NEO: SHWZ

OTCQX: SHWZ

DENVER, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Medicine Man Technologies, Inc., operating as Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ) (NEO: SHWZ) ("Schwazze" or the "Company"), announces a key addition to its executive leadership team as it pursues expansion of its wholesale business in both Colorado and New Mexico.

Seasoned cannabis veteran, Chris Driessen, joins the Company as Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales. Driessen is tasked with expanding the Schwazze wholesale business by developing a house of brands and gaining material distribution across both of its markets. He replaces Steve Pear who recently left the Company.

Known for his leadership, strategy development and brand building expertise, Driessen has more than 20 years in sales and business development roles. Formerly chief executive officer of Front Range Biosciences, a biotechnology research firm based in Boulder, Colorado, Driessen brings over a decade of experience in the cannabis industry. Prior to his leadership role at Front Range Biosciences, he held roles as president and chief executive officer of Slang. During his time at Slang, Driessen built O.pen into one of the most widely distributed and recognized brands in cannabis. Before entering the cannabis industry, Driessen led teams for Fortune 500 companies including Starwood, Konica Minolta, Marriott, and Intercontinental Hotels Group.

"We are excited to add a seasoned cannabis industry veteran to our executive leadership team. We're committed to developing our house of brands, and Chris Driessen's industry relationships and proven experience in driving results in the cannabis consumer packaged goods space will benefit Schwazze immensely," said Nirup Krishnamurthy, President of Schwazze.

Since April 2020, Schwazze has acquired, opened, or announced the planned acquisition of 60 cannabis retail dispensaries (bannered as Star Buds, Emerald Fields, R. Greenleaf, Standing Akimbo, and Everest) as well as eight cultivation facilities and three manufacturing plants across Colorado and New Mexico. In May 2021, Schwazze announced its Biosciences division, and in August 2021 it commenced home delivery services in Colorado.

About Schwazze

Schwazze (OTCQX: SHWZ) (NEO: SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition.

Schwazze is anchored by a high-performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company's leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices.

Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze's former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth. To learn more about Schwazze, visit www.Schwazze.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intends," "plans," "strategy," "prospects," "anticipate," "believe," "approximately," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," or the negative of these terms or other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future events or future operating or financial performance, although the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) regulatory limitations on our products and services and the uncertainty in the application of federal, state, and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws; (ii) our ability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (iii) our ability to identify, consummate, and integrate anticipated acquisitions; (iv) general industry and economic conditions; (v) our ability to access adequate capital upon terms and conditions that are acceptable to us; (vi) our ability to pay interest and principal on outstanding debt when due; (vii) volatility in credit and market conditions; (viii) the loss of one or more key executives or other key employees; and (ix) other risks and uncertainties related to the cannabis market and our business strategy. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

SOURCE Schwazze
Let Talent Bloom celebrates musical possibilities this Spring

BUENA PARK, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yamaha announced the return of its popular spring campaign, "Let Talent Bloom," where families can purchase a finely crafted Yamaha piano and delight in the joy of music and all the possibilities it brings this spring and beyond.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9161751-yamaha-spring-piano-let-talent-bloom-campaign/

Visit Yamahapianos.com to learn more about 0% APR financing for 18 months on select pianos Visit Yamahapianos.com to learn more about 0% APR financing for 18 months on select pianos

Through this campaign, Yamaha encourages budding musicians to let the seeds of creativity be sown and is offering customers promotional financing of 0% APR* (subject to credit approval) for 18 months on select pianos, between May 1, 2023 to July 4, 2023.

"Spring is full of new beginnings and is the perfect time to nurture their passion for music," said Gary Klugman, director of marketing, pianos, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Getting a new piano is the perfect way to ignite excitement and inspire your blossoming musician to let their talent bloom and fill your home with music-making experiences for years to come."

Families and aspiring pianists can visit their local dealers to ask about the special financing, that apply to all new, in-stock qualifying Yamaha pianos. Both acoustic and digital pianos are offered in this promotion and provide great options for players of any skill level to begin or continue their musical journey. Each style of piano has unique advantages and can provide a rewarding experience, giving way for talent to bloom in the form of creative expression, skills and technique.

For over a century, Yamaha has blended a tradition of Japanese craftsmanship with modern materials and sound innovations to create pianos of exceptional tone and breathtaking beauty. Yamaha aims to support all music journeys and empower customers at all levels to fuel their passion and express themselves creatively.

For more information on the Yamaha spring promotion, please visit here.

Contact:

Valeria Hernandez

[email protected]

About Yamaha

Yamaha Corporation of America is the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, the world-leading music and sound company based in Hamamatsu, Japan. The Yamaha team is committed to helping everyone progress, express, and connect through music and sound. We offer innovative, finely crafted, award-winning products for your musical journey, including pianos, brass instruments, woodwinds, strings, electronic keyboards, guitars, drums, and professional and home audio equipment.

SOURCE Yamaha
ORLANDO, Fla., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark National Heatstroke Prevention Day, representatives from Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW), the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) joined local advocates today at the Children's Safety Village in Orlando, Florida to share proven strategies to prevent child deaths and injuries in hot vehicles.

The event featured Makia Wallace, who lost her 21-month-old son, Jace, after he was left in a hot car by his caregiver. Wallace started the Love Like Jace Foundation in April 2021 to advance child safety.

National Heatstroke Prevention Day Reminds Parents How to Prevent Hot Car Tragedies Tweet this

"I know my son is safe in heaven cheering me on and saying, 'Keep going mommy, fight for every kid that looks like me. Be the voice for those who can't speak up,'" said Wallace. "This can happen to anyone, which is scary. But these tragedies are preventable, which is hopeful. And that's the hope I embrace now."

SKW, JPMA, and NHTSA are part of a group of advocates, including KidsAndCars.org, noheatstroke.org, and National Safety Council, all committed to preventing kids from dying in hot cars by using strategies like awareness, education, technology, and advocacy. To view prevention information and tools, visit safekids.org/heatstroke or kidsandcars.org.

"Our goal is to make sure that heatstroke doesn't claim the life of another child," said Torine Creppy, president of SKW. "As temperatures rise and schedules change, there's a real danger that we may see more tragedies this year, so we're calling on everyone to be part of the solution and help save lives."

"American families lose 38 young children in hot cars each year, and these child deaths are preventable," said Joseph Colella, director of child passenger safety for JPMA. "We all need to be part of preventing children from becoming heatstroke victims. For example, whether you have young children or not, consistently locking your parked vehicle can prevent a neighborhood child from entering it and becoming trapped."

Research shows the temperature inside a car can heat up 19 degrees in just 10 minutes and up to 55 degrees in a few hours. Heatstroke occurs when the body is unable to cool itself quickly enough. Young children are particularly at risk, since a child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's. When a child's internal temperature reaches 104 degrees, major organs begin to shut down, and when the temperature reaches 107 degrees, the child can die.

Hot car deaths involve families from all walks of life. On average, half of these tragedies occur when children are inadvertently left in vehicles by distracted caregivers. Since 2020, a growing percentage of hot car deaths occur when children gain access to unlocked vehicles on their own and become trapped. The remaining cases mostly occur when children are intentionally left in vehicles, usually following a change in routine or when the driver intends to only be away for a brief period.

Parents, caregivers, and bystanders are encouraged to help reduce the number of heatstroke deaths with the following steps:

Look before you lock, and never leave a young child alone in a car, not even for a minute.

Lock your doors, and keep your keys and key fobs out of children's reach. Ask your neighbors to do the same.

Create reminders. Put something in the back of your car that you'll need at your final destination such as a phone, briefcase, or purse.

Arrange for your childcare provider to contact you right away if your child hasn't arrived as scheduled.

If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. Emergency personnel wants you to call. They are trained to respond to these situations. One call could save a life.

SOURCE Safe Kids Worldwide; JPMA
The partnership, between the company and SDSU's College of Engineering, will examine the use of passive liquid cooling as a potential energy efficient solution.

SAN DIEGO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Data centers consume over 200 terawatt hours of energy worldwide each year and generate enormous amounts of heat. To keep millions of computers at a functioning temperature, these centers spend around ten billion dollars per year for different types of cooling. These expenditures are likely to grow because of the high demand for computing power from e-commerce and artificial intelligence, supported by a new generation of powerful processors and servers.

NeurOK ThermoCon Inc., a leading provider of passive liquid cooling products for data centers, and San Diego State University's College of Engineering, are partnering to research and develop advanced technologies that reduce energy used by data centers and general electronics and help to keep cooling costs down.

"We believe that our Loop Heat Pipes-based passive liquid cooling technology can transform the current data center paradigm to become a green source of heat, wasting less energy and water," said Vadim Asadov, CEO of Neurok Thermocon Inc. "We are trying to help data centers work in harmony with the environment today and in the near future."

"Loop Heat Pipes came from the aerospace industry and utilize a lot of interesting material structures and engineering solutions. This is the common ground we found in our dialogue with NeurOK ThermoCon," said Eugene Olevsky, dean of SDSU's College of Engineering. "There are a lot of opportunities to use our knowledge base and expertise to add more new technologies and products for the data center cooling market."

NeurOK ThermoCon Inc. and SDSU's College of Engineering will create a joint laboratory as the first stage of their new partnership, with the potential to relocate to the innovation district at SDSU Mission Valley, which is being designed to support research partnerships with public and private industry partners.

About NeurOK ThermoCon Inc.

NeurOK ThermoCon Inc. is a Delaware corporation, established in 2021 with an office in San Diego, California ( www.lhpdc.com ). NeurOK ThermoCon Inc. develops a variety of passive liquid cooling products for data centers based on Loop Heat Pipes technology. The company has a manufacturing facility in San Diego, California and serves data centers all over the world.

Media Contacts:

NeurOK ThermoCon Inc.

Vadim Asadov

CEO & Founder

+1 858 4059128

[email protected]

SOURCE NeurOK ThermoCon Inc.
Heroes of American Manufacturing

NEWARK, N.J., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZAGO Manufacturing Co., a U.S.-based manufacturer of sustainable sealing fasteners and components, has been recognized by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership) as one of its Heroes of American Manufacturing. See why ZAGO was chosen; watch the video here: https://zago.com/media/heroes-american-manufacturing/

"We are honored to be recognized by NIST MEP as an example of American manufacturing at its best," Harvey Rottenstrich, Co-founder, President & Lead Engineer, ZAGO.

ZAGO Manufacturing Co. is one of three manufacturers in the U.S. to be recognized as a Heroes of American Manufacturing. Tweet this NIST MEP recognizes US-based ZAGO Manufacturing Co. as one of the Heroes of American Manufacturing.

Changing the Manufacturing Status Quo for the Environment

ZAGO is a sustainable manufacturer making sustainable sealing fasteners for a sustainable world. ZAGO sealing fasteners are reusable and pollutant-free. They're engineered with a 360 rubber O-ring technology which prevents contaminants from leaking into or out of equipment and potentially damaging the environment. ZAGO takes pride in practicing what you preach, operating from a 100-year-old refurbished factory in Newark, implementing lean manufacturing processes, and installing a 50KW solar panel array on its rooftop.

"What makes our company unique is that we are a sustainable company creating a product that makes other companies more sustainable," Gail Friedberg Rottenstrich, Co-founder and CEO of ZAGO, a woman-owned business.

Sustainability 360

ZAGO invests within its community and workforce through education and professional development to recruit, nurture, and retain top tier talent. The company practices continuous improvement, incorporating automated production on the factory floor. Prioritizing diversity, education, and professional development, ZAGO created ZAGO Sustainability 360, which offers scholarships, internships, apprenticeships, and professional development. The company pays 100% tuition to employees wishing to pursue advanced degrees.

"It's not just making the fasteners, that's one part of what we do here. The bigger part of that is the people, nurturing the people, educating the people, and making sure that they have a future,"  Jackie Luciano," Vice President of ZAGO.

"ZAGO goes above and beyond and is willing to invest in its workforce. Whether it is a training program for a new hire or investing in employees who are working with them already, ZAGO encourages them to continue forward with their career path," Michael Womack, Marketing and Communications Manager, NJMEP.

Watch ZAGO's Heroes of American Manufacturing video at https://zago.com/media/heroes-american-manufacturing/.

About ZAGO:

Founded in 1993, ZAGO manufactures sealing fasteners and components for thousands of engineers, manufacturers, and distributors worldwide. Visit www.zago.com to learn more.

Contact: Kim Keating, [email protected]

SOURCE ZAGO Manufacturing Company Inc
NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates Offers Comprehensive Care Across Three Sites

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NYU Langone Health and South Shore Neurologic Associates today join forces, enhancing access to high-quality specialized care in Suffolk County with three NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates locations in Patchogue, Riverhead, and Islip.

NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates offer a wide range of neurology care across three sites in Patchogue, Riverhead, and Islip, and complements clinical services at multispecialty care centers nearby in Suffolk County.

"As the premier provider for neurologic care on Long Island, South Shore Neurologic Associates today joins the No. 1 ranked health system in New York State and the No. 1 ranked neurology and neurosurgery program in the nation," said Andrew Rubin, senior vice president for clinical affairs and ambulatory care at NYU Langone. "With a shared commitment to high-quality care, together we will better meet the needs of our diverse patient population."

NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates grows NYU Langone's footprint on Long Island, with more than 100 practices, and complements clinical services at outpatient care centers in Patchogue and Riverhead. A single electronic health record system, the NYU Langone Health app, and NYU Langone Health MyChart connect the entire health system, so patients can find all of their health information in one place.

NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates

Specialists at NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates offer a wide range of neurology care across three sites, including:

diagnostic testing

physical therapy through Rusk Rehabilitation

pain management

acupuncture

chiropractic care

clinical research trials

comprehensive services for multiples sclerosis, headache and migraine, and epilepsy

Infusion services are available nearby.

One of NYU Langone's largest practice transitions, the care team at NYU Langone South Shore Neurologic Associates brings 20,000 patients and 200 employees, including 6 nurse practitioners, 7 physical therapists, and 12 physicians. There are also plans to expand onsite services.

"Our guiding principal since 1982, when Dr. Henry Moreta and Dr. Norman L. Chernik founded the practice, has always been to put our patients first," said Edward Firouztale, DO, DSc, adjunct assistant professor of neurology at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, and a former partner at South Shore Neurological Associates. "While we've worked with NYU Langone for many years, joining the NYU Langone family allows us to continue to grow and provide our patients with greater access to comprehensive care closer to home."

Suffolk County Expansion

In addition to the neurologic program expansion in Suffolk County, NYU Langone will also welcome a multisite orthopedic practice and physicians who specialize in hand surgery, women's health, and interventional cardiology, bringing specialized care closer to patients where they live and work.

Media Inquiries

Deborah "DJ" Haffeman

Phone: 646-284-5630

[email protected]

SOURCE NYU Langone Health
MIAMI, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceania Cruises , the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, has welcomed its newest ship  Vista. Delivered at Fincantieri's shipyard in Genoa, Italy, Oceania Cruises' initial Allura Class ship features several firsts in the realms of dining, accommodation and guest experience.

Members of Oceania Cruises' Vista team and the Fincantieri Team Stefano Guzzetti, Shipyard Director and Frank A. Del Rio, President of Oceania Cruises

This 67,000-ton, 791-foot-long ship is one of the most anticipated new ships to join the global cruise fleet in 2023. The 1,200-guest Vista boasts the most spacious standard staterooms at sea, three brand-new dining concepts and operates with a market-leading service ratio of two staff members for every three guests. She is highly anticipated by brand loyal and new guests alike, with only a few select staterooms available for her inaugural summer season in the Mediterranean.

Vista builds on Oceania Cruises' exemplary reputation of destination-rich itineraries with world-class service and The Finest Cuisine at Sea by offering 11 culinary venues, three of which are new concepts  Ember, a signature restaurant featuring elevated American cuisine; Aquamar Kitchen, which brings wellness offerings to a new level; and The Bakery at Baristas, an expansion of popular coffee bar Baristas, serving freshly baked French and Italian pastries. In addition to an elevated mixology program with innovative specialty cocktails, Vista's new Broadway-caliber productions feature recognizable songs by some of the world's most beloved artists and contemporary dance numbers led by "Dancing with the Stars" choreographer Britt Stewart.

"Today we usher in a new era for Oceania Cruises with the delivery of Vista," said Frank A. Del Rio, President of Oceania Cruises. "We could not have built such an exceptional ship without the close partnership enjoyed with Fincantieri. We thank each and every person who had a hand in bringing her to life. From the smallest of design details to the largest per capita galley at sea, Vista is a marvel that will be enjoyed by guests for decades to come."

When constructing Vista, Fincantieri's key intention was to embody Oceania Cruises' commitment to luxury and top-of-the-line guest experiences. The innovative ship is a reflection of Fincantieri's extensive abilities and commitment to quality.

Vista will be christened on May 8, 2023, in an exclusive glittering ceremony in Valletta, Malta, by her godmother, celebrated Italian-American chef, author, restaurateur and Emmy Award-winning food personality Giada De Laurentiis. The christening is due to begin at 9 PM CEST, and the event will be livestreamed at 12 PM PDT/3 PM EDT/8 PM BST/9 PM CEST/5 AM AEST (next day) for anyone who wishes to join. The event site and livestream registration can be found here: www.VistaCelebration.com .

After her summer season in the Mediterranean, Vista will sail to Canada and New England before heading south for a series of winter itineraries exploring the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

As Oceania Cruises takes delivery, the line announces its leadership team for Vista. The newly appointed shipboard leaders bring widespread experience from longstanding careers in the industry to their new roles leading 800 crew members on the 1,200-guest ship.

Vista Leadership Team

Captain Luca Manzi: Born in Chiavari, just east of Portofino, Italy, Captain Luca Manzi, Vista's dynamic leader, has always been fascinated by life at sea. He graduated from the Marine Academy and the Navy Academy. With a career spanning over three decades, including serving as a lieutenant in the Italian Navy and commanding cargo ships, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role.

Staff Captain Edgardo Cossu: A native of Sardinia, Italy, Edgardo Cossu was born and raised in the small fishing village of Camogli, known as the "City of a Thousand White Sailing Ships." Ever since he was a child, he had a passion for the sea, deciding to embark at a young age as a sailor working on small local ferries and private yachts. After graduating maritime nautical school, he began his career sailing around the world working on cargo and cruise ships.

General Manager Dominique Nicolle: Hailing from Brittany, France, Dominique Nicolle started his career as a trained chef working in high-end restaurants in Germany. In 1994, he entered the cruise industry during which time he has held multiple positions ranging from chef to general manager.

Executive Chef Frederic Camonin: Born in France, Frederic Camonin has been surrounded by cooking for as long as he can remember, starting with his family's catering business. Since attending culinary school in Verdun he has myriad experiences to his credit including time spent at French restaurants and brasseries as well as catering. For the past 20 years, he has dedicated his life to traveling the world as a chef at sea, furthering his passion for elevated cuisine.

Food & Beverage Director Susanna Cahyadi: Susanna Cahyadi was born and raised on a farm in the North West province of South Africa. She completed her studies in hospitality management in Phalaborwa and worked at various private game reserves and lodges before joining Insignia in 2011. She relished her time on board and has expanded her career at sea ever since.

Cruise Director Paul Baya: Originally from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, Paul Baya now resides in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida. He attended Lynchburg College in Virginia on a singing scholarship majoring in communications and minoring in theatre performance. In 1995, days after graduating college, Paul started working on board his very first ship which launched his illustrious career in the industry.

A full overview of Vista's 2023 and 2024 itineraries can be found at OceaniaCruises.com . For additional information on Oceania Cruises' small-ship luxury product, exquisitely crafted cuisine and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA or speak with a professional travel advisor.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's seven small, luxurious ships carry a maximum of 1,238 guests and feature The Finest Cuisine at Sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 600 marquee and boutique ports in more than 100 countries on seven continents on voyages that range from seven to more than 200 days. The brand has a second 1,200-guest newbuild, Allura, on order for delivery in 2025. Oceania Cruises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH). To learn more, visit www.nclhltd.com.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is the leading global cruise company that operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. With a combined fleet of 30 ships and more than 60,000 berths, NCLH offers itineraries to nearly 500 destinations worldwide. NCLH has seven additional ships scheduled for delivery across its three brands, adding over 19,000 berths to its fleet. To learn more, visit www.nclhltd.com

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
Economic impact on the region in excess of $100-million

PEORIA, Ill., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, part of OSF HealthCare, is marking its 10-year anniversary. Since opening in 2013, Jump has grown into a world-class medical simulation and education center. Spread across 168,000 square feet on six floors, Jump is the largest specially built medical simulation and innovation center in the country, located on the campus of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Jump was made possible by a $25 million gift from the DiSomma Family Foundation to OSF and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria. That combined with a $25 million match from OSF paved the way for construction of the state-of-the-art center which opened in 2013.

OSF HealthCare partnered with Bradley University on a study looking at the impact Jump has had over the last decade, both economically and non-economically, on the areas it serves.

The preliminary results of the study show the facility has generated income and spending throughout Illinois by creating jobs and commerce, providing medical education and training, and generating research and grant activity.

Over the ten-year period from 2013-2022, Jump's activities enhanced economic activity by over $103 million and created more than 600 full-time jobs.

"If we include the original 2012-2013 construction expenditures for the entire physical building into the analysis, the total economic impact is $180 million with more than 1,000 jobs created," said Joshua Lewer, Bradley University Economics and Finance Department chair. "It is important to note that Jump has not yet approached its long-run full operating capacity. So these numbers will only continue to improve. We believe Jump has demonstrated its strength as an economic engine for the communities it serves."

OSF HealthCare launched OSF Innovation within Jump in 2016. The idea was to bring multidisciplinary teams together to generate and adopt solutions to advance health care. Today, OSF Innovation is integrated across all 15 hospitals in the OSF HealthCare Ministry.

"I came to OSF HealthCare for the chance to build a one-of-a-kind center to not just train health workers of the future, but to re-create health care as we know it. Jump was the catalyst for OSF to lead revolutionary change in health care through innovation and faith as we made it our vision to transform health care to improve the lives of those we serve." - John Vozenilek, MD, vice president and chief medical officer for Innovation at OSF HealthCare.

In the first decade of operation, Jump and OSF Innovation became one of about a dozen health care sites converting two-dimensional images of the heart into exact 3D printed replicas for surgical planning; partnered with the state of Illinois to create the Pandemic Health Worker program to digitally care for people with COVID-19 across the state. This included the launch of the OSF OnCall Digital Hospital; and, was awarded $66 million, along with OSF OnCall, over the next few years to improve access to health care and address the social needs of those living in underserved areas using digital solutions.

As part of the anniversary event, Jump Simulation was transformed to highlight of the accomplishments of the past decade as well as give a glimpse into what the future of health care might look like.

Highlights included:

The future of health care exhibit highlighted the OSF vision for advances in technology, including smart mirrors that check your vital signs. The OSF SmartMirror is a tangible way to understand how health care may look or feel radically different in the future. OSF Innovation teams are actively involved in developing these new modes of care with a focus on better patient care simply by looking in the mirror.

Engineering and Advanced Image Modeling (AIM) labs with 3D printed personalized organ replicas in plastic and resin. Surgeons immerse themselves via virtual reality (VR) goggles inside a vital organ, scanned from an actual patients and put into 3D for pre-surgical planning. Jump has completed 374 segmentations, including free services for larger hospitals across the country such as Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago .

. Experts showed how OSF HealthCare is using massive amounts of data for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to uncover patterns of behavior, medical history, and social conditions that put people at risk. Attendees could see and test a concussion detection app under development.

OSF HealthCare has digitally transformed with a virtual hospital. OSF OnCall hospitalists, nurses, physicians, and advanced practice providers support the digital hospital with services such as virtual intensive care to serve as another set of eyes for providers, advance care at home and remote patient monitoring with more than 25,000 interactions a week.

"With the foundation we've laid this past decade and leadership of The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, we are in a position to lead change, handle new challenges and care for patients in ways we've never done before," explained Becky Buchen, senior vice president of OSF Innovation. "The seeds have already been planted for concepts to become a reality that currently might seem hard to imagine."

Among them:

A number of studies suggest that AI can perform as well as or better than humans at diagnosing diseases.

OSF Innovation is exploring predictive models that will better identify the location of lung metastasis that will result in better outcomes for our patients.

OSF is investigating the use of precision medicine technologies that will provide personalized and targeted treatments for our patients.

You can learn more about the endless possibilities and exciting work taking place at OSF Innovation and Jump Simulation by visiting their websites.

Additional assets including video and photos available on the OSF Newsroom.

https://newsroom.osfhealthcare.org/osf-healthcare-celebrating-10-years-of-jump-simulation/

OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare employs nearly 24,000 Mission Partners in 150 locations, including 15 hospitals  ten acute care, five critical access  with 2,084 licensed beds, and two colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan. The OSF HealthCare physician network employs more than 1,500 primary care, specialist and advanced practice providers. OSF HealthCare, through OSF Home Care Services, operates an extensive network of home health and hospice services. It also owns Pointcore, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses; OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization; and OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups. More at https://www.osfhealthcare.org.

Contact:

Shelli Dankoff

Media Relations Supervisor

OSF HealthCare

(309) 634-8583

SOURCE OSF HealthCare
$300 million investment commitment from Patient Square Capital

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Patient Square Capital ("Patient Square"), a leading health care investment firm, today announced the formation of Elevage Medical Technologies ("Elevage"), a new portfolio company to support the growth of promising medical device companies by providing capital and deep strategic expertise. Elevage will be led by newly appointed CEO Evan Melrose, M.D., who brings more than 25 years of experience in health care across clinical, investment, and operational roles.

Patient Square has made a capital commitment of $300 million to Elevage Medical Technologies. The newly-formed company will deliver financial and strategic growth support to a broad set of medical device technology companies that are at the forefront of transforming health care through cutting-edge devices that enhance health outcomes and quality of life for patients.

"Many medical technologies that have been in development for a decade or more are right at the cusp of making a major impact on patient lives," said Jim Momtazee, Managing Partner of Patient Square. "We want to be bold in our support of that innovation and believe that partnering with Evan allows us to step aggressively into that funding void to position a number of product launches for success."

Dr. Melrose most recently served as the Founding Managing Director of Spindletop Capital, which provided pivotal growth capital for healthcare companies. Before this, he was the Founding Managing Director of PTV Sciences, an Austin-based venture capital firm, and served as a Director with Burrill & Company, a San Francisco-based life sciences private equity/venture capital firm. Dr. Melrose serves or has served on multiple company boards including IntersectENT, Bioventus, and BioForm Medical.

Dr. Melrose has held faculty appointments at Baylor College of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and University of Pennsylvania. His research includes biomedical and medical device outcomes/comparative effectiveness research for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHCPR). His primary care practice included obstetrics, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. He received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, received his M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine, and an MBA from The Wharton School. He has been a member of YPO International and a Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Dr. Melrose served as a prestigious Health Innovator Fellow for the Aspen Institute and was admitted into the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

"This is an exciting time for innovation in the medical device field, and through Elevage Medical Technologies, we will support the growth of new, life-changing technologies to impact patient care," said Evan Melrose, M.D., CEO of Elevage Medical Technologies. "I look forward to partnering with the Patient Square team and leveraging our combined operational, technical, and clinical expertise to become the leading partner in the sector."

About Elevage Medical Technologies

Elevage Medical Technologies is dedicated to supporting medical device companies that can meaningfully improve health outcomes and quality of life for patients. Through capital investment and strategic operational support, Elevage strives to accelerate the pace of innovation in the medical technology space. We provide capital and strategic support to growth-stage medtech companies to advance approval and commercialization. To learn more about Elevage, please visit www.elevagemedicaltechnologies.com

About Patient Square Capital

Patient Square Capital (www.patientsquarecapital.com) is a dedicated health care investment firm with more than $5.9 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2023. The firm partners with best-in-class management teams whose products, services and technologies improve health. Patient Square utilizes deep industry expertise, a broad network of relationships and a partnership approach to make investments in companies grow and thrive. Patient Square invests in businesses that strive to improve patient lives, strengthen communities, and create a healthier world.

Media Contact:

Doug Allen / Zach Kouwe

Dukas Linden Public Relations

(646) 722-6530

[email protected]

SOURCE Patient Square Capital
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AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet Honesty, a leading natural pet health supplement brand with more than 110,000 five-star reviews, will be featured as a top deal in this year's Amazon's Pet Day event on May 2nd and 3rd. The brand is offering 30 percent off many of its bestselling products for dogs and cats.

Pet Honesty's popular springtime relief from seasonal itching and discomfort for dogs is offered with Allergy Skin Health and Flea + Tick Support. And to help dogs and fresh green grass co-exist in harmony, Grass Green uniquely helps to improve your dog's digestion with probiotics and enzymes, while also reducing the level of nitrogen in a dog's urine, which is the real culprit in turning bright green grass to a dull tan color.

Pet Honesty's award-winning dual-texture cat supplements is offered to address cats' popular health needs such as Hairball Support, Calming, and Hip & Joint. The supplements were created with finicky cats in mind, offering a taste loved by nine out of 10 cats based on independent taste studies, and offering more cat parents peace of mind that their cat will take their vitamins.

Both dogs and cats benefit from Pet Honesty's fan-favorite Omega 3 Fish Oil made with wild-caught fish from Iceland. It offers natural EPA and DHA fatty acids for healthy skin & coat, while supporting immunity, hip joint, brain, and heart health. Pet parents will love how the fish oil is naturally purified to remove 99.9% of fishy smell and taste, and mixes easily into pets' food.

Pet Honesty offers a variety of natural pet supplements to unleash more joyful moments with your pet. From a multivitamin for daily proactive health, probiotics for digestion and gut health, improved mobility supplements focused on hip & joint restoration, to the brand's newest hemp-free innovation providing calming aid for the more anxious pet, and more.

About Pet Honesty

Pet Honesty, a trusted leader in premium, natural pet health products, is on a mission to help pet parents elevate their pet's vitality for more joyful moments together. Founded originally as an innovative e-commerce brand in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, TX, the company specializes in vet-approved pet supplements made with natural base ingredients and premium active ingredients, providing functional pet health benefits backed by science and certified by the NASC. Pet Honesty products are formulated in an FDA registered facility in the U.S.A. and available for purchase online at Pethonesty.com, Amazon, Chewy, Petco.com, and at Petco and Tractor Supply Co. retail stores nationwide and select neighborhood pet retailers. For personalized guidance and education about Pet Honesty products, visit Pethonesty.com and follow @PetHonesty on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

Contact

Max Bartee, [email protected]

Denise Paleothodoros, [email protected]

SOURCE Pet Honesty
AMSTERDAM, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Intranet software provider Happeo announces the appointment of Rachel Bates as their new Chief Revenue Officer. Happeo is a template-based intranet with adoption rates three times the industry average that keeps teams informed, aligned, and productive. Bringing extensive HR tech experience as the former CRO of WorkStep and SVP Sales at Workable, Bates joins Happeo at a pivotal time, with the company having earned its Series B funding in July 2022.

Rachel Bates joins Happeo as Chief Revenue Officer

Prior to Happeo, Bates scaled WorkStep's go-to-market teams as their Chief Revenue Officer. Before WorkStep, Bates was the Senior Vice President of Sales at Workable, a leading applicant tracking system with over $80M in venture capital funding, where she built the commercial organization from zero to 100+ employees during a period of hyper-growth.

Based in Boston, Bates will be responsible for leading the sales, marketing, and customer success teams at Happeo, and will report directly to CEO Perttu Ojansuu. With 20 years of experience in scaling global teams in high-growth environments and aligning go-to-market organizations, Bates is set out to increase Happeo's impact across organizations:

"With an increasing number of companies adapting to remote and hybrid working, Happeo will offer them more unified and impactful ways to keep their employees engaged and productive wherever they are. My experience working with both European-based and HR tech SaaS startups meant that from the moment I met Perttu and learned what Happeo was doing, I knew it was a great fit," said Bates.

"We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to our team. She will help expand our go-to-market efforts and bring her customer-focused approach to all areas of the company. With Rachel on board, we will strengthen our position in North America, while maintaining our exceptional customer service for Happeo users worldwide," said Perttu Ojansuu, CEO of Happeo.

Bates' appointment marks a significant milestone for Happeo, as the company looks to continue its growth trajectory and disrupt the intranet software industry.

About Happeo

Happeo is a next-gen intranet that helps teams manage knowledge and internal communications in one unified place. Offering a template-based page builder, as well as integrations and universal search across all company tools, Happeo is easy to use and scale for companies of any size. With adoption rates three times the industry average, 400+ brands including Doctolib, GANT, and Marqeta trust Happeo to keep teams informed, aligned, and productive: happeo.com .

Media contact:

Vivian Zhou

+31(0)611846541

[email protected]

media kit

SOURCE Happeo
NEW YORK and HOUSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Republic Capital Group, an M&A advisory firm specializing in providing investment banking services to the RIA, wealth and asset management communities, is pleased to have served as exclusive financial advisor to Brainard Capital Management, LLC ("Brainard"), an Austin, TX based investment advisory firm with approximately $2 billion in combined assets under management and administration, on its agreement to be acquired by Pathstone Family Office LLC ("Pathstone").

Peter Nesvold, Partner and Managing Director, and John Langston, Founder and Managing Partner

Founded by Owen Brainard in 2004 and based in Austin, TX, Brainard advises a select group of technology entrepreneurs and family-office clients, drawing on more than 20 years of wealth management experience. The firm has significant experience with issues specific to company founders and early employees, such as founder's stock and options management, taxation, estate and trust design, and philanthropic planning. Brainard advises clients on secondary market liquidity, angel investing, single stock hedging strategies, and portfolio management.

Pathstone is an independently operated, partner-owned advisory firm offering comprehensive family office services and customized investment advice for families, family offices, and foundations and endowments. The combination with Brainard brings Pathstone's total assets under advisement and administration to over $80 billion. Pathstone will now have offices in 17 cities nationwide with over 350 team members, more than 180 of whom are shareholders of the firm.

Peter Nesvold, Partner of Republic Capital said, "Owen Brainard has built an incredible firm over the past 19 years involving an impressive client list of entrepreneurs, executives and family offices. Brainard is a great fit to join Pathstone and we are pleased to have helped with this transaction."

The acquisition will allow the Brainard team to gain access to Pathstone's infrastructure, services, and additional personnel support, allowing them to expand their offerings to clients and accelerate their growth.

About Republic Capital Group

Republic Capital Group is an M&A advisory firm specializing in providing investment banking services to the RIA, wealth and asset management communities. We partner with firms that are at the leading edge of M&A activity and are active participants in the transformation of the industry.

For more information, please visit https://www.republiccapgroup.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/republic-capital-group.

Republic Capital Group - securities offered through Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC.

Media Contact: Candace Langston, [email protected]

SOURCE Republic Capital Group
ELK GROVE, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- California Northstate University is excited to announce that Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS is the new Dean of the College of Medicine and Vice President of Medical Affairs. Dr. Isaacs is an industry leader, having been named by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for several years. As the chief academic officer of the College of Medicine, Dr. Isaacs will utilize his extraordinary leadership experience to enhance the academic, cultural, and clinical environments of California Northstate University. Dr. Isaacs will start on June 1, 2023, and his duties will also include a professorship within the College.

"Dr. Isaacs' vast experience and accolades as a leader, a professor, and a clinician will greatly benefit his new role as Dean of the College of Medicine," said Dr. Cheung, President of California Northstate University. "We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Isaacs to California Northstate University, and we are confident that under his leadership, the College of Medicine will see tremendous growth and success."

Over the next couple of months, Dr. Isaacs will be transitioning from his current role as the CEO and Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group; President and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group and Co-CEO of The Permanente Federation LLC. Dr. Isaacs currently serves on the board of directors for the Alliance of Community Health Plans, the American Medical Group Association, and the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. He also has served as a clinical professor of otolaryngology at UC Davis School of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, and California Northstate University College of Medicine.

"I am thrilled to contribute to advancing medical education at California Northstate University College of Medicine," said Dr. Isaacs. "The institution is dedicated to excellence, as evidenced by their legacy and history of highly esteemed pharmacy, nursing, research, health care ancillary, and undergraduate programs. I aim to build this level of excellence in medical education. The mission to establish a strong pool of physicians to address the expanding health requirements of our country is admirable. Finally, I am excited to help shape the future physician workforce and advance the development of a top-tier medical center in the region."

Born and raised in Detroit, Dr. Isaacs received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. He completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery training in New York at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital; New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center; and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and subsequently, his surgical fellowship in head and neck oncologic and skull base surgery at UC Davis.

Dr. Isaacs is board certified in otolaryngology with advanced certification in head and neck oncologic and microvascular / skull base surgery. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

For more information about California Northstate University, please visit www.cnsu.edu.

California Northstate University was founded in the Sacramento region in 2007 to advance the science and art of healthcare. California Northstate University is dedicated to educating, developing, and training individuals to provide competent, patient-centered care. Since its inception, California Northstate University has continued to expand to meet the growing needs to the community. Today, California Northstate University has approximately 1,500 combined students and employees in six colleges, including College of Dental Medicine, College of Health Sciences, College of Graduate Studies, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and College of Psychology. To learn more, please visit www.cnsu.edu.

CONTACT:

Doug Elmets

916-329-9180

SOURCE California Northstate University
Empowers REALTORS and Agents to Manage Rental Listings

CINCINNATI, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SentriLock, the official lockbox of the National Association of REALTORS, and Rental Beast, the exclusive rental technology provider for the National Association of REALTORS, have announced a partnership that will make Multiple Listing Service (MLS) platforms specifically compatible with managing rental listings, providing unprecedented functionality for renters, investors, and property owners.

SentriGuard lockbox

Through this integration, SentriLock users will now have the added capability to conveniently assign electronic lockboxes to their rental property listings directly from the Rental Beast platform, which powers the MLSs' Add/Edit functionality. The integration provides these properties with the same enhanced control and security that SentriLock users have on their "For Sale" listings. Real estate professionals will know when potential renters have viewed the property and owners can easily coordinate with contractors and others needing access to the property, providing them with one-time "flex codes". The integration makes it easy to schedule showings, saving time for agents and property owners.

"Historically, the rental transaction market has been a fragmented and messy place. Our partnership with SentriLock is designed to make the agent or REALTOR the power user as it pertains to rentals," said Ishay Grinberg, CEO and Founder of Rental Beast. "Because of this integration with SentriLock as the leader in the field of electronic lockboxes, we're creating a seamless ecosystem that empowers agents and property owners with the ability to continue building their long-term businesses."

"Our partnership with Rental Beast aligns perfectly with SentriLock's core values of providing innovative solutions to make the real estate industry more streamlined and user friendly," said Scott Fisher, CEO and Founder, SentriLock. "In solving a longstanding compatibility issue with MLS systems and rental properties, we know that renters, agents, and owners alike will benefit from having an interface tailored for their specific needs."

The partnered integration will roll out beginning with Triangle MLS.

About SentriLock, LLC

SentriLock is a leading provider of electronic lockbox solutions for the real estate industry. SentriLock's lockboxes use advanced technology to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to properties and provide real-time access and activity reports. SentriLock is dedicated to providing its customers with the highest level of security and convenience.

About Rental Beast

Rental Beast is a leading real estate technology firm with an end-to-end SaaS platform designed to empower real estate professionals and the nation's most comprehensive database of nearly eleven million rental properties. Sourced directly from property owners, updated in real-time, and offering a fulfillment-grade rental dataset, the Rental Beast database provides real estate professionals with an unparalleled view of all properties and owner types.

Rental Beast is recognized and supported by Second Century Ventures, the capital and strategic growth arm of the National Association of REALTORS and is a proud member of the 2022 REACH-Canada program. Learn more at rentalbeast.com/MLS.

SOURCE SentriLock
MILWAUKEE, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating Commerce (OTCPK: CBOF) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law in its transaction with BCTF.

Click here to learn how to join the action https://www.ademilaw.com/case/cboa-financial-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Commerce's shareholders are expected to receive only 0.24 shares of BCTF common stock for each share of Commerce common stock they own. Based on BCTF's stock price of $11.25 as of market close on April 26, 2023, the price per share for Commerce shareholders would be $2.70, or approximately $28 million in aggregate deal value. The value of the per share consideration received by Commerce shareholders will rise and fall based on the value of BCTF shares. BCTF shareholders will own approximately 65%, and Commerce shareholders will own approximately 35%, of the pro forma company. The transaction agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for Commerce by imposing a significant penalty if Commerce accepts a superior bid. Commerce insiders will receive substantial benefits as part of change of control arrangements.

We are investigating the conduct of Commerce's board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for Commerce.

If you own Commerce common stock and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or https://www.ademilaw.com/case/cboa-financial-inc.

We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts

Ademi LLP

Guri Ademi

Toll Free: (866) 264-3995

Fax: (414) 482-8001

SOURCE Ademi LLP
NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. ("SSSHI") is pleased to announce its partnership with Evertreen, an innovative technology company that empowers individuals worldwide to contribute to a sustainable future by planting trees and monitoring them through satellite tracking. The platform also provides stable employment opportunities for local farming communities.

A Message from Evertreen

In 2022, South Street Securities Holdings planted 1,200 trees in Honduras on behalf of its employees and customers to contribute to a greener planet. This year, the firm has donated an additional 4,000 trees in Kenya, contributing a total of 780 tons of carbon absorption.

"We are proud to partner with an organization that shares our values and is committed to creating a sustainable future," commented James Tabacchi, Chief Executive Officer of South Street Securities Holdings, Inc.

With a network of 3,000+ local farmers, Evertreen is committed to planting trees that fight global warming, prevent desertification, create new ecosystems and reduce industrial impacts like pollution. The platform's digital satellite tracking allows users to receive continuous updates on the growth status, nitrogen concentration, photosynthetic activity, soil conditions and more.

"Evertreen empowers anyone to support our planet, regardless of their location. Together, we can combat deforestation, support local communities, and make a significant contribution to the environment," said Stephen Mellert, Head of Business Development at Matrix Applications LLC.

To explore the South Street Securities Holdings Evertreen Forest, click here.

About South Street Securities Holdings, Inc.

South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries. Affiliates include South Street Securities LLC, a repo dealer financing US Treasuries, Agency MBS, TBA mortgage origination hedging and equity finance, Matrix Applications, LLC, a technology and back-office services company, South Street Capital Management, LLC, an asset management company, and AmeriVet Securities, Inc., a service-disabled veteran and minority owned broker dealer

Contact

Colleen Judge

[email protected]

SOURCE South Street Securities Holdings, Inc.
WASHINGTON and CINCINNATI, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SouthEast Eye Specialists, together with SouthEast Eye Surgery Center and the Eye Surgery Center of Chattanooga (SEES), agreed to pay the United States and Tennessee $17,000,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by illegally inducing primary-care eye doctors (optometrists) to refer  or steer patients to SEES for cataract surgeries by providing optometrists a variety of forms of financial remuneration. Those optometrists provided referrals to SEES for cataract surgeries reimbursed by Medicare and TennCare, resulting in alleged violations of the False Claims Act.

Represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP and Morgan Verkamp LLC, two whistleblowers alleged in a False Claims Act lawsuit that SEES used a variety of approaches to secure a stream of referrals by inducing optometrists to refer patients to SEES, including continuing education, meals, sporting events, and inappropriate pre-arranged co-management agreements with optometrists.

When cataract surgery is co-managed, the surgeon performing the surgery retains 80% of the Medicare reimbursement, and the referring optometrist doing the post-operative exam receives 20% of the payment. When done appropriately, co-management is decided on a case-by-case basis with considerations for patient health, patient convenience, and patient choice.

The settled complaint alleged that SEES corrupted this relationship by using it to serve its own interests and the interests of its referring optometrists over the interests of the patients: Under the SEES model, referrers and referees blanketly pre-arranged for patients to have their surgery performed by SEES and to have it co-managed. When legitimate patient-centered co-management decisions are corrupted by the financial interests of the surgical practice and their referring providers, this may violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits providing remuneration to induce the recommendation or referral of patients. The law is meant to protect patients from medical judgment being clouded by improper financial considerations and to protect government healthcare programs like Medicare and TennCare from the potential for abuses that increase costs to taxpayers. It also serves to prevent unfair competition that shuts out competitors who are unwilling to pay or get paid for referrals.

The False Claims Act allows private citizens to bring cases in the name of the government against government contractors charged with fraud. Such casesalso called qui tam casesrecover damages back to the government for false claims made to government programs, including Medicare and TennCare. The complaint in this case was filed in Tennessee in 2017 by Ross Lumpkin, O.D. and Gary Odom. Dr. Lumpkin is an optometrist in Tennessee, and Mr. Odom served as an executive in the statewide optometric association for decades. Together, they alerted the government to their allegations of SEES' anti-competitive business model of using inappropriate pre-arranged co-management and other forms of remuneration as a revenue opportunity for referring optometrists.

"Dr. Lumpkin and Mr. Odom exposed fraud on the government and the taxpayers by shining a light on what happens when a permissible practice is corrupted by financial interest rather than staying focused on patient need. When healthcare providers pay kickbacks to obtain business from other providers, honest companies and honest providers cannot compete, and the entire system suffers," said Jennifer Verkamp of Morgan Verkamp.

As Amy Easton of Phillips & Cohen said, "This case will help to ensure that patients receive medical care that is in their best interests and that medical decisions are not impacted by the offer or provision of kickbacks."

This case exemplifies the strong public-private partnership created by the False Claims Act. The government tried but was not permitted to intervene in the case, but the working partnership contemplated by the False Claims Act enabled Morgan Verkamp and Phillips & Cohen to litigate the matter and work with the government to recover fraudulently obtained money back to the United States and Tennessee treasuries. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Kara Sweet and Ellen Bowden McIntyre from the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, and the state of Tennessee was represented by Nathan Casey, Assistant Attorney General.

Dr. Lumpkin and Mr. Odom were represented by Amy Easton and Jeffrey Dickstein of Phillips & Cohen and Jennifer Verkamp, Chandra Napora, and Jonathan Lischak of Morgan Verkamp. They were supported by local counsel Michael Hamilton of Provost Umphrey Law Firm.

The case, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, is captioned United States ex rel. Odom, et al. v. SouthEast Eye Specialists, PLLC, et al., and the case number is 17-00689.

Phillips & Cohen and Morgan Verkamp represent whistleblowers nationwide: morganverkamp.com; phillipsandcohen.com.

Contact: Chandra Napora

[email protected]

513-651-4400

Contact: Jen Fuson

[email protected]

202-834-6209

SOURCE Morgan Verkamp, LLC
MODESTO, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit of Gallo has announced that it will acquire Fishers Island Lemonade, a female-founded beverage brand. A trailblazer in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category, Fishers Island Lemonade was one of the first premium craft cocktails to be packaged in a can. Fishers Island Lemonade (9% ABV) is positioned as a leader in the premium RTD category with its one-of-a-kind, full-flavor taste profile of barrel-aged whiskey and premium vodka; its four-pack is offered at $15.99.

Founder Bronya Shillo grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut and spent summers on Fishers Island, New York where her family owned and operated The Pequot Inn, the only bar on the island, where she began to work as soon as she was old enough. Frequented by locals and visitors alike, The Pequot Inn is known for its signature "FIL" cocktail that was hand crafted in 15-liter batches prior to busy summer weekends. Due to the drink's popularity, it would sell out regularly at the bar which would cause bartenders to step away to make more. During her time there as a manager, Bronya began to focus on the idea of canning the cocktail, which would not only allow her to serve her customers quicker but also bring the delicious taste of Fishers Island to a wider audience. After two years of research and development, Bronya launched Fishers Island Lemonade on Memorial Day 2014, pioneering the canned cocktail category which is one of the leading contributors to the success of the RTD category today along with High Noon from Spirit of Gallo.

Together, Spirit of Gallo & Fishers Island Lemonade will highlight its unique taste of island life to more US consumers. Tweet this

"In the ready-to-drink category, consumers are trading up to spirits-based cocktails and demanding more full-flavored, higher ABV products, reflecting the overall trend of spirits premiumization in the United States," said Britt West, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spirit of Gallo. "Having known Bronya for over a decade, I have watched her bring Fishers Island Lemonade from a concept all the way to its success as one of the highest-quality and best tasting canned cocktails in the market. Spirit of Gallo is so honored that she has entrusted us with her visionary idea, and we are galvanized to work with her as she remains on board to guide the brand and serve as its official spokesperson. Together, we will highlight the unique sense and taste of island life to more consumers across the country."

"When I launched Fishers Island Lemonade nearly a decade ago, I never could have imagined the overwhelming love and support we received that allowed us to grow the brand from a single cocktail into a family of full-flavor spiked lemonade craft cocktails in a can," said Fishers Island Lemonade Founder Bronya Shillo. "Spirit of Gallo has a proven record of innovation and success in the RTD category and there is no other organization I would trust to take Fishers Island Lemonade to the next level. I am ecstatic for this opportunity to support and further grow the Fishers Island Lemonade brand."

Today, the Fishers Island Lemonade family also includes Fishers Island Half and Half (7% ABV) and Fishers Island Pink Flamingo (7% ABV), line priced with an SRP of $15.99 for a four-pack along with variety 8-pack offerings. Most recently, the Fishers Island Family earned Platinum, Double Gold and the Consumer's Choice Award at the 2022 SIP Awards, and Gold at the 2023 San Francisco Spirits Awards.

Terms of the Agreement were not disclosed.

ABOUT FISHERS ISLAND LEMONADE

Fishers Island Lemonade is recognized as America's Craft Lemonade Canned Cocktail, winning dozens of awards for its one-of-a-kind taste profile and commitment to high quality ingredients. Launched in 2014 by female-founder Bronya Shillo, Fishers Island Lemonade is inspired by the signature house cocktail, the "FIL," served for decades at The Pequot Inn, which Bronya's family owned and operated on Fishers Island, NY. It was there, while working as a bartender, that Bronya had the visionary idea to package the Fishers Island Lemonade cocktail in a can, allowing fans to take the delicious and distinctly flavorful cocktail with them to best enjoy in their happy place, wherever that may be.

ABOUT SPIRIT OF GALLO

For nearly a half a century, the Gallo family has been growing its portfolio of spirits brands. Spirit of Gallo's mission is to build the next great American spirits company and to meet the changing needs of consumers. Spirit of Gallo represents 24 brands and is now the third largest spirits supplier in the United States by volume. Some of the award-winning brands include New Amsterdam Vodka, E & J Brandy, Horse Soldier Bourbon, Tequila Komos, Camarena Tequila, RumChata, Pink Whitney, RumHaven, Stratusphere Gin, and the break-out, spirit-based hard seltzer, High Noon. Additionally, the portfolio contains an impressive list of both owned and imported luxury spirits such as The Dalmore Single Malt Scotch, Germain-Robin Brandy, Amaro Montenegro, Don Fulano Tequila and Lo-Fi Aperitifs. The entire portfolio is featured on www.spiritofgallo.com .

Media Contact: Jibu Banerji, [email protected]

SOURCE Spirit of Gallo
Commitment Focuses on Work and Career Readiness Education for Teens and Young Adults

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Junior Achievement USA (JA) announced today that Staples Cause for Caring, Inc. is investing $250,000 this year to support JA work and career readiness initiatives in eight communities in the United States and Canada. These initiatives are focused on helping middle school students, high school students, and young adults gain a better understanding of the connection between what they learn in school and future work and careers.

"The idea of jobs and careers is very compelling to young people, but sometimes they need support in terms of understanding how their education choices can support their future aspirations," said Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "We greatly appreciate Staples' investment in this area to better prepare young people to pursue their dreams and achieve their potential."

In addition to monetary support, Staples will offer employee volunteers to engage with the students as part of these programs, sharing their expertise, career insights, and hands-on mentorship to inspire participating youth. Further, Staples commits to offering in-kind contributions of print services to support JA in classrooms.

"As experts on the future of work and as a company of caring people, Staples is proud to continue our history of charitable giving through the support of our Cause for Caring fund and generous employee volunteers across the company," said John Lederer, CEO, Staples, Inc. "Middle and high school students participating in Junior Achievement programs today have the ability to become the business leaders of the future. It is our honor to play a role in helping them achieve their full potential."

The JA communities benefiting from Staples Cause for Caring this year are:

- Framingham, MA (Boston) - Orange City, IA - Lincolnshire, IL (Chicago) - Atlanta, GA - Dallas, TX - Halifax, NS, Canada - Greencastle, PA (York, PA) - Maitland, FL (Orlando, FL)

Examples of the learning experiences Staples is supporting include JA Job Shadow for high school students, internships for young adults, and career exploration programs for middle school students.

"Staples Cause for Caring represents our commitment to serving others, whether they are employees recovering from unforeseen personal hardships or members of our local communities who can benefit from our support and expertise," said Gina Gibbs Foster, VP, Corporate Communications, Staples, Inc. and Cause for Caring Board President. "We're pleased to continue Staples' legacy of charitable giving and community involvement through this partnership with Junior Achievement."

About Staples Cause for Caring, Inc.

Staples Cause for Caring is a 501c3 Charitable organization that is founded and funded by Staples, Inc. employee and corporate contributions. Cause for Caring offers financial assistance for qualifying events resulting in extreme financial hardship for employees, and the fund also supports community giving via strategic non-profit partnerships. Since 2013, the fund has paid out over $6M in grants. For more information, visit www.staplescauseforcaring.org.

About Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 3.3 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Staples

Staples is The Worklife Fulfillment Company, helping businesses of all sizes be more productive, connected and inspired  however and wherever they work today. With dedicated account teams, category professionals, innovative brands and a curated product assortment for business, Staples provides customized solutions to help organizations achieve their goals. The company operates in North America through eCommerce and direct sales, and is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts. More information about Staples is available at www.staplesadvantage.com.

SOURCE Junior Achievement USA
Shawn Johnson East, Tori Boggs, Training Mate and others join the 21-day fitness challenge to deliver happiness to hospitalized kids across the country

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The nonprofit Starlight Children's Foundation officially launched the Star Jump Challenge, its new peer-to-peer fitness campaign, to raise funds and awareness of its mission to deliver happiness to hospitalized children and their families nationwide. Participants in the Star Jump Challenge perform jumping skills  such as jumping rope, jumping jacks or jumping their unique way  for 21 days while raising funds from friends, family, and colleagues. The challenge is designed to be fun and engaging, regardless of fitness level or age.

Funds from the Star Jump Challenge will help place Starlight's innovative programs  like Starlight Hospital Wear, Starlight Gaming, Starlight Virtual Reality, and more  in over 800 U.S. children's hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Im excited to be a part of this challenge and raise funds for such an important cause," said Shawn Johnson East. Tweet this

"Hospitalization can be a traumatic experience for anyone, but it is especially difficult for children. We aim to transform hospital stays by distributing our in-demand state-of-the-art programs to our child life partners in our healthcare network. Starlight programs provide comfort and play to young patients coping with medical procedures and illnesses," said Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight Children's Foundation.

According to Garone, the Star Jump Challenge not only promotes physical fitness but also provides an opportunity for people to come together and support a great cause. Every dollar raised will fund Starlight programs in hospitals, bringing joy to patients and making their journey toward recovery a little brighter.

Children hospitalized or receiving medical treatment often experience significant stress and anxiety, negatively impacting their physical and emotional well-being. Working in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics, and hospices, child life specialists are trained to understand and address the unique needs of pediatric patients, helping them feel more comfortable and supported during their healthcare journey.

Child life specialists utilize Starlight programs to provide emotional support, education, and distraction to pediatric patients and families during a challenging time. These programs are offered free of charge to pediatric facilities that are part of Starlight's healthcare network.

Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson East, Grand World Jump Rope Champion and Guinness World Record Holder Tori Boggs, the fitness studio Training Mate, and many others are partnering with Starlight by promoting the new campaign with their community.

Shawn Johnson East, Olympic gold medalist and founder of FamilyMade, is thrilled to support the Star Jump Challenge. "I'm excited to be a part of this challenge and raise funds for such an important cause. Hospitalization can be very difficult for pediatric patients and I'm proud to collaborate with Starlight, an organization that's been bringing smiles to kids for over 40 years," East said.

Tori Boggs, Grand World Jump Rope Champion and Guinness World Record Holder, also joins the challenge as a partner. Boggs said, "I love a good challenge, and the Star Jump Challenge is a great way to challenge yourself while making a difference. I encourage everyone to join in and jump for a cause."

Training Mate, a fitness studio with locations across Los Angeles and Dallas, is also partnering with the Star Jump Challenge. "We're excited to be a part of this challenge and help people stay active while raising funds for a great cause," said Luke Milton, celebrity trainer and founder of Training Mate. "We're committed to helping people achieve their fitness goals, and the Star Jump Challenge is a great way to kick-start your fitness journey."

"We're honored and grateful to have incredible partners joining us and supporting the Star Jump Challenge. We know happy kids heal faster, and this campaign will help us bring more joy to hospitalized kids," Garone said.

The Star Jump Challenge is open for registration until May 21, and participants can join as individuals or teams. To learn more about the challenge and register, visit StarJumpChallenge.org.

About Starlight Children's Foundation

Starlight Children's Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that delivers happiness to seriously ill or injured children and their families. Since 1982, Starlight's ground-breaking and innovative programs, like Starlight Virtual Reality, Starlight Hospital Wear, and Starlight Gaming, have impacted 21 million kids at more than 800 children's hospitals across the U.S. To learn more and to help Starlight deliver happiness to seriously ill kids, visit www.starlight.org and follow Starlight on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .

SOURCE Starlight Childrens Foundation
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

All-new Dodge Hornet captures Crossover Utility Vehicle of Texas Award at Texas Automotive Writers Association Auto Roundup

Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost gives Dodge brand second of four TAWA title awards with Performance Vehicle of Texas win

All-new Dodge Hornet also earns Best New Interior, Best Value and Best New Feature awards

Chrysler Pacifica collects award in Minivan category for seventh consecutive year

Alfa Romeo Stelvio takes honors in Mid-Size CUV class

Stellantis lassoed multiple honors at the 2023 Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA) Auto Roundup, with the Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Dodge brands bringing home a combined seven awards at the event, held March 26-28, 2023, at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas.

Stellantis lassoed multiple honors at the 2023 Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA) Auto Roundup, with Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Dodge brands bringing home a combined seven awards from the event, held March 26-28, 2023, at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas.

The all-new Dodge Hornet impressed in its TAWA Auto Roundup debut, scoring the Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) of Texas title award. The newest entry in the Dodge brand's vehicle lineup also added honors for Best Value, Best New Interior and Best New Feature for the class-exclusive PowerShot feature, which supplies a burst of 30 horsepower for the Dodge Hornet R/T.

Dodge brand claimed a second of the four TAWA Auto Roundup title awards, with the 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost, one of the Dodge brand's "Last Call" special-edition models, taking the prestigious Performance Vehicle of Texas award.

The Chrysler brand continued its domination at the TAWA Auto Roundup, with the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid extending the brand's win streak to seven consecutive years in the Minivan category. Chrysler Pacifica is the most awarded minivan over the last six years with more than 170 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan.

TAWA voters also gave the Alfa Romeo Stelvio top honors in the Mid-Size CUV segment. Born from the world's greatest driving road, the Stelvio Pass, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is the benchmark for performance SUVs.

"Congratulations to Stellantis for bringing home 2023 TAWA Auto Roundup awards in a number of categories," said Teia Collier, president of TAWA. "The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Dodge Hornet, Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio received well-deserved recognition from TAWA voters in attendance at our annual spring event."

Dodge Hornet

The all-new Dodge Hornet arrives ready to disrupt the status quo of the mainstream CUV segment with class-exclusive and best-in-class performance features that optimize multiple aspects of the vehicle, from powertrain to suspension, braking, steering and handling.

The Dodge Hornet GT is the quickest, fastest and most powerful utility vehicle with a starting MSRP of under $30,000 (excluding destination charge). Dodge Hornet R/T, the first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge, is the most powerful utility vehicle in the segment with 288 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque. For more information on the Dodge Hornet, visit Dodge.com.

Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost

The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost is one of seven Dodge "Last Call" special-edition models that commemorate the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, which are coming to an end in their current HEMI-engine-powered forms at the end of 2023. The Dodge Challenger Black Ghost is a modern-day vision that channels the spirit of a muscle car that haunted metro Detroit's famed Woodward Avenue in the 1970s. Only 300 of the Black Ghost "Last Call" models will be produced, all as Pitch Black Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody vehicles.

Dodge has also launched a Horsepower Locator online tool to help Brotherhood of Muscle members make the "Last Call" for the model of their choice. The Dodge Horsepower Locator tool, as well as information on the brand's 24-month Never Lift plan, is available at DodgeGarage.com.

Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid

The Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, the first and still the only plug-in hybrid in the segment, offers an all-electric range of more than 30 miles, more than 80 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) and a total range of more than 500 miles. The Pacifica Hybrid is also the only minivan eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, as well as any available state and local tax credits.

The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid can help charge the battery when braking or stopping using the built-in regenerative braking feature and is designed to offer a seamless driving experience, with no need for the driver to select between electric and hybrid modes. Chrysler Pacifica is also the most awarded minivan over the last six years with more than 170 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan. For more information on the Chrysler brand, visit Chrysler.com.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio sets the benchmark for performance SUVs with updates for 2023, including the new limited-edition Estrema and Lusso models. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio delivers performance, design and technology in an SUV that could only come from Italy.

Crafted by Alfa Romeo artisans at the Cassino plant in Italy, the Stelvio lineup is infused with Italian passion, craftsmanship and innovation and is a testament to Alfa Romeo's unparalleled balance of engineering and emotion, creating a premium midsize SUV for driving enthusiasts. For more information on Alfa Romeo, visit alfaromeousa.com.

TAWA

TAWA is one of the most reputable automotive press organizations in the industry, with a mission to promote quality and accuracy in automotive journalism and disseminate information about the industry through news-related print, online and broadcast media. TAWA produces two driving events each year  the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall. Media members enjoy driving and evaluating new vehicles competing for the coveted Family Vehicle of Texas and Truck of Texas.

Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) 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 today's 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.

SOURCE Stellantis
NEW YORK, May 1 , 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stokke, the Norwegian leading children's premium products company, best known for its iconic Tripp Trapp chair, today announces the release of their first ever sustainability report. The report outlines the brand's commitment to implementing fair practices in their supply chain and using materials that meet their high sustainability standards.

The report also highlights the company's comprehensive Child Development and Sustainability Strategy based on five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which includes a three-year partnership with the University of Copenhagen signed last April.

Through the University partnership, Stokke has committed to funding a three-year long PhD study on learning and social development at the dining table. Through this collaboration, it will gain unique scientific-evidence-based insights to ensure Stokke's business strategy and new product development (NPD) continue to be informed by cutting edge research into child development.

"Early childhood development is one of the most critical paths in a child's life, and we believe we have an important role to play in how families come together around mealtimes. This partnership aligns well with our mission to strengthen the connection between parent and child, and to promote child development," explains CEO at Stokke, Jacob Kragh. "Our overall sustainability strategy aspires to make Stokke the obvious choice for parents who want to see change. We believe that the most sustainable products are the ones you never have to replace. Our products are not only designed with superior functionality for comfort but also to bring children closer to their parents  and importantly, they have been proven to last."

The three-year partnership focusing on child development is welcomed by the University of Copenhagen, and of great importance to the institution's future work. "The early years of life have impact on our development throughout our lives," explains Dr. Johanne Smith-Nielsen, Associate Professor Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist and supervisor of the partnership project "Every interaction is a window of opportunity for learning and development".

In 2022, Stokke signed the Science Based Target Initiative to measure and reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and committed to the responsible sourcing of wood for its worldwide recognized children's products. By 2030, it is Stokke's goal that all of their wood products be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. In 2022, the company also became a member of SEDEX, a global membership organization that connects businesses all over the world to improve business practices.

For more on Stokke and their product offerings, visit www.stokke.com.

ABOUT STOKKE

Stokke was founded on the west coast of Norway in 1932. Once a family-owned company, the company has been owned since 2014 by NXMH, a Belgium-based investment company wholly owned by South Korea's NXC. In addition to its head office in Alesund, Norway, it has offices in the USA, Korea, China, and Japan.

Stokke's ethos is epitomized by its Tripp Trapp chair, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. Created by Norwegian designer Peter Opsvik, the iconic chair launched in 1972 did something completely new; it gave children an ergonomic seat of their own and made it possible for children to comfortably join their family at the table for connection and bonding.

Since 2006, Stokke's focus has been purely on the premium children's markets with products that share a common purpose: to encourage child development and to nurture family bonding. Stokke's mantra is that closeness fosters connection  it believes that children need this sense of connection to feel safe and loved, encouraging them to become self-reliant and confident learners in life.

Caring for children also means caring for the planet. So, it strives towards sustainable solutions  high-quality, durable materials, together with timeless design, ensure longevity to all our products.

SOURCE Stokke
Workers Demand American Automobile Association Get Serious About Bargaining

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 665 members who work as insurance sales agents at the American Automobile Association of Northern California, Nevada & Utah (AAA-NCNU) overwhelmingly voted down a contract proposal made by the organization.

"These workers voted overwhelmingly to reject this agreement because of the proposed concessions," said Tony Delorio, Local 665 Secretary-Treasurer. "No Teamster working at AAA-NCNU will accept any reduction in compensation in an agreement. AAA needs to make a good-faith proposal that includes an increase in performance compensation, greater job security, and a cost of living adjustment."

AAA will be facing a hearing later this month at the National Labor Relations Board for over a dozen unfair labor practice charges for related to union-busting and bargaining in bad faith. AAA has been gradually eliminating positions and shifting the work to a call center in Utah since workers voted to join Local 665 two years ago. In addition to branch closures and unreasonable contract proposals, AAA-NCNU has stopped all hiring in the bargaining unit and harassed union supporters.

"We're standing strong because we need guarantees on our job security and compensation package," said Clinton Ward, a AAA sales agent and bargaining committee member. "It's time AAA management get serious about bargaining a fair contract."

Teamsters Local 665 represents over 5,000 members throughout the Bay Area in a wide variety of industries. For more information, go to teamsters665.org/.

Contact:

Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 665
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Actuarial Foundation is delighted to announce the winning teams of the 2022-2023 Modeling the Future Challenge, a national scholarship competition where high school students take on the role of an actuary using models to predict future risk and help to solve world problems. Now in its sixth year, the Challenge was developed with our partner, the Institute of Competition Sciences. The winning teams were announced at the Virtual Symposium, a unique three-day experience immersing students in career sessions with actuaries and presentations from college students and industry experts as well as engaging group activities created in partnership with our generous corporate supporters and volunteers. Selected from a total of 227 teams of high school juniors and seniors from across the country, 53 students making up 13 teams qualified to present at the Symposium.

The 2022-2023 Challenge was once again an open-theme, allowing students to choose which topics they wanted to tackle for their research projects. Topics ranged from space junk to recidivism in prisons to climate's effects on soil salinity. The Challenge gives students access to the Actuarial Process to help them in every phase of their project. The Actuarial Process is a five-step framework, similar to the scientific method, which lays out the core structure of how to successfully identify, analyze, and manage risks. Each team was also assigned an actuary mentor to guide them during the research phase of their project.

Securing first place and winning the $25,000 scholarship award was Julia Hudson from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, for her project titled KESSYM: A stochastic orbital debris model for evaluation of Kessler Syndrome risks and mitigations. Coming in second place and winning the $15,000 scholarship award were Amar Kanakamedala, Jeffrey Liu, Evan Wu, Henry Yu, and Lou Zhou from Memphis University School in Memphis Tennessee. Their project studied recidivism in Iowa state prisons. Clinching the third-place scholarship award of $10,000 were Abhinav Gorrepati, Shreyans Jain, Sarthak Jain, Vinay Singamsetty and Ryan Tabatabai from ESUHSD/Silver Creek High School in San Jose, California for their project focusing on the dryland salinity in Australia. Taking the fourth-place scholarship award of $5,000 were Tyler Li, Alex Lin, Kevin Shen and Alexander Wang from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois for their project studying data breaches in the healthcare sector.

One of the actuary judges for the Symposium, Steve Alpert, offered his congratulations to the students, saying it was "a great honor and privilege" to read through students' final reports. He also relished having "really enlightening conversations" with the students as they answered judges' questions and presented their projects. Ultimately, the goal of the Challenge is for students to learn how mathematics applies to cutting-edge industries and technologies and to gain exposure to highly sought-after careers as actuaries and other math or STEM-related professionals. As Julia Hudson, from the first-place winning team said, "The actuarial process and advice from my mentors have been incredibly transformative. I've learned so much to use the rest of my life in modeling and in STEM in general."

The Modeling the Future Challenge is made possible with the generous support of Pioneer Sponsor RGA Foundation, Pacesetter Sponsors Casualty Actuarial Society and Lincoln Financial Group, Builder Sponsors F&G Annuities & Life and Rick and Beth Jones, Founding Sponsors Roy & Georgia Goldman and Helen Galt Education Award Supporter Prudential.

About The Actuarial Foundation

The Actuarial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the philanthropic institution for the actuarial industry in the United States. The mission of the Foundation is to enhance math education and financial literacy through the talents and resources of actuaries. The Foundation's vision is an educated public in pursuit of a secure financial future. Further information is available at: actuarialfoundation.org

About the Institute of Competition Sciences

Since 2012, the Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) has been defining best practices in competition strategy, design, and operations. ICS aims to spark a new level of community engagement in science, technology, and education by supporting a network of educational competitions. For more information, please visit: competitionsciences.org

CONTACT:

Holly Monahan

The Actuarial Foundation

(847) 706-3659

[email protected]

SOURCE The Actuarial Foundation
NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the largest private funder of suicide prevention research in the world, will honor its 2023 Lifetime and Annual Research Award recipients at its Gala on May 4 in New York City. The honorees include powerhouse mental health and suicide prevention researcher, Madelyn Gould, Ph.D., MPH, who will be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and global expert in the field of suicide prevention and self-harm, Rory O'Connor, Ph.D., FRSE, FAcSS, who will be recognized with the Annual Research Award for his studies to help understand how a person shifts from suicidal thought to suicidal behavior.

"With suicide prevention in the forefront as a public health imperative, highlighting the contributions of researchers who have played pivotal roles in suicide prevention is essential," says Dr. Jill Harkavy-Freidman the senior vice president of research at AFSP. "It is through research that we are learning about how to save lives and bring hope to those who are affected by suicide. Research findings underlie most suicide prevention efforts including public education, clinician training, advocacy and support for survivors of suicide loss. Dr. Gould and Dr. O'Connor are outstanding role models as we continue to grow the field of suicide prevention research."

Dr. Madelyn Gould, AFSP's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, is an internationally respected mental health and suicide prevention researcher. She is an endowed Professor of Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Over the past four decades, Dr. Gould has contributed extensive research to deepen our understanding of youth mental health and suicide prevention. She changed the conversation when she demonstrated that talking about suicide in schools does not create suicidal behavior and, in fact, is associated with decreasing distress. Over the course of her decades-long career, Dr. Gould's applied clinical epidemiologic research has laid the groundwork for many state, national, and international suicide prevention programs.

Her leading research on the effect of media coverage on suicide contagion has contributed to the adoption of global standards in safe news reporting.

Her ongoing evaluation of suicide crisis interventions  including telephone and texting  played an important role in informing the groundbreaking designation of 988 as the national number for suicide prevention and mental health crisis response. She has repeatedly demonstrated that crisis phone lines are helpful to people in crisis.

Dr. Gould is an AFSP Scientific Advisor and is a member of AFSP's Scientific Council. She has also received grants from AFSP, including a Distinguished Investigator Grant Award in 2001, and an Annual Research Award in 2006. She has served as a member or consultant on numerous state and federal suicide prevention initiatives, including as a Leadership Consultant on the Surgeon General's Working Group for the development of the first National Suicide Prevention Strategy. Recently, she helped provide safety guidance on AFSP's forthcoming "Talk Away the Dark" PSA video.

Dr. Gould's research has been published in prestigious journals, including: The New England Journal of Medicine, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet Psychiatry, and Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. She has served as the Principal Investigator or co-Investigator on over 25 federally funded grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Rory O'Connor, Ph.D., FRSE, FAcSS, AFSP's Annual Research Award recipient, is a global expert in the field of suicide and self-harm and leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab at Glasgow, one of the leading suicide and self-harm research groups internationally. His Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behaviour provides a framework for how a person shifts from suicidal thought to suicidal behavior. His model has helped stimulate research focusing on the development of interventions for near-term suicide risk, the moment when people are in a crisis. His recent award winning-book, When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do To Prevent It, provides a wealth of meaningful information for suicide prevention. Dr. O'Connor's generosity in mentoring has helped to grow a more robust research community.

Dr. O'Connor has published extensively concerning the psychological processes which contribute to suicidal behavior and self-harm. He is co-author of Understanding Suicidal Behaviour, co-editor of The Routledge Major Works Series on Suicide, and co-editor of The International Handbook of Suicide Prevention. His research has been so frequently cited that he was named in the 2022 ISI Highly Cited Researchers list, which ranks researchers in the top 1% for citations in their field.

Dr. Rory O'Connor has many influential and prestigious appointments. He joined the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 2013, where he is Professor of Health Psychology. He is President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research. He is an AFSP Scientific Advisor. He is also a Trustee of MQ Mental Health Research, and of James' Place, an organization that offers life-saving support to men experiencing suicidal crisis in Liverpool and London.

Learn more about how research has impacted the field of suicide prevention.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. AFSP creates a culture that's smart about mental health through public education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, with a public policy office in Washington, DC, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states including Puerto Rico, with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
D.C. Area Couple Signs 3-Unit Deal for STEAM Franchise Snapology After 26 Years of Franchise Ownership

DALLAS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chad and Tiffany Mussmon, longtime franchisees of The Little Gym in Virginia and Washington D.C., have signed a new franchise agreement for three territories of Snapology, the No. 1 children's STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) franchise. This new agreement makes the couple multi-unit, multi-brand owners (MUMBOs) with Unleashed Brands, the world's first youth enrichment franchise platform company, and signifies their continual dedication to providing more children with opportunities to learn, play and grow.

The Mussmons started as The Little Gym franchise owners more than 26 years ago after Chad fell in love with the business model and the opportunities for growth when he was an employee at a local gym. Since taking ownership in 1997, the couple worked their way to become one of the top-performing franchisees for the brand, owning and operating three gyms in Virginia (Dulles, Arlington and Falls Church), and one on Capitol Hill. They also plan to develop two more gyms in Bethesda, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia.

Looking to expand their franchise portfolio with Unleashed Brands and hearing a need from customers for STEAM programs in their communities, the couple decided to sign on as franchisees for sister brand Snapology through an agreement that will bring two mobile locations to Loudon County, Virginia, and one brick-and-mortar "Discovery Center" to the area later this year.

Establishing a family legacy within their businesses is a significant goal for Chad and Tiffany as they expand their presence into Snapology. Two out of the five children they share together will be joining in on the business venture with their daughter, Grace, leaving her job as an elementary school teacher to assist full time in developing the new Snapology locations and their son, Jeremiah, joining The Little Gym team upon graduating from college this May.

"Our children grew up at The Little Gym and they know the program. It is incredible to now see them want join us on our entrepreneurial journey and develop our Snapology locations so they can help the next generation of kids build the confidence they need to succeed," said Chad Mussmon. "With Unleashed Brands giving us the opportunity to own a second brand under the same operating systems, we're fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming multi-brand owners and we're thrilled to be doing it as a family."

Unleashed Brands is backed by a management team with more than 150 years of combined consumer industry experience, focused on serving families and housing the world's most innovative and profitable brands that help kids learn, play, and grow. It continues to grow its industry-leading platform to better serve and support families as moms and dads seek to "Build Great Kids" through a seamless enrichment journey.

To learn more about franchising with Unleashed Brands, please visit unleashedbrands.com.

About Unleashed Brands

Unleashed Brands, currently includes portfolio brands Urban Air, Snapology, The Little Gym, XP League, Class 101 and Premier Martial Arts and was founded to curate and grow a portfolio of the most innovative and profitable brands that help kids learn, play and grow. Over the last 10 years, the team at Unleashed Brands has built a proven platform and know-how for scaling businesses focused on serving families. Its mission is to impact the lives of every kid by providing fun, engaging, and inspiring experiences that help them become who they are destined to be. For more information, please visit www.unleashedbrands.com.

Media Contact: Camille Douglas, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or 248-841-0937

SOURCE Unleashed Brands
HMS Software has been a leader in timesheet and project time management systems since the 1980s. TimeControl version 8.4 has just been released, with significant improvements for this multi-purpose human resource management tool.

MONTREAL, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - HMS Software, a leader in project and timesheet systems since 1984 has released TimeControl version 8.4. This significant update to the popular TimeControl family of products and services brings a new wave of functionality for planned and actual resource management.

"We are very excited with this release of TimeControl," says Chris Vandersluis, president of HMS Software. "Whether it is for on-premise or remote workers, being able to plan for and collect the results of employees is a key differentiator for organizations trying to be effective. More than ever in the current economy, management have to make the right choices on where spending on resources can make the biggest difference."

This version of TimeControl includes new and enhanced features for all editions of TimeControl including the on-premise version, TimeControl Online, the TimeControl Software as a Service subscription, TimeControl Project, the premium version of TimeControl Online as well as TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Industrial Online.

"We have been working hard on these changes over the past months," explains Stephen Eyton-Jones, HMS Software's Director of Technical Services. "Our own staff work with TimeControl every day internally which helps us to appreciate what our clients experience and that is a big factor in making improvements."





TimeControl 8.4 includes new features such as an all-new dashboard architecture to surface decision making data onto the TimeControl homepage in formats that make consuming the information easy. Other new features include support for Microsoft's Azure 365 Active Directory for single sign-on, a new link for Oracle-Primavera using REST, improvements to TimeControl Project for easier imports of data, Start/Stop clock functionality, and a major update of the free TimeControl Mobile App.

The TimeControl 8.4 upgrade is available now for existing on-premise clients of TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial with a current support and maintenance agreement at no additional charge from the TimeControl upgrades site: TimeControl.com/support/updates.

TimeControl 8.4 Online will be upgraded automatically for TimeControl Online, TimeControl Industrial Online and TimeControl Project subscription clients in the next two weeks.

For more information about this TimeControl upgrade, please visit the TimeControl website: https://www.timecontrol.com/features/latest.

About TimeControl

TimeControl was originally released in 1994. It was immediately successful in the project management sector and today is recognized not only as a project management solution, but also as an enterprise timesheet solution in use by companies worldwide. TimeControl is designed as a multipurpose timesheet able to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management simultaneously. It includes features such as a multi-browser, multi-device interface, a PC and mobile interface, vacation approvals, executive dashboards, extensive approval functionality, flexible reporting and links to project management and corporate systems which makes the timesheet product ideally suited for integration with existing systems in any organization. TimeControl's flexibility allows it to be deployed for use as a time and attendance, time and billing, project tracking and flex-time system. TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial are available both as an on-line subscription in the Cloud and for purchase for an on-premises installation. TimeControl Project is a premium version of the TimeControl Online and TimeControl Industrial Online subscription service in the cloud.



For more information about TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Project, monitor the TimeControl blog at blog.timecontrol.com, or the main TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com.



For any other questions, please contact HMS Software at [email protected].

About HMS Software

Based in Montreal, Canada with offices in Toronto, HMS Software has been a leading provider of project management and enterprise timesheet systems and services since 1984. HMS Software's first customized timesheet application was written in 1984. With the launch of TimeControl as a commercial application in 1994, HMS Software began servicing clients worldwide.

HMS Software's client list reads like a who's who of business. It includes AMD, Aegion, CANAM, CAE, EXFO, Foster Wheeler, Interpol, Kelly Services, the Government of Quebec, Pontoon Solutions, Progress Rail, Reebok-CCM, Rolls Royce, Sandoz, SEFA, Volvo Novabus, Zoetis and hundreds of others.

SOURCE HMS Software
Rick Martinez curated recipe pairings for Cinco de Mayo entertaining and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is giving away a trip to Mexico to visit Cinco de Mayo's birthplace

CHICAGO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is partnering with chef and author Rick Martinez to help celebrate Cinco de Mayo diferente this year with new recipes that are perfect for entertaining.

Martinez worked with Topo Chico Hard Seltzer to develop two incredible, entertaining-friendly recipes  Pollo al Pastor and Fried Esquites  paired with Topo Chico Signature Margarita Hard Seltzer and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer Strawberry Guava, respectively.

Celebrate Cinco De Mayo Differently with a Chance to Win a Trip to Puebla, Mexico

"Pairing my Pollo al Pastor and Fried Esquites recipes with Topo Chico Hard Seltzer keeps things fresh while entertaining for Cinco de Mayo," said chef and author Rick Martinez. "The tropical flavors complemented with the crisp, refreshing taste of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is a crowd pleaser at every get-together I have."

Topo Chico Hard Seltzer isn't just helping fans celebrate diferente, but travel diferente too with a six-night trip ($15,000 value)* to where Cinco de Mayo first began. The winner and their chosen guest (must be 21+) will travel to Puebla, Mexico and Mexico City to enjoy curated meals, hot air ballooning, a pyramids visit and more to celebrate the spirit of the holiday in its birthplace. Fans (21+) can enter for a chance to win between May 2 and May 9 via www.TopoChicoHardSeltzerUSA.com/Cinco .

"Rick's Mexican cuisine brings out the flair in food that makes it stand out from the rest, creating the perfect pairing for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer's unique flavors," said Joy Ghosh, vice president of marketing for above premium flavor at Molson Coors Beverage Company. "Through these recipes and a chance to win our incredible Mexican culinary trip, we're helping fans have a truly unforgettable Cinco de Mayo this year."

Topo Chico Hard Seltzer partnered with a Mexico-based travel company to help curate the trip and plan a uniquely culinary-focused trip unlike any other. Topo Chico Hard Seltzer chose Puebla as the destination because Puebla is the origin of Cinco de Mayo with the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862. It's home to important Mexican dishes such as the chile poblano, mole poblano and the colorful chile en nogada that are offered in many upscale restaurants throughout the U.S.

Please consume alcohol responsibly. Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is manufactured, marketed and distributed by Molson Coors Beverage Company.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Promotion begins on 5/2/23 at 8:00 AM CT and ends on 5/9/23 at 11:59 PM CT. Open only to legal residents of 50 U.S. (D.C). 21+ years of age. See Official Rules for all details, including how to enter, odds, prize details, and restrictions.

ABOUT MOLSON COORS BEVERAGE COMPANY

For more than two centuries, Molson Coors has been brewing beverages that unite people for all of life's moments. From Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson, Carling, and Staropramen to Coors Banquet, Blue Moon Belgian White, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, Vizzy Hard Seltzer, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Simply Spiked Lemonade, Creemore Springs and more, Molson Coors produces some of the most beloved and iconic beer brands ever made. While the company's history is rooted in beer, Molson Coors offers a modern portfolio that expands beyond the beer aisle with sparkling cocktails, canned wine, kombucha, cider and more.

Molson Coors Beverage Company is a publicly traded company that operates through Molson Coors North America and Molson Coors Europe, and is traded on the New York and Canadian Stock Exchange (TAP). The company's commitment to raising industry standards and leaving a positive imprint on our employees, consumers, communities and the environment is reflected in Our Beer Print and our 2025 sustainability targets. To learn more about Molson Coors Beverage Company, visit molsoncoors.com.

SOURCE Topo Chico Hard Seltzer
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Treliant, an essential consulting partner to the global financial industry, has named Tom Hitselberger as Chief Financial Officer and a member of Treliant's Executive Leadership Team. Tom has over 30 years of experience building the accounting, finance, and operational functions of rapid-growth stage organizations. He succeeds Sandy Sloyer, who served as the company's interim CFO for the last 18 months.

Tom's past roles have included CFO at Promontory Financial Group, a global regulatory, strategic, and risk management consultancy acquired by IBM, CFO of WD Lab Grown Diamonds, a CVD segment diamond manufacturer, Vice President, Finance & Operations at Presidio Networked Solutions, and Director of Financial Planning & Analysis at Digex. Tom, who holds an MBA and is a CPA, started his long and successful career at Arthur Andersen.

Treliant Appoints Veteran Financial Executive Tom Hitselberger as Chief Financial Officer. Tweet this

Treliant CEO David Samuels said, "Tom is a highly talented finance executive with a tremendous amount of direct knowledge and prior experience in all of Treliant's core businesses and he has the global perspective to make himself an invaluable addition to our leadership team. He not only brings the expertise needed to run our finance organization, but he has a critical understanding of what it takes to drive growth and operational excellence. I have seen his keen intellect and proven leadership skills firsthand and am excited to partner with him as we execute the next phase of Treliant's growth vision."

David continued, "I would like to thank Sandy for 18 months of dedicated service. She filled the interim CFO role through an extraordinary, pandemic impacted period, and has been an integral member of the leadership team. We wish Sandy well in the next phase of her career and are grateful for all her contributions."

"I am thrilled to join Treliant at this moment in the company's growth cycle," Tom said. "Treliant has a well-established reputation as an industry powerhouse with world-class expertise in the areas of regulatory compliance, risk management, and innovative data solutions. I look forward to working with the Treliant team to extend its impressive track record of helping clients navigate an ever-changing global landscape."

About Treliant

Treliant is an essential consulting firm serving banks, mortgage originators and servicers, fintechs, and other companies providing financial services globally. We are led by practitioners from the industry and the regulatory community who bring deep domain knowledge to help our clients drive business change and address the most pressing compliance, regulatory, and operational challenges.

We provide data-driven, technology-enabled advisory, implementation, and staffing solutions to the regulatory compliance, risk, financial crimes, and capital markets functions of our clients.

Founded in 2005, Treliant is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York, London, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and odz, Poland. For more information visit www.treliant.com.

SOURCE Treliant
Dr. Steven A. Kaplan presented positive 4-year and 12-month clinical outcomes during the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting

MINNEAPOLIS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Urotronic, Inc., a Minnesota-based medical device company pioneering the application of its drug-coated balloon technology for use in interventional urology, today announced the presentation of positive data from two clinical trials evaluating the Optilume BPH System's effectiveness and durability in treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Four-year and 12-month data from the EVEREST and PINNACLE clinical trials were presented by Dr. Steven A. Kaplan, professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and the principal investigator of the two studies, during the American Urological Association's (AUA) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

"The positive data from the PINNACLE and EVEREST trials  including the highest reported Qmax in BPH MIST trials to date  demonstrates clear and compelling sustained clinical outcomes through four years post-treatment," said Dr. Kaplan. "Optilume BPH is not your grandfather's BPH balloon  it's the next generation of minimally invasive technology, creating a new drug device space among BPH therapies."

Optilume BPH is a unique minimally invasive surgical therapy (MIST) that combines mechanical dilation using a proprietary double-lobe balloon with concurrent localized delivery of paclitaxel for the treatment of LUTS secondary to BPH. Mechanical dilation with Optilume BPH achieves an anterior commissurotomy, while delivery of paclitaxel is intended to maintain luminal patency during healing.

"The PINNACLE Trial: 12-Month Report from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham Controlled Study" and "At 4 Years, Optilume BPH Has the Highest Sustained Improvement in Peak Flow (Qmax) of Any Minimally Invasive BPH Therapy," both presented by Dr. Kaplan during the AUA Annual Meeting, demonstrated positive outcomes including:

Treatment with Optilume BPH resulted in significant, immediate symptomatic and functional improvements, including improvement in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS).

The highest average peak urinary flow rate (Qmax) at 12 months reported in randomized MIST trials for BPH. In the PINNACLE trial, Qmax more than doubled from 8.9 mL/second at baseline to 19.0 mL/second at 12 months after treatment with Optilume BPH (+113%).

Durability of symptom and flow rate improvement was shown through four years follow-up in the EVEREST trial.

Erectile and ejaculatory function scores were not significantly changed from baseline through follow up in either study.

"Backed by positive clinical data, ease of use and ability to be performed in an office setting, we believe this groundbreaking therapy has the potential to change the way BPH is treated, establishing a new standard of care to improve the quality of life for millions of men struggling with LUTS caused by BPH," said David Perry, Urotronic president and CEO.

The PINNACLE trial is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham controlled study evaluating the Optilume BPH System with 148 patients randomized in a 2:1 fashion at 18 centers in the U.S. and Canada. Subjects and evaluating personnel were blinded to the treatment received through 12 months. The EVEREST trial is a prospective, single arm, multicenter study evaluating functional improvement in urine flow and improvement in LUTS after treatment with the Optilume BPH System. Eighty patients were enrolled at six centers with four-year follow-up complete.

Optilume BPH is an investigational device in the U.S. and is pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval; the device is approved for sale in Canada and Israel. The Optilume Urethral Drug Coated Balloon for use in male urethral strictures, which applies the same technology, was granted U.S. FDA approval in December 2021 and received CE Mark in September 2020.

About Urotronic, Inc.

Urotronic, Inc., headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, is a medical device company currently conducting clinical trials to support global commercialization of their products. The Optilume drug-coated balloon technology provides a minimally invasive treatment option for men suffering from urinary tract conditions like urethral strictures and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The prevalence of BPH and lower urinary tract issues rises markedly with increased age. BPH affects 70% of men 60-69 years of age and 80% of those 70 years of age or older. The drug-coated balloon technology creates a paradigm change from the methods currently used by urologists to treat these conditions. For more information on Urotronic and our products, please visit urotronic.com.

Media Contact

Shelli Lissick

[email protected]

651-276-6922

SOURCE Urotronic
Offers would-be housing providers a unique opportunity to forge a career in the multifamily industry while serving their community.

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vessel Technologies is launching the multifamily housing industry's first franchising opportunity, affording local entrepreneurs the unprecedented opportunity to build a career in real estate and a legacy of service to their own communities.

Vessel franchisees need have no prior experience in the operation of an apartment building, as they'll receive all the training they need at Vessel University, and will have the option of selecting among investment models ranging from a capital-light, lease-based model to a more capital-intensive ownership model.

Vessel New London

Vessel's vision of the future is, in many respects, a return to the past, when local "mom and pop" owners provided residents with personalized, hands-on customer service and in so doing, built personal wealth. "For generations, multifamily real estate has been an exceptional source of income that's available only to the wealthy or well-connected," said Neil Rubler, Vessel Technologies Founder & CEO. "Vessel changes all that by offering everyday people the opportunity for an extraordinary career. As a Vessel franchisee, you'll have all the resources and guidance required and we'll support you in every way we can to ensure your success."

To launch its franchising effort, Vessel has tapped industry veteran Gus Stamoutsos as Director of Franchise Development. Stamoutsos is a seasoned franchising industry executive who most recently served as Executive Vice President of Development for Wyndham Worldwide. Prior to joining Wyndham, Stamoutsos was Vice President of Franchise Sales and Acquisitions for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc., where he led the integration of Jackson Hewitt as a new franchise.

The Vessel system is a 21st century apartment product that's exceptional in every way, including its pricing. Residents enjoy homes that are filled with light and air, equipped with the latest technology, and designed for their safety and security, all at a rent that works for working people. Often these include first responders, teachers, municipal workers, and other hard-working individuals who would love to live in the communities they serve. Vessel also caters to seniors looking to downsize or young adults hoping to live in the community they've long called home.

About Vessel Technologies, Inc.

Vessel Technologies, founded by Neil Rubler, is a mission-driven, 21st century housing product company focused on reimagining the apartment building as a consumer product by creating exciting, sustainable, and user-centric housing at attainable prices. Vessel believes that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to an extraordinary life, which begins with access to a high quality, healthy, safe, and sustainable residence. Founded in 2017 and based in New York City, Vessel Technologies currently has over 10 projects under development throughout the Northeast.

Media Contact: Great Ink  Roxanne Donovan/Rick Van Warner/Eric Nizguretsky/Eric Gerard

[email protected]; 212-741-2977

SOURCE Vessel Technologies
Pivotal Phase 3 studies consist of BOSTON -1 and BOSTON -2, both designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of L-CsA-i in patients with BOS following either single or double lung transplantation, respectively

-1 and -2, both designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of L-CsA-i in patients with BOS following either single or double lung transplantation, respectively Approximately fifty percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant 1

If approved, L-CsA-i would be the first and only treatment indicated for BOS

MILAN and BOSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zambon, a multinational pharmaceutical company focused on innovating cure and care to improve people's health and the quality of patients' lives, announced today that the Company has completed enrollment in its two pivotal Phase 3 studies. The trials are designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i) for the treatment of BOS in adults following single lung (BOSTON-1) or double lung (BOSTON-2) transplantation.

BOS is a rapidly progressive inflammatory rare disease that irreversibly destroys the airways of the lungs and usually leads to respiratory failure and death within two to four years after diagnosis. Unfortunately, approximately 50 percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant, the highest rejection rate of any transplanted organ. Currently, there is no approved treatment indicated for BOS.1

"The completion of enrollment in our Phase 3 BOSTON-1 and -2 studies represents a significant milestone for Zambon and the patient community we aim to serve," said Paola Castellani, chief medical officer and R&D head at Zambon. "On behalf of the Company, we would like to thank the many participants in our Phase 3 clinical program, as well as our study sites and investigators for their commitment. We look forward to reporting top-line results from the program during 2024.

L-CsA-i is a novel, inhaled therapy administered via the optimized investigational eFlow Technology nebulizer system (PARI Pharma GmbH). The BOSTON-1 and -2 studies enrolled a total of 231 patients in Europe, Israel and the United States and had participation from 42 lung transplant centers globally.

"At Zambon, we are committed to advancing new therapeutic options that have the potential to make lives better for people affected by severe respiratory diseases such as BOS. The completion of enrollment in our pivotal trials brings us one step closer to our goal of bringing a much-needed therapy to the lung transplant recipients worldwide with BOS," said Ilaria Villa, chief executive officer and interim chief operations officer of Zambon.

Zambon is also advancing one additional clinical study, BOSTON-3  an extension study that is open to eligible participants who complete the BOSTON-1 and-2 studies.

L-CsA-i has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency for the treatment of BOS, reflecting the high unmet need of the disease. The Fast Track designation was also granted by FDA. If approved, L-CsA-i would be the first treatment indicated for BOS.

About Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS)

Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), also known as obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), is caused by T-cell mediated inflammation that leads to blockage of bronchioles, the small and medium airways in the lungs, resulting in respiratory failure and death.1 BOS most commonly affects people who have received lung transplant or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT), although it is also associated with autoimmune disease and exposure to environmental contaminants.2,3,4

Approximately 50 percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant, the highest rejection rate of any transplanted organ.5

About Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i)

Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i) is a novel liposomal formulation of cyclosporine A developed for inhaled delivery to the lungs. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), like cyclosporine A, are highly potent immunosuppressive drugs and a cornerstone of lung transplant medicine. L-CsA-i is administered via a drug-specific Investigational eFlow Technology nebulizer system (PARI Pharma GmbH). The investigational drug-device combination is designed to deliver L-CsA-i to the site of disease in the lung.

About Zambon S.p.A.

Zambon Spa is a modern multinational pharmaceutical company established in 1906 in Vicenza, whose history is founded on the values of an Italian family committed to innovating cure & care to improve patients' lives. It employs 2,474 people worldwide, is present in 23 countries in Europe, America and Asia, and has production facilities in Italy, Switzerland, China and Brazil. Thanks to its innovative, quality products commercialized in 87 countries, Zambon Spa reported a revenue of 765 million euros in 2022. Alongside the three historical therapeutic areas - diseases of the respiratory system, urinary tract infections and pain treatment  Zambon is focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or rare diseases such as cystic fibrosis, BOS, to which is linked the major 2019 acquisition of Breath Therapeutics, and NCFB. As part of Zambon's ambitious new path, an important role was also played by the agreement with Aquestive Therapeutics to market and distribute in Europe an innovative oral formulation of riluzole for patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

For further information on Zambon please visit www.zambon.com

For more information, please contact:

Zambon S.p.A.

[email protected]oup.com

Zambon USA Media Contact:

Elixir Health Public Relations

Lindsay Rocco

+1 862-596-1304

[email protected]

1 Chambers DC, et al. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2018;37(10):11691183

2 Weigt, et al. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;34(3):336351.

3 Soubani, AO. Eur Respir J. 2007; 29: 1007-1019.

4 Sheshadri, A, et al. Clin Ther. May 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2022.03.011.

5 Weigt, et al. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;34(3):336351.

SOURCE Zambon S.p.A.
Khartoum, May 1 : The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced their commitments to a new 72-hour humanitarian truce, effective as of midnight Sunday.

"Based on the endeavours and request of the Saudi-American mediation, the Armed Forces agreed to extend the truce for extra 72 hours, to begin at the end of the current one," the Army said on Sunday in a statement.

The Army expressed hope that the other party would abide by the truce, Xinhua news agency reported.

For its part, the RSF said in a statement on Sunday that "in response to international, regional and local calls, we declare an extension of the humanitarian truce for an additional 72 hours, starting today midnight".

The RSF said that it agreed to the truce extension to open humanitarian passages, facilitate the movement of the citizens and enable them to get their needs and reach safe areas.

The statement stressed the RSF's commitment to the terms of the humanitarian truce and complete ceasefire.

On Sunday, Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority said the closure of the country's airspace will be extended to May 13.

Flights for humanitarian aid and evacuation are excluded after obtaining a permit from related authorities and the approval of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Sudan has been witnessing a large-scale evacuation of foreign nationals and diplomats by air, land and sea since the eruption of the deadly clashes between the Army and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas on April 15.

So far, the clashes have left more than 500 people dead and more than 4,000 others wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
Jerusalem, May 1 : Israel has launched a sustainable energy transition plan in the Gaza envelope area seven km from the Gazan border in southwestern Israel, the country's Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said.

The plan is part of the government's efforts to strengthen civil resilience in the region, which has for many years suffered from rocket and missile attacks, Xinhua news agency reported.

With an investment of five million shekels ($1.38 million), the plan will promote projects of energy efficiency, energy management, storage, and transportation, and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy in household and business sectors in the region.

Facilities will also be planned for optimising solar power generation in agricultural areas in the border towns.

In addition, the electricity network in the region will be upgraded with the establishment of new electricity facilities.
San Francisco, May 1 : Two men were fatally shot and a third was critically wounded at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle, the US state of Washington.

One person died at the spot and the second died at the hospital. The third was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz told a news conference early Sunday morning.

Police are searching for an individual who was possibly "associated" with the shooting, according to police as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
London, May 1 : Award-winning British-Indian playwright and actor Meera Syal will be presented with a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) fellowship, the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television.

Syal, who starred in hit BBC comedies, 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars at No 42', will be honoured at the BAFTA Television Awards, which will take place on May 14 at the Royal Festival Hall.

"I am thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship. I am particularly delighted that this year's award is twinned with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTA's learning programme -- where I hope to engage with many talented practitioners and continue working to make BAFTA a truly representative and celebratory place for all our creatives," Syal said.

As part of the fellowship, she will work directly with the arts charity over the coming year to inspire and nurture aspiring creatives through BAFTA's year-round learning, inclusion and talent programmes.

She will be seen in two new major series this autumn -- 'The Wheel of Time' and 'Mrs Siddhu Investigates'.

Alongside her MBE and CBE awards, Syal has brought her distinctive voice to the UK's creative arts across multiple artistic genres over four decades, with more than 140 credits and counting. Born to Punjabi parents from New Delhi, Syal's cross-cultural stories and performances have played an instrumental force in showcasing the positive representation of British-Asian stories and talent on screen, a BAFTA statement said.

Her work has scored multiple BAFTA nominations and wins, features on school and university syllabuses, and was said to be among Her Majesty the Queen's favourite TV programmes.

Syal has also received the Women In Film and TV Award for Creative Innovation, honorary doctorates from SOAS, Manchester and Birmingham Universities and was the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at the Oxford University in 2012.

Born in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and educated at Manchester University, Syal read English and Drama, gaining a Double First.

Her career began at the Royal Court, and alongside her many and continuing theatre roles, her talent saw her quickly graduate to screenwriting -- scripting 'Bhaji on the Beach' in 1993 and 'My Sister Wife' in 1994 -- as well as writing and performing in the pioneering comedy sketch-show 'The Real McCoy' (1991-1994).

Two of her novels have also been adapted for the screen -- 'Anita and Me' (2002) and 'Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee' (2005).

Syal has also since taken on roles in popular television series and programmes such as 'Beautiful People' (2008-2009), 'Dr Who' (2009), 'Horrible Histories' (2009), 'Broadchurch' (2015), 'The Split' (2018-2022), among others.

The BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises will be hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer.
At the invitation of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will visit this country on 2-3 May this year, Trend reports citing UzDaily.

In accordance with the program of stay, bilateral meetings with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz are planned to be held in Berlin.

Current issues of further deepening multifaceted relations between Uzbekistan and Germany will be considered, and views on various aspects of the international agenda will be exchanged.

The main attention will be paid to the implementation of promising projects and programs aimed at enhancing innovative-technological partnerships with leading German companies. To this end, the President of Uzbekistan will hold a meeting with the leaders of German business.

During the visit, it is also planned to open the Archaeological Treasures of Uzbekistan  from Alexander the Great to the Kushan Empire exhibition at the James Simon Gallery.
Lucknow, May 1 : The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) is expected to announce the revised power tariff by the first week of June, official sources said.

The new power tariff tabled by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has proposed a hike up to 23 per cent for various categories of consumers.

For the urban domestic consumers, the corporation has proposed a hike of around 18 per cent.

The commission has not revised the power tariff since 2018-19.

The UPERC has completed the public hearing in all distribution companies -- the last hearing was in Noida on April 28.

Sources said that the Commission would now send a compiled report of public objections to various discoms to take their counter feedback.

After this, the Commission would finally analyse the tariff after taking into consideration all observations of the stakeholders before announcing the tariff formally.

"This is expected to take a month. The Commission will be able to announce the tariff expectedly by the first week of June," a senior official said.

Sources said that the UPPCL reportedly highlighted the rising operational cost of thermal power plants. This has been accentuated by the climbing cost of fuel, essentially coal.

The sources further said that the corporation categorically put forth the Annual Revenue Realised (ARR) which critically factors in revenue recovery for every power unit produced. It also includes the revenue loss because of power theft and the billing anomalies.

As a matter of fact, the UPPCL has not only proposed an increase in power unit charge but also the fixed charge by 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

President of the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhogta Parishad, Avdhesh Verma, who is one of the petitioners in the power tariff case, said that the association participated in all hearings.

"The UPPCL needs to address the issue of over Rs 25,000 crore which it owes towards the consumers. This way, there would not be any need to increase the tariff, if the calculation is done fairly," he said.
London, May 1 : A National Health Service (NHS) worker has been jailed for five months for abusing and threatening to "tear" former Indian-origin Home Secretary Priti Patel "to pieces" in a letter, a media report said.

Pooneeraj Canakiah, 65, from Hackney, sent the letter in January 2022 when Patel was still in charge at the Home Office in the Boris Johnson's government, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

Canakiah marked the letter "personal", hoping that Patel would open it herself but it was intercepted by security staff before it reached her.

"Your time is coming to an end -- be prepared we will get you," Canakiah wrote in the letter, abusing Patel, "Be prepared, b****".

"If we don't get you, we will wait and wait and wait," he wrote, threatening to "tear you to pieces".

Prosecutor David Burns said the letter went on to make a series of lewd suggestions about sex between Patel and Johnson, the report said.

Canakiah was identified by his handwriting, and he pleaded guilty to sending the letter during his first court hearing in March, the Westminster magistrates court heard.

Sentencing Canakiah to five months in prison, District Judge Briony Clarke said the letter shocked her every time she read it.

"It's an attack on democracy", The Standard quoted her as saying.

"You sent a letter which was disgusting and threatening in nature, it was addressed to a serving MP who at the time was Home Secretary. It was vile in nature, including threats, it was offensive and vulgar," Clarke said.

According to the defence, Canakiah "worked all through Covid and became very unwell during 2020".

He has suffered two heart attacks and his mother died in July 2022, the court was told.

Canakiah, who worked with the NHS for 42 years, said he took the offensive step due to his declining mental health, adding that he suffers from depression.

However, the judge said she had not been given any proof to support his mental health claim, so he must serve half his five-month prison sentence before being released on licence.
New Delhi, May 1 : Delhi Police have identified the sender of a bomb threat that was sent to a top school in Delhi, 'Delhi Public School' (DPS), as one of its own 16-year-old students.

The police have confirmed that it was a hoax email sent by the student who admitted to planning the prank "just for fun." "During a counselling session, the student confessed to getting the idea after a similar incident occurred at 'The Indian School' in Delhi's Sadiq Nagar," as per sources.

Last week on Wednesday, the DPS, Mathura Road had received a bomb threat via email, leading to the students being evacuated and a thorough search of the premises being conducted but nothing suspicious was found, a senior police official said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southeast, Rajesh Deo had said that on Wednesday around 7.50 a.m., the school principal called the SHO, Hazrat Nizamuddin police station and told him that they received an mail on their school's official mail that a bomb has been planted in the school and will be detonated at 9 a.m.

The school, which has around 4000 students, was evacuated but after a search by the teams, no bomb was found in the premises.
Kolkata, May 1 : The West Bengal unit of Congress has given a total boycott call to senior party leader and noted counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the latter's decision to regularly accept briefs on behalf of Trinamool Congress and arguing at the Supreme Court.

State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Monday that despite repeated objections, some lawyer-leaders like Singhvi are regularly accepting briefs for Trinamool Congress members.

"He had accepted similar briefs for Trinamool Congress in the matters of Saradha chit fund and Narada video tape scams. At that time too as state Congress president I clearly said that we do not want his presence in any of the party programmes in West Bengal. Now I am saying this again. We are giving a total boycott call to Singhvi," Chowdhury said.

He also said that as a member of Congress national working committee, he will take up the matter at the highest level of the party.

"Singhvi's argument had been that the party leadership cannot decide on his professional decisions as a legal counsel. If he has this professional right, that the ordinary Congress workers too have the right to protest against any of his actions that poses immense embarrassment for the party," Chowdhury added.

State Congress leader and a counsel of Calcutta High Court Kaustav Bagchi has gone a step ahead in claiming that whenever Singhvi will step in Kolkata for any purpose he and his followers will demonstrate.

"Let the party high-command take whatever disciplinary action against me. But I will surely demonstrate against him." On Sunday, Bagchi had forwarded a strongly-worded letter to Singhvi, saying: "Workers and leaders of West Bengal Pradesh Congress unequivocally say that WE ARE ASHAMED OF YOU." In May last year, Bagchi led a protest at the Calcutta High Court premises against senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, for appearing to argue a case on behalf of the state's Trinamool Congress government in a case filed by Chowdhury.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leadership has claimed that besides professional commitment, Singhvi also had a political commitment towards the party as he got elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal as a Congress candidate with the support of Trinamool Congress.

"Congress could have got Singhvi elected to the upper House of Parliament in its own strength unless Mamata Banerjee had taken a conscious decision to back him then. So, he also has a political commitment towards us," said veteran Trinamool Congress legislator Tapas Roy.
Mathura, May 1 : A semi-naked body of an unidentified woman was found in an abandoned pump house near Mathura railway station in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior officials, along with a forensic team and dog squad reached the spot. They collected samples and have initiated a primary investigation.

The woman is said to be around 18 years old, but her identity is yet to be ascertained.

Police suspect that the she was raped before being killed and it seems that it has been 48 hours since the victim had died, said a senior police officer.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Abhishek Tiwari said, "The victim is yet to be identified. A post-mortem examination will reveal the reason behind the death and whether she was subjected to any sort of sexual assault.

"Forensic teams have gathered samples for lab testing. Three teams have been constituted to investigate the entire case in detail. CCTV cameras are also being examined." Further details were awaited
Patna, May 1 : A day after heavy rain lashed Patna and adjoining districts of Bihar, the Met department on Monday predicted the same weather condition along with hail storm and lightning over the next couple of days.

Heavy rainfall led to uprooting of poles and trees in several places on Sunday. Waterlogging on the streets and mud in rural areas made life tough for the locals.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar also bore the brunt of downpour in Garahani block in Bhojpur district where he went to participate in a 'Mahayagya' in Labhuani village.

When Arlekar reached the venue, heavy rain started. Soon, it led to water logging and his vehicle got stuck into the mud.

At this, the district magistrate and SP of Bhojpur rushed to the venue and tried to push the vehicle onto the road. The Governor then boarded a police gypsy which took him to the main road. After a lot of efforts, the car was finally pulled out and Arlekar returned to Patna on Sunday evening.

Besides, the heavy rain and lightning also claimed two lives in Begusarai district. At Pakthaul village, one Saida Khatun (40) was working in the agriculture field when it started to rain heavily. A drenched Saida rushed home but on the way a tree fell on her killing her instantly.

In another incident at Baradih village, a woman named Chandni Devi (34) died after being struck by lightning.

According to the Meteorological department head, "Heavy rainfall with hailstorm and lightning are likely in Patna and adjoining districts." Shahnawaz Alam, the minister of disaster management of Bihar, said, "Due to heavy rain and hailstorm, crop loss cannot be ruled out. We have asked the authority to analyse the crop loss. State government will compensate farmers accordingly."
New Delhi, May 1 : A constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the court can dissolve a marriage in case of irretrievable breakdown by dispensing with the need of the waiting period as required under the marital laws.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, "It is possible for this court to dissolve the marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage that will not contravene the principles of public policy." The bench said, "We have held that the period of six months can be dispensed with subject to requirements and conditions as specified in the two judgments of this court..." The bench said the court can invoke special power granted to it under Article 142 of the constitution to grant divorce in such cases to do complete justice. It said powers of Article 142 must be exercised based on fundamentals of public policy. Detailed judgment in the matter will be uploaded later in the day.

The top court's verdict came on a batch of petitions regarding the use of the court's plenary powers to dissolve a marriage between consenting parties without referral to family courts to wait for the mandatory period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act.
Rome, May 1 : Napoli should have secured their third Scudetto on Sunday night, but the celebrations were ruined by Salernitana as the Partenopei were held to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli just needed a victory to clinch the title with six rounds to spare after Inter Milan claimed a 3-1 comeback win over second-placed Lazio in an earlier fixture.

The home side were dominant from the beginning, but they couldn't unlock Salernitana's well-organized defense until the 62nd minute when Giacomo Raspadori's corner found Mathias Olivera to steer in a header, which sent the stadium into chants and excitement, a Xinhua report said.

However, the party was spoiled in the 84th minute when Boulaye Dia broke into the box to unleash a curler that went beyond an overstretched Alex Meret.

Despite the frustrating draw, the huge 18-point advantage on the table makes the title celebration just a matter of time for the Partenopei.

Elsewhere, Juventus continued their poor form as they tied with Bologna 1-1. Riccardo Orsolini broke the deadlock for Bologna through a penalty, while Juve's Arkadiusz Milik missed a spot-kick but atoned for his error by sweeping it in on the hour mark.

Also on Sunday, Fiorentina crushed Sampdoria 5-0, Sassuolo edged out Empoli 2-1, and Cremonese shared the spoils with Hellas Verona at 1-1.
Last week at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting, India adopted a very tough stand to deal with its immediate neighbour China, which has been the founding father of the bloc.

Relations between two Asian neighbours have not been very cordial in the recent past, on the issue of border transgressions by China in the Indian territory.

India's Tough Posture China's Defence Minister, Li Shangfu, in his first visit to India by a Chinese defence minister since 2020, when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in clashes along the Himalayan border in Ladakh and the two sides came the closest to war for almost 70 years, was indeed not expecting such a dressing down by the Indians.

In his meeting with Li Shangfu, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused China of border aggressions that have "eroded the entire basis" of bilateral relationship, as negotiations over the line of actual control (LAC) remain deadlocked.

Border transgressions from China have continued despite strong condemnation from India. In December last year, more than 20 Indian soldiers were injured in a clash with Chinese troops in the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, in what India described as a Chinese attempt to "transgress the border".

In March, China announced plans to "rename" 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as part of Tibet. When the Indian home minister visited the border region that same week to assert the Indian territorial claim, Beijing hit back, calling the visit a violation of its territorial sovereignty.

Border Issue While in the recent past, there has been disengagement in some areas, Indian army officers and defence experts say about 1,500 sq. km. in Ladakh taken over by the PLA in 2020 remains under Chinese control. Two main areas of contention in Ladakh are Demchok and Depsang, which were previously patrolled by Indian troops but are now occupied by PLA soldiers. Both areas remain tactically important for India, but in spite of many round of talks, there is no move forward and there also does not seem any inclination from China to resolve the issue.

People living near the border in Ladakh allege that in the disengagement negotiations, New Delhi has ceded land to Beijing by agreeing to the creation of buffer zones -- where neither side can patrol -- in land that was previously claimed by India, specifically in the disputed Pangong Tso and Chushul areas. Thus, the real loser in the case has been India.

In reality, this happened due to the fact that India couldn't see the hegemonic Chinese designs for the area. China has been building new highways, railway lines, bridges, air strips and sophisticated military bases, modern housing and 5G towers in the disputed area, while India -- which historically avoided developing areas near the Chinese border in order to prevent any provocation - has been left behind, with many of its border areas still impoverished.

In the recent past India has doubled its focus on infrastructure near the border with China, to correct its earlier miscalculations. January 2023 saw the Indian Defence Minister inaugurating 27 infrastructure projects aimed at strengthening the border infrastructure, in addition India is speeding up the construction of 37,500 miles of roads, 350 miles of bridges, 19 airfields and a few tunnels in border areas or nearby.

The scale and speed of this Indian infrastructure push is evident in the construction of ambitious 8-mile tunnel in the Himalayan range, at an altitude of about 3,000 metres, to provide all-weather connectivity to Ladakh. India is trying hard to get the $1.4 billion Zojila tunnel completed at the earliest.

SCO Summit Though the SCO is not a platform for bilateral issues, the Defence Ministers' meeting highlighted policy priorities, while India focussed on terrorism. Russia reiterated its criticism of the West's Indo-Pacific concept and creation of regional groups like the Quad.

Addressing the summit, Rajnath Singh underlined that any form of terrorist act or support towards it was a heinous crime against humanity. Though the issue of terrorism may have been pointed towards Pakistan, India also reiterated that a "robust" framework of regional cooperation should respect the "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests".

Meanwhile, the Chinese Defence Minister harped on President Xi Jinping's 'Global Security Initiative', and said that Beijing was willing to work with other SCO members to implement the Global Security Initiative.

On his part, the Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoigu took a blunt aim at the West for attempting to integrate the emerging security architecture in the Indian Ocean with NATO.

Russia has always opposed the Indo-Pacific policy, advocated by the West and supported by India, describing it as an attempt to encircle China. The Russian minister expressed his belief that the SCO's "independent policies" towards global and regional security challenges could serve as a blueprint for the international community.

He emphasised the need to strengthen SCO's role as a key pillar of the emerging multipolar international system, one that promotes inter-state relations based on principles of equality, mutual respect, and compliance with international law.

Additionally, the General stated that NATO countries should bear the primary responsibility for post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan and Taliban should not be blamed for the current situation in the country.

Besides a virtual participation by Pakistan, defence ministers of eight SCO member states attended the meeting in New Delhi.

(Asad Mirza is a senior political commentator based in New Delhi.)
New Delhi, May 1 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that India is trying to ensure that its ties with all nations advance further without exclusivity.

"Whether it is the US, Europe, Russia, or Japan, we are trying to ensure that all these ties advance without seeking exclusivity," he said in an address at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.

He was on a visit to Dominican Republic from April 27 to 29.

The Union Minister noted that China falls in a somewhat different category due to the boundary dispute and the currently abnormal nature of the ties with that country.

That is a result of a violation of agreements regarding border management by them, he added.

While elaborating on India's priority of cooperating with its neighbours, Jaishankar said that while India has seen a dramatic expansion in connectivity, contacts, in cooperation across the region, the exception to this has been Pakistan, in view of the cross-border terrorism that it supports.

"To the north, India has been similarly pursuing a strategy of connecting to Central Asia more effectively and this has taken the form of structured engagements across multiple domains.

"These concentric circles of priority give you a conceptual sense of Indian diplomacy and one that we have pursued very assiduously over the last decade. But at a higher level, we are also practising the approach of engaging all significant centres of power, such multi-alignment reflects the reality of multi-polarity," he further noted.

Jaishankar also mentioned that each engagement has its own particular weight and focus.

He said the rise of China and India in a parallel timeframe is also not without its competitive aspects.

The Dominican Republic was the last stop of Jaishankar's four-nation tour of North and South America.

As part of the trip, he also visited Guyana, Panama and Colombia.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 1. The new country strategy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Uzbekistan will be aligned with the priorities of the Government, Head of the ADB Representative Office in Uzbekistan Enrico Pinali told Trend.

According to Pinali, as the current ADB Country Strategy in Uzbekistan for 2019  2023 comes to an end, the Bank is currently in talks with the representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan, and other stakeholders, on the priorities of the future strategy.

"We are holding consultations right now. This is a comparably new strategy. So, our 2024-2028 strategy will be supported by the second generation of reforms," he said.

As the ADB rep pointed out, one of the most important directions in ADBs cooperation with Uzbekistan in the coming years will be private sector support.

Moreover, ADB will also focus on human capital development over the next five years.

"Concerning social development, we are focusing on human capital. Over the next five years, we are going to prioritize projects in education, specifically, the so-called STEM-science, technology, engineering, and math in secondary schools," he noted.

Another focus area for ADB in Uzbekistan is the introduction of ICT, and the spread of IT technologies in schools, and the next, probably, will be the development of skills to prepare the future workforce for the modern industrialized economy of Uzbekistan. We also will provide vocational trainings in these areas, Pinali said.

"Healthcare sector will stay a priority for us. In the healthcare sector, we are most probably going to normalize the private sector to improve healthcare services in the country," the head of the ADB mission added.

Uzbekistan joined ADB in 1995. During 28 years of cooperation, ADB has committed loans, grants, and technical assistance amounting to $10.8 billion to the country.

ADB is committed to supporting Asia and the Pacific to achieve prosperity, inclusion, resilience, and sustainability. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members - 49 from the region.
Ahmedabad, May 1 : Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel skipped the Gujarat Day events on Monday following the critical condition of his son, who has been airlifted to a Mumbai hospital.

Patel's son, Anuj Patel (37), suffered a brain stroke on Sunday at their Ahmedabad residence soon after the Chief Minister attended a function celebrating the 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' in the Shilaj area and returned to their home.

Anuj was immediately rushed to the KD Hospital on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway for emergency treatment.

The medical team performed a two-hour surgery, after which Parth Desai, the Chief Operating Officer of KD Hospital confirmed that Anuj's condition was stable and he was under expert supervision. Mumbai-based Hinduja Hospital's senior neurosurgeon Dr. B.K. Mishra was also called in for consultation.

Due to Anuj's critical health situation, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has skipped the Gujarat Day functions in Jamnagar. The state-level events commemorating Gujarat's Statehood Day are taking place in the presence of Governor Acharya Devvrat.

Anuj Patel has since been airlifted to Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital, where he will undergo further surgery. The Chief Minister is accompanying his son during this difficult time.
Washington, May 1 : The US Chamber of Commerce has warned that rising scrutiny of American firms in China "dramatically increases" the uncertainties and risks of doing business in the country.

The influential business lobby said it was closely monitoring "heightened official scrutiny" of US firms by the Chinese authorities, following the questioning of employees at management consultancy Bain & Company in Shanghai and the shutdown of the Beijing of due diligence provider Mintz Group, reports CNN.

"The services these firms provide are fundamental to establishing investor confidence in any market, including China," the chamber said in a statement, without naming either company.

The events are particularly troubling given an amendment to an already extensive counter-espionage law in China, which widened the scope of the kind of materials and data the country deems relevant to national security, the group added.

The law was revised last week, and set to take effect in July.

"This is a matter of serious concern for the investor community and likely is as well for their local business partners in China," said the chamber, which is led by President Suzanne Clark, CNN reported.

It noted that while Chinese officials had recently expressed an openness to greater foreign investment, investors would "not feel welcomed in an environment where risk can't be properly assessed and legal uncertainties are on the rise." Last week, Bain confirmed that Chinese police had questioned staff at its Shanghai office.

Few details were disclosed, including the reason for the visit, the status of employees who were questioned or their nationalities, CNN reported.
Chennai, May 1 : Passenger car major Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said it had sold a total of 160,529 units (domestic 139,519 units, sales to other car makers 4,039 units and exports 16,971 units) last month up from 150,661 units (domestic 126,261 units, sales to other car makers 5,987 units and exports 18,413 units).

It should be noted that the company had logged lower exports and sales to other car makers last month as compared to the units sold in April 2022.

The shortage of electronic components had some impact on the production of vehicles.

The company took all possible measures to minimise the impact, Maruti Suzuki said.
New Delhi, May 1 : A Delhi Court on Monday extended Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's judicial custody till May 4 in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling case in West Bengal being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mondal was produced in Rouse Avenue Court at the expiry of his judicial custody.

On April 27, the same court granted three days' custody of Mondal's daughter Sukanya Mondal to ED to quiz her in the same case.

The ED had arrested Sukanya, a primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, a day before after quizzing her.

Presented before the bench of Special Judge of Rouse Avenue Court Raghubeer Singh, Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana sought Sukanya's custody saying she was required to be confronted with evidence and the co-accused, including her father.

Her custody was also required to trace the proceeds of crime, establish the money trail and the modus operandi, ED said.

Sukanya was summoned by the ED in November 2022 to its Delhi office.

She is the director of two companies, Neer Developer Pvt Ltd and ANM Agrochem Foods Pvt Ltd, CBI's probe revealed.

The companies have their offices at the same address where Bholebam Rice Mill, which is also owned by her, is located in Birbhum's Bolpur town.

On April 26, the High Court posted for June 1 Sukanya's father's plea challenging a trial court's order denying him bail in the same case.

Mondal had moved the High Court challenging an order dated January 24 denying him bail.

Earlier, Rana had said that Anubrata's bail application was without any merit.

The ED had arrested Mondal based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Kolkata against Satish Kumar, the then Commandant of Border Security Force.

While Mondal was named in the fourth charge sheet filed by the CBI on October 7, 2022 at the Asansol court, Mondal's former bodyguard Sehgal Hossain was arrested on June 10, 2022.

According to CBI's third charge sheet filed on August 8, 2022, he was one of the kingpins. Hossain is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail.

The CBI suspects that profits from cattle smuggling were used to buy 24 of the 168 land and property deeds executed in or after 2014.

CBI officials claim to have detected Mondal's suspected link to these property deeds. The remaining 144 registration papers bear the names of his relatives, aides and their kin.
Chennai, May 1 : Three people were detained in Chennai after a labourer was killed in a drunken brawl, police said.

The police have however, not revealed the names of the suspects.

The victim, identified as Gnanavel (37), was killed near the Taramani Railway station premises on Sunday night.

According to the police, the incident took place when Gnanavel was drinking liquor near the station and the three suspects were also consuming alcohol nearby got into an argument.

The gang assaulted Gnanavel with a log and hit him on the head repeatedly.

Local passersby informed the police that a man was lying in a pool of blood. The police took him to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Police said that investigations are on about the three men and their antecedents.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court there is nothing wrong in the acts of missionaries spreading Christianity as Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to propagate his religion.

The M.K. Stalin government said, "Conversion of poor people to other religions by intimidating, threatening, deceivingly, luring through gifts and also by using black magic and superstition are not reported in Tamil Nadu." In an affidavit to a PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the DMK government said: "As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, there have been no incidents of forceful conversion reported in the past many years. The allegations raised by the petitioner...are alleged to have taken place only in certain tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and India's Hindi belt and therefore even according to the petitioner, it does not apply to the State of Tamil Nadu".

The state government contended that Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to propagate his religion, therefore the acts of missionaries spreading Christianity by itself cannot be seen as something against law. "But if their act of spreading their religion is against public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part III of the Constitution it has to be viewed seriously," it said.

The DMK government contended that the citizens are at liberty to choose the religion they want to follow.

"The Constitution does not give a fundamental right to any person to turn another man into one's own religion. But it gives a right to any person to propagate his religion. Likewise, the Constitution does not prevent any person from getting converted to the religion of his choice. The citizens of the country should be allowed freely to choose their religion and it would not be appropriate for the government to put spokes to their personal belief and privacy," it said.

The state government submitted that the petitioner has made sweeping allegations against it saying that the government was determined to remove the conversion angle from the case of Lavanya's suspicious death.

"The petitioner, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party, has attempted to convert the court proceeding into a political fight by bringing in ideological politics into the matter. All the allegations made against the Government of Tamil Nadu are politically motivated. There are no instances of forceful conversion of religion reported in Tamil Nadu...," it said.

The DMK government contended that the state shall have the responsibility to take measures against persons who deliberately and maliciously intend to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting their religion or religious beliefs.

The state government said: "One of the rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution is the right to Freedom of Religion. As a secular nation, every citizen of India has the right to freedom of religion, i.e., the right to follow any religion." It said, "As one can find so many religions being practiced in India, the Constitution guarantees to every citizen the liberty to follow the religion of their choice. According to this fundamental right, every citizen has the opportunity to practice and spread his religion peacefully. The right to have faith in a particular religion can be traced under Article 21 of the Constitution and it is an inviolable right".

Many states have passed their own version of the anti-conversion laws and some are still in existence. The Tamil Nadu government said the anti-conversion laws are prone to misuse against minorities and there is no data on convictions under the various anti conversions' laws of the states.

"In 2002, the State of Tamil Nadu passed the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act, 2002 (Tamil Nadu Act 56 of 2002). However, the same was repealed by the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion (Repeal) Act, 2006 (Tamil Nadu Act 10 of 2006) due to popular opposition. In the year 2003, the State of Gujarat passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003. In 2017 and 2018, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand States passed anti-conversion laws, respectively. In 2021, the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Protection of Right to freedom of religion bill", said the state government.

In connection with Upadhyay's plea, the state government said: "The prayers sought by the petitioner in the present writ petition do not only attack a specific community with intentions to divide the society through hate, fuelling religious intolerance in the country, bringing disharmony in the society." Upadhyay moved the apex court seeking a direction to declare that fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits offends Articles 14, 21 and 25.
New Delhi, May 1 : A day after 11 people, including three children, died allegedly after inhaling a toxic gas in Ludhiana's Giaspura area, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed grief over the tragedy.

He also expressed pain at the Bhiwandi building collapse incident, which had taken place two days back on April 29. Eight persons have died in the mishap.

Modi on Monday announced an ex-gratia for the deceased and injured for both the incidents.

"Expressing grief on the tragedy in Ludhiana due to a gas leak, PM @narendramodi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," the PMO tweeted on Monday.

"Pained by the tragedy in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families and prayers with the injured. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," the PMO said in a separate tweet.

In the Ludhiana incident, apart from the 11 persons who died in the incident, four persons were taken ill and are undergoing treatment. They are said to be critical.

The residents were evacuated and a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was sent at the spot following the incident.

The NDRF team detected high levels of hydrogen sulphide in the area. Preliminary investigations suggest sudden dumping of some chemical from an industrial unit into the civic sewage line set off a reaction, reports said.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident, and a case under section 304 has been registered against unidentified persons.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Bhiwandi building collapse rose to eight on Monday, while the search and rescue operation continued for the third day, NDRF said in an official statement.

The three-storey building collapsed in the Bhiwandi area in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday afternoon.
Chennai, May 1 : The Chess Players Forum has now come out in support of the three FIDE-rated senior players, who were recently "illegally barred" from playing in the Tirunelveli District Selection Tournament.

"The All India Chess Federation (AICF) should pursue the issue with the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association (TNSCA) and see that necessary action is being taken," International Master Neeraj Kumar Mishra, Secretary, Chess Players Forum told IANS.

He also said the AICF should also ensure that repeat of such actions does not happen across the country.

Chess players and other stakeholders are of the view that the AICF should not dither from taking action on the pretext that the District Chess Associations are not under its ambit.

The three players -- M. Karunakaran (68 years), V. Palanikumar (58) and Scanny (48 years) -- were not allowed to play in the Tirunelveli District Selection tournament at the last minute on April 9 by Tirunelveli District Chess Development Association (TDCDA) Secretary B.Paulkumar.

According to Paulkumar, the three had played in private tournaments held in Tenkasi district and hence they were not allowed to play in the tournament.

The three players lodged a police complaint against Paulkumar for his "illegal act" and also with the AICF and CCI.

However it is not without reason several chess players are sceptical about AICF taking any concrete action in this regard going by past experience.

According to a chess tournament organiser, when a complaint is received by AICF, it just forwards the same to the state association which in turn will forward it to the person against whom the complaint was lodged.

Continuing further he said, the person against whom a complaint is lodged will send his reply to the state association which will forward the same to AICF. The AICF will in turn forward the reply to the complainant and then close the file.

In the case of the three players, the above sequence of events happened and whether AICF has closed the file or is planning to take action is not known till date.

AICF's Interim Secretary Vipnesh Bhardwaj was not available for comments when contacted by IANS.

The Indian chess body should not be just a messenger but take action on the player grievances, several chess players told IANS.

If the AICF is not able to take action against the errant District Association Secretary, then it should act against the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association which is permitting such illegal acts.

In 2019, Paulkumar had barred then 11-year-old Karthik Rahul from playing in a tournament midway on the grounds that he had played in a private tournament.

The act was in clear violation of the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) orders and the AICF rules, chess players told IANS.

If the AICF or the TNSCA does not act against the erring official then the logical conclusion is that the chess body is allowing the state/district bodies to bring back the old autocratic regime, chess players told IANS.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 : Launching a scathing attack on the recently superannuated Kerala High Court Chief Justice S.Manikumar, veteran Congress leader and former Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Monday alleged that the former was sitting on many of his cases against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

"Quite a few cases which I filed during my tenure as Leader of Opposition were left untouched as he did nothing, so what's the use of going to the court in the present allegations of massive corruption in the purchase of AI cameras for the Road Transport department," Chennithala asked the media, here.

"Reportedly, Manikumar is going to be the next Kerala State Human Rights Commission chief," added Chennithala who was the Leader of Opposition in 2016-21 during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.

Last month, there was news that Vijayan, in an unprecedented action, gave a farewell to Manikumar along with a few of his cabinet colleagues, a few days before he superannuated.

Asked whether he will be taking legal recourse in the alleged Rs 253 crore corrupt deal under the leadership of Vijayan to install AI cameras, Chennithala said, "This is a corrupt deal and there is no discontent in the Congress-led UDF and they are united in taking on the most corrupt Vijayan government".

It was Chennithala who first spoke about the deal wherein he alleged that Vijayan acted as an agent for a few companies which secured the deal, with no prior experience in this line of business.
Kolkata, May 1 : After Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, West Bengal could be turning into a hub for the smuggling of opiate analgesics.

In April, the South Bengal Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) seized Tapentadol tablets worth more than Rs 9 lakhs from smugglers along the Indo-Bangladesh border. These were in two separate raids in the districts of North 24 Parganas and Murshidabad.

The Centre recently cracked down on a pharmaceutical company for smuggling Tramadol tablets to strife-torn Sudan.

Tramadol is also an opiate analgesic known as the 'ISIS Drug'. It got its name after Islamic State fighters used it as a painkiller and to remain awake for longer periods of time.

Tapentadol has the same properties as Tramadol.

The latest seizure of Tapentadol was made on Saturday by troops of the 117 Battalion BSF in charge of the Kaharpara Border Outpost (BOP) in Murshidabad.

Based on a tip-off, the troops searched the belongings of farmers at the gate of the border fence. On checking a water pipe being carried by one of them, the jawans discovered 1,220 strips of Tapentadol hidden inside. Bikram Das (40), the man who owned the pipe, confessed that he had been given the medicines by one Rustam Sk and was to hand them over to an unknown recipient from across the border.

The medicines, valued at nearly Rs 4,63,000, along with Das were handed over to the local police for necessary legal action.

The other attempt to smuggle Tapentadol across the border was made near Jeetpur in North 24 Parganas on the night of April 16. Troops of the 68Bn BSF spotted 4-5 smugglers moving towards the border fence and challenged them. The smugglers fled back towards their village but left behind a bag containing 1,300 strips of Tapentadol. The estimated value of the cache is Rs 4,48,500. The medicines were handed over to the Bagdah police station.

While agencies are carrying out their own probe, officials aren't sure who the medicines were meant for.

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has a strong presence in Bangladesh through its affiliate Ansar Al Islam.

Over the last few months, several AQIS sympathizers have been rounded up from districts in West Bengal.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Education is an important area of cooperation between the UK and Uzbekistan, UK ambassador to Uzbekistan Tim Torlot told Trend.

According to the ambassador, the UK is actively involved in ensuring access to quality education for Uzbek children.

"The UK is a contributor to the Partnership Compact for Education Reform through the Global Partnership for Education fund, aimed at supporting the government to enable equitable access to transformative quality education," he said.

Torlot pointed out that for several years there has been a tendency among the UK's educational institutions to expand their presence in Uzbekistan, who are seeing ties with the institutions of the Central Asian country.

Meanwhile, the ambassador pointed out the Westminster International University, which has been functioning in Tashkent.

"Westminster International University in Tashkent has been operating successfully for more than twenty years, but the number of British universities who have established partnerships with Uzbek educational institutions is growing all the time," Torlot said.

Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), it was established in 2002, in collaboration with the Uzbek President's "UMID" Foundation. The university provides education in the following areas: economy, journalism, politics, natural scenes, social sciences, etc.

Back in 2020, the university switched to a new education system, by opening three special schools, which are containing academic departments with subject areas, as well as offering doctoral programs.
Mumbai, May 1 : Just when the excitement was at its peak over Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's clothing brand Dyavol X, the prices of the limited edition confused and startled many.

The website crashed as soon as the collection dropped with a jacket autographed by Shah Rukh, priced at a whopping Rs 2 lakh, was later found to be sold out. Not just the jacket, but other ensembles too had outlandish pricing such as T-shirts being priced at an shocking Rs 25,000-Rs 47,000.

This did not stop social media users from having a field day at what they do best -- roasting.

One wrote: "Kaun Ho Bhai Raees Zaade???#DyavolX" Another showed his shopping cart, which showed a bill of over Rs 6 lakhs as it contained clothing items D'YAVOL Duck for Rs 48,800, Alpha for RS 45,500, Signature X for 4,01,110 and another Signature X for Rs 2,00,555. The total was Rs. 6,95,965.

The user captioned it: "Bhai #DyavolX ke price dekh ke mere ko chakkar aa rahe hain." Another said: "Agar yeh common man ke liye nahi, toh trend kaun kara hai? Another #Pathaanonprime? Look at the bloody prices. #DyavolX One wrote a message for Shah Rukh Khan, saying that he "miserably failed" to address his son about "Pricing strategies".

The user wrote: Dear @iamsrk, My favourite Actor, philosopher, socialist. You miserably failed to address your expensive son about Pricing strategies before launching a product in a market. Agreed that's a luxury brand, possibly you don't aim your fans to sell their kidneys. Lol! #DyavolX" One aspired to buy a hoodie from the label, and quipped: "Thought of buying a hoodie from #DyavolX but then I got to know that they don't deliver to my pin code so I dropped the plan. PS : it just cost around 50k inr for a hoodie. Okay bye.

Another said: "HRX Being human is good enough. Buying from #DyavolX is not even showing off ,it's stupidity. Konsi tshirt 48k me ati ha manufactured in india."
Prayagraj, May 1 : The Allahabad High Court on Monday disposed of the petitions of the Shahi Idgah Trust and Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board while giving its verdict.

The High Court has asked the District Judge of Mathura to pass an order after hearing afresh against the decision of the Civil Judge.

All the parties will have to present their arguments afresh before the District Judge of Mathura.

The above verdict refers to the suit Bal Krishna and others versus Intezamia Committee and others.

Bal Krishna, through Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta and others, had filed a suit in the court of Civil Judge Senior Division (III) on December 8 last year for shifting of Shahi Masjid Idgah which they claim has been constructed on a part of 13.37 acre land of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust.

In 1973, a civil court assigned land to both parties based on an agreement between the mosque trust and temple management.

However in 2016, a new petition was filed on behalf of the deity, who was represented as a friend of the deity, to challenge the 1973 ruling.

In a recent update, on Monday, the Allahabad High Court rejected the Muslim side's petition in the Mathura land dispute case.

The Shahi Idgah Trust and Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board moved the HC challenging the order by the district judge of Mathura following which it was stayed.

The law body dismissed a petition filed by the two Muslim units, challenging the May 2022 order that upheld the maintainability of a suit filed by the petitioner deity.
Lucknow, May 1 : The ongoing municipal elections in Lucknow have thrown up unexpected issues, catching the contestants unaware.

While the contestants go around campaigning and promising voters of better civic amenities, cleaner streets and well-lit roads, they are being questioned about the increasing stray dog menace in the state capital.

Party candidates admit that at various places, people have been reminding them about the issue, some even announcing a poll boycott in protest against the alleged indifferent approach of the local administration and municipal corporation on the matter.

The residents of Shrishti Apartments in Jankipuram have announced boycott of the civic polls following several cases of dog bites in their area and inaction of the authorities to solve the problem.

In Shri Guru Govind Singh ward in Alambagh, the residents of Patel Nagar and Adarsh Nagar too cited 'dog bite' incidents before candidates of various parties. They told the candidates that they will only vote for the party which will solve the problem.

"It may seem trivial to many but for us, it is a serious problem. Elderly citizens and children are being attacked by stray dogs, and the municipal officials are completely unconcerned about it. We do not care about BJP, SP, BSP, or Congress - we will vote for the candidate who comes up with a solution to the problem," said Raj Narain Jauhari, a resident of Jankipuram.

His wife Sheila Jauhari said, "Two senior citizens out on morning walk were bitten by street dogs. Several kids have suffered dog bites too, but the municipal corporation has no solution to the problem. They say that NGOs do not let them catch dogs.

"As residents continue to suffer, we have told the candidates they will have to solve the problem. It is a local problem so there should be a local solution to this." BJP MLA Yogesh Shukla along with local candidates met the residents and assured them that the problem will be taken care of.

BJP candidate Deepak Lodhi said, "It is true that along with roads, sewer, drains and street lights, this time people are also asking us to address the problem of street dogs and stray animals. The issue is bigger than what we thought it to be." "The voters are complaining about increasing number of dogs in every area. I have talked to the chief animal welfare officer to implement an animal birth control programme," he added.

Animal welfare officer Abhinav Varma said, "During the last two years, about 57,000 dogs have been sterilised by the municipal corporation. The animal birth control programme will be implemented more aggressively now.

"We will sterilise triple number of street dogs now. We need to implement area-based dog sterilisation programme to control the dog population in the city."
Jaipur, May 1 : Police have arrested one Rajendra Soni, who installed hidden cameras in his flat rented to three girls, and used to watch them from his house. He was produced in court on Monday.

The accused is the owner of the flat.

Police officials said that the victims came to know about the hidden cameras installed in their flat after a short circuit.

When the electrician came in, many cameras were found installed in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Police arrested Rajendra on April 27. He was produced in the court on Monday, from where he has been sent to judicial custody till May 15.

When grilled, the accused said that he does the business of CCTV cameras and computers. He rented the flat to the girl students who came from other cities to study in Udaipur. When the girl students went to their homes during the holidays, he opened the flat with a duplicate key and installed three cameras.

A router was installed in the name of providing free Wi-Fi to the girl students. The accused told during interrogation that he had got the CCTV cameras installed just out of hobby to watch the videos of the girls. Police have recovered spy cameras, internet router and duplicate keys of the flat from the accused.

According to the police, the accused is an IT expert. He has a degree in Master of Computer Application. He technically had a prior understanding of spy cameras and how to install them. The girls had taken the flat on rent 8 months ago.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 : The Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference (KCBC) president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis on Monday asked the state government and the political parties to come clean on an insulting play to Christianity, that is being staged in the state despite protests.

'Kakkukali', is the drama that has come under attack from the Catholic community in particular is staged by Alappuzha-based Neythal Nataka Sangham which is scripted by K.B. Ajayakumar and directed by Job Madathil.

It tells the trials and tribulations faced by a girl who becomes a nun, against the wishes of her Communist father.

The trouble began when Opposition came from a pro-outfit of the KCBC- Pro Life which raised a banner of revolt when it was to be staged at Guruvayoor's Municipality's cultural event in Thrissur.

However, the AIYF, the youth wing of the CPI, has come in support of the play, saying that if the creators of the play wish to stage it at Thrissur, they will provide all the support for it.

"It's most unfortunate that the work of those who have pledged their entire life to the Church are being portrayed in a bad manner which is an insult to Christianity. This vow taken is the most beautiful part in Christianity and this commitment and dedication has uplifted the community to a very high level," said the Cardinal.

"We now want the state government and the political parties to come clean and express their views on it publicly. Those who are supporting this are spreading hatred against Christianity. It is painful that people who speak of secularism and minority rights have taken a hypocritical stand on this issue," added the Cardinal and demanded that this should be banned with immediate effect.

But, the play director Madathil said that by now they have already staged it at 15 places and has decided to continue with it.
Hyderabad, May 1 : In a key development in the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) question paper leak case, its chairman Janardhan Reddy and secretary Anitha Ramachandran on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED officials were questioning the duo at ED's regional office here. The agency is gathering information on key aspects relating to the paper leak, focusing on financial transactions. The statements of both the officials will be recorded by the central agency.

Last month, the ED took up investigation into money laundering allegations in the TSPSC question paper leak case The ED had earlier summoned TSPSC section officer Shankar Laxmi in connection with the probe into the alleged illegal money transactions in the paper leak scam.

Shankar Laxmi is incharge of the confidential section of TSPSC, from where the exam question papers were allegedly stolen by Praveen Kumar and Rajasekhar Reddy, the employees of TSPSC and prime accused in the case.

The ED has also questioned both Praveen Kumar and Rajasekhar Reddy in Chanchalguda Jail.

During the interrogation, the agency recorded the statements of both the accused about the money they allegedly collected from those who obtained the leaked question papers. The agency suspects that the amount they collected is involved in money laundering and is unaccounted for.

The central agency had registered a Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and took up investigation following reports and complaints about huge money changing hands.

During the questioning of the accused and others in the case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana police had reportedly found illegal transactions to the tune of Rs38 lakh.

The TSPSC scam came to light on March 12 which led to the arrest of 15 accused besides the cancellation of the Group 1 preliminary examination, Assistant Engineers, AEE, and DAO exams.

Praveen Kumar, who worked as an assistant section officer at TSPSC and Rajashekar Reddy, a network admin at TSPSC, had allegedly stolen question papers of some exams from a computer in a confidential section of the Commission and sold it to other accused.

The SIT has so far arrested 19 persons in the case.

The exam paper leak case created a sensation in Telangana as opposition parties Congress and BJP blamed the BRS government for the leak that affected lakhs of unemployed in the state.

The SIT has also examined TSPS chairman Janardhan Reddy, secretary Anita Ramachandran and member B. Linga Reddy.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that consultation on re-examining sedition law is at an advanced stage.

Attorney General R. Venkataramani, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, said that the government has initiated the process to re-examine Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.

The bench, also comprising justice J.B. Pardiwala, posted the matter for hearing in the second week of August.

The AG submitted that the consultation process is at an advanced stage and before it goes to the Parliament, it will be shown to the CJI, as he urged the court to schedule the matter for hearing after the monsoon session of the Parliament.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan contended that the court could constitute a bench of seven judges for adjudicating the issues. The bench observed that the matter will be first placed before a five-judge bench, even if it is referred to a seven-judge bench.

In the hearing before lunch, the Chief Justice queried advocate Kanu Agarwal, representing the Central government, what is the stand of the Centre and what is the progress of the committee? Agarwal submitted that it must be seen if a change will apply prospectively or retrospectively, and needs to take instructions in the matter. At this juncture, the Chief Justice said, "Otherwise, we will decide it judicially." However, the bench agreed to take up the matter after lunch. The AG appeared before court in the afternoon session.

The top court was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises sedition.

On May 11 last year, the Supreme Court had said that it is cognisant of the integrity of the state on one hand, and the civil liberties of citizens on the other, as it put on hold the colonial-era penal provision of sedition.

The apex court had asked the Centre and state governments to refrain from registering any FIRs under the sedition provision, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, till the review of the law by the Centre is complete.

The top court order came on a batch of pleas filed by Major General S.G. Vombatkere (retd) and others, challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124A, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Bengaluru, May 1 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday in a write-up on the occasion of the International Labour Day, stressed reviving the voice of the workers in their "workplaces, in courts and in the government", while criticising the Narendra Modi-led Central government for "rolling the rights of workers backwards".

"International Labour Day marks the contribution and sacrifice of workers in building today's world. Today, we remember the long struggle by workers -- for fair and equal pay, safer working conditions, and the right to organise and have their voices heard in their workplaces, in the courts and in the government.

"Governments since independence have safeguarded and empowered workers, but unfortunately, the Modi government has only rolled workers' rights backwards. The rights of all workers are being weakened, whether they work in agriculture, for public or private organisations, or in the unorganised urban sector. Their voices are going unheard," Kharge noted.

The veteran Congress leader said while it is true that over 40 laws have been introduced since Independence, they need to be updated to meet today's challenges.

"However, the Modi government has used this pretext to weaken protections for workers and usurp the Constitutional powers of state governments. There are four fatal flaws in the labour codes which make them anti-worker.

"First, the codes do not apply to most workers or establishments. For example, establishments employing less than 300 people can fire workers or close units without permission. Contractors employing fewer than 50 people are exempt from workplace safety laws. Provident Fund, gratuity, insurance and maternity benefits are all unavailable in smaller establishments.

"Second, even if the codes apply to an establishment, governments have enormous flexibility to waive requirements for workplace safety, social security and protection from lay-offs, retrenchment or closure.

"Third, the codes significantly weaken the ability of workers to fight for their rights, by making it more difficult to form a union, declaring any strike without two weeks' notice illegal, and penalising those who support such a strike.

"Finally, and most importantly, the codes ignore key challenges facing workers. How can crores of workers with no written contract be helped? How can contract workers' position be improved? A worker struggles when they lose their job or suffer an injury -- how can this struggle be reduced? The codes are silent," Kharge said.

The Congress president said that "clearly, the Modi government thinks of labour laws as an inconvenience to be removed. It does not understand that labour laws, when well-designed and enforced, both protect workers and create certainty for businesses".

He further said that "this is why BJP governments in states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been unable to attract foreign investors in manufacturing despite waiving key labour laws for three years, citing Covid-19 as an excuse".

The Congress president also said that PM Modi and the BJP think that "re-branding schemes and re-jigging laws will help workers".

"I am a labourer's son, and led a labour union -- I know that that much more is needed to tackle the real problems facing workers today. The crucial first step is to stop ignoring workers in decision making, and instead to revive the voice of the worker in the government," he said.
Kolkata, May 1 : The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police has taken over from the district police the probe into the killing of Rajbangshi youth and BJP worker Mrityunjay Burman (33) at Kaliaganj in the North Dinajpur district, allegedly in police firing during the wee hours of April 27.

The CID took over the probe at a juncture when already two petitions in the matter had been filed at the Calcutta High Court. While in one petition, there had been a demand for a CBI probe into the matter, the other petition demanded a proper investigation into the role of the police.

The victim's family has alleged that the youth was killed by a bullet shot by Moyajjem Hossain, an assistant sub-inspector attached to the local Kaliyaganj police station.

The family members claimed that they are not satisfied with the CID inquiry. Their contention is that since the CID is also a part of state police, it is not possible that it will investigate the case without bias against their guilty colleagues and hence, they are sticking to the demand for a CBI probe into the matter.

The BJP has already observed a 12-hour strike in entire north Bengal over the killing of Burman. The leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, has accused that "the police action was prompted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who during a press conference had declared a war against the people of Kaliaganj and within hours the police complied with her".
Kathmandu, May 1: Thousands of the Indian Hindu pilgrims used to travel to the holy Kailash-Mansarovar region in Tibet every year through the Tatopani border point of Nepal with China until the deadly earthquake struck Nepal in 2015.

The religious travellers would fill the hotels and restaurants close to the border point. Sensing the big business opportunity, Bishnu Shrestha, opened a 25-room hotel named Small Heaven in 2013, targeting basically the Indian pilgrims.

Before he recovered his investment of NPR 40 million spent to build the hotel, Nepal was hit by a deadly earthquake in 2015, which not only damaged roads, building and other infrastructure around Tatopani areas but also across the border on the Chinese side too.

Tatopani border point, which is also one of the two key international border points with China, remained closed for four years since the earthquake. In May 2019, the border was reopened for international trade. Before trade between the two sides made stride through this route, COVID-19 pandemic forced the authorities of both sides to close the border in January 2020 to prevent spread of coronavirus.

Since October that year, the border point was opened for one-way flow of Chinese goods to Nepal in a limited quantity.

"Before I recovered my investment, an earthquake hit the country and the border point has remained essentially closed ever since," complained Shrestha. "So, our hotel has also remained open only in the name as hardly any tourists visit this area and stay in hotels here." Shrestha had to go through much hardship to pay the bank loans with the hotel being unable to generate enough cash flow from its operation of the hotel. "The bank helped me in restructuring the loan and rescheduling the payment deadline when I was struggling to pay the loans," he said. He still has outstanding loans to pay as he continues to struggle for cash flow in the absence of the regular flow of the customers.

After the prolonged gap, Nepal and China are preparing to reopen this border point starting from Monday (May 1) for two-way trade. "We have one truck of handicraft ready to export to China through the Tatopani border point on Monday," Dayananda K.C, chief customs officer at the Tatopani Customs Office told the India Narrative.

According to the Tatopani Customs Office, the Chinese side however would not allow the movement of people across the border.

"As per the latest agreement with the Chinese side, the goods from either side will be left on the friendship bridge connecting the two countries and the other side will take the goods. But the Chinese side did not allow the Nepali people to go across the border," said Dayananda.

Before the earthquake in 2015, China used to provide one-day passes to visit the bordering Khasa (Zhangmu) market and return. A significant number of Nepali nationals had set up their own shops in the bordering town. Since the quake hit the bordering region, the Chinese side has already relocated the entire Khasa market to another location.

"There is currently no human settlement near the border point now. Only structure that the Chinese side set up near the border point is the building of their customs office," said Dayananda.

But continued restriction on movement of the people from the Chinese side dashed Shrestha's hope that he could operate his hotel business in full swing any time soon. "Without movement of people, how can we run the hotel? Shrestha asked.

Before the border was closed following the earthquake in 2015, his hotel rooms used to remain fully occupied most of the time. "Every day, 100-150 Indian pilgrims used to arrive in the Tatopani area and stay in hotels here," Shrestha recalled. Now, Nepali people occasionally reach Tatopani (hot water pond) close to the border point.

"As the Nepalis don't go to Tatopani frequently, the hotels here don't have the source of regular income," Shrestha said. According to him, there are a dozen hotels in and around the Tatopani area and the fate of all of them is similar. "The newer hotels suffered much because they had not recovered their investments," he said.

The other international border point-Rasuwagadhi-Kerung, which is expected to be the main gateway between the two neighbours reopened for two-way traffic of goods starting from April 1.

The Chinese side had opened it for one way traffic of goods since April 2020 but traffic of only a limited number of goods were allowed to pass.

It is the border point through which the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu Railway is also supposed to pass through. There is also the proposal to construct the cross-border transmission line through this border point for future electricity trade between the two countries.

After nearly three years of disturbances, China on December 28, last year opened the Rasuwagadhi border point even for exports of Nepali goods following the northern neighbour scrapping the 'Zero Covid' policy. But China allowed movement of goods in limited quantities alone for the time being.

"Since April 1, there has been unrestricted movement of the goods from both sides," Nararayan Prasad Bhandari, chief customs officer at bordering Rasuwa Customs Office, told the India Narrative. "The Chinese side now allows entry of people residing in bordering Rasuwa district, Nepali government employees and truck drivers who go to bordering Kerung town to take delivery of goods." It is also one of the routes for Indian pilgrims to go to the holy mountain of Kailash. "It is not immediately clear whether the border point was also opened for the people from the third countries," said Bhandari.

After Tatopani and Rasuwagadi border point was closed by the Chinese side, Indian travellers have been using the Nepalgunj-Humla route in in the western Nepal, the shortest way to reach Kailash Mansarovar through the Himalayan country.

Lately, India opened the track of the link road from Dharchula to Lipulekh, a disputed land between Nepal and India. India has aimed to develop this route as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route.

Even though Rasuwagadi border point was opened for one-way traffic of goods in April 2020 with occasional closure of the border point over the last three years, Nepali traders suffered badly because of limited clearance of goods from the Chinese customs authorities.

Before normal trade resumed in April this year, Nepali traders suffered huge losses due to quantitative restriction on movement of Nepal bound cargo from China. It took 16 months to clear all the Nepal bound goods which were stored in bordering Kerung town since the border point was closed in January 2020.

The goods ordered for major festivals like Dashain (Dussehra) and Tihar (Diwali) did not arrive on time from the north as China sent only limited cargo to Nepal. Nepali traders accused China of imposing an "undeclared trade blockade" on Nepal for delayed clearance of Nepal bound goods. But there is no evidence that China clearly had intent of blockading Nepal by imposing quantitative restrictions on cargo movement.

"Even after normal trade began in early April this year, China has continued to impose restrictions on the export of Nepal's agricultural products such as rice, wheat flour, noodles among others," said Bhandari.

Because of prolonged disruption for movement of goods through the land route, the majority of Nepali importers from China diverted their shipment to the sea route. Most Nepal bound goods from China now are brought through Kolkata, India to Nepal.

"Along with disruption in smooth flow of Nepal-bound goods, Chinese container owners started to impose freight charges as high as NPR 10,000 per cubic metre of a container from only NPR 1800 per cubic metre," said Nripa Adhikari, chairperson of Good Luck International, a freight forwarder. "This situation forced many traders to divert their goods to the sea routes." Adhikari's company had to pay for 20 cartoons of goods brought by his company for his client in Nepal after they were lost on the way. "We could not check physically by going to China about the goods were delivery in quantity as claimed by the Chinese seller," he said. "My company had to compensate as much as NPR 700,000 to the Chinese seller for the lost goods." With the reopening of both international border points, Nepali importers will have more options to bring goods to Nepal. "But there is still doubt among traders about Chinese policy as they close the border abruptly and it is not known when they close and when they open the border," said Bachhu Poudel, former president of Nepal Trans Himalaya Border Commerce Association, a representative body of traders involved in Nepal-China trade. "We are hopeful no prolonged disruption in movement of goods through the land routes. But there is still a crisis of confidence with the Chinese authorities." During the first three quarters of the current fiscal year 2022-23 that began in mid-July last year, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 162.44 billion from China, according to the Department of Customs. Only goods worth NPR 28.14 billion were imported through these two northern international border points. Nepal exported goods worth NPR 636.83 million to China during the same period with NPR 273 million going through these border points, the customs statistics show.

"There will definitely be more trade through the land route once both border points are reopened fully," said Poudel. "Nepali traders opt for the land route because they can take delivery of goods in a shorter period than the sea route." (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Turnout at the referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan on April 30 stood at 84.54 percent of the number of citizens included in the lists, the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Uzbekistan Zainiddin Nizamkhodjaev said at the briefing, Trend reports.

According to Nizamkhodjaev, a total of 19,722,809 people were registered to participate in the referendum, of which 16,673,189 citizens voted for amendments to the Constitution.

The chairman of the CEC said that some 90.21 percent of the voters were in favor of changing the Constitution.

On April 30, a referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the country was held in Uzbekistan.

Amendments to the Constitution are aimed at strengthening the functions of Parliament to appoint the heads of supervisory and law enforcement agencies, while part of the powers of the president is transferred to the supreme legislative body. In addition, it is proposed to increase the term of the presidency from 5 to 7 years.

Judges of the Constitutional Court are proposed to be elected for a ten-year term. The Constitutional Court elects for a five-year term from among its members the Chairman of the Constitutional Court and his deputy.

A large package of amendments to the Basic Law aims to liberalize the country's economy further.

On April 19-26, early voting took place. More than 611,000 citizens of Uzbekistan participated in early voting in the referendum on amendments to the Constitution.
Chennai, May 1 : The Tamil Nadu Home Department is in the process of constituting an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the state and an amount of Rs 57.51 crore has been earmarked for it.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced that an ATS would be constituted in Tamil Nadu immediately after the October 2022 car blast in which a person was charred to death.

The killed man, Jameesha Mubin, 28, was a lone wolf and had planned a major terror attack on Deepavali eve in Coimbatore but his lack of knowledge in handling explosives led to the blast taking place before the designated time, causing minimal damage.

The Tamil Nadu Home Department is sourcing personnel for the force from the state police force and efficient officers who are interested to work in ATS have been short-listed. The department is also focusing on districts and cities from where terror activities were reported and would also take into account the inputs of the state and central intelligence departments.

Sources in the police told IANS that Madurai, Coimbatore, and Chennai will be given importance in setting up the ATS units.

The ATS will be constituted on the lines of Thunderbolt force in Kerala, OCTOPUS (Organisation for Counter Terrorism Operations) in Andhra Pradesh, and other similar ATS organisations. The Tamil Nadu Home Department will also take a cue from the National Security Guard (NSG) before constituting the ATS.

Inputs from the functioning of ATS in the northeastern states and also North Indian states would be taken into account before the constitution of the ATS in Tamil Nadu.

--IANS aal/vd

A
Tokyo, May 1 : The University of Tokyo announced on Monday that Alibaba Group Founder Jack Ma will teach as a visiting professor, giving lectures on management and sustainable agriculture.

Ma accepted an invitation from Tokyo College, a new institution run by the University of Tokyo. His tenure will begin from May 1 till October 31, and his contract may be renewed annually.

His research area will be sustainable agriculture and food production.

Ma founded Alibaba Group in 1999 and served as its executive chairman from 1999 to September 2019. He previously served as Alibaba Group's chief executive officer from 1999 to May 2013.

"He founded the Jack Ma Foundation in 2014, and its efforts are focused on supporting education, entrepreneurship and environmental protection, among other areas. Ma is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Emeritus Advocate and serves as a global board member of The Nature Conservancy and is co-chair of the Paradise Foundation," according to Tokyo College.

He has been awarded honorary doctorates from several universities including the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Normal University, De La Salle University, and Tel Aviv University.

Earlier, the billionaire was in the spotlight for criticising China's regulatory framework.

Ma, who has rarely been seen in public in the past three years, resurfaced at a school in China's Hangzhou in March.

The 58-year-old has kept a low profile since criticising China's financial regulators in 2020.

Ma was the most high-profile Chinese billionaire to have disappeared amid a crackdown on tech entrepreneurs. He recently returned to China after more than a year overseas, according to the South China Morning Post.

It added that Ma has been travelling to different countries to learn about agricultural technology, but made no reference as to why he had disappeared from public view in recent years.
Hyderabad, May 1 : A day after inauguration of new Telangana Secretariat, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday spent a busy day at the state administrative headquarters, holding review meetings and taking some key decisions.

The Chief Minister, who inaugurated the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat on Sunday, reached the complex in the afternoon.

After entering the new Secretariat building through the main East gate, KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, reached the Yagashala where Sudharshana Yagam was performed on Sunday. He participated in the second special puja performed by Vedic scholars.

After that, he directly reached his office chambers on the sixth floor. He personally visited the offices of his Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and PROs and inquired about the furniture and other arrangements made in their chambers.

The Chief Minister also walked through the corridors and discussed various issues with the officials.

He then returned to his chamber and held a meeting with public representatives who came to meet him.

The first review meeting KCR conducted at the new Secretariat on Monday was on Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme.

In view of the permission given by the Supreme Court to continue Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation project works related to drinking water, he reviewed the progress of the works to supply drinking water to undivided Mahabubnagar and Rangareddy districts.

In another meeting, the Chief Minister extended the deadline for regularisation of the notary lands as per Government Orders 58 and 59 by one month.

KCR said that the state government will regularise the house sites, owned by the poorer sections, as per the rules and provide them legal rights to construct houses in the municipalities which come in the limits of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

He appealed to people to utilise the opportunity given by the state government. People are requested to meet MLAs in their respective Assembly Constituencies and discuss notary, house sites regularisation and other issues with them.

The CM said that the government will compile all the problems and solve them. People will be given land pattas with legal rights and the government's main objective is to address the poor housing issues at one go, he said, adding that a special drive will be organised for this.

He said that notary problems regarding the agricultural lands will also be resolved. Collectors' conference will be held soon on this particular issue.

The MLAs of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad met the Chief Minister and requested him to address the issue of house sites for the poor.

The chief minister is often criticized by the opposition parties for not visiting the Secretariat and confining mostly to Pragati Bhavan, his official residence. With the state-of-the-art and grand building of the Secretariat built as per his plan, they hoped that at least now he would come to the Secretariat regularly.

In the past, KCR had dismissed the criticism by the opposition parties and argued that a Chief Minister can perform his duties from anywhere.
New Delhi, May 1 : Networking, systems and software company Ciena on Monday said it has appointed Amit Malik as Vice President and Sales Leader for India, as it helps drive network transformation to support service providers' 5G plans and growing bandwidth demands.

Malik is responsible for driving the sales strategy in India, a key growth market for Ciena. He reports to Jamie Jefferies, who leads Ciena's international business.

"India is an important market for Ciena driven by significant growth in bandwidth demand on our customers' networks as well as our large Research & Development (R&D) centre in the country," said Jamie Jefferies, Ciena's Vice President and General Manager of International Sales.

"Amit's deep expertise and proven track record in the telecommunications sector will be instrumental in building on our success in India as we support the country's digital transformation journey and adoption of transformative technologies like 5G," he added.

Malik joins Ciena from Cisco Systems, where he held various leadership roles.

He was previously Co-chair of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) (IT committee) and Vice Chair for the American Chamber.

Ciena has been actively involved in India for more than 15 years with a growing customer base, including all the local Tier 1 service providers. India is also home to one of the company's largest R&D centres of excellence.
Mumbai, May 1 : Actress Saiee M Manjrekar is a busy bee. The actress, who has teamed up with Telugu star Ram Pothineni for her next film, has two films lined up for the release, 'Kuch Khattaa Ho Jaay' in which she will share the screen with Punjabi music star Guru Randhawa, and 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha' which is helmed by Neeraj Pandey of 'Special 26' fame.

Talking about what appealed to her about 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha', the actress told IANS: "The world of 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha' is something which is completely different to what I have seen in a while, both in the real world and on screen. It's so beautifully showcased in the movie. What appealed the most to the actor in me about the project was the fact that Neeraj Pandey sir was at the helm of affairs. It has been quite an enriching experience while working on this film." Saiee, who is the daughter of veteran actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar, has worked across different film industries in India. She made her debut as a child artiste with the Marathi film 'Kaksparsh', worked with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the multilingual film 'Dabangg 3' and her 2022 film 'Major' was a trilingual release starring Telugu actor Adivi Sesh.

Talking about how working in different industries shapes the actor in her, she shared with IANS: "Working in different film industries across India has been very culturally immersive both as a person and as an artiste. To explore so many cultures and to work in them expands your horizons as an artiste and you can use small nuances of one culture in the other." She also shared that she is in a happy place being a busy actor and dabbling in many projects.

"I'm so happy to do this much work in my life and career. I hope this continues and I get more busy and meatier roles. A lot of hard work and effort went into making a film from actors to every single person. I hope it all pays off and the audience loves and relates more to the work that I do," she signed off.
New Delhi, May 1 : Filming a "day-in-my-life" vlog on TikTok, an Amazon employee inadvertently captured the moment of her layoff from the company.

Jennifer Lucas, who worked as a recruiting manager at Amazon for eight years in the US, wrote at the beginning of the video: "I was trying to film a cute Wes Anderson style WFH and accidentally filmed myself getting laid off." The TikTok video starts with her getting out of bed in the morning, making herself a cup of coffee, and brushing her teeth before logging into work from home.

In the following scene, she opens her work email and comes to the realisation that she has been laid off. As she reads the message informing her that Amazon has terminated her employment, she gasps in disbelief.

Lucas also shared her layoff news on LinkedIn, saying: "Yesterday I was one of the 9,000 employees impacted in Amazon's layoffs. I joined Amazon in 2015 as a bright-eyed college graduate who couldn't believe I was working for the best tech company in the world. I began my career as a recruiting coordinator with 2 goals in mind -- Get promoted to L6, Become a manager.

"Last year, I accomplished both. I often joked with friends and family, "now what??" and it seems the universe took my words literally." Amazon announced its second round of layoffs in March, in which 9,000 jobs were to be cut.

In a memo to employees on March 20, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said it was a "difficult decision" taken for the long-term benefit of the company. These layoffs come over and above the 18,000 roles that were eliminated just a few months ago.

In March, Amazon announced to lay off another 9,000 employees in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Twitch, advertising, and HR.

In a memo, Jassy said that as the company concluded the second phase of its operating plan ("OP2") this past week. "I'm writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks - mostly in AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch." Amazon initially eliminated 18,000 positions in January and as "we completed the second phase of our planning this month, it led us to these additional 9,000 role reductions".
Chennai, May 1 : Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P.T.R. Thiaga Rajan met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the latter's Alwarpet residence here on Monday amid speculations of an imminent cabinet reshuffle.

There are reports that Stalin is gearing up for a reshuffle in the cabinet before the second anniversary celebrations of the government.

Thiaga Rajan is in the focus after the BJP state President K. Annamalai released two audio clippings in which a person whose voice resembled to that of the Minister was speaking about corruption in government and the involvement of the CM's son Udyanidhi Stalin and son-in-law Sabareesan.

The minister had dismissed the audio clip and said that Artificial intelligence (AI) technology was used to mimic his voice. He has also earlier met the Chief Minister and informed his point.

However, sources in DMK told IANS that the Finance Minister expressed his willingness to resign from the Stalin cabinet and to go back to the US where he had worked as a banker.

The Tamil Nadu cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held on May 2 evening and after this a reshuffle is likely. The Chief Minister has expressed his unhappiness with the performance of some of his cabinet colleagues.

It is in this context that the meeting between PTR and Stalin assumed significance.

--IANS aal/vd

A
New Delhi, May 1 : The Joe Biden administration in the US is reportedly about to announce new restrictions on US companies investments in China, noted analyst Christopher Wood of Jefferies said in a research note.

"The word is that Biden aims to sign an executive order in coming weeks that will limit investment in China by American businesses. The executive order will reportedly cover semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing," Wood wrote.

Some types of new investment in critical sectors will be prohibited while others will require companies to notify the US government. The US hopes to get an endorsement from its G7 partners on such investment curbs at the G7 summit in Japan which begins May 19, Wood said.

The cumulative direct investment in China by US business totalled $118 billion at the end of 2021, with $57 billion or 48 per cent going into the manufacturing sector.

An April 20 speech by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was clearly an attempt to extend an olive branch. In particular, Yellen stated that US national security concerns "are not designed for us to gain a competitive economic advantage, or stifle China's economic and technological modernisation".

It was clearly a reference to the stated policy of the US Department of Commerce to block the supply of advanced semiconductors to China.

Wood said it also seems from a Beijing point of view as a targeted effort by Washington's national security lobby to stop China from upgrading its economy, which results in the risk that it is stuck in the dreaded middle-income trap given China's deteriorating demographics.

So Yellen's tone should be welcomed as an effort to soften the rhetoric of late coming from the likes of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan or Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appear at times to be out to pick a fight with China,.

Yellen's speech represents mixed messages at best. Indeed, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated last Friday that Washington's "true intention is to deprive China of its development rights". It is pure economic coercion, Wood added.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's son challenging the high court refusal to stay his conviction in a more than a decade-old case, which led to his disqualification as an MLA.

An advocate, representing Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, submitted before a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi that his client was a juvenile when the incident took place.

The bench, also comprising Justice Bela M. Trivedi, said that the court was not examining petitioner's juvenility, rather looking at his prayer seeking stay on conviction. The top court was informed that the election to Suar assembly constituency, which has been vacant after Khan's disqualification, is scheduled for May 10.

Khan filed an appeal in the apex court challenging the April 13 order of the Allahabad High Court, which declined to stay his conviction.

The bench issued notice to the UP government and sought its reply, and made it clear that the election will be subject to the outcome of the petition.

It asked Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the UP government: "Can we test the morality of an individual, convicted and sentenced? Can he not be an elected representative?" The bench said the state has to demonstrate prima facie that he has done a crime in his own capacity. Nataraj submitted that he will file his response to the appeal filed by Khan.

After hearing submissions, the bench said: "Let the counter be filed. Let the election to be held on May 10 be subject to the outcome of this special leave petition." It has scheduled the matter for further hearing in the second week of July.

In February, Khan was awarded two years' imprisonment in the case by a Moradabad court. His conviction led to his disqualification as MLA.

It has been alleged that Khan and his father had blocked traffic after their vehicle was stopped by the police for checking.

A criminal case was registered in 2008 against Khan and his father Azam Khan at Chhajlet police station in Moradabad under sections 341 and 353 of the IPC.
Mumbai, May 1 : The world's first Marathi language university will come up at Ridhpur in Amravati district of eastern Maharashtra as the state government is urging the Centre to confer it the status of a 'classical language', Governor Ramesh Bais said here on Monday.

"The state government is taking up the matter with the Union government for giving the status of classical language to Marathi. A Marathi language University will be established at Ridhpur in Amravati, in the near future," he said on the occasion of the 63rd Maharashtra Day celebrations.

Til now, 6 Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia - have been given the status of classical languages by the Centre, and Maharashtra is demanding a similar recognition for Marathi since the past several years.

Bais led the official state function by unfurling the national tricolour at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Park at Dadar in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, followed by a ceremonial parade, and many other functions held across Maharashtra to mark the occasion which coincides with the International Labour Day.

He also paid homage to the icons of Maharashtra like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, V.D. Savarkar, and others.

The Governor said that May 28, the birth anniversary of Savarkar, shall be celebrated as the "Swatantraveer Gaurav Din" by the government across the state.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. Armenia is helping Russian to bypass sanctions imposed by the West via unauthorised sales, Trend reports citing the article published by The Economist.

The article reads that yet Russia continues to import almost as much as it did before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

New trading partners have sprung up to replace the West. China now sells twice as much to Russia as it did in 2019. Parallel importsunauthorised sales from the West to Russia via a third country of everything from fizzy drinks to computer chipshave soared. In 2022 imports from the EU to Armenia mysteriously doubled, even as Armenian exports to Russia tripled, says the author.

Reportedly, Serbias exports of phones to Russia rose from $8,518 in 2021 to $37m in 2022. Shipments of washing machines from Kazakhstan to Russia rose from zero in 2021 to nearly 100,000 units last year.

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.

Peter Stano, EU Spokesperson, told Trend that EU is looking at the issue of sanctioned goods flow from Armenia to Russia.

The EU imposed set of wide-ranging sanctions against Russia for its illegal aggression of Ukraine, violation of the UN Charter and for committing atrocities amounting to war crimes. The EU has called on all countries to align with these sanctions, adopt similar national measures or at least not to allow any circumvention of these sanctions. In a previous sanctions package the EU introduced a possibility to impose sanctions also on persons or entities allowing the circumvention of sanctions.

We are closely monitoring trade flows of sanctioned goods from the EU to third countries and from third countries to Russia. In the context of Armenia, we have indeed observed some anomalous trade flows. We are looking at the issue and we are in dialogue with the Armenian authorities, he said.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered several media houses to remove or disable links to news articles about a man who booked by police for allegedly trying to extort Rs 10 lakh from a friend by threatening to leak an offensive video.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh passed the order after observing that the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the case has been annulled and that the occurrence was a "immature prank".

The petitioner had gone before the court claiming that even after the FIR was dismissed pursuant to the court's orders, his employer discovered the news reports and suspended him, claiming that he wouldn't be reinstated unless those pieces were taken down.

After considering the case, the bench ordered the publishers to remove the links within 48 hours.

The Court also directed Google to block access to those links.

"Considering that the entire career of the petitioner as a young executive is likely to be jeopardised due to continued publication of the articles and keeping in mind the future of the petitioner and his mental and physical health, it is deemed appropriate to direct all the publisher to remove links to the articles," Justice Singh ordered.

The man was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2021 for reportedly threatening to release his friend's obsecene film and demanding Rs 10 lakh from him.

Based on a settlement from earlier this year, the FIR was dismissed.

It was claimed that the complainant and the accused were friends and longtime acquaintances. This was described as a prank gone wrong as well.
Aizawl/Imphal, May 1 : Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Mizoram's apex students' body, has accused the Manipur government of grabbing Zo ethnic tribals' land in the neighbouring state and evicting them.

"The origin of these problems is the Manipur government's attempts to evict ethnic Zo people from their various settlements so that their lands can be taken from them and these tribal lands can be declared reserved forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands," the MZP said in a statement.

Incidents of violence were recently witnessed after the tribals, mostly belonging to Kuki-Chin-Zo communities, launched fresh protests against the Manipur government's action against the illegal poppy cultivators and destroying poppy fields in the forest land, especially in the reserve and protected forests in the hilly areas.

The violent incidents took place in Manipur's Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal, where the Kuki-Chin-Zo community tribals have been residing for decades.

The MZP said it has been closely monitoring the problems being faced by ethnic Zo people in Manipur.

Slamming Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh-led government's action against ethnic Zo people, the MZP criticised the Manipur government for demanding Inner Line Permit (ILP) from Zo ethnic tribes from Mizoram.

"While the ILP is required for non-Mizoram residents, we never demand it from or create problems for Manipuri (Meitei) people (living in Mizoram), whom we treat without discrimination," the MZP said.

Noting that demanding ILPs from those who are entering Manipur from Mizoram state is detrimental to ethnic Zo people and can lead to discord between the Mizoram and Manipur governments, the statement said: "We, therefore, demand that the Manipur government stops demanding ILP from our ethnic brethren." If the Manipur government continues to take action that is not safe for ethnic Zo people, we would not be responsible for anything that happens to Manipuri (Meite) people in Mizoram, the statement said.

It said that the MZP would continue to work for the safety of ethnic Zo people in Mizoram's neighbouring states and around the world.

The MZP said "it will continue to promote unity among ethnic Zo people because it wants to preserve the brother/sisterhood of the community".

"The Manipur government is attempting to expel our brothers and sisters, who are people of the northeast, from their own villages, and we are unable to accept this. We demand that the Manipur government immediately stop such initiatives that can be detrimental to ethnic Zo people," the organisation said.

With the same ethnicity, Zo, Mizo, Kuki, Chin tribals are scattered in Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, western Myanmar, Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeast Bangladesh.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 : In August last year when the news came that Kottayam native B, Manikantan had been cleared for the post of Air Marshal, one rank below the Chief of Air Force, it was greeted with joy as he became only the third Malayali to reach that rank. On Monday, his classmates and his alma mater Sainik School Kazhakootam, celebrated as he will now take charge as the Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Southern Air Command here on Tuesday.

The 57-year-old Mani, as he is popularly known among his 1983 batch classmates at the Sainik School, is an experienced helicopter pilot having flown various types of helicopters for close to 5,500 hours.

Into his 37th year of donning the uniform, he has taken part in air operations at several places including the Siachen glacier and Sri Lanka.

Born to a teacher couple at Kottayam, Mani joined the Sainik School here in 1976 and left the school when he cracked the NDA entrance exam when he was in Class XI in 1982. He was just one of the three in his class to have done it in the first attempt.

Speaking to IANS his classmate at Sainik School and his colleague in the Air Force, Air Commodore (Retd) Sunil Jose said Mani is an exceptional professional who does his work quietly.

"Mani is a high quality helicopter pilot of the first order and I know it quite well, as I also flew helicopters and at one point of time he was my boss. We worked together in my last posting at Delhi, after which I retired," said Jose.

Another classmate Air Commodore (Retd) B. Balachandran who had worked with him fondly remembers Mani as a complete professional, a thorough gentleman and a close buddy.

One reason why the Sainik School is on a high is that by virtue of his post, Mani will be heading the Local Board of Administration of the Sainik School.

Many of his classmates recall the arrival of the then LBA chairman Vice Admiral Barboza in a helicopter from Kochi in 1976 and landing at the parade ground of the school, when all including Mani perhaps saw for the first time a helicopter at close quarters.

But Mani will not be flying down in a helicopter as the headquarters of the Southern Air Command is only a stone's throw from the school and hence he will be arriving for his first meeting at the school by road.
New Delhi, May 1 : Bahujan Samaj Party MP Afzal Ansari, brother of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was disqualified from Lok Sabha on Monday following his conviction in a 2007 Gangsters Act case.

According to a Lok Sabha Secretariat notification issued on Monday, Ansari stands disqualified as MP from Lok Sabha from Ghazipur, with effect from April 29, the date of his conviction.

The Ghazipur MP-MLA court had last week sentenced Ansari to four years of prison and also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him.

The court had also convicted Mukhtar Ansari in the same case and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment, whil imposing a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on him.
Bhopal, May 1 : Deepak Joshi (60), a former BJP minister and the son of ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister late Kailash Joshi, will join the Congress after May 6.

It would be a major setback for the ruling BJP ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled later this year.

Confirming his latest move while talking to IANS on Monday, Joshi said, "Yes, I am quitting my long association with the BJP. It was hard to take this decision as my father was one of the pioneering leaders who established the party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, and also served as the Chief Minister. I have been asked to give a particular date, so I have told the Congress leadership that I would be available in Bhopal after May 6." Joshi joining the Congress will be a big jolt for the ruling BJP ahead of the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. He made this announcement around two weeks after a team of 14 state BJP leaders were tasked to convince the rebellions to stay put in the party.

On April 13, IANS had reported that Joshi had a closed-door meeting with top Congress leaders.

The former minister was sidelined from the party after he lost the elections in 2018. He was also overlooked after he raised his voice against corruption in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Dewas district.

"Whenever I raised this matter before, some leaders from my own party (BJP) accused me of playing politics and raising voice against the BJP government. But I kept raising this matter because my father won elections from the Bagli constituency eight times, and the people there have faith in us. At present, this constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) but people still come to me whenever they have any problem," Joshi said.

Getting no response from the state BJP leadership on his complaint, Joshi had then written to the party's Central leadership, following which the Lokayukta of Madhya Pradesh in December last year booked 45 officials and employees in different departments for allegedly misusing the funds meant for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Dewas district.

A police investigation had revealed that the nexus had been operating for the past few years, embezzling several crores of rupees by creating fake bills.

Joshi, who won three Assembly polls from Bagli (2003, 2008) and Hathpipalia (2013), also served as the Minister of Technical Education and Skill Development, and of School Education in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's cabinet.

His father Kailash Joshi was the ninth Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh who served from June 24, 1977 to January 18, 1978 when he was a member of the Janata Party. He died on November 24, 2019.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on a petition seeking protection of the interests of kids enrolled in schools on public property that have been mortgaged and could be sold at auctions by banks due to debt default.

Filed in a form of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), it was listed before the division of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad.

The bench, after hearing the arguments on behalf of the petitioners and the respondents, reserved its order on the petition.

"We will pass appropriate orders. Arguments heard and order reserved," the bench said.

In the PIL, NGO Justice for All has requested that the court to protect the fundamental right to education guaranteed to over 900 students attending Laxmi Public School in Karkardooma as well as other students attending similar schools whose land has been mortgaged and could one day be sold at auction or sealed due to loan default.

Additionally, it asks the court to issue directives for an investigation into the mortgaged status of Laxmi Public School's leasehold property.

The land parcel belonged to the government and was given to Laxmi Educational Society under the Government Grants Act for the purpose of operating a school, according to standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi and advocate Arun Panwar, who were representing the Delhi government.

The society was not permitted to deal with the land further under the Transfer of Property Act.

The Delhi government's goal was to safeguard kids and advance education, and this land was never made accessible to the bank as any other land to be purchased from any institution, Tripathi submitted.

According to the petition, numerous institutions originally bought land for cheap before borrowing money from banks to build five-star facilities.

It claimed that this led to the commercialisation of education and increased competition for expensive education and that these institutions put children's education at danger by mortgaging the property.

The petition was disputed by the legal counsel for the society and the school, who argued that it was a publicity stunt and that the petitioner had submitted the plea without any support or evidence, and that it should be dismissed with costs.

Things have advanced to the point where the school will be auctioned off to pay back a loan and business regulations are being implemented on school property, which is otherwise public land set aside for public institutions, the petition argues.
Mysuru, May 1 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that the Congress leaders are indulging in cheap talk due to the fear of losing the assembly election.

He said Congress MLA Priyank Kharge termed Modi as 'useless'. Bommai appealed to the people to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party to teach a lesson to the Congress.

Speaking at a poll rally in favour of Krishnaraja BJP candidate Srivatsa here on Monday, he said Mysuru is a historic, heritage, and world-famous city and the BJP has been strong in the last three decades.

"The people have voted for the MLAs and MPs. The turnout of the people clearly indicates that Srivatsa will get elected by a big margin. We are trying to get positive votes through the programs of the double-engine government. But the opposition parties, out of frustration, are making cheap remarks and doing negative campaigning. People will vote only for those who have worked for them," he said.

The CM said both the state and Union governments have implemented several schemes such as the Kisan Samman for farmers, Ayushman Bharat for public healthcare, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in both the urban and rural areas to build houses and the Vidyanidhi scheme for the children of farmers and agricultural labourers.

Mysuru has been developed under the Smart City project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi loves Mysuru and its citizens. The PM selected Mysuru for celebrating Yoga Day. Those who love Modi must vote for Srivatsa, he said.

"As the CM, I have given grants of over Rs 250 crore for the celebration of Dasara along with an additional Rs 5 crore and implemented the Mysuru Tourism Circuit. Mysuru has been an international tourism destination.

"Work is in progress and next year the number of tourists visiting the city will double. Rs 80 crore has been given to rebuild a hospital and impetus given to women's programs," he said.

Out of frustration, the Congress is giving the guarantee of 10 kilograms of free rice but it was given during the regime of former BJP CM Yediyurappa. The Congress government reduced the quantity to five kg. The Congress leaders are deceiving the voters just for the sake of votes, Bommai stated.
New Delhi, May 1 : A 40-year-old man, involved in around 200 snatching incidents, has been arrested, a senior Delhi Police official said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Ranjeet Singh alias Billa, was held from west Delhi.

Police said that he has been previously arrested in more than 40 cases including 22 cases of robbery and snatching.

The official said that Singh was active in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar and Janakpuri areas.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, West, Akshat Kaushal, on April 26, the police received a tip-off about the accused and arrested him in Raghubir Nagar, where he had arrived on a stolen bike to commit snatching.

During interrogation, the accused named Singh admitted to the police that he had committed nearly 200 incidents of snatching so far.

"Singh disclosed that he worked alone and had become proficient in snatching chains with his left hand while riding a bike. To avoid being identified, he always wore a helmet and used high-end bikes stolen from parking lots during snatching," said Kaushal.

He only targeted the west district, as he was familiar with the escape routes.

According to the police, Singh was released on bail during the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020 from Tihar jail. After his release, he moved to his hometown in Rajasthan's Alwar, but later came back to Delhi and resumed snatching.

--IANS ssh/vd

A
New Delhi, May 1 : The Police have arrested two men in Delhi for allegedly filming their hooliganism and sharing it on social media to lure youngsters into joining their gang, an official said on Monday.

The accused were identified as Bunty (23) and Rahul (22), both residents of Swaroop Nagar.

According to Jitendra Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest), the two were apprehended on Sunday while they were planning to rob and seek vengeance against members of a rival gang.

The duo was known to operate in Mukundpur, Swaroop Nagar and other Delhi border areas.

"Upon conducting a search, the police found four firearms and an equal number of live cartridges in their possession," said the DCP.

He said that the investigation has uncovered that the duo had been filming their violent behaviour and sharing it on social media to lure youngsters into joining their gang.

The police stated that the two have been linked to multiple cases of robbery and snatching in the Swaroop Nagar and Adarsh Nagar areas.
Kolkata, May 1 : Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court, from whose bench two cases against Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in the alleged multi-crore recruitment scam in West Bengal were transferred following a Supreme Court order, claimed on Monday that it was not him but expelled youth Trinamool leader Kuntal Ghosh who dragged the name of Abhishek Banerjee in the matter.

"I have nothing against any party, including the Trinamool Congress. When I hear and review any case, I try to judge whether any sort of corruption is involved," Gangopadhyay told mediapersons outside the court premises on Monday.

He pointed out that the name of Abhishek Banerjee surfaced in the alleged recruitment scam only after Kuntal Ghosh, who has been arrested in connection with the alleged recruitment scam, referred to pressure being put on him by the central agencies to name the Trinamool leader in the alleged scam.

"As far as I remember, and according to documents submitted in the court, Kuntal Ghosh named Abhishek Banerjee in the matter. I didn't drag it from the skies," Gangopadhyay said.

To recall, Kuntal Ghosh had alleged that the central agencies were putting pressure on him to name Abhishek Banerjee in the matter.

Subsequently, Ghosh forwarded two letters, first to a special CBI judge, and then to a local police station levelling the same allegation.

The counsel for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) referred the matter to a bench of Justice Gangopadhyay, alleging that such charges by Ghosh were meant to slow down the pace of investigation in the alleged recruitment scam.

After that, Gangopadhyay directed that if CBI feels, it can question Abhishek Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh in this connection.

Abhishek Banerjee then approached the Supreme Court challenging Gangopadhyay's decision, following which the apex court transferred two related cases from the latter's bench.
Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a leading company in the integrated coordination of planning, purchasing and supply of water and electricity across the UAE, has signed an agreement leading UAE energy company Taqa and dmg events for supply of clean energy to the World Utilities Congress 2023 for a second year, thus continuing the strategic partnership to support the events sustainability initiatives.

Hosted by Taqa in Abu Dhabi from May 8 to 10, World Utilities Congress will convene global energy leaders, policymakers, innovators, and industry professionals from across the water and electricity utilities value chain to discuss the major trends and challenges shaping todays industry.

Uniquely placed in the energy calendar between COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE, the Congress provides a platform to explore the latest products, innovations and technological advancements across the global power and water utilities landscape, said the organisers.

It will welcome over 20 Energy Ministries, and over 150 regional and international exhibiting companies, more than 10,000 utilities professionals, 250 industry renowned speakers, and 1,000 conference delegates, and host more than 60 strategic and technical conference sessions.

As clean energy partner, EWEC will provide World Utilities Congress with Clean Energy Certificates (CECs) covering the energy used by the event, reflecting the water and electricity sectors commitment to decarbonising its operations.

CECs are the only accredited instruments in Abu Dhabi to verify that the consumed electricity was produced from clean electricity generation sources.

On the key partnership, CEO Othman Al Ali said: "We are pleased to be the Clean Energy Partner of the World Utilities Congress, extending our partnership for a second year and supporting the events commitment to achieving its sustainability initiatives and reducing its carbon footprint."

"Since launch, the CECs market has expanded significantly to encompass the events' sector in addition to energy, industry, real estate, and healthcare. Our ongoing partnership with World Utilities Congress supports the events industry to reduce carbon emissions," noted Al Ali.

"As we progress through the Year of Sustainability and in the run-up to COP28, Clean Energy Certificates are playing a vital role in supporting entities achieve their sustainability goals," he added.

The CEC scheme is a successful initiative that is attracting a significant number of organisations which are playing a vital role in supporting the UAE to take tangible steps to tackle climate change.

Major entities including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Aldar have purchased these certificates and have signed strategic clean energy partnerships with EWEC to guarantee that their electricity consumption is generated from either solar or nuclear energy.

The events high-profile speakers include the UAEs Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Bin Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Dr Kathryn Huff of the US Office of Nuclear Energy, Bahrains Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs Yaser bin Ebrahim Humaidan and Finlands Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment Mika Lintila.

Also confirmed is EDFs Chairman and CEO Luc Remont, Baker Hughes President and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli and Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO & Managing Director of Taqa.

Jean-Philippe Cosse, Senior Vice President, dmg events, said: "We are delighted to have the support of EWEC once again for this years World Utilities Congress."

"The second edition of the event comes at a critical time for the utilities industry and we are pleased to be able to support our partners and colleagues as they come together to assess the progress that has already been made towards net-zero, and lay the groundwork for the critical conversations that will take place at COP28," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The United Nations warned on Monday that 800,000 people may flee Sudan as rival military factions battled in the capital despite a supposed ceasefire and foreign states wound down evacuations, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded over 16 days of battles since disputes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15.

There seems little prospect of a quick resolution to the crisis, which has unleashed a humanitarian disaster, damaged swathes of Khartoum, risked drawing in regional powers, and reignited conflict in the Darfur region.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Both sides agreed on Sunday to extend a much-violated truce by 72 hours and the UN told Reuters they may hold truce talks in Saudi Arabia. But air strikes and artillery rang out on Monday as smoke hung over Khartoum and neighboring cities.

UN refugee deputy chief Raouf Mazou said his agency was planning for an exodus of 815,000 people including 580,000 Sudanese as well as foreign refugees now living in the country.

Some 73,000 have already left Sudan, he said.
Patna, May 1 : One person was killed while four others were injured after three unidentified assailants opened fire on them at Motihari town in Bihar's East Champaran district on Monday, the police said.

The deceased has been identified as Prince Kumar, a native of Muzaffarpur district. He came into the firing range when the assailants targeted the gang members of Dev Kumar, who along with his associates were having refreshments at the same tea stall where Prince was consuming cold drinks.

Dev Kumar was involved in around six looting and dacoity cases. The police said that the injured individuals were associated with the gang of Dev Kumar.

Following the incident, East Champaran Superintendent of Police Kantesh Kumar Mishra along with a large number of police personnel went to the spot.

"Around 3.30 p.m, Dev Kumar and his gang members were drinking cold drinks at a tea stall located at Mathia village on the Dhaka-Motihari road. Three unidentified attackers arrived and opened fire on them," Mishra said.

"Prince Kumar came from Muzaffarpur to distribute marriage cards. He was also drinking a cold drink when the firing incident took place," Mishra said.

The injured persons -- Dev Kumar, Rajkumar Virat, Yash Prakash and Viraj Kumar were admitted to a private hospital and their condition is said to be critical.

Sources said that Dev Kumar and his gang were involved in a quarrel with another gang's members in Motihari on Sunday, and the attack on them was possibly to avenge Sunday's incident.
New Delhi, May 1 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected a group called 'Project Clean' created on Signal app from the iPhone recovered from Amandeep Dhall, the director of Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd, in which a questionnaire with answers was shared with a few persons to mislead the probe into the Delhi excise policy case.

Atul Krishan New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected a group called 'Project Clean' created on Signal app from the iPhone recovered from Amandeep Dhall, the director of Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd, in which a questionnaire with answers was shared with a few persons to mislead the probe into the Delhi excise policy case.

Dhall was called to join the probe on January 16, but he didn't bring his iPhone which was used by him in addition to his regular phone, according to the ED charge sheet.

When the ED officials asked him where his iPhone was, he tried to mislead the agency by saying that he uses another phone only for data usage purposes.

Later, Dhall produced the iPhone, and the ED traced a group named 'Project Clean' on Signal app where it found a questionnaire.

Rahul Kapur and Nitin Talwar, both employees of Grant Thornton, told ED that the questions and answers in the questionnaire were prepared by Dhall as probable queries which could be asked by the investigating agencies to him.

The questionnaire contained questions like 'why did you provide extra discount to Ace company'. It is important to note that this questionnaire was prepared between October 20 and 26, 2022, whereas the ED did not ask any question to Dhall on Ace Finance.

The ED has alleged that by doing this, Dhall tried to hide evidences by giving false statements with reference to his second phone, which contained incriminating materials and chats although he had claimed that he used it only for data purposes.

The ED learnt from the CDR analysis that the said iPhone was used during June-August 2022, which was contrary to the version that the iPhone was used only for data purposes.

Dhall also tried to influence a witness, Rahul Kapur, by preparing and showing him a false document (which contained incorrect facts), the ED clamed.

However, Kapur did not accept the false document and told Dhall that he does not concur with what has been mentioned in the said document and that he will state only the truth before the ED, the agency claimed.

( can be approached at atul.k@ians.in)A
New Delhi, May 1 : A Delhi court on Monday took cognisance of two supplementary charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Special Judge M. K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court took cognisance of the prosecution complaints, recently filed against accused Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Rajesh Joshi, Amandeep Dhal, Gautam Malhotra and Raghav Magunta and related entities.

The court summoned them for May 10.

The judge noted that there was sufficient evidence in the charge sheets. The court also noted that the further investigation was ongoing in the matter.

While the judge noted that the case was still being investigated further, it stated that the charge sheets included sufficient evidence.

N. K. Matta, the special public prosecutor for ED, informed the court that the agency would submit an supplementary charge sheet as soon as the investigation finishes.A The probe agency filed one prosecution complaint against businessmen Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Amandeep Dhall, and a supplementary charge sheet naming three people - Raghav Magunta, Rajesh Joshi, and Gautam Malhotra - and five connected companies.

On April 29, the court extended custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the case till May 8.

Judge Nagpal had, on April 27, denied bail to Sisodia holding that that the evidence, prima facie, "speaks volumes" of his involvement in commission of the offence.

In the case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the court earlier extended Sisodia's judicial custody till May 12.
Delhi court reserves order on Anubrata Mondal's plea seeking transfer to Asansol jail New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's plea seeking transfer from Tihar Jail to Asansol Correctional Home in West Bengal.

Mondal is an accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case in West Bengal being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mondal was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court's bench of special judge Raghubir Singh, who said that the order will be pronounced on May 4, the day Mondal's judicial custody ends which was extended on Monday.

On April 27, the same court had granted three days' custody of Mondal's daughter Sukanya Mondal to ED to quiz her in the same case.

The ED had arrested Sukanya, a primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, a day before after quizzing her.

Special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana had sought Sukanya's custody saying she was required to be confronted with evidence and with the co-accused, including her father.

Her custody was also required to trace the proceeds of crime, establish the money trail and the modus operandi, ED said.

Sukanya was summoned by the ED in November 2022 to its Delhi office.

She is the director of two companies, Neer Developer Pvt Ltd and ANM Agrochem Foods Pvt Ltd, CBI's probe has revealed.

The companies have their offices in the same address where Bholebam Rice Mill, which is also owned by her, is located in Bolpur in Birbhum district.

On April 26, the Delhi High Court had posted for June 1 Sukanya's father's plea challenging a trial court's order denying him bail in the same case.

Mondal had moved the court challenging an order dated January 24 denying him bail.

Earlier, Rana had said that Anubrata's bail application was without any merit.
Panaji, May 1 : Subsequent to BJP's promise ahead of the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections in its manifesto to complete the disputed irrigation project at Kalasa-Bhanduri, Goa Forward Party (GFP) has called it as another nail in the saffron party's 'coffin of lies.

"Another nail in BJP Goa's and Pramod Sawant's COFFIN OF LIES! BJP Karnataka's election manifesto is yet another proof of #Goa #BJP leaders' active participation in selling off #MotherMhadei," Vijai Sardesai, President of GFP and Fatorda MLA, tweeted.

"While these betrayers hop from village to village in Karnataka, they can't find their voice to speak for Mhadei, but can shout on top of their voices to seek votes for Basavaraj Bommai, who has the CMO Goa dancing to his tunes," Sardesai said.

For the last many days, BJP leaders and ministers from Goa are camping in Karnataka's many Assembly constituencies to campaign for their candidates. They are also seen speaking in Kannada during public meetings to attract the voters. The opposition in Goa had targeted these leaders for helping those who are trying to divert Mhadei water.

In January, during a rally in Belagavi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said, "Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts." Sardesai during the last Assembly session had attacked Pramod Sawant over Shah's statement questioning him as to whatever the Union minister said was correct or wrong, to which Sawant had replied, "We have not given consent of Mhadei diversion and will never give it." Reacting to it, Sardesai had said, "This means the Chief Minister admits that the Union Home Minister had lied (to the public)." However, Chief Minister Sawant had hastened to clarify that he didn't say like that. "I have not said as such," Sawant had said.

Sardesai on many occasions has targeted the BJP leaders over the Mhadei diversion issue, stating the they have compromised the Mhadei issue.

Criticising the Central government's announcement in the Budget 2023-24 of Rs 5,300 crore assistance to Karnataka for irrigation purposes, Sardesai had said, "It furthers the cause of (Karnataka) stealing water from neighbouring states." Goa and Karnataka are currently battling out a dispute over the Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project across the water of Mhadei river at a central tribunal.
Kolkata, May 2 : Biman Bose, a veteran Marxist and Left Front Chairman in West Bengal, on Monday held Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal responsible for the current condition of his daughter Sukanya Mondal, who is in judicial custody along her father on charges of her involvement in the alleged cattle-smuggling scam in West Bengal.

Speaking at a function of the CPI(M)'s students' wing, Students' Federation of India (SFI), on the occasion of International Workers' Day on Monday, Bose claimed that he does not think that Sukanya Mondal indulged in the alleged cattle-smuggling scam in the manner in which her father did.

"Whenever she was questioned by the central agency about the scam, she used to claim that everything was in the knowledge of her father and their chartered accountant. All her claims might not be untrue," said Bose.

He also questioned as to who steered Sukanya Mondal to such a state.

"Those who are engaged in political activities should not indulge in imparting wrong lessons to the next generation. Sukanya is a representative of the current generation. She was involved in teaching profession for some years. But who steered her towards the immoral path? It was her father, Anubrata Mondal," Bose said.
Ankara, May 2 : Hit by devastating earthquakes in early February, Turkey now faces environmental challenges on the disposal of the waste and rubbles left over from the destroyed buildings and roads.

Two massive earthquakes destroyed cities on large swaths of land in southern Turkey on February 6, killing nearly 51,000 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Referred to as "the disaster of the century" by the Turkish government, the catastrophe caused some 227,000 buildings to collapse or sustain heavy damage, according to data from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to rebuild new homes for the millions of people affected by the disaster within a year.

In the cities ravaged by the tremors, where reconstruction are currently underway, workers had started to clear a staggering amount of rubbles about two weeks after the disaster.

"In my city Kahramanmaras, there are literally mountains of rubbles in the open, and it's causing a serious problem," said Durmus Sezgin, a resident and civil engineer from Kahramanmaras, one of the places hit hardest by the February earthquakes.

He said that hundreds of excavators are working round the clock, kicking up plumes of dust while sifting through the wreckage, demolishing any remaining building that local authorities considered unfit for habitation.

The rubbles that have been stored in temporary dumps have raised concerns about pollution from different chemicals such as asbestos, a cancer-causing fiber used in the past as insulation material, but now banned in most countries, including Turkey, said Sezgin.

"People have been breathing dust from the rubbles in the dumps continuously, and they are worried about being exposed to hazardous chemicals, lead, and microplastics," said Selim, a doctor from quake-hit city of Hatay who wishes to be identified by his given name.

Responding to criticism, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Mehmet Emin Birpinar tweeted on April 27 that dust suppression systems were being used to stop the spread of potentially hazardous materials like asbestos.

However, Selim said that measures taken by authorities may not have been enough and that "in a couple of years we might see the negative health effects".

The colossal challenge that Turkey is facing has also been highlighted by the United Nations. The scope of the challenge is almost beyond comprehension, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative Louisa Vinton said in a statement on February 24.

The UNDP said the February tremors produced at least 10 times as much rubbles as the big Turkish earthquake that struck the country's industrial northwestern region in 1999.

Early in April, Yasin Ilmen, a scientist and scholar from the western Mugla Sitki Kocman University, warned in a tweet that uncontrolled waste dumping could have dangerous consequences for both human beings and wildlife.

The voice of Ilmen and other environmental activists were heard in Hatay, where local authorities eventually removed debris dumped in a local bird sanctuary, bird watcher and wildlife expert Emin Yogurtcuoglu told the news agency.

"I tweeted about this problem in April, and I rapidly got feedback from the authorities who removed the rubbles in the Milleyha Bird Sanctuary," he said, calling on authorities to be vigilant for uncontrolled rubble dumping.

Scientists are still concerned, though, because Turkey cannot handle a problem of this magnitude on its own, said Sedat Gundogdu, a plastic pollution specialist at Cukurova University in the southern province of Adana.

Because the earthquakes affected a very big zone, and the debris was handled and stored in a rush, such practice has to be rectified for public health safety reasons, Gundogdu told online news site Diken on April 10.

"Unfortunately, if rubble management is not controlled in 10-15 years, we will face an increasing number of deadly lung diseases and cancer cases," Gundogdu added.
Well immediately be adding water management services (daily irrigation scheduling using the start of the art technologies), irrigation consulting, and industry firsts - irrigation as a service (well run the irrigation system for the grower), and an irrigation climate program

In 2017, two of the largest irrigation dealers, Agri-Valley Irrigation, Inc. (AVI) and Irrigation Design & Construction, Inc. (IDC) were part of an industry-changing vertical integration merger with Jain Irrigation, Inc. The merged companies supply unparalleled leadership in design, construction, service, equipment, and innovative Ag irrigation technology with the widest reach in California.

As a result of the global merger between Rivulis and Jain Irrigations international irrigation business, it became possible for two of the three largest irrigation manufacturing entities to globally combine and made it so AVI and IDC could now fully and formally merge their entities.

As AVI and IDC worked together over the past six years, it became clear that the teams no longer worked as separate entities but as one successful dealer providing innovative solutions and exceptional customer service. One of the best values of the merger was the synergies of the teams. To honor the teamwork and the rich history, AVI and IDC changed their name to AvidWater.

A joint team of representatives from AVI and IDC selected the name. It represents both companies and celebrates their rich history while acknowledging the opportunity for more extraordinary solutions and services for customers due to the merger. AvidWater is excited to show customers the value of one.

According to Aric Olson, CEO of AvidWater, We have some excellent opportunities for our customers and employees. Our service offerings are expanding. While they still include automation, water treatment, pump, electrical, concrete, and rental, well immediately be adding water management services (daily irrigation scheduling using the start of the art technologies), irrigation consulting, and industry firsts - irrigation as a service (well run the irrigation system for the grower), and an irrigation climate program. The climate program helps customers create climate credits through smart water management practices they can sell on the open market generating another source of income for growers.

In conclusion, the global merger between Rivulis and Jain Irrigation Inc. allowed AVI and IDC to formally merge and create AvidWater, a company that offers unparalleled leadership in design, construction, service, equipment, and innovative Ag irrigation technology. The synergy between the teams has resulted in expanding service offerings, including irrigation consulting, daily irrigation scheduling, irrigation as a service, and an irrigation climate program. AvidWater is excited to continue providing innovative solutions and services to customers and looks forward to showcasing the value of its one-team approach.

Agri-Valley Irrigation and Irrigation Design & Construction are now AvidWater.
Bodhi Massage & Wellness Center, located in Hillcrest, San Diego, is an established massage therapy and bodywork service provider. The company's decision to partner with SocialSellinator is based on the agency's expertise in delivering results-driven social media strategies and its commitment to helping businesses succeed and grow.

Bodhi Massage & Wellness Center stands for supporting optimal health and well-being. Were here to help Bodhi spread the message and reach a wider audience through effective SEO. Physical and mental well-being is vital to all of us. It can bring numerous benefits, such as improved health, increased productivity, reduced stress levels, and enhanced overall quality of life," said SocialSellinator's founder Katja Breitwieser.

SocialSellinator has developed a comprehensive social media marketing strategy for massage therapy services that leverages the latest digital marketing techniques and technologies for Bodhi Massage & Wellness Center. The focus is optimizing the company's website for search engines and providing ongoing analysis and reporting to measure its effectiveness.

SocialSellinator's digital marketing services include:



Since 2017, SocialSellinator has partnered with recognized B2B and B2C brands from various industries, such as HR, IT/High-Tech, Financial Services, and Food/CPG. Select clients include Aerospike, Allied Pain & Spine, Escalon Services, Florida Pain Relief Centers, Frontdesk AI, ON24, PAAIA, Proofpoint, Sequoia Consulting, Spicely Organics, Two Shores, and VentureHealth.

SocialSellinator helps brands grow through data-driven digital marketing that engages customers, increases leads, and drives business and has consistently been recognized for outstanding performance and client service.

SocialSellinator's Awards and Recognition include:



Best Digital Marketing Agencies in San Jose

Top Social Media Marketing Companies in San Jose

Top 50 Social Media Marketing Agencies

Top Digital Marketing Agencies

For more info, read our blog or follow SocialSellinator on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

###

About Bodhi Massage & Wellness Center:

Since 2005, Bodhi Massage & Wellness Center has served San Diego, offering Massage Therapy and Bodywork services. The welcoming center is located in a century-old craftsman home near the heart of Hillcrest and is easily accessible with off-street parking.

About SocialSellinator:

SocialSellinator is a top-rated full-service digital marketing agency that partners with startups, small and mid-size B2B/B2C businesses to drive growth and maximize their online presence. Our team of experienced marketers is dedicated to delivering results-oriented solutions that increase brand awareness, attract high-quality leads, and drive revenue growth. We achieve this through our data-driven approach to social media marketing, content marketing, PPC campaigns, and SEO optimization, which ensures that our clients stay ahead of the competition. Our commitment to exceptional service and results has earned us a reputation as a trusted partner for businesses looking to take their digital marketing to the next level.

If you're looking to improve your online presence, attract more leads, and drive revenue growth, SocialSellinator can help. Visit our website at http://www.socialsellinator.com to learn more about our digital marketing services and how we can help your business succeed.
As the company has done for many years, Firstlogic is supporting the National Postal Forum (NPF) scheduled for May 21-24 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Firstlogic staff will be present at the event as a sponsor and an exhibitor on the show floor.

Attendees at this annual event learn about the latest developments from the US Postal Service and hear USPS representatives talk about their future plans. The event offers plenty of opportunities to network with industry professionals, attend educational sessions, and see the latest technology and equipment connected with producing, distributing, and tracking postal mail.

This year, Firstlogic will showcase their newly expanded booth at space #808 in the NPF exhibit hall. A full complement of company representatives will be on hand to talk to marketers and mailers about Firstlogics Data Quality IQ Suite and the enhanced real-time Workflow IQ SDK.

The booth will also feature live demonstrations of the Firstlogic software products in action. The company invites interested data analysts, marketers, and mailers to stop by and see how they can easily correct, validate, and enhance the data they use to communicate with their customers.

Firstlogics Data Quality IQ Suite includes the USPS CASS Cycle O certified Address IQ that corrects and enhances postal addresses, DataRight IQ that parses and standardizes data, Match IQ for data matching and consolidation, Geocode IQ for assigning latitude and longitude coordinates, and Enhance IQ which adds demographic data for improved target marketing. Firstlogics Workflow IQ SDK allows companies to access Firstlogics data quality software in real time directly from their own workflows and applications, making integration easy.

Visitors can get a free exhibits-only pass from Firstlogic. Register for the event at the NPF website. Complete the registration information and choose Exhibit Hall Pass as the registration type. Enter the discount code FEHP2023 and the National Postal Forum will reduce your cost to zero.

About Firstlogic

Firstlogic delivers expert address and data quality solutions, including data profiling & monitoring, address cleansing & geocoding, data cleansing & standardization, data matching & consolidation, and data enhancement. Customers include both large enterprises and midsize data-driven companies from across all industries in North America. The company is also a leading SAP Partner specializing in the SAP Data Services platform.

Firstlogic, Firstlogic Solutions, Data Quality IQ, DataRight IQ, Address IQ, Match IQ, Geocode IQ, Enhance IQ, and Workflow IQ are registered trademarks of Firstlogic Solutions, LLC. SAP and SAP Data Services are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP.
Japan's Astellas Pharma said on Monday it agreed to buy U.S. drugmaker Iveric Bio Inc for about $5.9 billion in its biggest acquisition, giving it access to a range of ophthalmology treatments, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.

The deal marks the fifth major overseas acquisition by Astellas, Japan's third biggest drugmaker by sales, since 2019 in a push to shore up its pipeline as its main sellers lose patent protection.

Through Berry Merger Sub Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas U.S. Holding, the Japanese company agreed to acquire Iveric for $40 per share in cash, Astellas said in a release.

The price is a 22% premium to Iveric's $32.89 closing price on April 28.

New Jersey-based Iveric, formerly branded as Ophthotech, is focused on developing treatments for retinal diseases.

The company's key asset is avacincaptad pegol (ACP), currently in trials for treating geographic atrophy, the advanced stage of macular degeneration, a common cause of vision loss in the elderly.

ACP, branded as Zimura, targets the C5 protein suspected in causing the growth of scarring associated with the disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February granted priority review of ACP, and if approved, the treatment could be commercialised by the end of this year.

Along with treatments for menopause symptoms and bladder cancer, Astellas is counting on ACP to make up for the loss of sales exclusivity of its mainstay prostate cancer drug Xtandi, chief executive Naoki Okamura said at a briefing.

"We believe that this is going to be the third pillar," said Okamura, who ascended to the top job last month.

Astellas has been aggressively chasing acquisitions, announcing deals in late 2019 to buy U.S. biotech Xyphos Biosciences for up to $665 million and Audentes Therapeutics Inc for about $3 billion.

Its track record on acquisitions has been mixed, as the company had to book big impairments on Audentes.

"This deal, however, is mainly about a soon-to-be approved asset, and seems less likely to generate impairment losses," Jefferies analysts said in a note on the Iveric acquisition.

Astellas will fund the Iveric purchase via short-term loans and commercial paper amounting to about 800 billion yen ($5.8 billion).

Astellas shares gained 1.8% in Tokyo trading, outperforming a 0.7% advance in the benchmark Nikkei gauge.
BDV Solutions, a tech-enabled, turnkey provider of labor shortage solutions to U.S. employers and employment-based immigration services to foreign nationals, today announced the company has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2023 honor by South Carolina Top Workplaces, ranking as the third top workplace in the state, small employer category. The company was also honored with the Meaningfulness Award, given because more of its employees reported that the work they do is important and consequential than from any other company in the state.

The list 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, to name a few.

Since we started BDV Solutions at my kitchen table over a decade ago, I understood that the company would only be successful if we brought on the best talent and fostered a nurturing, collaborative and diverse culture, said BDV Solutions co-founder and CEO Britt Vergnolle. This recognition from South Carolina Top Workplaces is especially meaningful since its based 100% on the teams feedback  and all of us are honored.

BDV Solutions sources employment for foreign nationals, helping to place them in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, restaurant franchise groups, cleaning and maintenance companies, warehousing, distribution centers and food preparation. The company recently launched its BDV Believes scholarship program, which will award up to 30 foreign nationals $2,000 each to further their education goals.

In 2022, BDV Solutions acquired Argo Visa, another Greenville company providing consultative services to visa applicants, co-founded by South Carolina natives Chris Richardson and Ronald Vergnolle. Made up of a team of former US visa officers, Argo helps visa applicants prepare for their all-important visa interview.

Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees, said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. That's something to be proud of. In today's market, leaders must ensure theyre allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That's paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.

About BDV Solutions

Headquartered in Greenville, SC, BDV Solutions is the largest independent company in the U.S. that specializes in closing the countrys chronic and growing unskilled labor gap utilizing a variety of immigration programs and strategies. The company is uniquely positioned to assist U.S. companies and foreign nationals navigate the complex U.S. immigration system. More information can be found at http://www.bdvsolutions.com.

About Energage

Making the world a better place to work together.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 culture 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-rst approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.
Teachers do amazing work in classrooms across our nation each and every day. One small way we can show our appreciation is supporting teachers by putting practical resources in their hands, giving them an opportunity to balance their personal and professional lives.

Teacher Created Materials (TCM), a leading educational publisher based in Huntington Beach, California, honors teachers by celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week. Teacher Appreciation Week is a national event, one week each year in May, where everyone is encouraged to support the educators in their lives.

Teachers do amazing work in classrooms across our nation each and every day, said Deanne R. Mendoza, Executive Vice President of Strategic Development. One small way we can show our appreciation is supporting teachers by putting practical resources in their hands, giving them an opportunity to balance their personal and professional lives.

During Teacher Appreciation Week, TCM will recognize 11 selected schools throughout the nation for their trailblazing leadership, high expectations, and community support. The schools will be honored with an award and 522 educators will receive a $100 gift card.

TCM will also host a giveaway where parents, families, and community members can honor their favorite educator by nominating them to receive a $40 TCM gift card, which can be used to purchase a variety of resources from TCM and their imprints Shell Education and Free Spirit Publishing. Winners will be selected at the end of the week. Both the winning teacher and the nominator will receive a gift card. More information on how to nominate will be shared on TCMs social media accounts on May 8th.

A self-care/wellness on-demand webinar, free lessons and activities, free eBooks, and special sales are other ways that TCM will celebrate teachers during the week. Educators will have access to these special items through email and social media.

Follow TCMs social media from May 8-12 for all the Teacher Appreciation Week festivities. You can find TCM on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @tcmpub.

About Teacher Created Materials

Teacher Created Materials develops innovative and imaginative educational materials and services for students worldwide. Everything they do is created by teachers for teachers and students to make teaching more effective and learning more fun. For more information about Teacher Created Materials and their products, visit http://www.tcmpub.com.
Volume 49, Issue 1 This studys results indicate it might be helpful for patients taking antiresorptive drugs to have prophylactic antibiotics and more frequent follow-up periods to allow safe implant placement.

Journal of Oral Implantology  A possible complication known as Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) concerns dentists and dental surgeons when patients take antiresorptive drugs (ARDs). ARDs induced side effects that can be critical for patients undergoing bone regeneration therapy before dental implant procedures. MRONJ can occur due to the disruption of blood flow to part of the jawbone. Ensuring patient well-being is highly important, so experts have widely debated the efficacy and safety of bone grafting and implant procedures for patients taking ARDs.

Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Alexandria University in Alexandria, Egypt, recently published a study in the Journal of Oral Implantology to assess the effects of ARDs on dental implant treatment plans. Lead author Sven Otto, MDS, DDS, and colleagues state, The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical outcome of dental implant surgery in patients treated with antiresorptive therapy and determine whether it is possible to place the dental implants safely in those patients.

Otto et al. thoroughly reviewed the records of 16 patients treated with 39 dental implants, with a history of ARD use, between 2010 and 2019 to determine MRONJ occurrence, implant success, and survival rate. Researchers examined radiographic images taken on the day of implantation or at suture removal and follow-up. In addition, they assessed patient complaints and wound healing to determine if ARDs negatively impacted patient recovery and increased complication risk. During the study, six patients with 12 implants were lost during follow-up for other medical issues or no complaints related to the implants, leaving ten patients and 27 implants.

Findings from the study showed no incidence of MRONJ, no failed implants, and an overall success rate of 92.6% (25/27 implants); the remaining two implants were in satisfactory condition, with no failed implants. Researchers also note no subjective complaints relating to pain or postoperative complications. Peri-implantitis, or inflammation surrounding the dental implants, was recorded in 30% of patients and 29.6% of implant sites. Peri-implant mucositis, an inflammatory lesion, was reported in 50% of patients and 37% of implant sites.

Results of this study showed no significant complications from ARDs use, suggesting that by following a specific surgical treatment protocol, implant placement should be safe in patients taking ARDs. However, given the rates of peri-implantitis and peri-implant mucositis, Otto and colleagues conclude, This studys results indicate it might be helpful for patients taking antiresorptive drugs to have prophylactic antibiotics and more frequent follow-up periods to allow safe implant placement.

Full text of the article, Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Dental Implants in Patients Treated with Antiresorptive Drugs: A Consecutive Case Series, Journal of Oral Implantology, Vol. 49, No. 1, 2023, is available at https://doi.org/10.1563/aaid-joi-D-21-00035

###

About Journal of Oral Implantology

The Journal of Oral Implantology is the official publication of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. It provides valuable information to general dentists, oral surgeons, prosthodontists, periodontists, scientists, clinicians, laboratory owners and technicians, manufacturers, and educators. The JOI distinguishes itself as the first and oldest journal in the world devoted exclusively to implant dentistry. For more information about the journal or AAID, please visit: http://www.joionline.org/orimonline/?request=index-html

Media Contact:

Samantha Weinkauf

KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

785/289-2649

Samantha.Weinkauf@kwglobal.com
A2Z Drone Delivery RDSX Pelican The new RDSX Pelican is thoughtfully designed to minimize potential points of failure, reducing the overall cost-per-kilometer of logistics operations, all while providing maximum payload flexibility. ~ Aaron Zhang, Founder and CEO of A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc.

A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc, developer of commercial drone delivery solutions, has released its new flagship delivery drone, the RDSX Pelican. The new Pelican leverages a hybrid VTOL airframe with no control surfaces to combine the reliability and flight stability of a multirotor platform, with the extended range of a fixed wing craft.

With no ailerons, elevator or rudder, the Pelicans durable-yet-simple design eliminates common points of failure and exponentially extends operational time between maintenance overhauls. Designed to meet the 55-pound takeoff weight limitation for FAA Part 107 compliance, the Pelican can carry payloads of 5 kilos on missions up to 40 kilometers roundtrip. Available in multiple model variations, the Pelican can be optimized for extended range operations or to deliver payloads from altitude with the companys RDS2 drone delivery winch. A2Z Drone Delivery will first display the new RDSX Pelican at the upcoming AUVSI XPONENTIAL (May 9-11 in Denver, CO).

For more information about the new RDSX Pelican, please visit: https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/rdsxpelicanhome.

Available in multiple configurations, the RDSX Pelican can be customized for an array of missions. Configured with the A2Z Drone Delivery drone winch, the Pelican enables deliveries from altitude where spinning propellers are kept far from people and property, mitigating consumer privacy concerns of low-flying drones while abating intrusive rotor noise. Alternatively, for missions in which the drone is able to safely land at its destination, a simple servo-release mechanism can release payloads and expand the Pelicans payload capacity. Beyond logistics use cases like residential deliveries, the Pelican can be fully customized to suit unique mission criteria such as aerial mapping, drone inspection, forestry services, search and rescue operations, water sample collection, offshore deliveries, mining, etc.

The Pelicans hybrid fixed-wing/multirotor airframe eliminates the traditional control surfaces seen on most winged aircraft. With no servos to replace and minimal moving parts, the Pelicans simple-yet-robust design extends the time between recommended maintenance overhauls to reduce downtime and cost. To maximize scalability of those drone delivery ecosystems, the RDSX Pelican was also designed to minimize operational costs for commercial drone delivery fleets. Boasting an attractive 13 cents/kg/km operating cost, the RDSX Pelican delivers the efficiency, payload capacity and reach needed to scale a commercial drone delivery operation.

Here at A2Z Drone Delivery, our development is not just about maximizing performance, its about creating usable tools designed to get work done, said Aaron Zhang, Founder and CEO of A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc. A full-service drone delivery ecosystem will need a fleet of short, medium and long-range UAV platforms capable of depositing payloads in an array of settings. The new RDSX Pelican is the highly efficient, long range delivery platform in that last-mile fleet. It is thoughtfully designed to minimize potential points of failure, reducing the overall cost-per-kilometer of logistics operations, all while providing maximum payload flexibility.

New RDSX Pelican Features

Optimized with the A2Z Drone Delivery RDS2 drone winch, the Pelican features:



Cruise Speed  45 knot cruising speed to traverse routes quickly

Max Payload Capacity  Configurable up to 7-8 kg payload capacity

Max Range  50 km max range with no payload/40 km max range with 5 kg payload

Max Takeoff Weight  55lb. max takeoff weight

Operational Costs  13 cents per kilogram per kilometer

No Specialty Delivery Boxes  Requiring no specialty delivery boxes, the Pelican can accept any shape payload with dimensions up to 400 x 300 x 300mm

A2Z 4G Link  The automatic network selector seamlessly transitions between multiple 4G networks and a mesh radio link to optimize connectivity

Payload Auto-Release  Patent-pending auto-release mechanism can deposit any box without the need for a human receiver

Parcel Pickup  Retrieve payloads up to 5 kg while maintaining hover at a safe altitude

General-Purpose Payload Hook  Optional manual-release hook capable of delivering or picking up just about any payload with a handlebar

Passive Payload Lock  Secures cargo during flight

Tether Abandonment  Release the winch tether and payload should they become entangled

A2Z Ground Control Station  Portable ground control station enabled with A2Z QGroundControl

Intuitive Flight Controller  Ready to connect with any MAVLink-enabled device

Pricing & Configurations

Starting at $29,000, the all-new A2Z Drone Delivery RDSX Pelican is offered in multiple model variations to meet the needs of any enterprise delivery fleet or drone service provider. A2Z Drone Delivery can also fully customize the Pelican for missions outside last-mile drone delivery or other logistics operations. The RDSX Pelican is offered as:



RDSX Pelican with Winch  Optimized with the A2Z Drone Delivery RDS2 drone delivery winch system, this Pelican model accurately deposits payloads from altitude via tethered release. Keeping propellers far from ground obstructions such as trees, buildings or powerlines, this is the best option for delivery missions into unknown topography.

RDSX Pelican Payloads  For delivery missions in which the Pelican is able to safely land to deposit its payload, this model swaps the RDS2 drone winch for a simplified servo-release allowing the Pelican to carry even heavier payloads.

Custom RDSX Pelican  Leverage the extended range and payload lift capabilities of the Pelicans hybrid VTOL airframe to meet any unique mission criteria. Customers can work directly with A2Z Drone Deliverys engineering team to create a one-of-a-kind, mission-specific UAV platform for drone inspection deployments, search and rescue missions, or any other unique demands.

Availability

The company is now accepting pre-orders for the RDSX Pelican which will be fulfilled on a first-come-first-served basis with initial deliveries expected for June 2023. Operators looking to place a pre-order for the new Pelican in any of its available configurations, or customized for a unique mission, can contact A2Z Drone Delivery at https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/

First Look at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2023

Attendees of the upcoming AUVSI XPONENTIAL Expo (May 9-11, 2023 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO) will be the first to see the new RDSX Pelican first-hand. Attendees interested in exploring the Pelican, or any of the A2Z Drone Delivery solutions can stop by booth #1830, or contact the company in advance of the expo to schedule an appointment. About

A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc.

With its patented delivery system, A2Z Drone Delivery, Inc. is developing innovative solutions to enable safe, accurate and low-noise drone deliveries. Focused on last-mile UAV delivery systems, A2Z Drone Delivery is creating UAV delivery platforms capable of pushing drone delivery into the mainstream of logistics operations. Based in Los Angeles, C.A., A2Z Drone Delivery originated as a drone delivery project at Brown University in 2016 and now services customers around the world are leveraging its technology for a diverse array of applications. For more information visit: https://www.a2zdronedelivery.com/.

##

Media Contact: Zach Heath

zach@engagecoms.com

(401) 559-7350
CGTN America releases China Views, presenting informative and entertaining "people on the street" interviews to global social media audiences.

China is working to achieve modernization for over 1.4 billion people by 2035. It promotes common prosperity and all-round development from cultural advancement to global influence and contributions. How does the world feel about China and its development?

CGTN America went to the streets in six major cities in North America to sample public opinion, including Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Miami, Vancouver and Mexico City.

The result is China Views, a lively roundup of their views on favorite Chinese foods, desired tourist destinations in China, Made-in-China products, impressions on China and China-U.S. friendship.

As for favorite Chinese food, one man from Vancouver said, Beijing Duck. And I love that. There's not a lot of Chinese food I don't like.

When asked, If you would win a free trip to China, where would you go? one man from San Francisco didnt pick a big metropolitan city, but was excited to talk about a small town instead. I would go to Linzhou, to go paragliding so I could see the beautiful sights from the sky.

As for Made-in-China products, one woman from Washington, D.C., said, I have Hisense TV, two of them. Another woman from Mexico City said, My phone is Xiaomi, I think its Chinese. And from one man from Vancouver: I think, like, the media has sometimes made them sound like Chinese products have lower quality, but I don't agree with that.

When asked about impressions on China, a woman from New York City said, I like the history, beautiful poetry, philosophers, Confucius and also like Buddhism. Some people said they were interested in learning to speak Chinese.

Should China and the U.S. be friends? Always! said one man from Miami.

People to people, we, nobody is ever adversaries. Sometimes governments have challenges with each other, but from a person to a person level, I'm sure that they're the nicest, kindest people in the world if you talk to people, a man from San Francisco said.

Click here to watch China Views https://newsus.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-02/CGTN-America-releases-street-opinion-production-China-Views--1jsAg50tKAo/index.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. (This material is distributed by MediaLinks TV, LLC on behalf of CCTV. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)
AVIE! Medspa and Laser Center in Loudoun County, Virginia is celebrating their 14th anniversary with an event on May 18. As a small, women-owned business, the AVIE! team is honored to be able to serve the Loudoun County community for 14 years and counting.

The team at AVIE! Medspa and Laser Center is thrilled to be celebrating 14 years of aesthetic and wellness success as a women-owned business  and everyone is invited! Here are the event details for those who would like to attend:

14th Anniversary Celebration!



Where: DC Prime Steakhouse  Outdoor Event Under Tent, 20120 Lakeview Center Plaza, Ashburn, VA 20147

When: Thursday, May 18, 2023, 5 - 9 p.m.

What: Wine, Food and AVIE!

Call AVIE! at 703.737.0197 by May 16 to RSVP

Guests will enjoy signature cocktails, appetizers, event-only specials, demonstrations, goodie bags, gift with purchase and more!

As a small, women-owned business, the AVIE! team is honored to be able to serve the Loudoun County community for 14 years and counting. Since opening in 2009, AVIE! has been committed to providing the very best treatments available, along with top-quality training, care and client experience.

To learn more, schedule a consultation or RSVP for the event by May 16, please call 703.737.0197 or visit http://www.aviemedspa.com today.

About AVIE! Medspa & Laser Center

AVIE! Medspa & Laser Center has been offering the latest in cosmetic medical spa treatments in a relaxing spa environment in Leesburg, Virginia since opening in March 2009. Owner and Master Aesthetician Kim Marinetto, RN, in conjunction with Medical Director Khalique Zahir, MD, and their highly skilled team of nurses, nurse practitioners and aestheticians, provide specialized cosmetic and aesthetic programs so each of their clients' needs are addressed on an individual basis with personalized follow-ups.

Aesthetic treatments at AVIE! have minimal to no downtime. Services include Mommy Makeover, EMSCULPT, EMSCULPT NEO, EMTONE, Halo, Moxi "prejuvenation," microneedling, VirtueRF Microneedling, CoolSculpting Elite, Ultherapy, Botox, Juvederm Ultra XC, Juvederm Ultra Plus XC, Vollure XC, Voluma XC, Volbella XC, Kybella submental fat reduction, Upneeq (eyelid-lift drops), chemical peels, MicroLaserPeel, BBL HERO photofacials, HydraFacial MD, ClearV laser vein treatment, sclerotherapy, dermaplaning, SkinTyte II laser skin tightening, ProFractional laser skin resurfacing, laser hair removal, professional skin analysis, PRP/PRFM facial rejuvenation treatments, vitamin B12 shots and blepharoplasty by Dr. Zahir. AVIE! has performed over 425,000 Botox and dermal filler treatments since 2009. AVIE! also carries physician-level skin care. Consultations are complimentary and financing is available. For more information, please call 703-737-0197 or visit http://www.aviemedspa.com.

About Kim Marinetto, RN & Master Aesthetician

Kim Marinetto has over 34 years of experience as a registered nurse. In the past 16 years, she has focused her practice on cosmetic medicine, adding to her credentials a Medical Aesthetician Certification in 2006, along with additional certifications in Botox Cosmetic, facial fillers, sclerotherapy and various advanced laser systems. Kim is a Master Aesthetician in the state of Virginia. Additionally, Kim is an Aesthetic Provider Council member for Alastin Skincare USA. She has done extensive training on laser technology and her coursework is recognized by the AMA.

About Khalique Zahir, MD

Dr. Khalique Zahir, medical director of AVIE! Medspa and Laser Center, graduated from West Virginia School of Medicine and is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and The American Board of Surgery. Dr. Zahir practiced general surgery from 19921999 at West Virginia University and St. Mary's Hospital, then cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 19992001. Dr. Zahir also holds a Virginia Medical License and a Maryland Medical License. He has written over 20 articles published in national health journals and is an assistant clinical professor of surgery at VCU School of Medicine.
We will simply be adding the new hybrid learning model, at a different price point, to make it more affordable and accessible for school communities, nationally and internationally, to incorporate Brain Power Wellness tools into their regular curriculum.

Brain Power Wellness, a holistic, school-based wellness organization, announces the launch of its new hybrid learning model. While all of the in-person services will continue to be offered, as Brain Power Wellness reviews, this new approach will enable the organization to expand its reach to a much broader range of school communities both nationally and internationally. The hybrid learning model has become commonplace in education, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brain Power Wellness vision is to elevate humanitys collective consciousness by promoting equitable, embodied, experiential holistic wellness for a joyful, harmonious and sustainable world. This innovative new learning model will help the organization achieve its goal of working with thousands of schools worldwide, offering its services, trainings, and tools to as many students, teachers, administrators, staff members, and parents as possible.

Brain Power Wellness offers many in-person services, such as Brain Power Wellness retreats, class visits, staff wellness sessions, and teacher workshops, to its partner schools in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. However, the organization recognizes the need to provide schools outside its in-person model with easy access to its training and tools. This is where its new hybrid learning model comes into play.

Our company will always provide in-person services, explains Rebecca Wheaton, District of Columbia & Maryland Field Coordinator for Brain Power Wellness. Our company wont be changing what we are currently doing. We will simply be adding the new hybrid learning model, at a different price point, to make it more affordable and accessible for school communities, nationally and internationally, to incorporate Brain Power Wellness tools into their regular curriculum.

The current learning model provides in-person training, classroom visits, and physical materials, based on a per-teacher price point. The new hybrid model will allow schools to receive Brain Power Wellness professional development training (live, online, and asynchronistically) for their entire staff, with the purchase of just one package. In addition, schools can contract for virtual classroom visits, parent workshops, and staff wellness services, all with experienced Brain Power Wellness instructors. Schools can obtain virtual materials through this new model while also ordering physical materials separately

The new Brain Power Wellness hybrid learning model has three tiers of services. The first tier, which has a very accessible price of $1,995 for the entire school, involves training for every staff member in a given school. It includes one live online session with a senior instructor and ongoing trainings and examples of how to lead a classroom.

The second and third tiers include additional services, such as the option to train and certify teachers and school leaders as Brain Power Wellness instructors. By training teacher leaders, the schools long-term ability to sustain the program is more promising as they play a crucial role in fostering program growth across the entire school.

While schools can register now for the new Brain Power Wellness hybrid model to gain preliminary access to online community resources, the final steps of the program are still being finalized. Live online sessions will be able to be scheduled by the end of May.

For more information on the new Brain Power Wellness hybrid model, and to request a free consultation, email the organization at contact@brainpowerwellness.com, or fill out the contact form on its website, http://www.brainpowerwellness.com.

Brain Power Wellness reviews its services consistently to ensure it is meeting the current needs of its school communities, and this will encompass the new hybrid learning model as well.

About Brain Power Wellness

Brain Power Wellness is a holistic, school-based wellness organization that supports healthy, happy, and focused school environments. The mission of Brain Power Wellness is to help transform the culture of its partner schools through self-development, mindfulness, community building, retreats, SEL, holistic wellness, and brain training for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Recently, corporate groups have begun attending Brain Power Wellness retreats, where participants receive powerful tools for creating healthy, sustainable, and happy work environments.
"Their strategic business acumen combined with their ability to read the market and act quickly to create opportunity consistently sets them apart. We are proud to present Ashton Woods as the 2023 Builder of the Year. Jeff Meyers, CEO, Zonda

Zonda today announced Ashton Woods as the 2023 winner of the renowned Builder of the Year award, presented by BUILDER magazine, a Zonda Media brand. The privately-owned firm, based in Atlanta, GA and founded in 1989, grew from $300 million to over $3 billion over the past ten years, with closings increasing an impressive 252% since 2016 and 80% since 2020. With 8,591 homes closed and $3.5 billion dollars in revenue, Ashton Woods is ranked 12th on the Builder 100 list this year. Because of the companys incredible growth and business acuity, Ashton Woods has earned the esteemed title of Builder of the Year, presented today at the annual Builder 100 conference.

For years, Ashton Woods has continually ascended the ranks of the Builder 100 list, said Jeff Meyers, CEO of Zonda. And it is no surprisetheir strategic business acumen combined with their ability to read the market and act quickly to create opportunity consistently sets them apart. We are proud to present Ashton Woods as the 2023 Builder of the Year.

Ashton Woods industry-leading design, delivered via its award-winning Studios and AW Collections, fueled the companys early growth over the past decade. In 2017, the company launched Starlight Homes, its entry-level brand focused on making the dream of home ownership a reality, particularly for first-time homebuyers, and theyve never looked back.

This honor is truly a testament to the collective work of our entire team, said Ken Balogh, President and CEO of Ashton Woods. While it was never a stated goal of ours to be named Builder of the Year, it is a by-product of the incredible talent we have across the organization and a culture that empowers our teams to take big swings, make an impact and do the right thing. Every single one of our employees should feel a great sense of pride in this recognition.

Balogh attributes the companys phenomenal growth to a culture that supports agile decision-making and empowers its employees to own their piece of the business at every level.

This is really the core of our DNA. Weve got a passionate team that is never satisfied with the status quo. We are always looking for ways to grow the business and weve got a team that has proven they can pull off anything they set their minds to. This is just the beginning; the best is yet to come.

Ashton Woods currently sells homes in Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Dallas, Houston, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Antonio and Tampa - with plans to continue expansion into Nashville and Greensboro this year.

The Builder of the Year winner is chosen from the ranks of the annual Builder 100 list, developed from data gathered by Zonda. This award recognizes leaders within the home building industry who exemplify a passion and commitment to excellence in new-home construction.

Visit ZondaHome.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information.

About Ashton Woods

Ashton Woods is one of the nations largest private homebuilding companies, delivering over 60,000 homes to homeowners over the course of its 30-plus years in business. The company markets its homes through its two award-winning brands, Ashton Woods Homes and Starlight Homes. The Ashton Woods brand is known for designing thoughtfully curated, inspired homes for people who love design. The companys industry leading experience at The Studio and with AW Collections results in exceptional design and special designer touches in every Ashton Woods home. The Starlight Homes brand builds homes specifically for the first-time homebuyer, offering affordable homes with well-executed designs and quality finishes for buyers looking to make the dream of home ownership a reality. The companys commitment to innovation and continually evolving to meet the needs of the market is a key reason it is one of the most celebrated homebuilders in the nation, winning hundreds of national and local industry awards in product design, community design, architecture, merchandising, sales, marketing, customer service and innovation and, most recently, being named Builder of the Year by Builder Magazine.

About BUILDER

BUILDER is the leading brand in the residential construction industry and delivers a strategic platform of data and media products. Through its award-winning journalism and in-person events, BUILDER is the trusted source for top builders, developers, architects, and other industry professionals. BUILDER is powered by Zonda, the largest information service provider of data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry.

About Zonda

Zonda provides data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry. From builders to building product manufacturers, mortgage clients, and multifamily executives, we work hand-in-hand with our customers to streamline access to housing data to empower smarter decisions. As a leading brand in residential construction, our mission is to advance the home building industry, because we believe better homes mean better lives and stronger communities. Together, we are building the future of housing.


ThreatAdvice has always been and will continue to be well-equipped to tackle the cybersecurity challenges and requirements of customers and the marketspace in 2023 and beyond as we work to thoughtfully expand the business and our solution portfolio under the leadership of Russell and Chris.

ThreatAdvice, a company focused on cybersecurity, cyber education and MSP solutions, announced today that it has made two new key hires. Russell Taylor joins ThreatAdvice as president and Chris Sherman is on board as CFO.

The hires are a result of ThreatAdvices formal separation from its sister company, NXTsoft, which was acquired by CFM, a Tempe, Az.-based company in December of 2022.

ThreatAdvice CEO David Brasfield stated that as a result of the separation, the company is well poised to continue to provide optimal cybersecurity solutions and exceptional service, while expanding ThreatAdvices scope to include new fraud and compliance solutions.

ThreatAdvice has always been and will continue to be well-equipped to tackle the cybersecurity challenges and requirements of customers and the marketspace in 2023 and beyond as we work to thoughtfully expand the business and our solution portfolio under the leadership of Russell and Chris, Brasfield said.

Taylor specializes in creating & transforming business strategy into financial and operational results, including building high performing teams to launch and grow new technology products. He has driven success in both developed and emerging markets globally, with a proven record in accelerating growth and enhancing customer value. In his 25+ years of experience, Taylor has done business in and traveled to over 100 countries. He previously served as vice president of financial service and healthcare for SAP, president of TEMENOS North America, and chief commercial officer of Software Group.

Sherman has over 20 years of progressive experience in finance and operations. He has worked with growth-focused companies of all sizes, ranging from startups up to publicly traded multi-national companies. He previously served as chief operating officer of TEMENOS North America. His progressive roles have included responsibilities for accounting, finance, G&A, M&A, and operations. Sherman has a BS, MS, and PhD in Accounting that provides him the opportunity to give back to the community by teaching at a local college.

Brasfield expressed, "I was afforded the opportunity to work with Russell and Chris at TEMENOS following their acquisition of my former core processing and financial compliance enterprise, TriNovus. Both individuals possess a wealth of experience and unparalleled talent in their respective domains. They are the right choice to lead ThreatAdvice as we embark on our next phase."

In joining ThreatAdvice, I am excited to work alongside David who has great vision, and I am proud to lead this team of talented of professionals who are dedicated to making a difference in the world of cybersecurity. There are exciting things in store for the future of ThreatAdvice as we continue to provide excellent cybersecurity solutions while working to expand the depth and breadth of our solution offerings.

Sherman echoed Taylors sentiments stating, I am excited to join this dynamic cybersecurity company and to be part of a team that is at the forefront of protecting businesses and individuals from cyber threats. With my financial expertise and understanding of the industry, I am confident that I can help drive the company's growth and success.

ThreatAdvices current flagship solution is a Breach Prevention Platform, featuring a vCISO (virtual chief information security officer). This solution utilizes a combination of employee education, skilled senior cybersecurity personnel and software, and sophisticated tracking and monitoring solutions to help businesses, governments and schools ensure they are maximizing their cybersecurity posture.

In addition to the ThreatAdvice Breach Prevention Platform, ThreatAdvice offers ThreatAdvice Educate, an employee cybersecurity education and phishing simulation solution that prepares an organizations employees to serve as the first line of defense when it comes to cyber-attacks. ThreatAdvices Managed Security Services (MSSP) offers a SOCaaS (24/7 security operations center as a service), SIEM & advanced EDR and PEN testing among other solutions. The companys Managed Services Provider division (MSP) offers help desk functionality, mobile device management, cloud services and more.

Though ThreatAdvices current cybersecurity, MSP and MSSP solutions are a fit for businesses of all types, the new solutions ThreatAdvice is developing focus on addressing pain points currently experienced by community banks and credit unions. Brasfield, whose 40-year career has been predominantly focused on the banking sector, says ThreatAdvice will soon launch a suite of AI-based fraud tools for community banks and credit unions, along with a complementary compliance solution set.

While we remain strongly committed to our cybersecurity and IT tools, we are excited to expand our product offering and launch additional solutions that we both have expertise in and feel that the market demands, he said.

ThreatAdvice is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with locations in Birmingham, Ala. and Mobile, Ala.

About ThreatAdvice

ThreatAdvice, founded in Birmingham, Ala., and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is focused on providing world-class cybersecurity, fraud and compliance solutions to financial institutions and other industries. The companys current flagship service ThreatAdvice Breach Prevention Platform serves to maximize a business or organizations cybersecurity posture and is complemented by a standalone cybersecurity education solution. The platform includes continuous vulnerability scanning, security dashboards, detailed reporting, remediation guidance, education and more. For more information visit threatadvice.com or call 770-451-1111.


DSM plans to build a next-generation nutritional premix plant in the Kansas City region, supplying the pet food industry with high-quality nutritional premixes for branded pet food products worldwide. The Kansas City region continues to attract top companies in the industry, and were proud that DSM has selected the corridor for this state-of-the-art, innovative new facility," said Kimberly Young, president of the KC Animal Health Corridor.

DSM, a global purpose-led health and nutrition company, plans to build a next-generation nutritional premix plant in Tonganoxie, Kansas, announced the company and the KC Animal Health Corridor. The new location will supply the pet food industry with high-quality nutritional premixes for use in branded pet food products worldwide. The facility is expected to break ground in July 2023 and be fully operational by early 2025.

The pet food industry has been looking for a better source for the highest quality, traceable and reliable nutritional ingredients for their products and we are thrilled to be able to deliver for the industry and for pet parents' with this new facility in Tonganoxie, said DSM Co-CEO, Dimitri de Vreeze. We appreciate the support of Governor Laura Kelly, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Leavenworth County Development Corporation, the City of Tonganoxie, Evergy and the Animal Health Corridor in making this state-of-the-art facility a reality.

The facility, which will create 28 jobs, will be strategically located in the KC Animal Health Corridor, close to many industry-leading pet food manufacturers, reducing supply chain risk and logistics expenses.

DSM is a welcome addition to Kansas and the Animal Health Corridor, said Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. Having another industry leader locate here further enhances the globally recognized animal health ecosystem that is anchored in Kansas.

The Kansas facility will feature precision micro-batching capabilities, allowing for precise automated micro-addition of numerous ingredients to premixes in a fully traceable manner. This will support the use of a broader range of DSM and third-party ingredients, allowing the company to create more inclusive and unique premix offerings to meet the evolving needs of the pet food industry.

The increased process automation of the state-of-the-art plant will allow for greater traceability, accuracy and automated weight verification, as each batch moves in its own containerized transport system in an automated manner through the facility. This will allow DSM to provide the speed and accuracy in high demand by customers in the pet food industry.

With the highest concentration of animal health assets in the world, the Kansas City region is home to a robust industry network, as well as abundant manufacturing and distribution resources, said Kimberly Young, president of the KC Animal Health Corridor. The region continues to attract top companies in the industry, and were proud that DSM has selected the corridor for this state-of-the-art, innovative new facility.

In addition to meeting all food safety requirements and exceeding current standards for pet food production, the facility is designed with sustainability in mind. The plants automated mixing vessels will reduce waste by decreasing flushes necessary for sequencing and will operate on 100% renewable electricity, consistent with all DSM facilities in North America.

To learn more about the new facilitys industry-leading capabilities and view additional renderings, please visit the DSM at booth 1306 at the Petfood Forum, May 1-3, in Kansas City, Missouri.

About DSM

DSM is a global, purpose-led company in Health, Nutrition & Bioscience, applying science to improve the health of people, animals and the planet. DSMs purpose is to create brighter lives for all. DSMs products and solutions address some of the worlds biggest challenges while simultaneously creating economic, environmental and societal value for all its stakeholders  customers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. The company was founded in 1902 and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information can be found at http://www.dsm.com.

About the KC Animal Health Corridor

Companies with a business location in the KC Animal Health Corridor account for more than half of the sales generated by the global animal health industry. The Corridor, anchored by Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than 300 animal health companies, representing the largest concentration in the world. The KC Animal Health Corridor is a strategic initiative of the Kansas City Area Development Council. For more information, visit http://www.kcanimalhealth.com.

About Greater Kansas City

Home to 2.5 million people, Kansas City is a vibrant metro in the heart of the U.S., known as the KC Heartland. The KC region is a center for leading industries including technology, logistics, animal health and entrepreneurship, and is home to a renowned arts community. http://www.KC.org

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSMs future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained in this press release, unless required by law. The English language version of the press release is leading.
Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma has been invited to be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new organization run by the University of Tokyo, the university said on Monday, Trend reports with reference to Reuters.

The appointment term for China's best-known entrepreneur finishes at the end of October, but the contract is renewable on an annual basis, the university said.

At the college, Ma will be engaged in areas including advising on important research themes and giving lectures on management and business start-ups.

The announcement came after Ma returned to China in March, ending a stay overseas of more than a year that industry viewed as reflecting the sober mood of the country's private businesses after a tough two-year regulatory crackdown.

The Tokyo College was founded in 2019 to serve as an interface between the University of Tokyo and overseas researchers and research institutions.
Digital marketing strategies that focus on the fundamentals of driving website traffic, improving conversion rate optimization, and delivering an outstanding customer experience will see steady market gains regardless of what changes Google makes to their algorithm

Cracking the latest code to rank among the coveted top three spots of Googles search results can be an elusive challenge. A business may enjoy a steady stream of leads from top-ranking content only to discover it has lost ground after an algorithm change. Google is continually adjusting its search engine ranking system and user interface, averaging 12 changes per day, keeping digital marketers on their toes.(1) Googles most recent algorithm change, the helpful content update, is designed to reward content written for people by people rather than for search engines using AI technology.(2) Derek Chew, CEO of Fullmoon Digital (FMDM), maintains that the foundations of successful digital marketing remain the same regardless of what methods Google employs.

Chew contends, Digital marketing strategies that focus on the fundamentals of driving website traffic, improving conversion rate optimization, and delivering an outstanding customer experience will see steady market gains regardless of what changes Google makes to their algorithm.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one strategy within the larger realm of digital marketing. SEO is the process of creating targeted content optimized for positioning an internet site among the top search results to increase traffic on its web page. A top-search ranking helps establish a business as an authority in its industry. Digital marketing strategists who successfully incorporate SEO keywords and phrases in their web content have been historically rewarded by Googles SEO-driven search engine algorithm with a higher ranking among search results.

But when businesses lean too heavily on the technical aspects of SEO, they make themselves vulnerable to a drop in online visibility when the algorithm suddenly changes. For a long while, the emphasis in SEO was on target keywords and page optimization rather than connecting with customers by providing content that satisfies the purpose of their original query. To stay relevant, digital marketers must define their clients intended audience and purchasing habits. It is essential to narrow down the most appropriate channels (e.g., social media, YouTube) to successfully connect their target consumer to their brand and then deliver on their promises.(3)

Google asserts this most recent algorithm update will reward businesses that demonstrate their value by creating customer-directed content rather than simply catering its message to the current search technology.(4) By adopting client-first solutions, businesses can clearly communicate how their unique products or services outshine their competition. Fullmoon Digital Marketings strategic and personalized approach supersedes algorithms.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is about employing strategies that steadily and systematically boost customer engagement with a website, such as clicking a banner ad, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter, to increase the likelihood of repeat visits or business.(5) CRO is a powerful strategy that supports and amplifies all marketing efforts.

According to Chew, Marketing opportunities live in conversion rate optimization more than uncasing an algorithm. Agencies should constantly be working to improve the customer experience; this will never change, no matter what Google does.

Chew notes, At FMDM, we treat every client like family and take what we do very seriously  our clients success is our success. We believe in deeper communication, consistent collaboration, and working hard to traverse this journey together.

Fullmoon Digital Marketing wants to help businesses that are looking to shake up their industry. The Wolves Den Marketing Incubator Program is a 12-month experience offered by FMDM to nurture innovative entrepreneurs with free access to a range of digital services to help establish a robust online presence, reach their target audience, and grow their company.

Selected businesses will have the opportunity to work with a fully dedicated marketing team who will provide expert guidance and strategic growth insights. By creating a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored to the needs of each business, the Incubator Program will propel them forward in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. Applications are accepted year-round. Visit The Wolves Den Marketing Incubator  Fullmoon Digital Marketing Agency for complete details and eligibility requirements.

About Fullmoon Digital

Fullmoon Digital, founded by Derek Chew, a former early Yahoo! employee, is one of the few 100% independent digital marketing agencies in the United States. The firm is cross-functional, with deep experience in media planning and buying, digital consultancy, SEO, digital strategy, programmatic, analytics, performance marketing, paid media, social advertising, and creative. The company pushes the envelope of what is possible in terms of marketing and technology, all the while providing best-in-class digital marketing service to its pack of clients. For more information, please visit http://www.fullmoondigital.com.

References:

1. Search Engine Land. Google Algorithm Updates: The Latest News and Guides. Search Engine Land, searchengineland.com/library/platforms/google/google-algorithm-updates.

2. Google. What Creators Should Know about Googles August 2022 Helpful Content Update. Google, Google, 18 Aug. 2022, developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update.

3. Rahman, Aquib. Why You Need To Know the Difference Between SEO and Digital Marketing. Shiksha Online, 5 July 2022, shiksha.com/online-courses/articles/difference-between-seo-and-digital-marketing/.

4. Hood, John. What Happens to SEO When the Algorithm Changes? FastCompany, 9 Dec. 2022, fastcompany.com/90822395/what-happens-to-seo-when-the-algorithm-changes.

5. Digital Marketing Institute. What Is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)? Digital Marketing Institute, Digital Marketing Institute, 15 Mar. 2023, digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-is-conversion-rate-optimization-cro.
KUDO AI Speech Translator Generally Available & Free to Test Were really excited to take KUDO AI live to the public. With all our solutions, we seek to address our clients need for increased growth, productivity, and inclusion. KUDO AI makes that mission possible on a truly global scale.

KUDO, the world leader in providing real-time multilingual solutions, has made its new AI-powered Speech Translator, KUDO AI (patent pending), available to the public and open to be tested in a free trial.

KUDO AI is an AI-powered speech-to-speech translator that integrates state-of-the-art Natural Language Processing systems  such as speech recognition and synthesis  with KUDOs innovative language models trained to support the real-time, continuous translation of spoken language. Organizations can now make their communication available in multiple languages with one click, with the most popular use cases so far being sales trainings, learning and development programs, and All Hands meetings.

Were really excited to take KUDO AI live to the public" said CEO Fardad Zabetian. "With all our solutions, we seek to address our clients need for increased growth, productivity, and inclusion. KUDO AI makes that mission possible on a truly global scale. We have had fantastic feedback from the early adopters who have experienced KUDO AI since January, and our Tech Team has been busy adding languages and features to make the solution even more advanced and user-friendly in that time.

Currently, KUDO AI is available in 6 source languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian) and 25+ output languages, for a total of over 130 language combinations. This includes also regional dialects, such as Canadian French or Brazilian Portuguese, as well as languages that leverage a different alphabet, such as Japanese, Chinese, and Greek. And these languages are just the start.

From an innovation perspective, we have big ambitions for KUDO AI said KUDOs CTO and leading machine translation expert, Claudio Fantinuoli. But focusing on technology alone isnt enough; the quality of translation output is contingent on a deep understanding of language itself, and thats where KUDO is in a unique position. As we speak, our team is experimenting with different systems and components to ensure we are not just expanding our offering to the most languages possible, but are also producing the highest quality translation as we move through different alphabets.

Registration for a free trial is available on the KUDO website, with no credit card required at this stage. Once they have created an account, users will be able to start using the solution immediately. The free trial offers the possibility to test AI-powered translation for up to ten meetings, over a period of 30 days, on KUDOs own platform. After the end of the trial, they can then upgrade to a paid subscription plan to experience the full suite of KUDO features, such as access to premium support for setting up and running meetings, the ability to record meetings in the preferred language(s) selected, and the possibility of upgrading to one of KUDOs professional human interpretation packages.

With the public launch of KUDO AI and its free trial, KUDO is continuing its mission of making global communication easier and more efficient than ever before.

You can sign up for a free trial of KUDO AI here.

About KUDO

KUDO is the world leader in providing real-time multilingual solutions that enable people to communicate effortlessly in any languageon any platform. Their network of 12,000 professional language interpreters, combined with their ground-breaking Speech Translator, empower organizations of all sizes to collaborate more efficiently, with greater inclusivity, and on an international scale. KUDO Inc. is a New-York based technology start-up founded and managed by language and conferencing industry insiders seeking to create a world in which everyone has the power to understand and be understood in their own language. More info at http://www.kudoway.com.

Contact

Chloe Walford

chloe@kudoway.com
There is something very special found on these pages. It is a shared sense of purpose and of possibility. And we are forever grateful to our authors, reviewers and readers for being true champions for transforming the human experience

The Beryl Institute announces the publication of Volume 10, Issue 1 of Patient Experience Journal (PXJ), an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal focused on research and proven practices related to understanding and improving the patient experience. Read in over 220 countries and territories, PXJ articles have been downloaded over 1,100,000 times and reflect the journals commitment to disseminating rigorous knowledge and expanding the global conversation on evidence and innovation in patient and human experience.

Published in association with The Beryl Institute, Volume 10, Issue 1 includes 17 articles representing commentaries, personal narratives, research studies and case studies covering topics such as:



The research represents a broad range of global organizations and institutions including Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Associates, Aston University, University of Ottawa, University of Pennsylvania, BC Cancer, University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, Island Health, Cleveland Clinic, Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality, Montana State University, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Exeter, Five02 Labs Inc.

As we begin our 10th volume, PXJ has clearly emerged as something more than just a journal. It has become a place for conversation. It has served as a conduit for expanding excellence in practice, said Jason Wolf, Founding Editor of PXJ and President & CEO of The Beryl Institute. It has fostered new thinking. There is something very special found on these pages. It is a shared sense of purpose and of possibility. And we are forever grateful to our authors, reviewers and readers for being true champions for transforming the human experience.

To access Volume 10, Issue 1 of PXJ, visit: http://pxjournal.org/journal

###

About Patient Experience Journal:

Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published in association with The Beryl Institute. Read in over 220 countries and territories, PXJ is committed to disseminating rigorous knowledge and expanding the global conversation on evidence and innovation on patient experience.

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute is a global community of professionals and experience champions committed to transforming the human experience in healthcare. As a pioneer and leader of the experience movement and patient experience profession for more than a decade, the Institute offers unparalleled access to unbiased research and proven practices, networking and professional development opportunities and a safe, neutral space to exchange ideas and learn from others.

We define the patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organizations culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care. We believe human experience is grounded in the experiences of patients & families, members of the healthcare workforce and the communities they serve.
A new report by more than 20 education experts from across the U.S. describes the policy changes that will be needed for testing and accountability policies in K-12 schools to serve the long-stated goals of excellence and equity. Educational Accountability 3.0: Beyond the Every Student Succeeds Act is a guide for improving federal legislation, as well as state and local polices.

The project was led by education professors Jack Schneider and Kevin Welner of UMass Lowell and the University of Colorado Boulder, respectively.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson, and the latest reauthorization of ESEA was 2015s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This new report provides clear direction for the next reauthorization, explaining how the law can support the sorts of classrooms that are most beneficial for students. The report also sets forth measures that states and school districts can take now, even before the next reauthorization, to improve their testing and accountability policies.

All 50 states assess student learning and school quality, and all 50 states hold schools and districts accountable for results. But none has assessment and accountability systems that actually strengthen performance or advance the aim of educational equity, observed Schneider, co-leader of the effort and director of UMass Lowells Beyond Test Scores Project.

Schneider explained, "Our goal in this project was to outline a set of principles, grounded in research, that would guide policymakers in the construction of more valid, more democratic, and more just approaches to assessment and accountabilitywhether that means creating new flexibility under the current law, or reauthorizing ESEA to replace ESSA."

In evaluating current federal and state laws governing K-12 education, the two dozen researchers in the group drew on two decades of study findings to identify six shortcomings of the current law and six corresponding improvements, each of which is fleshed out in the report.

The reforms identified by the researchers are listed below.



Lesson Learned from NCLB/ESSA: Dont let the accountability system drive poor practices in classrooms.

Recommendation: Align assessment policy with goals for high-quality curricula and instruction.

Lesson Learned: Resources and capacity building are at least as important as high standards and demands.

Recommendation: Develop a system with reciprocal accountability.

Lesson Learned: Accountability must be grounded in the voices, goals, and participation of each community.

Recommendation: Ensure that representative community members play a meaningful role in the system.

Lesson Learned: The accountability system should fully reflect what we want schools to do.

Recommendation: Move toward a broader array of school quality indicators.

Lesson Learned: Reducing school performance to a simple rating or letter grade fails to provide sound and useful information.

Recommendation: Ensure interpretable and actionable results.

Lesson Learned: A vitally important and complex accountability system requires continuous evaluation and improvement.

Recommendation: Design a system that will evolve and improve.

None of these reforms are easy, but they are all necessary, said CU Boulders Welner, who directs the National Education Policy Center, which co-published the report. Accountability policies deeply and powerfully impact students classroom experiences. When we get those policies wrong, we damage our childrens opportunities to learn.

In the report, the researchers ask Congress to implement their recommendations as the legislative body works to reauthorize federal K-12 school policy. But they also argue that theres no need to wait to put the changes they seek in motion.

School districts and states need not wait for a reauthorization, the report concludes. The U.S. Department of Education can, for instance, work with states to leverage the Every Student Succeeds Act in ways that advance the six principles outlined in this report.

These researchers, along with classroom practitioners, community members, and others, are standing by, ready to move accountability policy to a new, more productive era.

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu
On April 27, Right at Home, a leading in-home care company, bestowed its highest caregiver honor to Vicki Bailiff, presenting her with the 2023 National Caregiver of the Year award during its national conference in Orlando, Florida.

Vicki is a caregiver at Right at Home West Des Moines, Iowa. Her compassion, selflessness and willingness to go above and beyond have made her a valued member of Right at Home and a beloved caregiver for seniors in her community.

Last year, Vicki had planned to spend the Christmas Day holiday with her family and friends. But when she learned other caregivers had also requested the day off, she began to worry that many clients without loved ones nearby would be alone on the holiday. Thats when she decided she would be the one to bring those clients an abundance of holiday cheer.

Vicki put on her Santa hat and stopped by each clients home with a small gift and a stocking filled with goodies she baked and wrapped. She spent time with every client. They talked, took selfies, and enjoyed hot cocoa and homemade cookies.

That was such a wonderful surprise to our clientsand to us, said Raouf Agrignan, owner of Right at Home West Des Moines. Vicki is always looking for ways to bring happiness and cheer to all of our clients. This was such a special act of care and love that I know our client families will never forget.

Vicki doesnt just bring happiness and cheer to others on holidays. Its a part of her everyday caregiving. Whenever she meets a new client, she brings in goodies to share during their introductory visit. Its a small gesture with a big impact. Vicki says, Food is a way to everyones heart.

And when big gestures are needed, she covers those too. Vicki recently helped a client visit his spouses gravesite, which he had been unable to do for more than eight years. Due to physical limitations, he had been unable to get transportation 40 minutes out of town where the cemetery is located. Vicki made sure to schedule enough time for the travel and visit at the gravesite.

Right at Home is proud to honor Vicki Bailiff as our 2023 National Caregiver of the Year, said Margaret Haynes, President and CEO of Right at Home. The award honors caregivers who provide extraordinary care to clients every day. Vicki has demonstrated the very essence of the award, and we are grateful she is part of Right at Home.

In addition to honoring Vicki nationally, Right at Home recognized eight caregivers across the country for their outstanding commitment to their clients. This years Regional Caregivers of the Year are:



West Region Caregiver of the Year: Tabitha Miller of Tucson, AZ

(office owners Karen and Sunir Kochhar)



East Central Region Caregiver of the Year: Tammy Summers of Winston-Salem, NC

(office owners Jackie and Greg Brewer)



Northeast Region Caregiver of the Year: Nancy Green-Krochmal of White Plains, NY

(office owner Lou Giampa)



Mid-Atlantic Region Caregiver of the Year: Michelle Gaughran of Virginia Beach, VA

(branch director Terra Dehler)



Southwest Region Caregiver of the Year: Kassie Leach of Kingwood, TX

(office owners Brenda and Jim Royal)



Southeast Region Caregiver of the Year: Markia Jenkins of Bradenton, FL

(office owner Jeramie Snelling)



Northwest Central Region Caregiver of the Year: Dianna Church of Eugene, OR

(office owners Carol and Ed Mosman)



Midwest Region Caregiver of the Year: Anel Metellus of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

(office owners Stephanie and John Humphries)

Going the extra mile to provide exceptional care for those in need of at-home assistance often comes down to the small things that make a big difference in a clients life. Right at Home is proud to recognize the exemplary caregivers within its system whose purpose-driven work betters the lives of those they are entrusted to serve.

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care to seniors and adults with a disability who want to continue to live independently. Most Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a clients home. Right at Homes global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 600 franchise locations in the U.S. and six other countries. For more information on Right at Home, visit http://www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home blog at http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/blog/.
We are proud to work in collaboration with our esteemed Japanese co-development partners, Global Family, to deliver the Green Snow geothermal development in Japan in support of Japans 2030 Climate Plan.

TerraScale Inc. announced that it has secured a 113 acre section of land in Northern Japan for development of the Green Snow project with US company Climate Transition Development Inc. and Japanese company, Global Family. This project, which will include a series of Geothermal Plants, signifies the completion of the pre-development work for Project Green Snow. The land acquisition marks a significant milestone in the development of the Green Snow project and comes at a time of greater US - Japanese collaboration to realize Japans geothermal energy production potential.

This groundbreaking initiative in geothermal energy development is led by TerraScale CEO, Danny Hayes.

We are proud to work in collaboration with our esteemed Japanese co-development partners, Global Family, to deliver the Green Snow geothermal development in Japan in support of Japans 2030 Climate Plan, said Hayes. Japan has incredible untapped potential in geothermal production. The development of the Green Snow project is a step towards Japan realizing its 2030 climate plan by increasing production of green energy.

This pre-development process took two years to complete in collaboration with Japanese development partners. TerraScale entered into the Japanese market in 2021, when it won an RFP to develop renewable energy and data centers in the region from Wakayama Prefecture that was memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding.

As announced on April 15, 2023, Japan and the United States agreed to cooperate on developing geothermal energy in Japan during a meeting of the Group of Seven energy and environment ministers in Hokkaido. A memorandum of commitment was signed by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura. The pact recognizes geothermal energy as a renewable energy technology that both countries can work together to advance.

The agreement calls for collaboration in research and development, exchange of information, and pursuit of geothermal projects in the US, Japan, and other countries. The cooperation aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions contributing to climate change.

Increasing geothermal power could enable Japan to provide 90% of its power generation from renewable sources, leading to a 92% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Currently, Japan's geothermal capacity is underutilized, with small power plants accounting for less than 1% of its total power-generating capacity.

By creating opportunities for American companies to take the lead as developers, the Green Snow project supports the Japanese government's climate goals and highlights the importance of international cooperation in advancing clean energy solutions and overcoming obstacles in the global energy market. The Green Snow project is expected to pave the way for further geothermal energy initiatives, setting a new standard for renewable energy and sustainable practices worldwide.

About TerraScale Inc.

TerraScale is a green technology and infrastructure development company reinventing the future of global sustainable development models. TerraScale places green energy, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity at the center of its data center development projects and solutions. Bringing together the best-in-class partners and service providers across technology, green engineering, cybersecurity, real estate, energy construction firms, and more, TerraScale modernizes businesses and communities around the world- creating solutions and infrastructure that are future-proof. TerraScale is an official authorized reseller for Equinix, The Worlds Digital Infrastructure Company. TerraScale is the winner of five prestigious design and architecture awards. For more information, visit https://terrascale.org/.
As stewards of the earth, we work to achieve our ambitious conservation, preservation, and restoration goals. We hope that the findings from our dedicated team of scientists will aid the larger scientific community in further conservation of the monarch butterfly.

Young Living, the world's leading provider of essential oils and oil-infused wellness products, announces a new research project on the relationship between the milkweed plant and monarch butterflies. The study will be conducted by Young Living Sr. Scientist Tyler Wilson and Young Living Research Scientist Emma Andrews, with additional help from Utah Valley University intern Samantha Ingram.

This project will take place at the Young Living Lavender Farm and Distillery in Mona, Utah, and the Skyrider Wilderness Ranch in Tabiona, Utah. Researchers will investigate the chemical profiles of different populations of showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), a key species monarch caterpillars depend on in the Intermountain Region. The launch of the research project is announced in conjunction with National Start Seeing Monarchs Day, a date dedicated to raising awareness and preventing this at-risk species from being added to the endangered species list.

As stewards of the earth, we work to achieve our ambitious conservation, preservation, and restoration goals, said Wilson. We hope that the findings from our dedicated team of scientists will aid the larger scientific community in further conservation of the monarch butterfly.

This new project will examine the different cardiac glycosides, or cardenolides, in milkweed, the pollinators source of food and protection from predators. Throughout the monarch migration, one of the project team members will collect data at one of the research locations. This data collection will include noting the number of butterflies, counting the number of eggs and larvae on the leaves, and taking leaf samples to determine cardenolide profiles. In the past, Young Living's efforts focused on butterfly conservation, with Young Living's farm teams implementing a program to plant milkweed at its farms and facilities across the country.

As summer nears and the butterflies begin to arrive, Young Living invites families to join in the excitement through educational tours at the Mona farm. Guests will learn more about pollinators, their ecosystems, and how they can grow a monarch waystation at home. A free downloadable kit with educational activities for children will be available in the coming months to extend the fun.

We're always looking for ways to further connect people with nature, said Wilson. The farm tour and at-home activities create a unique full-circle experience and are a great way to make protecting our planet more accessible to children. We hope this will begin a lifelong respect for the earth and the creatures that inhabit it.

About Young Living Essential Oils

Young Living Essential Oils, LC, based in Lehi, Utah, is the world leader in essential oils, offering the highest-quality oil-infused products available. Young Living takes its industry leadership seriously, setting the standard with its proprietary Seed to Seal quality commitment. This guiding principle helps Young Living protect the planet and provide authentic products that its Brand Partners and Customers can feel confident using and sharing with friends and family. Young Livings productssourced from corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and other trusted suppliersnot only support a healthy lifestyle, but also provide opportunities for over 6 million global Brand Partners to find a sense of purpose and whole-life wellness by aligning their work with the Young Living values and passions. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com, follow @youngliving on Instagram, or like us on Facebook.
Zeigler Earns Its 10th Chicagos Best & Brightest Companies to Work For Award Earning this award in this hypercompetitive market while still maintaining the core values that built this company means the most to me and the team at Zeigler. We do not rely on what we achieved the day before, we always look to the future while staying true to the legacy of our family values.

The National Association for Business Resources (NABR) has once again named Zeigler Auto Group one of Chicagos Best & Brightest Companies To Work For, this is the 10th time the award-winning dealership group has earned this recognition, winning from 2012 to 2017, then again from 2019 forward. With a 1-10 ratio for winning, only the Best and Brightest Companies in Chicago are eligible to receive this coveted award, giving those earning this achievement a truly competitive edge. Besides this distinction the organization is also the only auto group to make the list for 10 years strong.

Earning this award in this hypercompetitive market while still maintaining the core values that built this company means the most to me and the team at Zeigler. Our culture is centered on high achievement and this award embodies that spirit. We do not rely on what we achieved the day before, we always look to the future while staying true to the legacy of our family values, said Aaron Zeigler, president & CEO of Zeigler Auto Group.

Zeigler Auto Group currently has nearly 1,200 employees and 18 franchises across these Greater Chicago dealerships: Zeigler Alfa Romeo, Zeigler BMW of Orland Park, Zeigler Buick GMC Lincolnwood, Zeigler Cadillac of Lincolnwood, Zeigler CDJR Downers Grove, Zeigler Chevrolet of Schaumburg, Zeigler FIAT of Schaumburg, Zeigler Ford of North Riverside, INFINITI of Hoffman Estates, INFINITI of Orland Park, Jaguar of Schaumburg, Land Rover of Schaumburg, Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates, Zeigler Maserati of Schaumburg, Zeigler Nissan Gurnee, Zeigler Nissan of Orland Park, and Zeigler Pre-owned of Chicago.

Our teams across the Zeigler Auto Group know what the Best & Brightest recognition confirms: we are energized daily by delivering the Ultimate Automotive Experience to customers and team members alike. We are so proud of team Zeigler for continuing to achieve this coveted recognition! said Sam DArc, COO of Zeigler Auto Group. DArc is also host to Zeiglers Driving Vision Podcast which sat down with some of the auto groups Chicago leadership team to discuss Zeiglers group-wide, world-class, award-winning culture.

The winning companies chosen as the 2013 Chicagos Best and Brightest Companies To Work For are assessed by an independent research firm, which reviewed several key measures relative to other nationally recognized winners. The categories applicants were scored on include Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions; Creative Wellness and Wellbeing Solutions, Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment and Selection; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Work-Life Blend; Community Initiatives and Corporate Responsibility; and Leadership, Strategy and Company Performance.

We are thankful for our teams across the group and the laser focus they have on providing an exceptional experience for our customers as well as continually building our world-class culture for each other to thrive, said Mike Van Ryn, director of talent acquisitions at Zeigler Auto Group.

With over 25 years of experience conducting the Best and Brightest competitions, the National Association for Business Resources has identified numerous best Human Resource practices and provided benchmarking for companies that continue to be leaders in employment standards.

Those companies that made the list of Best and Brightest Companies to Work For as well as those companies that continue to make the list are truly remarkable. Given todays need for talent, retention of talent, and the further issues related to the pandemic, these companies have proven they are superior to market conditions. They are elite thinkers, and this honor demonstrates their commitment to excellence, said Jennifer Kluge, president and CEO of NABR and The Best and Brightest Program.

All winning organizations of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For are invited to attend the upcoming in-person 2023 Best and Brightest National Summit, an exclusive national conference for all winners across the entire country. This national conference will be held on September 27-28 in Detroit, Michigan, and will focus on collaboration, sharing of best practices, analysis of pressing issues, inspiration, social activities, and celebration.

About the Best and Brightest Programs

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is a powerful community of the Nations elite leaders who share ideas, practices and have proven they are employers of choice. This program identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee enrichment that lead to increased productivity and financial performance. There are numerous regional programs throughout the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco, Miami, New York, Charlotte, Denver, Nashville, Pacific Northwest and nationally.

About Zeigler Auto Group

Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 78 franchises across 35 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.

Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.

The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.

Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,300 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2022. The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Chicago, and Michigan. Besides these prestigious accolades, Zeigler is also one of Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. for 2023, and among Glassdoor's top 10 U.S. companies for work-life balance.
The Turkish intelligence eliminated head of the ISIS terror group Abu Hussein al-Qurashi Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on TV Sunday, Trend reports citing Turkish media.

"The National Intelligence of Turkiye had been tracking ISIS head Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi for a long time. This person was eliminated yesterday in an operation, carried out by the Turkish intelligence in Syria," Erdogan said.

He also vowed that Turkiye will continue to combat terrorist groups "without making any distinctions."
Mainstream publishings LGBTQ content today resembles the transgressive indie fare of a decade ago. Poet Ocean Vuongs queer coming-of-age novel, the 2019 Penguin Press release On Earth Were Briefly Gorgeous, is a book club staple. Last year, MCD x FSG Originals resurrected Imogen Binnies out-of-print Nevada, a 2013 novel of transgender searchers; and Detransition, Baby (One World) by Torrey Peters, a novel about trans- and cisgender relationships and parenthood, received a PEN/Hemingway Award.

Even as the big houses lend more support to books by queer and trans authors and with LGBTQ themes, indie publishers, with a track record of being out and proud, continue to lead the charge. PW spoke with editors and others in the independent publishing scene about new queer-centric imprints, international perspectives on queer identities, and the quest for previously unheard voices and unexpected stories.

Making an impression

Grove Atlantic announced an imprint to be led by Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay, who identifies as queer, in 2021; Gay says its a lucky coincidence that three of her first five acquisitions have distinct LGBTQ themes. The inaugural title from Roxane Gay Books, And Then He Sang a Lullaby (June), arrived unagented from Nigerian activist Ani Kayode Somtochukwu and centers on the relationship between a closeted track star and an openly gay student. Kayodes book exemplifies what I want for the imprint, Gay says. I want to take chances and encourage and engage with writers no matter where they are.

The imprints second release, Lush Lives (Aug.), by art historian J. Vanessa Lyon, is a queer romance between an ambitious appraiser and an artist who inherits a historic Harlem brownstone, set in the cutthroat 1980s art world. I wanted to see how the main characters would let down their guard enough to make a connection, says Gay, who believes publishers have begun to address history and imbalances [in queer representation]. Im hopeful it will be sustained and not just for the sake of appearances.

Mariko Tamaki, another author turned editor, likewise advances LGBTQ voices at her Abrams ComicArts imprint, Surely Books, which released its first graphic novel in 2021. Tamaki, who with her cousin Jillian Tamaki created Skim, This One Summer, and the forthcoming Roaming (Drawn & Quarterly, Sept.), says she is seeking queer titles that are creator focusedstories that comics creators desperately want to tell, and projects we fall in love with.

Shes also looking to upend the various notions about what kinds of books equal LGBTQIA books. Recent releases range from a fictive biography of Patricia Highsmith (Flung Out of Space) to Frankenstein horror (M Is for Monster). This month brings Grand Slam Romance, Book 1, a dramedy by married author-illustrated team Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous. This frothy tale of an irresistible softball player whose presence is kryptonite to opponents will be followed by a curveball into Revolutionary War history, Washingtons Gay General (Aug.) by Josh Trujillo and illustrator Levi Hastings.

Resetting the margins

At the nonprofit Feminist Press, executive director Margot Atwell welcomesand tries to stay a step ahead ofthe mainstreams embrace of LGBTQ literature.

Atwell sees opportunity in boosting authors of hyper-specific identities. Even though mainstream publishers are publishing more work by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and queer and trans voices, she says, folks with intersecting marginalized identities are still considered too niche. Its hard to fit them into a clean box. She looks for ways to flip the idea of niche. Specificity and authenticity are so important, and folks will take a chance on something outside of what they might normally read.

As such, Feminist Press focuses on voice-driven narrative and bringing global work to the U.S. market. These include the collection Happy Stories, Mostly by Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu (trans. by Tiffany Tsao, June); biracial, nonbinary Gen Z activist Travis Alabanzas manifesto None of the Above (Oct.); and Wild Geese (Sept.), the debut novel by trans Irish writer Soula Emmanuel.

Queer feminist perspectives prevail at newer, smaller presses too. BLF Press, founded in 2014, amplifies queer BIPOC women, says publisher Stephanie Andrea Allen, because regardless of what the publishing landscape looks like, very few publishers are celebrating Black queer writing. BLFs publications include the 2016 Black lesbian fiction collection Lez Talk, which Allen coedited with Lauren Cherelle. This fall, she and Cherelle will publish Black Joy Unbound (Sept.), a multi-genre anthology of queer Black authors writing about joy in times of strife.

Queering the story

For Catapult editor Alicia Kroell, hybrid forms and international perspectives make LGBTQ books especially exciting. A traditional narrative might not be the best way to tell experiences, they say. I like seeing how authors play with form, genre, and storytelling, especially on our fiction side and our globally focused list.

Catapults forthcoming titles include Jennifer Neals debut novel, Notes on Her Color (May), which Kroell calls a classic story of passing, but using magical realism to actualize it for the character, in this instance a Black, Indigenous woman who literally changes her skin color. Amelia Possanzas Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives (May), which PWs starred review called an outstanding work of literary scholarship that also delivers a vulnerable, intimate portrait of its author, considers how to find queer community by researching people weve missed in the past. Kroell is wrapping up edits on a 2024 title, Musih Tedje Xavieres These Letters End in Tears, a novel that reckons with anti-gay laws in Cameroon.

Intersectionality drives acquisitions at Red Hen Press, where a substantial LGBTQ list is complemented by the presss annual Quill Prose Award for fiction and nonfiction by queer authors. (Quill winners receive $1,000 and a book contract.) Artem Mozgovoys Spring in Siberia, a 2023 release that PWs review called superb, centers on the relationship between two boysone the child of KGB agentsin 1985 Siberia. Alyssa Graybeals Floppy (May) chronicles the authors diagnosis with a genetic connective tissue disorder that affects her mobility. Were looking at queerness and ethnicity, as well as looking for the intersections with disability and neurodivergence, says Red Hen deputy director Tobi Harper.

Brian Lam, publisher of Vancouver, B.C.s Arsenal Pulp Press, likewise thinks in terms of multifaceted identities. In the early days, it was butch, femme, and those kinds of sexual identity parameters, he says. The last few years have opened the door wide open for trans and Indigiqueer material, including Oji-Cree/nehiyaw two-spirit author Joshua Whiteheads 2018 debut novel, Jonny Appleseed, and the 2020 anthology Love After the End, which Whitehead edited, as well as the speculative Magodiz (2022) by Gabe Calderon, who describes themselves as a white settler with Mikmaq/Anishinabe ancestry, about two-spirit people restoring a damaged world.

The audiences for queer titles have changed, Lam says. Theres a willingness among readers of all persuasions and identities to be reading books that have universal themes but just happen to be queer. In When My Ghost Sings (Sept.), Tara Sidhoo Fraser examines how, after suffering memory loss from a stroke at age 31, she rediscovered a specifically queer sense of self. In Transland (Oct.), memoirist Mx. Sly navigates kink and fetish culture from a nonbinary perspective. Edgy titles like these are where independent presses still can find a foothold on the market, Lam says, especially as queer writing becomes more normalized among the multinationals.

Arsenal Pulp recently returned to print Casey Pletts 2014 debut, A Safe Girl to Love, originally published by the now-defunct Topside Press. Trans writers have always been part of our program, Lam says, and the quality of the work were seeing has been extraordinary. Its a subject area where there werent a lot of precedents until recently.

Plett, meanwhile, has taken on a role as publisher at LittlePuss Press, in collaboration with editor Cat Fitzpatrick, author of 2022s The Call-Out. Its fair to say its a pandemic baby, Plett says of LittlePuss, launched in winter 20202021. Plett and Fitzpatrick started LittlePuss after Topside folded, stranding their trans-centered SFF anthology Meanwhile, Elsewhere. It won an ALA Stonewall Award, Fitzpatrick says, and within less than a year the book was no longer available. We started out by republishing it, and because it already existed [in a formatted, edited copy], the ramping up was easier.

LittlePusss second title, Faltas, an epistolary collection by Argentine American activist Cecilia Gentili, won the 2023 Stonewall Award for nonfiction. (We have two books and they both won the big gay award! Fitzpatrick says.) LittlePuss seeks to elevate queer and trans authors, though Plett and Fitzgerald welcome submissions from writers of all identities.

Talking gender, genre, and Gen Z

While LGBTQ voices and stories span categories, genre titles comprise a significant share of the market. Whether in romances, mysteries, thrillers, or sci-fi, queer authors and characters attract diverse audiences with inclusive scenarios.

Sourcebooks publishes queer voices across all its imprints, which include Bloom Books, Poisoned Pen Press, and Sourcebooks Casablanca. Senior editor Mary Altman strives to bring LGBTQ authors and stories on board. In years past, readers interested in LGBTQ fiction could draw upon a rich history of romance titles in indie publishing and smaller digi-first publishing, but not a lot had made their way through to traditional publishing, Altman says. Now we have the doors kicked wide open.

A few years ago, Altman reached out to rom-com author Alexis Hall. Id been dying to work with him ever since he published Glitterland, she recalls, and they connected at the perfect time, as romance tipped formats from being predominantly mass market to being strongly trade paper. Altman acquired Halls 2020 screwball comedy Boyfriend Material, swiftly followed by Husband Material and the forthcoming Father Material; another novel in the London Calling universe, 10 Things That Never Happened, pubs in October.

Altman expects New Adult (Aug.) by Timothy Janovsky to appeal to the same young, queer rom-com crowd as Hall. Speaking in broad generalities, our Gen-Z readers dont necessarily self-identify as romance readers; they read across shelves, she says. Theres a willingness to let genres bleed together in ways that 10 or 15 years ago they wouldnt have, finding young characters who are discovering the intersecting layers of their identities.

At Kensington Publishing, another indie with a longtime LGBTQ commitment, we launched what was called our gay and lesbian fiction program at the turn of the millennium, in the summer of 1999, says senior communications manager Michelle Addo. This year will be one of our biggest in queer fiction. On the docket: Robyn Gigls Remain Silent (May), the authors third legal thriller starring Erin McCabe, who like Gigl, is a transgender attorney. (See Trans Formative Literature, for interviews with Gigl and other trans novelists.) Kensington also publishes quozyqueer-cozymysteries including CJ Connors Board to Death (Aug.), about a Salt Lake City game store where danger is afoot, and Frank Anthony Politos Rehearsed to Death (May), a mystery about a gay Detroit couple, their home renovation show, and community theater hijinks.

Kensingtons fiction list is built on escapist feel-good fiction, and sharing diverse voices has been a key component from the early days, says publisher Jackie Dinas. We want queer characters and voices in all categoriessuspense, romance, cozy mystery, thriller. Theres a real hunger in the marketplace for happy fiction that shows queer people in every corner of our country.

At fiction publisher Bold Strokes Books, editorial consultant Ruth Sternglantz views LGBTQ publishing as a changing landscape. Tropes that were fresh a decade ago are now stale, and not just because of the market, but because of how queer life has changed. Founded in 2004 by Len Barot, who writes lesbian romance under the pen name Radclyffe, Bold Strokes emphasizes own voices stories, Sternglantz says.

Were looking for contemporary queer stories, evidence of a spark, and craft competence. Shes looking forward to A Calculated Risk (Oct.), a crime thriller by U.K. paramedic Cari Hunter; An Independent Woman (Sept.), a polyamorous, nonbinary romance by Kit Meredith; and Aurora Reys Roux for Two (May), a transgender foodie romp. Sternglantz finds that authors themselves are reinventing what theyre writing, with daring representations of gender and sexuality.

Catherine Lundoff thinks along similar lines. She founded Queen of Swords Press in 2017 and is down for fantasy and lesbian swashbuckling, even though, she says, when I open for submissions, I dont get as many babes-with-blades stories as Id like. She takes chances on unusual work like New Zealand author A.J. Fitzwaters The Adventures of Cinrak the Dapper, about a lesbian capybara (Lundoff calls Cinrak our best all-ages title, very trans affirming, with a nice environmental message and animals solving problems). This year, Queen of Swords is releasing new editions of Melissa Scott and Amy Griswolds fantasy-mystery duology, originally published by Lethe Press in 2013 and 2014: the Lambda-winning Death by Silver (out now) and its sequel, A Death at the Dionysus Club (Dec.).

Were here, at last

Android Press stands at a crossroads of queer voices, SFF, and horror, with a forthcoming list that represents queer writing from the African continent. Among its offerings are Nigerian author Dare Segun Falowos Caged Ocean Dub: Glints and Stories (June), which PWs review called a transporting debut collection, and South African author Xan Van Rooyens cyberpunk-aetherpunk novel Silver Helix (Sept.).

As a trans person, I want to tell stories that highlight queerness and transness, says Justine Norton-Kertson, who founded the press in 2021 with the goal of expressing radical hope in solarpunk and cyberpunk titles. Queer folks have lived as a marginalized population for so long that our whole lives have been speculative, dreaming about how things could be different.

In Hamilton, Ont., three-year-old Stelliform Press likewise publishes speculative fiction, with a focus on climate and on historically marginalized identities. Stelliform publisher and editor-in-chief Selena Middleton explains that queer voices are part of our mission to amplify the voices of people who are not part of a dominant culture, and to imagine how different intersectionalities are impacted by climate pressures. She leans toward community-oriented stories, avoiding despair: Our stories respond to climate in a way that is generative rather than nihilistic. Forthcoming Stelliform titles include E.G. Condes Sordidez (Aug.), set in Puerto Rico and the Yucatan, and the eco-horror novella Green Fuse Burning (Oct.) by Mikmaw author Tiffany Morris.

That search for community, found family, and future potential resonates with LGBTQ-focused indie publishers, who dont shy away from anthologies that unite authors around identity. Neon Hemlocks annual Were Here volume of queer speculative short fiction echoes the were here, were queer Pride shout; the next volume, edited by Naomi Kanakia and Charles Payseur, pubs in September. Global voices shine at the four-year-old publisher, among them Indo-Caribbean author Premee Mohamed, whose And What Can We Offer You Tonight won the 2022 Nebula and World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, and Afrofuturist visionary Shingai Njeri Kagunda, whose novel & This Is How to Stay Alive concerns Kenyan identity and time travel. Neon Hemlock publisher dave ring says the press, which launched in 2019, focuses on acquiring boundary-breaking queer novellas that might be difficult to find a home for at mainstream presses while creating space for nuanced writing, queer and otherwise, that tells underheard stories.

As with others PW spoke with, ring emphasizes the importance of acknowledging characteristics beyond gender and sexuality. People move through the world based on not only their queerness but with all aspects of their identity, ring says. Part of the role of small presses is pushing back against the idea of monolithic identities and showing the breadth of what these experiences can look like.

Read more from our LGBTQ Voices in Publishing:

Trans Formative Literature: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing

Transgender authors bring fresh perspectives to fiction.

Reel Visibility: PW talks with Trevell Anderson

In 'We See Each Other' (Andscape, May), journalist Trevell Anderson shines a critical spotlight on representations of trans people in movies and on TV.

Chuck Tingle Goes Mainstream...ish

The prolific pseudonymous author of queer erotica discusses his first traditionally published novel, 'Camp Damascus,' and insists that his persona isn't just a bit.

We're Here, We Read: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing

Forthcoming books for adults highlight an array of queer experiences through memoir, history, and fiction that conveys larger truths.

10 Essential LGBTQ Memoirs

Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Hull, author of 'Through the Groves,' reflects on the 10 LGBTQ memoirs that shaped her.

10 Essential LGBTQ Novels

C.E. McGill, author of 'Our Hideous Progeny,' highlights 10 impactful queer novels.

20 Essential Queer Comics from the Past Five Years

MariNaomi, whose 'I Thought You Loved Me' is out in May, suggests 20 recent graphic works with LGBTQ themes.

Let the Right Ones In: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing

Queer heroes battle demons and save the day in new middle grade and YA books.

Pride and Joy: LGBTQ Voices in Publishing

Picture books, middle grade and YA fiction, and graphic novels aim to entertain while encouraging children and teens to embrace their identities.

Lambda Literary Enters a New Chapter

The 35-year-old organization is amping up its advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ writers.

The Book Business Needs to Be a Better LGBTQ Ally

Collective Book Studio founder and publisher Angela Engel urges the book community to stand firm against homophobia and transphobia.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The projects implemented by Azerbaijan in Turkish Kahramanmaras are an indicator of relations based on the principle of "one nation, two states", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, Trend reports.

"Together with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the foundation was laid for the town to be built in Kahramanmaras. Along with 1,000 houses, schools and mosques will be built here," he said.

The Azerbaijani state will build a town consisting of 1,000 houses, a school, a mosque and other infrastructure facilities in the earthquake-hit province of Kahramanmaras. Its planned to build and commission this residential complex within one year.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province. The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, and Kahramanmaras were subjected to severe destruction.

As a result of the earthquake that hit Turkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus.

The death toll of the earthquake in Turkiye reached 50,783.
Alstom has announced that it will be providing new-generation trams to French cities Toulouse, Brest and Besancon.

The company has been awarded a joint contract by the three transport authorities: Toulouse Metropole and Tisseo; Brest Metropole; and Grand Besancon Metropole and Ginko.

The group awarded Alstom with a framework agreement of eight years, including a minimum order of twenty-two trams: nine for Toulouse, eight for Brest, and five for Besancon.

Other trams may be ordered during the period of the contract in order to meet the needs of the metropolitan areas' transport services. The first deliveries will take place in Besancon in March 2025, with entry into service scheduled for September of the same year.

The first deliveries will follow for Brest in July 2025 and for Toulouse in January 2026 for commissioning in January 2026 and September 2026, respectively.

The three metropolitan areas jointly agreed the contract, aiming to optimise costs. Alstom's teams relied on the Citadis portfolio, which benefits from the experience of more than three thousand tramsets already ordered in seventy cities in twenty countries around the world.

This includes twenty-four cities in France, most recently Strasbourg, as well as French-speaking Quebec in Canada. The new rolling stock will retain the iconic features and design elements of the trams currently in service in these cities.

They are 32.5 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, and have four double doors of 1.30 metres and two single doors per side. They can carry 201 passengers and are equipped with fully glazed doors to enhance comfort and safety for passengers.

In compliance with the PMR (Persons with Reduced Mobility) regulation, the trams are equipped with door opening buttons at the appropriate height, wider seats and areas reserved for wheelchair users and pushchairs.

They are air-conditioned and equipped with a dynamic passenger information system as well as a video protection system.

The Citadis trams will reduce energy consumption by a quarter compared to the current trams, thanks to a new motorisation, efficient management of climatic comfort and fully LED lighting. The trams are eco-designed, 95% recyclable and 99% reusable.

The new Citadis trams will also reduce maintenance operations by 18% during their thirty years of commercial operation. Maintenance requirements have been taken into account with a reduced number of spare part references, improved accessibility of components and sensors distributed throughout the tram to allow remote diagnosis, so anticipating periods of downtime and offering optimum availability for the commercial service.

Nine Alstom sites in France are involved in the manufacturing of these trams: La Rochelle, for design and assembly, Le Creusot, for the bogies, Ornans, for the motors, Villeurbanne, for on-board electronics and cyber security, Aix-en-Provence, for the tachometric units, Sens, Gennevilliers and Saint-Florentin, for brake discs and linings, and Saint-Ouen, for design.

Citadis trams have covered more than a billion kilometres and carried ten billion passengers since the first tram was put into service in 2000.
This week, we discuss why the violence in Sudan is partly the international communitys fault; great-power competition beyond the Indo-Pacific and Europe; a promising alcohol abstinence program in South Dakota; what an economic Joint Chiefs of Staff might look like; how Kim Jong-un's fears shape North Korea's nuclear agenda; and why critical minerals are more critical than ever.

Photo by El-Tayeb Siddig/Reuters

Recent fighting in Sudan has left hundreds dead and millions more trapped without food, water, or electricity. Thousands of residents and foreigners have fled the country.

It's unclear what will happen next. But according to RAND's Jacqueline Burns, a former adviser to the U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, it will be a long path toward a permanent cessation of hostilities, as she said in a CBS News interview.

Burns also wrote in the New York Times this week about what led to the unrest. While rising tensions between two rival generals were a factor, the problems in Sudan stretch back much further, she says.

Over the last decade, the United States, NATO, and other international interveners have focused on brokering peace deals in Sudan that split power between armed groups. Meanwhile, women, internally displaced persons, and anyone who is not part of a rebel movement are often excluded from the process. As Burns reiterated in an interview with NPR, this approach rarely leads to sustainable peace.

If the international community continues to prioritize the voices of the armed and corrupt over those seeking real political reform and representation, she wrote, we can expect nothing less than the continued cycle of violence and human suffering witnessed over the past week in Sudan.
My wife and I moved from Philadelphia to the western suburbs of Chester County for many reasons. The move offered us the best of all worlds. We would be living close enough to Philadelphia, but in even less time, we could be in rural Chester County, with its mushroom farms, farmers markets, and homemade foods and products. We could go back to South Philly to eat dinner on Passyunk Avenue, or choose to eat at a quiet country inn on a back road with no traffic lights  or even streetlights.

Our neighbors were a mix: some had lived here for decades, some had moved here from more rural communities, and some had come here, like us, from Philadelphia. For us, the suburbs were a bridge to different parts of Pennsylvania and the nation. The suburbs were both the melting pot and the patchwork quilt that is America. Our neighbors had gun racks and Volvos. We all seemed to enjoy our community and appreciate that we were made up of differing backgrounds. In a sense, it was the suburbs that were connecting all of us  and holding America together.

But something changed. I didnt notice it until it had already happened  because it happened slowly.

I shouldve noticed it in the signs that started popping up in coffee shops. The occasional speeches being made by actors at community theaters before or after a show. The new magnets on cars. The impromptu conversations after Mass. The community blogs that were supposed to be about garage sales and advice on finding a plumber but that started sounding like a Sunday morning talk show  the kind where nobody really talks, they just yell and interrupt. We were coming apart.

Finally, I noticed it in our politics. Not just the changing election results but in what the campaigns were focused on, as reflected in candidate speeches, in palm cards, and on webpages.

Somewhere, over the last generation, the suburbs had become ground zero for every societal, cultural  and, ultimately, every political  problem in Pennsylvania and in our nation.

Think of the battles of just the last few years.

The biggest fights over Covid mandates took place in the suburbs  not in rural Pennsylvania, where most people went about their business. Not in Philadelphia, where many could walk to stores or order takeout or delivery, as they did frequently even before the lockdowns. In other words, not where culture is more unified.

The battles were among store-owners of pizza shops, diners, and barbershops and their neighbors, from Langhorne to West Chester. And in 2021 and 2022, the biggest battles came when worlds clashed. When people from more rural areas and those who had moved on from masking ventured into Wayne, Media, or Narberth to buy coffee and were greeted by baristas in masks, who gave them that look: Why dont you have a mask?

And this was nothing compared to the battles over children and schools  not only concerning masks, but also critical race theory, sex education, curriculum, books in school libraries, and student bathrooms.

Not a week goes by without the media focusing on a suburban school district  Central Bucks, Perkiomen Valley, Tredyffrin/Easttown, West Chester, Southeast Delco, Great Valley, and Hatboro-Horsham. (And, in Virginia, most of America knows about the battles in Loudon County  the Chester County of the Washington, D.C. area.)

School board races now cost thousands of dollars to run and generate more interest and higher voter turnout than full-time, paying elected offices. (School board members are not paid in Pennsylvania.) School board meetings have become must-see TV  or must-avoid TV, depending on ones tastes.

The suburbs, then, are no longer a cultural bridge. No longer a melting pot. No longer a patchwork of people and cultures, with mutual appreciation  or at least respect. They are now the flashpoint. Its no wonder that politics has become so heated here. The political clashes are being driven by cultural clashes on deeply personal issues.

When it comes to elections, this is a problem for Republicans since they are currently the opposition party. The trouble is that many people have picked their party  their team  and are unlikely to switch easily. And in this polarized environment, they follow the lead of their party on most issues. And those still undecided politically may not take a favorable view of Republicans, seeing them as merely adversarial to the status quo.

For a long time, the suburbs helped keep America together. Now, its the suburbs that are pulling us apart  at rapid speed and high temperature.

As Pennsylvania  and America  becomes more suburban, its imperative that we find a way to lower that temperature. This is bigger than politics or elections. Its about staying together as a nation.
Property details:

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 1. The Turkish-made combat aircraft will be called "KAAN", Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, Trend reports via Turkish media.

The aircraft was developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

The TAI TF-X (Turkish Fighter) is a stealth, twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter.

The taxiing and ground running tests of the prototype began two days before the scheduled roll-out, on March 16, 2023.

The TF-X's prototype will make its first flight by the end of 2023

The TF-X is planned to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Turkish Air Force and to be exported to foreign nations.
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 67F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 49F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The Securities and Exchange Board of Indias (Sebis) investigation into the Hindenburg allegations is making slow progress when it comes to obtaining information from overseas regulators, particularly around ultimate beneficial ownerships of certain foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), said people in the know.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Establishing ultimate beneficial ownerships for FPIs is a very complex exercise.

"Several jurisdictions allow omnibus structures where the end beneficiaries are not required to be captured or are based in some other geographies.

"This entails writing to different regulators, some of whom may not be entitled to share information due to different pacts, said a person in the know.

Sources said Sebi has been writing to various regulators in several jurisdictions over the past few weeks regarding the Adani issue.

Some of the information sought includes bank statements from offshore financial institutions, background of the offshore-related entities, licences received by them and letters submitted by Adani group companies to the offshore regulators.

Transactions by the groups entities in places like Mauritius, UAE, Cyprus and British Virgin Islands have come under scanner following the allegations by Hindenburg.

An email sent to Sebi did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.

Typically, Sebi has memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with offshore regulators for exchange of information.

For tax-related matters, information exchange is usually done under the double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs).

The MoUs work in most cases. However, it also depends on the extent of data sought.

"Not all regulators are very forthcoming with providing voluminous information.

"It requires multiple requests and follow-ups, which can be a cumbersome process, said a legal expert.

Sources said that the details sought by Sebi are to reconfirm certain transactions and connections among entities.

It is also for independent verification and analysis of the information submitted by Adani group companies.

On Saturday, Sebi filed a petition before the Supreme Court, seeking an extension in the deadline by six months to complete the Adani probe.

The petition by the market regulator throws some light on the difficulties it has faced in trying to complete the probe within a stipulated time period of two months.

Sebi submits that the investigation would also require obtaining bank statements from multiple domestic as well as international banks.

"As the bank statements would also be for transactions undertaken more than 10 years ago, this would take time and be challenging.

"This process of seeking bank statements from the offshore banks would entail taking assistance from offshore regulators, which may be time consuming and challenging, Sebi has said in its submission to the apex court.

Between February 12 and April 22, Sebi wrote to the Adani group 11 times seeking documents from various listed and unlisted entities.

Some of these documents involve minutes of audit committee meetings, reasons for availing or granting loans along with the details on tranche-wise payments.

They also include shareholding and director details and background of offshore entities.

The regulator has further submitted that it has formed only a prima facie view on the various allegations made in the Hindenburg report.

And, to arrive at a final conclusion, it would require more time and analysis.

The regulator has specifically highlighted eight areas where examination and investigations would require more time.

These include possible violations related to related-party transaction disclosures, public shareholding norms, insider trading and FPI regulations.

The Adani group, in a statement has said, There are no conclusions of any alleged wrong-doing.

"The Sebi application only cites the allegations made in the short-sellers report, which are still under investigation.
Bahujan Samaj Party's Afzal Ansari was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha on Monday after being convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment in a kidnapping-and-murder case by a court in Uttar Pradesh.

IMAGE: Bahujan Samaj Party's Afzal Ansari. Photograph: ANI

Ansari, the Lok Sabha member from Ghazipur, was sentenced by an MP/MLA court on Saturday, while his brother, criminal-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was also convicted in the same case and sent to 10 years in jail.

The brothers were booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then BJP MLA from Ghazipur, Krishnanad Rai, on November 29, 2005 and the kidnapping-murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.

"Consequent upon his conviction...Afzal Ansari, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Ghazipur Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 29 April, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951," according to a Lok Sabha secretariat notification.

On March 24, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lost his Lok Sabha membership after his conviction and two-year jail term in a 2019 defamation case.

Ansari will not be able to contest elections as his disqualification period is 10 years.

Citing Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, sources said Ansari's disqualification will be for 10 years  four years of the jail term awarded by the court and another six years from the date of his release, as prescribed in the law.

Ansari can get his disqualification revoked if a superior court stays his conviction and sentencing.

NCP Lok Sabha member from Lakshadweep Mohammed Faizal, who was convicted in an attempt to murder case by the Kavarathi sessions court on January 11 this year, was disqualified from the house two days later.

Faizal had moved the Kerala High Court which stayed his conviction and sentencing. The Lok Sabha Secretariat revoked his disqualification on March 29, when his petition in this regard was to be heard by the Supreme Court.

Technically, the Election Commission can hold a bypoll to the Ghazipur parliamentary seat as there is over one year left for the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha. The term of the current Lok Sabha ends on June 16, 2024.

At present, there are four vacancies in Lok Sabha  Wayanad, Ghazipur, Pune and Jalandhar.

Rahul Gandhi, who represented Wayanad in Kerala in Lok Sabha, was disqualified on March 24.

The Pune and Jalandhar seats fell vacant following the death of sitting members Girish Bapat (BJP) and Santokh Singh Chaudhary (Congress) respectively.

The Election Commission has announced a byelection for Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat on May 10.
In another major step to curb terror activities, the Centre has blocked 14 mobile messenger applications being used by terror groups, sources said.

IMAGE: CRPF personnel near the encounter site where two militants were killed, in Srinagar, April 10, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

It is learnt that these applications were mostly being used by over ground workers of different terrorist organisations based in Jammu and Kashmir to spread the message and to receive notifications from Pakistan.

The action was taken based on intelligence inputs shared with the Central government in a secret communication recently.

Soon after the information was shared with the ministry of home affairs that these applications are being used by OWGs and members of different terrorist groups to circulate anti-India messages, the ministry in close coordination with IT ministry and other concerned agencies blocked them.

As per sources, the majority of these mobile applications are specially designed to maintain the anonymity of the users as well as their inbuilt features also make it difficult in finding out the entities associated with them.

Through these applications, terrorist outfits and their affiliates were engaging their associates in Jammu and Kashmir to further their terror activities in the Union Territory and other places, said sources.

As inputs received that these applications are being used to further terror propaganda and incite youths in Jammu and Kashmir, the Central government blocked them under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Maoists on Monday torched two tipper trucks engaged in construction work in the Ittapara area of Sukma district, said Sukma superintendent of police, Sunil Sharma.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The incident took place in the jurisdiction of the Phulbagdi police station.

Upon receiving the information, the District Reserve Guard team reached the spot.

According to SP Sharma, three labourers were rescued safely and brought to Phulbagdi police station.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier, on Friday, four naxals surrendered under the Puna Nakom Abhiyan of the Chhattisgarh government.

The development comes days after 10 personnel of DRG were killed in an ambush attack triggered by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada.

In a statement, the Central Reserve Police Force attributed the surrender to its efforts to bring the Leftist ultras back into the mainstream.

Further, in its statement, the paramilitary force informed that the four hardcore Naxalites surrendered before the CRPF and civil police in Sukma.

"The surrendered Maoists cadres have been identified as Gaddon Ramesh (DAKMS member), Kursam Bhima (militia member), Madkam Saara (president Janathan Sarkar Sakler RPC), Madvi Ganga (militia member)," the statement read.

All surrendered cadres are residents of Kistaram, Sukma and were active for the last 4-5 years.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Sunday announced a series of nationwide mass protests between August 1 to August 15 to press for their demands of legal sanctity of minimum support price, farmers pension and a comprehensive crop insurance scheme.

IMAGE: Police stop SKM supporters during a protest, in Patiala, February 13, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

The decision was taken at the national meeting of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of various farm unions, held on Sunday.

According to the farmers body, more than 200 farmer leaders of constituent organisations attended the meet.

It said agitations will be held in all states/Union territories of the country, from May 26 to May 31, over its core demands of minimum support price law, liberation from debt, farmer and farm workers pension, comprehensive crop insurance scheme, among others.

"This will include leading large protest marches to all Members of Parliament and key political leaders in their home constituencies and submitting memoranda to them, warning them to immediately resolve all farmers demands failing which they will face further protests," the SKM said in a statement.

In the months of May, June and July, state and district level conventions of the SKM shall be held in every state/UT to galvanise and organise farmers and farm workers, it said.

Between August 1 to 15, mass protests in coordination with workers unions and organisations shall be held to put an end to the sale of interest of farmers and workers to corporates by the Centre, the statement said.

"Between September to mid-November, massive all-India yatras shall be held all over the country, which shall be led by national leaders of SKM. The yatras will specially focus on states that will see assembly elections such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, etc," it noted.

The farmers body also announced 'India Shaheedi Diwas' to be observed on October 3, the day eight people, including four farmers, were killed in 2021.

"On November 26, the day on which the historic Dilli Chalo march of farmers reached the borders of Delhi, 'Vijay Diwas' shall be celebrated by way of holding day-night dharna for at least three days in all state capitals," it said.

The SKM also expressed solidarity with the protesting women wrestlers against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

It lent its support to former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik, who it said has been a supporter of farmers.
To retrieve Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and make it a part of India is very much on the government's agenda, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday.

IMAGE: Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences (I/C) Jitendra Singh. Photograph: ANI Photo

In a meeting with London-based Jammu and Kashmir-origin students and social groups, he said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over, he sought to "correct several anomalies of the past that were the legacy of successive governments since 1947".

Singh, who is on an official visit to the UK, said the abrogation of Article 370 has created a sense of belonging among the people of Jammu and Kashmir and given them equal rights vis-a-vis their counterparts in the rest of the country.

In 2019, the central government had abrogated the article, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Prime Minister Modi will be remembered for having brought "justice to refugees from Pakistan settled in Jammu and Kashmir and to the daughters of Jammu and Kashmir who were deprived of their constitutional rights of citizenship and owning property", the minister of state for personnel said referring to the government's 2019 decision.

He said as a result of the corrective measures adopted by Prime Minister Modi, India's stature has risen globally, and there is no ambiguity left as far as India's position about Jammu and Kashmir is concerned which is, it is an integral part of the Indian Union.

"If only the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had allowed the then home minister Sardar Patel to handle Jammu and Kashmir in the same manner he was handling other princely states of India, today the part of Jammu and Kashmir that is illegally occupied by Pakistan would have been a part of India and the issue of PoJK would have never have risen," the minister said, according to an official statement issued here.

"However, he said, it is very much on the agenda of the government led by Prime Minister Modi and the BJP as a political party to retrieve the illegally occupied PoJK from the control of Pakistan and restore it back to India," it said.

Different groups that interacted with Singh told him about the recent activities conducted by them to unite groups of people of Indian origin against anti-India forces, the statement said.

The minister told them that time has come to create "our own narrative so that false narratives created by our adversaries do not gain upper hand".

Under Prime Minister Modi, the world is ready to listen to India's viewpoint and the message that nobody can challenge or harm the integrity and sovereignty of India should go loud and clear across all sections, he said.

The meeting, which lasted for nearly an hour, consisted of people engaged in different areas of work and hailing from different regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

Present in the meeting were also representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre branch in London who have their main office in New Delhi. There were also members of Dogra organisations of Jammu and Kashmir and members of Kashmiri Pandit activist groups, the statement said.

Singh appreciated the manner in which they had contributed in correcting the negative narrative about India, particularly in the context of Jammu and Kashmir, by certain "vested interests" and had also stood up to the challenge of anti-India forces in the UK, the statement added.
UTC & GMT: same but different? UTC & GMT: same but different?

Some companies name their travel watches GMT, while others prefer to label them UTC. Is this a marketing ploy or a genuine technical... Some companies name their travel watches...
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Generally cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 55F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable.
At least 17 people were killed and 29 injured on Thursday when a passenger bus collided with a truck on Kharga-Assiut highway, southern Egypt.
CLEVELAND, Texas - Hundreds of law enforcement agents descended on this small city to search door-to-door for a man accused of shooting and killing five people, including an 9-year-old, using an AR-15-style rifle, shattering life's normal rhythm for locals.

More than 250 officers from local, state and federal agencies are part of the manhunt for the suspect, who has been at large since allegedly gunning down his neighbors on Friday night after they asked him to stop shooting in his yard while their baby was trying to sleep.

At a vigil held for the dead Sunday, community members hugged one another and sang "Amazing Grace." A man said he went to church on Sunday morning for the first time in a long while. Another woman said her sense of safety, even inside her own home, is shattered. The massacre, which came after what should have been an innocuous exchange between neighbors, marked the seventh attack of its kind this month - gun violence sparked by seemingly everyday interactions. And the extensive manhunt for the suspect has so far yielded little.

"The longer this goes on, this will get harder," James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston field office, said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. "We do not know where he is. . . . We're running into dead ends. We have zero leads to him."

Law enforcement officers initially searched for the suspect, Francisco Oropeza, 38, in a wooded area near the Cleveland neighborhood where the shooting occurred, but they eventually lost his trail. The FBI's Houston office on Sunday warned anyone who might see Oropeza not to confront him because he was considered "armed and dangerous."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the FBI and other groups are collectively offering an $80,000 reward for information that leads to the suspect's arrest.

President Biden was briefed Sunday morning on the search for the gunman, according to a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Biden has not commented directly on the shooting.

Oropeza "could be anywhere" within 10 to 20 square miles, Smith had said Saturday after authorities expanded their search area. Officials said that they found the AR-15-style weapon allegedly used in the killings, as well as articles of clothing and a cellphone, but that they were unsure whether the suspect had another gun with him.

The FBI's Houston office said people can share tips about the suspect at 936-653-4367.

Oropeza faces five counts of murder in the killings of four adults and a 9-year-old child, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said. Authorities said all five victims were shot in the head. Five other people survived the shooting in the small city about 45 miles northeast of downtown Houston.

During Sunday's news conference, reporters questioned officials after the FBI's Houston office released an incorrect image of the gunman. "It was a mistake," Smith said.

"For an investigation like this, we're receiving information from a whole slew of agencies," he added. "We acted quickly to remove that photo. We're 100 percent confident we now have the right photo out there."

Capers, the San Jacinto County sheriff, told media that officials are in "constant contact" with the alleged gunman's wife.

At least three physically unharmed children were found at the crime scene Friday night and put in an ambulance, Capers said. Two of the women who were killed were found lying on top of the surviving young children in a bedroom, according to authorities.

"They were covered in blood from the same ladies who were laying on top of them, trying to protect them," Capers added. The children "are now safe and with family."

The killings marked at least the seventh incident this month in which an armed American shot others in response to otherwise unremarkable encounters. Among them, an 84-year-old man allegedly shot a teenager who accidentally knocked on the wrong door in Kansas City. In Upstate New York, a man allegedly killed a 20-year-old woman who was in a car that mistakenly pulled into his driveway. And in South Florida, someone shot a delivery driver and his girlfriend when they came to the wrong address.

Oropeza was firing his weapon in his yard Friday about 11 p.m. when his neighbors asked him to stop, noting that their baby was trying to sleep, officials said. Rather than ceasing, Oropeza allegedly became angry, took the gun inside the neighbors' home and killed half the people there.

The victims were identified Saturday as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9. All were from Honduras, authorities said.

Gunfire rings out often in the rural community of San Jacinto, residents said.

"Your heart knows not to race so much when you hear it," Juanis Renovato, a local resident, told The Washington Post. "Those are mostly men trying to show off their power."

It doesn't usually end in tragedy, she added in an interview conducted in Spanish.

"This was just incredibly shocking," Renovato said. "To think my children are students in the same school as one of the victims; to think we could've had similar life circumstances - it's tragic."

"It shows it can happen to anyone, and [after] doing something as common as asking a neighbor to stop the noise," she added.

Dozens of families, teachers and community members huddled at the front entrance of Northside Elementary School during a vigil on Sunday. It was a farewell to Laso, the 9-year-old killed in the shooting. The third-grader loved any sport, always carried a smile and loved helping out his mother, Sonia Guzman, who was also killed in the shooting, with his younger siblings, said his aunt, Lucia Guzman.

"He was the most beloved kid ever," Lucia said in Spanish. "And his heart knew no bounds."

The family is trying to raise funds to take their bodies to Honduras to be buried. "Home will be their resting place," Lucia said, standing next to a flag pole covered with dozens of roses, sunflowers and balloons splashed with "Paw Patrol" cartoons.

Despite the ongoing manhunt, schools in Cleveland Independent School District, which has nearly 12,000 students, planned to open Monday. Crisis counselors will be ready to aid grieving students and staff, said Cleveland ISD Superintendent Stephen McCanless.

Because of the relentless wave of gun violence gripping the nation, Cleveland ISD has established stricter security protocols. "And we will keep adding them because can you ever get to the point where you're completely secure?" McCanless said. "I don't know if anybody can ever say that, but I'll guarantee you this: We're working hard every day to ensure security throughout our district and to make sure our students and staff and parents feel secure."

In a district McCanless described as "tight-knit and family oriented," the shooting sent shockwaves of fear and grief. Isabella Rodriguez, 18, said her 7-year-old cousin, who lives just a couple of blocks away from the crime scene, was friends with Laso and the boys would often ride the school bus together.

"He heard the gunshots and he's been crying since then," Rodriguez said. "He's asking if he and his family are going to die."

At the same time, the flood of support has also arrived as a sign of hope. On Sunday evening, vigil-goers prayed in Spanish and English, clasping their hands together and offering each other hugs. At the end, the group sang "Amazing Grace."

"We're going through a tragedy right now, but Cleveland is close knit," McCanless said. "We might never know what brought this pain, but we're going to get through it and we'll come out on the other side even stronger."

Vianey Balderas, who lives across the street from the family, said her terror prevented her from sleeping most of Friday night.

"I am now afraid to be at home," Balderas, 27, said in Spanish. "This shatters the sense of safety of being in your own home, especially because they are neighbors whom I see every day."

Capers, the sheriff, told reporters Saturday that it could be considered illegal for someone to fire a weapon in their yard in a subdivision like the one where the shooting occurred, but he stopped short of saying that Oropeza had broken the law in that regard.

On Sunday morning, with the shooter still at large, scores of families packed into Cleveland's Saint Mary's Church, seeking comfort and kinship after a tragedy threw a spotlight onto their rural community of some 8,000 residents.

Carlos Rivera had been meaning to go to church for a while, but "life has a way of getting between us" and the Spanish Mass at noon, he told The Post. Hearing about the shooting on Saturday, however, moved him to head to church with his 5-year-old son, Joshua, and 13-year-old daughter, Genesis.

"What happened in our town has turned us into national and international news," Father Andy Vu said during his homily in Spanish. "We have to be good shepherds for the sake of families and town."

In a nearby booth, as Vu narrated the events from Friday night, a child whispered to his father: "Do you think they're going to heaven?"

"My little son, let's pray they do," the child's father said.

- - -

Iati, Javaid and Kaur reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Mark Berman, Justine McDaniel, Toluse Olorunnipa, Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrea Salcedo in Washington contributed to this report.
Stan Tekiela Author / Naturalist/Getty Images

LITCHFIELD  Wildlife biologists rescued a bear cub from a tree in Litchfield Sunday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

DEEPs Environmental Conservation Police responded to the stuck bear that morning, a DEEP spokesperson said Monday.
'All participants in the National Dialogue agreed that the dialogue agenda will not include three issues: amending the constitution, Egypt's foreign policy, and national security," explained Diaa Rashwan, general coordinator of the National Dialogue.
IT consulting company CSM Tech has signed a multi-million dollar contract with the West African nation of Gabon, a company statement said.

The deal is for the implementation of a timber traceability solution and an electronic timber trade platform for the ministry of Economy and Recovery of the Government of Gabon.

The agreement was signed by Nicole Jeanine LydieRobotyMbou, Minister of Economy and Recovery of Gabon and Priyadarshi Nanu Pany, Founder & CEO of CSM Tech last week, the statement said.

The project was kicked-off recently by the Minister of Waters & Forests of the Government of Gabon, Professor Lee White.

"We are delighted to bag this opportunity and develop this one-stop, seamless digital solution for the Gabon government. This traceability platform will set new benchmarks in the transparent and sustainable timber trade. It will open up access to global markets for Gabon's finished wood products," said Priyadarshi Nanu Pany.

He said it will also ease timber trade for domestic and export markets while strengthening the government's oversight over log movement and transactions. This milestone project deal will also throw open digital business opportunities in West Africa and Francophone countries.

The project aims at the digital transformation of existing forest and business operations, ensuring sustainable forest management through digitalization and end-to-end tracking of all administrative and technical activities, it added.
Against the backdrop of China's increasing military assertiveness in the Indian Ocean region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Didi agreed on Monday to expand the bilateral military ties and called for upholding a rules-based global order during their talks in Male.

On his arrival, Singh was accorded a warm welcome, with the Maldivian defence minister receiving him at the Velana airport in the North Male Atoll, reflecting the importance the island nation has attached to the visit.

"As a special gesture, reflecting the warmth in the bilateral relations, the Defence Minister of Maldives broke protocol and personally received the Raksha Mantri upon arrival at the airport," the defence ministry said in Delhi.

Singh also held talks with Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and discussed issues of defence and infrastructure cooperation in the Maldives by India with him.

On the Singh-Didi talks, the defence ministry said matters relating to mutual cooperation and new initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral defence and security partnership were discussed at the meeting.

India will be handing over a fast patrol vessel, along with an assault landing craft, to the Maldivian Coast Guard at a ceremony on Tuesday.

"Our meeting in Male today was very good. We exchanged views on multiple subjects including further boosting the defence partnership between India and Maldives," Singh wrote on Twitter.

He is scheduled to call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday.

The Madivian defence ministry said Singh's visit represents a "significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries as it brings a new level of dynamism and impetus to the already existing defence ties".

It said the talks between Singh and Didi covered regional and global security issues of mutual concern and that both sides agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in the defence and security domains.

"Both ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the region, and recognised the need to work together to address common security challenges," the ministry said in a statement.

It said the two ministers underscored the importance of respecting international laws and a rules-based international order, and expressed their commitment to upholding these principles.

"They also noted the importance of sharing best practices and expertise in areas such as counterterrorism, disaster management, cybersecurity and maritime security," it said.

"The ministers agreed to explore new avenues for cooperation, including in the areas of defence trade, capacity building and joint exercises," the Maldivian defence ministry added.

The Indian high commission in Male said Singh interacted with senior officers of the Maldivian defence forces and highlighted that the defence cooperation between the two countries is aimed at confronting common challenges and promoting peace and security in the region.

In a series of tweets, the high commission said the defence minister complimented the armed forces on both sides for their "initiative and zeal" in maintaining the close cooperation.

Chief of Maldivian defence forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal and several other senior officials were among those who welcomed Singh at the airport near capital city Male.

"Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister Didi will attend a formal ceremony to hand over an offshore patrol vessel, along with an assault landing craft, and inaugurate the development project of the MNDF Coast Guard Harbour and repair facility at Sifavaru," the Maldivian defence ministry said.

It is Singh's first visit to the Maldives as the defence minister.

The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the project, a 6.74-km-long bridge and a causeway link will be built to connect Male with the adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of India's Neighbourhood First policy.
Indian Armys Armoured Corps is celebrating its 85th Armour Day, today, May 1. Chief of army staff General Manoj Pande and all ranks of the Indian army wished the Armoured regiment on its raising day. Armoured Corps is said to be one of the best regiments of the Indian army and every year on May 1 the regiment celebrates its raising day.

On this day in 1938, the Scindi horse became the first regiment to shed their horses to be equipped with modern weaponry like tanks. It is one of the combat regiments of the Indian Army. This regiment has participated in many battles that India has fought and had a major role to play to ensure Indias victory against Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.

General Manoj Pande #COAS and All Ranks of #IndianArmy convey best wishes to All Ranks, Veterans & Families of Armoured Corps on the occasion of 85th #ArmourDay. #IndianArmy #OnPathToTransformation pic.twitter.com/igsccgSW60  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 1, 2023

About Indian Armys Armoured Corps

The regiment first originated in 1776. The present corps was formed in the year 1947 i.e. after independence from two-thirds of the assets and personnel of the British Indian Armys Indias Armoured Corps. It currently consists of 67 armoured regiments. Officers and soldiers who serve as the presidents bodyguard are also chosen from this prestigious regiment of the Indian Army.

Ahmednagar, Maharashtra is home to the Armoured Corps school. Six armoured companies arrived in the year 1921, and the Royal Tank Corps was founded at Ahmednagar in the following year to train the Royal Tank Corps' members. The institution served as the precursor to the fighting vehicle school, which started teaching driving and maintenance skills. The current school and facility were created in 1948 by combining the fighting vehicle school, the machine gun school, the training regiments, the recruit training centre, the Armoured Corps Depot, and the Armoured Corps Records.

Three Sabre squadrons and a headquarters squadron make up an armoured regiment. An officer of the Major Rank is in charge of each squadron. The officer is a Squadron Commander by appointment. A typical armoured unit has 40 to 50 tanks. There are 1415 tanks and one armoured recovery vehicle in each Sabre squadron. The commandant's tank is one of the three that form part of the headquarters squadron's equipment. There are 4 troops in each squadron, each with 3 tanks. The regiment's motto, Shaurya Tejo Yuddhe, is "Heroism and Boldness in Battle," and it is taken from the Bhagavad Gita.

The regiment uses T90 Bhisma tanks and has been upgraded by DRDO, T-72 M1 variants with upgrades namely Ajeya MK1/MK2 and the combat-improved Ajeya. The MBT Arjun Mk1A is the latest addition to the regiment which has improved the firepower of the Indian Army. It is an indigenously developed tank by the DRDO and is a dependable war machine built with modern technologies, it has state-of-the-art weapon platforms with superior firepower, excellent mobility, increased protection and crew comfort with 14 major upgrades with Arjun MBT MK1 already in service with the Indian Army.
Police have arrested a Nigerian national and seized the banned drug methaqualone worth Rs 11.6 lakh from his possession in Navi Mumbai township, an official said on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, the Navi Mumbai police's Anti-Narcotics Cell raided a flat in Taloja area on Saturday.

They nabbed the accused, identified as Boniface Emenike (45), hailing from Awkuzu in Nigeria, and seized 116 grams of methaqualone from his possession, the police said in a release. During questioning, it came to light that the accused did not possess any visa or passport for travel and stay in India, it said.

The accused was booked under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Passports Act and the Foreigners Act, the release said. The police were trying to find out from where the accused procured the contraband and to whom he planned to sell it.
Evacuees carry their luggages as they cross into Egypt through the Argeen land port, after being evacuated from Sudan to escape the conflict, east of the High Dam Lake on the Sudan border with Egypt.
The United States aid agency says it has suspended all food assistance to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray until further notice while it investigates the theft of humanitarian supplies.
Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho. The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.

Israel launched the raids after a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring. That set off some of the worst fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in years and while Israel says the raids are meant to thwart future attacks, violence against Israelis does not appear to be slowing.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Casualties have spiked this year, with 98 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, with just under half of those affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most of those killed have been armed fighters, but youths protesting the incursions have also been killed as have people not involved in the confrontations.

The Palestinians see the raids as a further entrenchment of Israel's 56-year, open-ended occupation. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem for their hoped-for independent state. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war.
When he travels to Damascus this week, Ebrahim Raisi will be the first Iranian president to visit Syria in more than 10 years. Tehran's ambassador to Damascus has promoted the talks as a "turning point" in regional relations.

According to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, Ambassador Hossein Akbari stated on Sunday in an interview that the two-day trip to Damascus would strengthen the relationship between the two embattled nations that oppose western world dominance. He seemed to allude to America's hegemonic foreign policy. This trip will not only be beneficial for Tehran and Damascus, but it is a very good event that other countries in the region can also take advantage of," said Hossein Akbari.

Taking an anti-US stand

Ambassador Akbari emphasised the significance of the visit's timing due to the ongoing developments in the region. He mentioned that Iran and Saudi Arabia are set to open embassies in each other's countries within days, following an agreement last month to normalise relations under China's mediation.

Additionally, some Arab countries are now normalising relations with Damascus after years of supporting rebel fighters in a failed attempt to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the help of the US.

In 2011, the Syrian uprising began, leading to a war that resulted in over 500,000 fatalities and caused a massive refugee crisis. Assad emerged victorious, reclaiming control of most of the country, largely thanks to military and economic assistance from Russia and Iran. Iranian officials anticipate that this success will encourage other nations that oppose US hegemony.

This trip can open a space and chapter of interaction between the countries that oppose the domination system, especially the countries that are in the area of sanctions and have common interests, Akbari said. Other countries can also use it.

Mohammad Jamshidi, Tehrans deputy presidential chief of staff for political affairs, said Raisis trip to Syria will be a celebration for the so-called axis of resistance. He added: West Asia has undergone a tense period of geopolitical change with two results: victory of Iran and failure of the US.

General Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian military commander who was assassinated by US forces in January 2020, taught his countrys leader that successful diplomacy is rooted in being powerful in the field, Jamshidi said.

The last Iranian president before Raisi to visit Damascus was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who travelled to the Syrian capital in 2010.
US intelligence documents have been leaked on the Discord messaging platform revealing conversations between Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his junior Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on the foreign policy matters, according to a media report on Sunday.

In one internal memo titled 'Pakistans Difficult Choices', parts of which were published by the Washington Post on Sunday, Khar cautions that Pakistan should avoid giving the impression of "appeasing" the West, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

She warns that the country can no longer attempt to maintain a middle ground between regional neighbour China and the US.

In the memo, Khar argues that preserving Pakistan's partnership with the US would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of its "real strategic" partnership with China.

The undated document does not specify how the US obtained access to Khar's memo, a report published by the Washington Post revealed.

The leak of US intelligence documents, posted largely on social media websites, was believed to be the most serious security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos, and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

The episode embarrassed the US by revealing its spying on allies, including Pakistan, and the purported military vulnerabilities of Ukraine.

The leaked documents provide a rare glimpse into the private calculations made by influential regional powers such as India, Brazil, Pakistan, and Egypt.

The documents also offer new insights into the obstacles that the Biden administration faces in securing global support for its efforts.

Another leaked document related to Pakistan dated February 17 describes Prime Minister Sharif's deliberations with an unnamed subordinate about an upcoming UN vote on the Ukraine conflict.

The document says that an aide advised Sharif that support for the measure would signal a shift in Pakistan's position, jeopardising its ability to negotiate trade and energy deals with Russia.

Pakistan was among the 32 countries that abstained when the UN General Assembly vote took place on February 23.

The Post report further said that Pakistani officials as well as those from other countries named in the leaked documents declined to comment.

The story emerges at a time when Washington has already confirmed that it has no objections to Pakistan's decision to import oil from Moscow.

"Each country will make its own sovereign decisions regarding its energy supply," US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a weekly briefing.

According to the Express Tribune newspaper, Matias Spektor, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said developing nations are recalibrating their positions as America faces potent new competition from China and Russia.

"It's unclear who will end up in a pole position in 10 years' time, so they need to diversify their risk and hedge their bets," Spektor told the Post. PTI SH ZH ZH
Leaked documents indicate that Russia is attempting to sabotage environmental campaign activities in the Baltic in order to increase its influence and sway public opinion against NATO's military deployment. Moscow's freedom to manoeuvre in the area has shrunk as Finland joined the alliance, Sweden is getting ready to do the same, and the three Baltic states have built up their military defences, The Times reported

The Baltic Sea has historically been of great strategic importance to Russia, not least because its ports are crucial for trade. Plans to try to rebuild the Kremlin's position in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, which were created for one of President Putin's closest advisers and made public last week by a number of European news sources, however, exposed the limits on what the Kremlin can actually accomplish in the region.

Challenges of The Baltics, Russia relations

The Kremlin has failed to increase its influence over the Baltic economies or to fortify pro-Russian political parties there. Moscow is attempting to capitalise on worries over the sea's ecological destruction, the leaks suggest. The creation of a Russian front body called the Baltic Platform is suggested in a strategy document that appears to have been given to Putin's administration four or five months ago in order to capitalise on concerns about environmental damage, The Times reported.

Over the past few decades, a number of marine species have gone locally extinct due to heavy industrial pollution, overfishing, and global warming. However, it appears that there are at least two additional goals. The first goal is to increase Russia's contacts with businesses, politicians, researchers, and civil society organisations in the area in order to lay the foundation for later influence and espionage operations, according to Aleksander Toots, the deputy head of Estonia's domestic intelligence agency, known as KAPO. The second was to attribute the majority of the harm to the West, the "Anglo-Saxon" world, and hence NATO, according to the papers.

The Presidential Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation, a Kremlin think tank that answers to Dmitry Kozak, Putin's deputy chief of staff, created the leaked plans. They may or may not have become official government policy, but several security organisations in the regions claimed they were consistent with earlier Russian strategies, The Times reported.
The Sri Lanka police have released 25 Chinese suspects, who were involved in an alleged online financial fraud, but have continued to probe the crime. "They have been released on bail and despite that the investigation has been going on," said police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa, reported local newspaper. While sharing more details about the case, Thalduwa asserted that the detectives from the police computer crime division had yet to complete their investigations as they were required to study a large number of electronic devices taken into custody alongside the suspects.

Probe into the online fraud underway

It is to be noted that on April 14, the Kalutara Magistrate, Sri Lanka ordered the release of the 25 Chinese suspects on surety bail of Rs 500,000 each. According to the MawrataNews, the next hearing on this case has been scheduled for June 14. Further, a separate investigation is being carried out by the Aluthgama Police. One of the suspects out of 25 has been fined Rs 500,000 for possessing illegal cigarettes and on Wednesday, he paid the fine. In Sri Lanka, the Aluthgama police took at least 39 Chinese people in their custody in relation to online money fraud, reported Daily Mirror.

According to the police officer's statment, these suspects have stolen millions of dollars from online accounts belonging to people in various nations over several months. The accused group of people have been staying at a resort in Kaluamodara, Aluthgama, and have been detained as a result of complaints made to multiple embassies, as per the Daily Mirror news report. Further as per the English Daily News, the detained Chinese nationals were being transported to the Alutgama police, where authorities had seized multiple smartphones and cash from their possession. This has been the second time that such a crime has taken place in a time span of one week involving Chinese nationals being detained abroad for online fraud.
The UK Ministry of Defence has made a list of military equipment and ammunition that it has planned to purchase for Ukraine in the near future, reported Ukrinform. The List by the UK Ministry of Defence includes long-range missiles or rockets with a range of 100 to 300 km. The list of planned purchases has been released on the website of the UK Government, reported a Ukrainian local news outlet.



List of military equipment and ammunition by UK

According to the published details by the UK government, the main requirements for missiles are those which must be launched from land, sea or air. Whereas, the payload of ammunition should be from 20 to 490 kg. Other desirable requirements are:

Low Probability of Intercept (LPI)

Mission Planning Capability

Assured navigation (with hardened Global Navigation Satellite System capability) in the face of advanced countermeasures and EM spectrum denial

Air defence penetration methods to increase the probability of a successful strike

Technical Readiness Level of at least 8

Further, to maximise the mobility of the Ukrainian Army, the UK had voiced for the purchase of engineering equipment and heavy equipment transporters:

Armoured minefield breaching capabilities  mine rollers and mine ploughs full width and track width for Main Battle Tanks  T-72, Leopard 1, Leopard 2. Armoured mine-clearing vehicles. Armoured vehicles launched bridges and launchers in any size. Medium Girder Bridges: 9m to 31m, with at least Military Load Capacity (MLC)  70(T). Logistical support bridge launchers and reusable bridges: 40m to 80m, with at least Military Load Capacity (MLC)  70(T). Heavy equipment transporters capable of transporting Main Battle Tanks.

Apart from this, the British Ministry of Defence planned to purchase equipment to strengthen Ukrainian air defence. The International Fund for Ukraine has been funded by a mechanism that uses funding from international partners to procure priority military assistance for Ukraine at pace. This would make sure that there is a continued supply of military support  lethal and non-lethal  to Ukraine through 2023 and beyond. The UK Ministry of Defence has been administering the fund on behalf of an Executive Panel, comprising the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. These partners, along with Iceland and Lithuania, have contributed a collective total of more than 520 million to the fund to date, as per the UK government website.
The migration crisis at the border between Chile and Peru escalated last week as hundreds of stranded individuals attempted to return to their home country of Venezuela but were unable to cross into Peru due to document-related restrictions. At the border of the two South American countries, the migrants are exposed to the harsh climate of the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest regions on earth and experiences extremely hot days and intensely cold nights. While some of the migrants have created makeshift tents with blankets, they lack access to basic necessities such as water and other essential services.

Peruvian officers prevented a group of migrants from running through the desert toward Peru. Some women among the group voiced their complaints and demanded that the government of President Gabriel Boric arrange for a bus to transport them to Venezuela, reported AP.

Chile & Peru declare emergency in the region

Officials in Arica, the northern Chilean city that borders Peru and is around 2,000 kilometers (1,245 miles) from the capital of Santiago, declared a migration emergency Thursday.

A day earlier, the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, declared a state of emergency in Tacna, a town near the border with Chile, in order to preserve domestic order and contain the arrival of migrants. In announcing the measure, the president attributed criminal acts to migrants.

Boluarte has expressed her intention to advocate for a constitutional reform that would permit the armed forces to intervene in the border region. In contrast, Boric has already dispatched troops to the border in late February to assist in preventing the entry of migrants.

Chile's government requested a meeting with Peruvian Ambassador Jaime Pomareda to convey its dissatisfaction with Tacna Mayor Pascual Guisa's remarks. Guisa had referred to Chile's president as "irresponsible" for attempting to shift the country's migration problems to the border. Pomareda did not make any public statements regarding the meeting.

Aricas mayor, Gerardo Espindola, vowed to provide resources to support those in need, particularly children and the elderly. We will act as quickly as this critical situation affecting the people stranded at the border requires, Espindola said.

As the situation remained unresolved, Vlado Mirosevic, the leader of Chile's lower house of Congress, proposed the creation of a humanitarian corridor that involves all the countries in the region. The proposed corridor aims to alleviate the crisis and provide a safe route for the migrants to return to Venezuela.

Chile's Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren, acknowledged the significant humanitarian issue in the area and cautioned that Boluarte's decision to involve the armed forces could intensify the pressure at the border.

The recent exodus of migrants from Chile occurred following a call by the National Prosecutor's Office on April 10 for prosecutors to seek preventive detention for individuals who commit a crime and cannot provide proof of their identity.

Furthermore, a proposal is currently under consideration in the lower house of Congress to criminalise irregular immigration and establish jail sentences of up to 541 days for those caught entering Chile through unofficial means.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a telephonic conversation with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev deliberated upon the significance of restoring the Lachin Corridor for commercial and private vehicles, US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev today to underscore the importance of Azerbaijan-Armenia peace discussions and pledged continued US support. Secretary Blinken shared his belief that peace was possible," the statement read.

The statement added, "he also expressed the United States deep concern that Azerbaijans establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin Corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible."

Azerbaijan supports the peace agenda: President of Azerbaijan

The press office of the President of Azerbaijan in a statement said, "President Ilham Aliyev noted [that] Azerbaijan supports the peace agenda and that Azerbaijan had been the initiator of starting peace treaty talks and normalisation of relations with Armenia."

The statement further read, "With respect to setting up the Lachin checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, President Ilham Aliyev said that the checkpoint had been set up in accordance with Azerbaijans sovereign rights and all international rules. The Azerbaijani President underlined that the aim was to ensure control rather than restrict movement as [the] passage is already allowed through the checkpoint."

Russian troops stationed in the Lachin Corridor

Following a meeting with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan last Friday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna declared that Azerbaijan's installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor violates the existing agreements between Yerevan and Baku. On April 28, Armenia's Foreign Minister Mirzoyan said that since the Lachin Corridor issue had already been resolved by the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, Yerevan had no plans to discuss it with Baku.

On September 27, 2020, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh got worse. A joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 9, 2020. At that point, the parties halted at their positions, Baku took control of a number of neighbourhoods, and Russian troops were stationed along the contact line and in the Lachin Corridor.
A US lawmaker has accused Secretary of State Antony Blinken of deceiving the Senate and giving a dishonest testimony about his relations with President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. According to Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, Blinken lied bold-faced about his ties with Hunter when he was a campaign aide to Biden in December 2020.

Back then, Blinken had been chosen by then-President-elect Joe Biden for the top diplomat post that needed the approval of the Senate. He wanted to be secretary of state. And now, because of more information thats come out, we know that he lied bold-faced to Congress about never emailing Hunter Biden. My guess is he told a bunch of other lies that hopefully well be able to bring him and his wife back in," Johnson said of Blinken.

The Republican also urged Blinken and his wife to safeguard their records from legal risks. You cannot trust Joe Biden. You cannot trust Hunter Biden. You cant trust the Biden family. You cant trust so many of the people that they have surrounded themselves with," he said.

2020: Biden's election win with an abandoned laptop in the backdrop

Blinken's voluntary testimony in 2020 coincided with Biden's presidential election victory, which came at a time when rumours about the Biden family's shady business dealings in China ran amok. The controversy gained momentum merely three weeks before the presidential polls, when the New York Post reported shocking revelations that were found in a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden at a repair shop in Delaware.

In a recent conversation with Fox News, the senator was asked if Blinken lied about the laptop saga. Yes, he did. He said he did not email Hunter Biden, and now we have those emails. We also know that his wife, using her private email address when she was an employee of the State Department, was basically a conduit between her husband and Hunter Biden as well," Johnson said, demanding an investigation into the matter.

Theres a lot of truth that has to be uncovered here yet thats being covered up by the Deep State. Lets face it: The Deep State knows what it did. These co-conspirators inside the agency know exactly what they did. They dont give up their secrets very easily. They know how to hide things, they know how to slow-roll everybody," he concluded, while calling for Blinken to testify before the Senate again.
Atmosphere Core, a new identity for the registered company Atmosphere Core Private Limited, has unveiled its third brand - Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, paving the way for expansion in South Asia.



Migrating from the actual company name, Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts paves the way for refreshingly different destinations in South Asia while also blending in the companys footprint in the Maldives.

One of the fastest-growing hospitality companies in South Asia, Atmosphere Core capitalises on its experience to stay ahead of competition through an innovative approach. Atmosphere Core includes three distinct brands -- The Ozen Collection, Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, and Colours of Oblu.



"The Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts brand will always be renowned for its big heart and a vision to create novel and memorable experiences for guests through every property. There will always be something new to unwrap; with an enriching experience awaiting to be discovered every time, while keeping authenticity as the brands North Star, as its compass," the company said.



Atmosphere Core has an aggressive pipeline for future development across India. With Ozen Mansion Kolkata opening in Q1 2024 and key signings to be announced soon as the company paves its way for a strong presence in the region.



Salil Panigrahi, the Managing Director at Atmosphere Core, said: As a company, we are always evolving and innovating. Within 10 years, we have launched 8 resorts in the Maldives. Our new brand, Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts offers an abundance of choices both for travellers as well as property owners. And I am confident that with this enhanced Power Of Portfolio, we will accelerate our growth with 20 properties opening in the next 2 years.



Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts brand achieves this rich diversity of experiences through seven well-defined sub-brand options giving property owners maximum flexibility while leveraging world class, turnkey solutions.



 Atmosphere offers a classic luxury experience highlighting the individuality of each resort. The current portfolio includes Atmosphere Kanifushi.

 BY Atmosphere offers a charming getaway with heart-warming hospitality. The current portfolio includes VARU By Atmosphere.



The AH&R sub-brand portfolio also includes An Atmosphere Experience that will weave local culture and natural surroundings into the design, A Signature Atmosphere for an enriching and elegant stay in iconic properties, and Elements Of Nature By Atmosphere for tranquil wellness retreats. A conversion sub-brand, Heritage By Atmosphere will curate historical properties  from ancient havelis to colonial bungalows. An Urban Atmosphere will feature authentic hotels and resorts located in the heart of the city.

Atmosphere Core is poised for strong growth in South Asia, with three The Ozen Collection properties in the pipeline -- Ozen Mansion Kolkata opening in Q1 2024 in India, Ozen Prive Athiri Gili set for Q4 2024 in the Maldives, and Ozen Secluded Tangalle in Sri Lanka. -TradeArabia News Service
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian woman in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, in what the Israeli army called a "stabbing attack".
A string of recent defections and public apologies by opposition party officials and critics of Prime Minister Hun Sen has given the longtime leader a boost less than three months before Julys parliamentary elections.

The high-profile defections to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party are just the latest  at least nine opposition party officials have switched their allegiance to the CPP since November 2022 as the party works to co-opt and silence opposition figures.

On Sunday, the president of the little-known Khmer Win Party was appointed to be the secretary of state of the Council of Ministers. Suong Sophorn has been a fierce critic of Hun Sen and once served as the youth movement leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the countrys main opposition party before it was banned in 2017.

I, Suong Sophorn, have made a clear decision to join my political life with the CPP, he said in a pre-recorded video addressing both Hun Sen and the prime ministers son and presumed successor, Hun Manet.

I love my nation and love my people dearly. However, being in the opposition, I appear to think that I have contributed so little to the nation and our homeland, so I have made a clear decision to join the government so that I may use my abilities to serve our people directly.

Cambodian army chief Hun Manet, center, a son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, attends a ceremony of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces at the Defense Ministry in Phnom Penh, on April 20, 2023. Credit: Heng Sinith/AP





I was too young

The video was posted on Hun Sens Telegram channel. On Monday, the prime minister posted on the same channel a handwritten apology letter and a pre-recorded video from the deputy chief of the opposition Candlelight Partys organization in Takeo province.

Ir Channa, a Norwegian citizen and a former outspoken border critic, was arrested last year after he returned from exile to support the Candlelight Party in last years local commune elections.

Speaking from jail, he apologized for information he shared on Facebook in 2020 regarding the possible return to Cambodia of a top opposition leader.

I admit all these mistakes and leniently beg you to accept my apologies, he said. I pledge to always comply with the national laws and the constitution of Cambodia.

He was released later on Monday, and Hun Sen posted another video clip in the evening of Ir Channa thanking him. Ir Channa did not mention whether he would defect to the CPP in exchange for his release.

Another critic, Kean Ponlork, also issued a hand-written apology letter and a pre-recorded video on Monday in which he asked to join the CPP.

The former CNRP official was in charge of the partys training department and has also served as the secretary-general of the Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students.

I, Kean Ponlork, would like to apologize to Samdech Hun Sen for having joined hands with the opposition and civil society, and for providing interviews to Radio Free Asia, Voice of Democracy and The Cambodia Daily to attack your leadership that causes confusion on your legitimate government, he said. I was too young to be able to fully understand the depth of Cambodian politics.

Hun Sen responded on Telegram: I warmly welcome Mr. Kean Ponlork. Since he is residing in Takeo province, the Takeo provincial CPP committee is requested to make proper arrangements for Mr. Kean Ponlork in accordance with the party procedures.

Positions, benefits and titles

Last month, former CNRP youth leader Yim Sinorn was appointed undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. Just weeks before that, he was in jail.

Yim Sinorn was arrested in March after posting a comment on Facebook that seemed to highlight the political powerlessness of King Norodom Sihamoni. Another opposition activist, Hun Kosal, was also arrested at the same time for similar remarks.

They were both released after posting their own online apologies to Hun Sen. Afterward, Yim Sinorn met with the prime minister at his home in Kandal province, where he and his family posed for photos as Hun Sen sat at his desk.

Hun Kosal also recently received a government appointment  undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Land Management and Urban Planning.

Um Sam An, a former CNRP member of parliament, said hes not worried about the possibility of more opposition defections in the coming months. The politicians who share a genuine belief in the future of the nation wont take Hun Sens bait, he said.

Both positions, benefits and titles will not be essential for us. What we really want is for a positive change in Cambodia, a true respect of human rights and democracy, he said.

The recent defections will help clean the rubbish politicians away from the true democrats, said Seng Sary, a political commentator who lives in Australia.

I accept the fact that some defectors are successful in their political life after defections, he said. However, 95 to 99 percent among those defectors have lost their political lives and their reputations in Cambodian politics.

CNRP Vice President Eng Chhai Eang, who lives in the United States, told Radio Free Asia last week that Hun Sen has, in the past, made serious overtures to him about joining the CPP and the government.

But last week, the prime minister grew angry after Eng Chhai Eang made critical comments online following the news of the defections of Yim Sinorn and Hun Kosal.

He posted a comment to mock me, Eng Chhai Eang said. He said, If you want to get the government positions, first you must join the opposition party. If you want, I will pardon you and appoint you to a position in the government.

Translated by Keo Sovannarith. Edited by Matt Reed.
A small group of activists shout slogans during a demonstration to mark Labor Day outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, May 1, 2023.

Former trade unionists canceled a planned May Day demonstration in Hong Kong after one of the organizers was hauled in by police and forced to withdraw his application for a police permit, with the authorities citing Beijing's national security law.

Joe Wong, who once chaired the now disbanded Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, and former committee member Denny To announced in mid-April that they had applied for police permission to hold a public demonstration, which is required for gatherings of more than 30 people, on Monday.

But police hauled Wong in for five hours' questioning on April 26, during which time he said he had withdrawn his application.

The move comes after police arrested veteran labor unionist Elizabeth Tang outside the Hong Kong prison where her husband and fellow labor activist Lee Cheuk-yan is imprisoned on March 9, on suspicion of "collusion with foreign forces" under the national security law.

Last July, a United Nations human rights council review of Hong Kong's rights record said the process had been hampered by a citywide crackdown on civil society groups, which had disbanded faced with ongoing or potential investigation by state security police, with several of their leaders currently detained awaiting trial on national security charges, and others forced into exile.

It said groups had been deterred from submitting to the review for fear of being accused of "collusion with foreign powers" under the national security law, which ushered in a citywide crackdown on public dissent and peaceful opposition that has seen dozens of former opposition lawmakers and pro-democracy activists stand trial for subversion for holding a primary election.

Emotionally broken

To said in a statement also published on April 26 that Wong was "emotionally broken," and had refused to discuss details of his conversations with police, citing Article 63 of the national security law, which was imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party on the city in the wake of the 2019 protest movement.

"He wasn't arrested but was emotionally broken and apparently under great pressure," To wrote via the planned event's Facebook page. "He told me that he had just signed a paper to cancel the application for a march, but was limited by Article 63 of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, and couldn't disclose details."

"Wong has done everything in his power to defend the right to hold demonstrations, and I fully understand and support his decision," To wrote. "Social movements shouldn't expect people to be saints, because no-one is."

"The key thing is not to capitulate in advance," he wrote, amid an ongoing crackdown on public dissent and peaceful political opposition under the national security law.

Activists wave Hong Kong protest flags during a rally over China's human rights record, in Tokyo on October 2, 2021. Credit: Philip Fong/AFP





Chan Po-ying, who heads the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats, was herself warned by police to ensure her petition "complies with the national security law" as she led a smaller group of party members to petition the government on Monday, in lieu of a demonstration.

"May 1 should be about workers' dignity, and yet police have forced the organizers to withdraw their application for a march, using false pretexts," Chan said. "The police should help to maintain order, not suppress our rights with excuses."

She said the cancellation had little to do with policing challenges or crowd control, citing a large public gathering marking the birthday of Hong Kong boy-band star Keung To on Sunday.

"A thousand people celebrated Keung Tos birthday in Causeway Bay yesterday," Chan said. "The police were able to help maintain order, and no incidents occurred. So why are the police creating fear ... to prevent a march on May 1?"

Clamping down

Organizers have canceled a slew of planned marches and demonstrations since Hong Kong lifted a ban on public gatherings earlier this year, with Chinese officials making vague warnings that demonstrations are vulnerable to being "hijacked by others," an oblique reference to its claim that recent pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong were the work of "hostile foreign forces" trying to foment a revolution in the city.

Last month, police forced participants in the first public protest to go ahead since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to register with their real names, wear numbered badges and walk within a police cordon.

Chan said the Labor Day march was once an annual fixture for the Hong Kong labor movement on both sides of the political spectrum.

"In the past, the pro-Beijing groups like the Federation of Trade Unions would march in the morning, and the independent Confederation of Trade Unions in the afternoon," Chan said. "It made for a very lively day, with labor issues constantly being raised."

"The demonstration was a very important way for workers to demonstrate their strength, and it's hard to see how their demands are being taken seriously now by the government," she said, adding that the Legislative Council only gives a platform to employers, not to unions, following changes to electoral rules barring pro-democracy candidates from running for the legislature.

Figures supplied by the government to a question from lawmakers showed a sharp fall in newly registered trade unions in recent years, since the national security law took effect in July 2020, falling from 495 in 2020 to just 40 in 2022.

But Chan said the labor movement isn't over yet.

"Until all labor issues in Hong Kong are resolved, trade unions will be needed, and their voices will need to be heard," she said.

Lam Chun-sing, who chairs the pro-Beijing Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, said his union had also withdrawn its application to stage a 200-person march, citing police "advice."

"We hope to find a balance between ensuring a safe environment and allowing workers to express their demands," Lam said. "In cases where there aren't too many security considerations, or the chances of a march being hijacked are small, it could be beneficial in some cases to encourage worker participation."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Social media videos detail every aspect of the journey from paperwork to the crossing of turbulent rivers

TikTok users are teaching Chinese citizens fleeing the country -- known as the "run" movement -- how to navigate a dangerous smuggling route through Latin America, and the bureaucratic intricacies of getting settled in the United States while making a political asylum claim.

Chinese-language videos posted to TikTok under the hashtags "walk the line," or "walk the line rainforest," "illegal immigration," and "U.S. immigration" and viewed by Radio Free Asia on Monday detailed various aspects of a grueling and often dangerous journey to the U.S. border via Mexico, as well as the exact processes to follow on arrival on American soil.

Videos posted to the hashtag "walk the line rainforest" show groups of people of different ages being shepherded along roped trails and across fast-flowing rivers, scrambling up steep muddy banks laden with camping equipment, or carrying babies and small children.

For those wanting to know what happens after they manage to enter the United States, the tips continue.

"Is it possible to get a green card if you cross the border illegally? The answer is yes," says one video posted by TikTok user @ausa589, in a reference to immigration form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal.

"If an immigration court accepts your 589 application, this will result in one of two outcomes," the user says, adding that Chinese nationals have a 58% chance of being granted political asylum, and that successful applicants qualify for permanent residency after just one year, a claim backed up by a recent online U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services brochure.

Believe in yourselves

Meanwhile, a video posted to the TikTok account @laoxiaotang details how to apply for a Bank of America account, specifying exactly which documentation will be needed.

"Believe in yourselves, guys, that you will successfully make it to America," the user says in a different video. "It's a lot like Shenzhen in China -- very tolerant -- Get over here!"

Migrants from China emerge from thick brush after being smuggled across the Rio Grande River into the United States from Mexico in Fronton, Texas, April 7, 2023. Credit: Reuters





"If you do the whole trip DIY, you don't need a huge amount of luggage, and nobody steals from you," says another video posted by @run_away1688. "There are only four police fines, and the entire route is very low cost."

"Step 1: Arrive in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa, then buy a bus ticket -- there are a lot of places you can buy them ... the highway goes all the way to Guatemala," the video explains. "When you get to the border, you won't be allowed to cross, but someone will ask you when you get off the bus, if you're headed to Guatemala."

"They will guide you through the mountains," it says, detailing a list of further bus trips and checkpoints on an itinerary that ends in Mexico.

Other users appeared to be documenting their own journey while sharing tips to those thinking of following in their trail.

"I'm worried that there are people ... seeking to cheat people wanting to walk the line, particularly those who don't have any money," warns @jakedegongkairiji. "They keep sending out text messages, about realizing their dreams in America, about making U.S.$10,000 a month."

"Believe them if you want to, but this is a personal warning from me to you," the user says.

Jump in Chinese arriving at border

According to a recent in-depth report from Reuters, the difficulty of obtaining U.S. visas and the economic fallout from Chinas zero-COVID policy have led to a jump in Chinese nationals arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Some of those arrivals learned about how to make the journey via TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, the report said.

A Border Patrol agent holds a hand-made sign reading "Democracy, Freedom" in Chinese as migrants from China surrender to agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Fronton, Texas, April 2, 2023. Credit: Reuters





Over the course of three weeks photographing and reporting from a remote border stretch in southeastern Texas, Reuters witnessed hundreds of Chinese migrants crossing into the United States and interviewed more than two dozen in Mandarin, the report said.

"All of those interviewed said they got the idea to take the land route to the United States on social media and drew on influencers, private groups and comments to plan their trips," it said.

About half told Reuters that they had been small business owners in China, running online stores, a sheep farm or a movie production company, while others wore crosses and carried Chinese-language Bibles, saying they were leaving China so as to practice their faith more freely.

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, since October last year, the number of Chinese citizens arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached more than 6,500 in just six months, a record high and 15 times that of the same period last year, the report said.

Douyin's parent company, ByteDance, did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

In an emailed response to Reuters, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said that its government opposes illegal migration, calling it an international issue that requires cooperation between countries.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.






It was as if our houses had been cleared away by a big broom.

It took two days for the junta to destroy what had taken generations to build in Myo Thit.

On April 26, a column of around 150 junta troops entered the village in northern Myanmars Sagaing region and began torching buildings, looking for members of the armed resistance.

When they left the following day, more than two-thirds of its structures, including the dining hall of a Buddhist temple, had been razed and some 2,000 area residents displaced.

The destruction is just the latest result of fighting in Sagaing, where rebels have put up some of the fiercest resistance to junta rule since the February 2021 coup detat  and suffered some of the worst devastation amid the militarys scorched earth offensive in the region.

The houses built by my grandmother and grandfather are gone now, and the houses built during my mothers time are gone too, a resident of Myo Thit who, like other villagers Radio Free Asia spoke with, declined to be named citing security concerns. There is nothing left. Just a landscape of ruin.

The resident said that not even a pot of rice she had been collecting had survived the fires set by the military.

I had collected some rice that other people gave me in this pot as I could not grow rice [on my own], but I cant even eat it now, because it was burned and the grains are broken and damaged, she said.

More than 400 of the homes in Myo Thit  a tract of around 600 structures located in Khin-U township  were destroyed in the raid, according to residents.

More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit village by the junta troops during raids on April 26 and 27. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report

Villagers returned to the area on April 28, but found only ashes and ruins, another resident told RFA.

It was as if our houses had been cleared away by a big broom, she said. Residents cant even tell whose house used to be where.

The reason why [the junta troops] did this is because their objective is to destroy all villages, she said. It is their policy to cause poverty and trouble for villagers.

In addition to the devastation, residents also discovered the charred remains of 55-year-old fellow villager Tun Win, who was the only person to die in the fires. Than Khaing, a 50-year-old woman, was able to escape the soldiers after being arrested and hit in the head with rifle butts, they said.

Hundreds displaced

The more than 2,000 people who fled the raid are now sheltering in nearby villages and monasteries.

One woman who is among the refugees told RFA that all she has to look forward to are donations from residents of the township who know that what little they have could be taken away by the junta just as easily.

Look at the sight of our village that has been here for generations  how painful it is for us to see this, she said. Now, our main concern is finding food and shelter. There arent even trees in the area for us to live under. All that we can hope for is that people from nearby villages will share food with us, as we can do nothing for ourselves anymore.

More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit during raids on April 26 and 27, forcing more than 2,000 people to flee. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report

According to residents, the junta column that destroyed their village entered Khin-U from neighboring Ye-U township, before burning down 25 homes in Ta Pin Kaung (South) village on April 25.

The military has yet to make any announcement regarding the burning of homes in Myo Thit, and attempts by RFA to reach the junta spokesman for Sagaing region went unanswered on Monday. Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has previously denied reports of military troops burning civilian homes.

According to Data For Myanmar, an independent research group, the military has burned more than 3,700 civilian homes in Khin-U township between the coup and February 2023.

According to the independent research group Data For Myanmar, since the military coup, more than 3,700 houses in Khin-U have been burned down as of February and nearly 48,000 houses in Sagaing region as of mid-March.

At least 500,000 people have fled conflict in Sagaing since the takeover.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
The Yangon Revolution Force member now faces a total of 84 years behind bars.

An undated photograph of physics major and Yangon Revolution Force member Banyar Soe Htet, who has been sentenced to a total of 84 years in prison.

UPDATED AT 01:30 a.m. ET on 2023-05-02

A court at Yangons Insein Prison has sentenced student activist Banyar Soe Htet to an additional 10 years in prison, meaning he is set to serve a total of 84 years, an official at his pro-democracy organization said Monday.

Fridays terrorism charge was made under Article 50 (j) of the Counter-Terrorism Act, which relates to funding terrorism.

It comes on top of two murder charges related to the killing of Thein Aung, general manager at junta-owned telecommunications company Mytel, along with the shooting of a grocery store owner and his wife in Yangons Hlaing township, said an official from the Yangon Revolution Force, who declined to be named for security reasons.

Friday's trial was held in secret in the prison court so his plea and any defense statement are not known.

The 26-year-old was arrested last November and has been held in Insein Prison ever since, his family barred from visiting, according to a friend who didn't want to be named for fear of reprisals.

The friend told RFA Banyar Soe Htet has legal representation but the lawyer was not allowed to meet his client ahead of the trial and has been banned from talking to the media.

His family has not decided whether to appeal the court's decision, the friend said.

Banyar Soe Htet was a physics major at Yangon Eastern University when the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup and soon became active in the anti-regime Yangon Revolution Force.

The YRF, mainly composed of students and other young activists, targets junta-related groups and buildings in the country's business capital.

The official who informed RFA about the latest sentence said young educated people are being sentenced to prison terms that are even longer than their lives because the junta is manipulating the law to silence dissent.

The law is in their hands, so they are making arbitrary orders according to their wishes, the official said.

Our imprisoned comrades say they are continuing to fight. Our anti-dictatorship actions will not stop because of this unjust sentence.

More than 21,600 anti-junta activists have been arrested nationwide since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Some 17,726 of them are still being held in prisons across the country.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Updated to include more details of the terrorism charge.
The situation is likened to that of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

A Tibetan holds on to a placard as she is detained by police officers during a protest held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, India, March 10, 2021.

A U.N. human rights expert has expressed concern that allegations of mandatory vocational training programs and labor transfer in Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region may affect the human rights of Tibetans, similar to the situation with Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Tomoya Obokata, the U.N.s special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, and other U.N. experts said that the programs are being used to undermine Tibetan religious, linguistic and cultural identity, and to monitor and politically indoctrinate Tibetans.

In a release from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on April 27, Obokata and the others warned that the programs could lead to forced labor.

Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been transferred from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015, according to the U.N. expert.

Obokata said he was waiting for a translation of a response from the Chinese government, which previously has said that participation in vocational training programs is voluntary.

But in practice, and according to the information that we receive from various sources, often times they [Tibetans] do not have any choice, so they have no choice but to accept it, Obokata, a professor of international human rights law, told Radio Free Asia on April 28.

Im not saying that all instances are involuntary because there is no clear evidence to that regard.  But in a similar way as with the Xinjiang situation, certain indicators of forced labor may be present, so thats why we are asking the government to provide a clarification and answer at this stage.

After Chinese authorities began arbitrarily detaining Uyghurs in re-education camps in Xinjiang in 2017, some of the Uyghurs were subjected to forced labor and other rights abuses. The Chinese said the camps were vocational training centers meant to prevent religious extremism and terrorism in the restive region.

In a 20-page report issued in August 2022, Obokata said that Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang were being used as forced labor in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing under two state-mandated systems where minorities are detained and subjected to work placements or where surplus rural laborers.

Moving rural workers

Similar measures exist in neighboring Tibet, where an extensive labor transfer program has shifted Tibetan farmers, herders and other rural workers into low-skilled and low-paid jobs, according to the report.

The Chinese government restricts Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity as Buddhists.

Tibetans frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies they say are aimed at wiping out their national and cultural identity.

Tibetans are being drawn away from sustainable livelihoods in which they have traditionally had a comparative advantage, such as wool and dairy production, and into low-paid, low-skilled work in manufacturing and construction, the U.N. experts said in the news release.

They went on to say that Tibetans are transferred directly from training centers to new workplaces, though its unclear if they have consented to the jobs. But a lack of oversight makes it impossible to determine whether working conditions constitute forced labor, the experts said.

Obokata and the others raised concern that vocational training programs were designed to promote a non-plural, mono-racial and mono-ethnic nation, in violation of the prohibition of racial discrimination under international human rights law.

They called on China to provide details about measures in place for Tibetans to opt out of vocational training and labor transfer programs, to monitor the working conditions of Tibetans in their new places of employment, and to ensure respect for Tibetan religious, linguistic and cultural identity.

The U.N. experts also submitted a letter to the Chinese government expressing concerns about the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

We are seeing similar patterns in terms of the treatment, so thats why we are raising our concern at this time for Tibetan people, Obokata said.

Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Ma Xingrui (L) with China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi (C) and Vice Chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Shi Taifeng (R) during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 13, 2023.

UPDATED at 6:05 P.M. EDT on 05-01-2023

Chinas top leader in Xinjiang urged visiting diplomats from pro-China countries to support Beijing with a strong voice in the face of condemnation from the United States and other Western countries over the repression of Muslim Uyghurs.

On April 27, Ma Xingrui, the Communist party secretary for the region, met with consuls general from Brazil, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Turkey in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on a visit at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Some anti-China forces in the Western countries led by the U.S.A. are destroying the progress of human rights in Xinjiang by spreading numerous anti-China fake news and defaming Chinas image, Ma said during his welcome speech.

He called on the diplomats to raise their just voices in support of Beijing by speaking out on behalf of China in the international arena.

Ma also told them that the overall social situation in Xinjiang was stable with ethnic unity, religious harmony and economic and social development.

The visit came at a time when Uyghur rights groups have demanded that the international community take concrete actions to hold China accountable for severe rights abuses against the mostly Muslim Uyghurs.

The U.S. government and the parliaments of several Western counties also have declared that the Chinese governments repression of Uyghurs amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. Some have sanctioned Chinese officials and companies deemed to be involved in the rights abuses and forbade the importation of products made with Uyghur forced labor.

As international condemnation of Beijing mounts, the Chinese government has been inviting representatives of pro-China countries to visit Xinjiang to see what officials say is the regions achievements in economic and social developments and the improvement of peoples livelihoods.

Many of the diplomats who have visited Xinjiang hailed from autocratic, developing countries that are highly dependent on China for trade and for infrastructure investment under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Hu Ping, a U.S.-based Chinese affairs commentator and former chief editor of Beijing Spring magazine, said Mas words reflected the Chinese governments efforts to improve its deteriorating global image due to its ethnic genocide policy toward Uyghurs.

The Chinese government is now using this method [inviting foreign guests] to soothe the international communitys attitude toward China, he told Radio Free Asia. The Chinese government is taking advantage of this type of opportunity, trying to show a fake happy Xinjiang to the outside world and thus attempting to hide its crimes against humanity committed with cruel methods.

Ilshat Hesen, a U.S.-based Uyghur activist and a vice chairman of the executive committee of the World Uyghur Congress, said the Chinese government has invited foreign delegations to visit Xinjiang in recent years to try to counter the effect of economic sanctions imposed by Western nations.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Correction: Hu Ping's name was misspelled in an earlier version of the story.
A U.S.-hosted meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has begun in Washington as part of an effort to quell tensions over a checkpoint that Baku recently set up on the only road leading to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Before the start of the meeting on May 1, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had separate discussions with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov.

Mirzoyan and Blinken discussed issues related to stability and security in the region and the process of regulating relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, RFE/RLs Armenian Service reports, quoting official government sources.

The meeting between Mirzoyan and Bayramov is to last four days at a State Department facility outside Washington, AFP reported.

A U.S. official speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity said the talks aim more at "an agreement on normalization of relations" rather than a peace treaty.

"Our goal is to make sure the ministers can sit down and talk to each other," the official said. The United States expects the two sides to have a forthright and frank discussion, the official said, adding "all the issues are being discussed."

Asked about Russia's position on the U.S.-led dialogue, another State Department official said, "We will be disappointed if they take it negatively."

The most important thing is that the parties communicate with each other regardless of where, the official said, adding that a lasting, balanced and dignified peace between the parties" is the goal.

Nagorno-Karabakh is home to mostly ethnic Armenians but internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Baku committed to keeping the road open as part of a Russian-brokered cease-fire in 2020 that ended a six-week war.

On the eve of the talks, Blinken held a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and expressed the United States deep concern over the checkpoint, saying it undermines efforts to establish confidence in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

Azerbaijan said it had established the checkpoint in response to what it said were Armenian weapon supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan denies that charge.

Blinken promised continued U.S. support for the peace talks and emphasized the importance of reopening the road, known as the Lachin Corridor, to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

According to a Baku government statement. Aliyev told Blinken the checkpoint was established within the framework of Azerbaijan's sovereign rights and in accordance with all international norms."

Aliyev said its purpose is not to limit traffic but to ensure control, and said people are already passing through it.

Armenia called the checkpoint a gross violation of a 2020 cease-fire. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in his call with Blinken ahead of the Washington talks emphasized that the steps taken by Azerbaijan in the Lachin Corridor are aimed at the consistent implementation of its policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and the complete depopulation of the enclave.

Pashinian emphasized the importance of an adequate response by the international community to Azerbaijans actions and taking active steps toward the unconditional implementation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Hague-based ICJ ruled in February that Azerbaijan must take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.

With reporting by AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a speech at the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICC) in The Hague, has called for the creation of a special court to try Russian war crimes in Ukraine and for the prosecution of President Vladimir Putin for his "criminal actions."

Zelenskiy made the comments on May 4 in The Hague in a speech at the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICC) during a rare trip outside of Ukraine as it fights to repel invading Russian forces.



"We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague, the one who deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law. I am sure this will happen when we win," Zelenskiy said.



The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on March 17, accusing Putin of responsibility in the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, which constitutes a war crime, since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelenskiy said the special court should be modelled on the Nuremberg tribunal implemented by the Allies at the end of World War II to try Nazi war crimes.

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.

Zelenskiy said later at a press conference that the tribunal would "show that these people are not untouchables," and stressed that the invasion itself should be seen as the "primary offense" committed by Moscow.

He also told the news conference that Ukraine wants assurances that it will be admitted into NATO once the war is over.

Zelenskiy's surprise visit to the Netherlands came amid an escalation of Russia's deadly strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets.

Russia overnight launched another wave of drone attacks across Ukraine. Most of the incoming drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses, the military said on May 4, a day after more than 20 civilians were killed by Iranian-made Shaheds.

Ukrainian defenders downed 18 out of 24 drones across Ukraine, the Air Force Command said, adding that the attack was again launched from two directions -- from the western Russian region of Bryansk to the north and from the Sea of Azov to the southeast.

Kyiv was targeted by drones for the third time in four days, the city administration said, but all the UAVs were destroyed. No casualties were reported, however debris from the falling drones damaged vehicles and roads in parts of the capital.



Air-raid alerts in Kyiv and other regions lasted for several hours, and reports on social media said explosions could be also heard in the Odesa and Zaporizhzhya regions.

The attacks came on the heels of deadly drone strikes on May 3 that killed at least 25 people -- 23 of them in the southern city of Kherson -- in attacks that Zelenskiy said hit a residential building and civilian commercial areas.



Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, despite air attacks often hitting hospitals, residential buildings, schools, and other civilian infrastructure.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, accused the United States on May 4 of being the mastermind of an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin intended to kill Putin.



The Kremlin on May 3 claimed Ukraine attempted to hit Putin's residence with two drones that it said were destroyed "as a result of timely action by the military and special services."



"Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 4, without providing any evidence to support the claim of U.S. involvement in the alleged attack.



Ukraine denied any involvement in the alleged attack, suggesting Moscow staged it ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Russian forces continued to launch wave of unsuccessful assaults on the city of Bakhmut, in the eastern region of Donetsk, the Ukrainian military said in its daily update on May 4.



Russia's main efforts remain focused on attacks on the Bakhmut-Maryinka-Avdiyivka front line, where the fiercest combat and incessant Russian shelling is under way, Ukraine's General Staff said, adding that its forces repelled 40 attacks over the 24-hour period ending early on May 4.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high level champion for Egypt, affirmed the importance of effectively using carbon credits as a key source for climate and development finance.
One of the most important marketing goals for natural polished diamonds is creating the image of a new, previously unused polished diamond offered to a consumer as part of a jewellery piece at a boutique or on the jewellery companys website. In practice, every seller ALWAYS kindly explains the 4Cs (Colour, Clarity, Cut, and Carat weight,) to a consumer and shows the certificates of a reputable gemological laboratory, and as a bonus, provides a very important and very useful information that a natural rough diamond from which this polished diamond is cut and polished was formed deep in the Earth 2 to 4 billion years ago. But a buyer NEVER gets a real information about whether this polished diamond was on the market before and who was its owner.

As a result, most of todays buyers of natural diamond studded jewellery are convinced that they are in the market for goods that are almost similar to seasonal agricultural products: everything is new, has never had pre-owners, polished diamonds were made from rough diamonds mined this year or at least a year ago. This is a myth that plays a critical role in creating the information shell of a natural polished diamond, and when it is destroyed, the diamond jewellery trade becomes very problematic.

The matter is not even that some of the consumers believe in widespread stories about the mystical, healing, astrological, and other properties of precious gemstones that are supposedly capable of accumulating and transmitting positive or negative energy from one owner to another and thereby influence the new owners fate. This kind of marketing garbage consisting of fragments of ancient treatises and their modern arbitrary interpretations, is abundant on many online trading platforms and on the bookstores shelves and, no doubt, it reaps some harvest. But the majority of todays buyers ignore this trash and tend to be guided by the rules of normal ethics. They buy a diamond jewellery piece to celebrate some meaningful and rare event in their life, it makes their positive emotions brighter during this event, doesnt it? And if so, a second-hand polished diamond, and even with some dubious back-story, is not a right purchase for them. This is well understood by sellers of natural polished diamonds, so all the polished diamonds on their counters are allegedly always new, previously unused. But is it really so?

What is the secondary market volume for natural polished diamonds? How many polished diamonds (in carats and dollars) change hands every year? These questions are important for all market players. And there are no clear answers, there are expert estimates varying widely, from 5% to 50% of the annual polished diamond market. But no methods behind these estimates have been published and no calculations have been provided. Six years ago, Blue Niles experts reported that, according to their data, the population owned more than $1 trillion worth of diamond jewellery, which exceeded the annual market by more than 10 times, and the secondary market was estimated as billions of dollars annually1. The information source is unassailably authoritative, we hope. In the end, the absolute figures for solving our problem are not so important, it is important to understand that the potential secondary diamond market is huge, significantly larger than the primary one.

And now lets ask a seemingly simple question: where are the rough and polished diamonds confiscated by the Nazis from the Holocaust victims? According to the Nuremberg Trials documents, the Nazis killed more than 6 million Jewish people in Europe, their property was confiscated in favour of the Third Reich and largely plundered by the members of the Nazi punitive structures. Many people professionally associated with the diamond market were among the victims of this genocide such as jewellers, owners of jewellery companies and stores, rough and polished diamond dealers (especially in the Jewish communities in occupied Amsterdam and Antwerp). The overwhelming majority of the victimized Jewish people belonged to the middle class, i.e., they were typical consumers (owners) of diamond jewellery pieces. Judging by fragmentary data, a significant amount of rough and polished diamonds ended up in the Nazis hands, but it is impossible to tell exact figures2. After the defeat of Germany, there were several cases when valuable jewellery pieces were returned to the heirs of the victims of the genocide, but those jewels were unique rarities that ended up in the collections of the top-level Nazis. The bulk of the looted rough and polished diamonds returned to the market in various ways.

Two decades before WW2, a huge number of polished diamonds confiscated by the Bolsheviks from the Russian first families, nobles, the church and the wealthy people were put on the world market at dumping prices. The details of this operation have now been studied in detail, and the total volume of such supplies (in fact, trade in stolen goods) is estimated at approximately 11 mn carats3.

Their return to the market means that these polished diamonds marked with the blood and tears of the victims of social cataclysms were (sometimes) recut, reset and found their new owners. And later on, they repeated this cycle 2-3 more times because people have no eternal life, unfortunately, and not all diamond owners have the heirs who are ready to cherish their family heirlooms. The silverware market is an example. According to The Silver Institute, the silverware production amounted to 42.7 mn ounces in 2021. In the same year, 24.3 mn ounces of silverware were recycled4. And thats what was refined, without taking into account the silverware on the counters of antique and second-hand stores as well as in online marketplaces selling pre-owned silverware (C2C business). It is safe to say that more than half of the supplies on the silverware market is formed by the secondary market. But if the population is parting with the family silverware on such a scale, why should we think that the situation with diamond jewellery pieces is different? Where are the American ladies today who received their eternity rings with 25 polished diamonds for their silver (25th) wedding anniversary in 1965? Is it possible that the heirs set a higher value on the polished diamonds of their late grandmothers than on their silverware? It is unlikely, just the statistics of refineries is available, but not a single jeweller, dealer or retailer would give the details to their clients of the provenance of the polished diamonds for a NEW piece of jewellery.

Among the literature on the Holocaust, one can find evidence of the fate of jewelry belonging to Jewish families destroyed by the Nazis. This is not fiction, these are memoirs. Would you like to have a polished diamond in your engagement ring with such legacy of pain and suffering? Is the chance small? No, it is not small, it is not defined, but clearly above zero, 6 million victims of the Holocaust can make the population of a European country, that is not the smallest one. But, maybe, your polished diamond is older and was cut from a rough diamond mined in the land plot of a Boer whose family died of starvation in an English concentration camp in 1902. Or, maybe, your polished diamond belonged to a Russian Orthodox priest who was shot in 1918. Or it was mined by a black prisoner slave, as De Beers had been using their labour at the mines in South Africa since 1885. Or it was mined from the Ural placers by the prisoners of the Stalins Gulag. Or, maybe, it was from a kimberlite pipe, next to which a nuclear explosion had thundered. Or it was bought in Angola from Savimbis thugs who slaughtered entire villages for a few of these gemstones. One can keep on guessing and everyone can ask about thirty to forty questions. It seems that the probability of a negative provenance of a natural diamond in your jewellery has slightly increased? And you begin to guess now why natural polished diamonds on the shelves of boutiques are always new ones and there is not a single serious study showing the movement of polished diamonds in the secondary market?

Well, if you made a well-informed guess about the polished diamond provenance, clear cut objectives for the Karma line of the proposed countermarketing model should be formulated. It is necessary that consumers should get an idea - opinion - of the natural polished diamond market as a place where they can unwillingly become the owners of a jewellery piece having a negative and tragic provenance. It is better to bring this idea to the level of a fixed attitude (unconscious readiness of the person to act the right way). Although the probability of such a situation is not clear, it is always greater than zero. Moreover, this probability tends to grow rapidly (announcing the Russian rough diamonds - i.e., 30% of the world market as conflict diamonds - is a clear proof of this). Thus, the lack of evidence of the natural polished diamonds circulation on the secondary market, the insufficient secondary market structure and its non-transparency should be interpreted (until proven otherwise) as a conscious polished diamond trade strategy aimed at seeking the profit from the repeated resale of conflict and unethical natural polished diamonds. From the Boer Wars to the todays conflicts in Europe and Africa, we have terabytes of documented historical content at our disposal to create relevant narratives that are easily adaptable to current and future consumer audiences.

As with solving the problems in the Cost line (see Part 1) of the countermarketing model under consideration, the narratives should give rise to the consumer interest in the polished diamond market, since history based on blood and violence traditionally attracts attention. The image of natural polished diamonds turns out to be strongly associated not only with a great financial scam, but it is also bloodstained. At the same time, the image of lab-grown diamonds is created as free from such flaws, both due to a different pricing mechanism and due to the absence of a negative historical background. Consumers just need to make the right choice.

In one of the next publications of this cycle, we will consider possible counter-arguments like a study in crimson hues about the market for any goods that can be written (no less impressive than that about the market for natural polished diamonds) or that the Kimberley Process and other organisations guarantee the ethical purity of natural polished diamonds.

To be continued.

Sergey Goryainov, Rough&Polished





1https://www.diamonds.net/News/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=58484&ArticleTitle=Blue+Nile+Launches+Used-Diamond+Business

2 "Report on the Administrative Development of Operation Reinhardt: Document NO-059: January 1944. Attachment NO-062: Detailed List of Money, Precious Metals, Jewels, Other Valuables, and Textiles". Nuremberg Trials. The Green Series. Vol. 5. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 728731.

3 Osokina E. A. Alchemy of Soviet industrialization: the time of Torgsin. /  ..   :  . .:    (New Literary Review), 2019. Page (). 65.

4 https://www.silverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/World-Silver-Survey-2022.pdf

5 The Fifth Diamond by Irene Zisblatt. Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. 2020
This is the second tenure for Vipul P Shah as Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC). During his term from October 9, 2012, to October 16, 2015, he was at the forefront to drive export demand and was successful in strengthening ties with mining companies and diamond trade bodies. Among the many important milestones, he was instrumental in organizing GJEPCs first World Diamond Conference which was attended by Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. At the Council level, he implemented the policy to have members on a rotation policy so that new people come on board to bring in a fresh perspective and new energy levels.

As CEO & Managing Director of Asian Star Co. Ltd., Vipul Shah has built an empire with his astuteness, focus and determination, and is a force to reckon with. A visionary with rich experience in the diamond industry, he has absolute knowledge of current business trends prevailing worldwide as well as deep insight into the future needs of the diamond market. His expertise in financial matters remains undisputed.

His broad strategic vision, business acumen and professional conduct have contributed significantly to transforming Asian Star from a manufacturing company into a value-adding, vertically integrated business partner to its clients. He has been instrumental in establishing the companys jewellery business and global distribution network, currently one of the best in the industry. Under his dynamic leadership and able guidance, the company has attained the status of being one of Indias leading diamond companies.

Here, in an exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Vipul Shah provides insights on the various challenges being faced by the Indian gem and jewellery industry.

What is the current situation of India's Gem & Jewellery industry? In the diamond sector, how is the polished goods export faring? In recent times, India's Rough imports have been decreasing too. Your thoughts?

The Indian gem and jewellery industry is undergoing significant growth and development, and the GJEPC is playing a crucial role in supporting this progress. By focusing on capacity building and aligning policies with future industry growth, the sector is poised for even more success in the years to come.

GJEPC continues to focus on shifting the global perception of India as a leading design centre for jewellery.

Especially in the post-covid scenario, we have noticed Indian diamond manufacturers have been producing goods to suit existing global demand, with very little appetite to maintain vast polished stocks.

The shortfall in Russian supplies due to geopolitical tensions has impacted India's rough diamond imports and consequently polished exports.

This can be observed by the fact that the category of Cut & Polished Diamonds witnessed a 10% year-on-year decline to $22.04 billion for the FY 2022-23.

Rough diamond imports for FY 2022-23 were also down 8% to $17.36 billion compared to the previous year FY 2021-22.

However, we are expecting stability would return to the diamond sector in the coming months, especially with improved conditions in China and Far East Asia.

Manufacturing and production of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) have increased to a great extent in India of late. The government of India's support to the sector seems to be helping and providing much-needed jobs for the artisans. Do you see this growth trend of LGDs increasing, going forward?

Provisional gross export of polished LGDs between April 2022 - March 2023 grew 27.85% to $1679.98 million from $1313.98 million in the same period a year earlier.

India already has a leadership position in cutting and polishing diamonds. Recognising the emergence of the rapidly evolving LGD sector, the Union Budget 2023 announced incentives, including scrapping the import duty on LGD seeds. This reduction in import duty was a key recommendation from the GJEPC, further underscoring the Government's commitment to supporting and nurturing this important sector.

The Indian government has also provided backing in terms of a 243 crore R&D grant to IIT Madras to promote the sector's indigenous growth.

As of date, there are 3000+ LGD reactors in India and about 30% of the diamond polishing units in Surat process LGDs.

We expect India to soon take the leadership position in LGD production and processing as well.

Market watchers have different views...some are confident that both natural diamonds and LGDs have found their niche and will survive as two categories in the world markets. Others see LGDs going the synthetic gems route...over-production resulting in prices dipping, low demand, etc. Your opinion?

The Indian gem and jewellery sector is highly diverse and inclusive, offering a wide range of products to meet every market need. Transparency and maintaining the integrity of materials are critical to ensuring that both natural diamonds and LGDs can coexist and succeed in the market.

Pricing is largely determined by market dynamics of supply and demand among other factors.

While the natural diamond sector retains its unique allure and appeal, LGDs are rapidly gaining popularity and are here to stay and cater to consumers who seek affordability.

Ultimately, the industry's success lies in finding a balance between the two categories and offering consumers a range of options to choose from.

India is a primarily natural diamond manufacturer/exporter and is predicted to face issues, especially in its 'melee' exports ... due to 'mixing' with LGDs. Can anything be done, as honesty is not a taught 'subject'?

One cannot paint everyone in the industry with the same brush. It is unfair to generalise and implicate the entire industry for the actions of a few. Also, it would be improper to pre-empt such a negative situation.

The GJEPC has worked hard with the Government to establish separate HS Codes for the import and export of lab-grown diamonds, which was a demand from the industry itself. This has helped to monitor the two distinct pipelines and maintain their integrity.

Additionally, the GJEPC also set up the Natural Diamond Monitoring Committee in 2015 to enforce strict regulations to prevent contamination between the two categories.

As the nodal agency for KPCS, the Council is responsible for all KP certifications within the country. These measures demonstrate the industry's commitment to transparency and integrity and its willingness to take proactive steps to maintain its reputation.

With China market re-opening, how will this augur for the Indian diamond industry?

The opening up of the China market is expected to have a positive impact on the demand for gems and jewellery from India, especially diamonds. China is the worlds second-largest consumer of diamonds and one of the leading consumers of gems and jewellery.

As the US market is a major LGD consumer thanks to GenZ, do you see demand for Natural diamonds going down and thereby hitting the natural diamond demand/exports from India?

As mentioned before, the two categories serve distinct purposes and cater to different consumer needs. India is a leading producing, cutting & polishing, and exporting centre of LGDs, so increased consumer demand in the US market will lead to a further increase in exports. Its a win-win for India.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
(thediamondloupe.com) - This last year in the diamond industry was not what one would consider "normal". Standard business patterns disappeared, business relationships changed drastically, and traders adapted to new regulations and ways of trading. Many of us think we have seen all the possible changes one can be faced with in a year, but I believe this is just the beginning of a paradigm shift in our industry, where quality will be replaced by a new kingmaker: origin. Heraclitus said it best: There is nothing permanent except change. It is time to prepare for real change, as it will be at our doorstep sooner than anticipated.
Ludhiana Gas Leak Case

Injured have been admitted to the local hospital

LUDHIANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in Ludhiana Gas Leak Case. He announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of deceased through PMNRF. Rs 50,000 will be given to each of the injured. PM Modi said that he is deeply saddened by the incident that took place due to the gas leak in Ludhiana.

Notably, the death toll in the gas leakage incident that occurred in Giaspura in Ludhiana district on Sunday has mounted to 11. About 10 people were fainted due to the gas leak. They have been admitted to the local hospital. The police administration reached the spot and sealed the entire area.

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Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed sorrow over the incident and tweeted, "The incident of a gas leak in the factory in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana is very sad. Police, government and NDRF teams are present at the spot. All possible help is being extended to the affected. Rest details soon."




Italian conductor Riccardo Muti plans to visit Syrian musicians living in the vast Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on the ...
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has announced on Thursday the raising of the minimum wage for government employees to EGP 3,500 and pensions by 15 percent - as part of a wide-ranging social package to alleviate ramifications of global economic situation on the public - starting 1 April.

The president also ordered raising the minimum wage for those government employees who hold a Master's degree to be EGP 6,000 and for those who hold a PhD to EGP 7,000.

The minimum wage for government employees was last raised in October 2022 from EGP 2,700 to EGP 3,000.

President El-Sisi also announced raising tax exemptions from EGP 24,000 to EGP 30,000 annually, effective 1 April.

He also announced raising Takaful and Karama benefits for the neediest citizens by 25 percent, effective 1 April.

"This social package is meant to alleviate the ramifications of the global economic circumstances, El-Sisi said during an event in Minya to honour outstanding Egyptians as part of his tour of Decent Life projects in the Upper Egypt governorate.

"The economic reform program that the government started to implement since 2016 has cushioned the economy against some of the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic before that," the president added.

The president said that the Russian-Ukrainian war, which erupted over a year ago, has had double the impact on the global economy which had not yet recovered from similar effects caused by the coroanavirus pandemic.

Egypt, like other countries, was impacted by the rise in energy and food prices and the disruption of global supply chains as a result of the war, he added.

The president stressed, however, that the economic reforms implemented by the state since 2016, and the steps the state took to maximize its assets and develop the infrastructure, and the social protection schemes have all contributed significantly to cushioning the blow of the global crisis on the country.

The state has also developed its economic plan to localise industries, reduce the import gap, expand self-sufficiency in food, and shift to attract foreign investments, he added.

"Throughout a decade we have managed to overcome crises and challenges together  our will has not been sapped by challenges or campaigns of skepticism or broken by terrorism," the president stressed.

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Saudi Arabia is granting free visas for all nationals who have been evacuated from war-torn Sudan on a legal basis, Sulaiman Al-Yahya, Director General of Passports (Jawazat) told the Al-Ekhbariya channel.

Read More: Different Kinds of Visas for Saudi Arabia

"Accordingly, those who were evacuated from Sudan can enter the Kingdom as any member of the Saudi society and as any person who visits the Kingdom and they can have free movement. However, they must have scheduled departure plans," he said.

Al-Yahya added that this initiative comes under the directives of the leadership of Saudi Arabia.

In related news, 45 Saudi citizens and 36 Pakistani nationals arrived at King Abdullah Air Base in Jeddah from Sudan Sunday morning, April 30th.

The Directorate has provided the evacuees with the necessary services to complete their travel procedures and they have been doing so in collaboration with the embassies of these evacuees' respective countries.

The Jawazat has mobilized all its technical and human facilities to serve the evacuees who have arrived at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport and the Islamic Port.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia successfully evacuated 1,866 people from Sudan, including Saudi citizens and residents of 65 other nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The ministry announced that as many as 5,013 people from different 100 nations have been evacuated from Sudan by Saudi Arabia to date.

Saudi Arabia has received appreciation from the Muslim World League (MWL) for its important humanitarian and diplomatic contributions to the Sudan conflict. The Kingdom is recognized in particular for the effective evacuation of citizens from several friendly and Islamic nations, including ambassadors, government representatives, as well as workers of international organizations.
NASAs ShadowCam instrument is flying with five other instruments aboard KARIs Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), also known as Danuri, which launched on August 4, 2022.

ShadowCam was developed by Malin Space Science Systems and Arizona State University.

This instrument is significantly more light-sensitive than comparable lunar cameras.

It acquires high-resolution images of permanently shadowed regions, which never receive direct sunlight, in service of science and exploration planning for Artemis missions and robotic missions.

Since KPLO entered lunar orbit in December 2022, ShadowCam has been routinely capturing images of the lunar north and south polar regions.

One of ShadowCams first images from lunar orbit is the permanently shadowed wall and floor of Shackleton crater, which is found near the south pole.

The level of detail in the image is possible thanks to ShadowCams ability to operate in extremely low-light conditions  it is 200 times more sensitive than the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Narrow Angle Camera.

The arrow marks the track of a boulder that rolled down the crater wall.

The observation of these trails helps scientists characterize the boulder shape and velocity and regolith features, furthering our understanding of the geotechnical properties of the Moon.

ShadowCam was designed to offer views into shadowed areas near the poles.

The second image, however, was taken under earthshine in the equatorial region of the Moon as part of an instrument sensitivity test.

It reveals the interior of Bruce crater and bright streamers that formed from soil sliding down the craters walls.

ShadowCam captured this image just after a new Moon.

During a new Moon, at the same time that wed see a thin lunar crescent from Earth, a person on the Moon would see a near-full Earth.

Just as a full Moon can provide illumination on Earth, a full Earth can provide illumination on the Moon  this is referred to as earthshine.

While earthshine is about 10 times dimmer than the illumination available in the average permanently shadowed region from sunlight reflected off lunar geologic features, ShadowCam was still able to image the surface using earthshine, indicating the instruments ability to see into the dimmer areas of the south pole.

Although ShadowCam was primarily designed to use secondary illumination from lunar geologic features for imaging, the third image, showing Aristarchus crater central peak (left), was captured using earthshine.

ShadowCam will not be able to image Artemis astronauts walking on the surface of the Moon if they are in direct sunlight because the powerful light would render the images saturated, NASA scientits said.

This image, however, shows that it may be possible using earthshine, if astronauts are spacewalking during lunar night.

In this image, the shadow cast by the Aristarchus central peak is from the earthshine that resulted from the Earth being 35 degrees above the horizon at the time.

The different tones in the central peak are thought to represent distinct rock types.

_____

This article is based on text provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
For millennia, humans have used knots for all kinds of reasons  to tie rope, braid hair, or weave fabrics. But there are organisms that are better at tying knots and far superior  and faster  at untangling them.

Tiny California blackworms intricately tangle themselves by the thousands to form ball-shaped blobs that allow them to execute a wide range of biological functions. But, most striking of all, while the worms tangle over a period of several minutes, they can untangle in mere milliseconds, escaping at the first sign of a threat from a predator.

Saad Bhamla, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech, wanted to understand precisely how the blackworms execute their tangling and untangling movements. To investigate, Bhamla and a team of researchers at Georgia Tech linked up with mathematicians at MIT. Their research, published in Science, could influence the design of fiber-like, shapeshifting robotics that self-assemble and move in ways that are fast and reversible. The study also highlights how cross-disciplinary collaboration can answer some of the most perplexing questions in disparate fields.

Capturing the Inside of a Worm Blob

Fascinated by the science of ultrafast movement and collective behavior, Bhamla and Harry Tuazon, a graduate student in Bhamlas lab, have studied California blackworms for years, observing how they use collective movement to form blobs and then disperse.

We wanted to understand the exact mechanics behind how the worms change their movement dynamics to achieve tangling and ultrafast untangling, Bhamla said. Also, these are not just typical filaments like string, ethernet cables, or spaghetti  these are living, active tangles that are out of equilibrium, which adds a fascinating layer to the question.

Tuazon, a co-first author of the study, collected videos of his experiments with the worms, including macro videos of the worms collective dispersal mechanism and microscopic videos of one, two, three, and several worms to capture their movements.

"I was shocked when I pointed a UV light toward the worm blobs and they dispersed so explosively," Tuazon said. "But to understand this complex and mesmerizing maneuver, I started conducting experiments with only a few worms."

Bhamla and Tuazon approached MIT mathematicians Jorn Dunkel and Vishal Patil (a graduate student at the time and now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University) about a collaboration. After seeing Tuazons videos, the two theorists, who specialize in knots and topology, were eager to join.

Knots and tangles are a fascinating area where physics and mechanics meet some very interesting math, said Patil, co-first author on the paper. These worms seemed like a good playground to investigate topological principles in systems made up of filaments.

A key moment for Patil was when he viewed Tuazons video of a single worm that had been provoked into the escape response. Patil noticed the worm moved in a figure-eight pattern, turning its head in clockwise and counterclockwise spirals as its body followed.

The researchers thought this helical gait pattern might play a role in the worms ability to tangle and untangle. But to mathematically quantify the worm tangle structures and model how they braid around each other, Patil and Dunkel needed experimental data.

Bhamla and Tuazon set about to find an imaging technique that would allow them to peer inside the worm blob so they could gather more data. After much trial and error, they landed on an unexpected solution: ultrasound. By placing a live worm blob in nontoxic jelly and using a commercial ultrasound machine, they were finally able to observe the inside of the intricate worm tangles.

Capturing the inside structure of a live worm blob was a real challenge, Tuazon said. We tried all sorts of imaging techniques for months, including X-rays, confocal microscopy, and tomography, but none of them gave us the real-time resolution we needed. Ultimately, ultrasound turned out to be the solution.

After analyzing the ultrasound videos, Tuazon and other researchers in Bhamlas lab painstakingly tracked the movement of the worms by hand, plotting more than 46,000 data points for Patil and Dunkel to use to understand the mathematics behind the movements.

Explaining Tangling and Untangling

Answering the questions of how the worms untangle quickly required a combination of mechanics and topology. Patil built a mathematical model to explain how helical gaits can lead to tangling and untangling. By testing the model using a simulation framework, Patil was able to create a visualization of worms tangling.

The model predicted that each worm formed a tangle with at least two other worms, revealing why the worm blobs were so cohesive. Patil then showed that the same class of helical gaits could explain how they untangle. The simulations were uncanny in their resemblance to real ultrasound images and showed that the worms alternating helical wave motions enabled the tangling and the ultrafast untangling escape mechanism.

Whats striking is these tangled structures are extremely complicated. They are disordered and complex structures, but these living worm structures are able to manipulate these knots for crucial functions, Patil said.

While it has been known for decades that the worms move in a helical gait, no one had ever made the connection between that movement and how they escape. The researchers work revealed how the mechanical movements of individual worms determine their emergent collective behavior and topological dynamics. It is also the first mathematical theory of active tangling and untangling.

This observation may seem like a mere curiosity, but its implications are far-reaching. Active filaments are ubiquitous in biological structures, from DNA strands to entire organisms, said Eva Kanso, program director at the National Science Foundation and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Southern California.

These filaments serve myriads of functions and can provide a general motif for engineering multifunctional structures and materials that change properties on demand. Just as the worm blobs perform remarkable tangling and untangling feats, so may future bioinspired materials defy the limits of conventional structures by exploiting the interplay between mechanics, geometry, and activity.

The researchers model demonstrates the advantages of different types of tangles, which could allow for programming a wide range of behaviors into multifunctional, filament-like materials, from polymers to shapeshifting soft robotic systems. Many companies, such as 3M, already use nonwoven materials made of tangling fibers in products, including bandages and N95 masks. The worms could inspire new nonwoven materials and topological shifting matter.

Actively shapeshifting topological matter is currently the stuff of science fiction, said Bhamla. Imagine a soft, nonwoven material made of millions of stringlike filaments that can tangle and untangle on command, forming a smart adhesive bandage that shape-morphs as a wound heals, or a smart filtration material that alters pore topology to trap particles of different sizes or chemical properties. The possibilities are endless."

Georgia Tech researchers Emily Kaufman, Tuhin Chakrabortty, and David Qin contributed to this study.

CITATION: Patil, et al. Ultrafast reversible self-assembly of living tangled matter. Science. 28 April 2023.

DOI: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade7759

Writer: Catherine Barzler, Georgia Tech

Video: Candler Hobbs, Georgia Tech

Original footage and photography: Georgia Tech

Simulations: MIT
CRISPR claimed scientific fame for its ability to quickly and accurately edit genes. But, at the core, CRISPR systems are immune systems that help bacteria protect themselves from viruses by targeting and destroying viral DNA and RNA. A new study published in Science reveals a previously unrecognized player in one such system -- a membrane protein that enhances anti-viral defense -- simultaneously broadening our understanding of and raising more questions related to the complexities of CRISPR.

Uncovering New Clues about CRISPR

CRISPR systems consist of two major components -- a guide RNA that targets a specific viral DNA or RNA sequence and a Cas enzyme that cuts the targeted DNA or RNA, preventing a virus from replicating and spreading. A team at the University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology found that a specific Cas protein (Cas13b) not only cuts viral RNA, but communicates with another protein (Csx28) to augment its anti-viral defense.

In partnership with scientists at Cornell, the team discovered that the Csx28 protein forms a pore-like structure (i.e. it has a big hole in it). When they infected E. coli with a phage (virus that attacks bacteria) and deployed the CRISPR-Cas13 system to target and halt infection, they found that Cas13 signals to Csx28 to affect membrane permeability. Once this happens, Csx28 wreaks havoc in the infected cell, discombobulating membrane potential, crushing metabolism and hindering energy production. A virus can't replicate under such unhospitable circumstances, leading to the team's conclusion that Csx28 enhances CRISPR-Cas13b's phage defense.

"This finding upends the idea that CRISPR systems mount their defense only by degrading RNA and DNA in cells and really broadens our view of how CRISPR systems may be working," said corresponding author Mitchell O'Connell, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and a member of the UR Center for RNA Biology. "When we think about CRISPR, we see Cas proteins such as Cas9 or Cas13 as the big hammer doing all the damage, but that might not be the case; we found that Cas13 and Csx28 are working together to effectively extinguish a virus."

"When you read this paper you think to yourself'what?' This is such a weird mechanism and not the way I would have predicted that bacteria would work," added John Lueck, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at URMC. "It is really impressive that the team identified this pore-like protein that doesn't resemble anything else we've seen before, and now that we know that this mechanism exists people will start to look for it in other systems. This is exciting because in science, when you scratch the surface, you often find that there is an entirely new world behind it."

More Questions than Answers

With the added knowledge of the structure of Csx28 through the use of high-resolution cryo-EM, the team is beginning to probe the function of the protein. Questions abound. If the goal is protection, why is there a giant hole in the membrane? The team found that when Cas13 isn't around, Csx28 isn't active. What makes it become active in defense? How long does it stay active and what does it let through the membrane? Understanding the biochemistry behind the opening and closing of the pore will shed light on how CRISPR-Cas13 uses it as part of its defense and provide a jumping off point for the study of membrane proteins across other CRISPR systems.

"This finding is unexpected and raises all kinds of new questions about how bacteria protect themselves and what they are doing to survive infection," noted Mark Dumont, PhD, a professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at URMC who has spent his career studying membrane proteins. "It is also a very interesting interface between RNA biology, CRISPR, structural biology and membrane biology. While there is no immediate medical relevance or application, the ideas that boil up from this could be very powerful."

Lueck adds, "It is very rare for one study to have this many thought-provoking pieces that it brings several different fields together. And because the concepts are brand new, future work won't be burdened by dogma. Any time people can bring fresh, unfettered ideas to the table it is really good for science."

In addition to O'Connell, lead study author Arica VanderWal, PhD, a former graduate student in O'Connell's lab who is now a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego, contributed to the research. Graduate students Julia K. Nicosia and Adrian M. Molina Vargas in the O'Connell lab, Bogdan Polevoda, PhD, research assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at URMC, and Elizabeth Kellogg, PhD, and Jung-Un Park from the department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University also supported the research. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
A researcher from Mainz University has published work in a special issue of Biology Letters on the causes and consequences of the worldwide insect decline as well as potential countermeasures.

Throughout the world we are witnessing not just a decline in the numbers of individual insects, but also a collapse of insect diversity. Major causes of this worrying trend are land-use intensification in the form of greater utilization for agriculture and building development as well as climate change and the spread of invasive animal species as a result of human trade. These are the main conclusions reached in the special feature on insect decline that recently appeared in Biology Letters. One of the three editors is PD Dr. Florian Menzel from the Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). "As evidence of an on-going global crash in insect populations increased over the last few years, we decided it was time to edit and publish this special issue. Our aim was not to document insect population declines but to better understand their causes and consequences," said Menzel. Together with forest entomologist Professor Martin Gossner of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and biologist Dr. Nadja Simons of TU Darmstadt, Menzel contacted international researchers in order to collate the information they could provide on insect declines and to stimulate new studies on the subject. The special issue authored by Menzel, Gossner and Simons includes 12 research-related articles, two opinion papers, and an extensive editorial.

More extensive use of land, climate change, and invasive species are the main causes of insect decline

"In view of the results available to us, we learned that not just land-use intensification, global warming, and the escalating dispersal of invasive species are the main drivers of the global disappearance of insects, but also that these drivers interact with each other," added Menzel. For example, ecosystems deteriorated by humans are more susceptible to climate change and so are their insect communities. Added to this, invasive species can establish easier in habitats damaged by human land-use and displace the native species. Hence, while many insect species decline or go extinct, few others, including invasive species, thrive and increase. This leads to an increasing homogenization of the insect communities across habitats.

"It looks as if it is the specialized insect species that suffer most, while the more generalized species tend to survive. This is why we are now finding more insects capable of living nearly anywhere while those species that need specific habitats are on the wane," Menzel pointed out. The consequences of this development are numerous and generally detrimental for the ecosystems. For example, the loss of bumblebee diversity has resulted in a concomitant decline in plants that rely on certain bumblebee species for pollination. "Generally speaking, a decline in insect diversity threatens the stability of ecosystems. Fewer species means that there are fewer insects capable of pollinating plants and keeping pests in check. And, of course, this also means that there is less food available for insect-eating birds and other animals. Their continued existence can thus be placed at risk due to the decline in insect numbers," emphasized Menzel.

In their editorial, Menzel, Gossner, and Simons suggest ways in which we can best respond to the effects that their gathered data has revealed. They advocate a particular approach for future research into insect decline. Standardized techniques should be employed to monitor insect diversity across many habitats and countries, the more so as in many regions of the world we still don't know how the insects are doing. The researchers also propose the creation of a network of interconnected nature reserves such that species can move from one habitat to another. Less heat-tolerant insects would thus be able to migrate from areas where global warming is causing temperatures to rise to higher elevations or cooler regions in the north. Furthermore, we need measures to reduce the dispersal of invasive animal and plant species through our globalized trade and tourism. "This is another problem that has become extremely serious in the last decades," concluded Menzel. One example cited in the current special issue is the invasion of non-native insectivorous fishes in Brazil that has caused a major decline in freshwater insects.
The human body relies heavily on electrical charges. Lightning-like pulses of energy fly through the brain and nerves and most biological processes depend on electrical ions traveling across the membranes of each cell in our body.

These electrical signals are possible, in part, because of an imbalance in electrical charges that exists on either side of a cellular membrane. Until recently, researchers believed the membrane was an essential component to creating this imbalance. But that thought was turned on its head when researchers at Stanford University discovered that similar imbalanced electrical charges can exist between microdroplets of water and air.

Now, researchers at Duke University have discovered that these types of electric fields also exist within and around another type of cellular structure called biological condensates. Like oil droplets floating in water, these structures exist because of differences in density. They form compartments inside the cell without needing the physical boundary of a membrane.

Inspired by previous research demonstrating that microdroplets of water interacting with air or solid surfaces create tiny electrical imbalances, the researchers decided to see if the same was true for small biological condensates. They also wanted to see if these imbalances sparked reactive oxygen, "redox," reactions like these other systems.

Appearing on April 28 in the journal Chem, their foundational discovery could change the way researchers think about biological chemistry. It could also provide a clue as to how the first life on Earth harnessed the energy needed to arise.

"In a prebiotic environment without enzymes to catalyze reactions, where would the energy come from?" asked Yifan Dai, a Duke postdoctoral researcher working in the laboratory of Ashutosh Chilkoti, the Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Lingchong You, the James L. Meriam Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering.

"This discovery provides a plausible explanation of where the reaction energy could have come from, just as the potential energy that is imparted on a point charge placed in an electric field," Dai said.

When electric charges jump between one material and another, they can produce molecular fragments that can pair up and form hydroxyl radicals, which have the chemical formula OH. These can then pair again to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in tiny but detectable amounts.

"But interfaces have seldom been studied in biological regimes other than the cellular membrane, which is one of the most essential part of biology," said Dai. "So we were wondering what might be happening at the interface of biological condensates, that is, if it is an asymmetric system too."

Cells can build biological condensates to either separate or trap together certain proteins and molecules, either hindering or promoting their activity. Researchers are just beginning to understand how condensates work and what they could be used for.

Because the Chilkoti laboratory specializes in creating synthetic versions of naturally occurring biological condensates, the researchers were easily able to create a test bed for their theory. After combining the right formula of building blocks to create minuscule condensates, with help from postdoctoral scholar Marco Messina in Christopher J. Chang's group at the University of California -- Berkeley, they added a dye to the system that glows in the presence of reactive oxygen species.

Their hunch was right. When the environmental conditions were right, a solid glow started from the edges of the condensates, confirming that a previously unknown phenomenon was at work. Dai next talked with Richard Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Chemistry at Stanford, whose group established the electric behavior of water droplets. Zare was excited to hear about the new behavior in biological systems, and started to work with the group on the underlying mechanism.

"Inspired by previous work on water droplets, my graduate student, Christian Chamberlayne, and I thought that the same physical principles might apply and promote redox chemistry, such as the formation of hydrogen peroxide molecules," Zare said. "These findings suggest why condensates are so important in the functioning of cells."

"Most previous work on biomolecular condensates has focused on their innards," Chilkoti said. "Yifan's discovery that biomolecular condensates appear to be universally redox-active suggests that condensates did not simply evolve to carry out specific biological functions as is commonly understood, but that they are also endowed with a critical chemical function that is essential to cells."

While the biological implications of this ongoing reaction within our cells is not known, Dai points to a prebiotic example of how powerful its effects might be. The powerhouses of our cells, called mitochondria, create energy for all of our life's functions through the same basic chemical process. But before mitochondria or even the simplest of cells existed, something had to provide energy for the very first of life's functions to begin working.

Researchers have proposed that the energy was provided by thermal vents in the oceans or hot springs. Others have suggested this same redox reaction that occurs in water microdroplets was created by the spray of ocean waves.

But why not condensates instead?

"Magic can happen when substances get tiny and the interfacial volume becomes enormous compared to its volume," Dai said. "I think the implications are important to many different fields."

This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-20-1-0241, FA9550-21-1-0170) and the National Institutes of Health (MIRA R35GM127042; R01EB029466, R01 GM 79465, R01 GM 139245, R01 ES 28096).
The Egyptian government and International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff had fruitful discussions in preparation for the first review mission of Egypt's reform program which is supported by the IMFs Extended Fund Facility (EFF), IMF Mission Chief for Egypt Ivanna Vladkova Hollar stated on Sunday

The discussions took place on the margins of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings in Washington DC.

Hollar added that the discussions addressed a number of issues related to the implementation of the programme as well as the outlook for the Egyptian economy.

The discussions, she said, leading up to the start of the first review mission will continue virtually.

The World Bank Groups and the IMFs spring meetings concluded on Sunday.

A delegation of Egyptian officials that included both the ministers of finance and international cooperation as well as the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt attended the meetings to discuss the first review of the $3 billion loan deal with the IMFs officials.

The review was planned to be conducted on 15 March, but the IMF officials stated to Ahram Online that the review has not been conducted as of yet.

Sources familiar with the discussions told Ahram Online that the IMF still requires the Egyptian government to take more measures to level the field with the private sector, adding that the review will be conducted before the end of the current FY2022/2023.

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The mechanics behind the collapse of soft materials structure have befuddled researchers for decades. In a new study, researchers uncover a metric that finally correlates microscopic-level processes with what is seen at the macroscopic level.

The new metric is poised to help bring advances to various materials engineering challenges -- ranging from the formulation of better 3D printing inks, the construction of wearable flexible electronics and sensors, the accurate printing of biomedical implants, to helping control landslides and avalanches, and even improving the textures of processed foods and personal care products, the researchers said.

A team of chemical engineers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has made many advances in understanding how soft materials fail -- or yield -- to force. However, connecting the team's larger-scale observations to what is happening at the microscale level has remained elusive.

In the study, researchers at U. of I., collaborating with teams at Argonne National Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Ottawa, explain this relationship with a new metric they call a "correlation ratio."

The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The team used a high-powered microscopy technique -- called rheo- X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy -- to study flow-dependent structure-property relationships and soft materials in real time.

Rheo-XPCS is one of the few techniques that allow researchers to perform X-ray analysis of a material as it is being deformed, while simultaneously measuring it using rheometers -- devices that measure stress and strain -- directly in line with an X-ray beam, the researchers said.

"From a materials science perspective, we have not been able to distinguish when a material changes from behaving like a solid to a liquid at the microstructural scale," said Illinois chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Simon Rogers, who led the project. "The Rheo-XPCS at Argonne National Lab gives us an unprecedented peek at the microscale behavior of soft materials yielding to stress."

In the lab, the team worked with a material called soft colloidal glass, which is a disordered system of nanoparticles made of silica.

"We call it a soft material because the interparticle interactions cause it to be sort of squishy -- like having a bunch of water balloons pushed together to form a material," said Gavin Donley, the first author of the study and former Illinois graduate student now at Georgetown University. "We used this specific material because it provides a strong X-ray signal that we can record while we perform simultaneous macroscopic measurements."

This technique allowed the researchers to finally witness the direct connection between microscopic displacements and macroscopic behavior, allowing them to define the behavior using mathematical terms.

"Getting down to the nuts and bolts of this problem is a step forward so that future researchers that want to design new soft materials can do so by tweaking various microscale parameters to get a desired macroscale property," Donely said. "We're not quite there yet, but we have shown a clearly-defined mathematical correlation between the micro- and macroscale."

The Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supported the research.
Have you ever wondered why you get tired when the sun goes down? Why do some flower petals open during the day and close at night? Or even how monarch butterflies know when to migrate south? Life on earth has evolved to predict what time it is. This mechanism is referred to as the circadian clock: plants and animals alike have rhythmic, biological responses to the earth's 24-hour and 365-day cycles using external cues like light and temperature. Research led by Dmitri Nusinow, PhD, associate member, Danforth Plant Science Center, and former Nusinow graduate student Maria Sorkin, PhD, has identified a new protein complex in plants that regulates temperature response by the circadian clock. As climate change influences daily and seasonal temperature patterns -- such as warmer nights and winters -- it is critical to better understand how plants interpret and react to thermal cues. Their findings, "COLD-REGULATED GENES 27 and 28 antagonize the transcriptional activity of the RVE8/LNK1/LNK2 circadian complex," were recently published in the scientific journal Plant Physiology.

"The clock is essential for plants to correctly respond to temperature stimuli," wrote first author Sorkin, and scientists have uncovered a variety of ways in which the circadian clock helps plants acclimate to changes in temperature and survive stress -- especially in model species like Arabidopsis. "The circadian clock in Arabidopsis is well-studied," mentioned Sorkin, "so the most exciting part of this project was finding a brand-new protein complex that regulates temperature responses. No one else had discovered this interaction, even in an established system." The complex comprises three proteins that interact in the evening to adjust to cooler temperatures. The research team importantly identified the mechanistic connection between these proteins and the specific time of days at which their interactions occur.

Sorkin went to heroic lengths to discover how these three protein 'puzzle pieces' come together," said Nusinow. "We are always looking for protein complexes in our work, but we don't know how they will interact. Maria's dedication solved that puzzle," he continued. Their findings are the result of three years of hard work -- sometimes at odd hours late at night and early in the morning -- to demystify how and when these proteins work together. Interestingly, the team "saw new complexes formed when we ran our experiments at different times of the day," Nusinow commented, "even just hours apart from each other."

The researcher's experiments involved collaboration with the Danforth Center's Proteomics & Mass Spectrometry Facility (PMSF) and plant growth team. The PMSF deployed state-of-the-art instrumentation to identify hundreds of potential proteins for the team to explore. In addition, collaborators from the University of Freiburg in Germany, the Plant-Environment Signaling Group at Utrecht University, and the Fundacion Instituto Leloir, Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas de Buenos Aires-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas in Argentina, generously shared plant material for analysis of these proteins.

The Nusinow lab is excited to continue to study this protein complex at different temperatures with Stefanie King, a co-author and second-year graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. "I'm grateful to learn from Maria and design experiments to look at the structure and regulation of the complex as a whole," King said. Now that the researchers demonstrated that the protein complex interacts at specific times of day, they are interested in further understanding the interaction under varying temperatures. In addition, Stefanie is looking forward to mentoring an NSF REU intern in these techniques over the summer.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the William H. Danforth Plant Science Fellowship at the Danforth Plant Science Center, the William H. Danforth Plant Science Fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis, the German Research Foundation, and the Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica.
The steps of frank, transparent national dialogue in Egypt start with definitively resolving the prisoners of conscience file, said participants of the Egyptian 'National Dialogue' during their meeting with General Coordinator of the dialogue Diaa Rashwan on Saturday, according to a statement.

We are all hopeful of starting a new phase in the life of this country, the participants said in the statement, emphasising that they will partake in fostering an open political climate which establishes economic reform to support both the citizen and the states economy.

The statement was issued by Rashwan following the meeting that involved a set of prominent figures in the political and media fields in Egypt, where they discussed the course of the 'National Dialogue' set to commence on Wednesday, 3 May.

It is important to cease procedures that chase and imprison prisoners of conscience, the meeting attendees further stressed.

They also shared their vision for the 'National Dialogue' and the current situation in Egypt in general, Rashwan said.

We seek a free dialogue between parties on an equal footing to unlock the path to an open public sphere, they continued, adding that this will allow Egypt to benefit from the minds and cadres of its citizens.

We believe that the state should listen carefully to the people's requests, they further asserted.

The meeting participants also asserted the necessity of adopting a political path which includes all legitimate political parties and movements, adding that such activities must be protected by laws that allow practitioners to do so without restriction or circumvention.

The law on political parties must be reformed to serve the nations interests, they affirmed, adding that freedom of the press, as well as opinion, go hand in hand with such reformations.

We wish to turn our attention to the current economic situation of the country with the rising cost of living and we are confident that political reform, strengthening state institutions, mutual surveillance, and balance of powers is the only way to re-establish the country, the statement continued.

Hence, the state should strive to achieve its aspirations through the participation of all its people and provide the necessary mechanisms for that to fulfil the ownership of the country to its citizens, they added.

There is no alternative to dialogue to handle any political dispute, the statement asserted, adding that the 'National Dialogue' can pave the way to a political climate that holds presidential, parliamentary, and administrative elections up to international standards.

We hope that we will reach the day when we hand over the flag of the homeland to our children, reassured that it is a strong, precious, and stable country, they concluded.

The 'National Dialogue' was originally proposed by President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in April 2022 to develop the country's future political, economic, and social priorities.

Rashwan also announced on Wednesday that the current crisis in Sudan propelled by the attacks of the paramilitary Rapid Sudanese Forces groups further raised the urgency of Egypt's 'National Dialogue' emphasising that the initiative must begin on 3 May as planned.

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The UK vowed Sunday to maintain support for Britons trapped in Sudan but said conditions had grown too dangerous to continue evacuation flights.

The final Royal Air Force (RAF) flight left the Wadi Saeedna airfield north of Khartoum late on Saturday, four hours behind schedule, taking to 1,888 the number of Britons and their relatives evacuated since Tuesday.

"The evacuation that we've conducted is the longest and largest evacuation of any Western nation," Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News.

"And so we've taken out 1,888 British nationals and their dependants, which I think is a testimony to a very successful evacuation effort.

"And we will continue providing consular support from Sudan," he said, noting that the Foreign Office had set up an office in Port Sudan for those seeking to escape by sea to Saudi Arabia.

The UK government denies it has abandoned anyone in Sudan, after it was accused by opposition parties of repeating the mistakes of its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

One Turkish aircraft was shot at in Sudan last week, Harper said, "demonstrating that that evacuation was not without risk, and we therefore can't stay there indefinitely".

"But we were clear with British citizens about the need to get to the airfield to evacuate."

Some 2,000 Britons in Sudan had signed on to a Foreign Office list, and anyone eligible was given until Saturday morning to reach the airfield for processing and boarding of the final flights.

After strong criticism at home, the government late Friday allowed Sudanese doctors working in Britain's crisis-wracked National Health Service to join the flights.

Sudanese doctor Abdulrahman Babiker, who works in a hospital in the northern English city of Manchester, was one of those refused a place at first before he was allowed to join an RAF flight to Cyprus.

"I am happy that I am finally in a safe place, away from a war and on my way back to the UK," Babiker told the BBC.

"At the same time I feel down that my family -- my dad, mum, brother and sister -- are still endangered by this deadly fighting in my country," Babiker added.

"I am thinking about them now and trying to work out what I can do to help them escape the danger zone."

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Telephone number: 01382 457667

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-party links This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.



The data we collect about you Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data). We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together follows:

 Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.

 Contact Data includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.

 Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.

 Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.

 Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.

 Profile Data includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses.

 Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services.

 Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences. We also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice. We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

If you fail to provide personal data Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with services). In this case, we may have to cancel a service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.



How is your personal data collected? We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:  Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you: - apply for our services;

- make an enquiry;

- create an account on our website;

- subscribe to our service or publications;

- request marketing to be sent to you;

- enter a competition, promotion or survey; or

- give us some feedback.



 Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see our cookie policy for further details.

 Third parties or publicly available sources. We may receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out below:

 Technical Data from the following parties:



(a) analytics providers;

(b) advertising networks; and

(c) search information providers.



 Contact, Financial and Transaction Data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services.

 Identity and Contact Data from data brokers or aggregators.

 Identity and Contact Data from publicly availably sources.

How we use your personal data We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:  Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.

 Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

 Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation. Generally we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data other than in relation to sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate. Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Purpose/Activity Type of data Lawful basis for processing including basis of legitimate interest To register you as a new customer (a) Identity (b) Contact Performance of a contract with you To process and deliver your enquiry, request or order including: (a) Manage payments, fees and charges (b) Collect and recover money owed to us (c) Manage financial applications (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Financial (d) Transaction (e) Marketing and Communications (a) Performance of a contract with you (b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to recover debts due to us) To manage our relationship with you which will include: (a) Notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy (b) Asking you to leave a review or take a survey (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Marketing and Communications (a) Performance of a contract with you (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation (c) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to keep our records updated and to study how customers use our services) To enable you to partake in a prize draw, competition or complete a survey (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Usage (e) Marketing and Communications (a) Performance of a contract with you (b) Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our services, to develop them and grow our business) To administer and protect our business and this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data) (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Technical (a) Necessary for our legitimate interests (for running our business, provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise) (b) Necessary to comply with a legal obligation To deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Profile (d) Usage (e) Marketing and Communications (f) Technical Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our services, to develop them, to grow our business and to inform our marketing strategy) To use data analytics to improve our website, services, marketing, customer relationships and experiences (a) Technical (b) Usage Necessary for our legitimate interests (to define types of customers for our services, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy) To make suggestions and recommendations to you about services that may be of interest to you (a) Identity (b) Contact (c) Technical (d) Usage (e) Profile Necessary for our legitimate interests (to develop our services and grow our business)

Marketing We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising. We have established the following personal data control mechanisms:

Promotional offers from us We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing). You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and, in each case, you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Opting out You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by logging into the website and checking or unchecking relevant boxes to adjust your marketing preferences or by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service purchase, service experience or other transactions.

Cookies You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our cookie policy.

Change of purpose We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.



Disclosures of your personal data

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table in paragraph 4 above.  External Third Parties as set out in the Glossary.

 Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.



International transfers We do not transfer your personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA).



Data security We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.



Data retention How long will you use my personal data for? We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.



Your legal rights Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. (Please see the glossary for more detail)  Request access to your personal data.

 Request correction of your personal data.

 Request erasure of your personal data.

 Object to processing of your personal data.

 Request restriction of processing your personal data.

 Request transfer of your personal data.

 Right to withdraw consent. If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

No fee usually required You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.


An aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed Sunday in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by more than two weeks of fighting between the Sudanese army and its rival the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The supplies are enough to treat hundreds of wounded, as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors' association has said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

On Sunday, the aircraft carrying medical aid took off from Jordan and landed in the city of Port Sudan, said the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The supplies, including anesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said.

The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRCs regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum.Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

On Sunday, fighting continued in different parts of the capital where residents hiding in their homes reported hearing artillery fire. There have been lulls in fighting, but never a fully observed cease-fire, despite repeated attempts by international mediators.

Over the weekend, residents reported that shops were reopening and normalcy gradually returning in some areas of Khartoum as the scale of fighting dwindled after yet another shaky truce. But in other areas, terrified residents reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses.

Youssef, the ICRC official, said the agency has been in contact with the top command of both sides to ensure that medical assistance could reach hospitals safely.

With this news today, we are really hoping that this becomes part of a steady coordination mechanism to allow other flights to come in, he said.

Youssef said more medical aid was ready to be flown into Khartoum pending necessary clearances and security guarantees.

Sudans healthcare system is near collapse with dozens of hospitals out of service. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and evacuate employees.

On Sunday, a U.S. warship also arrived to Port Sudan to evacuate more American citizens, according to footage from the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV channel.

Most of the estimated 16,000 Americans believed to be in Sudan right now are dual U.S.-Sudanese nationals. The Defense Department said in a statement on Saturday it was moving naval assets toward Sudan's coast to support further evacuations.

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On April 27, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final consent judgment against Carlos Eduardo Reyes Alvarez of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud and anti-manipulation provisions of the federal securities laws stemming from his manipulation of at least 28 microcap stocks.

The SEC's complaint alleges that from about November 2017 and through at least April 2019, Reyes acquired large positions in thinly-traded over-the-counter stocks and then generated investor interest in these stocks through fraudulent means, most often by causing the issuance of press releases that had not been authorized by the companies. In connection with at least four companies, Reyes also allegedly engaged in wash trading to create the appearance of an active market and raise the company's stock price. The complaint further alleges that Reyes's fraudulent activity increased the prices of the securities he targeted and that he profited from these schemes by selling the securities at the inflated prices. As a result of these schemes, Reyes profited by $368,045.

Without admitting or denying the charges, Reyes consented to the entry of a final judgment that permanently enjoins him from future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 9(a)(1), 9(a)(2), and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The final judgment orders Reyes to pay disgorgement of $368,045, prejudgment interest of $76,843, and a civil penalty of $160,000. The final judgment further prohibits Reyes from acting as an officer or director of a public company, and prohibits Reyes from participating in any offering of penny stocks. Finally, the final judgment enjoins Reyes from engaging in, or deriving compensation from, specified activities related to inducing the purchase or sale of securities, unless those securities are listed on a national securities exchange and satisfy specified capitalization requirements.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Kristine Zaleskas, Ricky Tong, Jason Schall and Michael Paley, and was supervised by Thomas P. Smith, Jr. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
EUROPE

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold its semi-annual debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The current authorisation for the EU-led multinational stabilisation force (EUFOR ALTHEA) expires on 2 November 2023.

Background and Key Recent Developments

The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace, also known as the Dayton Agreement, created two entities within BiH: the predominantly Bosniak and Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the predominantly Serb Republika Srpska (RS). The two entities are linked by a rotating tripartite inter-ethnic presidency and a two-chamber legislative branch with equal representation by the three major ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs). Both entities also have their own executive and legislative branches.

BiH continues to experience political instability amid growing nationalist and separatist actions and rhetoric. On 28 December 2022, the National Assembly of the RS (NARS) adopted a law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of Authorities, which seeks to establish RS ownership of select property used by RS public authorities. A similar law, which had been adopted by NARS on 10 February 2022, had been deemed unconstitutional on 22 September 2022 by BiHs Constitutional Court, which ruled that property used by public authorities falls under the jurisdiction of the Bosnian state rather than either of its entities. High Representative for BiH Christian Schmidt issued a decree on 27 February suspending the new law until the Constitutional Court renders a decision.

In a 27 February statement, RS President Milorad Dodik rejected the decree and insisted that the law remains in force. He threatened that RS would secede from BiH if there was any interference in implementing the legislation. RS has not recognised Schmidts authority as the High Representative for BiH since October 2021, which is when a law passed by NARS on 30 July 2021 entered into force, declaring that decisions of the High Representative did not apply to RS.

On 23 March, NARS adopted amendments to RS criminal code, criminalising acts of defamation, which received widespread criticism. In a 10 March statement, the US embassy in BiH described the legislation as repressive and anti-democratic and argued that it benefit[s] only the ruling coalition in its effort to consolidate power. A day prior to the legislations adoption, the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board (PIC SB) described it in a joint statement as an attempt to shrink the civic space and reduce public debate, urging NARS to stop any activities that silence independent voices among media and civil society. (The PIC was established in December 1995 to garner international support for the Dayton Agreement.)

General elections in BiH were held on 2 October 2022. Shortly after polling stations closed, Schmidt issued a set of decrees, known as the Functionality Package, intended to improve the functionality of FBiHs political institutions and ensure the timely implementation of election results. FBiH ministers elected in 2015 after the 2014 elections have been serving under a technical mandate since 2018 because political processes have been blocked over demands for electoral reform. Schmidts decrees sought to improve the proportionality of representation and establish mechanisms to unblock paralysis in FBiHs legislatures, including setting deadlines for the formation of the government.

Although the president and two vice-presidents of the entity were appointed by FBiHs parliament on 16 February, FBiH has been unable to form a new government as political parties missed the 6 April deadline set by Schmidts decrees. In a 7 April statement, Schmidt urged politicians to set aside their partisan and individual interests and recognise the higher interests of the Federation. On 27 April, Schmidt issued a set of decrees that aim to strengthen BiHs criminal code and to unblock FBiHs formation of government.

Human Rights-Related Developments

In a 20 January statement at the end of an eight-day visit to BiH, Fionnuala D. Ni Aolain, UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, acknowledged human rights progress achieved in critical areas, including prisons, and noted her positive impression of the individualised and constructive approach to prisoner rehabilitation, including for persons convicted of terrorism. However, Ni Aolain observed that the failure to address the legacy of the past in BiH through transitional justice measures and rule of law reform in justice and security institutions enabled conditions that directly contribute to the rise of violent extremism. Divisive ethno-nationalist politics undermine conflict transition and actively work against both security and human rights in the country, she concluded.

Key Issues and Options

The role of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) remains a key issue for the Council. Neither China nor Russia recognise Schmidts authority as High Representative and may call for the early closure of the OHR in this months debate. One option for the Council is to consider a presidential statement proposing a review of OHRs future role in exchange for recognition by the P2 (China and Russia) of Schmidts legitimacy as High Representative.

Another important issue is the need to address the increasing nationalist and separatist actions and rhetoric. Schmidts 27 February decree suspending NARS law on property used by RS authorities will be a crucial indicator of the RS leaderships willingness to challenge OHRs authority and of the High Representatives determination to enforce the orders if the RS decides to resist. Council members may consider issuing a presidential statement reaffirming the continued relevance of the Dayton Agreement and urging all parties to refrain from divisive rhetoric and actions.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Deep divisions related to BiHs Euro-Atlantic integration and possible accession to NATOparticularly between Russia on the one hand and the US and European Council members on the othercolour Council dynamics on BiH. The situation in Ukraine is likely to continue to permeate the Councils engagement on BiH and contribute to further division between these two camps.

On 15 December 2022, the European Council unanimously voted to grant BiH candidate country status, marking a milestone in the countrys path towards EU integration. In a 21 February statement, Dodik welcomed the announcement but emphasised that BiH is a negotiating party on the way to the EU[rather than] a subject. He also expressed RSs differing opinions about BiHs potential NATO membership. During a 22 December press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the European Councils decision as a tool of economic and political coercion and stressed Moscows commitment to rid sovereign and independent Bosnia and Herzegovina of the obsolete external protectorate regime.

Meanwhile, relations between RS and the UK and US have deteriorated as RS authorities pursue closer ties with China and Russia. On 8 January, Dodik reportedly awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin the RS highest medal of honour for his patriotic concern and love for Bosnian Serbs. Dodik thanked Putin for helping preserve RS voice and positionunder the onslaught of international interventionism. On 8 April, Dodik said that RS will cooperate with [China] in all areas, stressing that if RS is unable to pursue its interests with the EU, it can be done with someone else.

On 24 March, Dodik said that RS will no longer cooperate with the staff of the UK and US embassies in BiH after the US imposed sanctions on three individuals, including Director of the RS Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs Dragan Stankovic. On 11 April, Dodik further announced that RS will suspend all cooperation activities with NATO. In response, the US embassy to BiH issued a statement noting that Dodik does not have the authority to unilaterally suspend or amend the 2005 Law on Defense, which mandates RS cooperation with NATO.

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ASIA

DPRK (North Korea)

Expected Council Action

In May, the Chair of the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland), is scheduled to brief Council members in closed consultations on the 90-day report on the Committees work.

Key Recent Developments

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula and throughout Northeast Asia have continued to escalate significantly in recent weeks. On 13 April, Republic of Korea (ROK) military officials announced that the DPRK had fired a new type of ballistic missile with an intermediate or intercontinental range that had been launched on a high angle before travelling approximately 1,000 kilometres and landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launch prompted Japan to issue an emergency alert for residents in parts of Hokkaido prefecture, which was subsequently retracted after officials determined that the missile would not land on Japanese territory.

On 14 April, DPRK state media announced that the test involved a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it referred to as the Hwasong-18, and claimed that the Hwasong-18 utilised solid-fuel technology. (Solid-fuel ICBMs take less time to launch and are harder for missile defence systems to detect.) According to media reports, ROK officials later confirmed that the DPRK had tested a solid-fuel ICBM and said that the DPRK would need more time and effort before completing its development.

The 13 April test prompted Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US to request an open briefing, which took place on 17 April. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari briefed. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 17 April.) Before the open briefing began, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (US) delivered a joint statement on behalf of Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the ROK, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UK, and the US. Among other matters, the statement called on the DPRK to return to denuclearisation dialogue and said that the Council must overcome its prolonged silence, act on its responsibility to effectively address the security threat posed by the DPRK, and promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The open briefing was followed by closed consultations, which were requested by the US to provide Council members with an opportunity to have a frank and constructive discussion regarding a possible Council product on the DPRK. It appears that the US circulated a draft presidential statement on the DPRK to all Council members following the consultations. At the time of writing, negotiations concerning the draft were still ongoing.

The 13 April launch was the second ICBM test conducted by the DPRK in less than a month. On 16 March, the DPRK fired an ICBM that travelled approximately 1,000 kilometres to the east of the DPRK and reached an altitude of around 6,000 kilometres before landing in waters outside Japans exclusive economic zone. The test was conducted a day after the ROK and the US began a series of joint military exercises known as Freedom Shield 23. The joint drills involved field exercises and computer simulations and were reportedly the largest carried out by the two allies since 2017. Following the test, Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, the UK, and the US requested an open briefing, which was held on 20 March. Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas Miroslav Jenca briefed. (For more information, see our 19 March Whats in Blue story.)

The 16 March ICBM launch came hours before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol met at a summit in Tokyo to discuss economic and security ties between the two states. In a joint statement following the summit, which was the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in 12 years, Kishida announced that Japan and the ROK had agreed to resume bilateral security talks and regular high-level visits, while Yoon stressed that their two countries must work closely together to counter the threat posed by the DPRK. Several analysts have described the summit as a landmark breakthrough in Japan-ROK relations.

The DPRK has carried out multiple tests of other weapons in recent weeks, including short-range ballistic missiles, strategic cruise missiles, and what it described as a nuclear attack drone. On 28 March, the DPRK released images purporting to unveil smaller nuclear warheads capable of being fitted to short-range missiles for the first time.

Japan, the ROK, and the US have conducted trilateral anti-submarine drills in the region as well as separate air exercises involving US B-52 bombers. The ROK and the US have also engaged in naval drills and staged an amphibious assault. On 22 March, ROK officials announced that ROK and US forces will hold their largest live-fire drills ever in June.

The final report of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee was issued on 7 March. Among other matters, the report described continued violations of the sanctions imposed by the Council. The Panel noted, for example, that refined petroleum products continue to be illicitly provided to DPRK tankers in its exclusive economic zone and also found continuing ship-to-ship imports of other cargo in DPRK territorial waters and ship-to-ship exports of DPRK coal, both of which are prohibited by the sanctions regime. The Panel further observed that the DPRK has used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques to gain access to digital networks and steal information of potential value, including for its weapons programmes, and concluded that DPRK actors stole a higher value of cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any previous year. Regarding the humanitarian impact of UN sanctions, the Panel noted that their relative role is impossible to disaggregate from other factors but determined that they have had an unintended effect on the humanitarian situation in the country.

In a 30 March announcement, the White House said that it has new evidence that Russia is seeking weapons from the DPRK for use in Ukraine. US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters that as part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang, adding that we also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to [the DPRK] and that Russia is offering the DPRK food in exchange for munitions.

On 30 March, the ROKs Ministry of Unification published a report on human rights in the DPRK. According to media reports, the report concluded that thousands of DPRK workers remain in China and Russia and noted that the DPRK has found various ways to evade sanctions and continue to send workers to Russia and China, including sending them out on student and tourist visas.

Yoon met with US President Joe Biden in Washington on 26 April. On the same day, US officials told reporters that the two countries had agreed the Washington Declaration, by which the US promised to give the ROK a central role in strategic planning for the use of nuclear weapons in any conflict with the DPRK in exchange for the ROK agreeing not to develop its own nuclear arsenal. The Washington Declaration also said that the US will further enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula and referred to an upcoming visit of a US nuclear ballistic missile submarine to the ROK, the first such visit since the 1980s.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 4 April, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on the situation of human rights in the DPRK (A/HRC/52/L.9). Among other matters, the resolution extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK for one year and urged the DPRK to acknowledge its crimes, abuses and human rights violations and to take all steps necessary to end them. The annual resolution, which has been adopted every year since 2003, was co-sponsored by the ROK for the first time since 2016.

On 28 March, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report highlighting allegations of human rights violations that may constitute enforced disappearances committed in and by the DPRK. The report draws on 80 interviews with victims of enforced disappearances. In a statement regarding the report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk noted that the anguish, sorrow and reprisals that families [] have had to endure are heart-breaking. The report calls for renewed efforts for truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence.

Women, Peace, and Security

On 20 March, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK Elizabeth Salmonthe first woman to be appointed to this positionpresented her first report to the HRC. The report, which focused on the human rights of women and girls, concluded that discrimination against women and girls continued in the DPRK and that [w]idespread gender stereotypes in the country are the root cause of discrimination against women. Among other issues, the report focused on the situation of women in detention in the DPRK, noting that women are held in inhumane conditions and deprived of food and are subjected to torture and ill-treatment, forced labour and gender-based violence, including sexual violence by State officials. The report highlighted that, with the emergence of informal markets in the DPRK, women have developed opportunities to earn income and become the primary breadwinners for their families. Due to inadequate legal and economic reforms that created an uncertain legal environment for people carrying out low-level market activities, however, women have been exposed to corruption, abuse, and sexual exploitation.

Key Issues and Options

The DPRKs increasingly frequent weapons tests, many of which violate Council resolutions, are a major issue for the Council. Sanctions evasion is another important issue, as is the overall effectiveness of the sanctions regime, particularly given that the DPRK is widely believed to have increased its nuclear arsenal since the regime was introduced in 2006 and has shown little inclination to scale back its weapons programmes. The DPRKs ongoing refusal to engage in denuclearisation dialogue and the humanitarian situation in the country are also problems facing the Council.

In light of these issues, the Council could issue a product that condemns the recent missile tests, urges member states to comply with existing Council resolutions, and calls on the DPRK to return to the negotiating table. The Council could also consider updating and strengthening the 1718 DPRK sanctions regime to exert further pressure on the DPRK.

Council members may wish to consider convening an informal briefing by cybersecurity experts on the DPRKs cyber activities. Such a meeting could provide an opportunity to better understand how the DPRK conducts cyber espionage and discuss whether there is anything the Council can do to address the problem.

The Council could also hold an informal interactive dialogue with humanitarian organisations focusing on the DPRK with a view to better understanding the impact that sanctions are having on the humanitarian situation in the country.

Council Dynamics

The Council remains sharply divided regarding the DPRK. The P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded countries regularly condemn its ballistic missile tests and argue that they destabilise the Korean Peninsula and increase tensions throughout the region. These members generally support using sanctions to manage the threat posed by the DPRK and call on member states to comply with existing Council resolutions. They often urge the country to engage in dialogue and abandon its weapons programmes, while emphasising that it is responsible for escalating tensions. Some of these members also call for the Council to show unity and respond to the DPRKs weapons tests and argue that China and Russia have emboldened the DPRK by blocking Council action on the file.

China and Russia, on the other hand, blame the US for heightening tensions and accuse it of not doing enough to incentivise the DPRK to participate in denuclearisation talks. The two members have also contended that sanctions should be eased because of their impact on the humanitarian situation and continue to express their support for a draft resolution circulated by China in October 2021 that would provide sanctions relief to the DPRK if adopted. Other Council members, including Brazil and Gabon, have expressed apparent concerns about the overall efficacy of the 1718 DPRK sanctions regime.

The US is the penholder on the DPRK. Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland) chairs the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee.

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Group of Five for the Sahel Joint Force

Expected Council Action

In May, the Council is expected to hold its bi-annual briefing and consultations on the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel (FC-G5S) that Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger (G5 Sahel) established in 2017 to fight terrorism and transnational organised crime.

Key Recent Developments

The security situation in much of the Sahel has remained dire as terrorist groups in the region increasingly threaten coastal West African countries. In June 2022, Mali withdrew from the G5 Sahel, including the FC-G5S, after some members of the regional group opposed letting the transitional authorities in Mali assume the organisations rotating presidency. Speaking at the Councils 16 November 2022 briefing on the FC-G5S, Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel Eric Tiare described how Malis withdrawal plunged our subregional organization into an institutional crisis. Tiare stated, however, that the G5 Sahel countries were committed to continuing their collaboration. They were in the process of developing a new concept of operations for the FC-G5S and updating the Priority Investment Programme, which focuses on addressing the socio-economic drivers of conflict in the region.

G5 Sahel ministers of foreign affairs of the four remaining countries met in NDjamena on 18 January to discuss how to preserve and revitalise the organisation. At its conclusion, they proposed holding an extraordinary summit of heads of state as soon as possible to relaunch G5 Sahel activities. The summit, the first since 2021, took place on 20 February in NDjamena, and was attended by Chads transitional President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, and Burkina Fasos transitional Defence Minister Kassoum Coulibaly. Leaders assessed the security situation in G5 Sahel countries and reaffirmed their desire to preserve and consolidate this important framework for cooperation and coordination between the four countries, according to a 22 February communique of the summit, which concluded with Deby handing over the G5 Sahel presidency to Ghazouani for a one-year term.

In Mali, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) continued its military offensive in the Menaka and Gao regions, near the borders of Niger and Burkina Faso, which created a major displacement crisis. On 10 April, ISGS took over the town of Tidermene in the Menaka region, which, according to news reports, has left Menaka city isolated and surrounded.

In Burkina Faso, at least 51 soldiers were killed in Oudlan province on 21 February when their unit was ambushed by jihadist militants. It was the highest reported death toll from a single attack since November 2021, when 57 gendarmes were killed in another attack. On 15 April, the interim government announced a general mobilisation to give the state all necessary means to combat terrorist groups. On 20 April, at least 150 civilians may have been killed, and many others injured, allegedly by Burkinas defence and security forces accompanied by paramilitary auxiliaries known as Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), according to a statement by the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The killings, in Karma village in northern Yatenga Province, occurred following an attack on a VDP base on 15 April in whichaccording to the provincial governoreight soldiers and 32 VDPs were killed and more than 30 injured.

Recent months saw relations deteriorate between France and Burkina Faso, which requested on 23 January that France withdraw its military forces, numbering 400 troops. France completed the withdrawal on 18 February. Meanwhile, Burkina Fasos interim authorities, who came to power following the countrys second coup in nine months in September 2022, and the military juntas in Mali and Guinea, have sought to strengthen their cooperation. On 9 February, the foreign ministers of the three countries met in Ouagadougou and, according to their joint statement, agreed to pool their efforts and undertake joint initiatives for the lifting of the suspension measures and other restrictions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the AU. They further agreed on the need to combine their efforts and those of the countries of the sub-region and the region to deal with the security situation.

Amid rising anti-French sentiment in Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on 7 November 2022 the end of Frances regional counter-terrorism force in the Sahel, Operation Barkhane, which was established in 2014. Despite the conclusion of the operation, Macron stressed that France would maintain its forces in the region but that they would operate through bilateral arrangements.

Key Issues and Options

Key issues are how to strengthen support for the FC-G5S and cooperation among G5 Sahel countries. With the evolving security landscape and challenges facing the FC-G5S, another issue is how to support other security mechanisms in West Africa and the Sahel. These include the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) fighting Boko Haram-affiliated groups in the Lake Chad basin, the Accra Initiative involving Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Niger, and Togo for enhancing security cooperation, the Nouakchott Process on security cooperation in the Sahelo-Saharan region, and the ECOWAS Standby Force.

A related issue is the role of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and questions about the future of the peacekeeping operation amid the withdrawal of troop-contributing countries from the mission and tenuous relations with Malis authorities (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 11 April.)

Alleged violations against civilians by Sahel countries militaries remain a significant issue of concern.

Additionally, tackling structural conflict drivers in the Sahel, such as weak governance, under-development, and climate change, is a key issue. Multiple strategies to address these problems have been developed since 2013, including the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and the G5 Sahel Priority Investment Plan. Council members could consider discussing the UN Development Programme report titled Journey to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement at the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa. The report, published on 7 February, is based on personal testimonies from nearly 2,200 respondents in eight Sahel countries and describes the factors that can lead an individual to violent extremism.

Completing political transitions in Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali within their current timetables is another key issue. After delays in the transitions in Chad and Mali, all three countries are expected to hold national elections next year.

The humanitarian situation is another critical issue. In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, 2.6 million people are internally displaced76 percent of whom are in Burkina Faso, according to a 19 April OCHA humanitarian snapshot. The Secretary-Generals 3 January report on West Africa and the Sahel depicted notably worsening trends because of the impact of the conflict in Ukraine, ongoing violence, and the effects of climate change.

The ongoing strategic assessment of the Sahel being conducted by the Independent High-Level Panel on Security and Development led by former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou on behalf of the UN, the AU, ECOWAS, and the G5 Sahel is an important process that may inform future Council discussions and action regarding the region. Until its completion, including during the upcoming May briefing, Council members may encourage cooperation between regional and international actors to combat terrorist groups and stress the equal importance of addressing the root causes of the regions instability to complement security responses. Members may further highlight the need for donors to contribute to the regions humanitarian relief efforts.

Council Dynamics

Previously, Council discussion on the FC-G5S revolved around whether to authorise a UN office to provide logistical support and more predictable funding, with members being divided over the issue. This debate, however, has been sidelined over the past year because of the divisions among G5 Sahel countries and the withdrawal of Mali from the organisation. Uncertainty about the future of the FC-G5S and the expanding presence of terrorist groups towards littoral West African states have also caused members to focus more on other security initiatives by ECOWAS and through the Accra Initiative, of which elected member Ghana is a member. Council members have been awaiting the recommendations of the Issoufou panel, though some members appear frustrated over the delays in this process.

Russias entry into the Sahel since late 2021 through the provision of military assistance to Mali and the deployment of the Wagner Group, a private Russian security company, has contributed to polarising Council discussion on the region. Western Council members have condemned Malis cooperation with the Wagner Group, and there are concerns that Burkina Faso could also partner with Wagner. While France has ended Operation Barkhane and has withdrawn its forces from Mali and Burkina Faso, it has strengthened its presence in neighbouring Niger and says it remains engaged in the Sahel, Gulf of Guinea, and Lake Chad regions.

France is the penholder on the FC-G5S.

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In Hindsight: Security Council Working Methods in Hard Times

In the space of about three years, the Council has grappled with two major crisesthe COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukrainethat could have threatened its ability to function. Yet, except for a brief moment at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council continued to operate, adapting its working methods to new realities. These twin crises have both changed and challenged how the Council exercises its role, illuminating the role of working methods as the Councils foundation for functioning in hard times.

While the Council has shown its ability to adapt and innovate when necessary, there has been a cost in efficiency and transparency. Not only practicalities but geopolitical tensions have shaped the Councils use of its working methods in these years. Relations among the permanent members were fraught before the pandemic, and the two crises deepened divisions and escalated tensions. Not surprisingly, negotiations on Council outcomes became harder and yielded a high number of non-unanimous decisions.

Security Council Reports report of 2 May, Security Council Working Methods in Hard Times, analyses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis on the Councils working methods and on its transparency, effectiveness, and accountability. These events affected many aspects of life in the Council: how it meets, how it votes, whom it invites to participate in its meetings, and whom it hears from. They presented elected Council members with challenges but also opportunities to make a difference in the work of the Council. The report also covers the work of key groupings that helped shape the Councils working methods during this period, including the Security Councils Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions (IWG) and the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT).

The Crises

The COVID-19 pandemic brought drastic changes in the Councils working methods, almost all of which were rolled back as the pandemic receded. With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 and New York City becoming an epicentre, the Secretary-General decided to close the UN Headquarters on 16 March to all but essential personnel. The Security Council was faced with having to fulfil Article 28 of the UN Charter, namely that it shall be so organized as to function continuously.

After a two-week period of seeming paralysis in mid-March, the Council steadily put in place the working methods that would allow it to operate, relying on the provisional rules of procedure, the UN Charter, and Council practice to carry out its work. By the end of June 2020, VTCs had replicated almost all the regular Council formats. But members could not agree to consider virtual discussions held by the Security Council as formal meetings. This meant that while its virtual discussions were guided by the Councils provisional rules of procedure, these meetings could not have official verbatim records; if a new item was discussed, it could not be added to the Councils formal agenda; and no procedural votes could be taken.

It was not business as usual, in other wordsbut the basic business of the Council continued. The concept of agility was added to transparency, effectiveness, and accountability as a key component of working methods.

By early 2022, with the world continuing to emerge from the global pandemic and the Council having reverted to its habitual working methods, Russias invasion of Ukraine brought to the fore a fresh set of challengesincluding issues around Council working methods.

The Councils failure to adopt a resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted it to use Uniting for Peace for the first time in forty years when it referred the situation in Ukraine to the General Assembly. The General Assemblys activation arguably left it more open to adopting the veto initiative a mere two months later. This mix of Council paralysis and General Assembly activism has also brought heightened attention to questions of Security Council reform, including of its membership, the use of the veto, and the relationship between the Council and other UN organs. As well, the invasion of Ukraine has led to further divisions within an already divided Council.

Observations

COVID-19 had detrimental effects on the Councils work. Meetings rarely deepened constructively beyond the reading of statements, face-to-face negotiations were no longer the norm, and Council visiting missions all but disappeared. Almost all decisions had to be made by consensus under the COVID-19 pandemic working methods. This appeared to become, and remains, the default mode of operating for most Council members.

Because COVID-19 pandemic protocols restricted the application of some rules of procedure, a degree of inconsistency in their use appears to have set in. In a departure from the letter of the Charter and the provisional rules of procedure, the Council presidency has been given greater leeway to determine which member states participate in, and who briefs, at Council meetings, decisions whichleft increasingly to the monthly presidencyalso appear to have become more politicised with the heightened geopolitical tensions. In recent yearsand especially since Russias invasion of Ukrainemeeting formats have increasingly been used to further political positions, notably so in the case of Arria-formula meetings, where members have amplified and promoted specific agendas, obscuring the original purpose of informative enquiry. Similarly, proliferating public meetings have showcased members positions and at times become an arena for procedural battles. This may cause the pendulum to swing back towards more use of informal consultations, but until dynamics among the P5 improve, is unlikely to lead to interactive exchanges and consensus building. Alternatives may be greater use of private meetings and informal interactive dialogues to allow for more confidential briefings.

Almost every Council outcome is hard fought. There are few easy negotiations and compromises are needed to secure agreement on any kind of outcome. This is unlikely to change in the coming years; high numbers of non-unanimous decisions, now the norm on sanctions and some peace operations renewals, are also likely to continue. Even issues on which members had been united, such as nuclear non-proliferation, have seen vetoes, reflecting a hardening of positions on many issues, including climate and security and human rights. Members in the last few years have had to protect the agenda items that they care about and prevent their degradation, rather than seeking to move them forward.

As a result, the focus on implementation of thematic issues is likely to continue. Several members have made commitments to advance the Councils working methods and to integrate the women, peace and security agenda more systematically across the Councils work. A similar attempt on climate and security has been launched: it remains to be seen whether a proliferation of commitments will be useful if members struggle to implement them.

Elected members who began their term during the COVID-19 pandemic did not experience the normal functioning of the Council, while the Ukraine crisis raised existential questions about the Council. But in these difficulties, elected members also found opportunities: the chairs of the IWG brought the critical working methods challenges into the heart of the IWGs work. Elected members have often driven the necessary changes as the Council moved to a virtual work environment. And at a time when the permanent members relationships are strained, elected members have found a way to work together on thorny issues, finding strength in cross-regional partnerships. The Ukraine crisis created new penholding needs, and the P3 were rather unusually ready to share the pen with elected members on these.[1] Penholder allocation, increasingly contested, will continue to be hotly discussed.

The influence of the African members, already significant, strengthened during these years. In 2020, the A3 plus 1 (South Africa, Kenya, Tunisia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) formed a strong partnership that allowed them to work closely together despite having to operate virtually. In 2022, the Ukraine crisis and the divisions between the European members and the US, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, gave fresh leverage to the African and some other elected members.

The perception that other vital issues are receiving less attention than Ukraine may lead to a growing divide between the European elected members and those from the Global South, unless a concerted effort is made to address some long-standing intractable issues on the Councils agenda, such as CAR, Haiti, Mali, and South Sudan. How much attention the Council pays to increasingly volatile issues such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, and Sudan will also affect the overall dynamics among Council members. In 2023, the African members will be looking for support on one of their priority issues, the financing of AU Peace Support Operations.

The role of the General Assembly is likely to remain significant, as the Council grapples with a conflict that it appears to have little ability to affect. The Councils use of Uniting for Peace, which gave the General Assembly a larger role in addressing the Ukraine situation, and the recent veto initiative, have added momentum to the discussion of Security Council reform, and to the better use of some working methods. The wider membership, having been cut off from interacting with the Council for a year and a half during COVID-19, may be looking for ways to exert greater influence. The role of the ACT Group and other like-minded members that have been advocating greater transparency and accountability in the Council is expected to continue to remind the Council of its responsibilities.

Council members need to guard against the weaponisation of working methods which, in divisive times, can be used to distract from more substantive issues and to create further divisions among members. On the other hand, the agile, flexible, and creative application of its working methods has helped the Security Council weather a very turbulent three years. Some of the lessons learnt from these years may help members navigate these difficult times.

[1] In 2020, Albania and the US were penholders on the political aspects, and France and Mexico on the humanitarian aspects, of the Ukraine war. Mexico also was co-penholder with the US on Haiti and the UK on Colombia and served as co-penholder with France on the resolution renewing the Mali sanctions regime in August 2022.
MIDDLE EAST

Iraq

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which expires on 31 May. Special Representative and head of UNAMI Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert is also scheduled to brief the Council on recent developments in Iraq and the Secretary-Generals upcoming reports on UNAMI and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property. The briefing will be followed by closed consultations.

Key Recent Developments

The new Iraqi cabinet approved by parliament in October 2022which ended the political deadlock that had gripped the country following the October 2021 parliamentary electioncontinues to move forward with its government programme under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Presented on 27 October 2022, the programme highlights the following objectives: combatting corruption, addressing unemployment and creating work opportunities, supporting vulnerable and low-income groups, reforming the economic and financial sectors, and enhancing public services. On 13 March, al-Sudani announced that the government had finalised its draft budget law for 2023-2025 to advance these priorities. The budget now awaits parliamentary approval.

The programme also committed the government to amending electoral legislation and to holding early parliamentary elections within a year. Consequently, parliament voted on 27 March to abolish the 2020 election law, which was adopted in the wake of the 2019 anti-government protests, and to reinstate the prior election law of 2018. The restored law replaces a first-past-the-post system with proportional representation and 83 electoral districts with 18 provincial seats, which some analysts predict will favour established political parties at the expense of independent candidates. The legislation, combined with a recent government crackdown on social media content and newly launched enforcement of a dormant 2016 law banning alcohol, has raised concerns among some minority religious communities and human rights activists.

On 13 April, influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he was suspending his organisation for one year in an effort to curb corruptiona reference to a fringe element of al-Sadrs adherents, who claim that he is a messianic figure and whom the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council has labelled a gang and ordered arrested. Al-Sadrs movement won the most seats in the 2021 parliamentary election, but his followers were unable to form a government as a sharp divide emerged between them and the Iran-aligned Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF), which backed al-Sudani. After violent clashes broke out in Baghdads Green Zone between al-Sadrs supporters and pro-Iranian factions, al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics in August 2022. His most recent announcement suspending his organisationand deactivating his Twitter accountmay signal a further step back from public life.

On the economic front, the government has announced a series of agreements in recent months with international energy companies to boost domestic oil, gas, and renewables production, including a $27 billion project with TotalEnergies over which negotiations had long been stalled. Tensions over the sharing of oil revenue between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) persist, however. On 23 March, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled that the export of oil by the KRG to Turkey without Baghdads approval violated a 1973 pipeline agreement between Iraq and Turkey, prompting the latter to halt these oil flows, which constitute approximately 0.5 percent of global supply. Although Baghdad and Erbil subsequently reached a temporary agreement to restart the exports, Turkey has reportedly not yet reopened the pipeline, while a separate but related case remains pending with the ICC. Regarding the prospects of a general hydrocarbon law to regulate revenue-sharing between the federal government and the KRG, al-Sudani said on 18 February at the Munich Security Conference that he expected a law to be passed by the end of the year.

There have been noteworthy developments in the security situation in recent months. On 29 November 2022, following a series of Iranian air strikes in September and November 2022 against Kurdish-Iranian opposition groups in Iraqs Kurdistan region, al-Sudani met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran. In a joint news conference after the meeting, al-Sudani reportedly said that Iraq will strengthen its security cooperation with Iran and prevent the use of Iraqi lands to threaten Irans security. Subsequently, on 19 March, the two countries announced a border security agreement aimed at protecting the common borders between the two countries and consolidating cooperation in several security fields, according to a statement released by al-Sudanis office.

On 7 April, Turkey launched a drone attack near Sulaymaniyah airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, allegedly targeting a travelling commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The strike, which did not result in any casualties, was the latest in a series of military operations Turkey has conducted against Kurdish targets in the region. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid reportedly condemned the attack and what he described as Ankaras approach of intimidating civilians under the pretext that forces hostile to it are present on Iraqi soil.

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) remains a threat. According to the Secretary-Generals latest report, dated 25 January, ISIL conducted 116 attacks across the country between 4 October and 31 December 2022, mostly targeting Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi military estimates that there are approximately 500 ISIL fighters still active in the country, though it assesses that recent military operations have further degraded the groups recruitment capabilities. On 18 April, Iraqi authorities unexpectedly closed the Jadah 5 camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs)which housed approximately 300 families with alleged ties to ISILreportedly giving each family 1,500,000 Iraqi dinars ($1,030) to return to their original areas of residence on a voluntary basis. The decision prompted a press release from UNAMI that expressed concern at the lack of adequate notification and preparation for the IDPs and the receiving communities.

March marked the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres travelled to the country for the first time in six years, reiterating in a joint press conference with al-Sudani in Baghdad on 1 March the commitment of the United Nations to support Iraq in the consolidation of its democratic institutions and advancing peace, sustainable development and human rights for all Iraqis. One week later, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also travelled to Baghdad and, after a meeting with al-Sudani, reaffirmed the US commitment to retaining its current military presence of 2,500 troops in the country. On 20 March, Russias ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, held a press conference on the 20th anniversary of US aggression against Iraq.

Human-Rights Related Developments

On 4 April, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances published the full report of its visit to Iraq from 12-25 November 2022. The report underscores that up to one million people are estimated to have been disappeared over the past five decades with impunity and revictimization prevail[ing]. Emphasising that the crisis is continuing with ongoing patterns, the Committee appealed to the government of Iraq to immediately establish the basis to prevent, eradicate and repair this heinous crime.

Key Issues and Options

An overarching issue for the Council is how UNAMI can most effectively support the new Iraqi government, in light of changing political and security dynamics in the country. In this regard, the key issue in May is the renewal of UNAMIs mandate.

The most likely option is for the Council to renew the mandate without significant changes. However, some Council members may propose further strengthening UNAMIs engagement on thematic issues, such as womens participation, human rights, and climate change. In addition, some membersas well as Iraqmay request a further reduction in the frequency of Council briefings on UNAMI after the last renewal extended the reporting cycle from three to four months.

In the longer term, there is a growing perception among several Council members that the political and security situations in the country have stabilised to such a degree that UNAMIs broader configuration should be reviewed. Consequently, the Council may consider requesting an independent strategic review to make recommendations on changes to UNAMIs mandate to reflect improving conditions on the ground.

Council Dynamics

Council members are generally unanimous in their support for UNAMI and their desire to see positive developments in the Iraqi political process and Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations. While divisions emerged among Council members in relation to proposed Council products concerning the strikes carried out by Iran in the Kurdish region of Iraq in September and November 2022, these tensions have seemingly eased and may further ebb following the March announcement of a border security agreement between Iran and Iraq.

Council members expect this general consensus to extend to negotiations on UNAMIs mandate. Last years negotiations went relatively smoothly with the partial exception of language about climate change, which was the subject of debate between Council members seeking to strengthen UNAMIs support for Iraqi authorities on this issue and other members who questioned its relevance to the mission.

Regional dynamics continue to affect Iraq, as demonstrated by Irans and Turkeys attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the influence of countries in the region on domestic politics. The Iraqi government routinely declares that it does not wish to become a theatre for broader geopolitical tensions, seeking a balanced relationship with regional and international security partners.

The US is the penholder on Iraq issues in general, and the UK is the penholder on Iraqi-Kuwaiti issues.

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Egypt will spare no effort in finding a solution to the armed conflict in Sudan, said parliament speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly who also asserted Egypt's unwavering support of the Sudanese people and keenness to see peace and stability return to Sudan.

"Egypt fully supports the people and the government of Sudan, and it is extremely keen on seeing them live in peace and keep their country safe from dangers and crises," said El-Gebaly before the parliament's session on Sunday.

"Our hearts have been struck by the tragic events which hit the brotherly state of Sudan," he said, noting that "history states that internal armed conflicts only spread violence and usually lead to the collapse of the state's political institutions."

"Such conflicts also destroy the economy by disrupting the country's basic infrastructure and human capital, both of which are necessary for the development process, and they create refugee and displacement crises that affect millions of people who spill into neighbouring countries," noted El-Gebaly.

He also warned that "the longer the armed conflict continues in Sudan, the more expensive the reconstruction process will be."

"It could take Sudan very long years to stand on its feet again and return to the pre-conflict point," said El-Gebaly, stating that "besides wreaking havoc, armed conflicts often destabilize neighbouring countries through forced displacements, an influx of refugees, and even a spread of violence."

El-Gebaly praised the Egyptian state's efforts in helping Egyptians and Sudanese fleeing the conflict. "Since the very beginning of the crisis, the Egyptian state has been mobilized to evacuate its citizens from Sudan and make sure that they return home safely," he stated.

He noted that "a crisis cell including ministries of defence, interior, foreign affairs, immigration, and the general intelligence agency was formed at the behest of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to evacuate Egyptians living in Sudan, and also help friendly countries evacuate their nationals."

El-Gebaly highlighted that Egypt has allowed hundreds of Sudanese to enter Egypt without visa requirements through the two crossings of Qastal and Arqin".

"I want to affirm that Egypt and Sudan have one history and future and that the people and the government of Egypt will do everything possible to help the Sudanese people overcome their crisis and find a quick settlement for the conflict," he noted.

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MIDDLE EAST

Lebanon

Expected Council Action

In May, Council members expect to receive a briefing in consultations on the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of resolution 1559. Adopted in 2004, resolution 1559 called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon, the disarmament of all militias, and the extension of government control over the whole Lebanese territory. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is expected to brief.

Key Recent Developments

On 6 April, over 30 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel in response to raids by the Israeli police on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount site in Jerusalems Old City. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 5 April.) This was the highest number of rockets fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel since 2006. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blamed the launches on the Palestinian group Hamas and, in response, carried out airstrikes on what it identified as Hamas targets in southern Lebanon.

Noting that [b]oth sides have said they do not want a war, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in a 7 April statement urged all parties to cease all actions across the Blue Linea border demarcation between Lebanon and Israelstressing that the previous days actions were dangerous and risked a serious escalation. Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said that Lebanon rejects the use of its territory to carry out destabilising operations. At the same time, Lebanon also condemned Israels airstrikes as an act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Lebanons sovereignty, a threat to the stability that southern Lebanon enjoyed, a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and a threat to international peace and security. During the same flare-up, which later subsided, rockets were also fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip and Syria, prompting IDF response fire.

On 26 April, Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian travelled to Lebanon. After holding meetings with Lebanese authorities in Beirut, he travelled to southern Lebanon. During a visit to a viewpoint overlooking Israel in the village of Maroun El Ras, near the Blue Line, he reportedly said that recent activities against Israel by Iran and its allies will lead to Israels isolation and destruction.

Almost one year since the 15 May 2022 legislative elections, Lebanons government remains in caretaker status, while the political impasse continues over the election of Lebanons next presidentwho, according to Lebanons power-sharing set-up, must be a Maronite Christian. Lebanon has been without a president since President Michel Aouns term expired on 31 October 2022. None of the major Lebanese parties and blocs have the numbers independently to elect a candidate and, at press time, it remains unclear whether they will be able to agree on a compromise candidate.

Amid concerns that sufficient funding for the municipal elections had not been secured, the Lebanese parliament voted on 18 April to extend the term of local government officials until 31 May 2024, paving the way to a postponement of the elections for up to a year. Municipal elections were originally supposed to take place in May 2022, but were initially postponed to May 2023 to avoid their coinciding with the May 2022 legislative elections. A new date for the municipal elections is yet to be announced. In a 19 April post on Twitter, Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said that it was vital that Lebanons leaders put aside partisan and political differences to deliver the municipal elections in a timely manner. While enough parliamentarians to secure the needed quorum attended the vote on the elections postponement, several others boycotted it as disagreement persists over the capacity of parliament to act as a legislative assembly, or merely as an electoral body, during the period of presidential vacancy.

In March, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission visited Beirut. In a statement, the IMF staff who carried out the visit said that Lebanon continues to face the consequences of a prolonged socioeconomic crisis and stressed that there has been limited progress in implementing the reforms set out in the April 2022 Staff Level Agreement as a precondition for the IMF to support Lebanon with around $3 billion. The statement said that Lebanon is at a dangerous crossroads and restated the reforms the IMF requires Lebanon to implement. These include adopting a medium-term fiscal strategy to restore debt sustainability and create space for increasing social and development spending and a thorough reform of the banking sector.

Anti-refugee rhetoric and deportations remain a source of concern in Lebanon, which hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. On 13 April, the BBC reported Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi as saying that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are draining the states resources, disturbing social security, and competing with the Lebanese for their livelihood. During two weeks in April, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deported over 50 Syrian refugees to Syria, AFP reported. According to UNHCR, 58 percent of Syrian refugee families in Lebanon live in inadequate and unsafe shelters, and 67 percent are moderately or severely food insecure.

There continues to be no substantial progress in the inquiry into responsibility for the 4 August 2020 Beirut port explosion. In a 5 April statement, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret L. Satterthwaite condemned the undue delays that have prevented justice for those affected by the blast. She said that Tarek Bitar, the Lebanese judge currently leading the investigation, has faced increasing obstacles and threats while carrying out his work, including credible death threats. Satterthwaite urged the Lebanese authorities to ensure that these threats are investigated and that Bitar, his colleagues, and his family are adequately protected.

A 20 April joint statement by several civil society organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, denounced as a violation of freedom of expression the 3 March decision by the Beirut Bar Association to amend its code of ethics to stipulate that lawyers will only be allowed to participate in a conference or legal seminar, or provide an interview or information to a media outlet, social media outlet, website, or group after soliciting and receiving the permission of the Bar Association President to do so. The statement says that this amendment egregiously curtails legal defense work, particularly impact, strategic, and rights litigation which require public engagement, campaigning, and advocacy.

Key Issues and Options

The peace and security situation in southern Lebanon remains in precarious balance. The substantial amount of weaponry held by Hezbollah and other non-state actors in Lebanon, as well as Israels violations of Lebanons territorial integrity and sovereignty, are ongoing issues. Key aspects of resolutions 1559 and 1701, which in 2006 called for a cessation of hostilities between the Shia group Hezbollah and Israel, remain unimplemented.

Analysts attributed the tense calm after the April exchange of fire across the Blue Line to the fact that none of the actors involved seemingly wanted a wider escalation. Nevertheless, while the Palestinian question remains unsolved, and the Middle East peace process is perpetually stalled, outbursts of this type are likely to happen again. Against the fragile backdrop of the peace and security situation in southern Lebanon, serious incidents across the Blue Line could trigger a chain reaction leading to a violent escalation with severe consequences for the whole region.

The swift election of a president, the formation of a government, and the implementation of reforms aimed at addressing the ongoing socioeconomic instability are further issues.

Council members may consider issuing a presidential statement stressing the importance of the effective implementation of resolutions 1559 and 1701, urging the Lebanese parliament to elect a president and calling for the formation of a new government. The statement could also underscore the importance of reforms to promote socioeconomic stability and of respecting the principle of non-refoulement.

Council Dynamics

There is broad consensus among Council members in support of Lebanons sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security. Differences over Hezbollah remain among Council members. Some draw a distinction between Hezbollahs political and military wings and have designated only its military wing as a terrorist organisation. Other members, including the UK and the US, have listed the Shia group in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. In contrast, Russia sees Hezbollah as a legitimate sociopolitical force.

France is the penholder on Lebanon.

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AFRICA

Libya

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will receive the biannual briefing of the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, on the ICCs Libya-related activities.

Background and Key Recent Developments

Libya is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC through the unanimous adoption of resolution 1970 on 26 February 2011, which invited the ICC Prosecutor to update it every six months. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes listed in the Rome Statute committed on Libyas territory or by its nationals from 15 February 2011 onwards. The ICC opened investigations in March 2011 related to alleged crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, persecution, and other inhumane acts; and war crimes, including murder, torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity.

There is currently one open case before the court, centred on Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. On 27 June 2011, the court charged Qaddafi with two counts of alleged crimes against humanity and issued a warrant for his arrest. In November 2021, Qaddafi, who remains at large, announced that he would be a candidate in the Libyan presidential elections that were scheduled for December 2021 but subsequently postponed. In January 2023, Qaddafis legal team reiterated his intention to run for election.

Khan last briefed the Council on the courts work in Libya on 9 November 2022. He delivered his briefing from Libya, marking the first visit of an ICC Prosecutor to the country in over ten years. In his remarks, Khan reiterated the courts commitment to its renewed investigative strategy involving the allocation of additional resources, increased engagement with those affected by alleged crimes in Libya, and more effective cooperation with Libyan authorities. Khan said the court had made good progress on implementing this new approach over the prior six months, having maintained a constant presence in the region for the first time since 2011. His office had undertaken over 20 missions to six countries, collecting a variety of evidentiary material that the courts written report further specifies as video and audio material, forensic information, witness statements and satellite imagery. Based on this progress, additional arrest warrantscurrently under sealhad been submitted to the ICC judges.

Khan also noted that the Office of the Prosecutor in September 2022 became a formal member of the joint team investigating crimes against migrants and refugees in Libya, joining relevant national authorities from Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, and supported by the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). In October 2022, that cooperation led to the arrest of two key suspects, who were extradited from Ethiopia to Italy and the Netherlands, respectively.

On the political track, both the UN and national actors have concentrated recent efforts on facilitating agreement on a new roadmap for national elections. In his 18 April briefing to the Council, Special Representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Abdoulaye Bathily said that he had launched [the] implementation of the UN-facilitated Libyan High-Level Panel for Elections (HLPE), which is intended to gather a wide range of national stakeholders to agree on a political and legal framework for holding elections in 2023.

Parallel to this initiative, the rival Libyan legislatures have engaged in a separate effort to establish a constitutional basis for elections. They recently adopted the 13th constitutional amendment to the 2011 Constitutional Declarationspecifying the powers of the president, prime minister, and parliamentand subsequently established a joint 6+6 committee responsible for drafting electoral laws. On 6 April, the committee held its first meeting, after which a committee member confirmed its intention to agree on legislation by mid-June in order to hold elections by the end of the year.

On 16 March, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement in which it welcomed the gradual progress made on the constitutional framework for elections and the 13th amendment of the constitutional declaration and said it was encouraged by the launch of the HLPE. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 16 March.)

Human-Rights Related Developments

Speaking on 3 April, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk emphasised that his office will strengthen its work on Libya, noting that as the Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya ended its operations and handed over their archives and evidence to the UN Human Rights Office. Turk underscored that no one should assume that the eyes of international community have now left Libya.

The FFM on Libyaestablished by the Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2020published its final report on 3 March. The report concluded that there are grounds to believe a wide array of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by State security forces and armed militia groups, with migrants, in particular, having been systematically tortured and subjected to sexual slavery. Among numerous recommendations to promote accountability for these crimes, the report called on Libyan authorities to cooperate fully with and facilitate unhindered and safe access to the International Criminal Court. (In his November 2022 Council briefing, Khan described the cooperation of Libyan authorities with the court as not perfect.) The FFM also urged OHCHR to establish a distinct and autonomous mechanism with an ongoing mandate to monitor and report on gross human rights violations in Libya.

Key Issues and Options

An underlying key issue for the Council is how to promote justice and accountability for atrocities committed in Libya. In addition to receiving Khans briefing, Council members that are party to the ICC may continue the practice of holding a joint press stakeout in connection with the meeting. Members could also encourage the ICC to make use of the FFMs latest findings in its investigations and to support the FFMs recommendation that OHCHR establish a follow-up mechanism to monitor and report on human rights violations in the country.

In addition to the ICCs pursuit of accountability in Libya, another key issue for the Council continues to be the precarious security and political situations overhanging Libyas uncertain electoral path. A related concern for the Council is how to foster common political ground between the countrys two rival governments so they can agree on a constitutional framework to pave the way for Libyas long-delayed elections. In this regard, Council members may welcome the progress represented by the establishment of the HLPE and the 6+6 commission while reiterating their expectation that all stakeholders display the political will to meet their stated commitments through concrete action.

Council Dynamics

The Council is united on the need for a Libyan-led inclusive process to hold elections that will restore political, security, and economic stabilitya consensus recently evidenced by the presidential statement of 16 March. Members are more divided on the work of the ICC, however. Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, and the UK are states parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC, while China, Mozambique, Russia, the UAE, and the US are not. These distinctions largely reflect how members view the courts work on Libya, with the notable exception of the US, which despite not being a party to the Rome Statute, is supportive of the ICCs efforts regarding the country. Among the wider UN membership, African countries have long expressed concerns about the courts disproportionate focus on Africa.

At the November 2022 briefing, Russia criticised what it called the biased and politicized activities of the ICC and urged the Council to seriously consider  possibly withdrawing the Libyan file from the ICC. This position may have further hardened following the courts announcement on 17 March that it had issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for childrens rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for allegedly committing the war crime of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia. During the ICC briefing on Libya this month, Russia may object to inviting Khan as the briefer and call for a procedural vote on the matter.

The UK is the penholder on Libya.

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SECURITY COUNCIL AND WIDER UN STRUCTURE

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Expected Council Action

In May, North Macedonias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, in his capacity as the current Chairman-in-Office (CiO) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is expected to brief the Security Council on the organisations activities. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is expected to chair the meeting.

Background and Key Recent Developments

The Council has received annual briefings from the OSCE CiO since 2004. The chairmanship of the OSCE rotates yearly, and on 1 January, North Macedonia succeeded Poland in this function. Mays briefing will give Osmani an opportunity to inform the Council about North Macedonias main priorities as chair and discuss possible avenues to strengthen OSCE-UN cooperation. The meeting will also mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Framework for Cooperation and Coordination by the UN and the OSCE on 26 May 1993.

North Macedonia outlined its priorities as OSCE chair at a 12 January session of the OSCE Permanent Council. At that meeting, Osmani said that Ukraine will remain the chairmanships top priority, while instability in other crisis settings across the region will require the organisations continued attention. He indicated that while the chairmanships priorities will largely depend on security developments, it will strive to advance several overarching objectives, including the promotion of human security through support for sustainable economic growth and environmental cooperation, as well as upholding human rights and promoting tolerance as prerequisites for comprehensive security. Osmani further stated: [c]hallenges will continue to emerge, but we are here to persevere.

The OSCE has come under significant stress since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Ukraine has been a major focus of the organisations work since the outbreak of hostilities in 2014, which saw fighting between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. In line with the OSCEs responsibility for monitoring the 2015 Minsk II agreementwhich outlined steps for ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine through a political settlementits Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) had gathered daily information related to ceasefire violations and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the Donbas region.

The OSCE has had to alter considerably its Ukraine-related work since Russias invasion. The organisation announced the closure of its two field operations in the country, the SMM and the Project Co-ordinatorwhich supported Ukraine in developing its legislation, institutions, and practices in line with democratic standards by working with the government and civil society on such issues as combatting human trafficking and humanitarian de-miningon 28 April and 30 June 2022, respectively. OSCE Secretary-General Helga Maria Schmid emphasised that the field operations were not closed because of security reasons, but because of Russias opposition to the extension of their mandate. (OSCE decisions require the consensus of its 57 members.) On 1 November 2022, the OSCE launched a donor-funded support programme in Ukraine to continue work on areas previously addressed by the Project Co-ordinator. Since April 2022, three Ukrainian OSCE personnel have been detained by pro-Russian forces in Luhansk, two of whom were sentenced on 19 September 2022 to 13 years in prison for alleged treason.

Osmani has highlighted on several occasions, including during the UN Security Councils 24 February meeting marking one year since Russias invasion, the importance of the OSCEs work aimed at promoting accountability for crimes committed in the context of the Ukraine war. In 2022, 45 participating states twice invoked the Moscow Mechanism to create an independent fact-finding mission to investigate abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine. (The mechanism, which was created by 1991, allows participating states to initiate an investigation into human rights violations over the opposition of the state under scrutiny.) The fact-finding missions presented their findings in reports dated 12 April and 11 July 2022.

On 30 March, the same 45 participating states invoked the Moscow Mechanism again, requesting the establishment of a fact-finding mission to investigate possible violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, as well as possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity associated with the forcible transfer of children within parts of Ukraines territory temporarily controlled or occupied by Russia and/or their deportation to the Russian Federation. This request followed the 17 March decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russias commissioner for childrens rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for allegedly committing the war crime of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Objections by Russia have been preventing unanimity on broader decisions crucial to the OSCEs work. The organisation has been unable to agree on its annual budget for 2022 and 2023; as a result, the OSCE has been working on monthly allotments. In a 1 December 2022 statement, Schmid called the situation untenable and noted that the OSCE is struggling to attract and retain staff. Agreement has also not been reached on the organisations 2024 CiO, as Russia has been opposing the candidature of Estonia, which launched its bid for the role in 2020.

The heightened tensions within the organisation have not only created operational constraints but have also led some to call into question the utility of the OSCE, an organisation whose raison detre is to serve as a platform for dialogue on regional security issues between Russia and Western states. Speaking at a 23 February meeting of the General Assembly on Ukraine, Osmani asserted that [t]he Russian aggression against Ukraine also erodes the foundations of the OSCE by violating the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. The Helsinki Final Act, which was signed in 1975, enshrined the OSCEs founding principles, which commit the organisations members, among other things, to refrain from the use of force and to settle disputes peacefully.

Osmani and Schmid have continued to stress that despite the fundamental challenges faced by the OSCE, it has adapted its operations and continued to deliver, both in Ukraine and beyond. It has continued to play a role in international efforts regarding frozen conflicts in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Transdniestria. Given that these conflicts are not regularly discussed by the Council, some members might want to use Mays briefing to hear about the OSCEs mediation efforts in these situations.

Analysts have warned that if the difficult dynamic within the OSCE continues, the organisation may decline in relevance and capacity. Some of them have emphasised the importance of the OSCE as the only multilateral forum outside the UN where Russia and Western countries can hold dialogue on security issues. In light of the markedly altered context in which the organisation operates, members may also discuss new avenues for cooperation between the organisation and the UN that utilise the OSCEs expertise. In the context of the war in Ukraine, members might suggest a possible role for the OSCE in monitoring potential future interim agreements, for example on securing the safety of nuclear sitesan issue which has been discussed at the UN Security Council on multiple occasions.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Over the years, Council members have expressed sharply diverging positions on issues within the OSCEs purview, most notably Ukraine, and on the broader European security architecture. These divisions have become more pronounced following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Councils last meeting on OSCE-UN cooperation was held on 14 March 2022, less than a month after the invasion. At that meeting, several Council membersincluding the P3 (France, the UK, and the US)argued that Russia ignored the efforts of the OSCEs then-CiO, Polands Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau, to prevent the crisis by addressing Russias security concerns through his Renewed European Security Dialogue initiative. Russia dismissed such allegations and said that such a dialogue would not have been successful due to the Western countries position on the principle of indivisible security. It claimed that this principle requires avoiding any actions that would strengthen one partys security to the detriment of the security of any other country and blamed Western countries for ignoring such a requirement by prioritising the right of any country to choose which alliance it wished to join. China expressed a similar position during a 17 February Council meeting requested by Russia to mark the eighth anniversary of the Minsk II agreement, in which it maintained that the Ukraine crisis is the culmination of European security conflicts that are closely related to NATOs constant eastward expansion since the Cold War.

At the 17 February meeting, several Council members, including the P3 and several European members, highlighted the OSCEs crucial work in the region and its continued relevance. Switzerland noted in this regard the organisations expertise in monitoring, confidence-building measures, and verification. Russia for its part accused the OSCE of partiality and argued that it had provided biased reporting on the implementation of the Minsk II agreement. Such differing positions are likely to colour the discussion during the briefing in May.

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Overview

In May, Switzerland holds the presidency of the Security Council.

Switzerland is expected to convene two signature events during its presidency. One will be an open debate on Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace, under the Peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda item. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will chair the debate. The expected briefers are UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk; Cynthia Chigwenya, AU Youth Ambassador for Peace for Southern Africa; and Funmi Olonisakin, Vice-President and Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at Kings College London. It seems that Switzerland is keen to draw attention to the New Agenda for Peace during this debate.

Switzerlands other signature event for the month will be the annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset is expected to chair the debate. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, and a woman civil society representative are the anticipated briefers. The focus of this years debate will be on food insecurity and the protection of essential services and critical infrastructure in conflict situations.

Switzerland will convene the annual briefing by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office (CiO). Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, the current CiO, is expected to brief at the meeting, which will be chaired by Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

Upon the request of the three African members of the Council (Gabon, Ghana, and Mozambique), Switzerland will convene a briefing on peace and security in Africa to discuss the Secretary-Generals upcoming report on the financing of AU-led peace support operations pursuant to a 31 August 2022 presidential statement (S/PRST/2022/6). UN and AU officials as well as a civil society representative are expected to brief.

African issues on the programme in May are:

Sudan , meeting on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS);

Sudan/South Sudan , meeting on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA);

South Sudan , renewal of the 2206 South Sudan sanctions regime and the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee;

Libya , briefing by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the courts Libya-related activities; and

Sahel , meeting on the G5 Sahel .

Middle East issues on the programme include:

Regarding European issues, the semi-annual debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to take place in May.

In terms of Asian issues, Council members are expected to receive a briefing in consultations on the work of the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee.

There may be one or more meetings on Ukraine in May, and other issues could also be raised during the month, depending on developments.
PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING

Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold an open debate on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace, one of the signature events of Switzerlands presidency. Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis will chair the debate. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk; Cynthia Chigwenya, Youth Ambassador for Peace for Southern Africa; and Funmi Olonisakin, Vice-President and Professor of Security, Leadership & Development, Kings College London, are expected to brief.

Key Recent Developments

On 21 September 2020, the General Assembly adopted a declaration marking the UNs seventy-fifth anniversary and requested the Secretary-General to report back with recommendations on how to respond to current and future challenges facing the world. Accordingly, the Secretary-General released his report Our Common Agenda on 10 September 2021, presenting his vision for the future of multilateral cooperation to effectively address global challenges and threats. In his report, the Secretary-General outlined six potential areas for a new agenda for peace, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) reducing strategic risks; (2) strengthening international foresight and capacities to identify and adapt to new risks; (3) reshaping responses to all forms of violence; (4) investing in prevention and peacebuilding; (5) supporting regional prevention and; (6) putting women and girls at the centre.

General Assembly resolution A/RES/76/6, adopted on 15 November 2021, welcomed the Secretary-Generals report as a basis for further consideration by member states. In informal thematic consultations organised by the President of the General Assembly on Our Common Agenda in February and March 2022, the UN system was invited to develop a New Agenda for Peace in close consultation with member states and in collaboration with all relevant partners, as part of the preparations for the Summit of the Future. (The Summit of the Future, proposed in Our Common Agenda, will be held on 22-23 September 2024.)

The UN Secretariat has been consulting with member states, regional groups and other actors for their views, priorities, and recommendations, based on which the UN is expected to produce a policy paper in June on the New Agenda for Peace. On 18 April, the High-Level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Effective Multilateralism, which the Secretary-General established in March 2022 as part of the Our Common Agenda initiative, published its report that contains recommendations on strengthening the UN and multilateral systems ability to address pressing global challenges, from climate change and future pandemics, to preventing conflict, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals, and supporting a just digital transformation.

On 26 January, the Council held an open debate convened by Japan on Investment in people to enhance resilience against complex challenges under the Councils peacebuilding and sustaining peace agenda item. The debate considered how to adapt and strengthen UN peacebuilding to respond to new challenges such as food security, pandemic diseases, and climate change through investment in people, including by promoting socioeconomic development and protecting human rights and human security. Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, who briefed at the session, highlighted the central role of inclusion in the New Agenda for Peace, which involves the meaningful participation of all constituencies and communities, particularly those traditionally underrepresented in peace and security processes, as well as in a countrys social, economic and political life.

Peacebuilding Commission-Related Developments

On 30 January, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) convened a meeting on the New Agenda for Peace with Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. Noting the deteriorating global peace and security environment and deepening divisions among states, DiCarlo said that the New Agenda for Peace seeks to articulate a unifying vision to help reforge member states commitment to the collective security system and the values of the UN Charter. She reiterated that conflict prevention and peacebuilding were at the heart of the New Agenda. Commission members expressed support for expanding the PBCs role to more geographical and substantive settings, and addressing cross-cutting issues of security, climate change, health, gender equality, development, and human rights, which the Secretary-General proposed in Our Common Agenda. On 2 February, the PBC elected Ambassador Ivan Simonovic (Croatia) as commission chair. The outgoing chair, Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith (Bangladesh), and Ambassador Antje Leendertse (Germany) were elected as the new vice-chairs. On 3 March, the PBC sent a letter of advice to the Council on South Sudan, the first time that the PBC has advised the Council on the country. It followed the commissions first meeting on South Sudan in October 2022 and a PBC mission led by Mutih to South Sudan from 6 to 9 December 2022. On 29 March, the PBC also held its first meeting on Mozambique. So far in 2023, the PBC has advised the Council eight times. It submitted written advice for Council meetings on West Africa and the Sahel, Colombia, sea-level rise, and South Sudan, while commission representatives have briefed the Council at meetings on the Central African Republic, the Great Lakes region, Colombia and at the 26 January open debate on peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Key Issues and Options

Switzerland has circulated a concept note, which states that the aim of the open debate is to take stock, review and strengthen the approaches of the Security Council towards building trust to foster sustainable peace in light of current and emerging threats. Key issues are how to promote inclusion, international normative frameworks, and facts (or data), which the concept note suggests are important for building trust in conflict prevention and resolution efforts and in national peacebuilding processes.

Resolutions 2282 of the Security Council and the General Assembly (A/RES/70/262) in April 2016 on the ten-year review of the UN peacebuilding architecture established the importance of inclusivity for effective peacebuilding. According to the concept note, inclusion of all stakeholders, including women and youth, is key for building trust, while at the multilateral level, it is important for the Council to consider how to better involve the wider peacebuilding architecture and regional and subregional organisations. The international normative frameworks, including international human rights law, enable accountability and predictability, which are also conducive to building trust. Data from scientifically driven and evidence-based insights are key to informing Council decision-making to prevent and resolve conflict and build peace. Additionally, using data and facts can foster trust among Council members.

In addition to the opportunity for the Council to reflect on its responsibility, potential and tools to shore up trust, as the concept note states, the open debate aims to contribute to the Secretary-Generals New Agenda for Peace, including possible elements of confidence- and trust-building measures that can be included in the New Agenda. Our Common Agenda posits trust as one of the foundations for a renewed social contract, and highlights the importance of delivering basic services, promoting justice, and countering disinformation to respond to the overall breakdown in trust in major institutions worldwide. Following the release of the policy paper on the New Agenda for Peace, the Council could consider holding a formal or informal meeting to discuss the paper.

Council Dynamics

Switzerland chaired the PBCs Burundi configuration from 2009 until the configuration was discontinued at the end of last year. Elected Council member Brazil serves as the PBC and Council informal coordinator, which plays an important role in identifying opportunities for cooperation between the two bodies. Japan is another elected member that has long been an active proponent of peacebuilding and the PBC.

Nine Council members currently serve on the PBCs 31-member Organizational Committee. Seven PBC seats are allocated to the Security Council, which always include the P5 (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US). Ecuador and Mozambique hold the other two Council-allocated seats. Brazil serves as one of the seven member states that the General Assembly elects to the PBC. Japan is one of five PBC members selected for being a top UN financial contributor. Traditionally the P5 were seen as more cautious about having the PBC advise the Council, which they viewed as potentially interfering in the Councils responsibility to maintain international peace and security. But this dynamic has evolved significantly in recent years as interest has grown in improving UN peacebuilding and the impact of the PBC, including its advisory role. This is evidenced by the rise in PBC advisories and the Councils agreement last year to allow the PBC to receive advance copies of relevant Secretary-Generals reports to the Council.

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THEMATIC ISSUES

Protection of Civilians

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold its annual open debate on the protection of civilians (PoC) in armed conflict. Switzerland, the Council president for the month, is convening the debate as a ministerial-level signature event with an expected focus on food insecurity and the protection of essential services in conflict situations. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, and a female civil society representative are expected to brief. President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset will chair the meeting.

Council members will receive the Secretary-Generals annual PoC report by mid-May.

Background and Key Recent Developments

This years debate is expected to focus on the intertwined challenges of conflict-induced food insecurity and the protection of critical civilian infrastructure and essential services in conflict. It will provide an opportunity to review implementation of two relevant resolutions in this regard: resolution 2417 on armed conflict and food security, adopted on 24 May 2018, and resolution 2573 on the protection of indispensable civilian objects, adopted on 27 April 2021.

Resolution 2417 identified how conflict contributes to hungereither through the direct effects of war, such as displacement from farming or grazing land and the destruction of agricultural assets, or indirectly by disrupting markets and increasing food prices. The resolution called on conflict parties to comply with relevant international law, including the Geneva Conventions; condemned the use of starvation as a method of warfare; and recalled that the Council had adopted and could consider adopting new sanctions on those responsible for obstructing humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the resolution called on the Secretary-General to report to the Council swiftly when there is an acute risk of conflict-induced famine and widespread food insecurity in the context of armed conflict and to update the Council on the resolutions implementation every 12 months during his annual briefing on the protection of civilians.

Resolution 2573 condemned attacks against civilians and civilian objects in situations of armed conflict and demanded that all parties to conflict cease such practices. It further encouraged efforts to protect objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, which may include those objects essential for food production and distribution. The resolution urged conflict parties to ensure the proper functioning of food systems and markets in situations of armed conflict andlike resolution 2417condemned the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which it noted may constitute a war crime.

Recent years have seen a resurgence in global food insecurity, primarily driven by conflict. According to the 2023 global food policy report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity nearly doubled between 2016 and 2022 to 205 million people in 45 countries, most [of whom] live in protracted crisis situationsmarked by prolonged civil strife and conflict, repeated weather shocks, and economic decline, or some combination thereof. The most recent biannual joint report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) monitoring food security in conflict situationspublished in November 2022provided more detail on specific country situations. Using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, the report listed Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen as hunger hotspots of highest concern, with populations facing or projected to face starvation (Catastrophe, IPC Phase 5) or at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions as they already have critical food insecurity (Emergency, IPC Phase 4) and are facing severe aggravating factors. The report said that while food crises in these countries continue to be driven by multiple, interlinked drivers that are often mutually reinforcing, conflict/insecurity remains the main driver, in part due to the impact on essential food systems and objects indispensable to the survival of civilian populations.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has also highlighted the links between conflict, hunger, and critical civilian infrastructure. As Russia and Ukraine are among the worlds most significant producers of agricultural commodities andin the case of Russiafertilisers, the war has further exacerbated food insecurity worldwide. According to IFPRIs 2023 report, international food prices rose 32 percent, and fertiliser prices tripled following Russias invasion, and while these prices have since fallen, they remain high by historical standards. Additionally, hunger is rising inside Ukraine, partially as a result of Russias attacks on civilian infrastructure, which have targeted Ukraines grain silos and water supply. The ICC recently announced that it would initiate a case against Russia for attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

In accordance with resolution 2417, OCHA has submitted a number of white notes to the Council, alerting it to acute situations of conflict-induced food. These have pertained to South Sudan (August 2018); Yemen (October 2018); the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeast Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen (September 2020); northern Ethiopia (May 2021); and northern Ethiopia, northeast Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen (August 2022).

Mays debate follows several Council meetings over the past year on conflict, food security, and the protection of civilian infrastructure. In April 2022, Ireland organised an Arria-formula meeting on conflict and hunger. In May 2022, the US convened a ministerial-level open debate on conflict and food security as a signature event of its Council presidency after organising a similar high-level open debate during its March 2021 presidency. In September 2022, the Council convened a briefing on armed conflict and food security following the issuance of OCHAs latest white note. In October 2022, France and then-Council member Mexicothe humanitarian co-penholders on Ukraineconvened a briefing on the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure in the country. In March, Mozambique and Switzerland convened a ministerial-level Arria-formula meeting on Protection of Water-related Essential Services and Infrastructure During Armed Conflicts.

Key Issues and Options

Identifying existing and potential conflict-related food security crises and addressing the increase in conflict-induced hunger are key issues for the Council. Related to this is the Councils responsibility to maintain humanitarian access, protect aid workers and hold conflict parties accountable for depriving civilians of food by targeting food production and systems or other critical infrastructure. As recalled in resolution 2417, the Council may impose sanctions on those who obstruct the delivery of, access to, or distribution of humanitarian assistance.

The impact of the war in Ukraine on food insecurity is another prominent issue. This includes the wars effects on Ukraines agricultural productivity and exports and the possible consequences for the global food system of the sanctions imposed on Russia. In this context, Council members may urge the conflict parties to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is set to expire in May and has reportedly been the subject of renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

An additional key issue is reporting to the Council on acute situations of conflict-induced food insecurity, as mandated by resolution 2417. One option Council members have considered is requesting the Secretariat to submit white notes more regularly on such situations. Related to this is whether the information provided is sufficiently detailed for the Council to take action; members could encourage the Secretariat to include more information that identifies specific violations of international humanitarian law that cause food insecurity, including attacks on critical civilian infrastructure. Members could also consider creating UN special envoys or focal points on the implementation of resolutions 2417 and 2573 or, similarly, consider the recommendation made in the most recent FAO-WFP report to establish an independent body of experts to collect and channel critical information to enable the Security Council and the Secretary-General to take preventive action.

Council Dynamics

Several members are keen to see the Council be more active in considering and addressing conflict-induced hunger. Council members France, Ecuador, Switzerland, the UK, and the US are part of a 14-member Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger. The group also includes recent Council members Estonia, Ireland, Mexico, Niger, and Norway.

Other members have expressed scepticism about the Councils consideration of conflict and hunger. Russia has argued that the Council is not the appropriate body to consider food insecurity as a thematic issue since other UN organs are mandated to address hunger, which can have multiple causes. Brazil has stressed that the Council has a role in addressing conflict-induced hunger but should not highlight hunger as a cause of conflict, which they contend is a development and peacebuilding issue. Some members have also been wary about hunger being used as a pretext for adding country situations to the Councils agenda.

There have also been differences of view over the reporting that the Council should receive from the Secretariat on hunger and conflict. In March 2021, the Council failed to agree on a US-proposed presidential statement that would have requested a biannual report from the Secretary-General on the issue. At the April 2022 Arria-formula meeting, the US similarly called on OCHA to provide biannual white notes on acute situations of conflict-induced food insecurity. Members opposed to increased reporting on this issue have either questioned its value given existing reporting requirements or argued that resolution 2417 should be interpreted as requesting the Secretariat to provide white notes as risks arise, which is not compatible with a periodic reporting mandate. Additionally, some members argue that efforts should concentrate on integrating conflict-induced hunger as a cross-cutting issue into discussions of country situationssimilar to the woman, peace, and security (WPS) agendaand that additional stand-alone reporting on the issue might insulate it from broader attention.

Another dynamic is members diverging views about the role of the Ukraine war on global hunger. Some members highlight Russias responsibility for having invaded Ukraine, while Russia points to the negative effect of unilateral sanctions. The US has stressed that the sanctions on Russia do not apply to food and agricultural products.

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AFRICA

South Sudan

Expected Council Action

In May, the Council expects to vote on a draft resolution to renew the South Sudan sanctions regime (including targeted sanctions and an arms embargo), which expires on 31 May, and extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee, which expires on 1 July.

The mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) expires on 15 March 2024.

Background and Key Recent Developments

On 4 August 2022, all signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) agreed to a roadmap extending the transitional period by 24 months to enable the implementation of its key outstanding tasks. The original transitional period in the R-ARCSS ended on 22 February. Key aspects of the roadmap relate to the unification of forces and their redeployment, the drafting of the permanent constitution, and the electoral process. In a 21 February press statement, the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) announced the beginning of the extended transition period, which is to end on 22 February 2025, with elections to be held in December 2024. In addition, the government also declared that there would be no more extensions of the timelines.

The most recent quarterly report (covering the period from 1 January to 31 March) of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the R-ARCSS, noted that it continued to face multifaceted challenges, including lack of dedicated financial resources and an insufficient level of trust and confidence among the signatory parties to the R-ARCSS. It added that attacks on humanitarian workers and looting of their supplies have exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. According to the report, the drafting of the permanent constitution and all elections-related tasks, including the establishment and functioning of institutions that drive the elections process, are behind schedule. It further noted that, in March, the signatory parties reached an agreement on the unification of the middle and lower-level military command structures, based on a 60 percent ratio for the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), 30 percent for the SPLM-in Opposition (SLPM-IO), and 10 percent for the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).

The SantEgidio Community-mediated peace talks between R-TGoNU and the non-signatories to the R-ARCSS were held in Rome from 21 to 24 March. Minister for Presidential Affairs Barnaba Marial Benjamin led the South Sudanese government delegation, while the Non-Signatory South Sudanese Opposition Group (NSSSOG) was represented by Thomas Cirillo, chairperson of the National Salvation Front; Paul Malong, former Chief of General Staff of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA); and Pagan Amum, spokesperson of NSSSOG.

Intercommunal and subnational violence persists in many areas of the country. According to the 18 March annual brief on violence affecting civilians (covering the period from January to December 2022) by UNMISS Human Rights Division, 3,469 cases were documented relating to civilians affected mostly by killing, injury, abduction, or subjected to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), amounting to a two percent increase over 2021. It added that, during the reporting period, the number of recorded cases of injuries, abductions and CRSV increased by 17, six and 96 percent, respectively.

On 13 March, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar in Juba to discuss bilateral relations, regional issues, and the progress in the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement. On the same day, a high-level Sudanese delegation, which included the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, visited Juba to engage with the South Sudanese leaders to reduce current intra-South Sudan political tensions and discuss bilateral relations. (Sudan is the current chair of IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development).

Council members were last briefed on South Sudan on 6 March by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom and OCHA Acting Director of Operations and Advocacy Tareq Talahma. In his remarks, Haysom noted that this is a make-or-break year for South Sudan and a test for all parties to the R-ARCSS, highlighting several key challenges that parties should address, including drafting a new constitution, preparing for inclusive and credible elections, deploying the necessary unified forces (NUF), and tackling subnational violence. He also mentioned his request to UN headquarters to carry out a study to assess UNMISS capacity to adequately protect civilians and support the implementation of the R-ARCSS.

On 3 March, President Kiir dismissed Defence Minister Angelina Teny and Interior Minister Mahmoud Solomon. According to the R-ARCSS, the party of First Vice President Machar, the SPLM-IO, is responsible for the appointment of the defence minister. In a 29 March decree, Kiir named a member of his own party (SPLM), Chol Thon Balok, as the new defence minister. According to a 30 March Al Jazeera article, Machars spokesperson said that the appointment of Chol Thon as a minister of defence is unilateral and a new blatant violation of the peace agreement.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 3 April, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan issued a report, providing findings of the investigations it had conducted in six states of South Sudan as well as the neighbouring region over the last year. Among other things, the report concluded that armed violence continues to damage communities and people have been subjected to gross human rights violations and abuses, including killings, torture, conflict-related sexual violence and the looting and destruction of homes and livelihoods; effective prosecutions remain woefully insufficient; impunity has been driving conflict and human rights violations throughout the country; and victims, including survivors of sexual violence, are unable to access medical care. Commissioner Andrew Clapham noted that the State continues to fail in its duty to protect civilians, and to ensure accountability for violations. He called on the authorities to investigate alleged perpetrators, irrespective of their rank or office, and strengthen justice mechanisms.

During its 52nd session, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on advancing human rights in South Sudan. It extended the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan for one year and requested the Commission to present a comprehensive written report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan to the HRC at its 55th session, followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue with the participation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The resolution also called on the government of South Sudan to investigate allegations of human rights violations and abuses and to hold the perpetrators accountable. Council members France, the UK, and the US voted in favour, whereas Gabon abstained, and China voted against.

Women, Peace and Security

On 20 February, the Informal Experts Group (IEG) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) met on South Sudan. UNMISS Deputy Special Representative Sara Beysolow Nyanti briefed. Among the issues members discussed during the meeting were womens participation in public decision-making, reprisals against women human rights defenders and peacebuilders, and the increase in reported CRSV cases in 2022. According to the summary of the meetingissued on 5 April by Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the IEG co-chairs, together with the UK, as the penholder on WPSthe UN verified 299 incidents of CRSV in South Sudan in 2022, compared with 194 in 2021. While the majority of these cases were attributed to non-state armed groups, 38 percent were attributed to the armed forces and 5 percent to the police. Among other recommendations put forward by UN Women, which serves as the IEG secretariat, was for the Council to request enhanced gender analysis in the Secretary-Generals reports, with particular attention to the reasons behind the persistent under-representation of women in decision-making and the continued high levels of sexual violence in South Sudan.

Sanctions-Related Developments

On 17 February, the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee held an open briefing to allow member states, particularly regional states, to provide their views on the interim report of the South Sudan Panel of Experts, which was released on 1 December 2022.

The interim report describes widespread subnational violence, pervasive human rights abuses, including endemic and systemic conflict-related sexual violence, and humanitarian and economic crises and notes that key humanitarian indicators, most notably food security, are at their worst levels since the achievement of independence. The report expresses concern that despite the graduation of some NUF, there was no clarity on their deployment and that fragmentation, not unification, is the prevailing force beyond Juba.

Key Issues and Options

An immediate key issue for the Council is the extension of the sanctions regime and the mandate renewal of the Panel of Experts.

A related issue is assessing progress achieved on the five benchmarks outlined in resolution 2577 of 28 May 2021 to guide the Council in reviewing the arms embargo. South Sudan has been calling for the lifting of the arms embargo, an issue on which Council members are divided. These benchmarks address the following:

completion of the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) process contained in the R-ARCSS;

formation of a unified command structure for the NUF and allocation of necessary resources for the planning and implementation of the redeployment of the NUF ;

progress on the establishment and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process;

progress on proper management of existing arms and ammunition stockpiles; and

the implementation of an action plan for the Armed Forces on addressing conflict-related sexual violence.

Another key issue for the Council is the implementation of the arms embargo and targeted sanctions.

An ongoing concern for the Council is the significant political challenge in South Sudan related to the delays in implementing the R-ARCSS. A key issue in this regard is what the Council can do to encourage the parties to make progress towards implementing the outstanding tasks of the R-ARCSS in accordance with the deadlines set out in last years roadmap. Another issue for several Council members is the need for the government to engage with civil society and other interested parties in relation to the roadmap and its implementation.

An option for Council members is to renew the sanctions regime while retaining the benchmarks and calling for further progress in their implementation.

Although the focus of the Councils engagement next month is on the South Sudan sanctions regime, the Council could also consider adopting a presidential statement urging the parties to implement the R-ARCSS in an inclusive and timely matter.

Council and Wider Dynamics

The discussion on sanctions imposed on South Sudan remains a divisive issue in the Council. When the Council last renewed the sanctions regime in May 2022 through resolution 2633, five Council members abstainedChina, Gabon, then-Council members India and Kenya, and Russia.

Several Council members, including France, the UK, and the US, believe that sanctions are a useful tool to maintain pressure on the parties to implement the R-ARCSS. These members maintain that the arms embargo, initially imposed in July 2018 with the adoption of resolution 2428, has contributed to the reduction of violence by curtailing the flow of weapons to South Sudan. Therefore, they expressed concern that the lifting of the arms embargo would negatively affect the security situation.

On the other hand, China and Russia have long opposed the South Sudan sanctions regime. African members of the Council have also expressed concerns about maintaining the sanctions regime, which in their view, could undermine progress in the political and security spheres.

The AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and IGAD have repeatedly called for lifting the arms embargo imposed on South Sudan, and several regional states have expressed opposition to the arms embargo. In a 28 February communique, the AUPSC appealed to the international community to lift the arms embargo and other sanctions imposed on South Sudan.

The US is the penholder on South Sudan. Ambassador Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon) chairs the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee.

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Status Update since our April Forecast

Afghanistan

On 6 April, Council members convened for closed consultations on Afghanistan. The meeting was requested by Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the co-penholders on the file, after the Taliban decided to prohibit Afghan women from working for the UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Roza Otunbayeva briefed.

On 27 April, the Council adopted resolution 2681 condemning the Talibans decision to ban Afghan women from working for the UN and stating that it undermines human rights and humanitarian principles.

Export of Weapons and Military Equipment

On 10 April, Russia convened an open debate on Risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment under the Threats to international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9301). High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu briefed. She argued that: Transparency in armaments is yet another confidence-building measure that can serve to reduce tensions, ambiguities and misperceptions among Member States.

Mali

On 12 April, the Council held an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Mali (S/PV.9302). Special Representative and head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) El-Ghassim Wane briefed, presenting the Secretary-Generals 30 March report on Mali (S/2023/236). The session included assessing progress on the four conditions, or parameters, that the Secretary-Generals internal review of MINUSMA, dated 16 January, identified as key for the mission to operate: (1) advances in Malis political transition, in accordance with the electoral timetable; (2) progress in the implementation of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali; (3) MINUSMAs freedom of movement, including for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets critical for the safety and security of peacekeepers; and (4) MINUSMAs ability to implement its entire mandate, including its human rights provisions.

Colombia

On 13 April, the Security Council held an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Colombia (S/PV.9303). Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia Carlos Ruiz Massieu briefed on recent developments and the Secretary-Generals latest 90-day report on the mission (S/2023/222). The Council was also briefed by Ambassador Ivan Simonovic (Croatia), chair of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), and Rodrigo Londono, president of the Comunes party, which is comprised of former members of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo (FARC-EP).

Prior to the quarterly meeting, on 12 April, the president of the Security Council sent a letter to the Secretary-General referencing a 14 February letter by Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alvaro Leyva Duran, in which he requested the Council to consider the possible expansion of the verification missions mandate to include a role in the governments dialogue processes with armed groups active in the country. In the letter, the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to submit within 60 days recommendations on the possible role that the UN can play in this regard, including implications for the configuration of the verification mission.

On 17 April, Council members issued a press statement on Colombia (SC/15259). In it, they stressed the importance of ensuring the comprehensive implementation of the Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace signed in 2016 between the government of Colombia and the former rebel group FARC-EP.

Myanmar

On 13 April, Council members discussed airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar military that reportedly killed over 100 people in the north-western Sagaing region on 11 April under any other business at the request of the UK, the penholder on Myanmar. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari briefed. The UK circulated a draft press statement regarding the attack to Council members on 11 April. The draft apparently strongly condemned the attack, stressed the need to ensure accountability, reiterated Council members call for the immediate cessation of violence, stressed the need for unhindered humanitarian access, and demanded the full implementation of resolution 2669, among other matters.

While the draft appeared to enjoy broad support from a majority of Council members, it seems that it was blocked by China and Russia, who apparently argued that the circumstances surrounding the attack were unclear, noting that the military authorities had provided information concerning the attack that differed from the witness accounts referred to in media reports. It seems that China and Russia also contended that the Council should refrain from taking sides in internal affairs and encourage the parties in Myanmar to resolve their differences through dialogue and reconciliation. The UK apparently requested the meeting after China and Russia expressed their opposition to the draft press statement.

Great Lakes Region (DRC)

On 19 April, the Security Council held its biannual briefing and consultations on the situation in the Great Lakes region (S/PV.9307). Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region Huang Xia briefed on the Secretary-Generals latest report on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the region (S/2023/237). The chair of the Peacebuilding Commission Ivan Simonovic (Croatia) also briefed. Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Western Sahara

On 19 April, Council members received a briefing in consultations on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy to Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura and Special Representative and head of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) Alexander Ivanko briefed.

Effective Multilateralism Through the Defence of the Principles of the UN Charter

On 24 April, the Security Council held a ministerial-level open debate on Effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter under the Maintenance of international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9308). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting, while Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed. Guterres said that multilateral cooperation was the raison detre and guiding vision of the UN. He expressed concern about the risks of conflict, through misadventure or miscalculation at a time of great tensions between the big powers, while calling on countries to uphold their responsibilities under the UN Charter.

The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question

On 6 April, Security Council members convened for closed consultations on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. China and the United Arab Emirates requested the meeting. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland briefed. While the possibility of issuing a product was discussed during the consultations, members could not reach consensus.

On 25 April, the Security Council held its quarterly open debate on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question (S/PV.9309). Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting. Wennesland briefed. Riad al-Maliki, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, said that as long as Israel reaps the benefits of its occupation while [the Palestinians] pay the cost, annexation and apartheid are the only reality [Palestinians] are left with. He called on UN members to recognise the State of Palestine and ban products originating in Israeli settlements, among other things. After delivering a statement expressing outrage and sadness at the open debate coinciding with Israels Memorial Daywhich commemorates fallen Israeli soldiers and civilian victims of terrorismthe Israeli delegation left the Council chamber. Ambassador Gilad Erdan (Israel) said that Israels request for a change of date for the open debate had been turned down, proving what Israelis know about this biased organisation. During a press conference on the same day, Lavrov said that Council members had not raised any objections to holding the meeting on 25 April, and that the meeting was not intended to be an anti-Israel event.

Haiti

On 26 April, the Security Council held an open briefing followed by closed consultations on Haiti (S/PV.9311). Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) Maria Isabel Salvador briefed on recent developments and the Secretary-Generals latest report on BINUH, dated 14 April. Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Fathi Waly also briefed on the countrys security situation. Canada (on behalf of the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti), the Dominican Republic, and Haiti participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Kosovo

On 27 April, the Council held its first briefing this year on the situation in Kosovo (S/PV.9312). Special Representative and head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Caroline Ziadeh briefed on the latest Secretary-Generals report (S/2023/247). First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic briefed under Rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo Donika Gervalla-Schwarz addressed the Council under rule 39.

At the meeting, Gervalla-Schwarz said that she had not been permitted to speak in Albanian by Russia, in its capacity as Security Council president in April. Albania noted that two Council members, apparently Albania and the US, supported a formal request to allow Kosovo to speak in a language of its choosing, but Russia opposed the request. Citing Rule 44, which states that any representative may make a speech in a language other than the languages of the Security Council, Albania accused Russia of partiality and stated that it accepted the presidencys ruling in order to avoid putting the Council in a difficult position.

Russia rejected Albanias assertion, arguing that Grvalla-Schwarz, as a participant under rule 39, does not fall under the category of representative as defined in rule 44. While acknowledging precedents in which rule 39 participants briefed in a language of their choosing, Russia insisted that in those cases exceptions were made for the speakers who did not speak [any] of the six official UN languages, adding that Grvalla-Schwarz masters English more than decently.

Children and Armed Conflict

On 28 April, there was a Security Council Arria-formula meeting titled Addressing the Abduction and Deportation of Children During Armed Conflict: Concrete Steps for Accountability and Prevention. The meeting was organised by Albania, France, and the US, together with non-Council member Ukraine. Briefings were provided by Ezequiel Heffes, Director of Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict; Dmytro Lubinets, the Ombudsperson of Ukraine; Daria Herasymchuk, Adviser-Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Rights of the Child and Child Rehabilitation; and Urkainian civilian who provided a first-hand account.
AFRICA

Sudan

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold a briefing, followed by consultations, on the Secretary-Generals 90-day report on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), which members are expected to receive by 15 May.

The mandate of UNITAMS expires on 3 June.

Key Recent Developments

Fighting erupted in the morning of 15 April in and around Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudans military leader and Chairperson of the Transitional Sovereign Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council. According to local media reports, the fighting initially started in the Soba suburb, south of Khartoum, and spread to several strategic areas in the capital, including Sudans presidential palace, the headquarters of the state television, Khartoum International Airport, and the militarys headquarters.

On 17 April, Council members met to discuss the situation in Sudan under any other business. Special Representative and head of UNITAMS Volker Perthes briefed members on the latest developments in the country and apparently expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation, especially in light of recent attacks targeting humanitarian workers. It seems that Council members were united in calling for de-escalation, a cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of calm in the country. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 17 April.)

On 20 April, the AU Commission held an urgent special ministerial meeting on Sudan, convened via VTC. The meeting was attended by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, representatives of the Security Councils permanent five members (P5), the African (A3) members, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the League of Arab States (LAS), and other regional stakeholders.

A communique was adopted at the meeting calling for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire for a week starting from 20 April that could pave the way for a more permanent ceasefire. It also called on the SAF and the RSF to establish humanitarian corridors and allow for unhindered humanitarian access and the evacuation of injured civilians. The communique further called for the immediate resumption of the political process through dialogue and negotiations, with the aim of establishing a civilian-led government. It requested the Trilateral Mechanism (which is comprised of the AU, IGAD, and UNITAMS), in coordination with the LAS, the EU, the Troika (Norway, the UK, and the US), and other actors, to engage with the SAF and the RSF to ensure the communiques implementation, including by developing an urgent plan for de-escalation. In this regard, the communique requested the two parties to designate interlocutors to work with the Trilateral Mechanism, to monitor and verify the humanitarian ceasefire, and to further elaborate permanent ceasefire arrangements, including the withdrawal of forces from urban areas.

At a press stakeout following the 20 April meeting, Guterres called for a ceasefire to mark the Eid al-Fitr celebrations, adding that this must be followed by serious dialogue that will facilitate a transition to a civilian government. He expressed deep concern about the hostilities negative effects on civilians and about the prospect of further escalation. He added that humanitarian operations have become virtually impossible, as warehouses, vehicles, and other humanitarian assets have been attacked, looted, and seized. On 21 April, the Permanent Representative of Sudan to the UN, Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, sent a letter to the Security Council, informing it that al-Burhan had announced a three-day humanitarian truce starting on the same day. Despite this, fighting reportedly persisted, with a 23 April OCHA flash update noting that clashes had continued throughout the three-day period.

In a 24 April press statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the SAF and the RSF had agreed to implement a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on 24 April. He urged both parties to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire. Blinken added that, to support a durable end to the fighting, the US will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan.

On 25 April, the Council convened for an open briefing to discuss the situation in Sudan at the request of the UK (the penholder on the file). Guterres, Perthes, Permanent Observer for the AU Fatima Kyari Mohammed and Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya briefed. In his remarks, Guterres indicated that the clashes in Sudan have the potential to spread across borders, cause immense suffering, and push back development for years. He called on the Council members, the wider UN membership, and regional organisations with influence to press the Sudanese leaders to de-escalate tensions. Msuya provided an overview of the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in the country and described the recent efforts of the UN and other actors to deliver humanitarian aid in Sudan. Among other things, Perthes noted that, although the 72-hour ceasefire had been upheld in some parts, both parties accused each other of ceasefire violations with no sign that either side is ready to negotiate; fighting has continued and, in some cases, intensified (including air strikes and heavy shelling); and cases of attempted sexual assaults and prisoners being released from detention centres have been reported.

In light of the continued fighting, deteriorating humanitarian situation and persisting insecurity, media reports indicate that many member states have been evacuating their diplomatic staff and citizens from Sudan. According to the 23 April OCHA flash update, several humanitarian organisations have evacuated or relocated their staff members from locations where operations are not currently feasible.

In a 26 April press briefing, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq noted that the UN is preparing for refugee influxes into countries across the region, including the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. He added that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) successfully evacuated 17 UN staff members and aid workers from Darfur into Juba. According to the UNHCR, at the time of writing, nearly 4,000 people have crossed into South Sudan from Sudan, and 20,000 into Chad since the outbreak of fighting on 15 April.

According to the 23 April OCHA flash update, at least 427 people have been killed and over 3,700 injured because of the ongoing fighting. Two humanitarian organisationsthe World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)have suspended their operations. A 22 April IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix noted that displacements have been reported in Khartoum, as well as in Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North Darfur, West Darfur, and South Darfur states.

Human Rights-Related Developments

In an 18 April statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for an immediate end to hostilities in Sudan and for the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table. He noted that the majority of fighting had been concentrated in heavily populated parts of the capital Khartoum and residential areas of cities elsewhere in the country. Moreover, air strikes and artillery shelling, including the use of explosive weapons, have exposed civilians to the risk of death and injury. He called for prompt, thorough and independent investigations into the killings of civilians, including three staff members of the UNs World Food Programme.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Security Council is how to stop the fighting in Sudan and avert a humanitarian crisis. A related issue is assessing what role UNITAMS can play in bringing a credible, sustainable, and long-term ceasefire. Another issue for the Security Council is to ensure continuous and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and at the same time, secure the safety and security of UN officials and other humanitarian actors. Periodic briefings from Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths or other OCHA officials could help keep the Council informed of the humanitarian situation on the ground.

Another major issue is the difficulty for UNITAMS in carrying out its responsibilities in the midst of the current conflict. According to a 24 April UNITAMS press statement, the UN temporarily relocated its internationally-recruited personnel from Khartoum to Port Sudan for onward evacuation to neighbouring countries. It added that a small number of internationally-recruited personnel, including Perthes, will remain in Sudan and will continue to work towards a resolution to the current crisis and returning to the UN mandated tasks. Perthes, in the same statement, said: our presence on the ground has been adjusted in light of the security situation but [] there is no plan or thinking of the UN leaving Sudan. At the time of writing, the UN in Sudan has a total of 4,149 staff members, including 877 internationally-recruited staff and 3,272 national staff.

Another significant issue is the mandate renewal of UNITAMS. In light of these circumstances, an option for Council members is to consider a technical rollover of the missions mandate for three to six months in anticipation of the situation stabilising sufficiently for the mission to return to Khartoum and resume its work.

The Council could consider holding an informal interactive dialogue (IID) with key stakeholders, including representatives of the Tripartite Mechanism. The IID is a closed format that, unlike consultations, allows for the participation of non-UN officials and briefers.

The Council could consider adopting a presidential statement that:

condemns the continued military clashes between the SAF and RSF;

expresses regret over the immense human suffering, including the death of civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure;

calls upon both parties to adhere to the ceasefire and demands a full cessation of hostilities;

welcomes the diplomatic efforts by the AU, IGAD, the LAS, UNITAMS, and other regional stakeholders to resolve the crisis;

stresses the need for full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access; and

demands that the parties commit to the safety, security and protection of civilians, diplomatic missions and personnel, UN, humanitarian and medical personnel.

Council Dynamics

Most Council members share similar concerns over the political, security, human rights, and humanitarian situations in Sudan and are supportive of the Trilateral Mechanism. But there was apparent disagreement on a draft press statement proposed by the UK following the AU Commissions ministerial meeting on 20 April. It appears that, among other matters, the draft text condemned the continued military clashes between the SAF and RSF; regretted the death of civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure; welcomed the diplomatic efforts by the AU, IGAD, the LAS, and UNITAMS to resolve the crisis; reiterated the need for full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access; and demanded that the parties commit to the safety, security, and protection of civilians, diplomatic missions and personnel, UN, humanitarian and medical personnel, including to ensure the safe departure of foreign nationals from Sudan. Council members were unable to reach consensus, with the A3 apparently opposing the draft press statement and arguing that it could lead to duplicate messaging and create complications at a delicate time. It seems that China and Russia supported the A3 position.

The UK is the penholder on Sudan, and the US is the penholder on Sudan sanctions. Ambassador Harold Adlai Agyeman (Ghana) chairs the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee.

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Sudan/South Sudan

Expected Council Action

In May, the Council expects to receive a briefing on the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), due by 1 May, as requested in resolution 2660 of 14 November 2022. Consultations will follow the briefing.

The mandate of UNISFA and the missions support for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) expire on 15 November.

Key Recent Developments

The Council was last briefed on Abyei on 27 October 2022 by Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa Hanna Serwaa Tetteh. On 14 November 2022, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2660, extending the mandate of UNISFA and the missions support for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM) until 15 November. The JBVMM was established in 2011 to conduct monitoring and verification activities along the Sudan-South Sudan border.

On 2 April, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the Deputy Chairperson of Sudans Transitional Sovereign Council, chaired a meeting in Khartoum of the Higher Committee for Political and Administrative Oversight of the Abyei area, the disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border. In a press statement following the meeting, the rapporteur of the committee, Mohamed Abdullah Wad-Abuk, noted that the discussions focused on examining the humanitarian and security situation in Abyei and setting directives for maintaining security and stability in the region. He also emphasised the need to implement the agreement on administrative and political arrangements signed by Sudan and South Sudan.

On 10 April, Dagalo and Tut Gatluak, South Sudans presidential adviser, met in Khartoum to discuss the situation in Abyei. According to local media reports, the discussion focused on the provision of humanitarian assistance and services in Abyei, as well as the implementation of development projects in the area, with the support of the UN and other international actors. The two sides agreed to a future meeting in Juba to continue discussions on Abyei, including on the final status of the region. Given recent developments in Sudan, this meeting is unlikely to happen soon.

From 3 to 6 April, representatives from the Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka communities, including women and youth leaders and politicians, participated in the Inter-Communal Peace Conference in Wau, South Sudan. During the conference, among other things, the communities agreed to cease hostilities, allow unhindered movement for humanitarian assistance, and facilitate the return of internally displaced persons.

In a 20 April statement, UNISFA welcomed the holding of the Inter-Communal Peace Conference and urged the Ngok Dinka and Twic Dinka communities to adhere to the outcome of the meeting and engage constructively to resolve their differences. It also extended support for the proposal put forth by the governor of Warrap State and the chief administrator of Abyei to establish a joint committee comprising representatives of the two communities and peace partners such as UNISFA and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The proposal calls for the joint committee to meet with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the political and security leadership of South Sudan to convey the ideas of both communities and concerns regarding the buffer zones.

UNISFA, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and Concordis International (a peacebuilding non-governmental organisation) organised a four-day conference in Todach, Abyei from 20 to 23 March aimed at reviving and reviewing the agreements signed by the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities in 2016 on the peaceful management of the annual transhumance migration. Over the decades, both communities have had disagreements over the ownership of land, access to water, and grazing areas. According to UNISFAs 23 March press statement, the sides reached a peace agreement ensuring freedom of movement in Abyei, the withdrawal of all militias and armed units from Abyei, and the reactivation of the Joint Peace Committee to ensure continuous communication and dialogue between the two communities at the leadership level through quarterly conferences. Among other things, both communities called on UNISFA to intensify patrolling along the roads and villages within Abyei and to ensure that Sudan and South Sudan withdraw armed groups and militias from Abyei.

In a 1 March statement, UNISFA condemned the movement of armed elements within the southern part of Abyei on 28 February. It expressed deep concern that this development might exacerbate the conflict in the area and increase humanitarian challenges for the civilians in the area. The statement reaffirmed that Abyei remains a weapons-free area that should not have the presence of any force of both communities. It urged all parties to cease fire and allow the political process to resolve the crisis.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), an organisation that collects conflict- and crisis-related data, in 2022, Abyei witnessed the highest number of violent incidents recorded by ACLED for any year since 2011, with 48 incidents.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Council is finding an avenue to continue the renewed engagement in the political process to address the final status of Abyei and Sudan-South Sudan border issues. It remains to be seen if the recent fighting that erupted in Sudan on 15 April, between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, may hinder the political process.

A likely option is for Council members to consider the findings and recommendations of the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of UNISFAs mandate, due by 1 May.

The report is expected to provide updates on several long-standing issues, in particular:

progress on the deployment of police;

the appointment of a civilian deputy head of mission;

usage of the Anthony airstrip, which is crucial for medical evacuations; and

the issuance of visas to support the implementation of the mandate.

Council Dynamics

Council members agree on the key role that UNISFA and the JBVMM play in support of achieving peace, security, and stability in Abyei and the broader region. Many members are critical of the lack of progress by Sudan and South Sudan in resolving the final status of Abyei, as well as on the long-standing issues outlined above.

The unanimous adoption of resolution 2660 demonstrated that the Council remains unified in its view that UNISFA plays an important role in regional stability and advancing efforts toward the political settlement of the Abyei question.

The US is the penholder on Abyei.

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Vietnam sees improvements in FDI attraction: investor

Vietnams foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction policy has been improved significantly as foreign investors are now allowed to pour capital into almost areas, a businessperson has said.



Ann Huynh, Chairwoman of 3SI Inc investment company based in Virginia, the US, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that Vietnams infrastructure has been upgraded and administrative procedures have been streamlined.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)





North American investors are interested in emerging markets, especially Vietnam, in such areas as high-tech and electric vehicle manufacturing, she said, noting that they want to learn about the countrys incentives, orientations and infrastructure.



Regarding cooperation between Vietnam and the US, Huynh said it has been expanded and growing fruitfully, from economy, investment and trade to national defence and security, agriculture, tourism, education and war consequence settlement.



She, however, pointed to obstacles to foreign investors regarding policies and investment licensing, noting her hope that administrative procedures will be further reformed to facilitate operations of foreign enterprises.



So far this year, FDI channeled into Vietnam neared 8.9 billion USD, with new capital surging after a slight decrease in the first three months.



According to the Ministry of Planning and Investments Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), there were 750 new projects granted investment licences worth over 4.1 billion USD, up 65.2% and 11.1% annually, respectively.



A total of 386 projects had their capital added for a total of 1.66 billion USD, a 19.5% increase in quantity and reduction of 68.6% in value against the same period last year. The growth, despite the associated decrease, reflected investors confidence in Vietnams business climate and decisions to expand their existing projects.



Also in the four months, foreign investors did 1,044 transactions of capital contribution and share purchases, with their contributed capital exceeding 3.1 billion USD, up 70.4% year-on-year. They invested in 18 economic sectors, mostly in processing and manufacturing with over 5.1 billion USD or 57.8% of their total investment.



The number of countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the period amounted to 77. Singapore took the lead by pouring close to 2.2 billion USD into the market, followed by Japan with nearly 2 billion USD and China with 752 million USD.
Dubais Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) will showcase the diversity of Dubais destination offering, highlight its sustainability platforms and new initiatives designed to bolster the tourism at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).



This years ATM, from May 1 to 4, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, will focus on responsible tourism during the UAEs Year of Sustainability with the event hosted under the theme Working towards Net Zero, reported Emirates News Agency WAM.



During the event, DET will highlight how the citys tourism industry is supporting the journey towards achieving the UAEs Net Zero 2050, a strategic initiative with the ultimate goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, whilst further stimulating the positive tourism growth trajectory.



More than 122 partners and representatives from government entities, hotels, destination management companies and tour operators will join DET at an expanded Dubai stand at ATM 2023 to welcome and interact with visitors to the regions leading travel event.



The Dubai stand will also be home to key government bodies and representatives of major industry stakeholders including Dubai Culture, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (DGRFA), Dubai Health Authority, in addition to Museum of the Future, Expo City Dubai and Majid al Futtaim.



Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, commented: This years ATM marks a turning point in terms of bringing sustainability to the forefront of the global tourism industry. Since the inception of ATM, Dubai has made extraordinary progress under the guidance of our visionary leadership in building the citys global reputation as a leading tourism destination, offering an authentic, diverse and sustainable tourism proposition.



During the event we will highlight how Dubai is supporting the strategic UAE Net Zero 2050 initiative, as we prepare to host yet another milestone event this year, the COP28, as well as the roadmap towards achieving the goals of our Dubai Economic Agenda, D33 to further consolidate Dubais status as one of the top three global cities. As the host destination for this important industry event, we look forward to collaborating with our stakeholders and partners, as well as the international travel trade community to further reinforce Dubais position at the forefront of the worlds leading travel destinations, drive the future of our tourism industry and continue to be a role model for global tourism recovery.



During ATM 2023, DET will highlight the achievements of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative including Dubai Can, a sustainability campaign that encourages people to turn the tide on plastic and inspire mass action to actively reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles, and which has successfully reduced the use of an equivalent of more than 7 million 500 ml single-use plastic water bottles within a year since its launch in February 2022.



In addition, plastic will not be present on the Dubai stand during the show, as part of the citys commitment to sustainability. During the event, DET will showcase cuisine from Emirati businesses and local, homegrown brands whilst ensuring that all giveaways are sustainable.



This year, DET will be organising the biggest ATM Hosted Buyers Programme which will run until 4 May, showcasing Dubai's unparalleled hospitality and offering. This year's event is set to attract a record participation of 450 buyers from 31 different markets and countries, representing all continents around the globe. The restoration of travel has made it possible for DET to bring in a large number of tour operators and travel agents, providing them with the opportunity to explore Dubai's exceptional tourism offerings.



The Hosted Buyers Programme will include a 2-day intensive itinerary of the city on 30 April and 1 May, allowing buyers to experience Dubai's vibrant culture, stunning architecture, and exceptional hospitality. Additionally, there will be 2 days at ATM for pre-set meetings with Dubai stakeholders on 2-3 May, giving buyers the opportunity to network and create strategic partnerships with Dubai's leading tourism providers.



DET will also turn the spotlight on the citys diverse destination proposition including its ever growing gastronomy sector, a key driver of growth, and particularly with the ongoing 10th edition of Dubai Food Festival, which will continue until May 7.




The two warring Sudanese forces on Sunday announced the extension of an existing ceasefire for a further 72 hours, the latest of multiple truces that have largely been violated.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces both confirmed prolongation of a ceasefire that was due to end at midnight (2200 GMT), with the army saying the extension came due to "US and Saudi mediation".

A statement issued by the General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces stated: "Based on the endeavours of the US-Saudi mediation request, the armed forces agreed to extend the ceasefire for a period of 72 hours, to start as of the end of the current truce period, although we monitored the rebels' intentions to try to attack some sites, we hope that the rebels abide by the requirements of implementing the ceasefire, with our full readiness to deal with any breaches."

Earlier, the Rapid Support Forces said in a statement that this approval came "in response to international, regional and local calls" to "open humanitarian corridors, facilitate the movement of citizens and residents, and enable them to fulfil their needs and reach safe areas."

Deadly hostilities between the army and paramilitaries in Khartoum and other parts of the country have entered a third week.

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes for safer locations within the country or abroad since battles erupted on April 15.

Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued armed clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.

The civil aviation authority on Sunday announced Sudan's airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.

"There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire," a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 "rebels", a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests in October 2021.

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea since the war began on April 15.

But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, the UN said humanitarian facilities have been looted, and it has been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

Those figures are likely to be incomplete.

Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned Saturday against the conflict's deteriorating into one of the world's worst civil wars.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. "I think it would be a nightmare for the world."

Khartoum authorities on Sunday put civil servants on open-ended leave "due to the security situation".

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many facilities shelled.

"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

The warring sides have agreed to multiple truces but none has taken hold.

An envoy of Burhan's met on Sunday in Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Dangerous conditions

More than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan, the UN said, and almost 40,000 have crossed borders, mostly into Chad but also South Sudan, Ethiopia and Central African Republic, aid workers said.

More than 5,000 people have escaped to safety on Saudi Arabian ships across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.

Britain said it would operate an additional evacuation flight, from Port Sudan on Monday, after already airlifting more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.

Canada ended its air evacuations "due to the dangerous conditions", having flown out more than 540 people, including Canadians, after large airlifts by France, Germany and other nations.

Along with battles in the capital, fighting, looting and lawlessness in the long-troubled Darfur region has raised particular international concern.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

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Syria

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold its monthly meetings on political and humanitarian developments in Syria and on the use of chemical weapons in the country.

Key Recent Developments

Syria continues to grapple with the devastating humanitarian consequences of the 6 February earthquake and its aftershocks. According to UNICEFs 18 April situation report, approximately 6,000 people were killed and more than 12,000 injured in Syria. An outbreak of cholera has further compounded the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. According to OCHAs 3 April situation report on the cholera outbreak in Syria, 105,959 suspected cases, including 104 deaths attributed to the disease, were reported across the country between 25 August 2022 and 19 March.

Prior to the earthquake, humanitarian aid was delivered to northwest Syria from Turkiye through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. The opening of two additional border crossings in northwest Syria, Bab al-Salam and Al Raee, has allowed the UN and other humanitarian organisations to accelerate aid delivery. According to OCHA data, at the time of writing, a total of 1,506 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies from seven UN agencies have crossed to northwest Syria from Turkiye since 9 February through the three border crossings: Bab al-Hawa (1,181 trucks), Bab al-Salam (273 trucks), and Al Raee (52 trucks).

On 26 April, Security Council members held an informal interactive dialogue (IID), in accordance with resolution 2672 of 9 January, which encouraged Council members to convene IIDs every two months with participation of donors, interested regional parties and representatives of the international humanitarian agencies operating in Syria. This was the second IID held since the 6 February earthquake. The meeting featured a briefing by Tareq Talahma, OCHAs Acting Director for Operations and Advocacy. Three other UN officialsUN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Syria El-Mostafa Benlamlih, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis Muhannad Ibrahim Ahmed Hadi, and Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria crisis ad interim on surge to Turkiye David Cardenwere also on hand to respond to questions. In addition to Council members and Syria, interested regional parties (Iran and Turkiye) and donors (Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the EU) also participated in the meeting.

In recent months, securing funding for the myriad of new and ongoing humanitarian challenges in the country has continued to be difficult. At the time of writing, although the flash appeal for earthquake relief in Syria was 96.6 percent funded, the humanitarian response plan for 2023 was only 7.5 percent funded. According to OCHAs 20 April situation report, the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) has allocated $36.1 million in its first phase of the reserve allocation, funding 58 projects in the country. Following the 6 February earthquake, SCHF launched a series of reserve allocations, aimed at releasing at least $50 million in two phases. The first phase is proposed to focus on providing immediate lifesaving response, whereas the second phase will concentrate on sustaining the medium-term response.

On 12-13 April, Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad visited Saudi Arabia, where he met Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in Jeddah. This was the first high-level visit between the two countries since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011. According to the joint statement released following the meeting, the delegations discussed efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves Syrias unity, security, stability, Arab identity, and territorial integrity. It added that, during the meeting, the delegations stressed the need to support the institutions of the Syrian state to extend its control over its territories to end the presence of armed militias and external interference in the Syrian internal affairs. Both sides also welcomed the start of procedures for resuming consular services and flights between the two countries.

On 14 April, Saudi Arabia hosted a high-level meeting of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates [UAE]), Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq to discuss the possibility of normalising relations with Syria and its readmission to the Arab League. According to a 15 April Financial Times article, officials with knowledge of the meeting said that there was sharp pushback against Saudi Arabias rapprochement efforts with Syria from several countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan.

On 18 April, bin Farhan met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus, marking the first high-level visit from Saudi Arabia to Syria since 2011. According to a press release following the meeting, the two leaders discussed the necessary steps to achieve a comprehensive political settlement of the Syrian crisis that would end all its repercussions, achieve national reconciliation, and contribute to the return of Syria to its Arab surroundings and the resumption of its natural role in the Arab world. During the meeting, bin Farhan stressed, among other things, the importance of ensuring a suitable environment for aid to reach all regions in Syria.

On 27 April, Pedersen and OCHA Director for Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, Lisa Doughton briefed the Council on the recent political and humanitarian developments in Syria, respectively. Pedersen noted that there has been a rise in shelling, rocket fire, cross-line raids by terrorist groups, air strikes attributed to Israel and sporadic attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). He added that renewed engagement on Syria, particularly from the region, could assist in advancing a political solution to this conflict, in line with resolution 2254. Doughton provided an overview of the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in the country and described the recent efforts of the UN and other actors to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria. She noted that the UN and other humanitarian partners continue to use all three available border crossings and that the UN hopes that such modalities will be extended for facilitation of urgent humanitarian operations.

Earlier, on 28 March, the US circulated a letter to the President of the Security Council, noting that, on 23 March, it had conducted targeted strikes in eastern Syria directed against facilities used by groups affiliated with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for command and control, munitions storage, and other purposes. The 23 March US airstrike came as a response to an attack, purportedly conducted by Iran, earlier the same day on a US military base that killed one American contractor and injured six others, including five US service members. In a 3 April statement, the US Army Central Command (CENTCOM) noted that it had conducted a unilateral strike in northwest Syria that killed an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) senior leader, Khalid Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 4 April, during its 52nd session, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution on the situation of human rights in Syria. Among other things, the resolution called on all parties, particularly the Syrian authorities, to maintain rapid, unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access; reiterated the call for an immediate and nationwide ceasefire throughout Syria; extended the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) for one year; and requested the COI to present an oral update during an interactive dialogue at its 53rd session and present an updated report during its 54th and 55th sessions. The resolution was adopted with 26 votes in favour, five against, and 16 abstentions. Security Council members France, Gabon, the UK, and the US voted in favour, whereas the UAE abstained, and China voted against the resolution.

Women, Peace and Security

On 13 March, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) released its latest report, covering the period from 1 July to 31 December 2022. Among other issues, the report provided an update on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the country. The report says that the COI found that rape and other forms of sexual violence taking place in government-controlled detention facilities amount to crimes against humanity and that members of armed groups, such as the Syrian National Army and Heiat Tahrir al-Sham, have committed the war crime of rape and other forms of sexual violence. The report notes that SGBV continues to be perpetrated countrywide, against the framework of national legislation that fails to effectively criminalize domestic violence, marital rape and other forms of gender-based violence. According to the report, UN representatives in Syria estimated that as many as 7.3 million people, overwhelmingly women and girls, are in need of services related to gender-based violence.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Security Council is how to alleviate the growing humanitarian needs in Syria. Periodic briefings from Griffiths and other OCHA officials have helped keep the Council informed of the humanitarian situation on the ground. Council members could also consider inviting representatives of Syrian humanitarian aid organisations to engage with them to explore avenues for improving aid delivery mechanisms in Syria.

A related issue is ensuring the continued flow of humanitarian aid into northwest Syria.

Another key long-standing issue is finding a way to break the political impasse in Syria and to provide political support for the Special Envoys efforts in this regard.

The Council could consider adopting a presidential statement that:

expresses strong concern about the growing humanitarian needs in the country;

expresses strong support for the efforts of the UN and humanitarian actors on the ground;

condemns attacks on civilians and underscores the need for the parties to the conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and human rights law;

encourages donors to enhance their support for the Syrian humanitarian response plan;

urges the Syrian government to facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access for the UN and other humanitarian agencies in the earthquake-affected areas; and

expresses strong support for the Special Envoys efforts to reinvigorate the political process.

Council Dynamics

Strong divisions persist among Council members on the Syria file. China and Russia tend to be sympathetic to the Syrian government, emphasising the need to respect the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity and drawing connections between unilateral sanctions on Syria and the dire humanitarian situation in the country. On the other hand, the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded members criticise the government for violating international humanitarian law and human rights law, arbitrarily detaining people, and not engaging meaningfully in political dialogue.

Most members emphasise that the cross-border aid mechanism is essential to saving lives in Syria and strongly support its continuation. Other members, such as China and Russia, continue to argue that cross-border deliveries are extraordinary measures that undermine Syrias sovereignty and should be supplanted as soon as possible by enhanced cross-line assistance.

Brazil and Switzerland are the penholders on Syria humanitarian issues.

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EUROPE

Ukraine

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council may hold one or more meetings on the situation in Ukraine, depending on developments on the ground.

Key Recent Developments

Hostilities remain concentrated in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, although Russian offensive operations appear to have decreased in recent weeks. Ukraines Defence Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov said in a 24 April interview that Russian forces have switched to defensive positions everywhere except for the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The UKs Ministry of Defence agreed with Budanovs assessment, noting in a 25 April intelligence update that Russias average daily casualty rate has fallen by approximately 30 percent compared with previous months, suggesting that its forces have switched to defensive positions in preparation for anticipated Ukrainian offensive operations. In the southern Kherson region, Ukrainian forces appear to have established positions on the eastern side of the Dnipro River. Reports also suggest that Ukraine is amassing troops near the frontline in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

April marked the first month since December 2021 that the Security Council did not convene for a formal meeting on Ukraine. During its April Council presidency, Russia organised two signature events: an open debate on Risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment on 10 April, and a 24 April ministerial-level open debate on Effective multilateralism through the defense of the principles of the UN Charter, which was chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Although the Ukraine war was not the stated focus of these meetings, the issue was raised by many participants at both events. (For more, see our Whats in Blue stories of 9 April and 23 April.)

Russia also organised an Arria-formula meeting on 5 April titled Children and Armed Conflict: Ukrainian Crisis. Evacuating Children From Conflict Zone, which featured controversial briefings by Russias Presidential Commissioner for Childrens Rights Maria Lvova-Belova and representatives from the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin in March for allegedly committing the war crime of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia. During the 5 April meeting, representatives of several Council membersincluding Albania, Malta, the UK, and the USwalked out of the conference room when the contentious briefers took the floor. The meeting was not broadcast on UNTV because the UK raised an objection to webcasting the meeting on the official UN channel. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 4 April.)

On 28 April, Albania, France, and the US, together with non-Council member Ukraine, organised an Arria-formula meeting on Addressing the Abduction and Deportation of Children During Armed Conflict: Concrete Steps for Accountability and Prevention. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 28 April.)

In April, a collection of classified US documents was leaked online, revealing details about the war in Ukraine. US Pentagon officials have verified the authenticity of some of the documents. The leaked information included confidential communications between Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other UN officials. One of the documents suggested that Guterres was willing to concede to Russias demands regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), potentially undermining broader efforts to hold Russia accountable. Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric dismissed the narrative presented by the leaked documents, stating during a 13 April press briefing that the Secretary-General is not soft on any one country or another, adding that he has been very clear about the violations of international law in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.

On 11 April, the UN issued a note to correspondents stating that the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which is responsible for facilitating the BSGI, has been unable to conduct vessel inspections as the parties failed to reach an agreement on operational priorities. Ukraine has expressed concern that Russia is intentionally obstructing navigation in the Black Sea, causing delays in the shipment of Ukrainian foodstuffs. On 13 April, the Kremlin issued a statement accusing the UN of distort[ing] data and facts and blaming Ukraine for stalling the registration and inspection of ships. In addition, Russia threatened that it would not renew the BSGI without any progress regarding the five systematic problems, which include reconnecting Russias agricultural bank to the SWIFT payment system and unblocking the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline that has been inactive since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The BSGI is set to expire on 18 May, four days after Turkiyes general elections.

Guterres held a meeting with Lavrov on 24 April to discuss the BSGI and the operational challenges encountered by the JCC. During the meeting, Guterres presented Lavrov with a letter outlining a proposed plan to improve, extend, and expand the BSGI, taking into account the positions recently expressed by the parties and the risks associated with global food insecurity. A similar letter was reportedly sent to Ukraine and Turkiye, the two other signatories to the agreement.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 31 March, at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk spoke at the interactive dialogue on Ukraine, emphasising that after 13 months of Russias war against Ukraine, severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine. Turk noted that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified more than 8,400 civilian deaths and more than 14,000 civilian injuries since the beginning of the invasion, observing that most of the casualties resulted from Russias use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighborhoods.

In his statement, Turk noted that OHCHR has interviewed more than 400 prisoners of war (POWs) on both sides. He underscored that it is essential for international monitors and OHCHR staff to receive unfettered access to all individuals detained by Russian forces. Turk also observed that OHCHR continues to gather and analyse information about the incident in Olenivka in July 2022, in which at least 50 Ukrainian POWs were killed.

Women, Peace and Security

In a 30 March joint statement, Valiant Richey, the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said that over eight million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Patten and Richey called for strengthening prevention and protection measures both inside and outside Ukraine and for sustainable solutions that increase societies resilience against trafficking in persons, especially women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation and sexual violence. They stressed the importance of adopting a gender-sensitive and survivor-centred approach in preventing and combatting trafficking and called for more coordinated efforts to disrupt and dismantle the human trafficking business model. The statement notes that, coinciding with the large-scale displacement, there are large spikes in online searches for explicit content and sexual services from Ukrainians and stresses the urgency of rooting out those who create the demand and platforms that allow for this type of violence and exploitation to thrive. In this regard, Patten and Richey called on states to put in place policies mandating proactive monitoring and removals of exploitative materials, as well as mechanisms for public reporting and for shutting down abusive platforms.

Key Issues and Options

The overarching priority for the Council is to promote a solution to the conflict in line with the UN Charter and to see dialogue facilitated among the parties to that end. Council members may wish to request the Secretary-General to employ his good offices to promote the resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine in pursuit of a peace agreement. While a negotiated settlement may appear distant, establishing diplomatic lines of communication between the parties may contribute to preventing further escalation of the conflict.

A key issue for the Council is ensuring the extension of the BSGI. Council members may wish to convene a meeting with UN Coordinator for the BSGI Abdullah Abdul Samad Dashti and UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. They may choose a closed, informal format, such as an informal interactive dialogue, to allow for a frank discussion about the challenges to the implementation of the BSGI and the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Russia and the UN to facilitate unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilisers to global markets.

Council and Wider Dynamics

The Security Council remains starkly divided on the situation in Ukraine. Russia continues to justify its invasion, which it refers to as a special military operation, while several Council membersincluding Albania, Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the UK, and the UScondemn Russia for what they consider to be an act of aggression.

Ukraine and its allies have advocated for a just peace, conditioned on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraines internationally recognised borders. Other member states have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities without any preconditions, which could freeze the frontlines of the conflict, resulting in Russia seizing a significant amount of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine. Nonetheless, prospects for a negotiated settlement remain low as Russia and Ukraine remain focused on influencing the outcome of the war through military means.

On 24 February, China released a 12-point position paper on a political settlement to the war in Ukraine. The paper included calls for respecting the sovereignty of all countries, ceasing hostilities, and resuming peace talks, but did not mention Russias military withdrawal from Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Beijings engagement on Ukraine but stressed that if the principle of respect for territorial integrity does not provide for the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, then this does not suit our state.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Beijing on 6 April, taking part in a trilateral meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to media reports, Macron urged Xi to bring Russia back to reason and to encourage all parties to return to the negotiating table. While the leaders agreed that nuclear weapons should not be used in the conflict, Xi emphasised the importance of taking the legitimate concerns of all parties into consideration.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sought to position the country as a potential mediator in the conflict. Lula has proposed the creation of a political G20 to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine. After a meeting between Lula and Xi on 14 April, the two countries issued a joint statement calling on more countries to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement to the Ukrainian crisis. While Brasilia has condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has refrained from participating in sanctions against Russia. However, Lula has faced criticism from Kyiv and some of its Western allies for implying that Ukraine shares responsibility for the conflict and that the US and Europe are prolonging it. On 18 April, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, accused Brazil of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda by suggesting that the [US] and Europe are somehow not interested in peace or that [they] share responsibility for the war, a claim that Brazil denies.

Although Western authorities have criticised Brazil and China for not engaging with Kyiv on their proposals and instead fostering relations with Moscow, the two countries have recently made efforts to reach out to Ukraines leadership. On 21 April, Brasilia announced that Lulas chief advisor, former Foreign Minister of Brazil Celso Amorim, would travel to Kyiv. Amorim discussed Brazils peace proposal with Putin in early April. On 26 April, Xi held his first telephone call with Zelenskyy after his meeting with Putin in Moscow from 20 to 22 March. During their hour-long conversation, Zelenskyy expressed hope for Chinas active participation in efforts to restore peace, while underscoring the need to refrain from supporting Russia, including through the supply of weapons. Xi stressed the importance of seizing the opportunity and building up favourable conditions for a peaceful settlement, given that rational thinking and voices are now on the rise. China will also send the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs to Ukraine for in-depth communicationon the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

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MIDDLE EAST

Yemen

Expected Council Action

In May, the Security Council will hold its monthly briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Yemen with UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and a representative of OCHA. The head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Major General Michael Beary, is expected to brief during consultations.

Key Recent Developments

Last month witnessed some promising signs in efforts to resolve Yemens more than eight-year war. Between 8 and 13 April, a delegation from Saudi Arabia and Omani mediators held talks in Sanaa with leaders of the Houthi rebel group. The visit to the Houthi-held Yemeni capital raised expectations that the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition in support of Yemens internationally recognised government, could be nearing an agreement in talks that Oman has facilitated since October 2022, when Yemens truce agreement from April 2022 expired. A statement issued by Saudi Arabia described the recently concluded talks in Sanaa as constructive and said that discussions would resume as soon as possible.

From 14 to 16 April, the conflict parties released 869 detainees, implementing the release plan that the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to in Switzerland on 20 March at the conclusion of the seventh meeting of the UN- and ICRC-chaired Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Detainees Exchange Agreement. The three-day operation involved 15 ICRC flights to six cities: Abha and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Aden, Marib, Mokha, and Sanaa in Yemen. On 17 April, the ICRC facilitated a separate unilateral release of 104 detainees from Saudi Arabia to Yemen. The releases constituted the second-largest exchange of prisonersover 1,000 detainees had similarly been released in October 2020since the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement, which established a prisoner exchange mechanism between the parties. According to the 20 March agreement, the government and the Houthis will meet again in May to discuss further releases.

Military hostilities escalated in the run-up to the Houthi-Saudi talks in Sanaa. The Houthis launched new attacks in Marib governorate on 21 March and in Shabwah governorate on 25 March. A Houthi drone attack on 25 March in Taiz governorate targeted a convoy transporting senior government officials, including Yemens defence minister and Taizs governor, killing at least one person. According to OCHA, escalating fighting in Marib and Shabwah displaced nearly 10,000 people. In a 4 April press statement, Council members condemned the escalation while welcoming the 20 March agreement on the release of detainees.

At the Councils 17 April briefing on Yemen, Grundberg expressed concern about this recent military activity and called on the parties to exercise maximum restraint. But he described other developments as the most serious opportunity for making progress towards ending the conflict in eight years. Grundberg noted that he was working closely with regional and Yemeni stakeholders to ensure that the Omani-facilitated talks feed into UN mediation efforts for an intra-Yemeni political process on future political, economic and security governance. On 27 April, Council members issued a press statement that welcomed the visit to Sanaa by the Saudi and Omani delegations, and called for all Yemeni parties to continue dialogue, engage constructively in the peace process and negotiate in good faith.

Also in April, the UN reported progress in the operation to salvage the FSO Safer, the decrepit oil tanker moored off the Ras Isa peninsula in the Red Sea. On 6 April, the very large crude carrier, which the UN purchased last month to replace the FSO Safer, began its journey to the Red Sea from Zhoushan in China. According to a UN announcement, the ship, called the Nautica, should arrive in early May after making a stop for some technical modifications. During the Council briefing on Yemen, the UK announced that it would co-host with the Netherlands a pledging conference on 4 May to raise funds for the salvage operation. In their 4 April press statement, Council members called on donors, including the private sector, to contribute the remaining $34 million needed to undertake the operations emergency phase while reiterating the importance of a timely implementation of the project to prevent an economic, environmental, and humanitarian disaster. OCHA Deputy Director of Operations and Advocacy Ghada Eltahir Mudawi, who briefed at the 17 April Council meeting, said that the UNs Central Emergency Response Fund had made a $20 million loan available to the operation to avoid any delays while further contributions come in.

On 19 April, at least 78 people were killed during a stampede in Sanaa. The tragic incident occurred at a charity event for Ramadan after Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, which sparked panic among the crowd.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Council is how to support ongoing peace talks and efforts to establish a formal ceasefire and political process. Details of a potential deal in the Houthi-Saudi talks have not been made public, but according to news reports, they may include establishing a ceasefire and the payment of public employees in Houthi territory, possibly through revenues from Yemens oil and gas reserves, which the Yemeni government controls. A deal may also aim to relaunch broader talks among Yemeni parties. Council members could reiterate the importance of coordination between this process and the work of the Special Envoy, as well as the importance of an inclusive Yemeni political process under UN mediation for a sustainable resolution to the conflict.

The humanitarian situation remains a key issue. An estimated 21.6 million people in Yemen require aid or protection. Relief efforts face challenges from interference, access constraints, and a dangerous security environment. This includes the Houthis enforcement of mahram over the past year, requiring women to be accompanied by male guardians, which is negatively affecting aid operations. Land mines and explosive remnants of war have become an issue of greater concern as they are the leading cause of civilian casualties in the truce and post-truce period. Support for Yemens economy is also critical in mitigating the humanitarian crisis.

Members may reiterate calls on all parties to facilitate the safe, rapid, and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief to all civilians in need and to protect humanitarian personnel and assets in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law. In addition, they may urge donors to support the Yemen 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), for which a 27 February pledging conference raised $1.2 billion of the $4.3 billion that the UN has estimated is necessary for its aid operations. They are also likely to continue closely monitoring progress in the FSO Safer salvage operation.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Council members have expressed cautious optimism about the potential of the Houthi-Saudi talks to yield meaningful results. At the same time, members stress the ultimate importance of an inclusive Yemeni political process facilitated by UN mediation to achieve a sustainable resolution to the conflict. Joint meetings of the Riyadh-based ambassadors to Yemen of the Councils permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US) are evidence of the Councils general unity of approach towards Yemen.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a leading member in the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and often pushes for its views to be reflected in Council products. Since 2021, the US has had a Special Envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, who has actively supported Grundbergs efforts to establish a political process and to resolve the threat posed by the FSO Safer. China helped mediate the Saudi-Iran agreement on 10 March to restore relations between those two countries, which it has highlighted could help create conditions to improve the situation in Yemen. Arms from Iran appear to be the main source of external weapons for the Houthis, as indicated in the reports of the Yemen Panel of Experts. Saudi Arabia exercises leverage on the Yemeni government, and Oman plays an important role as an interlocutor with the Houthis.

The UK is the penholder on Yemen. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha (Albania) chairs the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee, which was scheduled to meet on 28 April to discuss its work plan with the Yemen Panel of Experts. Since resolution 2675 of 15 February renewed its mandate until 15 December, the panel members have been appointed, with the exception of its regional expert.

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Boaters celebrated one of the Bay Areas oldest maritime traditions Sunday with showbiz-style pizazz.

Dozens sailed along San Franciscos waterfront for the annual Opening Day on the Bay boat parade, an event that dates to 1917 and marks the start of the boating season.

This years theme was Broadway on the Bay, and many vessels were decorated to pay homage to popular musicals, movies and cartoons.

The parade was organized by the Pacific Inter-Club Yacht Association, an alliance of 105 yacht and boat clubs from across Northern California.

Boaters sailed from the shores of Crissy Field and traveled southeast along the Embarcadero.
Delaney Flanagan, 15, has always wanted to operate a power washer, and Sunday morning she got her chance. Wearing a white jumpsuit, blue gloves and a face shield, she blasted graffiti off the wall and windows of UC Law San Francisco, then went to work on the sidewalk, washing away all forms of unpleasantness.

Im getting this cool new experience, but Im also helping out the community by keeping the Tenderloin clean, Delaney said after reluctantly handing the spray gun to her brother Beckett, 17, who had been patiently waiting his turn.

The Flanagans were among more than 100 volunteers who turned out for the first Tenderloin Beautification Day, an all-morning workout that included painting, planting and picking up trash in the blocks bounded by Turk and OFarrell, Larkin and Jones streets. It launched another first, I Love Tenderloin Week, seven days and nights of cultural events and activities to promote San Franciscos most diverse neighborhood.

The Beautification Day was followed by the grand opening of the new location for the Healing Well community resource center Sunday afternoon. At least three events are planned per day through Saturday for I Love Tenderloin Week, which has the overriding goal of uplifting the neighborhood and encouraging visits from outsiders. About 50 community organizations are involved.

On Monday, there is a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco. Tuesday will feature a lecture about Market Streets neon signage at the Tenderloin Museum at 5:30 p.m. St. Josephs Art Society will have a Hospitality House auction at 6 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a Tenderloin First Thursday Art Walk meeting at 6 p.m. at Moth Belly gallery. On Friday, the Spring Family Fest will be held at the Salvation Army Kroc Center at 4 p.m. And on Saturday the bilingual play Exhaustion Arroyo will be staged at 7 p.m. at Cutting Ball Theater, its first in-person production since before the pandemic.

People are reluctant to visit the Tenderloin because of the perception that it is unsafe, said Kate Robinson, executive director of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, which organized the Beautification Day. We want to show that there is care and pride in the Tenderloin, and it is worthy of peoples time to come visit.

The benefit district has a full-time cleaning crew of 13, working seven days a week. The additional cleaning on Beautification Day was intended to draw in both businesses and volunteers from outside the neighborhood. Fourteen groups, ranging from the Hilton Hotel to the landscape architecture program at UC Davis, sent crews to don orange safety vests and work. Volunteers came from Concord and Redwood City and throughout San Francisco.

They gathered in Dodge Alley off Turk Street, got their assignments and dispersed in four directions, many carrying the metal pickers for gathering detritus off the sidewalk. San Francisco Public Works supplied most of the equipment.

All three of the neighborhoods city parks  Boeddeker, Turk-Hyde and Macaulay  received a heavy cleaning, with the tables wiped down with disinfectant.

The glamour job was following the three power washer trucks put into service. That job took a degree of training in how to brace yourself while holding the gun and also a willingness to get hit by the back spray. But the reward was immediate. Its exhilarating and productive, Beckett Flanagan said after his turn.

Another important duty was repainting and replanting Safe Passage Park, accomplished by commandeering a loading zone in front of 201 Turk St., 176 units of affordable housing densely populated in both seniors and children. The park on the pavement just opened a few years ago and already needs an overhaul, an indication of the usage it gets.

A lot of people see the negatives of the Tenderloin but fail to see the positives, said Assel Fara, 23, who grew up a few blocks away. People are putting in their blood, sweat and tears toward making this community better.

Fara spent his morning using blue tape to delineate the areas to be painted green from those to be painted blue. Following along with pans of paint and rollers to apply it was Patsy Eubanks-Owens, a professor at UC Davis who has been doing a research project in the Tenderloin.

Theyve been helping us so much that we wanted to come down and help them, said Eubanks-Owens, who came with two carloads of academics and students from the landscape architecture department.

What Ive learned from it is that there is such a strong sense of community in the Tenderloin, she said. People know each other and look out for each other.

One of her students, Annie Miyadi, 19, was down on all fours on the pavement, in an effort to keep the green paint from bleeding into the blue. Were getting boots on the ground instead of reading about it in textbooks, she said. You have to understand how what you are doing works for the people living in the community.

One of those people, Wayne Richardson, was making his rounds when he came upon a swarm of volunteer custodians in their orange vests. Thank you. What you are doing makes a hell of a difference, he said to Richardson. It revitalizes the neighborhood and makes people give a f.

Comments like that are reward enough for the volunteers, but they also got a post-workout party in Dodge Alley. Fifty of the 100 volunteers came for hot dogs from Shovels Bar next door and a Cuban band.

After their hot dogs, a microphone was passed around and people shared their favorite moments of their trash-filled morning. About 25 people spoke and the others clapped. Nobody seemed to mind that they were missing the deciding Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings.

We plan to do this every year, Robinson said. Why not engage a whole big group of people to celebrate this neighborhood and be a part of its beauty?

Delaney, the 15-year-old power washer, would have something to talk about with her sophomore classmates at Drew School on Monday morning, but she wouldnt want to brag.

Ill probably just tell my friends that I volunteered, she said.
Egypt has evacuated 6,960 nationals from Sudan since the outbreak of violence in the country more than two weeks ago, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs late Sunday in statement.

More than 560 nationals were evacuated on Saturday and Sunday through various border crossings with Sudan, the foreign ministry continued.

The Egyptian government started the evacuation of its 10,000 citizens in Sudan in the days following the outbreak of the conflict in the country in mid April.

Thousands of Egyptians and other foreign nationals fleeing Sudan have been crossing into Egypt at the Arqeen or Qustul border crossings.

The foreign ministry said that its crisis room is receiving phone calls from citizens at home and abroad around the clock on the following numbers:

01281943533 - 01283176900 - 01281943599 - 01283176913 - 01283176857 - 01283176881 - 01283176903 - 01283176894 - 01281943990 - 01283176866.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian transport ministry is running additional trains from Aswan to Cairo to transport thousands of Egyptians and other foreign nationals who crossed the border into Egypt.

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Taking over Bite Curious is food reporter Mario Cortez.

If youve ever wanted to visit the Krusty Krab, the animated undersea burger restaurant from SpongeBob SquarePants, you dont need to get out your scuba gear or hop in a submarine. Instead, drive five hours north on Highway 101.

Plenty of locals in Arcata, the hazy college town home to the recently rebranded Cal Poly Humboldt campus (where this reporter coasted through his upperclassman years), will tell you that local staple Stars Hamburgers inspired the series Krusty Krab, the restaurant where SpongeBob cooks his Krabby Patties for his underwater friends. Its a local legend as rooted as Bigfoot sightings (which, in Humboldt, are numerous).

So whats the connection? SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg studied marine biology at what was then Humboldt State University, graduating in 1984. Some claim Hillenburg worked at Stars Hamburgers, a five-minute walk from campus; others say the building and its distinct wood facade served as a muse for the cartoon restaurant.

The shops got a great old-school cool vibe: Milkshakes come in 1950s-style glasses and tickets are written by hand next to a clanky cash register. And, of course, Stars puts together a damn-good, classic cheeseburger using local grass-fed beef patties, rich American cheese and all the fixings. Much like SpongeBob makes his Krabby Patties, staff prepare burgers with great care. There are also options topped with avocado and bacon, mushroom and Swiss cheese and chili.

The consistency and vibe has earned Stars a faithful base of local regulars. New students on campus visit after hearing the tale and leave hooked, as I once did.

Hillenburg created and developed SpongeBob during the 1990s. The show premiered in 1999 on Nickelodeon and continues airing to this day. Hillenburg passed away in 2018, age 57, due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.

The creators connection to Humboldt isnt up for debate. But as fun as the local legend about Stars may be, Ive come to learn it could be a little undercooked.

During a 2008 civil copyright infringement case over the SpongeBob character, Hillenburg said to a California court he was inspired by his time working as a fry cook and lobster broiler at a restaurant in Maine.

Maine?!

The finding left me gutted. The more I thought about it the more it made sense. The Krusty Krab, after all, is shaped like a Maine lobster trap and not a wooden box building like Stars home. Maybe that Maine restaurant was the primary inspiration, but he could have drawn a thing or two from Stars? Right?

Stars owner Aaron Eaton endorses the version that Hillenburg took inspiration from the Arcata building where Stars is located. His mother opened the original Stars Hamburgers in Eureka, about eight miles away, in 1988. That establishment has more of a 1950s look, with bright red accents and a checkerboard floor. In Arcata, Stars took over the home of a place called Burger Shop in 1994.

But both Stars locations opened after Hillenburg left the area.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

If there is a possibility, even a chance, that Hillenburg worked for the previous tenant in Arcata, Eaton says he has no way of knowing. And Stars does not promote itself in connection to the show. (Although customers on Yelp tag their burgers as Krabby Patties).

True or not, the local legend does bring people in. SpongeBob staff have even made visits. Kenny Pittenger, a supervising producer and artist working on the show since its 1999 debut, made a visit last year. He left behind a signed sketch of SpongeBobs dimwitted sidekick Patrick Star on the back of his bill.

Many others leave fan art at the restaurant, mashing up the worlds of tropical SpongeBob and Humboldt Countys foggy redwood forest. Its the type of gesture people make for a place that is actually part of the community, not just a novelty. Eaton is happy to display the many drawings people of all ages, especially kids, leave behind.

The love people show through their drawings is something weve always been proud of, Eaton said.

Stars Hamburgers. 1535 G St., Arcata, Calif. 11 a.m.- 8p.m. Monday-Saturday. 12-5:30 p.m. Sunday. instagram.com/starsburgersarcata
Since it relaunched in Geyserville last September, Cyrus has become one of Wine Countrys most sought-after reservations. With a $295, 20-course tasting menu served to diners as they move from room to room, the restaurant has earned rave reviews and a Michelin star.

But behind the scenes, chef-owner Douglas Keane has been tangled up in a two-year dispute with his landlord, Steve Oliver, which has cost him over $100,000 in legal fees. At the center of the conflict is a fierce battle over parking spaces that escalated to an allegedly hostile confrontation between the landlord and a Cyrus staff member  and now the restaurant has taken the feud to Sonoma County Superior Court.

Oliver did not respond to The Chronicles request for comment. His lawyer, Jan A. Gruen, declined to comment on the dispute or Keanes allegations, but said they are very confident in our position and in allowing the court to sort this matter out based on the pleadings and evidence that will be presented in this case.

The situation is like deja vu for Keane, who closed his first iteration of Cyrus in 2012 due to a dispute with his landlords in Healdsburg. Cyrus original building was sold to a wine magnate who repeatedly tried to evict Cyrus; the restaurant responded by suing in 2011. Eventually, Cyrus agreed to sell the restaurant but not its name.

For the next decade, Keane searched for a new space for Cyrus. Hed finally given up before connecting with Oliver, who owns a 9,000-square-foot concrete building set in the middle of a vineyard. Just a few blocks outside Geyservilles sleepy downtown, the contemporary structure was built by Oliver, who is a contractor. It includes three second-floor rental units that are separate from the restaurant.

Oliver, an art collector and philanthropist, owns the 100-acre Oliver Ranch in Geyserville, known for its collection of outdoor sculptures. Hes also a former board president of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and his construction company has worked on many Bay Area buildings, including the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Cyrus signed a 30-year lease with Oliver in February 2020, which included an agreement naming Oliver the general contractor on the restaurant buildout. It seemed like a good idea to Keane, he said, because Oliver built the building, and was remarkably helpful in securing a necessary use permit.

But in early 2021, the first few bids from Olivers subcontractors came in higher than expected, Keane said, and continued to go up. Cyrus was quoted roughly $114,000, including scaffolding costs, for minimal plaster work patching a couple of holes.

Documents show that at its height, the construction estimate was approaching $7 million, up from the original $5.5 million budget. The timeline had increased from 10 months to well over a year. Nothing made sense to us at all, said Keane.

The Chronicle reviewed months of email communication between Keane, Oliver, and Olivers son and business partner Josh Oliver. In June, following several disagreements, Keane emailed Steve and Josh Oliver to suggest bringing in another contractor in order to save this situation and avoid a fight.

Josh Oliver emailed Keane to say that he will personally have new feelings about the relationship if Cyrus were to hire a new general contractor.

My excitement about our collaboration (will be) much diminished, he wrote, as I feel the relationship could be scarred.

In the end, Keane found a new contractor, Trainor Commercial Construction, which, he said, reduced construction costs to $5 million and shortened the construction time frame by more than five months. The plaster work ended up costing the restaurant roughly $25,000, according to a copy of the final budget reviewed by The Chronicle.

Still, Oliver & Co. sent Keane a bill totaling $650,000 for pre-construction work  hundreds of thousands more than Keane expected. Desperate to open the restaurant and avoid legal conflict, Keane said it felt like we had a gun to our head. The two parties came to an agreement of $350,000.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

As Cyrus approached its September opening the following year, the relationship deteriorated. In August, Olivers lawyer sent Keanes lawyer a document outlining 40 new rules and regulations, many of which contradicted the terms negotiated in Cyrus lease. For example, it stated that the restaurant suddenly could not use the patio  which Cyrus planned to give guests access to each dinner service  without first reserving it with the landlord, and could only do so 12 times a year.

With tensions high, the week after the restaurant hosted its first diners, Gruen, Oliver's lawyer, suggested that Keane purchase the building. But negotiations didnt go far after Olivers counteroffer was several million dollars above Cyrus offer.

Since opening, Olivers lawyer has sent Keanes lawyer a series of defaults  accusations the restaurant is violating its lease  citing actions like installing soap dispensers for the bathrooms and storing paint cans in the trash area. Cyrus lawyer Christian Baker said he does not believe these qualify as defaults. They are extremely petty in nature, he said, and have no bearing on the terms of the lease. Still, dealing with the defaults has cost more than $100,000 in legal fees, according to Keane.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Above all, parking at the property has become a battleground. Cyrus use permit application and lease state that 59 of the propertys 65 parking spaces are dedicated to the restaurant. The remaining six belong to the landlord and are reserved for tenants of his upstairs rental units, which Oliver marked with reserved signs in front of the building. But those are rarely used, said Keane. Instead, nine spaces located behind the restaurant that are to be primarily used by employees of the restaurant, according to the permit application, are often occupied by vehicles unrelated to Cyrus operations.

This was the case one day last October when there was only one rear space available. Keane sent an email to Oliver and threatened to use the landlords empty reserved spaces if the vehicles were not removed. Shortly after, Keane instructed co-chef Stephen Glassell to park in one of the landlords spaces.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Within minutes, Glassell said, Oliver arrived at the scene and began yelling at him while violently hitting the car window with his keys. I thought he was going to break the window," Glassell recalled.

Oliver then came around to the drivers side, where Glassells legs were outside of the vehicle and the door was slightly ajar. He ripped the door open and yelled at me, Do you f-ing speak English? I was bewildered by what was going on, he said.

On Nov. 11, he filed a complaint against Oliver in Sonoma County Superior Court for battery, assault, false imprisonment and emotional distress.

Earlier this year, Oliver submitted a revised parking plan to Sonoma County for approval. Keane opposes it for several reasons, above all because the plan to add more spaces would obstruct the restaurants vineyard view. Cyrus spent over $300,000 to open the building up and add a panoramic window to the dining room, Keane said. Sonoma County has since determined that the new parking application is incomplete and requires additional information.

In response to the continued disagreement over parking, Cyrus has filed a declaratory relief, which asks the county court to clarify the interpretation of the lease once and for all.

In the meantime, Keane can only wait for the countys ruling on the declaratory relief  and for the next default to be sent by Olivers lawyer, something he feels is inevitable. I dont see their behavior changing at all, he said.
At a time when San Franciscos flaws are the focus of intense and intensively negative attention, historic preservationists and cultural activists are striking a much different tone  making the case that this city deserves World Heritage status.

Details so far are vague, including what parts of the 49-square-mile metropolis might be part of a bid for international certification. But as they begin to discuss the idea, proponents say such an effort could remind skeptics that theres more to San Francisco than the struggles of the here and now.

We have so many wonderful resources that should be recognized as having value, said Karalyn Monteil, executive director of San Francisco Heritage, an advocacy group founded in 1971. Amid all the bad press that San Francisco gets, its important to recognize how exceptional it is.

Monteil knows the World Heritage process well: She spent more than 20 years working for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO. That group runs the program, which since 1978 has designated 1,157 sites as places that are so exceptional as to rise above local or national interest or value, in Monteils words.

The 24 located in the United States primarily are natural settings, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks. Others are tied to Indigenous cultures  Taos Pueblo in New Mexico  or are historic icons like Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

Theres no credible way of gauging what economic benefit might result, such as increased tourism; the Golden Gate Bridge and other local attractions already have worldwide renown. Even so, the idea of exploring such a campaign drew roughly 40 people to a morning-long session on April 22 at Heritage offices in the Haas-Lilienthal mansion from 1887.

Relative to the current moment, perhaps this (effort) could reinvigorate us and the brand, suggested Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors. He attended the Saturday get-together, as did several officials of the citys planning department.

Salgu Wismath/The Chronicle 2022

City involvement is key because whatever locals might think of a places underlying value  and San Franciscans are nothing if not parochial  the pursuit of a World Heritage designation is laborious. Any nomination must come with detailed documentation showing how it fits one of 10 categories for inclusion, from masterpiece of human creative genius to areas of exceptional natural beauty, and pass muster with reviewers at the national level before it is sent to UNESCO as a candidate.

For Monteil, the organizational core of such an effort could be the citys importance from an LGBTQ perspective, and the emergence of gay cultures here beginning in the 1960s.

Other participants at the Saturday meeting talked of a broader perspective  the constellation of cultural districts that have been created in San Francisco during the past five years, not just places like Japantown or Chinatown but also recognizing the presence of populations and histories before the occupation of the peninsula by the Spanish Empire in the 1700s.

We have something really unique in San Francisco that we could do better at highlighting, and thats the depth of cultural resources, said Sharaya Souza, executive director of the American Indian Cultural District, which was established in 2020.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

A different perspective came from the outsider at the meeting: Francesco Bandarin, whose career at UNESCO included 10 years as director of the World Heritage Centre. He talked of how Rio de Janeiro won World Heritage status in 2012 for a string of landscapes that tied together shorelines and mountains to show how the Brazilian citys appeal is shaped by a creative fusion between nature and culture.

San Francisco could take a similar approach by starting with Golden Gate Park and adding in such locations as Lands End, the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge, Bandarin suggested. It would couple natural splendor with structural achievements and historical layers.

You have here one of the most significant urban parks in the United States, if not the world, Bandarin said in a Facebook conversation recorded earlier in the week. At the same time, it cant just be monuments. You have to create a narrative that makes sense.

Thats not the only hurdle to overcome.

Jana Asenbrennerova/Special to The Chronicle

Unlike other countries, the United States spells out that World Heritage sites cant include private property unless the owners sign off. This could be a stumbling block in a city where owners already complain about layers of regulation and public scrutiny. By contrast, Bandarins idea would link government-owned parks and infrastructure. Some people at the meeting floated the concept of a nomination using Market Street to connect spots such as Harvey Milk Plaza, Civic Center and the Ferry Building.

Nor is it enough simply for local boosters to insist that international recognition is warranted. The manual spelling out how to prepare a nomination  a 138-page document in itself  cautions that at least two years of preparation work is required.

The outstanding universal value measure is a very high bar, said Julianne Polanco, state historic preservation officer for the California Office of Historic Preservation, referring to one of the requirements for World Heritage status. Its not a problem, necessarily, but its something to think about.

Because of the time and expense that would be involved, several advocates argue that City Hall would need to take the lead in making a serious bid move forward. Others, though, say any bid should reflect a grasp of San Franciscos character that isnt just tied to spots with tourist appeal.

There has to be a really meaningful approach  to elevate all aspects of the city, Souza said. We would need to honor that starting point.

For some of the attendees on April 22, the session was a chance to learn about what could be done, rather than sign on to the cause. This includes Peskin, who was active in North Beach preservation battles before first being elected in 2000 to the Board of Supervisors.

Its a conversation worth having, Peskin said. But he cautioned that a strong push would need to begin outside City Hall  because with issues ranging from the fentanyl scourge to a sagging downtown, we have a lot on our plate right now.
This story was originally published on Convoca.pe and is being republished as part of the Human Journalism Network program, supported by the International Center for Journalists. Read more about The Chronicles participation in the Human Journalism Network here.

Quechua brothers Quinto and Manuel Inuma Alvarado, joined by a group of indigenous patrols, came across a massive fallen log in the forest of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, a community in the northern Peruvian Amazon region of San Martin.

The tree was more than 200 years old, 130 feet long and as thick as eight people standing together. It had been cut down by illegal loggers in an area the villagers call Puca Quebrada. A few days before, the same indigenous patrol, or rondero, had seized another 61-foot log of the same species, illegally felled within their 57,000-acre territory.

This tree is the only one that remains because the loggers have already stolen the rest, explained a visibly angry Quinto Inuma, the communitys apu (Quechua for guardian spirit). According to this Quechua leader, complaints have already been filed with the Environmental Prosecutors Office, the Ecological Police and San Martins Regional Environmental Authority. But this has not been very helpful. The fallen trees still appear regularly, although the authorities have already verified the depredated area and filed reports.

Between 2002 and 2021, San Martin has lost more than 974,000 acres of primary rainforest, according to data from Global Forest Watch. While the peak of deforestation was recorded in 2012, with 94,000 acres razed, annual losses since then have ranged from 35,000 to 52,000 acres in the region.

In 2021, the latest recorded year, the figure is 43,000 acres. Illegal logging generates an economic loss for Peru surpassing $200 million per year, according to the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law, a.k.a. SPDA.

Illegal deforestation is continuous but also planned. In the forest of Santa Rosillo, trees can be seen with red paint marks announcing their upcoming felling. Some have drawings of guns.

During our patrolling, we found two red letters, V and H, next to the drawing of a pistol on the stem of a tree, said Quinto Inuma. Its a message to avoid entering a deforested area. That means that they could attack us. But we are not afraid, and we will continue to guard our forest to protect our future generations.

Hugo Anteparra/Convoca

How much legal and illegal logging is going on in San Martin today? The number is unclear. But there are some indications in the official figures. At least since 2019, there has been a correlation between the regions annual losses of primary forest and authorizations to transport timber.

After making various requests for information, Convoca and CONNECTAS accessed data from the forestry transport guides issued by San Martins regional government between January 2019 and July 2022. These documents are used to mobilize wood shipments, from authorized extraction areas in the forests to markets, and certify their supposed legal origin.

In 2019, shipments of 259,000 cubic feet were registered from San Martins forests. But in 2020, the largest amount of timber shipments was recorded, despite two months of mandatory social immobility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That year, 1.1 million cubic feet of timber was registered.

In 2021, the number was 1.05 million cubic feet, and in 2022, between January and July alone, the authorized shipments reached a half-million cubic feet of wood.

The most commonly extracted species from San Martin forests is the Cedrelinga cateniformis, better known as tornillo. This is the same species that the Quechua patrol found felled in their territory. According to the same documents, the Regional Government of San Martin authorized the transfer of nearly 1 million cubic feet of this resource. The higuerilla (Micrandra spruceana), is the next most exploited species.

However, the information contained in the transport guides is often falsified, and the logs of protected species also travel, bypassing various authority controls along the way.

Patrolling the forest

While officials, legislators, police officers and inspectors are failing in their mission to protect the Amazon, the community members of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu take on this function in the midst of threats and attempts on their lives.

To patrol in this place where government representatives rarely arrive, the Inuma brothers and the group of ronderos from the native community wear uniforms with military colors.

Those who do arrive frequently in the region are the mestizos. This is what the natives call the migrants who, without sharing the same ancestral past or culture of the Quechua, have settled in their territories to farm and are beginning to impose their rules. The community members said that the mestizos are the ones logging and allowing other illegal foreign loggers to enter the forest looking for new areas to exploit.

The community of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu has seen deforestation increase with the arrival of the mestizos, who are taking over forest plots for cultivation. A report from the Regional Government of San Martin determines that between January 2020 and January 2021, deforestation in the communitys forests due to agricultural activities amounted to 344 acres. According to the Quechuas, a good portion of these new farms on razed land are destined for illicit coca cultivation.

The report also points out the appearance of a clandestine runway in the forest, built between October 2020 and August 2021, that is used by drug traffickers.

For this story, we traveled to this area neglected by the authorities and besieged by loggers and drug traffickers. We witnessed the violence that the Quechuas suffer on a daily basis.

On the morning of Oct. 10, 2022, after several hours of patrolling, we were in the camp of the ronderos led by the Inuma brothers when we heard gunshots. After confirming that no one had been hurt, Quinto Inuma learned that it was another threat. The apu soon received a phone call warning that the group was being followed by about 25 mestizos, enraged after learning that the indigenous retinue was on its way to inspect an area undergoing depredation. The Quechua ronderos had to quickly pick up their patrol gear and begin their retreat.

Quinto Inuma asked his patrol to clear a path through the virgin forest to avoid a dangerous confrontation. After an hour of physical labor in 95-degree heat, the party was able to rest and stock up on water. Upon returning to Santa Rosillo, one of the mestizo farmers and a local resident insulted the Quechuas and warned them not to enter the deforested territories again.

The people should know why they are taking pictures in the plots. The territory belongs to all of us. You are not the owners. Let this be the last time you mess with us, he said. The resident was identified as Manuel Pezo Villacrez.

Days later, the satellite monitoring application Geobosques from the Ministry of Environment confirmed that 49 acres of trees had been illegally cut in this area, between the last week of September and the first week of October 2022.

Geobosques

It wasnt the first violent episode. Brothers Quinto and Manuel Inuma, as well as other members of Santa Rosillo, have previously suffered physical attacks and death threats, as theyve reported in complaints filed with the Public Prosecutors Office. Even while the risks persist, the Quechua said they will continue to defend their territory.

The jungle is our source of life and wealth, said Manuel Inuma, former head of the community. Trees are cut down almost every day. And, with that, the wild flora and fauna of the area we protect are becoming extinct. In the future, what are our children going to eat? That is why we are fighting against the deforesters.

Hugo Anteparra/Convoca

Out of place

The logging business is so prosperous  and the state so absent  that the logging mafias have begun to build their own infrastructure to facilitate the movement of illegal merchandise. This year, traffickers are using a dirt road in the Chipurana River valley that runs from San Jose de Yanayacu, in northeastern San Martin, to Tierra Blanca, in the Loreto region. According to locals, the road was built a few months ago by illegal loggers.

Satellite images from the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project confirm the existence of this road, which does not appear on Perus maps. In fact, when alerted by this publication, engineer Gerardo Caceres Bardalez, manager of San Martins Regional Environmental Authority from 2018 to 2022, said he was unaware of the route.

We do not authorize the construction of roads. In that area we have territorial boundary problems with Loreto and, if it exists, it was built illegally, he said.

What happens on the routes that are monitored? Timber transported through San Martin passes through up to six police stations and three forestry control posts. However, often there are not enough inspectors and regional officials to verify whether the species being transported in trucks match those reported on the forest transport guides.

For example, at the Corral Quemado checkpoint in the Amazon region, which is located northwest of San Martin, this year alone the authorities intervened in three different control operations, three trucks loaded with illegal forest species that had previously passed through San Martin. This demonstrates that in San Martin all of the control posts along the route of these cargo vehicles failed.

The facts demonstrate that the control of illegal timber in this region is more passive than active. We requested the report on interventions carried out by the regional government between 2017 and 2022. The information submitted only reported on operations carried out due to findings of abandonment, i.e., sawmills with merchandise left to their fate and not in transport. A total of 495 illegal shipments were found. The years with the highest number were 2019 (150) and 2020 (107).

Transport guides are not the only documents forged in this system of laundering illegal merchandise. Corruption begins in the inventories of logging concessions and other extraction authorizations inside the Amazon forest. The Center for International Environmental Law, a legal and environmental think tank, determined in 2019 that the inspections carried out by forest regents in these areas of legal extraction have allowed some of these officials to approve false data on the quantities of forest resources available. The regents are officials appointed by the National Forestry and Wildlife Service, also known as SerFor, an entity attached to the national government that is responsible for overseeing the sustainable use of these natural resources.

CIELs review of the Forest Management Plans, documents submitted by the concessionaires and endorsed by the regents, showed that in 2017 at least 13 regents out of 162 had signed documents that inflated the true number of trees available by up to 40%.

Fudging the number of trees in the Forest Management Plans then allows forestry transport guides to be used to ship greater quantities than the concession actually has. And that extra wood comes from somewhere else. This is how illegal timber also enters the legal system, mixed up in these shipments that are backed up with documents from a formal concession. When a police officer or an inspector requests these guides from the transporters, there is no way to corroborate at first glance that the information in the guides is false.

The budget does not allow officials to carry out these operations on the routes, said Mario Torres, who was head of planning in the Operations Office of San Martins Regional Environmental Authority during 2022 and was responsible for the issuance of the guides and inspections.

Torres said that, between January and August 2022, his entity only received $26,300 to carry out operations against illegal logging in illegal sawmills and on highways. The money is not enough, he said, as each intervention costs an average of $3,900.

According to the Economic Transparency portal of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, since 2022 the San Martin government has included a budget line called Forests with effective control and surveillance. Despite having been allocated $443,000 for 2022, the entity had only used 24% of that amount as of last November. But they must have hurried because, by the end of the year, budget allocation reportedly reached 81%.

We asked Torres how the public money was spent so quickly, but while he was in office, he excused himself for not being able to answer our questions. At the beginning of 2023, with a change in regional government that occurs every four years, the new administration was also unable to provide explanations, as officials said that they still do not have access to the computer system.

Jose Anicama, an adviser to the senior management of the Forestry and Wildlife Resources Oversight Agency (OSINFOR) said that while regional governments may have budgetary difficulties, there is also a problem with their management capacity. In recent years the budgets of these entities have increased considerably, but not those allocated to environmental struggles.

Although they have been given much more budget each year, there is a serious management problem that prevents that budget from being managed strategically, he said.

Indeed, while the total budget allocated for San Martin in 2017 was $351 million, this grew to $535 million in 2022. However, the budget item called competitiveness and sustainable use of forest and wildlife resources has not followed the same trend. And there questions about how that money is being spent.

By mid-November 2022, only 48% of the $1.8 million assigned had been used. However, in the final six weeks of the year the spending almost doubled what was reported in the first 11 months, closing 2022 with 88% of the money spent.

The new officials of the regional government, who were sworn in on January 1, explained that they plan to carry out an audit of all the contracts made by the previous administration. No wonder. The last regional governor, Pedro Bogarin Vargas (2018-22), was captured three weeks ago by the National Police, and he faces an investigation for several accusations of corruption.

However, the lack of budget is not only evident in the regional government, but also in the poor logistics of San Martins Specialized Environmental Prosecutors Office. Convoca and CONNECTAS had access to an official letter signed by the provincial prosecutor Hector Jesus Vera Santa Maria on Nov. 21, 2022, which requested support from the environmentalist and businessman Ivan Rojas Garcia to supply a driver and a vehicle to go to a fiscal verification in the province of Bellavista.

Convoca spoke with Rojas, who assured us that he had lent his vehicle on 23 other occasions, for free, throughout the year.

Why doesnt the Prosecutor Generals Office use its own budget to pay for its operations? When consulted for this report, the attorney generals office sent a brief written response about what happened. It did not comment on whether it lacked resources. However, it pointed out that this situation was not illegal, and that what Rojas said was not true. The Prosecutors Office said that the request on Nov. 21, had been its only request, given the impossibility of having support from the municipality of the area at that time.

However, we were able to verify that Rojas had in his possession other letters that he claimed were sent to him by the Prosecutors Office. The second most recent letter is dated Nov. 15, 2022, also with a very urgent character.

Constant danger

The indigenous leaders of Santa Rosillo are recipients of the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders  a system within the Ministry of Justice that has been operating since 2019, focused on protecting the life and integrity of people at risk, such as with the case of Manuel and Quinto Inuma. The former was beaten and kidnapped in a dungeon in 2018. The latter was also badly wounded in 2021. With their incorporation into the system, they should have received guarantees to protect their safety, but things have not changed significantly.

Community members complain that the lack of security in the area continues, despite the fact that their risk situation has been officially recognized. It is not uncommon for environmental defenders throughout the country to lack the promised guarantees, even though their lives are at risk. In 2022, the Ministry of Justice only allocated $10,500 to execute this system, money that was quickly used up. In other words, there is not an adequate and realistic budget to ensure the integrity of the individuals expected to be protected.

We already have seven families from the highlands who have taken possession to make their houses, warned Quechua leader Quinto Inuma. He points out that those primarily responsible for these invasions are the municipal authorities, as they have not supported his request for the communitys lands to have a property title. To overrule the community, they are putting in more migrants. But we are standing up to these invaders.

Lawyer Cristina Gavancho Leon, the legal adviser to the native community of Santa Rosillo, said that on several occasions they have requested that the National Police carry out inspections in the affected areas. However, she said, the agents respond that they cannot go because it is a very dangerous area, where there is no security for them, because it is taken over by drug traffickers.

If the police and the prosecutors dont want to go, imagine the state of risk in which the apus find themselves, who fight with that every day, Gavancho said.

Hugo Anteparra/Convoca

Why are the guarantees for the leaders of Santa Rosillo delayed? We asked Edgardo Rodriguez, director of the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Justice, through his press office. At the close of this report, we did not receive a response to our request for an interview.

Apparently, they are not considering it, said Gavancho, referring to enforcement of the protection protocol.

On the other hand, if the authorities continue to stand idly by, damage to the ecosystem will also continue.

The absence of control and oversight policies, the presence of corrupt officials, and the scant promotion of economic alternatives allow illegal activities to be carried out on a daily basis, damaging the natural wealth and ecosystem services that the forests provide us, said agronomist Marco Isminio, a specialist in natural resource exploitation in San Martin.

For example, in the constant community patrols carried out by the Quechua, they have discovered that the headwaters of the rivers and streams that supply water to the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, are in zones of San Martin that have been devastated.

The headwaters of the watersheds, which originate in Cordillera Azul National Park, could dry up in the coming years, and this will cause permanent damage to the Amazon. We hope that the authorities take this warning into account to prevent migrants from continuing to destroy our forests, said Quinto Inuma.

Jaime Huamanchumo, an expert engineer in water resources, said that deforestation has a direct influence on the decrease of water in the rivers.

It is important to avoid it and start reforesting the areas that are deserted to generate conditions for more water, he said, adding that a greater number of trees generates better rainfall conditions and water reserves.

Hugo Anteparra/Convoca

In fact, one of the areas that is being most affected is the Chipurana River valley, where the new road has appeared, along which loggers are transporting their products. This watershed is the main source of water in this part of the Peruvian Amazon. Huamanchumo warns that, if measures are not taken, there will soon be water problems in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

The river used to be plentiful. You can see that now it dries up because of the wood that they depredate in the headwaters, said Manuel Inuma, who has seen how Santa Rosillos forest resources have been lost year after year.

We want to leave a good memory for these children who are being born. If we dont defend and the state doesnt listen to us, then where are we going to stay? Manuel Inuma said. What are our children asking for? They want to eat, they want to drink, they want to dress. That is what we are fighting for. Our forest is the market, its the pharmacy, its our home. Thats what we live on and thats where we live.

Paper

The attacks come from different fronts, including the Congress of the Republic. A project to change the forestry law is being promoted in Parliament.

If these proposals, which have already passed the first filter of the Agrarian Commission, are approved, the Ministry of Environment would no longer have jurisdiction in the process to establish forest zoning (areas where timber resources can be exploited). The new zoning entity would be the Ministry of Agrarian Development. Different national and international institutions have warned that these modifications, which will allow the conversion of forests into agricultural zones, will increase the risk of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon.

We require that the environmental authority, which has a conservation focus, also has a said in that process, said Cesar Ipenza, an expert in environmental law and public policy. The Agrarian Commission continues to insist on saying clean slate and removing the Ministry of Environment and having a role within zoning, but also in the definition of permanent production forests.

The bill, which is being promoted by the political parties Perui Libre, Alianza para el Progreso and Accion Popular, still has to be approved by the Andean and Indigenous Peoples Commission before being debated in the plenary of Congress.

Quinto Inuma does not believe in any of the authorities, including the regional ones. He said that the regional government has never approached the community, but that the documents presented and the complaints filed have been shelved. The state is not helping us. It helps the illegal part more than the legality, he said.

Their lawyer, Cristina Gavancho Leon, notes that to date, the Regional Environmental Authority of San Martin has not filed any administrative complaints against those who are indiscriminately logging Santa Rosillos forests. The Quechua are very concerned about this.

[The agency] has never come. ... That is what bothers us. We have no help. We need them to help us title this territory of 57,000 acres, said Quinto Inuma. A title deed to the forest would also allow the community to defend its land through legal means.

Research: Hugo Anteparra. Editing: Gonzalo Torrico (Convoca) and CONNECTAS team.

This investigation was carried out by Convoca and CONNECTAS, within ARCO, with the support of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), in the framework of the Initiative for Investigative Journalism in the Americas.

This story was originally published on Convoca.pe and is being republished as part of the Human Journalism Network program, supported by the International Center for Journalists. Read more about The Chronicles participation in the Human Journalism Network here.
Petaluma Police Department

LATEST May 1, 2:41 p.m. The Petaluma Police Department said Monday afternoon that a 12-year-old girl reported missing in the morning was located, according to a Nixle alert.

May 1, 1:02 p.m. San Francisco Bay Area police are calling on the public to help find 12-year-old Sydney Fisher of Petaluma, who was last seen on Monday morning, officials said.
Fierce fighting broke out again Monday between Sudan's army and paramilitaries Rapid Support Forces (RSF) despite the formal extension of a truce, after the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation reached "breaking point".

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15.

Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.

"Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it," said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing "loud gunfire" in the area.

The two rivals have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Millions of Sudanese are trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, humanitarian facilities have been looted, and foreign aid groups have been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said Sunday he was heading to the region to help "bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said. "Goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum."

"The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas."

50,000 flee overland

Some 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, said the UN refugee agency.

The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching frantic evacuations by land, sea, and air.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to "protect citizens' properties" from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

The RSF had warned police against joining the fight.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for "serious human rights abuses" related to its use of "excessive force" against pro-democracy protests in October 2021.

UN facilities looted

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 people wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has also spread across Sudan, especially in the long-troubled Darfur region, where witnesses reported intense conflict and looting.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organisation, with many facilities shelled.

On Sunday, a first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting and has served as an evacuation hub.

The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

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DALLAS (AP)  Pilots at American Airlines have voted to authorize a strike, and Southwest Airlines pilots are preparing to join them, as unions put more pressure on the airlines to approve new contracts with hefty pay raises.

The actions by pilots are highly unlikely to lead to walkouts anytime soon.

Federal law prohibits airline unions from striking without the approval of a U.S. mediation board  a rare step that has not occurred with negotiations at either American or Southwest. Congress and the president can also act to prevent a strike if one appears imminent.

Airline unions like to take strike votes, however, which they believe increase their leverage at the bargaining table. American, Southwest and United Airlines are under pressure to match or beat terms that rival Delta Air Lines accepted with its pilots, who earlier this year won 34% raises over a four-year contract that will cost Delta about $7 billion.

Some smaller airlines have experienced pilot shortages, and the largest carriers have all strained to hire and train enough new pilots to meet surging travel demand. That gives the unions more bargaining power than usual.

At American Airlines, the Allied Pilots Association said Monday that more than 96% of its 15,000 members voted, and among those who did, 99% favored authorizing the union to call for a strike.

A spokeswoman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline said American is confident that it can reach an agreement with the union quickly.

We understand that a strike-authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done, and we respect the message of voting results, said the spokeswoman, Sarah Jantz.

The American pilots union said it is also seeking scheduling changes that union officials say will improve efficiency and prevent the kind of widespread delays and cancellations seen last summer.

The summer travel season is almost here, and were all wondering whether this will be another summer of uncertainty for American Airlines, union President Ed Sicher said.

American pilots planned to picket later Monday at airports around the country.

Members of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association began voting Monday on a strike-authorization measure that is expected to pass easily.

Adam Carlisle, Southwest's president of labor relations, said the vote will not affect the Dallas-based airline's operations. He said negotiations are scheduled to resume this week with help from federal mediators, and the airline hopes to reach an agreement with pilots that "places them competitively in the industry.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)  TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)  Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR) on Monday reported first-quarter earnings of $45.4 million.

The Tempe, Arizona-based company said it had net income of 18 cents per share.

The chip packaging and test services provider posted revenue of $1.47 billion in the period.

For the current quarter ending in June, Amkor Technology said it expects revenue in the range of $1.43 billion to $1.53 billion.

Amkor Technology shares have fallen roughly 7% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $22.37, a rise of 19% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AMKR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AMKR
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NEW YORK (AP)  A homeowner fired shots at a couple's car when they mistakenly turned onto his property while making an Instacart delivery. A Florida man was charged with killing and dismembering an Uber Eats delivery driver who brought food to his home. A woman was kidnapped and sexually assaulted while making a DoorDash delivery to a hotel.

Ride-hailing and food delivery companies say such violent episodes are exceedingly rare among the millions of trips completed each week, and point to numerous safety measures they have taken over the years.

But the three attacks, which occurred within days of each other in Florida last month, sent new ripples of fear among some app-based drivers, who say company safety policies are still better geared toward customers than workers.

Winifred Kinanda, who sometimes drives for Instacart in the San Francisco Bay Area, said she had never felt unsafe making deliveries for the grocery app until she heard about the Florida couple. That day, she got an Instacart order and constantly checked to make sure she had the right address, saying she felt particularly vulnerable as a person of color.

It got me scared, said Kinanda, an immigrant from Kenya who also drives for Uber and Lyft to supplement her income as an elder caregiver. At the end of the day, being Black is really hard. People see us and think we are doing something wrong.

A Pew Research Center poll in 2021 found that 16% of people in the U.S. had earned money from an online gig platform. That poll found that 35% of them have felt unsafe while doing those jobs, including 19% who said they had experienced unwanted sexual advances.

Ride-hailing and delivery driving are among the deadliest occupations in the country, according to occupational fatalities and injury data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which includes delivery workers for companies like Instacart and DoorDash in its driver/sales category and Uber and Lyft drivers in its taxi category. While most deaths and injuries are from traffic accidents, the data also shows drivers are more at risk of assaults than other occupations.

The activist group Gig Workers Rising said on-the-job deaths and injuries among gig workers are almost certainly undercounted because the companies are not obligated to report such incidents to government agencies for workers who are not direct employees. The group also said that other sources, such as police reports, may not note that a gig driver was working when they were killed.

In a report released Monday, Gig Workers Rising said its own research found that 80 app-based workers have been victims of homicides while on job between 2017 and 2022. The majority were ride-hailing drivers, but at least 20 delivery workers were also killed, according to the report, which relied on press accounts, court records and police reports.

More difficult to quantify are threats that gig drivers encounter frequently but rarely make headlines, including traffic accidents, robberies, carjackings and harassment. While Uber and Lyft have released safety reports that includes some of that data, the major food delivery apps do not, and Uber does not do so for Uber Eats trips.

Roberto Moreno, 48, stopped working as both a ride-hailing and food deliver driver in San Diego County at the beginning of this year because of safety concerns.

Moreno said he joined a WhatsApp group with other Latino gig drivers to support each other while they were on the job, from helping each other with flat tires to activating geolocation during shifts for safety.

We have to look out for ourselves because the companies dont do it, said Moreno, who worked for Grubhub and Postmates, which was bought out by Uber Eats in 2020, as well as Lyft and Uber.

Drivers also complain they cant be sure who is getting into their cars because its too easy for riders to use fake names, nicknames or order rides for other people.

The companies have drivers take a selfie, do background checks on us (and) collect all of our personal information said Moreno, who belongs to a driver-led union called Rideshare Drivers United. But we dont know anything about the passengers or the people who were delivering to.

In response to those concerns, Uber said it started an audit last fall of rider accounts and began freezing those with obviously fake names. The company also has an extra layer of verification for users who use anonymous forms of payment such as prepaid cards.

We have heard loud and clear from drivers that they want more information about who they are picking up, Uber said in a statement.

Critics also say gig workers are more vulnerable because as contract workers, they often don't have the right to benefits such as worker compensation or health insurance. DoorDash and Instacart both provide free automatic insurance for on-the job injuries or deaths, while Uber and Lyft offer drivers insurance policies for accidents.

DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, Uber and Lyft have added safety features to their apps over the years, including emergency buttons that allow people to silently connect with emergency services or private security, and GPS-sharing features that allow friends or family to track rides.

DoorDash last fall introduced new technology to automatically check in on a worker if a delivery is taking longer than expected, while Grubhub is rolling out a new feature this year that will send ID and location data to emergency responders if workers call 911 via the app.

Gig worker advocates say they want deeper changes, arguing erratic pay and fear of being deactivated from the platform pressures workers into accepting risky jobs or continue driving with belligerent riders.

The Chicago Gig Alliance, for instance, is campaigning for a local ordinance that would require companies to conduct passenger verification, give notice before suspending drivers, and allow them to appeal such decisions.

Kinanda said she feels safer making deliveries than giving rides. She said she appreciates an Uber policy that allows her to cancel trips for safety reasons with no penalty, but erratic pay sometimes forces to her working into the night, which she tries to avoid because of drunken passengers.

But other gig workers say they prefer ride-hailing because delivery comes with more daily nuisances and danger.

Sedeq Alshujaa, 29, said he stopped doing food delivery three years ago and sticks to ride-hailing.

Alshujaa, who is a member of the California Gig Workers Union, said delivery workers are often sent to neighborhoods they don't know and get suspicious looks while trying to find the right door.

"People dont know why youre there, said Alshujaa, who spoke in Arabic through a translator from the Service Employees International Union.

Once, a dog tried to bite him when he opened a gate. Another time, he had to deliver a pizza during a protest in Oakland. He called the customer and asked them if they could meet at his car, but they refused to leave their building. He left the pizza at the buildings front door and notified the customer, who reported not receiving the order. The cost of the food was deducted from his earning.

The driver is always the one who takes the blame and loses, Alshujaa said.
The arrival of FullStack Modular in Connecticut as the newest corporation to set up shop in the state caught many by surprise and is prompting questions as to why the company would leave its former home in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is located next to the largest port on the East Coast.

The answer to that question depends on who you ask. Some experts interviewed say differences in cost of living and the business climate between Brooklyn and New Haven were probably central to the decision. But Roger Krulak, FullStack's founder and president, said the key factors were logistics considerations and people in the state that company officials have dealt with thus far.

At last week's announcing the move, Krulak mentioned the importance of the New Haven Harbor and Gateway Terminal, the company that operates the port, in making the decision to move. Connecticut has other working harbors, like Bridgeport and New London. He explained the company's choice in greater detail on Thursday as he waited to board a plane to Atlanta for a business trip.

"I looked at other ports, both in Connecticut and elsewhere," Krulak said. "But what Gateway does as a company aligns with the way we do what we do. We, as manufacturers, have very different relationships with our suppliers than construction companies do."

FullStack's new 124,000 square foot headquarters, located just off State Street in Hamden near the New Haven border, also has space for the company's employees to make modular housing components that, when connected, create mid-sized and high rise multi-family housing.

The move will result in an investment by the company of between $8 million and $12 million in Connecticut. By the end of the year, the company will also have hired at least 100 new workers.

Krulak said moving the housing components from the manufacturing facility to Gateway Terminal will be done by rail.

"We have a rail spur outside our door that goes directly to Gateway Terminal," he said. Once the units arrive at Gateway Terminal, officials there will determine the most effective way to get the components to where they need to go, either by large ships, trucks or via rail.

The logistics factor is critical to the company, according to Krulak, because the FullStack's fastest growing market is on the West Coast.

"It's on fire right now," he said.

As FullStack's business develops modular units from its new home, Krulak said company officials will assess whether they need to add more manufacturing space.

"If the demand is there, then we could build a state-of-the-art factory, he said.

John Boyd, whose Florida-based company evaluates locations for corporations, said the decision to move to Hamden rather than some other state or Connecticut location may have come down to a right place, right time decision.

"At this point in a relocation process, decisions tend to be very site specific," Boyd said.

He said Connecticut has also "made great strides in its relationship with the business community, both locally and nationally, under the leadership of Gov. Ned Lamont.

"Clients have expressed to us that Ned Lamont and his team are highly effective in that area," Boyd said. "Lamont seems to personalize the economic development effort. New York has a lot going on right now, a lot of challenges."

Krulak said the decision to move "just came down to Connecticut having a more positive, forward-looking business environment, which I haven't found to be true in New York State of late."

He also praised the work of AdvanceCT, the New Haven-based non-profit that works to retain Connecticut-based business and recruit businesses from elsewhere.

"Their work was critical," Krulak said of AdvanceCT

Economist Donald Klepper-Smith, of DataCore Partners in South Carolina, said "historically speaking, the Port of New Haven has been underutilized." But Boyd said the port is currently growing and "presents cost savings in the form or lower operating costs," in comparison to Brooklyn.

David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University's School of Business, said "when you're taking a look at moving a production facility, one of the factors that gets a lot of weight is an extremely strong workforce, which is something that Connecticut has."

Boyd said the "ease of recruiting and maintaining a workforce in the New Haven versus New York also has to be a factor."

"It's very expensive for workers to live in New York City," he said.

For over 150 years, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was one of the nation's best known naval shipbuilders. Now it is an industrial park that is home to more than 450 businesses at a 300-acre waterfront site that hosts more than 11,000 people and generates over $2.5 billion per year in economic impact for the city.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Kite Realty Group Trust (KRG) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results topped Wall Street expectations.

The Indianapolis-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $112.3 million, or 51 cents per share, in the period.
TYSONS, Va. (AP)  TYSONS, Va. (AP)  Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (PK) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results topped Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Tysons, Virginia, said it had funds from operations of $92 million, or 42 cents per share, in the period.
ATLANTA (AP)  ATLANTA (AP)  Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (PDM) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter.

The Atlanta-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $56.3 million, or 46 cents per share, in the period.
A womans dream retreat at the Esalen Institute on the Central Coast quickly turned into a nightmare as she faced the repeated use of racial slurs in a video played by one instructor during her stay there last fall, according to a lawsuit.

Nicole Evans, a Black woman based in Los Angeles, has filed a civil suit seeking at least $1 million in damages against the instructor who reportedly showed the video, and the New Age center, which allegedly failed to take action. The suit says the last thing she expected was to be met with ... one of the most humiliating and traumatizing experiences of her life.

The room became deafeningly silent

Evans booked a stay at Esalen for Sept. 5 through 9, 2022, according to the December 2022 lawsuit filed with the Monterey County Superior Court.

On Sept. 7, Evans reportedly went to a meditation class taught by Lorin Roche, who is identified in the lawsuit as a faculty member of Esalen with decades of tenure at the institute. The suit says Evans was the only Black person in attendance in Roches class, while the majority of attendees were white.

JIM WILSON/NYT

The class took a turn when Roche allegedly played a YouTube clip featuring a Black comedian. It is unclear, to say the least, why Roche was playing a clip of a comic during a meditation class; at first the attendees were laughing at the comics routine, the lawsuit alleges. But then [the] comic used the term [N-word], saying that the Irish people were the [N-words] of Europe. Suddenly the room became deafeningly silent, save for a few gasps, because everyone in attendance was in shock.

The suit further alleges that Roches actions were deliberate: Roche was aware that the video prominently featured the offensive term, because as the comedian used the term, Roche looked directly at [Evans] presumably to see her reaction to that part of the bit.

She began to cry

The lawsuit says Evans was completely confounded, shocked, and overwhelmed with emotion. Some of those in attendance turned to look at [Evans], adding to the intense humiliation and fear she was feeling.

The lawsuit says Roche inexplicably rewound the clip back to the part where the comedian used the offensive term and played it again. At this point, some of [Evans] classmates groaned and some got up and walked out.

JASON HENRY/NYT

In the immediate wake of the alleged incident, the lawsuit describes Evans as paralyzed and unsure what to do: She felt like a fish in a fishbowl with everyone glaring at her, which in turn made her feel unsafe.

Her head spinning, [Evans] left the classroom to go get some air. While she was outside, some of her classmates came up to her apparently to see if she was okay, but it only exacerbated how she was feeling and she began to cry.

Afterward, Evans contemplated leaving Esalen, the suit says, but it was already dark, and she didnt want to drive. She ultimately decided to stay, but she had nightmares that evening, the lawsuit states.

The next day, another guest at the institute whom Evans had befriended reportedly encouraged her to reconsider leaving right away. With the support of her friend, Evans resolved to stay at Esalen for the rest of her booking, according to the lawsuit.

Deflated and bamboozled

Evans was scheduled to be in Roches class again Sept. 8, the day after the first class, but she did not want to attend and sought to join a different class instead, the lawsuit says.

As Evans was walking to the bathroom, Roches wife, Camille Maurine, another instructor who the lawsuit says was apprised of the incident by other students who were in Roches class the day before, saw her approaching and stopped her. Evans reportedly told Maurine that she thought Roche should apologize. Camille said she would talk to Roche and urged [Evans] to come to class, the lawsuit says.

Evans reluctantly agreed to attend Roches class again in the hopes of reaching some resolution to the harrowing experience, the lawsuit says. Maurine attended the class as well.

JASON HENRY/NYT

During that class, Evans approached Camille and held her hands, the lawsuit says. Roche allegedly took a picture of the two holding hands, without Evans knowledge. The lawsuit says Evans did not receive an apology, leaving her feeling deflated and bamboozled. It was clear Roche had no intention of apologizing, the lawsuit says.

Immediately following the session, as students were leaving, one of Evans friends, identified in the lawsuit as Brittney, reportedly confronted Roche. In response and without any remorse, Roche said, Im sorry that you regular people do not understand the brilliance of the video, the lawsuit alleges.

The alleged nonapology caused Evans to feel humiliated and enraged once more, the lawsuit states.

Later that day, Roches wife Maurine again reportedly sought out Evans and encouraged her to attend a meeting with an Esalen director, presumably about the events surrounding Roches conduct, the lawsuit says. Just before the meeting, Roche reportedly gave a forced apology to Evans.

After the meeting, the director said he was sorry that this had happened to her, the lawsuit says.

Jury trial set for Tuesday

The lawsuit says Evans also believes that Roche continued to make negative comments about [Evans], accusing her of trying to sabotage him. Roche showed absolutely no remorse for his appalling conduct. It further alleges that Esalen never engaged in any effective disciplinary or corrective action against Roche or his unlawful conduct.

In the wake of her stay, the lawsuit says Evans has suffered and will continue to suffer general and special damages, including severe and profound pain and emotional distress, anxiety, depression, headaches, tension, and other physical ailments, as well as medical expenses, and expenses for psychological counseling and treatment.

San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/ via Getty

Evans is suing for violation of her civil rights, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision and retention of an employee.

She seeks an amount of no less than $1 million from co-defendants Esalen and Roche. Her attorneys, Ruben Guerra and Tizoc Perez-Casillas, have not returned SFGATEs calls at press time.

A juried trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 2, in Monterey.

Esalen responds to the accusations

SFGATE visited Esalen on April 26 and spoke with Ana Gadban, the institutes director of operations.

Gadban characterized the lawsuits allegations as heartbreaking. In reference to the instructors alleged actions, she said it was hard to believe that someone would do that under the cover of our brand. Gadban also noted Roche was a visiting instructor and not a full-time Esalen staff member when the incident is alleged to have occurred.

Andrew Pridgen/SFGATE

Roche lives in Marina Del Rey in southern California. According to his Instagram, he has been practicing, researching, and teaching meditation since 1968. His current role is founder and teacher at Radiance Sutras Meditation Teacher Training, where he works alongside his wife, Maurine.

Neither Roche nor Maurine are currently listed as faculty members of Esalen.

SFGATE reached out to Roche for comment, but did not hear back from him at press time.

Sad and difficult situation

Since its founding in 1962, the 27 acres that make up Esalen have played host to celebrities and everyday people alike looking for spiritual or physical healing. The Big Sur institution has also been featured recently as the go-to place for Silicon Valley bosses to recharge.

A natural wonder of waterfalls, ancient trees and rustic ocean-view cabins, [Esalen] has provided retreat to more than 1 million people, including Joan Baez, Beatle George Harrison, physicians Dean Ornish and Andrew Weil, noted psychotherapist Abraham Maslow, and writers Henry Miller and Aldous Huxley, SFGATE wrote on May 18, 2015, the day after Mad Mens series finale famously aired with a final shot of Don Draper at Esalen.

JASON HENRY/NYT

During the initial days of George Floyd protests, Esalen acknowledged its own shortcomings involving race, posting the following on its website on June 1, 2020: We have not taken systemic and systematic racism seriously enough. We have not intentionally engaged in the inquiry and practice of anti-racism. We have not sufficiently struggled with all of the explicit and implicit, loud and quiet ways that the long histories of American enslavement and racism continue to distort, suppress and weaken our spirits, bodies and minds.

While she declined to comment further on specific allegations in the lawsuit, Esalens Gadban said the institute goes far and above any organization when it comes to following state and federal civil rights and discrimination laws.

This is just a really sad and difficult situation, she concluded.
EAST HARTFORD  The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Monday unveiled a new air quality monitoring vehicle that will focus on hyper-local testing for pollutants, particularly in communities with high minority populations that have been most affected by toxic air.

The 2019 Ford Explorer hybrid is a $300,000 platform with equipment that measures toxic vapors, particulate matter and greenhouse gases, DEEP officials said at a news conference at a stationary air monitoring site across from Anna Norris Elementary School.

DEEP's 14 stationary air testing sites are spread throughout the state. The vehicle, two-thirds of which was paid for through a federal grant, is meant to fill in the gaps. It can be parked, for instance, outside a manufacturing business to check compliance with state and federal emissions standards, DEEP officials said.

The vehicle will allow DEEP to identify new or previously unknown sources of air pollution and to prioritize inspections of air pollution sources based on environmental risk, an agency news release said. Mobile testing will focus first on Hartford and East Hartford, officials said.

Communities of color host more power plants and businesses that emit pollutants, and more Black and Brown people live near highways and other heavily traveled corridors with high vehicle emissions. DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said the agency is committed to innovations such as the air quality vehicle to decrease illness and high healthcare costs borne especially by residents of Hartford, New Haven and other urban centers.

Dr. Mark Mitchell, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia and co-chairperson of the Connecticut Equity and Environmental Justice Council, said he and other environmental health advocates have been waiting for a mobile testing platform to help ensure emissions compliance in places that bear the highest burden of bad air.

As an African American environmental health physician in Hartford, I see the effects of this disproportionate exposure to pollution and air toxins on a daily basis," Mitchell, the city's former health director, said.

David Cash, regional administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said Black children suffer twice as much as white kids from asthma, and 73% of fossil fuel power plants are located in communities of color. Cash said Connecticut has been on the cutting edge of investments for a cleaner environment.

The custom-built Ford, called a Geospatial Measurement of Air Pollution (GMAP) vehicle, is equipped with air pollution analyzers and instruments that can detect and record concentrations of 16 different air pollutants.The data is to be plotted over satellite imagery to chart pollutant levels in different areas.

DEEP staff will talk to community groups to better understand residents' air quality concerns, and when enough data is gathered for a given area, air quality experts will share results with residents, officials said.
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NEW YORK (AP)  The late Karl Lagerfeld's fluffy pampered cat, Choupette, is a star in her own right  and still very much alive. So, naturally, there was much chatter about whether the fashion designer's muse would attend Monday's Met Gala honoring him  but the cat took to Instagram to dispel rumors that she would be escorted up the stairs in New York.

Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home, the Choupette Lagerfeld account said in an Instagram post on Monday. We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him.

(Choupette is represented by a pet marketing agency, which likely penned the post on her behalf.)

The announcement came just days after Kim Kardashian posted a selfie with Choupette in Paris, saying she was in town to get some inspiration for the Met Gala.

The white Birmin with stunning blue eyes and creamy markings akin to baked Alaska was born Aug. 15, 2011. At 10 weeks or so, she was given to Baptiste Giabiconi, one of Lagerfeld's model friends in Paris.

It was Giabiconi who named her Choupette, a nickname in French for cute girls. Giabiconi asked Lagerfeld to care for the cat for two weeks while he was on holiday. As Lagerfeld described to New York magazine in 2018: When he came back, I told him that the cat was not returning to his house, and I kept it, this kind of genius creature.

The besotted Lagerfeld quickly turned Choupette into an international star with her own maids, bodyguards, custom Louis Vuitton carriers, silver bowls and a jet-set lifestyle. She also had her own jewels and nannies. Her most prominent caretaker was Francoise Cacote, to whom Lagerfeld left Choupette.

Choupette, literally "sweetie, traveled often with Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, on the private jets he favored.

Lagerfeld told the magazine Numero that Choupette, now 11, dined with him at the table, eating only freshly prepared meals. She was brushed four times a day, appeared on magazine covers with Lagerfeld and has her own Instagram account.

Lagerfeld, fond of shooting photos of his beloved, published a book of her images and used her as muse for some of his collections. He created clothes in Choupette blue for Chanel and put out a line of handbags with the cat's face on them for his own eponymous brand.

Choupette was a big earner, in the millions, appearing in photo shoots and advertising campaigns for Chanel, the German carmaker Opel and the Japanese cosmetics brand Shu Eumera.

I think Choupette made me a better person, Lagerfeld told the Scottish author Andrew OHagan in 2015. Less selfish.

Lagerfeld was fond of referring to Choupette as the Garbo of cats. And he had a handful of women in his life he lovingly referred to as my choupettes, including Vanessa Paradis and her daughter with Johnny Depp, Lily-Rose.

In June 2021, Cacote told Lagerfeld biographer William Middleton that Choupette was doing well living with her in Paris:

She is happy. And I tell myself that if Monsieur sees us from above, that he can be happy because this is just what he wanted for Choupette.

___

Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie
The UN on Monday warned that more than 800,000 people could flee fighting in Sudan, where gun battles and explosions again shook the capital in violation of the latest truce agreed between warring generals.

The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have already sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad and Central African Republic.

But the United Nations refugee agency said it was bracing for "the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries".

"We hope it doesn't come to that, but if violence doesn't stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet, adding to UN alarm over what the world body calls a catastrophic humanitarian situation sparked by the three-week-old war.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Millions of Sudanese unable to afford the inflated prices required to escape the battles have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts, as fighter jets thunder through overhead on raids that have drawn heavy anti-aircraft fire.

Warplanes struck northern areas of the capital, a witness told AFP, while another reported "armed clashes in central Khartoum".

Burhan and Daglo have flouted multiple ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday.

While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea, around 50,000 Sudanese have already escaped overland to neighbours, said the UN.

In a makeshift camp near Adre on the Chadian border, UN refugee agency staff were handing out emergency food rations to families who fled the violence with few belongings, sitting in the sand in the shade of trees.

"Today I have no food for my children and no means of work," one refugee, Mahamat Hassan Hamad, a tailor, told AFP, trying to hold back tears. "My sewing machines were taken by the attackers." He blamed the RSF who "destroyed everything in their path."

- 'Lives turned upside down' -

Sudan's turmoil has seen aid workers killed, hospitals shelled, humanitarian facilities looted, and foreign aid groups forced to suspend most of their operations.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths arrived in Nairobi on an urgent mission to look for ways to bring relief to millions.

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said on Twitter, later calling it "catastrophic".

The UN World Food Programme said it expected to soon resume food distribution in some parts of the country after a suspension following the deaths of three of its aid workers.

"Over 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before this conflict. We expect these numbers to grow significantly as the fighting continues," WFP said.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 wounded in the violence, according to Sudan's health ministry, but the real death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has spread across Sudan, including to the long-troubled Darfur region.

The UN said at least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, where supplies were seen strewn across the floors of badly damaged hospitals.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed unleashed in a scorched-earth campaign in Darfur from 2003 by former strongman Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes and genocide.

- UN facilities looted -

The fighting was pushing Sudan's already ailing health sector toward "disaster", warned the WHO's regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari.

He sounded an alarm over the growing threat of cholera, malaria and other diseases as the rainy season nears and safe water supplies are becoming scarce.

A first Red Cross plane on Sunday took eight tonnes of medical supplies from Jordan to Port Sudan, which has served as an evacuation hub.

On Monday a US-operated evacuation ship arrived in Saudi Arabia from Sudan carrying more than 300 civilians from multiple countries, Saudi state media said.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Burhan's, Dufallah al-Haj Ali, met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and is due to visit Cairo and meet Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday.

Egypt, in an Arab League emergency meeting in Cairo, proposed a draft resolution Monday that called for an "immediate and comprehensive cessation" of fighting.

But experts have cast doubt over foreign mediation efforts. Veteran Sudan analyst Alex de Waal described them as "half-hearted and belated".

He accused the previous US administration of delegating policy to its "favoured allies in the Middle East", who feared democratic transition in Sudan and "preferred to deal directly with their favoured generals".

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Dont Call Me Home, by Alexandra Auder (Viking)

It takes guts and a sense of humor to kick off your debut memoir with an insult from Andy Warhol. Seeing Alexandra was sad  a big rug-rat hanging off Viva  shell probably turn out a mess. But Alexandra Auder uses it as the epigraph for her impossible-to-put-down memoir, Dont Call Me Home, a must-read for children of narcissistic parents.

The book recounts Auders childhood growing up in the 1970s and 80s in the grungy glory of Manhattans Chelsea Hotel, where she shared a tiny apartment with her mother, Viva, the Warhol underground film star, and her half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, an actor. The earliest moments of Alexandras life, including Viva going into labor in the hotel lobby, were captured on video by her father, Michel Auder, an experimental filmmaker.

As you might expect, a lot of art world luminaries make cameos in the book, including Michel Auders second wife, the photographer Cindy Sherman. But the heart of the story is Alexandras intense, enmeshed, love/hate relationship with her immature, impulsive and arguably insane mother, whom she describes at one point as my true love.

The story toggles back and forth between Auders captivating memories of her bohemian upbringing and the present day, as she prepares to host a Christmas celebration with the aging diva at the Philadelphia home she shares with her husband and two children. Auder tells herself to be nice to Viva, reminds herself she was lucky for all the years she was nursed and cuddled, her imagination nurtured. But to no avail. Why is it that rather than wanting to thank my mother by anointing her crepey-thin skin I want to smother her?

In the acknowledgments, Auder, an actor and yoga instructor, says she has been writing versions of this story for over 25 years. You can tell. Her childhood memories sparkle, especially the summers spent with Vivas conservative, devoutly Catholic family on the St. Lawrence River. Her aunts  long, thin, and bony  flock to her like birds flying in formation, showering her with affection, but all too often the reunions devolve into violence when Viva does something outrageous.

Early on, after her parents split and her father moved out, Auder came to realize that she had to be the wiser, more mature one in her relationship with her mother. She was, but its clear it took an unspecified toll. Still, nothing can dim her ardor for the larger-than-life Viva. Indeed, the dedication of the book reads: For Mom, thanks for paving the way.
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LONDON (AP)  Musician Deronne White is ready to play on King Charles IIIs coronation day. The flautist and his fellow young musicians arent playing anything regal or solemn  theyre planning to parade through south Londons streets entertaining crowds with an uplifting coronation carnival set mixing gospel, jazz, grime, disco and rap. Therell even be a calypso take on the U.K. national anthem.

While hes excited about the gig, White says he has mixed feelings about the coronation. Like some others at the Brixton Chamber Orchestra, White is a descendant of migrants from Jamaica  a former British colony and Commonwealth member that wants to cut its ties with the monarchy and has called for the U.K. royals to address their historical ties to slavery.

Personally its a little bit hard to connect to the whole occasion, he said. I think that the coronation could possibly allow people like me to try and connect to (the monarchy). But it can be a bit tough.

Towns, cities and villages across the U.K. will be awash with Union flags and patriotic decorations to celebrate Charles coronation at Westminster Abbey this weekend, and officials say the festivities will bring Britains diverse communities together. But the event is viewed with a large dose of ambivalence by some in the U.K., not least those with African Caribbean backgrounds and other minorities for whom the British Empires past wrongs still loom large.

While slavery and the heyday of colonialism may be long gone, the royal family has in recent years struggled to grapple with new accusations of institutional racism  most notably from Prince Harrys wife, Meghan.

The Duchess of Sussex, a biracial American actress, reopened the debate about the monarchy and race when she said last year that an unnamed member of the royal household had asked her how dark her babys skin might be when she was pregnant with her first child, Archie.

Last year, there was outrage when Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity executive, complained that a close aide of Queen Elizabeth II's repeatedly questioned her at a party about where she was really from. Palace officials apologized and the aide, Susan Hussey, resigned.

Charles, 74, has on many occasions spoken about how much he values diversity in modern, multicultural Britain. He has paid tribute to Britains Windrush generation  the West Indians, like Whites great-grandparents, who helped rebuild Britain after World War II. In 2021, Charles won praise for acknowledging the darkest days of our past and the stain of slavery.

More recently, the monarch expressed for the first time his support for research into the links between the U.K. monarchy and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

I think hes definitely trying  maybe not in the best way or the fastest way, but from what Ive seen, its kind of a step in the right way, said Teigan Hastings, 17.

But Hastings, a British Jamaican who plays the tuba alongside White, said that Meghans claims about how she was treated by her in-laws opened up a bit of truth within the royal family.

I guess it wasnt totally unexpected, but at the same time you think thered be some form of acceptance  and there hasnt really been, he said. Its like theres nothing like us normal people can really do about it except hope for change.

The musicians say they hope that their vibrant blend of musical styles will help draw in the crowds, whatever they may think of Charles.

Across the capital in Southall, known as "Little India  the west London neighborhood is home to one of the largest Indian populations outside India  local politician Jasbir Kaur Anand said the areas British Asians also plan to mark the coronation in their own way.

About 6,000 tickets were snapped up for a coronation shindig complete with a huge television screen broadcasting the ceremony, funfair rides and bands playing Jewish, South American and gospel music, Anand said.

She added that she will attend a street party organized by a group of local women that promises to feature lots of Punjabi food, Punjabi dancing and singing.

Anand, whose family moved to Britain from Singapore when the city-state gained independence, said many immigrants of her generation feel gratitude to the U.K. monarchy for embracing them and giving them the opportunities to settle and prosper.

Gulu Anand, who owns Southalls Brilliant curry house and has cooked for Charles several times over the years when he visited the neighborhood, is one vocal supporter of Charles.

Charles "actually listens to you, he said, recalling the royals demeanor when he ate at his restaurant. I think he is the peoples king.

But Janpal Basran, who heads local charity Southall Community Alliance, said that many communities in the area are from former colonies and remember what it was like to be ruled by others.

So they look at the monarchy, they remember all of the associated historical baggage, for want of a better word, Basran said. There will be people who will be thinking that the monarchy represents an institution which was repressive, discriminatory and violent. Is this something that we want to be supporting to the future?

Patrick Vernon, a Black activist campaigning for justice for scores of Caribbean migrants who lost their rights as U.K. citizens because of a legal loophole, said Charles could do so much more to show his subjects that the monarchy takes diversity seriously.

He drew attention to a 2021 investigation by the Guardian newspaper that revealed the royal household is still exempt from equality laws preventing race and sex discrimination.

I think Charles could be in a unique position to start to actually influence that agenda, he said. It's important to demonstrate change, demonstrate that theres a clear marker that were different, that were moving towards the 21st century.

___

Follow APs coverage of King Charles III at https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii
Military officials recently discovered World War II-era mortars and grenades in Waimanalo on Oahu, Hawaii News Now reported.

Six World War II-era mortars and grenades were unearthed at a beach that isnt open to the public but is often accessed by hikers, unhoused people and those going off-roading, according to HNN. Health officials say the objects are a threat to public safety. The 140-acre site at the southernmost point of Bellows Air Force Station was once used as a military warfare training camp. According to HNN, officials believe there are still more explosives present in the area.

Military officials have posted signs along the sites perimeter warning civilians of the potential hazards in the area, and they considered fencing off the site but were met with resistance from the local community.

Im a fisherman. Its my fear I could be dragging the net one day with my keiki and I could come home without one leg because we could accidentally pick up and set off an unexploded ordnance, Restoration Advisory Board co-Chair Kuike Kamakea-Ohelo told HNN.

People are now cautioned against digging or participating in activities like building sandcastles at the beach.

A 25-pound bomb was found buried in the sand last summer at the Menehune campground, about a mile away from the site where the six munitions were discovered, HNN reported.
Friendships may come and go, but studies have shown that certain types of friendship are essential for maintaining a healthy emotional life.

According to a study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, prolonged loneliness has roughly as negative an effect on overall health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And while its too easy to neglect relationships when schedules get hectic, friendships are essential to our mental health and overall well-being.

Psychotherapist Niro Feliciano, spoke with TODAY about the five types of friendships that are needed to have an happy, healthy life:

Close friends

Close friends have often been around for years and are usually people you can be your most authentic self with. While close friendships can certainly form in our teen years or during college, they are different from lifelong friends. Close friendships are about intimacy and authenticity.

These relationships challenge us and support us simultaneously while helping us grow through validation and safety, Dr. Anjali Ferguson, a clinical psychologist based in Virginia, told TODAY.

Lifelong friends

These relationships have staying power. Even if youre not especially close, lifelong friends have seen you grow throughout your entire life. They understand your family dynamics, as well as the traumas and other difficult times that have shaped you.

According to Psychology Today, lifelong friendships offer unconditional love, empathy and support.

Work friends

Work friends keep your spirits up, especially when work is challenging. Having a support system at work can help the day go faster and relieve workplace stress.

A 2018 Gallop study found that those who have work friends are twice as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better at engaging customers, produce higher-quality work, are less likely to get injured on the job and have a greater sense of well-being.

Same-chapter friends

Same-chapter friends are those experiencing the same life stages with you, whether its having a first child, finishing college, moving to a different state or country, or even just starting a new hobby.

We learn from their mistakes and successes, and we feel that this kind of friend is uniquely invested in helping us navigate this chapter of life, saidLauren Napolitano, a clinical psychologist practicing in Philadelphia.

Convenience friends

Example of these friendships include mom friends and gym buddies. And while these relationships may be based on pure chance, they can help you break away from traditional friend groups and have experiences with others who share your interests.

We see ourselves best through the eyes of our close friends, but friends-of-convenience (or proximate friends) are also essential to our overall connection; they provide company and fresh perspective in the daily spaces our deeper friendships cant go, adding texture and emotional value to our experiences at work, in our neighborhoods, and at our kids schools, explained Heather Dugan, author of The Friendship Upgrade: Trade Clickable Connections for Friendships that Matter.

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
I have two friends, one is a Gen X man and the other a millennial woman, who have not been to see a doctor in several years. I was close to threatening them with bodily injury to get them to schedule appointments.

Their reasons for not staying on top of their primary care had to do with difficulty scheduling appointments and overall dissatisfaction with the care they receive, and they are not alone.

One-third of Americans do not have a regular primary care doctor, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Community Health Centers.

These medically disenfranchised Americans represent all ages, races, ethnicities, income levels, locations and insurance status.

Georgia ranks fifth among states with the highest number of medically disenfranchised residents.

Adults across the state are generally dissatisfied with the health care system, with 62% agreeing or strongly agreeing that the system needs to change, according to 2021 data from the nonprofit Altarums Healthcare Value Hub.

Part of the issue is the lack of primary care doctors  a cause and effect of a broken health care system in which Americans pay more for health care per capita than any other developed country yet have some of the worst health outcomes.

Georgia falls just below the national average for health expenditures by state at $8,758 based on data from the Kaiser Family Foundation but also ranks among the states with lower-than-average life expectancy at 75.6 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The leading causes of death in Georgia in 2020 were heart disease, cancer and COVID-19, all conditions that have a good probability for prevention and/or early treatment if only we could improve our system of primary care.

Primary care is the only medical discipline where a larger supply of doctors leads to improvements in population health, longer lives and greater health equity, according to a study cited by Kyna Fong, CEO and founder of Elation Health, writing for Harvard Business Review in September 2021.

I happen to love my primary care doctor. I started seeing him a few months after I moved to Atlanta and fainted for the first and only time in my life in The Atlanta Journal-Constitutions newsroom. I had not yet had the time to find a local practitioner, so a co-worker recommended her physician and Ive been with him since.

Weve had a near 20-year relationship that has included bouts with the flu, my advanced-age pregnancy, a mysterious viral infection that left me with a rattling cough for several months, breast health scares and other symptoms and ailments from which he has built my unique medical profile largely by listening rather than relying on a series of inputs and algorithms to make a diagnosis.

For centuries, medicine was more relationship than science, wrote Fong. For primary care, the conversation with the patient, the longitudinal relationship, and the whole-person approach are necessary to achieving results that impact outcomes and costs.

The relationship between a primary care physician and patient is often circular, Fong said, and attempts to make that more efficient with technology and processes designed to reduce costs also reduce the bonds of trust that could lead to healthier outcomes.

We rely on a health system model that rewards physicians based on volume rather than quality of care, a method that devalues that whole-person approach to health that primary care doctors are uniquely equipped to provide.

Primary care doctors are reimbursed at lower rates than specialists, which discourages medical students from entering the field. As a nation, we spend 50% less on primary care than other developed countries, wrote Fong.

Patients may end up waiting weeks for an appointment only to spend 10 minutes with a care provider.

I can understand why it may seem more tolerable to keep plugging along and avoiding those annual visits to a primary care doctor than to be deflated by a brief interaction that may or may not address underlying health issues.

Still, for patients, finding a provider we connect with and then showing up regularly is our end of the bargain.

Reforming our current health system to one that prioritizes the primary care relationship and offers the tools and financial incentives that enable primary care doctors to focus on value-based care is the role of the government and the health industry.

I dont know the path that will get us there, but I know our lives depend on it.

___

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Elementary school teacher Rachel Henry had been having monster headaches for a few weeks. She complained about them to colleagues, family, even the school nurse. No one seemed concerned about the 30-year-old. Henry, who lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, assumed they would pass.

At a routine checkup for a thyroid condition, Henry was checked in by a nurse. When the nurse and doctor returned a few minutes later, they found Henry slumped over. The left side of her body was paralyzed. She could not swallow.

The doctor assumed Henry was having a stroke and called 911. At the hospital, doctors said an artery in her brain stem had burst and she had a hemorrhagic stroke. Doctors thought it might have been related to a neck injury she'd had during a recent car accident, but they could not be certain.

Henry quickly regained movement in her limbs. The stroke did not impact her cognitive ability; she could process and understand everything. She could speak, but haltingly because of spastic muscles in the left side of her face and neck. The biggest issue was that she lost her ability to swallow.

She went to a nursing home for speech therapy to regain her swallow function. She found the environment so depressing that she checked herself out four days later.

From home, Henry, who lived alone, coordinated her own care. She set up the machine that fed her through a tube in her stomach, monitoring how much drip to get for food and liquids. She had to suction out her spit constantly or she would choke on it. She was shown how to sleep at a slight incline, tipping forward so her saliva would drain and thus not need suctioning; still, she was terrified of choking.

Four days a week she would see a speech therapist for what's called deep pharyngeal neuromuscular stimulation, an electrical stimulation therapy for people with dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing.

One day, she visited her elementary students so they could see that she was OK. When she spoke, she could feel the spit build up. She had to break away frequently and stealthily use her suction machine, which she carried in a bag over her shoulder. She felt ashamed and embarrassed.

While Henry worked to get better, a part of her wanted to die. What kind of life would she have? She had wanted to get married and have children, but that seemed out of reach now. She felt old, particularly as she saw that one of her close friends, Britt Richardson, was pregnant with her second child.

"It was a very dark time for Rachel," Richardson said. "She was very isolated, but I just kept reaching out. I remember being very worried for her."

In the summer of 2003, nine weeks after the stroke, Henry regained her ability to swallow. Half a year later, her speaking had improved, though the muscle spasms remained. She had other permanent issues as well  deep fatigue; no sensation of heat, cold or pain on the right side of her body; and a lack of thermoregulation, meaning her body could become overheated or chilled.

Her sick leave expired after nine months. With help from a teaching assistant, she returned to work.

That same year, she also walked 1 mile in the Worcester Heart Walk, an achievement that made her proud.

Still, Henry's life felt far from normal. Even as she improved, she feared having another stroke.

"Why me?" she continually asked.

Then one day, without any reason she can pinpoint, she changed course.

"I stopped thinking, 'Why me?' and I began to think 'Why not me?'" she said.

Richardson immediately saw a difference in her friend. "I knew she had it in her to turn things around," she said. "And boy did she ever do that."

Henry started reaching out to help others through the American Heart Association, from participating in Heart Walks to speaking with other survivors. She and her students created a song to help children understand the signs of a stroke in an adult and to call 911.

"Working with the AHA was the first time someone said to me, 'Your life has value as a disabled person. You're special. We want to hear from you even if you talk slow,'" she said.

Even as things improved, she still thought having a husband or starting a family was out of reach. Then along came Timothy Henry.

They met in 2006 and got married in 2008. In 2009, their son, Jason, was born.

Along the way, Rachel became involved with stroke advocacy. She testified for the need for quick treatment in stroke patients at both the state and national level. She continues to push for the passage of Massachusetts legislation to develop a coordinated stroke care system.

Rachel likes to take on a new challenge every summer. One year it was baking an eight-strand loaf of bread. Another time, it was jumping off a dock into the water with Jason, confident she would be able to close her mouth before water could get in.

Her current goals, 20 years after her stroke, are to get her students to join her in a Heart Walk and to win a top prize in the Spencer Fair. She's already nabbed multiple blue ribbons for crafts as diverse as crochet, photography, baked goods and woodworking.

"I'm always amazed by Rachel," Richardson said. "She has these struggles but is still so outgoing and funny. I look up to her so much."

More than anything, Rachel said she wants her fellow stroke survivors to believe in their own value.

"I get how hard it is," she said. "If you can let go of who you were, but believe you'll be someone wonderful, the joy is going to be around the corner."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt from or reprint these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to American Heart Association News.

Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the American Heart Associations Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the subject of who pays for workers who gather valuable data aboard commercial fishing boats.

Justices announced Monday that they will take the case, which stems from a lawsuit by a group of fishermen who want to stop the federal government from making them pay for the workers. The workers are tasked with collecting data on board fishing vessels to help inform rules and regulations.

The fishermen involved in the lawsuit harvest Atlantic herring, which is a major fishery off the East Coast that supplies both food and bait. Lead plaintiff Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey and other fishing groups have said federal rules unfairly require them to pay hundreds of dollars per day to contractors.

"Our way of life is in the hands of these justices, and we hope they will keep our families and our community in mind as they weigh their decision, said Bill Bright, a New Jersey fisherman and plaintiff in the case.

The high court announced its decision to take the case via an order list that made no comment on the merits of the lawsuit. The fishermen previously lost in lower court rulings. Their lawsuit over fishing monitors is part of a long-standing fight between commercial fishing groups and the federal government over who pays for data collection and regulatory compliance.

Fishermen have argued that Congress never gave federal regulators authority to require the expense of paying for monitors.

Fisheries in the U.S. are regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A representative for NOAA declined to comment on the case. The agency does not typically comment on pending litigation.

Attorneys for the fishermen have said the case will directly confront the future of so-called Chevron deference, which is a legal principle that compels courts to defer to a federal agencys interpretation of an unclear law. Conservative groups have long sought to challenge Chevron deference at the Supreme Court level.

The plaintiffs are represented by Cause of Action Institute, which advocates for limited government. They said in their petition to the high court that the monitors take up valuable space on their vessels and oversee their operations, and the payments make commercial fishing unsustainably expensive.

That is an extraordinary imposition that few would tolerate on dry land, the petition states.

The U.S. haul of Atlantic herring has fallen dramatically in recent years. Fishermen caught more than 100 million pounds of the fish as recently as 2017, but the 2021 catch was less than 11 million pounds. Much of the industry is based in Maine and Massachusetts.

NOAA has described the Atlantic herring stock as overfished. Fishermen of herring have been subject to quota cuts for the fish in recent years.
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CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  Wilson Garcia hadnt even asked his neighbor to stop shooting his gun.

People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.

So, Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbors house to respectfully ask that he shoot farther away from their home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Garcia said Sunday after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his 9-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.

The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large Monday despite a search involving more than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions.

Garcia called the police after Oropeza rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. In the neighborhood of homes on 1-acre lots, Garcia could see the man on his front porch but couldnt tell what he was doing.

His family continued to called police -- five calls in all, Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.

And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Garcia had walked back from Oropeza's house, the man started running toward him, and reloading.

I told my wife, Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.

The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Garcias wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Garcia said.

Also among the dead were Garcias son, Daniel Enrique Laso, and two women who died while shielding Garcias baby and 2-year-old daughter. Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

I am trying to be strong for my children," Garcia said, crying. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother.

On Monday, students in Lasos third-grade class at Northside Elementary in Cleveland set up a small monument in his memory in their classroom. It included books and a soccer ball that all his classmates signed; soccer was Laso's favorite sport, said principal Pete Armstrong. A memorial including flowers and stuffed animals grew at the foot of a flagpole in front of the school. Extra counselors were at the campus.

Its awful important that we let the students celebrate his life as they need to, said Armstrong, who called Laso a model student whose smile was contagious.

Times like these bring us closer together, Armstrong said. We are moving forward with his memory.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings in the rural town north of Houston where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday. He likely fled the area on foot. Investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. Capers said police have also interviewed the suspect's wife multiple times.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records.

Garcia, his slain wife and son and the other three victims  Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18  were from Honduras.

Were looking for closure for this family, Capers said.

Asked about response time, Capers said officers got there as fast as they could and that he had only three covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspects home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

It is kind of scary," she said. You never know where he can be.

Pineda said she didn't know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there about five or six years and that neighbors have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

Garcia also did not know Oropeza well, though their wives sometimes talked. Once, he said, the man helped him cut down a tree.

___

Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahomas attorney general asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to grant death row inmate Richard Glossip a stay of execution, saying there were enough problems with Glossip's conviction that he deserves a new trial.

In an unusual move for a prosecutor, Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed his motion agreeing with defense attorneys that Glossip deserves a stay.
The husband of a Connecticut woman who went missing three weeks ago while hiking a pilgrimage trail in a mountainous region of Japan said his family is "desperate but holding out hope" that his wife Patricia "Pattie" Wu-Murad, of Storrs, can still be found alive.

"It's been 21 days," said Kirk Murad by phone from Japan Sunday evening. "We're trying to hold out for a miracle but we're heartbroken."

Pattie Wu-Murad vanished on April 10 after she checked out of the Mandokoro guesthouse while hiking along the Kohechi route of the Kumano Kodo trail. The route follows an ancient pilgrimage path across Japan's rugged Kii Peninsula. Wu-Murad's family said another guesthouse contacted police when she failed to show up for her reservation.

At this point, authorities only know that she was pointed in the right direction when she headed for the trail, Kirk Murad said. "We know that she didn't go the wrong way out of town," he said.

But they don't know if she was abducted along the way or fell off a particularly difficult area of the trail and is now in a location that can't easily be seen or heard, he said. "We're all perplexed," Kirk Murad said.

The family expects police to give them an update Tuesday on their investigation into the disappearance, he said. The family has raised money on a GoFundMe page to get to Japan and hire search teams, but they need more funding to remain in Japan to continue the search, Kirk Murad said.

Kirk Murad said people arrived in the area Sunday with high-angle ropes that will allow them to go down into the valley. His son also managed to get a drone that will also help in the search, he said. Police are combing the area with a helicopter and taking video that will be scanned to determine if there are any unnatural colors, which would indicate his wife is still in the valley, he said.

Although some of the experts have left, other searchers will join the hunt Monday, Kirk Murad said.

Close to two dozen search and rescue experts were involved in an extensive search of the area but so far there are no clues or indication that Pattie Wu-Murad was even on the trail, according to the GoFundMe account.

"Despite hundreds of hours and miles of ground covered, we still haven't found a single piece of evidence that Pattie was ever on this part of the trail," family members said on the GoFundMe site.

Her sister-in-law Julie Murad-Caruso said earlier in the search that Wu-Murad is an experienced hiker who retired from United Technologies last year. She said this was Wu-Murad's third major pilgrimage, adding it was something she has always wanted to do.

"She loves the outdoors," she said. "She loves doing these things. Sometimes she goes with other people. Sometimes she goes on her own."

As Murad-Caruso and her family understand it, there are lots of people on the trail, and there are clear signs warning people not to go off-trail. She said Wu-Murad is also thorough with her research.

"Unless something came up that was unexpected, this would have never have happened to her," she said. "I heard there could be mudslides or avalanches out there. There are some animals like a specific snake. Something caught her off-guard maybe."

The family isn't giving up and will stay in Japan as long as they have funding to support the trip, Kirk Murad said.

"Whatever money we do have, we're going to stay here until it runs out," he said.

Peter Yankowski and Josh Labella contributed to this story.
Germany expelled Russian diplomats mid-April in order "to reduce the presence of intelligence services" in the country, the government said Monday, in justifying a decision that triggered retaliatory expulsions by the Kremlin.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the activity of these people was not in line with their diplomatic status", adding it had been in contact with Russia in recent weeks about the matter.

Berlin had previously not provided a justification for the departure of the diplomats, a move that triggered the expulsion of some 20 German embassy staff in Moscow, which the ministry confirmed left on Monday.

"Unlike the members representing Russia in Germany, our colleagues have always concerned themselves with behaving in accordance to their diplomatic status," the ministry said.

A close economic partner with Russia before the military offensive in Ukraine, Germany has since moved away from Moscow, financially and militarily supporting Kyiv in the conflict.

Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, Russian espionage in Germany has grown at a rate rarely equalled in recent years, according to German security services.

In spring 2022, Germany already expelled some 40 Russian diplomats who Berlin believed to represent a threat to its security.

Last October, the head of German's cybersecurity agency, Arne Schoenbohm, was fired after news reports revealed his proximity to a cybersecurity consultancy believed to have contacts with Russian intelligence services.

A month later, a German reserve officer was handed a suspended prison sentence of a year and nine months for spying for Russia.

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HONOLULU (AP)  Police officers responding to a report of a temporary restraining order violation on the small and close-knit Hawaiian island of Molokai shot and killed a man.

Two police officers were responding to the call Sunday morning when they encountered a man wielding a weapon, the Maui Police Department said.

The male advanced toward the officers, at which time one officer deployed his taser, which proved ineffective before both officers discharged their weapons, police said in a statement.

The man died at Molokai General Hospital, police said. The officers involved were put on administrative leave and an investigation is ongoing, police said.

Molokai is just 8 miles (12.87 kilometers) northwest of the island of Maui. Residents on the Molokai, known for its small-town atmosphere and no traffic lights, were shocked by the fatal shooting. Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, who holds the Molokai seat on the county council, told The Associated Press Monday there have been no similar incidents in recent memory.

Maui police didn't immediately respond to an AP email asking when was the last time an officer was involved in a shooting on Molokai.

Most of us are ... related or friends. We mostly know each other," Rawlins-Fernandez said of the island's population of about 7,500. Most of the officers are long-time Molokai residents, she said.

While many questions remain about what happened, people are wondering how it could have been prevented. What more services do we need on this island so that we can prevent these kinds of things from happening? she said.

She said she went to high school with the man, identified by police Monday as Nathaniel Naki, 40, of Kaunakakai, the largest town on Molokai.

This is "absolutely tragic," Rawlins-Fernandez said. "The community is, you know, trying to figure out together how  to console the family.
SAN FRANCISCO  Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in the rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a gritty San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a giant flagship store in a part of the city that is home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug dealing.

But the store was soon confronted head-on with many of the problems plaguing the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. They flung food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the floor, according to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many depicting scenes of mayhem.

Male w/machete is back, the report on one 911 call states. Another security guard was just assaulted, another says. A man with a 4-inch knife attacked several security guards, then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third.

In September, a 30-year-old man died in the bathroom from an overdose of fentanyl, a highly potent opioid, and methamphetamine.

When Whole Foods announced in mid-April that it was closing the store, citing the safety of its employees, many in San Francisco saw it as a representation of some of the citys most intractable problems: property crimes like shoplifting and car break-ins, an entrenched network of dealers selling fentanyl and other illicit drugs and people suffering from untreated mental illness wandering the streets.

The closure also seemed to be the latest indicator of San Franciscos faltering economic prospects, providing more grist for an ongoing debate over where the city is headed after tying its fate to the tech industry. The Whole Foods was supposed to cater to tech workers and other professionals, part of a long-term redevelopment plan downtown. But the store fell victim to a grinding decline in the citys center that began with the pandemic and could continue for years as companies vacate offices because of remote work.

In a city famous for its boom-and-bust cycles, San Franciscos continued slump has left residents in a sour mood, angry at city leaders and waiting for the sparks of revitalization. Now, largely because the tech industry has so wholeheartedly embraced work-from-home, activity in San Franciscos downtown remains at roughly one-third of pre-pandemic levels  lower than in about 50 other major cities, according to one new study that used cellphone data as a measure.

This is going to be a very slow recovery, Effi Shoua said this month from behind his desk at the downtown fine art gallery he owns in Union Square. The area is a prime spot for tourists, who have been steadily returning to the city, a bright spot and a contrast to the 26% vacancy rate of downtown offices.

Many merchants are worried about a domino effect of commercial failures if office workers are permanently absent for about half of the week, while people using drugs, going through mental crises or living on the street remain more visible than ever.

The impact on the citys budget is significant, too: Office-based industries account for nearly three quarters of the citys gross domestic product. After years of surpluses, the government now forecasts a $780 million deficit in the upcoming two fiscal years  roughly a 6% cut in its general fund, according to the mayors office.

City officials say they are searching for ways to diversify the economy and to reduce homelessness and drug dealing. They realize that some of the largest local employers, Big Tech companies, will not be towing San Francisco from its economic shoals. Twitter, Google, Facebook and Salesforce, all of which have offices in the city, have laid off thousands of workers.

San Francisco leaders point out that the city has rebounded again and again, including after the near-collapse of the tech industry in 2000 and the national recession about eight years later.

Weve been counted out before, and there have been others who have tried to imply because things arent happening as fast or the way that they think it should happen, that its over, London Breed, the citys mayor, said in an interview.

In the famously liberal city, where Republicans make up just 7% of the electorate, moderate Democrats like Breed are calling for aggressive steps to address public safety concerns while progressive voices decry law-and-order strategies as knee-jerk responses that trample on the vulnerable.

City leaders face some limitations. A federal judge in April determined that San Francisco cannot clear homeless people from public spaces because it has not done enough to provide shelter. Breed is backing bills in the state Legislature that would make it easier to force mentally ill people into treatment. The mayor has also proposed addressing homelessness by building more: slashing the permitting process for construction with the goal of building 83,000 additional homes and apartments  a 20% increase from the citys current total housing stock  in eight years.

Even though the downtown is plastered with for lease signs, the citys unemployment rate is under 3% and the mayor and other officials say the engineering talent pool remains the citys top asset. And there is much more to San Francisco than its downtown. It has always been a constellation of very different neighborhoods, some of which have very few of the social ills that afflict the area near the closed Whole Foods.

Officials add that the downtown may ultimately emerge more resilient if it attracts industries like life sciences and biotech whose employees still need work space. There is growth in the tech industry, too: The development of artificial intelligence, which promises to transform the way that people live and work, is centered in San Francisco.

Garry Tan, the president of Y Combinator, a prominent venture-capital company, says he sees signs of renewal in San Francisco. Its the gold rush over and over and over again, he said.

Tan is part of a generation of tech workers who are more assertive in their demands on city officials, unafraid to take sides in the citys internecine politics and funding organizations that press for more emphasis on public safety.

Now the narrative out there for some of the founders in our community is, Im not sure if I feel safe here. Im not sure if I want to stay here. The quality of life issues are the question. Can I raise a family here?

In early April, some tech leaders seized upon the recent fatal stabbing downtown of Bob Lee, a prominent industry executive, as an alarming sign that the downtown was unsafe. But an acquaintance was later accused, and San Franciscos murder rate is quite low compared with other major cities. Overall, police statistics show fewer property and violent crimes in 2022 than in 2018, before the pandemic began.

Still, Bill Scott, the citys police chief, says many residents complain that they feel less safe, and the open-air drug use, much of it tied to fentanyl, is a major contributor.

Matt Dorsey, a member of the board of supervisors who lives steps away from the shuttered Whole Foods, said recent elections had signaled a shift in voter priorities. He pointed to last years recall of the citys progressive district attorney, Chesa Boudin, who was replaced by a prosecutor who vowed to be tougher on crime.

San Francisco is in the midst of a voter revolt on public safety, Dorsey said. In a poll conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle in September, nearly two-thirds of respondents said life in the city was worse off than when they moved here.

The new district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, has begun prosecuting more drug crimes than Boudin, but the city experienced a 40% jump in fatal overdoses in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. Citing that statistic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday authorized an antidrug task force in San Francisco that will include members of the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol.

The mayor and the police chief have vowed to hire hundreds of additional officers, which would expand the force by more than one-fourth, a difficult proposition when law enforcement agencies nationwide are facing shortages.

Not everyone is on board with that.

Dean Preston, a member of the board of supervisors who was reelected in 2020 on a Democratic Socialist platform, is against increasing police staffing and believes calls for greater public security are overstated.

Theres been a massive propaganda effort to change public opinion around policing and public safety, he said.

Preston uses his district as an example of how uneven the pandemic recovery has been. Some areas like Japantown and Haight Ashbury are thriving, he said. Others like the Tenderloin, which is adjacent to the shuttered Whole Foods, are beset by drug dealing and homelessness.

One of the next big tests for downtown might be this summers expected opening of an Ikea store not far from the Whole Foods site.

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking out with armfuls of alcohol, at least at the start. After 250 shopping hand baskets were stolen, the company restocked with 50 more. Those went missing, too.

During the stores 13 months in operation, at least 14 people were arrested, including on charges of grand theft and battery, according to official reports. Scott said that plainclothes officers were sent there and security improved over time, but seemingly not enough for the company.

On a recent chilly night across from the shuttered store, Joseph Peterson, a former construction worker who lost both of his legs to diabetes and is homeless, rolled down the sidewalk in his wheelchair. Peterson could see the 2,000-unit Trinity apartments, the high-end complex that Whole Foods had hoped would be its customer base. Across the intersection, security guards stood sentry in front of the Orpheum Theater, where Pretty Woman: The Musical was playing. A few dozen steps away, dealers peddled fentanyl and crystal meth.

Peterson said he understood why Whole Foods had closed the store.

People kept stealing from it, he said. He, too, had taken macaroni and cheese and chicken from the hot food bar a number of times, he said. But he made a distinction. Other people stole from the store because they wanted to resell what they took.

I just stole to eat, he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
A powerful Southern Baptist committee was looking to appoint a new leader Monday who could navigate controversies over its handling of sexual-abuse reforms and the ousting of churches with women serving as pastors.

Instead, the Executive Committee found itself tangled in yet another dispute, voting down a recommendation to make its own former chairman its president in what had become a racially fraught decision.

That 50-31 vote came after some of the denomination's prominent Black clergy questioned the selection process, which they saw as bypassing an African American pastor who has led the committee as interim president for more than a year.

The selection process hit a nerve in a denomination that has lost some Black clergy in recent years over what they have seen as a failure of the mostly white-led denomination to make good on its pledges to reform after its history of supporting slavery and segregation. While the SBC elected its first Black president in 2012, no African Americans have led any of the denomination's powerful agencies or seminaries.

The Executive Committee, meeting in private session in Dallas on Monday, voted down a recommendation from its search committee to choose a white pastor, Jared Wellman of Arlington, Texas, to be its next president.

Wellman himself had been chair of the Executive Committee's board until resigning last month.

Under committee bylaws, the presidential selection process will begin anew under a new search committee, which was created on Monday.

Bishop A.B. Vines  a former SBC vice president and former president of the National African American Fellowship within the SBC  challenged the selection process last week in an open letter to the Executive Committee. He noted that Black pastor Willie McLaurin, with experience as a Tennessee Baptist Mission Board staff member, has served as the committee's interim president since early 2022. Two other SBC agencies recently hired interim leaders to permanent positions.

Vines didn't take issue with Wellman but said the process was secretive and didn't pass the smell test.

The denomination always seems to have issues with hiring a person of color for a senior leadership position, wrote Vines, pastor of New Seasons Church in Spring Valley, California. We have made resolution after resolution, from apologies on slavery to Confederate flags, but they won't be effective if the heart of the convention does not change, he wrote.

After the vote, Vines told The Associated Press: Todays vote was about process and integrity. Today we showed the watching world that we honor both.

Dwight McKissic, a Black pastor also from Arlington, Texas, said he respected Wellman but didn't understand why the committee appeared ready to bypass McLaurin. Ive lost confidence that an (African-American) man will ever be elected as an entity head, he tweeted Sunday before the vote. Its simply counter culture to SBC DNA.

The Executive Committee coordinates much of the business of the nations largest Protestant denomination outside of its annual meeting, recommending budgets, receiving and distributing funds, handling public relations and ousting churches from the convention, as it voted to do earlier this year with five congregations with women pastors.

One of the Executive Committee members, Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone, tweeted he was grieved by the vote. I believe we made a mistake today, he said.

David Sons, chairman of the Executive Committee, said in a news conference after the vote that trustees concerns were not about Jared personally. . It was more so about the process, of how things came to be.

Sons, also a search team member, said it nominated Wellman after being tasked by trustees to bring the best candidate forward that we felt the Lord leading us to bring.

Asked about the concerns raised by Black pastors, he said: Our hope again is that we would one day soon not only see more diversity in the first seat but we would see more diversity in every seat on our trustee boards, at our seminaries.

He cited internal research showing a growing number of ethnically diverse SBC congregations. The hope of the search team is not to set any of that back, he said.

Wellman wished the committee well in a tweet after the vote: Our lives are in the hands of a sovereign God. Were called simply to be faithful and put our yes on the table.

The Executive Committee has had a major turnover of members and leadership since it was subject of a scathing independent report in 2022 that said it stonewalled and denigrated survivors of sexual abuse. Southern Baptist agencies later acknowledged an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into their handling of abuse. ___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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LAS VEGAS (AP)  Seven alleged Hells Angels members wont face racketeering or gang charges in a Las Vegas-area freeway shooting that authorities said injured rival Vagos motorcycle gang members almost a year ago, a judge decided Monday.

Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones also reduced from 25 to five the number of shooting counts in the case against defendants, including the Hells Angels Las Vegas chapter president, Richard Devries.

The court finds that the ... indictment does not specify which of the defendants engaged in which type of criminal activities, and further does not include the specificity of the racketeering crimes," Jones wrote. Her ruling followed a March 31 hearing with attorneys and defendants in the case.

Attorney Richard Schonfeld, representing Devries, said Monday he was pleased the judge "granted important aspects of my motion." He had argued that the indictment was too broad and should be dismissed or revised.

Prosecutors Michael Dickerson and Michael Allmon said they were looking at the ruling and declined immediate comment. They could appeal Jones' decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Devries and the men identified as Hells Angels members or associates  Russell Smith, Stephen Alo, Cameron Treich, Taylor Rodriguez, Aaron Chun and Rayann Mollasgo  still face prosecution on charges including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, battery and assault with weapons. Each has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Each could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder with a weapon.

The judge instructed prosecutors to revise the indictment. A hearing in the case remained scheduled Wednesday.

Police said seven people were treated at hospitals for wounds or injuries following the gunfire that erupted among motorcycle riders on Interstate 11 in Henderson after a Memorial Day weekend ceremony at a veterans cemetery in Boulder City.

Schonfeld argued March 31 that Mollasgo, a Hells Angels associate but not a full member, was treated for a gunshot wound, and that police at the scene examined handguns that some of the alleged Vagos had with them, but returned them.

The grand jury doesn't know that a Hells Angels-affiliated individual (was) shot and that four Vagos members had firearms concealed on their person, Schonfeld said. He argued that prosecutors failed to present exculpatory evidence" that might cast doubt on the charges they were seeking.

Four motorcycles had gunshot damage, according to evidence, and police found 25 bullet casings on the freeway near where the gunfire took place. Schonfeld told the judge the indictment did not specify what person was alleged to have fired which shots, or which bullets hit which motorcycle.

Mollasgo's lawyer, Augustus Claus, told Jones that his client had become a member of the Hells Angels chapter less than a week before the shooting, but he was accused of a conspiracy with other members dating to 2019.

Schonfeld and Tom Pitaro, attorney representing defendants Russell Smith and Stephen Alo, told the judge that prosecutors never presented evidence that their clients had any intent or agreement to commit a crime.

Riding (motorcycles) in a group does not show a conspiracy to commit a violent act of shooting (or) attempted murder, Pitaro said.
Soon after getting fired almost simultaneously by their respective cable TV networks, Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were the targets of many a joke at this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

While emceeing Saturday's event at the Washington Hilton hotel, comedian and "Daily Show" correspondent Roy Wood Jr. addressed the dual terminations of Carlson, formerly of Fox News, and Lemon, who used to work for CNN. Both media personalities were ousted by their employers last Monday.

Tackling Carlson's firing first, Wood jokingly compared the situation at Fox News to the departure of "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah  who recently decided to leave the Comedy Central show after seven years.

"The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job," Wood said Saturday to cheers from the audience.

"Some people celebrate. But to Tucker's staff, I want you to know that I know what you're feeling. I work at 'The Daily Show,' so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program."

Wood followed the "Daily Show" quip with a string of references to some of the buzziest and juiciest shows on TV, including "Vanderpump Rules," "BMF," "Power" and "Succession."

"Tucker got caught up ... like that dude from 'Vanderpump Rules,'" Wood continued, referring to a cheating scandal on the reality program.

"I don't know what 'Vanderpump Rules' is about. ... My friends told me it's like 'BMF' but for white people  or 'Succession.' No, 'Succession' is 'Power' for white people. No, Tucker Carlson is 'Power' for white people. No, that's white power. You know what, never mind. ... We got to get Tucker back on the air, Mr. President. Because right now there's millions of Americans that don't even know why they hate you."

Before Carlson got canned, former "Tucker Carlson Tonight" producer Abby Grossberg in a lawsuit accused the conservative pundit and others at Fox News of fostering a sexist, misogynistic and abusive work environment. The network has called Grossberg's allegations "baseless."

"Tucker Carlson is the first host to get fired from Fox News for something that's only partially about how he treats women," Wood quipped. "That's progress. He shattered the a-- ceiling."

"Speaking of a--," Wood added, "Don Lemon is out of a job."

Less than two hours after Fox News announced it had "agreed to part ways" with its top-rated star, Lemon disclosed via Twitter that he had been bounced by CNN.

When Lemon accused management in his tweet of not having the "decency" to inform him of their decision directly or give him "any indication" that he was on the chopping block, CNN pushed back by saying that Lemon "was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."

"My dog Don Lemon released a statement saying he got fired from CNN, and CNN released a statement saying that they offered Don a meeting," Wood said.

"They had to part ways because Don Lemon can't even accurately report a story about Don Lemon."

Lemon got the ax at CNN shortly after he apologized for a sexist, ageist remark he made about politician Nikki Haley being past her "prime." The "CNN This Morning" anchor was also recently accused in Variety of exhibiting misogynistic behavior in the workplace  a report he dismissed as "15-year-old gossip."

"Letting Don go was the wrong move," Wood said.

"Don was fine when y'all was letting him drink. You shouldn't have cut off his liquor," he added, referring to CNN's recent move to scale back the booze during its New Year's eve coverage. "You don't fire your host after the first couple of scandals. The scandals got to stack up. You gotta get ratings. Yes, Don Lemon was a diva and he said a couple of women are raggedy in the face  but that's a promotion at Fox News!"

The president also had some Lemon material up his sleeve.

"They say I'm over the hill," President Joe Biden said. "Don Lemon would say that's a man in his prime."

Both Biden and Wood had plenty to say about the recent legal battle between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. Earlier in April, Fox News agreed to settle Dominion's defamation case against the network for a hefty sum of $787.5 million.

"Y'all look good ... look like everybody got a little piece of that settlement money from Fox News," Wood said. "And that's all I have to say about that. Because I'm not going to have Dominion on my ass. I love Dominion. Matter of fact, let me just say right now: My favorite voting machine is Dominion voting machines. When I go to the polls, I make sure it is a Dominion machine that I use. If your election needs the truth, put Dominion in your booth."

Biden got in on the fun too.

"It's great the cable news networks are here tonight: MSNBC owned by NBCUniversal, Fox News owned by Dominion Voting Systems," Biden said. "Last year, your favorite Fox News reporters were able to attend because they were fully vaccinated and boosted. This year, with that $787 million settlement, they're here because they couldn't say no to a free meal."


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DIVERNON, Ill. (AP)  A windstorm in central Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields Monday, causing numerous crashes that killed at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.

The late morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.

He said at least six people died, all in the northbound lanes, and more than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were transported to hospitals with injuries.

The only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us, said Tom Thomas, 43, who was traveling south to St. Louis.

I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis, and likely won't reopen until Tuesday.

Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a whiteout situation typically seen in winter snowstorms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the scene as horrific.

The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility, Starrick said.

Dairon Socarras Quintero, 32, who was driving to St. Louis to make deliveries for his custom frame company based in Elk Grove Village, said that after his truck hit the vehicle in front of him, he exited and moved to the side of the road to ensure his safety, then returned after the chain reaction of crashes ended behind him.

Socarras Quintero said the dust continued to blow ferociously as he checked on other motorists and emergency personnel arrived. He held up his backpack, which was caked with dust even though it was inside a closed truck cab.

Winds at the time were gusting between 35 mph (56 kph) and 45 mph (74 kph), the National Weather Service said.

It's very flat, very few trees," meteorologist Chuck Schaffer said. It's been very dry across this area really for the last three weeks. The farmers are out there tilling their fields and planting. The top layer of soil is quite loose.

Evan Anderson, 25, who was returning home to St. Louis from Chicago, said a semi turned before striking his vehicle, sparing him from even more damage.

You couldnt even see, Anderson said. People tried to slow down and other people didnt, and I just got plowed into. There were just so many cars and semitrucks with so much momentum behind them.

Kevin Schott, director of emergency services in Montgomery County, said it was a very difficult scene and one thats very hard to train for.

We had to search every vehicle, whether they were involved in the accident or just pulled over, to check for injuries, he said, adding that people were "upset  visibly so, understandably so.

Authorities set up staging areas away from the crash site to help travelers reunite with friends and family.

___

Associated Press reporters Rick Callahan in Indianapolis and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.
By Bay City News

The former CEO of a Sunnyvale-based tech startup pleaded guilty in a San Francisco federal court Thursday to charges related to defrauding investors.

Manish Lachwani, 47, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with his efforts to inflate the value of the company he founded, Headspin, Inc., which bills itself as a software testing service on its website.

Lachwani overstated the value of the company based on misrepresentations to investors about how many recurring subscribers the company had and how much revenue they generated by creating false invoices and disseminating fake revenue spreadsheets, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The company raised more than $100 million during two rounds of funding in 2018 and 2019, leading to a market valuation of $1.1 billion.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27.

Copyright  2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright  2023 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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Hurghada Airport welcomed the first flight of Estonian Marabou Airlines on Monday, bringing 173 tourists from Hamburg Airport in Germany.

The first flight was celebrated with a traditional water salute that marked Hurghada Airport's first reception of the flight.

On landing at Hurghada Airport, the passengers were warmly greeted, and arrangements were made to ensure their smooth arrival according to Hurghada Airport's standards.

The newly launched low-cost airline announced that it plans to operate two flights weekly to Hurghada Airport, from both Munich and Hamburg airports, throughout the summer.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat-turned-Independent long known for his centrist views, voted for Joe Biden in 2020. But as Bidens reelection campaign begins, Lieberman is preparing to recruit a third-party candidate capable of defeating the Democratic president.

Centrists and moderates feel that hes governed more from the left than they hoped, Lieberman, a leader of the group, No Labels, said of Biden in an interview. He hasnt been able to be the unifier that he promised to be.

Bidens political challenges are not confined to voters in the middle. In the days since he formally launched his 2024 campaign, key members of the sprawling political coalition that lifted him over former President Donald Trump in 2020 are far from excited about the prospect of four more years. That underscores the test confronting Biden as he aims to motivate the coalition of African Americans, Latinos, young people, suburban voters and independents to show up for him again.

John Paul Mejia, the 20-year-old spokesman for the progressive Sunrise Movement, says Biden has simply not done enough to ensure the young voters who rallied behind him in 2020 would do so again.

Young people are starving for more, Mejia said, pointing to Bidens recent decision to approve two controversial fossil fuel projects in Alaska. Biden has to demonstrate the extent to which hes willing to be a fighter. Weve seen this sort of two-step on the promises he made to young people.

Biden has also struggled to fulfill key promises to Black voters, perhaps the most loyal group in his political base. While he tapped Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, he has been unable to follow through on pledges to protect voting rights against a wave of Republican-backed restrictions or enact policing reform to help stop violence against people of color at the hands of law enforcement.

Theres work to be done, said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a 42-year-old African American former civil rights attorney who joined Congress in January. Im not going to sugar coat it.

Crockett recalled the palpable excitement among the Black community for Barack Obamas reelection. With Biden, theres a number of people who are concerned and scared largely because of his age, while others are indifferent and waiting, despite what she described as Bidens overall strong record of achievement.

Nearly 18 months before Election Day 2024, however, its unclear how much this lack of enthusiasm will weigh on Bidens reelection prospects. For all the concern, no high-profile Democratic primary challengers have emerged, and none are expected to. To date, only progressive author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are mounting symbolic challenges to Biden, who has the official support of the Democratic National Committee.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Bidens chief rival in the 2020 primary, told The Associated Press just hours after Biden announced that he was endorsing the president and encouraged other progressive leaders to do so as well.

I intend to do everything I can to see that he is reelected, Sanders said in an interview.

Instead of excitement for the 80-year-old presidents reelection, leaders from key factions in Bidens coalition report a serious sense of duty  and fear of the alternative. Trump is currently considered the favorite to claim the Republican presidential nomination, although hes facing opposition from a half dozen rivals.

It would be a mistake to underestimate Trump or whoever the Republican candidate might be, Sanders said. Theres a lot of discontent in this country. Theres a lot of anger in this country.

Indeed, 74% of U.S. adults believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted a week before Bidens announcement.

The poll found that only about half of Democrats think Biden should run again. Despite their reluctance, 81% of Democrats said they would probably support Biden in a general election if he is the nominee. That includes 41% who said they definitely would and 40% who said they probably would.

The warning signs in the Biden coalition are clear.

Just 41% of Black adults want the Democratic president to run again, and only 55% said they are likely to support him in the general election if he is the nominee. Among Latinos, only 27% want Biden to run again in 2024 and 43% said they would definitely or probably support him.

Younger Democrats also remain a reluctant part of Bidens coalition, the AP-NORC poll shows.

Just 25% of those under age 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats.

Still, an additional 51% of younger Democrats say they would probably vote for Biden in a 2024 general election.

Meanwhile, just 14% of independents  adults who dont lean toward either party, who represent a small percentage of the American electorate  want Biden to run again. And only 24% said theyd support him in the general election if he is the Democratic nominee.

Bidens team dismisses the numbers, yet acknowledges that in a party as diverse as the Democrats, some may have other preferred candidates for president. Its just that none of those other people can win, they say, adding that while Biden might not be someones first choice, hes often everyones second.

Meanwhile, Lieberman said he would likely soon begin interviewing potential candidates for No Labels third-party alternative, but he said the group would only field a candidate if polling suggested the so-called unity ticket had a viable path to the presidency.

If No Labels does not run a bipartisan unity ticket, and the two candidates are Trump and Biden, to me, its an easy choice, Lieberman said. I will vote for Biden.

___

Peoples reported from New York. AP writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  President Joe Biden scrapped expedited asylum screenings during his first month in office as part of a gutting of Trump administration border polices that included building a wall with Mexico. Now he is preparing his own version.

Donald Trumps fast-track reviews drew sharp criticism from internal government watchdog agencies as the percentage of people who passed those credible fear interviews plummeted. But the Biden administration has insisted its speedy screening for asylum-seekers is different: Interviews will be done exclusively by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, not by Border Patrol agents, and everyone will have access to legal counsel.

The decision to use fast-track screenings comes as COVID-19 asylum restrictions are set to expire on May 11 and the U.S. government prepares for an expected increase in illegal crossings from Mexico. The Texas border cities of El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville have declared local states of emergency in recent days to prepare for the anticipated influx.

Normally, about three in four migrants pass credible fear interviews, though far fewer eventually win asylum. But during the five months of the Trump-era program, only 23% passed the initial screening, while 69% failed and 9% withdrew, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Those who get past initial screenings are generally freed in the United States to pursue their cases in immigration court, which typically takes four years. Critics say the court backlog encourages more people to seek asylum.

To pass screenings, migrants must convince an asylum officer they have a significant possibility of prevailing before a judge on arguments that they face persecution in their home countries on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.

Under the Biden administration's fast-track program, those who dont qualify will be deported in a matter of days or just a few weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday.

The expedited screenings will be applied only to single adults, Mayorkas said.

Despite the administrations assurances that people will have access to legal services, some immigrant advocates who were briefed by the administration are doubtful. Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, noted that advocates were told attorneys would not be allowed inside holding facilities.

The Trump administration used fast-track reviews from October 2019 until March 2020, when it began using a 1944 public health law known as Title 42 to expel immigrants on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The speedy screenings were among Trump-era immigration polices that Biden rolled back in a February 2021 executive order.

Unlike the Trump administration, the Biden administration won't limit migrants to just one phone call. But it's unclear how many calls U.S. authorities can facilitate, especially if there is no answer and attorneys call back, Hawkins said.

Screenings initially will be limited to Spanish-speaking countries to which the U.S. has regular deportation flights, according to Hawkins and others briefed. The administration began limited screening this month in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, and later expanded to large tents in other border cities, including San Diego; Yuma, Arizona; and El Paso, Texas. Migrants will get a video presentation to explain the interview process.

Mayorkas, a former federal prosecutor, didn't speak in detail about access to legal counsel in remarks Thursday about a broad strategy that, in addition to the screenings, includes processing centers in Guatemala, Colombia and potentially elsewhere for people to come legally to the U.S. through an airport.

We have expanded our holding capacity and set up equipment and procedures so that individuals have the ability to access counsel, Mayorkas said.

The Homeland Security Department's inspector general took issue with lack of legal representation under Trump's expedited screening. There were four cordless phones for migrants to share when screenings began in El Paso. Guards took them to a shack to consult attorneys.

Phone booths were later installed but didn't have handsets for safety reasons, forcing migrants to speak loudly and within earshot of people outside, the inspector general said.

Facilities built under Biden are more spacious with plenty of phone booths, according to people who have visited.

There are rows of cubicles, enclosed," said Paulina Reyes, an attorney at advocacy group ImmDef who visited a San Diego holding facility in March.

The administration has not said how many attorneys have volunteered to represent asylum-seekers. Hawkins said officials told advocates they are reaching out to firms that offer low- or no-cost services to people in immigration detention centers.

Erika Pinheiro, executive director of advocacy group Al Otro Lado, which is active in Southern California and Tijuana, Mexico, said she has not been approached but would decline to represent asylum-seekers in expedited screenings. They arrive exhausted and unfamiliar with asylum law, hindering their abilities to effectively tell their stories.

We know what the conditions are like. We know people are not going to be mentally prepared, she said.

The Biden administration aims to complete screenings within 72 hours, the maximum time Border Patrol is supposed to hold migrants under an agency policy thats routinely ignored.

Its a tall order. It currently takes about four weeks to complete a screening. Under Trumps expedited screenings, about 20% of immigrants were in custody for a week or less, according to the GAO. About 86% were held 20 days or less.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has identified 480 former asylum officers or those with training to assist about 800 on the expedited screenings, said Michael Knowles, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 119, which represents asylum officers. Despite the staffing surge, Knowles said officers worry about the pace of the work, like an assembly line, hurry up, hurry up, when you have lives at stake.

All hands will be on this deck for the foreseeable future, Knowles said. We don't know how long.

___

Associated Press writer Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, contributed.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  An Indiana law that requires abortion clinics to either bury or cremate fetal remains will remain in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to consider a lawsuit challenging it.

The court gave no explanation for its decision in an order it issued turning down hearings in several dozen cases.

That action will leave in place the law first adopted by Indianas Republican-dominated Legislature in 2016 and signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence.

The Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in November overturned an Indiana judges decision that the law infringed upon the religious and free speech rights of people who do not believe aborted fetuses deserve the same treatment as deceased people. The appeals court said the law didnt require any woman to violate her beliefs as it only applied to hospitals or clinics.

The appeals court cited a 2019 ruling by the Supreme Court upholding the fetal remains provisions of the law and that the state had a legitimate interest in how those remains are disposed.

The latest lawsuit against the fetal remains law was filed in 2020 on behalf of the Womens Med Group abortion clinic in Indianapolis, its owner, two nurse practitioners who work at the clinic and three women.

Rupali Sharma, senior counsel at the New York-based Lawyering Project, which represented the group, said in a statement Monday that it was disappointed with the courts order. Sharma said the group believed it remains blatantly unconstitutional for the state to force upon people its views about when life begins.

Indianas Republican attorney general has defended the law as recognizing fetal remains as more than medical waste and deserving of cremation or burial.

Indiana lawmakers last summer adopted a statewide abortion ban, but abortions have continued to be permitted in the state while awaiting an Indiana Supreme Court decision on the bans constitutionality.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration will end most of the last remaining federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements next week when the national public health emergency for the coronavirus ends, the White House said Monday.

Vaccine requirements for federal workers and federal contractors, as well as foreign air travelers to the U.S., will end May 11. The government is also beginning the process of lifting shot requirements for Head Start educators, healthcare workers, and noncitizens at U.S. land borders.

The requirements are among the last vestiges of some of the more coercive measures taken by the federal government to promote vaccination as the deadly virus raged, and their end marks the latest display of how President Joe Biden's administration is moving to treat COVID-19 as a routine, endemic illness.

While I believe that these vaccine mandates had a tremendous beneficial impact, we are now at a point where we think that it makes a lot of sense to pull these requirements down, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told The Associated Press on Monday.

Deeply polarizing at the time and the subject of numerous legal challenges  many of which were successful  the vaccination requirements were imposed by Biden in successive waves in late 2022 as the nations vaccination rate plateaued even amid the emergence of new, more transmissible variants of COVID-19.

More than 100 million people at one time were covered by Biden's sweeping mandates, which he announced on Sept. 9, 2021, as the delta variant of the virus was sickening more people than at any time up to that point in the pandemic. Biden had ruled out such requirements before taking office that January, but came to embrace them to change the behavior of what he viewed to be a stubborn slice of the public that refused to be inoculated, saying they jeopardized the lives of others and the nations economic recovery.

Weve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us, Biden said at the time. The unvaccinated minority can cause a lot of damage, and they are.

Federal courts and Congress have already rolled back Biden's vaccine requirements for large employers and military servicemembers.

Mandates remain for many employees of the National Institutes of Health, Indian Health Service and Department of Veterans Affairs  which implemented their own requirements for healthcare staff and others independent of the White House  will remain while those agencies review their own requirements, the administration said.

Over 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than three years ago, including 1,052 people in the week ending April 26, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was the lowest weekly death toll from the virus since March 2020.

COVID continues to be a problem, Jha said. But our healthcare system or public health resources are far more able to respond to the threat that COVID poses to our country and do so in a way that does not cause problems with access to care for Americans.

He added, Some of these emergency powers are just not necessary in the same way anymore.

More than 270 million people in the U.S., or just over 81% of the population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.

For more than a year, U.S. health officials have been eyeing a long-term response to COVID-19 that is more similar to the approach to influenza, with updated shots yearly targeted at the latest strains of the virus  particularly for the most vulnerable. But fewer than 56 million people in the U.S., or 17% of the population, have received a dose of the updated bivalent boosters that became available in September 2022 and provide better protection against the omicron variants that remain in circulation.

"We dont have a national mandate for flu vaccines in the same way, and yet we see pretty good uptake of flu vaccines," Jha said. The goal here really is to continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, but I dont think mandates are going to be necessary for getting Americans vaccinated against COVID in the future.

While federal mandates are ending, Jha predicted that some employers, especially medical facilities, may decide to maintain their COVID-19 vaccination requirements. He noted that the hospital where he practices has had a flu vaccine requirement for employees for 20 years.

Jha dismissed concerns that the ending of the international traveler vaccination requirement would increase the risk of a new variant from overseas entering the U.S. Biden has already rolled back virus testing requirements for both American citizens and foreign travelers to the U.S.

Jha said the U.S. was already protected by a traveler genomic surveillance program, which, for instance, tests for different virus strains in aircraft wastewater.

We think that we are much more able to identify if a new variant shows up in the United States and respond effectively, he said. And I think thats what makes the need for a vaccine mandate for travelers less necessary right now.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexicos Labor Department said 85% of the countrys 140,000 officially registered labor contracts are in danger of being canceled because they failed to meet Mondays deadline to have union members vote on them.

Under labor reforms that helped win renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, starting in 2019 Mexico told unions with registered contracts they had to submit the labor pacts to secret-ballot votes by workers within four years.

The small percentage of contracts meeting Monday's deadline reflects what Mexican officials acknowledge has been the longstanding practice of labor leaders in negotiating contracts with little or no worker input to ensure wages stay low so they can keep factories in Mexico. Wages in Mexico, at roughly one-eighth or less of U.S. wages, have drawn millions of manufacturing jobs out of the United States.

Only about 20,000 contracts complied and were confirmed by votes as of May 1, 2023, the deadline for doing so. The Labor Department said the remaining 120,000 will be nullified, unless those unions have scheduled votes between now and July 31. That is likely to be tiny percentage of the contracts.

It is a double-edged sword: The purge gets rid of a lot of contracts that are on paper only, but could also leave a significant chunk of Mexicos four million unionized workers without contracts.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that larger plants and workplaces were among the most likely to have renewed their contracts, while many of the roughly 120,000 lapsed ones may be at smaller shops or businesses that have disappeared.

As long as there is no labor contract, the company should adopt a position of neutrality, that is, to give equal treatment to all the unions that may have members at the company, and not engage in reprisals or discrimination against any employee, the Labor Department said in a statement.

In the past, companies have been likely to favor unions that guarantee them no strikes and few wage demands.

For example, earlier this year independent union organizers at a U.S.-owned auto parts plant in central Mexico filed a labor complaint under the free trade agreement accusing the Michigan-based company of trying to keep its old union.

Eduardo Castillo, the leader of the independent Transformation Union at the Unique Fabricating de Mexico auto parts plant in the central state of Queretaro, said the company prevented members of the new union from entering the plant to speak with workers, and harassed or fired union supporters.

The company did not respond to an email requesting comments on the dispute. Castillos union eventually won a vote by workers authorizing it to bargain for them.

The unions who did not hold contract votes will have to re-apply for the right to represent workers at a given plant, by winning their votes in a secret ballot.

In April, Mexican authorities acknowledged that a pro-company union actually stole a ballot box in a contract vote at another plant, a Goodyear tire facility in the northern state of San Luis Potosi.

The Labor Department vowed to re-do the elections with exceptional security measures without any intervention by the union that holds the contract, and with the participation of domestic and international observers.
TOKYO (AP)  Jack Ma, a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo, the university said Monday.

Ma will carry out research in sustainable agriculture and food production, it said in a statement.

It said that Ma, who also heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization, will share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation, with students and faculty.

Chinese regulators singled out Alibaba for scrutiny in a recent crackdown on technology and internet companies, having put the brakes on a planned initial public offering in 2020 of Alibabas financial affiliate Ant Group.

That came after he had criticized Chinas regulators and financial systems in a speech in Shanghai. Ma kept a low profile for several years and traveled overseas before returning to China recently.

His appointment began Monday and runs through the end of October, the university said.

Tokyo College, founded in 2019, connects the University of Tokyo with researchers and institutions abroad, including College de France.

Its research focuses on themes such as the digital revolution, Japan viewed from within and outside, the humanities in 2050 and the value of life.

Ma founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once Chinas richest man.

He is well known in Japan as a friend of Masayoshi Son, the founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)  The top Bolivian prosecutor launched an investigation Monday into a late Spanish priest who allegedly abused several minors in Bolivia dating back to the 1980s.

The case of Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2009, came to light over the weekend in a report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Attorney General Wilfredo Chavez said on Twitter that he was seeking information from the Spanish consulate on the case, and that he was asking the Catholic Church to comment.

This horror would have been covered up by the leadership of the Catholic Church at the time, Chavez alleged on Twitter.

El Pais had published excerpts of the personal diary of Pedrajas Moreno, who allegedly admitted to having abused dozens of children while he was a teacher in Bolivia until 2009 when he died.

We feel embarrassed by the situation, Bolivias Jesuit congregation said in a statement, and vowed to listen to the victims, seek justice and work to put an end to this scourge.

The congregation said it already had started a probe into Pedrajas Moreno following an allegation in 2022, and had determined the veracity of that allegation.

This is not the first complaint against priests for abusing minors in Bolivia, but few cases have been thoroughly investigated and brought to justice.

In 2015, a rural priest was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the abuse of 12 minors. A short time later he committed suicide in jail. In 2009 a priest was sentenced to 22 years in prison for similar crimes.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)  Bulgarias chief prosecutor escaped unharmed as a bomb exploded on a motorway near the capital, Sofia, while his motorcade drove past on Monday, government officials said.

The chief prosecutor and his family were the target of a terrorist act, the head of the National Investigation Service, Borislav Sarafov, told reporters. He added that the incident was not an attempt at intimidation but assassination, and fortunately no one was hurt.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP)  The Canadian government reached a tentative contract agreement Monday with its largest workers union, ending a 12-day strike by more than 120,000 public servants.

The four-year deal affects a majority of the Public Service Alliance of Canada workers, including immigration workers, administrative personnel across various agencies, maintenance workers, port workers and firefighters.

But some 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers remain on the picket line.

Chris Aylward, the unions national president, said in a statement that group held the line and "secured a fair contract that keeps up with the cost of living, increased protections around remote work and creates safer, more inclusive workplaces.

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier called the deal fair and competitive.

We negotiated, we compromised and we found creative solutions, she told a news conference.

Fortier said the deal will increase wages 11.5% over four years and will cost Canadian taxpayers CDN$1.3 billion (US$96 million a year).

The union said the contract agreement secured wage increases totaling 12.6% compounded over four years, along with a one-time, pensionable CDN$2,500 (US$1,896.00) lump sum payment that represents an additional 3.7% of salary for the average union member in Treasury Board bargaining units.

It said members will have access to additional protection when the employer makes arbitrary decisions about remote work, and that managers will have to assess telework requests individually, not by group, and provide written responses.

The union said the tentative deal also addresses its demands regarding seniority rights in the event of layoffs. Also, when there are layoffs, an employee who can carry out work that is being conducted by a hired contractor will not lose their job.

Fortier said talks with the tax agency workers continue.

Theyre still at the table and negotiating as we speak and were looking forward to see how this will unfold, she said.

Public servants had hit picket lines at locations across the country for a dozen days in what the union said was one of the biggest job actions in Canadian history.

Service disruptions loomed large during the strike, from slowdowns at the border to pauses on new employment insurance, immigration and passport applications.

Initial negotiations on a new collective agreement had initially begun in June 2021, and the union had declared an impasse in May 2022, with both parties filing labor complaints since then.
Egyptian, Arab and foreign media are invited to cover the National Dialogues opening session, which kicks off on Wednesday, 3 May at 2 PM in Cairo, General Coordinator of the dialogue Diaa Rashwan announced on Monday.





"Since the public has the right to know and have immediate and transparent access to the proceedings of the National Dialogue, representatives of accredited Egyptian and foreign press and media outlets in Egypt are all invited to attend the opening session of the dialogue, Rashwan said.

The session will be held on Wednesday, 3 May 2023, at 2:00 PM in the Nefertiti Hall in the conference centre at the Exhibition Grounds in Nasr City.

The General Coordinator clarified that the presence of journalists and media personnel for coverage does not require a previous invitation.

Representatives of Egyptian press and media outlets should only present their credentials and letters of accreditation from their respective syndicates and organizations.

On the other hand, accredited foreign press and media outlets in Egypt will receive invitations from the State Information Service (SIS).

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi initially proposed holding the 'National Dialogue' in April 2022 to decide on the nation's future political, economic, and social priorities.

According to the dialogue's board of trustees, the National Dialogue will have 19 affiliated committees which will discuss as many as 113 political, economic and social topics.

The opening of the National Dialogue on 3 May comes after more than one year of preparations and arrangements by its 19-member Board of Trustees.

Rashwan is expected to hold a press conference before 3 May to announce the details of the dialogue sessions and answer questions.

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GENEVA (AP)  An environmental activist stormed the set of a Swiss television debate and glued himself to a podium while live on air, only to be extracted, heels dragging, a few minutes later.

Local station Leman Bleu had erected the red-carpet set in a historic arcade much frequented by tourists, near Geneva City Hall, with the public and passers-by invited to look on.

The man who ran onto the set wore a T-shirt with the words for Act Together in French and the logo of the Extinction Rebellion activist group written on the back.

The episode took place Sunday as the TV station was hosting a discussion among candidates around a second, decisive round of local elections.

The networks editorial director and presenter, Jeremy Seydoux, was initially surprised by the stunt, seeming to recoil. He then scolded the activist, who was wearing a beard and ponytail, even as the presenter tried to continued the program despite the disruption.

No, no, sir, youre not going to glue yourself to the set. I don't believe it! said Seydoux, wagging a finger at the activist as the crowd jeered and booed. Oh-la-la! Its a shame. Its a shame, sir, youre taking a democratic program hostage. ... I refuse to co-host this show with you.

You have strictly nothing to say, and I will now ask you to be evacuated, he added, before sighing: What an afternoon!

A technician in a headset inspected the scene, but could not immediately figure out how to dislodge the activist, who proceeded to chat into the microphone of Switzerlands public network, RTS.

Shortly afterward, technicians equipped with solvent arrived to remove the man and escort him away  though he struggled a bit and sat down to slow the eviction. Police then moved in to help, and the crowd jeered more as he was taken away.

The stunt echoed recent protests by Germany's Last Generation movement, whose climate activists have drawn attention for bringing traffic to a standstill by gluing themselves to the road.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year.

The Israeli military said gunmen opened fire at soldiers on an arrest raid and the troops shot back. The military has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.
BEIRUT (AP)  Israeli airstrikes targeted the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo early Tuesday, killing one Syrian soldier and putting the airport out of commission, state media said.

Syria's state news agency SANA, citing a military official, said two civilians and five other Syrian soldiers were wounded, and that Israel had launched airstrikes on other unnamed targets around Aleppo.
Since this discussion so often turns to emotional appeals, lets get this out of the way at the top. If it was my family, Id feel differently.

When prison commutations recently increased in Connecticut, it was the voice of families that led to outrage and, ultimately, change. And its easy to see where theyre coming from. If I had lost a family member to violent crime, I wouldnt want the person who committed that crime getting out of prison one minute before the sentence was up. Likely not even then.

And yet most people understand that while the voice of victims and their families must be heard, they are not the final word. Thats not supposed to be how we make laws.

There was nothing unlawful about the increase in prison commutations recently recorded in Connecticut. The numbers increased, but that followed a shutdown of the system during COVID that created a backlog. When the system restarted, there were many candidates for release, which is part of the reason why numbers went up.

The bigger picture is the story of mass incarceration in America. If were going to get away from the era of locking people up and forgetting about them, that means a range of changes, including revisiting long-ago decisions.

It means we need to pay attention to what happens when people are imprisoned for decades on end. There is plenty of evidence showing that people who commit violent acts in their younger days are not necessarily dangerous in middle age. We are, at the same time, contributing to the dissolution of families and neighborhoods as people lose half their lives or more behind bars.

All this can sound like so much liberal coddling, but there are hardheaded reasons for taking on mass incarceration, too, and it starts with the cost savings from closing prisons. If you want to cut public spending, there are few better places to start.

The current situation in Connecticut is that commutations, which are a shortening of a sentence for someone currently serving time, are on pause. They became much more common in recent years under Carleton Giles, a former Norwalk police officer who was until recently head of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, from an average of about three per year to 71 in 2022. That led to the uproar that brought Giles replacement as head of that board.

What no one has done is show why the increase in commutations was wrong, or even against any rules. There have been arguments on an emotional level, which is understandable. There have not been arguments made on a practical level, or from a public safety standpoint.

Instead, at the urging of legislative Republicans, Gov. Ned Lamont, ostensibly a Democrat though lately its harder to tell, bowed to pressure, replaced Giles and stopped everything.

This is how mass incarceration continues.

If anyone would know how this kind of story typically plays out, its Lamont. He just a few months ago won a second term as governor against an opponent who desperately wanted people to believe that dangerous criminals lurked around every corner.

No one downplays the reality of street crime, but people also realize that living their lives in constant fear doesnt work, either. Connecticut voters rejected that message in November, which is why Lamont is still governor.

Today, by giving into demands of Republicans, hes playing into the same dynamic.

Among the ironies of the current controversy is that commutations are not at the top of the list of preferred policies for reducing inmate populations. As described by Wanda Bertram, communications strategist for the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative, commutations are individually based with a long application process and often have little chance of success. One survey found an average of one commutation for every 10,000 imprisoned people each year.

People who are having their sentences shortened after decades in prison are likely older than their years. Some 10 percent of the prison population in Connecticut is over 55, and physically the wear of incarceration puts them in worse shape than a typical 55-year-old. These are not people at high risk of recidivism.

Theres no question the difference it makes in the lives of those affected, but even there were talking about dozens of people in a system where thousands are behind bars. Nothing has changed about the fundamental questions of incarceration. And yet even this was too much, in a relatively safe state like Connecticut.

In a recent interview that was mostly focused on budgets and tax cuts, Lamont said he thought a pause in commutations was the right move. He also said there was legislation in the works to clarify procedures moving forward.

That shouldnt be necessary. No one has indicated the boards previous leadership violated any rules in granting commutations; the only reason people raised alarms is that the numbers surprised them. Thats not a reason to rewrite the book.

We need to get past the notion that prison populations can be cut significantly by focusing solely on low-level drug offenders. Thats part of the equation, but to truly roll back harmful policies, we need to revisit sentences for people who have committed violent crimes. Studies have shown we can do that without endangering the public.

If anything, officials should be looking to match or exceed the numbers the Parole Board had been reaching. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. This is one of those ways.
A bill now being considered in the Connecticut General Assembly would prevent anyone who engages in insurrection or rebellion from holding office in our state.

Obviously, this bill is a reaction to the Jan. 6 insurrection. It is a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided attempt to prevent individuals who tried to overturn a fair and free national election through violence, including by invading the Capitol building and terrorizing our elected officials, from holding public office.

Understandably, more than two years after the insurrection, many feel that the government has been slow in bringing the Jan. 6 insurrectionists to justice. Too few have had their day in court. There may be some concern that anti-democratic and violent elements in our country are getting off with light sentences, so we want to make sure that they the face the full consequences of their actions, including by barring them from elected office. At the same time, we also know  and condemn  the disproportionate use of force that law enforcement and federal security personnel have used historically against Black protesters who have challenged the state.

Clearly, some politicians fear that individuals who engaged in the Jan. 6 insurrection could win an election here in our state or ride to power on a tide of pro-Trump, Christian nationalist popularity in 2024 and beyond.

This shows that current Connecticut political leadership does not trust the people of Connecticut to see and recognize the Jan. 6 insurrectionists for what they were: white nationalists and dangerous antidemocratic forces proud to wave Nazi flags in our capital and take down the U.S. flag to replace it with a Trump flag.

While I personally would not want to see any of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists take office, I believe this bill is misguided on three fronts.

First, we should remember that vaguely written laws like this one that target people who challenge government powers  and who who penalize individuals who support enemies of the United States  like this proposed law could be used in the future against all different types of political opponents. For instance, a law like this one could be used to criminalize members of outspoken political groups like Black Lives Matter, especially if less-progressive politicians were elected to office. We should keep in mind that with vague definitions of what rebellion means and enemies of the United States, those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law.

Second, we should remember that the progressive and civic-minded political parties in office in Connecticut today may not be the same parties in office 30 or even 50 years from now. How might this law potentially empower future regressive governments (should they ever be elected) to target and remove their political opponents? That is to say, a law like this one could do a lot of damage in the wrong hands.

Third, as a person of faith, I hold fast to the belief that all people are capable of change. It could be that yesterdays Jan. 6 insurrectionist has a change of heart and becomes tomorrows community organizer or reformer. As someone who believes in the power of personal transformation, Im not willing to label anyone a permanent state enemy, never able to hold elected office.

Because of this, I believe that this is the wrong bill for 2023 and a waste of time. We should be working not on political showboating, but on legislation that would help the people of Connecticut right now who are struggling.

What we really need is the political will to address our states critical shortage of affordable housing. Thats a bill many would join me in supporting.

Meredith Barges is a master of divinity student at Yale University expected to graduate in May 2023.
Geoffrey Hinton rose to prominence as an artificial intelligence researcher. He invented groundbreaking new technologies, sold Google a 2-month-old startup for $44 million in the halcyon days of AI and received computings highest honor.

Now, the man known as the Godfather of AI, says he regrets his lifes work.

The scientist quit his job as lead researcher at Google in April, he told the New York Times in an interview published Monday, so he could speak freely about the dangers of the technology he has helped push forward for decades.

Hinton joins the chorus of scientists and researchers  many of whom are working on various forms and applications of AI  expressing concern about the techs escalating power and impact.

In the short term, hes worried about not only the propagation of fake photos, videos and texts online but also the effects of that false content on people who cant tell theyre fake, he told the Times. He also expressed concerns about AI displacing humans in the labor market and, down the road, AI machines learning and then performing unexpected or unplanned behaviors. Hinton also concernedly suggested that autonomous weapons  a technology under active development in the United States  could enter battlefields and beyond.

It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things, Hinton told the Times about AI more broadly.

Hinton, whose former student Ilya Sutskever co-founded OpenAI, said he believes Microsoft and Googles race to build up AI technology may be impossible to stop. Those firms, along with other tech titans and a litany of startups, are rushing to capture the profits of AI-enabled products  a race that OpenAIs release of ChatGPT and partnership with Microsoft shoved into the corporate world and public eye.

The scientist tweeted after the Times articles publication that he thinks Google has acted responsibly. The company provided SFGATE with a statement from chief scientist Jeff Dean, who said that he'll miss Hinton and that Google is "committed to a responsible approach to AI."

Hintons journey with Google started in 2012. He and two of his students invented a mathematical system based on neurons in the brain that could identify common objects from a batch of thousands of photos. The breakthrough paper, published that fall, revitalized the research area and altered the course of computing. Neural networks are now a core technology for self-driving cars, social media algorithms, chatbots, facial recognition software and more.

He and the students, Sutskever and Alex Krishevsky, created a research startup that would quickly provoke a high-stakes auction. In December 2012, the team holed up at a computing conference in South Lake Tahoe and fielded bids from Google, Microsoft, the Chinese tech firm Baidu and the London startup DeepMind, itself later bought by Google, Wired reported.

So began Hintons work with the tech giant: A few months after the auction, he and his team signed on to conduct research in a $44 million deal. Hinton opened a Google AI lab in Toronto in 2017 and received the Turing Award, alongside two other AI collaborators, in 2018.

This story has been updated.

Hear of anything happening at Google or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.
The story of Salvation Mountain is one of resilience and perseverance.

Since Leonard Knight began construction of the Southern California desert monument in 1984, its been met with various challenges, from structural to environmental to political. And yet, almost four decades later, the folk art piece still stands.

Visiting Salvation Mountain is a pilgrimage, even for those in nearby desert cities like Indio and Palm Springs. The trek was a three-hour drive from Los Angeles, and even Joshua Tree campers must carve out two hours to make it to Niland, California.

On the way, I marveled at the Salton Sea, filled with water thanks to a rainy spring. When I finally arrived in Niland, I noticed that the town is mostly composed of trailer homes and campers. Salvation Mountain sits at the entrance of Slab City, an unincorporated community of concrete slabs left over from a World War II Marine base. It has no city officials or services and is often called the last free place.

Knights message was clear, sprawled in big letters at the top center: God is love.

RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The /Denver Post via Getty Images

Thanks to the recent storms, I was spared an insulting desert heat. I met the docent on duty, a man solely named Wolf, who said the temperatures around early April are typically at least in the mid-90s, if not hotter. When I arrived in early April, there were more than 20 people there to enjoy Salvation Mountain. I wondered if it was busy because it was Easter weekend, but Wolf said seeing 200 visitors in a day is not uncommon.

Whether or not youre religious, the mountain brings a sense of magic and whimsy. The hill is full of vibrant colors and adorned with depictions of waterfalls, flowers and even a yellow brick road, all while the surrounding landscape is nothing but tan desert dirt. The 50-by-150-foot sculpture is made of adobe clay, straw and multiple coats of paint. Because of the untraditional materials, the mountain is a high-maintenance problem. After Knight died in 2014, some speculated it would melt back into the Earth.

He wasnt much of an artist, said Wolf, who freely volunteers to take care of the mountain. It was more that Knight had a vision that guided the project through.

Knights journey as an artist began in 1980 when he tried to create a hot-air balloon, but the balloon became too big to manage and rotted out. In 1984, he finally gave up on the balloon and started a mountain instead to promote his message. He filled old junk he found at the dump with sand for its construction, then covered it with cement and paint. Because cement was hard to get his hands on, Knight often thinned the cement with sand.

It collapsed four years later.

Paul Harris/Getty Images

In 1989, he started again  this time using adobe clay as the base and several coats of paint to protect the structure from the desert elements. In 1998, he added the hogan, a shelter he meant to live in modeled after traditional Navajo shelters. He also added a museum, modeled after the hot-air balloon he desperately tried to create.

David McNew/Getty Images

The mountain is built on county land. In 1994, Imperial County officials attempted to dismantle the artwork, claiming there were high amounts of lead from the paint in the soil. The county planned to charge squatters living in Slab City a user fee and claimed that the religious monument at its entrance was unsightly. After a petition garnered several hundred signatures and an independent lab tested the soil and found it was nontoxic, the structure survived.

However, today, it comes with a fresh set of problems.

George Rose/Getty Images

During my visit, the yellow brick road was unavailable to stroll. The roof of the museum had caved in. An unusually wet spring was not kind to the structures integrity. Even without the rainy season, keeping the mountain in good condition is a full-time commitment. Harsh desert weather means sun damage and cracked paint.



The goal is to have the museum fixed by midsummer, Wolf said.

George Rose/Getty Images

Knight used more than 100,000 gallons of paint on the mountain to upkeep his vision, but donations of paint are graciously accepted. The nonprofit organization Salvation Mountain Inc. strives to maintain the mountain as Knight did  with coat after coat applied to a desert oddity thats managed to resist the elements and change.
WFO LAKE CHARLES Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, May 2, 2023

_____

FLOOD WARNING

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED

Flood Warning

National Weather Service Lake Charles LA

912 AM CDT Mon May 1 2023

...The National Weather Service in Lake Charles LA has issued a

Flood Warning for the following rivers in Texas...Louisiana...

Sabine River Near Deweyville

Additional information is available at www.weather.gov.

...FLOOD WARNING FOR A DAM FLOODGATE RELEASE IN EFFECT FROM LATE

WEDNESDAY NIGHT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...

* WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast.

* WHERE...Sabine River Near Deweyville.

* WHEN...From late Wednesday night until further notice.

* IMPACTS...At 24.0 feet, Minor lowland flooding will occur.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...

- At 8:45 AM CDT Monday the stage was 23.4 feet.

- Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage

early Thursday morning and continue rising to 24.1 feet

Thursday evening. Additional rises are possible thereafter.

- Flood stage is 24.0 feet.

- http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood

Fld Observed Forecasts (7 am CDT)

Location Stg Stg Day/Time Tue Wed Thu

Sabine River

Deweyville 24.0 23.4 Mon 8 am CDT 23.5 23.8 24.0

_____

Copyright 2023 AccuWeather
Part of the fun of taking a trip to any national park is being able to sleep inside the gates, but given the popularity of Yosemite National Park, the lodges and campgrounds tend to fill up quickly. In fact, reservations for these popular accommodations are available a year in advance and are hot tickets from spring through fall.

If you can't get a reservation inside the park itself, there are still plenty of great lodging options close enough for near-maximum convenience. Plus, lodgings located outside of the park are often cheaper.

Keep reading for six of the best places to stay near Yosemite National Park.

AutoCamp Yosemite

Since 2019, AutoCamp Yosemite has been welcoming guests to its property, where everyone stays in completely customized Airstreams, cabins, luxury tents or suites. Rates, which start at $233 during the peak season of summer, go down to $179 for the fall and winter months. The highlight for many people who book here is the retrofitted Airstream trailers, which can accommodate up to three adults, or two adults and two children. Inside the Airstreams, there is a sitting room, kitchenette, bedroom and private bathroom with a walk-in rain shower.

After spending the day inside Yosemite National Park, enjoy a daily happy hour at the AutoCamp, where you can try a local beer or enjoy wine or canned cocktails. For a hearty meal, head to The Kitchen, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The campground also hosts activities like live music, meditation classes, nature therapy and flower farm tours, some of which cost extra money.

Transportation to and from the park is provided by the Yosemite Area Regional Transit System, aka YARTS, the local public transportation program. Shuttles pick guests up at the front of the AutoCamp property and take them into Yosemite. If you choose to drive to the park yourself, AutoCamp is about 40 minutes from the Arch Rock Entrance.

Find it: AutoCamp Yosemite, 6323 California Route 140, Midpines, CA 95345; 844-993-9888

Courtesy of Evergreen Lodge

Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite Custom Camping

Less than a mile from Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy is Evergreen Lodge. While the lodge does have small cabins and cottages, its custom camping sites are what set this accommodation apart from the rest on our list. Here, you'll arrive at a tent site that's already set up and fully furnished for your group. Inside the tent, you'll find foam mattresses with sleeping bags, liners and pillows. Other amenities include towels, toiletries, camping chairs and a lantern.

There are four different on-site dining options, including a historic tavern and a pool bar near the saltwater pool. Guests are also privy to a variety of activities like movie nights, yoga classes, live music, outdoor games and s'mores. Peak and holiday rates for the custom camping option start at $130 per night.

Find it: Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite, 33160 Evergreen Road, Groveland, CA 95321; 209-379-2606

Courtesy of the Groveland Hotel

The Groveland Hotel

Travelers looking for more boutique accommodations near Yosemite will enjoy The Groveland Hotel, a beautiful property with just 18 rooms. The most budget-friendly rooms are the classic queens, which start at $99 per night and have a bathroom en suite, a coffee machine and mini fridge. For a little more room, the deluxe king rooms can accommodate up to three people starting at $134 a night.

YARTS picks up from the Groveland to take guests to and from the park (the hotel is about 30 minutes from the entrance). After you're done there, enjoy a meal at the hotel restaurant, Provisions, where craft cocktails and beer pair with seasonal comfort food.

Find it: The Groveland Hotel, 18767 Main St., Groveland, CA 95321; 209-962-4000

Aric Crabb/MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images

Hotel Charlotte

Hotel Charlotte has been welcoming guests to its modest building in Groveland since 1921  but its exterior will remind you of a place out of the Old West. Rates are as low as $139 a night if you book directly on the hotel's website. While most of the 13 rooms only sleep up to two people, there is a small number that can sleep up to five for larger families or groups traveling together. Each room comes with Wi-Fi, parking, satellite TV and individual temperature controls. This boutique hotel is also home to Charlotte's Tavern, where homey comfort foods like fried chicken and meatloaf are served alongside specialty cocktails.

Find it: Hotel Charlotte, 18736 Main St., Groveland, CA 95321; 209-962-6455

Yosemite Westgate Lodge

If being as close as possible to Yosemite National Park is your goal, Yosemite Westgate Lodge is just 12 miles from the park's west entrance. The hotel features newly remodeled rooms that start at $169 per night. Each room has a TV with premium channels, a small kitchenette and a private bathroom. Guests will find plenty of room to spread out at the hotel with large open spaces on the grounds, plus a pool, hot tub and on-site restaurant. While the Yosemite Westgate wouldn't be described as fancy, it's close to the park and has everything you'll need to recharge between your days of exploring.

Find it: Yosemite Westgate Lodge, 7633 California Route 121, Groveland, CA 95321; 209-962-5281

This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Managing Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.
Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan authorities signed a surprise "Cessation of Hostilities Agreement" on November 2 to end a two-year war that has inflicted a devastating human toll.

Six months on and against all expectations, there has been progress implementing a deal that according to one diplomat, no-one believed would work.

The guns have fallen silent and humanitarian aid is being restored to the stricken region of Tigray, but numerous challenges remain to cement the peace.

A "positive dynamic"

Despite the brutality of the fighting between pro-government forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), observers note goodwill on both sides to execute the accord, although there are delays.

"The two sides acknowledge that the deadlines were untenable and agree they should not be a reason to block (implementation)," a second diplomat said.

"The dynamic is positive," added geopolitical researcher Patrick Ferras.

"The two parties are quite honest and the implementation is fairly rapid," he said, conceding that "such issues cannot be resolved in five months".

Benjamin Petrini, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, voiced caution about the "opacity" of the process.

But he highlighted several positive developments since the deal was signed in Pretoria.

"The halt in violence has been nearly complete. Restoration of services to Tigray and the delivery of external aid are also key accomplishments," he said.

Ethiopia's government still restricts journalists' access to Tigray, but according to two people who visited recently, electricity and communications have been restored in the main urban centres.

However, power cuts are frequent and large areas remain without mobile phone service. Access to cash is also very limited outside Tigray's capital Mekele.

Relations between Addis Ababa and Tigray are on the mend. An interim regional administration led by the TPLF was set up after the group was removed from a list of "terrorist" organisations, and the federal government is helping to finance the regional budget.

An unknown: scale of disarmament

The African Union's monitoring mission confirmed in mid-January the TPLF had begun surrendering heavy weapons. The process is ongoing but the scale of the disarmament is not clear.

"The AU mission estimates between 60 and 80 percent of heavy weapons have been recovered. In fact we don't know for sure," the first diplomat said.

"When it comes to light weapons, it is complicated to completely disarm the TPLF in a country where small arms abound."

Alongside disarmament, the accord called for the withdrawal from Tigray of foreign troops and non-federal forces -- seen as a reference to Eritrea's army and paramilitaries from the neighbouring Amhara region.

Both played a crucial role supporting the Ethiopian army on the battlefield but were not invited to the Pretoria talks.

Accused of some of the worst wartime atrocities, Eritrean troops have largely withdrawn from Tigray, but have a low-key presence in border areas, according to a diplomat.

Amhara forces still control Western Tigray, a disputed region claimed by both Amharas and Tigrayans and a potentially dangerous flashpoint.

Aid resumes, but not enough

About 90 percent of Tigray's six million people, who were largely cut off from the outside world during the conflict, rely on humanitarian aid.

Although northern Ethiopia is now more accessible, aid has yet to reach the level required, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in April.

"Many inhabitants still say they are going hungry," said one humanitarian source.

Jude Fuhnwi, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ethiopia, warned: "A terrible number of emergencies persist, not only in Tigray but also in parts of neighbouring Afar and Amhara.

"Emergencies linked to malnutrition, destroyed health infrastructure, sexual violence, displacement and conflict wounded persons are particularly severe."

Challenges ahead

The scale of the destruction is colossal after a conflict the US says cost around half a million lives.

"It will take at least 10 years to rebuild Tigray to the way it was before November 2020... (but) with what money?" said Ferras.

Tigray's once efficient health system is on its knees, and according to OCHA, 85 percent of schools have serious or partial damage.

All warring sides face accusations of atrocities that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the international community and rights campaigners are demanding the guilty be held accountable.

"How is the country and society supposed to move on from this extremely destructive war?" said Petrini.

"Institutional mechanisms to ascertain responsibilities on war crimes, as well as nationwide reconciliation initiatives are needed."

While Addis Ababa is establishing a transitional justice process, "there's a strong temptation by both sides to sweep these crimes under the carpet", the first diplomat said.

The issue of Western Tigray remains intractable and "risks being put off indefinitely", said Ferras.

Elsewhere, Africa's second most populous country -- a mosaic of more than 80 ethnic groups -- continues to grapple with multiple regional conflicts and challenges to its unity and stability.

Last month, violent protests erupted in Amhara over federal government moves to disband various regional paramilitaries in Ethiopia that have been operating illegally for years.

"A serious security sector reform is needed," said Petrini.

"And looking at the situation in Sudan, reining in the regional security forces is the arena where it will be decided if Ethiopia can move toward peace and an updated political settlement or not."

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Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej RenTRUST, Indias largest warehouse rental equipment player, has launched an innovative safety solution, the i-Report app, to enhance safety in material handling operations in India. This is Indias first-ever safety application for material handling operations. The app will help reduce the gap in the industry's safety policies and standards by offering a 360-degree safety solution through remote and real-time incident reporting, audit, training, and consultation to their customers and business partners. The Safety App will be available in over 200 locations across 22 states and will be manned 24 X 7, by 1000+ trained operators.

Mr. Anil Lingayat, Executive VP & Business Head, Godrej Material Handling, stated, "We firmly believe that safety and customer-centricity form the bedrock of any successful business. Unrecorded incidents on the shop floor have been a concern for the industry. This is now set to change as all stakeholders will be able to proactively identify hazards and eliminate them. With the advent of this innovative application, Godrej RenTRUST is poised to set a new standard for safety initiatives in the Indian material handling industry, and further promote the culture of safety across manufacturing facilities and warehouse premises, suitably enabled with technology.

Godrej RenTRUST has over the last 3 years, invested heavily in innovation, digitization, and technology. A significant share of this investment has been to promote safety at warehouses and manufacturing facilities. India has a booming warehouse market. The last couple of years has especially witnessed, a surging demand for well-equipped, modern warehouses that prioritize safety which is essential for a more productive workforce. Injuries incurring in warehouse operations can pose grave risks to the well-being of staff, while also disrupting workflow and incurring significant expenses.

Presently, there are no digital record-keeping mechanisms or safety protocols in place in Indian warehouses, leading to preventable accidents. The introduction of the 'i-Report Safety App marks a vital step in bridging this gap, enabling hazard identification and the provision of safety guidelines to mitigate accidents on the shop floor and in warehouses.

The state-of-the-art app was officially launched on the occasion of the 33rd Safety Foundation Day celebrated at Godrej & Boyce on 12th April 2023.

With this app, all sites, crew, and customer representatives can easily log safety hazards, while a team of three dedicated safety supervisors will monitor the app. The process will only be closed once the safety officer of Godrej & Boyce confirms that the steps taken to close the hazard are safe and sustainable to prevent any such occurrence in the future.

The development of 'i-Report,' reflects the company's unwavering commitment to promoting safety and customer-centricity for this growing sector.
Workers' Day, or May Day, is a yearly international holiday noted on May 1st in various nations, including the United States, Canada, and India. The purpose of this holiday is to honor the working class and what they have given to society. On this day, employees are honored and recognized for the dedication and sacrifices that they have made to bring happiness and prosperity into their lives and the lives of their families. This article will examine the origins of Labour Day, its significance, and how it is celebrated globally.

Tracing the Origins of a Historic Celebration

But where did this holiday come from? Let's examine the beginnings and go back to the United States in the late 1800s when the labour movement was gaining strength. Workers were uniting to demand higher salaries, safer working conditions, and an end to child labour. The labor movement significantly affected industrialized cities, where employees endured long hours, hazardous conditions, and low pay. Thousands of employees around the country went on strike on May 1st, 1886, calling for an eight-hour workweek. Years of planning and protest by labour unions and activists ended in the strike. Workers gathered at Haymarket Square in Chicago to protest and demand their rights. When a bomb exploded during the gathering, it turned violent, and several people were killed.

The incident, known as the Haymarket Massacre, started a debate on labor unions' responsibilities to defend workers' rights across the country. Then the United States government designated May 1st as "International Workers' Day" in 1890 due to the incident. However, the American government chose to celebrate Labour Day on the first Monday in September instead of May 1st. The celebration of labour was initially observed in Canada in 1894, and it later became a holiday there. Finally, the International Socialist Congress declared May 1st as International Workers' Day in 1904; that is now observed in over 80 different countries worldwide. Labour Day serves as an occasion to remember the difficulties and achievements of workers as well as honor their achievements. To society, while still, workers worldwide face challenges, including low pay, unsafe working conditions, and job insecurity.

Workers of the World Unite: The Significance of Labor Day

Labour Day is more than just a holiday from work; it has a deeper meaning. It's an important day for workers because it reminds them of the battles and sacrifices made by labour unions and activists to win better workplaces and fair wages. It also serves as a reminder of the labour movement, which succeeded in supporting workers with the right to unionize and fundamental rights and safety precautions. The continued difficulties that the American workforce faces, such as wage inequity, job insecurity, and the weakening of worker safeguards, are also highlighted. The COVID-19 epidemic recently highlighted the weaknesses of the American workforce, particularly those in vital and frontline firms who risked their lives and health to keep the country operating during the crisis.

Exploration of Labor Day Celebrations Worldwide

On the first Monday in September, Americans celebrate Labour Day. The occasion is celebrated with parades, picnics, and barbecues. The end of the summer season makes it a popular time for businesses to launch sales. Canada also observes it on the first Monday in September. Canadians celebrate the day with parades and community events like Americans do. Many workers also take the day off to spend time with loved ones. On "Da Del Trabajo," Mexico celebrates Labour Day as a national holiday. To commemorate the event, marches, protests, and parades are organized.

"Dia do Trabalhador" is how Brazilians refer to Labour Day. On this day, protests and rallies support better working conditions and higher worker pay. Festivals and cultural activities are also happening during this period. The title "Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas" is given for Labour Day in India. Workers seek more rights and safeguards at demonstrations and speeches marking the day. Also, now is the time to honor the labourers' contributions, including those of farmers and factory workers. In China, Labour Day is observed as "May Day" over a weeklong holiday. In celebration of the festival, there are parades, cultural events, and parties. Employees can take a vacation or a break to spend time with their loved ones. In Europe, May 1st, also known as "May Day," is observed as Labour Day. Workers usually seize this chance to advocate for increased rights and safeguards and take note of the Labour movement's achievements.

Conclusion

Labour Day is a day set aside to celebrate the achievements of workers and the significance of the labour movement. It serves as a reminder that workers have battled for and are still fighting for better working conditions, just compensation, and fundamental rights. Let's commemorate Labour Day by reflecting on the sacrifices made by workers in the past and reaffirming our commitment to enhancing their quality of life in the future
The White House says it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy-assault in eastern Ukraine.

The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy-assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life, the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Both sides have cited gains in recent days.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

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Amid searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Byju's founder and chief executive officer Byju Raveendran has claimed the edtech company brought more foreign direct investment (FDI) to India than any other Indian startup.

In a letter to employees, the edtech major's founder said the startup has received 28,000 crore as FDI which has enabled it to create job opportunities for over 55,000 professionals. This makes Byju's India's largest employer among startups, the CEO claimed.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at three premises run by Byju's founder and his company Think & Learn Private Limited under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). During the search, various incriminating documents and digital data were seized, the probe agency said.

In his email to employees, Raveendran stated the information requested by and furnished to the ED officers in connection with the FDI raised, overseas investments made, and cross-border transactions related to marketing and branding activities by Byju's has previously been submitted by the company's authorised representatives.

Byju's made a number of worldwide acquisitions by investing an amount of around 9,000 crore through the years as part of its growth strategy, Raveendran said. "These acquisitions have been instrumental in expanding our reach and impact. In order to fund these acquisitions, we have remitted some of our initial funding overseas," the edtech startup's CEO wrote.

Byju's, which had once been valued at $22 billion, went on an acquisition spree over the past few years. The edtech firm spent $2.5 billion on acquisitions that included Aakash Educational Services, U.S.-based Epic, kids' coding platform Tynker, professional education firm Great Learning and exam prep platform Toppr.

"Byju's has taken every measure to fully comply with all applicable foreign exchange laws and all our cross-border transactions have been duly vetted by both its professional advisors," he said. All such transactions are routed only through regular banking channels, the Reserve Bank of India-authorised dealer banks and the requisite documentation and statutory filings have been duly submitted, said Raveendran, adding the company is 'fully cooperating' with the authorities.

"As we are financed by 70+ impact investors who have satisfactorily done due diligence on our operations, including all FEMA compliance, we are confident that the authorities will also come to the same conclusion," he wrote.

Byju's had said the recent visit by officials from the Enforcement Directorate was related to a 'routine inquiry' under FEMA. "We have been completely transparent with the authorities and have provided them with all the information they have requested. We have nothing but the utmost confidence in the integrity of our operations, and we are committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance and ethics. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to ensure that they have all the information they need, and we are confident that this matter will be resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner," a Byju's spokesperson told.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A trio of Staten Island elected officials sent a letter last week calling on the NYPD to bring more police officers to Staten Island from parts of the city where leaders have called to defund the police.

City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore), City Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island), and Borough President Vito Fossella sent the letter to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell on Thursday calling for more cops locally as crime surges in their home borough.

We are extremely concerned by the surge in crime on Staten Island this year, and absent any meaningful legislation from Albany to address this, we would like to propose a solution, the trio wrote in their letter first reported by the New York Post.

There are still quite a few members of the City Council who continue to push antipolice, pro-crime policies. Many have signed pledges to defund the NYPD and have expressed a preference to remove public safety agencies altogether. Perhaps the irony is lost on these lawmakers that many of the communities they represent have traditionally experienced the most crime, and thus benefit the most from a significant public investment of well-trained, dedicated police officers, the trio of elected officials continued. Our response is simple: If they dont want police in their communities, well take them. Reassign NYPD officers from districts whose representatives want to defund the police to Staten Island, where we could use their help.

As of April 23, six of the NYPDs seven major crime categories  murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto  have seen increases on Staten Island compared to the same time period last year, according to the citys CompStat system.

Councilmen Joe Borelli and David Carr pictured on Sept. 14, 2021. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

Grand larceny auto, the constant target of lock your door messaging from law enforcement, has seen about a 6% decline compared to the same time period last year, but perhaps most concerning, the number of rapes and murders have more than doubled compared to 2022.

According to the NYPD data, there have been five murders this year, up 150% from two reported during the same period in 2022, and there have been 14 rapes compared to six last year, about a 133% increase.

Robberies, burglaries, felony assaults, and grand larcenies have also seen spikes, according to the CompStat data.

In recent months, police precincts in the borough have dealt with a robbery trend targeting local smoke shops. There have been at least nine armed robberies at smoke shops across Staten Island.

The other boroughs have seen similar trends as unlicensed smoke shops continue illegally selling marijuana making them a prime target for thieves looking for cash.

Borough President Vito Fossella pictured on April 20, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)

In February, detectives were looking to see whether any of the incidents are connected, according to a law-enforcement source.

According to Carr, Fossella and Borelli, the crime spike on Staten Island follows a years-long trend that has seen increases in crime around the five boroughs.

While the group didnt mention specific districts from where theyd like to take cops, Borelli, Carr and Fossella wrote that the proposal was discussed behind closed doors during budget discussions, and received little pushback from other Council members.

A pair of Democratic Council members confirmed those discussions to the Post, but said they believed they were made in jest.

The Council doesnt have the authority to allocate individual police officers, but the Staten Island Republicans move builds on months of in-fighting among Democratic Council members.

Their Progressive Caucus saw a mass exodus of members in February when almost half its members refused to sign a statement of principles that included reducing the size of the NYPD and the Department of Correction.

Our goal isnt to eliminate cops in defund commands, we should always be responsive when New Yorkers call 911. But all the squads and assignments that are proactively going after the bad guys, those are the ones I want, Borelli said Monday. We need the cops here and this is a social experiment that has long been sought by liberals and needs to happen. We have had several years of small academy classes, so why should we suffer? We want cops. We allocate all sorts of resources inequitably all over the city and perhaps law enforcement should be no different.

OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

>> New Jersey man accused of dealing Ecstasy on Staten Island

>> NYPD: Man tries to escape through window in Staten Island raid; gun, drugs found

>> Husband charged with murder in stabbing death of wife in Richmond

>> NYPD probes stabbing where woman died, two men were injured on Staten Island

>> Carjackings, threats, scams on Staten Island prompt warning about selling, buying cars on Facebook Marketplace

>> NYPD identifies man, 66, who died crossing Staten Island street

>> NYPD details terrifying attempted abduction on Staten Island; cops search for two males in brown van
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Large NYPD responses at Susan Wagner and New Dorp high schools were prompted by threats that were deemed not credible, according to police and education sources.

The Emergency Service Unit (ESU) and the Bomb Squad were among the NYPD teams which responded, searched the schools and did not find anything suspicious after both high schools received calls that there were bombs in the schools, according to multiple sources.

The threats were not credible, said a spokeswoman for the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

However, the police spokeswoman said, We take every report of something like this seriously.

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, said a statement from the city Department of Education (DOE) about the responses at both Wagner and New Dorp high schools. NYPD quickly investigated... and deemed it non-credible.

Out of an abundance of caution, both schools implemented safety protocols.

At Wagner at 1200 Manor Road in Sea View, the incident sparked a brief shelter-in and hold response.

Police cars and caution tape blocked the main entrance to the school during the emergency response that included the Emergency Service Unit (ESU). The K-9 unit had at least three dogs on the scene and officers also were seen checking the roof of the school.

A hold was also issued for students and staff at New Dorp High School at 465 New Dorp Lane, according to a source with knowledge of the incidents.

New Dorp Lane in front of the school was cordoned off with caution tape during the police search.

No arrests have been made and police will continue their investigation, the police spokeswoman said.

Authorities are looking into the theory that the threats are timed to coincide with standardized testing that is underway at the high schools, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Based on the school calendars, some tests for advanced placement at colleges were scheduled for Monday.

This is a developing story and additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

The NYPD uses caution tape to cordon off the street in front of New Dorp High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

The NYPD uses caution tape to cordon off the street in front of New Dorp High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

The K-9 unit responded to Susan Wagner High School at 1200 Manor Road on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

A large number of police respond to Susan Wagner High School on the morning of Monday, May 1, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Several criminal cases on Staten Island have ended in guilty pleas over the past few weeks.

In weighing the severity of charges, impact on public safety and prior arrests, here are a few of the more notable convictions.

FIRST PRISON BID FOR ALLEGED GUNMAN

In December, 2021, then 20-year-old Rajsean Anderson was charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at a person inside a car in Elm Park.

Anderson, of West Brighton, was indicted by a grand jury for charges of attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon, assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a firearm.

In March, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. In exchange, hell receive eight years incarceration followed by five years post release supervision.

Hes due back in court May 10 for sentencing.

REPUTED GANG MEMBER TAKES PLEA

An ex-convict who cops allege is a gang member from Staten Island is headed back to prison.

Darrell Heath, 34, of Stapleton, once served prison time in a gun case.

In April, 2022, he was charged in the assault of a female victim who was known to him.

Police said the violence unfolded inside the womans car around 2:25 a.m. in Port Richmond. Heath threw a punch at the woman, officials said, and intimidated her into giving him her cell phone.

After chasing down and reportedly assaulting the woman further outside the vehicle, police said he drove off in the victims 2021 JEEP.

The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted assault in that case at an April 4 hearing, while also pleading out in a separate, recent gun arrest to third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

In exchange, hell serve two to four years upstate.

Hes due back in court June 28 for sentencing.

MAN CLEARS PROBATION, FEMALE CO-DEFENDANT ARRESTED

In 2017, a drug raid in Graniteville resulted in the arrests of a man and woman accused of selling heroin out of the residence.

Both defendants  separated in age by about 20 years  pleaded guilty in exchange for six-month prison sentences, followed by probation on the outside.

Michael McCarthy, now 62-years-old, has since met the conditions of his probation and is free from police supervision, court documents show.

His former co-defendant, however, was arrested again in 2022 for similar charges.

Stephanie Murphy, 43, pleaded guilty recently in state Supreme Court, St. George to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a firearm.

In exchange, she was sentenced to three years prison, followed by 18 months post release supervision.



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A year after a 17-year-old student at a New Jersey boarding school took his own life, the school publicly took responsibility and said it fell tragically short in its obligation to protect him.

Last year, on April 30, 2022, Jack Reid took his own life after months of bullying. On Sunday, the one-year anniversary of his death, The Lawrenceville School, a co-ed preparatory school for students in Mercer County, announced on its website that it reached an agreement with Reids parents.

It publicly acknowledged it had been aware that Jack was being bullied by other students and fell tragically short when it came to the schools expectations to provide physical, social and emotional health, safety and well-being to students.

The School acknowledges that bullying and unkind behavior, and actions taken or not taken by the School, likely contributed to Jacks death, said Lawrenceville officials in a statement posted Sunday on the schools website.

Jacks parents told The New York Times that he arrived at the boarding school as a 10th-grader in fall 2020. But by spring 2021, a persistent and untrue rumor that Jack was a rapist was spreading widely throughout the student body, the media outlet reported.

The rumor was then posted anonymously to a nationwide, student-run social app  spreading online. His parents said both the in-person bullying and cyberbullying compounded the rumors impact, according to The Times. Jack asked school officials to intervene, which led to a school investigation during the bullying and sexual assault allegation.

The school did not make a public or private statement that it investigated and found the claim about Jack to be untrue, according to the schools statement. A classmate involved in spreading the rumors, who was later expelled for an unrelated violation of school rules, was also disciplined for bullying Jack.

Lawrenceville acknowledged its fault specifically on the day Jack took his life. Just hours after the classmate involved in the bullying was expelled, the school allowed him, unsupervised, to say his farewells to classmates, which included harsh words about Jack.

School administrators did not notify or check on Jack, said the schools statement. That night, Jack took his life, telling a friend that he could not go through this again. The School acknowledges that bullying and unkind behavior, and actions taken or not taken by the School, likely contributed to Jacks death.

Jack was seeing a therapist at the time of his death because of the bullying and had never discussed killing himself nor did he display any of the underlying factors that may have indicated he was at risk for suicide, his mother told The Times.

After a months-long investigation following Jacks suicide, the school committed to institute changes and actions to support the schools aspirations to become a model for anti-bullying and student mental health. The school is hiring a dean of campus well-being to focus on student mental health issues, will contract with a specialist on school bullying, and will contribute to the Jack Reid Foundation, which was established by the Reid family and focuses on education and prevention of bullying.

If you are in need of help, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the United States. Simply call or text 988.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York City families have until Monday to apply for free, all-day programming this summer through the citys Summer Rising program.

Summer Rising is a free program administered by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and the Department of Education (DOE) that connects elementary and middle school students to fun, culturally relevant, hands-on experiences to strengthen their academic, social and emotional skills.

The deadline to apply is Monday, and those interested should to: www.nycenet.edu/surveys/summerrising.

Students currently in kindergarten through eighth grade (in the 2022-2023 school year) in New York City can apply for Summer Rising. This includes any student attending public school, charter school, non-public school and home-schooling students.

____________________________________

NYC Summer Rising returns: Here are 7 key things to know about the free program for students

____________________________________

During the application, families are asked to rank multiple program preferences, ensuring more families receive placements that work for them. Placements will be assigned with a focus on equity  prioritizing students in temporary housing, foster care, 12-month Individualized Education Program (IEP) programs, and students mandated for summer school and with a local connection to a school-year CBO program or school community.

The online application portal can be translated, and it can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. Families can also reach out to their school, Summer Rising community-based organizations (CBOs), or the summer email inbox (summer@schools.nyc.gov) with any questions.

According to the city, placement confirmations will be communicated by email approximately a week after the application window closes. The city will not be maintaining centrally managed waitlists. However, families can reach out to a CBO program if they would like to be notified if a seat opens later on in the spring. Families will also need to complete the DYCD Supplemental Forms provided by their CBO.

There will be six weeks of programming for middle schoolers and seven weeks for elementary school students in July and August.

Visit www.schools.nyc.gov/summer to find more information.

Families should email summer@schools.nyc.gov, call 311, or speak to their parent coordinator for support with Summer Rising enrollment. Families who do not have internet access or cannot access the enrollment portal should reach out to their parent coordinator, who can help them complete the application.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New Yorkers with past due water bills will have more opportunity to participate in a New York City program offering them a degree of forgiveness, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

When the mayor first announced the program in January, about 200,000 New Yorkers owed the city $1.2 billion on their water bills, but through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) initiative forgiving debtors interest if they start a payment plan, the city has recouped about $80 million.

Initially, the mayor said the program would expire April 30, but on Monday, he announced that the program would run through the end of May.

Water is one of our most precious resources, and New York City has the best municipal drinking water supply on the planet. Now, were asking New Yorkers to do their part to help us maintain that water supply by paying their unpaid water bills, Adams said. By extending our water bill amnesty program by an extra month, more New Yorkers will be able to pay off their debts and save on paying interest, leaving more money in working peoples pockets.

Approximately 86,000 people, more than 40% of those eligible, have participated in the program saving about $12 million, and DEP has also granted low-income homeowners a total of $4.2 million in billing credits as part of the program.

Mayor Eric Adams addresses the media during a City Hall press conference held Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Staten island Advance/Paul Liotta)

According to the city, the program has generated the first sustained reduction in DEPs delinquent accounts balance since the COVID-19 pandemic, which City Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore) said helps maintain water infrastructure in the five boroughs.

Im excited about the success of the water bill amnesty program in New York City, she said. The extension of this program not only helps New Yorkers save money and clear their debts, but also allows us to invest in the resiliency of our water system and critical infrastructure while keeping water rates low. Its a great opportunity for us to contribute towards the betterment of our citys water system, and save some money along the way.

Those who have a delinquent balance of more than $1,000 for over a year will be offered three options. People who pay 100% of their debt will have 100% of their interest forgiven, those who pay 75% of the debt will have 75% of their interest forgiven, and those who pay 50% will have 50% of their interest forgiven.

Customers who owe less than $1,000 are still eligible to receive amnesty on 100% of their interest if they pay their total bill. Anyone who takes advantage of the program and leaves a remaining outstanding balance will be required to enter into a payment agreement with DEP.

While the forgiveness program will run through the end of the month, DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala issued a stern warning to New Yorkers with delinquent accounts, that their water may soon be shut off if they dont pay up.

DEP is thrilled with how successful the amnesty program has been and is excited to continue it for another month to allow even more customers an opportunity to save money while reducing their debt, he said. However, for those with chronically delinquent accounts who are continuing to withhold payment, consider this your final warning  there will be serious consequences for failure to pay your bills. Starting this month, we will begin enforcement actions against non-payers that may include water service shutoffs. Delinquent customers are forcing other customers to pay higher rates, and that must stop. The money recovered in this program is helping to keep our rates low.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Eric Adams will host upcoming town halls in neighborhoods around the city, and members of the general public will be able to attend, his office announced Monday.

The Talk with Eric series follows a set of events last year focused on public safety, including an August event held at the Gerard Carter Center in Stapleton.

That event featured curated questions from about 150 community leaders on topics like gun violence and housing conditions, but a City Hall spokeswoman said the new series set to start later this month would be open to the general public through an RSVP process that has yet to open.

I always say Im an on-the-ground mayor, and engaging with everyday New Yorkers is how Im able to hear about the issues that matter most to the people who make New York the greatest city in the world, Adams said. Im excited to launch our second series of town halls and talk to thousands of New Yorkers about the issues affecting them every day. Our team will continue to make sure that this is the most accessible mayoral administration in city history.

Mayor Eric Adams addresses a crowd of about 150 people at the Gerard Carter Center during a Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022 meeting. He's joined by (from left) NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey, Deputy Mayor Philip Banks, the mayor's Community Affairs Unit Commissioner Fred Kreizman, and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

Last years event featured a dais of government leaders on hand to address attendees concerns, including former NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey, the Mayors Community Affairs Unit Commissioner Fred Kreizman, and Borough President Vito Fossella.

This years Talk with Eric series will be neighborhood-specific with at least nine taking place in each of the five boroughs. City officials will also be on hand to answer New Yorkers questions.

The Community Affairs Unit is eager to expand the community conversation series so New Yorkers can discuss all the issues that are most important to them with the mayor and city government leadership, Adams said. We look forward to continuing to engage with our neighbors across all five boroughs.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A report of a vehicle stuck in flooding prompted an emergency response in Bloomfield Monday morning.

The FDNY, EMS and NYPD responded to the report of a disabled vehicle at approximately 10 a.m. on the 100 block of Bloomfield Avenue, a spokesman for the FDNY said.

The male driver was out of the vehicle by the time police arrived to assist, according to the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The Fire Department was trying to get the water out of the vehicle, a spokeswoman for the NYPD said. The car is parked in a puddle not submerged in water.

There were no injuries.

A dark red four-door sedan could be seen in water up to the beginning of the rims on the bottom section of all four tires.

The industrial stretch of Bloomfield Avenue where the vehicle became stuck is known for frequent flooding after heavy precipitation, according to a nearby warning sign for drivers.

This is a developing story.



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Eric Adams administration learned over the weekend that Texas Governor Gregg Abbott would resume busing migrants in his state to five of the nations largest cities, and New York Citys executive didnt hold back Monday about his feelings for the governor.

Adams pointed out that those five cities  New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C.  are all led by black mayors, and suggested Abbotts busing of migrants was meant as an attack on those leaders.

Not only is this behavior morally bankrupt and devoid of any concern for the well-being of asylum seekers, but it is also impossible to ignore the fact that Abbott is now targeting five cities run by Black mayors. Put plainly, Abbott is using this crisis to hurt Black-run cities, Adams said.

Despite Abbotts inhumane actions, New York City will continue to do all it can to handle this influx, but this crisis is more than one city can handle. With a vacuum of leadership from border states, we need the federal government to step in and provide us with support and to prevent this cruelty from continuing.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during an election night party Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)AP

Abbotts office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication, but the Texas governor has long been a target of criticism for his busing strategies.

In October, Abbott acknowledged that Adams office had tried to coordinate with Texas officials about busing in an effort to treat migrants as humanely as possible, but Adams has said that the Lone Star States government has refused to do so.

The New York Post has reported that Adams is employing similar strategies buying migrants bus tickets out of the city, including to Canada, where Quebec Premier Francois Legault issued a statement earlier this year calling on the mayors administration to cease the practice.

Mondays comments from the mayor mark his latest on the national issue of illegal immigration, but he hasnt only had words for Abbott, whos dealing with a separate controversy of his own making after he erroneously pointed out the immigration status of the victims of a mass shooting that occurred over the weekend.

Adams pulled no punches last month in a critique of President Joseph Bidens response to the nations ongoing migrant crisis thats placed a significant financial burden on the city.

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 had avoided pointing the finger directly at Biden and Vice President Kamallah Harris.

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.

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Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Sunday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday.

Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations without discriminating against any of them, Erdogan said in the interview.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants. The country controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State.

He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022. He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq.

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Customers of collapsed restaurant delivery business Providoor will not be able to redeem any outstanding gift cards or credit as liquidators investigate the collapse of the company that has impacted 50 restaurants and left 16 people without a job.

Providoor founder and chef Shane Delia announced the closure in a notice on the fine-dining meal delivery companys website on Friday. The notice added that it had ceased accepting meal orders. RSM Australia Partners Jonathon Colbran and Tristana Steedman have been appointed liquidators to the business.

Restaurateur Shane Delias Providoor will not be able to redeem outstanding gift cards or credit, liquidators have said. Credit: Arsineh Houspian

The liquidators have begun contacting stakeholders and creditors as well as customers who bought gift cards or hold credit in pre-purchased meals, with Colbran urging these customers to contact their bank or financial institution in case they are eligible for a chargeback, or a transaction reversal.

Based on our initial assessment of Providoors financial position, there is presently insufficient money to pay a dividend to creditors or provide refunds to customers, including gift card holders, Colbran said in a statement.
Qantass incoming chief executive Vanessa Hudson says the airline is well-placed to rebuild consumer trust as she prepares to take over from current boss Alan Joyce, who will leave the airline after 15-years at the helm in November.

Hudson has worked as the airlines chief financial officer since 2019 and managed Qantass finance and treasury portfolio during the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline accrued more than $7 billion in debt over the two years of the pandemic when the aviation industry was grounded. Qantas returned to a record half-year profit of $1 billion in February.

Vanessa Hudson has been appointed the new chief executive officer of Qantas. Credit: Rhett Wyman

We have all been working very hard over the past six months, and we were very up front in terms of recognising the customer experience was not where we wanted it... Weve got to win customers, and weve got to win their support, Hudson said on Tuesday.

Weve invested an enormous amount of money, $200 million, in getting the performance back to where it needs to be and back where we were pre-COVID and our focus going forward is going to continue to improve on delivering to our customers, not just every day but every flight.
Anyone who isnt a diehard monarchist might be forgiven for forgetting that King Charles III will be crowned in London this weekend.

Illustration: John Shakespeare. Credit:

But even though he has been doing the job since the moment of his mothers passing, guiding those bereft Britons through months of mourning, he must have a special ceremony, during which Australians are asked to cry out and swear allegiance to the monarch.

Tickets to the pomp party are limited  but Anthony Albanese will be there, along with his hand-picked list of illustrious Australians, which includes figures like singer Nick Cave and Matildas star Sam Kerr.

Its little surprise that some of the countrys leading monarchists, who arent the biggest fans of the Albanese government, didnt make the cut. Still, we expected some of the House of Windsors biggest fans to at least head to London to soak up the ceremony.
When 300 armed soldiers marched on Australias first Government House, intent on a revolutionary overthrow of the sitting governor William Bligh, they came across one obstacle.

Mary Bligh, daughter of Governor William Bligh. Credit: National Library of Australia

There, standing at the gates, was the diminutive figure of his daughter Mary, dressed in mourning black as her husband had died just three weeks before, who was determined not to allow them pass.

Whats more, she had a weapon of her own which she used to beat back those troops with their fixed bayonets and loaded firelocks. Her parasol.

Of course, they overpowered her, and the Rum Rebellion of January 26, 1808, has gone down in history as our one and only military coup. But while William Bligh  he of previous notoriety from the Bounty mutiny  was caricatured as hiding under his bed when the insurgents arrived, what of his brave daughter?
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances? My partner and I are hard-working by nature and grew up in working-class families who taught us that it was important to save money (although we werent advised on how to do this best!). In the last few years, Ive made a conscious effort to become more financially literate and really understand not only how to save money, but also how to grow and invest it. What was your first job and why did you get it? I worked at Priceline when I was 18 and earned about $12 an hour. This helped me move out of home and pay for rent and expenses. With other various casual retail jobs, I worked at least 20 hours a week while I was in university. It was tricky while studying full-time, but I enjoyed the independence it gave me.

Did you worry about money growing up? Not really, my parents sheltered me from any money troubles they had. It wasnt until I was in my early 20s that I realised my parents were out of work for around six months when I was four years old. They werent eligible for any government assistance and used their savings to get us through this period. I remember feeling guilty any time I spent money while I lived with my parents, even though I wasnt a big spender. I think growing up in a frugal household still makes me think twice before I spend money, although that thinking usually goes out the window when I travel (YOLO!). Nothing makes me happier than seeing the world in all its glory  were trying to travel as much as we can before committing to a 30-year mortgage. Do you worry about money now? I have to admit that I do worry about money, even though I recognise that my partner and I are in a fortunate financial position. I feel its only natural to do this when you live in an expensive city like Sydney. We are lucky to have a savings rate of more than 50 per cent currently. Despite having lived overseas and spending lots of money travelling extensively (across Europe, South East Asia, and the Americas), were looking to buy a small house in Sydney later this year (hopefully). We also want to invest in more shares to hopefully retire before 55. Of course, this assumes that our expenses will not change materially if/when we have kids and that at least one of us will be employed full-time. I also plan to put aside some money for my parents as they age, in case the pension isnt sufficient when theyre in retirement. At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?

Eighteen, when I moved out of home and was able to support myself with various casual retail jobs and university scholarships. I never felt like I needed to ask my parents for money, but know if I ever ran into trouble money-wise, they could assist. Loading Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. Yes, I receive a small amount of cash from share dividends (about $2000 a year). At the moment we are also receiving approximately $1500 a month total of interest from our savings accounts. I havent received an inheritance and dont expect to any time soon. Day 1

7am  I wake up and lie in bed for another 15 minutes. Its my first day in a long time with nothing planned, so I snuggle into the blanket and feel thankful I can stay in my pyjamas for most of the day. Scroll on my phone for about half an hour and check messages received from family and friends from the other side of the world before finally getting up. 7.30am  Go downstairs with my partner, F., and have some homemade coffee (we used to buy coffee all the time, but now we hardly do as were trying to save the $$$!). I finally get around to updating my stock options so that my dividends automatically are reinvested, rather than paid out. Although Ive enjoyed getting small, unexpected amounts of money, its better for me in the long run. Plus, automation for the win! 12pm  Eat some leftover Mexican bean stew with rice and an avocado that was gifted by a friend. 2pm  Go for a walk with F. and get a hot chocolate and espresso ($9.10). Then I buy some bread at the local bakery for $11! Now I know where all my dough goes. $20.10 4pm  Come back home and contemplate making some dumplings but then figure, nah, lets go out instead. Before we head out, we watch some episodes of You on Netflix. It makes me want to visit London, stat!

Loading 7pm  We head out to satisfy our dumplings craving (I get this craving at a minimum of once a week) and get the train to Ashfield to our fave Chinese restaurant. We stuff ourselves and end up spending $65.71, which is well worth it! Head back home, full and content. $65.71 9pm  Watch The Meg. Yes, its a bad movie, but I still enjoy it thoroughly. 11.30pm  Sleep. Daily total: $85.81

Day 2 8.30am  Wake up after a night of interrupted sleep, which isnt unusual. I brush my teeth right after getting out of bed. It really helps me wake up and freshen me up, especially when I feel sluggish. 9am  Head off for a walk and to test out our new KeepCups. After taking our first sips of coffee, we realise we didnt screw the lids on properly, so we spend the rest of the walk with sticky coffee residue on our arms. 10am  Arrive back home and start getting ready to head out for lunch with some friends. I pop on a couple more episodes of You to watch as I get ready. Im not feeling this season, but I am loving the London scenes. 12pm  Meet up with some friends  another couple  for lunch at a cafe in Surry Hills. I get a burger and F. gets a burrito. We have this arrangement where one couple pays for our meals, then the other pays for the next. This time, its our turn to foot the bill. $123.74

3:00pm  Head back home and do some life admin before the start of next week. Order a Coles delivery for the week which makes me (falsely) feel like Ive saved a bunch of time not going to the shops. Unfortunately, it takes me almost an hour to actually place the order. I buy cereal, bread, cheese, milk, yoghurt, vegies, salmon, herbs, snacks, and condiments. $153 7:30pm  Heat up dinner (leftover Greek stew with feta and kale) and then decide what to watch on TV with F. We spend ages not being able to decide (typical), so I accept our loss and go read The Midnight Library on my Kindle. After doomscrolling through Instagram (and chasing those neurotransmitters), I head to bed at 11pm. Daily Total: $276.74 Day 3 7am  Quick cuddle with F. before hopping (unenthusiastically) out of bed. Its Monday, so he is working from home with me. Yay! He sits in the spare room as he needs the monitor, whereas I can work from anywhere, so I head to the kitchen counter.

9:00am  Log on and try my best to get motivated to start the week right. I find if I have a productive Monday, it sets the tone for the rest of the working week. I work with colleagues based in the northern hemisphere, so Mondays are usually quiet for me meeting-wise, but Ill have lots of emails from my Saturday (their Friday) to get through. Loading 12pm  My morning hasnt been super productive, but I still treat myself to a short break and eat some avo on toast. 5pm  Shut my laptop enthusiastically and start thinking about what to cook for dinner, deciding on chickpea, carrot and butternut couscous. I cook while the news plays in the background. I dont really watch or follow the news much nowadays as I usually get the latest from social media (mostly on The Betoota Advocate, really). 7pm  Feel like dessert, so we walk to the local shop and get some vegan ice-cream  a four-pack of Pana Organic Chocolate Almond. Coconut milk-based ice creams are the bees knees! If you havent tried it, please do  its better than the real deal. $12

10.30pm  Spend the rest of the evening walking around the neighbourhood and chatting with F., before heading home, watching a bit of TV, and heading to bed at 10.30pm. Daily total: $12 Day 4 7.30am  Wake up and check personal emails before getting ready for work. 8.30am  Make a moka pot coffee, help F. get out the door (for some reason, only I know where all his items of clothing and possessions are located) and then log on. Most of my work in the morning involves firefighting issues that have come through overnight. After, Ill usually have time to do more strategic and advisory work (unless Im in meetings!).

12pm  Have a quick pot of noodles for lunch before heading back to work. Im pretty much in meetings until the end of the day, mostly helping my line reports troubleshoot issues. I also sit in a couple of strategic meetings with senior management who are looking at new potential research projects to see if theyre worth the department investing its time and effort. 4pm  I briefly resurface and need some fresh air, so I head around the neighbourhood for a walk while chatting with my cousin on the phone. Shes on maternity leave after having a baby a few months ago and enjoys the chat while the baby has a short nap. 5pm  Check my personal emails and contemplate buying some group personal training sessions as theres a sale  30 sessions for $1200! One-on-one personal training is a little awkward, so I think group exercise might be more my thing. I bite the bullet ($1200) and end up regretting the purchase slightly. Oh well, I know this means Im committing to exercising. I also check the bank account and see that F. has bought a Chromecast in his spare time, out of the joint account ($61). $1261 7pm  F. comes home and we eat dinner  baked fish and roast vegies. For dessert, we whip out our portable fire pot and cook some smores. 10.30pm  Fall asleep on the couch while online shopping  meaning I put a bunch of things in my cart and closed the window without purchasing. Super inefficient, I know, but it does mean I procrastinate on further spending. I wake up and head up to my real bed.
the Israeli army fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho. The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.

Israel launched the raids after a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring. That set off some of the worst fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in years and while Israel says the raids are meant to thwart future attacks, violence against Israelis does not appear to be slowing.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Casualties have spiked this year, with 98 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, with just under half of those affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most of those killed have been armed fighters, but youths protesting the incursions have also been killed as have people not involved in the confrontations.

The Palestinians see the raids as a further entrenchment of Israel's 56-year, open-ended occupation. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem for their hoped-for independent state.

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Employers are becoming less ageist, changing their view of what age is considered old and increasingly recognising that mature workers are often more reliable, committed and able to cope with stress.

This is reflected in research by the Australian HR Institute and Australian Human Rights Commission, which found many organisations in 2023 defined older employees as 61-65 years of age, compared with 50-55 years of age in 2021.

Lyn Tuit, a marketing and communications executive and board chair, says its an advantage for workplaces to have a wide demographic profile among their employees. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The institutes fifth survey on attitudes to age among employers  to which 297 HR professionals replied  found fewer employers have an age limit for candidates.

When its regular surveys began in 2014, more than half of employers (52 per cent) had a cut-off age, but only 18 per cent had age limits this year.
A respected Sydney paramedic killed in the line of duty has been honoured with a National Medal of Service during a memorial service focused on celebrating his life.

Newlywed Steven Tougher, 29, who was expecting his second child with wife Madison, was stabbed during his meal break while outside a McDonalds in Campbelltown, in south-western Sydney, last month.

The casket of paramedic Steven Tougher arrives in a hearse to his memorial at the University of Wollongong on Monday. Credit: AAP

Ambulance Commissioner Dr Dominic Morgan led tributes at the service on Monday, describing him as a young man of limitless potential, taken too soon.

Every single one of his colleagues has spoken so positively about his larger-than-life personality, his sense of humour, but also a strong sense of natural justice, Morgan said.
Sydney may deal with its fair share of nighttime noise complaints from NIMBY neighbours, but five night mayors from the worlds great cities are here to assure us were not alone.

Ahead of a major conference on the nighttime economy, top bureaucrats from city and cultural offices in New York, London, Paris, Vienna and Montreal said the number one issue reported in their cities was the same as in Sydney: noise.

Night mayors Mathieu Grondin from Montreal, Amy Lame from London, Martina Brunner from Vienna, Thierry Charlois from Paris and Ariel Palitz from New York. Credit: Edwina Pickles

We all have this problem of noise, sound issues, said Viennas Martina Brunner, who co-manages the Vienna Club Commission, the citys nighttime advocacy office.

Having spent the weekend and Monday in Sydney meeting with local venue operators about the citys approach to nightlife, the visiting leaders said the most common complaint from operators was that they were over-regulated.
Police investigating the alleged gangland execution of crime figure Mahmoud Brownie Ahmad, who was gunned down outside an associates house in south-west Sydney last year, say they are close to catching the individuals who pulled the trigger.

It comes as two more men, both aged 33, were charged in connection to the killing after being arrested during raids across four properties in Sydneys south-west on Monday morning. They are in addition to four others who are before the courts over Ahmads death.

Police try to save Mahmoud Brownie Ahmad (inset) after he was shot in April 2022.

One man, from Clemton Park, was charged with 16 offences, including being an accessory after the fact to murder. Police will allege he helped move vehicles used in the shooting after it occurred. The other man, from Campsie, was charged with 15 offences, most of which relate to drug offences.

Police will allege both men were involved in the supply of one kilogram of methylamphetamine and 1.1 kilograms of cocaine in Sydneys south-west, having a potential street value of $3 million. They were refused bail and will appear at Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday.
Two firefighters have been rushed to hospital after being seriously injured while battling a blaze south of Brisbane.

Police have declared a crime scene after the firefighters were injured while responding to reports of a fire at a service road business at Slacks Creek in Logan about 2.30am on Tuesday morning.

During the efforts to bring this blaze under control, two firefighters were injured, Queensland Ambulance medical director Stephen Rashford said.

Police said emergency crews were called following reports of a large amount of black smoke.
The junior policeman who shot dead a man repeatedly stabbing his mother in the face with a stick in a public park will not face homicide charges after prosecutors determined there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction.

State Coroner John Cain referred Constable Emmanuel Andrew to the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) late last year after he found the officer might have acted unreasonably when he fired his third shot at 30-year-old Gabriel Messo.

Gabriel Messo and the scene in Gladstone Park after the shooting. Credit: The Age

Constable Andrew fired three times into Messos chest after he was called to what police described as a dynamic and time-critical scene at Gladstone Park, in Melbournes north-west, in July 2020.

The OPP said on Monday that after reviewing the evidence it would not charge Andrew with any indictable offence.
Melbournes skies usually look pretty clear, so you might be tempted to think that air pollution is not a problem. But youd be wrong.

Air pollution caused by truck exhaust causes at least 400 deaths in Australia each year. Truck exhaust pipes spew out fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxide, which cause asthma, coronary heart disease, strokes, bladder cancer, and type-2 diabetes. Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution  including in the womb.

Air pollution caused by truck exhaust causes at least 400 deaths in Australia each year. Credit: Scott McNaughton

If trucks are continually rumbling down your street, youre at greater risk of illness, and it builds over time. Even low levels of pollution can damage your health, but long-term exposure increases your risks.

In Melbourne, weve got a problem in the west. The City of Maribyrnong includes many major truck routes, and it has an adolescent asthma rate 50 per cent higher than the state average. Maribyrnongs hospital admission rate is more than 70 per cent higher than the Australian average for people aged three to 19, and the inner west has a higher incidence of lung cancer than the general Australian population. The suburbs of Yarraville and Brooklyn are ranked seventh and eighth in Australia for their air pollution concentration.
The well-heeled coastal suburb of City Beach has emerged as Western Australias top-ranked postcode, based on a mix of household income, occupation and education measures.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 census data, released last month, reveals that the top 10 most socio-economically advantaged postcodes in Australia are all in Sydney. However, WAs City Beach comes in at number 11.

City Beach is one of the most socio-economically advantaged postcodes in Australia. Credit: iStockphoto

It is closely followed by Cottesloe, Nedlands, Trigg and Claremont, which are all ranked in the top 100 across the nation.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle said suburbs in Perths golden triangle remained a powerful divide, but a slew of postcodes were in the process of transforming from working-class areas to more affluent enclaves.
Former politicians and advisers are moving quickly into lucrative jobs that seek to lobby the federal government on policies ranging from mining to gambling and defence, sparking a new call to increase disclosure and toughen sanctions on those who flout the rules.

The Centre for Public Integrity is calling for a stronger regime to stop the revolving door of influence in Canberra as people with political experience take up lobbying jobs that build on their personal connections or policy knowledge.

Big corporations are exploiting our weak integrity laws to gain access and influence government, said Anthony Whealy KC, a former NSW Supreme Court judge and the chair of the Centre for Public Integrity. Credit: Peter Rae

While the lobbying code of conduct is meant to impose a formal separation period of at least one year between a post in government and a lobbying position in the same policy field, a report by the independent think tank said too many former officials were being signed up by political donors with very little time between the two jobs.

Big corporations are exploiting our weak integrity laws to gain access and influence government, said Anthony Whealy KC, a former NSW Supreme Court judge and the chair of the Centre for Public Integrity.
Arab foreign ministers meeting in Amman to discuss Syria's long-running conflict agreed Monday the return of Syrian refugees was a "top priority", according to a communique released after the talks.

The talks in Jordan's capital brought together foreign ministers from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, in the latest regional engagement with the long isolated government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The voluntary and safe return of refugees to their country is a top priority, and the necessary steps must be taken immediately to implement it," the closing statement said.

According to the United Nations, about 5.5 million Syrian refugees who fled since the conflict began in 2011 are registered in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

The communique called for increased cooperation between Damascus, host countries and the United Nations to organise repatriation operations in a "clear time frame".

The ministers also agreed to "support Syria... in any legitimate efforts to extend its control over its territory, impose the rule of law, end the presence of armed and terrorist groups... and stop foreign interference in internal Syrian affairs".

The 12-year civil war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives, and nearly half of its population are now refugees or internally displaced.

Although the Assad regime clawed back much ground lost earlier in the war, swathes of territory still remain outside government control.

Syria, backed during its war by Iran and Russia, was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

But while Assad has been politically isolated since the conflict began, recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity after Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed diplomatic ties in March, shifting regional relations.

Safe Return

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi noted the talks in Amman followed a "consultative meeting" in Saudi Arabia last month.

That meeting saw nine Arab countries including Gulf states meet in Jeddah to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness and its possible return to the 22-member Arab League.

Safadi said the Amman meeting "was good and positive", and focused "on humanitarian aspects and on potential steps to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people".

"We focused on the refugee issue and agreed on mechanisms to start the voluntary return of refugees in coordination with the United Nations," he said.

"The current situation in Syria cannot continue, and previous approaches to managing the crisis have not and will not produce anything but more destruction."

The communique called on Damascus to "improve public services in the areas" refugees would return to and lay out measures that would ensure their safety, such as an amnesty.

Ahead of the talks, held at a hotel in Amman under tight security, Safadi met in private with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, and they discussed Arab involvement in reaching "a political solution to the Syrian crisis", the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement.

This was the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to neighbouring Jordan since the war started.

Days after the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus, also a first since 2011.

While some Arab nations have moved to re-establish ties with Damascus, the reintegration of Assad's government remains a divisive issue in the region.

Assad is hoping full normalisation of ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and other Arab states will help to finance the reconstruction of the country's war-ravaged infrastructure.

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The NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman has vowed to work with Mark Latham in the new parliament and not block the One Nation MP from securing any extra powers despite widespread condemnation of the political firebrands homophobic slurs.

NSW Police confirmed on Monday that they have launched an investigation into online harassment after Latham tweeted a highly graphic and offensive homophobic comment aimed at Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who is gay.

As well as his police statement, Greenwich has lodged a complaint of homosexual vilification with Anti-Discrimination NSW and his lawyers have told Latham that defamation proceedings will begin if he does not apologise for his comments by May 5.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman (right) has vowed to work with Mark Latham in the new parliament. Credit: AAP, Janie Barrett

Premier Chris Minns has ruled out supporting Latham for any additional positions in the new parliament, such as chairing committees, and called for bipartisan support for his push.
Crime data shows 13-year-olds are charged with four times more aggravated burglaries, five times more car thefts and four times more aggravated robberies than 12-year-olds, highlighting the task facing the Andrews government as it debates what offences will be exempted when the age of criminal responsibility lifts.

Children aged 10 and 11 will not be held criminally culpable for their actions by the end of next year, but Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said there would be appropriate exceptions for children who have committed certain serious offences ahead of the full-scale reform to lift the age of criminal responsibility to 14 by 2027.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes will need to decide which offences are not included when the age of criminal responsibility is lifted to 14. Credit: AAP

While there are expected to be carve-outs for grave offences, including murder and terrorism, so 12- and 13-year-old children could still face prosecution for those crimes, there will need to be debate about whether the government extends that to mid-tier offences, such as aggravated burglaries, robberies and serious assaults.

Crime statistics obtained by The Age show a discernible increase in the number of children being prosecuted for aggravated burglary and robbery, motor vehicle theft and serious assault when their age climbs from 12 to 14.
Tanjung Puting National Park, Kalimantan. Credit: iStock Why you should go: There are plenty of great reasons to head to Indonesia in June: the sun is shining across most of the country as dry season kicks in, particularly in Bali and Lombok, plus the humidity is low, and temperatures tend to hover around the 27-degree mark. This is also an excellent time for scuba-divers, who will enjoy clear, warm waters throughout the month. Dont miss: Hikers also have a pleasant time across much of Indonesia in June, and this is also a great opportunity to spot orangutans in Kalimantan. Dry season makes the animals appearances more predictable, meaning less time searching and more time spotting. See indonesia.travel BOTSWANA Credit: iStock

Why you should go: June is the perfect month to explore one of Botswanas best attractions: the Okavango Delta. This is dry season, which means more of the Delta can be explored by car, and the wildlife is easier to spot, given any good guide will know where the animals are likely to appear in search of water. Dry season also means barely any rain, which should make for happy campers. Dont miss: Though this is a large country with many amazing places to view wildlife, one of the best experiences can be had at Third Bridge, a campsite in Moremi National Park, part of the Delta. This is a rough-and-ready camp, with no fences and few facilities, where elephants roam and hyena regularly prowl, and its heaven for those who want to immerse themselves in the experience. See botswanatourism.co.bw COOK ISLANDS Visit one of the Pacifics most revered lagoons at Aitutaki. Why you should go: Its not like theres a bad time to visit the Cooks  the temperature is pretty steady here year-round, hovering between 25 and 30 degrees most days. That does, however, make it the ideal winter getaway for those of us from cooler climes. June is one of the driest months on islands such as Rarotonga and Aitutaki, plus its outside cyclone season, which almost guarantees paradise.

Dont miss: Though the main island of Rarotonga is a lot of fun, Aitutaki, further north, is almost impossibly beautiful, with its wide lagoon of crystal-clear, bath-warm water. This is the perfect family destination, where you can choose to be as active  scuba-diving, fishing, snorkelling  or as lazy as you like. See cookislands.travel CITIES BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA Haedong Yonggungsa Temple in Busan. Credit: iStock Why you should go: The temperatures are rising in this part of the world by June, as is the humidity, which can make conditions uncomfortable in the likes of China and Japan. Not so, however, in South Korea, which remains dry and pleasant, particularly in beachside Busan. You get the best of both worlds here: a bustling port town with amazingly good markets; and a city beach thats perfect for swimming and lazing.

Dont miss: The heart of Busan is Jagalchi, a fish market down by the busy port, where trawlers pretty much tip their catches straight into the display cases. The range of fish and seafood on sale here is mind-boggling, and all you have to do is point at what you like and the catch will be sent upstairs to one of the many restaurants to be prepared and served. Hard to get fresher than that. See visitkorea.or.kr STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN Stockholms old town. Why you should go: There are summer solstice celebrations across much of northern Europe in June, and all have their charms; however, perhaps the best of them is Midsummer in Stockholm, when the normally reserved Swedes cut loose. The sky never darkens on the longest day of the year in Stockholm, and residents make the most of it with dancing and singing, particularly in the buzzing suburb of Sodermalm. Dont miss: For the true Stockholm Midsummer experience, join the citys residents in travelling either to the flower-filled meadows just outside the city, or to the archipelago of 30,000 islands to the east. This is where youll find parties that last the full day and night. See visitstockholm.com

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA The swimming lagoon on the Esplanade in Cairns. Credit: MVALIGURSKY Why you should go: Cold weather already getting you down? Then its time to migrate north. Cairns has long been a favourite for winter holidays, given the temperatures up here regularly sit around 26 degrees, with only six days of rain for the whole month. The city took a big hit during COVID-19 lockdowns, so theres never been a better time to get up there and support the community and have some fun. Dont miss: Theres so much to do in Cairns in June. Head out to the Great Barrier Reef to snorkel or scuba in some of the years best conditions. Leap off cliffs in Crystal Canyon. Go bungy-jumping. Go fishing. Have one of the best Indigenous tourism experiences in Australia. You cant lose. See queensland.com CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY

Hot air balloons flying over Cappadocia. Credit: iStock Why you should go: Cappadocia is a part of the world everyone should see, a lunar landscape of eerie rock formations deep in Turkeys desert. Though the weather is beginning to border on boiling in June, this is also the time of the Cappadox Festival, a celebration of music, art and gastronomy amid stunningly beautiful surrounds, and as good a reason as any to pay the region a visit. Dont miss: Though the festival makes for a great way to pass your time in Cappadocia, dont miss out on the true highlight of a stay here: a balloon flight over the rocky landscape at dawn. The only other experience that can come close is being on the ground and photographing all those brightly-coloured orbs above. See cappadox.com MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA Credit: Alamy
THE CLASS My First Class ticket affords me lounge access  essentially a partitioned waiting room  and priority boarding. The alternative is Economy Class, where spacious seats are grouped in fours around a central table.

THE JOURNEY Kenya Railways Madaraka Express Service links Nairobi Terminus to the coastal Mombasa Terminus, with a stop en route at Voi, gateway to Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks. The Standard Gauge Railway passes through a large tract of the park, and reaches Voi in three hours, 48 minutes at a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

BOARDING

Allow plenty of time to navigate Nairobis traffic before passing through airport-level security screening, including the examination of bags by sniffer dogs and X-rays. The procedures are a reassuring response to the risk of terrorist attacks. Batteries and lighters arent allowed on board and will be confiscated before boarding. As a foreign traveller Im asked to produce my passport before entering the gleaming, train-shaped terminus. Cafes do a brisk trade in the departure lounge, with waiters rushing orders to patrons as boarding is announced. Food can be taken on board. Carriage and seat numbers are clearly marked on the ticket, and theres plenty of luggage storage above the seats.

THE SEAT

The seating - Nairobi to Voi.

Seats are arranged in a roomy 2-2 configuration. Strangely, consecutive seat numbers arent located next to one another; local travellers are happy to swap seats with those separated from their companions. There are no USB ports, but devices can be charged via the socket beside each window seat (be sure to bring an adaptor). Toilets are at either end of the carriage.

BAGGAGE

There are no baggage restrictions, but passengers are advised to bring what they can comfortably carry and lift into the overhead storage rack.
Take a look at the hottest new hotels and attractions as rated by Traveller.

Thirty years is a long time in the life of a hotel or resort. Over those decades it may have changed hands and monikers multiple times, undergone renovations that rendered it unrecognisable from its origins, or have seen its location change radically around it. Some will have disappeared completely.

Amanwana Resort - one of the first to introduce the concept of glamping.

But Amanwana, a luxurious wilderness hideaway on the Indonesian island of Moyo, part of Moyo Satonda National Park in the Flores Sea, has just reopened after its annual seasonal closure just in time to celebrate its 30th anniversary. And its still very much the place it always was.

If auspicious beginnings are the secret to such longevity, then Amanwana is certainly a case in point.

Publisher, hotelier, friend to the rich and famous, and Aman Resorts founder, the Indonesian-born Adrian Zecha opened Amanwana in 1993. It was an early job for the now legendary Belgian architect Jean-Michel Gathy of design firm Denniston and is said to have put him on the map  he has gone on to be one of the worlds most acclaimed designers in the field, his firms work including several other Aman properties.
Beijing is playing nice with Australia lately. So we might dare to hope that it has given up its ambition of dominating the region through coercion and intimidation.

But you dont have to look far offshore to see a very different picture, even in just the past week. On Friday, two regional governments spoke of new intimidation by Beijing in their territorial waters.

The Philippines government accused Chinas forces of dangerous and aggressive manoeuvres in two separate incidents near the Second Thomas Shoal amid the Spratly Islands.

Illustration by Dionne Gain Credit:

The area is claimed by Beijing as part of its effort to take control of some 90 per cent of the South China Sea. The South China Sea is the worlds most valuable commercial artery.
Washington: The White House says it estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defence.

Ukrainian servicemen ride atop by an APC towards frontline positions. Credit: AP

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence. He did not detail how the intelligence community derived the number.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war. The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities will be absent from UN-led talks that open Monday on how to handle the crisis-stricken country's rulers and press them to ease a ban on women working and girls going to school.

Envoys from the United States, China and Russia as well as major European aid donors and key neighbours such as Pakistan are among representatives from about 25 countries and groups called to the two days of talks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Taliban government has not been invited, however, to the Doha talks and the controversial question of recognition of the administration has been raised ahead of the meeting.

A small group of Afghan women staged a weekend protest march in Kabul to oppose any moves to recognise the rulers who returned to power in August 2021.

In an open letter to the Doha meeting released Sunday, a coalition of Afghan women's groups said they were "outraged" that any country would consider formal ties with the government that the United Nations calls the "de facto authorities".

The United Nations and United States have insisted that recognition is not on the agenda.

Rights' groups fears have been fuelled by UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed, who said last month that the Doha meeting could find "baby steps" that lead to a "principled recognition" of the Taliban government.

The UN said the comments were misinterpreted. No country has established formal ties with the Afghan administration and UN membership can only be decided by the UN General Assembly.

Ahead of his arrival in Doha, Guterres' office said the meeting "is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban" on women's and girls' rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

UN dilemma

"Any kind of recognition of the Taliban is completely off the table," US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said last week.

Despite not being invited to the meeting, the head of the Taliban representative office in Doha, Sohail Shaheen said he has met with members of the British and Chinese delegations.

He said the UN talks and "the importance of engagement" was among topics raised.

Since ousting a foreign-backed government in 2021, the Taliban authorities have imposed an austere version of sharia law that the United Nations has labelled "gender-based apartheid".

Women have been barred from most secondary education and universities, and prevented from working in most government jobs as well as UN agencies and NGOs.

Though divided on many disputes, the UN Security Council powers united on Thursday to condemn the curbs on Afghan women and girls and urge all countries to seek "an urgent reversal" of the policies.

Diplomats and observers say, however, that the Doha meeting highlights the quandary faced by the international community in handling Afghanistan, which the UN considers its biggest humanitarian crisis with millions depending on food aid.

Amina Mohammed said it was "clear" that the Taliban authorities want recognition. Formal UN ties would help the government reclaim billions of dollars of desperately needed funds seized abroad after it took power.

But diplomats from several countries involved in the Doha talks said this would not be possible until there is a change on women's rights. The Afghan foreign ministry said after last week's UN vote that "diversity should be respected and not politicised".

The UN chief is to give the Doha meeting an update on a review of the world body's critical relief operation in Afghanistan, ordered in April after authorities had stopped Afghan women from working with UN agencies, diplomats said.

The UN has said it faces an "appalling choice" over whether to maintain its huge operation in the country of 38 million. The review is scheduled to be completed on Friday.

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The United States hosted negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday, seeking to quell recent tension over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The two sides have gone to war twice, in 1990 and 2020, leaving tens of thousands dead, and clashes regularly erupt over the territory, an Armenian-majority region inside Azerbaijan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoya and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov before four days of talks at a State Department facility outside Washington.

On April 23 Azerbaijan announced it had set up a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, the only land link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, sparking an angry response from Yerevan.

Armenia views the move as a violation of the cease-fire negotiated between the two sides.

Blinken spoke Sunday with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, expressing concerns about the checkpoint, which he said "undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process," according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible," Miller said in a statement.

Speaking on grounds of anonymity Monday, a US official said the talks aim more at "an agreement on normalization of relations" rather than a peace treaty.

"Our goal is to make sure the ministers can sit down and talk to each other," the official said.

The United States expects the two sides to have a forthright and frank discussion, the official said, adding "all the issues are being discussed."

- Pressure to remove checkpoint -

Moscow brokered a ceasefire between Yerevan and Baku after the latest bout of fighting in 2020, and posted peacekeepers along the Lachin corridor.

With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan's key ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have sought to steer a thaw in ties.

France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited the two countries last week aiming to cool down tensions over the border checkpoint.

She visited Baku and then Yerevan, urging Azerbaijan to restore "unhindered movement" through the Lachin corridor.

In Yerevan she said in a news conference that Armenia's territorial integrity must be respected.

"The purpose of the visit is to reaffirm France's support for the Armenian government and people," Colonna said.

But Azerbaijan reiterated that it had set up a checkpoint on "Azerbaijan's territory."

Colonna said it was important for Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations to secure a resolution to their decades-long standoff.

"We encourage you to resolutely take this path," Colonna said, adding this was "the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace."

Blinken has already taken part in two trilateral meetings with the two Caucasus rivals, in November last year and then again in February on the margins of the international security conference in Munich, Germany.

On Saturday Blinken spoke with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, emphasizing the importance of peace discussions and pledging continued US support.

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'Zombie' misinformation: 'Rape Day' hoax resurfaces on TikTok



Washington, May 1 (AFP) May 01, 2023



The hoax that rape was legal for a day was knocked down by fact-checkers two years ago. But it went viral again this year on TikTok, illustrating what researchers call "zombie" misinformation.

The stomach-churning falsehood that groups of men have declared April 24 as "National Rape Day," giving them free rein to commit sexual violence, crept its way to TikTok fame in 2021, sparking alarm in countries including the United States and Britain.

In a sea of videos, many with millions of views, terrified women declared plans to lock themselves in their rooms all day and men vowed to protect them against imaginary assailants.

In one, a hulking bare-torsoed man appeared to sharpen an axe with a whetstone, warning troublemakers not to "touch anyone I know."

An 11-year-old girl in Britain "afraid of being raped" went to school armed with knives, local media reported citing police officials.

TikTok users seized on reports of unrelated sexual crimes just before April 24 that year as evidence of the lurking threat, lending further credence to the myth.

Multiple fact-checking organizations debunked the misinformation. But that did not nip it in the bud.

This year, the hoax went viral on the same platform once again, the watchdog group Media Matters for America said, underlining what researchers say are the limits of debunking to stop or even slow the spread of misinformation.

"We call these kinds of situations zombie claims, meaning they are rumors that keep popping up, no matter how many times you debunk it," said Laura Duclos, from MediaWise, a digital media literacy initiative of the nonprofit Poynter Institute.

"Some zombie claims pop up because they are related to a certain event or date," Duclos told AFP.



- 'Fodder for misinformation' -



Raising alarm about the return of "Rape Day" this year, TikTok users declared their intention to carry tasers, handguns, and in one video, a firearm "with the safety (catch) off."

While AFP is not aware of any official reports of violent crimes because of the hoax, it lays bare the dangerous potential of even debunked falsehoods to whip up threats, hysteria and chaos.

When asked about TikTok's response to the hoax, a spokesman told AFP that "content promoting this despicable behavior would be removed if it was found on our platform."

Words such as "rape" are suppressed by TikTok, with a search redirecting users to a helpline and educational resources. But some videos can go completely undetected if they use no obvious keywords in their posts.

Users promoting the hoax also found workarounds such as "[email protected]" and "national r day."

Last week, the platform appeared to crack down on the loopholes immediately after AFP shared with the TikTok spokesman a screenshot of multiple "Rape Day" videos that came up using those search words.

Searches using those two workarounds now yield "no results found."

TikTok "ought to get smarter" about preventing such hoaxes by rigorously studying patterns of how they spread, said S. Shyam Sundar, co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University.

"Sensational stories that prey on people's innate fears and desires are always going to be a fodder for misinformation, regardless of whether they have been debunked in the past," Sundar told AFP.

"Hoaxes may have a short shelf life but can linger in the warehouse for decades only to be recycled every now and then."



- 'Game of telephone'



The precise origin of this hoax in April -- observed as sexual assault awareness month -- is unclear.

According to Media Matters, its earliest mention was a 2021 tweet that cautioned people in Britain that "boys have made a 'national rape day'" and urged them to carry deterrents such as pepper spray for safety.

The message quickly spread on TikTok, going viral.

"It's common for misinformation to start on one platform and jump to others, losing context and making it that much harder to find the original source of the information," said Duclos.

"At that point you're playing essentially a game of telephone."

Stopping a wildfire hoax, Duclos said, is down to users "exercising due diligence before resharing misinformation" -- which in this case could be a simple keyword search of "national rape day" that leads to multiple fact-checks from credible outlets.

"The fact that this lie has re-emerged... demonstrates what psychologists call a 'sleeper effect,'" Sundar said.

"The upshot of this is that users and the platform ought to realize that debunking is not as long-lasting as the actual information, underscoring the need to reinforce the debunking message every so often."

burs-ac/bfm
Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade 2022/ Contributed photo

You oughta know that the Alanis Morissette Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill is coming to the Bushnell.

The show is based on Morissettes 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, which features the chart-topping hits You Oughta Know, "Ironic" and "Hand in My Pocket." The jukebox musical follows a mother whose annual family newsletter at Christmastime depicts a family in the throes of unbridled happiness, knocking off milestone after milestone. For instance, one offspring got an early admission to Harvard, while her husband has just gotten a promotion at work and so on. While those achievements might be true, Mary Jane (the mother), only offers up the most polished anecdotes and leaves out the details about addiction and relationship drama unfolding within the family.
Saudi consumer electronics retailer eXtra announced on Monday it will cancel its EGP 1 billion expansion plan in Egypt, citing no reason for the decision.

The negative financial impact of the company's decision is expected at SAR 38 million ($9.81 million), according to the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul.

In December 2021, eXtra's board approved the establishment of a subsidiary in Egypt, which was the company's first expansion outside the Saudi market.

The company was planning to inject EGP 1 billion of direct investments into the Egyptian market to be funded through internal cash flows and loans.

The expansion was aimed at strengthening the company's regional footprint and supporting its strategy to diversify sources of income and maximise profit.

Egypt has recently taken concrete steps to increase the opportunities it offers for strategic investors or under the governments initial public offering (IPO) programme, through which 32 state-owned companies are promoted to be tapped.

Egypt is currently under an IMF-backed loan deal, worth $3 billion. The first review of the loan programme was pushed till the end of June instead of the scheduled 15 March as the fund needs more reforms to be applied, particularly in regard to the privatisation programme.

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MERIDEN  A Waterbury man was killed after the pickup truck he was in crashed into another car on Interstate 691 Sunday night, causing it to spin out and roll down an embankment, Connecticut State Police said.

Police identified the man as 35-year-old Javier Rosado-Toro.

Rosado-Toro was a passenger in a 2020 Ram 1500 Big Horn/Lone Star. Driven by a 31-year-old woman from Orlando, Fla., the pickup truck tried to pass a 2011 Ford F350 Super Duty pickup truck and collided with the driver's side, according to state police in an incident report Monday morning.

The Ram spun out of control across the roadway, crashing with the cable barrier in the right shoulder and then down the embankment, rolling over until it hit a tree, state police said.

Rosado-Toro was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police.

The Florida woman suffered serious injuries and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital for treatment. The driver of the Ford truck, a 42-year-old Middlebury man, was not injured in the crash, state police said.

The incident occurred around 9:15 p.m. near Exit 3 of I-691 west and shut down the highway for most of the night. The state Department of Transportation reported the highway reopened around 5:10 a.m.

State police are investigating the incident.
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NEW YORK (AP)  A magazine columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in a department store's dressing room two decades before he became president acknowledged Monday that she never followed her own advice to readers that they report sexual attacks to police.

E. Jean Carroll told a federal civil court jury that the reason was generational.

The 79-year-old said that as "a member of the Silent Generation, she was conditioned to keep her chin up and not to complain.

The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for somebody my age, she testified as Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina cross-examined Carroll about why she never went to authorities about the alleged rape, which Trump denies. Carroll said she had called police only once in her life, when she feared the mailbox at a home where she was staying was going to be damaged on Halloween.

You would call police if a mailbox was attacked, Tacopina asked, but not if you yourself were attacked?

Carroll replied that at the time, she was ashamed of what she alleges happened. She later added that she was mindful of Trump's power and connections in New York and didn't think police would take me seriously.

Research has repeatedly found that rapes and sexual assaults are among the types of violent crime least likely to be reported to police. An annual U.S. crime victimization survey found that less than 23% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported in 2021 and 2020, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Carroll on Monday wrapped up three days of testimony in the trial stemming from her lawsuit against Trump. The trial is due to continue Tuesday with other witnesses on her behalf. Trump, who traveled to Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course at his resort near Aberdeen, Scotland, has not attended the trial. Jurors are expected to see parts of a recording of him answering questions under oath last fall.

Carroll has said the then-real estate magnate raped her in the spring of 1996 at the tony Bergdorf Goodman store after they went into a dressing room together in an encounter that she said was fun and flirtatious until Trump became violent. She said she eventually kneed him and fled.

Trump, 76, says that he was never at the store with Carroll and never knew her beyond a fleeting moment when a 1987 picture was taken of them in a group setting.

Shortly before Carroll first took the stand last week, Trump called the rape accusation a fraudulent & false story on his social media platform.

Seeking to cast Carroll's allegation as fiction, Tacopina on Monday brought up a 2012 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in which a male character briefly speaks about consensually acting out a sexual fantasy that involves bursting in on a woman trying on lingerie in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. Jurors saw an email in which someone mentioned the episode to Carroll after she went public with her claim in 2019.

Carroll testified that she has never seen the episode, didn't know about it before receiving the email and didn't make up her accusation off TV. She said she wasn't entirely surprised at the points of similarity.

The Law & Order writers are very good about keying into the psyches of their viewers," said Carroll, asserting that many people have misplaced fantasies about rape.

Her renewed testimony came shortly after Tacopina asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is overseeing the civil proceedings, to declare a mistrial because of rulings he made that Tacopina said favored Carroll. The judge rejected the request.

Carroll filed suit against Trump in November, under a New York state law that temporarily allows sexual assault victims to sue over alleged attacks that happened even decades ago.

Amid a flurry of public denials and insults from Trump that prompted Carroll to add a defamation claim to the lawsuit, Trump has insisted that Carroll was motivated by political reasons and a desire to sell copies of her 2019 memoir.

Carroll has testified that she spoke out because of the #MeToo movement, which gained prominence in 2017.

Carroll wrote an advice column for Elle magazine for nearly three decades, and Tacopina confronted her Monday with instances in which she advised contacting law enforcement authorities after people wrote in about sexual assaults and threats from partners and exes.

I always  in most cases  advised my readers to go to the police, Carroll acknowledged.

Tacopina also pointed out that although Carroll's memoir described sexual assaults by multiple men over the course of her life, Trump was the only one she sued. And, although Trump has insisted he had no sexual encounter  indeed, no anything  with Carroll, his attorney asked her whether what allegedly happened could somehow be viewed as consensual.

It was not consensual, she said emphatically.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
Review at a glance









W ho would be a prince? Apart from the glamour, the riches, the fast cars, and the fame, that is. Well, you might end up as Prince Andrew. Disgraced, detested, and derided the world over  doesnt sound so fun now.

The Problem Prince indeed. This two-hander from Channel 4 claims it tells you everything you need to know about that interview.

Yet it emerges that what we need to know about that Newsnight interview is not what we learn from this documentary. The central mystery of it is why on earth Andrew gave it and what it is about him that led him to that point.

Sadly for every illuminating minute spent on Prince Andrews character, it feels as if we have two minutes exploring the genesis of Newsnights interview  and from the less interesting perspective.

Presenter Emily Maitlis and producer Sam McAlister (who has already written a book touching on the interview) dominate proceedings. We learn that McAlister comes from market people (and duly see her duly pictured in a market). We hear about how she was relentless and charm is my superpower. We see the star power of Emily Maitlis and what a presence she is. No doubt all of these things are useful in securing top guests. But as it turns out, they were not needed here.

Sam McAlister / Fulwell73

It was Prince Andrews people who came to Newsnight. The BBC show said no. Andrews people tried again and eventually, thanks to their persistence, Newsnight said yes. The driving force behind the trainwreck interview  both in its setup and then in its contents  was not especially clever or charming work from Maitlis and McAlister, but Andrew himself. Andrew is the author of his destruction, as are brave women like Virginia Giuffre who came forward to allege sexual abuse (Andrew and Giuffre settled out of court, despite Andrew denying the allegations).

Why the logistics of the Newsnight interview from their side take up so much space in this documentary is, as a result, a real puzzle.

Far more interesting are the insights from those who had to work with Andrew. Simon Wilson, then our deputy ambassador in Bahrain, describes Andrew as having a split personality.

Wilson had seen Andrew, who was acting as a trade ambassador for the government, ruin the governments own sales pitch for the military hardware he was supposed to be flogging. Wilson despaired: he was completely unaccountable was his line manager?. That, more than the Newsnight team taking photos in Buckingham Palace, is genuinely intriguing.

Excellent archive footage early in the first part of the documentary shows a child showered with gifts (including a miniature James Bond Aston Martin, complete with toy guns behind the headlights) and adored by Britain. The film opens with what is now, in retrospect, deeply cringeworthy but enlightening footage of a flirtatious Andrew charming the socks off a female interviewer, asking him about his Randy Andy moniker as the audience giggle and cheer along.

Force of nature: Emily Maitlis / Fulwell73

Andrew was the freewheeling second son. Where Charles was made prematurely old by the weight of his future responsibility, Andrew was the opposite. A sort of permanent, Peter Pan boyhood afflicted him, his development and life frozen in the dazzling brilliance of youth, at the moment when he still had a purpose and before the line of succession moved away from him with the birth of Prince William.

Andrew could have grown out of this. Instead, as the documentary shows, he embraced a playboy lifestyle he could not afford (despite a yearly allowance of 250,000 from the Queen) and was unsuited to. His disastrous association (even friendship) with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein continued even after Epsteins convictions for sexual offences. What a dreadful decision  and series of decisions. And yet, as Simon Wilson had asked, who was Andrew accountable to? Who told him no? And would he listen?

This documentary fails to pursue Wilsons question. Instead it feels as if the McAlister/Maitlis story (which itself is soon to be dramatised by Netflix) takes up much of the focus. It is Andrew, not them, who is interesting. How did the problem prince get made? After watching this, I cant say Im much the wiser.

Episode 1 will air Monday May 1 at 9pm on Channel 4; Episode 2 will air the following week
A woman thought to be in her thirties was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Brixton on Monday afternoon.

Police launched an urgent investigation after the Bank Holiday horror attack shortly after 4pm on Stockwell Park Walk, Brixton.

A Met Police spokesperson said the victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family have been informed.

Police have taped off the area as a crime scene, while a blue tent has been erected following the stabbing.

Officers, paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance attended, said the spokesperson.

A woman, believed to be aged in her 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. The womans family have been informed; they will be supported by specialist officers.

A number of roads have been closed as officers work at the scene.

Detectives said enquiries were ongoing.

Natasha Jordan, who works at Live True London on Brixton Road, said: There were loads of police cars and ambulances that came.

Loads of police were walking up and down the road because there's a police station right near here.

No-one actually came in and said anything though, and I've been in here all day."

Any witnesses are asked to call 101 quoting CAD 4728/01May. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Gender equality and fair treatment of women and girls is a moral imperative, but global data analytics, evidence and experience clearly demonstrate that including women also fosters economic growth and stability, especially in times of fiscal challenges.

The World Banks Women, Business and the Law series has tracked law reforms and gender equality since 1970 and has amassed enormous data-based evidence linking gender parity and economic security.

Over the last 50 years, countries have adopted more than 2,000 law reforms across all measured categories of equality, including womens mobility, marital rights, workplace environment, rights to own assets and to start businesses and pay and pension equality.

But, discouragingly, the rate of reforms has slowed over the last 15 years and 2022 was historically low for legal reforms globally. Today, only 14 countries  all high-income economies  out of 190 provide women the same legal rights as men.

In other words, 176 countries still prevent equal economic opportunity to 2.4 billion women. At todays pace, it will take at least another 50 years for women to reach parity with men across the world: young girls today will reach retirement age before gender parity is achieved globally  two full generations of talent, productivity, innovation and opportunity squandered, to the detriment of women, families, communities and countries.

One area of vital importance is the workplace. Across the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) today, fewer than one in four working-age women has a job, and female labor force participation is the lowest in the world. Lack of access to education, job-training, assets, capital, adequate nutrition and healthcare, as well as child marriage, gender violence and workplace discrimination obstruct major progress.

The pathway to female workforce participation is a multidimensional challenge. It must be mandated by governments, enforced by courts, embraced by companies, reinforced by banks and investors and supported by society. It requires a holistic approach:

First, government policies and laws are required tofacilitate womens participation in the economy. Laws are needed that permit women to acquire and own assets in order to start, own and operate businesses and to require non-discrimination in hiring, promotion and career opportunities in the workplace.

Second, courts and regulatory bodies with capacity and commitment are needed in order to apply and enforce those laws fully, fairly, consistently and ethically, including the handling of complaints of discrimination and the imposition of sanctions on violators.

Third, companies need to adopt policies of non-discrimination, anti-harassment, equal pay, participation in benefits, including those relating to healthcare, parenthood and pensions, career opportunities and systems to ensure faithful implementation and grievance procedures.

Fourth, banks and investors can do their part. Data shows that women-owned businesses have lower default rates than male-owned enterprises, and banks should treat women entrepreneurs fairly in assessing their creditworthiness and providing financing.

Fifth, private equity and fund investors should examine prospective investee companies through a gender lens, taking into account a companys commitment to gender equality and corporate data demonstrating that commitment with results showing women at all levels of the corporate ladder, from entry level to the executive suite and the boardroom.

Investors should use gender as a barometer of corporate competence, values and prospects in the same way they consider environmental and anti-corruption capacity and compliance, managerial qualityand financial results.

Finally, society at large should recognise that improving womens access to education, healthcare, capital, jobs and businesses, and protecting their basic rights and dignity can enhance  and not undermine  the important roles they play in family and community. In that sense, legislative change often needs to be accompanied by shifts in gender and social norms.

Studies show that, if Egypts female labor participation rate matched that of males, GDP would increase by 34 percent. Encouragingly, MENA and Africa were leaders over the last five years, introducing more than 20 law reforms on retirement, pensions and discrimination in the workplace. Egypt has introduced innovations in financial services that will facilitate womens participation in finance, including mobile and electronic payment systems, e-wallets, access to credit, together with data protection and cybersecurity.

Still, Women, Business and the Law ranks MENA lowest in gender equality in economic opportunity, scoring 53.2 out of a possible 100 points.

Not only can this discouraging course be avoided but it can be reversed. The evidence is compelling, the course is clear and the timing is urgent.

*The writer is senior vice president and group general counsel, the World Bank Group.

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A man is fighting for life after he was attacked in south east London.

Police were called at 9.43pm on Saturday, April 29, to Manor Road, Beckenham, following reports that a man had been attacked.

A short time later, officers were informed that a 20-year-old man had presented at hospital with head injuries and remains there in a critical condition, police said. His family are aware.

A 17-year-old male was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH.

He was taken into police custody and has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Police said on Monday morning a crime scene was in place and enquiries were ongoing.

Officers asked for anyone who witnessed the incident, or has information, video or images that could help police to call 101 or tweet @MetCC ref CAD 8860/29 Apr.

To remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
T ens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for a tougher sentence for a man who punched and killed a banker in Soho.

Paul Mason, 52, was walking home from dinner with a friend at The Ivy when he was set upon by a complete stranger, 34-year-old Steven Allan, who was under the mistaken impression his friends phone had been stolen.

Allan knocked Mr Mason to the ground and continued to strike him before delivering a final blow that left him unconscious on the pavement. Mr Mason died around six months later from brain injuries sustained in the attack.

Allan, who admitted manslaughter, was cleared of murder in the attack in West Street, Soho, and was sentenced last month to three years and nine months in prison.

In a petition, Mr Masons sister Rachel Mason described the sentence as an insult and called for it to be revised.

This sentence is an insult to Paul, to us his family and to the wider UK society, she said.

She added: He will be released back into our community too soon. Steven Allans sentence must be reviewed and extended.

Convicted of manslaughter: Steven Allan / Metropolitan Police/PA

Nearly 35,000 people have backed Ms Masons plea to have sentencing guidelines overhauled in the wake of the tragic killing.

Allan, a site manager on a construction project in Hyde Park, had spent the evening of December 15, 2020, drinking with a friend, the Old Bailey heard.

He was standing in West Street when he became consumed by the incorrect idea that his friend, who had gone to another establishment, had been robbed.

Mr Mason, a highly-respected banking executive who worked for the Qatar National Bank, walked past at the exact time Allan tried to call his friend, leading him to the false impression that Mr Mason had stolen the phone.

Passing sentence last month, Judge Michael Topolski KC called it a horror story and took into account his guilty plea for manslaughter, mental health difficulties, and his stated remorse at the consequences of his actions.

Im well aware the sentence Ive just passed will seem like nothing to (Mr Masons) family, said the judge.

The circumstances that to the defendant causing the death of a perfectly respectable and wholly innocent stranger who happened to be passing by are as extraordinary as they are tragic.

Allan, from Hook in Hampshire, spent more than two years on a curfew while awaiting two criminal trials, with more than 400 days counting towards his prison sentence.

He will be eligible for release at the halfway point of his three-years-and-nine-month sentence.

A spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office said: We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.

A Sentencing Council spokesperson told news outlets that it could not comment on individual cases.
A woman has been taken to hospital after falling on to the tracks at a busy tube station in central London.

British Transport Police (BTP) launched an investigation after the incident occurred on the Victoria Line at Kings Cross Underground station at around 1.45pm on Saturday.

Three men jumped on the rails to rescue the woman after she veered off the platform on her blue mobility scooter, according to reports.

Police confirmed that the woman was rushed to hospital with potentially life-changing injuries.

Dramatic footage showed men rushing on the tracks trying to rescue the woman in front of panicked bystanders.

Omar, 25, who witnessed the incident, told MyLondon: I was on the platform and there was a disabled woman on her mobility scooter with her daughter who looked around 18 or 19. Everyone was waiting for the train. I did not see the moment she went in but I heard scream and looked to my left and saw her falling onto the tracks. Her daughter let out a blood curdling scream like Mum. Everyone started screaming at this point.

"Everyone was screaming just put her foot down, so when the train comes she would be fully beneath," Omar said. "The daughter was screaming Thats my mum and a woman was trying to tell her to take deep breaths. One guy even went back in to trying to move her to get her out. But they couldnt get her out and everyone was saying the train is coming."

The station was evacuated soon after the incident. Staff from the London Ambulance Service, Transport for London and British Transport Police attended the scene to help rescue the woman.

The Victoria line was suspended for around two hours following the incident.

A spokesperson for BTP said: Colleagues from the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service also attended, and a person has been taken to hospital with what are believed to be potentially life-changing injuries. The circumstances of the incident have been investigated; which is not being treated as suspicious.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: We were called at 1.44pm on Saturday (29 April) to reports of an incident on the tracks at Kings Cross St Pancras Underground Station.

We sent multiple resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team (HART).

We treated one patient at the scene before taking them to a major trauma centre as a priority.
S cotlands transport minister has called for an investigation into the running aground of a ferry on Orkney to be completed sooner rather than later.

Smoke was detected in the engine room of the MV Pentalina on Saturday night before it became grounded near the village of St Margarets Hope on the island, leading to the evacuation of 60 passengers, including three children and an infant.

Helen Inkster, managing director of operator Pentland Ferries, said all passengers were safe and well when they were evacuated, with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) conducting a survey before the Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) are expected on Tuesday.

Initial reports suggest the ferry suffered from a sudden mechanical failure, according to the MCA.

Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Scottish transport minister Kevin Stewart said: Obviously this is a UK reserved matter, the MAIB look at any situation that has occurred aboard vessels, any accident, and Im quite sure that they will report back to the MCA around about their findings.

Speaking on Good Morning Scotland, he added: This is obviously of great interest, not only to (the MCA and MAIB), but to the Scottish Government, the likes of Orkney Islands Council and others.

We have to get to the bottom of what happened here and I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur  who represents Orkney  said earlier in the same programme that local rumours suggested pressure had been applied to the MCA to deliver a safety certificate to the vessel so another that was previously on the route  the MV Alfred  could be leased to Scottish Government-owned ferry operator CalMac.

Mr Stewart said: Im not aware of any pressure that has been put on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and I dont think it would be the kind of organisation that could be pressurised. to be honest with you.

Speaking about the impact of the accident on the route, while the Pentalina is out of service Mr Stewart said that  as of Monday  Northlink Ferries summer timetable will be running, including three daily sailings between Scrabster and Stromness.

Also on the same programme, Scottish Tory transport spokesman Graeme Simpson called for an investigation into why the safety certificate was given to the Pentalina just weeks before it ran aground.

Im on the same page as the RMT on this, he said.

There needs to be a full investigation into whats gone on, why was that vessel given approval, only to then break down?
T he SNP has called on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide by raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week.

Ahead of Scotlands First Minister Humza Yousaf convening a cross-party anti-poverty summit in Edinburgh on Wednesday, the partys Westminster leader Stephen Flynn warned Westminster policies are making people poorer and undermining progress on tackling poverty in Scotland.

He urged the UK Government to introduce a comprehensive package of measures to reverse child poverty across the UK including: raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week UK-wide, scrapping the benefit cap, introducing a Real Living Wage and setting statutory targets to eliminate child poverty.

Rishi Sunak must introduce a comprehensive package of support to reverse poverty

The latest OECD figures show the UK has the worst levels of poverty of any country in north-west Europe, with a higher poverty rate than all of the UKs European neighbours including Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

The Scottish Child Payment, paid to eligible poorer families, was increased from 10 to 25 per child per week in November.

It has been heralded as game-changing by poverty campaigners, but Scottish Government data released in March indicates 24% of children are still in poverty.

Mr Flynn said: Tackling poverty is a defining mission of the SNP government but for every step Scotland takes forward to eradicate poverty, Westminster is taking us back again.

While progressive SNP policies like the Scottish Child Payment are putting money into peoples pockets and reducing inequality, damaging Westminster policies are making people poorer and undermining progress on tackling poverty in Scotland.

The SNP Scottish Government will always accept its responsibility to use the restricted powers it has to reduce poverty  but for as long as Scotland remains under Westminster control, the UK government must take its responsibilities seriously too.

He added: Rishi Sunak must introduce a comprehensive package of support to reverse poverty  including matching the ambition of the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide by raising the child element of universal credit by 25 a week and scrapping the benefit cap.

And he must follow the Scottish Governments lead by introducing statutory targets to eliminate child poverty  or the UK will continue to languish with one of the worst levels of poverty among our European neighbours.

A UK Government spokesperson said: We are committed to eradicating poverty and have helped nearly two million people out of absolute poverty since 2010, including 400,000 children.

We recognise the pressures of the rising cost of living which is why we have provided record levels of direct financial support, including 1,350 for those most in need.

Benefits have also risen by over 10% and the National Living Wage has increased by more than 9%.
S cottish ministers are demanding the Foreign Secretary withdraws guidance to UK diplomatic missions on their international visits, accusing him of penning a misleading letter which damages Scotlands interests.

SNP minister Angus Robertson said James Cleverly appeared to be reducing Scotlands status to an administrative unit by seeking to limit the devolved Governments activities abroad.

Mr Robertson was responding to Mr Cleverlys guidance to heads of mission abroad, which was reported as a crackdown on the SNPs attempts to promote Scottish independence when on foreign visits.

The Foreign Secretary asked diplomats to take a strengthened approach to Scottish ministerial visits  ensuring officials from the UK Government are present during meetings with host governments.

While foreign policy has always been a matter reserved to Westminster, ministers in Holyrood have often engaged with foreign governments on a number of issues.

The Conservatives said SNP ministers are overstepping their powers during these visits and seek to undermine the UK Government.

Mr Robertson has now written a lengthy letter  running to more than 1,000 words  to Mr Cleverley.

The Scottish Governments External Affairs Secretary said: I am concerned about the damage the letter and guidance could do to Scottish trade, cultural exchanges and education, and to Scottish interests in general.

There are a number of omissions and misleading assertions, and the guidance in places appears unworkable. I therefore ask that you withdraw it.

He continued: The UK Governments apparent determination to reduce Scotland to the status of a mere administrative unit and for it to be characterised as such by UK Government diplomats is unacceptable.

The Scottish Government is internationalist to its core.

We believe Scotland has a contribution to make to global issues, whether that is tackling climate change, international development, advancing equalities around the world, the treatment of those fleeing war and oppression and many other topics where the UK Government also has relevant responsibilities.

He referred to the 1998 Scotland Act and said it did not preclude Scottish ministers from communicating with other countries, regions or international or European institutions as long as they did not purport to be speaking for the UK Government.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: The UK has one of the best, most expansive and expert diplomatic services in the world, with people from across the UK representing our interests abroad.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the G7, Nato and the Commonwealth, the UK has an unparalleled influence on the international stage.

We are delivering effectively for the whole of the UK, including by ensuring that Scotlands interests remain at the heart of our international agenda.
T he deadline has passed for British nationals to arrive at Port Sudan for what is being billed as the last evacuation flight to leave the country as a fragile ceasefire holds.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had given those looking to flee the war-torn nation until 11am UK time  midday in Sudan  to reach the departure site on the eastern coast.

Officials at the Foreign Office would not confirm what time the flight was due to take off, but flight tracking websites showed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Airbus A400M Atlas plane as having landed at Port Sudan at about 3pm on Monday.

The UK Government said it was exceptionally offering one final flight following a series of repatriation departures out of Sudan last week.

It is understood the flight will airlift a limited number of British nationals left in the country  which has been rocked by fighting that is pushing Sudan into a humanitarian crisis  who wish to leave.

Those who wanted to be on the aircraft were instructed to arrive at the Coral Hotel by the midday deadline.

The offer came after the warring factions agreed to extend a fragile ceasefire for a further 72 hours.

However, despite the decision to cease hostilities for three days, troops of the two rival generals clashed in the capital Khartoum on Monday.

The United Nations said the generals, Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had agreed to send representatives to the negotiation table in a bid to establish a more stable truce.

Generals Burhan and Dagalo, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fraught transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) tweeted that the RAF has evacuated more than 2,000 people from Sudan, with most of those UK nationals or their dependents.

We have also evacuated civilians from more than 20 other nations  supporting our allies and partners, the MoD said.

The British Government has agreed to include NHS doctors without UK passports on its final journeys amid criticism over the scope of its eligibility criteria for evacuation.

Flights had previously been limited to British nationals and their immediate family.

Rescue aircraft have been touching down in Cyprus, which has activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism for evacuating third-country civilians, before arriving in the UK hours later.

The last UK evacuation flight from Wadi Saeedna airfield in Khartoum departed at 9pm on Saturday, with Port Sudan  around 530 miles from the capital  the location for the final British departure.
T he Coronation Concert will feature a spectacular Union Flag-shaped stage.

As the countdown to the Coronation enters its final week, newly released pictures reveal the stunning stage for the concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

It features the Union flag with platforms that fan out into the crowd and a halo-like screen surrounding the roof.

Take That, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, Steve Winwood, Nicole Scherzinger and Andrea Bocelli will perform at the gig, to be screened on BBC1 from 8pm.

The Coronation Concert will be broadcast live from the grounds of Windsor Castle on May 7 / BBC Studios/PA Wire

Fans can also watch on iPlayer and listen on Radio 2 and Sounds on Sunday. Classical acts include Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

Around 20,000 ticket winners will get to see the stage lit up in red, white and blue against the backdrop of the castles East Terrace. The BBC said the staging creates multiple levels for a 74-piece classical ensemble.

It is made up of the Countess of Wessexs String Orchestra and woodwind, brass and percussion sections from the Bands of the Household Division.

The concert will be hosted by actor Hugh Bonneville.

CGI representations of the stage were released on Sunday / BBC Studios/PA Wire

Tom Cuise, Dame Joan Collins, Bear Grylls and Sir Tom Jones are to appear in video messages.

The series of recorded sketches will reveal little-known facts about the monarch and will also include moments from Winnie-the-Pooh.

The Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art will come together for the first time to create a one-off performance featuring Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa and Olivier Award nominee Mei Mac.

Thousands of people are ROYAL expected to flock to London for the Coronation at Westminster Abbey and the procession back to Buckingham Palace.

On Sunday street parties are planned across the country as part of The Big Lunch - and there is an extra Bank Holiday to enjoy on Monday.
A wax figure of the Duke of Sussex has been reunited with the rest of the royal family figurines at Madame Tussauds London as Harry returns to the UK for the coronation.

The 38-year-old announced, along with the palace, in April that he would be attending the crowning of his father, the King, and his stepmother, the Queen Consort, at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, has decided to remain at home in Los Angeles to be with the couples son Prince Archie on his fourth birthday.

To reflect this, Meghans figure will remain in the Awards Party Zone  with US-based celebrities  where the couples waxworks were moved in 2020 following the Sussexes stepping back from royal duties and moving to California.

In pictures, the waxwork of Harry is seen smiling while wearing a black-and-white suit besides the re-dressed figure Charles and the newly launched figure of Camilla.

Tim Waters, general manager at Madame Tussauds London, said: From today, Prince Harry has officially rejoined The Royal Palace experience at our attraction.

The temporary move reflects the Duke of Sussexs participation in the coronation and ensures guests will be able to get up close to all members of the royal family attending this once-in-a-lifetime event.

His figure will remain in The Royal Palace experience until the end of the coronation celebrations, after which he will take the short trip back to the attractions Awards Party zone, to stand by his wifes side amongst our Hollywood A-listers.

Other royal waxworks include the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales and the Queen, who was reunited with the late Duke of Edinburgh following her death.

Guests to Madame Tussauds London are also invited to sign the attractions coronation book which will be preserved in its archive which also houses the experiences King George IVs velvet and ermine coronation robes.
T he Princess of Wales will wear a floral headpiece instead of a tiara at the Kings coronation, according to reports.

In a significant break with tradition, Kate plans to opt for a floral arrangement at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, The Times reports.

All royal women have reportedly decided against wearing tiaras at the highly-anticipated ceremony.

Sally Bedell Smith, a royal family biographer, told the paper: The sight of the Princess of Wales in a floral crown will set a particular tone, showing the Kings reverence for nature and his passion for flowers.

It seems like an especially egalitarian touch as well. As the wife of the future king, she will be setting an example for the other women in the congregation, who might find it awkward to even think of wearing tiaras.

One result may be that the crowns and regalia covered with precious jewels may stand out in sharper relief as symbols of the monarchy.

The Prince and Princess of Wales Family Album - In pictures 1 / 72 The Prince and Princess of Wales Family Album - In pictures Matt Porteous/Kensington Palace Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, (2R) and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, (L) and their three children Prince Louis of Cambridge (2L), Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (C) and Prince George of Cambridge (R) posing for a photograph at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in the Autumn of 2018 Matt Porteous via AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in Norfolk, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images Prince George's first birthday AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, in a photograph taken late October 2015 at Kensington Palace in London. PA Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for photographs in the State Apartments of St James Palace on November 16, 2010 in London, England. After much speculation, Clarence House today announced the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton Getty Images TRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge smile following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge drive from Buckingham Palace in a decorated sports car on April 29, 2011 in London, England Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leaving the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London, with their newborn son Prince George of Cambridge on July 23rd, 2013 Jeremy Selwyn Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they sit with their son Prince George in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire surrounded by Tilly the retriever (a Middleton family pet), and Lupo the cocker spaniel, the couple's only dog in their first five years of marriage PA Prince George, at Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, ahead of the christening of the then three month-old Prince by the Archbishop of Canterbury PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge reacts as their son Prince George of Cambridge bites a small present that was given to him at the enclosure of an Australian animal called a Bilby, which has been named after the young Prince, during a visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo on April 20, 2014 in Sydney, Australia Getty Images Prince George sits for his official Christmas picture in a courtyard at Kensington Palace in late November of 2014 in London, England HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart the Lindo Wing with their newborn daughter at St Mary's Hospital on May 2, 2015 in London, England John Stillwell/PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge depart the Lindo Wing with their newborn daughter at St Mary's Hospital on May 2, 2015 in London, England Getty Images Prince George looking at his sister Princess Charlotte as she was pushed to church by the Duchess of Cambridge in a vintage 1950s Millson pram once used by the Queen Elizabeth II for her children, during Princess Charlotte's christening at St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, Norfolk PA Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The photograph was taken by the Duchess in mid-May at Anmer Hall in Norfolk HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is pushed in her silver cross pram as she leaves the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate after her Christening on July 5, 2015 in King's Lynn, England Getty Images Prince George gives his little sister Princess Charlotte a kiss HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George attend the Gigaset Charity Polo Match with Prince George of Cambridge at Beaufort Polo Club on June 14, 2015 in Tetbury, England Getty Images Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge arrive at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on July 5, 2015 in King's Lynn, England Getty Images Prince George on his first day at the Westacre Montessori nursery school near Sandringham HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Prince George of Cambridge looks at his sister Princess Charlotte of Cambridge in her pram as he leaves the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate for the Christening of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge Getty Images Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, with their children, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, enjoy a short private skiing break on March 3, 2016 in the French Alps, France Getty Images Princess Charlotte of Cambridge plays with a teddy as she is seen at Anmer Hall HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge holds her daughter Princess Charlotte and strokes her son, Prince George's head as they stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly-past of aircrafts by the Royal Air Force, in London on June 11, 2016. AFP/Getty Images The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duchess of Cambridge holding Princess Charlotte, Prince George and The Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2017 PA A family picture at Pippa Middleton's wedding. Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte at a children's party for Military families at Government House in Victoria during the Royal Tour of Canada PA Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte leave from Victoria Harbour to board a sea-plane on the final day of their Royal Tour of Canada on October 1, 2016 in Victoria, Canada Getty Images William, The Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte visit Canada Mark Large/Daily Mail Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive at a children's party at Government House in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Reuters Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2017 Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Princess Charlotte and Prince George after the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews at St Mark's Church Getty Images Prince George (centre) stands with other page boys and flower girls following the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews, as they leave St Mark's church in Englefield, Berkshire PA Prince George who celebrates his fourth birthday Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge depart from Hamburg airport on the last day of their official visit to Poland and Germany on July 21, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge aka Kate Middleton show their newly-born son, their third child, Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge to the media outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images Prince William, Duke of Cambridge carries his newly-born son, Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge from the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Prince William arrives at Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital with Prince George and Princess Charlotte to meet new baby brother. Jeremy Selwyn Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrives with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing where Kate had just given birth to Prince Louis in London Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle PA Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Britain's Prince George of Cambridge hold hands with their father, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge is carried by Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge on their arrival for his christening service at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, London on July 9, 2018 AFP/Getty Images Princess Charlotte playing as her father, the Duke of Cambridge, takes part in the Maserati Royal Charity Polo Trophy at the Beaufort Polo Club, Downfarm House, Westonbirt, Tetbury PA Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah Phillips, Prince George of Cambridge and Isla Phillips watch the flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour on June 9, 2018 in London Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after attending the St Patrick's Day parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, where they presented shamrock to officers and guardsmen of 1st Battalion the Irish Guards PA The Duchess of Cambridge (L) smiles as she and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge arrrive for the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle AFP/Getty Images Prince Louis pictured in the garden of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Norfolk home earlier this month HRH The Duchess of Cambridge An emerged photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 2019 Christmas card The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend a special pantomime performance at Londons Palladium Theatre, hosted by The National Lottery, to thank key workers and their families for their efforts throughout the pandemic PA The Duchess of Cambridge with Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte attend a special pantomime performance at Londons Palladium Theatre, hosted by The National Lottery, to thank key workers and their families for their efforts throughout the pandemic PA Prince Louis, photographed by his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at Kensington Palace PA Media

They are, after all, held in trust by the monarch for the nation and represent the continuity of the monarchy over one thousand years.

The two-hour ceremony on Saturday will feature several new additions that reflect the Kings belief in promoting unity between faiths and communities.

For the first time, it will include all languages spoken in the four home nations. A prayer will be delivered in Welsh and a hymn, Veni Creator, will be sung in English, Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, will urge the public to pledge allegiance to the King from their sofas in the UK and across the Commonwealth, in a multilingual, multi-faith Coronation.

The King has scrapped the act of hereditary peers kneeling to pay homage before touching the crown and kissing the monarchs right cheek.

Instead, he has introduced a Homage of the People that will allow a chorus of a million voices to participate for the first time by joining the congregation at Westminster Abbey in declaring their allegiance to the King.
Chinese authorities were preparing Sunday to release a man who disappeared three years ago after publicizing videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the COVID-19 outbreak, a relative and another person familiar with his case said.

Fang Bin and other members of the public who were dubbed citizen journalists posted details of the pandemic in early 2020 on the internet and social media, embarrassing Chinese officials who faced criticism for failing to control the outbreak. The last video Fang, a seller of traditional Chinese clothing, posted on Twitter was of a piece of paper reading, "All citizens resist, hand power back to the people."

Fang's case is part of Beijing's crackdown on criticism of China's early handling of the pandemic, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to control the narrative of the country.

He was scheduled to be released Sunday, according to two people who did not want to be identified for fear of government retribution. One of them said Fang was sentenced to three years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," a vague charge traditionally used against political dissidents.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm his release and could not confirm the details with the authorities.
T he deadline has passed for British nationals to get what is being billed as the last evacuation flight out of Sudan as a fragile ceasefire holds.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had given those looking to flee the war-torn nation until 11am UK time - midday in Sudan - to reach the departure site on the eastern coast.

Officials at the Foreign Office would not confirm what time the flight was due to take off, but flight tracking websites showed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Airbus A400M Atlas plane as having landed at Port Sudan at about 3pm on Monday.

The UK Government said it was exceptionally" offering one final flight following a series of repatriation departures out of Sudan last week.

It is understood the flight will airlift a limited number of British nationals left in the country - which has been rocked by fighting that is pushing Sudan into a humanitarian crisis - who wish to leave.

Those who wanted to be on the aircraft were instructed to arrive at the Coral Hotel by the midday deadline.

The extended evacuation flight came after concern from figures including Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who worried about UK residents, including NHS doctors, being prevented from reaching evacuation flights by fighters.

Foreign Office officials said the number of people evacuated on UK flights up to Saturday was 2,122 on 23 flights, calling the British effort the longest and largest evacuation by any Western nation.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly earlier said: Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan.

The UK will continue to advocate for a long-term end to the conflict along with its international allies, Mr Cleverly added.

The British Government has agreed to include NHS doctors without UK passports on its final journeys amid criticism over the scope of its eligibility criteria for evacuation.

Flights had previously been limited to British nationals and their immediate family.

But its decision not to offer escorts to those making the potentially perilous journey to the airfield near Khartoum was also called into question.

Flights have been touching down in Cyprus, which has activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism for evacuating third-country civilians, before arriving in the UK hours later.

The conflict pits army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan against General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fraught transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.
M ore than 100 police officers were injured after an outbreak of violence at pension protests in France, the interior ministry has said.

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the number of wounded officers was extremely rare, and added 291 people had been arrested during the unrest.

Officers clashed with hundreds of black-clad demonstrators in Paris and other cities during union-led May Day protests against President Emmanuel Macrons increase in the retirement age.

Demonstrators pelted Paris police with Molotov cocktails and fireworks, torched building materials and smashed up bus stops.

Protesters marching peacefully booed the police as they responded with tear gas and baton charges.

Emergency services used water cannons to put out a fire which burned the windows of nearby flats. One officer was badly injured when he was hit by a fiery projectile.

REUTERS

Unrest also erupted in Lyon, where several vehicles were set ablaze and some business premises were trashed.

Meanwhile, in Nantes in western France, a fire broke out in front of a local administration building during the protests.

Emmanuel Macrons popularity has plunged to near record lows after he defied unions to lift the retirement age by two years to 64.

Sophie Binet, leader of the left-wing CGT union, said the pension reform had left Mr Macron isolated.

The executive cannot govern without the support of its people," Ms Binet said ahead of the Paris protest, adding her union had not yet decided on talks with the government on other matters in the weeks ahead.

Laurent Berger, head of the more moderate CFDT trade union, said Mr Macrons government had been deaf to the demands of one of the most powerful social movements in decades.

He said his union was open to discussions with the government and dismissed suggestions that a rare alliance between the leading trade unions was being tested now that the pension bill had been signed into law.

We must bring other proposals over salaries and working conditions to the table," he told BFM TV.

Police officers detain a protester during clashes as part of a demonstration / AFP via Getty Images

Mr Macron says the French reform is needed to keep one of the industrialised worlds most generous pension systems in the black.

French pension payments as a share of pre-retirement earnings are comfortably higher than elsewhere and a French man typically spends longer in retirement than those in other OECD nations.

But trade unions say the money can be found elsewhere.

Elsewhere in Europe, union-led protests are planned throughout Germany, while in Italy, the three main unions held a rally in the southern city of Potenza.

In Switzerland, a parade through Zurich took place without major incident, Zurich police said.
M ore than 20,000 Russian soldiers have died since December in its invasion of Ukraine, the US estimated on Monday.

The White House said it believes that Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties since December, some 20,000 of whom were thought to have died.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut because of Ukrainian resistance.

US officials previously said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war, but the new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.

Mr Kirby said nearly half those killed since December are Wagner mercenary forces, many of them convicts who were released from prison to join Russia's fight.

He said the Wagner forces were thrown into combat and without sufficient combat or combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organisational command and control."

The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight the cost to Russia of Bakhmut, which it argues has limited strategic importance to the overall trajectory of the war.

Some analysts, however, believe that Russia wants to take Bakhmut because they think it could be helpful to efforts to advance on the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.

Mr Kirby said the Russian casualty count for "this little town of Bakhmut" was in line with some of the fiercest periods of fighting during World War II.

He added: Russia's attempt at an offensive in the Donbas largely through Bakhmut has failed.

Russia has been unable to seize any real strategic and significant territory."

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said Russia continued to exert maximum effort" to take Bakhmut but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions," he said.

White House officials declined to say how many Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the fighting.

At a previous briefing in November that Ukrainian casualties - those injured or killed - were probably also about 100,000.
A South Korean student ate a banana that was part of a renowned art installation by Italian artist Maruizio Cattelan because he was hungry.

Noh Huyn-soo removed the fruit from a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul before unpeeling and devouring it in front of shocked onlookers.

He then taped the peel back onto the wall. The museum later replaced it with a fresh banana.

The artwork, titled Comedian, consisted of a ripe banana duct-raped to a wall.

The student told the museum he ate it because he was hungry, a museum spokesperson told CNN.

It happened suddenly, so no special action was taken. The artist (Cattelan) was informed of the incident but he didnt have any reaction to it, the spokesperson added.

The shocking incident was recorded by a friend of Noh in a video lasting over a minute.

Noh, an art student at Seoul National University, later told broadcaster KBS that he thought damaging a work of modern art could also be [interpreted as] artwork and that he came up with the idea to reattach the peel as a joke.

He added: I thought it would be interesting  isnt it taped there to be eaten?

The banana, part of Cattalans Comedian installation, gets replaced every two or three days.

Cattalan, a sculptor and performance artist based in New York, reportedly replied no problem when informed about the incident.

The first and second editions of the artwork sold for $120,000 (95,640) when they were on display at Miami Art Basel.
A t least one person died and 25 were left injured after Russia launched a fresh series of missile strikes on cities in Ukraine.

The Kremlin unleashed a barrage of strikes on Monday morning in various regions including Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk.

Ukrainian officials said their air defence shot down 15 of 18 missiles launched by Russia.

Kyivs city officials wrote on the Telegram messaging app that all missiles directed at the capital were destroyed in what they said was the second attack on the city in three days.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad was struck twice overnight, and an industrial enterprise, 19 apartment buildings and 25 private buildings, among others, were damaged or destroyed.

The attack wounded 34 people, including five children, according to Serhii Lysak the region's top official.

Missiles also hit three other areas in the region, damaging residential buildings and a school, he said.

Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russian-backed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, posted late on Sunday what he said were pictures and videos of fires in Pavlohrad and said that Russian forces struck at military targets there.

Mr Rogov added that missiles had targeted railway infrastructure and fuel depots.

It comes after another barrage of missiles fired by Vladimir Putins forces on cities in Ukraine killed at least 25 people on Friday.

Relatives and friends cried next to coffins on Sunday as they buried children and others killed in the attack.

Almost all of the victims of the attack on Friday died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in Uman. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said six children were among the 23 dead.

It comes as Ukraine prepares for its spring counter-offensive, which could reportedly begin in weeks or even days, as the battle for Bakhmut reaches a crucial juncture.

Russia yesterday claimed that it had taken four blocks in the west of the key eastern city, according to state news agency RIA.

But Ukraines army insisted that it remained in control of a vital supply route into the city, announcing in its daily briefing yesterday that it had repelled 58 Russian attacks in the previous 24 hours along the frontline from Bakhmut to Maryinka further south in the Donetsk region.
F ormer king of the jungle Joe Swash and ex-EastEnders star Dean Gaffney are set to be the latest contestants to arrive on Im A Celebrity South Africa.

The pair, who competed on the ITV reality show in 2008 and 2006 respectively, were announced in the closing moments of Mondays episode.

Actor and presenter Swash, 40, was crowned the winner of the eighth series of the regular show, and credits the experience for introducing him to his wife Stacey Solomon.

Im A Celebrity holds a big place in my heart, he said.

I won it and I was lucky enough to go on to present the spin-off series on ITV2 for 10 years.

I met Stacey whilst I was out in Australia and me and Stacey have now married and we have had kids. Doing the all-stars series is closure. It finishes off the circle.

Asked about Solomons reaction to his return to the jungle, he added: Stacey is over the moon about me doing it.

The jungle holds a big part in both our hearts. Without the jungle, we wouldnt have each other. In a way, we owe it to the jungle to say goodbye.

Swash, who describes himself as a bit of a gagger and a screamer said his previous experience had changed him in a nice way.

Stacey is over the moon about me doing it. The jungle holds a big part in both our hearts. Without the jungle, we wouldnt have each other. In a way, we owe it to the jungle to say goodbye.

Before I went in, I always thought of myself as an imposter and I felt I wasnt meant to be there, he said.

Doing the jungle gave me the confidence to believe in myself and it was a huge turning point in my life and career.

Im A Celebrity South Africa sees prior contestants on the regular show battle it out to be crowned the first Im A Celebrity Legend.

Of course it would be amazing to be crowned the champion, Swash said.

But I am mainly doing this programme to say thank you to the jungle and put a full stop at the end of the journey.

My eldest son, Harry, was one when I did the jungle and he is 16 now! I want the kids to watch Im A Celebrity South Africa and for both of us to be able to tell them Im A Celebrity is where mummy and daddy met.

The jungle is always going to be a big part of our family.

Gaffney admitted he re-watches his infamous Im A Celebrity live trial whenever he needs cheering up and that my pain is everyone elses gain.

During the jungle spa trial, which included putting his head in a bowl for a hair wash with cockroaches while wearing a bathrobe, the actor could not stop screaming  providing viewers with one of the series most memorable moments.

That live trial became folklore. Every year it gets wheeled out as one of the best moments, so even if I want to forget it I cant, Gaffney said.

People still stop me in the street and chat to me about the trial. And whenever I am having a bad day, I put the trial on and it makes me feel better. My pain is everyone elses gain.

He continued: It would be a massive trajectory to go from screamer of the year in 2006 to go and win the thing.

That would be unbelievable. But the camp will be fierce because everyone wants to be the first Im A Celebrity Legend.

Earlier on Mondays episode, campmates were faced with a horrendous task, after a last minute surprise announcement from hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

The celebrities will have to take part in a secret ballot and vote who will be leaving camp, the result of which will be revealed in Tuesdays episode.

They reacted with horror to the news, with Georgia Toffolo exclaiming: Have you ever heard anything as horrendous as that?

Nasty, nasty thing to do. Were all getting along really well. But thems the rules, added Phil Tufnell.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell told the Bush Telegraph: that smiling assassin duo (McPartlin and Donnelly) has delivered an incendiary device into the middle of the heart of our camp and family.

I am not very happy.

Earlier, Myleene Klass, Amir Khan and Helen Flanagan were selected to take part in the highest ever trial in the shows history.

The Worlds End challenge saw the trio climb a 1,100-metre tall crane-like structure in a bid to unhook stars.

Flanagan, who has previously been infamous for refusing trials, overcame her fear and the trio returned to camp with all 11 stars.

Im A CelebritySouth Africa airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1 & ITVX.
During their summit, Biden and Yoon announced new nuclear deterrence efforts that call for periodically docking U.S. nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea for the first time in decades and bolstering training between the two countries. They also committed to plans for bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack, the establishment of a nuclear consultative group and improved sharing of information on nuclear and strategic weapons operation plans.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is widely expected to up the ante in the coming weeks or months as he continues to accelerate a campaign aimed at cementing the North's status as a nuclear power and eventually negotiating U.S. economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired around 100 missiles, including multiple demonstrations of intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland and a slew of short-range launches the North described as simulated nuclear strikes on South Korea.

Biden's meeting with Yoon in Washington came amid heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula as the pace of both the North Korean weapons demonstrations and the combined U.S.-South Korean military exercises have increased in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

Kim Yo-jong also lobbed personal insults toward U.S. President Joe Biden, who after a summit Wednesday with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that any North Korean nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would "result in the end of whatever regime" took such action.

The powerful sister of North Korea's leader says her country would stage more provocative displays of its military might in response to a new U.S.-South Korean agreement to intensify nuclear deterrence to counter the Norths nuclear threat, which she insists shows their "extreme" hostility toward Pyongyang.

In her comments published on state media, Kim Yo-jong said the U.S.-South Korean agreement reflected the allies' "most hostile and aggressive will of action" against the North and will push regional peace and security into "more serious danger."

Kim Yo-jong, who is one of her brother's top foreign policy officials, said the summit further strengthened the North's conviction to enhance its nuclear arms capabilities. She said it would be especially important for the North to perfect the "second mission of the nuclear war deterrent," in an apparent reference to the country's escalatory nuclear doctrine that calls for preemptive nuclear strikes over a broad range of scenarios where it may perceive its leadership as under threat.

She lashed out at Biden over his blunt warning that North Korean nuclear aggression would result in the end of its regime, calling him senile and "too miscalculating and irresponsibly brave." However, she said the North wouldn't simply dismiss his words as a "nonsensical remark from the person in his dotage." "When we consider that this expression was personally used by the president of the U.S., our most hostile adversary, it is threatening rhetoric for which he should be prepared for far too great an after-storm," she said.

She called Yoon a "fool" over his efforts to strengthen South Korea's defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States and bolster the South's own conventional missile capabilities, saying he was putting his absolute trust in the U.S. despite getting only "nominal" promises in return.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, described her comments as "absurd" and insisted that they convey the North's "nervousness and frustration" over the allies' efforts to strengthen nuclear deterrence. Kim Yo-jong did not specify the actions the North is planning to take in response to the outcome of the U.S.-South Korea summit.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the North will likely dial up military exercises involving its purported nuclear-capable missiles to demonstrate preemptive strike capabilities. The North may also stage tests of submarine-launched ballistic missile systems in response to the U.S. plans to send nuclear-armed submarines to the South, he said.

Kim Jong-un said this month that the country has built its first military spy satellite, which will be launched at an unspecified date. The launch would almost certainly be seen by its rivals as a banned test of long-range missile technology.

Facing growing North Korean threats, Yoon has been seeking stronger reassurances from the United States that it would swiftly and decisively use its nuclear weapons if the South comes under a North Korean nuclear attack.

His government has also been expanding military training with the U.S., which included the allies' biggest field exercises in years last month and separate drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group and advanced warplanes, including nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and F-35 fighter jets.
A former police officer who sexually assaulted multiple woman at a massage business he operated out of his Port Colborne home will learn his fate this summer.

David Kukoly, 53, appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Friday for a sentencing hearing on five counts of sexual assault stemming from incidents that occurred between 2016 and 2018.

I committed my life to protecting others, the former Niagara Regional Police constable told the judge.

I did the best job I could.

Kukoly claimed he initially believed the women had provided consent.

I was wrong. There was no consent and for that I am truly sorry for everybody involved, both victims and all of my family.

Several victims read victim impact statements to the judge, detailing how the assaults have impacted their lives.

Judge Richard Blouin is expected to deliver his decision in June.

Kukoly, who is not a registered massage therapist, had operated an in-home massage business starting in 2014.

He never told clients he was a police officer.

He had built up a steady clientele over time, with satisfied customers recommending him to other women because he was super cheap.

Police launched an investigation in December 2019 after allegations of sexual assault were posted on Facebook, leading multiple women to report they had been touched in a sexually inappropriate manner during their massages.

One victim was nine months pregnant at the time.

Kukoly told her he had experience with prenatal massage.

The woman, who was a week away from giving birth, agreed to his recommendation of a pectoral massage to help with lactation.

She said the massage quickly turned sexual in nature.

At the time of the offences, Kukoly was on administrative leave from the police service.

In accordance with the Police Services Act of Ontario, he was suspended with pay following his arrest in January 2019. He retired from the force in July 2020.

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Two Niagara men are among 119 people arrested in an investigation that led to more than 550 stolen vehicles valued at $27 million recovered by Toronto police.

Toronto Police Service last Wednesday released results of Project Stallion, an ongoing auto theft investigation.

More than 300 charges have been laid against 119 people.

Among those arrested was a 24-year-old Niagara Falls man. He faces charges of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.

A 38-year-old Beamsville man was charged with theft of motor vehicle and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

Young offenders are among the people charged, including people from out of province, police said.

The investigation was launched in November 2022 by Toronto police and its organized crime investigative support team.

Message for the criminals: Were coming after you, Supt. Ron Taverner said at a press conference to announced the arrests.

Police said thieves are using sophisticated methods to steal vehicles, and are using those vehicles to carry out other crimes or to ship them overseas where they are resold for well above their value.

Police said there are many ways to prevent auto theft, including warning, immobilizing and tracking devices, along with the basics of removing fobs from vehicles and placing them in safe farady pouches or boxes, locking doors, closing windows and parking indoors.

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NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. - Saskatchewan RCMP say all suspects connected to a fatal assault on a First Nation northwest of Saskatoon are now in custody.

Mounties say they have arrested two of the suspects and the third turned himself in last week after Quin Squair was assaulted on April 18 on Saulteaux First Nation, 210 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

RCMP say Squair later died in hospital of his injuries.

Five people have been charged in connection to Squairs death and they all face second-degree murder charges.

All of the accused have appeared in North Battleford Provincial Court.

RCMP say they worked with the Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team and the North Battleford Gang Task Force to locate the suspects.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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Reasons for divorce are changing from personality differences, domestic violence and adultery to unequal division of labor and living costs at home.

One divorce attorney said, "One woman seeking legal advice even brought an excel file showing the share of housework her husband did and how much the couple split in terms of childrearing responsibilities and living costs. Younger couples these days feel there is no reason to continue their relationship if the other side fails to take on an equal burden."

According to legal sources, most of the married couples seeking divorce these days are in their mid-30s to early 40s, who have fallen out in the first few years of marriage.

"The concept that a married couple are an economic collective no longer applies," another divorce attorney said. In the past, married couples pooled their financial resources to cover their costs and make investments. But nowadays, while they may open a joint bank account for running costs, they manage their own money separately.

"Some people even accuse their spouse of using money from their joint bank account for personal use," the attorney said. "But mainly arguments occur over how many hours each spouse dedicated a week to housework or who drove on the way to visit the in-laws and who paid for the fuel."
MEXICO CITY (AP)  With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin El Chapo Guzman serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment.

Although Guzmans trial revolved around cocaine shipments, the case against his sons exposes the inner workings of a cartel undergoing a generational shift as it worked to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price, according to the indictment unsealed April 14 in Manhattan.

Synthetic opioids  mostly fentanyl  now kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, feeding an argument among some politicians that the cartels should be branded terrorist organizations and prompting once-unthinkable calls for U.S. military intervention across the border.

The problem with fentanyl, as some people at the State Department told me, has to be repositioned. Its not a drug problem; its a poisoning problem, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico, who died Friday. Very few people go out deliberately looking for fentanyl.

Hope predicted fentanyl would probably become an issue in next years U.S. elections, but he opposed any threat of U.S. intervention, saying I dont think that would be a very good way of addressing a public health issue.

The groundwork for the U.S. fentanyl epidemic was laid more than 20 years ago, with aggressive over-prescribing of the synthetic opioid oxycodone. As U.S. authorities clamped down on its prescription, users moved to heroin, which the Sinaloa cartel happily supplied.

But making its own fentanyl  far more potent and versatile than heroin  in small, easily concealed labs was a game changer. The cartel went from its first makeshift fentanyl lab to a network of labs concentrated in the northern state of Sinaloa in less than a decade.

These are not super labs, because they give people the illusion that theyre like pharmaceutical labs, you know, very sophisticated, said Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. These are nothing more than metal tubs and they use wooden paddles  even shovels  to mix the chemicals.

A single cartel cook can press fentanyl into 100,000 counterfeit pills every day to fool Americans into thinking theyre taking Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. The pills are smuggled over the border to supply what son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar said are streets of junkies, the indictment said.

Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps massive profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said.

The drugs potency makes it particularly dangerous. The narcotic dose of fentanyl is so close to the lethal dose that a pill meant to ensure a high for a habituated user can easily kill a less experienced person taking something they didnt know was fentanyl.

Between August 2021 and August of last year, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, most from synthetic opioids. Last year, the DEA seized more than 57 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills, according to the New York indictment.

To protect and expand that business, the Chapitos, as the sons are known, have turned to grotesque violence, prosecutors said.

Enforcers Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are the lead defendants among 23 associates charged in the New York indictment. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, alias the Mouse, who allegedly pushed the cartel into fentanyl, is charged in another indictment in the same district. Mexico arrested him in January and the U.S. government has requested extradition. Joaquin Guzman Lopez is charged in the Northern District of Illinois

According to the Guzman Salazar indictment, the cartel does some lab testing on its product but conducts more grisly human testing on kidnapped rivals or addicts who are injected until they overdose.

The purity of the cartels fentanyl varies greatly depending on the method and skill of the particular manufacturer, prosecutors noted. After a user overdosed on one batch, it was still shipped to the U.S.

When the elder Guzman and Ismael El Mayo Zambada led the Sinaloa cartel, it operated with a certain degree of restraint. But with Guzman serving a life sentence and Zambada believed to be suffering from health issues, the Chapitos moved aggressively to avoid a power vacuum that could fragment the cartel.

What was really a unique advantage of the Sinaloa cartel and El Chapo was the ability to calibrate violence, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institute.

The wide-ranging New York indictment against the Guzman Salazar brothers details their penchant for feeding enemies to their pet tigers and describes how they tortured two Mexican federal agents, ripping through ones muscles with a corkscrew then stuffing the holes with chile peppers before shooting him.

The indictment also provides context to some recent violence in Mexico.

In August 2022, gunmen shot up Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. Two prison inmates and nine civilians in the city were killed. U.S. prosecutors say the Chapitos security arm ordered their local gang associates to commit the violence, targeting a rival cartels businesses.

This is not their fathers Sinaloa cartel, Felbab-Brown said. These guys just operate in very different mindsets than their father.

The Guzman Salazar indictment makes an initial attempt at disrupting the cartels supply chain, naming four people tied to a China-based chemical company and a broker in Guatemala who allegedly helped the cartel get the chemicals and even instructed them on the best recipes for fentanyl.

When they talk about labs and youre trying to focus in on labs, thats not going to have an impact unless you get the finished product or the precursor chemicals, Vigil said.

Mexicos government has stumbled through the mixed messaging of its security forces playing up their decommissioning of labs even while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has asserted that fentanyl is not being produced in Mexico.

In congressional testimony Thursday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was pressed about whether Mexico and China are doing enough to cooperate with U.S.

We want the Mexicans to work with us and we want them to do more, Milgram said, adding that the DEA wouldnt hesitate to go after public officials in Mexico or elsewhere should it find evidence of ties to the cartels.

Experts say Lopez Obrador is one obstacle to slowing the cartels fentanyl production. After U.S. prosecutors announced the concerted effort against the Sinaloa cartel, Lopez Obrador reacted angrily. The president accused the U.S. government of spying and interference, suggesting that the case had been built on information gathered by U.S. agents in Mexico.

The president had already severely reduced Mexicos cooperation with the DEA, experts said.

Hope, the security analyst, said a fundamental problem is that Lopez Obrador doesnt appear to understand fentanyls threat. The president rails against a deterioration of family values in the United States and paints addiction as a moral failing.

Hes trapped in a moral universe from 50 years ago, Hope said.

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  The leader of the Islamic State group was killed in an operation by Turkish intelligence teams in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. Turkeys state media said the IS leader blew himself up to avoid capture.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview late Sunday that the IS leader known as Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi died on Saturday, following a lengthy pursuit by the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations, Erdogan said in the interview, without elaborating. The Islamic State group has so far not confirmed the death of its leader.

A member of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces military police told The Associated Press that the MIT clashed with IS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, al-Qurayshi, who was hiding in a building on the farm, blew himself up, the military police member said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said Turkish drones flew over the area and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups, alerted by Ankara, closed off roads leading to the where the clashes were taking place.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency said as the Turkish agents closed in on him after afour-hour operation, al-Qurayshi detonated his suicide vest. The IS leader was at a house with an underground bunker in the Jinderes region and did not respond to calls for him to surrender, the agency said, quoting unnamed security officials.

After Turkish agents broke into the building, al-Qurayshi blew himself up realizing he would be caught, the report said. Anadolu added that al-Qurayshi had been frequently on the move.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS militants and Kurdish rebels in Syrias border areas. Turkey controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria, following several land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the border.

IS has carried out a string of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017 which killed 39 people during New Year celebrations.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named IS leader after its previous chief was killed in October. He took over at a time when IS had long lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, IS has been been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022.

He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syrias southern province of Daraa, after which the latest leader took over, Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.

None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be related. Al-Qurayshi is not their real name but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islams Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and al-Qurayshi serves as part of an IS leaders nom de guerre.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida more than a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land IS once held in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour bordering Iraq.

___ Sewell reported from Beirut.

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For 10 years, people have been passing by a colossus 11 meters high, 6 meters wide and over 4 tons in weight every day, on their way out of the city of Buzau, but few know its true story and the young man behind the work, the one who managed in about 3 years to erect a unique monument: the Omagiu/Tribute statue.

The stainless steel work, made in 2013, was placed at the exit from the eastern city of Buzau, in close proximity to the Maracineni bridge, a key point that connects two regions of Romania - Muntenia / Wallachia and Moldavia. Often confused with the statues of Romanian rulers, admired for its brilliance, the metal giant hides a special meaning and was erected in honour of an... employee.

The statue was commissioned by a businessman from the city of Buzau, as a tribute to Florinel Dinu, a dedicated engineer who had lost his battle with a cruel disease. In his memory and as a sign of appreciation for the effort made over time, the company's manager proposed to the plastic artist Bogdan Lefter to create a monument.

"I was asked if I wanted to make a work in memory of a colleague who had just died (...) a work in his memory. I later found out that he had also been a painter and I was intrigued by this. His office was intact and there were the paintings of Florinel Dinu, the employee who had died, and who had been head of production, engineer. I saw various paintings that inspired me instantly, my mind made a kind of collage, in 2-3 seconds I had the inspiration for a work that took me two, three years to put into practice. He was not a professional painter, yet still a talented painter,'' Bogdan Lefter told AGERPRES.

It did not take long until the plastic artist began to sketch the work that would later become one of the largest metal sculptures in Romania. To give value to the statue, Bogdan Lefter chose stainless steel, which has special properties, but is difficult to model.

"It actually started with the realization of an internal reinforcement. I don't think anything like this has been done before in the country, a figurative stainless steel sculpture in detail. The work is around 11 meters high, up to the tip of the spear which actually turns into a brush. Stainless steel is the most difficult metal to process and shape, and any wrong welding is highlighted. I designed every part, I cut materials with a locksmith and a welder, I made templates, I beat the sheet metal. Stainless steel must look like a precious metal, I chose stainless steel because it lends itself to the exterior. In principle, the metals that have proven to be suitable are bronze, stainless steel and corten. I chose on the basis of a resistant metal and I chose the most complicated, precious, shiny version, it is a metal that behaves like a mirror, it changes depending on everything that happens around it, depending on the weather, it metamorphoses into function of lights, shadows,', explains the plastic artist.

Considering the dimensions of the stainless steel statue, the creator of the work remembers that, along the artistic process, he encountered a series of difficulties.

"I worked in parallel, in parts. I worked in the factory for about 7-8 months, then on site, because it could not be transported in one piece. From a logistical point of view it was very difficult, because the moment I were completing the work, I had no way to transport it around the city and I had to do it in pieces, the base, the horse, the centaur, the rider, the cube - they were separate pieces , which we put on the plinth and built on the spot for a good period of time. It's been 10 years since it was installed,'' he says.

Very few people know the story of the stainless steel statue and its meaning, a very special one, which the artist appreciates that any person could resonate with.

"Iconographically, the phantasmagorical equestrian statuary group might resemble St. George fighting the dragon or a modern Don Quixote fighting windmills. Both versions complete the meaning of the work, which is that of man's struggle with the various obstacles he encounters throughout his life for the polishing of the soul, in order to gain a glimpse of immortality. We have the illusion of conflict, the rider seemingly holding a spear in his hand ready to pierce the kinetic cube, the spear metamorphosing into a brush with which he paints his thoughts on the surfaces of the cube. By virtue of the cube's kinetic movement at the moment of interaction between the brush and the eye on one side of the cube, the symbol of introspection and the dialogue with one's own consciousness takes shape. The centaur gallops firmly, guiding the rider towards a clear destination, trumpeting his presence in apocalyptic notes, a metaphor for the road through life and the things we leave behind," Bogdan Lefter says.

Although the work is an imposing one, it has also attracted criticism over time, the Buzau plastic artist reveals.

"The world appreciates, however, there are few who know exactly the value of this work, there are also people who criticize, for example, aspects related to the aesthetic side, to the artistic division," he confesses.

Bogdan Lefter discovered his artistic inclination at the age of 14. From that moment there followed a long period of time dedicated to study and practice. Bogdan Adrian Lefter was born on March 1, 1983 in Buzau, where he attended the Margareta Sterian Art High School and is a graduate of the Bucharest National University of Arts, in 2006, majoring in Metal, being a university assistant and a doctor in Visual Arts.

"Since the age of 14, I realized that I have these modeling skills, I finished the Painting Department, but I modeled various things in a self-taught way at the same time, I then graduated from the Ceramics, Glass, Metal Department, where I specialized in metal at the University of Bucharest - Faculty of Decorative Art and Design. Now I'm an assistant at this department, last year I got my doctorate in visual arts,'' Bogdan Lefter tells us.

He is one of the Romanian plastic artists who have become noticed on the world level, in the framework of some thematic competitions and symposia.

"I participated in a sand competition in Switzerland, monumental sand sculptures, also in Switzerland, and then in Japan I participated in snow competitions, then I started cultural symposiums, the first in China, where around 130 artists were invited. I represented Romania and made a huge rhinoceros there. I've been to Vietnam, Thailand, where I worked in wax, I made a shooting star in Iran, I've also been to Armenia, Turkey, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg,'' adds the artist from Buzau.

One of the most recent works brought to light by Bogdan Lefter during the International Sculpture Symposium in Buzau dubbed Water Memory is the Butterfly Effect sculpture.
At least 34 people were injured following some missiles attacks launched on the night of Sunday to Monday morning, over the city of Pavlohrad, the head of State Military Administration of Dnipropetrovsk, Serhii Lisak, announced on Telegram.

According to him, the victims included five children, the youngest being an eight-year-old girl. Two of the victims are in intensive care.

"A factory was damaged in Pavlohrad. A fire broke out there, which rescuers have already extinguished. In the residential area, 19 tall buildings, 25 houses, six schools and kindergartens and five shops were destroyed," Lisak said, who accused the Russian army of attacking civilians again.

Moreover, in Verbivka locality, almost 40 residential buildings were damaged, in Yuryivska there were two buildings damaged. Furthermore, a school in Mezyrytska locality was damaged. AGERPRES
CHESTERFIELD  At long last, the Chesterfield pharmaceutical company Avadel on Monday said it has received regulatory approval for its narcolepsy drug.

A successful rollout would mean a payoff for the companys yearslong bet on its narcolepsy drug. Avadel has made the drug its sole focus in recent years and is now expanding as it prepares to bring it to market.

The company has grown to nearly 120 employees, CEO Greg Divis said in an interview Monday, up from about 35 last year. It will continue to grow to about 130 to 135 in total.

The new drug aims to treat narcolepsy symptoms, including excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy  sudden, uncontrollable muscle weakness or paralysis, which can cause buckling knees and slurred speech.

Its not really widely understood. Its unfortunately characterized in TV or movies a certain way. But it is really a chronic, debilitating neurological condition, Divis said. People say they have gone 15 years without sleeping through the night.

While other narcolepsy drugs require one dose before patients go to bed and another later in the night, Avadels formulation aims to give the same benefit with a once-nightly dose.

Avadel already has doses made, and hopes to have them available within about a month. The drug, Lumryz, will have seven years of market exclusivity, beginning Monday.

The development and approval of Lumryz has taken nearly a decade, Divis said.

The process was slowed, to some extent, by a legal dispute with rival Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which has a patent on a different narcolepsy drug. In February, a judge ruled that Jazz had to delist its patent, paving the way for Lumryzs final approval.

The company now known as Avadel was founded in the early 1990s in Lyon, France, under the name Flamel Technologies. For years it did contract work, helping other businesses develop drugs.

In 2012 Flamel acquired a company in Chesterfield called Eclat and established a presence here. At the beginning of 2017, Flamel moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland, and took the name of a business it had purchased: Avadel Pharmaceuticals.

In 2018 the company launched Noctiva, a nasal spray aimed to prevent nighttime urination. But after a disappointing rollout, the company turned its focus to the investigational narcolepsy drug.

The company is still technically headquartered in Dublin, but much of its operations are based in Chesterfield.

Lumryz will be priced at $64.67 per gram. The dosage starts at 4.5 grams, and can be increased gradually to as many as 9 grams.

Avadel stock rose 12% on the news, closing at $11.73 on Monday.
Jack Dorsey is taking another whack at a Twitter-like service with a new social media platform called Bluesky.

The service is gaining traction among Twitter power users, attracting prominent personalities including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Bluesky, which bears similarities to the blue bird platform, is the latest in a long list of apps that are looking to steal Twitters thunder after Elon Musks chaotic takeover of the company.

Here are some details on the service:

What is Bluesky?

Its a text-focused social media service launched for select users in February. Users can post short messages of up to 300 characters, and pictures. There is no support for videos and direct messages, or DMs, so far.

Bluesky runs on a decentralized framework, similar to social network Mastodon. It allows users to build independent social media experiences and users can join a specific server, which has its own unique set of rules, interests and participants.

How does it compare to Twitter?

Bluesky offers a similar experience to Twitter  people create profiles and post short messages with text and images. On the timeline, Bluesky has Whats hot and Following feed, similar to the curated For You and the chronological Following feeds on Twitter.

Unlike Twitter, Blueskys core framework allows for various customizations. Instead of one site running the network, you can have many sites. It means you get a choice of provider, and individuals and businesses can self-host if they want, it said in a blog post in October.

Who is behind Bluesky?

It was started by Dorsey as a project within Twitter in 2019 and was set up as an independent company in 2022. As of April 2022, it had raised $13 million from Twitter.

Dorsey, Jeremie Miller, the inventor of communication protocol Jabber/XMPP, and Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky, are its board members.

Is Bluesky taking on Twitter?

Too soon to say. The company told Bloomberg News it had over 40,000 users.

The company began to sign up users on the wait-list early this year and announced its biggest single-day jump last week.

While its user base is still small, Bluesky has attracted many power users including writer and comedian Dril, following frustrations with Musks management of Twitter and the recent changes to the platform.
ST. LOUIS  The whistleblower who accused a transgender clinic of harming its young patients is standing firm in her claims of medical negligence after an internal review by Washington University found them to be unsubstantiated.

In a pair of statements on April 22, ex-employee Jamie Reeds legal team called the oversight committees summary of conclusions, released the day before, little more than the expected self-serving finding.

Reed, a former case manager, put the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital in the hot seat in early February with a first-person narrative in The Free Press, an online publication.

In it, she claimed that families were rushed to treatment, mental health issues were ignored and side effects of hormone therapy glossed over. Reed expanded on the allegations in a sworn affidavit provided to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who began an investigation. Sen. Josh Hawley also launched an inquiry. Washington University said it has provided documents to both politicians.

The statements from Reeds lawyers, Ernie Trakas and Vernadette Broyles, cast doubt on the universitys accounting of how many people have sought treatment at the clinic. The university noted that, since June 2018, medical records have been started for 1,165 patients.

Reeds lawyers say she has kept data that shows that more patient charts  1,315  were created in a time period about half as long as the one WU reported. Reed declined to provide evidence of her data sets to the Post-Dispatch and has refused multiple interview requests since her Free Press piece was published.

But in interviews with podcasts and other outlets, she has reiterated her allegations against the center  a fly by the seat of the pants operation, she calls it on one program  and posited theories as to why the number of children being seen there has accelerated since it opened in 2017.

The rise in patients seeking gender-affirming care is a phenomenon across the United States and in many European countries. Research on the increase is lacking; speculation is abundant. Many LGBTQ advocates say that broader visibility, stronger networks and better access to information have emboldened transgender people to articulate their needs.

Reed, on a London-based YouTube program last month called TRIGGERnometry, ascribed some of the spike to homophobia.

Part of the trans epidemic is that kids did not feel and do not feel like its OK to be gay, Reed told the hosts. They tell us its almost better to be trans.

Its quite simple

That is a misunderstanding of sexual orientation and gender identity, said Cathy Renna of the National LGBTQ Task Force, a social justice nonprofit based in Washington. Transgender people can be gay. They can be straight. Or they can be bisexual.

Its quite simple, Renna said. Sexual orientation is who you are attracted to. Gender identity is who you are.

Public attitudes toward homosexuality, according to opinion polls, have undergone a dramatic shift in the last couple decades, a time period in which gay people earned the right to marry. According to a Pew Research study, 72% of Americans believe homosexuality is acceptable. A separate Pew study found that 38% of Americans believe a person can be transgender, a decline from five years ago.

At a small rally in March outside the transgender center to protest the medical treatment of adolescents there, activists with a new organization called the St. Louis Gender Critical Alliance held signs reading LGB drop the TQ and stop transing gay kids. A couple of parents said their teenage children, who identify as transgender, were not trans but most likely gay.

On the YouTube show, Reed said that the support she found when she was a young gay person is less available today.

There was a gay coffeehouse. There were gay bars. There was a gay culture, she said.

National and local gay advocacy organizations have expanded their purpose in recent years to include transgender people and have devoted more resources to their legal battles. Language around gender and sexuality have changed, with younger people, especially, embracing the word queer as a kind of catchall term.

One subset is not pitted against the other in the push for civil liberties and societal inclusion, said Laurel Powell, a spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign, a lobbyist and advocacy group. Gender-diverse folks are not new to the movement.

Trans people have been part of this since the beginning, Powell said. The idea that homophobia is somehow pushing people to be trans is outrageous.

Transgender people are more likely to be victims of violence and more likely to lose their jobs because of their identity, studies show, than gay men and lesbians, and they are in the crosshairs of legislative efforts to regulate their lives.

So far this year, at least a dozen states, including Missouri, have passed bills to ban or limit gender-affirming care for minors. Even in places where treatments are available, it is expensive and often not covered by insurance.

Lack of data

In the TRIGGERnometry interview, Reed offers theories in addition to homophobia to explain the influx of adolescents asking for transgender care: that schools, peers and social media are influencing clusters of kids to come out as trans, called the social contagion hypothesis; that the dominant culture has taken away doctors autonomy to say no to a patient who wants to be medicalized; and that being trans in a white, liberal family means youre in the group thats no longer the oppressor, youre in the oppressed group.

Six years ago, 1.4 million Americans identified as transgender, according to an analysis by the Williams Institute, a public policy research group at UCLA. Four years later, the total had expanded by 200,000. The surge is even bigger among those 25 and younger.

Thats still a tiny sliver of the population  less than 1%. Most people will never question their gender.

But there are people for whom gender is more fluid, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist who specializes in human sexuality and gender identity and teaches at Columbia University in New York. We dont know why numbers are growing.

Research is sparse to nonexistent, he said. And in the absence of data, the vacuum has been filled by an irrationality of responses  anecdotal reports, debunked studies and the oversimplification of a complex topic  from people looking for answers.

The question of what to do should be left to experts on the subject, not a casual bystander, not a legislature, he said. The solution is more research and more funding.

Care and caution are warranted, he said, but to decide to stop treatment altogether has more to do with prejudices against transgender people than it has to do with medical science and research.

Drescher is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, one of more than two dozen major medical organizations that endorse gender-affirming care as a best practice.

Washington University said in the summary of its internal review that it follows guidelines set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, an international agency of physicians and researchers that has established standards of care since 1979.

The statement released by Reeds lawyers said that WPATHs standards of care ignore emerging evidence and rely on the idea that trans health care is about the right to embodiment of cosmetic goals on demand.

Reed was not interviewed by the universitys oversight committee, the statement said.

On Wednesday, a Washington University spokeswoman said, Our summary speaks for itself. We stand by our conclusions.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Illinois could become the third state in the country to ban declawing cats, a procedure many see as inhumane but that others say might sometimes be necessary to get cats out of shelters and into homes.

Legislation passed by the Illinois House would levy an escalating series of fines against anyone caught removing a cats claws for anything other than medical or therapeutic reasons. Under the measure, declawing would not be allowed simply to make the cat more convenient to keep or handle.

What Im trying to do is prevent those individuals that just want to get it cosmetically done just because they dont want the cat to scratch them or scratch the furniture, Democratic state Rep. Barbara Hernandez of Aurora, the bills chief sponsor in the House, told the Tribune. Like, thats not a good reason why this cat should suffer.

Republican state Rep. Charles Meier of Highland, who voted against the bill, questioned how much cats actually suffer when they are declawed.

I dont know if they have ever watched a cat even be declawed, but they give them pain medicine before they do it, Meier said. And the next morning they are sticking their paw out the cage wanting you to play with it already. So its not a long-lasting, permanent harm to it.

Meier also brought a partisan angle into the argument, alleging that the bills 10 Democratic sponsors and other supporters are willing to abort a baby right before birth but they wont let you declaw a cat.

The bill passed in the House March 16 on a 67-38 vote  with 36 no votes coming from Republicans  and is now before the Senate.

The debate around declawing is long-running and fierce. The American Veterinary Medical Association website says AVMA discourages declawing but respects the veterinarians right to use professional judgment, thus leaving the door open for declawing.

While declawing can make cats more house-friendly, given their tendency to rip up furniture and scratch humans, for many animal lovers the physical and psychological effects of the procedure are enough to do away with it.

Ashlynn Boyce, who helps navigate cats at risk of euthanization to safe homes through her nonprofit Paws and Claws rescue organization, said she sees lasting negative effects on cats that have been declawed. Among other things, it can make it painful for cats to step into litter material, so they stop using the litter box, she said.

Youre amputating part of their knuckle, Boyce said. Ive seen nothing good that comes from this surgery, truly.

Since New York became the first state to ban the nontherapeutic declawing of cats in 2019, many other states have considered following suit. But Maryland is so far the only other state to enact similar legislation. Bills in Virginia and Florida have stalled. In Missouri, state lawmakers are considering bills to bar local governments like St. Louis and St. Louis County from imposing bans on declawing.

In Illinois, enforcing the measure would fall to the states Department of Agriculture under the bill passed by the House. First infractions would incur a $500 penalty, with fines ramping up to as much as $2,500 for third-time offenders.

Nail clipping  which the Humane Society recommends doing every two to three weeks  would still be fully legal.

Dr. Joanne Carlson, the president of the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association, says she is working with lawmakers to try to alter the language to allow some declawing to take place.

What were asking for is discretion for those special circumstances that are not cosmetic, Carlson said.

She said the state bill has some merit but she also thinks vets should be able to make the decision when other options are exhausted and the declawing is not cosmetic. While she could not provide a number of times the procedure takes place in the state per year, Carlson said it is not commonly done.

According to Dr. Lauren Jakubowski, a veterinarian with Oz Animal Hospital in Lincoln Park, cats being declawed are put under anesthesia before the entire last portion of the digit beyond the last knuckle is removed surgically, and the skin is closed over it and sutured to allow healing.

If done, exceptional pain control should be given, as it is an amputation of the last part of the toe, she said.Jakubowski added her hospital does not conduct the surgery, but agrees with AVMAs guidelines.

There are two common arguments made for allowing cats to be declawed. One is that for elderly owners in particular, for whom cats often provide important companionship but who have weaker immune systems, cat scratches can lead to blood loss and infections.

Carlson thinks this could be a time when a vet might decide that declawing is the best way forward for both the cat and its elderly owner.

Another argument is that cats who scratch both people and furniture may be turned back to shelters, and a declawed cat in a home is better off than a cat with claws stuck in a shelter.

Boyce, while acknowledging that we cant expect cats not to scratch, doesnt think thats a valid trade-off.

I would much rather have a cat back in our program because the adopter decided that they could not handle the cat than they declaw that cat and that cat then comes back into our program a broken cat that we then have to try and put the pieces back together, Boyce said.
Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

To go with the congratulations on Israels 75th anniversary, U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner also introduced legislation aimed at terrorism in the Middle East.

Wagner, vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced on Friday a bipartisan bill that would add to the existing Abraham Accords by aiming its sights at maritime threats from Iran and other non-state belligerents.

As Iran continues to flout restrictions on its nuclear program and fund terrorist proxies around the region, closer security cooperation between Abraham Accords countries must remain a top U.S. priority, said Wagner, a Republican from Town and Country.

The bill would require the U.S. defense department to expand intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance. Along with checking Iran, it also would keep a closer eye on violent extremist organizations and criminal networks.
Ukraine is finalizing preparations for its anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russia, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country will fight with or without Western military jets.

Ukraine's battlefield progress depends heavily on military supplies from the West. Military experts say, without advanced jets from Kyiv's NATO allies, the counteroffensive will likely consist of costly battles of attrition.

In recent days, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was among Western leaders who held meetings with Ukraine's leadership and military command. He emphasized that through the Contact Group led by the United States, NATO allies and partners have provided more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine, including over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and vast amounts of ammunition.

"In total, we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armored brigades. This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory," said the NATO secretary general last week during a press conference.

Ukraine says it needs more. Ukraine's top military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, recently held a working meeting with U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli. According to VOA sources, the generals conferred on Ukraine's military abilities and agreed on the need for a thorough assessment of Ukraine's readiness for a counteroffensive.

Posting on Facebook after the meeting, Zaluzhnyi wrote that participants had "considered in greater depth the operational situation along the entire front line the likely scenarios, threats and prerequisites for our future actions."

Zaluzhnyi added, "We focused on the importance of timely supply of sufficient ammunition and materiel. I emphasized the need to provide Ukraine with a wide range of armament and air defense systems, which will significantly help us to solve the problematic issues in our resistance to Russian aggression."
ST. LOUIS  Nearly one-third of the attorneys in St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office have left in the past two months, including two more in recent days, leaving a decimated staff to handle thousands of criminal and child support cases in the city.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Alex Polta left the office Friday, and his colleague, Chris Desilets, resigned Monday after both were thrust into the spotlight during recent proceedings to determine if Gardner should be held in contempt of court. Desilets and Polta were the longest-tenured violent felony prosecutors in Gardners office, joining shortly after she took the helm in 2017, according to a February staff roster.

Their departures mark the latest exodus from an office that has faced years of criticism for understaffing and dysfunction. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed suit in February to remove Gardner from office, and a bill moving through the Missouri Legislature seeks to strip Gardner of most of her power.

The staffing situation has become especially dire in recent weeks. The offices chief trial assistant, Marvin Teer, announced his departure in March. Last month, two more violent crimes prosecutors announced their resignations. And other attorneys covering misdemeanors, sex crimes and child support have also left the office.

Only about 23 prosecutors remain in the office.

In their wake, a rotating crew of supervisors and low-level felony and misdemeanor attorneys have taken on the citys most serious cases.

A spokeswoman for Gardners office acknowledged the recent departures in a statement but said it hasnt stopped the hardworking men and women who review and issue cases on a daily basis. She said the office had received resumes from qualified attorneys but did not respond to a question about whether any new attorneys had been hired since February.

The CAO has made adjustments to the workload to ensure all cases are covered, and is actively recruiting talented attorneys, the statement said. The prosecutors office continues to be an excellent training ground for those seeking experience in the criminal justice system.

Joel Currier, a spokesman for the St. Louis courts, called the departures deeply concerning to the judges of the 22nd Judicial Circuit.

We will continue to make reasonable accommodations amid the CAOs current staffing crisis while also balancing the rights of defendants, crime victims and their families to ensure the fair and efficient administration of justice, he said in a statement.

In her first two years in office, Gardner had a more than 100% turnover rate for attorneys, shedding hundreds of years of cumulative experience prosecuting cases in St. Louis. Critics said it meant more serious cases were getting reassigned to prosecutors who didnt have the experience or time necessary to prepare for trial. Dismissal rates increased.

By February of this year, a Post-Dispatch analysis found Gardner had roughly half as many prosecutors as when she took office. Experts and former prosecutors said the caseloads would be nearly impossible to handle.

In recent weeks, cases have been dismissed and refiled by prosecutors who arent ready for trial. Hearings have been delayed. Two judges got so frustrated with prosecutors not showing up for court in cases assigned to Polta and Desilets that they filed to hold Gardner in contempt.

The first contempt filing came from Judge Scott Millikan, when no one from Gardners office showed up on the first day of a murder trial on April 17. The prosecutor assigned to the case, Polta, had been on leave, and nobody else appeared in his stead.

In a filing, Gardner blamed Polta for the problem, attaching text messages in which he did not tell the offices chief warrant officer, Chris Hinckley, about the trial. Millikan later said the case fell through the cracks and did not hold Gardner in contempt.

On Friday, Gardner sent Polta an email, saying he had not filled out the proper paperwork to take leave. She ordered him to provide documentation. If he didnt, she wrote, we will process your resignation accordingly.

The following day, Gardner sent out an email to the entire staff saying she wished him well on his new endeavors.

When reached on Monday, Polta said the record speaks for itself.

The Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis was abuzz on Monday with news of Desilets departure. His docket included nearly 105 felony cases, dozens of which were murders.

Desilets, too, had become embroiled in a contempt hearing last week, this one initiated by Judge Michael Noble, who said Desilets had failed to show up for a scheduled trial in an assault case and then did not show up for a subsequent hearing.

Noble announced he would appoint a special prosecutor to advance the contempt case against Gardner and Desilets and called Gardners office a rudderless ship of chaos.

It appears that Ms. Gardner has complete indifference and a conscious disregard for the judicial process, he said.

Desilets had been set to appear in Nobles courtroom again Monday morning for a pair of murder cases. The defendants, Javonn Nettles and Andre Anderson, are accused of killing 7-year-old Dmyah Fleming and her father, Darrion Rankin-Fleming two years ago.

Defense attorneys have asked Noble to dismiss the case for good because prosecutors already dismissed and refiled Nettles case twice and Andersons once. Despite all the delays, theyve still failed to turn over evidence, attorneys said.

For the family of Dmyah and Rankin-Fleming, the news that Desilets had quit and another prosecutor would be assigned to the case elicited a chorus of groans.

For Terry Niehoff, who represents Nettles, it was yet another setback for his client, who had been jailed for two years while facing the charges. Niehoff blamed Gardners management for understaffing, evidence problems and repeated delays.

Its a pattern and practice of being negligent, he said.

Noble said he would decide whether to dismiss the cases at a later date.

Editors note: Updated at 5 p.m. with more information from the hearing.
MAPLEWOOD  A man was charged Sunday with second-degree murder, stemming from a fatal shooting incident here on a MetroLink train.

Terry Alexander, 69, of the 4100 block of Maffitt Avenue, is also accused of armed criminal action.

Police allege that Alexander shot Malachi Brown, 21, during an altercation on the train around 10 a.m. Saturday.

Police said they were sitting across the aisle from each other.

During the argument, the defendant displayed a firearm and shot the victim multiple times, St. Louis County Police said in a news release, referencing charging documents on file.

The victim subsequently displayed his own firearm and returned fire. A physical altercation ensued in which the defendant gained possession of both firearms.

Alexander was taken into custody at the next train stop, in Maplewood, by Bureau of Transit Police officers.

Brown, of the 900 block of Bates Street, was taken to the hospital and died.

St. Louis County Police said Alexander was being held Sunday on $200,000 cash bond.

The shooting and subsequent investigation halted trains in the Maplewood area for roughly two hours. Passengers were transported via bus shuttles, causing delays of up to an hour.
ST. LOUIS  Two prosecutors who have been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks for their involvement in contempt proceedings against Kimberly M. Gardner's office have resigned.

Chris Desilets, who has been with the office since August 2017, announced his resignation Monday, effective immediately, he confirmed in a text message. Alex Polta, who has also been with the office since 2017, left the office Friday, according to an email obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

The men were two of just a few prosecutors left handling hundreds of serious violent felony cases in the city, including murders, robberies and assaults. They join a growing number of staffers to flee as Gardner's office has faced escalating criticism in recent months.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed suit to remove Gardner from office, and a bill moving through the Missouri Legislature seeks to strip Gardner of most of her power. The moves come after years of criticism over understaffing and organizational dysfunction in the Gardner's office.

Polta was assigned a murder case that was set for trial last month, but he was on leave, and nobody from Gardner's office appeared in court to replace him. Judge Scott Millikan filed to hold Gardner in contempt, but he later found the failures were part of a miscommunication that allowed the case to "(fall) through the cracks."

Desilets was assigned an assault case but failed to show up for a scheduled trial and a recent status hearing. Judge Michael Noble later found evidence of contempt by both Gardner and Desilets and said he will appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case.
CLAYTON  A St. Louis County judge on Monday blocked until at least May 15 an emergency rule that would create broad restrictions on transgender health care for Missourians of all ages.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baileys rule, which uses a state consumer protection law to restrict and delay treatments such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgeries, was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. Monday.

But Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo, in her temporary restraining order, said that the restrictions would irreparably harm a group of transgender patients and health care providers who filed suit challenging the measure last week.

The suit argues Bailey lacks the authority to use the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act to create broad health care policies.

Under Baileys rule, patients would need to attend 15 separate hourlong therapy sessions over at least 18 months and provide documentation of an intense pattern of gender dysphoria for at least three years before getting care. Providers would also be required to ensure that any patients mental health conditions have been treated and resolved.

The restrictions would apply to both children and adults  a more expansive rule than similar efforts by Republican leaders across the country, which have mostly tried to regulate or ban transgender care for minors.

Baileys new regulation says current patients may continue with a specific intervention that has already begun, though it also requires them to promptly seek the treatments and assessments called for by the state.

The plaintiffs in the suit include the families of two transgender teens, a 36-year-old trans man who has been on testosterone for 10 years, a therapist who treats transgender patients and the Southampton Community Healthcare clinic that provides gender-affirming care in south St. Louis. They are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, Lambda Legal, and the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner law firm.

Ribaudos order found that, should the rule be allowed to go into effect while the lawsuit continues, the patients in the suit would face irreparable harm and be at a high risk of losing their health care. And providers will risk ethical violations because Baileys regulation requires them to provide patients with warnings regarding transgender treatments, some of which include unsourced medical information, she wrote.

Ribaudo also found the suit met the legal bar for having a likelihood of success, finding that Baileys use of the consumer protection law is a novel approach that may invade a function reserved to the legislature.

Southampton Community Healthcare doctor Michael Donovan thanked the judge in a statement Monday.

Without this halt on the baseless and discriminatory rule, our practice would have been forced to grapple with how to provide ethical medical care to our transgender patients in a way consistent with our obligations under a rule that places illogical barriers to necessary care, the statement reads.

A spokesman for Baileys office said in a statement Monday that they will continue to push for the rules to go into effect.

We remain confident in our position because the court even acknowledged that it deferred its consideration of the science until a later date, the statement reads. Our six pages of endnotes (on the rule) speak for themselves: these procedures are experimental. We will continue to fight for all patients to have access to adequate health care.

ACLU attorney Tony Rothert argued in an emotional hearing in St. Louis County court last week that the measure lacked factual backing and would allow a lone partisan official to turn back the clock on decades of medical care for thousands of transgender people across the state.

The Attorney Generals office argues the consumer protection law gives Baileys office wide-ranging authority to make rules for nearly any business practice in emergencies.

Bailey said earlier this month that the restrictions stem from his offices investigation into allegations of mistreatment of patients made by a former case manager at the Washington University clinic for transgender youths at St. Louis Childrens Hospital. The complaints included that patients were being rushed into treatments. Almost two dozen parents of children seen at the clinic have disputed those claims.

Bailey announced plans for the restrictions on March 20, bypassing Republican-backed legislation that continues to make its way through the Missouri Legislature barring doctors from providing puberty blockers or hormones to minors for gender transition.

LGBTQ advocates and gender-affirming health care providers spoke out against the measure, arguing the rules could be so onerous that they may prevent providers from taking on new transgender patients altogether. Advocates emphasize that many of the countrys leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association, support gender-affirming care as medically necessary.

Bailey took office in January after his appointment by Gov. Mike Parson. He said he is running for a four-year term in 2024.

The next hearing in the lawsuit is set for 1 p.m. May 11 in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
DECATUR, Ga.  Every decision Assata Salim makes for her young son is important. Amid a spike in mass killings, questions of safety were at the top of her mind when choosing a school. Next on her checklist was the school's culture.

Salim and her 6-year-old, Cho'Zen Waters, are Black. In Georgia, where they live, public schools are prohibited from teaching divisive concepts, including the idea that one race is better than another or that states are fundamentally racist.

To Salim, the new rules mean public schools might not affirm Cho'Zen's African roots, or accurately portray the United States' history of racism.

"I never want to put his education in the hands of someone that is trying to erase history or recreate narratives," she said.

Instead, Cho'Zen attends a private, Afrocentric school  joining kids across the country whose families embraced schools that affirm their Black heritage in a country where instruction about race is increasingly under attack. At Cho'Zen's school, Kilombo Academic & Cultural Institute in an Atlanta suburb, photos of Black historical figures hang on the walls. Every single student and teacher identifies as Black or biracial.

Conservative politicians around the country are banning books or instruction that touch on race and inclusion. Books were banned in more than 5,000 schools in 32 states from June 2021 to June 2022, according to free-speech nonprofit PEN America. Instructional bans were enacted in at least 16 states since 2021.

Some teachers say the debates caused them to back away from controversy. Public school enrollment of Black students between prekindergarten and 12th grade declined each year measured in federal data since 2007.

"I think it is important to teach those harsh moments in slavery and segregation, but tell the whole story," said Salihah Hasan, a teaching assistant at Kilombo Institute. "Things have changed drastically, but there are still people in this world who hate Black people, who think we are still beneath them, and younger children today don't understand that. But that is why it is important to talk about it."

Kilombo focuses on the students' rich heritage, from both Africa and Black America. "I want him to know his existence doesn't start with slavery," Salim said of her son.

The private, K-8 school occupies the basement of Hillside Presbyterian Church just outside Decatur, an affluent, predominantly white suburb. Families pay tuition on a sliding scale, supplemented by donations.

Classrooms feature maps of Africa and brown paper figures wearing dashikis, a garment worn mostly in West Africa. In one class, the students learn how sound travels by playing African drums.

The 18-year-old school has 53 students, up a third since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lately, the enrollment growth reflected parents' increasing urgency to find a school that won't shy away from Black history.

"This country is signaling to us that we have no place here," said Mary Hooks, whose daughter attends Kilombo. "It also raises a smoke signal for people to come home to the places where we can be nourished."

Simone Sills, a middle school science teacher at Atlanta Public Schools, chose the school for her daughter in part because of its smaller size, along with factors such as safety and curriculum. Plus, she said, she was looking for a school where "all students can feel affirmed in who they are."

Before Psalm Barreto, 10, enrolled in Kilombo, her family was living in Washington, D.C. She said she was one of a few Black children in her school.

"I felt uncomfortable in public school because it was just me and another boy in my class, and we stood out," she said.

Racial differences are evident to babies as young as 3 months, research has shown, and racial biases show up in preschoolers.

Kilombo provides a space for kids to talk about their race.

"I'm Blackity, Black, Black!" Robyn Jean, 9, said while spinning in a circle. Her sister, Amelya, 11, said their parents taught them about their Haitian American heritage, knowledge she thinks all children should have. "I want them to know who they are and where they come from, like we do," Amelya said. "But in some schools, they can't."

Last year, Georgia passed the Protect Students First Act, which prohibits schools from promoting and teaching divisive concepts about race. Elsewhere, bills that restrict or prohibit teaching about race- and gender-related topics passed in states including Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. In others, such as Arkansas, restrictions have come via executive orders.

Proponents say the restrictions aim to eliminate classroom discussions that make students feel shame or guilt about their race and the actions of their ancestors.

The bills have had a chilling effect. One-quarter of K-12 teachers in the U.S. say these laws have influenced their choice of curriculum or instructional practices, according to a report by the RAND Corporation, a global policy think tank.

Kilombo follows academic standards from Common Core for math and language arts and uses Georgia's social studies standards to measure student success. But the curriculum centers on Black people, featuring many figures excluded in traditional public schools, said Tashiya Umoja, the school's co-director and math teacher.

"We are giving children of color the same curriculum that white children are getting. They get to hear about their heroes, she-roes and forefathers," she said.

The curriculum also focuses on the children's African heritage. A math lesson, for instance, might feature hieroglyphic numerals. Social studies courses discuss events in Africa or on other continents alongside U.S. history.

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 top Republican lawyer recently told a roomful of GOP donors that the party should work to restrict voting by college students, who tend to skew politically left. Missouri Republicans are already on board, having made this one of a handful of states that no longer accept student ID cards as a form of identification required to cast ballots. As with similar Republican projects to tamp down urban and minority voting, the idea is to make it as cumbersome as possible for groups that dont reliably support Republicans.

GOP operatives generally arent as blunt about their vote-blocking goals as conservative legal strategist Cleta Mitchell was in speaking to a Republican National Committee donor retreat in Nashville recently  or maybe this is just how such operatives talk when they think no one outside the party is listening. In this case, The Washington Post obtained speech notes and audio samples of her comments.

What are these college campus locations? she asked the audience, referring to polling places. They basically put the polling place next to the student dorm so they just have to roll out of bed, vote, and go back to bed.

That Mitchell would present participation in democracy as something nefarious  Oh, no, students are voting!  is especially ironic, given the kinds of election activities she apparently thinks are OK. Mitchell was a key player in former President Donald Trumps attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election, to the point of actually sitting in on the infamous phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding that he find 11,000-plus votes so Trump could win that state.

When Mitchell and others of her ilk are in politically mixed company, of course, they try to present their vote-suppression schemes as legitimate safeguards against vote fraud, which they invariably claim is rampant despite lacking even a shred of evidence that it happens on any significant scale anywhere in America today. This supposedly common yet oddly invisible scourge of vote fraud was Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcrofts rationale for spearheading Missouris voter-ID law  even though, while campaigning for the measure in 2017, he could point to only one known Missouri instance of voter impersonation, the form of fraud that voter ID laws are ostensibly designed to combat.

Missouris law specifies what types of government ID are acceptable for voting. Student IDs, which used to be accepted, are not as of last year, even those issued through state universities. But military IDs  which are statistically more likely to be found in the wallets of conservatives than liberals  are just fine. Its all part of the GOPs ongoing effort to block ballot access for those likely to vote for Democrats. Including (as the villains in the old Scooby Doo cartoons often put it) those meddling kids.
Iran has increased its efforts to carry out attacks inside Israel. The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is taking the lead with its Quds Force, which specializes in attacks against foreign enemies. Shin Bet, the Israeli domestic intelligence service, recently arrested two West Bank Palestinians who had been recruited, via the Internet, by Quds Force as part of an effort to establish a network of Palestinians in the West Bank who had been trained and organized by Quds to carry out attacks against Israelis using rockets launched from the West Bank. This Quds network would also provide Iran with information on the West Bank. Such a network has not yet been established, in large part because Shin Bet detects Quds activities and often monitors them rather than immediately shutting them down. That was the case with the two recently arrested Palestinians, who had been sent to Turkey where Quds could provide training. Shin Bet waited until it had identified other Palestinians working for Quds.

Iran spends about $100 million a year to support its operations among Palestinians. Over the last few years, some of that activity moved from Gaza to the West Bank. The West Bank is run by Fatah, a more corrupt and less comfortable with Quds Palestinian government, which is very hostile towards rival Hamas members from Gaza operating in the West Bank. The growing presence of Hamas and Quds in the West Bank caused Fatah to become more cooperative with Israel and its many intelligence and counter-intelligence organizations. After all, Quds is spending a lot of money in the West Bank and Fatah insists on getting a share of anyones new spending in their domain. Shin Bet has a network of local informants in the West Bank, as well as in Gaza and Turkey. Israel also has an extensive Internet monitoring operation that searches for, and often detects, new efforts to use the Internet in support of attacks on Israel.

Iran knows that Israel is a formidable opponent, especially in the West Bank and Gaza. Just having a recruiting network in the West Bank is seen as an achievement, even though it has been expensive. For example, a year ago Shin Bet arrested four members of a Hamas terrorist cell (group) that had received training in Syria and Turkey before returning to the West Bank, where they were arrested. Quds was involved with this.

At the same time Israeli media and an Iranian opposition group revealed that Israeli Mossad (foreign intelligence) and Shin Bet personnel had gone to Iran in 2021. There they seized and questioned Mansour Rasouli, a member of Quds Force Unit 840, which carries out assassinations overseas. Rasouli admitted that he had been assigned to arrange the assassination of an Israeli diplomat in Turkey, an American general officer stationed in Germany and a journalist in France. The IRGC was providing him with $150,000 to plan the killings and another million dollars if all three subjects were killed. Rasouli planned to hire contract killers via his contacts in drug smuggling gangs.

Audio, and later video, of key portions of the interrogation were leaked. Rasouli confessed because his interrogators already knew a lot about the plot. He was released and the Israeli interrogators left Iran. Rasouli and his IRGC superiors called off the assassinations because they knew the interrogation had been recorded, the targets had been alerted, and had received additional security. There was an understanding that, if Iran backed off on these killings, the Israelis would remain silent about the interrogation. Why this evidence was leaked in 2022 may have something to do with the Israeli opposition to the 2018 American willingness to not merely revive the 2015 treaty reducing American sanctions on Iran, but also to modify its terms to make it easier for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for use on Israel. Billions of dollars in frozen accounts would be returned to Iran and, if the Americans went ahead with taking the Iranian IRGC and its Quds Force off the list of known terrorists, there would be a lot more violence in the Middle East. Iran saw the 2015 treaty suspended by a new American government in 2018 because of Iranian cheating. Then came the 2020 American presidential elections, which put into power another new president seemingly determined to change American policies towards Iran and ignore Arab oil states complaints about Iranian threats and attacks on them. This has driven many Gulf oil states into an economic alliance with Russia to drive up the price of oil. This policy makes it easier for Iran to smuggle more of its heavily discounted oil. That plan survived the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine and even more economic sanctions. Opposition from the Arabs and American voters is having an impact and revival of the 2015 treaty may not happen. Otherwise, Israel has made it clear it will carry out attacks on Iranian targets key to nuclear and ballistic missile development and production. The Arab oil states will cooperate, and continue refusing to increase production to lower world oil prices.

Meanwhile Hamas complained that Turkey expelled dozens of Hamas members in the last few months. These expulsions are part of the Turkish effort to repair their relations with Israel.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.

International Girls in ICT Day is a global movement encouraging girls and young women to pursue science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) education and careers.

Cisco hosts events through our Women Rock-IT program, which began in 2014 and has seen more than two million participants, with over half enrolling in one of our Cisco Networking Academy courses as a result.

Join us on April 27 to hear from women who are working on critical environmental issues like climate change and learn how developing digital skills now can help protect our planet!

This is a guest blog from Dr Pandora Hope, a Principal Climate Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia, and one of six guest speakers on Girls in ICT Day. Dr Hope will discuss how climate data reveals the human influence on our extreme weather and share her passion for climate knowledge, the outdoors and her expertise in climate models.

Starting out

I studied science and mathematics at school and university. The options were wide - I could study biology, physics, chemistry, psychology - and I did. I was interested in how our bodies worked, so I majored in physiology. Still, something was missing. I missed maths. So the next year, I also majored in applied mathematics. And I discovered maths that could be applied to the real world - how fluid flows, and long equations that could describe our weather.

During my Honours year my supervisor introduced me to the world of climate studies - how can we integrate weather systems together to reveal underlying patterns over the whole Southern Hemisphere? What did those patterns look like in the 1950s? What do they look like now? The study required huge amounts of data from weather stations, and statistics and coding. My Honours thesis was titled "Variability of the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation", and my Ph.D in 2005 was titled "The weather and climate of Australia at the Last Glacial Maximum".

Coding

In first year University we all learnt Fortran. And everyone failed the test. I was astonished that everyone (including me) just didn't "get it". But somehow over time, as I used coding in my assignments and for my Honours research project, something clicked. Then I couldn't understand how anyone could not "get it". It was just there, as obvious as reading.

Years later, I was reminded of my process of learning coding as I watched my children learn to read. At first it was impenetrable. Then, they just "got it".

When I reflect on the skills I've used to do what I do, I wonder how these will change over the coming years?

Early career

I loved thinking of ways to code up solutions to novel questions, interrogating data to explore the signals that we might draw from it. Really figuring out what was going on by combining those answers with my understanding of weather systems and the large-scale transfer of heat from the tropics to the poles.

In my first job after university undergraduate studies, I was given the opportunity to play with a general circulation model - otherwise known as a global climate model. It was a huge computer program that created weather by solving the equations of motion of air around the globe, and parameterising processes like clouds and rainfall. Fun things I did included:

Doubling the number of vertical levels up through the atmosphere (and crashed the model - clouds are tricky!).

Adding a dune-building module to compare with the fixed dunes of Australia, which are indicators of past winds.

Adding an enormous permanent lake into the arid centre of Australia.

Blocking evaporation over parts of the ocean to see where our rain derived its water from.

Altering the temperature gradients across the tropical Pacific Ocean and moved the winds over Australia north or south.

Trying to grab as many nodes on the university's supercomputer as I could. Sometimes at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Building my passion

As fun as it is to "play" in a virtual world, I began to realise that my work had real-world applications in the here and now. Results from my work could help guide policy and make Australia a better place.

When I started work at the Bureau of Meteorology, I was very keen to be part of an operational institution, working with real-life people who had real-life concerns - like running out of water. I worked closely with government departments across southern Australia - where a drying signal emerged in the late 1960s in the west and the late 1990s in the east - to help them understand why, and whether the wet years would return.

Recognition

Along the way, I have been recognized for my efforts - usually as a part of a much larger group. As an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author, IPCC was the co-laureate of the 2022 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. Also, the Victorian Climate Initiative received the Australian Water Association Research Innovation Award (Victoria) in 2019, where I was a key lead.

I received a Bureau of Meteorology Australia Day Achievement Medallion in 2018 for outstanding leadership of major projects and representation of the Bureau and Australia at significant national and international forums. And I also received a Bureau of Meteorology Community Award - Positive Working Culture, State of the Climate co-editor 2016.

Interacting with other people in the climate and weather community was a big part of my education - I was a Committee Member for "Women in Australian Weather and Climate Research" from 2013 to 2019. And Chair of Melbourne Centre of Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) and Member of AMOS National Council from 2003 to 2005 - despite one member saying I couldn't be, because I was too young. I initiated and edited the AMOS policy on global warming during that time.

Now

I now work as a Principal Climate Scientist at The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia, which provides daily weather forecasts and multi-week to seasonal forecasts every two days. For research, we have access to major super-computing infrastructures where we can run global forecast experiments to understand the impacts of climate change on extreme weather events.

Working with the IPCC, I trust that my sharing of how we can quantify the human influence on climate trends and extremes will continue to help guide policy on the world stage and make the world a better place.

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

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Vivian Gornick is experiencing one of those strange phenomena that sometimes happens in literature and in life: explosive recognition at a late age, especially with the Spanish-speaking public. She believes that MeToo and a new sensibility have made young women look to her generation, where they find models like The End of the Novel of Love, Gornicks work from 1990s in which she dismantled literatures excessive faith in the couple. Deeply feminist, the 87-year-old New Yorker jettisons the commonplaces of love. We talked to her about these topics via Zoom.

Question: Is love as we knew it over?

Answer. You know, what I said is always mistaken for my saying Its the end of love, its the end of marriage, its the end of this or that. That is not what I am saying. I am saying that it is impossible now to make great literature out of the idea of romantic love That once upon a time, romantic love was seen as a great metaphor for the human condition...Now, it is not that way. Its not experienced that way anymore. And it was experienced that way when people were very innocent, when there was no divorce, when decisions were taken [in ignorance and] used forshieldsI mean, just imagine an Anna Karenina being written today, or Emma Bovary, or any of the great novels [that] turn on the glory and the sadness of romantic love In my opinionyou cannot make a great work out of that anymore, because we all have too much experienceWe all know that romantic love is not the salvation of our struggles and lives,

Q. What do you believe loves role in life is?

A. I believe love is a great necessity, as is work. I believe loveloving in a million ways is one of the great ways to feel alive.. And I believe in work in the same way, if not more. Those are the two great elements that make a life. As Freud said, life is work [and] love in that order, not the other [way around].

Q. Has marriage, as a model of happiness, also ended?

A. I say yes. YesEveryone gets married knowing they can get divorced... I dont think anybody thinks marriage is sacred anymore.

Q. How did you experience it?

A. Well, I remember a time when divorce was unthinkable. When I grew up in a working-class immigrant district in the BronxThe buildings were filled with unhappy marriages, and nobody dreamed of leaving anybody. Im tired of [fantasies of] what life could be if [a woman] only found the right man. Thats how I grew up. And thats a great deal of what marriage exposed to me. My own parents were very much in love, and they imparted to us another kind of a myth. My mother subscribed to the idea of one great love, which she had with my father, but it didnt make me happyShe kept telling me love was the most important thing in a womans life. And my father died young. We were all fairly young. I mean, we were children. And my mother was in her mid-40sIt was an incredible disaster, from which I dont think anybody ever recovered. But I did not want to replicate that So, I always had a lot of mixed feelings about elevating love [to] such [an important] position No, I could never believe that.

Q. And what was your own idea of independence?

A. I always imagined myself [as] a writer as a child. I was eight years old [when] a teacher held up [a] composition of mine to the class and said, This little girl is a writer.

Q. What happened next?

A. I was always writing little compositions, little stories, impressions here and there. Then when I was 16, my mother got me a typewriterSo, that showed that she had some faith in meYou know, when I was in college, I took writing courses, and again, I was told I was a writer, but I was like most women, I was very neurotic about work.I could not make myself do itIt was feminism that set me on the course for making myself a serious worker. Recognizing the fact thatcertain things are required of you if you are going to be a serious worker. And one of them was discipline, sitting down to it every day.

Q. Feminism helped you then?

A. It made me see that I was born into a sex that was not taken seriously and it did not take itself seriously. It made me see that I had never taken myself seriously, thatI drifted along, getting married twice. Both times briefly, just a couple of years because I was so restless and unhappyAnd I realized that almost every woman I knew was in the same positionOnce feminism struck in New York City, it was very full, fully articulated, fully matureMany women like myself, we were educated, we were in television and we were aimless. We had no context in which to take ourselves seriously. Nobody expected anything of us except to get married and have childrenI wasnt happy with thatMarriage and children, sex, love, men. Somehow or other, all of that was on a back burner to me. I dont know whyAnd, you know, when feminism came along, it explained us to ourselves. And what would have happened to me [if it hadnt]?

Q. Are women taken seriously today?

A. Well, listen, its a centuries long struggle to achieve equalityI think that we have made astonishing strides in the last 40 years[And] you and I wouldnt be here today if it wasnt for the womens movement. I think it has made astonishing advances. But nowhere near enough. [Spain] is a good example of that. You know, its sort of halfway there, but not reallyYou still have millions of women who are joined at the hip to their husbandsand cant just find a way to think of themselves as equal participants in the world enterprise

Q. What are todays fantasies?

A. Thats a hard question to answer. I dont know. I really dont know. I think were living in a very fractured timeThere is no commonality in the culture, and therefore, its very difficult now for people to know themselves--who they are, what they want, and why[There] was a time when there were many institutional choices that told you who you are. Religion, family... [But] they dont anymore. That doesnt mean they have a better place to go to... Many, many peopleyoung women whom I know in New York, and theres thousands of them, are full of energy, vitality. Theyre very new. And when theyre politically minded, theyre very active, very active on behalf of rights, but also on behalf of all the major issues of the time: immigrants, racism, all the things that bedevil us in America When they write novels, they are stories of disconnect.

Q. What does reading offer you?

A. I find comfort in the long, ongoing record of anything that reading gives meI see what makes up human beings going back centuries.: the affection, the intelligence, the hungers, longings, motives, the inability tofind [oneself], all these things that make me feel alive[For example,] if you read Marcus Aurelius, youre reading a modern reading, a man [is] telling you [that] anger steals your life, you hatehe knew it all. And I take great comfort in [that].

Q. And what has writing done for you?

A. Writing is the thing that makes me feel most alive. Why? Who cares? Thats an unanswerable questionBut it is all the experiences [over] all the years. Its only when Im actually writing...When I actually get something on the page, a piece of writing that I feel. When Ive written a sentence that feels absolutely right, I experience joy, and I feel alive, and I feel safe. Nothing can hurt menothing at all.

Q. What do readers give you?

A. I dont know. Well, I do know. Its the MeToo movement Feminists, like myself, have been rediscoveredI am very moved by the meetings I have in the Spanish speaking countries and [Ive] really been shocked by that and very gratefuland my Spanish publisherstheyve just done wonderful work. Theyve got my books out and people are responding. Its a measure of where your country is. Now, what I wrote 40 years ago, its so important to you guys.

Q. So, theres hope?

A. Of courseAbsolutely. Europe is full of young feminists who are struggling, really struggling. And they understand... Its just, you know, cultural changes one by one... Its hard to find legislation. Culture changes very, very slowly. #Metoo [has] a great chance. These women stood up and said things[But] you can see theres still a lot of work to do. [Theres] a lot more to change just to change the sensibility. Look, the whole thing is men and women treat each other instrumentally. They dont treat each other as fellow creatures. Each one thinks the other has something they need or want, and they become the vessel for ones own desires rather than a person in their own right.

Q. Do you fear a definitive reversal in the U.S., as we are seeing with abortion?

A. Well, the great thing about the United States is grassroots democracy. Grassroots on the ground limit the push, and the minute Roe vs. Wade was overturned, the actual minute thousands of organizations sprung up immediately to fight it all over the country. And when that happens, you know, they cant pretend it can prevail Protest is forming and will go on being formed, and people will go on having abortions... And you can see immediately this astonishing reaction to that[it] shows how out of step with the rest of the country the Supreme Court is, [how] horribly rich [and] reactionary. Its not our administration, but the world were living inButlife on the ground is not to feel oppressedIt will be time to be afraid when the laws begin to change. They havent yet made lawputting judges in jail [or] making laws except for things like Roe vs. Wade...No, I dont believe [we] are goingthere. I dont.

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE: AEL), today announced that in accordance with the terms of its 5.95% Fixed-Rate Reset Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A (the Series A Preferred Stock), which is represented by depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series A Preferred Stock (the Series A Depositary Shares), the Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $371.8750000 per share of Series A Preferred Stock (equivalent to $0.371875000 per Series A Depositary Share). The dividend will be payable on June 1, 2023 to Series A Preferred Stock shareholders of record as of May 15, 2023. Depositary receipts for the Series A Preferred Stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol AELPRA.

Additionally, American Equity Investment Life Holding Company today announced that in accordance with the terms of its 6.625% Fixed-Rate Reset Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B (the Series B Preferred Stock), which is represented by depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of Series B Preferred Stock (the Series B Depositary Shares), the Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $414.0625000 per share of Series B Preferred Stock (equivalent to $0.414062500 per Depositary Share). The dividend will be payable on June 1, 2023 to Series B Preferred Stock shareholders of record as of May 15, 2023. Depositary receipts for the Series B Preferred Stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol AELPRB.

ABOUT AMERICAN EQUITY

At American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, our policyholders work with over 40,000 independent agents and advisors affiliated with independent marketing organizations (IMOs), banks and broker-dealers through our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries. Advisors and agents choose one of our leading annuity products best suited for their clients personal needs to create financial dignity in retirement. To deliver on its promises to policyholders, American Equity has re-framed its investments focus  building a stronger emphasis on insurance liability driven asset allocation and specializing in alternate, private asset management while partnering with world renowned, public fixed income asset managers. American Equity is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa with additional offices in Charlotte, NC, and New York, NY. For more information, please visit www.american-equity.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005533/en/

Steven Schwartz | Head of Investor Relations

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

515-273-3763 | [email protected]

Source: American Equity Investment Life Holding Company
ENTERA aerogel particles provide formulation flexibility to develop a range of thermal barrier forms for electric vehicle batteries

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) today announced the launch of its new ENTERA aerogel particles portfolio. ENTERA aerogel particles are a thermal insulation additive designed to enable the development of ultra-thin thermal barriers for electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries. In this portfolio, Cabot has launched three ENTERA aerogel products that formulators can incorporate into a range of thermal barrier forms including blankets, pads, sheets, films, foams and coatings.

Vehicle fleets are increasingly transitioning from internal combustion engines to EVs. To meet increased EV demand, battery manufacturers are working diligently to develop higher performing lithium-ion battery packs with increased range. These higher energy batteries require more advanced thermal management solutions, including thermal barriers to mitigate thermal runaway, a rare event in which a battery cell overheats to dangerous levels and the heat propagates to neighboring cells within the module or battery pack due to malfunction or damage. As a result of the potential severe risks from an EV battery fire, additional regulations, such as the United Nations Global Technical Regulation 20 on Electric Vehicle Safety (UN GTR No. 20) and Chinas GB 38031-2020, have been implemented to maximize occupant safety. Aerogel has emerged as a leading, performance-enabling thermal barrier material that is enabling EV manufacturers to meet critical industry safety standards.

Cabots ENTERA aerogel products not only help battery and EV manufacturers comply with these new regulations, but they also provide a lightweight thermal barrier solution that offers low thermal conductivity combined with thermal stability. The Cabot ENTERA aerogel particles portfolio ranges in size from microns to millimeters and includes ENTERA EV5200 aerogel, ENTERA EV5400 aerogel and ENTERA EV5800 aerogel.

Furthermore, with greater than 90 percent air volume, Cabots ENTERA aerogel is up to 20 times lighter than traditional insulation additives used in thermal barriers. Using lightweight materials in EVs is important to offset the weight of EV batteries as well as to improve efficiency, extend driving range and increase the lifespan of the battery.

We have been producing aerogel for 20 years and the expansion of our aerogel capabilities for use in thermal barriers for batteries is a natural progression in our commitment to support the tremendous growth of the battery market, said Jeff Zhu, executive vice president and president, Performance Chemicals segment and Asia Pacific region. Our new ENTERA aerogel particles provide strong formulation flexibility and play an important role in improving passenger safety, energy efficiency and extended range for EVs. We are committed to developing solutions that solve some of the worlds most pressing sustainability challenges and with these new products, we are well positioned to further support the global transition to vehicle electrification and enable a lower carbon future.

Cabot has a full range of products that serves the EV battery market. It is the only global manufacturer with a complete conductive additives product portfolio for battery applications, including conductive carbons, carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanostructures, as well as blends and dispersions of these additives to deliver optimal performance. Conductive additives play a critical role in lithium-ion battery chemistry and provide a pathway for electrons to move within the anode and the cathode which enables charging and discharging. Additionally, Cabot offers fumed alumina for separator and cathode active material coatings.

For more information about Cabots ENTERA aerogel particles portfolio, visit cabotcorp.com/aerogel.

ABOUT CABOT CORPORATION

Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is a leading provider of reinforcing carbons, specialty carbons, battery materials, engineered elastomer composites, inkjet colorants, masterbatches and conductive compounds, fumed metal oxides and aerogel. For more information on Cabot, please visit the companys website at cabotcorp.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in the press release regarding Cabot's business that are not historical facts are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005115/en/

Emily Moran

Corporate Communications

[email protected]

(617) 460-4517

Steve Delahunt

Investor Relations

[email protected]

(617) 342-6255

Source: Cabot Corporation
The California-inspired brand is helping guests celebrate Mothers Day with eGift cards throughout the week and a return of the famous CPK heart-shaped pizzas

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), the creator of California-style pizza, is bringing back its fan-favorite heart-shaped pizza for one day this Mothers Day, May 14, along with dining and gift card promotions to celebrate the special moms in our lives.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005532/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

On Mothers Day Sunday, guests can dine-in or takeout their favorite CPK pizzas on heart-shaped crispy thin crust for no additional charge. Guests visiting a CPK restaurant with Mom Saturday or Sunday during Mothers Day weekend, May 13 and 14, will receive a $10 bonus card for every $50 spent. CPK is also offering guests a way to celebrate from afar by adding a $10 eBonus to every $50 eGift purchased through May 14.

Who said heart-shaped pizza was just for Valentines? Were so excited to help our guests show their appreciation for the moms and motherly figures in their lives with a special meal, said Ashley Ceraolo, SVP of Marketing at CPK. We love treating our guests to delicious dining experiences and this holiday is no different. Were honored to get to play a part in making this day memorable for all women filling the role of mom this year.

Please visit https://www.cpk.com/mothersday for more information on these specials, including terms and conditions, pricing and exclusions.

About California Pizza Kitchen

In 1985, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) opened its first restaurant in Beverly Hills and introduced diners to gourmet California inspired pizza. With a passion for combining fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavor inspirations from around the world, today CPK is a global brand serving creative California cuisine in more than 180 restaurants across 10 countries and U.S. territories. From its innovative, hearth-baked pizzas such as The Original BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken, and California Club, to inventive salads, and unique pasta dishes that combine the old world with the new, CPK does everything with an imaginative California-inspired twist that guests love.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005532/en/

Media Contact:

[email protected]

Source: California Pizza Kitchen
Transaction builds on more than $362.2 million in current purchase agreements for water and wastewater systems for Essential Utilities

BRYN MAWR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) today announced its Aqua Pennsylvania subsidiary signed a purchase agreement to acquire the wastewater system in Greenville, PA for $18 million. The wastewater sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

The wastewater collection network and treatment plant in Mercer County is currently operated by the Greenville Sanitation Authority and has over 2,300 customer connections, and serves over 1,700 additional customers in West Salem and Hempfield Townships.

The reality is that our [wastewater] plant needed a $35 to $40 million rebuild, and that was beyond our means, said Greenville Sanitary Authority Board Chair Jonathan Bailey. Also, our strong attention to day-to-day operations doesn't create enough improvement to satisfy the consent order we have with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. We needed an expert with the resources and expertise to fix the issues and prevent them from ever coming back. We considered a number of options  we are confident Aqua is this expert. We are now able to avoid a costly rebuild. This is an ideal solution to a very serious situation."

The transaction builds on Essentials regional expansion strategy, which delivers growth by investing in infrastructure that delivers clean, safe, reliable natural resources to residential and business customers, including water and wastewater services.

More than $20 million of planned investments in 10 years

Essential plans to invest $20 million in 10 years to bring the wastewater treatment plant into compliance with state and Federal regulations, avoiding the complete system rebuild originally estimated at $35 to 40 million. The company will also replace collection system pipes to improve reliability, increase plant capacity, and improve performance.

All existing employees at the Greenville facility will be offered jobs with the company when the acquisition closes, pending the companys standard hiring practices.

"We have a strong track record of using our operational expertise, scale and technical resources to support municipalities like Greenville," said Essential Chairman and CEO Chris Franklin. "We are deeply committed to our customers in Mercer County, and we are well-positioned to make necessary investments to ensure safe and reliable service for local residents."

The Greenville wastewater system is the first purchase agreement to be signed by Aqua Pennsylvania this year. Including Greenville wastewater, Essentials Aqua companies have signed eight purchase agreements for nine water and wastewater systems. Together these systems represent nearly 219,000 equivalent retail customers or equivalent dwelling units with more than $380 million in purchase price. In 2022, the company acquired three water and wastewater systems, which added approximately $120 million in rate base and more than 23,000 new customers or equivalent dwelling units to the companys footprint.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE: WTRG) delivers safe, clean, reliable services that improve quality of life for individuals, families, and entire communities. With a focus on water, wastewater, and natural gas, Essential is committed to sustainable growth, operational excellence, a superior customer experience, and premier employer status. We are advocates for the communities we serve, donating more than $4 million each year, and are dedicated stewards of natural lands, protecting more than 7,600 acres of forests and other habitats throughout our footprint.

Operating as the Aqua and Peoples brands, Essential serves approximately 5.5 million people across 10 states. Essential is one of the most significant publicly traded water, wastewater service and natural gas providers in the U.S. Learn more at www.essential.co.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which generally include words such as believes, expects, intends, anticipates, estimates, will and similar expressions. The Company can give no assurance that any actual or future results or events discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements represent its views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the companys actual results to differ materially from the statements contained in this release. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements relating to the capital to be invested by the water, wastewater, and gas distribution divisions of the Company. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with The Companys business, please refer to the Companys annual, quarterly and other SEC filings. The Company is not under any obligation - and expressly disclaims any such obligation - to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

WTRGF

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005534/en/

Media:

Jeanne Russo

Vice President, Communications

Media Hotline: 1.877.325.3477

[email protected]

Investor:

Brian Dingerdissen

Vice President, IR and Treasurer

O: 610.645.1191

[email protected]

Source: Essential Utilities Inc.
SANTERAMO IN COLLE, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Natuzzi S.p.A. (NYSE: NTZ) (Natuzzi or the Company) announced today that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F (the Annual Report) for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2022 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Annual Report is available on the Companys website www.natuzzi.com within the Investor Relations page (http://natuzzigroup.com/en-EN/ir/investors.html), under the SEC Filings section.

The Companys shareholders can request a hard copy of the Annual Report, that includes the audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge, by contacting the Company at [email protected].

About Natuzzi S.p.A.

Founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, Natuzzi S.p.A. is one of the most renowned brands in the production and distribution of design and luxury furniture. With a global retail network of 703 mono-brand stores and 508 galleries as of December 31, 2022, Natuzzi distributes its collections worldwide. Natuzzi products embed the finest spirit of Italian design and the unique craftmanship details of the Made in Italy, where a predominant part of its production takes place. Natuzzi has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 13, 1993. Always committed to social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Natuzzi S.p.A. is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified (Quality and Environment), ISO 45001 certified (Safety on the Workplace) and FSC Chain of Custody, CoC (FSC-C131540).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005434/en/

For information:

Natuzzi Investor Relations

Piero Direnzo | tel. +39 080-8820-812 | [email protected]

Natuzzi Corporate Communication

Giacomo Ventolone (Press Office) | tel. +39.335.7276939 | [email protected]

Source: Natuzzi S.p.A.
Netspend founders combine assets to expand global footprint and increase access to digital innovations in payment products

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- International payments company Rev Worldwide (Rev), in partnership with funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (Searchlight), today completed its purchase of the Netspend consumer business from Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) in an all-cash transaction valued at $1 billion.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005172/en/

Netspend Founder Roy Sosa returns to the company as its CEO and Chairman (Photo: Business Wire)

The carve-out transaction sees Netspend come back under the control of its founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa, prepaid industry innovators who also founded Rev. Netspend will remain a partner to Global Payments, supporting the companys retained pay card business.

This acquisition represents both a reunion and reimagining of the vision of financial empowerment we pioneered at Netspend more than 20 years ago, said Roy Sosa, Rev Chairman and CEO, who assumes the same role with Netspend. Netspend has a well-deserved reputation for creating and delivering innovative products tailored to fulfill the important needs of all its customers, from the underserved to the affluent. This transaction sets us up for strong future success and profitable growth.

Since its founding in 1999, Netspend has become a clear industry leader in prepaid debit cards, processed hundreds of billions of dollars of cardholder purchases, and established the worlds largest retail partner network comprising 100,000 locations where consumers can load or purchase prepaid and debit card products. Those locations span large grocers, financial service centers, convenience stores and pharmacies, among others. Netspend is also the product and payments processing partner behind numerous well-known brands and offers its consumer products via mobile and web channels.

Together, Netspend and Rev create an international payments powerhouse with a broad array of products and services and strategic partners which include ADIB, Banco Itau, Correos (Spanish Post), and Etihad Airways. The combined companies are uniquely positioned to expand their current programs across the world, and to drive growth across market segments.

From day one of Netspends founding we have been focused on helping customers gain access to payment products that simplify their lives and deliver real value, said Rev President, Bertrand Sosa. This acquisition allows us to continue building on our commitment to deliver financial empowerment to more people in more places by leveraging Netspends industry scale and Revs technology platform and digital product innovations.

Commenting on the deal, Christopher Cruz, Partner at Searchlight, added: The transaction allows Netspend to combine its market-leading position with Revs geographic reach to offer an enhanced customer value proposition, introduce innovative products, and grow partnerships on a global scale. The combined company can uniquely serve the entire market with its differentiated distribution capabilities, including direct-to-consumer, partner-enabled, and digital partnership models.

About Rev

Rev is a fintech company, founded by prepaid debit industry founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa, dedicated to delivering innovative payment experiences to consumers worldwide. Its solutions are powered by the companys proprietary multi-currency and multi-language payments processing platform. With vast experience pioneering a number of payment industry firsts, Rev focuses on the international banking and travel sectors. Rev has partnered with companies across the globe to launch products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Learn more at www.revworldwide.com.

About Searchlight

Searchlight is a global private investment firm with over $11 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, Miami, London and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com.

About Netspend

Netspend is a leading provider of payments and financial solutions for consumers and businesses. From prepaid and debit card solutions to digital account and money movement services, Netspend has a broad suite of products and technologies that deliver exceptional experiences for its customers and business partners. For more information, visit www.netspend.com and follow Netspend on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005172/en/

Rev Worldwide

Meredith DeSpain

(512) 815-2721

[email protected]

Source: Netspend
Sustainable electric vehicle company, Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) received certification from European regulators last week to officially sell its Ocean electric SUV to European customers. The company intends to start deliveries on Friday, May 5th.

The entire Fisker team is excited to get the Fisker Ocean One launch edition to our reservation holders,' said Chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker. Our first delivery is expected for May 5. After that, we intend to deliver all Ocean Ones by the end of September while also initiating some deliveries of the Fisker Ocean Extreme, starting in Europe with the U.S. to follow.

The launch markets consist of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Fisker has not disclosed which country will receive the first Fisker Ocean One.

Henrik Fisker added that the company recently built several mid-trim level all-wheel-drive Fisker Ocean Ultras. In addition, Fisker also produced front-wheel-drive Fisker Ocean Sports, the lowest-priced trim level, for testing and homologation purposes. The automaker anticipates customer delivery of those trims will start in September.

Fisker has pursued a dual homologation process for the Fisker Ocean in Europe and the United States simultaneously, an atypical approach to adjust production and sales based on regional demand.

Our unique business model enables this level of flexibility, which we are now capitalizing on, Henrik Fisker said, noting that the announcement of the WLTP range for the Fisker Ocean Extreme led to an increase in European reservations.

Also, the Fisker Ocean recently won the prestigious 2023 Red Dot Product Design Award for Best Electric Vehicle.

Shares of FSR are down 12.81% in afternoon trading on Monday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]
The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) announced today that it is offering to sell notes in a public offering (the "Notes Offering"). The Hershey Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Notes Offering to repay all of its outstanding 2.625% Senior Notes due 2023 and 3.375% Senior Notes due 2023, plus in each case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon, pay fees and expenses related to the offering and for general corporate purposes.

A registration statement relating to the Notes Offering has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or an offer to buy any securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Notes Offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
FILE PHOTO: The Bellagio hotel and casino is seen along the Las Vegas strip after MGM Resorts International announced it was selling the resort and Circus Circus in separate deals in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 15, 2019. REUTERS/David Becker

By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK (Reuters) -MGM Resorts International on Monday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue due to an increase in traffic and business volumes in Macau and Las Vegas.

Shares of the company rose 1.2% in trading after the bell.

Casino operators are benefiting from the rebound in traffic in gaming hubs as travel and tourism spending from China rebounds.

"MGM Resorts is executing across all of its geographies and channels with record first quarter Las Vegas Strip Adjusted Property EBITDAR, consistently strong Regional Operations profit, MGM China's swift return to profitability," said MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle in a press release.

The Las Vegas-based casino operator posted an adjusted first-quarter gain of 44 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations for a gain of 1 cent a share.

The casino operator's revenue rose to $3.9 billion in the first quarter from $2.9 billion a year ago and surpassed analysts' average estimate of $3.6 billion.

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Chris Reese, Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)
ANDERSON, S.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anderson Institute of Technology representing School Districts 3, 4, & 5 located in SC  In partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education, will host a free Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp for high school students in the fall of 2023. The AI Bootcamp in Anderson will be targeted at underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and will introduce these high school students to basic AI concepts and skills.

The Anderson Institute of Technology is one of 28+ host companies selected to host camps across the US in Fall 2023.

The Anderson Institute of Technology Bootcamp will be held over four consecutive Saturdays starting on October 14th and ending on November 4th .The bootcamp will run each Saturday from 2-6pm and if accepted, high school students must commit to attending all 4 sessions.

The student and parent application are now open at markcubanai.org/aitpr. Students do not need any prior experience with computer science, programming, or robotics to apply and attend.

With AI being a relevant topic on many news sources, students will learn what artificial intelligence is and is not, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, and the ethical implications of AI systems including but not limited to TikTok recommendations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars to name a few. Participants will also learn how Large Language Models like ChatGPT are changing life as we know it by answering questions, telling original stories, and even writing computer code.

Students will benefit from volunteer corporate mentor instructors who are knowledgeable about AI, ML and data science and able to help students quickly understand material normally taught at a collegiate level. As part of the 4-hour curriculum each day, students will work with open-source tools to build their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Generative AI.

The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and The Anderson Institute of Technology work together to provide food, transportation, and access to laptops for students at no-cost throughout the duration of Bootcamp.

It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant

Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI Bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several US cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year.

Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/aitpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq .

Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation

Phone: 309-840-0348

Email: [email protected]

Source: Mark Cuban Foundation
At some point in the spring of 1944, Anne Frank was listening to the radio in the secret annex, the tiny and suffocating dwelling hidden behind a bookcase at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam where her family and four others hid out during the Holocaust, when she heard a speech by the Dutch Minister of Education in exile in which he stated that, after the war, everything written during the Nazi occupation would be published in order to document the suffering of the Dutch people, including diaries. Convinced that the record she had kept would help her fulfill her dream (I shall not remain insignificant, I shall work in the world and for mankind! she wrote at the time), she began to keep a parallel diary, in which she made adjustments to some paragraphs and removed others. In the meantime, she continued to write the famous original, without suspecting to what extent it would be infantilized, Americanized, homogenized, sentimentalized; falsified, kitschified, and, in fact, blatantly and arrogantly denied, as the novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick notes.

A recent example of this came two weeks ago when the Vero Beach high school in Indian River County, Florida, banned a graphic novel based on the diary  adapted by filmmaker Ari Folman, the son of survivors of the Nazi genocide, and cartoonist David Polonsky, in 2017  on the grounds that it whitewashed the Holocaust. In reality, what Moms For Liberty  the association that pushed for the censorship of the book, which later spread to the rest of the high schools in the county  apparently didnt like was the explicitly sexual content of the work in question, which contains a scene in which Anne Frank asks a friend to undress in front of her so she can look at her, saying she will do likewise. Contemplating the nude statues in the history books has begun to unsettle her, and she wants to see a real body other than her own. When it was discovered that in the original manuscript  edited by her father, Otto Frank, the first and greatest appropriator  the teenager included explicit anatomical descriptions of her own clitoris, which did not come to light until the scholar Mirjam Pressler rescued them, the affront is even greater.

Ozick takes inventory of such appropriations and distortions in her 1997 essay Who Owns Anne Frank?, a compendium of passionate and essential reading that begins with a vision of the kind of writer (and activist) Anne Frank could have been today had she not died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. A committed woman, whose career would be closer to that of Nadine Gordimer, let us suppose, than to that of Francoise Sagan. Ozick also focuses on Otto Frank, the first person to manipulate the original text, suppressing firstly what he did not like and anything that would have cast the family in a bad light  including the attacks of rage that the girl experienced when dealing with her mother  and secondly humanity while also infantilizing the terrifying reality of a work that, despite charging against the horror of the world in which it was written, is often reduced to the phrase: I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Otto Frank grew up with a social need to please his environment and not to offend it [] It was more dignified, and safer, to praise than to blame, wrote Ozick. After all, he had before him the larger postwar world that the diary had opened to him. And he knew how to take advantage of it. He even tried to substitute his daughter for an American teenager, a suburban girl named Cara Wilson who was born in California in 1944 and who wrote to him claiming to have identified with Annes adolescent frustrations, frivolously comparing herself to Anne. Otto corresponded with her for years, sent her gifts when her children were born, and unabashedly published a compilation of the letters under the title Love, Otto in 1995.

It is the shamelessness of appropriation, wrote Ozick, as nothing is comparable to the Holocaust. Part of the blame was laid at the feet of the theatrical version, portraying the funny, hopeful, happy Anne that came to Broadway in 1955  along with endless litigation, documented in Lawrence Gravers An Obsession with Anne Frank  and which won the Pulitzer Prize and greatly influenced the way the diary was read.

That the first German translator of the text decided to sugarcoat everything that Anne Frank wrote about the Germans  with Ottos approval  is evidence, for Ozick, of a lack of respect that existed from the very beginning. " A deeply truth-telling work has been turned into an instrument of partial truth, surrogate truth, or anti-truth, wrote Ozick.

In 2026, Anne Franks diary will enter the public domain and the Basel-based Anne Frank Fund will no longer control her legacy. It is likely that unauthorized versions of the diary will then be published, says Martin Schifino, one of its editors in Spain, where Anne Frank: The Collected Works was published last year. What does the collected works include? The original diary and the complete version edited by Mirjam Pressler, in which she develops a continuous account of versions A and B, says Schifino. That is to say, the original diary and the one that Anne Frank herself began to edit. There is also previously unpublished material: letters, reflections, photographs, and essays by well-known historians.

But sales of the collected works have been symbolic compared to those of the diary, which has always been fireproof, says Schifino.. In June, a new title will be added to the reinterpretation of the myth: My Friend Anne Frank, the memoirs of Hannah Pick-Goslar, her childhood friend who she was reunited with in the concentration camp. It seems hard not to go with the flow and depict Anne Frank in the way in which the world thinks it knows her, pulling the wool over the eyes of history, as Ozick puts it. As the writer says, Almost every hand that has approached the diary with the well-meaning intention of publicizing it has contributed to the subversion of history [...] The pure has been made impure  sometimes in the name of the reverse. Something to be sold, in the worst sense of the word, from the beginning by her own father and that, subsequently, has been used as opportunistically as desired. And so, sanctified and indulgent, stripped of darkness, Anne Frank lives on.

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Company announcement no. 26

As stated in company announcement no. 17, it was decided at Spar Nord Bank A/S ordinary general meeting on 22 March 2023 to reduce the companys share capital by nominally DKK 25,359,000 divided into 2,535,900 shares of DKK 10 by cancellation of own shares.

The capital reduction was published via the electronic information system of the Danish Business Authority on 29 March 2023. The advertisement period expired without any objections being raised. Consequently, we have notified the Danish Business Authority of the capital reduction. After the capital reduction, the share capital of Demant A/S amounts to nominally DKK 1,204,666,260 divided into shares of DKK 10 each.

In accordance with section 32 of the Danish Capital Markets Act, we hereby state that the companys total share capital and total number of voting rights amount to:

Share capital (nominal): DKK 1,204,666,260

Number of voting rights: 120,466,626





Please direct any questions regarding this release to Rune Brandt Brglum, Head of Investor Relations, on tel, + 45 9634 4236.

Rune Brandt Brglum

Head of Investor Relations

Attachment
Programs Include a Travel-Related Webinar on the Arts-Rich Setouchi Region And Online Content on Art & Ecology on Inujima Island

LOS ANGELES, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, a Japanese cultural destination in the heart of Hollywood, announces two exhibition-related programs to complement its current exhibition Symbiosis: Living Island," which explores the groundbreaking Inujima Art House Project designed to revitalize the depopulated Japanese island of Inujima through a unique symbiosis of art, architecture, community, and ecology. The exhibition, on view through July 5, 2023, celebrates and transports visitors to this living art island through an experiential diorama of the island and its art pavilions.



JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles is hosting a free webinar on May 24 from 5 - 6 p.m.  Explore Setouchi | Destination for Arts and Nature. Borders have reopened to the world and Japan is welcoming visitors back to enjoy the countrys breathtaking natural beauty, immersive cultural activities, and delicious food. While most first-timers tend to cover popular destinations like Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka, the webinar spotlights other beautiful and off-the-beaten-track prefectures to consider visiting.

During the webinar, Rose Lifschitz from the Japan National Tourism Organization will discuss the Setouchi Region, an area in Western Japan connected by the Seto Inland Sea. Home to gorgeous coastlines, traditional architecture, great weather, and artisanal crafts, Setouchi is famous for its thriving art scene across many islands. For those planning to visit Japan in the future, the webinar runs attendees through a sample itinerary that incorporates this beautiful region. Register for the webinar here.

Additionally, as part of exhibition-related content JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles features an online article on Revival through Art: Art & Ecology on Inujima Island, providing a deeper dive on the tiny island of Inujima. Once a thriving center of copper refining and stone quarrying with a terrain that can be walked around in an hour, the island is now home to just twenty-five households, with more than half of the inhabitants over seventy years of age. In 2008, Inujima was transformed through art as it became one of the locations of the celebrated Benesse Art Site Naoshima project (development activities spearheaded by Benesse Holdings, Inc. and Fukutake Foundation in the Seto Inland Sea). Thanks to the Inujima Art House Project the island has undergone a dramatic revitalization through culture, attracting visitors from around the world.

Additional exhibition-related programs will be announced soon. Admission to the exhibition is free. Walk-ins are invited and the gallery is open daily from 11 a.m.  7 p.m. (Mon.  Fri.) and 11 a.m.  8 p.m. (Sat.  Sun.).

For more information, visit the JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles website and social channels: Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube and LinkedIn .

ABOUT JAPAN HOUSE

JAPAN HOUSE is an innovative, worldwide project with three hubs  London, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo  conceived by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. It seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of Japan in the international community. Occupying two floors at Ovation Hollywood (formerly Hollywood & Highland), JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles offers a place of new discovery that transcends physical and conceptual boundaries creating experiences that reflect the best of Japan through its spaces and diverse programs.

Location: 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028

Website: www.japanhousela.com

Media Contacts:

Nerissa Silao | 310-874-9230 | [email protected]

Lisa Nakanouchi | 323-904-9298 | [email protected]

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdc70bff-485a-47f6-a28b-580ae6d8cc90

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e95a589-c887-4b78-9a87-316df94684d2


TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skylight Health Group Inc. (TSXV:SLHG; OTCQX: SLHGF) ("Skylight Health" or the "Company") announces today that the Company does not expect to be in a position to complete its year-end audit and complete and file its annual financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the 2022 financial year and, as a result, the Ontario Securities Commission may issue a cease trade order against the company restricting trade in the securities of the Company.

As previously reported in the Companys financial statements for the third quarter of 2022, the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern and to realize the carrying value of its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments when due was dependent on the Company generating positive cash flows and additional financing sufficient to fund its cash flow needs. The Company is considering various strategic alternatives.

Additionally, the Company announces that Grace Mellis has resigned from the Companys Board of Directors, effective April 28, 2023 to pursue other opportunities. The Board of Directors and the Companys management team would like to thank Ms. Mellis for her contribution and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours.

About Skylight Health Group

Skylight Health Group (TSXV:SLHG: OTCQX: SLHGF) is a healthcare services and technology company, working to positively impact patient health outcomes. The Company operates a Florida based primary care health network comprised of physical practices providing a range of services from primary care, sub-specialty, allied health, and laboratory/diagnostic testing. The Company is focused on helping small and independent practices shift from a traditional fee-for-service (FFS) model to value-based care (VBC) through tools including proprietary technology, data analytics and infrastructure. In an FFS model, payors (commercial and government insurers) reimburse on an encounter-based approach. This puts a focus on volume of patients per day. In a VBC model, the providers offer care that is aimed at keeping patients healthy and minimizing unnecessary health expenditures that are not proven to maintain the patients well-being. This places an emphasis on quality over volume. VBC will lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced cost of delivery and drive stronger financial performance from existing practices.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may include predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgments, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselves to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. When used herein, words such as "look forward," "believe," "continue," "building," may be, or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements made by us herein are often discussed in filings we make with the Canadian and United States securities regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at: www.sec.gov, and Canadian Securities Administrators, available at www.sedar.com, and on our website, at skylighthealthgroup.com.

For more information, please visit our website or contact:

Investor Relations:[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.

Source: Skylight Health Group Inc.
One year ago, the state of New Jersey launched its recreational marijuana sales. This was more than a year after voters approved a measure to legalize cannabis, which meant that consumers could finally buy edibles, vapes and marijuana legally at specific dispensaries.

This was just on paper, however. It actually took the government months to begin accepting and

Read More>>

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the companys newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Railtown Capital Corp. (TSXV: RLT.P) ("Railtown" or the "Company") announced today that trading of its common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange will resume on May 3rd, 2023.

About Railtown

Railtown is publicly listed on the TSXV under the symbol RLT.P. Railtown was formed as a Capital Pool Company in accordance with policies of the TSXV in order to identify and evaluate businesses and assets for acquisition and financing.

The address of the Company's registered and records office is 2200 885 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3E8.

For further information, please contact:

Cameron White, Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 604-765-2601

Email: [email protected]

The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility of the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164429
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - SASQUATCH RESOURCES CORP. (CSE: SASQ) ("Sasquatch" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received lab results from backpack drilling completed in 2022 and 2023 at its Mount Sicker Property, located in southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Six backpack drill holes were completed, reaching depths of between 2.1m and 6.1m, and with all six holes being open and mineralized at the bottom. Five of the completed holes were drilled in the Historic Mining Zone and one was drilled in the Battery Ridge Zone (see Figure 1 below). A picture of some of the core derived from the backpack drill is provided in Figure 2 below.

Highlights:

A cluster of holes were concentrated within a 12-15 meter wide zone where mineralization starts at surface in the Historic Mining Zone, with holes pitched to test the extent of mineralization extending outward and downward (see Figure 4 below). All holes drilled in the Historic Mining Zone were mineralized from surface right to the bottom, with these highlights:

BPH01 intercepted 6.1 meters of mineralization graded between 8.32 to 11.25 g/t gold, 4.19 to 9.55% copper, 98.8 to 142 g/t silver and 2.57 to 6.77% zinc ending in mineralization after the backpack drill reached its effective limit.

BPH02 intercepted 3.15 meters of mineralization graded between 2.22 to 4.17 g/t gold, 1.63 to 2.8% copper, 69 to 91 g/t silver, and 10.15 to 14.9% zinc, ending in mineralization as the drill was halted, unable to continue through a quartz vein.

BPH04 intercepted 5.25 meters of mineralization graded between 6.47 g/t to 12.1 g/t gold, 1.59 to 9.43% copper, 109 g/t to 147 g/t silver, and 7.48 to 19.1% zinc ending in mineralization after the backpack drill reached its effective limit.

BPH05 intercepted 2.1m of mineralization graded between 0.63 to 6.31 g/t gold, 6.0 to 6.94% copper, 22.6 to 140 g/t silver and 0.25 to 4.08% zinc, ending in mineralization as the drill was halted, unable to continue through a quartz vein.

BPH06 intercepted 3.35m of mineralization graded between 1.83 to 11.65 g/t gold, 0.59 to 3.33% copper, 89.3 to 122 g/t silver and 11.6 to 18.35% zinc, ending in mineralization as the drill was halted, unable to continue through a quartz vein.





Figure 1. Mt. Sicker target areas, surface samples and backpack drill hole locations

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8796/164398_417059eb549fe84a_002full.jpg





Figure 2. Photograph of backpack drill core from the Historic Mining Zone

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8796/164398_417059eb549fe84a_003full.jpg

Pete Smith, the Sasquatch CEO, commented, "These initial results are highly encouraging, confirming for us that there is some high-grade surface mineralization to complement our waste rock story. Should the value and grades in the waste rock prove to be economic, or even near economic, it's certainly possible that mineralization right at surface could add a very intriguing layer of possibilities to any small-scale mining plan."

Backpack Drilling Details - Historical Mining Zone

The 5 holes drilled in the Historic Mining Zone were drilled in an area of surface mineralization approximately 12-15 meters across, near one of the previous entrances to the Lenora mine. They were all drilled into the same mineralized system, which appears to run partially through the Lenora waste rock area and, potentially, up and down the slope of Mt. Sicker for some distance (see Figure 3 below).

Hole # 1 (BPH-01) reached a depth of 6.1meters, and was sampled in five lengths of just over 1m each, returning values in the following ranges:

8.32 - 11.25 g/t gold

4.19% - 9.55% copper

98 - 142 g/t silver

2.28% - 6.77% zinc

The entire hole was mineralized and open at the bottom, with the backpack drill having reached its effective maximum limit.

Hole # 2 (BPH-02) reached a depth of 3.15 meters and was more limited in depth because the backpack drill bit hit a very hard quartz vein, which stopped drilling progress. The entire length of the 3.15 meters drilled was mineralized. It was sampled in lengths of just over 1 meter and returned values in the following ranges:

2.22 - 4.17 g/t gold

1.63% - 2.80% copper

69 - 91.7 g/t silver

10.15% - 14.95% zinc

Hole # 3 (BPH-03) was drilled in the Battery Ridge Zone and is described in the next section below.

Hole # 4 (BPH-04) reached a depth of 5.25m and was sampled in lengths of just over 1m each, returning vales in the following ranges:

6.47 - 12.7 g/t gold

1.59% - 9.43% copper

109 - 147 g/t silver

2.84% - 19.1% zinc

The entire hole was mineralized and open at the bottom, with the backpack drill having reached its effective maximum limit.

Hole # 5 (BPH-05) reached a depth of 2.1 meters and was more limited in depth because the drill bit hit a very hard quartz vein, which stopped drilling progress. The entire length of the 2.1 meters drilled was mineralized. It was sampled in lengths of approximately 1m each and returned values in the following ranges:

0.63 - 6.31 g/t gold

0.83% - 6.94% copper

22.6 - 140 g/t silver

0.25% - 4.08% zinc

Hole # 6 (BPH-06) reached a depth of 3.35 meters and was more limited in depth because the drill bit hit a very hard quartz vein, which stopped drilling progress. The entire length of the 3.35 meters drilled was mineralized. It was sampled in three lengths of just over 1m each and returned values in the following ranges:

1.83 - 11.65 g/t gold

0.59% - 3.33% copper

89.3 - 122 g/t silver

6.51% - 18.35% zinc

The drill holes in the Historic Mining Zone and the potential trajectory of the associated mineralized system are pictured in Figure 3 below.





Figure 3. Backpack drill holes picture, data and the potential trajectory of the associated mineralized system

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8796/164398_img.jpg

Hole From To UTM Zone Easting Northing Elev Azmuth Dip BPH-01 0m 6.1m 10N 442034 5412826 422 115 -46 BPH-02 0m 3.15m 10N 442036 5412832 423 160 -50 BPH-04 0m 5.25m 10N 442031 5412826 422 190 44 BPH-05 0m 2.1m 10N 442029 5412820 423 302 75 BPH-06 0m 3.25m 10N 442042 5412835 424 84 55

Backpack Drilling Details - Battery Ridge Zone

Hole # 3 (BPH-03) was drilled in the Battery Ridge Zone, just a few meters off an access road for that area. This hole made it down 4.25 meters before reaching its effective limit - the drill began to get stuck due to what appears to be a heavier clay component in the ground in this area. The entire length of the drill core contained zinc-rich, semi-massive and massive sulphide mineralization. The drill hole ended in rock analyzed to contain greater than 10% zinc with enriched nickel, phosphorous and chromium. The drill hole was sampled in four consecutive lengths of just over 1m each, returning values in the following ranges:

0.18 - 0.20 g/t gold

0.23% - 0.47% copper

6.5% - 10.8% Zinc

Surface Sampling to Guide Future Backpack Drilling

As the Company continues to explore the economic potential of the waste rock, the Company also plans to begin stepping out these first backpack drill holes to try and better define the size and scope of some of the mineralized areas occurring right at surface. Moreover, the Company will also seek to define other areas of surface mineralization in the immediate vicinity of the waste rock piles.

Other samples taken from surface showings in the "structural corridor" as depicted in Figure 1 above include:

Table 1: Mount Sicker Surface Samples

Sample # Cu (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Area S4 18.50% 0.15% 0.13 28.3 Copper Canyon S5 12.90% trace 0.19 67.6 Copper Canyon S6 18.65% 0.83 1.25 119 Copper Canyon 9.4 3.10% trace trace trace Copper Canyon 1.5 5.60% trace trace trace Copper Canyon 2.5 3.40% trace trace trace Copper Canyon 3.9 9.50% 9.20% 6.0 212 Historic Mining Zone (HMZ) S046 10.50% 10.15% 2.61 133 Historic Mining Zone (HMZ) S047 4.76% 9.79% 20.1 174 Historic Mining Zone (HMZ) S015 0.47% 7.78% 0.28 3.1 Battery Ridge S052 0.60% 13.45% 0.87 47.1 Richard III Waste Rock S064 1.35% 0.08% 0.11 6.7 HMZ CC Corridor S006 6.48% 0.09% 0.33 20.9 HMZ CC Corridor S010 3.49% 3.56% 0.57 40.5 HMZ CC Corridor S048 5.34% 0.293% 11.55 41 HMZ CC Corridor





These and other surface showings will be further investigated in order to attempt to get a more complete grasp of the size and scope of accessible surface mineralization at or near the waste rock sites on Mount Sicker. It is possible that such surface occurrences may add to the potential economics of any waste rock processing, should that become a viable option for the Company going forward.

Table 2: Mount Sicker Backpack Drilling Samples Summary

BP Hole Sample_ID Cu % Zn % Au g/t Ag g/t Target Area BPH-01 H619109 6.8 3.07 8.32 124 Historic Mining Zone BPH-01 H619110 4.19 6.77 9.72 98.8 BPH-01 H619111 5.13 4.83 11.25 124 BPH-01 H619112 7.2 2.28 10.1 141 BPH-01 H619113 9.55 2.57 9.9 142 BPH-02 H619114 1.63 12 2.22 69 Historic Mining Zone BPH-02 H619115 2.8 10.15 4.17 89.9 BPH-02 H619116 1.84 14.95 3.73 91.7 BPH-03 H619117 0.4 8.66 0.18 3.8 Battery Ridge BPH-03 H619118 0.37 8.64 0.2 4.3 BPH-03 H619119 0.47 6.51 0.18 3.8 BPH-03 H619120 0.23 10.85 0.18 2.5 BPH-04 DDHS5-1 9.43 2.84 11.3 140 Historic Mining Zone BPH-04 DDHS5-2 4.05 12.3 12.7 144 BPH-04 DDHS5-3 2.79 12.45 9.87 120 BPH-04 DDHS5-4 1.585 16.5 7.97 111 BPH-04 DDHS5-5 1.585 19.1 6.47 109 BPH-04 DDHS5-6 7.55 7.48 12.1 147 BPH-05 DDHS6-1 0.826 0.246 0.63 22.6 Historic Mining Zone BPH-05 DDHS6-2 6.94 4.08 6.31 140 BPH-06 DDHS7-1 1.8 17.9 2.23 122 Historic Mining Zone BPH-06 DDHS7-2 1.35 13.15 11.65 102 BPH-06 DDHS7-3 0.587 18.35 1.83 90.3 BPH-06 DDHS7-4 3.33 11.6 2.63 89.3



Readers are cautioned that the backpack drill holes reported above as well as the chip samples listed above may not be representative of the grades and continuity of mineralization that may ultimately occur around them - a complete list of samples taken and lab analyzed at Mount Sicker since 2010 has been reproduced on our website, and many of those are also fully described in our NI 43-101 Technical Report dated May 15, 2022 ("43-101 Report"), which is also available on our website and in our disclosure record on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Waste Rock

The Company is also pleased to report that a team from Tetra Tech Engineering Services is expected to be conducting a site visit at Mount Sicker at some point this week. The team will be using this site visit to assess the potential for the processing of waste rock and surface mineralization at Mount Sicker and make some recommendations. For more information about the waste rock potential at Mount Sicker please see our press release from January 18, 2023, entitled "Sasquatch Resources Highlights Waste Rock Opportunity at its Mount Sicker Property" and please also feel free to enjoy the video link below:

Sasquatch Waste Rock Video

Qualified Person

Graham Leroux, M.Sc., P. Geo, a "Qualified Person" for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific or technical information included in this news release. Mr. Leroux has verified the information disclosed by reviewing all of the drilling results, and there were no limits on the verification process. Further scientific or technical information in this document respecting the Mount Sicker Property is based on an independent geological report titled "Technical Report for the Mount Sicker Property" (an NI 43-101 compliant report) dated May 15, 2022 prepared by Jacques Houle, P.Eng.

About the Company

Sasquatch Resources Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on its Mount Sicker Property in southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or contact the Company by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 778.999.7030.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Peter Smith

Chief Executive Officer

778.999.7030

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect, including with respect to the Company's business plans respecting the exploration and development of the Mount Sicker Property, the proposed work program on the Mount Sicker Property and the potential and economic viability of the Mount Sicker Property. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164398
ScottHall.co, the company of Scott Hall, a New York-based content marketing and software expert, has launched a new guide for SMEs who are curious as to how new AI technology can help them increase sales and brand awareness through social media marketing.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Available on the ScottHall.co website, the new guide to the benefits of AI content tools provides business owners with information on what AI for social media is, how it works and how it can be a positive force for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) competing in a global marketplace.

Further details are available at https://scotthall.co/the-benefits-of-using-ai-content-tools-for-social-media-marketing

ScottHall.co Launches New Guide on AI Content Tools for Social Media Marketing

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The newly released AI content tool guide, designed to enable small businesses to enhance their social media marketing, comes as digital marketers adjust their best practice advice in the wake of new AI-powered software. The fast-evolving world of digital content marketing has left many businesses confused about how best to incorporate AI into their marketing strategies, explains ScottHall.co.

"Many business owners are keen to engage the vast resources that AI can offer," says Scott Hall, who has written extensively on the AI-enabled tools that SMEs can use to boost their company's profile online. "Things are changing so fast, however, and it leaves people asking a lot of questions: how does it all work? How do I go about getting the best results? Do the benefits actually outweigh the time and money it will take to invest in this new tech? My new guide addresses all these issues, clearly and in plain English - no fancy jargon - so even someone without a tech or marketing background can understand and apply what they learn."

As discussed in the guide, the latest AI-powered tools use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to analyze consumer behavior patterns and current trends. This is then combined with data points collected through social media platforms and adapted to create a more personalized customer experience for the designated target audience.

The ability to measure, evaluate and respond to campaign results in real-time with AI analytics software creates unprecedented opportunities for businesses to adapt and engage with their customers quickly to maximize customer satisfaction. This, in turn, can lead to increased sales and brand awareness.

However, ScottHall.co's practical guide also focuses on the limitations of AI-driven social media content marketing. Itl emphasizes the need for human oversight, discusses the disadvantages of AI, and whether online search engines could flag AI-created content to the detriment of a company's public image.

"AI has reached the stage where it's possible to learn your voice; how your company presents itself. It gives the illusion of personal 'hand-crafted' content that speaks directly to your customers. But that only works if it is 100% believable: nobody likes to feel duped," explains Scott Hall. "The guide goes in depth into the possible pitfalls of AI social media marketing and how to mitigate them. I also discuss the tools that SMEs can apply to their content marketing; how to select the best ones for the job and how to use them effectively."

Interested parties can access Scott Hall's guide to The Benefits of Using AI Content Tools For Social Media Marketing at https://scotthall.co/the-benefits-of-using-ai-content-tools-for-social-media-marketing

Contact Info:

Name: Scott Hall

Email: [email protected]

Organization: ScottHall.co

Address: 60 West 23rd St. Suite 638, New York, NY 10010, United States

Website: https://scotthall.co

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164062
Joining forces with other exploration, technology and finance companies in a collaborative effort to increase the chances of success

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - TEAKO MINERALS CORP. (CSE: TMIN) (the "Company" or "Teako"), is pleased to announce the creation of The Service Alliance. Valence Mining Services ("Valence"), established by Teako Minerals Corp. (See April 25, 2023 news release), will play a pivotal role in hosting The Service Alliance. The Service Alliance is a key strategy to increase the chances of success by leveraging the strengths of other exploration, technology and finance companies and creating an environment of shared knowledge and resources. The Service Alliance currently boasts eleven (11) exploration companies, three (3) technology companies, and two (2) financing companies (collectively, "Service Alliance Members").

The key aims of The Service Alliance are:

To maximize collaboration with other exploration, finance and technology companies to increase innovation within the mining sector; and

To share technical skills amongst Service Alliance Members.





Illustration 1 - Current Service Alliance Members:



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8258/164356_3038e7a7048aaa7f_001full.jpg

Exploration Companies: 1844 Resources: (TSXV: EFF), Capella Minerals: (TSXV: CMIL), Commander Resources: (TSXV: CMD), District Metals: (TSXV: DMX), EGR Exploration: (TSXV: EGR), Ekometall Exploration Ltd.: (Private), FinEx Metals: (Private), Pegasus Resources: (TSXV: PEGA), Playfair Mining: (TSXV: PLY), Sego Resources: (TSXV: SGZ), andTeako Minerals (CSE: TMIN)

Technology Companies : Junior Mining Hub: (Private), KorrAI Technologies: (Private), and The Coring Company: (Private)

Financing Companies: Axino Capital: (Private), and FEx Group: (Private)

About The Service Alliance:

The Service Alliance is a strategic business initiative that leverages the benefits of collaboration with other like-minded exploration companies and industries. Service Alliance Members will seek potential synergies with respect to marketing and procurement and facilitate the sharing of best practices. The Service Alliance will provide an opportunity to review and test new applications between exploration companies and technology focused members.



Illustration 2 - About The Service Alliance (read more here)



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8258/164356_3038e7a7048aaa7f_002full.jpg

About the Service Alliance Members:

Company Name HQ Location Ticker Symbol Exchange Website 1844 Resources Canada EFF TSX-V www.1844resources.com Axino Capital Switzerland N/A N/A www.axino.com Capella Minerals Canada CMIL TSX-V www.capellaminerals.com Commander Resources Canada CMD TSX-V www.commanderresources.com District Metals Canada DMX TSX-V www.districtmetals.com EGR Exploration Canada EGR TSX-V www.egrexploration.com Ekometall Exploration Austria N/A N/A www.emexploration.at Fex Group Austria N/A N/A www.fruchtexpress.at FinEx Metals Canada N/A N/A www.finexmetals.net Junior Mining Hub Canada N/A N/A www.juniormininghub.com KorrAI Canada N/A N/A www.korrai.com Pegasus Resources Canada PEGA TSX-V www.pegasusresourcesinc.com Playfair Mining Canada PLY TSX-V www.playfairmining.com Sego Resources Canada SGZ TSX-V www.segoresources.com Teako Minerals Canada TMIN CSE www.teakominerals.com The Coring Company Norway N/A N/A www.thecoring.com



About Teako Minerals Corp.:

Teako Minerals Corp., is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a focus on creating shareholder value through exploration, acquisition, and development of mineral projects while being committed to bringing in creative innovative approaches and methodologies on a corporate and explorative level.

ON BEHALF OF TEAKO MINERALS CORP.

Sven Gollan

Chief Executive Officer

T: +43 5522 500429

E: [email protected]

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) Valence will play a pivotal role in hosting The Service Alliance, (b) participating Service Alliance Members will seek potential synergies with respect to marketing and procurement and facilitate the sharing of best practices, and (c) The Service Alliance will provide an opportunity to review and test new applications between exploration companies and technology focused members. 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/164356
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 1, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) In anticipation of Mental Health Awareness Month this May, Soberlink, the leading alcohol monitoring technology for documenting proof of sobriety, is excited to launch its inspiring Proof is Powerful initiative. This campaign aims to emphasize the life-changing impact of proving sobriety in healing relationships and bolstering confidence during the recovery process.

By sharing the moving stories of Soberlink clients who have successfully rebuilt their lives and relationships, the Proof is Powerful initiative brings attention to the significance of the little green checkmarks on a Soberlink calendar. As individuals demonstrate their commitment to sobriety, they progressively restore trust with their loved ones, creating a supportive environment for enduring recovery. The campaign poses the question: Can something as simple as proving sobriety truly be the key to unlocking this healing process?

Grant, a former Soberlink client, witnessed this transformative power firsthand. Initially hesitant to use Soberlink, Grant soon recognized the positive impact it had on his relationships with those around him. By documenting and proving his sobriety through Soberlink, Grant was able to regain trust, mend relationships, and renew his dedication to a healthier, sober life, along with a rewarding new career.

For me, Soberlink was a crucial accountability tool. It was the guardrail that kept me from veering off the road to recovery, says Grant. Soberlink also provided evidence of change that helped me regain the trust of my family. With the help of Soberlink and other support, I learned that recovery was not only possible but also enjoyable and rewarding. So much so that it inspired a career change and led me to work for an organization whose mission is to help people struggling with alcohol and drug use disorders find quality treatment appropriate for their needs.

For more on Grants story, click here: https://www.shatterproof.org/blog/my-journey-through-alcohol-addiction

Aligned with the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Month, Soberlinks Proof is Powerful initiative strives to shift the conversation around proving sobriety by showcasing its potential to heal, rebuild, and empower those in recovery. The campaign aims to promote a supportive and empathetic environment for individuals on their path to sobriety.

LEARN MORE: https://www.soberlink.com/proof-is-powerful

About Soberlink:

Soberlink is the leading remote alcohol monitoring technology company that provides documented proof of sobriety. The companys technology includes a portable breathalyzer device and a cloud-based system that monitors and reports sobriety in real-time. Soberlinks strives to support individuals on their recovery journey by providing a technology that promotes accountability, builds trust, and empowers lasting recovery. The Proof is Powerful initiative is just one example of Soberlinks commitment to promoting a supportive and empathetic environment for those in recovery.

To learn more about Soberlink and its products, visit https://www.soberlink.com/.

MULTIMEDIA:

Image link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/23-0501-s2p-soberlink-300dpi.jpg

Image caption: Soberlinks Advanced Reporting shows colored icons in calendar format, helping people celebrate the small wins and provide tangible proof of sobriety to loved ones.

NEWS SOURCE: Soberlink



This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Soberlink), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire.

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/embrace-the-power-of-proof-how-documenting-sobriety-can-restore-relationships-and-boost-confidence-in-addiction-recovery-for-mental-health-awareness-month/

Copr.  2023 Send2Press Newswire, a service of NEOTROPE, Calif., USA. -- REF: S2P STORY ID: 90305SI.03
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee , U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers join CEOs from Alaska and ZeroAvia to launch retrofitting of aircraft

ZeroAvia unveils world's most advanced electric motor technology for aviation, paving way for hydrogen-electric engines for Dash 8 and similar airframes

EVERETT, Wash. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines today presented a Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop to ZeroAvia that will be retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system in an effort to expand the reach and applicability of zero emissions flight technology.

At an event, held at ZeroAvia's Paine Field research and development site, the companies were joined by high school students from Raisbeck Aviation High School, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee , Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to participate in the formal handover of the 76-seat Q400 aircraft that will be developed by ZeroAvia, the U.S. -headquartered leader in designing and building zero-emission, hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems for aircraft.

When Alaska Airlines' regional carrier Horizon Air retired its Q400 fleet, it reserved one of the aircraft for research and development purposes to further advance zero emissions technology for the aviation industry. The aircraft was repainted with a special livery to highlight the innovative mission of this partnership.

ZeroAvia also debuted its breakthrough multi-megawatt modular electric motor system in a 1.8MW prototype configuration at the event - demonstrated with a propeller spin aboard the ZeroAvia's 15-ton HyperTruck ground-test rig. Combined with higher temperature PEM fuel cells and advanced power electronics - both technologies that ZeroAvia is developing in-house - the leading-edge electric motor technology is one of three key building blocks for enabling commercially-relevant hydrogen fuel cell engines for larger aircraft.

"This is a great step forward in aviation innovation, to help create a new future of flight  right here at home," said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci . "Alaska Airlines has defined a five-part journey to achieve net zero carbon emissions long-term, but we can't get there alone. New technologies are required to make that future possible, and we're thrilled to partner with industry leader ZeroAvia to make new zero emissions options a reality."

Aligning ZeroAvia's powertrain with the Dash 8-400 airframe will represent a commercially viable zero-emission aircraft with fuel cell engine technology around five times more powerful than what has been demonstrated anywhere to date.

"Demonstrating this size of aircraft in flight, powered entirely by novel propulsion, would have been unthinkable a few years ago," said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. "Launching this program puts us on track for a test flight next year, and accelerates our progress toward the future of zero-emission flight for Alaska Airlines and for the world at large."

ZeroAvia's recent advancements clear the way for a potential flight of the Q400, also recognized as the Dash 8-400, but also demonstrate rapid progress toward certification of the ZA2000 propulsion system. ZeroAvia has already demonstrated a track-record of world-first flight testing. In January, ZeroAvia flew a retrofitted 19-seat aircraft with its prototype 600kW hydrogen-electric engine (ZA600). This followed the demonstration flight of a 250kW system in 2020, which at the time of flight was the world's largest aircraft flown using a novel zero-emission power source.

ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric engine uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel, before using that electricity to power electric motors which turn the aircraft propellers. The certifiable ZA2000 system will include ZeroAvia's High Temperature PEM fuel cells and liquid hydrogen fuel storage, integral to delivering the necessary energy density for commercial operations of large regional turboprops. The company has already established an engineering partnership with De Havilland of Canada , the original manufacturer of the Dash 8 family of aircraft to enable exchange of data and expertise with the airframe.

In 2021, Alaska Airlines launched a partnership and invested in ZeroAvia to support the development of zero emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. As the fifth largest U.S. airline with a large regional network, Alaska has a unique opportunity to support the development of zero-emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. By establishing the viability of regional-sized aircraft, both companies will help advance zero-emissions technology across the industry.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said: "Our state has a rich history of leadership in aerospace and we're proud to be at the center of a technological revolution in zero-emission flight. Through innovation and partnerships like the one demonstrated today, we can help write the next chapter of aviation history right here in Washington State ."

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) said: "As we work to meet our emissions reduction goals, we must prioritize decarbonizing the commercial transportation sector. Washington state is leading the nation in developing and deploying clean energy technologies and the Alaska Airlines-ZeroAvia partnership is a prime example. This collaboration could revolutionize the aviation industry to make our planes greener and our skies cleaner."

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said: "As a leader in supporting innovative industries, and as the center of aerospace manufacturing in Washington state , Snohomish County is proud to support this partnership and the development of the next generation of aviation technology, driving both job growth and environmental sustainability."

HyperCore Motor

The 1.8MW motor configuration demonstrated today consists of two "HyperCore" motor modules, each a high-power, high-speed 900kW permanent magnet radial flux machine which operates at 20,000 rpm, matching the typical turbine engine power turbine speeds, providing an unprecedented 15kW/kg motor power density. Crucially, HyperCore's modular design enables the technology to address applications ranging from 900kW up to 5.4MW, meeting a number of regional turbo-prop and regional jet requirements. The HyperCores were successfully integrated with the stock Dash 8-400 engine gearbox and propeller, which dramatically simplifies integration into the aircraft as a replacement for a stock turbine engine.

The development and testing program will enable the understanding and measurement of system dynamics, calibration of physical and electrical models, and validation of thermal management systems. The company is concurrently developing world-class silicone-carbide power electronics and the matching hydrogen fuel cell systems, which convert hydrogen to electricity, powering the electric propulsion system. These systems will be brought together to create the full hydrogen-electric propulsion system, tested on the ground and then in the air.

About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation as the initially targeting a 300-mile range in 919 seat aircraft by 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 4080 seat aircraft by 2027. Based in the US and the UK , ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its three prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs, secured $10B in pre-orders from a number of the major global airlines, and is on track for commercial operations in 2025. The company's expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK's Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK , and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Government's Jet Zero Council. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States , Belize , Canada , Costa Rica and Mexico . We strive to be the most caring airline with award-winning customer service and an industry-leading loyalty program. As a member of the oneworld alliance, and with our additional global partners, our guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 25 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and follow @alaskaairnews for news and stories. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

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SOURCE ZeroAvia
The world is awaiting the major Ukrainian counteroffensive that is expected to be launched in May or June. The outcome on the battlefield, the territory that Kyiv might be able to reconquer and the state of the Russian occupation will determine whether the war waged by the Kremlin 14 months ago could be resolved through a negotiated settlement in the medium term. While the West is supporting the besieged country through military aid, China has stepped into the diplomatic arena so as not to be kept out of the international political action that will dictate the future of the conflict. Chinese President Xi Jinping entered the scene on Wednesday after a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The call, the first since the invasion began, lasted around an hour and was arranged on Zelenskys invitation, according to the official accounts published by Beijing. These accounts usually highlight the details of who dials the number and who picks up the receiver. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution, Xi assured his counterpart. He also warned of the risks of conflict, portrayed China as an impartial country and appealed for restraint. There are no winners in nuclear war.

During the conversation, the Chinese president stressed the importance of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity represents the political basis for Sino-Ukrainian relations, a statement that would seem to be intended to calm the diplomatic turmoil sparked the previous week by Chinas ambassador to France. In a television interview, the diplomatic official questioned the sovereignty of the former Soviet republics, as well as that of the Baltic countries and Ukraine, and Crimeas belonging to the country. Crimea was unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2014.

An ever-growing number of international rumblings suggest that the loss of Crimea is now an inevitable prerequisite to Russias willingness to sit down at the negotiating table. Brazil President Lula da Silva is championing the idea of an alliance of countries to reach a diplomatic solution to the war and believes Beijing would play a key mediating role. In an interview with EL PAIS on Thursday, he stated that the end of the conflict will depend on Ukraine regaining its territorial integrity and Russia retaining its territory. Russia has been in Crimea for a long time, Russia has invaded other territories. I do not know what Zelensky will settle for in terms of an agreement, nor Vladimir Putin. Putin is not going to allow NATO to settle on his borders. Zelensky is not going to want outsiders to remain in Ukraine. Only those on the outside can help engineer a way to stop this war, he said.

In Brussels, Xis call to Zelensky is regarded with some skepticism. The European Commission has defined the conversation as an important first step although a somewhat delayed one from Beijing. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, or a stepped-up Russian offensive, which will pave the way for subsequent developments and the strength of each side. Until this occurs, there will be no dialogue initiative, according to several allied sources. Frances President Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU Commission, set this conversation with Zelensky as a condition for Xi to shape Europes future relations with the Asian powerhouse. This is at a time when the EU is reassessing whether the terms used to define China (partner, competitor and systemic rival) should be changed within the relationship or, rather, the order in which they are classified.

A group of European countries, including France, believe that China remains a key player to do business with. Others, such as the Baltic states and Sweden, view Beijing and the EUs dependence on its products with enormous suspicion, and lean closer to Washingtons position, which is engaged in a trade war with the giant Asian nation. The first group includes those who believe that Xi could have an influence on Putin, with whom he maintains a healthy relationship  although increasingly inclined towards Beijings dominance  and with whom he is seeking to move towards a new era free from the Wests predominance. This influence is likely to bring about a move by Moscow that would facilitate dialogue, while at the same time offering Kyiv certain security guarantees in exchange for some concessions.

However, the main stumbling block is that none of the participants in the war intends to renounce its military objectives: Russias primary aim is to conquer the entire territory of the provinces unilaterally annexed in September  even without the recognition of the international community  and Ukraines stance requires the immediate departure of the occupants from its land.

Beijing Representative

Xi conveyed to Zelensky his intention to send the Chinese governments special representative on Eurasian Affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries, to engage in comprehensive discussions with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The designated representative is Li Hui, a diplomat with a distinguished career, who served from 2009 to 2019 as Chinese ambassador to Russia, a 10-year period marked by the reconciliation between the two powers. Beijings state-run press has leapt to the defense of Chinas mediation efforts, which come after the Asian giants recent positioning as a potential dialogue facilitator: first, in February, with the presentation of a document (not a peace plan) for the political solution to the crisis (Beijing never calls the conflict a war); second, by playing the role of mediator in the never-ending quagmire of the Middle East, enabling the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in March.

The Asian giant is seeking to demonstrate that it exercises an increasingly important role in the geopolitical theater, and that it is also in control of the timing: in early April, during the visit to Beijing of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Xi assured her that he would call Zelensky when the conditions and the time were right. A frantic diplomatic offensive, in which Xi has met with Putin and several EU chiefs, has led the Chinese leader to pick up the phone.

In the call, the Chinese president discussed with his Ukrainian counterpart the need to take advantage of a juncture at which there are more and more rational reflections and voices seeking a political solution. From the Chinese perspective, something has indeed shifted. For a long time, the conditions for peace talks have not existed, said Xu Poling, director of the Russian Economic Office of the Institute for East European, Russian and Central Asian Studies within the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In his opinion, the unfolding of the conflict has been controlled by the United States and its support for Ukraine to continue fighting.

Distrust in the EU and NATO

In the light of the lessons learned from Russias war in Ukraine, after years of European pragmatism towards the Kremlin, Xis steps are widely distrusted in the EU and even more so in NATO. According to EU sources, China also has its own interests in terms of geopolitics, its image and even in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the conflict. Lets not forget that Beijing has not condemned the invasion, pointed out a Western diplomat, who stressed that China has not distanced itself from the idea that its stance  and its position paper on the war  is much closer to that of Russia. Kyiv has not lost support in the EU, not even the crisis of Ukrainian grain entering the bloc without tariffs  which caused the first rifts due to protests from Eastern countries over the commercial impact on their markets  has fragmented unity. However, it is increasingly difficult to enforce sanctions against Russia. Additionally, there are mounting delays in the delivery of promised ammunition to Kyiv and the Union has lost leverage to continue to take major decisions.

The West has begun to question whether to continue the war and support Ukraine, argued Xu. Xis initiative also comes at a time when China has emerged from the lethargy of the pandemic and the zero Covid-19 policy with global aspirations. With Chinas growing power and scale and the transformation of the world into a multipolar dynamic, [Beijing] has stepped up its efforts to uphold the world order and resolve regional geopolitical issues through increased participation and responsibility, concluded Xu.

Sources close to the office of Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told this newspaper in March that they have detected a progressive lack of interest in the war among European public opinion since last summer. The same sources pointed out that this situation may prompt the EU governments to start pressing for the opening of diplomatic channels. The problem may become even greater because disengagement from the conflict is also apparent among the Ukrainian population located at a distance from the frontline. This is what Zelensky himself has warned of in several speeches, but it was also observed on April 21 during the Kharkov Security Conference held by Denys Ganzha, political scientist and founder of the Ukrainian Public Diplomacy Platform.

Lowering expectations

Despite the growing exhaustion of the population, there will be no significant diplomatic steps in Kyivs allied countries until the spring counteroffensive begins. Since January the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been mounting what is to be their biggest offensive operation of the war. For this operation they have reserved the best armament received from the ranks of NATO countries along with their best troops.

Nevertheless, Kyivs allies have doubts about the extent of the success of this offensive because Russias defenses are now much more robust. This was underlined by secret Pentagon documents leaked this month, which confirmed that there are fears in the United States that progress will come far short of expectations. Last week, POLITICO reported that there are more and more calls in the White House for a negotiating plan to be drafted if the counteroffensive proves unsuccessful.

The U.S. State Department has refrained from officially reacting to the revelations of these documents and has stuck to the official position: The United States will continue to support our Ukrainian partners and help them defend their territorial integrity and sovereignty for however long is necessary.

Regarding the possibility of negotiations, U.S. diplomacy indicates that President Zelensky himself has been unequivocal that this will ultimately have to end through a negotiated solution, but that it has to be on the Ukrainians terms. It is irresponsible to put these two countries, Russia and Ukraine, on the same level. One is trying to remove the borders of the other, and the other is trying to fight for its life, according to Vedant Patel, State Department spokesman.

The U.S. government skeptically welcomed the peace plan outlined by China last month, and the official stance has once again been voiced by the National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby: The only agreement that we feel is worthwhile is the one that President Zelensky believes to be.

The Ukrainian government is fully aware that its partners credit may run out. Its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, warned in March in The Financial Times that it was necessary to lower expectations regarding the counter-offensive because it could transmit the message to the international community that after this operation, little more will be achieved by military means. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov reiterated the same sentiment on Thursday: There is too much enthusiasm regarding expectations about the counteroffensive.

Authorities in Kyiv do not want to back down now in the face of attacks against its population and its territory, strongly condemned by the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community. Nobody in Ukraine advocates negotiating anything with Russia that does not first require the withdrawal of its troops from the invaded territories. However, Kuleba pointed out in an interview with EL PAIS in July 2022 that there are other options on the table. This time, the Foreign Minister assured that it is conceivable that Ukraine will one day join the EU with Russia still occupying part of its territory, as is the case with Cyprus, a member of the European Union despite its territorial sovereignty being under military dispute with Turkey.

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MINNEAPOLIS and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For five decades, Data Sales Co. has been at the forefront of innovation, providing cutting-edge technology solutions and lease financing options to businesses across a wide range of industries.

We are committed to innovating and providing the best possible solutions to help our clients succeed.

On May 1, 2023 , Data Sales Co. will conclude its 50th year in business. Data Sales celebrated the year, at our Burnsville, MN headquarters with customer, family and employee events as well as met its 500-hour "Give Back" volunteer initiative, a continuation of previous company programs. Through this paid time off, nearly 100 employees worked 500 hours to benefit the local communities and neighbors of both Burnsville, MN and Scottsdale , AZ.

About Data Sales Co.

Founded in 1973 by Ron Breckner , Data Sales Co. grew from a home office in Burnsville, MN to a nationwide finance, technology leasing and IT equipment provider with an international presence.

What started as a company brokering IBM mainframe equipment, expanded into a full-service dealer providing reconfigured, recertified systems and parts while offering technical, financial and transportation services with its fleet of local and over-the-road trucks. In addition to the 200,000 square feet of office-warehouse located in Burnsville MN , Data Sales also operates out of Scottsdale, Arizona .

Today, Data Sales provides a specialized lease finance product that focuses on young, fast-growing companies requiring large amounts of IT hardware. Customers include those providing services over the internet such as Hosting, Cloud, and Managed Services across the globe.

In addition, Data Sales is an ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certified company providing an IT Disposition Service (ITAD) solution for businesses looking for a secure, confident partner to recycle IT hardware.

Data Sales has facilities in Burnsville, MN , Scottsdale, AZ and subsidiaries in Canada and the Netherlands .

According to Paul Breckner (CEO):

"We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone and look forward to many more years of success," said Paul Breckner , CEO. "We owe our longevity to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as the loyalty of our customers. We are committed to innovating and providing the best possible solutions to help our clients succeed. I would like to thank all our customers, partners, and employees for their support over the past 50 years. The company remains committed to delivering exceptional service and support to its clients and striving for success."

www.datasales.com.

Media Contact:

Heather Seurer

Data Sales Co.

[email protected]

1-800-328-2730

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SOURCE Data Sales Co., Inc.
RICHMOND, Va. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy Virginia submitted plans with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) today that, if approved, would provide $7 - $14 in monthly savings for the typical residential customer beginning July 1 . Additionally, the company filed its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

"We must keep our rates as affordable as possible, especially given the economic pressures affecting our customers," said Ed Baine , President of Dominion Energy Virginia. "Earlier this year we promised substantial rate relief for our customers. Thanks to bipartisan legislation and broad support from consumer advocates, we are delivering on that promise. This will provide immediate relief for our customers now and ongoing savings in the future."

The rate decrease was enabled by bipartisan legislation passed in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly, which requires the company to eliminate $350 million in stand-alone charges, known as riders. This would reduce the monthly bill for a typical residential customer by nearly $7 .

In addition, a separate proposal with the intent to securitize certain fuel costs will provide up to $7 a month in additional savings beginning July 1 . If approved by the SCC, fuel securitization would reduce the stand-alone fuel charge on customers' monthly bills by allowing the company to spread fuel costs over a multi-year period.

The monthly savings from both proposals will be partially offset by a $2.67 increase to the stand-alone transmission charge that, if approved, will go into effect on September 1 , resulting in net monthly savings of $4 - $11 for a typical residential customer.

Monthly savings are also expected for non-residential and business customers. Even before this rate decrease, Dominion Energy Virginia's rates were well below the national and regional averages.

Integrated Resource Plan

In a separate filing with the SCC, the company submitted its annual Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), detailing potential ways the company can serve its customers' growing electricity needs over the next 15 years. The IRP is not an application to build specific projects, but rather a long-term planning document based on current technology, market information and projections, and should be viewed in that context.

The latest forecast from the regional grid operator PJM indicates electricity demand in Dominion Energy Virginia's service area will grow significantly more over the next 15 years than it did over the last 15 years.

To reliably meet this unprecedented growth, the company will continue developing its industry-leading renewable portfolio as required by the Virginia Clean Economy Act, while preserving most of its current power stations until at least the late 2030s.

"This 'all of the above' approach ensures we can reliably serve our customers 'around-the-clock,' especially on the hottest and coldest days of the year," said Baine. "Our plan balances the benefits of renewables with the reliability of 'on-demand' power so we can meet the growing needs of our customers."

Going forward, the long-term IRP will evolve and continue to support a cleaner energy future supported by legislative and regulatory policies, technological advancements, and grid modernization.

View the Spanish version of this press release.

About Dominion Energy

About 7 million customers in 16 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

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SOURCE Dominion Energy
Powered by Finastra's cloud-based Fusion Phoenix, the bank will better deliver on its commitment to strength and reliability as it continues to grow

LAKE MARY, Fla. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra today announced that First Citizens Bank of Iowa and Minnesota , a family-owned community bank headquartered in Mason City, Iowa , has expanded its collaboration with Finastra, migrating Finastra's Fusion Phoenix core solution from on-site hosted to the cloud. The bank will leverage its new core capabilities to adapt to emerging opportunities, increase operational efficiencies, and automate internal processes, enabling it to better deliver an enhanced customer experience.

"For almost three decades, First Citizens has trusted the team at Finastra to power our operations through their innovative solutions, helping us stay one step ahead as banking technology has evolved over time," said Joleen Fleming , Chief Operations and Retail Officer at First Citizens Bank. "As we continue to grow, Finastra has the experience and stability we can trust to help deliver better banking across the communities we serve. We're looking forward to unlocking innovation and increasing efficiencies so we can focus even more closely on delivering financial well-being for everyone."

First Citizens Bank required a core banking solution adaptable to a fast-moving and ever-evolving market. Available in the cloud via Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, Fusion Phoenix gives financial institutions faster access to innovation, transformation at scale, accelerated time to market, and a low-cost path to innovation and open banking, something 68% of financial institutions in the United States see as essential, according to Finastra's Financial Services State of the Nation Survey.

Enabled by the cloud migration, the bank will achieve increased operational efficiencies through reduced back-office resources and architecture, allowing the bank to focus on the customer experience more closely.

"For generations, First Citizens Bank has trusted Finastra to power its growth and to be a reliable and innovative partner," said Keith Redding , Chief Revenue Officer, Universal Banking at Finastra. "Fusion Phoenix's open model gives the bank the flexibility it needs to compete with the larger banks while quickly adapting to emerging opportunities and enabling exceptional service."

In addition to Fusion Phoenix, First Citizens has previously selected Finastra for ancillary solutions including lending capabilities, item processing, and ECM cold storage.

About Finastra

Finastra is a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, and launched the leading open platform for innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, in 2017. It serves institutions of all sizes, providing award-winning software solutions and services across Lending, Payments, Treasury & Capital Markets and Universal Banking (Retail, Digital and Commercial Banking) for banks to support direct banking relationships and grow through indirect channels, such as embedded finance and Banking as a Service. Its pioneering approach and commitment to open finance and collaboration is why it is trusted by ~8,600 institutions, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com

North American headquarters

744 Primera Boulevard

Suite 2000

Lake Mary, FL 32746

United States

T: +1 800 989 9009

Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1916021/FINASTRA_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE Finastra
The new OPPO Find N2 Flip puts an industry-leading cover screen into palms and pockets of users

The phone features a vertical cover screen, and its design is sleek, elegant, and lightweight despite the advanced folding mechanism

The cover screen unlocks many experiences such as imaging, time-saving tools, and personalization, including always-on display, interactive pets, and smart widgets

OPPO has released a major software update that includes a new Spotify Widget and a Speech-to-Text quick reply feature for messaging apps, as part of its commitment to ongoing device improvements

DUBAI, UAE , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global technology brand OPPO's newest Find N2 Flip boasts an industry-leading cover screen that sets a new standard in the foldable phone market.

OPPO's engineers understood that to maximize the cover screen's potential, they needed to find the right balance. It had to be the right size and proportions, and the rest of the phone's design couldn't distract from it. OPPO achieved this perfect balance with the Find N2 Flip, resulting in a truly remarkable phone with the largest cover screen of its kind. The cover screen also features powerful widgets and displays meaningful information, making it unnecessary to open the phone constantly.

Design

OPPO's designers have been developing folding devices since 2018. By experimenting with its own folding technologies, and assessing other flip phones, they reached some conclusions: a big screen is better than a small screen, a square screen is better than a round screen, and a vertical screen is better than a horizontal screen.

OPPO decided to commit to vertical cover screens on its flip phone, with the Find N2 Flip's cover screen designed as a 3.26", 17:9 vertical layout. This is the only vertical cover screen in the industry that is so similar to the screen ratio of the main screen and conventional straight-screen phones.

Looking at the Find N2 Flip, its design doesn't shout or pull focus from the cover screen. From its sleek styling to the subtle camera rings, and micro-arc body elegantly curving around the front and back, its aesthetic eliminates noise. The Find N2 Flip is also lightweight despite being made of premium materials  polished aluminium around the frame and treated, fingerprint-resistant glass on the back. Even the Find N2 Flip's subtle waveform pattern that appears as light hits the hinge, looks tasteful.

Weighing just 191g, the Find N2 Flip is light and measures just 7.45mm when open, the phone is very sleek but still feels robust. Considering that folding phones have movable parts and hinges that add weight to the device, it would be expected for them to be even heavier. However, OPPO has done an excellent job of refining and optimizing their Flexion Hinge technology, resulting in a folding phone that is surprisingly lighter than many traditional smartphones, despite its advanced folding mechanism.

Despite all the features packed into the pocketable Find N2 Flip, OPPO has achieved a remarkable level of outward simplicity in its overall design. From the expansive, vertical display, to the classical, simple camera layout, the cohesive, textured glass front and back, its polished metal sides, and the striking, yet subtle waveform pattern that appears as light hits the hinge.

Cover Screen Experiences

The Find N2 Flip's vertical display unlocks incredible images, time-saving tools, quick access to calls and messages, and plenty of scope to personalize users' experience.

Starting with imaging, the Find N2 Flip's cover screen is a giant leap forward for flip phone photography. It's large enough to offer a meaningful preview of photos and videos, allowing users to frame their selfies with confidence, and take them with the best camera on the device. The Find N2 Flip's cover screen also has the same orientation as the camera sensor. This is a game changer when it comes to image quality, reducing crop and unlocking every bit of detail from each pixel on the camera.

Thanks to the large, vertical layout, the Find N2 Flip displays more information, so users can preview more messages, and send quick replies across a range of apps. For example, users may view up to five messages of the same WhatsApp contact or group chat with their cover screen at the same time and use quick reply to quickly react. Tools are also available to help users stay productive without opening the phone such as set a timer, record a voice note, or check the weather with little more than a few swipes and a tap.

Users can also personalize the cover screen with an always-on display (AOD), showcasing the time or a fun Bitmoji sticker pack. Additionally, those who want a playful virtual companion can adopt one of five adorable Cover Screen Interactive Pets. From cute to laugh-out-loud funny, the Find N2 Flip also supports GIF wallpapers, so users can turn their phone into a meme dream.

The convenience of the cover display doesn't stop there. Possibly the most powerful element is its instant access to quick toggles. Smart Widgets that include Wifi, mobile data, flight mode, Bluetooth, notification alerts, do not disturb and power saving modes and the torch can all be turned on and off with a swipe down and a tap. And thanks to the size of the Find N2 Flip's cover screen, all these appear in a single page view so there's no need to swipe through an endless list of icons.

OPPO has released a major software update for Find N2 Flip UAE users, which includes a new Spotify Widget and a custom-built Speech-to-Text quick reply feature for messaging apps. The update improves the functionality of the phone's cover display, allowing users to control music and receive message notifications without unfolding the device. The update is the first significant one since the phone's launch in February 2023 and is part of OPPO's commitment to ongoing device improvements.

In summary, by taking a step back and adopting a unique flip phone philosophy, OPPO has created an uncompromising cover screen, and a uniquely balanced smartphone full of highlights and flourishes in the Find N2 Flip, setting a new benchmark for flip phone cover screens.

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.

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

All-new Dodge Hornet captures Crossover Utility Vehicle of Texas Award at Texas Automotive Writers Association Auto Roundup

Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost gives Dodge brand second of four TAWA title awards with Performance Vehicle of Texas win

All-new Dodge Hornet also earns Best New Interior, Best Value and Best New Feature awards

Chrysler Pacifica collects award in Minivan category for seventh consecutive year

Alfa Romeo Stelvio takes honors in Mid-Size CUV class

Stellantis lassoed multiple honors at the 2023 Texas Automotive Writers Association (TAWA) Auto Roundup , with Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Dodge brands bringing home a combined seven awards from the event, held March 26-28, 2023 , at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur , Texas.

The all-new Dodge Hornet impressed in its TAWA Auto Roundup debut, scoring the Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) of Texas title award. The newest entry in the Dodge brand's vehicle lineup also added honors for Best Value, Best New Interior and Best New Feature for the class-exclusive PowerShot feature, which supplies a burst of 30 horsepower for the Dodge Hornet R/T.

Dodge brand claimed a second of the four TAWA Auto Roundup title awards, with the 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost, one of the Dodge brand's "Last Call" special-edition models, taking the prestigious Performance Vehicle of Texas award.

The Chrysler brand continued its domination at the TAWA Auto Roundup, with the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid extending the brand's win streak to seven consecutive years in the Minivan category. Chrysler Pacifica is the most awarded minivan over the last six years with more than 170 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan.

TAWA voters also gave the Alfa Romeo Stelvio top honors in the Mid-Size CUV segment. Born from the world's greatest driving road, the Stelvio Pass , the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is the benchmark for performance SUVs.

"Congratulations to Stellantis for bringing home 2023 TAWA Auto Roundup awards in a number of categories," said Teia Collier , president of TAWA. "The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Dodge Hornet , Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio received well-deserved recognition from TAWA voters in attendance at our annual spring event."

Dodge Hornet

The all-new Dodge Hornet arrives ready to disrupt the status quo of the mainstream CUV segment with class-exclusive and best-in-class performance features that optimize multiple aspects of the vehicle, from powertrain to suspension, braking, steering and handling.

The Dodge Hornet GT is the quickest, fastest and most powerful utility vehicle with a starting MSRP of under $30,000 (excluding destination charge). Dodge Hornet R /T, the first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge, is the most powerful utility vehicle in the segment with 288 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque. For more information on the Dodge Hornet, visit Dodge.com.

Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost

The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Black Ghost is one of seven Dodge "Last Call" special-edition models that commemorate the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, which are coming to an end in their current HEMI-engine-powered forms at the end of 2023. The Dodge Challenger Black Ghost is a modern-day vision that channels the spirit of a muscle car that haunted metro Detroit's famed Woodward Avenue in the 1970s. Only 300 of the Black Ghost "Last Call" models will be produced, all as Pitch Black Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody vehicles.

Dodge has also launched a Horsepower Locator online tool to help Brotherhood of Muscle members make the "Last Call" for the model of their choice. The Dodge Horsepower Locator tool, as well as information on the brand's 24-month Never Lift plan, is available at DodgeGarage.com.

Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid

The Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid, the first and still the only plug-in hybrid in the segment, offers an all-electric range of more than 30 miles, more than 80 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) and a total range of more than 500 miles. The Pacifica Hybrid is also the only minivan eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, as well as any available state and local tax credits.

The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid can help charge the battery when braking or stopping using the built-in regenerative braking feature and is designed to offer a seamless driving experience, with no need for the driver to select between electric and hybrid modes. Chrysler Pacifica is also the most awarded minivan over the last six years with more than 170 honors and industry accolades since its introduction as a minivan. For more information on the Chrysler brand, visit Chrysler.com.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio sets the benchmark for performance SUVs with updates for 2023, including the new limited-edition Estrema and Lusso models. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio delivers performance, design and technology in an SUV that could only come from Italy.

Crafted by Alfa Romeo artisans at the Cassino plant in Italy , the Stelvio lineup is infused with Italian passion, craftsmanship and innovation and is a testament to Alfa Romeo's unparalleled balance of engineering and emotion, creating a premium midsize SUV for driving enthusiasts. For more information on Alfa Romeo, visit alfaromeousa.com.

TAWA

TAWA is one of the most reputable automotive press organizations in the industry, with a mission to promote quality and accuracy in automotive journalism and disseminate information about the industry through news-related print, online and broadcast media. TAWA produces two driving events each year  the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall. Media members enjoy driving and evaluating new vehicles competing for the coveted Family Vehicle of Texas and Truck of Texas .

Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) 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 today's 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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WASHINGTON  The Air Force for the first time used one of its new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, an SUV-like vehicle intended to replace the Humvee, service officials said.

Two airmen drove a JLTV for an operational mission in western Nebraska to support launch facility maintenance near the town of Harrisburg, located about 15 miles east of the Nebraska-Wyoming border, the Air Force said. The airmen were from the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in southeastern Wyoming.

It is built like a tank, said Senior Airman Zion Hill, one of the airmen in the vehicle. When you climb into the Humvee, you are stepping back in time 20 years. The JLTV is like driving the Batmobile into the future to better defend our nation."

I like being first, said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Daniels, the other airman in the vehicle. It's kind of entertaining, especially driving around on base and off base. You see people taking pictures.

The U.S. military has been using the Humvee as one of its top utility vehicles since the mid-1980s, but decided years ago that a modern replacement would be needed eventually. In the design stage, the Pentagon wanted a more technically advanced, maneuverable truck that could go anywhere the Humvee could go  but do more than the Humvee could do. Among its features is upgraded armor.

The JLTVs armor is significant because the first Humvees in the 1980s and 1990s were built without armor plating. It wasnt until the U.S. sent Humvees to Iraq in the mid-2000s that the Pentagon realized troops needed better protection. To fix the issue, the Defense Department increased the armor on the Humvees that it sent to the Middle East  but there was a trade-off. The armor tended to come at the expense of speed and maneuverability because the added plating made the modified Humvees much heavier.

The JLTV is a step forward in terms of safety and protection, U.S. Strategic Command said in a statement. [It] is a complex vehicle and requires investment in training to ensure operators' safety and skills. Every operator must complete 40 hours of training, both classroom and hands-on familiarization and driving.

First Lt. Joseph Struzik, 90th Missile Security Operations Squadron officer in charge of logistics and sustainment, said the new vehicles are ultra-modern.

It is a night and day difference, Struzik said. When you climb inside a Humvee you are walking into a historical box  old analog gauges, a classic steering wheel, a center console with a radio. Whereas the JLTV gives defenders a better tool to perform their nuclear-security duties.

Oshkosh Defense designed and produced the JLTVs for the first several years until Humvee manufacturer AM General beat out the company for an $8.6 billion contract from the Pentagon earlier this year. Under the deal, AM General will deliver 20,000 JLTVs in the next five years. It has several variants and a trailer that adds varying utility and weapons capabilities.

Though the military is now turning to the JLTV, officials have said the Humvee wont be phased out of service until at least 2050. Once enough of the new vehicles have been delivered, though, the Humvees will serve mainly in a secondary role.

Many of the defenders who will operate the vehicle, were born after the [Humvee] entered service and are anxious to take advantage of all the new capabilities, said Air Force Lt. Col. William Brokaw, commander of the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron.

The Air Force said a number of airmen have already begun training to use the new vehicle.
"We're going stargazing," I tell my three children as they assemble for breakfast.

"At night?" my 9-year-old daughter sighs in reply. It's February in Minnesota, and the weather is exactly what you would expect. My confirmation elicits nothing but an eye roll. My two younger boys run off, disinterested in my plans.

It's a familiar scenario for parents. We live in a world of convenience. Streaming a movie and making some popcorn is a lot easier than putting on boots, bundling up and heading out to look up into the night sky. But, I tell her, it's worthwhile. There's wonder to be experienced up there. She shrugs and gets ready for school.

Stargazing can feel daunting, especially for parents unfamiliar with the night sky themselves. Parents can also make the mistake of turning stargazing into a homework assignment, checking off boxes of how to stargaze "properly." There is no right answer. Binoculars and apps can help. Having a blanket to lie on will make you more comfortable. Dark skies will reveal more than the sky over a light-polluted city. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's not bad advice.

But the practical advice can miss the bigger picture. We don't need our kids to become proficient in identifying objects in space; we want them to have an experience that induces awe, which plays an important role in the lives of children (and adults!).

Psychologist Dacher Keltner, the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, previously told The Washington Post that awe can have positive physical, mental and emotional effects: "It makes us curious rather than judgmental. It makes us collaborative. It makes us humble, sharing and altruistic. It quiets the ego so that you're not thinking about yourself as much," she says.

To get there, meet kids where they are. Let them tell you what excites them about the night sky.

Listen to kids and share your excitement

"Involve [kids] in every decision," says Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. "What are we all wearing? Do we need to bundle up? Do we need to bring bug spray? Are we bringing hot chocolate? We're going on a road trip, which restaurant are we going to stop at for dinner? Turn over some of this to the kids and just go with it. Even if you know they just want to stop at McDonald's, it's okay."

Thaddeus LaCoursiere, planetarium production coordinator at the Bell Museum in St. Paul, Minn., says letting kids lead and sharing your excitement go hand in hand. "Meet kids where they're at, at that particular moment, and try not to make them be excited, but find ways to let them be excited, to share your excitement," LaCoursiere says.

A Minnesota blizzard scuttles my family's stargazing plans. The local star party we were supposed to attend is canceled. The stars are obscured by clouds. The roads are obscured by snow. My daughter isn't disappointed. She suggests we just stargaze in the backyard the next night. I agree.

You don't have to know everything  or anything

There is an endless trove of wonders to look for in the cosmos: the moon, stars, constellations and planets, and that doesn't even begin to touch on wow events like comets, meteor showers or the northern lights. It's thrilling  and intimidating.

But you don't have to have all the answers. It's okay to discover the sky alongside kids. "I use a phone app all the time," Nichols says. "I have a degree in astronomy. I've worked at the Adler for almost 28 years. I still consult my phone, because I go, 'Oh, wait. That star right there? You're asking me what that is? Let me just double-check.'"

It might feel counterintuitive to look at your phone when you're supposed to be experiencing nature (and some advise against looking at phones because it spoils your night vision), but there's no wrong way to enjoy stargazing, and apps can lead the way to that enjoyment. Augmented reality apps such as SkyView Lite can show you the way to familiar constellations like the Big Dipper or harder-to-find ones. StarTracker offers similar augmented reality views of the night sky, while an app like Star Walk 2 offers news and a calendar of events to look for on any given evening.

Head out into the night with a couple of objects in mind. It doesn't have to be the night of a big event like the Perseid meteor shower, and you don't have to start by trying to track down a hard-to-find phenomenon like the Crab nebula. Find the easy-to-spot Orion with its distinctive belt in the winter sky or a bright planet like Jupiter or Venus.

If you aren't sure where to start, ask your child: What do they want to see? LaCoursiere says kids often enjoy drawing connections with shows, movies and books they enjoy. If they're an aspiring Jedi, look for Saturn's moon Mimas, which looks like the Death Star. Jupiter's icy moon Europa could pass for Hoth. He has had kids get excited about constellations because they recognize the names from the Percy Jackson series or find connections in Harry Potter when they discover Sirius (the Dog Star) or Bellatrix in the constellation Orion.

It's not about producing future astrophysicists. The act of just being present in nature has its own benefits. Studies have shown that time spent in nature has huge benefits for kids, such as lowered stress levels and the promotion of cognitive development.

In our backyard, my wife points to a bright light near the moon. "Do you see that thing that looks like a star?" she asks the 4-year-old. "It's actually a planet. It's Venus." He looks up for a bit before getting distracted again. He has a pole from a set of Tinker Toys that is currently doubling as a lightsaber. There is a battle in his imagination, and there's no time for stars anymore.

You don't need a telescope or an elaborate plan

It can be tempting to invest in a telescope as soon as your kid shows an interest in space. Telescopes turn fuzzy pinpricks of light into definite shapes, into planets with gaseous bands or dazzling rings.

"It's a unique experience," LaCoursiere says of telescopes. "There's nothing else like it." But he advises heading to a planetarium or star party with your local astronomy club to use a telescope with an expert before purchasing your own, which can be complicated. Nichols adds that you may be able to borrow a telescope or binoculars from your local library.

For a more robust night sky experience without any gear, leave the city and head toward dark skies. There, you may be able to spot meteor showers, dimmer stars, harder-to-see planets and maybe even the gorgeous Milky Way. Those objects are more difficult to see inside a city where light pollution greatly restricts what can be seen with the naked eye.

Though, again, there's no right or wrong way to stargaze. LaCoursiere suggests first simply stepping into the backyard. Find the moon and the brightest objects in the night sky that can still be visible inside cities despite the obstructing light pollution.

"If you're only looking at the stuff right around you on the ground, that is 180 degrees of what's there," Nichols says. "The sky is the other 180 degrees. What's above your head? Literally, half of your experience is what's above your head. We're constantly looking down at our feet, at our phones, at the ground around us. Looking upward is the other half."

After our short stargazing trek into the backyard, my daughter reads a graphic novel in bed. My 6-year-old is asleep in his bunk. The 4-year-old is drifting off in the bottom bunk. He turns to my wife and asks, "That was a real planet?"

Maybe it wasn't a profound experience that will shape his life, and it wasn't the grand night of gazing deep into the cosmos I hoped for. Yet that short sojourn into a light-polluted urban backyard has his brain buzzing. Some of those bright dots overhead are planets, and who knows what might be happening there.
CAIRO  Sudans warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the top U.N. official in the country said Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire, Volker Perthes told The Associated Press. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.

A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas while fierce battles have continued elsewhere, driving civilians from their homes and pushing Sudan further into disaster.

Humanitarian groups have been trying to restore the flow of help to a country where nearly a third of the population of 46 million relied on international aid even before the explosion of violence. The U.N. food agency on Monday said it was ending the temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan, put in place after three of its team members were killed in the war-wrecked Darfur region early in the fighting.

The World Food Program will resume food distribution in four provinces  al-Qadaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile  working in areas where security permits, Executive Director Cindy McCain said. The numbers of those needing help will grow significantly as fighting continues, she said. To best protect our necessary humanitarian workers and the people of Sudan, the fighting must stop.

A day earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross flew in a planeload of medical supplies to bring some relief to hospitals overwhelmed by the mayhem.

Direct talks, if they take place, would be significant progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. For much of the conflict, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end.

Their power struggle has put millions of Sudanese in the line of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes. Tens of thousands have fled Khartoum and other cities, and more than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, with fighters looting the dwindling supplies.

At least 436 civilians have been killed and more than 1,200 injured since the fighting began, according to figures on Monday by the Doctors Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. As of a week ago, the Sudanese Health Ministry had counted at least 530 people killed, including civilians and combatants, with another 4,500 wounded, but those figures havent been updated since.

Since Saturday, the United States has been conducting daily evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. On Monday, the third U.S.-assisted evacuation convoy of American citizens and permanent U.S. residents arrived in Port Sudan on Sudans Red Sea coast.

The U.S. had a handful of consular officials at the Sudanese port, helping the American civilians get onto ferries or Saudi or U.S. Navy ships to get to safety across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department said Monday it has helped roughly 700 people  U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or local workers at the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy  out on the bus convoys. It says it has assisted about another 1,000 Americans in getting out of Sudan.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighboring city, Omdurman, on Monday, residents said, hours after the two sides committed to the 72-hour cease-fire extension.

Atiya Abdalla Atiya, Secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, said there was fighting early Monday in different area s in Khartoum, including the militarys headquarters, the Republican Palace, and the international airport. There were also clashes in the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, he said.

Many Khartoum hospitals remained out of service or inaccessible because of the fighting, while others have been occupied by the warring factions, particularly the RSF, he said.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have led an international push to get the generals to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Perthes said there are still daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by a real halt in fighting. One possibility was to establish a monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on a sustained cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically  though each side would need safe passage through the others territory. That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

Dagalo, the RSF commander, said the paramilitary has named its representatives to the talks but that trust-building measures have to be in place first. A settlement should come after other matters: First, a cease-fire and building the trust, he told Asharq, a Saudi-based TV station.

For the past week, people have been streaming out of Khartoum and other urban areas torn by fighting, moving in droves to wherever they can find safety.

In Port Sudan, thousands were camped out, hoping to get onto evacuation ferries. Many families, including small children, have been sleeping outside for days, including hundreds of Syrians and Yemenis unable so far to get on boats.

Most of the people are sitting on their bags, said one Syrian, Mohamed Amr Mustafa.

More than 70,000 South Sudan refugees who had been living in Khartoum have fled to the neighboring White Nile province, settling in already overcrowded camps, said Mustafa Amr Abarou, a spokesman for the Sudanese refugee agency. At least 10 trucks a day of people fleeing Khartoum continue to arrive, straining the agencys abilities, he said. Sudan hosts over 1.3 million refugees, including 800,000 from South Sudan, according to the U.N. figures.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned Monday of many more fleeing Sudan. If violence doesnt stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety, he wrote on Twitter.

The eruption of fighting capped months of worsening Burhan-Dagalo disputes as the international community tried to work out a deal for establishing civilian rule.

We all saw the enormous tensions, Perthes said. Our efforts to de-escalate did not succeed. He said he had been warning repeatedly that any single spark could cause the power struggle to explode.

Perthes warned of a major humanitarian crisis as people were running out of food and fresh water in Khartoum and the fighting damaged water systems.

A real cease-fire is vital to getting access to residents who are trapped in their homes or injured, he said. If we dont get a stable cease-fire ... the humanitarian situation will be even worse.

Associated Press writers Nick El Hajj in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  Japan has addressed a 69-year-old gap in its self-defense measures by creating a process that gives the Ministry of Defense control of the coast guard in the event of a war.

The coast guard is barred by law from operating as a military force, but Article 80 of the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act permits the defense minister to take control of the seaborne force in the event of hostilities, according to a ministry statement Friday.

Under new provisions, effective immediately, the coast guard in wartime would continue its lifesaving and law enforcement missions. The non-military characteristics of the agency will not change under ministry control, the statement said.

Japan increasingly relies on its coast guard to monitor growing Chinese naval activities in the East China Sea and the Miyako Strait, an international waterway separating Okinawa and Miyako Island 175 miles to the southwest.

Japans coast guard intervenes frequently when Chinese coast guard vessels  sometimes armed  intrude into waters around the Senkaku Islands, a small group of uninhabited rocks and islets northeast of Taiwan and administered by Japan. The Chinese vessels reportedly follow and harass Japanese fishing vessels, forcing the Japanese coast guard to interpose its ships between the two.

Japans coast guard falls under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. In times of conflict, Japans prime minister must seek Cabinet approval to transfer control of the coast guard to the Ministry of Defense, according to the statement.

The defense minister, according to the plan outlined by the ministry, would control all operations and information, which is expected to streamline processes and allow both agencies to operate more effectively.

The coast guard would remain focused on rescuing and evacuating citizens, along with supporting evacuations, search-and-rescue operations and surveillance of shoreline facilities, according to the Defense Ministry.

The ministry and coast guard were also directed to deepen joint training, strengthen communication systems, share facilities and equipment and conduct personnel exchanges.

The new procedures were a collaborative effort between the coast guard, Defense Ministry, Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council, the statement said.
For the first time in more than 30 years, American and Filipino fighter pilots are flying together again in airpower drills that were among the largest in the Indo-Pacific during the Cold War.

Cope Thunder, which kicked off Monday and runs until May 12, includes 160 U.S. airmen and a dozen aircraft from the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, according to a Pacific Air Forces statement Friday. The wing flies F-16 Fighting Falcons.

Cope Thunder Philippines is designed to provide bilateral fighter training with the Philippine Air Force, the statement said.

The exercise at Clark Air Base, a former U.S. facility on the Philippines main island of Luzon, began in 1976 and was last held there in 1990, according to the statement.

Clark was badly damaged in the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and U.S. forces left the following year.

Cope Thunder moved to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, in 1992, and was eventually renamed Red Flag Alaska.

Airpower exercises are also part of Balikatan, the annual, multi-service U.S.-Philippine training in the islands that ran from April 11 to Friday.

For Balikatan, the U.S. Air Force sent two MC-130J Commando II gunships, a pair of MQ-9 Reaper drones and 16 F-16C Fighting Falcons, Capt. Denise Guiao-Corpuz, a 15th Wing spokeswoman, said by email Monday.

In the 1970s and 1980s Cope Thunder involved up to 90 aircraft with as many as 60 in the air at the same time, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, who flew in 10 Cope Thunders, said by phone Monday from Hawaii.

We were doing cutting-edge tactics, said Leaf, from 2005 to 2008 the deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command, now called Indo-Pacific Command.

Reactivating the drill signals that the U.S.-Philippine alliance, for all its ups and downs over more than a century, is back up, Leaf said.

It demonstrates that the U.S. remains the preferred security partner in the Indo-Pacific, he said. China wishes that wasnt the case.

More evidence of a strengthening alliance was provided Friday by U.S. Pacific Fleets commander, Adm. Samuel Paparo, who told Japans Nikkei newspaper that the United States is ready to help the Philippines as China interferes with Manila's efforts to resupply a grounded warship in the South China Sea.

Beijing has "frequently interfered with those resupplies," something thats "clearly unlawful," Paparo said. The Chinese coast guard on Sunday blocked a Philippine patrol vessel from reaching the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands, according to The Associated Press.

The World War II-era vessel, crewed by a small Philippine navy contingent, was intentionally grounded in 1999 to support Philippine territorial claims.

"We stand ready to come to the Philippines' assistance, in their exercise of their sovereign rights," Paparo told Nikkei.
The Wests margin to impose measures aimed at corralling the Russian economy and prevent it from further fueling the war in Ukraine is getting smaller and smaller. The pace of decision-making has slowed, and Kyivs Western allies are now divided on what steps to take next. The sanctions on Moscow are working and impacting the Russian economy, albeit more slowly than expected.

However, Russia has been able to find ways to circumvent the sanctions by importing and exporting goods via third countries. The United States wants to plug these holes with a total ban on exports to Russia, but the EU  which is more in favor of applying restrictions sector by sector  believes that this approach is not viable. It instead wants to design better anti-circumvention tools, and is exploring the idea of establishing a mechanism to deter countries from helping Russia evade restrictions.

According to Bloomberg News and EU sources, Washington  frustrated by the loopholes that allow Moscow to receive Western technology that may have both civilian and military uses  is calling on the G7 (the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada) and the EU to agree to a total veto on exports to Russia, with exceptions in the agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors.

But while some nations may believe a total ban will send a strong and highly symbolic message to Moscow, the measure would not receive the greenlight from the 27-member bloc. Indeed, such a move is not considered sustainable, according to EU sources involved with the negotiations ahead of the G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima (Japan) in mid-May. Even if the ban were to go ahead, agreeing on the exceptions would be very difficult, say these sources, who argue that there could be so many exceptions that the ban could be diluted into just one more piece of paper. According to a European diplomat, even the countries that back the toughest sanctions on Russia are concerned that replacing the sector-by-sector approach with a total ban that includes exceptions will reopen debate and weaken sanctions.

Stopping evasion

At the same time, the EU has been debating its next package of sanctions against Russia. This would be its 11th round of restrictions. The EUs approach is the same one it is pushing the G7 to follow: to close loopholes and prevent Russia from evading sanctions. Indeed, the European Union has appointed a special EU envoy on sanctions, David OSullivan, who is carrying out an in-depth study of the situation. Last week, OSullivan traveled to Kazakhstan to speak with the countrys authorities and to warn them that the EU is moving to prevent Kazakhstan from being used as a platform to evade Western sanctions.

The EU does not have mechanisms to sanction third-party countries that indirectly help Russia to import Western products, although such measures could be implemented by individual EU states, according to sources in Brussels. The European Commission is now analyzing how to deploy a series of tools to prevent Russia from evading sanctions. These measures may include encouraging companies to establish commercial clauses on the use and final destination of products and creating a mechanism to restrict the sale of some products to certain countries, according to various diplomatic sources.

Back in February, 12 EU countries  including Spain, France, Germany and Italy  called on Brussels to improve its anti-circumvention tools and suggested creating watch lists of companies and industries, as outlined in their proposal, to which EL PAIS has had access. According to another report seen by this newspaper, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are also pushing the EU to step up progress on a ban that would prevent transit through Russia of a large number of products that the Kremlin could use in its war in Ukraine.

The aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Ukraine's Donetsk region. STRINGER (REUTERS)

Washington's frustration

Washingtons growing frustration over sanction loopholes has so far not been enough to convince its allies to support a total ban on exports to Russia. Just 10 days ago, in a preparatory meeting for the G7 Hiroshima summit on May 19, both the EU and Japan argued that such a move was unfeasible. But the U.S. is not giving up. Last Thursday, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves met with Masato Kanda, the Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs. The three convened deputies of the G7 Enforcement Coordination Mechanism to study how to bolster the enforcement of multilateral sanctions and export controls aimed at denying Russia the inputs it needs to equip its military and the revenue necessary to fund its illegal war, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

In a press release, the Treasury said that Adeyemo, Graves and Kanda discussed the key components that Russia is attempting to acquire to fuel its war machine and to replace the losses in materiel it sustained on the battlefield, and acknowledged the critical role of the private sector in identifying and countering sanctions evasion and reiterated the need to provide guidance and share information with industry and private sector actors.

Washington has its sights on transshipment jurisdictions and third countries where evasion may be occurring. Both Washington and the G7 suspect states such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Central Asian countries, which have increased trade with Moscow since the first Western sanctions were imposed over the invasion of Ukraine.

For example, there are growing suspicions that the G7 cap on Russian crude oil is not being adhered to in Central Asia. In December, the G7 agreed to set a price cap of $60 per barrel on the price of Russian crude, barring companies from member countries from providing a wide range of services, notably insurance and shipping, if cargoes were purchased above that price.

But according to a study by the KSE Institute, an affiliate of the Kyiv School of Economics, in the first quarter of this year, almost all the oil out of Russias Pacific port of Kozmino sold for $73.14 a barrel, and more than half of the shipments were made through some kind of G7 service. As the debate over how to tackle evasion continues, G7 members appear to be moving towards banning and tracking Russian diamonds  a symbolic move that does not affect a big piece of the Russian economic pie, but one that has been long awaited.

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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization's official Facebook page.

The post  Make love to me   appeared around midnight March 24. By mid-morning the message had disappeared.

The post was made unrelated to the mission and goals of our command, Army Col. Isaac Taylor, who also serves as spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

"We are reviewing and updating our current practices and security protocols to ensure it does not happen again, he wrote.

Taylors email did not answer questions about who was responsible for the post and whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Speaking by phone Monday, he said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The U.N. Commands Facebook account has around 13,000 followers and posts news and information about its activities and history.

To the followers of the Facebook page, we thank you for choosing us as your trusted source for content related to the amazing work and history of the [commands] member states here on the Korean Peninsula, Taylors statement added.

The message was posted on Facebook as U.S. and South Korean troops carried out the large-scale Ssangyong maritime exercise in South Korea between March 20 and April 3. The allies also conducted large, joint training that included live-fire artillery drills and tabletop simulations throughout March.

The multinational U.N. Command was formed roughly a month after North Korean forces invaded the South on June 25, 1950. Sixteen countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, supplied military aid for the war effort. Denmark, India, Italy, Norway and Sweden sent medical aid.

The Korean War came to a standstill in 1953 after an armistice was signed between the U.N. Command, North Korea and China on July 27.

The U.N. Command is still responsible for enforcing the armistice and responding to conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The command is led by Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, who is also required to lead U.S. Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command.

U.N. Command is headquartered in Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, roughly 40 miles south of Seoul.
ANKARA, Turkey  The leader of the Islamic State group was killed in an operation by Turkish intelligence teams in northern Syria, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. Turkey's state media said the IS leader blew himself up to avoid capture.

Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview late Sunday that the ISIS leader known as Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi died Saturday, following a lengthy pursuit by the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT.

"We will continue our struggle against terrorist organizations," Erdogan said in the interview, without elaborating. The Islamic State group has so far not confirmed the death of its leader.

A member of the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces' military police told The Associated Press that the MIT clashed with ISIS militants on a farm in the village of Miska in Aleppo province late Friday night. As the fighting intensified, al-Qurayshi, who was hiding in a building on the farm, blew himself up, the military police member said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to the media.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, said Turkish drones flew over the area and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups, alerted by Ankara, closed off roads leading to the where the clashes were taking place.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said as the Turkish agents closed in on him after afour-hour operation, al-Qurayshi detonated his suicide vest. The IS leader was at a house with an underground bunker in the Jinderes region and did not respond to calls for him to surrender, the agency said, quoting unnamed security officials.

After Turkish agents broke into the building, al-Qurayshi blew himself up realizing he would be caught, the report said. Anadolu added that al-Qurayshi had been frequently on the move.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against ISIS militants and Kurdish rebels in Syria's border areas. Turkey controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria, following several land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the border.

ISIS has carried out a string of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017 which killed 39 people during New Year celebrations.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named ISIS leader after its previous chief was killed in October. He took over at a time when IS had long lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, IS has been been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by U.S. forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019. His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022.

He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the U.S. military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syria's southern province of Daraa, after which the latest leader took over, Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi.

None of the al-Qurayshis are believed to be related. Al-Qurayshi is not their real name but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islam's Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from this tribe and "al-Qurayshi" serves as part of an ISIS leader's nom de guerre.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida more than a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land ISIS once held in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour bordering Iraq.

Sewell reported from Beirut.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines' security and noted the "deep friendship" of the two nations as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationshipone that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

"We are facing new challenges and I couldn't think of a better partner to have than you." Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. "The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization."

Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in "possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now."

Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos' official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defense guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations' militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

The administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines' innovation economy, new educational programing and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guard's BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a "stark reminder" of Chinese "harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone."

"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct," Miller said.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by China's ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.

Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwan's independence "if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs" in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a "One China" policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huang's comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.

One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he "finds himself in a situation" in which "the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning."

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that "historical considerations" could present "challenges" to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos' estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Marcos noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.

Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries' sometimes "rocky" past.

During their private meeting at the UN, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could "fulfill your dreams and hopes" to do that, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.

Gomez reported from Manila. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting.
(Tribune News Service)  In the winter of 1950 during the Korean War, 120,000 Chinese troops surrounded 8,000 U.S. fighters. The surprise attack transpired on the Chosin Reservoir during one of the coldest winters that North Korea had seen in over 100 years, according to author and historian Douglas Sterner. Today, the battle of the Frozen Chosin, as it came to be known, defines the grit, determination, and never-give-up attitude of the Marine Corps.

Luke Opp and Craig Mayville, both Marine veterans, are now honoring the memory of that sacrifice with a nonprofit called The Frozen Chosen. After a realization that veterans in the Flathead Valley were not receiving the care and services they needed, Opp decided to dedicate himself to starting the organization.

"We want to give back. People in this community need help and the VA is the lowest form of help in this community. So if someone needs financial support in getting to another hospital, we want to provide that. Even people who aren't veterans, we want to help. This community needs that," said Opp.

Opp was raised in Columbia Falls, joined the Marine Corps in 1999 later deployed to Camp Schwab, Okinawa, and Camp Fuji, both in Japan. He was honorably discharged in January of 2003 and now lives in Bigfork.

Mayville was raised in southwest Michigan and was stationed in Hawaii. He deployed to Iwakuni, Japan; the Philippines; Okinawa, Japan; and India. He moved to Bigfork last year.

Mayville was motivated to start cold plunging when friends of his began ice bathing. He started by lying in the snow for up to three minutes and then finally worked up the courage to try the water, making it 30 seconds in Flathead Lake.

He invited more friends to join him, eventually being joined by Opp. Weekly plunges quickly turned into daily plunges.

The goal for The Frozen Chosen is two-fold: to create a community of health while providing care for veterans. Part of their outreach includes the plunge at Wayfarers State Park that takes place every morning.

"We mainly wanted to start with our cold plunge outreach and it became a culmination of a community," said Mayville. "This plunge changes people. We want to take it around the country and eventually make more chapters of it."

One Frozen Chosen member, Rob Ford, attributes his newfound physical and mental health to the daily cold plunge and said, he has "more concentration, more sense of humor, and more ability to relax." But only a year ago, Ford felt like he might end it all.

"I was on my way to dying. I stopped engaging with life. I don't know what happened to me, I was really depressed. I went into a low and just couldn't get out of it," said Ford.

After entering a treatment program for depression and discovering cold water immersion, Ford's life was changed. When he returned from the program, he met Mayville who invited him to the cold plunge.

"These guys were doing it for the same reasons I was doing it  to challenge themselves and to be healthy," said Ford. "Craig goes up to everybody at the gym and invites them to do the plunge. He just has this amazing personality and energy and I'm becoming more like him."

Ford said that doing The Frozen Chosen's daily cold plunge has helped him sleep better, lose weight, and handle situations at work better.

"I'm 48 years old and I feel like I'm 10 years younger. I feel like I'm going to tack years onto my life by doing this which gives me so much more time with my kids and my family," said Ford. "My day is so much better when I do the plunge. You just did something so difficult that nothing can really faze you now."

Despite the shivers and nerves of getting into the icy water, roughly 10 to 50 people jump in the lake each morning and attempt to stay immersed for 3 to 4 minutes. Besides being a pillar of community health, the cold water plunge is a symbol of Opp and Mayville's dedication to their cause.

"There are too many people in the community changing their lives that I don't want a normal job to get in the way," said Mayville. "It would be nice to have income coming in, but this just feels too important. I've committed myself totally to this."

Anyone interested in participating in the cold plunge can meet at Wayfarers State Park Monday through Friday at 5:30 or 6:30 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. To learn more about The Frozen Chosen, visit their website thefrozenchosen.com, their Instagram @frozenchosenmontana or YouTube, Frozen Chosen Montana. To contact Opp or Mayville, email frozenchosenmt@gmail.com.

szalesky@dailyinterlake.com

(c)2023 the Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, Mont.)

Visit at www.dailyinterlake.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Tribune News Service)  While serving in the Persian Gulf War in his 20s, Anthony Hardie began having unexplained symptoms: respiratory problems, chronic fatigue and gastrointestinal issues that only worsened once he came home.

At the time, scientists and government officials werent sure if the symptoms were caused by stress or a more sinister disease. Thirty years later, the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs have launched a 5-year study to understand the chronic symptoms of whats now called Gulf War illness.

Dr. Robert Haley, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been researching Gulf War illness since a fateful meeting with Dallas philanthropist Ross Perot in the 90s.

From the very beginning, this was called a mystery disease, Haley said, because nobody could agree on what the cause was.

Haley published a paper last year identifying sarin gas  a nerve agent that attacks the brain that was detected in Iraq during the war  as a potential cause of Gulf War illness. Haley hopes the NIH and VAs national study will ultimately lead to treatments for Gulf War veterans, the youngest of whom are now 50.

This is the most optimistic Ive been in 30 years, he said.

A mystery disease

In the 90s, Perot invited Haley to a meeting. Since the Gulf War ended, Perot said, he had been hearing from veterans who had fallen sick. Healthy before the war began, the veterans were experiencing brain fog, memory problems, trouble breathing and more. Perot asked Haley to run a study on the veterans.

Haley wasnt sure that the mystery disease was real, but he agreed, thinking hed soon get back to his hepatitis research. But after studying nearly 250 members of a naval battalion, most of whom had serious health problems that they attributed to the war, Haley couldnt walk away.

I didnt believe it, really, up to that point, but it was real, he said.

Haley has spent the rest of his career researching the disease. He found that Gulf War veterans had similar symptoms that were significant enough to constitute an illness; that the root of the illness seemed to lie in the brain; and that the main risk factor seemingly causing the disease was exposure to environmental pesticides or low levels of nerve gas during the war. He did so with funding from donors like Perot and former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

He fought skepticism from the scientific community along the way. In 1998, three physicians on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses published an editorial in the American Journal of Epidemiology in response to one of Haleys papers. Haleys assertion that Gulf War illness wasnt caused by stress, they wrote, ill-serves the veterans who so generously and gallantly served our nation in the Gulf War.

Haley said the skepticism never bothered him. If he could prove the existence of the illness, he said, his research would be validated.

There was a lot of skepticism [that] had formed early, he said. And you know, whoever gets the message out first tends to win the day, until you just completely prove it wrong.

Last May, Haley published a paper in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives that found that veterans who recalled hearing chemical nerve gas alarms during their deployment were more likely to develop Gulf War illness. More than that, veterans who heard the alarms and had a weak form of a gene that meant their bodies were not as good at breaking down the nerve gas sarin were nearly nine times more likely to develop Gulf War illness. Haleys decades of work had landed on a potential cause for the mystery disease.

A hero to veterans

Almost a year after Haleys paper was published, the NIH and VA launched their study of Gulf War veterans. Gulf War veterans can now enroll in the study, which will investigate how Gulf War illness looks in the brain and body to lay the groundwork for future treatments.

Hardie, who served in the U.S. Army during the Gulf War, said the new study is important and encourages veterans to sign up. But results from a 5-year study wont be published for some time, and Hardie said veterans like him have been waiting decades for relief.

Were talking 40 years after the war, to finally know whats going on in the brains and bodies of Gulf War veterans, Hardie said.

Hardies group Veterans for Common Sense and Vietnam Veterans of America found that the VA rejected 90% of undiagnosed disability claims from Gulf War veterans from 2002 to the beginning of 2018, making it more difficult for them to access VA health care.

Hardie credited Haley for being one of the earliest and most influential Gulf War illness researchers.

Bob Haley was one of the researchers who believed in Gulf War veterans before the VA ever did, Hardie said. And Gulf War veterans will forever be grateful.

Adithi Ramakrishnan is a science reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the University of Texas at Dallas. The News makes all editorial decisions.

2023 The Dallas Morning News.

Visit dallasnews.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The process of safely evacuating Pakistanis from war ridden Sudan is continuing. A PIA flight carrying ninety three Pakistanis reached Islamabad on Monday.

Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajjid Hussain Turi and Adviser to the Prime Minister, Amir Muqam, received them at the airport.

Talking to the media on the occasion, Sajjid Hussain Turi said that out of twelve hundred Pakistanis living in Sudan, about five hundred have returned to Pakistan.

In his remarks, Engineer Amir Muqam said that the government will continue its efforts till return of all Pakistanis from Sudan. He said Saudi Arabia has extended full help in the evacuation process. He said the government is bearing all the expenses of the evacuation of Pakistanis from Sudan to their homes in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office in a statement stated that six hundred and thirty six stranded Pakistanis have returned home via Jeddah on five special flights till date.

The foreign office said that all of the nearly one thousand Pakistanis will be evacuated from Sudan in the next twenty four to forty eight hours.
PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday lambasted former chief justice Saqib Nisar for what she said was facilitating PTI Chairman Imran Khan to the prime ministers seat.

While addressing a convention on the occasion of International Labour Day in Lahore, Maryam suggested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to end plotting against Pakistan, as it would be beneficial for laborers.

Talking to partys labour wing in Lahore, Maryam Nawaz praised the labour force, terming them backbone of Pakistans economy.

The PML-N leader expressed her admiration for the hardworking men and women who keep the wheels of the nations economy turning.

Without the laborers of this country, we would not be where we are today, she said.

Maryam Nawaz also took the opportunity to laud the efforts of the local PML-N unit in Lahore, expressing surprise at their level of activity and commitment to the partys cause.

I did not know that the PML-Ns labour wing was so active, she said, commending the party workers for their dedication and hard work.

Maryam Nawaz, who is widely seen as a potential successor to her father, said adhering to Nawaz Sharifs vision would eliminate the need for citizens to seek employment opportunities abroad.

She highlighted that under Nawaz Sharifs tenure, the nation progressed significantly, with the construction of roads, eradication of power outages and terrorism, and noteworthy economic growth up until 2017.

Slamming former premier, she said that Imran Khan should cease his conspiracies against Pakistan, which would benefit the laborers more, instead of organizing a rally.

She urged PTI leader to refrain from resorting to manipulative tactics to gain power.

Imran Khans plan of dissolving assemblies has failed, she said.

Acknowledging Pakistans tough economic conditions, Maryam said the minimum wage for Laborers should be Rs40,000.

In reference to the audio leak involving the son of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, she remarked that the countrys fate should not be determined by the bribes, paid by influential individuals.

The country belongs to its 220 million citizens and not to a single persons distorted perception, emphasized Maryam.
A new scramble for Africa is in full swing between the United States, China, Russia, and Europe, with regional players such as Turkey and the Gulf nations also in contention. Among the countries jostling for position, the U.S. has started to pull out in front. Several high-ranking members of the Joe Biden administration, including the First Lady, Jill Biden, have visited the continent during the first four months of the year, a frenetic agenda no other country has been able to match. Russias drive to gain influence in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa has been ongoing for some time, with the mercenary Wagner Group spearheading Moscows operations. Meanwhile, China rules the roost in terms of trading partners, albeit with increasingly low-key investments. Europe, on the other hand, is lagging behind. I notice a greater effort by the major powers to get African countries on their side in order to gain credibility and build ties, says Ronak Gopaldas, a consultant for the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa. Among the reasons for this, Gopaldas adds, is the new fragmentation of the international order that has resulted from the war in Ukraine.

Between Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Washington has paid visits to a dozen African countries since the turn of the year. Joe Biden is expected to travel to the continent this year for the first since taking office, although no dates have yet been set. Last December, the U.S. president kicked off Washingtons diplomatic offensive by hosting the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit at the White House, bringing together 49 African heads of state and senior officials.

It had been eight years since Barack Obama hosted the first summit in 2014. In the interim, relations between Africa and Washington deteriorated during the Donald Trump administration, which displayed absolute indifference toward the continent. Bidens White House is now engaged in a determined effort to get Africa back on side. There is an impetus to repair the damage caused to U.S.-Africa relations during the previous period, Gopaldas says, as well as a change in the manner of the relationship, with more balance and higher-level visits and summits.

There has also been a significant shift in the amount of money the U.S. is willing to spend. Vice President Harris traveled to Accra in March and announced a $100 million, 10-year security plan to combat violent extremism in Benin, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Ghana. Washington also pledged a further $139 million to Ghana, which is attempting to pay off its debts to China, for economic and cultural programs. Also in March, Blinken visited Ethiopia and presented a $331 million humanitarian aid package to alleviate the effects of the war between government troops and Tigray militias.

Chinese investment

Concern about China, notes analyst Alex Vines, who heads up the Africa Program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, is the key driver of U.S. policy toward Africa today. According to Vines, Washington is disquieted by the foundations already laid by Beijing on the continent, but also about its acquisition of critical and strategic minerals for Chinese supply chains.

Beijings interest in Africa is long-standing. The new Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, visited Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt in January. It was his first trip since taking office - a statement of Beijings intentions - but also nothing new. For the past 33 years, the Chinese highest-ranking Chinese diplomatic representative has continuously chosen Africa as his first destination, and President Xi Jinping visited the continent on a dozen occasions between 2014 and 2020. Beijing has been investing heavily in Africa in recent years and leads the way in terms of financial immersion in the continent, the last stop on its New Silk Road, based on trade, investment in infrastructure and loans. However, this model is beginning to show some signs of slowing down.

According to the latest China Belt and Road Initiative Investment Report, compiled by a business school at Fudan University in Shanghai, funds for sub-Saharan Africa suffered a record drop of more than 50% last year  44% in construction and 65% in investment  in favor, above all, of countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Since Covid, says Gopaldas, China has changed its approach to the continent to be more selective. Underlying this trend is the inability of many African countries to take on more debt and the continents vulnerability to the effects of Russias invasion of Ukraine on the grain trade, which is vital for many markets in the region.

The war in Ukraine

Russias invasion of Ukraine is a good scenario to assess the revival of Moscows interest in Africa, which began around 2015. The United Nations General Assembly held on February 23 in New York passed a resolution calling for an immediate end to the conflict, with 141 votes in favor, seven against and 32 abstentions. Of the latter, 15 came from African countries, many of them with strong ties to the Kremlin, especially in security matters. Among the seven that rejected the U.N. resolution were Mali and Eritrea.

Mali, where the influence of the Wagner Group is particularly acute, was one of the stops made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last January. The veteran diplomat also traveled to Mauritania and Sudan, where an armed power struggle between government forces and paramilitary militia is engulfing the country. A month earlier Lavrov visited South Africa  with which Russia maintains excellent relations  Angola and Swaziland. Last July, he travelled to Egypt, Congo-Brazzaville, Uganda, and Ethiopia, where he met with the leaders of the African Union. This overt effort to revive the strong ties developed during the Cold War will culminate in July with the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg. The first, held in 2019, brought together 43 African leaders.

While Europe has not been as active in attempting to retain its place on Africas radar, there is mutual interest in developing relationships. African countries, notes Vines, do not want to be pigeonholed and therefore also seek to maintain diversified international partnerships, including with EU member states. However, relations between Africa and European countries remain burdened by the atrocities of the colonial era. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Angola and Congo-Brazzaville in March amid growing anti-French sentiment in the Sahel, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso, where French troops have been forced to withdraw.

Also in March, U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman traveled to Rwanda to put into effect a controversial plan to deport migrants to the country. The issue of migration, as well as energy, was on the agenda when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traveled to Algeria and Libya in January, and more recently to Ethiopia. Europes relations with Africa are not as strong as they could be, Gopaldas notes. They are still marked by the past. African countries want to be treated as equals.

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Amy Mongan (24) of Belcamp Avenue, Priorswood, hurled the gardas phone out onto the concrete driveway, where it smashed

A woman hurled a gardas personal mobile phone out a window, smashing it in a petulant fit of temper following a house search.

A garda had returned to retrieve the mislaid phone when Amy Mongan (24) threw it out onto the concrete driveway, breaking it beyond repair.

Adjourning the case, Judge Anthony Halpin told Mongan he would apply the Probation Act, leaving her without a conviction if she paid compensation to the garda.

Mongan, with an address at Belcamp Avenue, Priorswood, pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

Dublin District Court heard in the course of a search at a house at Springdale Road, Raheny on December 19, 2021, a garda mislaid his phone and later that day an officer returned to retrieve it.

Mongan, who was in the property, opened the front sitting room window and threw the gardas phone out onto the concrete driveway, where it smashed.

The Samsung, worth 500, was no longer usable.

She had previous convictions. The offence happened in a fit of temper and Mongan had since apologised personally to the garda, her solicitor John Feaheny said.

The accused had thought there was minimal damage to the phone but now accepted what happened. It was petulant and stupid. If theres a crime youre definitely not going to get away with, its that, Mr Feaheny said.

She thought it was going to land on the grass and mud but thats not what happened.

Mongan was a very bright young lady, though she had never had a chance to further her education.

It was accepted her actions were childish.

She could have killed someone, throwing things out the window, Judge Halpin said.

He adjourned the case to a date in July for the accused to pay compensation. If this was done, he would apply the Probation Act.

Shes getting a real chance, the judge added.
A court heard gardai thought the trail had gone cold until truck worker Brian Fearon of Clonard, Co Dublin, was located on Friday

A man who disappeared while awaiting trial for a gun seizure in Dublin a decade ago has been found and recharged following a traffic stop.

A court heard gardai thought the trail had gone cold until truck worker Brian Fearon, 46, of Clonard, Brittas, Co Dublin, was located on Friday.

He was initially charged with possessing a Beretta single-barrel shotgun in circumstances which inferred he did not have it for a lawful purpose on March 19, 2013, at a location in Brittas.

The offence is contrary to section 27 of the Firearms Act.

A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing on June 27, 2013.

He went to the UK but, unknown to gardai, returned four years ago and avoided detection until he was stopped driving in Drimnagh in Dublin.

He was brought back before a weekend sitting of Dublin District Court after and made no reply in answer to the charges.

Garda Jeff Dolan objected to bail, citing fears the accused was a flight risk and efforts the accused had gone through "to avoid detection".

He told Judge Marie Quirke that the original arrest followed a high-speed traffic pursuit in which the accused allegedly discarded a firearm.

The offence can carry a 14-year sentence.

Garda Dolan said Mr Fearon left the country after getting a bail bond in 2013.

Efforts to locate him through Interpol proved fruitless, and he was on a wanted list.

The court heard that Mr Fearon admitted that after returning four years ago, he had given gardai a false name whenever he was stopped.

His home address, where he lived with relatives, was checked to no avail. The garda agreed with defence solicitor Simon Fleming that the trail had gone cold in relation to the chase.

Mr Fleming submitted that his client had lived at the same address and that a family member would lodge bail money. He would abide by any conditions set down by the court.

His brother said the accused worked with him in his truck and trailer rental business, and agreed that he returned four or five years ago.

Mr Fearon was not required to give evidence and is still to indicate a plea. However, he told the court that he did not have a passport.

Granting bail in his bond of 4,000, of which half had to be lodged, Judge Quirke ordered him to sign on daily at a garda station and not to apply for a passport.

He was released and remanded to appear again on May 18.
The dogs were later taken away by the local dog warden and rehomed

The father of a Fianna Fail councillor has avoided a conviction despite pleading guilty to four animal welfare offences.

Martin Lovett (51), with an address in Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, appeared before Cavan District Court on Tuesday in relation to four animal welfare offences on July 18, 2021.

Neighbours became concerned after hearing dogs barking in distress at a property in Aghgegna, Co Cavan, and found them locked in a metal container in scorching heat.

Mr Lovett is the father of Fianna Fail councillor Craig Lovett, who attended the scene and spoke to gardai after they called to the property that day.

The dogs were later taken away by the local dog warden and rehomed.

.

Martin Lovett later gave a media interview during which he said he was the owner of the dogs.

He pleaded guilty at Cavan District Court on Tuesday to four offences contrary to Section 11 (1) (a) of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.

However, Judge Deirdre Geraghty agreed to strike out the matter after Mr Lovett agreed to pay 750 to Cavan Society of Protection of Cruelty to Animals.

The money was paid and I will strike out all matters on that basis, Judge Geraghty said.

Tina Boyle of the Cavan SPCA who was present at the property before the dogs were seized said she will thank Mr Lovett publicly when she receives the money.

If he has to pay Cavan SPCA, he wont like it. Ill take it anyway. Ill put a big thing up [online] and thank him very much for the proceeds of his court case. Let everybody know and thank him very much for it.

She added: There needs to be laws enforced that say you cannot do this.

If you get in trouble and its proved youve done wrong with animals, you either should not be allowed have those animals again or be very limited.

Tina told how she was contacted by gardai on the day of the incident.

Fianna Fail councillor Craig Lovett

Temperatures were in the mid-to-late 20Cs and neighbours became concerned after hearing dogs barking loudly from the property in distress for a lengthy period of time.

When they went to investigate, they found a male cocker spaniel, two female Llewellin setters and a female boxer locked up in a metal horse box in the field unattended in the heat.

They contacted gardai who then contacted Tina.

I had only arrived when the dog warden and Craig Lovett arrived.

I followed them in walking. Craig Lovett said, get her the f*** off my property, she said.

The guards escorted me off the property then.

The dogs were later rehomed.

The Sunday World contacted Cllr Lovett after the incident, but he denied the dogs had been left in a trailer before refusing to comment further and hanging up the phone.
Takeaway owner grins and laughs as he walks free from prison after serving his time

Yung chats with friends who had waited to meet him on the outside

Hoi Ping Yung carries a case on his release from the Midlands prison

A tourist who raped a friend in a Dublin hotel room emerged from prison laughing and smiling after serving his time for his sick attack.

British restaurateur Hoi Ping Yung (50) left the Midlands prison this week and is expected to return to England where he ran a Chinese takeaway.

He joked with a couple who had waited for him outside the Co Laois lock-up when he emerged with a carry-on luggage bag, sporting a black leather jacket and hoodie.

A family member helped him sort travel arrangements to get home, ten years after the attack at a Harcourt Street hotel after a day of drinking in city pubs, according to sources.

The woman he attacked said in a victim impact statement how she had been subjected to victim shaming during his trial, which took place seven years after the horror incident.

Yung chats with friends who had waited to meet him on the outside

Yung was jailed for four-and-a-half years for the rape of the woman during a visit to Ireland, after he had arrived here with a pal who knew her.

The three had travelled into Dublin city in the morning and spent the day drinking and visiting around five pubs in 2013.

After missing the last bus home, they agreed to get a twin room in a hotel. The victim went to sleep in a single bed while the two men took the double bed.

The woman told the trial she awoke twice to find Yung lying next to her and rubbing her arm and leg. She elbowed him away each time and fell back asleep.

She awoke a third time to find her body had been pulled down in the bed and Yung was raping her.

She said what the f**k? and he stopped and got off her and got back into the other bed.

The woman dressed quickly and left the hotel room as Yung tried to pull her back into the room, and reported the rape.

Because of various delays it took until December 2020 before Yung was convicted at the Central Criminal Court of the rape.

Gardai had quickly arrived at the scene and arrested Yung but he was too drunk to be interviewed.

He was arrested some time later and told gardai he had no memory of the rape.

Yung said he wasnt denying sex had taken place but maintained that if it did happen it was consensual, it was heard at his trial where he pleaded not guilty.

The victim was in court for the trial but had asked that her impact statement be read into the record by counsel.

In the statement she said certain words and phrases used during the trial had caused her to feel shame and guilt, like I played a role.

The way my character was twisted was disgusting and still upsets me. There was victim shaming being done, she stated.

The mother-of-two said that as a result of the trial process she now questioned herself about wearing red lipstick, and wondered is my underwear too sexual?.

She said the trial forced her to relive her nightmare and that it was soul destroying.

Ms Justice Tara Burns said the victim was entitled to set out her criticisms of the trial process.

This is the system we have, the system is difficult on complainants, the judge said.

The woman later gave an interview in which she described Yung as a sick man who needed help.

Yung sees the Sunday World at the prison

I dont wish him any pain or suffering but I do believe the way he behaved over the last seven years has been cowardly, unjust, selfish and inconsiderate to me and my family, she said in 2020.

I think he is a sociopath who showed absolutely no empathy and told lie after lie during this whole nightmare. It may be seven years ago but Im still having flashbacks.

He attacked me when I was asleep, chased after me when I managed to escape and then went back to sleep while I was suffering from a panic attack in the street.

I had no idea he was wandering the corridors looking for me but I had the determination to get away.

Despite the gruelling court process, she urged other victims of rape and sexual abuse to come forward.

It was harrowing being cross examined in court, having my underwear being shown and my father who passed away being brought up, but it was worth it in the end.

I was telling the truth from day one and in the end they believed me and not the man who told lie after lie.

There was no way I was going to accept a sexual assault plea  the simple fact is that he raped me.
Gerry Hutch has plenty to choose from when it comes to his place in the sun...

Gerry The Monk Hutch has never set foot in a 350,000 Spanish apartment that he purchased in Spain in 2020  locals this week claimed to the Sunday World .

Instead, the luxury apartment has been allowed to remain empty while the 60-year-old spent 18 months in custody awaiting trial for the Regency Hotel murder of David Byrne.

I have never seen him in this building, a business owner on the ground floor this week told the Sunday Worldafter we showed him a picture of Hutch.

I do remember an Irish person coming here at one stage but I have never seen the man in the photograph. It is a private building. There are only seven units above us, so I would have seen him if he was here.

The building in which Hutch purchased the penthouse apartment is located just 100 metres from a local police station.

The penthouse apartment in Fuengirola owned by Gerry Hutch   MCN pics

A couple of months after Hutch purchased the apartment, he is also reported to have purchased an underground car-parking space in a communal garage.

Details of Hutchs ownership of the top-floor apartment in Fuengirola have emerged two weeks after we revealed how he had separately set up a business headquarters in Lanzarote from where he could manage his reputed 12 million property interests.

While on remand in Wheatfield Prison, Hutch registered a lock up at 11 Calle Timple in Las Tias Palmas, Lanzarote as the headquarters for his Spanish real estate company.

He declared the new address with the Registro Mercantil Central, Spains company office.

Gerry Hutch

Although Hutch has registered the property as the companys headquarters, a source spoken to by this newspaper said she is sceptical that Hutch ever intends on being physically present there.

Spanish company records are readily accessible, so this would be the equivalent of putting your name and address in the telephone book, she said.

Hutchs property empire is believed to include his Clontarf house, estimated to be worth almost 1m; an extensive Turkish property portfolio in Izmir and Kusadasi valued at 2 million; a number of residential developments in Bulgaria and Hungary and property in London valued at 2.5 million.

The nearby Fuengirola police station

Gardai allege Hutch built this empire on the profits of the Marino Mart robbery and the Brinks Allied raids  a charge Hutch has always denied.

He maintains that he made his fortune from compensation claims and then invested funds in the housing market.

I done (sic) a lot of business in property, he told RTEs Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds in his only televised interview.

It was a good time and thats where I made me money (sic).

It was to property that Hutch turned again when he fled to Lanzarote following the murder of David Byrne in February of 2016.

He listed the primary function of the business, which effectively saw him register to operate as a sole trader, as management of real estate on a fee or contract basis.

The business allowed Hutch to obtain a tax ID  which also serves as a Spanish VAT number  granting him the status of legitimate businessman in the region.

Hutch used this status when fighting extradition to Ireland to face the murder charge.

Limoncello restaurant in Fuengiriola, where Hutch was originally arrested   MCN Pics

He told the extradition hearing that he was not hiding from the authorities while living in Spain and was even paying taxes in his own name.

Although it was expected that Hutch would leave Ireland in the immediate aftermath of his acquittal on the charge of carrying out the murder of David Byrne, Hutch has been regularly spotted in north Dublin since his release.

Sources say while Hutch is still expected to leave Ireland, he is in no hurry to do so and will likely leave at a time of his own choosing when the fuss over his acquittal has died down.
Orla Ellis, the daughter of ex Fianna Fail TD John Ellis, is under investigation for running up 560k deficit in her client account

Suspended solicitor Orla Ellis was tight-lipped when our reporter called to her home for comment on allegations

Orla Ellis talking to Sunday World's Patrick O'Connell at her home in Fenagh, Co Leitrim

A suspended County Leitrim solicitor, who is under investigation by the Law Society for running up a deficit of 560,000 in her client account, has secured a job with the civil service.

Orla Ellis, the daughter of former Fianna Fail Sligo/Leitrim TD John Ellis, secured a job with the Department of Social Protection after she was suspended by the High Court last August.

Sources in Leitrim revealed Ellis, who was also running Quinns pub in Fenagh, Co Leitrim, with her husband, is working for the department which administers social welfare payments despite a series of alarming financial issues discovered in her legal practice.

In March we reported that an internal Law Society disciplinary committee found Ellis had been dishonest in her practice as a solicitor.

This dishonesty caused a deficit in client funds where a number of elderly clients or the estates of dead people had been overcharged.

An affidavit from a Law Society investigator said there was an acknowledged practice of teeming and lading, a form of bookkeeping fraud, by Ellis and she had accepted the contents of his critical report on her firm.

The Law Society investigation found that large bequests left by clients of Ellis to charities such as the Salvation Army and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind had not been paid as instructed to Ellis.

Ellis is now working for the biggest employer of civil servants with over 6,500 staff in the Department of Social Protection headed up by Fine Gaels Heather Humphreys. She oversees a budget of more than 23bn.

Suspended solicitor Orla Ellis was tight-lipped when our reporter called to her home for comment on allegations

Asked about Elliss recruitment, the department said it cannot comment on queries in relation to staff members.

The department recruits staff through the Public Appointments Service (PAS), it said.

Where a candidate is being considered for a role, PAS carry out final eligibility and pre-employment checks including garda vetting before assigning the candidate to a government department.

After we sent a direct email to Elliss work address the department responded to say direct approaches to staff by journalists were inappropriate and all press queries should be directed to its press office.

In 2019, Ellis and her husband Cormac Feehan took over the running of Quinns pub via a lease. Ellis told the Law Society last year that they had spent a lot of money on it and they were doing very well.

However, the pub was closed shortly after St Patricks Day following a garda visit to the premises.

A number of complaints were made that the pub was operating without a valid licence.

A garda spokesman said: Gardai are investigating an alleged breach of the Intoxicating Liquor Act at a licensed premises in Leitrim in March 2023.

It is for any individual licensee to ensure they are operating in compliance with their licence.

Asked if gardai were investigating the missing client funds or the false accounting at Elliss practice, he said: Gardai in Leitrim are making enquiries into a matter reported to them, by a non-affected third party. This report continues to be assessed.

Ellis did not respond to a request to comment.
Anyone with a previous connection to Freddie Scappaticci is fair game for a whispering campaign these days

IRA member Joe Lynskey who was murdered by the terror group over an affair with another members wife

The rumour mill worked overtime this week amid claims that yet another veteran republican and friend of Freddie Scappaticci had been outted as a police informer.

But speaking through his solicitor, the pensioner at the centre of the allegations rubbished the reports.

And the man strongly denied being a tout or that he and his wife had fled their west Belfast home.

He is the latest republican with links to Brit superspy Freddie Scappaticci to have the finger of unsubstantiated suspicion pointed at him.

Anyone with a previous connection to Freddie Scappaticci is fair game for a whispering campaign these days, a republican source said yesterday.

Last weekend it was claimed that deceased IRA man Paddy Monaghan  a former member of Scappaticcis so-called Nutting Squad  was also working for the police.

Twenty years ago, Scappaticci was uncovered as the British military intelligence asset codenamed Stakeknife. And it is believed his boss John Joe Magee  a former member of the British Special Boat Service  was also an agent.

Freddie Scappaticci

It was revealed that Scap had operated at the heart of the IRA for three decades and it has also been alleged he became very wealthy as a result of his treachery.

Operation Kenova  headed by top cop Jon Boutcher  is currently investigating Scappaticcis spying activities and his suspected involvement in up to 30 murders.

But a press report earlier this week said an elderly couple had quit their west Belfast flat amid claims that the man had also batted for the Brits during the Troubles. No one was named or identified in the article or his solicitors statement.

Lawyer Padraig O Muirigh insisted there was no foundation to claims his client was an informer or that the couples property had been cleared out.

And the unnamed man also received the full backing of former Sinn Fein spin doctor Danny Morrison, who took to Twitter to claim the story was baseless.

The mans identity is well known in west Belfast republican circles. But in compliance with a request from his legal team, we are keeping it confidential at this stage.

It is not the first time the ex-republican was the subject to rumours and speculation.

We can reveal that he was once linked, without proof, to an incident where a man was fatally wounded in a Belfast bar during a republican feud.

But, incredibly, the fallout from that shooting resulted in the Provos murdering and secretly burying one of its members.

That man was Joe Lynskey from Cavendish Street in the Beechmount area of west Belfast  he had started the feud which led to the attack on the bar.

IRA member Joe Lynskey who was murdered by the terror group over an affair with another members wife

The former Cistercian monk went missing later that year, although his disappearance caused little controversy in west Belfast where republicans were often forced to go on the run. Only his family made any effort to discover his whereabouts, but without success. His IRA unit remained tight-lipped about his whereabouts.

The awful truth was Lynskey was the first of 12 people to be secretly disappeared by the IRA. But the republican terror group filed the story away in its cabinet of shameful secrets.

It emerged Lynskey had been conducting an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his IRA associates.

He had become infatuated with the woman and he ordered IRA men under his command to murder her husband.

That man was wounded in the attack  and Lynskey then lied to his IRA bosses that the attack had been carried out by two members of the rival Official IRA from Beechmount.

That in turn sparked a set of reprisals, one of which involved the veteran republican who this week was forced to deny he was a double agent.

Years later, deceased IRA member Delours Price, revealed she drove Lynskey to an IRA safe house in Monaghan.

He was later shot dead by the IRA and his body was dumped in Coghalstown Bog in County Meath.

Despite repeated searches by specialist teams, his body has never been recovered.
Responding to a tweet about the upcoming laws, Mr Trump Jr, whose father visits Ireland for two days this week, wrote: Its insane whats happening in the free world.

Donald Trump Jr has taken aim at Irelands proposed new hate speech legislation, labelling it insane.

The eldest child of the former US president was responding to a tweet highlighting aspects of the legislation, called the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022.

The updated legislation will add a demonstration test, where prosecutors can rely on the use of hostile or prejudiced slurs, gestures or symbols at the time of offending, in order to make it easier to secure prosecutions.

The legislation is long awaited as Ireland does not currently have specific laws dealing with hate crime.

The law will legislate for hate crimes by creating new, aggravated forms of certain existing criminal offences, where those offences are motivated by prejudice against a protected characteristic such as race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability.

The aggravated offences will generally carry an enhanced penalty compared to the ordinary offence.

Donald Trump Jr. Picture: Reuters

Read more US President Joe Biden confirms 2024 re-election bid in video announcement

Responding to a tweet about the upcoming laws, Mr Trump Jr, whose father visits Ireland for two days this week, wrote: Its insane whats happening in the free world.

He was responding to a tweet by an opponent of the legislation who described it as radical.

The Twitter user wrote: Ireland is about to pass one of the most radical hate speech bills yet. Merely possessing hateful material on your devices is enough to face prison time.

Not only that, but the burden of proof is shifted to the accused, who is expected to prove they didnt intend to use the material to spread hate. This clause is so radical that even the Trotskyist People Before Profit opposed it as a flagrant violation of civil liberties. Dark times.

Currently hate speech is covered by the 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act.

There have only been 50 convictions for incitement to hatred since that was introduced, so we need a law that has teeth, that you can prosecute, but we also need a law around hate crimes

There are people living in this country at this moment in time who are not living their lives as they should simply because of fear, justice minister Helen McEntee said last year when she introduced the legislation.

We all have a right to feel safe and to be safe but for somebody to feel unsafe simply because of who they are, so their race, their religion, the colour of their skin, and their sexual orientation, its not a society that I want to live in, and its not what we should be tolerating.

She said the new law would allow hate to be taken into account, and to lead to a tougher penalty on conviction,

She added that the Bill would take into account the defence that someone did not intend to incite hatred by their words or actions.

So this is where a person intentionally says something, does something that would incite another person to hate that person or group of people, or to to commit violence against them, she said.

We are changing that to someone intentionally or recklessly because sometimes you can say something, and you might say I didnt mean it, but if you still carry through knowing that your intentions may have had those consequences, then that is what were looking at here.

She added that the legislation will cover all forms of media, including print, radio, social media, and online publishers.

Businessman and Republican Party campaigner Mr Trump Jr is very much in the same mould as his father.

He has supported efforts to Build The Wall against migrants crossing into the US from South America, said the danger from Covid was overstated, and has attempted to have the result of the 2020 presidential election, in which his father lost to Joe Biden, overturned. He was also named as a person of interest in the ensuing Capitol Riots in which three people died.

He regularly taunts Democrats and people he sees as liberal, and was widely condemned for sharing a message mocking the hammer attack on House speaker Nancy Pelosi last year.
The journalist and broadcaster said, Still hoping I will get to meet Brucie even with a bloody face!

Charlie Bird has been hospitalised following a bad fall while out walking.

The journalist and broadcaster revealed the news on Twitter today after he had to be treated at the accident and emergency department at St Michaels Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

While he has a bruised eye and some cuts on his face, he said he has thankfully broken no bones.

"Had a bad fall yesterday out walking. Ended up in AE in Michaels Dun Laoghaire. Thankfully nothing broken. Staff were fantastic, said the former RTE broadcaster, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

"So will be able to do Darkness into Light with my friends Pieta in the Phoenix Park. Still hoping I will get to meet Brucie even with a bloody face!

Had a bad fall yesterday out walking.Ended up in AE in Michaels Dun Laoghaire. Thankfully nothing broken. Staff were fantastic

So will be able to do Darkness into Light with my friends Pieta in the PhoenixPark. Still hoping I will get to meet Brucie even with a bloody face ! pic.twitter.com/fFOOr1JjiJ  Charlie Bird (@charliebird49) May 1, 2023

It was announced Mr Bird had become an ambassador for Darkness into Light in late April to help raise funds for the suicide prevention charity.

Mr Bird previously told his followers on Twitter that the one thing he still has on his bucket list is a meeting with rock star Bruce Springsteen, who plays Dublin next week.

He said: I still have one thing on my bucket list I would love to meet Bruce Springsteen when he is here. I want Land of Hope and Dreams to be played at my funeral. This is mad, but I go to sleep nearly every night playing this song, along with The Parting Glass, Mr Bird said.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to take on the RDS for three dates in May.

Mr Bird has been using his platform to raise awareness for charities.

Last year, he climbed Croagh Patrick  raising over 1 million for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta House.
Standing in the courtyard, Joseph, who prefers not to give his last name, calmly observes what is going on around him. The young Guinean arrived in France after a journey that saw him cross eight different countries and the Mediterranean Sea by boat. For over a week, he has been sleeping alongside some 300 homeless migrants in an abandoned school in the French capitals wealthy district of Passy. They all claim to be minors, although they have not been officially listed as such by the local authorities. All of them are now awaiting the verdict of the appeal they have lodged with a judge. This process could take up to a year, during which time they will be homeless, due to the saturation of the emergency housing centers.

Several reports drafted by different agencies have highlighted the shortcomings of the countrys reception system in recent years as well as the saturation of the centers to accommodate refugees. This reflects an escalating trend in France. According to data from the Ministry of Justice, in 2022, 14,792 people were classified as unaccompanied minors. In 2021, 11,315, and 9,524 in 2020.

The occupied school, which has been abandoned for four years, is located just four kilometers from the Eiffel Tower. It is in one of the most affluent neighborhoods of the capital, Passy (number 16), next to the Parc des Princes and Roland Garros stadiums, and the Bois de Boulongne, home to almost a dozen foreign embassies. A number of residential buildings surround the school, and occasionally a neighbor will peer over their balcony to see what is going on. This morning, a woman called the police, said Zelda Gayet, one of the volunteers assisting them. She also chronicled the night a group arrived in front of the entrance gate with a sign that read: Free us from immigration. Meanwhile, other neighbors have come to help, such as a female florist who organized a flower-arranging activity. Against all odds, it was quite successful, she joked.

However, there is generally some tension surrounding the place. Volunteers control access to the site and a thick padlock prevents outsiders from coming in. The districts municipal administration, governed by the Republicans (conservative), is pressing for the expulsion of the migrants. In a statement, it denounced that the premises, which belong to the City Council, are in appalling condition and could constitute a danger to the occupants. The administration was also critical of the fact that most of the migrants have been classified as adults and are here illegally. The party is headed by Eric Ciotti, who endorses the conspiracy theory of the Great Replacement and opposes the cordon sanitaire with Marine Le Pens far-right party.

Undocumented teenagers sleep in an abandoned school in Paris. Levy Yann (Yann Levy)

However, the City Council, under the leadership of the socialist Anne Hidalgo, refuses to expel them. Ian Brossat, deputy mayor in charge of housing, emergency accommodation and refugee protection, tweeted that they are asking to be accommodated. We have also made a proposal to the State for a place that would allow us to provide decent housing for young people who claim to be minors and therefore increase our housing capacity, he said. Both the City Hall and the police department have failed to respond to this newspapers requests for further details.

Theres my White House, Joseph, who claims to be 15 years old, said half-smiling. He pointed to one of the few tents pitched in one of the rooms that form the enclosure. The place is damp and unhygienic. Some parts of the roof have fallen down, and the window panes are partially broken. There is nothing resembling the White House here. On the floor there are dirty mattresses, blankets, sleeping bags and gold-colored thermal blankets. There is also plenty of cardboard.

I want to get out of here, Im constantly stressed, and I dont sleep well, said the young man, who used to spend the night on the streets before arriving here. But for the time being, there is no other option. The occupation of the site, which is supported by four NGOs that accompany and defend migrants, started on April 4 and was intended to be temporary. No one knows how long it will endure. The organizations are demanding better reception measures from the authorities and are liaising with them, in the hope of a solution. There is no water or electricity. Only a generator that is turned off at 9 p.m. The City Council, meanwhile, has installed four mobile toilets.

NGOs report that more and more young people are arriving on a daily basis, mainly from West African countries. The situation is complicated. The pressure from the police has intensified. Every time tents are erected in the same place in Paris, the police show up. This leaves more and more young people wandering around  alone and disoriented, bemoaned Nicolai Pozner, spokesman for Utopia56. His organization provides legal aid to migrants whose status as minors has been denied and gives them survival materials when they are forced to sleep rough.

A resident sweeps one of the classrooms converted into a dormitory. Yann Levy

NGOs claim that more than 50% of the young people have been recognized as minors after their appeal, though there is no official data. According to a 2021 Senate report, 55% of young migrants reporting to the French authorities as unaccompanied minors have been believed to be adults. A report published in February by seven organizations  including Doctors of the World and the United Nations Childrens Fund (Unicef)  showed that, depending on the departments of France [equivalent to the provinces], between 50% and 80% of young people are subsequently recognized as minors.

In Josephs case, he says that he was asked for his birth certificate, but he did not have it. Since then, he has been trying to contact his mother so that she can send it over. The last time he spoke to his family he was in Italy, where he arrived after spending three days at sea. He departed Tunisia with his cousin, who was traveling on another boat. He has had no word from him. All we hope for is to have a less hard life, he said. Id like to stay wherever I can, he continued. Then he added, My dream is to become a nurse.

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Three key appointments have been confirmed for the Tourism Bay of Plenty board by Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

The appointments follow the retirement of current Board Chair, Laurissa Cooney, and Trustee Gwendoline Keel, who have both served a maximum two terms on the TBOP Board.

TBOP Deputy Chair Russ Browne is reaching the end of his first three-year term and has been appointed Board Chair for a further three years, to April 30 2026.

Russ has extensive governance experience as a Director at PKF Tauranga, Chair at Tauhara North Tourism Limited and Chair of TBOPs Audit and Risk Committee.

Janine Tulloch. Photo: Supplied.

Two new and highly-experienced board trustees, Janine Tulloch and Peter Blakeway, have also been appointed to the Board for three years to April 30 2026.

Janine has held various governance roles and has a real passion for tourism, most recently holding the position of Director of Tourism Waitaki.

Peter Blakeway. Photo: Supplied.

Peter also has extensive experience in governance roles and is currently the Academic Leader of tourism and hospitality programmes at Te Pukenga - Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.

Last year, Peter was awarded the Supreme Award in recognition of his service to the hospitality industry at the Bay Hospitality Awards.

Russ Browne. Photo: Supplied.

Tauranga City Council Commission Chair Anne Tolley says these high-level appointments come at a critical time for the TBOP Board as we move into a post-pandemic world and look at new ways to continue driving visitor arrivals and growth in our region.

Im thrilled to welcome in two new board trustees and see Russ Browne move into the position of Chair, to help guide us through this next stage of growth, ensuring visitors continue coming to enjoy our beautiful region.

Id also like to acknowledge the retirement of Chair Laurissa Cooney, and Trustee Gwendoline Keel, and thank them for their dedication and tireless efforts during what has been an exceptionally difficult few years for the tourism sector, says Anne.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council Mayor, James Denyer, also thanks the retiring trustees and welcomes the new trustees onboard.

Laurissa and Gwendoline have provided strong governance for TBOP through the recent tough times and I have every confidence that Russ, our new Chair, will ensure TBOP continues on a successful path.

I welcome Janine Tulloch and Peter Blakeway in their new roles and look forward to working with them as part of our wider Council family," says James.

TBOP is a council-controlled organisation, jointly controlled by Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council, operating within the powers conferred by its Trust Deed.

Russ Browne, Board Chair at Tourism Bay of Plenty

Russ brings extensive governance experience holding a range of directorships locally and nationally in tourism operations and other industry sectors. He also has over 19 years experience as partner of a local accounting practice PKF Tauranga Limited and a director of the national group PKF NZ Limited.



Janine Tulloch, Board Trustee at Tourism Bay of Plenty

Janine is an experienced director, including a recent role as Director of Tourism Waitaki, a council-controlled organisation. She has also been an Independent Director at Wanacare Limited (community health facility) since 2018. Previous governance roles include Chair NZ Salmon Farmers Association and Toast Martinborough Ltd. Previously GM Group Finance at Skyline Enterprises, Janine now lives locally, working for Classic Group as CFO.

Peter Blakeway, Board Trustee at Tourism Bay of Plenty

Peter is well known to the tourism and hospitality industry in the Bay of Plenty, having spent the last twenty years in the Bay as a business owner and educator. Peter currently leads the Tourism and Hospitality team on the Windermere campus of Te Pukenga - Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, as well as being a member of the Academic Board, advisor to Ringa Hora Workforce Development Council and a member of the Steering Group for national tourism education development and delivery. Peter is a board member with Linkt Community Trust, which led the development of Taurangas first social supermarket in collaboration with Foodstuffs.
Seven retired St John Ambulances will be loaded onto a ship bound for Europe - and ultimately Ukraine  this week to assist with the delivery of critical medical supplies, and medical care.

All the vehicles will be imported into Ukraine by Kiwi K.A.R.E (Kiwi Aid & Refugee Evacuation).

Five of the ambulances will be gifted to front line medical units with the remaining two being kept by Kiwi K.A.R.E for mobile health clinics operating in Ukraines red zone areas.

Founder of Kiwi K.A.R.E, Tenby Powell, approached St John last year about taking some of their retired fleet into Ukraine and says they are a much-needed resource that will be put to work immediately on arrival.

We are thrilled the ambulances will soon be on their way to Ukraine. We are fortunate to have some highly qualified Doctors and Nurses as part of the wider Kiwi K.A.R.E team. Being able to run mobile health clinics, in previously occupied areas, where people havent seen a health professional for years, in some cases, will make a significant contribution to their wellbeing.

Kiwi K.A.R.E has been supported by a diverse range of New Zealand organisations, all of whom have got right behind the humanitarian cause for Ukraine.

St John has been absolutely tremendous to deal with from the outset in facilitating this initiative. I then approached KiwiRail, who were very helpful in organising transport on the Interislander Ferry to the Christchurch based units across Cook Strait. In terms of the logistics in getting the ambulances across the 16,465 Nautical Miles (30,492 Kilometres) between Auckland and Germanys Port Bremerhaven, shipping company, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and freight forwarders, Nautica Shipping and Logistics, have bent over backwards to support this endeavour. says Powell.

The World Health Organization has recorded over 800 attacks on hospitals and medical facilities in Ukraine from February to December 2022. Of those, 150 hospitals, including childrens hospitals and specialist cancer centres, have been completely destroyed.

Powell says being able to deploy the retired ambulances into Ukraine will significantly enhance Kiwi K.A.R.Es humanitarian work there.

We are very grateful to the many hundreds of New Zealanders who have supported Kiwi K.A.R.E and we are thrilled to have a New Zealand flagged entity operating in Ukraine. The ambulances are a tangible symbol of the aroha the people of Aotearoa New Zealand are sending to those living under siege in war torn Ukraine.

Kiwi K.A.R.E. has a fund-raising page on the Give-a-Little crowdfunding site.
The New Zealand Army Band is hoping to lift the spirits of the Tairawhiti community after Cyclone Gabrielle in February.

Locals will be treated to a free concert on Thursday at Gisborne Boys High School.

The family-friendly live show encompasses popular music, musical theatre, jazz and rock - with a promise of something for everyone to enjoy.

New Zealand Army Band Director of Music Major Graham Hickman, DSD, says its a special stop on the bands tour of North Island secondary schools.

Weve been wanting to get up to the East Coast again for a couple of years and were planning to perform the first week of March in schools from Napier to Ruatoria, says Major Hickman.

Obviously Cyclone Gabrielle changed those plans but we are lucky to be able to reschedule for the first week of May, and while were in the neighbourhood we wanted to put on a free concert for the Tairawhiti community.

The New Zealand Army Band is hoping to lift the spirits of the Tairawhiti community after Cyclone Gabrielle, when it plays a free concert in Gisborne this week. Photo: Supplied.

The band recently performed a cover of 35 by Ka Hao featuring Rob Ruha, a song that celebrates Tairawhiti and life on State Highway 35 on the East Coast of the North Island - from Opotiki to Gisborne.

The video of their rendition has gone viral online, viewed more than 200,000 times since its release in early March.

Band Master Staff Sergeant Phil Johnston says the musicians would play a mix of swing, rock and popular music.

Much like our school concerts, people usually expect a military style concert from the Army Band, but we are much more than marching and classic music, says Staff Sergeant Johnston.

People can expect contemporary musical covers as well as some classics, but a selection that will have everyone dancing and singing along with us.

We are really looking forward to sharing our music with a community who have suffered so much in the last few months.

The New Zealand Army Band concert will be held from 7pm - 8.30pm on Thursday May 4 at the Gisborne Boys High School Auditorium

Although this is a free event, pre-booking is required. Secure your free ticket from www.eventfinda.co.nz
A man whose bowel screening test came back positive was disgusted to learn he wouldnt be given a colonoscopy, because he had one too recently.

John McKenzie, of Papamoa, lost his mother to bowel cancer, so was very keen to take part in the National Bowel Screening Programme when invited last month.

Bowel screening is offered to eligible people aged 60 to 74 every two years, to help detect bowel cancer early.

People are given a kit to collect a small sample of faeces for testing, called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), which can detect tiny traces of blood in a sample.

John, then 74, did the test, and mailed it back. It was positive.

A positive result does not necessarily mean a person has bowel cancer. Traces of blood can also be caused by polyps, or other conditions such as haemorrhoids (piles).

Manurewa bowel cancer survivor Ben Cullen is calling for people to take part in cancer screening, after he had a tumour detected and surgically removed.

The National Bowel Screening Programme website states: If your test is positive it means you will need a further investigation. This will usually be a colonoscopy.

Earlier in April, John received a letter from Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty stating colonoscopies are only required if the person has not had one in the past five years.

Because hed had one in December 2020, the letter stated John would be invited to participate in the programme in 2025, if still eligible.

John has just turned 75, so is already too old to be eligible.

The screening programme website and information given to patients does state those whove had a colonoscopy in the past five years should not take part.

John can't understand then why he was invited, and was upset his positive result would not be followed up.

If youve got blood in there, wouldnt you want to find out where its coming from?

John feels theres an obligation to investigate the possible cause of the bleeding, irrespective of when he last had a colonoscopy.

How that decision [not to do one] can be made without looking at me is just ridiculous.

He says if he couldnt get a colonoscopy through the programme, hed wanted to pay for one.

Having recently given up his health insurance for financial reasons, this wouldnt be easy, he said: No retired person in a lifestyle village is wealthy.

National Bowel Screening Programme clinical lead Dr Susan Parry says while a colonoscopy is the gold standard for bowel cancer diagnosis, it carries inherent risk  so the decision about how frequently to perform them is carefully made.

Te Whatu Ora would not comment on Johns case specifically.

However, Susan did say eligible people part of a surveillance programme outside the NBSP (due to a history of, or family history of bowel cancer) are not excluded from being invited.

It is, however, explained in the information provided with the bowel screening kit that an individual should not do the test if they have had a colonoscopy within the last five years or are on a bowel polyp or bowel cancer surveillance programme.

Susan says the vast majority of people participating in the bowel screening programme who receive a positive FIT result will proceed to a colonoscopy.

There are a number of reasons why it may not be clinically appropriate to proceed with a [screening programme] colonoscopy, and its important that this decision rests with a medical specialist.

-Hannah Martin/Stuff.
Torremolinos marks International Dance Day with tribute to inspirational flamenco performer Tona Radley, whose death coincided with the dance day celebrations in 2021, ran a dance academy in Torremolinos, where she has a street named in her honour

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Torremolinos marked International Dance Day (29 April) with a tribute to the dancer Tona Radely, one of flamencos most inspirational performers who died in 2021.

The event took place in the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Cultural Centre on Saturday and was attended by the mayor, Margarita del Cid, and members of her council, along with relatives, friends and colleagues of the dancer.

The tribute presented a video with testimonies of people who had known and worked with Tona, who, after retiring from professional dancing, spent her time teaching dance in Torremolinos. The event also included a performance of some of her former students, along with an exhibition of memorabilia, photographs, dresses and personal items: this collection will remain on show until Saturday 13 May.

Ampliar The exhibition includes memorabilia, photographs and dresses. SUR

Tona Radley, who was born in Madrid in 1927, went on to work all over the world with numerous celebrated figures from within the world of flamenco, including Antonio Molina and Marife de Triana, among others.

The dancer, who has a street named after her in the El Pinillo district of the town, died on 29 April 2021, which, as some suggested, was fitting because it is the day the dance is celebrated all around the world.
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. shall feature, along with the author's 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

Are you familiar with the Phryges, the new mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games? They are red, feminine, horny and smiley. They are also shaped like clitorises. Until now, Olympic mascots were inspired by animals (sheepdogs, pandas, monkeys, hedgehogs...) but, suddenly, France has come along and made its symbol two beautiful clitorises. Very soon, perhaps, they will represent Paris as well. In fact, after being introduced to the Phryges, some have already started to claim that the Eiffel Tower is too phallic to represent the city of love. How did this happen? Very simple: its creators wanted to depict the patriotic French Phrygian cap. But in so doing, they gave life to two giant clitorises that are smiling gloriously at the whole world.

Theres no doubt that the Phryges are two clitorises. I mean, its almost obscene how much they look alike. They look so much like a clitoris that the Vagina Museum in London has availed itself of the opportunity the mascots offered to post a guide to their anatomy, which they illustrate by pointing to the mascots precious clitoral glans. They have it all: the urethral and vaginal openings, the cavernous body and the root. They are a perfect anatomical representation. And I wonder: can anyone imagine a neon cock with little eyes becoming an Olympic mascot? Obviously, that could not have happened. Of course, many people see, approve and celebrate the mascot that will represent a country in the Olympic Games. So, if the French Phrygian cap had looked like a phallus, someone would have noticed and said: Hey, we cant make our mascot a giant penis. But because theyre two big red clitorises instead, it turns out that no one recognized what they were.

Nobody noticed because theres a vast lack of knowledge about the clitoris. From the perspective of sexual education, the visibility of the Phryges offers us a golden opportunity, given that our cultural heritage has historically mangled the anatomy of the clitoris to the point that, even today, the organ is not represented in textbooks. As incredible as it may seem, we have only known the clitoris as we do now since 1998, when Australian urologist Helen OConnell published her findings. She discovered that the glans of the clitoris is only the tip of the iceberg: the entire organ measures between seven and ten centimeters and has two pillars that extend and embrace the vaginal sides. In addition, the clitoris becomes aroused and hard and bursts with pleasure at orgasm. However, even today, the clitoris has not yet achieved the visibility it deserves. Maybe thats why the erotic charge of the pretty Phryges went unnoticed so easily. Because mental images, such as the one written by Jean-Paul Sartre in Being and Nothingness, still weigh heavily: The female sexual parts are (...) a call to being, as are all holes; in themselves, the woman calls to a strange flesh that must transform it into the fullness of being by penetration and dilution. This profound anatomical ignorance not only leads to a misconception of the world, but also to sexual relations that can give rise to perverse power relations. The visual artist and author Liv Stromquist trenchantly makes this point in detail in her Fruit of Knowledge.

Thats why the popularization to which the Phryges will undoubtedly contribute will also have favorable political consequences. Because our way of imagining female sexuality has not been scientific or anatomical; it has been political. Of course, biological ignorance facilitates deception. Thus, even the brilliant Sigmund Freud boldly claimed that young and immature women had clitoral orgasms, while mature female sexuality meant experiencing vaginal orgasms. That abominable concept led the father of deep psychology to consider female masturbation (and any clitoral stimulation) as superfluous and inappropriate. According to him, women who did not achieve orgasm during intercourse were frigid. Thus, heterosexual sex has traditionally been understood as synonymous with penetration. That representation has had serious political consequences: for example, until 2012, the penis was an essential element of the crime of rape in the United States. Another example is that the orgasm gap remains a gender gap, as Maria Hesse reminded us in her excellent and celebrated book Pleasure (El placer). In her tome, Hesse drew many beautiful clitorises, one of which became the cover of El Pais Weekly in February 2020. Among other things, she reminded us that 95% of heterosexual men reach orgasm during intercourse with their partners while only 65% of women do, according to data published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour in 2018. That shouldnt surprise us when we consider the great success of the Freudian sexual imaginary. Today, we know that all female orgasms are clitoral, and that penetration is absurdly overrated as a source of female pleasure.

Thus, the Phryges have become a perfect metaphor for all the silences and amputations -- symbolic and otherwise; the clitoris remains a forbidden and mutilated organ in some countries of the world -- that concern the feminine; it turns out that we cannot see or name what we have not learned to look at. That is to say, we do not see what is front of us, but instead what we can recognize. Twenty years ago, the whole world would have believed that the Phryges were two Phrygian caps. Today, however, men and women alike have begun to note and celebrate the fact that there are two clitorises bearing the French flag, as if the female orgasm were a new addition to the French Republics cry of liberty, equality and fraternity. The first political, red, sexual and feminist Olympic mascot has arrived.
Manchester, N.Y.  Two college students died and two others were injured early Saturday when the car they were riding in struck a guardrail on the Thruway, state police said.

Olivia Moore, 21, a Temple University student from the United Kingdom, was driving a 2022 Kia Soul westbound on Interstate 90 in Ontario County at 1:50 a.m. when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle veered onto the north shoulder, striking a guiderail end, troopers said in a news release.

Both Moore and back seat passenger on the drivers side, Francesca Ward, 21, also of the United Kingdom, were pronounced deceased at the scene, state police said. They were transported to Geneva General Hospital, pending an autopsy.

Two other passengers, Inesa Meshko Kosei, 21, of Spain, and Reina Haga, 22, of Japan, were transported to Clifton Springs Hospital for evaluation.

All four people in the car are international students from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, state police said.

The students were traveling to Toronto, Canada to go sightseeing at the time of the crash, according to state police.

There was no indication of drug or alcohol involvement at the scene, troopers said in the release. The investigation is ongoing.

The crash happened on I-90 West, about an hour west of Syracuse, between exit 42 (Geneva) and exit 43 (Manchester).

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
Deputies identify Fulton high school students in crash: 1 killed, 1 in critical condition

Granby, N.Y.  A Fulton high school student was killed in a crash that also injured another student Sunday night, school officials confirmed.

The two-vehicle crash happened at 5:35 p.m. on state Route 48 near Chesbro Drive in the town of Granby, according to the Oswego County 911 Center.

Hours after the crash, Fulton City School Superintendent Brian Pulvino sent a message to the community.

It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of a devastating motor vehicle accident that occurred this evening involving Fulton City School District students, he wrote. At this time, law enforcement officials have reported that one of our high school students died in this accident and one other high school student was injured.

When reached by phone Sunday night, Pulvino told The Post-Standard | syracuse.com he wanted to let the community know the district will have counselors and other support systems available for students and staff this week at G. Ray Bodley High School.

It is a devastating time for our community, he said. It shows you the value of each and every day. My heart goes out to our families and students.

In his letter, Pulvino encouraged parents to call the school if they feel their child needs more support.

This tragedy will have a profound impact on our entire community, he said.

The county Sheriffs Office is investigating the crash. State police and Fulton city police, Menter Ambulance, and Cody, Granby Center, Phoenix and Hannibal volunteer fire departments responded to the scene. Route 48 was closed from Wilcox to Wybron roads in Granby until 9:28 p.m., 911 dispatchers said.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
Manlius, N.Y.  A Chittenango woman remains hospitalized after a serious crash this weekend in Manlius, authorities said.

Angel M. Waite, 42, was in critical, but stable condition Sunday night at Upstate University Hospital, according to a nursing supervisor.

Manlius police and Minoa firefighters performed lifesaving care on Waite after the crash at 2:13 a.m. Saturday, police said in a news release.

A Manlius officer on patrol spotted a 2013 Toyota Sienna off the south shoulder of Manlius Center Road. The minivan had hit a mailbox and a tree in the 7300 block of Manlius Center Road, near Manor Drive, police said.

The driver, later identified as Waite, was unconscious at the scene, police said.

Waite was taken to Upstate University Hospital in critical condition Saturday morning, Manlius police said.

Investigators said it appeared Waite was driving the Toyota Sienna eastbound on Manlius Center Road when she veered off the south shoulder of the roadway and hit the mailbox and tree.

Manlius Center Road was closed for several hours after the crash.

Police have not yet commented on the cause of the crash.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
Syracuse, N.Y.  New York must cover root canal treatments for Medicaid patients instead of making them get their teeth pulled under the terms of a federal class action lawsuit settlement.

The settlement announced today will significantly expand dental coverage for New Yorkers who use Medicaid, the health insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities.

About 144,431 people in Onondaga County, or four of every 10 residents, are covered by Medicaid.

The class action lawsuit was filed against the state Health Department in 2018 on behalf of Medicaid patients denied medically necessary dental care by the state.

Under the states strict rules, Medicaid dental benefits do not cover root canals or crowns until the patient has lost more than half of their back teeth.

A root canal is a treatment that eliminates infection and saves the tooth. A crown is a cap that restores a decayed or broken tooth.

The lawsuit argued the states strict rules ignore the close connection between poor oral health and other health problems suffered by the Medicaid-eligible population such as periodontal disease, gum disease, diabetes and related health complications.

The settlement was announced today by The Legal Aid Society and two law firms that brought the suit.

We brought this lawsuit to end New Yorks longstanding practice of denying our clients medically necessary care and will continue to do so as long as these injustices remain on the books, said Belkys Garcia of The Legal Aid Society.

The settlement also requires the state Medicaid program to cover replacement dentures, dental implants and crown lengthening, an oral surgery treatment.

James T. Mulder covers health. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com
NY Cannabis Insider is hosting a full-day conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany on May 18. Buy tickets here.

Kassia Graham is the director of community and strategy at Cannaclusive. Here, she shares her favorite tools and resources within the cannabis industry, the people who inspire her and advice shed give to her younger self.



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Women are vastly underrepresented in cannabis, and not just in New York. From 2019 to 2022, executive-level females have seen their industry wide status drop from 37% to 23%. Yet the MRTA makes things very clear: women-owned businesses are a key component of the states social and economic equity plan.

NY Cannabis Insider is seeking to elevate women in cannabis through a hyper focus on female story sourcing, quoting and visual layouts, balanced representation in our People to know and Behind the story series, and prioritized guest column submissions.

This series will last for as long as submissions come in.

Why did you launch your career in the cannabis industry? Were there any women who inspired you to do so? How did you do it?

I started working on the ancillary side of cannabis in late 2017 via Mary Pryor. A few months before she publicly announced the creation of Cannaclusive, she shared this new endeavor with an intimate group of people. I reached out to let her know I was interested in working together.

On a daily basis there are many women who inspire me to continue doing this work; Dasheeda Dawson, Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey, Brittany Carbone, Gia Moron, Elana Frankel, Dr. June Chin, Tanya Osborne, Lulu Tsui, Kika Keith, Haejin Big Bad Wolf Chun, Wanda James, Saki Fenderson, the women of the Drug Policy Alliance, the women of Etain  so many!

Since 2009, I have had a hardcopy of a response I received from now former Assistant Speaker Rhoda S. Jacobs, regarding my support for medical cannabis, on a corkboard in my room. Even as someone who wasnt in the industry then, I saw a need for cannabis to be legalized in New York, and we had to start somewhere.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to women leading? Are the barriers different in cannabis than any other industry?

I believe the patriarchal system is the most significant barrier to women leading because it is enmeshed in every facet of society. Women are not supported often enough by their male peers, and sometimes other women believe in tokenism and use the Im not like the other girls rhetoric to fit in with men. Not seeing enough people in cannabis who look like you can be intimidating at times. However, its an opportunity to be a trailblazer and someone other women, nonbinary people, and even men can look up to.

Whats the most common behavior or trait that you have seen derail women leaders careers, or at least negatively impact them?

Id have to say imposter syndrome has been one of the greatest killers of ambition and progress. Its very easy to fall into the trap of feeling as if youre not good enough. Settling, being overly loyal, and staying in the same place for too long when there is only stagnation is a great way to never advance and fulfill your potential. So, pass on the things that dont serve your goals and dreams. You deserve better.

What are the benefits to having women in leadership? What benefits have you received from your leadership experiences?

Having women in leadership roles is key to obtaining diverse and inclusive thoughts that contribute to a companys bottom line. Women of varying demographics know what their peers want, so why wouldnt a company listen to them? Being in a leadership role has met so many amazing people and participated in projects that serve the industry, consumers, and communities impacted by the war on drugs. Ive become a better collaborator and colleague due to listening to varying perspectives. Embracing differences while celebrating similarities, course correcting, and amplifying others is key.

How do you balance career, personal life and passions?

I am a recovering workaholic. Ive been working since age 14. I used to work myself to the brink in the nonprofit and corporate world. I freelanced during both bouts of Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer), and at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic  when I found myself digging into that abyss again with little to show for it  I found there was a need for change. Now, I check in with  and check  myself to see if I really need to answer that email ASAP, if I really need to work well into the night to make something perfect, if I really have to give my time to someone who wants me to work for free while they are getting paid. The answer is no. Ive been leaning further into creating and taking in more art, reading, journaling, and giving myself the love and care the world doesnt seem to be able to spare.

Shout out your other favorite women-owned or women-led businesses in the industry.

There are far too may to shout out but off the top of my head ALMOSTCONSULTING, Tricolla Farms (home of Tonic CBD), Elevate Jane, The CannaDiva, Women Grow, Etain, Our Academy, Budwell, PussyWeed, ENUF, Miss Grass, Sackville, Cannabis Media Council  I believe Im going to start a database so I can point people in the direction of these companies and many more.

Who/what are your favorite tools and resources in the industry?

I may be biased in saying this but ALMOSTCONSULTING and Cannaclusives Inclusivebase is a great resource for those who want to seek out BIPOC-owned cannabis businesses. NORML always keeps people abreast of national and local news, law, and policies. Dasheeda Dawsons How to Succeed in the Cannabis Industry is a useful tool for those seeking to enter the industry, or who want a refresher.

Following the New York Office of Cannabis Management is a good way to stay abreast of New York-specific initiatives, news, law, and policies. On The Revel has consistently delivered some of the best  and most accessible  cannabis industry content. Though On The Revels content tends to speak to New York, they do utilize professionals from across the country so it has a broader appeal. The Cannabis Workers Coalition (current board member) offers affirming resources for cannabis industry employees (cannabis consultants/bud tenders, farm workers, and the like) in Portland, Ore. ACHEM offers helpful resources for BIPOC medical professionals. The INCBA is for lawyers who work in, or are interested in a cannabis practice.

Though it is not an industry tool, a Google Alert will drop all the news you need into your lap. Sort out the basics of what youre looking for, then look for it. If you cant find it, consider asking someone who may have deeper knowledge of the industry. There are many communities for people with various intersections (queer, disabled, moms, parents, farmers, equity applicants) so seek those out via a search engine or hashtags on social media (a good tool on its own). Finally, consider finding or becoming a mentor to someone in the industry. Mentorship is sorely underrated. Find your tools and people.

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?

I would tell my 25-year-old self to: Never stop following your dreams even if you have to do things you dont like from time to time, and there is no shame in exploring all the jobs you like, to see what you love. Always get paid in full, or half now and half later; never piecemeal or go beyond the terms youve set. Advocate for yourself because no one else will. Lastly, learn how to say what you want in a manner that will get the results you need; you can be honest and firm, but adding a little sugar helps.

What advice would you give to the next generation of women leaders?

See the advice Id give to my 25-year-old self.

If youd like people to connect with you, please share your favorite methods of contact (email, phone, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).

People who are serious about collaboration, connection, and community can connect with me via LinkedIn.
NY Cannabis Insider is hosting a full-day conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany on May 18. Buy tickets here.

Julia Evans is a cannabis and litigation associate at The Long Law Firm, PLLC. She answered seven simple questions for NY Cannabis Insiders People to know series.



Sign up for the NY Cannabis Insider Newsletter

Enter your email address to get exclusive reporting on NY's cannabis market delivered to your inbox:









What is your position and what do you/your company do in the cannabis space?

I am the cannabis and litigation associate at The Long Law Firm, PLLC. My team and I advise clients on cannabis-related contracts, licensing, regulations, and compliance matters. We also help guide individuals and businesses through the maze of federal, state, and local laws that direct the use, manufacture, and sale of cannabis products.

How long have you worked in the cannabis space?

Five years.

What did you do before you were involved in the cannabis industry?

I was a student studying to receive my bachelors degree in psychology and planning to attend law school after graduation.

What led you to the cannabis industry?

My long-time passion for aiding the cannabis industry began when I was young, after seeing how life changing cannabis was for my grandmother who battled terminal cancer. In an effort to help my grandmother, I began independently researching the industry and the legal landscape surrounding cannabis.

I continued my research after her passing, in her honor, and as a result I have 12 years of accumulated knowledge pertaining to cannabis. I entered the industry professionally right before I began law school in 2018, starting as a student editor for the Cannabis Law Digest, where I diligently tracked and analyzed cannabis-related laws and court decisions from around the country.

I now continue my work as a cannabis attorney, helping individuals and businesses navigate the complicated rules and regulations in the industry. It is my hope that through community outreach, education, and positive representation, that the barriers to businesses and individuals in the industry can begin to be broken down.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to get into the NY weed industry?

Although the current cannabis industry in New York is complicated and ever-changing, do not let that intimidate you if your dream is to enter the legal cannabis industry.

When you have the support of your community and knowledgeable professionals, building yourself a successful business becomes a much less daunting task. Even though the adult-use cannabis licenses are not yet available for application, there are several things you can do now to prepare yourself for the application process, such as:

(1) forming your cannabis business;

(2) finding a compliant and cannabis-tolerable location;

(3) acquiring general liability, Workers Compensation, Disability and Paid Family Leave insurance for your business;

(4) checking the local laws of the municipality you plan to operate in (town/village AND county); or,

(5) checking to see if your business qualifies for N.Y.S. certified Minority-Owned, Woman-Owned, Minority Women-Owned, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business status, just to name a few things. Remember, you do not have to do this alone! Reach out to your local cannabis knowledgeable professionals for help!

What do you think the NY cannabis ecosystem will look like in five years?

In five years, I believe New York will have a healthy ecosystem of small, family-owned businesses servicing their local communities. The industry is heavily regulated, and in some communities still heavily stigmatized. The regulations currently prevent vertical integration of cannabis businesses and restrict the number of cannabis businesses that license holders can have an interest in.

Despite the heavy regulation, New York has shown a willingness to revise its rules when faced with industry-wide challenges. For example, the state chose to allow delivery operations for licensed retail dispensaries in response to the delay in obtaining built-out, compliant store fronts.

Large-scale changes will take time, but New York has placed emphasis on promoting justice-involved individuals and building back the communities affected by the War on Drugs, showing that the state is well-intentioned. If the state continues to promote social justice and equity in its future endeavors, the future of New Yorks cannabis industry should be bright.

What I would like to see change in the next five years is New Yorks treatment of businesses currently operating in the grey market. Lately, New York has emphasized enforcement of its rules regarding illicit cannabis, which seeks to punish people by precluding them from operating in the legal market for a prescribed period of time.

I believe that instead of punishment, the state should create an onboarding process for grey market operators to enter the legal industry. Because the grant of conditional adult-use licenses was staggered by license type, cultivators first licensed have retained massive amounts of legal cannabis over the past two years with nowhere for it to go, a shocking consequence of being first to an industry that, until recently, had an incomplete sales chain.

Additionally, many grey market operations are already successfully selling cannabis products to consumers, with the main issue being that the product sold is not being taxed. If grey market operators were onboarded into the legal market, not only would cultivators have more places to unload their stockpiled cannabis product, but the state would gain the benefits of adopting already established and operating businesses into the legal cannabis industry.

Instituting such a program would be no small feat, but if the state can find a way to successfully integrate grey market operators into the legal market, it would be making positive steps towards eliminating New Yorks black market, a problem some other states have yet to solve.

Who should contact you, and whats the best method (i.e. email, phone number, LinkedIn handle, etc.)

If you are looking to start or further a cannabis related business, The Long Law Firm has you covered! Please call my office at (315) 991-8000 or email me at jevans@long.law!
You fight hunger with food, right?

Thats the thinking behind the latest fundraising effort by the Food Bank of Central New York.

The nonprofit agency is launching its own bottled tomato basil pasta sauce as a way to support its mission of feeding hungry people in an 11-county region of Central New York.

The product, Pantry Classics Pasta Sauce, is now available at Syracuse-area Wegmans and Tops stores. The 24-ounce jars sell for $3.99. The Food Bank is working to find other retail outlets, said Lynn Hy, the agencys chief development officer.

The Food Bank partnered with Giovanni Foods of Baldwinsville to produce and package the sauce. Giovanni is a long-time packager for many private label brands.

The Food Bank of CNY distributes food for the hungry by working with 367 partner agencies in Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties.

In its last fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 17.4 million pounds of food, enough to provide 14.5 million meals, Hy said.

Its annual budget is about $16 million, Hy said. Of that, roughly $9 million comes from state programs, $1.9 million from federal programs and about $4.7 million from various community initiatives. One of those was the recent Savor Syracuse event, which raises about $100,000 each year.

The new pasta sauce should add to the community aid, Hy said, but the agency doesnt yet have an estimate of how much it will raise.

Since this is our first time making a venture like this, we dont have an estimate but if the sauce is well liked, it could add a nice amount of funding to help sustain our work, Hy wrote in an email.

Pasta sauce is a pantry staple in households across our service area, Karen Belcher, the Food Banks executive director said in a statement. This new private label sauce will offer a delicious red sauce option for our partner agencies and people facing hunger to enjoy. With the additional sale of jars of sauce at local Wegmans and Tops Friendly Markets, the proceeds will offer a new stream of support to provide nutritious food for men, women, and children experiencing hunger.

Where to find it

Heres a list of the current outlets carrying Pantry Classics Pasta Sauce:

Tops Friendly Markets

2265 Downer St, Baldwinsville

5335 W Genesee St, Camillus

800 W Genesee St, Chittenango

Route 5 & Oxbow Rd, Canastota

3803 Brewerton Rd, North Syracuse

620 Nottingham Rd, Syracuse

250 Towne Dr, Fayetteville

119 W Seneca St, Manlius

40 Fennell St, Skaneateles

71 Nelson St, Cazenovia

8417 Oswego Rd, Baldwinsville

181 Shop City Plaza, Syracuse

4410 E Genesee St, Dewitt

700 1st North St, Syracuse

227 E Main St., Elbridge

352 W Genesee St, Auburn

7395 Turin Rd, Auburn

3830 Rome Rd, Pulaski

9554 Harden Blvd, State Rt 13, Camden

3385 Main St, Mexico

6103 N Main St, Sandy Creek

10916 US Rt 11, Adams

261 Utica Blvd, Boonville

409 Fulton St, Hannibal

Wegmans

1 Loop Rd, Auburn

7952 Brewerton Rd, Cicero

4356 James St, East Syracuse

6789 E Genesee St, Fayetteville

3955 State Rt 31, Liverpool

4979 W Taft Rd, Liverpool

7519 Oswego Rd, Liverpool

3325 W Genesee St, Syracuse

4722 Onondaga Blvd, Syracuse

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
To the Editor:

At CancerConnects, our mission is to walk Central New York and Northern New York patients through each stage of their cancer journey, starting from the very beginning when the first signs of cancer are detected. Thats why were excited that Congress has introduced the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act to expand Medicare coverage of innovative new cancer screenings that can detect many different types of cancer at the earliest stages.

The importance of early cancer detection cannot be overstated. When caught early, it is almost always easier to treat and manage. Unfortunately, many types of cancer arent able to be detected until theyve progressed to a later stage. But new, advanced screenings allow doctors to detect dozens of different cancers just by analyzing a sample of a patients blood. Many of these are cancers which weve never dreamed of being able to screen for before.

This bill has the potential to address cancer health disparities in underserved communities by bringing high-quality, easy to deploy cancer screenings to those most at risk  seniors on Medicare. We urge our elected officials to waste no time in passing this legislation. It has already attracted significant support from members of Congress from both parties as well as over 400 cancer-focused organizations across the country. By investing in early cancer detection, this bill will save lives, improve health outcomes, and build a healthier and more equitable future for all.

Maryann Roefaro

Board President

CancerConnects

East Syracuse
To the Editor:

Despite consistently failing our children, the New York state Education Departments Board of Regents has the chutzpah of puritanical true believers  eager to overlook their misdeeds as they gasp and point at you.

Albany is currently scapegoating taxpayers and school districts with the high cost of removing allusions to Native Americans from schools (e.g., the nickname Warriors) (State bans Native American nicknames; Liverpool, Westhill, other NY schools must change, April 18, 2023). First, they dredged up former Commissioner Richard Mills, whose policies still adversely impact our communities. Then they cited a review of studies with questionable psychological tests, many limitations, and debatable interpretations. Taken together, they offered weak evidence to support their unanimous distraction from their failing policies.

Do you agree, as I do, that we should eliminate offensive portrayals from schools? Then why oppose Albanys purported good intentions?

I disagree not with the content of their decision but with their process. The Board of Regents, ironically, has an unconscious worldview congruent with the old colonialists. Continually trampling on the diverse voices of parents, teachers and communities for decades, Albany engages in decisions meant to assimilate us into their paternalistic projects (all while handing us the bill and patting themselves on the back). By undermining our local autonomy to decide for ourselves, each member of the Board of Regents has rejected dialogue and embraced centralization of power and their abuse of our democratic norms (an increasingly dire national problem).

Lets not subsidize Albanys performative activism. Our communities desperately need genuine change.

But, the Board of Regents says, let us make New York in our image!

Matthew Weinerth

Weedsport

Related:

Why NY schools need to change Native-themed names as well as mascots (Editorial Board Opinion)

CNY school board leader speaks out against changing mascot offensive to Native Americans

Should Western NY school use Warrior nickname? Seneca Nation to have last say
The New York State Fair will double the price of its admission tickets and parking fees this summer as part of a state budget framework agreed to by Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers.

Hochuls office told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that lawmakers agreed to raise ticket prices to the pre-pandemic cost of $6 per adult, up from the $3 price that has been in effect since 2020.
The U.S. Army identified on Saturday the three soldiers who were killed when two helicopters collided in Alaska while returning from a training mission.

The helicopters were headed to Fort Wainwright from a mission in the Donnelly Training Area when they crashed at 1:39 p.m. Thursday, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Healy.

The U.S. Army announced Friday that it has grounded aviation units for training after 12 soldiers died within the last month in helicopter crashes in Alaska and Kentucky.

The move grounds all Army aviators, except those participating in critical missions, until they complete the required training, the Army said in a statement.

Killed in Thursdays crash were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah.

A fourth soldier was injured and was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition. He was not identified Saturday.

The battalion is devastated and mourning the loss of three of our best, said Lt. Col. Matthew C. Carlsen, the 1-25th AB commander. Their loss cant be compared to the suffering felt by the soldiers families, he said.

The entire team has come together to focus our thoughts, prayers, and actions to provide and sustain them with whatever comfort and support they need at this time, and I promise that this will continue long into the future, he said.

A Safety Investigation Team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, based at Fort Novosel, Alabama, is leading the safety investigation, officials said in an email.

Department of Defense instructions and Army regulations prohibit the investigators from releasing any information to the public concerning the causes, analysis or internal recommendations, the statement said.

The loss of these Soldiers is devastating and is being felt by family, friends and military communities across Alaska, said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division. The families of Fort Wainwright and 1-25 are as strong a team as Ive ever seen. Our hearts are heavy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and loved ones of the fallen.

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DeWitt, N.Y.  After 41 years, Joey DeCuffa has sold a majority stake in the restaurants that bear his name on Carrier Circle and have earned a reputation as among Central New Yorks best for Italian dining.

The fine-dining Joeys Classic Italian and its upstairs casual-menu sister operation, Pronto Joeys, will be operated by Bill Cleary, a Cortland businessman. Clearys experience includes operating Pudgies pizza Five Guys burger shops in the Cortland area and working in commercial real estate.

The deal is closing today.

Both Joeys are in a building at 6594 Thompson Road, near Exit 35 on the State Thruway.

Cleary said he will not change the food, which has always been Joeys big attraction, and will keep Joey DeCuffa on as a consultant and Joeys brother, Rick, as general manager. Joey DeCuffa remains a part owner.

Absolutely the food will not be touched, Cleary said. Its the best there is.

But a big change is coming: In a about a year or so, Cleary hopes to build and open a new 6,500-squre foot restaurant building to house Joeys. It will be built on space adjacent to the current restaurants. The current building, which is about 60 years old, will be knocked down.

Its an opportunity for us to bring the best Italian food in the area to a building better suited and equipped for that, Cleary said. This is about the only restaurant Id even think about buying. What it needs is a new facility.

He said hes budgeted about $5 million for the project, which includes a state-of-the-art kitchen and bigger dining space.

When the new building opens, Joeys will consolidate into one restaurant.

In the meantime, the two Joeys operations will continue as they are, except for a brief shutdown of the downstairs restaurant today and Tuesday while the liquor license is transferred. Pronto Joeys will be open, but wont be able to sell alcohol until Wednesday.

Joeys Italian Restaurant opened in 1982. Joey DeCuffa put it up for sale at auction last year, but pulled it off the market last May when a suitable buyer could not be found. DeCuffa said he wanted to find a new owner who would keep things mostly the same.

DeCuffa said today hes stepping back a little, but plans to be around to offer advice when needed. Much of the current Joeys staff will remain.

Ive been doing this for 56 years, said DeCuffa, who worked for Grimaldis restaurant for 15 years before opening his own place. Its been good. Its been tough sometimes. But now its on to something new.

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
Eleven people are running for seven open seats in two Onondaga County school districts, where the payout for one superintendent and recent raises to some administrators have drawn complaints from some residents.

Baldwinsvilles school district was rocked by controversy after its former superintendent was charged with driving while intoxicated; eventually, the school board bought out of his contract. In Liverpool, some residents are concerned about administrative raises and changes to art classes.

In both districts, none of the incumbents in seats that are up for election are seeking another term. Each of the two school boards have nine members.

Voters can elect new candidates and vote on budgets in districts throughout Central New York on May 16. To find out whos running, go to your school districts website.

In Baldwinsville, many residents were infuriated when district officials declined to talk about the former superintendent, Jason Thomson, who was on paid leave after being charged with driving while intoxicated. The board eventually approved a buyout for Thomson. But members did not disclose the payout  $70,000  until a day after the vote, another move that angered some district residents.

Now three incumbents on the board are not running for re-election, including the current board president, Jennifer Patruno. A fourth member, appointed to fill a vacancy, is also not running.

Seven people are vying for the four Baldwinsville seats: Luke Gaskowski, Lyndsey Hodkinson, former Assemblyman Donald R. Miller, Alyssa Cortina, Victor Jenkins, Andrew Henty and Victoria Perez-Shires. Three winners will serve three-year terms; the fourth will serve a one-year term.

A candidate forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday. Grant Reeher, the director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University and a political science professor, will moderate. Reeher said this is only the second time hes been asked to moderate a school board event.

Liverpool has five candidates running for three open seats: John Solazzo, Dan McKeever, Jecenia Bresett, Robert Craver and Stacey Chilbert.

There, some residents are worried about a series of raises given to administrators in January. Many also are upset that art and music teachers have to travel between schools.

There has been poor communication and a lack of transparency, Bresett said. It doesnt feel like we are a community anymore. We want teachers and people to come to Liverpool, not want to leave it.

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com
One of New York Gov. Kathy Hochuls top advisers has resigned after a report accused him of creating a toxic work environment.

The New York Post reports Adam Sullivan, a Colorado-based political consultant, told Hochuls staff Sunday that he is quitting after more than a decade of working as an adviser to Hochul since her 2011 special election to Congress.

I am writing to formally let you know that I have decided to step back from my role helping or advising the Governor as well as the State Party and any other efforts in New York State for the foreseeable future, Sullivan said in a statement.

His departure comes days after The New York Times described Sullivan as a shadowy figure behind Hochuls biggest decisions, including pushing her to focus her 2022 campaign on abortion rather than respond to Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin. Despite having no formal job title on Hochuls team, more than a dozen sources described Sullivan as an overbearing, divisive presence who frequently belittled subordinates, especially young women.

He was very, very much so condescending, a former campaign operative, who worked on her bid to become lieutenant governor under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, told the Times. Sometimes, I think several of us got the impression that he would counter something that we were suggesting just for the sake of countering it.

Hochul, a Syracuse University alumna and the first female governor of New York state, told The New York Times that she was disappointed by what was described in the newspapers story about Sullivan. She added that they discussed it, and he and I agreed that he should step back.

In retrospect, I can see the toll that the campaign took on me, Sullivan wrote Sunday. And after some serious thinking, I think it best if I take some time away from politics and the campaign environment and get healthy.
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Courtesy Image

Eighth Judicial District Judge Melissa Kennelly (top left) and defendant Joe Bary Vigal (top right) listen as Prosecutor Sarah Montoya (bottom) explains the charges to the court.
Both are rich and famous TV presenters. That aside, few parallels could  until this week  be drawn between Fox News Tucker Carlson and CNNs Don Lemon. Carlson has carved out a career as the boisterous mouthpiece for the grievances of the white man in the United States  grievances that took Donald Trump to the White House. Lemon is a Black, progressive presenter with the type of concerns that conservatives love to ridicule by labelling woke.

In a delicious twist of fate, this polar-opposite pair of journalists found themselves in the same boat on Monday, when Carlson and Lemon were each fired by their respective networks, just minutes apart. This is the craziest day in cable news history, the prominent media analyst Brian Stelter tweeted in a stunned response to the mornings events.

The double sacking sent out such shockwaves that many are now talking about the end of an era in the industry. An era which, like so many other things, was brought about by Trump; his four years as American president, experts agree, served to exacerbate partisanship in the media.

Fox News sought to present its split from its chief star, the host of the most-watched program on any U.S. cable network, as an amicable break-up. Steadily, however, the truth began to emerge. Owners Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had finally run out of patience with Carlson when private messages sent by the presenter came to light during the lawsuit launched against the network by voting-tech firm Dominion.

In an 11th-hour settlement, the Murdochs paid $787.5 million to avoid a trial over the lies that Fox willfully broadcast about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. A lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg, a former Tucker Carlson Tonight producer who alleges there was an atmosphere of blatant misogyny on the program, also persuaded the Murdochs that they needed to fire their greatest on-air asset  without even allowing him to say goodbye. Quite the betrayal of Carlsons faithful congregation, who see him as a messiah in possession of the truth that the rest of the mainstream media has been hiding: a collection of conspiranoias, lies about the Capitol attack and theories borrowed from white supremacism.

Don Lemon attends the Time gala in New York on Wednesday. Evan Agostini (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Lemon was also denied the opportunity to bid his viewers farewell. He was fired via his agent, shortly after presenting his final morning show alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. The program has struggled for audience since it launched in October, but Lemons problem wasnt the viewing figures; it was his new bosses plans.

A year ago, Warner Bros. Discovery took over as owner of CNN. The vision put forward by the new president, Alan Licht, focuses on smoothing out the ideological edges of a network which, he feels, allowed the Trump presidency to distract it from its priority: the news. Seen as one of the most visible faces of this trend, Lemon was demoted from primetime to mornings. Three months ago, he said of the Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, that she isnt in her prime, adding that a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s, and maybe 40s. He was taken off air for a few days. The final straw then appears to have come this month, when an interview with another Republican candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, descended into an argument about African-American history and the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Lemons belligerence during the exchange angered CNN executives.

This week has shown whos in charge at the networks, the journalist Ricky Sanchez told EL PAIS in a phone conversation. However successful you are, theyre in control. They can get rid of a Tucker Carlson and replace him with another  I know that only too well. Sanchez was one of CNNs stars until he was abruptly sacked in 2010 over controversial comments he had made on the radio. He went on to work for Fox News and NBC (which is also in the midst of its own crisis, after Jeff Shell, the CEO of its parent company, was fired for inappropriate conduct towards a female employee). That makes Sanchez one of the few industry professionals who have inside experience of all three major news networks. CNN has the least patience, he says. Fox gives you more rope.

An important distinction

Sanchez, who has now thrown himself into podcasts, believes that Tucker went too far when he criticized the Murdochs. He thought he was untouchable, he says. Rupert and Lachlan felt that those messages [whose full contents have not emerged] were going to cause them problems in the other lawsuits that they still have ahead of them. And Lemon? He wasnt able to keep himself in check on air, Sanchez says. He stopped being a journalist and began behaving like an African-American leftist, rather than behaving like a journalist who also happens to be a leftist and African-American. Its an important distinction.

The two cases have had differing consequences. The departure of a struggling Lemon wont have much of an effect on  and could even boost  his former employers audience. In February, CNN registered its worst monthly figures in a decade: it averaged 587,000 total primetime viewers, well behind Foxs 2.26 million.

On the other hand, the dismissal of Carlson, whose last show was watched by 2.6 million, had an immediate effect. Foxs share value dropped by $800 million after his departure. And, as replacements are tried out in the slot he occupied at 8pm ET, audience during that hour is in free fall. Meanwhile, Foxs lesser rival Newsmax has trebled its figures this week by attracting viewers left orphaned by Carlsons exit, and by painting his sacking as its rival capitulating to the left. And its not just Newsmax: there is a whole ecosystem of right-wing outlets desperate to step in and take Fox News place on center stage.

It isnt the first time that Fox has dispensed with its flagship presenter, recalls Nicole Kraft, a professor of communication at Ohio State University. Glenn Beck [who departed in 2011] was very popular, Kraft says. And Bill OReilly [who left in 2017] took that to a different level. And then Tucker Carlson took it completely into the stratosphere. He had the benefit of a Trump presidency and the January 6 insurrection. Carlson showed his ability to really penetrate with an audience, to foster blatant lies that connected him to his audience in ways we had never seen before.

Kathryn Brownell, a Purdue University historian who this summer is to release a book on cable TVs influence on the countrys fragmentation, cautions that Fox has always survived the departure of its stars in the past.

She adds that the network and Carlson both benefited from the personality cult created around the presenter  and as an example of this strategys success, she points to the impact of the nebulous video message he posted in response to his sacking. In the video, which is pure Tucker, he talks a lot without saying much at all. He says TV media is becoming completely irrelevant, complains of a conspiracy by Democrats and Republicans to bury freedom of speech, and asks: Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There arent many places left, but there are some. And thats enough. He closes out his two-minute message  which as of Sunday had accrued just over 23 million views - with a see you soon.

Where will we see him? Thats not clear. It also isnt clear what the next step is for Fox News, which  unlike CNN  isnt planning to be more even-handed. Amid talk of the dawn of a new, more impartial era in the media, the veteran journalist Marvin Kalb, an investigator at the Brookings Institution, doubted in an article published this week that the conservative network is going to abandon its niche in pursuit of moderation. To do that, he says, the Murdochs would have to change their whole cast of characters on the channel  not just Carlson  and ask their replacements to stop choosing and supporting political personalities like Trump and to try covering the news, not making it.

Kraft cant see this happening, not least because of what occurred after Fox called Arizona for [Joe] Biden in the 2020 election. They fired the people who made that declaration! she recalls. In one of the Carlson messages made public in the Dominion lawsuit, he bemoans the decision to announce for Biden, writing: We worked really hard to build what we have. Those fuckers are destroying our credibility. It enrages me. This episode showed that truth was not going to be a significant part of [Foxs] business plan, Kraft says. CNN is trying to move more to the center  they do not want to be appearing as partisan as people have been interpreting them to be. But I dont see any sign that Fox is shying away from that role.

Stelter, another former CNN journalist, wrote on Tuesday in the New York Times that this weeks cataclysmic events have served to demonstrate the power of the two networks, which may be more influential than ever before. The power of cable news is in its reach and repetition [], he said. When you count all the people who saw [Carlson] on a TV at a bar or in an airport and all the people who watched a clip on the internet or heard radio talk-show hosts quote him, he had a monthly audience of surely tens of millions.

Such alternative ways of getting their message across also have a destabilizing effect on the networks, Brownell says. Were witnessing a major transformation in the news media, thanks to social media, TikTok and YouTube, she explains. Many people are canceling their cable subscriptions and spreading their money across different platforms. Thats why the networks have had to embrace streaming.

It also remains unclear what the next chapter will be for Lemon, after 17 years at CNN. On Wednesday, he fixed a broad smile on his face and attended the Time gala. His dismissal, he said, would allow him to enjoy my summer. For now, it has also left him with another thing in common with Carlson. The presenters have hired the same attorney to negotiate their departures. His name is Bryan Freedman, and he has a track record for getting TV stars multi-million-dollar settlements.

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Kawasaki Versys 1000 tales | Ride to Phillip Island without crashing



Yeah, like the topic says I made my first overnight motorbike trip to Philip Island but please forgive me if I meander a bit trying to explain how I got to this point. I was trying to combine my ownership experience of Versys 1000 with this travelogue. I feel this is important because this also marked my first successful overnight road trip on a motorbike outside of India Yes, there had been an unsuccessful attempt before where I crashed and totaled my Ninja 1000 - something similar happened to me in India too when I attempted my first overnight bike trip in 2008.



Let's begin with, I always had the desire to ride to a venue hosting the MotoGP/WorldSBK race on a motorbike, enjoy the races, meet the stars, click lots of pictures, have good food, and ride back home. And what better way to do that than ride from Sydney to Philip Island - a total of around 2000 kilometers round trip on a Versys 1000 which is literally a sofa on 2 wheels.



It has not been exactly easy since I sold my Versys 650 - a very bad decision in hindsight - to come to this point where I am at peace with the bigger Versys.



So the story starts when I migrated to Sydney in 2019. I started on a Ninja 300 with a Learners license, changed a few bikes, and finally after I got my Unrestricted Motorbike license I got a Kawasaki Versys 650. I had a Kawasaki Ninja 650 back home in India and I knew and liked the platform. One test ride on the Versys was enough to put my money on it. Why Verys 650, since I could buy any liter class or more powerful bike you may ask - well the thing is I commute to work on my motorbike, not out of necessity but because I love doing it here. The peaceful and relatively stress-free commute to work (55 kilometers two-way) is just the thing I need to kickstart my day.



Also, on most weekends I go out for around 400-kilometer rides with various riding groups - and it does get very spirited as we meander away from regular highways and Motorways taking inner routes which are made to enjoy on a motorbike. And the desire to tour this huge country on my motorbike meant that my ride should be comfortable to do at least 600 kilometers without getting tired or experiencing fatigue, something which I could do on my Ninja 650 in India. In other words, it had to be comfortable, quick, and nimble in the city traffic while staying below the speed limit and also fun and comfortable out on the highway for hours at a stretch. And the Versys 650 was just that. It was the perfect bike for my needs. I had her for more than 6 months and clocked almost 18,000 kilometers on her and then the stupid itch to look around without appreciating what I had. I put up an ad for a price that was higher than the market value as I was still not 100% sure of selling her. 2 months after the ad was on, someone actually turned up and paid the asking price. I remember having that feeling where I was sure this decision to sell would come back to bite me.



Let me mention that I am married and my wife had been quite patient with all this drama of me changing so many bikes within a span of 4 years on one pretext or the other. And then came the ultimatum, the next bike would have to stay for at least 3 years before I could think of changing it. I could get my next bike if I agreed to it and signed a contract which to date is pasted on our bedroom wall.



With Versys 650 gone hunt began for my next bike and I had to be very careful with what I picked. I had shortlisted these bikes based on my needs, the online reviews, and the ultimatum hanging over my head. They were:



1. Yamaha Tracer 09

2. Kawasaki Ninja 1000

3. Kawasaki Versys 1000



An almost new 2017 model Kawasaki Ninja 1000 showed up at my neighborhood motorbike dealer. The sales manager is a Parsi from Chunabhatti in Mumbai and needless to say we got along quite well. He told me about this bike which was a demo piece and had done only 500 kilometers. One look at the bike and a test ride later, I was in love with the color, the smooth almost electric-like refined inline 4, the oodles of power across the rev range, and the easygoing nature in traffic. It was easy and comfortable to ride in the traffic, going with the flow, filtering as and when there was an opportunity all the while staying below the speed limit. I got the bike and was enjoying my daily commute to work.



My almost new Ninja 1000.

















However, my weekend rides were not that comfortable, especially on the rides that exceeded 400 kilometers. I was comfortable until the first 150 kilometers, and then I could feel fatigued creeping in slowly. 250 kilometers and on I could sense discomfort and slight pain in my knees and by the time I hit 400 kilometers I would be desperate to reach home. It was not a big deal then because my weekend rides would be once or twice a month, and my daily commutes were still comfortable and fun. A month on after getting the bike, I signed myself up for an overnight motorbike trip to Oxley via Walcha. This was an 1100 Kilometers round trip and is a famous route amongst the motorbike community here. The route is through fast and technical corners passing through hills, jungles, and scenic sites. On the first day of the trip, we did almost 450 kilometers - through twisties and turns to Walcha. Walcha to Oxley is the paradise that every motorcyclist wants to experience. The plan was to do Walcha to Oxley to Walcha on day 2, which would be another 400 kilometers round trip.



The first day went well, and I reached our motel tired and exhausted with my knee hurting really bad. I popped some painkillers to be ready for the trip the next day. It had rained over the night, and the next day we started at 7, and for the first 80 kilometers, I was doing good i.e. until I went over the white solid line that separates lanes on a fast left-hand corner and lost the front and crashed. Now in my lame defense, I had been in this kind of situation a lot, riding over wet white lines, losing the front and controlling it, and coming out like nothing happened. Coming back to the crash, I lost the front and it gave away immediately. I escaped the crash with hardly any injuries (thanks to the gear), but the bike took the brunt, and that's where my first overnight trip ended. The insurance company decided the bike was a total loss and they paid me the price at which I had brought the bike.



Of course, when you crash, you try to think about the reasons, and the reasons I could think of were:



1. I was extremely tired and drained from the ride the day before as a result I wasn't fresh, alert, and physically not at a good level when we started the ride the next day.



2. The old Bridgestone tires on the bike. The bike had been sitting on the showroom floor since 2017, and I wasn't very sure about those tires. Although they looked new once I put some kilometers on them they were hard and had uneven profiles. Something which I hadn't experienced on the Michelin Road 5 and 6 tires I am used to.



Not so new any more Ninja 1000:



















My ride back home from Oxley:







Coming back to the story, with the insurance money in, the hunt began for the next bike. I loved the comfort of my Verys 650 and I also loved the engine and the gearbox on the Ninja 1000, enter Versys 1000. Although it shares the same engine as the Ninja 1000, it is detuned to 118 bhp and is geared differently it does retain all those traits that I loved about the Ninja 1000 - smooth and very refined inline 4, oodles of usable power and torque, smooth throttle response and a very balanced ride.



It is a 2015 model and when I got her in November last year she had 10,000 kilometers on her. It took me some time to get used to the height and weight of the bike before I could start riding her the way I wanted. As of today she has been through 2 oil changes and sits at 24,500 kilometers. The first thing I did after I got her from the dealer was to change the tires to Michelin Road 6. Things were going well and I wanted to do an overnight trip on the Versys 1000 to complete what I had set out to do last time.



Some members of my riding group were planning to ride to Philip Island in February to watch WSBK since I follow both WSBK and MotoGP, I participated in this ride. In Australia, there are several different routes to reach a particular destination. There is the main highway that Google Maps mostly takes you on, and then there are scenic routes flowing through the jungles, hills, and plains where you can experience the beauty of nature all the while enjoying your ride. This group comprised retired Australian blokes who knew these routes like the back of their hands and they are quick on the motorbike. Don't let their age fool you because these guys even now participate in races at Sydney MotoSport Park, and have bikes in their garage especially made for the tracks. Technically they are always there to teach you how to safely go around a corner fast. Just the company I needed.



We started on 23rd February, a Thursday at 5 am, and covered approximately 700 kilometers to reach Lakes Entrance a coastal town in eastern Victoria, Australia. And as expected I arrived at Lakes Entrance fresh, without any body aches or pain. That was a good start to the trip.



Customary picture before starting the ride:







Reached Lakes Entrance "safely":



























The following morning we started our journey towards Wonthaggi, a small town near Philip Island. A 300-kilometer ride. Plan was to reach Wonthaggi by 12, have lunch, take a rest, and then shop for groceries in the evening to prepare food for the track. According to the group, the food at the trackside could be expensive, so they recommended carrying our own food.



However, I am also very lazy. It's not that I cannot prepare food, it's just that I am never in the mood to eat my own food when I am traveling. Where's the fun in that? I decided to take my chances with the food at the trackside, and I am glad I did. I wasn't disappointed. The pizza and coffee were not that expensive compared to what you got outside, and it was good.



Breakfast before we headed to Wonthaggi:















My accommodation at Wonthaggi:











And now pictures from the track:











A walk along the track:































The view of the ocean from the Philip Island circuit:



Hi All,Yeah, like the topic says I made my first overnight motorbike trip to Philip Island but please forgive me if I meander a bit trying to explain how I got to this point. I was trying to combine my ownership experience of Versys 1000 with this travelogue. I feel this is important because this also marked my first successful overnight road trip on a motorbike outside of IndiaYes, there had been an unsuccessful attempt before where I crashed and totaled my Ninja 1000 - something similar happened to me in India too when I attempted my first overnight bike trip in 2008.Let's begin with, I always had the desire to ride to a venue hosting the MotoGP/WorldSBK race on a motorbike, enjoy the races, meet the stars, click lots of pictures, have good food, and ride back home. And what better way to do that than ride from Sydney to Philip Island - a total of around 2000 kilometers round trip on a Versys 1000 which is literally a sofa on 2 wheels.It has not been exactly easy since I sold my Versys 650 - a very bad decision in hindsight - to come to this point where I am at peace with the bigger Versys.So the story starts when I migrated to Sydney in 2019. I started on a Ninja 300 with a Learners license, changed a few bikes, and finally after I got my Unrestricted Motorbike license I got a Kawasaki Versys 650. I had a Kawasaki Ninja 650 back home in India and I knew and liked the platform. One test ride on the Versys was enough to put my money on it. Why Verys 650, since I could buy any liter class or more powerful bike you may ask - well the thing is I commute to work on my motorbike, not out of necessity but because I love doing it here. The peaceful and relatively stress-free commute to work (55 kilometers two-way) is just the thing I need to kickstart my day.Also, on most weekends I go out for around 400-kilometer rides with various riding groups - and it does get very spirited as we meander away from regular highways and Motorways taking inner routes which are made to enjoy on a motorbike. And the desire to tour this huge country on my motorbike meant that my ride should be comfortable to do at least 600 kilometers without getting tired or experiencing fatigue, something which I could do on my Ninja 650 in India. In other words, it had to be comfortable, quick, and nimble in the city traffic while staying below the speed limit and also fun and comfortable out on the highway for hours at a stretch. And the Versys 650 was just that. It was the perfect bike for my needs. I had her for more than 6 months and clocked almost 18,000 kilometers on her and then the stupid itch to look around without appreciating what I had. I put up an ad for a price that was higher than the market value as I was still not 100% sure of selling her. 2 months after the ad was on, someone actually turned up and paid the asking price. I remember having that feeling where I was sure this decision to sell would come back to bite me.Let me mention that I am married and my wife had been quite patient with all this drama of me changing so many bikes within a span of 4 years on one pretext or the other. And then came the ultimatum, the next bike would have to stay for at least 3 years before I could think of changing it. I could get my next bike if I agreed to it and signed a contract which to date is pasted on our bedroom wall.With Versys 650 gone hunt began for my next bike and I had to be very careful with what I picked. I had shortlisted these bikes based on my needs, the online reviews, and the ultimatum hanging over my head. They were:1. Yamaha Tracer 092. Kawasaki Ninja 10003. Kawasaki Versys 1000An almost new 2017 model Kawasaki Ninja 1000 showed up at my neighborhood motorbike dealer. The sales manager is a Parsi from Chunabhatti in Mumbai and needless to say we got along quite well. He told me about this bike which was a demo piece and had done only 500 kilometers. One look at the bike and a test ride later, I was in love with the color, the smooth almost electric-like refined inline 4, the oodles of power across the rev range, and the easygoing nature in traffic. It was easy and comfortable to ride in the traffic, going with the flow, filtering as and when there was an opportunity all the while staying below the speed limit. I got the bike and was enjoying my daily commute to work.My almost new Ninja 1000.However, my weekend rides were not that comfortable, especially on the rides that exceeded 400 kilometers. I was comfortable until the first 150 kilometers, and then I could feel fatigued creeping in slowly. 250 kilometers and on I could sense discomfort and slight pain in my knees and by the time I hit 400 kilometers I would be desperate to reach home. It was not a big deal then because my weekend rides would be once or twice a month, and my daily commutes were still comfortable and fun. A month on after getting the bike, I signed myself up for an overnight motorbike trip to Oxley via Walcha. This was an 1100 Kilometers round trip and is a famous route amongst the motorbike community here. The route is through fast and technical corners passing through hills, jungles, and scenic sites. On the first day of the trip, we did almost 450 kilometers - through twisties and turns to Walcha. Walcha to Oxley is the paradise that every motorcyclist wants to experience. The plan was to do Walcha to Oxley to Walcha on day 2, which would be another 400 kilometers round trip.The first day went well, and I reached our motel tired and exhausted with my knee hurting really bad. I popped some painkillers to be ready for the trip the next day. It had rained over the night, and the next day we started at 7, and for the first 80 kilometers, I was doing good i.e. until I went over the white solid line that separates lanes on a fast left-hand corner and lost the front and crashed. Now in my lame defense, I had been in this kind of situation a lot, riding over wet white lines, losing the front and controlling it, and coming out like nothing happened. Coming back to the crash, I lost the front and it gave away immediately. I escaped the crash with hardly any injuries (thanks to the gear), but the bike took the brunt, and that's where my first overnight trip ended. The insurance company decided the bike was a total loss and they paid me the price at which I had brought the bike.Of course, when you crash, you try to think about the reasons, and the reasons I could think of were:1. I was extremely tired and drained from the ride the day before as a result I wasn't fresh, alert, and physically not at a good level when we started the ride the next day.2. The old Bridgestone tires on the bike. The bike had been sitting on the showroom floor since 2017, and I wasn't very sure about those tires. Although they looked new once I put some kilometers on them they were hard and had uneven profiles. Something which I hadn't experienced on the Michelin Road 5 and 6 tires I am used to.Not so new any more Ninja 1000:My ride back home from Oxley:Coming back to the story, with the insurance money in, the hunt began for the next bike. I loved the comfort of my Verys 650 and I also loved the engine and the gearbox on the Ninja 1000, enter Versys 1000. Although it shares the same engine as the Ninja 1000, it is detuned to 118 bhp and is geared differently it does retain all those traits that I loved about the Ninja 1000 - smooth and very refined inline 4, oodles of usable power and torque, smooth throttle response and a very balanced ride.It is a 2015 model and when I got her in November last year she had 10,000 kilometers on her. It took me some time to get used to the height and weight of the bike before I could start riding her the way I wanted. As of today she has been through 2 oil changes and sits at 24,500 kilometers. The first thing I did after I got her from the dealer was to change the tires to Michelin Road 6. Things were going well and I wanted to do an overnight trip on the Versys 1000 to complete what I had set out to do last time.Some members of my riding group were planning to ride to Philip Island in February to watch WSBK since I follow both WSBK and MotoGP, I participated in this ride. In Australia, there are several different routes to reach a particular destination. There is the main highway that Google Maps mostly takes you on, and then there are scenic routes flowing through the jungles, hills, and plains where you can experience the beauty of nature all the while enjoying your ride. This group comprised retired Australian blokes who knew these routes like the back of their hands and they are quick on the motorbike. Don't let their age fool you because these guys even now participate in races at Sydney MotoSport Park, and have bikes in their garage especially made for the tracks. Technically they are always there to teach you how to safely go around a corner fast. Just the company I needed.We started on 23rd February, a Thursday at 5 am, and covered approximately 700 kilometers to reach Lakes Entrance a coastal town in eastern Victoria, Australia. And as expected I arrived at Lakes Entrance fresh, without any body aches or pain. That was a good start to the trip.Customary picture before starting the ride:Reached Lakes Entrance "safely":The following morning we started our journey towards Wonthaggi, a small town near Philip Island. A 300-kilometer ride. Plan was to reach Wonthaggi by 12, have lunch, take a rest, and then shop for groceries in the evening to prepare food for the track. According to the group, the food at the trackside could be expensive, so they recommended carrying our own food.However, I am also very lazy. It's not that I cannot prepare food, it's just that I am never in the mood to eat my own food when I am traveling. Where's the fun in that? I decided to take my chances with the food at the trackside, and I am glad I did. I wasn't disappointed. The pizza and coffee were not that expensive compared to what you got outside, and it was good.Breakfast before we headed to Wonthaggi:My accommodation at Wonthaggi:And now pictures from the track:A walk along the track:The view of the ocean from the Philip Island circuit:
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

WTF?! Silicon has been the material of choice for the semiconductors that power our electronics for decades. Manufacturers and designers are looking for alternatives as they begin to question how much longer Moore's Law can last. While wood likely won't have many practical applications for most users, researchers in Sweden are exploring its potential benefits.

Researchers at two Swedish universities recently unveiled the world's first electrical transistor built from conductive wood. While it performs nowhere near as well as modern silicon transistors, it could theoretically help in certain areas.

A prior trial combining wood and silver produced a transistor that relied on ionic transmission, but ionic charge buildup would likely limit its longevity. The latest test, which uses conductive wood for all components, should create a longer-lasting transistor.

The researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Linkoping University favored the grainless and even structure of balsa wood, increasing its conductivity by removing the lignin and adding polyethylene dioxythiophene polystyrene sulfonate. While there is room for improvement, the results prove it's possible to regulate electric currents through conductive wood to create a functioning wood transistor.

Click to enlarge

The transistor cycles at around 1Hz, if even that. While it switches off in around one second, switching it on takes longer than five seconds, which the researchers find impressive for a 1mm transistor channel. Furthermore, photos indicate the transistor measures a few centimeters across. For comparison, companies like TSMC are currently building 3nm semiconductors for devices with frequencies measured in MHz and GHz.

While wood will likely never fill the same role as silicon or whatever manufacturers use to replace silicon, certain types of devices could utilize it. In specific cases, it could help create biodegradable electronics that are more sustainable than silicon.

One potential application is in electrochromic displays, which companies already use in products like smart glass, smart labels, and other e-paper devices. They can perform very basic computing functions in extremely thin, flexible form factors that use tiny amounts of electricity.

The research that went into creating the wood transistor could also help the development of other sustainable solutions like bioelectronics and plant-based electronics. Furthermore, wood transistors might tolerate higher currents than typical organic transistors.

Masthead credit: Thor Balkhed
After imposing a temporary suspension earlier this week for its non-compliance in data demand regarding extremist and neo-nazi chat groups on the platform, a federal appeals court lifted the country-wide ban against Telegram.

(Photo : Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - APRIL 26: In this photo illustration the Telegram logo is seen on a cellphone screen on April 26, 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilian justice has temporarily suspend the messaging app Telegram in the middle of an investigation related to neonazi activities on the network.

Lifting Nationwide Ban

Brazil has lifted the temporary suspension of the encrypted application Telegram over its non-compliance with a court order from the authorities. Engadget reported Brazil's Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region Judge Flavio Lucas believed that a complete suspension is unreasonable to do so.

He stated that if this happened, the freedom of communication would be affected for thousands of people who are unrelated to the ongoing investigation between the platform and the Brazilian court. The original ban came after a federal court instructed both Apple and Google to remove the platfrom from local app stores.

While all of the mentioned details are good news for the platform, Reuters reported that the judge also upheld the daily fine of $200,000 for failing to provide authorities with requested data. Telegram failed to provide a full set of data on a pair of neo-Nazi groups on the app, accusing them of inciting violence against school attacks and shootings.

In response to this, Telegram stated that it brands itself as a messaging platfrom focused on speed and privacy, saying that its special secret chat groups used end-to-end encryption that is not stored on its servers. The platform only complied partially by sending limited information, hence why the authorities sought to implement a nationwide ban.

Federal Judge Wellington Lopes da Silva is the judge who ordered the suspension in a court in Espirito Santo state. He believed that the encrypted chat groups that wax explained by Telegram as unacceptable. The judge wrote, "It is evident that Telegram has the intention not to cooperate with the investigation that is underway."

Also Read: ChatGPT: Hackers Bypass OpenAI Restrictions to Create Malware, Improve Codes via Telegram Bot

Inciting Violence

The Brazilian court's effort to ban the platform came after a wave of school attacks in the country, including one in November in which a man with a swastika pinned to his vest attacked, shot, and killed four people in Aracruz, Espirito Santo.

According to previous reports, Brazil experienced almost two dozen attacks in schools since 2020 and half of that only happened in the last 12 months. Because of this, the government of Brazil strived for these attacks to come to an end by focusing on the influence of social media.

It was also believed by the court that these groups also helped to increase the alleged fake news and hate speech only towards the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Earlier this month, the president, along with his ministers, Supreme Court justices, governors, and mayors implemented regulations on social media to prevent further incidents. This includes platforms that failed to remove content promoting violence that may influence other people.

Related Article: Telegram Introduces Blockchain-Focused Features on the Platform: Phone Number Auction, Auto-Delete Timer, and More

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
I wanted to study and became a soldier, but I liked the fast life better. Thats a line Roberto Salazar suggested be included in the song about his life. The 26-year-old American had been exchanging text messages with a Mexican songwriter, whom he had commissioned to write a drug ballad known as a narcocorrido. Salazar wanted a song about his double life as a Marine and cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl dealer. And he wanted it to be a corrido, a music genre closely associated with drug trafficking. Everything changed on February 7, 2022, when Salazar was arrested and the contents of his phone were revealed. The revelation that he had commissioned a corrido did not come to light until April 21, when the U.S. Attorneys Office announced he had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for drug trafficking.

At the time of his arrest, Salazar had already spent seven years trafficking drugs and six as an active member of the Marines Corp. According to his mother Carmen Salazar, he was a very shy and sickly child. When he was just 18 months old, he was admitted into intensive care due to a virus, and at age four, he had to undergo an angina operation. But Salazar flourished at school. He was a good student, sporty and sociable. When he was 10 years old, everything changed in our family, said Carmen Salazar in a letter addressed to the court. His father was deported to Mexico, and the Salazars moved to Tijuana to start over. For my son, everything was an adventure. He always saw the bright side no matter how bad the situation was, his mother wrote in the letter.

The versions of Salazars life start to diverge when he was a teenager. His family say he was a young man who did the best he could under the circumstances: he taught himself to play the drums, joined a musical group from an evangelical church and spent a large amount of his time doing community work, giving food to homeless people and collecting money for his church. In other court documents, however, sources say he experienced many challenges, such as his fathers addictions, economic difficulties and the constant trips back and forth across the border. On the encouragement of his father, Salazar became involved in migrant and drug trafficking when he was just a teenager.

In 2015, when he was about 17 or 18 years old, Salazar recruited one of his classmates from Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista to smuggle drugs into the U.S. and deliver them to different parts of California. On his fathers instructions, Salazar paid his friend  identified as S.I. in the court documents  $2,000 for each shipment that crossed the border. For months, S.I. smuggled in drugs to the U.S. He hid kilos of cocaine and methamphetamine in cars, and delivered the drugs to the Los Angeles area. A year later, Salazars father was deported back to Mexico and Salazar joined the Navy. According to his plea agreement, Salazar recruited, managed, and paid multiple drug couriers  both before he joined the Marine Corps and while he was on active duty, the Attorneys Office stated in its press release.

By this point, Salazars methods had become more sophisticated. Co-conspirators met at a garage, picked up the cars where the drugs were concealed, and delivered them to California and Nevada. Orders were given in encrypted messages and payments were made via digital applications to avoid detection. When no one else could deliver the packages, Salazar did it himself.

In early 2017, his older sister became seriously ill and died. Salazars sister  who also enlisted in the Navy  wanted her brother to stay away from crime, and he decided to rise through the ranks to honor her memory. The Marines and drug trafficking  two apparently incompatible worlds  defined Roberto Salazar and marked the course of his life. He became a radio operator and worked at a base in the border city of San Diego, but according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Miller, it was just a front.

That same year, Salazar had a baby girl and, after various problems with his daughters mother, he won custody of the child when she turned two. He would comb her hair, dress her, feed her, pick her up from day care and tuck her in before she went to bed every day. I was amazed at what a good father he was, his mother wrote in the letter to court. His lawyer argued that Salazar had tried to leave the drug business, but that his salary as a Marine was not enough to take care of his daughter.

Roberto Salazar and his daughter. Cortesia

Meanwhile, Salazar was forming his own team of drug traffickers and in 2021 he recruited two former marines, who are identified in court documents as A.U. and J.R. On at least five occasions, A.U. drove a blue BMW with several kilos of drugs across the border. The drugs were hidden in the car, and false license plates were used to evade controls at immigration checkpoints. J.R., who has also been recently discharged from the Marines, trafficked the drugs in a white BMW, following the same modus operandi. But within a few months, his collaborators were discovered. At that point, they were moving thousands of doses of fentanyl into the southern states of the U.S. However, they had started to take risks: leaving the drugs in supermarkets and other public places, narrowly escaping arrest and sometimes getting caught.

It was in the summer of 2020, when Salazar  a father, churchman, Marine and drug trafficker  contacted the songwriter in Mexico about the corrido, a musical tradition has been around in Mexico for decades. These songs tell epic stories of heroes and villains. They are a kind of oral history, sharing tales of both the everyday and the extraordinary. After the outbreak of the drug war in Mexico in the mid-2000s, narcocorridos became more popular, despite censorship and criticism that the songs justify crime. Famous drug lords were cast as the protagonists of narcocorridos, and these kingpins often paid money to feature in the lyrics.

But many songwriters have reclaimed the music genre, and called for it not to be criminalized. What the corridos narrate is a consequence of what is happening in Mexico and not the other way around, explained Oswaldo Walo Silvas, vocalist of Banda MS, one of the most famous groups in Mexico, which recorded a corrido for the video game franchise Call of Duty last year. Silvas told EL PAIS that a good corrido must have three elements: a catchy melody, a good harmony and lyrics that reflect a true story, told from an impartial point of view. A corrido is news, he said. The song that Banda MS wrote for Call of Duty, for example, was based on the fictional story of a Mexican agent working for an elite crime-fighting group.

In Salazars case, he wanted his corrido to focus on his work as a Marine, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the Attorney Generals Office also said that the lyrics covered his activities as a drug dealer. The complete version of the song was not included in the court summary, nor was the identity of the songwriter who had been commissioned.

At the end of 2022, eight months after his arrest, Salazar pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, including heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, and to importing fentanyl into the United States from Mexico. The move came after two of his closest associates also signed a plea agreement. Salazars friends and family hoped that he would be given a second chance and asked for clemency so that Salazar could continue to care for his daughter. But the crimes he confessed to were serious and carried a jail term of 10 years to life and a maximum fine of $10 million. In the end, Salazar was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

His family claimed he was genuinely sorry, but authorities saw his actions as a serious offense. Mr. Salazar betrayed his oath to the Marine Corps and posed a significant threat to our national security by participating in an illegal operation to smuggle fentanyl into the United States, said Special Agent in Charge Todd Battaglia of the NCIS Marine Corps West Field Office.

U.S. authorities did not say whether Salazar was collaborating with a cartel or a larger criminal organization to sell fentanyl, a drug that causes tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the U.S. and has strained relations with Mexico. In 2014, nine people were convicted of trafficking fentanyl. In 2021, that number rose to 1,533, and according to official figures, more than 86% had U.S. citizenship. I know I made a mistake, Salazar told the judge before being sentenced.

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By Donican Lam, KYODO NEWS - Apr 30, 2023 - 22:04 | All, Japan, G7, World

The Group of Seven advanced nations on Sunday called for international standards to ensure the "responsible" use of artificial intelligence, as they seek to harness rapidly developing technologies like AI bot ChatGPT while mitigating privacy concerns and other risks.

With data a critical component in trade and AI development, the G-7 digital and technology ministers also agreed following their two-day meeting in eastern Japan to establish an international arrangement to enhance the free flow of trusted data across national borders.

The gathering took place as countries seek to keep up with the fast-moving pace of AI development, with ChatGPT, made by U.S. venture OpenAI, grabbing worldwide attention over the past few months with its ability to generate more natural and human-like text responses than previous AI tools.

While recognizing that approaches to achieve "the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI" may vary across G-7 members, the representatives from Japan, the United States and European nations said in their joint declaration released after their talks that they are resolved to "promote international technical standards" toward that end.

They expressed opposition to "the misuse and abuse of AI to undermine democratic values, suppress freedom of expression, and threaten the enjoyment of human rights," apparently reflecting concerns over countries such as China where high-tech mass surveillance are believed to be used against certain ethnic groups.

The joint statement also cited five principles for policymakers to govern the use of AI and other emerging technologies -- rule of law, due process, democracy, respect for human rights and harnessing opportunities for innovation.

"The G-7 should accelerate discussions on the potential of generative AI in a responsible manner," Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Takeaki Matsumoto told a joint press conference that was also attended by Digital Minister Taro Kono and others.

In an action plan on AI issues, which was adopted along with the declaration, the G-7 called for broader stakeholder participation in developing international standards over AI governance frameworks, and promoting dialogue on topics such as risk assessment.

While AI tools like ChatGPT, which has garnered 100 million users around the world in less than three months since its launch in November, could be highly beneficial, concerns have also been raised over their unauthorized collection of large amounts of personal data and potential misuse.

Chatbots have been known to produce outputs that are factually incorrect as well as perpetuate biases, while AI art generators like DALL-E 2, also by OpenAI, have been used to create deepfakes -- realistic depictions of fake scenarios that are another form of disinformation.

Countries have so far differed in their approaches on how to balance the use of the innovative technology and regulations, with Japan taking a more cautious approach in regulations than the United States and European nations.

To promote so-called Data Free Flow with Trust, a concept proposed by Japan, the G-7 ministers noted the need to "accelerate and operationalize" the idea, calling that data "an enabler of economic growth, development and social well-being."

The idea aims to enable the full potential of global economic growth without compromising the privacy and security of individuals and businesses.

Under the new institutional framework, the Japanese government aims to lay out a road map for future projects such as creating a base registry that businesses can use to reference other countries' data regulations.

The officials from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union also adopted separate action plans for internet governance and enhancing resilient digital infrastructure in light of geopolitical risks.

The former seeks to collaborate in addressing internet shutdowns, network restrictions and violations of human rights using digital tools, as well as fake news and other forms of disinformation seen, for example, during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We resolve to cooperate in making visible and tackling the tactics of digital authoritarianism" and "remain committed to protecting our democratic institutions and values from foreign threats," the statement said.

The G-7 also voiced commitment to constructing secure network infrastructure to support emerging and developing countries and promoting collaboration to improve the connectivity of undersea cables.

The weekend gathering in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, jointly chaired by Matsumoto, Kono, and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, was one in a series of ministerial meetings taking place in the run-up to the G-7 summit next month.

India and Indonesia, this year's respective hosts of meetings of the Group of 20 major economies and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as Ukraine, also participated in the meeting in Takasaki.

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KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 18:01 | All, World, Japan

President Joe Biden will hold a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Japan and South Korea later this month in Hiroshima when he travels to the city for this year's summit of the Group of Seven advanced economies, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not mention the date of the three-way meeting. According to diplomatic sources, it will likely be held on May 21, the closing day of the three-day G-7 summit, before Biden leaves for Australia from the Japanese city.

Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed last week during a summit at the White House that they will step up trilateral cooperation with Japan to better deal with the North Korean nuclear threat.

Biden also hailed Yoon's "political courage" in working with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to improve relations between Seoul and Tokyo after many years of tension over historical issues.

Yoon, who visited Tokyo in March, has been invited by Kishida as one of the guests for expanded discussions at the G-7 meeting.

Kishida is now considering making a two-day visit to South Korea from Sunday, diplomatic sources said earlier.

The last time a Japanese prime minister visited South Korea was when Shinzo Abe attended the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Six high school students are fighting for their lives after gunfire erupted just after midnight Sunday at a house party in Bay St. Louis, police officials say.
One of the two students killed in a mass shooting at an after-prom party in Bay St. Louis was looking forward to graduating from Hancock High School in May.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 21:38 | Feature, All, Japan

Just 16 percent of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue.

Individuals without Japanese citizenship are not permitted to vote in elections, but local governments have the power to introduce ordinances allowing them a say in referendums.

But responses from the survey on forms of local participation for foreign residents showed that 56 percent of assembly leaders polled feel that they "could not say either way," and another 24 percent stated they "do not think it should be pursued further."

Amid sustained falls in the native population and rising foreign resident numbers, the central government has revised its policies for a multicultural society to include measures to actively encourage community participation by foreign residents.

However, while Japan had a record 2.96 million foreign residents according to Justice Ministry figures for the end of June 2022, their number still only accounts for about 2 percent of the total population.

Assembly chiefs who expressed reservations offered reasons including that many foreign nationals living in Japan are technical intern trainees or holders of other residence categories that mean they are likely to stay for a limited period before ultimately returning home.

Among the reasons provided by respondents who said further debate should be had, one assembly leader stated it would be "right" that individuals who work and pay taxes should be allowed to participate, while another said "support is needed" for people working and becoming part of society.

Respondents who said they could not say either way put forward that there is currently no need for further debate and that making participation a reality still faces numerous barriers such as obtaining staff to respond to foreign residents.

The survey was held between November and January and targeted all 1,788 assembly heads in prefectures and municipalities across Japan, of which 99.7 percent responded.

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The non-believers can take a back seat. Meta Platforms year of efficiency is on track thanks to the dependability of its core businesses.

The company said last week that its digital ad sales rebounded during the first quarter, buying Mark Zuckerberg more time as he continues to spend billions on the metaverse and on improving Metas use of artificial intelligence.

Meta Platforms headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Credit: Bloomberg

Now if hes serious about Metas growth for the long term, he should consider even more uncomfortable strategies besides job cuts and bigger investments in AI, which so far appear to be paying off.

We are no longer behind in building out our AI, Zuckerberg told investors on a call on Wednesday. He spoke about introducing AI agents to billions of people, using them to improve customer service chats with businesses or to create ads. Supercharging ads will be his most important focus as he seeks to enhance Metas bread-and-butter business, which hasnt suffered the same fate as Twitters.
Jock Zonfrillo was a man to both laugh and cry with, Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes has said, as others from across the entertainment and hospitality industries mourned his sudden death and remembered his extraordinary skill as a chef.

Barnes  a friend of Zonfrillo who shared his Scottish heritage  shared his grief on Twitter and Instagram, posting a photo of the two men wearing traditional Scottish kilts.

Jock was like a brother to me and we made each other laugh and cry. My heart goes out to his family. I am speechless, Barnes wrote. Rest my friend.

Zonfrillo, who was an award-winning restaurateur, died aged 46 in Melbourne, according to a statement released by Network Ten and production company Endemol Shine on Monday afternoon. Police said they attended a Lygon Street address for a welfare check and found a 46-year-old man dead at 2am on Monday. The death was not being treated as suspicious.
I cant stop thinking about Stephen Root. I cant seem to get him off my mind. In idle moments he swims in front of my eyes: his rectangular face covered in only some beard, his beady eyes conveying panic or doom or glee (because of the panic and doom he has instilled in others). The reason I cant stop thinking about him is because he seems to be on every show Im watching at the moment.

He was in last weeks Succession, playing a conservative Republican donor who does things like organise Future Freedom Summits to figure out which right-wing edgelord will run the US next, and eulogises racist old men who profited off conspiracy theories. He was also in the season return of Barry that aired that same day, playing series regular Monroe Fuches, who groomed the titular Barry (Bill Hader) into being a hitman for hire after he was discharged from the Marines. The night before, I had seen him in season one of Perry Mason playing Maynard Barnes, a manipulative district attorney in 1930s Los Angeles who outrages John Lithgow so consistently that Lithgow makes constipated faces every time theyre together on screen.

From Barry to Succession, Stephen Root is all over TV. Credit: AP

If you dont know Stephen Roots name, then youll know his face. (You might also recognise him from True Blood, Boardwalk Empire or Justified.) Hes one of those guys who pops up in things and makes you say, Oh that guy! Youre always happy to see that guy. That guy is excellent! I loved that last thing he was in! That guy is almost always a tortured (but charismatic) difficult man  or appearing in a prestige show about them.

If youve been watching TV for the last two or three decades, then youre well acquainted with this trope. For a while there, it seemed like for a show to be considered artistic it needed to follow the agonies of a morally grey man who was both the hero and the villain of the piece. Arguably it all started with Tony Soprano in 1999, the murderous, duplicitous and vulnerable Mafia boss, who cheated and stole, but also really liked fluffy ducks.
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Review Eating outFitzroy North Is Lagotto one of Melbournes great under-appreciated restaurants? Besha Rodell May 2, 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

1 / 7 Lagotto in North Fitzroy has flown under the radar. Jason South 2 / 7 Moreton Bay bug spaghettini. Penny Stephens 3 / 7 Wholegrain potato focaccia with smoked butter. Penny Stephens 4 / 7 Skull Island prawns with nduja, sea urchin butter and lime. Penny Stephens 5 / 7 Mortadella bigne (choux pastry filled with mortadella mousse and showered in comte). Penny Stephens 6 / 7 Go-to dish: Celeriac with hazelnuts and saltbush. Penny Stephens 7 / 7 Wagyu rump cap with cone cabbage and black garlic bagna cauda. Penny Stephens Previous Slide Next Slide Good Food hat 15 / 20 How we score Italian$$$ There are some restaurants we tend to hear about all the time, and there are some that we barely hear about at all. It might stand to reason that this is an issue of quality  the cream rises to the top and all that. But sometimes thats not the case. Sometimes things of extraordinary quality go uncelebrated for reasons that are hard to discern. Lagotto, in Fitzroy North, is such a place. When it opened, in May 2019, it was somewhat eclipsed by its sister restaurant, Congress, which opened a year earlier. (Congress closed last year, in part to honour the legacy of one of its founders, Katie McCormack, who died from cancer in February 2022, aged 39.) Lagotto won the Best Identity Design award from Artichoke magazines prestigious Eat Drink Design awards for its clever branding, including the use of large colourful photographs in its decor and on its website, which capture the spirit of a certain era of vintage Italian aesthetics. But there wasnt much chatter among the food-obsessed about the place.

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The wedge of a building, which houses apartments on the upper floors, gets light from windows along two sides, and the L-shaped dining room comprises a long marble bar, clubby maroon banquettes and mid-century light fixtures along white and honeyed timber walls. Originally, it served as a day-to-night cafe, then endured the indignities of the pandemic and Melbournes lockdowns, and re-emerged from that period as less of a cafe and more of a neighbourhood trattoria. Everyone ought to be talking more about this spot, and this chef. Perhaps its because this part of the inner-north has so many fine neighbourhood trattorias, perhaps its the curse of its Nicholson Street-facing location (for some reason Nicholson is a difficult street on which to do business, unless youre Scopri), or maybe its just that its golden period of newness passed by before it really figured out what it was, but Lagotto has mostly slipped under the radar. Which is a shame, because the space is lovely, the drinks list is fun, and the food is much, much better than it needs to be.

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10 of Melbournes best Italian restaurants These days, that food is thanks to chef Matteo Fulchiati, an Italian-born chef who has lived in Melbourne for the past decade, working at venues such as Lake House and Osteria Ilaria. At Lagotto, hes presenting a version of Italian cooking thats as fun as it is skilful, with twists that give it a modern edge. The best example of that playful modernity is perhaps the mortadella bigne ($9 each), a ridiculous and delicious snack that sees choux pastry filled with a creamy salty meaty airy smoosh: mortadella in the form of mousse, basically. Skull island prawns ($16) with nduja and sea urchin butter are predictably fantastic. Less probable? A wedge of celeriac ($26), cooked until its vegetal flesh has turned lightly sweet, topped with hazelnuts, hazelnut cream, and a flurry of crisped saltbush. It was the unexpected favourite of the night. Go-to dish: Celeriac with hazelnuts and saltbush. Penny Stephens

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I also wasnt expecting to get one of the best steaks Ive had in yonks at Lagotto, but thats exactly what Fulchiati delivered with the wagyu rump cap ($60), a gloriously meaty, deeply flavoured piece of sliced beef, served with a wedge of singed cabbage. Fulchiati is obviously passionate about his pasta  on Sundays, he presents a lunch menu called pasta with friends for $75 a head that includes a few starters, two seasonal pasta dishes, bread, salad and dessert. Moreton Bay bug spaghettini. Penny Stephens I was lucky enough, a couple of weeks back, to visit when a special of the evening was a whole Moreton Bay bug served over saffron spaghettini ($60), enveloped in a concentrated and rich essence-of-seafood bisque. The drinks list is heavy on Italian wines, as youd anticipate, and theres a strong list of apertivi, classic-ish cocktails, and digestives.

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Whatever the reasons for Lagottos relatively low profile, the fact is that right now, it is one of Melbournes great under-appreciated restaurants. Everyone ought to be talking more about this spot, and this chef. Heres hoping that appreciation grows, and Fulchiati continues to do exciting things  and be recognised for the excellence he brings to this corner of Fitzroy North. The low-down Vibe Mid-century Italian chic Go-to dish Celeriac with hazelnuts and saltbush, $26 Drinks Loads of Italian wines and Australian producers making Italian varietals; good cocktail, apertivo and digestif selection. Cost About $150 for two, plus drinks

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Review Eating outBarangaroo Nobu Sydney is a rite of passage  but is its star power still shining? Its the celebrity Japanese fine-diner every food lover should visit at least once  if you know how to make the most of the experience. Terry Durack May 2, 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

1 / 7 The plush dining room at Nobu Sydney has harbour views and rich textures. Louise Kennerley 2 / 7 A second dining room is hung with origami cranes that sway to the sound of cocktails being shaken in the bar. Louise Kennerley 3 / 7 Nobus celebrated black cod miso is a must if you havent tried it. Louise Kennerley 4 / 7 A delicate plate of freshly made nigiri. Louise Kennerley 5 / 7 Baby prawn tempura with creamy spicy sauce. Louise Kennerley 6 / 7 Wagyu gyoza. Louise Kennerley 7 / 7 The anticucho rib-eye steak. Louise Kennerley Previous Slide Next Slide 13 / 20 How we score Japanese$$$ If you went to dinner at Nobu Sydney and didnt take a picture of yourself, were you really there? Its the existential question of our times. Since chef Nobu Matsuhisa opened the first Nobu in New York in 1994, the Nobu empire has grown to more than 50 restaurants and hotels across five continents. Dining at Nobu is not just going out for a Japanese meal; its a rite of passage. While it opened in Melbourne in 2007 and Perth in 2012, it took its time coming to Sydney, lunching at Barangaroo in December 2020, just in time for the COVID shenanigans. I came a few times for lunchtime sushi (excellent, love it), and now, finally, have come for dinner. Its only taken two years and four months.

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The plush dining room at Nobu Sydney has a central bar and rich textures. Louise Kennerley The entrance is grand (pause for selfie), then you enter a luxurious main dining room, all central bar, harbour views, and rich textures. Further on, a second dining room is hung with origami cranes that sway to the sound of cocktails being shaken in the bar. Nobu regulars know exactly what they want and barely glance at the menu, but newbies need to do their homework. There are Hot and Cold Nobu Classics and Nobu Now dishes, 18 different nigiri and sashimi, 16 maki rolls, and a variety of soups, rice and tempura dishes. Plus kushiyaki, yakimono, shuko (snacks), Nobu tacos, vegetable dishes and 11 desserts. Yes, of course, the celebrated black cod miso is still here; its as big a money-spinner as a roulette wheel, and if you havent had it, then have it ($60). Nobus celebrated black cod miso is a must order if you havent tried it. Louise Kennerley

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Head chef Harold Hurtada has been with the Nobu group for 24 years, previously in Dubai and Cape Town. He does a big line in snacky things, and the crispy rice with spicy tuna ($36) is a look-at-me platter of things to do. First, pick up a sweet little cube of crisped rice from its wooden Japanese sake cup. Next, dip it in a saucer of salty butter soy. Then spoon some finely minced raw tuna on top, and pop it in your mouth. Great fun. From the Nobu Now list come six wagyu gyoza ($42) which arent as beefy and juicy as the word wagyu might suggest. As for nigiri, unagi ($17 for two) is sublime  but what part of lush, warm eel on a finger of freshly tamped, high-grade sushi rice isnt? Tamago is a good test of any sushi bar  will the egg omelette come still-warm from being made just hours earlier, or will it come still cold from being refrigerated? This one ($8 for two) is cold, although nicely constructed and branded with the Nobu logo. The two green olives alongside turn out to be miniature Japanese peaches (wakamomo) instead, and are just plain beautiful. The five essential tips for making sushi at home, from the master Nobu Matsuhisa An order of classic prawn tempura ($16) is misunderstood, and I get baby tiger prawn tempura ($32) instead, the small nuggets smothered in a creamy, spicy sauce that does nothing for me. Known around the world as popcorn shrimp, its another big Nobu money-spinner. The novelty of Nikkei cuisine  the fusion of Peruvian and Japanese that Matsuhisa picked up and ran with  has faded, perhaps. My anticucho rib-eye steak ($70) comes criss-crossed with grill marks, yet feels wet, flabby and not very hot. A dessert special of bombe Alaska ($24) comes as an igloo of too-soft meringue, which softens further under the tableside flambe treatment.

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Nobu regulars know exactly what they want and barely glance at the menu, but newbies need to do their homework. Nobu Sydney, sadly, feels institutionalised. On this occasion, the food has been marred by a number of technical points, although my guess is that they have more to do with volume and turnover  often a challenge in a hospitality empire of this size  than any lack of skill or will. To get the best experience, sit by the window in the main dining room or at the sushi counter, and dine on the made-to-order nigiri, or anything from the sushi bar. That way, youll get the magic, glamour and skill levels that warrant the taking of a photo in the first place. The low-down Drinks: Japanese beer, seasonal cocktails, top sakes, and an exxy wine list of local and French vintages. Vibe: Institutionalised celebrity Japanese, but still a rite of passage Go-to dish: Crispy rice with spicy tuna, $36

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By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Feb 26, 2023 - 10:32 | All, Japan, World, G7

After hosting a Group of Seven online summit on the first anniversary of the Ukraine crisis, Japan, the G-7 chair in 2023, faces growing expectations from other members and international organizations to increase focus on other global issues by leveraging its strengths in non-military areas.

Japan, for example, could contribute toward promoting universal health care coverage to other countries by offering expertise on its own system, as the Asian nation has provided public medical insurance for all its citizens since 1961, analysts said.

With the World Health Organization calling on the G-7 to phase out their reliance on fossil fuels to curtail global warming and pollution, Japan could also play a leading role in the international community by advocating and investing in decarbonization technology, they added.

Japan, meanwhile, has been urged to explain to its G-7 counterparts its plan to discharge treated water from its crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture into the Pacific Ocean, a decision which has been met with strong resistance from some neighboring nations.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents a constituency in Hiroshima as a lawmaker, is scheduled to host the in-person G-7 summit for three days from May 19 in the western Japan city that was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945.

Kishida has been "keen to pitch his vision of a world without nuclear weapons" amid mounting fears that Russia may deploy one in its war against Ukraine, but there are "many other issues that should also be discussed at the G-7 summit," a source close to him said.

"In thinking seriously about what Japan can and should do for the international community as the G-7 presidency, the prime minister needs to take the initiative and combat global challenges this year," said the source.

On Friday, the G-7 leaders held a video meeting for the first summit presided over by Kishida, in an effort to strengthen the unity of the group and demonstrate its unwavering solidarity with Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the gathering.

The G-7 members "called on Russia to stop its ongoing aggression and to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops" from Ukraine, warning in their joint statement that Moscow's "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable."

The statement suggested that the leaders of the G-7 -- which consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union -- devoted most of their time to discussing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The source said, "To be honest, what Japan can do for Ukraine as the G-7 chair is limited" compared with other countries, as Tokyo "cannot supply military assistance" to the Eastern European nation under its war-renouncing Constitution.

Kishida should "try to bolster his influence in the G-7 by pledging to utilize Japan's state-of-the-art technologies and experience in fields such as medicine and environmental science to help solve global problems," the source added.

In medicine and health care, Japan has accumulated knowledge in universal health coverage for more than 60 years.

Since the United Nations adopted its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the G-7 has pursued the realization of universal health coverage to ensure people have access to basic medical services without financial hardship.

In many emerging countries, it is difficult to expand health care infrastructure, meaning Japan could offer its expertise by providing insurance-based services, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co. said in a report.

"Japan's universal health insurance system has helped improve the life expectancy of its citizens" and buoy economic growth "through disease control," the investment firm said, adding Tokyo should cooperate with other G-7 members in the area.

Moreover, the WHO has recently emphasized the importance of achieving "planetary health," a concept that links human health with the earth's natural ecosystems, requesting that the G-7 work with them to sharply reduce fossil fuel use.

Japan has promised to become carbon neutral through its plan to produce net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, accelerating research and development in renewable energy technologies and other resource sectors.

The Health and Global Policy Institute, a Japanese private think tank, said it hopes that the Kishida administration will lead the discussion on how to attain the goal of improving planetary health as the G-7 presidency.

The G-7 health ministerial meeting is slated to be held in May in the southwestern city of Nagasaki, the second city to be hit by a U.S. atomic bomb days before Japan's surrender in World War II.

At a planned gathering in April for energy ministers in Sapporo, northern Japan, the government is expected to seek the endorsement of the G-7 for the disposal of treated water from the Fukushima plant, apparently brushing aside concerns raised by China and South Korea.

The Global Times, a Chinese newspaper affiliated with the country's ruling Communist Party, lambasted Japan, saying Tokyo's "attempt to draw other G-7 members over to its side is through hosting a G-7 meeting, a platform where it is easiest to reach consensus."

"Tokyo's aim is very obvious. This is also a kind of public opinion manipulation to cover up its own wrongdoing," the newspaper said, adding its dispose of the "nuclear-contaminated" water would affect the earth's oceans.

The nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant was triggered by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Related coverage:

G-7 vows to strengthen coordinated sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
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Tips & adviceSolo dining Singles night: How Charlotte Ree fell in love with cooking (and eating out) for one In taking the time to cook meals she would eat on her own, the cookbook author learnt to like herself again. Charlotte Ree May 2, 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

At the age of 32, I have been married, divorced, broken someones heart, and had my heart broken into a million little pieces, twice. But I have also fallen in love. I have fallen in love with cookingnot to nourish and bring pleasure to others, but to nurture myself. Because I am worthy of that care. Because I deserve it. There is a Japanese word, kuchisabishii, that means lonely mouth or longing to have or put something in ones mouth. Its eating just to satisfy a craving. In the aftermath of my divorce, I had a lonely mouth. I think Id spent so long feeding and nourishing others I forgot it was safe for me to swallow. To be in the moment, to soak it all in, to savour the pleasure against all the pain. Charlotte Ree loves to cook for herself and to take herself out for dinner. Louie Douvis I endeavoured to replicate at home some of the dishes I was craving most, and I allowed myself the luxury of time in which to do that. The time to spend a day making salty, sweet, starchy broths and stocks. To roll pasta dough and fill it. I began to cook dishes that took me somewhere.

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I spent close to 48 hours attempting to replicate a tortellini in brodo I had eaten in Bologna. I began with the broth itself using the flesh and bones of chicken and pork and beef, as well as whole pieces of celery and carrot and onion cooked slowly and then strained into a container and refrigerated overnight. I minced mortadella, prosciutto and pork loin for the filling, and rolled wafer-thin sheets of pasta, folding the filling into squares to make perfect little pockets. I made so many of them I was still rolling tortellini in my dreams that night. I learnt to make frittata by whisking three eggs with salt, pepper and parmesan and adding it to a frying pan of spinach that I had sauteed in olive oil. I then put it under the grill on high until it was golden and cooked through.

I stuffed capsicums with halloumi and pork mince.

I baked prawns with salty feta crumbled over the top and filled pockets of pita with it.

I perfected cheese souffle, which I watched rise through the oven door while sitting on my kitchen floor.

I discovered the subtle art of a potato tortilla, and the comfort of a pea and ham hock soup.

I jazzed up Japanese curries with the addition of soft egg omelettes and crispy chicken karaage.

I learnt to make rich and creamy tonkatsu broth and then paired it with home-made ramen noodles. In celebration of my independence, I fried the most sublime butter-basted piece of barramundi, with skin so crispy it snapped as I bit into it.

For a snack, I coated lamb cutlets in panko crumbs and sea salt, or steamed a medley of green vegetables and ate them with my fingers.

I made rolled pork roasts with crackling and all the trimmings  mostly so I could have leftovers for roast meat sandwiches. There was roast pumpkin and crispy potatoes, which of course I cooked in duck fat with rosemary and sea salt. And naturally, there was an obscene amount of gravy. I savoured every mouthful on my own. So much of my time in the kitchen was centred around the discovery that I was at my most productive and creative during periods of solitude. As Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in Letters to a Young Poet, Your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths. Solitude. Its the joy of giving yourself permission to date yourself. Of discovering that you are, in fact, the best date that you can ever take out  or, better yet, cook for.

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These days, I shop often  once every two or three days  and I am deliberate about it, only buying the things I will consume. Week after week I find myself placing the same items in my shopping basket: A loaf of uncut Sonoma miche to indulge my love of delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. A dozen free-range eggs, which I hard-boil, cover in sea salt flakes and anoint in olive oil for the perfect snack. A capsicum  always red  which I salt and cover in olive oil then chargrill to serve alongside guacamole, a crisp hash brown and a fried egg for a Mexican breakfast wrap. And, finally, fresh basil leaves and pine nuts so I can whip up Pas pesto when I need my fix of home. But still, there are also moments when I want to treat myself to a three-course feast for one, poring over my many cookbooks and challenging myself to cook something luxurious and labour-intensive to enjoy all on my own. Because I now know that I am worthy of my own love, care and cooking. That I should take the time and effort to feed myself. Recently, I decided to make myself a gourmet dinner. I made a playlist of 60s love songs and the filthiest martini of olive brine, dry vermouth and vodka (never gin). As I started to cook, I was serenaded by the voices of Ella, Marvin and Aretha, and my version of self-love and self-care began. I started with a wedge of deliciously creamy French brie recommended by my cheesemonger, Penny, which I ate with a crusty French baguette.

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Rib-eye steak with pepper sauce for one. Therese Bourne The beautiful rib-eye steak from my local butcher was salted and seared (we solo diners dont treat ourselves to steak nearly enough) and served with a creamy pepper sauce. The first bite was so tender and so buttery it made me question whether I could ever be a virtuous vegetarian. The accompanying leafy greens and vegetables had been sourced from my local Saturday morning market. Dessert was my favourite offering, a tiramisu perfectly portioned for one that truly is better than sex. Solo cooking: Charlotte Rees recipes for the ultimate meal for one (filthy martini included) By starting simply and rediscovering my joy for cooking, I find I am craving more. Im starting to find a sense of play in cooking. A sense of stillness. Of presence. Of joy. I find myself returning to what had initially made me fall in love with baking but without the attendant anxiety, without the desperate acts of service that cooking had morphed into.

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Im more confident, and I find more pleasure in the process of cooking and devouring delicious self-sustaining dishes than I ever had in one-night stands. I find Im beginning to like myself again. Charlotte Ree at her favourite Sydney solo dining haunt, Bar Vincent in Darlinghurst. Louie Douvis As I slowly began my love affair with myself, Ive also realised that I love to take myself out for dinner. I spend hours researching the restaurants I want to eat at and the food I want to order, and often arrive without a booking to find a spare seat at the bar or a tiny single table hidden in the back corner of the restaurant, surrounded by couples or groups of family and friends. Solitude. Its the joy of giving yourself permission to date yourself. Initially, I was intimidated by the idea of eating alone, self-conscious about my solitary state, but I soon got over it. Ive discovered that, like cooking, dining alone is an activity in which I find myself being completely present. I put away my phone and either read a book or, better still, watch the people around me and sometimes engage in conversation with those seated beside me, or the amazing staff who are serving me.

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One night, as my tortellini arrived, and a generous glass of light Italian red was poured, I began to speak to my neighbours at the bar, who ended up drinking and dancing with me on Oxford Street into the early hours of the next morning. It was wonderfully unexpected, as nights like those can be when you open yourself up to the unknown. These dates with myself have taught me that allowing yourself to be cooked for and to be served are as important, if not more important, than doing it for others. I am overwhelmingly grateful for my many months of solitude. They were hard. But, they helped me to rediscover myself. To fall in love not with someone else, but with myself. Just as I had once discovered the joy of cooking for others, the joy of serving and feeding and sustaining and giving and providing, this time around I learnt there is also an immense joy to be found in cooking or dining out and having an extravagant meal all on your own. A meal that no one else will taste. That no one else will judge. Its sole purpose is to nourish and sustain just one person  you. Where to dine solo

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Grab a seat at the bar and treat yourself to an indulgent date  with yourself. Sydney Bar Suze

54 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, barsuze.com

54 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, barsuze.com Bar Vincent

174 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, barvincent.com.au

174 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, barvincent.com.au Restaurant Hubert

15 Bligh Street, Sydney, swillhouse.com/venues/restaurant-hubert

15 Bligh Street, Sydney, swillhouse.com/venues/restaurant-hubert Vermuteria

60 Kings Cross Road, Potts Point, vermuteria.com.au Vermuteria is one of Rees solo go-tos. Christopher Pearce Melbourne Carlton Wine Room

172-174 Faraday Street Carlton, thecarltonwineroom.com.au

172-174 Faraday Street Carlton, thecarltonwineroom.com.au Embla

122 Russell Street, Melbourne, embla.com.au

122 Russell Street, Melbourne, embla.com.au France-Soir

11 Toorak Road, South Melbourne, france-soir.com.au

11 Toorak Road, South Melbourne, france-soir.com.au Marion Wine Bar

53 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, marionwine.com.au Nab a seat at the bar at France-Soir. Pat Scala

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Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union depart during The 2023 Met Gala. Credit: Getty

Thanks for joining us for our special coverage of this years Met Gala.

Although there were few genuine surprises (Serena Williams pregnancy one lovely exception), there were plenty of celebrities who had fun with the theme, and some genuine fashion moments that will go down in Met Gala history.

Australians were pretty well represented among the guest list: Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman mined the archives for their looks, while Miranda Kerr opted for a custom Dior gown.

Some of the key trends of the night included vintage, camellias, black and white, and, of course, cats.

In case you missed it, our gallery has all the best looks from the night. Thanks again, and see you next year!
Leaders of the Australian push to ditch the monarchy want the prime minister to remain silent when guests at King Charles coronation are invited to pledge allegiance to the new monarch.

For the first time, Australians and citizens of other Commonwealth nations will be invited to swear allegiance to the King and raise a chorus of millions of voices supporting their undoubted King, defender of all.

King Charles III speaking to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Buckingham Palace last year. Credit: PA

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is travelling to London to attend Saturdays coronation with other dignitaries, is being urged by the Australian Republic Movement to opt out of the oath and instead commit himself to a separate oath that rejects the monarchy.

The groups co-chair, activist and former Socceroo Craig Foster, said: Australians dont bow to any King. We dont take a knee for anyone. Were a society of equals.
Top-secret war-gaming exercises conducted for the Albanese government have found the Australian Defence Force would struggle to respond to alarming but plausible scenarios such as China establishing a military base in a nearby Pacific nation.

Sources familiar with the classified version of the governments defence strategic review said former defence chief Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith commissioned detailed analysis from experts within the Defence Department about specific scenarios that could draw Australia into armed conflict and shatter stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Two RAAF EA-18G Growlers. A secret review has found the Australian Defence Force would struggle to respond to an increased military threat in the Pacific. Credit: ADF

As well as a possible war fought between the United States and China over the self-governing island of Taiwan, the classified version of the review examined how Australia would deal with Beijing establishing a permanent military foothold in a neighbouring nation such as the Solomon Islands.

A base on the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu would bring the Chinese military within just 2000 kilometres of the Australian mainland and upend the current balance of power in the south Pacific.
A budget is coming. Much of the talk  in the idioms that typically surround the event  is of spending pressures and lack of revenue. But there is a blunter way of describing the current situation which we rarely hear: life in Australia is getting worse.

It has become harder to see a doctor and our kids are doing worse at school. I have written before of the way our workforce issues now span the entire life cycle: in childcare centres, schools, GP surgeries and aged care homes we are short of staff. As a nation, we work more than we used to, productivity has fallen, and wages are stuck. Houses are too hard to buy. When commentators talk of revenue shortfalls what they are really saying is this: life in Australia is going to get worse still.

Illustration by Jim Pavlidis. Credit:

This should prompt at least one large question: at what point does a nation accept that what its accustomed to thinking of as its identity is no longer an accurate description of its reality? Or to put this in simpler, more confronting terms: is life here still easy? Do we really have a good lifestyle? Are we any longer laidback? And perhaps most important: is Australia still, in any meaningful sense, fair?

The same question  about whether ones longstanding self-conception still matches reality  might be asked of a political party. And so it was interesting, this past fortnight, to hear Labor ministers respond to questions about what their government might be planning to do for our poorest Australians, not, as one might hope, by answering the question, but by referring to Labors identity. Were a Labor government and we look for every opportunity to help the most disadvantaged people, said Tanya Plibersek. A Labor government will always look for ways in which we can provide assistance to those in need, said the prime minister.
A long-running battle over the redevelopment of a historic pub in Melbournes inner north has ended with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal rejecting plans to turn the pub into apartments.

The owners of the Royal Hotel in Clifton Hill abruptly called last drinks in 2017 and submitted plans to redevelop the pub in 2019 into a five-storey apartment complex, galvanising local residents to begin a years-long fight.

Plans to redevelop The Royal Hotel in Clifton Hill have been rejected at VCAT. Credit: Joe Armao

The plans received more than 270 objections. Residents were upset at the loss of their local pub and concerned by the proposed demolition of significant parts of the heritage building.

The Royal Hotel, built in 1889, is one of a string of Melbourne pubs which have become a battleground between developers and residents following the illegal demolition of the Corkman in Carlton.
Youve never been anywhere like Astana. This is a city that, up until last year, was called Nur-Sultan; though, just a few years before that it was still known as Astana; although, 15 years or so before that it was called Akmola; and six or seven years before that it was called Tselinograd.

And thats not even the full history of the names of the capital of the country that is now called Kazakhstan. No capital city on Earth has worked its way through more monikers than Astana.

Astana features some of the worlds most amazing architecture. Credit: iStock

Still, thats not the most interesting thing about this city, a cold, windy place in a stark setting on the Kazakh Steppe, with no hill or mound or even a bump for hundreds of kilometres around, just flat grassland and a chilly breeze.

Astana was never meant to be a capital. Up until 1997 that prize went to Almaty, the gorgeous city in Kazakhstans south, a place lined with stately buildings in the shadow of the snow-capped Trans-Ili Alatau mountains.
MIAMI, May 1, 2023 -- Oceania Cruises , the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, has welcomed its newest ship  Vista. Delivered at Fincantieri's shipyard in Genoa, Italy, Oceania Cruises' initial Allura Class ship features several firsts in the realms of dining, accommodation and guest experience.

This 67,000-ton, 791-foot-long ship is one of the most anticipated new ships to join the global cruise fleet in 2023. The 1,200-guest Vista boasts the most spacious standard staterooms at sea, three brand-new dining concepts and operates with a market-leading service ratio of two staff members for every three guests. She is highly anticipated by brand loyal and new guests alike, with only a few select staterooms available for her inaugural summer season in the Mediterranean.

Vista builds on Oceania Cruises' exemplary reputation of destination-rich itineraries with world-class service and The Finest Cuisine at Sea by offering 11 culinary venues, three of which are new concepts  Ember, a signature restaurant featuring elevated American cuisine; Aquamar Kitchen, which brings wellness offerings to a new level; and The Bakery at Baristas, an expansion of popular coffee bar Baristas, serving freshly baked French and Italian pastries. In addition to an elevated mixology program with innovative specialty cocktails, Vista's new Broadway-caliber productions feature recognizable songs by some of the world's most beloved artists and contemporary dance numbers led by "Dancing with the Stars" choreographer Britt Stewart.

"Today we usher in a new era for Oceania Cruises with the delivery of Vista," said Frank A. Del Rio, President of Oceania Cruises. "We could not have built such an exceptional ship without the close partnership enjoyed with Fincantieri. We thank each and every person who had a hand in bringing her to life. From the smallest of design details to the largest per capita galley at sea, Vista is a marvel that will be enjoyed by guests for decades to come."

When constructing Vista, Fincantieri's key intention was to embody Oceania Cruises' commitment to luxury and top-of-the-line guest experiences. The innovative ship is a reflection of Fincantieri's extensive abilities and commitment to quality.

Vista will be christened on May 8, 2023, in an exclusive glittering ceremony in Valletta, Malta, by her godmother, celebrated Italian-American chef, author, restaurateur and Emmy Award-winning food personality Giada De Laurentiis. The christening is due to begin at 9 PM CEST, and the event will be livestreamed at 12 PM PDT/3 PM EDT/8 PM BST/9 PM CEST/5 AM AEST (next day) for anyone who wishes to join. The event site and livestream registration can be found here: www.VistaCelebration.com .

After her summer season in the Mediterranean, Vista will sail to Canada and New England before heading south for a series of winter itineraries exploring the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

As Oceania Cruises takes delivery, the line announces its leadership team for Vista. The newly appointed shipboard leaders bring widespread experience from longstanding careers in the industry to their new roles leading 800 crew members on the 1,200-guest ship.

Vista Leadership Team

Captain Luca Manzi: Born in Chiavari, just east of Portofino, Italy, Captain Luca Manzi, Vista's dynamic leader, has always been fascinated by life at sea. He graduated from the Marine Academy and the Navy Academy. With a career spanning over three decades, including serving as a lieutenant in the Italian Navy and commanding cargo ships, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role.

Staff Captain Edgardo Cossu: A native of Sardinia, Italy, Edgardo Cossu was born and raised in the small fishing village of Camogli, known as the "City of a Thousand White Sailing Ships." Ever since he was a child, he had a passion for the sea, deciding to embark at a young age as a sailor working on small local ferries and private yachts. After graduating maritime nautical school, he began his career sailing around the world working on cargo and cruise ships.

General Manager Dominique Nicolle: Hailing from Brittany, France, Dominique Nicolle started his career as a trained chef working in high-end restaurants in Germany. In 1994, he entered the cruise industry during which time he has held multiple positions ranging from chef to general manager.

Executive Chef Frederic Camonin: Born in France, Frederic Camonin has been surrounded by cooking for as long as he can remember, starting with his family's catering business. Since attending culinary school in Verdun he has myriad experiences to his credit including time spent at French restaurants and brasseries as well as catering. For the past 20 years, he has dedicated his life to traveling the world as a chef at sea, furthering his passion for elevated cuisine.

Food & Beverage Director Susanna Cahyadi: Susanna Cahyadi was born and raised on a farm in the North West province of South Africa. She completed her studies in hospitality management in Phalaborwa and worked at various private game reserves and lodges before joining Insignia in 2011. She relished her time on board and has expanded her career at sea ever since.

Cruise Director Paul Baya: Originally from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, Paul Baya now resides in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida. He attended Lynchburg College in Virginia on a singing scholarship majoring in communications and minoring in theatre performance. In 1995, days after graduating college, Paul started working on board his very first ship which launched his illustrious career in the industry.

A full overview of Vista's 2023 and 2024 itineraries can be found at OceaniaCruises.com . For additional information on Oceania Cruises' small-ship luxury product, exquisitely crafted cuisine and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA or speak with a professional travel advisor.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's seven small, luxurious ships carry a maximum of 1,238 guests and feature The Finest Cuisine at Sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 600 marquee and boutique ports in more than 100 countries on seven continents on voyages that range from seven to more than 200 days. The brand has a second 1,200-guest newbuild, Allura, on order for delivery in 2025. Oceania Cruises is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. . To learn more, visit www.nclhltd.com.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is the leading global cruise company that operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. With a combined fleet of 30 ships and more than 60,000 berths, NCLH offers itineraries to nearly 500 destinations worldwide. NCLH has seven additional ships scheduled for delivery across its three brands, adding over 19,000 berths to its fleet. To learn more, visit www.nclhltd.com

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V Review By Larry Nutson

2023 Cadillac Escalade-V

Luxury that roars

By Larry Nutson

Executive Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

THE AUTO CHANNEL

GM has said they are going all-electric. And Cadillac has announced they will no longer offer an internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicle by the year 2030. Thats seven years from now. That still leaves some time for more ICE!

Cadillac has been around for 120 years. It has been selling V8 ICE-powered cars since 1915. The latest, and perhaps the last, new V8 model is the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V. Cadillacs V has already been seen on the CT4 and CT5 Blackwing sedans. Now it is making its debut on an SUV.

Under the hood of the Escalade-V is a 682-HP supercharged 6.2-L V-8 engine that develops 653 lb-ft of torque. A 10-speed automatic transmission with unique calibrations, a standard full-time active all-wheel-drive system, and exclusive suspension hardware and software calibrations help make the Escalade-V complete.

With the full-time active all-wheel drive system to enhance traction, along with the supercharged engine, Cadillac expects the Escalade-V to be capable of 0-60 mph sprints in under 4.4 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 12.74 seconds at 110 mph based on initial GM testing.

Additional exclusive performance features are: six-piston Brembo front brakes with Edge Red brake calipers; unique 22-inch aluminum wheels; Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 and Air Ride Adaptive Suspension, with uniquely tuned rear air springs and damper hardware; V-Series specific software calibrations; and selectable V-Mode with driver-customizable performance driving settings, launch control, lowered suspension (0.8 inch) and active exhaust valves.

Subtle appearance features include: unique V-Series front and rear fascias; quad exhaust outlets; V-Series badging on both front doors, liftgate, and throughout the interior, including the steering wheel; platinum trim interior featuring Zebra Wood decor with semi-aniline leather on all three rows; heated/ventilated and massaging front seats; and AKG Studio Reference 36-speaker audio system

Cadillacs Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance technology is an option. The longer Escalade-V ESV version is also available.

All this comes at a price that might raise some eyebrows---$149,195 to start plus a $1,795 destination charge.

Ive previously driven the present generation of the Escalade. Clearly, I was indeed looking forward to experiencing the V-series for its performance. Additionally, the vehicle I drove was equipped with the newest iteration of Super Cruise giving me the chance to gain some experience.

Super Cruise is the industrys first true hands-free driver assistance technology. It uses real-time cameras, sensors, and GPS, paired with detailed LiDAR map data, to provide driving completely hands-free on more than 200,000 miles of compatible roads in the U.S. and Canada. The latest update includes trailering and automatic lane change capabilities.

Overall the Escalade-V provides a nice balance of performance with comfort. At engine start-up the quad-pipe exhaust burbles loudly, turning some heads. Step deep into the throttle and hold on. I did a couple highway toll booth departures that my wife described as embarrassing with the loud exhaust note.

The ride is comfortable. Cadillac did not fit the Escalade-V with performance tires. All-season, or three-season if you will, make for a nice ride.

We road tripped across lower Michigan from Chicago to visit family. Here I got to really experience Super Cruise. I had previously had a short test drive with Super Cruise. Now I would have 200 miles of highway. What impressed me most was the lane change function that smoothly and definitively steered to the passing lane as we approached a slower vehicle from behind and then returned back to the driving lane after completing the pass. All while I sat with both feet flat on the floor and both hands in my lap. I just needed to keep my head straight and eyes focused ahead so the steering-column mounted camera knew I was paying attention.

A road trip also allows for fuel consumption checks. The EPA-ratings for the Escalade-V are a thirsty 11 city mpg and 16 highway mpg. Yes, 11 mpg or less around town is about what I got. My highway trip was a surprise. Heading east, using lots of Super Cruse function but also driving at the prevailing (wink) higher highway speeds I hit 19 mpg. Wow! On the return driving west I was at 17 mpg. Ive done this trip many times. Fuel consumption driving west is typically worse due to prevailing head wind out of the west. Take note, the Escalade-V requires premium grade gasoline.

This Radiant Red Tintcoat Escalade-V had a total MSRP of $155,365. Super Cruise added $2,500. A center console refrigerator is $700. And the exterior paint was $1,225. There was a $50 credit because the 2nd row window express-up feature was not equipped, probably due to microchip supply.

Visit www.cadillac.com for more information on the 2023 Escalade model range with prices starting at $82,985.

Some auto critics like the Escalade-V. I agree it was proper for Cadillac to bring this last hurrah to market and end ICE-powered SUVs on a high note. Others think not. Each to his/her own.

The future is electric. Happy motoring!

 2023 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 13:01 | All, World

Paraguay ruling party candidate Santiago Pena, who has said he would maintain ties with Taiwan, won the country's presidential election Sunday, local media reported, at a time some Latin American nations have severed ties with the self-ruled island to gain access to the much larger Chinese market.

Pena, 44, of the right-wing Colorado Party, beat Efrain Alegre, 60, who had indicated he would cut ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China, a potential market for Paraguay's beef and soybeans, the media said.

Paraguay is one of seven Latin American countries that have formal ties with Taiwan, an island that China views as its territory. Asuncion has received hefty financial assistance from Taipei over 66 years of diplomatic ties.

The candidates' views on Taiwan were a focus of the election after some Central and South American countries recently cut diplomatic ties with the democratic island and established them with China, with Honduras becoming the latest in March.

Pena's win consolidates the near dominance of the Colorado Party since 1989 and the likely continuation of diplomacy centered on strengthening ties with the United States.

There is mounting discontent among farmers in Paraguay who say the maintenance of ties with Taiwan is hindering their efforts to expand exports to China.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the Communist-governed mainland, by force if necessary.

Pena, a former finance minister, will assume office on Aug. 15 for a five-year term.

With 99.42 percent of the votes counted, Pena had secured 42.74 percent and Alegre, a former minister of public works and communications, 27.49 percent, according to the local election authority.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated Pena on his victory, saying in a statement, "Taiwan deeply admires the mature democratic qualities of the Paraguayan people and the successful completion of the general election."

"Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with the new Paraguayan government, based on shared values such as democracy and freedom, to create the greatest benefit for people of the two sides," the ministry said.

Related coverage:

Taiwan critical in keeping peace, stability: U.S. representative

French minister calls on China to act responsibly over Taiwan

Taiwan president, U.S. House speaker meet in show of democratic bond
KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 21:56 | World, All

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said ahead of a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday he will not allow his country to be used as a "staging post for any kind of military action" as tensions between Washington and Beijing increase over the Taiwan Strait.

The Southeast Asian country leader is expected to discuss with Biden the "evolving conditions" of his country's decades-old defense treaty with the United States.

Aboard an aircraft en route to Washington, Marcos also told reporters on Sunday that he will not encourage any "provocative action" by any country that will put at risk the peace and security of the Philippines.

Marcos has recently allowed the United States to use additional Philippine military bases, a move that China took as Manila interfering in Taiwan's affairs.

"I think the best move for us is to stay within ASEAN, keep ASEAN solid, strong and united... That ASEAN will still be the one to conduct and to lead the political fortunes of all the other countries around Asia," Marcos said, upholding the centrality of the Southeast Asian bloc in dealing with regional issues.

The Philippines and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, an area rich in minerals and a critical trade route that is also being claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

The Philippines is one of the United States' oldest allies in Asia and the largest recipient of U.S. military assistance in the region.

Marcos said he intends to discuss with Biden the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States as it has to be "responsive" to the present geopolitical situation.

He said the conditions under which the treaty was written are "completely different" from the current conditions, noting China has become very dominant in the region while the United States has become less so.

On April 23, a Chinese coast guard ship blocked and nearly collided with a Philippine coast guard vessel that was patrolling near the Manila-held Second Thomas Shoal in the contested waterway. Manila said similar dangerous maneuvers also took place in the vicinity on April 19.

The United States said it stands with the Philippines against China's "continued infringement" of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and reiterated that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces and vessels in the Pacific would invoke its mutual defense commitments to Manila.
Cheyenne, WY (82001)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 45F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 45F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 17:33 | All, World, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to visit South Korea for two days from next Sunday to confirm cooperation with President Yoon Suk Yeol to further improve bilateral ties, sources close to the matter said.

A senior government official on Monday informed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Kishida's plan to visit South Korea, which would mark his first trip to the neighboring country since taking office in October 2021, the sources said.

Japan-South Korea relations had plunged to the lowest point in decades under the left-wing government of Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae In, over a dispute over wartime labor compensation.

But they have been improving as the conservative government of Yoon, who took office in May 2022, proposed a solution to the issue in early March. He visited Tokyo later in that month for talks with Kishida.

They agreed then to restart reciprocal visits by Japanese and South Korean leaders, which had been suspended since 2011. Kishida subsequently decided to make an early visit to South Korea, the sources said.

The last visit to South Korea by a Japanese premier was in February 2018, when then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Tokyo and Seoul have long been at odds over issues related to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.

Kishida has hoped to pave the way for a successful Group of Seven summit in his home constituency of Hiroshima later this month. He has invited Yoon to the gathering as a guest.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 41F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 41F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. High 51F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 38F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 17:09 | All, Japan

A 29-year-old woman in Osaka was arrested Monday on suspicion of assaulting a man, who was later confirmed dead, by pouring hot water on him at her home the previous day, police said.

Momoka Taniguchi denied the allegations and was quoted by the local police as saying that the burns on the man, believed to be her live-in partner, were caused by "spilling hot water for instant noodles" and that she had "not poured it on purpose."

The police are investigating his death after multiple cuts were found on the lower half of his body.

Taniguchi claims the man went to the shower after having the hot water spilled on him, and she found him unconscious about 15 minutes later when she went to check up on him, according to the police.
2 Killed, 4 Wounded in Mississippi Shooting; Man Arrested

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teenagers and wounding four others in an early Sunday shooting at a house party on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Cameron Everest Brand of Pass Christian is charged with murder and aggravated assault, jail records show. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Brand as the sole shooter through witness and victim statements.

An 18-year-old and a 16-year-old died in a New Orleans hospital, Schwartz said. The Orleans Parish coroner did not return a phone call seeking to confirm their identities.

Brand was arrested at his home in neighboring Pass Christian and taken to jail, Schwartz said. Bay St. Louis Municipal Court Judge Stephen Maggio denied Brand bail, and he was being held in the Hancock County jail. It is unclear if Brand has a lawyer to speak for him.

Students had gathered for a party at the home on a sparsely populated road after Bay High Schools prom. Local news outlets reported that trails of blood could be seen on the pavement Sunday outside the home, while cars were peppered with bullet holes. The home is less than a mile from Bay High.

Vehicles with bullet holes are parked outside a Bay St. Louis, Miss., residence where several high school students were shot, some fatally, at a house party early on April 30, 2023. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald)/The Sun Herald via AP)

Police said the six victims wounded by gunfire ranged in age from 15 to 18. All were taken to area hospitals, some by helicopter.

Both of the teens who died had attended nearby Hancock High School in Kiln, officials in that school district said. Two more Hancock High students were shot and wounded, as were two students from Bay High. Those are the only two public high schools in Hancock County, on the western end of the Mississippi Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Gulfport.

Our hearts are broken as we mourn the tragic loss of two Hancock High School students who were victims of the shooting in Bay St. Louis last night, the Hancock County school district said in a statement, saying counselors would be available Monday at school. Let us come together as a community to show our support and love during this difficult time.

Sandra Reed, superintendent of the Bay St. Louis-Waveland school district, said both of the wounded Bay High students were expected to recover. Bay High Principal Amy Necaise said the school was making faculty and staff available on campus Sunday afternoon to counsel students.
Noam Chomsky Responds to Revelations He Met With Jeffrey Epstein

Chomsky accuses Wall Street Journal of engaging in a 'deceitful hit piece'

Former Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguistics professor Noam Chomsky came under fire over the weekend after a report disclosed that he met with disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in 2015.

The Wall Street Journal, in an exclusive news report published on Sunday, said it obtained Epsteins private calendar, which included numerous meetings with high-profile individuals such as Chomsky and others.

First response is that it is none of your business. Or anyones. Second is that I knew him and we met occasionally, Chomsky, who recently has been critical of NATOs and the United States involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war, told the WSJ in response to the calendars revelations.

In an email to The Epoch Times on Monday, Chomsky said that when I wrote a personal letter to the [WSJ] reporter, in response to her inquiries, I ended by saying that from experience I assumed that this would be the kind of deceitful hit piece favored by the editors.

Turns out I was right. Plenty of deceit, but far more interesting is omission: e.g., omission of the demonstration of the dedication of the [J]ournal not just to donations by leading criminals, but to honoring them, he said, describing that as far more extreme.

In March 2015, Epstein scheduled a meeting with several academics, including Chomsky, who said they met multiple times at Harvard University professor Martin Nowaks institute to discuss neuroscience.

The paper reported that two months later, Epstein scheduled a flight with Chomsky and his wife for a dinner with director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, famously also the adopted daughter of Allens former partner Mia Farrow. The academic said that he discussed politics and academics in his meetings with Epstein, and Epstein donated some $850,000 between 2002 and 2017 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyalthough MIT later rejected the donations.

At another point in 2015, Chomsky was also scheduled to fly with Epstein to dine at Epsteins townhouse in Manhattan, the paper reported, citing Epsteins calendar.

If there was a flight, which I doubt, it would have been from Boston to New York, 30 minutes, Chomsky told the WSJ. Im unaware of the principle that requires that I inform you about an evening spent with a great artist.

Jeffrey Epstein (C) appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 30, 2008. (Uma Sanghvi/Palm Beach Post via AP)

What was known about Jeffrey Epstein was that he had been convicted of a crime and had served his sentence, Chomsky also told the outlet about his meetings. According to U.S. laws and norms, that yields a clean slate.

Epstein, accused of sex trafficking underage girls, was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell as he awaited trial. He had an infamous black book that contained flight logs of people who flew on his private jet or to his private island, including current and former politicians, billionaires, actors, academics, and other celebrities.

After Epsteins death, there has been widespread speculation about whether he died from suicide or if he was murdered. A forensic pathologist and former New York City Medical Examiner publicly questioned the official narrative around Epsteins death in early 2020, saying the wounds around his neck are more indicative of a homicide rather than suicide.

In other comments on Sunday, Chomsky told Fox News that the WSJs reporting covered 2015-16, when what was known about Mr. Epstein was that he had been sentenced for a crime, served his sentence, which wiped the slate clean according to US law and norms.

The gossip column chose not to publish the extensive information they have about far worse criminals who not only donate to MIT and other institutions but, far more serious of course, are greatly honored by them, Chomsky added.

CIA Director Visit

The Wall Street Journal, citing Epsteins calendar, said CIA Director William Burns met with Epstein at least once when he was an Obama administration official. The intelligence agency later confirmed that Burns was introduced to Epstein by a mutual friend in Washington, although Burns said he didnt know much about the disgraced financier.

The director did not know anything about him, other than he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector, CIA spokeswoman Tammy Kupperman Thorp said. The director does not recall any further contact, including receiving a ride to the airport. They had no relationship.

The calendar also included names such as Bard College President Leon Botstein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky, and Kathryn Ruemmler, who was a White House lawyer during the Obama administration, according to the Wall Street Journals report. Those individuals mainly said they met with Epstein due to his wealth and connections, with some saying they were seeking donations.

I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein, Ruemmler said, reported the paper.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley Promises to Recruit Doctors, Fund Vaccination If Elected

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley addresses supporters as she kicks off her campaign for the provincial election in Calgary on May 1, 2023. (Colette Derworiz/The Canadian Press)

As the first day of the Alberta provincial election kicked off, New Democrat Party leader Rachel Notley was on the campaign trail in Calgary, promising to protect Albertans pensions and end the health care crisis.

At a news conference on May 1, Notley said if elected on May 29, her party would bring doctors back to Alberta and reduce the number of people waiting in pain.

Notley said her party would cover more medications for seniors and fund vaccinations, adding, We will not make women pay for reproductive health care, well cover the cost of contraception for free.

We will fix the health care crisis of today by investing in frontline workers and frontline services, said Notley. She said it would mean undertaking the largest health care recruitment and retention campaign ever seen because we support public health care.

Notley reiterated an earlier promise to create family health clinics. Within ten years, up to one million more Albertans will have access to a doctor within a day or two as part of family health clinics, the Alberta NDP pledged in April as part of their campaign.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks during an announcement in Edmonton on Dec. 2, 2018. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Notley, who was elected in 2015 and served one four-year term as premier of Alberta, said under an NDP government, students will have a modern curriculum, smaller class sizes, and more education assistants.

She committed to freezing car insurance, freezing university tuition, and introducing legislation to protect pensions.

Notleys election promises on the first day of the campaign tended to be general, rather than specific.

We look forward to rolling out our affordability measures very soon into the campaign. So that is a thing that you will see from us. And of course, they will be focused primarily on lower- and middle-income folks, she said.

Our party has a plan. It has a plan to attract $20 billion in new private sector investment and to create more than 47,000 good-paying, sustainable industrial jobs all across this province.

Notley spoke about supporting energy workers and cutting the emissions that threaten our planet, and we will be creating jobs while were at it. She said people should not be charged just to enjoy a hike in Kananaskis country.

And when, by the way, when you go on that hike, youll be doing that near mountains that have absolutely no coal mining, she added.
American Airlines Pilots Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike

American Airlines passenger jets prepare for departure, near a terminal at Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, Mass., on July 21, 2021. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

The union that represents American Airlines pilots announced on May 1 that its members approved a walkout ahead of the busy summer travel season, with nearly all of the participating pilots voting in favor of a strike.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, stated on May 1 that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike.

The APA membership has spoken. We will strike if necessary to secure the industry-leading contract that our pilots have earned and deservea contract that will position American Airlines for success, Capt. Ed Sicher, APA president, said in a statement.

Voting began on April 1 and concluded on April 30, with more than 96 percent of APA members casting votes.

With more than 99 percent of participating pilots voting in favor of authorizing a strike, our pilots resolve is unmistakable. We will not be deterred from our goal of an industry-leading contract, Sicher said.

The union said its members will conduct informational picketing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time at all 10 of the airlines major hubs, including Boston Logan International, Chicago OHare International, Los Angeles International, and New Yorks LaGuardia.

The strike authorization puts added pressure on American Airlines to agree to pilot demands for higher salaries and better working conditions, with the sides said to be closing in on an agreement in principle.

Complex labor processes make it difficult for pilots in the United States to actually walk off the job, so the strike authorization seems to be mostly symbolic as the sides finalize the terms of a new deal.

Finish Line Is in Sight

American Airlines told The Epoch Times in a statement that its leadership remains confident that an agreement  is within reach and can be finalized quickly.

The finish line is in sight, the spokesperson said.

We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done, and we respect the message of voting results. Importantly, the results dont change our commitment or distract us from working expeditiously to complete a deal.

We remain focused on completing the handful of matters necessary to reach an agreement our pilots deserve.

In March, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said that his company was prepared to match the pay rates and profit-sharing formula that competitor Delta Air Lines provided in its new pilot contract.

Deltas recently ratified contract provides 34 percent cumulative pay increases over four years, worth about $7 billion. The deal also provides a lump-sum one-time payment, lower health insurance premiums, and improvements in holiday pay and vacation time.

Isom said in March that a deal like Deltas would be a game changer for American Airlines pilots.

To match Deltas deal, American Airlines pilots could see cumulative pay increases of 40 percent over four years, Isom said at the time.

Experts say that Deltas deal has put pressure on other carriers to offer better terms as competition for pilots grows.

Ben Friedrich, a professor at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, said that airlines are in the war for talent.

Its hard for other airlines to retain their pilots unless they follow suit and raise pay to a similar extent, he added.

Some airline executives have expressed concern that generous pay increases for pilots would make it harder for highly indebted carriers to fix their balance sheets.

In its latest earnings report for the first quarter of 2023, Delta touted its latest deal and predicted record revenue in the coming months.

Thanks to the outstanding work and dedication of the Delta team, 2023 is off to a strong start, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said. We provided well-deserved pay increases for our people and paid more profit sharing than the rest of the industry combined.

After announcing that Delta generated nearly $5 billion of operating profit over the past year, Bastian said Delta is building momentum after its recently announced deal.

For the June quarter, we expect to deliver record revenue, and an adjusted operating margin of 1416 percent with earnings per share of $2.002.25, Bastian said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
'During my 30 years as a police officer, I have always searched for the truth. Sometimes the truth didn't turn out to be what I expected, but still, the truth was what I had always searched for'

Solving crime mysteries was Captain Robert L. Snows whole life, until the mystery of his own life chased him down. He was the reputed commander of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, in charge of the homocide department.

As a police detective, Snow believed in concrete proof, and didnt believe in concept of past lives. Upon coming across a police psychologist and regression therapist who dared Snow to go through the process and see for himself the outcome, Snow casually said Sure, Ill do it. He didnt really intend to follow through.

Due to his extensive training in his work life, Snow was long disenchanted by the hypnotherapy phenomena, especially from his experience working child sex abuse cases.

What he discovered about himself after his regression procedure was enough to challenge his lifelong conditioning, and eventually his entire outlook of everything.

Past Life Regression

Much to his shock, towards the end of Snows regression he was able to recall a number of his past lives.

The most prominent one was the life he lived as a minor portrait painter, Carroll Beckwith, who lived and worked in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th century. Snow was able to recall 30 specific details relating to his lifetime as Beckwith, particularly a painting that he made of a hunchbacked woman.

This discovery created deep confusion in Snows mind, as what he always regarded as superstitious and false were now a part of his own experience. But as much as he tried to deny it all, Snow did a thorough investigation to obtain proofin hopes to prove himself wrongbut more than that, to find the truth.

Quest for Proof

An author of six books about various police topics, Snow was an experienced researcher and highly intelligent. But after a year of pursuing the subject of the existence of the painter Carroll Beckwith, Snow had reached a dead end.

At this point, he became convinced that the painter must have been a part of his childhood encounter where he saw a picture or sketch of a hunchbacked woman somewhere randomly and now it came to him as a repressed memory.

Chapter closed and case solved!

Snow had now started to move on with his usual yet exciting life.

During this time, Snow was on a family vacation to celebrate his anniversary in New Orleans. On the last day of the trip, Snow found himself wandering in the French Quarter of New Orleans, when Snow had the most profound experience of his life, which he now recalls to be not random but spiritually guided.

It was the painting of the hunchbacked woman, and the artists name mentioned was none other than Carroll Beckwith. At this very instant, Snow was stunned to the point of being frozen.

He realized that the painting didnt just resemble the one from his regression session, but he could also recall the process of painting it in his studio as every paint stroke while creating the painting appeared vividly in Snows mind.

Still in a state of denial, Snow inquired with the staff hoping that the painting could have been from a book or another source that he might have seen as a child, but the person in charge told him that, no, this painting had been in private hands for many years.

And besides, let me be honest with you, I dont think there has been an exhibition of Beckwiths work in the last 75 years. He wasnt that famous, Snow recounted in his book Looking for Carroll Beckwith: The True Stories of a Detectives Search for his Past Life.

Beckwiths Diary

Upon further investigation, Snow was finally able to track down Beckwiths diary. Beckwith was the President of the National Academy of Design in New York, where his diary along with his unpublished autobiography were found.

From Beckwiths diaries, he found that 26 points of 28 matched with the life of Carroll Beckwith. His recollections included some crucial realities of Beckhwiths life such as:

Even though he wasnt disabled, Beckwith used a walking stick

He actually disliked painting portraits

He painted the portrait of the hunchbacked woman

His mother had passed away due to blood clotting

He had an art studio with a bank of skylight and a row of windows

He had a happy marriage even though he and his wife couldnt have children and struggled with money

However, Snow noted, he had gotten Beckwiths wifes name wrong in his own memories.

With this evidence before him, Snow said he had more proof of his past life than he did most murder cases. He later recorded all the details of his experience in his book called Looking for Carroll Beckwith: The True Stories of a Detectives Search for his Past Life (1999).

Snow concluded, I cannot accept that with the 4 billions of people who have inhabited the Earth, my case is unique, that mine would be the only case since John the Baptistwho some say that Jesus described in the Gospel of Matthew as being Elijah Reborn.

With over 100 published articles in Readers Digest, the National Enquirer, Police, and the Saint Detective Magazine, Snow has written 20 books. Now in his 70s, Robert L. Snow has retired from police work and lives in Indianapolis with wife Melanie Morphew Snow, presently working on book number 21.

Historical Fascinations

With a successful career as a dramatist in London, writing plays produced by the BBC, Ada F. Kay, also known as A.J. Stewart, had quite an established streak for a female writer in the 1950s. She wrote many plays, including The Man From Thermopylae (1959), which managed to receive some critical acclaim in those days. Published by Scottish society of playwrights, the story was set in ancient Greece, where the famous battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and Sparta led by Leonides I which lasted for three days.

Could the fascination with such a specific event in ancient Greece have deeper roots?

During this time, Kay was writing another play in a similar genre, about the life of King James IV of Scotland.

As the story developed, she decided to visit the site of the Battle of Flodden which is known to be the premise where the king was killed in 1513.

Just the night before her visit to the site, Kay experienced a vividly traumatic flashback of being brutally hacked to death by spears in a battle.

As shocking as this scene appeared to Kay, she wasnt confused. It eventually led her to accept that she was a reincarnation of late King James IV of Scotland, as this wasnt the first time she experienced a life-like peek into a past life, but this incident settled her doubts of why she had dreamed of these battle scenes since childhood.

In retrospect, Kay said she understood why she always felt a strong aversion towards England, without any rational reason.

There have been many peculiar stories like these, where people believe themselves to be someone else, like the man who imagines to be Napoleon or the woman who claimed to be Cleopatra, but given Kays memories of not only King Jamess life but the gruesome details of his death in her 1972 book, Falcon, which she subtitled an autobiography, revealed some shocking details of the battle and the king himself.

In an interview with the BBC, Kay recalls many graphic details of the battle of Flodden where the disastrous defeat of Scotland led to about 10,000 deaths by the English under commands of King Henry VIII.

There are aspects about this case which make it more compelling and fantastic, though it may seem, even credible, the host said.

References

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/sigs/spirituality-spsig/james-pandarakalam-a-search-for-the-truth-of-past-life-regression.pdf

http://www.viewzone.com/reincarnation4.html

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/202370.Robert_L_Snow

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-snow-75a80b2b/



https://journals.openedition.org/etudesecossaises/157

https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/1972-nationwide-james-iv-reincarnated/322231525163721/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_F._Kay#cite_ref-6
ANALYSIS: The Potential Implications of Trumps Legal Teams Letter to Congress

News analysis

Last week, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, Timothy Parlatore, along with three additional lawyers, sent a 10-page letter to the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). The letter seeks Turners intervention in special counsel Jack Smiths criminal investigation regarding Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents.

The letter details, for the first time ever, Trumps side of how a supposedly unremarkable document packing and storing issue culminated in the Aug. 8, 2022, raid on Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate, as well as in the possible indictment of a former president for mishandling classified documents.

What remains unclear, however, is the strategy being pursued by Trumps legal team in sending the letter. The demand that Congress shut down the special counsel investigation is not within Congresss purview, most notably because of the separation of powers. The second demand from Trumps lawyers, that Congress change the laws regarding how classified documents are handled by the executive branch, is equally puzzling. Congress is split and, even if they wanted to, Republicans cannot change laws.

However, the bigger problem related to this second demand is that it appears to be an indirect admission that Trumps Mar-a-Lago documents were mishandled.

This would represent a marked shift from Trumps previous line of defense, which was that Trump had unfettered declassification powers and that, therefore, it was logically and legally impossible for him to have unlawfully retained classified documents.

The objective of the apparent shift in strategy may be to draw President Joe Biden into the matter. Biden has his own classified documents scandal, having retained, in various locations, a trove of classified documents from his time as a senator and as vice president, including in his Delaware garage, which was also being used by his son Hunter Biden.

By blaming Trumps and Bidens problems on imprecise rules and procedures in how former presidents and vice presidents handle documents, both Trump and Biden could be painted as victims, rather than as guilty parties.

However, such a strategy comes at a heavy price. First, as mentioned, it involves a concession that Trumps documents were in fact mishandled. Trumps lawyers lay the blame for this at the hands of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which they claim did not assist Trump in packing up documents at the White House. This is alleged to have been a departure from previous practice.

Trumps lawyers also blame the haste of leaving the White House for the fact that the documents ended up in Mar-a-Lago. They further blame this on the fact that previous presidents were two-term presidents and had more time to pack up but, in reality, they have opened the door to claims that Trump himself created the haste by refusing to concede the presidential election. This also reignites issues such as the January 6 riots, which do not help Trumps cause.

Second, Trumps team makes a related admission that, had NARA offered Trump assistance, Trump would have accepted the offer and there would have been no reason to transfer the documents to Mar-a-Lago.

Again, this goes against the previous narrative that Trump had declassified all documents and was therefore entitled to retain them.

Third, Trumps lawyers admit that when Trump received the first NARA request to return all documents with classification markings in January 2022four months before the grand jury issued a subpoena for the documentsPresident Trump asked his staff to retrieve 15 boxes that had been moved to Mar-a-Lago so he could see what was in them before they were sent to NARA in Washington, DC. But the lawyers concede that Trump did not review the boxes due to other demands on his time and that Trump subsequently directed his staff to ship the boxes to NARA without any review by him or his staff.

Apparently, this concession was made to explain why boxes that contained both documents marked classified, as well as assorted personal items and presidential records, ended up in the hands of NARA.

However, admitting that Trump intended to go through the boxes but ended up not doing so creates new problems. Most conspicuously, it paints Trumps Mar-a-Lago operation as sloppy. But the bigger problem for Trump is that by conceding that he intended to participate in the January 2022 search for documents, Trumps lawyers have opened the door to claims that Trump might have participated in the May 2022 review of documents after the grand jury subpoena for those documents was issued.

This is a crucial admission for potential criminal charges against Trump because Trumps main legal problem is that one of his lawyers signed a certification claiming that all documents marked classified had been returned pursuant to the grand jury subpoena. This turned out to be incorrect after the FBIs raid uncovered additional documents marked classified.

In their letter, Trumps lawyers argue that the grand jury certification only pertained to documents that were found and not to all documents that may have been kept at Mar-a-Lago. However, the certification does not make this distinction. It states that any and all responsive documents accompany this certification.

Special counsel Jack Smith might use the admission that Trump intended to personally get involved in the January 2022 documents search as evidence that Trump may have been involved in the subsequent search and perhaps in the false certification. Trump could still claim that his lawyers did all the searching and that it had nothing to do with him but this latest admission will allow Smith to question that narrative.

The strongest argument put forward by Trumps lawyers is that the manner in which Trump and Biden have been treated in their respective cases is very different. While Trumps home was raided, Biden was allowed to conduct his own searches, even after several batches of classified documents had been found in various places. Trumps lawyers also make the point that Biden kept his classified documents for many years, going back to his days in the Senate, whereas Trump only had his documents for about one year. While Bidens documents were moved and stored at multiple locations, Trumps were always in the same place.

While these are strong arguments, it remains unclear what the purpose of involving Congress is, given that the case is with a special counsel in the executive branch.

It also remains unclear why Trumps lawyers made concessions, seemingly without gaining anything in return. While the letter has not been widely covered in the media, there is no doubt that special counsel Jack Smith has taken note and that he will use the various admissions in the letter against Trump.

Trump Team Tricked by DOJ

On a broader level, perhaps the most notable thing about the letter is the confirmation that Bidens Department of Justice (DOJ) tricked Trump and his team into thinking that they were working together to amicably resolve the issues surrounding the documents while, in reality, the DOJ was trying to entrap Trump.

The first time they were tricked was in the run-up to the grand jury subpoena, when Trumps lawyers claim to have been cooperating, only to have the subpoena sprung on them. Trumps lawyers lament that by unleashing a grand jury subpoena, DOJ intended to put President Trump on the defensive, not to invite his cooperation.

Inexplicably, despite having been tricked once, only to be slapped with the May 11, 2022, grand jury subpoena, Trumps team was again tricked into cooperating when the DOJs Chief of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division, Jay Bratt, went to Mar-a-Lago on June 3, 2022. According to Trumps lawyers, Trump personally met Bratt, and Trumps team was led to believe that the DOJ would ask to return to Mar-a-Lago and examine all the boxes. Apparently, Bratt reinforced this belief when he asked that an additional lock be installed in the area where the boxes were being kept.

According to the letter from Trumps lawyers, President Trump and Mr. Corcoran [a lawyer for Trump] understood this to be the beginning, not the end, of working cooperatively with Mr. Bratt and DOJ to resolve any outstanding concerns about the boxes. President Trump did not imagine that, rather than accept his offer, Mr. Bratt would abruptly discontinue the dialogue and seek a search warrant, apparently eager to criminalize this document dispute with NARA.

While Trump has many genuine grievances regarding his treatment at the hands of Bratt and the DOJ, these issues should have been addressed as soon as they arose. For instance, the NARA request for documents could have been contested or at least debated over. Instead, Trumps team cooperated and sent NARA many boxes of unexamined and unvetted materials. Notwithstanding Trumps cooperation, NARA used the contents of those boxes to instigate a criminal investigation of Trump. Similarly, the resultant grand jury subpoena should have been challenged at the time for being both vague and overbroad. Instead, Trumps team again tried to cooperate, only to be served with a search warrant that was itself based on the assertion that Trumps cooperation had been inadequate. Yet, even after these events, Trump and his team continued to try and cooperate, only to be served with a search warrant.

Trump and his lawyers should have been well aware that they were dealing with people who were not seeking cooperation but were out to get them. Just as with previous attempts to entrap Trump, including the Russia collusion hoax, the Ukraine impeachment affair, and the January 6 investigation, the documents saga was an entrapment scheme all along.

The latest letter from Trumps lawyers will be the topic of an upcoming episode of Truth Over News to be aired on EpochTV on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
KYODO NEWS - May 1, 2023 - 16:38 | Sports, All

Mongolian-born Kiribayama was placed top among the four sekiwake in the May 14-28 Summer Grand Sumo Tournament rankings announced Monday, as the March champion bids for promotion to the second-highest rank of ozeki.

Former ozeki Asanoyama was named a No. 14 maegashira, meanwhile, as he returns to elite makuuchi-division action for the first time since being handed a six-meet ban in June 2021 for breaching COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Kiribayama won 11 as a komusubi during January's New Year tournament, and 12 as a new sekiwake in March when he claimed his maiden Emperor's Cup via a playoff. With 33 wins from the previous three meets being the usual requirement for ozeki promotion, 10 wins at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan this month would suffice.

"It's a chance, and I'll go at it thinking this will be the last (opportunity)," the 27-year-old told a press conference. "I want to get a winning record and then reach double figures."

Asanoyama dropped as low as fourth-tier sandanme due to the yearlong penalty he received for dining out while under instructions to stay home amid the pandemic. Since getting back on the raised ring last July, he has been near-perfect while climbing his way back.

"I feel the support of the fans despite the misconduct. I want to draw strength from it," the 29-year-old said during the Japan Sumo Association's regional tour, where he received bigger cheers than many top-ranked wrestlers, whom he often beat with ease.

Wakamotoharu, 29, reached sekiwake for the first time, joining Daieisho, Kiribayama and another Mongolian-born livewire, Hoshoryu, at the third-highest rank.

Wakamotoharu's younger brother Wakatakakage, 28, has dropped one rank to komusubi and faces a lengthy period on the sidelines following knee surgery.

The two are just the fourth pair of siblings in history to have reached sekiwake. The previous pair was Takahanada, later renamed Takanohana, and older brother Wakanohana, who attained the rank in May 1993. Both went on to be yokozuna.

Injury-plagued seven-time champion Terunofuji remains the only yokozuna, as he eyes a return to action, having missed the last four tournaments either entirely or in part.

Lone ozeki Takakeisho needs eight wins to avoid demotion after he pulled out of the March tourney.

Related coverage:

Sumo: Kiribayama beats Daieisho in playoff to claim Spring tourney

Sumo: Spring champion Kiribayama shifts focus to ozeki promotion bid
Another Progressive Fusillade Goes Awry

Commentary

Is Chris Rufo our Brer Rabbit?

In his tireless battle against critical race theory (CRT), the latest allotrope of vicious anti-white, polymorphously perverse Marxist ideology, Rufo has had signal success.

He has succeeded in bringing the truth about CRT to the publics attention, and his work has inspired a significant backlash.

He has inspired legislation in more than a dozen states and even a presidential order (though not, of course, by the current president) to check this moral Trojan horse.

The Empire always strikes back, however.

The woke watchmen at the citadels of orthodoxy have begun to sit up, take notice, and sound the alarm about this patient and methodical gadfly buzzing about their efforts to subvert the wholesome, race-blind canons of liberal education as traditionally conceived.

Rufos critics face two huge hurdles.

One, CRT and allied ideologies are every bit as toxic as Rufo says.

To describe CRT is to discredit it, and Rufo describes it in patient, if not exactly loving, detail.

Two, those attacking Rufo seem to believe that by saying he represents an assault on progressive sentiment they have landed a damaging blow.

They dont understand that, like Brer Rabbit, he glories in being tossed into the Briar Patch of anti-progressive reaction.

The latest, inadvertently amusing, instance of this phenomenon, was vouchsafed us by a truly obtuse opinion piece in our former paper of record.

One of Rufos highest-profile interventions to date has been at New College in Sarasota, Florida.

That failing college attracted the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis partly because it was floundering, hemorrhaging students and financial stability, partly because it was a safe haven for every toxic element of the CRT roadshow.

DeSantis brought in several new board members, including Rufo, and they instantly began shaking things up.

His statement that he wanted to help transform New College into the Hillsdale of the South was particularly galling to the woke mandarins in the media because Hillsdale, probably the best liberal arts college in the country, is calmly but conspicuously and determinedly non-woke.

Hillsdale is interested in education, not indoctrination.

That is its real tort: It refuses to be part of the progressive assault on independent thought and genuine learning.

The hilarity of The New York Times piece begins with its title: This Is What the Right-Wing Takeover of a Progressive College Looks Like.

We are meant to shudder at the phrase Right-Wing.

Its true that most conservatives cower in the corner when accused of being right-wing, racist, homophobic, etc.

That cowardice is part of whats wrong with contemporary conservatism.

But Rufo outflanked the machine by embracing the charge.

He linked to the NY Times column on Twitter and proudly assented to the charge.

Yes, this is what the right-wing takeover of a progressive college looks like, he said. And were just getting started.

Oh no, narrative disruption!

Rufo continued: My critics believe that the progressive college is the only natural and legitimate form of the university.

But we wont play that game. Conservative voters deserve conservative institutions. In a republic, the people, through their elected representatives, get to decide.

What a novel idea!

I (almost) felt sorry for the NY Times columnist.

Reading her column was like watching a toddler having a meltdown.

There she was wailing and pounding her tiny fists on the floor, but nobody was paying her the slightest heed.

One curious trope that the woke punditocracy has put great store by is the belief in the dark magical powers of the adjective Christian.

A recent New Yorker piece on Hillsdale featured the word in its title, doubtless because the author or her editors were confident that their readers would recoil from the term.

Doubtless they are correct in that calculation.

But who still reads The New Yorker or The New York Times?

In the event, The New Yorker piece wasnt as hostile as one might have expected.

It was less damning than curious.

That is, what we saw in that column was The New Yorker in its cultural anthropology guise, its reporter embedded among a far-off tribe and reporting on their strange customs and behavior for the sophisticates back home.

The New York Times, by contrast, was taut, angry, and hysterical.

The author begins with a sympathetic portrayal of some legacy professors at New College.

They tried to give Rufo and his wrecking balls the benefit of the doubt. They tried to work with them.

But it was no good.

Rufo, quoth this columnist, is the ideological entrepreneur who made critical race theory a Republican boogeyman.

Moreover, he was open about his ambition to turn the quirky, LGBT-friendly liberal arts school into a public version of Hillsdale, a conservative Christian college in Michigan with close ties to both DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. He hoped the transformation would be proof of concept for his dream: a conservative takeover of higher education across the country.

Imagine, he actually admits it!

And note again the deployment of the word Christian and the ultimate high-caliber weaponry, DeSantis and Trump.

I have no doubt that NY Times readers were reaching for their smelling salts or locally sourced vegan sedatives.

Indeed, the NY Times column is full of what St. Matthew called fletus et stridor dentium: wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The new board fired the college president and replaced her withwait for ita Republican!

Perhaps my favorite two sentences in the column follow immediately on that terrible revelation: They fired its chief diversity officer and dismantled the diversity, equity and inclusion office. As I was writing this on Friday, several people sent me photographs of gender-neutral signage scraped off school bathrooms.

But wait, youre thinking, arent those good things?

Why should any college maintain such a thing as a chief diversity officer let alone an office of diversity, equity, and inclusion? Why?

And why should a public collegeor for that matter, a private onemaintain gender neutral (by which, incidentally, she probably meant transgender friendly) bathrooms? Why?

At the center of this pathetic piece is an account of a long and unpleasant public board meeting at which a holdover board member and others stormed out.

Rufo himself had to Zoom in, were told, because he was in Hungary, where he had a fellowship at a right-wing think tank closely tied to Viktor Orbans government. (This seemed fitting, since Orbans Hungary created the template for Rufo and DeSantiss educational crusade.)

Oh dear, oh dear. A right-wing think tank. Viktor Orban: Can things get any worse?

The New York Times endeavored to stage a tragedy here.

They succeeded only in producing a farce.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Australian Government Encourages Small Businesses to Go Electric with $314 Million Tax Break

Solar panels are seen on the rooftop at AGL's new Docklands office in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 20, 2015. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

The Australian government has introduced a $314 million (US$208 million) package to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to electrify their businesses.

The government said the Small Business Energy Incentive scheme, which will be featured in the May 9 federal budget, would help Australian businesses save energy and save on their energy bills.

Up to 3.8 million Australian enterprises could be eligible for the new support.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said small business would be one of the priorities of the upcoming budget.

This incentive is all about helping small businesses save energy and save on their energy bills, support that comes on top of the direct energy bill relief for small businesses that will be a centrepiece of the budget, he said.

Details of the Scheme

The new support package will come as tax deductions for small and medium-sized businesses.

Specifically, businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will get an additional 20 percent deduction on expenditures that support electrification and improve the energy efficiency of their operations.

Examples of such investments include electrifying heating and cooling systems, upgrading to more efficient fridges and induction cooktops, and installing batteries and heat pumps.

Businesses can claim up to $100,000 of total spending, and the maximum bonus tax deduction available under the scheme is $20,000 for each company.

The extra tax deduction will apply to eligible assets or upgrades that will be first used or installed and ready for use in the 2023-2024 financial year.

The government said the incentive would deliver ongoing power bill savings for businesses and help them lower carbon emissions.

The Small Business Energy Incentive unlocks that investment to help businesses save on their bills over the medium and long term, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), a peak industry body, welcomed the governments new incentive, saying it was highly attractive for local businesses.

Staff at La Camera restaurant prepares food in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 27, 2020. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The new targeted tax incentive could be very helpful for millions of small and medium-sized businesses over the coming year, as long as the definition of eligible businesses and expenditure is easy to navigate, Ai Group CEO Innes Willox said in a statement.

However, the CEO warned that a lack of suitably qualified tradespeople could hamper the program and suggested the government work closely with industries to deal with this issue.

Luke Menzel, the CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, said the new policy came at the right time and would relieve businesses from high energy prices.

Driving down energy bills through improved energy performance means one less cost that has to be passed on to consumersits a win-win, council CEO Luke Menzel said.

In addition, Menzel estimated that the incentive could result in $1.5 billion in investment to improve Australias energy performance.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Liberal party for comment but has yet to receive a reply in time for publication.

Federal Budget Sees Significant Improvements

The new incentive comes as the federal government touted significant improvements to the May 9 budgets bottom line and promised cost-of-living relief for Australian households.

On April 30, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the government had found billions of dollars in savings.

However, she noted that the final figure would be less than the $22 billion recorded in last Octobers budget.

I dont think well get to quite where we were in October, itll be less than that, but it will be significant, she told reporters.

Weve been saying for some time that we will get a significant improvement to the bottom line in the near term.

Furthermore, the minister said the budget would contain ongoing investments and one-off measures to help people cope with living cost pressures.

This budget will have a significant cost-of-living package, and that cost-of-living package will be targeted to the most vulnerable Australians, she said.

Gallagher also rejected the Greens partys calls for a two-year rent freeze, saying the best way to tackle the housing crisis would be the Labor governments $10 billion affordable housing fund.

If the Greens think you can wave a magic wand or snap your finger and solve some of these deeply entrenched issues  theyre wrong. Its simply not the case, she said.
Bernie Sanders Calls for Confiscation of Wealth Above $999 Million

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on Feb. 28, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for the U.S. government to confiscate assets over $999 million, and also announced his support for President Joe Biden.

The senator spoke with CNN anchor Chris Wallace last week for an interview when he declared that billionaires should not exist.

Sanders said he believes that the government should seize personal assets over his suggested limit before any American could become a billionaire.

He appeared on Wallaces show to talk about his new book, Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.

Sanders Calls for High Taxes to Reduce Existing Number of Billionaires

A former Democratic party presidential candidate, in 2016 and 2020, the senator amassed huge support in the primaries and raised large amounts of money, but failed to secure the nomination each time.

The CNN host questioned Sanders about a statement in his book that called for the government to prevent the creation of new billionaires.

So are you basically saying that once you get to $999 million, that the government should confiscate all the rest? Wallace asked.

Yeah, I think people can make it on $999 million, Bernie responded.

Which would mean that all these billion dollars, basically, it all goes to the government, said Wallace.

Sanders recently got into an exchange during a contentious Senate hearing over Starbucks labor practices, with a not too subtle remark on the billionaire status of the companys former CEO, Howard Schultz. The fundamental issue we are facing today is whether we have a system of justice that applies to allor whether billionaires and large corporations can break the law with impunity, said Sanders. Your [billionaire] moniker constantly is unfair, responded Schultz, adding, Yes, I have billions of dollars. I earned it. No one gave it to me. And Ive shared it constantly with the people of Starbucks.

Democrat Senators Push Proposed Tax Legislation

Bernie, who is himself worth $3 million, according to GoBankingRates, previously criticized both millionaires and billionaires, but now only opposes those worth over a billion dollars.

In your book you say flatly, billionaires should not exist, said Wallace, who defended billionaires like Sam Walton and Elon Musk for building businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of workers.

Thats right, Sanders responded, adding, you can have a vibrant economy without three people owning more wealth than the bottom half of American society.

Do I think people who work hard, create new businesses should become rich? I do. Do I think they should have $50 billion or $100 billion when you have got half a million people who are homeless in America today, when you have 85 million people who cant afford health insurance? No, I dont.

We should go back to a very progressive tax policy like what we had under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sanders added.

The Vermont senator said that a return to the 90 percent top marginal tax rate of the Eisenhower administration was a way to accomplish that.

Estate Tax Policy Needs to Be Reformed, Say Democrats

Sanders, alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) had introduced new legislation in April, called the For the 99.5 Percent Act, which was announced on Sanders Senate website.

The proposed legislation calls for wealthy heirs to pay more on their inheritances by expanding the estate tax to 45 percent on estates worth at least $3.5 million.

It will also impose a 65 percent taxa so-called billionaires taxon estates worth over $1 billion.

It is unacceptable that working families across the country today are struggling to file their taxes on time and put food on the table while the wealthiest among us profit off of enormous tax loopholes and giant tax breaks, Sanders said in a press release.

The amount of inheritances exempt from the estate tax has gradually increased over the last two decades, according to the Tax Policy Center.

As of 2023, the estate tax exemption stands at just under $13 million, a rise from around $12 million the previous year.

The bill also targets loopholes that the very wealthy can exploit to shield their assets from taxation such as trusts that do not incur estate or gift taxes when money is doled out from an inherited trust.

However, any legislation to hike tax rates would be dead on arrival due to the Republican-controlled House.
Biden Administration Announces End to Federal COVID Vaccine Mandates

President Joe Biden speaks about "building on the small business boom" during National Small Business Week in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on May 1, 2023.(Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The Biden administration is going to end a slew of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including its requirement that foreign travelers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, officials said on May 1.

The mandate for noncitizen nonimmigrants arriving by air will end on May 12, as will mandates for federal workers and federal contractors, the White House stated.

The proof of vaccination required at U.S. land borders will also end on May 12, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Mandates for Head Start employees and health care facilities certified by federal regulators will also be wound down in the future, the administration stated, although no specific dates were given.

Mandates imposed by some agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, will remain in place for now, the White House told The Associated Press.

The mandates were imposed by President Joe Biden and top deputies in 2021 as the administration tried to increase the number of vaccinated Americans, despite a growing body of evidence that the vaccines bestow transient protection against symptomatic infection and hospitalization.

Some of the vaccination requirements have been blocked by court, including one for federal workers, after judges said they were likely illegal. One for large private employers was struck down by the Supreme Court, and another for members of the military was withdrawn because of a bill passed by Congress.

The White House stated that the mandates helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces including those in the healthcare and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve, and strengthening their ability to provide services without disruptions to operations, adding that the mandates bolstered vaccination across the nation, and [the] broader vaccination campaign has saved millions of lives.

A White House spokesperson pointed to a blog post from the Commonwealth Fund that was based on modeling.

White House advisors were not smart. Initially, there was no proof that forcing a third party provided additional benefit to someone who was vaccinated. Then, it was clear by summer 2021 that vaccine cannot hold transmission. Ergo mandate[s] always unethical, Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, wrote on Twitter.

Biden is among the officials who have made false claims about the vaccines, which dont prevent transmission, infection, or severe illness.

Youre not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations, he said. Meanwhile, a top COVID-19 adviser falsely said in 2022 that there are no serious side effects of the shots.

Biden previously announced that the COVID-19 public health emergency is going to end on May 12. But it was unclear whether the mandates would be rescinded at the same time.

The COVID-19 national emergency, a similar declaration, ended this month after Biden signed a bill approved by Congress.

The emergency declarations underpinned many of the mandates.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose definition of fully vaccinated has forced millions of Americans to receive multiple doses of a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson version, just said that foreign travelers would meet the mandated requirements if they received one shot of the unproven, updated Moderna and Pfizer formulations.

Some 81.3 percent of the U.S. population had received at least one vaccine dose as of April 26, according to the CDC. But just 16.8 percent of people had received an updated booster shot, an indication of how unpopular the vaccines have become.

The CDC stated that more than 1.1 million people have died with COVID-19 in the United States, although critics note that the deaths include people who had a different primary cause of death. For the week ending on April 26, though, the death toll was just 1,052the lowest since March 2020.

While vaccination remains one of the most important tools in advancing the health and safety of employees and promoting the efficiency of workplaces, we are now in a different phase of our response when these measures are no longer necessary, the White House stated.
Biden Says Ironclad USSouth Korea Alliance Founded on Shared Beliefs

North Korea criticizes Biden for 'reckless remarks' that warn of end of Pyongyang's regime if it launches nuclear attack

The United States and South Korea have maintained an ironclad alliance for more than seven decades because of their shared beliefs in democracy and freedom, U.S. President Joe Biden said on April 30.

His remarks came after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeols six-day visit to the United States that ended on April 29. The two leaders met on April 26 and signed the Washington Declaration to reaffirm their countries 70-year treaty.

Biden shared a video from his meeting with Yoon on Twitter, describing the event as a celebration of their shared vision and the deep friendship that unites the Republic of Korea and the United States.

The United States and Republic of Korea alliance wasnt born out of shared borders, but shared beliefs: democracy, liberty, security and above allfreedom, he said, using South Koreas official name, the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Biden echoed Yoons address to the U.S. Congress, in which the South Korean leader praised U.S.South Korea ties as a global alliance that strives to safeguard freedom and peace around the world.

But even as we walked in unison for freedom for 70 years, there is one regime determined to pursue the wrong path. That is North Korea, Yoon said. North Korea has abandoned freedom and prosperity and dismissed peace.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden during a press briefing at the White House on April 26, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The Washington Declaration outlines a set of U.S. extended deterrence measures, which will involve deploying U.S. strategic assetsnuclear forceson the Korean Peninsula.

In the declaration, South Korea expressed full confidence in U.S. extended deterrence commitments, and Washington pledged to make every effort to consult with South Korea on any possible nuclear weapons employment in the region.

Biden said at a joint press conference on April 26 that the United States will deploy nuclear-capable systems to the Korean Peninsula and warned that any nuclear attack by North Korea will result in the end of that regime.

North Korea Vows to Bolster Military Deterrence

North Koreas Kim regime has condemned the Washington Declaration as the product of heinous hostile policy against it and vowed to bolster its military deterrence, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on May 1.

Anyone can know well that they are making a nuclear war against the DPRK a fait accompli, the KCNA stated in a commentary piece, using socialist North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).

North Korea is a single-party state under leader Kim Jong Un. The Kim regime is one of the most repressive in the world and is responsible for ongoing human rights atrocities, including arbitrary killings and torture, forced sterilizations and abortions, forced labor, and denying judicial independence. The country operates with a centrally planned economy and systematically denies basic liberties, including freedom of expression, public assembly, association, property ownership, and religion.

The KCNA criticized Biden for his reckless remarks that threatened the end of North Koreas regime, saying that it revealed the United States inveterate hostility towards the DPRK that has reached its marrow.

It claimed that the U.S.South Korea accord to strengthen extended deterrence and trilateral cooperation with Japan is equivalent to a dangerous nuclear war plot putting up the signboard of security.

Through this, the U.S. and the South Korean puppets have made their scheme for invasion against the DPRK more clear, North Koreas official mouthpiece stated.

Under such situation, it is quite natural for the DPRK to bolster up its military deterrence corresponding to the grave security environment of the present and the future.

Biden has said that the United States wouldnt be stationing nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula but that there will be increased port visits of U.S. Navy 7th Fleet boomerslarge submarines that carry nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Nuclear Sharing Not Included

Edgard Kagan, special assistant to the president and senior director for East Asia and Oceania of the National Security Council, told reporters on April 28 that the accord doesnt amount to a de facto nuclear sharing between the two allies, according to Yonhap News Agency.

I think weve also made clear that we are working as partners, that this is an area where, obviously, there are significant differences between the United States and the ROK, in terms of the U.S. being a nuclear state under the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], he said.

But we believe that theres tremendous room to do more together, and we look forward to doing that.

South Korea, which abandoned its nuclear weapons development program in the 1960s, joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975. But increasingly, South Koreans prefer that the nation build its own nuclear arsenal. According to a 2022 poll, 71 percent of South Koreans backed the development of a domestic nuclear weapons program.

North Korea conducted a series of missile launches this year, including one involving a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, all of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Koreas missile program.

John Haughey contributed to this report.
Billionaire Investor Ray Dalio Warns US, China On the Brink of War

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has recently warned that the United States and China are on the brink of war and are beyond the ability to talk.

I want to emphasize that by saying that they are on the brink, I dont mean to say that they will necessarily go over the brink, Dalio shared on LinkedIn. I mean to say that they are very close to crossing red lines that, if crossed, will irrevocably push them over the brink into some type of war that damages these two countries and causes damage to the world order in severe and irrevocable wayslike Russias invasion of Ukraine did for Russia and the world, just much bigger.

According to him, over the next 18 months, the two countries will probably act more hostile toward one another.

His remarks came after his last two visits to the communist country. The billionaire stressed that although he has been visiting China for almost four decades, his two most recent 13-day trips there offered him a fresh outlook. He pointed out that the lack of communication between the two powers has worsened the situation.

As for the two sides not being able to talk with each other, what I mean is that discussions about big, important things have become exchanges of accusations that worsen relations rather than help them, so it is worse to have the discussions than to avoid them. While there are some tactical discussions aimed at preventing slipping over the edge into war (e.g., on topics like how to deal with Taiwan President Tsais visit to the U.S.), and both sides agree that these tactical exchanges are good things, there is growing belief that the unavoidable trajectory is toward war, he stated.

Coming War

Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, shares Dalios position.

In an interview on NTD, The Epoch Times sister outlet, Fisher said that the appearance of Chinas green lasers over Hawaii in January signals a coming war.

This weather satellite passing over Hawaii, shooting its lasers, its atmospheric measuring lasers, down from on high is very much a signal to the United States that if there is a confrontation over the future of democratic Taiwan, they are ready to target American military forces, which will definitely impact American civilian lives in the state of Hawaii, Fisher said.

Not Imminent

However, some experts and mostly U.S. officials have dismissed the view of an inevitable military confrontation between the two leading powers.

American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Zack Cooper said the billionaires comments dont align with U.S. officials knowledge.

I just dont think hes right. I actually think that what weve seen, as U.S. officials say recently, including the head of the Indo-Pacific Command, that, yes, we have to be worried about a conflict, but that they dont see one happening in the near term, Cooper said on Fox News Mornings With Maria on April 28.

Theres no reason to think were on the brink of war right now, he added.

Cooper seemingly referred to Adm. John Aquilino, head of the U.S. militarys Indo-Pacific Command, who recently said that a catastrophic conflict between China and the United States for the future freedom of Taiwan is not inevitable.

War is not inevitable, and its not imminent, Aquilino said during an April 18 House Armed Services Committee hearing. However, this decade presents a period of increased risk.

Conflict in the Indo-Pacific is not inevitable. But we cannot rest on our past accomplishments to secure a peaceful future.

Aquilino pointed to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) de facto alliance with Vladimir Putins Russia and its increasing willingness to support destabilizing actions from powers like North Korea and Iran as evidence of the ongoing challenge posed by the regime.

Two large authoritarian nations coming together in an attempt to change the world order in ways that are beneficial to authoritarian governments [as opposed to] the rest of the world, Aquilino said. Thats a pretty concerning space to be in.

He added that competition, not complacency, would be vital in deterring a conflict in the coming years.

In Coopers opinion, Dalios comments are more about his concern about the potential U.S. sanction on China.

I think what Dalios probably worried about is that there are going to be restrictions on U.S. investors that are putting money into China, especially into areas that have dual-use implications that could go into high-end computing, that could eventually help the Chinese military, he said.

And I think there is going to be real restrictions coming out of both the White House and Congress that will affect investors like Dalio, Cooper said.

Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
Blinken Fails Again to Comply With Congressional Subpoena to Produce Cable From Afghan Withdrawal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a press conference at the State Department in Washington on April 11, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has failed again to comply with a congressional subpoena, which required the State Department to hand over by May 1 a dissent cable from the time of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, The Epoch Times has learned.

This is the second time the State Department has failed to comply with a subpoena over the matter, the first happening on April 20. After that, the deadline was extended to May 1.

McLaurine Pinover, the deputy communications director for the Republican side on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which issued the subpoena, told The Epoch Times that the State Department has not sent over the cable.

During the May 1 State Department press briefing, in response to a question from The Epoch Times about the cable, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel echoed what he has said numerous times: the department is open to giving the committee a briefing and written summary about the cable. An April 28 briefing the State Department did with the committee about the cable did not satisfy committee members.

The committee subpoenaed Blinken in March for the cable, which, as The Wall Street Journal first reported, showed the U.S. Embassy in Kabul warning Foggy Bottom about the Taliban quickly gaining ground and the Afghan forces falling apart. They gave suggestions on how to expedite an evacuation and alleviate the situation.

The cable, dated July 13, also called for the State Department to use tougher language in describing the atrocities being committed by the Taliban, reported WSJ, citing a person familiar with it. The withdrawal was completed at the end of the following month.

This committee is empowered by the U.S. Constitution to conduct oversight of the State Department, said committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) in announcing the subpoena on March 28.

We have made multiple good faith attempts to find common ground so we could see this critical piece of information. Unfortunately, Secretary Blinken has refused to provide the Dissent Cable and his response to the cable, forcing me to issue my first subpoena as chairman of this committee.

McCaul has requested the cable on multiple occasions.

Blinken told the committee during a March 23 hearing that he would not hand over the cable, citing security and privacy concerns with the State Departments dissent channel system.

We continue to believe that our offers can satisfactorily provide the committee with the information it needs to conduct its oversight function while still protecting the dissent channel.

It is vital to me that we preserve the integrity of that process and of that channel, that we not take any steps that could have a chilling effect on the willingness of others to come forward in the future, to express dissenting views on the policies that are being pursued, Blinken said.

He did, however, express a willingness to give the committee relevant information from it.

I hope we can find a way to do it that meets both of our needs, he said.

Its yet to be determined what steps McCaul will take. More information will be forthcoming on May 2, said Pinover.
Britain to Run Extra Evacuation Flight From Port Sudan

Evacuation of British nationals onto an awaiting RAF aircraft at Wadi Seidna Air Base in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 27, 2023. (Ministry of Defence/handout via PA)

Britain will run an additional evacuation flight out of war-torn Sudan as rescue efforts shift to the east of the country on Monday.

Members of the military are working to assist UK citizens and others trying to escape the conflict zone amid an uneasy ceasefire, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

Some 2,122 people have been evacuated on 23 Royal Air Force (RAF) flights from the Wadi Seidna airfield near the Sudanese capital Khartoum, but more than 1,000 British passport holders may remain in the country.

Medics from the Duke of Lancasters Regiment of the British Army carry medical equipment as they arrive at Wadi Seidna airport in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 27, 2023. (UK Ministry of Defence via Getty Images)

The government ceased evacuation operations from the site on Saturday as an armistice between the countrys warring generals appeared to start breaking down.

The FCDO advised remaining UK citizens to travel to Port Sudan where an extra flight will take off on Monday.

The deadline for British nationals to reach the airport passed at 12 p.m. local time, or 11 a.m. British Summer Time.

The armed forces and border force staff have been supporting the FCDO with the evacuation mission, with HMS Lancaster and the RAF redirected to the area.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, meet with teams coordinating the evacuation of British nationals from Sudan, during a visit to the Foreign Office Crisis Centre in central London, on April 25, 2023. (Hannah McKay/PA Media)

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Seidna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan.

Im proud that the UK led the largest and longest evacuation effort of any Western nation, he wrote on Twitter.

The UK will continue to push for a long-term ceasefire and a stable transition to civilian rule in Sudan, he said.

Dangerous Circumstances

Hundreds of people have been killed in a bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, which broke out on April 15.

The UK government said on April 23 that the British military had evacuated UK diplomats and their families from Sudan.

Smoke is seen in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 19, 2023. (Marwan Ali/AP Photo)

The RAF took over the Wadi Seidna airfield from the Germans on April 25 to begin airlifting other British nationals and their immediate families who wished to leave and were able to get to the airfield. The evacuees were first flown to Cyprus and then to the UK.

The operation was carried out amid a fragile 72-hour ceasefire between the warring factions. An extension of the armistice was brokered on Friday, but fighting has broken out again in Khartoum.

Speaking to the BBC, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said the operation has been extremely successful, but stressed, We cant stay there forever in such dangerous circumstances.

Continued Support

The government has advised any British nationals still remaining in Sudan to make their way to Port Sudan.

A statement on the FCDO travel advice site says: We have established an office at the Coral Hotel in Port Sudan. If you are a British national in Port Sudan who needs help to leave Sudan, visit our team who will be able to signpost you to options for departure.

The FCDO said on Thursday that British Ambassador to Sudan Giles Lever has been relocated to neighbouring Ethiopia to lead the UKs diplomatic efforts in the region to bring fighting to an end in Sudan.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News on Sunday, The evacuation that we have conducted is the longest and largest evacuation of any Western nation.

He added: We have now got some staff based at Port Sudan, which is where we are going to continue providing consular support for British nationals that have chosen to remain in the country.

NHS Doctors

The government said initially that only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing UK entry clearance were eligible for evacuation.

But, hours before the final flight took off, the government said it had broadened the eligibility criteria for evacuation to include Sudanese doctors working for Britains National Health Service (NHS).

Abdulrahman Babiker, a Sudanese doctor who works at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, told the BBC that he had initially been turned away by offices on Thursday despite having a UK work permit. He was later allowed to board a flight to Cyprus and would be travelling to the UK on Saturday.

Following criticism from opposition politicians, the government agreed to include NHS doctors without UK passports on the last flights out of Sudan.

A spokesman said: We have made the decision to extend the evacuation criteria to include eligible non-British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the NHS and their dependents who have leave to enter the UK.

We are able to offer this increased eligibility thanks to the efforts of the staff and military who have delivered this evacuation, the largest of any Western country.

We continue to work intensively, alongside international partners, to maintain the ceasefire and bring an end to fighting, the single most important thing we can do to ensure the safety of British nationals and others in Sudan.

PA Media contributed to this report.
California, New York, Illinois Biggest Losers Amid Exodus to Low-Tax States: IRS

The latest tax migration data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that the exodus of taxpayers from high-tax states continued from 2020 to 2021, with California, New York, and Illinois again suffering some of the nations biggest losses of people and money.

Californias tax base shrank by nearly $29.1 billion as the Golden State saw a net loss of 332,000 taxpayers and their dependents during a time of widespread lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and business closures, according to the IRS migration data released Thursday.

In second place was New York, which was hit by a net loss of $24.5 billion and 262,000 people. Illinois was third, with a net loss of $10.9 billion and 105,000 people. Other high-tax states such as Massachusetts ($2.6 billion) and New Jersey ($2.3 billion) also saw tens of thousands of people moving out during the period.

On the winning side, Florida reaped the benefits of the wealth migration more than any other state, enjoying a net gain of $39.1 billion in gross income from 256,000 new residents. Texas, which gained $10.9 billion and 175,000 people, came in second. They were followed by Nevada ($4.6 billion), North Carolina ($4.5 billion), Arizona ($4.4 billion), South Carolina ($4.2 billion), and Tennessee ($4.1 billion).

The data was compiled by comparing the mailing addresses on one years income tax return and that of the next. The most recent migration data reflects address changes that occurred between when taxpayers filed their tax year 2019 returns in calendar year 2020 and when they filed their tax year 2020 returns in calendar year 2021.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, California had already seen a net outflow of people and money to other states. According to previous IRS data, California lost $8 billion in income in 2018 and $8.8 billion in 2019.

California still takes in more tax revenue than any other state due to its tax structure, which places higher rates on wealthy residents. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last May that his state had a historic $97.5 billion budget surplus.

There remains a question over the stability of such a system that heavily relies on taxing the top one percent of earners. In January, just eight months after Newsom unveiled the unprecedented budget surplus, the Democrat governor asked lawmakers to cut billions of dollars of investment and put expensive programs on hold to balance a $22.5 billion budget deficit in case tax revenues dont rebound.

In New York, the Democrat-led state Legislature has reached a deal with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who resisted a proposed plan to increase tax rates on those earning more than $5 million and $25 million a year from 10.9 percent to 11.4 percent. Like California, New York generated billions of dollars in budget surplus from previous tax hikes on rich New Yorkers.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently questioned whether his state is losing population, claiming that the state has grown in size.

We did not lose population as you saw when the Census Bureau data came through for the 2020 census, Pritzker said in March. We actually gained population, especially as they looked more closely after the initial announcements at what happened state to state.
Callous Disregard: Amazon Not Providing Care to Injured Employees, Claims Regulator

Some traumatic injuries are worsened by the companys strenuous work environment

An investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that ecommerce behemoth Amazon allegedly failed to ensure employees received adequate medical treatment for traumatic and chronic injuries.

OSHA identified six employees who suffered from head injuries as well as four workers who suffered from back injuries who did not receive timely, necessary medical care at a fulfillment center in Castleton, New York, according to a press release on April 28. The injured workers were reportedly asked to get back to their jobs, which in many cases ended up making the injuries worse.

The work at these fulfillment facilities is physically demanding. Returning a worker with a back injury or possible concussion to their job without proper medical evaluation and care can lead to prolonged injuries and lifelong suffering, said OSHA assistant secretary Doug Parker.

The examples uncovered by our investigation demonstrate a callous disregard for the well-being of Amazons Castleton employees that is completely unacceptable. The agency has proposed that the trillion-dollar company pay $15,625 as penalties.

OSHA has previously put Amazon on notice for its deficient onsite medical practices. Back in 2016, for example, the agency issued a hazard alert on the matter following an investigation into the companys Robbinsville fulfillment facility in New Jersey.

According to one citation, on or about 8/15/22 and thereafter: an employee sustained a back injury while lifting a box. The employee was not referred to an outside appropriately licensed medical provider and therefore received no formal medical evaluation despite persistent or worsening pain or disability.

The employee was repeatedly sent back to their regular job, aggravating their injury, and was not removed from job tasks despite reported pain levels up to eight out of 10 and despite clear statements that job activities aggravated their pain.

The Administering Medical Care to Amazonians Responsibly and Effectively (AMCARE) staff did not consult the Physician Help Line (PHL). The employee was then removed from work for 30 days and remains on restrictions.

Another citation states that around the same date, a second employee sustained back injury while pulling cages. AMCARE did not follow their own Conservative Care Protocol and had no examination or reevaluation of symptoms, no consultation with the Physician Help Line, no outside medical referral or actual medical treatment.

The employee was repeatedly sent back to their regular job, which aggravated the individuals back injury. Seven months after the injury, the person still has ongoing back pain.

In January, OSHA cited Amazon for failing to keep its workers safe at three locations: Deltona in Florida, Waukegan in Illinois, and New Windsor in New York.

Investigators from OSHA who inspected Amazons warehouses found that workers were at high risk of sustaining injuries in the lower back as well as other musculoskeletal disorders.

Such risks arose due to the high frequency with which workers are required to lift packages and other items; the heavy weight of the items; awkward postures, such as twisting, bending, and long reaches while lifting; and long hours required to complete assigned tasks.

The Inspection, Amazon Response

OSHAs findings come as part of an ongoing inspection of Amazons fulfillment center in New York that began in August 2022. The inspection was based on a referral from the U.S. attorneys office for the southern district of New York.

As a result, five other Amazon facilities were also put under investigation. They are located in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Florida, and New York.

At present, 20 Amazon locations in the United States are under OSHA investigations. The agencys finding that Amazon failed in providing proper medical care to its injured workers in Castleton is the fourth time in 2023 that the company has been cited for violations.

Earlier this year, OSHA had issued citations on Jan. 18, 2023, Feb. 1, 2023, and Feb. 23, 2023, for violations at seven warehouse facilities in Castleton, Deltona, Aurora, and Colorado Springs in Colorado, Nampa in Idaho, Waukegan, and New Windsor.

Amazon now has 15 days from the receipt of the current citation and the proposed penalty to either comply with OSHAs observations, contest the findings with the agency, or request an informal conference with an OSHA area director.

We take the safety and well-being of our employees extremely seriously, and the claims in this citation are just plain wrong so we plan to appeal. Our policy is to encourage anyone who wants or needs outside medical attention to get it immediately, and our onsite clinics are just for first aid, not formal medical diagnosis, said Amazon spokesperson Maureen Lynch Vogel in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Since 2019, weve invested more than $1 billion in safety initiatives, and our publicly available data show that our recordable injury rate and lost time incident rate have dropped by more than 23 percent and 53 percent, respectively. We also know that there will always be more to do, and well continue working to get better every day.

Unsafe Amazon Workplace

An April 12 report (pdf) by the union coalition Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) revealed that Amazons operations were dramatically more dangerous for workers when compared to other similar facilities. The report analyzed injury data that Amazon provided to OSHA last year.

In 2022, the serious injury rate at Amazon warehouses was 6.6 per 100 workersmore than double the rate at non-Amazon warehouses (3.2 per 100). Workers at Amazon facilities sustained nearly 39,000 injuries in 2022, the report said.

While Amazon employed 36 percent of all U.S. warehouse workers in 2022, the company was responsible for more than half (53 percent) of all serious injuries in the industry.

Based on the 2022 injury data, the report concluded that Amazon failed to match even its own performance from two years earlier. The company has not come close to parity with its warehouse industry peers, it stated.

In 2021 and 2022, the Washington State OSHA Program (WISHA) issued multiple citations to Amazon. It asked the company to reduce the pace of work in order to raise worker safety.

Rather than reduce its dangerous production pressure and quotas, Amazon doubled down, appealing the citations. Amazon also interfered with follow-up investigations, including by barring state inspectors from entering warehouses and refusing to provide WISHA with necessary information, the report states.

In March 2022, inspectors from another WISHA investigation found that Amazons Kent warehouse in Washington was demonstrating plain indifference in that they have been made aware of the hazards and increased injury rates yet are making no effort to take corrective action.
Huixian Wetland in China's Guilin has been designated as Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. A Spanish expat visited the place to explore China's efforts in wetlands conservation.


Can India Replace China and US as Leading Economic Superpower?

Commentary

India is very much a country on the up.

Although the South Asian country gained independence from the UK in 1947, its economy only started to make substantial improvements in the 1990s, after a number of economic reforms were introduced. In addition to strengthening the banking sector and modernizing the stock markets, these reforms opened the Indian economy to inordinate amounts of foreign investment.

By 2015, India was home to the most rapidly growing major economy in the world.

By 2075, the Indian economy is expected to outperform the U.S. economy.

Before then, considering current trends in China, with the after-effects of brutal COVID-19 lockdowns still resonating, high rates of unemployment among its youth, and a property bubble that looks ready to burst, one wonders if India could do the once unthinkable and overtake the Chinese economy.

According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, in as little as four years from now, India could become the third-largest economy, surpassing both Japan and Germany. By 2030, driven by shrewd investments in technology and the energy sector, the analysts expect India to have the worlds third-largest stock market.

Economic development is intimately associated with quality education, a fact not lost on the Indian government, it seems. Indias recent proposal to allow foreign institutions to establish campuses in the country is, as the South China Morning Post first reported, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis broader effort to transform India into an education hub of genuine merit, one capable of competing with both the United States and China.

Modis focus on improving education comes as India is getting ready to become the worlds most-populous country, a title famously held by China. Some prominent commentators suggest that Indias overtaking of China is more than just symbolicit signifies a significant shift in the tides of power.

A Changing of the (Economic) Guard

As Geoffrey Garrett, a political scientist and the current dean of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, previously noted, China is on track to become the first country in history to be old before its rich. Although Chinas gross domestic product (GDP) is impressive, its GDP per capita is anything but ($12,556).

As its population ages and shrinks, Chinas economy will inevitably feel the effects. By 2050, Garrett noted, Chinas dependency ratio will go to 70 percent from 35 percent. For the uninitiated, the dependency ratio refers to those younger than 15 or older than 64 who rely on the working-age population (those aged 15 to 64) for support.

Considering that China already has a weak social welfare system, a health system in drastic need of repair, and is losing an average of 5 million reproductive-aged women each year, its very difficult to see how it will cope as the population becomes older, sicker, less productive, and more dependent on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for support.

The demographic makeup of India is strikingly different. More than one-fourth of its population is younger than the age of 15 and less than an eighth is older than the age of 60. The French philosopher Auguste Comte famously referred to demography as destiny. Although the statement was and still is a slight exaggeration, a healthy demography is certainly necessary for a healthy economy and a healthy future.

In India, rather critically, the dependency ratio continues to fall. It currently stands at 48 percent and is expected to be in the low 40s by 2050. The United States, on the other hand, can expect to have a ratio of a rather staggering 66 percent. By 2050, the median age in China will be 50, 42.3 in the United States, and only 37.5 in India.

Members of the Ganesh Utsav Committee stand alongside a poster declaring Boycott China Products in Hyderabad, India, on Nov. 3, 2016. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images)

As our lives become even more intertwined with technology, the future will be won by the nations with the best scientific minds. India is a country renowned for creating brilliant scientists. Many of those brilliant scientists studied in the United States, then went on to pursue employment opportunities in the United States, thus benefiting the American economy in the process.

Now, however, with Modis push to make India a global education hub capable of competing with the United States, theres a high chance that India will retain a greater number of these brilliant scientists, thus benefiting the Indian economy in the process.

When we examine scientific and technological trends, India is already performing admirably. However, with these new educational reforms and a young, vibrant population, we should expect to see something of a science and technology revolution in India over the next two to three decades.

Finally, unlike China, where even the mention of the word democracy could land a person in prison, India is a country that appears to value the idea of open elections. India is, after all, considered to be the worlds largest democracy.

Infinite progress is impossible, but the limitations on progress are many times more evident in a country like China, where tyranny reigns supreme. Such a method of governance isnt compatible with sustained economic growth. In the long run, what ends up bringing down China may very well help India rise to the top of the economic mountain.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Canada Moving Sudan Evacuation Operations to Port City as Conflict Continues

A vehicle crosses an empty street in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 29, 2023, as gunfire and heavy artillery fire continued despite the extension of a cease-fire between the country's two top generals. (The Canadian Press/AP-Marwan Ali)

Canada is relocating its efforts to get stranded Canadians out of Sudan from the capital to a distant port city as violence continues to escalate between the countrys army and a powerful paramilitary group.

Defence Minister Anita Anand says about 550 people left Sudan on six military-run flights from the countrys main airport in Khartoum between Thursday and Saturday. Between its own flights and help from international partners, about 400 Canadians and permanent residents have now been evacuated.

But deteriorating safety conditions in the Sudanese capital made it necessary to suspend future flights as of Saturday night, and Anand says evacuation efforts will now be based out of the city of Port Sudan about 800 kilometres away.

Despite the fact that a ceasefire agreement is in place between the two warring factions, fighting continues in Sudan, and in close proximity to the airfield, the situation remains volatile, dangerous and unpredictable, said Anand. We remain committed to supporting the mission to aid Canadian citizens in their time of need and continue to plan with our partners for both air transport as well as ground and seaport extraction options.

Canadas Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, says pilots saw violence on the ground in Khartoum on Saturday as they conducted two flights carrying 205 passengers, including 60 Canadians.

There was fighting around the airport as our aircraft were approaching, he said. In fact, our pilots on night vision goggles were able to see small arms exchanges as they approached.

Anand said Canadian officials are joining an American-led relocation to Port Sudan, where she says there are commercial and other options for leaving the country. Canada has two ships on the Red Sea capable of supporting operations in Port Sudan, she added.

Canada and our allies are continually assessing how we can assist our citizens in leaving Sudan from various locations, she said.

Eyre said Port Sudan is still a permissive environment for continuing evacuations out of the country, including by air.

Sudans capital of Khartoum, a city of some five million people, has been transformed into a front line in the grinding conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudans military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Fighting between the two forces began on April 15. The two weeks of bloodshed between the two sides has dashed once-euphoric hopes of Sudans transition to a democracy.

Global Affairs Canada is offering available seats on the U.S. convoy from Khartoum to Port Sudan to those who can make the trip. Those who stay have been advised to shelter in place.

Evacuation by road from Khartoum is a 30-hour journey with many risks along the way and not everyone is able to do that, said Sebastien Beaulieu, an official at Global Affairs Canada. He said people must make the decision to leave or shelter in place based on their own circumstances, their ability to travel, their mobility, and their assessment of the risks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is in Kenya helping inform Canadas response to the crisis in Sudan. She is set to meet with people evacuated from the East African country, including diplomatic staff. Joly will also meet with humanitarian groups to get a sense of the needs of people in Sudan, as well as those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

On Sunday, Joly met with Djiboutis Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and thanked him for that countrys support during Canadas evacuation efforts.

Anand said that work will be one of the most important aspects of the trip because Joly will meet with people who are more familiar with the intense fighting and history that has been occurring.

Canada suspended its consular services in the country on April 23, saying a rapidly deteriorating situation had made it impossible to safeguard the safety and security of its staff in Khartoum.

By David Fraser
China Factory Activity Shrinks in April, Signaling Recovery Concerns

A worker works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on March 2, 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

BEIJINGChinas manufacturing activity shrank in April, official data showed on Sunday, raising pressure on policymakers seeking to boost an economy struggling for a post-COVID lift-off amid subdued global demand and persistent property weakness.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) declined to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, below the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction in activity on a monthly basis.

That missed expectations of 51.4 tipped by economists in a Reuters poll and marked the first contraction since December, when the official manufacturing PMI was at 47.0.

The worlds second-biggest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter thanks to robust services consumption, but factory output has lagged amid weak global growth. Slowing prices and surging bank savings are raising doubts about demand.

The Politburo, a top decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on Friday stressed that restoring and expanding demand is the key to a durable recovery and cautioned the current improvement is mainly restorative with weak momentum and insufficient demand.

A lack of market demand and the high-base effect from the quick manufacturing recovery in the first quarter were among factors that led to the contraction in April, said senior NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.

New export orders edged down to 47.6 from 50.4 in March, the PMI showed.

The manufacturing sector, which employs about 18 percent of Chinas workforce, remains under pressure due to slack global demand. Some exporters told Reuters at the countrys biggest trade fair they have frozen investments and some have cut labour costs in response.

Confidence in the property sector, for years a pillar of Chinas growth, remains fragile. Multiple crises since mid-2020 have included developers debt defaults and stalled construction of pre-sold housing projects.

Despite the recent strength in consumption, the non-manufacturing PMI edged down to 56.4 versus 58.2 in March.

Data this month showed retail sales growth quickening in March to near two-year highs, but that was off a low base and economists are cautious on the sustainability of such strength.

The composite PMI, which includes manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, dropped to 54.4 from 57.0.
Chinas Information Game With the West

Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army's Honor Guard Battalion march outside the Forbidden City in Beijing on May 20, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Commentary

Only months after publicly attempting to assuage fears of a crackdown on foreign businesses, Beijing seems to be doing just that.

A spate of probes and investigations against foreign businesses in China has renewed questions about Chinas policy on foreign companies operating locally.

Recently, Chinese authorities questioned the staff of and seized laptops and other documents from the Shanghai offices of U.S. consulting firm Bain & Co. Earlier in March, authorities closed the Beijing offices of Mintz Group and detained its employees. Mintz is a U.S. corporate due-diligence firm. Also in March, Beijing started an investigation into Micro Technologies on suspicions of cybersecurity risks of the products Micro sells in China.

The type of firm under Beijings current scrutiny is concerning. Bain and Mintz, and Micro indirectly, traffic in information. These consulting and advisory firms have a ton of information on Chinese companies, Chinese industries, foreign companies in China, Chinas political trends, and across Chinas government hierarchy. And they provide such information to U.S. audiences (government and corporate).

Chinas goal is straightforward.

In October 2022, at the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, regime leader Xi Jinping announced that the main focus over the next five years is to become independent from reliance on technology and capital from the West. In short, Beijing made its intentions clear that the United States isnt its friend.

Recently, China has made its security laws more ambiguous to more easily target foreign corporations and individuals.

In April, state media announced revisions to the counterespionage law, which now scopes in any nonstate actors. This means Beijing could label almost any normal interaction a national security offense.

For example, the ordinary business activities conducted by consulting firms, including gathering information on local industries, potential domestic competitors and business partners, and the relevant regulatory agencies and key political figures, could all be considered espionage.

At the same time, parts of the Chinese government are trying to send a message that China is back and open for business. In other words: Dont worry, keep your capital coming.

The issue lies in how foreign companies and governments interpret these measures and consider them the ever-higher cost of doing business in the Chinese market.

Beijings bet is that most multinationals cant afford to lose the ability to produce in and sell to China. Or if they can afford to leave, theyre loathe to do so.

And multinational corporations are mostly proving China right.

In my view, the endgame of this is that the CCP turns foreign corporations into double agents of sorts working on behalf of Beijing and the Xi regime.

Local Chinese branches of these companies and consulting firms gather and shape the intelligence and information that foreign companies and governments receive, which eventually shape their opinions of whats occurring on the ground and ultimately influence their decision and policy making on China.

Wall Street has already been playing such a role between Beijing and the West.

Chinas former Vice Premier Liu He, one of Xis most trusted lieutenants, sought advice from Larry Fink on how to keep Western capital from leaving China during Januarys World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Fink is the powerful and connected CEO of BlackRock, the worlds biggest asset management firm.

Weve discussed in past columns investment banks role in facilitating capital movement both into and out of China. In return, the financial services industry has received relatively preferential treatment in the Chinese market, including being granted the ability to wholly own their domestic Chinese subsidiaries.

But is this permanent? Only time will tell. Elon Musk has long been a China advocate, and Tesla has maintained a level of success selling in the Chinese market and operating giant battery plants locally. But Teslas long-term success is still unknown. Chief local competitor BYDbacked by Warren Buffettappears on the verge of local and potentially global EV domination.

Its unfortunate to admit that in comparison with Xis regime, the Biden administration appears myopic, impotent, and weak.

Americas political, economic, and military leadership against China is simply being outclassed and looks like a group of modern-day Keystone Kops.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
CIA Director William Burns Met With Jeffrey Epstein, Agency Confirms

CIA Director William Burns testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in WashingtonEpstein on March 10, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

William Burns, the director of the CIA since 2021, met with financier Jeffrey Epstein at least once after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in Florida, the agency has confirmed.

Burns, an appointee of President Joe Biden, was introduced to Epstein by a mutual friend in Washington, a CIA spokesperson told news outlets. At the time, Burns was deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration.

Burns also met with Epstein once briefly in New York City, about a decade ago as the director was preparing to leave government service, the spokesperson said.

Burns has stated that he didnt know much about Epstein, who had pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.

The director did not know anything about him, other than he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector, CIA spokeswoman Tammy Kupperman Thorp told The Wall Street Journal. The director does not recall any further contact, including receiving a ride to the airport. They had no relationship.

Newly reviewed documents, including Epsteins schedules, listed meetings with Burns and other notable Americans, the outlet reported on April 30.

An infamous black bookposted online years ago and filled with names and contact informationand flight logs linked Epstein to dozens of famous people, with some, such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton, acknowledging they spent time with the accused sex trafficker. But the newly reviewed documents included scheduled meetings with people who werent listed in the black book.

That includes Bard College President Leon Botstein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky, and Kathryn Ruemmler, who was a White House lawyer during the Obama administration, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Most of the people told reporters they met Epstein because of his wealth and connections.

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry on March 28, 2017. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services via Reuters)

Epsteins Past

Epstein was required to register as a convicted sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008. He had been accused of sexually abusing and raping multiple underage girls.

Epstein owned a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a home in New York City, land in New Mexico, and real estate in France and Florida. He was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors. U.S. authorities said he sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money between 2002 and 2005.

Epstein died while awaiting trial in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges; the death was ruled a suicide.

The fresh charges spurred renewed examinations of people and entities associated with Epstein. The fallout has included repeated expressions of regret from people such as Gates and the closing of a Harvard University research center.

After the charges were filed in 2019, Swiss-based bank Edmond de Rothschild Group stated that its CEO, Ariane de Rothschild, never met with Epstein and that the bank never did business with him.

The new documents showed that Rothschild met with Epstein more than a dozen times and assisted him with various tasks, including finding an assistant and buying items at auctions, the Journal reported.

The bank stated that its previous statement was false and that Rothschilds meetings were part of her job, with Epstein connecting the bank with U.S. finance professionals, recommending law firms, and providing consulting services.

In parallel to that, Epstein solicited her personally on a couple occasions for advice and services on estate management, the bank stated.

A $25 million contract was negotiated by Rothschild after she was named CEO in 2015. Rothschild wasnt aware that Epstein was a convicted sex offender and was similarly unaware of any questions regarding his personal conduct, the bank claimed.

A spokesperson for the bank told The Epoch Times in an email that the group has no additional comment.
Crowdfunded Documentary Digs Into COVID-19 Lockdowns, Mandates, and Their Effects

'Silenced' scientists, doctors, business owners, and loved ones of people lost in pandemic speak out and demand answers

Director and producer Hawk Jensen (L), Tom Woods (C), and Clifton Duncan (R) at the premiere of "Follow the Science: Lockdowns Go Viral" in Orlando, Fla., on April 19, 2023. (Courtesy of SoundMind Creative Group)

ORLANDO, Fla.A question still echoes across the internet by people searching for answers about the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020: What really happened?

A small group of filmmakers and like-minded supporters gathered in a movie theater outside Orlando, Florida, on April 19 to dig into that question.

There, the SoundMind Creative Group and a team of filmmakers premiered the pilot of their new documentary series, Follow the Science: Lockdowns Go Viral.

The project aims to investigate the causes and effects of the worlds pandemic-justified lockdowns and mandates.

We knew that a revisionists history was going to come along, kind of papering over all the mistakes that were made, as well as the human strife and suffering, director and producer Hawk Jensen told the audience.

And we wanted to capture that in real-time so that we could figure out what went right, what went wrong, whered we get lucky, and really look at what went wrong so we dont repeat it again.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University and one of the co-authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 17, 2023. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times)

The film features outspoken critics of COVID policies, including Clifton Duncan, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Sydney Watson, Nick Hudson, and rapper Zuby.

The documentary challenges viewers to reflect on the early days of 2020. It asks them to reexamine the worlds reaction to the spread of the virus officially known as SARS-CoV-2 from its epicenter in Wuhan, China.

Gross Wrongdoing

The two-hour pilot is the first of what the director hopes will become a series of 10 crowdfunded episodes, each 30-45 minutes long.

Crowdfunding is the increasingly popular practice of financing a project by raising money, usually over the internet, from a large group of people rather than a few investors with more significant interests in the venture.

COVID-19 caused a global crisis, but the governments response was worseand if [the] culture doesnt recognize this gross wrongdoing, it will happen again, the team writes on the project website.

Politics is downstream from culture, and if the culture doesnt shift against lockdowns, tyranny, and authority, we could see a repeat of 2020.

Epidemic control workers, dressed in protective gear to prevent exposure to COVID-19, are on their way to perform nucleic acid tests in an area with communities in lockdown in Beijing, China, on Dec. 1, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Helping promote Follow the Science is Tom Woods, a best-selling author, libertarian thought leader, and creator of The Tom Woods Show. He, Duncan, Jensen, and other cast and crew members attended the series premiere.

They were joined by a small group of investors and audience members passionate about telling the world, as Woods put it, that We were right.

Free to Ask Questions

Woods, Jensen, and Duncan, wanted to create a calm, open approach to the topic. Before and after the screening, they spoke of the importance of freedom to question and search for answers that transcend all political party lines.

The idea of this film is for people of all degrees of readiness, Woods said before the screening.

Now is an opportunity to try and reach people who maybe have some doubts about this. But, since opinions seem to be overwhelmingly on the other side, theyre probably not really sure they can voice those doubts.

We want them to feel free to ask some questions, he added. And so thats the tone that you will see adopted here in this project.

A still from the 2023 documentary Follow the Science that examines the effects of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Courtesy of SoundMind Creative Group)

Duncan leads viewers in the investigation by following the scientific method. With the help of Hudson and Bhattacharya, they test the science, or lack thereof, behind the lockdowns.

They also examine the results of how different states and nations enforced restrictions of varying intensity.

The pilot includes testimonies from doctors, business owners, and professionals. And it hears from families who lost family members.

All share the economic and emotional side-effects of the lockdown measures.

The testimonies include some who initially supported lockdowns and mask mandates but had a change of heart during the ordeal.

This is a truly worldwide experience, Jensen told the premiere audience. We realized we need[ed] to document this, as it happened.

The over two-hour-long film details the lockdown drama and includes data charts from the National Center for Health Statistics. Those numbers proved the ineffectiveness of lockdowns, producers said. And thats what inspired the project.

Discredited for Disagreeing

In the pilot, doctors and scientists who disagreed with Dr. Anthony Fauci over lockdowns recall how they were discredited. Faucithen director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseasesserved as chief medical advisor to the President of the United States and became the face of the federal governments response to COVID-19.

A business owner recounts facing permanent closure as she watched an essential movie set start work right next door.

Mothers lament about the life moments their children lost, from birthday parties to full school years.

Two families share how lockdowns prevented physical and mental conditions from being treated, resulting in the deaths of loved ones. For one family, a grandfathers diagnosis of COVID-19 disrupted his essential renal dialysis treatment.

For another family, a lack of access to psychiatric care ended in a teens suicide.

Those deaths didnt have to happen, cast members assert.

Police arrest a man for refusing to wear a face mask on the first day of a snap lockdown in Brisbane, Australia, on Jan. 9, 2021. (Patrick Hamilton/AFP via Getty Images)

Theres no public health textbook that calls for locking a society down, Woods said during questions after the screening.

That was not recommended by anybody as part of pandemic preparation. That had never been contemplated.

So youre going to advocate a policy that has no precedentnot only no precedent [but] no one even suggested it? And then youre going to enforce it and forbid anyone to dissent?

Thats not normal.

Everyone Deserves to Know the Truth

But for these filmmakers, more is needed to explain what happened. They also seek to know why things happened the way they did.

Everyone deserves to know the truth about the decision makingor lack thereoffrom our elected leaders when it came to COVID, Duncan said in a press release issued before the premiere. Were not going to give up on exposing it until thats the case.

Where was The Manhattan Project of COVID? Jensen asked during the question-and-answer session after the showing of the film.

Leaders should have set up a central base of operations where the best minds could gather to study the effects of the disease on a closed group of volunteers willing to get the disease.

Attempts to establish something like that were blocked, Jensen said. That meant information was only gathered from small studies around the world.

We had doctors and scientists and concerned citizens of all stripes trying to figure it out on their own, and the centralized effort squashed that, he said. I think that each state has a story about their attempts that were stopped, and I want to get into that.

If I ever get a chance to interview Dr. Fauci for this series, I want to ask him, Where was that grand central Camp David?' he said.

To me, thats the biggest smoking gun of my suspicionthat they werent looking out for the best interests of this country and its citizens.

Beginning with a focus on the lockdowns, the production team plans to continue investigating all aspects of the pandemic, including mask mandates, vaccine development, vaccine mandates, and vaccine injuries.

Though no distribution plans have been set, Follow the Science: Lockdowns Go Viral is expected to be released online by mid-summer.

The project comes at a time when many say they cant rely on mainstream news outlets to provide the answers to lingering pandemic questions.

Tucker Carlson in Esztergom, Hungary, on Aug. 7, 2021. (Janos Kummer/Getty Images)

In his first public statement after parting with Fox News, Tucker Carlson said America appears like a one-party state.

Both political parties and their donors have reached consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it, he said in the two-minute video he posted to Twitter on April 26.

But it wont work.

When honest people say whats true, calmly and without embarrassment. They become powerful. At the same time, the liars whod been trying to silence them shrink. They become weaker.

Thats the iron law of the universe: True things prevail.
Democrat Cities Have Highest Homicide Rates, Report Finds

Cities governed by Democrat mayors have seen the largest increases in homicide rates over the past year as well as registered the highest homicide rate per capita in Q1 out of 45 cities, according to a new report.

Homicide rates in 45 of the most populated American cities rose by approximately 10 percent on average between Q1, 2021 and Q1, 2023, and continue to rise, according to an April 26 report by WalletHub. Blue cities were found to have a higher increase in homicide rates compared to red cities. The report designated a city as red or blue based on the mayors political affiliation.

The top five cities that saw the greatest increase in per capita homicide are Richmond, Virginia; Memphis, Tennessee; Durham, North Carolina; Garland, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

Except for Garland, where Mayor Scott LeMay is a Republican, the remaining four cities have mayors who are affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The highest homicide rate per capita in the first quarter of 2023 was in Memphis at 14.19 per 100,000 residents. New Orleans, Louisiana, came in second at 12.76, followed by Baltimore, Maryland, with 10.47, St. Louis, Missouri, with 9.91, and Detroit, Michigan, with 8.52.

Excluding St. Louis, the other four cities have mayors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mayor of St. Louis, Tishaura Jones, was a former Democrat member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

Political Reason Behind Spiking Homicides

Gregg W. Etter, a professor at the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Missouri, blamed the tendency of politicians to seek simplistic, one-size-fits-all solutions to complex problems as a reason behind the spike in homicides across the nation.

Politicians offer such solutions to gain favor with political interest groups during elections, he pointed out. For instance, when faced with the issue of police using force in isolated instances, such politicians might support defunding the police rather than dealing with problematic officers.

This ends up resulting in a less-effective police force, higher response times, lower morale among officers, and an increasing unwillingness to engage in proactive policing, he said.

This has left many police forces in a strictly reactive mode, only responding to crimes that have already occurred. In addition, no-cash bail rulings have put many dangerous criminals back onto the streets even though they are arrested several times for violent crimes, Etter said.

In cities where these two things are happening, the crime rate has spiked. You have less police officers and more dangerous criminals at large.

Countering the rising homicide trend will require boosting police funding and improved police training to avoid some of the problems resulting from the use of force, he added.

High crime rates have forced businesses to move away from such cities, which reduces the tax base, and ends up costing state congressional seats.

Until local mayors and governors are willing to seek realistic solutions to problems of the inner cities, rather than political ones, the trend will continue upward, Etter stated.

Murders Concentrated in a Few Counties

A Jan. 17 report by the Crime Prevention Research Center found that a small number of counties accounted for the vast majority of murders committed in the United States.

The worst 1 percent of counties (the worst 31 counties) have 21 percent of the population and 42 percent of the murders. The worst 2 percent of counties (62 counties) contain 31 percent of the population and 56 percent of the murders, the report states.

The worst 5 percent of counties contain 47 percent of the population and account for 73 percent of murders. But even within those counties, the murders are very heavily concentrated in small areas.

The concentration of murders is also said to be at its highest in over a decade. The 2020 murder rate in the United States was 5.84 per 100,000 people. Removing the worst 5 percent of counties would reduce the murder rate to 2.99 per 100,000.
DNA Ties Man Who Died in Prison to 1984 NJ Killing, AG Says

TRENTON, N.J.Authorities say DNA evidence has proven that a man who died in prison several years ago was responsible for the 1984 murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body wasnt found for more than a decade after she disappeared from her family home in New Jersey.

The state attorney general and the Mercer County prosecutors office last week announced what they called the conclusive identification of Nathaniel Harvey, formerly of East Windsor, as the person responsible for the sexual assault and murder of Donna Macho.

Macho, 19, went missing from the East Windsor home where she resided with her parents and sisters on or about Feb. 26, 1984. A Boy Scout troop leader found her skeletal remains in a wooded area in Cranbury on April 2, 1995, and her identity was confirmed by dental records.

Around the time she disappeared, Harvey was arrested in several sexual assaults as well as an unrelated murder. Authorities said he was identified early on as a possible suspect in Machos murder but investigative leads dissipated and the case went cold.

During the commission of his crimes, prosecutors say Harvey typically entered unlocked homes, where he would hold captive and rape young women, authorities alleged.

DNA tests on evidence from the victims bedroom could not be matched with a specific person, but tests with current DNA technology matched it to Harvey and determined that his DNA was the only DNA evidence in the room that should not have been present, authorities said.

Machos body was found in a wooded area by a farm where Harvey briefly worked around the time of her disappearance, and her vehicle was found abandoned by a nearby sewer plant, within walking distance of Harveys home, authorities said.

Harvey was sentenced to death and later to life in prison in the 1985 rape and murder of a Plainsboro woman but maintained his innocence for three decades and was awaiting a third trial in the case. He was incarcerated from the time of his 1985 arrest until his death in South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton in November 2020, authorities said.

His former attorney, Eric Kleiner, said there was no evidence connecting his client to the 1985 murder other than Harvey did a lot of bad things. He declined comment on the announcement on Machos slaying but cautioned that the evidence should be carefully scrutinized given the troubled history of Harveys conviction.

Theres a lot of problems with everything having to do with Harvey, he said, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com reported.

Macho worked as a legal secretary and was hoping to make a career in modeling. Julie Burger, who was 14 when her older sister disappeared, told NJ Advance Media for NJ.com that the case destroyed my family, the searching, the looking, the wondering.

Speaking publicly about the case for the first time, she said the family hired private investigators, trackers, psychics in an effort to find the person responsible.

We spent all the money we had, said Burger, now a resident of Texas. We still thought that somehow, maybe she was still alive. Maybe she was just hurt, or somebody was holding her.  Im glad the case is closed, and it was him. But I feel he got away with it.
NR | 1h 30min | Politics, Documentary Profile | May 1, 2023

Of the three most visible leaders of the 2014 and 20192020 Hong Kong student protests, two have been silenced by the CCP. Joshua Wong is in prison. Agnes Chow has been released, but she is clearly not at liberty to speak freely.

That leaves Nathan Law as the only one able to advocate for their cause, albeit in reluctant exile. Unfortunately, Law was not allowed to speak in-person when his own documentary premiered in Canada on April 30 at this years Hot Docs film festival, because the Canadian government was unable or unwilling to approve his visa in time (at least the audience heard from him via video-conferencing). It was a bad look for the Trudeau government, but it did not stop Laws message from getting out.

Beijings most wanted student-activist tells his story and that of his friends in Joe Piscatellas documentary, Whos Afraid of Nathan Law?, which will screen again during Hot Docs.

Piscatella previously helmed Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, the 2017 Netflix documentary profile of Joshua Wong that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In his previous film, Piscatellas focus fell squarely on Wong. While Law is necessarily the primary voice in his new documentary, since he is one of the few HK activists at liberty to speak uncensored, his film is also very much about Laws friendships with Wong and Chow.

Law chronicles in-depth his involvement with the original 2014 Umbrella Movement protests, where he met Wong and Chow. He was the oldest of the trio, which meant when they founded the pro-democracy Demosisto party together, Law was the only one of the three old enough to stand for election as a Legislative Council (LegCo) candidate. With his victory, Law became the youngest Hong Konger ever elected to LegCo.

Nathan Law, a Hong Kong student-turned-protester for democracy, is featured in the documentary Whos Afraid of Nathan Law? (Pandamoneum Films)

Despite his hard work in office, the Beijings puppet government disqualified Law on a pretext and then prosecuted him on charges related to the 2014 protests, continually appealing rulings until Law received the desired sentence. The mockery of justice in Piscatella and companys expose arguably represented a triple jeopardy and clearly signaled the end of rule-of-law in Hong Kong.

Not surprisingly, Law is concerned for his own safety throughout Piscatellas film. Most of his sit-down interviews are conducted in an empty industrial building, in an undisclosed location, so no background details will ever lead back to Law. Yet its clear the former LegCo member is far more concerned with his friends well-being, especially the distressingly youthful-looking Wong, who has no rightful business being in prison.

Law is an articulate interview subject, so it really is Canadas loss that they were not able to hear from him in-person Sunday night. Despite working around very real security concerns, Piscatella still presents Law in a traditional documentary fashion. The results should be accessible to a wide range of viewers, supplying a lucid overview of the rise of HK democracy movement and the CCPs brutal response.

Whos Afraid of Nathan Law also dramatically personalizes recent HK history. Internet trolls often criticize Law for seeking asylum as a British National Overseas (BNO). Yet Piscatellas film undeniably vindicates his decision. Even in the United Kingdom, he still faces potential abduction or worse.

Nathan Law makes his final campaign stop in his quest to become the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kongs history. (Pandemoneum Films)

The particulars of Laws documentary also hold very concrete real-world implications. For anyone still doing business in Hong Kong, it is clear from the governments blatant persecution of Law, the rule-of-law no longer holds. There are no longer any legal restraints, so the safety of a companys property and employees are now entirely beholden to Xi Jinpings goodwill.

Furthermore, Chris Patten, the revered final governor of Hong Kong, conclusively explains in his interview segments that Xi and the CCP have completely violated the terms of the 1997 handover agreement. With that in mind, it would be utter folly for any government to negotiate future treaties with the lawless regime.

Any film that offers Law and Patten a chance to speak on the situation in Hong Kong is performing a public serviceto Hong Kongers. This is an important film about a young man and the vital movement on whose behalf he speaks. There is no question that Law, Wong, and Chow represent the future of Hong Kong, as confirmed by overwhelming majorities at the HK ballot boxes.

Anyone who ever tweeted out a cliche about defending democracy should see this film, to understand what that sentiment really means.

Very highly recommended, Whos Afraid of Nathan Law screens again at Hot Docs and it should have a long festival run, given the attention garnered by Piscatellas previous Joshua Wong documentary.

Whos Afraid of Nathan Law? will be shown at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on May 4.

Whos Afraid of Nathan Law?

Director: Joe Piscatella

Documentary

Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Release Date: May 1, 2023

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
El Paso Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Title 42 Order Expiration Next Week

Venezuelan and Nicaraguan migrants are transferred by agents of the Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 27, 2022. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

On May 1, the border city of El Paso, Texas, entered a state of emergency in advance of an expected surge of illegal border crossings when Title 42 ends in less than two weeks.

We are getting prepared now for what we call the unknown, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser, a Democrat, said at a press conference on April 30.

I am declaring a state of emergency in our community, and the reason why were declaring a state of emergency is to make sure that we can stand up and be prepared for May 11, May 12, to have public shelter and public housing. This is really temporary housing. We do not provide permanent housing for anyone.

It has been reported that in Juarez, Mexico, alone, roughly 35,000 people are waiting to rush the TexasMexico border on May 11. The Title 42 order is scheduled to expire at midnight of that day.

Title 42 was invoked in March 2020 under then-President Donald Trump at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing border enforcement agents to quickly expel those who had illegally entered the United States from Mexico on the grounds that their presence might have posed public health risks. President Joe Biden kept the restrictions in place for more than a year after taking office in 2021, despite promising to do away with Trump-era immigration policies.

Its bothersome that many migrants falsely believe that theyll be admitted to the United States without any documentation once the Title 42 order is lifted, Leeser said.

Theyve come in, really, with a false pretense that there will be open borders starting on May 11 and anyone thats already in the United States will no longer be required to have proper documentation, and that is an untrue statement, he said.

We are not opening the borders. The borders are not open today, and they will not be open on May 12.

The state of emergency will last seven days, starting at noon on May 1. After that, it will be up to the city council to decide whether to extend it.

At the press conference on April 30, city officials also said they would prefer that the illegal immigrants not make sidewalk camps, which would spawn crime and health and safety problems.

Well be asking them to break down their campsites. Were asking the public not to drop donations in the streets, Deputy City Manager Mario DAgostino said, speaking to residents who wish to help the new arrivals while theyre illegally in the city.

Take your donations to NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], to the food bank. Theres churches. Theyre capable of receiving these, and theyll make sure they get it to those in need. The main thing is that we dont want to start leaving it in the street because it encourages those large congregations of people to stay in those streets. And thats the biggest concern.

Brownsville, located at the southern tip of Texas, has issued a similar declaration. It was reported that more than 15,000 migrants illegally crossed the Rio Grande River into the Brownsville area last week alone.
BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The scale of China's privately offered funds stood at 20.33 trillion yuan (about 2.94 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of March, according to data from an industry association.

The volume edged up over 47.56 billion yuan, or 0.23 percent, from the previous month, according to the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).

The number of registered privately offered funds exceeded 150,000 as of the end of March. Some 22,176 institutions managed these funds, AMAC data showed.

Established in 2012, the AMAC is a self-regulatory organization that represents China's mutual fund industry. 
Elon Musk Explains Why Woke Mind Virus Is Pushing Civilizational Suicide

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has provided more insight into why he believes the woke mind virus, or woke ideologies, are posing an existential threat to human civilization.

Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, discussed the subject last week during an interview with Real Time host Bill Maher.

The Tesla CEO said the so-called woke mind virus has been brewing in society for a long time, pointing to the indoctrination of woke policies at schools and universities as a possible foundation.

You have talked about this woke mind virus in really apocalyptic terms, Maher said to Musk. You should explain why you dont think its hyperbole to say things like its pushing civilization toward suicide. First of all, what is the woke mind virus?

In response, Musk said: I think we need to be very cautious about anything that is anti-meritocratic and anything that results in the suppression of free speech. So, those are two of the aspects of the woke mind virus that I think are very dangerousthat its often very anti-meritocratic and you cant question things. Even the questioning is bad.

So, you know, another way to  almost synonymous would be cancel culture, he added.

Maher then asked the SpaceX founder where the woke mind virus originated. Musk began using the term more often around the period he acquired Twitter, occasionally issuing grave warnings about woke ideologies destroying America.

This woke mind virus, how did it start? Was it bats? Did it escape from a lab? Maher asked Musk in a joking manner, prompting laughter in the audience. I mean, what is your assessment of whatbecause its fairly recent. How did it start and why?

I think its actually been a long time brewing, Musk responded. The amount of indoctrination thats happening in schools and universities is I think far beyond what parents realize, he added.

Musk then argued that the educational experience present-day children are going through is vastly different from what he and others of his generation experienced, noting that thereve been fundamental changes in educational policies over the last decade.

The trend of public schools expanding their educational handbooks to include gender ideology-infused lessons, race essentialism, and other politically sensitive topics has become a hot-button issue in recent years after many parents began protesting such decisions, urging schools to not include those lessons.

Musk also gave an ambitious remark about defending the First Amendment and freedom of speech, saying they are pillars of American society.

I think we should be extremely concerned about anything that undermines the First Amendment, Musk said. The First Amendment is because people came from countries where they could not speak freely and where saying certain things would get you thrown into prison. And we were like, well, we dont want that here.

I cant emphasize this enough. We must protect free speech. And free speech only mattersits only relevant when it is someone you dont like saying something that you dont like. Because, obviously, free speech that you like is easy, he continued. So the thing about censorship and those who would advocate it, just remember that at some point, that will be turned on you.

Meaning Behind Woke Mind Virus

In a post on Twitter in December, Musk said that the woke mind virus is either defeated or nothing else matters, prompting many users to ask him to define the term.

When Musk used the term previously, he did not explain in greater detail his opinion behind how it originated, but he was referring to the culture of political correctness pushing toward what he describes as civilizational suicide.

Last week, Musk brought up the term again amid nationwide debates over major businesses pushing an agenda many conservatives consider woke and dangeroussuch as Bud Lights and Maybellines partnerships with transgender personalities and Disneys feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sparked by his anti-woke policies relating to children and education.

In Florida, we are not going to back down to the woke mob, and we will expose the scams they are trying to push onto students across the country, DeSantis said. Florida students will receive an education, not a political indoctrination.

In addition, the country has recently also turned to other serious discussions about whether or not gender surgeries should be conducted on children, another topic Musk outspokenly disapproved of on several occasions and many Americans also have doubled down on.

Pushing Woke Ideologies

In an interview with American Thought Leaders, Jeffrey Tucker, founder and president of The Brownstone Institute, warns that woke ideology has taken over corporate America and education.

I once thought woke ideology would stay trapped in the universities among professors speaking nonsense to a bunch of incredulous students, that once students got into the free market, they would forget about it, Tucker said.

That didnt happen, he added. Those ideologies bled out of the academy and into all the institutions, the corporate boardrooms, the investment stock portfolios, the government, and the media. It became a fast-spreading cancer.

Meanwhile, as corporations increasingly take up woke ideologies based on race, gender, and climate change, conservative entrepreneurs are sensing a business opportunity.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action, pointed out that there is a huge market for such businesses.

Around half the nation is a potential market, Meckler says while estimating the number of customers among the voting-age public to be around 7580 million.

If I were not doing politics right now, thats the space I would be in, he said. I would be looking at every market segment that I could, and I would be starting every kind of conservative company that I could.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.

From NTD News
EV Flop: Rivian Market Cap Down 92 Percent, Stock Falls 60 Percent in Past Year

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is losing investor confidence as its market capitalization and share prices have both tumbled, with the company now competing in a difficult market, where leader Tesla is aggressively reducing prices.

In late 2021, when Rivian made its public trading debut, its market capitalization had crossed $150 billion. But now, the companys market capitalization is less than $12 billion, representing a 92 percent wipeout in value. The stock price has fallen by 60 percent over the past year, as of May 1. The stock has declined 27 percent year to date. The company is backed by ecommerce behemoth Amazon.

At a time when major car firms are introducing various offerings into the EV segment and Tesla is pushing big discounts, Rivian is faced with the disadvantage of not having the scale necessary to save on costs. Earlier this month, Tesla implemented its fifth price cuts in the U.S. market for this year.

With the Federal Reserve on a monetary-tightening cycle, the prospect of Rivian raising enough funds to build the infrastructure necessary for such large-scale production has become a challenge.

Rivian also had a weak financial year in 2022. It registered a gross loss of $3.12 billion, up from a $465 million gross loss in 2021. The companys loss from operations came in at $6.86 billion, up from $4.22 billion in the previous year.

The market right now is not willing to assign any value to Rivians growth prospects, said Ivana Delevska, chief investment officer at SPEAR Invest, according to Bloomberg.

The company currently has cash and equivalents of $11.6 billion and debt worth $1.6 billion. Rivian still needs to invest several billion dollars to prove out its business model, she said.

The situation of the company has forced a long-time bull investor to stop recommending Rivian. Alexander Potter of Piper Sandler Cos., who has had an overweight recommendation on the companys stock since 2021, has cut it down to neutral.

Potter now maintains a target of $15 for the stock, down from the $63 target he held earlier. Rivian is currently trading at above $12.

Bleeding Cash, Funding Issue

In February, Rivian had announced plans to lay off 6 percent of its workforce in a bid to control costs as the company battled falling cash reserves. The firm has been losing money on the cars it manufactures.

According to a Reuters report, the cost of goods sold for Rivian was around $220,000 per car compared to the average selling price of $81,000 in the third quarter. To conserve cash, Rivian has also shelved its plans to build vans with Mercedes in Europe.

Theyre bleeding cash and would like to grow at a much faster rate, but they continue to struggle with their EV production ramp and have been unable to meaningfully drive down unit costs, CFRA research analyst Garrett Nelson told Reuters.

According to Potter, unless Rivian raises more than $4 billion, the company will find it difficult to keep funding its growth beyond 2025.

Rivian shouldnt abandon its strategy, but until funding is addressed, we think Rivian will keep trading at book value, he said.

Future Prospects

Rivian is scheduled to release its first-quarter 2023 results on May 9 after the market closes. The company is expecting gross margins for 2023 to remain in the red. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is expected to be negative $4.3 billion.

We continue to rationalize our capital expenditures due to a greater focus on our core business. Capital expenditures in 2023 are expected to be $2,000 million, driven by additional investment in our Normal factory, next-generation technologies, our Georgia facility, and go-to-market operations, the company said in its fourth-quarter 2022, shareholder letter (pdf).

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Rivians revenue projections for the first quarter by analysts have fallen by more than 25 percent since December-end.

In the first quarter of this year, Rivian produced 9,395 vehicles at its manufacturing plant in Illinois and delivered 7,946 vehicles, which is within the firms expectations.

According to Rivian, it is on track to manufacture 50,000 vehicles by the end of this year, in line with the annual guidance that was earlier reported.
Biggest Losers Are Sudanese Civilians Trapped in Escalating Hostilities

Smoke billows over buildings in Khartoum on May 1, 2023, as deadly clashes between rival generals' forces have entered their third week. (AFP via Getty Images)

When brutal fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the powerful Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on April 15, human rights monitor and freelance videographer Gouja Ahmed never thought leaving his house had turned from an option into a matter of life and death.

There are no means to earn money from my job [anymore], but I now have the chance to defend my peoples rights and to protect them through advocacy, Ahmed tells The Epoch Times via a messaging app, opting to have his location concealed for fear of his own safety.

Many people are suffering, especially those who depend on daily income, he says.

Many dont have the means to buy food. Most markets have been closed. Soldiers and militias have been looting in these markets. No emergency services are present. The state is missing.

The fighting pits the countrys de-facto military ruler and head of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against his deputy who heads the paramilitary RSFMohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

Both rivals claim to be gaining ground but this may just be a reflection of a media war, an observer of the unfolding conflict has told The Epoch Times.

The situation is fluid so it looks like a stalemate between the two, said Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani, associate professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies and Chair of the African Studies Program at the Montreal-based McGill University.

The present conflict was sparked by disagreements over the timeline needed to integrate the RSF into the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) as stipulated in a Dec. 5, 2022, framework agreement.

Dagalo wanted a 10-year window, [while] Burhan wanted a two-year window, Khalid told The Epoch Times in an email.

This is what sparked the conflict and led to Dagalo deploying more troops in the conflict as the two generals [try] to win a military victory.

Not Inclusive Enough

He said the framework agreement was very successful, and popular, and was a good solution to reforming the government, but for the fact that it was not inclusive enough and the timeline for signing too short.

This was a mistake, but these mechanics can be rectified after this conflict if domestic and external actors learn from their mistakes.

Sudanese and foreigners continue to stream out of the capital of Khartoum and other battle zones, as continuous fighting jeopardized a three-day US-brokered ceasefire that was expected to end on April 28.

It was the fourth effort to stop the fighting that resulted from month-long tensions. Several short-lived ceasefires had been agreed upon between the two warring groups over the past week, but they have all failed to hold.

Aid agencies have raised alarms over the crumbling humanitarian situation in a country reliant on outside help.

The Sudanese health ministry has put the number of deaths so far at nearly 500, with more than 4,000 others wounded.

The UN refugee agency says thousands have already fled the violence and that it is bracing for up to 270,000 people to cross from Sudan into neighboring Chad and South Sudan.

Some 15.8 million people in Sudana third of the populationalready needed humanitarian aid before the latest violence erupted.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says it does not yet have estimates for the numbers headed to other surrounding countries, but there have been reports of chaos at the border with Egypt as Sudanese try to get out of their country.

Other nations are working to get their citizens out.

Ahmed told The Epoch Times that Nyala, a city in southwestern Sudan that hosts the headquarters of the Sudanese Armed Forces is a center of fierce fighting.

The civilians are paying the prize for this war, he laments.

Bullets and even tanks are being used by Sudanese and RSF forces where millions of civilians are living. The situation is really tough for everybody in Sudan, especially those living in Khartoum, northern Sudan, and Darfur state.

Right now, there is no winner or loser in the conflict, according to Ahmed.

The only biggest losers are the Sudanese people.

Many civilians have been killed and hundreds injured. Just about 200 meters from my home, my neighbor was killed by live bullets in his home on the first day of fighting. Another neighbor was killed days later. Three of my friends have been wounded.

Ahmed said all what the Sudanese people have been working to achieve for years have been brought to nothing. Even the process for democratic transition has been destroyed.

How Did We Get Here?

Dagalo of the RSF paramilitary group and Burhan of the Sudanese armed forces worked together in 2019 to overthrow Sudans long-serving leader, Omar al-Bashir.

After the coup, a power-sharing government was formed, made up of civilian and military groups.

The plan was for it to run Sudan for a few years and oversee a transition to a completely civilian-run government.

Sudans political crisis started in October 2021, when Dagalo and Burhan joined forces and ousted civilian Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok before reinstating him a month later.

After upending the transition to democracy, however, friction between the Sudanese army and the powerful RSF became increasingly visible in recent months, with conflicting public statements, a heavy military presence in Khartoum, and parallel foreign trips by military and RSF leaders.

Despite the growing differences between both men, a lifeline appeared on the cards when civilian and military parties agreed early this month to strike a new political agreement to name a transitional government and pave the way for elections.

However, the signing of the deal was postponed from April 1 to April 6, before being put off for a second time, with a spokesman for the negotiations saying outstanding issues needed to be resolved.

James Barnett, Research Fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute research think tank, told The Epoch Times that the roots of the conflict in Sudan stretch back to the regime of Omar al-Bashir who, he says intentionally weakened his own military in an effort to kneecap his generals and stave off coups.

It may have worked, but only for a time, Barnett told The Epoch Times in an email.

No Wish For Civilian Rule

One way he did so, Barnett said, was by empowering a series of Darfuri militias that were organized into the Rapid Support Forces and essentially became a parallel army to the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The RSF and SAF cooperated to topple Bashir in 2019 but their rivalry grew more acute after this as both sought to prevent the other from becoming the dominant power in the new regime [which was nominally civilian, until a coup in 2021 that put the military in charge].

The only thing that the RSF and SAF agreed on was forestalling civilian rule, according to Barnett.

Otherwise, the RSF exploited the coup and stalled the transition to increase its power within Sudans politics and economy, which made the SAF uneasy.

As the SAF made efforts to curtail the growing influence of the RSF by subordinating it to military oversight and the paramilitaries responded by gearing up for war.

Power Quests At All Costs

Khalid of McGill University said that on paper, the RSF is more willing to fall under the civilian leadership since it needs a constituency.

But the RSF wants to do so while still being an autonomous military force, he told The Epoch Times.

Burhan says he, too, is supportive of being under civilian leadership, but his allies are former members of the National Congress Party (NCP)/Islamist regime and if they influence him, that block is not interested in a civilian regime.

They want to return to power under a military they can control as in the era of Omar Bashir.

The two military rivals are less likely to bridge their differences unless there is a stalemate after which the international community forces them to do so, says Khalid.

This can be done with targeted sanctions on the financial sources of both generals by the international community pressuring them back to the table with civilian leaders, he said.

But if either wins outright he will attempt to consolidate his own rule.

But Barnett believes neither the RSF nor the SAF supports a transition to civilian rule, as both want to hold power themselves whatever the costs.

So whoever wins, it will not be the Sudanese people, he told The Epoch Times.

The priority for the United States should be for Sudan to continue and eventually complete its transition to civilian rule. Unfortunately, these clashes mark the death of that already fragile transition for the foreseeable future.

Suspected RSF, Wagner Alliance

A recent CNN investigation suggests the Russian mercenary Wagner Group has been supplying the RSF with missiles to aid their fight against Sudans army.

Earlier reports had claimed the Kremlin-backed private military company was deploying mercenaries to Sudan and runs a major gold mining concession, while Russias government has pressed Sudan to allow Russian warships to dock at its Red Sea port.

Russia is close to the RSF and certainly sees geopolitical stakes in how this conflict unfolds, confirms Barnett of the Washington-based Hudson Institute research think tank.

Russia is very pragmatic in its relations with African countries; after all, it was cozying up to Bashir for several years before Bashir was toppled and then it managed to adapt quickly to the new reality in Sudan and grow closer to the RSF.

If the SAF triumph over the RSF, they may be hostile to Moscow for a time owing, which would force Russia to again pivot and adjust its approach, he said, noting however that no outcome of the current fighting will end Russian influence in Sudan.

Khalid dismisses suspicions that Islam and Arabism form the root causes of the present conflict in Sudan.

Fight to Retain Wealth

Rather, he insists, the conflict emanates from the legacy of a regime that used Islamism as an ideology to rule an authoritarian state.

This proved to be a failure as evidenced by the revolution of 20182019, Khalid told The Epoch Times in an email.

The root of the problem is the top brass of the army fighting to retain their political power and wealth, and a militia leader trying to do the same.

Evidence of this, Khalid pointed out, is the fact that they cooperated since 2003 in Darfur and in Khartoum, and only started their fight when each felt the other was trying to monopolize the military and political power.

Sudanese civilian society is now struggling for democracy that respects all traditions and ethnicities.

As the fighting in Africas third largest country rages on with no end in sight, Tibor Nagy, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs is fearful.

The fighting will not stop until one of the leaders eliminates the other, chases him into exile, or one side runs out of ammunition, he told The Epoch Times in an email.
Fox Cant Replace Tucker Carlson: Victor Davis Hanson

Tucker Carlson during the 2022 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

Fox News executives miscalculated in their sudden decision to oust the networks most popular prime-time host, Tucker Carlson, according to Victor Davis Hanson, a historian and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

One of the messages the Murdochs are not quite understanding [is] that when you take away somebody who had a greater potential elsewhere and was a precious asset that anchored your whole evening lineup, and you fired him in a fit of pique, or anger, without thinking it through, youve gotta be very careful, because youre not gonna be able to replace a guy like that, Victor Davis Hanson told The Telegraph on April 29.

A week after Carlsons abrupt exit, why the popular prime-time host left the network remains a mystery.

A brief statement issued by Fox News said only that the two have agreed to part ways and We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.

Carsons last broadcast was on April 21. During his final on-air segment, Carlson told his audience that he would be back on Monday.

While the network has parted with several popular news personalities like Bill OReilly and Megyn Kelly, the case for Carson was different, according to Hanson.

Before they fired him, they thought Fox is bigger than any one anchor: We fired Bill OReilly. And guess what? Tucker showed up, and he has the same size of audience or bigger, he said. We can do that because people tune into us because [of] the brand.

But I dont think they understand its not quite like that. Its cumulative: Its like a cut, a cut, a cut, and each one magnifies the prior one. So when you get rid of Bill OReilly, and you get rid of Megyn Kelly  you go up and down, and Newsmax and competitors creep in and grab your audience.

I dont think that there was a serious cause of firing him other than an emotional one, Hanson said.

Victor Davis Hanson, a classicist, military historian, and author of The Dying Citizen, in Visalia, Calif. on Feb. 7, 2023. (York Du/The Epoch Times)

On April 26, Carlson broke the silence with a video posted on Twitter that drew some 23 million views, exceeding the number of viewers of his old prime-time show on the cable news channel.

Hanson suggested Carlson doesnt really need to go on television. Instead, the media figure, like his former colleague Megyn Kelly, could pursue an independent route.

Even though Tucker was supposedly getting two more years at $20 million a year, given his appeal and talents, he could probably make more than that with his own venue, he said, adding that the media business is fragmented.

But Fox News needed Tucker Carlson to appeal to the new Republican Party, Hanson noted.

What do I mean by that? He was talking about the absurdity of woke, and I dont where you find somebody like that, who has the ability to articulate those positions but is not crazy, he continued.

Tucker came from one of the wealthiest families in California. He was an aristocrat  So for him, brought up like that as an aristocrat, to become a populist and yet know how the aristocratic mind works, is very unusual.

Hanson estimated the big vacuum created by Carlsons departure was about 3.5 million viewers, breathing life into rival conservative networks.

Following Carlsons exit, Newsmax drew doubled viewers at the 8 p.m. EST slot, Hanson said, adding that Fox News parent company lost $800 million in market value after the April 24 announcement.

Im not sure that they can find somebody like that to come in  that is funny and affable and knowledgeable.

Now that the network is taking rating hits after Carlsons exit, leftists are celebrating.

Theyre in celebration now. AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and people are saying things like, We dont believe in cancel culture, but we got him canceled. Thats what theyre saying. They think they took him down.

They criticize him every day. They said he was a racist. They said he was a transphobe, homophobe, and they think that eventually they got  For that slot should have been making hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising, but they were able to cut his revenues by 30 or 40 percent, by boycotts, pressuring corporations that they were going to boycott them if they bought time.

They feel that thats a paradigm that now is successful. And theyre going to use it.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Fox News for comment.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Godfather of AI Quits Google to Warn About Scary Technology

Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton speaks at the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk Summit in Toronto on Dec. 4, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

A groundbreaking innovator in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is sounding the alarm over the dangers imposed by the technology for which his work laid the foundation.

Geoffrey Hinton, the British computer scientist who has been called the Godfather of AI, recently left his position as a vice president and engineering fellow at Google so he could join the dozens of other experts in the field speaking out about the threats and risks of AI.

It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things, Hinton, 75, told The New York Times in an interview.

Following the launch of OpenAIs latest version of its GPT chatbot in March, other AI professionals signed an open letter, written by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, warning that the technology poses profound risks to society and humanity.

Hinton, like the letters signatories, said he finds the recent advancements in AI to be scary and worries about what they might mean for the futureparticularly now that Microsoft has incorporated the technology into its Bing search engine.

With Google now rushing to do the same, Hinton noted that the race between Big Tech companies to develop more powerful AI could easily spin out of control.

One particular facet of AI technology that concerns the computer scientist is its ability to create false images, photos, and text to the point where the average person will not be able to know what is true anymore.

He also warned that, in the future, AI could potentially replace humans in the workplace and be used to create fully autonomous weapons.

The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than peoplea few people believed that, Hinton said. But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.

Hintons Departure

Hinton is primarily known for his role in the development of deep learning, a form of machine learning that trains computers to process data like the human brain.

That work was integral to the development of AI, but in retrospect, Hinton said he regretted his role in the process.

I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadnt done it, somebody else would have, he said.

Hinton notified Google last month that he was leaving the company after more than a decade.

On May 1, he clarified that the reason for his departure was solely to isolate the company from his statements and had nothing to do with Googles approach to AI.

I left so that I could talk about the dangers of AI without considering how this impacts Google, he wrote in a tweet. Google has acted very responsibly.

In a statement provided to The New York Times, Jeff Dean, Google senior vice president of research and AI, said: We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. Were continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.

Digital God

Despite Googles assurances, others have been critical of the companys methods.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Tesla CEO Elon Muskwho also co-founded OpenAIsaid he felt that Larry Page, Google co-founder, was not taking the risks of AI seriously.

He really seemed to want digital superintelligence, basically digital God, as soon as possible, Musk said, referencing conversations he has had with Page on the matter.

Hes made many public statements over the years that the whole goal of Google is whats called AGI, artificial general intelligence, or artificial superintelligence, he noted. I agree with him that theres great potential for good, but theres also potential for bad.

Musk, who signed the Future of Life Institutes letter, has been outspoken about his concerns with AI in general, holding that it poses a serious risk to human civilization.

AI is perhaps more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design, or production maintenance, or bad car production, in the sense that it is, it has the potentialhowever small one may regard that probability, but it is nontrivialit has the potential of civilizational destruction, he told Fox News.

Another fear Musk revealed is the worry that AI is being trained in political correctness, which he maintained is just a form of deception and saying untruthful things.

Despite those concernsor perhaps because of themthe tech billionaire has also expressed interest in developing his own truth-seeking AI that would be trained to care about humanity.

We want pro-human, he said. Make the future good for the humans. Because were humans.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.
Greens Claim Cap on NDIS Spending a Broken Promise to Disabled Australians

Western Australian Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on July 4, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

The Australian Greens have called the federal governments decision to place a cap on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) a broken promise to disabled Australians.

The cap, announced on April 28 after the National Cabinet meeting, limits the growth target for the NDIS to eight percent by July 1, 2026, allowing for further moderation as the scheme matures.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said it would ensure its future.

These reforms are about ensuring the future of the Scheme in the best interests of the participants, and our reboot is making sure every dollar gets through to the people the Scheme was designed for, NDIS participants with severe and permanent disabilities,  he said.

We will work together with people with disability and the sector to implement these initiatives to ensure we get it right and people with disability are with us every step of the way.

The ballooning cost of the NDIS, which is set to eclipse the Medicare and federal education budget, has been a major concern for economists worried about the state of Australias finances.

Broken Promise to Disabled Australians

However, the Greens spokesperson for Disability Rights and Services, Senator Jordon Steele-John, who suffers from cerebral palsy, said that too many disabled people were not getting support.

Labors announcement to have a target for spending growth is sounding a lot like a cap on the NDIS. The notion of a cap is a broken promise from the Albanese government and is causing tremendous concern in the disability community, he said.

Steele-John warned that if funding is capped then the NDIS would receive $50 billion dollars less over the coming decade.

Currently, the Scheme is set to receive $35.5 billion in public funding, which includes $34 billion in participant costs and additional expenses associated with the administration of the National Disability Insurance Agency.

De-funding the NDIS by this amount is completely unacceptable, Steel-John said.

He also warned that the Greens would be watching the federal government for any proposed changes to the rules on who can and cannot get NDIS support.

The NDIS provides disabled people with the opportunity to participate in the community, go to work, and do the basics like have a shower. There are social and economic benefits to the NDIS.

PM Pushes Back on Criticism

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pushed back saying the government would make sure that the NDIS continues to deliver for people with disabilities.

Our focus is making sure that the position is sustainable, he told reporters on April 27.

No one is talking about any cuts here. We are talking about growth of eight percent annually. It is still a substantial growth.

We know that there has been some fraud in the scheme. We know that there are various things that need to be looked at in order to ensure that every dollar of taxpayers money that Australians can have the confidence that its going into improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Change to NDIS Inevitable

Meanwhile, the chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Kurt Fernley, said the scheme does need restructuring but has vowed to keep vulnerable people at the heart of the program. Fernley is a former Australian gold medalist Paralympian.

So many people with disabilities, they hear the word cap and shudder. I shudder, he told ABC Radio National on May 1.

We are a demand-driven scheme. The target is a bit of a challenge.

He said conceded that there was a concerning growth in the cost of the scheme while adding that the overseeing body had moved to deal with it already.

Weve always said that if we put the participant at the heart of what we do, we will get better outcomes and will also save money, he said.
Gun Rights Advocates Petition Supreme Court to Block Restrictive Illinois Gun Law

A gun owner holds a sign as they participate in a rally organized by the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights against the government's new gun regulations, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Sept. 12, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Illinois-based gun rights advocates are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to block a local ordinance and a state measure that substantially restrict gun rights.

The petition (pdf), which will be considered by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, challenges two laws. One, a local ordinance in Naperville, prohibits the sale of so-called assault-style weapons; the other, an Illinois state law, prohibits the possession of such weapons or magazines.

The petition was brought by the National Association for Gun Rights and the owner of a gun shop called Law Weapons and Supply.

This is an exceedingly simple case. The Second Amendment protects arms that are commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, especially self-defense in the home, the petition states.

The laws in question, the plaintiffs contend, violate two key high court decisions: District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen in 2022.

In the former case, the Supreme Court determined that a District of Columbia law placing high barriers to handgun ownership was illegal.

In the more recent Bruen decision, the court ruled that a New York law requiring citizens to show proper cause in order to own a handgun was a violation of the Second Amendment.

Petitioners in the current case contend that the Illinois laws were adopted in contravention of these precedents.

The arms banned by Respondents are possessed by millions of law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, including self-defense in the home, the petition continued.

Under this Courts precedents, that is all that is needed for citizens to have a right under the Second Amendment to keep such weapons,' the petitioners wrote, citing an opinion from Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia in their dissent from the courts decision not to take up a different Second Amendment case from Illinois in 2015.

There cannot be the slightest question  that the challenged laws are unconstitutional, the petition continues, citing the precedent laid out in Bruen, which ruled that when the Second Amendments plain text covers an individuals conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct.

Bruen also placed on government regulators the obligation of proving that gun control proposals are consistent with the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation.

More specifically, Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that no gun control law should be considered constitutional that was not in place at the time of the Constitutions ratification.

Absolute Ban Violates Constitution

Petitioners argued that no founding era precedent remotely burdens Second Amendment rights as much as an absolute ban on a category of arms commonly held by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, including home defense.

There is no historical analog to such a ban, they said.

Historically, plaintiffs noted, lower federal courts have erred in favor of gun regulations, deferring to regulators when there was a question of constitutionality. Bruen, the plaintiffs argued, was meant as a course correction and a reminder to the lower courts that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.

However, following the passage of the Illinois and Naperville laws, lower courts rejected petitions to block the laws.

If the 10 months of Second Amendment litigation since Bruen have taught us anything, it is that many of the lower courts did not get the message, the petitioners wrote.

In its rejection of the petition, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals proposed an entirely novel legal doctrine: the notion that if a court deems a weapon to be particularly dangerous, its use, sale, and ownership isnt protected by the Second Amendment.

With the petition rejected by both an appeals court and a district court, its up to the Supreme Court to determine the ultimate constitutionality of the measures under the standards laid out in Heller and Bruen.
If youre more excited by the idea of a holiday party than a quiet evening reading, you may be an extrovert. If its the other way around, you may be an introvert.

While those labels can be overly simplisticmost people lie somewhere on a spectrum between the twotheyre still useful in understanding ourselves and those around us.

Extroverted traits typically include being outgoing and enthusiastic, impulsive, and talkative. Introverted traits, on the other hand, usually include being introspective, a good listener, and more reserved.

Extroverts seek the stimulation of socially energized environments, while introverts tend to prefer small groups, one-on-one interactions, and plenty of alone time.

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who first described traits of extroversion and introversion in the 1920s, observed that extroverts are energized through social interaction, while introverts recharge best in quiet solitude.

While both personality types have strengths and weaknessesan extroverts enthusiasm could come across as overbearing, while an introverts introspection could be perceived as aloofnessAmerican culture tends to celebrate and reward extroverted behavior. Elementary schools emphasize socializing and group participation, while colleges encourage collaboration and teamworkskills that favor more extroverted students.

This translates seamlessly into the business world, where speaking up and standing out is more likely to lead to a promotion than quietly but competently getting your work done. Former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, advised introverted employees to improve their job prospects in this way: get out there, mix, speak more often, and connect with both your team and others, deploying all the energy and personality you can muster. And a report by Truity Psychometrics on Personality Type and Career Achievement found that extroverts usually not only out-earn their introverted counterparts by substantial margins, but also report greater job satisfaction.

Susan Cain, in her bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking, details the strong cultural bias towards extroverts and describes what is lost, both individually and collectively, when introverts are undervalued. Namely, creativity and innovationwhich are often best nourished in quiet, solitary environments.

Acting Extroverted

Introverts and extroverts can learn and benefit from each other. Extroverts could deepen their personal relationships by learning to listen more carefully. But introverts may also benefit by leaving their comfort zones at times, and acting out of character.

Studies have consistently shown that extroverts report higher levels of satisfaction, or happiness, than introverts. The reasons for this may be multifacetedperhaps it is because human beings are inherently social creatures, or maybe that extra time spent interacting with others provided a sense of meaning and connection that also contribute to happiness. But whatever the reasons, repeated studies have come to an interesting conclusion that can give introverts another tool in their armory of life skillssimply acting more extroverted can make you happier.

One study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2020 titled Experimental Manipulation of Extroverted and Introverted Behavior and Its Effects on Well-Being, examined whether participants could actually alter the extent to which they behave in ways that are extroverted (talkative, assertive, and spontaneous) or introverted (deliberate, quiet, and reserved) and how those changes in behavior impact well-being. Study participants were asked to behave in an introverted manner for a week, and then in an extroverted manner the following week. At the end of the study, not only were both extroverted and introverted participants very able to intentionally act extroverted or introverted on demand, but both groups reported greater levels of positive affector positive feelings or emotionswhen intentionally acting more extroverted. The study authors concluded that Participants reported marked growth in positive affect during the extroversion week and marked decline in positive affect during the introversion week. In other words, simply making the effort to act out of character and step out of their comfort zones in being sociable, actually made the introverts happier.

As Cain explains in Quiet, Introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly (p. 209). She goes on to explain that introverts who exercise this ability are perfectly capable of being highly effective leaders, teachers, and even public speakers.

But there is a caveat to this toolwhile acting out of character for short durations may be beneficial, too much time spent essentially putting on a performance can wear an introvert out. In that case, seeking out regular restorative nichesor the place you go to reconnect with your true self, is essential. That could be a quiet walk, an evening at home, or even just a solitary bathroom break.

As Shakespeare tells us in Hamlet, This above all: to thine own self be true. As a society, we may have embraced this message, but for introverts, stepping out of our comfort zones at times, to speak up and engage more socially, may also offer surprising benefits.
In Address to Israeli Parliament, McCarthy Says Israel Is a Story of Survival

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy addresses the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, on May 1, 2023. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Press Office)

HAIFA, IsraelU.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday called Israel a story of survival against the perils of war and terrorism.

He spoke at the opening ceremony summer session of the Knessetthe Israeli parliamentto express solidarity with Israel on its 75th anniversary.

It was the second day of his visit to Israel, heading a 16-member bipartisan congressional delegation.

The U.S.Israel relationship is as important as ever, and Im proud to accept [Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana]s invitation as the 2nd Speaker of the House in history to address the Knesset, he wrote in a post on Twitter on April 18.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) spoke before the Knesset 25 years ago, in May 1998.

McCarthy noted that in spite of the constant threat of terrorism, Israel is a thriving democracy and an innovative economy in the Middle East, ranked as the fourth-performing economy among developing nations.

The story of Israel is a story of survival against the perils of war and terrorism, he said, adding that the rebirth of Israel is nothing less than a modern miracle.

McCarthy said he is proud that the United States recognized Israel 11 minutes after it declared its independence, being the first country to do so, and that the United States cherishes this unbreakable bond between the two nations.

Israel is a story of pioneers and that it is fulfilling a sacred promise, inspired by our commitment to freedom, to family, to faith in God, he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) welcomes U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (C) to the Israeli Knesset, seated beside Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (R), in Jerusalem, Israel, on May 1, 2023. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Press Office)

Iran

Iran poses a threat to both the United States and Israel, said McCarthy.

Iran wants to entrench missiles in Syria. It empowers the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, and it is fueling a brutal civil war in Yemen, he said adding that it seeks to encircle Israel with hostile forces.

Most of the turmoil in the Middle East can be traced back to Iran, McCarthy said, which continues to fund terrorism, arm its proxy militias, and pursue nuclear weapons, he said.

The Iranian regime cannot be allowed to succeed, he said, adding that in order to deter the dangerous behaviors of the Iranian regime, the United States and Israel must continue to stand together.

McCarthy said that as long he is Speaker, America will continue to support full funding for security assistance in Israel, referring to Irans precision-guided missiles, drones, terror tunnels, and cyber attacks.

We must also remain resolute in our commitment that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons, he said.

The first and most urgent challenge is the joint effort of Israel and the United States to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his address to the Knesset.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. Army held the largest joint military exercise in Israels history, and Netanyahu said he wanted to thank the Biden administration for that, according to a press statement from a Knesset spokesperson.

We properly see the threat posed by the fanatic regime in Iran, which threatens not only Israel but also the United States and the entire free world, Netanyahu said.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that while there are disagreements with the governing coalition, there is a consensus in Israel about the danger the Iranian regime poses.

We all agree that Iran must not develop nuclear weapons. We all agree that we must work together with you to make sure that this nightmare does not become a reality, he said.

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (L) is seated beside Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (R) at the Israeli Knesset, in Jerusalem, Israel, on May 1, 2023. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Press Office)

Chinese Communist Party

McCarthy said that innovation in the United States and Israel is at risk from a new threat, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

While the CCP may disguise itself as promoters of innovation, in truth, they act like thieves, he said adding that We must not allow them to steal our technology.

The United States is working to protect innovation and the prosperity it brings, McCarthy said.

He referred to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process.

He said he is glad that Israel has put in place a similar process to review foreign investments, but he strongly encouraged Israel to further strengthen its oversight of foreign investmentparticularly Chinese investment.

Attacks Against Israel

Prejudice against Israel on the world stage is damaging and destructive, McCarthy said, referring to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which has passed over 90 anti-Israeli resolutions since 2006.

They have turned a blind eye to true human rights violations by Iran, North Korea, and China, he said.

Congress will continue to stand with Israel and will increase the pressure on the United Nations to end these outrageous attacks, McCarthy said.

At a press conference following his address to the Knesset, McCarthy said he expects the White House to invite the prime minister over for a meeting, especially with the 75th anniversary, he said.

In March, Netanyahu rejected pressure from President Joe Biden to halt the judicial reform that has sparked large protests across the country, both in support of the reform and against it.

At the time, when asked whether Biden would be inviting the Israeli prime minister to the White House, Biden replied, No, not in the near term.
In Speech to Israels Parliament, McCarthy Announces US HouseKnesset Joint Group

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks after the signing of an agreement with his Israeli counterpart at the Shagall Hall in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem on May 1, 2023, during his visit to the country with a Congress delegation. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced on May 1 a parliamentary friendship group between the U.S. House of Representatives and the Knesset, Israels parliament.

As speaker, I will continue to push for a formal inter-parliamentary group between the United States and Israel. But I will not wait to start more collaboration between the House of Representatives and the Knesset, he said in a speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem.

Therefore, I will establish a House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Groupso we can continue to strengthen our bonds, build mutual understanding as elected representatives, and work better togetherdemocracy to democracy.

The group will engage more directly with the Knesset, travel to Israel, strengthen existing relationships, and forge new ones, McCarthy said. On the House side, they will host Knesset members who wish to travel to the United States and do the same.

He became the first House speaker since Newt Gingrich in 1998 to address the Knesset.

In his speech, McCarthy touted the close bond between the United States and Israel, which is marking its 75th anniversary as a nation.

The United States cherishes our unbreakable bond with Israel. Im proud that my country recognized your country only 11 minutes after it declared its independence, the first country to do so, he said. But our special relationship is even closer, more personal, and more powerful than we might realize.

This is the foundation of our special relationship: We are the only two countries in history that were conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that we are all equal.

McCarthy also warned about the threat from China.

Today, however, our innovation is at risk from a new threat: the Chinese Communist Party, he said. While the CCP may disguise itself as promoters of innovation, in truth, they act like thieves. We must not allow them to steal our technology.

McCarthy lauded Israel, like the United States, as having a process to review foreign investments.

I strongly encourage Israel to further strengthen its oversight of foreign investmentparticularly Chinese investmentbuilding on the steps it first took in 2019, he said.

McCarthy also rejected the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) that targets Israel and is anti-Semitic, according to the American Jewish Committee.

He pledged that the United States would continue to fully fund security assistance for Israel, which amounts to $3.3 billion annually.

McCarthy also lauded the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, under which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan normalized ties with Israel in 2020. He mentioned the resolution that the House overwhelmingly approved last week to encourage the accords expansion and call on other countries to normalize ties with the Jewish state.

Finally, he talked about the Iranian threat and pledged, as the United States has continually done, to not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon.

Ahead of his speech, McCarthy said he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he met with, to the United States if U.S. President Joe Biden doesnt do so. Last month, Biden said he wouldnt meet with Netanyahu in the near term over Netanyahus attempt to shake up Israels judiciary. While the overhaul plan was paused in response to massive street protests, talks have restarted.

If that doesnt happen, Ill invite the prime minister to come meet with the House, he told the Israel Hayom newspaper. Hes a dear friend, as a prime minister of a country that we have our closest ties with.

McCarthys trip to Israel is part of his first foreign travel since becoming House speaker in January.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg in Beijing on Monday.

Noting that China and Mongolia are good neighbors, good friends and good partners, Qin said that China stands ready to work with Mongolia to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, pursue mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and enhance political mutual trust and friendship between the two peoples.

Qin expressed China's willingness to further synergize the development strategies of both countries, promote the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and improve cooperation on mining and interconnectivity and other areas to build a China-Mongolia community with a shared future featuring peaceful coexistence, mutual assistance and win-win cooperation.

Battsetseg said that the Mongolian side abides by the one-China principle, adding that the country believes that the Taiwan question and issues concerning Hong Kong and Xinjiang are purely China's internal affairs.

Mongolia appreciates and supports China's Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, Battsetseg said, adding that Mongolia is willing to deepen political mutual trust and expand practical cooperation with China, and make bilateral ties a model for the region.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on sandstorm prevention and control, and jointly promote sustainable development. They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern. 

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Indiana Law Mandating Burial or Cremation After Abortion Can Stay, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court turned away a challenge on May 1 to Indianas law requiring the cremation or burial of the remains of aborted babies.

The lawsuit is one of many nationwide that have been adjudicated in the wake of the Supreme Courts June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade. In that case, the Supreme Court found that there was no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution and returned the regulation of abortion to the states.

The lawsuit contested a 2016 law signed by Republican Mike Pence, the Indiana governor at the time who become U.S. vice president in 2017, that required the burial or cremation of the tissue from abortions instead of using the conventional method of incineration utilized for human medical waste. The Supreme Court previously upheld the law in 2019, before the Dobbs decision changed the legal landscape on abortion, determining at the time that the state had a legitimate interest in how human remains were disposed of.

No justices dissented from the new unsigned order in Doe v. Rokita, court file 22-951. Todd Rokita, a Republican, is the attorney general of Indiana.

The court did not explain its decision not to hear the case.

The lawsuit was brought by two unidentified women who underwent abortions, two identified medical professionals, and an Indianapolis abortion clinic.

In their petition filed with the Supreme Court on March 28, the challengers stated that they sincerely believe as a matter of religious and moral conviction that: 1) an embryo is not a person, and 2) burial or cremation of the embryonic tissue from their abortion procedures would signify that it is.

The challengers argued that the Indiana law violated their constitutional rights.

Until 2016, Indiana healthcare facilities disposed of all human tissue from medical procedures according to standard medical protocols.  That year, Indiana banned use of those protocols for embryonic and fetal tissue from abortion and miscarriage procedures, and began requiring abortion and miscarriage patients either to consent in writing to burial or cremation of their tissue or to assume responsibility for its transportation and disposition without the help of a healthcare provider despite its biohazardous nature, the petition stated.

In doing so, Indiana unjustifiably burdened the religious exercise and expressive conduct of individuals, including the Doe Plaintiffs, who believe that the rituals of burial and cremation are appropriate for people, and that an embryo or fetus should not be treated like a person.

A federal district court previously found that the tissue disposition mandate violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because it burdened the religious practice of those who hold that a fetus or embryo should not be treated like a person and compelled them to affirm a contrary message regarding when life begins.

But in November 2022, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit invalidated that ruling and reinstated the law. The circuit court found that constitutional rights were not affected because the women who had the abortions may choose to take custody of the remains and dispose of them as they please.

Rokita praised the Supreme Court for rejecting the challenge to the Indiana law.

The court ruled in our favor todaya ruling consistent with the understanding that life is precious and should be treated accordingly, Rokita told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

Nothing is more foundational to ordered liberty in America than the right to life. Unborn, innocent children must be treated with the dignity they rightly deserve, and my office is fighting back against the elites who dismiss this invaluable gift.

The Epoch Times reached out to counsel of record for the challengers, Rupali Sharma of the Lawyering Project in South Portland, Maine, but has not received a reply as of press time.
Influencer Posts Found to Be 81 Percent Misleading, Australian Regulator Says

Social media apps on a smartphone in this file photo. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

A new report by the competition regulator reveals that many Australian social media influencers posts have been found to be potentially misleading.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) noted in its March 2023 Digital Platforms Services Inquiry report (pdf), released on April 28, that a range of potentially harmful practices occurred to consumers and small businesses on social media platforms. The report followed the ACCC receiving over 150 tip-offs from consumers about potentially misleading posts.

Influencers often aim to present themselves as real, ordinary people, and as such, their followers may trust their opinions and recommendations more than those presented through traditional media advertising, read the March report.

The report did a sweep of over 118 social media influencers and their sponsored content between Jan. 23 and Feb. 3, aimed at identifying misleading endorsements and testimonials.

The competition regulator identified 81 percent of influencers postssuch as endorsements and testimonialsas potentially misleading.

Social media influencers use social media platforms to reach their audiences so they can develop and earn revenue by promoting brands and products, including receiving donations or subscription funds from their audiences.

As the social media influencer market continues to grow, research from MarketsandMarkets shows that the influencer marketing sector is expected to rise from $9.07 billion (US$6 billion) in 2020 to $36.43 billion (US$24.1 billion) by 2025.

The ACCC report stated that social media influencers often have incentives not to disclose endorsement deals or be transparent in their advertisement posts as their advertising influence largely relies on their authenticity.

Social media posts with integrated advertising material create incentives for brands and influencers not to label advertising clearly, because a feed with multiple obvious advertisements may be considered inauthentic and off-putting to followers.

Although consumers have been used to the exposure of advertising via endorsements by celebrity individuals for a significant period, the expansion of influencer advertising on social media poses additional challenges when compared to more traditional advertising media.

Influence of Social Media Influencers on Consumers

The inquiry noted from a 2022 Consumer Policy Research Centre report that 85 percent of Australians found difficulty determining whether certain online content was advertising.

This is because influencer advertising is integrated with an influencers non-commercial editorial content, often making it harder for consumers to distinguish.

Advertisers have raised concerns about being unable to choose the best services to suit their needs because of the lack of transparency and accuracy of advertising performance data provided to them by social media platforms, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

Consumers are unable to make informed choices about purchases when endorsements and sponsored posts are not clearly disclosed, Cass-Gottlieb said.

The ACCC targeted seven sectors where consumers most commonly rely on social media influencer endorsements to make purchasing decisions, including fashion, beauty and cosmetics, food and beverage, travel and lifestyle, health, fitness and wellbeing, and gaming and technology.

These harms to consumers and small businesses are exacerbated when coupled with what many users consider a lack of effective dispute resolution mechanisms with social media platforms, Cass-Gottlieb said.

The report also argued that regulators are undertaking important work to address influencers giving unlicensed financial advice, promotion of therapeutic goods and cosmetic surgery, and a lack of disclosure of gifts as taxable income.

Losses to Social Media Scams

The report from the ACCC comes after Australians lost over $80 million (US$52.9 million) to scams via social media platforms in 2022, an increase from reported losses of $56 million (US$37 million) in 2021 and A$27 million (US$17.8 million) in 2020.

However, the actual sum of money lost to scams is likely to be much higher, given estimates that only 13 percent of scam victims report their experience to Scamwatch.

It is clear that social media companies are not doing enough to stop their own users from falling victim to scammers on their platforms, especially as we understand only a fraction of people scammed ever report it, Cass-Gottlieb said.

Recommendations for Social Media Marketing

The industry itself has worked on addressing the issue, forming the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMCO) and creating a Code of Practice (pdf), published on Aug. 11 2021.

The Council recommends the routine and consistent use of hashtags like #Ad, #Advert, #Advertising, #PaidPartnership, #PaidPromotion or #Sponsored in videos and posts.

An influencer who promotes any product without disclosing it, whether it be an alcoholic beverage or hair straightener, is misleading their followers, AIMCO chair Sharyn Smith told the Australian Financial Review.

Following findings from the sweep, various education, compliance and potential enforcement activities are to be conducted by the ACCC on the issues identified.

The ACCCs Digital Platforms Branch has been conducting a five-year inquiry since 2020 into the markers for the supply of digital platforms in Australia and their impact on competition and consumers.

The ACCC is required to report findings to the Treasurer every six months, with the March 2023 report being one of many reports required. Each report builds on the ACCCs previous work in relation to digital platforms in identifying competition and consumer harms in relation to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Twitter.

We continue to support reforms to address the harms weve observed, including an economy-wide prohibition against unfair trading practices, targeted consumer protections and service-specific codes of conduct that would apply to designated digital platforms, Cass-Gottlieb said.

Cindy Li contributed to this report.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revealed that many people have not yet received their tax refunds for 2019. The announcement states that there is as much as $1.5 billion in unclaimed tax refunds.

The 2019 tax forms were not due in April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS delayed the required filing for that year until July 15, which resulted in many people failing to filepossibly because they forgot about it. The IRS says people can still get their tax refunds, but the law requires a three-year deadline. Time is running out, however, since you only have until July 17, 2023, to claim it.

The Median Refund Amount

The average amount of these refunds is $893. That is certainly an amount that many families could benefit from in these economically challenging times. The press release says about 1.5 million people qualify for the IRS refund.

The IRS lists the average amount that people are eligible for in each state. The lowest average amount is $758, in Idaho, and the highest refund amount goes to residents in New Hampshire, at about $974. Two states that have the most people that have not yet filed their taxes and are available for a refund are California (144,700) and Texas (135,300).

Tax Returns for 2020 and 2021 Are Necessary

In order to get your 2019 tax refund, you must have filed tax returns for 2020 and 2021. Without them, the IRS says that they will not release your refund.

Disaster Postponement Will Not Delay Filing Time

Although the IRS granted tax-filing delays for people involved in more recent disasters, The Washington Post says the delay does not affect the July 17 deadline for 2019 taxes. If you fail to file before that deadline, your tax rebate will go to the government, and you cannot claim it after that.

Finding 2019 Tax Data

By this time, you may have difficulty finding your tax data for 2019. The Washington Post says you can get your forms from the IRS website, where you should look for the link to Find Forms & Instructions. Another option would be to call the IRS and order the forms you need at 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

If you need duplicate forms of your W-2 or 1099s for 2019, your employer may be able to help with duplicates. You can also contact the IRS and get income transcripts for free by going to IRS.gov and following the link to Get Your Tax Record. Other options include calling the IRS for your transcript at 800-908-9946, or by filing Form 4506-T.

If you ask your employer for copies of your W-2 and others for any 1099s, you need to ask them for them soon. It may take some time for them to find the information and get it to you, and you do not want to miss out on the refund.

Besides holding your refund if you have failed to file more recent tax forms, it may also be withheld if you owe back child support or other debt, such as payments for student loans.

No Tax Penalties If You Are Owed a Refund

When the IRS owes you a tax refund, you will not be charged any penalties even if you are filing late. If unsure whether you may be entitled to a refund, do the calculations and file anywayjust in case.

Many people that could get a refund do not earn enough to be required to file. It may include students or part-time workers. Because of their low income, however, they may be entitled to get the Earned Income Tax Credit and not know it. People that did not make much money in 2019 should review their tax situation to see if they qualify for a refund.

How to File

If you need to file a 2019 1040 or 1040-SR, you cannot send them electronically. Finance.Yahoo reports that you must send paper forms to the IRS. Be sure to send it certified so that you get a receipt after the IRS receives it.

Claiming Earned Income Credit

Besides losing out on your tax refund if you do not file by the deadline, you may also lose the Earned Income Credit (EITC). The Hill reports that for the year 2019, people could get a maximum of $6,557. The Earned Income Credit depends on your income and helps low-income families.

You can claim the Earned Income Credit if you are married and filing jointly, and have three children and earn up to $55,162 ($50,162). If you are married and filing jointly and have two children, you can claim the EITC if you earn less than $52,493 ($46,703 if single).

The IRS has made it known that if you have not yet filed your tax forms for 2019 that you may miss out on a considerable amount of money. Get started on your tax forms now to get your overpayment of taxes and get your refund and possible money from the Earned Income Credit. When you receive your money, you will be glad you did.

The Epoch Times Copyright  2022 The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
Italy, UK Affirm Importance of Maintaining Peace Over Taiwan

The leaders of the UK and Italy have affirmed the need for peace over the Taiwan Strait in a memorandum of understanding as Beijing continues to exert military pressure against the self-ruled island.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) (pdf) on bilateral cooperation during a meeting in London on April 27.

The two leaders voiced their shared opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increased its military presence.

We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues without the threat or use of force or coercion, they said.

The British and Italian leaders also raised concerns over Chinas human rights abuses against minority groups in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as the CCPs continued erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong.

Taiwans Foreign Ministry welcomed the MOU between the UK and Italy, which it stated demonstrated the willingness of democratic partners to strive for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The Taiwan government is pleased that nations worldwide are taking action to help ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said in a statement.

The UK and Italy have no diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but they maintain economic and trade cooperation with the self-ruled island.

Warning of Catastrophic Effects of Taiwan Conflict

The MOU follows British Foreign Secretary James Cleverlys remarks on April 25 affirming the UKs support for a peaceful resolution to cross-Strait issues between China and Taiwan.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly leaves 10 Downing Street in London on March 7, 2023. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Taiwan is a thriving democracy and a crucial link in global supply chains, particularly for advanced semiconductors, Cleverly said in his address at a Mansion House banquet in London.

Cleverly warned of the potential catastrophic effects of any conflict over Taiwan, saying that a war across the Strait would not only be a human tragedy, it would destroy world trade worth $2.6 trillion.

He said no country could shield itself from the repercussions of such a conflict and the catastrophic blow to the global economy.

I shudder to contemplate the human and financial ruin that would follow. So its essential that no party takes unilateral action to change the status quo, Cleverly said.

The CCP views Taiwan as a renegade province that must be united with China by any means necessary, even though Taiwan has never been ruled by the CCP and has its own democratic government.

Italy Condemns Chinas Military Threats

Meloni, who was elected as Italys first female leader last year, said her right-wing Brothers of Italy party would stand with democratic countries in condemning Beijings military threats toward Taiwan.

She called on the European Union to use all of its diplomatic and political means to exert pressure on Beijing to avoid conflicts in the Taiwan Strait.

Dont forget that the EU is also Chinas main export market. If they decide to attack Taiwan, it may lead to the closure of the market, Meloni said in an interview with Taiwans Central News Agency last year.

Beijing staged three days of military drills 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 Defense Ministry stated that it detected 17 Chinese aircraft and eight vessels around the island on April 28, with 13 aircraft spotted crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Jennifer May Assumes Position as Canadian Envoy to China

Jennifer May, Canada's new Ambassador to China, is shown in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Career diplomat Jennifer May has officially taken on the role of Canadas new ambassador to China.

May was seen presenting credentials to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during an official ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to photos posted on the official Twitter account of the Canadian Embassy in China on April 28.

 Ambassador Jennifer May, @canjenmay , presented credentials to President Xi Jinping during an official ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  pic.twitter.com/FWMIrgHE32  Canada in China (@CanadaChina) April 28, 2023

May was appointed Canadian ambassador to China in September 2022, succeeding Dominic Barton, whose departure left Canada without an ambassador for more than a year.

Barton left the position months after Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were released after being arbitrarily detained by Beijing for over 1,000 days. Their incarceration was widely interpreted as hostage diplomacy by the Chinese regime in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei CEO Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities on a U.S. extradition warrant.

Just a month after Kovrig and Spavor returned to Canada in September 2021, Barton advocated for further business investment in China in an interview with the Chinese state mouthpiece, Global Times. Barton had also done business with China as senior management for McKinsey & Company, a U.S. multinational consulting firm that has drawn controversy for its dealings with the Chinese Communist Party.

John McCallum, Bartons predecessor as Canadas envoy to China, also came under fire for providing legal arguments in defence of Meng while speaking to reporters from Chinese-language media outlets. Subsequently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked him to resign in January 2019.

Pledges to Raise Human Rights Concerns

Upon being appointed to her new role, May said she will not shy away from criticizing the communist regimes human rights violations.

Theres a lot of other human rights issues that we have concerns about, whether its Falun Gong, whether its Christians, whether its a situation of people in Tibet, she told the Toronto Star on Sept. 22, 2022, when asked about the abuse of Uyghurs in Chinas western province of Xinjiang.

More recently, she echoed the concerns for Chinese human rights lawyers Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who were dealt heavy sentences of more than a decade each by Chinese authorities last month. Xu and Ding are prominent members of a citizens movement that seeks Chinas peaceful transition to constitutionalism. They were arrested for attending a gathering with 20 other rights activists in China in 2019.

May began her career in public service in 1990 with the Department of External Affairs. Prior to her role as envoy to China, she served as Canadian ambassador to Brazil in 2019. May has also served at a number of Canadian missions abroad, including in Bangkok, Beijing, Bonn, Hong Kong, and Vienna, according to her profile on the Government of Canada website.
John Robson: The Contrast in How Striking Federal Workers Were Treated Compared to the Truckers Convoy

A strike captain leads members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada in a chant as they picket outside Place du Portage in Gatineau, Que., on April 28, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Commentary

Its just as well that striking federal public servants didnt use trucks to block roads, interfere with critical infrastructure, and cause Canadians major and lasting inconvenience if not harm. Someone might have said something. For instance, seize their bank accounts.

Just kidding. Not about blocking roads, etc. Those things really happened. But the only drawback if PSAC had used trucks is that it would have made the contrast that much more awkward. Or would it? These people dont embarrass easily.

As the Ottawa Citizen noted on April 18, PSAC released a list of just over 250 picket line locations across the country that included government offices, Service Canada centres, offices of members of Parliament, correctional facilities, Royal Canadian Mounted Police stations, military bases, and border crossings. The PM did not declare it unacceptable.

Then on April 23, PSAC national president Chris Aylward said: Were trying to have picket lines across the country in some strategic locations where its going to impact the government, and were actually going to be escalating those actions  whether thats ports across the country, or anything like that. It has a very wide-ranging impact on Canadians and the Canadian economy as well.

Had Tamara Lich said it, shed have gotten handcuffed. These guys got raises.

Someone was bound to point to the contrast between how Official Canada treated striking public sector workers and the truckers convoy. And someone will again next time a disruptive left-wing protest is handled with kid gloves or payouts. But if our political masters saw such remarks coming, or even noticed them when they arrived, and they may not have since they arent exactly well-endowed with Robbie Burns gift of seeing themselves as others do, they evidently dismissed the remarks as only raised by the sort of deplorables they regard with pre-emptively icy contempt anyway.

The prime minister eventually, this February, professed to regret pre-emptively calling the Freedom Convoy a fringe minority with unacceptable views. He told reporters, I wish I had phrased that differently. But the real question isnt the wording, its the thoughts, emotions, and conduct behind it.

The truckers, after all, wanted more freedom. The public servants wanted more free money. And the response of the state was dramatically different in the two cases.

Trudeau famously refused to meet with the convoy, which was itself divisive because a major issue was that they felt unheard in Ottawa. And while he didnt meet with striking public servants either, he kept insisting he was going to meet their demands in large measure. Indeed, behind the theatrics of oppressed proletarian office workers with cushy secure jobs squaring off, fists and jaws clenched under militant red banners, against a prudent fiscally responsible government under partisan red banners, both sides were basically in agreement that the public sector isnt yet big enough or well enough paid and never will be.

Anybody who follows these things knew that, after ritual posturing, the unions would get virtually everything they asked for. Theyre Trudeaus kind of people, and the system looks after its own. But he needed the cover of having apparently yielded to fairness and union determination rather than marching into battle under a white flag.

As for those who are not his kind of people, it is worth recalling that his convoy insults were not an isolated incident. Previously, on a French-language Quebec program, he had called opponents of compulsory vaccination (in translation, but true to the original) extremists  who dont believe in science, theyre often misogynists, also often racists. Sunny ways indeed.

He added, Its a very small group of people, but they take up some space. And so This leads us, as a leader and as a country, to make a choice: Do we tolerate these people?

Clearly not. We are too tolerant.

Im not saying hes about to start jailing Canadians for picking quarrels and provoking trouble as in the Chinese communist dictatorship he incautiously admitted to admiring. Even though his internet censorship bill will, we may confidently predict, basically target unacceptable bigots who take up space that could furnish Sprachensraum for pleasant sophisticates inclined to vote Liberal.

What I am saying is that what you hear is what you get with Trudeau. His reflexive, sincere belief is that that everyone who disagrees with him is a knuckle-dragging bigot with twisted motives. If prompted to soften the message he will concede that there are exceptions who have been led astray by the devils among us. But then he will draw his shining sword and smite the evil-doers with an Emergencies Act.

Theres a maxim variously rendered and attributed that apparently originates with the eminently forgettable Peruvian coup-leader/President Oscar R. Benavides, a classically sleazy rather than ideologically maniacal tin-pot dictator: For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.

Hola, amigos. Help yourselves to the Treasury.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Judge Orders Hunter Biden to Provide Details on Income From Artwork, Investments, Gifts From Friends

Biden's attorneys reveal he has paid up to $750,000 in child support since March 2020

Hunter Biden, the son U.S. President Joe Biden, holds his son Beau as they arrive for the National Thanksgiving Turkey pardoning ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 21, 2022. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

BATESVILLE, Ark.President Joe Bidens son Hunter Biden may have paid the mother of his 4-year-old daughter up to $750,000 in child support since March 2020, said one of his attorneys at a hearing.

Hunter Biden appeared in Independence County Circuit Court in Batesville, Arkansas, on May 1 as ordered by the judge overseeing the child support dispute between the presidents 53-year-old son and Lunden Roberts. Roberts is the Arkansas woman who, according to court filings, had a relationship with Hunter and gave birth to a baby girl in August 2018. She sued for support in 2019.

At first Hunter Biden denied that the child was his, but a DNA test confirmed he is the father.

On March 12, 2020, he and Roberts agreed to an undisclosed amount in monthly child support to begin on April 1, 2020. Terms of the agreement are sealed because they contain sensitive personal information, including the amount of monthly support and each partys source of income.

Hunter Biden asked the court to review the child support arrangement the following September because his financial status had changed.

Lawyer Reveals Monthly Payment

During a discussion of the discovery process, Hunter Bidens attorney, Abbe David Lowell, said his client has been paying $20,000 monthly, more than $700,000 since the support order was signed.

Judge Holly Meyer clarified during the May 1 hearing that any information discussed in open court was a matter of public record.

Lowells remarks came after he and attorney Brent Langdon of Dallas, Texas, complained that news outlets had published information from sealed court files. He said news reports referenced tax files, information on Hunter Bidens cars, and other things that had been redacted.

How is it that things that are redacted in the file are released to the Daily Mail? There are matters that are being redacted that are getting out to the daily news, Langdon said.

Meyer said that, without proof someone was illegally releasing information, there was little she could do. Journalists and the public often speculate on matters and may come close to guessing what is in a sealed file, she added.

Cant Gag the World

If the press comes up with those things, I cant control that. I cant gag the world, Meyer said.

The judge ordered Hunter Biden to provide information on his income from his artwork, investments, employment, gifts from friends, and other sources. She also ordered Roberts to provide information on the value of her property and income while working with her fathers business.

The dispute until now has been mostly a battle of lawyers, with neither of the litigants appearing in court. Hunter Bidens lawyers have filed at least five motions to delay the process including a last-minute attempt to delay the May 1, 2023 hearing.

Meyer denied that motion.

All parties are to physically appear for all future court hearings in this matter. The parties will no longer have their appearances excused, Meyer wrote in her order.

Motions Must Be Filed Correctly

Roberts lawyers have asked the court to find Hunter Biden in contempt and jail him for refusing to comply with previous orders, and provide requested discovery information.

Meyer wrote that those matters would be dealt with once everyone was in the courtroom.

In subsequent filings, Roberts attorneys complained that the Biden team was dragging its feet in the discovery process. They claim Hunter Biden is living a lavish lifestyle.

During the May 1 hearing, Meyer said the contempt request needed to be appropriately filed. She added that she couldnt rule on the amount of child support because neither side provided enough information in the discovery process to move ahead.

The judge went through a to-do list so each side knew what they were expected to do in order to proceed.

One issue has been the role Hunter Bidens laptop would play in the process. Roberts lawyers reportedly believe the laptop contains important financial information. The Biden lawyers have refused even to acknowledge that the computer belongs to their client. Meyer said all these issues would be addressed as long as each side does what it needs to do to advance the case.

Warning the lawyers that her patience had worn thin, Meyer said she would hold them to the agreed-to schedule.

I expect this case to move. I will ride herd on you, gentlemen.
Longtime Senator Ben Cardin Not Running for Reelection

Longtime Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced he will not run for a fourth Senate term in 2024.

Its time, Cardin, 79, told The Baltimore Sun. I always knew this election cycle would be the one I would be thinking about not running again, so its not something that hit me by surprise. I enjoy life. There are other things I can do. TIME first reported the development on May 1.

In the Senate, Cardin has served on the Foreign Relations Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Finance Committee; and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, of which he is chairman.

Prior to the Senate, Cardin served for 20 years, or 10 terms, in the House of Representatives. Cardin also served in the Maryland House of Delegates for around 20 years, which included being the chambers speaker.

The Democrats control the Senate, 51-49. In next years elections, seats in several swing states will be up for grabs. Three Democrats are running in states that former President Donald Trump won in 2020: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

As to who will run for Cardins seat, possible Democrat candidates include Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who made a name for himself in being the lead impeachment manager in Trumps second impeachment; Rep. David Trone (D-Md.); Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.; Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks; and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), whose late father, Paul Sarbanes, was a 30-year senator.

Possible Republicans include Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.); former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich; and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who declined a 2022 Senate run.

The Epoch Times has reached out to ask whether they plan to run for Cardins seat or are at least considering doing so.

In a statement, Raskin expressed appreciation for Cardins service, but he did not say whether he would run to succeed him.

After 58 years of integrity-filled public service, where he showed his prodigious work ethic from Annapolis to Washington, Senator Ben Cardin has assembled a remarkable record of advancing the needs and priorities of Maryland, he said. I salute him and have congratulated him on a truly amazing and inspiring career devoted to service of our people and the old-fashioned public values of honesty and decency. I want to thank him, his beloved wife Myrna and their whole family for their outstanding and continuing contributions to our state.

Trone did the same.

I join my colleagues and the people of Maryland in celebrating the distinguished career and outstanding contributions of @SenatorCardin. Across five remarkable decades of public service, Senator Cardin has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the people of Maryland, he posted in a Twitter thread.

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), who has been in Congress since 2003, is not considering a run for Senate, his spokesperson, Jaime Lennon, told The Epoch Times.

Cardin has not endorsed a successor.

I know that people are interested. Lets see who is prepared to do it. I am extremely confident we will hold the seat, he told The Baltimore Sun, referring to his fellow Democrats.
Manitoba Government Announces New Programs, Services for Offenders out on Bail

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen speaks during a federal-provincial-territorial ministers meeting on bail reform in Ottawa on Mar. 10, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

The Manitoba government has developed a new pilot program that is to provide more supervision and support for up to 50 offenders who are released on bail.

The provinces adult bail management program is set to begin later this spring with 25 men and 25 women with serious charges before the courts.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said at a news conference on Monday that the program was created to address public safety concerns and to make sure offenders follow bail conditions.

We know that people are frustrated when theyre victimized by crime, but that victimization when somebody has been out on bail causes an even a greater degree of frustration, he said.

Manitobas Progressive Conservative government is also to expand enhanced supervision services for those who have been identified by justice agencies as posing a high risk to public safety.

The province is adding a full-time psychologist and more probation officers and community corrections workers to its intensive probation program. This will allow the province to offer services to as many as 200 offenders or double its current capacity, Goertzen said.

Individuals out on probation for domestic violence, sex and gang-related offences may be supervised as part of the program.

Recent statistics from Winnipeg police suggest nearly 20 percent of people charged with violent offences last year were out on bail at the time of the offences. About 16 percent of those charged with homicides were either out on bail or probation.

These are staggering numbers for us. Its an indication to me that we need to make some changes to our bail systems and our probation systems, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth said at the news conference.

Manitoba also announced it is looking to improve its electronic monitoring program to reflect technological advancements.

Provinces across the country have been calling for the federal government to reform the countrys bail system to protect communities by keeping repeat violent offenders off of the streets.

Federal Justice Minister David Lametti has committed to moving forward on reforms that would update the bail system.

He has not settled on a specific timeline for introducing reforms but has expressed hope that he can do so before the end of the spring session, which is scheduled to wrap up in late June.

By Brittany Hobson
Microsoft Confirms End of Windows 10: Heres When

Microsoft announced the end of Windows 10, the worlds most popular operating system, and said the current version will be the last.

In a client roadmap update, Microsoft said that the current version of Windows 10, 22H2, which was released in October 2022, is the final feature update. Security updates and support will still be provided for Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education versions until Oct. 14, 2025.

We highly encourage you to transition to Windows 11 now as there wont be any additional Windows 10 feature updates, the company wrote last week. If you and/or your organization must remain on Windows 10 for now, please update to Windows 10, version 22H2 to continue receiving monthly security update releases through October 14, 2025.

A number of Windows users, however, wont be able to upgrade their computers. A number of older PCs and laptops arent able to run Windows 11 due to support for the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 that was introduced several years ago.

The Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) is a chip that is either integrated into your PCs motherboard or added separately into the CPU, David Weston, Microsoft vice president of enterprise and OS security, said in 2021. Its purpose is to protect encryption keys, user credentials, and other sensitive data behind a hardware barrier so that malware and attackers cant access or tamper with that data.

Windows 10 still accounts for about 70 percent of the Windows market share, according to Statcounter, while Windows 11 has just 20 percent. It means that Microsofts decision will impact potentially hundreds of millions of Windows users worldwide.

In the comments section of Microsofts announcement last week, a large number of commenters expressed displeasure with Microsofts decision. Some criticized Windows 11s features, while others claimed that Microsoft was engaging in forced obsolescence by ending support for Windows 10.

The looming 2025 update cutoff means that PCs that dont meet the Windows 11 system requirements will no longer be able to get officially supported Windows security updates. Most of those systems will be at least seven or eight years old at that point, which is old but not past the point of usefulness for many devices; users will either need to take their chances with an unsupported Windows 11 install or an alternate operating system like ChromeOS Flex or some other Linux version, explained Ars Technica.

Meanwhile, Microsoft posted a separate advisory that all Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) releases designed for Windows 10 devices will continue to get updates beyond the Oct. 25, 2025 cutoff date. Existing LTSC releases will continue to receive updates beyond that date based on their specific lifecycles, it said.
RAMALLAH, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed, and eight others were injured on Monday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a press statement.

Jbril Allad'aa, 17, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the refugee camp south of the city, the statement noted.

Three of the injured were in serious conditions, and five of them were moderately injured, the statement said, without adding more details.

Clashes broke out between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers after they stormed the refugee camp and surrounded several homes there, Palestinian eyewitnesses said.

Two members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement were arrested, the eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli authorities are yet to comment on the incident. Israel media reported that Israeli soldiers conducted a security operation at the refugee camp and detained two Palestinians.

The Israeli army has carried out daily raids on Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps in the past few months, mainly in the northern West Bank, aiming to arrest Palestinian militants wanted by Israeli security forces.

According to official Palestinian figures, the tension between Israelis and the Palestinians has killed nearly 100 Palestinians since January. Meanwhile, Israeli sources said that 19 Israelis were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank. 
Missing Airplane Found in Beverly Crest, Pilot Dead at the Scene

LOS ANGELESThe pilot and sole occupant of a small, single-engine airplane was found dead on a steep hillside above a home on the 3000 block of Beverly Glen Circle in Beverly Crest hours after the aircraft was reported missing April 29, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

No other deaths or injuries were reported.

At 8:09 p.m. Saturday federal air traffic controllers asked the fire department to check a large swath of mountainous territory near Stone Canyon Road and Mulholland Drive, just east of the San Diego Freeway, after they lost radar contact with the airplane, fire officials said.

The aircraft was reportedly traveling between the Santa Monica and Van Nuys airports, the fire department said.

There were no 9-1-1 calls reporting any related sights or sounds, a department statement said. LAFD helicopters and ground crews searched the large fog-shrouded region for nearly an hour before an LAFD helicopter localized a signal from an aircraft Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon in the vicinity [believed within a quarter-mile] of Beverly Glen Terrace and Beverly Glen Boulevard.

Dense fog and steep terrain prolonged the search, reducing visibility to about 50 feet, witnesses said. Crews finally reported finding the aircraft at 11:20 p.m. Saturday.

More than four dozen LAFD ground personnel systematically searched through the thick ground-level fog and rugged terrain north of Mulholland Drive in the Beverly Crest area where the aircrafts emergency beacon was observed, the department said.

A pair of LAFD helicopters provided command support in the foggy skies.

The tireless search by LAFD ground crews has located the single-engine airplane upon a steep hillside that includes a large water tank [not damaged], above a home, LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said. LAFD responders have discovered one person deceased at the scene. No other persons were believed aboard.

Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers at the Van Nuys, Burbank Airport, and Los Angeles International Airports, as well as the United States Air Force and the pilots cellular telephone carrier all assisted in locating the airplane.

The pilots name has not been released.
New Mexico Mother Sentenced for Tossing Baby in Trash Bin

A New Mexico teenage mother was sentenced Monday to a mandatory 18 years in prison for tossing her newborn son into a trash bin behind a shopping center, but a state district judge cited mental health concerns and the defendants age in suspending two years of the punishment.

Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of child abuse involving great bodily harm following a days-long trial last month in which her public defender argued her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role.

Judge William Shoobridge told Avila that had it not been for luck and the grace of God he would have been deliberating a sentence in a murder case as there was a high probability the child would have died had it not been found that winter day in Hobbs, near the Texas border.

Avila told the judge she wants to learn how to deal with stress and anxiety and said she regrets missing out on her sons first milestones.

I regret his first hours of life were traumatic, and I regret that he will always have this in the back of his head and will think I do not love him because thats what hell read and hear, she said. But thats not true at all. I do love him. I truly do.

Avila was arrested in January 2022.

Police said a group of people were looking through the trash bin when they found the baby and tried to keep the boy warm until police and paramedics arrived. Investigators used surveillance video to identify a car suspected of being involved, which led them to Avila.

Public defender Ibukun Adepoju disputed that Avila made a premeditated attempt to kill her baby. Abepoju said while Avilas actions were wrong, they were the result of her bipolar disorder and that she was disassociated and detached from her feelings.

Avilas case also spurred new conversations in New Mexico communities and among legislators about the states safe haven law, which allows parents to leave a baby younger than 90 days at a safe location without criminal consequences.

Such laws first began to pass in state legislatures in the early 2000s in response to reports of baby killings and abandonments.

New Mexico lawmakers in 2022 approved a bill to expand the states Safe Haven Program and provide funds to build one baby box for every county where an infant can be left.

Boxes have been installed in several other states. Florida is the latest to consider legislation that would allow for the boxes.

By Susan Montoya Bryan
One Killed When Plane Slams Into Hillside in LA Neighborhood

National Transportation Safety Board investigators inspect a downed plane on a steep hill above a home on Beverly Glen Circle in Los Angeles on April 30, 2023. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

LOS ANGELESOne person was killed when a single-engine plane slammed into a grassy hillside above homes in a Los Angeles neighborhood amid dense fog, authorities said.

The Cessna C172 crashed around 8:45 p.m. Saturday on the citys west side, about 8 miles southeast of Van Nuys Airport, the Los Angeles Fire Department and Federal Aviation Administration said.

Joubin Solemani was at home with his family in the upscale Beverly Crest area when they all heard a loud crash.

We thought it might be a car crash. But we looked outside and didnt see anything. We didnt know what the heck it was, Solemani said Sunday. Then search-and-rescue showed up and were all over the hillside.

After searching for several hours in darkness and thick ground level fog, crews found the crash site and one person dead in the wreckage, the fire department said in a statement. The pilot was the planes lone occupant, the FAA said.

When the sun came up Sunday, Solemani said he could see the plane a few hundred feet above his property in the Santa Monica Mountains. Its totally mangled, he told The Associated Press.

The pilot was not immediately identified. Fire department personnel recovered the body Sunday afternoon.

The plane avoided hitting power lines and a large water tank and, officials said, there was minimal fire.

An air traffic controller initially reported the plane as missing after losing radar contact with the aircraft while it was en route to Van Nuys Airport, the fire department said in an alert shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday.

The flight originated at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, California, near Palm Springs, according to the aircraft tracking website FlightAware.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
Oregon Secretary of State Shares Details of Lucrative Side Job with Cannabis Company

Republicans Demand Resignation or Impeachment

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is under fire for moonlighting as a cannabis consultant for a company run by Democratic donors while her office was auditing the industry. (Courtesy of Oregon Secretary of States office.)

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan on May 1 released details about the compensation she received and was promised for a consulting contract she took with a troubled cannabis company.

Under the contract, Fagan was paid $10,000 a month to help an affiliate of pot chain La Mota expand into other states.

That compensation was far more than the $77,000 annual salary, or about $6,420 per month, she receives as the Secretary of State.

Still, Fagan described her time spent moonlighting as minimal.

Fagan was further promised a $30,000 bonus for each license she helped the chains owners, Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, obtain in states outside of Oregon and New Mexico, according to a statement released by her office on Monday.

Mitchell has also donated $45,000 to Fagans political action committee.

Apology for a Scandal

A Democrat who ran on a platform of rebuilding trust in government, Fagan has been under fire since news broke on April 27 that she had been moonlighting as a cannabis industry consultant while her office was conducting an audit that proved favorable to that industry.

The results of the audit essentially call to loosen regulation of the cannabis industry and encourage the state to provide financial assistance to help it grow.

But the state was apparently already going easy on La Mota, which was expanding despite owing millions in federal income and state cannabis taxes and facing numerous lawsuits and workplace complaints.

Fagan apologized in a written statement on Monday morning, explaining that she had terminated the lucrative contract.

I owe the people of Oregon an apology, Fagan said in the emailed statement. I exercised poor judgment by contracting with a company that is owned by my significant political donors and is regulated by an agency that was under audit by my Audits Division. I am sorry for harming the trust that Ive worked so hard to build with you over the last few years, and I will spend the next two years working hard to rebuild it.

Hours after the written statement, Fagan held a 30-minute news conference during which she said she faithfully followed Oregons ethics rules and laws, though she admits showing poor judgment in the process.

I am not here today to defend my rule following, Fagan said during the Zoom session. Im here today to own that theres a difference between following all the rules and doing nothing wrong.

She claimed that financial challenges following a divorce led her to seek supplemental income by teaching a class at Willamette University Law School and working as an independent consultant with Veriede Holding, an affiliate of La Mota.

Though she is an attorney, Fagan is not currently practicing, and has no experience in the cannabis industry.



As secretary of state, Fagan is responsible for ensuring the states election integrity as well as auditing state agencies.

Republicans Say Fagan Must Go

Upon learning of Fagans contract with La Mota late last week, state Republican leaders on April 28 accused the secretary of ethics violations and called on her to resign.

On May 1, those same legislators advanced a Constitutional amendment to establish an impeachment procedure for statewide elected officials.

Oregon is currently the only state in the nation without such a procedure.

Recent events illustrate, yet again, the importance of having an impeachment procedure on the books as a check against negligence and abuse of power by public officials, wrote State Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, a Republican.

While I recognize that investigations need time to play out, members of both parties have already expressed their dismay and concern over the emerging situation with Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and the impact this is having on public trust. The Legislature must have the ability to remove a statewide elected official when necessary.

Regardless of how ongoing events play out, its clear that Oregon should join the other 49 states by establishing an impeachment procedure, Boshart Davis added.

Previous attempts to establish such a procedure received bipartisan support, with now Gov. Tina Kotek and U.S. Congresswoman Val Hoyle, both Democrats, voting in favor.

Governor Calls for Investigation

On Friday, Kotek called for the Oregon Government Commission to investigate Fagans actions and for the Oregon Department of Justice to look into a recent audit of cannabis industry regulations.

I look forward to the findings of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission because they will confirm that I followed Oregon ethics rules and laws, Fagan responded. I am also eager for the Department of Justices review of the OLCC (Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission) audit because the review will verify that hard-working auditors in the Oregon Audits Division conducted their work with independence and integrity.

My mission as Secretary of State continues to be to build trust. The first step to building trust is admitting that I broke it. Ill spend the next two years rebuilding your trust in me and that starts today with releasing the contract that will be reviewed by the Government Ethics Commission.
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan Under Fire for Alleged Ethics Violations

Gov. Tina Kotek calls for investigation, Republicans demand Fagan resign

Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is under fire since news broke on April 27 that she had been moonlighting as a cannabis industry consultant while her office was conducting an audit that proved favorable to that industry.

The audit results essentially call to loosen regulation of the cannabis industry and encourage the state to provide financial assistance to help it grow.

Fagan claims she recused herself from the audit of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) before taking the contract. However, the recusal allegedly occurred after the audit was substantially finished.

The issue comes on the heels of two other controversies involving Fagan, including an investigation into $500,000 in campaign contributions from an entity connected with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to the Democrat Party of Oregonwith some of those funds going to the campaigns of Gov. Tina Kotek and Faganand another scandal related to OLCC, which Fagan oversees.

DOJ and Ethics Commission Investigate

According to an April 27 report in Willamette Week, a Portland-based newspaper, Fagan worked as a contract consultant to Veriede Holding LLC, an Oregon affiliate of the cannabis chain La Mota.

The owners of the company, Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, have millions in unpaid federal and state taxes and have been sued repeatedly by vendors for not paying their bills, the paper reported.

Meanwhile, they donated generously to Democrat candidates and threw lavish campaign fundraisers for Fagan and Kotek in 2022.

The breaking news brought a swift reaction.

Oregon Gov. Kotek immediately called for two investigationsone by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission into Fagans actions and another by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into the newly released audit.

Fagen quickly responded with a statement to the media.

I welcome Gov. Koteks request to DOJ to review the audit because it will simply highlight the professional work of Oregons auditors, Fagans statement said. I am relieved that the governor has asked [the] DOJ and the Government Ethics Commission to engage in fact-finding because the facts will restore trust in our audits division and in me as your Secretary of State.

But on April 28, Fagan issued a second statement through her office saying she was contracted by the Oregon-based cannabis company to review the landscape for expanding their operations outside of Oregon.

The nature of the contract and the work does not create a conflict of interest under Oregon law or ethics rules, Fagan wrote. As soon as I contemplated the contract and learned that recusal was an option, I recused myself from my only work as a public official that touches the cannabis industry, the OLCC audit.

Recusal is not an option for legislators, and Kotek said the situation deserved scrutiny.

Its critical that Oregonians trust their government, Kotek said in a statement.

Widespread Condemnation

Democrat legislators are concerned.

These allegations are bad. Its difficult to see them any other way, said House Speaker Dan Rayfield. It has obviously impacted the credibility of the secretary of states audits.

Republican leaders, who were already calling for investigations into an unrelated OLCC scandal, are calling on Fagan to resign.

The Secretary of State oversees audits for the State of Oregon. In no way could the top elected official ethically work a side gig for a company engaged in the industry in which the Secretary is responsible for auditing and regulating, wrote Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp and House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson in a joint statement issued April 28.

She must resign, the letter said.

This appears to be an ethics violation, and if it isnt, then Oregons ethics laws are broken. An elected official cannot take funds for personal use from someone they regulate.

We have been continually calling for oversight into the OLCC and this industry. And yet, another turn of government misuse is apparent today, added Breese-Iverson.

For the past three months, state Republican and Independent congressional leaders have been urging the governor to launch independent, nonpartisan investigations into the OLCC for potential favorable treatment for land acquisitions, allegations of rare liquor distribution, and the process of granting retail licenses.

The OLCC distributes all liquor sold within the state and represents Oregons third-largest source of revenue after income taxes and the lottery.

According to an internal agency investigation last year, five top OLCC managers used their positions to reserve bottles of hard-to-find bourbons, which they purchased for themselves or saved for others.

The Oregon Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the matter.

Kotek said that the DOJs investigations would suffice. Republicans disagree.

Washington legislators will hold their first Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting on the matter on Thursday, May 4.

Meanwhile, Democrats are distancing themselves from La Mota, which contributed more than $200,000 in recent years to top Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Val Hoyles (D-Ore.) congressional campaign.

Kotek is pledging to give $75,000 to the Oregon Food Bankapproximating La Motas contribution to her gubernatorial campaign.

State Treasurer Tobias Read made a $2,000 donation to the Portland Community College Foundation, purging La Motas July 2021 contribution to his failed gubernatorial campaign.

Senate President Rob Wagner pledged $12,500 to Habitat for Humanity to offset earlier contributions from La Mota.
Paraguays Conservatives Score Big Election Win, Defusing Taiwan Fears

Paraguayan presidential candidate Santiago Pena from the ruling Colorado Party speaks at the party headquarters as he and his running mate Pedro Alliana lead Paraguay's presidential race, according to early results, in Asuncion, Paraguay, on April 30, 2023. (Agustin Marcarian/Reuters)

ASUNCION, ParaguayParaguayan conservative economist Santiago Pena, 44, won the countrys presidential election on April 30, tightening the ruling Colorado Partys political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguays long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7 percent of the vote with 99.9 percent of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching the countrys allegiance to China.

Paraguays main opposition presidential candidate and leader of the center-left Concertacion Nacional coalition Efrain Alegre, gestures after voting during elections, in Lambare, Paraguay, on April 30, 2023. Cesar Olmedo/Reuters)

Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory, he said in a speech.

Alegre acknowledged the result. Current President Mario Abdo congratulated Pena as president-elect, as did the leaders of Brazil and Argentina.

Colorado and right-wing party candidates also performed strongly in congressional elections and governor races, with some provinces recording a historic Colorado majority over opposition rivals.

The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguays farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit, and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favor of China and its huge markets.

We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party, he said in his victory speech, calling for unity and consensus.

It also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has ruled for all but five of the past 75 years and has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations.

Once a Colorado always a Colorado, said Eugenio Senturion, 65, as he voted on April 30 at his local polling station in the area of Jara, Asuncion.

Dry weather helped voter turn out with lines to cast ballots long after polling stations were formally meant to close at 4 p.m. local time, analysts said.

All day weve observed high levels of participation, an observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission said.

Nothing Will Change

Not all voters were happy, however, reflected in a larger-than-expected share for populist Paraguayo Cubas, who had almost 23 percent of the vote in third place, reflecting wider support for anti-establishment candidates around Latin America.

Im worried about crime. All the candidates are the same for me, said 34-year-old mother of three Maria Jose Rodas as a busload of voters arrived at the inner-city polling station. Nothing will change.

At the Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez school in the capital Asuncion, Ramona Oddone was one of the first in line to cast her ballot and was hopeful for a new direction.

Look at all the young people taking partthat shows people want change, the 79-year-old retired schoolteacher told Reuters. They need jobs, and I need a better pension.

The Colorado Party has dominated politics in the landlocked South American country since the 1950s. But its popularity has been hit by a slowing economy and graft allegations.

The build-up to the election has been dominated by the economy, corruption allegations, and the candidates views on Taiwan. Paraguay is one of only 13 nations to maintain formal diplomatic ties with the democratically governed island that China views as its territory.

Taiwans ambassador in Asuncion offered his congratulations to Pena on behalf of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwans Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Based on shared values such as democracy and freedom and the traditional friendship between the two countries, our country will continue to deepen cooperation and exchanges with the new government of Paraguay, the ministry stated.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (R) and visiting Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez arrive at the welcome ceremony in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 16, 2023. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Alegre had criticized those ties, which have made it hard to sell soy and beef to China, a major global buyer. Pena has said that he would maintain ties with Taiwan.

Alegre on April 30 warned of reports of voter obstruction in the north of the country and said he wouldnt give in to attempts to prevent citizen participation.

Fiorella Moreno, 23, who sells ice cream, felt that none of the candidates offered hope to her generation.

I didnt want to vote, I feel everything is in decline, she said. But not voting makes me part of the problem.

By Lucinda Elliott & Daniela Desantis
Republicans Could End Up Defeating GOP-Led Parental Rights Bill in New Hampshire

Kindsey Nelson (L) and Monica Yatooma at a parental rights meeting in St. Clair Shores, Mich., on Oct. 14, 2022. (Courtesy of Monica Yatooma)

The resignation of a Republican from the divided New Hampshire House of Representatives could mean a potential defeat for a parental bill of rights that has drawn national attention.

State Rep. Benjamin Bartlett (R) stepped down on April 26, citing health issues.

Democrat Stacie-Marie Laughton resigned in December due to a conviction for stalking, and Democrat Joshua Adjutant resigned due to a work-related injury. There was a fourth open seat, but a special election was held in February, resulting in the election of Democrat Chuck Grassie.

That leaves the 400-seat chamber with 200 Republicans and 196 Democrats.

However, there are at least three Republicans known to be opposed to the parental bill of rights proposal, which is aimed at protecting parental involvement in transgender activities in public schools.

On April 26, Rep. Dave Testerman, a Republican whose wife, Karen Testerman, has made two unsuccessful bids for governor, told The Epoch Times that hes on the fence about voting in favor of the bill.

Im undecided on how Im going to vote, he said.

Under the proposal, SB 272, parents would have the right to be notified about any gender-changing activities involving their children and to halt the activities.

The bill includes provisions for the prosecution of any school officials who violate the notification requirements.

On April 25, the House Education Committee voted 1010 on the bill, advancing it to a vote on the House floor. The bill passed the state Senate in March.

Republican Rep. Mike Belcher, who was in favor of passing the bill, wrote on Twitter that he almost didnt make it to the hearing in time because, the night before, someone had loosened the lug nuts on the wheels of his car.

He posted video footage that appears to show a car pulling up to his home during the previous night. The lighting is poor, however, and trees are obscuring the car.

Belcher claimed on Twitter that he knows of at least two other Republicans who have recently experienced similar vandalism.

If I were to be absent for whatever reason, a 109 vote would result in a recommendation of inexpedient to legislate, and likely kill the bill on the floor, Belcher wrote, adding that the coincidences are stacking up.

Testerman, recognizing that he could potentially serve as the swing vote on the bill, told The Epoch Times he agrees that the schools and the teachers unions are too interested in teaching social issues and not fundamental academics. But he doesnt believe the answer is government intervention.

He said he would rather see more support for homeschooling and increased funding to the New Hampshire Education Fund, which provides funds private school tuition

The Testermans recently came under fire from the conservative think tank, Cornerstone Action, that Karen Testerman founded, for rallying against the bill that supporters say promotes recognizing biological sex and calls for mandates against gender transition ideology.

When the chips are down and real consequences are on the line, Testerman will collude with Democrats to enforce gender ideology on girls locker rooms, Cornerstone Action wrote in a March 23 blog post.

Karen Testerman is no longer involved with the organization. Dave Testerman voted against all the parental rights introduct last year, except for HB 10, a bill similar to Senate Bill 272. HB 10 was narrowly defeated by 190 to 194 vote.

Four other Republican House members did not vote for HB 10. One of them, Travis OHara, told The Epoch Times on April 27 that he will definitely be voting in favor of SB 272 and that the only reason he voted against HB 10 is because it called for criminal prosecution of school officials who violated the bill instead of imposing civil fines first, as outlined in SB 272.

I didnt want to be throwing teachers in jail, OHara said. I want to start off with civil action.

Dan Wolf, who also voted against HB 10, told The Epoch Times he had made up his mind about which way he would vote on SB 272, but wouldnt say what that decision was.

The other two lawmakers, Mark Proulx and Mike Bordes, did not respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

A fifth Republican, Joe Guthrie, was absent from the vote. He also did not respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

A recent hearing on SB 272 drew more than 200 supporters including Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old who has gained national fame for talking about her regrets of undergoing gender reassignment surgeries in an attempt to make her female body appear more like that of a male.

While many LGBTQ groups have expressed strong opposition to the New Hampshire bill, others such as Gays Against Groomers have called upon a need for a parental rights bills to stop what they called secret grooming by schools.

Recently, Republican state Sen. Dan Innis, who is gay, told The Epoch Times that he fully supports the bill, calling it a pro-family, pro-children bill and not anti-trans as opponents have claimed.

It was great to visit with Jack Heath this morning on @thepulseofnh regarding Senate Bill 272. #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/oBiSyiPQGl  Dan Innis, Ph.D. (@daninnis) March 15, 2023

Teachers unions across the country have aggressively rallied against similar parental rights bills. In New Hampshire, the American Federation of Teachers called the bill dangerous.

This bill has very little to do with actually helping students or parents. Instead, it would force schools to divert their limited resources from teaching and supporting kids, into spying, reporting on, and in some cases, actually endangering children who are just trying to be themselves and live their lives in peace, said union President Debrah Howes at a recent hearing on the bill.

Howes called the bill a result of performance politics and expressed fear that parental rights bills will drive away good teachers and staff from public schools.

For the sake of their well-being, and perhaps their very survival, we also need for students to know that they can turn to their teachers or school staff to be a trusted adultespecially if they dont have one in their home, Howes said.

Melissa Blasek, director of Rebuild NH, a group that has endorsed the bill and publicly called out Republican lawmakers who havent supported parental rights legislation, told The Epoch Times that she still remains optimistic the states parental rights bill will pass, especially because it has drawn overwhelming bipartisan support.

I was really impressed by the turnout at the rally, she said, noting that a lot of supporters of the bill are liberals. Theyre not hardline conservatives by any stretch of the imagination, but they are parents who [have] had it with the government takeover of their kids.

Last year, a similar parental rights bill to SB 272 failed after 14 Republicans voted against it.

The people who voted to defend groomers in the bill that failed, who are intentionally corrupting the innocent minds of our children, have betrayed every family in the state and defied their oath of office to defend the Constitution, under God, said Andrew Manuse, chairman of Rebuild NH, in a statement.

The group, Rebuilt NH, called the vote against the parental rights bill by Republicans a shocking nod to the left.
Results Are in for Ontarios Law Society Elections, a Battle Over Woke Ideology

The Law Society of Ontarios leadership election this year had a slate of candidates campaigning against woke policies. The election results were announced May 1, and this slatecalled FullStoplost to the opposing Good Governance Coalition.

Good Governance candidates took all 40 of the seats. In the last election, in 2019, the FullStop slate had won 22 of the 40 seats.

Despite their defeat this year, the FullStop team says they received more votes than in 2019. Congratulations to the new benchers, FullStop wrote on Twitter. Benchers are elected Law Society of Ontario (LSO) members who serve on the societys decision-making body.

To our voters: thank you for your support.  Keep your civic engagement highthese pushback efforts are critically important, even if individual battles are lost.

Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Principles

The FullStop slate first formed to oppose an LSO requirement that all lawyers officially commit to equity, inclusion, and diversity principles. The LSO required this statement of principles (SOP) as a condition of licensing starting in December 2016. The FullStop slate called itself StopSOP at the time.

The Statement of Principles was unconscionable, Ottawa lawyer Stephane Serafin, a FullStop candidate, told The Epoch Times via email in March. It significantly overstepped the mandate of the Law Society by requiring lawyers to affirm a certain set of beliefs instead of simply requiring external compliance with the law.

The SOP was one of 13 items the Law Society enacted in 2016 focused on equity. One of the other items, for example, was a requirement that law firms of a certain size create supports for racialized lawyers. Another item changed the Law Societys code of professional conduct to include an obligation to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Serafin said hes concerned about Good Governance candidates having the power to discipline members for failing to comply with woke ideology.

StopSOP candidates reversed these measures following their election success in 2019. Serafin expects the Good Governance Coalition to reinstate these initiatives in some form, though the coalition has said it will not revive the SOP itself.

Reactions to Election Results

The Good Governance Coalitions statement following its win on May 1 said, We formed the Coalition to give paralegals and lawyers a clear choice to elect Benchers who reflect our professions values, professionalism, and the professions themselves. We welcome their choice of diversity over division and look forward to serving the public interest.

Atrisha Lewis, who received the third highest number of votes, told The Epoch Times via email on May 1, The professions have rejected a vision for the Law Society that is anti-equity.

Bruce Pardy, a law professor at Queens University and part of the FullStop team, says The law society has lost its way. He said in an email to The Epoch times that its unfortunate lawyers have rejected the FullStops platform of combatting woke overreach among other problems.

But, he said, Our candidates and supporters should be proud of their courage and vision. It is not always easy to stand against the status quo, the fashionable view, or the condemnation of the establishment.

Toronto lawyer Alexander Boissonneau-Lehner, who is a member of the electorate, not a candidate, said he is concerned the trend of party politics may become a permanent feature of the bencher elections. He said via email that there are lawyers part of both groups that he admires and, In my opinion, the public interest is best served by having Benchers with diverse and even divergent perspectives on how to best regulate the profession.
Risk to Public Safety to Release Secret Chinese Police Station Information: Police

A UK police force has said it would be detrimental to public safety to release information on a so-called secret Chinese police station.

The Epoch Times can reveal that Police Scotland is refusing to reveal details of investigations or incidents attended by officers at a Glasgow city centre restaurant identified by a human rights group as an overseas Chinese police bureau.

In a report released last year, Safeguard Defenders said the Sauchiehall Street premises was one of a number of Fuzhou and Qingtian public security bureaus operating in the UK.

The nongovernmental organisationwhich identified over 100 operating throughout the globeclaimed the centres are intended to leverage Chinese citizens into returning to China, or to prevent dissenters from speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

Two other hubs in London were also identified as overseas police bases for the Beijing regime.

The Metropolitan Police said it would neither confirm or deny it held any information on incidents or investigations surrounding both premises.

In a lengthy refusal notice to provide information to The Epoch Times under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, Police Scotland said that while it did hold information on the Glasgow city premises, it would not be releasing those details.

Claiming an exemption under Section 39 of Health, Safety and the Environment of the Act, police said disclosure would, or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of an individual.

It added: If, as described above, a licence holder and members of their staff fail to report crimes or offences which happen on or near to their premise, then, as stated, many crimes would go unreported.

The safety of the customers within the establishment, the staff, and also the wider community would then be compromised.

Police Scotland cannot release information that would be detrimental to the safety of the public.

Public Interest Test

Police Scotland also claimed it was exempt from releasing the information under law enforcement grounds.

If Police Scotland were to release statistics on the frequency of incidents, this may have a detrimental impact on specific premises, the FOI response stated.

In a third reason for declining The Epoch Times request, the police force said disclosing the information may result in licence holders/staff failing to contact the police when crimes happen in or near to their premises.

It added: Police Scotland relies on the cooperation of the license holders and their staff to report any relevant matters of concern, or any crimes they witness to the service without delay. If we were to release these statistics then it would follow that license holders, in general, would again be reluctant to inform the police of offences which occur within or near to their premises, seek advice in relation to their premises or encourage the police to visit.

Police Scotland said that this could result in crimes going unreported.

This would harm both the police service, as it would be harder to detect and solve crime and would also harm the wider community, as crimes within or near to licensed premises would go undetected, increasing the risk to the community as a whole from crime.

Claiming to have balanced the refusal to provide the information with the public interest test, Police Scotland added: It can be argued that accountability, public awareness and public participation would favour disclosure.

That said, the applicability of the above exemptions, the interest of third parties, the efficient and effective conduct of the service, the flow of information to the service and the overall safety of the wider community clearly favour non-disclosure of the information.

The Epoch Times has requested an internal review of Police Scotlands decision.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, speaks during a debate on the Procurement Bill in Parliament, Westminster, London, on Jan. 9, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Transnational Repression

The Metropolitan Police was also asked for similar information on premises identified by the human rights NGO in the Watford Way area of northwest London, and the High Street area of Croydon.

In response, the police force said it would neither confirm or deny it held information on incidents attended by officers or investigations carried out by police under data protection grounds.

The FOI response stated, To confirm or deny whether personal information exists in response to your request could publicly reveal information about an individual or individuals, thereby breaching the right to privacy afforded to persons under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

The Epoch Times has again made a request for an internal review of the police forces FOI refusal.

In November, the Home Office confirmed that British police had launched an investigation into the reports of three unofficial Chinese police stations.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat told MPs that the government was also assessing the reports, as well as other actions by Chinese officials that are incompatible with diplomatic status.

Speaking to Parliament in April, Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the security services had previously warned government about the activities of the illegal bureaus.

We know that they are bringing Chinese dissidents in, confronting them with videos of their families, and threatening their families in front of them if they do not cooperate, leave, and go back to China.

We know that. The security services have warned the government about it.

The question today is this: why in heavens name have we not acted, alongside the Americans and even the Dutch, to shut those stations down and kick those people out of the country?

MP Alicia Kearns said she was aware of four illegal police stations operating in the country including one in Belfast missing from much of the reporting.

There is no question that when we are vulnerable at home to Chinese transnational repression, we are weaker on the world stage, she said.
RNCs Ronna McDaniel Reacts to Trumps Threat to Skip Debates

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, in Dana Point, Calif., on Jan. 27, 2023. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

The head of the Republican National Committee (RNC) says former President Donald Trump is free to not participate in the 2024 presidential debates.

Trump recently suggested he would skip the primary debates in part because polls suggest he has a large lead over other declared Republican candidates.

Thats his choice. And every candidate is going to make that calculation, Ronna McDaniel, head of the RNC, told Fox News Sunday.

What I think the American people want to see is these candidates; they want to see what theyre articulating, and especially, what is your plan to take us out of the misery of Joe Biden, she said.

Trump had also written that he wasnt consulted about the two debates the RNC has announced.

When youre leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA-hating anchors asking the questions, why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.

RNC officials have been in touch with the campaigns of all Republican candidates and some GOP members who are considering running, according to McDaniel.

Ive talked to President Trump. Dave Bossie, whos running the debate committees, talked and met with all the candidates. Yes, were talking with them all the time, McDaniel said.

But McDaniel acknowledged that candidates werent being asked to weigh in on certain details.

Were not asking them where should we have it, who should be the moderatorsthat would be inappropriate, she said.

An RNC source told The Epoch Times that the organizations officials have been communicating about details such as debate formats and that the RNC hasnt released the format for either debate yet because its waiting to hear back from some of the campaigns.

One of the debates is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hosted by Fox News, its slated to be held in August. The other debate is set to happen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. No date or host has been listed for the second debate as of yet.

Trump has noted that Fred Ryan, chair of the Reagan Library, is also the publisher of The Washington Post.

Besides Trump, the field of Republican candidates includes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is running for another term, and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and writer Marianne Williamson have announced their campaigns.

John Haughey contributed to this report.
A farmer drives a transplanter to transplant rice seedlings in farmland in Yijianhe Village of Yuhu District, Xiangtan City, central China's Hunan Province, April 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo)

A team of Chinese experts is imparting China's rice-growing technology in the Dominican Republic to help the country improve the yield and quality of rice.

SANTO DOMINGO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A team of Chinese experts is imparting China's rice-growing technology in the Dominican Republic to help the country improve the yield and quality of rice.

Since October, the three-member team has been experimenting on 1.3 hectares of land provided by the Dominican National Rice Training Center in Banao, a town some 80 km northeast of the capital Santo Domingo.

The initiative is part of a cooperation project between the department of agriculture and rural affairs of central China's Hunan province and the Dominican Agriculture Ministry's department of international cooperation.

"We have selected five local varieties of rice for field cultivation, and those varieties have entered the binding and uprooting stage," Chinese agricultural expert Yu Yunxiang told Xinhua.

The resulting crop, said Yu, will be studied to analyze the state of rice output and growth in a tropical country with abundant rainfall, heat, flat terrain and fertile soil, which are favorable natural conditions for rice-growing with great production potential.

Meanwhile, high temperatures and humidity make crops prone to pests and diseases, so more observation and research into potential solutions are needed, he added.

"Starting in June, we are going to select from 18 Chinese hybrid rice varieties, five high-yield, high-quality and stress-resistant ones that will be used for demonstration in two paddy fields of about 6.6 hectares," said Yu.

The seeds to be planted in these fields were specially brought from Hunan, the cradle of Chinese hybrid rice and one of the first Chinese provinces to develop cooperation projects with the Dominican Republic after diplomatic relations were established on May 1, 2018.

Agricultural machinery and equipment from China will also be used, along with planting technology that should help the country improve its level of mechanized production, and prevent and control diseases and pests that harm agricultural production.

"We expect the average yield of demo varieties to increase by 25 percent compared to local varieties," Yu said.

Agricultural cooperation is expected to go beyond rice to include premium Chinese vegetables to be planted in other parts of the Dominican Republic.

The goal is to promote cultivation techniques for these high-yield vegetables in greenhouses to raise local production levels and help the Caribbean country earn more foreign revenue by exporting agricultural goods.

"We are optimistic about cooperation because the prospects are very good," Yu said.

Julio Cesar Lopez, an experienced agronomist at the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research, said China has outstanding experience in growing rice and the Dominican Republic aims to absorb as much of this knowledge as possible "so that our producers make progress."

"We want to combine the efforts of a culture like China, which has been consuming and producing rice for thousands of years, with what we have to get the best out of it," Lopez said.

The Caribbean country is just taking its first steps in cultivating hybrid rice because producing seeds is hard work, he said.

This initiative also hopes to reduce production costs as much as possible so Dominican producers can expand their profit margins delivering better rice to the market, he added.

The Dominican Republic is self-sufficient in rice production, with an average annual output of approximately 600,000 tons produced by some 300,000 farmers.
Saudi-Iran Deal Was Secured Due to Personal Intervention From Chinas Xi: Senior Chinese Diplomat

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping reportedly played an active role in persuading the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran to resolve diplomatic relations.

According to a high-ranking Chinese diplomat, Xi took the initiative to broker the deal between the two Middle Eastern countries.

Hong Kong-based media South China Morning Post reported on April 30 that Wang Di, the director of the Chinese foreign ministrys Department of West Asian and North African Affairs, indicated in an interview with CCP mouthpiece Peoples Daily that China was prepared to act as a significant mediator in the region.

Wang made a veiled criticism of certain major nations outside the region, suggesting that their pursuit of self-interest has led to persistent instability in the Middle East. However, he refrained from explicitly naming the United States as one of these countries.

In 2016, Riyadh severed its diplomatic ties with Tehran in the wake of Iranian protesters attacking Saudi diplomatic missions following the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. This event was one of many flashpoints between the two historic adversaries.

In early April, the top diplomats of Saudi Arabia and Iran visited Beijing to conclude an agreement to reopen their embassies, resume direct flights between the two nations, and reinstate security and trade agreements. This development highlights the Chinese regimes growing global influence and its aspirations to be more than a regional power.

Saudi Arabia, the worlds second-largest oil producer, boasts a daily production capacity of 10 million to 12 million barrels of oil. Additionally, the country is home to over 26 billion barrels of oil, making it the worlds second-largest owner of oil reserves. These numbers reflect the countrys significant role in global oil markets and underscore its importance as a critical player in the energy industry.

With a daily purchase of more than 10 million barrels of oil, China is the worlds largest oil importer and the main oil buyer from Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a result, it stands to gain the most from stability in the Middle East energy market.

Chinas good relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia have helped it bring the two countries to an agreement on resuming their diplomatic ties. This agreement has cleared the way for Beijing to expand its diplomacy in the Middle East and take on a leading role in resolving other regional tensions, such as in Yemen and Syria.

Aryeh Lightstone, former special envoy for the Abraham Accords and senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador to Israel, told China in Focus on NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, that Between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and their relationship with Russia right now, China has a very strong hold on energy supply for the near and not so near future  and because China put themselves in a power position with Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, China is guaranteeing itself the ability to fuel literally its future expansion while putting themselves in a position to cut off their challengers or enemies, even like the United States of America, from being able to have the fuel and the energy that we may need.

The CCP Is Not Reliable

Critics of the Islamic Republic, both inside and outside of Iran, believe the Chinese regime lacks transparency in its dealings with Iran and is intervening in this matter. They also argue that Beijings ambiguous agreements with the Islamic Republic are unreliable, stating that diplomatic and economic relations with China are untrustworthy.

During an interview with the Persian language edition of The Epoch Times, Bijan Kian, a former political figure and Iranian-American businessman, shared his views on the CCP, stating that all six resolutions against [the] Islamic Republic were confirmed by China, communist China. So its not reasonable to assume that China is going to abide by its statements or its actions are in the best interest of Iranian people, or even the Islamic Republic.

Referring to the confidential aspects of the 25-year strategic agreement between China and Iran, Kian said: I think the Chinese Communist Party knows, and the Islamic Republic knows that this is just a short-term theater for whatever gains China gives to Saudi Arabia  but as far as [the] reliability of [the] Communist Partys sincerity, I think that answer is embedded in the question. [When] was the last time that the Communist Party had sincerity, or fairness, or anything like that?  No, theyre not reliable.
Senator Backs Foreign Legion Concept to Bolster Flagging Aussie Military Recruitment

In this handout provided by the Australian Department of Defence, Commander of Joint Task Group 637.3, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Frankel (left), and Private Thomas Rixon, watch the Armidale Class Patrol Boat, HMAS Armidale, sail into the Port of Honiara, in Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands, on Dec. 1, 2021. (CPL Brandon Grey/Australian Department of Defence via Getty Images)

Australia should open up military recruitment to neighbouring Pacific Islanders, says Senator Jacqui Lambie, who says the move will help deal with ongoing recruitment problems in the defence force.

Pacific Islanders and New Zealanders  theyve been going to and from this country for a long time, Lambie told Sky News on May 1.

Theres no reason why we couldnt do like the [U.S.] marines do down here where theyre sitting on top of Australia, why we couldnt export ourselves over there, train their people as well and also have a battalion over there with Pacific Islanders over there somewhere.

Such a move, if successful, could also tie bilateral relations between Australian and Pacific Island nations even closera goal that could help isolate Beijings influence in the region further.

Lambie also said the Australian Defence Force (ADF) needed to be more flexible with its recruits, particularly those with minor criminal records.

Im one of them, I had a bit of a rap sheet, I grew up in public housing I remember them saying were that desperate for females were going to let you in, she said.

Start looking at things a little more positively. If these kids have turned their lives around, then let them have a shot, she added. They make great bloody leaders because theyve got life experience.

Her comments come as members of the federal opposition put forward ideas on how to bolster the nations stalling recruitment efforts.

Under the Morrison government, the ADF was supposed to increase its personnel numbers by around 30 percent from an active force of 59,095 to around 80,000 by 2040.

The eventual total number, including defence department staff, should be about 100,000.

Yet the ADF, like many militaries in developed countries, is struggling with the retention of existing personnel and the hiring of new staff.

On average, the ADF loses about eight to 10 percent of its personnel every year, around 5,000-6,000 individualscutting that rate alone will see the forces numbers steadily recover.

Offer Military Pathway for Prospective Migrants

Current Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said the country could consider tying the idea to permanent residency pathways, particularly given the increased migration influx expected post-pandemic lockdowns.

If someone is willing to fight and die for our country, we should take them over a $5 million [US$3.3 million] golden visa any day of the week, he told The Sydney Morning Herald in reference to the Significant Investor Visa that was used to attract wealthy Chinese migrants to the country.

Hastie added that there needed to be safeguards against potential espionage risks.

New Australians, prepared to serve and sacrifice in uniform, are the right sort of people to whom we can offer a home, he said. Countries like France famously operate a foreign legion that allows recruits a pathway to citizenship.

Meanwhile, Hasties colleague, Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan, called for greater integration between the Five Eyes partners to address personnel shortages.

If we can bring people in who have that Five Eyes clearance who can help our ADF, then this is going to help us to be able to ensure that we can defend our nation, Tehan told Sky News Australia.

Yet the implementation of such a move could have difficulties given the manpower issues experienced across the U.S., UK, New Zealand, and Canadian armed forces.
Mrs. Arboux, a lawyer, attended Shen Yun with her family at the Palais des Congres in Paris on April 26, 2023. (The Epoch Times)

PARIS, FranceOn Wednesday April 26, Mrs. Arboux, a lawyer, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with her family at the Palais des Congres in Paris.

Accompanied by two of her daughters and her granddaughter, the lawyer was touched by Shen Yuns artists: Committed, courageous people! They communicate a message through their art, Im won over! Its a complete showbecause there is the beauty of the colors, the beauty of the movements, the beauty of the message, there is everything!

This lawyer and author of the book The Spirituality of Jean-Jacques Rousseau was sensitive to the values conveyed in the show and immediately noticed the values of truth, kindness, and patience.

Thats what I was saying to my daughters earlier on: its very much in line with Christianity. Truth, goodness, patience, in those three words, there is everything, no need for anything else.

For Mrs. Arboux, the connection to the divine expressed in many of the danced narratives can be explained: In the 1960s Larousse dictionary, it is indicated that the Chinese emperors were the sons of heaven. At the beginning of the show, we can see this great white angel, this savior.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company and has a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the arts.

Aurelie Velgue, a company legal director, attended a performance with her family to discover the best of classical Chinese dance and music.

Shen Yun was very rich, very beautiful, with magnificent costumes, a lightness, a gracefulness of the dancers! said Mrs. Velgue who enjoyed Shen Yuns music, especially the solo performance of the erhu, an ancient two-stringed instrument.

Of the various story-based pieces, Mrs. Velgue said she was particularly moved by the dance narrative about the current persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in contemporary China. This Buddhist meditation discipline based on the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance has been subject to brutal persecution by the communist regime in China since 1999.

It is a relevant subject that touches us today. We understand there can be sufferingof not being able to live ones faith as one would like. That can be a source of a lot of suffering.

She added, Regardless of religions, traditional cultures are what make a peoples wealth!

In addition to the erhu soloist, the attorney also enjoyed the baritone soloist.

It was very powerful, she said, commenting on the content of the lyrics. Its important to live by them [the traditional values] in a modern society, as well as to keep these human values alive because that is what actually makes us good and caring human beings!

Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaib.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Catherine Taittinger, widow of the president of the eponymous champagne brand and former president of the Society for the Protection of Children in Reims, attended Shen Yun, in Paris, on April 27, 2023. (NTD)

PARIS, FranceCatherine Taittinger, nee de Suarez dAulan, is considered champagne royalty: her family owned the champagne house Piper-Heidsieck for decades, and her late husband Claude Taittinger was the president of the famous champagne house of the same name.

Mrs. Taittinger, who used to be in charge of structures for young children in Reims, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Palais des Congres on April 27, 2023.

The performance is absolutely breathtaking, it is remarkable, in all aspects of the term! That is, the choreography, the quality of the images, the near perfection in all the movements.

Mrs. Taittinger really enjoyed the high level of artistry of the dancers. It reaches perfection. Theres such a remarkable synchronicity in the movements. And then the costumes, the colors are magnificent.

The spirituality in the show is, according to Mrs. Taittinger, associated with a quality of vision, very moving, very touching.

I think its a remarkable show, she said enthusiastically.

Shen Yun means the beauty of divine dancing beings, paying tribute to the Chinese tradition. This connection to the divine is very important to the former president of the Society for the Protection of Children in Reims.

Well, it carries me! Through this show, you are able to reach the soul. It is a show that has a soul, said Mrs. Taittinger.

She also praised the emcees, who introduce each new dance or song in its historical or cultural context.

I think whats important is what was said by the hosts throughout the performance  Because otherwise, you would probably only see a show, without the voice and without the commentary, you wouldnt have seen the spiritual aspect in the same way.

Mrs. Taittinger believes that Shen Yun is an evolution, which will bring more benevolence, more understanding, more exchange!

Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaib.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Shut Down the Administrative State, 2024 Presidential Candidate Vows

Removing the fourth branch of government is necessary for restoring the lifeblood of our constitutional republic, says Vivek Ramaswamy

NEW YORKBiotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy made his first major splash in 2014 after founding a company that developed a drug for treating prostate cancer.

A child of immigrants from India who arrived in America with almost no money, Ramaswamy started the biotechnology firm at the age of 29 and quickly built it into a multi-billion dollar enterprise, landing him on the cover of Forbes in the process. That was his American dream.

But he left the medical field to treat a different kind of cancer metastasizing in America, Ramaswamy, now a GOP 2024 presidential candidate, told a full house at a campaign event hosted by the New York Metropolitan Republican Club on April 26.

Not a biological cancer, but a cultural cancer that threatened to kill that dream that Martin Luther King had 60 years ago, that threatened to kill the dream that allowed me to achieve everything I ever had in my life, Ramaswamy told the crowd.

Pick your favorite -ism: woke-ism, transgenderism, climate-ism, COVID-ism, globalismwhatever it is, you think its an accident that these things cropped up at the same time? he said. Its not. Its a symptom of a deeper identity crisis.

The candidate touted the ideas that would ultimately underlie his campaign platform, from instituting radical government reform to reviving a national identity to fill the vacuum at the heart of our national soul.

The gist of his promise is to revive the values that made his American dream possible: faith, patriotism, hard work, and family. And a necessary step in achieving this goal, he said, is dissolving the federal agencies controlled by a corporate managerial class.

[President] Ronald Reagan led us out of our last national identity crisis in 1980. Im running for president to do the same thing again in 2024, Ramaswamy said in closing his speech.

Gut It

A political outsider and businessman, Ramaswamy has a campaign message that strikes a similar tone to that which propelled candidate Donald Trump to victory in 2016: overhaul the Washington establishment.

Im going to shut down the administrative statethe unconstitutional fourth branch of governmentgut it, he told The Epoch Times after the event while on his way to downtown Manhattan for dinner.

Doing so, he added, would restore the lifeblood of our constitutional republic and the economic growth in this country.

Because thats one of the great obstacles that gets in the way.

According to Ramaswamys 2021 book Woke Inc. and subsequent online posts, these agencies include the FBI, the IRS, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Education, and others.

In Woke Inc., the entrepreneur writes that these agencies have been fundamentally transformed by a scheme he calls wokenomics: C-suit executives of corporations like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street deploy woke ideologies as a smokescreen to distract from greed, fraud, and malfeasance.

This scheme, he argues, goes beyond the old crony capitalism model in which corporations influence legislation via campaign contributions: corporations promulgate this woke ideology, which permeates government administrative agencies, who in turn became the willing henchmen of the woke-industrial complex.

As a result, a set of pseudo-moral principles has dominated American institutions, devastated American values, and spawned an administrative statea federal bureaucracy largely controlled by a corporate managerial class.

That administrative state, he said, then comes back to force the market to adopt agendas most American people dont agree withan agenda that conforms to the climate cult, for example.

Thats not the invisible hand of the market. That is the invisible fist of government, he said during his speech.

So, vowing to treat what he describes as a cultural cancer and dissolve the administrative state, Ramaswamy, 37, in February threw his hat in the ring for the Republican presidential nomination.

But getting rid of the administrative state would not be a perpetual solution, he said.

Its going to come back, Ramaswamy told The Epoch Times. Its going to take the next leader, then, to be vigilant in their own way. But thats no excuse for not doing the best thing we can do right now.

A successful 2024 bidcurrently looking like a long shot with former President Donald Trump leading the packwould make history as he would be the countrys youngest-ever commander-in-chief.

Countering Communist China

Ending the administrative state would be his top priority to address the greatest internal threat to the United States, he told The Epoch Times.

But at the same time, the candidate identified the greatest external threat: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He proposed during his Wednesday speech that he would forbid most U.S. businesses from expanding into the Chinese market until the CCP reforms its behavior dramatically.

No theft, no mercantilism, no intellectual property theft, he said.

And Im going to be really honest with youthat will involve some short-term sacrifice, Ramaswamy added. Heres the secretand geopolitics is not that different than in businessits when you are most willing to make a sacrifice that you will not have to make one.

He also said during an event earlier in April that if he becomes the president, he will put a gun in every Taiwanese household to deter CCP aggression towards the self-ruled democratic island the communist regime has repeatedly threatened to invade.

If I do those two things: shut down the administrative state and declare independence from communist China  and then add to that, maybe if I secure the border, and end the Fentanyl crisis in the process  Ive done my part, he told The Epoch Times. He added that declaring independence from communist China will help end the fentanyl crisis, because much of the fentanyl in America has been made with precursors from China.

On Statesmanship

When asked about his plans for getting America out of the identity crisis he warns about, Ramaswamy said that a good statesman goes beyond implementing good policies.

I think part of the job of a U.S. president is not just to lead with the policy agenda, but to lead with national character, to be somebody who you can look your kids in the eye and say: I want you to grow up to be like him, he told The Epoch Times.

And I think that thats something that Reagan did really wellI dont think weve had a president since him who embodied that in quite the same way. So, I think thats part of the jobthats more than just the policybut the inspiration of the next generation of Americans to allow them to see the ideals that actually make us who we are.

But what about being attacked by the establishment? Recent events, including the historic indictment of Trump, have some commentators worried that people who oppose the left might be targeted by politically motivated prosecutions.

Im ready, he replied. You dont prepare for this. You dont get into this without having a spine of steel. Theyre going to come for us. Well be as ready as we can.

One thing Ive learned from the Trump experience is that theyre going to come to you, Ramaswamy said.

But the only thing in our control iswe cant make it easy for them.
IN-DEPTH: South African Officials Court Biden Admin as Tensions Rise Over Countrys Ties to China, Russia

President Joe Biden shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.(Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images)

JOHANNESBURGSenior officials from the South African government have been in Washington since April 28 to try to prevent the Biden administration and members of Congress from punishing the country for its increasingly close links with China, Russia, and other anti-United States powers.

The delegation is led by President Cyril Ramaphosas national security adviser, Sydney Mufamadi, who is also a top member of South Africas governing African National Congress, the ANC.

The visit is happening amid concerns that South Africas ongoing refusal to condemn Russias war on Ukraine is jeopardizing its economic and political relations with the United States.

China and the former Soviet Union backed the ANCs armed struggle against apartheid, and Africas oldest liberation movement has stated that this is reason enough for it to maintain a close friendship with Beijing and Moscow, whatever the cost.

That cost might arrive much sooner than the ANC expected, in the form of Washington ejecting South Africa from AGOA, Chris Isike, a professor of international relations at the University of Pretoria, told The Epoch Times.

AGOA is the U.S. governments African Growth and Opportunity Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000. It gives African countries that subscribe to values considered important to Washington, such as democracy and human rights, duty- and quota-free access to U.S. markets for a long list of products.

According to the U.S. governments AGOA online portal, South Africa exported goods worth 60 billion rands, almost $3.5 billion, to the United States under AGOA in 2022.

AGOA is very beneficial to South Africa, particularly for our motor vehicle manufacturers and for our agricultural sector. We export a lot of vehicles and fresh fruit and vegetables to the U.S., Peter Fabricius, an independent international relations expert based in Johannesburg, told The Epoch Times.

Being a member of AGOA is also symbolic, because it gives other countries and investors confidence to do business with South Africa.

Ramaphosas spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told The Epoch Times that AGOA was only one part of the presidential delegations business in Washington.

A lot of the discussions that have already happened this weekend were follow-up issues that sprang from President Ramaphosas meeting with President Biden at the White House in September, Magwenya said.

President Joe Biden (R) holds a bilateral meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office on Sept. 16, 2022. (Pete Marovich for The New York Times via Getty Images)

Magwenya said that one of these issues was Washingtons offer to support South Africas battle against insurgents allied to the Islamic State in neighboring Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo; another issue was differences over U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe and increased U.S. tariffs on South African steel imports.

I want to reiterate that our team is not in Washington because President Ramaphosa is afraid well lose our AGOA membership, Magwenya said.

But Fabricius said Ramaphosa wouldnt send a special delegation to Washington if he werent worried about something that could threaten future U.S.South African relations.

Senior ANC officials told The Epoch Times that the South African governments trip to the U.S. Capitol wasnt prearranged and was out of the ordinary.

Fabricius said Pretoria clearly had reason to be concerned, as powerful members of the U.S. Congress belonging to both parties want South Africa to face some kind of consequences for its constant and unreasonable support for regimes including China, Russia, and Iran.

Clearly theres a lot of unhappiness in the U.S. about our positions on Russia, in particular. Theres a feeling that were moving from a nonaligned position, towards being a firm ally of Russia, Fabricius said.

Our so-called neutral stance in the war on Ukraine was previously grudgingly accepted by the Americans, but our governments apparent slide towards Moscow and its other notable allies, especially China, is being condemned in the U.S.

The ANC and Washington have had strained relations since the ANC abstained from a vote in the United National General Assembly in March 2022 condemning Putins invasion of Ukraine.

It has insisted that its nonaligned and neutral as regards the conflict, but many of its actions are suggestive of tacit support for the Kremlin, and Putin has issued personal invitations to the ANC to visit Moscow on several occasions since the conflict started.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech as he attends a ceremony to receive credentials from newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Russia, at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 5, 2023. (Vladimir Astapkovich, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Ramaphosa has also invited the Russian leader to the annual summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries in August, in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC has issued a warrant for Putins arrest for alleged war crimes.

South Africa, as an ICC member, would be obliged to take him into custody should he set foot on its territory. But its government has made it clear that it has no intention of doing so, and the Russian leader remains welcome.

The AGOA Forum, an annual event attended by heads of African member states and senior U.S. trade officials and members of Congress, is scheduled to be held in South Africa in September, just weeks after the BRICS Summit.

The timing was risky for the U.S. government, Isike said.

If Putin visits South Africa and isnt arrested, and is treated like a hero here, like he has been in the past, and then the Americans arrive  Well, the optics are not going to look good for them, he said.

They will probably suffer political consequences back home if theyre seen being friendly with a government thats just held a big party with one of their big enemies.

Pretoria is also allowing sanctioned Russian vessels to dock in South African ports and recently hosted joint military exercises with the Chinese and Russian navies. South Africa then declined to participate in the U.S.-led Cutlass Express trainings off the East and West coasts of Africa.

A general view of the Russian military frigate Admiral Gorshkov docked at the port in Richards Bay, South Africa, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Guillem Sartotio/AFP via Getty Images)

That was a strategic mistake, Isike said. That doesnt look like impartiality at all; it looks as if Pretoria favors Moscow and Beijing over Washington, so its little wonder that some Americans are losing patience with South Africa.

Fabricius said it was mainly Republicans who were unhappy with South Africa. The Democratic administration is also a bit upset. But Biden tends to be quite sympathetic, he said.

Republican members of the House of Representatives have drafted a resolution condemning South Africas tight relations with China and Russia and calling on the Biden administration to reconsider its relationship with the ANC government and in particular, the benefits South Africa derives from AGOA.

Isike said that he doesnt think Washington will risk driving a key African country further into the ChinaRussia camp by removing it from AGOA, severely curtailing South Africas ability to do business in the United States.

If South Africa cannot earn money in the U.S., where else can it go? Wheres the next best option? Well, thats China, he said. At least if the Americans keep South Africa in AGOA, they have some kind of leverage over it.

He also pointed out the ANC was currently doing something that no Western power was able to do: meet regularly with the Russian government in Moscow.

Theres an advantage South Africa has, which may benefit the U.S., in terms of South Africas ability to talk to Russia and help to resolve the conflict in line with its commitment to a peaceful resolution, Isike said.

In essence, South Africa does have linkages to Ukraine and Russia and I think it presents an opportunity to help the U.S. have a connection to help to resolve this conflict, however indirect that may be.

Magwenya said Ramaphosa was in frequent contact with Biden and other senior U.S. officials.

[None are] bent on punishing us for anything we have or havent done, he said.

President Biden appreciates that President Ramaphosa has an open line to President Putin and to [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky.

Magwenya said South African government officials were visiting Moscow on a regular basis, for a variety of reasons, including to urge Putin to work toward a peaceful end to the conflict.

The Russian president has, however, continued to insist that he will achieve a military victory in Ukraine.

South Africa needs to take a critical look at its relationship with Russia from a national interest point of view, from an economic point of view, Isike said.

Where is its bread being buttered? Its bread is being buttered in Europe and the United States. In 2021, which was a terrible year for global trade because of the pandemic, there was $21 billion in trade between America and South Africa. South Africa exports a few fruit and vegetables to Russia, but its imports from Russia are miniscule. Russia contributes almost nothing economically to the country.

He said that although the Biden administration is likely to keep trade flowing between the United States and South Africa, its likely that a Republican government wont be as forgiving.
STAMFORD, ConnecticutConnecticut state senator Ryan Fazio watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Palace Theatre on Apr. 30.

The performance was fantastic, said Sen. Fazio. Id never seen it before, and I was very excited to see it, and it even outdid my expectations for it. The homage to traditional dance and traditional Chinese culture is fantastic. Its so important that Shen Yun is keeping those traditions and that art and that culture alive here in the present day.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now with eight equally sized companies touring the world simultaneously, Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and to give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Sen. Fazio said that he thinks Shen Yuns mission is very important.

Where you see persecution still to this day in the Chinese mainland, its a tragedy, he said. But because of what Shen Yun is doing, its keeping a lot of those traditions alive here for everyone, all the Chinese ex-pats, [and] for the entire world to see.

Theyre doing very important work. Its very brave. Its very important. I think years from now people will be thanking Shen Yun for keeping those traditions alive.

Shen Yuns program includes story-based dances, some of which are set in modern-day China and depict the Chinese governments persecution of followers of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, which Sen. Fazio believed to be important values.

Theres something very noble about standing up for values in the face of persecution, and thats what we see in communist societies like in China, said Sen. Fazio. That people, for doing whats right, for speaking out, for refusing to deny their own beliefs, that they are persecuted, but thats brave. That they continue to stand up for those things, and its very important that we have Chinese ex-pats across the world to continue to stand up for those truths where they cant speak out in mainland China.

Shen Yuns performance also has songs performed in the traditional bel canto style, with lyrics that urge a return to tradition and emphasize the importance of having faith. Sen. Fazio said that the message he received from the song was the importance of tradition and the importance of a religious worldview.

According to Shen Yuns website, traditional Chinese culture is deeply rooted in the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Shen Yuns performance presents these spiritual elements, which were abolished when the atheist Chinese Communist Party took power.

I think when you destroy a religious worldview, the things that can be imposed in its place are very dangerous, said Sen. Fazio. Thats exactly what you see in totalitarian societies, that the need to destroy the religious worldview in order to put in its place a worldview and ideology where the state is supreme to everything else. So, ensuring that there is a tradition in our societies, I think, is very important in order to protect people and protect peoples rightsand what is good.

Lastly, Sen. Fazio said that he absolutely recommends the performance and expressed his hopes that more people will watch and support Shen Yun.

Its a beautiful performance. The contribution to the arts and Chinese arts is very important and very enjoyable.

Reporting by NTD and Wandi Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Students Sickened at Arlington Heights Middle School; Investigation Underway

LOS ANGELESThree students at Johnnie L. Cochran Middle School in Arlington Heights were sickened May 1 after possibly ingesting an unknown substance.

Paramedics went to the campus in the 4000 block of Johnnie Cochran Vista about 11:35 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Officers were sent to the scene on a possible overdose report, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

According to the fire department, paramedics were tending to children who reportedly experienced an altered level of consciousness after possible exposure or ingestion of a yet-unknown substance.

The incident involved children about 13 or 14 years of age, according to reports from the scene. The LAFD reported only that three school-age children were examined for possible medical problems.

Following treatment by school staff and LAFD paramedics, all three have been transported to an area hospital by ambulance, where they arrived conscious and breathing in minor to moderate medical distress, fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said in a statement.

LAFD responders discovered no specific on-site hazard, and none of the many others on campus presented with any manner of medical complaint, Humphrey said.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho issued a statement urging students to take advantage of the Los Angeles Schools Anonymous Reporting, or LASAR, app to report any suspicious activity on campus.

Student safety is our top priority.  We remain hopeful for a full recovery of our students from Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Middle School who suffered from a medical incident earlier today.

I urge everyone in our school community to download the LASAR app to anonymously report instances of suspicious activity, mental health incidents, drug consumption, drug trafficking, vandalism, and other safety concerns, Carvalho said.
Supreme Court Takes Up Major Case That Could Roll Back Power of Federal Government

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks about semiconductor chips subsidies during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on Sept. 6, 2022. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The Supreme Court decided on May 1 to consider rolling back a bureaucracy-empowering legal doctrine when it determined it will hear a case challenging a U.S. Commerce Department rule on fisheries inspectors.

The courts ultimate ruling could alter the current balance of power between Congress, executive agencies, and the nations judiciary by tearing away at the legal underpinnings of the modern administrative state, which critics deride as an illegitimate fourth branch of government.

The decision to accept the case might foreshadow a narrowing of the application of the so-called Chevron deference doctrine that the Supreme Court enunciated in 1984. In the landmark ruling in Chevron v. NRDC, the nations highest court held that while courts must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress, where courts find Congress has not directly addressed the precise question at issue and the statute is silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue, the question for the court is whether the agencys answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.

In other words, Chevron stands for the proposition that an executive agencys interpretation of a statute it administers is entitled to deference unless Congress has said otherwise.

Conservatives and Republican policymakers have long been critical of the doctrine, saying it gives unelected regulators far too much power to make policy by going beyond what Congress intended when it approved various laws. The authority of regulatory agencies has been increasingly questioned in recent years as the conservative majority on the Supreme Court has grown. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch have expressed skepticism of the Chevron doctrine.

As is their custom, the justices did not explain in the unsigned order in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, court file 22-451, why they agreed to accept the case. Gina Raimondo is the U.S. secretary of commerce.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in the decision to grant the petition in the case and has recused herself. Jackson did this presumably because she heard arguments in the case when she was a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She did not participate in the circuit courts decision in the case because she was replaced on the court after President Joe Biden nominated her to the Supreme Court.

In the case, the divided D.C. circuit court sided with the government, upholding a Department of Commerce rule that was questioned by fishing companies.

The rule requires the owners of vessels, which tend to be small, to pay for having federal observers onboard to oversee operations and ensure compliance with a host of federal regulations, the fishing companies said in their petition (pdf), which was brought with the assistance of the Cause of Action Institute.

The government mandate forces the fishermen in this case to hand over 20 percent of their pay to third-party at-sea monitors they must bring on their boatsa mandate that Congress never approved by statute, according to Cause of Action.

The petition stated that this is an extraordinary imposition that few would tolerate on dry land. But without any express statutory authorization, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has decided to go one very large step further and require petitioners to pay the salaries of government-mandated monitors who take up valuable space on their vessels and oversee their operations, the petition stated.

That is truly remarkable, so much so that even the agency acknowledged that the power it asserted was highly controversial. In a country that values limited government and the separation of powers, such an extraordinary power should require the clearest of congressional grants.

The government has misinterpreted the federal MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which governs marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters, to allow the financially onerous  payment requirement for domestic vessels unburdened by statutory caps, according to the petition.

The circuit court deferred to the government, determining that the statute was silent on the issue and that this is either a fundamental overreading of Chevron or a powerful argument for its overruling, the petition added.

Counsel for the fishermen, Paul Clement, who was U.S. solicitor general under then-President George W. Bush, lauded the Supreme Courts decision to move forward with the case.

We are delighted that the Court took this case not only to potentially deliver justice to these fishermen, but also to reconsider a doctrine that has enabled the widespread expansion of unchecked executive authority, Clement said in a statement.

Reached for comment, the U.S. Department of Justice, which is representing Raimondo, refused to do so.

We decline to comment on this, Catherine Morris, Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Public Affairs in the Department of Justice told The Epoch Times by email.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar filed a brief (pdf) with the Supreme Court on Feb. 16 in which she suggested that the fears of the fishing companies were overblown.

The financial impact of the program has been limited, she wrote.

The petitioners have not identified, to date, a single vessel trip for which they have been required to pay for monitoring services under this rule, Prelogar wrote, adding that their arguments for overruling Chevron have not been persuasive.

The court is expected to hear the federal rulemaking case in its new term that begins in October.
Texas Suspect in Killing of 5 People Is Illegal Immigrant Deported Multiple Times

The suspect, identified as 38-year old Francisco Oropesa, in an undated photo provided by law enforcement. (FBI Houston)

The suspect who shot and killed five people in Cleveland, Texasincluding an 8-year-old childis an illegal immigrant who had been deported from the United States multiple times, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

An ICE spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the suspect in the slayingMexican national Francisco Oropesawas arrested and deported four times from the United States, most recently in July 2016.

Oropesa also was convicted in Montgomery County, Texas, in 2012 for driving while intoxicated and sentenced to time in jail, the spokesperson added.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wouldnt comment on Oropesas immigration status when asked during an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press on April 30, citing an active case.

Mayorkas called the crime just absolutely horrific.

The 38-year-old Oropesa was allegedly told to stop firing a rifle in his yard because a baby was trying to sleep, according to the San Jacinto County Sheriffs Office.

The suspect then allegedly opened fire, killing five people, including an 8-year-old, during the early hours of April 29.

Oropesa remains a fugitive and is considered armed and dangerous.

Reward

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the fugitive, who Abbott said is in the country illegally.

Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence, Abbott said in a statement on April 30.

Abbott noted that the victims, a family from Honduras, also were in the country illegally.

Abbott also says he has directed relevant authorities to alert state troopers and National Guard members who are part of Operation Lone Star to be on the lookout for the fugitive, who may be attempting to flee the country.

I continue working with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime, he said.

In an update posted on social media early on May 1, the San Jacinto County Sheriffs office said that law enforcement is still actively seeking Oropesa.

Several dozen law enforcement officials are currently investigating leads and intel as it becomes available, as well as continuing to examine the area, Sheriff Greg Capers said in a statement. We ask that the general public limit traffic to the area while law enforcement works to capture the suspect.

In an earlier post, Capers asked for tips from the public while warning people that Oropesa is considered armed and dangerous and shouldnt be approached.

Abbotts $50,000 reward brings the total offered by state and federal agencies for tips leading to the suspects capture to $80,000.

The Shooting

Shooting survivor Wilson Garcia told The Associated Press that he was one of those who went to Oropesas house late on April 28 to ask him to shoot his gun farther away from his home.

He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted, Garcia said on April 30 after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his 8-year-old son who was killed in the attack.

Garcia said that he called the police after Oropesa rejected his request.

After Garcia walked back from Oropesas house, he said he saw Oropesa run toward him and reload.

I told my wife: Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon, Garcia told the outlet. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

The shooter then reportedly walked up to Garcias home and began firing; Garcias 25-year-old wife was the first fatality. Among the dead was Garcias young son and two women who died while shielding his baby and 2-year-old daughter with their bodies.

There were 15 people in the house that night, according to the report, with Garcia saying the shooter seemed intent on killing as many as he could.

Police have recovered the AR-15-style rifle Oropesa allegedly used in the shootings.

This article has been updated with information received from ICE.
Cui Hongwu (front) and his colleague inspect a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Liu Xin cleans the kennel for police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Liu Xin plays with police dog "Kang Xin" after work at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Liu Xin plays with police dog "Kang Xin" after work at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (L) and Liu Xin have breakfast at canteen in Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (R) and Liu Xin walk with police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (L) and his colleague patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (front) and his colleagues head for duty site at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (front) and his colleagues head for duty site at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (front) and his colleagues head for duty site at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (upper) and his colleague inspect a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Liu Xin washes police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (R) checks the wounds on Liu Xin's hands at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Liu Xin patrols with police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (L) and his colleague inspect a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu inspects a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (L) and Liu Xin pose for a photo with police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu and his colleague work at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu (R) and his colleague inspect a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Cui Hongwu inspects a train during patrol at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (L) and Liu Xin pose for a photo with police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Liu Xin patrols with police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

Liu Xin applies medicine to the wound of police dog "Kang Xin" at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Cui Hongwu (L) helps Liu Xin tidy up her uniform at home in Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 4, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Liu Xin plays with police dog "Kang Xin" after work at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)

Liu Xin dries the hairs of police dog "Kang Xin" who has just taken a bath at Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 3, 2023. Alataw Pass is a major land port at the China-Kazakhstan border in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Cui Hongwu, an official with the border inspection station at the port, has been working for over 10 years. Here he met his wife Liu Xin, who is his colleague and works as a police dog handler.

In recent years, the Alataw Pass has seen a growing number and accelerating frequency of inbound and outbound train trips, which means a huge amount of work for Cui Hongwu and his colleagues.

However, besides increasingly heavy workload, they also have to adapt to the changing climate here. Located along the G219, the longest national highway with the highest average elevation in China, the Alataw Pass is troubled with windy weather and huge temperature difference. Blustery wind of up to 62 km per hour blows over 180 days a year.

Alataw Pass handled 1,588 China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter this year, marking a 10.35 percent year-on-year jump, local railway authorities said. About 3.33 million tonnes of cargo were transported during these trips, up 23.8 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Tensions Mount Over Russia-Patrolled Land Corridor Linking Armenia, Azerbaijan

An ethnic Armenian soldier stands guard next to Nagorno-Karabakh's flag atop the hill near Charektar in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh at a new border with Kalbajar district turned over to Azerbaijan, on Nov. 25, 2020. (Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

Tensions between Baku and Yerevan have mounted in recent weeks over a Russia-patrolled land corridor linking Armenia to the next-door Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Although most of Nagorno-Karabakhs roughly 120,000 inhabitants are ethnic Armenians, the region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Yerevan accuses Azerbaijan of blocking its only land route to the regionthe so-called Lachin Corridorin breach of a 2020 ceasefire agreement between the two former Soviet republics.

Baku, for its part, has stated that its actions conform to international law and accuses Armenia of using the corridor to funnel arms into Nagorno-Karabakha claim Yerevan denies.

On May 1, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted the foreign ministers of both countries in Washington in an effort to resolve the impasse.

The talks, which reportedly included one-on-one meetings followed by a three-way discussion, werent expected to produce any immediate breakthroughs.

According to one State Department official, the discussions were mainly intended to let the two sides sit down and talk to each other.

Its most important that the two of them are able to continue their negotiations, the official said.

A settlement in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Nov. 10, 2020. (Francesco Brembati/Reuters)

Long-Simmering Conflict

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia captured most of Nagorno-Karabakhan area of roughly 2,730 square milesfrom neighboring Azerbaijan.

Armenia remained in control of the region until late 2020, when it fought a second war with Azerbaijan that saw the latter retake almost all lost territory.

The six-week conflict ended with a Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement, while Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and along parts of the Lachin Corridor.

On April 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry said efforts were underway by Russias peacekeeping contingent  and on the political level to bring the process back to the path outlined in the trilateral agreements of Nov. 9, 2020.

Despite the 2020 ceasefire agreement, clashes between the two warring sides continue to flare up intermittently.

On April 11, seven soldiers were killedthree Azerbaijanis and four Armeniansduring an armed clash near the Lachin Corridor.

An Armenian soldier fires artillery during the ongoing fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Oct. 25, 2020. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

Checkpoint Increases Tension

The dispute was exacerbated on April 23 when Azerbaijan erected a military checkpoint near the opening of the Lachin Corridor.

In justification for the move, Baku accused Armenia of using the land route to bring military personnel and equipmentincluding landminesinto the region, in violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.

In light of these provocations, the establishment of a border-control mechanism at the starting point of the Lachin road will provide transparency over road traffic and ensure security, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It went on to assert that the checkpoint, which operates in conjunction with the Russian peacekeeping contingent, wouldnt impede civilian traffic.

But Yerevan said that the checkpoint violates the terms of the 2020 ceasefire agreement, which stipulates that the corridor must be kept open.

Armenian officials have also claimed that inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh are now facing food shortages because of the corridors alleged closure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan before a meeting with leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh regions future at the Kremlin in Moscow on Jan. 11, 2021. (Mikhail Klimentyev/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Mediation Efforts

Last week, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited both capitals in an effort to mediate the crisis.

At a joint press conference with Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on April 27, Colonna sharply criticized what she described as the unilateral measures taken by Baku.

Freedom of movement in the corridor is essential to reestablish trust, she said.

Bayramov responded by saying that, since late 2020, Baku had repeatedly warned that Armenia was using the corridor to funnel arms into Nagorno-Karabakh.

But I dont remember France making any statement against Armenia, he said.

One day earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue.

According to a subsequent statement released by the Kremlin, the two leaders discussed developments around Nagorno-Karabakh with a focus on resolving practical tasks to ensure stability and security in the region.

In the context of the current situation in the Lachin Corridor, they confirmed the importance of strict observance of the  fundamental agreements reached [in November 2020] by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the statement reads.

Shortly after the phone call between Putin and Pashinyan, Moscow appointed Col. Gen. Alexander Lentsov, deputy commander of Russian ground forces, to lead its peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a six-nation military alliance led by Moscow.

Although Azerbaijan maintains good relations with Russia, it isnt a member of the alliance.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Terrorist Prisoners Banned From Leading Religious Services Behind Bars

New measures also limit how much literature prisoners can have in cells

A general view through the bars of Birmingham Prison in Winson Green in Birmingham, England, on Aug. 20, 2018. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Convicted terrorists will be banned from taking a leading role in religious services in a new government crackdown on dangerous radicalisation behind bars.

New robust checks will also limit the amount of literature allowed in prison to combat the spread of extremism, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced.

The measureswhich will only apply in England and Waleswill prevent terrorist prisoners leading the call to prayer or delivering sermons, positions some exploit to gain authority or influence over other offenders and spread their poisonous ideology.

Newly appointed Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the rules will strengthen existing measures preventing the most dangerous prisoners leading Friday prayers by extending the ban to all faiths and not just those in high-security prisons.

Limits on inmate property will prevent extremists circumventing prison rules to hide and spread extremist texts.

While under prison rules there are no limits on the number of books prisoners can own, the government said it will toughen these restrictions by stating that they must fit into two medium size boxes with a maximum weight of 15 kilograms.

This follows instances where prisoners have gathered hundreds of books in their cells in an apparent attempt to thwart prison officers searching for extremist material.

The regulations will come in to force as construction begins on a new Close Supervision Centre at HMP Frankland, a separate wing to hold the most physically violent prisonersincluding terroriststo further tackle extremist activity.

Eye Off the Ball

In an MoJ press release published on Sunday, Chalk said the moves build on a bolstered approach to managing terrorists in prison that began a year ago following an independent review by terrorism legislator Jonathan Hall, KC.

However, it is not the first time the government was advised to bring in such measures.

A report submitted to the government in 2017 highlighted the subversion of corporate worship by radicalised prisoners.

Ian Acheson of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) carried out the independent review into Islamist extremism behind bars.

His principal recommendation was about Friday Prayers, however it was rejected by the government.

Speaking to The Epoch Times, the former prison governor welcomed the measures, but criticised the length of time it had taken the MoJ to put them in place.

My concern with ministers is that theyve had six years from the date of my previous review for them, raising the same problems and solutions, where there has been quite dangerous drift and not enough progress, he said.

All sorts of things have happened in those six years, weve had a fanatical terrorist, Usman Khan, who deceived prison and probation bosses that he was a poster child for rehabilitation who then went on after release to murder two students in Fishmongers Hall.

Weve had the attempted terrorist murder of a prison officer for the first time in GB who was attacked by a terrorist with an accomplice dressed in a suicide belt in [HMP] Whitemoor in 2020.

The CEP senior adviser said making somewhat reheated announcements was not enough.

Ministers have to have assurance systems in place to convince them what they are proposing actually is enforced, he said. I dont believe such guarantees exist.

There have been changes and new initiatives recently after a new unit was imposed on the Ministry of Justice to get a grip on national security failures in our prison.

There are good people in post who understand the scale and the urgency of the problem.

But Im still very, very sceptical about the prison services ability and frankly their appetite to introduce the new initiativesnew in inverted commasthat have been announced.

Acheson said ministers must be alive to the fact that they dont always get the right information or information at the right time about what is happening on the frontline.

Undated Metropolitan Police handout videograb, which was shown in court at the inquest into the terror attack at the Fishmongers Hall in London on Nov. 29, 2019, of Usman Khan during a thank-you message for a Learning Together event in Cambridge in March 2019. Photo issued on April 23, 2021. (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)

Recommendations

Announcing the new measures on Sunday, Lord Chancellor Chalk said: Faith can play a vital part in prisoners rehabilitation but we must never tolerate terrorists who seek to exploit religious services to advance their own sinister agenda.

These changes, alongside tougher sentences for terrorists who commit crimes behind bars and our work to separate more of the most radical terrorists, will better protect our hardworking staff, other prisoners, and the public.

According to the MoJ, there are currently around 200 convicted terrorists in custody, many of whom attempt to justify their offences through their flawed interpretation of religion.

The announcement is the latest in a string of actions taken to prevent radicalisation and exploitation by terrorist offenders behind bars, following recommendations made by Jonathan Hall, KC.

The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation released a report (pdf) last year proposing a range of measures including longer spells in prison for terrorists who commit offences behind bars.

The Crime in Prisons agreement, introduced in November, ensures that terrorist offenders are automatically referred to the police for prosecution so they face longer behind bars to keep the public safe.

The government also introduced the investment of 1.2 million to establish a specialist Separation Centre and high-risk casework team, helping prevent offenders from spreading their malicious ideology to others.

There have also been changes to placement into separation centres so that offenders can be considered for placement in them sooner rather than being a last resort.

The centres are used to hold the most subversive extremist prisoners to prevent them from radicalising other prisoners.
Texas Attorney General to Investigate Whether COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Misled Public

The highest-ranking prosecutor in Texas is launching an investigation into whether the three top COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers have misled the public.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is probing whether Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson misrepresented the efficacy of their COVID-19 vaccines, the Republican announced on May 1.

The companies may have violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Paxton said. That state law bars people from disseminating a statement that they know materially misrepresents the cost or character of tangible personal property, a security, service, or anything he may offer for the purpose of selling a product or service.

It also prohibits representing that goods are of a particular standard, quality, or grade  if they are of another.

Most of the COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the United States have been manufactured by Moderna or Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, according to federal data. Johnson & Johnsons vaccine has been the third most popular in the country. No other vaccines were available until 2022.

Also at issue is whether the companies engaged in research to make a virus or pathogen more dangerous by increasing its transmissibility or pathogenicity and misleading the public about doing so.

Paxton sent civil investigative materials to all three companies that demand the production of documents and information within 30 days, including whistleblower reports and concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccine trials.

The materials also demand documents showing the rates of side effects for each vaccine and when the companies became aware of unexpected or additional adverse events, side effects, injuries and/or deaths related to their COVID-19 vaccines.

The companies also were told to hand over documents showing all investigations that were opened by federal, state, county, and local agencies, including law enforcement officials, related to representations made about the safety and effectiveness of the shows.

The development of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the representations made by and knowledge of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, are of profound interest to the publics health and welfare. This investigation aims to discover the truth, Paxton said in a statement.

This pandemic was a deeply challenging time for Americans. If any company illegally took advantage of consumers during this period or compromised peoples safety to increase their profits, they will be held responsible. If public health policy was developed on the basis of flawed or misleading research, the public must know. The catastrophic effects of the pandemic and subsequent interventions forced on our country and citizens deserve intense scrutiny, and we are pursuing any hint of wrongdoing to the fullest.

While the manufacturers are largely shielded from lawsuits because of the Trump administrations Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act in 2020, theres an exception for actions or failures to act that constitute willful misconduct. Thats an act or omission thats taken intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose, knowingly without legal or factual justification, and in disregard of a known or obvious risk that is so great as to make it highly probable that the harm will outweigh the benefit.

Representatives for Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson didnt respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

Pfizers headquarters in New York in a file image. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Gain of Function

While being recorded without his knowledge, a senior Pfizer employee said in video footage released in January that Pfizer was aiming to preemptively develop new vaccines by mutating COVID-19.

If were going to do that though, theres a risk of like, as you could imagineno one wants to be having a pharma company mutating [expletive] viruses, Dr. Jordon Walker, a director of research and development at Pfizer, told nonprofit Project Veritas.

He said scientists at Pfizer were optimizing a process to mutate COVID-19 but were going slow because everyone is very cautious.

Pfizer later acknowledged that it had been conducting experiments that involved using the original COVID-19 virus to express the spike protein from new variants of concern.

This work is undertaken once a new variant of concern has been identified by public health authorities, the company stated. This research provides a way for us to rapidly assess the ability of an existing vaccine to induce antibodies that neutralize a newly identified variant of concern. We then make this data available through peer reviewed scientific journals and use it as one of the steps to determine whether a vaccine update is required.

Dr. Robert Malone, who helped develop the messenger RNA technology on which Pfizers vaccine is based, said that the experiments Pfizer described met the definition of gain of function.

What theyre describing is almost identical to what was apparently done at the Wuhan Institute of Virologythe laboratory from which some experts believe that COVID-19 escapedMalone told NTD.

The Chinese laboratory was conducting risky experiments on mice, U.S. authorities have said, and is located in the same city where the first COVID-19 cases were detected.

Walker used the term directed evolution while speaking to Project Veritas, which Malone said is so similar to gain of function as to be irrelevant.

Paxtons civil demand requests all communications and documents related to Pfizer engaging in either gain of function or directed evolution in the study, analysis, trials, or preparation of the COVID-19 vaccine. The same demand was made to Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
The Crime of Talking to Tucker Carlson

A note of support, from a surprising detente

Dr. Naomi Wolf, author of The Bodies of Others: The New Authoritarians, COVID-19 and the War Against the Human," in New York on June 7, 2022. (The Epoch Times)

Commentary

The whole world is commenting on and speculating about the abrupt departure of former Fox commentator Tucker Carlson from that network.

Addressing the current moment is not my intent. I have no idea what the inside story is on the events related to Foxs or Carlsons decisions. Mr. Carlson is wisely being deliberative regarding his physical presence and his messaging, and by next week the news cycle will have no doubt shifted in relation to this sudden exile, or self-exile; so there is little point in adding my own theories to the events of the present. (Though I suspect that the stern, mafioso-like public warnings of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others to the Murdochs, that they were making a mistake in tolerating Carlsons airing of the first set of previously unseen January 6 videos, and that those who passed on the footage were playing a treacherous game, was a factor in at least some upheaval on the part of Foxs leadership. I recognize a political threat of retribution when I hear one):

What I want to do now is note, for the record, almost elegiacally, how important Mr. Carlsons voice has been, in the evaluation of at least this dyed-in-the-wool old-school capital L Liberal.

Mr. Carlson and I spent most of our careers not in alignment on anything; for decades, our places were adversarial on the public chess board. He had assumed that I was the caricature of a shrieking, irrational left-wing feminista view for which he has had the good grace publicly to apologizeand I, for my part, was ready to accept that he must be the boorish, sexist, racist, homophobic frat boy that the progressive news outlets I read, relentlessly insisted that he was. I almost never watched his show, so my preconceptions could flourish uncorrected.

That said, I did find it odd that everyone around me in the liberal elite media hated him so violentlythe way they hated President Trump; but that when I pressed for concrete reasons why, they could not provide them. When my liberal friends and loved ones would roll their eyes and spit out Tucker Carlson, as if that name itself was epithet enough, I would often pester: What? Why? What did he actually say? I never got a good answer. So even in the depth of the Lefts vilification of himeven as I was still on the Left myselfI was keeping, faintly, an open mind.

Maybe this is because, in a limited way, I recognize where he comes from. We both come from some similar places. We both were raised in California in the 1970s (though I am six years older), a California that was very diverse and yet largely peaceful and hopeful, compared to the present; with reasonable newspapers and decent public education. It was a state drenched with sunshine and optimism; bright with discussion and with sensible plans for the future. California was the most meritocratic state in the Union, at that time. In spite of specific upheavalsthe LGBTQ movement gaining force in the Bay Area, the womens movement was fighting for access to reproductive rights, immigrant workers agitating for better conditionswe had no reason to believe that people of different races or political viewpoints or genders could not get along, or at least discuss their differences; we certainly would have found it racist to assume that immigrants or people of color could not succeed entirely on their own merits.

The University of California system, unbroken at that time, an excellent nearly-free education, was almost majority nonwhiteselective, prestigious public high schools like the one I attended were majority nonwhiteso it was ridiculous to presume that people of color or immigrants could not thrive in our existing, even if imperfect, meritocracies. They were succeeding all around us.

We both were sent from this early relaxed, hopeful formative background to the hothouses of rigorous, rigid, East Coast privilegehe to a prep school and then to Trinity College, I to Yale (and then Oxford). Maybe we both brought our West Coast skepticism of East Coast (and European) global elites nonsense and pretentiousness along with us.

I was also never completely persuaded of his being the purported embodiment of pure evil, because I still had an impressionistic memory of him being around in the D.C. of the 1990s, in a time before such extreme caricatures as todays keep both sides at daggers drawn.

In the late 1990s, we shared a social milieu; though we were not friends, we were out and about in parallel circles in Washington, at a time in which his stint at The Weekly Standard and other conservative publications mirrored, fairly peaceably, compared with the present, my then-husbands and my alliances with The New Republic and other left-wing publications.

Social life was a Venn diagram in D.C. at that time, for pundits of all ages on both the left and the right. We all, in certain circles, dropped in to the same cocktail parties in Georgetown, huddled in the same bars in Dupont Circle, and enjoyed late-night feasts at the same hole-in-the-wall Ethiopian restaurants in Adams Morgan. Transpartisanship added frisson to social encounters, and partisanship was not yet the deadly tribalism it would later become. Sally Quinn, wife of the former executive editor of the Washington Post, the hostess who in the 1990s reigned supreme, would titillate the Clinton administration guests, at her gatherings in an antiques-filled, low-lit front room in Georgetown, with selective helpings of saucy Republican luminaries also present. The tension between commentators or apparatchiks from different teams made the conversation sparkle, and, to the high-spirited interlocutors of the two different parties, it made that third glass of Pinot Grigio pleasurably dangerous. It was a time when left and right could fence over Ms. Quinns old-school appetizers (never fish, not even cheese, and always candles, for the perfect party, as she later explained. [Quinn] was giving a short history of the decline of Washington Establishment socializing, which she has long blamed for much of the entrenched partisan hostility that now dominates American politics.  Back then, she said, there was an easy, bipartisan commingling of permanent Washington and elected officeholders.).

These adversaries by day would also inform one another by evening, while sparring at her events; they would make surprising, off-the-record alliances, and engage in productive off-the-record horse-trading. This behind-the-scenes, informal back and forth, was good for the country, and that was one reason that patriotic hostesses such as Ms. Quinn, I believe, facilitated it.

Even brash newer hostessesand at that time, the buzzy Arianna Huffington, equally glamorous, but arriving, with a flourish, from elsewhere, was onehad studied this art. She thus also assembled around herself, in her own salons, glittering representatives of both parties, so that nothing would be, darling, as she would say, boring.

The show Crossfire, with its two civilized antagonists, was the allegory of the time. James Carville and Mary Matalin, with their sexy oppositional-ness, were the iconic couple of the moment. Point and counterpoint were still avidly followed then; direct, civil, well-informed debate was still considered valuable, illuminating, and a fascinating sport.

I remember of D.C. in the 1990s as being what Mr. Carlson probably also remembers: a time and place for a young, ambitious intellectual, or a young, brash, public figure (as we both then were), in which a sincerity of inquiry, a seriousness of interrogation, and a regard for the verifiable truth, were all taken for granted as being what journalists and commentators were supposed to pursue.

Whatever side we were on, we journalists and commentators all took pride in that mission. Truth existed. We would hunt it down, by God, and make our case for it.

Journalists were supposed to challenge the State, and not take press releases from Presidents or White House spokespeopleor corporations for that matteras Diktats. Arguments had to marshal evidence and to play fair.

We assumed that this need that our profession was supposed to fulfillfor serious public inquiry, intense public debatewas the great indispensable thing in a Republic; we assumed that this basic underpinning of our roles as journalists would be seen by our society, our nation, as being valuable, forever; that the ethics of journalists and commentators in America would last forever; that these ethics would outlive us, as they had outlived President Jefferson.

So I was not hugely surprised that in about March and April of 2021, when I was a Fellow at AIER in Great Barrington (home of the Great Barrington Declaration), and as I had started to raise questions about side effects women were experiencing with the mRNA vaccineas well as raising questions about why our First and Fourth Amendment rights were being upended, why we were all being held under emergency law, why kids were being masked with little scientific evidence to support this abusive practice, and why pregnant women were being told the injections were safe when there was no data to back that claim up that I could findthat Mr. Carlsons booker reached out to me.

I appeared a few times on his show, to air my concerns.

Right away the left-wing watchdog Media Mattersrun by someone who had been a former acquaintance, even a friend, of ours in D.C., the former conservative who had turned Democrat, David Brockwent after me aggressively, with a systematic character assassination on Twitter and on the Media Matters website, engineered by CNN reporter Matt Gertza journalist who was actually funded to track and attack guests on Fox News: Fox Keeps Hosting Pandemic Conspiracy Theorist Naomi Wolf.

In his hit piece, Mr. Gertz singled out the fact that I was warning about women who had received the mRNA vaccine having menstrual problems, and the fact that even women near vaccinated women were having menstrual problems. (This shedding via inhalation is confirmed in the Pfizer documents.)

Gertz described multiple independent reports of menstrual problems from women as purported reportsa misogynist thing to do, mocking womens eyewitness descriptions of their own symptoms, and one with a long history in medicines and Pharmas crimes against womenand he shamefully singled out the (accurate) tweet of mine, that we now know via a lawsuit, the White House, the CDC, DHS, Twitter, and Facebook had illegally colluded to target and smear.

So given the specificity of this one (accurate, important) tweet among thousands of mine, Matt Gertz may well have been acting as a henchman for these unlawfully colluding interests, to the eternal damage of what should have been his ethics as a journalist:

This hit piece, calling me a conspiracy theorist, did a great deal to set the stage and provide the talking points for my later deplatforming at the hands of the White House working with Twitter and the CDC, and the subsequent reputational attack that spanned the globe and led to my wholesale ouster from legacy media and my former community on the Left.

(It also consigned millions of women to damaged menses and infertility, by helping to silence this emerging discussion. Maternal deaths are up 40 percent now, due to compromises of womens fertility post-mRNA injection. A million babies are missing in Europe. Great work, Mr. Gertz, Mr. Brock. You will take those harms, that you inflicted upon women and babies, to your graves.)

But having appeared on Mr. Carlsons show, to raise these and other real concerns, I also was peppered ceaselessly with nasty comments from my own side. Why? Because I had talked to Tucker Carlson. That was literally how they phrased my crime.

This was the first real confrontation I had with the unreason and the cultlike thinking that were engulfing my team. I kept receiving messages, emails, DMs, and direct confrontations by phone, with friends and loved ones and even family members.

How can you talk to Tucker Carlson??

I noted with concern that they did not say that I was wrong, or that my assertions were baseless, or even that his assertions were baseless.

They did not address the crimes against women and babies I was uncovering, and sharing with the assistance of Mr. Carlsons platformcrimes about which all the men and women on the Left, who were supposed to be such feminists and advocates for womens rights, were silent.

My soon-to-be-former friends and colleagues simply reiterated again and again, as if it were self-evident, that I had discredited myself in some nameless but completely understood and permanent and unforgivable way, by talking to Tucker Carlson.

(The only other major platform that was open to hearing what I was finding, was, of course, Steve Bannons WarRoom. I started to appear also on WarRoom, leading to another wave of appalled DMs and emails from my friends and loved ones, who by now were actively and rapidly distancing themselves from me. How can you talk to Steve Bannon?)

So I had to face the alarming evidence that the Left now saw anyone talking to the opposition, as being magically, publicly, permanently contaminated and contaminating, in some weird anthropological way, and as now being utterly invalidated, and that they believed all of this in some pre-rational, Stone Age sort of belief matrix.

They were treating me as though by my talking to Mr. Carlson and Mr. Bannon, no matter about whatno matter that the issues and evidence that I brought to these platforms and to these interlocutors were both true and importantI was burning my I-am-a-good-person membership club card, in some kind of public ritual of immolation, and that thus I would have to be exiled far from the progressive community and shamed away entirely from the warming of progressive campfires. Unclean! Unclean!

Here is Mr. Ben Dixon, from the left, asserting that I must be not a feminist because I am talking to Tucker Carlson who 100 per cent is an anti-feminist. He assails this BS from Naomi Wolf and Tucker CarlsonBSin which I warned that we were heading into an un-American two-tier discrimination society based on vaccination status.

Did that actually happen, as I warned? It did:

We were attackedI was attackedfor discussing things that came true.

Did this happen, below? Was this true? We predicted in 2021 that authoritarian leaders would not relinquish emergency powers. It is now 2023, so: Yes.

Should the Left have supported instead of mocked such a discussion? Even most of them must realize by now that the answer is: Yes.

The reaction, though, of horror, from everyone I knew, at my crime of talking to Tucker Carlson, horrified me (as I often say, I will talk to anyone about the Constitution). The dismay of the Left in reaction to my talking to Tucker Carlson horrified me because talking to people with whom I dont agree, is one of the main ways I have ever learned anything, or, I believe, that anyone has ever learned anything. And it horrified me also because I would have gladly brought my urgently important, indeed lifesaving information, to CNN and MSNBC, as usualto all these self-proclaimed feministsbut they were having none of it.

Above all it horrified me because the Left thus had departed from the post-Enlightenment metric of is it true? to return to a pre-rational metric of is this within our tribe and according to our rituals and our cult?

And that I knew from my study of history how disastrously that kind of thinking ends.

Well, by this time my husband was watching Mr. Carlsons show. I observed myself experiencing waves of prejudice and of squirming anxiety as I also began to watch his show. To my distress, I found that many of his monologues made sense to me.

They were not unreasonable, by and large, and they were not hate-filled; to the contrary.

I had been told that he was racist. And indeed I recoiled at his signature giggle as he mocked the epithet: Racist! But as I actually forced myself to listen, sitting in my discomfort and programmed aversion, observing the reactions in myself (as the Buddhists urge one to do), I realizedhe was not in fact a racist.

Mr. Carlson was usually calling attention to the way identity politics was destroying our former idealshared by most of us California kids and teenagers in the 1970sthat we all were Americans first of all, deserving of equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. I realized as I listened that his stories about immigration were not anti-immigrant, as I had been told; but rather that he was calling attention to the security and social welfare threats to the nation posed by massive, unrestricted, unlawful immigration over an open Southern border, a view shared by many legal immigrants.

I learned that he was not actually transphobic, as I had been told; but rather that he shone a light on the way that minors were being targeted by schools and the pharmaceutical industry, to undergo radical gender surgery before they were of age to make adult decisions.

While I often still disagreed with him, I found that his reasoning was transparenta rare thing these daysand that always he returned to that old-fashioned, common-sense basis for his conclusions: this is simply true. More often than not, he had a point.

I was also noticing that as I scanned Twitter for what I saw as more and more evidence of flaws in the narrative about COVID and lockdowns that we were all being fed in the first half of 2021, and as I forwarded or posted these links showing primary-source evidence of fraud in the PCR tests, a lack of transparent datasets in the COVID dashboards, testimony from an OSHA expert about harms to children from masks, problems with The New York Times assertions about restaurant- and school-based infections and asymptomatic spread, and so onevidence that I would later publish in my 2021 book The Bodies of Others: COVID-19, The New Authoritarians and the War Against the Humanthat there was absolute silence now from my entire formerly robust and responsive network of legacy/progressive-media producers, editors, journalists, and bookers.

Silence from the U.S. TV networks. Silence from The Washington Post. From The Guardian. Silence from NPR. Silence from the BBC, the Sunday Times of London, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, my reliable former outlets. Even silence from other overseas news outlets. All of these had, until 2020, been happy to respond to what I sent, to commission my writing, or to book me to appear to speak about the links I had forwarded or posted to their producers or editors.

But Eldad Yaron, Mr. Carlsons excellent producer, pretty much alone of the major outlets producers, did respond to the links I sent, even inviting more.

So I was in the head-spinning position of realizing that these two men, Carlson and Bannon, both unwavering conservatives, both of whom I had been told represented Evil Incarnate, were the possessors of the only major platforms interested in the hard and fast evidence of the greatest crime in history and of the direct threat to our Republic, of which I was warning; and that every other news outlet, all on the liberal side, indeed around the world, was rushing headlong into the sea of lies, and gladly sailing upon it under a wind of falsehood and prevarication. So only they, along with a smattering of other smaller independent media, were able to bring their audiences a true picture of the appalling threats faced by their viewers and our Republic.

Back to Mr. Carlson in the present, and why I appreciate him and hope his voice reappears on the national and global stage more assertively than before.

I dont know him personallywe have only met once, as far as I knowwhen my husband Brian OShea and I visited Carlsons homey, Americana-crowded studio in a tiny town in rural Maine.

But underneath all of what may be our policy differences, this is in my view why so many people have seen his reporting during the last three years as absolutely critical to our survivaland why so many Democrats and independents, including myself, whether secretly or not, watch and appreciate him as well:

Carlson queries current madness from the same old-fashioned, deeply American premises that shaped me, and that shaped the last three remaining true Liberals, as well.

He seems to be refusing to let go of an America that actually holds journalists to the practice of journalism. I share that outrage and that nostalgia. Many do. He seems to insist on not forgetting the America that saw everyone as equal based on the content of their character. I, many, share this pained memory of national unity around race even as we acknowledge that our nations racial history has had plenty of tragedy. He wont let go of the memory of an America in which children were safe at school and parents decided what happened to their children. I, many, share this baseline value and are terrified that it is under attack. And he insists on patriotism, in a time of relentless propaganda and the bribery of elites that urges us all to drop national identities, cultures, borders, and even allegiances.

This last quality especially makes him dangerous, as our nation is led entirely now by elite-captured traitors to our country.

All of these resonances are deeply nostalgicbut they are also what must be saved and protected as memories and as part of our core belief system, if we are ever to regain our Republicand our decencyin the future.

SoMr. Carlsonthank you for caring about women and babies, in your being among the first, along with Mr. Bannon, to give me a platform to raise a lifesaving alarm about threats to both. Thank you for your dogged nostalgia about a nation that is racially optimistic. Thanks for being willing to talk to those with whom you do not agree. Thanks for not giving up on religious liberty or the First Amendment. Thank you for insisting that truth matters.

And thank you for not giving up on the best core ideals of this nation.

We did not used to call the aggregate of all of those ideals, conspiracy theories.

We used to call them, America.

Originally published on the authors Substack

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Third-Party Report on TikTok Security Omits Key Details: Cyber Expert

TikTok not the only firm sharing data with governments, report says

A symbol of TikTok (Douyin) is pictured at The Place shopping mall at dusk in Beijing, China, on Aug. 22, 2020. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A report commissioned by Chinese social media giant TikTok supposed to dampen its security issues, has been criticised by cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0.

Robert Potter, head of the firm, said the third-party report, compiled by Prof. Nigel Phair, missed vital details.

Certain data access points, such as clipboard access, advertisement ID, and biometric data, have been omitted in Prof. Phairs work. This does not provide a complete and accurate picture of the apps data access practices, he wrote on Twitter.

Data Access:

Certain data access points, such as clipboard access, advertisement ID, and biometric data, have been omitted in Prof. Phairs work This does not provide a complete and accurate picture of the apps data access practices. 2  Robert Potter (@rpotter_9) April 27, 2023

Potter also compared the analysis with that completed by Internet 2.0 malware Malcore. He said Malcore found that TikTok accessed all data points in the app.

It produces an automated, agnostic report which has repeatedly found TikTok to be one of the larger collectors of user data. This is in contrast to the process Prof Phair used, Potter said in an additional Twitter post.

Benchmarking:@Malcoreio includes all datapoints along with others such as third party software items. It produces an automated, agnostic report which has repeatedly found TikTok to be one of the larger collectors of user data. This is in contrast to the process Prof Phair used 3  Robert Potter (@rpotter_9) April 27, 2023

However, the Phair report did find that despite its consistent denials, TikTok was actually using GPS tracking to monitor usersa point Internet 2.0 has consistently pressed.

Here is TikToks code, we assess based on these lines you can collect location data, including longitude, latitude, altitude, speed and; bearing, Internet 2.0 said in a media post on March 27.

Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has warned that TikTok could not be trusted to keep data from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the companys claims on its privacy were nothing short of gaslighting.

Commissioner Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, U.S. on Feb. 23, 2018. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

With TikTok, weve had this years-long approach that strikes me as sort of nothing short of gaslighting in terms of their misrepresentations. Thats why I say theres something very unique there. That requires serious action, Carr said.

He even doubted recent plans by TikTok to restructure its company so that U.S. data was stored with Texas-based company Oracle.

Project Texas has been floated. One of the most significant things was at a recent congressional hearing; you have the Democrat ranking member of the House Committee said that he was doubtful that even if we put Project Texas in place, it would have sufficient protections against the CCP having control over TikTok, and hes right, Carr added.

TikTok is Not the Only Firm Sharing Data With Governments

The report, released on April 27, alleged that TikTok was less dangerous than its social media competitors in terms of data collection and that its methods of data sharing were no different to that of the four major banks in Australia.

An analysisusing 40 specific collection attributesof the privacy policies of Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok revealed that each of the four platforms was within a close range of one another when it came to the number of data points collected.

These ranged from Google, which was found to collect the largest number of data points (39 of 40), followed by Facebook/Meta (33 of 40), TikTok (31 of 40) and Twitter (29 of 40), the report stated.

Further, Phair argued that concerns around user data security and the risk of unauthorised access by intelligence services was an unfair accusation aimed at TikTok.

These concerns often fail to take account of the fact that many Australian organisations share data with overseas jurisdictions, including the United States and China. This includes each of Australias largest four banks, the two largest telecommunication providers, and a number of high-profile tech companies.

Phair also noted that in terms of overseas data access, ANZ Bank, Westpac, the National Bank and the Commonwealth Bank share users personal data with authorities in China, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States of America (U.S.), Fiji, India, Singapore, and the Philippines

Additionally, Telstra and Optus will share user information with over 27 governments, including Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, countries within the European Union, India, Japan, Malaysia, Moldova, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, UK, U.S., Israel, Iceland, New Zealand and Vietnam.

Buy now, pay later giant, AfterPay, also shares data with authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, New Zealand, and parts of Europe.

It would be safe to assume that the vast majority of Australians have had their personally identifiable information shared with overseas-based entities in a range of foreign jurisdictions, including China, irrespective of their social media usage.
Threats to Fuel Supply Could Cripple Australia: Australian Defence Minister

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles speaks to the media during a press conference after the release of the Defence Strategic Review at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on April 24, 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Economic coercion from China could cut off Australias fuel supplies, crippling the vast countrys food and transport sectors, according to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Marles, who is also Australias defence minister, said that Australias exposure to economic coercion is even greater than the risk of invasion, and the potential of such coercion going forward is also much more significant.

We are much more reliant upon our economic connection as the world. [In] the early 1990s, our trade as a percentage of our GDP was around 32 percent. In 2020, it was up to 45 percent, he told the ABC Insiders program on Sunday.

And theres a physical dimension to that economic connection; most of our liquid fuels now, almost all, come from overseas. Back in the 90s, we used to do it all on shore. In fact, most comes now from just one country, and thats Singapore.

Thats where the threat lies. And thats why we need to re-posture for that.

Asked by host David Speers whether China could block Australias fuel suppliers in the next three years, Marles said he was not just worried about the next three years.

Well, first, its not just the three yearsit is that, but I think its beyond that, he said. So, we are thinking about this over the next three, the next ten years and beyond.

But the point that were really making is that when you look at the way in which great power contest is playing out, and particularly in our region, you look at that military build-up, and you look at our exposure to that through a much greater economic connection to the world, we are much more vulnerable.

Australia Still Tied Extensively to China

Australias major imports are refined petroleum ($19.6 billion), cars ($18.8 billion), delivery trucks ($8.08 billion), broadcasting equipment ($6.68 billion), and computers ($6.61 billion), and the imports are derived predominantly from China ($70 billion), United States ($25.7 billion), Japan ($15.3 billion), Thailand ($12.1 billion), and Germany ($11.6 billion).

In 2021, China exported A$70 billion to Australia, with the main products being computers, broadcasting equipment, and furniture. However, in February this year, Chinas exports decreased by 4.61 percent million while imports increased by 24.1 per cent.

Australias largest export destination is currently China, followed by Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, and Singapore. Australian exports to China were valued at US$102.35 billion in 2022, with the main product being iron ore.

During the last 26 years, exports from Australia to China have increased at an annualised rate of 17.2 percent, from $2.24 billion in 1995 to $138 billion in 2021.

According to the think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute, as a result of banning imports of Australian coal, China suffered brown-outs in many cities in 2020 while its steel-making operations will have suffered from excessive use of inferior domestic coal, which shortens the lifespan of its coke ovens.

Chinas purchases of Australian coal went from $13.7 billion in 2019 to nothing last year, ASPIs report on April 27 noted. Coal was the first previously banned commodity that China started buying after the thaw in trade relations this year.

Global Rules-Based Order Under Threat

While not directly naming China, Marles said the world is seeing the global rules-based order coming under threat or stress, which could be seen in the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as conflicts in the South China Sea.

We obviously see that in Ukraine, but we also see it in our own region, in places like the South China Sea. This is being accompanied by the biggest conventional military buildup that the world has seen since the end of the Second World War. That obviously has an implication for our strategic landscape, he said.

China is currently undergoing the largest ramp-up of it military assets in the Pacific.

Marles noted that Australia needs to posture its defence force to deal with these factors in the region because so much of what we need to do is beyond our shores.

So to have a defence force with the capacity for impactful protection across the full spectrum of proportionate response is now what we are seeking to achieve.

Marles revealed that the Albanese government would repurpose $7.8 billion worth of expenditure thats about tweaking and is also about making a decision right now to expand domestic defence manufacturing.

Ultimately, our ambition is to establish a production line with companies in this country which would provide for the manufacture of those long-range strike missiles and doing as much of that as possible in the next couple of years, he said.

We hope that we can begin with the assembly of the strike missiles that go in the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket) system. But we want to build on that so that were actually manufacturing the full suite of these weapons in Australia.

The comment comes after the release of a defence review, which noted that increasing recruitment, securing trade routes, and boosting energy supply are among the biggest issues for the Australian Defence Force.

The review, which was published by the Albanese government on April 24, warned that Australias geographical isolation is no longer a significant strategic advantage that can provide defence enough time to prepare for an incoming attack in the missile age.

The review suggested that Australia needs to plug its workforce and capability gaps to discourage foes.

Victoria Kelly-Clark contributed to this report.
UCP Questions NDP Leader Rachel Notleys Husbands Role in Alberta Election

Lou Arab works for CUPE union running attack ads against Danielle Smith

NDP Leader and former premier Rachel Notley and her husband, Lou Arab, leave following a concession speech after Notley loses the election to the UCP, in Edmonton Alta., on April 16, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

With an election announcement imminent, Alberta Premier and United Conservative Party (UCP) Leader Danielle Smith is questioning whether NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notleys husband is using union funds to pay for attack ads against the UCP.

Notleys husband, Lou Arab, is a self-described political field activist, union communicator. According to his LinkedIn profile, he works as a communications staffer for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), one of Albertas largest unions, representing over 36,000 public sector workers in the municipal, school board, health-care, post-secondary education, and not-for-profit sectors, among other sectors.

Arabs LinkedIn page also indicates he works for the Alberta NDP as political campaign manager. He also sits on the governing board of Notleys NDP.

CUPE, which collects union dues from its members, has been running almost hourly attack ads against the UCP for weeks, with such statements as, Danielle Smith wants to charge for check ups and Danielle Smith is too risky.

One statement, on April 30, says Smith is Risky. Unpredictable. Focused on all the wrong things. Alberta needs a premier who is competent and trustworthy. Not Danielle Smith.

In a statement on April 29, the UCP said: What the premier would like to ask Ms. Notley, who is married to a communications representative for CUPE, is why is her husbands union spending massively on third-party attack ads to elect the NDP, and how is it legal.

The UCP added: Ms. Notleys husband is actively involved as a union representative. They are working night and day to elect NDP candidates, from door knocking to spending massively on third-party attack ads, to influence the NDP and the electorate. Voters should be concerned by how the Alberta Federation of Labour influences Ms. Notley and the NDP.

Union Defends Notleys Husband

CUPE is part of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), but AFL president Gil McGowan said Notleys husband has no official role.

Its just a personal smear, McGowan said, noting that Arab is supporting his wife, which is nothing other than laudable.

This is not the first time questions have been raised about Notleys husband. When Notley was premier, CBC reported in June 2015 that a phone call made to Arabs cellphone was returned by Premier Notleys staff.

Arab worked then as a communications officer with CUPE. CBC said it left a message on Arabs mobile phone requesting comment about a press release sent by CUPE from his union email address. The call was returned by Notleys then-press secretary, working out of the premiers office, CBC reported.

That same month, a CUPE Alberta press release urging the Alberta government to move quickly on its pledge to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour was sent out from Arabs union email address. The press release quoted the CUPE president and listed her contact information.

Notley said her husband didnt write the press release and it was an accident.

It was one that accidentally went out because of the IT infrastructure where he is, she said at the time.

Notley, a former lawyer, said there was no conflict of interest caused by her husbands role with the labour union.

We began discussions with the ethics commissioner almost immediately after the election to get advice, in terms of the parameters of what I can do and what he can do as a result of the work that he does and did, said Notley at a news conference at the time.

In a June 21, 2015, commentary, Paula Simons, then an Edmonton Journal columnist, and now a sitting federal senator, said it would be difficult for Arab to continue working for one of the provinces largest public sector unions while his wife was running the province.

It doesnt actually violate any of the provinces conflict of interest laws or guidelines, wrote Simons. But this isnt about ethics. Its about optics.

Politically, the damage was done. It created the impression the union was exerting undue influence on NDP policy and called into question the ability of Notleys government to play hardball with her husbands employer come contract time, wrote Simons.

No premiers spouse should work for an organization thats always going to be in the midst of controversy, thats always going to be lobbying or opposing the government on some issue or other, she said at the time.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
US and Allies Should Seize More Iranian Oil

The revenues could help reverse the weakening of the US military

An oil tanker seized by Iranian naval forces at the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, on Oct. 31, 2022. (IRNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

Iran seized a U.S. oil cargo destined for Houston on April 27. The seizure of Kuwaiti oil transiting the Gulf of Oman was apparently in retaliation for a U.S. seizure of Iranian oil off the coast of South Africa a few days earlier. The original U.S. seizure was part of sanctions against Irans nuclear weapons program.

The Biden administration responded to Irans latest seizure with an information release about arming a squadron of A-10 Warthog planes in the Middle East with 250-pound precision-guided bunker-buster bombs, a direct threat to Irans nuclear program, as well as its affiliated fighters in Iraq and Syria. The Warthogs are relatively slow compared to jet fighters but can be used in the Syrian theater where militants are lightly armed.

However, traditional shows of U.S. military strength are losing their efficacy. The U.S. Navy recently increased its presence in the Middle East with a guided missile submarine capable of carrying 150 Tomahawk missiles. Irans foreign ministry responded by saying that the United States was attempting to cover up the decline of its power in the world. The ministry spokesman said on Twitter, The American regime has moved in a direction contrary to the will of the nations of the region.

A guided-missile submarine capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk missiles in a file photo. (U.S. Navy via AP)

Last month, China negotiated a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a longtime U.S. ally.

Heightened tensions with Iran pull U.S. military resources away from deterring Russia and China but could increase overall U.S. defense spending as the public realizes that authoritarian regimes threaten U.S. maritime commerce, upon which much of U.S. economic strength has historically relied.

Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels in the past two years, including a successful counter-seizure in November. In response to a U.S. seizure that anchored off Greece and was offloaded to a ship bound for the United States, Iran took two Greek tankers in May last year, delivering 700,000 barrels to Syria. The two Greek tankers were only released by Iran when the Greek government released the initial U.S. seizure, which was Russia-flagged, back to Iran.

In the second of Irans counter-seizures, the ship was China-flagged. This raises the question of whether Beijing and Moscow colluded with Tehran to seize the U.S. oil cargos. The strategy could further erode U.S. economic and military power.

In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I of England brought the Spanish Armada to its knees and made the country a global power, partly by the approval of English pirates, known as privateers and disparaged as sea dogs, who captured Spanish treasure ships. This weakened Spain economically, decreased taxes in England, and made it more difficult for Phillip II of Spain to afford the Armada required to invade England. England had a fleet of self-funding private warships ready for its defense, providing crown revenues that could exceed Englands annual income.

Today is different. We have an international maritime law that the United States has long supported as a bulwark of the global free trade system. But that has not stopped us from capturing seaborne cargos of countries that violate international law, for example, Iranian oil that supports the countrys illegal nuclear weapons development.

If the U.S. Navy continues to weaken relative to the enemies of democracy, we may eventually lose the ability to seize these illegal cargos, at which point enemy navies could use the same tactic against us. Like King Phillip II of Spain, U.S. military power globally would shrink irretrievably with our slowing economy.

A man holds a local newspaper reporting on the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties in the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 11, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

What matters is thus not only military and economic strength, but also the courage to use it when given no choice by rising authoritarian threats. The key place of international law and respect for enforcement by the United States and its allies is now withering, along with the global stability it supported. Irans seizure of U.S. cargo is the latest mockery of the U.S.-led international rule of law.

Iran is now part of a growing group of authoritarian countrieswith China in the leadthat is challenging the international legal system extant since the end of World War II. Other rogue nations in the group include Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela.

Additional states at risk of going rogue are those that show increased acceptance of international leadership by Beijing and Moscow, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Mongolia, and India, many of which joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as either members or observers. Even France is now cozying up to Beijing.

Something must be done. Twelve U.S. senators have urged President Joe Biden to allow the Department of Homeland Security to restart seizures of Iranian oil shipments, which the Treasury Department stopped over a year ago. Due to the stoppage, Irans oil exports peaked in recent months since the Trump administrations reimposition of sanctions in 2018.

Revenues from the U.S. seizuresincluding four Venezuelan cargos in 2020should be used for U.S. and allied efforts to enforce international law against Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and other rogue dictators that destabilize global politics with their dangerous aggressions and human rights abuse.

The United States and its allies cannot provide global security without the funds to do so, and revenues from countries like Iran and Venezuela that flout international law will be an important source of the economic strength required for the democracies to stand up to authoritarianism and win.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
US Government Scrambling to Find Solution to Rescue First Republic Bank

A sign in front of a First Republic Bank office in Oakland, Calif., on March 16, 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

U.S. regulators asked large banks to submit their takeover bids for First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) over the weekend, in an effort to rescue the troubled bank.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reportedly held an auction, asking multiple banks to solicit bids for FRC before an afternoon deadline on April 30. As of press time, no announcement had been made.

First Republic released a statement on April 28 stating that the bank is in talks with multiple parties regarding its strategic options, while continuing to serve its clients.

Over the weekend, media reported anonymous sources as saying that about six banks competed to acquire all of FRCs deposits, a large portion of its assets, and some of its liabilities. Citizens Financial Group Inc., PNC Financial Services Group, US Bancorp, and JPMorgan Chase were among the bidders in an auction run by the FDIC.

FRC was the nations 14th-largest commercial bank, with $212.6 billion in total assets at the end of 2022. The bank, which began operations in 1985 with a single office in San Francisco, has grown to have more than 80 offices scattered across seven states in high-income communities.

The banks share price has dropped more than 95 percent since the beginning of March, wiping out its $22 billion market value.

The news comes less than two months after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank failed amid a deposit flight from the banking system, leading the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to take emergency measures.

A Month of Pain

First Republics stock price has tumbled by a staggering 97 percent from a year ago. Shares that were valued at more than $153 last April dropped to $3.51 in regular trading on April 28.

Last month, top U.S. banks infused $30 billion into First Republic to avoid impending financial problems. However, over $100 billion in deposits left the banks vaults since early March, which experts said was a death blow to the bank.

In its latest earnings report (pdf) released on April 24, FRC revealed it had experienced an unprecedented run on deposits following the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank.

News of the deposit exodus sent the banks stock to record lows.

Investors were reminded that the U.S. banking crisis and broader credit crunch are far from over, Will Denyer of Gavekal Research said in an April 26 research note.

In the face of fleeing deposits, First Republic was forced to borrow from federal programs to bolster its balance sheet. The bank said in its earnings report that its total borrowings peaked on March 15 at $138.1 billion.

In a bid to bolster its balance sheet, First Republic also announced plans to sell off unprofitable assets, including low-interest mortgages it provided to affluent customers, as well as lay off 20 to 25 percent of its workforce, which totaled around 7,200 employees at the end of 2022.

More Uncertainty Ahead?

Some analysts predict that the failure of First Republic will put more downward pressure on an already battered financial sector.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers criticized Biden administration regulators for dithering in their solution for First Republic.

Im surprised and disappointed that this situation has continued to linger as long as it has, with the banks stock down 95 percent, Summers told Bloomberg on April 28. I hope that between the banks, the FDIC, the other public authorities, that the best way forward will be found within the next week or 10 days.

Others point to excessive levels of government intervention as the primary cause of todays financial instability, to begin with.

The environment now is completely different than what it used to be, thanks to the activist central bank, former fund manager Bill Fleckenstein told The Epoch Times. We have out-of-control government spending and huge amounts of investment dollars moved on a daily basis blindly by the Vanguards and BlackRocks of the world.

Fleckenstein, author of Greenspans Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve, argued that decades of Keynesian monetary policy have made our financial system fragile and unable to stomach the volatility brought on by the Feds most recent round of rate hikes.

Whos to Blame?

The Federal Reserve published on April 28 its much-anticipated review of the SVB collapse that gripped the U.S. financial system in March. According to the central bank, the failure of SVB was the result of a wide range of factors, including the Fed itself, which conceded that it didnt do enough to make sure that SVB management fixed the companys problems.

At the time of its collapse, SVB had 31 unaddressed safe and soundness supervisory warnings, which is triple the average number of its industry peers, the report stated.

Central bank regulators failed to fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities as Silicon Valley Bank grew in size and compressibility, according to the report. But when the central bank did identify the vulnerabilities, regulators did not take sufficient steps to ensure that SVB remedied these problems at a fast enough pace.

The Fed report also warned that banks with large unrealized losses face significant safety and soundness risks.

Another report by the FDIC released on April 28 on the failure of Signature Bank said the root cause of the New York lenders failure was poor management but that the FDIC could have escalated supervisory actions sooner and been more forceful.

How Do Bank Failures Affect the Economy?

The banking crisis is expected to cause credit shocks, which would drag down economic growth, according to Morgan Stanley.

Disruption in the financial system will leave its mark on the real economy, Morgan Stanley economists wrote in a recent note. Our banking analysts see permanently higher funding costs for banks going forward, and the disruption to funding markets will likely lead to a tightening in credit conditions.

The manufacturing, commercial real estate, and technology sectors are the most vulnerable to a pullback in bank lending, according to Goldman Sachs.

A reduction in lending will result in lower business investment in these industries, Jan Hatzius, chief economist of Goldman Sachs, wrote in a recent note.

We also expect slowing job growth in the leisure and hospitality and other services industries, as diminished loan availability dissuades restaurant operators and other smaller businesses from hiring new workers and opening new establishments, Hatzius said.

Tom Ozimek and Andrew Moran contributed to this report.
US, Philippines Increase Cooperation Amid Chinas Threats

President Joe Biden meets with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office at the White House on May 1, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The United States and the Philippines will strengthen their alliance through increased military cooperation, including the supply of air and maritime capabilities from the United States to the Philippines.

President Joe Biden met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House on May 1, where the two agreed to increase military coordination.

[This meeting is] about strengthening our important alliance with the Philippines, which has been a force for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for over 70 years, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press conference on Monday.

The Biden-Marcos summit is the main event of a four-day U.S. visit by Marcos, which began on April 30the first such visit by a Philippine president in over a decade.

The two leaders reaffirmed their nations 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which requires the United States to act in the event of an armed attack on the Philippine military. They agreed that the United States will transfer three C-130 aircraft and consider the possibility of sending maritime patrol vessels to the Philippines.

China Increasing Aggression Against the Philippines

The summit comes during a period of heightened tension in the Indo-Pacific, during which Chinas communist regime has repeatedly violated the Philippines economic rights by illegally fishing in the nations waters and temporarily blinded a Filipino Coastguard crew with a military-grade laser.

What weve seen recently is a series of continuing provocative acts on the part of China testing and probing into the Philippines waters, in areas of deep concern to the Philippines, a senior Biden administration official said during a press call on Sunday.

The official added that Marcos was loath to position his nation between the United States and China in their ongoing competition, but was now being forced to diversify the Philippines security engagements in light of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) continued belligerence.

The Chinese have taken some steps that have been really concerning to the Philippine leadership, the official said.

Just earlier in the week, the Chinese ambassador to Manila gave a speech about changing circumstances in the Indo-Pacific and appeared to talk about the safety and security of the nearly 200,000 Filipinos living in Taiwan. I think many in the Philippines saw that as a veiled threat.

During that incident, Chinas ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, said that China would not renounce using force against Taiwan, including the 150,000 Filipinos living there.

The Philippines must cease its defense cooperation with the United States if you care about the 150,000 overseas [Filipinos in Taiwan], he said.

Huangs comments took particular aim at the U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), announced earlier this year, which expanded U.S. military presence in the Philippines by providing access to four more Philippine military bases.

The addition of these new EDCA locations will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges, the Pentagon said in a statement at the time.

Beijing, however, claims that the base access could allow the United States to defend Taiwan, which the CCP considers a rogue province.

Marcos said the Philippines will not be used as a staging point for military action, however, and National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that U.S. access to the four EDCA bases was just one aspect of a much broader alliance.

Theres a whole lot more to this alliance and this bilateral relationship than just these four sites, Kirby said during a press call on Monday.

This alliance doesnt exist because of one other nation.  Its not designed for this purpose.
DAMASCUS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hailed China's supportive stance toward Syria and its role in solving critical regional issues, including the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation.

Assad made the remarks during his meeting with the visiting China's special envoy on Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, in the capital Damascus on Saturday.

Assad said Syria appreciates China's firm support in issues concerning Syria's national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The president said Syria looks forward to strengthening practical cooperation with China in various fields within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Meanwhile, Assad congratulated China on successfully mediating the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation, saying it will have an important and positive impact on the regional and international situation.

Voicing appreciation for China's positive role in promoting Syria's relations with other Arab nations, Assad said China is welcome to play a greater role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

For his part, Zhai said that in recent years, China-Syria relations have continued to develop, and political mutual trust has been continuously enhanced, stressing that China is willing to work with Syria to firmly support each other in issues concerning the two countries' core interests, and promote the friendly cooperation between the two sides to achieve new progress.

Zhai noted that Syria's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity should be respected and maintained, urging the United States and the West to lift unilateral sanctions and economic blockade against Syria immediately.

He also called on the international community to sincerely provide humanitarian and development assistance to the Syrian people, noting that China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in improving Syria's relations with Arab countries. 
US Provided Input to Canada on Foreign Agent Registry: Mayorkas

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas shake hands after signing an agreement following the conclusion of the 2023 Canada-United States Cross-Border Crime Forum, in Ottawa on April 28, 2023. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says the Canadian government has been provided with input on establishing a foreign agent registry during high level talks in Ottawa.

That is something that the Attorney General of the United States spoke of today in the forum, and we shared some of the practices and laws that we have in place to see if they would be of utility to our partners in Canada, Mayorkas told CBC News in an interview aired on April 30. The secretary declined to elaborate due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Mayorkas was in Ottawa with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on April 28 to discuss cross-border issues such as guns and drug smuggling, with the parties announcing increased cooperation on the matter.

Regarding the threat of foreign interference in elections, Mayorkas said these have to be taken very, very seriously and can come from the Chinese regime and other countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

He said the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) poses threats in the fields of cybersecurity, theft of intellectual property, use of forced labour, and the spread of disinformation.

What we want to do is identify all of the means and instrumentalities that they employ in each domain, and really ensure that we are taking collective action to address them, he said.

Mayorkas issued a department-wide directive on April 20 to conduct a 90-day PRC Threats Sprint to assess the threats and challenges, and forecast how those could evolve.

The directive identified six priority areas, including protecting critical infrastructure, disrupting the global fentanyl supply chain, and better screening for illicit travellers from China who come to the United States for espionage or to harass dissidents.

In that last category, the United States took steps in mid-April by arresting two individuals in New York City who were allegedly involved in running an illegal Chinese police station. They were charged with conspiring to act as agents of the PRC and obstruction of justice.

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 Departments National Security Division.

The Justice Department said the pair had not informed the U.S. government that they were working for the Chinese regime.

A number of Chinese police stations have been identified in Canada, but no arrests have been made so far.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said last week that the RCMP had taken decisive action to shut them down. The RCMP told The Epoch Times that investigations are ongoing.

Regarding establishing a foreign agent registry in Canada, consultations are taking place but Mendicino didnt provide a timeline for the registrys implementation.

I understand the urgency, but we need to establish a mechanism that also includes protections against stereotyping and stigmatization, he told the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 27.
US Urges China to Stop Harassing Philippine Vessels in Disputed Sea

A Chinese coast guard ship with bow number 5201 blocks Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Malapascua as it maneuvers to enter the mouth of the Second Thomas Shoal locally known as Ayungin Shoal at the South China Sea on April 23, 2023. (Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

The United States urged China on April 29 to stop harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea following a tense encounter between a Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine patrol ship in the disputed waterway.

The incident in the Ayungin Shoalalso known as the Second Thomas Shoalis a stark reminder of Chinas harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels in the disputed waters, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, Miller said in a statement. The United States continues to track and monitor these interactions closely.

He reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to supporting the Philippines in the South China Sea and said any armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft would invoke its mutual defense treaty.

The two nations are allies under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which dictates that the United States and the Philippines will defend each other if either is attacked.

The remarks came a day before Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. left on a five-day visit to the United States, where hell meet with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss economic and security cooperation.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) stated last week that two Chinese coast guard ships blocked its patrol shipsBRP Malapascua and BRP Malabrigopatrolling in the Ayungin Shoal on April 23, which exhibited aggressive tactics.

One of the Chinese ships carried out dangerous maneuvers at a distance of 50 yards from the BRP Malapascua, posing a significant threat to the safety of the ships crew members, the PCG stated.

The second Chinese coast guard vessel shadowed BRP Malabrigo at a distance of 700 yards, according to the PCG.

The Ayungin Shoal is part of the Spratly Islands, located about 105 nautical miles off the Philippine province of Palawan.

The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea classifies maritime areas within 200 nautical miles of coastal nations borders as part of their exclusive economic zones. Beijing claims much of the South China Sea under its nine-dash line.

Philippines Wishes to Avoid Conflict

Hours before departing for Washington on April 30, Marcos urged Beijing to establish a direct communication line between their officials to prevent dangerous collisions between vessels in the disputed waters.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during his inauguration ceremony at the National Museum in Manila, Philippines, on June 30, 2022. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

This is the kind of thing that were hoping to avoid. It was a little more dangerous this time because [the ships] were so close, Marcos told reporters. They almost collided, and that will cause casualties on both sides.

He said the Philippines plays a crucial role as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Philippines goal is simple: We work for peace. We will not encourage any provocative action  We will not allow that to happen, he said.

Marcos is expected to discuss the U.S.Philippines mutual defense treaty with Biden during his trip to Washington.

Over 100 Chinese Militia Vessels Detected

The PCG stated that more than 100 Chinese maritime militia vessels, a Peoples Liberation Army Navy corvette class, and two Chinese coast guard vessels were spotted in several Philippine-controlled areas from April 18 to April 24.

The PCG vessels sent their rigid hull inflatable boats to disperse more than 100 Chinese militia vessels swarming near Julian Felipe Reefwhich is within the countrys 200-mile exclusive economic zonebut to no avail.

No CMM [Chinese maritime militia] vessels reacted or made any attempts to vacate the area, the coast guard said in a statement.

The PCG vessels also issued numerous radio challenges to some 18 Chinese maritime militia vessels gathering around Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands. Still, they refused to comply with the order.

In February, the PCG reported that a Chinese coast guard vessel used a military-grade laser against its ship in the Ayungin Shoal to impede a resupply mission, temporarily blinding its crew.

In addition to the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei have all made their own overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where an estimated $5 trillion in goods passes each year. Its also believed that there are rich gas and oil deposits in the region.

Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
With the Defence Review Now Done, Questions Still Remain

A Royal Australian Air Force F-18 jet fighter lands after an aerial display during the Australian International Airshow Aerospace and Defence Expo at Avalon Airport in Geelong on March 3, 2023. (Paul Crock/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

Australia faces the most dangerous and uncertain region since the Second World War. This is the stark conclusion of the Defence Strategic Review which was released on the eve of ANZAC Day.

The conclusion is not new: co-author, Sir Angus Houston, 75, the former Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), said previously that it is the most dangerous era in his lifetime.

Chinas military build-up is now the largest and most ambitious of any country since the end of the Second World War, wrote the authors.

This has occurred alongside significant economic development, benefitting many countries in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia. This build-up is occurring without transparency or reassurance to the Indo-Pacific region of Chinas strategic intent.

Chinas assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea threatens the global rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific in a way that adversely impacts Australias national interests. China is also engaged in strategic competition in Australias near neighbourhood.

The source of the identified danger is clearly China, although the Review still downplays the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) own claims.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has not hidden his ambitions. To the contrary, he repeats his desires for Chinese hegemony regularly.

At least the CCP understood the context of the document, immediately reacting to it, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning saying that they didnt want countries to use China as an excuse to expand their military power nor wanted any hype around groundless China threat arguments.

The findings should silence the few remaining voices that insist that the CCP is a benign power: business owners, operators in search of profits, and apologists for the regime.

Warnings and Goals Are Clear

The Review is clear that Australias immediate region encompassing the northeastern Indian Ocean through maritime Southeast Asia into the Pacific, including our northern approaches, should be the primary area of military interest for its defence force.

US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during a military exercise in the Grier Labouihi region, in Morocco, on June 9, 2021. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

In the contemporary strategic era, we cannot rely on geography or warning time. Regional military modernisation, underpinned by economic development, has meant that more countries are able to project power across greater ranges in all five dominions: maritime, land, air, space, and cyber. Emerging and disruptive technologies are being rapidly translated into military capability.

While there is at present only a remote possibility of any power contemplating an invasion of our continent, the threat of the use of military force or coercion against Australia does not require invasion.

Accordingly, A strategy of denial is a defensive approach designed to stop an adversary from succeeding in its goal to coerce states through force, or the threatened use of force, to achieve dominance.

Denial is associated with the ability and intent to defend against, and defeat, an act of aggression.

According to the review, the ADF must have the capacity to: defend Australia and our immediate region; deter through denial any adversarys attempt to project power against Australia through our northern approaches; protect Australias economic connection to our region and the world; contribute with our partners to the collective security of the Indo-Pacific; and contribute with our partners to the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

We Need Actual Outcomes

While the Reviews conclusion is welcome, the response to it is critical.

Defence has been wreaked by institutional inertia for decades. While being steeped in old rules is admirable, its bureaucratic layers have undermined the agility required to respond to new dangerous circumstances.

Coupled with a preference for bespoke military equipment, Defence has been tardy in the timely acquisition of the items necessary to meet future threats.

The governments response to date does not engender a great deal of confidence in this situation changing.

The release of the Review on the eve of ANZAC Day also raises suspicions about the governments commitment.

A bugler plays the last post at the Stone of Remembrance during ANZAC Day commemorations at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia, on April 25, 2023. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

First, many decisions about equipment are still to be made. The most egregious example is the recommendation to have yet another review of Australias naval surface ships. Wasnt that the purpose of this Review?

Secondly, the identified need to significantly and urgently increase missile stocks is not accompanied by proposals of how this will occur.

Nor is the missile announcement as impressive as it might seem. A missile with a range of 500 kilometres (310 miles) fired from Darwin would not reach Timor-Leste, let alone most of the Indo-Pacific!

Thirdly, the subsequent announcement of a $3.4 billion (US$2.3 billion) investment in a defence technology and innovation hub over the next decade is inadequate. It also looks like another Defence-run operation.

The Defence Capability Assurance and Oversight Bill that Senator David Fawcett has introduced into the Parliament should be adopted to provide much-needed supervision of Defence acquisitions.

Finally, and most significantly, the government has not provided the funding necessary to ensure the defence the Review identified as essential for future security.

Defence expenditure of two percent of GDP was set as a floor by the former Abbott government, not a ceiling. The reality is that an expenditure of three percent of GDP is required if Australia is to be adequately defended.

The government should set out a concrete plan to reach that level of expenditure in the coming years. Business as usual will no longer secure Australia.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Yellen Warns US Could Default by June 1 If Debt Limit Not Raised

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens during an open session of a Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting at the Department of the Treasury on April 21, 2023, in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The United States could default on its financial obligations as early as June 1 unless Congress takes action to raise the nations $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Yellen announced the news in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on May 1.

After reviewing recent federal tax receipts, our best estimate is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the governments obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time, Yellen wrote.

The secretary had warned Congress on Jan. 13 that a breach of the debt ceiling was days away but would be forestalled by taking extraordinary measures to manage the nations bills.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

At the time, Yellen estimated that those tactics would keep the Treasury under the limit through early June. The Congressional Budget Office later forecast an X Date sometime in late summer.

Now, due to lower-than-expected tax receipts this spring, Yellen has restated the earlier forecast.

This news comes days after Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, a bill that would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion, enough to carry the government into early 2024.

However, the increase was accompanied by a number of spending cuts and caps that Democrats have said are unacceptable.

President Joe Biden has refused to negotiate on raising the debt ceiling, saying that to do so would put the full faith and credit of the United States at risk.

Its up to you now, McCarthy told reporters on April 26, as if addressing Biden. Whether the economy gets in any trouble, its you. Because Republicans raised the debt limit. You have not. Neither has [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer.

However, the following day, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked whether the president was ready to negotiate, repeated Bidens refusal to discuss the debt ceiling.

The United States has never failed on its debt obligation, Jean-Pierre said at the press briefing on April 27.

House Republicans are threatening a default and crashing the economy. As the president said yesterday, he is happy to meet with Speaker McCarthy but not to negotiate the debt limit.

McCarthy has repeatedly said that Republicans will not allow the country to default on its financial obligations, but raising the debt limit should be accompanied by serious discussions about curbing federal deficit spending.

Yellen also said that the Treasury would stop issuing State and Local Government Series (SLGS) Treasury securities.

Treasury will take this action to manage the risks associated with the debt limit, but it is not without costs, as it will deprive state and local governments of an important tool to manage their finances, she wrote.

The secretary noted that 11th-hour actions on the debt ceiling risk harm to consumer confidence and can cause the countrys credit rating to be lowered.

If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests, she wrote.

I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible.
Staff Reporter

Now students participation in any good, social, scientific causes will be treated as the part of curricular activities and they will be given credits for the same, said Dr Ravindra Kulkarni, Member, Steering Committee-NEP2020 implementation, Maharashtra, while talking to The Hitavada on Sunday. He was in Nagpur to attend the workshop on Role of Accreditation in Institutional Building: An NEP 2020 Perspective organised jointly by Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra, in association with Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management held at RCOEM.

Through NEP, education has become more flexible. Students have freedom, scope to earn knowledge through various sources and they would get credits out of it. The education has now become outcome based, Kulkarni explained.

The students opted science but during the studies they can learn Ancient History, if they develop interest in it.

The students take admissions to the course called as Major one while the course they study during Major is called as Minor ones. There are certain guidelines under which students can get certificates of the Minor courses too if they attend those, explained Kulkarni.
11 people killed in Ludhiana after inhaling toxic gas: Police





LUdhIANA (Punjab) :

Authorities suspect that dumping of some chemicals in the sewer led to the noxious emission

The residents in the thickly-populated area were evacuated and NDRF team reached the spot

ELEVEN people, including three children, died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas in the citys thickly-populated Giaspura area on Sunday, with authorities suspecting that dumping of some chemicals in the sewer led to the noxious emission. Four more persons, who were taken ill, are undergoing treatment at a hospital, officials said, adding the area was sealed, the residents were evacuated and a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was at the spot following the incident. Though the source of the leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained, the officials said that they suspected that the poisonous gas was released after some chemical was disposed of in the sewerage in the area and reacted with methane. Giaspura is a thickly populated area with a migrant population. Several industrial and residential buildings are located here.

All the victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and had been staying in Ludhiana. The incident came to light on Sunday morning when some people who came to a local grocery store to buy milk started fainting. Four persons died on the spot while others were rushed to the hospital. Among the dead were three members of the family that owned the store and five from another. Police said five females and six males were among the dead.

The district administration announced Rs 2 lakh compensation each for the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for those who were taken ill in the incident. Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief at the lossof lives and said the NDRF teamis engaged in relief work. Punjab Chief MinisterBhagwant Mann BhagwantMann said the incident wasvery painful and added that all possible help is being provided.It is likely that there is somegas contamination.We are collecting samples from manholes. It is quite likely that somechemical reacted with methanein manholes, LudhianaDeputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik told reporters. As the smell of the gas started spreading, many peoplemoved out of the area. The DC said the cordon at the scene of the leak will be extended.Shesaidthosewho died in the incident did not show any symptoms of respiratory problems.Itis likely that because of neurotoxins the deaths took place, Malik added. Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh Bains said, A broken manhole has been found in the area and there was a strong smell emanating from it.

There isapossibility that the chemical has been poured into the sewerage from that point. A district administration official said a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has reached here,willascertainthesource and the type of gas. The Ludhiana DC said an NDRF team is engaged in extracting samples for various kinds of chemical tests. She saidthere wasnoneed topanicandaskedpeoplenot to fall prey to any rumourmongering. She also appealed to people to stay away from the area. Acheck willbe conductedtoseehow far this gas has spread, she said.We arecollectingsamples from manholes to just check what it is exactly and to what extent it spread, Malik added. The deceased wereidentifiedasAbhay(13), Aryan (10), Kalpna (16), Kamlesh (60), Varsha (35), Sourav (35), Preety (31), Kavilash (40), Navneet (39), Neetu Devi (39) and an unidentified person. DEEPLY SADDENED BY LOSS OF LIVES, SAYS PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU: President Droupadi Murmu said she was deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the Ludhiana gas leak incident and expressedhercondolencesto the bereaved families.
CM Chouhan virtually attends mass marriage programme held in Ratlam





Staff Reporter

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that sons and daughters who tie the nuptial knot should buy household items according to their need and wish, for this purpose arrangements have been made to gift a cheque of Rs. 49,000 under the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah Yojana. The responsibility of arranging marriage is also borne by the state government so that the daughter may not be considered as a burden. Son and daughter are equal, it is necessary that they get equal respect and honour. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan virtually participated in the mass marriage programme of 235 couples in Ratlam districts Manonia Mahadev, (Alot assembly constituency) from the state airport Bhopal. Member of Parliament Shri Anil Firojiya, former MLA Shri Deependra Singh Gehlot, Shri Rajendra Singh Lunera, Shri Yogendra Singh and public representatives participated in the marriage ceremony.

The Chief Minister gave his blessings and best wishes to the brides and grooms for a happy, joyous and blissful life. He hummed the song Mama Ki Duayen Leti Ja  Ja Tujhko Sukhi Sansar Mile at the time of farewell of the daughters.
Maay Marathi spreading wings in Munich





Living in a foreign country like Germany, makes us realise the importance of our own language, our culture and the values associated with them. In our stay in Germany, we realised that if we have to interact outside the home, we must learn German as that is the only language through which the day-to-day life moves. In fact, in most European countries the culture and the languages are preserved. The language of education is German.

Munich has a sizeable Maharashtrian community which has migrated for jobs or higher education studies and trying to achieve the golden means of Maharashtrian rich culture along with German lifestyle. This is where the kids study in German language and accept it as mother tongue, leading them to lose their touch with Marathi. Most times, they avoid speaking in Marathi with parents or even with their grand-parents whenever they visit.

This was a major trigger point for us to realise that if we dont impart Marathi language as well as culture to the kids, they would soon get disconnected and never be able to understand our rich heritage and culture. So, one of the parents, Pravin Patil initiated the idea of making children in the age-group of 5 to 14 years aware of Marathi language, culture and value education. This idea was picked up by Maharashtra Mandal, Munich - a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and representing Marathi language and culture. The initiative was named as Maay Marathi.
Mann Ki Baat is popular among people: CM





Staff Reporter

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat is popular among people of the country. It has become a social movement and a peoples revolution. Prime Ministers Mann Ki Baat has given us an opportunity to bring different people doing good work in front of the society. I heartily congratulate Prime Minister Modi on completion of 100 episodes of Mann Ki Baat programme. Mann Ki Baat has always encouraged social reform activities like Swachhta Andolan, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, water conservation and Vocal for Local. People are also able to express their feelings in front of Prime Minister Modi through this medium. Mann Ki Baat has created a social revolution in the country.

Chouhan listened to 100th episode of Prime Minister Modis Mann Ki Baat programme at Peoples Mall auditorium in Bhopal with applicants of Ladli Bahna Yojana and also addressed them after the programme. MLA Krishna Gaur along with Lokesh Parashar, Sumit Pachauri and a large number of women of the area were present. Women self-help groups will also be formed in cities: While motivating candidates of Ladli Bahna Yojana who came to listen to Mann Ki Baat, Chief Minister Chouhan said that woman was not born to shed tears. The State Government is running many programmes and schemes so that sisters and daughters do not remain helpless, they become strong. Sisters should take a pledge that they will not remain poor. The State Government is also starting a campaign to form women self-help groups in cities. In this, bank linkage of women will be ensured and loan will be made available at 2 per cent interest to start their business. It is our resolution that every woman should earn at least Rs 10,000 a month and live life with self-respect and self-confidence.

Ladli Laxmi Day will be celebrated on May 2: Chief Minister Chouhan said that God has made son and daughter equal, but in historical order, it has become the custom of the society to treat women as secondary. People started considering the son as the support of old age and the torchbearer of the family, while the reality is that only the daughter supports the parents till the last moment and is no less than a son in any situation. Advances in science were also used to prevent birth of a girl child. In the male-dominated society, condition of daughters and sisters continued to worsen. To change this scenario full of pain and agony, the State Government implemented many schemes including Ladli Laxmi Yojana, various schemes for education of daughters, Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana. Arrangements like reservation in Government service, panchayat and urban elections and special exemption in registration of immovable property in the name of women were made for women empowerment. Women have also diligently performed every responsibility. 45 lakh daughters are associated with Ladli Laxmi Yojana in the State, Ladli Laxmi Day will be celebrated on May 2 in the State.
TEDxAmbazariLake ushers in new cultural era





Staff Reporter

The last day of April 2023 proved to be a Super Sunday for Nagpurians. For, the maiden grand event TEDxAmbazariLake held at Vanamati Auditorium saw the perfect gathering of thinkers, intellectuals, social entrepreneurs, and change-makers. The bustling energy of the audience, ever eager to listen to the panel of speakers, filled the air of the auditorium with enthusiasm. The theme of the discussion -- Left, Right and Centre -- represented the inclusivity, openness, and respectful engagement of different ideas emerging from different viewpoints and from various parts of the country. The Ted Talks encouraged a thoughtful and healthy dialogue on innovation, technology, culture, and dissemination of ideas for a healthy social change.

Dr Bhimraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur; Ram Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner; Ketan Mohitkar, State Secretary, ICTRD, inaugurated the programme by lighting the traditional lamp. TEDxAmbazariLake, organised by the bright young minds of Nagpur, saw a panel of heavyweight speakers and performers including Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways; Dr Y V N Krishnamurthy, Registrar of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram; Dr Shubha Phadke, the pioneer of Indian Clinical Genetics. Indias youngest entrepreneurs Anay Ramakrishnan and Abeer Ramakrishnan who have two startups, a tech company and a non-profit organisation at the age of 8 years; Sandeep Pathe, Principal Architect, Sakha Studio; Wasudev Mishra, a renowned young social entrepreneur, and Chief Executive officer of Procohat Technologies, known famously as Ashoka Young Changemaker in business circles, were the other vibrant speakers.

The pioneers and changemakers spoke on a range of topics such as sustainable infrastructure, technology, social development, genetics, and conservation of heritage. The audience responded to their talks with loud applause and cheers. And, the audience also kept one response preserved in their hearts -- feeling inspired -- and carried it home. The organisers as well as the members of the audience felt satisfied that the event ushered in a new era in the cultural story of the city of Nagpur. Suggestions also came in about enhancing the quality and enriching the texture of the event. For, the people who attended the event established an instant connect with the idea of organising the mega event in the city.

Shridhar Venkat, Chief Executive Officer, Akshaya Patra Foundation, addressed the audience virtually as he could not attend the event due to some emergency. Bharatnatyam dancer Agnee Raut, Baithak-Nagpur and The Clusters presented mesmerising performances, adding to the splendour of TEDxAmbazariLake. Parimal Bhakre was organiser of the event and Himanshu Aglawe was co-organiser. R J Pallavi compered the proceedings. The Hitavada was media partner. The Advisory panel members Anasuya Kale Chhabrani, Saloni Bagwani, Sachin Jahagirdar, R Ramakrishnan, and Nakul Agrawal worked for success of the event.
TEHRAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that three Iranian diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia have resumed operations.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference when asked to comment on the progress by Iran and Saudi Arabia to reopen their diplomatic missions following an agreement that was reached between the two countries in March on the normalization of their bilateral ties, the semi-official Mehr news agency has reported.

The three diplomatic missions are Iran's embassy in Riyadh, a consulate general in Jeddah and a representative office to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, Kanaani was quoted as saying.

Kanaani stressed that the two countries are in the early stages of resuming their bilateral relations and reopening their embassies, adding that Iran's technical team is currently based in Saudi Arabia and laying the groundwork.

He said he is optimistic that the two countries' embassies will start their full operations as planned in accordance with their agreement.

The two countries had carried out good coordination in a humanitarian issue in their first steps toward the resumption of the bilateral diplomatic activities, said Kanaani, adding that the evacuation of 65 Iranian nationals from Sudan and their transfer to Iran via the Saudi port city of Jeddah was a positive development.

Regarding an upcoming visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Saudi Arabia, Kanaani said Tehran has received an official invitation from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and has responded to it officially.

At a press conference held in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed that he and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have also invited each other for official visits.

Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in March to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions in the two countries within two months.

On April 6, the two countries announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect. 
Villagers opposing Barsu refinery project meet Pawar in Mumbai





MUMBAI,

A DELEGATION of people opposing a proposed oil refinery project at Barsu in Maharashtras Ratnagiri district called on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday. A section of residents in and around Barsu have been opposing the proposed refinery as they fear the mega project will adversely affect the fragile biodiversity of the coastal Konkan region and also hit their livelihood. On Friday, as tempers ran high among protesters, the police used tear gas to disperse them.

Pawar tweeted that a delegation led by Satyajit Chavan called on him at the YB Chavan Centre here. NCP leader and former state minister Jitendra Awhad was also present during the meeting. On Friday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the proposed refinery project will not be implemented without the local peoples consent. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday said one should ensure development projects do not cause any damage to the environment.

He urged the Maharashtra government to hold discussions with all the stakeholders and find the best possible way out.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, whose party is supporting the protesters, on Saturday claimed there was no coordination between Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on the proposed refinery project.
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BOISE, Idaho (AP)  A hair found stuck to duct tape wrapping the body of a 7-year-old boy matched the child's mother, a DNA analyst told jurors Monday in the woman's triple murder trial.

The hair, found on tape attached to a black plastic bag wrapping the body of Joshua JJ Vallow, contained a partial DNA profile that was compared to three DNA samples, including one from the boy's mother, said Keeley Coleman, a DNA analyst for Bode Technology. The results showed the hair came from the mother.

The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided from Lori Vallow Daybell, Coleman said. The probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile 1 is 71 billion.

Vallow Daybell is charged with conspiracy, murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in what prosecutors say was a doomsday-focused plot carried out with her brother and her fifth husband. The husband, Chad Daybell, is also charged in the case, and the brother, Alex Cox, died of natural causes before the charges were filed.

Idaho prosecutors say the couple espoused strange doomsday-focused beliefs involving demonic possession and zombies to further their plan to kill JJ, his older sister Tylee Ryan, and Chad Daybell's previous wife Tammy Daybell so they could collect life insurance and survivor benefits.

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 2019. Cox told police the shooting was in self-defense and was never charged in the case. He died of natural causes later that year. Vallow Daybell has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea in the Arizona case.

The children were last seen alive in September of 2019, just before Tylee's 17th birthday. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried that she wasn't able to get ahold of JJ.

Their bodies were found the following summer buried in Chad Daybell's yard. JJ's remains were taped, wrapped in plastic and taped again, and Tylee's remains had been badly damaged and burned. Some of Tylee's bones showed evidence of stabbing or chopping marks, an investigator told jurors last week.

Tammy Daybell died in October of 2019, and her death was initially reported as being from natural causes. But investigators became suspicious after Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell married two weeks later and eventually had Tammy's remains exhumed. An autopsy showed she had been asphyxiated.

On Monday, the DNA analyst told jurors that the hair sample wasn't complete enough to run through the FBI database, but that she was able to compare it to DNA samples from Tylee, Vallow Daybell and Vallow Daybell's friend, Melanie Gibb. The FBI database wasn't needed, Coleman said, because she had the three DNA samples from known people.

The trial began last month and was scheduled to last up to 8 weeks or more.
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DENVER (AP)  When Tomas Beauford was arrested after getting into a fight at a group home for intellectually disabled people in 2014, a device he wore around his wrist to help regulate his seizures was confiscated as if it were jewelry when he got to jail, according to a lawsuit filed by his mother. When he refused to take an array of medications there for his epilepsy and mental illness, he was allowed to skip them even though he had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, the lawsuit said.

Nearly a decade after Beauford was found dead in his cell after allegedly suffering multiple seizures behind bars, lawyers for Tiffany Marsh announced Monday that she won a $2 million settlement with Mesa County and the health care company which the county had hired to provide medical care for people housed at its jail.

Her lawsuit alleged that jail workers did not provide Beauford medical attention after witnessing his seizures during a six-week stay in jail. He was found dead on April 16, 2014, his body on the ground and his head wedged inside the bottom shelf of a desk in his cell, after deputies had witnessed him having seizures in the hours before, according to Marsh's lawsuit.

It's just like they gave up on my kid completely, said Marsh, who had urged jail staff to try offering her son Sprite or root beer to coax him take his medications, as she had.

One of her lawyers, David Lane, said Beauford, who had an IQ of 52, should never have been put in jail in the first place. He said police should have just diffused the situation at the group home and then allowed staffers to handle things.

Once the machine gets turned on, stopping the machine is almost impossible, he said, referring to the criminal justice system.

Under the settlement, no one was disciplined for Beauford's death, Lane said. The county did not admit any wrongdoing but did agree to place a plaque with Beauford's photo on it in the lobby of the jail so those who work there will see it every day. The county has also promised to provide annual trainings on inmates who refuse to take medication, intellectually disabled inmates and recognizing and treating seizures.

The current Mesa County sheriff, Todd Rowell, also wrote a letter of apology to Marsh as part of the deal.

We take our responsibilities seriously and while it may be difficult to find any positive from the loss of a loved one, please know we have examined and will continue to look for ways to improve ourselves, our policies and procedures to make sure that all life is respected and cared for to the best of our ability, he wrote.

Mesa County agreed to pay $1.6 million under the settlement and Correctional Health Care Companies, Inc., which is now part of Wellpath, paid $400,000.

The county referred questions to the sheriff's office. Spokesperson Wendy Likes said the office regretted the loss of Beauford's life but said that it does not comment on litigation.

Wellpath did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the settlement.
For Dan Arthur, as poignant as was the long line of people who showed up Monday afternoon to honor his late cousin Stew Leonard Sr., equally affecting was his encounter with a Connecticut native he had met only a few days before on the other side of the country, who broke into tears upon learning about the passing of the founder of the Stew Leonard's chain of grocery stores.

"She started crying on a sidewalk in California, in Coronado," Arthur said. "Everybody says what a great entrepreneur and businessman he was, but I'll tell you as someone who knew him my whole life, he was a better person than he was a businessman. And that's saying a lot  he did so much for so many people."

The Leonard family held a public wake Monday afternoon at St. Matthew's Church in Norwalk for patriarch Stew Leonard Sr., who died Wednesday, April 26, after what the family described as a short illness. He was 93.

Not far from the historic Clover Farms Dairy where it all got started, members of the public turned out on an overcast day  with rays of light occasionally peeking through the clouds  to celebrate the life of Stew Leonard Sr., whose namesake grocery chain occupies a unique perch in the industry with its barnyard schtick and kitsch for kids like animatronic singing characters.

Stew Leonard Sr. opened the original dairy store that would grow into the Stew Leonard's chain of grocery stores in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, along with liquor stores bearing the Stew Leonard's name. Over the years, CEO Stew Leonard Jr. has imprinted his own jocular style as the face of the company, with grandchildren of Stew Leonard now coming into senior roles.

Stew Leonard Jr. told CT Insider on Monday afternoon that his father had regarded the regional expansion with caution.

"His thing was, 'put all your eggs in one basket  and then watch the basket,'" Stew Leonard Jr. recollected. "But you know, he was always supportive of everything we did. We ventured into the wine business, and he was supportive of it; we're going into the swim school business, and he was supportive of it. We wanted to go open a new food store, he was supportive of it. He was just a supportive guy who was positive all the time."

Leonard Jr. added that support extended to any number of Stew Leonard's employees over the years.

"He helped everybody," Leonard Jr. said. "One guy here who is a chef in Norwalk, he said to me, 'When I came here I was out sweeping in the parking lot  I could barely speak English. I learned to speak English at Stew Leonard's.' He said, 'I was promoted, I grew  today I own my own house, and my daughter's an attorney for the Department of Justice.'"

On Monday at St. Matthew's Church on Scribner Avenue, Gov. Ned Lamont reflected on Stew Leonard Sr., his children who carried the business through a major expansion, and his own shopping experiences there.

"I was a single guy living in Norwalk and that's where I'd go to get my stuff," Lamont said Monday at St. Matthew's Church. "Stew Leonard Sr.  and Jr.  have the most positive energy of any folks I've known, and you felt that everywhere you went in the store. He made shopping an experience  he made it fun."

Along with Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Danbury Mayor Dan Esposito was on hand Monday, saying he had never met Stew Leonard Sr. but was appreciative of his legacy at the store in Danbury.

"They're always willing to help out, donate and do things with the community, Esposito told CT Insider. "The Danbury store  we'd go in and bring the children because they had all the machinery and live animals out in the parking lot. It is really cool  it's just a big asset for the city."

The line was out the door at the start of the 3 p.m. visitation hours with more people arriving throughout the afternoon, Inside, pictures of Stew Leonard Sr. ran the length of the church, capturing him in any number of moments from a simple pose with a carton of milk, to a shot of he and spouse Marianne alongside President Reagan.

In past video interview excerpts on a big-screen TV at the church entrance, Leonard recounted vignettes from over the years in his own words, to include the story of his first dissatisfied customer who complained over a carton of egg nog, prompting him to fish a dollar out of his pocket for a refund on the spot. At the entrances to Stew Leonard's stores today, "The customer is always right" motto is now engraved in boulders, as the company's bedrock principle beyond the bells and whistles in the winding corridors inside, along with the food and friendly smiles from staff.

In the video, Leonard credited Marianne with helping him keep his spirits up in the early struggles with a new shop, as the milk delivery era faded into history in the 1960s with Clover Farms Dairy eventually making way for the Route 7 highway spur that bisects Norwalk today.

"All of a sudden the sun came up and down the stairs came my wife Marianne  she said, 'what's the matter Stew?'" Leonard recounted in one video interview segment. "And I said everyone said I'm crazy and that I'm not going to make it. She said, 'Don't listen to them  they're the ones that are crazy.' It was that belief and confidence in you that made it possible."
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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden sought Monday to ease a debt limit standoff by inviting the four Congressional leaders to the White House on May 9  signaling the growing fears of a default as the federal government might be unable to pay its bills as soon as June 1.

Administration and congressional officials confirmed the individual calls to lawmakers and the meeting date, insisting on anonymity to discuss the plans. Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he spoke with Biden and expects to speak with him again, though he did not say whether he will attend the meeting.

Biden plans to stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions and will discuss the urgency of preventing default, as well as how to begin a separate process for passing a separate fiscal 2024 budget. But if even the lawmakers talk, there is no guarantee of progress on an issue that has revealed a gulf in how Democrats and Republicans think the country should be governed.

Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., are at an impasse on lifting the government's borrowing authority. The president has called for a clean increase to the $31.4 trillion cap, while McCarthy and GOP lawmakers are demanding spending cuts in return and passed a bill with $4.8 trillion in deficit savings over 10 years last week.

McCarthy has called on Biden to engage in talks. But as recently as shortly after noon on Monday, the president said in a speech that the GOP congressional leader needed to first make a commitment that the U.S. government would not default. House Republicans passed a bill last week that would cleave discretionary spending over the next decade in return for increasing the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, possibly setting up another showdown going into that year's presidential election.

The stalemate started to breakdown Monday afternoon after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a letter that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the governments obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time.

Economists have sounded the alarm about a financial catastrophe if the government of the world's largest economy is unable to pay its bills. A default could plunge the U.S. and other nations into severe recessions, all while cracking America's financial credibility in ways that could make a recovery difficult.

McCarthy made no reference to the outreach from Biden, but insisted Monday after Treasurys update that the clock is ticking.

"House Republicans did their job and passed a responsible bill that raises the debt ceiling, avoids default, and tackles reckless spending, McCarthy said in a statement. The Senate and the President need to get to work  and soon.

It's still unclear how the president and Congress can resolve the matter, yet Democratic leaders want to decouple the debt limit from the budget process.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., quickly seized on Yellen's letter as a reason to address the debt cap and settle differences over spending as part of our annual budget process, which is currently underway,"

Its time to put aside partisan interests and do what is right and necessary for the American people to avoid a first-ever U.S. government default that crashes the stock market, raises costs on families and jeopardizes retirement savings, the lawmakers said in a statement.

Late Monday, Schumer began the Senate process for consideration of both a clean debt ceiling bill, which would suspend the limit for two years, as well as the House Republican package that his office said could be used for future budget negotiations.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said that, like it or not, the precedent for negotiating a debt ceiling increase was set during the Obama presidency, noting that when we have a divided government, thats what happens, so sit down, get a deal done and dont scare the pants off the people of America."

In a White House speech celebrating small businesses before the Yellen letter, Biden portrayed the House Republicans' plan as an attempt to extort spending cuts from the administration by putting the federal government at risk of default. He portrayed some of the backers of the bill as unreasonable extremists who are loyal to the Make America Great Again movement started by former President Donald Trump.

We pay our bills and we should do so without reckless hostage-taking from some of the MAGA Republicans in Congress, Biden said.

White House officials calculate that the House GOP bill would force a 22% slash to non-defense discretionary spending, putting housing vouchers, food aid and basic medical care at risk for millions of U.S. households. Biden on Monday cited a Moody's Analytics report that there would be 780,000 fewer jobs next year if the bill became law.

But the House passed a bill with spending caps that avoids making specific cuts. Instead, it would place strict limits on how much the federal government could spend over the next decade and leave lawmakers to sort out the details.

In return for raising the debt limit by $1.5 trillion into 2024, House Republicans voted by a narrow margin to claw back unspent COVID-19 funds, put work requirements on government aid, cancel Biden's plans to forgive student debt, put spending levels back at 2022 levels and place a 1% cap on growth going forward.

Republicans insist defense and veterans accounts will be spared, though the bill does not explicitly spell out the actual reductions. Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said he was very, very frustrated with the Biden administrations suggestion that services would be cut. No veteran will lose benefits, Bost promised on a weekend conference call.

Speaking from Jerusalem on Monday, McCarthy said the need for talks to begin was reasonable and Biden's resistance to doing so was the problem. The House speaker suggested that kids who watched the educational cartoon Schoolhouse Rock know that laws only result from Congress and the president cooperating.

'Schoolhouse Rock'  they never told you not to negotiate," McCarthy said. "They told you to work together.

The speaker has said an agreement depends on a commitment to limit the debt, which already totals more than $31.4 trillion. But both Biden and McCarthy have pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare, which will be the primary drivers of the debt in the coming decades, according to economists and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

McCarthy said he looked forward to Biden changing his mind and negotiating with us.

Before the day ended, a meeting was on the calendar.

___

White House correspondent Zeke Miller and AP reporter Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
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EDWARDSVILLE  Two men were charged Friday with mob action in connection with an attack on a third man that caused facial fractures.

Jeffrey H. Perryman, 36, of the first block of E. Trailer Park, Glen Carbon; and Carl A. Shaver Jr., 41, of the 4300 block of Illinois 162, Granite City, were each charged April 28 with aggravated battery, both Class 3 felonies; and mob action, both Class 4 felonies.
SPRINGFIELD  Thousands of elementary and high school students throughout Illinois could lose access to after-school and summer programs in the upcoming fiscal year but advocates are hoping that either the General Assembly or the federal government can keep that from happening.

The programs, known as 21st Century Community Learning Centers, are a federally funded a through program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education that targets students in low-performing and high-poverty schools.

Many of the programs offer academic enrichment activities to help students meet state and local academic standards. They also offer literacy and other educational services to the families of students enrolled in the programs.

Many of these students have child care responsibilities for younger siblings, mental health concerns, and are victims of domestic violence, just to name a few, said Kimberly David, associate director for Project Success of Vermilion County. The relationships that our staff build with these students to help ensure that they stay the course and finish high school are very important.

"Several of our students have utilized our program time to apply for college and jobs with the encouragement of our staff.

David was among several people who turned out April 26 for ISBEs monthly board meeting in Springfield urging the board to ask the General Assembly to cover a funding gap that is estimated at $15 million by ISBE.

ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews said the funding gap is the result of a miscalculation the agency made when it tried to estimate how much federal money would be available next year.

Each year, she said, ISBE awards grants to school districts and other community-based organizations that provide after-school, before-school and summer programming. The grants typically run for five years and at the end of that period, they can either be renewed or the recipient can apply again through a competitive selection process.

Under federal rules, recipients generally are not allowed to carry over unspent funds from one year to the next. But those rules were relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were forced to close and no services were being provided.

Matthews said agency officials were unable to accurately estimate the impact that rule change would have and, as a result, it made commitments to distribute more funds in the upcoming fiscal year than will actually be available.

ISBE only discovered the error recently and, on April 10, it notified organizations whose grants expire at the end of this fiscal year that their grants will not be renewed and there will not be a new grant competition for them to enter.

We recognize the late timing of this communication and ISBEs error in not appropriately forecasting grant funding, the agency said in the notification letter. We are committed to providing earlier notice going forward, so that grantees have ample time to plan and prepare for the conclusion of the grant cycle.

The advocacy group ACT Now Illinois, a coalition of after-school service providers, estimates that 12,000 students will lose access to programs as a result while roughly 550 after-school staff members will lose their jobs.

Teresa Dothard-Campbell, who runs a program for middle school students in East Moline School District 37, said her program will not be directly affected this year but she has heard from colleagues at other sites who are being affected.

And I can tell you that it was very disheartening last week to sit around a table and to hear about the impact that not being able to be funded was going to have on the students in our community, she said. In my program alone, we serve 475 students out of a student population of 1,100 students. We offer over 22 after-school clubs or before-school clubs. And we are enriched with bringing in community partners as well to be able to provide those experiences.

Advocates urged ISBE to seek additional funding through the General Assembly to prevent the programs whose grants are expiring from closing. But Matthews said the agency currently does not intend to do that. Instead, it is asking the federal government for permission to use pandemic relief funds to cover the amount that was over-allocated for next year.

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  Madison County has received the lowest grade possible in the most recent air quality report by the American Lung Association.

The "State of the Air" report released Monday morning gave "F" grades to the air quality, as it relates to ozone, in Madison County, while St. Charles and St. Louis counties also received the bottom assessment.

Macoupin County received an "A" rating for air quality, while Jersey and St. Clair counties received "C" grades. Jefferson County and St. Louis city both received "D" grades.

Madison County has drawn an "F" rating for ozone in the air since the 1990s, but air quality has improved, the American Lung Association reports. The county has 26 fewer high ozone days now than in 1996, for example.

The good news is that the county received a "Pass" grade on the 2023 report for particle pollution.

Its encouraging to see that St. Louis has once again escaped the list of the most ozone-polluted cities with more counties in the bi-state area receiving a better grade in this years annual 'State of the Air' report compared to last year, said Susannah Fuchs, director of clean air for the American Lung Association in Missouri. However, there is still much work to be done to protect our local communities and constituents from the growing risks to public health as we prepare to settle into summer when were at greater risk for elevated levels of ozone pollution.

For the seventh consecutive year, the St. Louis region escaped being ranked among the top 25 most ozone-polluted cities in the U.S., coming in at No. 35 on the list out of 227 metropolitan areas. The area ranked 27th on the list for most polluted cities by year-round particle pollution, which is back three spots from the previous year.

Residents can visit www.switchupyourcommute.com to learn more about ways to modify their commuting behaviors and all the transportation options available on both sides of the Mississippi River  and links to associated schedules, pricing, programs, ride matching services, incentives and more.

The Clean Air Partnerships website at www.cleanair-stlouis.com lets people sign up for a daily email via the Environmental Protection Agencys EnviroFlash air quality alert system, which states if the forecast for the following day is a green (good), yellow (moderate), orange (unhealthy for sensitive groups) or red (unhealthy) air quality day.

For the full American Lung Association 2023 State of the Air report, visit www.lung.org.
SHANGHAI, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's coastal bulk freight index went down in the week ending on April 28, 2023, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).

The composite index for coastal bulk freight fell 1.7 percent week on week to 1,072.5, said the SSE.

The coal sub-index went down 2.4 percent to 1,069.84, SSE data showed.

The SSE initiated the index in 2001, under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport, to reflect the fluctuations of the Chinese coastal transport market. 
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Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 1, 2023 13:14 3 003a0fdfeebb1025ab3702947bde0b07 4 Inforial LG,LG-Electronics,Lebaran Free

It really is still the time of celebration.

Stepping outside the house is a gush of festive aura coloring down the road with a harmony for togetherness.

We all know this has been a long awaited one, uniquely being the first normal Ramadan after what felt like an eternity of isolation. However, health is still an arising concern that overlaps this fresh world of renewing our social gatherings again.

Especially when a good social atmosphere comes with a good breath for quality health. We can all agree to that.

Always with the promise of their users well-being, LG Electronics Indonesia (LG) once again came in the nic of time to equip the community with the three-day LG Lebaran Sehat (Healthy Eid).

Held from April 26 to 28, the event was targeted at communities around three TPS (garbage disposal sites) throughout Surabaya, East Java: TPS Kembang Kuning, TPS Putat Jaya and TPS Joyoboyo.

Still in the midst of the Eid atmosphere and with the awareness of being a part of the community begins Lee Tae-Jin, President of Electronics Indonesia, we want to share a little happiness with residents in need through this activity.

The movement of giving-back and re-humanizing ourselves in a month that remembers a harmony-for-all is further emphasized by Lee, who shared how the three focused TPS had encapsulated the targets of LGs Lebaran Sehat.

It is almost like this leading global innovator beats a human heart as the LG Lebaran Sehat movement itself is embedded under the main focus of improving public health that branches out two programs.

The first program comes with the provision of a number of food packages for the residents, consisting of food that has been carefully-threaded to ensure the richest nutrients. Becoming a justice to the title of the program itself, a nutritionist has been consulted beforehand which wraps the package with deliciousness, a hoped long-term good and a communal love to ensure they have balanced nutrition for the body.

As the distribution of balanced-nutrition food made its way to curve smiles on the residents faces, LG Lebaran Sehat also provides general health check-ups especially for the young ones in the crucial stages of development.

The best of both worlds emerged from this second program that collaborates with the Integrated Service Post (Posyandu) around the area, as parents will subconsciously gain health education by observing the distribution of vitamins and supplements for their children when undergoing the health check-ups.

Such a thoughtful process also complements the companys continuous advocacy for educationby already demonstrating the beneficial good for an unanimous contentment, as actions do speak louder than words.

Always in the mind of the greater good for others, the entanglement of health education activities and the demonstration to such service is aligned with LGs long-term hope in elevating the communitys public awareness.

Among the support given, we realize this will never be enough to meet the needs of the community. Increasing public awareness is important because the community can change their lives for the better in the future, added Victorio Mandolang, Branch Manager of LG Electronics Indonesia for Surabaya.

Standing in Indonesia for more than 30 years as a leading manufacturer of consumer and commercial products, LGs resilience never ceases to be the first in immersing themselves towards undiscovered paths for the sake of continuous growth and its commitment for developing various social activities touching on health, education and the environment.

This, as Lee Tae Jin said, is the very epitome that manifests the companys transparency in supporting the government to improve the quality of life for the community, the world, us and the meaning of festive joy with an all-around good that hopefully meets no time.
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Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 1, 2023 07:01 3 003a0fdfeebb1025ab3702947bd8f860 4 Inforial Semarang Free

How would it be to get lost in a world that redefines the power of a journey, that recolors your palate through a multitude of sensations?

Such an experience can be yours at the Padma Hotel Semarang, which brings its guests inviting, avant-garde cuisine amid the artistic and multicultural heritage of one of Javas foremost cities.

The hotels new brunch menu, Sunday Brunch: Flavours of The World, will resonate with lovers of Maroon 5s Sunday Morning, as one small part of the Padma Hotels indulgent, all-in-one resort experience.

The revamped menu brings the magic of traveling the world to Semawis All-Day Dining, as guests relax in the restaurants contemporary design.

But the journey doesnt stop there.

As you flip through the pages of the new brunch menu, you will find yourself surprised by the variety of flavors of the world, with dishes from America, Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia and our own archipelago, with offerings that change regularly.

You might not know which country the menu will highlight tomorrow, but you can rest assured it will be delicious.

You might find yourself delighted by the color schemes of golden, crisp roast beef with gherkins or a country terrine dipped in remoulade, decorated with beef pepperoni and cold cuts alongside the yellows of mustard and international cheeses and colorful dried fruits. Of course, these New York deli-inspired dishes would be incomplete without the classic touch of pistachios.

Or perhaps youll enjoy the many variations of Turkish kebabs and pizzas on offer, like a mixtape of flavors. Or your tastebuds may travel to Tokyo at the restaurants sashimi corner, before you find yourself in the comfort of an Indonesian home with the welcoming aromas of terong belado and tempe orek.

Filled with tempting Russian flavors is the chicken schaschlik, alongside a dish of sour cream, rice and meat delicately rolled into a cabbage leaf called golubtsi. You might also indulge in velvety pillows of pirozhki, plump with meat and rice.

To make your culinary travel more official, everyone who enjoys the hotels Sunday Brunch will receive a passport with the mission of discovering the different countries, as represented by the menu items.

The guests will be asked to collect [different countries] stamps as proof of their enjoyment of the food written on the passport, said Marco Braun, executive chef of Padma Hotel Semarang.

Chef Marco Braun emphasized that he wanted diners to have a unique an multifaceted culinary experience that encompassed the pleasures of traveling abroad.

This transforming cuisine is a dream for those who need an effortless vacation, because nothing is more revitalizing than exploring ourselves through the colorful flavors of the world.

For more information on Sunday Brunch: Flavours of The World, contact the Padma Hotel Semarang at fbmarketing.semarang@padmahotels.com or by WhatsApp at +62 811-2670-693.

Topics : Semarang
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Linkedin AFP San Francisco, United States  Mon, May 1, 2023 17:08 3 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b0559df9a 2 Companies banks,banking-industry,crisis,JPMorgan Free

US financial authorities have taken possession of California's troubled First Republic Bank, which will be acquired by JPMorgan Chase, government regulators announced Monday in the latest banking failure.

First Republic, the second-largest bank by assets to collapse in US history, has been in freefall since disclosing last week that it lost more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, causing its shares to plummet.

The San Francisco-based lender had been under heavy pressure after the bankruptcies in March of regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sparked fears of contagion and rattled financial markets.

Officials have been scrambling to come up with a rescue package.

The US Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an agency in charge of guaranteeing bank deposits, approached six banks last week to gauge their interest in buying First Republic's assets, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.

As part of the deal struck early Monday, the California regulator appointed FDIC as the receiver of First Republic, to be immediately sold to JPMorgan Chase.

On Monday, the 84 First Republic offices in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank, according to the FDIC.

"To protect depositors, the FDIC is entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all of the deposits and substantially all of the assets of First Republic Bank," FDIC said in a statement.

The federal regulator estimated it will cost about $13 billion to cover First Republic's losses.

The government's takeover and sale of the bank comes two months after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which led to a snowball effect as concerned investors looked for signs of weakness in the broader banking sector in the United States and Europe.

Another US regional bank failed in the aftermath of SVB's collapse, while the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse became the highest-profile casualty a few days later when it was pushed by regulators to merge with its bitter rival, UBS.

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic took swift action to stem the outflow of bank deposits by concerned customers.

With its assets standing at $233 billion at the end of March, First Republic is the second-largest bank to fall in US history -- excluding investment banks, such as Lehman Brothers -- after Washington Mutual's bankruptcy during the financial crisis of 2008.
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Linkedin Yerica Lai (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 1, 2023

The Golkar Party rekindled ties with an erstwhile ally from the opposition bloc on Saturday night as signs of cracks within the grand old party-led United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) began to crop up after one of the partners nominated popular governor Ganjar Pranowo as its presidential candidate for 2024.

Golkar chair Airlangga Hartarto and several party executives visited former president and opposition Democratic Party's founder Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also known as SBY, on Saturday evening in his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java.

Yudhoyono's two sons, Democratic Party chief Agus Harimurti and deputy chief Edhi Baskoro "Ibas," and loyalist Andi Mallarangeng were seen welcoming Airlangga, who later spent about an hour with Yudhoyono in the library inside the house.

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Linkedin Agencies Jakarta  Mon, May 1, 2023 08:35 3 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc5b79da 2 Society Sudan,Indonesia,Saudi-Arabia,evacuation,Retno-Marsudi,TNI,Garuda-Indonesia Free

A further 363 Indonesian citizens evacuated from Sudan arrived home on Sunday on a second flight by the country's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Foreign Ministry said.

The conflict between Sudan's army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered a rush to extract foreign diplomats and citizens by several countries including Indonesia, United States, Japan, Germany and Britain.

A first group of Indonesian evacuees arrived back in the country on Friday, and a total of 748 citizens have been evacuated from Sudan as of Sunday.

"Not only Indonesian citizens, the government of Indonesia also helped evacuate a number of foreign citizens," the foreign ministry said in a statement, without providing details how many foreigners Indonesia has evacuated.

On Friday, the first group of Indonesians evacuated from strife-torn Sudan returned home on a charter flight from Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Admiral Yudo Margono greeted the 385 nationals - 248 women and 137 men - who arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta after the 10-hour flight from the Saudi city of Jeddah.

"Considering the evacuees' journey was very long and tiring, they will be temporarily accommodated in east Jakarta before returning to their respective homes," Retno told reporters.

She said another plane of evacuees would depart for Indonesia on Saturday and a final repatriation flight would set off Sunday.

Jakarta has shuffled hundreds of its citizens from the Sudanese capital Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, where they are then being moved by sea and air to Jeddah.

Retno said 111 Indonesians remain in Port Sudan and would be flown to Jeddah on later on Friday.

There are about 1,200 Indonesians registered with their embassy in Khartoum, according to the foreign ministry.
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Linkedin Nur Janti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 1, 2023

The National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has named a researcher with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) as a suspect for allegedly spreading online hate against Muhammadiyah, the countrys second largest Muslim organization that celebrated Idul Fitri a day before the official date of April 22.

On Sunday afternoon, investigators from Bareskrims cybercrime unit transported BRIN researcher Andi Pangerang Hasanuddin from his home in Jombang, East Java, for questioning at the Bareskrim headquarters in Jakarta.

The police made the move after following up on a report by Nasrullah, a member of the central board of Muhammadiyahs youth wing, Pemuda Muhammadiyah.

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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, October 1, 2020 15:19 945 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4877880 1 National palm-oil,moratorium,concession,plantations,environment,politics,governance Free

It has been over two years since the government set a moratorium on new palm oil development, but environmentalists say the move has failed to bring about much-needed change in the governance of the lucrative export commodity.

A coalition of civil society groups said recently that the plantation ban had not resulted in significant improvements in the sustainability of the palm oil business or its impact on the environment.

In September 2018, President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued an executive order to suspend the granting of new licenses for oil palm concessions and ordered a review of existing plantations.

If the ban and the reviews were carried out in accordance with Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 8/2018, the process was expected to help clear up uncertainty about the rights of smallholders and boost productivity on existing plantations.

But more than two years later, the order has yet to be properly implemented, despite signs that the government wants the palm oil industry to be more sustainable, said Teguh Surya, chairman of the Madani Foundation, an environmental NGO.

Based on an analysis by Madani, only one provincial and three regency administrations have issued follow-up regulations; five provinces and five regencies have shown clear commitments to implementing the ban; and another 19 provinces and 239 regencies have yet to take any action.

This has contributed to slow progress in implementing the Inpres and other relevant provisions, including Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 44/2020 on the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil certification.

These two regulations are closely related to one another. The latter could not be implemented correctly because of the lacking implementation of the former. Meanwhile, being sustainable is vital for palm oil to be able to compete in the global market, Teguh told The Jakarta Post this week.

With the expansion of plantations starting in the 1990s, palm oil has been blamed for deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The crop is Indonesias second-biggest export and the most efficiently produced vegetable oil.

As the worlds top palm oil producer, Indonesia has regularly touted the commodity as a solution to the countrys gaping trade deficit, as well as a livelihood for millions of smallholders.

Read also: Indonesia's palm oil sector relies on domestic demand as exports drop

According to official data, there were 16.38 million hectares of palm oil concessions in the country as of 2019.

However, Teguh said the actual number might be higher and that the state had only managed to provide data from the Agriculture Ministry in the two years since the moratorium.

Data compiled by Madani from various sources shows that there could be up to 31.1 million ha of palm oil concessions and that 8.4 million hectares are unaccounted for by valid permits.

Forest Watch Indonesia campaign lead Agung Ady Setyawan also criticized the lack of comparative and actual data on oil palm concessions.

The state only wants to publish the total area of oil palm concessions without indicating other attributes [such as ownership and status]. This has made it difficult for us to supervise, Agung told the Post earlier this week.

Without the proper attribution and mapping of plantations, it is difficult for observers to determine the locations of plantations and identify possible overlap.

The lack of transparency in oil palm plantation data, Agung said, made it hard for environmentalists to determine whether the moratorium had contributed to deforestation amid recent findings that deforestation rates had slowed.

The government is finalizing its highly anticipated One Map Policy, an integrated data map that aims to eliminate overlapping data and unify disparate mapping methods from various institutions. The project is expected to be complete by December 2020.

Read also: Concerns of transparency, inclusivity raised as One Map nears completion

Meanwhile, deliberations between the government and the House of Representatives over the omnibus bill on job creation may complicate the goal of palm oil sustainability, given proposals in the bill that would loosen environmental protections.

Indonesian Center for Environmental Law researcher Adrianus Eryan said the government should instead try to improve business practices in the palm oil industry by making sense of the available data, evaluating all existing permits and accurately measuring palm oil productivity.

The good initiative [of the moratorium] has barely run its course and the government is already trying to pass an omnibus bill that doesnt fix the core problem [with palm oil], Adrianus said.

Palm oil productivity has not improved by much despite an ambitious target set by palm oil companies in 2011 to produce 9 tons per hectare per year by 2020. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), productivity was only 3.2 tons per hectare per year in 2019.
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Linkedin Kornelius Purba (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2023

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will host the ASEAN summit on May 9-11 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar will yet again test the credibility of the regional bloc.

Gen. Min Aung Hlaing will be barred from attending the summit, as ASEAN has yet to lift the punitive measure imposed on the Myanmar military junta for its disrespect for the five-point consensus (5PC). Still, despite the isolation, the junta is unlikely to relent or offer a compromise because it knows ASEAN wants it to relinquish the power it robbed from the Myanmar people on Feb. 1, 2021.

With all respect to the intensive diplomatic efforts by the Indonesian-led ASEAN efforts to find meaningful solutions to the Myanmar crisis, or at least to reduce the rampant violence and human rights abuses committed by the junta, Min Aung Hlaing has made it very clear he will turn a deaf ear to ASEANs condemnations of his genocidal acts.
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Linkedin Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2023 03:24 2 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc5bdfdd 1 Editorial business,environment,investment,ranking,Economist-Intelligence-Unit,G20,GDP,job-creation-law Free

A sense of alarm is in order when Indonesia scores poorly against regional peers in a comparative study on the business environment. After all, this is exactly what legislation over the past few years, notably the far-reaching Job Creation Law, was meant to fix.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study placed Indonesia in the 58th spot among the 82 countries assessed for their business environment.

That in itself looks pretty bad, but the fact that emerging economies like India (50th place), Vietnam (45th), Thailand (33rd) and Malaysia (26th) did much better is of particular concern, because these all compete with Indonesia for investment from China, the United States, Japan, Europe and elsewhere.

Furthermore, all those countries have risen in the ranking since the EIUs last assessment, with Vietnams 12-spot leap over its year-ago position making it the biggest gainer of all countries. Indonesia, meanwhile, fell back by three places.

Even without knowing the magical formula the EIU uses to produce its ranking of countries based on 91 crucial indicators, and even though the EIUs study may not carry the same weight as the World Banks discontinued (for now at least) Doing Business report, it should be taken seriously, and cause questions to be asked.

Have the reforms been thought out and implemented properly? Is the omnibus format the most focused and transparent way to tweak legal regulations for greater ease of doing business? Could constraints on the employment of foreigners be holding back some sectors?

Questioning planned regulatory changes and even second-guessing those already implemented is a healthy process, even though it should not lead to hasty or erratic course corrections.

If the EIU study keeps us on our toes and prevents us from resting on our laurels, which would be tempting given Indonesias robust GDP growth, that is great.

But we all know from personal experience that comparing oneself to others can be less than helpful and even hurt our self-esteem. A rank is not an objective indicator of success, and rising or falling by an ordinal number does not equate with absolute improvement or disimprovement.

Furthermore, the indicators that determine the ranking may not be the ones that matter most to those being ranked. And what matters for Indonesia is sustainable prosperity.

While businesspeople in Indonesia have plenty of legitimate gripes about the terms and conditions of operating in the country, which may have dragged down Indonesias EIU ranking, they will put up with a lot of those gripes in return for the countrys macroeconomic promise.

No offense, but does rank 58 reflect where Indonesia stands in the eyes of investors?

The country achieved the fourth-highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth among the Group of 20 economies last year at 5.3 percent, and in April, the International Monetary Fund revised up its forecast for the current year. Southeast Asias largest economy saw US$22.4 billion worth of direct investment realized in this years first quarter, reflecting 16.5 percent annual growth. More than half of that came in from abroad as foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 20.2 percent over a one-year period.

In short, the opportunities afforded by Indonesias macroeconomic strength are a pull factor for investment, even though they seem strangely at odds with the ranking.

Perhaps there are more complaints about the specifics of doing business in Indonesia than in many other countries, but on the other side of the equation the market Indonesia has to offer is also larger, younger and growing faster than that of many other countries.

In a way, this is similar to Indonesia getting away with resource nationalism. On the one hand, industrialists are unhappy about protectionist bans on metal mineral exports, but on the other hand they are loath to miss out on the opportunities this affords those investing in downstream businesses.

Many foreign manufacturers want in on Indonesias budding electric vehicle (EV) battery industry, and the countrys ranking by the EIU will hardly be their foremost concern.
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Linkedin Deni Ghifari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2 2023

Indonesia posted solid growth in realized investment for the first quarter of 2023 and has almost reached a quarter of the governments full-year target, but some observers say the approaching election campaign could give investors pause, while simmering geopolitical tensions are another risk factor.

According to figures presented by the Investment Ministry on Friday, Rp 328.9 trillion (US$22.4 billion) worth of direct investment were realized during this years first quarter, which is 16.5 percent more than what was achieved in the equivalent three months of last year.

The year 2023 poses different sets of challenges, first and foremost because this is a political year, [which is why] many will play the wait-and-see card. And then, the geopolitical [situation], I have to say, is not in a good state, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters on Friday.

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LHASA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Zham, a land port on the China-Nepal border, resumed two-way cargo trade on Monday.

Three lorries carrying goods worth more than 100,000 yuan (14,442 U.S. dollars) arrived at the port from Nepal, marking the resumption of the two-way trade of the land port in the city of Xigaze in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Zham was forced to stop service after a mega-earthquake hit Nepal in 2015, which destroyed roads, bridges, and facilities at the port. In 2019, it partially reopened to allow exports to Nepal.

In the first quarter of this year, more than 17,000 tonnes of goods worth 249 million yuan were exported through the port.

The resumption of two-way cargo trade via the port will not only help boost foreign trade in Xigaze but also will bring benefits to Tibet for a higher level of opening, said Peng Yihao, deputy Party chief of Xigaze. 
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Linkedin Agencies (The Jakarta Post) Manila  Tue, May 2 2023

President Ferdinand Marcos said his government would not allow the Philippines to become a "staging post" for military action ahead of a meeting with United States President Joe Biden on Monday.



Manila recently granted Washington access to more Filipino military bases as the allies seek to counter China's growing assertiveness in the region and its sweeping claims over disputed waters, islands and shoals.



"We will not encourage any provocative action that will involve the Philippines by any other country," Marcos told reporters on Sunday aboard a plane en route to Washington.



"We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action."



Marcos's visit comes after the US called on China to stop "provocative and unsafe conduct" in the contested South China Sea following a near-collision with a Philippine coast guard vessel.



"We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Saturday, adding that any attack on Philippine armed forces would trigger a US response. Manila and Washington are bound by a 1951 mutual defence pact.



The April 23 incident was "a near-crash and that ... can cause casualties on both sides," Marcos said on the flight, according to a statement by the Philippine presidential palace.



"That's exactly what we want to avoid."



The Philippine leader urged China to follow through on his agreement with President Xi Jinping, reached earlier this year in Beijing, to set up a "direct communication mechanism" on issues involving overlapping claims in the South China Sea.



While Manila has formed its team, Beijing has yet to do the same, Marcos said.



Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.



Marcos has said he will not let China trample on the Philippines' rights in the sea, and has gravitated toward the US as he seeks to strengthen defense ties.



Last month, the Philippines identified four military bases, in addition to five existing sites, to which US forces will have access, including one near the disputed Spratly Islands and two facing Taiwan.



President Marcos said China had agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea, as he pushed for a "direct communication line" with Beijing on maritime differences, Reuters reported.



China has agreed to "sit down" and talk about Filipinos' fishing rights in the South China Sea, Marcos said, adding he has asked the Philippine Coast Guard and the Department of Foreign Affairs "to put together...a map of these fishing grounds" that will be presented to Beijing.



In remarks made to reporters while on board a plane to Washington, Marcos also said a Philippines-China "direct communication line" must be finally adopted, when asked about his thoughts on a recent maritime confrontation between the two countries.



"The overall priority is to safeguard our maritime territory," he said, in remarks issued by his office.



The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



The Philippines accused China's coast guard on Friday of "aggressive tactics" following a recent incident during a Philippine coast guard patrol close to the Philippines-held Second Thomas Shoal, a flashpoint for previous altercations located 105 nautical miles off its coast.



The US has urged China to stop harassing Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, while Beijing said it was willing to handle maritime differences with countries of concern through friendly consultations, while warning Washington against interference.



"This is the kind of thing that we're hoping to avoid, that this time it was a little more dangerous because they were close," Marcos said. "That can cause casualties on both sides."

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Linkedin Agence France-Presse (The Jakarta Post) Asuncion  Tue, May 2 2023

Paraguayans on Sunday elected a president from the rightwing party in power for nearly eight decades, rejecting a center-left challenger who had railed against endemic institutional corruption.

Economist and former finance minister Santiago Pena, 44, took the election with more than 42 percent of the vote to continue the hegemony of the conservative Colorado Party, results showed.

Sixty-year-old challenger Efrain Alegre of the Concertacion center-left coalition garnered nearly 27.5 percent despite having gone into the vote with a narrow lead in opinion polls.

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Linkedin Reuters Tokyo, Japan  Mon, May 1, 2023 11:15 3 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b0559c1f4 2 Asia and Pacific Fumio-Kishida,Joe-Biden,summit,China,North-Korea,diplomacy,Yoon-Suk-yeol,nuclear-arsenal Free

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit South Korea in coming weeks and meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, officials said, reciprocating a Tokyo visit by the South Korean leader last month.

A Japanese government official and another official from a Group of Seven government said the meeting was expected before Kishida hosts a G7 summit from May 19.

Japan's Kyodo news agency said on Saturday the two will meet around May 7 or 8, citing multiple unnamed Japanese and South Korean diplomatic sources.

Their aim will be to confirm the two neighbours' strengthening of cooperation over North Korea ahead of the Hiroshima G7 summit, Kyodo said.

Asked about reports of the bilateral summit, Kishida said in remarks broadcast by public network NHK that nothing concrete had been decided.

An answering machine at Japan's foreign ministry on Saturday said no one was available over the weekend.

Ties between Japan and South Korea, long strained by issues including war time compensation and trade, have been improving in recent months in the face of North Korea's frequent missile launches and China's more muscular role on the global stage.

The two sides agreed to revive shuttle diplomacy when Yoon met with Kishida in Tokyo in March, the first Japan visit by a South Korean president in 12 years.

The last visit by a Japanese prime minister to South Korea was made by Shinzo Abe in 2018, according to NHK.

US President Joe Biden this week praised Yoon's efforts toward improving relations with Japan during a visit by Yoon to Washington. Biden, Yoon and Kishida are to meet on the sidelines of the Hiroshima summit, according to Japanese media reports.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said a US-South Korea agreement this week about the need to shore up South Korean security will worsen the situation, according to state media KCNA.

North Korea is convinced it must further perfect a "nuclear war deterrent" as a result, Kim was quoted as saying.
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Linkedin Yvette Tanamal (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 2, 2023

Amid layered challenges lingering outside and inside of Southeast Asia, the upcoming ASEAN Summit would seek to improve some of the associations long-standing mechanism issues as well as finalize several of its short-term goals, including human trafficking and Timor Leste membership, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said.

Ensuring ASEANs relevance and centrality amid an ever-dynamic global landscape, shielding the regions economic stability and establishing a solid vision of ASEANs future were all parts of the lengthy to-do list for the summit that would commence in less than 10 days, in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Retno said in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, experts increased their expectations that the week-long meeting leading up to the 42nd ASEAN Summit would show part of Indonesias hand, after over four months of taking the quiet diplomacy route to tackle some of the regions most sensitive issues.

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Linkedin Lucinda Elliott and Daniela Desantis (Reuters) Asuncion  Mon, May 1, 2023 08:22 3 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b05596e55 2 Americas Government-Politics,Presidential-Elections,Elections-Voting,Diplomacy-Foreign-Policy,Paraguay,Taiwan,China Free

Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena, 44, scored a big win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguay's long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7 percent of the vote with over 99 percent of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching allegience to China.

"Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory," Pena said in a speech. Alegre acknowledged the result. Current President Mario Abdo congratulated Pena as "president-elect", as did the leaders of Brazil and Argentina.

Colorado and right-wing party candidates also performed strongly in congressional elections and governor races, with some provinces recording a historic Colorado majority over opposition rivals.

The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favor of China and its huge markets.

"We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party," Pena said in his victory speech, calling for "unity and consensus".

It also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has ruled for all by five of the last 75 years and has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations.

"Once a Colorado always a Colorado," said Eugenio Senturion, 65, as he voted on Sunday at his local polling station in the area of Jara, Asuncion.

Dry weather helped voter turn-out, analysts said, with queues to cast ballots long after polling stations were formally meant to close at 4 p.m. (2000 GMT).

"All day we've observed high levels of participation," an observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission said.

'Nothing will change'

Not all voters were happy, however, reflected in a larger-than-expected share for populist Paraguayo Cubas who had almost 23 percent of the vote in third place, reflecting wider support for anti-establishment candidates around Latin America.

"I'm worried about crime. All the candidates are the same for me," said 34-year-old mother of three, Maria Jose Rodas, as a busload of voters arrived at the inner-city polling station. "Nothing will change."

At the Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez school in the capital Asuncion, Ramona Oddone was one of the first in line to cast her ballot and was hopeful for a new direction.

"Look at all the young people taking part - that shows people want change," the 79-year-old retired schoolteacher told Reuters. "They need jobs and I need a better pension."

The Colorado Party has dominated politics in the landlocked South American country since the 1950s. But its popularity has been hit by a slowing economy and graft allegations.

The build-up to the election has been dominated by the economy, corruption allegations and the candidates' views on Taiwan. Paraguay is one of only 13 nations to maintain formal diplomatic ties with the democratically governed island that China views as its territory.

Alegre had criticized those ties, which have made it hard to sell soy and beef to China, a major global buyer. Pena had said he would maintain ties with Taiwan.

Alegre on Sunday warned of reports of voter obstruction in the north of the country and said he would not "give in" to attempts to prevent citizen participation.

Fiorella Moreno, 23, who sells ice cream, felt that none of the candidates offered hope to her generation.

"I didn't want to vote, I feel everything is in decline," she said. "But not voting makes me part of the problem."
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Linkedin Philip Pullella (Reuters) Reuters  Mon, May 1, 2023 07:59 3 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc5b755c 2 Europe Government-Politics,Health-Medicine,Christianity,Diplomacy-Foreign-Policy,military-conflicts Free

The Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis said on Sunday, adding that it was also ready to help repatriate Ukrainian children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied land.

"There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it," the pope told reporters during a flight home after a three-day visit to Hungary.

"I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure. ... This is not easy."

The pope added that he had spoken about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan (bishop) Hilarion, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest.

"In these meetings we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace," he said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Francis has pleaded for peace practically on a weekly basis, and has repeatedly expressed a wish to act as a broker between Kyiv and Moscow. His offer has so far failed to produce any breakthrough.

Pope Francis, 86, has said previously that he wants to visit Kyiv but also Moscow on a peace mission.

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met the pope at the Vatican on Thursday and said he had discussed a "peace formula" put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Shmyhal also asked for help in the repatriation of children. Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow invaded in February last year, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.

"The Holy See is willing to do this (help repatriate the children) because it is the right thing," Francis said on the plane. "All human gestures help but gestures of cruelty don't help. We have to do all that is humanly possible".

Francis, who appeared in relatively good condition during the trip, also spoke of his health following his hospitalisation in late March for what the Vatican said at the time was bronchitis.

He said he felt a strong pain at the end of his general audience on Wednesday, March 29 and tried to sleep.

"I did not lose consciousness but I had a high fever and at 3pm the doctor took me to the hospital right away," he said.

"It was a strong and acute pneumonia in the lower section of the lung. Thank God I can talk about it. The body responded well to the treatment, thank God," he said. He was released on April 1.

A part of one of his lungs was removed when he was a young man in Argentina more than half a century ago.

The pope said there were no changes to plans to go to Lisbon in August for an international youth gathering and then separately to Marseilles and Mongolia.
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB  Get Rating) issued an update on its second quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.52-$0.57 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.62. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE PEB traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $14.23. 1,882,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,325,753. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $14.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.71. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has a fifty-two week low of $12.37 and a fifty-two week high of $26.01.

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Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $319.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.55 million. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.34% and a negative net margin of 0.73%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Dividend Announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. Pebblebrook Hotel Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.26%.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PEB shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. StockNews.com began coverage on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.70.

Insider Activity

In other Pebblebrook Hotel Trust news, CEO Jon E. Bortz acquired 14,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.62 per share, for a total transaction of $190,680.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,108,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,349.24. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jon E. Bortz purchased 11,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.95 per share, for a total transaction of $142,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,122,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,531,220.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon E. Bortz purchased 14,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.62 per share, for a total transaction of $190,680.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,108,102 shares in the company, valued at $15,092,349.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 39,865 shares of company stock worth $555,064. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEB. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 79.8% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 11,056 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,653 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is a real estate investment trust, engages in investments and acquisitions in hotel properties. Its hotels are located in markets like Atlanta, Georgia, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Key West, Miami and Naples, Florida, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, California, Nashville, Tennessee, New York, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.

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Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Rating) updated its second quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.48-$0.50 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.48. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.46 billion-$3.52 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.44 billion. Boston Scientific also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $1.90-$1.96 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BSX. UBS Group began coverage on Boston Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $52.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Boston Scientific from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Boston Scientific currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $53.89.

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Boston Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSX traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.12. 13,505,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,071,792. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.35. The company has a market cap of $74.78 billion, a PE ratio of 88.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Boston Scientific has a 12-month low of $34.98 and a 12-month high of $53.21.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific ( NYSE:BSX Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 6.91%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Boston Scientific will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

In other news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 27,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.74, for a total transaction of $1,315,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,140,126.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 7,572 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.14, for a total value of $356,944.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 276,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $13,025,536.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 27,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.74, for a total value of $1,315,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,140,126.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,459 shares of company stock valued at $7,057,754 in the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,793 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the companys stock.

About Boston Scientific

(Get Rating)

Boston Scientific Corp. engages in the development, manufacture and marketing of medical devices that are used in interventional medical procedures. It operates through the MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The MedSurg segment includes Urology and Neuromodulation. The Cardiovascular segment consists of Cardiology and Peripheral Interventions.

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CACI International (NYSE:CACI  Get Rating) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CACI. 888 restated a maintains rating on shares of CACI International in a report on Friday. Cowen upped their target price on shares of CACI International from $313.00 to $330.00 in a report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CACI International from $355.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, CACI International has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $338.20.

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CACI International Trading Up 0.3 %

CACI International stock opened at $313.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.23. CACI International has a fifty-two week low of $245.32 and a fifty-two week high of $319.33. The firms fifty day moving average price is $296.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.82.

Insider Transactions at CACI International

CACI International ( NYSE:CACI Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The information technology services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. CACI International had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The companys revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CACI International will post 18.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director William L. Jews sold 1,018 shares of CACI International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.43, for a total transaction of $289,549.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,065 shares in the company, valued at $2,293,927.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.23% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in CACI International by 1,046.2% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 375,387 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $97,998,000 after acquiring an additional 342,637 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CACI International by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 317,684 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $95,492,000 after acquiring an additional 16,403 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of CACI International by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 122,190 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $36,729,000 after acquiring an additional 13,482 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of CACI International by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 63,099 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $16,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of CACI International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 47,735 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $14,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.08% of the companys stock.

CACI International Company Profile

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CACI International, Inc operates as holding company, which engages in the provision of information solutions and services in support of national security missions and government transformation for intelligence, defense, and federal civilian customers. It operates through the Domestic Operations and International Operations segment.

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Aflac (NYSE:AFL  Get Rating) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports.

AFL has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $71.22.

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Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $69.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $42.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac has a 1-year low of $52.07 and a 1-year high of $74.01. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $65.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

Aflac ( NYSE:AFL Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.15. Aflac had a net margin of 22.90% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Aflacs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 19,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 87,598 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,163,395.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 19,269 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,241,887.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 19,291 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $6,163,395.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Edmp Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 6,918.5% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 3,676,833 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $51,110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,624,445 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,416,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Aflac by 982.0% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,198,423 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $123,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,240 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Aflac by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $317,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,212 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,812,956 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $634,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.22% of the companys stock.

Aflac Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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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HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Outside the Peak Tram ticket office at Central in downtown Hong Kong, was a stream of tourists queuing for tickets to the Peak, one of Hong Kong's top attractions.

A Peak Tram staff member said that visitors spent at least two hours queuing for tram tickets.

Since the mainland's five-day holiday began Saturday, Hong Kong has been embracing a large number of mainland tourists.

According to the Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, Hong Kong recorded around 407,000 inbound visitors on April 30, of which 156,000 were from the mainland.

Crowds were seen in many tourist spots with new landmarks having become especially popular. For instance, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) recorded nearly 7,300 visitors on April 30, a record high since its opening in July last year.

To meet the needs of tourists during the holiday, many attractions have adjusted their business hours. Ngong Ping Cable Car which connects downtown Tung Chung and Ngong Ping on Lantau Island extended its operating hours to as early as 9 a.m., while HKPM and M+ Museum remain open on May 1 and 2.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, one hour before Hong Kong Disneyland opened for business, the entrance to the park was already crowded with visitors including Mr. Nie and his family from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province.

"Last time I came to Hong Kong Disneyland was three years ago. I hope I can experience more rides this time." Nie said, adding that his family of three are all fans of Disneyland.

The traveling habits of tourists have been changing recently. Besides shopping and eating, they also hoped to explore and learn more about a place.

Paul Chan, CEO & co-founder of Walk in Hong Kong, a local cultural enterprise that organizes in-depth tours, said that tourists tend to have in-depth cultural exchanges when traveling, hoping to see the other side of Hong Kong.

"I want to slow down my pace and get a better sense of Hong Kong's cultural heritage." Miss Tian, a tourist from Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province, said.

This time in Hong Kong, Tian said, she chose to follow the route of Hong Kong trams, a time-honored means of transportation that runs on Hong Kong Island, and look for classic scenes from Hong Kong films.

During the holiday, various departments of the HKSAR government worked together to ensure better experience for tourists, such as monitoring the situation at land control points and taking appropriate diversion measures when necessary.

Hong Kong's Travel Industry Authority has also introduced special measures, including inspecting popular attractions, shops and restaurants, and providing assistance to tourists, to protect tourists' rights. 
CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corp cut its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY  Get Rating) (TSE:RY) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,445 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 5,750 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada accounts for approximately 2.7% of CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corps holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corps holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $12,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,653,309 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,560,824,000 after buying an additional 1,191,987 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,405,848 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,660,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031,170 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 269.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 17,293,538 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,625,202,000 after buying an additional 12,610,726 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 11,070,647 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,004,491,000 after buying an additional 106,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 3,038,700 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $334,852,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the last quarter. 41.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE:RY opened at $99.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $83.63 and a 52 week high of $106.43. The firm has a market cap of $138.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.82. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $97.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.41.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

Royal Bank of Canada ( NYSE:RY Get Rating ) (TSE:RY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.09. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.992 per share. This represents a $3.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canadas previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canadas payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$145.00 to C$147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $138.33.

About Royal Bank of Canada

(Get Rating)

Royal Bank of Canada engages in the provision of banking and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Investor and Treasury Services, Capital Markets, and Corporate Support. The Personal and Commercial Banking segment deals with a broad suite of financial products and services in Canada.

Further Reading

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CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD  Get Rating) (TSE:TD) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,459 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Toronto-Dominion Bank makes up about 0.9% of CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corps portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. CLARET ASSET MANAGEMENT Corps holdings in Toronto-Dominion Bank were worth $4,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,479 shares of the banks stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Toronto-Dominion Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $234,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 81.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 6,900 shares of the banks stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 149,014 shares of the banks stock worth $9,138,000 after acquiring an additional 13,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 11,100 shares of the banks stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.22% of the companys stock.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank Price Performance

NYSE:TD opened at $60.86 on Monday. The Toronto-Dominion Bank has a 52 week low of $55.43 and a 52 week high of $77.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.88. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $61.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.30.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Increases Dividend

Toronto-Dominion Bank ( NYSE:TD Get Rating ) (TSE:TD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The bank reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.03. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $9.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.97 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 6th were issued a $0.721 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. This is a boost from Toronto-Dominion Banks previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 5th. Toronto-Dominion Banks payout ratio is presently 44.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Toronto-Dominion Bank in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating for the company. CIBC upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$105.00 to C$106.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.57.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile

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The Toronto-Dominion Bank engages in the provision of financial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The Canadian Retail segment offers various financial products and services, as well as telephone, Internet, and mobile banking services.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (NYSE:CCEP  Get Rating) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note published on Thursday, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $63.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $68.00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to 65.00 ($72.22) in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $60.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $66.66.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Stock Down 0.0 %

CCEP opened at $64.47 on Thursday. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $64.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Cuts Dividend

Institutional Trading of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a yield of 2.6%.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,196 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. 28.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

(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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Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR  Get Rating)s share price was down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $13.00. The company traded as low as $12.09 and last traded at $12.10. Approximately 157,283 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 890,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.44.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on COUR. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Coursera from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research note on Friday, March 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Coursera from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Coursera from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Coursera has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $17.08.

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Insider Activity

In other Coursera news, SVP Richard J. Jacquet sold 31,881 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.75, for a total transaction of $374,601.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 476,866 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,603,175.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Shravan Goli sold 110,999 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.74, for a total transaction of $1,303,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,045,479 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,273,923.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard J. Jacquet sold 31,881 shares of Coursera stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.75, for a total value of $374,601.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 476,866 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,603,175.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 503,602 shares of company stock valued at $5,654,468 over the last three months. Insiders own 26.40% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Coursera Trading Down 4.3 %

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COUR. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Coursera during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Coursera by 187.5% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Coursera by 8,565.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,293 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in Coursera in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Coursera in the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.31% of the companys stock.

The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.72 and a beta of 1.77. The firms fifty day moving average is $11.31 and its 200 day moving average is $12.58.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). Coursera had a negative return on equity of 22.99% and a negative net margin of 30.76%. The business had revenue of $142.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.70 million. Research analysts forecast that Coursera, Inc. will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coursera Company Profile

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Coursera, Inc operates an online educational content platform that connects learners, educators, organizations, and institutions. It offers online courses that include data science, business, computer science, information technology, health, social sciences, logic, project management, and digital marketing services; campus student plans; degree courses; and certification education.

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Fortitude Gold Co. (OTCMKTS:FTCO  Get Rating) saw a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,700 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the March 31st total of 26,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 144,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Fortitude Gold Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of OTCMKTS:FTCO traded down 0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting 6.89. The companys stock had a trading volume of 45,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,262. Fortitude Gold has a fifty-two week low of 5.25 and a fifty-two week high of 7.41. The stocks 50-day moving average price is 6.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is 6.15.

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Fortitude Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 19th were given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 18th.

Fortitude Gold Company Profile

Fortitude Gold Corporation, a mining company, focuses on exploring gold and silver projects. Its principal property is the Isabella Pearl mine project covering an area of 9,777 acres located in the Mineral County, Nevada. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Shore Capital restated their house stock rating on shares of Jacobs Engineering Group (LON:J  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, LSE.Co.UK reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Jacobs Engineering Group from GBX 230 ($2.87) to GBX 270 ($3.37) and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Berenberg Bank reissued a buy rating and set a GBX 165 ($2.06) price objective on shares of Jacobs Engineering Group in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Jacobs Engineering Group from GBX 285 ($3.56) to GBX 295 ($3.68) and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Jacobs Engineering Group from GBX 237 ($2.96) to GBX 217 ($2.71) and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of GBX 237.40 ($2.96).

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Jacobs Engineering Group Stock Performance

About Jacobs Engineering Group

(Get Rating)

Further Reading

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc is challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the worlds most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated their underweight rating on shares of GSK (LON:GSK  Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a GBX 1,400 ($17.48) price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GSK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 1,700 ($21.23) price objective on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 1,730 ($21.61) target price on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a GBX 2,000 ($24.98) target price on shares of GSK in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a GBX 1,510 ($18.86) target price on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an equal weight rating and set a GBX 1,450 ($18.11) target price on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 1,573.33 ($19.65).

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GSK Stock Performance

Shares of LON GSK opened at GBX 1,441 ($18.00) on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 1,450.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 1,431.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 207.87. The firm has a market capitalization of 58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,322.02, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.28. GSK has a one year low of GBX 1,280.92 ($16.00) and a one year high of GBX 2,280.50 ($28.48).

GSK Increases Dividend

Insider Activity

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be given a GBX 14 ($0.17) dividend. This represents a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. This is a boost from GSKs previous dividend of $13.75. GSKs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5,596.33%.

In other GSK news, insider Jonathan Symonds bought 2,100 shares of GSK stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,399 ($17.47) per share, with a total value of 29,379 ($36,691.64). In other GSK news, insider Jonathan Symonds bought 2,100 shares of GSK stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,399 ($17.47) per share, with a total value of 29,379 ($36,691.64). Also, insider Emma Walmsley sold 28,576 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,487 ($18.57), for a total transaction of 424,925.12 ($530,692.04). In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 2,308 shares of company stock valued at $3,248,612. 1.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About GSK

(Get Rating)

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare.

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Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IVW  Get Rating) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,360 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 19.0% in the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 184,517 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,339,000 after purchasing an additional 29,518 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 7.3% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 54,579 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,169,000 after acquiring an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 4.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 245,020 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,714,000 after acquiring an additional 9,526 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 0.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 113,156 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,643,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 13.1% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 702,440 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,652,000 after acquiring an additional 81,527 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF stock opened at $64.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 1.05. iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF has a 12-month low of $55.30 and a 12-month high of $71.81. The firms 50-day moving average price is $62.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.17.

About iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF

iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (the Growth Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth Index (the Growth Index). The Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market.

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LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (BATS:VLUE  Get Rating) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,401,443 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 27,696 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF were worth $127,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VLUE. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 8,583 shares of the companys stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 66.1% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 62,809 shares of the companys stock worth $6,568,000 after purchasing an additional 25,004 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 477.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 353,791 shares of the companys stock worth $36,996,000 after purchasing an additional 292,516 shares during the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth $608,000. Finally, KC Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. KC Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,932 shares of the companys stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Trading Up 1.4 %

VLUE stock opened at $91.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.25. iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF has a 1-year low of $71.21 and a 1-year high of $89.40. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.04.

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Enhanced Value index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities. Stocks are selected and weighted using fundamental metrics (earnings, revenue, book value and cash earnings), aiming for exposure to undervalued stocks in each sector.

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Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Rating) had its price objective upped by Robert W. Baird from $410.00 to $435.00 in a report published on Friday, The Fly reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Mastercard from $375.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $427.00 to $414.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mastercard from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $405.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Mastercard from $406.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $418.89.

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Mastercard Trading Up 1.7 %

MA stock opened at $380.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.20. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $360.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.53. Mastercard has a 52 week low of $276.87 and a 52 week high of $390.00. The company has a market capitalization of $362.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.11.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

Mastercard ( NYSE:MA Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.64 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 169.12% and a net margin of 42.33%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Mastercards payout ratio is 22.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total transaction of $2,928,868.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,440,789.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total transaction of $2,928,868.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,440,789.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 258,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.69, for a total value of $95,942,356.49. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,598,379 shares in the company, valued at $37,661,503,111.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 612,137 shares of company stock worth $226,379,020. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 1,455 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 388 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 1,396 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 166 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.51% of the companys stock.

About Mastercard

(Get Rating)

Mastercard, Inc is a technology company, which engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial, and payment programs. The company was founded in November 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, NY.

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Haodex Limited (NSX:HAO) is an Australian company focused on forward thinking online platforms and global projects.

Haodex owns 78% of and operates 2 omnichannel marketplaces, being MonkeyKing Australia (www.monkeykingaustralia.com) and BulkBuy (www.bulkbuyworld.com), and owns 100% of a short term Chinese accommodation hosting business, Franks Haus (www.frankshaus.com).

MonkeyKing is an online e-commerce platform which sources Australian products from Australian suppliers to distribute to consumers in Asia, mainly China.

BulkBuy is a wholesale e-commerce marketplace which allows users to participate in group buying deals. BulkBuy enables merchants to set up an online store and sell products directly to customers at wholesale prices by allowing several customers to participate in group buying deals (crowd-ordering).

Franks Haus is an online platform for leasing private properties, mainly for short term accommodation, in China. The platform will attract tourists
JINAN, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and one injured after an explosion at a chemical plant in the city of Liaocheng, east China's Shandong Province, local authorities said Monday.

The incident occurred on Monday morning at the hydrogen peroxide production area of Luxi Chemical Group.

The injured person has been sent to the hospital for treatment. One person is still missing, and search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

The fire at the scene has been put out, and an investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. 
Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM  Get Rating) (TSE:CM) by 62.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,006 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 18,067 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce were worth $1,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 319,504 shares of the banks stock worth $12,924,000 after buying an additional 43,283 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 471,161 shares of the banks stock valued at $19,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 659 shares of the banks stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,266,809 shares of the banks stock valued at $91,712,000 after purchasing an additional 51,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.40% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CM. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $74.88.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CM opened at $41.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.08 and a 200 day moving average of $43.83. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a 52-week low of $39.40 and a 52-week high of $56.68.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM  Get Rating) (TSE:CM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The bank reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 14.51%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 28th were paid a $0.639 dividend. This is an increase from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces dividend payout ratio is presently 63.20%.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Profile

(Get Rating)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is a financial institution, which engages in the provision of banking and wealth management services. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Personal and Business Banking, Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, Capital Markets, and Corporate and Other.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM  Get Rating) (TSE:CM).

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CF Industries (NYSE:CF  Get Rating) had its price objective cut by Mizuho from $101.00 to $83.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on CF. StockNews.com initiated coverage on CF Industries in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on CF Industries from $109.00 to $102.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 17th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of CF Industries in a report on Thursday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on CF Industries from $126.00 to $110.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on CF Industries from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CF Industries currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.18.

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CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF opened at $71.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $76.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 4.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.01. CF Industries has a 1 year low of $67.95 and a 1 year high of $119.60.

CF Industries Announces Dividend

CF Industries ( NYSE:CF Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.13 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. CF Industries had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 29.91%. The businesss revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CF Industries will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. CF Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.80%.

Institutional Trading of CF Industries

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in CF Industries by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 76,830 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $7,918,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $245,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $232,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,765,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CF Industries by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,747,358 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,653,523,000 after acquiring an additional 94,482 shares during the period. 92.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CF Industries Company Profile

(Get Rating)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of nitrogen fertilizer. The firm owns and operates nitrogen plants and serves agricultural and industrial customers through its distribution system. It operates through following segments: Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other.

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PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM  Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,250,000 shares, an increase of 14.1% from the March 31st total of 7,230,000 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised PulteGroup from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on PulteGroup from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on PulteGroup from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, VNET Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.86.

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PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.15. 3,065,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,852,463. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $57.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. PulteGroup has a twelve month low of $35.03 and a twelve month high of $67.20. The company has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.33.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

PulteGroup ( NYSE:PHM Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The construction company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.57. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 31.03% and a net margin of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 17th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. PulteGroups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. Omeara sold 4,924 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $295,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,308 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,038,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. Omeara sold 4,924 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $295,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,308 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,038,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.95, for a total value of $1,004,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,886 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,741,567.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 163,739 shares of company stock valued at $10,245,859 over the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PulteGroup

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,748,609 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,162,667,000 after buying an additional 261,934 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,603,310 shares of the construction companys stock worth $437,239,000 after acquiring an additional 421,474 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,118,354 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $324,104,000 after purchasing an additional 451,733 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.2% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,711,291 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $214,173,000 after purchasing an additional 433,627 shares during the period. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,638,390 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $328,605,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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PulteGroup, Inc engages in the homebuilding business. The firm is also involved in mortgage banking and title and insurance brokerage operations. It operates through the Homebuilding and Financial services business segments. The Homebuilding segment includes operations from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington.

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United States Cellular Co. (NYSE:USM  Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,260,000 shares, an increase of 13.5% from the March 31st total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 281,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 9.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on USM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United States Cellular from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of United States Cellular from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of United States Cellular from $37.00 to $24.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United States Cellular presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.67.

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United States Cellular Trading Up 0.9 %

USM stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.24. 336,709 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,349. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 62.47 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.72. United States Cellular has a one year low of $19.12 and a one year high of $32.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

United States Cellular ( NYSE:USM Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. United States Cellular had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 0.65%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that United States Cellular will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

In related news, EVP Michael Irizarry sold 18,826 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.15, for a total transaction of $416,995.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,825 shares of the companys stock, valued at $416,973.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United States Cellular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of USM. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of United States Cellular by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 31,500 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of United States Cellular by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,307 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 13,757 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United States Cellular by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,615 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of United States Cellular by 58.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in United States Cellular by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,897,981 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $57,376,000 after buying an additional 27,697 shares during the period. 15.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United States Cellular Company Profile

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United States Cellular Corp. engages in the provision of wireless telecommunication services. Its products include smartphones, tablets, vehicle routers, and accessories. It offers Internet plans, prepaid and postpaid plans, and roaming services. The company was founded by Leroy T. Carlson in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

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Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH  Get Rating) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $87.00 to $81.00 in a research note released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WH. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. They issued a buy rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $89.00 to $88.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $87.14.

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Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WH opened at $68.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.39. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $91.66.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts ( NYSE:WH Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $313.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.68 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 34.17% and a net margin of 21.94%. Wyndham Hotels & Resortss revenue was down 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Analysts expect that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Wyndham Hotels & Resortss previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Wyndham Hotels & Resortss dividend payout ratio is 39.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Lisa Checchio sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.90, for a total value of $461,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 13,692 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,914.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.29% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter valued at $1,472,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at $526,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 25,693 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 4,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $35,088,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the companys stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc engages in the franchise and operation of hotels under the Wyndham brand. It operates through the following segments: Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management. The Hotel Franchising segment offers licenses of brand names and associated trademarks to hotel owners under long-term franchise agreements.

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Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Get Rating) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,759 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLCs holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BSX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,430,814 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $240,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,157,849 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,621,133 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $255,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,468 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,886,236 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $4,527,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708,496 shares during the period. Rathbones Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,189,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 10,552,928 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $408,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.23% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $53.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Boston Scientific from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boston Scientific currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $53.89.

Boston Scientific Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BSX opened at $52.12 on Monday. Boston Scientific Co. has a 52-week low of $34.98 and a 52-week high of $53.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.11 and a 200 day moving average of $46.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.78 billion, a PE ratio of 88.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Co. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boston Scientific news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 75,610 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.64, for a total value of $3,526,450.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,958 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,937,881.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Boston Scientific news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 75,610 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.64, for a total value of $3,526,450.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,958 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,937,881.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 27,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.74, for a total transaction of $1,315,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,140,126.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,459 shares of company stock worth $7,057,754. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the companys stock.

Boston Scientific Profile

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Boston Scientific Corp. engages in the development, manufacture and marketing of medical devices that are used in interventional medical procedures. It operates through the MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The MedSurg segment includes Urology and Neuromodulation. The Cardiovascular segment consists of Cardiology and Peripheral Interventions.

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The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Olympus (OTCMKTS:OLYMY  Get Rating) in a research note released on Friday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Olympus Stock Performance

Olympus stock opened at $17.35 on Friday. Olympus has a 1 year low of $16.43 and a 1 year high of $19.96.

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Olympus Company Profile

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Olympus Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of precision machineries and instruments. It operates through the following segments: Medical, Scientific Solutions, Imaging, and Others. The Medical segment covers digestive, surgical, and ultrasonic endoscopy as well as endoscopic treatment tools. The Scientific Solutions segment manufactures and sells biological and industrial microscopes, industrial endoscopes, and non-destructive testing equipment.

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Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 522,493 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 5,135 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings in Southern were worth $37,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Southern by 6.2% during the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,002,360 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $4,284,352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653,841 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 94,652,372 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $6,436,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Southern by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 65,068,549 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $4,424,661,000 after buying an additional 1,313,036 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Southern by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,062,100 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $208,223,000 after buying an additional 1,115,989 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern in the 3rd quarter valued at $65,112,000. 61.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Southern

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total transaction of $359,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,516,356.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total value of $359,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,516,356.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,832,299.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,134 shares of company stock valued at $502,179. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Southern Stock Performance

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southern from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a report on Friday. Mizuho upgraded Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Southern from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.14.

SO opened at $73.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.98. The company has a market capitalization of $80.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.51. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $58.85 and a 1 year high of $80.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is an increase from Southerns previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is presently 87.74%.

About Southern

(Get Rating)

The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.

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Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR  Get Rating) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.21 per share for the quarter. Parties that are interested in registering for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Whitestone REIT Stock Performance

Shares of WSR opened at $8.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $442.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $9.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.43. Whitestone REIT has a 1 year low of $8.15 and a 1 year high of $12.71.

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Whitestone REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. Whitestone REITs payout ratio is 67.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

In other Whitestone REIT news, Director Amy Shih-Hua Feng acquired 3,650 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.67 per share, with a total value of $35,295.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,742 shares of the companys stock, valued at $84,535.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website . 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSR. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I reissued a buy rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whitestone REIT has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.10.

Whitestone REIT Company Profile

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Whitestone REIT engages in the operation of commercial properties in culturally diverse markets of major metropolitan areas. The company was founded on August 20, 1998 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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TEHRAN, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran has arrested a group of individuals who sought to "foment unrest" in the country by planning nationwide strikes and bringing up again the "fake" student poisonings, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

The arrestees were linked to "anti-Islamic groups, anti-Iran Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization as well as French spy agents," the report quoted informed sources as saying.

The report noted the arrestees all have criminal records and had been detained for a while, but were released under pardons issued by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The arrestees coordinated to plan nationwide strikes of workers and teachers over pay and brought up again the "fake" student poisonings, said the report.

Among the detainees are individuals who'd been arrested before for cooperating with French spies, the report added. 
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo has been advised to consider granting amnesty to Unknown Gunmen terrorizing the state for years now, as one of the strategies to make them shield their swords.

The President-General of Uli community in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, Engr Tobias Obiagazie, gave the advice at the Peace and Security Summit/Convention recently held in Uli, and which had some dignitaries and stakeholders in the state in attendance.

According to him, the government should emulate the Niger Delta which granted amnesty to the militants previously operating in the area, and which, he said, has restored peace and security in the area, as the agitating youths have all shielded their swords. He said such action should be replicated in Ihiala and in Anambra State in general, to make the youths who have joined the Unknown Gunmen to lay down their arms.

It is our request, Mr. Governor, that you consider the option of granting amnesty to those who will voluntarily drop their arms to embrace peace.

A rehabilitation program similar to that of the Niger Delta will go a long way to restoring a lasting peace to our town in particular and in the state in general.

Our teaming youths have been victims of long neglect, effective youth empowerment program will therefore be an antidote to this insecurity.

The community would collaborate with you and the state government towards achieving this, he said.

Earlier speaking at the event, the State Commissioner of Police said about 17 buildings where unknown gunmen reside to perpetrate their nefarious attacks of terrorizing indigenes of the State have been identified and marked for demolition in the community.

CP Echeng, represented by the Police Area Commander for Ihiala, ACP Bassey Christopher, noted that the Command has also made a heavy deployment of joint security forces in the area, comprising of the police and the army, who will commence day and night strikes in the four villages of the community.

According to him, the operation, tagged Action All the Way was launched to quash the activities of the gunmen and restore a lasting peace and security in the area.

On his own part, the State Commissioner for Homeland Affairs, Chief Chikaodi Anara said Soludo's administration will not negotiate with any criminal or condole the activities of criminals in the area.

A criminal is a criminal, and we have zero tolerance to going to negotiate with criminals. And, be informed that this meeting has given those people the opportunity to lay down their arms now because it is going to be total action henceforth, he said.

When you go and kidnap a soldier or policemen that has family and kill him, should you expect pity? he questioned.

The Commissioner further noted that, if the people want an amnesty, it would be structured amnesty and must start with the respective communities.

He also reminded the people that the marked buildings, when demolished, will automatically become the property of the state government, in accordance with the relevant law of the State.

He said, In line with the Anambra state laws, any building that has been demolished belongs to the government and the former owner or landlord has lost ownership of that land and he cannot lay claim to it or want to go back to rebuild the house, he said.
The 2023 elections have, once again, confirmed that the contradictions embedded in the Nigerian political firmament always raise their ugly heads at the onset of elections while simultaneously throwing up the necessity for the geo-political Restructuring of the country. It can, therefore, be deduced that these contradictions reflect the unfinished quest for Independence. Decolonization did not take cognizance of the fundamental questions posed at Independence arising from the nature of State for the newly independent country, that is, whether it must be a traditional Nation-State, where its architecture reflects the Nation over which it superintends or a Multi-National State where its architecture recognizes the multiplicity of Nations.

Nigeria started out, at Independence, with the traditional Nation-State, despite being a Federalist State without overt recognition of the Multiplicity of Nations within the country, hence the resultant drive towards homogenization of all the Peoples into one after a series of coup detats.

The Punch Newspaper, in its April 18, 2023, Editorial, echoing Professor Wole Soyinkas earlier submissions, argued for the political and economic restructuring of Nigeria, summarizing as follows: Since Nigeria is a natural federation, it needs a new Constitution which will recognize this reality. Successive sessions by the National Assembly and State assemblies have failed and proved to be obstructionist rather than being enablers of positive change. Rather, it is shallow and did nothing to overturn the centralizing provisions of the Constitution. Hence, a new approach is needed, and this is to be achieved by adopting a doctrine of necessity to convene a national conference where representatives of Nationalities will be able to agree on a new Structure for Nigeria.

The Punch Editorial clearly expressed the necessity for a fundamental review of the question of the Nigerian State, but its assumptions need further interrogation to arrive at a definitive pathway by which the next government can be engaged.

The Yoruba Referendum Committee (ILU-SO-PE), therefore, wishes to fully endorse the call of the editorial with a call for a methodology that recognizes the centrality of nationalities to the democratic choice of direct representatives of each nationality or groups of nationalities via the process of a referendum:

(i) The natural federation is not recognizedin the grundnorm, the fundamental Law of the country, even at Independence,which recognized the Northern, Eastern, and Western Regions as Federating Units,with only the Mid-West Region carved out of the Western Region, despite therejection of demands for more Regions from the Northern and Eastern Regions.

(ii) This was possible because the Peoples, in their natural geophysical, political, and therefore indigenous spaces were not recognized as the Federating Units; the natural was substituted with the unnatural, that is, the geophysical entity of the region, thereby paving the way for the carving of the Regions into states and subsequently the atomization of the peoples against their natural development. These administrative entities have become the federating Units.

(iii) While it is agreed that the National Assembly has become obstructionist, this does not imply the invocation of a doctrine of necessity to convene a national conference to include all stakeholders and representatives of the nationalities to agree to a new arrangement acceptable to all.

(iv) This is because such a doctrine of necessity already vitiates the natural federation in the sense that the doctrine would have deprived the nationalities of their natural right of representation. Such a doctrine cannot and should not be expected to decide the representatives of the nationalities unless it is said that the Nationalities are incapable of making such choices by themselves.

(v) Furthermore, we have experienced various iterations of National Conferences, with representatives of nationalities in attendance and with nothing to show for them. Expecting another national conference of such type will be akin to doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The Yoruba say that a persons head cannot be shaved in his/her absence, hence what is needed is not a national conference as being advocated by the Punch but a Nationality Conference where the various Nationalities will decide their relationships with other Nationalities based on their own expectations and aspirations. The summation of the Conference of Nationalities will become the basis for a New Constitution. The Yoruba Referendum Committee has further defined the Conference of Nationalities as a Nationality Referendum, in this case, the Yoruba Referendum, which in Yoruba Language is ILU-SO-PE ---the community has spoken.

(vi) The above is the reason the Yoruba Referendum Committee cannot deem the State Assemblies to have failed since these Assemblies have not been able to make any determination by themselves as the representatives of their various geo-political entities but always act as an extension of the National Assembly where they are merely expected to act on submissions by the National Assembly. Hence, the determinant of the State Assemblys success or failure is dependent on its ability to act on its own prerogatives which can only be fueled by the demands of the People(s) themselves. In this instance, the Yoruba Referendum Committee has sent a Bill for a Referendum to the Houses of Assembly in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States, to be passed into Law.

(vii) This is why the Yoruba Referendum Committee is asking the Yoruba people in the contiguous States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States, to prevail on their State Houses of Assembly to pass the Bill into Law and conduct the Referendum. The Bill can also be domesticated by other Nationalities, based on their circumstances.

(viii) The Referendum is framed as a YES of NO question as to Whether the Governments of Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Lagos States should negotiate with each other with a view to forming a FEDERATION of STATES to be known as the ODUDUWA REGION OF WESTERN NIGERIA and (ii) whether the said REGION should negotiate with the Government of Nigeria and the remaining 30 states or any group of states that have also agreed to Federate and the administration of the Federal Capital Territory to achieve AUTONOMY for the said REGION within a Federation of Nigerian Constituent Units.

(ix) In cases where the Houses of Assembly are not homogenous and contiguous like the Yoruba, Socio-Cultural institutions within the Nationalities can assume the task or the Houses of Assembly specifically mandated to conduct it on their behalf.

(x) In passing, and for purposes of Presidential elections, it is noted that what eventually saved American democracy on January 6, 2021, was the fact that the electors (electoral college) were the states, whose decisions were to be confirmed by US Congress and which the storming of Congress wanted to prevent and did not achieve. The confirmation of the electors from the States is a major pillar of Democracy in the United States. In a comparable manner, the Federating Unit will become the electors to elect the representatives to the Conference of Nationalities whose decisions cannot be overturned except by the Federating Unit itself.

(xi) The Yoruba Referendum Committee is of the view that the above will address all questions surrounding Nigerias nationhood and structure of State and set up the atmosphere for peace, security, and development, not only in Nigeria but also for other parts of Africa going through similar problems.

Editorial Board

Yoruba Referendum Committee (ILU-SO-PE).
The Presidency has released a long list of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administrations achievements within his eight years of rulership.

The document highlighted specific successes of the administration from a wide range of sectors.

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday.

Mr Adesina described the 91-page document, containing the administrations achievements, as a one-stop shop.

The statement revealed that the document was compiled by the Presidential Communications Team.

The statement said: The document, titled Buharis Footprints on the Sands of Time, is all encompassing, and attempts to answer questions of citizens who might not have been abreast with the much that had so far been recorded as achievements of the administration.

In about four weeks, President Muhammadu Buhari touches down as the countrys number one citizen. For eight years he has served, making salutary impact on nearly all sectors of the national landscape  security, economy, anti-corruption, infrastructure; rail, roads, air and sea ports, power, housing, water resources, the oil and gas sector, legislative matters, foreign affairs, sports, youth development, and many others.

The Presidential Communications Team here brings a one-stop shop of achievements under the Buhari administration covering eight years of two terms. Its a collectors item, an answer to the questions of those who would rather cavil, looking at a half-empty cup, rather than a half-filled one.

Those who are objective, taking a dispassionate look at this fact sheet, would admit that President Buhari came and served meritoriously. As he had promised many times, he would not be leaving Nigeria the way he met it.

A report card of the administration? It is so and more. Welcome to view the indelible footprints of Muhammadu Buhari on the sands of time.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has berated the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) for planning to embark on strike over their demands from the federal government.

The resident doctors had on Saturday given the federal government two weeks to meet its demands or face industrial disharmony.

The resident doctors made this known in a communique issued on Saturday at the end of its Extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The doctors listed some of their demands to include the welfare of the doctors, the alarming rate of their flight to other countries, poor remuneration, inadequate funding of the health sector, and the attendant negative effect on the citizens and the health workers.

Other demands are the immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to the tune of 200 percent of the current gross salaries of doctors in addition to the new allowances on the review of the CONMESS.

The NARD also demanded the immediate withdrawal and jettisoning of the bill seeking to compel medical and dental graduates to render five-year compulsory services in Nigeria before being granted full licenses to practice.

However, while speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Monday, Ngige said the doctors cannot embark on strike over a bill seeking to compel them to stay in the country for five years before being granted full licenses to practice.

The minister stated that the government will not pay any doctor or medical worker that goes on strike over demands that are currently being addressed.
The president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has vowed to give more than a minimum wage to Nigerian workers, assuring to give them a living wage.

Tinubu made the pledge in a statement issued Monday in Abuja in commemoration of this years Workers Day celebration.

In the Nigeria I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29, workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families, the president-elect stated.

Noting that workers would find in him a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social justice, Tinubu also extended a hand of friendship to them, recalling decades of close collaboration between workers and nationalists as well as pro-democracy activists.

He said: Since 1945 when the railway workers and 16 other public service unions led the first general strike to demand for better wages as a result of rising cost of living, the labour movement in Nigeria has always fought on the side of the masses of our country.

It was no surprise that the labour movement added fillip, zest and energy to the struggle for independence by partnering with nationalists such as Nnamdi Azikwe, Herbert Macaulay, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Ernest Ikoli and Anthony Enahoro among others.

The Nigerian labour movement was also not found wanting during our struggle for the restoration of democracy.

The Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliate organisations  NUPENG, Textile Union, PENGASSAN, among others  collaborated with the pro-democracy leaders and groups to restore democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999 after almost two unbroken decades of military dictatorship.

On this special day, as your President-elect, I extend my hands of friendship to the Nigerian workers through the two central Labour unions  Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.

In me you will find a dependable ally and co-labourer in the fight for social and economic justice for all Nigerians, including all the working people.

Your fight will be my fight because I will always fight for you. My plans for better welfare and working conditions are clearly spelt out in my Renewed Hope Agenda for A Better Nigeria. It is a covenant born of conviction and one I am prepared to keep.

At this point, I must remind Nigerian workers that we all have a common battle to wage, one which we must win together.

And it is the fight against poverty, ignorance, disease, disunity, ethnic and religious hate and all negative forces that contend against the stability and prosperity of our country.

The days ahead will, however, demand better understanding and cooperation from all sides, because leadership will require that we take tough and hard decisions so that our people and all Nigerian workers can live more abundantly.
A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Adamu Garba, has said Nigeria's sovereignty would be in shambles if Senator Ike Ekweremadu is sentenced to serve a jail term in a foreign country.

He said such development would be an indicator of the weakness of the Nigerian system and what he described as stenches of colonialism.

Garba who queried why a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would be subjected to serve a jail term in a foreign country, asked if the US, the UK or any other European country would allow such to happen to its national.

The APC Chieftain made this assertions in a statement posted on his verified Twitter handle.

Recall that Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice and a doctor were found guilty of human organ trafficking by a court in the UK.

They are still being kept in police custody as they await the judgement of the court.

Meanwhile, Garba claimed that it was an assault on Nigerias sovereignty and extant laws, while insisting that Ekweremadu ought to be repatriated to face the Nigerian judiciary and be sanctioned by its laws.

He wrote, If not for the weakness of our system and stenches of colonialism, how can a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu serve a jail term in the foreign land?

Would America, the UK or any European country allow that?

No matter the offence, he deserves to be repatriated back to Nigeria, face Nigeria court and be sanctioned by the Nigeria law.

I see this as an assault on our sovereignty, laws and the status of our statehood in the international sphere.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with Noeleen Heyzer, special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) for Myanmar, in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Noeleen Heyzer, special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) for Myanmar, in Beijing on Monday.

Qin said that with internal and external factors intertwined, the Myanmar issue is complex and has no "quick fix." He called on the international community to respect Myanmar's sovereignty, and support all parties in Myanmar, within the constitutional and legal framework, to bridge differences and resume the political transition process through political dialogue.

Qin said the international community should respect the mediation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promote the implementation of its five-point consensus on Myanmar.

He stressed the need to act prudently and pragmatically to prevent the escalation and spillover of the crisis, adding that China will continue to support and help the special envoy in her good offices.

Heyzer said that the effort to resolve the Myanmar issue should be led by Myanmar, and that the will of its people should be respected.

The UN appreciates China's important role in promoting the settlement of the Myanmar issue and hopes that China will continue to make contributions to Myanmar's peace, stability and development, said the special envoy. 

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with Noeleen Heyzer, special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) for Myanmar, in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Gull River area residents are being advised to take precautions as water levels and river flows are expected to rise over the next several days with runoff from recent rain.

On Monday (May 1), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry issued a Flood Watch for the Gull River Watershed. The watch remains in effect until May 11.

Weather forecasts are currently calling for up to 16 millmetres of rain for this area between Tuesday (May 2) and Monday (May 8). Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement for the area calling for an additional 10 to 15 millimetres of rainfall Monday.

Residents that have been affected by high water and flow conditions in the past should continue to take necessary action to protect and secure any vulnerable property in proximity to rivers and lakes and closely monitor developing conditions and regularly check for updated messages.

It will take a number of days for the additional rain to work its way through the entire system. Downstream water bodies may experience a delay in the full impact of the upstream inputs.

Caution is advised when travelling on local waterways. Boat traffic during high water conditions can cause damage to shorelines and to shoreline property with vessel wakes.

With recent rainfall the banks and shorelines adjacent to water bodies can be extremely slippery and unstable. Residents and visitors should exercise caution while around waterbodies and maintain close supervision of children and pets.

The Ministry also advises extreme caution when using forest access roads for outdoor activities as they may become seasonally inundated with water, are prone to washouts, and may become impassible due to localized flooding.

Residents are reminded to keep a close watch on conditions and regularly check for updated messages.

The Ministry is closely monitoring the weather and developing watershed conditions. Further updates will be issued as appropriate.

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There is too much news out there. Well, maybe there has always been a lot of news, but it has never before been so easily accessible.

Back in the old days when I was growing up, your parents may have subscribed to a newspaper or two, probably including the local paper where you found out who was having tea with whom, what the council was up to, and who was married, born or died. Maybe they also took the Star, Telegram or Globe, depending on their political proclivities.

There was probably loyalty to one radio station  CFRB in our case.

Then television arrived (yes, I predate television) and you could get one channel (CKVR in Barrie if you lived in Midland or Penetang) where you watched Perry Como on a snowy screen.

The result was that there werent that many things of which to keep track.

Now, thanks to technology, you know instantly what is happening throughout the world and struggle to follow any of it.

Even locally.

Take a recent Monday night, for example. City Council was meeting at the same time as the Petes, Leafs and Jays were playing.

YourTV made the undoubtedly wise and popular decision to drop its coverage of the council meeting in favour of carrying the Petes playoff game.

I ended up streaming the meeting on my iPad, muting the television and flipping among the three games using my remote. Happily, all three teams won.

I am not sure the city was as fortunate when council decided to forbid City staff from voluntarily administering naloxone while at work. What price a life?

I took comfort in the fact that I can still multi-task.

Somehow, despite the plethora of available news sources, items of more interest than urgency can slip by us.

Earlier in the month, on April 20 to be exact, while I was following events in Sudan and the U.K. thieves  yet to be apprehended  were liberating $20 million in gold and other valuables from Pearson Airport. That was well covered, both because of its magnitude and the fact that most of us like a good, bloodless heist.

I was discussing this with hairdresser Marci last Saturday.

You know someone stole 30,000 chicks from a farm in South Huron the same day, she told me.

Worth $42,000, she added.

Have they been caught? I asked.

Not a peep out of them, she replied.

The same day? I pressed.

*Yes, she answered. It was also National Weed Day,

Which may explain it all.

Sylvia Sutherland is a journalist who was Peterboroughs mayor from 1985 to 1991 and from 1997 to 2006.



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Local residents may see a Canadian military helicopter in the skies over Peterborough this month.

A Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone is being transferred by 12 Wing from 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Shearwater, N.S. to 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron in Esquimault, B.C. The transfer began Monday and will continue to May 25, with community outreach stops along the way.

In addition to Peterborough, these stops include Montreal, Ottawa/Orleans, Kingston, Mississauga, Hamilton, Oshawa, London, Sault Ste. Marie, Winnipeg, Portage La Prairie and Moose Jaw.

Specific dates were not immediately available.

Typically, the coast lines of Canada are where the RCAF maritime helicopter aircrews conduct operations, states a press release from the Canadian Forces.

These types of transfers also provide us with the opportunity to engage with Canadians on a personal level while also showcasing the CH-148 Cyclone aircraft to residents in regions where the aircraft does not normally operate.

Expect an increase in noise as the Cyclone visits communities, including during takeoffs and landings.

RCAF aircraft flypasts and visits are carefully planned and closely controlled for public safety, states the release. To ensure public safety, landing zones have been pre-co-ordinated and security will be on site for the visits.

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NEW YORK (AP)  Liev Schreiber was visiting conflict-ravaged Ukraine when he got a script about real-life events some 80 years ago that felt strangely timely.

It was a story set during the 1942 occupation of the Netherlands by the Nazis and the way some Dutch risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust.

Celebrated diarist Anne Frank is in it, but shes almost peripheral. Instead, National Geographic's A Small Light focuses on a young, newly married woman who helped hide Frank and who provided food and other necessities at great risk. The series streams on Disney+ on May 1 and on Hulu the following day.

The central storyline being about this young woman coming of age and dealing with her marriage gives you this incredibly intimate perspective on what its like to have ones life interrupted by an invasion, Schreiber said. It felt so resonant to me.

A Small Light stars Bel Powley as Miep Gies, a real-life heroine for protecting eight people in a secret annex in Amsterdam where Frank would write her famous diary. Schreiber plays Annes father, Otto Frank.

In addition to an important historical story, the series is also an examination of how far strangers can go to help someone in trouble. Gies, who wasnt Jewish, faced certain death if discovered.

Theres no point in retelling a story about this part of history that everyone knows so well if were just going to be bashed over the head by the same historical facts we already know, said Powley. It needs to make people feel What would I do and what should I do? Because the situation right now isnt that different.

Viewers first meet Gies as an aimless party girl who is transformed into a resistance fighter after the Nazis invade. She bluffs her way past army checkpoints and gathers scarce food for the hidden. She tells one of the people she saves: If you need to cry, cry now.

Gies was the secretary of Otto Frank, and her fierce altruistic side put her marriage in jeopardy. In one argument scene, she tells her husband: Its the right thing to do and Ive agreed to do it, and I didnt think I had to consult you before deciding to save a persons life.

She was unwavering in her sense of what the right thing to do was, said Powley. She didnt hesitate, and she also was incredibly confident and vivacious and vibrant and alive. I always imagined her with this huge smile on her face all of the time.

Schreiber, who has spoken up about the Ukrainian invasion in part because he has grandparents from there, said Gies bravery was underlined by the fact that she had no blood connection to the people she was helping.

The reality of the situation is that we should all care about whats happening in Eastern Europe or for that matter, whats happening in Sudan or Turkey or whatever, he said. I felt like theres something about Miep that really represents the best in each of us, those of us that say yes to each other. I felt like it was a great time to tell that story.

After the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in July 1942, the Frank family went into hiding. The Van Pels family followed a week later. Four months later, they were joined by an eighth person: Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist and acquaintance of the Frank family. The group was discovered in 1944 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp.

A Small Light shows the humanity of each member of the group, from Annes rebelliousness to the needling of family members and the discomforts of life in hiding. There are fights and whining and stubbornness.

Not many of us are familiar with rockets hitting our homes, said Schreiber. But we can relate to a relationship thats not going well. We can relate to an interrupted meal. We can relate to these things that were happening to these peoples lives as the rockets started to fall. And that brings us into the story in a unique way.

The series comes during a new spasm of antisemitism in America, with the number of anti-Jewish incidents increasing by more than 35% in the past year, from 2,721 in 2021 to 3,697 in 2022.

Schreiber sees the numbers with alarm, having just completed a series about the Holocaust. The patterns are the same  misinformation, disinformation, scapegoats, he said. Unfortunately, we are seeing them in the U.S. again.

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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Abby Ryder Fortson, the star of the long-awaited film adaptation of Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret, is a bright spark onscreen, a ferociously articulate 15-year-old in real life  and a huge fan of the rotary telephone.

Theres a reason, said Ryder Fortson, who got to do her fair share of landline handling in the titular role of Margaret Simons, a 12-year-old growing up in the 1970s.

When youre mad at someone nowadays, and you want to hang up on someone and have them hear how mad you are, pressing that end call button doesnt have the same effect as slamming a phone down. In fact, she practised this several times. It was so much fun.

The Judy Blume novel on which this film, out now, is based was a beloved, foundational text for several generations of preteen girls. (Say it with me now: I must, I must, I must increase my bust!) According to Ryder Fortson, who was 11 when she first auditioned for the part, it remains as beloved with her cohort as when it was first published in 1970.

Just not with her, at least initially.

I think Judy Blume and I just missed each other, she said, admitting she hadnt read it herself growing up. I was more into sci-fi and fantasy when I was younger. As soon as she read it, however, she felt that same zing of being seen  in all your confused, excited, terrified fullness  that 53 years worth of girls on the cusp of adulthood had before her.

I immediately thought it was so relatable. How did someone write down a story this honest and true in the 70s? said the California-born Ryder Fortson. There were such universal timeless themes that anyone can relate to, no matter if youre growing up then or growing up now.

At the same time, Ryder Fortson conceded that Margaret Simons story  essentially a year in her life when she grapples with every hurdle puberty could throw at a kid, from first periods to first crushes to realizing your parents might be humans, too  would play out a bit differently if it were set in 2023 rather than 1970.

I think the core message would remain the same, but I do think growing up now is just so complicated, she said. Things in the 70s feel like they were so much simpler without technology, social media, and all of these things that are happening that are restricting our ability to talk about puberty and periods and boobs and all that. (Here, Ryder Fortson was referring to legislation in several states, including Florida and Idaho, that seeks to limit sex education in schools.)

Its just really sad that this is happening, she said. The more you know the more youre able to make conscious decisions about your body, and feel like youre comfortable in your body and know whats going on with yourself. Thats one of the most important things that someone can ever know.

What remains evergreen, however, is the human experience.

Margarets journey of finding herself and figuring out who she is, and all those awkward teenage feelings, would remain the same, said Ryder Fortson. You can give us iPhones, but weve still got the same stuff going on. Like, she laughed, the uncomfortability factor of your parents giving you the Sex Talk.

Thats the last thing you want to do, she said. Its the absolute worst. Youre traumatized from that experience afterwards.

On the more delightful end of the spectrum was Ryder Fortsons correspondence with Kathy Bates, the award-winning actor who plays her grandmother, Sylvia, in the film.

Before we had even met in person, we were writing letters back and forth as our characters to really build that bond, because Margaret and her grandmother have such an amazing relationship with each other Ryder Fortson said. We built this bank of improv stories we could use on set to solidify our rapport.

For example: in character, Bates wrote to Ryder Fortson about an imaginary memory of going to the zoo, where there was a squirrel chittering away on the ground, which reminded them of Grandpa, whod also loved nuts and seeds.

Kathys mind and the things that we made up together, it was amazing to just witness and be involved in, Ryder Fortson said. That really helped me to feel more connected to Margaret and her experiences, and really build a backstory in my head.

Another of her co-stars is Canadian actor Rachel McAdams, who plays her mother, navigating a rocky transition of her own as she leaves her art career in the city behind for life as a stay-at-home parent in the suburbs.

The funny thing is that we didnt get a ton of prep time, said Ryder Fortson, who added that she met McAdams and Benny Safdie, who plays her father, the day before filming started.

We all went into the set of the Simons New York apartment; we had a four-hour meeting where we all got to know each other, and next day we were shooting, she said. Thats what you have to do as an actor: go up to a stranger and say, Hi, youre my mom now. I love you so much! You get used to it after a while.

(Ryder Fortson would know: shes been acting since she was five, has over 20 film credits so far and most recently co-starred with Paul Rudd in two Ant-Man movies.)

One of the chief joys of this film is the nostalgia of its 70s settings, brought to life by the brilliant work of its set and production designers, including Steve Saklad, Angela Stauffer, Selina van den Brink and costume designer Ann Roth, who worked down to the minutest detail of how Margarets socks might roll down, Ryder Fortson recalled.

Its like stepping into a time machine, she said, adding shes obsessed with the decade in general. I have so many vintage clothes, I collect vinyls and I have a vintage typewriter.

When Ryder Fortson was gifted a few items from set, she chose a small glass vase, a small red suitcase and the tiny animal figurines that were in Margarets bedroom, which she can still place exactly in her memory. When youre spending four months on a set, you get to know it so well. It feels like your own house.

As for the pressure of inhabiting a character that means so much to so many people? Ryder Fortson said she tried not to think about it too much.

Im just so, so honoured that I was chosen to portray Margaret, who is such an iconic character, she said, pointing to the fact that Judy Blume, who was a producer on the film, told her that Margaret was a version of herself.

On set, we were all just anxiously looking back and thinking, Oh my gosh, is she liking this? It was her baby, she held onto it for 50 years and its so incredible that we were the ones chosen to bring Margaret to the big screen.

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There isnt an official theme to this years Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, which kicked off Monday. With more than 180 public sites, both indoors and out, the month-long citywide celebration of photographic arts offers a wide survey of local and international talents.

Perhaps its the early whispers of swimming season or my deep concerns about the future of Torontos precious waterfront, but I couldnt help but notice that many works featured this year are interrogating the role of water in our lives. One could also draw a line through photographic works that look at nature, community, identity or personal histories, which is one of the many pleasures of making your way through the annual fest. (Touring venues is also a fun way to get in those 10,000 daily steps.)

As you are making your list, here are 10 picks to consider for your own personal map.

Wish You Were Here, Sarah Palmer

Donald D. Summerville Pool, until May 31

What a perfect place for an outdoor installation of Sarah Palmers photos, which document the inside world of last-chance cruises, where (horrifically) tourists pay to visit locations severely affected by climate change. The massive photos are installed on the shore of Lake Ontario, ideally situated given that the Summerville pools architectural design mimics an elevated cruise pool deck.

Double Pendulum, Maggie Groat

Contact Gallery and billboards, May 6-June 17

Look up from your phone to check out multidisciplinary artist Maggie Groats richly layered collaged photos, which use natural and salvaged materials to create almost holographic designs. In addition to a billboard at Dovercourt and Dupont, there is an outdoor Harbourfront Centre installation and an exhibition at Contact Gallery, where you can immerse even deeper in her work.

Convenience, Jennifer Chin and Jessica Rysyk

ArtQuarters Gallery, May 3-20

Two artists offer a snacky homage to the St. Clair West gallerys previous life as a convenience store. Jennifer Chins series of mass-produced confections draw attention to their minor variations and the human labour required for manufacturing. Jessica Rysyk embeds candies and their wrappers in resin blocks, creating sugary shrines out of familiar treats.

Exile from Babylon, Jean-Francois Bouchard

Arsenal Contemporary Art, until July 15

Montreal-born, New York City-based artist Jean-Francois Bouchard documents a squatters camp through photos and video shot on a decommissioned military base in the California Sonoran Desert. With his lens focusing on detritus caught in tree branches, the lack of visible human activity adds to this transient postapocalyptic atmosphere.

Scotiabank Photography Award, Jin-me Yoon

Image Centre, until Aug. 5

The Korean-born, Vancouver-based artists list of achievements and accolades continue to grow, with good reason. Known for deconstructing common narratives around issues such as environmental devastation, Yoons futuristic exhibition was taken on Iona Island in Richmond, B.C., where a former sewage treatment plant is now being replaced as the polluted lands are transformed.

Firm Like Water, Serapis

Mason Studio, May 12-June 30

I am intrigued by the Greek interdisciplinary collective Serapis and how they describe their practice as a multimedia ocean-themed novel. This narrative is extended through their photography, which is a core part of their work, speaking to the theme by incorporating found images from maritime life.

Woodland, Sarah Anne Johnson

Stephen Bulger Gallery, May 6-June 25

Wherever Sarah Anne Johnson goes, I will follow. The Winnipeg artist is best known for pushing the photographic medium by adding paint, stickers and dyes to images of landscapes, creating ethereal worlds that you just want to immerse in.

Feels Like Home, Sunday School

Art Gallery of Ontario, billboards, May 6-May 31, 2024

In addition to its first museum show, the dynamic creative agency Sunday School will take over the intersections of Lansdowne Avenue at Dundas Street West and at College Street with their striking photos celebrating Black stories and communities.

Severance, Lynne Cohen

Olga Kolper Gallery, until May 27

The late photographer Lynne Cohen, who died in 2014, built her name creating eerie images of institutional interiors, focusing on symmetries and repetitions in spaces. The absence of people makes her works seem familiar yet abandoned, an experience that feels even more pointed in our work-from-home offices.

Photographs, June Clark

Daniel Faria Gallery, until June 3

After Harlem-born artist June Clark quickly moved to Toronto in the late 1960s with her husband, who had been drafted for the Vietnam War, she began taking photos of her new home as a way of situating herself in the city. This exhibition, which spans the 1970s through to the 90s, now feels imbued with nostalgia for a Toronto that seems to be slipping away.

SC Sue Carter is deputy editor of Inuit Art Quarterly and a freelance contributor based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @flinnflon

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Health officials to hand out seasonal boosters

BANGKOK: The Public Health Ministry wants this year to be the first in which people are given annual COVID-19 booster shots, similar to the seasonal flu vaccine.

VaccinehealthCOVID-19

By Bangkok Post

Monday 1 May 2023, 08:00AM

A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine shot in Samut Prakan province this month. Photo: Somchai Poomlard

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said yesterday (Apr 30) Thailand still needs to monitor COVID-19 infections as cases spiked twice last week due to the worldwide spread of XBB.1.16, a substrain of the Omicron variant.

Most of those who died during the period were from the so-called 608 at-risk group - which comprises people over 60 years old, those with underlying conditions and pregnant women, reports the Bangkok Post.

The government urges people to get both flu and COVID-19 vaccines this year.

Members of the public can receive COVID-19 vaccines for free at state hospitals, while the costs of getting shots at privately-run hospitals will vary.

The flu vaccine is also provided for free for at-risk people.

Subscribers of the Social Security Fund who are over 50 years old can get a free flu vaccine once a year.

This year, flu vaccinations at their chosen hospitals will be offered from today to Aug 31.

The Public Health Ministry urges Thais who received COVID-19 shots three to four months ago to get boosted to reduce the severity of infections. There are bivalent types and upgraded versions of the vaccine available from major producers, including Pfizer and Moderna.

The National Health Security Office and the Department of Disease Control will open vaccination sites to administer 2.9 million doses of flu vaccines against three variants - A H1N1, A H3N2 and B Victoria - for seven at-risk groups under the universal health scheme, or gold card scheme, for free until Aug 31.

These groups include pregnant women; children aged 6 months to 2 years old; chronic disease patients, comprising of those with obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, cancer and diabetes; people over 65; people with thalassemia and immunodeficiency; people weighing over 100kg; and those with aphasia.

People in Bangkok who failed to register for vaccination via the Pao Tang app can call the 1330 hotline or contact @nhso on Line to get the issue fixed, she said.
Phuket airport runway hole causes flight delays

PHUKET: People boarding flights to or from Phuket International Airport have been advised to check with their airlines for any delays following delays starting yesterday resulting from a hole in the runway.

tourismtransportSafety

By The Phuket News

Monday 1 May 2023, 12:03PM

The advisory came via the Phuket Info Center, operated under the Phuket office of the Ministry of Interior, as Airports of Thailand (AoT) have yet to recognise the issue.

The issue was raised by online flights community Wingtips, which posted that at 3pm yesterday flights scheduled to land in Phuket had been put into a holding pattern.

Citing Flightradar24, Wingtips reported that the Boeing 737-800 serving Shanghai Airlines Flight FM858 had been held in a holding pattern west of Phuket, as it had not been approved to land at Phuket airport.

Recommended to passengers who have flights to and from Phuket today to check the travel schedule from the airline again, said the post.

Phuket Info Center reported that AoT Phuket, which operates Phuket airport, had announced an incident resulting in aircraft being unable to take off or land due to the runway being closed.

Phuket Info Center noted that the announcement was made at 3:20pm yesterday, despite AoT Phuket not posting any recognition of the delays even by this morning.

According to the announcement, the repairs to the runway were to be completed by 4pm yesterday.

However, Phuket Info Center last night posted an update confirming that runway repairs still had yet to be completed. Instead, AoT Phuket was now expecting to complete the repairs today (May 1).

According to the post by Phuket Info Center last night, airport management had been aware of a large crack in the runway for several days, and that pilots had been informed of the safety issue.

Pilots had been allowed to use Runway 09 since yesterday morning, said the post.

At midday yesterday, pilot were told to use Runway 27 instead.

There is only one runway at Phuket airport, but it has two designations: Runway 09 and runway 27.

Pilots are told to use Runway 09 if they are to use the runway travelling eastwards, and told to use Runway 27 if they are to use the runway travelling westwards.

After the change in direction of use at midday yesterday, one plane managed to take off by avoiding the crack in the runway.

The second plane, however, became stuck in what the post described as a hole. Ground crew took one hour to remove the plane from the runway, the Phuket Info Center explained.

During the hour that the runway was closed, about 10 planes waiting to take off were delayed and aircraft arriving to land in Phuket, including from overseas, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in Bangkok and from Samui, were also delayed.

The ground crew was expected to repair the crack by 4pm yesterday. However, the late arrival of the necessary equipment saw bad weather arrive, further impeding any efforts to repair the runway.

Heavy rain at the airport again delaying many flights, said the post.

Phuket Info Center last night pointed out that at that time there still had been no official notification to passengers of delays.

As of midday today, AoT Phuket still had yet to make any announcements regarding the delays.
Terry Polyak will soon be welcoming people into a restaurant at 15 Main St. Polyak owns the building and said he's being selective to what restaurant he'd like to see in the space.





Brian Kennedy is calling it a rebirth.

With the section on Main Street, between Ainslie and Water streets, slowly being revitalized with stores, restaurants and lofts, the executive director of the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Area (BIA) sees the roadway returning to its former glory as a city destination.

The BIA, according to Kennedy, has been aggressively marketing the downtown as a place to visit and put down roots, whether that be as a tenant or entrepreneur. One of the ways to capture interest, he said, was the recent Wedding Week, which garnered interest from a business owner to sign a lease in a vacant property. He couldnt divulge any details on what that space will become.

Despite most of the focus in the city for shopping and eating has turned to Hespeler Road over the years, Kennedy said selling the downtown isnt a hard job.

People coming to the area are definitely drawn to the charm of the historic buildings and proximity to the water and the river. They see the potential that downtown Galt has, Kennedy said, noting there are three or four new business looking to open up.

We're seeing the domino effect happening with different businesses now looking to move in.

One business owner who pushed that first domino down was Terry Polyak. The Cambridge-resident owns 60 Main St. One of the cornerstones of the block, he renovated the former Right House building and now it houses Pur Balance, Encore Threads and Treasures, Hair Connection, the soon-to-open gluten-free taco and tequila bar The Mule, and Sugar Daddies, with the office for his Milestone Integrated Marketing business on the second floor.

He also owns 31 Main St.  Juniper Artisan Collective  and 15 Main St. With the latter, Polyak is adamant in having a restaurant on the ground floor and will be selective with who moves in. The three upper levels of the building have 13 one-bedroom apartment units. One sits on top of the Boardwalk, which he also owns. Hes planning on having outdoor dining in the Boardwalk, once it gets cleaned up.

He noted he was in talks with a Hamilton group for the restaurant, but that slowed with vacant storefronts littering the block. The hope is with new businesses filling those holes, hell hear a lot more noise.

Asked what needs to be done to get the downtown thriving, Polyak said there has to be a reason for people to patron the street.

I'm doing my best to do what I think should be done to bring this town back to life, he said, noting Galt should take a page from his hometown of Tillsonburg, which is cognizant of how storefronts on the main street display signage and buildings focus on being esthetically pleasing.

Polyak added it looks like something is happening in the downtown and its turning around.

That doesnt mean Polyak isnt aware of the reputation the downtown gained over the years. As shops came and went over the last decade, people were afraid to go downtown because of the criminal element.

In fact, he said when the Right House building was being renovated, a worker left a door unlocked and tools were stolen. When reporting to the police, Polyak claimed an officer thanked him for rejuvenating the building.

That resonated with me because he's right. You know, the more we create down here, the more people come down here and the less it becomes what it currently is or what it was earlier.

Polyak said he thinks the key to really bringing the street back to life is by closing that section of Main Street year-round, instead of just in the summer. He said while it may be premature now and to wait a couple years for the stores to fill in, bringing more choice will brings more activity. In the winter, he said, there could be Christmas vendors and an ice rink on the street.

Maybe I get a little too passionate, a little bit to pie in the sky about it, but I think, it could happen, and it probably should happen. It's just who do you need to convince of this?

What didnt take a lot of convincing was getting Omar Kaake and his ownership group to invest in downtown. Buying and renovating six other properties in the downtown, Kaake and his three partners purchased the oldest buildings on the south side Main Street  dubbed the Granite Block  dating back to 1851 to 1862. The group injected $4 million into reviving 35 and 39 Main St.

Already moved in are Jolie Bras & Lingerie, Retro Rocket Comics and nowords art gallery, with eight apartments on the upper levels named Granite Lofts.

The building holds a lot of history, as 39 Main St. suffered Galts first great fire on April 14, 1851, destroying much of the business district. The rebuild ended in 1862, before the other buildings on the street now, were constructed from 1878 to 1894.

35-39 Main were in a state of disrepair, but we could see the opportunity in its key features, especially the granite stone, Kaake said in an email.

He agreed with Polyak on what would make the downtown thrive.

More of the same building-by-building improvement with addition of residences  the more people living in the downtown the more likely for it to be lively.

Kennedy noted its about time the downtown brought people back.

There is a change happening. People can see it, people can feel it. The pendulum is now actually swinging back, Kennedy said.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Times was contacted by BIA executive director Brian Kennedy, who was excited to report change is afoot in downtown Galt.





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Delegates attend a ceremony for Finland's accession to NATO at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The United States has been the largest arms exporter globally for the past three decades, and the biggest arms supplier to Europe. SIPRI's report found that European NATO states increased their arms imports from the United States by 65 percent last year.

ZAGREB, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A surge in military spending in Europe last year did not make the bloc safer, a prominent Croatian military expert said in an interview with Xinhua.

Global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022, to an all-time high of 2,240 billion U.S. dollars, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report published on April 24.

The sharpest rise in spending was seen in Europe, SIPRI underlined.

"To be honest, more military spending means less security," Marinko Ogorec, Croatia's former first military envoy to Russia, told Xinhua.

Ogorec, who is now head of the Department of Defense Systems and Technologies at Croatia's Institute for Research and Development of Defense Systems, said the surge in military spending across Europe last year actually "increases the possibility of escalation, a possible outflow of weapons and ammunition from warehouses."

Meanwhile, military aid to Ukraine and concerns over a heightened threat from Russia have strongly influenced many other states' spending decisions, he said.

Romanian soldiers of an honor guard attend a ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, known as Victory in Europe Day, at an event organized in front of Military Academy in Bucharest, Romania, May 9, 2021. (Photo by Cristian Cristel/Xinhua)

Senior researcher at SIPRI Diego Lopes da Silva has said that since Central and Western European countries increased their military spending in 2022 due to the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Europe's military spending will continue to increase in the years ahead.

Backing this theory, Ogorec emphasized that European countries have emptied their warehouses providing military support to Ukraine, and must now re-fill them.

The world is currently witnessing turbulent times on a global level, Ogorec said, and military force is still considered the dominant component in international relations. Therefore, increasing military spending was a common choice for many European countries last year.

Not only has this not improved security for these countries, it has also served the interests of the U.S. military industry, Ogorec said.

An AW101 Leonardo helicopter is displayed at the 25th edition of the International Defense Industry Expo (MSPO) in Kielce, Poland, on Sept. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Jaap Arriens)

The United States has been the largest arms exporter globally for the past three decades, and the biggest arms supplier to Europe.

SIPRI's report found that European NATO states increased their arms imports from the United States by 65 percent last year. 
KITCHENER  Police have made three arrests in connection to a stabbing on Saturday.

At around 2:05 p.m., emergency services were called to a residential unit near Charles Street East and Eby Street, where they found a man with stab wounds.

Paramedics took the victim, a 30-year-old man from Kitchener, to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

On Sunday, Waterloo Regional Police conducted search warrants at the scene and seized two knives.

Police arrested a man in connection to the stabbing, and later arrested a man and youth on to drug charges.

Canadian cash and suspected fentanyl were seized.

A 38-year-old man is charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

A 28-year-old man and a male youth are charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

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WATERLOO REGION  Grand River Transit buses wont be running Monday because operators and other unionized staff are on strike.

Late Sunday evening, the Region of Waterloo announced that members of UNIFOR, Local 4304, representing Grand River Transit, busPLUS, MobilityPLUS operators, reservationists, fleet mechanics and service attendants, did not ratify the tentiative agreement reached between the region and union leadership.

The strike began as of 12:01 a.m. Sunday night, and bus service including Mobility PLUS and BusPLUS was to stop at 3 a.m. Monday morning.

ION train service will continue as it is maintained and operated by Keolis.

Despite an offer that was competitive for GRT staff and affordable for residents, unfortunately we were not able to reach an agreement, the news release from the Region of Waterloo said.

The Region is committed to reaching an agreement and we remain open to discussions with the union.

We appreciate that customers rely on transit on a daily basis and we will continue to update customers and residents with information as soon as it becomes available.

For the latest updates on the status of transit services, visit www.grt.ca/updates, call the GRT Information Line at: 519-585-7555, or connect via Twitter @RegionWaterloo

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WATERLOO REGION  Negotiations between the union representing Grand River Transit workers and the Region of Waterloo have broken off, with no new talks scheduled.

Transit workers were on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Monday.

The strike impacts Grand River Transit buses, Mobility Plus and Bus Plus. Ion trains continue to run as they are operated by Keolis.

The membership has spoken and rejected the tentative agreement, Unifor Local 4304 president Brendan Burke said in an emailed statement. Scheduling/work-life balance and wages are the major issues.

We are looking to resolve this as quickly as possible in order to continue to serve the public. There are currently no new dates for bargaining but the union remains willing and open to talk at any time.

Striking Grand River Transit workers picket near Fairview Park Mall. Mathew McCarthy, Waterloo Region Record

Local 4304 represents more than 650 transit drivers and nearly 90 skilled trade and support workers.

The Region of Waterloo announced late Sunday evening that a tentative agreement reached between the two sides was not ratified by transit workers. Bus service ended as of 3 a.m. Monday.

Despite an offer that was competitive for GRT staff and affordable for residents, unfortunately we were not able to reach an agreement, the region said in a press release. The region is committed to reaching an agreement and we remain open to discussions with the union.

GRT had its first strike in 2020. About 730 GRT drivers, dispatchers, mechanics and service attendants were off the job for 11 days. The agreement reached at the time expired April 30, 2023.

That agreement gave mechanics a $3-an-hour increase, and a $2.25-an-hour increase for part-time employees over the life of the contract. It also includes improved disciplinary language on surveillance camera use, wage increases each year of the collective agreement and equalization of pay for part-time workers doing the same work as full-time workers.

-With files from Liz Monteiro and Catherine Thompson

Paige Desmond is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on municipal issues for The Record. Reach her via email: pdesmond@therecord.com

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The City of Kitchener has been both compassionate and patient in its treatment of homeless people camped at Roos Island in Victoria Park.

Last week, in a clear move to have the few remaining inhabitants vacate the island, the city announced it was fencing off the bridge and restricting admittance to existing campers, their support workers, city staff and service providers.

Each of the six people still living on the island had been offered one or more interim housing options the city said in a statement. They will not have to leave the island until they have moved to their next shelter option.

When the last tent has been taken down, Roos Island will be cleaned up and returned to the public.

And new campers will not be allowed to set up on the island or elsewhere in Victoria Park, the city said.

Allies of the homeless people responded with a rally Thursday in which the chain securing the gate was broken. Police were called to keep the protesters off the island.

But others in the community are sighing with relief.

Its been nearly a year since people started setting up their tents on this small island, and the city has waited a long time to finally take steps to settle them into alternative housing and allow the space to be parkland again.

Roos Island is a picturesque spot, with shady trees and a small gazebo. Bridges connect it to the rest of the park.

But many members of the public felt intimidated walking through the island, and avoided it once the tents appeared. Social agencies were expressing concerns that teenagers who visited became prey to sex trafficking and drug abuse.

In December of last year, the usual Christmas light display in the park was disrupted, because power wasnt extended to Roos Island, as it would have presented a safety hazard to the people in the tents.

Some people complained about the loss of access to the island, in a part of the city where parkland is already in short supply.

Yet the city still let the tent encampment stay.

"Were trying to find a balance between compassion and pragmatism, " said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic back in December, as he pointed out that the people in the tents had nowhere else to go.

"Our position has always been, this is not a long-term solution."

Back in December, it was true that they had nowhere else to go. But now, they do.

The opening of a government-funded community of 50 cabins on Erbs Road in Wilmot Township, run by The Working Centre, offers better shelter than a tent. The cabins are more secure, warmer in winter, more permanent, and there are other kinds of support, including regular transportation provided to and from the city.

Unlike the land being camped on by other homeless people at Victoria and Weber streets, Roos Island was being used for something. People downtown dont have enough parkland. They need every tree and blade of grass.

The city balanced the needs of an impoverished few against the interests of the many, and decided for a year to give priority to the few. No one was asked to leave until there was alternative housing for them. That time has come. The long wait was the right call.

Luisa DAmato is a Waterloo Region-based staff columnist for The Record. Reach her via email: ldamato@therecord.com

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Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low near 50F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 72F. ESE winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Sharon Kennish, owner of the Tim Hortons outlet in the plaza at Upper Ottawa and Larch, decorates a Smile Cookie.







Its Tim Hortons Smile Cookie time again, and the folks at Hamilton Food Share and Food4Kids Hamilton are hoping local residents get out and enjoy the sweet treats.

The two organizations have once again been chosen by Hamilton area Tims owners as their charities to support with proceeds from the annual campaign that has been moved to the spring, from May 1 to 7.

This year more than any other year in our past, this campaign is going to be extraordinary for us, said Karen Randell, senior manager of operations at Hamilton Food Share. The money raised will help us mitigate the 40 per cent increase were seeing in all of our food bank programs.

Food Share supports 16 organizations that operate 23 food banks and emergency food programs in the city.

Last year, sales of the chocolate chunk cookies with pink and blue icing raised about $200,000 each for Hamilton Food Share and Food4Kids Hamilton.

Tim Hortons Smile Cookies is by far our biggest fundraiser of the year, said Cathy Haan, executive director of Food4Kids Hamilton, which provides bags of healthy food every weekend to more than 1,400 children and teens at 75 elementary and high schools in Hamilton. Were grateful to local Tim Hortons restaurant owners and teams for working so hard doing this campaign to help us feed the amazing kids in our program.

Sharon Kennish, owner of the Tim Hortons at Upper Ottawa and Larch, has been part of the Smile Cookies campaign since it began in 1996 as a fundraiser for McMaster Childrens Hospital.

It gives back to the community, Kentish said. The Hamilton and area store owners choose their charities, we vote on which charities we want to support, and Food4Kids and Hamilton Food Share, they win every year, such a good cause.

Smile Cookies is a national campaign that raised more than $15 million for more than 600 local charities last year.

Since it began, the campaign has raised more than $90 million.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Hamilton Community News wanted to find out more about the 2023 Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign for local charities.

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HOUSTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The suspect armed with an AR-15 style rifle is still on the run as of Monday afternoon, two and half days after killing five neighbors including a young boy in south central U.S. state of Texas, local media reported.

More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies are searching for the gunman identified as Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican national, authorities said.

Investigators said they believe the suspect was intoxicated and began shooting an AR-15 in his front yard late Friday night when neighbors asked him to be quiet because they had a baby who was trying to sleep. He then began shooting inside the home and killed five of ten people inside.

The shooting took place in Cleveland, a small town about 55 miles north of Houston. All the victims were from Honduras.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has "zero leads" on where Oropesa could be, FBI Houston field office agent James Smith told reporters on Sunday while announcing an 80,000-U.S.-dollar reward for information leading to his capture.

The suspect had been deported four times, a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News on Monday.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, was fiercely slammed immediately after he called the victims "illegal immigrants" in a tweet on Monday.

"It's below the dignity of the governor to impugn the victims of a mass shooting about their legal status," Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, told NBC News.

"All of the victims are Latino and so is the suspected gunman. This is a tragedy that involves another serial killing and a weapon for war that was used in the killing. That's the issue, not the legal status of the victims," said Garcia.

Renae Eze, a spokeswoman for the governor, blamed the federal government for providing the state incorrect information on the suspected gunman and victims on Monday afternoon.

"We've since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally," Eze said. "We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal," she said.

Wilson Garcia, whose wife and young son were among the victims, told local media outlet KTRK-TV that his family moved in three years ago and "never had a problem" with his neighbor until Friday.

"I don't have words to describe what happened," Garcia said during a vigil Sunday. "It's like we're alive but not living. What happened was really horrible. I lived through it because I was there. I managed to escape by miracle."

"Two people died protecting my 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter and my month-and-a-half-old son," said Garcia. "They protected him with a pile of clothes so the killer wouldn't kill them, too."

Neighbor Veronica Pineda told KTRK that she had grown accustomed to neighbors shooting firearms in the area.

"There's always shooting," she told the television station. 
Hamilton police are investigating a shooting on the Mountain.

Police were called to Concession Street and Viewpoint Avenue around 6:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of shots fired. On scene police found evidence confirming a shooting occured.

There are no known victims and its not clear if the shooting was targeted. The investigation is ongoing.

This marks the sixth shooting in Hamilton this year, including one homicide and three victims. Two individuals have been charged in connection with shootings.

Anyone with information, including surveillance footage, is asked to call Det. David Brewster at 905-546-4067.

To remain anonymous contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com.

Nicole OReilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com

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YELLOWKNIFE - A Northwest Territories Supreme Court justice has ordered that Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation companies be put in the care of a receiver-manager as the First Nation accuses the head of its business arm of misappropriating millions of dollars through self-dealing.

The First Nation and Chief James Marlowe filed suit against Ron Barlas, his wife, Zeba Barlas, and several companies last week, accusing Barlas of oppression, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and fraud. In court documents, they allege that Barlas, through duplicity, threats and legal manoeuvring, had illegally seized control of the First Nations companies and diverted an estimated $10 to $14 million from them to companies controlled by him and his wife over several years.

Barlas, who has been chief executive officer of Denesoline Corporation Ltd. since 2014, has denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement he plans to challenge the claims. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation has approximately 800 members and about 350 people are estimated to live in the remote community on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

Denesoline Corporation is the economic development arm of the First Nation and is responsible for business negotiations and management of various joint ventures. Its primary source of revenue comes from contracts with the three diamond mines in the territory, with which the First Nation has agreements.

Marlowe and the First Nation allege that since being hired as chief executive officer of Denesoline, Barlas has taken control of Taegera Company Ltd., a real estate holding corporation, and Tsa Corporation, a non-profit that owns Denesoline and Taegera, through invalid means. They allege these companies are no longer being operated for the benefit of First Nation members, they lack proper governance and oversight, and Tsa has not held an annual general meeting since 2019.

They further allege three companies  Northern Consulting Group Inc., Equipment North Inc., and Dene Aurora Environmental Technologies Inc.  are alter-egos of Barlas and his wife. They allege that these companies perform no independent work and have been used to divert and hold funds and assets that rightfully belong to the First Nation. In particular, the suit claims a joint venture between Denesoline and Northern Consulting Group was created to divert 49 per cent of revenues generated by Denesoline from other joint venture contracts, which they allege Barlas concealed from Tsa members.

Other allegations the First Nation has made against Barlas include that Taegera purchased his familys home in Yellowknife, Equipment North bought an aeroponic farm that Barlas sold to Denesoline for $140,000 in profit but sent it to a former colleague in B.C. rather than Lutsel Ke, and that Denesoline paid $40,000 for renovations to a property owned by Equipment North in Yellowknife as well as $15,000 in monthly rent to the company.

Barlas has denied any wrongdoing and said the affidavits filed in support of the First Nations suit contain numerous false, unfounded or misleading allegations. He stated in his own affidavit that no funds have been diverted to companies owned and controlled by him or his family, full disclosure has been provided to Tsa members and he purchased his home with his own money.

I have never taken funds which belong to the community, I have never taken steps to take over control of the corporations, he wrote.

Barlas said in an affidavit that Denesoline is the only Indigenous community-owned company to have no debts, has been awarded a Canadian Business Excellence Award annually from 2019 to 2023 and provides significant benefits to the community. In it, he also included an email attributed to former Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation chief Darryl Marlowe stating Barlas had done more for the community of Lutsel Ke than anyone over the past 10 years and that all of his agreements were signed lawfully.

The First Nation and its current chief applied to the court last week for an interim order appointing Riley Farber Inc., a business advisory firm with offices in Calgary, as receiver-manager of Denesoline, Tsa and Taegera while litigation proceeds. They also requested an interim Mareva injunction, which allows the court to freeze the assets of a defendant, to prevent the respondents from potentially dissipating funds or destroying evidence. They expressed concern that a large payment was pending to Denesoline, arguing there was serious risk those funds could be diverted.

An affidavit from Angela Bigg, president and chief executive officer of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., indicates that a total of $13.5 million was due to Denesoline-related entities by the end of April and further invoices totalling $6 million are expected in the coming weeks.

Deputy Justice William Grist granted both orders on Friday, which he said were extraordinary, noting there was some urgency given the significant funding due.

The temporary orders are subject to review. The Maerva injunction order states it will cease to have effect if Barlas provides the court $9 million in financial security.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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VANCOUVER - Parts of British Columbias Interior remain under a flood watch as a spell of warm weather over the weekend melted snow and rain is in the forecast in some communities.

The River Forecast Centre says the Nazko and West Road rivers in south-central B.C. remain under flood watch, with the rising water creating a danger that it could spill over its banks.

The Lower Thompson River basin west of Kamloops also has an active flood watch, and the Village of Cache Creek about 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver has declared a state of local emergency.

On Sunday, Cache Creek issued an evacuation order for one property on the Trans-Canada Highway because of the flood risk.

Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta says floodwater was surging over one street during the weekend, and the village declared a state of emergency in order to issue the evacuation order for the one property threatened by rising waters.

Ranta says the situation has improved since, with local rivers and streams dropping in water level, but the town remains on watch because a rain event could change things dramatically.

It remains to be seen what the weather does, Ranta says about potentially lifting the state of local emergency.

The province warned last week that warming temperatures would increase the likelihood of rising water levels, with the highest risk associated with mid-elevation river systems throughout much of the central Interior region.

Environment Canada says several Interior communities in B.C. will see rain Monday after the recent heat that set new temperature records on Friday and Saturday, including Kamloops where it came close to 32 degrees.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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HALIFAX - A second lawsuit has been filed against the University of Kings College and Dalhousie University in Halifax claiming the affiliated institutions failed to protect a former student from a professor and Anglican minister known for his sexually abusive behaviour.

The civil suit also names the Anglican Diocesan Synod of Nova Scotia and the estate of the longtime professor, Wayne Hankey, who died in February 2022.

In a notice of action filed last week with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the plaintiff alleges he was sexually assaulted by Hankey in the early 1980s during a mentoring session inside a residence on the Kings campus.

The statement of claim says Hankey put his hand inside the plaintiffs gym shorts and slid his hand towards his genitals, which prompted the plaintiff to flee the room.

The lawsuit alleges that Hankey used the trust inherent in his positions as a professor and ordained minister to sexually assault the plaintiff, whose identity is covered by a publication ban.

It says Kings, Dalhousie and the Anglican Church knew, or ought to have known, that Hankey had sexually abusive tendencies, but they failed to take any actions to protect the plaintiff.

The plaintiffs lawyer, Liam OReilly, filed a civil lawsuit in March on behalf of another man who says Hankey sexually assaulted him in the late 1970s when he was 14.

The allegations in the statements of claim in the two cases have not been tested in court.

On Feb. 1, 2021, Hankey was charged with sexually assaulting another Kings student in 1988. In April of 2021, he was charged with indecent assault and gross indecency related to the incident alleged in the latest civil lawsuit, as well as other alleged assaults against another complainant between 1977 to 1979.

On March 15, the University of Kings College released an independent report that found the school failed to address reports of Hankeys sexual assaults on campus and instead protected him.

Kings College president William Lahey apologized that day, saying the school failed to keep its students safe from Hankeys predatory and abusive actions at the school where he taught between 1974 and 2015.

Lahey said the university accepted the reports recommendation that it make amends to Hankeys victims, saying the aim would be appropriate and just compensation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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Toronto Public Health issued three conditional passes to restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars and grocery stores on April 27.

Charloos West Indian Foods at 1646 Victoria Park Avenue received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Kairali at 1210 Kennedy Road received a conditional pass with five major infractions:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Maintain potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Use dirty cloth for cleaning food contact surface

Use utensils not non-toxic in contact with food

Wing Machine at 1684 Jane Street received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Use food equipment not in good repair

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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Its the morning after Victoria University in the University of Toronto has vowed to divest its endowment fund of fossil fuels, and the foyer of the turreted campus building affectionately known as Old Vic is eerily quiet.

Gone are the tents, sleeping bags, banners and students that had turned this storied spot into what was described as the longest occupation in U of T history.

Still, the 18-day protest weighs on the mind of Victoria President Rhonda McEwen as she looks out the window of her office just steps east of Queens Park.

Fridays are usually McEwens day to focus on research  something she guards fiercely in a jam-packed schedule that, at any given time, can include meetings about budget, infrastructure or community partnerships.

But on this Friday, April 14, as McEwen awaits the arrival of students who work in her lab, she marvels at the incredible outcome of a long process that had resulted in Victorias governing body deciding to divest its funds of direct fossil fuel producers by 2030. Later in the day, a meeting with a fourth-year student, who comes to talk to her about climate activism and mental health, turns into a debrief of the protest which has left some of the 250 participants upset and distrusting of administration.

The issue of divestment has been a test of McEwens leadership and a surprising bookend of her first year as president. When she began the job last July, she had a long list of ambitious goals, but it was quickly clear that divestment was a priority. This pot is boiling, and its on the front burner, she was told.

Acknowledging the heavy lifting by her predecessor William Robins and members of the Board of Regents, and despite finding herself in the protest crosshairs, McEwen describes being honoured to be the president in the chair that gets to be part of the announcement.

Its a path forward  albeit student protesters would like a faster timeline  for this 187-year-old institution, originally based in Cobourg and federated with the University of Toronto since 1890. Traditionally known for the humanities, Victoria boasts such alumni as literary scholar Northrop Frye, Nobel laureate/prime minister Lester B. Pearson, author Margaret Atwood and filmmaker Norman Jewison.

It carries a historical reputation of being a place for the wealthy, the connected. Before arriving, McEwen had heard the rumours of Victoria being elitist.

But later, in the Harry Potter-ish Burwash Dining Hall, eating a salmon lunch with her lab students at head table, the flag from Queen Victorias casket looming above, McEwen is a stark contrast with the past.

She is the first Black woman to lead a Canadian university and the first president in Victorias history to come from the sciences rather than the humanities. She has her PhD, but spent 15 years in the business world. She loves technology and is fascinated by how things work. In whatever spare time she has, she can be seen prying open BlackBerrys and sorting their parts to create a cyborg portrait of herself.

For McEwen, the challenge going forward is how can you maintain an elite academic institution, one that values discovery and research and excellent teaching and experiences, but not be elitist?

For students who never perceived as belonging in a place like this, an older established university with deep histories that didnt include them, how do you make them feel like they belong here? They deserve to be here. They dare to be here. Thats my job. Thats literally my mandate.

She has rolled out equity, inclusion and diversity training to get everyone on the same page and is seeking to collect equity workplace data, something Victoria has not done.

She has also figured out how to get people back on campus in a post-pandemic world. Under her tenure, all staff have returned with only 20 per cent in some form of flexible arrangement.

And ahead are other challenges: the question of affordable housing for students, financial recovery from COVID-era losses, how to generate more revenue from the universitys lucrative real estate footprint (Victoria owns property between Bloor Street West and Charles Street), and updating its aging buildings.

Obviously (Rhonda) brings a lot of firsts to Victoria, and were really happy to have that, says lawyer Cynthia Crysler, chair of the Board of Regents. But we were first and foremost singularly impressed with her ability to take on this job.

She definitely had to deal with a number of critical issues in her first year and has come through with flying colours.

Oversees 4,200 students, 65 faculty

The presidents office in Northrop Frye Hall is like a fishbowl. A long, large window means that when McEwen is at her standing desk, she is on display to anyone passing by outside. No matter. She enjoys a friendly exchange of waves.

From her vantage, McEwen can see both Emmanuel and Victoria colleges, which make up Victoria University. With 4,200 students and 800 living in four residences, and 65 faculty, there is a sense of intimacy here that belies the anonymity of a big urban campus.

People talk about community, says McEwen, but people live community here, in that it is the right size that you can know people.

That has been most surprising for the 52-year-old who was scooped up by Victoria after most recently serving as vice-principal academic and dean at U of T Mississauga, home to 16,000 students.

In describing what she calls a spectacularly beautiful campus, McEwen cant help but think about Sesame Street, a show connected to her research (more on this later), and its earwormy tune, People In Your Neighbourhood.

That song could play in the backdrop all the time here. I think its just the size where youre like, well, who is here? Who are these people? Id like to get to know them.

And that she does. She treasures informal conversations in hallways. And students regularly drop by her office which is decorated to reflect her interests and background: a mini-periodic table from her husband, Indigenous and feminist artworks she has chosen from Victorias collection, gifts from staff, books on coding and a row of stunning headpieces she has worn while at carnival back home in Trinidad and Tobago.

On the couches outside her office, Sharese Taylor, a 22-year-old international student, can regularly be found between classes. Taylor, who also hails from Trinidad and Tobago, first met McEwen last September during a welcome barbecue.

The intention was mostly to mingle, to meet new people. But I didnt expect to meet one of the most influential people, in the highest positions in the college, says the third-year student who is studying Spanish and French language and literature.

Taylor, who struggled with loneliness in her transition to Canada, was elated and comforted to discover she shares roots with the president, whom she has come to call Auntie Rhonda, a cultural sign of respect. (Others call her Dr. McEwen or President Rhonda; meanwhile she asks senior students to just call her Rhonda.)

Something as simple as seeing her work is very inspirational because coming from a country with less resources and probably a less chance that someone would ascend to such a position, its really inspiring and motivational for me.

McEwen was born to parents who in the late 1970s temporarily moved the family from Trinidad and Tobago to the United States to pursue degrees in higher education. From ages seven to 11, McEwen found herself in Menomonie, Wis., a small university town.

There was a community of Caribbean families, but it was within a larger context of pretty monochrome, white rural America, so you learn some things for the first time. You learn about the Ku Klux Klan. You learn about safety as a minority. And other complicated questions ... that youre different and you dont get all the invites to all the things, like sleepovers.

But during these formative years, she also learned she could transition to new experiences, leave and reintegrate and still remain true to herself. It was the foundation for her eventual career success.

McEwen went on to get an undergraduate degree from the University of the West Indies, an MBA from City, University of London and an MSc from University of Colorado. She worked in the field of technology, including a stint with Deloitte in London and then in Toronto where she landed after meeting and marrying her Canadian husband in the U.K. But when the research itch became too hard to ignore, she returned to academia, completing her PhD at U of T in 2009 with a thesis on the role of mobile phones in social networks. (With four degrees, Im sure I freak people out.)

Soon she found herself taking teaching jobs and then administrative roles at U of T Mississauga: I know how to manage people and write a strategic plan. It became a matter of, I will do this for a bit and see how it goes. But I realized I was good at this and having a good time.

When the job came up at Victoria, the board had recently adopted a strategic plan calling for the university to be more inclusive. McEwen knew her skills would be an asset to see the plan through.

I think thats why the board hired me, because they heard right away that not only could I deliver inclusion and belonging and build on keeping an elite institution and trying to do away with this idea of elitism, but I could bring it with all of the business sense, said McEwen who wouldnt disclose her salary but made $242,018 last year at U of T Mississauga, according to the Ontario Sunshine List.

Board chair Crysler concurs. We were wholly and completely impressed with her, right from the start, in the way she demonstrated her understanding of the plan and had great ideas to implement it.

Still, there were expressions of awe from people McEwen respected at her quick trajectory upwards.

One of the things I had to kind of deal with and grapple with is almost justifying my right to hold the space.

McEwen is guided by the saying Because she who dares, wins. It is on her website and its how she answers the question, How dare you? Ive always been daring in a way, to stand in either male-dominated spaces or a place where women tend not to stay.

It is a most important thing to see that Im a Black woman in STEM, and Im here.

Super supportive, a great leader

McEwen is in her happy place, surrounded by students, talking about technology.

In her lab meeting, while graduate students provide updates on their projects, McEwen, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Tactile Interfaces, Communication and Cognition, asks questions, suggests students pair up who might benefit from working together and offers solutions to get around roadblocks.

Dressed in a purple sweater and scarf, back pants and colourful socks sporting the words Youre killing my vibe, McEwen looks as accessible as she seems.

She is super supportive, a great leader and responsive to student needs, says Yaxi Zhao, 29, who is doing her PhD under McEwens supervision. The entire lab vibe is very inclusive and open.

As the students make their pitches, McEwen types notes on her Surface computer. Two Android phones are within reach: one for home life  her husband, 19-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son  and one for work. However, with every task she completes, she goes old-school and takes pen to a paper notebook, striking off another accomplishment on her to-do list.

University presidents tend to sacrifice teaching and research in the face of an avalanche of duties, but for McEwen, there is a personal connection to much of the research that continues to drive her.

She has an interest in how emerging technology impacts our society, including how it can help the most challenged of communicators, the person with aphasia, the senior with Alzheimers, the child with autism.

McEwens own daughter is autistic and non-verbal. She uses an iPad mini to tap out images to communicate. Without my daughter, I would not have gone this far into these areas.

McEwens research on touchscreen technology for children on the autism spectrum was featured on 60 Minutes in 2011, which brought her to the attention of the Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind Sesame Street. The childrens TV program was looking at ways to talk about autism. McEwen joined the advisory group, and when talk turned to the possible creation of a muppet, McEwen pushed for it to be a girl. At the time, the disorder was largely seen as occurring just in boys. In 2017, Julia was introduced on the series. A plush version sits in McEwens office.

Im most happy about this work because it wasnt one I set out to do  it wasnt intentional, but I got involved in talking to my daughters teachers who said interesting things about how students responded to technology. And at some point it hit me that this was the work I do.

I was always fascinated by the inside, and I think it translated not just to technology objects, but also people, like what makes you think like that?

Skepticism remains amongst protesters

It may take McEwen more time to figure out the divestment protesters. While McEwen is clearly well-liked and respected by many, it has been a rough go winning over those at the heart of this issue.

Amy Mann, a second-year mathematics student who helped to organize the protest at Victoria, along with Climate Justice U of T, is wary, calling McEwen exceptionally PR trained and more concerned about optics.

I have some strong concerns about Rhonda McEwen, says Mann who served as sustainability commissioner on Victoria University Students Administrative Council (VUSAC) this year. I have some skepticism. It doesnt mean Im not open to changing my view. I really hope I will, but that comes down to action.

Students had complained McEwen hadnt made herself regularly available during the protest and that when she did, she was more concerned about addressing potential fire and tripping hazards posed by blocked exits and plugged-in phone cords than honestly and openly discussing divestment. Most damningly, Mann said organizers found President McEwen during the occupation to be misleading at best and intentionally confusing at worst.

McEwen says she expressed her support for students and divestment  it was never a question of should, but how to do so without risking the things supported by these funds. There were two public caucus meetings, and she says she tried to share as much as she could without breaching the confidentiality of board discussions. She describes her interactions during the protest itself as being motivated out of worry for the safety and stress of protesters, who, she said, were often asleep as she made her early morning rounds of the site.

Even the victory is a bit muddy  protesters want a faster timeline of 2025, more in line with U of T, but they credit the outcome to their five years of pressure: THIS IS A STUDENT WIN! Do not let the administration claim it for themselves.

But for incoming VUSAC president Shane Joy, 21, who as student representative on the Board of Regents this year had inside perspective on the proceedings, McEwen was central to getting this past the finish line.

It was her determination, he says. Her willingness to listen to students and balance their interests with fiduciary duty is what allowed us to see divestment in less than a year after her arrival at Victoria University.

Janet Hurley is a Toronto Star journalist and senior writer covering culture, education and societal trends. She is based in Toronto. Reach her via email: jhurley@thestar.ca

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A former Massachusetts deputy police chief is being charged with the rape of a child that occurred when he was a school resource officer nearly 20 years ago, the Middlesex County District Attorneys office announced Monday.

Former Hopkinton Deputy Chief of Police, John Jay Porter, 54, has been indicted by a grand jury on three charges of rape of a child. He is alleged to have assaulted the student while he was assigned as a school resource officer in the Town of Hopkinton school system.

The incidents allegedly occurred in 2004 and 2005 while the victim was a 15-year-old student. The assaults are alleged to have occurred on multiple occasions off school property.

It could not immediately be determined if Porter is being represented by an attorney.

Prosecutors say that as of Friday, Porter was no longer with the Hopkinton Police Department.

The investigation has been handled by the county prosecutors office and the Massachusetts State Police. The arraignment has not been scheduled.

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A New Mexico teenage mother was sentenced Monday to a mandatory 18 years in prison for tossing her newborn son into a trash bin behind a shopping center, but a state district judge cited mental health concerns and the defendants age in suspending two years of the punishment.

Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of child abuse involving great bodily harm following a days-long trial last month in which her public defender argued her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role.

Judge William Shoobridge told Avila that had it not been for luck and the grace of God he would have been deliberating a sentence in a murder case as there was a high probability the child would have died had it not been found that winter day in Hobbs, near the Texas border.

Avila told the judge she wants to learn how to deal with stress and anxiety and said she regrets missing out on her sons first milestones.

I regret his first hours of life were traumatic, and I regret that he will always have this in the back of his head and will think I do not love him because thats what hell read and hear, she said. But thats not true at all. I do love him. I truly do.

Avila was arrested in January 2022.

Police said a group of people were looking through the trash bin when they found the baby and tried to keep the boy warm until police and paramedics arrived. Investigators used surveillance video to identify a car suspected of being involved, which led them to Avila.

Public defender Ibukun Adepoju disputed that Avila made a premeditated attempt to kill her baby. Abepoju said while Avilas actions were wrong, they were the result of her bipolar disorder and that she was disassociated and detached from her feelings.

Avilas case also spurred new conversations in New Mexico communities and among legislators about the states safe haven law, which allows parents to leave a baby younger than 90 days at a safe location without criminal consequences.

Such laws first began to pass in state legislatures in the early 2000s in response to reports of baby killings and abandonments.

New Mexico lawmakers in 2022 approved a bill to expand the state's Safe Haven Program and provide funds to build one baby box for every county where an infant can be left.

Boxes have been installed in several other states. Florida is the latest to consider legislation that would allow for the boxes.

___

Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  A Palestinian boy was mauled to death by a lion in a private zoo in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to the coastal territorys police force, run by the militant Hamas group.

Police officers said 6-year-old Hamada Iqtiet had climbed the fence in the zoo in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, and reached an opening in the cage before the lion mauled him. An investigation was underway, they said.

The boys family disputed the account, saying Hamada  who was visiting the Asdaa Park with his mother and other family members, according to relatives  had only reached an outer fence, where the lion was standing, when he was attacked.

It was the first known fatality from animals kept at private zoos in the crowded and impoverished Palestinian territory. Gaza has several small private zoos where animals are kept in deplorable conditions.

The animals have suffered from repeated fighting between Israel and Gazas Hamas rulers, neglect, starvation and lack of medical care. International animal welfare groups have carried out several missions to evacuate animals, especially lions, to safe havens in Jordan and Africa.

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CAIRO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi announced on Monday the establishment of an emergency relief fund that provides a one-time subsidy of 1,000 Egyptian pounds (32.36 U.S. dollars) for irregular workers.

In a televised speech on Labor Day, Sisi said that several other support programs would be launched to help irregular workers, who are among the worst impacted by economic crisis.

"The emergency fund would be launched in the coming weeks and seasonal workers would receive financial support in emergencies," he said.

Social and health accounts dues will be transferred to the fund, thus they would be invested and used in emergencies and crises for irregular workers in a sustainable manner, he added.

Sisi also instructed the Egyptian government to issue a new "Aman" certificate to cover life insurance and work injuries for irregular workers.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Manpower in December, there are 11 million irregular workers in Egypt. 
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines security and noted the deep friendship of the two nations as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navys harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter Chinas increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationshipone that has had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

We are facing new challenges and I couldnt think of a better partner to have than you. Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization.

Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.

Mondays Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Koreas nuclear program. Marcos official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president last week hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit during which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on its neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

Following the meeting, the White House announced the transfer of three C-130 aircraft and two coastal patrol vessels to the Philippines. The two countries also said they adopted defense guidelines aimed at deepening cooperation and interoperability between the two nations militaries across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.

The administration also said it is launching a new trade mission focused on increasing American investment in the Philippines innovation economy, new educational programing and more.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea has added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from The Associated Press and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guards BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a stark reminder of Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone.

We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, Miller said.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials have also been unnerved by recent critical comments by Chinas ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, over the Philippines granting the U.S. military increased access to bases.

Huang at an April forum reportedly said the Philippines should oppose Taiwans independence if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan, using the acronym for overseas Filipino workers.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own. The Philippines, like the U.S., has a One China policy that recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan. Marcos has not explicitly said that his country would assist the United States in any armed contingency in Taiwan.

The officials described Huangs comments as one of many recent provocative actions by the Chinese to put pressure on the Philippines.

One official said that Marcos still desires to work closely with both Washington and Beijing but that he finds himself in a situation in which the steps that China is taking are deeply concerning.

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that historical considerations could present challenges to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Marcos noted that he last visited the White House when his father was in power.

Biden and Marcos met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries sometimes rocky past.

During their private meeting at the UN, Biden, a Democrat, stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could fulfill your dreams and hopes to do that, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think tank during his visit.

___

Gomez reported from Manila. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed reporting.

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This year our university is celebrating three important milestones. Seventy-five years ago Ryerson Institute of Technology was founded. Thirty years ago, we were granted full university status. Last year, on April 26, 2022, we moved forward with our new name: Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and became the first post-secondary institution in North America to change its name to address its colonial history.

While we were the first, we will not be the last. Almost weekly, other public-facing organizations that are facing challenges with their name are reaching out to understand how TMU did it.

The decision to change our name and how we managed the process was always based on our values. TMUs values have long defined who we are and will always guide where we are going. They are the basis upon which we have built our uniquely vibrant, diverse and inclusive culture. Each value is important in its own right; together, they ensure that we create a culture that empowers our students, staff and faculty to be agents of positive change for our university, our communities and our society.

Our new name marks the start of yet another new and meaningful chapter in our universitys history. It reinforces our commitment to being an inclusive community and has created a renewed sense of unity and belonging.

One year later, we have learned a great deal and I am very pleased and proud at how our community and our many partners have been quick to embrace our new name. Globally, the change has been extremely positive. From my own experience travelling outside Canada, our new name immediately helps situate our university in one of the best cities in the world, while reflecting what we have always been: an urban university dedicated to excellence, innovation and inclusion.

The process started two and a half years ago, in November 2020, when we established the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force (SSTF) to research and address the history and legacy of our former namesake Egerton Ryerson. This was not an attempt to erase our history. We have much to be proud of, but the Ryerson name was increasingly divisive and I heard from countless community members that the name was causing them harm and making them feel unwelcome.

The work of the SSTF was informed by broad participation from community members, an extensive review of historical research as well as the committees own substantial expertise. The work of the task force and the resulting 22 recommendations build upon the considerable resources and effort that our university has committed to the work of anti-colonialism, anti-racism, and reconciliation. In August 2021, the universitys board of governors accepted all 22 recommendations of the SSTFs landmark report, including changing the universitys name.

Transparency and communication are key in any major change. Throughout the renaming process we continued the conversation that had begun with the SSTF. More than 30,000 members of our community contributed their input to the renaming. This high level of engagement in the process is one of the key reasons students, employees, alumni and the broader community have been so quick to accept, share and promote the new name.

Since announcing the new name last April, the university has taken a phased approach to make the transition manageable. From focusing on updating websites and social media handles to updating more than 110,000 email addresses to being on track to replace approximately 20,000 interior and exterior signs this summer. TMU launched its first major brand campaign, Made of Grit, to reinforce our connection to the city of Toronto and how the university is shaped by the resiliency of our students. At Junes graduation ceremonies, graduates will receive the first official TMU degrees.

In December 2022, when the Minister of Universities and Colleges invited me to Queens Park for the legislative change to make the Toronto Metropolitan University official, all parties joined together in applause and recognized the university for the leadership role we had taken.

I could not have anticipated how well the transition would unfold when we started, but there was never any question it was the right decision.

Mohamed Lachemi is president and vice-chancellor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

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Premier Doug Fords announcement about the education requirements for new Ontario police recruits and the waiving of tuition makes one wonder what the results of this decision will be not only for the police constables and the institution but also for the communities they serve.

Its convenient that this announcement is made shortly before the Toronto byelection with Fords opinion about the defund movement and his comments about the citizens shouldnt vote for certain candidates because of their pro-choice defunding ideology.

If Ford is so quick to waive education requirements and tuition, would the Ontario premier and his party not think funds could be diverted or allocated to social services and community partners? These partners, instead of relying on the constabulary, who should not take on such multiple roles, could use these funds to serve the people of the community. This would include people facing homelessness, those with mental health issues or addictions, and those in need of other social supports.

It is not my desire to berate the premiers office but rather bring certain concerns to light. Has the hiring practices returned to the 1970s and 1980s, where 18-year-olds fresh out of high school will find themselves armed with tactical weaponry, limited training without understanding of the social political aspects of society that will aid in analyzing all that is needed in the day-to-day work?

A higher-educated constable is provided the tools to better analyze situations, community needs, fellow workers and the institution that employs them. This better serves the constable, the community and the institution that provides better support from the public and establishes the legitimacy of the policing institution and why it is needed.

It is easy to understand the stress and difficult situations the constable finds themselves in with their life always at risk. A higher risk than that of the ordinary citizen. The police constable needs the support of all involved in the police work.

A post-secondary degree in any program provides the well-educated constable with the critical analyzing skills needed in the multitude of situations they are placed in. Many may suddenly be applying for employment with Ontario police institutions, but they should first consider if the employer has their best interests in consideration and why such an announcement by the premier has been made.

As an added point, why doesnt the premiers office consider the barriers faced by nurses, social workers, personal support workers or others who are at the front-line of community needs.

Linda Young studied public administration and law at York University.

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Bailao getting union support, April 23

So Ana Bailao is seeking support, including for fundraising, from all individuals. Well shell certainly get support from her developer pals with her track record of approving after hours construction noise i.e. outside after midnight at Dufferin Mall last year.

As a city counsellor she certainly didnt side with her constituents who lived for a year with the noise. How can the residents of Toronto expect her to prioritize our best interests if she becomes our mayor?

Susan Ditchburn, Toronto

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German visit spells trouble for Poilievre, Feb. 28

As a Conservative party of Canada supporter, I am disappointed that our leader, Pierre Poilievre, continues to rule out expelling the MPs who recently dined with far-right German MP Christine Anderson.

Anderson, who is notorious for her deep hostility toward both immigrants and Muslims, represents the far-right alternative for Germany, which has sought to trivialize and negate both the Nazi dictatorship as well as the Holocaust.

If Poilievre wants to defeat the Trudeau Liberals during the next election, then the CPC will need to win the lions share of seats in large multicultural cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

Roxanne Smalls, Edmonton

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OTTAWA - Canada is encouraging Sudans neighbours to help the country find a mediated end to recent violence as it attempts to continue getting Canadians to safety via perilous land evacuations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office said he spoke Monday morning with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and thanked him for the countrys exceptional support in hosting Canadian military and diplomatic personnel.

A readout of the call said the two discussed regional mediation efforts, and Trudeau offered Canadian support towards a peaceful resolution.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is pursuing the same thing and assessing the regions humanitarian needs during a visit to Kenya, which is a major player in East Africa.

Sudans duelling army and paramilitary forces entered another ceasefire Sunday, but the violence did not stop outright.

That led countries including Canada to abandon evacuation flights and recommend that people shelter in place or take a risky journey by road to Sudans coast.

The government said that as of Sunday morning, 400 Canadians and permanent residents had left Sudan and Canadas military had conducted six evacuation flights.

Another 230 people who were still in the country have asked for consular assistance and information.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department is allowing Sudanese nationals who are in Canada to extend their stay.

Were going to be flexible in allowing them to transition between study permits or work permits or visitor visas as may be required, so the people who are here can continue to live life with minimal interruptions, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser told reporters Monday.

He also said the department is trying to accelerate the processing of applications for travel documents, visas and permanent residency.

However, Fraser also acknowledged that almost 100,000 immigration cases overall were not processed during a strike by members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which ended on Monday after 12 days.

That means the delays that have plagued the department are expected to continue, he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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Can the once-mighty Canadian auto industry ride Volkswagens new battery plant back to its peak at the turn of the century?

In 1999, as people fretted about Y2K, Chers Believe topped the charts and the Maple Leafs missed the Stanley Cup in a semifinal loss to Buffalo, this country  mainly Ontario  churned out three million vehicles to keep a booming North American economy on wheels.

By last year, production had fallen to 1.2 million cars, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks. More than 50,000 auto jobs vanished as employment in the sector dropped to 120,000 due to several factors.

There was the 2001 end of the auto pact that had integrated the Canadian and American industries; closed assembly and parts plants; the movement of production to the U.S. and Mexico; changing tastes in vehicles; the COVID-19 pandemic and a shortage of semiconductors.

We may have hit the real depths, says Angelo DiCaro, research director for Unifor, the union representing autoworkers. Now were finally seeing an upswing.

EV future uncertain

The electric vehicle revolution is kick-starting Ontarios auto industry with $25 billion in investments over the last two years, but its not yet clear if the revival will lift the province to previous heights.

While multibillion-dollar EV battery factories slated for Windsor (Chrysler parent Stellantis with partner LG Energy Solutions) and St. Thomas (Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo) are key to reversing Ontarios auto fortunes, experts say a repeat of the glory days depends on getting more assembly plants.

There are no seats on a battery, quips Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, in a reference to the myriad parts and long chain of suppliers needed to build an automobile.

Its estimated every auto assembly job creates up to nine other jobs, making the industry a key driver of the Canadian economy as the federal government gears up to ban the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035.

Nothing really generates spinoff benefits like an assembly plant, says Greig Mordue, an assistant professor of advanced manufacturing policy at McMaster University and a former auto executive. He is wary of the up to $13.2 billion in federal tax credits used to lure VW without a full value chain of suppliers.

Volkswagens closest auto assembly plants are in Tennessee and Mexico.

The federal and Ontario governments are also giving the German company $700 million and $500 million, respectively, toward building a $7-billion plant that will be 1.6 kilometres long, one kilometre wide, and make enough batteries for one million vehicles annually.

Ontarios tipping point?

Fingers are crossed that Ontario is reaching a tipping point where Volkswagen or a rival could come with a new assembly plant to take advantage of the battery belt that Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli are touting to automakers, highlighting the provinces reserves of rare minerals crucial to production.

Is it possible to get back to where we were? Well, these are private businesses, multinationals, making multibillion-dollar decisions, but we certainly have set the table for them to look at Ontario, Fedeli says, noting the province has reduced costs like workplace compensation premiums and provides cleaner power than most jurisdictions.

You have to think of how unique Ontario is. Were the No. 2 automaker in North America behind Michigan.

Volpe says he has recently been in high-level discussions with two undisclosed automakers not now manufacturing in Canada. His association has also spearheaded Project Arrow, an all-Canadian effort to design and build an EV, with a prototype now on the auto show circuit.

Ontario is also the only North American jurisdiction able to boast five manufacturers  Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Fiat), Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda  at assembly plants in Windsor, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Cambridge, Oakville, Brampton, Oshawa and Alliston.

Batteries to be made at the St. Thomas factory, one of three such Volkswagen facilities in the world, will power some 26 new models of VW, Audi and Scout vehicles by the end of the decade. PowerCo chief executive Frank Blome spoke two weeks ago in St. Thomas of the automakers ambitious growth plan for North America. VW is reviving the old Scout brand pioneered by International Harvester, and will make EV sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks at a plant in Columbia, S.C.

We definitely have an opportunity to add that sixth or seventh manufacturer, says Volpe, who worked for former Liberal economic development minister Sandra Pupatello more than a decade ago when a VW plant Ontario was after went to Chattanooga, Tenn.

Shoot to kill

We underbid, he adds ruefully, offering this advice: Weve got to shoot to kill  they are more likely to invest in a place where they can make the batteries.

Fedeli, who will make another trip to Germany in two weeks for more meetings with Volkswagen as it builds a supplier base, says the EV battery plant will create significant spinoff work because of the complicated mix of components required, such as cathodes, anode separators, copper foil and lithium hydroxide.

About 3,000 jobs are expected at the battery plant with another 30,000 at suppliers and in the community, which lost the Ford assembly plant making full-sized Crown Victoria sedans in nearby Talbotville 12 years ago. At its peak, the factory employed 3,600.

The immediate focus is landing these major suppliers because VW wants to break ground in January of 2024. They want to be operational in 2027, adds Fedeli, whose Progressive Conservative government was elected in 2018 and will be vying for a third term in 2026.

We have made it really clear from the beginning that were prepared to invest money in saving the auto industry. It was on a downward spiral headed over the border to the States.

Brampton plant retooling

More announcements are expected in the coming months.

At Unifor, which also represents Toronto Star workers, DiCaro says Fedeli was not exaggerating the perils before EV developments started to break Ontarios way, in particular with news of the $5-billion Windsor battery plant just over a year ago.

Stellantis has since announced a $1-billion retooling of its Brampton assembly plant to make EVs, once production of Dodge Charger and Challenger muscle cars ends there later this year.

I remember conversations where people legitimately were questioning whether Canada would have an auto industry in the coming decades  like Australia, where the companies left, DiCaro says.

Unifor is counting on the EV battery and related plants becoming a landing spot for autoworkers who lose their jobs as gasoline-powered cars are phased out, along with the internal combustion engines and transmissions that go in them.

The union estimates 30 per cent of workers are vulnerable because theyre making stuff you dont need in an EV, says DiCaro.

As exciting as it is now, we try not to get too drunk on the champagne because there are going to be problems  were going to have a transition problem.

This is partly why Ontario is going hard after the EV business, says Fedeli, pointing to the Volkswagen plant as the latest example.

It follows a recent announcement from Ford that the Detroit-based automaker will spend $1.8 billion to turn its Oakville assembly plant into an EV hub, and GMs February pledge to build electric vehicle motors at its propulsion plant in St. Catharines for use in BrightDrop delivery vans built in Ingersoll  and in pickup trucks.

It will be here for generations, the minister says of VW. People will have jobs for generations. The corner store will expand. The hardware store will expand. It really is the right investment to secure workers.

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In light of the growing controversy at the York Catholic board in his own riding, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said flying the Pride flag is a signal of respect that is welcome in all publicly funded schools.

Asked about the issue after an announcement Monday in Burlington, Lecce said he strongly supports flying the rainbow flag at schools and board buildings in June in support of Pride month.

I think school boards, parents, educators, government  weve got to come together, weve got to depoliticize an issue that is actually about the mental health and safety of children, he said. I do hope that school boards will continue to celebrate Pride in a constructive, positive way.

Lecce said raising the Pride flag is a tradition thats been done by all levels of government, all politicians of all stripes for many years. I think its something thats done to send a signal of respect and inclusion, and I would welcome that in publicly funded schools.

Last week, police were called to a meeting at the York Catholic District School Board after public delegations for and against various LGBTQ activities next month led to confrontation.

Domenic Scuglia, director of education for the York Catholic board, said in a statement Monday that it has a long-standing flag policy which states that only Canadian flags are to be flown on school board property but a new policy will soon be presented to trustees.

Scuglia said the board supports 2SLGBTQIA+ students who sadly face bullying and harassment at schools across the country. The YCDSB believes that 2SLGBTQIA+ students are loved by God and are valued members of our school communities.

In recent years, a handful of Catholic school boards, including Toronto and Halton, have faced criticism for refusing to fly Pride flags in June  decisions that were later reversed.

The recent controversy in the York Catholic board has spilled over into Torontos Catholic board, with protesters targeting the school where Paolo de Buono teaches.

De Buono, an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in Catholic schools, was at the York Catholic board meeting on April 25 because he was supposed to make a deputation, although he says it was declined by the board. Parents opposed to the rainbow flag became so disruptive during the meeting that they were escorted out of the room. Some later yelled at him in the hallway, calling him devil incarnate and shouting, Shame on you.

Two days later, a small group of protesters showed up in Toronto outside St. Antoine Daniel Catholic School, where de Buono teaches Grade 7 and 8. The board said students remained indoors during recess and lunch to avoid protesters and that measures were in place to ensure minimal disruption. Police were also called and remained on site to monitor the situation.

Its very misguided. Clearly, their target is me, de Buono told the Star on Monday. To show up that way and have such anti-inclusive messages, like the rainbow has been perverted, is going to hurt students.

The protesters, he added, have made this leap that, because he makes social media posts on the importance of inclusion, thats all he talks about in class.

I teach in a very balanced way, he said, but there is a history in Catholic education where this area of inclusion has been left out and its not where it should be today and so I make a point to teach inclusively and spread the message because its so important.

Trustee Maria Rizzo, who represents Ward 5 (North York) where the school is located, said its not fair that an employees outside work agenda has been brought into the workplace when it interferes with students and staff feeling safe in a space that is supposed to be safe for everyone.

But Rizzo isnt letting the protesters off the hook, adding theres got to be consequences for people who are hate-spewers  This is unacceptable. They say that theyre there for the kids, but theyre not.

She implored protesters to act like adults and not target the school.

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The renaissance during the golden period of the Gupta Empire and the subsequent years till the thirteenth century saw the Indian subcontinent make great strides in administration, agriculture, economy, education, art, culture, music, dance, astronomy, mathematics, Ayurvedic medicines, Yoga and literature.

Apart from great works in poetry and drama and biographies, scientific treatises like Natya Shatra, Nritya Shastra, Sangeet Shastra, Yoga Shutra etc. were written during this time.

The wonderful Ajanta Caves and the frescos, and the worlds most monumental sculpture, the Ellora Caves (100 caves) with the Kailash temple (which was carved out of a hill cutting from the top), the Great Stupa at Sanchi, the shore temples at Mamallapuram and many works of art and architecture were completed between the fifth and the eighth century.

The oldest residential university at Nalanda (427- 1197 CE) was established during the Gupta period, it attracted students and scholars from various parts of the world, especially from China and Tibet. It is an interesting aspect of history that Chinese scholars like Faxian or Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang or Xuanzang, Yijing and many others who carried the knowledge imparted at Nalanda and took away hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts, never shared their ancient scripts and knowledge with India.

Meanwhile, a relatively unknown Chola dynasty of Tamil Nadu created a great empire in South India as neighbours of the Mauryan Empire and ruled territories from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, where they established the trade routes through the seas.

The Chola dynasty is believed to have the longest lineage in Indian history as evidenced by its mention in the Ashoka Edicts (273  232 BCE) as well as in ancient Tamil literature.

The Cholas under Rajaraja-I the Great and Rajendra-I succeeded in building the greatest thalassocratic (maritime) empire, which reached its peak in the tenth and eleventh centuries with a centralized government, an efficient bureaucracy, various development projects like construction of canals for irrigation, and promotion of art, architecture and literature.

One of the descendants of the Chola dynasty, Khmer king Suryavarman II built the biggest temple complex (in 402 acres) at Angkor Wat (City/Capital of Temples) in the twelfth century. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the largest religious complex in the world.

Even after the decline of the golden period of the Gupta empire, great works of art, architecture and culture continued to flourish at four corners of India from the sixth century till the thirteenth century when invaders consolidated their rule on the holy land and stopped the festival of indigenous arts and cultural activities.

The ancient eternal city of Varanasi, the magnificent Khajuraho monuments (68 temples in 20 square kilometers), the Konarak Sun Temple, Puri Jagannath Temple, Modhera Sun Temple, Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Thanjavur Brihadisvar Temple, Dilwara Temple and many other monuments built during the period are a testimony to the vibrant cultural climate of the time.

Unfortunately, very little is known about the great artists, sculptors and architects who built these magnificent monuments as they remain anonymous for lack of written history. While greater India (Bharatvarsha) had seen the rise and fall of many empires and kingdoms (King Vikramaditya had 21 kingdoms within his empire), the same Indian spirit of peace and harmony and the same principles of governance ran through all the empires and the kingdoms throughout millennia.

There was hardly any king in ancient India who believed in absolutism of power or was a tormentor of his subjects because the emperors and the kings were supposed to rule for the welfare the subjects in accordance with the Vedic principles of life ~ Artha, Kama, Dharma, and Moksha and the ideals of Purushottam Ram. The foundation of good kingship had been Dharma ~ the principles of justice, fairness, detachment and impartiality.

The Buddhist kings, the tallest of whom was Samrat Ashoka, ruled in accordance with the Buddhist principles of non-violence and peace, social and animal welfare and harmony with nature and environment.

The Vedic principles ~ Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family ~ universalism), Tamaso maa jyotisgamayo (let the light of knowledge remove the darkness of ignorance), Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah (let noble thoughts come to me from all directions) along with Ayurveda Shastra, the Yoga Sutra and the Buddhist principles of non-violence, peace and harmony had been the greatest gifts of India to the world, in addition to mathematics.

Owing to its Catholicism, openness and the spirit of inquiry, ancient India could produce a galaxy of great men and women who have enriched the history of human civilization.

Countless geniuses in various parts of this vast country were born and were honoured by the kings and the rulers. Some of the prominent great personalities were: Veda Vyas, Valmiki, Mahavira, Gautama Buddha (Saints); Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Samudra Gupta, Harsha Vardhana, Dharmapala, Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I (Kings); Budhayana, Aryabhatta, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara-I, lalla, Mahavira (Science & Mathematicians); Charaka, Sushruta, and Patanjali (Medicine), and Panini, Vishakhdatta, Kalidasa, Banabhatta, Bakpatiraja, Bilhana and Kautilya or Chanakya (authors).

These great geniuses constituted the soul of India. It is the beauty of the soul of India that mesmerized many Western intellectuals, visitors and Indologists. The famous American author, Mark Twain who visited India in 1897 wrote: India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India.

Mark Twain also thought of India as a land of fantasy and simply hard to understand: an imaginary land ~ a fairy land, a dreamland made of poetry and moonlight for the Arabian Nights to do their gorgeous miracles. The great German scholar, Max Muller, Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford, who compiled and published four volumes of Rig Veda for the first time (Vedas were Sruti and it was a sacrilege to write the Slokas) wrote: If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow ~ in some parts a paradise on earth ~ I point to India. Nobel laureate Romain Rolland, French writer, musician, biographer and philosopher once said, If there is one place on the face of earth, where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.

The soul of India was hurt and wounded again and again by foreign invasions. It is said that it is your own beauty which is your worst enemy. It is the unmatched beauty of mother India ~ a paradise and her fabulous wealth of diamonds, gold and silver, which attracted invaders to attack India. Initially, the objective was to loot and plunder but later, they found a paradise to occupy, rule and impose their culture.

There had been at least 200 major invasions to tear up this great civilization. In sharp contrast, China had been occupied only twice, by the Mongolians and the Manchus, who gradually got absorbed in Chinese society. Out of about 200 invasions, some of the most significant that changed the history of India had been:

1. The Persian Invasion: Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire launched two invasions in 535 BCE annexing the territories west of the Indus. After his death, Darius the great invaded Punjab and Sind. Xerxes, son of Darius, continued the Persian invasions without success.

2. Greek Invasion of Alexander the Great: Alexanders Invasion began in 327 BCE. After conquering the Persian Empire, he reached the capital of Taxila and then Punjab where the famous battle of Hydaspes was fought with Porus in 326 BCE, after which he retreated.

3. Muhammad bin Quasim: Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, an Arab military commander of the Umyyad Caliphate invaded India in 712 CE and captured Sind province. This marked the beginning of Muslim rule in India.

4.Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni: Mahmud of Ghazni, the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty (998-1020 CE) invaded India seventeen times, the first one in 1001 CE. He destroyed the richest cities and the temple towns of Somnath and Mathura and used the looted wealth to build his empire extending from Iran to Punjab.

5. Muhammad Ghori: Muhammad Ghori first invaded India in 1175 CE occupying Multan and Punjab. After being defeated by Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE, he returned with a vast army of Turkish cavalry archers and defeated the Rajput army in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. Ghori showed no mercy to Prithvi Raj who let him go after the first battle and captured and executed him.

6. Timur: Timur Gurkani, a Turko-Mongol conqueror and founder of the TImurid Empire annexed northern India in 1398 CE. Timur belonging to the family of Genghis Khan destroyed many Indian cities including Delhi and went on a spree of massacring the population everywhere.

7. Babur: Zahir ud-Din Muhammad or Babur, descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively, had been the founder of the Mughal dynasty. Babur led his invasions on India five times, the first four being unsuccessful.

The fifth invasion and the victory in the Battle of Panipat on 29 April 1526 was the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate.

8. Nadir Shah: One of the cruelest invaders like Timur, Nader Shah, the most powerful ruler of Iran, after annexing territories of Afghanistan, made forays into the Mughal Empire. He defeated the Mughal army in the Battle of Karnal on 13 February 1739 and entered Delhi with his army in March 1739 and mercilessly massacred more than 100,000 people over several days (20,000 on day one). He looted coins, gold and silver from the Mughal treasury worth more than 16 million sterling and took away with him the Kohinoor diamond and the Peacock Throne.

9. Ahmad Shah Durrani: Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Durrani dynasty of Afghanistan invaded India eight times between 1748 and 1767 and defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat on 14 January 1761.

10. British conquest of India (1757-1947): The British first came to India (Surat) on 24 August 1608 as merchants and the East India Company, under a Royal Charter, became the ruler following the companys victory in the Battle of Plassy in 1757 laying the foundation of the British Empire.

(The writer is a former Dy. Comptroller &Auditor General of India and a former Ombudsman of Reserve Bank of India. He is also a writer of several books and can be reached at [email protected])
Adversity-free childhood is perhaps the most desirable feature to ensure better human capital. But the presence of one billion child labourers worldwide with a disproportionate share in India is quite disheartening. This alarming adversity is backed by a pronounced commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 8 with a target to eliminate all child labour by 2025, one that remains far from getting realised in this decade.

Along with an encouraging trend of declining magnitude of this phenomenon in India over the last three decades, the nation continues to have a count of 8 million child labourers. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) calls on nations to take effective measures to eliminate it because it is the most heinous form of child abuse and exploitation, as well as a major impediment to social justice and the right to a decent life.

Despite the enactment of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act in 1986 & 2016 and Right to education (2009), children in India continue to remain extremely vulnerable to human trafficking, illiteracy, poor physical and mental health experiencing a failed childhood that compromises the future quality of human capital.

The pride of Indias population coexists with the largest share of child labourers. India is home to a number of child labourers that exceed the population of nations such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Ireland which rank at the top as regards human development.

According to a report by the Kaillash Satyarthi Foundation and Census 2011 projections, India will have 7.8 million child labourers in 2023, with a 57:43 malefemale ratio. Despite a decline in the annual child labour rate in 2001-11 (-2.01 per cent) being higher than the same in 1991-2001 (1.16 per cent) and 1981-91 (-1.88 per cent), India continues to have a reasonable count.

The absence of census 2021 serves as a handicap in obtaining an accurate count of child labourers. The encouraging rate of decline in the prevalence of child labour does not qualify at the sub-national level with an increasing share in select states such as Kerala (5.68 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (1.62 per cent), Uttarakhand (1.62 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (1.22 per cent) where the magnitude of child labour increased significantly between 2001 and 2011.

On the contrary, states such as Telangana (-7.22 per cent), Haryana (- 6.6 per cent), Karnataka (-6.47 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (-6.41 per cent), West Bengal (-4.34 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (-4.11 per cent), and Rajasthan (-3.90 per cent) registered a massive decline during the same period. In absolute terms, Uttar Pradesh (2.1 million), Bihar (1.01 million) and Rajasthan (0.8 million) had the largest numbers while Kerala (0.04 million), and Delhi (0.03 million) had the least count in 2011. By 2025, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand will have the highest rates of child labour.

The estimated number of children working in 2025 will amount to 74.3 lakh of which 60.2 lakh will be shared by seven states. As a result, if these states are given special focus in implementing measures to end child labour, the incidence of child labour in India could be minimised, if not eliminated.

The estimates of district level projection observe that districts such as Mahe, Lakshadweep, Lahaul & Spiti, Diu, idduki, North & Middle Andaman, Lohit, Kollam, and New Delhi remain as the most vulnerable in terms of rising prevalence of child labour while Lakhimpur, Krishna, Mahendragarh, Lalitpur, Doda, Nirmal, Kolhapur, Karauli, Nanded, and Lucknow are the ones recording a shrinking incidence of child labour. Districts with the highest concentrations of child labour, in terms of absolute numbers, include Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Kurukshetra, South-24 Parganas, Patna, Idduki, Bangalore, Navsari, and Alwar.

Child labour is an essential manifestation of poverty that traps children in a vicious cycle. While child labour frequently appears in low income households, it regenerates itself resulting in the widespread integrational transmission of poverty.

Owing to impoverishment, a child enters the workforce with the implications for another generation compromised on adequate skills, literacy, competence, and overall well-being. It limits a childs well-being in terms of education, physical and mental health, social and economic opportunity, and deprivation on multiple facets in later life. It leads to multidimensional deprivation, marginalisation, and exploitation with explicit violation of childrens fundamental rights to equal opportunities, social justice, and a decent life.

The Right to Education Act (RTE), an Act of the Indian Parliament, guarantees children between the ages of 6 and 14 the right to free and compulsory education under Article 21a of the Constitution. The fundamental purpose of this Act is to universalise child schooling with no out of school children irrespective of the marginalised/impoverished status of their households. However, it appears that the RTE Act fails to prevail on ground and results in the staggering number of child labourers.

This Act is complemented with numerous schemes of free provisioning like clothing, food and learning aids. But by failing in implementation, we not only sustain child labour but also violate constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. While we claim advances in educational attainment at large, a whole lot of children denied basic education need not be overlooked.

Hence sustained child labour can partially be blamed on failure of implementation of RTE Act. In this platinum decade of Indias independence, the inability to ensure a decent childhood does reflect dysfunctional child labour laws, focusing only on the prohibition and regulation of child labour rather than advancing the countrys fundamental goals of eliminating child labour. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, is undoubtedly a later thought that comes 15 years after the right to elementary education and six years after the RTE act. As opposed to the 1986 Child Labour Act, the Act of 2016 expressly prohibits children from engaging in any form of labour that comes in conflict with their right to education.

This legislation, however, is ambiguous in two ways. First, there is no stated minimum age below which children are not entitled to work, not even in exempted sectors. Second, there is no prohibition on employment in hazardous occupations or processes carried out as part of family work. Hence, the child labour law does have a serious conflict with the RTE Act, and the amendment appears to be one step forward with two steps back.

A genuine inclination without a serious intervention sustains child labour in India. Although the nation has been partially successful in arresting its growth, this evil persists. A nation that cannot guarantee decent childhood for its children is a failed nation and India with a count of 8 million children denied their fundamental rights needs multi-sectoral intervention to address this concern.

Such intervention needs a comprehensive identification of these vulnerable children as well as their parentage/household to resolve this menace on a warfooting. A perfect prescription lies in three Is  identification, intervention and implementation. Vouching for a decent childhood for all children ensures an ideal future citizenship for the nation.

(The writers are, respectively, Senior Fellor and Professor at the International Institute for Population Science, Mumbai.)
This photo taken on April 27, 2023 shows refugees at a transit center in Kitale, Kenya. (Photo by Robert Manyara/Xinhua)

NAIROBI, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Looking frail, thirsty and hungry, Abumukisa Twesenge alighted from a minivan that had transported him from Malaba Town, located at the Kenya-Uganda border.

Twesenge, 52, is among hundreds of refugees who recently arrived at the transit center in Kenya's western town of Kitale on Thursday evening from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

The Congolese man has been living with his family of six at Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Kamwenge District in southwestern Uganda since he fled the war in his motherland seven years ago.

With insufficient money, Twesenge and his fellow refugees could not buy food on the way. He claimed that life at the refugee camp had become unbearable due to a lack of food, drugs, and other necessities.

"There is no food, my children are not going to school, and there is no money to buy drugs," Twesenge told Xinhua at a makeshift shelter while waiting to be transported to the sprawling Kakuma Refugee Camp located in Kenya's northern county of Turkana.

The former gold miner said he was forced to flee Uganda to escape starvation. "Me and my family were on the verge of succumbing to extreme hunger, and we decided to come to Kenya hoping to get assistance," Twesenge said.

Amid heavy downfall, about 200 families were received by officials of the Kenya Red Cross Society at the temporary shelter.

Njabu Dido, 39, is a native of Ituri Province in the DRC who fled fighting at his ancestral village in the early days of April accompanied by his wife and five children. After a long journey, the family landed in western Tanzania, where he was accommodated by well-wishers and engaged in casual work in order to get money to facilitate his travel to Kenya.

"We stayed for two weeks working on local farms before I raised money to travel to Kenya through Uganda. It has been a frustrating journey, but I am happy we have finally arrived in Kenya safely," Dido said.

Janerose Veve, 63, narrated how she and her husband, Fratrasoa Dirokia, cheated death narrowly when armed attackers ambushed their home in eastern DRC and killed her two children.

Veve said surviving members of her family fled to western Uganda, where a life of drudgery took a toll on them until they found solace at the temporary refugee camp in northern Kenya.

Nsadiyumua Nestor, a Burundian aged 30 and a father of three, fled his native country in 2014 due to civil strife. He, together with his wife and children, landed in southwestern Uganda and later relocated to northern Kenya in search of a better life.

According to Kenya Red Cross Society County Coordinator Ruth Miningwo, at least 8,468 refugees have been received at the Kitale transit center in western Kenya since January.

Miningwo said the majority of the refugees are from the DRC and Burundi, and a few are from Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.

"We are receiving between 600 and 800 refugees weekly, and since January we have had over 8000 arrivals. Women and children form 60 percent of the families," said Miningwo, adding that the transit center has the capacity to hold about 200 people while the new waves of arrivals have overstretched it. 
Ananda Marga Pracharaka Samgha (AMPS) has demanded stern action against those involved in the killing of its 17 monks and nuns, 41 years ago. On 30 April, 1982, 17 monks and nuns belonging to AMPS were burnt to death by CPM goons in broad daylight on Bijon Setu.

FIR was lodged against Somnath Chatterjee, Sachin Sen, Kanti Gangopdhyay among others. The Left Front government did not do anything and no one was arrested. On 30 April, 1982 some monks and nuns who had come to the city to attend a conference at AMPS headquarters at Tiljala, were accosted on Bijon Setu by the CPM goons.

They were dragged out of their vehicles, doused in kerosene and set on fire. The CPM alleged that the monks and nuns were involved in child lifting. Interestingly, no FIR was launched by the local people in Jadavpur police station or in Kolkata.

Roads leading to Bijon Setu were blocked, stopping the entry of the fire brigade. To mark the 41th anniversary of the heinous crime, the monks and nuns observed Dadhichi Divas and took out a silent procession from Deshapriya Park and culminating at Bijon Setu.

On this occasion, Acharya Mantrasiddhananda Avadhuta, Acharya Prasunnananda Avadhuta, Avadhutika Anvesha Acharya, Biswajit Bhowmik and Biswajit Ghosh spoke on this greatest crime in the history of post-Independence Kolkata. Acharya Mantrasiddhananda Avadhuta explained the history of this barbaric incident and how the CPM thwarted all attempts of justice.

When Trinamul Congress government came to power in 2011, Justice Amitabh Lala Commission was formed to investigate this atrocity. He noted that the Commission filed its report in 2019 but still today, the report has not been released by the West Bengal government.

He appealed to the state government to release this report at the earliest and take action against those involved.
Going tougher on curbing encroachment of footpaths in busy marketplaces, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided not to allow any new hawkers without permission from the town vending committee.

Application from a new hawker has to come to the town vending committee of the civic body that will decide whether to consider it or not, according to mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Firhad Hakim. For the old hawkers, we are making arrangements of rehabilitation and stalls. But new hawkers would have to apply to the town vending committee only.

The chief minister has made it very clear and if the police do not follow it, we will talk to the police commissioner about it, said the mayor. Notably, a councillor during the KMC had pointed out that the councillors are sometimes not updated about the resolutions of the town vending committee.

According to the mayor, the resolutions of the town vending committee are always not pertaining to a single road or a ward. So, councillors knowing about all resolutions of the committee, do not happen.

However, we have started giving registration to hawkers from Gariahat to Lake Market, and we can inform the councillors of those wards. After all, it is the councillors who are answerable to the people, said Mr Hakim. The mayor made it clear that under no circumstances, the footpath spaces can be sold or exchanged by hawkers.

According to the mayor, the civic body allows hawkers to do business as a right to live but if one gives up the hawkership due to any reason the space has to be handed over to the town vending committee. The committee would then take a call on allowing the new hawker at the space.
A study conducted by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation revealed that 80 per cent of the dengue cases in the city take place in south Kolkata while 20 per cent take place in north Kolkata.

This is because the breeding grounds like vacant lands, under-construction buildings and water bodies are more in South Kolkata. The areas under Borough 8 to 14 are more vulnerable to dengue. The areas are Gariahat, Chetla, areas surrounding Southern Avenue, Bhelaha. The civic authorities will publish its findings in a scientific journal soon.

The KMC will slap a spot fine if anyone is caught throwing garbage on vacant land. The KMC has issued notices on 2,100 owners of houses and apartments where mosquito larvae were found between January and April 2023 and asked them to clean the water of underground reservoirs and overhead tanks.

The civic authorities have filed cases against 26 house owners who refused to comply in the municipal magistrates court. The court can slap a fine of anything between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh.

The civic officials and workers are visiting the vacant lands and are requesting the people of adjacent buildings not to throw garbage there through the public address system. The civic authorities have set up 930 vector control teams to cover 144 wards in addition to 16 borough rapid action teams and 16 central rapid action teams.

These teams are visiting hospital campuses, police stations, commercial establishments and market places as a part of a dengue prevention drive. Those who maintain these buildings have been asked to remove broken furniture from roof tops, empty tea cups and used tyres. Larvae carrying dengue are born on clean water.

Rain water accumulates in empty tea cups and tyres and they serve as potential breeding grounds. The KMC has given training to 1,750 field workers by using a digital microscope at the mosquito research centre in Moulali so that they can identify the larvae.

Also, they were trained about the right techniques which should be followed to spray mosquito repellent. The civic authorities have blood collection facilities in every ward and requested people to get their blood tested at the urban health centres, situated at every borough, free of cost if they are found to be suffering from fever
The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) is expected to announce the revised power tariff by the first week of June, official sources said.

The new power tariff tabled by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has proposed a hike up to 23 per cent for various categories of consumers.

For the urban domestic consumers, the corporation has proposed a hike of around 18 per cent.

The commission has not revised the power tariff since 2018-19.

The UPERC has completed the public hearing in all distribution companies  the last hearing was in Noida on April 28.

Sources said that the Commission would now send a compiled report of public objections to various discoms to take their counter feedback.

After this, the Commission would finally analyse the tariff after taking into consideration all observations of the stakeholders before announcing the tariff formally.

This is expected to take a month. The Commission will be able to announce the tariff expectedly by the first week of June, a senior official said.

Sources said that the UPPCL reportedly highlighted the rising operational cost of thermal power plants. This has been accentuated by the climbing cost of fuel, essentially coal.

The sources further said that the corporation categorically put forth the Annual Revenue Realised (ARR) which critically factors in revenue recovery for every power unit produced. It also includes the revenue loss because of power theft and the billing anomalies.

As a matter of fact, the UPPCL has not only proposed an increase in power unit charge but also the fixed charge by 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

President of the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhogta Parishad, Avdhesh Verma, who is one of the petitioners in the power tariff case, said that the association participated in all hearings.

The UPPCL needs to address the issue of over Rs 25,000 crore which it owes towards the consumers. This way, there would not be any need to increase the tariff, if the calculation is done fairly, he said.
BJP Kerala president K Surendran has on Monday said that the director of the Kozhikode paper company involved in the artificial intelligence (AI) camera scam is a close relative of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The paper companys website is no longer active.

Addressing a press conference in Kozhikode, the BJP Kerala chief alleged Pinarayi Vijayan Limited Company is behind the AI camera scam and that the chief minister and his entourage are its beneficiaries.

Recounting the way the alleged scam took place, Surendran said the state government gives a contract of 235 crore to Keltron. Keltron in turn gives it to ULCC-SRIT Company for Rs 175 crore. Thus, Rs 60 crore reach Keltrons pocket without any effort. The ULCC gives the contract for 75 crore to two paper companies that dont even have an office.

Surendran alleged that the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCC) is a mechanism to hide the corruption of ministers and CPI-M leaders in the state.

Alleging that the Cliffhouse (CMs official residence) has been involved in every scandal that took place in the state, Surendran said he is carrying out corruption in an organised manner. The vigilance wing of the state is providing protection to all these acts. If in the past fraud was done in a project, today fraudsters form a company and create a project for it, he said.

Stating that the Alhind Group has revealed that they have withdrawn from the project because of corruption, Surendran alleged it is in Kerala that corruption is carried out in a most organised manner.

Responding to Chief Minister Vijayans objection to the movie The Kerala Story as the product of the Sangh Parivars lie factory and that it was made with the aim of spreading hatred against Kerala, Surendran said people are well aware of the CPI-Ms selective secularism and creative freedom.

He asked the chief minister to tell the people how many people from Kerala have enrolled in Islamic State (IS) and gone to Syria and Afghanistan.

The BJPs Kerala chief said the double standards adopted by the CPI-M for the sake of the vote bank are more dangerous than religious extremism. Surendran said the CPI-M stood for creative freedom in the case of the movie Eesho and the play Kakkuli which hurt Christian sentiments. However, the CPI-M could not see creative freedom in the play Kithaab or the movie The Kashmir Files, he said.
Indian cinema today is the most prolific film industry in the world with a broad range of content from mainstream masala entertainers to meaningful cinema, to experimental films in diverse genres and different languages.

In its 110 years, it has seen several changes on various fronts. including the creative and the technological. And everything that Indian cinema entails traces back to one man  Dadasaheb Phalke.

Phalke, who was born on this day 153 years ago, laid the foundation of Indian cinema with his first feature Raja Harishchandra in 1913 after getting inspired by the French silent short film The Life of Christ, which presented the life of Jesus in 25 tableaux based on the canonical gospels.

Filmmaking, however, was not his career goal from the start. Phalke, who was born Dhundiraj Govind Phalke on April 30, 1870, to a Sanskrit scholar father and a homemaker mother, had two brothers and four sisters. At the age of 15, he enrolled at Mumbais oldest art college  Sir J.J. School of Art.

He completed a year of the drawing course and at the beginning of 1886, he accompanied his elder brother, Shivrampant, to Baroda where he married a girl from a Maratha family. He lost his first wife and child to plague.

He later joined Kala Bhavan, the Faculty of Fine Arts, at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, and completed a course in oil and watercolour painting in 1890. He also achieved proficiency in architecture and modelling. The year 1890 was a defining year for him as he bought a camera and started experimenting with photography, processing, and printing.

He relocated from Godhra to Baroda after his photography business failed to take flight. In Baroda, he is said to have met a German illusionist named Carl Hertz, from whom he learnt some magic, which also involved a few techniques of trick photography, all skills which Phalke ultimately ended up using in his films.

Phalke did several jobs such as that of a draftsman for the Archaeological Survey of India and even had his own printing press  Laxmi Art Printing Works, where he collaborated with the great painter Raja Ravi Verma, whose work continues to inspire the likes of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

In early 1890, he married his second wife Saraswati and had a successful long marriage with her. Saraswati doubled as his collaborator. For Raja Harishchandra, she not only worked on the costume design and catering, but also sold off her valuables to ensure her husbands dream became a reality.

She learnt the ropes of filmmaking from Dadasaheb and took the load off him in several departments. She developed the films reels, thereby becoming Indias first film editor, technician and financer, and also taught the mannerisms of women to male actors in the film because Indian society back then looked down upon women in the performing arts.

No woman, as a result, came forward to act in Phalkes debut film resulting in male actors taking up female roles. The struggles of making Raja Harishchandra have been narrated in the 2009 Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory, which was the second Marathi movie to be selected to represent India in the competition for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

Raja Harishchandra was released to widespread applause, thus laying the foundation of Indian cinema and bringing money to Phalkes company.

The recently released streaming series Jubilee tells the story of the Golden Age of Hindi cinema, delving into the evolution of Himanshu Rai and Devika Ranis Bombay Talkies.

By the time of Bombay Talkies, Indian cinema had struck deep roots in the imagination of the people. But Dadasaheb Phalke made Indias first film in difficult times with limited resources and went on to roll out five more even as World War I was raging  three decades before Bombay Talkies was founded.

Today, Indian cinema is a global force to reckon with. The credit for it goes to the ground-breaking work of Dadasaheb Phalke, who along with his wife refused to be cowed by challenges and paved the way for the collaborative art form of filmmaking in India.
Actress Adah Sharma, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film The Kerala Story, has said that the movie is about life and death. She has also spoken about how this is not a propaganda film.

Im glad we can spread awareness with this film and people giving me so much love and support feels good always. As for performance, Id credit the makers entirely . The director, the writer, the cinematographer, said the actress.

In The Kerala Story, actress Adah Sharma is playing the role of Fathima Ba, a Hindu Malayali nurse, who is among the 32,000 women who went missing from Kerala and were then recruited to the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) after being forced to convert to Islam.

Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film tells the story of four women and how from being regular college students in Kerala, they became part of a terror organisations.

The film has courted controversy for portraying itself as a real story and for making false claims that thousands of women from Kerala are being converted to Islam and recruited into ISIS, it faces allegations of promoting the Sangh Parivars agenda.

About the controversy that surrounds the film Adah Says: Our film is about girls getting drugged, brainwashed, raped, human trafficking, forcefully impregnated and then raped again by multiple people sometimes, the child they deliver been taken away and them being made suicide bombers.

Its about life and death! for the few who are saying its propaganda, I guess once they watch the film with all the facts they will say otherwise.
May 1 is observed as Gujarat Day, which monumentalizes the formation of Gujarat state in India. The coastal states of Gujarat and Maharashtra were bifurcated from the Bombay State based on cultural distinctiveness. It also marks the day on which the Gujarati-speaking region was separated from the Marathi speaking region. Gujaratis celebrate this day by attending cultural programs that showcase the cultural heritage of the state.

The current state of Gujarat was a part of the Bombay State prior to 1960, which included present day Maharashtra and parts of present day Gujarat. However, there were significant cultural, linguistic and political differences between the people of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

This led to the demand for a separate state of Gujarat in the early 1950s. After several years of protests and negotiations, the Bombay State was finally divided into two states on May 1, 1960 called Maharashtra and Gujarat after the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. The new state of Gujarat comprises Gujarati-speaking regions of the former Bombay State, including the territories of Saurashtra, Kutch and Ahmedabad.

Gujarat Day, also known as Gujarat Sthapana Divas, is an occasion to honor the local state culture. This day is celebrated enthusiastically by Gujarati people, who take pride in their unique culture. Gujarat Foundation Day is a significant occasion because it commemorates the date of the formation of Gujarat state.

People celebrate this occasion by getting together and organising or participating in many cultural programs.

The most enjoyable part of celebrating Gujarat Foundation Day is the kite festival. People fly kites from their rooftops on this day. People sing the state anthem Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat and offer puri-aamras to deities in temples. Gujarat Day celebrations are concluded by a show of fireworks and cultural programs.

Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hails from Gujarat and shares Gujarat Day wishes to mark the occasion.

The Gujarat Chief Minister wishes the people of the state and highlights the achievements of the state.
As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced to implement the Uniform Civil Code among its top promises made in the manifesto for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday promised that his party would prioritize the promotion and conservation of places blessed by nature in the state.

Soon after the BJPs vision document was unveiled by the partys national president JP Nadda, in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa, Shah made the promise through his Twitter account on which he also shared a video showing the natural beauty of a place in Karnatakas Coorg. The natural beauty of Coorg is truly stunning. Its emerald-green forests and stunning landscapes are sights to behold. The BJP government in Karnataka will prioritize promoting and conserving such places blessed by nature, Shah tweeted.

Shah made the statement on the day when he held a roadshow at Tiptur Assembly in poll-bound Karnatakas Tumkuru on Monday in which BJPs manifesto will play a major role.

The BJPs 16-point election manifesto released on Monday included the implementation of UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose. It also promised to provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families annually.

Besides, the manifesto mentions setting up an Atal Aahara Kendra in every ward of every municipal corporation to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the state.

Launch of the Poshana scheme, through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna  siri dhanya through monthly ration kits; introduction of the National Register of Citizens and speedy deportation of all illegal migrants; development of Bengaluru for the next generation by designating it as State Capital Region, and executing a comprehensive, technology-led city development program  centred around Ease of Life, cohesive transportation networks and enabling ecosystems for making Bengaluru a Global Hub of Digital Innovation are among other promises made in the BJP manifesto.

Considered a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and the JDS, all parties are trying hard and leaving no stone unturned while some political leaders have indulged in hurling abuses.

Congress has been one of the leading players in Karnataka politics and has formed its government several times in the state.

In 2008, the party suffered a major defeat, winning only 80 seats in the 224 assembly seats.

But in 2013, it bounced back and won a majority winning 122 seats.

In the previous election, it won 80 seats and formed a coalition government with JD(S) which collapsed in 2019.

At present, it is the main opposition party in the state.

The Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 are scheduled to be held on May 10 while the counting of votes will take place on May 13.

The election will be held to elect the 224-member Assembly.

This time it is expected that there will be a close contest between the ruling BJP and Congress along with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) playing a possible kingmaker role.
Amid the controversy surrounding the upcoming film The Kerala Story, the youth wing of a leading state party and two individuals separately promised cash awards for those who prove its storyline correct and provide facts.

The film starring Adah Sharma, slated to release on May 5, claims that around 32,000 women have gone missing from Kerala after being brainwashed, converted and sent for terror missions in India and abroad.

P.K. Firoz, chief of the Muslim Youth League, the youth wing of IUML, the second-largest member of the Congress-led UDF, said they will give Rs 1 crore if those who made the film prove the storyline to be actually correct.

The second announcement came from a blogger, K. Nazeer Hussain.

He said that he would give Rs 10 lakh to anyone who can produce evidence that women were converted and forced to join the Islamic State.

Lawyer, and also an actor, Shukkur, wrote on Facebook that he would also give Rs 11 lakh to anyone who will name the Kerala women who were converted, and then joined the Islamic State.

As soon as the teaser of the film was released, the ruling CPI-M-led Left and the UDF demanded that the film should not be screened. Kerala Culture Minister, Saji Cherian said if The Kerala Story is screened, people should boycott it.

He also said that legal action would be taken.

The film is directed by Sudipto Sen. It traces the journey of four female college students in Kerala who become part of Islamic State.

The film also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, and Sonia Balani. It is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
NEW DELHI, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from gas leak in India's Punjab state rose to 11 on Sunday, a local administration official told Xinhua over phone.

The accident occurred in the thickly-populated Giaspura area in Punjab's Ludhiana city with several factories. Local authorities suspect that dumping of some chemicals from a factory into the sewer led to the emission of poisonous gas resulting in the deaths.

Among the dead were three minors and five women. They also included five members of a family.

At least four persons who fell sick were still in a local hospital. All the victims were migrant laborers hailing from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the eastern state of Bihar.

The source of the gas leakage and the type of the gas were yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government announced compensation of 200,000 Indian Rupees (around 2,446 U.S. dollars) to the families of each of the dead, and 50,000 Indian Rupees (around 611 dollars) to each of those who fell sick. 
Five youths were killed while five others injured when two cars in which they were travelling from Haryana to Rajasthans Gogamedi temple for darshan (obeisance) in the Hanumangarh district fell into a ditch near a canal at Jhansal village late last night.

Three of the youths, all friends, died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries on way to the hospital, Kalu Ram, an Investigating Officer (IO) of Bhirani Police Station in Hanumangarh told SNS when contacted.

The deceased were identified as Chatar Singh, Rajan, Narendra, Vikas and Sachin (all between 25 and 30 years).

The injured, who were rescued by villagers and later with the help of local cops, were first taken to the CHC in Chanibari village, from where they were referred to a Hospital in Haryana.

They were all ten friends, who had embarked on the journey in their two cars (Creta & I20) from Kurushetra. They were about to reach Gogamedi temple (Gogaji Lokdevta) when they lost control over their cars, leading the vehicles to slip into the deep gorge at 10 pm last night. Both the vehicles were torn into pieces, and the passengers were scattered here and there on the canal side, quoting the villagers version the IO said.

The bodies were being handed over to their relatives after postmortem, he added.
Describing it as unfortunate, National Conference (NC) president and MP, Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Monday attacked the government for fixing G20 meetings in Ladakh and Kashmir, but not in Jammu and also slammed the local BJP leaders for not raising the issue.

He also opposed the settlement of non-locals in Jammu and claimed that the Dogra identity is under threat.

It is very unfortunate that the G20 meeting can be held in Ladakh and Kashmir but not in Jammu. Is Jammu not important? It is unfortunate that not a single BJP leader, even those who chanted Jammu, Jammu and Dogra, Dogra raised the issue. They have taken Jammu for granted believing that it is in their pocket, he told reporters on the side-lines of a party function here.

Asked about the public notice issued by the J&K Housing Board seeking online applications from people, who have migrated to Jammu temporarily or permanently, for allotment of 336 flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Mission here, Farooq said, It exposes what we have been saying all the time that demographic change is being brought about.

Jammu is going to lose its identity, the Dogra identity is going to disappear and that is what Maharaja Hari Singh  the last Dogra ruler fought against. It was not NC founder Sheikh Abdullah or our party that brought the state subject law in 1927 for job and land protection. The Maharaja wanted his culture and identity to remain intact, Abdullah said.

Farooq said if outsiders are settled here, where will the locals go? They want to the Dogra identity to vanish and it is very surprising that not a single BJP leader speaks about it. The people from outside will settle here and take our land and jobs slowly, the NC leader said

On the 20 April terrorist attack on an army truck in the Poonch district that left five soldiers dead, Farooq said contrary to the BJPs claims, terrorism is still alive in Jammu and Kashmir.

Has terrorism ever been finished? They were claiming that terrorism is finished with the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. There is no Article 370 now, but terrorism is still there, the former chief minister said, adding that terrorism had heightened in the region.

He said the killing of five soldiers is a shame for us and we regret the loss.
Afghanistans central bank Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) sold $14 million by auction on Sunday to stabilise the exchange rate of the national currency afghani, the bank said in a statement released here on Sunday.

The local currency afghani has been tumbling against foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, over the past couple of months. The exchange rate of 1 US dollar increased from last weeks 86 afghani to 87.15 afghani on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghanistans central bank has injected millions of US dollars into the countrys money-exchange market over the past month to prevent the fall of the afghani against foreign currencies.

Afghanistan has received more than 2 billion dollars in cash over the past 18 months as part of the international communitys humanitarian aid to prevent the economic collapse of the cash-strapped country.
ALTON  A federal judges blocking of Illinois ban on the sale of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines on Friday meant it was a busy weekend at some local gun stores.

On Friday U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn of the Southern District of Illinois blocked enforcement of the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans the sale of assault weapons, and a number of attachments, including magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

In his ruling, McGlynn said the act, also known as PICA, is likely to be found unconstitutional when the case goes to trial, and plaintiffs in the consolidated cases will be harmed without a preliminary injunction to block enforcement.

Were back to operations as normal, as much as they can be in this state, said Scott Pulaski, owner of Piasa Armory, an Alton gun store.

In addition to new sales, Pulaski said they were able to deliver a number of banned firearms and accessories that had been purchased but not delivered before the ban went into effect in mid-January.

The state basically stole their stuff without any recourse, Pulaski said.

In addition to those pick-ups, he said Piasa Armory has been doing a lot of sales.

Our big concern is that the states already filed notice to appeal, and the appellate court will shut down the (McGlynn) ruling, he said.

Traders Diamonds, Guns and Watches, also in Alton, was taking a wait-and-see approach, saying McGlynns ruling had not impacted them yet.

PICA allows current owners to continue to possess the weapons, but the firearms must be registered with the state by the end of the year.

The law was passed in the wake of a mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park last year and continues to be widely controversial. A large number of the states sheriffs and states attorneys, including Madison and Jersey County, have said they do not plan to push enforcement of the law.

In his ruling, McGlynn noted senseless crimes of a relative few cannot be used to justify abridging the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens, and cited the U.S. Supreme Court case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen, which said the Constitution guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office issued a brief statement late Friday, saying "We plan to file an appeal and remain committed to defending the constitutionality of the Protect Illinois Communities Act."

Less than a week before McGlynns decision, U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois made the opposite ruling in another case. Plaintiffs in that case have also said they plan to appeal.

Pulaski said he thinks opponents of the state's weapon ban will prevail.

Looking at the Northern Districts opinion, they seem to disregard the Bruen ruling, he said.\

Some information for this story provided by Capitol News Illinois
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HENRYETTA, Okla. (AP)  As law enforcement officials went silent while investigating what led to the killing of seven people in rural Oklahoma, family members of those slain recalled the domineering nature of one of the dead, who was a registered sex offender.

Since announcing the bodies were found Monday, authorities have released scant information on who was dead, how they died and who killed them. But grieving relatives working to piece together the horror story that started with two teenagers being reported missing, said law enforcement told them all the victims were shot to death in slayings that have stunned the community of Henryetta.

Janette Mayo was the first to say publicly that her daughter and three teenage grandchildren were among the dead. Her daughter was married to Jesse McFadden, a sex offender who Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said Monday had also been killed and linked to two other teenagers reported missing this week.

McFadden had been controlling, Mayo said, which had concerned her. But she said the family didnt learn about her son-in-law's criminal history until a few months ago.

He lied to my daughter, and he convinced her it was all just a huge mistake, Mayo, of Westville, told The Associated Press. He was very standoffish, generally very quiet, but he kept my daughter and the kids basically under lock and key. He had to know where they were at all times, which sent red flags up.

On Monday, Rice said the bodies were found on the property where McFadden lived near Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City. The dead bodies included two teens who had been reported as missing and in danger  Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 16  and who were last seen with McFadden. Rice said the state medical examiner would have to confirm the victims identities.

Mayo, 59, of Westville, Oklahoma, near the Arkansas border, said the sheriffs office notified her late Monday that the other four victims were her daughter, Holly Guess, 35, and her grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13. Mayo said Tiffany was close friends with Ivy and Brittany, who were spending the weekend with the family.

While Rice declined to provide details of how they died, Mayo said the sheriffs office told her that her daughter and grandchildren were all found shot to death in various locations on McFaddens property.

Ivys father, Justin Webster, said he filed a missing person report with the local sheriffs office when she didnt return home Sunday night after spending the weekend with McFadden, Guess and her children. Justin Webster said he thought the children went with McFadden to spend some time on a ranch where he was working near McAlester.

He said law enforcement officials also told him that all of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, that some had been lined up and were located across the property.

Webster echoed descriptions of McFadden as controlling and unusual, but said he had no idea about McFadden's criminal background.

I would say he was weird, Webster said. He was always getting into his kids phones and reading all their snap messages and all that. It wasnt in a way of a concerned parent. It was more of keeping tabs on the kids.

The missing endangered person advisory issued early Monday said Webster and Brewer had been seen traveling with McFadden, who was on the states sex offender registry. Oklahoma Department of Corrections prison records show he was convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and released in October 2020.

McFadden had been scheduled to appear in court Monday for the start of a jury trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. Court records show he was communicating with a then-16-year-old girl using a contraband cellphone while he was incarcerated at a state prison near Muskogee. The teens grandfather reported their communications to prison officials, according to an affidavit from a Department of Corrections investigator.

Webster hopes this whole ordeal leads to harsher criminal penalties for sex offenders, especially those who target children.

The sexual (offender) registry doesnt work, he said. I think there needs to be action taken. There needs to be repercussions, and someone needs to be held accountable. They let a monster out. They did this.

McFaddens attorney in that case has not responded to a phone message left Monday evening.

The grim discovery in Oklahoma keeps the U.S. on a torrid pace for mass killings in 2023 and could push the number of people slain in mass killings past 100 for the year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University.

In speaking to reporters Monday, Rice acknowledged another gruesome homicide case last fall in in Oklmulgee County. The bodies of four men were found Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River in Okmulgee, a small town about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Henryetta. Joseph Kennedy, 68, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Weve had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad, the sheriff said.

Lisa Thomas, who runs Bear Bottom Antiques on Main Street in downtown Henryetta, said the killings sent a shock wave through the tight-knit community.

It is truly like a Mayberry here, she said as she arranged sunflowers in a barrel outside her shop. All the people that come into my shop are just wonderful. We are just in shock, absolute shock.

Brittany Brewer's father told KOTV in Tulsa that one of the bodies discovered was his daughter.

Brittany was an outgoing person. She was actually selected to be Miss Henryetta ... coming up in July for this Miss National Miss pageant in Tulsa. And now she ain't gonna make it because she's dead. She's gone, Nathan Brewer said.

At a Monday night vigil, Brewer told hundreds of people: Its just a parents worst nightmare, and Im living it."

He said his daughter had aspired to be a teacher or a veterinarian.

I am just lost, he said.

Ivy Webster's mother, Ashleigh, described her daughter as a great kid who loved animals.

She loved softball. She loved people, animals. She was just a genuine good person. She really was, Ashleigh Webster said.

Mayo described her daughter, Holly Guess, as a doting parent.

She was a fantastic mother. She loved her children beyond belief. She was overprotective, Mayo said. She was supportive if they wanted to do something. Shed go out 100%.

Granddaughter Rylee Allen "had a talent with a paint brush, she said. Rylee wanted to be an artist and wanted to be a doctor so she could help people.

Michael Mayo ran track and cross-country, and when he wanted to play football, his mother went out and bought the family T-shirts and sweatshirts to support the team, Mayo said. Tiffany Guess also ran cross-country, she performed in the choir and had just tried out for the cheerleading squad.

She was the sweetest, most loving girl youd ever met, Mayo said. We called her Tiffasaurus because when shed get mad at you, shed growl.

Henryetta Public Schools said the community is grieving the loss of several students.

Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days, the district said in a message posted online.

___

Associated Press data journalist Larry Fenn and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
TOKYO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Monday lifted an evacuation order for parts of Iitate village near the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeast Japan.

The move means there are no entry restrictions currently in place for any designated reconstruction base in the area comprising six municipalities.

Similar orders have already been issued by the government for five other municipalities, namely Futaba, Namie, Tomioka, Okuma and Katsurao.

In the wake of the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the government imposed a "difficult-to-return" zone spanning a 337-square-kilometer area of Fukushima, comprising seven municipalities.

A "difficult-to-return" zone was deemed by the government inaccessible to humans due to dangerously high levels of radiation.

Iitate village's southern district of Nagadoro remained a "difficult-to-return" zone and 17 percent was designated as a "reconstruction and revitalization" base.

At these inner bases, government-funded work was carried out to decontaminate the area and rebuild infrastructure and, purportedly, pave the way for evacuees to return.

The village of Iitate had been listed as one of the bases, with the lifting of the evacuation order on Monday also being applied to a neighboring park, owing largely to the fact that nobody lived there.

As of April 1, 62 households with 197 people were listed as residents of Nagadoro, according to local statistics, but a mere three households comprising just seven people in total had applied for overnight stays.

Such applications beginning in September were supposed to be the first step toward households returning to the disaster-hit area permanently. 
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ALTON  John Jack J. Keller Sr., 92, has been named the grand marshal for the 156th consecutive Alton Memorial Day Parade planned Monday, May 29.

Keller joined the Navy in February 1951 and served until February 1955 as a 3rd Class Petty Officer during the Korean War ported out of . Key West.

I went in, and those were some of the best years of my life, he said. I made a lot of good friends. I think everyone should serve a year or two of service.

Keller said Key West was known as President Harry Trumans Little White House, where he would walk around without security.

He would be a hard guy to follow for the Secret Service, Keller said. Hed take off and walk through town and stop in Sloppy Joes. I saw him a couple times walking around.

But most of the time Keller served a short time on the ship Bushnell, a submarine tender that worked to repair subs. He served in the boat crew Liberty launching and repairing submarines.

They came from California to Key West in moth balls, Keller said. They took all the ships out in case they had to use them again because Korea broke out.

He went to submarine school, then mostly served on the sub Chivo, which means goat fish.

All the subs were named after fish back then. Keller said. And, well, the rest is history.

After the service, Keller worked at the Alton Glassworks for a short time and then Bill Rollers gas station. Roller was a member of the East End Improvement Association (EEIA) and Keller joined the organization in 1958.

Keller went into business for himself in 1959 when he opened a service station at 285 Elm St. He also later opened a service station at 4101 Alby St., which he sold; it became Steves Service from which the owner recently retired.

Keller was in the service station business for 37 years. He retired in 1996.

As an EEIA member, Keller was president of the nonprofit in the early 1970s, parade chairman in 1974, and a Memorial Day Parade volunteer who passed out flags for many years. Both the Memorial Day Parade and Alton Halloween Parade are events of the EEIA. In 2005, Keller was the grand marshal of the Halloween parade.

Keller also served on the Alton Civil Service Commission in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a member of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul at St. Marys Catholic Church in Alton, delivering food to parish families in need at Christmas for 10-12 years. He is a lifelong member of St. Marys Catholic Church.

Keller was born Jan 12, 1931, in Alton at St. Joseph. He graduated from Alton High School in January 1950. For a couple of years, he attended Marquette Catholic High School where he met his wife, Joan (Garvey) Keller. She graduated from MCHS in 1950. They married in October 1953 in Alton.

The Kellers have three children: John Keller, who was born in Key West, and Cindy Roth, both of Alton, and Lisa Duffy, of Edwardsville. They have eight grandchildren; the youngest, Jack Duffy, 21, is in his third year in the ROTC Air Force program at the University of Illinois. They also have 13 great-grandchildren.
Calhoun County Sheriff's Office

HARDIN  Calhoun County officials have arrested a Hardin man following an April 23 incident.

The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office reported that on April 23 it received a report of a disturbance in progress on Godar Hollow. A Calhoun County deputy and an Illinois Conservation Police officer responded to the disturbance.
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EDWARDSVILLE  Saturday was not just any reunion in Leclaire Park  it was a meeting from the heart, a heart two people still share. Judy Ryder and Sandy Schaller met each other again Saturday for the first time in more than 10 years.

They share a unique connection.

Within a span of six months 23 years ago, a group of teenagers were involved in two separate car accidents and the boys involved had previously agreed to be organ donors.

One of them was Ryder's son, Connor McKinsey, 18, whose birthday is April 29. As an organ donor recipient, Schaller received McKinsey's heart on Valentine's Day 2000. This meeting is also fitting as April is Organ Donation Month.

"I am so happy to see Sandy again," Ryder said Friday. "It has been many years because I moved to Oregon."

She said she moved back to the region about nine months ago, this time landing in St. Charles, Missouri.

On Saturday, the pair walked to Leclaire Park from Hale House as a way to raise awareness for organ donation. The main point to get across, Schaller said, is that nobodys going to steal their organs, nobodys going to kill them before theyre ready. They have very strict guidelines. And theyre going to save lives. There are skin, bones, organs that can be used to help somebody else.

'As close as close can be'

To understand how it came to be that Schaller, now a retired juvenile probation officer, wound up with a heart from an 18-year college student, it's important to know of Connors deep friendship with his lifelong buddy Ben Blain.

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Early Learning Center, then-director LaVernn Wilson noticed a special connection between Ben and Connor when they were all of 3 1/2 years old.

You know, you really ought to get to know Connors parents because these boys are going to be friends forever, Wilson told Mary Blain, Bens mother. Over the next decade, Mary Blain estimates that she took a dozen pictures, all with a common theme: Ben and Connor trying to squeeze into the same chair.

They were just as close as close can be, Mary Blain said in a 2014 interview at the home on Hale Avenue where she lived with her husband Bob, a retired sociology professor from SIUE. Across the street is Leclaire Lake, where the boys spent summer days in each others company, fishing.

Because Connors mother, Judy Ryder, lived over on Hillsboro Avenue at the time, Connor attended Columbus Elementary School while Ben went to school down the block at Leclaire.

They were inseparable, Mary said. As they got older, when Ben got a date, Connor had to go. It was like Wait a minute ... were taking Connor too?

Ryder adds, They were best friends forever.

Tragic accidents

Ryder's best friend, Mary, died in 2017. Mary's husband, Bob, 85, still lives in Hale House.

For years, Mary assumed that Erica Holliday, Ben's then-girlfriend, must have been fiddling with the radio when she crashed her Ford Taurus early in the evening on Oct. 16, 1999. Or perhaps she had turned around to chat with Ben, who was in the back seat.

Erica's twin, Melissa, was in the passenger seat up front. The three were headed north on Illinois Route 130 on their way to an outdoor music festival at the Five Mile House, about three miles south of Charleston.

But the Taurus passed the turnoff for the festival and continued north on Illinois 130.

According to a crash report from Illinois State Police, the Taurus was about three miles north of Charleston when Erica swerved into the southbound lane and struck a van driven by Brian Zumbahlen of Oblong. According to the report, the vehicles met head-on.

The sisters were pronounced dead at the scene by Coles County Coroner Mike Nichols. Ben was taken to nearby Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital, where the Blains eventually allowed doctors to donate his bone marrow and corneas.

News of Bens death devastated Connor. When Connor learned that his bone marrow and corneas had been harvested for someone else, though, there was solace.

He said, Im glad that happened. I would love to see the world through Bens eyes, she says.

So after Connor died in a car crash on Feb. 14, 2000, Judy knew that her son would have wanted to donate his organs as well.

The accident happened somewhere around Old Ripley Road. Connor was in the back seat. He spent several days at Barnes-Jewish-Children's Hospital in St. Louis. Because his were mostly head injuries, Connor was able to donate more organs than Ben: liver, kidneys and heart.

Schaller's path to this intersection was much different.

'The perfect heart'

Now retired and living in Normal with three dogs and three cats, Schaller was a juvenile probation officer for McLean County Court Services for 29 years.

Thirty years ago, pregnant with Jeff, the younger of her two sons, she developed breast cancer. We both came through it, grace of God, knock on wood and throw in a little pixie dust, she said during a 2014 phone interview.

Her luck turned in January 2000 when she was stricken with a massive heart attack that left her with the use of only 15 percent of her heart. She was in urgent need of a transplant, but a hospital in Peoria declined to consider one, citing what it said was their protocol requiring breast cancer survivors to wait for 10 years; it had been eight.

Shortly afterward, Schaller was removed from life support.

Much of what followed is a blur for Schaller. She knew that as her health declined, her brother flew across country to be with her. Before long, she was getting regular visits to her hospital room from her sister-in-law.

Were praying for the perfect heart, the woman kept repeating to her.

A pump was inserted ("awful), and then a few weeks later she learned that a heart had become available. A date for the surgery was set: Valentines Day 2000.

Before the surgery, an anesthesiologist told her, Ive seen your heart and its perfect.

Sandy Schaller laughs when she thinks about her response: Youve been talking to my sister.

Connections

Once, after she drove down to visit relatives in Belleville, Schaller decided to swing by Edwardsville and see for herself the Leclaire Park memorials to the young people who died.

She copied down the names: Erica and Melissa Holliday, Ben Blain and Connor McKinsey. Then she used her probation officer detective skills to track down Mary, Bob and Judy. And she began connecting the dots.

In her family, naturally, feelings run deep when it comes to organ donation.

Sandy Schaller's son Jeff wrote a 12-minute string orchestral chamber ensemble piece for his mother, born of necessity and guilt and a desire to work through the swirl of emotions that were left unresolved 12 years after his mothers transplant.

By then, he had enrolled at Illinois State University and pursued a degree in music composition and education.

Its title? DO-nation, is a play on the words organ donation.

Click here to become an organ donor in Illinois.
Journal-Courier

DIVERNON  Rescue crews from Sangamon, Macoupin and Montgomery counties were called Monday to assist in a massive crash that has shut down Interstate 55 in both directions for about 19 miles.

Unconfirmed reports indicate as many as 100 vehicles could be involved in the crash, which occurred during a dust storm.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Police in Mexico said Monday they have arrested a top lieutenant of the violent Metros faction of the Gulf drug cartel implicated in 23 attacks on police and nine against military personnel.

The suspect was identified as Hugo Salinas Cortinas, whose nickname La Cabra means The Goat. Police and the Mexican Army said he was arrested Friday, but provided no explanation for the delay in making the announcement.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is corrupt. Lets just get that out and then we can examine the sad state of affairs, which offers me no pleasure in expressing, that a person charged with one of the most important duties any public servant may render is so horribly flawed.

To provide full disclosure, I have never been a Thomas fan. During his confirmation hearings, I believed every word of Anita Hills testimony, that Thomas sexually harassed her on a number of occasions. And I agreed with the phalanx of legal experts that found Thomas woefully unqualified.

As an attorney, I followed his judicial performance and nearly always disagreed with his approach, which is to reduce the burdens on corporate interests while concurrently reducing individuals rights to privacy and access to voting. However, absent evidence of wrongdoing by Thomas that undermined his credibility in rendering impartial justice, I was duty-bound to tolerate his decisions.

However, over the past months we have been made to discover the many elements of Thomass corruption. His wife, Virginia (Ginny) Thomas, took an active role in attempting to overturn the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election, lobbying Mark Meadows, Trumps Chief of Staff and many others, to violate the law in whatever way necessary to maintain Trumps presidency. And yet, Thomas refused to recuse himself in decisions related directly to the January 6th insurrection.

In her many years of conservative activity, serving in a variety of roles to promote right wing causes, Ginny Thomas received hundreds of thousands of dollars as compensation. However, Thomas repeatedly failed to report a single penny of his wifes income or the sources on federal disclosure forms, claiming he didnt understand the forms instructions. Ive filled out such forms and the instructions are not provided in ancient Sumarian text. We can reasonably conclude that Thomas understood the instructions and that, instead, Thomas wilfully hid his wifes income.

Thanks to the revelations provided by ProPublica, we now know that Thomas and his wife have received multiple gifts in goods and cash from billionaire Harlan Crow. Twenty years of lavish vacations on yachts and private jets have been bestowed on Thomas by Crow. The value of these gifts reaches into millions of dollars. And yet not a nickel of it was ever disclosed on federal forms. Thomass excuse? He claims to have asked some unidentified colleagues years ago about it and they said not disclosing it was okay.

So now we are left to decide whether Thomas is so woefully incompetent that he cannot tell when recusal is appropriate, he cannot read a simple disclosure form, and his judgement is based on some water cooler banter with unknown people. Or we can decide that Thomas is simply a corrupt ideologue who wants to live a lifestyle he cant afford on his federal salary. Either way, he should resign.

However, as the pitchmen on TV say, but wait, theres more! It has come out that Crow also bought Thomass mothers house, spent thousands in repairs and upgrades, and lets Thomass mother stay there, rent free. This is a cash-in-pocket undisclosed sale from Thomas to Crow, and its a crime. Also, Crows contribution to conservative groups that subsequently paid Ginni Thomas substantial sums was simply a means of laundering bribes.

Were Thomas a member of any other federal court, he would be forced to resign. His violations of judicial ethics are so pronounced that he would be lucky to dodge an indictment. Unfortunately, there are no adopted ethical standards for members of the Supreme Court who are thought to be self-regulating. Thus far, Chief Justice Roberts has done little more than wince with pain every time the court is embarrassed by a members malfeasance.

Harlan Crow is active in conservative circles such as serving on the board of the American Enterprise Institute and other organizations which filed numerous briefs before the Supreme Court during Thomass tenure. Despite Thomass relationship with his buddy-buddy benefactor Harlan, Thomas never recused himself from a single case in which Crow expressed an interest.

Chief Justice Roberts should be a true leader and publically demand Thomas resignation with the backing of a non-partisan Congress. The business of the Court is accountability. How tragically ironic it would be if that is one thing that it cannot provide for itself. Absent ethical standards and comeuppance, the Court looks like scared, sanctimonious hypocrites wearing black to signify the death of integrity, begging the question, can we ever trust you again?
A lot of the history we were taught in school was nothing more than fables.

Christopher Columbus didnt prove the world was round. George Washingtons teeth werent made of wood. Abraham Lincoln didnt write the Gettysburg address on the back of an envelope. The Liberty Bell didnt crack on July 4, 1776. Benjamin Franklin almost certainly didnt fly a kite in a thunderstorm.

And contrary to what we were taught in school, the socialists involved in the 1886 Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago received fair trials.

For many involved in the labor movement, that last statement is heresy. For generations, school children have been taught that the five men convicted in the incident were innocent martyrs demonstrating for an eight-hour workday who were sent to the gallows on trumped up charges.

It makes for a compelling story. But its also baloney.

In fact, even today, May Day, the anniversary of the riot, is the most important date on the calendar for communist and socialist parties around the globe. Red flags are waved from Copenhagen to Cape Town and from Paris to Hanoi.

The holiday has its roots here in the Land of Lincoln. In Chicago, to be precise.

As a high school student, I was taught that a group of peaceful workers demonstrating for a shorter workday were attacked by Chicago police. After some police officers were killed when a bomb exploded, innocent workers were unfairly tried and hung.

In fact, that is what people around the world have been taught.

Its a prevarication, bound up in a falsehood and wrapped in a lie.

As the Soviet revolutionary Vladimir Lenin once said, A lie told often enough becomes the truth.

By the standards of the 1880s, it was a fair trial. In fact, it was one of the first trials where scientific forensic evidence was presented.

Despite this, 19 years ago, the Illinois Legislature spent $300,000 to erect a sculpture honoring the victims of the Haymarket Riot.

Of course, the victims are no longer just the seven police officers killed; they also include the four murderers hung and the one who committed suicide in his jail cell.

A plaque on the monument says the men were unfairly tried.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Politburo.

During a lecture on the Haymarket incident, Timothy Messer-Kruse, a history professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, told his students the Haymarket demonstrators received an unfair trial and were convicted despite there being no evidence against them.

And then a student raised her hand and asked, If there wasnt any evidence, what was presented during that six-week trial? It was an a-ha moment. I didnt have an answer for her. I was teaching what I had been taught, but it got me wondering and I decided to look at the original trial transcripts, he told me several years ago.

And what he found stunned him.

The trial was the longest and most exhaustive held in Illinois up to that point.

In fact, it pioneered the use of forensic evidence. A chemist compared the metallic composition of the shrapnel removed from the police officers bodies with the bomb casings and parts found in the home of one of the defendants.

They matched.

In fact, Messer-Kruse asked a Yale University chemistry professor to use modern technology to compare the evidence today.

They still matched.

The evidence against the men was quite substantial. Their appeals were heard by both the Illinois and U.S. supreme courts.

But the political supporters of the defendants billed the men as innocent martyrs.

The prosecutors in the case didnt have a reason to speak out after the men were executed. So, the history was largely written by those who had a political agenda to support these men, Messer-Kruse said.

By the way, Messer-Kruse is a liberal himself and a strong supporter of organized labor.

Part of the problem is the Haymarket has become a part of labor history and its part of the ethos of the labor movement, he said.

In fact, no trial in Illinois history is of greater consequence than the one in which the Haymarket defendants were convicted. Their deaths are among the most commemorated in human history.

And yet, they were almost certainly guilty. They were hung for murder  not because they demonstrated for a shorter workday.

Its time for that myth to be sliced from the history books.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 30 (Xinhua) -- APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) members have urged APEC trade ministers to leverage challenges facing the region as opportunities to place the region on a new path of economic inclusion, resilience, and sustainability.

"The private sector wants to see governments in the region build on the lessons learned from dealing with the pandemic to make trade more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable for all," ABAC Chair Dominic Ng said at a press conference of ABAC meeting that ended here on Sunday.

"ABAC is supporting this effort by bringing forward clear, concrete recommendations for governments that, if implemented, will result in tangible outcomes. Many of these recommendations are captured in the letters and statements that we finalized at our meeting in Brunei," said Ng. 
The oil marketing companies have revised the price of a 19-kg commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder by slashing Rs 171.50. The new rate will be effective from Monday.

As per the revised prices, a 19-kg LPG cylinder will cost Rs 1,856.50 in Delhi, reported ANI.

The prices of the same will be Rs 1,808.50 in Mumbai while it is Rs 1,960.50 in Kolkata. Earlier, it was 1,980 in Mumbai and 2,132.00 in Kolkata. A 19 kg LPG cylinder sells for Rs 2,021.50 in Chennai while it was 2,192 before the revision.

However, the price of domestic LPG cylinders remains unchanged.

The prices of commercial gas have always fluctuated with the rates coming down by 92 on April 1. However, it rose in March by 350.50 per unit. The domestic LPG cylinders too rose by 50 per unit in March.

In 2022, the prices of domestic LPG cylinders were hiked four times and reduced three times.

Besides, the price of jet fuel, also known as ATF, has been reduced in Delhi from 98,349.95/kL to 95,935.34/kL. This is expected to come as much-needed relief for the airline industry.

The jet fuel prices are revised every month based on the average rate of international benchmark and foreign exchange rates.
Lending support to same-sex marriage, actor Kangana Ranaut has said people's preferences do not matter when their "hearts are one".

The National Award winner further described marriage as "a bond of love".

"Marriage is a bond of love. When people's hearts are one... what their preference is, what can we say about that?" Ranaut told reporters in Haridwar on Sunday.

Apurva Asrani, co-writer of her 2017 film "Simran", thanked the actor for backing "marriage equality" at a time when most stars are shy of speaking up.

"A person 'cancelled' by the 'liberal' media has no right to an opinion right? Even if her statement is humane, brave & timely all at once? Kangana Ranaut speaks for #marriageequality. Something that most movie stars have been shy of doing. From one Queen to another, Thankyou," Asrani, who is openly gay, wrote on Twitter.

A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, PS Narasimha and Hima Kohli is hearing arguments on a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages.
The Centre has blocked 14 messaging apps in Jammu and Kashmir region allegedly for spreading terror. The decision was taken after gathering inputs from intelligence agencies.

The apps include Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Element, Second line, Zangi, Threema among others. These were allegedly used by terrorists in Kashmir to communicate with their supporters and on-ground workers, reported ANI.

"Agencies keep track of channels used by Overground workers (OGWs) and terrorists to communicate among themselves. While tracking down one of the communication, agencies found that the mobile application does not have representatives in India and it is difficult to track down activities happening on the app," official told ANI.

Following this, the Centre, with help from intelligence agencies, prepared the list of apps that do not follow Indian laws and pose a threat to national security.

The list was then forwarded to the concerned Ministry with a request seeking their ban under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The intelligence agencies informed that these apps are spreading terror propaganda in the Valley.

The move comes days after the Poonch terrorist attack which killed five Indian Army men. Following this, the Army had asked people to immediately report any suspicious activity and also to keep away from engaging in terror activities.

"The Central govt and the army have been working together for the development of the area and people of this region so that they could be part of the mainstream of the country. Keeping this in mind, people of all the communities should walk shoulder to shoulder with the army," it said in a statement here.

"Hence, the people of this area should keep away from such type of incident and activities in future, if someone is roaming suspected in the region, then the people of this area should immediately inform and assist the army and foil the major incident like Poonch," the Army said, adding that people were equally responsible for the maintenance of peace in the region.

The army statement came a day after Director General of Police Dilbag Singh claimed they had uncovered the Poonch terror plot with the arrest of six locals for sheltering the terrorists before they carried out the attack, for which they used explosives and weapons delivered to them from Pakistan through drones.
With two more bodies recovered on Monday, the death toll in the two-storey building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra rose to eight.

According to the officials, the work of clearing the debris is still going on and has entered the third day.

Since there is the possibility of survivors still remaining trapped under the debris, the rescue operations were carried out cautiously. Bhiwandi sub-divisional officer Amit Sanap said that rescuers were proceeding cautiously and also have to ensure that bodies are not damaged due to the machinery being used.

However, the rescue operations were declared closed by the officials after 45 hours.

The incident occurred at 2 pm on Saturday at Wardhaman compound in Valpada area. The building which housed godowns on the ground and first floors and families on its upper floor collapsed.

Teams of Fire Brigade, Police, Target Disaster Response Force (TDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot to rescue people trapped in debris.

Six bodies were found from the debris till Sunday.

The bodies recovered on Monday were identified as Dinesh Tiwari (34) and Ashok Kumar Mishra (32).

Thane Municipal Corporation's Regional Disaster Management Cell chief Avinash Sawant said that the building belonged to a popular food products company, he said.

The two bodies recovered in the morning have been sent to a government hospital for postmortem, he added.

Meanwhile, the building's owner, Indrapal Patil, was arrested on Sunday and booked on charges of culpable homicide.

On Sunday, a 38-year-old man, identified as Sunil Pisal, was rescued from the debris and admitted to a hospital in Bhiwandi.

Those injured have been shifted to Indira Gandhi Hospital on Saturday. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde met those injured in the building collapse at the hospital. He had announced Rs 5 lakh assistance each to the kin of the deceased.

CM Shinde has instructed Thane Collector Ashok Shingare and other authorities to immediately carry out a survey of the structures declared 'most dangerous' in the district.

Also, directions have been given to the officials to shift those people occupying in unsafe buildings to safer places as monsoon season is approaching.
Trouble mounted for the Aam Admi Party in Gujarat after the Crime Branch on Monday filed an FIR against party state president Isudan Ghadvi for allegedly misleading people about the expenses incurred on Prime Minister Narendra Modis 'Mann Ki Baat' programme. The PM's monthly radio programme completed 100 episodes on Sunday.

Ghadvi, who unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly elections, had tweeted that the prime minister's one-day message to the nation costs Rs 8.30 crore and went on to add that 100 episodes cost Rs 830 crore.

The Press Information Bureau took to social media to debunk Ghadvi's claim and said Rs 8.3 crore was the total figure of advertisements for 'Mann Ki Baat' so far, not for a single episode. The tweet (by Ghadvi) assumes each episode is supported by ads. Which is false, it added.

The AAP leader later deleted his tweet.

The FIR against Ghadvi filed by the Crime Branch in Ahmedabad, however, drew flak from the AAP with Chaitar Vasava, one of the party's five legislators in Gujarat, claiming that the BJP does not have a reply when it comes to AAPs politics of workbe it in Delhi or Gujarat.

Vasava also said that the party would not bow down and will continue to fight for peoples issues.

Earlier this month, the Crime Branch in Surat had arrested AAP leader Gopal Italia for his alleged comments about BJP state president C.R. Paatil and minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi. He was later released.
BJP national president J P Nadda has released the party's vision document or manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka elections on Monday in Bengaluru.

Nadda was flanked by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa were also present on the occasion.

Targeting households, the BJP promised to provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families annually; one each during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

There is also a provision for the 'Poshana' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with 500 ml litre Nandini milk every day and grains through monthly ration kits.

The manifesto also includes the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee. It also promises to ease of living conditions of apartment dwellers in Bengaluru by constituting the Karnataka Residents Welfare Consultative Committee to reform the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972. This will also cover the grievance redressal mechanism.

Other promises in the manifesto include laboratories in every ward, a film city in Mysore to be named after the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar and Atal Aahaar Kendras to counter Indira Canteen.

Besides, the party also promises to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) if it retains power in this Assembly elections. Besides a plan to develop Karnataka into a hub of electric vehicles, the BJP also aims to develop the capital city of Bengaluru.

BJP national president JP Nadda, who spoke at the event, said the plan was to develop Bengaluru for the next generation by designating it as the 'State Capital Region'.

This will involve executing a comprehensive, technology-led city development programme that is centred around ease of life. Cohesive transportation networks and enabling ecosystems to make Bengaluru a Global Hub of Digital Innovation are also on the cards, he added.

"The manifesto for Karnataka has not been formulated sitting in an AC room, rather a due exercise has been done," said BJP national president JP Nadda. He added that creating the manifesto involved a great amount of toil and perseverance by party workers who visited every corner of the state.

Nadda also took a dig at the Congress manifesto which he said "talks about guarantees, which has got an outdated warranty."

"Our manifesto contains a realistic, achievable promise which will fulfil the aspirations of Karnataka's youth, farmers, women, labours, middle class, SC/ST and all sections of the society," he said, adding that the manifesto is centred around six themes.
Activists, lawyers and women rights bodies on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court decision to do away with the six-month waiting period for divorce through mutual consent under some conditions, saying it will give a chance to women to move on and plan their future.

The apex court held on Monday it has the discretion to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown in exercise of its plenary power under Article 142 (1) of the Constitution and can grant divorce by mutual consent while dispensing with the 6-month waiting period mandated under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma said the decision will help women move ahead in their lives.

"I welcome the decision. If done with mutual consent, it will give a chance to women to move ahead in their lives and plan their future," she told PTI.

Women rights activist and founder of PARI (People Against Rapes in India) Yogita Bhayana said it is a progressive verdict, but the term 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' should be clearly defined.

"Also, how the alimony would be given should be clearly stated," she told PTI.

Lawyer Prabhsahay Kaur said the top court verdict is premised on the principle that no consenting adults should be forced to continue a marriage which has irretrievably broken down.

She said the court has taken a balanced view and clarified that the grant of divorce under such circumstances cannot be done on a regular basis.

"In my view, there are two basic principles on which this judgement is premised --firstly, it is the duty of the court, and particularly, the Supreme Court to do complete justice to the parties, in which endeavour court should not be bogged down by procedural requirements; secondly, no two consenting adults who have had an irretrievable breakdown of marriage should be forced to be in a formal legal relationship, for that causes more misery and acrimony and is against the interest of both parties, Kaur said.

The lawyer called it a welcome move, but said the court has also cautioned against its use regularly and stated that it should be exercised with care and caution, while listing out factors that should be applied.

Advocate Abhishek Prasad said the judgement has reaffirmed the Supreme Court's powers to do complete justice and rightly outweighed the interests of the parties over procedural requirements.

He said the judgement reinforces the idea that delaying the grant of divorce in marriages that cannot be repaired only leads to prolonging the agony of the parties.

"The judgment reinforces the idea that where a marriage has irretrievably broken down, prolonging its dissolution only prolongs the agony of the parties. While the six months waiting period has been made mandatory with a view to explore the possibility of reconciliation, in cases where there is no possibility of reconciliation, this becomes a mere procedural formality, he added.

Prasad said requiring such couples to nonetheless comply with this formality/ technicality is nothing short of injustice.

"The Supreme Court having considered the same and being a court of equity as well as being entrusted with doing complete justice, has rightly outweighed the interests of the parties over procedural requirements. With this landmark judgment, the wide ambit of the powers that the Supreme Court has for imparting justice stands reaffirmed and settled," he said.

Activist Ranjana Kumari said there is no point in wasting time in case of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage".

The judgement is progressive and it is very good for both. In six months, the inspectors who do the counselling do not even understand the issue, she told PTI.

Senior advocate and SCBA president Vikas Singh, however, argued that the matter was already looked into by the Parliament and the same should not have been adjudicated by the court.

"... perhaps twice the Bills were moved in Parliament to amend the Hindu Marriage Act to include the aspect of irretrievable breakdown' of marriage as a ground of divorce and the Parliament rejected it twice. You can give a judgement where you see that there was a grey area which the Parliament did not discuss or thought of. But, here the Parliament thought over the issue and rejected it," he said.

"The irretrievable breakdown of marriage as grounds of divorce has been rejected by Parliament. They are wanting to make it a ground of divorce in the Hindu Marriage Act, but this is not a ground in India. This is under several western jurisdictions as a ground of divorce. According to me, this is not the subject which could have been adjudicated by the court in the judicial pronouncement," Singh added.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S K Kaul on Monday said grant of divorce by the apex court on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a matter of right, but a discretion which is to be exercised with great care and caution, keeping in mind several factors ensuring that complete justice' is done to both parties.

The bench was dealing with questions, including whether the top court can grant divorce in exercise of power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution when there is complete and irretrievable breakdown of marriage in spite of the other spouse opposing the prayer.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that the suspected ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) chief has been killed in Syria in an operation carried out by Turkey's MIT intelligence agency.



This person was neutralized in the operation carried out by MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Organization) yesterday in Syria, Erdogan told Reuters. From now on, we will continue our fight without discrimination against terrorist organizations, he added.

Turkeys National Intelligence Organization had been tracking Abu al-Hussein Al-Qurashi for a long time, Erdogan said. Abu al-Hussein Al-Qurashi was appointed ISIS chief after the group announced the death of its former leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi on November 30.

Erdogan said Turkeys fight against terrorism contributes to Europes security and added, Europe is not aware of this or does not want to be aware of it.

Erdogan had recently been out of the public eye due to illness. Turkish intelligence agents and local military police had on Saturday, sealed off a zone in Jindires, in the northwest region of Afrin, AFP reported.

The US, in April, carried out a helicopter raid in northern Syria, saying ISIS had been planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.
A week into the launch of Operation Kaveri, nearly 3000 Indians have been rescued from the strife-torn African nation of Sudan, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, India, tweeted on Monday morning that Indian Air Force's C-130J flight carrying 16th batch of evacuees left Port Sudan with 122 passengers on board. "Nearly 3000 persons have now left Sudan under Operation Kaveri," the tweet read. He also shared images of senior citizens being evacuated from Sudan on wheelchairs.

Meanwhile, the ninth outbound flight from Jeddah, where India had set up a transit camp for people who left Sudan, left for Kochi on Monday morning. The flight had onboard 186 passengers. Earlier on Sunday, India had evacuated passengers from Jeddah to New Delhi and Bengaluru.

Aid arrives in Sudan

The warring factions of military and the RSF in Sudan has announced extension of ceasefire to 72 more hours. The decision was taken to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid.

However, despite the ceasefire, the clashes continued on both sides over the weekends. Khartoum residents reported hearing artillery fire and explosions on Sunday. There were also reports of fighters ransacking houses.

Amid this, Red Cross aid has arrived in Sudan with an aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landing in the country on Sunday. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the aircraft carried eight tons of emergency medical aid.

Over two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service due to acute shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water, and electricity.

"The supplies, including anaesthetics, dressings, sutures, and other surgical materials, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict," the ICRC said. The aircraft took off earlier in the day from Jordan and safely landed in the city of Port Sudan.

"The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital of Khartoum and other hot spots," said Patrick Youssef, ICRC's regional director for Africa.

Youssef said the agency has been in contact with the top command of both sides to ensure that medical assistance could reach hospitals safely. "With this news today, we are really hoping that this becomes part of a steady coordination mechanism to allow other flights to come in," he said.

Youssef said more medical aid was ready to be flown into Khartoum pending necessary clearances and security guarantees.

(With inputs from PTI)
34 people, including five children, have been injured due to a rocket strike on the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad. The attack appeared to have been targeted at an ammunition depot. The overnight attack damaged 19 high-rise apartment blocks, 25 private houses, six schools and kindergartens and five shops.



Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3.45 am, followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defence systems. The raid alert lasted for about three hours.

Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The head of Kyiv's city administration, Serhii Popko, told AP all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didn't provide further details but said more information would be available later.

This is Russia's second pre-dawn attack in three days involving missiles. Pavlohrad is around 70 miles (110km) from the frontline.

Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk military administration described it as a "tragic night and morning," BBC reported. On Sunday, two civilians died after Ukrainian shells hit the village of Suzemka in Russia's Byransk region. Also, five Russian villages were without power as a result of shelling by Ukraine.





--With PTI inputs
Returning from Hungary, Pope Francis said a secret mission to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine was underway. Pope said he would reveal more about the mission once it is public.

Francis said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.

I'm available to do anything, Francis said on Sunday during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. There's a mission, that's not public, that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it.

Pope said he spoke about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan (bishop) Hilarion, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest. "In these meetings, we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace," Reuters quoted Francis as saying.

Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do all that is humanly possible to reunite families. All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don't help, Francis said.

The Pope had earlier said he would like to visit Kyiv and Moscow on a peace mission.

The International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.

Last week Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Francis at the Vatican and asked him to help return Ukrainian children taken following the Russian invasion.

I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia, Shmyhal told the Foreign Press Association after the audience.

Francis recalled that the Holy See had facilitated some prisoner exchanges, working through embassies, and was open to Ukraine's request to reunite Ukrainian children with their families. The prisoner exchanges went well. I think it could go well also for this. It's important, he said of the family reunifications.

The Holy See is available to do it because it's the right thing, he added. We have to do all that is humanly possible.

(With PTI inputs.)
Bhubaneswar, May 1 (PTI) IT consulting company CSM Tech has signed a multi-million dollar contract with the West African nation of Gabon, a company statement said.

The deal is for the implementation of a timber traceability solution and an electronic timber trade platform for the ministry of Economy and Recovery of the Government of Gabon.

The agreement was signed by Nicole Jeanine LydieRobotyMbou, Minister of Economy and Recovery of Gabon and Priyadarshi Nanu Pany, Founder & CEO of CSM Tech last week, the statement said.

The project was kicked-off recently by the Minister of Waters & Forests of the Government of Gabon, Professor Lee White.

"We are delighted to bag this opportunity and develop this one-stop, seamless digital solution for the Gabon government. This traceability platform will set new benchmarks in the transparent and sustainable timber trade. It will open up access to global markets for Gabons finished wood products," said Priyadarshi Nanu Pany.

He said it will also ease timber trade for domestic and export markets while strengthening the government's oversight over log movement and transactions. This milestone project deal will also throw open digital business opportunities in West Africa and Francophone countries.

The project aims at the digital transformation of existing forest and business operations, ensuring sustainable forest management through digitalization and end-to-end tracking of all administrative and technical activities, it added.
New Delhi (India), April 29: Brustro, a leading provider of art supplies, has announced the launch of its new website to provide customers with a seamless and user-friendly shopping experience at an affordable price. Brustro's product line includes various types of art supplies, including artist-grade paints, sketchbooks, papers, canvases, easels, brushes, pens, markers, pencils, charcoal, and more. This groundbreaking move empowers customers to pursue the full spectrum of the brand's product line replete with mind-blowing offers and discounts.





The website features an extensive product portfolio, including exclusive combos and first access to any new product launched. With a strong reputation for delivering quality and innovation, the website launch is yet another demonstration of the company's steadfast dedication to excellence.



Brustro is owned by Creative Hands Art Materials Pvt. Ltd, a company based in India that came into existence in 2009. With more than 165k followers on Instagram, the brand is executing an average of 1500 orders per day across online marketplaces, with a team size of approximately 50 people. The company has also penetrated the offline market, with products available in 500+ retail stores across India, including Crossword, Starmark, and Reliance.



The brand uses advanced technology and materials to create products that are premium, cruelty-free, and able to deliver excellent results. The brand has a strong presence both online and offline, and its shipment and fulfillment facility can cater to the needs of users and sales partners across India.



Mr. Pankaj Maskara and Shilpa Maskara, the founders of Brustro, are widely recognized in the industry as a power couple, credited with spearheading an innovative transformation in the art supply category in India. Although a chartered accountant by profession, Pankaj was determined to become an entrepreneur from a very early age. Shilpa, who completed her degree in commercial art, joined Pankaj at work, bringing her deep knowledge of art supplies and new product development. Together, they complement each other's strengths and have made the brand "Brustro" their dream project.



In an interview, Mr. Pankaj quoted, I started as an importer for many well-known global art supplies brands, and through that experience, I realized that there was a gap in the market for an affordable brand that could provide quality products at a reasonable price. The options were either cheap, low-quality local supplies or expensive imported products. This is where the idea for Brustro was born. At Brustro, we work closely with artists to understand their needs and develop products that meet their specific requirements. We are passionate about providing Indian artists and hobbyists with a range of new art supplies that are tailored to their needs and applications."



"Our mission at Brustro has always been to provide affordable, high-quality art supplies to the community. And we're proud to say that this mission is still at the forefront of everything we do. As part of our commitment to listening to our customers and understanding their needs, we've launched an interactive campaign called 'We're Listening'. This campaign encourages the art community to share their ideas and suggestions on what they would like to see in their favorite art supply brand. Our ultimate goal is to make Brustro the go-to brand for all artists, students, and hobbyists who value quality, affordability, and innovation." said Mrs. Shilpa.



The launch of Brustro's website is a disruptive move that promises to revolutionize the art material market in India. The brand's commitment to quality, innovation, and affordability is commendable, and the founders' passion for their project is inspiring. The launch of the website will make it easier for users to access the brand's products and offers, and the interactive campaign shows that the brand is listening to its customers' needs. Brustro's journey is a testament to the fact that with hard work, passion, and innovation, anything is possible. For more information, visit www.brustro.in.



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Edtech firm Physics Wallah has rolled out 50 offline centres, which it brands as "Vidyapeeth Centers", with investment of around Rs 82 crore, a senior company official said on Monday.

The company also plans to dole out scholarships worth around Rs 160 crore in the next academic year.

"We have added 50 Vidyapeeth Centres with investment of USD 10 million (Rs 82 crore). We will be leveraging in-house tech innovation and offline solutions to help students achieve their goals.

"Vidyapeeth centers will offer support for more than 15 hours a day, and students will also have the provision to escalate any issue to our head office via the PW app," PW co-founder Prateek Maheshwari told PTI.

Vidyapeeth is a tech-integrated offline classroom comprising 650 smart classrooms.

The edtech unicorn is already running 11 Vidyapeeth centers in various cities across the country.

"Through Vidyapeeth, top-quality education is made accessible to students in remote parts of the country, enabling them to study in their own cities.

"We aim to help parents save money that would have been spent on hostel fees and other living expenses - which is typically twice the amount of academic fees," PW founder Alakh Pandey said.

The Vidyapeeth centers will offer students regular daily practice problems, video quizzes, and homework monitoring, which can be accessed on the parent-student dashboard.

Additionally, PW will upload all lectures on its app after every class.

The company has crossed over 90,000 registration in the current academic year and aims to reach 1.5 lakh during the session for JEE, NEET, foundation exams preparations.

The company in a statement shared that it has provided scholarships worth USD 12 million (about Rs 98 crore) through PW Scholarship and Admission Test (SAT) in the 2023-24 academic year to meritorious students and also those who cannot afford quality offline education.

"The company further aims to give such scholarships worth USD 20 million (about Rs 160 crore) in the next academic year," PW said.
Incheon (South Korea), May 1 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be on a four-day visit to South Korea starting Tuesday to attend Asian Development Bank's annual meeting.

Besides attending the 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here, she will address investors and hold bilateral meetings.

Her packed schedule includes interactions with global economists, governors/finance ministers of the ADB member countries, and bilateral engagements.

According to a release, Sitharaman will also have interactions with global business leaders and investors in roundtables, as well as an engagement with the community diaspora.

During the visit, the finance minister will participate in the annual meeting focal events like the Governors' Business. She will also be on the panel during the ADB Governors' Seminar on 'Policies to Support Asia's Rebound'.

The meetings will be attended by official delegations of ADB members, observers, non-governmental and civil society organisations, media, financial institutions and banks and other private sector companies, the release said.
LOS ANGELES, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of California on Friday passed the Advanced Clean Fleets rule (ACF), a sweeping new regulation setting timelines for trucks to achieve zero emission as part of its on-going commitment to switch to clean energy.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously voted to implement the ACF affecting medium and heavy-duty truck fleets of over 50 vehicles. Under the rule, any new trucks registered or sold in California must be zero-emission by 2036, garbage trucks and local buses be zero-emission by 2039 and all other vehicles covered by the rules be zero-emission by 2042, according to the office of Governor Gavin Newsom.

The measure supported the Golden State's long term mission to go green by abolishing toxic diesel exhaust and eliminating climate-changing greenhouse gases vented in high volumes by tractor-trailers, semi's, long-haulers, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and other mid to large-size vehicles by converting them to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Liane Randolph, chairwoman of the CARB, stated on Friday that decarbonizing the transportation sector was one of the most important actions California could implement to reduce harm from climate-changing pollution.

As national landmark regulation to decarbonize heavy transport vehicles, California's mandate for the first-ever electric or hydrogen truck fleets has prompted many other states in the U.S. to consider similar regulations, such as New York, Washington, Wisconsin and Connecticut.

"The board's approval of the advanced clean fleet regulations will enable New York and other states to adopt those regulations to support the needed transition to zero emission transportation and cleaner, healthier communities," affirmed Jared Snyder, deputy commissioner for air resources, climate change and energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

But not everyone in California is happy about the regulation. California Trucking Association - the state's powerful trucking lobby - expressed outrage and concern about the negative impact the new rules could have, warning that they could cause "chaos and dysfunction" and could "fail spectacularly."

The trucking lobby maintained that electric and hydrogen vehicles were still too expensive for many California residents, and the state's charging station infrastructure was insufficient to support such an increase in the number of electric vehicles.

The American Trucking Associations called the rule "unrealistic," saying "California is setting unrealistic targets and unachievable timelines that will undoubtedly lead to higher prices for the goods and services delivered to the state and fewer options for consumers."

The new regulation could add as many as 510,000 carbon free, medium and heavy-duty vehicles to California's transportation network by 2035, 1.2 million in 2045, and over 1.5 million by 2050, Lora Cecere, the founder of Supply Chain Insights, wrote in a story published by the Forbes early April.

California government is building out EV charging infrastructure throughout the state, installing more than 68,000 charging stations to date, 25,000 of them available to the public.

Analyst for the Public Advocates Office at the California Public Utilities Commission, Yuliya Shmidt, told the CARB that their agency was making substantial investments to update California's grid, including 10 billion U.S. dollars in state funding to rapidly deploy electric vehicles and charging stations. 
London, May 1 (PTI) Popular UK-based Indian-origin actor-writer Meera Syal has been conferred a BAFTA Fellowship, the highest accolade bestowed by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film and/or television.

The 61-year-old, who was born to Punjabi parents and grew up in the West Midlands region of England, was honoured with an MBE and then a CBE by the late Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to drama and literature.

Best known for television shows such as 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars at No. 42', Syal has made her mark as an award-winning actor, screenwriter and novelist over the years.

The fellowship will be presented to her during the BAFTA Television Awards ceremony as part of a special commemoration of her work to-date at the Royal Festival Hall in London on May 14.

She said she is honoured and thrilled with the award, particularly as this years award is twinned with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTAs learning programme.

I hope to engage with many talented practitioners and continue working to make BAFTA a truly representative and celebratory place for all our creatives. And I am grateful for the chance to pay forward the opportunities and experiences I have been lucky enough to have over my career, said Syal.

BAFTA said that as part of the fellowship, Meera will work directly with the arts charity over the coming year to inspire and nurture aspiring creatives through BAFTAs year-round learning, inclusion and talent programmes.

"Meera Syal has made an extraordinary impact on the screen and literary arts. As an actor and writer, she is an exceptional storyteller with enormous range, which means she is loved by peers and the public as much as she is critically acclaimed, said Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA.

Syals work has scored multiple BAFTA nominations and wins, features on school and university syllabuses. She has also received the Women In Film and TV Award for Creative Innovation, honorary doctorates from SOAS, Manchester and Birmingham Universities and was the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University in 2012.

She is known for bringing her distinctive voice to the UKs creative arts across multiple artistic genres over four decades with at least 140 credits. Some of her best-known novels include Anita and Me and Life Isnt All Ha Ha Hee Hee, which were then adapted for the screen.

Besides, she has taken on several acting roles on screen and also in radio dramas.
Uman (Ukraine), Apr 30 (AP) Relatives and friends cried next to coffins on Sunday as they buried children and others killed in a Russian missile attack on this central Ukrainian city, while fighting claimed more lives elsewhere.

Almost all of the 23 victims of the attack on Friday died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in Uman. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said six children were among the dead.

Mykhayl Shulha, 6, cried and hugged relatives next to the coffin of his 11-year-old sister Sofia Shulha during Sunday's funeral, while others paid respects to a 17-year-old boy.

As mourners held candles, crossed themselves and sang, the priest at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Quick to Hear waved a vessel containing incense over the coffins. He said the deaths hit the entire community hard.

I live nearby," said Father Fyodor Botsu. "I personally knew the children, the littlest, from when they were very young, and I personally baptized them in this church. I'm worried with everyone since I have children and I'm a citizen of this country and have been living in this city for 15 years."

He said he prayed "that the war should end and peace should come to our homes, city and country.

At the damaged building in Uman, people brought flowers and photos of the victims.

Russia's 14-month-long war brought more deaths elsewhere Sunday.

The governor of a Russian region bordering Ukraine said four people were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack. The rockets hit homes in the village of Suzemka, nine kilometers (six miles) from the Ukrainian border, said Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz. He said two other residents were injured and that defense systems had knocked down some of the incoming shells.

Bryansk and the neighboring Belgorod region have experienced sporadic cross-border shelling throughout the war. In March, two people were reported killed in what officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs in the Bryansk region.

Also Sunday, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said his Kherson region in Ukraine came under Russian artillery fire 27 times in the past 24 hours, killing one civilian.

An expected spring counteroffensive by Ukraine could be concentrated in the Kherson region, a gateway to Crimea and other Russian-occupied territory in the southern Ukrainian mainland. Ukrainian forces forces drove Russian forces out of the regional capital Kherson last year, a significant defeat for Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy said the counteroffensive wouldn't wait for the delivery of all promised military equipment.

I would have really wanted to wait for everything that was promised," Zelenskyy told Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian journalists. "But it happens that the terms (of weapons deliveries and counteroffensive), unfortunately, do not coincide a little bit. And, I will say frankly, we pay attention to the weather.

Ukraine is particularly hopeful that it will receive Western fighter jets, but Zelenskyy said his forces won't delay the counteroffensive for that, so as not to "reassure Russia that we still have a few months to train on the planes, and only then will we start.

Zelenskyy said he spoke Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron about the weapons supply, and was pleased with its speed and specificity.

Macron's office said he reiterated France's commitment to provide Ukraine all the aid necessary to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and discussed long-term European military aid.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group that is leading his country's battle in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut gave an even more precise timetable for the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Ukrainian military will launch the counteroffensive by May 15 because by then strong rains will have stopped and soil will be dry enough for tanks and artillery to move, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview with a Russian journalist posted Saturday.

In other battlefield developments, Ukraine's northern command said the Sumy and Chernihiv regions, which border Bryansk and Belgorod, came under fire 11 times during the night on Sunday. (AP)



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Perth (Australia), May 1 (The Conversation) A drone drops a small wooden projectile with three spiral tails and a seed mounted on the tip. It gently lands on the bare ground and sits there, exposed to the elements, until it rains.

Then, the moisture penetrates the wood fibres, and the spiral tails start twisting, slowly pushing the seed into the ground, where it will germinate.

The design of this incredible depth-seeking seed carrier, recently published in Nature, was inspired by the self-burying mechanism of a few grass species, such as those of the genus Erodium.

According to the authors, these seed carriers, also known as E-seeds, can be built in various sizes for different species and dropped by aeroplanes or drones to restore degraded ecosystems.

This bio-inspired engineering marvel has received a vast and well-deserved share of attention and praise.

But, from a restoration practitioners point of view, it has logistical issues that can greatly limit its application at scale.



Unproven game-changers

E-seeds are the latest of many technologies presented as restoration game-changers.

Numerous private companies have entered the market with revolutionary devices (mostly drones), claiming to restore ecosystems by planting billions of trees. Yet, to date, there is little evidence of their efficacy.

This fascination with shiny technological gadgets might divert scarce resources from practical, on-the-ground solutions that will seriously affect our ability to restore degraded ecosystems globally.

A vast portion of the worlds ecosystem has been damaged or destroyed due to human activities. Global initiatives, such as the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration and the Bonn Challenge, promote international cooperation to restore 350 million hectares by 2030.

For decades, scientists and practitioners have been working on solutions to support and accelerate the recovery of degraded ecosystems.



Most seeds fail

Often, the first step for initiating the natural recovery of terrestrial ecosystems is to establish native vegetation. Tree planting is a common approach, but it can be expensive on a large scale. Direct seeding is faster and cheaper, but also riskier.

For a start, seeds need to reach the right place in the soil to germinate and grow.

If seeds are scattered (seed broadcasting) on the soil surface by hand, tractor or drone, they can be blown off by the wind or eaten by animals. Even if they germinate, the seedling can dry up and die. As a result, most seeds will not become a plant.

This is why seed penetration in the soil is the key to improving a seeds chance of success. Generally, the bigger a seed is, the deeper it can go. This is often achieved using precision seeders, similar to those used in agriculture. These machines open up the soil, deposit the seed at a precise depth, and cover it.

The E-seed can achieve a similar result, ideally making seed broadcasting as effective as precision seeding.

Unfortunately, this approach presents two problems: scalability and logistics. First, its unlikely that the multi-step process needed to manufacture E-seeds can be scaled to the many billions of seeds across thousands of species we need to restore entire ecosystems.

Second, the tails of the E-seeds could easily get tangled with each other, either clogging the seed delivery mechanism or being released in clumps. The authors solved this problem by dividing the seeding box into compartments containing a single E-seed.

This stopped the seed from clumping but greatly reduced the number of seeds that could be delivered on each drone flight.

This clumping seeds issue is also common when dealing with native species, such as the grasses that inspired the design of the E-seed. A simpler, less technological solution currently used in restoration is to actually remove the tails.

This reduces the seed volume for storage and delivery, and improves the seed flow through seeding equipment. In some cases, the removal of appendages could also improve seed germination.

Such approaches are not as spectacular as E-seeds dropped from drones. Still, in most scenarios, they are the most cost-effective way to reintroduce native vegetation to a degraded site at scale.



Effective, not flamboyant

Ecological restoration is an incredibly complex activity that goes beyond vegetation establishment.

It must consider the complex and dynamic interactions of organisms and their environment, while accounting for social and economic implications for local communities.

Therefore, we must approach ecosystem restoration holistically and not get carried away by the lure of shiny technologies.

Funders with limited appreciation of restorations ecological and practical complexities are keen to embrace and invest in charismatic, yet often unproven technologies.

For example, a start-up focused on drone seeding raised a AUSD 200 million investment, double the amount the Australian federal government has dedicated to the environmental restoration fund over four years.

But science is yet to demonstrate if drone seeding can work at scale to rebuild Australias degraded landscapes and ecosystems.

We should welcome any attempt to improve the success of ecological restoration, and promote the implementation of novel technologies.

But new technologies must prove their worth and practicality. We should focus on the most effective ways to restore native ecosystems, not the most flamboyant. (The Conversation) PY

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Ankara, May 1 (AP) Turkish forces have killed the leader of the Islamic State group during an operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late on Sunday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told TRT Turk television in an interview that the IS leader, code-named Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi, was killed in a strike conducted on Saturday.

Erdogan said the Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, had been following him for a long time.

We will continue our struggle against terrorist organisations without discriminating against any of them, Erdogan said in the interview.

Turkey has conducted numerous operations against IS and Kurdish groups along the Syrian border, capturing or killing suspected militants. The country controls large swaths of territory in northern Syria following a series of land incursions to drive Kurdish groups away from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Abu Hussein al-Qurayshi was named leader of the militant group after its previous chief was killed in October, with an IS spokesman calling him one of the veteran warriors and one of the loyal sons of the Islamic State.

He took over leadership of IS at a time when the extremist group has lost control of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria. However, he had been trying to rise again, with sleeper cells carrying out deadly attacks in both countries.

Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hunted down by US forces in a raid in northwest Syria in October 2019.

His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a similar raid in February 2022. He was followed by Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who according to the US military was killed in mid-October in an operation by Syrian rebels in Syria's southern province of Daraa.

The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida about a decade ago and ended up controlling large parts of northern and eastern Syria as well as northern and western Iraq. In 2014, the extremists declared their so-called caliphate, attracting supporters from around the world.

In the following years, they claimed attacks throughout the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people before coming under attack from different sides. In March 2019, US-backed Syrian fighters captured the last sliver of land the extremists once held in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq. (AP) PY

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London, May 1 (AP) Musician Deronne White is ready to play on King Charles III's coronation day. The flautist and his fellow young musicians aren't playing anything regal or solemn  they're planning to parade through south London's streets entertaining crowds with an uplifting coronation carnival set mixing gospel, jazz, grime, disco and rap. There'll even be a calypso take on the UK national anthem.

While he's excited about the gig, White says he has mixed feelings about the coronation. Like some others at the Brixton Chamber Orchestra, White is a descendant of migrants from Jamaica  a former British colony and Commonwealth member that wants to cut its ties with the monarchy and has called for the UK royals to address their historical ties to slavery.

Personally it's a little bit hard to connect to the whole occasion, he said. I think that the coronation could possibly allow people like me to try and connect to (the monarchy). But it can be a bit tough.

Towns, cities and villages across the UK will be awash with Union flags and patriotic decorations to celebrate Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey this weekend, and officials say the festivities will bring Britain's diverse communities together. But the event is viewed with a large dose of ambivalence by some in the UK, not least those with African-Caribbean backgrounds and other minorities for whom the British Empire's past wrongs still loom large.

While slavery and the heyday of colonialism may be long gone, the royal family has in recent years struggled to grapple with new accusations of institutional racism  most notably from Prince Harry's wife, Meghan.

The Duchess of Sussex, a biracial American actress, reopened the debate about the monarchy and race when she said last year that an unnamed member of the royal household had asked her how dark her baby's skin might be when she was pregnant with her first child, Archie.

Last year, there was outrage when Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity executive, complained that a close aide of Queen Elizabeth II's repeatedly questioned her at a party about where she was really from. Palace officials apologised and the aide, Susan Hussey, resigned.

Charles, 74, has on many occasions spoken about how much he values diversity in modern, multicultural Britain. He has paid tribute to Britain's Windrush generation  the West Indians, like White's great-grandparents, who helped rebuild Britain after World War II. In 2021, Charles won praise for acknowledging the darkest days of our past and the stain of slavery.

More recently, the monarch expressed for the first time his support for research into the links between the UK monarchy and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

I think he's definitely trying  maybe not in the best way or the fastest way, but from what I've seen, it's kind of a step in the right way, said Teigan Hastings, 17.

But Hastings, a British Jamaican who plays the tuba alongside White, said that Meghan's claims about how she was treated by her in-laws opened up a bit of truth within the royal family.

I guess it wasn't totally unexpected, but at the same time you think there'd be some form of acceptance  and there hasn't really been, he said. It's like there's nothing like us normal people can really do about it except hope for change.

The musicians say they hope that their vibrant blend of musical styles will help draw in the crowds, whatever they may think of Charles.

Across the capital in Southall, known as "Little India  the west London neighborhood is home to one of the largest Indian populations outside India  local politician Jasbir Kaur Anand said the area's British Asians also plan to mark the coronation in their own way.

About 6,000 tickets were snapped up for a coronation shindig complete with a huge television screen broadcasting the ceremony, funfair rides and bands playing Jewish, South American and gospel music, Anand said.

She added that she will attend a street party organised by a group of local women that promises to feature lots of Punjabi food, Punjabi dancing and singing.

Anand, whose family moved to Britain from Singapore when the city-state gained independence, said many immigrants of her generation feel gratitude to the UK monarchy for embracing them and giving them the opportunities to settle and prosper.

Gulu Anand, who owns Southall's Brilliant curry house and has cooked for Charles several times over the years when he visited the neighbourhood, is one vocal supporter of Charles.

Charles "actually listens to you, he said, recalling the royal's demeanour when he ate at his restaurant. I think he is the people's king.

But Janpal Basran, who heads local charity Southall Community Alliance, said that many communities in the area are from former colonies and remember what it was like to be ruled by others".

So they look at the monarchy, they remember all of the associated historical baggage, for want of a better word, Basran said. There will be people who will be thinking that the monarchy represents an institution which was repressive, discriminatory and violent. Is this something that we want to be supporting to the future?

Patrick Vernon, a Black activist campaigning for justice for scores of Caribbean migrants who lost their rights as UK citizens because of a legal loophole, said Charles could do so much more to show his subjects that the monarchy takes diversity seriously.

He drew attention to a 2021 investigation by the Guardian newspaper that revealed the royal household is still exempt from equality laws preventing race and sex discrimination.

I think Charles could be in a unique position to start to actually influence that agenda, he said. It's important to demonstrate change, demonstrate that there's a clear marker that we're different, that we're moving towards the 21st century. (AP) PY

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Cairo, May 1 (AP) Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations' top official in the country told The Associated Press on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

The talks would initially focus on establishing a stable and reliable cease-fire monitored by national and international observers, Volker Perthes said. A string of temporary truces over the past week has de-escalated fighting only in some areas, while in others, fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Perthes cautioned that logistics for talks were still being worked out. So far, only the military has announced it is prepared to join negotiations, with no public word from its opponent, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Any talks would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

Around 530 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed since, with another 4,500 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said.

The United States, meanwhile, conducted its first evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. Watched over by US military drones, a group of Americans made the perilous journey by road from the capital, Khartoum, to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

On Monday, a US Navy fast transport ship took 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to Saudi officials.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighbouring city, Omdurman, on Monday, residents said. The two sides announced late on Sunday they would abide by a 72-hour extension of their nominal cease-fire of the past week.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have led a concerted international campaign to get the general to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, the UN envoy Perthes said they are still face daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by the truce.

It's still important to connect both sides and have both sides commit to a cease fire so that it is clear that fighting and taking action and moving forward and trying to gain ground is actually a violation of the ceasefire, he said.

One possibility was to establish a mechanism to monitor a cease-fire that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that has to be negotiated, he said.

Talks on entrenching the cease-fire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former may be easier logistically since it has close ties to both sides.

But even talks in Saudi Arabia has challenges, he said, since each side needs safe passage through territory of the other to reach talks. "That is very difficult in a situation where there is a lack of trust, he said.

The battle between the generals for control has plunged Sudan into chaos.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese fled the fighting, especially in Khartoum and Omdurman. Many headed to the norther borders with Egypt or to Port Sudan. Foreign governments also evacuated their citizens from Sudan.

Many fear the fighting could spiral further, dragging in others in a country where multiple armed groups exist and have fought several civil wars over the past decade.

There is a risk, that if this continues, that in the shadow of this war between two militaries, other forces, tribal forces, political forces are being mobilised and would take sides in an opportunistic way, Perthes said. (AP) PY

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Colombo, May 1 (PTI) President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday invited all Sri Lankan workers to participate in making the cash-strapped island nation a developed country by 2048 when it will celebrate the centenary of independence from Britain.

In a message to mark International Workers Day, he said it is important to recognise the significant role that the working people play in the economic progress of a country.

Wickremesinghe, also the country's finance minister, acknowledged that workers were a driving force behind Sri Lanka's overcoming of challenges and leading the nation forward throughout history.

"Last year, the country endured a severe economic collapse. The workers played a crucial role in patiently and courageously supporting the country as we waited to take the difficult initial steps in stabilising the economy. As we celebrate this years May Day, we should take the opportunity to show the world the pride of the workers of Sri Lanka," he said.

"We invite all the working people of Sri Lanka to join hands as we undertake a new reformist path of building a prosperous Sri Lanka by 2048. We congratulate them on this meaningful International Labour Day where their rights are secured."

The president also said the working people were a social force that could exert a stronger influence on the entire economic process of the country, and the nation must continue to value and support their contributions.

"The government has always worked to secure the rights of the working public. By ensuring their rights and privileges, we hope to create a brighter future where the value of labour is recognised," the president said.

In April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its first-ever debt default in its history as the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 triggered by forex shortages sparked public protests.

Months-long street protests led to the ouster of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in mid-July. Rajapaksa had started the IMF negotiations after refusing to tap the global lender for support.

In March this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 3 billion bailout programme to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners, a move welcomed by Colombo as a "historic milestone" in the critical period.

Wickremesinghe, in a recent address to Parliament, said that having obtained the USD 3 billion facility from the IMF, Sri Lanka is currently negotiating debt restructuring with bilateral and multilateral creditors.

Sri Lanka has introduced painful economic measures such as tax hikes and utility rate hikes to unlock the programme. Trade unions and opposition groups have organised protests against such measures.

The programme will allow Sri Lanka to access financing of up to USD 7 billion from the IMF, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and multilateral organisations.
Colombo, May 1 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday said he is keen on settling the ethnic conflict with the minority Tamil community by the end of this year as he emphasised that the cash-strapped country could only move forward with the IMF bailout if this long-pending issue is resolved.

Wickremesinghe, in his message to mark International Workers Day, said that he expects to reach an agreement by the end of this year to solve the countrys long-drawn ethnic conflict with the help of the governments commitment to policies that benefit all communities in Sri Lanka.

The country could only move forward with the IMF programme if two conditions are fulfilled. One is that we must resolve the ethnic conflict. We are continuing our talks on this."

"I hope to be able to come to some agreement by this year-end. We should not undermine any community. We must move forward protecting the Sinhala majority, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and other minority groups. We must be dedicated to achieving that, Wickremesinghe stressed.

The island nation has witnessed a three-decade-long brutal war with Lankan Tamils in the North and East, which claimed at least 100,000 lives.

Wickremesinghe, who took over as the president last year amidst the unprecedented economic crisis and political turmoil, earlier, underlined the need to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to grant political autonomy to the minority Tamils in the country.

We have created economic stability. No food shortages now. Democracy is being practised in the country. Parliament meets without threats. All are free to carry out their work without any hindrance," the president was quoted as saying in an official press release.

In March the IMF agreed to release a 2.9 billion dollar economic bailout over 4 years, because of which the country was able to move forward, Wickremesinghe, also the country's finance minister, said.

"Our next task is to implement the agreement reached with the IMF. We will make the necessary legislation and restore normalcy to the economy by 2024," it said. Wickremesinghe stressed that Sri Lanka must try to achieve 6-7 per cent GDP growth.

The youth have stressed a change in the economic system. We must listen to them, Wickremesinghe said referring to the second condition to implement IMF bailout programme.

The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13A which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

Wickremesinghe's effort to initiate talks with the minority Tamil political groups in order to achieve reconciliation by February 4 - the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence did not meet success as the country was grappling with the economic crisis.

Several all-party meets held between December last year and January this year also didnt reach a conclusion.

Although provincial councils were formed and elections were held since 1988 the Tamils say full powers to the councils have not been devolved by the centre.

Earlier, the Sinhala majority bitterly opposed 13A claiming it would lead to the separation of Tamil regions to form their own state.

Sinhalese, mostly Buddhist, make up nearly 75 per cent of Sri Lanka's 22 million population while Tamils make up 15 per cent.
Beijing, May 1 (PTI) China has maintained its stance on the UN Security Council reforms, saying there should be more representation for developing countries, especially the small and medium countries, but avoided a direct response to India and other countries' call for its expansion and their inclusion.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee met Tareq M A M Albanai and Alexander Marschik, co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UNSC reforms, in Beijing on Saturday and outlined Chinas stand on the reorganisation of the top organ of the world body.

China is one of the five veto-wielding members of the 15-member UNSC along with France, Russia, the UK and the US.

The remaining 10 members are elected as non-permanent members for two-year terms and do not have veto powers.

India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member of the United Nations.

In his interactions with the IGN representatives, Wang said in the reform of the Security Council, efforts should be made to uphold fairness and justice, increase the representation and voice of developing countries, give more small and medium-sized countries the opportunity to participate in decision-making and correct historical injustices against Africa in particular.

It is hoped that the co-chairs will guide all parties to remove disturbances and build consensus so that the reform process of the Security Council will be widely recognised by the international community and the results will stand the test of history, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

On April 25, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj while speaking at the UNSC said India is right in demanding a major course correction of the UNs top body when the world's largest democracy is kept out of the global decision-making.

Kamboj questioned whether the international community can practise multilateralism effectively in the 21st century through a body that celebrates the principle to the victor belong the spoils privileged more than three generations ago.

How much longer will we keep decorating effective multilateralism with the intent of reforming multilateralism with only words and mere lip service? she asked.

China has been maintaining a vague stand on the UNSC reforms over the years without making any concrete proposals.

The G-4 countries -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- are supporting each other's bids for permanent seats on the 15-member UNSC

On calls for broad-basing the UNSC by including India, China in the past called for a packaged solution with a broad consensus.

India's bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC has received broad support from the US, the UK, France and Russia.
Taipei (Taiwan), May 1 (AP) Taiwan's president told visiting ex-US national security adviser John Bolton on Monday that her country is willing to deepen cooperation with the US and "other like-minded partners to safeguard peace, as the self-governed island faces increasing military threats from China.

President Tsai Ing-wen also expressed hopes to Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, for more military and security exchanges and economic cooperation between the two sides, her office said in a statement.

Bolton began his weeklong visit to Taiwan last Wednesday and has called for deeper interaction between the two sides' national security teams. His visit reflects the importance of the democratic island as an issue in the US presidential election amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Later Monday, Tsai said at a separate event that China's military exercises have affected the stability and peace of the Indo-Pacific region.

But we will stay calm and firmly safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, she said.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the Communist Party in control of the mainland. The island has never been part of the People's Republic of China, but Beijing says it must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The US remains Taiwan's closest military and political ally despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between them. US law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, though it remains ambiguous over whether American forces would be dispatched to help defend it.

Last Friday, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry said China's military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan.

That was the most since a large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off Taiwan in response to an April 5 meeting between Tsai and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China opposes any meetings between officials of Taiwan and other governments. (AP)



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Mexico City: In a recent indictment, prosecutors claimed that while Sinaloa cartel leader Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzman was serving a life sentence, his sons directed the family business towards fentanyl, setting up a network of labs that produced massive amounts of the cheap, lethal drug that they smuggled into the U.S.

Although the focus of Guzman's trial was on cocaine shipments, the case against his sons sheds light on the inner workings of a cartel that was transitioning from one generation to the next as it sought "to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price," according to the indictment unsealed on April 14 in Manhattan.

More Americans die from synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, each year than from the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. This has led some politicians to argue that the cartels should be classified as terrorist organisations and has led to previously unthinkable calls for U.S. military intervention in Mexico.

Also Read: Pope expresses willingness to return Native American artefacts and loot

It's necessary to reframe the fentanyl problem, as some State Department employees informed me. Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico who passed away on Friday, said: "It's not a drug problem; it's a poisoning problem. "Very few people go out looking for fentanyl on purpose."

With aggressive overprescribing of the synthetic opioid oxycodone more than 20 years ago, the foundation for the U.S. fentanyl epidemic was laid. Users switched to heroin as U.S. authorities cracked down on its prescription, which the Sinaloa cartel gladly supplied.

But producing its own fentanyl, which is much more powerful and useful than heroin, in tiny, covert labs was a game-changer. In less than ten years, the cartel expanded from its first improvised fentanyl lab to a network of labs centred in the northern state of Sinaloa.

According to Mike Vigil, a former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "These are not super labs, because they give people the impression that they're like pharmaceutical labs, you know, very sophisticated." They use wooden paddles, even shovels, to mix the chemicals in these simple metal tubs.

To trick Americans into thinking they are taking Xanax, Percocet, or oxycodone, a single cartel "cook" can press fentanyl into 100,000 fake pills every day. The indictment claimed that the pills are smuggled across the border to supply the "streets of junkies," as described by the defendant's son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar.

Because fentanyl is so inexpensive to produce, the cartel allegedly makes enormous profits even when selling the drug wholesale for just 50 cents per pill.

The drug is particularly dangerous due to its potency. Because the narcotic dose of fentanyl is so close to the lethal dose, a pill designed to give a habitual user a high can easily kill a less experienced person taking something they didn't know was fentanyl.

Also Read: Russian first lady's personal stylist passes away at age 85

More than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses between August 2021 and August of the previous year, the majority from synthetic opioids. According to the New York indictment, the DEA seized more than 57 million fake prescription pills last year that contained fentanyl.

The "Chapitos," as the sons are known, have resorted to grotesque violence in order to defend and grow that business.

Of the 23 associates charged in the New York indictment, enforcers Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are the main defendants. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, also known as "the Mouse," is accused in another indictment in the same district of pushing the cartel towards fentanyl. He was detained in Mexico in January, and the United States has asked for his extradition. The Northern District of Illinois has filed charges against Joaqun Guzman Lopez.

The Guzman Salazar indictment claims that while the cartel performs some lab testing on its goods, it performs more gruesome human tests on rivals who have been kidnapped or addicts who have been injected until they pass out.

Purity of the cartel's fentanyl "varies greatly depending on the method and skill of the particular manufacturer," according to prosecutors. One batch was still shipped to the United States despite a user overdosing on it.

The Sinaloa cartel was controlled to some extent by the elder Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. But because Zambada was thought to be ill and Guzman was serving a life sentence, the Chapitos moved swiftly to prevent a power vacuum that might split the cartel.

"What really was a unique advantage of the Sinaloa cartel and El Chapo was the ability to calibrate violence," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Strobe Talbott Centre for Security, Strategy, and Technology.

The extensive New York indictment against the Guzman Salazar brothers describes their propensity for feeding adversaries to their pet tigers as well as how they tortured two Mexican federal agents, one of whom they shot after ripping through his muscles with a corkscrew and stuffing chile peppers into the holes left behind.

The indictment also provides background information on some recent Mexican violence.

Across from El Paso, Texas, in August 2022, Ciudad Juarez was attacked by gunmen. Nine city residents and two prisoners were killed. According to U.S. prosecutors, the Chapitos' security division directed their local gang allies to carry out the violence, which was directed at a rival cartel's commercial targets.

This Sinaloa cartel is not their father's, according to Felbab-Brown. Simply put, "These guys think very differently than their father does."

The Guzman Salazar indictment makes an initial effort to break up the cartel's supply chain by naming four people connected to a Chinese chemical company and a Guatemalan broker who is accused of assisting the cartel in obtaining the chemicals and even advising them on the best fentanyl recipes.

"Unless you get the finished product or the precursor chemicals, when they talk about labs and you're trying to focus in on labs, that's not going to have an impact," Vigil said.

The government of Mexico has stumbled due to conflicting messages from its security forces, who have highlighted the closure of labs while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has claimed that fentanyl is not produced in Mexico.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was questioned by lawmakers on Thursday about Mexico and China's level of cooperation with the United States.

Also Read: Brazilian police are looking into a fatal shooting on an Indigenous land

Milgram stated that the DEA would not be hesitant to pursue public officials in Mexico or elsewhere should it find evidence of ties to the cartels. "We want the Mexicans to work with us and we want them to do more," Milgram added.

According to experts, Lopez Obrador is one barrier to reducing the production of fentanyl by the cartels. Lopez Obrador reacted angrily when U.S. prosecutors revealed the coordinated effort against the Sinaloa cartel. Accusing the American government of "spying" and "interference," the president claimed that information gathered by American agents in Mexico had been used to build the case.

According to experts, the president had already drastically reduced Mexico's cooperation with the DEA.

The fundamental issue, according to Hope, the security analyst, is that Lopez Obrador doesn't seem to comprehend the danger posed by fentanyl. The president bemoans the decline in family values in America and portrays addiction as a moral failing.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI) A man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a male doctor and abusing a female attendant in the radiology department of the civic-run Bhabha Hospital in Mumbai, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when Shahid Rashid Sheikh had come to the hospital along with his wife for sonography. The on-duty attendant warned him against jumping the queue and asked him to wait for his turn. However, Sheikh became aggressive and threatened the attendant with dire consequences, an official said.

When the doctor tried to intervene, Sheikh slapped him and also hit him on his hands. As he tried to flee, security guards overpowered him.

He is arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 332 (causing hurt to an on-duty public servant), and 353 (assault on public servant), the official added.
Aurangabad, May 1 (PTI) Nearly 24.86 lakh hectares of land in Marathwada will come under soybean cultivation in the upcoming Kharif season, an official said on Monday.

As per the Maharashtra agriculture department's estimates, soybean may be cultivated on 24.86 lakh hectares, which comes to 49 per cent land, in Marathwada, he said.

The above estimate was presented by officials during the recent review meeting for the upcoming Kharif season chaired by state Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar in Aurangabad.

Cotton, soyabean, tur dal and corn may be preferred in Marathwada in the upcoming Kharif season, he said.

The proposed area under soybean cultivation is 24.86 lac hectares, followed by cotton (13.91 lakh hectares), tur dal (4.44 lakh hectares) and corn (2.31 lakh hectares), the data stated

Mahabeej company will provide 67,000 quintals of seeds, while private companies will provide 4.50 lakh quintals and farmers have 24 lakh quintals to meet the need, it was stated.

The state has made available 7.17 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers and it will also have a buffer stock to meet the requirement, it said.
Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS.











BOM2 MH-BUILDING COLLAPSE-TOLL

* Maha building collapse: 2 more bodies recovered, toll rises to 8



Thane: Two more bodies were recovered on Monday from the debris of a two-storey building which collapsed in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra's Thane district, raising the death toll to eight, officials said. *











BOM7 CG-SAI-LD CONGRESS

* Chhattisgarh: Tribal leader Nand Sai joins Congress after quitting BJP





Raipur: A day after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), veteran tribal leader Nand Kumar Sai on Monday joined the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh where the Assembly polls due this year-end. *











BOM10 GJ-MANN KI BAAT-AAP LEADER

* Case against AAP Gujarat chief for claiming Rs 830 cr spent on 'Mann Ki Baat'



Ahmedabad: Police have registered a case against Aam Aadmi Party's Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi for allegedly claiming through a tweet that the Centre has so far spent Rs 830 crore of the taxpayers' money on 100 episodes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme, an official said on Monday. *





BOM9 MH-RAHMAN-CONCERT

* Police stop A R Rahman's Pune concert citing 10 pm deadline



Pune: Police stopped a concert of Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman in Maharashtra's Pune city as it went on after the 10 pm deadline, an official said on Monday. *











BOM4 MH-MAHARASHTRA DAY

* Tributes paid to martyrs on Maharashtra Day



Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday paid tributes to martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the states formation. *











BOM8 GJ-FOUNDATION DAY

* CM Patel greets people on Gujarat Foundation Day; skips official function



Ahmedabad: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel extended good wishes to people on the occasion of the Gujarat Foundation Day on Monday, but could not attend the state-level programme in Jamnagar due to his son's ill health. *









BOM6 MH-NCB-DRUGS-SEIZURE

* Mumbai NCB busts inter-state drug racket, mephedrone worth Rs 4.5 cr seized



Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai zonal unit has busted an inter-state drug syndicate and seized mephedrone worth Rs 4.5 crore from neighbouring Thane district in Maharashtra, an NCB official on Monday. *









BOM1 MH-FIRE-SHOPS

* Fire, explosion at 3 shops in Pune; 2 persons injured



Pune: Two persons were injured after a fire broke out and caused explosions at three shops located in a two-storey building in Maharashtra's Pune city in the wee hours of Monday, fire officials said. *









BOM3 DD-FIRE-FACTORY

* 3 injured in fire at yarn manufacturing factory in Daman



Daman: Three workers were injured after a fire broke out at a polyester yarn manufacturing unit in Daman Union Territory, a fire official said Monday. *







BES7 MP-WOMEN-SCHEME

* More than 1.25 crore women register for MP govt's 'Ladli Behna' scheme



Bhopal: More than 1.25 crore women have registered themselves for benefits under the Madhya Pradesh government's flagship 'Ladli Behna' scheme, an official said on Monday. *
Ahmedabad, May 1 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Monday allowed medical termination of a 26-week pregnancy of a 23-year-old woman, a rape survivor with "sub-normal intelligence" and 70 per cent permanent physical disability.

The court of Justice Samir Dave took into account a report of the medical superintendent of a Surat hospital along with opinion of a panel of four doctors while allowing the woman to undergo medical termination of her 26-week (6 months) pregnancy at the earliest with due care and precautions.

The panel of doctors opined that continuation of pregnancy may affect the woman's mental and physical health and hence it is feasible to abort the foetus.

The woman, a rape survivor, had petitioned the HC through a lawyer seeking permission for medical termination of her pregnancy.

The court said it would be "just, legal and appropriate" to order termination of pregnancy of the petitioner after considering the medical evidence on record as well as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021 and guidelines framed by the Indian Medical Association.

"Of course, a direction regarding medical termination of pregnancy depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case. In this case, the documentary evidence on record in the form of certificate for the Persons with Disabilities dated January 7, 2023, issued by New Civil Hospital, Surat suggests the petitioner is a case of Hemiplegia (a medical condition characterised by paralysis of muscles) having permanent physical disability in excess of 70 per cent for the body," the court said in its order.

The panel of doctors, in a report dated April 29, 2023, categorically opined that the patient is having "subnormal intelligence" and that "the continuation of pregnancy may affect her mental and physical health and it is feasible to undertake her medical termination of pregnancy," it observed.
Aizawl, May 1 (PTI) The Mizoram Congress on Monday said it has accepted the resignation of senior MLA Zodintluanga Ralte as the treasurer of the partys state unit.

Ralte, who is also the Congress Legislature Party leader, resigned as the state treasurer on April 21, saying he was dissatisfied with the functioning of state party president Lalsawta.

His resignation came ahead of the state assembly polls which are due later this year.

Lalsawta told reporters here that Ralte's resignation has been accepted by the state party authorities after he discussed the matter personally with him on Sunday.

"As per the advice of senior party leaders, Ralte and I discussed the matter face-to-face in a friendly atmosphere on Sunday evening. We decided that Ralte's resignation will be accepted as per his wish to strengthen the Congress," Lalsawta said.

He said that the party leadership would appoint a suitable person to replace Ralte as the party treasurer.

Lalsawta said that the resignation of Ralte ahead of the state assembly polls has shocked the party workers.

Ralte, who was also present at the press conference, said that he resigned as the treasurer because he thought it was necessary for the betterment of the party.

The 60-year-old leader asserted that he would continue to remain in the Congress.

In his resignation letter, Ralte alleged that Lalsawta had failed in collective leadership and took unilateral decisions on several major issues against the party's constitution and principles.

He had claimed that he was not consulted before taking several decisions though he was the treasurer.

Ralte also accused the president of undermining several committees, which are the foundation of the Congress.

He has served the state Congress in various capacities before becoming the party treasurer in 2019.

A four-time MLA since 2003, Ralte was a cabinet minister in the erstwhile Lal Thanhawla-led Congress government between 2008 and 2018.
Kolkata, May 1 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Eastern Region at 5 pm.



CAL 9 WB-KALIAGANJ-CID PROBE

Bengal CID takes over probe into death of man in 'police firing' at Kaliaganj

Kolkata: The West Bengal CID on Monday took over the probe into the "killing" of a man in alleged "police firing" during a raid last week in Uttar Dinajpurs Kaliaganj, which was rocked by violence over a teenage girl's death, an officer said.



CAL 8 WB-ABHISHEK-MANN KI BAAT-MGNREGA

PM conducting 100th episode of 'Mann ki Baat', while Centre depriving Bengal of MGNREGA funds: Abhishek

Karandighi: Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast and said while its 100th episode was heralded with great fanfare, the poor masses of Bengal were deprived of Central funds under the 100-day MGNREGA scheme.



CAL 7 OD-OBC-LD SURVEY

Odisha starts OBC survey

Bhubaneswar: The much-awaited survey of the other backward classes (OBCs) started across Odisha on Monday, an official said.



CAL 5 BH-RURAL JOB CARDS-CANCELLATION

Over 1.23 cr inactive job cards under MGNREGS cancelled in Bihar: Minister

Patna: The Bihar government has cancelled more than 1.2 crore inactive job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the last one year, a minister said on Monday.



CAL 4 ZSI-DISCOVERIES-SPECIES

ZSI team discovers 2 new spider species in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Kolkata: Researchers of Zoological Survey of India have discovered two new species of jumping spiders from southern India, a statement issued by the surveyor said on Monday.



CAL 3 AN-MUNDA-GREAT NICOBAR-PROJECT

Utmost precaution will be taken while executing Great Nicobar Island project: Munda

Port Blair: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said "utmost precautions" will be taken while executing the "holistic development of Great Nicobar Island" which includes an international container trans-shipment terminal, airport, power plant and a green-field township in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has decided to extend the deadline for the Smart Cities Mission till June 2024, following requests from some cities that sought more time to complete their ongoing projects, officials said on Monday.

The existing deadline of the Mission was June 2023.

An official said that it would be inequitable to grant an extension merely to "a selected subset of cities".

"The extension is being granted not only to complete projects but to complete documentation, dissemination, institutionalisation of all best practices, templates, innovations created under the Mission so that they can be taken up for replication across the country," the official told PTI.

The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on June 25, 2015 and 100 cities were selected for redevelopment through two-stage competition from January 2016 to June 2018.

The official said that on-ground project execution began at least 18 months post city selection.

"The Mission deadline was fixed as June 2023 to enable all cities to get five years for completing Mission activities. The current extension of one year from June 2023 to June 2024 is only the first extension beyond the five-year period," the official said.

According to the ministry, the one-year extension will ensure 100 per cent works under the SCM get completed in all 100 smart cities. The budget allocated to the Mission in 2023-24 is sufficient for the purpose, the officials said.

"Considering the tremendous impact of the SCM on ease of living for citizens and ease of doing business for businesses, the ministry has decided to extend the Smart Cities Mission by one year, from its current deadline of June 2023 till June 2024," the official said.

According to the officials, out of 100 cities, around 50 have completed close to 75 per cent of their projects and are on track to complete remaining works by June 2023.

Over 66 per cent projects in small cities, and over 80 per cent projects in the metros have been completed.

"This pace amounts to completion of an average of 100 projects worth around Rs 1,850 crore every month; three+ projects worth Rs 60+ crore every day, equivalent of completing around six kms of two-lane highways every day," the official said, adding that in most cities, the amount of infrastructure spending as part of the Mission is much higher than their regular budgetary spends.

As many as 232 public-private partnership projects worth Rs 15,006 crore have been taken up across 53 smart cities  both small and big.

These projects are multi-sectoral and include infrastructure like multi-modal transport hubs, common mobility cards, multi-level car parking and public bike sharing.

"The Smart Cities Mission is thus creating templates to boost PPP investments in India's urban sector going forward," the official added.

The ministry said that the government has released around Rs 38,000 crore to 100 cities. Combining this with state and urban local bodies releases, the cumulative amount of funds released to cities stands at Rs 71,000 crore.

"The pace of Mission implementation can be gauged from the fact that around 90 per cent of these funds have been utilised. An amount of Rs 8,000 crore, budgeted in FY 2023-24, is sufficient to meet the needs of ongoing projects," the official said.

India's current urban population of around 46 crore is projected to double in the next 25 years.

According to the ministry, it is estimated that close to Rs 500 lakh crore of investments in India's cities and towns will be needed to support this rapid urbanization, a multiplier of 166 times over 25 years (taking current annual urban investments of Rs 3 lakh crore).
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Monday greeted citizens, especially the residents of Gujarat and Maharashtra, on the formation day of the two states.

"On Gujarat Day, I extend my heartiest greetings to all the countrymen, especially to all the residents of the state. The land of Gujarat is the land of great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.

"The enterprising and progressive people here have contributed significantly to the development of the country. I wish that Gujarat continues to move forward on the path of progress and the happiness and prosperity of the residents of the state grow," she said in a tweet in Hindi and Gujarati.

In another tweet, she conveyed her greetings to people Maharashtra's foundation day.

"This land of saints, brave fighters, artists and people who left an indelible mark of their talent and contribution in other fields has been the birthplace and workplace of personalities like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. I wish the continued progress of the state as well as a bright future for all Maharashtrians," Murmu said in a tweet in Hindi and Marathi.

Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed on this day in 1960 following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Bombay on linguistic grounds.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Two frontline warships of the Indian Navy arrived in Singapore on Monday to participate in the inaugural edition of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, officials said.

The harbour phase of the exercise is scheduled to be held at the Changi Naval Base from May 2 to 4, while the sea phase will be conducted from May 7 to 8 in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea has been witnessing major military assertiveness by China in the last few years.

The two Indian naval ships that arrived in Singapore are INS Satpura and INS Delhi.

The ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2023) will provide an opportunity to the Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work closely with each other and conduct seamless operations in the maritime domain, the defence ministry said.

INS Delhi is India's first indigenously-built guided missile destroyer, while INS Satpura is an indigenously-built guided missile stealth frigate.

Both the ships are part of the navy's Eastern Fleet based in Visakhapatnam.

The ships are fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors.

The ships, during their port call at Singapore, will also participate in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX-23) and the International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) being hosted by Singapore, the ministry said in a statement.
Manila: The "very important alliance" between Manila and Washington must be strengthened, according to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who stated on Sunday that his upcoming meeting with US President Joe Biden is crucial to advancing his nation's interests.

Following a number of high-level engagements in the previous year, including his meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September and the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to the Philippines in November, Marcos left Manila on Sunday for the first state visit of a Philippine leader to Washington in almost ten years.

In order to advance our national interests and strengthen that very thing, Marcos said that his visit to the United Statesand, in particular, his meeting with President Joe Bidenwas crucial.

Also Read: Pilots who planned to smuggle people into the UK are now behind bars

His trip coincides with rising geopolitical unrest over Taiwan's independence and worries about China's behaviour in the contentious South China Sea. Additionally, it coincides with stronger defence ties between the US and the Philippines, as evidenced by their largest-ever joint military exercises in April and a recent increase in US access to Philippine bases.

In his speech, Marcos emphasised his desire to deepen Philippine-US ties "in a wide range of areas that not only address concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests," citing topics like food security, climate change, cybersecurity, and economic resilience.

According to Marcos, the Philippines would reiterate their "commitment to fostering our long-standing alliances as an instrument of peace and as a catalyst of development in the Asia Pacific region," while also advocating "for greater economic engagement" with the US.

Also Read: Australian who spit on Indonesian imam could spend more than a year in prison

The Philippines' relations with the US are only now improving after years under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who distanced Manila from Washington in favour of Beijing. Despite the fact that the Filipino leader has been working to improve relations with both China and the US.

According to Stephen Cutler, a former FBI legal attache in Manila, "he's taking time out and I think... the optics of that are just massive, especially considering the last administration." "So, I believe this will work out well."

In addition to their defence ties, Cutler said that Marcos' visit provides an opportunity to discuss other issues in Philippine-US relations.

"The Philippines' relationship with the United States and its problems go far beyond just military security.

One of the things the president's visit will enable him to do, in my opinion, is forge strong ties with US companies that have the potential to create jobs in that industry here in the Philippines.

Also Read: NHS doctors stuck in Sudan claim the UK isn't providing enough assistance

According to national surveys, one of Filipinos' top concerns is the creation of jobs. "We are all counting on the president's trip to pave the way for additional American direct investment inflows that we need to support our economic recovery and create new employment," said Marcelino Libanan, minority leader in the Philippine House of Representatives.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Delhi government on Monday announced the extension of its free sewer connection scheme, saying it will help reduce pollution in the Yamuna river.

Water minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said the city government will provide free sewer connections in the unauthorised colonies of Sangam Vihar and Ghalibpur and Rs 7 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.

He said the Arvind Kejriwal government has connected 527 new unauthorised colonies to the sewer network since coming to power eight years ago, expanding the sewer network by 2,371 kilometres.

This new initiative will further strengthen the government's commitment to improve the living conditions of the people in Delhi, Bhardwaj said.

Untapped wastewater from unauthorised colonies and jhuggi-jhopri clusters, and poor quality of treated wastewater discharged from sewage treatment plants and common effluent treatment plants is the main reason behind high levels of pollution in the Yamuna.

Twenty-two drains carrying domestic wastewater and industrial effluent fall into the Yamuna between Wazirabad and Okhla. Though the 22-km stretch is less than two per cent of the river length, it accounts for about 80 per cent of the pollution in the river.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Rs 400 crore sanctioned by the Arvind Kejriwal government to the MCD schools will address their various issues and greatly help in bringing improvements to the municipal schools, Delhi government officials said on Monday.

Nine lakh children studying in MCD schools will "receive an excellent education after this step", they added.

"The Kejriwal government has sanctioned the release of Rs 400 crore for the development of MCD schools, to make MCD schools world-class. The funds allocated by the Kejriwal government for MCD schools will greatly help in bringing improvement in municipal schools," the government said in a statement.

Education Minister Atishi announced the provision of the said funds in April.

While making the announcement of the fund, Atishi said, "Ever since the Kejriwal government came to power, education has always been its priority. Every year, it is ensured that a major part of the budget is allocated to the education sector."

The education system of Delhi has been facing a crisis because government schools that provide education from Class 1-5 come under the MCD.

She added that after Delhi government schools, now it is the commitment of the Kejriwal government to make MCD schools world-class on the same lines.

The Kejriwal government has allocated Rs 1,700 crore as a grant-in-aid for the development of MCD schools. This amount will support MCD in ensuring better infrastructure and facilities at MCD schools and timely disbursement of salaries to the staff.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said alternative arrangements should be made for the residents of Tughlakabad whose houses are being demolished.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has gone to the court for demolishing the houses of those living around Tughlakabad.

The Delhi government's lawyers have told the court that the ASI failed to protect its land for a long time, Bharadwaj said.

"All these oversights and carelessness are the fault of the ASI of the central government, which permitted the land mafia to sell the land by cutting it. Now, the ASI has woken up after years and is demolishing the houses and rendering thousands of people homeless.

"After hearing this, the Delhi government was given some time by the court. But a few days ago, the matter came up again in the Delhi High Court and the court, accepting the views of the Centre, ordered the demolition of these houses," he said.

Bharadwaj said the matter was mentioned in the Supreme Court by the Mazdoor Awas Samiti. Delhi government's lawyer Shadan Farasat told the bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna that the elected government of the city believes that thousands of people started living in the area due to the Centre's negligence and the connivance of its officers and now, if their houses are destroyed, thousands of people will be homeless.

"This is the land of the ASI. The court should pay attention to the fact that the ASI or the DDA should provide the land to the Delhi government so that the latter can come up with a rehabilitation plan and make alternative arrangements for these people," Bharadwaj said.

Noting that the Supreme Court has not given any stay in the matter, he said the case will be heard by the court on Tuesday.

"The Delhi government will say the same thing before the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it is easy for the Centre to destroy the houses of these people, but the task of rehabilitating them is huge. We want that instead of taking action against innocent people, action should be taken against those officials whose negligence led to the encroachment of the land and those who earned crores of rupees," he said.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Supreme Court held on Monday it has the discretion of exercising the plenary power it commands under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage on the ground of "irretrievable breakdown", and the authority to dispense with the 6-month waiting period mandated under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 while granting divorce with mutual consent.

The apex court made it clear that contesting parties cannot directly approach it and seek dissolution of marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown by filing a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Article 32 gives Indian citizens the right to seek constitutional remedy from the Supreme Court if they have been deprived of their fundamental rights.

Article 142 of the Constitution deals with enforcement of decrees and orders of the apex court to do "complete justice" in any matter pending before it. As per Article 142(1), a decree passed or an order made by the apex court is executable throughout the territory of India.

Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act deals with divorce by mutual consent and sub-section (2) to this provision provides, after the first motion has been passed, the parties would have to move the court with the second motion, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meanwhile, after six months and not later than 18 months of the first motion.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said Article 142(1) of the Constitution, which gives wide and capacious power to the apex court to do complete justice should be exercised in a legitimate manner and with caution, as its verdict ends the litigation between parties.

It said grant of divorce by the apex court on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a matter of right, but a discretion which is to be exercised with great care and caution, keeping in mind several factors ensuring that complete justice is done to both parties.

The bench was dealing with questions, including whether the top court can grant divorce in exercise of power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution when there is complete and irretrievable breakdown of marriage in spite of the other spouse opposing the prayer.

This question is also answered in the affirmative, inter alia, holding that this court, in exercise of power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India, has the discretion to dissolve the marriage on the ground of its irretrievable breakdown, said the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, A S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari.

This discretionary power is to be exercised to do complete justice to the parties, wherein this court is satisfied that the facts established show that the marriage has completely failed and there is no possibility that the parties will cohabit together, and continuation of the formal legal relationship is unjustified, it said.

Commenting on the verdict, senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh said he is against the judgement and the reason is that perhaps twice the Bills were moved in Parliament to amend the Hindu Marriage Act to include the aspect of irretrievable background of marriage as a ground of divorce and Parliament rejected it twice.

Hence, according to me, this was purely a subject which was considered by Parliament, he said, adding, You can give judgement where you see that there was a grey area where Parliament did not discuss or thought of. But, here Parliament thought over the issue and rejected it.

Singh said irretrievable breakdown of marriage as grounds of divorce has been rejected by Parliament and, according to him, this is not the subject which could have been adjudicated by the court in the judicial pronouncement.

In such a situation where Parliament has already looked into a particular subject and felt that it is not necessary to amend the law then to still do the very same thing by a judicial order, according to me, is not appropriate, Singh said.

In its 61-page verdict, answering the question about the scope and ambit of power and jurisdiction of the apex court under Article 142(1) of the Constitution, the bench held the top court can depart from the procedure as well as the substantive laws, as long as the decision is exercised based on considerations of fundamental general and specific public policy.

While deciding whether to exercise discretion, this court must consider the substantive provisions as enacted and not ignore the same, albeit this court acts as a problem solver by balancing out equities between the conflicting claims. This power is to be exercised in a cause or matter, it said.

The apex court also dealt with another question as to whether it can, while hearing a transfer petition or in any other proceedings, exercise power under Article 142(1), in view of settlement between the parties, and grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent dispensing with the period and procedure prescribed under section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act.

It also considered if it can quash and dispose of other proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, section 125 of the CrPC or criminal prosecution under section 498-A and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

While section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) pertains to order for maintenance of wives, children and parents, section 498-A of the IPC deals with offence of subjecting a married woman to cruelty.

In view of our findings on the first question, this question has to be answered in the affirmative, inter alia, holding that this court, in view of settlement between the parties, has the discretion to dissolve the marriage by passing a decree of divorce by mutual consent, without being bound by the procedural requirement to move the second motion, the apex court said.

It said section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act does not impose any fetters on powers of the apex court to grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent on a joint application, when the substantive conditions of the section are fulfilled and the court, after referring to the factors mentioned above, is convinced and of the opinion that the decree of divorce should be granted.

In its verdict, the top court also dealt with the issue of whether a party can directly canvass before it the ground of irretrievable breakdown by filing a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Referring to a verdict delivered earlier by a two-judge bench of the apex court, the bench said it was rightly held that any such attempt must be spurned and not accepted, as the parties should not be permitted to file a writ petition under Article 32 or Article 226 of the Constitution before the high court and seek divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Supreme Court said on Monday the grant of divorce by the apex court on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a matter of right but a discretion which is to be exercised with great care and caution, keeping in mind several factors to ensure complete justice is done to both parties.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said it is obvious that the top court should be fully convinced and satisfied that marriage is totally unworkable, emotionally dead and beyond salvation and therefore, dissolution of marriage is the right solution and the only way forward.

It said the marriage has irretrievably broken down is to be factually determined and firmly established and for this, several factors are to be considered -- such as period of time the parties had cohabited after marriage, when the parties had last cohabited, the nature of allegations made by the parties against each other and their family members.

It said other factors which have to be considered included orders passed in the legal proceedings from time to time, cumulative impact on the personal relationship, whether and how many attempts were made to settle the disputes by intervention of the court or through mediation, and when the last attempt was made.

The period of separation should be sufficiently long, and anything above six years or more will be a relevant factor.

"But these facts have to be evaluated keeping in view the economic and social status of the parties, including their educational qualifications, whether the parties have any children, their age, educational qualification, and whether the other spouse and children are dependent, in which event how and in what manner the party seeking divorce intends to take care and provide for the spouse or the children, said the bench.

The bench, which also comprised Justices Sanjiv Khanna, A S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari, said the question of custody and welfare of minor children, provision for fair and adequate alimony for the wife, and economic rights of the children and other pending matters, if any, are relevant considerations.

"We would not like to codify the factors so as to curtail exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India, which is situation specific. Some of the factors mentioned can be taken as illustrative, and worthy of consideration," it said.

The bench made these observations in its verdict which held the top court has the discretion to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown in exercise of its plenary power under Article 142 (1) of the Constitution and can grant divorce by mutual consent while dispensing with the 6-month waiting period mandated under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Having said so, we wish to clearly state that grant of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage by this court is not a matter of right, but a discretion which is to be exercised with great care and caution, keeping in mind several factors ensuring that complete justice is done to both parties, the bench said in its 61-page judgement.

It said the legislature and the courts treat matrimonial litigations as a special, if not a unique, category.

The bench noted given that there are multiple legislations governing different aspects, even if the cause of dispute is identical or similar, most matrimonial disputes lead to a miscellany of cases including criminal cases, at times genuine, and on other occasions initiated because of indignation, hurt, anger or even misguided advice to teach a lesson.

It noted that courts must not encourage matrimonial litigation and prolongation of such litigation is detrimental to both the parties who lose their young age in chasing multiple litigations.

Thus, adopting a hyper-technical view can be counter-productive as pendency itself causes pain, suffering and harassment and, consequently, it is the duty of the court to ensure that matrimonial matters are amicably resolved, thereby bringing the agony, affliction, and torment to an end, it said.

Referring to the issue of divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the bench said Hindu marriage is traditionally considered to be a sacred union, a devout relationship that lasts till eternity.

It said the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act have undergone considerable changes over a period of time and section 13(1)(i-a) was enacted by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 to provide for divorce in cases of cruelty and section 13-B was introduced for providing divorce by mutual consent.

It noted that section 13-B(1) of the Act states that a decree of divorce may be granted on a joint petition by the parties on fulfilment of the following conditions -- the parties have been living separately for a period of one year or more before presentation of the petition; they have not been able to live together; and they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.

The bench said sub-section (2) to section 13-B of the Act provides that after the first motion is passed, the couple or parties would have to move the court with the second motion, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meanwhile, after six months and not later than 18 months of the first motion.

It noted that no action can be taken by the parties before the lapse of six months since the first motion and when the second motion is filed, the court is to make an inquiry and, on satisfaction that the averments made in the petition are true, a decree of divorce is granted.

Clearly, the legislative intent behind incorporating sub-section (2) to section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act is that the couple/party must have time to introspect and consider the decision to separate before the second motion is moved, it said.

The apex court said there are cases of exceptional hardship where after some years of acrimonious litigation and prolonged suffering, the parties, with a view to having a fresh start, jointly pray to the court to dissolve the marriage, and seek waiver of the need to move the second motion.

On account of irreconcilable differences, allegations and aspersions made against each other and the family members, and in some cases multiple litigations including criminal cases, continuation of the marital relationship is an impossibility. The divorce is inevitable, and the cooling off period of six months, if at all, breeds misery and pain, without any gain and benefit, it said.
Bengaluru, May 1 (PTI) BJP president J P Nadda on Monday said his party was working within the ambit of the Constitution in trying to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country, and said they followed the policy of Justice for All and Appeasement for None.

The ruling BJP in Karnataka on Monday promised to implement the UCC and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the State, in its election manifesto for the May 10 Assembly polls, released on Monday.

Asked during a media interaction if the BJP 's plans would communalise the state, Nadda said, We are working within the ambit of the Constitution. Within the Constitution, we are permitted and directed to implement the Uniform Civil Code. We will move towards the UCC.

He said, Regarding communalism, the clear meaning is that what we know and what we believe in is 'Justice for All and Appeasement for None' and 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' (everyones cooperation, everyones development, everyones trust and everyones efforts).



"We will implement the UCC in Karnataka based on the recommendations given by a high-level committee which is to be constituted for the purpose (according to the manifesto). We will introduce the National Register of Citizens in Karnataka and ensure speedy deportation of all illegal immigrants in the state," he said.

On whether the party was planning to implement the UCC nationwide, Nadda said, Whichever states the elections are happening in, we are getting stronger. We will take it (UCC) forward. States form the nation. It will further lead that way only.



The saffron party has also promised to create a special wing in the state called Karnataka State Wing against Religious Fundamentalism and Terror (K-SWIFT).



According to him, minorities were the ones who got maximum benefit from the PM Awas Yojana (PM Housing Scheme) and PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM Poor Welfare Scheme). When they (minorities) are getting the benefits, then we are happy about it. Everyone should get it and everyone should benefit, Nadda said.



Asked about the push for the Hindutva agenda, he reiterated the slogans, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas and "Justice for all, appeasement for none".



In Karnataka, the BJP has promised Hindu-religion-based thematic tourist destinations such as tourist circuits and tourist corridors. It will also take up renovation of dilapidated temples at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, if voted to power.



In its manifesto, the party said it was constructing a Rama temple in Ramanagara and had taken up the development of Anjaneya (Hanuman) temple in Anjanadri hills, the birth place of Hanuman,



When asked whether these were not signs of pushing for the Hindutva ideology, Nadda said If someone goes to Vijayanagara, wont he go to Hampi? Isnt that our pride? If you go to Ramanagara, wont you like to see Rama Temple there? Isnt that our pride? Isnt Anjaneya (Hanuman) our pride?... We want to take forward...Karnataka, Kannada, and Kannadigas pride.
Bengaluru, May 1 (PTI) The Congress on Monday launched a 'CryPM' campaign ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls and put out a QR code showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi wiping his tears.



Along with the 'CryPM' QR code, the party also put out a 'PayCM' QR code poster too, with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommais image in the middle.



The unique campaign was launched a day after Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took potshots at Modi saying that he was the only Prime Minister she had seen who cried over insults aimed at him, instead of listening to the sufferings of the people.



"He (Modi) is the first prime minister I have seen who comes before you and cries that he is being abused. Instead of listening to your grief, he is coming here and telling you his (problems)," Vadra said.



The Indian Youth Congress in Karnataka tweeted the two posters of 'CryPM' and 'PayCM' side by side with a message, The PM's speeches these days remind me of my Facebook feed  full of complaints and no substantial content. Time for a status update? #CryPMPayCM"



The Congress is also targeting the Chief Minister accusing his government of collecting 40 per cent commission on public works.



The state will go to the polls for the 224 seats in the general Assembly on May 10.
Hapur/Bulandshahr (UP), Apr 30 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Police has unearthed illegal arms factories in Hapur and Bulandshahr districts and arrested three persons, officials said on Sunday.

According to the police, two persons were arrested in Hapur on Sunday while one was nabbed in Bulandshahr a day earlier.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Shakib and Iqbal from an illegal arms factory being operated from a jungle between Partapur and Atrauli villages in Hapur on Sunday, an official said.

Shakib has around half-a-dozen cases registered against him in the Hapur district and in under the Ghaziabad commissionerate pertaining to theft, under the Arms Act and the Gangster Act, the official said.

Shakib and Iqbal are residents of Ghaziabad and Baghpat respectively.

In Bulandshahr district's Alipur village, police arrested Sunil on Saturday night.

Circle officer of Shikarpur Varun Kumar Singh said the accused has 17 cases registered against him in different police stations of Bulandshahr.

Arms, ammunition and machine used to manufacture weapons were seized from both places, police added.
Gurugram, May 1 (PTI) A software developer of an American company allegedly ended his life by hanging himself here, police said on Monday.

The deceased was identified as Aman Puri (32) and he lived in the Sushant Lok-1 area, they said, adding he was suffering from skin allergy for a long time.

Puri returned home on Sunday around 5.30 pm and went to his room. At night, the cook called him but he did not pick up the phone. When he went to check and opened the door of the room, he found Puri hanging from the fan with a rope, they said.

A police team rushed to the spot after being informed about the incident, a senior police officer said, adding no suicide note was found in the room.

The father of the deceased told the police that his son was upset due to a skin disease.

The body was handed over to the family after postmortem on Monday evening, police said.

The deceaseds parents were not home when the incident took place and had gone to Pune in connection with their business, police said.
Amaravati, May 1 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday directed health department officials to identity all the vacancies for nurses, doctors and para-medical staff from the village-level to hospitals across the state for the Medical Recruitment Board to fill them up.

At a review meeting of the Health department, the CM also instructed officials to stock sufficient supplies of medicines, besides submitting reports on existing vacancies in the future meetings.



Taking stock of the family doctor programme, Reddy said, "Intimate the available dates of visiting family doctors to people in advance through ASHA workers and ANMs so that villagers would be able to meet them."



Efficient district officers should supervise this programme for effective implementation, he said in a press release shared by the state government on Monday.

Meanwhile, officials informed the Chief Minister that 2,100 more seats were being added for medical education in addition to the 2,185 currently available in medical colleges. As many as 750 seats had already been added in the medical colleges at Vizianagaram, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Machilipatnam and Nandyala in the current year, where classes were about to commence, while another 350 seats would be made available in 2024-25 academic year.



The remaining 1,000 seats would be made available in the next academic year at Piduguralla, Bapatla, Madanapalle, Penukonda, Palakollu, Markapuram, Narsipatnam, Amalapuram and Parvathipuram medical colleges, the officials told the CM.



The officials also informed the CM that the covid pandemic was fully under control in the state and only 24 persons were being treated in hospitals now.

Andhra Pradesh was in the 23rd position across the country when it came to the spread of new variants, they informed the CM, adding that RTPCR tests were being conducted on the basis of necessity to curb the spread of the virus, including in Vijayawada and other cities.
Mogadishu: Numerous Somalis fleeing the violence in Sudan arrived in their country in the Horn of Africa on Sunday, according to an official.

According to Abdurahman Nur Mohamed Diinaari, a senior official with the Somali foreign ministry, 148 Somali citizens, the majority of whom were students, arrived by plane in the capital city of Mogadishu.

"Today, 148 Somalis from Sudan were finally transferred to Somalia by Somalia's foreign ministry with the help of the International Organisation for Migration," he said.

Also Read: Pope expresses willingness to return Native American artefacts and loot

The Somalis had crossed the desert from Sudan to Ethiopia before flying to Somalia. According to Diinaari, 45 of those who arrived on Sunday were later taken to Garowe, the administrative centre of the Somali state of Puntland.

Violence has long been a problem in Somalia. Attacks by the anti-government Islamic extremist group al-Shabab frequently result in fatalities in Mogadishu and other regions of the nation.

Also Read: Russian first lady's personal stylist passes away at age 85

One of the Somalis who were evacuated on Sunday expressed her happiness at being alive and returning to her nation in an interview.

"I am happy to have reached my home nation at last. Ramlo Mohamed, one of the evacuees, told AP that while the experience we had was unusual and difficult to describe, he was grateful for the chance to survive. In the meantime, I pray that God will help our Muslim brothers in Sudan by easing their suffering.

Before violence started earlier this month, there were 7,000 Somali nationals estimated to be living in Sudan, with the majority of them studying there. According to Ewa Naqvi, deputy chief of mission for the U.N. migration agency, other immigrants and businesspeople are trying to travel to Europe.

Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of the army, is engaged in combat with Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary organisation. In Khartoum, the nation's capital, some of the bloodiest battles have taken place.

The innocent Sudanese people are being shot at. While others are trapped with diminishing supplies, tens of thousands have fled to nearby nations like Egypt and Chad. Airlifts and land convoys have been used to evacuate thousands of foreigners.

Also Read: Brazilian police are looking into a fatal shooting on an Indigenous land

According to the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, which keeps track of casualties from the fighting, 425 civilians have died and 2,091 have been injured in the past two weeks. On Saturday, the Sudanese Health Ministry reported that there had been a total of 528 fatalities, including combatants, and 4,500 injuries.
MATT TIERNAN, Chariho, Boys Volleyball, Senior; Tiernan had 36 kills in a five-set win against Mount St. Charles. Tiernan also had 28 kills in a loss to La Salle Academy.

SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Junior; Bergel allowed just three hits and one run as Wheeler defeated St. Bernard. It was the first loss of the season for the Saints.

BRANDON TAVARES, Stonington, Golf, Junior; Tavares shot a 4-under 32 in a win against Woodstock Academy. The round was the best by a Stonington golfer in a number of years. Tavares also had a round of 1-under and another at even par during the week.

TYLER BRAYMAN, Westerly, Boys Volleyball, Sophomore; Brayman finished with 23 kills, 10 assists and three blocks in a win against Cranston West. It was the first loss of the season for Cranston West.

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An IDF major was dismissed from his post after taking part in the Million-Man March in support of the judicial reform on Thursday in uniform.

Participating in protests in uniform is forbidden by the IDF. The incident is the first known case of someone violating the order in the protests in recent months against or for the Netanyahu government.

The officer attended the protest armed and in uniform and carried a stretcher as part of a performance.

On Friday, he was summoned to a meeting with his superiors, admitted his mistake and expressed regret for his actions. Nonetheless, he was sentenced to a 25-day suspended jail sentence and dismissed from his position.

He will be transferred to a non-command position.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Republican Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin has accused Secretary of State Antony Blinken of lying to Congress about his contact with Hunter Biden and more. During an appearance on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Johnson alleged that Blinken had lied during a voluntary 2020 interview to secure his current position in the government.

Johnson told host Maria Bartiromo that Blinken lied boldface to Congress, including about not emailing Hunter Biden, and suggested that Blinken may have told other lies. Johnson further claimed that Blinkens wife had contact with Hunter Biden while she was an employee at the State Department, using her private email address as a conduit between her husband and Hunter Biden.

What is interesting, Maria [Bartiromo], and heres a little news for you. Antony Blinken finally did come in and sit down for a voluntary transcribed interview in December of 2020 because he wanted to be Secretary of State. And now, because of more information thats come out, we know that he lied boldface to Congress about never emailing Hunter Biden. My guess is he told a bunch of other lies that hopefully well be able to bring him and his wife back in, tell them to preserve their records. You cannot trust Joe Biden. You cannot trust Hunter Biden. You cant trust the Biden family. You cant trust so many of the people that they have surrounded themselves with.

es, he did. He said he did not email Hunter Biden, and now we have those emails. We also know that his wife, using her private email address when she was a[n] employee of the State Department, was basically a conduit between her husband and Hunter Biden as well. So, again, I think theres so much more to uncover here. Theres so much more investigation. He needs to be subpoenaed. I dont have subpoena power. He got to come in just voluntarily. If he wants to proclaim his innocence, I doubt hell do that, but he must and she must preserve their records, their personal emails. When you get to the bottom of this, we need to show how corrupt these individuals are.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also appeared on the show and supported Johnsons statements. He went on to describe Blinkens actions as extreme corruption that he believed is unsurpassed in US history.

If you told the Senate, No, I never communicated with Hunter Biden, And then it turns out not only did you communicate, but using your wife as a cutout, she was communicating. This is, I mean, this is such blatant dishonesty, that its, its staggering, and I dont know of any American presidency that rivals the Biden presidency for just sheer corruption and dishonesty, Gingrich said. And I think, at some point, the countrys going to respond to that.

Johnson has called for further investigation into the matter, stating that there is much more to uncover here. The accusations against Blinken come as Republicans continue to focus on Hunter Bidens business dealings and their alleged connections to his father, President Joe Biden.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Israel Police officers on Sunday morning arrested a Jerusalem resident in his 40s who is suspected of stealing dozens of mezuzahs from the doorframes of homes in the center of Jerusalem on the night of Yom Haatzmaut.

The suspect was arrested after investigators of the Lev HaBira station collected evidence with the assistance of criminal identification officers.

As part of the investigation, the police officers quickly identified the suspect, an arrest warrant was issued against him in court, and various operations were carried out to locate him.

The suspect allegedly acted for criminal motives rather than nationalistic ones.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Senior Likud officials told Kan News that the lack of progress in the judicial reform negotiations between the opposition and coalition is due to the obstinance of Yair Lapids Yesh Atid party.

The officials said that the Yesh Atid representatives are doing everything possible to prevent agreements in the talks.

The officials added that a compromise is only possible if the talks are held with Benny Gantzs National Unity party without the Yesh Atid party.

One example the officials gave is that Yesh Atid is insisting on including the issue of the Chareidi draft law in the talks. Additionally, Yesh Atid has vastly different views on judicial reform than the National Unity party, making it impossible to form an agreement.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




A man entered the Beis Medrash of HaMekubal HaRav Dov Kook in Tiveria on Sunday and was acting in a suspicious manner.

When asked by the Gabbai if he needed help, the man responded that he was looking for HaRav Kook in order to harm him.

When the Gabbai tried to escort the man out of the Beis Medrash, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and threatened to hurt him as well.

Witnesses to the scene intervened and managed to grab the knife. The man fled ran out of the shul and fled the scene.

Police officers who were called quickly located the man, a 49-year-old resident of the city, and arrested him. He is apparently mentally disturbed.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings and wounding at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said.

Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3:45 a.m., followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems.

Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The head of Kyivs city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didnt provide further details, but said more information would be available later.

The attack follows Fridays launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, which was the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months.

In that attack, Russian missiles hit an apartment building in Uman, a city about 215 kilometers (135 miles) south of Kyiv, killing 21 people including three children.

In Mondays attack, missiles hit Pavlohrad, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding 34 people, including five children, according to Serhii Lysak, the regions top official.

Seven missiles shot at the city and some were intercepted but others hit an industrial facility, sparking a fire, and a residential neighborhood where 19 apartment buildings, 25 homes, six schools and five shops were damaged, he said.

Missiles also hit three other areas in the region, damaging residential buildings and a school, he said.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Monday that Russia conducted a group missile strike with long-range precision-guided airborne and seaborne weapons on facilities of Ukraines defense industry  all designated facilities were struck.

The attacks also damaged Ukraines power network infrastructure, which will take several days to repair, according to Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko.

He said that nearly 20,000 people in the city of Kherson and wider region had been left without power, along with an unspecified number of people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including the city of Dnipro.

Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.

Ukraine has recently taken delivery of American-made Patriot missiles, providing improved anti-missile defenses, but it was not clear whether any of them were employed in trying to stop Monday mornings attack.

Ukraine has also been building up its mechanized brigades with armor supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition, as Kyiv prepares for an expected counteroffensive this spring.

On Saturday, two Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil depot in Crimea in the latest attack on the annexed peninsula.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview last week that his country would seek to reclaim the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, in the upcoming counteroffensive.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

Troops from Russias Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try and gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but that it so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions, he said.

In Russias Bryansk region, which borders northern Ukraine, a freight train was derailed by an explosive device, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

There were no immediate indications of who set off the explosive, but Bryansk has suffered sporadic cross-border shelling during the war and in March two people were reported killed in what Bryansk officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs.

(AP)




Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday evening accused the Biden administration of working in cooperation with the protesters against the governments judicial reform plans, Walla News reported.

Speaking at a conference of Chareidi activists, Levin said: Theres no doubt that we [the right] are at an unimaginable disadvantage. They have the courts, the attorney-general, all the heads of the economy, and the US government that works in cooperation with them on this  as you see from the things said by the people in the administration there.

Apart from President Bidens cold shoulder to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Levin may have been referring to a report by the Washington Free Beacon in March entitled How Taxpayer Funds Are Flowing to a Group Bankrolling Anti-Netanyahu Protests. According to the report, since 2020, the State Department has given over $38,000 to the Israeli Movement for Quality Government (MQG) organization, one of the main groups opposing Netanyahu in recent years, including the protests against judicial reform.

The State Department confirmed the funding at the time, but called the leftist NGO a nonpartisan organization.

The State Department should never fund foreign partisan organizations in allied democracies, Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon at the time.

Levin admitted in the conversation that due to the resources of the reform opponents, no explanation about the judicial reform would help, because the other side has an incredible arsenal of tools.

Levin added: There is no doubt that it could have been done better, there is no doubt that mistakes were madebut even if we had carried out the perfect promotion campaign, we would still be in the situation we are now.

Ill explain to you why  we are dealing with a situation where the other side has an incredible arsenal of toolsthey have financing in incomprehensible amounts. Add complete control over the press.

Regarding the ongoing negotiations on judicial reform, Levin accused the opposition of failing to compromise on any part of the reform: The opposition wont agree to even the smallest thing. But it is better to try and exhaust this move  it will benefit everyone.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Broadcaster Sky is reportedly lining up hundreds of job cuts as it grapples with a shift to streaming.

The cuts are expected to hit customer service staff and the engineers who fit satellite dishes, the Sunday Times reported.

Hard times: The cuts are expected to hit customer service staff and the engineers who fit satellite dishes

Sky suffered an 11.5 per cent fall in revenues to 14.3billion last year though profits and customer numbers rose.

US media giant Comcast bought Sky for 30billion in 2018. But last October it took a 6.8billion write down on the value of the business, blaming 'challenging economic conditions'.

Sales of the company's much trumpeted Sky Glass product  a TV with streaming apps and Sky built in that avoids the need for a satellite dish  have reportedly been underwhelming.

'It's in a really tough place,' a source was quoted as saying.
Ireland declares unwavering support for Ukraine amid propaganda by Russian diplomat 1 May, 11:46 AM Irish authorities responded to Russian propaganda (Photo:maxwellpix/Twitter)

The Irish government has released a statement declaring its unwavering support for Ukraine following propaganda statements made by the Russian embassy, CNN reported on May 1.

The Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ukraine has a right to defend this attack on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, the statement reads.

Read also: Ireland lifts ban on eviction of Ukrainian refugees

Irelands support for Ukraine is unwavering. Russian Disinformation will have no impact on this.

Video of day

Irish volunteer Finbar Cafferkey, who was fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was reported killed in action near Bakhmut April 28.

The Russian embassy blamed the Irish government and media for Cafferkeys death for spreading anti-Russian propaganda and distorting the truth about the conflict in Ukraine.

Irish parliament member Charlie Flanagan proposed the expulsion of Russian Ambassador Yuri Filatov as a response to the Russian comments.

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US regulators were last night racing to clinch a sale of First Republic as it looked set to become the latest bank to fail amid a global crisis for the sector.

JP Morgan and PNC Financial Services Group were understood to be among those left in the running for the San Francisco-based lender, whose share price has collapsed by 97 per cent this year.

It follows the demise of three other US firms  Silicon Valley Bank, Signature and Silvergate  as well as European giant Credit Suisse, which is being taken over by rival UBS.

Casualty: First Republic is expected to be sold imminently

The crisis blew up in March, jolting stock markets and temporarily freezing the appetite of bond investors to provide funds to banks.

Markets have since calmed but all eyes will be on how they respond to the latest collapse today  and when UK markets reopen tomorrow after the May Bank Holiday.

First Republic had already been the target of a sharp share price sell-off when the crisis began but was given a stay of execution when Wall Street banks agreed to inject 24billion in deposits.

But that proved to be short-lived as first-quarter results published last week showed that - stripping out that injection - customers pulled out 80billion of funds in the three-month period.

Reports over the weekend suggested that roughly half a dozen banks were bidding for First Republic.

A deal was expected to be finalised in time to be announced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - an industry-funded scheme - before Asian markets opened.

It will be closely watched for signs of how much support the government will need to provide.

The FDIC officially insures all deposits up to $250,000 (199,000).

But it the case of SVB and Signature regulators took the exceptional step of guaranteeing all deposits, fearing further damaging bank runs could happen otherwise.

First Republic marketed itself to high-net worth customers with preferential rates on mortgages and loans.

It had a high level of deposits over and above the FDIC threshold - 68 per cent.

The bank's likely demise was becoming clear by the end of last week though the wider banking sector remained calm at the time.

Unlike SVB, First Republic does not have a UK subsidiary. However, the Bank of England was understood to be monitoring the situation over the weekend.

SVB's British arm was bought by HSBC for 1 in a deal brokered by the Bank in March.

UK banks have been largely insulated from the crisis - having been forced by regulators to beef up their balance sheets following the financial crisis in 2008.

But the spectacle of billions being drained rapidly from bank deposits - thanks to easy to access online accounts - has made authorities think again about how ready they are to handle a bank run.

Officials have ordered an urgent review of the UK savings guarantee limit, which stands at 85,000.
Thomson Reuters, April 27, 2023, TORONTO  Thomson Reuters announced today that it has issued its 2022 Social Impact and ESG Report, which outlines the companys primary environmental, social, and governance activities and progress.

The Thomson Reuters annual Social Impact and ESG Report reflects our commitment to upholding high standards of governance and how our people, products, and partnerships contribute to a better world for all, said Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters.

The report notes that Thomson Reuters completed a comprehensive ESG materiality assessment of its global operations, focused on identifying and prioritizing ESG topics and issues most significant to the business and stakeholders.

As part of this effort, Thomson Reuters completed a company-wide Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of its global operations, products, and services. In doing so, Thomson Reuters sought to be proactive in managing any actual or potential impacts on human rights. In 2022, Thomson Reuters published its first Human Rights Policy which seeks to inform colleagues, customers, shareholders, and those in the communities Thomson Reuters operates of the companys commitment and approach to human rights.

The report also notes that Thomson Reuters completed a Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) report. The report recommended disclosures which are intended to highlight the companys climate governance practices, strategy, and risk management, as well as to evaluate the latest climate scenarios to identify exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities.

The full report is available here.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters (NYSE / TSX: TRI) (TR) informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. The company serves professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Its products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds leading provider of trusted journalism and news. For more information, visit tr.com.

Contact

Kent Carter

+1 647 210 4300

Kent.carter@thomsonreuters.com


Fortis (TSE:FTS  Get Rating) will be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, May 3rd. Analysts expect Fortis to post earnings of C$0.82 per share for the quarter.

Fortis (TSE:FTS  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.70 by C$0.02. Fortis had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 6.92%. The firm had revenue of C$3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$2.75 billion.

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Fortis Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Fortis stock opened at C$59.49 on Monday. Fortis has a 12-month low of C$48.45 and a 12-month high of C$65.26. The company has a market cap of C$28.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 127.16. The companys 50-day moving average price is C$57.04 and its 200-day moving average price is C$55.17.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a $0.565 dividend. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. Fortiss payout ratio is 81.29%.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Fortis from C$53.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Monday, March 6th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$57.00 to C$58.00 in a report on Monday, January 23rd. CSFB upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$61.00 to C$62.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$57.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Friday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$57.96.

Fortis Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 438,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 100,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,485 megawatts (MW), including 53 MW of solar capacity and 252 MV of wind capacity.

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Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN  Get Rating) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, May 2nd. Analysts expect Lumen Technologies to post earnings of $0.14 per share for the quarter. Individual that are interested in registering for the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The technology company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Lumen Technologies had a positive return on equity of 13.17% and a negative net margin of 8.86%. The firms revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts expect Lumen Technologies to post $0 EPS for the current fiscal year and $0 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Lumen Technologies Price Performance

NYSE LUMN opened at $2.37 on Monday. Lumen Technologies has a twelve month low of $2.06 and a twelve month high of $12.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lumen Technologies

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,045 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 18,167 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 34,135 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Lumen Technologies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 84,996 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $2.50 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Citigroup cut Lumen Technologies from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $6.25 to $3.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. TheStreet cut Lumen Technologies from a c rating to a d rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.50.

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Lumen Technologies, Inc is an investment holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated communications to residential and business customers. It operates through the following segments: Business and Mass Markets. Business segment provides products and services under four sales channels to enterprise and commercial customers.

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South Dakota Investment Council reduced its stake in shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL  Get Rating) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408,550 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 95,683 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned 2.30% of Greenhill & Co., Inc. worth $4,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $40,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $62,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Greenhill & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $72,000. 74.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GHL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a sell rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has 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 $11.38.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of GHL opened at $7.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $130.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.43 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.64 and a 12 month high of $14.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.91.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $95.82 million during the quarter. Greenhill & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 1.27% and a return on equity of 4.87%.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 7th. Greenhill & Co., Inc.s dividend payout ratio is -571.43%.

About Greenhill & Co., Inc.

(Get Rating)

Greenhill & Co, Inc is an independent investment bank, which engages in the provision of financial and strategic advice. It specializes in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, financings, and capital raising. The company was founded by Robert F. Greenhill in 1996 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWP  Get Rating) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,545 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 415 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,112 shares of the companys stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,600 shares of the companys stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,755 shares of the companys stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,892 shares of the companys stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF Stock Performance

Shares of IWP opened at $89.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.10. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has a 52 week low of $74.75 and a 52 week high of $95.11.

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF Profile

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF, formerly iShares Russell Midcap Growth Index Fund (the Growth 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 Russell Midcap Growth Index (the Growth Index).

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Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Get Rating) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,144 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabamas holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $10,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MTD. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 462,256 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $501,141,000 after acquiring an additional 130,768 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 258,347 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $280,200,000 after acquiring an additional 52,603 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,124,634 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $2,303,358,000 after purchasing an additional 42,805 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 160.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 54,155 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $74,365,000 after purchasing an additional 33,342 shares during the period. Finally, Echo Street Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Echo Street Capital Management LLC now owns 161,031 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $174,577,000 after purchasing an additional 26,008 shares during the period. 91.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTD opened at $1,491.50 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,494.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,452.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.98. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,065.55 and a 52 week high of $1,615.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Mettler-Toledo International ( NYSE:MTD Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $12.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $11.63 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.03 billion. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10,609.85%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MTD has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,350.00 to $1,525.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,284.00 to $1,513.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,650.00 to $1,675.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mettler-Toledo International presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,450.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert F. Spoerry sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,565.00, for a total value of $1,565,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,548 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,247,620. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mettler-Toledo International news, Director Wah-Hui Chu sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,450.00, for a total transaction of $435,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,290 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,220,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert F. Spoerry sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,565.00, for a total transaction of $1,565,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,548 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,247,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,022 shares of company stock worth $26,391,416 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Profile

(Get Rating)

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc engages in the provision of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications.

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Biltmore Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,381 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,071 shares of the companys stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,097 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 83,870 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 31,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,870 shares of the companys stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. 81.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CAG opened at $37.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.56. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $31.01 and a one year high of $41.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.03.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

Conagra Brands ( NYSE:CAG Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 5th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 6.59%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Conagra Brandss dividend payout ratio is currently 79.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 7,036 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.04, for a total value of $260,613.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,466.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 7,036 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.04, for a total value of $260,613.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,466.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 45,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.66, for a total value of $1,739,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 104,859 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,053,848.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Conagra Brands from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five 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 $41.00.

Conagra Brands Profile

(Get Rating)

Conagra Brands, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of processed and packaged foods. It operates through the following segments: Grocery and Snacks, Refrigerated and Frozen, International, and Foodservice. The Grocery and Snacks segment includes branded, shelf stable food products sold in various retail channels in the United States.

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More difficult than Afghanistan  UA intelligence on rescue operation in war-torn Sudan 1 May, 06:54 PM Fighting began in Sudan on April 15 (Photo:REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) recently conducted the Trojan Camel special operation to evacuate Ukrainians from Sudans war-torn capital of Khartoum, Ukraines TSN reported in a story posted on YouTube on April 30.

The operation in Sudan was much more difficult than that in Afghanistan in 2021 since there was no protected American airbase, aviation, or armored vehicles in Sudan. Also, a limited number of people were directly involved in the operation.

A special forces group of less than 10 people took part in the operation, said Yarema, a participant in the operation.

Video of day

Compared to the rescue operations of the United States, which involved helicopters, armored vehicles, and special forces; (compared to the) French, Qataris, Saudis. The Saudis even had a missile cruiser stationed near Port Sudan. We acted alone, without armored vehicles and heavy weapons, since all our forces are engaged at the front.

The HUR said that the mission had been complicated by the geographical location of Khartoum as it is in the heart of the country.

The Ukrainian military had to travel 900 km through the territory that passes through many hands, and one route could have more than 40-50checkpoints. In addition, there was no contact with the Ukrainians.

It is still forbidden to disclose the details of the operation but, according to journalists, many other countries have already used the Ukrainian intelligence officers route.

The HUR reported on April 25 that Ukraine had evacuated 138 people, including 87 Ukrainians, from Khartoum.

Ukraines Foreign Ministry announced on April 26 that 91 Ukrainians had already been evacuated from Sudan. Most were aviation specialists  aviation engineers, pilots and flight attendants.

Fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudans Armed Forces began on April 15, and has resulted in over 300 deaths.

The battles have caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, resulting in problems such as access to water, electricity, fuel, food, and medicine.

The sides agreed on a temporary ceasefire on April 25.

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Vice-chair of Moldovas pro-Russian party detained at Chisinau Airport in possible attempt to escape justice 1 May, 05:53 PM Marina Tauber was arrested in Moldova (Photo:Marina Tauber/Facebook)

Marina Tauber, the vice-chair of Moldovas pro-Russian party Shor, was detained on May 1 at Chisinau International Airport on her way to Tel Aviv, local news outlet Poind.md reports.

Moldovas Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office called for the detention after suspecting Tauber of falsifying the partys financial statements and helping to facilitate the illegal financing of the criminal group of Shor leader Ilan Shor.

The prosecutors office filed a request on April 28 to change the pre-trial restriction from conditional release under judicial supervision to pre-trial detention after Tauber violated the terms of her restriction conditions.

Video of day

Tauber requested on April 29 that the court postpone the hearing so that she could travel to Israel.

Following her previous violations of conditions, the prosecutors office deemed her a flight risk and considered it necessary to detain her at the airport.

Shortly before her detention, the lawmaker posted a video message on Facebook saying that she knew she would be detained, but had planned the flight abroad to undergo medical examinations.

"I was planning to fly abroad today, the trip was planned long ago," she said.

I need to visit a doctor, and I didn't know that there would be a court hearing in connection with the change of my preventive measure. I want to ask everyone not to worry, I am leaving for a few days and will return on Thursday morning, I also have a return ticket. I need this trip because I did not have the opportunity to do it before and did not know about the plans of the prosecutor's office.

On April 13, the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced the fugitive MP and leader of the Shor party, Ilon Shor, to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property worth over $270 million. The court also banned Shor from holding positions in the banking system for five years and nationalised his assets.

In 2015, Ilan Shor was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in the notorious "$1 billion fraud" case. In 2019, Ilan Shor fled Moldova. According to some reports, he is currently in Israel.

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Prospects for Ukraine's Membership in NATO - opinion 1 May, 01:10 PM Jens Stoltenberg and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, April 20, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS/Alina Yarysh)

NATO Secretary General's visit to Kyiv, which took place on April 20, updated the discussion on the prospects of Ukraine's membership in NATO

The Ukrainian leadership has already officially sent an application for the countrys North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership.

In his appeal on April 20, President Zelenskyy mentioned: "Neither the majority of Ukrainians, nor the majority of Europeans, nor the majority of residents of the entire NATO space will understand the leaders of the Alliance if a well-deserved political invitation for Ukraine to the Alliance wont be issued at the summit in Vilnius. Ukraine did everything to ensure that our request is satisfied."

Video of day

During a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke quite diplomatically on this topic: "President Zelensky raised the issue of membership and security guarantees. This will be an important element of the agenda at this meeting, and NATO is preparing for it. Ukraine chooses its future in the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine's future in NATO, and the Alliance members agree with this."

The next NATO summit will be held in Vilnius in July this year. What should we expect from this forum? Many people in Ukraine believe that Ukraine will already be able to join NATO, or at least can start the process of joining. Unfortunately, these expectations are much too high. Accession to NATO is not instantaneous.

Now Ukraine wants to join NATO in an accelerated way

Ill go over the general process for joining NATO. The first step is a declaration of wishing to join NATO. Then, normally, most countries seeking to join NATO should undergo a series of reforms to meet the Alliances equipment and training standards. And that's the second step. This typically occurs within a Membership Action Plan (MAP) framework. This is like the status of "candidate for EU membership," when the candidate country must prepare its military forces and political structures to meet the standards and requirements of NATO.

After fulfilling the requirements of the MAP, the candidate country submits an official application to join NATO. NATO evaluates the application and prepares a report on the candidate country's readiness for accession. Then the candidate country negotiates with NATO member countries on the terms of accession and compliance with NATO standards. If these negotiations are successful, then the NATO members should decide on the accession of the candidate country during the meeting of the NATO Council. After that, all NATO member countries must ratify the accession agreement of the candidate country to NATO through their relevant legislative bodies. When all NATO member countries ratify the agreement, the candidate country becomes a full member of NATO. The membership agreement is finally signed at NATO headquarters.

Ukraine, together with Georgia, tried to secure NATO membership through a MAP fifteen years ago. But then we were denied this status at the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, instead only being made an abstract promise that it could happen someday. Some NATO countries, especially Germany and France, feared that even providing Ukraine and Georgia with the MAP would provoke Russia into aggressive actions. The effect of this weak measure turned out to be precisely the opposite - Russia attacked Georgia in 2008, seized and annexed Crimea and launched a hybrid war against Ukraine in Donbas in 2014, and it launched a direct full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. And this is a lesson for the future, not for us, but for NATO. Putin's concessions do not stop Russia's aggression. Instead, they create favorable opportunities for it.

Now Ukraine wants to join NATO in an accelerated way, using the precedent of Finland and Sweden. These two countries applied to join NATO last May. On June 29 last year, at the NATO summit, Sweden and Finland were officially invited to join NATO without fulfilling the transitional requirements for membership (ie, without a MAP). Finland became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023. Sweden is still waiting for the consent of the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary. I will pay special attention to this circumstance. Even a single NATO member country can block (or significantly slow down) a candidate country's entry into the Alliance.

Theoretically, we could expect to be officially invited to NATO membership (as Sweden and Finland were invited a year ago) at the Vilnius NATO summit, but let's be realistic - while the current big war between Russia and Ukraine is going on, this wont happen. Members of the Alliance - from the United States to the Baltic States - are ready to help us with weapons, ammunition, and finances. Still, at the same time, they seek to avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia and not to provoke a global nuclear war.

Another problem is the lack of consensus in NATO regarding Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. After a visit to Kyiv and at the beginning of the eleventh meeting of the international Ramstein meeting, which coordinates the supply of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated: "Ukraine's rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. The legal place of Ukraine is in NATO. And subsequently, our support will help make it possible." He also added that all NATO allies agree that Ukraine will eventually become a member of the alliance after the end of the war. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban reacted to this statement almost instantly on his Twitter with only one word: "What?!" And this is a reaction from a country that will almost certainly block (or at least slow down) our entry into the Alliance.

Today there is allegedly only one clear opponent of Ukraine's accession to NATO within the Alliance - Hungary. But several countries are still swaying and have traditional fears about Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. In particular, its about Germany. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on April 20 (during the NATO Secretary General's stay in Kyiv) that NATO should consider "carefully" any move to include Ukraine in the alliance. "The door has opened a little bit, but now is not the time to solve it. You must decide with a cool head and a hot heart, not the other way around." At the same time, the head of the German Ministry of Defense noted that Ukraine's future lies in the Euro-Atlantic family, and all allies agreed with it (almost word by word what Jens Stoltenberg said the next day).

What, then, can Ukraine count on during the Vilnius NATO summit? I think our goal at this forum is to publicly and sufficiently concretely formalize our "engagement" with NATO, which implies a clear confirmation by NATO not only of Ukraine's right to membership in the Alliance, but also the readiness to accept Ukraine under an accelerated procedure. It is also necessary to declare specific security guarantees for Ukraine for the period before joining NATO. This is a maximum plan for us.

But in which form and with what wording will Ukraine's "engagement" will NATO be presented is a subject of coordination with our partners. It is necessary to understand that certain compromises must be sought. Don't wait for specific dates. As with the issue of a counteroffensive, so with the issue of NATO membership, the emphasis should be placed not on the date, but on the result. In both cases, the result will likely be achieved not at once, but in stages. And these processes will be interconnected. The more successes Ukraine will have on the battlefield, the more chances there will be to acquire membership in NATO immediately after the end of the war with Russia. But at the same time, there should be targeted diplomatic work with those countries which are hesitating about our membership in NATO, as well as a coordinated neutralization of the "Hungarian obstacle" with our partners.

In conclusion, I would like to note that NATO membership for Ukraine is not an end in itself, not some whim of pro-Western politicians. It is the only effective guarantee against the even more Russian attacks in the future. Not only is NATO trying to avoid a direct military conflict with Russia, but Russia is also afraid of a war with NATO. Russia will lose a conventional war with NATO, and a nuclear war will also be a total disaster for Russia. Therefore, Ukraine's membership in NATO should also be considered as a factor in deterring Russia from repeating aggressive experiments. In this context, it is also a critical component of the new European security architecture.

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ALBANY  The powerful statewide teachers union is seeking to organize libraries and private schools to bring dozens of new groups into its 700,000-member organization.

New York State United Teachers elected Melinda Person of Guilderland as their new president Saturday night after President Andy Pallotta retired. Person is hoping to expand the union significantly over the next three years.

This is something NYSUT hasnt done in quite a while on a big scale, she said.

Typically, the organization adds four or five new units a year, she said. Person's goal: 10 to 13 a year for the next three years.

NYSUT had already moved into charter schools, unionizing many of them, an effort she plans to continue. Now it is expanding into private schools, with Parker School in North Greenbush recently joining.

Private school teachers generally make far less than their public school counterparts, although they also benefit from not having to get a public school teachers license.

Libraries are another natural group to unionize, Person said.

Library employees havent cited concerns about censorship or limits on programs, though they are concerned about what they see happening along those lines in other states, she said. So far in New York, she said, interest in unions is about wages and benefits.

People are looking for a union so they can band together with their coworkers and ask for fair wages, health insurance, parental leave, she said.

Unions are enjoying a resurgence, Person believes. Private companies and nonprofits are seeing more organizing efforts nationwide from Starbucks to Trader Joe's.

NYSUT is also joining a national effort that is dear to the hearts of many public school teachers: amending the federal rules requiring testing.

Currently, schools must test students in third through eighth grades on English and math.

NYSUT is throwing its support behind a proposed act dubbed More Teaching Less Testing.

This would enable states to move away from the annual requirement to have three through eight testing and states could design their own system, Person said. We believe this is the direction we should be going.

The state tests are too long and require too much prep time, she said. Person would prefer adaptive testing: computerized tests that offer a series of easier or harder questions based on the students previous answers. Usually such tests can pinpoint a students academic level quickly.

There are ways testing can be done so the state and the federal government can get the data they need. It doesnt have to be this way, she said.

Persons also not convinced the data is useful.

Theres this insistence we should gather all this comparison data. But weve been gathering this data for more than a decade and where has it gotten us? When people try to convince us they say, Well, we want to find the achievement gaps and help close them. But they havent done that.

"Now we just have more data. And in the process of focusing so much on data weve lost out focus on the whole child, she said.

Person was elected to a three-year term. Since 2019, she has been NYSUTs executive director and political director. She also holds a New York state teaching certification for grades 1-6. She and her wife, Kelly, have four children.
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EAST HAVEN, Conn.  After spending nearly five decades trying to identify her, police want to speak to anyone who knew Patricia Newsom, who was found strangled and wrapped in a tarp in a ditch in 1975.

But the detectives will have to cast a wide net, spanning from Sullivan County to Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Idaho, where her family once lived, to find people who may have information about what led to her killing, East Haven, Conn. Police Capt. Joseph Murgo said.

Its just starting, Murgo said of the investigation into who killed Newsom. Its a 48-year-old case and we are going to have some challenges.

In 2020, Murgo and Capt. David Emerman reopened the case of a Jane Doe found bound and gagged in a ditch near the old Bradlees Department Store on Aug. 16, 1975.

Their work, including two exhumations at a Hamden cemetery in 2022, paid off on April 10 when they were notified a DNA match had been found for the woman who was left naked with a rope around her neck and a bag over her head. She had been dead for about five to seven days based on the rate of decomposition, Murgo said.

This case highlights the importance of never giving up, East Haven, Conn. Police Chief Edward Lennon said during a news conference announcing the 1975 Jane Doe was Newsom.

Murgos detectives are now looking for leads to help solve how Newsom ended up dead in East Haven two years after running away from a boarding school in the Monticello area of New York in 1973.

The man who East Haven police long considered a suspect in the case, Glenn Askeborn, also known as Samantha Glenner, died in October 2022, Murgo said. He served prison time for a similar murder of a woman in Maine and was living in East Haven when Newsoms body was found, police said.

Newsoms sister, Maryann Collette, who was instrumental in helping East Haven police identify her, was only 9 years old when Newsom disappeared, Murgo said. Her parents and two older brothers have died, Murgo said.

We want to talk to anyone who knew her at all, Murgo said. Although it may be the smallest detail that seems insignificant, it may help us in the investigation.

After Newsom was identified through the DNA her sister uploaded to GEDmatch, Murgo and his detectives learned the family had moved to Philadelphia from Idaho in the 1960s. They went on to live in New Jersey. Newsoms mother died in 1968 and her father re-married, Murgo said.

By 1972, Newsom was sent to a New York boarding school in Sullivan County, her sister told police based on accounts from other family members, Murgo said. In 1973, Newsom ran away way from the school, supposedly with a friend to Maine, and her family never heard from her again, Murgo said.

Murgo said police do not know the name of the school or the friend she may have run away with in 1973. He said police also dont know what happened to the friend or if she turned out to be a Jane Doe herself.

Murgo said its also unknown whether Newsom ever reached Maine or where she was in the two years leading up to her death.

We just want to find out what the circumstances were leading to her death, thats paramount to bring closure to her family, Murgo said. But we are being realistic in what we can do.

Hero of the story

Some people connected with the case have died, he said. People are getting older and one of the challenges is finding people with relevant information who are still alive, Murgo said.

There wasnt even a photo of Newsom as a 16- or 17-year-old because she had no contact with family since 1973, Murgo said. She would have been about 15 when she ran from the boarding school and is about 14 in the photo her sister provided to police.

It doesnt appear that family members gave DNA to national databases until 2021 when Collette also created a NamUs profile for her sister on the website that allows people to search for missing persons and human remains that have been found.

Shes the real hero of the story, Murgo said of Collette.

At the same time, Murgo and detectives were trying to figure out how to get DNA from their 1975 Jane Doe who had been buried in the State Street cemetery in Hamden, Conn. about a year after her body was found. The cemetery had fallen into disrepair with no association to provide upkeep and records were incomplete about who was buried there, Murgo said.

Former New Haven Police Sgt. Tony Griego who had been interested in the case for years was able to connect Murgo with the family who had been the caretakers for the cemetery.

I got a call one day from Capt. Murgo asking if I knew where she was buried, said Griego, who lives minutes from the graveyard.

Through a Hamden Facebook group, Griego located a man who married into the family that had cared for the cemetery. He agreed to come to Connecticut to aid in the search for her grave.

They thought they had found the right grave in early June 2022, but their first attempt at exhumation uncovered the wrong person.

We were devastated to find out it wasnt her, he recalled.

A chaplain was around and a new casket was available to hold a somber vigil for the man before he was buried again. The map of the cemetery didnt reflect that so many people were buried close together or even on top of one another, Murgo said.

We knew we had come this far, we werent giving up, Murgo said.

The next time they went to the cemetery, a member of the U.S. Agriculture Department used ground penetrating radar to find the 1975 Jane Doe who was finally exhumed on July 1, 2022.

The department submitted her DNA samples to Identifiers International, which found a match with what Collete submitted to GEDmatch in 2021. Collette and the East Haven Police Department were notified in early April that her sister had been located after 48 years.

I always knew in my heart that she was gone, Collette said during the April 17 news conference. I always knew.

Anyone with information on the life or death of Patricia Newsom can contact Capt. Joseph Murgo at jmurgo@easthavenpolice.com

Hearst Connecticut staff writers Peter Yankowski and Meghan Friedmann contributed to this story.
ALBANY  Six years ago, Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton came together for a self-congratulatory event that felt and sounded suspiciously like a presidential pep rally.

Ostensibly, the pair were at LaGuardia Community College in Queens to celebrate the passage of the Excelsior Scholarship Program, which Cuomo called an outrageously ambitious but an irrefutably smart idea to help New York residents pay for college at State University of New York and City University of New York schools. The then-governor said hed enacted one of the best proposals from Clintons presidential campaign.

The idea is very simple, Cuomo said. We have free public college for any family whos making $125,000 or below so no child will be denied college because they cant afford it and the dream of opportunity is for everyone.

Free public college. Those were the words that anyone watching would have taken from the event, including children dreaming of someday attending college but worried about how their families would pay for it. Cuomo promised they could set those worries aside.

This scholarship program is going to transform lives, Cuomo said to enthusiastic cheers. Tonight, there will be no child who puts their head on the pillow and wonders whether theyre going to have a chance to make it.

Reality never lived up to that grand rhetoric. Not even close.

As Times Union education reporter Kathleen Moore recently wrote, only a sliver of State University of New York students  less than 10 percent  take advantage of the Excelsior scholarship. And those who do participate in the supposedly free public college program continue to cough up many thousands of dollars for their education.

At the University at Albany, for example, free public college costs nearly $20,000 annually if room and board are calculated into the price tag. If they are not, a first-year student still pays about $3,500 per year, plus another $1,000 for books and materials. Perhaps worst of all, students who participate are still racking up crushing amounts of debt.

That, too, betrays the grandiose promises.

Paying for college should not defer or destroy dreams, Clinton said on that day in 2017. And with this Excelsior Scholarship program, it will not.

To be sure, there were questions about the program from the start. Those who looked at its details could see that calling it free college or even a scholarship was not the full story.

Thats because the program has always included a massive catch: The money converts to a 10-year loan if a student takes a job outside New York for up to five years after graduation. Of course, a scholarship is not really a scholarship if you have to pay it back  or if it compels you to turn down a dream job in Hoboken.

Moreover, the Excelsior Scholarship can negate other forms of financial aid as a condition of students getting their tuition bills covered. That leaves many without money for books and other costs. Its little wonder, then, that so few students participate. Most find that existing programs do a better job of helping.

So what use is Excelsior?

Well, that 2017 rally seemed mostly about boosting Cuomo. Again and again, we were told our guy was doing things no other governor (and certainly not the fellow whod beaten Clinton) could match. Maybe the accomplishment of free public college could carry Cuomo to the White House, so long as voters in Iowa and New Hampshire didnt read the fine print.

Alas, it didnt happen. The stars never aligned; Cuomo never even pulled the trigger on a campaign. And now, of course, that dream is dashed.

If you want to be generous to the former governor  and theres really no reason why anyone should  you could say that Excelsior should have been regarded as a beginning, that it was just an achievable first step, that the $4,200 in average help provided by the scholarship isnt nothing, even if a small number of students benefit.

You could knock Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers for failing to expand the program or strip away its limitations. You could say that a high-tax, supposedly progressive state should be doing much more to boost higher education instead of, to name one egregious example, handing $650 million to the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills. You could say its shameful that Hochul sought to raise tuition at some SUNY campuses by 30 percent.

All those things are true, and yet we shouldnt forget or excuse that Excelsior was sold as a solution and an achievement. Free public college. It was a cruel promise made to New Yorks youth, broken from the start.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
TROY  The federal criminal charges filed against three Rensselaer County officials last week centered on their efforts two years ago to block Democratic candidates in several local races from appearing on the Working Families Party line in the general election.

The alleged conspiracy unfolded when some key races were up from grabs, including contests for county clerk, county executive, Rensselaer city mayor and numerous positions on the Troy City Council and county Legislature.

A three-count felony indictment unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court accuses Richard W. Crist, the countys director of operations, James R. Gordon, director of the countys Bureau of Central Services, and Leslie A. Wallace, a constituent relations assistant for county Executive Steven F. McLaughlin, of pressuring county employees to sign absentee ballot applications. The trio are accused of personally filling out the ballots that were submitted in the names of those employees, or directing that it be done.

Wallace, who reports to Crist and works closely with him, is accused in the indictment of personally filling out the ballots of registered voters. But federal prosecutors allege she did so at the direction of Crist.

The indictment says the employees felt pressured by the three higher-ranking county officials to in many instances change their voter enrollment or sign absentee ballot applications. Many were not made aware of how their ballots were filled out or the reason given on the documents as to why they would be unable to vote in person. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and New York had also been allowing voters to use absentee ballots for virtually any reason  a factor that may have aided the scheme.

The alleged motive of the conspiracy was also to benefit the reelection bid of McLaughlin, who had appointed Crist and Gordon to their county jobs. The former state assemblyman won his first term as county executive in 2017.

After winning a second four-year term in 2021, McLaughlin celebrated at a post-election campaign event where he said, "The beating that the Democrat party is taking tonight is well-deserved  theyre trying to destroy the nation."

Another county employee, Sara J. McDermott, was among the employees who were allegedly pressured to run ghost campaigns in order to neutralize the impact of Working Families Party votes. McDermott ran on that line for county executive in 2021 and received more than 1,200 votes in the general election. But those votes did not affect the outcome of the race, in which McLaughlin defeated Democratic challenger Gwen Wright 26,223 to 14,183.

Third-party lines have long been a focus of Rensselaer County politics, and the GOP's strategy that year to take control of the Working Families Party was not a secret. In January 2021, Republican officials confirmed their effort to enroll their supporters in the progressive third party after the Independence and Green parties had failed to secure enough votes in the 2020 presidential election to remain on the ballot.

"We're working on that now," former Rensselaer County Republican Chairman John Rustin Sr., a Schaghticoke Town Board member, said at the time.

The move infuriated many local Democrats, Working Families Party officials and others. McDermott, who did not actively campaign for county executive, defeated Wright 574-557 in the 2021 primary  securing that McDermott's name appeared on that line in the November general election.

Noreen McKee, a board member for the League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County, asserted in an op-ed published in the Times Union two years ago that "Republicans employed a ballot-harvesting scheme during the primary to successfully hijack the Working Families Party line."

"They also triumphantly whacked four of the six endorsed WFP candidates for county Legislature in Troy, replacing them with Republicans, some employed by the county and presumably none espousing WFP values," McKee wrote.

According to the federal indictment unsealed last week, the effort to secure more votes on the Working Families Party line had been accomplished, in part, but pressuring county employees to sign absentee ballot applications and enrolling them in that party. The employees did not request absentee ballots but felt it would jeopardize their jobs if they declined to take part, according to the charges.

"The object of the conspiracy was ... to obtain absentee ballots through fraud and intimidation and use them to cast multiple false and illegal votes for their preferred candidates in the 2021 primary and general elections in Rensselaer County, thereby diluting, offsetting, and diminishing the effect of lawfully cast votes for other candidates to make it more likely that the conspirators' preferred candidates would win the elections," the indictment states.

The county's former Republican elections commissioner, Jason T. Schofield, also had a role in the ballot fraud that year. Schofield pleaded guilty in January to 12 counts of unlawfully using the names and dates of birth of voters to fraudulently apply for absentee ballots for elections held in 2021.

Schofield's admitted crimes influenced the outcome of Troy City Council races in both the Working Families Party primary that June and the general election in November. In one of those races, Democrat Cheryl L. Kennedy lost the general election in the Troy City Council's Sixth District by 10 votes to Republican Irene D. Sorriento. Schofield personally processed about 12 absentee ballots in that race, according to elections officials.

It isn't the first time that criminal allegations have swirled around the Working Families Party line in Rensselaer County. More than a decade ago, numerous elected Democrats and their political operatives were implicated in a similar scheme involving absentee ballots over a three-year period beginning in 2007. The voters allegedly victimized in that scheme included people registered on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines.

The indictments of Crist, Gordon and Wallace last week may not be the end of the federal investigation. FBI agents are scheduled to meet this week with a local elected town official as their probe continues; additional arrests may be possible, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Crist is a former news reporter and longtime GOP political operative in Rensselaer County who has wielded enormous influence in local politics and for many years has been McLaughlins political confidant. Wallace is a former Republican legislative aide in the state Assembly and Senate who also has a private political consulting business. Gordon is a former Troy mayoral candidate and a member of the North Greenbush Town Board.

In addition to the single count civil rights conspiracy charge, Gordon was charged with one count of witness tampering and Wallace was charged with one count of making false statements to FBI agents.

Crist, Gordon and Wallace each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to violate constitutional rights. Gordon faces up to 20 years in prison if hes convicted of witness tampering; the charge against Wallace for making false statements carries a five-year maximum sentence.

McDermott, a confidential assistant in the human resources office, has been active in local politics and government. She has not been accused of wrongdoing.
SCHENECTADY  Rogeana Zasa is often told she looks like her mother, Lutricia Steele. Old acquaintances of her mother have even mistakenly called her "Trish" upon seeing her.

It's one of the few things Zasa, now 23 and living in the Oneida County community of Waterville, has left of her mother, who left 15 years ago to run errands and never returned.

Steele, a then-27-year-old mother of four, left her home on Webster Street in Mont Pleasant on the afternoon of Thursday, May 1, 2008, possibly with a friend, Schenectady police Sgt. Pat Irwin said. She was last seen in the area of State and Erie streets. Her mother Ethel Zasa, who died in 2018, contacted police nearly two weeks later on May 13.

Investigations have since confirmed Steele stopped at a few locations on May 1, Irwin said. She cashed a check at Regina's Check Cashing on State Street. A receipt from AJ Wright in Hannaford Plaza showed she bought something around 6 p.m. that day.

Other things have not been confirmed, Irwin said. That weekend she was allegedly seen at a casino in Saratoga Springs with friends. The Friday before she reportedly went to Schenectady Planned Parenthood, as she was in the early stages of pregnancy.

Growing up, Rogeana Zasa said she wasn't initially aware of what happened. At eight years old and in the custody of her stepfather and his family, her mother's disappearance was chalked up to "just another weekend where she doesn't want to show up," she said.

Zasa doesn't believe her mother walked out. She's heard claims she used drugs, and knew her mother had been trying to have her sister temporarily care for her two youngest children. But she also knows that arrangement fell apart, because she was terrified of losing custody of them.

"I dont believe that (she left)," she said. "I don't think she woke up one day and said, 'I don't want them anymore.'"

Schenectady police and State Police describe Steele as 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, with blue eyes and light brown hair. She had piercings and tattoos including a tiger on her left ankle, the name Shawn with a ribbon on her left arm and the name Kasin on her chest. Anyone with information can contact the Schenectady police tip line at 518-788-6566.

To date, 191 tips and leads have been filed with Schenectady police, the last one reported in 2018, Irwin said. Someone reportedly saw her in the Syracuse area, another in Puerto Rico. In June 2012, seven different inmates at Schenectady County jail said they'd seen her in the area.

Irwin said foul play is considered likely and the suspect list is varied and includes drug dealers.

"She's been missing 15 years and hasn't surfaced," he said. "To me, that would indicate foul play."

Zasa has done her own research, trying to pinpoint what stores existed in 2008 in Schenectady that her mother may have stopped at. She's also reconnected with her mother's sister, Andrea Wakefield.

Whenever Wakefield saw her younger sister in the times before her disappearance, she seemed happy. She'd want to bake or cook or play with the kids.

"She was a different person with me," Wakefield said. "I don't know what her life was in Schenectady."

The two sisters, with a six-year age gap, spent their lives alternating being together and apart. They were separated when Wakefield was nine and put into foster care, their two brothers adopted to an aunt and uncle. Her sister bounced between group homes and living with their mother. Thinking back to learning of her sister's disappearance, Wakefield said it's likely her mother didn't tell her right away.

Wakefield, 47, of Sauquoit in Oneida County, doesn't have many ties to Schenectady, but their family makes sure her sister isn't forgotten. They post on Facebook and contact detectives assigned to the case. They participate in Utica's annual Ride for Missing Children, and on Missing Persons Day in Albany, Steele's extended family was there, wearing matching T-shirts with her image.

Both Wakefield and Zasa were disturbed when multiple news outlets reported a human jawbone was found in Schenectady. Irwin said it had been found on April 20 by a resident on Craig Street. Schenectady police Lt. Ryan Macherone said it would take some time for DNA analysis to return results.

The wait remains tortuous for Zasa.

Now married with children of her own, Zasa still keeps an eye on her three younger siblings, Samuel, Kasin and Alecia. She likes to think her mother would love to meet her grandchildren, and her feelings alternate between hopelessness and hopeful. Missing people are found all the time, she notes.

"Her grandkids and her children need her home. Whether (she) be alive or not," she said. "We need her, we need these answers so our family can have closure."
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MEXICO CITY (AP)  With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin El Chapo Guzman serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment.

Although Guzman's trial revolved around cocaine shipments, the case against his sons exposes the inner workings of a cartel undergoing a generational shift as it worked to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price, according to the indictment unsealed April 14 in Manhattan.

Synthetic opioids  mostly fentanyl  now kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, feeding an argument among some politicians that the cartels should be branded terrorist organizations and prompting once-unthinkable calls for U.S. military intervention across the border.

The problem with fentanyl, as some people at the State Department told me, has to be repositioned. Its not a drug problem; its a poisoning problem, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico, who died Friday. Very few people go out deliberately looking for fentanyl.

Hope predicted fentanyl would probably become an issue in next year's U.S. elections, but he opposed any threat of U.S. intervention, saying I don't think that would be a very good way of addressing a public health issue.

The groundwork for the U.S. fentanyl epidemic was laid more than 20 years ago, with aggressive over-prescribing of the synthetic opioid oxycodone. As U.S. authorities clamped down on its prescription, users moved to heroin, which the Sinaloa cartel happily supplied.

But making its own fentanyl  far more potent and versatile than heroin  in small, easily concealed labs was a game changer. The cartel went from its first makeshift fentanyl lab to a network of labs concentrated in the northern state of Sinaloa in less than a decade.

These are not super labs, because they give people the illusion that theyre like pharmaceutical labs, you know, very sophisticated, said Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. These are nothing more than metal tubs and they use wooden paddles  even shovels  to mix the chemicals.

A single cartel cook can press fentanyl into 100,000 counterfeit pills every day to fool Americans into thinking theyre taking Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. The pills are smuggled over the border to supply what son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar said are streets of junkies, the indictment said.

Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps massive profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said.

The drug's potency makes it particularly dangerous. The narcotic dose of fentanyl is so close to the lethal dose that a pill meant to ensure a high for a habituated user can easily kill a less experienced person taking something they didnt know was fentanyl.

Between August 2021 and August of last year, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, most from synthetic opioids. Last year, the DEA seized more than 57 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills, according to the New York indictment.

To protect and expand that business, the Chapitos, as the sons are known, have turned to grotesque violence, prosecutors said.

Enforcers Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are the lead defendants among 23 associates charged in the New York indictment. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, alias the Mouse, who allegedly pushed the cartel into fentanyl, is charged in another indictment in the same district. Mexico arrested him in January and the U.S. government has requested extradition. Joaquin Guzman Lopez is charged in the Northern District of Illinois

According to the Guzman Salazar indictment, the cartel does some lab testing on its product but conducts more grisly human testing on kidnapped rivals or addicts who are injected until they overdose.

The purity of the cartels fentanyl varies greatly depending on the method and skill of the particular manufacturer, prosecutors noted. After a user overdosed on one batch, it was still shipped to the U.S.

When the elder Guzman and Ismael El Mayo Zambada led the Sinaloa cartel, it operated with a certain degree of restraint. But with Guzman serving a life sentence and Zambada believed to be suffering from health issues, the Chapitos moved aggressively to avoid a power vacuum that could fragment the cartel.

What was really a unique advantage of the Sinaloa cartel and El Chapo was the ability to calibrate violence, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institute.

The wide-ranging New York indictment against the Guzman Salazar brothers details their penchant for feeding enemies to their pet tigers and describes how they tortured two Mexican federal agents, ripping through one's muscles with a corkscrew then stuffing the holes with chile peppers before shooting him.

The indictment also provides context to some recent violence in Mexico.

In August 2022, gunmen shot up Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. Two prison inmates and nine civilians in the city were killed. U.S. prosecutors say the Chapitos security arm ordered their local gang associates to commit the violence, targeting a rival cartels businesses.

This is not their fathers Sinaloa cartel, Felbab-Brown said. These guys just operate in very different mindsets than their father.

The Guzman Salazar indictment makes an initial attempt at disrupting the cartels supply chain, naming four people tied to a China-based chemical company and a broker in Guatemala who allegedly helped the cartel get the chemicals and even instructed them on the best recipes for fentanyl.

When they talk about labs and youre trying to focus in on labs, thats not going to have an impact unless you get the finished product or the precursor chemicals, Vigil said.

Mexicos government has stumbled through the mixed messaging of its security forces playing up their decommissioning of labs even while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has asserted that fentanyl is not being produced in Mexico.

In congressional testimony Thursday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was pressed about whether Mexico and China are doing enough to cooperate with U.S.

We want the Mexicans to work with us and we want them to do more, Milgram said, adding that the DEA wouldnt hesitate to go after public officials in Mexico or elsewhere should it find evidence of ties to the cartels.

Experts say Lopez Obrador is one obstacle to slowing the cartels fentanyl production. After U.S. prosecutors announced the concerted effort against the Sinaloa cartel, Lopez Obrador reacted angrily. The president accused the U.S. government of spying and interference, suggesting that the case had been built on information gathered by U.S. agents in Mexico.

The president had already severely reduced Mexicos cooperation with the DEA, experts said.

Hope, the security analyst, said a fundamental problem is that Lopez Obrador doesnt appear to understand fentanyls threat. The president rails against a deterioration of family values in the United States and paints addiction as a moral failing.

Hes trapped in a moral universe from 50 years ago, Hope said.
Many people in Saratoga Springs  and many other places  would rather remain in the dark about homelessness and hope it simply goes away. It wont.

I split my time between the Capital Region and Manhattans Upper West Side, where I work as volunteer coordinator at a center where we provide space for women who lack homes. When we first opened more than thirty years ago, in response to New Yorks Citys realization that it alone could not handle the growing population of people who lack housing, we housed men. After a few years of sheltering men, the city asked us to take in women because it did not have enough beds for them. There was some hesitancy on the part of some of the volunteers and opposition from our neighbors. One reason for the opposition was the fear of angry abusers showing up in a nice neighborhood.

Not only did the female guests work out, they were far more motivated then the men were to make our shelter work efficiently in terms of helping with food preparation and cleaning up. They were also more motivated to find a way out of their situation.

One woman had been incarcerated, and when she came to us she told me that she wanted to get a job, get an apartment and to get her kids out of foster care. She accomplished her goals  she even got her college degree, and I attended her daughters college graduation a few years ago. Another young woman choose to not go to bed one night, but to stay up with me (I do not sleep during the nights that I am on duty). She told me that she had an MD degree and had completed a medical residency. She asked me if I knew anyone at NYU who might help her get a job. After verifying what she told me, I discovered that she had been a fellow at NYU Medical Center. I called NYU and learned that they were well aware of the young womans plight. The person I spoke to could not say much because of confidentiality restraints, but he told me enough for me to realize that our guest had issues that prevented her from being able to work as a functioning physician.

I recently attended a wedding in Arizona where I met a woman who told me that her brother, a Gulf War veteran, was living under a bridge in New Haven, Conn., because he needed help and the local Veterans Administration hospital kept canceling his appointments. I am a former Army officer, and several other guests at the wedding worked at VA health facilities. Over the course of several months, we found the frustrated vet and got him the help he needed for his PTSD at a VA facility.

When we opened our space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, some of my neighbors stopped speaking with me. The Upper West Side of Manhattan contains some of the toniest ZIP codes in America. Some very distressed neighborhoods are only a few subway stops away.

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When my parents visit me during the Saratoga race meet, we have sat at trackside tables and gone to great restaurants in the evening. If you choose not to see unhoused people in Saratoga Springs, you can do so. To a point.

Some of the people we rub shoulders with in the line at the parimutuel betting window could be cast into a financial crisis through no fault of their own. Just as there is no single reason that people become unhoused, there is no simple and singular fix. We have to recognize that before we can address it.

Roland Nicholson Jr. is a lobbyist who served as the chairman of the Fortune Society for ten years. He also works as a volunteer at a Manhattan shelter. He splits his time between New York City and the Capital Region.
So how would Godzilla fare underwater? Henderson works at Canada's Royal Tyrell Museum and tackles physics-related questions about extinct animals. In 2018, he used computer modeling to test the hypothesis that Spinosaurus  a theropod with a large sail on its back  was built for swimming. He found that the deep overall body shape of this fin-backed animal would have made the dinosaur prone to tipping over as it swam.

Would Godzilla's osteoderms put him at the same risk? Henderson doesn't think so. By his calculations, the back plates on Stegosaurus  a Jurassic herbivore who influenced Godzilla's design  only represented 17 percent of that dinosaur's overall body mass.

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Meanwhile, Godzilla's plates appear to make up an even smaller fraction of the kaiju's total mass. He'd need to build a new digital model to prove it, but for now Henderson suspects that "the plates of Godzilla would not cause it to tip" during swim sessions.

Still, as a marine animal, Godzilla would face plenty of other problems. Seagoing creatures tend to be streamlined. With his jagged osteoderms and chunky legs, Godzilla is anything but. Therefore, he'd need to expend lots of extra energy in order to propel himself through the water.

"The best option for Godzilla to swim would be to undulate its body and tail to produce waves that travel down the body," Henderson explained. "Think of how crocodiles and salamanders swim when they want to move quickly. They fold their arms and legs close to the body, and use sideways motions ... to push back against the water and get a forward thrust."

By the way, semiaquatic behavior was  and still is  widespread among the pseudosuchians. On the other hand, there's no proof that any non-bird theropod was habitually amphibious. Yet some of them did take the occasional dip. In Utah, there's a series of 190-million-year-old dino tracks made by theropods whose toes barely scraped the ground as they paddled along.

For his part, Carpenter disagrees with the pseudosuchian identity argument. Since theropods could clearly swim, he thinks Godzilla's seagoing ways don't preclude the monster from being a bona fide dinosaur. Furthermore, as we've seen, the kaiju does share a lot of traits with the ceratosaurians. If he's not a member of that group, then his ancestors probably evolved all of those features independently. This scenario is certainly plausible (it's a phenomenon called "convergent evolution"). But Carpenter thinks the similarities between Godzilla and theropod dinos are probably too numerous to be coincidental.

"We already know that Dr. Yamane [a character from the 1954 movie] declared the original Godzilla a dinosaur," Carpenter says, "and since he was on site, I'll take his word."

" " Godzilla unleashes his atomic breath to claim his crown in the 2021 release, "Godzilla vs. Kong." Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures

Now That's A Shame In 1965, a writer at Japan's Toho Studios pitched the idea of a "Godzilla vs. Batman" crossover movie. Sadly, that never happened.

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Originally Published: May 14, 2019
Andrew Cuomo has gazed upon the face of the states latest independent ethics commission, and he does not like what he sees. He does not like it at all.

The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is so independent its downright unconstitutional, the former governor says, and  good citizen that he is  Mr. Cuomo has filed a lawsuit asking the court to bar the panel from taking any action. Such as continuing its probe into the production of American Crisis, the book in which Mr. Cuomo told the nation how great his leadership was during COVID. Abundant evidence suggests he used government staff and state resources on the project, which earned him more than $5 million. He strenuously denies any wrongdoing, and insists that all staff work on the book was voluntary.

What, exactly, does he see wrong with COELIG? His civil complaint argues that the ethics panel is part of the executive branch but isn't answerable to the governor, who  among other guardrails  can't remove its members. By design, the suit states, the legislation that created the panel divests the executive branch of supervision over COELIG and renders it immune to executive supervision and control.

Well, isnt that kind of the point?

Theres a definite tang of disgust in the language of the lawsuit: It calls the power dynamic governing COELIG constitutionally grotesque and a "misshapen constitutional monstrosity that violates the separation of powers.

Despite all this gothic grandiloquence, were skeptical. By approving the panels creation, Gov. Kathy Hochul entrusted the commission with these executive-branch powers. Her authority isnt being taken away: She gave it to them. But hey, we get it: A lot of Mr. Cuomos money is on the line here. He has the right to ask the court what it thinks.

The suit called the creation of this independent body "unprecedented. Indeed it is, if you look at its predecessors.

Consider the 2013-14 Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption (as long as the fight didn't get too close to the governor). Its my commission, Mr. Cuomo famously said in 2014. I cant interfere with it, because it is mine. It is controlled by me.

Or consider the states oft-ridiculed Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which was less a watchdog than a lapdog on a short leash: Controlled by Mr. Cuomos appointees, that panel was remarkably incurious about possible transgressions by people in his circle  and thats leaving out his uncanny ability to find out what happened during confidential votes. JCOPEs staff rubber-stamped the COVID book deal; its commissioners later rescinded its approval after he left office.

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For all Mr. Cuomos pearl-clutching over COELIGs independence, the watchdog is hardly a paragon. It's still stocked with political appointees; and though law school deans now vet the candidates, the process is not as transparent as reformers had hoped for.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Cuomo argues that it would take a constitutional amendment for a commission to do what this ones trying to do.

To that we say: A constitutional amendment would be a great idea. That would give New York a chance for a truly untethered ethics body, one that cannot be remade or dissolved at the whim of any administration. One with meaningful enforcement powers and better transparency. Thats the sort of corruption watchdog New Yorkers deserve  and it could show Mr. Cuomo what real independence looks like.
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[May 01, 2023] Cubic Demonstrates Mission-Driven Multi-Domain Solutions at SOF Week 2023

Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions (CMPS) will showcase decision-making at the edge solutions at the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week event May 9-11 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005112/en/ Competition and conflict are constantly evolving. Tomorrow's battlespace will be more complex and contested. Cubic accelerates the NextAdvantage with mission inspired solutions that deliver assured multi-domain access and converged digital intelligence, empowering Special Operations Forces to act with greater speed and agility across all domains. Join us at SOF Week to learn how Cubic's portfolio of complementary capabilities accelerates the decision advantage at the edge. (Graphic: Business Wire) "The CMPS portfolio provides mission-driven solutions that address evolving threats and accelerate decision-making advantage at the edge," said CMPS President Paul Shew. "Our commitment is to deliver trusted capabilities to the warfighter that enable data-centric, multi-domain operations." Visit Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions in Exhibitor Booth #1605 and the Embassy Suites, Skyway Meeting Rooms at SOF Week. Top executives will be on-site and CMPS will showcase their solutions, which include edge computing and networking, digital intelligence, expeitionary satellite and tracking terminal solutions:



Enterprise Compute and Networking at the Edge with DTECH M3-SE: Cubic's DTECH-M3-SE combines enterprise-class computing and networking in a modular form factor with unprecedented ruggedness and scalability. It is suited for multiple echelons that require advanced applications for at-the-halt and quick-halt operations. Expeditionary Compute and Networking with DTECH M3X: Cubic's DTECH M3X product family allows users to operate in austere environments with ruggedized modules that comprise a network switch, router, application server, and smart battery power system. Offering the perfect blend of performance and portability, the M3X is ideal for mounted and dismounted forward units that require high-speed computing and networking at the tactical edge.

Transform Tactical Data? at the Edge with TAKTICS: ? TAKTICS is a tactical tool that enables users to quickly search, visualize and download geospatial data for handheld devices. Its web-based hub allows viewing and downloading tactical data sets, including data formatted for mobile devices running the Team Awareness Kit (TAK).? Edge Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems with Strike Suite and Anubis: Strike Suite is a turnkey solution for forward operations that combines Cubic hardware and software in a complete system to enable joint fires and effects, remote targeting and enhanced situational awareness. Anubis is a fully immersive FMV Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) Solution that provides operators the context of where and what they are observing and further exploit the data. 75-cm Foldable Satellite Terminal with Cubic Flex: Cubic's Flex sets new standards in portable satellite technology. Small enough to fit into a single airline carry-on case, it enables rapid tool-less setup in under five minutes. The Flex is ideal for establishing satellite communications in difficult-to-reach locations. Space Data Delivered to the Edge with GATR TRAC Tracking Terminal: Cubic's GATR TRAC is a tactical, mobile, sensor-agnostic direct-downlink terminal which provides assured, timely receipt of commercial imagery that integrates with data from other sources to satisfy field commanders' requests for information. Expanding beyond Cubic's SOF Week exhibition booth, the company will be supporting the Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation by presenting the Annual SOF Online Auction and Raffle on May 9. To learn more about Cubic products and services, visit www.cubic.com. About Cubic Cubic creates and delivers technology solutions in transportation that make people's lives easier by simplifying their daily journeys, and defense capabilities that help promote mission success and safety for those who serve their nation. Led by our talented teams around the world, Cubic is driven to solve global challenges through innovation and service to our customers and partners. Part of Cubic's portfolio of businesses, Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions (CMPS) provides networked Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) solutions and is a leading provider of LVC and game-based training solutions for both U.S. and Allied Forces. These mission-inspired capabilities enable assured multi-domain access; converged digital intelligence; and superior readiness for defense, intelligence, security and commercial missions. For more information, visit www.cubic.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005112/en/

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[May 01, 2023] Monada Joins the 10KMedia Roster of Premier Startups

10KMedia, the boutique PR agency focused on cutting-edge DevOps startups, today announced it will be formally representing Monada, the company behind the Wing Programming Language. Still in Alpha, Winglang is a cloud-oriented programming language that combines infrastructure and runtime code, elevating the developer experience and minimizing the complexity of the cloud. "Winglang is an extremely ambitious project that has the potential to change how developers build software," said Adam LaGreca, founder of 10KMedia. "Winglang offloads the complexities of cloud so that developers can write applications without having to deal with every gritty detail of the underlying infrastructure. Put another way - developers can now build distributed cloud systems with the developer experience of a monolithic codebase. This brings the full value of DevOps to fruition, enabling developers to focus squarely on the unique business logic that generates customer vaue."



Winglang is a modern, statically-typed, object-oriented language with special primitives that are designed for modeling distributed systems that heavily rely on cloud services. The Wing compiler produces a ready-to-deploy package that includes both infrastructure configuration files that can be provisioned using Terraform, CloudFormation, or other engines; as well as application code bundles designed to run on cloud compute platforms such as AWS Lambda, Kubernetes or edge compute. Winglang is open sourced under the MIT license and designed for extensibility and openness at all layers. It allows teams to completely customize the way their systems are deployed. Winglang is shipped with a powerful visual cloud simulator called the Wing Console, which allows developers to quickly iterate on their Wing code as it is being developed, without having to constantly deploy their code to the cloud.

Monada, the company behind Winglang, was co-founded by CEO Elad Ben-Israel - the original creator of the AWS Cloud Development Kit, CDK for Kubernetes (CDK8s), JSII, and Projen; as well as COO Shai Ber, a former software developer at Microsoft, investor, and founder who went on to sell his company Aniways to Verizon back in 2015. Winglang is currently in Alpha, yet already has nearly 800 stars on GitHub. "It's great to see so much interest and excitement from the community - we're basically scratching our own itches as cloud developers and solving real problems that we are intimately familiar with," said Elad Ben-Israel, CEO and Co-Founder of Monada. " We know Winglang will unlock a tremendous amount of productivity, and more importantly, creativity and innovation. We are excited to work with 10KMedia and believe they are the right partner to help get our story out into the world." Quotes of Support

"Adam joined Datadog in 2016 as we were growing fast yet still under the radar. He helped us get the right level of media attention with poise and enthusiasm". -- Olivier Pomel, CEO and Co-Founder of Datadog "Adam was with DigitalOcean when we were still in our small office in SoHo on Lafayette. He took full ownership of our press efforts which led to much better results than the prior agency we were using. I couldn't recommend him enough." -- Mitch Wainer, Co-Founder of DigitalOcean "Working with 10KMedia has been a tremendous boost in Amberflo's narrative and media presence. We're on an ambitious mission to transform how software companies think about billing, and we want the best folks we can find to help us along the journey. 10KMedia has been that partner for our communications." -- Puneet Gupta, CEO & Founder of Amberflo.io About 10KMedia 10KMedia is a boutique PR agency focused on DevOps. The agency's founder led communications for DigitalOcean, Datadog, and Gremlin. Current clients include Amberflo, Finout, Jeli, Monada, Permit.io, and Rookout. Operations are based in Dumbo, Brooklyn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230503005002/en/

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[May 01, 2023] STRADVISION Receives European Automotive Industry's Top Information Security Management Standard, TISAX AL3

TISAX's AL3 standard further positions STRADVISION as an excellent partner providing unparalleled reliability in the level of information security

The achievement spurs STRADVISION's focus on global business expansion, including the European market SEOUL, South Korea, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- STRADVISION , an automotive industry pioneer in deep learning-based vision perception technology, has received the highest assessment level (AL3) of TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange), covering the highest requirements of various assessment objectives. TISAX's assessment is an important information security entry permit for the German auto supply chain. It shows that STRADVISION has reached the optimal standard in the European automotive industry to provide safe and reliable services to OEM customers across the region and globally. TISAX was jointly developed in 2017 by VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) and ENX (European Network Exchange) as an information security and exchange platform for the automotive industry. Based on the VDA's information security assessment requirements in 2017, TISAX is committed to promoting automotive industry suppliers (including parts manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers) to meet the information security requirements of different relevant arties (particularly automakers). This ensures that TISAX's assessment results can be recognized, exchanged, and trusted widely to reduce the high cost of repeated automaker inspections.



"STRADVISION's OEM customers, especially in Europe, tend to require strict security-related standards when selecting parts suppliers," STRADVISION COO and USA CEO Sunny Lee said. "This is especially true when considering the global standards and ESG framework by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Our strategy is to expand our presence in global markets, including Europe, based on unique technology and top-notch security management capabilities." The assessment of STRADVISION was conducted on-site by DQS, a world-renowned TISAX assessment provider, who visited STRADVISION's data center, development center, production center, and offices to observe multiple aspects of the company's information security. This included information collection, storage, and processing, as well as work equipment, IT systems, and related contractors. Through the strict audit process, STRADVISION obtained the top level of TISAX labeling, including a "Very High" capability of handling information with high protection needs. The achievement for STRADVISION follows their prior obtaining of ISO information security management system certification (ISO/IEC 27001:2013), and demonstrates that STRADVISION's information security management system has met the optimal requirements of the European automotive industry.

STRADVISION also recently became a member of both the VDA and CLEPA (European Association of Automotive Suppliers) and has opened new offices in Friedrichshafen and Dusseldorf, Germany. In addition, the company's proprietary SVNet software was once again selected as the 'Best-in-Class Software for Perception Systems' during the 2022 AutoSens Awards in Brussels, Belgium. About STRADVISION Founded in 2014, STRADVISION is an automotive industry pioneer in artificial intelligence-based vision perception technology for ADAS. The company is accelerating the advent of fully autonomous vehicles by making ADAS features available at a fraction of the market cost compared with competitors. STRADVISION's SVNet is being deployed on various vehicle models in partnership with OEMs; can power ADAS and autonomous vehicles worldwide; and is serviced by over 300 employees in Seoul, San Jose, Detroit, Tokyo, Shanghai, Friedrichshafen, and Dusseldorf. STRADVISION has been honored with Frost & Sullivan's 2022 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award, the Gold Award at the 2022 and 2021 AutoSens Awards for Best-in-Class Software for Perception Systems, and the 2020 Autonomous Vehicle Technology ACES Award in Autonomy (software category). In addition, STRADVISION and its software has achieved TISAX's AL3 standard for information security management, as well as being certified to the ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management Systems and ISO 26262 for Automotive Functional Safety. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stradvision-receives-european-automotive-industrys-top-information-security-management-standard-tisax-al3-301811883.html SOURCE StradVision

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[May 01, 2023] Zimmer Biomet Announces Acquisition of OSSIS

SINGAPORE, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), a global medical technology leader, today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire OSSIS, a privately-held medical device company that specializes in personalized 3D printed implants, as well as complex hip replacements, including second-time hip replacements and replacements involving bone tumors and trauma. OSSIS provides rapid design and production of personalized implants that align with Zimmer Biomet's commitment to providing personalized experiences, with the goal of improving patient outcomes. This acquisition demonstrates Zimmer Biomet's commitment to advancing innovation in the medical technology industry and strengthens the Company's position as a global medical technology leader. Zimmer Biomet announced in July 2021 an agreement with OSSIS as the Company's Asia Pacific partner for patient-specific 3D-printed titanium hip joint replacements and other pelvic boe replacement surgery. The partnership was expanded to Europe, Middle East, and Africa in December 2022. The acquisition marks the continuation of a successful partnership and will allow Zimmer Biomet to enhance the Company's hip reconstruction product portfolio.



"Combining OSSIS's more than 16 years of clinical experience and engineering expertise with Zimmer Biomet's extensive network across Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa demonstrates our commitment to bring transformative med tech advancements to patients in need," said Sang Yi, Zimmer Biomet Asia Pacific Group President. "We are very pleased to partner with these patients and their physicians as we work toward our mission to alleviate pain and improve the quality of life for people around the world." "Zimmer Biomet shares our ethos of innovative technology with a strong patient focus, and OSSIS is thrilled to join Zimmer Biomet's established portfolio with cutting-edge solutions and expert capabilities," said Kelvin Hyland, OSSIS Managing Director.

About Zimmer Biomet Zimmer Biomet is a global medical technology leader with a comprehensive portfolio designed to maximize mobility and improve health. We seamlessly transform the patient experience through our innovative products and suite of integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence. With 90+ years of trusted leadership and proven expertise, Zimmer Biomet is positioned to deliver the highest quality solutions to patients and providers. Our legacy continues to come to life today through our progressive culture of evolution and innovation. For more information about our product portfolio, our operations in 25+ countries and sales in 100+ countries or about joining our team, visit http://www.zimmerbiomet.com or follow Zimmer Biomet on Twitter at https://twitter.com/zimmerbiomet. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/zimmer-biomet-announces-acquisition-of-ossis-301804806.html SOURCE Zimmer Biomet

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[May 01, 2023] Trendyol and PASHA Holding sign an agreement for a joint venture in the Azerbaijan market

ISTANBUL, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trendyol, the leading e-commerce platform in Turkiye and one of the largest technology companies in Europe, has today announced that it is entering the Azerbaijan market. With an agreement signed with Baku-based PASHA Holding, one of the largest conglomerates in the Caucasus region, to establish a joint venture company to provide e-commerce services in Azerbaijan, Trendyol is taking another step in its international growth strategy, after launching its first platform outside Turkiye, in Germany, in 2022. Caglayan Cetin, President of Trendyol Group, stated: "The synergies created by PASHA Holding's experience in the Azerbaijan market and Trendyol's expertise in technology, logistics and manufacturing will make significant contributions to the development of the e-commerce ecosystem in Azerbaijan. The platform will also serve to bring together Turkish and Azerbaijani producers, sellers and customers and thus will be the first ecosystem to serve the interests of both countries." PASHA Holding CEO Jalal Gasimov commented: "The interest for e-commerce has surged in Azerbaijan due to its convenience, wider product selection, and competitive pricing. This agreement will enhance the customer journey by providing easy access to a wider product assortment at affordable prices, while also offering embedded finance products and other services of Azerbaijani companies including PASHA Ecosystem to improve overall financial health." Founded in Istanbul tirteen years ago, Trendyol has evolved from a private label fashion site to Turkiye's leading multi-category marketplace. In 2021, it became the first ever decacorn in the country following a fundraising round. In addition to its platform in Turkiye, it operates a fashion site in Germany, Trendyol.de and wholesales its own-brand fashion labels to more than ninety of the world's leading online platforms.



About Trendyol Founded in 2010, Trendyol is the leading e-commerce platform in Turkiye and one of the largest technology companies in Europe. Trendyol continues to create value by maintaining one of Turkiye's pioneering R&D centers, Trendyol Tech; Turkiye's fastest growing logistics network, Trendyol Express; instant grocery and meal delivery service, Trendyol Go and Turkiye's largest secondhand goods platform, Dolap. Trendyol brings Turkish manufacturers together with 27 European countries, via trendyol.com/de for German customers, and trendyol.com/en. Trendyol also reaches customers in more than 90 countries through partner platforms with its B2B model. Trendyol enables domestic producers to e-export to more than 100 countries. Trendyol will serve customers directly through its own platform in Azerbaijan. Last year, Azerbaijan ranked first in terms of international orders placed on Trendyol. In addition, according to data provided by App Annie, Trendyol was the most downloaded app in Azerbaijan in 2022.

About PASHA Holding Established in 2006, PASHA Holding is a leading business conglomerate based in Azerbaijan. With diverse business interests across a wide range of sectors, including banking, insurance, construction, groceries, agriculture, hospitality and others, PASHA Holding operates in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Montenegro. In addition to its traditional offline businesses, PASHA Holding has established a significant presence in the digital retail ecosystem by offering value-added services around its core retail banking services (i.e. BirBank by Kapital Bank) for consumers. These services include a merchant-sponsored bonus program across main consumption categories, a B2C marketplace with a focus on consumer electronics, beauty, and household goods, digital wallet services, and other services from different business verticals. Media contact: Greta Willenbrock, Edelman GmbH

[email protected]

+49 30 221829046 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trendyol-and-pasha-holding-sign-an-agreement-for-a-joint-venture-in-the-azerbaijan-market-301811852.html SOURCE Trendyol

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[May 01, 2023] PURINA GOES BACK TO SCHOOL WITH THERAPY DOG VISITS TO HELP MANAGE STUDENT STRESS BEFORE FINAL EXAMS

University visits throughout first week of May unleash power of pets to kickoff Mental Health Awareness Month ST. LOUIS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Purina is unleashing the power of pets to help manage stress for college students ahead of final exams in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month. A group of Purina employee-led Touch Therapy teams is visiting the campus of the University of MissouriSt. Louis (UMSL) this week to officially kickoff Mental Health Awareness Month and to help educate students on the mental and physical benefits of pet interactions. Four additional universities in the greater St. Louis area will host Touch Therapy visits throughout the first week of May. The teams visiting UMSL's campus are comprised of Purina employees and family pets who have completed training and are certified by Duo Dogs, a national nonprofit organization that trains and connects dogs with people, to cultivate positive change in individuals, families, and communities. Additional campus visits during the first week of May will be conducted by Duo Dogs' Touch Therapy volunteer teams, and include area schools Harris-Stowe State University, Saint Louis University, Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville, and Webster University. Touch Therapy visits prove to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure, as well as reduced feeling of loneliness, increased feelings of social support and boost overall mood, according to the National Institutes of Health. Collectively, the Touch Therapy team visits are estimated to complete around 1,800 student interactions. "At Purina, we know the positive impact pets have on our lies, and this week of university visits allows us to illustrate that and make more people aware of the tangible benefits of pet interactions," said Dr. Julie Spears, a Purina scientist who recently completed the Purina Touch Therapy certification program with her dog, Graham. "Mental Health Awareness Month is the ideal time for us to unleash the power of pets and help college students manage their stress during the final exams crunch."



These programs and the university visits come at a time when mental health awareness is more prevalent, and an increased demand for animal assisted therapy is leaving organizations like Duo Dogs in need of more volunteer Touch Therapy teams. Seven out of 10 young people say they are struggling with mental health issues, based on a recent study by the National 4-H Council. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime, and that one in five Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year. Purina partnered with Duo Dogs to launch its first-ever employee-led Touch Therapy dog program last September in response to increasing demand for therapy dogs by organizations serving youth and families. Since launching, Purina has graduated two classes, and now sponsors 15 employee volunteer Touch teams, with another class of 16 slated to begin training this summer. Purina is also sponsoring a litter of puppies, all of which are being raised by Purina employees and trained to serve as certified Duo Dog facility, assistance or service dogs.

For more information on how Purina is leveraging pets to address mental health, visit purina.com/mentalhealth. About Purina

Nestle Purina PetCare creates richer lives for pets and the people who love them. Founded in 1894, Purina has helped dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives by offering scientifically based nutritional innovations. Purina manufactures some of the world's most trusted and popular pet care products, including Purina Cat Chow, Purina ONE, Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Tidy Cats. Our more than 10,000 U.S. associates take pride in our trusted pet food, treat and litter brands that feed 46 million dogs and 68 million cats every year. More than 500 Purina scientists, veterinarians, and pet care experts ensure our commitment to unsurpassed quality and nutrition. Purina promotes responsible pet care through our scientific research, our products and our support for pet-related organizations. Over the past five years, Purina has contributed more than $150 million towards organizations that bring, and keep, people and pets together, as well as those that help our communities and environment thrive. Purina is part of Nestle, a global leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness. For more information, visit purina.com or subscribe here to get the latest Purina news. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purina-goes-back-to-school-with-therapy-dog-visits-to-help-manage-student-stress-before-final-exams-301811469.html SOURCE Purina

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Oscar Piastri just missed out on a top-ten finish in Baku but given his ailing form over the weekend due to a stomach bug, the Aussie was happy to see the chequered flag at the end of the day.

The McLaren rookie arrived in Azerbaijan feeling under the weather, and his condition initially got worse before it improved on Sunday.

Despite his sickness, Piastri acquitted himself well, qualifying P10 for Sunday's race and also concluding F1's Sprint in tenth position.

The 22-year-old apprentice spent almost his entire afternoon on Sunday in the thick of the midfield, between AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Williams' Alex Albon, eventually finishing just outside the points in eleventh position.

"We were just lacking a bit of pace in the middle of the race, so there wasnt really much more we could do," Piastri said.

"Todays probably been the best Ive felt all weekend, which isnt saying much. Its been very difficult physically, especially yesterday it was pretty rough."

Retaining his sense of humor, Piastri joked that he was "a lot lighter than I was at the start of the weekend".

I think I had about four pieces of toast for the whole weekend," he added. "So I need to get some food back in me before Miami.

"Its been been tough, happy to see the end of it, but I still learnt a lot today on tyre management and stuff like that.

"So well have a look and see what we can do better next time."

McLaren boss Andrea Stella, who at one point was unsure that Piastri would be able to complete his race weekend, praised his driver for "finding the resources" to endure his plight.

"We have had a couple of points during the weekend in which we needed to evaluate 'Is it better to rest now to make sure that we are okay on Sunday?," said Stella when asked about Piastri.

"So I can certainly admit that we have made this evaluation a couple of times, we've been very well supported by our team doctor.

"And the overall medical support I would like to acknowledge has been excellent in assisting Oscar, like his team.

"But Oscar has always been very calm, and 'Okay, let's try, I'll get in the car. If I can't do it, I will box.

"And then he has always found the resources to go through the session. But yes, a couple of points we thought, let's think that we want to be okay on Sunday, not now."

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[May 01, 2023] Aventi Group Announces Marie Melgaard as VP Social Media Practice

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aventi Group, LLC, Silicon Valley's premier on-demand product marketing agency, is pleased to further expand their Executive Leadership Team by naming Marie Melgaard as VP Social Media Practice. "I am excited to welcome Marie Melgaard as the newest member of our leadership team at Aventi Group. With her impressive track record of developing and executing successful social media campaigns, I am confident that Marie will play a key role in driving our clients' success, and I look forward to working with her closely," says Jeff Thompson, President and Co-founder of Aventi Group. Based in the Bay Area, Marie has over 25 years experience in the technology industry as a skilled marketing and communications expert. "Over the last 25 years of my career in the technology industry, it has been truly amazing to reflect on how many major advancements in technology have revolutionized how the world works today. The ability to change the world and make peoples lives better is what most excites me about working in the technology industry. Working at Aventi offers me the exciting opportunity to partner with amazing clients to use storytelling, strategy, best practices, and innovations to share their value prop and story with the world. Having that opportunity to make a business impact is very thrilling," says Marie when describing her career.



With a background in corporate communications, social media, and integrated marketing, Marie has a proven track record in building high-performing, cross-functional teams committed to advancing business objectives, increasing brand affinity and customer loyalty. Over the last 15 years, Marie has led a global Fortune 500, best-in-class social media program that represents some of the most successful product social channels in the industry. Marie is known for leading from the heart, described as being hardworking, genuine, and honest. She has a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University and is passionate about Hispanics in technology, women in technology, and mentoring refugees and youth. Overall, Marie's appointment to the Aventi Group's Executive Leadership Team is expected to drive clients' success through her extensive experience and proven track record in social media and integrated marketing.

About Aventi Group, LLC Aventi Group is the leading product marketing agency with 25+ years of experience helping B2B tech businesses drive growth and optimize revenue. Aventi recently made the Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Aventi offers customized solutions for GTM strategy, product launch, content creation, account-based marketing, sales enablement, and social media services. Aventi Group's team of experts delivers measurable results and works closely with clients to develop solutions tailored to their unique business needs. Clients include SAP, Adobe, Fortinet, HPE, Malwarebytes, ServiceNow, Okta, Palo Alto Networks and Zendesk. Founded in 2008, Aventi Group is based in Silicon Valley, California. For more information, visit www.aventigroup.com and follow us on LinkedIn . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aventi-group-announces-marie-melgaard-as-vp-social-media-practice-301810979.html SOURCE Aventi Group

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[May 01, 2023] Veteran Technology Executive Kelly Ducourty Joins UiPath as Chief Customer Officer

UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation software company, today announced that Kelly Ducourty is joining the Company in the role of Chief Customer Officer, effective immediately. Reporting to Rob Enslin, UiPath Co-CEO, Ducourty leads all customer operations, customer success and professional services, enablement, incentive design, and global partners to advance the organization's mission to help customers and partners achieve exceptional business outcomes and ongoing value with UiPath. Ducourty joins UiPath most recently from Google, where she led Go-to-Market Strategy and Operations at Google Cloud and also drove the small- and medium-sized business segment. In this role, she played a key part in the global sales organization and was accountable for driving Google Cloud's growth at scale. This included geographical expansion into more than 10 markets, focusing on industry-specific approaches and solutions to enable positive customer outcomes, and implementing approaches to enhance sales operations for the organization. Prior to joining Google, Ducourty spent over two decades at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in various sales capacities. Most recently, she served as Senior Vic President of Worldwide Sales Excellence where she was responsible for all global sales functions within HPE and was chartered to provide best practices and synergies globally across the organization. In that role, she also led the 'as a service' business, and was responsible for large deal business development and the enablement of the company's sales and partners. Prior, she led the companies' largest and most strategic accounts spanning five industries.



"Thousands of organizations rely on UiPath to transform industries and improve the lives of people around the world, and we are deeply committed to delivering an exceptional customer and partner experience," said Enslin. "Kelly is a strategic and transformational leader who has driven real scale while keeping the customer at the center. She brings deep cross-functional expertise to UiPath that will be instrumental in aligning our go-to-market teams and delighting our customers. I'm thrilled to welcome Kelly as our new Chief Customer Officer, and I look forward to this next stage of growth under her leadership." "UiPath is helping customers around the world to build pathways to more seamless cross-organizational business solutions, laying the foundation for innovations to scale," said Ducourty. "I am looking forward to contributing my expertise and working alongside the UiPath team to build upon their success, and further elevate what I believe to be an already top-notch customer and partner experience."

Ducourty is passionate about STEM+C education and career development for young women. She serves as President of the British Benevolent Society in Northern California as well as Chair of the American Cancer Society Gala for San Francisco. About UiPath UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is on a mission to uplevel knowledge work so more people can work more creatively, collaboratively, and strategically. The AI-powered UiPath Business Automation Platform combines the leading robotic process automation (RPA) solution with a full suite of capabilities to understand, automate, and operate end-to-end processes, offering unprecedented time-to-value. For organizations that need to evolve to survive and thrive through increasingly changing times, UiPath is The Foundation of Innovation. For more information, visit www.uipath.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005050/en/

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[May 01, 2023] Kohl's Donates $3 Million to Children's Wisconsin in Support of Three Additional Mental Health Walk-In Clinic Locations

Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Children's Wisconsin today announced a $3 million commitment from Kohl's that will support the opening of three additional mental health walk-in clinic locations in Wisconsin. The donation, which comes on the first day of National Mental Health Awareness Month, builds on the organizations' continued work to build awareness, remove barriers, and make critical mental health services more accessible to youth and families across the state. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005108/en/ The new locations will offer similar services to those provided at the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic on the Children's Wisconsin Milwaukee campus. The intent is to open one location each year over the next three years. Locations of the new clinics have not yet been selected, but will be spread throughout Wisconsin. "The mental health issues impacting today's youth are of the utmost importance, and we applaud the work Children's Wisconsin has been doing to prioritize and develop tangible solutions to support mental wellness for all children," said Christie Raymond, Kohl's chief marketing officer. "Through our continued partnership, Kohl's is proud to play a role in increasing access to critical mental health services and creating pathways to greater health and well-being for kids across Wisconsin." "Wisconsin kids are telling us what kids all over the country have been telling us - this is a crisis," said Amy Herbst, MSSW, APSW, vice president of mental and behavioral health at Children's Wisconsin. "We are so grateful that Kohl's recognizes the urgency in addressing this need and continues to support these efforts. We know that more Wisconsin kids will begin a path to better health and healing because of their gift." The walk-in clinics provide immediate mental health support to kids 5-18 years old and are staffed with licensed therapists and social workers. The clinics offer a therapy session, safety evaluation and support in connecting families to long-term resources either through Children's Wisconsin or in the community. Opened in March 2022, the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic in Milwaukee is the only mental health walk-in clinic in the state and has supported more than 1,000 kids. Around 50 percent of the kids were from Milwaukee County, but families traveled from as far away as Manitowoc and Chicago to receive immediate care, highlighting the need for more resources statewide. Data from the Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health shows that in 2022, anxiety, depression, and suicide reports were up, with 34 percent of Wisconsin students feeling sad and hopeless almost every day. That's a 10 percent increase over the last 10 years. In additon, 22 percent of Wisconsin high school students reported physically harming themselves, and 52 percent reported anxiety. This is consistent with the concerns seen by mental health providers at the Craig Yabuki Mental Health Walk-In Clinic over the last year. The vast majority of kids have reported anxiety, depression, trauma concerns, and school avoidance.



The additional walk-in clinics continue the commitment of Children's Wisconsin to ensure that every child's mental health is as important as caring for their physical health. In 2019, Children's Wisconsin made a 5-year, $150 million commitment to address the mental health crisis facing Wisconsin kids by detecting needs sooner, improving access to care and raising awareness of mental health. Kohl's was among the first to support efforts by the health system, committing $5 million in 2019 to expand school-based mental health services, introduce mental health screening tools and support an awareness campaign on mental health needs. Kohl's donation is made possible through Kohl's philanthropic program, Kohl's Cares, which sells children's books and toys and donates 100 percent of the net profit to support the health and wellness of families in our communities nationwide. Since 2001, Kohl's has committed more than $23 million to Children's Wisconsin to help Wisconsin's kids live stronger, healthier lives. The long-standing partnership is rooted in creating new and exciting programs focused on kids' health and education, and in recent years has focused on addressing the mental health crisis.

This commitment to Children's Wisconsin serves as an extension of Kohl's broader philanthropic focus on mental health and wellness nationwide. In addition to Kohl's hometown partnership with Children's Wisconsin, the national retailer also supports Alliance for a Healthier Generation, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, and is a member of NAMI's StigmaFree Company initiative. Additionally, through a national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Kohl's has committed $10 million to support the development and delivery of trauma-informed training to Club staff. For more than 60 years, Kohl's has been a proud member of the Milwaukee community and has given more than $152 million to nonprofits in its hometown. In addition to partnerships with local nonprofits who are making a difference in the community every day, Kohl's also gives back through its Hometown Giving Program, and recognizes associate volunteer efforts for causes and organizations they care about through the Kohl's Volunteer Program. To learn more, please visit Corporate.Kohls.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "may," "intends," "will," "should," "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's then current views and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks described more fully in Item 1A in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may periodically be described in the Company's filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements relate to the date initially made, and Kohl's undertakes no obligation to update them. About Kohl's Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) is a leading omnichannel retailer. With more than 1,100 stores in 49 states and the online convenience of Kohls.com and the Kohl's App, Kohl's offers amazing national and private brands at incredible savings for families nationwide. Kohl's is committed to progress in its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, and the company's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) stewardship. For a list of store locations or to shop online, visit Kohls.com. For more information about Kohl's impact in the community or how to join our winning team, visit Corporate.Kohls.com. About Children's Wisconsin Children's Wisconsin is the region's only independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. The hospital, with locations in Milwaukee and Neenah, Wisconsin, is recognized as one of the leading pediatric health care centers in the United States. It is ranked in eight specialty areas in U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Children's Hospitals report. Children's Wisconsin provides primary care, specialty care, urgent care, emergency care, community health services, foster and adoption services, child and family counseling, child advocacy services and family resource centers. In 2021, Children's Wisconsin invested more than $151 million in the community to improve the health status of children through medical care, advocacy, education and pediatric medical research. Children's Wisconsin achieves its mission in part through donations from individuals, corporations and foundations and is proud to be a member of Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005108/en/

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[May 01, 2023] Jefferson Regional Deploys Athena Security's Weapons Detection System

Holistic entryway security with visitor management and incident reporting for a safer experience. AUSTIN, Texas, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Athena Security today announces that Jefferson Regional of Southeast Arkansas is using its weapons detection system to bolster their holistic approach to proactively keeping healthcare workers and patients safe. A not-for-profit located on the Western ridge of the Arkansas Delta, Jefferson Regional is a 300-bed facility providing 11 counties with essential healthcare services for the last 100 years. By adding Athena Security to enhance its safety profile, Jefferson Regional continues its strong history of leveraging state of the art technologies to best serve employees, patients and visitors. "Whether it's adding the daVinci surgical robot to improve patient care or the Athena Security weapons screening for added safety at both our main hospital entrance as well as the Emergency Department entrance at Jefferson Regional, we always try to do what is best for our community," said Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Austin. "As we looked for an entryway security provider, we knew we needed to cover both entrances for comprehensive coverage. The provider needed to be responsive, have personable service and the ability to minimize risk at our facility. Athena was our number one choice." Over the years Jefferson Regional has taken a proactive stance to securing its campus. Performing regular security assessments have led to holistic secuity changes like the addition of security cameras, increased patrols, additional security vehicles, panic alarms, tasers instead of pepper spray, active shooter training, all backed by a security staff with over 200 years of law enforcement expertise. Athena Security's unobtrusive entryway system is located at the facility's two public entryways: the main entrance and at the emergency room entryway.



Athena Security's incident reporting software was another great feature for Jefferson Regional to have the tools to easily document and analyze all incidents at the facility. With the national rate of violence against healthcare workers 12 times higher than in the overall workforce, 85% of emergency room doctors state that violence is increasing (Sherwood, Arkansas hospital shooting last September, 45 minutes from Jefferson Regional) . Incident reporting is a major upgrade to the existing manual system providing a data driven, evidence-based approach to reduce risks within the medical center. Athena Security's new visitor management system , first released at Jefferson Regional, will help with workflow and the security of patients and visitors checking in. This addition helps automate the security of the entryways by identifying minors, persons of interest, speeds the check-in process, limits visitors per room and much more while connecting to the Weapons Detection System by Athena as well.

About Athena Security

Headquartered in Austin, TX and founded by former Revel Systems Co-founders Lisa Falzone and Chris Ciabarra, Athena's weapons Detection System hardware and software is made up from CEIA OPENGATE, Apple iPad with LiDAR sensor, milestone, Avigilon and many more. The concealed weapons detection solution, now including Athena's new visitor management system allows for a quick secure check-in process. For more information go to Athena Security's website at http://athena-security.com . Media Contact:

Jamie Diamond

541-441-4444

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jefferson-regional-deploys-athena-securitys-weapons-detection-system-301810779.html SOURCE Athena Security

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[May 01, 2023] Metropolitan Community College to Modernize Operations Across Five Campuses with Ellucian Banner SaaS

Community College Leader Selects Higher Education's Most Sophisticated SaaS ERP to Improve Experience for Students, Faculty and Staff RESTON, Va. and KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, today announced that Metropolitan Community College ("MCC") has selected Ellucian's Banner SaaS platform to modernize its existing technology infrastructure, strengthening institutional resiliency and optimizing student outcomes. A new Ellucian customer, Metropolitan Community College serves more than 20,000 students across five campuses and joins more than 2,900 universities and colleges, across 50 countries, who partner with Ellucian to manage critical institutional processes. "We are proud to partner with Metropolitan Community College as they embrace a supportive and diverse learning environment providing the best opportunity for students to achieve their goals and delivering the most critical talent to support the demands of the local workforce," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian. "A leading example among community colleges, MCC's digital transformation will leverage the power of Ellucian solutions to streamline operations and create a more personalized experience for students, giving them the tools to succeed both inside and outside the classroom." MCC was seeking a partner to deliver a 21 st-century technology platform to help transform into a destination workplace, provide a world-class experience for its constituents, remove barriers to access, and refocus efforts to better serve historically underrepresented students.



Dr. Kimberly Beatty, MCC Chancellor, expressed enthusiasm about the change to Ellucian and said it can't get here quickly enough. "MCC is excited to partner with Ellucian to transform and modernize the way we do business," Dr. Beatty said. "Our students are the real winners, here, though. Streamlining our business operations processes and creating a more user-friendly student experience honors our commitment to accessibility for all."

Ellucian supports MCC's vision and institutional objectives by delivering innovation, integration, and information through a successful implementation of the Banner SaaS platform. This upgrade will deliver a digital ecosystem that keeps pace with the rapidly evolving technology landscape of higher education, enabling executives, faculty, and staff to be proactive with timely and accurate data-driven insights. The new platform will maximize effectiveness for overall institutional success across five campuses, and create a best-in-class academic experience focused on successful outcomes for all students. For more information on Ellucian solutions, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/ ABOUT METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Metropolitan Community College is Kansas City's oldest public institution of higher education and educates about 20,000 students annually through credit and noncredit courses and business services. MCC is one college with five campuses  MCC-Blue River, MCC-Longview, MCC-Maple Woods, MCC-Online and MCC-Penn Valley. The MCC mission: Preparing students, serving communities, creating opportunities for all. ABOUT ELLUCIAN

Ellucian powers innovation for higher education, partnering with more than 2,900 customers across 50 countries, serving 22 million students. Fueled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, including data-rich tools for student recruitment, enrollment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners and user community of more than 45,000 provides best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes. Media Contacts

Lindsay Stanley

[email protected] Blake Fry

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/metropolitan-community-college-to-modernize-operations-across-five-campuses-with-ellucian-banner-saas-301811120.html SOURCE Ellucian

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[May 01, 2023] Nusano to Present Production Capabilities to European Radiopharmaceuticals Working Group

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nusano, Inc., a medical technology company reshaping the production of cancer-fighting radioisotopes, today announced Gregory Moffitt, PhD, Director of Target Development at Nusano, will present an overview of the companys breakthrough production platform to the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Astatine-211 Working Group on May 4, 2023. Presentation materials will be available on the companys website following the event.

Yields from existing production of Astatine-211 are limited to supporting research and clinical trials, said Moffitt. Production capabilities must be significantly scaled up worldwide to supply radioisotope quantities needed to power next generation radiopharmaceuticals. Opening the first quarter of 2025, Nusanos West Valley City, Utah facility will produce a wide variety of rare and undersupplied medical isotopes in quantities sufficient to support both clinical development and commercial manufacturing of radiopharmaceuticals. Nusanos proprietary ion source and pulsed beam can produce up to 12 different radioisotopes simultaneously. This novel and unique capability will give Nusano the flexibility to adjust radioisotope production levels in real-time to service existing needs and support emerging industry demand. Production capacity of Astatine-211 (At-211) at Nusano's first facility alone will be approximately 10 times the curren global supply of the isotope. At-211 is an alpha-emitting radioisotope used in cancer-fighting medical applications called targeted alpha therapy (TAT). Increasing interest in the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of medical radioisotopes, including At-211, is exposing the fragility of existing supply chains and need for new production methods.



The unprecedented scalability and flexibility of Nusanos proprietary platform will enable innovation by addressing the significant global shortage of medical radioisotopes, said Chris Lowe, CEO of Nusano. We are actively engaging collaborators and governments around the world and look forward to bringing our production online in early 2025. About European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a funding organization for the creation of research networks, called COST Actions. These networks offer an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond) and thereby give impetus to research advancements and innovation. To learn more visit www.cost.eu.

About Nusano, Inc.

Nusano is a privately held medical technology company committed to bringing stability and innovation to the rapidly emerging and critically undersupplied medical radioisotopes market. Nusanos proprietary ion source is smaller and more efficient than existing production methods. This results in significantly greater yields and allows for the simultaneous manufacturing of multiple radioisotopes. Nusanos technologies will supply the fight against cancer and support diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical development. The companys state-of-the-art production facility opens Q1 2025 in West Valley City, Utah. For more, please visit www.nusano.com . Contacts: At Nusano: Scott Larrivee, Head of PR & Communications, 608-345-6629, [email protected]

Investor Relations: Joyce Allaire, LifeSci Advisors, LLC, 212-915-2569, [email protected]



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[May 01, 2023] Torch.AI Awarded New Patent for Real-Time AI

LEAWOOD, Kan., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Torch.AI, Pioneers of Data Infrastructure AI, announced today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has formerly approved and issued Torch.AI a new patent, No. 11556695, for 'Combinatorial Inflight Analysis of Multipart Data' using pretrained machine learning models, a method of processing and analyzing any data instantly, giving new recognition to the remarkable innovations developed by the Kansas City-based artificial intelligence company. Torch.AI Innovation Brings Patent Award for Combinatorial Inflight Analysis of Multipart Data "This patent has been a long-time in the making and a huge effort from our engineering team over the last several years," said Jon Kramer, Torch.AI's Chief Technology Officer. "Every so oftn, there is a seismic shift in technological advancements that fundamentally changes how things are done. We believe this approach is doing just that."



Nearly four years in the making, the patent award further strengthens the case that Torch.AI has developed a wholly new way of building data infrastructure for high risk, high speed, and large-scale decisioning systems. Government and enterprise leaders struggle as they consider long-term implications for how data is used to drive value for their organizations and improve productivity for their teams, who commonly spend up to 75% of their day manually processing information. The revolutionary approach from Torch.AI allows these organizations to seamlessly unlock value trapped in messy, siloed datasets, such as forms, video, images, sensors, files, documents, emails, and notes; data objects which typically comprise nearly 90% of an organization's total data volumes. "Data warehouses and data lakes are decades old approaches that can't keep up with the explosion of data and sensors," said Brian Weaver, Torch.AI's Chief Executive Officer." By processing data in-flight, Torch.AI's platforms remove the impediments to decision advantage, lower costs, and deliver data seemlessly to the end-user for simplified, real-time consumption, analysis, and understanding."

Torch.AI's AI platforms are currently active within a variety of Department of Defense and national security focused agencies, as well as leading financial services enterprises. The platforms' hardened capabilities require minimal configuration for data integration and model creation which allows for rapid development, deployment, and production use in any client environment without disruption to existing operations. About Torch.AI Torch.AI, the Data Infrastructure AI Pioneers, are headquartered in Kansas City with offices in Washington, DC. The company builds AI that makes data easier to use by processing data in-flight and radically evolving analytic and operational capabilities in any IT environment. The Torch Platform instantly unlocks value from data and provides information needed for humans and machines to be more productive. Partnering with U.S. military forces, the company's solutions and people support a growing array of national defense capabilities with advanced technology. media contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/torchai-awarded-new-patent-for-real-time-ai-301811292.html SOURCE Torch.AI

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[May 01, 2023] Metronet Again Named Iowa's Fastest Internet Service Provider

Metronet, the nation's largest independently owned 100% fiber optic provider, today announced it has been ranked the fastest internet service provider (ISP) in Iowa. According to recently released data from Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, Metronet was ranked the "Fastest Internet Service Provider in Iowa" with a median download speed of 241.55 megabits per second (Mbps) and median upload speed of 209.67 Mbps for Q1 2023. "In an increasingly online world, the rapidly growing number of technology offerings require ultra-high-speed internet. Metronet is proud to provide the fastest internet speeds in Iowa to more than two dozen communities throughout the state," said Craig Zimmerman, Metronet Government Affairs Manager. "Our reliable, 100% fiber optic network delivers consistent connectivity within the communities we serve, providing the future of technology through multi-gigabit speeds that have become key to working, learning and entertaining online." As a leading fiber optic internet provider, Metronet and its affiliates provide ultra-high-speed 100% fiber optic internet speeds to more than 250 communities throughout 16 states. With an expanded presence in Iowa, Metronet will continue to support more communities throughout the state with access to a 100% fiber optic infrastructure providing multi-gigabit speeds up to 10 gigabits with symmetrical upload and donload speeds.



City officials interested in adding their community to Metronet's growing list of "Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet" may visit metronet.com/gigabit-city or contact Eddie Massengale, Metronet Sr. Director of Business Development & Government Affairs at [email protected] or call 423-280-9031. Fastest internet claims are based on the analysis provided by Ookla of Speedtest Intelligence data for median download and upload speeds in Iowa Q1 2023. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

About Metronet: Metronet is the nation's largest independently owned, 100% fiber optic company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The customer-focused company provides cutting-edge fiber optic communication services, including high-speed Fiber Internet and full-featured Fiber Phone. Metronet started in 2005 with one fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana. Since then, Metronet and its affiliates have grown to serve and construct networks in more than 250 communities across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Metronet is committed to bringing state-of-the-art telecommunication services to communities - services that are comparable or superior to those offered in large metropolitan areas. By offering XGS PON technology, Metronet can easily carry its communities into the future of multi-gigabit service. Metronet has been recognized by PC Mag as one of the Top 10 Fastest ISPs in North Central United States in 2020 and Top 10 ISPs with Best Gaming Quality Index in 2021. Broadband Now has recognized Metronet as the Top 3 Fastest Internet Providers and Fastest Fiber Providers in the Nation in 2020, and #1 Fastest Mid-Sized Internet Provider in two states in 2020. In 2020, Metronet was awarded the Vectren Energy Safe Digging Partner Award from Vectren. For more information, visit www.Metronet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005151/en/

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[May 01, 2023] GoNetspeed Launches GoCommunity Program, Creating Affordable High-Speed Internet Options

GoNetspeed today announced the GoCommunity program which will allow the company to bring its fast and affordable internet service to more households through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a program administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). GoCommunity members have the opportunity to gain free access to GoNetspeed's 100/100Mbps fiber internet package through the ACP. GoCommunity is available for new or existing residential GoNetspeed customers who meet the qualifications for ACP. GoCommunity members with access to GoNetspeed's services in Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont will be able to use the $30 ACP credit to receive free access to GoNetspeed's 100/100Mbps fiber internet service package or the option to apply the credit toward any of GoNetspeed's High-Speed Fiber, DSL, or Cable internet plans. Those interested in GoCommunity may learn more online at gonetspeed.com. "High-speed internet is critical, and we are proud to partner with FCC to establish GoCommunity as a link to bridge the gap for homes that need connectivity but struggle to afford the costs associated," said Richard Clark, GoNetspeed President & CEO. "This program will provide opportunities for qualifying members that level the playing field for working and educating from home." Those interested in joining GoNetspeeds GoCommunity program can confirm eligibility by applying online at affordableconnectivity.gov. Once approved, simply calling 855-891-7291 will connect customers to a GoNetspeed customer service representative who can apply the credit to existing accounts or establish new service.



Through a legacy of innovation and a commitment to customer service, GoNetspeed has recently accelerated the expansion of its fiber networks throughout nine states. GoNetspeed continues to deliver more fiber, more access, more speed and better reliability to residents and businesses. With access to 100% fiber internet, GoNetspeed customers have access to symmetrical upload and download speeds, ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). *The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a program created by Congress and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assist eligible households to pay for internet services. Eligibility is determined based on ACP rules. Eligible households must use the service to keep the subsidy and in the event the customer has (30) consecutive days without any internet usage, the customer may no longer be eligible to receive the subsidy. Eligible households may receive the program benefit from any participating provider and may transfer the benefit to another provider at any time. Offers do not include taxes and fees. Additional installation fees may also apply. Regular rates apply upon service suspension, cancellation, downgrades, or ACP conclusion. In the event that ACP is discontinued, and the FCC announces an end date, you will be charged the undiscounted rate if you continue to receive service after the end date.

About GoNetspeed: GoNetspeed, a high-speed 100% fiber internet provider serving residential and business customers in Maine, Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia, formed a partnership with Oak Hill Capital ("Oak Hill") in January 2021, allowing GoNetspeed to accelerate the expansion of its fiber network throughout the Northeastern U.S. Adding thousands of new service areas every year, GoNetspeed is one of the largest independent internet providers in the east. For more information about GoNetspeed, or to inquire about service in your residence, business or community, visit gonetspeed.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005387/en/

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[May 01, 2023] Advisors Brian Zakrocki and Joseph Wladyka join UBS Private Wealth in New York City

UBS announced that Brian Zakrocki and Joseph Wladyka have joined the firm as Managing Directors and Private Wealth Advisors in New York City. Their six-person team provides holistic wealth management advice and solutions for ultra-high net worth individuals and families. Brian and Joseph join the UBS Manhattan Market, managed by Chris DiMuria, located in the 1285 Avenue of the Americas office. "We're excited and proud to welcome Brian and Joseph to our team, and look forward to supporting them as they build and grow their careers here at UBS," said Chris DiMuria, Manhattan Market Executive at UBS Private Wealth Management. "Their long-standing success and dedication to clients will be additive to our culture and to our business, as we continue to strategically hire the industry's most productive advisors and fastest growing teams to support our growth efforts." "Brian and Joseph have extensive industry experience and deeply understand their clients' sophisticated financial needs," said Kellie Brady, Market Director at UBS Private Wealth Management. "With our global resources and capabilities, I'm confident that they will help us continue to expand and enhance our client offering in this key market." Brian focuses on providing families and foundations with holistic wealth management solutions, including trust and estate planning, philanthropic giving and asset management advice. He joins UBS from First Republic Investmen Management where he was a Senior Managing Director and Wealth Manager. Prior to First Republic, Brian spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as a Managing Director in the Investment Management Division. Before that, he was a Certified Public Accountant at Arthur Andersen. Brian graduated with a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Binghamton University and earned his MBA, with honors, from New York University Stern School of Business.



Joseph focuses on helping clients reach their unique goals through the development and implementation of customized investment and wealth planning strategies. He also joins UBS from First Republic Investment Management, where he was a Managing Director and Wealth Manager. Prior to joining First Republic, he was a Senior Private Wealth Advisor at Goldman Sachs. Joseph graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. Brian and Joseph are joined by Relationship Manager Lora Tloczkowski, Senior Client Service Associate Victoria Lieb, Senior Wealth Strategy Associate Ryan Malloy and Wealth Strategy Associate Luke Persico.

Notes to Editors About UBS UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 29% in Switzerland, 20% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).  UBS 2023. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005414/en/

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Laser1987 / iStock.com

Savvy Costco shoppers utilize strategies specific to warehouse clubs to get the most bang for their buck. These strategies help customers save extra money and remind them it's worth investing in a Costco membership.

Costco's Best Deals? Employee Reveals 10 Standout Buys for Your Money

Advice: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch

Follow these do's and don'ts of what to do when shopping at Costco.

ARTYOORAN / Shutterstock.com

Do: Explore Costco Membership Options

More than 121 million shoppers have Costco memberships, giving them access to quality items and savings designated just for members, ranging from groceries to gasoline. Those interested in signing up for Costco memberships may choose a Gold Star Membership, Executive Membership or Business Membership. (The third option is available only for business owners.)

A Gold Star Costco Membership has an annual fee of $60. A free household card is included and membership is valid at all Costco locations worldwide. Households that invest in a Costco Executive Membership pay a $120 annual fee and receive a free household card and valid membership at any Costco location.

Both Gold Star and Executive Membership level members receive member-exclusive prices at Costco gas stations and the Costco pharmacy, plus a 90-day guarantee and free technical support on electronics and devices and same-day or 2-day delivery to receive groceries and other essentials.

Watch Out: 8 Costco Items That Have the Most Customer Complaints

Read: 8 Companies Behind Costco's Kirkland Brand Products

PredragImages / Getty Images

Do: Download the Costco App

Before you head out on a Costco shopping trip, download the Costco app. This allows you to house a digital version of your physical membership card (in case you accidentally leave it behind at home).

Plus, app users can click the Savings Panel to view new and current Costco promotions, see the gas prices at their nearest warehouse locations, access receipts from orders and purchases and refill prescriptions through the pharmacy.

Story continues

Also Read: 10 Items That Are Cheaper at Costco Than at Dollar Stores

Shutterstock.com

Do: Sign Up for Costco Emails

In addition to downloading the Costco app, signing up for Costco emails provides members with all the latest news, promotions and special offers available at their nearest Costco locations. Make sure to include your membership number and primary warehouse information when signing up so you will receive personalized announcements and news about recall information.

Supannee_Hickman / Shutterstock.com

Don't: Go Shopping Hungry

While this is a no-brainer when going grocery shopping, it's especially important at Costco. Shopping hungry in a bulk warehouse can only lead to additional purchases you didn't necessarily plan for and justifying the need because it's a bulk buy for less.

Curb any hunger pains you might have by eating before you head out. In a worst-case scenario, grab a Costco signature hot dog for $1.50 from the food court before you start shopping.

GOBankingRates

Don't: Buy Too Many Bulk Perishables

People love Costco's bulk offerings, but practice caution if you're purchasing fresh food items.

While many of these items, including fruits and vegetables, are delicious and inexpensive, shoppers will need to eat anything with a shorter expiration date before it perishes. Otherwise, this leads to food waste and more expensive shopping trips over time.

GOBankingRates

Don't: Grocery Shop Alone

Are you shopping for yourself? See whether you can get another person, like a family member or roommate, to come along. This gives Costco shoppers the opportunity to split packages with family members, roommates or friends and save up to 50% on anything they purchase.

Solo shoppers also may consider splitting their purchases with other families, especially those that have children heading back to school, to further cut costs and make sure everyone gets the essentials they need.

Avoid: Don't Buy Groceries on These Days of the Week

jetcityimage / iStock.com

Don't: Make Impulse Purchases

It's extremely easy to make impulse buys in a warehouse setting where everything is relatively inexpensive. Similar to shopping in any other environment, create a list before heading out and stick to it as much as possible.

Shoppers who find themselves faced with a potential impulse buy, like a pack of Greek yogurt, should ask whether they plan to eat this yogurt every day. If the answer is no or even a half-hearted "I might eat a few of them," skip buying in bulk and save it for your next shopping trip at a local grocery store.

fizkes / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Do: Check the Costco Website

In addition to downloading the app and signing up for emails, savvy Costco shoppers struggling to find items at their local warehouse should visit the Costco website. You may be able to purchase items online that aren't available locally.

David Tonelson / Shutterstock.com

Do: Purchase Kirkland Signature Brand

Don't focus solely on name-brand items during your Costco shopping trip. Items with the Kirkland Signature brand are a great deal for the unit price and one of the easiest ways to save money on pantry staples and other household essentials.

hapabapa / Getty Images

Do: Stock Up During Sales

Shoppers who receive news about Costco sales events are well advised to shop online and at their local warehouse locations.

Add the start dates for the sales to your calendar and shop once sales begin to keep from missing out on these items before they sell out. Some products for sale may take time to be restocked, while others might not be restocked at all.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Dos and Donts of Costco Shopping
[May 01, 2023] Staples Cause for Caring Supports Junior Achievement in Eight Communities in the U.S. and Canada

Commitment Focuses on Work and Career Readiness Education for Teens and Young Adults COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. , May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Junior Achievement USA (JA) announced today that Staples Cause for Caring, Inc. is investing $250,000 this year to support JA work and career readiness initiatives in eight communities in the United States and Canada. These initiatives are focused on helping middle school students, high school students, and young adults gain a better understanding of the connection between what they learn in school and future work and careers. "The idea of jobs and careers is very compelling to young people, but sometimes they need support in terms of understanding how their education choices can support their future aspirations," said Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "We greatly appreciate Staples' investment in this area to better prepare young people to pursue their dreams and achieve their potential." In addition to monetary support, Staples will offer employee volunteers to engage with the students as part of these programs, sharing their expertise, career insights, and hands-on mentorship to inspire participating youth. Further, Staples commits to offering in-kind contributions of print services to support JA in classrooms. "As experts on the future of work and as a company of caring people, Staples is proud to continue our history of charitable giving through the support of our Cause for Caring fund and generous employee volunteers across the company," said John Lederer, CEO, Staples, Inc. "Middle and high school students participating in Junior Achievement programs today have the ability to become the business leaders of the future. It is our honor to play a role in helping them achieve their full potential." The JA communities benefiting from Staples Cause for Caring this year are:







- Framingham, MA (Boston) - Orange City, IA - Lincolnshire, IL (Chicago) - Atlanta, GA - Dallas, TX - Halifax, NS, Canada - Greencastle, PA (York, PA) - Maitland, FL (Orlando, FL)

Examples of the learning experiences Staples is supporting include JA Job Shadow for high school students, internships for young adults, and career exploration programs for middle school students. "Staples Cause for Caring represents our commitment to serving others, whether they are employees recovering from unforeseen personal hardships or members of our local communities who can benefit from our support and expertise," said Gina Gibbs Foster, VP, Corporate Communications, Staples, Inc. and Cause for Caring Board President. "We're pleased to continue Staples' legacy of charitable giving and community involvement through this partnership with Junior Achievement." About Staples Cause for Caring, Inc.

Staples Cause for Caring is a 501c3 Charitable organization that is founded and funded by Staples, Inc. employee and corporate contributions. Cause for Caring offers financial assistance for qualifying events resulting in extreme financial hardship for employees, and the fund also supports community giving via strategic non-profit partnerships. Since 2013, the fund has paid out over $6M in grants. For more information, visit www.staplescauseforcaring.org. About Junior Achievement USA

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 3.3 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org. About Staples

Staples is The Worklife Fulfillment Company, helping businesses of all sizes be more productive, connected and inspired  however and wherever they work today. With dedicated account teams, category professionals, innovative brands and a curated product assortment for business, Staples provides customized solutions to help organizations achieve their goals. The company operates in North America through eCommerce and direct sales, and is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts. More information about Staples is available at www.staplesadvantage.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/staples-cause-for-caring-supports-junior-achievement-in-eight-communities-in-the-us-and-canada-301811153.html SOURCE Junior Achievement USA

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[May 01, 2023] EY Announces Shirl Penney of Dynasty Financial Partners as an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Florida Award Finalist

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced that Shirl Penney of Dynasty Financial Partners was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Florida Award finalist. 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. Shirl Penney 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. "I started Dynasty with my partners more than 12 years ago to address a glaring problem. Back then especially, independent financial advisors in the RIA channel lacked a product-neutral source for the infrastructure, growth capital, and community they needed to compete with some of the world's largest financial institutions -- and that's the role we staked out for ourselves. We wanted to help more independent financial advisors (RIAs) of integrity service and reach more clients who needed their help to improve their financial well-being with a focus on education and advice for the client, not a focus on product sales. While at the same time, we wanted to help them build better businesses," commented Shirl Penney. "We now support more than 330 independent advisors on our platform with more than $75 billion in end-client assets, making us one of the largest independent wealth-management platforms in America." "I would also like to congratulate the other finalists. For me, recognition as a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for Florida reflects my luck in being surrounded by a world-class support system, which starts with my wife Mary Ann, and our daughters. Dynasty is Dynasty because of our internal stakeholders and team members, our resource partners, and our remarkable roster of investors who have supported us from day one. But most of all, Dynasty is Dynasty because of our clients, the independent advisors, whom it is we have the privilege to serve. It's these verticals, all working together, that have made Dynasty such a success -- and it's with them that I celebrate this generous recognition. At Dynasty, we get to live our American Dream by empowering others to live their American Dream." Regional award winners will be announced on June 8, 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 nation's 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. Sponsors Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PN Bank, N.A.; SAP America; and the Kauffman Foundation. In Florida, sponsors also include - regional Platinum sponsors, Cresa, and DLA Piper.



About Entrepreneur Of The Year Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's 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.

About EY Private As Advisors to the ambitious, EY Private professionals possess the experience and passion to support private businesses and their owners in unlocking the full potential of their ambitions. EY Private teams offer distinct insights born from the long EY history of working with business owners and entrepreneurs. These teams support the full spectrum of private enterprises including private capital managers and investors and the portfolio businesses they fund, business owners, family businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs. Visit ey.com/us/private. About EY EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com. About Dynasty Dynasty is a provider of technology-enabled wealth management solutions and business services for financial advisory firms primarily focused on serving high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. Dynasty provides access to a comprehensive platform of software and technology tools, business services and holistic investment management capabilities through an open-architecture platform delivered via a suite of proprietary and third-party technologies. Dynasty's technology, tools and services provide advisory firms the supported independence to launch their business, scale their operations and grow their firms - both organically and inorganically - while also allowing them to be more focused on and better equipped to serve their clients. For more than a decade, Dynasty has championed the benefits of independent wealth management for high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and has contributed to the movement of assets from traditional brokerage channels to the independent channels of wealth management. As Dynasty is becoming a recognized industry leader, Dynasty has differentiated itself by developing competitive strengths, including a deep understanding of and strong relationship with its clients, a comprehensive offering of services and technology-enabled solutions, the ability to leverage its size and breadth to invest, the flexibility and seamlessness enabled by a modular technology solution, the entrepreneurial culture and experienced and committed management team. Dynasty is committed to continually growing its business by facilitating existing advisory firm clients' growth, onboarding new clients, increasing the clients' use of its broader capabilities, launching additional solutions and carrying out complementary acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.dynastyfinancialpartners.com. Also visit Dynasty on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynasty-financial-partners

Twitter: @DynastyFP

Youtube: http://bit.ly/1MKXhC8 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005222/en/

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[May 01, 2023] Kris Barton Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Centerfield

LOS ANGELES, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerfield, a premier outcome-based marketing service for digital customer acquisition, today announced the appointment of Kris Barton as Chief Executive Officer. Barton joins Centerfield from Gannett, where he was president of Digital Marketing Solutions.

Barton succeeds Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Jason Cohen and Brett Cravatt, who started Centerfield in 2011, and grew the business to a leading customer acquisition solution for brands in home services, insurance services, business services, e-commerce and many other categories. On March 18th, Centerfield celebrated its 12th anniversary, the same month its technology platform Dugout surpassed its 70 billionth consumer engagement. Founding Centerfield and growing it into the industry-leading business it is today has been tremendously rewarding, said Cohen and Cravatt in a joint statement. Kris is the ideal leader to guide Centerfield into its next chapter of growth. Were still in the early innings of Centerfield, and Kris impressive track record of building profitable advertising businesses at scale is perfect for where we are as a business and where we are headed. Under Bartons leadership at Gannett, te Digital Marketing Solutions division achieved record revenue growth and profitability. Prior to his role as President at Gannett, Barton held the role of Chief Product Officer leading development for Gannetts consumer and marketing products and technology, including brands such as USA TODAY, LocaliQ and hundreds of other portfolio brands owned by Gannett.



"Im thrilled to join Centerfield as Chief Executive Officer," said Barton. "Centerfield has all of the ingredients for continued growth, from our cutting-edge technology platform, Dugout, to the world-class culture built by Centerfielders and our amazing brand partners" "We couldnt be more excited to have Kris join Centerfield as CEO," said Platinum Equity Co-President Jacob Kotzubei and Platinum Equity Managing Director Matthew Louie, in a joint statement. "Centerfields combination of technology, expertise and scale are a perfect match to the needs of brands looking to increase market share through digital marketing."

Kotzubei and Louie continued, More than a decade ago Jason Cohen and Brett Cravatt had a vision of how outcome-based marketing powered by technology could become an essential service for the worlds largest brands. We are proud to help Centerfield realize that potential and are grateful to Jason and Brett for building an amazing business, team and culture. About Centerfield Centerfield delivers outcome-based digital marketing solutions and personalized omnichannel experiences for the worlds leading brands. Powered by our proprietary Dugout platform, Centerfield acquires customers at scale for leading residential service, insurance, e-commerce and B2B brands. Centerfields digital experiences and digital brands, such as Business.com and BroadbandNow.com, reach more than 150 million in-market shoppers annually. Headquartered in Los Angeles's Silicon Beach, Centerfield has offices in New York, London, Boston and Jamaica. Connect with Centerfield on LinkedIn. Contact:

Steve Stratz

For Centerfield

206.300.9134

[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9c33e8ac-f810-482d-b743-b41905778d43





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[May 01, 2023] CodeMettle Releases Terminus 3.0, the Most Secure and Efficient Warfighter-Ready Node Manager on the Market

Enhancements Fortify Security Protocols and Create User-Relevant Alarm System ATLANTA, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CodeMettle, an innovative developer of NetOps software, today announced the launch of Terminus 3.0. Developed with a strategic focus on Warfighter requirements, Terminus is the only commercial-grade software developed from the ground up to efficiently stand up and manage tactical communications nodes at scale in contested and congested Department of Defense (DoD) and other networks. "Secure and reliable networks, from edge to enterprise, are the foundation of successful missions throughout the DoD," said Richard Graham, CEO of CodeMettle. "This release of Terminus further ensures a secure, reliable, efficient, and collaborative battlefield network environment. The software, designed alongside the Army, elps Soldiers and Commanders meet their objectives for secure and unified network operations. Terminus 3.0 also includes CodeMettle's patent-pending Pulse technology, which streamlines the flow of data to enable more efficient and timely battlefield communications and command decisions."



Terminus is platform and protocol agnostic and designed to run out-of-the-box by multiple users at once with limited technical skills and experience. It simplifies the provisioning and management of multi-network hybrid communications kits, reducing the number of tools needed at the edge to establish secure communications quickly and reliably. Terminus 3.0 has enhanced user and role authentication to increase accountability, keep pace with the ever-changing security landscape within the DoD, and proactively prepare for Zero Trust and Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-3. CodeMettle will publicly demonstrate Terminus 3.0 for the first time at SOF Week 2023, taking place May 8-11 in Tampa, FL. About CodeMettle

CodeMettle serves defense, government, and commercial partners through innovative and scalable commercial software products. Our agile solutions solve the most complex data integration, network operations, and process challenges. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, CodeMettle provides a suite of distributed and scalable Network Operations products that enable enterprises to analyze, organize, and consolidate complex data, processes, and operations. Learn more at www.codemettle.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/codemettle-releases-terminus-3-0--the-most-secure-and-efficient-warfighter-ready-node-manager-on-the-market-301812048.html SOURCE CodeMettle

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[May 01, 2023] Anderson Selected as Host Site for Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

ANDERSON, S.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anderson Institute of Technology representing School Districts 3, 4, & 5 located in SC  In partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education, will host a free Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp for high school students in the fall of 2023. The AI Bootcamp in Anderson will be targeted at underserved high school students (9th-12th grade) and will introduce these high school students to basic AI concepts and skills.

The Anderson Institute of Technology is one of 28+ host companies selected to host camps across the US in Fall 2023. The Anderson Institute of Technology Bootcamp will be held over four consecutive Saturdays starting on October 14th and ending on November 4th .The bootcamp will run each Saturday from 2-6pm and if accepted, high school students must commit to attending all 4 sessions. The student and parent application are now open at markcubanai.org/aitpr. Students do not need any prior experience with computer science, programming, or robotics to apply and attend. With AI being a relevant topic on many news sources, students will learn what artificial intelligence is and is not, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, and the ethical implications of AI systems including but not limited to TikTok recommndations, smart home assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars to name a few. Participants will also learn how Large Language Models like ChatGPT are changing life as we know it by answering questions, telling original stories, and even writing computer code.



Students will benefit from volunteer corporate mentor instructors who are knowledgeable about AI, ML and data science and able to help students quickly understand material normally taught at a collegiate level. As part of the 4-hour curriculum each day, students will work with open-source tools to build their own AI applications related to Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Generative AI. The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamps curriculum materials, trains corporate volunteer mentors, and recruits and scores applications for local student selected to attend camp. In addition, the Mark Cuban Foundation and The Anderson Institute of Technology work together to provide food, transportation, and access to laptops for students at no-cost throughout the duration of Bootcamp.

It was a lot of fun, I learned things I didn't even know were possible with A.I. and their real-world applications showed me just how much it will change our world." - Brandon B., 10th Grade, 2022 AI Bootcamp Participant Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI Bootcamp initiative has hosted no-cost AI bootcamps for students across several US cities, including Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlantic City to name a few. The Mark Cuban Foundation has impacted 900+ students to date and has a goal to increase that number year over year. Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before Friday, September 8th, 2023 at markcubanai.org/aitpr. To see our 2023 camp locations and to learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq . Contact: Carli Lidiak, Mark Cuban Foundation Phone: 309-840-0348 Email: [email protected]



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[May 01, 2023] Introducing PrivateGPT: A Private AI solution

TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Private AI, a leading provider of data privacy software solutions, has launched PrivateGPT, a new product that helps companies safely leverage OpenAI's chatbot without compromising customer or employee privacy. "Generative AI will only have a space within our organizations and societies if the right tools exist to make it safe to use," says Patricia Thaine, Co-Founder and CEO of Private AI. PrivateGPT is an AI-powered tool that redacts 50+ types of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from user prompts before sending it through to ChatGPT - and then re-populates the PII within the answer for a seamless and secure user experience. Entities can be toggled on or off to provide ChatGPT with the context it needs to successfully answer the query or privacy mode can be turned off entirely if no sensitive information needs to be filtered out. "LLMs are not excluded from data protection laws like the GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, or the CPPA. The GDPR, for example, requires companies to get consent for all uses of their users' personal data and also comply with requests to be forgotten," says Thaine. "By sharing personal information with third-party organization, they lose control over how that data is stored and used, putting themselves at serious risk of compliance violations."



To compound the problem, OpenAI was recently the center of a major breach of privacy when a bug released users' chat history, potentially exposing all kinds of personal information like addresses, names, and phone numbers. With PrivateGPT, only necessary information gets shared with OpenAI, and companies can rest assured that besides remaining compliant with data protection regulations, no personal information is subject to unwanted data exposure due to bugs or data breaches. Data privacy concerns are not exclusive to ChatGPT. Generative AI startups and enterprise software companies using Large Language Models are facing the same issues. "We understand the significance of safeguarding the sensitive information of our customers," says Sunil Rao, CEO of Tribble, a company that has built a platform for automating go-to-market functions that recently partnered with Private AI. "With Private AI, we can build Tribble on a bedrock of trust and integrity, while proving to our stakeholders that using valuable data while still maintaining privacy is possible."

Private AI uses state-of-the-art technology to detect, redact, and replace over 50 types of PII, PHI, and PCI in 49 languages with unparalleled accuracy. Plus, it's all deployed within the customers' own environment so that PII is never shared with any third-party, not even Private AI. Their core de-identification product is currently being used by customers of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. "The last few years have proven that data is the most valuable currency," says Priyanka Mitra, Partner at M12, Microsoft's venture arm and Private AI investor. "PrivateGPT is just one more example of Private AI's consistent ability to develop industry-leading tools for data privacy." "Our PrivateGPT solution is just one more step into our commitment to helping companies leverage their data without compromising compliance and consumer trust," says Thaine. PrivateGPT officially launched today, and users can access a free demo at https://www.private-ai.com/privategpt/ About Private AI Founded in 2019 by privacy and machine learning experts from the University of Toronto, Private AI's mission is to create a privacy layer for software and enhance compliance with current regulations such as the GDPR. Reducing and removing privacy risks using AI, Private AI allows companies to unlock the value of the data they collect - whether it's structured or unstructured data. Private AI is backed by M12, Microsoft's venture fund, and BDC, and has been named as one of the 2022 CB Insights AI 100, CIX Top 20, Regtech100, and more. Learn more at: https://www.private-ai.com/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-privategpt-a-private-ai-solution-301812286.html SOURCE Private AI

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Asana to Announce First Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results on Thursday, June 1, 2023

Asana, Inc. (NYSE: ASAN)(LTSE: ASAN), a leading work management platform for organizations, announced today that it will release financial results for the first quarter fiscal year 2024 on Thursday, June 1, after the close of the U.S. markets.

In conjunction with the announcement, the company will host a webcast on the same day at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time (4:30 p.m. Eastern time) to discuss the financial results.

The live webcast and replay will be available on the Asana Investor Relations website at https://investors.asana.com.







About Asana

Asana helps organizations orchestrate their work, from small projects to strategic initiatives. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Asana has more than 139,000 paying customers and millions of free organizations in over 200 countries and territories. Global customers such as Amazon, Affirm, Japan Airlines, and Sky rely on Asana to manage everything from company objectives to digital transformation to product launches and marketing campaigns. For more information, visit www.asana.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005503/en/
[May 01, 2023] Mission Based Media Launches Online Membership Community for Health Podcasters

Health Podcast Network's new online platform supports creators of health podcasts, ultimately leading to more accessible health information and better-informed audiences NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Based Media, a leading digital media company creating health podcasts, announced the launch of its online membership community designed to help creators of health podcasts collaborate, connect, and learn from each other. The Health Podcast Network (HPN) online community is dedicated to empowering health podcasters to engage their audiences in innovative and impactful ways, leveraging the latest technologies, strategies, and services. Our members have rigorous standards for the information they publish and high ethical and professional standards. Staying up-to-date with the constantly evolving podcast industry is a challenge for healthcare professionals, health leaders and advocates. To help explain how these changes apply to health content, the community provides access to exclusive resources, training, educational materials, and networking opportunities through online and in-person events. Health Podcast Network was launched in January 2020 with a handful of carefully selected shows. It has grown to include about 90 active shows, and now boasts a vast library of over 15,000 episodes. "The vision has grown, and our team has grown," said Dan Kendall, CEO and founder of Mission Based Media. "The unveiling of this online community marks a major milestone for us. We are making it easier for members to access support, share knowledge, and cultivate stronger relationships that will help accelerate the creation of evidence-based, human-centered healh podcasts."



In addition to producing its own Originals, including miniseries like the Health Unmuted Alzheimer's Disease Podcast , Mission Based Media has worked with over 100 companies and independent producers to distribute over 130 health podcasts. The company's mission-driven focus on high-value content, growth, and innovation not only helps members of the network create meaningful impact, but also provides opportunities for monetization. "Our members have rigorous standards for the information they publish and are held to high ethical and professional standards. These standards also apply to promotional messages, so, understandably, we are very selective about the brands we work with. Companies looking to promote their health products or services can benefit from the contextual relevance of health podcasts, as these shows tend to attract audiences that are more likely to be interested in their offerings. We are always looking for innovative partners who want to reach specific audiences," said Kendall.

Learn more at healthpodcastnetwork.com and stay connected on LinkedIn , Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . The HPN online community is a membership benefit of Health Podcast Network. Apply to join here: on.healthpodcastnetwork.com About Mission Based Media Ltd. Mission Based Media is a digital media company, studio, and network that specializes in creating and distributing high-quality health content that educates, engages, and empowers listeners. The company's mission is to provide valuable knowledge to a broad audience, reach underrepresented communities, promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its content, and distribute resources people need to make informed decisions about their health. For more information, visit Health Podcast Network , Digital Health Today and Health Unmuted . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mission-based-media-launches-online-membership-community-for-health-podcasters-301812460.html SOURCE Mission Based Media

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This one is easy to blame on Guv Kelly . . . However, let's not forget big promises from GOP politicos about giving cash back to their constituents.



Here's the money line . . .



Republican leaders went into the final days of the GOP-controlled Legislature's annual session hoping to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill cutting taxes nearly $1.4 billion during the next three years. Instead, a Republican senator helped kill the GOP bill after voting for it the day before -- and promptly lost his committee chairmanship.



Legislators adjourned Friday night without overturning Kelly's veto or passing another bill. The state now expects to have a surplus of nearly $2.6 billion at the end of June 2024, on top of $1.6 billion socked away in a separate rainy day fund, when annual tax collections are roughly $10 billion.



"Everybody's going to be frustrated -- business owners, families, households," said Kansas House tax committee Chair Adam Smith, a Republican from far western Kansas.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Local elected officials have confronted this debate over the years . . . Surprisingly, the only institution to block TKC has been The Kansas City Star . . . Meanwhile, because we're always open to read whatever ANYBODY has to write to us . . . We've only blocked a handful of trolls and (thankfully) haven't ever been blocked by any elected officials.

Still . . . The issue of "the right to block" remains an open question for elected officials.

Our BEST & BRIGHTEST readers recently sent us an update on the topic and legal the ongoing legal debate . . .

The issue of what constitutes a First Amendment violation when it comes to blocking others on Twitter and other platforms did not go away, and as the New York Times reports, the court has decided to take up two cases involving low-profile public officials . . . The question before the court, as the Times explains, is whether the elected or public officials were engaging in "state action" on social media, or acting as private citizens.



If they decide it was the former, that would be protected by the First Amendment, and blocking critics on social media could be seen as unconstitutional.





Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Elected Officials Can Block People On Twitter Our current, staunchly conservative and largely older Supreme Court is going to show the world how much they understand about social media next term, taking up a case about who can block whom on social media.

Supreme Court takes social media cases with echoes of Trump WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide whether public officials can block critics from commenting on their social media accounts, an issue that previously came up in a case involving former President Donald Trump. Two years ago the Supreme Court dismissed a case over Trump's efforts to block critics from his personal Twitter account.

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Officials Can Block Critics on Social Media The justices agreed to hear a pair of cases on what the First Amendment has to say about social media accounts maintained by elected officials. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

Supreme Court to decide if First Amendment stops government officials from blocking social media critics | CNN Politics The Supreme Court said Monday that it will consider whether the First Amendment protects social media users from being blocked from commenting on the personal pages that government officials use to communicate actions related to their duties.

Developing . . .
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC Pink: PKKFF) ("Tenet" or the "Company"), an innovative fintech technology services provider and operator of the Cubeler Business Hub, announces plans for streamlining operations today.

"The Independent Directors reaffirm our commitment to act in the best interests of the Company, provide oversight and guidance for management, in addition to continuing to comply with all statutory requirements and enhancing corporate governance," stated Carol Penhale, Chair of the Board. "We look forward to working with Mr. Wahidy and the management team as the Company executes on its strategy."

"We have two businesses - one in Canada, and the other, in China. Both businesses focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and utilize a data-focused strategy to offer an expanded set of services to SMEs across various industrial sectors through our platforms. The Company is taking immediate steps to streamline operations and improve efficiencies to better support those services," stated Mr. Wahidy.

Liang "Golden" Qiu, CEO of the Company's Chinese Operations, stated: "I remain committed to the Company and look forward to working with Mr. Wahidy to further align our global operations."

Forward-looking information

Certain statements included in this presentation constitute "forward-looking statements" under Canadian securities law, including statements based on management's assessment and assumptions and publicly available information with respect to the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "assumes," "outlook," "plans," "targets", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the outlook or any future results, performance or achievements implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, holding company with significant operations in China; general economic and business conditions, including factors impacting the Company's business in China such as pandemics (ex.: COVID-19); legislative and/or regulatory developments; Global Financial conditions, repatriation of profits or transfer of funds from China to Canada, operations in foreign jurisdictions and possible exposure to corruption, bribery or civil unrest; actions by regulators; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; timing and completion of capital programs; liquidity and capital resources, negative operating cash flow and additional funding, dilution from further financing; financial performance and timing of capital; and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with securities regulators in Canada, the United States or other jurisdictions. We refer potential investors to the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's MD&A. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other risks and uncertainties carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Story continues

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws. In the event the Company does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.

All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

About Tenet Fintech Group Inc.:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc. is the parent company of a group of innovative financial technology (Fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI) companies. All references to Tenet in this news release, unless explicitly specified, includes Tenet and all its subsidiaries. Tenet's subsidiaries provide various analytics and AI-based services to businesses and financial institutions through the Business Hub, a global ecosystem where analytics and AI are used to create opportunities and facilitate B2B transactions among its members. Please visit our website at: http://www.tenetfintech.com.

For more information, please contact:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc.

Christina Boyd, Director, Investor Relations

416-428-9954

cboyd@tenetfintech.com

Follow Tenet Fintech Group Inc. on social media:

Twitter: @Tenet_Fintech

Facebook: @Tenet

LinkedIn: Tenet

YouTube: Tenet Fintech

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164341
Right now angel Lais inspires our peek at pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Cowtown Airport Salvage

Mosaic medallions found in KCI Terminals B, C to be saved by KC Aviation Department KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's been more than two months since the new Kansas City International Airport terminal opened, but airport staff continue to work at the old terminal sites - putting items up for auction and identifying which mosaic medallions they want to save.

Fire Boss Debuts In The Dotte

KCK Fire Department taps former Atlanta, DC chief as interim fire chief KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A former Washington, D.C., and Atlanta fire chief has been appointed as the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department's interim fire chief. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK announced Monday that Dennis L. Rubin would step into the vacancy created by former KCKFD Fire Chief Michael Callahan's resignation, which became effective last Friday.

Meth Town Doggone Mad

Longstanding pit bull ban being challenged by petitioners tonight in Independence A citywide ban on pit bulls will be challenged tonight in Independence, Missouri.The city has had a ban on the breed for nearly 20 years. Organizers of a potential repeal say they've gathered more than 5,600 signatures.The city has an ordinance dealing with dangerous dogs, which was in place before the pit bull ban was enacted in 2006.

Faux Booze Debuts

Wild Child creates its own nonalcoholic spirits elevating mocktails Wild Child creates its own nonalcoholic spirits elevating Kansas City's mocktail game.

Hipster Drag Q & A

Lana Luxx lets us into her opulent world in The Pitch Questionnaire Lana Luxx is a drag performer regularly featured at venues around Kansas City such as Missie B's, Fountain Haus, and Hamburger Mary's. Luxx is known for her mesmerizing dance ability, her exceptional beauty, her fashion sense that mixes edgy and kawaii, and her affinity for Taylor Swift.

Springtime Stems Step Up

Lais Ribeiro shows off endless legs as she stuns in swimwear and heels LAID-back Lais Ribeiro takes it easy for her latest modelling shoot. The Brazilian, 32, showed she's well heeled in a campaign for Brit shoe queen Tamara Mellon. Lais takes pride in her pins, and said of her debut as a Victoria's Secret Angel: "I had long legs I worked hard all year to keep.

Prez Biden Offers Bank FAIL Reassurance

Biden says First Republic depositors protected, calls for stronger bank regulation WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday hailed moves by U.S. regulators to facilitate the sale of First Republic Bank (FRC.N), protect all its depositors and ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not affected. "These actions are going to make sure that the banking system is safe and sound," Biden told an event at the White House.

MAGA Case Cont'd

Trump's lawyers request mistrial in E. Jean Carroll case Before cross examination of E. Jean Carroll resumes on Monday, Donald Trump's lawyers requested a mistrial in a letter filed at dawn. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina said Judge Lewis Kaplan has mischaracterized elements of the case and improperly shut down certain lines of questioning during cross examination.

Dem Alliance Resolves

Manchin's feud with Biden boils over as debt fight heats up "That surprises me that he wants to repeal it. I think it's one of his greatest accomplishments," said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a close colleague of Manchin's on the Energy Committee, in an interview.

Fear The Rising Tide

Climate change and crumbling infrastructure create a 'perfect storm' for Americans living in flood zones poorly or to try another form of protection. The latter option may be best, because America's approach to these disasters must shift from flood control to flood avoidance. Given the uncertainties of what climate change will do in the future, we should give up the hubris that we can control nature with bulldozers, dirt and concrete.

Illegal Still On The Run

Cleveland, Texas, shooting suspect remains at large; $80K reward offered for illegal immigrant turned fugitive A Mexican national - reported to be an illegal immigrant - wanted for the Texas shooting of five neighbors including a young boy, remained at large Monday morning. More than 48 hours after the massacre in Cleveland, Texas, outside Houston, authorities are offering an $80,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of Francisco Oropesa.

Vlad Doubles Down

Ukraine war: Russia launches second pre-dawn missile attack in three days One person dies and dozens more are injured in Russia's second pre-dawn attack in three days.

Cold War Redux Cash Crunch

Tracking the impact of U.S.-China tensions on global financial institutions How have the rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China impacted the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)? Its president, Jin Liqun, says they are having no impact. "Regardless of the bilateral issues, which seems to be troubling [between] these two big countries, AIIB has maintained very good, close cooperation with American governmental institutions, financial institutions and respective businesses," Jin tells NPR's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition.

Sharks Target Hunter

Hunter Biden in court for baby mama Lunden Roberts' paternity case ARKANSAS - First son Hunter Biden arrived at an Arkansas court in person Monday as part of his years-long paternity suit saga with his baby mama. President Biden's 53-year-old son has been battling to cut child support payments for the 4-year-old daughter he has with Lunden Roberts - a former stripper who had he a month-long affair with.

French Fight Back On May Day

Macron faces Labour Day protests as pension reform anger festers PARIS, May 1 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron faced nationwide protests on Labour Day on Monday as he struggles to turn the page on a deeply unpopular increase in the retirement age that has unleashed a wave of social unrest.

Celeb Payday On Back End

Travis Barker partners with Liquid Death water to release limited-edition enema collectible Here's a new product you didn't think you needed: a rock 'n' roll enema. Travis Barker, drummer for rock band Blink-182, has teamed with nonalcoholic beverage company Liquid Death Mountain Water on a Liquid Death Enema of The State Collectible Enema Kit. That's right.

Agenda Setting This Week

Nick's Picks | NFL Draft Cleanup, Busy Week Ahead in KC It's a new month alert. Welcome to May! May the Fourth be with you on Thursday. Cinco de Mayo is on Friday. Kentucky Derby day is Saturday. And a new king is crowned this weekend. Here's your pithy guide to all the stories that could affect your life this week: Clean-up is now underway after Kansas City's epic three-day party.

Local History Aglow

287: LUMI Neon Museum restores Motel Capri sign On this week's episode, Nick Vedros of The Lumi Neon Museum is in the studio with Kansas City Museum's Anna Marie Tutera and Denise Morrison to share the story of how they saved the Motel Capri sign when the building was demolished at the corner of Independence Avenue and The Paseo.

Retail Returns?!?

Coming to Johnson County's Oak Park Mall: New retail, sports lounge, juicery, spa Overland Park's Oak Park Mall is getting several new tenants.  Fresh Cane Juicery will sell fresh, healthy fruit juices and mocktails with no added syrups or sugars. The local owners plan a May opening.  Gearhead Outfitters , an active lifestyle brand based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, will open its first area location this fall.

Classic Rock Scheduled

Aerosmith announces farewell tour that includes performance at T-Mobile Center KANSAS CITY, Mo. -After decades of making music and touring the globe, legendary rock band Aerosmith has announced their final tour, which includes a performance in Kansas City this fall. The 40-stop farewell "PEACE OUT" tour kicks off on September 2. "It's not goodbye it's PEACE OUT!

Breezy Monday Forecast

Chilly in the metro for the first day of May Hide Transcript Show Transcript LITTLE WINDY. BUT, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH THE WIND OR THE WIND THIS AFTERNOON. IT'S GOING TO MAKE IT FEEL A LITTLE CHILLY FOR MAY 1ST OUT YOUR DOOR. YOU'RE LIKELY GOING TO NEED A WARMER EXTRA LAYER, 41 DEGREES WITH A WEST NORTHWEST BREEZE.

6ix9ine & Grupo Firme - Y Ahora is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Over the past few weeks a Democratic Party State Representative has suffered repeated rebuke from his party over the course of this session.



Remember that Rep. Robinson confronted calls to resign over his allegedly anti-trans vote.



Recently, despite the legislator's longstanding advocacy for Quindaro preservation, accusatory attacks FROM HIS OWN PARTY derided the Kansas City, Kansas state house Rep. following his recent budget vote . . . And, of course, the bitter attacks have been downplayed by local activists.

Still . . .

The nasty talk deserves to be called out and, like it or not, it took a Republican to do it.

Here's the word . . .



"Speaker Pro-Tem Blake Carpenter said he thought this remark was referring to another African-American state lawmaker, Marvin Robinson of Kansas City, a Democrat who supported the Republican budget after the addition of the funding for the Quindaro Ruins.



"Carpenter also gaveled down Carr after making remarks in the speech he deemed out of line.



There were typically two sets of slaves. You had, what was considered the field Negro, and the house Negro," Carr said. "Most of the time, you became a house Negro, because of things that you may have done, exchanges, trades that you may have made.



"As Speaker Pro-Tem Carpenter says it was his duty to enforce the house rules."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
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.
Mike Adler is a reporter with toronto.com and Metroland Media Toronto who covers Scarborough and other overlooked parts of Toronto. He worked previously for Metroland in York Region.
Activision Blizzard Booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo - (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File

A division of US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, which last week accused Britain of being closed for business, is facing an investigation by the taxman that has already forced it to cough up tens of millions of pounds.

A UK subsidiary of the Call of Duty developer disclosed in its most recent accounts that it had settled tax liabilities worth $31m (25m) with HMRC and was facing further questions over diverted profits and transfer pricing arrangements.

The dispute has rumbled on as Activision attempted to secure a merger with US tech giant Microsoft, a $69bn deal and the largest takeover ever in the video games sector.

Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority blocked the deal, warning it would stifle the growing market for streaming video games.

The decision prompted a furious reaction from Activision, which threatened to reassess our growth plans for Britain and warned the UK was clearly closed for business. Activision and Microsoft pledged to appeal the decision.

While Activision has sparred with the UKs competition watchdog, it has also been locked in talks with HMRC over its tax affairs.

Accounts for its UK subsidiary, Midasplayer.com Ltd, show it agreed to pay millions of pounds to the taxman over a TP [transfer pricing] and DPT [diverted profit tax] enquiry.

Midasplayer is owned by King.com Limited, which is registered in Malta and owned by Activision.

King is the developer of hit mobile apps such as Candy Crush, the colourful smartphone puzzle game, which Activision acquired for $6bn in 2015.

The island nation has faced accusations of operating as a tax haven.

Activisions UK mobile gaming company paid 25m in settlements in 2020, while discussions over further tax matters dating from 2016 to 2020 were ongoing as of the signing of its accounts in September last year.

The business reported profits of $469m in the year ending December 2021, paying $11.7m in total taxes.

According to Blizzards US filings, the company is engaged in a collaborative multilateral process with tax authorities in the UK and Sweden over its King division.

Story continues

In February this year, HMRC disclosed it was currently carrying out around 100 reviews into multinationals with arrangements to divert profits the total amount of tax under consideration in these cases was 2.4bn at the end of March 2022.

The diverted profit tax, known as the Google tax, was introduced by George Osborne in 2015, allowing HMRC to chase down multinationals that had tried to avoid paying enough tax on UK profits by routing it overseas.

The levy could be charged on diverted profits at a rate 5pc higher than normal corporation tax.
Lithium Power International Limited

SYDNEY, Australia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Power International Limited (ASX:LPI) (LPI or the Company) is pleased to provide shareholders with an overview of quarterly activities for the period ending 31 March 2023. (Quarter or Reporting Period).

HIGHLIGHTS

Completion of the MSB ownership consolidation enabled LPI to increase its presence in Chile.

A major public relations program is underway in Chile to explain development plans for LPIs Maricunga lithium brine project.

The Chilean Government recently announced the long awaited National Lithium Policy for the country, that outlines the plans intended to bring Chile back to the forefront of global lithium production. The Company is pleased to provide comments on the impacts it will have on its Maricunga lithium brine project.

LPI is currently evaluating a number of financing options for the Maricunga Stage One project, ranging from strategic equity investments from potential offtake partners to debt/equity financing alternatives.

Work at Maricunga continues to meet high ESG standards, on the back of the fully approved and awarded environmental permit.

LPI commenced and completed its inaugural drilling program at its East Kirup lithium prospect, located in the Greenbushes region of Western Australia.

The WA demerger process continues to be advanced and will be continually accessed in relation to capital market conditions.

To read the companys full ASX release with the results of its Activity Report for the Quarter ended March 2023, please click here.

For further information, please contact:

Cristobal Garcia-Huidobro, CEO or Andrew Phillips  CFO Lithium Power International

E: info@lithiumpowerinternational.com

Ph: +612 9276 1245

www.lithiumpowerinternational.com

@LithiumPowerLPI

Jane Morgan  Investor and Media Relations

Ph: + 61 (0) 405 555 618

E: jm@janemorganmanagement.com.au

For U.S. and other international investor relations enquiries:

Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC Thomas Renaud | Managing Director

42 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10004 Ph: +1 212 619 6889

E: enquire@arrowheadbid.com




In this episode of Morning Edition, for yet another day the upsurge in crime continues to a 
By Jeff Murphy, May 1, 2023



University of Central Missouri faculty member Dr. Suhansa (Sue) Rodchua, front row, far right, visited Suzaki Industries, Gifu Prefecture, during the recent Lean Japan Tour of manufacturing businesses made possible by Shinka Management.



WARRENSBURG, MO  Dr. Suhansa (Sue) Rodchua, a University of Central Missouri faculty member in the School of Industrial Science and Technology, in March traveled overseas to participate in the Lean Japan Tour. The purpose of her visit was to learn about lean manufacturing implementation and the Toyota Production System within some of Japans leading companies.



The Lean Japan Tour included visits to five manufacturing plants in Tokyo and Nagoya, including a Toyota final assembly plant, companies in Toyotas supply chain, and a steel service center operated by the global metals giant Metal One. The focus of lean is to create a culture of continuous improvement (Kaizen) and reduce waste (Muda) from business processes.



The Lean Japan Tour training program was led by Dr. Paul Smith, a director from Shinka Management, and a team of former Toyota Group managers and expert lean consultants. The program is held several times annually, and the March 2023 tour included 16 participants from countries spanning Australia, Europe, Asia and the United States.



During the tour, participants visited the Toyota Body Seiko plant, the Toyota HiAce final assembly plant, Suzaki Industries, GI Services, Metal One Isuzu, and the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology. A hands-on kanban simulation and a team kaizen challenge were held in a Toyota Group practical training center. The Sensei (Master) led seminars and hands-on practical experiences covering the Toyota Production Systems (TPS), inventory control, 5S, visual management and waste reduction, and guided members of the tour through numerous examples of kaizen and kanban applications in the facilities that were visited.



Reflecting on what she learned from the program, Rodchua said, This was a great experience to learn from the Sensei and Japanese business owners and managers who really live lean and kaizen culture as part of their everyday life. They told us to think, think hard, think harder, and to use our brain instead of money to solve problems. They led their companies and survived the economic crisis by not depending too heavily on technology or over-doing capital investment. They utilized what they had in order to achieve a profit, rather than rely on the latest and greatest technology.



Rodchua added, The group participants were friendly, respectful, and quite experienced in their fields. We exchanged knowledge in various subjects, and from different cultural and industry perspectives.



She also praised the opportunity to have access to safe, comfortable hotel lodgings, with an excellent array of meals during the tour, and use of a highly efficient transport system. This includes taking advantage of the shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya, where tour members enjoyed a smooth ride reaching speeds of up to 177 miles/hour.



Rodchua is a program coordinator for the Master of Science (MS) in Industrial Management, MS in Technology, Ph.D. Consortium in Technology Management, and Graduate Certificate in Lean Six Sigma. During this recent training opportunity, Rodchua received support from UCM-DLII, UCM-PEC; Dr. Jeff Robertson, dean of the College and Health, Science and Technology; and Dr. Ronnie Rollins, chair of the School of Industrial Science and Technology.



The lean training and factory visit program was made possible by Shinka Management. For more details about the training, consulting and lean study tours provided by Shinka Management, visit: https://shinkamanagement.com/.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Air defense forces were working in the Khmelnytsky region last night.

The Regional Military Administration reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"At night, during the air raid, in some communities of the region, our residents could hear the sounds of explosions. This is the work of air defense forces," the post reads.

The RMA added that no hits were recorded.

As reported earlier, in the morning, on May 1, Russian troops launched a missile attack on Ukraine.

Air defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 15 out of 18 X-101/X-555 air-launched cruise missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins the cooperation in the defense and humanitarian sectors and the need for consolidating the countries of the Pacific region to support Ukraine.

The Head of State posted this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

Had a phone call with New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins. Thanked for participation in training our military. We count on its continuation and further cooperation on defense and humanitarian issues. Discussed the importance of consolidating the countries of the Pacific region to support Ukraine, Zelensky wrote.

As reported, on April 21, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov met with New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Little and discussed additional ways to strengthen the countries' cooperation.

Photo: Presidents Office
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the program of long-term defense cooperation and increased pressure on Russia, as well as coordinated positions ahead of the upcoming NATO summit and other international events.

The head of state announced this in Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

I had a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. We discussed the program of long-term defense cooperation. I noted the beginning of the confiscation of Russian assets and called for increased sanctions pressure on Russia. We coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO summit and other international events, Zelensky wrote.

As reported, on April 21, Canada announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth nearly $39 million.

The meeting of NATO heads of state and government will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023.
Advantage Communications Group

LAS VEGAS, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- Today from the Channel Partners Conference & EXPO, Advantage Communications Group (Advantage) announced that it has achieved status as an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified provider, with its Information Security Management System (ISMS) receiving third-party certification from the International Standards Organization (ISO).



As the first global, full-lifecycle telecom MSP providing communications and technology solutions to more than 1,400 enterprises worldwide, Advantage takes threats to the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of its clients' information seriously, said Advantage CEO, David Gardner. This accomplishment exemplifies our commitment to empowering organizations with reliable, vetted telecom solutions from a worldwide network of service providers for whom security is of paramount importance.

ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is an information security management system standard published in October 2013 by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Advantage partnered with A-LIGN, an independent third-party auditor and ISO/IEC 27001 certification body accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to perform ISMS 27001 certification to verify that Advantage has technical controls and formalized IT Security policies and procedures in place.

Advantage, taking its own medicine as a digital security consultant, has implemented several security measures and countermeasures that protect it from unauthorized access or compromise, and ALIGN validated that Advantages IT personnel were conscientious, knowledgeable, and compliant with industry best practices.

The scope of Advantages ISMS ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification applies to its proprietary internal ERP and its Command CenterSM user portal, covering Information Technology, Legal, Software Development, Human Resources, and Product Management.

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This certification ensures our clients that the security of their data and information has been addressed, implemented, and properly controlled in all areas of our organization, added Gardner.

About Advantage Communications Group, LLC

Unlike other MSPs, Advantage Communications Group is a strategic partner that employs a unique, holistic approach to technology lifecycle optimization that reduces costs, complexity, and administrative burdens through each phase of the tech journey.

For enterprises in markets that demand persistent connectivity, cybersecurity, high-speed data and network infrastructure, Advantage is a global, telecom MSP with the expertise, services portfolio, and worldwide partner network to design, deploy and manage IT and telecom environments from end-to-end.

Visit www.advantagecg.com to learn more.

Wire Service Contact:

InvestorWire (IW)

Los Angeles, California

www.InvestorWire.com

212.418.1217 Office

editor@InvestorWire.com




Eighteen ambulances have arrived in the Lviv region from France.

Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration, reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"Important reinforcement for the medical teams that save our soldiers and civilians: a humanitarian convoy has arrived in the Lviv region from France - almost 20 ambulances. Each of them is filled with everything necessary to save lives," the official said.

According to him, 13 ambulances were handed over to military medics who work in difficult areas and four to specialists of emergency medical assistance in the Kharkiv region. Another vehicle, equipped in accordance with the standards of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, will be used for demining efforts.

Kozytskyi thanked SAFU  a collective of assistance to Ukraine, which the owners of ambulance companies in France created on February 28, 2022. In total, they have already handed over 90 ambulances and more than 600 tonnes of medical cargo to Ukrainian doctors.

Kozytskyi added that the ambulances had been personally delivered by 35 French citizens who are involved in the production and purchase of the vehicles.
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Published May 1, 2023

CAPTION: (L-R): Jaden Book, Brett Bennett, Avery Free

MONROE, LA  ULMs Radiologic Technology program students and faculty recently represented the university at the Louisiana Society of Radiologic Technologists (LSRT) Midwinter Seminar in Alexandria, LA on March 11, 2023.



Senior students participated in a mock exam and critical area review lectures. Andrew Frazier earned the third-highest score on the mock exam out of 99 participants. The junior students participated in interactive events to help build networking and professional skills, study skills for their learning style, and strengthen critical thinking skills. Junior students also participated in a student bee. Avery Free placed second, and Jaden Book placed third overall in the student bee.



ULM Faculty were also recognized for their contributions to the LSRT. Mr. Brett Bennett, the ULM Radiologic Technology Program Director and Associate Professor, presented a critical area review lecture on image production. Dr. Andy Allen, the ULM Radiologic Technology Clinical Coordinator and Associate Professor, presented a critical area review lecture on patient care. Mrs. Brittany Smith, an instructor in the Radiologic Technology program, serves as the LSRT Louisiana Educators in Radiologic Sciences (LERS) council chairperson and organized/hosted the senior program for the event. Mrs. Lacy Davis, an Associate Professor in the ULM Radiologic Technology program assisted and facilitated fellow educators in the junior program.

I am proud to see our students and faculty represent ULM and the profession of Radiologic Technology so well, said Brittany Smith.

For more information about ULMs Radiologic Technology program, visit www.ulm.edu/radtech.
CHICAGO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The aircraft health monitoring market size is projected to grow from an estimated USD 6.3 billion in 2023 to USD 8.6 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. This growth can be attributed to the increasing aircraft operational and flight safety activities.

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Aircraft Health Monitoring Market Report Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $6.3 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $8.6 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% Market Size Available for 20192028 Forecast Period 20232028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Platform, Installation, End User, Solution, Technology, System, Operation Mode and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East Rest of the World Key Market Challenge Regulatory requirements Key Market Opportunities Adoption by MRO providers Key Market Drivers Adoption of predictive maintenance

The MRO segment accounts for the largest market size during the forecast period.

Because of the increasing demand for maintenance services, the desire to lower costs, the growing acceptance of predictive maintenance, and the emphasis on safety and regulatory compliance, the MRO segment is driving the AHMS market. Global aviation traffic has increased in recent years, resulting in an increase in the number of aircraft in operation. This has resulted in an increase in demand for MRO services to assure aircraft safety and airworthiness.

The commercial aviation segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on the platform, the aircraft health monitoring Industry has been segmented into civil aviation, military aviation and advanced air mobility. Civil aviation will register the fastest growth in the aircraft health monitoring market owing to the civil aviation sector is the largest AHMS market, accounting for the vast bulk of total AHMS revenue. This is owing to the enormous number of commercial aeroplanes operating worldwide and continuous expanding fleet size of various aircraft platforms.

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The hardware segment accounts for the largest market size during the forecast period.

Based on solution, the aircraft health monitoring market is segmented into hardware, software and services. the aircraft health monitoring market is estimated to be dominated by the hardware segment with a market share of highest market share in 2023. This growth can be attributed to increasing use of sensors in structural, component and engine health monitoring systems to provide real-time condition analysis for preemptive detection of failures that might occur on an aircraft.

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Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the aircraft health monitoring market during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific area is seeing tremendous growth in air travel, owing to rising disposable incomes and a burgeoning middle class. As a result, the number of commercial aircraft operating in the region has increased, creating demand for AHMS. Governments in the APAC area are emphasizing aviation safety, which is increasing demand for AHMS. This is especially true in nations like China and India. APAC aviation regulatory organisations are enforcing stronger safety requirements for commercial flights, which is fuelling demand for AHMS. By providing real-time data on the health of crucial systems and components, AHMS can assist airlines in meeting these regulations.

Major players operating in the aircraft health monitoring Companies include Safran (France), Airbus S.E (Netherlands), Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US), Honeywell International Inc (US), Teledyne Technologies Inc (US), among others. These key players offer aircraft health monitoring across regions, and have well-equipped and strong distribution networks across the North American, European, Asia Pacific, Middle East, African, and Latin American regions.

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Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting

Related Reports:

Aircraft Sensors Market by aircraft type (Fixed-wing, Rotary-wing, UAVs, AAM), Application (Engine, Aerostructures, Fuel & Hydraulic, Cabin), Sensor Type, End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), Connectivity (Wired, Wireless) and Region - Global Forecast to 2027

Flight Data Monitoring Market by Solution Type (On Board, On Ground), Component (FDM Service, FDM System, FDM Software), End User (Fleet Operators, Drone Operators, FDM Service Providers, Investigation Agencies), Region - Global Forecast to 2022

Aviation Analytics Market by Component (Services, Solutions), Deployment (On-premises, Cloud), Application, End-User (MROs, Airlines, Airports, OEMs), Business Function, Region (North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2027

Avionics Market by System (Navigation, Payload & Mission Management, Traffic & Collision Management, Communication, Power & Data Management, Weather Detection, Flight Management, Electronic Flight Display), Fit, Platform & Region - Global Forecast to 2027

Connected Aircraft Market by Type (Systems, Solutions), Application (Commercial, Military), Connectivity (Inflight, Air-to-Air, and Air-to-Ground Connectivity), Frequency Band (Ka-Band, Ku-Band, L-Band), and Region (2016-2022)

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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers join CEOs from Alaska and ZeroAvia to launch retrofitting of aircraft

ZeroAvia unveils world's most advanced electric motor technology for aviation, paving way for hydrogen-electric engines for Dash 8 and similar airframes

EVERETT, Wash., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines today presented a Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop to ZeroAvia that will be retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system in an effort to expand the reach and applicability of zero emissions flight technology.

May 1, 2023; Everett, WA, USA; Alaska Airlines donates a Q400 to ZeroAvia for development of hydrogen propulsion technology at Paine Field. Demonstration of propellers driven by HyperTruck ground-test rig. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Alaska Airlines

At an event, held at ZeroAvia's Paine Field research and development site, the companies were joined by high school students from Raisbeck Aviation High School, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to participate in the formal handover of the 76-seat Q400 aircraft that will be developed by ZeroAvia, the U.S.-headquartered leader in designing and building zero-emission, hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems for aircraft.

When Alaska Airlines' regional carrier Horizon Air retired its Q400 fleet, it reserved one of the aircraft for research and development purposes to further advance zero emissions technology for the aviation industry. The aircraft was repainted with a special livery to highlight the innovative mission of this partnership.

ZeroAvia also debuted its breakthrough multi-megawatt modular electric motor system in a 1.8MW prototype configuration at the event - demonstrated with a propeller spin aboard the ZeroAvia's 15-ton HyperTruck ground-test rig. Combined with higher temperature PEM fuel cells and advanced power electronics - both technologies that ZeroAvia is developing in-house - the leading-edge electric motor technology is one of three key building blocks for enabling commercially-relevant hydrogen fuel cell engines for larger aircraft.

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"This is a great step forward in aviation innovation, to help create a new future of flight  right here at home," said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. "Alaska Airlines has defined a five-part journey to achieve net zero carbon emissions long-term, but we can't get there alone. New technologies are required to make that future possible, and we're thrilled to partner with industry leader ZeroAvia to make new zero emissions options a reality."

Aligning ZeroAvia's powertrain with the Dash 8-400 airframe will represent a commercially viable zero-emission aircraft with fuel cell engine technology around five times more powerful than what has been demonstrated anywhere to date.

"Demonstrating this size of aircraft in flight, powered entirely by novel propulsion, would have been unthinkable a few years ago," said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. "Launching this program puts us on track for a test flight next year, and accelerates our progress toward the future of zero-emission flight for Alaska Airlines and for the world at large."

ZeroAvia's recent advancements clear the way for a potential flight of the Q400, also recognized as the Dash 8-400, but also demonstrate rapid progress toward certification of the ZA2000 propulsion system. ZeroAvia has already demonstrated a track-record of world-first flight testing. In January, ZeroAvia flew a retrofitted 19-seat aircraft with its prototype 600kW hydrogen-electric engine (ZA600). This followed the demonstration flight of a 250kW system in 2020, which at the time of flight was the world's largest aircraft flown using a novel zero-emission power source.

ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric engine uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel, before using that electricity to power electric motors which turn the aircraft propellers. The certifiable ZA2000 system will include ZeroAvia's High Temperature PEM fuel cells and liquid hydrogen fuel storage, integral to delivering the necessary energy density for commercial operations of large regional turboprops. The company has already established an engineering partnership with De Havilland of Canada, the original manufacturer of the Dash 8 family of aircraft to enable exchange of data and expertise with the airframe.

In 2021, Alaska Airlines launched a partnership and invested in ZeroAvia to support the development of zero emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. As the fifth largest U.S. airline with a large regional network, Alaska has a unique opportunity to support the development of zero-emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. By establishing the viability of regional-sized aircraft, both companies will help advance zero-emissions technology across the industry.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said: "Our state has a rich history of leadership in aerospace and we're proud to be at the center of a technological revolution in zero-emission flight. Through innovation and partnerships like the one demonstrated today, we can help write the next chapter of aviation history right here in Washington State."

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) said: "As we work to meet our emissions reduction goals, we must prioritize decarbonizing the commercial transportation sector. Washington state is leading the nation in developing and deploying clean energy technologies and the Alaska Airlines-ZeroAvia partnership is a prime example. This collaboration could revolutionize the aviation industry to make our planes greener and our skies cleaner."

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said: "As a leader in supporting innovative industries, and as the center of aerospace manufacturing in Washington state, Snohomish County is proud to support this partnership and the development of the next generation of aviation technology, driving both job growth and environmental sustainability."

HyperCore Motor

The 1.8MW motor configuration demonstrated today consists of two "HyperCore" motor modules, each a high-power, high-speed 900kW permanent magnet radial flux machine which operates at 20,000 rpm, matching the typical turbine engine power turbine speeds, providing an unprecedented 15kW/kg motor power density. Crucially, HyperCore's modular design enables the technology to address applications ranging from 900kW up to 5.4MW, meeting a number of regional turbo-prop and regional jet requirements. The HyperCores were successfully integrated with the stock Dash 8-400 engine gearbox and propeller, which dramatically simplifies integration into the aircraft as a replacement for a stock turbine engine.

The development and testing program will enable the understanding and measurement of system dynamics, calibration of physical and electrical models, and validation of thermal management systems. The company is concurrently developing world-class silicone-carbide power electronics and the matching hydrogen fuel cell systems, which convert hydrogen to electricity, powering the electric propulsion system. These systems will be brought together to create the full hydrogen-electric propulsion system, tested on the ground and then in the air.

About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation as the initially targeting a 300-mile range in 919 seat aircraft by 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 4080 seat aircraft by 2027. Based in the US and the UK, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its three prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs, secured $10B in pre-orders from a number of the major global airlines, and is on track for commercial operations in 2025. The company's expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK's Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Government's Jet Zero Council. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We strive to be the most caring airline with award-winning customer service and an industry-leading loyalty program. As a member of the oneworld alliance, and with our additional global partners, our guests can travel to more than 1,000 destinations on more than 25 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and follow @alaskaairnews for news and stories. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

May 1, 2023; Everett, WA, USA; Alaska Airlines donates a Q400 to ZeroAvia for development of hydrogen propulsion technology at Paine Field. Demonstration of propellers driven by HyperTruck ground-test rig. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Alaska Airlines

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(@FahadShabbir)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 01st May, 2023) The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has been announced as a Supporting Partner for the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), the worlds leading investment platform, which brings together investors, entrepreneurs, and government sectors from all over the globe.

The meeting will highlight the latest investment trends and opportunities, promote sustainable development and suggest solutions to drive global economic growth.

The Abu Dhabi Chamber's participation in the meeting, which will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, under the theme The Investment Paradigm Shift: Future Investment Opportunities to Foster Sustainable Economic Growth, Diversity, and Prosperity, aligns with its new strategy for 2023-2025.

The Chamber will drive economic cooperation and create business opportunities for the private sector locally, regionally, and internationally. Through its participation, the Chamber will also contribute to driving investment and propelling Abu Dhabi's economic growth by leveraging innovation and keeping pace with investment and market trends.

Abdulla Mohamed Al Mazrui, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber, said, Being part of the Annual Investment Meeting supports the Abu Dhabi Chambers vision of making Abu Dhabi the first choice in MENA for business and talent by 2025, by strengthening the private sector and Abu Dhabi economy through advocacy, innovation, and digitisation.

The Chamber is proud to empower a knowledge-based economy in line with our wise leaderships vision, through promoting and facilitating investment across a range of fast-growing sectors, which would propel the global economy's growth."

Mohamed Helal Al Mheiri, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber, said, We look forward to being part of the Annual Investment Meeting, which will provide an overview of the future of the investment landscape. With the rapidly evolving global investment landscape, it is critical to keep pace with the latest smart investment trends.

" As part of the Chambers role as a networker, we are committed to boosting investment and trade relations to explore and create investment opportunities that drive long-term economic growth. In doing so, we contribute to establishing Abu Dhabis position as an investment and innovation hub.

The Annual Investment Meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi from 8th-10th May. It will provide a platform for all sectors to discuss the latest investment trends and opportunities, exchange ideas, and explore potential partnerships. The meeting will also provide attendees with insights into various topics, including fintech, blockchain and sustainable investing.
(@FahadShabbir)

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 01st May, 2023) H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council, today officially inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, signalling the commencement of the 30th edition of the middle Easts biggest travel and tourism exhibition.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed affirmed that Dubai, under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has transformed into a major investment hub and a launch pad for regional and global companies, enabling them to establish and promote various economic activities.

Sheikh Ahmed emphasised Dubais determination to play a key role in advancing the global economy across various sectors, including in tourism, where decades of diligent effort have led to a robust infrastructure and world-class hospitality services. The private sector, a critical partner in Dubais development initiatives, has been instrumental in contributing to this success.

ATM 2023 is scheduled from 1st-4th May at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). This years event has witnessed a 27 percent increase in exhibitor participation compared to ATM 2022. The landmark 30th edition of the show is expected to attract approximately 34,000 attendees and host over 2,000 exhibitors and representatives from more than 150 nations.

Aligned with its theme, Working Towards Net Zero, ATM 2023 is providing a platform for international tourism professionals to forge new connections, share knowledge and ideas, and showcase innovations that can accelerate the industrys journey towards decarbonisation.

Sheikh Ahmed expressed his pleasure at welcoming global and regional companies to the regions premier travel, tourism, and hospitality event. His Highness emphasised that the impressive increase in ATM participants and visitors reflects the worlds confidence in Dubais growing role in stimulating global tourism, starting from its leading position on the global tourism map.

He commended Dubais economy for its strong growth rates in various sectors, particularly tourism and travel, which is proof of its steady progress towards becoming one of the top three economic cities in the world, in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. This agenda was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum as a roadmap for Dubais sustainable development.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed toured the show floor and visited several pavilions of foreign and Arab countries, in addition to participating global companies, accompanied by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, Abdulla Al Basti, the Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai, Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubais Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), and Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai).

These included the Italian pavilion organised by the Italian Agency for Tourism, where six tourism companies discussed opportunities for cooperation with regional counterparts.

He also visited the Saudi pavilion, where several tourism companies, including the Public Investment Fund-owned Cruise Saudi, is participating.

He also toured the Moroccan pavilion, learning about the government and private agencies promoting tourism in Morocco.

During his tour, Sheikh Ahmed also visited the Hilton pavilion, which was designed with a focus on sustainability, in line with the exhibitions theme for the year.

In addition, Sheikh Ahmed toured several pavilions of local departments, including DET, GDRFA-Dubai, DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority), the Hatta pavilion, Flydubai, the Abu Dhabi pavilion, Etihad Airways, Sharjah pavilion, Jumeirah Group, Emirates Airline, and Dubai Police, to learn about the various destinations initiatives and offers.

The first day of ATM 2023 features 20 sessions across the Global Stage, Travel Tech Stage, and the newly introduced Sustainability Hub.

Along with the Ministerial Debate that explored How Should Travel Tackle the Climate Crisis?, the programmes highlights include sessions such as Technology: The Enabler of Sustainable Travel, Sustainability in the Travel Industry: Who Pays?, and Enhancing the Customer Experience Through AI. Further, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance is emphasising the significance of safeguarding the areas, livelihoods, and communities where hotels operate as part of the Achieving Net Positive Hospitality session.

The 30th edition of the ATM is being held as a part of Arabian Travel Week (1-10 May 2023), which is a 10-day-long festival of events designed to facilitate collaboration among industry professionals worldwide and capitalise on market opportunities through exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches, and networking events.

ATM 2023 is organised in partnership with DWTC and its strategic partners, including the DET as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner, and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.


DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 01st May, 2023) The Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the PwC Academy, in the presence of Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs.

The signing ceremony, held at the Ministry of Finance headquarters (MoF) in Dubai, was attended by Ghannam Al Mazrouei, ETCC Secretary-General, Khaled Al Bustani, Director-General of the Federal Tax Authority, and PwC's partners.

The MoU aims at developing Emirati talent skills and efficiencies through training courses in taxes, which come at a time when UAE is implementing a new corporate taxes ecosystem that will take effect soon to open doors for Emiratis to work in the taxes private sector, enable their corporates to settle their financial status and comply with new taxation laws, and positively enhance the UAE economy as a prominent global financial hub.

The ETCC explained that four training programmes will be developed, while the trainee targeted number will be determined annually based on the programme outputs and labour market requirements and aligned with the ETCC's strategic action plan in coordination with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), and the acceptance terms at the PwC Academy.

The ETCC also approved the necessary budget to cover the expenses of the training and development programmes and the study fees of Emirati trainees participating in the specialised programmes, in line with the annual approved budget.

MoHRE will be responsible for managing the programme's operational processes, including establishing strategic partnerships with private sector companies, managing the qualification terms, organising introductory workshops to explain the programmes and initiatives, opening the door for those who are willing to register in 'NAFIS' platform, announcing and marketing the approved programmes through various media channels and coordinating with the PwC Academy in all related inspection and operational matters.

Al Mazrouei stated that the MoU aims to enhance the competitive capabilities of Emirati talent and empower them with world-class professional certificates through two training journeys covering taxes, accounting, job sustainability, digital skills, and business administration. Initially, the MoU will be implemented in taxes to equip Emirati youth with the necessary skills to excel in their professional journey and run their enterprises.

He also expressed his confidence that this cooperation will provide Emiratis with a sustainable opportunity to prosper in the competitive global market.

The first training journey targets graduates and entry-level employees, while the second targets tax-agent entrepreneurs. Each training journey duration will range between 20 to 30 days.

For her part, Aisha Belharfia, Acting Undersecretary for Emiratisation Affairs and Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs at MoHRE, said the Ministry is committed to providing the necessary support to ensure the success of the annual training programmes, expressing her confidence regarding the significant positive impact such programmes will possess.

Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, noted the Ministry supports the partnership between the ETCC and PwC Academy to boost national tax professionals' capabilities and increase Emirati competitiveness in the private sector.

Amanda Line, PwC Partner and the Academy Leader, PwC Academy has collaborated with ETCC to design targeted training programmes to meet the training needs of various work sectors, enabling Emiratis to hold targeted positions. The academy provides logistical support, trainers, labs, and workshops to upskill trainees to ensure the quality of outputs according to the highest accreditation standards.

The academy regularly reports to ETCC on the trainee's performance and qualifications, suggests training programmes, and paves the way for joining through the 'NAFIS' platform, she added.
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities to strictly monitor the situation.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-May 1st, 2023) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the Federal and provincial departments to stay alert and use all the resources for the help of the people during the current rain spell.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister Office on Monday, the Prime Minister directed the National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities to strictly monitor the situation. He said the federal departments should work in close collaboration with the provincial governments and departments.

Shehbaz Sharif said where necessary, provision is made for the protection and assistance of the public and that the people be shifted to safe areas immediately.

The Prime Minister also directed the National Highway Authority and other relevant departments to monitor inter-provincial national highways.

He directed to ensure effective arrangements for traffic flow and public convenience on Quetta-Karachi highway in Lasbela and Quetta-Sibi highway in Bolan.

He said the people should be alerted in various highways and affected areas. He said protecting life and property is the priority.

Shehbaz Sharif said all civil service departments should remain vigilant in the current rains and work with national spirit and sense of responsibility. He also appealed to the people to take precautionary measures in the severe weather conditions and cooperate with the government departments.
ISLAMABAD, May 1 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2023 ) :General Secretary Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF), Chaudhry Muhammad Yaseen on Monday said on the International Labour Day, the Pakistan Workers Federation was highlighting the importance of protecting the rights and improving the working conditions of laborers in Pakistan.

In a stamen, he said, "Our workers are the backbone of country's economy and playing their role for progress and development. Many of them facing numerous challenges such as low wages, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, lack of job security, and inadequate access to healthcare and social protection." He said that PWF was a most representative organization of workers and also working for betterment of workers and protects their rights.

It was continuously struggling for organizing informal economy workers and registration of workers in EOBI and Social security, he added.

Muhammad Yaseen said that PWF believed on negotiation and resolve the workers issues through social dialogue.

He urged the international community to support Pakistan's efforts to improve the working conditions and rights of workers.

He said let us remember the struggles and sacrifices of our fellow workers who fought for workers' rights and social justice, adding we should stand in solidarity with one another and continue their legacy by fighting for the rights of workers in Pakistan.

He wished all workers in Pakistan a happy International Labour Day.
A bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early on Monday in southern Spain, killing one person and injuring 39 others, three of them seriously, the emergency services sai

Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2023 ):A bus carrying Moroccan seasonal workers overturned early on Monday in southern Spain, killing one person and injuring 39 others, three of them seriously, the emergency services said.

The accident happened just before sunrise on international workers day on a road some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the southwestern Andalusian city of Huelva, the 112 emergency services said.

"The number of people injured when the bus overturned has risen to 39," 112 said on the regional government's website, saying the bus had been carrying Moroccan seasonal workers.

"One woman died, another three people were very seriously hurt, 14 sustained moderate injuries and 22 were lightly injured," it said, saying the driver had been lightly hurt in the accident.

They had earlier said seven people were very seriously hurt and 18 had sustained light injuries.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident in an area known for its vast agriculture industry, with the Andalusia region Europe's top exporter of fruits and vegetables.

In a separate statement, medics with the CES emergency services said "34 workers were travelling on the bus; one of them died in the accident, seven others were seriously hurt and 18 others were slightly injured".
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) Air raid alerts went off in at least six regions of Ukraine overnight, according to air raid data from the country's Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Air raid warnings were in effect in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kharkiv after 3:00 a.m. local time on Monday (00:00 GM), the ministry's online map showed.

Precision strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure have been carried out by Russia since October 10 (two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge).

In February, the head of Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo said that direct damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused by Russian strikes may amount to hundreds of millions of Dollars, with economic losses ranging in billions.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with US State Secretary Antony Blinken in Washington to discuss stability and security in the South Caucasus, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with US State Secretary Antony Blinken in Washington to discuss stability and security in the South Caucasus, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"Issues related to regional stability and security and the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were discussed," the statement of the press service reads.

The parties also touched upon the humanitarian situation caused by the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, the ministry added.

Earlier in the day, Blinken expressed concern over the establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin corridor in a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Earlier this month, the Azerbaijani State Border Service said its units had set up a border checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, the only land route linking Armenia and the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku explained the decision by the alleged illegal use of the road by Armenia and security threats, noting that the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the Russian-Turkish monitoring center were informed about this. Yerevan protested Baku's move, stressing that it violated the 2020 trilateral declaration.
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The number of civilians killed since the outbreak of armed clashes in Sudan has risen to 436, while 2,175 civilians have been injured, the Sudan Doctors Trade Union (SDTU) said on Monday

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) The number of civilians killed since the outbreak of armed clashes in Sudan has risen to 436, while 2,175 civilians have been injured, the Sudan Doctors Trade Union (SDTU) said on Monday.

"The number of civilian deaths has increased to 436 since the beginning of the clashes, and (the number of) injuries among civilians to 2,175," the SDTU said on social media.

According to Sudan's Health Ministry, around 600 people have died in the clashes. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported over 450 dead and more than 4,000 injured.

Over the weekend, the Sudanese regular armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group announced the extension of the current ceasefire for another 72 hours.

However, the parties continue to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

On Saturday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry told Sputnik the parties to the conflict had chosen their representatives for talks, which will likely be held in the city of Juba in South Sudan.

On April 15, violent clashes broke out between the regular army and the RSF, with the epicenter located in Khartoum. The parties have introduced a number of temporary nationwide ceasefires since then, but the conflict has not been settled yet.
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) The deployment of United States' nuclear submarines and other strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula will bring the region to the brink of nuclear war, apart from violating inter-Korean agreements, an international security analyst of the North Korean Central news Agency (KCNA), Choe Ju Hyon, said on Monday.

"It is necessary to recall the well-known fact that the farce of deploying nuclear strategic assets orchestrated by the U.S. has been a main evil source of ever-escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This is clearly proven by the fact that the regional situation aggravates explosively whenever nuclear-capable strategic bombers buzz around the sky above Korean Peninsula and nuclear carrier and subs make their unwanted appearances in the waters around it. Specifically, the U.S. has deployed different nuclear strategic assets targeted at the DPRK since the outset of this year, making the military and political situation of the peninsula still drown in the quagmire of instability. Worse still, a timer is now ticking to ignite the fuse of detonating a nuclear war," the international relations observer said.

He described as "the height of impudence and shamelessness" the US actions, which allegedly forced the South Korean Defense Ministry to state that the deployment of nuclear strategic submarines near the Korean Peninsula is not a violation of the inter-Korean declaration on denuclearization of 1991, according to which the two countries oblige not to test, produce, receive, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons.

The analyst also noted that the US is trying to come up with a "legal justification" for to deploy regular nuclear submarines and other large strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula on a regular basis, disregarding the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

"It is the hegemonic sinister aim pursued by the U.S. to turn the whole of South Korea into its biggest nuclear war outpost in the Far East and effectively use it for attaining its strategy for dominating the world," he said.

Last week, the leaders of South Korea and the US adopted the Washington Declaration that provides for the establishment of a regular bilateral consultation mechanism on extended deterrence and strategic planning. South Korea also secured a US promise to promptly deploy "the entire force of the alliance," including nuclear weapons, in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea. Washington also assured Seoul it would use all measures, including nuclear weapons, in the case of aggression from Pyongyang, and promised to send nuclear missile submarines to the Korean Peninsula.
Alcon innovations featured in approximately 180 abstracts across cataract, glaucoma, refractive, visualization and ocular health 1

New data demonstrates comparable range of vision and intermediate visual acuity between Clareon monofocal IOL and TECNIS Eyhance* monofocal IOL 2

Alcon advances next-generation workflow connectivity, integrating ARGOS Biometer with Image Guidance and newly available NGENUITY 1.53-8

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcon (SIX/NYSE: ALC), the global leader in eye care dedicated to helping people see brilliantly, will once again have the largest surgical ophthalmic presence at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) 2023 Annual Meeting, taking place May 5-8 in San Diego. The company is proud to have the benefits of its innovations featured in more studies than ever in its history.1 Alcon will showcase product updates that drive efficiencies for ophthalmologists and staff, and host events with surgeons sharing their real-world experiences. Alcon ASCRS event information and registration is available at MyAlconatASCRS.com.

"The pace of innovation happening across eye care is extraordinary, and as the industry leader, we are excited to be leading the charge at ASCRS 2023," said Sergio Duplan, President, North America at Alcon. "As a testament to our commitment to groundbreaking research and innovation, were excited to have a significant presence at ASCRS that underscores how our products are changing the lives of patients and surgeons alike."

Clinical studies continue to demonstrate benefits of Clareon Collection of intraocular lenses (IOLs). A study from Micheletti et. al. evaluates a head-to-head comparison of distance and intermediate vision of Clareon monofocal IOL and TECNIS Eyhance* monofocal IOL. The study concludes that Clareon monofocal IOLs provided excellent distance and comparable intermediate vision that was non-inferior to TECNIS Eyhance monofocal IOLs.2 Dr. J. Morgan Micheletti will be presenting his full findings on May 6 from 11:09-11:14 a.m., during the "Cataract IOLs-Monofocal/Extended Depth of Focus II session," Upper Level, Room 4.2

Additional data on Alcon IOLs will be presented, including:9-10

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Prospective Analysis of PanOptix  Satisfaction and Higher Order Aberrations in Patients with Prior Myopic Laser Vision Correction, Presented by Dr. Brett H. Mueller II (May 6, 9:05-9:10 a.m.)

Evaluation of Refractive Stability and Binocular Visual Acuity in a New Monofocal Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lens, Presented by Dr. Clayton Blehm (May 6, 1:45-1:50)

ARGOS Biometer is now connected to NGENUITY 1.5, enabling surgeons to conduct 3D digital image-guided cataract surgery, increasing workflow efficiency and precision.3-8 ARGOS biometry measurements and images can now be imported to NGENUITY 1.5, enabling cataract surgeons to precisely overlay incision location, capsulorhexis, IOL centration and toric alignment. Now available in the U.S., the open-platform NGENUITY 1.5 offers superior visualization** and includes usability, color, contrast and magnification enhancements.4, NGENUITY 1.5 will be featured at Alcon Booth #2111.

Data will be presented at ASCRS demonstrating how surgeons benefit from using ARGOS and NGENUITY in their practices:11-13

Comparison Trial Evaluating Axial Lengths and Predicted Spherical Equivalents of Three Biometers, Presented by Dr. Sam Multack (Electronic Poster)

Comparing Refractive Outcomes of a Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Biometer and an Optical Low Coherence Reflectometry Biometer, Presented by Dr. Clayton G. Blehm (May 6, 3:35-3:40 p.m.)

Development of Phototoxic Maculopathy as a Function of Coaxial Illumination Intensity in Diabetic Patients at the Time of Cataract Surgery, Presented by Lopa S Shah (May 6, 4:20-4:25 p.m.)

New data on the Hydrus Microstent reinforce significant intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction in glaucoma patients with higher baseline IOP compared to those who receive cataract surgery alone.14 Dr. Cathleen McCabe will present these new findings from a randomized, controlled clinical trial on May 6 from 2:27-2:32 p.m. These new findings are derived from the HORIZON 5-year trial results, which had previously demonstrated that the Hydrus Microstent offers long-term glaucoma medication reduction and reduction of IOP.14 Surgeons can learn more about the Hydrus Microstent and Alcon pharmaceutical glaucoma products at booth #2111.

Additional data supporting Alcon innovation in cataract glaucoma patients include:15-16

Clinical Outcomes of a Non-Diffractive Extended Depth-of-Focus IOL in Eyes with Glaucoma, Presented by Dr. Tanner J. Ferguson (May 6, 8:00-8:05 a.m.)

Visual Performance of a Trifocal IOL in Subjects with Open-Angle Glaucoma Undergoing Concurrent Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, Presented by Dr. Steven D. Vold (May 6, 1:50-1:55 p.m.)

Evidence supports that phacoemulsification in cataract surgery with CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY allows surgeons to operate at a more physiological IOP with excellent anterior chamber stability and surgical efficiency.17 A study by Vaishali Vasavada showed that rise of IOP to baseline following occlusion break response was faster with ACTIVE SENTRY handpiece as compared to traditional handpiece when using the CENTURION Vision System.17 The full study will be presented on Sunday, May 7 at 1:45 pm.

Additional data on CENTURION with ACTIVE SENTRY include:18-20

Improved Surgical Times Using Active Sentry Hand Piece on the Centurion Cataract System, a Randomized Controlled Trial, Presented by Julio Echegoyen, MD, ABO (On-Demand Electronic Poster, May 5, 8:05-8:10 p.m.)

Surge and Capsule Dynamics during Phacoemulsification using an Adjustable Compliance Mechanical Eye Model, Presented by Dr. Jaime Zacharias (May 7, 4:45-4:50 p.m.)

Evaluation of Early Changes of the Anterior Vitreous Interface after Cataract Surgery, Using Low-Pressure Settings Determined by OCT, Presented by Hugo A. Scarfone, MD; Emilia Carolina C. Rodriguez, MD (May 6, 8:05-8:10 a.m.)

Additional educational opportunities and experiences for surgeons will be available at the Alcon booth #2111. For information on Alcon events and news at ASCRS, please visit MyAlconatASCRS.com.

About Clareon IOLs and Delivery Systems

The family of Clareon intraocular lenses (IOLs) includes the Clareon Aspheric Hydrophobic Acrylic and Clareon Aspheric Toric IOLs, the Clareon PanOptix Trifocal Hydrophobic IOL, Clareon PanOptix Toric, Clareon Vivity Extended Vision Hydrophobic Posterior Chamber IOL and Clareon Vivity Toric IOLs. Each of these IOLs is indicated for visual correction of aphakia in adult patients following cataract surgery. In addition, the Clareon Toric IOLs are indicated to correct pre-existing corneal astigmatism at the time of cataract surgery. The Clareon PanOptix lens mitigates the effects of presbyopia by providing improved intermediate and near visual acuity while maintaining comparable distance visual acuity with a reduced need for eyeglasses, compared to a monofocal IOL. The Clareon Vivity lens mitigates the effects of presbyopia by providing an extended depth of focus. Compared to an aspheric monofocal IOL, the lens provides improved intermediate and near visual acuity while maintaining comparable distance visual acuity. All of these IOLs are intended for placement in the capsular bag. Careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgment should be used by the surgeon to decide the risk/benefit ratio before implanting any IOL in a patient with any of the conditions described in the Directions for Use that accompany each IOL. Prior to surgery, physicians should provide prospective patients with a copy of the Patient Information Brochure available from Alcon, informing them of possible risks and benefits associated with these IOLs. Reference the Directions for Use labelling for each IOL for a complete listing of indications, warnings and precautions.

About ARGOS Biometer with Image Guidance

ARGOS is a non-invasive, non-contact biometer based on Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT). The device is intended to acquire ocular measurements as well as perform calculations to determine the appropriate intraocular lens (IOL) power and type for implantation during intraocular lens placement. Please refer to the ARGOS User Manual for a complete description of proper use and maintenance, optical and technical specifications, as well as a complete list of warnings and precautions.

About NGENUITY 3D Visualization System

The NGENUITY 3D Visualization System consists of a 3D stereoscopic, high-definition digital video camera and workstation to provide magnified stereoscopic images of objects during micro-surgery. It acts as an adjunct to the surgical microscope during surgery displaying real-time images or images from recordings. Please refer to the User Manual for a complete list of appropriate uses, warnings and precautions.

About Hydrus Microstent

Roughly the size of an eyelash, the Hydrus Microstent is a next-generation MIGS device designed to reduce eye pressure by reestablishing flow through Schlemm's canal, the eye's natural outflow pathway. When placed in the canal during minimally invasive microsurgery, the device restores the flow of fluid in the eye, using a Tri-Modal mechanism of action: the Hydrus Microstent dilates and scaffolds Schlemm's canal to augment outflow of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber. It maintains an opening through the trabecular meshwork from the anterior chamber into Schlemm's canal. Its length spans approximately 90 degrees of the canal to provide consistent access to multiple fluid collector channels in the eye. Approved by the FDA in August 2018 for use in conjunction with cataract surgery, the Hydrus Microstent is one of the most rigorously researched and thoroughly studied MIGS devices.

About CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY

The CENTURION Vision System with ACTIVE SENTRY is indicated for emulsification, separation, irrigation, and aspiration of cataracts, residual cortical material and lens epithelial cells, vitreous aspiration and cutting associated with anterior vitrectomy, bipolar coagulation, and intraocular lens injection. Appropriate use of CENTURION Vision System parameters and accessories is important for successful procedures. Please refer to the CENTURION Operators Manual for a complete description of proper use and maintenance, as well as a complete list of contraindications, warnings and precautions.

About Alcon

Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye care with a heritage spanning over 75 years, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve peoples lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 25,000 associates are enhancing the quality of life through innovative products, partnerships with Eye Care Professionals and programs that advance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.

* Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

** Compared to analog microscopes, including the Leica Proveo 8 and Zeiss OPMI LUMERA 700 scopes.

 Specified performance was achieved at maximum system magnification with an aperture setting of 30% open and viewing distance of 1.2 meters.

References

Alcon Data on File. Micheletti JM, Duncan N, Hall B. Head-to-Head Comparison of Intermediate Vision of Two Monofocal Intraocular Lenses. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. NGENUITY 1.5 3D Visualization System User Manual. Berquet F, Henry A, Barbe C, et al. Comparing heads-up versus binocular microscope visualization systems in anterior and posterior segment surgeries: a retrospective study. Ophthalmologica. 2020;243(5):347-354. Alcon Data on File. Mouro-Coelho N, Nascimento J, Henriques J, Medeiros MD. Three-dimensional display systems in ophthalmic surgery  a review. European Ophthalmic Review. 2019;13(1):31-36. Tamaoki A, Kojima T, Hasegawa A, et al. Clinical evaluation of a new swept-source optical coherence biometer that uses individual refractive indices to measure axial length in cataract patients. Ophthalmic Res. 2019;19:1-13. Shammas HJ, Ortiz S, Shammas MC, et al. Biometry measurements using a new large-coherence-length swept-source optical coherence tomographer. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2016;42:50-61. Mueller BH, Saenz B, Parkhurst GD, Welburn KR. Prospective Analysis of Panoptix Satisfaction and Higher Order Aberrations in Patients with Prior Myopic Laser Vision Correction. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Blehm Clayton G. Evaluation of Refractive Stability and Binocular Visual Acuity in a New Monofocal Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lens. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Multack Sam. Comparison Trial Evaluating Axial Lengths and Predicted Spherical Equivalents of Three Biometers. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Blehm Clayton G. Comparing Refractive Outcomes of a Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Biometer and an Optical Low Coherence Reflectometry Biometer. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Lopa SS, Rosenberg E. Development of Phototoxic Maculopathy as a Function of Coaxial Illumination Intensity in Diabetic Patients at the Time of Cataract Surgery. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. McCabe Cathleen M. Increase in High Level IOP Reduction with a Schlemms Canal Microstent: Outcomes from a Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Ferguson TJ, Wilson CW, Shafer BM, Berdahl JP, et al. Clinical Outcomes of a Non-Diffractive Extended Depth-of-Focus IOL in Eyes with Glaucoma. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Vold SD, McFarland MR. Visual Performance of a Trifocal IOL in Subjects with Open-Angle Glaucoma Undergoing Concurrent Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Vasavada V, et. al. Comparison of Intraoperative Performance, Intraocular Pressure and Postoperative Outcomes during Cataract Surgery with Three Fluidic Systems. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Echegoyen Julio. Improved Surgical Times Utilizing Fluidic Analysis at the Eye Level, A Randomized Controlled Trial. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Zacharias J, Berthet N, Orellana D. Surge and Capsule Dynamics during Phacoemulsification using an Adjustable Compliance Mechanical Eye Mode. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA. Scarfone HA, Rodriguez Emilia CC. Evaluation of Early Changes of the Anterior Vitreous Interface After Cataract Surgery, Using Low-Pressure Settings Determined By OCT. Presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Annual Meeting; May 5-8, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA.

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(@FahadShabbir)

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) A draft of the new constitution of Uzbekistan has been supported by 90.21% of voters at the constitutional referendum as the turnout after the closure of all polling stations stood at 84.54%, with a total of over 16.

5 million voters casting their ballots, the head of the country's Central Election Commission, Zainiddin Nizamkhodzhayev, said on Monday.

"As many as 15,040,056 people have voted for a positive outcome to the issue submitted to the referendum, which amounted to 90.21% of those who partook in the vote," Nizamkhodzhayev told a briefing.

He added that a total of 16,673,189 voters cast their votes in the referendum, which was 84.54% of the total number of people included in the voting lists.
A freight train derailed Monday in Russia's western region of Bryansk bordering Ukraine after an "explosive device" detonated on the tracks but caused no casualties, authorities said

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2023 ) :A freight train derailed Monday in Russia's western region of Bryansk bordering Ukraine after an "explosive device" detonated on the tracks but caused no casualties, authorities said.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, said the train was Belarusian and was going from its southeastern city of Gomel to Russia's Bryansk.

There have been reports of sabotage on railroads in Russia and Belarus throughout Moscow's more than year-long Ukraine offensive.

But this was the first time Russian officials confirmed an attack on this scale.

Separately, officials said power lines had been blown up in northern Russia, which the FSB security service called an "act of sabotage".

The apparent attacks came a day after a Ukrainian strike killed four people in a Russian village in the Bryansk region and as Kyiv prepared for a widely expected counter-offensive.

"An unidentified explosive device went off, as a result of which a locomotive of a freight train derailed," Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.

There were no casualties, he added.

Footage on social media showed the front of the train and several cargo carriages on fire and lying on the grass next to the tracks.

Russian Railways said the incident took place on Monday at 10:17 am local time (0717 GMT) between the town of Unecha and the village of Rassukha in the southwestern corner of the region -- some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

It later said that the fire had been put out and that passengers of two Moscow-bound trains in the area would be taken by bus to the regional hub, Bryansk.

- Railroad sabotage - The state operator said the front locomotive and seven wagons derailed "after the intervention of unauthorised persons".

"As a result of the incident, the locomotive caught fire," it said in a statement.

The Belarusian transport ministry later said the train belonged to Minsk.

"The train, number 2528, departed from the station in Gomel to Bryansk station," it said in a statement.

It said the explosive device went off "50 metres" (nearly 55 yards) from the train.

The ministry said it had sent its rail workers to the scene "to participate in the investigation".

There have been many reports of sabotage on railways -- a key mode of transport for the Russian army -- in Russia and Belarus, which allowed Moscow to launch its Ukraine offensive from its territory.

Russian independent news website MediaZona this month reported that at least 66 people have been arrested across Russia for sabotage acts on the rail network since last autumn.

Also on Monday, the governor of the northern Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said local power lines had been blown up by an "explosive device".

The official said the lines were damaged near the village of Susanino, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Russia's second city, Saint Petersburg, and posted images of the lines lying on the ground in a forest.

Drozdenko later said the FSB security service had opened a criminal case on "sabotage".
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) Iran reopened three diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia on Monday, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

"Three diplomatic missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran  the embassy in Riyadh as well as the consulate general and the Iranian representative office at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah  have resumed operations," Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying by IRIB news agency.

The reopening followed a China-brokered agreement to restore diplomatic ties reached by the two regional powers in March. Saudi Arabia is likewise expected to reopen its diplomatic outposts in Iran.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2023) Shane Marshall, the man who threw gravel at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a 2021 election campaign event, could be sentenced to 30 days in jail, the Toronto Star reported on Monday.

Crown attorney Jeremy Carnegie requested that Marshall be sentenced to 30 days in jail, as his actions were an attack not just on Trudeau but on Canadian democracy, the report said.

Accordingly, Carnegie's request is aimed at deterring other individuals from following the same path as Marshall, by imposing a "strong enough" judgment.

Sentencing Marshall to prison is necessary to curb the hatred in the country's political discourse, which according to Carnegie brings Canada closer to violence, the report continued.

Defense lawyer Luke Reidy relayed Marshall's regrets over his behavior, noting that his client had let his "impulse and anger management issues" take over him, the report said.

Reidy is instead requesting that Marshall, 26, be sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence with mandatory community service, the report said.

Marshall pleaded guilty to common assault in March. His sentence is set to be issued next week.
SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2023) Russia's naval forces together with air defense forces are repelling a drone attack in the outer harbor of Sevastopol, with one drone already shot down, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Monday.

"Naval forces together with air defense forces are now repelling the attack of enemy's drones in the outer harbor. One drone has already been shot down. All (emergency) services are in readiness," Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

The governor also urged people to stay calm.

Later in the day, Razvozhayev said that a total of two drones had attacked Crimea and Sevastopol, but air defense successfully repulsed the attack.

"While trying to approach the Sevastopol harbor, a drone was shot down by air defense forces. The second drone, which some media reported about, has been shot down over the territory of the republic of Crimea," the Sevastopol governor said.

The situation is under control, with relevant services and forces ready for any development, according to Razvozhayev.
Several employees of Germany's diplomatic missions in Russia left the country on Monday, following Moscow's announcement about the expulsion of German diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Berlin, media reported, citing the German Foreign Ministry

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) Several employees of Germany's diplomatic missions in Russia left the country on Monday, following Moscow's announcement about the expulsion of German diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to Berlin, media reported, citing the German Foreign Ministry.

On April 22, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Berlin decided to initiate a new wave of expulsions of employees of Russian diplomatic missions in the country. The Russian ministry also announced reciprocal measures, expelling German diplomats from Russia.

Several German diplomats left Russia on Monday, Germany's Stern magazine reported.

Expelled individuals had been working "in accordance with their diplomatic status," according to the German Foreign Ministry.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik in April that more than 20 German diplomats were expelled from Russia. According to Sputnik data, the number of Russian diplomats expelled from Berlin is over 20.

The German government said last month that it had decided to expel Russian diplomats in order to reduce the number of Russian intelligence officers allegedly working in the country in violation of their official diplomatic status.
BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez has congratulated Santiago Pena from the ruling conservative Colorado Party on winning in the presidential election.

"Congratulations to the Paraguayan people for their great participation in this election day and to the president-elect Santiago Pena. We will work to initiate an orderly and transparent transition that strengthens our institutions and the country's democracy," Benitez said on Twitter on Sunday.

With 94.7% of the votes counted, Paraguay's Superior Court of Electoral Justice said that Pena was ahead with 42.93%. His closest rival Efrain Alegre from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party had 27,52%. With over 99.47% of the votes counted, the Electoral Court said Pena had 42.73%.

Pena has posted a video on Twitter with the displayed text saying "Thank you, Paraguay. Santiago Pena, President-Elect.

"

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez have both congratulated Pena via Twitter with his victory in the elections. Fernandez said he spoke to Pena by phone on Sunday.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday congratulating Peno on his victory and highlighting the "exemplary" voting process, in which the authorities and the Paraguayan people reaffirmed the strength of their democracy and their institutions.

Paraguayans went to the polls on Sunday to elect the next president of the Latin American nation. In addition to the presidential race, Paraguayans also voted for vice president, lawmakers and governors on Sunday. The Colorado Party won the majority in both chambers of Paraguay's Congress.

Paraguay's next president will be inaugurated on August 15 for a five-year term.
BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) US attempts to interfere in the election campaign did not affect the results of the Sunday presidential vote in Paraguay, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay Alexander Pisarev told Sputnik.

With 94.7% of the votes counted, Paraguay's Superior Court of Electoral Justice said that Santiago Pena from the ruling conservative Colorado Party was ahead in the Sunday election with 42.93%. His closest rival Efrain Alegre from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party had 27,52%. With over 99.47% of the votes counted, the Electoral Court said Pena had 42.73%.

"Opposition forces failed to unite and stand against the ruling party," Pisarev told Sputnik, adding that "US attempts to intervene in the election campaign did not affect the results. It is known that the main target of their attacks was Horacio Cartes, the current president of the Colorado (party). American sanctions did not prevent his party and his supporter Santiago Pena from achieving victory. The last word in this campaign was with the people of Paraguay, and they expressed their will quite clearly.

"

The United States sanctioned Paraguay's former president Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara and current Vice President Hugo Adalberto Velazquez Moreno for alleged corruption in January.

Paraguayans went to the polls on Sunday to elect the next president of the Latin American nation. In addition to the presidential race, Paraguayans also voted for vice president, lawmakers and governors on Sunday. The Colorado Party won the majority in both chambers of Paraguay's Congress.

Paraguay's next president will be inaugurated on August 15 for a five-year term.

Paraguay's Incumbent President Mario Abdo Benitez has already congratulated Pena on winning in the presidential election. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez have both congratulated Pena via Twitter.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday congratulating Peno on his victory and highlighting the "exemplary" voting process, in which the authorities and the Paraguayan people reaffirmed the strength of their democracy and their institutions.
(@FahadShabbir)

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Monday that he expects President Joe Biden to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st May, 2023) US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Monday that he expects President Joe Biden to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel.

"I expect the White House to invite the prime minister over for a meeting, especially with the 75th anniversary," McCarthy said during a press conference after he addressed the Israeli Knesset.

McCarthy added that he invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the United States to take part in a joint session of Congress and this visit can take place as soon as this summer.

During his address on Monday, McCarthy said that he will establish a "parliamentary friendship" between the lower chamber of Congress and the Knesset.

A bipartisan Congressional delegation of 20 US lawmakers led by McCarthy arrived in Israel on April 30 for a visit. McCarthy is the second US House speaker to address a Knesset plenum.
The people of Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly favored the Constitutional Referendum 2023, polling 90.21 percent of votes in favor of the new legislation and providing full support to this democratic process in the republic

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2023 ):The people of Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly favored the Constitutional Referendum 2023, polling 90.21 percent of votes in favor of the new legislation and providing full support to this democratic process in the republic.

Meanwhile addressing press conference in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on Monday, Chairman of Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nizomxodjayev Zayniddin Maxamatovich said that 90.21 percent of the people voted in favor of the constitutional referendum of Uzbekistan held on April 30, 2023, while 9.35 percent of the people voted against it, and this democratic process was fully supported by the people Uzbekistan.

While with this, 0.49 percent votes were rejected, he said.

Chairman of Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nizomxodjayev Zayniddin Maxamatovich announced the inconclusive results of the Constitutional Referendum 2023, while holding a press conference along with the Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Kuchkarov Baxrom Tulkinovich and members of the Central Election Commission in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

According to the voting results, 84.54 percent of people voted in Uzbekistan's Referendum, 2023 and 16.673 million people participated in the voting process, he informed.

Nizomxodjayev Zayniddin said that the Election Commission has not received any clear report of any kind of irregularity or illegal incident in the Constitutional referendum voting, some unclear reports were made by the media, which the Central Election Commission is carefully reviewing and the investigation will also be done.

He said that the foreign observers also declared the voting free and fair for constitutional referendum and praised the facilities in the voting process.

The Election Commissioner said that the polling turnout was above 90 percent in all 14 regions including Tashkent, Samarkand and other rural areas in which all classes participated.

The Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said that polling was held in 55 polling stations in diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan abroad.

He said that 55 referendum-holding grounds being established at diplomatic and other representative offices of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 39 foreign countries, including referendum precincts established in Eastern countries, have started working.

Zayniddin Nizomxodjayev said that a total of 307 thousand 895 citizens were included in the list of voters in 55 referendum precincts created abroad.

He said that people from all walks of life, including women, youth and rural segments participated in the referendum 2023.

In accordance with the decisions of the chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the day of the referendum was set as April 30, 2023, and one question on the ballot: "Do you accept the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan?" it was written, he said.

He informed that 19 million,722 thousand 809 voting citizens were included in the single electronic voter list.

He said that in this year's referendum, it was possible to monitor the voting process in real-time (online) through video cameras installed in up to two referendum precincts located in all districts and cities of Uzbekistan.

The voting process was continuously monitored on the screens in the Press Center of the Central Election Commission, on the official website of saylov.uz, as well as on private TV channels and the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, he said.

Chairman CEC said a total of 383 international observers, including 184 from 14 prestigious international organizations and 199 from 45 countries, are directly monitoring the referendum.

In addition, a total of more than 44,000 local observers from political parties and citizens' self-government bodies participated in direct observation, he informed.

He said that a total of 964 representatives of accredited mass media, including 192 representatives from 127 foreign mass media, are directly monitoring and covering the referendum.

According to international observers and international think tanks, this was the foundation of the new Uzbekistan, which has strong possibilities of showing positive economic and political effects in the future.

Meanwhile addressing the press conference, representatives of different international organizations and observers from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Organization of Turkic States, Turkic Parliament and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), international and local NGOs also described the voting for Constitution Reform 2023 as free, fair and transparent.
Will offer mRNA cGMP Production from Master Cell Bank to Drug Product Made Possible with Precision Nanosystems and Cytiva

FARGO, N.D., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aldevron, a leading global manufacturer of DNA, RNA and proteins used in cell and gene therapies and vaccine development, will expand its mRNA production capabilities to include lipid nanoparticle (LNP) encapsulation and aseptic fill-finish capabilities enabling mRNA cGMP manufacturing services from Master Cell Bank through to Drug Product. This new capability will support the production of therapeutic-scale clinical and commercial-stage mRNA therapies for cancers and genetic diseases, and clinical-stage vaccines for infectious diseases.

Aldevron Announces Expansion of mRNA Production Capability.

Aldevron, a Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) operating company, is partnering with fellow Danaher operating companies Precision Nanosystems (PNI) and Cytiva. The service expansion will provide Aldevron clients with the ability to seamlessly manage clinical and commercial mRNA programs. When fully operational, the services will leverage PNI's LNP formulation expertise, and feature Cytiva's SA25 aseptic filling workcell. The goal is to streamline, expedite, and simplify mRNA programs by reducing lead times with less project overhead.

"This collaboration will help to bring innovative and life-saving therapies to patients faster," said Kevin Ballinger, President of Aldevron. "By working with PNI and Cytiva, Aldevron can capitalize on their expertise to build a streamlined service for the development, production and release of mRNA drug substance and drug product. Combined with our manufacturing expansion completed in March of this year, we can now offer our customers improved flexibility across a range of mRNA services."

"With Danaher's best-in-class scientific and technical expertise, our goal is to compress the timeframes needed in therapy development and commercialization to accelerate the delivery of innovative mRNA therapies to patients," said Mark Wetzel, Vice President/General Manager of mRNA Services. "Leveraging the collective strength that includes Cytiva, Precision Nanosystems and valued external partners, Aldevron will provide a complete solution for mRNA development within a single workflow and quality system."

Story continues

The expansion is anticipated to be fully online in the second half of 2023.

About Aldevron

Aldevron is a premier manufacturing partner, producing high-quality plasmid DNA, RNA, proteins, and other key components for the development of vaccines, gene and cell therapies, immunotherapies, and other treatments. Headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, and as a part of the Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) family of global science and technology companies, Aldevron supports thousands of scientists who are developing revolutionary, lifesaving treatments for millions of people. To learn more about how Aldevron is advancing biological science, visit www.aldevron.com/about-us.

About Danaher

Danaher is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping its customers solve complex challenges and improving quality of life around the world. Its family of world class brands has leadership positions in the demanding and attractive health care, environmental and applied end-markets. With more than 20 operating companies, Danaher's globally diverse team of approximately 81,000 associates is united by a common culture and operating system, the Danaher Business System, and its Shared Purpose, Helping Realize Life's Potential. For more information, please visit www.danaher.com.

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(UroToday.com) The 2023 American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting held in Chicago, IL between April 28 and May 1st, 2023, was host to a late-breaking oncology abstract session. Dr. Ali Mouzannar presented the results of a matched cohort analysis comparing perioperative outcomes of patients receiving neoadjuvant gemcitabine, cisplatin, and atezolizumab to those receiving gemcitabine + cisplatin prior to radical cystectomy.



Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to radical cystectomy for patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) remains standard of care treatment. Favorable pathologic responses (i.e., <pT2, pN0 disease), which occur in 36-46% of cases, have been demonstrated to be associated with improved survival outcomes.1-3

Over the last few years, we have witnessed the emergence of numerous phase II trials evaluating checkpoint inhibitors in the neoadjuvant setting. The PURE-01 trial of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab demonstrated pT0 rates of 42%, whereas patients in the ABACUS trial of neoadjuvant atezolizumab achieved a pT0 rate of 31% in the radical cystectomy specimens. In 2022, Funt et al. published the results of a single arm phase II trial that evaluated the neoadjuvant combination of atezolizumab + gemcitabine/cisplatin in patients with MIBC. The primary endpoint of this trial was pathologic downstaging to <ypT2N0, which occurred in 69% of patients. ypT0N0 disease was achieved in 41% of patients. Grade 3+ immune-related AEs were experienced by 11% of the cohort.6

However, concerns about the additive toxicity of combining atezolizumab with gemcitabine/cisplatin remain. As such, the objective of this study was to assess the surgical safety of this neoadjuvant combination. To this end, the authors performed a propensity score-matched analysis of 36 patients from the Funt cohort (atezo + gem/cis) matched to 72 patients from an MSKCC contemporary cohort who received neoadjuvant gem/cis only. Patients were matched 2:1 using the nearest neighbor matching using the following criteria:

Age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (CCI)

BMI

Surgical approach

ASA score

Clinical T-stage

Smoking status

Despite propensity score matching using the aforementioned variables, there were some differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups, which suggested that patients in the Funt trial receiving atezo + gemc/cis were at inherently higher risk of more favorable outcomes:

Patients in the atezo + gem/cis arm had a lower frequency of prior abdominal surgery (14% versus 44%)

Patients in the atezo + gem/cis arm had a lower frequency of prior pelvic radiation (3% versus 8%)

Patients in the atezo + gem/cis underwent a robotic-assisted radical cystectomy in 36% of the cases, compared to 18% in the gem/cis group

With regards to the study objective of evaluating perioperative outcomes, patients in the atezo + gem/cis group had a lower proportion of readmissions within 30 days (17% versus 33% in the gem/cis group) and required less frequency postoperative transfusion (44% versus 64%, p=0.054). Otherwise, no significant differences in estimated blood loss, positive surgical margins, and grade 3+ complications were observed. A common concern with the use of neoadjuvant ICIs is the development of immune-related adhesions that can complicate subsequent surgical approaches. However, adhesions were noted less frequently in the atezo + gem/cis arm (25% versus 39%), which may be related to the lower frequency of prior abdominal surgery/pelvic radiation in this group. A post-treatment effect was observed in 11% of patients in the atezo + gem/cis group, compared to 4% in the gem/cis group.

On multivariable analysis adjusted for ASA and smoking status, no statistically significant differences in the odds of these events were observed between the two groups.

The most common complications in both groups were bleeding, infectious, and GU in nature. However, the overall rates were similar across the two groups.

Dr. Mouzannar acknowledged that this study is limited by its retrospective design, with lack of randomization and concerns regarding residual, unmeasured confounders. He concluded that the combination of atezo + gem/cis appears to be safe and does not adversely impact surgical outcomes or complications. Further evidence from multi-arm RCTs will be needed to further evaluate this.

Presented by: Ali Mouzannar, MD, Society of Urologic Oncology fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Written by: Rashid K. Sayyid, MD, MSc  Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) Clinical Fellow at The University of Toronto, @rksayyid on Twitter during the 2023 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 27  May 1, 2023

References:
(UroToday.com) The 2023 AUA annual meeting included the Bladder Cancer Forum, featuring a debate discussing surveillance and treatment challenges of intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Dr. Stephen Williams started this session by highlighting a case of a 67 male with a history of gross hematuria for six months with no work-up during that time period.



He had no significant medical or surgical history but did have a history of smoking one pack per day for 20 years. He subsequently had a CT urogram that showed a filling defect in the posterolateral bladder wall with a suspected 1.5 cm bladder tumor. TURBT of this lesion demonstrated a 3 cm Ta low grade tumor on a stalk, as well as an additional 1 cm Ta low grade tumor that was resected:



There was no CIS in the specimen and muscle was present, but not involved.

Dr. Paolo Gontero then made the case for treatment in this particular patient. He noted that according to the EAU risk stratification, intermediate risk is defined as patients without CIS who are not included in the low, high, or very high risk groups, whereas the IBCG defines intermediate risk as multifocal low grade or recurrent low grade. He notes that if this patient were Ta high grade, these patients have similar outcomes to other intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Furthermore, intermediate risk disease has a 10-year probability of progression of 8.5%, which is not that much lower than patients with high-risk disease (14%). Additionally, if this patient had his information added to the EORTC bladder cancer recurrence and progression calculator, Dr. Gontero notes that he would have a 31% risk of progression at 5-years and 15% at 1-year.

With regards to the data for BCG, an individual patient data meta-analysis from 2009 assessing 2,820 patients (74% intermediate risk disease) with a median follow-up of 4.4 years showed that BCG maintenance was associated with a 32% risk of reduction in recurrence.1 There was no significant difference in progression and survival. Additionally, BCG with maintenance was better than Mitomycin C, but was associated with more side-effects:

Recent work from the International Bladder Cancer Group has provided updated definitions and management recommendations for the treatment of intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.2 Among intermediate risk (low-grade tumors), the following risk factors should be assessed:

Tumor size >3 cm

Multiple tumors

Early recurrence (<1 year)

Frequent recurrence (>1/year)

Failure of previous intravesical treatment

For those patients with none of the above risk factors, they should be treated similarly to those with low-risk disease (no additional treatment). For patients with 1-2 risk factors, they should be treated as intermediate risk disease and thus treated with additional adjuvant induction intravesical chemotherapy (or BCG if prior chemotherapy has been used). For patients with >= 3 risk factors, they should be treated as high risk disease with BCG/chemotherapy for at least 1 year, with maintenance therapy:

Dr. Gontero notes that active surveillance is not adequate for non-muscle invasive disease. There is poorly defined inclusion criteria (T1? High-grade?), the schedule and type of surveillance is to be determined (patients prefer an intense follow-up schedule), there is a high failure rate (50% at 1 year), and there is a lack of pathological correlation with visual assessment (cystoscopy) in defining active surveillance failure (in 30% of cases there is no pathological findings of bladder cancer), thus pathological proof cannot be avoided in active surveillance. However, perhaps we can reduce the burden of TURBT in recurrent intermediate risk bladder cancer, as laser fulguration has recently been shown to be as good as TURBT, with lower complications, and better quality of life. Additionally, intense follow-up is likely unnecessary as patients followed every six months for one year followed by annual thereafter have been shown to do just as well as patients with more intense follow-up: no difference in recurrence, progression or cancer specific survival, with 2/3 reduction in necessary follow-up visits.

Dr. Gontero concluded his portion of the debate in favor of treatment for this patient with the following conclusions:

Intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is not always indolent, which highlights the importance of risk stratification

Progression cannot be overlooked and pathology must be determined

Any available treatment must be attempted in order to try to impact the natural history

Active surveillance is not yet mature

The burden of TURBT can be reduced while maintaining the advantages of surgery (tumor ablation and pathology)

Follow-up does not need to be intense, but should be long term

Dr. Gary Steinberg then took the position of surveillance for this patient. He notes that the goals of surveillance are to diagnose bladder cancer early before the development of invasive disease. However, there are several issues:

The bladder cancer diathesis is variable with regards to progression from non-muscle to muscle-invasive disease

Surveillance is invasive, time consuming, and expensive

Early detection of Ta low grade may not matter and it is unlikely to lead to progression

Can we eliminate cystoscopy?

Can we detect genetic changes?

With regards to non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, Dr. Steinberg notes that complete resection of all tumor is the standard of care. However, should we be doing adjuvant therapy for all patients? Immediate peri-TURBT intravesical chemotherapy is thought to eliminate implantation of tumor cells, with randomized studies showing an 11.7% decrease in recurrence rate using a single post-TURBT dose of chemotherapy (mitomycin C, gemcitabine, doxyrubicin, epirubicin). Low grade primary and solitary tumors are low risk and benefit the most from surveillance, with decreased recurrence rates of 12-24 months with blue light cystoscopy with Cysview. There are several outstanding questions regarding how effective we are with treating intermediate risk disease:

What is the benefit of intravesical therapy?

Is surveillance or watchful waiting harmful?

Is the risk of progression or cancer specific survival different?

Is low grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer the same as high grade?

Risk of progression is critical to understand

Dr. Steinberg highlighted that historical reports suggest that the recurrence risk is 5-10% for low grade Ta, 15-40% for high grade Ta, and 30-50% for T1 high grade. The following shows the estimated recurrence and progression rates for each AUA NMIBC risk category at 6, 12, and 24 months based on adjuvant treatment received:

TURBTs for intermediate risk disease require anesthesia, which can be problematic for older patients, sicker patients, and those on anticoagulants. These procedures can be associated with complications, such as pain and urinary symptoms, bleeding, infection, and injury (including perforation). A study assessing outcomes of TURBT showed that 30 day complication rates were 5.1%, with readmission rates of 3.7%, similar to major urologic oncology cases.3 Additionally, there was a decline in health-related quality of life over time, as well as financial toxicity associated with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer treatment.

Dr. Steinberg notes that his surveillance schedule is as follows:

Low-risk: cystoscopy at 3 months, if negative, cystoscopy at 1 year and then annually for 5 years

Intermediate risk: customized between low and high-risk schedules

Ultimately, the 3 and 6 month cystoscopy is critical.

Dr. Steinberg concluded his presentation in support of surveillance in this patient with the following take-home messages:

Intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is heterogeneous and associated with high rates of recurrence, but low rates of progression and cancer specific mortality

Current clinical guidelines vary, with the AUA and SUO recommending limiting intravesical BCG to those with high grade disease secondary to BCG shortages

Current intravesical chemotherapy is limited in long-term efficacy

Watchful waiting surveillance with fulguration in clinic with local anesthesia is preferential

New treatment options with chemoablation and novel intravesical therapy delivery are currently being studied

Moderator: Stephen B. Williams, MD, MS, FACS, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

Debater: Paolo Gontero, MD, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Torino, Italy

Debater: Gary D. Steinberg, MD, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY

Written by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc  Urologic Oncologist, Assistant Professor of Urology, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia, @zklaassen_md on Twitter during the 2023 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 27  May 1, 2023

References:
(UroToday.com) The 2023 AUA annual meeting included the Bladder Cancer Forum, featuring a debate discussing the optimal management of clinical N+ muscle invasive bladder cancer. Dr. Neema Navai started by highlighting a case of a 61 year old, very active and healthy female (BMI 21), with no prior smoking history or secondhand exposure or family history of cancer. She had four years of irritative voiding symptoms and 3 months of gross hematuria. Her GFR was 63 mL/min/1.73 m2, and she had no hearing loss or CHF. A CT scan demonstrated cT3bN2 (short axis 1.9 cm left obturator and 1.5 cm right hypogastric lymph node) cM0 bladder cancer:





Dr. Navai then polled the audience with the question How would you proceed?:

76%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by local consolidation (radical cystectomy or radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy) if a complete or partial response +/- adjuvant immunotherapy

22%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by local consolidation (radical cystectomy or radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy) regardless of response +/- adjuvant immunotherapy

0%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance immunotherapy and local consolidation in select circumstances

0%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by observation and local consolidation (cystectomy versus radiotherapy) or treatment (ie. BCG for high grade NMIBC) for late, local only, relapsed disease

3%: Clinical trial

Dr. Petros Grivas then took the position of primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by switch maintenance avelumab (with the potential for local consolidation later in carefully selected circumstances). Dr. Grivas started by highlighting that at the University of Washington they have a multidisciplinary bladder cancer clinic that has a weekly conference to discuss these challenging cases. Ultimately, systemic disease requires early systemic therapy. cN2 is most likely a systemic disease state with distant micro-metastasis present, even if not visible with conventional scans. In his opinion, cause of death is the presence of micro-metastatic disease, which needs to be controlled with systemic therapy. Furthermore, consolidation radical cystectomy with lymphadenectomy is associated with notable morbidity, a mortality risk and has a major impact on quality of life. Secondary to wound healing, systemic therapy cannot be given, thus leaving the patient at high risk of losing disease control, and clinical complete response is not durable after chemotherapy with a very short PFS.

Dr. Grivas highlighted work from Necchi et al that suggests a lack of effectiveness of post-chemotherapy lymphadenectomy in bladder cancer with clinical evidence of metastatic pelvic or retroperitoneal lymph nodes.1 In this study, 242 (46.4%) patients received post-chemotherapy lymphadenectomy and 280 (53.6%) observation after chemotherapy. There were 177 (33.9%) and 345 (66.1%) patients with either retroperitoneal or pelvic lymphadenopathy only, respectively. Double robust estimation-adjusted comparison was not significant for improved OS for post-chemotherapy lymphadenectomy (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.56-1.31, p=0.479), confirmed by matched analysis (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.60-1.36, p=0.628). The following shows propensity score-adjusted overall survival curves according to the study group (post-chemotherapy lymphadenectomy: green line; no post-chemotherapy lymphadenectomy: red line) and extent of lymph node metastases (pelvic lymph nodes: thick line; retroperitoneal lymph nodes: thin line), without (A) and with a 3-month landmark (B):

Dr. Grivas then discussed the JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial.2 Patients were eligible for this trial if they had unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that had not progressed with 4-6 cycles of first-line gemcitabine plus cisplatin or carboplatin. Patients were then randomized to receive maintenance avelumab plus best supportive care or best supportive care alone within 4-10 weeks. The trial design for JAVELIN Bladder 100 is as follows:

Long term follow-up of this trial shows prolonged overall survival (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.63-0.92) and progression free survival (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.46-0.65) with avelumab + best supportive care versus best supportive care alone:

Additionally, the benefits of the use of avelumab maintenance therapy were seen in patients with a complete response (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.48-1.08), an initial partial response (HR 0.70, 95% ci 0.54-0.91), or initially stable disease (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.60-1.19).

When subgroups were stratified by number of cycles, patients receiving avelumab plus best supportive care had survival benefit across all cycles, with statistically significant improved survival if they received six cycles of chemotherapy (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.47-0.92):

Furthermore, the addition of avelumab first-line maintenance to best supportive care had a relatively minimal effect on quality of life.3 As follows is the Kaplan-Meier analysis of time to deterioration in FBISI-18 DRS-P score in the overall population:

Dr. Grivas concluded his presentation by highlighting two abstracts suggesting that real world evidence supports first line switch maintenance avelumab:

In an Italian population, avelumab showed clinical benefit with a manageable safety profile with a median OS of not reached, 1-year OS rate of 69.2% (95% CI 64.8%-73.7%), and median PFS of 8.1 months (95% CI 6.1-10.4) AVENANCE demonstrated the activity and acceptable safety profile of avelumab in a large cohort (n = 593) from a heterogeneous real world population. The 1-year OS rate was 65.4%, median OS was 20.7% (95% CI 17.1  NE), and median PFS was 5.7 months (95% CI 5.3-7.0). In this population, there were no new safety concerns.

Dr. Max Kates then made the argument for local consolidation in patients with cN+ muscle invasive bladder cancer. For this particular patient, Dr. Kates makes several assumptions:

There has been a thorough discussion of goals of care She is 61, very active, and wants long-term cancer control. In his mind, based on cT3bN2, she will receive 6 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and if she has a partial or complete response she will go for radical cystectomy with extended pelvic lymph node dissection, and if she has persistent T2-T4 or N+ she will get adjuvant nivolumab.

Dr. Kates notes that in the past, our role for cystectomy was to use it some of the time in high risk NMIBC and for the majority of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer, whereas the current paradigm looks more like the following:

Dr. Kates then highlighted a phase 2 trial design of dose dense MVAC +/- durvalumab in patients with lymph node positive bladder cancer:

According to Dr. Kates, there are two arguments for omitting cystectomy, as posed by Dr. Grivas:

Argument #1: Consolidative cystectomy is under treatment and will not affect outcomes of this systemic disease. His response is that if a patient has N+ disease, extended pelvic lymph node dissection may be curative and can be reinforced with adjuvant nivolumab. The combination of radical cystectomy + nivolumab for N+ disease is associated with an improved DFS

Argument #2: Consolidative cystectomy is over treatment. The patient is cured and does not need a cystectomy. His response is that neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surveillance for T2N0 patients with complete response is associated with frequent local and systemic recurrences, so why should this be different for T3N2 patients?

For argument #1, if we have a typical cystectomy population with clinical N0 disease, how many will have pathologic N+ disease. Data from the 2003 Grossman et al. SWOG S8710 trial with long term follow-up, showed that among 115 patients who had radical cystectomy with negative surgical margins, compared with T0 patients, those with residual Ta, T1, or CIS appeared to have worse OS (p = 0.054).4,5 Lymph node-positive disease was found to be associated with worse OS than lymph node-negative disease (p = 0.0005), and patients with lymph node-negative disease (ie, those with <10 lymph nodes removed) appeared to have inferior OS compared with those with 10+ lymph nodes removed (p = 0.079).

Dr. Kates then highlighted CheckMate-274, a phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized (1:1), controlled trial, of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma who had undergone radical surgery to receive either nivolumab or placebo every 2 weeks for up to 1 year.6 The primary endpoint was disease free survival. In this trial, ~46% of patients enrolled were N1-3 disease, with a 12 month DFS benefit of 62.8% for nivolumab compared to 46.6% for placebo. This is further highlighted in the following forest plot subgroup analysis:

This data suggests the largest hazard ratio for N+ disease and confirms that aggressive management of N+ bladder cancer with neoadjuvant chemotherapy + nivolumab is associated with long term cancer control in some patients.

For argument #2, Dr. Kates highlighted the RETAIN trial, which was presented at GU ASCO 2023. RETAIN was a single-arm, phase II, non-inferiority trial to evaluate a risk-adapted approach for muscle invasive disease. Eligible patients included those with cT2-T3N0M0 urothelial carcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy with accelerated MVAC. Pre-chemotherapy TURBT specimens were sequenced for mutations in ATM, ERCC2, FANCC or RB1. Patients with  1 mutation and no clinical evidence of disease by restaging TURBT, urine cytology and imaging post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy began pre-defined active surveillance and the remaining patients underwent bladder-directed therapy. The trial design is as follows:

In the ITT population, 33 (46%) had a relevant mutation and 26 (37%) began active surveillance. With a median follow-up of 41 months, 47 patients (66%) are metastasis-free (CI 54%-77%) and the 2-year MFS for the ITT patients was 72% (lower bound exact 1-sided 95% CI=62%). This did not meet the predefined cutoff for significance, thus the trial could not declare the risk-adapted approach as non-inferior. On post hoc analysis, the 2-year MFS was 76.9% in the AS group and 70.5% in the remaining patients (no significant difference). According to Dr. Kates, this data suggests that avoiding cystectomy, even in cT0N0 patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy will miss persistent bladder cancer and nodal disease. If it is not standard of care for clinical N0 patients, it certainly should not be standard of care for clinical N+ patients.

Dr. Kates concluded his portion of the presentation in favor of local control with the following take-home messages:

For patients with cN+ disease, a good response to induction chemotherapy should be consolidated with aggressive local control (cystectomy + extended pelvic lymph node dissection)

With the addition of adjuvant nivolumab, these patients have the opportunity for long-term cancer control

Dr. Navai then highlighted that this particular patient underwent 6 cycles of dose dense MVAC, had a clinical complete response on imaging, and repeat cystoscopy demonstrated cT0 disease with a normal examination under anesthesia. After an extensive discussion, she underwent a robotic radical cystectomy with pathology ypT2aypN0R0 with 23 negative lymph nodes. The pathologist noted foamy histiocytes consistent with treated prior disease in the obturator nodes, but no viable disease. She is 4 years without evidence of disease and continues on surveillance. To conclude the session, Dr. Navai re-polled the audience How would you proceed?:

89%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by local consolidation (radical cystectomy or radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy) if a complete or partial response +/- adjuvant immunotherapy

7%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by local consolidation (radical cystectomy or radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy) regardless of response +/- adjuvant immunotherapy

4%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance immunotherapy and local consolidation in select circumstances

0%: Primary cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by observation and local consolidation (cystectomy versus radiotherapy) or treatment (ie. BCG for high grade NMIBC) for late, local only, relapsed disease

0%: Clinical trial

Moderator: Neema Navai, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Debater: Petros Grivas, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Debater: Max Kates, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Written by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc  Urologic Oncologist, Assistant Professor of Urology, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia, @zklaassen_md on Twitter during the 2023 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 27  May 1, 2023

References:
These experiences were foundational to my decision to pursue a career in teaching, Clark said. I have committed myself to the training of future teachers, because I understand the value of a healthy educational ecosystem as pivotal to individual growth and the progress of society as a whole.

Clarks interest in adapted physical activity grew during his undergraduate studies at North Carolina A&T State University, where he enrolled in a course about disabilities and movement. The class provided him the opportunity to work directly with individuals with disabilities and is like the adaptive P.E. course he now teaches to his own students.

Clark earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in physical education teacher education (PETE) from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined UTSA in 2015 and is now a member of HCAPs Department of Kinesiology, where he serves as coordinator for its P.E. teacher education program and COEHDs Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching (ILT). The largest department in COEHD, ILT prepares students to become effective educators and leaders in culturally diverse settings by emphasizing the importance of inclusivity, equity and collaboration in education.

Having earned his bachelors degree from North Carolina A&Ta Historically Black Universityand now teaching at a Hispanic Serving Institution, Clark cares deeply about contributing to ILTs mission and to the continued development of minority-serving institutions.

When it comes to his own teaching methodology and his students success, Clark gives credit to the influential professors he had throughout his education, as they were a key part in his development as a teacher.

Honestly, I wish I could tell you that I use some innovative approaches to teaching Black, Brown, Latinx and first-generation college students, but I do not, Clark said. My secret is that I was actually taught how to teach. This training allows me to effectively modify my teaching and advocate for students with diverse abilities.

Clark has positively affected countless Roadrunners during his eight years at UTSA. In addition to helping his students academically, Clark is also a mentor for both current and former students.

No other professor has impacted my studies and interest to continue growth in graduate school as Dr. Clark has, said Omar Sanchez, one of Clarks past students who is now pursuing a doctorate at The Ohio State University. He never once stopped offering advice after I took his class. He is the reason I proudly say I am a first-generation Hispanic college graduate.

Brandon Boyd, another former student, mentioned the invaluable guidance that Clark provided while he was navigating his next steps after graduate school.

Dr. Clark has been an inspirational figure who has helped guide my path to success as an aspiring physical therapist and university instructor, Boyd said. His dedication to his students and community is unmatched.
UW and Wyoming Community Navigator Program to Celebrate National Economic Development Week

In recognition of National Economic Development Week, the Wyoming Community Navigator Program (CNP) will showcase webinars and trainings offered by its economic development partners who are working together to create and maintain strong local economies.

The Wyoming CNP, through the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network at the University of Wyoming, provides small-business resources and assistance for traditionally underserved entrepreneurs throughout Wyoming.

National Economic Development Week is a time to recognize the critical role our Community Navigator Program partners play in creating vibrant and sustainable communities throughout Wyoming, says Nicholas Giraldo, program manager for the Wyoming CNP.

Former professional chef and restaurant business consultant Deagon Williams will present two Wyoming CNP webinars targeting restaurant owners. Williams will discuss common challenges restaurants face, such as staffing, retention and dealing with rising costs during Successful Hospitality Today: Addressing the Five Key Challenges in Restaurants Tuesday, May 2, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Williams will help restaurant owners analyze their financials to be successful and profitable during The New Financial Model: How to Manage Key Financial Metrics To Be Profitable and Busy Thursday, May 4, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Liz Jamieson, a branding and marketing consultant, will present How to Clarify Your Niche, Ideal Client Profile and Messaging, a Wyoming CNP webinar that focuses on identifying ideal target customers for businesses. The webinar will take place Friday, May 5, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Additionally, the Wyoming Womens Business Center will host several Zoom webinars this month. Three webinars fall during National Economic Development Week May 8-12. For more information about the Wyoming Womens Business Center and its webinars and training opportunities, go to www.wyomingwomen.org.

National Economic Development Week is an important reminder of how important it is to create opportunities for women entrepreneurs, says Christine Langley, business education director for the Wyoming Womens Business Center. As women entrepreneurs succeed, they often invest back into their communities through philanthropy, job creation and mentorship, further contributing to the overall well-being of their communities.

Working collaboratively both within the Wyoming CNP and the greater Wyoming Business Resource Network also has shown Langley the critical role Wyomings economic development partners play in creating vibrant and thriving communities.

Its almost overwhelming, the entrepreneurial support being offered around the state. Its a great time to start a business, Langley says.

For more information about upcoming Wyoming CNP events and resources, go to www.wyomingcommunitynavigator.org/upcoming-events.

About National Economic Development Week

National Economic Development Week was created in 2016 by the International Economic Development Council, the largest international professional trade association for economic developers. The week aims to increase awareness for local programs that create jobs, advance career development opportunities and improve the quality of life in communities everywhere.
Almaden Minerals Ltd.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almaden Minerals Ltd. (Almaden or the Company; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to announce the completion of a social impact assessment relating to the potential impacts caused by the grant of the Companys Ixtaca mineral claims (the SIA), and the completion of a human rights impact assessment that examines the potential impacts that could be caused if the Ixtaca project is developed in a manner consistent with the Ixtaca Feasibility Study first announced on December 11, 2018 (the HRIA).



The SIA

The SIA was completed by an independent and technically capable expert consulting group named Centro de Investigaciones Interculturales, Juridicas y Ambientales, S.C. (CIIJA), and, consistent with the 2022 ruling of Mexicos Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN  see press release of July 4, 2022) and resolutions issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, is focused on the identification and prediction of potential positive and negative human rights impacts that could be caused simply through the grant of the mineral titles. The SIA also proposes adequate mitigation and compensation measures for any human rights impacts identified through an ad hoc Social Action Plan. It considers the potential impacts on the rights of both indigenous and non-indigenous communities which physically overlap with the area of the mineral title applications.

The SIA concluded that there were no elements identified that would justify the cancellation of the concessions so long as the necessary social management measures were in place to avoid, mitigate or compensate for the potential negative impacts and amplify the positive ones.

The SIA was completed in the Fall of 2022 and submitted to Mexicos Ministry of the Economy (Economia) in order to provide the Mexican State with a social impact study completed by an independent and technically capable entity and thus enable Economia to proceed with free prior and informed consultation of indigenous communities in fulfilment of its compliance with the February 2022 decision of the SCJN.

Story continues

At the time of submission of the SIA, the Company also submitted modified claim applications requesting a significant reduction to the area of the mineral title applications. Neither the modified mineral claim applications nor the SIA were considered by Economia when it issued its submission to the Second District Court in Puebla State alleging the applications for mineral titles that were granted in 2003 and 2009 contain technical faults (see press releases of Feb. 22, 2023 and April 13, 2023).

The HRIA

The HRIA was commenced in 2021 (see press release of October 19, 2021) and represents a much more significant and holistic study than the SIA, as it aims to predict, identify, characterize, and assess the potential positive and negative impacts that the Ixtaca project could have during its lifespan on the human rights of both indigenous and non-indigenous communities located within its areas of influence and on other identified project stakeholders. In the event potential impacts are identified, the HRIA proposes strategies to amplify the positive and mitigate or compensate for the negative. The HRIA is not confined to the area of the mineral title applications and defines three areas of influence of the project: core, direct, and indirect.

The HRIA was also led by CIIJA, and to the Companys knowledge, is the first time that an independent HRIA has been completed to the Danish standard1 for a mineral development project in Mexico. The Company believes that completion of an HRIA reflects best international standards and produces substantial long-term value for stakeholders as it is conducive to operational continuity, community integration with the project, and culturally pertinent sustainable development for all stakeholders. The Company expects that the HRIA would be an important consideration for Mexican authorities at the time of potential permitting of the Ixtaca project as currently envisaged, which the Company would likely proceed with subject to receipt of the required mineral titles.

This important exercise has involved extensive field work under the oversight of an independent Advisory Committee comprised of local community representatives and the following subject-matter experts:

Dr. S. James Anaya  Chair of Advisory Committee. Dr. Anaya is the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico (B.A., 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983). He has taught and written extensively on international human rights and issues concerning indigenous peoples and has lectured in many countries throughout the world. Dr. Anaya served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from May 2008 to June 2014, where he participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ms. Katya Puga  Ms. Puga holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores of Monterrey (2006), and pursued an MPhil in Social Studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma of Mexico. She has served as the Under-Secretary for Planning and Environmental Policy at Mexicos Ministry of the Environment (SEMARNAT) and Director of Social Impact and Surface Occupation at the Ministry of Energy. She has also gained significant experience at departments within the United Nations, most notably as Liaison with the UN program for development where she led projects around democratic dialogues and indigenous peoples rights.

Dr. Maria del Carmen Carmona - Dr. Carmona studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico and later specialized in Natural Resources Law at the Universidad Iberoamericana, prior to receiving a Doctorate in Political Science from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma of Mexico in 1996. She is a full-time researcher at the prestigious Legal Research Institute at UNAM, as well as a Level II member of the National Research System. Her research focuses on Environmental Law, Natural Resource Law, Human Rights that are related to the right to a healthy environment, Water Law, regulatory status of underground water, Coastal Law, Indigenous Law and Energy Justice. She has served as Under Attorney General at SEMARNAT.

Dr. Sergio Puig. Dr. Puig studied law at the Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico (LL.B., 2002) and received a doctoral degree (JSD) in International Economic Law from Stanford Law School in 2009. He is currently the Evo DeConcini Professor of Law and Director of the International Trade and Business Law Program at the University of Arizona, as well as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of International Economic Law. Before joining the University of Arizona, Professor Puig was the teaching fellow of the Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) at Stanford and served as a lecturer in law at Duke and Stanford Universities. Before entering academia, he practiced law in Mexico and the USA, and worked at the World Bank and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The Advisory Committee was charged with ensuring the HRIA was conducted in an independent manner with a robust methodology, and also provided comments and proposed mitigation measures for the identified impacts.

In their final comments regarding the HRIA, the committee stated that the HRIA was:

developed in accordance with sound procedures, based on international standards and good practices, as well as with professionalism, seriousness, and good faith.

The committee also emphasized the Companys need to continue to exercise due diligence to ensure that the human rights of individuals and communities that might be affected by the Ixtaca project are protected.

The HRIA itself involved hundreds of interactions with individuals and groups throughout the areas of influence of the Ixtaca project. It identified four core communities that would receive the majority of both positive and negative impacts of the project  Santa Maria Zotoltepec (pop. 478), Zacatepec (pop. 285), Ixtacamaxtitlan (pop. 515), and Loma Larga (pop. 83). The HRIA concludes that:

the impacts identified, given the early stage of the Project, can be avoided or mitigated through actions that translate into plans and programs, which in turn will be aligned with the company's Human Rights Policy, which is very positive since it has the necessary time to design and implement them, and thus avoid their occurrence or reduce the magnitude of the impact so that compensation for violating human rights is not required.

In accordance with the above we can mention that the state of compliance and enjoyment of human rights in the region of influence is reasonably high, taking into account that in reality the formal or official data regarding compliance and enjoyment of human rights in the region are extremely limited due to the absence of specific sources and therefore generating or obtaining reliable data in this regard has been complicated because the available data are usually general and present situations rather limited to the interaction with authorities; However, no specific data was obtained from the surveys, workshops and interviews that demonstrate facts or acts directly attributable to the company developing the Project that violate the human rights of individuals and communities surrounding the Project, and even when impacts on the enjoyment of the aforementioned rights are foreseen or can be foreseen, it should be noted that as long as the mining company that will develop the Project both in its construction phase and in its operation phase is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well as in accordance with the standards and practices commonly accepted in the mining industry, the violation or non-compliance with human rights is a minor possibility that can be addressed and resolved in most cases in accordance with the internal plans and policies of the Project as mentioned in this document.

Almaden takes seriously the conduct of human rights due diligence and the planning, development, and implementation of policies and procedures as and if the Ixtaca project advances. This includes the understanding that ongoing dialogue may lead to changes in mine design, as it has in the past during feasibility stage mine design (e.g. see press release, March 21st, 2018). In this respect, it is pleased to recall the community agreements signed recently with the Ejido of Santa Maria Zotoltepec, the Irrigation Group of Small Producers from Zacatepec A.C. (IGSP), and the United Ejidatarios for the Sustainable Development of Santa Maria Zotoltepec, A.C. These agreements provide a strong basis for ongoing dialogue and the delivery of shared benefits from the project. A short video providing an update on the irrigation reservoirs that the Company has helped to build with the IGSP is available here.

The Company confirms its interest in continuing to work with the indigenous community of Santa Maria Zotoltepec and other communities located within the areas of influence of the Ixtaca project to amplify its local net benefits which are a part of Almadens Social Action Plan. The foregoing is subject to the adequate completion of the indigenous consultation by Economia, as mandated by the SCJN in compliance with Mexicos international human rights obligations.

The SIA, HRIA and related documents are available on the website of the Companys Mexican subsidiary, Minera Gorrion. An executive summary of the HRIA is currently in the process of being translated to English.

The Danish Standard for human rights impact assessments is available for review at https://www.humanrights.dk/tools/human-rights-impact-assessment-guidance-toolbox. This methodology is considered by many as the most advanced and holistic HRIA standard, as it assures the integration of human rights considerations into broader and more mainstream assessment processes.

About Almaden

Almaden Minerals Ltd. discovered the Ixtaca project in Puebla State, Mexico, in 2010. Almadens interest in the Ixtaca project is subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty held by Almadex Minerals Ltd. The Ixtaca deposit hosts a proven and probable reserve containing 1.38 million ounces of gold and 85.1 million ounces of silver (73.1 million tonnes grading 0.59 g/t Au and 36.3 g/t Ag). A report titled Ixtaca Gold-Silver Project, Puebla State, Mexico NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study, which was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, is available under the Companys profile on SEDAR and on the Companys website.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

J. Duane Poliquin

J. Duane Poliquin

Chair

Almaden Minerals Ltd.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things, completion of the HRIA, consideration of the modified mineral claim applications, the SIA and the HRIA by Economia and other Mexican authorities, ongoing work and agreement with affected communities under the Social Management Plan, completion of the indigenous consultation by Economia, as mandated by the SCJN and the potential operation of the Ixtaca project.

These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Companys current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant legal, regulatory, business, operational and economic uncertainties and contingencies, and such uncertainty generally increases with longer-term forecasts and outlook. These assumptions include: stability and predictability in Mexicos consultation process with indigenous communities and judicial decisions thereon; stability and predictability in Mexicos mineral tenure, mining, environmental and agrarian laws and regulations, as well as their application and judicial decisions thereon; continued respect for the rule of law in Mexico; prices for gold, silver and base metals remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; mineral reserve and resource estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals being received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; community support in the Ixtaca Project; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to: Mexicos consultation process with indigenous communities and potential litigation in respect thereof; political risk in Mexico; crime and violence in Mexico; corruption; environmental risks, including environmental matters under Mexican laws and regulations; impact of environmental impact assessment requirements on the Companys planned exploration and development activities on the Ixtaca Project; certainty of mineral title and the outcome of litigation; community relations; governmental regulations and the ability to obtain necessary licences and permits; risks related to mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers or claims and other defects in title; changes in mining, environmental or agrarian laws and regulations and changes in the application of standards pursuant to existing laws and regulations which may increase costs of doing business and restrict operations; as well as those factors discussed the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Almaden's Annual Information Form and Almaden's latest Form 20-F on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or 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 our forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to on forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Information:

Almaden Minerals Ltd.

Tel. 604.689.7644

Email: info@almadenminerals.com

http://www.almadenminerals.com/










A Cambodian activist arrested for insulting the king was made a government official on Saturday after securing his release with a public apology and defecting to Prime Minister Hun Sen's party.

Yim Sinorn, formerly a close aide to a prominent Cambodian opposition leader, was detained last month and charged with insulting the monarch and incitement to commit serious unrest in comments he posted on social media.

His Facebook post followed a ceremony at Cambodia's world-famous Angkor Wat temple by King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior government officials to light the torch for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.

The activist was released on bail a week after his arrest following a public apology in which he asked the king and Hun Sen for forgiveness for his "unintentional mistake".

He then defected to Hun Sen's party and, in a marked turnaround of events, was appointed on Saturday as undersecretary of state at Cambodia's labour ministry, according to a royal decree.

Another activist arrested alongside Yim Sinorn on the same charges was also freed by a court on Saturday, according to a warrant seen by AFP.

A judge ordered prison officials to release Hun Kosal on bail but did not give reasons for the decision, according to the warrant.

Rights groups have warned that Cambodia's royal defamation laws, which carry a sentence of between one and five years in prison, could be used to crush political dissent.

Critics say Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-ruling leaders, has wound back democratic freedoms as he prepares for a general election in July and has used the courts to stifle opposition.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years in jail last month and placed under house arrest for treason over an alleged plot with foreigners to topple Hun Sen's government.
Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Thursday cancelled a law he created just two months ago to protect critically endangered Mekong dolphins as the mammals continue to die from illegal fishing activities.

The population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the river Mekong has dwindled from 200, when the first census was taken in 1997, to just 89 in 2020 largely due to illegal fishing and habitat loss.

Hun Sen issued a new decree in February creating protection zones in a 120-kilometre (75-mile) stretch of the Mekong, in which fishing is banned, following the death of three dolphins in a week.

Conservationists have also stepped up efforts to protect the mammals -- small, shy creatures with domed foreheads and short beaks that once swam through much of the river, all the way to the delta in Vietnam.

But two dolphins have since died, including a four-day-old calf found dead last week entangled in fishing nets.

Hun Sen said Thursday he had decided to cancel the new decree because "dolphins keep dying and thousands of fishing families were affected".

"We want to protect dolphins that are at risk of becoming extinct, but dolphins keep dying," he said at an event in Phnom Penh.

"Dolphins keep entangling in gillnets despite the ban," he added, referring to nets strung across the river by fishermen.

Hun Sen said the law also affected thousands of families who depend on fishing in the Mekong.

"Shall we continue this? We must annul it and let people get benefits from the river," he said.

Hun Sen asked authorities to implement old regulations to ban fishing in parts of the dolphin zones and to crack down on electrofishing.

Eleven dolphins died in 2022, bringing the total number of dead dolphins to 29 in the last three years, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Scattered fighting continues despite an extended ceasefire in Sudan as thousands of civilians flee the violence and the humanitarian situation deteriorate. As Ukraine prepares for a spring offensive, another deadly attack in a residential neighborhood. As Britian prepares for the coronation of King Charles the third, some commonwealth nations want a break from the monarchy.
Ukraine is finalizing preparations for its anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russia, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country will fight with or without Western military jets.

Ukraines battlefield progress depends heavily on military supplies from the West. Military experts say, without advanced jets from Kyivs NATO allies, the counteroffensive will likely consist of costly battles of attrition.

In recent days, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was among Western leaders who held meetings with Ukraine's leadership and military command. He emphasized that through the Contact Group led by the United States, NATO allies and partners have provided more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine, including over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and vast amounts of ammunition.

In total, we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armored brigades. This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory, said the NATO secretary general last week during a press conference.

Ukraine says it needs more. Ukraines top military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, recently held a working meeting with U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli. According to VOA sources, the generals conferred on Ukraine's military abilities and agreed on the need for a thorough assessment of Ukraines readiness for a counteroffensive.

Posting on Facebook after the meeting, Zaluzhnyi wrote that participants had considered in greater depth the operational situation along the entire front line  the likely scenarios, threats and prerequisites for our future actions.

Zaluzhnyi added, We focused on the importance of timely supply of sufficient ammunition and materiel. I emphasized the need to provide Ukraine with a wide range of armament and air defense systems, which will significantly help us to solve the problematic issues in our resistance to Russian aggression.

VOA sources in Ukraines military command confirmed that Ukraine has largely spent its supply of aged Soviet military hardware and munitions. Ukraines military has been fighting on the eastern and southern fronts in recent months, hoping to exhaust Russian forces without giving up territory.

Ukraine is having success in that regard, according to U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

"Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces and since December alone, Kirby told reporters Monday. [J]ust since December, we estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action, nearly half of whom were Wagner [Group] soldiers."

At the same time, Ukraine is transitioning to Western weapons systems, making the country even more reliant on Western military support.

As it preps for a spring counteroffensive, one of Ukraines critical unmet needs is fighter jets, according to Gustav Gressel, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

In a recent article, Gressel wrote that [e]xtensive fortifications in the Russian rear may slow Ukrainian advances long enough to allow Russian aircraft to strike the forces clearing obstacles. ...To screen the ground forces from such attacks, the Ukrainian air force will have to come out, at least to disrupt Russian attacks.

Addressing Ukraines need for jets, Gressel wrote: The US should learn from last years delay over tank deliveries and approve their release as soon as possible.

The end of the war depends on Ukraine, NATOs assistant secretary-general for public diplomacy, Ambassador Baiba Braze, recently told VOA. [T]he most important part is ensuring that Ukraine is supported in maximum ways. If it wants to continue fighting, it has the capability to continue fighting.
President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.

Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Macros said he was "determined to forge an ever-stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests."

Monday's Oval Office meeting is the latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders by Biden as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program. Marcos' official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years.

The U.S. president hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit last week in which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

The two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos' four-day visit to Washington, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the visit, said Biden administration officials are looking to redevelop "habits of alliance building" with the Philippines as aspects of the historically complicated relationship have "atrophied" over the years.

Increased Chinese harassment of vessels in the South China Sea have added another dimension to the visit. On April 23, journalists from AP and other outlets were aboard the Philippine coast guard's BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines has filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a "stark reminder" of Chinese "harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone. We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct."

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office. The son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman had seemed intent on following the path of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who pursued closer ties with China.

Before Marcos took office last year, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that "historical considerations" could present "challenges" to the relationship with Marcos Jr. It was an oblique reference to long-standing litigation in the United States against the estate of his father, Ferdinand Marcos.

A U.S. appeals court in 1996 upheld damages of about $2 billion against the elder Marcos' estate for the torture and killings of thousands of Filipinos. The court upheld a 1994 verdict of a jury in Hawaii, where he fled after being forced from power in 1986. He died there in 1989.

Biden and Macros met in September during the U.N. General Assembly, where the U.S. president acknowledged the two countries' sometimes "rocky" past.

During their private meeting, Biden stressed to Marcos his desire to improve relations and asked Marcos how the administration could "fulfill your dreams and hopes" for that, according to the senior administration official.

Marcos is also slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think-tank during the visit.
It took Svetlana and her husband, Misha, 19 years to get their own apartment. It was on the seventh floor of a 10-story building, the highest in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

This was in 1995, a few years after she exchanged her Soviet Union passport for a Ukrainian one at the local police station. The apartment was a gift to them by the government when their name finally came up on a waiting list left over from Soviet times.

Twenty-eight years later, the couple are now in their 70s and Misha is recovering from a recent stroke. He can walk a little but needs help with every move. Svetlana is slight, weighing no more than 45 kilos, wrapped in a maroon puffy jacket and wearing faded sparkling ballet-style shoes.

Their beloved apartment is now in the epicenter of the most violent battle of Russias war in Ukraine to date. Svetlana says many families remaining are too scared to leave their basements to seek help. The shelling is constant and sometimes deafening.

I left the apartment with tears in my eyes, Svetlana tells us a few days after escaping the city. I remember thinking: We are getting older, and we may never go home again.

The bunker

When the war began in February of last year, Svetlana and Misha stayed home as long as possible. By September, there was no heat, running water or electricity to run the elevator and Misha couldnt walk up the seven flights of stairs. They had to move.

In October, they took shelter at a family members house about 300 meters away. It was on the ground floor, and it had a nearby underground bunker, usually meant for food storage.

Svetlana and Misha lived with her brother-in-law Kolya, 70, and his son, 45-year-old Oleg, for seven months. Kolyas wife, who was Svetlanas sister, died of breast cancer five years ago.

Until the end of February this year, it was still possible to go to one of the few open shops, and aid workers regularly brought food and water to community bunkers they call unbroken or invincibility points.

But by early March, even the most daring aid workers couldnt get into Bakhmut. Many families were trapped.

We were between the two sides, says Svetlana. There were Russians on our right and Ukrainians on the left.

The family had food  macaroni, beans and bread  stored in their bunker and Ukrainian soldiers nearby shared some of their meat. For weeks, they slept underground and came outside during quiet moments of the day.

In early April, a bomb fell directly onto their bunker, killing and burying Kolya and Oleg. After two hours of digging they were able to rescue their dog, Dana, a German Shepherd.

The dog must have been going out of the bunker when it hit because she wasnt buried deep, explains Svetlana. We would need heavy machinery to dig out my relatives.

Escape from Bakhmut

After the bombing, Svetlanas determination to live or die in her home city quickly fizzled. She waited for the sound of passing soldiers and went outside to catch their attention.

It took three days of darting outdoors and waving her arms in the direction of the streets, despite the ongoing battle, to find a team able to evacuate them. Most passing soldiers were running for cover from bombings.

Some Ukrainian soldiers saw her and came back to help during a moment of respite. They allowed her to stop briefly at her 10-story apartment building to gather a few belongings.

The building had been bombed that morning and was still smoking from the fire that ensued. Still, two families remained, on the sixth and seventh floors. I asked them, Why dont you come with us? says Svetlana.

They told her that they had put out the fire themselves, and that they didnt want to leave their homes. To Svetlana now, this seems irrational.

Svetlana, however, says she understands the feeling: Its love for home and attachment to the graves of lost relatives. Its fear of life as a refugee, homeless and impoverished. Its also Russian-spread rumors that Ukrainian evacuation teams kidnap children.

My husband is frail, she says. Otherwise, maybe I wouldnt have gone either.

Kindergarten shelter

Svetlana tells us this story at a kindergarten-turned-displaced families shelter in the city of Kostiantynivka, about 30 kilometers from Bakhmut. You can hear the din of artillery being fired into and out of this city, but mostly it lands like a dull thud in the distance, not like the cacophony of deadly blasts heard daily in Bakhmut.

The first thing I noticed was that plants and trees are alive here, says Svetlana. It is mid-April and the winters last snow has just melted, leaving muddy walkways and blossoming trees. Everything in Bakhmut is destroyed and dead. Here, everything, all the plants are flourishing.

We talk in a room that was once a dance studio for small children. Four cots lie next to a mirrored wall with gold star balloons hanging from the ceiling. A small table holds toy soldier figurines and a small plastic panda bear.

Misha lies quietly on a cot while we speak. Tomorrow, the couple will board an ambulance that will bring them to their son, who lives in Dnipro, a safe city that is only bombed every week or two.

Before this war, Bakhmut was known for its sparkling wine and salt industries. But many residents are prouder of the citys roses. A reporter asks Svetlana if there were roses in her area. She looks away.

At any rate, we will plant more roses, she says.

Yehor Konovalov contributed to this report.
New Developments:

A free press is a pillar, maybe the pillar of a free society, said U.S. President Joe Biden, as he called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, from Russian captivity.

A French artist dedicates a mural to executed Ukrainian POW.

Pope Francis says he will do anything to bring peace in Ukraine.

Russia launched 18 missiles at Ukraines capital Monday morning. Ukraine says it intercepted 15 of them. Preliminary reports from Kyiv indicate that there were no casualties, according to the Associated Press.

Also overnight, Russia targeted the eastern Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad with a missile strike. The AP reports seven missiles were aimed at the city, but some were intercepted. Reuters reports that 34 people, including five children, were hurt in the strike.

The report, posted on Twitter, said there is imagery that shows that Russia has made a particular effort to strengthen the northern border of occupied Crimea, including with a multi-layered defensive zone near the village of Medvedevka.

In addition, according to the ministry, Russia has dug hundreds of miles of trenches well inside internationally recognized Russian territory, including in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.

The trenches show, the update said, that Russia is worried that Ukraine could achieve a major breakthrough. Some of the work, however, the ministry said, has likely been ordered by local commanders and civil leaders in attempts to promote the official narrative that Russia is threatened by Ukraine and NATO.

Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 477 children wounded nearly 1,000 since Russia invaded more than a year ago, Ukraines Prosecutor Generals Office said Sunday in a report posted on the messaging app Telegram.

Most casualties were documented in the Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, where 452 and 275 children were either killed or wounded, respectively. The casualty rate among children is expected to be higher, the report said, as the current count does not include data from Russian-occupied territories or where hostilities are ongoing.

On Sunday in Uman, two children who had died in an attack Friday were buried. In all, 23 people, including six children, died in the Russian attack on an apartment building in Uman.

Last month, Ukraines National Police said nearly 400 children are missing.

More than 19,000 children from Russian-occupied territories have been subjected to forced deportations to Russia. So far, Ukraine has retrieved only 364 of them, according to Children of War, a Ukrainian national database.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russia President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official overseeing the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.

At a recent Moscow news conference, Lvova-Belova rejected the ICCs war crime charges as false, saying her commission acted on humanitarian grounds to protect the interests of children in an area where military action was taking place, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Kremlin has previously called the ICCs actions outrageous and unacceptable.

But many Ukrainian children who were returned to families and guardians tell a different story.

In April, Vitaly, a child from the Kherson region, told Reuters: We were treated like animals. We were closed in a separate building. He said he and other children were told their parents no longer wanted them.

Sunday was the professional day of border guards in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Sunday. They were the first to face the occupier in the east, he said, they are holding the border firmly.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
British lawyers for jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai are calling for his case to receive more attention.

Lai, who was the owner of Next Digital, publisher of the pro-democracy Apple Daily that was forced to close, has been in prison since the end of 2020. He is facing life imprisonment if found guilty on charges under Hong Kongs National Security Law.

Lai, who turns 76 this year, faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and one count of collusion with foreign forces under the law. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in August. He also faces one charge linked to alleged seditious publications under a colonial-era sedition law.

Tatyana Eatwell, an international law and international human rights lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers in London, one of his lawyers, told VOA her team is calling for more diplomatic attention to his case.

Hes a British citizen, so therefore were representing his interests with respect to engagement with the British government on this case. And really pushing for the U.K. government to do more to assist him and to call out the actions taken against him are in clear violation of international law and his rights under international law, she said.

Hong Kong has seen a political crackdown since the security law was implemented by Beijing nearly three years ago. China says the legislation has returned stability to Hong Kong.

For years, Lai has advocated for further freedoms and democracy in Hong Kong.

Since his arrest in 2020 Lai has been fighting a series of legal cases.

Lai has already been convicted in some of those cases including two counts of fraud, two separate unlawful assembly charges and received another prison sentence for attending a banned Tiananmen Square vigil that occurred in 2020.

His latest trial is being overseen by three hand-picked national security judges with no jury and is set to begin in September. Lai will be represented by other legal counsel for his defense in Hong Kong.

His legal team in Britain has said parliament should speak out more on his case.

In an interview with a London radio station, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who leads Lais Doughty Street Chambers team, called the British governments response disappointing.

Eatwell told VOA that progress is being made. She said the crackdown on Lai has received brief mentions from Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Rita French, Britains global ambassador for human rights and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva; but she says the British government needs a clearer stance on Lai.

"The foreign secretary made reference to Mr. Lai as an example of a person arrested for exercising his rights to peaceful protests and freedom of expression in his statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council on the 27th of February this year. And Ambassador [Rita] French, also mentioned Mr. Lais case by name in the Item 4 statement to the human rights council," she told VOA.

An Item 4 is normally a statement from a member country about constructive dialogue on an issue for general debate at the U.N.

These are baby steps to, what they havent done is be clear on this, and I think it's really important to be clear. They havent condemned the fact that Mr. Lais being prosecuted, the very fact his conviction and imprisonment for peaceful protests and they simply havent called for his release or condemned what has happened to him. There needs to be a more robust approach and more robust language. Lets see what they do, weve said that well call them out if they dont," she added.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Britains minister of state for the Indo-Pacific region, has met with Lais lawyers on more than one occasion, Eatwell added, which has prompted the lawyers to request meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Cleverly. Those requests for meetings are still outstanding.

But despite talks which look promising, there was no mention of Lai 's incarceration in a statement by Cleverly about the British position on China.

It is concerning that the foreign secretary did not make more of a point of it in that speech, and we had to the minister when we met her earlier this week, about the speech, we would expect to see Mr. Lais case mentioned and Hong Kong mentioned in that speech, Eatwell said.

They havent condemned the fact that Mr. Lais being prosecuted, the very fact his conviction and imprisonment for peaceful protests and they simply havent called for his release or condemned what has happened to him," she added.

The U.K.s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong recently released a document, Report into Media Freedom in Hong Kong: the case of Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily, calling on the British government to treat his case as a political priority.

The Hong Kong government said it has "strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected" the APPG report in a press release April 25.

Beh Lih Yi, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Beijing is intent on making an example of Lai, but that it wont work.

The extent that Beijing and the Hong Kong government are willing to go to keep Jimmy Lai, a 75-year-old man, behind bars is shocking. It is a classic case of 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey,' as the Chinese saying goes. The government is pulling out all the stops to keep Jimmy Lai behind bars to warn other journalists who are fighting to defend independent journalism in Hong Kong - but it will not succeed, she told VOA.

Hong Kong was once a model for press freedom in the Asia region, but since the security law came into force, at least 12 media outlets have closed, and several journalists have been arrested and criminally charged.

In five months, Jimmy Lai will be tried under Hong Kong's national security law, which could see him spend the rest of his life in jail. It may be Jimmy Lai who is in the dock, but it is press freedom and the rule of law that will be on trial in Hong Kong, she said.
Potential misconduct by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization could stop the extradition to the United States of a former fighter pilot who is accused of training the Chinese military.

Fifty-four-year-old Daniel Duggan wants a court in Sydney to temporarily suspend the case against him until an investigation by Australias Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is completed.

The United States has accused Duggan of training Chinese fighter pilots in violation of the arms export control act. The former marine airman has been in custody since his arrest last October in the Australian state of New South Wales.

His lawyers have argued hes been the victim of a conspiracy by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization and have claimed it lured Duggan back to Australia from China. He was then detained at the request of the U.S.

Duggan had applied for an Australian government job in aviation that needed security clearance. That was initially granted but was revoked soon after he returned to Australia.

His legal team wants the extradition case to be halted while an independent inquiry is carried out by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, which reviews the activities of Australias six intelligence agencies.

The former U.S. marine pilots lawyer, Dennis Miralis, told reporters outside the court in Sydney Monday that the case was taking its toll on the former U.S. Marine Corps pilot.

Dan is completely emotionally disturbed by the impact this continues to have on his children and his family. This matter, unfortunately, will continue to take some time before it can be resolved, Miralis said. Dan knows that all the steps that are being taken are intended to secure his rights and to protect him and to create a most favorable environment for him to be able to beat the extradition request from the U.S.

The former marine airman is an Australian citizen whos renounced his U.S. citizenship.

He denies breaking any law and has said he was training Chinese civilian not military pilots.

The Australian government approved a request for his extradition almost four months ago.

A magistrate in Sydney will decide if Duggan is eligible for extradition to the United States to face criminal charges.

The application by his legal team for proceedings to be suspended is scheduled to be heard in July. Lawyers for the U.S. government have said they intend to contest the so-called stay application.

Australia, the United States and Britain in recent months have launched a crackdown on former military pilots being recruited by China.
By Tatiana Bautzer and Saeed Azhar

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Few investors and bankers could have imagined regulators would allow the largest U.S. lender to buy another bank and become even bigger. Then, Jamie Dimon beat the odds, clinching a deal to buy First Republic Bank on Monday.

Now, the JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO expects more deals will follow in the industry.

"Banks will consolidate," Dimon told analysts on a conference call on Monday hours after winning a government auction for the San Francisco-based lender, which was seized overnight by regulators.

The approval of the JPMorgan deal -- which two months ago would have seemed unthinkable given the "too big to fail" stigma of 2008 -- could signal a potential shift in stance from regulators as banks face more stress in a worsening economy.

Large regional banks could merge with each other to better compete with banking giants, while small and mid-size lenders could also be taken over as their customers flee to larger institutions.

Dimon is not alone. Several analysts, industry executives and investors said they believe the March banking crisis has set conditions for a long-predicted round of industry consolidation to finally happen. The reasons are many, they said.

Lenders that have a high proportion of deposits that are not covered by federal deposit insurance are under pressure amid a flight to safety and may need to raise capital.

More costly regulations are likely to follow in the wake of the crisis, which could further erode banks' bottom lines and force them in the arms of a suitor.

And as a recession looms and economic activity slumps, rising defaults in the commercial real estate market and shrinking profits may also spur tie-ups.

"There are a lot of signs pointing to the fact that the consolidation period has just begun," said Dan Goerlich, a partner at PwC who focuses on U.S. financial deals.

The U.S. currently has more than 4,700 banks, government data showed. Only half of those will survive the next decade, predicted Greg Hertrich, head of U.S. depository strategies at Nomura.

Story continues

That compares with a shakeout after the 2008 financial crisis. From 2007 through 2013, the number of independent commercial banks operating in the U.S. shrank by 14%, or 800 institutions, government data showed.

"I'm already having knocks on my door," Mona Dajani, a partner at law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP. "A lot of the regional or smaller banks are looking at being acquired. We've also been approached by some big bulge bracket banks that are also looking to acquire the regional banks."

However, a major hurdle remains. It is not clear how much regulators will allow banks, especially larger ones, to do outside of a crisis situation.

The Biden administration has also taken a tough stance on mergers, fearing deals can lead to antitrust issues. Some bank deals have been stuck for months waiting for approvals.

Even in the case of recent bank failures, regulators were initially reluctant to do shotgun weddings.

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were closed in March without buyers lined up for them -- a decision that some analysts and investors said fueled the most turbulent period in banking since the 2008 crash.

The case of First Republic suggests that their thinking has evolved. Regulators let the bank look for a private sector solution to its problem for weeks before it became clear last week that the bank would fail. This time, regulators stepped in to auction the bank's assets over a weekend.

And Monday's deal shows larger banks with deeper pockets are better placed than mid-sized lenders, according to Jefferies analysts.

"This may have precluded other regional bank bidders from making the math work as well as it does for JPM," they wrote.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Saeed Azhar in New York, additional reporting by Nupur Anand and Mehnaz Yasmin; Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Anna Driver)
Eight farmers were killed Sunday in an attack blamed on a militant group targeting three villages in northeast DR Congo, a local official said.



Members of CODECO, or Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, attacked the villages of Duvire, Njalo and Bengi at around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT), Adubango Kivia told AFP from the district of Djugu in the Ituri province.



"We found eight bodies, including a woman. They're farmers. They were shot dead and then chopped up by machete," he added, accusing the militiamen of setting fire to scores of homes and plundering livestock.



Adubango Kivia said the militiamen "operated calmy" and called on Congolese soldiers to deploy "to secure the population and bring an end to massacres" in the area around 100 kilometers north of the provincial capital Bunia.



CODECO says it is protecting the Lendu community from another ethnic group, the Hema, as well as the DRC army.



The Hema are defended by the Zaire militia  while the province is also targeted by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) linked to the Islamic State jihadi group.



Eastern Congo is plagued by dozens of armed groups, many of which are a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.



Ituri province is one of the violent hot spots, where attacks claiming dozens of lives are routine.



The last attack blamed on CODECO killed more than 40 people April 14 in villages around 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the provincial capital of Bunia.
Ten years ago, Native American photographer Matika Wilbur embarked on a road trip with an ambitious goal to document all 562 federally recognized Indigenous tribes. Her multiyear work culminated in a new book aiming to change the way people see Native Americans. She launched her book tour in her home state of Washington. VOAs Natasha Mozgovaya has more from Seattle.
Paraguayans voted overwhelmingly to keep the long-ruling Colorado Party in power for five more years, backing its presidential candidate and giving it majorities in both houses of Congress.

Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old economist, had 43% of the votes in a preliminary count from Sunday's election, with nearly all voting places reporting. That was far ahead of the 27% held by his closest challenger, Efrain Alegre of the Pact for a New Paraguay, a broad-based opposition coalition that had united in an effort to bring to an end Colorados seven-decade stranglehold on power.

The conservative Colorado Party also had a strong showing in other races, winning 15 of the 17 governorships up for election and getting majorities in both the Senate and the lower house.

Led by Alegre, the opposition coalition had been optimistic it was going to be able to win votes due to widespread unhappiness over high levels of corruption and failures in the health and education systems, which took center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet a significant number of non-Colorado voters instead supported Paraguayo Cubas, a right-wing populist outsider who received 23% of the vote with a strong anti-establishment message, a larger share than had been expected.

There were 13 candidates in all, but Paraguay doesn't require a presidential candidate to get more than 50% of the votes, giving the victory to whomever gets the most votes.

Pena celebrated a showing that on Aug. 15 will make him Paraguays youngest president since the return of democracy in 1989.

Today were not celebrating a personal triumph, were celebrating the victory of a people who with their vote chose the path of social peace, dialogue, fraternity, and national reconciliation, Pena told a crowd of supporters Sunday night. Long live Paraguay! Long live the Colorado Party!

Alegre acknowledged defeat soon thereafter.

Today, the results indicate that perhaps the effort we have made was not enough, Alegre told reporters, adding that divisions among the opposition prevented us from reaching the goal of being able to bring about the change that the majority of Paraguayans are asking of us.

The first to congratulate the president-elect was the outgoing president, Mario Abdo Benitez. Congratulations to the Paraguayan people for their great participation in this electoral process, and to the president-elect Santiago Pena, he said on social media.

We will work to initiate an orderly and transparent transition that strengthens our institutions and the countrys democracy.

Before the vote, analysts had predicted a close contest for president, saying Alegre could have a chance of unseating South Americas longest-governing party, which has essentially ruled Paraguay uninterrupted since 1947.

But many voters preferred to stay with the familiar, an unusual turn in a region where incumbents have not done well in recent elections.

An unexpected result, very unexpected. I think even the Colorado Party members are shocked by such a wide margin, political consultant Sebastian Acha said. It gives him enormous legitimacy due to the size of the difference and that makes Penas victory indisputable.

The results also appeared to mark a victory for former President Horacio Cartes, who governed in 2013-2018, and who the U.S. State Department recently accused of being involved in significant corruption as well as having ties to terrorism. He has denied the allegations, while Pena called them groundless.

Cartes, a local magnate who is also the president of the Colorado Party, is a powerful figure in Paraguayan politics and members of the opposition had characterized Pena as a frontman for Cartes to hold power.

Cartes stood next to Pena as he gave his celebratory speech Sunday night.

I want to be a tool for you, Cartes told Pena. I want you to be sure that the Colorado Party is going to be your best tool.

Pena was finance minister in the Cartes government and, until recently, a member of the board of Banco Basa, a local bank owned by the former president.

The U.S. Embassy posted a statement on social media congratulating Pena. We will continue to work together in strengthening our excellent bilateral relations and promoting transparency and inclusive democracy, it added.

The election in the country of almost 7 million people also had geopolitical implications as Paraguay is the only remaining country in South America to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and those ties became an issue in the campaign.

Alegre had called for the landlocked countrys relationship with Taiwan to be reviewed, saying they are too costly. Pena defended Paraguays relationship with Taipei, though he said he would seek more trade with China, without explaining how that would come about.

We have a diplomatic and historic relationship with Taiwan of more than 60 years, based on principles and democratic values that we believe are fundamental for a society like Paraguay, Pena said.

The Taiwanese Embassy posted a message on social media congratulating president-elect Pena.

Congratulations to the Paraguayan people, who showed the world the democratic power of citizens through their votes, the embassy said.

Brazil's left-of-center president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also congratulated Pena.

Good luck in your mandate, the Brazilian wrote on social media. We will work together for even better and stronger relations between our countries, and for a South America with more unity, development and prosperity.

Alegre, a lawyer who heads the Liberal party, the second-largest political force in Congress, was making his third bid for the presidency, though this time he represented a mix of political parties.

Penas presidential campaign was hampered by U.S. sanctions on Cartes for alleged bribery and ties to Hezbollah, which Washington designates as a terrorist group. The sanctions blocked Cartes from the U.S. financial system and cut off funding and loans for the partys campaign.
Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary said Sunday they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire a further 72 hours. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid, but the shaky truce has not so far stopped the clashes.

In statements, both sides accused the other of violations. The agreement has deescalated the fighting in some areas, but violence continues to push civilians to flee. Aid groups have also struggled to get badly needed supplies into the country.

The conflict erupted on April 15 between the nation's army and its paramilitary force and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war. The U.N. warned on Sunday that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan was at "a breaking point."

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented," U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

He said water and food are becoming increasingly hard to find in the country's cities, especially the capital, Khartoum, and that the lack of basic medical care means many could die of preventable causes. Griffiths said that "massive looting" of aid supplies has hindered efforts to help civilians.

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOAs Veronica Balderas Iglesias

Earlier Sunday, an aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by the fighting, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which organized the shipment. It arrived as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400 and aid groups warned that the humanitarian situation was becoming increasingly dire.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors' association has said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

The air-lifted supplies, including anesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said. The aircraft took off earlier in the day from Jordan and safely landed in the city of Port Sudan, it said.

"The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital" of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRC's regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum. The fighting pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudan's fitful transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

On Sunday, fighting continued in different parts of the capital where residents hiding in their homes reported hearing artillery fire. There have been lulls in fighting, but never a fully observed cease-fire, despite repeated attempts by international mediators.

Over the weekend, residents reported that shops were reopening and normalcy gradually returning in some areas of Khartoum as the scale of fighting dwindled after yet another shaky truce. But in other areas, terrified residents reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses.

Youssef, the ICRC official, said the agency has been in contact with the top command of both sides to ensure that medical assistance could reach hospitals safely.

"With this news today, we are really hoping that this becomes part of a steady coordination mechanism to allow other flights to come in," he said.

Youssef said more medical aid was ready to be flown into Khartoum pending necessary clearances and security guarantees.

Sudan's healthcare system is near collapse with dozens of hospitals out of service. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and evacuated employees.

On Sunday, a second U.S.-government organized convoy arrived in Port Sudan, said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller. He said the U.S. is assisting American citizens and "others who are eligible" to leave for Saudi Arabia where U.S. personnel are located. There were no details on how many people were in the convoy or specific assistance the U.S. provided.

Most of the estimated 16,000 Americans believed to be in Sudan right now are dual U.S.-Sudanese nationals. The Defense Department said in a statement on Saturday it was moving naval assets toward Sudan's coast to support further evacuations.

Meanwhile, Britain has announced that an extra evacuation flight will depart from Port Sudan on Monday, extending what it called the largest evacuation effort of any Western country from Sudan.

The government asked British nationals who wish to leave Sudan to travel to the British Evacuation Handling Centre at Port Sudan International Airport before 12 p.m. Sudan time. The flight comes after an evacuation operation from Wadi Saeedna near Khartoum, involving 2,122 people on 23 flights.
Fighting in Sudan between two military factions could force more than 800,000 people to flee the country, the United Nations warned Monday, as the two sides continued to clash despite another three-day extension to a shaky cease-fire.

The deputy head of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Raouf Mazou, said Monday that the refugee agency was planning for 815,000 people to flee Sudan into seven neighboring countries. He said that included 580,000 Sudanese along with foreign refugees now living in Sudan.

Around 73,000 people have already left Sudan, he said.

UNHCR head Filippo Grandi said in a tweet Monday that the agency hopes its planning figures turn out to be too high, but said if violence doesnt stop, we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety.

Residents in Sudans capital, Khartoum, and its neighboring cities, reported hearing airstrikes and artillery fire Monday despite the extension Sunday of a cease-fire agreement for another 72 hours.

A string of temporary truces has been widely ignored by both sides. The cease-fires were established by the two warring factions to allow people safe passage and to open a means for the country to receive humanitarian aid. However, while fighting has abated in some parts of the capital, heavy fighting has continued elsewhere. Each side has blamed the other for the infractions.

The top U.N. official in Sudan, Volker Perthes, told The Associated Press Monday that Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives  potentially to Saudi Arabia  for negotiations.

The Sudanese ambassador to the United States, Mohamed Abdalla Idris, told VOA he hopes the cease-fire will eventually lead to meaningful long-term peace talks.

He said, a cease-fire, truce, is a two-way traffic, and said peace can only be realized if all parties respect the terms of any deal.

More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted April 15 between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The two generals were once allies in Sudans transitional government after a 2021 coup.

The fighting has led the United Nations and other aid organizations to cut services to Sudan. However, the World Food Program said Monday that it was resuming operations to some areas of the country after a pause of more than two weeks prompted by the killing of three staff members.

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias

The WFP said in a statement that distribution of food is expected to commence in the states of Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile in the coming days to provide life-saving assistance.

The agency said, We will take utmost care to ensure the safety of all our staff and partners as we rush to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres dispatched U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths to Sudan to assess the situation there.

Writing on Twitter from Nairobi Monday, Griffiths described the situation in Sudan as catastrophic.

He said the warring parties must, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. Ensure safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities. Respect humanitarian workers and assets. Facilitate relief operations. Respect medical personnel, transport and facilities.

The fighting in Sudan has forced foreign governments to pull its citizens from the country.

Hundreds of Americans reached the eastern city of Port Sudan this weekend, watched over by U.S. military drones. Saudi officials said Monday that a U.S. Navy ship took more than 300 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah.



The U.S. State Department said Monday that three U.S. convoys evacuated over 700 people since Friday and said a total of over 1,000 U.S. citizens have been evacuated since the violence started in Sudan last month.

Britains government announced Sunday that it was offering an additional evacuation flight for its nationals in war-torn Sudan.

A late Saturday flight out of Wadi Seidna Airport had been set to be the last flight out of the African country for British nationals. However, Britains Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced Sunday that another flight was leaving Monday from the airport in Port Sudan.



Michael Atit contributed to this report from Khartoum, Margaret Besheer from the United Nations, Anthony LaBruto; John Tanza and Nike Ching from Washington. Some information came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
As the conflict in Sudan enters its third week with a shaky cease-fire, the current and former Sudanese ambassadors to Washington told VOA they hope the cease-fire will eventually lead to meaningful long-term talks for peace.

Ambassador Mohammed Abdullah Idris said peace can only be realized if all parties respect the terms of the truce.

A cease-fire, truce, is a two-way traffic, so we hope that the other party will respect the truce and will respect the cease-fire, especially those elements of RSF [Rapid Support Forces] those [that] are deployed in residential areas, on roads, streets, intersections, he told VOA during a one-on-one interview at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington.

Abdullah Idris said people in neighborhoods where the fighting has occurred need the opportunity to move to safety.

As far as the government is concerned, I would like to assure you that we are committed to respecting the cease-fire so that the civilians could have the necessary and needed protection, and also to respect international humanitarian law, he said. Let us hope that it will hold and give the results, the expected results, on the ground and for the civilians and for the people of Sudan. The people of Sudan, they deserve tranquility, and they need it.

He expressed hope in the mediation efforts initiated by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. The heads of South Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya are spearheading the negotiations for a lasting peace.

Human rights advocates criticized both warring parties for violations of human rights.

From the start of the fighting, both sides to the conflict in Sudan have shown deadly disregard for the civilian population, Mohamed Osman, a Sudan researcher at the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Mediation efforts

The United Nations and many western countries have also called for an end to the fighting.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is in direct talks with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of Sudan, and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, head of the RSF.

Weve also continued to engage directly with General al-Burhan to press them to extend and expand the Eid cease-fire to a sustainable cessation of hostilities that prevents further violence and upholds humanitarian obligations. Blinken said. The Sudanese people are not giving up on their aspirations for a secure, free and democratic future. Neither will we.

Former Sudanese ambassador Nureldin Satti told VOA he hopes the temporary truce will lead to permanent peace and pave the way for a democratically elected government. But he blames the Sudanese Armed Forces for failing to address the expansion of the paramilitary RSF sooner. The RSF was created in 2013 and has steadily grown in power since that time.

It was their own making, Satti said. They are the ones that created the RSF... they were their partners. And they allowed them to come to Khartoum. They allowed them to amass a fortune. They allowed them to make themselves even more powerful than the army. They allowed them to even occupy army locations around Khartoum.

Abdullah Idris agreed that the conflict could have been avoided but said going forward, the government will work toward a peaceful transition.

The government is committed to resume the political process if this kind of crisis is solved. And the political process should also lead to a civilian-led government that could lead a transitional period, expected to also end up with  free and fair elections. he said.

This story originated in VOAs English to Africa Service.
Two Kurdish reporters have been detained in Turkey over terrorism accusations, days ahead of that countrys May 14 presidential election considered to be the biggest electoral challenge faced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his two decades in power.

Sedat Yilmaz, an editor at the Mesopotamia News Agency (MA), and Dicle Muftuoglu, co-chair of the Dicle Firat Journalists Association, were taken into custody last week as part of an investigation by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutors Office.

Yilmazs wife, Selma, and his sister Filiz Yilmaz were also detained.

The journalists and their loved ones were detained in Turkeys southeastern Diyarbakir province.

The move came two days after four other Kurdish journalists were arrested by a Diyarbakir court over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization.

In a written statement, the prosecutors office announced that 49 people in 15 provinces were detained because of their activities in the center for ideological space for the terrorist organizations so-called goals of independent, united Kurdistan. The detainees were taken to an Ankara police station for depositions.

Yilmaz and Muftuoglu were not able to access their lawyers for 24 hours.

As successors of a tradition that has been continuing for more than 30 years, they are trying to silence us once again, Muftuoglu said in a handwritten statement shared via her lawyer after they met.

Despite those who have been trying to criminalize us with similar operations for years, our pursuit of truth continues. No obstruction can shadow the truth. We call on all our colleagues to defend journalism against all these operations, which attempt to silence us, Muftuoglu added.

Other arrests

Jin News reporter Beritan Canozer, journalist Remzi Akkaya, MA editor Abdurrahman Gok and MA reporter Mehmet Sah Oruc were taken into custody in coordinated dawn raids last week, in which Turkish police detained at least 128 people in 21 cities.

Among those detained are 10 journalists, a lawyer representing arrested Kurdish journalists in other court cases and members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, the third-biggest party in the Turkish parliament.

Media rights groups have voiced concern over the arrests of journalists in Turkey.

A Turkish security source told the Reuters news agency that the suspects were accused of providing financing, recruiting and spreading propaganda for the PKK.

Lawyer Resul Temur and MA reporter Ahmet Kanbal were released last Friday.

Mahmut Bozarslan contributed to this story from Diyarbakir.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began two days of private discussions in Qatar on Monday with special envoys from various countries on how to sustain humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, as the Taliban continue to place restrictions on Afghan women and girls.



The U.N.-convened meeting in Doha, Qatar, is being held behind closed doors. It aims to "reach points of commonality" on issues such as the rights of Afghan women and girls, inclusive governance, countering terrorism, and drug trafficking, said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the secretary-general.



"The meeting is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban on these issues," Dujarric added.



Envoys from nearly two dozen countries, including the United States, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, India, Qatar and Britain, are participating in the discussions.



The Taliban government criticized the organizers for not inviting its representatives to the meeting and depriving it of its "legitimate right" to express its position to the delegates.



"Any meeting without the participation of IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) representatives  the main party to the issue  is unproductive and even sometimes counterproductive," said Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban permanent representative-designate to the United Nations.



Shaheen used the official title of the Taliban government, saying "one-sided decisions and intimidating demeanor" cannot help in solving issues.



"How can a decision taken at such meetings be acceptable or implemented while we are not part of the process? It is discriminatory and unjustified," said Shaheen, who is based in Doha and heads the Taliban political office there.



Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban leadership has banned Afghan girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and women from participating in most public and daily life areas.

They have recently stopped Afghan female employees from working with the U.N. and other aid groups in a country where nearly 29 million people, or two-thirds of the population, rely on humanitarian assistance. Several million Afghans are said to be just a step away from famine-like conditions.



"Reversing all measures that restrict women's rights to work is key to reaching the millions of people in Afghanistan that require humanitarian assistance," Guterres tweeted on Saturday. "Afghans urgently need emergency aid. Women are essential to ensure its delivered," he said.



On Thursday, the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned and demanded the Taliban swiftly reverse their crackdown on Afghan women's rights.



The Taliban Foreign Ministry rejected the call and described the ban on women working with the U.N. as an "internal social matter of Afghanistan."



Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive Taliban chief, has dismissed international calls for removing curbs on women and girls, saying he will not allow any foreign interference in his Islamic governance.



The Doha meeting has been marred by controversy over whether it would also discuss the recognition of the Taliban government.



The controversy stemmed from U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks at a seminar at Princeton University earlier this month, where she suggested the recognition would also be on the agenda.



"We hope we will find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition  of the Taliban," Mohammed said. Her comments have since forced the U.N. to repeatedly clarify that "recognition is not an issue on the table."



Washington has dismissed as "unacceptable" any talks on the subject at Monday's meeting.



No country has recognized the Taliban government. However, several neighboring and regional countries, including China and Russia, have kept their embassies open in Kabul and allowed the fundamentalist authorities to take charge of Afghan embassies on their respective soils.

Foreign governments have been pressing the de facto authorities to remove bans on women's access to work and education and govern the country through an inclusive government representing all Afghan ethnicities.



The United States and Europe blocked Afghanistan's foreign reserves of more than $9 billion after the Taliban takeover, and they remain frozen. Washington and other Western nations also ended financial assistance to the largely aid-dependent country and imposed banking sector sanctions.



The Taliban blame the sanctions for deepening economic and humanitarian troubles facing Afghanistan.



On Sunday, the U.N. humanitarian chief said they needed $4.6 billion to fund life-saving operations in the country this year.

"At the moment, we are begging governments to give us the money that we need to do that because that program is hugely unfunded, he said.



Analysts said the Taliban had reneged on their pledges to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, making it difficult for the U.N. to conduct humanitarian activities in the war-ravaged country.



"Western donors are stepping away from Afghanistan, and the U.N.'s request for more than $4 billion is no longer heard by them," Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official, told VOA.
The United States expects commercial movement of goods to start soon in the blocked Lachin Corridor as Washington hosts peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia this week.

In recent months, tensions between the two neighboring, former Soviet republics have increased over Azerbaijans blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is the only land route giving Armenia direct access to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

About Lachin, we have been very clear throughout the last few months about the importance of ensuring the free movement of commercial and humanitarian traffic and people through the Lachin Corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. We continue to engage in those discussions, a senior State Department official told reporters Monday in a phone briefing.

And we expect the commercial movement of goods to pick up and to start in earnest, that official added.

Early Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate meetings with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Arlington, Virginia.

Blinken then met with both for bilateral peace negotiations at the diplomatic facility near the State Department.

The peace talks to normalize the relationship between the two countries will continue through Thursday.

We remain committed to facilitating a direct dialogue between both Armenia and Azerbaijan, said another senior State Department official. He added that Washington hoped the two countries would be able to strengthen their common economic ties and reinforce their collective security in the region.

Mondays meetings occurred after Blinkens call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday, when the top U.S. diplomat reiterated Washingtons call to reopen the land route to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible.

The State Department had voiced deep concern that Azerbaijans establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor undermines efforts for peace talks.

A representative from Armenias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Mirzoyans working visit to the United States is to discuss the agreement on normalization of relations with Azerbaijan.

The two countries have had a decadeslong conflict involving the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is inside Azerbaijan but populated mainly by ethnic Armenians.

The Lachin Corridor allows supplies from Armenia to reach the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in the mountainous enclave and has been policed by Russian peacekeepers since December 2020.

The situation has left those ethnic Armenian residents in Nagorno-Karabakh without access to essential goods and services, including life-saving medication and health care, according to Amnesty International. The rights group said Azerbaijans government has failed its human rights obligations by taking no action to lift the blockade.

Azerbaijan maintains the land route is open for humanitarian delivery, emergency services and peacekeepers.

In November 2022, Blinken hosted foreign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan for peace negotiations at Blair House in Washington, D.C.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev also held face-to-face meetings hosted by Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February.

Some material in this report came from Reuters.
The United States is so far declining to back up claims by Turkey that Ankaras forces have killed the current leader of the Islamic State terror group following an operation in northern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the claim during an interview with broadcaster TRT on Sunday, saying IS leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi was neutralized as part of an operation by the Turkish national intelligence organization in Syria [Saturday].

Turkish media, citing security sources, reported the operation took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, in an area controlled by Turkish-backed rebel groups, and that the IS leader had been under surveillance for some time.

A U.S. official, speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity, said that so far Washington has seen nothing to suggest the Islamic State leader has indeed been killed.

We are unable to confirm this, the official said. "Furthermore, we have no information that would support this claim."

Little is known about IS leader Abu al-Hussein beyond his kunya, or nom-du-guerre.

The first mention of his name came this past November, when the terror group proclaimed him as the new IS leader in the same message in which it announced the death of his predecessor, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.

U.S. officials, however, have told VOA that unlike his predecessors, Abu al-Hussein is not part of the group that founded IS and is, instead, among the first of a new generation of leaders now charting the terror groups course.

Intelligence shared by the U.S. and by United Nations member states in a series of public reports over the past year indicate IS leaders, like Abu al-Hussein, have been trying to keep low profiles to escape from counterterrorism pressure that has resulted in the death or capture of at least 13 senior officials since early 2022.

That includes the death of a key, senior IS official in a U.S. raid last month in northern Syria. U.S. military officials said Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali was responsible for planning attacks in Europe and at the time of his death was directing a plot to kidnap foreign officials.

Sundays announcement of the death of the IS leader is not the first time Turkey has claimed a major victory in the fight against IS.

Last May, Turkish security officials said they had captured Abu al-Husseins predecessor during a raid in Istanbul.

U.S. and Western intelligence officials later determined that the claim was overstated, and that the captured IS official was Bashar Hattab Ghazal Al Sumaidai, a senior leader in the organization.

Turkeys Erdogan is up for reelection, with Turkish voters set to go to the polls May 14.

Opinion polls show him facing a tough reelection bid and he recently canceled a series of campaign appearances due to what was described as an intestinal infection.

VOA reached out to the Turkish Embassy in Washington about Erdogans claims regarding the IS leader but has yet to receive a response.
Market Research Future

AR and VR in Healthcare Trends and Insights By Technology (AR and VR technology), By Offering (Hardware and Software), By Application (Fitness, Patient Care, Pharmacy Management, and Others), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World), Competitive Market Growth, Size, Share and Forecast to 2030

New York, USA, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AR and VR in Healthcare Market Overview

According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR), AR and VR in Healthcare Market Information By Technology, Offering, Application, And Region - Forecast till 2030, the market size was valued at USD 0.41 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from USD 0.58 Billion in 2022 to USD 6.94 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.42% during the forecast period (2022 - 2030).

Market Synopsis

Growing penetration of connected devices and rising application in the treatment and medical training are the key market drivers enhancing the market growth. Systems like "touch surgery" give operating room doctors a view of the patient's physique and physiology using virtual reality. The augmented reality and virtual reality marketplaces are anticipated to grow more quickly. Technology that uses virtual reality is advantageous to both patients and doctors. As a result, the patient has direct contact with a doctor, which is incredibly practical. Furthermore, the growing trend of storing patient data and medical images on the AR/VR platform reduces the need for expensive screens and extra staff. Additionally, AR is increasingly being used for medical staff education and training. The medical staff can learn more thoroughly and comprehensively because AR-based learning modules offer anatomical visualization and simulation.

Additionally, patients are trained using these learning modules, which helps them better understand the course of treatment and care coordination. AR-based image visualization helps surgeons improve their accuracy and precision during complex surgeries. AR-based learning modules give medical professionals a more comprehensive learning experience because they offer anatomical visualization and simulation. Additionally, patients are trained using these learning modules, which helps them better understand the course of treatment and care coordination. AR-based image visualization helps surgeons improve their accuracy and precision during complex surgeries.

Story continues

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Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2030 USD 6.94 Billion CAGR 42.42%% Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Historical Data 2020 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Technology, Offering and Application Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Application of AR & VR has been growing rapidly Rapidly adopting augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in surgeries

AR and VR in Healthcare Market Competitive Landscape:

The essential contenders in the AR and VR in healthcare market are:

Daqri

Atheer

Google

EchoPixel Inc

Osso VR Inc

Microsoft

Augmedix

Medical Realities

Firsthand Technology

Mindmaze Oculus VR

Orca Health Inc.

AR and VR in Healthcare Market Trends:



Market Drivers:

Some key elements anticipated to drive growth and acceptance in the healthcare sector include medical education, developments in technology and digitalization in healthcare, supportive government efforts, rising healthcare spending, growing usage of surgical procedures, and rising healthcare expenditure. The pandemic has caused a sharp shift in the shopping culture toward online shopping. Since many websites disabled their return policies during the pandemic, virtual try-ons for jewelry and make-up enabled customers to see if the products suited them. Their shopping experience was made more convenient as a result. The convenience will lead to increased demand in this industry, which will support the growth of the augmented reality market. Augmented reality technologies help to facilitate customer satisfaction. Applications for these technologies in healthcare are numerous and include operations, rehabilitation, instruction, and education. Virtual reality technology producers and system integrators struggle to incorporate these innovations into low-end devices, which prevents middle-class or low-income groups from using them.

Market Restraints:

The reach of these technologies on luxurious desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and computers presents the biggest test for customers. Because of this, it is more difficult, disadvantageous, and undetected by the usage of new technologies for the average user when using these technologies. To concentrate on market growth, addressing this decrease in the availability of these augmented reality technologies is necessary. Since most people live in middle-class or low-income households, the industry faces a challenge because of the lack of equitable access to these methods on low-end devices, which could impede market expansion.

COVID 19 Analysis

Given the current situation, COVID-19 has left a historically severe worldwide health crisis that has affected almost every industry, and its long-term effects are anticipated to impact industry growth over the forecast period. With the growing popularity of virtual training, education, and shopping, COVID-19 has been forced to change the world to work from home culture, whether in businesses, universities, or schools. This has caused an upsurge in the AR and VR markets. Devices with AR and VR have been used in the sector for supervision and training. However, it additionally has a detrimental impact. As a result of these technological improvements, AR & VR in healthcare saw a positive impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth is also anticipated to be fueled by declining healthcare costs, rapid healthcare digitalization, and enhanced delivery of efficient health services. Due to the widespread use of telemedicine, medical education and training, patient care management, and medical advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic, AR and VR in healthcare are gaining traction.

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (90 Pages) on AR and VR in Healthcare: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ar-vr-in-healthcare-market-7208

AR and VR in Healthcare Market Segmentation

By application, the market includes fitness, patient care, and pharmacy management.

By technology, the market includes AR and VR technology.

By offerings, the market includes hardware and software.

AR and VR in Healthcare Market Regional Insights

Due to its high market share and revenue, North America dominates and will continue to do so throughout the forecast period. Other factors contributing to this dominance include the presence of major manufacturers and vendors in the region and increased public and private funding for developing these technologies. When offering forecasting analysis of the country data, it also takes into account the presence and accessibility of international brands as well as the difficulties they face due to strong or weak competition from regional and domestic companies, the impact of domestic tariffs, and trade routes. Due to a few countries in the region, including China, Japan, and South Korea, focusing on training, medical assistance, and e-learning for consumers using virtual reality technology, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced the most lucrative growth.

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From 2022 to 2030, the AR and VR in Healthcare Market are anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR in the APAC. This is brought on by rising public and private investment in the healthcare sector, the development of the healthcare infrastructure, and the expanding use of connected devices. India's AR and VR in the healthcare market were anticipated to grow fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, while China's AR and VR held the biggest share.

Discover more research Reports on Healthcare Industry by Market Research Future:

Augmented Reality in Healthcare Market Research Report By Component (Hardware and Software), By Device Type (Head-Mounted Display and Handheld Device), By Application (Fitness management, Medical training and education, and Others), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030

Augmented Bone Graft Market Research Report by product (Allografts, Bone Grafts Substitutes, Cell-based Matrices), application (Craniomaxillofacial, Dental, Foot & Ankle, Joint Reconstruction, Long Bone, Spinal Fusion), end user Global forecast till 2030

Mixed Reality in Healthcare Market Trends, Growth and Size Analysis By Component (Software, Hardware, Service), Device Type (Augmented Reality in Healthcare, Virtual Reality in Healthcare), Application (Surgery Simulation, Surgery, Patient Care Management, Pharmacy Management, Fitness Management, Others), End User (Hospital & Surgical Centers, Pharmaceutical Companies, Research Organizations, Others) and Region (Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa) - Forecast till 2030

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Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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The World Food Program said in a statement Monday that it has lifted its suspension of operations in Sudan, as the fighting there threatens millions with hunger.

The WFP said distribution of food is expected to commence in the states of Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala and White Nile in the coming days to provide the life-saving assistance that many so desperately need right now.

The agency said, We will take utmost care to ensure the safety of all our staff and partners as we rush to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable.

The WFP suspended operations when three staff members were killed on the first day of the conflict between Sudans army and a paramilitary unit, the Rapid Support Forces.

The WFP noted that more than 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before the conflict began, and said it expects the number to grow significantly as the fighting continues.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has dispatched U.N. emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths to Sudan to assess the situation there.

Writing on Twitter from Nairobi Monday, Griffiths said, We need to find ways to get aid into the country and distribute it to those in need, as well as protect civilians, ensure safe passage for people fleeing the hostilities, and facilitate relief operations.

Griffiths is expected to arrive on Tuesday.
Distressed parents of Kenyan university students stuck in Sudan converge in a house in Kenya's Wajir County while they wait for news of their stranded children in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

The imminent end of a 72-hour cease-fire between Sudan's warring forces has left many Kenyan parents extremely apprehensive, including Osman Mohamed.

"My son is among those still stranded in the university, and he confirmed to me that they are several of them who are waiting for communication from the embassy and they are yet to receive that information," he said.

The first group of Kenyan evacuees arrived home aboard a Kenyan air force plane on Monday night from Paloich airport in South Sudan. The group of 39, including 19 Kenyan students, was evacuated following the unrest in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths.

"We started our journey two days ago from Khartoum," said Abdi Hamza, an evacuated medical student at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, "and we came by bus to Kosti near the border, then from Kosti to Jodah. In Jodah we were received by the South Sudanese government."

A promise to evacuate Kenyans

Kenya's cabinet secretary for defense, Aden Duale, said Kenya was committed to ensuring the safe return of all citizens stranded in Sudan.

"We will make sure that aircrafts and all logistics are available to evacuate all Kenyans," said Duale, while receiving the evacuees at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. "There are over 3,000 Kenyans held up in Sudan, and so far, we have mapped out 900 Kenyans in various parts of Khartoum and Sudan as a whole."

Despite the Kenyan government's efforts, parents of students still in Sudan have expressed fear and appealed to the government to evacuate them before fighting resumes.

"We are strongly appealing to the government to speed up the evacuation process so that at least before the extended time elapses, that at least all the students in Khartoum have been ferried to safer places," Mohamed said.

Critic says Kenya 'can do better'

Earlier this week, Kenya's foreign affairs ministry told stranded Kenyans to register with its embassy in Khartoum in a bid to expedite a quick evacuation process.

But since Monday, there have been no further flights of Kenyans out of Sudan.

"The fact that out of the 900 that have been mapped you were only able to evacuate 35 shows you how small efforts [were]," said Ahmed Madey, an education researcher in Nairobi. "I think the Kenyan government can do better."

Sudan's armed forces and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on Monday agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire, triggering a rush of evacuations of hundreds of foreign nationals by Western, Arab and African countries.

As the cease-fire deal comes to its scheduled end, many Kenyan parents such as Mohamed fear for their loved ones  but hold out hope for a safe return home.
Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images

Trend forecaster Mandy Lee has been counting down the days to the Met Gala on TikTok, breaking down past looks and making predictions about what everyones going to wear this Monday. One piece of hot goss she dropped: more than one person is rumored to be going dressed as Karl Lagerfelds beloved cat, Choupette. This year, the Met Galas theme is the work/life of noted fashion designer and certified cat fancier Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld once said hed marry Choupette, and he bequeathed a sizable chunk of his estate to the feline. Choupette will be in attendance at this years gala, but what star will be bold enough to serve pampered pussy on the Met stairs?

Kim Kardashian

Ahead of Mondays gala, Kim K spent some time with Choupette in Paris. Kardashian is now known for pulling stunts on the Met carpet, thanks to her blacked-out Balenciaga look in 2021 and the whole Marilyn mishegoss in 2022. One strike against the idea of it being a Kardashian is based on Lees TikTok. Lee suggested a good way to honor Choupette would be to wear a Schiapparelli dress with a cat head bustier. Kylie Jenner already did that at Paris Fashion Week this year. Wouldnt want to be caught retreading her little sisters looks, now would she?

Doja Cat

Lee thinks Doja Cat is the most likely to cosplay Choupette this Monday. She points to Dojas trolling use of fashion as well as her relationship with Schiaparelli as evidence. Also, duh, her stage name. Doja Cat has been known to make herself suffer for fashion. She showed up to the same Schiaparelli couture show as Kylie Jenner in head-to-toe red crystals. Doja Cat later said the look took hours to glue on, during which she had gastroenteritis. Being a cute little catgirl is a walk in the park, comparatively.

Julia Fox

This feels like some shit shed pull, right? Unfortunately Julia Fox is not confirmed to be attending to 2023 Met Gala. One wonders if she would have served as hard as she did at the White House Correspondents Dinner red carpet if she had the Met Gala carpet to walk the following week.

Sofia Richie

Sofia Richie wore archival Chanel (a lot of it) at her wedding to Elliot Grainge in April. If she is attending, it would make sense to escalate her Lagerfeld standom by dressing as Choupette. However, she could also still be on her honeymoon.

Emma Chamberlain

Vlogger and cat mom Emma Chamberlain is doing interviews on the Met Gala red carpet. What better way to get conversations started than by wearing a real statement piece like some diamond-encrusted cat ears? Chamberlain currently owns two cats, Declan and Frankie, so theres a kinship there.

Bad Bunny

Lets see some catboys on the carpet! Of all the male celebs likely to attend this years Met Gala, Bad Bunny has the most fun with fashion. His look at last years Gala played with gender while also paying homage to Puerto Rican tailoring of the Gilded Age. He was very thoughtful with the theme, and that can/should happen again this year.
Bono. Photo: Tristar Media/WireImage

When it comes to his sketch art, Bono doesnt have much of a portfolio, just a 2003 edition of Peter and the Wolf he illustrated with his daughters and the doodles that title each chapter of last years memoir, Surrender. But that didnt stop The Atlantic from commissioning this new artist to draw its June cover. Really, Bono has been preparing for this specific gig for a while, sketching his takes on Atlantic covers when hes not fronting U2 or advocating for human rights. The rising artist told the Washington Post that the hobby began because hes an Atlantic subscriber and a fan of their long-form journalism. In an editors letter, editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg explained that Bonos sketches were very good, so he commissioned him for a portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He went through over a dozen versions, just like any other artist, to land on a cover that the magazines art director said was influenced by protest art. Weve hyped it up enough, so here it is:

The future of the democratic world will be determined by whether the Ukrainian military can break a stalemate with Russia and drive the country backwardsperhaps even out of Crimea for good. @JeffreyGoldberg and @anneapplebaum report from the front lines: https://t.co/sBjep6imYh pic.twitter.com/0Aws9LvJue  The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 1, 2023

Okay! Goldberg wrote that the cover was stunning, but Bono gave the better description to the Post: A few squiggles and I just got out of the way. Dont worry  he was reportedly only paid the magazines regular rate for a cover artist.
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The Asia Group ("TAG") is pleased to announce the launch of an Australia practice, chaired by former Australian Ambassador to the United States the Honorable Arthur Sinodinos AO and the newest partner in the firm. TAG's decision to expand in Australia is a defining milestone for the firm's ongoing Asia Expansion Initiative, which has featured the establishment of formal TAG subsidiaries in New Delhi, Hanoi, Tokyo, and Shanghai over the past 14 months alone. These investments reflect TAG's conviction in the growth trajectory of the Indo-Pacific and Australia's unique position as a catalyst for regional commerce during a consequential geopolitical period.

"The Asia Group is investing in the future," said TAG CEO and Co-Founder Nirav Patel. "We have advanced an aggressive growth strategy over the last several years, and we will continue to invest in world-class talent to support business executives across the C-suite to address challenges and seize opportunities across the Indo-Pacific region. The expansion of The Asia Group's capabilities in Australia reflects our conviction and view that business and policy are fundamentally intertwined in the Indo-Pacific region."

"Ambassador Sinodinos will lead our firm's Australia practice to provide unrivaled insight and strategic advice that will drive ambitious commercial and investment strategies in Australia and between Australia and the Indo-Pacific," said TAG President Rexon Ryu.

Ambassador Sinodinos joins TAG as Partner and Chair of the Australia Practice, where he is responsible for developing and executing the firm's business strategy in Australia and supporting C-Suite executives from across TAG's geographic portfolio to manage evolving risks and seize emerging growth opportunities. Ambassador Sinodinos' experience in foreign service, particularly at the forefront of Australian engagement with the United States, provides an invaluable perspective at a time when multilateral engagements through AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are all opening new pathways for commercial engagement.

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"I am thrilled to be joining a team of leaders and experts with decades of experience at the most senior levels of business and government," said Ambassador Sinodinos. "No other global strategic advisory group has the reach and depth of The Asia Group, and I look forward to supporting companies to chart their path in Australia and across the Indo-Pacific."

TAG's Australia Practice will help expand the firm's leading market entry, market access, crisis resolution, and enterprise risk management solutions at a time when geostrategic competition is increasing demand for global strategy and localized solutions. Based in Sydney, Australia and Washington, DC, Ambassador Sinodinos will coordinate closely with TAG's subsidiaries in New Delhi, Hanoi, Shanghai, and Tokyo to support inbound, outbound, and transnational investment strategies related to Australia and the broader Indo-Pacific.

Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos is a leading expert in Australian public policy and politics with a wealth of public and private sector experience spanning national security, industrial innovation, economic policy, and banking. Ambassador Sinodinos most recently served as Australian Ambassador to the United States, where he was closely involved in Australia's negotiations related to AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Prior to taking up his position in Washington, Ambassador Sinodinos held high-profile positions in national government, including as Australia's Minister for Industry, Innovation, and Science and as a Senator for New South Wales, and worked for several years in banking at Goldman Sachs and National Australian Bank. Ambassador Sinodinos began his career in civil service as a member of Australia's Department of Treasury and later served as a Senior Economic Advisor and Chief of Staff to then Prime Minister John Howard AC.

The Asia Group is the premier strategic advisory firm to the world's leading companies seeking to excel across the Indo-Pacific. With a team of dynamic and experienced professionals  from consultants and former senior government officials to lawyers and investment bankers  The Asia Group supports companies with end-to-end integrated strategies for market entry and expansion. To learn more about The Asia Group, please visit www.theasiagroup.com or reach out to media@theasiagroup.com.

Contact: media@theasiagroup.com

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BUDAPEST, Hungary  Pope Francis urged Hungarians to open their doors to others on Sunday, as he wrapped up a weekend visit with a plea for Europe to welcome migrants and the poor and for an end to Russias war in Ukraine. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Francis issued the appeal from the banks of the Danube as he celebrated Mass on Budapests Kossuth Lajos Square, with the Hungarian Parliament and Budapests famed Chain Bridge as a backdrop. The celebration provided the visual highlight of Francis three-day visit that has been dominated by the Vaticans concern for the plight of migrants and the war in neighboring Ukraine.

Citing local organizers, the Vatican said some 50,000 people attended the Mass, more than 30,000 of them in the square, on a brilliantly sunny spring morning. Among them were President Katalin Novak and Hungarys right-wing populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, whose lukewarm support for Ukraine has rankled fellow European Union members.

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Francis has expressed appreciation for Hungarys recent welcome of Ukrainian refugees. But he has challenged Orbans hard-line anti-immigration policies, which in 2015-2016 included building a razor wire fence on the border with Serbia to stop people from entering. Upon arrival, Francis urged Hungary and Europe as a whole to welcome those who are fleeing war, poverty and climate change, calling for safe and legal migration corridors.

How sad and painful it is to see closed doors, Francis said in his Sunday homily on the Danube. The closed doors of our selfishness with regard to others; the closed doors of our individualism amid a society of growing isolation; the closed doors of our indifference towards the underprivileged and those who suffer; the doors we close towards those who are foreign or unlike us, towards migrants or the poor.

Please, let us open those doors! he said.

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In a final prayer at the end of the Mass, Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and a future of hope, not war; a future full of cradles, not tombs; a world of brothers and sisters, not walls.

The 86-year-old Francis has tried to forge a diplomatic balancing act in his pleas to end Russias war, expressing solidarity with Ukrainians while keeping the door open to dialogue with Moscow. On Saturday, he prayed with Ukrainian refugees and then met with an envoy of Russian Patriarch Kirill, who has firmly supported Moscows invasion and justified it as a metaphysical battle against the liberal West.

Francis kissed the cross of Metropolitan Hilarion in a sign of respect for the Russian Orthodox Church during what the Vatican said was a cordial 20-minute meeting at the Holy Sees embassy in Budapest. Hilarion, who developed good relations with the Vatican as the Russian churchs longtime foreign minister, said he briefed Francis on his work now as the Moscow Patriarchates representative in Budapest.

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Hilarion attended Francis Sunday Mass, along with representatives of Hungarys other Christian churches and Jewish community, Vatican News said.

Francis visit to Hungary, his second in as many years, brought him as close as hes been to the Ukrainian front but also to the heart of Europe, where Orbans avowedly right-wing Christian government has cast itself as a bulwark against a secularizing Western world.

Francis, though, has used the visit to call for the continent to find again its spirit of unity and purpose, referencing Budapests bridges across the Danube as symbols of unity and connection.

The site for his final Mass couldnt have been more appropriate for Francis message: The sprawling square is named for one of Hungarys most famous statesmen who served as its first prime minister after the 1848-1849 revolution against Habsburg rule. It is separated from the left bank of the Danube river only by Hungarys iconic neo-Gothic parliament, the countrys largest building and home of its National Assembly. Nearby is the Chain Bridge, one of several bridges spanning the river and linking the Pest and Buda sides of the city.

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Sister Marta, a nun of Hungarian origin from Brazil who attended the Mass, said she hoped Francis message of welcome would be heard in Hungary. We (Brazilians) have gotten accustomed to openness towards others, and we hope that Hungary as well will open in this direction, she said after the liturgy.

But Budapest resident Erno Sara said the country is fine as it is.

I dont know if we (Hungarians) need to change. There is nothing at all in this country that is out of the ordinary, any kind of behavior that we would have to change, Sara said.

Later Sunday in his final event in Hungary, Francis warned against the dangers of technology dominating human life, during a speech at the Pazmany Peter Catholic University. Speaking broadly about Europes future, Francis said culture and scholarship forged by universities were the antidote to a future dictated by technology.

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The university, he said, is a temple where knowledge is set free from the constraints of accumulating and possessing and can thus become culture, he said. Such a culture he said, cultivates our humanity and its foundational relationships: with the transcendent, with society, with history and with creation. ___

Bela Szandelszky contributed to this report.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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The growth of the automotive battery thermal management system market is driven by several factors, including the rise in popularity of EVs and HEVs, need to enhance battery performance, enhanced ride quality and heat insulation for cabin comfort, and surge in demand for heavy duty and electronic components.

PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Automotive Battery Thermal Management System Market by Type (Conventional, Solid), by Vehicle Type (Commercial Vehicles, Passenger Vehicles), by Technology (Active, Passive, Hybrid), by Propulsion (Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEVs), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs)): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032." According to the report, the global automotive battery thermal management system industry generated $4.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $18.7 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 15.6% from 2023 to 2032.

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Request PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/75047

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities:

The global automotive battery thermal management system market is being driven by a variety of factors including the rise in popularity of EVs and HEVs, need to enhance battery performance, enhanced ride quality and heat insulation for cabin comfort, and surge in demand for heavy duty and electronic components. However, the growth of the automotive battery thermal management system market is restrained by high development cost associated with automotive battery thermal management systems. Furthermore, innovation in battery cooling systems is expected to create new avenues for growth in the automotive battery thermal management system industry in the future.

COVID-19 Scenario:

The COVID-19 outbreak had a mixed impact on the global automotive battery thermal management system market as it presented both challenges and opportunities for the industry.

Disruptions in the supply chain led to delays and other issues for some manufacturers while the increased demand for service robots created new opportunities for growth and expansion in the industry.

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The conventional segment to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period

Based on type, the conventional segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the global automotive battery thermal management system market revenue and is projected to rule the roost in terms of revenue during the forecast period. Also, the same segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 16.1% from 2023 to 2032. The growth is attributed to the rise in integration with battery pack that allows more precise temperature control and reduces the overall weight and complexity of the system.

The active segment to rule the roost throughout the forecast timeframe

By technology, the active segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to more than half of the global automotive battery thermal management system market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The same segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 16.17% from 2023 to 2032. This is because they deliver high efficiency in maintaining the battery-pack in the desired temperature range, in case of liquid-based ones.

The Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs) segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

By propulsion, the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs) segment contributed to the major share in 2022, holding more than two-fifths of the global automotive battery thermal management system market revenue and is likely to dominate the market from 2023 to 2032. The same segment is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 16.32% during the forecast period. The battery electric vehicles are gaining traction due to their advantages like changing perception toward adoption of electric vehicles, simple technology usage, and low maintenance as compared to other electric vehicles.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2032

Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for nearly half of the global automotive battery thermal management system market revenue. The same region would portray the fastest CAGR of 16.54% during the forecast period. The growth of the market is attributed to the rise in adoption of EVs in the region to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

Buy This Report (414 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3HnWjzP

Leading Market Players:

Continental AG

Dana Limited

LG Chem

Robert Bosch GmbH

Valeo

Calsonic Kansei Corporation (Marelli Corporation)

Gentherm Inc

Hanon Systems

MAHLE GmbH

Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.

The report analyzes these key players in the global automotive battery thermal management system market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

Key Benefits for Stakeholders

This study comprises analytical depiction of the automotive battery thermal management system market size along with the current trends and future estimations to depict the imminent investment pockets.

The overall automotive battery thermal management system market analysis is determined to understand the profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.

The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities with a detailed impact analysis.

The current automotive battery thermal management system market forecast is quantitatively analyzed from 2022 to 2032 to benchmark the financial competency.

Automotive Battery Thermal Management System Market Key Segments:

Type

Conventional

Solid

Vehicle Type

Commercial Vehicles

Passenger Vehicles

Technology

Active

Passive

Hybrid

Propulsion

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEVs)

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs)

By Region

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Europe (UK, Germany, France, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, Africa)

Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/automotive-battery-thermal-management-system-market/purchase-options

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Flow Battery Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2030.

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MEXICO CITY  With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin El Chapo Guzman serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russias war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Although Guzmans trial revolved around cocaine shipments, the case against his sons exposes the inner workings of a cartel undergoing a generational shift as it worked to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price, according to the indictment unsealed April 14 in Manhattan.

Synthetic opioids  mostly fentanyl  now kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, feeding an argument among some politicians that the cartels should be branded terrorist organizations and prompting once-unthinkable calls for U.S. military intervention across the border.

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The problem with fentanyl, as some people at the State Department told me, has to be repositioned. Its not a drug problem; its a poisoning problem, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst in Mexico, who died Friday. Very few people go out deliberately looking for fentanyl.

Hope predicted fentanyl would probably become an issue in next years U.S. elections, but he opposed any threat of U.S. intervention, saying I dont think that would be a very good way of addressing a public health issue.

The groundwork for the U.S. fentanyl epidemic was laid more than 20 years ago, with aggressive over-prescribing of the synthetic opioid oxycodone. As U.S. authorities clamped down on its prescription, users moved to heroin, which the Sinaloa cartel happily supplied.

But making its own fentanyl  far more potent and versatile than heroin  in small, easily concealed labs was a game changer. The cartel went from its first makeshift fentanyl lab to a network of labs concentrated in the northern state of Sinaloa in less than a decade.

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These are not super labs, because they give people the illusion that theyre like pharmaceutical labs, you know, very sophisticated, said Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. These are nothing more than metal tubs and they use wooden paddles  even shovels  to mix the chemicals.

A single cartel cook can press fentanyl into 100,000 counterfeit pills every day to fool Americans into thinking theyre taking Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. The pills are smuggled over the border to supply what son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar said are streets of junkies, the indictment said.

Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps massive profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said.

The drugs potency makes it particularly dangerous. The narcotic dose of fentanyl is so close to the lethal dose that a pill meant to ensure a high for a habituated user can easily kill a less experienced person taking something they didnt know was fentanyl.

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Between August 2021 and August of last year, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, most from synthetic opioids. Last year, the DEA seized more than 57 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills, according to the New York indictment.

To protect and expand that business, the Chapitos, as the sons are known, have turned to grotesque violence, prosecutors said.

Enforcers Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are the lead defendants among 23 associates charged in the New York indictment. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, alias the Mouse, who allegedly pushed the cartel into fentanyl, is charged in another indictment in the same district. Mexico arrested him in January and the U.S. government has requested extradition. Joaquin Guzman Lopez is charged in the Northern District of Illinois

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According to the Guzman Salazar indictment, the cartel does some lab testing on its product but conducts more grisly human testing on kidnapped rivals or addicts who are injected until they overdose.

The purity of the cartels fentanyl varies greatly depending on the method and skill of the particular manufacturer, prosecutors noted. After a user overdosed on one batch, it was still shipped to the U.S.

When the elder Guzman and Ismael El Mayo Zambada led the Sinaloa cartel, it operated with a certain degree of restraint. But with Guzman serving a life sentence and Zambada believed to be suffering from health issues, the Chapitos moved aggressively to avoid a power vacuum that could fragment the cartel.

What was really a unique advantage of the Sinaloa cartel and El Chapo was the ability to calibrate violence, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institute.

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The wide-ranging New York indictment against the Guzman Salazar brothers details their penchant for feeding enemies to their pet tigers and describes how they tortured two Mexican federal agents, ripping through ones muscles with a corkscrew then stuffing the holes with chile peppers before shooting him.

The indictment also provides context to some recent violence in Mexico.

In August 2022, gunmen shot up Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. Two prison inmates and nine civilians in the city were killed. U.S. prosecutors say the Chapitos security arm ordered their local gang associates to commit the violence, targeting a rival cartels businesses.

This is not their fathers Sinaloa cartel, Felbab-Brown said. These guys just operate in very different mindsets than their father.

The Guzman Salazar indictment makes an initial attempt at disrupting the cartels supply chain, naming four people tied to a China-based chemical company and a broker in Guatemala who allegedly helped the cartel get the chemicals and even instructed them on the best recipes for fentanyl.

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When they talk about labs and youre trying to focus in on labs, thats not going to have an impact unless you get the finished product or the precursor chemicals, Vigil said.

Mexicos government has stumbled through the mixed messaging of its security forces playing up their decommissioning of labs even while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has asserted that fentanyl is not being produced in Mexico.

In congressional testimony Thursday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was pressed about whether Mexico and China are doing enough to cooperate with U.S.

We want the Mexicans to work with us and we want them to do more, Milgram said, adding that the DEA wouldnt hesitate to go after public officials in Mexico or elsewhere should it find evidence of ties to the cartels.

Experts say Lopez Obrador is one obstacle to slowing the cartels fentanyl production. After U.S. prosecutors announced the concerted effort against the Sinaloa cartel, Lopez Obrador reacted angrily. The president accused the U.S. government of spying and interference, suggesting that the case had been built on information gathered by U.S. agents in Mexico.

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The president had already severely reduced Mexicos cooperation with the DEA, experts said.

Hope, the security analyst, said a fundamental problem is that Lopez Obrador doesnt appear to understand fentanyls threat. The president rails against a deterioration of family values in the United States and paints addiction as a moral failing.

Hes trapped in a moral universe from 50 years ago, Hope said.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The Met Gala, which takes place on Tuesday morning Australian time, is the fashion industrys equivalent of Christmas. But will it also be Kris-mas for reality TVs most famous family, the Kardashians? Heres what we know about the first Monday in May, from the theme, to the guest list, to why the lead-up to this year has been cloaked in controversy. Daniela Morera (left), Andy Warhol and Raquel Welch at the 1980 Met ball. Credit:Getty So, what is the Met Gala? Its the nickname given to the annual charity ball for New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute  but thats too long for an Instagram post. Over time, it has become as much a fashion show as a fundraiser. An aerial view of the dining hall at the 2022 Met Gala. Guests are officially banned from taking photos inside. Credit:Getty When did it start? The event, which supports the fashion department at the Met, began as a late-night supper in the 1940s. But it was in the late 1990s that it cemented its place as the biggest social event of the year.

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Beyonce, at the 2015 gala, which became the focus of the documentary film The First Monday in May. Credit:Getty When is it? Since 2005, the gala has taken place on the first Monday in May, except in 2020, when it was cancelled due to COVID-19, and in 2021, when it took place in September. Anna Wintour at the Met Gala through the years ... (from left) 1989, 2008 and 2019. Credit:Getty What does it have to do with Anna Wintour, and Vogue? Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue and the fashion industrys chief tastemaker, has headed the Met Gala organising committee since 1999. Since then, it has gone from a humdrum fundraiser to a celebrity-studded event that last year raised more than $US17 million ($25.73 million). Nicole Kidman (left) with Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour at the 2005 gala. Credit:Getty

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Where does the money come from? Two places: tickets, and donations. According to The New York Times, tickets this year cost $US50,000, with tables costing from $US300,000. Australian royalty ... Miranda Kerr with husband Evan Spiegel at the 2022 Met Gala. Credit:Getty Can anyone go? Absolutely not. The event is invitation only, and Wintour vets each of the 400 guests, based on her personal whos who of the past year. Usually, every invited designer brings a celebrity muse, but even they must be Wintour-approved. The co-chairs, who this year are (from left) Penelope Cruz, Roger Federer and Michaela Coel, encompass fashion, the arts and sport. Credit:Getty Who are this years hosts?

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Each year, Wintour anoints several co-chairs. This year, Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa have the honour. The hosts, like the guest list, reflect a cross-section of fashion, the arts and sport, sometimes, but not always, in line with the years theme. Some of Lagerfelds most iconic 1990s supermodel moments might inspire some red carpet looks. Credit:AP What is this years theme? The Gala theme, which corresponds to that of the exhibition, is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The gala and show, which opens to the public the day after the gala, honours the late designer and creative director of Chanel (as well as Fendi and his own line), who died in February 2019. From left: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Venus Williams and fashion editor Andre Leon Talley at the 2008 Met gala afterparty. Credit:Getty And how are people reacting to that? Not since the 2018 Heavenly Bodies exhibition on the role of religion in fashion has a show generated more raised eyebrows. Few deny Lagerfelds influence in the fashion industry over more than five decades, but his comments on issues from body image to same-sex marriage have caused many to question whether he should be celebrated. It will be interesting to see whether the show will touch on Lagerfelds controversies, or just stick to the clothes.

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Lady Gagas costume change on the 2019 red carpet was one of the most memorable arrivals in recent times. Credit:AP Loading Who is going? The guest list is kept pretty tight until the day, but its safe to assume we will see the biggest stars of the past 12 months, as well as celebrities who have had an affiliation with Chanel. Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny are all rumoured to be attending. Any Australians? Again, its not confirmed, but Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie could make the list for their past links to Chanel. Musicians Troye Sivan and Keith Urban, models Miranda Kerr and Adut Akech, and actor Hugh Jackman have all attended previous galas. What a difference a year makes ... Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson in 2022. Credit:Getty

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Virtual Investor Conferences

Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barksdale Resources (TSXV:BRO OTCQX: BRKCF), based in Vancouver, Canada focused on Copper/Zinc/Silver/Lead exploration in Arizona today announced that Rick Trotman, President & CEO, will present live at the Battery and Precious Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on May 2, 2023.



DATE: May 2

TIME: 11:30 am Eastern

LINK: https://bit.ly/44jNv83

Available for 1x1 meetings: May 2/3

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

About Barksdale Resources

Barksdale Resources Corp., a member of the 2023 OTCQX Best 50, is a base metal exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., that is focused on the acquisition, exploration and advancement of highly prospective base metal projects in North America. Barksdale is currently advancing the Sunnyside copper-zinc-lead-silver and San Antonio copper projects, both of which are in the Patagonia mining district of southern Arizona, as well as the San Javier copper-gold project in central Sonora, Mexico.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

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CONTACTS:

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




Blank Rome LLP International Trade Group

Partners Joanne E. Osendarp and Eric S. Parnes; Senior Counsel Alan G. Kashdan and Lynn G. Kamarck; Of Counsel Conor Gilligan; Associates Tyler Kimberly and Brendan S. Saslow

Washington, D.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to welcome seven new attorneys and two international trade professionals to the firms International Trade practice group in Washington, D.C., further strengthening the firms capabilities in this area. Led by partners Joanne E. Osendarp and Eric S. Parnes, the group includes senior counsel Lynn G. Kamarck and Alan G. Kashdan; of counsel Conor S. Gilligan; associates Tyler Kimberly and Brendan S. Saslow; and trade economic advisor Jorge Miranda and international trade manager Deborah Flinn. Joanne will also serve as co-chair of the International Trade group with Blank Rome partner Anthony Rapa, who also leads the firms National Security team. Prior to joining Blank Rome, the group practiced at McDermott, Will & Emery LLP.

I am thrilled to welcome Joanne, Eric, and their international trade team to Blank Rome, said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Romes Chair and Managing Partner. Their leading experience in navigating trade remedies, negotiating free trade agreements, and handling international trade disputes complements our International Trade groups strong work in the sanctions and export controls space, further bolstering our reputation as a leading resource for clients and their full range of international trade needs.

Blank Rome has a longstanding history of strong international trade work, and we are excited to help grow the team and expand our client services on such a solid platform, said Osendarp and Parnes. The current geopolitical and economic environment have made tradeand international businessmore difficult for governments and corporations. As we enhance our international trade capabilities, we will also be eager to identify opportunities for cross-collaboration with other firm practices and industry teams, which was a key factor in our decision to join Blank Rome.

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Veterans in the international trade dispute realm, the group collectively represents governments, industry associations, export credit agencies, and corporations in all manner of trade remedy cases and appeals proceedings, including countervailing duty and anti-dumping matters, as well as national security reviews of foreign investments and U.S. export controls and sanctions. Additionally, the group conducts internal and government investigations and handles False Claims Act litigation. They routinely appear before the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), U.S. Court of International Trade, World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and panels under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), to name a few.

In a joint statement, Blank Romes Washington, D.C, office co-chairs James D. Kelly and Shawn M. Wright, who also serves as co-chair of the firms national Litigation Department, stated, We are so excited to welcome Joanne and Eric and their highly respected team of leading international trade practitioners to our firms growing D.C. office. Their well-known work in some of the largest and most high-profile trade disputes and negotiations over the past few decades will be a tremendous asset to our International Trade group as well as enhance our nationally recognized litigation services, notably with regards to False Claims Act litigation and other critical investigations and compliance work.

I am excited to co-chair the firms International Trade group with Joanne, and to collaborate with Eric and the rest of this truly impressive team on expanding Blank Romes international trade and national security services and capabilities, added Rapa. As the geopolitical landscape continues to evolve, our clients will greatly benefit from the depth and breadth of their experience, and I look forward to working with our team to help our clients navigate the complexities of international trade in a changing world.

The groups addition continues Blank Romes strategic growth in Washington, D.C., which has welcomed many prominent attorneys across the firms Consumer Finance, Energy, Finance, Government Contracts, Intellectual Property & Technology and Intellectual Property Litigation, International Trade, Labor & Employment, and White Collar Defense & Investigations practices over the past two years, including partners Hussein Akhavannik, R. Andrew Arculin, Walter D. Davis, Jr., Elizabeth N. Jochum, David E. Kronenberg, Anthony Rapa, R. Colgate Selden, Jennifer A. Short, and R. Paul Zeineddin, as well as numerous associates and patent agents.

About the Team

PARTNERS

Joanne E. Osendarp has a renowned, comprehensive international trade practice that includes representing governments in trade remedies litigation, investment arbitrations, state-to-state arbitrations, and international trade negotiations. Additionally, Joanne has distinguished herself in international legal circles for serving as the government of Canadas principal U.S.-based lawyer in its long-running softwood lumber dispute against the United States, which has resulted in over 30 proceedings in the past two decades. She earned her LL.B. from the University of Ottawa and her M.A. and B.A. from York University.

Eric S. Parnes is an accomplished litigator who focuses on advocating for and advising clients in international trade disputes and other high-stakes government-facing matters, including internal and government investigations and False Claims Act litigation. He represents clients in complex disputesin court as well as before administrative agencies and arbitral tribunalsand by conducting internal investigations and advising clients on corporate compliance matters. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of Maryland.

SENIOR COUNSEL

Lynn G. Kamarck has more than 30 years of experience in international trade and regulatory matters, with an emphasis on trade remedy proceedings, trade policy, export controls, and customs. She received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and managing editor of the Journal of Law and Social Problems, and her B.A. from Grinnell College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Alan G. Kashdan focuses his practice on trade remedies and international trade regulation, including compliance with U.S. export controls and sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as well as the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and State. Alan also has significant experience with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his A.B., magna cum laude, from Princeton University.

OF COUNSEL

Conor S. Gilligan focuses his practice on regulatory matters, particularly trade remedies, trade agreement negotiations, arbitration, litigation, and regulatory compliance. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

ASSOCIATES

Tyler Kimberly focuses his practice on international trade matters, previously clerking at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and at the United States Court of International Trade. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A., magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University.

Brendan S. Saslow focuses his practice on international trade matters, previously serving as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A. from Duke University.

TRADE ECONOMIC ADVISOR

Jorge Miranda focuses his practice on international trade matters. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University, and his BSFS in International Economics, from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 650 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

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CONTACT: Kate Tavella Blank Rome LLP 215.988.6988 tavella@blankrome.com




Buddha Purnima

Place : North India

Significance: Birth anniversary, enlightenment and death of Birth anniversary, enlightenment and death of Buddha

Date: 5.5.2023

Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Buddha, is the most important festival of the Buddhists and is celebrated with great enthusiasm. This festival falls on full moon day in the month of April. It was on this same day that Buddha got enlightenment and also attained Nirvana or salvation. So, the Buddhists consider the day to be more auspicious than any other day of the year. It is also believed that Yashodara, Gautam's wife, his charioteer Channa and even his horse Kantaka were born on the same day.

Gautam Buddha was born as a prince in 544 BC in Lumbini, Nepal on a Full Moon day in the month of Vaisakh. When he was born it was predicted that the child would redeem the world. Even as a young prince he was touched by the pain and sickness of others. Later he renounced the world and became an ascetic. At the age of 35, he attained enlightenment on the full moon day of Vaisakh. He traveled far and wide preaching the truth and gained a large following consisting of scholars, sanyasis, rulers of states and others, thus forming the Buddhist community.

On this day the followers of Buddha bathe and wear only white clothes. They gather in their Viharas for worship and give alms to monks. Prayers, sermons, and non-stop recitation of Buddhist scriptures resonate in monasteries and viharas. The statue of the Buddha receives special attention everywhere, with people offering it incense, flowers, candles, and fruits. Since Buddha attained enlightenment sitting under a Bodhi (Pipal) tree, special care is taken in watering and tending Bodhi trees. They light lamps around the trees and decorate with garlands and coloured flags. They reaffirm their faith in the five principles called 'Panch Sheel'. The five principles are not to take life, not to steal, not to lie, not to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants and not to commit adultery. On this day, the Buddhists free birds from cages, distribute fruit and clothes to the sick and refrain from eating meat.



Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh are the main centers of celebration of this festival. Besides these two, areas with large Buddhist population like Ladakh , Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh also celebrate this festival with great devotion and enthusiasm.

Click here to know more about Buddhism!!










A new spot on St. Paul can lift your late-night spirits, even if you dont drink alcohol.

Oasis Bar Lounge has opened on the site of the former OLounge hookah bar in downtown St. Catharines. The name is partially a nod to that history, but also a tribute to the heritage of new owner Tash Nyamuyaruka and his partner, who were born in Zimbabwe and Eritrea, respectively.

Nyamuyaruka describes Oasis as a cocktail bar that he hopes will fill a gap in the downtowns late-night offerings.

It's for that person who doesn't want to go to the club but wants to hang out late night with their friends. It's that kind of in-between cosy space, he said.

The lounge offers two similar, but distinctive spaces. Upstairs theres more of a classic bar vibe, while in the basement Nyamuyaruka wants to create something that has something of a speakeasy vibe.

Hes also got a rotation of DJs from the region and beyond that will rotate through the lounge this summer.

Beyond the vibe and music, though, Nyamuyaruka wants the drinks at Oasis to shine. That could be anything from the classics  he says he makes a solid rum old fashioned  to anything fruit forward or tequila forward. Being in Niagara, he said, will help with those fruit offerings and he hopes to use as much local as possible.

Hes also bringing a strong mix of non-alcoholic drinks to the table.

I think I have a very fun and dynamic kind of List of non-alcoholic options from beer to cocktails, he said.

All told, he hopes Oasis makes the world of cocktails more approachable, and something people can enjoy both at home or during a night out. He compares it to a steak dinner, its something anyone can cook at home, but a steak at a good restaurant always provides something special.

Nyamuyaruka came to Niagara for school, after moving to Canada and spending several years in Montreal, where he cut his teeth in the hospitality industry. While he loved the city, Niagara allows him to be closer to family while also being its own cool region with potential.

As they get settled, Nyamuyaruka said theyll operate a snack bar and hes hoping to partner with other businesses for food pop-ups.

OASIS BAR LOUNGE

Address: 108 St. Paul St., St. Catharines

Hours: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Wednesday through Sunday (with plans to expand as the summer gets going)

Instagram: @oasis_barlounge

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WINNIPEG - Manitobas Premier has announced her government will contribute $30 million to expand an intensive care unit at a Winnipeg hospital.

Heather Stefanson announced the funding at a Sunday afternoon news conference, saying the money will go towards the Grace Hospital Foundations campaign to create up to 20 new beds in the facilitys ICU, and is part of her Progressive Conservative governments plan to heal health care in Manitoba.

The province says the Graces current 10-bed ICU provides around-the-clock care for critically ill patients, but Winnipeg Regional Health Care Authority president and CEO Mike Nader told the news conference its dated and inflexible.

Grace Hospital Foundation board chair Jeff Coleman called the funding monumental as the hospital transitions into Winnipegs third major acute-care site, along with the Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface Hospital.

Coleman noted the Grace has a new MRI building, a new emergency department and a recently completed diagnostic imaging center.

Stefanson says the ICU expansion will continue to ensure the Grace and its staff can continue to provide the highest standard of care to more Manitobans.

This project will make a difference for patients, for their families and the incredible health-care staff who care for those in need in our ICUs, Stefanson said.

Design work on the hospital expansion is to begin soon, with construction expected to start in the summer of 2024.

Earlier this month, Stefanson was on the defensive as other political leaders attacked her governments health-care record during a debate organized by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities leading up to the Oct. 3 provincial election.

That record included a bed shortage that forced dozens of intensive care patients to be flown to other provinces at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All three main party leaders promised more money for health care during the forum.

The government noted in a news release about the funding for Grace Hospital that Budget 2023 includes $1.2 billion in multi-year capital investments in hospitals and other health infrastructure across Manitoba.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2023.

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FREDERICTON - The federal carbon tax on fuel is coming into effect in New Brunswick starting July 1.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the new tax will bring the province in line with the rest of Atlantic Canada regarding pollution pricing.

Guilbeault says the majority of households will receive more money back from the federal government than they pay in carbon taxes.

He says a family of four in New Brunswick will receive its first rebate cheque of $368 in October, with a second quarterly payment of $184 in January 2024.

Premier Blaine Higgs said in February the province would allow the federal government to apply a carbon tax and redistribute the revenues.

Under the federal program, 90 per cent of the tax revenue collected is returned to residents through rebate cheques.

New Brunswick, meanwhile, will continue to apply its own pollution pricing system for industrial emitters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it has reached a tentative agreement with the Treasury Board for over 120,000 workers.

More coming.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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BURNABY, B.C. - An arsonist who caused more than half a million dollars in damages when he set fire to two Metro Vancouver restaurants has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

RCMP in Burnaby, B.C., say a court also sentenced Steven Sorenson last month to serve three years probation after his release.

Sorenson, who is 50 years old, was convicted by a B.C. Supreme Court judge in November for setting three fires, two of them in April 2020 targeting a Korean restaurant and a sushi restaurant in Burnaby.

Police say the fires caused extensive damage and officers from the RCMPs economic crime unit reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance video to identify the suspect in a difficult and painstaking investigation.

Sorenson set a third fire on Nov. 6, 2020, to the same sushi restaurant he attacked months earlier, and police arrested and charged the man a week later.

Police estimate the three fires caused more than $550,000 in damages.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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OAKLAND, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California today announced Krishna Ramachandran as senior vice president of Health Transformation and Provider Adoption to lead the nonprofit health plan's bold strategy to reimagine health care.

Krishna Ramachandran is the new Senior Vice President of Health Transformation and Provider Adoption at Blue Shield of California

In this role, Ramachandran is responsible for leading partnerships and innovations to improve healthcare quality for members, bring tools and support that benefit providers, and promote health equity and healthier communities throughout California.

"At Blue Shield of California, our goal is to come together with a diverse group of providers to improve the quality of patient care for our members while lowering healthcare costs to ensure that all Californians have access to the care they deserve," said Peter Long, executive vice president of Strategy and Health Solutions at Blue Shield. "Krishna's experience, talent and leadership will help us make that a reality for our members and communities throughout the state."

Ramachandran brings more than 20 years of experience to Blue Shield, offering unique leadership experience in technology, provider, and health plan organizations. Most recently, Ramachandran served as regional senior vice president of Illinois Health Care Delivery at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Previously, he began his healthcare career at Epic Systems before moving to Duly Health and Care. He is also a lecturer and scientific advisor at the University of Chicago.

"California is a big, beautiful state rich with diverse people, geography, and cutting-edge technology," said Ramachandran. "It is thrilling for me to step into this role and continue the trailblazing work Blue Shield of California has started to support healthcare providers and transform the system to make it worthy of family and friends and sustainably affordable."

Ramachandran earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani, India, a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and an Executive MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Story continues

About Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with over 4.7 million members, over 7,800 employees and more than $22.9 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $192 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last five years to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com.

Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

CONTACT: Amanda Wardell

Blue Shield of California

510-607-2359

media@blueshieldca.com

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TORONTO - Jennifer Kagan wipes away a single tear as she composes herself once again to discuss her daughters legacy.

Her four-year-old, Keira Kagan, was found dead next to her fathers body at the base of a cliff in a Milton, Ont., conservation area in February 2020. A provincial committee found it was extremely consistent with past cases of murder-suicide involving a father and a child.

Kagan, who had been in a bitter custody battle with Keiras violent father for years, was determined to have the tragedy result in changes to the way the judicial system deals with cases of intimate partner violence. She and Keiras stepfather, Philip Viater, spent years pushing lawmakers to drive change.

Those efforts have now resulted in Keiras name being enshrined in new federal and provincial legislation designed to help other children avoid her fate.

Were remembering Keira in this positive way because she really didnt deserve this, Kagan says in an interview at Queens Park in Toronto.

We hope people remember her as a beacon of protection for other children.

The Office of the Chief Coroner will hold an inquest into the circumstances surrounding Keiras death.

Kagan and her ex, Robin Brown, had been in and out of the courts over Keiras custody.

In total, 10 different judges had become involved and 53 court orders were issued against Brown for his violent and unpredictable behaviour. He had sexually assaulted and beaten Kagan, but various judges did not take that into account when deciding his access to the girl.

When a womans at risk and in danger, so are the children, Kagan says. So its very relevant and thats really the culture that needs to be changed.

On the final weekend of Keiras life, the court forced Kagan to hand her daughter over to Brown for his weekend visit despite his increasingly violent behaviour and knowing that his custody rights would be curtailed the following week.

Keira didnt make it to Monday.

Ontario introduced legislation last week that will see provincially appointed judges and justices of the peace receive education and training on intimate partner violence and coercive control.

While Attorney General Doug Downey debated the bill on Wednesday, he stood speechless for a full minute as he struggled to introduce Kagan and Viater.

Im very emotional, he told the legislature.

Its so important that we acknowledge this tragic story and take action.

Outside the legislature, Downey explained why the province had brought in the legislation.

Its critical because we want to make sure that the people who are making decisions understand whats happening in terms of the dynamics of intimate partner violence, he said.

Similar education and training guidelines were part of the recommendations that flowed from the jury at a coroners inquest that examined the murders of three women at the hands of a deranged ex-boyfriend in eastern Ontario.

The province is still examining the 86 recommendations from the jury that looked at the 2015 deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam.

Family violence has increased seven consecutive years, a report from last fall by Statistics Canada shows. Of the 788 homicide victims reported in 2021, 154 were killed by a family member, according to police-reported data. Sixty per cent of these victims were women and girls.

The federal government has also acted in the aftermath of Keiras death.

Keiras Law, as its become known, just received royal assent in Ottawa, meaning all federally appointed judges will receive that same training and education on domestic violence.

For us, it doesnt change, we still wake up without her, Viater says.

What were doing is really for other families, for other children and if theres any kind of comfort, its that we continue to hear Keiras name in a public discourse.

Kagan echoed that sentiment.

If I could spare somebody even one-millionth of the pain of having this kind of traumatic loss, thats a worthy endeavour, she said.

As friends and family gathered to say goodbye to the little girl on a cold February day in 2020, Kagan read from two of Keiras favourite books and promised her little girl shed never be forgotten.

The federal and provincial legislation now ensures that promise is kept.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2023.

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Two Canadian volunteer soldiers have been killed in the eastern Ukrainian battleground of Bakhmut while serving with the countrys International Legion.

Cole Zelenco, of St. Catharines, and Kyle Porter, of Calgary, were reportedly killed late last week.

Zelenco was a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who was released from service so that he could fight in Ukraine, according to a GoFundMe page seeking donations to help his family repatriate his body.

He performed two tours in Ukraine in 2022 and 2023. While protecting the city of Bakhmut, he passed away on April 26, 2023, reads a message on the site, which has helped raise more than $36,000.

A fellow Canadian who wrote on Facebook that he served with Zelenco in Ukraine said that he died in an artillery strike.

Cole was an incredible young man. I had the immense privilege to serve with him from the start of the war, from the very beginning of the operations on Ukrainian soil, said the Canadian volunteer, writing in French. Funny, endearing, professional and always positive, even in absolutely terrible situations.

Zelencos grandmother wrote on the GoFundMe page: I am so proud of what you accomplished in Ukraine even though we tried very hard to get you to come home. You always replied, Ill be home soon. Dont worry!

Porter, a former Canadian Army medic, was among a team of search-and-rescue operators with the Canadian International Rescue Organization who travelled to Kyiv last year, in the first weeks of the Russian invasion.

He told CTV after his first trip to Ukraine that he was moved to volunteer after seeing scenes of the Russian invasion on television.

I saw that footage and I thought, thats not fair. I have equipment, I have training, I have experience, and the fact that I get to sit here and enjoy the benefits of where I live compared to these people and their families, I knew I needed to do what I could to get some cosmic level of justice.

Porter was attached to Ukraines 92nd Mechanized Brigade, which is fighting to defend the town of Bakhmut, which is the site of one of the most intense, grinding battles along the eastern Ukrainian front-line.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have been expending tremendous energy and suffering high casualties for months.

Another Canadian volunteer, Gregory Tsekhmistrenko, a combat medic, was also killed in Bakhmut earlier this year. He is believed to have been the third Canadian killed while fighting in Ukraine.

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)  The United Nations food relief agency has suspended aid deliveries to Ethiopias northern Tigray region amid an internal investigation into the theft of food meant for hungry people, according to four humanitarian workers.

The World Food Program is responsible for delivering food from the U.N. and other partners to Tigray, the center of a devastating two-year civil war that ended with a ceasefire in November.

More than 5 million of the regions 6 million people rely on aid.

WFP informed its humanitarian partners on April 20 that it was temporarily suspending deliveries of food to Tigray amid reports of food misappropriation, one of the four humanitarian workers told AP. Three other aid workers confirmed this information. They all insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to a journalist on this matter.

Last month, AP reported that the WFP was investigating cases of food misappropriation and diversion in Ethiopia, where a total of 20 million people need humanitarian help due to drought and conflict.

A letter sent by the WFPs Ethiopia director on April 5 asked humanitarian partners to share any information or cases of food misuse, misappropriation or diversion that you are aware of or that are brought to your attention by your staff, beneficiaries or local authorities.

At the time, two aid workers told AP that the stolen supplies included enough food to feed 100,000 people. The food was discovered missing from a warehouse in the Tigray city of Sheraro. It was not clear who was responsible for the theft.

Tigrays new interim president, Getachew Reda, said last month he discussed the growing challenge of diversion & sale of food aid meant for the needy with senior WFP officials during a visit by the agency to Mekele, the regional capital.

A spokesperson for the WFP in Ethiopia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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WAYNE, W.Va. (AP)  The partial collapse of a press box floor at a school softball tournament in West Virginia sent nine people to hospitals over the weekend, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, authorities said.

Superintendent of Wayne County Schools Todd Alexander told broadcast outlet WCHS-TV that six students and three adults were taken for medical attention after Saturdays collapse though none appear to be in danger.

Looks like everyones going to be fine, Alexander said without elaborating on the extent of the injuries. Were extremely grateful for that.

Five people were inside the press box at Wayne County High School when the floor gave way while several others were beneath it on Saturday, the county school district said in a statement.

A middle school softball tournament was being held at the time, according to reports.

Alexander told the news outlet that the collapse is under investigation, and inspectors are expected to examine the site on Monday.

Wayne is in southwestern West Virginia, about 165 miles (260 kilometers) southeast of Cincinnati.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)  Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is nearly ready to reveal his decision on entering the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, saying Sunday that he would make an announcement on May 22.

Scott didnt definitively say that hell be announcing his official campaign, but he told those gathered at a downtown Charleston school during a town hall that he would be coming out with his decision at an event in about three weeks in North Charleston, which he calls home.

It is time to make the final step, Scott said to a room packed with cheering supporters, as well as a film crew, which a longtime Scott adviser said was gathering content for future use, a flick at a potential launch or campaign ad video.

We will have a major announcement, Scott added.

Scott, 57, has been inching ever closer to formally entering the GOP nomination race, where he would join other announced candidates, including former President Donald Trump, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and anti-woke biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Another of those is Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor who appointed Scott in 2012 to the Senate, where he is the sole Black Republican. Haley hasnt commented on Scotts potential entry into the race, while Scott has dismissed suggestions of any awkwardness in running against the former governor who appointed him to his Senate seat.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are among those considering launching their own presidential campaigns in the coming months.

Last month, Scott created an exploratory committee, a mechanism that allowed him to raise money for polling and travel related to making a determination on the race. In a video announcing that effort, Scott positioned himself as the antidote to the radical left, with a self-made success story as the son of a single mother who overcame poverty, and bemoaned Democratic leaders as needlessly dividing the country by fostering a culture of grievance.

When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative, he said in the video, which was shot on the site of Fort Sumter in his hometown of Charleston, where the Civil Wars first shots were fired. I threaten their control.

In February  a day after Haleys official campaign launch  Scott kicked off a listening tour that has taken him to other early voting states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, where hes held events ranging from political meetings with evangelical pastors to town halls and speeches. In his time on the trail, Scott has tried to present a more positive vision for the future than many of his potential rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Scott told The Associated Press in Iowa that voters he has spoken with respond favorably to his optimistic outlook for the country and his conservative ideals.

I think my candidacy is really designed around what the American people want to talk about, what their priorities are and what their issues are, Scott told AP.

If Scott enters the race, he would have just over one month to raise money before the end of the second quarter, with more candidates in the GOP field intensifying the competition for donor dollars.

But Scott has already proven that he can attract significant money. A pro-Scott super PAC, Opportunity Matters Fund, spent more than $20 million to help Republicans in 2022 and reported $13 million-plus on hand to start 2023. Tech billionaire Larry Ellison has donated at least $30 million to the organization since 2021, according to federal filings.

Sundays town hall took place at Meeting Street Academy, part of a charter school network founded by one of Scotts top donors, Charleston philanthropist Ben Navarro. Scott was introduced by South Carolina businessman and longtime supporter Mike Johnson, who is serving as a national finance co-chair for Scott and a day after the planned May 22 announcement is hosting a day-long call day and retreat with Scott supporters.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP)  Two U.S. Army helicopters that crashed last week in Alaska, killing three soldiers, collided over a rugged, mountainous area, and there were no weather issues or visibility problems at the time, an Army spokesperson said Sunday.

The two AH-64 Apache helicopters were returning to Fort Wainwright from an aerial gunnery range southeast of Fairbanks when they collided.

Killed were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah.

A fourth soldier survived and remained hospitalized Sunday, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska.

Investigators planned to fly on Monday morning to the accident scene about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the small town of Healy, Pennell said.

The Army grounded aviation units on Friday to conduct further training following recent deadly accidents.

Two Black Hawk helicopters crashe d last month in Kentucky during a routine nighttime training exercise that killed nine soldiers, and in February a Tennessee National Guard Black Hawk crashed in Alabama during a flight-training mission, killing two crew members. Also in February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna, Alaska.

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A Vancouver Island community is sounding the alarm about the lack of federal and provincial regulations targetting boat-dismantling operations that may leak pollutants like asbestos and heavy metals into Canadian waters.

Several residents of Union Bay, B.C., located about 180 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, voiced their opposition to one such local operation during a rally on Sunday, decrying the lack of specific rules that would prevent boat-dismantling on the shores of nearby Baynes Sound.

The rallys organizers, The Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound, say Deep Water Recovery has been dismantling barges at a Union Bay site for the last two years, and there is fear among local residents that the operation may release hydrocarbons, raw sewage and cadmium into the marine environment. Baynes Sound is where 50 per cent of B.C.s harvested shellfish come from and is also the location of the last commercial coastal herring fishery in the Georgia Straight, they added.

But Canada has no federal rules specifically regulating shipbreaking, and the B.C. Ministry of Environment says in a statement that Deep Water has the necessary permits as a company operating in the commercial waste management or waste disposal industry.

Deep Water Recovery declined The Canadian Presss request for comment.

Union Bay resident and rally organizer Ray Rewcastle says the community was shocked to find out the lack of regulation on boat dismantling, but added they are even more perturbed that municipal, provincial and federal governments had little understanding about shipbreaking as an industry before residents spoke up.

Its not something that should be done in an area like Baynes Sound, said Rewcastle, who estimated about 200 people attended Sundays rally. It should be done in an industrial port like the Port of Vancouver, Esquimalt or Nanaimo... deep water ports that, basically, you can have 100 per cent containment with dry docking.

Shipbreaking is considered hazardous because of the toxic substances present within a vessel, which may include asbestos, heavy metals and hydrocarbons.

The Comox Valley Regional District filed a notice of civil claim against Deep Water in April 2022 in B.C. Supreme Court, seeking an order to prevent the dismantling of vessels at the Union Bay site due to zoning bylaw violations.

In its legal response, Deep Water and its co-defendent Union Bay Industries said its activities fall within the uses permitted under the zoning bylaws.

Deep Water also said municipal officials have conducted visits since March 2020 while barges were either being transported to or disassembled at the site, and have not raised any concerns.

At all material times, the Plaintiff has had ample knowledge of Deep Waters operations and activities, including multiple visits by the Plaintiffs staff and elected officials, after which several representations were made confirming Deep Waters compliance with the Zoning bylaw, the legal response read.

The B.C. Ministry of Environment issued a statement saying it has issued three warnings and one advisory against Deep Water after site visits and water sample analysis, including discharging waste into the environment without authorization.

In January, the province also ordered Deep Water to set up a monthly monitoring and sampling plan - and the submitted data is currently under review.

If required, the ministry will take further enforcement action to ensure compliance, including pollution prevention orders, the statement said.

Courtenay-Alberni NDP MP Gord Johns, who represents Union Bay federally and spoke at Sundays rally, said Ottawa is currently holding consultations until the fall on improving Canadas shipbreaking laws.

Johns said it is crucial that such laws are put in place as soon as possible, since what happened at Union Bay can happen elsewhere in the country if nothing changes.

He said the federal government has not done enough on other fronts, such as only requiring a self-reporting, voluntary certificate for hazardous material entering Canada on foreign vessels.

But for the residents of Union Bay, Johns said the province and federal government must use all the tools they have to make sure companies like Deep Water are following existing regulations.

When it was raised that we dont want to be a dumping ground for international vessels, its too late, Johns said of the federal response so far. You know the vessels are coming into Canada that couldnt even be brought into Mexico or the United States because we have such weak regulations... And here youve got a company doing business in a community, and they have not gained social license.

The B.C. Supreme Court has yet to set a date to hear the case between the Comox Valley Regional District and Deep Water.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2023.

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WASHINGTON - Indigenous leaders in Canada and the U.S. are turning up the pressure on Ottawa for an investigation of toxic mining runoff from B.C., despite high-level bilateral promises of an agreement by this summer to reduce and mitigate its impact.

Tribal and First Nations leaders were in Washington, D.C., last week to plead their case at meetings of the International Joint Commission, the body that oversees the 114-year-old treaty governing waters that straddle the Canada-U.S. border.

They said they are encouraged  but not convinced  by the commitment Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden made in March to reach an agreement in principle by summer to address pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed.

Mining pollution across our homelands jeopardizes our culture, our food security and most importantly the health of (all living things) for which we are responsible, said Kathryn Teneese, chair of the Ktunaxa Nation Council in the B.C. Interior.

We need more than a soft commitment to agree to a solution in principle. The Kootenay River deserves, and the Ktunaxa people expect, clear federal action from the Canada-U.S. bilateral negotiations.

The Elk and Kootenay rivers, spelled Kootenai in the U.S., feed a watershed that lies within the transboundary Columbia River basin, which has been the subject of ongoing treaty discussions since 2018.

Canadas reluctance to agree to an IJC investigation under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, known as a joint reference, has bewildered and frustrated tribal and Indigenous leaders and environmentalists for years.

But on Friday, the prime minister defended his agreement with Biden and predicted it would ultimately prove more successful than a reference.

We believe that there are processes that are being followed right now that have a better chance of getting to a resolution, Trudeau said during a news conference in New York City.

Communities in B.C., Washington state, Idaho and Montana have been contending for more than a decade with selenium and other toxins leaching into their watershed from coal mining operations in the provinces Elk Valley.

Following Bidens meetings with Trudeau in Ottawa in March, the two leaders vowed to work toward an agreement in principle by this summer to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed.

Any forthcoming agreement on pollution from B.C.s Elk Valley would be in partnership with tribes and Indigenous Peoples from both countries, and would aim to protect the people and species that depend on this vital river system, their joint statement said.

The principal mining player in the region, Teck Resources, has already spent more than $1.2 billion in an effort to fix the problem, with plans for $750 million more over the next two years.

The companys strategy includes the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, developed with help from Indigenous stakeholders, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state government in Montana, the B.C. government and Ottawa.

Teck has described the plan as one of the largest and most collaborative water quality management and monitoring programs in the world, and insists its water treatment and mitigation efforts have already proven effective.

But Indigenous leaders remain deeply skeptical, insisting that toxicity levels still exceed acceptable levels.

In a letter last month to both Trudeau and B.C. Premier David Eby, Teneese and 10 other signatories noted their obligations under the boundary waters treaty, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Canada and British Columbias recklessness endangers our waters, territories and cultural survival, they wrote.

Canada and British Columbia are investing in large-scale mining expansions that would further damage our traditional territories and way of life, despite purported commitments from both your governments to honour our sovereign rights and the planet.

The letter laid out a comprehensive list of demands, and put agreeing to a joint reference  something the U.S. State Department has already said it supports  right at the top of the list.

The group calls for consultations with Indigenous groups on future mining projects and a moratorium on permits until that mechanism is in place, as well as a ban on upstream mine waste dams and tailings ponds.

It also wants the commission to create more international watershed boards comprising local stakeholders along the Canada-U.S. border, with Indigenous and tribal leaders as members, to monitor the transboundary impacts of mining operations.

As the IJC meetings got underway, newly elected Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola joined the ranks of U.S. lawmakers who want to see both countries get more serious about the impact of B.C. mining operations on their shared watersheds.

Peltola called on the Biden administration to initiate a watershed board for a series of rivers along the states southeastern border with B.C. to monitor the potential impacts of widespread Canadian mineral exploration and development.

Peltola said shes particularly concerned about shared wild salmon habitats. Mining claims have already been staked along 90 per cent of the B.C. side of one of the rivers, the Unuk, according to Salmon Beyond Borders, an Alaska-based conservation group.

This is the best way to ensure that Alaskan communities and tribes downstream from potential and existing mining sites in B.C. can raise their concerns and participate in an equitable dialogue between our two nations, she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

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OTTAWA  Conservative MP Michael Chong is accusing the federal government of failing to inform him about allegations that Beijing wanted to intimidate his family as part of Chinas state interference in Canadian politics.

Citing a report in the Globe and Mail, Chong said Monday that he was profoundly disappointed to learn the authoritarian regime in China was targeting members of his family in Hong Kong. The Globe published a story Monday about a Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report from 2021 that said Chinese government officials sought information on an MPs relatives, which CSIS suspected was a way to deter Canadian politicians from criticizing Beijing.

The newspaper also quoted an unnamed security official who said Chong was the MP and that a Chinese diplomat, Zhao Wei, was working on the matter.

The Star has not verified the Globe report.

Chong did not respond to an interview request on Monday.

In a statement on social media, Chong said he is concluding that the government decided not to inform him of this information, since it was never mentioned in CSIS briefings he has received about China. He also blamed the governing Liberals for failing to expel the Chinese diplomat named in the Globe report, which he said shows a complete lack of leadership and common decency.

It is obvious and dumbfounding that the government continues to turn a blind eye to the threat of foreign interference, Chongs statement said.

What happened should be a wake-up call for the whole government. An authoritarian state targeted the family of an elected MP to try to change the course of a domestic debate about our countrys foreign policy, and the government knew this and did nothing.

The Prime Ministers Office forwarded questions about Chongs statement to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. In an emailed statement, Mendicinos press secretary, Audrey Champoux, did not say whether the government knew of the information made public Monday. Instead, she rejected Chongs conclusion that the government should have informed him about the deeply concerning report of Beijings alleged targeting of his family.

It is categorically false to suggest that the Prime Ministers Office or any other across government told CSIS not to inform Mr. Chong of these serious issues. We have directed officials to follow up with him immediately. It is up to CSIS, and CSIS alone, to decide what information to share, Champouxs statement said.

Any intimidation of a Member of Parliament  or any Canadian  by a foreign government is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated, she added.

Eric Balsam, a spokesperson for CSIS, did not address reports about Beijings alleged targeting of Chongs family when contacted by the Star on Monday. But Balsam did say Canadas spy agency takes any allegation of foreign interference very seriously and will not hesitate to investigate, advise the federal government and take measures to reduce such threats.

He also said CSIS believes Chinese state interference is a threat to Canadas security, and that foreign interference is becoming more frequent, is pervasive, persistent, and sophisticated, and has been detected targeting people in positions of potential influence at all levels of government and across party lines.

Chong, the MP for WellingtonHalton Hills, is the Conservative partys shadow minister of foreign affairs. In recent years, he has been a vocal critic of the Communist government in China. Along with his party, Chong has denounced the regime in Beijing for its repression of Uyghur Muslims, which the House of Commons declared was genocide in 2021. He also called for the federal government to exclude Chinese telecom company Huawei from Canadas 5G cell network infrastructure, and was among the many MPs who criticized Beijing for jailing two Canadians  Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor  after Mounties arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant in 2018.

The Chinese government sanctioned Chong in 2021, barring him from doing business or entering the country.

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Six years ago, Natalie Pierres teenage son took his life.

In the years that followed, she advocated for better mental health education for students.

And on Monday, the Burlington MPP was part of a government announcement making mental health lessons mandatory in Grade 10 while also boosting curriculum resources for kids in Grades 7 and 8.

Mike seemed like just any other student, she said of her late son at the emotion-filled announcement in Burlington alongside Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Michael Tibollo, associate minister of mental health and addictions.

The day before he died, he took a university campus tour. He worked a few hours at his part-time job, and he got together with friends. The night before he went to a school dance, she added. Anyone seeing him would have observed a normal healthy teenager.

However, she added, we know now that was not the case. And in the months and years that followed, I was shocked at just how many people colleagues, family members, friends, neighbours, lawyers, teachers contacted me and came forward to share their own personal experience with mental health struggles and how they suffered in silence. I decided we needed to do something about that.

In 2019, she was in contact with Lecce and took part in a funding announcement. Then, in 2022, she ran for MPP to advocate for more change.

After being elected last June, she put forward a motion stressing the importance of mental health education, and on Monday noted the province is the first to require it.

It reaches students where theyre at, and at a time in their lives when mental health issues often emerge, Pierre said. It is my hope that this will prevent tragedies like the one we and many other families have experienced.

Lecce said the province, in its new education legislation, also recognizes the importance of mental health and will ensure new educators now have more detailed and focused training on student mental health and special education before being in classrooms.

We know students today more than ever are facing real challenges when it comes to mental health, he said.

Students already learn about mental health in many grades as part of the updated health curriculum. Now, the government will be providing consistent, required learning materials on mental health in Grades 7 and 8, including videos and activities about how to handle and recognize stress.

In Grade 10, students  as part of the mandatory career studies  will be taught the signs of anxiety and being overwhelmed, and where to go for help.

The mission is to create a personal tool box of skills that a young person could utilize in their life, in their jobs and in the classroom, Lecce said. I think this is fundamental to creating more usable practical learning that can help young people be resilient and to overcome the daily obstacles that is life.

But NDP education critic Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West-Nepean) said the government needs to boost mental health staff in schools.

Its unacceptable that less than one in 10 schools have regularly scheduled access to a mental health professional, she said. We need to prioritize mental health education in schools, but we must also back it up with the necessary resources and investments.

Lecce also announced $12 million in additional funding for summer mental health supports for students this year, and $14 million next year so they have year-round access to the same professionals.

He also said teachers will be provided with training on the new lessons, which will be mandatory starting in 2024.

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Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Limited (ASX:PWR). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Peter Warren Automotive Holdings

Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Director Paul Warren for AU$10m worth of shares, at about AU$2.55 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of AU$2.57. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Peter Warren Automotive Holdings share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

Peter Warren Automotive Holdings insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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).

Does Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Peter Warren Automotive Holdings insiders own 41% of the company, currently worth about AU$181m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

Story continues

So What Do The Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Peter Warren Automotive Holdings insiders think the business has merit. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Peter Warren Automotive Holdings you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit unpleasant.

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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OLEY TWP., Pa. - A threat issued via social media prompted a police response at an Oley Township school Monday.

Oley Valley School District officials said out of an abundance of caution, a police officer would be present at Oley Valley Elementary School during arrival and possibly throughout the day.

Central Berks Regional Police Chief Ray Serafin said an unknown person made a generic threat in a response to a video posted on TikTok. He said the threat was non-specific and more of a general statement, but that police are taking it seriously and are monitoring the situation.

School officials say police told them they believe the threat is not credible, but that police would have a presence at the school throughout the day. Elementary and middle school students were kept inside Monday out of caution.

The investigation is ongoing. District officials say they will keep the community informed as updates become available.
FORKS TWP., Pa.  A Northampton County family is digging into their roots, while also celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary.

It was a rainy wedding day for Dale and Gloria "Dolly" Kachline.

Seventy years later, it rained outside the Marblehead Chowder House in Northampton County on Sunday, as the family gathered for dinner celebrate a remarkable anniversary.

The couple had one piece of advice: "Do things together. It isnt his night or my night. It's our night, said Gloria Kachline.

The Kachlines reminisced on their married memories, including years and years of traveling the world. There was even a move to Alaska.

Kachline's youngest sister, Dawn Trimble, told her favorite memories: "I told Gloria yesterday, 'you know, I am the only one here that was at your reception when you got married even though I was only 10 years old,' said Trimble.

The memories continued to make history.

Kachline and Trimble are both descendants of one of Forks Township's first settlers, Michael Frace. Frace's family log cabin was built in 1700s and still stands strong today. The family says its now registered with the Forks Township Historical Society.

How would you describe the cabin? asked 69 News reporter Cierra Genelle.

Well, they have a fireplace in there. It's a very small room. Then upstairs, they have just an opening, like a one-bedroom home, said Kachline.

The cabin is at Forks Community Park. Though the front door is locked, the family described some of the memories that were once inside.

"The Frace family settled on Frost Hollow Road in the year 1752. And we go back a long time, said Trimble with a grin.

Even after all those years of traveling, Aunt Dolly and Uncle Dale always find themselves back home in Forks Township with family, and a cabin with roots deeper than the eye can see.
L. SAUCON TWP., Pa. - Federal judge John Gallagher ruled Monday the After School Satan Club can begin holding meetings at Saucon Valley Middle School.

The long-awaited decision said the Saucon Valley School District violated the First Amendment when it revoked the club's approval. In his opinion, Judge Gallagher recognized the difficulty Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty faced following a shooting threat related to the Satan Club, calling her position "unenviable."

But the judge also said the suppression of the club's speech was not "Constitutionally permissible." Now, more than two months after its approval was revoked, the club is planning to hold its first meeting as early as next week.

"We're very happy that the First Amendment prevailed this morning," said Sara Rose, Deputy Director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which represented the Satanic Temple in court.

Rose said the school district tried to argue the After School Satan Club didn't follow its advertising rules by not explicitly saying they weren't endorsed by the district, but the ACLU was able to prove a double standard.

"I think the most powerful piece of evidence that we had on the Satanic Temple's side was the fact that their advertisement was so similar to that of the Good News Club," said Rose.

The Good News Club is the Christian club in the district.

"They're both religious clubs, they're both having meetings in the same room at essentially the same time after school. One was okay and one wasn't, and I think that created a lot of questions in the court's mind," said Rose.

Now, the After School Satan Club is hoping to hold its first meeting as early as next week.

"The judge ordered the parties to come up with some new meeting dates in the event that he ruled in favor of the club, so we did that, and the first one will be May 10 with two subsequent dates in May," said Rose.

And even though the School Board recently changed the rules for third-party clubs, requiring them to meet no earlier than 6 p.m., Rose said the ruling allows the After School Satan Club to meet at the originally agreed-upon 3:05 p.m.

"I believe that the judge indicated in his opinion that the club will be able to meet at the originally agreed-upon time," said Rose.

The After School Satan Club also has plans to expand to other school districts, and Rose said she hopes they're paying attention to this case before they try to stop it.

"Instead of going to court and engaging in very costly and time-consuming litigation, that school districts will just go ahead and allow the club to meet on the same terms that other religious clubs are allowed to meet at these schools," said Rose.

We reached out to Superintendent Vlasaty for a comment Monday, but we did not immediately hear back. It's not clear at this time if the school district is planning to seek any more legal action, or if it plans to immediately allow the Satan Club to start meeting again next week.
L. TOWAMENSING TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police are asking for help locating the person responsible for a shooting in Carbon County.

Troopers say a vehicle pulled up to a home on Hahns Dairy Road in Lower Towamensing Township on Saturday.

They say there was a confrontation between whoever was in the vehicle and a man at that home.

At some point, the person in the vehicle opened fire, then took off.

There's no word on the victim's condition.
MAHANOY TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police are looking for information on what appears to be an attempted burglary in Schuylkill County.

Police say the man pictured tried to enter a home in the 100 block of Park Place Road, just north of Mahanoy City, in Mahanoy Township.

It happened Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 570-874-5300.
BW Offshore

Short-term contract extension for Abo FPSO

BW Offshore has signed a short-term extension for Abo FPSO with Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, a subsidiary of ENI S.p.A., until 31 May 2023.

For further information, please contact:

Stale Andreassen, CFO, +47 91 71 86 55

Anders S. Platou, Head of Corporate Finance & Strategy, +47 99 50 47 40

IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com

About BW Offshore:

BW Offshore engineers innovative floating production solutions. The Company has a fleet of 8 FPSOs with potential and ambition to grow. By leveraging four decades of offshore operations and project execution, the Company creates tailored offshore energy solutions for evolving markets world-wide. BW Offshore has around 2,000 employees and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.








TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, part of a relentless wave of violence that has rocked the region for the last year.

The Israeli military said gunmen opened fire at soldiers on an arrest raid and the troops shot back. The military has been staging near-nightly raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages in what it says is an attempt to stamp out militancy. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year and 19 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis during that time.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Jibril al-Laada, 17. It said three others were seriously wounded in the fighting, which took place in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jericho. The camp has been a frequent target of Israeli raids.

Israel launched the raids after a spate of Palestinian attacks last spring. That set off some of the worst fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank in years and while Israel says the raids are meant to thwart future attacks, violence against Israelis does not appear to be slowing.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Casualties have spiked this year, with 98 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, with just under half of those affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Israel says most of those killed have been armed fighters, but youths protesting the incursions have also been killed as have people not involved in the confrontations.

The Palestinians see the raids as a further entrenchment of Israel's 56-year, open-ended occupation. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem for their hoped-for independent state. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war.
BATESVILLE, Ark.  An Arkansas judge has ordered President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, to answer more questions about his finances, including his investments, his art sales and other transactions, as part of a paternity-related case involving his 4-year-old daughter, Navy Joan.

Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer on Monday ordered Hunter Biden to sit for a deposition in mid-June, at which time he will have to answer questions under oath.

In September, he asked the judge to reduce his $20,000 monthly payments to Lunden Roberts, his daughter's mother, because his financial circumstances changed.

Then last week, Roberts sought to have Hunter Biden held in contempt for not complying with a court order to turn over financial documents.

A trial on the child support payments is scheduled for July.

Hunter Biden's court appearance in Arkansas comes days after his legal team met with U.S. Justice Department prosecutors about their ongoing criminal investigation of the president's son.

CNN cited sources familiar with the investigation as saying that prosecutors are still weighing whether to bring two misdemeanor charges for failure to file taxes, one count of felony tax evasion related to the overreporting of expenses, and a false statement charge regarding a gun purchase.

An IRS special agent came forward last month with claims that the federal investigation is being mishandled.

Mark Lytle, the attorney for the IRS whistleblower, wrote to members of Congress that his client has information about a "failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition" of a criminal investigation related to the younger Biden's taxes and whether he made a false statement in connection with a gun purchase.
Hit musical Lizzie will be revived in Manchester this autumn, it has been revealed.

The piece, which has music by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, lyrics by Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner and a book by Maner, is inspired by the true story of Lizzie Borden (famously tried for the axe murders of her father and stepmother).

It was first seen in New York in 2009, with further stagings and a cast album release taking place over subsequent years. A UK premiere of a Danish production of the piece took place at the Greenwich Theatre in 2017.

It now returns in a new, and its first UK-originated, production, presented at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester before its first UK tour.

It has direction and choreography by the Hope Mill's co-founder William Whelton, while the creative team also includes set and lighting designer Andrew Exeter, musical supervisor Katy Richardson, associate choreographer Yandass Ndlovu and casting by Pearson Casting. Further team members are to be announced.

Whelton said today: "We are thrilled to share the news of our autumn production of Lizzie, which will premiere at Hope Mill Theatre followed by a short UK tour. Lizzie is based on the true story of Lizzie Borden who in the height of summer 1892 killed her father and stepmother with an axe.

"As a massive true crime fan myself this musical is the perfect way to explore this infamous story with the added extra of an incredible punk rock score. The retelling of this story is with an incredibly talented all-female cast and on stage all-female rock band, but the real heart of this show is how it explores the power, resilience and strength of women and their relationships.

"I am so excited to bring this show to life surrounded by an exceptional team around me. When the show premiered off-Broadway in 2009 it really was ahead of its time and it now feels like the perfect time to create a new version of this bloody' great show!"

Running from 1 to 30 September, tickets for the show are on sale today. Casting is to be revealed very, very soon (so keep an eye on WhatsOnStage's channels!) with tour dates set to be unveiled in due course.
Thank you for reading!

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Figure 1

The 3D model of the mineral resources for the West Zone of the Ferguson Lake Project

TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian North Resources Inc. (the Company, TSXV: CNRI; FSE: EO0 (E-O-zero)) is pleased to announce the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022.



Canadian North Resources has accomplished a lot since it successfully listed on TSX Venture Exchange last year. said Dr. Kaihui Yang, the President & CEO,  The Company raised over $32 million for exploration; updated and confirmed a high-grade and enlarged mineral resource of base metal (nickel, copper, cobalt) and PGM (palladium and platinum) at its 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd . filed by the Company on Sedar.com, July 13, 2022); and have since diamond drilled 18,144 meters in 68 holes to significantly extend the mineralized zones outside the mineral resource model.

This year we will continue to expand and upgrade the mineral resources at the Ferguson Lake project. Dr. Yang added, We have commenced a 20,000-meter drilling program in 2023 to focus on the high-grade base metal and PGM targets along the 15-km-long main mineralized horizon, and to test the lithium potential of the pegmatites over the 256.8 km2 area of mining leases and exploration claims..

2022 Highlights:

 The Company raised over $32 million for exploration, with cash and cash equivalents of $11,067,170 at the year end

 Updated NI43-101 Mineral Resources Estimates and confirmed large and high-grade resources of nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium and platinum at its 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project (Figure 1, Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd . filed by the Company to Sedar.com, July 13, 2022).

 Drilled 18,144 meters to extend the mineralized zones outside the current resource model

CNR





Figure 1, the 3D model of the mineral resources for the West Zone of the Ferguson Lake Project

 The Company also engaged in the following activities in 2022:

Story continues

The Company was successfully listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trading started on April 7, 2022. The Company closed the offering by way of Offering Memorandum of Special Warrants at a price of $1 per Special Warrant for gross proceeds of $2,223,698.





Prior to the listing, the Company raised $19,999,089 from strategic investors through the subscriptions of 26,665,453 Units at a price of $0.75 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of each common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each purchase warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $1.50 per common share at any time on or after June 30, 2022 and on or before December 29, 2023.





The Company completed an updated resource estimate for the Ferguson Lake Project (Figure 1). The resources include Indicated Mineral Resources of 24.3 million tonnes containing 455 million pounds (Mlb) copper at 0.85%, 321Mlb nickel at 0.60%, 37.5Mlb cobalt at 0.07%, 1.08 million ounces (Moz) palladium at 1.38gpt and 0.18Moz platinum at 0.23gpt; Inferred Mineral Resources of 47.2 million tonnes containing 947Mlb copper at 0.91%, 551.5Mlb nickel at 0.53%, 62.4Mlb cobalt at 0.06%, 2.12Moz palladium at 1.4gpt and 0.38Moz platinum at 0.25gpt. (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, announced June 13, 2022, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd).





On July 13, 2022, the Company filed to Sedar the NI43-101 Independent Technical Report (Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd.) with the updated resource estimate for the Ferguson Lake Project.





The Company staked 11 exploration claims over an area of 15,694.63 hectares (156.9 km 2 ) surrounding the 10 mining leases of 9.686 hectares (96.9 km 2 ) at the Ferguson Lake Project. This land package covers all the known base metals and PGM mineralized zones and outcrops in the Ferguson Lake area. The Company also staked 268-unit claims (5,027.64 hectares or 50.3 km 2 ) at the Quartzite Lake area and 155-unit claims (2,917.68 hectares or 29.2 km 2 ) at the Kaminak Lake area, covering the gold mineralized zones with previously drill intervals up to 69 metres at 2.16 g/t.





On July 18, 2022, the Company reported the listing on the Quotation Board of the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSX) under the trading symbol: EO0, which is E -O-zero, which provides a trading platform for the European investors to invest in the Company.





On May 19, 2022, the Company announced grant of options to the management and employees with the total number of 2,695,000 with the exercise price of $1.92 per share. The option will expire on May 18, 2027





On September 12, 2022, the Company reported the assay results for the first 28 holes totaling 7,594 meters of the drilling program at its Ferguson Lake property, which confirmed significant extension of the mineralized zones outside the recently released mineral resource model.





After commencing its 2022 field program in March, by mid-October the Company had completed 18,144 meters of diamond drilling at its Ferguson Lake property. The completed drilling program successfully extended the mineralization zones along strike and at depth beyond the presently defined resource boundaries.





In December, 2022, the Company completed the issuance of Flow-through Shares of 3,254,324 shares with the amount of $9,838,667 at the weighted average price of $3.02 per share.



 For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported a net loss of $3,986,677 or $0.04 per share.

Subsequent to Year End, the Company has conducted the following work:

On January 7, 2023, the Company reported 5 new mineralized areas identified from the surface sampling programs over the 156.9 km 2 prospecting area surrounding the 96.9 km 2 mining leases of the Ferguson Lake Project. High-grade nickel-copper-PGM (up to 5.0% Cu, 0.99% Ni, 2.70g/t Pd, 0.62g/t Pt, 1.14g/t Au) was found in the samples from the outcrops. The Company also reported high-grade gold (up to 52.3g/t) found at the Mac Island and South Mac Island prospects in the Kaminak Lake area (29.2 km 2 ), and copper & gold mineralization samples found on outcrops throughout the staked area.





On February 21, 2023, the Company reported the geochemical assay results for the remaining 40 holes (of total 68 holes drilled) consisting of 10,550 meters (of the total 18,144 meters) from the diamond drilling program completed by the Company at its 100% owned Ferguson Lake property. The results extended the mineralized zones for 1,500 meters outside the block model for the updated mineral resources estimates (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada. Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd. filed by the Company to Sedar.com on July 13, 2022).





On March 6, 2023, the Company reported the identification of extensive granitic pegmatites potentially hosting lithium-bearing minerals over the 253.8 km 2 area of the 100% owned Ni-Cu-Co-Pd-Pt Ferguson Lake property. The potential for lithium minerals has never been explored at the Ferguson Lake area. The Company will undertake its first lithium-specific exploration programs during 2023.





On April 3, 2023, the Company announced the commencement of a new 20,000-meter diamond drilling program to continue focusing on the drill testing of high-grade base metal and PGM targets along the 15-km-long main mineralized horizon, to expand and up-grade the mineral resources, and to test the new identified base metal and PGM targets throughout the Property.



For the Year End 2022 financial statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis, please see the Company website at www.cnresources.com or on SEDAR.

The Company also announces the change of Treasurer. Mr. Yu Leung Yau has resigned from the position of the Companys Treasurer, and Mr. Yunfeng Ma (CPA) has been appointed as the new Treasurer of the Company.

Qualified Person:

The technical contents of this news release have been reviewed by Dr. Trevor Boyd, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 standards.

About Canadian North Resources Inc.:

Canadian North Resources Inc. is an exploration and development company focusing on the metals for the clean-energy, electric vehicles, battery and high-tech industries. The company is advancing its 100% owned Ferguson Lake nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum project that covers an area of 253.8 km2 of mining leases (96.9 km2) and surrounding exploration claims (156.9 km2) in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada.

The Ferguson Lake mining property contains substantial resources in compliance with NI43-101 standards, which include Indicated Mineral Resources of 24.3 million tonnes containing 455 million pounds (Mlb) copper at 0.85%, 321Mlb nickel at 0.60%, 37.5Mlb cobalt at 0.07%, 1.08 million ounces (Moz) palladium at 1.38gpt and 0.18Moz platinum at 0.23gpt; Inferred Mineral Resources of 47.2 million tonnes containing 947Mlb copper at 0.91%, 551.5Mlb nickel at 0.53%, 62.4Mlb cobalt at 0.06%, 2.12Moz palladium at 1.4gpt and 0.38Moz platinum at 0.25gpt. The resource model indicates significant potential for resource expansion along strike and at depth over the 15 km long mineralized belt. (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd  filed by the Company to Sedar.com on July 13, 2022).

Dr. Kaihui Yang, President and CEO

Phone: 905-696-8288 (Canada) 1-888-688-8809 (Toll-Free)

Email: info@cnresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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 managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, performance, 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 Companys 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 release publicly 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.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/54334d86-73d3-4674-b6c6-defc2f9df00f




Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM  Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,270,000 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the March 31st total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 4.3% of the companys stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company.

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Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Performance

Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $6.51. 1,364,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,825. The stock has a market cap of $804.90 million, a PE ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Piedmont Office Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $6.12 and a twelve month high of $16.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.11.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

Piedmont Office Realty Trust ( NYSE:PDM Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $147.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.34 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 8.05%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.90%. Piedmont Office Realty Trusts payout ratio is 70.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,281 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,418 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,132 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 61,126 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,819 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the companys stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc engages in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, and operation of office properties. It operates through the following geographical segments: Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, DC/Northern Virginia, Boston, Orlando, Minneapolis, and New York. The company was founded on July 3, 1997 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

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Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI  Get Rating) have received a consensus rating of Hold from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.93.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Tigress Financial upgraded Albertsons Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and cut their target price for the company from $32.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Roth Capital reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th.

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Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.57. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $19.14 and a 12 month high of $32.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.02.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

Albertsons Companies ( NYSE:ACI Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 11th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $18.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 68.28% and a net margin of 1.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 25th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Albertsons Companiess dividend payout ratio is 22.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 349.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 65.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

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Albertsons Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company's food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores.

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Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Get Rating) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,498 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 8,826 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Incs holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Asset Management LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the companys stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,299 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the companys stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 10,793 shares of the companys stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Covington Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 31,688 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.68% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $45.50.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.86. 3,005,554 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,170,112. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $57.03. The firm has a market cap of $85.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.59. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $45.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.79.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 245.43% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 23rd. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 120.90%.

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.

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Amphenol (NYSE:APH  Get Rating) had its price objective trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $91.00 to $87.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Amphenol from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, March 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Amphenol from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.33.

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Amphenol Stock Performance

Shares of APH opened at $75.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.64. The company has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.24. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $77.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.80. Amphenol has a 1 year low of $61.67 and a 1 year high of $82.86.

Amphenol Dividend Announcement

Amphenol ( NYSE:APH Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The electronics maker reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. Amphenol had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Amphenols revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amphenol will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 20th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Amphenols dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amphenol

In related news, VP Lance E. Damico sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total value of $2,054,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,700 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,112,283. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Amphenol news, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 650,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.72, for a total transaction of $53,118,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 967,424 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $79,057,889.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Lance E. Damico sold 25,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total transaction of $2,054,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,283. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 804,800 shares of company stock worth $65,769,622 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amphenol

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the 1st quarter worth approximately $117,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Amphenol by 10.2% in the first quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 200,520 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $16,386,000 after acquiring an additional 18,572 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Amphenol by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 296,237 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $24,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Amphenol by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,864 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Chad R grew its position in Amphenol by 2.2% during the first quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 113,970 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $9,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amphenol Company Profile

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Amphenol Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems, antennas, sensors and sensor-based products, and specialty cable. Its products include connectors, cable assemblies, sensors, antenna solutions, power distribution, cable, printed circuits, and accessories for connectors and cable.

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Shore Capital reissued their buy rating on shares of AstraZeneca (LON:AZN  Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AZN. Barclays restated an overweight rating on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Berenberg Bank set a 124 ($154.86) price objective on AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and issued a 130 ($162.36) price objective on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded AstraZeneca to an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a GBX 6,950 ($86.80) target price on AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of 119.32 ($149.02).

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AstraZeneca Stock Performance

LON:AZN opened at 117.46 ($146.70) on Thursday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is 113.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is 110.73. AstraZeneca has a twelve month low of GBX 9,399 ($117.38) and a twelve month high of 123.92 ($154.76). The stock has a market cap of 182.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7,295.65, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 84.02.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

AstraZeneca Company Profile

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 23rd were given a dividend of GBX 162.80 ($2.03) per share. This represents a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is a boost from AstraZenecas previous dividend of $76.40. AstraZenecas dividend payout ratio is 14,844.72%.

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AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases.

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Barclays reissued their underweight rating on shares of Bunzl (LON:BNZL  Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a GBX 2,750 ($34.34) price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BNZL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($34.97) target price on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Bunzl to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from GBX 3,250 ($40.59) to GBX 3,375 ($42.15) in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Shore Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating and set a GBX 3,060 ($38.22) price objective on shares of Bunzl in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 2,955.83 ($36.92).

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Bunzl Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of LON BNZL opened at GBX 3,164 ($39.52) on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 118.76. Bunzl has a 12 month low of GBX 2,542 ($31.75) and a 12 month high of GBX 3,249 ($40.58). The firm has a market capitalization of 10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 2,292.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 3,044.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 2,970.65.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be paid a GBX 45.40 ($0.57) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Bunzls previous dividend of $17.30. This represents a dividend yield of 1.51%. Bunzls payout ratio is currently 4,565.22%.

In other Bunzl news, insider Richard Howes sold 4,909 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,002 ($37.49), for a total transaction of 147,368.18 ($184,049.18). In other Bunzl news, insider Richard Howes sold 4,909 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,002 ($37.49), for a total transaction of 147,368.18 ($184,049.18). Also, insider Frank van Zanten sold 21,307 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,066 ($38.29), for a total transaction of 653,272.62 ($815,876.88). Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 81,898 shares of company stock valued at $249,954,592. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bunzl Company Profile

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Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.

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Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,099 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.s holdings in Southern were worth $2,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prudential PLC lifted its position in Southern by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,438 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Southern by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,727 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Southern by 63.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,902 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Southern by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,925 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Southern by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 907,132 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $65,776,000 after purchasing an additional 239,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.78% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised Southern from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Southern from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Southern from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $73.14.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO traded up $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $74.09. The company had a trading volume of 758,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,187,332. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.98. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.85 and a fifty-two week high of $80.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 11.53%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from Southerns previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is 87.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total transaction of $359,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,516,356.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Southern news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 1,282 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $85,381.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,512 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,832,299.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.89, for a total value of $359,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,516,356.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,134 shares of company stock worth $502,179 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Southern Profile

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The Southern Co is a holding company, which engages in the generation and sale of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Traditional Electric Operating Companies, Southern Power and Southern Company Gas. The Traditional Electric Operating Companies segment refers to vertically integrated utilities that own generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and supplies electric services in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi.

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Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 585,832 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 26,382 shares during the period. Bristol-Myers Squibb comprises 1.3% of Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $42,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 1st quarter worth approximately $332,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 111.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 165,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $12,075,000 after purchasing an additional 57,444 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the first quarter valued at about $1,997,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 338,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $24,725,000 after purchasing an additional 68,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.51% of the companys stock.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $67.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $141.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.25. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a fifty-two week low of $65.28 and a fifty-two week high of $81.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.50 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 15.95%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.47%.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at $17,625,163.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $835,258.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,043 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,721,081.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BMY. StockNews.com began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, March 6th. They set a hold rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $79.56.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

(Get Rating)

Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the March 31st total of 2,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:BR traded down $1.23 on Monday, reaching $144.18. The companys stock had a trading volume of 636,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 553,263. Broadridge Financial Solutions has a 1-year low of $131.35 and a 1-year high of $183.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37 and a beta of 1.00. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $141.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.49.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.91. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during 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%. Broadridge Financial Solutionss revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Broadridge Financial Solutions will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Broadridge Financial Solutions

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 64.73%.

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 1,425 shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $885,151.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BR. Truadvice LLC bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 38.7% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,546 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 6,564 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 6.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,480 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Monday, April 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $161.40.

About Broadridge Financial Solutions

(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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Virtual Investor Conferences

Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

LAS VEGAS, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- May 1, 2023, Titan Lithium Inc., (OTC Markets: CDSG) (the Company or CDSG) is pleased to announce that Craig Alford, CEO, will present live at the Battery and Precious Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on Tuesday May 2nd, 2023.



DATE: May 2nd

TIME: 3:00 PM ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/44jNv83

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Recent Company Highlights

Agreement for the huge Titan Projects in Tanzania allows for 100% ownership

Two projects currently cover over 86,450 acres of prospective Li ground

Titan 1 samples have returned up to 4.82% Li2O with high values extending for miles

Titan 1 Li anomaly underlain by thick volcanic-sedimentary sequence

Titan 2 has returned up to 2.28% Li2O with huge anomaly averaging 1.11% Li2O

Nevada project area is within the Li resource envelop of the TLC project

About CDSG

China Dongsheng International Inc. (OTC Markets: CDSG), through its wholly owned subsidiary Titan Lithium, Inc., is a lithium explorer and developer with operations in Nevada, USA and The United Republic of Tanzania.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

Story continues

CONTACTS:

Harp Sangha - Chairman

harp@titanlithiuminc.com

+1-702-595-2247

titanlithiuminc.com

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




Shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC (NYSE:CCEP  Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.66.

Several equities research analysts have commented on CCEP shares. Societe Generale raised shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $61.15 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to 65.00 ($72.22) in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $60.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 16th.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the second quarter worth $25,000. Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,196 shares of the companys stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 28.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Price Performance

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Cuts Dividend

NYSE CCEP opened at $64.47 on Monday. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $64.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $57.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.64.

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Company Profile

(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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Cano Health, Inc. (NYSE:CANO  Get Rating)s stock price dropped 9.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $1.03 and last traded at $1.06. Approximately 3,077,719 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 7,532,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Cano Health from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $1.25 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Cano Health from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cano Health presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $4.08.

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Cano Health Price Performance

The companys fifty day moving average is $1.30 and its 200 day moving average is $1.82. The firm has a market cap of $541.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.19 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Trading of Cano Health

In related news, CFO Brian D. Koppy sold 23,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.27, for a total transaction of $29,960.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 802,570 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,263.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . 54.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oracle Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cano Health during the third quarter worth $295,000. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Cano Health by 9.8% during the third quarter. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,398,975 shares of the companys stock worth $81,490,000 after acquiring an additional 841,251 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cano Health during the third quarter worth $931,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Cano Health during the third quarter worth $477,000. Finally, Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Cano Health during the third quarter worth $515,000. 25.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cano Health Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Cano Health, Inc provides primary care medical services to its members in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates medical centers enabled by CanoPanorama, a proprietary population health management technology-powered platform that provides the healthcare providers at its medical centers with a 360-degree view of their members with actionable insights to improve care decisions and member engagement.

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Chemed (NYSE:CHE  Get Rating) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $587.00 to $610.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. Royal Bank of Canadas price target suggests a potential upside of 10.49% from the companys previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Chemed in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Chemed from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Friday.

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Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of Chemed stock traded up $0.82 on Monday, reaching $552.07. 12,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 70,703. The company has a 50 day moving average of $533.91 and a 200 day moving average of $509.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.53. Chemed has a 52 week low of $430.16 and a 52 week high of $570.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Insider Activity at Chemed

Chemed ( NYSE:CHE Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The company reported $5.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.30 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $546.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $546.60 million. Chemed had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Chemed will post 20.85 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.32, for a total transaction of $1,014,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,613 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $61,696,707.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.32, for a total value of $1,014,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,696,707.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.27, for a total value of $1,578,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 118,613 shares of the companys stock, valued at $62,422,463.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $4,686,450. 4.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 309.1% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 274 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 91.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Chemed

(Get Rating)

Chemed Corp. engages in the provision of healthcare and maintenance services. It operates through the VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. The VITAS segment offers hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers.

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China Hongqiao Group Limited (OTCMKTS:CHHQF  Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,986,500 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 27,382,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 22,715.0 days.

China Hongqiao Group Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS CHHQF remained flat at $1.00 during trading on Monday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $0.94. China Hongqiao Group has a 52-week low of $0.93 and a 52-week high of $1.03.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HSBC upgraded shares of China Hongqiao Group from a reduce rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th.

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Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS  Get Rating) had its target price increased by Credit Suisse Group from $153.00 to $163.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on UHS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Universal Health Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Barclays raised Universal Health Services from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Universal Health Services from $154.00 to $138.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $114.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $137.12.

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Universal Health Services Stock Up 3.1 %

Universal Health Services stock opened at $150.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.25. Universal Health Services has a 52 week low of $82.50 and a 52 week high of $154.65. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $131.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services ( NYSE:UHS Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 5.05%. Universal Health Servicess revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 10.24 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 1,568 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.29, for a total transaction of $201,158.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,023 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $387,820.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 793 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total transaction of $96,991.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,230 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $272,751.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 1,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.29, for a total value of $201,158.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,023 shares of the companys stock, valued at $387,820.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 187 shares of the health services providers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Brinker Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the health services providers stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the health services providers stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 857 shares of the health services providers stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 4,200 shares of the health services providers stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Universal Health Services, Inc operates as a healthcare management company, which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, and outpatient facilities. It operates through the following segments: Acute Care Hospital Services, Behavioral Health Care Services, and Other.

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Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Denbury Inc. (NYSE:DEN  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 11,146 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $970,000. Denbury makes up 0.4% of Fox Run Management L.L.C.s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Denbury by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,401,112 shares of the companys stock worth $267,227,000 after purchasing an additional 65,352 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Denbury by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,908,334 shares of the companys stock valued at $174,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,960 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Denbury by 23.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,974 shares of the companys stock worth $181,259,000 after purchasing an additional 440,841 shares in the last quarter. Aristeia Capital LLC grew its holdings in Denbury by 7.8% in the third quarter. Aristeia Capital LLC now owns 1,404,020 shares of the companys stock valued at $121,111,000 after purchasing an additional 101,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Denbury by 262.7% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 853,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $73,623,000 after buying an additional 618,200 shares in the last quarter.

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Denbury Trading Down 1.6 %

Denbury stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.84. The companys stock had a trading volume of 80,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,168. The stocks fifty day moving average is $86.66 and its 200 day moving average is $87.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. Denbury Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.59 and a 1-year high of $104.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 2.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Denbury ( NYSE:DEN Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.13). Denbury had a return on equity of 27.32% and a net margin of 28.00%. The company had revenue of $381.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $386.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Denbury Inc. will post 6.16 EPS for the current year.

In other news, CAO Nicole H. Jennings sold 618 shares of Denbury stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.85, for a total value of $48,729.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 60,443 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,765,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Denbury from $138.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Denbury in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Denbury from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Monday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $103.57.

Denbury Profile

(Get Rating)

Denbury Inc, an independent energy company, focuses on producing oil from mature oil fields in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. The company holds interests in various oil and natural gas properties located in Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana in the Gulf Coast region; and in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming in the Rocky Mountain region.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Denbury Inc. (NYSE:DEN  Get Rating).

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Graco (NYSE:GGG  Get Rating) had its price objective upped by DA Davidson from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Gracos Q2 2023 earnings at $0.76 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $2.95 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $3.00 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Graco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Graco from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.25.

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Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $79.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Graco has a fifty-two week low of $56.48 and a fifty-two week high of $79.45. The stock has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.80. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $70.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.91.

Graco Announces Dividend

Graco ( NYSE:GGG Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $529.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $501.87 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 26.12%. The firms revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Graco will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 14th. Gracos payout ratio is 33.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, CFO David M. Lowe sold 31,128 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.17, for a total value of $2,184,251.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 601,770 shares in the company, valued at $42,226,200.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO David M. Lowe sold 31,128 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.17, for a total transaction of $2,184,251.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 601,770 shares in the company, valued at $42,226,200.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sant R. William Van sold 20,820 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $1,481,134.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,948 shares of company stock worth $4,096,787. 2.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 2,034.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 491 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Graco by 569.7% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 509 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.85% of the companys stock.

Graco Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Graco, Inc is a manufacturing company, which engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials. It operates through the following segments: Industrial, Process, and Contractor. The Industrial segment markets equipment and pre-engineered packages for moving and applying paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, and other fluids.

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Shore Capital restated their buy rating on shares of International Personal Finance (LON:IPF  Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Separately, Peel Hunt restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 150 ($1.87) price objective on shares of International Personal Finance in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st.

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International Personal Finance Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of LON:IPF opened at GBX 98 ($1.22) on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.08. International Personal Finance has a 52-week low of GBX 62.77 ($0.78) and a 52-week high of GBX 117.44 ($1.47). The stocks fifty day simple moving average is GBX 100.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 86.76. The company has a market capitalization of 219.30 million, a P/E ratio of 408.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.67.

International Personal Finance Increases Dividend

Insider Activity at International Personal Finance

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be given a GBX 6.50 ($0.08) dividend. This is an increase from International Personal Finances previous dividend of $2.70. This represents a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. International Personal Finances dividend payout ratio is currently 3,750.00%.

In other International Personal Finance news, insider Katrina Cliffe bought 40,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 110 ($1.37) per share, for a total transaction of 44,000 ($54,951.92). In other International Personal Finance news, insider Katrina Cliffe bought 40,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 110 ($1.37) per share, for a total transaction of 44,000 ($54,951.92). Also, insider Aileen Wallace bought 21,443 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 101 ($1.26) per share, with a total value of 21,657.43 ($27,048.12). Insiders own 8.02% of the companys stock.

About International Personal Finance

(Get Rating)

International Personal Finance plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer credit in Europe and Mexico. The company offers home credit products, such as money transfer loans direct to bank account, cash and microbusiness loans, home, medical and life insurances, and repayments services. It also offers digital business services comprising of instalment loans and repayment schedules, credit line products, and mobile wallet payments.

Further Reading

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Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:VCV  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 46,400 shares, a growth of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 40,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 78,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Price Performance

VCV stock remained flat at $9.96 during trading on Friday. 107,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,957. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.67. Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust has a one year low of $8.51 and a one year high of $11.10.

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Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Monday, April 17th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 14th.

Institutional Trading of Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust

About Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. acquired a new stake in Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA acquired a new stake in Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,000. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

(Get Rating)

Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust operates as a closed-end investment fund/investment trust. Its investment objective is to seek to provide common shareholders with current income exempt from federal and California income taxes, consistent with preservation of capital. The company was headquartered on December 21, 1992 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

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Shares of iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV  Get Rating) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $297.40 and last traded at $295.93, with a volume of 661946 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $296.50.

iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF Price Performance

The stocks fifty day moving average price is $290.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF by 225.4% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 949,834 shares of the companys stock worth $289,414,000 after acquiring an additional 657,920 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF by 8.6% in the first quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 659 shares of the companys stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF by 3.2% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,589 shares of the companys stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF by 15.1% during the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,605 shares of the companys stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $257,000.

iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF Company Profile

iShares North American Tech-Software ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P North American Technology Software Index (the Underlying Index).

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Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC.

NEW YORK, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (PSG) has provided an update for Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: CEN) (the Fund). PSG has provided an update on the Fund and on general market conditions.



Registration and Webcast: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1606380&tp_key=01965be5d8

Audio Only Dial-In: Tel: +1 719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112

Passcode (required): 8538600

It is not necessary to dial into the audio conference, unless you are unable to join via the webcast URL.

Shareholders may submit questions about the Fund by sending an e-mail to publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com.

A transcript of the update is available by calling 855-777-8001 or by sending an e-mail request to the Fund at publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com .

Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (Public Securities Group or PSG) is a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management ULC, an unlimited liability company formed under the laws of British Columbia, Canada. Brookfield Corporation holds a 75% interest in Brookfield Asset Management ULC, while Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (Brookfield Asset Management), holds a 25% interest in Brookfield Asset Management ULC. Brookfield Asset Management is a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately US$800 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2022.

PSG is an SEC-registered investment adviser and represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt. With over US$21 billion of assets under management as of April 30, 2023, PSG manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for institutional and individual clients, including financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and high net worth investors. For more information, go to https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

Story continues

Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund is managed by PSG. The Fund uses its website as a channel of distribution of material information about the Fund. Financial and other material information regarding the Fund is routinely posted on and accessible at https://publicsecurities.brookfield.com/.

COMPANY CONTACT

Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund

Brookfield Place

250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor

New York, NY 10281-1023

(855) 777-8001

publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com

Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC; distributor.




iShares MSCI Chile ETF (BATS:ECH  Get Rating)s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $28.14 and last traded at $28.15, with a volume of 208461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.41.

iShares MSCI Chile ETF Trading Down 0.9 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $554.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.94.

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Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI Chile ETF

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI Chile ETF by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the companys stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Chile ETF by 402.7% in the 3rd quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,307 shares of the companys stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 27,482 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Chile ETF by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 173,333 shares of the companys stock worth $4,160,000 after buying an additional 31,596 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Chile ETF by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 180,818 shares of the companys stock worth $4,339,000 after buying an additional 96,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Chile ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,312,000.

iShares MSCI Chile ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI Chile Capped ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Chile Capped Investable Market Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index (the Index). The Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure broad based equity market performance in Chile.

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Melexis NV (OTCMKTS:MLXSF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,700 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the March 31st total of 64,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently  days.

Melexis Price Performance

Shares of MLXSF remained flat at $73.20 on Friday. Melexis has a 52 week low of $73.20 and a 52 week high of $73.20. The companys 50-day moving average is $73.20 and its 200-day moving average is $73.19.

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About Melexis

(Get Rating)

Further Reading

Melexis NV designs, develops, tests, and markets advanced integrated semiconductor devices primarily for the automotive industry in Europe, the Middle-East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North and Latin America. The company provides magnetic position, latch and switch, current, inductive position, tire monitoring, temperature, optical, pressure, and speed sensor ICs.

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Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU  Get Rating) by 205.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,991 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLCs holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 50,600 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,979,000 after buying an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 90,235 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $10,698,000 after buying an additional 5,452 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 47,576 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,621,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,716 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $16,037,000 after buying an additional 36,184 shares in the last quarter. 56.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $409,299.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $409,299.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,241 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 11,405 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total transaction of $1,151,334.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,300 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,241,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated a neutral rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $88.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Prudential Financial from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $114.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $99.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $100.67.

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $87.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.37 and a 1-year high of $112.41. The company has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.38. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $87.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.99.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.15). Prudential Financial had a negative net margin of 2.33% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 12.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This is an increase from Prudential Financials previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Prudential Financials payout ratio is -126.90%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.

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My Legacy Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,940 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLCs holdings in Crown Castle were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CCI. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,335,213 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,204,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,258,264 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,620,033 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $626,661,000 after buying an additional 1,616,949 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,419,000. M&G Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Crown Castle by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,691,131 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $229,994,000 after buying an additional 451,665 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Crown Castle by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 33,676,811 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $4,867,983,000 after buying an additional 445,642 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.27% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CCI. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $159.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $152.00 to $149.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $162.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $230.00 to $175.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $153.00 to $145.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $155.56.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

Crown Castle Price Performance

In related news, EVP Laura B. Nichol sold 5,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.97, for a total value of $604,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,030,118.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . In related news, EVP Laura B. Nichol sold 5,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.97, for a total value of $604,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,030,118.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, COO Christopher Levendos sold 14,472 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.04, for a total value of $1,795,106.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $590,306.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,472 shares of company stock worth $3,012,757. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CCI opened at $123.09 on Monday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.82 and a 1 year high of $193.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $130.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 0.65.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.88). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 23.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. Crown Castles payout ratio is currently 162.18%.

Crown Castle Profile

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Crown Castle, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the provision of access to wireless infrastructure via long-term contacts. It operates through the Towers and Fiber segments. The Towers segment offers access, including space or capacity towers dispersed throughout the United States.

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Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH  Get Rating) updated its second quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.25-$0.25 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.28. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Norwegian Cruise Line also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $0.75-$0.75 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NCLH shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Credit Suisse Group restated an underperform rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norwegian Cruise Line currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $16.04.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NCLH opened at $13.28 on Monday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $12.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.29. Norwegian Cruise Line has a twelve month low of $10.31 and a twelve month high of $20.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 184.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line ( NYSE:NCLH Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.94) by ($0.16). Norwegian Cruise Line had a negative return on equity of 286.66% and a negative net margin of 46.86%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 118,995 shares of the companys stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 5,020.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,229 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 272.7% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,856 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 14.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,160,452 shares of the companys stock valued at $988,111,000 after buying an additional 5,549,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line during the first quarter valued at about $204,000. 57.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Norwegian Cruise Line Company Profile

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of cruise travel services. It provides cruise experiences for travelers with itineraries in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, Canada, Bermuda, Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. It also offers an entirely inter-island itinerary in Hawaii.

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Philadelphia Trust Co. grew its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating) by 280.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,649 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 27,749 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.s holdings in General Mills were worth $3,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new position in General Mills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of General Mills by 164.9% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 392 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Selway Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 74.48% of the companys stock.

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General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $88.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.27. The firms fifty day moving average price is $83.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.85. General Mills, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.94 and a 1 year high of $89.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

General Mills ( NYSE:GIS Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 23rd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 14.04% and a return on equity of 24.51%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GIS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of General Mills in a research note on Friday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of General Mills from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Mills from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of General Mills in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of General Mills from $84.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, General Mills has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $84.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bethany C. Quam sold 21,734 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total value of $1,866,081.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,560 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,083,501.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 8,030 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.33, for a total value of $685,199.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 83,049 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,086,571.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bethany C. Quam sold 21,734 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $1,866,081.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,560 shares in the company, valued at $4,083,501.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the companys stock.

About General Mills

(Get Rating)

General Mills, Inc engages in the manufacture and marketing of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. The firm operates through the following segments: North America Retail, Europe & Australia, Convenience Stores & Foodservice, Pet, and Asia & Latin America. The North America Retail segment includes grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar and discount chains and e-commerce grocery providers.

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Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS  Get Rating) (TSE:PD) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $115.00 to $91.00 in a research note issued on Monday, The Fly reports. Piper Sandlers price objective would suggest a potential upside of 82.99% from the companys previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Precision Drilling in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Precision Drilling from C$130.00 to C$120.00 in a research note on Thursday. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Precision Drilling from C$150.00 to C$135.00 in a research note on Friday, April 14th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a d rating to a c rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Precision Drilling from C$140.00 to C$135.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $127.00.

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Precision Drilling Stock Down 1.2 %

PDS stock opened at $49.73 on Monday. Precision Drilling has a 52-week low of $44.92 and a 52-week high of $87.36. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $52.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 2.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Precision Drilling ( NYSE:PDS Get Rating ) (TSE:PD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $376.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.07 million. Precision Drilling had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 8.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 603,636 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $30,559,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 550,842 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $28,299,000 after buying an additional 3,712 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 433,341 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $33,193,000 after buying an additional 122,386 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 430,689 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $32,989,000 after buying an additional 156,762 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 346,769 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $26,605,000 after buying an additional 11,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.22% of the companys stock.

About Precision Drilling

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Precision Drilling Corp. engages in the provision of onshore drilling, completion, and production services to the oil and natural gas industry. It operates through the following business segments: Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services. The Contract Drilling Services segment includes rig and directional drilling, procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies, and the manufacture, sale, and repair of drilling equipment.

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PROG (NYSE:PRG  Get Rating) had its target price upped by Loop Capital from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded PROG from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th.

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PROG Stock Up 0.4 %

PRG stock opened at $30.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 3.40 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.47 and a 200-day moving average of $20.71. PROG has a fifty-two week low of $12.11 and a fifty-two week high of $31.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PROG

PROG ( NYSE:PRG Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. PROG had a return on equity of 27.54% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $655.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $642.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. PROGs revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PROG will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PROG by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,129,384 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,966,000 after purchasing an additional 576,086 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PROG by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,016,437 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,271,000 after purchasing an additional 227,540 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,627,381 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,487,000 after acquiring an additional 53,578 shares during the last quarter. Solel Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Solel Partners LP now owns 1,349,258 shares of the companys stock valued at $22,789,000 after acquiring an additional 166,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PROG by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,247,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,688,000 after acquiring an additional 239,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.81% of the companys stock.

About PROG

(Get Rating)

PROG Holdings, Inc (NYSE:PRG) is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.

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Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI.B  Get Rating) (NYSE:RCI) had its price target hoisted by TD Securities from C$80.00 to C$83.00 in a research report released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has an action list buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on RCI.B. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rogers Communications from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from C$64.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$74.00 to C$90.00 in a report on Monday, April 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$74.75 to C$75.75 in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Rogers Communications from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Rogers Communications from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of C$75.98.

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Rogers Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of TSE RCI.B opened at C$66.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$27.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.38. Rogers Communications has a 52-week low of C$50.53 and a 52-week high of C$71.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$64.04 and a 200-day moving average of C$62.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 364.11.

Rogers Communications Company Profile

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communication services to individual consumers, businesses, governments, and other telecommunications service providers; postpaid and prepaid wireless services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands; and wireless devices, services, and applications to consumers and businesses.

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Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI  Get Rating) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, The Fly reports.

RCI has been the topic of several other reports. Desjardins lowered shares of Rogers Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Rogers Communications from C$74.00 to C$90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Rogers Communications from C$74.75 to C$75.75 in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial decreased their price target on shares of Rogers Communications from C$78.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Rogers Communications from C$80.00 to C$83.00 in a research note on Thursday.

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Rogers Communications Stock Performance

Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported C$1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$1.01 by C$0.08. The company had revenue of C$4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$4.16 billion.

Rogers Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of . The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th.

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CDPR Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results and Provides 2023 Guidance

MONTREAL, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. (CSE: CDPR) (OTCPK: GPPRF) (Frankfurt: N8HP) ("CDPR," or the "Company") is pleased to announce selected financial information and production results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. The Company's consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") thereon can be viewed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Production results are from the Company's wholly owned Santander Mine ("Santander"), located in Peru. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Selected 2022 Highlights

Production for 2022 was 32.7 million pounds of zinc, 1.94 million pounds of lead, and 120,000 ounces of silver.

Revenue for 2022 of $40.6M on payable production of 31.7 million pounds of zinc, 1.58 million pounds of Lead, and 120,00 ounces of silver

Achieved lower end of full year production guidance in payable zinc and lead while meeting upper end of cost guidance.

Achieved 2022 target goals to stabilize and ramp-up the operations, starting from 12 thousand tonnes milled in April to 63 thousand tonnes average in Q4 2022.

2022 C1 cash cost (4) of $1.62, and AISC (5) $1.81 per pound of zinc produced remain in-line with the Company's projections ; AISC was influenced in 2022 by significant capital expenditures including, exploration, production ramp-up, pumping & power infrastructure, and development in preparation for Pipe production.

Achieved a total inventory of 240,000 tonnes of ore developed, or a total of 4 months of production. In April 2022 this number was less than 20,000 tonnes.

Positive mine operating cash flow (3) of over $8.5 million.

Over 80% of the net loss for 2022 comprises either non-cash or one-time items (6) ; net loss for the year totaled $18.1M.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $5.5 million.

Story continues

Q4 2022 Highlights

Production in Q4 2022 was 10.1 million pounds of zinc, 440 thousand pounds of lead, and 34.4 thousand ounces of silver.

Revenue for Q4 2022 was $9.9 million on payable production of 9.6 million pounds of zinc, 180,000 thousand pounds of lead, and 34.4 thousand ounces of silver.

C1 cash cost (4) per pound of zinc produced in Q4 2022 was $1.46.

Total All-in sustaining cost ("AISC") (5) per pound of zinc produced in Q4 2022 was $1.68.

Net loss for Q4 2022 was $9.9 million or ($0.03) per share.

Santander mine operating cash flow (3) for Q4 2022 was positive $9.2 million.

Q4 2022 average mill production was 2,100 tonnes per day. This was a 19.6% improvement over throughput achieved in Q3 2022. This is the highest quarterly production average since 2020.

Average mine development of 850 meters per month for Q4 2022. November achieved 920 meters, a record for 2022 and the highest since 2020.

Subsequent to quarter-end:

Guy Goulet, CDPR's CEO commented, "In the fourth quarter, we achieved our year-end goal to stabilize operations at the Santander mine by delivering strong operating performance and meeting our full year 2022 Guidance. Our committed investment in the operation has transformed Santander from an operation that was expected to wind-down in March of 2022, to a future multi-year operation."

Jorge Lozano, CDPR's COO commented, "In 2023, our focus is to continue to establish our operations track record, fast-track our cost optimization plans and construction of key infrastructure projects necessary for the Pipe project which we believe will unlock the full value of the Santander mine. Following the independent validation demonstrated in our PEA Study on the Santander Pipe, the Company is in advanced discussions with different institutions and is confident in its ability to finance the project."

Summary of Operating Results at Santander





Q1' 22 Q2' 22 Q3' 22 Q4' 22 Full Year Production











Ore Mined t 92,602 95,277 153,527 189,139 530,545 Ore Milled t 94,918 94,207 155,270 189,167 533,562 Zn Head Grade % 4.30 3.30 3.70 3.11 3.53 Pb Head Grade % 0.20 0.30 0.20 0.18 0.22 Ag Head Grade oz/t 0.56 0.50 0.44 0.49 0.48 Zn Recovery % 95.30 94.80 94.00 94.50 94.59 Pb Recovery % 75.10 71.10 70.70 61.43 68.84 Ag recovery % 50.30 47.30 47.10 38.76 44.65 Zn Payable Production Mlbs 7.20 5.50 9.90 10.10 32.70 Pb Payable Production Mlbs 0.30 0.40 0.80 0.44 1.94 Ag Payable Production Moz 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.03 0.12 Zn Head Grade % 48.70 48.40 47.70 47.15 47.87 Pb Head Grade % 48.50 50.50 50.30 51.60 50.35 Sales











Zn Payable sold Mlbs 7.50 4.90 9.70 9.60 31.70 Pb Payable sold Mlbs 0.20 0.40 0.80 0.18 1.58 Ag Payable sold Moz 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.03 0.12













Finance











Revenues, net (000)s $ 14,581 6,891 9,221 9,898 40,591 Cost of Goods Sold (000)s $ -9,725 -8,327 -10,431 -12,562 -41,045 Gross Profit (000)s $ 4,856 -1,436 -1,210 -2,664 -454 Sales and Admin Expenses (000s) $ -584 -689 -638 -681 -2,592 Adjusted EBITDA(w) (000)s $ 4,272 -2,125 -1,848 -3,345 -3,046 Other income (expense)

-18 -898 -75 -5,459 -6,450 EBITDA (1) (000)s $ 4,254 -3,023 -1,923 -5,794 -6,486 Depreciation (000)s $ 262 265 542 493 1,562 EBIT (1) (000)s $ 4,516 -2,758 -1,381 -5,301 -4,924

















Q1' 22 Q2' 22 Q3' 22 Q4' 22 Full Year Mine Operating Expenses (000)s $ 9,517 10,390 11,369 11,334 42,610 Smelting and refining (000)s $ 2,459 1,990 4,157 4,103 12,709 Distribution (000)s $ 217 180 315 304 1,016 Royalties (000)s $ 27 25 62 29 143 Less: By-product revenues (000)s $ -678 -717 -996 -991 -3,382 C1 total costs(4) (000)s $ 11,542 11,868 14,907 14,779 53,096 Sustaining CAPEX (000)s $ 198 1,235 2,533 2,155 6,121 Lease Payments (000)s $ 0 0 0 0 0 AISC total costs(5) (000)s $ 11,740 13,103 17,440 16,934 59,217 Pounds of zinc payable produced Mlbs 7.2 5.5 9.9 10.1 32.7 C1 Cash Cost (4) per pound $US 1.60 2.16 1.51 1.46 1.62 All-in Sustaining Cost per pound(5) $US 1.60 2.38 1.76 1.68 1.81

Santander Mine - Mine Crusher Feed Tonnes (CNW Group/Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc.)

Santander Mine - Total Development (CNW Group/Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc.)

Santander Mine - Mill Feed and Zn Head Grade (CNW Group/Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc.)

Santander Mine - Concentrate Production (CNW Group/Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc.)

2022 Santander Development and Exploration Highlights

Completed phase-1 equipment reconditioning program.

Optimization of grinding circuit at processing plant (ore target: 70% ore passing 200 mesh) and operating controls in the concentrator plant resulted in:

Executed $ 4.1 million in extensive exploration drilling campaign and project studies resulting on:

Santander Mineral Resource Inventory

Magistral

The Mineral Resources Inventory for the Magistral Mine was declared in CDPRs technical Report NI 43-101 by DRA Global in 2021. This report was updated in 2022 by DRA Global-Information Memorandum Report as of the 9th of September of 2022.:

Magistral Mineral Resources Category Tonnage (kt) Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Measured 666 4.29 0.33 19.5 0.05 Indicated 1,789 3.99 0.18 18.1 0.06 Measured + Indicated 2,454 4.07 0.22 18.5 0.06 Inferred 1,248 3.52 0.12 16.1 0.06

1. All Mineral Resources have been estimated in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 2. The Magistral Underground Mine Mineral Resource estimate is reported based on a net smelter return cut-off grade of $ 40/tonne with metal prices of: $ 3,000/tonne for Zn, $ 2,200/tonne for Pb, and $ 25/Oz for Ag. 3. For Magistral: NSR = (16.7 x %Zn) + (11.9 x %Pb) + (0.41 x g/tAg), assuming recoveries of 90% for Zn, 75% for Pb and 55% for Ag. 4. The mine Geology Department has prepared the Santander Magistral Underground Mine Mineral Resource model. Qualified Person, Mr. Graeme Lyall (FAusIMM), DRA independent Resource geology consultant, has validated the resource with adjustments effective September 09, 2022.





Santander Pipe

The Mineral Resources Inventory for the Pipe Project effective date of the report declared in Preliminary Economic Assessment (DRA, 2023) as of the 31st of January of 2023:

Pipe Project Mineral Resources Category Tonnage (kt) Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Measured - - - - - Indicated 3,225 6.94 0.017 13.5 0.17 Measured + Indicated 3,225 6.94 0.017 13.5 0.17 Inferred 1,779 5.95 0.013 7.9 0.15

1. All Mineral Resources have been estimated in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 2. The Santander Pipe Underground Deposit Mineral Resource estimate is reported based on net smelter return cut-off grade of $ 40/tonne with metal prices of $ 3,000/tonne for Zn, $ 2,200/tonne for Pb, $ 9,300/tonne for Cu, and $ 25/Oz for Ag. 3. For Santander Pipe: NSR = (17.5 x %Zn) + (11.1 x %Pb) + (40.8 x %Cu) + (0.37 x g/tAg), assuming recoveries of 90% for Zn, 70% for Pb, 60% for Cu and 50% for Ag. 4. The mine Geology Department has prepared the Santander Pipe Underground Deposit Mineral Resource Model. Qualified Person, Mr. Graeme Lyall (FAusIMM), DRA independent Resource geology consultant, has validated the resource with adjustments effective January 31, 2023.





2023 Production Guidance & Outlook



Units Guidance 2023 Payable production of ZnEq* (000)s lbs 41,661  55,365 Payable production of Zinc (000)s lbs 39,182  52,071 Payable production of Lead (000)s lbs 1,284  1,707 Payable production of Silver (000)s oz 106  141 C1 Cost $/lb Zn 1.55  1.41 AISC Cost $/lb Zn 2.20  2.00 Concentrate Zinc dmt 39,926  50,494

1. Cash Costs calculated on a by-product basis measured in zinc equivalent unit pounds. Zinc equivalent calculated by converting by-product lead and silver units equivalent to a Zinc unit by proportionally weighted unit value of by-product to the price value of each metal. 2. AISC costs reflect the sustaining capex required at Santander, such as tailings expansion, pumping & power infrastructure, and development in preparation for Pipe production. 3. Prices considered are $1.51/lb for Zinc, $1.01/lb for Lead and $23/oz for Silver.





The Santander Advantage

The operating assets that Cerro de Pasco Resources owns at the Santander mine are held on the books for approximately $9.1M having been discounted when the former operator looked to close down the operation. As the Company works to expand the mine life and resources at Santander, it will enjoy a significant production advantage due to the potential replacement value of its operating assets and therefore avoid capex associated with building a new mill. The assets are in first-class condition and include a 2,500 tonne per day sulfide milling and flotation plant originally commissioned in 2013, as well as buildings, communications equipment, underground infrastructure, support facilities, furniture, fixtures and other equipment. Likewise, social licenses as well as operating permits are, for the most part, already in place for future brownfield expansions.

Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Santander Mine

On February 21, 2023, the Company announced the results of Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for its brownfield Pipe Project ("the Project" or "the Santander Pipe"). The Project forms a strategic cornerstone for CDPR's 100% owned Santander Mine, located in central Peru.

The Santander Pipe demonstrates positive financial returns, with a pre-tax net present value ("NPV") at 6% discount rate of $ 71.3 million, generating an estimated internal rate of return ("IRR") of 46.6%.

The PEA considers the Project as a standalone operation with zinc concentrate production estimated at 313,600 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") over a 5-year schedule.

Project cash cost ("C1") and all-in sustaining cost ("AISC") of $ 0.82/lb Zn and $ 1.05/lb Zn, respectively, generating revenues of $ 388.6 million and pre-tax free cash flow of $ 99.6 million.

Considered in the Project are synergies to be realized from the existing 2,500 tpd sulfide concentrator, electrical power grid, pumping station, water treatment plant, tailings facility, and other infrastructure from the existing Santander Magistral operation. Current on-going Magistral operationmining and ore processingis not considered in the PEA study.

The mineral resource estimate ("MRE") to be mined considers Indicated Mineral Resource of 3.23 Mt with 6.94% Zn and Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.78 Mt with 5.95% Zn; while the industrial circuit plans to process an average of 770,000t of mineralized material per year (with peak production at 900,000 tonnes year), with an average grade of 4.7% of Zn, 89% recovery and 51% in Zn concentrate grade.

The Project is also set to benefit from significant potential resources, such as the Santander Pipe mineralization above the 4020 level, estimated to contain some 3 to 4 million tonnes averaging 4 to 6% Zn, and the newly discovered Pipe North zone.

Consolidated Mine Plan

The Company's overall consolidated mine plan for the Santander operation consists of further development of its current Magistral operation and developing the Santander Pipe as outlined in Santander Pipe PEA study. In addition, the Company will also be looking to develop the potential areas as outlined in the PEA study, the Pipes Upper Zone and North Extension.

The Upper-Zone is considered potential because the depletion solid (previously mined material) could not be verified as the mined area is currently flooded. The Upper-Zone has more than 44% more drilling density than Main Santander Pipe which is where the PEA focused. The actual potential resource of The Upper-Zone is: 3-4 M tonnes at 5-6%+ Zn. Historically, the mine operated under a 9% Zn grade cutoff, offering the opportunity to high-grade un-mined areas as well as recover high grade stope and pillars left over from the historic operation.

The Pipe North Extension was discovered by the Company last year and it's an exciting potential zone. CDPRs has budgeted over 15,000m of underground drilling in 2023 and expects to produce an updated mineral resource estimate by early 2024.

The Company's non-NI43-101 compliant consolidated budget plan envisages mining over 10Mt at 4.4% Zn producing 1.1Mt Zn, 15kt Pb and 49kt Cu of concentrate, representing ~560,000kt of payable ZnEq over 13 years at $ 1.00/lb AISC.

Santander Mine Longitudinal Plan (CNW Group/Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc.)

2023 Santander Outlook

2023 marks the start of the consolidation and expansion phase for the Santander mine, as it ramps up construction of several projects related to the Santander Pipe project.

The Companys goal is to develop a muti-deposit operation as considered in its own consolidated model, as described on the company website, it utilizes the Magistral and all other available mineral sources outlined in the PEA report.

The Company plans to invest over $30 million in capital expenditures over the next 2 years, including $22 million for development of the Santander Pipe project, $9 million for new infrastructure and $3 million in exploration.

The highlights of an independent 43-101 PEA report were reported in a Company press release dated February 21 st , 2023.

Projects for Santander Pipe include detailed engineering, permitting, as well as preliminary construction activities related to the Santander Pipe project and water treatment capacity.

Optimize OPEX by procuring a new partial production fleet and optimizing equipment cost and availability.

Complete targeted construction of an exploration tunnel from Magistral to the Pipe North Extension. Tunnel is expected to be completed by early Q2 2024 when it reaches the Main Santander Pipe area.

Complete an underground drilling campaign of the Santander Pipe and Pipe North Extension.

Initiate and complete surface drilling campaign for Puajanca and Naty exploration targets and define the potential MRE zone.

Produce an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource statement.

Further strengthen the balance sheet through obtainment of project financing and working capital.

Corporate objectives for 2023

Complete Drilling Campaign for Quiulaocha Tailings Project

Obtain land access agreement (rights of passage) for permission to access the surface land which underlays the El Metalurgista concession

Obtain Peruvian Government assignment of responsibility to restore and remediate the entire area of the Quiulacocha Tailings and Excelsior stockpile.

Produce a Resource Estimate on Quiulaochca Tailings

Complete Geophyscial, Minerolgoical and Metallurgical studies on the Quiulacocha Tailings.

Advance towards the Santander Pipe.

Explore and identify for new and additional resource potential at Santander with the focus on a 10 year plus life of mine

Advance H2-Sphere's Resarch and Development on converting mine waste into green hydrogen and other by-products

Strengthen balance sheet

Technical Information

Mr. Jorge Lozano, MMSAQP and Chief Operating Officer for CDPR, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Lozano is a Qualified Person for the purposes of reporting in compliance with NI 43-101.

About Cerro de Pasco Resources

Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. is a mining and resource management company with unparalleled knowledge of the mineral endowment in the city of Cerro de Pasco and its surroundings. Initially, the Company will unlock the useful life of the mine and extend the concession areas in its Santander mining operation, applying the highest safety, environmental, social and governance standards. The key focus of the growth for the Company is on the development of the El Metalurgista mining concession, one of the world's largest surface mineralized resources, applying the latest techniques and innovative solutions to process tailings, extract metals and convert the remaining waste into green hydrogen and derivatives.

Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimer

Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "could", "will", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations including negative variations thereof of such words and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, occur or be taken or achieved. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements relating to the expected development and operations of the Company and H 2 -SPHERE, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the exploration, development and mining operations; impacts of macroeconomic developments as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and any material adverse effect on the business, properties and assets of the Company or H 2 -SPHERE. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information included herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Cautionary Note Regarding Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures

This MD&A refers to the following non-IFRS financial performance measures: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), Earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT"), Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted Earnings per Share, Net Debt, C1 Cash Cost and All-In Sustaining Cost ("AISC").

These measures are not recognized under IFRS as they do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. CDPR uses these measures internally to evaluate the underlying operating performance of the Company for the reporting periods presented. The use of these measures enables the Company to assess performance trends and to evaluate the results of the underlying business. CDPR understands that certain investors, and others who follow the Company's performance, also assess performance in this way.

The Company believes that these metrics measure our performance and are useful indicators of our expected performance in future periods. This data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

1) EBITDA and EBIT

EBITDA provides insight into overall business performance. This measure assists readers in understanding the ongoing cash generating potential of the business including liquidity to fund working capital, service debt, and fund capital expenditures and investment opportunities. EBITDA is profit attributable to shareholders before net finance expense, income taxes and depreciation, depletion, and amortization. EBIT is EBITDA after depreciation, depletion, and amortization. Other companies may calculate EBIT and EBITDA differently.

2) Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted Earnings per Share

Adjusted EBITDA consists of EBITDA less the impact of impairments or reversals of impairment and other non-cash and non-recurring expenses and recoveries. Adjusted EBIT consists of EBIT less the impact of impairments or reversals of impairment and other non-cash and non-recurring expenses and recoveries. These expenses and recoveries are removed from the calculation of EBITDA and EBIT as the Company does not believe they are reflective of the Company's ability to generate liquidity and its core operating results.

Adjusted Earnings per Share consists of net income or loss in the period less the impact of impairments or reversals of impairment, settlement mark-to-market, fair value (gain) loss on financial instruments, (gain) loss on foreign exchange, restructuring expenses and other income or expenses.

3) Mine Operating Cash Flow

Mine operating Cash Flow is net income from operations adding back the net effects of changes in impairment, tax provisions, tax accruals, depreciation and amortization, non-cash changes in working capital and changes due to non-cash purchase price allocation adjustments.

4) C1 Cash Cost

This measures the estimated cash cost to produce a pound of payable zinc. This measure includes mine operating production expenses such as mining, processing, administration, indirect charges (including surface maintenance and camp), and smelting, refining and freight, distribution, royalties, and by-product metal revenues divided by pounds of payable zinc produced. C1 Cash Cost per pound of payable zinc produced does not include depreciation, depletion, and amortization, reclamation expenses, capital sustaining and exploration expenses.

5) AISC

This measures the estimated cash costs to produce a pound of payable zinc plus the estimated capital sustaining costs to maintain the mine and mill. This measure includes the C1 Cash Cost per pound and capital sustaining costs divided by pounds of payable zinc produced. All-In Sustaining Cost per pound of zinc payable produced does not include depreciation, depletion, and amortization, reclamation, and exploration expenses.

6) Non-cash or one-time items

Non-cash or one-time items include depreciation, stock-based compensation, loss or gain on derivatives, change of fair value on contingent payments and other financial assets, losses on the dissolution of subsidiaries, provisions for contingent taxes, gain on the extinguishment of debt and presumed interest on convertible and promissory notes.

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View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2023/01/c7049.html
Stevanato Group S.p.A. (NYSE:STVN  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 645,100 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the March 31st total of 521,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 247,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Stevanato Group Trading Up 3.4 %

Stevanato Group stock traded up 0.88 ($0.98) during midday trading on Friday, reaching 26.51 ($29.46). The stock had a trading volume of 483,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,693. Stevanato Group has a 52-week low of 13.35 ($14.83) and a 52-week high of 28.21 ($31.34). The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of 24.40 and a 200 day moving average of 20.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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Stevanato Group (NYSE:STVN  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported 0.19 ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of 0.16 ($0.18) by 0.03 ($0.03). The company had revenue of 292.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of 271.89 million. Stevanato Group had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 14.49%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Stevanato Group will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STVN. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Stevanato Group by 79.9% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,799 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in Stevanato Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Stevanato Group by 109.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,366 shares of the companys stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stevanato Group by 166.8% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,837 shares of the companys stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new position in shares of Stevanato Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.27% of the companys stock.

A number of equities analysts have commented on STVN shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Stevanato Group from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Stevanato Group from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stevanato Group from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Stevanato Group from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd.

Stevanato Group Company Profile

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Stevanato Group S.p.A. engages in the design, production, and distribution of products and processes to provide integrated solutions for pharma and healthcare. Its principal products include containment solutions, drug delivery systems, medical devices, diagnostic, analytical services, visual inspection machines, assembling and packaging machines, and glass forming machines.

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Raleigh Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:SPTL  Get Rating) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,308 shares of the companys stock after selling 13,108 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.s holdings in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF were worth $735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPTL. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Absolute Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the companys stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter.

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SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF Trading Down 1.6 %

SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $30.45. 745,506 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,046,316. SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF has a 12-month low of $26.87 and a 12-month high of $34.71. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $30.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.99.

SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF Company Profile

SPDR Barclays Long Term Treasury ETF (the Fund), formerly SPDR Barclays Capital Long Term Treasury ETF, seeks to provide investment results that corresponds to the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital Long U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued, United States treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of 10 or more years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SPTL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:SPTL  Get Rating).

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Taylor Morrison Home (NYSE:TMHC  Get Rating) had its price target hoisted by Credit Suisse Group from $41.00 to $47.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, The Fly reports.

TMHC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their target price on Taylor Morrison Home from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on Taylor Morrison Home in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $38.08.

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Taylor Morrison Home Trading Up 2.4 %

Taylor Morrison Home stock opened at $43.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.83. Taylor Morrison Home has a 52 week low of $20.05 and a 52 week high of $43.13. The company has a current ratio of 6.09, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Taylor Morrison Home ( NYSE:TMHC Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.45. Taylor Morrison Home had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Taylor Morrison Home will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Taylor Morrison Home news, Director William H. Lyon sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total value of $106,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,127 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,779,508.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director William H. Lyon sold 264,730 shares of Taylor Morrison Home stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total value of $10,973,058.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,127 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,331,664.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Lyon sold 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total value of $106,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,127 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,779,508.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 549,197 shares of company stock worth $21,611,351 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.50% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taylor Morrison Home

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Taylor Morrison Home in the first quarter valued at approximately $466,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Taylor Morrison Home by 7.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,902 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in Taylor Morrison Home during the first quarter valued at about $309,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Taylor Morrison Home by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 45,038 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in shares of Taylor Morrison Home by 9.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 68,917 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,933 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.33% of the companys stock.

Taylor Morrison Home Company Profile

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Taylor Morrison Home Corp. engages in the business of residential homebuilding and the development of lifestyle communities. It operates through the following segments: East, Central, West, and Financial Services. The East segment includes operations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Orlando, Raleigh, Southwest Florida, and Tampa regions.

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Vapotherm, Inc. (NYSE:VAPO  Get Rating) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the March 31st total of 1,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 214,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Vapotherm

In related news, CFO John Landry bought 71,428 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.05 per share, for a total transaction of $74,999.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 381,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at $400,461.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vapotherm news, CFO John Landry acquired 71,428 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.05 per share, for a total transaction of $74,999.40. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 381,392 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $400,461.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph Army acquired 476,190 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.05 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,636,769 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,607.45. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 661,903 shares of company stock worth $694,998. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vapotherm

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Vapotherm in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vapotherm in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vapotherm by 132.6% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,869,465 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,886 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Vapotherm by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 485,985 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 133,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Vapotherm by 114.4% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 140,558 shares of the companys stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.02% of the companys stock.

Vapotherm Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VAPO traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $0.47. 53,084 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 79,268. Vapotherm has a 52 week low of $0.41 and a 52 week high of $4.87. The company has a market cap of $21.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.11 and a beta of -1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $0.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.18.

Vapotherm (NYSE:VAPO  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $18.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.56 million. Vapotherm had a negative return on equity of 1,250.70% and a negative net margin of 169.55%. On average, analysts predict that Vapotherm will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vapotherm Company Profile

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Vapotherm, Inc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development and commercialization of medical devices for patients suffering from respiratory distress. Its products include Precision Flow, Precision Flow Heliox, Oxygen Assist Module, Nitric Oxidie Disposable Patient Circuit, Tracheostomy Adapter, and Aerogen Adapter.

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Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lessened its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,039 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 9,720 shares during the quarter. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.3% of Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC ILs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $45,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 283.3% in the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 391 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.93% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $7,091,998.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $110.47 on Monday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $102.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.13. The company has a market cap of $191.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $93.25 and a 12-month high of $118.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The companys revenue was down 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, SVB Leerink boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given 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 $122.37.

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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Vertiv Holdings Co (NYSE:VRT  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,240,000 shares, a growth of 13.7% from the March 31st total of 9,890,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on VRT. Mizuho lifted their target price on Vertiv from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 13th. Cowen lifted their target price on Vertiv from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $17.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertiv from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertiv has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.38.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Vertiv by 25.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,099 shares of the companys stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 4,269 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Vertiv by 2.8% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,924 shares of the companys stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Vertiv during the first quarter worth $853,000. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertiv by 5.6% during the first quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 45,249 shares of the companys stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Vertiv during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the companys stock.

Vertiv Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE VRT traded up $0.43 on Friday, hitting $14.92. 5,048,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,032,390. Vertiv has a 12 month low of $7.76 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.93 and a 200-day moving average of $13.97.

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Vertiv had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 1.96%. Vertivs revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertiv will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertiv Company Profile

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Vertiv Holdings Co engages in the design, manufacture, and service of critical digital infrastructure technology that powers, cools, deploys, secures and maintains electronics that process, store and transmit data. It also offers power management products, thermal management products, integrated rack systems, modular solutions, and management systems for monitoring and controlling digital infrastructure.

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Virgin Money UK PLC (OTCMKTS:CBBYF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,102,500 shares, a decrease of 12.3% from the March 31st total of 4,680,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently  days.

Virgin Money UK Price Performance

Shares of CBBYF stock remained flat at $2.40 during trading hours on Monday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $2.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.40. Virgin Money UK has a 52 week low of $2.40 and a 52 week high of $2.40.

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About Virgin Money UK

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Virgin Money UK PLC provides banking products and services for consumers, and small and medium sized businesses under the Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, and Virgin Money brands in the United Kingdom. The company offers savings and current accounts, mortgages, credit cards, and home loans; business loans, overdraft facilities, treasury solutions, and corporate and structured finance; asset and invoice finance services; risk management; international trade services; and home, car, and life and critical illness insurance products.

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Vista Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 25.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,704 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares during the period. Vista Wealth Management Group LLCs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 326,822,162 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $13,144,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,830 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 105,621,983 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,248,626,000 after buying an additional 18,252,701 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 25,041,576 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,007,172,000 after buying an additional 416,171 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,901,706 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,061,357,000 after buying an additional 64,080 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,030,663 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $765,495,000 after buying an additional 153,177 shares during the period. 72.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 34,698 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,590 shares in the company, valued at $906,429.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Several analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Odeon Capital Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the company from $49.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $54.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $49.45.

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $40.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,605,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,130,201. The firm has a market cap of $153.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $35.25 and a 12 month high of $48.84. The businesss 50-day moving average is $40.87 and its 200 day moving average is $43.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.06 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 10.07%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Wells Fargo & Companys payout ratio is currently 34.38%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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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.

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CHAR Technologies Ltd.

TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CHAR Technologies Ltd. (CHAR or the Company) (TSXV:YES) is pleased to announce the April 27th, 2023, signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the First Nations co-operative Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. (LNFMI) to collaboratively develop, build, own and operate a wood waste and residues to renewable natural gas (RNG) and biocarbon facility in the Lake Nipigon Region of Northern Ontario. The MOU is a productive step forward for the ongoing project negotiations and development work, and sets out the intended partnership structure to develop, build, own and operate the facility.

LNFMI is a forest management co-operative comprised of four local First Nation Communities who hold the Sustainable Forest License (SFL) on the Lake Nipigon Forest:

Animbiigoo Zaagi igan Anishinaabek

Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek

Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek

Red Rock Indian Band

LNFMI oversees an annual harvest operation from the Lake Nipigon Forest, which supplies wood fiber across Northern Ontario. A relationship between CHAR and LNFMI will provide long-term wood waste feedstock security to support not only the initial RNG and biocarbon facility operations, but future opportunities to scale up and increase production capacity.

LNFMI is thrilled to have signed our MOU with CHAR for the development of a new RNG and Biocarbon Facility on the Lake Nipigon Forest, says LNFMI President Theresa Nelson. This opportunity will provide employment for the memberships of the four First Nation partners, as well as a steady, yearly revenue stream for the continual development of our communities. It will also find a home for wood waste and residues from the Lake Nipigon Forest, ensuring an environmentally sustainable solution for the Region as a whole.

The proposed Lake Nipigon facility would annually produce 500,000 gigajoules of RNG and 10,000 tonnes of biocarbon through the conversion of 75,000 tonnes of wood wastes and residuals, using two of CHARs commercial-scale high temperature pyrolysis kiln systems. The facility is projected to reach initial operations in 2025. The same two-kiln structure is currently in advanced construction stages in Thorold, Ontario.

Story continues

With Budget 2023 calling for increased production of Canadian biofuels, this project couldnt come at a better time, says CHAR CEO, Andrew White. Were proud to be working with our friends at LNFMI to develop this project to replicate our existing Thorold, Ontario, facility. With LNFMI managing our wood residuals and wastes supply chain, we can focus on delivering what we do best, supporting Canadas green energy transition.

The RNG produced by the facility will be marketed to natural gas utilities in the Region while the biocarbon is targeted for consumption as a metallurgical coal replacement for Canadian steel manufacturers.

Successful implementation of the facility would generate countless social, economic, and environmental benefits for both the region and Province of Ontario. These benefits would be realized through local, full-time employment opportunities, reducing the dependency on petroleum-based fuels, and increasing the utilization of wood fiber that is conventionally undesirable, unmarketable or a waste product of traditional harvest systems.

Under the terms of the MOU, voting rights in respect of the project entity would be split between LNFMI and CHAR on a 51%:49% basis, with each party being entitled to appoint two directors. CHAR and LNFMI would develop and operate the project collaboratively. Once operational, LNFMI would be responsible for sourcing and managing delivery of the feedstock, and CHAR responsible for sales and marketing of the renewable natural gas and biocarbon that is produced, with each party being paid customary fees for the services they provide to the project during development and operation.

About CHAR Technologies Ltd.



CHAR Technologies Ltd. (TSXV:YES) first-in-kind high temperature pyrolysis (HTP) technology processes unmerchantable wood and organic wastes to simultaneously generate two renewable energy revenue streams, renewable natural gas (RNG) or green hydrogen and a solid biocoal that is a carbon neutral drop-in replacement for metallurgical steel making coal.

CHARs HTP is an ideal waste to energy solution that aligns with the global green energy transition by diverting waste from landfills and generating sustainable clean energy to decarbonize heavy industry.

About Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc.

The organization is responsible for all forest management activities that occur on the ~1,000,000 ha land base. Additionally, LNFMI is a motivated and progressive company that is constantly seeking opportunities for economic development. LNFMI oversees an annual harvest operation of ~500,000m3/year from the Lake Nipigon Forest, which supplies wood fiber to facilities across northern Ontario. Based on current volume projections, LNFMI has ~900,000m3 of excess wood fiber annually, which, when coupled with a local expertise in biomass transportation logistics, supports the development of the proposed Biocarbon and RNG facility. Visit https://lnfmi.ca/lake-nipigon-forest to learn more about LNFMI.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew White

Chief Executive Officer

CHAR Technologies Ltd.

E: andrew.white@chartechnologies.com

T: 866 521-3654 Mark Korol

Chief Financial Officer

CHAR Technologies Ltd.

E: m.korol@chartechnologies.com

Website: www.chartechnologies.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (forward-looking statements) about CHAR and its business and operations. The words "may", "would", "will", "intend", "anticipate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to CHAR, are intended to identify forward-looking information. Such statements reflect CHARs current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to CHAR, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those risk factors discussed or referred to in CHARs disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada, including the Management Discussion & Analysis dated January 31, 2022 and available under CHARs profile on www.sedar.com. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, CHAR does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and CHAR undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.




200 officers are in a manhunt for the Texas suspect accused of killing his 5 neighbors. Authorities are offering $80,000 for information
Company also announces partner lab initiative to expand global coverage

WILMINGTON, Mass., May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) today announced the launch of Accugenix Next Generation Sequencing for Bacterial Identification and Fungal Identification (Accugenix NGS). Accugenix NGS simultaneously sequences millions of individual DNA fragments from a sample and provides key information to pharmaceutical and personal care manufacturers regarding microbial control.

When studying pure isolates and/or sequencing of mixed species environments, Accugenix NGS provides a deeper resolution of organism genes and variants at a level never before possible. The platform answers client questions, provides more robust compliance capabilities and higher levels of control, while offering partnership with a global network of labs, bioinformaticians, and specialists who interpret results and provide post-report support.

Enhancing Accugenix Global Availability

Charles River recently entered into partnerships with MPL - Mikrobiologisches Pruflabor (Austria) and Sure Laboratories (The Netherlands) to provide regional access to rapid, accurate microbial identifications to the industrial microbiology market, including pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, personal care and other global manufacturing industries. These agreements bring together Charles Rivers curated, proprietary microbial identification database and the high-quality extensive testing services of international microbiological laboratories.

Customers of MPL and Sure Laboratories will now be able to leverage the robust Accugenix sequence and MALDI-TOF databases, consisting of relevant species that frequently occur in sterile and nonsterile manufacturing environments. Both databases are regularly updated to provide the most accurate and taxonomically correct identifications.

AccuPedia: A Deeper Look into Microorganisms

As an enhancement to the Accugenix portal, Charles River recently launched AccuPedia, an informational database of microorganisms and their characteristics that empowers users to minimize contamination risks and maximize control over environmental monitoring. AccuPedia is available for organisms identified by sites to help assess risk and make better operational decisions. By utilizing tools like tracking and trending along with AccuPedia, clients can facilitate investigations and implement appropriate remediations.

Story continues

To learn more about the Accugenix platform, view Tracking and Trending Made Easy, a webinar with Mirna Vazquez, available on-demand.

Approved Quotes

"During a contamination event, we know how critical every minute is to our clients. Traditional sequencing methods are limitedwhich is why we developed Accugenix NGS to provide more efficient and effective results, reducing downtime and uncertainty." Greg Marshall, Corporate Vice President & General Manager, Microbial Solutions, Charles River

"For many clients, geographic proximity is a major deciding factor when choosing a microbial identification partner. Our partner lab initiative allows us to bring Charles Rivers services and support to clients in new geographies, expanding our reach. We are excited to grow the program and provide industry-leading microbial identification to the industry." Ian Jester, Corporate Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, Microbial Solutions at Charles River

About Charles River

Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts. Our dedicated employees are focused on providing clients with exactly what they need to improve and expedite the discovery, early-stage development and safe manufacture of new therapies for the patients who need them. To learn more about our unique portfolio and breadth of services, visit www.criver.com.

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Suspect in Texas massacre had been deported 4 times after entering US illegally, ICE source says
When states limit care, some trans people do it themselves
Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger sounded the alarm this weekend over the worrisome state of Americas commercial real estate, noting U.S. banks were saddled with bad loans amid falling property prices.

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Its not nearly as bad as it was in 2008, Warren Buffetts right-hand man told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday. But trouble happens to banking just like trouble happens everywhere else. In the good times you get into bad habitsWhen bad times come they lose too much.

Berkshire Hathaway in the past has backed banks in tough times, investing about $5 billion in both Goldman Sachs and Bank of America in the 2007-08 crisis and 2011, respectively. But now, with a handful of bank failures being followed by possible commercial property crash, Berkshire Hathaway isnt getting involved. One major concern is risk stemming from commercial property loans in bank portfolios.

The shift to remote work has hammered commercial real estate, leading to rising vacancy rates and falling property values.

A lot of real estate isnt so good any more, Munger said. We have a lot of troubled office buildings, a lot of troubled shopping centres, a lot of troubled other properties. Theres a lot of agony out there.

Banks today, he noted, are hesitant to loan to commercial developers. Every bank in the country is way tighter on real estate loans today than they were six months ago, he told the British paper. They all seem [to be] too much trouble.

Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that of all the economys looming threats, the state of the commercial real estate debt market is by far the most serious.

Munger acknowledged Berkshire Hathaways past success with bank investments. But he also referred to lessons learned. Weve had some disappointment in banks, too. Its not that damned easy to run a bank intelligently, there are a lot of temptations to do the wrong thing.

Story continues

His comments come ahead of Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting in Omaha next Saturday.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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25 years ago: Chrysler and Daimler-Benz merge

On May 7, 1998, Daimler-Benz AG in Germany and Chrysler Corporation in the US signed a merger contract to form DaimlerChrysler AG.

The takeover of Chrysler Corporation by Daimler-Benz in a $38 billion stock deal was a powerful demonstration of the globalization of the world economy. The largest industrial company in Germany, and in Europe as a whole, acquired one of the biggest American corporations, creating a transnational giant with a work force of 410,000 and an annual output of over $130 billion.

The combination was the largest industrial merger in history and the biggest-ever acquisition of an American company by an overseas concern. The merged company was the fifth-largest auto maker in terms of the number of vehicles produced, ranking after GM, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Autoworkers leaving their shift at Fiat Chrysler's Warren Stamping plant. [Photo: WSWS]

Unlike previous auto industry mergers, which involved the gobbling up of small or failing companies by more powerful rivals, the Daimler-Chrysler deal involved two highly profitable companies, with combined net earnings of $5.7 billion in 1997. Daimler-Benz had rebounded from losses in the early 1990s to post record profits, while Chrysler made a larger profit per vehicle than any other auto manufacturer.

The driving force behind the combination was the necessity to create ever-larger globally-based enterprises which could compete in all the major markets of the world, and especially in the three main centers of world capitalism: North America, Europe and Asia. Before the merger, Chrysler and Daimler-Benz were essentially regional producersChrysler with the third-largest market share in North America, Daimler-Benz controlling the luxury market in Europe.

Chrysler was compelled to sell its European and Latin American operations during its financial crises of the 1980s and early 1990s. In the month before the historic merger it sold only 17,713 vehicles outside North America, compared to nearly a quarter of a million vehicles in its home market. Daimler-Benz only opened its first plant outside Europe the previous year when it began assembling a sport-utility version of the Mercedes-Benz at a plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

In the wake of the merger, financial commentators and auto industry analysts predicted that the remaining regional auto manufacturers would be compelled to combine into global-scale firms in order to compete with GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda and the new DaimlerChrysler. They could not remain nationally-limited manufacturers, selling to a national market. As one analyst told the Times of London, The country flags have come down and the flag of profitability has gone up.

50 years ago: Lebanese Army shells Palestinian refugee camps

On May 3, 1973 The Lebanese Army began an offensive military operation against the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Palestinian militias who had made their headquarters in the large Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut. Fighting between the Army and the Palestinian forces lasted throughout the day until a ceasefire was called that evening.

Reports from the Palestinian press agency reported that the fighting, which included shelling from Lebanese tanks into the Shatila refugee camp, had killed 19 and wounded 89 people. The Lebanese government reported 12 soldiers killed and 40 wounded.

The large camps in Beirut had been established following the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Jordan in September of 1970. During Black September, full-scale fighting broke out between the Jordanian military and the PLO.

Fatah militants marching in Beirut [Photo by Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

That conflict ended in a total defeat of the PLO. Immediately after, Jordan carried out a forced removal of Palestinian refugees who had originally been displaced from their homes following the Israeli invasion in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Initially, the Lebanese government agreed to accept the refuges and allowed the PLO, the de facto Palestinian government in exile, to operate within its borders. However, after several high profile terrorist attacks, including the September 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, Lebanon conceded to pressure from Israel and the United States to crack down on the Palestinian guerilla fighters.

On April 9, 1973, in retaliation for the Munich killings, Israeli special forces landed in Lebanon and carried out assassinations of several PLO leaders. In response Yasser Arafat, the head of the PLO, ordered preparations for more attacks on Israel.

Fearing that PLO militancy could prompt a full-scale Israeli invasion the Lebanese government sought to directly suppress the armed Palestinian forces. But the suppression of the PLO intensified the political crisis within the Lebanese government itself, which precariously balanced power between different factions divided along religious and ethnic lines.

The Palestinian question added immense fuel to this crisis. The Maronite Christian factions opposed the PLO and supported normalizing relations with Israel. The Muslim factions on the other hand generally backed the Palestinians.

The May 1973 fighting in Beirut was a precursor to the civil war that would breakout two years later between these factions. The Israeli government would play a leading role in instigating the civil war by providing arms and military training to the Maronite militias.

75 years ago: Democratic Peoples Republic proclaimed in North Korea

On May 1, 1948, forces involved in Workers Party of North Korea, as the Stalinist party was called, proclaimed the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). The move occurred amid the developing Cold War confrontation between American imperialism and the Soviet Union. Soviet troops were in the North, while the South was dominated by the US military.

From 1910 until 1945, Korea as a whole had been under Japanese occupation. The brutality of this colonial rule had intensified amid World War II. The majority of the population continued to work in subsistence agriculture, but amid the conflict, an industrial working class also emerged, including in war industries.

Stalinist leaders in Korea welcome Soviet military commanders to Pyongyang [Photo: Korean People Journal ]

With the defeat of Japan in 1945, an uncertain situation developed. A partisan movement that had fought the Japanese imperialists began to find political expression. People's Committees emerged across the country, as organs of popular self-government. While some were dominated by the Stalinists, others were under the leadership of radical workers, peasants and Christian groupings.

In late 1945, the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union agreed to a five-year trusteeship in Korea prior to the granting of independence. Soviet troops occupied the north of the country, while the US military arrived in the south, setting the stage for a partition.

This was part of the bureaucracys counter-revolutionary deal with imperialism, in the concluding stages and at the end of the war. In exchange for a sphere of influence, especially in Eastern Europe and other border regions of the Soviet Union, the Stalinists committed to restabilizing capitalism in Western Europe and internationally.

Tensions grew as the US launched a confrontation with the Soviet Union, aimed at asserting American imperialisms global hegemony, including in areas that were under Soviet influence. In 1946, the Stalinists helped to establish an interim government in the North. Increasingly, the Stalinist Workers Party asserted its dominance in the Peoples Committees, while establishing a rudimentary army composed of Stalinist forces and former guerillas who had fought the Japanese.

By early 1948, the Cold War was far advanced. The US together with the newly-formed United Nations organised elections, aimed at securing the dominance of right-wing nationalist forces. Some of those forces, however, boycotted the polls, fearful of a defeat. In an any event, the establishment of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea signified a deepening of the split between north and south, in line with the developing global confrontation.

100 years ago: Canadian parliament passes Chinese Exclusion Act

.

On May 4, 1923, Canadas parliament passed a law written by the Liberal government of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, officially called the Chinese Immigration Act but better known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, that placed stringent limitations on the categories of Chinese who could enter Canada. Some Chinese merchants, students and diplomats could stay in Canada temporarily but no Chinese, including ethnic Chinese with British citizenship, could immigrate.

In addition, every person of Chinese descent, including Canadian citizens, was obligated to register with the authorities and obtain an identification card within 12 months after the law had been passed. Anyone who did not comply faced imprisonment or a fine of up to $500. Any Chinese person who left Canada for more than two years was barred entry to the country again.

Chinese laborers on the Canadian Pacific Railroad [Photo: Library and Archives/Bibliotheque et Archives Canada,]

Many Chinese workers had come to Canada to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway from 1881 to 1885. Once the railways were completed, anti-Chinese sentiment began to take hold and dozens of local laws were passed to discourage the permanent settlement of Chinese workers.

In 1885, parliament, also under the Liberals, passed an earlier Chinese Immigration Act that imposed a head tax of $50 on every Chinese immigrant. An Immigration Act of 1910 restricted the presence of immigrants belonging to any race deemed unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed only in June 1947. Immigration restrictions related to race and religion persisted in Canada until 1967.

The United States had passed its own Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 that banned the immigration of Chinese for 10 years. The ban was made permanent in 1902 and repealed in 1943, when the US allowed 105 Chinese a year to enter. This quota was not abolished until 1952.
The annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association is an occasion for the media elite and top politicians in Washington to schmooze and declare their mutual solidarity. This is usually couched in the language of defense of the First Amendment, although that constitutional provision has been systematically trampled on by administration after administration in the interests of American imperialism.

Illegal government spying, police violence and the violation of such basic democratic precepts as the separation of church and state are everyday practices in America, and the corporate media generally passes over them in silence as long as its own financial interests are not harmed.

There was more than the usual measure of such hypocrisy at Saturday nights annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association, as President Joe Biden and the assembled members of the political and media elite pretended to defend freedom of the press, but only when it serves the foreign policy interests of American imperialism.

Most presidential appearances at the dinnerattended by every president in recent years except Donald Trumphave been characterized by scripted remarks making fun of the audience, the presidents political opponents and critics, and the president himself.

But Biden devoted the bulk of his remarks to a lengthy declaration of his opposition to the repressive measures taken against journalists in Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Venezuela, and pledges to devote US diplomatic efforts to winning the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, recently arrested on bogus spying charges in Russia, and other American prisoners of the Putin regime.

President Joe Biden speaks at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington. [AP Photo/Patrick Semansky]

The coincidence between the list of countries guilty of violating press freedom and the list of countries targeted by American imperialism for subversion and overthrow was obvious. Biden made no reference, for example, to the murder of Washington Post commentator Jamal Khashoggi, killed and dismembered inside the consulate of Saudi Arabia in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Khashoggi, an adviser turned critic of the Saudi monarchy, was targeted by the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose security chief sent the hit squad and directed its actions. Biden claimed during the 2020 election campaign that he would turn the Saudi leader into a pariah. Instead, in pursuit of greater Saudi oil production, he went cap in hand to Riyadh for talks with the prince/assassin.

But the most obvious case of a double standard was one that involves the Biden administration directly: the persecution of Julian Assange. The WikiLeaks founder and publisher was trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for nearly seven years after he sought political asylum there against a US campaign to seize him and bring him to the United States for prosecution on espionage charges for exposing US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the Guantanamo Bay torture prison.

Since Assange was seized by British police who raided the embassy four years ago, he has been held in solitary confinement in Belmarsh, a high-security prison for terrorists and violent criminals in London, awaiting extradition to the United States, where he would face 175 years in prison if convicted under the Espionage Act. He would be the first journalist prosecuted under the century-old law, passed amid the anti-communist hysteria whipped up as part of US entry into World War I.

Julian Assange [Photo by David G. Silvers, Cancilleria del Ecuador / CC BY-SA 2.0

Three minutes into his remarks to the Saturday night festivities, Biden declared, Journalism is not a crime. The formulation seemed a perverse restatement of a declaration issued by a half dozen major world newspapers, including the New York Times, last December, when they called on the Biden administration to drop charges against Assange because publishing is not a crime.

It is noteworthy that in their coverage of the correspondents dinner, neither the Times nor the Washington Post or any other mainstream publication made any mention of Assange or the contradiction between Bidens declaration of fidelity to the First Amendment and the continued drive of his administration to extradite and jail Assange. Nor did any media correspondents or managementthe bulk of the audience at the dinnerseek to raise the issue there.

Seven Democratic members of Congress, including all five members of the Democratic Socialists of America, recently sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to drop prosecution of Assange. None of these representatives sought to raise the issue at the correspondents dinner, which took place only four days before World Press Freedom Day (as designated by the United Nations).

Later in his remarks, Biden flattered the press, declaring, You make it possible for ordinary citizens to question authority. Actually, the American corporate media has abandoned even a token commitment to such an oppositional stance toward the US government.

The Times, which sets the agenda for the daily coverage in the American media, is little more than an adjunct to the CIA and Pentagon on national-security issues, particularly the war in Ukraine. When National Guard airman and IT specialist Jack Teixeira released top secret Pentagon documents on the internet, the Times tracked him down and published his name, enabling the FBI to swoop in and arrest the 21-year-old soldier only hours later.

Bidens paean to the American media and his declaration of devotion to the First Amendment were followed by a series of obvious and banal jokes, largely at the expense of Fox News, as well as a few references to his advanced age, as though that was the only issue standing in the way of his reelection campaign.

He made no mention of the war in Ukraine, which every day threatens to escalate into a nuclear exchange between the US and Russia, or of the COVID pandemic, which remains a deadly threat to the worlds population.

It was notable that those who attended the correspondents dinner, like other large public functions in Washington and throughout the country, were entirely unmasked. There was no effort to shield anyone, including the 80-year-old Biden, from the danger of an infection that could have lethal consequences.
In a significant ratcheting up of the pressure on all the Pacific island countries to line up behind United States imperialisms intensifying confrontation with China, US President Joe Biden will make the first-ever visit by a US president to Papua New Guinea (PNG) this month.

President Joe Biden posing with Pacific Island leaders at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. From left, Micronesia President David Panuelo, the then Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Biden, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, and Marshall Islands President David Kabua. [AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

Biden will meet with a gathering of more than a dozen Pacific island leaders during a stop in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. This strategically critical and resource-rich archipelago, just north of Australia, became a key battleground, along with the rest of the southwest Pacific, during both world wars.

Biden will make the unprecedented visit on May 20, in between a G-7 summit in Japan, which will focus on the US-led war against Russia in Ukraine, and a meeting in Sydney of the leaders of the anti-China Quadthe US, India, Japan and Australiawhich will be preoccupied with escalating the military and economic offensive against China.

The US president will take advantage of an India-Pacific islands forum in PNG organised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has turned India into a frontline base for conflict with China. Modis event, to be held a day after Bidens visit, is a display of the Indian ruling classs assertion of greater power, as a US partner, throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

The US governments Voice of America underscored the menacing nature of Bidens meeting with the Pacific islands leaders. The meeting would be a significant move in US efforts to push back against Chinese inroads in the region, and follows Biden hosting Pacific island leaders at the White House in September, it reported.

An editorial in todays Australian sent a similar message. China would be unwise to ignore the significance of the Biden and Modi trips, it declared. The meetings and the Quad summit serve notice that the days when Beijing believed it would have things its own way across the region are over.

That warning turns reality on its head. Throughout the post-World War II period, having defeated Japanese imperialism in bloody battles across the region, US governments have treated the Pacific as Americas lake. For the most part, the US outsourced oversight of the southwest Pacific to its local imperialist allies, Australia and New Zealand, which mostly seized colonial control over the island territories, including German New Guinea, during World War I.

As US imperialism has ramped up its preparations for war with China over the past decade, it has increasingly intervened directly into the affairs of the Pacific island states.

Last September, Biden convened a summit with 14 Pacific leaders at the State Department to push through a partnership agreement designed to undermine Beijing and advance Washingtons assertion of its hegemony. Biden bluntly told the gathering: The security of America, quite frankly, and the world depends on your security and the security of the Pacific islands.

Bidens visit is backed, and reportedly will be joined by, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who made his own trip to PNG in January to prevail upon its government to enter a security treaty with Australia in order to block out China. The US is pushing for the finalisation of a similar Defence Cooperation Agreement with PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

There is unease and opposition across the Pacific islands toward the AUKUS military pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the US. Along with the Quad, AUKUS has been formed unmistakably to prepare for what would be a catastrophic nuclear war against China, with devastating consequences for the people of the entire region.

A group of former Pacific islands leaders last month declared that AUKUS, featuring the supply of nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and other high-tech weaponry to Australia, signalled a greater militarisation by joining Australia to the networks of US military bases in the northern Pacific. It was triggering an arms race, by bringing war much closer to home, the Pacific Elders Voice stated.

The AUKUS treaty has fuelled tensions and divisions among current Pacific leaders. A few have publicly supported Australias plans, including Fijis recently-elected Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Palaus pro-US President Surangel Whipps Jr. Others, notably the leaders of Vanuatu and New Caledonia, a French colony, have criticised AUKUS.

Last year, the Solomon Islands government caused alarm in Washington, Canberra and Wellington by signing a vague strategic agreement with Beijing. Washington threatened to conduct an armed intervention to block any de facto Chinese permanent military presence. A US delegation, led by White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, met Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. The US later issued an intimidating warning that it would respond accordingly to any such move.

To reinforce its threats, the US ramped up its diplomatic presence in the islands. It opened a new embassy in Solomon Islands and diplomatic missions in Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tonga, and appointed an envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional leaders assembly. The Biden administration also moved to expand the operations of the US Peace Corps and the US Agency for International Development, both vehicles for US intervention globally.

Together with the Labor government in Australia, the US further opposed and killed off a wider, equally vague, Chinese security and trade pact with 10 island nations. Governments across the Indo-Pacific are being bullied into reducing or cutting ties with Beijing, even though they depend substantially on China, the worlds second largest economy, for trade, aid and investment.

PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last month that the US and PNG were finalising a Defence Cooperation Agreement after talks between officials in Hawaii and PNG earlier this year. He described the pact, covering training and the building up of bases, as very important.

Tkatchenko, however, said it was a delicate balancing act for PNG as it tried to open new economic opportunities with China, while assuaging the strategic concerns of traditional partners such as Australia. He said PNG would continue to work with China economically, but stick to our partners in security. Under similar pressure, PNG signed a Status of Forces Agreement with the UK last month and one with France late last year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited PNG for several days in November 2018, when Port Moresby hosted an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. China funded much of the infrastructure for the summit, including new roads and a conference centre.

Such Chinese influence in their self-proclaimed backyard is intolerable as far as the US and its closest allies, such as Australia and New Zealand, are concerned. Bidens visit represents a sharp tightening of a full-court press to prevent any deviation from Washingtons offensive.

Visits to the region were conducted last month by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, New Zealands Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, as well as UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Wong visited the remaining two of 17 Pacific nations she had not already travelled to in her first year in office, underscoring the Albanese governments role as an attack dog for US and Australian imperialism. Wong portrayed her visits to the Pacific family as liberating missions to free the region from alleged Chinese domineering. She spoke aggressively of shaping the region.

Last week, the Albanese government went further. It released a Defence Strategic Review that outlined the biggest military build-up in Australia since the end of World War II and the adoption of a new doctrine of impactful projection across the Indo-Pacific as part of the US military encirclement of China.

Like the rest of the world, even the seemingly remote islands of the southwest Pacific are again being thrust into the firing line of imperialist war, as they were during both world wars in the 20th century.
When a Chinese woman flaunted her banker husband's 80,000 yuan (US$11,562) a month salary on social media last year, she quickly drew the ire of common folk and the attention of regulators towards financial elites like her spouse.

The young CICC banker and his colleagues soon paid a heavy price for the folly, taking a pay cut of almost 50 per cent. This quickly spread across the sector, with employees taking pay cuts of some 20 per cent to 30 per cent last year, according to data compiled by the Post.

"Many departments saw a pay cut or pay freeze," said an employee of Citic Securities, China's largest brokerage company, who did not want to be named. "People feel that we earn much more than average, and the tone became quite vicious after the CICC social-media incident."

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"Now the core message is to cut costs wherever we can, from allowances to salaries to travel benefits," the employee said, adding the brokerage's parent, CICC Group, has instructed staff to only fly economy class for travel times of less than five hours, while cutting or even denying staff bonuses for the last financial year.

The high salaries of bankers in China have angered ordinary citizens. Photo: Bloomberg alt=The high salaries of bankers in China have angered ordinary citizens. Photo: Bloomberg>

The heightened scrutiny of the financial sector comes as the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in February pledged to fight corruption and named the industry as a key area for anti-graft investigation. The top disciplinary watchdog of the Communist Party warned that pay in the sector was still much higher than other industries and that finance professionals must abandon their self-identification as elites.

Story continues

This comes after Citic Securities cut staff remunerations last year, paying its 35 executives and directors 104 million yuan, compared with 166.5 million yuan for 28 individuals the previous year. The brokerage's staff on the whole took a pay cut of 6 per cent on average.

Staff at Haitong Securities took a 36.7 per cent cut to their pay cheque on average. Some dissatisfied employees recently resigned on top of a few lay-offs, an employee told the Post.

"The only good thing about working at an investment bank is the attractive remuneration package" the employee said, requesting anonymity. "If that is gone, then what's the point? Bankers won't see a return to the glory days even if the market recovers because the sector is now under scrutiny."

CICC, Citic Securities and Haitong Securities did not respond to the Post's requests for comment.

The pay cuts in the financial industry were partly the result of Chinese President Xi Jinping's push for "common prosperity", said Frank Xie, a marketing professor at the School of Business Administration at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

"Dissatisfaction from the masses over exorbitantly high salaries and affluent fringe benefits such as sumptuous work lunches for those gold-collar employees fuelled the hostility and distrust between the government workers and the public," he said.

Beijing's anti-corruption drive has netted a host of government officials. Hao Gang, a former deputy director of Beijing city's financial regulator, was the latest to be put under investigation on Thursday.

Since Xi's new cabinet took power in mid-March, at least 12 financial executives or regulatory officials have been investigated. These include former chairman of Bank of China Liu Liange, former chairman of China Everbright Group Li Xiaopeng, and others from China Investment Corp and China Development Bank.

The regulatory moves reinforced market speculation that even high-ranking cadres were not safe from investigation.

State-owned brokerages, especially those that have a higher salary level, will have to "bear more social responsibilities and wider pay cuts", said Wang Chen, a partner at Xufunds Investment Management in Shanghai.

"Next we should see their salary return to a reasonable level accepted by the market and linked to their performance."

China Merchants Securities told investors on April 6 that rationale behind their salary system was simple: when the profit goes up, salary goes up; when the profit goes down, the salary goes down.

Last year, net income plunged some 28 per cent at China's top 10 brokerages by market cap. Underperforming initial public offering (IPO) and equity markets in Hong Kong and mainland China due to soft economic growth weighed on the financial sector, hurting the bottom line of brokers and money managers.

Both the Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite Index lost at least 15 per cent in 2022. Fundraising in Hong Kong slumped by 70.5 per cent year on year to US$12.69 billion, the lowest since 2012, data from Refinitiv showed.

This was compounded by a long list of defaults by China's junk bond issuers that worried the fixed-income market.

"Financial professionals could see further pay cuts this year as the Chinese economy continues the nosedive," Professor Xie said, adding that the tech sector could also see a slowdown in IPOs due to large-scale lay-offs at home and blockade enforced by the US.

The ongoing crackdown on the financial sector will also lead to a loss of talent to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, he warned.

However, Xufunds' Wang believes the impact of the crackdown will be limited.

"Despite the pay cuts, it is still an industry that pays better than average," he said. "A performance-based salary system won't have a substantial impact on drawing talent to this industry as long as there is a reasonable remuneration policy and enough incentives."

Looking ahead, he said China's ongoing economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic should revive IPO activity and lead to higher market turnover.

"Brokers' profits should grow amid such stability," Wang said. "This won't be a bad year."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
The main objective of the visit was to explore the resumption of the activities of the Working Party, which has not met since July 2017. The Chair discussed the situation with senior government officials and key stakeholders, notably Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Economy Mikhail Jabbarov and State Customs Committee Head Shahin Bagirov.

The Chair also met with the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, and the Deputy Chair of the Food Safety Agency. The WTO delegation was accompanied by Ambassador Galib Israfilov, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan in Geneva, and representatives of the Ministry of Economy.

The meetings confirmed that WTO accession continues to be an important strategic goal for the country and that broad support exists domestically for Azerbaijans future WTO membership.

Despite the six-year gap since the last meeting of the Working Party, the country has continued to modernize its legislative and regulatory frameworks in line with WTO norms, taking account of the specific issues raised in the accession negotiations.

Azerbaijan's relevant ministries and government agencies were well-informed about the technical issues at stake and expressed willingness and readiness to re-engage with the accession process.

Ambassador Acarsoy noted that Azerbaijan's accession negotiations had progressed well for many years but that momentum had been lost since the Working Party last met. Interest by WTO members remains high. It is up to Azerbaijan to reactivate and accelerate the process, he said.

It was agreed that Azerbaijan would submit updated information to the Working Party, highlighting developments since the circulation of the draft Report of the Working Party in 2021. This information will complement Azerbaijan's recently submitted revised goods offer, its revised Legislative Action Plan, and updated information on agriculture domestic support. Azerbaijan expressed interest in holding the 15th meeting of the Working Party before the summer break.

The WTO delegation also visited the Azerbaijan State University of Economics, meeting with the University's Rector, Professor Adalat Muradov. At the meeting, Mr Muradov announced that the university was poised to establish a WTO research centre.

Following the departure of the Working Party Chair, the Secretariat held a meeting with Mr Fariz Ismailzade, Vice Rector of ADA University, to discuss how the university could support Azerbaijan's objective to develop domestic expertise on international trade.

During the visit, the WTO Secretariat held a series of consultations with experts from the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss outstanding issues identified in the Working Party Report and to explore the way forward.
NEW ORLEANS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Civix, in partnership with Zwipe, is performing a new biometric technology Proof-of-Concept (POC) initiative at Richmond International Airport (RIC), a TSA-approved Airport Innovation Forum member in the United States.

Civix (PRNewsfoto/Civix)

"We want every customer to have an exceptional experience through convenience, innovation, and excellence. A successful innovation pilot at Richmond International Airport will enable us to fulfill a critical element of our mission; but it will also become the impetus for other airports to use this important biometric technology," said RIC CEO and President, Perry Miller. "We are excited to be in partnership with Safe Skies and Civix and we are grateful to them for making this opportunity possible."

Civix leverages Zwipe technology to power biometric smart cards for access control. The Civix ASC Access Cards use built-in fingerprint sensors to check the legitimacy of cardholders at points of entry. The cards are fully compatible with NFC card readers, so airports can use them to implement two-factor authentication without upgrading the existing hardware. The solution is also contactless, a priority for high-traffic facilities, like airports, in light of COVID-19.

National Safe Skies Alliance, Inc. (Safe Skies) is a non-profit organization that works with airports, government, and related industries to maintain a safe and effective aviation security system. Since 1997, they have been a trusted resource for decision makers seeking impartial information on airport security technology and procedures. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides funding for their programs and in this case, Safe Skies is performing testing as part of its Airport Security System Integrated Support Testing (ASSIST) program.

"We're pleased to have Safe Skies involved in third-party testing of the ASC Access biometric card solution in a real-world airport environment at the Richmond Airport," said Tim Walsh, President of Civix Airports.

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Airports today need scalable and robust solutions that are secure, user-friendly, and cost-effective to deploy. Zwipe is part of the next generation of access control solutions that are non-duplicable, therefore improving security and eliminating the risk of stolen or borrowed access cards being used.

About Civix

Built on decades of experience and a deep understanding of airport processes, Civix provides industry-leading solutions for managing airport operations, finance, and security. Our modular technology automates data sharing and seamlessly connects airport activities  improving oversight, revenue, and compliance. Our experts have worked in every facet of airport management, and Civix is a trusted partner to the FAA, state aeronautics departments, and over 100 airports worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.gocivix.com.

About Richmond International Airport (RIC)

Richmond International Airport's vision is to move people, business, and commerce to advance the Richmond region. Nine passenger airlines and four dedicated cargo carriers offer domestic service from Richmond International Airport (RIC) with connecting options to points around the globe. According to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Airport activities create nearly 16,000 jobs and contribute about $2.1 billion in economic activity annually to Virginia's Capital Region. To learn more, please visit www.flyrichmond.com.

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SOURCE Civix
Deposits are now being accepted for early 2024 move-ins

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Living, a real estate and property management company dedicated to the ownership, operation and development of high-quality senior living communities, announced today the opening of their information center for Clearwater Newport Beach, a 101-unit, luxury assisted living and memory support community in Newport Beach. Clearwater expects to welcome new residents in early 2024.

Clearwater Living, is reimagining senior living to create an innovative approach to aging in comfort. https://www.clearwaterliving.com/ (PRNewsfoto/Clearwater Living)

The information center is adjacent to the community at 2430 SE Bristol Street. Prospective residents and their families can visit and have their questions answered about assisted living and memory care, learn about personalized care services and enriching programs that will be available, and make a deposit to reserve an apartment.

"Clearwater's Empowered Living philosophy is about encouraging each individual to connect with the world through emotional, physical, and social experiences, and a huge part of that is supported by the location we select for our communities," said Danielle Morgan, Clearwater Living's president & chief operating officer. "Clearwater Newport Beach will provide residents and their families with convenient access to an array of shopping, dining and sightseeing opportunities in one of the country's most upscale, beautiful cities."

Located just off Route 73 at 101 Bayview Place, Clearwater Newport Beach will offer 70 assisted living and 31 memory support apartments in a variety of sophisticated, contemporary finishes and floor plans including studio, and one- and two-bedroom options. The conveniently situated community will boast a large outdoor courtyard, offering residents an immersive indoor/outdoor living experience.

Clearwater's five-star, resort-style living will provide residents with a creative studio, club room, fitness and wellness center, theater, housekeeping and laundry, salons, transportation and concierge services. Clearwater's commitment to healthy living includes chef-driven cuisine that goes well beyond basic nutritional needs. Residents and their guests will be able to choose among a variety of options across multiple dining venues including an on-site Savor Restaurant, CDM Cafe, wine vault, outdoor bar, and private dining.

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Clearwater provides residents with access to a licensed nurse onsite, 24-hour compassionate care partners, medication coordination, regular monitoring and other comprehensive care services as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology through their collaboration with EmpowerMe Wellness company.

Clearwater Living actively acquires, develops and operates a full range of senior housing communities throughout the western United States. Clearwater Newport Beach will be the company's eleventh community in California, Nevada and Arizona, and they have additional developments in the pipeline.

About Clearwater Living

Clearwater Living is committed to providing the most superior customer service and living experiences that celebrates individual relevance, from our residents and their families to our family of team members. Clearwater is growing through strategic acquisitions, development and operational management of senior living communities throughout the western United States. Every Clearwater Living community practices a holistic approach to successful aging and personalized care that improve the daily lives of residents. To learn more about Clearwater Living, visit ClearwaterLiving.com.

Contact: Jennifer Franklin

Spotlight Marketing Communications

(949) 427-1385

jennifer@spotlightmarcom.com

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SOURCE Clearwater Living
As Israel turns 75, its embassy celebrates flourishing ties with China

10:02, April 30, 2023 By Liu Ning ( People's Daily Online

As Israel marks its 75th anniversary, its embassy in China has hailed the continuously strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Trade and economic cooperation have consistently expanded over the past three years, despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have marched a long way since the establishment of full diplomatic relations 31 years ago," said Israel's Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba, at a celebration event held at the Israel Embassy in Beijing on April 28. "During the past three years, when physical interactions were scarce, our leaders exchanged numerous warm verbal and written letters, which solidified our strong political bonds based on Israel's role in the Middle East and our common cultural heritage," she said.

Bilateral trade between China and Israel has grown exponentially, increasing from only $50 million 31 years ago to over $23 billion last year. China is now Israel's second-largest trading partner, according to the embassy.

Israel's Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba is joined by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li at a reception to celebrate Israel's 75th anniversary. (Photo: People's Daily Online/Liu Ning)

In 2017, China and Israel announced the establishment of an innovative, comprehensive partnership, which opened a new chapter in their friendly relationship.

"We look forward to further expanding our trade and economic ties, as we view China as an important global economic player," she added.

In recent years, Israel has become one of the world's fastest-growing economies, concentrating on cutting-edge sectors such as technology, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and new energy. This emphasis contributes to the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by providing innovative solutions and expertise.

There remains enormous potential for future cooperation between the two countries.

Eying China's tremendous market, Israel is forming a long-term strategic relationship with the country. With the backing of both governments, a growing number of Israeli start-ups have secured investment from China and gained access to its lucrative market. Representatives from both countries are eagerly anticipating further cooperation across various sectors, fostering mutual benefits.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a visionary plan that demonstrates the potential for global cooperation, fostering connections for all, and ultimately working toward a brighter future for everyone.

Between Israel and China, "cultural exchanges are vast, academic exchanges are plentiful, and student exchanges are numerous," said Ben-Abba.

"We need to work harder on people-to-people connectivity that was disrupted due to COVID-19, on the resumption of two-way tourism, and to reconnect with the young generation, the future generation of China."

As Israel celebrates its 75th birthday and looks ahead to the next 75 years, its representatives remain confident that by collaborating with nations worldwide, it can overcome common challenges and play a significant role in shaping a brighter future.

(Web editor: Liu Ning, Wu Chengliang)
NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The coatings market for medical devices industry is expected to grow by USD 3.9 billion from 2022 to 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.15%, according to the latest research report from Technavio. The research report focuses on top companies and crucial drivers, current growth dynamics, futuristic opportunities, and new product/project launches. Make informed business decisions based on qualitative and quantitative evidence highlighted in Technavio reports. View a Sample Report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Coatings Market for Medical Devices Industry 2023-2027

Vendor Landscape

The coatings market for medical devices industry is fragmented, with the presence of several global and local vendors. Rising investments in R&D have increased the competition among existing vendors. Vendors are also focusing on launching new variants of coatings. They offer products with moderate differentiation. The threat of rivalry was moderate in 2022 and is expected to remain the same during the forecast period. Some of the key vendors covered in the report include:

Advanced Plating Technologies - The company offers biocompatible duplex gold plating, electrolytic, and electroless nickel plating for the medical device industry.

Applied Medical Coatings LLC - The company offers hydrophobic coatings and antimicrobial coatings for the medical device industry.

AST Products Inc. - The company offers RepelaCOAT antimicrobial coatings for the medical device industry.

Biocoat Inc. - The company offers hydrophilic coatings and Hydak coatings for the medical device industry.

Covalon Technologies Ltd.

Endura Coatings

Freudenberg SE

Harland Medical Systems Inc.

HTI Technologies Inc.

Hydromer Inc.

Katahdin Industries

KISCO Ltd.

Koninklijke DSM NV

Materion Corp.

Medical Surface Inc.

Medicoat AG

Merit Medical Systems Inc.

N2 Biomedical LLC

Sono Tek Corp.

Surmodics Inc.

To provide a deeper understanding of the competitive landscape, Technavio has profiled key players along with the study that categorizes the global market segmentation. View a sample in minutes

Story continues

Key Market Segmentation

Application

Type

Geography

By application, the market growth in the general surgery segment will be significant during the forecast period. Factors such as the aging population, increasing birth rate, and advances in medical technologies are increasing the number of surgeries worldwide. This has led to a rise in the demand for medical devices such as forceps, spatulas, retractors, clamps, suction tubes, and needle holders. In addition, the growing emphasis on early diagnosis has increased the demand for various diagnostic devices. All these factors are driving the growth of the segment.

Download a Sample Report The report comprises of various segments as well as analysis of the trends and factors that are playing a substantial role in the market.

Regional Market Outlook

North America will account for 37% of the market growth during the forecast period. The growth of the regional market can be attributed to factors such as the aging population, technological advancements, and increasing awareness regarding minimally invasive surgeries. Besides, the increasing awareness about healthy lifestyles among the population is encouraging people to undergo regular tests and check-ups. This has increased hospital visits and surgeries, thereby driving the demand for coatings for medical devices in North America.

For more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries. - View a Sample Report

The coatings market for medical devices industry covers the following areas:

Market Dynamics

Driver  The market is driven by the growing demand for cardiovascular and orthopedic implants. The rise in the aging population and the high prevalence of obesity have increased the demand for orthopedic and cardiovascular medical devices. The increased demand has encouraged many vendors to launch new and innovative medical implants and devices. For instance, in February 2021, Medtronic launched TYRX Absorbable Antibacterial Envelope. It is an absorbable, single-use, and antibacterial envelope designed to stabilize a cardiac implantable electronic device. Medical implants are made of stainless steel, ceramic, or titanium with a coating of hydroxy hepatite and ceramic materials to prevent internal infection. Thus, the growing demand for cardiovascular and orthopedic implants will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Trend  Increased awareness of minimally invasive surgeries is identified as the key trend in the market. The growth in literacy rates and globalization has increased the awareness of minimally invasive surgeries among patients. These surgeries offer benefits such as smaller incisions, increased safety, decreased scarring, and faster recovery. Minimally invasive procedures involve smaller incisions, which results in less skin and soft tissue trauma, low chances of infections, and less blood loss. The popularity of minimally invasive procedures is further increasing owing to other benefits such as low cost, low chances of infection, and quick recovery time. All these factors are increasing the demand for medical devices, which is positively influencing the market growth.

Challenge  Stringent government regulations are expected to hinder market growth over the forecast period. Regulations regarding the use of coatings in medical devices are becoming more stringent. For instance, the US FDA has introduced several regulations for medical devices and coatings regarding their safety and effectiveness. Medical device manufacturers are compelled to fulfill the regulations set by such authorities. In addition, regulations vary from one device to another, and the devices with high risks have more stringent regulations. Such factors reduce the growth potential of the market.

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The sustained release coating market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.11% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 207.64 million. The market is segmented by type (tablets, capsules, and pills), application (in vitro and in vivo), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The fruits and vegetables coatings market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.52% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 299.65 million. The market is segmented by type (hydrocolloids, lipids, and composites), product (fruits coatings and vegetable coatings), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, and South America).

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Coatings Market for Medical Devices Industry: Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.15% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 3.9 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 6.98 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 37% Key countries US, China, India, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Advanced Plating Technologies, Applied Medical Coatings LLC, AST Products Inc., Biocoat Inc., Covalon Technologies Ltd., Endura Coatings, Freudenberg SE, Harland Medical Systems Inc., HTI Technologies Inc., Hydromer Inc., Katahdin Industries, KISCO Ltd., Koninklijke DSM NV, Materion Corp., Medical Surface Inc., Medicoat AG, Merit Medical Systems Inc., N2 Biomedical LLC, Sono Tek Corp., and Surmodics Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Browse through Technavio's Materials Market Reports

Key Topics Covered:

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 Global coatings market for medical devices industry 2017 - 2021

4.2 Application Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.3 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.5 Country 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 Application

6.1 Market segments

6.2 Comparison by Application

6.3 General surgery - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.4 Cardiovascular - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.5 Orthopedics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.6 Dentistry - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.8 Market opportunity by Application

7 Market Segmentation by Type

7.1 Market segments

7.2 Comparison by Type

7.3 Antimicrobial coating - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.4 Drug-eluting coating - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.5 Hydrophilic coating - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.7 Market opportunity by Type

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

9.2 Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.9 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.10 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.12 India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.13 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 Advanced Plating Technologies

12.4 Applied Medical Coatings LLC

12.5 AST Products Inc.

12.6 Biocoat Inc.

12.7 Endura Coatings

12.8 Freudenberg SE

12.9 Harland Medical Systems Inc.

12.10 HTI Technologies Inc.

12.11 Hydromer Inc.

12.12 Katahdin Industries

12.13 KISCO Ltd.

12.14 Koninklijke DSM NV

12.15 Materion Corp.

12.16 Merit Medical Systems Inc.

12.17 Surmodics Inc.

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.

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Technavio Research

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Media & Marketing Executive

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Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/

Global Coatings Market for Medical Devices Industry 2023-2027

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SOURCE Technavio
The stunning Skogafoss in Iceland has miles and miles of flowing river into waterfalls deep within the heart of the highlands. This picture was taken on Aug. 31, 2022. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News

Iceland is a beautiful country with unique landscapes. Stunning waterfalls, volcanic landscapes and a black sand beach have lured many tourists to the island country.

Tourism contributes to 67% of total service exports in Iceland and 35% of total export revenue, per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

If youre planning on going or even if youre just interested in learning more about the Scandinavian island country, here are 10 facts about Iceland.

1. Iceland is one of the least populated European countries

There are not a lot of people in Iceland. According to the World Population Review, its the sixth least populous country in Europe. There are only 331,000 people who live in Iceland.

Much of the population is concentrated in its capital, Reykjavik, with around two-thirds of the population living there, according to Iceland Travel.

Because there are so few residents, some Icelandic college students even created an app that helps determine whether you are related to someone or not before going on a date, called Islendingabok.

.

Nearly 11% of Icelands land is covered by glaciers. This is the Skaftafell Glacier on Aug. 28, 2022. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News

2. There are around 200 volcanoes on the island

According to National Geographic, Iceland has around 200 volcanoes and accounts for one-third of Earths total lava flow.

The landscape has many other remarkable and notable features, including multiple geothermal pools and geysers. There are enough hot springs that nearly every county has at least one. Geysers are so commonplace that the term geyser even stems from Icelandic.

Only 1% of the country is forested because glacial lakes and mountainous lava deserts cover nearly 80% of the land, according to PBS.

Its also the only place in the world where you can swim between two tectonic plates  the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or the divide between the North American plate and Eurasian plate, per The World Pursuit.

Related

3. Iceland loves to read. Like, a lot

Literacy rates in the Scandinavian country are close to 100%  Icelanders read more books per capita than any other citizenry in the world, per PBS.

Story continues

Its common to give books as a gift for Christmas, known as Jolabokaflo, meaning Christmas book flood, according to NPR.

If you look at book sales distribution in the U.K. and the States, most book sales actually come from a minority of people. Very few people buy lots of books. Everybody else buys one book a year if youre lucky, Baldur Bjarnason, researcher on Icelandic book industry, told NPR. Its much more widespread in Iceland. Most people buy several books a year.

Not only are Icelanders reading books, many enjoy writing them. Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, NPR reported.

4. Iceland was one of the first in the world to have a parliament

The country was one of the first in the world to establish a parliament  Icelandic chieftains met in the year 930 CE to create the first parliament, according to Nordic Visitor.

This also makes it the oldest parliament in the world that is still in existence, per Nordic Visitor.

It was also the first country in the world to elect a woman as head of state by electing Vigdis Finnbogadottir in 1980 as president, according to The Guardian.

If I may say so, because I hear it all the time, it changed everything, she told The Guardian. Women thought, if she can, I can. In my advanced age, women still thank me for being a role model.

5. Iceland has been named one of the happiest countries in the world

The World Happiness Report named Iceland as one of the worlds safest and happiest nations, Iceland Travel reported.

It was also ranked the most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index.

The World Economic Forums report on equality between sexes named it the best country in the world for women, per The Guardian.

The country has no standing army, and local police dont carry guns  yet Iceland marks extremely low crime rates, per Guide to Iceland.

Related

6. There are no snakes or mosquitoes in Iceland

It sounds a little too good to be true, but its true  Iceland has no snakes or mosquitoes. It also has no bears or poisonous bugs, according to Arctic Adventures.

You also wont see many dogs if you visit. Dogs were banned in 1924 because of a tapeworm that was spreading from dogs to humans, per Smithsonian Magazine. The ban was lifted in the 1980s, but the government still requires rigorous testing and vaccinations to own a dog in the country.

Only one breed of horse exists on the island because Icelandic horses have not been mixed with other breeds, per Arctic Adventures.

One animal you might get to see, though, is whales. There are more than 20 different species of whales in the oceans around the island, per Arctic Adventures.

Miniature elf houses sit outside a shelf in Eastern Iceland on August 27, 2022. Many Icelanders believe in elves. | Sarah Gambles, Deseret News

7. Many Icelanders believe in elves

A 2007 University of Iceland study revealed that 62% of people in Iceland believe in elves, per BBC. You can often see miniature houses with little goodies left in front of the house where elves can stay.

Nancy Marie Brown, the author of Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Icelands Elves Can Save the Earth, believes Icelanders convictions around elves support how well they take care of the environment.

Theres even an elf school for visitors to learn more about Icelandic elf culture, Deseret News reported.

Related

8. Babies often sleep outside, even in the cold in Iceland

This is a common practice in many Scandinavian countries, but might feel a little different to Americans. Babies will often be left on porches or other outdoor spots to provide fresh air and Icelanders believe it supports the development of their respiratory and immune system, per Guide to Iceland.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health, babies who were bundled up and slept outside in winter temperatures slept longer and better compared to babies who slept indoors.

9. Icelanders eat ice cream year-round

Although the island country remains fairly cold all year, Icelanders love ice cream. According to BuzzFeed, they even have a word to describe an ice cream road trip  Isbiltur.

Not only do they eat ice cream year-round, they also will grill in any type of weather, per Guide to Iceland.

10. Icelanders call everyone by their first names

Everyone goes by and is addressed by their first name, even the president. Icelanders believe it helps foster a dialogue with a less stuffy hierarchy, according to Guide to Iceland.

And most names feel familiar to most Icelanders because an official register of names is the only place parents can pull from to name their child. If a parent wants to use one not on the list, a special committee must grant them permission first. And if the name is on the banned list, using that name is strictly forbidden, The World Pursuit writes.

Related
Tim Bachman, one of the founders of Canadian rock favorites Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died at the age of 71. His son Ryder announced the news in a Facebook post on April 28.

My Dad passed this afternoon, he wrote, having previously revealed that his father had been in a hospice after fighting brain cancer. Thank You Everyone for the kind words. Grateful I got to spend some time with him at the end. Grab yer loved ones and hug em close, ya never know how long you have. His brother Robbie died in January.

The guitarist-vocalist was born on August 1, 1951 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and played in the later line-up of BTOs forerunners, Brave Belt. He co-founded the hard rock figureheads in 1973 with brothers Randy and Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner. Signing with Mercury Records, they achieved Top 10 success in Canada with their self-titled debut that year, on which Tim co-wrote and sang lead vocals on Down and Out Man. The album also contained their Billboard Hot 100 debut, Blue Collar and later achieved gold status in the US.

Just seven months later, the group released Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, on which Tim took two lead vocals including on the No.23 US hit Let It Ride. The LP also housed a No.12 hit in Randy Bachmans Takin Care Of Business, but it was after Tims departure in 1974 (to be replaced by Blair Thornton) that BTO entered its biggest commercial period. The Not Fragile album that year featured the groups two best-known crossover rock anthems, You Aint Seen Nothing Yet (backed with Free Wheelin, dedicated to Duane Allman) and Roll On Down The Highway.

Tim rejoined the later line-up of the group for a 1984 reunion tour, after which he played with them on tours later in the decade. He later worked as a realtor in Alberta, Canada.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
[Source]

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has accepted an invititation to become a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a new research institute run by the University of Tokyo in Japan.

On Monday, the university announced that Ma will share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation with students and faculty from May until the end of October.

The 58-year-old Alibaba Group founder is expected to conduct research on sustainable agriculture and food production and hold lectures on management and business start-ups.

Founded in 2019, Tokyo College connects the University of Tokyo with overseas researchers and institutions.

More from NextShark: #DelhiIsBurning Trends as Violence Spreads in India Over Anti-Muslim Citizenship Law

Mas visiting professorship at the college is not his first experience as a teacher.

He was reportedly an English teacher for several years before he co-founded Alibaba, a multinational technology company. In May 2019, Ma said he wanted to return to teaching after retiring from Alibaba in September of the same year.

Since 2021, the billionaire has visited research institutes to learn about food production and food-related technology.

More from NextShark: BTS' Record Label Raises $822 Million After Going Public

In Japan, where he lived for several months, he studied tuna farming due to his interest in the food industry and sustainable agriculture. In Thailand, he studied farming and fishery technologies.

In January, Ma relinquished control of Ant Group, the financial tech company he founded in 2014. His teaching position is the first public role he has assumed since maintaining a low profile after angering the Chinese government for criticizing the nations financial-regulation system in 2019.

More from NextShark: Jeremy Lin Passes Torch to New Asian Players in Heartfelt Message After Not Getting NBA Contract

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Penn Law moves to sanction Amy Wax, professor who said US 'better off' with fewer Asians
The five victims killed in Texas included 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso

Montinique Monroe/Getty Images Greg Abbott

While authorities continue to search for a man accused of fatally shooting five of his Texas neighbors  one of whom was a 9-year-old child  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is facing criticism for referring to the victims as simply, "illegal immigrants."

On Sunday, Abbott took to Twitter to share information about a $50,000 reward for information about the suspect.

"I've announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday," Abbott noted.

The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

Related:5 Dead, Including 9-Year-Old, in Texas 'Execution Style' Shooting by Alleged Drunk Gunman

As some reporters have clarified, at least one of the victims was a permanent U.S. resident, but the bigger issue, say critics, is that Abbott's words dehumanize the victims of the mass shootings.

"This is despicable," wrote Star Trek star George Takei. "I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong."

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough also criticized Abbott, saying on his show Monday: "When you actually have a governor of one of the largest states in America feeling the need to be hateful, and to be callous after a mother tries to shield her 9-year-old child. Both are shot in the head and instead of even a hope and prayers tweet, he feels like he has to stamp a label on the dead bodies: illegal immigrant.

Others branded Abbott's tweet "tone deaf," noting that the victims were "5 human beings, who had families."

Related:Beto O'Rourke Interrupts Texas Republican Governor's Press Conference on School Shooting: 'It's On You'

The shooting took place Friday night in Cleveland, Texas, 45 miles north of Houston, after a neighbor stormed a home and shot the victims.

Story continues

According to a Texas man who survived the attack, the police had been called five separate times on the suspect, who was allegedly shooting rounds of ammunition from an assault weapon outside his home.

The San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office has identified the suspect as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, and the FBI's Houston Field Office is assisting in the ongoing search.

Police say they believe Oropeza fled the area on foot and that they've been searching neighborhood homes, asking locals for any help finding the suspect.

"My wife told me to go inside because 'He won't fire at me, I'm a woman,'" Wilson Garcia told the Associated Press. But Oropeza allegedly shot his wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, at the front door, killing the 25-year-old mother before entering the home and firing at others.

Garcia said two women were shielding his other children with their bodies when they were shot and killed, as well. Before she was shot, one of the women told Garcia to jump out of a window and escape.

"She told me to throw myself out the window because my children were already without a mother," Garcia said, according to CNN. "So one of us had to stay alive to take care of them. She was the person who helped me jump out the window."

Related:Boy Killed in Texas Shooting Wanted to Be Police Officer. Now Uncle Says Cops 'Didn't Even Protect Him'

Abbott has been criticized in the past for his stance on gun policies, particularly as more than one mass shooting has occurred in his state in recent years.

In 2022, Uvalde, Texas, was the site of the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. Abbott  who took office in 2015 and has since backed several measures to loosen gun laws during his time in office (including seven signed into law in June 2021)  was among a group of high-profile Republicans slated to appear at an NRA event days after that shooting. He ultimately canceled that appearance.

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Read the original article on People.
French jockey Florent Geroux first came to Kentucky in 2007 only comfortable speaking a precious few words and phrases in English that he remembered learning in school.

It took him about six months before language was no longer a barrier. He said its never been an issue in working with trainers and owners in trying to win races, though.

The 20 jockeys selected to ride on Kentucky Derby horses on May 6 at Churchill Downs represent seven different nations outside of the United States, including Venezuela, Ireland and Panama. Puerto Rico produced the most jockeys in the 2023 field with five. The trainers tend to be more homegrown, as the majority are from the U.S., but there's still an international appeal with Germany, Barbados and Japan all represented.

Doesnt matter what language you speak or where you come from, the animal doesnt speak the same, said Geroux, who will have the Jaces Road mount in the 2023 Kentucky Derby. Thats why it makes it easy for people all over the world to come into horse racing. Because when youre on the horse, its just physically you and the horse.

Kentucky Derby hopeful Jace's Road seems to be combing his own mane as a groom brushes him during bath time after a workout Friday morning, April 28, 2023 at Churchill Downs. The horse is trained by Brad Cox.

People from all over the world set their sights on making it to Churchill Downs with hopes of winning the Kentucky Derby. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, was able to establish an international division of his horseracing stable and bring horses from the Middle East to compete in the Bluegrass.

And the Kentucky Derby has been purposeful in expanding the sport well beyond the U.S. borders. The Japan Road to Kentucky Derby was established in 2017 to provide a series of races that could gain winners entry on the first Saturday in May. (The European RTKD began in 2018, although no horse has gained an entry from it yet.)

Continuar is one of two horses from Japan that will compete in the Run for the Roses this year. He qualified through the Japan RTKD. Derma Sotogake took a more traditional path in earning the seventh-most points to qualify. While teams from Japan are generally all Japanese from the owner down to the jockeys, Derma Sotogake will be ridden by French jockey Christophe Lemaire.

Story continues

Assistant trainer Takahide Ando for Kentucky Derby contender Continuar, foreground, points towards the quarantine barn assistant trainer Masanari Tanaka smiles aboard Derma Sotogake after a workout at the track April 25, 2023 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

In a lot of ways, the Kentucky Derby is always on the mind of any horseman with international ambitions, said Kate Hunter, the Japan Racing Association representative for the Kentucky Derby. But I think with the establishment of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, I think that really kind of changed things.

Trail blazers: Japan's Derma Sotogake and Continuar looking to 'change history,' in Kentucky Derby

No blueprint: How jockey agents get into the business of matching jockeys with horses

Working to break down barriers

Trainer Kenny McPeek became tri-lingual as a way to better communicate with others in the horse racing business.

The Lexington native began traveling to Brazil about 20 years ago to buy horses and initially didnt speak any Portuguese. He began learning incrementally from people he'd meet during each trip.

McPeek also learned Spanish but said hes never had a problem with instructions getting lost in translation.

Trainer Kenny McPeek, left, waited with members of the Tiz The Bomb ownership group to see where the horse would be starting the Kentucky Derby from. May 2, 2022

Ive had Japanese clients, Chinese clients, Germany, Denmark  I could give you so many places of people Ive trained horses for, McPeek said. Its a very close-knit community. We, in a way, kind of all speak the same language  the thoroughbred.

Jockey agent Ron Anderson has placed his clients on mounts for 50 years. At one point, the influx of Spanish-speaking riders may have made for a bit more work, but he says it rarely does now.

Ready to run: Forte, Todd Pletchers other Kentucky Derby contenders get final works at Churchill Downs

'Being unconventional': Keith Desormeaux's Confidence Game has chance to rewrite Kentucky Derby record books

Anderson once had a Latin client who barely spoke English, so he accompanied the jockey on his morning workouts to make sure there were no problems.

You didnt want that known by too many people because they might think, Were going to use somebody that can speak English, Anderson said. He caught on after a while, but sometimes, youve got to bridge things like language barrier stuff with somebody else to interpret.

Trainer Brad Cox said he's had long-standing relationships with most of the owners he works with, so it all kind of works itself out. No matter where youre from, he said, in horse racing this week, The eyes of the world are definitely on Louisville.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @CLBrownHoops.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby brings people from all over world to Churchill Downs
Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell are returning to Netflix. The streaming service has renewed its political thriller The Diplomat for Season 2.

Little is known about what Season 2 will entail, but Netflix has released some self-reported figures about the first season. Within its first weekend, The Diplomat secured 57.48 million hours viewed. It also ranked No. 1 on Netflixs weekly global Top 10 list for English-language television in the United States and has appeared on the Top 10 lists for 86 other countries.

Fans around the world are loving every minute of The Diplomats gripping and propulsive drama, and embracing Keri Russells powerful performance as Kate Wyler. After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we cant wait for them to see what the amazing visionary team of Debora Cahn, Janice Williams and Keri Russell have in store for Season 2, Jinny Howe, Netflixs vice president of drama series, said.

Also Read:

The Night Agent Passes Bridgerton Season 1 on Netflixs Most Popular Shows of All-Time List

Star and executive producer Keri Russell added that she was thrilled to return for another season of this smart screwball show.

We had such a great time making The Diplomat. And its a thrill to see how much people are enjoying it, creator, showrunner and executive producer Debora Cahn said.

The thriller follows Kate Wyler (Russell) as the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. While Kate solves international crises and learns how to make new and strategic allies, this conflict-loving politician also has to learn how to exist in the spotlight rather than behind the scenes. If that wasnt enough to worry about, Kate has to manage her marriage to career diplomat and politician star Hal Wyler (Sewell).

The Diplomat is exactly the sort of show you would expect from Russell in the wake of The Americans. The Russian spy thriller, which ran from 2013 to 2018, was a critical darling and earned the star multiple Emmy nominations. Shes also known for her work in Felicity, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Missions Impossible III, Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker and Cocaine Bear.

Prior to spearheading The Diplomat, Chan was known for her work on The West Wing and Homeland. In addition to Russell and Sewell, the drama stars David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory Kinnear and Ato Essandoh. Cahn and Russell executive produce alongside Janice Williams.

Also Read:

The Diplomat Star Keri Russell on the Fun of Playing Harried Ambassador in Netflixs Political Drama
Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is headlining the Disney+ May 2023 schedule.

On May 4, the streaming service will release the second installment of Disney+s appreciated animated anthology series. The upcoming nine-episode Star Wars series hails from James Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, and Josh Rimes. The cast includes Eva Whittaker, Maxine Peake, Charithra Chandran, Ashley Park, Eugene Lee Yang, Suraj Sharma, Daveed Diggs, and Cynthia Erivo, among others. The animation studios involved in the production are El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea), Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), Dart Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa).

The newest Volume will continue to push the boundaries of Star Wars storytelling, with nine new shorts from nine studios from around the globe. Employing the most captivating animation styles from a variety of countries and cultures, the second volume offers a dynamic new perspective on the storied mythos of Star Wars.

Sign-up for Disney+

Disney+ May 2023 Schedule

May 2

A Small Light (2 episodes)

May 3

Eureka! (S1, 6 episodes)

Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All  Premiere  All Episodes Streaming

May 4

Star Wars: Visions  Volume 2 Premiere  All Episodes Streaming

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures  Premiere  Episodes 1  7 Streaming

May 5

Charles: In His Own Words

Entrelazados Live!  Premiere

May 9

A Small Light (S1, 2 episodes)

May 10

Life Below Zero (S20)

Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa (S4)

The Muppets Mayhem  Premiere  All Episodes Streaming

May 12

Crater  Premiere

May 16

A Small Light (S1, 2 episodes)

May 17

Critter Fixers: Country Vets (S5)

Saturdays (S1, 4 episodes)

May 23

A Small Light (S1, 2 episodes)

May 24

Kiff (S1, 4 episodes)

Spidey and His Amazing Friends (S2, 5 episodes

American Born Chinese  Premiere  All Episodes Streaming

Chip n Dale: Park Life  Season 2 Premiere  Episodes 1  6 Streaming

May 26

Wild Life

May 31

Firebuds (S1, 6 episodes)

Story continues

Check out more streaming release schedules below:

The first four Mission: Impossible movies are some of the top content hitting Paramount+ as part of the May 2023 Movies Tudor Leonte 13 hours ago

White House Plumbers is topping the HBO Max May 2023 schedule. On Monday, May 1, the streaming service will debut TV Tudor Leonte 15 hours ago

Bupkis is headlining the Peacock May 2023 schedule. On May 4, the streaming service will release all eight installments of TV Tudor Leonte 16 hours ago

Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is headlining the Disney+ May 2023 schedule. On May 4, the streaming service will release TV Tudor Leonte 20 hours ago

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is headlining the Netflix May 2023 schedule. On May 4, the streaming service will release TV Tudor Leonte 17 hours ago

Violent Night is heading to Prime Video as part of the May 2023 schedule. On May 26, the streaming service Movies Tudor Leonte 18 hours ago

The post Disney+ May 2023 Schedule: New TV & Movie Release Dates appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
WASHINGTON  Space is tight on the small boats that trawl the Atlantic in search of herring. Something else that's in short supply aboard: patience with the federal government.

Since 1976, federal inspectors have been allowed to join the five- or six-member crews fishing off the East Coast to ensure they follow regulations  an "enormous imposition," according to the fisherman. But starting in 2020, the government went a step further, requiring the industry to pay the salaries of the observers they take on.

Four family-owned fisheries sued the Commerce Department three years ago over that requirement. The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will decide their appeal  weighing into a dispute that could have consequences that reach far beyond seafood, affecting the power other federal agencies have to regulate.

While the case is focused on the fishing industry, the implications are vast and represent a major catch for conservatives who for decades have sought to limit the power of the "administrative state." Depending on how the Supreme Court rules, the decision could affect every facet of the federal government's ability to regulate pollution, the internet, gun accessories and even how Americans respond to the next global pandemic.

What the herring fishermen are saying about their fight with the government

What's at stake in a major Supreme Court case about herring fishermen? To require the fisherman to pay the inspectors' salaries, the government relies on a section of a 1976 law that gives the National Marine Fisheries Service power to impose regulations that are "necessary and appropriate" to manage the species.

For decades, conservatives, in particular, have been trying to limit the government's power to impose regulations based on similarly vague language. A ruling for the fishermen could lead to successful challenges of other regulations dealing with the environment, guns and how the U.S. responds to the next pandemic.

Story continues

The Supreme Court will likely hear arguments in the case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, in the next term that begins this fall. A decision may not come until next year.

Pound net fisherman Brian Wilson bails water from one of his boats docked on Sept.3, 2016, as Tropical Storm Hermine approaches Virginia Beach, Va.

What the herring fishermen are saying about their fight with the government

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the fishermen argue that "space on board a commercial fishing vessel is a scarce and precious resource." And so taking one member off the crew to bring on an inspector is an "enormous imposition."

"Making the fishing vessels foot the bill for that imposition adds insult to injury," an attorney for the four fisheries told the high court last year. The cost of having an "at-sea monitor" is more than $700 a day, according to court records.

Tracker: A look at the key cases pending before the Supreme Court

Power: Biden's ability to bypass Congress faces 'major' legal hurdle

The Biden administration points to another section of the law that suggests Congress wanted the agency to have the power to require the companies to pay for the monitors. It also argued that there was good reason for the tougher regulations: The herring population off the Atlantic Coast was nearing dangerously low levels.

"The stock in the Atlantic herring fishery was found in 2018 to be 'approaching an overfished condition' and, by 2020, to be in fact 'overfished,'" the government said.

Two lower courts sided with the government.

The Supreme Court will hear a case from herring fishermen this fall.

Why Biden should be paying attention to the fishermen now before SCOTUS

Federal courts  including the Supreme Court  have been clamping down on attempts by federal agencies to make policy decisions without explicit approval from Congress for years. So when the administration attempted to extend an eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic and was rebuffed in 2021. When it tried to impose a vaccine-or-testing mandate on large employers and it was similarly shot down last year.

The question of how far federal agencies may go without explicit approval from Congress is one that keeps coming up at the Supreme Court. A pending challenge to President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is being fought along similar lines.

Spillover: How a Supreme Court case about a gay couple's wedding cake got caught up in Israeli judicial reform

'Racist taint': Will the Supreme Court review a Jim Crow-era voting ban targeted at Black Mississippians?

For years, courts have been guided by a landmark 1984 precedent in Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which directed judges to defer to an agency's take when a law passed by Congress is unclear. As long as an agency's interpretation was "reasonable," under that so-called "Chevron deference," the agency won and its regulations would be upheld.

But that deference has been a target for conservatives  including many on the Supreme Court  who see federal agencies as attempting to make end runs around a gridlocked Congress. The high court has been chipping away at agency deference.

The fisherman asked the high court to overturn the Chevron decision and wipe out deference to agencies. Although the court could have focused its work on a more narrow outcome, it chose instead to target what conservatives see as the trophy fish.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court to weigh federal power in appeal from herring fishermen
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Acre



Acre, Monday, May 1, 2023, Press release picture

How environmentally and socially conscious is your fragrance?

Working in the purpose recruitment space where I place highly skilled sustainability talent within the cosmetics sector, to drive impact both within the company and on a broader scale, this is not a question to be sniffed at.

Climate-conscious consumers are leading the way with their wallets, showing support for brands that go above and beyond in implementing sustainability initiatives for a better planet.

The fragrance industry is, therefore, under intense pressure from savvy consumers and other stakeholders who want a quality scent without compromising on a sustainable positive impact for both the environment and the communities it serves.

Below I've highlighted three key challenges where the industry is receiving scrutiny while spotlighting the companies that are blazing a trail for the production of sustainable products that foster a more resourceful future.

Nature vs. Nurture

It wasn't so long ago that your favourite scent contained musk - considered to be one of the most valuable natural substances in the world - created by extracting natural musk from the glands of the endangered musk deer (now banned in perfumery).

While synthetic musk can help protect wildlife without compromising on fragrance quality, there is a grey area surrounding its impact on human health due to the chemicals used, and some perfume manufacturers are turning to botanical musks.

There was plenty of intrigue last year when respected French cosmetics house Guerlain announced the addition of a new organic alcohol made from beetroot in its Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver fragrance. The gesture, which supports responsible farming, is a firm nod towards the further development of robust sustainability practices within the company.

Guerlain has in recent years advanced their sustainability intentions with a heavy focus on the preservation of bees. Guerlain has four sustainability pillars to align the production of its fragrances with best practices, including lifecycle traceability and carbon neutrality goals.

Story continues

Mass production of perfume, like any product, can result in a waste of resources and be harmful to biodiversity. Guerlain has replanted more than 10,000 orchids in the Tianzi Reserve in Yunnan, China, since 2009, and has also revived vetiver plants, growing in Tamil Nadu, India. The entire plant can be used to avoid waste and yields of the perennial grass that holds aromatic oil in its roots, are now 30-40 per cent higher due to crop rotation.

However, Frederic Malle makes bold the statement that it can be more sustainable to respect and protect flora and fauna by using synthetics to make a signature fragrance. Malle's Synthetic Jungle scent is one of the perfume editor's greenest perfumes to date and a tribute to the admired and much-loved 1970s perfumes.

Giving Back to Society

Former assistant to the designer John Galliano, Timothy Han focuses on protecting nature via his small-batch scent editions'. His fragrances are vegan and crafted using natural, in-season ingredients where possible. In 2010 Han played a major role in assisting the United Nations with a steering group to inspire and motivate the luxury industry to collectively strive to protect natural biodiversity and 13 years later, still devotes time to ensuring his brand is as sustainable as possible.

The London-based Canadian founder's minority-owned business, champions diversity and inclusivity. Each fragrance is gender neutral and aims to create positive change. The release of the eau de parfum inspired by Heart of Darkness - a compelling novella by Joseph Conrad about the ivory trade and its effects on the native inhabitants of the Congo - is a deliberate choice to highlight imperialism and racism. For this fragrance, Han has teamed up with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a portion of the sales for this fragrance will be distributed to grassroot communities and elephant conservation projects in the Congo.

Sana Jardin is another fragrance brand using its profile and products to create a positive impact on the planet. Founder Amy Christiansen was inspired to evoke social change after watching her grandmother empower women in developing countries, and so launched the Beyond Sustainability movement.

The initiative creates social change through commerce, not charity, and supports female change agents in their community. This is achieved through sustainable practices and fair trade to preserve heritage skills and inspire the next generation of artisans.

Sana Jardin has worked on its Orange Blossom Project since 2015, supporting the indigenous Amazigh community in Morocco that harvest floral ingredients for the firm's perfume production.

Traditionally, the floral harvests only provided short-term employment for the female harvesters, but Sana Jardin collaborated with Nest, which supports artisan communities, and floral ingredient supplier Les Aromes du Maroc to enable the harvesters to upcycle the abundant floral waste. They now create their own line of products for year-round employment with mentors and training support.

Packaging

The beauty industry creates an estimated 120 billion units of packaging alone each year and fragrance firms can no longer ignore the impacts of wasted material.

Le Labo hones its packaging efforts as equally as its products (which are natural, vegan and freshly hand-blended to order) to ensure the end product is as sustainable as possible.

The New York perfume house has innovated to the extent that all packaging, from the bottle to the box, is made from either recycled or recyclable materials. Better still, the bottle is refillable (online refill is currently only available in the US but some lab refills are available in selected labs worldwide), meaning you can use the very last drop and return the bottle to receive 20 per cent off another scent such as THE MATCHA.

Eco-friendly alternatives to traditional fragrance packaging largely relies on refillable options to ensure minimal waste. ByKilian believes its product should be bought only once but then refilled indefinitely to revolutionise the beauty industry and fulfil its founder Kilian Hennessy's ethos that true luxury should last forever.

These are just some of the brands I love and stories that inspire me. What other fragrances and designers are inspiring you for the same reasons?

Shaqeeb has more than five years of experience working with senior-level executives across different industries. He has supported these professionals with the expansion of their teams, allowing them to break into new market segments/geographical locations by placing both mission-critical and growth roles. His passion for sustainability led to his transition to Acre where he works as a Senior Consultant for the consumer goods team, focussing on consumer health, hygiene and cosmetic industries.

About Acre

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

Our 18 years' experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.

We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.

Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Acre on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Acre

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/acre

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Acre





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/752181/Which-Companies-Are-Making-an-Impact-in-the-Fragrance-Sector




Harvey Weinstein has hired a new legal team to appeal his rape and sexual assault conviction in California, bringing aboard at least one of the lawyers who successfully overturned the Pennsylvania conviction of Bill Cosby.

Weinstein retained Los Angeles-based Michael Freedman and Jennifer Bonjean, who is based in New York, TheWrap confirmed Monday. The attorneys from separate firms will team to handle Weinsteins appeal of his California conviction from late last year, for which he was ordered to serve 16 years.

Bonjean, who got Bill Cosbys 2018 conviction overturned in Pennsylvania in 2021 and has made a career of defending high-profile #MeToo clients, will act as lead counsel for Weinsteins California appeal. Weinstein is currently serving a separate term for his conviction at a medium-security mens facility in New York, and has an appeal underway there.

Cosbys team argued that he didnt get a fair trial, successfully winning his release after he served three years of a 10-year sentence. Weinstein appears to be mounting a similar argument, suggesting that legal errors and bias led to his conviction.

Also Read:

The Ouster of Jeff Shell as NBCUniversal CEO  Have Powerful Men Learned Nothing?
Jock Zonfrillo, a celebrated chef and a judge on MasterChef Australia, has died. He was 46.

With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday, said a statement from the Zonfrillo family shared with The Hollywood Reporter. So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you have your next whisky.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

No cause of death was given.

Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia are deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of Jock Zonfrillo, a beloved member of the MasterChef Australia family. Jock passed away in Melbourne yesterday, said a statement from the producers of the show who added that MasterChef Australia would not air this week.

Born Barry Zonfrillo in Glasgow, Scotland on Aug. 4, 1976, he trained as a chef in the U.K. before moving to Australia in the early 2000s. Settling in Adelaide, South Australia, he opened the renowned Restaurant Orana in 2013 and four years later the equally lauded Bistro Blackwood. Restaurant Orana was considered one of Australias top restaurants winning a host of awards and Zonfrillo was a regular on published lists of the countrys top chefs.

With Bistro Blackwood closing in 2019 and Restaurant Onana a year later, Zonfrillo would focus on his television career, becoming a permanent judge on season 12 of MasterChef Australia, having previously been a guest judge for seasons 10 and 11.

Story continues

Alongside his MasterChef Australia co-judges Melissa Leong and Andy Allen, Zonfrillo also played host and judge on the spinoff series Celebrity MasterChef Australia and Junior MasterChef Australia.

In 2021, Zonfrillo released his autobiography Last Shot where he detailed his troubles with addiction and his struggles to become a chef. Some of the claims in the book, including his time working with the chef Marco Pierre White, have been questioned.

Zonfrillo is survived by his wife Lauren Fried and four children.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

Click here to read the full article.
Jock Zonfrillo, the MasterChef Australia judge and award-winning Scottish chef, has died unexpectedly. He was 46.

His family confirmed his death in a statement: With completely shattered hearts and without knowing how we can possibly move through life without him, we are devastated to share that Jock passed away yesterday.

More from Deadline

So many words can describe him, so many stories can be told, but at this time were too overwhelmed to put them into words. For those who crossed his path, became his mate, or were lucky enough to be in his family, keep this proud Scot in your hearts when you next have a whisky.

A new season of MasterChef Australia was due to air this week, but has been postponed.

In a statement, Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia said: Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia are deeply shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of Jock Zonfrillo, a beloved member of the MasterChef Australia family. Jock passed away in Melbourne yesterday. MasterChef Australia will not air this week.

Zonfrillo joined the MasterChef team as a judge alongside former winner and chef Andy Allen and food critic Melissa Long in 2019 after the exits of Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston. While some were concerned the changes would impact ratings, the show has continued to be one of Australias top performing reality competitions and sells internationally.

The restauranteur was born in Glasgow, Scotland, as Barry Zonfrillo. By 15, he had an apprenticeship in the kitchens of The Tunberry Hotel before working under Marco-Pierre White. He was named head chef at The Tresanston aged 22 in the UK before moving to lead the kitchen at Restaurant 41 in Sydney, Australia, where has previously spent a year working. He opened two restaurants of his own in 2013, one of which, Orana, was named Australias Restaurant of the Year by two publications, in 2018 and 2019. Zonfrillo was named Hottest Chef in Australia in 2018 by The Australian newspaper.

Story continues

Despite his success, Zonfrillo was forced to put both of his restaurants, Orana and Bistro Blackwood, into administration over unpaid debts. In 2002, he deliberately set fire to an apprentice chef, Martin Krammer, who had been worked slowly. He claimed it was a practical joke that went wrong but a judge awarded damages of A$75,000 ($50,000). Zonfrillo declared bankruptcy in 2007 after Krammer issued a creditors petition.

He released memoir Last Shot in 2021. Former mentor White claimed almost everything Zonfrillo had written about him was untrue, but Zonfrillo defended the chapters, saying, This is the story of my life.

Zonfrillo is survived by wife Lauren Fried and four children.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley is returning to New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

On April 30, NJPW announced that Moxley will compete at NJPW Resurgence on May 21. Its currently unclear who The Purveyor of Violence will face at the show, but the match will mark his return to NJPW for the first time since October 2022; he competed at The Night Before The Rumble on 44th Street on October 27. Moxley also wrestled at NJPW Music City Mayhem on July 30.

The full announcement can be found here.

Moxley is a former IWGP United States Champion. He is currently signed to AEW, where he is featured as a member of the Blackpool Combat Club.

WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.

The post Jon Moxley Announced For NJPW Resurgence appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Brad Kroenig got his start as an Abercrombie & Fitch model, but his friendship with the late designer Karl Lagerfeld catapulted him into the modeling stratosphere

Greg Allen/Shutterstock

Meet one of Karl Lagerfeld's most significant muses.

The late German fashion designer was known for his carefully curated list of influences that inspired his creative vision. One of the most significant? Model Brad Kroenig, who worked closely with the designer from 2003 until his death in 2019.

Born and raised in a middle-class suburb south of St. Louis, the Missouri native's respect for Lagerfeld was mutual; he even named Lagerfeld the godfather for his elder son Hudson. And after dropping out of Florida International University to pursue modeling and studying fashion magazines to give himself an advantage, he knew Lagerfeld was someone he hoped to work with.

"I thought, 'Wow, this guy is, like, walking around in sunglasses and all these ridiculous outfits. This guy is living big,'" Kroenig told the New York Times Magazine in a 2015 profile.

After being signed to Ford models, Kroenig went from a "commercial-looking" Abercrombie & Fitch model to the face of Chanel and Fendi (two fashion houses where Lagerfeld was the head designer), with help from his agent Sam Doerfler, who transformed him into a more "editorial" model that would appeal to Lagerfeld's aesthetic sensibility.

Related:Everything to Know About the 2023 Met Gala

Kroenig attributes his success to his longtime relationship with Lagerfeld. "If I never met Karl, there's no way I'd still be modeling," Kroenig told the New York Times Magazine.

His son, Hudson, followed in his father's fashionable footsteps and become one of "Uncle Karl's" inspirations as well, flying on Lagerfeld's jet and walking in Chanel shows.

While it's unclear whether either of the Kroenigs will attend the 2023 Met Gala to celebrate its "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" theme, read on to learn all about the man who Vogue formerly named "one of the top 10 male models of all time."

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He was first photographed by Karl Lagerfeld in 2003

Upon moving to New York in 2001 and signing a three-year deal with the Ford agency, Kroenig's modeling career began. His toned, clean-cut physique catered to commercial clients  but Kroenig had his sights set on high fashion, specifically striving to work with Lagerfeld.

"To give Brad a more distinct look that might attract European designers, [Sam] Doerfler had Brad spend a year growing his hair long and transforming his muscular physique into a more lanky one," according to the NYT Magazine.

It wasn't long before Kroenig walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan and shot covers like the influential male magazine L'Uomo Vogue, but 2003 was the turning point for the then-budding model. He landed a fully-nude shoot in Biarritz with VMAN, a gig for which Lagerfeld was the photographer.

"He probably took one picture of each of the other guys and, like, 20 of me," Kroenig recalled in the profile. From that point on, the trajectory of Kroenig's career had been forever changed.

"After Biarritz, Lagerfeld photographed Brad constantly, almost as if he were studying an exotic new species: Brad walking, sleeping, eating, shaving, swimming and working out; Brad nude or seminude in showers and bathtubs, on beds and on balconies."

He was considered one of 'Karl's Boys'

Pascal Le Segretain/amfAR1/Getty

Kroenig was fostered into Lagerfeld's inner circle known as "Karl's Boys," of which he became the most senior and prominent member. He joined British model Jake Davies and French model Baptiste Giabiconi in forming the designer's entourage.

They'd accompany Lagerfeld on his travels and parties around the world, trail behind him as he exited cars and private jets  and above all, became a part of the "designer's provocative image." But to Lagerfeld, he didn't necessarily categorize his nicknamed crew.

"I don't give labels for it. Labels is something I design for, they're not what I give to persons," Lagerfeld told the NYT Magazine.

"I see them like family," he added. "I have no family at all, so it's good to have, like, sons but without the unpleasant problems sons can create."

Related:Met Gala 2023 Theme Will Center Around Late Designer Karl Lagerfeld

He named Karl Lagerfeld the godfather of his son, Hudson

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Although Kroenig wasn't biologically related to Lagerfeld, the familial relationship Lagerfeld referred to became literally when, in 2008, Kroenig and his wife Nicole welcomed their first son, Hudson Nicholas, and named Lagerfeld the godfather.

"Karl was a huge part of my success," Kroenig (now a father of two sons) told Sarasota Magazine in August 2022. "He was down to earth and always so nice. He loved cracking jokes and was the best at one-liners."

Hudson, now 14, first did a photoshoot with Lagerfeld in Berlin as a toddler, and their fashion relationship continued. "We thought it was a one-time thing, and then he booked the Chanel show when he was two," said Kroenig of his son, who went on to regularly join Lagerfeld at the end of his Chanel shows.

But his young age didn't mean he was spared Lagerfeld's legendary "tough love," even memorably being told as a five-year-old he'd have to find somewhere to sleep on Lagerfeld's jet when there was only one bed available.

"You sleep on your seat, darling  I have to arrive fresh, you don't have to. Don't be selfish," the New York Times Magazine reported Lagerfeld saying.

Meanwhile, Lagerfeld  the outlet was sure to note  wound up falling asleep upright in his seat, too. (Lagerfeld was never married, nor had kids of his own.)

Related:The Best Met Gala Best Looks of All Time

He was the subject of Karl Lagerfeld's four-volume book

Greg Allen/Shutterstock

Kroenig become the subject of Lagerfeld's four-volume book, Metamorphoses of an American, published in November 2007. The work consists entirely of five years worth of photographs of the model shot by the famed photographer himself.

He and his wife now work in real estate

Clint Spaulding/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

Kroenig has been signed with Ford Models for over 20 years, but when he is not working in his initial career, he and his wife Nicole are building their real estate brand in Florida together.

Brad initially was a New York Realtor with the Corcoran Group, but now works with Coldwell Banker serving Longboat Key, Florida and its surrounding areas.

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Read the original article on People.
The photo was posted one day after a suspect armed with an AR-15 style rifle reportedly shot a group of people in Texas

Lauren Boebert

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert is being criticized after sharing photos taken at a gun range just hours after five people, including a 9-year-old child, were fatally shot in Texas by a suspect with an assault weapon. One of the photos shows Boebert holding up a shirt that reads: "Since we're redefining everything, this is a cordless hole puncher," next to an illustration of an assault weapon.

"Thank you, Montrose! It was great to join you at the San Juan Shooting Range," the Colorado congresswoman wrote on Twitter Saturday, beneath a series of photos taken at the facility.

The photo was posted one day after a suspect armed with an AR-15 style rifle reportedly shot a group of people "execution style" after charging into their home when they asked him to stop shooting his gun outside.

The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

Related:Lauren Boebert Suggests That God Used Her to Oppose Kevin McCarthy's Speakership Bid

Those reacting to Boebert's photo of the pro-gun shirt offered a litany of criticism, calling it "heartless," while others called it "sickening" or "repulsive."

Since Boebert was elected in 2020, the Donald Trump ally has made national news various times for how she has handled controversial issues such as gun laws and COVID restrictions. She is one of 147 Republican members of Congress who objected to certifying the electoral vote count after the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Related:Rep. Lauren Boebert Calls Separation of Church and State 'Junk,' Says Church Should Direct Government

Last June, Boebert thanked former President Trump for the "massive victories for religious liberty, Second Amendment rights, and the pro-life movement" that came out of the Supreme Court decisions over Roe v. Wade.

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Boebert has been previously criticized for sending a pro-gun fundraising email just hours after a mass shooting in her home state.

"I told Beto 'HELL NO' to taking our guns. Now we need to tell Joe Biden," the email's subject line read, according to a copy of the email shared by a reporter online.

The email from Boebert's campaign reportedly appeared mere hours after a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket shooting that killed 10 people.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

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Read the original article on People.
According to DownBeat, "Little Walter almost single-handedly fashioned the stylistic approach for harmonica which has since become standard for the genre and has been emulated by virtually every blues harmonica player." Indeed, it's been said that Little Walter was to harmonica blues what Charlie Parker was to jazz saxophone and Jimi Hendrix was to rock guitar and its impossible to argue. Yet, outside those of us who love the blues, he is not nearly as well known as he should be.

Born Marion Walter Jacobs on May 1, 1930, in rural Louisiana, he moved to Chicago at the age of 16 and began playing the clubs with Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy.

Walter recorded first in 1947; the following year he toured and recorded with Muddy Waters band as well as playing on the records of other Chicago musicians. The power of his harmonica added great intensity to many a blues record and soon he was offered the chance to record under his own name. In 1952 he cut Juke, as Little Walter & his Night Cats for the Checker label and it made No.1 on the R&B charts in September of the same year; in so doing it became the first of 15 of his records to chart.

In 1955 My Babe also topped the R&B charts with Sad Hours, Blues With A Feeling, and Youre So Fine all reaching No.2. These records along with Key To The Highway represent the cream of Little Walters output that has influenced blues musicians for the last half-century.

Little Walter continued to record with Muddy Waters  the two men dominated the Chicago blues scene in the 1950s. Walter toured Europe in 1962, appearing on the American Folk Blues Festival, but after returning to the USA his career hit the buffers; although he did tour Europe again in 1967. He was a heavy drinker and liked to fight and, after a vicious brawl on February 15, 1968, he died of coronary thrombosis. Little Walter was 37 years old.

Story continues

What remains, however, is some indelible music. Music that still resonates. As John Lee Hooker said, Hes got a lot a soul!

Follow the Chess Records Essential playlist to hear Little Walter and other blues icons.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation Friday providing $637,500 to the group that plans to turn Topeka's iconic Menninger Clock Tower, shown here, into apartments.

Sunflower Development Group has twice turned shuttered schools into affordable senior housing complexes.

Now the Kansas City, Missouri-based company plans to do the same thing with Topeka's iconic Menninger Clock Tower.

"It's an awesome building and we're looking forward to doing this renovation," Jason Swords, SDG's founding partner, told The Capital-Journal on Friday.

Sunflower Development Group buying Menninger Clock Tower property

SDG was recently awarded a $637,500 grant by the state of Kansas, and is waiting to hear whether it will receive tax credits it is seeking for the project from the Kansas Housing Resources Corp.

The company hopes to close within 45 days on its purchase of the property and to start work later this year to create 65 units of affordable senior housing.

SDG is teaming up on the project with the architectural firm TreanorHL, which has a Topeka office, Swords said.

Does SDG have experience with this type of project?

Though SDG is involved in real estate consulting, tax credit consulting and real estate development, Swords said the company "cut its teeth" on historic preservation.

SDG's website details 16 historic preservation projects in which it was involved, including two that turned schools into tranquil, affordable housing complexes for senior citizens.

Those were an $18 million project completed in 2017 that converted Kansas City, Missouri's former Faxon School into 48 units of affordable senior housing, and an $11 million project completed in 2018 that converted Kansas City, Missouri's former Blenheim School into 52 units of affordable senior housing.

Some other SDG historic preservation projects detailed on its website include the following.

 A $69 million project finished in 2018 through which a public-private partnership was used to convert the mid-century former Traders National Bank building in Kansas City, Missouri, into luxury apartments.

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 A $35 million effort completed in 2021 to rehabilitate and create loft apartments at St. Joseph, Mo.'s former American Electric building.

 A $17 million effort completed in 2019 to convert Kansas City, Missouri's former Spaghetti Works building into 41 market-rate apartments.

What is the Menninger Clock Tower?

The Menninger Clock Tower stands at 5800 S.W. 6th Ave. on the former campus of the famed Menninger psychiatric clinic, just northeast of S.W. 6th and Wanamaker Road.

Construction of the clock tower building was completed in 1924, according to the website of the Kansas Historical Society.

The Menninger psychiatric clinic left Topeka in 2003.

The property was acquired in 2007 by Colorado-based SCL Health, also known as Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System Inc.

SCL merged in April 2022 with Intermountain Health Care, and took that company's name, though Shawnee County Appraiser's office records still list SCL as the owner.

The clock tower building is listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places.

Why was the clock tower considered to be endangered?

SCL Health sought a permit to raze the clock tower in late 2020 from Topeka's city government.

It said it had spent more than $500,000 over the years keeping the building structurally safe and sound but no longer considered maintaining it to be sustainable.

Topeka's city government had declined to accept the property as a donation because of the high costs of maintaining the building, SCL said.

The Topeka Landmarks Commission in January 2021 denied SCL's demolition permit request.

An SCL spokeswoman said in February 2021 that if SCL couldn't find a suitable partner to buy the building, it would exercise its option of appealing the denial of its demolition permit request to Topeka's mayor and city council.

What good things have since happened for the clock tower?

Bill Fiander, who was then Topeka's director of planning and development, revealed in December 2021 that the city was working with a "very bona fide group" that was close to "making something happen" in terms of its acquiring, saving and repurposing the tower.

The group wasn't yet allowing its identity to become public, he said at that time.

Topeka's mayor and city council later that month set aside $400,000 to build utility lines to serve the area of the clock tower and incentivize developers to proceed with plans to convert it into apartments for senior citizens.

On April 21, Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation awarding $637,500 to SDG for the clock tower project through the ARPA Building Opportunities for the Disabled and Elderly program the Kansas Department of Commerce launched last year.

The project is among nine for which the state is dispensing $9.8 million in ABODE funding to be used to build or renovate housing for the elderly and/or people with disabilities.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Developer discusses plans for Topeka's iconic Menninger Clock Tower
MSNBCs Morning Joe knocked Texas governor Greg Abbott for a Sunday tweet in which he referred to the five victims of Fridays shooting in Cleveland, Texas, as illegal immigrants.

Co-host Joe Scarborough said that the governors response to a sad, sad moment for our country, a tragic moment out of Texas was hateful and callous.

Ive announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday, Abbott wrote. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout. I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond.

Ive announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout.



I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond. pic.twitter.com/SpkUgKqKGe  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 30, 2023

The victims have been identified as 25 year-old Sonia Argentina Guzman; 21-year-old and permanent U.S. resident Diana Velazquez Alvarado; 31-year-old Julisa Molina Rivera; 18-year-old Jonathan Casarez; and 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso. The suspect, identified as Francesco Oropesa, remains on the run.

Also Read:

Chuck Todd on Trumps Legal Woes: How Much Is Too Much Even for His Supporters to Dismiss? (Video)

On Mondays Morning Joe panel, political commentator Charlie Sykes accused Abbott of feeling the need to label them in the most divisive way he can.

Story continues

We know what the politics of Greg Abbott are, we know what the politics of Texas Republicans are when it comes to the gun issue and immigration, Sykes added. So for him to connect the dots there takes just one more data point of the cruelty, the brutality. I mean, Im not telling you anything when I say that for many of these politicians, the cruelty is the point, and that he felt the need to insert that line into that particular moment just reminds us of that.

Thats when Scarborough said that Abbott felt the need to be hateful and to be callous after a mother tries to shield her [eight]-year-old child.

Also Read:

Jen Psaki Says Laura Ingraham Carries the Torch of Fox News Explicit White Nationalist Views After Tucker Carlson (Video)

Both are shot in the head, and instead of even a hope and prayers tweet, he feels like he has to stamp a label on the dead bodies: Illegal immigrant. Just think about the mindset of that, Scarborough continued. A guy who probably runs around, you know, maybe hes part of this Christian nationalist movement, but what would Jesus do? You know, you dont have to be a Bible scholar to know, not that. What a dreadful, shameful thing from the governor from a state that brought us Uvalde. You saw what happened in Sandy Hook. It just shattered the country. And yet in Congress, they did nothing  You can go through Parkland. There was movement on guns in Florida after that tragedy, but then, yeah, Uvalde. Youve already got some Republicans in Congress to do something, but not enough. The carnage continues. Little children continue to get slaughtered by weapons designed for war. And still, the Republican Party does nothing.

Watch the full Morning Joe segment in the video above.

Also Read:

Roy Wood Jr.s Best White House Correspondents Dinner Jokes: From Santos and Carlson to DeSantis and Biden (Video)
New kids on the block. The Real Housewives of New York City is getting a reboot with a cast of fresh faces for season 14, and Bravo finally confirmed the newcomers will make their debut on Sunday, July 16, at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for RHONY season 14  Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Dana Lichy, Jessel Taank, Jenna Lyons and Brynn Whitfield  was announced at BravoCon in October 2022.

Some of the newbies are lifelong New Yorkers. De Silva, 41, is a Brooklyn resident and creative director of lifestyle company Scout the City. Lichy, 34, was raised in Manhattan and now lives in Tribeca as she runs her residential renovation and design firm, Homegirl.

Other new Housewives are newer to the Big Apple. Hassan, 35, is originally from Somalia, and the model made her way to Kenya and Canada before landing in New York. Taank, 31, is a fashion publicist and brand consultant of British-Indian descent.

Meanwhile, Whitfield, 36, was raised in a small midwestern town before hosting dinner parties in the West Village and making waves in the brand marketing field.

Born in Boston and raised in California, Lyons, 54, the former president of J. Crew (she left the company after 27 years in 2017), has lived in New York City for decades, hopping from Brooklyn to Tribeca to SoHo. She now serves as cofounder of the beauty brand LoveSeen.

One month after the cast announcement, matchmaker Lizzy Savetsky announced she was no longer filming the series.

"I will not be continuing on The Real Housewives of NYC," she wrote in a statement on Instagram, explaining that as "a proud orthodox Jewish woman" she hoped being part of the series would be an opportunity to represent people of her faith. "Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of antisemitic attacks. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right for me and my family."

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Prior to the announcement, producer Lisa Shannon weighed in on the new season during the Ultimate Girls Trip panel. "The future of the New York franchise is very bright," Shannon said while on stage at BravoCon in New York City. "There is a new cast, you will be hearing about this new cast very soon. And they're, like, sensational. I am so excited about that."

The Real Housewives of New York season 13 featured OGs Luann de Lesseps, Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer alongside Leah McSweeney and Eboni K. Williams.

Scroll down to meet the new RHONY cast members:
Highlights

Delivery of all long lead time equipment from Metso Outotec in Europe to South Korea is nearing completion.

99% of all equipment related to the Ball Mill and SAG Mill has arrived in South Korea.

Surface scalping has begun for essential pre-work to prepare the site for civil construction.

Almontys South Korean development team and EPC contractor undertook site visits to Almontys Panasqueira mine in Portugal and development projects in Spain so that knowledge can be applied in South Korea as Almonty progresses construction of the Sangdong Tungsten Mine

TORONTO, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Almonty Industries Inc. ("Almonty" or the "Company") (TSX: AII / ASX: AII / OTCQX: ALMTF / Frankfurt: ALI.F) is pleased to announce a construction and financing update in relation to its Sangdong Tungsten Mine.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005223/en/

New 4 MW Power System (Photo: Business Wire)

As announced on 3 April 2023, construction works are continuing to progress in accordance with our construction schedule and the total amount drawn under the KfW Loan Facility now stands at US$32.3 million.

In April 2023, engineering staff from the Sangdong Tungsten Mine team and members of the EPC consortium made a field trip to Almontys tungsten mines and processing plants in Portugal and Spain to better implement ideas and philosophy in the design and engineering of the main processing plant and pastefill plant at the Sangdong Tungsten Mine.

As national demand for the reinforcement and implementation of regulations and promotion of safety awareness has increased, the Company has conducted HSE training and has realigned the organization to focus on special safety personnel. This is aimed at exceeding national standards and enhancing the HSE standards at the mine and at the site of the Sangdong Tungsten Mine.

Almonty is pleased to advise that the installation of the new 4 MW power system, replacing the temporary 950kw system, for the mine infrastructure, was completed successfully in March 2023, without incident. The Korea Electrical Safety Corporation (KESCO) performed the pre-use inspection and issued the use certificate for the 4 MW power system. The power supply expansion is expected to provide stable power to the Sangdong Tungsten Mines surface and underground infrastructure, thereby improving work efficiency and production.

Story continues

Delivery of all long lead time equipment from Metso Outotec in Europe to South Korea is nearing completion. 99% of all equipment related to the Ball Mill and SAG Mill has arrived in South Korea. The final drive is now expected to arrive in May 2023.

All engineering plans have been finalized, and surface scalping has begun for essential pre-work to prepare the site for civil construction.

Key Equipment items including Ultra Fine Screens, Apron Feeders, Flotation Tanks are nearing completion from the manufacturer and Metso Outotec will shortly begin the process of preparing documentation for the equipment. Almonty currently estimates that 75% of the light short lead time equipment will be loaded for transport to South Korea in May 2023.

In recent months, members of the local governments as well as representatives of the Sangdong village and surrounding areas have visited the site to show continuous interest in the development status of the project and to encourage the hard work and efforts of Almonty employees.

Almontys Chairman, President and CEO, Lewis Black, commented:

"Building a mine in a mature and developed democracy is a deeply engaging process which includes not only the physical build of the project but also how the project co-exists with the community and the environment both prior, during and after completion. We are building what we expect to be the largest tungsten mine outside of China with a very long mine life which will have a profound and positive affect on the local and domestic community, after decades of economic stagnation for both the South Korean domestic consumption of tungsten and the wider global tungsten market.

We are striving for the Sandong Tungsten Mine to be the most technically advanced of any tungsten mine in the world and the most ESG compliant and therefore the most transparent.

As we continue to advance the mine towards commissioning, it is now my job to ensure that the wider investing market knows more about our Tier 1 project and about this profound effect this mine will have not only in sectors such as technology  batteries, screens, semiconductors  but also defence, an area which is now significantly increasing its global importance particularly in the USA."

About Almonty

The principal business of Toronto, Canada-based Almonty Industries Inc. is the mining, processing and shipping of tungsten concentrate from its Los Santos Mine in western Spain and its Panasqueira mine in Portugal as well as the development of its Sangdong tungsten mine in Gangwon Province, South Korea and the development of the Valtreixal tin/tungsten project in north western Spain. The Los Santos Mine was acquired by Almonty in September 2011 and is located approximately 50 kilometres from Salamanca in western Spain and produces tungsten concentrate. The Panasqueira mine, which has been in production since 1896, is located approximately 260 kilometres northeast of Lisbon, Portugal, was acquired in January 2016 and produces tungsten concentrate. The Sangdong mine, which was historically one of the largest tungsten mines in the world and one of the few long-life, high-grade tungsten deposits outside of China, was acquired in September 2015 through the acquisition of a 100% interest in Woulfe Mining Corp. Almonty owns 100% of the Valtreixal tin-tungsten project in north- western Spain. Further information about Almontys activities may be found at www.almonty.com and under Almontys profile at www.sedar.com.

Legal Notice

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. These statements and information are based on managements beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and reflect Almontys current expectations.

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 Almonty to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: any specific risks relating to fluctuations in the price of ammonium para tungstate ("APT") from which the sale price of Almontys tungsten concentrate is derived, actual results of mining and exploration activities, environmental, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which Almontys operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, forecasts and assessments relating to Almontys business, credit and liquidity risks, hedging risk, competition in the mining industry, risks related to the market price of Almontys shares, the ability of Almonty to retain key management employees or procure the services of skilled and experienced personnel, risks related to claims and legal proceedings against Almonty and any of its operating mines, risks relating to unknown defects and impairments, risks related to the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, risks related to governmental regulations, including environmental regulations, risks related to international operations of Almonty, risks relating to exploration, development and operations at Almontys tungsten mines, the ability of Almonty to obtain and maintain necessary permits, the ability of Almonty to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements, lack of suitable infrastructure and employees to support Almontys mining operations, uncertainty in the accuracy of mineral reserves and mineral resources estimates, production estimates from Almontys mining operations, inability to replace and expand mineral reserves, uncertainties related to title and indigenous rights with respect to mineral properties owned directly or indirectly by Almonty, the ability of Almonty to obtain adequate financing, the ability of Almonty to complete permitting, construction, development and expansion, challenges related to global financial conditions, risks related to future sales or issuance of equity securities, differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations or accounting policies and rules and acceptance of the TSX of the listing of Almonty shares on the TSX.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to, no material adverse change in the market price of ammonium para tungstate (APT), the continuing ability to fund or obtain funding for outstanding commitments, expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters, no negative change to applicable laws, the ability to secure local contractors, employees and assistance as and when required and on

reasonable terms, and such other assumptions and factors as are set out herein. Although Almonty has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or results described in the forward-looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Almonty. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary.

Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Almonty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Almontys forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

Almonty has also assumed that material factors will not cause any forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF ALMONTY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD- LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE ALMONTY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005223/en/

Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Lewis Black

Chairman, President and CEO

Telephone: +1 647 438-9766

Email: info@almonty.com
Check out this weeks Spinning Back Clique, MMA Junkies weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This weeks panel of Brian Goze Garcia, Danny Segura and Dan Tom will join host Gorgeous George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

The UFC was in action this past Saturday, but so, too, was BKFC  and it made by far the bigger splash. BKFC 41 near Denver featured a main event of Mike Perry vs. former UFC and Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold, plus a co-main event of former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez vs. Chad Mendes. The card also featured Ben Rothwell, Bec Rawlings  and Conor McGregor was there as a fan, then faced off with Perry! What is happening here?! Was this the start of the BKFC takeover?

Nate Diaz has been in the news. He turned himself in to police in New Orleans, was booked and released and now awaits the next process after an arrest that stemmed from footage of him choking a man unconscious. Diazs side said the man was a fellow fighter who came at Diaz, and Diaz merely acted in self defense. What are our thoughts on the scuffle.

Not to be forgotten, UFC Fight Night 223 went down in Las Vegas. It wasnt a crazy card on paper, but in the main event, Song Yadong planted his flag as a bantamweight title contender with a dominant fifth-round finish of Ricky Simon. Whats Yadongs position in the division, and at 25, whats his timeline for when he might fight for a UFC title?

The UFCs middleweight title picture seemed clear enough: Ex-champ Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis has been booked, and presumably the winner would be teed up for Israel Adesanya. But now Aeesanya, born in Africa, but living in New Zealand, has beef with Du Plessis, a South Africa native who still lives and trains there. Is Adsanya vs. Du Plessis the way to go now because of the heat it can pull from their new rivalry?
As its industry confab kicks into full gear, Hot Docs is giving 1,800-plus delegates from more than 40 countries something extra to chatter about this morning with the announcement that leading media executive Marie Nelson has been tapped as the organizations new president after a months-long international search.

Nelsonwho mingled with local and international doc players at the opening bash of the festivals 30th edition last Thursdaywill begin helming the strategic leadership and management of Hot Docs annual festival, conference, and market as well as its evolving year-round industry and public activities and initiatives, effective June 1, 2023.

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Having the chance to link arms with Hot Docs was an unequivocal swipe rightfrom my first trip to Toronto for the festival and its legendary pitch forum, it was love at first sight, commented Nelson, who most recently served as senior vice-president, integrated content strategy for ABC News.

Hot Docs has earned its reputation as a beacon for the global documentary filmmaking community and their audiences by fostering a sense of home and supporting the best in the genre year-round. I am so energized to begin working with my colleagues at Hot Docs to continue innovating and building an even more inclusive and dynamic future for our storytellers.

Before her game-changing tenure at ABC Newswhere she led a strategy that prioritized audience-diversifying, non-fiction primetime programming such as the award-winning series Soul of a NationNelson was vice-president for news and independent film at PBS, overseeing programming for documentary series such as Frontline, Independent Lens and POV. She also held executive positions at WGBH, NPR and Viacom/BET Networks.

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Nelson, who holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Political Science and Womens Studies from Duke University, has also served with government, non-profit and development organizations; she served in two U.S. presidential administrations, notably as director, public diplomacy (appointee), in the office of the U.S. Presidents Special Envoy to Sudan, U.S. Department of State, from June 2009 to September 2011.

Marie is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of supporting filmmakers, growing and diversifying audiences, and lifting powerful and yet often unheard voices into national discussion, which makes her ideally suited to lead Hot Docs into its next chapter, said Lalita Krishna, co-chair of the Hot Docs board of directors.

The entire board is thrilled to welcome her to the team, and we look forward to working with her to realize the incredible opportunities ahead, added co-chair Robin Mirsky.

Outgoing president Chris McDonald has been with Hot Docs in a leadership role for 25 years, previously serving as its executive director. The board of directors thanked McDonald for his immeasurable contribution to the organizations remarkable growth, noting his efforts to expand the festivals public screenings; establish the Forum and various funding programs; negotiate the partnership that allowed the organization to establish the Hot Docs Roger Cinema in 2012; and negotiate the purchase of the building in 2016. McDonald will continue to work with Hot Docs in a voluntary capacity on special projects.

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Marie Davis of South Carolina said she enters HGTV's Home Giveaways "every year, every day"

HGTV

The keys to the 2023 HGTV Dream Home are now in the hands of a longtime fan!

South Carolina local, Marie Davis, is the official new owner of the Morrison, Colorado, mountain retreat, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal. A devoted Dream Home fan, Davis was randomly selected from 129 million entries after entering the giveaway "every year, every day," she says in the above clip.

HGTV designer Brian Patrick Flynn  who was in touch with Marie's daughter Heather to set up the surprise  headed to South Carolina to share the news with the unsuspecting grandma and her husband Arthur.

"Oh my goodness. I cannot believe this," Marie says as Flynn hands her a framed photo of the newly-built home with "Congratulations, Marie!" written on it. Along with the fully-furnished $2.7 million house, the Dream Home giveaway includes a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and a check for $100,000.

In the reveal, she asks her husband if he knew about her winning, to which he responds with a laugh: "No, I just knew something was happening at this point."

Related:HGTV's 2023 Dream Home Is Here! Get a First Look at the 'Rugged' and 'Moody' House  Plus, How to Win It

HGTV

Marie's daughter also joins in on the fun after helping organize the surprise. The two give each other a big hug before Heather accompanies her mom to check out her new ride.

"It was so hard to keep this a secret," Heather says. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to her." Now retired, Marie and her husband were living with Heather and her kids before winning their new luxury pad.

HGTV

Flynn ends the surprise on a sweet note: "So Marie, Arthur and Heather  who put the whole thing together  congratulations! I mean, this is a big day."

Related:HGTV Designer Brian Patrick Flynn Spills Secrets of Its Dream Homes  and Why 2021's Is Special

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HGTV

PEOPLE got an exclusive first look at the 4,360-square-foot property in December  and the nature-inspired space does not disappoint.

"The design of the HGTV Dream Home 2023 is rooted in the history and landscape of Morrison," Flynn told PEOPLE of the home. "I did not just look at your average inspiration sources." Instead, he drew on "dinosaur fossils, earthy colors seen in Red Rocks National Park and Amphitheater, relics from the Gold Rush days and all the active lifestyles that come with Colorado, like horseback riding, hiking and fly fishing."

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

HGTV

Boasting three bedrooms and three bathrooms, the Colorado home is an idyllic escape located less than an hour outside of Denver and in close proximity to local landmarks and parks. Flynn also revealed how the 27th Dream Home is unlike any of his other designs all thanks to the extinct species.

"Dinosaurs! Weird answer, I know. But there is a rich history of dinosaur fossils all around Morrison, Colorado, and when you're local, you see nods to them everywhere from national parks to murals and even on guided tours," he said.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

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Nicole Mossbacher will not be checking back into The White Lotus after all.

TVLine has learned exclusively that franchise alum Connie Britton  who starred in the HBO dramedys breakout first season as the aforementioned high-powered CFO  will not be returning for the Thailand-set third season.

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She would love to do another season of The White Lotus at some point, but she is not participating in the upcoming season, Brittons spokesperson confirms to TVLine.

As we reported back in December, one Season 3 scenario being bandied about had Brittons Nicole resurfacing in Season 3 alongside Laura Derns Abby, the estranged wife of Season 2 guest Dom (Michael Imperioli). Rumor had it that viewers would learn that Nicole and Abby (whom Dern supplied the voice of in Season 2) were, in fact, sisters.

According to sources, Britton had been in preliminary talks to return, but scheduling issues made it an impossibility. Its unclear what impact this will have on the possible in-the-flesh introduction of Derns Abby character.

Britton  who recently signed on to star opposite Oscar winner Robert De Niro in Netflixs limited series Zero Day  first hinted at a potential White Lotus return last summer, telling our sister pub Deadline, [Series creator Mike White] wanted me to be in the second season, and there was an idea that I loved for the character. Our intention is to do it in the third season. A piece of casting didnt work in the second season and were hoping to [do] that in the third season.

The spirit of White Lotus Emmy-winning first season will still be felt in Season 3, courtesy of Natasha Rothwells returning Belinda. 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).

Story continues

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The Swiss watch industrys proverbial closet is crammed with skeletonsof the horological variety. Call them open-worked, open-faced, or open-dialed, the number of new timepieces that reveal their inner workings suggests that the trade is collectively, and newly, besotted with an 18th-century aesthetic technique.

There is, however, a key difference between todays skeleton watches and the classic, exceptionally traditional models of the past: In 2023, skeletons are thrillingly contemporary. Below, we highlight a handful of the best open-faced timepieces introduced this year.

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Cartier Santos-Dumont Skeleton

Cartier Santos-Dumont Skeleton

When designing its new Santos-Dumont Skeleton watch, Cartier began with the concept of full and empty space. Strip away the dial and your view of the perfectly balanced movement, seemingly floating within the frame of the case, remains unobstructed. Powered by the brand new 9629 MC automatic skeleton calibredeveloped by the brand at its facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, over the course of almost two yearsthe watch harkens back to the original 1904 Santos-Dumont, made for the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, with details such as a miniaturized functional oscillating weight shaped like the Demoiselle, a plane the pilot designed in 1907. Available in a rose gold or steel case, the latest Santos-Dumont watch also includes a limited edition in yellow gold with navy lacquer lining the skeletons bridges. Price to be confirmed; cartier.com

Cartier Prive Tank Normale Skeleton

Cartier Prive Tank Normale Skeleton

A tasteful reinterpretation of the 1917 Tank, Cartiers new Tank Normale Skeleton is a case study in symmetry. With a 24-hour time complication, the watch also features an out-of-the-ordinary time-telling experience: Daytime hours appear on the upper part of the dial while nighttime hours appear on the lower part. Note the gradation of shades on the skeletonized bridges that denote the two halves of the dial. Available in platinum and yellow gold in limited editions of 50 individually numbered pieces. Price to be confirmed; cartier.com

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Chanel Premiere Camelia X-Ray

Chanel Premiere Camelia X-Ray

Chanel is wild about camellias  so much so that an 18k white gold camelia-shaped skeleton set with 246 brilliant-cut diamonds takes center stage in this limited timepiece, introduced at Watches and Wonders. Encased entirely in transparent sapphire crystal, the watchs other big talking pieces include its 18k white gold crown set with 24 brilliant-cut diamonds, its Calibre 2 in-house manual winding movement, and its black patent calfskin strap with a silver lining, and 18k white gold triple-folding buckle set with 30 brilliant-cut diamonds. Price on request; chanel.com

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph

If ever a watch lived up to the saying Business in the front, party in the back, its this striking two-faced Reverso chronograph from Jaeger-LeCoultre. The front dial, with its elegant sunray-brushed finish, is the epitome of restraint. The back dial, on the other hand, features an entirely skeletonized dial, offering a view of the chronograph mechanism, complete with Cotes de Geneve-decorated bridges and seconds and minute tracks highlighted in black to maximize legibility. Rendered in both steel and pink gold, the model comes on dark blue and black straps, respectively. $21,400 for stainless steel; $37,400 for 18k pink gold; jaeger-lecoultre.com

Louis Vuitton Voyager Skeleton

Louis Vuitton Voyager Skeleton

The architectural bent of Louis Vuittons new Voyager Skeleton is no coincidence. The skeletonized LV60 movement has been designed to recall the brands engineering marvels, from its flagship stores to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, whose chrysalis-like glass structure is the brainchild of Frank Gehry. The mechanism embodies the brands signature mechanical minimalism. When it comes to the bridges and plates, less is moreonly the material required for structural integrity has been left behind. The watchs most elaborate details include a discreet Louis Vuitton monogram on the rotor bridge and the barrel ratchet wheel, whose open-working spells Louis Vuitton. Price to be confirmed; us.louisvuitton.com

Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface

Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface

This is not your grandfathers skeleton watch. The half-circle opening beneath this Traditionnelle models retrograde display allows a glimpse of the 2162 R31 movement and its ultra-contemporary slate grey surface treatment. The eye is drawn to the vertical hand-brushing on the upper part of the dial, as well as the hand-guilloched segment on the lower part. The slender 18k pink gold case, 41 mm in diameter, provides the perfect note of contrast. Price on request; vacheron-constantin.com

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Oliver Helbig - Getty Images

Cyclist Richard Wanstall, 54, of Marblehead, Massachusetts was struck by driver Alex Goss, 27, of East Haven, Vermont at around 9 a.m. Saturday morning, during the Rasputitsa gravel race in Burke, Vermont. According to police reports, the crash was head-on and occurred when Wanstall crossed into the northbound lane. In a statement, Vermont State Police said, At this time, neither speed nor impairment are believed to be contributing factors in the collision. The incident remains under investigation.

Although the race was not canceled, it was rerouted, and participants became aware of the crash throughout the day. Many reported a somber tone. The race organizers halted celebratory social media posts, and released a statement on Instagram and Facebook, We are deeply saddened by the news that one of our community members died today, after colliding with a vehicle while on course. We do not have any information at this time other than what the state police have publicly released so far, but we will reach out to our community with updates as we learn more.

Rasputitsa has been running since 2014, and has a reputation of being welcoming to and supportive of all cyclists. The event features three course distances: 100K, 70K, and 40K, to encourage as many people as possible to participate. Its known for its muddy, grueling climbs and its party-like atmosphere. Wanstall was taking on the 100 km. course. A dedicated cyclist and father of four children, he had made the 3-hour drive the night before, for the 8 a.m. race start. Along with more than 1,800 other riders from around the country, Wanstall was excited for the challenging course.

Race director Heidi Myers stated that she and all race organizers were focused on supporting the family and all riders who witnessed the scene.

The Vermont State Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have other information to contact them at 802-241-5000.

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J. Crew is continuing the celebration of its 40th anniversary with its mens spring campaign.

The fashion retailer has tapped 10 photographers for its upcoming mens campaign, which is meant to capture aspects of modern America as a way to honor the brands roots.

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The photographers, some of the companys favorites, include Brian Adams, Cole Barash, Miranda Barnes, Eric Chakeen, Ilyes Griyeb, Curran Hatleberg, Daniel Jack Lyons, Liam Macrae, Yael Malka and Bethany Mollenkof. The photographers captured images in states such as California, Texas, Alaska, Colorado and others.

Photographs include Barnes image of an ice machine outside a convenience store in Texas, Mollenkofs picture of a lake and mountain backdrop in California and Barashs photo of a pack of llamas in Colorado, among others.

An image from J. Crews mens spring campaign.

The campaign is the latest to come from J. Crew mens creative director Brendon Babenzien, who was appointed to the position last May. Babenzien is the cofounder of menswear label Noah and previously served as the design director at Supreme.

This is one of J. Crews latest initiatives. In January, the retailer launched J. Crew Always, which offers a 360-resale program powered by ThredUp. The initiative was meant to further the companys circularity and sustainability efforts.

On the menswear front, J. Crew went further into the category last fall by opening a new mens concept store in Manhattans NoHo neighborhood. The store offers an edited curation of the brands mens collection, vintage pieces and a cafe.

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) spoke strongly in favor of U.S. aid to Ukraine in response to a Russian reporters question during a visit to Israel on Monday.

The reporter said he knew McCarthy didnt support unlimited aid to Ukraine and asked if the U.S. might alter its policy of supporting the country as it fends off a Russian invasion.

Did he say I dont support aid to Ukraine? No. I vote for aid for Ukraine, McCarthy said during a press conference following his address to the Israeli Knesset. I support aid for Ukraine.

Some far-right Republicans have criticized U.S. support for Ukraine, arguing it only prolongs the conflict and wastes American dollars. McCarthy made it clear he does not subscribe to that view.

I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine. I do not support your killing of the children, either, he told the reporter, according to a video of the exchange. And I think for one standpoint, you should pull out, and I dont think its right, and we will continue to support because the rest of the world sees it just as it is.

Russia launched its latest invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, prompting the U.S. and other allies to respond with economic sanctions against Russia. Congress has also appropriated more than $100 billion in economic and military aid to Ukraine.

Some Republicans, including former president Donald Trump, have warned that the assistance risks overly entangling the U.S. in a foreign conflict with Russia. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have pushed for an audit of the Ukraine spending.

But Republican leaders such as McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have continued to insist that the U.S. help Ukraine defend itself.

As my fellow leading Republicans and I have explained, it is not an act of charity for the United States and our NATO allies to help supply the Ukrainian peoples self-defense, McConnell said in February.

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If [Russian President Vladimir ]Putin were given a green light to destabilize Europe, invading and killing at will, the long-term cost to the United States in both dollars and security risks would be astronomically higher than the minuscule fraction of our GDP that we have invested in Ukraines defense thus far.

Related...
[Source]

Hawaii Representative Jill Tokuda (D, HI-2) used her time on the House floor to congratulate drag queen Sasha Colby, the winner of RuPauls Drag Race" Season 15, on Wednesday.

Noting Colbys role in authentically representing the Hawaiian and LGBTQ+ community as a trans woman and the first Native Hawaiian queen to compete on the hit reality competition show, Tokuda declared that her first-place finish gives us all hope and was "well-deserved."



I rise today to congratulate Hawaii-born Sasha Kekauoha, more famously known as Sasha Colby, on being crowned the winner of RuPauls Drag Race Season 15. I am so proud that a fellow windward girl, hailing from the homesteads of Waimanalo, has earned the title of Americas next drag star.

Tokuda also noted Colbys dedication to [drawing] upon her ethnic heritage and childhood trauma as sources of inspiration since the beginning of her presence on the show.

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Throughout Drag Race, she authentically represented her Hawaiian culture, talking about the legacy she is building for our home state and about being Mahu, said Tokuda.

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Mahu, which translates to in the middle, represents individuals of a third gender who take on spiritual and social roles in Native Hawaiian culture.

Historically, Mahu were considered extraordinary individuals of male and female spirit who brought their healing powers to Oahu from Tahiti, Tokuda shared.

More from NextShark: 2021 MTV EMAs: BTS wins most awards, Olivia Rodrigo and Saweetie also winners

Amidst ongoing attacks on our LGBTQ+ rights that particularly target trans people and drag queens, her win is not only well-deserved, it gives us all hope. Congratulations to Sasha Colby. You are a leader, you are a proud Mahu, and every drag queens favorite drag queen.

Tokudas congratulatory message took place nearly two weeks after Colbys win on April 14.

Colby, who currently lives in Los Angeles, was born in Waimanalo as the youngest of seven children and was raised as a conservative Jehovah's Witness before coming out as a trans woman.

More from NextShark: Demon Slayer Movie Submitted for Oscars 2021

Colby, who won the prestigious annual drag queen pageant Miss Continental in 2012, told Hawaii News Now during the second week of filming for "Drag Race" that she was excited to "represent all the things I love about Hawaii."

I love taking that on and representing all the Hawaii queens I grew up loving and admiring. So Im just so happy to be the one that gets to at least push the conversation further in trans rights, equal level playing field for everyone, she said.

Representative Tokuda's powerful message on the House floor regarding LGBTQ+ attacks also comes as Republican lawmakers  specifically in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia  are actively pursuing anti-drag bills.
Customers struggling with their energy bills should contact their distributor about support programs.

TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Today marks the end of the winter disconnection ban for residential customers. Customers who are in arrears may have already received a disconnection notice from their distributor in April and should know that there are rules and programs in place to protect them.

Bilingual Ontario Energy Board logo (CNW Group/Ontario Energy Board)

Under the Ontario Energy Board's winter disconnection ban, regulated electricity and natural gas distributors cannot disconnect residential customers for non-payment between November 15 and April 30.

Disconnection Rules:

Customers who receive a disconnection notice should contact their natural gas or electricity distributor as soon as possible. The best way for these customers to avoid disconnection is to stay in contact with their distributor. Customers who can't pay the entire amount owed can ask their distributor about setting up a payment plan to pay their bill over a longer period.

Customers should be aware that distributors must follow a step-by-step process before disconnecting a residential or small business customer for non-payment, including minimum notice periods.

If service is disconnected, the distributor is allowed to charge a reconnection fee to turn your service back on but must offer reasonable payment arrangements to customers unable to pay this fee. Eligible low-income customers do not have to pay the reconnection fee.

Once the bill has been paid in full, or a customer has entered into a payment agreement, the customer should generally expect the distributor to reconnect their service within two business days.

Bill Support Programs:

In Ontario, programs are available to help low-income energy consumers. Certain eligibility criteria apply. The programs include:

The Ontario Electricity Support Program  Reduces electricity bills by providing eligible low-income customers with an on-bill credit each month, generally ranging from $35 to $75 depending on household income and size.

The Low-income Energy Assistance Program, Emergency Financial Assistance (LEAP) Eligible low-income customers can get up to $500 for their electricity bills ($600 if the home is electrically heated) and up to $500 for their natural gas bills.

Temporary changes to the screening guidelines for LEAP, put in place in 2021 to help support Ontarians through the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue to provide flexibility through 2023. This means:

Customer Service Rules for Low-income Consumers  Electricity distributors, unit sub-meter providers and rate-regulated natural gas distributors follow customer service rules specific to eligible low-income customers. These include waiving security deposits and allowing longer payment times under arrears payment plans.

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Customers can find out more about the specifics of each program, including eligibility criteria, by visiting oeb.ca/billhelp .

The Save on Energy Energy Affordability Program provides support to income-eligible electricity consumers by helping them to better manage their monthly electricity costs and to increase their home comfort through energy efficiency measures.

Beware of Scams:

Consumers should always beware of anyone claiming to represent their distributor and threatening immediate disconnection. This could be a scam . Regulated electricity and natural gas distributors must provide their residential and small business customers with notice before disconnecting them, and they do not accept payment through gift cards or bitcoin. Customers should always know who they are dealing with. Be wary of emails or texts claiming to be from your distributor. Customers are urged to reach out to their distributor directly, using the contact information on their distributor bill.

Quote

"We know that it can be difficult to keep up with their energy bills, especially in this economy," says Harneet Panesar, Ontario Energy Board Chief Operating Officer. "But the OEB has rules and programs in place to protect energy consumers, and the single most important thing a customer in arrears should do to avoid disconnection is reach out to their distributor to negotiate a payment plan and find out about bill payment support programs."

Resources:

Electricity customers who want to learn more about the OEB's customer service rules, including details of the disconnection process, should go here .

Natural gas customers who want to learn more about the OEB's customer service rules, including details of the disconnection process, should go here .

For bill support programs visit oeb.ca/billhelp.

Customers who want to learn more about how to protect themselves against energy scams should visit oeb.ca/scams .

Power is Personal. Customers who want to learn more about their electricity price plan options and use our online bill calculator can visit oeb.ca/choice.

About the Ontario Energy Board

The OEB is the independent regulator of Ontario's electricity and natural gas sectors. It protects the interests of consumers and supports the collective advancement of the people of Ontario. Its goal is to deliver public value through prudent regulation and independent adjudicative decision-making which contributes to Ontario's economic, social and environmental development.

Ce document est aussi disponible en francais.

Contact Us

For more information, please visit the OEB website at oeb.ca or contact us directly.

SOURCE Ontario Energy Board

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TikToks viral Benadryl challenge is making the rounds again  and the dangerous trend reportedly left another teenager fighting for his life. Now, his mother advising other parents on how to keep their kids safe. As NBC New York reported, a New Jersey teen was rushed to the hospital in April after partaking in the []
Photo Credit: Tommy Wildner/Netflix



"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."



Another horrifying true crime limited series has just hit Netflix. The Nurse, a Danish thriller series directed by Kasper Barfoed, recounts the story of Christina Aistrup Hansen, a nurse who was arrested in March 2015 for allegedly killing her patients at Nykbing Falster Hospital in Denmark. The series stars Josephine Park as Hansen and Fanny Louis Bernth as fellow nurse Pernille Kurzmann, per IMDb.

The story, which is eerily similar to the story of killer nurse Charles Cullen from Netflix's 2022 series The Good Nurse, explores Hansen's crimes as she builds a friendship with a fresh-out-of-school nurse named Pernille Kurzmann. Kurzmann's discoveries about her coworker eventually lead to one of the most troubling criminal trials in Denmark.

So, what is there to know about this new Netflix series and the story it's based on? Women's Health has all the details.

Is The Nurse a true story?

The series is based on a book written by Kristian Corfixen, titled The Nurse: The True Story Behind One Of Scandinavia's Most Notorious Criminal Trials. The book documents the story of a real nurse named Christina Aistrup Hansen, who was arrested in March 2015 for intentionally killing patients in southern Denmark.

Shop Now The Nurse: The True Story Behind One of Scandinavia's Most Notorious Criminal Trials $13.49 amazon.com

During night shifts, Hansen would dose patients with lethal medication in order to worsen their conditions before trying to "save" them again. Her seemingly "heroic" actions meant that Hansen was well-respected, and had a good reputation at the hospital. But unfortunately, Hansen was not always able to save the patients she harmed.

On March 1, 2015, Hansen's behavior came to a head when two patients died under her care, and another 73-year-old woman was revived at the last minute.

Dutch journalist Kristian Corfixen investigated the crime in his bookcombing through police reports, first-hand accounts from witnesses of Hansen's crimes, and medical records. Director Kasper Barfoed then used that book as the basis for the series.

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"Nobody knows more about the case than [Corfixen] did, Barfoed told Netflix.



How much of the series is accurate to real life?

The Nurse appears to closely follow Hansen's real story and Corfixen's book. However, the series also develops Kurzmann and Hansen's relationship.



Director Kasper Barfoed told Netflix the series tried to determine how Hansen's crimes went undetected for so long. According to multiple sources, Hansen's first victim was traced back to a deceased patient in 2012, whose blood contained the same deadly medication combination that killed two patients in 2015.

Many employees at the hospital were suspicious of Hansen, however, no one spoke up until Kurzmann finally reported her in 2015. Kurzmann had only started working at the hospital a year prior, according to her Facebook page.

Who Is Pernille Kurzmann?

The miniseries is told from Pernille Kurzmann's point of view. Kurzmann was fresh out of nursing school and had just started her first job at Nykbing when she met Hansen in 2014.

Kurzmann and Hansen become quite close in the Netflix miniseries (it's unclear if this happened in real life), and the two become the hospital's "dream team." According to Netflix, Kurzmann became suspicious of Hansen when she noticed patients were dying in her care at an unusual rate.

So many people suspected something or saw somethingand yet its the new nurse, the one whos in her first job who not only senses something is wrong, but who actually does something about it and risks everything, director Kasper Barfoed told Netflix.

Kurzmann also became a key witness in Hansen's trial, per Berlingske, a Danish news site. 70 other witnesses would later come forward to testify against Hansen, per Radio Times.

Where is Pernille Kurzmann now?

She still works at Nykbing Falster Hospital. Kurzmann got married, and goes by Pernille Kurzmann Lunden now. (Niels Lunden, her now-husband, and then-boyfriend, is also depicted in the series).

Did Christina Hansen go to prison?

In real life, Hansen was arrested in 2015, and charged in 2016 with three murders (one in 2012, and two in 2015), one attempted murder charge, and one count of stealing sleeping medicine from Nykbing, according to Berlingske. The prosecution alleged that Hansen's "histrionic personality disorder," may have motivated her crimes.

The court found Hansen guilty of all charges, per Berlingske.

Where is Christina Hansen now?

Hansen's trial lasted around 28 days, and at the end, she was sentenced to life in prison, per Domstole, a Danish news site. However, in 2017, after she appealed the first conviction, a higher court convicted her of four counts of attempted murder, and reduced Hansen's sentence to 12 years, per Digital Spy. She is set to be released in 2028.

Where can I watch The Nurse?

The miniseries is currently available to stream on Netflix. The series consists of four, hour-long episodes.

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If any single clothing brand can claim to be born of romance, its Vilebrequin. Its story begins in the summer of 1971, when founder Fred Prysquel found himself so besotted with a young woman hed met whilst on holiday in Saint Tropez, he travelled back there to win her favour. There was one major obstacle on his path towards amorous fulfilment, though: Prysquel felt crushingly self-consciousness in the ultra-tight trunks popular at the time. Having observed what surfers in Borneo and Australia were wearing, he made, for himself, what would become modern swim shorts.

Before long, requests for similar pairs were coming in right the way along the coastline uniting France and Italy, so much so he began sourcing colourful fabrics from Africa and had to recruit any local who owned a sewing machine to keep up with demand. Fast-forward half a century and Vilebrequin is one of the foremost luxury swimwear brands in the world, famed for its bold, statement prints.

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Its spiritual home remains the French south coastand particularly, the regions beacheswhich is surely why the brand has now taken over one of Cannes best-loved private parcels of coastline, LOndine, which is situated just below the boardwalk of the iconic Croisette. The entire space has been re-imagined, with Vilebrequins vibrant aesthetic in mind, by interior designer Vincent Darre. Expect sea-weathered wood panels, tiles and ceramic pots emblazoned with hand-painted sea creatures and lush greenery on the outside, whilst in the bar and dining area guests will sip cocktails such as Ondine Fizz or Beach Bubble, and pick dishes from a locally-inspired menu of grilled octopus, lobster and salad surrounded by quirky nautical curiosities and furnishings many will recognize as Vilebrequin prints from the past.

Details of a series of events, dinners and DJ sets with special guests are yet to be announced.

First we made the costumes. Now were making the set, comments Vilebrequin CEO Roland Herlory. The beach is where Vilebrequin was born. And its where we belong. Every summer since 1971, its been the backdrop to an art of living in the sun. It was only a matter of time before we put the la plage centre stage, installing our turtles and parasols on the Cote dAzur.

Adds Darre: Like a ray of light, Vilebrequin La Plage shines in the daylight. By night, the stars illuminate the bar and turtles shimmer on tabletops. Everything is designed to make your vacation feel like a Technicolor film where you are the leading actors.

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A 46-year-old Bremerton man was injured after losing control of his motorcycle on Navy Yard Highway in Bremerton Saturday evening, according to Washington State Patrol.

A 2008 Suzuki was driving eastbound around 9 p.m. on Navy Yard Highway, when the driver tried to pass a vehicle in the left lane and lost control near Charleston Beach Road. According to the WSP report the motorcycle was traveling at speeds too fast for conditions.

The motorcycle struck two signs. The driver, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from the vehicle, hitting a jersey barrier before landing in a roadside ditch. He was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remains in serious condition, according to WSP.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Driver in serious condition after Bremerton motorcycle crash
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters

During Russias blood-stained spring of 1919, about 10 months after the Cheka executed the tsarist Romanov family in a grubby basement, Vladimir Lenin assembled 15 Bolsheviks and ordered them to sanitize the mess. They did such a poor job of sweeping up the dirt that Lenin the following year persuaded 425,000 volunteers to participate in what the Kremlin soon after enshrined as the subbotnik, the annual Saturday spring-cleaning of Russia.

Vladimir Putin is keen on autocratic traditions and enthusiastic about keeping his Kremlin spick-and-span. But with so much crap piled up inside his fortress after the invasion of Ukraine, arresting critics and assassinating political foes, the one day of traditional spring-cleaning from the beginning of Putins reign is no longer enough.

Spring 2023 is here and its time to look at what Putin has to clean up. Hes ignited a dumpster fire kindled with more than 200,000 dead Russian soldiers, whose death march on Ukraine doubled the size of his border with NATO, torched his profitable global energy markets, and recycled him as a Chinese subordinate.

Hes produced the countrys largest budget hole since the 1990s and achieved the highest number of sanctions ever leveled against a country. And if the International Criminal Court in The Hague has its way, Putin is destined to be convicted of crimes against humanity, leaving Russia leaderless and with the annexed Crimea becoming a Ukrainian vacation destination once again.

Putin can always cut and run to one of his many gilded hideaways of reinforced concrete, but theres no future in hunkering down alongside his hierophants, all of them echoing his flimflam about Russias grandeur, moral superiority, and schemes to lure deposed Fox News host Tucker Carlson into anchoring a talk show on Russia-1. Spring 2023 is a pivotal political moment for Putin, particularly if his moral compass is plotting an anywhere near tolerable economic future for his country. Putin, however, has never taken directions. Many who have offered him advice are either dead, under arrest, or being slowly poisoned in far-flung penal colonies.

Story continues

Tyrants, of course, seldom want pretexts. The Russian imperium Putin is hellbent on forging in Ukraine is a forgery. The task certainly requires cash, but fear is his currency, which is why Putin would gleefully saturation-bomb Ukraine with bathroom fixtures when he runs out of money.

Leakers Reveal Kremlin Secretly Panicking Over Putins Arrest Warrant

Putins only need is cannon fodder and it comes cheap. A new law designed to prevent anyone called up for duty in Ukraine from leaving the country is geared up to fill the body gap before the expected Ukrainian spring counteroffensive. Yet the days when Putin could count on Western bankers and businessmen to underwrite his schemes by dealing him winning hands from a stacked deck are over. Just last month, for instance, four Zurich bankers who led the Swiss outpost of Gazprombank were convicted of failing to conduct due diligence on accounts in the name of Putins alleged financial frontman Sergei Roldugin, whos also the godfather of Putins eldest daughter.

Russian stories never have happy endings, says Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and chief architect of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which spurred global legislation that now allows the U.S. and its allies to slap sanctions on Russian oligarchs, assets, and businesses.

Putin appears set on making the whole Russian state biodegradablein a hurry. Still, its not easy to go fully green when sanctions have obliged him to tap into Russias finite 300-year-supply of dirty coal and gobble up some 46,000 annual tons of unhealthy animal fat to replenish depleted stocks of wholesome vegetable oil for agricultural and domestic users. Perhaps more worrisome is Putins escalating inability to pass gas. According to the Kremlin-controlled newspaper Izvestia, Western embargos this year are set to block 50 percent more natural gas pipeline exports than in 2022.

A Russian military intelligence analyst Ive known for years insists it would be foolhardy to discount the morbidly whimsical minutiae of what Putin has discarded to sustain his war against Ukraine. The Kremlin seriously studies the long-term impact of what we might find ridiculous, he says. Putins decreasing reservoirs of rendered pig fat underscore the size, scope and cascade effect of his battlefield reality. Hes lost more than 9,000 pieces of military equipment, 50 percent of his tanks are gone, and hes facing severe shortages of munitions and components to keep warplanes in the air and submarines at sea.

And Putin knows it, too. Hes previously admitted that obvious mistakes were made in the planning and organization of work on import substitution.

As for Putins televised mouthpieces continuing to ballyhoo that import substitutions are covering the shortfalls, thats garbage, the intelligence official adds. The Russian militarys dependency on foreign components over the past ten years has increased to record levels.

In some ways, Putin has had some help cleansing his population of malcontents and potential opponents. The number of Russians fleeing the motherland is also at an all-time high, with an estimated 700,000 people having left the country over the past 18 months. More are sure to follow.

Putin has gone even further. Legislation has been brought before the Duma to reintroduce Stalin-era enemy of the people laws, which were devised to execute everyone not fully committed to the regime and the war in Ukraine. Sources in Moscow say that Putins ultranationalist allies convinced him to take this radical next step.

Troops Reveal the Biggest Problem That Is Helping Putin Win Right Now

In Stalins day, one of his Socialist Homeland is in Danger! decrees read: Enemy agents, speculators, thugs, hooligans, counter-revolutionary agitators and spies are to be shot at the crime scene.

Whether the murders will be monetized remains to be seen. Stalins secret police paid informers $24 (around $500 in todays money) for each person they denounced as enemies of the state, according to Soviet archives declassified in the 1990s. As Stalins ammunition was in short supply, as a similar shortage is now forcing Putins soldiers to fight Ukrainians with shovels, the executioners ordered their victims to form into head-to-head pairs, killing two for the price of one bullet.

Still, Putin and his platoons of subbotniki know Russia will dry and shrivel without a literal spring-clean of the garbage and other environmental contaminants. Waste collection is a complex process, says Sergei Ivanov, Putins Special Representative on Environmental Protection, who is in charge of leading the current clean-up. His latest wheeze has a familiar, threatening air: There will be punishments for those unwilling to meet our environmental standards.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A Texas bill would eliminate the requirement for independent reviews of Texas jail deaths when theyre the result of natural causes.

Reviews also would not be necessary in cases when the person is lawfully executed or it does not appear a crime has been committed.

Fort Worth Republican Sen. Brian Birdwell filed the bill, Senate Bill 1896, in March. It passed the Criminal Justice Committee but has yet to be heard by the Senate. If approved by the Senate, it would have to pass the House before it goes to Gov. Greg Abbotts desk.

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn spoke about third-party investigations of deaths in custody during a November Senate hearing. As an example, Waybourn told the committee about an inmate with Stage 4 cancer who died in custody. The Texas Rangers still needed to get involved in the case.

Waybourn said he believed there could be a reform that saves time. The county medical examiner, Texas Attorney Generals office and Texas Commission on Jail Standards review all in-custody deaths, he said.

I just think that maybe we can look at a better way of doing that, Waybourn said. We want accountability, but sometimes its like, Golly, what could he be doing? A murder case or something else other than reviewing this case.

Waybourn has not testified for Birdwells bill. Representatives for Waybourn did not immediately return a request for comment.

Texas had made progress toward reform in its handling of custodial deaths with the Sandra Bland Act, which required mandatory investigations into deaths in custody, said Krish Gundu of the Texas Jail Project. Senate Bill 1896 backslides on that progress, Gundu said.

Its really alarming, because when you say natural death, you dont know if its natural unless you investigate it. Right? Gundu said. And if you dont investigate it, how do you know it was natural or not?

If passed, Gundu said the bill will make a system that is already opaque even more opaque. Families of those who die in custody only want answers in the end.

Story continues

Otherwise its like an unspoken, unwritten death sentence, Gundu said.

The bill comes as Tarrant County faces questions surrounding the 2019 in-custody death of Robert Miller.

Millers death was ruled natural as a result of a sickle cell crisis. Members of Millers family and experts who spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for an investigation into his death say he never had the disease.

The Texas Rangers investigated Millers death and agreed with original autopsys findings.

Though the bill eliminates the requirement for independent reviews into jail deaths as the result of natural causes, it does not prohibit county leaders from commissioning third-party reviews themselves, like Tarrant County leaders did in Millers case.

Tarrant County contracted with Bloomington, Illinois-based medical examiner J. Scott Denton to review Millers autopsy, but the review never happened because the county never sent Denton materials.

Leaders said the third-party review did not happen because results from Millers blood test came back from the Mayo Clinic confirming Miller had sickle cell trait. The county said the findings confirmed the original cause of death from a sickle cell crisis. Experts say that isnt possible.

Gundu and Jonathan Guadian, a community organizer in Dallas and Fort Worth, said the bill could have a chilling effect.

If its eliminating the legal requirements, then Im assuming what may happen is the commissioners may request an investigation being called upon for a death within the custody of the jail, but then, you know, the sheriff coming back and saying that its not a legal requirements anymore, Guadian said. So they can always leverage that power against them.

Guadian worries what effect the bill could have on cases like Millers if it is passed.

If this bill is approved at the legislative session, then I am very certain that Robert Millers death will not receive the investigation that it deserves, Guadian said. And also other deaths within the jail will also not be receiving these kinds of investigations or any information being actually disseminated from them.

Sebastian Van Coevorden, who represents Millers widow Shanelle Jenkins as she pursues a wrongful death lawsuit against the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office, said the only reason the legal team was able to get the information for the case was because of that third-party investigation by the Texas Rangers.

The legislators shouldnt be moving toward getting rid of investigations of these deaths, but rather adding to the investigative powers that they currently have, Van Coevorden said.

Gundu agreed.

If sheriffs offices were serious about winning the confidence and trust of their community, this is the exact opposite of what they should be doing, Gundu said. This takes away, this erodes the communitys trust in the sheriffs office when you say that we dont need to investigate a custodial death, because it is their job to keep people safe and alive.

Van Coevorden added that the investigations from the Texas Rangers are often not enough to overcome natural deaths in custody having extenuating circumstances.

Birdwell did not immediately return a phone call or email for comment.

County commissioners are expected to discuss the Miller case Tuesday in closed session during their meeting.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the leading candidates for the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, in the race for the presidency in 2024. Some feel both are too old to be president and an age restriction might benefit the country.

When The New York Times, not exactly a mainline conservative newspaper, says that Joe Biden is too old to be president, perhaps it's time for Democratic Party leaders to pay attention. In the words of The Times: "Concern about age  both in terms of fitness for office and being out of touch with the moment  are legitimate."

Just as a we have a minimum age requirement to run for president, perhaps it's time to add a maximum. Since age 75 would eliminate the leading candidates of both parties, it sounds like an acceptable number to me.

Robert Deluskey, Liberty Township

We need sane ideas from lawmakers to solve gun violence

I am so frustrated by our politicians' ideas (or lack thereof) for deterring gun violence. On Sunday, April 23, it was reported that mass killings are on "record pace" in 2023. But the latest abomination of an idea to combat this is Senator Michael Rullis plan to introduce the Ohio Childhood Safety Act. This law would mandate standards for all interior and exterior doors in schools.

I would laugh but this is not a joke. Sen. Rulli truly believes that if all the doors in schools had standards like those in hospitals, our children would be safe. Maybe Rulli can next tell us how to keep children safe during recess.

To add insult to injury, there is no appropriation for said doors. Schools will, however, be inspected by fire marshals and written up if they are not in compliance. Ever willing to work with schools, Rullis plan gives schools two years to inspect and comply but will extend that deadline to five years if needed.

This sounds like a boon for the door industry, but schools will have to figure out which of the already scarce resources they have for educating children will have to be used to pay for new doors. Can this really be the solution? Not mandatory background checks or waiting periods or age requirements or gun training? No? Mandatory regulations on doors?

Story continues

I wish I could vote Sen. Rulli and every other elected official out of office if their solution to gun violence does not include gun regulations. Please leaders, can we have some sanity to your ideas.

Mary Rieke, Anderson Township

Some gun owners believe they can be judge and jury

Regarding, "As long as Congress stalls more will suffer," (April 23): I write this after reading James Causeys article about the unprovoked shooting of Ralph Yarl by a homeowner. Gun owners have gotten into their heads that they have been given unlimited protection when it comes to the use of their weapons. People have become so paranoid about crime and protecting themselves from any incursion into their personal space that they react too quickly and too violently. Ohios stand-your-ground law and others like it encourage people to interpret the law to fit their own level of paranoia.

It is a sad day when an innocent mistake by a young boy results in serious injury. We should all think twice about stepping on someone elses property to ask directions or seek help. This is another restriction on our personal freedom for the sake of gun owners who pronounce themselves judge and jury.

Marianne Conway, Maineville

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Letters: Time to impose age limit of 75 to run for president
Market.Us

According to Market.us, North America held the largest share of the contrast media market in 2022, with around 44.44%. Significant companies in the industry, such as Bayer and GE Healthcare, are taking strategic measures to target specific patient groups, which could alter the market landscape in a positive direction.

New York, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global contrast media market size is expected to be worth around USD 6.9 Billion by 2032 from USD 4.9 Billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032. Diagnostic imaging procedures including ultrasound, X-rays, and advanced imaging technology like MRI and CT scans are becoming more prevalent due to the rising frequency of complex comorbidities and long-term diseases.

The "global contrast media market" refers to the offer of medical imaging products used to enhance the visibility of interior body structures during imaging procedures such as X-rays, computed tomography scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Contrast media are also known as contrast agents. Increased demand for minimally invasive diagnostic procedures, a rising number of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders, and advancements in medical imaging.

Contrast Media Market

Get additional highlights on major revenue-generating segments, Request a Contrast Media Market sample report at https://market.us/report/contrast-media-market/request-sample/

Key Takeaway:

By Type, in 2022, the Iodinated contrast media segment dominated the global revenue share.

By Modality, in 2022, X-ray/ CT scan segment dominated the global revenue share. Due to its wide range of applications in diagnostic imaging.

By Application, Neurological Disorders the medical segment dominated the largest market share.

By Route of Administration analysis, the Intravascular Route segment dominated the largest share in 2022.

By End-User, the Hospitals segment dominated the global revenue share.

In 2022, North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 44.44% .

Asia Pacific is anticipated to have the highest CAGR among all the regions.

Story continues

Factors affecting the growth of the Contrast Media Market

There are several factors that can have an impact on the growth of the contrast media market. Some of these factors include:

Prevalence of chronic diseases increasing : Chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders are becoming more prevalent on a global level. Due to the growing popularity of contrast media in various disorders' diagnostic processes, the demand for contrast media is anticipated to increase over the next several years.

Technological developments : The contrast media sector is monitoring developments that increase the efficacy and safety of contrast agents. For instance, the creation of macrocyclic contrast substances has resulted in decreased side effects and enhanced safety features. In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that these technological advances will propel the expansion of the contrast media sector.

Growing demand for diagnostic imaging procedures: CT scans, MRI scans, and X-rays are some examples of diagnostic imaging procedures that are in growing demand globally. Contrast media is frequently needed for these procedures, which is expected to drive the industry's expansion over the next few years.

To understand how our report can bring a difference to your business strategy, Inquire about a brochure at https://market.us/report/contrast-media-market/#inquiry

Top Trends in Global Contrast Media Market

Non-ionic contrast agents are becoming increasingly popular due to their lower risk of adverse reactions. Particularly in high-risk patient populations. Iodinated contrast agents are the most widely used contrast agents, particularly in CT imaging, which is driving up demand for them. There is a growing demand for iodinated contrast agents owing to their affordable and wide availability.

Market Growth

Contrast media, frequently referred to as contrast agents, are substances used in medical imaging to enhance the visibility of internal body structures. They are often utilized in treatments including X-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans. A number of factors, including the rising incidence of chronic illnesses, the aging population, and the advancement of cutting-edge imaging technology, have contributed to the considerable expansion of the worldwide contrast media market in recent years.

Regional Analysis

North America held the majority of the contrast media market in 2022, with a share of around 44.44%. This is expected to change as a consequence of the various strategic initiatives taken by major companies to target certain patient demographics in this area. Significant players in the sector include Bayer and GE Healthcare. Inpatient assessments are anticipated to increase as a result of the presence of renowned medical institutions, simple access to modern technology, and rising demand for diagnostic procedures driven by disorder management and disease screening programs in this region. However, healthcare reforms that enforce standards for proper utilization and prevent unnecessary procedures might lower the number of operations. The global contrast media market in APAC and Europe region is likely to expand at a significant CAGR.

Have Queries? Speak to an expert or Click Here To Download/Request a Sample

Scope of the Report

Report Attribute Details Market Value (2022) USD 4.9 billion Market Size (2032) USD 6.9 billion CAGR (from 2023 to 2032) 3.5% North America Revenue Share 44.44% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases : Chronic diseases are becoming more prevalent, which has increased the need for medical imaging procedures for diseases including cancer, neurological disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. To increase the accuracy of diagnoses and monitor the progression of diseases, contrast media is frequently utilized in these procedures.

Imaging technology advancements : The introduction of new imaging technologies like CT, MRI, and ultrasound has increased the demand for contrast media. Through the development of these technologies, imaging has become more precise and detailed, which requires the use of improved contrast agents.

Increased healthcare expenditure: The demand for contrast media is being driven by increased expenditure on healthcare, especially in developing countries. This is a result of the increased use of diagnostic imaging procedures driven by easier access to healthcare services.

Market Restraints

Contrast agents' side effects and allergic reactions: Contrast agents can be used safely in a variety of diagnostic procedures, including CT scans and MRIs. However, some adverse effects and allergic reactions linked to their usage may significantly restrain market expansion. Their side effects might range from moderate to severe; yet, major allergic reactions to contrast materials are quite rare.

Market Opportunities

Development of more secure, superior contrast agents : There is a great chance to develop more secure more effective contrast agents that are more efficiently targeted to specific organs and tissues and have fewer side effects. The demand for contrast media may rise as a result, particularly in emerging nations.

Growing demand in emerging economies: Due to the increased need for healthcare services in emerging regions, there is a major opportunity for the contrast media industry. Companies that can provide efficient and affordable contrast agents that satisfy these markets' needs are likely to see significant demand.

Grow your profit margin with Market.us - Purchase This Premium Report at https://market.us/purchase-report/?report_id=53732

Report Segmentation of the Contrast Media Market

Type Insight

Due to the global use of CT and X-ray procedures as well as the accessibility of non-ionic stable iodinated substances for enhanced diagnosis, the iodinated contrast media segment had the largest revenues in 2022 with a share of around 72%. While barium-based contrast agents are occasionally used as an alternative to iodinated ones for oral and rectal administration, contrast media including iodine usually arrive intravenously. CT and X-ray images are improved with contrast media based on iodine. The market for microbubble contrast media is predicted to develop at the fastest rate over the forecast period. Ultrasound waves can be reflected by microbubble contrast media, Structures seem brighter on ultrasound because of the microbubble contrast medium's capacity to reflect ultrasonic frequency ranges.

Modality Insight

X-ray/Computed Tomography (CT) is the largest segment in terms of revenue with around 70% in the contrast media market. Due to the wide range of uses, it has in diagnostic imaging. By using contrast agents for X-ray/CT imaging, high-resolution 3D images of structures can be generated. Iodinated contrast media and barium-based are both employed in CT scans and X-rays. Barium and iodine contrast agents, when administered or injected into the body, block X-rays and prevent them from passing through. As a result, blood vessels, organs, and other body tissues that temporarily contain iodinated contrast agents or barium-based appear differently in images. Market growth is anticipated to be driven by the growing popularity of CT and X-rays for a number of diseases. Over the forecast period, it is predicted that the ultrasound segment will grow at the fastest rate.

Application Insight

The neurological disorder segment accounted for around 29.45% of the market in 2022. The use of MRI contrast agents is encouraged for CNS diagnosis as well as treatment because they offer more accurate images of neural structures than CT. For the purpose of monitoring inflammatory, neoplastic, and demyelinated lesions, contrast agents based on gadolinium are used. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging of the cardiovascular system, also known as echocardiography, is the most frequently used technique for obtaining images of the cardiovascular system in both adult and pediatric patients and is expected to grow at the fastest rate of growth over the forecasted period.

Route of Administration Insight

The intravascular route segment is expected to have the largest market share throughout the forecast duration and to grow at the fastest CAGR. Market segments for contrast media and contrast agents include those for intravascular, rectal, oral, and other routes of administration. The intravascular routes market segment is expected to continue to dominate while expanding at the highest rate. One of the key drivers driving the expansion of the intravascular segment is the pervasive use of injectable contrast media in the majority of modern imaging modalities, such as CT and MRI scanning.

End-User Insight

In contrast media market, hospitals are the largest segment in terms of revenue. Due to the high volume of imaging procedures carried out in these places. Diagnostic imaging centers are expected to fastest growth rate in the coming years because of the increasing demand for diagnostic imaging services and the rising trend of outsourcing imaging services to specialized centers.

For more insights on the historical and Forecast market data from 2016 to 2032 - download a sample report at https://market.us/report/contrast-media-market/request-sample/

Market Segmentation

Based on Type

Iodinated Contrast Media

Gadolinium-based Contrast Media

Microbubble Contrast Media

Barium-based Contrast Media

Other Types

Based on Modality

X-ray/ CT Scan

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Ultrasound

Based on Application

Neurological Disorders

Cardiovascular

Gastrointestinal Disorders

Cancer

Nephrological Disorders

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Other Applications

Based on Route of Administration

Oral

Rectal

Intravascular

Other Route of Administration

Based on End-User

Hospitals

Clinic & Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Diagnostic Imaging 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 contrast media market is a highly competitive industry with a few key players leading the market. Contrast media are substances used to enhance the visibility of internal body structures in medical imaging. The market is primarily driven by the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and the increasing demand for minimally invasive diagnostic procedures. One of the top companies in the contrast media industry is GE Healthcare, which is part of General Electric. Iodinated contrast media and gadolinium-based contrast agents are only two of the many contrast media products that this company provides. Some of the key players in the market include:

Bayer AG

Medtronic plc.

GE Healthcare LLC

Guerbet

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.

Bracco Diagnostic, Inc.

Nano Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd.

Trivitron Healthcare

CMC Contrast AB

IMAX Diagnostic Imaging

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Contrast Media Market

GE Healthcare Pharma Ltd take ownership of Daiichi Sankyos four diagnostic agents, in 2020.

In 2020, Bracco Imaging SpA will receive FDA clearance for their ProHance MRI contrast agent, which is an MRI contrast agent for use in neonates and pediatric patients under two years of age.

Browse More Related Reports:

3D medical imaging equipment was worth USD 13,328.65 Million in 2021. It is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.4% over the forecast period.

3D medical imaging equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.0% over the next ten years and will reach USD 17.7 Billion in 2032, from USD 11.8 Billion in 2022.

Patient portals market was worth USD 2.71 Billion in 2021. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.8% between 2023 and 2032.

Health data archiving market is projected to achieve a value of USD 8,736 Million by 2032 at a CAGR of 6.7%, from USD 4,568 Million in 2021.

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MEDWAY  "Boult" was a bear of a man, but his friends said he was kind and gentle to everyone he met.

Retired Medway police Lt. William K. Boultenhouse, or "Boult" to his friends and fellow officers, died on April 18, after a brief illness. He was 61.

"He was huge, a really big guy, he was like 6-2 or 6-3, something like that," said Medway police Lt. Matthew Reardon, a longtime friend. "He could have used it to intimidate people, but he never did. That's not the kind of person he was. He preferred to resolve things with his demeanor and his words, not with his size."

Retired Medway Police Lt. William K. "Boult" Boultenhouse died April 18 at age 61.

Boultenhouse joined the department in 1983 as a dispatcher and became a full-time police officer in 1987. He was promoted to sergeant in 1999 and to lieutenant in 2007. He retired as a full-time officer in 2017 but remained a special police officer until 2020.

Boultenhouse served as a patrol officer and crime prevention officer, as well as a motorcycle officer. As a sergeant and lieutenant, he served as head of the dispatching center, and also managed patrol.

'I want to be a role model': LGBTQ+ community has an ally in Medway police officer Meghan Casey

Medway Deputy Fire Chief Michael Fasolino and Boultenhouse (who also served as a call firefighter for three years in the early 2000s) grew close as they joined their respective departments at about the same time and progressed in their careers.

The men each bought homes in Laconia, New Hampshire, right next door to one another other, Fasolino said.

"He's one of those guys you say is a great guy and you're going to miss him," he said. "Billy was one of those guys that, and you hate to say it because it was a cliche, but he'd give you the shirt off his back. He put his family first, his friends first. If you needed a hand with something, he'd drop everything and help you."

A 50-year relationship

Retired Medway Police Detective Don Grimes spent nearly his entire career working with Boultenhouse. They retired on the same day in 2017, but their relationship went back much further.

Story continues

"Our friendship goes back over 50 years, back to middle school," said Grimes. "I was the best man at his wedding and he was the best man at my wedding. There was truly nobody like him. The good Lord, no matter what religion you subscribe to, will have to work overtime to replace him."

Retired Medway police Lt. William K. "Boult" Boultenhouse is pictured early in his career.

In a statement announcing Boultenhouse's death, Police Chief William Kingsbury praised is work as an officer.

"The first to step up when needed, the best friend anyone ever had, and the cop you wanted to be pulled over by are just some of what we've heard said about Boult over the last 24 hours," Kingsbury said. "Boult was that officer who could quell a riot simply by showing up. He also made easy connections with our residents and especially younger kids who needed a friend. He was a true brother in blue. Always concerned with others over himself, Boult will never be forgotten."

Grimes said Boultenhouse never liked to write tickets if he could avoid it, because he did not want to add costs to people's insurance. His goal was to make sure people drove safely.

'Just wanted to keep the community safe'

"If he was on a shift and he made 10 stops, 15 stops, he probably wouldn't give one citation  he would always rather give you a warning," said Grimes. "If you got a written ticket for a dollar amount from Bill Boultenhouse, you earned it. That wasn't his goal when he went out there  he just wanted to keep the community safe."

Reardon said Boultenhouse recruited him as a police officer 28 years ago. Reardon was a call firefighter and doing part-time dispatching in Franklin and had met Boultenhouse outside a store. Boultenhouse told him the Medway Police Department was hiring; Reardon applied and has been there ever since.

"I credit him, and retired Detective Donny Grimes and others, for making me the man and the police officer I am today," Reardon said.

'It's a great idea': Medway Select Board OKs naming police station for former Chief Lambirth

Outside work, the most important thing for Boultenhouse was his wife, Kim, and his three adult children, Brian, Danny and Shea, Fasolino said.

He also liked to keep busy after his retirement  he worked as a bartender at the Franklin Elks and delivered oil for Medway Oil.

Fasolino said he and Boultenhouse enjoyed boating while in New Hampshire and riding their Harley Davidsons during Laconia's annual Motorcycle Week.

"He was the epitome of a great friend," said Fasolino. "I've been to a lot of funerals in my day (but) his was one of the biggest funerals I've ever been to. That says a lot. Everyone loved him. Everything was positive about him, there was not one negative thing about him."

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Medway police department mourns loss of longtime officer at age 61
Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.

The investigation centers on Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, which in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy.

The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion with a federal mandate for doctors to provide abortions when a womans health is at risk. The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

But federal law, which requires doctors to treat patients in emergency situations, trumps those state laws, the nations top health official said in a statement.

Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts.

Doctors at both hospitals told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.

Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.

It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life, Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless.

Story continues

Farmers complaints launched the first investigations that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country, women have reported being turned away from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.

President Joe Bidens administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions.

Weeks after the Supreme Courts ruling, the Democratic administration reminded hospitals that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money  which encompasses most facilities in the U.S.  for violations of the law.

CMS has not announced any fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away. Federal Medicare investigators will follow up with the hospitals before closing the case.

Abortions are largely banned in Missouri, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. Its unclear why University of Kansas Health refused to offer Farmer one.

Farmers care at University of Kansas followed hospital policy, Jill Chadwick, the media relations director for the hospital system, said in a statement.

It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law, Chadwick said in an email. There is a process with CMS for this complaint and we respect that process. The University of Kansas Health System follows federal and Kansas law in providing appropriate, stabilizing, and quality care to all of its patients, including obstetric patients.

Freeman Health System did not respond to a request for comment.

Nationwide, doctors have reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws have banned or limited the care. Doctors face criminal and civil penalties in some states for aborting a pregnancy.

But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors associations that highlights the investigations, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

While many state laws have recently changed, Becerra wrote, its important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patients emergency medical condition.
[Source]

New York City police are looking for a man who allegedly made anti-Asian remarks and spat on a staff member of Councilmember Gale Brewer.

The incident reportedly took place outside Brewers office at 563 Columbus Ave. at around 1:05 p.m. on March 14.

The man first approached the 23-year-old aide and asked her a question, according to police.

When her answer did not satisfy him, the man allegedly hurled an anti-Chinese slur before spitting on her.

More from NextShark: Murder Charge Upgraded on Derek Chauvin, 3 Other Cops Involved Charged in George Floyds Death

The victim called the authorities after the man fled southbound on Columbus Avenue, according to reports. She did not declare any injuries.

Police released a surveillance image of the suspect on Saturday.

He is described as Black, standing at about 5 feet and 10 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds.

More from NextShark: Korean restaurant chef in London kills co-worker over food prep skills

The suspect was last seen wearing a face mask, a dark jacket, dark pants and white sneakers.

He also carried a bright backpack and a brown paper bag.

More from NextShark: True allyship: Black man hailed hero after saving elderly Asian man from carjacking perp

The incident reportedly prompted City Council to install a lock and buzzer at the district office.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, submit tips via the Crime Stoppers website or message @NYPDTips on Twitter.

More from NextShark: Indian American Hero Shelters Over 70 Protesters During Curfew Hours
Sputnik/Artem Geodakyan/Pool via Reuters via third party

South African government officials are working to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend a summit this August, where he might face arrest for alleged war crimes pursuant to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, according to the South African outlet The Sunday Times.

South Africa is a member of the ICC and would be obliged to honor the arrest warrant for Putin, which targets the Russian president for his alleged involvement in the illegal kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

The South African officials are reportedly trying to have Putin join the BRICS summitwhich is taking place in Cape Town with officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africaremotely via videoconference in order to avoid a diplomatic catastrophe.

We have no option not to arrest Putin. If he arrives, we will have to arrest him, one government official said.

The touchy subject has left the Kremlin fretting behind the scenes about whether perceived allies might turn on Russia and arrest Putin in accordance with the arrest warrant, The Moscow Times previously reported.

Leakers Reveal Kremlin Secretly Panicking Over Putins Arrest Warrant

Already, officials in Austria, which has sought to maintain neutrality as Russia wages war in Ukraine, and in Armenia, which is a member of a Russian-led military alliance, have suggested they will honor the arrest warrant.

South Africas decision to honor the arrest warrant appears to diverge from its previous treatment of Putins war in Ukraine. South Africas ruling party has refused to condemn the war in Ukraine, opting to abstain from a vote on a United Nations resolution that would lambast Russia for invading Ukraine and demand it withdraw troops. Pretoria has also not supported sanctions against Russia. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that sanctions against Russia hurt bystander countries.

South Africas stance on the war and its relationship with Russia in recent months has stirred consternation in Washington, D.C. When the country conducted drills with Russia around the one-year mark of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration has concerns about the relationship.

Story continues

The United States has concerns about any country exercising with Russia as Russia wages a brutal war against Ukraine, Jean-Pierre said in January.

But where South Africa has represented a lack of isolation for Putin before, now stands an impasse.

The Kremlin has not been clear about Putins plans to attend the BRICS summit, The Sunday Times reported.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
[Source]

Asian American leaders in Wausau, Wisconsin, have signed an open letter expressing their outrage over the reinstatement of a high school band teacher accused of homophobic and racist speech.

Last month, Robert Perkins was removed from the Wausau East High School after students claimed he used homophobic and anti-Asian racial slurs in class.

According to the open letter, which was posted on Facebook, Perkins has had six complaints filed against him since September 2022 regarding his alleged gross misconduct and use of racist slurs.

Perkins has repeatedly violated multiple [Wausau School District] policies. Instead of holding him accountable for his behavior and rhetoric, [Wausau School District] condones teachers calling our children chink, monkey, f*got [sic], ching chong and attacking their sexual orientation when its done under the guise of fun. More from NextShark: Vietnamese Amateur Swimmers Complete Record-Breaking 124-Mile Swim

Perkins was reinstated after an internal investigation was completed by the school district.

On April 26, Wausau School District Superintendent Keith Hilts sent a letter to parents that said Perkins language does not rise to the level of discrimination or harassment.

While a preponderance of the evidence shows that Mr. Perkins did not engage in harassing or discriminatory behavior, he did engage in insensitive and unprofessional conduct. Witnesses indicate that he did use language that could be insensitive to students of different protected classes, including race and sex, but that language does not rise to the level of discrimination or harassment. More from NextShark: Filipinos Make Up 31.5% of COVID-19 Nurse Deaths in the US, Report Reveals

The district's compliance officer interviewed Perkins, students and their parents before determining that Perkins used insensitive language that caused the children to feel unease.

Perkins, who was named Teacher of the Month in January, has not publicly commented on the issue.

Story continues

Thavone Vongphakdy, the father of a student who was affected by Perkins comments, expressed disappointment regarding the investigation, noting that his son has not attended school in weeks due to the teachers actions.

More from NextShark: Man Ordered to Pay Ex-Wife for Housework in Landmark Divorce Case in China

When I saw it in my son's eyes as he's crying on the floor, it broke my heart that a grown man can do this to my son, Vongphakdy told WAOW.

Asian American leaders wrote in their letter that the districts decision sends a strong message that using racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs are permissible, so long as they are made in good faith."

Leaders are demanding the school do more to reprimand the alleged behavior, noting that Perkins use of racial slurs can have a "long-lasting" and "detrimental" impact on the affected students.

More from NextShark: Video of China plane carrying 132 passengers shows nosedive before mountain crash

In a press release last week, the school district described the case as an educational opportunity.

According to Hilt, the district will hire a consultant to improve its staff and schools for the students.

Wausaus population is 81% white, but has a large Hmong-Lao community, according to census data.
WASHINGTON  Senate Democrats have been demanding congressional action in response to last months bombshell report about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in luxury gifts from a GOP megadonor.

Theyre holding a Tuesday hearing to examine Supreme Court ethics reforms. They asked Chief Justice John Roberts to testify (he declined), so now theyre pressing him to come up with a formal code of conduct for the court. If he wont do it, Democrats have a bill that will.

Thats a stark contrast to Republicans, who have almost unanimously retreated into silence or scoffed at the idea that Congress should do anything to serve as a check on justices behavior. Theres only one GOP senator backing any ethics reforms to the court: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced a bill with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) that would require the justices to create a code of conduct for themselves and make it public on the courts website. In other words, the bare minimum.

HuffPost asked GOP senators late last week what they think of Murkowskis proposal and, more broadly, why they dont think the Supreme Court is way overdue for ethics reforms.

The question isnt just pertinent because Thomas has been accepting luxury trips almost every year for more than 20 years from billionaire Harlan Crow and not disclosing them. Or because Thomas sold his ancestral home to that billionaire and didnt disclose it. Or because that billionaire has had financial interests before the court the entire time. Or because Neil Gorsuch failed to disclose that he sold property for more than $1 million to the chief executive of a law firm that routinely has business before the court.

Or because of all the trips that Supreme Court justices  appointed by presidents in both parties  take all over the world that have been paid for by private entities who may have business before the court and may have influence over those justices in related cases.

Story continues

Its because every federal judge in the country has been governed by a written code of conduct since 1973. Except the nine justices on the nations highest court. Theyve never had one.

Some Republicans didnt seem aware of that last part.

They do, said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), when asked if she thinks the justices should have a formal code of conduct. Well, not a code. They have what we have, right? They have a setup where they disclose and have parameters around disclosure?

They do that now, said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, when asked about the idea of justices creating an ethics code for themselves. They just did it on March 7. What more would you do?

Grassley was referring to a subcommittee of the Judicial Conference, which sets policy for federal courts, last month tightening gift disclosure rules for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. The new rules require them to disclose gifts and free trips, or when gifts are being reimbursed by a third party who is not the person giving the gift.

They dont cover gifts of overnight stays at friends vacation homes, though, which was one of the many perks Thomas got from Crow.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he's good with the current set of ethics rules for Supreme Court justices, who have no formal code of ethics.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he's good with the current set of ethics rules for Supreme Court justices, who have no formal code of ethics.

The rules change is also not the same thing as Supreme Court justices being bound to a code of ethics. While justices are subject to federal statutes that impose ethical standards on all federal judges, theres no enforcement mechanism in place for Supreme Court justices to make sure they follow disclosure rules. They make their own rules and its on them to follow them. A code of conduct for the court would, at the very least, offer some transparency on what their rules are for themselves.

As it stands, justices simply recuse themselves on their honor when they have a conflict in a case. Their system clearly failed in 2021, for example, when Thomas did not disclose that his wife was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election while he was continuing to hear and rule on cases related to that plot.

Thomas has also repeatedly failed to file financial disclosures properly. In 2011, he reportedly failed to disclose the income that his wife, Ginni Thomas, received from a mix of conservative think tanks, political groups and educational entities over 13 years.

Despite all of this, Republican senators seem content to let the nations highest court carry on as it currently is. Some are dismissing Democrats latest efforts as purely political. Some argue it wouldnt be constitutional for lawmakers to meddle in the courts affairs.

Ohhh, I dont know about that, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said of Murkowskis proposal. Separation of powers?

Theres a reason the separate branches of government were established, said Lummis. Good heavens, theyre judges. This is something they can and should do on their own.

Grassley said it would be inappropriate and unnecessary for senators to take any action to impose ethics rules on Supreme Court justices because of the new disclosure regulations put in place for federal courts last month.

If those arent adequate, we arent going to know that for a year or two, said the Iowa Republican. So, just wait for a year or two to see how the new rules work out.

Even Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is considered one of the few moderates in the chamber and who often sides with Murkowski on various issues, didnt weigh in on her bill.

This is a very complex issue involving the separation of powers, and Senator Collins believes the appropriate forum for these discussions is the Judiciary Committee, said Collins spokeswoman Annie Clark. If the Committee holds a hearing on this proposal and others, she looks forward to seeing the results of it.

Read the Constitution, folks.Georgetown Law professor Caroline Fredrickson

But some legal experts said its nonsense to suggest that lawmakers would be overstepping if they pushed through ethics reforms for the court.

Read the Constitution, folks, said Caroline Fredrickson, a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown Law and a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. Congress is responsible for creating the jurisdiction for the Supreme Court, and Congress creates the lower courts ... Its a really self-serving argument that the court makes that somehow theres this incredible separation of powers issue for Congress to intervene at all.

Fredrickson, who previously served on President Joe Bidens Commission on the Supreme Court that examined potential reforms to the court, said Congress has plenty of roles to play in how the court functions. Impeachment is one tool, she said, as is approving the courts budget. Lawmakers also have the authority to expand the size of the court, which Fredrickson said is an existential need to many people at this point.

Really, the idea that somehow none of this conversation is about how the Supreme Court should absolutely obey the most basic of ethics laws and have a code of conduct really underscores the problem that we have, she said. A judiciary that is acting with impunity.

As for why the Supreme Court hasnt ever had a formal ethics code, Fredrickson said when the Judicial Conference adopted its code for the lower courts decades ago, it just didnt seem so vital to do the same for the justices.

Theyve slipped under the radar until now, she added. Its been due to great reporting ... that has really brought the spotlight on the fact that the Supreme Court has not been abiding even by the rules it says it follows, which then makes us look at all the rules that its not legally required to follow and ask the question, Why not?

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is really hoping for a bipartisan way forward on Supreme Court ethics reform legislation. There's only one GOP senator on board with doing anything.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is really hoping for a bipartisan way forward on Supreme Court ethics reform legislation. There's only one GOP senator on board with doing anything.

All of these issues will be hashed out in Tuesdays hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Whats clear is that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chairman, really wants to find a bipartisan way forward. Whats less clear is if or how Republicans plan to engage at all.

A spokesman for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the top Republican on the committee, said only that he hasnt said anything about Murkowskis bill or generally about the Supreme Court needing to tighten its ethics rules.

Murkowski, for one, said she hopes her bill can be a starting point for people to realize that ethics reforms on the court arent about partisanship, but about restoring public trust in the court, which is at a historic low.

I know Harlan Crow. I like Harlan Crow. I like Justice Thomas, she told HuffPost. I dont view this as going after Justice Thomas or picking on anybody.

Just as we have codes of conduct and disclosures that are required for all of us, is it so unreasonable to suggest the Supreme Court should also have a code of conduct? she asked. That the public not only knows exists but knows what it says? Lets build that trust.

Related...
One mans art is another persons daily source of potassium apparently.

Last Thursday, a student from Seoul National University who was visiting the Leeum Museum of Art in South Korea took Italian artist Maurizio Cattelans installation off the wall and proceeded to eat it as a snack. Dont worry, the work in question, entitled Comedian, is essentially just a banana thats been duct-taped to a wall. The student, who has since been identified as Noh Huyn-soo, grabbed the fruit and scarfed it down before putting the peel back where he found it. He told the museum he ate it because he was hungry, reported CNN.

More from Robb Report

Cattelans banana was replaced with a fresh one not long after. Per the artists instructions, the fruit is typically swapped out every two to three days. According to NPR, when Cattelan learned about the incident, he said, No problem at all. The museum told the media that it wont be taking any legal action against the student.

In speaking with Korean broadcaster KBS, Noh said that he thought damaging a work of modern art could also be [interpreted as] artwork. He added, I thought it would be interesting. . .isnt it taped there to be eaten?

The exhibition took the world by storm when it debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019. At the time, it caused quite a stir on social media when it sold for a whopping $120,000. However, this isnt the first time someone removed the yellow fruit from the wall to consume it. Performance artist David Datuna partook in a similar stunt that same year and ingested the banana Cattelan used for his installment.

The work is currently on display at the Leeum Museum of Art as part of Cattelans solo exhibit, WE, which will run until July 16.

Story continues

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Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
A resident of the Texas home where a man opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle said his family called police five times over a span of more than 10 minutes before the rampage that left five people dead and set off a manhunt for the killer.

Wilson Garcia said he asked his neighbor, who was shooting a gun in his yard late Friday night, to shoot farther away because Garcia's 1-month-old son was sleeping. Garcia said he called police when the man refused. The family made four more calls, according to The Associated Press.

I told my wife: Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,' Garcia said. My wife told me to go inside because he wont fire at me, Im a woman.

Garcias wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was the first person shot. Garcia's 9-year-old son also was killed. Garcia said more than a dozen people were in his home at the time and that two women died protecting his infant and 2-year-old daughter, neither of whom was injured.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers explained the delayed police response in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston, saying he had only three officers covering 700 square miles. When police arrived, they found a horrifying scene.

"Everybody that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution style,'' Capers said.

The suspect, Francisco Oropeza, who has been deported four times since 2009, had been drinking before the shooting, Capers said.

Oropeza, 38, remained at large Monday despite a search involving more than 250 law enforcement personnel from multiple jurisdictions. The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office twice reported possible sightings Monday, but each time the searches come up empty.

He could be anywhere now, Capers said.

Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia, center, holds a young girl during a vigil for his son Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas.

Developments:

 Capers said officers are going door-to-door looking for information and hopes an $80,000 reward will encourage people who might know something to speak with investigators.

 Oropeza's wife is cooperating with investigators as they try "seeking closure" for the victims, Capers said.

Story continues

 James Smith, FBI Houston special agent in charge, said the agency initially released the wrong suspect's photo but "now we are 100% confident that we have the right photo out there." The office also said it's spelling the suspect's last name as "Oropesa'' "to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.''

Abbot statement draws fire from immigrant advocates

Authorities said Oropeza is from Mexico and the victims are from Honduras. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in an interview Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, declined to discuss the immigration status of those involved, citing the active case.

Gov. Greg Abbott said all were in the country illegally, drawing criticism from immigrant advocates and overshadowing the $50,000 reward he had offered for tips that may lead to Oropeza's capture.

Abbott's office issued a retraction Monday, saying, Weve since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally, but without addressing why the initial statement mentioned their status.

Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze said in a statement. We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.

"Five human beings lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them 'illegal immigrants,'" tweeted former HUD secretary Julian Castro.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center chastised Abbott for the describing the victims by their immigration status in a "public message to his constituents who are already flooded w/ deceiving + dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric."

My heart is with this ... little boy, Capers said Sunday. I dont care if he was here legally. I dont care if he was here illegally. He was in my county.

Texas mass shooting victims identified

Authorities have identified the dead as Guzman's wife, Sonia, and son, Daniel Enrique Laso; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18. Four died at the scene; Daniel died at a hospital a short time after the shooting Friday night.

Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.

Francia Cristina Guzman, Sonia's mother, told Honduras' La Prensa that her daughter had build a house for her in Honduras but that she "would give all that ... back" to have her daughter and grandson.

Daniel attended Northside Elementary School. The Cleveland Independent School District issued a statement saying it was "heartbroken learning the news concerning the death of one of our students." Crisis counselors were available Monday at district schools.

"All of our prayers and thoughts are with the families and community impacted by this horrible tragedy," the statement said. "Cleveland ISD will take all measures, precautionary needs and any necessary actions to help all of our students and staff during this time, as well as keeping them safe!"

Velazquez Alvarado's husband, Jefrey Rivera, told the Honduran network HCH that his wife died protecting children. He said she hid in a closet with some of the children. Rivera said he threw a machete at the suspect in an effort to stop his advance.

By the time I found the machete, shots had already been fired," Rivera said.

'Zero leads' on whereabouts of suspect

At a brief news conference Sunday afternoon, authorities said they have "zero leads" on Oropeza.

"We do not know where he is. We do not have any tips on where he may be," James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge told reporters, adding authorities were uncertain whether the suspect was even still in the area. "Right now, we're running into dead ends.''

Capers said his offices was being supported by the FBI Houston Office and its SWAT team, the U.S. Marshals and Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, the Harris, Montgomery and Liberty County Sheriffs Offices, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers.

Despite the more than 250 law enforcement officers from the multiple agencies working on the case, the search dragged on the third day Monday. Officers were using additional manpower, including scent-tracking dogs and drones but no leads came up.

A heavy presence of police converged in Montgomery County on Monday after possible sightings, but the sheriffs office later said none of the persons were found to be Oropeza.

"Several dozen law enforcement officials are currently investigating leads and intel as it becomes available, as well as continuing to examine the area," Capers said.

Contributing: Terry Collins, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5 dead in Texas shooting: Family called police 5 times before killings
Rep. Zooey Zephyr

State Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat banned from the Montana state house last week, sued the state and legislative leaders to regain entry on Monday.

Her lawsuit, filed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and several constituents, also seeks a temporary restraining order barring Republican lawmakers from removing her legislative privileges pending the courts judgment.

After receiving backlash from Republican legislators over her opposition to a bill restricting transgender minors access to gender-affirming medical care, Zephyr was barred from the House floor and gallery last week.

During the debate, she said that anyone voting in favor of the bill would have their hands in blood.

Republicans took exception to the remark and demanded an apology which Zephyr told The Advocate she would refuse to give because none was warranted. The Republican Speaker of the Montana House refused to allow Zephyr to speak on any bill until she apologized. Her supporters entered the chamber gallery last Monday chanting, Let her speak. Several were arrested.

On Wednesday, Republicans voted to expel her from the floor and gallery of the body, relegating her to remote work only.

\u201cI'm suing.



The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation.



Montana's State House is the people\u2019s House, not Speaker Regier\u2019s, and I\u2019m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.\u201d  Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@Rep. Zooey Zephyr) 1682953191

This effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself, said Zephyr in a statement. House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself.

Story continues

She continued, By doing so, theyve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government. The Montana State House is the peoples House, not Speaker Regiers, and Im determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.

The state of Montana, House Speaker Matt Regier, and House Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.



I feel alienated and disenfranchised to have my representative expelled from debate, Dean Chou, a district resident named in the lawsuit, said. Representative Zephyr is my representative on all issues  not just those that directly impact or target transgender Montanans. I believe Representative Zephyr has done an effective job advocating for my interests and my rights on all issues, and I want Representative Zephyr to continue to do so.

Several bills awaiting votes in the committees Rep. Zephyr sits on have either been transferred to another committee or elevated to the house floor, eliminating all public hearings she was scheduled to attend.

Representative Zephyr was elected by the people of her district after running on the very principles she is now being punished for defending, the director of the Montana ACLU, Alex Rate, said. In his craven pursuit to deny transgender youth and their families the health care they need, Speaker Regier has unfairly, unjustly, and unconstitutionally silenced those voters by silencing their representative. His actions are a direct threat to the bedrock principles that uphold our entire democracy, and we welcome the privilege of defending the people of Montanas 100th House District from this desperate and autocratic effort to silence them.

The Advocate contacted Zephyr for comment.
While Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 28% in the last quarter. But don't let that distract from the very nice return generated over three years. In fact, the company's share price bested the return of its market index in that time, posting a gain of 85%.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Customers Bancorp

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During three years of share price growth, Customers Bancorp achieved compound earnings per share growth of 50% per year. The average annual share price increase of 23% is actually lower than the EPS growth. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 3.52.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Customers Bancorp's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. We note that Customers Bancorp's TSR, at 107% is higher than its share price return of 85%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 0.02% in the twelve months, Customers Bancorp shareholders did even worse, losing 49%. 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, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 3% 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Customers Bancorp you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Russia launched another wave of mass strikes at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight on Monday, but air defenses took down the cruise missiles and explosive drones, according to Ukraine.

Military officials in Kyiv said in a Telegram post that air raid alarms lasted about three hours as Russian bomber planes fired missiles and drones targeting the city.

Ukraines General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Facebook that Russia launched 18 missiles overnight across the country, and 15 of the rockets were shot down by air defenses.

The city is still verifying an initial claim that all the missiles and drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, but officials said there were no casualties and no residential buildings or critical infrastructure were hit.

Russias Defense Ministry claimed in a Telegram post it carried out mass strikes on Ukraines military facilities overnight and that key targets were hit.

On Sunday, Russia also launched attacks against the cities of Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka, and Pavlohrad, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, along with rocket strikes at Ukrainian troops and settlements.

The Russian strikes come after two Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The attack burned down four oil tanks in the port city of Sevastopol, sending smoke wafting high into the sky over Crimea on Saturday.

Ukrainian citizens are still reeling from a Russian strike on Friday in the city of Uman in central Ukraine, which killed at least 23 people, including six children.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the city was absolutely peaceful, known to the whole world for hosting tens of thousands of Hasidic pilgrims every year.

Only absolute evil can unleash such terror, Zelensky said in a video address.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Features/The Vanished Editor

Tammy Ayer has worked at the Yakima Herald-Republic since 2015. This is her fourth newspaper gig. Alongside general assignment reporting and profiles, she writes about the centuries-long crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, focusing on those who have gone missing, been murdered and have died mysteriously on and around the Yakama Reservation. Ayer grew up in Indiana, lived in Florida for 13 years and has a masters degree in history.
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Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month.
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DAS Health

Michelle Jaeger

Michelle Jaeger, President & CEO

Tampa, FL, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DAS Health, a leading national provider of health IT and management solutions, is pleased to announce the promotion of Michelle Jaeger to the position of President & Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.



Mrs. Jaeger has been an instrumental part of DAS Health since joining the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2021 and subsequently being promoted to President. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare and technology, Jaeger has brought a wealth of knowledge to DAS Health, helping to drive organic enterprise sales, complete and integrate multiple acquisitions, and develop effective strategies that have led to increased revenue and market share. Her previous experience in various leadership roles provides her with unique expertise that will be a crucial part in continuing DAS Healths impressive growth trajectory.

"I am thrilled to be taking on this new role and am grateful to the DAS Health team for their support and trust in me," said Jaeger. "Our company has achieved great success in recent years, and I am committed to building on that momentum and driving continued growth for DAS Health and our clients."

As CEO, Jaeger will continue to oversee the company's operations and strategic initiatives, working closely with the leadership team to further advance DAS Health's mission of providing innovative and effective healthcare solutions to clients across the United States.

"To say that I am excited to have Michelle officially take the helm of DAS Health is an understatement," said David Schlaifer, who will step into the role of Executive Chairman. "It is rare that you can find someone who you know will not only protect a legacy, but substantially improve upon it. Michelle is that rare individual. Her leadership, expertise, and commitment to our team and clients make her the perfect fit for this role, and I look forward to seeing the company thrive under her leadership."

Story continues

About DAS Health

DAS Health, a Sheridan Capital Partners portfolio company, has been a leading provider of Health IT and business solutions and a trusted consultant to independent and enterprise physician groups, hospitals and healthcare systems across North America since 2003, and has been recognized as an Inc 5000 fastest growing company for a record ten times. Headquartered in Tampa, FL with a regional presence in over 30 states, DAS delivers superior Information Technology, MSP managed IT, cloud hosting, RCM medical billing, value-based care, patient engagement, compliance, and practice management solutions for tens of thousands of users impacting over 15 million patients nationwide. It includes representation and support of dozens of various Practice Management and EHR platforms, including as a NextGen Premier Partner and the largest channel partner for CGM Aprima and e-MDs solutions, and as a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Datto Diamond Partner, and industry leading partner of Dell, ConnectWise, Sophos, Kaseya and a number of other key affiliations.

NextGen is a registered trademarks of QSI Management, LLC.; Aprima is a registered trademark of Aprima Medical Software, Inc., a CompuGroup Medical, Inc. Company; eMDs is a trademark of eMDs, Inc.; Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation; Datto is a registered trademark of DATTO, Inc.; Dell is a registered trademark of DELL, Inc.; ConnectWise is a registered trademark of ConnectWise, Inc.; Sophos is a registered trademark of Sophos Limited; Kaseya is a registered trademark of Kaseya International Limited.

For more information about DAS Health and its solutions, visit https://dashealth.com .

Media Contact

Libby Schlaifer, Marketing Manager

Libby.Schlaifer@dashealth.com | 813-774-9800 ext. 410

Attachments




Aniversarea doamnei culturii

RESITA  De 50 de ani in slujba culturii, Ada Cruceanu si-a sarbatorit ziua de nastere muncind, asa cum s-a intamplat si pe 1 mai, intrucat munca la Revista Reflex nu lasa timp de irosit. Am inteles asta din dialogul purtat cu doamna culturii judetului, sibianca la origini, nascuta pe 4 mai 1950 si stabilita in Caras-Severin din 1973! Atunci [citeste mai departe]
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- Two persons involved in the incident which occurred on Monday afternoon, in the premises of the Petrobrazi Refinery, suffered burns from the flame, one of them on about 72% of the body surface, and the other on about 15% of the body. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro

- Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is set to participate in the Government Question Time programme in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday.The meeting is chaired by the Chamber's vice-president Daniel Suciu. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- Romania's Culture Minister Lucian Romascanu on Monday welcomed US ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec to discuss protection against illicit trafficking in cultural property and the creation of a legislative framework for the US film industry to produce in Romania. Fii la curent cu cele

- Iulia Andreea Babeanu and Toni Grebla on Monday received a favourable opinion from Parliament's judiciary committees for the position of chair of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP). Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro 

- The second CFR freight train which carries aids for the Republic of Turkey left on Monday from the Bucharest West Train Station, the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU) informed. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) stocks opened higher on Monday, with all indices up and trades of RON 1.026 million (EUR 209,353) 30 minutes into the trading session, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro 

- The average net monthly salary earning in Romania in December 2022 was RON 4,398, up RON 257 (+6.2%) on a monthly basis and 13.4% y-o-y, according to data published on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro

- The National Meteorological Administration (ANM) has issued a cold weather advisory valid in all regions, until Friday, as well as Code Yellow for snow and blizzard in 27 counties, valid until Monday in the evening. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- According to Giurgiu Border Police, over 8,600 trucks, 8,200 cars and 42,000 people transited Giurgiu Border Checkpoint during the mini-holiday on May 1, according to a press release issued by Giurgiu Border Police on Tuesday.According to the cited source, trucks leaving the country through Giurgiu

- Almost 86,000 people enter Romania on April 24, including 7,366 Ukrainian citizens.As many as 85,500 people, including 7,366 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania on Monday, April 24, the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) reported on Tuesdaym told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai

- Approximately 225,560 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with almost 54,300 means of transport, underwent control formalities (both on the way in and on the way out) through border crossing points throughout Romania on Sunday, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs.According

- Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Romania on Monday, informed the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Romania.According to the source, the Chancellor will be received in Bucharest by President Klaus Iohannis, with whom he will discuss bilateral issues as well as topics such as European

- As many as 89,586 people, including 6,636 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania on Sunday, February 26, the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) reported on Monday. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help your

- Approximately 2.5 million people, including 400,000 minors, and over 700,000 vehicles have passed through the Siret border crossing point since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine, Suceava County Council Chairman Gheorghe Flutur said on Tuesday. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri.

- As many as 63,388 people, including 6,739 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania on Monday, February 13, the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) reported on Tuesday, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro 

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs that on Sunday, 67,032 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 6,665 were Ukrainian citizens, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro
New Delhi: State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Monday got new directors for human resources, the two companies said. While K S Shetty took over as Director (Human Resources) of HPCL, Raj Kumar Dubey took over as Director (HR) at BPCL.

"Prior to joining as Director (Human Resources) of HPCL, Shetty was Executive Director (Human Resources) with an additional charge of Executive Director (Employee Relations) in HPCL," the company said in a statement. (Also Read: Anand Mahindra's Birthday: Business Tycoon Owns These Top Cars - Check List)

Shetty is a Gold Medalist in Human Resource Management from Andhra University and also a distinguished alumnus of the Swedish Institute, Stockholm from where he completed his Diploma in Sustainable Development in 2012. (Also Read: First Republic Bank Crisis: Who Is James Herbert? Know All About The Founder)

He has also completed his Advanced Management Program from MDI, Gurgaon / ESCP Europe Business School, Paris (2016). "Shetty has over 25 years of experience in HR in various capacities at HPCL," the statement said.

"In his current role at HPCL, he is responsible for the entire gamut of HR/ER functions ranging from talent acquisition, capability building, career and succession planning, performance and rewards management, discipline management, etc."

In a statement, BPCL said Dubey brings with him a wealth of experience in business and human capital development, having worked in the industry for over 34 years.

"Dubey is an alumnus of NIT Allahabad, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has also acquired a Master of Business Administration from the International Centre for Promotion of Enterprises, Ljubljana, Slovenia," it said.

Dubey, it said, has brought customer centricity in the fuel retailing channel by pioneering the marketing of differentiated products and premium fuels to great heights maintaining the leadership position.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections and promised the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if the party retains power. The manifesto, which was unveiled by BJP national president JP Nadda in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa, also promised to improve the 'ease of living' of apartment dwellers in Bengaluru. The saffron party also promised to provide 3 free cooking gas cylinders to all Below Poverty Line (BPL) families annually -- one each during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Deepavali.

In its manifesto, the ruling BJP said that it will launch the 'Poshana' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre of Nandini milk every day and 5 kg Shri Anna - Siri dhanya through monthly ration kits.

The BJP's manifesto for Karnataka was drafted after large scale consultations, JP Nadda said.

He added that the manifesto is centered around the following six themes -- food security, quality education, affordable and accessible healthcare, assured income support, social justice for all and, development and prosperity for all.

"To ensure social justice, we will implement the Uniform Civil Code in Karnataka based on the recommendations of the High-Level Committee constituted for the purpose," he said.

Nadda added that the manifesto for Karnataka was not formulated sitting in an air-conditioned room and rather a due exercise was done.

"Our workers visited every nook and corner of the state and got suggestions and connected to lakhs of households before this content was created," he said.

He also slammed the previous Siddaramaiah-led government and called it an 'absolutely reverse gear government'.

The BJP leader said that the Siddaramaiah's government looted the natural resources and was letting the criminal and anti-social elements run amok.

"It was appeasing a certain section of the society only to consolidate its vote bank," he said.

BJP National President Shri @JPNadda releases BJP's manifesto for Karnataka Assembly Election 2023. #BJPPrajaPranalike2023 https://t.co/sJmRGJpQVH  BJP (@BJP4India) May 1, 2023

The BJP is pulling out all stops to retain power in Karnataka which is seen as a gateway to the south for the saffron party.

It is locked in a tussle with the opposition Congress and the JD(S).

Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Sunday provided security to the female wrestlers including a minor who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, officials said. The complainants have also been asked to record their statements soon so that further investigation in the case can be carried out, they said.

The Supreme Court had directed the Delhi Police to provide security to the grapplers following their complaints against Singh, who has been booked under sections of outraging the modesty of a woman, stalking, and Section 10 of the POCSO Act in two FIRs.

The BJP MP, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers and a minor girl, has denied the charges against him. "On the direction of the Supreme Court, we have provided security to all the female wrestlers including the minor who filed complaints of sexual harassment against the WFI chief. We have also asked the complainants in the case to get their statements recorded," a senior police officer said.

A group of top wrestlers, who first levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Singh in January, had resumed their sit-in last Sunday at the Jantar Mantar here to demand that the findings of the Centre-appointed panel that probed the charges be made public.

The Delhi Police had on Fridays filed the two FIRs at the Connaught Place police station against the BJP MP, who has completed 12 years as WFI President and is ineligible to become an office bearer.

The first FIR pertains to allegations leveled by a minor that has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code concerning outraging modesty, a senior police officer said.

The second FIR has been registered for carrying out comprehensive investigations into the complaints by adult complainants under relevant IPC sections on outraging of modesty, the officer said, adding that investigation into both the FIRs was being taken up in right earnest. The award-winning wrestlers have also been demanding that Singh be arrested and removed from his post pending investigation.
Market Research Future

Data Center Power Market to Experience Growth Driven by Industry Trends

Tokyo, Japan, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Data Center Power Market  information By Component, By Data Center Size, By End-User  Global Forecast till 2032 market size to reach USD 31.6 Billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.40% by 2032.



Market Scope:

The global data center power market is set to experience growth driven by industry trends and regional analysis, according to a recent report by Market Research Future Insights. The report provides insights into the current state of the market and predicts future growth based on various factors such as market segmentation, regional analysis, industry trends, and the impact of COVID-19.

Dominant Key Players on Data Center Power Industry Covered are:

Eaton Corporation PLC

Schneider Electric SE

ABB Ltd

General Electric Company

Delta Electronics, Inc.

Vertiv Group Corp.

Rittal GmbH & Co. KG

Legrand SA

Siemens AG

Tripp Lite

Get Free Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5876

Data Center Power Market Report Scope:

Report Metrics Details Data Center Power Market Size by 2032 2032: USD 31.6 Billion CAGR during 2022-2032 6.40% Base Year 2022 Forecast 2023-2032 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Key Market Opportunities In North America, the market in the U.S. is expected to have a greater share owing to the availability of a large number of data centers, rise in energy cost, and presence of a large number of players in this region. Key Market Drivers The key factors driving the market include cost optimization of data centers for minimizing energy consumption and operational expenses, irregularities in power supply through UPS systems, and rise in digitization & cloud computing.

Market Segmentation: Understanding the Data Center Power Market

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the data center power market, which is segmented by solution type, service type, end-user, and region. By solution type, the market is segmented into power distribution and measurement, backup power, and cabling infrastructure. By service type, the market is segmented into consulting, installation and integration, and support and maintenance. By end-user, the market is segmented into IT and telecommunications, BFSI, healthcare, government and defense, energy, and others.

Story continues

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (100 Pages) on Data Center Power Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/data-center-power-market-5876

Industry Trends: Key Drivers of Growth in the Data Center Power Market

The report identifies key drivers of growth in the data center power market. One of the key drivers is the increasing demand for high-performance computing and storage solutions. This is driven by the growth of data-intensive applications, such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT). These applications require high-performance computing and storage solutions, which in turn require robust and reliable data center power solutions.

Another key driver of growth is the increasing adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing has become a popular choice for businesses of all sizes due to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility. As more businesses move their workloads to the cloud, the demand for data center power solutions is expected to increase.

COVID-19 Impact: The Resilience of the Data Center Power Market

The report also analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the data center power industry. The pandemic has had a significant impact on businesses and industries worldwide, and the data center power market is no exception. However, the market has shown resilience in the face of the pandemic, with many businesses investing in data center power solutions to support their remote workforces.

Regional Analysis: Key Markets in the Data Center Power Market

The report provides a detailed analysis of key markets in the data center power market. These include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America is expected to be the largest market for data center power solutions due to the presence of a large number of data centers in the region. Europe is expected to be the second-largest market due to the increasing adoption of cloud computing and the growth of the IT and telecommunications sector in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market due to the increasing adoption of cloud computing and the growth of the IT and telecommunications sector in the region.

Buy this Premium Research Report at:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=5876

Competitive Landscape: Key Players in the Data Center Power Market

Eaton Corporation PLC is a US-based power management company that provides solutions for the energy, electrical, and mechanical industries. The company offers a wide range of data center power solutions, including power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies, and power management software.

Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational corporation that specializes in energy management and automation solutions. The company offers a wide range of data center power solutions, including power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies, and energy management software.

ABB Ltd. is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation that provides power and automation technologies for various industries, including data centers. The company offers a wide range of power solutions for data centers, including power distribution and measurement, power backup, and cabling infrastructure.

General Electric Company is an American multinational conglomerate that provides a wide range of products and services, including power solutions for data centers. The company offers a wide range of power solutions for data centers, including power distribution and measurement, power backup, and cabling infrastructure.

Recent Developments in Datacenter Power Market: Market Leaders Focused on Innovation and Collaboration

In the highly competitive data center power market, market leaders are focused on innovation and collaboration to stay ahead of the competition. Recent developments in the market include new product launches, partnerships and collaborations, and mergers and acquisitions.

ABB Ltd., a major player in the datacenter power market, recently launched a new range of modular data center solutions that offer high energy efficiency and reliability. The company has also collaborated with Microsoft to develop a new cloud-based datacenter solution that is designed to reduce energy consumption and improve operational efficiency.

Ask For Customization:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_customize/5876

Another major player in the market, Schneider Electric SE, has announced a partnership with Cisco to develop a new datacenter architecture that integrates power and IT infrastructure. The new architecture is designed to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs for datacenter operators.

Related Reports:

Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Market By Component, By Testing Type, By Deployment Mode, By Technique, By Vertical, By Region - Forecast 2030

Edge Computing Market By Component, By Application, By Vertical, By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030

Racing Games Market By Type, By Application, By Region - Forecast till 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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New Delhi: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday lauded an order of the Supreme Court allowing a judicial services aspirant suffering from writer's cramp to get a scribe to write his preliminary examination for the recruitment of civil judges in Uttarakhand. The interim order was issued by a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Saturday. Writer's cramp is a task-specific movement disorder that manifests itself as abnormal postures and unwanted muscle spasms that interfere with motor performance while writing.

"This is such a heart-warming action by hon'ble Chief Justice Dr D Y Chandrachud. A great relief to a divyang (person with disability) candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand," Rijiju tweeted.

This is such a heart warming action by hon'ble Chief Justice Dr DY Chandrachud. A great relief to a Divyang candidate who sought a scribe for the Judicial Service exam in Uttarakhand. AIIMS had certified his disability. Timely Justice to a deserving person is very satisfying. pic.twitter.com/V5ampXxtkD  Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 30, 2023

Timely justice to a deserving person is "very satisfying", he said, sharing a screenshot of a tweet posted by the lawyer of the candidate who had approached the top court.

The candidate, Dhananjay Kumar, had moved the Supreme Court, saying his request to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) for a scribe was rejected on April 20, days ahead of the scheduled exam.

He urged the court to allow him a scribe as he suffers from Chandrachudwriter's cramp and submitted a certificate issued by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, dated September 25, 2017, about his condition.

Taking note of the submission by advocate Namit Saxena, appearing for Kumar, the bench, also comprising Justice P S Narasimha, issued a notice to the UKPSC and the Uttarakhand government asking why his request for a scribe was rejected. It directed them to file a response by May 12.

"We issue an ad interim direction to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, which is in-charge of conducting the examination, to ensure that a scribe is provided to the petitioner for the ensuing examination..." the bench said.
Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Sunday conveyed a clear warning against dissension by avoiding Abdul Karim Choudhury, the party's Islampur MLA. On Sunday, Abhishek travelled to Islampur to participate in a public event alongside the state minister Ghulam Rabbani and the president of the party's district committee, Kanaia Lal Agarwal. Choudhury waited for the leader at his home with carpets spread out. The distance between Choudhury's house and Abhishek's meeting location was just 1 kilometre.

Choudhury claimed he declined the invitation to the public meeting since he only received a phone call from Abhishek's office. "A few days ago, I received a phone call from someone in Abhishek's office asking me to attend the public meeting. Being a senior leader in the party and an MLA for 11 terms, I have some dignity. It is impossible for me to comply if someone calls and wants me to attend a meeting", Choudhury remarked.

Abhishek Skips Visit

The MLA stated that on Saturday, police had blocked off the entrance to his home and had raised the prospect of Abhishek paying a visit. The veteran TMC MLA reacted angrily when Abhishek didn't: "I feel disrespected. As of right now, I'll still be a dissenting leader in the party." However, a lot of people think Abhishek was trying to discourage dissent before the Panchayat elections. A month ago, Choudhury declared he would choose the candidates for the Islampur block panchayat election and that, in the event Mamata Banerjee disapproved the list, the candidates would contest as Independents.

Choudhury Challenges Mamata

Abdul Karim Choudhury, the Trinamool Congress MLA for Islampur in the North Dinajpur district, has declared that he will pick candidates for the panchayat elections in the Islampur block and that, in the event that the party leadership does not support the list, he will field them as Independents. Choudhury asserted, "I will make a list of candidates and send it to the state leadership in advance of the panchayat elections. If Mamata Banerjee rejects the list, the candidates would contest as Independents."

On the other hand, Abhishek is attempting to choose candidates through consensus and has begun mass contact events on this issue around the state. By declining to visit Choudhury at his home on Sunday, Abhishek is ostensibly trying to convey a message against such overt disagreement and senior leaders 'I-larger-than-the-party" mentality, according to a TMC party leaders.
NCP Maharashtra State President Jayant Patil asserts that the party would be represented by the state's next chief minister. This claim can lead to yet another fracture among the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. The NCP will be represented as the state's next chief minister, according to Jayant Patil. The NCP is rapidly gaining momentum under Sharad Pawar's leadership, he said, and it will eventually overtake all other parties to become the dominant force in Maharashtra. The party with the most seats, which in 2019 was the Shiv Sena, decided the Chief Minister's position in the past. The NCP's claim to the position, however, may cause friction between its allies, the Congress and Shiv Sena, as the Congress has previously indicated similar intentions. This is because the seat-sharing deal has not yet been finalised.

What Jayant Patil Claimed?

Patil, a seven-term MLA from Islampur Assembly constituency in Sangli said, "At present, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the NCP are getting huge support from people across the State. The satisfaction is that the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be from the NCP. This is now accepted by almost everyone. Thats how fast our party is moving forward I am confident that under the leadership of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, the NCP will emerge as the largest party in the State in the future."

As a reputed Pawar supporter, Patil made his remarks at a time when Ajit Pawar's supporters were erecting billboards in numerous cities proclaiming Ajit Pawar to be the next chief minister. Ajit Pawar also openly declared his desire to become the CM in a recent interview. After the senior Pawar, Ajit Pawar is regarded as the second-ranking member of the party and has great influence over many MLAs. He recently expressed his displeasure with how the Shiv Sena (UBT) was portraying its leader Uddhav Thackeray as the MVA's (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi) leader.

Refinery Controversy: Pawar Meets Protesters

On the other hand, Sharad Pawar, the leader of the nationalist Congress Party (NCP), met on Sunday with a group of anti-refinery protesters led by Satyajit Chavan. Chavan was taken into custody by Ratnagiri police on April 23, the day before soil sampling began at Barsu village in the coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, where one of the largest oil refineries in the world is likely to be built.

On Monday in the late afternoon, Pawar will have another meeting with the state's minister of industries, Uday Samant. Since the state government used police force to quash the villagers' opposition to the survey last week, Pawar and Samant have both met twice. Pawar had then instructed Samant to avoid using force, free those detained during protests, and first have negotiations with project opponents before moving forward. The police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters on Friday as tempers were fraying. Pawar tweeted that he was visited at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai by a group led by Satyajit Chavan. Jitendra Awhad, a leader of the NCP and a former state minister, attended the meeting as well.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated on Friday that the locals' approval is required before the proposed refinery project can move forward. Ajit Pawar, a senior NCP leader, stated on Saturday that it is important to make sure that development initiatives do not harm the environment. He encouraged the Maharashtra government to hold talks with all the interested parties and figure out the best course of action. Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut, whose party is supporting the protesters, on Saturday claimed there was no coordination between Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on the proposed refinery project.
New Delhi: US-based First Republic Bank was closed on Monday (local time) by the local regulators and entered into an agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank to purchase and assume all deposits and assets of the troubled bank in a bid to protect depositors.

"To protect depositors, the FDIC is entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all of the deposits and substantially all of the assets of First Republic Bank," US agency Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a statement. (Also Read: Anand Mahindra's Birthday: Business Tycoon Owns These Top Cars - Check List)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association submitted a bid for all of First Republic Bank's deposits. As part of the agreement, First Republic Bank's 84 offices in eight states in the US will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association starting today. (Also Read: Top 10 Companies In India To Work And Grow Your Career: Check Out List)

All depositors of First Republic Bank will become depositors of JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, and will have full access to all of their deposits.

"Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, and customers do not need to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits.

Customers of First Republic Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, that it has completed systems changes to allow other JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, branches to process their accounts as well," FDIC said.

As of April 13, 2023, First Republic Bank had approximately USD 229.1 billion in total assets and USD 103.9 billion in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, JPMorgan Chase Bank agreed to purchase "substantially" all of First Republic Bank's assets.

One of the most prominent lenders in the world of technology startups, Silicon Valley Bank, which was struggling, first collapsed on March 10, after a run on the bank by the depositors. Its closure led to a contagion effect and the subsequent shutting down of other banks, including First Republic Bank.

The collapse of a few regional banks in the US, which started with Silicon Valley Bank, has sent ripples across the global banking industry and posed fears of a contagion effect across economies.
New Delhi: Actress Mouni Roy is once again breaking the internet with her latest video. The talented actor is currently having the time of her life with her closed ones at a hill station in Sikkim and she has been making sure to set the social media on fire with pictures and videos from her vacation diary. The diva dropped a video giving her fans a glimpse of her day from the mountains. Mouni was seen cherishing the natural beauty, local food, and visited a monastery. In one of the stills, she was seen posing with two adorable young Buddhist monks.

Mouni was rocking a beautiful backless white dress and an all-black outfit with a beige long coat, with minimalistic makeup. She was seen enjoying serene time at a Buddhist monastery and gorging on maggie and momos, and seem to be having a ball. Soon after she dropped the video, her friends and fans rushed into the comment section and praised her beauty.

Her new-found pal Disha Patani commented on her post and wrote, "So beautiful."

"Nagin in the sun roof care," she wrote.

Another wrote, "Beautiful Mouni."

Speaking of Mouni and Disha's bonohomie, the two girls bonded well on Akshay Kumar-led 'Entertainers US Tour'. Both Mouni and Disha had immense fun together at the Tour and their pictures were all over the social media.

Mouni Roy made her television debut with Ekta Kapoor's 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. She became a popular name after she starred in 'Naagin'. Mouni made her Bollywood debut with Akshay Kumars 'Gold' in 2018.

Last seen in Ayan Mukerji's magnum opus, 'Brahmastra', alongside Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, Mouni will next share the screen space alongside Sanjay Dutt, Palak Tiwari, and Sunny Singh, in the upcoming sci-fi horror comedy flick 'The Virgin Tree'.
New Delhi: US officials purchased the troubled First Republic Bank in California and sold it to JPMorgan Chase in an effort to end the two-month financial system-ruining crisis. James Herbert created the organisation.

- James Herbert founded the First Republic Bank in 1985 and held the position of CEO for 37 years, according to the bank's website. He also served as Chairman starting in 2007. (Also Read: Anand Mahindra's Birthday: Business Tycoon Owns These Top Cars - Check List)

- According to Financial Times, Mr. Herbert is regarded as a cunning and motivated businessman. He increased the bank's staff from 9 to 14, making it the 14th largest bank in the country. The bank had more than 7,200 employees at the end of the previous year and planned to have 80 locations spread across seven US states by July 2020. (Also Read: Top 10 Companies In India To Work And Grow Your Career: Check Out List)

- According to the FT report, Mr. Herbert was born in Ohio; his mother worked as a homemaker and his father as a local banker. From Chase Manhattan Bank, he began his career in banking.

- He specialised in private banking for wealthy clients and focused on entrepreneurs, much like Silicon Valley Bank, which failed in March.

- For a 40 percent premium, Mr. Herbert had sold First Republic Bank to Merrill Lynch in 2007. But during the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of America bought Merrill, so Mr. Herbert bought it back.
New Delhi: Businesses with turnover of Rs 100 crore and above will have to upload their electronic invoices on IRP within 7 days of the issue of such invoice with effect from May 1, GST Network has said.

Currently, businesses upload such invoices on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) on the current date, irrespective of the date of issue of such invoice.

In an advisory to taxpayers, GST Network (GSTN) said the government has decided to impose a time limit on reporting old invoices on the e-invoice IRP portals for taxpayers with aggregate annual turnover greater than or equal to Rs 100 crore.

"To ensure timely compliance, taxpayers in this category will not be allowed to report invoices older than 7 days on the date of reporting," GSTN said.

In order to provide sufficient time for taxpayers to comply with this requirement, this new format would be implemented from May 1, 2023.

This restriction will apply to invoice, and there will be no time restriction on reporting debit/credit notes, it added.

Giving example, the GSTN said if an invoice has a date of April 1, 2023, it cannot be reported after April 8, 2023.

The validation system built into the invoice registration portal will disallow the user from reporting the invoice after the 7-day window.

Hence, it is essential for taxpayers to ensure that they report the invoice within the 7-day window provided by the new time limit, the GSTN said.

As per GST law, businesses cannot avail input tax credit (ITC) if invoices are not uploaded on the IRP.

AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said this technological change would arrest backdating of e-invoices by large companies.

"After successfully implementing this for large taxpayers, government is expected to roll out these changes for all taxpayers in a phased manner," Mohan added.

Currently, businesses with turnover of Rs 10 crore and above are required to generate electronic invoice for all B2B transactions.

Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions was made mandatory for companies with turnover of over Rs 500 crore from October 1, 2020, which was then extended to those with turnover of over Rs 100 crore effective January 1, 2021.

From April 1, 2021, companies with turnover of over Rs 50 crore were generating B2B e-invoices, and the threshold was brought down to Rs 20 crore beginning April 1, 2022. From October 1, 2022, the threshold was further lowered to Rs 10 crore.

EY Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal said implementation of timelines for reporting invoices on IRP would help in administering compliances and is an another great move towards digitalisation.

"This may also aid in increasing the GST collection once the said limit of Rs 100 crore turnover is reduced significantly or is made mandatory for all assesses required to generate IRN (Invoice Registration Number)," Agarwal said.
HBSE 10th 12th Result 2023 will be announced soon. According to reports, Haryana Board Result 2023 for both classes 10th and 12th will be released in May. Board of School Education Haryana (HBSE), Bhiwani will be issuing the result link on the official website-bseh.org.in. Students will be required to enter their roll number and other asked details to access the Haryana Board marksheet.

Haryana Board Result 2023: Steps To Download Scorecard

- Visit the official website of the Haryana Board of School Education(HBSE) at bseh.org.in.

- On the homepage, click on the link that reads, Haryana Board Class 10, 12 Result 2023.

- Enter the required login credentials such as roll number and click on the submit option.

- Your Haryana Board Class 10, 12 Result 2023 will be displayed on the screen.

- Download the mark sheet and take a printout of it for future reference.

HBSE Result 2023: Credentials To Check Scorecard

While downloading the HBSE 12th result and HBSE 10th result, students will have to enter their roll number on the portal. The scorecard for Haryana Classes 10 and 12 will contain crucial information such as the students' personal details, total marks obtained, marks scored in each subject, and other relevant details.

HBSE Result 2023: Total Students

Haryana Board Result 2023 is slated to release for a total of 5,59,738 students who appeared for the exam. Out of the total, 2,96,329 students appeared for the Haryana Board Class 10 exam and 2,63,409 students appeared for the Class 12th exam.

HBSE Result 2023: Exam Date

The Haryana Board 10th Exams 2023 were conducted from February 27 to March 25, 2023. Whereas the Haryana Board 12th Exams February 27 to March 28, 2023.
Karnataka SSLC Result 2023: Karnataka School Examinations and Assessments Board, KSEAB will declare the Karnataka SSLC Result 2023 soon. According to reports, the SSLC Result Karnataka is expected to be declared this week on the official websites karresults.nic.in and kseab.karnataka.gov.in. Karnataka SSLC Result for Class 10 Students are expected to be declared before May 10, 2023. Due to the Karnataka Assembly Elections, the SSLC Results are expected to be released soon, likely by this week.

Karnataka SSLC Result 2023: Exam Date

SSLC 2023 Exams were held from March 28 to April 11, 2023. The answer key for the exams has also been released. Once the SSLC 10th Result 2023 is declared, the direct link and steps will be shared here for candidates to refer to.

Karnataka SSLC Result 2023: Steps To Check Scorecard

- Go to the board website  karresults.nic.in or sslc.karnataka.gov.in.

- Click on the SSLC result link on the homepage.

- Login with your registration number and date of birth.

- Submit and view Karnataka SSLC result.

Karnataka SSLC Result 2023: Passing Criteria

To pass in the Karnataka SSLC Result 2023, students from the state board must secure an aggregate of 35 percent marks. If they fail to secure this aggregate, they would be required to appear for the supplementary exams.

Karnataka SSLC Result 2023: 2022 Pass Percentage

The overall pass percentage For the Karnataka SSLC Results 2022, was recorded at 85.63 percent. Out of this, 145 students secured 100 percent marks.
The ruling BJP in Karnataka, which is contesting the May 10 Assembly elections by carrying out its biggest experiment by fielding 72 new faces after denying tickets to some of its top leaders, is seeking votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to BJP insiders, the saffron party is banking heavily on the wave to be created by national leaders in the run-up to the elections. The party leadership has planned a series of meetings, public rallies, and roadshows of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to counter the heat of rebellion and anti-incumbency. Amit Shah has already completed the first leg of his tour after the announcement of elections in the state. He has toured south Karnataka, the coastal region and north Karnataka.

PM Modi has already entered Karnataka for campaigning and on the first of his two-day visit to the poll-bound state, he addressed three public rallies in north Karnataka and held a mega roadshow in Bengaluru on Saturday. Modi will hold rallies in south Karnataka on Sunday, including in Channapatna from where former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of JD-S is contesting. The BJP has fielded C.P. Yogeshwara as its candidate in Channapatna. The JD-S has ridiculed Modi`s visit and challenged the BJP leadership that JD-S is not bothered even if the BJP ropes in US or Russian Presidents. PM Modi is also holding rallies in Hassan, the native place of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, and in the historic city of Mysuru.

The whirlwind tour of Modi is expected to create a wave for the saffron party and give advantage to its candidates in south Karnataka. The BJP is facing formidable candidates of JD-S and Congress in this region. Also, the roots of BJP are not so strong here. The saffron party has decided to organise about 20 to 25 public rallies, conventions and roadshows of the Prime Minister across the state. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Smriti Irani are also camping in the state. Addressing the large gathering in Bengaluru on Saturday, Modi said: "I am the servant of Karnataka and I want to do everything for the state. For me, Karnataka is an important state. I need your blessings. A new team has been made ready to play an important role in Amrit Kaal. It is a mixture of new spirit and old roots. The strong team is ready and it needs your support."

Modi also made a special appeal to Karnataka voters that he will depute the whole of New Delhi for its welfare. "I want a majority government here. I repeat, full majority. The double-engine government is needed for development, infrastructure, etc. Karnataka should not become the ATM of Congress. It should become the country`s growth engine," Modi said. Senior journalist R.V. Sivanandan told IANS that though the rallies and the series of programmes of PM Modi and Amit Shah will help the BJP, they also show that they are panicky. The way Modi and Shah`s programmes are finalised, they expose a chin in their armor, he said.

"This kind of response was not expected from the BJP. Though the pre-poll surveys predicted BJP`s setback, considering the party`s manpower, muscle power and huge resources, the saffron camp still has an edge," he said. Sivanandan also said that the roadshows are carefully organised at the weak points. "In north Karnataka, Shah visited Basava Kalyan twice which sends a wrong signal. Modi`s roadshows are planned in Kalaburagi north and south constituencies where the BJP is weak. Modi`s charisma will definitely help the party, but it will also expose that the party is on a shaky ground," Sivanandan said. Union ministers who are campaigning in Karnataka are holding multiple press conferences, and it is difficult to comprehend this kind of campaigning blitzkrieg, Sivanandan said.

BJP insiders explained that since Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai or any other state leader have failed to emerge as a mass leader, it has become inevitable for the party to depend heavily on the publicity of Modi and Shah. Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala has said that it is an insult to Bommai and former CM B.S. Yediyurappa that the PM didn`t even mention their names or invoked even one of Karnataka government`s schemes during his public addresses in the state. "What more proof is required to show that the PM doesn`t have confidence in his own party leaders and the government," he said. Surjewala added: "The people of Karnataka will ensure that the 40 per cent commission BJP will get less than 40 seats."
Key Insights

MA Financial Group's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion

A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership

Insiders have sold recently

If you want to know who really controls MA Financial Group Limited (ASX:MAF), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 34% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Despite selling some shares recently, insiders control a good portion of the company's stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of MA Financial Group, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for MA Financial Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MA Financial Group?

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.

We can see that MA Financial Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at MA Financial Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

MA Financial Group is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In MA Financial Group's case, its Top Key Executive, Andrew Pridham, is the largest shareholder, holding 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 14% and 9.1% of the stock. In addition, we found that Julian Biggins, the CEO has 4.3% of the shares allocated to their name.

Story continues

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 54% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of MA Financial Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of MA Financial Group Limited. Insiders own AU$252m worth of shares in the AU$751m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over MA Financial Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 14%, of the MA Financial Group stock. 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 14% of MA Financial Group. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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 for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with MA Financial Group (at least 2 which make us uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge is under pressure to ensure victory for his party, especially in Kalaburagi and the surrounding areas, in the Karnataka assembly polls. It is the first election for him in his native state after becoming the AICC president. Kharge has also been waiting for a long time to avenge the defeat in the last Lok Sabha election in his home turf Kalaburagi. He was defeated by a margin of 95,452 votes by BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav. The defeat badly affected the veteran Congress politician hailing from the oppressed class. At a time, when the BJP is in an experimentation mode in Karnataka and is facing allegations of humiliating the Lingayat leadership, Kharge is strategising to deliver a body blow to the saffron party in the Kalyan-Karnataka region known as the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

It is a matter of prestige for Kharge`s family in the region. His son Priyank Kharge, a former minister, is contesting from Chittapur reserve constituency in Kalaburagi district. The Congress has managed to lure Baburao Chinchanasur, an influential leader from the Koli community which plays a decisive role in the region, from the BJP. Chinchanasur vowed to defeat the BJP in 20 seats. But, he met with an accident and is carrying out a campaign from the hospital. Mallikarjun Kharge is leading the attack from the front by targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a public rally, Kharge likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a poisonous snake and warned the people not to chew the bait given by him claiming that they will die. The statement stirred a controversy and became national news.

Later, Kharge retracted his statement and maintained that he meant to target the ideology PM Modi represents and does not have personal enmity with him. Recently, the BJP wrested the Kalaburagi City Corporation. The saffron party captured the posts independently for the first time in history and came to power there after 12 years. Modi noted the victory and chided Kharge during a speech at a public rally. Political analyst B. Samiulla told IANS that it is to be seen how Kharge will counter Modi in the upcoming assembly election in his native state. "If he manages to win a significant number of seats for his party, it is going to be a feather in his cap. If he loses, many questions will raised about his leadership."

Samiulla stated that if the Congress is defeated in the elections it will primarily become a north Indian party, when it comes to governance. Karnataka is the link for the party to south India. That is why the Congress has come to the state with an aggressive and powerful strategy. The AICC is actively carrying out the mission. Kharge knows this and is putting in all efforts, he added. R. R. Manoor, a senior journalist from Kalaburagi, told IANS that Kharge has considerable influence in the region. He has maintained a clean image for five decades and there is not a single allegation of corruption against him. He has held powerful positions in the state and central governments. His clean politics should be recognized by the younger generation and young voters are more in number. The selection of Congress candidates has been done meticulously. However, the voters are yet undecided, he claimed.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken everyone by surprise by reaching out to the Lingayat community in an unprecedented manner ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. However, the question in political circles often asked is, whether he will be able to tilt the Lingayat vote bank towards the Congress and bring it to power? Why so much of emphasis is laid on his outreach? Why is the BJP stung by his outreach and charges by Lingayat leaders former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi? Why is Union Home Minister Amit Shah, other national leaders Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan reaching out to even towns to ensure the BJP sails through these polls?

Speaking to IANS, B. Samilulla, a senior journalist and political analyst, explained that it is all about getting a 5 per cent vote swing for the Congress in Karnataka. "In the last Assembly elections, Congress got a 38 per cent vote share. Although the BJP got 36 per cent of votes, it emerged as the single largest party by winning more seats. The JD (S) had got 18 per cent of votes. The national parties which create a new vote bank are going to win. "The approximate swing the Congress is looking at is 5 per cent of votes. For that, the party will have to get new votes.

"With developments surrounding the exit of Lingayat leaders from the BJP, Congress is expecting a swing of 3 per cent of Lingayat votes and 2 per cent of Vokkaligas votes. If Congress manages this, it will have a simple majority," he told IANS. Knowing this well, Rahul Gandhi`s visit to Kudala Sangama, where the samadhi of the 12th century reformer Basavanna is located, is planned. Shettar had started voicing out that Lingayats are snubbed in BJP at the same time and his visit assumes significance in this backdrop. Rahul Gandhi`s scathing attacks on the BJP and claims that its ideologies were just opposite to Basavanna are aimed at achieving a the 5 per cent vote swing to Congress, according to party sources.

Congress insiders have also said that the Union Home Minister, BJP National President J.P. Nadda and other Central leaders are reaching out people in towns in the corners of the state to prevent the Congress from having the extra vote swing. The saffron party is targeting Shettar and forcing him to focus on his constituency is also for the same reason. Samiulla further explained that the BJP is facing an anti-incumbency wave and the caste factor won`t work out in its favour. Suryamukund Raj, Congress Legal Cell Secretary, told IANS that the outreach efforts by Rahul Gandhi will pull progressive people in the Lingayat community towards Congress. The community by and large is with former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa till now, but the 5 per cent vote swing could be achieved in the state easily, Raj notes. "More than 20 seats in the last Assembly elections were lost by a margin of 2,500 to 3,000 votes, especially in the Kalyana Karnataka region. This time, Congress candidates will emerge victorious. Mining baron turned politician Janardhana Reddy`s factor will also work against BJP," he added.
Bhiwandi Building Collapse: The death toll rose to eight on Monday as two more bodies were found among the rubble of a two-story structure that had collapsed in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra's Thane district, according to officials. They claimed that the cleanup effort had been ongoing for three days. At 1.45 pm on Saturday in Valpada of the Mankoli area, the building that housed godowns on the ground and ground floors and four families on the top floor collapsed. Six remains were discovered among the wreckage up until Sunday.

In a joint operation on Monday between teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), the bodies of two more people, Dinesh Tiwari (34) and Ashok Kumar Mishra (32), were found, according to PTI. The rescue effort and operations to clear the debris are still ongoing, according to Avinash Sawant, Regional Disaster Management Cell Chief for Thane Municipal Corporation.

Sawant claimed that a well-known manufacturer of food products owned the structure. Rescuers are moving slowly, according to Bhiwandi Sub-Divisional Officer Amit Sanap, since they must consider the chance that survivors may still be trapped and because they must make sure that bodies are not harmed by the machinery being utilised. According to him, the two bodies that were found in the morning have been taken to a government hospital for a postmortem. Indrapal Patil, the owner of the tragic building, was detained on Sunday and charged with culpable homicide that did not amount to murder, according to authorities.

Also Read: 'Next Chief Minister Of Maharashtra Will Be From NCP', Claims Jayant Patil

Sunil Pisal, a 38-year-old male, was pulled from the rubble on Sunday and taken to a hospital in Bhiwandi. On the occasion of his birthday on Sunday, the guy thanked the NDRF and the TDRF for giving him a new lease on life. According to a civic official, the structure was roughly 10 years old and might not be able to support the weight of a mobile tower that had just been placed on top of it.

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, paid a late-Saturday night visit to the collapse site and to those who were hurt and receiving medical attention at a hospital. He described the incident as "most unfortunate." He gave orders to Thane Collector Ashok Shingare and other officials to conduct an immediate examination of the buildings deemed to be the "most dangerous" in the neighbourhood and relocate those who reside there to safer locations before the arrival of monsoon. The only way to deal with the issues brought on by the unsafe buildings, according to Shinde, is to establish clusters of buildings over a vast area to provide people a financial benefit of scale.

The Maharashtra government has declared that it will pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation to each member of the deceased person's family, while the state will cover the costs of the injured person's medical care.
New Delhi: Rakul Preet Singh is an actress who enjoys a huge fanbase across the nation. The prettiest actress delivered some amazing performances on the screen last year that have enhanced her fandom to the next level. While her fans have always supported and showered immense love for her, an example of the same has been witnessed when a fan traveled 5 hours from Kurnool to meet her favorite star in Hyderabad when she was in the town for a store launch.

Rakul was recently in Hyderabad, where she witnessed a huge crowd of her fans but it was one special fan of hers who traveled 5 hours to meet the actress. The fan also expressed his delight in meeting her and took to his social media and wrote, "@Rakulpreet Hello rakul preet mam iam trying to contact but after today's conversation but i couldn't Today we could talk properly, mam , thank you mam to give hope that still there is chance to travel with you , to work with you i hope you will contact me

@Rakulpreet Hello rakul preet mam iam trying to contact but after today's conversation but i couldn't Today we could talk properly, mam , thank you mam to give hope that still there is chance to travel with you , to work with you i hope you will contact me pic.twitter.com/pxJD7wlS9C  Abdul Naveed (@AbdulNaveed7093) April 30, 2023

As soon as Rakul saw this post from the fan, she also dropped her reply on the same and wrote, Thankyou for coming from kurnoool.. it made me so happy

Moreover, Rakul is currently basking on the success of her recent ad campaign which has created a whole lot of chatter everywhere. This is indeed a special moment for the pretty actress as she has joined the league of legendary actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Hema Malini as she became the face of the biggest beauty brand with her latest endorsement.

On the work front, Rakul will be next seen in Indian 2 with Kamal Hassan, I Love You opposite Pavail Gulati, and other upcoming unannounced projects.
New Delhi: Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan launched his luxury streetwear brand and it has taken over the internet. The website of his brand went live yesterday and made headlines for all the wrong reasons. On one hand, there was much-needed anticipation of Aryan's website and the products but on the other hand, people were quite shocked and surprised by the brand being 'ridiculously expensive', 'pricey.'

Last month, Aryan announced his luxury brand and his father Shah Rukh Khan promoted it. Even an advertisement featuring SRK was released and it created a lot of buzz. But, from a jacket costing around 2 lakhs to a sweatshirt being sold at 33,000, the pricing of the garments has shocked almost everyone and Aryan is facing major backlash over it.

Netizens flooded the comment section with their disappointment. One wrote,"Bhai I think ur brand will not last long...Kyuki 33,000 me ek shirt India me kon kharidega? Generally 6,000 rate rakh lete na tab sahi that" Another one added, "Kidney bechna padega ek t shirt lene ko," "Just checked the prices, its crazy. A middle class guy can never afford it" wrote a social media user. One added, "It's a nice collection but too expensive. What a pity. Especially with shipping to Germany I would pay over 500 euros..... With all due respect, but that's not possible at all," another one wrote, "Way 2 expensive.... not for the 'common' people like us!"

On the work front, Aryan announced on social media that he has completed the writing of his first project, a series that will also be directed and shown by him. The project is expected to go on floors in 2023.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan was last seen in YRFs blockbuster film Pathaan alongside Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. He will next be seen in Atlees Jawan and Dunki.
DF Deutsche Forfait (ETR:DFTK) Full Year 2022 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: 11.0m (up 11% from FY 2021).

Net income: 5.40m (down 20% from FY 2021).

Profit margin: 49% (down from 68% in FY 2021). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses.

EPS: 0.45 (down from 0.57 in FY 2021).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

DF Deutsche Forfait shares are up 3.5% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

You should learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with DF Deutsche Forfait.

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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AUBURN, N.Y., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) announced today that Dr. Ronald L. Kirshner has been appointed Chair and Medical Director of the new Auburn Heart Institute (AHI). Dr. Kirshner's appointment coincides with a multi-million investment the hospital is making to expand its cardiovascular services to meet the needs of patients in the region.

RONALD L. KIRSHNER, MD CHAIR & MEDICAL DIRECTOR AUBURN HEART INSTITUTE(tm)

Dr. Kirshner is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon who comes to the Auburn Heart Institute from Rochester Regional Health Sands-Constellation Heart Institute where he served as the Chief of Cardiac Services and Cardiothoracic (heart) Surgery for over 30 years. Dr. Kirshner is a graduate of Temple University Medical School and completed his internship and residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He has also completed fellowships in Vascular Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He has been practicing as a cardiothoracic surgeon at Rochester General Hospital since 1985. He is board certified in Cardiac and Thoracic surgery. Dr. Kirshner's clinical interests and expertise include Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery and creating systems to drive healthcare efficiency and quality.

"I speak on behalf of Auburn Community Board of Trustees in warmly welcoming Dr. Kirshner to our health care system," stated Anthony Franceschelli, Chairman of the ACH Board of Trustees. "Dr. Kirshner is known far and wide as a leader in the specialty of Cardiac Services and brings with him a wealth of expertise that will be invaluable to, not only to our hospital, but to our patients and community as well."

"We look forward to Dr. Kirshner advancing our cardiac services for our community. With the help of New York State and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand Auburn Community Hospital is experiencing a significant transformation of healthcare in our community that includes our new $15 million comprehensive cancer center, a multi-million-dollar heart institute and a robust orthopedic practice, combined with a five-star nursing home, 3 Urgent Care Centers, along with primary care and specialty care services," stated Scott Berlucchi, President, and CEO.

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"I am excited about the opportunity to develop a world-class heart institute in close collaboration with my colleagues and this community. Our goal is to make the Auburn Heart Institute a health care destination for cardiac care in Upstate New York. I am committed to recruiting world class cardiologists and other cardiac professionals to join our multidisciplinary team. The Auburn Heart Institute will include a hospital wide multidisciplinary team of health professionals linking Admissions, the Emergency Department, the Cardiac Catheterization Team, Intensive Cardiac Care Unit, Surgery, Inpatient Telemetry, Outpatient Testing, the Laboratory, Imaging Services and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation," stated Dr. Kirshner.

Initially the Auburn Heart Institute office will be located in a newly renovated wing on the third floor of Auburn Community Hospital 17 Lansing Street. For more information or to make an appointment please call: 315-567-0540.

Auburn Community Hospital is the largest employer in Cayuga County, with a workforce of over 1,200 employees. The Hospital has a combined medical staff of more than two hundred medical professionals and multiple primary care sites. Today, ACH is a Health Care Delivery System that includes the Hospital, an 80-bed Five Star Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Center, 3 Urgent Care Centers, as well as Primary Care and Specialty Care Services.

(PRNewsfoto/Auburn Community Hospital)

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SOURCE Auburn Community Hospital
Low taxes, supportive regulatory frameworks, technological innovation and a quality talent pool have made Dubai an attractive home for a growing number of hedge funds, according to two Dubai officials. These attributes could help the emirate act as a gateway to the Middle East for Hong Kong businesses.

The comments came during a webinar on Thursday by Refinitiv and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which also released a report during the event.

There are 4,000 millionaires in Dubai, among the highest in the world, coming from the Middle East, India and Africa, with US$966 billion in private wealth, according to Refinitiv. There are already 60 hedge funds either operating or in the pipeline in the city, with more than US$1 trillion in assets under management, according to the DIFC.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"It looks very great going forward," said Chris Cameron, director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the regulator that oversees the DIFC. There has been an influx of businesses coming to the region and applying for licences to set up office. "The Dubai government and the UAE [have] managed to put the city further on the map."

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (left), meets with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (right), the vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the ruler of Dubai, in Dubai on February 9, 2023. Photo: Handout alt=Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (left), meets with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (right), the vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the ruler of Dubai, in Dubai on February 9, 2023. Photo: Handout>

Dubai's attributes could make it attractive to Hong Kong, whose leader, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, recently visited the Middle East to promote the city and its technology firms. Lee hoped to connect investors from the Gulf region with the Greater Bay Area, and has been in talks to attract oil giants into listing in Hong Kong.

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In the last couple of years, Cameron said he had seen a "tremendously healthy looking licensing pipeline" of businesses looking to set up in Dubai and be "closer to the pool of wealth" in the region.

Dubai and Hong Kong have a lot of complementary opportunities between them that would produce mutual benefits, Hadi Badri, CEO of economic development at Dubai Economy and Tourism, told the Post in a separate interview, without elaborating.

"We want to be among the top four globally in financial services," Badri said. "There are some obvious names in terms of global financial hubs - Hong Kong, New York, London and Singapore. We want Dubai to be there [as well]."

Instead of competition, Badri said Dubai wants more partnerships with Hong Kong. There are quite a lot of similarities between the two economies, as they are both gateway cities focusing on areas such as finance and tourism, he added.

"We want to establish Dubai as basically the bank of the region, similar to what Switzerland is as the bank of Europe," Badri said.

While Hong Kong, New York and London have historically been the hotspots for hedge funds, recent years have put Dubai on the map, Dominic Rieb-Smith, managing director at JPMorgan, said during the webinar. Culture and environment are very important to running a successful hedge fund these days, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers a different lifestyle that is attractive to new talent, he added.

Strict Covid-19 restrictions in Asia have led to an outflow of hedge funds to the UAE, said Rieb-Smith. There has also been a flood of wealth moving to the region from India, Africa and other parts of the Middle East.

"Regulation, taxation, cost of living, hiring and visas make Dubai an attractive place to be as a hedge fund," Phillip Lord, co-founder of Pimlico Partners, a Dubai-based investor relations firm, said in a separate interview. There has been a substantial increase in the number of hedge funds coming to Dubai in the past year, he added.

The Dubai government's 10-year economic development plan, known as D33, aims to elevate four key sectors: logistics, finance, manufacturing and tourism.

Niamh Taylor, head of EMEA at US hedge fund Schonfeld, told the webinar audience that her firm had moved some of its existing talent to the region. She also pointed out the geographical and time-zone advantages of being in Dubai.

"We're very excited about the future," Taylor said, adding that she had witnessed how the region and the hedge-fund community had continued to grow in recent years.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
HAIFA, Israel, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) (TASE: ESLT) ("Elbit Systems" or the "Company") announced that on May 1, 2023, the Company filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Annual Report") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Elbit Systems Ltd. Logo

The 2022 Annual Report can be viewed or downloaded at the Company's website at: www.elbitsystems.com. In addition, the Company will provide shareholders with a hard copy of the 2022 Annual Report upon request, free of charge.

Conference Call:

The Company will host a conference call today, Monday, May 1, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. On the call, management will review and discuss the annual report and will be available to answer questions.

To participate, please call one of the teleconferencing numbers that follow. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.

US Dial-in Number: 1-866-744-5399

Canada Dial-in Number: 1-866-485-2399

Israel Dial-in Number: 03-918- 0644

International Dial-in Number: +972-3- 918- 0644

at 9:00am Eastern Time; 6:00am Pacific Time; 4:00pm Israel Time

The conference call will also be broadcast live on Elbit Systems' website at https://www.elbitsystems.com. An online replay will be available from 24 hours after the call ends.

Alternatively, for two days following the call, investors will be able to dial a replay number to listen to the call. The dial-in numbers are: 1-888-782-4291 (US and Canada) or +972-3-925-5900 (Israel and International).

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of defense, homeland security and commercial programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems, radios, cyber-based systems and munitions. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial applications and providing a range of support services, including training and simulation systems.

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For additional information, visit: https://elbitsystems.com, follow us on Twitter or visit our official Facebook, Youtube and LinkedIn Channels.

Company Contact:

Dr. Yaacov (Kobi) Kagan, ExecutiveVP - CFO

Tel: +972-77-2946663

kobi.kagan@elbitsystems.com

Rami Myerson, Director, Investor Relations

Tel: +972-77-2948984

rami.myerson@elbitsystems.com

Dalia Bodinger, VP, Communication & Brand

Tel: 972-77-2947602

dalia.bodinger@elbitsystems.com

This press release may contain forwardlooking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and the Israeli Securities Law, 1968) regarding Elbit Systems Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (collectively the Company), to the extent such statements do not relate to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions about future events. Forwardlooking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company, which are difficult to predict, including projections of the Company's future financial results, its anticipated growth strategies and anticipated trends in its business. Therefore, actual future results, performance and trends may differ materially from these forwardlooking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: scope and length of customer contracts; governmental regulations and approvals; changes in governmental budgeting priorities; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates or sells, including Israel and the United States among others; changes in global health and macro-economic conditions; differences in anticipated and actual program performance, including the ability to perform under long-term fixed-price contracts; changes in the competitive environment; and the outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings. The factors listed above are not all-inclusive, and further information is contained in Elbit Systems Ltd.'s latest annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

Elbit Systems Ltd., its logo, brand, product, service and process names appearing in this Press Release are the trademarks or service marks of Elbit Systems Ltd. or its affiliated companies. All other brand, product, service and process names appearing are the trademarks of their respective holders. Reference to or use of a product, service or process other than those of Elbit Systems Ltd. does not imply recommendation, approval, affiliation or sponsorship of that product, service or process by Elbit Systems Ltd. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right of Elbit Systems Ltd. or any third party, except as expressly granted herein.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017806/Elbit_Systems_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE Elbit Systems Ltd.
Market Research Future

Electric Truck Market Growth Boost by Increasing Logistic Activities, Competitive Revenue, and Global Trends

New York, US, April 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a Comprehensive Report by MRFR/Market Research Future (MRFR), " Electric Truck Market Information by Propulsion Type, Type, End-Use, Range, and Battery Capacity, and Region - Forecast till 2030", The market for electric trucks will increase from USD 10.5 billion in 2022 to USD 27.7 billion in 2030, at a stunning rate of 14.8% from 2022 to 2030.

Electric Truck Market Overview

Government programs that encourage adoption have made electric vehicles more prevalent than diesel trucks. Rising demand for logistics services, decreased fuel prices, and cheaper maintenance costs are driving the market's expansion. Additionally, there are more and more incentives to drive an emission-free car. For commercial cars, severe emission rules apply. To meet the rising market demand, producers would thus need to make significant investments in the production of electric trucks. Manufacturers will have to invest a lot of money to accommodate this expanding demand.

Market Competitive Landscape:

The affluent firms in the electric truck industry include

AB Volvo

Daimler AG

PACCAR Inc.

Volkswagen AG

BYD Company Limited

Among others.



Buy Premium Research Report:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=6261



April 2023

Commercial e-truck company Volta Trucks has announced that it is moving to the US, almost three years after unveiling renderings for its electric goods mover. Prior to pilot tests in late 2023, a Class 7 Volta Zero design-verification prototype is scheduled to arrive in California. A combined motor, gearbox, and axle will be provided by Michigan-based Accelera by Cummins for the 16-ton Zero electric trucks, which will be offered with a modular (150 to 225 kWh) Proterra battery bank capable of between 95 and 125 miles of urban operation on a single charge.

Story continues

A truck-as-a-service concept from Volta would enable businesses to pay monthly rental costs for the electric trucks together with the associated servicing, maintenance, training, and insurance needs. Vehicles built to US specifications are anticipated to be available starting in 2024.

Electric Truck Market COVID 19 Analysis

As a result of COVID-19, the globe experienced hitherto unheard-of economic, humanitarian, and medical problems. Lockdown measures have decreased the spread, albeit at a significant financial cost. On the corporate side, the automotive and mobility industries have been particularly hard hit. Following the pattern shown in countries where COVID-19 previously spread, lockdown measures and other restrictions have decreased mobility and left many consumers unable or hesitant to purchase autos. Due to the disease's rapid spread, fewer people are buying new automobiles, which has had a significant impact on the global micro mobility business. OEMs and other stakeholders are also utilizing inventive business models to boost sales in the post-COVID-19 timeframe.

Report Scope:

Report Metrics Details Market Size 2030 2030: USD 27.7 billion CAGR during 2022-2030 14.8% CAGR Base Year 2021 Forecast 2022-2030 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Propulsion Type, Type, End-Use, Range, and Battery Capacity Key Market Opportunities Increasing logistic activities Key Market Dynamics The measures taken by the governments The ban on diesel in several cities





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (128 Pages) on Electric Truck Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/electric-truck-market-6261



Electric Truck Market USP Covered:

Market Drivers:

The electric truck market benefits from rising logistical demand, falling fuel and maintenance costs, and incentives for switching to zero-emission trucks. In addition, strict pollution standards for commercial vehicles will compel manufacturers to spend money on the production of electric trucks. As a result, it is projected that manufacturers would make sizable expenditures to meet the rising demand and significantly contribute to market expansion. Several industries, including logistics, municipal, and other domains, employ electric trucks. Any nation's GDP growth is largely attributed to the logistics industry. Delivery to remote areas could be necessary for a logistics provider as a result of the e-commerce sector's growth. Companies involved in logistics and supply chains are actively taking part in the transition from internal combustion engines to electric fleets.

Electric vehicles are becoming more and more common in the market as a result of a declining gasoline supply. Global electric truck market expansion will continue to be supported by laws and standards pertaining to pollution, global warming, and greenhouse gas emissions. Due to increased public awareness of electric cars, sales of electric trucks have increased globally. Offering tax benefits as an additional incentive, both industrialized and emerging nations are enticing consumers to buy electric automobiles. Additionally, the government is making great efforts to provide a sustainable infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. These measures will make it easier for those who utilize electric trucks to complete their jobs more quickly. As a result, the global market for electric vehicles is expected to rise throughout the forecast period.

Government subsidies and initiatives are expected to help the electric truck industry grow. Governments all around the globe are putting innovative laws and incentive programs into place to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in all market categories (bikes, automobiles, trucks, and other commercial vehicles). For instance, the Indian government launched the PLI (production-linked incentive) program and the FAME II amendment for the auto sector with the goal of converting 30% of private cars, 70% of commercial cars, and 80% of two- and three-wheelers to electric by 2030. As a result, the expanding government policies have increased the CAGR of the worldwide market in recent years.

Market Restraints:

The expansion of the electric truck market is expected to be significantly hampered by a lack of charging infrastructure. The necessity for the charging station to fuel electric trucks may be hampered by high expenses brought on by red tape related to building codes, permits, and regulations. Additionally, due to cheap investments, the adoption of electric trucks is lower in emerging nations than it is in industrialized economies.



Ask for Customization:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_customize/6261



Electric Truck Market Segmentation

By Propulsion Type

BEV, PHEV, and FCEV are among the propulsion-based market segments for electric trucks. Throughout the anticipated year, battery electric trucks will continue to rule the market. The sector is predicted to develop at the highest CAGR over the forecast period due to increasing battery life and energy density as well as declining battery prices.

Additionally, the PHEV had considerable growth in 2021. The plug-in hybrid truck is propelled by an electric vehicle motor and internal combustion engines. Leading automakers are introducing a new infrastructure for charging electric vehicles while they are in motion.

By Electric Truck Type

Light-duty trucks, medium-duty vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks are the three categories into which the electric truck market has been divided depending on type.

By Range

The Electric Truck Market segmentation, based on range, includes up to 200 miles and above 200 miles. The upto 200 miles category was the largest contributor to the market. Due to their increased efficiency and lower operating costs, these vehicles are employed for short-distance applications. Given the most recent advances from major participants in the segment, the over 200 miles segment, which previously held the second-largest market share, is predicted to take the lead.

By End-Use

The last-mile delivery, long-haul transportation, waste services, field services, and distribution services are the end-use categories into which the Electric Truck Market data has been divided. The market was controlled by the last mile segment. Delivery services for the final mile have seen tremendous change and growth. The social distance and other Covid-related conventions have greatly increased customers' reliance on doorstep last-mile delivery.

By Capacity

Less than 50kwh, 50-250 kwh, and beyond 250 kwh are the three battery capacity ranges that make up the segmentation of the electric truck market. The 50250 KWh range is thought to be the market's biggest segment. Significant advantages of the 50-250 kWh battery include rapid charging at a cheap cost and outstanding energy efficiency. The use of batteries with a capacity greater than 250 kwh is expected to be accelerated by rising technological advancements and declining battery costs.



Talk To Expert:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_schedule_call/6261



Electric Truck Market Regional Insights

The market for electric trucks in North America was valued at USD 3.9 billion in 2021, and over the research period, it is anticipated to rise at a strong CAGR of 43.2%. Numerous industry competitors and extensive R&D activities are expected to drive the North American electric truck market.

car rentals, bolstering the expansion rate of the regional industry.

Related Reports:

Dump Truck Market Research Report Information By Type (Rear, Side, Roll-off) Propulsion, Capacity, Application - Forecast 2030

Electric Commercial Vehicle Market Research Report Information By Propulsion, By Vehicle Type, By Component, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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CONTACT: Market Research Future (Part of Wantstats Research and Media Private Limited) 99 Hudson Street, 5Th Floor New York, NY 10013 United States of America +1 628 258 0071 (US) +44 2035 002 764 (UK) Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Website: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com




Key Insights

The projected fair value for Reliance Worldwide is AU$5.02 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of AU$4.08 suggests Reliance Worldwide is potentially trading close to its fair value

Analyst price target for RWC is US$4.25 which is 15% below our fair value estimate

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited (ASX:RWC) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

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 want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Reliance Worldwide

The Method

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To 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 discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$143.2m US$162.8m US$169.2m US$199.5m US$208.1m US$215.0m US$221.2m US$226.9m US$232.4m US$237.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x6 Analyst x6 Analyst x5 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.30% Est @ 2.89% Est @ 2.60% Est @ 2.40% Est @ 2.26% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.2% US$131 US$136 US$130 US$140 US$134 US$127 US$119 US$112 US$105 US$98.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$1.2b

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 9.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$238m (1 + 1.9%)  (9.2% 1.9%) = US$3.3b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$3.3b ( 1 + 9.2%)10= US$1.4b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$2.6b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of AU$4.1, the company appears about fair value at a 19% 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

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Reliance Worldwide 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 9.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.229. 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 Reliance Worldwide

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Building industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Building 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

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Australian market.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess 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. For Reliance Worldwide, there are three essential aspects you should further research:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Reliance Worldwide you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does RWC'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. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the ASX 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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By Manya Saini

(Reuters) - Shares of several regional lenders fell on Monday after the collapse of First Republic Bank, the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the U.S. banking sector since 2008.

The banking turmoil erupted from the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, causing depositors to flee regional lenders and fueling fears that the crisis could engulf other midsized banks.

The KBW Regional Banking Index shed 2.7% on Monday, hitting a session low, while shares of Citizens Financial Group, PNC Financial Services Group, Truist Financial Corp and U.S. Bancorp fell between 3% and 7%. Valley National Bankcorp, which owns Valley National Bank, lost more than 20%.

(Graphic: Regional banks shares reel from crisis fallout - https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BRV-BRV/zgvobybxqpd/chart.png)

A deal was announced earlier on Monday that allows for an orderly failure of First Republic. Under the terms, JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $10.6 billion to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), which took FRC into receivership, for most of the failed bank's assets.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase rose 2.14%, making the largest U.S. bank the top gainer on the Dow Jones. In the options market, traders were still being cautious on most regional banks, with the 30-day implied volatility on the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF - a measure of expected near-term price swings - dropping about 2 points on Monday from the previous week.

"This deal does not change the rates, recession, and regulatory headwinds that regional banks are facing," said UBS analyst Erika Najarian, but added it is an elegant solution that should lay to rest outstanding investor concerns over liquidity.

Mid-cap banks, which have client deposits parked in interest rate-sensitive investment portfolios such as mortgage bonds, are also facing a massive challenge due to aggressive monetary policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Their portfolios are now worth far less than what they valued them at in their books.

Story continues

While investors digested the rescue engineered over the weekend by regulators for First Republic's assets with a pinch of salt, Wall Street analysts were largely sanguine about the deal.

"This marks (the) second largest failure on record. Still, unlike Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the FDIC had a buy waiting in the wings," said analysts at Barclays.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Niket Nishant, Jaiveer Shekhawat, and Chibuike Oguh; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Jonathan Oatis)
Food Lion

Omnichannel retailer to host ribbon-cutting ceremony where first 100 customers will receive free mystery Food Lion gift card valued up to $200; other giveaways planned

New Little River, SC, Food Lion opens on May 3

The new Little River, SC, Food Lion is located at 77 S. Highway 57, Little River, SC 29566 and has an adjacent liquor store.

SALISBURY, N.C., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food Lion is making it easier for neighbors in Little River, SC, to get everything they need in one easy-to-shop location by opening a new store at 77 S. Highway 57, Little River, SC 29566. The new store and adjacent liquor store will open to the public at 8 a.m., May 3, following a 7:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterward, the first 100 customers in line will receive a mystery gift card valued up to $200, free reusable shopping bag and custom apron. The store will be open daily from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. In addition, the liquor store next door is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.



Im excited to open this new store in Little River and offer our neighbors a wide product assortment at the everyday low prices they expect from Food Lion, said Chris Cheers, Store Manager of the new Little River Food Lion. With the liquor store adjacent to the Little River Food Lion, we will continue to deliver on our commitment to make grocery shopping easy, convenient and affordable for our customers.

The new store features an extensive product assortment, hand-battered fried chicken, in-store cut fruit and a wide variety of affordable and easy grab-and-go options to help make any meal easier. Customers have a large selection of organic, gluten-free and plant-based items to choose from, including Natures Promise-brand items, which are Food Lions affordable brand of wholesome and organic products made with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors. Additionally, the store features a walk-in produce cooler, ensuring the freshest items available, and a self-service hot wing and Asian food bar.

The store is proud to offer a wide variety of great local offerings, including Caroline Plantation Grits, Gillespies Salted Peanuts and 5Cs Everything Sauce, all produced within 100 miles of the store. A list of additional South Carolina-based suppliers that may be featured in the store can be found online. In keeping with Food Lions commitment to offering great local products, the liquor store features spirits distilled locally as well as other regional favorites. This is Food Lions fifth liquor store operating adjacent to a Food Lion grocery store and the fourth in South Carolina.

Story continues

To make shopping easier for customers, the store offers self-checkout lanes and the Food Lion To Go grocery pickup service. Online orders may be placed on the Food Lion To Go website or the Food Lion To Go app. The convenient service allows customers to place an order with the click of a button while experiencing the same low prices and fresh food items they receive in the store.

Furthering Food Lions commitment to sustainability, the store features energy-efficient overhead LED lighting and refrigerated doors. Food Lion is the only company in the country to receive the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for 22 consecutive years.

In another commitment to the Little River community, the store has donated $2,500 each ($5,000 total), to two local feeding agencies: North Strand Helping Hands and St. Delight Community Outreach, both of Horry County. Each of these organizations also will regularly collect food from the store to distribute to neighbors in need through Food Lion Feeds industry-leading food rescue program, in which food safe for human consumption is donated to a local feeding agency before the food spoils. Food Lion Feeds, the retailers hunger-relief initiative, has donated more than 1 billion meals to neighbors in need since 2014.

About Food Lion

Food Lion is an omnichannel retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors during the moments that matter most. More than 82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Through its Count on me culture, Food Lion fosters a sense of belonging for all associates, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment that has supported LGBTQ+ equality for nearly two decades. Food Lion is the only company in the country to be named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 22 consecutive years. It also pioneered a food rescue program to support food-insecure neighbors. Through Food Lion Feeds, the retailer has donated more than 1 billion meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit foodlion.com.

CONTACTS:

Food Lion Media Relations

704-245-3317

publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/27555656-b054-4e48-b4fc-13f143da98f1




FILE PHOTO: Ford logo is seen at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - A federal judge in Detroit on Monday threw out a jury verdict ordering Ford Motor Co to pay Versata Software Inc $104.6 million for breaching a 2004 licensing contract and misappropriating trade secrets.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman said that while Versata Software, which licensed software to Ford from 1998 to 2015, offered sufficient evidence of a contract breach, it did not offer evidence to let jurors calculate damages accurately.

He also said jurors had no basis to determine how long Ford would have needed to develop three trade secrets it allegedly stole, and that this also required voiding the damages award.

Leitman ordered Ford to pay Versata $3 for breach of contract.

Versata sued Ford after accusing the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker of copying its software because it was tired of paying licensing fees, and after Ford rejected an offer in 2014 to license its major software for $17 million a year.

"Overturning a jury verdict is difficult by design," Leitman said in a 51-page decision.

"But here," he added, "the lack of evidence presented by Versata forced the jury to rest its damages awards on nothing more than speculation. For that reason the damages awards cannot stand."

Lawyers for Versata did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ford did not immediately respond to a similar request.

The $104.6 million award was about 85% of what Austin, Texas-based Versata had sought.

Jurors deliberated for two days before holding Ford liable last Oct. 27, following a 15-day trial.

The case is Versata Software Inc et al v Ford Motor Co, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, No. 15-10628.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)
(Bloomberg) -- Anger over President Emmanuel Macrons pension reform spilled into the streets of Paris as more than half a million people marched across France to challenge a law raising the retirement age.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The May Day protest marks a rare event since World War II when labor unions in France have come together. It points to the degree of discontent toward a decision borne out of economic necessity but that has been deeply unpopular and will test Macrons mettle in his final legacy-building term.

As of 5 p.m. local time, about 180 people had been arrested across the country, 68 of them in Paris, according to the latest figures available from the authorities. More than one police person was wounded, with one cop suffering serious injuries after being burned by a thrown Molotov cocktail. In Paris, activists spilled buckets of orange paint in front of the Justice Ministry.

Some 782,000 people protested across France, 112,000 of whom were in Paris, the Interior Ministry said. The numbers were much higher according to labor union CGT, which tallied a total of 2.3 million people in the country. Unions are meeting Tuesday to decide on the next steps.

Symbols of corporate power, such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the outskirts of Paris, were defaced. In Montbard, a town in Burgundy, people were banging on saucepans, a tradition that dates back to the overthrow of the French monarchy back in 1789.

The revolt stems from Macrons determination to raise the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62, and there is nothing that the protests can do to overturn something that is now enshrined into law even if its cost him a majority in parliament.

Macron has attempted to burnish his international image with some high-profile trips abroad, including China. Back home though, hes so unpopular of late that Le Point reported that no images of him were retransmitted on big screens at the Stade de France stadium during the Football Cup Final on Saturday.

Story continues

The protests have captured global attention.

In Washington, at a weekend event with President Joe Biden present, a famous comedian noted the protests in his skit and quipped: Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work.

In France, it has inflamed passions and led to evocations of the past, including by those who ran against Macron.

You have to work less, far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Monday. You have to work less and to work better.

Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin responded to the mounting violence with a tweet, saying that the police face extremely violent thugs who came with one objective: to kill cops and attack the property of others.

Francois Lecuyer, a retired resident who used to work for the Bank of France and voted for Macron twice, says hes had enough of the pension reform and Macrons style of government.

Lets throw technocrats to the trash bin, he said. Working conditions are not good enough to work longer, whether it is in a bakery, in a factory or just clicking on a mouse all day.

It remains to be seen if this marks a turning point in what has been a months-long wave of protests. The strikes had waned in recent weeks but could galvanize on the back of brewing resentment against the imperial image of Macron, who at one time compared himself to Jupiter, the king of Roman gods.

The sticking point is that he availed himself of a constitutional provision to pass the pension reform without a full parliament vote.

Macron says raising the pension age is vital to boost employment rates and halt the build-up of deficits in the massive public retirement system as the population ages. Unions say changing the age thresholds to claim a full pension will damage the least well-off and that there are other options to balance the system, including higher taxes on business and the wealthy.

Some 60% of French voters support the call to demonstrate on May 1, with backing especially strong among those who say theyre close to left-wing parties and the far-right movement of Marine Le Pens National Rally party, according to an Ifop poll for Sud radio.

In recent days Macron has sought to convey a conciliatory tone, acknowledging people havent accepted the retirement age hike.

He traveled outside Paris to talk about health care and education, but in most trips hes been met by demonstrations including people banging those revolutionary saucepans.

Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported on Sunday that some ministers have stopped communicating planned events on their agendas to avoid aggressive crowds.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Virtual Investor Conferences

Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giga Metals (OTCQX: HNCKF, TSX.V: GIGA), based in Vancouver, focused on nickel and cobalt, today announced that Mark Jarvis, CEO & Chairman, will present live at the Battery and Precious Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on May 3, 2023.



DATE: May 3rd

TIME: 11:30 am ET / 8:30 am PT

LINK: https://bit.ly/40RqsiM

Available for 1x1 meetings: May 3rd, 4th, 5th & 8th

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Recent Company Highlights

Giga Metals and Mitsubishi Corporation form have partnered to advance the Turnagain nickel project

Mitsubishi bought 15% of joint venture company Hard Creek Nickel Corp. for $8 million.

Giga Metals owns 85% of Hard Creek Nickel, which contains all the assets associated with the Turnagain nickel project.

Giga Metals is the operator of the joint venture.

Measured and Indicated Contained nickel is 7.0 billion pounds (read resource estimate press release here)

PFS on schedule for Q2 2023



About Giga Metals

Giga Metals Corporation's core asset is the Turnagain Project , located in northern British Columbia, which contains one of the few significant undeveloped sulphide nickel and cobalt resources in the world. Giga Metals has formed a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation and plans to complete a Prefeasibility Study in Q2 2023.

Story continues

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




Green Pegasus is the first of several Chilean projects to be jointly developed and advanced by the companies

NEW YORK & SEOUL, South Korea & SANTIAGO, Chile, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC ("Glenfarne"), together with its affiliates, today announces the execution and launch of a collaboration agreement with Samsung Engineering ("Samsung Engineering") to complete feasibility studies for multiple green hydrogen and ammonia projects in Chile as part of Glenfarnes recently announced Hydrogen Fuels Initiative.

Hydrogen-based fuels use hydrogen as the primary source of energy and generate little to no greenhouse gas emissions. They have a wide variety of applications across different industries, making them a versatile supplement to fossil fuels.

"Glenfarne Energy Transition is thrilled to be strategically collaborating with Samsung Engineering on hydrogen fuels projects that will be vital to advancing the energy transition in Chile, Asia, and Europe," said Brendan Duval, CEO and Founder of Glenfarne Energy Transition, LLC. "We see great potential for green hydrogen and ammonia from Chile to help further global decarbonization and achieve energy security."

Green Pegasus, the first project being developed as part of the agreement, will have up to two gigawatts ("GW") of solar PV installed capacity and is estimated to produce 459 kilotons ("kton") of green ammonia and 89 kton of green hydrogen annually. Green Pegasus will primarily focus on export to Asia, particularly South Korea, and Europe, where Glenfarne maintains several business and commercial partners.

About Glenfarne Energy Transition

Glenfarne Energy Transition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenfarne Group, a privately held energy and infrastructure development and management firm based in New York City and Houston, Texas, with offices in Dallas, Texas; Panama City, Panama; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. Glenfarne Energy Transition aims to address the "here and now" global energy transition through three core businesses: Global LNG Solutions, Renewables, and Grid Stability. The companys seasoned executives, asset managers, and operators develop, acquire, manage, and operate energy infrastructure assets throughout North and South America. For more information, please visit www.GlenfarneEnergyTransition.com.

Story continues

About Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd

At Samsung Engineering, we aim to create value based on the worlds best technological competence and contribute to our clients, society, and people. At Samsung Engineering, we aim to create value based on the worlds best technological competence and contribute to our clients, society, and people. As one of the worlds leading EPC&PM companies, Samsung Engineering has served clients in diverse industries such as oil-refining, gas-processing, petrochemicals, infrastructure & environmental sector, and bio-industry. Providing professional services across the whole project cycle ranging from professional feasibility studies to design, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance & operation. Samsung Engineering has completed more than 1,000 projects worldwide.

To prepare for ESG-based eco-friendly businesses for the future, we expanded our value chain to the business of operating green infrastructure, such as water treatment facilities and incinerators, and green solution business for energy optimization and carbon neutrality. To preemptively respond to changes in the global energy industry and take the lead in resolving global warming, we will provide optimal solutions based on our technologies and expertise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005300/en/

Contacts

Kris Cole

Pro-glenfarne@prosek.com

(310) 652-1411
Golconda Gold Ltd

TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golconda Gold Ltd. (Golconda Gold or the Company) (TSX-V: GG; OTCQB: GGGOF) is pleased to announce the release of its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022. All amounts are in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated.



A copy of the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the corresponding Managements Discussion and Analysis (the MD&A) will be available under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com.

2022 Highlights

For the year ended December 31, 2022, at its Galaxy property (Galaxy), the Company: mined 91,744 tonnes of ore, from its Galaxy and Princeton ore bodies, with an average grade of 3.22 grammes per tonne (g/t) compared to 62,086 tonnes at 4.75 g/t in the year ended December 31, 2021; reclaimed 38,197 tonnes of historic tailings with an average grade of 0.80 g/t compared to 54,162 tonnes at 0.85 g/t in the year ended December 31, 2021; produced 9,102 tonnes of concentrate at an average grade of 34.0 g/t containing 9,961 ounces of gold compared to 8,349 tonnes at 31.0 g/t containing 8,319 ounces of gold in the year ended December 31, 2021; and generated revenue of $13.2 million from the sale of 9,770 contained ounces (7,367 payable ounces) of gold at an operating cash cost of $1,353 per payable ounce compared to $9.2 million revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 at an operating cash cost of $1,677 per payable ounce. (1)



In addition, as previously reported, the Company also achieved the following significant milestones during the year ended December 31, 2022: completed the sale of Mupane Gold Mining Proprietary Limited (Mupane) to Hawks Mining Company Proprietary Limited; signed and commenced deliveries under a new offtake agreement for the Galaxy operation with Ocean Partners UK Limited and an associated unsecured $3 million revolving finance facility; fully repaid the Barak $5 million secured facility; produced an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (the PEA) of the Summit Mine and Banner Mill in New Mexico ( 2 ) ; and mining of the total footprint of the Galaxy Ore Body ( 3 ) at 22 level generated 29% more ounces than forecasted.





Story continues

Golconda Gold CEO, Nick Brodie commented: 2022 was another positive year for Golconda Gold, notably achieving a 20% increase in production at Galaxy and a 19% reduction in cash costs, significantly improving the Companys balance sheet through the removal of $17 million of liabilities associated with Mupane and the full repayment of the $5 million senior secured loan facility and demonstrating the robust economics of the Summit project through the release of an updated preliminary economic assessment.

We have moved into 2023 with clear goals in mind, specifically to continue to materially increase production at Galaxy and reduce unit costs and progress with funding the restart of the Summit project as soon as possible.(4)

About Golconda Gold

Golconda Gold is an un-hedged gold producer and explorer with mining operations and exploration tenements in South Africa and New Mexico. Golconda Gold is a public company and its shares are quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GG and the OTCQB under the symbol GGGOF. Golconda Golds management team is comprised of senior mining professionals with extensive experience in managing mining and processing operations and large-scale exploration programmes. Golconda Gold is committed to operating at world-class standards and is focused on the safety of its employees, respecting the environment, and contributing to the communities in which it operates.

Notes:

(1) Cash cost is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to below and Supplemental Information to the MD&A for reconciliation to measure reported in the Companys financial statements.

FY 2022 Q4 2021 Operating costs (US$) 11,506,339 3,286,000 Adjust for: Depreciation and depletion (1,085,629 ) (650,998 ) Inventory movement 48,659 163,994 Total operating cash cost 10,469,369 2,798,996 Royalties (272,809 ) (82,360 ) Total operating cash cost excluding royalties 10,196,560 2,716,636 Gold production (payable ozs) 7,536 1,620 Total operating cash cost excluding royalties per payable oz 1,353 1,677

(2) The PEA is an update of the economic model provided by Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, the previous owner of Summit, to the Company with an effective date of September 17, 2014, which was included in the "Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Summit Gold-Silver Project, Grant and Hidalgo Counties, New Mexico", prepared by Douglas F. Irving, P.E., Susan C. Bird, P.Eng., and Tracey D. Meintjes, P. Eng. of Chapman, Wood and Griswold, Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The PEA has been updated by the creation of a new mine plan, updated costings, revised off-take terms and updated metal prices. The updated PEA is preliminary in nature, and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the updated PEA will be realized. Please see the Companys press release dated June 27, 2022 for further details.

(3) The deposits at the Galaxy mine are supported by a technical report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Galaxy Gold Mine, South Africa which was issued on July 3, 2020 (the Galaxy Technical Report), with an effective date of June 29, 2020, a copy of which is available under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com. The Galaxy Technical Report was prepared by Minxcon (Pty) Ltd and approved by Mr. Uwe Engelmann, BSc (Zoo. & Bot.), BSc Hons (Geol.) Pr.Sci.Nat., MGSSA, and Mr. Daniel (Daan) van Heerden, B Eng (Min.), MCom (Bus. Admin.), MMC, Pr.Eng., FSAIMM, AMMSA, both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), and independent of the Company for the purposes of NI 43-101. The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) supported by the Galaxy Technical Report is preliminary in nature as the resources included in the PEA are comprised 54% of inferred mineral resources. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

(4) This is forward-looking information and is based on a number of assumption. See Cautionary Notes.

Cautionary Notes

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Companys goals to materially increase production at Galaxy, to reduce unit costs and progress with funding the restart of the Summit project, and the Companys future financial position and results of operations, strategy, proposed acquisitions, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words believe, expect, aim, intend, plan, continue, will, may, would, anticipate, estimate, forecast, predict, project, seek, should or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Companys expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.

Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the Companys dependence on two mineral projects; gold price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Companys mining activities in South Africa and New Mexico; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to the Companys exploration, development and mining activities being situated in South Africa and New Mexico; risks relating to reliance on the Companys management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Companys 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 arising from the Companys fair value estimates with respect to the carrying amount of mineral interests; mining tax regimes; risks arising from holding derivative instruments; the Companys need to replace reserves depleted by production; 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; lack of infrastructure; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; health risks in Africa; the Companys interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Companys ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; risks related to restarting production; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; development of the Companys exploration properties into commercially viable mines; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; risks related to the market perception of junior gold companies; and litigation risk. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

Information of a technical and scientific nature that forms the basis of the disclosure in the press release has been prepared and approved by Kevin Crossling Pr. Sci. Nat., MAusIMM. and former Business Development Manager for Golconda Gold, and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Crossling has verified the technical and scientific data disclosed herein and has conducted appropriate verification on the underlying data.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact:

Nick Brodie

CEO, Golconda Gold Ltd.

+ 44 7905 089878

Nick.Brodie@GolcondaGold.com

www.GolcondaGold.com




/Not for dissemination in the United States or for distribution to U.S. wire services/

VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Group Eleven Resources Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV: ZNG) (OTC: GRLVF) (FRA: 3GE) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 11,111,111 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.09 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. All currency in this news release is denominated in Canadian dollars.

Group Eleven Resources Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.)

Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one non-transferrable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share in the capital of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 36 months from the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.15 per Warrant Share.

The Private Placement will be made available to subscribers pursuant to the accredited investor and friends, family and business associate exemptions provided under sections 2.3(1) and 2.5 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions.

The Company expects to pay finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement to certain eligible finders in the form of: (i) a cash commission of 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder; and (ii) the issuance of such number of non-transferable common share purchase warrants of the Company (the "Finder's Warrants") equal to 6% of the Units issued under the Private Placement from investors introduced to the Company by the finder.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement primarily for follow-up drilling on the Company's Ballywire zinc-lead-silver discovery at the PG West project (100%-interest) in Ireland, as well as for general and administrative purposes. There may be circumstances, however, where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of funds may be necessary.

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Michael Gentile currently holds 26,366,614 Common Shares and 6,508,333 Warrants, each Warrant entitling Mr. Gentile to purchase one additional Common Share upon payment of additional consideration to the Company. These Common Shares and Warrants represent approximately 16.66% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 19.95% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis. Mr. Gentile has agreed to subscribe for up to 15% of the Private Placement which, in the event the Company issues the full 11,111,111 Units in the Private Placement, would result in Mr. Gentile subscribing for 1,638,889 Units for aggregate cash consideration of $147,500. Following the completion of the Private Placement, Mr. Gentile would beneficially own and control an aggregate of 28,005,503 Common Shares and 7,327,777 Warrants, representing approximately 16.53% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on an undiluted basis and approximately 19.99% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis.

The Private Placement is subject to all necessary regulatory approvals including acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

The ownership percentages of Common Shares described above are based on the Company having 158,301,502 Common Shares issued and outstanding as of the date of this news release and 169,412,613 Common Shares outstanding upon completion of the Private Placement.

About Group Eleven Resources

Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSX.V: ZNG; OTC: GRLVF and FRA: 3GE) is a mineral exploration company focused on advanced stage zinc exploration in Ireland. Additional information about the Company is available at www.groupelevenresources.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bart Jaworski, P.Geo.

Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the anticipated proceeds to be raised under the Private Placement; the use of any proceeds raised under the Private Placement; and the payment of finder's fees in connection with the Private Placement.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required regulatory approvals for the Private Placement; market uncertainty; and the inability of the Company to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement.

In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the Company will obtain the required regulatory and TSX Venture Exchange approvals for the Private Placement; the Company will be able to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Private Placement; and the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

SOURCE Group Eleven Resources Corp.

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Edtech leaders to combine best-in-class instruction and assessment capabilities to deliver holistic solutions that empower K12 teachers and students

BOSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Learning technology company HMH today announced that it has completed its acquisition of assets from research and educational services organization NWEA. The combined organization will harness the collective power of instruction and research-based insights to support educators in their efforts to drive better outcomes for students.

(PRNewsfoto/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

NWEA CEO Chris Minnich will join HMH's executive leadership team as president of a new NWEA division. The division will maintain its current offerings including its flagship assessment MAP Growth and continue to offer platform-agnostic assessment solutions to its thousands of partners globally. In addition, educators will benefit from a connected solution linking NWEA's assessments with HMH's curriculum. This will enable them to better understand how students are growing academically and how to maximize that growth with content specific recommendations that advance student learning.

"We are thrilled to welcome NWEA's talented and innovative team to the HMH community. Together, we are deeply focused on the transformative power of education," said Jack Lynch, CEO of HMH. "We look forward to diving into our collective work in support of students and teachers."

K12 districts, states and educators currently working with HMH and NWEA will not experience any disruption to the services they currently receive. Customers can learn more at hmhco.com/hmh-and-nwea.

Proceeds from the acquisition will fund the formation of a new private foundation that will be headquartered in Oregon and will serve students and educators across the nation. In the next year, the foundation will determine a name, its full structure and provide details of its mission, including what grant programs will be available.

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HMH is a portfolio company of Veritas Capital ("Veritas"), a leading investor at the intersection of technology and government. HMH was acquired by Veritas in April 2022.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to NWEA, and Hogan Lovells US LLP served as the Company's legal advisor. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP also acted as legal advisor to NWEA. Milbank LLP acted as HMH's legal advisor in connection with the transaction.

About HMH

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is a learning technology company committed to delivering connected solutions that engage learners, empower educators and improve student outcomes. As a leading provider of K12 core curriculum, supplemental and intervention solutions, and professional learning services, HMH partners with educators and school districts to uncover solutions that unlock students' potential and extend teachers' capabilities. HMH serves more than 50 million students and 4 million educators in 150 countries. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com

About NWEA

NWEA (formerly known as Northwest Evaluation Association) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we're partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

About Veritas Capital

Veritas Capital (Veritas) is a longstanding technology investor with over $40 billion of assets under management and a focus on companies operating at the intersection of technology and government. The firm invests in companies that provide critical products, software, and services, primarily technology and technology-enabled solutions, to government and commercial customers worldwide. Veritas seeks to create value by strategically transforming the companies in which it invests through organic and inorganic means. Leveraging technology to make a positive impact across vitally important areas, such as healthcare, education, and national security, is core to the firm. Veritas is a proud steward of national assets, improving the quality of healthcare while reducing cost, advancing our educational system, and protecting our nation and allies. For more information, visit www.veritascapital.com.

Contacts:

Bianca Olson

SVP, Corporate Affairs, HMH

bianca.olson@hmhco.com

617.351.3841

Veritas

FGS Global

VeritasCapital@fgsglobal.com

Cision

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SOURCE Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Market Research Future

Home Security Systems Market Research Report Information By Product (Cameras, Sensors, Biometrics, Smart Cards), By Type (Video Surveillance Solution, Medical Alert System), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)

London, United Kingdom, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Home Security Systems Market Research Report: By Product Type, Operating Platforms, and Region - Forecast Till 2030, the market is anticipated to acquire a valuation of approximately USD 81.30 Billion by the end of 2030. The reports further predict the market to flourish at a robust CAGR of over 4.72% during the assessment timeframe.

Key Companies in the Home Security Systems market include

Vivint inc.(US)

Control4 corporation (US)

Honeywell international inc. (US)

Tyco international ltd. (Ireland)

Adt corporation (US)

Robert bosch gmbh (Germany)

Cescom (Japan)

Godrej & boyce manufacturing company limited (India)

Assa abloy ab (Sweden)

Allegion plc (Ireland)

Axis communications ab (Sweden)

Simplisafe inc. (US)

Hangzhou hikvision digital technology co. Ltd. (China)

Johnson controls (US)

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6583

Report Scope:

Report Metric Details Revenue forecast in 2030 USD 81.30 Billion Growth Rate CAGR of 4.72% from 2022 to 2030 Base Year 2021 Study Period 2022-2030 Key Market Opportunities Real estate and construction are both developing quickly. Key Market Drivers A rise in criminal activity Technological development in remote monitoring using smartphones Rising interest in smart houses

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (100 Pages) on Home security systems market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/home-security-systems-market-6583

The rise in criminal activity, technical advancements in remote monitoring via smartphones, and rising interest in smart homes are the primary industry drivers boosting the growth of the home security systems market.

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Access control systems restrict access to secure areas of a home, building, drawer, or other location containing valuables, data, or sensitive information. These automated solutions provide both access and protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Entry control systems are increasingly being employed in home security since they allow quick and easy admission to a specified individual while recording and monitoring guests' movements. The advancement and evolution of access control technologies in the home security systems market is at an all-time high. And the widespread use of these systems for home security is a result of the increased need for greater protection caused by growing threats, an increase in smart homes, and rising liability. Secondary research, primary research, the MRFR database, and analyst review were used as sources.

Furthermore, most homeowners' access control systems consist of a deadbolt lock on the front and back doors and a key-locking door handle. Sliding glass doors and similar doors, on the other hand, are secured with a toggle lock, which may be more burglar-proof. Home security can be enhanced by adding extra access control security to these places. Such occurrences may heighten the demand for access control systems to improve home security. Access control systems from home security system market makers can lock and unlock doors in a variety of ways. This feature is becoming more popular for home security around the world.

A house burglary occurs every 13 seconds, four times per minute, 240 times per hour, and over 6,000 times each day, according to FBI data on home burglaries. In addition to one in every 250 homes with security systems, it claims that one in every three homes without security systems may experience a burglary.

Furthermore, current home security systems are frequently employed for a variety of reasons. The unrivalled connection, control, and accessibility of today's home security solutions, as well as the possibility for homeowners to remotely access multiple functions using a PC or a smartphone, are driving sales growth in this market.

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=6583

Segmentation

The Home Security Systems market is divided into four product categories: cameras, sensors, biometrics, and smart cards.

The Home Security Systems market is divided into two types: video surveillance solutions and medical alert systems.

The study divides the market into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World.

The Asia Pacific Home Security Systems market was worth USD 18.79 billion in 2021, and it is predicted to rise at a substantial CAGR over the study period. For more than 40 years, China's security business has been expanding. After initially being utilised in a small number of specialised divisions and departments, the application areas for the security system have greatly increased in recent years. Cameras are ubiquitous, and the Chinese security sector has changed dramatically. The market has expanded rapidly during the last two decades. China's society and economy have undergone immense change as a result of the country's significant growth in industrial capacity and expanding consumer expenditure. China is a major manufacturer of both consumer and industrial items.

China is presently surpassing other economies in terms of market growth for product and service consumption.

The market for home security systems in North America generated $10,041.50 million in sales in 2021 and is expected to reach $28,374.40 million in revenue by 2030. This is primarily due to the 2020 pandemic and the quick technical improvements that have increased the Home Security Systems business in North America. Furthermore, big competitors such as Vivint, Inc have a substantial presence. ADT LLC is one of the driving forces behind the growth of home security systems. ADT LLC, doing business as ADT Security Services, for example, has over eight million customers in North America.

Because of the growing acceptability of DIY installation solutions and the desire for home security systems, market demand is increasing. Furthermore, the US Home Security Systems market had the biggest market share, while the Canada Home Security Systems market was the Asia-Pacific region's fastest-growing market.

Europe's Home Security Systems market is the third-largest in the world, owing to increased urbanisation and a thriving construction industry. It is a significant contributor to the overall growth of the home security systems industry in this region. Economic growth in the region and technological advancements are two factors that are expected to increase demand for security systems.

Check for Discount:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/6583

The market for home fire prevention systems is expected to grow faster than the construction and real estate sectors in the future years. Furthermore, the UK Home Security Systems market had the greatest market share, while the Germany Home Security Systems market was the Asia-Pacific region's fastest-growing market.

Related Reports:

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Hyper-converged Infrastructure Market Research Report Forecast to 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyzon Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: HYZN), a global supplier of zero-emission heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles, today announced the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Parker Meeks to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Parker Meeks, CEO of Hyzon Motors

"Since joining Hyzon, Parker has demonstrated a consistent and impressive ability to drive impactful strategic analysis and long-term decisions in a rapidly evolving business environment," said Elaine Wong, Hyzon's Lead Independent Director. "This appointment allows the board to more effectively leverage his knowledge of Hyzon's operations, employee needs, programs, and strategic focus to support its key decision-making processes."

Meeks was appointed CEO of Hyzon in March 2023, after taking on the role of President and interim CEO in August 2022. Meeks joined Hyzon as Chief Strategy Officer in June 2021.

"I look forward to joining our Board of Directors and accelerating Hyzon's critical work of decarbonization through the production of our proprietary fuel cell technology and the commercialization of hydrogen-powered trucks," said Meeks.

About Hyzon

Hyzon is a global supplier of fuel cell electric mobility, with US operations in the Rochester, Chicago and Detroit areas, and international operations in the Netherlands, Australia, and China. Hyzon is an energy transition accelerator and technology innovator, providing solutions in the transport sector with a focus on commercial vehicles and hydrogen supply infrastructure. Utilizing its proven and proprietary hydrogen fuel cell technology, Hyzon's mission is to supply zero-emission heavy duty trucks to customers in North America, Europe and around the world to mitigate emissions from diesel transportation - one of the single largest sources of carbon emissions globally. The Company is contributing to the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles through its demonstrated technology advantage, fuel cell system performance, and innovation. Visit www.hyzonmotors.com.

Story continues

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "aims", "could," "should," "will," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Hyzon disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. Hyzon cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Hyzon, including risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Hyzon's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 14, 2023, and other documents filed by Hyzon from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Hyzon gives no assurances that Hyzon will achieve its expectations.

Hyzon Motors Logo (PRNewsfoto/Hyzon Motors Inc.)

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SOURCE Hyzon Motors Inc.
Human Resources Professional Brings Two Decades of International Experience to Hyzon

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyzon Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: HYZN), a global supplier of zero-emission heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles, today announced Sue Sun-LaSovage will join Hyzon as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), effective May 2, 2023. In this new role for Hyzon, Sun-LaSovage will lead the company's global human resources team overseeing recruitment, management, learning, and development in support of the company's overall growth.

Hyzon Motors' CHRO Sue Sun-LaSovage

"Sue's background leading HR functions at international corporations, paired with her experience building world-class teams, procedures, and culture at start-ups provides the exact combination Hyzon needs as we enter a new chapter of growth and innovation," said Hyzon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Parker Meeks. "Investing in our people and their development is a key priority as Hyzon continues to grow, and moves to production and commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles. Sue's expertise running HR for engineering-focused companies will give the company's leadership and staff the support it needs."

Sun-LaSovage is a seasoned human resources leader with more than two decades of experience in organizational development, employee engagement, and HR strategy. Her career spans the US, China, and Singapore, and she has led HR for several automotive and manufacturing companies, including most recently VIA Motors, an electric vehicle startup OEM, and SRG Global, a leading automotive products and manufacturing company.

"Hyzon's mission of reducing global emissions by decarbonizing transportation resonates deeply with my values," said Sue Sun-LaSovage. "It is an honor to join a team that is fully committed to this important mission and to help shape the organization around a culture of excellence. I'm excited to join this talented, dynamic team and bring my skills to Hyzon as the company works to grow and strengthen its global presence."

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While at VIA Motors, Sun-LaSovage created and executed a people strategy that helped the start-up build its organizational structure. Sun-LaSovage was also critical in defining and driving the company's culture from the ground up.

Prior to her role at VIA Motors, Sun-LaSovage was the Global Vice President of Human Resources for SRG Global, where she oversaw a large global human resources function and supported over six thousand global employees across several manufacturing sites. During her time there, Sun-LaSovage assisted the company's CEO and executive committee on all human resources issues.

Sun-LaSovage has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Optical Engineering from HuaZhong University of Science and Technology. She has also earned her master's degree in HR and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota, Carlson Business School.

This announcement follows the appointments Hyzon has made in recent months including CEO Parker Meeks, interim Chief Financial Officer Jiajia Wu, Chief Operating Officer Dr. Bappa Banerjee, President of International Operations John Edgley, and President of North America Pat Griffin.

About Hyzon

Hyzon is a global supplier of fuel cell electric mobility, with US operations in the Rochester, Chicago and Detroit areas, and international operations in the Netherlands, Australia, and China. Hyzon is an energy transition accelerator and technology innovator, providing solutions in the transport sector with a focus on commercial vehicles and hydrogen supply infrastructure. Utilizing its proven and proprietary hydrogen fuel cell technology, Hyzon's mission is to supply zero-emission heavy duty trucks to customers in North America, Europe and around the world to mitigate emissions from diesel transportation - one of the single largest sources of carbon emissions globally. The Company is contributing to the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles through its demonstrated technology advantage, fuel cell system performance, and innovation. Visit www.hyzonmotors.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "aims", "could," "should," "will," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Hyzon disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. Hyzon cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Hyzon, including risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Hyzon's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 14, 2023, and other documents filed by Hyzon from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Hyzon gives no assurances that Hyzon will achieve its expectations.

Hyzon Motors Logo (PRNewsfoto/Hyzon Motors Inc.)

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SOURCE Hyzon Motors Inc.
Innovator Capital Management

The Defined Outcome ETFs seek to provide investors with exposure to the S&P 500 while mitigating volatile markets with a range of protection levels

CHICAGO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovator Capital Management , LLC (Innovator) today announced the new upside caps and return profiles for the May series of the U.S. Equity Buffer ETFs  Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF  May (BMAY), Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF  May (PMAY) and Innovator U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF  May (UMAY)  which completed their third annual outcome period and reset at the end of April. The 36 total ETFs in the flagship U.S. Equity Buffer ETF lineup seek to provide investors with upside participation, to a cap, in Large-cap U.S. stocks via options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) with buffers against market losses of 9%, 15% or 30% over one-year periods.



Following the volatile market conditions of 2022 that have extended into 2023, Innovators suite of defined-outcome ETFs have helped to shield investors from market downturns, while maintaining exposure to the markets upside potential. By bringing defined-outcome strategies to the ETF structure, Innovator has helped to provide advisors and investors of all stripes with lower-cost, tax-efficient and liquid investment solutions that had traditionally been unavailable to many. The ETFs are designed to reset annually or quarterly and can be held indefinitely.

Return profiles for the Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETFs  May Series, as of 5/1/2023

Ticker ETF Name  Buffer Level Upside Cap* Reference

Asset Downside Buffer** Outcome

Period BMAY U.S. Equity Buffer ETF  9% 19.45% SPY 0% to -9% 12 mos PMAY U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF  15% 14.51% SPY 0% to -15% 12 mos UMAY U.S. Equity Ultra Buffer ETF  30% 13.10% SPY -5% to -35% 12 mos

* Cap refers to the maximum potential return, before the funds 0.79% management fee and expenses and any shareholder transaction fees and any extraordinary expenses, if held over the full Outcome Period. **Buffer refers to the amount of downside protection the fund seeks to provide, before fees and expenses, over the full Outcome Period. Outcome Period is the intended length of time over which the defined outcomes are sought. Upon commencement of the Outcome Period, the Caps can be found on a daily basis via www.innovatoretfs.com.

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The ETFs reset annually and can be held indefinitely. For additional information, visit the Innovator Defined Outcome ETF Pricing Tool .

About Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs

Defined Outcome ETFs  are the worlds first ETFs that seek to provide investors with known ranges of future investment outcomes prior to investing. These outcome ranges include multiple and single upside exposure, to a cap, with defined levels of downside risk with buffers and floors over a set amount of time. The Innovator Defined Outcome ETFs cover a large spectrum of domestic and international equities and bonds. Innovators category-creating Defined Outcome ETF family includes Buffer ETFs, Barrier ETFs and Accelerated ETFs.

Media Contact

Frank Taylor

(646) 808-3647

frank@dlpr.com

The Funds have characteristics unlike many other traditional investment products and may not be suitable for all investors. For more information regarding whether an investment in the Fund is right for you, please see Investor Suitability in the prospectus.

Although each Fund seeks to achieve the defined outcomes stated in its investment objective, there is no guarantee that it will do so. The returns that the Funds seek to provide do not include the costs associated with purchasing shares of the Fund and certain expenses incurred by the Fund.

Investing involves risks. Loss of principal is possible. The Funds face numerous market trading risks, including active markets risk, authorized participation concentration risk, buffered loss risk, cap change risk, capped upside return risk, correlation risk, liquidity risk, management risk, market maker risk, market risk, non-diversification risk, operation risk, options risk, trading issues risk, upside participation risk and valuation risk. For a detail list of fund risks see the prospectus.

FLEX Options Risk. The Fund will utilize FLEX Options issued and guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). In the unlikely event that the OCC becomes insolvent or is otherwise unable to meet its settlement obligations, the Fund could suffer significant losses. Additionally, FLEX Options may be less liquid than standard options. In a less liquid market for the FLEX Options, the Fund may have difficulty closing out certain FLEX Options positions at desired times and prices. The values of FLEX Options do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset and may vary due to factors other than the price of reference asset.

These Funds are designed to provide point-to-point exposure to the price return of the Reference Asset via a basket of Flex Options. As a result, the ETFs are not expected to move directly in line with the Reference Asset during the interim period.

Investors purchasing shares after an outcome period has begun may experience very different results than funds' investment objective. Initial outcome periods are approximately 1-year beginning on the funds' inception date. Following the initial outcome period, each subsequent outcome period will begin on the first day of the month the fund was incepted. After the conclusion of an outcome period, another will begin.

Fund shareholders are subject to an upside return cap (the "Cap") that represents the maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in the funds' for the Outcome Period, before fees and expenses. If the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value to a level near to the Cap, an investor purchasing at that price has little or no ability to achieve gains but remains vulnerable to downside risks. Additionally, the Cap may rise or fall from one Outcome Period to the next. The Cap, and the Fund's position relative to it, should be considered before investing in the Fund. The Funds' website, www.innovatoretfs.com, provides important Fund information as well information relating to the potential outcomes of an investment in a Fund on a daily basis.

The Funds with buffer mechanisms only seek to provide shareholders that hold shares for the entire Outcome Period with their respective buffer level against Reference Asset losses during the Outcome Period. You will bear all Reference Asset losses exceeding 9, 15 or 30%. Depending upon market conditions at the time of purchase, a shareholder that purchases shares after the Outcome Period has begun may also lose their entire investment. For instance, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has decreased in value beyond the pre-determined buffer, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer. Similarly, if the Outcome Period has begun and the Fund has increased in value, an investor purchasing shares at that price may not benefit from the buffer until the Fund's value has decreased to its value at the commencement of the Outcome Period.

THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT(S).

Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible Benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc., is not affiliated with S&P DJI, Milliman, or Innovator Capital Management. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures and investment practices.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc., and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, or as to the results to be obtained by recipients of the products.

Innovator ETFs, Defined Outcome ETF, Buffer ETF, Enhanced ETF, Define Your Future, Leading the Defined Outcome ETF Revolution and other service marks and trademarks related to these marks are the exclusive property of Innovator Capital Management, LLC.

The Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be carefully considered before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information, and it may be obtained at innovatoretfs.com. Read it carefully before investing.

Innovator ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

Copyright  2023 Innovator Capital Management, LLC.

800.208.5212




JPMorgan Chase (JPM) asked more than 800 people to work over the weekend to make a bid for First Republic. It had to wait until the middle of the night to get what it wanted.

The US government informed JPMorgan after 1 a.m. Monday that it won an auction for the troubled San Francisco lender. The news capped a marathon weekend of back-to-back meetings with people from every JPMorgan business line, fueled by takeout Mexican and lots of coffee. The CFO even pulled an all nighter.

In Pittsburgh, the news wasnt as good. There, PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) knew by roughly 12:30 a.m. that its bid wasn't successful, and it didn't know which bank was the winner. Regulators announced the deal at 3:22 a.m. ET.

The decision made just hours before markets opened in the US on Monday ended speculation about the destiny of the nations 14th-largest lender after a bidding war managed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation attracted some of the biggest names in banking.

Bank of America (BAC), the second-largest US lender, ultimately decided against an offer, as did US Bancorp (USB), the nations fifth-largest bank.

Citizens Bank (CFG) and Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), sizable regional lenders based in Providence, R.I. and Cincinnati, also participated in the bidding, according to The Wall Street Journal.

JPMorgan v. PNC

For those watching the auction unfold, the competition really came down to two heavyweights: JPMorgan and PNC. The nations largest and sixth-largest banks.

Both had survived the 2008 crisis by getting even bigger via a series of acquisitions encouraged by the US government.

In JPMorgans case, it picked up New York investment bank Bear Stearns and Seattle thrift Washington Mutual in March and September of 2008, giving it a coast-to-coast empire. PNC got Cleveland rival National City in October of that year and eventually established a foothold in nearly every top metro area.

A PNC sign in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Both were also involved in a prior attempt in March to stabilize First Republic with uninsured deposits, a rescue attempt that received encouragement from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other top Washington officials. JPMorgan kicked in $5 billion and PNC kicked in $1 billion. Another nine banks contributed an additional $24 billion.

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The infusion bought First Republic time but it didnt solve the banks underlying crisis of confidence. A disclosure last Monday that it lost more than $100 billion in deposits during the first quarter sent its stock tumbling again.

Working through the weekend

So JPMorgan got another call Wednesday evening fielded by JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum. Would the bank be interested in gathering information for a bid to acquire First Republic after its seizure by the FDIC?

To answer that question, the bank convened roughly 800 people. It tapped executives from its investment banking, commercial banking and private banking units as well as tax advisers, mortgage experts, asset and wealth management experts and valuation specialists.

The assignment for every business at the bank was to look at First Republic and to report on what it expected a deal to be worth to its particular unit.

JPMorgan Chase CEO, here testifying in Congress last year, is once again playing the role of rescuer during a banking crisis. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

On Saturday, each team presented its findings to JPMorgans senior managers via a series of meetings from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Many on the executive floors ate at their desks as they worked.

The pros of buying First Republic were that it would help restore some stability to the banking system and it would lower the costs JPMorgan might have to pay to the FDIC if First Republic were to fail without a buyer in hand. The FDIC charges banks a special assessment to cover the costs of industry failures.

The risks were many, too. There were potential legal headaches, credit challenges and the possibility that First Republic employees could weaken the franchise by leaving.

'Up all night'

Bids were due Sunday at noon. After the first batch came in, it was clear to JPMorgan that not all bidders wanted the same assets. Some were willing to take First Republics jumbo mortgages and some were not, said a person familiar with JPMorgans negotiations.

The FDIC needed a way to conform the bids so that they could start comparing them, this person said. Regulators began asking JPMorgan to resubmit its bid with additional parameters and refocus it around certain categories.

They started trying to get everyone on the same page, this person said.

JPM submitted four new bids between noon and 9 pm on Sunday. The final call came from the FDIC at roughly 1:15 a.m., this person said, and First Republic was seized at roughly 2 a.m. The bank's CFO didnt get much sleep Sunday night, this person said.

There were a lot of people up all night, Mr. Dimon said on a call with reporters Monday.

By 5:30 a.m., some of Dimon's top executives, including Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak, were on a plane and flying to California to meet their new colleagues. First Republic now belonged to JPMorgan.

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Key Insights

The considerable ownership by individual investors in Spark New Zealand indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy

The top 25 shareholders own 35% of the company

Insiders have been selling lately

If you want to know who really controls Spark New Zealand Limited (NZSE:SPK), 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 60% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, institutions make up 40% of the companys shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Spark New Zealand.

Check out our latest analysis for Spark New Zealand

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Spark New Zealand?

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 Spark New Zealand. 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. 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 Spark New Zealand's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Spark New Zealand. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 9.8% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.5% and 3.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Story continues

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Spark New Zealand

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 Spark New Zealand Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own NZ$8.4m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 60% stake in Spark New Zealand, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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. Take risks for example - Spark New Zealand has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are potentially serious) we think you should know about.

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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Thousands of Performances and Events Take Place in 195 Countries on All Continents

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton Joins Herbie Hancock for Historic Conversation about Jazz

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 12th annual International Jazz Day came to a thrilling close with a spectacular All-Star Global Concert featuring performances from Beijing, Beirut, Johannesburg, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Vienna and beyond. The All-Star Global Concert showcased celebrated jazz artists including Cyrille Aimee (France), Ambrose Akinmusire (USA), Thana Alexa (Croatia), John Beasley (USA), Dee Dee Bridgewater (USA), Musekiwa Chingodza (Zimbabwe), Emmet Cohen (USA), Kurt Elling (USA), Oran Etkin (Israel), Tom Gansch (Austria), Christian McBride (USA), Sergio Mendes (Brazil), Marcus Miller (USA), Thandi Ntuli (South Africa), Dianne Reeves (USA), Antonio Sanchez (Mexico), Somi (Rwanda) and many others.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Herbie Hancock discuss the impact of jazz on their lives and the world in an historic conversation for International Jazz Day. (Steve Mundinger)

To mark International Jazz Day 2023, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock met for an historic conversation about the impact of jazz on their lives and humanity. The two friends reminisced about how they fell in love with jazz and which musicians have most captivated them over the years. They shared stories of how jazz has opened doors across the globe and how their musical experiences helped deepen their own personal and professional growth. Clinton and Hancock connected on the power that jazz can have in shaping our world for the better. The conversation is available via jazzday.com. (Link: Highest Resolution Video)

The All-Star Global Concert opened with acclaimed vocalist Somi and her remarkably unique rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" with John Beasley and Ben Williams. The Blue Note China Jazz Orchestra gave a rousing take on the Gershwin standard, "Fascinating Rhythm." From Casablanca, Morocco, JazzWomenAfrica performed its composition "Bull Door," sharing musical traditions of Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Togo and Ghana. Vocalist Yumi Park and Brazilian pianist Marcos Ariel delivered an exhilarating presentation of "Mas Que Nada" from Rio de Janeiro. Oran Etkin and Mbira player Musekiwa Chingodza provided a heartwarming performance from the streets of rural Zimbabwe. Herbie Hancock enlisted Ambrose Akinmusire and Walter Smith, III to perform Wayne Shorter's iconic composition, "Footprints." Dianne Reeves brought the evening to a gorgeous close with her stunning rendition of Horace Silver's "Peace."

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UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay noted, "Today, let us pay tribute to the genius of the creators and musicians who have been defining and redefining jazz for over a century, from Ella Fitzgerald to Manu Dibango. But let us also commit to supporting jazz players across the globe  so that the universal message of peace and humanity conveyed by jazz music resonates worldwide."

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock said, "Respect for human dignity is firmly integrated into the DNA of jazz. International Jazz Day honors this important value by embracing the peace and freedom that jazz so eloquently proclaims. And that is the spirit of jazz  finding delight in diversity and creating harmony out of our differences."

The International Jazz Day 2023 celebration included thousands of jazz performances, jam sessions, master classes, education and community outreach initiatives, and other special events in 195 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Additionally, UNESCO and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz presented educational programs in five languages. These offerings and the All-Star Global Concert are available at jazzday.com, unesco.org, and the International Jazz Day YouTube and Facebook pages.

Major support for International Jazz Day 2023 is provided by the Doris Duke Foundation, with additional, generous support from the Ford Foundation. United Airlines, the airline partner of International Jazz Day, provided air transportation and additional support for artists and educators.

Each year on April 30, International Jazz Day brings together countries and communities on all continents to highlight the power of jazz as a force for freedom and creativity, promote intercultural dialogue through respect and understanding, and unite people throughout the world. International Jazz Day was adopted by the UNESCO Member Nations on the initiative of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock, who co-chairs the annual celebration with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Presented in partnership with the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, the day is recognized on the official calendars of UNESCO and the United Nations.

www.jazzday.com www.unesco.org/jazzday.

Cision

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SOURCE Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz
By highlighting stories of small business success and driving conversations, Intuit aims to help the small business community thrive

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), the global technology platform that makes QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp, is declaring May as Small Business Success Month for the third consecutive year and featuring a series of activities to recognize the impact small businesses have on our communities and celebrate small business success. This includes Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero Day, a Fireside Chat with fashion designer and business owner Christian Siriano and chef and restaurant owner Kathy Fang, and an Intuit Small Business Council visit to Washington, D.C., to foster small business discussions with policymakers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005117/en/

Small Business Success Month (Photo: Business Wire)

Small business success fuels the growth of local communities and Intuit is focused on delivering innovations that improve the small business success rate. In fact, 69% of businesses who have used QuickBooks at some point survive beyond their fifth year, compared with a success rate of 52% across all U.S. small businesses, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Surviving past the five-year mark is also a critical point for many businesses when it comes to managing cash flow. Recent QuickBooks data shows that of small businesses operating for under five years, 61% indicate cash flow is a problem. But succeeding beyond five years often means cash flow problems subside, with only 44% of lasting small business owners indicating cash flow is a challenge.

"Small businesses are the pillars of their communities, engines of innovation, and the backbone of the American economy," said Alex Chriss, EVP and GM, Small Business & Self Employed Group at Intuit. "Dedicating May to celebrating small business success offers an incredible opportunity to spotlight small business owners, foster engaging conversations that support their growth, and introduce tools and resources that can help our small business community thrive."

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Small Business Success Month Activities

Throughout the month of May, Intuit will offer a variety of resources and events for the small business community to support and celebrate their continued prosperity including:

 Small Business Fireside Chat on May 9: Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp will host a conversation around reinventing traditional industry norms and using unconventional strategies to drive success with Christian Siriano, American fashion designer and co-founder of "Send the Trend," and Kathy Fang, co-owner and Chef at Fang Restaurant and Food Network television personality, on Tuesday, May 9, at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Emmy award-winning journalist Lisa Ling will moderate the conversation. Registration for the event is available here.

 Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero Day on May 16: For the second year in a row, Intuit will celebrate the heroic ways small businesses go above and beyond for their communities every day. Three Small Business Heroes will be announced in a press release on May 16 and showcased in content developed by Intuit, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, and TurboTax.

 Small Business Advocacy in Washington, D.C., on May 18: The Intuit Small Business Council will be in Washington, D.C., May 18 to engage in discussions on important issues facing small business owners today, and help inform policy decisions to continue to foster small business success around the U.S.

 Small Business Success Content Hub: New content and resources to support small businesses will be featured on our Small Business Success hub, alongside a brand-new infographic speaking to the biggest myths about the first five years of business, including quotes from customers whove successfully passed that major milestone.

 Dynamic Conversations with Small Businesses: Intuit QuickBooks and iHeartMedia have introduced Mind the Business: Small Business Success Stories, a new biweekly podcast in which hosts Austin Hankwitz (Rate of Return) and Jannese Torres (Yo Quiero Dinero) connect with small business owners to hear their stories about managing the ups and downs of starting and growing a small business. Listeners will be able to learn valuable lessons to help guide them along their own small business journey. Intuit Mailchimp is launching season 3 of the Call Paul podcast on May 1, a show hosted by Paul Jarvis featuring conversations with small business owners who prioritize doing the right thing, and as a result, are wildly successful. Over 10 episodes, Paul offers an insightful look into how building a business with integrity, passion, and values can drive sustainable growth.

In addition to these activities, Intuits Supplier DEI & Social Impact Program has introduced a new initiative to improve small business cash flow by accelerating payments upon receipt of invoices for small and diverse suppliers that are minority-owned (Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, or Native American), LGBTQ+ owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and/or disability-owned. At a time when most companies are extending payment terms, through this program Intuit is paying small and diverse suppliers in under 10 days as part of our commitment to fueling small business success.

About Intuit

Intuit is the global financial technology platform that powers prosperity for the people and communities we serve. With more than 100 million customers worldwide using TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us at Intuit.com and find us on social for the latest information about Intuit and our products and services.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005117/en/

Contacts

Intuit:

Dan Mahoney

Dan_Mahoney@intuit.com

Jen Garcia

jeng@accesstheagency.com
Advances in technology often come loaded with financial opportunities and scanning the one presented by the nascent autonomous driving sector, Cathie Wood thinks there is a huge one at play.

The Ark Invest CEO has not been shy about making some bold predictions in the past and thinks investors should not underestimate whats in store for this up-and-coming industry.

We think that the robotaxi opportunity globally will deliver $8 to $10 trillion in revenue by 2030 and is one of the most important investment opportunities of our lifetimes, Wood said. One of the reasons for this is that it will save lives; 80-90% of auto fatalities and accidents are caused by human error, and autonomous driving is going to take away the human error.

Good news, then, both for humanity and investors. And while the first name that comes to mind that stands to gain from such a development is the current undisputed EV leader Tesla, there are other companies operating in the space that are readying for a driver-less world.

We this in mind, we opened up the TipRanks database and got the lowdown on 3 robotaxi-themed stocks that certain Street analysts believe are primed to make the most of this opportunity of a lifetime. Here are the details.

Mobileye Global (MBLY)

One company that is already operating at the forefront of this secular trend is Mobileye, a leader and pioneer in the ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) space. Having bought the already public entity back in 2017, last October, Intel spun off Mobileye in what was one of the years blockbuster IPOs.

The company has already established working relationships with more than 50 auto OEMs including VW, Ford and Zeekr and since being formed in 1999, over 125 million vehicles have already made use of the firms driver-assisting tech. The company sees an additional 270 million cars using its offerings by the start of the next decade and expects its commanding position in the ADAS segment will be complimented by the opportunity in self-driving cars.

Story continues

The company is already targeting a leading position in the autonomous vehicle market although the days when these cars become more commonplace could be a while away still. Nevertheless, acting as a test, Mobileye intends to deploy between 100 and 150 robotaxis this year in several European cities and in Israel, while CEO Amnon Shashua has predicted that hundreds of thousands of robotaxis will be zooming across major global hubs by the end of the decade.

As a firm specializing purely in the ADAS and AV field, Tigress analyst Ivan Feinseth thinks Mobileye offers a unique value proposition.

MBLY is a pure play on the ongoing evolution of ADAS and AV technologies and offers investors one of the best ways to play the growth and ongoing integration of these emerging technologies, the 5-star analyst said. MBLYs industry-leading vision/AI EyeQ SoC system processor currently has about 70% market share and will continue to grow through ongoing innovation along with future regulatory mandates and increasing auto manufacturer product offerings and consumer demand.

MBLY has significant proprietary value and key attributes well positioning it to take advantage of and benefit from a potential $500 billion TAM that includes onboard consumer and commercial vehicle ADAS and AV technology as well as the upcoming Robo taxi industry and overall AMaaS (Autonomous Mobility as a Service) market opportunities by the end of the decade, Feinseth went on to add.

These comments underpin Feinseths Buy rating while his $52 price target suggests the shares will climb 38% higher over the coming months. (To watch Feinseths track record, click here)

Almost all of Feinseths colleagues agree. One skeptic aside, the 12 other recent analyst reviews are all positive, making the consensus view here a Strong Buy. The average target stands at $47.75, implying gains of ~27% could be in the cards over the coming months. (See MBLY stock forecast)

General Motors (GM)

If Mobileye represents the new school in auto tech, our next name has been an auto industry mainstay since the industrys early days. General Motors is one of the biggest car manufacturers in world, and in fact, by sales, it was the largest automaker in the United States last year. In 2022, GM sold around 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S., representing roughly a 17% share of all vehicles bought in the U.S. throughout the year.

You might think the Motor City-based giant belongs squarely in the auto legacy camp with the companys vehicle portfolio including iconic names such as Cadillac, Buick, and Chevrolet, but GM has been making a concerted effort to keep up with the times. Not only has it targeted 2035 as the year when production and sales of ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles will come to an end, but the company also owns an 80% stake in L4 robotaxi firm Cruise.

With operations in San Francisco, Austin, and Phoenix, alongside Googles Waymo, Cruise is one of just 2 robotaxi providers in the United States. And barely a year after conducting the first fully driverless journey in a major city, in February, the firm announced it had notched 1 million driverless miles.

Furthermore, the companys purpose-built vehicle  which lacks a steering wheel or pedals  could kick off its service this year. This bus-like vehicle can transport up to 6 people without a driver, and is expected to travel 1 million miles over its lifespan.

By 2025, the GM-owned Cruise aims to deliver revenues of $1 billion, a target RBC analyst and robotaxi fan Tom Narayan thinks should not be too hard to meet.

We have long been optimists on robotaxis, as we think they have the ability to save lives, time, space in our cities, the environment, and increase mobility, Narayan explained. We sense automakers seeing cost escalation (especially from electrification and in particular, batteries) are likely focusing their investments on more immediately commercial L2+/L3 offerings. That said, we do applaud GMs commitment to L4 even given a potential long time horizon for profitability. Moreover, we dont think $1B in revenues is an ambitious target for 2025. Our math suggests using Ubers current fare/mile, Cruise would only need ~4,000 cars on an end-to-end service and ~5,000 if it outsourced the backend to Uber/Lyft. To put this in context, there are 45,000 Uber/Lyfts in San Francisco alone.

Quantifying his stance, along with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, Narayan has a $48 price target for the shares, making room for 12-month returns of 45%. (To watch Narayans track record, click here)

Elsewhere on the Street, the stock garners an additional 5 Buys and 6 Holds, for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. At $50.08, the average suggests the shares will post 12-month growth of ~52%. (See GM stock forecast)

Hesai Group (HSAI)

For our last robotaxi-stock well head to China, a country that accounted for 59% of global EV sales last year, easily making it the biggest EV market in the world right now.

Based in Shanghai, Hesais specialty is LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems  the remote sensing method used to calculate with a laser an objects exact distance.

In fact, the company held the number 1 spot in global LiDAR shipments in 2022, boating a 58% market share in the Level-4 autonomous mobility LiDAR segment and 36% market share in the Level-3 ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) LiDAR market. Hesai saw out last year having made more than 100,000 LiDAR unit deliveries since being founded in 2014, building on its relationships with leading automotive OEMs and robotics firms.

The company is relatively new to the U.S. public markets, with its IPO of American Depositary Shares (ADS) taking place in February. Having raised $190 million, it represented the biggest IPO of a Chinese company since October 2021.

However, it has been tough going for this stock. Since the debut, HSAI shares are down by 57%. Nevertheless, Credit Suisse analyst Bin Wang thinks the shares will claw back those losses and some.

Along with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, the analysts $28 price target suggests investors could see returns of 210% over the next year. (To watch Wangs track record, click here)

Explaining his stance, its the robotaxi opportunity that partly informs Wangs bullish thesis, with the analyst expecting the robo-cars cost inflection point arrival to boost Autonomous Mobility LiDAR demand.

Currently, explained Wang, the typical Robotaxi monthly depreciation is below the total cost of a conventional taxis depreciation and driver salary in high-tier cities. By replacing the current 1.4mn-unit human-driven conventional taxi fleet in China, we estimate the Robo-car fleet size to reach ~200k units by 2025 and to 1.4mn by 2030. The key drivers are fast-falling hardware cost, upgrading algorithm, improving infrastructure, and favourable government policy. We estimate Hesais Autonomous Mobility LiDAR (for Robo-cars) to increase from 12k units in 2022 to 18k/40k units in 2023/24 on the fast-growing Robo-car fleet size.

Over the past 3 months, only two other analysts have waded in with HSAI reviews, but they are also positive, providing the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating. Not only that, but they also see plenty of gains ahead. The forecast calls for one-year returns of 216%, considering the average target clocks in at $28.50. (See HSAI stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
While Seven West Media Limited (ASX:SWM) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 14% in the last quarter. But over the last three years the stock has shone bright like a diamond. Over that time, we've been excited to watch the share price climb an impressive 370%. Arguably, the recent fall is to be expected after such a strong rise. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

See our latest analysis for Seven West Media

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. 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 three years of share price growth, Seven West Media moved from a loss to profitability. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Seven West Media has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at Seven West Media's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Seven West Media had a tough year, with a total loss of 42%, against a market gain of about 0.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 8% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Seven West Media you should be aware of, and 2 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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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 Australian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Conference Call Scheduled at 9am ET

AZOUR, Israel, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ: ITRN), announced that it will be releasing its first quarter 2023 results on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

Ituran_logo

The Company will be hosting a conference call later that day at 9am Eastern Time. On the call, management will review and discuss the results, and will be available to answer investor questions.

To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin placing your calls a few minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, please try the international dial-in number.

US Dial-in Number: 1 866 860 9642

ISRAEL Dial-in Number: 03 918 0609

INTERNATIONAL Dial-in Number: +972 3 918 0609

at:

9:00am Eastern Time, 6:00am Pacific Time, 4:00pm Israel Time

For those unable to listen to the live call, a replay of the call will be available from the day after the call in the investor relations section of Ituran's website.

About Ituran

Ituran is a leader in the emerging mobility technology field, providing value-added location-based services, including a full suite of services for the connected-car. Ituran offers Stolen Vehicle Recovery, fleet management as well as mobile asset location, management & control services for vehicles, cargo and personal security for the retail, insurance industry and car manufacturers. Ituran is the largest OEM telematics provider in Latin America. Its products and applications are used by customers in over 20 countries. Ituran is also the founder of the Tel-Aviv based DRIVE startup incubator to promote the development of smart mobility technology.

Ituran's subscriber base has been growing significantly since the Company's inception to over 2 million subscribers using its location-based services with a market leading position in Israel and Latin America. Established in 1995, Ituran has 2,800 employees worldwide, with offices in Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia, India, Canada and the United States.

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For more information, please visit Ituran's website, at: www.ituran.com

Company Contact Udi Mizrahi udi_m@ituran.com Deputy CEO and VP Finance, Ituran (Israel) +972 3 557 1348 International Investor Relations Ehud Helft ituran@ekgir.com EK Global Investor Relations (US) +1 212 378 8040

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1972820/Ituran_logo.jpg

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SOURCE Ituran Location and Control Ltd.
Virtual Investor Conferences

Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

PERTH, Australia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jindalee Resources (ASX: JRL, OTCQX: JNDAF), based in Perth, Western Australia and focused on advancing Jindalees 100% owned McDermitt Lithium Project (USA), today announced that Lindsay Dudfield, Executive Director & CEO, will present live at the Battery and Precious Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on May 3rd, 2023.



DATE: May 3rd

TIME: 9:30am EST (US)

LINK: https://bit.ly/44jNv83

Available for 1x1 meetings: May 4th and 5th

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Recent Company Highlights

February 2023 McDermitt resource increased by 62% to 21.5 Mt LCE

McDermitt is now the largest lithium deposit in North America

MOU signed with POSCO to evaluate McDermitt (POSCO provides lithium to GM)

Australian projects divested January 2023; Jindalee now a pure play US lithium company

Tight capital structure (only 57.4M shares on issue) provides high leverage for investors



About Jindalee Resources

Jindalee Resources (ASX: JRL, OTCQX: JNDAF) is a pure-play US lithium company focused on the development of the giant McDermitt Lithium Project (21.5 Mt LCE), currently the largest lithium deposit in North America. The Company also provides shareholders with indirect exposure to lithium, gold, base and strategic metals, iron ore, uranium and magnesite in Australia through projects generated by the Companys technical team. Management are strong supporters and hold 30% of issued capital.

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About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Jindalee Resources

Lindsay Dudfield

Executive Director & CEO

+61 8 9321 7550

enquiry@jindalee.net

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




Centerfield Media Holding Company

Kris Barton

Chief Executive Officer of Centerfield

LOS ANGELES, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerfield, a premier outcome-based marketing service for digital customer acquisition, today announced the appointment of Kris Barton as Chief Executive Officer. Barton joins Centerfield from Gannett, where he was president of Digital Marketing Solutions.



Barton succeeds Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Jason Cohen and Brett Cravatt, who started Centerfield in 2011, and grew the business to a leading customer acquisition solution for brands in home services, insurance services, business services, e-commerce and many other categories. On March 18th, Centerfield celebrated its 12th anniversary, the same month its technology platform Dugout surpassed its 70 billionth consumer engagement.

Founding Centerfield and growing it into the industry-leading business it is today has been tremendously rewarding, said Cohen and Cravatt in a joint statement. Kris is the ideal leader to guide Centerfield into its next chapter of growth. Were still in the early innings of Centerfield, and Kris impressive track record of building profitable advertising businesses at scale is perfect for where we are as a business and where we are headed.

Under Bartons leadership at Gannett, the Digital Marketing Solutions division achieved record revenue growth and profitability. Prior to his role as President at Gannett, Barton held the role of Chief Product Officer leading development for Gannetts consumer and marketing products and technology, including brands such as USA TODAY, LocaliQ and hundreds of other portfolio brands owned by Gannett.

"Im thrilled to join Centerfield as Chief Executive Officer," said Barton. "Centerfield has all of the ingredients for continued growth, from our cutting-edge technology platform, Dugout, to the world-class culture built by Centerfielders and our amazing brand partners"

"We couldnt be more excited to have Kris join Centerfield as CEO," said Platinum Equity Co-President Jacob Kotzubei and Platinum Equity Managing Director Matthew Louie, in a joint statement. "Centerfields combination of technology, expertise and scale are a perfect match to the needs of brands looking to increase market share through digital marketing."

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Kotzubei and Louie continued, More than a decade ago Jason Cohen and Brett Cravatt had a vision of how outcome-based marketing powered by technology could become an essential service for the worlds largest brands. We are proud to help Centerfield realize that potential and are grateful to Jason and Brett for building an amazing business, team and culture.

About Centerfield

Centerfield delivers outcome-based digital marketing solutions and personalized omnichannel experiences for the worlds leading brands. Powered by our proprietary Dugout platform, Centerfield acquires customers at scale for leading residential service, insurance, e-commerce and B2B brands. Centerfields digital experiences and digital brands, such as Business.com and BroadbandNow.com, reach more than 150 million in-market shoppers annually. Headquartered in Los Angeles's Silicon Beach, Centerfield has offices in New York, London, Boston and Jamaica.

Connect with Centerfield on LinkedIn.

Contact:



Steve Stratz

For Centerfield

206.300.9134

steve@relevanzpr.com



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9c33e8ac-f810-482d-b743-b41905778d43






SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk has settled a defamation case brought against him by Randeep Hothi, an outspoken critic and independent researcher who published original investigative work casting doubts on many of Tesla's claims about its technological capabilities, production capacity, and profitability. Hothi's longstanding criticism of Musk and his companies led to the dispute at the center of the case, in which Musk allegedly defamed Hothi in an e-mail to a reporter, accusing him of harassing and harming Tesla employees. Following lengthy and hard-fought litigation, in March 2023, Musk asked Hothi to settle the case. In a statement released today, Hothi announced that he accepted Musk's settlement offer.

Randeep Hothi

"I brought this case to defend my work, clear my name, and send a message," said Hothi. "I believe I've accomplished that, thanks in no small part to Musk, whose own behavior over the last year has highlighted the need to scrutinize his every word and deed. This case was about taking a stand, not seeking fame or money. I feel vindicated."

Hothi's lawsuit followed a multi-year campaign by Musk attacking Hothi for his outspoken criticisms of Tesla. In April 2019, Tesla sought a restraining order against Hothi, alleging that Hothi struck an employee with his car in a Tesla factory parking lot. Hothi vehemently denied the accusation. When Hothi and his legal team successfully obtained a court order requiring Tesla to hand over video evidence of the alleged encounter, Tesla abruptly dropped its lawsuit in July 2019. Yet the following month, Musk e-mailed a reporter accusing Hothi of "actively harassing" and "almost kill[ing]" Tesla employees. That remark was later published and amplified to hundreds of thousands of people on Twitter. Musk's accusations prompted an outpouring of public support for Hothi, including from whistleblowers, researchers, journalists, and critics.

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D. Gill Sperlein, one of Hothi's lawyers, said: "Last year, Musk famously promised that he would never 'settle an unjust case.' Yet, he has asked Mr. Hothi to accommodate him. We welcome Musk's belated acknowledgment that this case was just." Sperlein, who has represented Hothi since 2019, added: "Freedom of speech is undermined when the rich and powerful improperly act to silence and intimidate their critics."

In August 2020, represented by Sperlein, Hothi filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk based on his remarks. Musk attempted to dispose of the case by arguing that his accusations were protected speech, and hence should be dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP law. In January 2021, the trial court rejected Musk's arguments, holding that Hothi "has demonstrated the probability that he can succeed on the merits of his claim" because Musk's remarks were tantamount to an accusation of crime, and thus legally constituted defamation per se. In California, a plaintiff alleging defamation per se does not need to prove damages because harm is assumed, and juries are instructed they may award any sum they believe is reasonable, but no less than one dollar. Musk appealed, but a California Court of Appeal panel unanimously affirmed the trial court's refusal to dismiss the case in December 2021. Thereafter, the parties commenced discovery. Hothi accepted Musk's settlement offer on April 30, and is expected to request dismissal of the case on May 1, pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement.The case is Hothi v. Musk, No. RG20069852 (Alameda Super. Ct.).

For more information on the case, contact:

D. Gill Sperlein, (415) 378-2625, gill@sperleinlaw.com

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SOURCE The Law Office of D. Gill Sperlein

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ATLANTA, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LCG Associates, Inc., a national investment consulting firm, marks its 50th anniversary of providing independent investment advice on May 21st and is named Quality Leader in Overall U.S. Investment Consulting - Midsize Consultants by Greenwich Coalition.

"In 50 years of business, LCG's goal has remained unchanged: to provide a select number of clients with highly customized advice and serve as an 'extension of staff'," said Edward F. Johnson, LCG's President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the challenges our clients face and the amount of responsibility continuously growing, LCG stays committed to providing excellent, customized service to each of our clients. We truly believe our independence is more important than ever in allowing us to serve in the best interest of our clients, and we are excited to celebrate this anniversary."

Incorporated as a defined benefit consulting firm in anticipation of the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act ("ERISA"), LCG's client base has since expanded to provide investment consulting services to nationally recognized endowments, foundations, corporations, non-profits, nuclear decommissioning trusts, and other institutions as well as family offices. LCG offers non-discretionary and OCIO services to our clients.

"Concurrent with LCG's 50th Anniversary celebration, LCG is proud to share that we have been recognized as a 2022 Greenwich Quality LeaderSM," shared Johnson. "We are thrilled to receive this award and believe it reflects our commitment to providing excellent, customized service to each of our clients." This marks the fourth year in a row that LCG has received this award, which aggregates clients' assessments of their organization's investment consultant in the areas of investment advice, manager selection, and client service. "We are grateful for our clients trust in LCG and for their participation and feedback in this process. We are honored to have received the award again this year."

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About LCG Associates

Founded in 1973, LCG Associates is a national, employee-owned investment consulting firm. As an independent company, the firm provides proactive, value-added consulting services and research to institutional and private clients. LCG is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in Dallas, Texas and Seattle, Washington. For more information on LCG, please visit www.lcgassociates.com.

*The Greenwich Quality Leaders Awards are conducted by Coalition Greenwich, a third-party firm that has no affiliation with LCG, and are based on quality ratings provided by clients of investment consultants. Between February and November 2022, Coalition Greenwich conducted interviews with 727 senior professionals at 590 of the largest tax-exempt funds, 31 of whom retain LCG, in the United States. Between July and October 2021, Coalition Greenwich conducted interviews with 811 senior professionals at 661 of the largest tax-exempt funds, 31 of whom retain LCG, in the United States. Between July and October 2020, Coalition Greenwich conducted interviews with 856 senior professionals at 704 of the largest tax-exempt funds, 30 of whom retain LCG, in the United States. Between July and October 2019, Greenwich Associates (now Coalition Greenwich) conducted interviews with 1,100 senior professionals at 896 of the largest tax-exempt funds, 33 of whom retain LCG, in the United States. These organizations included corporate, public, union, and endowments and foundations funds, with either pension or investment pool assets greater than $150 million. Consultants like LCG receive the study results in exchange for providing Coalition Greenwich with evaluations of investment managers. LCG did not pay Coalition Greenwich any compensation for inclusion in this study.

Study participants were asked to provide quantitative and qualitative evaluations of their investment consulting providers. Based on those responses, Coalition Greenwich calculates a score on the Greenwich Quality IndexSM for each consultant named. Consultants with scores that top those awarded to competitors are named Greenwich Quality Leaders. Three consulting firms, including LCG Associates, Inc., were recognized as Greenwich Quality Leaders for midsize firms in the U.S. The rankings presented are not necessarily representative of any single client's experience, but rather represent the collective views of LCG's sampled clients. Rankings do not represent an endorsement of LCG. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. For more information on Coalition Greenwich and the study, please visit: https://www.greenwich.com/.

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SOURCE LCG Associates, Inc.
ARLINGTON, Mass., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leader Bank is expanding its Elevate Banking team with the addition of Vice President and Elevate Banking Relationship Manager Alex Dozier.

Alex Dozier is joining Leader Bank as Vice President and Elevate Banking Relationship Manager

Based on the West Coast, Alex has more than 16 years of experience in the banking industry and has built a diverse client base that includes venture capital firms, private equity firms, hedge funds, qualified settlement funds, law firms, medical practices, property management firms, and real estate investment entities.

"Alex brings a passion for providing his clients with the highest level of service to the Elevate Banking team," said Jay Tuli, President of Leader Bank. "These are the same values we embrace at Leader Bank and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team and expand the Elevate Banking footprint to the West Coast."

With experience banking C-Suite executives and high-net worth individuals working across a variety of industries, Alex understands that each client has unique financial needs and goals, and works closely with them to provide tailored advice, manage cash flows, and facilitate complex financial transactions.

"With a commitment to serving as an invaluable partner to his clients in helping them achieve their financial goals, whether personal or professional, Alex is an ideal fit for Elevate Banking," said Dorothy Zahir, Leader Bank's Senior Vice President and Head of Retail and Elevate Banking. "We are excited to add his extensive experience in high-net worth and relationship banking to our team."

ABOUT ELEVATE BANKING

Elevate Banking at Leader Bank provides clients with a personal advisor and the highest level of personal and business banking products and services. The Elevate Banking team assists clients with expert knowledge from business specialists across a range of fields within the financial industry to help them achieve financial success in banking and beyond.

ABOUT LEADER BANK, N.A.

Founded in 2002, Leader Bank, N.A. is a Massachusetts-based entrepreneurial financial institution that approaches banking differently. The core tenets of Leader Bank include world-class client service, exemplary products, and innovation to meet the needs of its clients. At its founding, Leader Bank had $6.5 million in assets  in the two decades since, the Bank has grown into one of the most successful financial institutions in the Commonwealth with $3.9 billion in assets. Leader Bank's team members have been at the forefront of supporting the Bank's rapid growth and client-oriented solutions over the last two decades as the Bank has expanded its commercial and retail products and solutions. Leader Bank is a committed corporate citizen and prides itself on partnering with and supporting philanthropic organizations. More information on Leader Bank can be found at www.LeaderBank.com.

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SOURCE Leader Bank
HOUSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston-based Leslie Doggett Industries ("Doggett") acquired four Kinsel Auto dealerships in Beaumont, Texas effective Monday, May 1, 2023. Doggett, through their Auto Group Division, has acquired Kinsel's Toyota, Ford, Lincoln, and Mazda dealerships (owned and managed by Beaumont's legendary car dealer, Joe Bob Kinsel), located on Eastex Freeway 96 in the heart of Beaumont's metro area. Doggett has been a Ford dealer for four years in Houston after acquiring Landmark Ford on the North Freeway in 2018. Since that acquisition, Doggett has received the Ford Motor Company's highest performing and highest customer satisfaction award, The Ford President's Award, for two consecutive years and has been recognized as the fastest-growing Ford store in the United States. With that performance, Doggett and The Ford Motor Company have been eager for Doggett to add more Ford dealerships to the Doggett Group of companies. In addition, Doggett has been a Toyota Industrial dealer since 1993, winning their coveted President's Award more than fifteen times.

Leslie Doggett Industries (PRNewsfoto/Leslie Doggett Industries)

William Doggett, COO and President of Doggett Industries commented on his family's experience as a Ford Dealer and his thoughts going forward, "Doggett is a huge believer in the future of Ford given the current Ford strategy on three fronts: First, Ford's determination to push-forward with their market leading gas, diesel and hybrid models, investing heavily in IC vehicles and believing in the future of IC vehicles; second, their robust Electric vehicle roll-out which will be second-to-none including the F150 Lightning, SUVs and the E-Mustang; and third and finally, Ford's exciting work truck line-up which has maintained its number 1 market share position for decades. No other manufacturer comes close to this exciting 3-legged strategy, in my opinion. With Toyota, we have been partners for more than 30 years and we are extremely excited to be an auto dealer for them. Toyota being the number 1 most reliable vehicle sold, the number 1 market share brand sold and their leading technology with hybrids is a winning combination for Toyota, Doggett and our customers. We are anxious to give Toyota automotive customers the same great service we've provided industrial customers over the past 30 years."

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Brian McLemore, CEO of Doggett, says that "Doggett has found that the Ford Motor Company and Doggett are very similar enterprises given the family culture deeply embedded in both. That's somewhat unusual in enterprises our size." McLemore continues, "Doggett is one of Houston's largest family-owned businesses measured by sales volume, all achieved by putting the customer first and living the motto that 'Uptime is Everything for our Customers and technicians are the lifeblood of our business.'"

Jason Mosley, Vice President and GM of the Doggett Automotive Group says, "Doggett is the John Deere Construction Equipment dealer and the Toyota Material Handling dealer for Beaumont (east Texas) and we are confident these five businesses will complement each other by providing customers with a single world-class supplier for their auto, construction equipment and forklift needs. Doggett expects these Ford, Lincoln and Mazda stores to add over $200 million in sales volume to Doggett's growing enterprise within 18 months, all driven by Doggett's customer First Approach of providing a wonderful truly different customer experience."

Leslie Doggett Industries ("Doggett") is one of Houston's largest family-owned businesses with annual sales volume exceeding $2 billion from the sale, rental and support services for Industrial Equipment, Automotive & Light Trucks, and Highway & Vocation Trucks and Trailers through 47 dealerships/locations throughout Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas and parts of northern Mexico. Founded by Leslie Doggett and Brady Carruth in 1993, Doggett has over 3,000 full-time employees and is acclaimed as North America's largest John Deere Construction and Forestry Dealer.

Doggett Company Profile OEM and Area of Responsibility  Dealership Locations Construction & Forestry Division: John Deere - State of Louisiana, East Texas and South Texas LinkBelt Cranes  State of Louisiana Material Handling Division: Toyota  Southern half of Texas and West Texas Auto & Light Truck Division: Ford (Houston and Beaumont), Lincoln (Beaumont), Mazda

(Beaumont), Toyota (Beaumont) Hwy. & Vocational Truck Division: Freightliner and Great Dane  State of Arkansas, South Texas

and West Texas

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SOURCE Leslie Doggett Industries
Company Recognized for Its Innovative On-the-Spot Underwriting Technology

DALLAS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Bankers Insurance Group (LBIG), a nationally recognized provider of life, health, and financial products, was named the winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the New Product and Services, Financial Services category in The 21st Annual American Business Awards today.

Liberty Bankers Insurance Group (PRNewsfoto/Liberty Bankers Insurance Group)

LBIG received this honor for its enhancements to the On-the-Spot (OTS) underwriting process for Medicare Supplement applications. With OTS, an insurance agent and applicant receive an underwriting decision in three minutes or less. Through artificial intelligence, LBIG enhanced the OTS product to offer an 00% digital application and underwriting experience with rapid point-of-sale decisions.

"We are pleased to be recognized for our On-the-Spot innovation," said Eric Johansson, executive vice president and chief operations officer of Liberty Bankers Insurance Group. "By harnessing cutting-edge technology and customer-centric design, we delivered a transformative underwriting solution that sets a new standard for excellence in the Medicare Supplement marketplace."

The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.'s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations  public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning "crowned," the awards will be presented to winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on Tuesday, June 13.

About Liberty Bankers Insurance Group

Based in Dallas, Texas, Liberty Bankers Insurance Group (LBIG) is a nationally recognized and respected insurance group that offers a variety of life, health, and financial products. Rated A- Excellent by AM Best, LBIG is comprised of American Monumental Life Insurance Company, American Benefit Life Insurance Company, Capitol Life Insurance Company, and Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company.

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More information is available at www.lbig.com.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Liberty Bankers Insurance Group

Kim Neeley

(800) 731-4300

marketing@lbig.com

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SOURCE Liberty Bankers Insurance Group
CINCINNATI, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Startup Train, the inclusion focused US tech ecosystem tour launched by Lightship Foundation to reach and connect entrepreneurs and ecosystems across the country, will be hosted in Philadelphia and sponsored by the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce and Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs. Scheduled to arrive in the city on Wednesday, May 3, public events planned for the Philadelphia stop include Lightship's Workflow Wednesday meetup and Philly Startup Leaders DiversiTech Fest Welcome Wagon .

Startup Train Logo (PRNewsfoto/Lightship Foundation)

"When we were in the process of determining which cities would make our inaugural Startup Train schedule, Philadelphia was at the top of our list." says Brian Brackeen, Investor in Residence, Lightship Foundation. "As a Philadelphia native I am proud of the work that The City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce and Comcast have done to make Philadelphia one of the fastest growing tech ecosystems in the country, and Lightship is thrilled to be partnering with them to introduce our programming to the city through Startup Train. Also, Go Birds!."

Startup Train's Philadelphia stop will take place inside LIFT Labs, a branch of Comcast NBCUniversal's Startup Engagement team focused on connecting startup founders to their network of mentors, businesses, and corporate partners. LIFT Labs is located on the 4th floor of the Comcast Technology Center. Other local organizations, including 1Philadelphia, support the Startup Train initiative that will expand the entire duration of Philly Tech Week.

"Philadelphia is a world-class destination filled with passionate and innovative people of multicultural backgrounds. The City is committed to advancing economic mobility, representation and accessibility for residents and entrepreneurs within world-class industry sectors. That includes positioning Philadelphia as one of the top and most diversetech hubs in the nation," said Tempest Carter, Director of Strategic Tech Initiatives, Department of Commerce Office of Business Development and Workforce Solutions. "Alongside our partners, we are committed to fueling the inclusive growth of tech workforce skills, entrepreneurs and tech-based companies across the city.

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Startup Train is one of many in-person events planned for 2023 by Lightship Foundation. Black Tech Week , an inclusive ecosystem-building experience driven by community and corporate collaboration will return to Cincinnati, OH in July, while Lightship Bootcamp and Lightship Accelerator continue to be facilitated throughout the year in cities including Tulsa, Ok, Columbus, Oh, Miami, FL and more.

Find information and sponsorship opportunities for Startup Train here

Media contact Vanessa@lightship.foundation

About Lightship Foundation

Lightship Foundation is an impact-driven organization serving remarkable entrepreneurs & ecosystems across the US. By leveraging corporate partnerships, specialized programming, and capital investments Lightship drives sustainable growth within the minority innovation economy. Since 2017, the organization has guided over 200 companies led by women, FOC (Founders of Color), and those representing the LGBTIQ and disabled communities to more than $120M in venture funding across the US.

About City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce is the economic catalyst for the City of Philadelphia, working to help all businesses thrive. Commerce creates equitable wealth-building opportunities through strategic investments and ecosystem partnerships to grow quality jobs, build capacity in underserved communities, and make it easier to operate a successful business in Philadelphia. Staff provides one-on-one customer service, access to citywide resources, financial support, outreach, and education to business owners. Commerce works to ensure that Philadelphia is a globally competitive city to which employers flock, entrepreneurs thrive and innovation abounds. For more information, visit us at phila.gov/commerce and @PHLCommerce on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

About Startup Train

Startup Train is a multi-city startup ecosystem tour leveraging locomotive travel to connect remarkable founders and ecosystem partners across the country. The Lightship Foundation team will be in one city per day for five consecutive days, with investors and founders from each city along the route welcomed and encouraged to join the journey. The Startup Train tour features founder focused events planned for each city including a press conference, investor meetup and founder/startup showcase.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightship-foundations-startup-train-heads-to-philadelphia-during-philly-tech-week-event-sponsored-by-the-city-of-philadelphia-department-of-commerce-and-comcast-nbcuniversal-lift-labs-301811753.html

SOURCE Lightship Foundation
LithiumBank Resources Corp.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSX-V: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF) (LithiumBank or the Company) a lithium development company focused on lithium-enriched brine projects in Western Canada, announces the voting results from its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting"), held on April 27, 2023, including the appointment of Katya Zotova to the Board of Directors of the Company.



Ms. Zotova spent 25 years in strategy and corporate finance, private equity and investment banking across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Ms. Zotova is currently an Advisor on Energy Transition, Infrastructure and Industrials at Antler VC Fund and a non executive director for Harland & Wolff plc. Prior to joining Antler, Ms. Zotova led Investment Banking Coverage for Corporates across Europe, Middle East and Africa for Mizuho International plc, acted as a Senior Advisor on M&A and Private Equity for McKinsey & Co and was a non executive director for Vedanta Resources plc where she chaired the Sustainability Committee. Prior to McKinsey, Ms. Zotova led direct investments at L1 Energy / Pamplona Capital LLP, ran the International Acquisitions and Divestments group for Energy Investment Banking at Citigroup and held a number of strategy and M&A roles at Shell plc. During the course of her career, Ms. Zotova lived and worked in the Netherlands, USA, UK, UAE, South Africa and Russia.

All resolutions presented to the Shareholders were approved at the Meeting. Each of the resolutions are explained in detail in the Management Information Circular published in connection with the Meeting. It is available for reference on the Company's website www.lithiumbank.ca.

A total of 13,148,050 common shares, representing approximately 34% of the Company's outstanding common shares, were voted in person and by proxy at the Meeting. Shareholders voted in favour of:

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Reappointing Davidson & Company LLP as auditors of the Company;

Setting the number of directors at six, with the following six nominees elected as directors: Robert Shewchuk, Gianni Kovacevic, Steven Piepgrass, Christopher Murray, Paul Matysek and Katya (Ekaterina) Zotova. Ann Fehr chose not to stand for election at the Meeting and Katya (Ekaterina) Zotova was nominated by the shareholders present at the Meeting;

Approving the Company's New Fixed Stock Option Plan; and

Approving of the grant of incentive stock options under the New Fixed Stock Option Plan.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to thank shareholders for their participation and continuing support commented Rob Shewchuk, CEO, LithiumBank. We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Zotova to our board of directors. Her M&A experience at Shell plc, McKinsey and Citigroup and advisory on Energy Transition to Antler VC Fund and the World Energy Council will provide valuable support for the continued growth and success of LithiumBank.

In connection with Ms. Zotovas appointment, the Company granted 100,000 incentive stock options. These stock options will be exercisable at $1.23 per share, for a term of five years. The terms of the stock options will be in accordance with the Companys Stock Option Plan.

LithiumBank also announces that it has engaged Real Creative Agency to provide marketing and investor relation services for the Company. Real Creative will assist LithiumBank in expanding investor awareness of its business and actively communicating with the investment community. In consideration for Real Creatives services, LithiumBank will pay a monthly fee of USD $7,500 for a term of 6 months. LithiumBank has also agreed to grant a total of 100,000 stock options to purchase common shares for a period of 5 years at a price of $1.26. The principal of Real Creative is Scott Shaffer. To the knowledge of the Company, Real Creative and Scott Shaffer do not own any common shares or warrants of LithiumBank. The agreement is subject to TSX approval.

About LithiumBank Resources Corp.

LithiumBank Resources Corp. is a development company focused on lithium-enriched brine projects in Western Canada where low-carbon-impact, rapid DLE technology can be deployed. LithiumBanks mineral titles are strategically positioned over known reservoirs that provide a unique combination of scale, grade and exceptional flow rates that are necessary for a large-scale direct brine lithium production. LithiumBank is advancing and de-risking several projects in parallel of the Boardwalk Lithium Brine Project.

Contact:

Rob Shewchuk

CEO & Director

rob@lithiumbank.ca

(778) 987-9767

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 Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance, including without limitation, statements regarding the potential impact Ms. Zotova will have on the future growth and success of the Company are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as intends or anticipates, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, should or would or occur. Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this press release, including that Ms. Zotova past experience will allow her to contribute and support the growth and success of LithiumBank. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, that the impact of the addition of Ms. Zotova to the board of directors will not be as expected by management. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.




Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Radiant Globaltech Berhad fair value estimate is RM0.37

Radiant Globaltech Berhad's RM0.36 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Peers of Radiant Globaltech Berhad are currently trading on average at a 432% premium

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Radiant Globaltech Berhad (KLSE:RGTECH) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We 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 want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Radiant Globaltech Berhad

What's The Estimated Valuation?

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. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM14.8m RM16.0m RM17.1m RM18.2m RM19.1m RM20.0m RM20.9m RM21.8m RM22.6m RM23.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 10.43% Est @ 8.37% Est @ 6.93% Est @ 5.92% Est @ 5.22% Est @ 4.72% Est @ 4.38% Est @ 4.13% Est @ 3.97% Est @ 3.85% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12% RM13.2 RM12.8 RM12.2 RM11.5 RM10.8 RM10.1 RM9.4 RM8.7 RM8.1 RM7.5

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM104m

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 12%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM23m (1 + 3.6%)  (12% 3.6%) = RM283m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM283m ( 1 + 12%)10= RM90m

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 RM194m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM0.4, the company appears about fair value at a 1.2% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Radiant Globaltech Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.071. 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 Radiant Globaltech Berhad

Strength

Currently debt free.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Electronic industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Electronic market.

Opportunity

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine RGTECH's earnings prospects.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for RGTECH.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Radiant Globaltech Berhad, we've put together three pertinent factors you should explore:

Risks: For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Radiant Globaltech Berhad that you should be aware of. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Seattle-based company raises $20,000 in 30 hours for first round of pitcher production

SEATTLE, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Luvia, creator of worlds first plastic-free, all-glass countertop water filtration pitcher, has fully funded its Kickstarter campaign to produce the first generation of its pitchers. Luvias countertop water filtration pitcher unites sustainable, heirloom-quality design with advanced filtering technology that removes contaminants and improves taste. The company raised $20,000 in just 30 hours to fund their first run of production which will begin shipping in late fall. Luvias campaign was selected as a "Project We Love" on Kickstarter, a designation that highlights projects they consider "brilliant examples of creativity."

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005308/en/

"Over the past several years, consumers have become more aware of how harmful plastic is for our health and the environment," said Jacob Shumaker, founder and CEO of Luvia. "The Luvia pitcher filters harmful substances from water without introducing chemicals released from plastic, making it a sustainable option for consumers who want to cut back on plastic use while enjoying safe, pure-tasting drinking water."

Luvia's revolutionary catalytic carbon foam filter doesn't require any plastic housing, significantly reducing waste and preventing unwanted plastic compounds from leaching into your water. Plus, Luvia's proprietary substrate is biodegradable, so users won't have to worry about adding to the microplastic problem. This new material is the most efficient form of catalytic carbon filtration technology, significantly reducing harmful substances such as chlorine, chloramine, PFOA/PFAS, pharmaceuticals, herbicides/pesticides and trace heavy metals. Each filter can handle 40 gallons of drinking water  the equivalent of more than 300 plastic water bottles.

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"The Luvia pitcher is intended to be as beautiful as it is sustainable," said Shumaker. "My background as a glass artist influenced my desire to create a countertop filtration pitcher that fused form and function, interrupting decades of design tradition that required use of plastic in some way."

Shumaker first came up with the concept for the Luvia pitcher several years ago. Raised in a rural area in Washington state, Shumakers love for nature and his deep appreciation for the beauty of the organic inspired him to become a glass artist, which shaped his vision for the pitcher. Shumaker began designing the pitcher in 2016 and consulted a number of scientific glass blowers to develop and refine the prototype.

Once the prototype was created, Shumaker partnered with one of the leading water filtration brands in the industry to develop its carbon foam filter, which can be used on its own without additional housing. Shumaker spent years searching for the right manufacturing partner and eventually found a company in Germany that could produce the pitcher. Wanting to preserve the artisanal quality of the design, Shumaker chose to have the final product assembled by master craftsmen in Hungary.

Luvias crowdfunding campaign is hosted on Kickstarter. Early backers get exclusive access to a significant discount on the product. Following a successful round of crowd-sourced funding, the company will sell the water pitcher and replacement filters directly to consumers through its website, luviawater.com.

About Luvia

Luvia is a Seattle-based company that created the worlds first plastic-free water filtration pitcher that is both thoughtfully designed and environmentally friendly. Crafted by artisans in Hungary, the Luvia pitcher is designed to provide fresh, pure water for generations. The companys mission is to evolve everyday objects to meet the demands of today, in hopes of building a better future. Visit luviawater.com or follow Luvia on Instagram and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005308/en/

Contacts

Elaine Genest

elaine@elainegenest.com
Summer is one of the hottest times of the year to buy a home. The months of May, June, July and August are popular with potential buyers thanks to factors including kids being out of school for summer break and families being more likely to commit to purchasing a home and moving in before the start of the school year.

Discover: 10 US Cities With Plenty of Jobs and Cheap Housing

Related: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

While housing inventory is typically at its highest during the summer months, this doesn't mean every city is ideal for buyers. GOBankingRates spoke to real estate agents to find out which cities buyers should reconsider purchasing a home in.

Buyers beware: Real estate agents said to avoid these six cities when buying a home this summer.

bluejayphoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

ChrisBoswell / Getty Images/iStockphoto

RoschetzkyIstockPhoto / iStock.com

Mercuri / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Alex Potemkin / Getty Images

benedek / iStock.com

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Real Estate Agent: Here Are the 6 Cities Where You Should Avoid Buying a Home This Summer
Key Insights

MAAS Group Holdings' estimated fair value is AU$5.49 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

MAAS Group Holdings is estimated to be 45% undervalued based on current share price of AU$3.02

Analyst price target for MGH is AU$3.85 which is 30% below our fair value estimate

How far off is MAAS Group Holdings Limited (ASX:MGH) 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. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. 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 MAAS Group Holdings

Crunching The Numbers

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) -AU$36.0m AU$68.8m AU$69.7m AU$108.8m AU$127.9m AU$144.3m AU$158.1m AU$169.7m AU$179.3m AU$187.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ 17.55% Est @ 12.86% Est @ 9.58% Est @ 7.29% Est @ 5.68% Est @ 4.55% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 9.0% -AU$33.0 AU$57.9 AU$53.8 AU$77.0 AU$83.0 AU$85.9 AU$86.4 AU$85.0 AU$82.4 AU$79.0

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$657m

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 9.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$187m (1 + 1.9%)  (9.0% 1.9%) = AU$2.7b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$2.7b ( 1 + 9.0%)10= AU$1.1b

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$1.8b. 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$3.0, the company appears quite undervalued at a 45% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at MAAS Group Holdings 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 9.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.194. 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 MAAS Group Holdings

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 Construction market.

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Australian market.

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.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess 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. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For MAAS Group Holdings, we've put together three important factors you should assess:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for MAAS Group Holdings (2 are potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does MGH'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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
The Brainy Insights

The surge in digital information generation and the growing trend of bringing your own device, as well as the necessity to safeguard it, are major drivers driving the growth of the managed security services industry.

Newark, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global managed security services market is expected to grow from USD 20.58 Billion in 2020 to USD 76.29 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 14% during the forecast period 2021-2030. The managed security services market is primarily driven by rising demand for MSS because of stringent government policies and the necessity to protect various companies from cyber-attacks. Furthermore, the lower implementation costs of these MSS will boost market growth in the coming years.



Request PDF Brochure: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/sample-request/12638



The managed SIEM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 15% over the forecast period.



The security type segment is divided into managed SIEM, managed IAM, managed firewall, and MDR. The managed SIEM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 15% over the forecast period. Managed SIEM is a service that allows an organization to outsource the deployment, setup, and monitoring of a SIEM software solution to a third-party service provider. The third-party service provider hosts a SIEM application on its servers and monitors the organization's network for potential security threats.



The fully MSS segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 17% during the forecast period.



The service type segment is divided into co-managed and fully MSS. During the forecast period, the fully MSS segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 17%.



The BFSI segment dominated the market, accounting for around 8.64 billion of global revenue in 2020.



The vertical segment is divided into BFSI, government, and healthcare. The BFSI segment dominated the market, accounting for around 8.64 billion of global revenue in 2020. MSS are anticipated to assist the BFSI vertical in ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive data, hence assisting in the overall security posture. The most significant benefit of MSS in the BFSI sector is 24-hour, seven-day-a-week monitoring, which allows for quick incident response and remediation in the event of a security breach. The BFSI industry is highly concerned about the security of its clients' sensitive information. As a result, firms in the BFSI field are embracing MSS services in huge numbers to improve the protection of online services against cyberattacks.



Story continues

Get additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/report/managed-security-services-market-12638

Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 76.29 billion CAGR 14% from 2021 to 2030 BFSI Industry Revenue 42% in 2020 Base Year 2020 Forecast Year 2021 to 2030 Key Players Accenture, AT&T Inc., Atos SE, BT Group plc, Cipher Security, DXC Technology Company, Infosys Limited, International Business Machines Corporation, Kudelski Security, Lumen Technologies, NTT, Nuspire, SecureWorks, Inc., The Herjavec Group, Trustwave Holdings, Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Wipro Limited

Regional Segmentation Analysis:



The market is analyzed based on five regions namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East and Africa. In 2020, the BFSI segment dominated the market, accounting for around 7.10 billion of global revenue. Early MSS adoption, as well as the availability of multiple MSS vendors, are projected to boost market expansion in the region. Security breaches in the region have increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hospitals, medical facilities, and public institutions being the most targeted verticals. During the pandemic, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was the target of cyber-attacks on its servers, prompting a rush to safeguard the agency's networks with robust security measures. In a survey of Canadian CIOs done by Carbon Black, a cybersecurity firm based in Massachusetts, 82 percent of respondents reported that the number of assaults on Canadian businesses was rapidly increasing. Organizations have been forced to use MSS to protect their assets from intrusions because of these security issues.



Competitive Analysis:



The major players of market include Accenture, AT&T Inc., Atos SE, BT Group plc, Cipher Security, DXC Technology Company, Infosys Limited, International Business Machines Corporation, Kudelski Security, Lumen Technologies, NTT, Nuspire, SecureWorks, Inc., The Herjavec Group, Trustwave Holdings, Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Wipro Limited among others.



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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' requirements whether they are looking to expand or planning to launch a new product in the global market.



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WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Sleep Foundation (NSF) announced today that Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, has received its Lifetime Achievement Award.

(PRNewsfoto/National Sleep Foundation)

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the organization's highest honor, recognizing an individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in the field of sleep health. The award celebrates the recipient's connection to NSF's non-profit, public health mission through their extensive professional contributions to the field and to the work of the organization.

"NSF is honored to present Dr. Hirshkowitz with our Lifetime Achievement Award. His work as a scientist and his keen understanding of how to objectively measure and describe sleep, especially through polysomnography and evolving sleep monitoring technologies, has been pivotal in the field. Beyond the importance of his research, he is a noted educator and mentor who has made a significant impact on scores of active professionals in sleep disorders research, sleep medicine, and our broader work in public sleep health at NSF," said Temitayo Oyegbile-Chidi, Board Chair of the National Sleep Foundation.

Dr. Hirshkowitz is a retired consulting professor at Stanford University School of Public Health and full professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Medicine. He was the founder and director of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at the Michael E. DeBakey Houston Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and training director of the Baylor Sleep Medicine Fellowship Training Program. His research focused on sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia, fatigue management, and workplace safety. He was a member of NSF's Consensus Panels that produced NSF's landmark 2015 Sleep Duration Guidelines, Sleep Quality Recommendations, and Sleep Satisfaction Tool. Dr. Hirshkowitz also actively represented NSF in its collaboration with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to develop definitions and sleep measurement and performance standards for consumer wearables and other devices.

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Dr. Hirshkowitz served on numerous national and international committees, NIH scientific review panels, and advisory boards, including having served on the Board of the National Sleep Foundation (2009-2017) and as its Chair from 2016-2017. He has authored hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and served on the editorial board of multiple journals including Sleep Health, Sleep Medicine, and Sleep Research.

To learn more about the National Sleep Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, visit the NSF website.

About the National Sleep Foundation

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy. Founded in 1990, the NSF is committed to advancing excellence in sleep health theory, research and practice. theNSF.org SleepHealthJournal.org

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SOURCE National Sleep Foundation
The Canadian actor is passionate about RMHC Canada's mission of supporting families with sick children and empowering communities across the country

TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - McDonald's Canada today announced Canadian actor Simu Liu will be the official ambassador of McHappy Day taking place on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. As the ambassador, Simu will be working alongside McDonald's Canada to rally Canadians leading up to and on McHappy Day to raise critical funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and other local children's charities across Canada.

Canadian actor Simu Liu will be the official ambassador of the 29th McHappy Day taking place on Wednesday, May 10. (CNW Group/McDonald's Canada)

"I am thrilled to be part of McHappy Day this year and to support RMHC and local children's charities across the country," said Simu Liu. "RMHC has been a vital support for thousands of families during their most difficult times, and I am happy to be part of the fundraising initiative this year. It's so important to come together as a community to help those in need, and I look forward to working with RMHC and McDonald's to make a difference."

To drum up excitement amongst Canadians to support McHappy Day, Simu will be appearing in the creative for this year's campaign and using his platform to raise awareness about how Canadians can easily get involved in giving back to families in their own communities. View the full 30s TV spot here, running now until May 9.

"McHappy Day is an incredibly special day for us at McDonald's Canada. From our independent franchisees and their crew, suppliers, and staff, we are so incredibly proud to come together alongside Canadians to support RMHC and other local children's charities," said Michele Boudria, President and CEO of McDonald's Canada. "Feeding and fostering our communities is at the heart of who we are and what we do at McDonald's, and RMHC is at the centre of this support."

On May 10, all menu items, all day, support RMHC across Canada and other local children's charities. Whether it's joining the celebrations in restaurant, at the Drive-Thru, through mobile order or McDelivery on the McDonald's app, or via Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes or DoorDash, it's the most delicious way to support that's easy and convenient for all.

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And before McHappy Day, Canadians can start giving back through the following ways:

Peace Collective: Peace Collective has designed an exclusive collection that will see a portion of the proceeds from sales go to supporting RMHC Canada. Guests can purchase the swag while supplies last, in-store at the Peace Collective Toronto Distillery location, and online at: online at: https://www.peace-collective.com/pages/mchappy-day-2023





McHappy Day Socks and Hearts: Guests can purchase McHappy Day Socks for $5 + tax, while supplies last at participating restaurants, either in restaurant, at the Drive-Thru, through mobile order or McDelivery on the McDonald's app, or via Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes or DoorDash. Additionally, guests can purchase a McHappy Day Heart in restaurant or at the Drive-Thru, while supplies last at participating restaurants, through donations of either $2, $5, and $10

Facts:

McHappy Day is McDonald's Canada's largest charity-driven program. Since the first Ronald McDonald House  opened its doors in Toronto, Canada in 1981, McDonald's fundraising programs like McHappy Day have helped RMHC support nearly 450,000 families across Canada.





The 16 Ronald McDonald Houses and 17 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in Canada give families a place to stay together when they have to travel for their sick child's treatment.





In an average year, RMHC supports over 26,000 families from more than 3,400 communities across Canada.





Every day, McDonald's Canada along with our independent franchisees, and guests, support families receiving support from RMHC by purchasing Happy Meals and RMHC Cookies, as well as through coin box and kiosk donations.





Last year, McDonald's Canada set a goal to donate over $70 million to RMHC by 2026. This will help to nearly double the number of bedrooms for families across Canada over the next 10 years (2022-2032).

About McDonald's Canada

In 1967, Canada welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to one million guests every day. In both franchised and corporate-owned restaurants, nearly 100,000 people are employed from coast to coast to coast, and more than 90 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent franchisees. Of the almost $1 billion spent on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers in Canada. For more information on McDonald's Canada, visit mcdonalds.ca.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada (RMHC Canada)

In Canada, 65 per cent of families live outside a city with a children's hospital and must travel for treatment if their child is seriously ill. In an average year, the RMHC network of programs in Canada helps to keep more than 26,000 families close to their sick child and the care they need. The 16 Ronald McDonald Houses provide out-of-town families with a home to stay at while their child is being treated at a nearby hospital, while the 17 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms provide a comfortable place for families to rest and recharge, right inside hospitals. For more information, please visit rmhccanada.ca.

McDonalds Logo (CNW Group/McDonald's Canada)

SOURCE McDonald's Canada

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At Milken, investors praise bank rescue but brace for more drama FILE PHOTO: Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Carolina Mandl

BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) -Investors breathed easier on Monday after a weekend auction found a buyer for troubled First Republic Bank, though some said they were worried the crisis in regional banks is not over and hedge funds bet other dominos may still fall.

As Wall Street money managers, banking executives and pension fund managers gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference, the main topic over cocktails on Sunday night and in conference rooms the following morning was JPMorgan Chase & Co's purchase of First Republic Bank.

"There is a little bit of a tendency to breathe a sigh of relief on mornings like this and I think we got through that," David Hunt, chief executive of global asset manager PGIM said at the conference.

Actually, the drama may be "just starting," he said.

Policymakers, executives and investors at the conference said constrained lending as a result of banking sector regulation could choke off credit to the economy.

For hedge funds, many of whom have spent weeks betting regional bank stocks would fall further, the scenario has created a chance to add new short positions or keep existing ones, several executives at large funds said.

Shares of several regional lenders fell on Monday, a sign that investor nerves were still on edge after First Republics collapse, the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the U.S. banking sector since 2008.

Senior banking executives said they were gauging how aggressive short-sellers might be in coming weeks and which of the regional banks might be burdened with significant loans for office real estate at a time many buildings are standing empty as employees continue to work from home.

"The real estate we're more worried about is more of the bottom end of the stack of CMBS (commercial mortgage-backed securities)," Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser told a panel. "It will be a stress point for sure."

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Bearish fund managers declined to detail their exact bets for fears that retail investors might band together and squeeze the stock prices higher, hurting those who had bet against their shares. That tactic that helped fuel massive rallies in shares of GameStop and other so-called meme stocks in early 2021.

Nevertheless, betting against bank stocks has been a profitable endeavor this year, which has seen the high-profile failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, in addition to First Republic and a state-engineered rescue of Credit Suisse by the Swiss government.

The KBW Regional Banking Index, which fell 2.7% on Monday, is down almost 23.6% year-to-date, while First Republics shares are off 97% since January.

As fund managers sipped cocktails on Sunday night before the conference, another popular topic was the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to raise rates by another 25 basis points at the end of its May 3 meeting and signal a pause in the aggressive rate hiking cycle that has shaken markets for the past year.

While futures markets show investors pricing in rate cuts after the summer, such a trajectory for rates could also mean the central bank is reacting to a rapid growth slowdown, some conference participants said.

"It is hard to imagine the Fed lowering rates to the degree that it's priced in without a much more serious economic downturn," said Karen Karniol-Tambour, Co-Chief Investment Officer at hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Carolina Mandl, in Beverly Hills; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Anna Driver)
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Monash IVF Group fair value estimate is AU$1.81

Monash IVF Group's AU$1.16 share price signals that it might be 36% undervalued

The AU$1.32 analyst price target for MVF is 27% less than our estimate of fair value

Does the May share price for Monash IVF Group Limited (ASX:MVF) 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. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. 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 Monash IVF Group

The Model

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) AU$5.45m AU$31.1m AU$33.5m AU$35.2m AU$36.7m AU$38.0m AU$39.2m AU$40.3m AU$41.3m AU$42.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 5.27% Est @ 4.27% Est @ 3.57% Est @ 3.08% Est @ 2.73% Est @ 2.49% Est @ 2.32% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 6.7% AU$5.1 AU$27.3 AU$27.5 AU$27.2 AU$26.6 AU$25.8 AU$24.9 AU$24.0 AU$23.0 AU$22.1

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$233m

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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. 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 6.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$42m (1 + 1.9%)  (6.7% 1.9%) = AU$903m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$903m ( 1 + 6.7%)10= AU$473m

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 AU$706m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of AU$1.2, the company appears quite good value at a 36% 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. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Monash IVF Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.802. 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 Monash IVF Group

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Healthcare market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Australian market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. 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. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Monash IVF Group, we've put together three essential items you should further research:

Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Monash IVF Group you should know about. Future Earnings: How does MVF'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 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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Natural Gas Services Group, Inc.

Midland TX, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) (the Company), a leading provider of gas compression equipment and services in the energy industry, today announced that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with affiliated entities of Mill Road Capital (Mill Road), which currently owns approximately 7.3% of the Companys outstanding common shares. Under the agreement, the Company appointed Justin C. Jacobs and Donald J. Tringali to its Board of Directors (the Board) and agreed to include Messrs. Jacobs and Tringali as part of the Companys slate of nominees for election to the Board at the 2023 annual meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled to be held on June 15, 2023. Stephen Taylor, interim CEO and President, will be nominated by the Company to continue his service on the Board. The Company also announces today that Leslie A. Beyer has informed the Board of her decision to resign. With the appointment of Messrs. Jacobs and Tringali, the Board has as of today filled the two existing vacancies.

Under the terms of the cooperation agreement, Mill Road has agreed to customary standstill and voting commitments, among other provisions. The full agreement between the parties will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on a Current Report on Form 8-K.

The Company is committed to shareholder engagement as well as longer-term opportunities to enhance shareholder value and we look forward to Messrs. Jacobs and Tringali becoming integral members of our Board, said Stephen C. Taylor, Interim Chief Executive Officer and President and Chairman of the Board of the Company. This is an important time for the Company, and we are eager to benefit from the perspectives and experience available from the whole board. We also thank Ms. Beyer for her dedicated service and contributions to the Board since June of 2020.

We believe in the significant opportunities in front of NGS at this critical point in its history, said Justin Jacobs. Don and I are committed to working constructively on the Board and will focus on existing and potential initiatives that drive shareholder value. We look forward to capitalizing on NGS's competitive position and enhancing the value of the company's shares.

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Biographies for Mill Road Directors

Justin C. Jacobs

Justin C. Jacobs, 48, has more than 25 years of experience as a public investor, private equity investor, operator, and member of Boards of Directors; he also has significant experience in turnaround situations. He is a Management Committee Director of Mill Road Capital Management LLC, where he has worked since 2005. Mill Road Capital Management is an investment firm focused on investments in small, publicly traded companies. Mr. Jacobs is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee, Inc. and has previously served on numerous public and private company boards. Mr. Jacobs holds a B.S. from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Donald J. Tringali

Donald J. Tringali 65, is an experienced operating executive, corporate director, and business and financial advisor. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Augusta Advisory Group, a boutique financial and business consulting firm providing a full range of executive, operations and corporate advisory services to companies, a position he has held since founding the firm in 2001. Mr. Tringali has extensive experience serving as an executive officer and on the boards of directors of public and private companies. Mr. Tringali began his career as a corporate attorney in Los Angeles, where he represented public and private companies in general business matters and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Mr. Tringali holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UCLA and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

About Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NGS)

NGS is a leading provider of gas compression equipment and services to the energy industry. The Company manufactures, fabricates, rents, sells and maintains natural gas compressors and flare systems for oil and natural gas production and plant facilities. NGS is headquartered in Midland, Texas, with fabrication facilities located in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Midland, Texas, and service facilities located in major oil and natural gas producing basins in the U.S. Additional information can be found at www.ngsgi.com.

CONTACT: For Additional Information Investor Relations (432) 262-2700 ir@ngsgi.com www.ngsgi.com




Nusano, Inc.

Proprietary ion source and beam technology capable of producing approximately 10 times the current global supply of Astatine-211

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nusano, Inc., a medical technology company reshaping the production of cancer-fighting radioisotopes, today announced Gregory Moffitt, PhD, Director of Target Development at Nusano, will present an overview of the companys breakthrough production platform to the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Astatine-211 Working Group on May 4, 2023. Presentation materials will be available on the companys website following the event.



Yields from existing production of Astatine-211 are limited to supporting research and clinical trials, said Moffitt. Production capabilities must be significantly scaled up worldwide to supply radioisotope quantities needed to power next generation radiopharmaceuticals.

Opening the first quarter of 2025, Nusanos West Valley City, Utah facility will produce a wide variety of rare and undersupplied medical isotopes in quantities sufficient to support both clinical development and commercial manufacturing of radiopharmaceuticals. Nusanos proprietary ion source and pulsed beam can produce up to 12 different radioisotopes simultaneously. This novel and unique capability will give Nusano the flexibility to adjust radioisotope production levels in real-time to service existing needs and support emerging industry demand.

Production capacity of Astatine-211 (At-211) at Nusano's first facility alone will be approximately 10 times the current global supply of the isotope. At-211 is an alpha-emitting radioisotope used in cancer-fighting medical applications called targeted alpha therapy (TAT). Increasing interest in the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of medical radioisotopes, including At-211, is exposing the fragility of existing supply chains and need for new production methods.

The unprecedented scalability and flexibility of Nusanos proprietary platform will enable innovation by addressing the significant global shortage of medical radioisotopes, said Chris Lowe, CEO of Nusano. We are actively engaging collaborators and governments around the world and look forward to bringing our production online in early 2025.

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About European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is a funding organization for the creation of research networks, called COST Actions. These networks offer an open space for collaboration among scientists across Europe (and beyond) and thereby give impetus to research advancements and innovation. To learn more visit www.cost.eu.

About Nusano, Inc.

Nusano is a privately held medical technology company committed to bringing stability and innovation to the rapidly emerging and critically undersupplied medical radioisotopes market. Nusanos proprietary ion source is smaller and more efficient than existing production methods. This results in significantly greater yields and allows for the simultaneous manufacturing of multiple radioisotopes. Nusanos technologies will supply the fight against cancer and support diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical development. The companys state-of-the-art production facility opens Q1 2025 in West Valley City, Utah. For more, please visit www.nusano.com .

Contacts:

At Nusano: Scott Larrivee, Head of PR & Communications, 608-345-6629, scott.larrivee@nusano.com

Investor Relations: Joyce Allaire, LifeSci Advisors, LLC, 212-915-2569, jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com




Oil Extends Loss Into Third Week on Concerns Over China Recovery

(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell to extend two weeks of losses after data from China reignited concerns about a patchy recovery in the worlds biggest crude importer.

Most Read from Bloomberg

West Texas Intermediate accelerated losses Monday afternoon in low-volume trading. Futures opened lower this week after data released Sunday showed Chinas manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co. won its bid to acquire the bank in an emergency government-led intervention Monday, reigniting concerns over the stability of lenders and the nations overall economic health.

The nervous trade continues, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial Securities, on crude paring losses with rising SPX. While the overall economic picture is looking a bit weaker, the true fundamentals for crude remain positive.

Hedge funds and money managers have turned deeply bearish on crude after prices swung sharply in April  surging to a 15-month high after OPEC and its allies announced an output cut, before giving up those gains amid a deteriorating outlook.

With China on holiday through Wednesday, the focus will turn to whether major central banks including the Federal Reserve continue tightening rates.

Energy Daily, Bloombergs daily energy and commodities newsletter, is now available. Sign up here.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Broken Bow, Oklahoma, has fewer than 5,000 people and will be in the path of totality for 2024's Great North American Eclipse. Here's how to plan your trip.

Lori Duckworth/Oklahoma Tourism

April 8, 2024, is going to be a very exciting day for stargazers. It's when the total solar eclipse will be visible across the United States, drawing thousands if not millions of eager viewers to its path. During the eclipse, the moon will travel between the Earth and the sun, blocking out the sun's light and plunging parts of the world into darkness for as long as four minutes and 28 seconds. To see the show, you'll want to head into the path of totality, where the moon will completely cover the sun.

In the U.S., the path of totality will cross 13 states: Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and Maine. So, to prepare, we're finding the best small cities to visit for the Great North American Eclipse next year. Our first pick is Broken Bow, Oklahoma, for a lesser-known viewing hub with a population of fewer than 5,000, where eclipse chasers can enjoy great outdoor activities, good food, and fun, rustic-chic cabin rentals.

What to Do

When you think of Oklahoma, you probably picture flat plains. But there are mountains, albeit small ones, in the southeast corner of the state, where you'll find Broken Bow. And that makes Broken Bow a hub for outdoor adventures. Many people use the town as a base camp for Beavers Bend State Park, a 3,400-acre recreational area on the edge of Broken Bow Lake known for boating, hiking, and fishing. While there, don't miss a visit to the Forest Heritage Center to learn about sustainable forestry. If you're looking for some exciting indoor activities, go rock climbing at Crag Climb Beavers Bend, axe throwing at Bigfoot Axe Throwing, or bowling at Gutter Chaos, where you can also catch live music and karaoke night.

Where to Eat and Drink

There's a surprising variety of dining options throughout the Broken Bow area, from hippie-inspired pizzas at Grateful Head Pizza Oven to homemade ice cream at Okie Girls Coffee & Ice Cream to classic tavern eats and cocktails at Abendigo's. For drinks, stop by Fish Tales Winery & Bistro, Knotted Rope Winery, Mountain Fork Brewery, Beavers Bend Brewery, or Hochatown Distilling Co.

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Where to Stay

There's no shortage of log cabins, both traditional and strikingly modern, in the Broken Bow area, some of which are on resorts, with amenities like pools and community centers, and others that can be found on vacation rental sites like Vrbo and Airbnb. But for a (somewhat rustic) hotel stay, check out Beavers Bend Lodge or Hochatown Lodge.

How to See the Eclipse

The total solar eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. In Broken Bow, the eclipse will begin at 12:28 p.m. CDT and end at 3:07 p.m. CDT, with totality occurring from 1:45 p.m. CDT to 1:50 p.m. CDT.

How to Get to Broken Bow

It's best to fly into Texas and rent a car to get to Broken Bow. You can either fly into the small airport in Paris, Texas, about 65 miles away, or the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which is about 170 miles away.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
ONEX Corporation

All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated

TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Onex Corporation (TSX: ONEX) today announced that the Multiple Voting Shares amendment proposal (MVS Amendment) for shareholder consideration at the companys Annual Meeting of Shareholders is receiving strong support from the holders of Subordinate Voting Shares (SVS). Of the 48% of SVS that have been voted as of Friday, April 28, 98.9% have been voted in favour of the proposal, including support from 98.5% of minority holders of SVS.

In order for the MVS Amendment to be effective, it must be approved by, among other things, at least two-thirds of the votes cast by holders of SVS voting separately as a class. In response to a recent request from the Ontario Securities Commission, Onex also confirmed that the proposal would proceed only if supported by a majority of the votes cast by minority holders of SVS.

We are grateful for the strong support of shareholders to date and for recognizing the merits of our plan, said Gerry Schwartz, Chairman and CEO of Onex.

Onex encourages its shareholders to vote and notes that the two leading proxy advisory services firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., have recommended in recent reports that shareholders vote FOR the MVS Amendment.

Further information can be found in the Information Circular for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders dated March 27, 2023.

About Onex

Onex is an investor and asset manager that invests capital on behalf of Onex shareholders and clients across the globe. Formed in 1984, we have a long track record of creating value for our clients and shareholders. Onex two primary businesses are Private Equity and Credit. In Private Equity, we raise funds from third-party investors, or limited partners, and invest them, along with Onex own investing capital, through the funds of our private equity platforms, Onex Partners and ONCAP. Similarly, in Credit, we raise and invest capital across several private credit, public credit and public equity strategies. Our investors include a broad range of global clients, including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and family offices. In total, Onex has $50.8 billion in assets under management, of which $7.9 billion is Onex own investing capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Boston and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex platforms.

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Onex is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain, without limitation, statements concerning possible or assumed future operations, performance or results preceded by, followed by or that include words such as believes, expects, potential, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans and words of similar connotation, which would constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve significant and diverse risks and uncertainties that may cause actual operations, performance or results to be materially different from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities law, Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. These cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward-looking statements in this press release.

For further information:

Jill Homenuk

Managing Director  Shareholder Relations and Communications

+1 416.362.7711

Zev Korman

Vice President, Shareholder Relations and Communications

+1 416.362.7711




By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Laura Matthews

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The weekend rescue of troubled lender First Republic Bank has done little to allay options traders' concerns about the overall health of U.S. regional banks.

The 30-day implied volatility on the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF - a measure of expected near-term price swings - was only about two points lower on Monday from the previous week, even after JPMorgan Chase & Co emerged as the winner of the weekend auction for First Republic Bank.

The measure recently stood at 36, well off the high of 82 touched in mid-March when markets were roiled by the twin collapse of lenders Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank, though much higher than its average reading of 23 for the January-February period.

By comparison, traders appear to be sanguine regarding the outlook for the nations biggest banks, which are seen as being less vulnerable to the kinds of ructions that have rocked their regional counterparts.

The 30-day implied volatility for the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund's, which counts some of the largest U.S. banks among its top holdings, is back to where it was before the first signs of trouble at now-defunct Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank emerged in early March.

Traders who had bought upside calls on regional banks on Friday appeared to be exiting those positions as the regulator-engineered rescue of First Republic failed to catalyze a rally in the mid-cap bank sector.

"You did have some bullish positioning on Friday," said Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna. "I actually think that maybe these call buyers from Friday were looking for a little bit more of a positive reaction," he said.

SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF shares were down 2% at $41.70 in afternoon trading.

At the individual stock level, traders were focused on regional lender PacWest Bancorp on Monday. With PacWest shares down 7%, put options, typically used for bearish bets, outnumbered call options, usually employed for bullish bets, 4-to-1, according to Trade Alert data.

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed and Laura Matthews; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili)
Market Research Future

Palm Methyl Ester Derivative Market Research Report Information By Product Type (Methyl Caprylate, Methyl Laurate, Methyl Myristate, Methyl Palmitate, Methyl Stearate, Methyl Oleate, and Methyl Linoleate), By Application (Soap and Detergent, Personal Care and Cosmetics, Lubricants, and Additives, Biofuel, Textile Treatments, Paints and Coatings, Agriculture and Others) and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of The World) - Forecast Till 2030

New York (US), May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Palm Methyl Ester Derivatives Market Overview

The MRFR study reports imply that the  Palm Methyl Ester Derivatives Market Research Report Information by Product Type, Region, and Application - Forecast Till 2030, the global Palm methyl ester derivatives market is predicted to bolter substantially during the review era from 2022 to 2030 at a substantial growth rate of around 5.92%. The reports further predict the market will acquire nearly USD 2.4 billion by the end of 2030. As per the documents, the Palm methyl ester derivatives market was valued at nearly USD 1.5 billion in 2021.

Market Scope

The global Palm methyl ester derivatives industry has lately demonstrated immense development. The primary parameter causing a surge in the performance of the market is the rising demand for palm methyl ester derivatives in various end-user applications.



Get a Free Sample PDF Brochure:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/11499



Competitive Analysis

The listing of the prominent leaders across the global market for Palm methyl ester derivatives includes players such as:

Musim Mas

VVF LLC

KLK Oleo

Oleon NV

Emery Oleochemicals Group

Ecogreen Oleochemicals

Carotino Group

Asian Agri

Apical Group

Kao Corporation

Among others.





Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2030 USD 2.4 billion CAGR 5.92% (2022-2030) Base Year 2020 Forecast Period 20222030 Historical Data 2020 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered by Product Type, Application, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Rising demand for biofuel The surge in personal care and cosmetics demand





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (110 Pages) on Palm Methyl Ester Derivative:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/palm-methyl-ester-derivative-market-11499

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Market USP Covered

Market Drivers

The global Palm methyl ester derivatives industry has lately demonstrated immense development. The primary parameter causing a surge in the performance of the market is the rising demand for palm methyl ester derivatives in various end-user applications. Furthermore, the rising demand for biofuel is also anticipated to boost the market's performance over the coming years.

Market Restraints

On the contrary, some parameters may restrict the market's development. The main parameter limiting the market's development is the high costs associated.



Share Your Queries:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/11499



COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on several industry areas worldwide. The Palm methyl ester derivatives market is no different than others. The market experienced a tremendous setback during the pandemic, given the halt of several industrial operations and manufacturing activities. However, with the world recovering from the impact caused by the global health hazard, the market is anticipated to grow considerably over the coming years.

Segment Analysis

Among all the product types, the methyl oleate segment secured the leading position across the global market for Palm Methyl Ester Derivatives in the year 2021, given mainly to the surge in demand for biodiesels globally. Furthermore, the growing adoption of sustainable products given to lower carbon emissions is also boosting the segment's development over the coming years.

Among all the applications, the personal care and cosmetics segment held the leading position across the global Palm Methyl Ester Derivatives market in 2021. The primary parameter supporting the development of the segment is the rapid demand for ester-based surfactants in the personal care and cosmetics industry. Furthermore, the rising application of palm methyl ester derivatives in various end-use industries will likely enhance the segment's performance over the coming years.



Buy Now:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=11499



Regional Analysis

The global Palm methyl ester derivatives market is studied across five major parts: Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle & Africa.

The research reports by MRFR suggest that the Asia-Pacific region held the top position across the global Palm methyl ester derivatives industry in 2021. The reports further predict the market to thrive considerably during the assessment period. The main parameter supporting the development of the regional market is the presence of manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, the growing adoption of sustainable products across the region is also considered one of the crucial parameters boosting the demand for palm methyl ester derivatives across the regional market. China is the fastest growing market as the country is one of the leading manufacturing hubs for several application areas such as soaps & detergents, biofuels, agricultural products, lubricants, cosmetics, and many more. For example, per the United States Department of Agriculture, biodiesel production in China will be nearly 1.7 billion liters in 2021, up by more than 54% from 2020, given the strong exports. Therefore, Asia-Pacific is projected to showcase the maximum growth rate over the evaluation period from 20222030.

The European regional palm methyl ester derivatives market is anticipated to secure the second spot globally over the assessment period. The growing adoption of bio-based products in end-user sectors to substitute non-renewable fuels with renewable and ecologically friendly fuels encouraged by the government is considered one of the vital parameters supporting the development of the regional market. The region has Germany as the leading growth contributor. At the same time, the U.K. is anticipated to showcase the highest growth rate over the coming years.

The North American regional market for palm methyl ester derivatives showcased a considered development in the year 2021, given mainly to the high adoption of sustainable products to lower carbon emissions. Moreover, the U.S. palm methyl ester derivative market secured the top position across the regional market regarding revenues. On the other hand, Canada is anticipated to grow at the maximum pace over the coming years.



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Hexagonal Boron Nitride Market By Type (Tubes, Rods, Plates, Gaskets, Crucibles, Sheets and Others), By Application (Electrical Insulation, Lubrication Industrial, Coatings & Mold Release, Cosmetics, Composites, Thermal Spray and Others) and - Forecast till 2030

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About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

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For many, the main point of investing is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But in any portfolio, there will be mixed results between individual stocks. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (TSE:GOOS), since the last five years saw the share price fall 46%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 17% in the last 90 days.

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.

See our latest analysis for Canada Goose Holdings

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

While the share price declined over five years, Canada Goose Holdings actually managed to increase EPS by an average of 0.8% per year. So it doesn't seem like EPS is a great guide to understanding how the market is valuing the stock. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

Based on these numbers, we'd venture that the market may have been over-optimistic about forecast growth, half a decade ago. Having said that, we might get a better idea of what's going on with the stock by looking at other metrics.

In contrast to the share price, revenue has actually increased by 12% a year in the five year period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Canada Goose Holdings is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. You can see what analysts are predicting for Canada Goose Holdings in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

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A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 0.8% in the last year, Canada Goose Holdings shareholders lost 8.3%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 8% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Canada Goose Holdings you should know about.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on 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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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2023) - Phenom Resources Corp. (TSXV: PHNM) (OTCQX: PHNMF) (FSE: 1PY0) ("Phenom" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the timely and selective adding to its gold exploration portfolio in Nevada by signing an Option Agreement for an epithermal gold property strategically located along the southwest fringe of the Carlin Gold Trend in Northern Nevada, approximately 15 kilometers (12 miles) west of the Company's flagship Carlin Gold-Vanadium Project.

Dave Mathewson, Geological Advisor to the Company states, "The Crescent Valley Project represents the largest quartz vein system in Nevada that I am aware of. The project is a low-sulphidation bonanza vein epithermal gold opportunity with a setting remarkably similar to that of the SLEEPER deposit in Humboldt County, Nevada. The SLEEPER Mine was a high-grade gold mine operated by AMAX Gold from 1986-1996 and was considered the lowest cost producer in the world in 1988 at $103/oz because of its open pit mined Bonanza vein and wall-rock gold grades which averaged 0.48 opt Au."

Paul Cowley, President & CEO states, "We are very pleased to add this high-quality gold asset at this time of elevated gold prices. The terms are very reasonable to manage, allowing us to complement our flagship project yet focus the bulk of our treasury on drilling the Carlin Gold-Vanadium Project this summer. Summer 2023 exploration plans for the Crescent Valley project will start with a Phase 1 surface sampling and geophysical surveys program to optimize drill targeting in a Phase 2 program."

The Crescent Valley claim group, located 22 km (13 miles) southwest of the town of Carlin, Nevada comprise 38 unpatented lode claims protecting a 4 kilometre (2.5 mile) strike-length of the large low-sulphidation epithermal vein system developed along the western margin of the northern Cortez Range. The range-front vein system is a zone of multi-event, silica-healed, hydrothermal breccias. Portions of the veins display minor repetitive banding, coarsely-bladed calcite, and quartz pseudomorphs of the calcite, that typically represent boiling of hydrothermal fluids and deposition levels of gold. Limited historic drilling revealed some vein thicknesses from 10 metres (30ft) to 55 metres (180ft).

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Crescent Valley Transaction

The Company has signed a three-year option agreement with Nevada Gold Ventures, LLC ("Nevada Gold"), whereby the Company has the option to acquire a 100% interest in the Crescent Valley Property by completing the following cash payments and share issuances to Nevada Gold and incurring the following exploration expenditures on the property:

a) On signing of the Option Agreement, pay US$10,000;

b) On receipt of approval from TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V"), issue 150,000 Phenom common shares;

c) On or before the first anniversary of TSX-V approval, spend US$100,000 in work commitments and issue an additional 150,000 common shares;

d) On or before the second anniversary of TSX-V approval, spend an additional US$200,000 in work commitments and issue an additional 150,000 common shares;

e) On or before the third anniversary of TSX-V approval, spend an additional US$200,000 in work commitments and issue an additional 150,000 common shares;

Nevada Gold will retain a 3% Net Smelter Return Royalty ("NSR") on any mineral products derived from the Crescent Valley Property. Phenom will have the right to purchase up to a 2% NSR for US$1.0 million for each 1% NSR prior to commencing commercial production, leaving Nevada Gold with a 1% NSR. The proposed transaction is subject to the acceptance of the TSX-V.





Figure 1: Principal Gold Trends in Nevada and Location of Crescent Valley Project

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3372/164346_97dfeca1b4a2b881_002full.jpg

About Phenom Resources Corp.

Phenom has a 100% interest in the Carlin Gold-Vanadium Project, located in Elko County, 6 miles south from the town of Carlin, Nevada and Highway I-80. The Project lies in the Carlin Gold Trend. Approximately 9 million ounces comprised of multiple gold deposits, including past producing mines, are present near the Phenom flagship property (5-15km). The Carlin Gold-Vanadium Project also hosts the Carlin Vanadium deposit.

ON BEHALF OF PHENOM RESOURCES CORP.

per: "Paul Cowley"

CEO & President

(604) 340-7711

pcowley@phenomresources.com www.phenomresources.com

Technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dave Mathewson, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and Geological Advisor to the Company.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance and include the Company's ability to meet its obligations under the Access and Mineral Lease Agreement and the conditions required to exercise in full its option to acquire the Carlin Vanadium project, to finance and drill test the interpreted gold target model and to encounter potential gold zones shown in the gold model . All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/164346
One in Five Mothers Experience Mental Health Disorders During or After Pregnancy; Support and Treatment are Available, Accessible, and Effective

PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- May brings National Maternal Mental Health Month and Mother's Day, making it an ideal time to educate mothers and the people in their lives about postpartum depression and other perinatal mental health (PMH) disorders. Nonprofit Postpartum Support International (PSI) is working to improve PMH disorder awareness and access to support and care while reducing stigma around perinatal mental health disorders.

One in five women and one in 10 men experience depression or anxiety during the perinatal period. Each year, hundreds of thousands of parents suffer silently because they dont know what they are experiencing is common and treatable.

Each May, PSI puts extra emphasis on educating the public during National Maternal Mental Health Month. May is also when Americans celebrate mothers and motherhood, which is anything but joyful for those suffering from a PMH disorder. Research shows that although PMH disorders affect 800,000 people a year, only 25% of them receive treatment. One in five women and one in 10 men experience depression or anxiety during the perinatal period, which includes pregnancy, post-loss, and 12 months postpartum. Despite improvements in the understanding of these disorders, each year, hundreds of thousands of parents suffer silently because they don't know what they are experiencing is common and treatable, or they feel embarrassed and/or ashamed.

PMH disorders are the most frequent complications of childbearing. They are also ranked among the top underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. Although postpartum depression is commonly cited, other PMH disorders include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. They affect parents of every culture, age, income, gender, and race.

"I had a crash course in postpartum mental health disorders in 1994 when my son was born. I was a mental health professional, yet had no idea there was a name for what I was experiencing," said Wendy Davis PhD, PMH-C, executive director of Postpartum Support International. "I couldn't believe any good mother would feel such dread and hopelessness. I was sinking fast and isolating myself until a friend encouraged me to get help, which led to my recovery and put me on a mission to help other parents suffering the way I had."

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Recent tragedies involving Lindsay Clancy in the Boston area and Paulesha Green-Pulliam in San Francisco have brought PMH disorders to the forefront of national news. While symptoms vary, PMH disorders commonly make mothers feel alone and helpless. They may be paralyzed by anxiety and doubtful of their ability to parent, which can lead to feelings of regret and despondency at a time society dictates should be one of the happiest of their lives. For a woman suffering from a PMH disorder, there's nothing scarier than feeling alone, abandoned, or without the help she desperately needs.

Moms and their partners should know support and care are available, and you don't need a diagnosis to get help. PSI offers coordination, comfort, and peer support, helping people find the right resources online and in their own communities. Parents can use the PSI Helpline for support and resources at 1-800-944-4773 (English and Spanish), text "help" to 1-800-944-4773 (English) or 971-203-7773 (Spanish), or visit postpartum.net. PSI has an online Perinatal Mental Health Provider Directory that lists trained providers and support groups and operates a Perinatal Psychiatric Consultation line, through which any medical provider can consult with an expert perinatal psychiatrist at no charge. PSI facilitates more than 30 virtual support groups including those for military families, LGBTQIA+ families, Spanish speakers, and more.

"Perinatal Mental Health disorders have proven highly treatable," Davis said. "To the parents suffering: We see you. You are not alone. This is temporary. With help, you will feel like yourself again."

Ways to help a mother experiencing a PMH disorder:

Let her know that PSI's Helpline (1-800-944-4PPD) provides comfort and support. It is an excellent first stop for support and care and you do not need a diagnosis to get help. Make the call or send the text if she gives you permission and needs help doing it.

Tell her that she's doing a great job, even though she might not feel like it.

Tell her you can see her baby is comforted by her and loves her.

Hug her and remind her that she is loved and valued by many, including her baby.

Provide a safe space for her to express her anxiety and fears.

Make sure she knows that it's clear she's trying her best, that you are proud of her, and that every new mom struggles even though it might not seem that way.

Don't ask her what you can do to help. Do it. Laundry, cooking or ordering takeout, and watching the baby so she can have time alone are all ways to provide support.

Tell her you are proud of her for all she is doing.

Make sure she knows PMH disorders are common and temporary and that it is okay to ask for help.

About Postpartum Support International

Founded by a new mother in 1987 to increase awareness among public and professional communities about the emotional difficulties women can experience during and after pregnancy, Postpartum Support International (PSI) offers a wealth of resources for a wide range of needs, situations, and audiences to give families the strongest and healthiest start possible through support and community. PSI offers support, resources, best-practice training and certification for healthcare professionals and volunteer coordinators nationwide and in more than 30 countries. PSI is committed to eliminating stigma and ensuring compassionate and quality care and support are available to all families. Need help? Call 1-800-944-4PPD (4773). Learn more at postpartum.net .

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/postpartum-support-international-urges-friends-family-to-check-on-new-and-expectant-moms-this-may-301806654.html

SOURCE Postpartum Support International
Virtual Investor Conferences

Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

TORONTO, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Power Nickel Inc. (the Company or Power Nickel) (TSX-V: PNPN, OTCBB: PNPNF, Frankfurt: IVVI), today announced that Terry Lynch, CEO, will present live at the Battery and Precious Metals Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on May 2nd, 2023.

DATE: May 2nd, 2023

TIME: Live 2:00pm to 2:30pm ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/44jNv83

Available for 1x1 meetings: May 2nd, and 4th from 12:00pm-5:00pm ET

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Recent Company Highlights

Hole 23 Delivers! Power Nickel Final Drill Results from the Fall 2022 Drill Program and Initial Drill Results from Winter 2023

Power Nickel Forges Ahead to Create the Worlds First Carbon Neutral Nickel Mine

Power Nickel Announces Partnership With Fleet Space Technologies - Proprietary "Exosphere" Approach To Enhance Exploration at NISK Mining Project

Power Nickel Retains Karbon-X to Offset their 2023 Drill Program of Up to 40,000 metres, with Voluntary Carbon Offsets

About Power Nickel Inc.

Power Nickel is a Canadian junior exploration company focusing on high-potential copper, gold, and battery metal prospects in Canada and Chile. On February 1, 2021, Power Nickel (then called Chilean Metals) completed the acquisition of its option to acquire up to 80% of the NISK project from Critical Elements Lithium Corp. (CRE: TSXV). The NISK property comprises a large land position (20 kilometres of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts. Power Nickel is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel-copper PGE mineralization NI 43-101 resource with a series of drill programs designed to test the initial NISK discovery zone and to explore the land package for adjacent potential Nickel deposits.

Story continues

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Power Nickel Inc.

Mr. Terry Lynch, CEO

(647) 448-8044

Terry@powernickel.com

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




Netspend founders combine assets to expand global footprint and increase access to digital innovations in payment products

AUSTIN, Texas, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International payments company Rev Worldwide (Rev), in partnership with funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (Searchlight), today completed its purchase of the Netspend consumer business from Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) in an all-cash transaction valued at $1 billion.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005172/en/

Netspend Founder Roy Sosa returns to the company as its CEO and Chairman (Photo: Business Wire)

The carve-out transaction sees Netspend come back under the control of its founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa, prepaid industry innovators who also founded Rev. Netspend will remain a partner to Global Payments, supporting the companys retained pay card business.

"This acquisition represents both a reunion and reimagining of the vision of financial empowerment we pioneered at Netspend more than 20 years ago," said Roy Sosa, Rev Chairman and CEO, who assumes the same role with Netspend. "Netspend has a well-deserved reputation for creating and delivering innovative products tailored to fulfill the important needs of all its customers, from the underserved to the affluent. This transaction sets us up for strong future success and profitable growth."

Since its founding in 1999, Netspend has become a clear industry leader in prepaid debit cards, processed hundreds of billions of dollars of cardholder purchases, and established the worlds largest retail partner network comprising 100,000 locations where consumers can load or purchase prepaid and debit card products. Those locations span large grocers, financial service centers, convenience stores and pharmacies, among others. Netspend is also the product and payments processing partner behind numerous well-known brands and offers its consumer products via mobile and web channels.

Story continues

Together, Netspend and Rev create an international payments powerhouse with a broad array of products and services and strategic partners which include ADIB, Banco Itau, Correos (Spanish Post), and Etihad Airways. The combined companies are uniquely positioned to expand their current programs across the world, and to drive growth across market segments.

"From day one of Netspends founding we have been focused on helping customers gain access to payment products that simplify their lives and deliver real value," said Rev President, Bertrand Sosa. "This acquisition allows us to continue building on our commitment to deliver financial empowerment to more people in more places by leveraging Netspends industry scale and Revs technology platform and digital product innovations."

Commenting on the deal, Christopher Cruz, Partner at Searchlight, added: "The transaction allows Netspend to combine its market-leading position with Revs geographic reach to offer an enhanced customer value proposition, introduce innovative products, and grow partnerships on a global scale. The combined company can uniquely serve the entire market with its differentiated distribution capabilities, including direct-to-consumer, partner-enabled, and digital partnership models."

About Rev

Rev is a fintech company, founded by prepaid debit industry founders Roy and Bertrand Sosa, dedicated to delivering innovative payment experiences to consumers worldwide. Its solutions are powered by the companys proprietary multi-currency and multi-language payments processing platform. With vast experience pioneering a number of payment industry firsts, Rev focuses on the international banking and travel sectors. Rev has partnered with companies across the globe to launch products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Learn more at www.revworldwide.com.

About Searchlight

Searchlight is a global private investment firm with over $11 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, Miami, London and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders. For more information, please visit www.searchlightcap.com.

About Netspend

Netspend is a leading provider of payments and financial solutions for consumers and businesses. From prepaid and debit card solutions to digital account and money movement services, Netspend has a broad suite of products and technologies that deliver exceptional experiences for its customers and business partners. For more information, visit www.netspend.com and follow Netspend on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005172/en/

Contacts

Rev Worldwide

Meredith DeSpain

(512) 815-2721

mdespain@legendlabs.com
Raven Industries

New DirecSteer automatic steering solution and Augmenta technologies increase leadership in multiple precision ag product categories, building on Ravens Path to Autonomy

Raven DirecSteer

With the introduction of DirecSteer and continued development of the Augmenta solution, Raven makes the Path to Autonomy more accessible and profitable for farmers.

Raven Augmenta Sense & Act

With the introduction of DirecSteer and continued development of the Augmenta solution, Raven makes the Path to Autonomy more accessible and profitable for farmers.

RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raven Industries is showcasing two new innovative additions to its autonomous precision agriculture portfolio at Agrishow 2023: DirecSteer Electric Steering and Augmenta Sense & Act technology. These new developments expand Ravens product portfolio, enabling the company to become the primary solutions provider of choice for its expanding customer base. The new technologies are proof that Raven is expanding capabilities at all levels of its Path to Autonomy, giving customers more options to automate their equipment.



To truly advance farming with technology, we meet customers with intuitive solutions that make their lives easier, said Eric Shuman, Raven General Manager. Both DirecSteer and Augmenta help Raven accomplish that in new ways. DirecSteer allows us to simplify auto-steering for ag equipment, and integrating the Augmenta tech stack into our portfolio will be key in bringing one of many practical Sense & Act solutions to the market.

Raven DirecSteer: Simple, Silent and Powerful Electric Steering

DirecSteer is Ravens latest retrofit automatic steering solution. The off-the-shelf aftermarket solution relieves stress by making autosteer simple, safe and silent  allowing drivers to focus on other important aspects of their operation. DirecSteers powerful electric drive packs high torque and silent operation into a cost-competitive, easy-to-install unit for all equipment brands. The aftermarket solution is scalable from sub-meter to sub-inch precision.

DirecSteer expands Ravens guidance technology leadership and outstanding customer support, serving the tractor OEM market segments in addition to its existing customer base. Raven continues to be the steering solutions provider for OEMs, retailers, and growers around the world.

Story continues

With DirecSteer, customers have a more comfortable autosteer experience from purchase through installation to use, said Frank Dorenkamp, Raven Business Director for Latin America and EMEA. Its a valuable addition to any cab.

Customers who are interested in DirecSteer can contact their Raven representative directly or reach out using the Sales Team Contact Form.

Raven + Augmenta: Integrating to Build Practical Sense & Act Solutions

Raven is also highlighting its recent integration with Augmenta by showcasing its innovative Sense & Act variable rate application concept for spraying and spreading applications. The solution uses a combination of artificial intelligence and camera vision to automatically control application rates and maximize nutrient effectiveness.

The solutions simple single-sensor roof-mounted setup makes it easy for farmers to install and see instant savings. The Augmenta Sense & Act concept further enhances the benefits of autonomous farming, saving on input costs and reducing negative environmental impact while increasing yields. For example, integrating Augmentas perception capabilities with Ravens industry-leading Hawkeye 2 Nozzle Control system could minimize herbicide application with high precision, effectively controlling weeds without wasting inputs. The versatile Augmenta system can also be used for nitrogen, pre-harvest desiccant, defoliant, PGR and fungicide applications.

The Augmenta solution is a key integration for Raven as it develops a practical, value-driven solution to serve a growing Sense & Act market. Once fully integrated, the solution will be an easy-to-use, easy-to-install system for customers that will bring savings in all variable rate applications.

Attendees can visit Raven at Agrishow booth #A7a to see both the DirecSteer and the Sense & Act solutions from May 1  5, 2023.

About Raven Industries, Inc.

Dedicated to advancing farming through technology and innovation, Raven Industries provides innovative, high-value products and systems that help farmers serve the world. For decades, Raven has been committed to maximizing operational efficiencies for growers. Today, its groundbreaking work in autonomous systems is unlocking new possibilities in farming  driving tractors down the field, wirelessly connecting the office and the cab, and protecting the environment with controlled outputs. Raven is a subsidiary of CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI), a world-class equipment and services company specializing in Agriculture and Construction. To learn more, visit https://ravenind.com.

Contact Information

Erin Rinehart

Director of Strategic Marketing

+1 (605) 336-2750

erin.rinehart@ravenind.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d857263-2b48-43d2-81a3-c6527df9b518

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/911d3df8-546d-4943-a8b6-b95d69db6e20




MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Exciting news for residents of Claresholm, AB, Sparwood, BC, and Meaford, ON! Red Apple Stores is delighted to announce the grand opening of three newly renovated stores. The unveiling will take place on Friday, June 2nd, and shoppers can expect modernized stores that offer unbeatable deals.

Red Apples Stores ULC Logo (CNW Group/Red Apples Stores ULC)

As a part of our rebranding initiative, we have given the stores a complete makeover to provide our customers with an upgraded and enhanced shopping experience. We have added exciting new features to the stores, including our signature Candyworks, where you can find a wide selection of delicious candies and treats. Additionally, we offer national and provincial lottery tickets to our customers, making us a one-stop shop for all your needs.

We understand that shopping should be a fun experience, and we want to make it that way for you. The newly renovated stores feature bold in-store signing, wider aisles, better product adjacencies, and upgraded store fixtures. With all these upgrades, we aim to make shopping easy and more convenient for our customers.

We are celebrating our grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:00 am on June 2nd, and the first 100 customers will receive a $10 shopping card and a laundry basket. Additionally, all customers will receive a limited-edition shopping tote while quantities last. We also have limited-time deals throughout the weekend and a chance for you to win a shopping spree valued at $1,000. Entries can be made online; no purchase is necessary.

At Red Apple Stores, we are committed to providing our customers with a fantastic shopping experience, and our grand opening in Claresholm, Sparwood, and Meaford is no exception. Our CEO, Brendan Proctor, says, "We have lowered our prices on hundreds of items throughout the store to provide better value to our customers. Not only do we want to help our customers save money, but we also want to help make shopping easier and more convenient."

Story continues

Visit our newly renovated stores at 139-49th Avenue West in Claresholm, AB; 101 Red Cedar Drive in Sparwood, BC; and 206497 Highway 26 Meaford, ON, and see what's new!

Red Apple Stores is Canada's favourite chain of over 140 small-town general merchandise retail stores. For more than 20 years, we have been your reputable neighborhood retailers who bring you big brands, quality products, and big savings on food, fashion, home, and more at convenient locations in your small towns. Our stores are known for providing super-friendly service, creating a welcoming environment for shoppers, and treating customers with dignity and respect.

Red Apple Stores Announces Grand Opening of 3 New Red Apple Stores in Claresholm, AB, Sparwood, BC and Meaford, ON (CNW Group/Red Apples Stores ULC)

SOURCE Red Apples Stores ULC

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2023/01/c9560.html
NEW YORK and HOUSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Republic Capital Group, an M&A advisory firm specializing in providing investment banking services to the RIA, wealth and asset management communities, is pleased to have served as exclusive financial advisor to Brainard Capital Management, LLC ("Brainard"), an Austin, TX based investment advisory firm with approximately $2 billion in combined assets under management and administration, on its agreement to be acquired by Pathstone Family Office LLC ("Pathstone").

Peter Nesvold, Partner and Managing Director, and John Langston, Founder and Managing Partner

Founded by Owen Brainard in 2004 and based in Austin, TX, Brainard advises a select group of technology entrepreneurs and family-office clients, drawing on more than 20 years of wealth management experience. The firm has significant experience with issues specific to company founders and early employees, such as founder's stock and options management, taxation, estate and trust design, and philanthropic planning. Brainard advises clients on secondary market liquidity, angel investing, single stock hedging strategies, and portfolio management.

Pathstone is an independently operated, partner-owned advisory firm offering comprehensive family office services and customized investment advice for families, family offices, and foundations and endowments. The combination with Brainard brings Pathstone's total assets under advisement and administration to over $80 billion. Pathstone will now have offices in 17 cities nationwide with over 350 team members, more than 180 of whom are shareholders of the firm.

Peter Nesvold, Partner of Republic Capital said, "Owen Brainard has built an incredible firm over the past 19 years involving an impressive client list of entrepreneurs, executives and family offices. Brainard is a great fit to join Pathstone and we are pleased to have helped with this transaction."

The acquisition will allow the Brainard team to gain access to Pathstone's infrastructure, services, and additional personnel support, allowing them to expand their offerings to clients and accelerate their growth.

Story continues

About Republic Capital Group

Republic Capital Group is an M&A advisory firm specializing in providing investment banking services to the RIA, wealth and asset management communities. We partner with firms that are at the leading edge of M&A activity and are active participants in the transformation of the industry.

For more information, please visit https://www.republiccapgroup.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/republic-capital-group.

Republic Capital Group - securities offered through Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC.

Media Contact: Candace Langston, clangston@republiccapgroup.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/republic-capital-advises-brainard-capital-management-on-combination-with-pathstone-family-office-301812123.html

SOURCE Republic Capital Group
SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

SkyQuest's Regenerative Heat Exchangers Market report provides actionable insights for individuals interested in valuable data, trends, and opportunities in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the report is produced and published 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 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SkyQuest projects that the Regenerative Heat Exchangers market will attain a value of USD 3.5 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 7.86% in the forecast period (2022-2030). Global manufacturing, business, and industrial initiatives have aided in the overall growth of the heat exchanger industry. The demand for heat exchangers is predicted to rise as a result of the rapid industrialization in the developing economies of the Asia Pacific area, including China and India. This industrialization has resulted in rising investments as well as rising raw material costs and low-cost labour. Regenerative heat exchanges are also in demand in nations like Japan and India due to the rising demand in the chemical, HVACR, petrochemical, oil, and gas industries as well as a number of government programmes to create thermal and solar energy.

According to the SkyQuest, Inlet and outlet headers are used in regenerative heat exchangers to distribute hot and cold fluids in the Mattrick design, which is considerably simpler than other designs in counter flow regenerators. A major reason for the simple counterflow is that one fluid enters and exits one matrix at a time in a fixed matrix generator, while both streams flow in separate regions for a rotary generator. The main barrier for this industry, nevertheless, is the mixing of the fluid stream, which keeps the solution intact from separation.

Story continues

Get sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/regenerative-heat-exchangers-market

Browse in-depth TOC on "Regenerative Heat Exchangers Market"

Pages - 242

Tables - 94

Figures  68

Regenerative heat exchangers are growing in popularity because they have numerous advantages over recuperating heat exchangers. For example, they have a significantly higher surface area per volume than recuperating heat exchangers, which results in a smaller exchanger volume for the same energy, effectiveness, and pressure drop. Regenerative heat exchangers have an advantage over recuperating heat exchangers, making them more cost-effective to produce and use materials than other types.

Prominent Players in Regenerative Heat Exchangers Market

Alfa Laval AB

Kelvion Holdings Gmbh

Southern Heat Exchanger

Danfoss A/S

SPX Corporation

Xylem Inc.

API Heat Transfer Inc.

Gunter AG & Co. KG

Sierra S.p.A

Hamon & Cie International SA

Koch Heat Transfer Company

Hughes Anderson Heat Exchangers

Chemicals Segment Maintained the Most Significant Market Share Due to Rapid Urbanization

Chemicals segment held the biggest global market share for regenerative heat exchangers due to the numerous advantages regenerative heat exchangers in it offer. Solvent, condensation, hydrocarbons, cooling, and reactor heating are some of the main materials used in chemical manufacture. The HVACR industry would experience the quickest growth due to the rising installation in the commercial and residential sectors.

North America is anticipated to grow promptly during the forecast period due to growing adoption of regenerative heat exchangers technologies in North America. The region's mobile internet penetration grew in the past few years, which has increased demand for seafood made from plants on online shopping sites. Additionally, a number of producers are making significant investments in order to offer consumers products at competitive prices, which is probably going to increase demand for Regenerative Heat Exchangers in the area.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/regenerative-heat-exchangers-market

Shell & Tube segment dominated the market due to the surge in demand for plant-based fish products among consumers

One of the key drivers for innovation and expansion in the technology sector, including the global market is the shell & tube segment dynamics. As a result, it contributed significantly to the market revenue. The varied shell and tube types are beneficial for effective heat transfer from steam to water. The market category for plates and frames is anticipated to experience the fastest CAGR growth.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to grow rapidly during the forecast period. Regenerative heat exchanger technology is increasingly being purchased in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in China and Japan. In the past few years, industrialization and urbanization have spread more widely throughout Asia Pacific. Additionally, a number of operators are making significant investments in order to provide consumers a variety of heat exchangers at a low cost, which is probably going to increase demand for regenerative heat exchangers in the area.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the Regenerative Heat Exchangers 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 endeavours to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

Key Developments in Regenerative Heat Exchangers Market

General Electric paid Vacuum Process Engineering (VPE), a company that specializes in thermal engineering and production, to create a 14 MW fuel gas performance printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) in March 2022. It will be part of GE's complex 7HA.02 gas turbine technology, supplying around 500 MW to the South Korean national grid and steam for district heating for more than 100,000 South Koreans.

Alfa Laval and Microsoft entered into a global collaboration agreement in December 2021 to create digital technologies that simplify servicing and upkeep for their respective portfolios of plate heat exchangers. The new gadgets will make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to let end users ascertain the wants of the consumer.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/regenerative-heat-exchangers-market

Key Questions Answered in Regenerative Heat Exchangers Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

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 these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging Systems Market

Global High Concentrated Photovoltaic Market

Global Solar Tracker Market

Global Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Market

Global Wind Turbine Foundation Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter




Tour four versatile floor plans at Crossway at Second Creek on May 6

COMMERCE CITY, Colo., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Richmond American Homes of Colorado, Inc., a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC), is excited to announce the debut of four fully furnished model homes at Crossway at Second Creek (RichmondAmerican.com/Crossway) in Commerce City. The notable new neighborhood offers an impressive array of ranch and two-story floor plans, including some from the builder's sought-after Seasons Collection (RichmondAmerican.com/Seasons).

The two-story Laurel is one of four new Richmond American model homes opening at Crossway at Second Creek in Commerce City, Colorado.

Model home tours (RichmondAmerican.com/CrosswayModelGO)

Prospective homebuyers and area agents are encouraged to tour the ranch-style Agate and two-story Ammolite, Laurel and Layla model homes at Crossway at Second Creek from 12 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 6. Complimentary lunch will be provided, and attendees can enter for a chance to win a prize drawing.

Community at a glance:

New ranch and two-story homes from the $400s

9 flexible floor plans

3 to 6 bedrooms, approx. 2,020 to 3,060 sq. ft.

Easy access to E-470 and Denver International Airport

Close proximity to popular schools and outdoor recreation

Crossway at Second Creek is located at 9186 Telluride Court in Commerce City. Call 303.289.1853 or visit RichmondAmerican.com to RSVP for the event or learn more about this exciting new community.

About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have helped more than 230,000 homebuyers achieve the American Dream since 1977. One of the largest homebuilders in the nation, MDC is committed to quality and value that is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. The Richmond American companies have operations in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Mortgage lending, insurance and title services are offered by the following MDC subsidiaries, respectively: HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit MDCHoldings.com.

Story continues

MDC Richmond American Home Logo (PRNewsfoto/M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/richmond-american-announces-model-grand-opening-in-commerce-city-301812395.html

SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

SkyQuest's Plant-Based Seafood Market report provides actionable insights for individuals interested in valuable data, trends, and opportunities in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the report is produced and published 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 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SkyQuest projects that the plant-based seafood market will attain a value of USD 1007.5 million by 2030, with a CAGR of 42.38% in the forecast period (2022-2030). According to the FAO's, the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2022 report, the total production of fisheries and aquaculture includes 178 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 36 million tonnes of algae, hit a new high of 214 million tonnes in 2020. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that the production of worldwide catch fisheries was 90.3 million tonnes in 2020, a decrease of 4.0% from the average over the previous three years. Also, a majority of population will turn to plant-based substitutes, due to the loss of natural food supplies.

According to SkyQuest, the growing acceptance of veganism is one of the leading causes supporting seafood made from plants. Most people on the planet are becoming vegans due to increased health consciousness and lifestyle improvement. In addition, the market for plant-based seafood has grown due to growing worries about the environment and animal protection due to increased fishing activity in the ocean.

Get sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/plant-based-seafood-market

Browse in-depth TOC on "Plant-Based Seafood Market"

Pages - 242

Tables - 93

Figures  76

Plant-based seafood is growing in popularity as safe, mercury-free alternatives that nonetheless offer essential proteins and decrease the guilt of eating seafood. They also reduce the environmental impact of overfishing. Plant-based seafoods offer several advantages, with environmental friendliness as its primary advantage. It entails easing the pressure on fisheries that are quickly running out of resources, providing support to vulnerable ocean ecosystems, and reducing the effect of fishing nets on the ocean plastic problem, and lowering production-related GHG emissions.

Story continues

Prominent Players in Plant-Based Seafood Market

Beyond Meat.

Impossible Foods Inc.

U Miami

Memphis Meats

ChickP

Vestkron A/S

Aspire Food Group

Aleph Farms

Ingredion.

Gushen Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd.

Roquette Freres.

Glanbia PLC

CHS Inc.

AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG

Nestle

Tyson Foods, Inc.

Ingredion GmbH

Symrise

ADM

HoReCA Segment Maintained the Most Significant Market Share Due to Rapid Urbanization

The HoReCA segment maintained the most significant global market share due to plant-based seafood's numerous advantages. The key factors driving the sector's expansion include increased disposable income and increasing hotel, restaurant, and cafe penetration in developed and developing nations. In addition, due to the quick rise in smartphone penetration, the expansion of logistical services, and the simplification of payment alternatives, the online sales segment is anticipated to develop at the most significant CAGR in the coming years.

North America is anticipated to increase most quickly during the forecast period due to growing adoption of plant-based seafood technologies in North America. The region's mobile internet penetration has risen in the past few years, which has increased demand for seafood made from plants on online shopping sites. Additionally, a number of producers are making significant investments in order to offer consumers products at competitive prices, which is probably going to increase demand for plant-based seafood in the area.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/plant-based-seafood-market

Fish products segment dominated the market due to the surge in demand for plant-based fish products among consumers

The fish products sector is anticipated to maintain its dominance during the forecast period, depending on the product. 63.7% of the market for plant-based seafood were fish products. The market is expanding quickly due to the enormous demand for various fish products such as burger patties, fillets, cutlets and tenders. Furthermore, the dominance of this market category is due to the simple accessibility of fish goods through HoReCa and supermarkets.

The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to grow significantly throughout the forecast period due to a sizable youth population, rising employment, rising disposable income, rapid urbanization, changing consumer eating habits and increased product launches, and changes in governmental policies.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the Plant-Based Seafood 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 endeavours to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

Key Developments in Plant-Based Seafood Market

Wicked Kitchen acquired the North American operations of the plant-based seafood company Good Catch in 2022 in an all-stock transaction. Gathered Foods, the parent business of Good Catch, has become a shareholder in Wicked Kitchen and has been given a board seat. However, the UK brand of Good Catch stays under Gathered Foods and is not a part of the purchase.

Benzaquen entered in North America, Europe, and Asia and in addition, the company intends to debut an expanded portfolio of plant-based seafood products in retail and food service globally in late 2021.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/plant-based-seafood-market

Key Questions Answered in Plant-Based Seafood Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

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 these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Americas Seeds Market

Global Donkey Milk Market

Global Smoothies Market

Global Fresh Fruits Market

Global Tree Nuts Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter




Daniel Brown/Business Insider

There are no signs of a economic collapse in Russia and it won't come for a long time, Ukrainian strategist Andriy Klymenko said.

He told Fakty that the uptick in weapons production has helped compensate for losses in GDP.

It's difficult to get an accurate picture of Russia's economy currently with the government withholding some official data, Klymenko said.

Russia's economy isn't staring down an economic disaster, even though experts around the world had predicted as much after unprecedented sanctions followed Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last February.

That's according to Ukrainian strategist Andriy Klymenko, speaking in an interview with Ukrainian newspaper Fakty translated by Euromaidan Press. Klymenko  the head of the Ukrainian monitoring group at the Institute for Black Sea Strategic Studies  pointed out that economists have had to admit they were wrong in their predictions for a total collapse in Russia's gross domestic product over the last year.

There's been a decline in GDP of 8% due to sanctions, he said, but there's been also a 5% positive gain thanks to Moscow's wartime weapons production.

"This compensated for the GDP losses from the sanctions," Klymenko said, adding that the economy has also seen unemployment dip to its lowest point in years given that many citizens have joined the armed forces.

Klymenko noted that it's likely that US, UK, and European economists are all working to get a clearer picture of the economy since data coming out of the Kremlin has run dry.

One possibility, too, he said, is that a significant chunk of Russian money remains in foreign companies or shadow funds, and some could be tied to oil companies. All of that adds to Klymenko's doubts of any impending financial collapse in Russia.

To be sure, the war, sanctions, and shifting energy market dynamics have reshaped the world power as far as which nations it does business with, how much export revenue it pulls in, and the trade network it operates within.

Story continues

While Russian oil has returned to pre-war levels, largely due to increased trade with India and China, the International Monetary Fund said in April that Moscow's revenue is down about 43% compared to the same time last year.

"Because Russia has closed almost all economic statistics, one will not find any figures for the last year today except for those fed to us by [finance minister] Siluanov and [central bank governor] Nabiullina," Klymenko said. "So now the question really arises...how can we get an accurate picture of the Russian economy in this case? Perhaps we need to look for some other methods than the ones we are used to."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sandline will showcase Everlaw capabilities for legal teams at the Legal Revolution Conference in Nuremberg on May 3 and 4, with an interactive workshop on the platform.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Sandline Global, a premier eDiscovery, iManage and Litera service provider with primary offices in Frankfurt, Germany, and New York, announced today it has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership to bring Everlaw's cloud-based service eDiscovery platform to Germany and the wider European market. The agreement enables Sandline to provide its best-in-class services to legal teams, law firms and corporations in Germany with Everlaw's state-of-the-art technology, rich collaboration features, advanced AI and a modern, intuitive interface for efficient and effective eDiscovery.





Sandline Global





"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Everlaw to serve our law firm and corporate clients in Europe," said Ralf Kaiser, CTO of Sandline Global. "We look forward to educating the European market on the combined Everlaw-Sandline service offering. And to provide a more comprehensive and streamlined approach to eDiscovery. As a local German team, we help clients navigate the complexities of the German eDiscovery market."

As regulators in Germany and the EU continue to ramp up new policies and GDPR requirements, legal teams are looking to shore up their privacy, security and compliance stance for litigation and investigations. Legal teams need to be agile and move quickly in order to efficiently and accurately uncover the evidence needed to argue and win cases, but legacy tools based on hosted services and manual processes hold them back.

"As the eDiscovery landscape in Germany becomes more complex with new regulations, Sandline's expertise plays a critical role in bridging the gap with needed staffing, skills and project management," said Rich Liu, chief revenue officer at Everlaw. "Legal teams will benefit from an all-in-one eDiscovery service on a cloud-native platform with expertise from a trusted partner who knows the local market. This partnership ensures game-changing outcomes to chart a straighter and more secure path to the truth."

Story continues

The combined strengths of Sandline Global and Everlaw, along with their successful track record in supporting United States clients, creates a unique and unparalleled offering for European clients.

On May 3rd and 4th, Sandline Global will showcase Everlaw capabilities at the Legal Revolution Conference in Nuremberg, Germany, with an interactive workshop on the Everlaw platform.

About Sandline:

Sandline Global is a premier litigation support and eDiscovery service provider, supporting legal teams in the United States and globally. Sandline specializes in delivering innovative digital evidence solutions with exceptional, high-touch service. With Sandline's global network of offices and data centers in Frankfurt, Washington D.C., New York City, Taipei, Dubai and Karachi, the firm utilizes best-of-breed technology, custom workflows, and deep industry experience to support complex investigations and litigation matters. In addition to providing forensics, eDiscovery and document review services, Sandline also designs and supports iManage deployments for law firms and legal departments. Learn more: https://www.sandlineglobal.com.

About Everlaw

Everlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex eDiscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth. Trusted by Fortune 100 corporate counsel, 91 of the Am Law 200, and all 50 state attorneys general, Everlaw's combination of intuitive experience, advanced technology, and partnership with customers empowers organizations to tackle the most pressing technological challenges-and transform their approach to discovery and litigation in the process. Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif., Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and TPG Growth. Learn more: https://www.everlaw.com.

Contact Information

Cara Lemire

VP of Sales & Marketing

clemire@sandlineglobal.com

(703) 520-1001

Colleen Haikes

press@everlaw.com

SOURCE: Sandline Global

.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/752241/Sandline-Global-Announces-Strategic-Partnership-With-Everlaw-for-German-eDiscovery-Market




California's notorious barbecue is 'steaking' its claim as the West's best barbecue, inviting others to experience Sizzle Central

SANTA MARIA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / Big, bold and ready to showdown and throwdown - this is Sizzle Central. A 30-mile stretch of California's Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley and its expert Santa Maria Style pit masters are prepped and ready to share their expert flavor (and hot takes) with the rest of the world. In honor of National Barbecue Month, Santa Maria Valley will transform into Sizzle Central, an unscripted, spicy and unexpected celebration of all things Santa Maria Style barbecue and is guaranteed to make the culinary world take notice.





Santa Maria Valley is Sizzle Central



No soggy bottoms.

Sauce is out, spice is in, and Santa Maria Valley is entering the chat with tips on how to grill Santa Maria Style. Santa Maria Valley will be calling out barbecue techniques via its social media channels, challenging the status quo and even offering grilling tips in a Home Chef Throwdown, where anyone can upload their personal barbecue "how tos" to Instagram and/or TikTok tagging @SantaMariaValley and using #SizzleCentral hashtag.

To kick things off, Santa Maria Valley is sharing just what you need to get started. An updated Santa Maria Style Cookbook is available to download for free and is full of Santa Maria Style recipes and tips.

Tri-tip + wine country = A match made in heaven. Sip on that, Texas.

So, what sets Santa Maria Style barbecue apart from the rest? (There is no competition as far as Santa Maria Valley is concerned.) Here at Sizzle Central, barbecue isn't a smoke show, rather, it's a spiced-up, red-oak-fired, perfectly wine-paired flavor found in a foodie's dream destination.

"Santa Maria Style barbecue is in a category of its own compared to other styles of barbecue because of how we cook the meats," said Jaime Flores, Santa Maria Valley pitmaster and founder of the Santa Maria Barbecue Festival. "We cook on an open pit and control the heat by raising and lowering our grill. This open pit style allows the meats to cook evenly and the red oak smoke flavors the meats, which are seasoned with a dry seasoning usually consisting of salt, pepper and garlic. With these attributes to our style, there is no reason to sauce the meat."

Story continues

Each year, hundreds of people gather in mid-May (May 13, this year) for the annual Santa Maria Barbecue Festival, a celebration of grilling Santa Maria Style. The cornerstone of the event is a professional competition with local celebrity judges that vote on the Best Barbecue in Santa Maria Valley as local businesses and professionals compete for bragging rights and the first-place Branding Iron award. There is also a separate competition for "best backyard cook."

"The differences between East, West, North and South vary greatly," said Anthony Minniti, Santa Maria Valley pitmaster. "Each style differs in cooking time, temperature, rub or no rub, and, when applicable, the sauce. I love them all, however, I think Santa Maria Style is the purest form of barbecue because of its balance and simplicity."

Santa Maria Style barbecue started in the mid-19th century when the rancheros gathered to help each other brand their calves each spring. As a thank-you to fellow vaqueros - America's first cowboys - the host would prepare a Spanish-style barbecue, consisting of beef barbecued over a red-oak fire, served with Pinquito beans, bread, salsa and homemade desserts. The region's flagship varieties also pair perfectly with barbecue - cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah - all "bold but gentle" and paired perfectly with barbecue.

So, what are you waiting for? Come to Sizzle Central (whether in person or at home) and experience Santa Maria Style barbecue either for the first time or again and again. Of course, there's no better way than to get the complete Santa Maria Style experience than in person. With 15 beaches and 34 tasting rooms all within a 30-minute drive, Santa Maria Valley is the perfect home base to do more for less. Explore all you can do in and around the valley. For more information, visit santamariavalley.com.

Media Note: Media interested in speaking with a pitmaster, joining the Home Chef Throwdown or experiencing the region to check out all its flavors, please email nicole.shearer@kps3.com. Media Familiarization Tours are available for interested media on assignment.

Photo Cutline: This May (aka National Barbecue Month), Santa Maria Valley is Sizzle Central. A variety of multimedia and photo assets are available for download and media use.

About Santa Maria Valley:

Serving the greater Santa Maria Valley in the heart of California's Central Coast, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau is a nonprofit association that facilitates local tourism and provides information on the region's many attractions and visitor services. Famed for its fine wines, natural wonders, agricultural heritage and flavorful barbecue, the Santa Maria Valley offers a broad range of cultural, sporting and historical experiences. For details on Santa Maria Valley lodging, wine tasting, travel deals and e-newsletter alerts, visit santamariavalley.com or call (800) 331-3779.



Contact Information

Nicole Shearer

Director of Public Relations

nicole.shearer@kps3.com

530-448-6485



SOURCE: Santa Maria Valley

.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/752044/Santa-Maria-Valley-Becomes-Sizzle-Central-This-May




BALI, Indonesia, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned for its legendary surf beach, warm hospitality, and recent plethora of new developed entertainment sites stretched along its shoreline, Kuta is a four-letter word that is familiar to the ears of those visiting the island of the Gods. Travellers can easily walk and explore more than the surface of what Kuta has to offer, from the newly built Kuta Beach Skate Park, Pasar Seni Kuta, traditional Kuta Art Market, Beachwalk Shopping Centre, to Legian's vibrant nightlife scenes.

The best sunset view experience at Sundowner Rooftop, Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort

Nestled prominently in the heart of this vibrant neighbourhood, Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort welcomes travellers with an irresistible stay package designed for travellers that seek for a memorable island holiday experience. The amazing deal, Bali Sunset Escape, offers guests the opportunity to stay longer and benefit from its series of unique offerings throughout their stay.

BALI SUNSET ESCAPE PACKAGE

Daily buffet breakfast for two

One-time complimentary buffet dinner for two

One-time complimentary sunset drinks for two at Sundowner Rooftop

Complimentary spa credit worth of AUD 10 with a minimum spend of AUD 36++

Complimentary resort activities for kids and adult

20% off on Food and Beverage

Bali Sunset Escape package is available for reservations with a minimum stay of three (3) consecutive nights, with rates starting from AUD 230++ per room per night from the Guest Room category. Guests looking to stay longer can save more and earn more benefits. Reservations can be made through https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/dpsks-sheraton-bali-kuta-resort/overview/

"Bali Sunset Escape offers our guests the opportunity to stay at Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort longer and discover the range of unique offerings that makes up the ultimate Bali holiday, from stunning sunsets, delicious cuisines, to fun activities for all ages in Kuta," says Ashley Lai, Cluster General Manager of Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort.

Story continues

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sheraton-bali-kuta-resort-offers-the-ultimate-bali-sunset-escape-package-for-travellers-301811767.html

SOURCE Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort
The dynamics of the glioma market are anticipated to change in the coming years owing to the positive outcomes of the emerging pipeline candidates during the developmental stage by key players, such as Bayer, VBL Therapeutics, Candel Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, DNAtrix, DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Chimerix, KaryoPharma, VBI Vaccines, Kazia Therapeutics, and others

LAS VEGAS, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Glioma Market Insights report includes a comprehensive understanding of current treatment practices, glioma emerging drugs, market share of individual therapies, and current and forecasted market size from 2019 to 2032, segmented into 7MM [the United States, the EU-4 (Italy, Spain, France, and Germany), the United Kingdom, and Japan].

DelveInsight_Logo

Key Takeaways from the Glioma Market Report

As per DelveInsight analysis, the glioma market size in the 7MM was approximately USD 1 billion in 2022.

According to the assessment done by DelveInsight, the estimated total incident glioma cases in the 7MM were approximately 47K in 2022.

Leading glioma companies such as Bayer, Chimerix, Aivita Biomedical, Denovo Biopharma, Northwest Therapeutics, VBL Therapeutics, Laminar Pharmaceuticals, MedImmune, DNAtrix, Immunomic Therapeutics, Imvax, MimiVax, CNS Pharmaceuticals, Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC), Istari Oncology, SonALAsense, Kintara Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Medicenna Therapeutics, BioMimetix, Eisai and Merck Sharp & Dohme, Kazia Therapeutics, Oblato, Genenta Science, Enterome, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Karyopharm Therapeutics, VBI Vaccines, TME Pharma, Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Servier, Orbus Therapeutics, TVAX Biomedical, AnHeart Therapeutics, Beigene, SpringWorks Therapeutics, Forma Therapeutics, Hoffmann-La Roche, Incyte Corporation, Eli Lilly , and others are developing novel glioma drugs that can be available in the glioma market in the coming years.

The promising glioma therapies in the pipeline include Regorafenib, ONC201, AV-GBM-1, Enzastaurin (DB-102), DCVax-L, Ofranergene Obadenovec (VB-111), LAM561 (2-OHOA), MEDI4736 (durvalumab), Tasadenoturev (DNX-2401), ITI-1000 (pp65 DC Vaccine), IGV-001, SurVaxM, Berubicin, GLIOVAC (Sitoiganap), Lerapolturev + Pembrolizumab, SONALA-001 + Exablate 2.0 Device, VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol), Pomalidomide, MDNA55, BMX-001, Lenvatinib  Pembrolizumab, Paxalisib (GDC-0084), OKN-007, Temferon, EO2401, INO-5401+ INO-9012+ LIBTAYO (cemiplimab), Selinexor (KPT-330), Olutasidenib (FT-2102), VBI-1901, NOX-A12 (Olaptesed Pegol), Tovorafenib (DAY101), Vorasidenib (AG-881), Eflornithine, TVI-Brain-1, AB-218, BGB-290, Mirdametinib, FT-2102 (Olutasidenib), Vinblastine + Bevacizumab, Cobimetinib, PEMAZYRE (Pemigatinib), VERZENIO (abemaciclib) , and others.

In December 2022, Chimerix announced the successful launch of the ONC201 Phase III ACTION study in patients with H3 K27M-mutant glioma.

In June 2022, Day One Biopharmaceuticals announced positive initial data from its pivotal Phase II (FIREFLY-1) study with tovorafenib (DAY101) in relapsed pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG).

Story continues

Discover which therapies are expected to grab the major glioma market share @ Glioma Market Report

Glioma Overview

Glioma is the most common kind of glial cell tumor in the central nervous system (CNS). Gliomas are infiltrative tumors that affect the brain tissue surrounding them. Glioblastoma is the most hazardous type of brain tumor, whereas pilocytic astrocytomas are the least dangerous. Previously, diffuse gliomas were classified into subgroups and grades depending on histopathologies, such as diffuse astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, or mixed gliomas/oligoastrocytomas. The specific etiology of glioma, like other primary brain tumors, remains unknown. However, certain variables may increase the risk of getting a brain tumor. Glioma symptoms vary depending on tumor type, size, location, and growth rate. Some common glioma symptoms include headache, nausea or vomiting, memory loss, urine incontinence, speech problems, and others. A medical history and a physical examination are used for glioma diagnosis.

Glioma Epidemiology Segmentation

DelveInsight estimates that there were approximately 47K incident cases of glioma in the 7MM in 2022.

As per our analysis, the United States contributed to the largest incident population of glioma, acquiring ~40% of the 7MM in 2022.

The glioma market report proffers epidemiological analysis for the study period 20192032 in the 7MM segmented into:

Total glioma incident cases

Glioma grade-specific cases

Glioma age-specific cases

Glioma type-specific cases

Download the report to understand which factors are driving glioma epidemiology trends @ Glioma Epidemiological Insights

Glioma Treatment Market

Glioma treatment is based on the type of glioma, its size and location, and the patient's unique characteristics. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy will be administered after surgery, particularly in individuals when the tumor cannot be removed entirely because it has invaded critical parts of the brain or is inaccessible. The typical glioma treatment protocol comprises surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Chemotherapy may include carmustine (BCNU), lomustine (CCNU), or gleostine (generic), cisplatin, carboplatin, etoposide, and irinotecan in case of low-grade glioma whereas temozolomide (TEMODAR) is the standard chemotherapy used in case of high-grade glioma majorly, Gliadel wafer implants (biodegradable discs injected with BCNU) are usually given as adjunctive treatment after surgery, although usage of Gliadel wafers remains a point of controversy due to its questionable survival benefits. Avastin (Genentech) and Temodar/Temodal (Merck), among others, are approved medications for HGG. However, due to patent expiration, the generic version of Temodar and biosimilars of Avastin are available on the glioma market. As generics and biosimilars are more cost-effective for patients than new medicines, intense competition exists among them. Furthermore, due to a lack of knowledge concerning bevacizumab's overall survival benefit, it is not recommended in unselected patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Currently, only one medication for LGG is approved, Tafinlar (dabrafenib) plus Mekinist (trametinib).

Moreover, the current therapeutic market lacks a viable method for curing glioblastoma; therefore, the survival rate of people diagnosed with glioma remains poor. Glioma is incurable, and treatment choices are limited. Furthermore, the tumor has a high recurrence rate and a poor patient prognosis. In addition, there is currently no approved therapy for the unmethylated MGMT patient pool.

To know more about glioma treatment guidelines, visit @ Glioma Management

Glioma Therapies and Key Companies

Regorafenib: Bayer

ONC201: Chimerix

AV-GBM-1: Aivita Biomedical

Enzastaurin (DB-102): Denovo Biopharma

DCVax-L: Northwest Therapeutics

Ofranergene Obadenovec (VB-111): VBL Therapeutics

LAM561 (2-OHOA): Laminar Pharmaceuticals

MEDI4736 (durvalumab): MedImmune

Tasadenoturev (DNX-2401): DNAtrix

ITI-1000 (pp65 DC Vaccine): Immunomic Therapeutics

IGV-001: Imvax

SurVaxM: MimiVax

Berubicin: CNS Pharmaceuticals

GLIOVAC (Sitoiganap): Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC)

Lerapolturev + Pembrolizumab: Istari Oncology

SONALA-001 + Exablate 2.0 Device: SonALAsense

VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol): Kintara Therapeutics

Pomalidomide: Bristol Myers Squibb

MDNA55: Medicenna Therapeutics

BMX-001: BioMimetix

Lenvatinib  Pembrolizumab: Eisai and Merck Sharp & Dohme

Paxalisib (GDC-0084): Kazia Therapeutics

OKN-007: Oblato

Temferon: Genenta Science

EO2401: Enterome

INO-5401+ INO-9012+ LIBTAYO (cemiplimab): Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Selinexor (KPT-330): Karyopharm Therapeutics

VBI-1901: VBI Vaccines

NOX-A12 (Olaptesed Pegol): TME Pharma

Tovorafenib (DAY101): Day One Biopharmaceuticals

Vorasidenib (AG-881): Servier

Eflornithine: Orbus Therapeutics

TVI-Brain-1: TVAX Biomedical

AB-218: AnHeart Therapeutics

BGB-290: Beigene

Mirdametinib: SpringWorks Therapeutics

FT-2102 (Olutasidenib): Forma Therapeutics

Vinblastine + Bevacizumab: Hoffmann-La Roche

Cobimetinib: Hoffmann-La Roche

PEMAZYRE (Pemigatinib): Incyte Corporation

VERZENIO (abemaciclib): Eli Lilly

Learn more about the FDA-approved drugs for glioma @ Drugs for Glioma Treatment

Glioma Market Dynamics

Glioma market growth can be ascribed to various factors, including an aging population, evolving research, better diagnostic tests, developing surgical procedures, improved radiotherapy techniques, and novel systemic medicines.

Commercially, there is a greater emphasis on high-grade glioma than low-grade glioma because patients with low-grade glioma often live longer than those with high-grade glioma. As a result, just a few therapies are in late-stage studies, while the majority are in early-stage trials. In the case of GBM, on the other hand, the pipeline is robust, with numerous potential therapies in late and mid-stage research that have yet to be marketed. The pipeline includes drugs with varied modes of action and administration routes. It is interesting to note that the emerging market of glioma includes budding gene therapy, i.e., ofranergene obadenovec (VB-111) by VBL Therapeutics, followed by four vaccine/immunotherapy candidates such as VBI-1901, AV-GBM-1 and ITI-1000 (pp65 DC Vaccine), tasadenoturev (DNX-2401) by VBI Vaccines, Aivita Biomedical, Immunomic Therapeutics, and DNAtrix, respectively, and these therapies are going to alter the glioma market dynamics in the upcoming years.

The current glioma market has been categorized based on the dominant treatment pattern across the 7MM, which shows slight variances in the overall prescription pattern. The forecast model considers surgery, chemotherapy/radiation therapy, bevacizumab + radiotherapy/chemotherapy, and OPTUNE with temozolomide. The anticipated launch of new therapies and improved integration of early patient screening, medication in secondary care and other clinical settings, research on optimum implementation methods, and increased awareness may eventually facilitate the development of successful treatment alternatives.

However, there are a few challenges to the timely identification and treatment of these patients, such as a lack of a reliable biomarker that can aid in diagnosis and patient classification and identifying recurrence and signaling medication response. Furthermore, the failure rate of high-phased drug trials is significant, making it impossible to predict trial success, exacerbating the need for medicines that could assist ease the patient segment with this severe kind of cancer.

Report Metrics Details Study Period 20192032 Coverage 7MM [the United States, the EU-4 (Italy, Spain, France, and Germany), the United Kingdom, and Japan] Base Year 2019 Glioma Market CAGR Approx.13% Glioma Market Size in 2022 USD 1,000 million Key Glioma Companies Bayer, Chimerix, Aivita Biomedical, Denovo Biopharma, Northwest Therapeutics, VBL Therapeutics, Laminar Pharmaceuticals, MedImmune, DNAtrix, Immunomic Therapeutics, Imvax, MimiVax, CNS Pharmaceuticals, Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC), Istari Oncology, SonALAsense, Kintara Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Medicenna Therapeutics, BioMimetix, Eisai and Merck Sharp & Dohme, Kazia Therapeutics, Oblato, Genenta Science, Enterome, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Karyopharm Therapeutics, VBI Vaccines, TME Pharma, Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Servier, Orbus Therapeutics, TVAX Biomedical, AnHeart Therapeutics, Beigene, SpringWorks Therapeutics, Forma Therapeutics, Hoffmann-La Roche, Incyte Corporation, Eli Lilly, and others Key Pipeline Glioma Therapies Regorafenib, ONC201, AV-GBM-1, Enzastaurin (DB-102), DCVax-L, Ofranergene Obadenovec (VB-111), LAM561 (2-OHOA), MEDI4736 (durvalumab), Tasadenoturev (DNX-2401), ITI-1000 (pp65 DC Vaccine), IGV-001, SurVaxM, Berubicin, GLIOVAC (Sitoiganap), Lerapolturev + Pembrolizumab, SONALA-001 + Exablate 2.0 Device, VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol), Pomalidomide, MDNA55, BMX-001, Lenvatinib  Pembrolizumab, Paxalisib (GDC-0084), OKN-007, Temferon, EO2401, INO-5401+ INO-9012+ LIBTAYO (cemiplimab), Selinexor (KPT-330), Olutasidenib (FT-2102), VBI-1901, NOX-A12 (Olaptesed Pegol), Tovorafenib (DAY101), Vorasidenib (AG-881), Eflornithine, TVI-Brain-1, AB-218, BGB-290, Mirdametinib, FT-2102 (Olutasidenib), Vinblastine + Bevacizumab, Cobimetinib, PEMAZYRE (Pemigatinib), VERZENIO (abemaciclib), and others

Scope of the Glioma Market Report

Therapeutic Assessment: Glioma current marketed and emerging therapies

Glioma Market Dynamics: Conjoint Analysis of Emerging Glioma Drugs

Competitive Intelligence Analysis: SWOT analysis and Market entry strategies

Unmet Needs, KOL's Views, Analyst's Views, Glioma Market Access and Reimbursement

Discover more about glioma drugs in development @ Glioma Clinical Trials

Table to Contents

1 Key Insights 2 Report Introduction 3 Executive Summary 4 Key Events 5 Epidemiology and Market Forecast Methodology 6 Glioma Market Overview at a Glance 6.1 Market Share (%) Distribution of Glioma by Therapies in 2022 6.2 Market Share (%) Distribution of Glioma by Therapies in 2032 7 Disease Background and Overview: Gliomas 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Classification of gliomas 7.2.1 Low-grade Gliomas 7.2.2 High-grade Gliomas 7.3 Signs and symptoms 7.4 Causes 7.5 Diagnosis 7.5.1 Neurological exams 7.5.2 Angiograms 7.5.3 Computerized tomography (CT) 7.5.4 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 7.5.5 Perfusion MRI 7.5.6 MR spectroscopy 7.5.7 Histological diagnosis 7.5.8 Surgical biopsy 8 Treatment and management 8.1 Treatment of LGGs 8.2 Treatment of HGGs 8.3 Symptom management 8.4 Treatment guidelines and recommendations 8.4.1 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Endorsed American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Guideline on Radiation Therapy for Glioblastoma (2017) 8.4.2 American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Clinical Practice Guideline for LGGs (2021) 8.4.3 National Comprehensive Cancer Network [NCCN] Guidelines for the Management of Gliomas (2022) 8.4.4 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidelines for the Management of Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma (2021) 8.4.5 Japanese Society of Neurological Surgery Guidelines for the Treatment of Adult Glioblastoma (2019) 8.4.6 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) and European Society of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Consensus Review on Current Management and Future Directions for Glioblastoma in Adults (2020) 8.4.7 Clinical Recommendation for Glioblastoma (Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica [AIOM], 2021) 8.4.8 Medical Oncology Spanish Society (SEOM) Clinical Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Glioblastoma 8.4.9 European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Adult Patients with Diffuse Gliomas (2021) 8.4.10 SEOM Guideline Recommendations for LGGs (2017) 9 Epidemiology and Patient Population of Glioma in the 7MM 9.1 Key Findings 9.2 Assumptions and Rationale 9.3 Total Incident Cases of Glioma in the 7MM 9.4 The United States 9.4.1 Total Incident Cases of Glioma in the United States 9.4.2 Grade-specific Cases of Glioma in the United States 9.4.3 Age-specific Cases of Glioma in the United States 9.4.4 Type-specific Cases of Glioma in the United States 9.5 EU4 and the UK 9.5.1 Total Incident Cases of Glioma in EU4 and the UK 9.5.2 Grade-specific Cases of Glioma in EU4 and the UK 9.5.3 Age-specific Cases of Glioma in EU4 and the UK 9.5.4 Type-specific Cases of Glioma in EU4 and the UK 9.6 Japan 9.6.1 Total Incident Cases of Glioma in Japan 9.6.2 Grade-specific Cases of Glioma in Japan 9.6.3 Age-specific Cases of Glioma in Japan 9.6.4 Type-specific cases of Glioma in Japan 10 Patient Journey 11 Key Endpoints in Glioma 12 Marketed Products 12.1 Key Competitors 12.2 OPTUNE: Novocure Limited 12.2.1 Product description 12.2.2 Regulatory milestones 12.2.3 Other developmental activities 12.2.4 Current pipeline activity 12.2.5 Safety and efficacy 12.2.6 Product profile 12.3 AVASTIN (bevacizumab): Genentech 12.3.1 Product description 12.3.2 Regulatory milestones 12.3.3 Other developmental activities 12.3.4 Safety and efficacy 12.3.5 Product profile 12.4 TEMODAR (temozolomide): Merck 12.4.1 Product description 12.4.2 Regulatory milestones 12.4.3 Other development activities 12.4.4 Current pipeline activity 12.4.5 Safety and efficacy 12.4.6 Product profile 12.5 DELYTACT: Daiichi Sankyo 12.5.1 Product description 12.5.2 Regulatory milestones 12.5.3 Other developmental activities 12.5.4 Safety and efficacy 12.5.5 Product profile 12.6 TAFINLAR (dabrafenib) + MEKINIST (trametinib): Novartis 12.6.1 Product description 12.6.2 Regulatory milestones 12.6.3 Other Developmental Activities 12.6.4 Clinical development 12.6.5 Safety and efficacy 12.6.6 Product profile 13 Emerging Drugs 13.1 Key Competitors 13.2 Regorafenib: Bayer 13.2.1 Product description 13.2.2 Other developmental activities 13.2.3 Clinical development 13.2.4 Safety and efficacy 13.3 ONC201: Chimerix 13.3.1 Product description 13.3.2 Other developmental activities 13.3.3 Clinical development 13.3.4 Safety and efficacy 13.4 AV-GBM-1: Aivita Biomedical 13.4.1 Product description 13.4.2 Clinical development 13.4.3 Safety and efficacy 13.5 Enzastaurin (DB-102): Denovo Biopharma 13.5.1 Product description 13.5.2 Other developmental activities 13.5.3 Clinical development 13.5.4 Safety and efficacy 13.6 DCVax-L: Northwest Therapeutics 13.6.1 Product description 13.6.2 Other developmental activity 13.6.3 Clinical development 13.6.4 Safety and efficacy 13.7 Ofranergene Obadenovec (VB-111): VBL Therapeutics 13.7.1 Product Description 13.7.2 Other Developmental Activities 13.7.3 Clinical development 13.7.4 Safety and efficacy 13.8 LAM561 (2-OHOA): Laminar Pharmaceuticals 13.8.1 Product description 13.8.2 Other developmental activities 13.8.3 Clinical development 13.8.4 Safety and efficacy 13.9 MEDI4736 (durvalumab): MedImmune 13.9.1 Product description 13.9.2 Clinical Development 13.9.3 Safety and efficacy 13.1 Tasadenoturev (DNX-2401): DNAtrix 13.10.1 Product description 13.10.2 Other developmental activities 13.10.3 Clinical development 13.10.4 Safety and efficacy 13.11 ITI-1000 (pp65 DC Vaccine): Immunomic Therapeutics 13.11.1 Product description 13.11.2 Other developmental activities 13.11.3 Clinical development 13.11.4 Safety and efficacy 13.12 IGV-001: Imvax 13.12.1 Product description 13.12.2 Other developmental activities 13.12.3 Clinical development 13.12.4 Safety and efficacy 13.13 SurVaxM: MimiVax 13.13.1 Product description 13.13.2 Other developmental activities 13.13.3 Clinical development 13.13.4 Safety and efficacy 13.14 Berubicin: CNS Pharmaceuticals 13.14.1 Product description 13.14.2 Other developmental activities 13.14.3 Clinical development 13.14.4 Safety and efficacy 13.15 GLIOVAC (Sitoiganap): Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC) 13.15.1 Product description 13.15.2 Other developmental activities 13.15.3 Clinical development 13.15.4 Safety and efficacy 13.16 Lerapolturev + Pembrolizumab: Istari Oncology 13.16.1 Product description 13.16.2 Other developmental activities 13.16.3 Clinical development 13.16.4 Safety and efficacy 13.17 SONALA-001 + Exablate 2.0 Device: SonALAsense 13.17.1 Product description 13.17.2 Clinical development 13.17.3 Safety and efficacy 13.18 VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol): Kintara Therapeutics 13.18.1 Product description 13.18.2 Other developmental activities 13.18.3 Clinical development 13.18.4 Safety and efficacy 13.19 Pomalidomide: Bristol Myers Squibb 13.19.1 Product description 13.19.2 Other developmental activities 13.19.3 Clinical development 13.19.4 Safety and efficacy 13.2 MDNA55: Medicenna Therapeutics 13.20.1 Product description 13.20.2 Other developmental activities 13.20.3 Clinical development 13.20.4 Safety and efficacy 13.21 BMX-001: BioMimetix 13.21.1 Product description 13.21.2 Other developmental activity 13.21.3 Clinical development 13.21.4 Safety and efficacy 13.22 Lenvatinib  Pembrolizumab: Eisai and Merck Sharp & Dohme 13.22.1 Product description 13.22.2 Clinical development 13.22.3 Safety and efficacy 13.23 Paxalisib (GDC-0084): Kazia Therapeutics 13.23.1 Product description 13.23.2 Other developmental activities 13.23.3 Clinical development 13.23.4 Safety and efficacy 13.24 OKN-007: Oblato 13.24.1 Product description 13.24.2 Other developmental Activity 13.24.3 Clinical development 13.24.4 Safety and efficacy 13.25 Temferon: Genenta Science 13.25.1 Product description 13.25.2 Clinical development 13.25.3 Safety and efficacy 13.26 EO2401: Enterome 13.26.1 Product description 13.26.2 Clinical development 13.26.3 Safety and efficacy 13.27 INO-5401+ INO-9012+ LIBTAYO (cemiplimab): Inovio Pharmaceuticals 13.27.1 Product description 13.27.2 Clinical development 13.27.3 Safety and efficacy 13.28 Selinexor (KPT-330): Karyopharm Therapeutics 13.28.1 Product description 13.28.2 Clinical development 13.28.3 Safety and efficacy 13.29 Olutasidenib (FT-2102): Forma Therapeutics 13.29.1 Product description 13.29.2 Other developmental activities 13.29.3 Clinical development 13.29.4 Safety and efficacy 13.3 VBI-1901: VBI Vaccines 13.30.1 Product description 13.30.2 Other developmental activities 13.30.3 Clinical development 13.30.4 Safety and efficacy 13.31 NOX-A12 (Olaptesed Pegol): TME Pharma 13.31.1 Product description 13.31.2 Other developmental activities 13.31.3 Clinical development 13.31.4 Safety and efficacy 13.32 Tovorafenib (DAY101): Day One Biopharmaceuticals 13.32.1 Product description 13.32.2 Other developmental activities 13.32.3 Clinical development 13.32.4 Safety and efficacy 13.33 Vorasidenib (AG-881): Servier 13.33.1 Product description 13.33.2 Other developmental activities 13.33.3 Clinical development 13.33.4 Safety and efficacy 13.34 Eflornithine: Orbus Therapeutics 13.34.1 Product description 13.34.2 Other developmental activities 13.34.3 Clinical development 13.34.4 Safety and efficacy 13.35 TVI-Brain-1: TVAX Biomedical 13.35.1 Product description 13.35.2 Other developmental activities 13.35.3 Clinical development 13.36 AB-218: AnHeart Therapeutics 13.36.1 Product description 13.36.2 Other developmental activities 13.36.3 Clinical development 13.36.4 Safety and efficacy 13.37 BGB-290: Beigene 13.37.1 Product description 13.37.2 Clinical development 13.37.3 Safety and efficacy 13.38 Mirdametinib: SpringWorks Therapeutics 13.38.1 Product description 13.38.2 Other developmental activities 13.38.3 Clinical development 13.38.4 Safety and efficacy 13.39 Vinblastine + Bevacizumab: Hoffmann-La Roche 13.39.1 Product description 13.39.2 Clinical development 13.39.3 Safety and efficacy 13.4 Cobimetinib: Hoffmann-La Roche 13.40.1 Product description 13.40.2 Clinical development 13.40.3 Safety and efficacy 13.41 PEMAZYRE (Pemigatinib): Incyte Corporation 13.41.1 Product description 13.41.2 Clinical development 13.42 VERZENIO (abemaciclib): Eli Lilly 13.42.1 Product description 13.42.2 Clinical development 13.42.3 Safety and efficacy 14 Glioma: Seven Major Market Analysis 14.1 Key Findings 14.2 Market Outlook 14.3 Key Market Forecast Assumptions 14.4 Conjoint Analysis 14.5 Total Market Size of Glioma in the 7MM 14.6 United States Market Size 14.6.1 Total Market size of Glioma in the United States 14.6.2 Market Size of Glioma by Current and Emerging Therapies in the United States 14.7 EU4 and UK Market Size 14.7.1 Total Market size of Glioma in EU4 and the UK 14.7.2 Market Size of Glioma by Current and Emerging Therapies in EU4 and the UK 14.8 Japan Market Size 14.8.1 Total Market size of Glioma in Japan 14.8.2 Market Size of Glioma by Current and Emerging Therapies in Japan 15 Unmet Needs 16 SWOT Analysis 17 KOL Views 18 Market Access and Reimbursement for Glioma 18.1 United States 18.2 Europe 18.3 Japan 19 Appendix 19.1 Bibliography 19.2 Report Methodology 20 DelveInsight Capabilities 21 Disclaimer 22 About DelveInsight

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SOURCE DelveInsight Business Research, LLP
Phoenix, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phoenix, Arizona -

Small Biz Marketing AZ .com, a company based in Phoenix, AZ, has announced that they are offering assistance to small businesses looking to place local service ads near me. These are businesses interested in location-specific marketing as a way to increase their customer base in their area. They want to point out that their team is an expert in generating high-quality leads from the clients local community, thus allowing the business to connect with their target audience who are those most likely to be interested in their products or services.

A spokesperson for Small Biz Marketing AZ .com says, If youre a business that relies on local sales, you need to focus your digital marketing efforts on generating local leads. That means mastering local SEO, enhancing your website, buying internet ads, and creating content relevant to your specific area. Developing rapport with other local businesses and your community will also help you build relationships that lead to high-quality leads. By taking the time to become a trusted member of your community, you can increase your conversion rates and lower your marketing expenses.

Local Service Ads Near Me

They often provide services for Google Adwords ads near me because Google Ads is a potent tool for identifying and attracting potential new customers for the businesss products and services. The spokesperson explains, It is one of the best and most cost-effective methods of online advertising. The process involves creating and promoting ads that appear on the search engines results pages when people are searching for a product or service similar to yours. These ads can be used to target specific keywords, age groups, or locations.

Lead generation using Google ads provides an effective way of generating leads for a business, particularly if the company is service-based like restaurants and cafes that aim to attract potential customers within the area. Another important advantage is that in contrast to traditional methods, with Google Ads, the marketer only has to pay when a user clicks on the ad, which means significant savings. In addition, Google ads also offers a great way to build brand awareness. Because it is so affordable, it offers a suitable marketing tool for small businesses, especially those that have just started. It also allows them to test various keywords and phrases to find out which would work best for their target audience and their products and services.

Story continues

There are a number of ways to generate leads, such as content marketing, social media advertising, blogging, and pay per click (PPC) ads on Google and other search engines. The primary purpose of lead generation is to guide these potential customers through the sales funnel until they become customers. This is done through the use of relevant content and offers that enable these potential customers to resolve their problems using the products or services of the company. PPC advertising through the use of Google ads is frequently the way to go because it allows the targeting of people who require the services right away. That is why this is most suitable for service-oriented business such as restaurants. People within the vicinity of the restaurant can immediately visit the establishment and check out the food and the service.

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DALLAS, May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Steward Health Care, the countrys largest physician-led, minority-owned, integrated health care system, today announced that it had completed the sale of its Utah health care sites to CommonSpirit Health, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Catholic Health Initiatives Colorado. The hospitals and clinics will be managed under Centura Health, the regions leading health system. This strategic transaction allows for Steward to reinvest in its nationally recognized model of providing value-based care in communities across the other regions it operates.

Effectively immediately, Stewards Utah health care sites  including five hospitals, over 35 medical group clinics, imaging and urgent care centers, and other outpatient ventures are part of CommonSpirit Healths national health system. This includes Davis Hospital and Medical Center, Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Jordan Valley Medical Center, Jordan Valley Medical Center-West Valley Campus, and Mountain Point Medical Center and associated clinics and outpatient centers.

"We are pleased to have found the right partner for our Utah hospitals," said Brian Dunn, Regional President, Steward Health Care. "We are extremely proud of what weve accomplished in Utah since acquiring the system in 2017, and we want to extend our deep thanks to our colleagues whose commitment and excellence has made a difference to patients and the local community every day since."

"This transaction continues Stewards stated strategic plan to focus on and invest in value-based care. We look forward to increasing our presence and financial commitment in our holistic integrated care model, for which we continue to lead the industry," said Ralph de la Torre, Chairman of Steward Health Care.

About Steward Health Care

Nearly a decade ago, Steward Health Care System emerged as a different kind of health care company designed to usher in a new era of wellness. One that provides our patients better, more proactive care at a sustainable cost, our providers unrivaled coordination of care, and our communities greater prosperity and stability.

Story continues

As the countrys largest physician-led, minority-owned, integrated health care system, our doctors can be certain that we share their interests and those of their patients. Together we are on a mission to revolutionize the way health care is delivered - creating healthier lives, thriving communities and a better world.

Steward is among the nations largest and most successful accountable care organizations (ACO), with more than 5,500 providers and 43,000 health care professionals who care for 12.3 million patients a year through a closely integrated network of hospitals, multispecialty medical groups, urgent care centers, skilled nursing facilities and behavioral health centers.

Based in Dallas, Steward currently operates 33 hospitals across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005558/en/

Contacts

Josephine Martin

josephine.martin@steward.org
TISAX's AL3 standard further positions STRADVISION as an excellent partner providing unparalleled reliability in the level of information security

The achievement spurs STRADVISION's focus on global business expansion, including the European market

SEOUL, South Korea, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- STRADVISION , an automotive industry pioneer in deep learning-based vision perception technology, has received the highest assessment level (AL3) of TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange), covering the highest requirements of various assessment objectives.

STRADVISION Receives European Automotive Industrys Top Information Security Management Standard, TISAX AL3

TISAX's assessment is an important information security entry permit for the German auto supply chain. It shows that STRADVISION has reached the optimal standard in the European automotive industry to provide safe and reliable services to OEM customers across the region and globally.

TISAX was jointly developed in 2017 by VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) and ENX (European Network Exchange) as an information security and exchange platform for the automotive industry. Based on the VDA's information security assessment requirements in 2017, TISAX is committed to promoting automotive industry suppliers (including parts manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers) to meet the information security requirements of different relevant parties (particularly automakers). This ensures that TISAX's assessment results can be recognized, exchanged, and trusted widely to reduce the high cost of repeated automaker inspections.

"STRADVISION's OEM customers, especially in Europe, tend to require strict security-related standards when selecting parts suppliers," STRADVISION COO and USA CEO Sunny Lee said. "This is especially true when considering the global standards and ESG framework by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Our strategy is to expand our presence in global markets, including Europe, based on unique technology and top-notch security management capabilities."

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The assessment of STRADVISION was conducted on-site by DQS, a world-renowned TISAX assessment provider, who visited STRADVISION's data center, development center, production center, and offices to observe multiple aspects of the company's information security. This included information collection, storage, and processing, as well as work equipment, IT systems, and related contractors. Through the strict audit process, STRADVISION obtained the top level of TISAX labeling, including a "Very High" capability of handling information with high protection needs. The achievement for STRADVISION follows their prior obtaining of ISO information security management system certification (ISO/IEC 27001:2013), and demonstrates that STRADVISION's information security management system has met the optimal requirements of the European automotive industry.

STRADVISION also recently became a member of both the VDA and CLEPA (European Association of Automotive Suppliers) and has opened new offices in Friedrichshafen and Dusseldorf, Germany. In addition, the company's proprietary SVNet software was once again selected as the 'Best-in-Class Software for Perception Systems' during the 2022 AutoSens Awards in Brussels, Belgium.

About STRADVISION

Founded in 2014, STRADVISION is an automotive industry pioneer in artificial intelligence-based vision perception technology for ADAS. The company is accelerating the advent of fully autonomous vehicles by making ADAS features available at a fraction of the market cost compared with competitors. STRADVISION's SVNet is being deployed on various vehicle models in partnership with OEMs; can power ADAS and autonomous vehicles worldwide; and is serviced by over 300 employees in Seoul, San Jose, Detroit, Tokyo, Shanghai, Friedrichshafen, and Dusseldorf. STRADVISION has been honored with Frost & Sullivan's 2022 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award, the Gold Award at the 2022 and 2021 AutoSens Awards for Best-in-Class Software for Perception Systems, and the 2020 Autonomous Vehicle Technology ACES Award in Autonomy (software category). In addition, STRADVISION and its software has achieved TISAX's AL3 standard for information security management, as well as being certified to the ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management Systems and ISO 26262 for Automotive Functional Safety.

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SOURCE StradVision
Stockholm, Sweden - (NewMediaWire) - May 1, 2023 - (King NewsWire) - SweSolution, a global market player in online trading, is committed to delivering professional and reliable services to traders worldwide. The company aims to empower traders with the right tools, knowledge, and support to succeed in their trading pursuits. The famous international online broker, announces its commitment to providing professional and reliable services to traders around the globe.

With access to over 500 tradable instruments from 6 asset classes, including stocks, Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, and commodities, SweSolution's platform is designed to offer convenience and customization. The platform can be accessed from any type of device and is customizable to match the trader's preferred trading instruments. The platform also comes with a wide range of charting tools and technical indicators to help analyze the markets more effectively. SweSolution's user-friendly platform and exceptional customer service make trading accessible to traders of all experience levels.

SweSolution's success is built on diversity, flexibility, transparency, and open, reasonable pricing structures. The company places great emphasis on creating long-lasting relationships with its clients and providing them with the resources they need to succeed.

"SweSolution aims to enable traders with access to the global financial markets, empowering them to achieve their financial aspirations," expressed a spokesperson for the company. "Our unwavering commitment to providing reliable and professional services is aimed at helping traders succeed in their trading endeavors."

The CFD WebTrader platform is available to traders, offering a quick and convenient way to access the financial markets. No downloads are required, and traders can access the platform anytime, anywhere. With SweSolution's support and resources, traders can trade with confidence and enjoy the benefits of their trading endeavors.

Story continues

As a rising global player in the online brokerage industry, SweSolution recognizes that trading can be a daunting task for beginners in the financial world. In recognition of this fact, the company has developed a wide range of educational resources and support options, designed to guide traders of all levels through the complexities of the financial markets with confidence.

As a leading online broker, SweSolution takes pride in offering transparent and fair pricing structures that benefit traders of all levels. Their competitive pricing model allows traders to access the global financial markets without any hidden costs or surprises. The company is committed to maintaining the highest standards of security and regulatory compliance.

SweSolution invites traders, from novices to experts, to register for a free trading account now and harness the power of the global financial markets. The SweSolution platform is available to all traders and provides the resources needed to succeed in today's financial markets.

About the Company:

SweSolution is an international online broker providing access to over 500 tradable instruments from 6 asset classes for retail and institutional investors. The company places great emphasis on diversity, flexibility, transparency, and open, reasonable pricing structures to provide a reliable and professional service that helps traders reach their financial goals.

Disclaimer

Trading Foreign Exchange (Forex) and Contracts For Differences (CFDs) is highly speculative, carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Users may sustain a loss of some or all of their invested capital, therefore, they should not speculate with capital that they cannot afford to lose. They should be aware of all the risks associated with trading on margin.



Media Contact

Organization: SweSolution

Contact Person: Boris Rangelov

Website: https://swe-solution.com/sv/home-sv/

Email: support@swe-solution.com

City: Stockholm

Country: Sweden
WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / TDG Gold Corp. (TSXV:TDG) (the "Company" or "TDG") is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate1 ("MRE") incorporating the results of its 2022 Phase 2 drill program at the former producing Shasta gold-silver ("Au-Ag") mine. The key outcomes were increased grade, increased contained ounces and a substantial improvement of the classification of the mineral resources. An updated technical report will be filed on the Company's website and SEDAR within 45 calendar days of this disclosure.

Highlights: 2023 Expanded & Upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate (see Table 1; below for details)

Indicated Mineral Resource of 514.8 thousand ounces ("koz") gold equivalent ("AuEq" 2 ) grading 1.27 grams per tonne ("g/t") AuEq 2 , contained within 12.6 million metric tonnes ("Mt").

Inferred Mineral Resource of 496.3 koz AuEq 2 grading 1.00 g/t AuEq 2 , contained within 15.4 Mt.

Increased cut-off grade for new base case scenario: 0.4 g/t AuEq 2 cut-off grade ("COG") versus the 0.3 g/t AuEq 2 COG used in 2022 MRE 1 .

MRE expanded to include the Cayley-Rainier zone to the south (Figure 1) .

MRE pit outline extends to within 100 m of the Newberry exploration target zone 3 (Figure 1) .

MRE shows continuity and consistency , with an increased COG having relatively minor impact on the pit-constrained AuEq 2 ounces.

Shasta deposit remains open at depth and along strike (see TDG news release March 20, 2023).

MRE does not include any of the Greater Shasta-Newberry3 satellite exploration target zones.

Fletcher Morgan, TDG's CEO, commented: "TDG has systematically expanded and upgraded the confidence in the Shasta deposit over the past two field seasons with ~13,250 metres of drilling. The Shasta deposit remains open along strike and at depth, with further potential for grade improvement and conversion of currently unclassified material contained within the mineral resource limiting pit to mineral resources through additional drilling.

Story continues

In parallel, as we have previously disclosed, our technical team has outlined potential at Greater Shasta-Newberry for one or more additional Shasta scale deposits. Given the Shasta deposit's proximity to our existing infrastructure (consisting of the Baker mill, mine road, tailings storage facilities, mining leases and permits), we are keen to show that the project can continue to grow rapidly through targeting these satellite exploration target zones for drilling."

TDG Gold Corp., Monday, May 1, 2023, Press release picture

*Notes to the MRE table:

The Mineral Resource estimate has been prepared by Sue Bird, P.Eng., an independent Qualified Person. The effective date of the mineral resource estimate is February 11, 2023. Mineral Resources are reported using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards and were estimated in accordance with the CIM 2019 Best Practices Guidelines, as required by NI43-101. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves. These Mineral Resource estimates include Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration. The Mineral Resource has been confined by a "reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction" pit using the following assumptions, which were estimated from comparable projects: Au price of US$1,800/oz, Ag price of US$20/oz at an exchange rate of 0.75 US$ perCDN$; 99.8 % payable Au; 95.0 % payable Ag; US$4.25/oz Au and US$1.53/oz Ag offsite costs (refining, transport and insurance); a 1.5 % NSR royalty; and uses a 94.8 % metallurgical recovery for Au and 77.2 % recovery for Ag; Mining costs of CDN$2.56/tonne mineralized material, CDN$2.40/tonne waste, CDN$1.8/tonne overburden; Processing Costs of CDN$12/tonne and G&A of CDN$5.00/tonne processed; Pit slopes of 45 degrees. The resulting NSR equation is: NSR (CDN$) = 75.67*Au Grade*0.948 + 0.74*Ag Grade*0.772 The resulting AuEq equation is: AuEq = Au + Ag*0.008 The bulk density of the deposit is based on 2021 & 2022 measurements and is 2.61 throughout the deposit and 2.00 for overburden. The QP is not aware of political, environmental, or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Resources. Numbers may not sum due to rounding.

Figure 1: Shasta Plan Map with MRE Pit Outline.

Overview

Following the release of the initial Shasta MRE1 in 2022 (see TDG news release May 17, 2022), TDG completed a second drill campaign of 5,034 m of HQ oriented diamond drilling in 21 drillholes. This Phase 2 program focused on infill drilling to upgrade the resource classification and additional drilling to step out and test for down dip/plunge extensions to the mineralized envelope. TDG also re-assayed all 2021 drill core with greater than detection concentrations of Au after a potential low bias was detected during data quality analysis (see TDG news release August 29, 2022). This work, in addition to re-modelling, has resulted in a MRE that has upgraded a significant portion of the mineral resource into the Indicated category and has added blocks outside of the original mineral resource model into the Inferred mineral resource. Exploration has also helped to identify target areas3 for potential future mineral resource expansion and reclassification in subsequent drilling (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - 2022 MRE1 vs. 2023 MRE Visual Comparison.

Mineral Resource overview

The Shasta deposit mineral resource database consists of 384 drillholes with 18,526 assay intervals from 1983 through 2022. This represents 37,474 metres ("m") of assayed intervals at an average interval of 1.3 m per assay interval. Approximately 50 % of all assayed interval lengths of core used in the mineralized domains is comprised of TDG's modern, HQ diameter, oriented, diamond drill core from 2021 and 2022. The remaining assay intervals from the mineralized domains are from historical4,5 drilling. All data used for the mineral resource estimate has been validated statistically to show no significant bias, either by twinned drillholes in 2021 or through statistical comparison of historical4,5 data with TDG drilling using Point Validation. Historical drilling has also been validated by field validation of collar locations.

Two mineralized domains (Figure 3) were generated based on: (i) the major north-south Shasta fault system as well as, (ii) the northwest trending, sub-vertical JM zone. The block model (Figure 4) has a 5 m x 5 m x 5 m selective mining unit, with interpolation of Au and Ag calculated by Inverse Distance Cubed ("ID3"). The interpolations were limited by the domain boundaries and were clipped to the overburden surface. Historical mine workings4 were removed from the in-situ mineral resource estimate.

There are no other known factors or issues that materially affect the MRE other than normal risks faced by mining projects in the province of British Columbia, Canada, in terms of environmental, permitting, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, and political factors and additional risk factors as listed in the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" section below.

Mineral Resource growth potential

The Shasta mineral resource area (Figure 5, hatched area) is open at depth and along strike. This provides TDG with potential to increase the mineral resource outside of the current MRE pit extent in addition to potentially converting unclassified blocks that may be mineralized within the MRE pit between the two dominant mineralized trends (Shasta & JM). The expansion potential includes: (i) down-dip further west in the Creek/Shasta zone (see TDG news release February 21, 2023); (ii) east of the JM zone toward the Hood and Fisher zones3 (see TDG news release February 28, 2023); (iii) south of the JM pit where approximately 700 m of strike length is demonstrated to be mineralized but sparse drilling and poor assay density suggests potential to upgrade material within the MRE pit (see TDG news release February 7, 2022); (iv) further south beyond the Cayley-Rainer zone where soil geochemistry, historical4 trenching, outcrop mapping and ground geophysics suggest the anomalous trend continues; and, (v) north towards Newberry where the edge of the MRE pit is < 100 m from the edge of the Newberry exploration zone3 (see TDG news release February 28, 2023).

The Greater Shasta exploration target area3 (Figure 5) comprises ~256 hectares ("ha") of prospective exploration ground of which the Shasta mineral resource area accounts for only 43 ha. The other ~213 ha represents road-connected, highly prospective exploration ground with potential for the discovery of additional epithermal Au-Ag style mineralization in close proximity to the defined Shasta mineral resource area. During 2022, TDG focused grassroots exploration efforts on recompilation and targeting outside of the Shasta mineral resource area (Figure 1). This included a comprehensive data review led by key TDG consultant, Chris Dail, in addition to field exploration which included geological reconnaissance, ground geophysics and soil geochemistry (see TDG news release September 13, 2022). This work resulted in the defining of four high priority, drill-ready targets within the Greater Shasta target area3 (Figure 5) and the rediscovery' of the Newberry target, the southern extent of which lies within 100 m of the Greater Shasta target area3 and is also drill-ready (Figure 5). These targets have similar geological, geochemical, geophysical and structural characteristics to the Shasta deposit (see TDG news releases April 03, 2023 and April 06, 2023) and present an opportunity to discovery and define additional mineralization in close proximity to the Shasta deposit.

Steven Kramar, TDG VP Exploration, commented: "Through our extensive data recompilation exercise, we have now defined multiple high priority target zones within the Greater Shasta-Newberry exploration target area of which the Shasta deposit is the first that we have drill tested. A pattern that is starting to emerge is the potential for these individual higher priority' target zones to coalesce into what we hope will become a single, larger target. We have seen this with the Cody Lee zone, which has been expanded to the edge of the Hood zone. We have also seen this with the Fisher and Hood zones appearing to intersect east of the Shasta deposit and showing features that could suggest further connectivity into the Shasta deposit itself at the JM zone.

Within the 256 ha Greater Shasta area, all target zones lie within 1 kilometre of the Shasta MRE pit outline and almost the entirety of the Greater Shasta area is interconnected by historical exploration roads and trails. The potential to discover additional Shasta-sized deposits within the Greater Shasta-Newberry target area is a priority for our proposed future exploration programs."

Figure 3 - Shasta Deposit Domain Model.

Figure 4 - Shasta Deposit Resource Block Model.

Figure 5 - Greater Shasta-Newberry Project Area showing Shasta & Exploration Target zones3.

Forward Plan

In order to continue to upgrade and expand the Shasta MRE, and in anticipation of progressing towards a preliminary economic assessment ("PEA"), TDG plans to:

Integrate TDG's improved geological model using lithogeochemistry and detailed core logging from the 2021 and 2022 drill campaigns. The geology at Shasta is multifaceted, with alteration and hydrothermal brecciation often masking distinguishing features of primary lithology. TDG has employed modern lithogeochemical techniques to investigate: (i) if the volcanic/volcaniclastic facies of the Shasta deposit imply a distinct geochemical fingerprint'; and, (ii) if there is a grade sensitivity based on lithogeochemical rheology. Improved understanding of controls on mineralization could further improve confidence in the MRE and provide tools for targeting additional mineralization. Reconfirm historical4 collar locations using Differential GPS ("DGPS"). A comprehensive program of high-precision DGPS to confirm/reconfirm as many historical4 collars in the Greater Shasta area3 as possible with a higher degree of precision than previously completed. This effort will modernize the Greater Shasta database (including the Shasta resource area) to a precision better than 50 cm; assisting with future exploration and vein location/orientation investigations. Such data are not expected to have a material impact on the current MRE but could improve understanding of controls on, and continuity of, mineralization. Undertake Detailed surveying of historical4 underground development. Utilizing DGPS, TDG will survey the historical4 portals to a precision better than 50 cm and access the underground workings to tie high precision modern DGPS coordinates with modern survey data. This will enable location of the historical4 underground workings to a certainty level of < 1 m and allow better control on future drilling from surface by providing a 3D view of the Shasta epithermal vein system and improve confidence in interpolation of mineralization. Complete the vein-orientation study and link this to the lithogeochemical/lithological analysis. TDG has two drill campaigns of high density oriented large (HQ) diameter core drilling around the Shasta deposit. Most of these cores are oriented and are undergoing vein orientation analysis which, combined with the lithogeochemical work, should assist in understanding the dominant orientations of veins/vein arrays that contain the highest precious metal concentrations. This could further improve confidence in the MRE and enhance vectoring of higher grade internal mineralized trends. Undertake additional drilling of the known open extensions of the mineralization. The Shasta deposit is open at depth and along strike (see TDG news release March 20, 2023). Drilling additional potential extensions of the known mineralized system could produce an increase in the overall Shasta mineral resource. Areas of interest have been identified within and adjacent to the proposed pit outline where drill density and assay data are currently sparse, but mineralization appears to persist; for example, between JM/Shasta zone and Cayley-Rainier zone(Figure 1). This area is within the mineral resource limiting pit and, as such, any mineralization encountered could positively impact a future MRE by increasing mineralized blocks and converting in-situ waste to mineralized tonnes, thus reducing the implied strip ratio. Exploring Greater Shasta-Newberry as a larger mineralized system. Exploration and drilling at Greater Shasta-Newberry offers the potential to increase understanding of the epithermal system and presents the opportunity to make one or more additional Shasta-sized discoveries for potential inclusion within a larger, updated MRE.

Geological Interpretation

The Shasta property is underlain predominantly by a succession of feldspar, quartz, biotite and hornblende crystal-rich pyroclastic and epiclastic rocks within the Toodoggone volcanics. In the Shasta deposit area, these rocks have been informally termed the basal series, the pyroclastic series and the epiclastic series based on differences in composition and depositional environments. In general, the epiclastic/volcaniclastic rocks occur to the west and north of the Shasta deposit whereas the pyroclastic rocks host the mineralization and underlie most of the area immediately south and east of the Shasta deposit. The structure on the Shasta property is dominated by north-northwest trending normal and/or dextral block faulting where tilting and rotation of the fault blocks is gentle, and the structural fabrics/breaks control the initial emplacement and/or displacement of the Au-Ag mineralization.

Geology of the Shasta deposit is a succession of rocks derived from volcanic activity and periods of quiescence with subsequent active weathering of volcanic slopes. Rocks hosting the Shasta deposit can be summarized as lapilli-ash tuffs, lapilli-block tuffs with minor ash-flows, lava flows and associated epiclastic rocks. Rocks within this succession can be cryptic to identify with alteration, mineralization and hydrothermal brecciation masking protolith identification. While compositional rheology within these units is likely associated with vein development, comprehensive investigations utilizing modern lithogeochemical techniques aided by high-density drilling has never been completed (see Forward Plan).

The Shasta deposit is a low sulphidation epithermal multiphase quartz-carbonate stockwork/ hydrothermal breccia vein deposit (quartz-adularia type) endowed by significant Au-Ag mineralization. The deposit consists of multiple overlapping high-grade quartz-calcite stockwork/breccia systems that display similar characteristics, occurring as narrow curviplanar breccias that pinch and swell with variable alteration and vein intensity over known strike lengths > 1,000 m, in addition to a lower grade halo' of mineralized rocks hosting Au-Ag mineralization proximal to the high-grade breccias.

Mineralization is dominantly native gold, silver, electrum and acanthite associated with finely disseminated grey sulphides and coarser grained pyrite. Mineralization is associated within quartz and calcite, with higher grades associated with higher proportions of calcite/quartz ratios. While rocks from the Shasta deposit can be strongly altered and/or silica flooded, alteration (potassic, chloritic, phyllic and propylitic) visual wallrock alteration intensity does not appear to be indicative of precious metal concentrations and geochemical methods are better utilized. Au:Ag ratios range from 1:10 (i.e. 1 g/t Au per 10 g/t Ag) to 1:100 with a deposit average of about 1:45.

The Au-Ag mineralization of the Shasta deposit is structurally controlled along two dominant trends, the Shasta/Creek zone and the JM zone. The two trends encompass most of the historically4 mined mineral resources during past mining efforts. The Creek/Shasta zone strikes approximately 180, dips moderately to the west, and has a strike extent of at least 800 m. The JM zone strikes approximately 330, dips steeply to the east, and has a strike extent of at least 1,000 m. Both zones have an interpreted shallow northern plunge, with the attitude of the structures producing an inverted "V" shape geometry converging in the north and diverging to the south.

The Au-Ag mineralization crosses lithological boundaries. The Shasta/Creek zone mineralization may be associated with the Shasta fault, and the high-grade core' of the mineralized envelope approximates the attitude of the Shasta fault for a significant portion of the strike length. While the Shasta fault is likely post-mineral, the north-northwest trend of the Shasta fault (and regional structures) and associated lithological units are continuous along the western portion of the Shasta deposit, and therefore modelling economic grade along these trends (i.e. lithological and mineralization) is appropriate to use as the primary basis of the 3D modelling. The JM zone has been interpreted as a fracture system with internal hydrothermal brecciation and has a consistently mapped attitude and trend of the high-grade mineralization (core) across significant distance of strike length. The improved lithological model demonstrates continuity across a significant portion of strike length, and thus the same methodology is applied to modelling as the Shasta/Creek zone. Geological downhole structural data (faults) were utilized to assist in the generation of the 3D Shasta domain model.

Data Verification

TDG followed industry standard Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") protocols for the 2021 and 2022 drill programs by inserting blind certified reference materials ("CRMs"), field duplicates and blanks into the sample stream of core samples at sufficient proportions to primary core samples. QA/QC is maintained internally at the lab through rigorous use of internal CRMs, blanks, and duplicates.

If a QA/QC sample returns an unacceptable value an investigation into the results is triggered and, when deemed necessary, the samples that were tested in the batch with the failed QA/QC sample are re-tested.

The drill cores from 2021 and 2022 drilling were delivered to the core shack at TDG's Baker Mine site, and processed by geologists who inserted QA/QC samples into the sampling sequence. The drill core was cut in half (1/2 HQ core) and placed in zip-tied polyurethane bags, then in security-sealed rice bags before being delivered directly from the Baker Mine site to Bandstra Transportation Systems in Prince George, B.C., enroute to either:

SGS' laboratory in Burnaby, B.C., for preparation and analysis of 2021 drillcore samples. Samples were prepared and analyzed following procedures summarized in Table 2, where information about methodology can be found on the SGS Canada Website, in the analytical guide (here). ALS' preparation facility in Kamloops, B.C., and ultimately to the ALS' laboratory in North Vancouver, B.C., for 2021 drillcore samples. Samples were prepared and analyzed following procedures summarized in Table 2, where information about methodology can be found on the ALS Global website, in the analytical guide (here).

Table 2 - 2021 & 2022 Assay Methodology

Year Lab Method (Au) Method (Ag) Method (Overlimit - Au) Method (Overlimit - Ag) 2021 SGS GO_FAI50V10 GE_IMS40Q12 N/A GO_ICP42Q100/GO_FAG37V 2022 ALS AU-ICP22 MEMS61 Au-GRA22 Ag-GRA22

Historical4,5 data were verified using Point Validation, by interpolating the Au and Ag grades to locations of the historical4,5 data for comparison. In addition, two of the 2021 drillholes were twins of historical4,5 drilling. Based on these analyses, the historical4,5 drilling for years 1983 to 2006 show no significant bias.

Drill collar validation was completed using handheld (GARMIN GPSMAP64 or equivalent) GPS equipment, selecting a subset of historical4,5 collars to validate positions inherited from the historical4,5 database. In 2022, a DGPS was utilized to further validate historical4,5 collars and rectify locations into modern UTM NAD83 Zone: 9 north coordinate system (from a locally derived mine grid). Collar locations from the 1980/90s era drilling were validated for use in the mineral resource database, whereas drillholes from 2007 & 2010 drill were not able to be validated and were excluded from the mineral resource estimate. It is anticipated that with further effort these excluded drillholes may be recovered after their collars have been located more precisely (see: Forward Plan).

Key Assumptions and Methods Used for the Mineral Resource Estimate

Grade Capping

Cumulative probability plots ("CPPs") for the assays within both domains have been used to determine high grade outliers which were capped (Table 3). CPPs of the composited data (composited at 2 m) have been used to determine the Outlier Restriction during interpolation. Outlier restriction values are applied for distances beyond 5 m from the composite locations.

Table 3 - Capping and Outlier Restriction Values

Assay Capping Values Composite Outliers DOM Au # capped Ag # capped Au # of outliers Ag # of outliers (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) 1 100 1 2000 8 50 2 1000 10 2 50 1 3000 1 50 n/a 1000 2

Variography and Interpolations

Variography was completed on each domain for Au and Ag to determine appropriate search parameters. Interpolation has been done by ID3 in 4 passes with increasing search distances up to 150 m for the major and minor axes. The modelled grades have been validated using de-clustered composites (Nearest Neighbour or Polygonal model) and indicate no global bias with appropriate smoothing throughout the grade-tonnage curves.

Classification of Mineral Resource Criteria

Volumes of the mineral resource that contained 2021 and/or 2022 drilling data with an average distance between two drillholes of 50 m (or less), were considered Indicated. The mineral resource was assigned to Inferred for all other blocks interpolated, with a Au grade.

Cut-off Grade

The COG was selected using AuEq2 to cover, as a minimum, the processing and G&A costs and to account for the metallurgical recovery, smelter terms and royalties. In 2022, the base case COG was 0.3 g/t AuEq2 which approximates the marginal economic COG; and in the current, 2023 resource estimate the base case COG is assigned at 0.4 g/t AuEq2, a 29 % increase in COG, improving the quality of the MRE.

Preliminary Metallurgical Analysis

TDG performed preliminary metallurgical analysis (see TDG news release May 02, 2022) for select cores drilled in 2021. Direct cyanidation achieved extraction percentages of 84.7 % to 96.4 % for Au, and 69.1 % to 80.5 % for Ag; flotation testing delivered recoveries to concentrate of 94.3 % and 98.0 % for Au, and 88.4 % and 96.0 % for Ag; and flotation concentrate regrinding and cyanidation delivered recoveries of 87.7 % to 94.8 % for Au, and 64.8 % to 77.2 % for Ag. The metallurgical results are in line with the historical4 mill records at the time when ore from Shasta was last processed at the Baker mill (2012) and these results were utilized in the MRE calculation to help guide potential metal recovery scenarios.

Qualified Persons

The geologically related technical content of this new release has been reviewed and approved by Steven Kramar, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for TDG and a Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

The technical information relating to the mineral resource estimate has been prepared by Sue Bird, P.Eng. (Moose Mountain Technical Services) a Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and who is independent of TDG.

1Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE): All scientific and technical information relating to the TDG's Shasta Project pertaining to the Initial Mineral Resource Estimate ("Initial Shasta MRE") contained in this news release is derived from the Technical Report dated June 30, 2022 (with an effective date of May 16, 2022) titled "NI 43-101 Resource Estimate for the Shasta Deposit" (the "2022 Technical Report") prepared by Sue Bird, MSc., P.Eng. of Moose Mountain Technical Services. The information contained herein in respect of the Initial Shasta MRE is subject to all of the assumptions, qualifications and procedures set out in the 2022 Technical Report and reference should be made to the full text of the 2022 Technical Report, a copy of which has been filed with the securities regulators in each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) and is available on www.sedar.com.

2Gold Equivalent (AuEq): Gold Equivalent (AuEq) is used for illustrative purposes, to express the combined value of Au and Ag as a percentage of Au on an in-situ basis. Calculations are uncut and recovery is assumed to be 94.8% for Au and 77.2% for Ag, with an Au price of US$1,800/oz and an Ag price of US$20/oz (based on price of gold trends over the past approximately three years), giving a resulting AuEq equation: AuEq = Au + Ag*0.008. Actual prices and recoveries (following metallurgical test work) may differ from these assumptions, which would change the ratio.

3Mineral Exploration/Exploration Target Area(s): TDG is a mineral exploration focused company and the Company's Projects are in the mineral exploration stage only. The degree of risk increases substantially where an issuer's properties are in the mineral exploration stage as opposed to the development or operational stage. Exploration Targets and/or Exploration zones are speculative and there is no certainty that any future work or evaluation will lead to the definition of a mineral resource.

4Historical Data: This news release includes historical information that has been reviewed by TDG's qualified person ("QP") and the independent resource QP. The historical drillholes assay values and collar locations that were used in the MRE have been validated by the independent resource QP. Review of the historical records and information reasonably substantiate the validity of the information presented in this news release. However, TDG cannot directly verify the protocols utilized in the collecting of the historical data, including (but not limited to) the procedures used for sample collection and analysis. TDG encourages readers to exercise appropriate caution when evaluating these data and/or results.

5Historical Drill core Sampling & Assay Methodology: Historical core was geologically logged with lithologies identified and notable geological features recorded. Historical core was cut in half (and in rare cases sawn in half) along sample intervals (lithology and mineralization dependant) generally less than 3 m. Chemical analysis was performed dominantly for precious metal analysis (Au and Ag), and infrequently for base metals (Pb, Zn and Cu), and rarely for major elements and trace elements. Historically, different commercial laboratories were utilized in addition to an assay lab at Baker Mine site. These lab facilities may or may not have had accreditation and in all cases accreditation (if applicable) pre-dated current ISO standards. Over that period, a variety of digestion and assay methods were used, including atomic absorption, fire assay atomic absorption, aqua regia atomic absorption and aqua regia ICP with varying detection limits. Reference materials (if any) were inserted at the analytical level and thus were unblind to the facility processing the samples.

About TDG Gold Corp.

TDG is a major mineral and placer tenure holder in the historical Toodoggone Production Corridor of north-central British Columbia, Canada, with over 23,000 hectares of brownfield and greenfield exploration opportunities under direct ownership or earn-in agreement. TDG's flagship projects are the former producing, high-grade gold-silver Shasta, Mets and Baker mines, which are all road accessible, produced intermittently between 1981-2012, and have over 65,000 m of historical4,5 drilling. The projects have been advanced through compilation of historical4 data, new geological mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys and, at Shasta 13,250 m of modern HQ drill testing of the known mineralization occurrences and their potential extensions. In May 2022, an initial Mineral Resource Estimate was published for Shasta (see TDG news release May 17, 2022) and which has been updated in this current news release. In January 2023, TDG defined a larger exploration target area adjacent to Shasta (Greater Shasta-Newberry; see TDG news release January 25, 2023) with drill-ready targets where TDG aims to undertake follow-up exploration activities in 2023.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fletcher Morgan

Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

TDG Gold Corp.,

Telephone: +1.604.536.2711

Email: info@tdggold.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.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "expand", "demonstrate", "hope", "continue" "potential", "prospective", "discover", "priority", "drill-ready", "opportunity", "anticipate", "progress", "expected", "impact", "intersect", "connectivity", "discover", and variations of these words as well as other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "could", "may", "would" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current and planned exploration activities; the potential to expand the Shasta MRE beyond its current limits and to convert unclassified material within the MRE-limiting pit to mineral resources; the interpretation of the Fisher and Hood Zones as representing a potential mineralized trend, and the potential for extensions to the Fisher and Hood Zones; the interpretation that the Greater Shasta-Newberry Target Area represents a larger mineralized system encompassing several target zones and the potential that such zones may represent additional Shasta-like deposits; the results of planned geophysical and geochemical studies planned for 2023; the results of re-logging and resampling of historical4,5 core; the ability to further improve confidence in the Shasta MRE and the potential for, and timing of, a larger, updated MRE; conclusions of future economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in grades of mineralization and/or future actual recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; the availability of sufficient funding on terms acceptable to the company to complete the planned work programs; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

SOURCE: TDG Gold Corp.





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Workers Demand American Automobile Association Get Serious About Bargaining

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 665 members who work as insurance sales agents at the American Automobile Association of Northern California, Nevada & Utah (AAA-NCNU) overwhelmingly voted down a contract proposal made by the organization.

International Brotherhood Of Teamsters. (PRNewsFoto/International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

"These workers voted overwhelmingly to reject this agreement because of the proposed concessions," said Tony Delorio, Local 665 Secretary-Treasurer. "No Teamster working at AAA-NCNU will accept any reduction in compensation in an agreement. AAA needs to make a good-faith proposal that includes an increase in performance compensation, greater job security, and a cost of living adjustment."

AAA will be facing a hearing later this month at the National Labor Relations Board for over a dozen unfair labor practice charges for related to union-busting and bargaining in bad faith. AAA has been gradually eliminating positions and shifting the work to a call center in Utah since workers voted to join Local 665 two years ago. In addition to branch closures and unreasonable contract proposals, AAA-NCNU has stopped all hiring in the bargaining unit and harassed union supporters.

"We're standing strong because we need guarantees on our job security and compensation package," said Clinton Ward, a AAA sales agent and bargaining committee member. "It's time AAA management get serious about bargaining a fair contract."

Teamsters Local 665 represents over 5,000 members throughout the Bay Area in a wide variety of industries. For more information, go to teamsters665.org/.

Contact:

Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877

mmcquaid@teamster.org

Cision

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 665
TORONTO, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Think Research Corporation (TSXV: THNK) ("TRC" or the "Company"), a company focused on transforming healthcare through digital health software solutions, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with an arm's length third party pursuant to which the Company has agreed to issue C$100,000 in common shares in the capital of TRC ("TRC Shares") at a per-share price of $0.3814, which is equal to the 10-day volume-weighted average price of TRC Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The total number of shares to be issued is 262,192. The Company may issue up to C$450,000 in additional TRC Shares in equal quarterly instalments over a two-year period, at a per-share price equal to the 10-day volume-weighted average price of TRC Shares on the TSXV on the relevant payment date. The Company may elect to pay any portion of the C$450,000 in cash, in its discretion. The TRC Shares will be issued in order to resolve a contractual dispute dating back to 2019, which the Company believes is in its best interest to settle. As part of such settlement, the parties have exchanged mutual full and final releases, and the counterparty has provided the Company with a voting support agreement. The shares for debt settlement remains subject to approval by the TSXV. The TRC Shares issued pursuant to the shares for debt settlement will be subject to a four month hold period which will expire on the date that is four months and one day from the date of issuance.

Think Research Corporation Logo (CNW Group/Think Research Corporation)

About Think Research Corporation

Think Research Corporation is an industry leader in delivering knowledge-based digital health software solutions. The Company's focused mission is to organize the world's health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. Its evidence-based healthcare technology solutions support the clinical decision-making process and standardization of care to facilitate better health care outcomes. The Company gathers, develops, and delivers knowledge-based solutions globally to customers including enterprise clients, hospitals, health regions, healthcare professionals, and / or governments. The Company has gathered a significant amount of data by building its repository of knowledge through its network and group of companies.

Story continues

Think licenses its solutions to over 14,200 facilities for over 320,000 primary care, acute care, and long-term care doctors, nurses and pharmacists that rely on the content and data provided by Think to support their practices. Millions of patients and residents annually receive better care due to the essential data that Think produces, manages and delivers.

In addition, the Company collects and manages pharmaceutical and clinical trial data via its BioPharma Services subsidiary. BioPharma Services is a leading provider of bioequivalence and Phase 1 clinical research services to pharmaceutical companies globally. Think's other services include a network of digital-first primary care clinics and medical clinics that provide elective surgery. Visit www.thinkresearch.com

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may be identified by statements including words such as: "believe", "expect," "likely," "may," "to be," "could,", "would," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional. Statements including forward-looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the receipt of TSXV approval and the number of TRC Shares being issued for debt.

Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. The Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information include, among others, the risk factors described under the heading "Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information" in the Company's Management's Discussion & Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . The Company has assumed that the risk factors referred to above will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

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.

For more information: https://www.thinkresearch.com/ca/investors/

SOURCE Think Research Corporation

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The National Automotive Styling Centers franchise will introduce their line of window tint, custom audio solutions and more to drivers in western Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tint World Automotive Styling Centers, a leading auto accessory and window tinting franchise, announces the opening of its new location in Agoura Hills, California.

Tint World Automotive Styling Centers, a leading auto accessory and window tinting franchise, announces the opening of its new location in Agoura Hills, California.

Owned and operated by Habib and Melody Golshayan, Tint World Agoura Hills will serve drivers and auto enthusiasts throughout western Los Angeles County and offers premium automotive aftermarket performance and style accessories and services, including the industry's most reliable window-tinting solutions.

"Melody and I were seeking a reliable, proven path into owning a franchise, and Tint World's award-winning franchisee support system, training and robust marketing made them the easy choice for us," Habib said. "We look forward to delivering an industry-leading catalog of products and services to Agoura Hills and the surrounding cities, and we're confident that drivers will love and trust our expert team of technicians that will install performance upgrades, security systems, ultra-premium window tint, Nano Ceramic Coatings and more."

Tint World Agoura Hills, located at 30601 Canwood St Ste B, Agoura Hills, California 91301, serves Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Malibu, Oak Park, Newbury Park, Woodland Hills, Camarillo, Cornell and Simi Valley. To book an appointment, request a quote, or find out more about the store and its products and services, call (818) 459-9314 or visit https://www.tintworld.com/locations/ca/agoura-hills-127/.

"We're thrilled to continue our growth in California as we welcome Habib and Melody into the Tint World family," said Charles J. Bonfiglio, president and CEO of Tint World. "This power couple is committed not just to success in franchising but to excellent customer service and delivering the best aftermarket automotive solutions that our proven franchise system provides to the communities around Agoura Hills. Thanks to our innovative, worldclass franchisee support, Tint World owners like Habib and Melody can stand out from the competition and have the edge they need to succeed."

Story continues

Tint World Automotive Styling Centers offer sales and installation of auto accessories, mobile electronics, audio video equipment, security systems, custom wheels and tire packages, window tinting, vehicle wraps, paint protection films, detailing services, nano ceramic coatings, maintenance and repair services, and more. Tint World is also the leading provider of residential, commercial and marine computerized window tinting and security film services with locations throughout the U.S. and abroad, with franchise opportunities available worldwide.

About Tint World

Founded in 1982, Tint World Automotive Styling Centers is America's largest and fastest-growing automotive accessories and window tinting international franchise, specializing in window tinting, protective films, vehicle wraps, audio and electronics, security systems, car and truck accessories, wheels and tires, detailing and ceramic coating, and installation services.

Tint World Mobile Services include marine, residential, and commercial window tinting films, solar films, decorative films, safety and security films, and protective ceramic coatings. Tint World has locations in the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, with master franchise opportunities available worldwide. To find out more, please visit www.TintWorld.com or https://www.tintworld.com/franchise-opportunities .

TINT WORLD CONTACT:

Charles J. Bonfiglio, CEO

(888) 944-8648

info@tintworld.com

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/tint-world-expands-presence-in-california-with-new-franchise-in-agoura-hills-301811206.html

SOURCE Tint World
SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

SkyQuest's Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics market report provides actionable insights for individuals interested in valuable data, trends, and opportunities in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the report is produced and published 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, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics market size is expected to reach USD 77.52 billion by 2030 and exhibit a CAGR of 17.54% in the forecast period (20222030), according to Skyquest's latest research report. The growing Development of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things has accelerated the growth of digital transformation spending in the logistics sector for a number of significant businesses and organizations.

Government Subsidies and Incentives to Promote the Use of Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics

At a global scale, trends such as automation, the use of blockchain and cloud computing, and augmented reality are promoting the growth of digital transformation in logistics. The use of automation technologies such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and drones is increasing in the logistics industry. These trends of various technological advancements help to increase efficiency, reduce labor costs, and improve safety.

In Europe, the European Union has launched the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF) to facilitate cooperation and coordination among logistics sector stakeholders and promote digital technology adoption. These initiatives and others like them could potentially have a massive impact on future digital transformation spending in the logistics market.

Get a sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/digital-transformation-spending-in-logistics-market

Story continues

Real-time Location System Device Type Demand to Grow Substantially in the Forecast Period

Real-time Location System Device Type dominated the global market as it uses various wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS to track and locate assets in real time. It is often used for indoor tracking, warehouse management, and supply chain optimization.

Software is the Leading Solutions Segment

In terms of solutions, the software segment is the leading segment due to the demand to handle large customer requests. In addition, the process of orders, finding necessary products, handling sales and moving the product to the shipment location where it will be shipped within the set time has significantly controlled the industry.

North America and Asia-Pacific are the leading Market Due to the Growth in E-commerce Market

Region-wise, Asia-Pacific is one of the largest growing markets with a huge emphasis on the e-commerce market. In North America, the US government has launched several initiatives to promote the adoption of digital technologies in logistics. For example, the US Department of Transportation has launched a Smart City Challenge, which aims to improve transportation efficiency and safety through digital technologies.

Additionally, the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing due to the factors such as rapid economic growth, increasing consumer demand for e-commerce and government initiatives to modernise logistics infrastructure.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/digital-transformation-spending-in-logistics-market

Browse in-depth TOC on "Hydrogen Pumps Market"

Pages - 211

Tables - 91

Figures - 75

Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics Market Report Suggests:

The global market size is projected to grow by 77.52 billion by 2030 owing to technological advancements.

In terms of solutions, the software segment dominates due to the demand to handle large customer

In terms of device type, the Real-time location device type segment is projected to gain more popularity due to the demand for various software

North America and Asia Pacific are leading markets and will continue to exhibit dominance in the global market mainly due presence of major market players

Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics Market Segmentation:

The global Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics market report is segmented based on solution type, application, and region.

By Solution Type

Software

Transportation management systems (TMS)

Warehouse management systems (WMS)

Supply chain planning and execution software

Visibility and tracking software

Analytics and optimization software

Other logistics software (e.g. fleet management software, yard management software, etc.)

Hardware

RFID tags and readers

Sensors and IoT devices

Automated material handling equipment (e.g. conveyors, sorters, AGVs, etc.)

Robotics and automation systems

Other logistics hardware (e.g. barcode scanners, GPS devices, etc.)

By Application

Automotive

Consumer goods and retail

Food and beverage

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Oil and gas

Others (e.g. construction, chemical, etc.)

By Region

North America

U.S

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

UK

Spain

RoE

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Rest of Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

RoLA

Middle-East and Africa

South Africa

GCC Countries

Rest of MEA

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/digital-transformation-spending-in-logistics-market

Digital Transformation Spending in Logistics Market Major Company Profiles:

Amazon

DHL

FedEx

UPS

Maersk

C.H. Robinson

XPO Logistics

Deutsche Post

Kuehne + Nagel

DB Schenker

Agility

Expeditors International

Nippon Express

Panalpina

GEODIS

CEVA Logistics

DSV

Damco

Yusen Logistics

Kerry Logistics

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Cybersecurity Mesh Market

Global Spatial Computing Market

Global Smart Warehousing Market

Global Metaverse In Automotive Market

Global Community Engagement Platform Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter




Canadian National Railway Company

MONTREAL, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that Unifor has ratified its collective agreements with the Company. The collective agreements cover approximately 3,000 CN employees working in various departments such as Mechanical, Intermodal, Facility Management, and in clerical positions in Canada.



We are pleased that Unifor members have ratified these agreements. Despite the diverse crafts represented by this union, we have been successful in improving alignment on our path forward to deliver better and safer service.

-- Tracy Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer, CN

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. CNs network connects Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through a 18,600-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

Contacts :

Media Investment Community Jonathan Abecassis Stacy Alderson Senior Manager Interim Assistant Vice-President Media Relations Investor Relations (438) 455-3692 (514) 399-0052 media@cn.ca investor.relations@cn.ca








Company Logo

Dublin, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Today's U.S. Electric Power Industry, Renewable Energy, ISO Markets, and Power Transactions" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

If you want to better understand the U.S. electric power industry and the different ways power is bought and sold, this in-depth seminar is for you.

This program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry; the many industry topics listed below; ISO day-ahead energy auctions, and detailed examples of how physical and financial (virtual) power transactions, power purchase agreements (PPAs), tolling, and heat rate deals are done.

Each part of this complex industry will be explained piece by piece, and then the pieces will be integrated so that you will leave the seminar with an understanding of "how it all fits together."

Who Should Attend:

Among those who will benefit from this seminar include energy and electric power executives; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators; engineers; and corporate planners.

Types of companies that typically attend this program include energy producers and marketers; utilities; banks & financial houses; industrial companies; accounting, consulting & law firms; municipal utilities; government regulators and electric generators.

What You Will Learn

The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc (pre-seminar reading material)

The electric service system, and how it works

The structure and function of the North American power grids.

How control areas and balancing authorities function to "keep the lights on."

The pros, cons, and levelized costs of different types of electric generation

Fundamentals of utility cost-of-service regulation, open access markets

Why utilities sometimes resist renewable energy, distributed energy resource (DER"), rooftop solar, and conservation projects.

The various industry participants are and what their roles are.

Federal vs state regulatory conflicts, and why restructuring today's power industry and the building new power lines is such a complicated task.

The difference between regulated and merchant high voltage power lines, and what FERC market-based transmission rates are.

The structure and functions of ISOs, RTOs, the Western Energy Imbalance Market ("WEIM"), and the new Southeast Energy Exchange Market ("SEEM").

How ISO day-ahead energy auctions work, and how they add value to the power industry

What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why LMP is used

What demand response ("DR"), distributed energy resources ("DER"), and battery energy storage systems ("BESS") are, and how these resources can be aggregated to form virtual power plants.

The challenges and opportunities facing wind energy, solar, batteries, demand response, and DER and other renewables.

Why understanding generation reserve margin, forward capacity markets, capacity payments, resource adequacy, and California's "FRACMOO" is important.

A summary of today's key industry issues and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the interconnection queues, renewable energy, and the building of new transmission lines.

The difference between auctions and bilateral bulk power markets

Introduction to bilateral energy and electricity markets: Important concepts and terminology

The difference between brokers, ICE OTC, futures exchanges, market-makers, traders, and power marketers, and how they add value.

Four different ways to manage price, price spread, and asset development risk.

The fundamentals of bilateral physical power transactions and important deal-making terminology.

How power marketers and traders use "seller's choice" to create virtual trading hubs.

The standard industry contracts used for physical and financial power transactions, how to buy transmission service using OASIS, how to schedule delivery using NERC tags, and how financial "book-outs" work. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Financial power contracts, commodity swaps, CFDs, FTRs. CRRs, and ISO Incs, Decs, and virtual/convergence bidding. Includes examples

How financial power contracts work in combination with ISO day-ahead energy auctions to create a win/win situation, and why few power marketers or traders ever go to physical delivery within and ISO footprint.

How power marketing is done within an ISO location, how power can be "transported" virtually, NITS, TAC, UCAP, and ancillary services charges, and how FTRs, CRRs, and swaps can help hedge basis risk. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

The different types of heat rates and spark spreads, and why they are important.

The difference between power purchase agreements ("PPAs") and "Tolling Deals." Includes detailed Appendix and deal Term Sheet.

The magic of how heat rate transactions can be used to hedge electricity risk and structure profitable deals. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Story continues

Agenda

DAY ONE

The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc (pre-seminar reading material)

The electric service system, and how it works

The structure and function of the North American power grids.

How control areas and balancing authorities function to "keep the lights on."

The pros, cons, and levelized costs of different types of electric generation

Fundamentals of utility cost-of-service regulation, open access markets

Why utilities sometimes resist renewable energy, distributed energy resource (DER"), rooftop solar, and conservation projects.

The various industry participants are and what their roles are.

Federal vs state regulatory conflicts, and why restructuring today's power industry and the building new power lines is such a complicated task.

The difference between regulated and merchant high voltage power lines, and what FERC market-based transmission rates are.

The structure and functions of ISOs, RTOs, the Western Energy Imbalance Market ("WEIM"), and the new Southeast Energy Exchange Market ("SEEM").

How ISO day-ahead energy auctions work, and how they add value to the power industry

What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why LMP is used

What demand response ("DR"), distributed energy resources ("DER"), and battery energy storage systems ("BESS") are, and how these resources can be aggregated to form virtual power plants.

The challenges and opportunities facing wind energy, solar, batteries, demand response, and DER and other renewables.

Why understanding generation reserve margin, forward capacity markets, capacity payments, resource adequacy, and California's "FRACMOO" is important.

A summary of today's key industry issues and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the interconnection queues, renewable energy, and the building of new transmission lines.

DAY TWO

The difference between auctions and bilateral bulk power markets

Introduction to bilateral energy and electricity markets: Important concepts and terminology

The difference between brokers, ICE OTC, futures exchanges, market-makers, traders, and power marketers, and how they add value.

Four different ways to manage price, price spread, and asset development risk.

The fundamentals of bilateral physical power transactions and important deal-making terminology.

How power marketers and traders use "seller's choice" to create virtual trading hubs.

The standard industry contracts used for physical and financial power transactions, how to buy transmission service using OASIS, how to schedule delivery using NERC tags, and how financial "book-outs" work. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Financial power contracts, commodity swaps, CFDs, FTRs. CRRs, and ISO Incs, Decs, and virtual/convergence bidding. Includes examples

How financial power contracts work in combination with ISO day-ahead energy auctions to create a win/win situation, and why few power marketers or traders ever go to physical delivery within and ISO footprint.

How power marketing is done within an ISO location, how power can be "transported" virtually, NITS, TAC, UCAP, and ancillary services charges, and how FTRs, CRRs, and swaps can help hedge basis risk. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

The different types of heat rates and spark spreads, and why they are important.

The difference between power purchase agreements ("PPAs") and "Tolling Deals." Includes detailed Appendix and deal Term Sheet.

The magic of how heat rate transactions can be used to hedge electricity risk and structure profitable deals. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.





Speakers:



John Adamiak

President

PGS Energy Training



John Adamiak is President and Founder of PGS Energy Training and an expert in energy derivatives and electric power markets. Mr. Adamiak is a well-known and highly effective seminar presenter who has over 20 years experience in the natural gas and electric power industries. His background includes 15 years as a seminar instructor, 9 years of energy transaction experience, and 6 years of strategic planning and venture capital activities. John's academic background includes an M.B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.







For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lnjyqb

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




Company Logo

Dublin, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Today's U.S. Electric Power Industry, Renewable Energy, ISO Markets, and Power Transactions" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

If you want to better understand the U.S. electric power industry and the different ways power is bought and sold, this in-depth seminar is for you.

This program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry; the many industry topics listed below; ISO day-ahead energy auctions, and detailed examples of how physical and financial (virtual) power transactions, power purchase agreements (PPAs), tolling, and heat rate deals are done.

Each part of this complex industry will be explained piece by piece, and then the pieces will be integrated so that you will leave the seminar with an understanding of "how it all fits together."

Who Should Attend:

Among those who will benefit from this seminar include energy and electric power executives; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators; engineers; and corporate planners. Types of companies that typically attend this program include energy producers and marketers; utilities; banks & financial houses; industrial companies; accounting, consulting & law firms; municipal utilities; government regulators and electric generators.

What You Will Learn

The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc (pre-seminar reading material)

The electric service system, and how it works

The structure and function of the North American power grids.

How control areas and balancing authorities function to "keep the lights on."

The pros, cons, and levelized costs of different types of electric generation

Fundamentals of utility cost-of-service regulation, open access markets

Why utilities sometimes resist renewable energy, distributed energy resource (DER"), rooftop solar, and conservation projects.

The various industry participants are and what their roles are.

Federal vs state regulatory conflicts, and why restructuring today's power industry and the building new power lines is such a complicated task.

The difference between regulated and merchant high voltage power lines, and what FERC market-based transmission rates are.

The structure and functions of ISOs, RTOs, the Western Energy Imbalance Market ("WEIM"), and the new Southeast Energy Exchange Market ("SEEM").

How ISO day-ahead energy auctions work, and how they add value to the power industry

What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why LMP is used

What demand response ("DR"), distributed energy resources ("DER"), and battery energy storage systems ("BESS") are, and how these resources can be aggregated to form virtual power plants.

The challenges and opportunities facing wind energy, solar, batteries, demand response, and DER and other renewables.

Why understanding generation reserve margin, forward capacity markets, capacity payments, resource adequacy, and California's "FRACMOO" is important.

A summary of today's key industry issues and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the interconnection queues, renewable energy, and the building of new transmission lines.

The difference between auctions and bilateral bulk power markets

Introduction to bilateral energy and electricity markets: Important concepts and terminology

The difference between brokers, ICE OTC, futures exchanges, market-makers, traders, and power marketers, and how they add value.

Four different ways to manage price, price spread, and asset development risk.

The fundamentals of bilateral physical power transactions and important deal-making terminology.

How power marketers and traders use "seller's choice" to create virtual trading hubs.

The standard industry contracts used for physical and financial power transactions, how to buy transmission service using OASIS, how to schedule delivery using NERC tags, and how financial "book-outs" work. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Financial power contracts, commodity swaps, CFDs, FTRs. CRRs, and ISO Incs, Decs, and virtual/convergence bidding. Includes examples

How financial power contracts work in combination with ISO day-ahead energy auctions to create a win/win situation, and why few power marketers or traders ever go to physical delivery within and ISO footprint.

How power marketing is done within an ISO location, how power can be "transported" virtually, NITS, TAC, UCAP, and ancillary services charges, and how FTRs, CRRs, and swaps can help hedge basis risk. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

The different types of heat rates and spark spreads, and why they are important.

The difference between power purchase agreements ("PPAs") and "Tolling Deals." Includes detailed Appendix and deal Term Sheet.

The magic of how heat rate transactions can be used to hedge electricity risk and structure profitable deals. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Story continues

Key Topics Covered:

DAY ONE

The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc (pre-seminar reading material)

The electric service system, and how it works

The structure and function of the North American power grids.

How control areas and balancing authorities function to "keep the lights on."

The pros, cons, and levelized costs of different types of electric generation

Fundamentals of utility cost-of-service regulation, open access markets

Why utilities sometimes resist renewable energy, distributed energy resource (DER"), rooftop solar, and conservation projects.

The various industry participants are and what their roles are.

Federal vs state regulatory conflicts, and why restructuring today's power industry and the building new power lines is such a complicated task.

The difference between regulated and merchant high voltage power lines, and what FERC market-based transmission rates are.

The structure and functions of ISOs, RTOs, the Western Energy Imbalance Market ("WEIM"), and the new Southeast Energy Exchange Market ("SEEM").

How ISO day-ahead energy auctions work, and how they add value to the power industry

What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why LMP is used

What demand response ("DR"), distributed energy resources ("DER"), and battery energy storage systems ("BESS") are, and how these resources can be aggregated to form virtual power plants.

The challenges and opportunities facing wind energy, solar, batteries, demand response, and DER and other renewables.

Why understanding generation reserve margin, forward capacity markets, capacity payments, resource adequacy, and California's "FRACMOO" is important.

A summary of today's key industry issues and where the U. S. electric power industry is headed, including a discussion of the interconnection queues, renewable energy, and the building of new transmission lines.

DAY TWO

The difference between auctions and bilateral bulk power markets

Introduction to bilateral energy and electricity markets: Important concepts and terminology

The difference between brokers, ICE OTC, futures exchanges, market-makers, traders, and power marketers, and how they add value.

Four different ways to manage price, price spread, and asset development risk.

The fundamentals of bilateral physical power transactions and important deal-making terminology.

How power marketers and traders use "seller's choice" to create virtual trading hubs.

The standard industry contracts used for physical and financial power transactions, how to buy transmission service using OASIS, how to schedule delivery using NERC tags, and how financial "book-outs" work. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Financial power contracts, commodity swaps, CFDs, FTRs. CRRs, and ISO Incs, Decs, and virtual/convergence bidding. Includes examples

How financial power contracts work in combination with ISO day-ahead energy auctions to create a win/win situation, and why few power marketers or traders ever go to physical delivery within and ISO footprint.

How power marketing is done within an ISO location, how power can be "transported" virtually, NITS, TAC, UCAP, and ancillary services charges, and how FTRs, CRRs, and swaps can help hedge basis risk. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

The different types of heat rates and spark spreads, and why they are important.

The difference between power purchase agreements ("PPAs") and "Tolling Deals." Includes detailed Appendix and deal Term Sheet.

The magic of how heat rate transactions can be used to hedge electricity risk and structure profitable deals. Includes detailed step-by-step transaction examples.

Speakers:



John Adamiak

President

PGS Energy Training



John Adamiak is President and Founder of PGS Energy Training and an expert in energy derivatives and electric power markets. Mr. Adamiak is a well-known and highly effective seminar presenter who has over 20 years experience in the natural gas and electric power industries. His background includes 15 years as a seminar instructor, 9 years of energy transaction experience, and 6 years of strategic planning and venture capital activities. John's academic background includes an M.B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.



For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6o36ev

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




Ms Yellen urged Congress to act as soon as possible to provide "long-term certainty that the government will continue making its payments.

The US government could default on its debt obligations by June unless Congress increases how much it can borrow, Janet Yellen has warned.

The US Treasury Secretary said on Monday that President Joe Bidens administration would run out of cash to pay all of its debts as early as June 1 unless the borrowing limit was lifted or suspended.

The warning comes as President Biden faces pressure to reach an agreement with Republicans on the debt ceiling - the legal limit for how much the US can borrow to pay its bills.

It means breaking a deadlock with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has made trillions of dollars in government spending cuts over the next decade a condition of raising the ceiling.

Ms Yellen urged Congress to act as soon as possible to provide "long-term certainty that the government will continue making its payments.

In a letter to Congressional leaders, Ms Yellen wrote: We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States.

If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.

However, Ms Yellen noted that it is impossible to predict with certainty when exactly the US will run out of cash.

This could be a number of weeks later than the start of June estimates, depending on how long until the Treasury exhausts its ability to finance the government using extraordinary measures.

The Treasury has employed these extraordinary measures to ensure the government met its debt obligations since reaching its current borrowing cap of $31.4 trillion (25.14 trillion) in January.

This included using special accounting tools to borrow additional funds without breaching the debt ceiling, such as suspending investment in some federal employees pension accounts.

Story continues

If the US government is unable to borrow funds, it would be forced to rely solely on tax receipts to pay its bills.

On Monday, the US government announced plans to increased borrowing between April and June because of lower-than-expected tax receipts, higher spending and a smaller cash balance at the start of the quarter. It will borrow $726bn during the quarter, which is $449bn more than projected in January.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has since estimated that there is a significantly greater risk that the government will default in early June after collecting lower-than-expected tax receipts during April.

The federal agency previously estimated that the Treasurys extraordinary measures would be exhausted between July and September.
ViaSat-3 Americas en route to geostationary orbit; on target for service launch mid CY 2023

CARLSBAD, Calif., May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced the successful launch of ViaSat-3 Americas aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: SpaceX

ViaSat-3 lifted off yesterday at 8:26 pm EDT, and approximately four hours and thirty two minutes after liftoff, the satellite separated from the launch vehicle. First signals from the satellite were acquired approximately 15 minutes later through a ground station in South Korea. In the coming days, ViaSat-3 will deploy its solar arrays and drift to its final orbital location. Viasat expects it will take less than three weeks for ViaSat-3 to reach its final orbital destination, located at 88.9 west longitude.

Mark Dankberg, Viasat's chairman and CEO commented, "Today's successful launch of ViaSat-3 Americas opens a new chapter in Viasat's growth. This first Americas satellite will multiply our available bandwidth, and enable faster speeds and more coverage - especially for our mobility customers. It's not just a new satellite, it's a new way to build broadband satellites. Thanks so much to all our people, and our partners, for their commitment and dedication to getting this done."

About ViaSat-3

The ViaSat-3 class of Ka-band satellites are capable of delivering over 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of throughput capacity each, with dynamic flexibility to move and concentrate that capacity where it's most needed - whether it's on land, in the ocean or in the air. The first two satellites are planned to focus on the Americas and on EMEA, respectively, and the ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite is now in environmental testing in Boeing's El Segundo, California factory. The third ViaSat-3 satellite has completed final payload integration and testing at Viasat's Tempe, Arizona facility and will focus on the Asia Pacific region, completing Viasat's global service coverage.

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For more information on the ViaSat-3 constellation, visit: https://www.viasat.com/about/viasat-3/

For press resources, please visit: news.viasat.com/newsroom/press-resources

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include among others, statements about the performance, capabilities and anticipated benefits of the ViaSat-3 class satellites, including projected bandwidth economics, coverage and flexibility; the process and timing of bringing the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite into service; and the construction and testing of the ViaSat-3 EMEA and ViaSat-3 APAC satellites. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: risks associated with the construction, launch and operation of the ViaSat-3 class satellites, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the ViaSat-3 satellite platforms; unexpected expenses or delays related to the satellite system; the ability to successfully implement Viasat's business plan for broadband services on Viasat's anticipated timeline or at all, including with respect to the ViaSat-3 satellite platforms; contractual problems, product defects, manufacturing issues or delays; regulatory issues; technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; and increased competition and other factors affecting the connectivity sector, generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in Viasat's SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including Viasat's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.

About Viasat

Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they areon the ground, in the air or at sea. To learn more about Viasat, visit: www.viasat.com, go to Viasat's Corporate Blog, or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

Copyright  2023 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat signal are registered trademarks of Viasat, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Viasat logo

Cision

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Vision Energy Corporation

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vision Energy Corporation (OTC:VENG) (Vision Energy or the Company) is pleased to provide a Corporate and Project Development Update.



Vision Energy recently announced results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. Our investments in partnerships, coupled with our expanding development team and accelerated development process has proven to be effective in attracting new partners and expanding existing relationships, said Andrew Hromyk, Chief Executive Officer.

2022 Fiscal Year Highlights:

VoltH2 Dutch Subsidiaries Sale, Resulting in $11.25 MM injection of Cash from sale proceeds to paid in capital as part of stockholders equity

Acquisition of Evolution Terminals B.V. inclusive of 14 H.A. Development Site strategically located at the mouth of the Westerschelde Estuary to the North Sea in the Netherlands, and with access to rail, road, sea and major gas and power infrastructure

Engagement of Linde Engineering to accelerate engineering development with an Industry Leader

Secured an additional 2 H.A. of land contiguous to existing 14 H.A.

Expansion of Project Management and Development Team



Project Development Highlights Q1 2023

Evolution Terminals B.V., the Companys wholly owned subsidiary, is continuing to make significant progress in advancing its Green Energy Hub development project in the North Sea Port of Vlissingen, the Netherlands.

In January 2023, the Company concluded the development of an Integral Fire Protection Plan (known as the IPB) based on the design principals of the Evolution Terminals facility. The IPB will be further supplemented throughout the remaining development phases of the project.

In February 2023, soil sampling and stability testing on both the seabed and onshore was initiated and is now concluded for the foundations of the new jetty and onshore storage tank infrastructure.

In March 2023, the Companys Project Management Team engaged several external consultants and specialists over two separate workshops to carry-out a detailed risk, hazard, and operability study to produce a HAZID report. The HAZID examines the design and operational characteristics of the future facility and is a risk identification study for supporting final design. The objective of the study was to identify safety and potential environmental risks and to determine and implement safeguarding and control measures to mitigate any risks identified.

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Permits

The definitive Environmental Permit application was submitted in Q1 2023. The Construction Permit application for the initial phase (Phase 1a) of the Companys development plan for Green Ammonia storage and all related infrastructure is in preparation and scheduled for submission within Q2 2023. The Construction Permit application is comprised of inputs and data from all recent studies and basic engineering efforts undertaken for sea, road and rail logistics infrastructure, storage tanks, storage tank foundations, office and workshop buildings and utilities. The Company will submit its Construction Permit application in stages according to the phases of the development plan and with consideration of commercial demand and customer operating requirements.

Engineering

The pre-FEED study that was awarded to Linde Engineering in November 2022 will conclude in May 2023 for Phase 1a Green Ammonia (NH3) infrastructure, which includes 150,000 cbm of ammonia capacity comprising of 5, 30,000 cbm refrigerated bulk storage tanks. The Company will continue in its strategy to parallel-track permitting and engineering efforts to ensure development timelines remain as efficient as practical in response to increasing commercial enquiries for Green Ammonia capacity booking. The Company anticipates awarding a full FEED contract for Phase 1a design shortly after conclusion and delivery of the pre-FEED.

Commercial

The Company is in advanced negotiations with several prospective customers that are seeking to secure storage and throughput capacity to facilitate imports of Green Ammonia into Western Europe from 2026 onwards. In Phase 2 of its development plan, the Company is planning to develop an integrated ammonia back-cracking plant to facilitate the cracking of Green Ammonia to Hydrogen gas, as a service for commercial customers wishing to transport and distribute Hydrogen imported as Ammonia, via the future European Hydrogen Backbone currently in development.

About Vision Energy

Vision Energy Corporation identifies energy commodities and focuses on originating and developing energy infrastructure projects and assets which facilitates the energy transition through low-carbon energy solutions. The Company leverages its experienced team with a vast proven track-record in site procurement, accelerating development permitting, facilities design, engineering studies and project management to deliver an efficient and method driven project development process. Vision pursues commercial relationships and operating partnerships with energy industry participants and off-takers seeking carbon abatement across feedstock and fuels. Vision Energy is committed to providing low carbon energy solutions whilst targeting an attractive investment yield, by utilizing and leveraging existing gas, power, and logistics infrastructure to enable import and or distribution of reduced-carbon energy for domestic and global value chains.

Vision Energy

95 Christopher Columbus Drive,

16th Floor Jersey City, NJ

07302 USA

visionenergy.com

Media Contact

Jarrod Holland

InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)

Phone: 910.431.3322

Jarrod.Holland@InvestorBrandNetwork.com

Investor Contact

Scott McGowan

InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)

Phone: 310.299.1717

ir@visionenergy.com

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as forecast, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and intend, among others. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and actual results could differ materially. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof.




W&T Offshore, Inc.

HOUSTON, May 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) (W&T or the Company) today announced that Dr. Nancy Chang was appointed as a new independent director to the Companys Board of Directors. Dr. Chang will serve as a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and as the chair of the Environmental, Safety and Governance (ESG) Committee. She will stand for election at the Companys upcoming annual meeting of shareholders.



Tracy W. Krohn, W&Ts Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer stated, We are very pleased to welcome Nancy to our Board of Directors. She is a a widely respected and internationally recognized scientist as well as a highly successful senior executive in both the private and public sectors. Nancys impressive prior experience as a member of a number of boards of directors and having served on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Houston will make her a valuable member of our Board. In particular, we believe that Nancys experiences as founder and chief executive officer of a successful, publicly-traded company and one of the largest healthcare-focused investment management firms in the world bring unique perspectives, talents and insights to the Board. We are pleased to further increase the diversity of our Board with Nancys appointment, and provide her the opportunity to lead our ESG Committee where she can use her extensive and varied experience to assist us in our commitment to the highest standards of ESG and corporate governance.

About Dr. Chang

Dr. Nancy Chang is currently serving as a member of the board of directors of Ansun Biopharma, Inc., a clinical late-stage biopharmaceutical company, where she was the Chief Executive Officer from March 2017 until July 2022. In addition to her role with Ansun Biopharma, Inc., she has also served as the Chair and Founder of Apex Capital, an investment management company focused on investments in healthcare, education and socially responsible ventures, since January 2009, and has served as President of the Tang Family Foundation since March 2009. Dr. Chang also served on the board of directors of Helix Acquisition Corp. from October 2020 until April 2022. From 2007 to 2012, Dr. Chang was the Founder, Chair and Senior Managing Director of Caduceus Asia Partners at OrbiMed Advisors L.L.C. Prior to that, Dr. Chang was the Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Tanox, Inc. from 1986 to 2006, where she led the company through an initial public offering in 2000 and growth to a $1 billion public valuation until its acquisition by Genentech Inc. in 2007. From 1980 to 1986, Dr. Chang held several leadership positions at Centocor Biotech Inc., where she served as Director of Research. In addition, Dr. Chang has served on the boards of several other companies, including Charles River Laboratory International, Inc., Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc., Crown Bioscience Inc., Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., BIO, and BioHouston and a number of other private companies. She has also previously served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Houston.

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Throughout her career, she received numerous awards from academic, industrial, national and international organizations. She was named the Most Respected Woman in Biotechnology in 2005, Forbes Twenty-Five Notable Chinese Americans list in 2008 and was the first woman to receive the Biotechnology Heritage Award in 2012. She has published more than 35 papers on topics ranging from monoclonal antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and holds seven patents. Dr. Chang graduated from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and Brown University and received her Ph. D. from the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School in 1979.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer, active in the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2022, the Company holds working interests in 47 offshore fields in federal and state waters (45 fields producing and 2 fields capable of producing, which include 39 fields in federal waters and 8 in state waters). The Company currently has under lease approximately 625,000 gross acres (457,000 net acres) spanning across the outer continental shelf off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, with approximately 8,000 gross acres in Alabama State waters, 458,000 gross acres on the conventional shelf and approximately 159,000 gross acres in the deepwater. A majority of the Companys daily production is derived from wells it operates. For more information on W&T, please visit the Companys website at www.wtoffshore.com.

CONTACT: Al Petrie Investor Relations Coordinator investorrelations@wtoffshore.com 713-297-8024




TULSA, Okla., May 01, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Williams (NYSE: WMB) today announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong will host a virtual Q&A session for shareholders on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Williams will partner with Say Technologies to offer a platform to receive and answer questions from verified shareholders ahead of the webcast.

Armstrong plans to address a selection of top-voted questions from shareholders related to Williams strategy, business and financial performance. The discussion will be moderated by Danilo Juvane, Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG and will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern Time (3 p.m. Central Time).

Starting today, verified Williams shareholders will be able to submit and upvote questions directed to management for response at the event. To submit questions, please visit and register at: https://app.saytechnologies.com/williams-2023-may. The Q&A platform will remain open until 48 hours before the event.

To access the webcast, visit the Events & Presentations section of the Williams Investor Relations website.

About Williams

As the world demands reliable, low-cost, low-carbon energy, Williams (NYSE: WMB) will be there with the best transport, storage and delivery solutions to reliably fuel the clean energy economy. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Williams is an industry-leading, investment grade C-Corp with operations across the natural gas value chain including gathering, processing, interstate transportation, storage, wholesale marketing and trading of natural gas and natural gas liquids. With major positions in top U.S. supply basins, Williams connects the best supplies with the growing demand for clean energy. Williams owns and operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines system wide  including Transco, the nations largest volume and fastest growing pipeline  and handles approximately one third of the natural gas in the United States that is used every day for clean-power generation, heating and industrial use. Learn how the company is leveraging its nationwide footprint to incorporate clean hydrogen, NextGen Gas and other innovations at www.williams.com.

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Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law. Although Williams believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in Williams annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230501005121/en/

Contacts

MEDIA:

media@williams.com

(800) 945-8723

INVESTOR CONTACTS:

Danilo Juvane

(918) 573-5075

Caroline Sardella

(918) 230-9992
CHEYENNE, WY / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2023 / WyHy Federal Credit Union is proud to announce its partnership with GreenPath Financial Wellness, a leading national nonprofit organization, to offer financial counseling, debt management services, and free financial education resources to its members.

WyHy and GreenPath

Through this partnership, GreenPath's certified experts will assess individuals' and families' entire financial picture and identify options that will help them plan for a financially healthy future. This includes providing debt counseling to help manage credit card debt and other consumer debt, foreclosure prevention services, home buyer preparation assistance, renter and reverse mortgage counseling, and student loan counseling.

"Our partnership with GreenPath Financial Wellness will allow us to better serve our members and help them achieve financial success," said Matt Ballou, "We understand that financial stress can impact every aspect of life, and we are committed to providing our members with the resources and support they need to make informed decisions and plan for a bright financial future."

Kristen Holt, President and CEO of GreenPath Financial Wellness, also expressed enthusiasm for the partnership. "As a national nonprofit organization in service for more than 60 years, GreenPath is ready to help those seeking guidance through our team of HUD Certified Housing Counselors and NFCC-certified credit counselors," said Holt. "We are thrilled to partner with WyHy Federal Credit Union to provide free, confidential, and judgment-free counseling to help individuals and families achieve financial wellness at every step of their financial journey."

About WyHy Federal Credit Union

WyHy Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that has been serving Wyoming communities since 1953. With branches in Cheyenne, Green River, Rock Springs, Lyman, and Casper, WyHy is dedicated to providing exceptional financial services and benefits to its members. WyHy offers a wide range of products and services, including savings and checking accounts, loans, mortgages, credit cards, and financial education resources. As a member-owned financial institution, WyHy prioritizes its members' financial success and is committed to providing personalized solutions that meet their unique needs. To learn more visit www.wyhy.org

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About GreenPath

As one of the largest financial counseling agencies in the nation, for more than 60 years, GreenPath Financial Wellness has assisted millions of people with debt and credit management, student loans, homeownership, and foreclosure prevention. Headquartered in Michigan, GreenPath and its affiliates work directly with individuals and 580+ credit union, bank, retirement/insurance and employer partners across the U.S. from more than 20 locations and through phone access and online tools. GreenPath is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation. To learn more, visit www.greenpath.org or call 866-648-8122. Follow the nonprofit on Facebook and Instagram @greenpathfinancial and on Twitter @GreenPath.

Contact Information

Amy Davis

Director of Marketing

adavis@wyhy.org

(307) 638-4290

Matt Ballou

Chief Retail Officer

mballou@wyhy.org

(307) 638-4290

SOURCE: WyHy Federal Credit Union

.





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Debt ceiling watchers have had June 15 circled on their calendars for weeks now as an important date. The crucial question: Will the government have enough in the bank to stay afloat until then?

A new letter from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that her guess is that the answer is no.

"Our best estimate," she said in the letter, "is that we will be unable to continue to satisfy all of the governments obligations by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time."

The letter, released on Monday afternoon and addressed to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is likely to reignite fears in the financial world that an immediate default - and the economic turmoil that it likely to follow - could be just weeks away.

This was Yellen's first update on the closely-watched question since January when she projected the X-date could be exhausted by early June.

Mid-June is an important period for the debt ceiling talks because it's the next time Treasury's coffers will see a sizable influx of money. Taxpayers will be providing the second installment of their estimated taxes for 2023 around that time.

In her letter, Yellen acknowledged that government could still reach that June 15 date, adding that it is possible "the actual date that Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a number of weeks later than these estimates."

As of April 27, the Treasury Departments general account had a closing balance of about $296.2 billion. The balance sheet may improve for a few more days as final April tax returns are processed before beginning a gradual decline.

Experts fear that the balance reaching zero - and the default that would follow - could set off steep declines in markets and likely cause an immediate recession with further economic repercussions being felt around the world.

Other experts see a 'peak danger zone' in July

Monday's letter from Yellen offers a more aggressive estimate than those recently produced by a series of outside analysts who downplay the chances of a June default.

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One of those updated projections came from Wrightson ICAP, a close observer of the billions that flow in and out of the Treasury department every day. The research group is now most focused at this point on late July as the "peak danger zone" for default, according to a new outlook released Monday. Wrightson ICAP still projects a 10-20% chance of default ahead of that June 15 date.

Wrightson ICAP's confidence interval around our June forecasts tightens a little with each passing day, as the scope for surprises narrow, chief economist Lou Crandall tells Yahoo Finance.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen before a speech on the "U.S.-China Economic Relationship" in Washington on April 20. (REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger)

Michael Pugliese, a director and senior economist at Wells Fargo's corporate and investment bank, was also quick to underline that the billions that Treasury balances are exceedingly hard to project with certainty.

They'll probably make it to the end of July but probably is a much different word when we're talking about an accidental default, he noted in an interview, discussing the consequences that could be in store if projections are off.

Experts are also quick to note that even if the government is able to make it past June 15, the government has little to no chance of staying afloat until the end of summer without a deal.

Other closely watched analyses are expected soon from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and from the Bipartisan Policy Center, both of whom are set to release their own estimates in the coming weeks as they take into account a full picture from the recent tax season.

In a statement, Shai Akabas of the Bipartisan Policy Center said the U.S. getting this close to default is "not a position befitting of a country considered the bedrock of the financial system, and only adds uncertainty to an already shaky economy."

The CBO has announced it will weigh in with its updated report on May 12.

Serious harm

In her note, Yellen concluded with a promise to update Congress in the coming weeks and repeated her calls for Congress as soon as possible to increase or suspend the debt limit.

She notes that 2011's debt ceiling standoff led the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade the US credit rating for the first time in history even though policymakers averted a default at the last minute.

"Waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," she wrote.

Yellen also outlined a new "extraordinary measure" - the accounting maneuvers her department can employ to allow the government to stave off a default for only a limited time - in Monday's letter. She announced that Treasury would temporarily suspend the issuance of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) Treasury securities, noting that such a move will "deprive state and local governments of an important tool to manage their finances."

At the moment, lawmakers and the White House remain in a standoff over the issue with House Republicans who passed a bill last week that includes a debt ceiling increase alongside a host of provisions anathema to Democrats. Meanwhile, President Biden demands that lawmakers simply pass a clean increase and negotiate later on other provisions.

Negotiations are expected to resume next week with the White House announcing Monday evening that President Biden had invited Speaker McCarthy to the White House on May 9 for a meeting alongside other Congressional leaders.

This post has been updated.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

Click here for politics news related to business and money

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

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Closed transaction marks the sixth charter school it has funded in New York City

NEW YORK, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce the closing of $20,000,000 in New Market Tax Credit financing to assist the construction of a new 155,000 square foot charter school in the Bronx. This is the sixth charter school that has utilized New Market Tax Credit funding from a New York City Regional Center-managed entity and the fourth in the Bronx. The new school will be home to approximately 1,400 students in grades 9-12 and be run by KIPP NYC, one of the city's leading charter school networks.

New York City Regional Center

The transaction utilized a portion of the $45 million in New Market Tax Credits ("NMTC") awarded in 2022 from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by the New York City Regional Center. To receive a NMTC allocation award, the New York City Regional Center was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low-income communities.

The $20 million in funding will help finance construction of a seven-story educational facility in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. The new building will act as the permanent home of KIPP NYC's second high school program and allow it to serve a total of 2,800 high school students in New York City. Construction is expected to be complete in time for the 2025-2026 school year.

KIPP NYC operates a network of 18 public charter schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, which educates students in kindergarten through grade 12. The charter school network is known for its diverse student body -- close to 100% of students come from minority groups, and approximately 90% of students qualify for federal free or reduced-price lunch. KIPP NYC schools boast a 97% high school graduation rate.

As noted above, this is the sixth charter school whose construction the New York City Regional Center-managed entity has help fund. Previous fundings include:

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$23 million for the DREAM Charter School in the South Bronx





$20 million for Achievement First Linden Middle School in Brooklyn





$18 million for Neighborhood Charter School in the Bronx





$18 million for Promise Academy II in East Harlem





$15 million for Comp Sci High in the Bronx

The NMTC Program was created by Congress in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to capital. Historically, low-income communities often have difficulty attracting investment. The NMTC Program aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Private capital is incentivized by providing federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for making equity investments in low-income neighborhoods.

Since 2016, a New York City Regional Center-managed entity has received five separate NMTC awards from the U.S. Department of Treasury totaling $210 million. These allocations have provided a unique opportunity for the New York City Regional Center to continue its mission of providing financing that creates jobs and stimulates community revitalization in underserved areas of New York City. Previous NMTC capital has gone towards development projects that typically face financing challenges, such as health care centers, schools, and community facilities. These allocations are among the first managed by an EB-5 regional center.

About the New York City Regional Center

The New York City Regional Center ("NYCRC") was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Congress created the EB-5 program to stimulate economic development through foreign investment. The program's mandate is to use foreign investment to spur job creation while simultaneously affording eligible foreign investors the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The NYCRC was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City.

Over the past 15 years, the NYCRC has put over $1.5 billion of EB-5 capital to work across a broad spectrum of infrastructure and real estate projects in New York City. Much of this capital has been invested in underserved areas in need of long-term economic growth. Examples include:

$811 million to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in Brooklyn, including eight projects totaling $383 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard;





$108.5 million to finance ground-up and redevelopment projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone);





$232.5 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in New York City subway stations and along city streets; and,





$220 million to finance ground-up construction in the Bronx.

Twenty-two projects have utilized NYCRC EB-5 financing to assist in the construction of over 3.8 million square feet of new development and renovation as well as infrastructure upgrades.

In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 5,300 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

About the New Markets Tax Credit Program

The NMTC Program assists economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. This federal tax credit helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible. Communities benefit from the jobs associated with investments in manufacturing, retail, and technology. Communities also benefit from greater access to housing and public facilities in health, education, and childcare.

Through the NMTC Program, the U.S. Department of Treasury allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities ("CDEs") through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates, terms, and flexibility than the market.

Since 2001, the NMTC Program has generated $60.4 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses, resulting in the construction of 77 million square feet of manufacturing space, 118 million square feet of office space, and 77 million square feet of retail space.

NYCR-CDE, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Provider.

Cision

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SOURCE New York City Regional Center
Pivotal Phase 3 studies consist of BOSTON-1 and BOSTON-2, both designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of L-CsA-i in patients with BOS following either single or double lung transplantation, respectively

Approximately fifty percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant 1

If approved, L-CsA-i would be the first and only treatment indicated for BOS

MILAN and BOSTON, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zambon, a multinational pharmaceutical company focused on innovating cure and care to improve people's health and the quality of patients' lives, announced today that the Company has completed enrollment in its two pivotal Phase 3 studies. The trials are designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i) for the treatment of BOS in adults following single lung (BOSTON-1) or double lung (BOSTON-2) transplantation.

Zambon (PRNewsfoto/Zambon S.p.A.)

BOS is a rapidly progressive inflammatory rare disease that irreversibly destroys the airways of the lungs and usually leads to respiratory failure and death within two to four years after diagnosis. Unfortunately, approximately 50 percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant, the highest rejection rate of any transplanted organ. Currently, there is no approved treatment indicated for BOS.1

"The completion of enrollment in our Phase 3 BOSTON-1 and -2 studies represents a significant milestone for Zambon and the patient community we aim to serve," said Paola Castellani, chief medical officer and R&D head at Zambon. "On behalf of the Company, we would like to thank the many participants in our Phase 3 clinical program, as well as our study sites and investigators for their commitment. We look forward to reporting top-line results from the program during 2024.

L-CsA-i is a novel, inhaled therapy administered via the optimized investigational eFlow Technology nebulizer system (PARI Pharma GmbH). The BOSTON-1 and -2 studies enrolled a total of 231 patients in Europe, Israel and the United States and had participation from 42 lung transplant centers globally.

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"At Zambon, we are committed to advancing new therapeutic options that have the potential to make lives better for people affected by severe respiratory diseases such as BOS. The completion of enrollment in our pivotal trials brings us one step closer to our goal of bringing a much-needed therapy to the lung transplant recipients worldwide with BOS," said Ilaria Villa, chief executive officer and interim chief operations officer of Zambon.

Zambon is also advancing one additional clinical study, BOSTON-3  an extension study that is open to eligible participants who complete the BOSTON-1 and-2 studies.

L-CsA-i has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency for the treatment of BOS, reflecting the high unmet need of the disease. The Fast Track designation was also granted by FDA. If approved, L-CsA-i would be the first treatment indicated for BOS.

About Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS)

Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), also known as obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), is caused by T-cell mediated inflammation that leads to blockage of bronchioles, the small and medium airways in the lungs, resulting in respiratory failure and death.1 BOS most commonly affects people who have received lung transplant or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT), although it is also associated with autoimmune disease and exposure to environmental contaminants.2,3,4

Approximately 50 percent of lung transplant patients develop BOS within five years post-transplant, the highest rejection rate of any transplanted organ.5

About Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i)

Liposomal Cyclosporine A for Inhalation (L-CsA-i) is a novel liposomal formulation of cyclosporine A developed for inhaled delivery to the lungs. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), like cyclosporine A, are highly potent immunosuppressive drugs and a cornerstone of lung transplant medicine. L-CsA-i is administered via a drug-specific Investigational eFlow Technology nebulizer system (PARI Pharma GmbH). The investigational drug-device combination is designed to deliver L-CsA-i to the site of disease in the lung.

About Zambon S.p.A.

Zambon Spa is a modern multinational pharmaceutical company established in 1906 in Vicenza, whose history is founded on the values of an Italian family committed to innovating cure & care to improve patients' lives. It employs 2,474 people worldwide, is present in 23 countries in Europe, America and Asia, and has production facilities in Italy, Switzerland, China and Brazil. Thanks to its innovative, quality products commercialized in 87 countries, Zambon Spa reported a revenue of 765 million euros in 2022. Alongside the three historical therapeutic areas - diseases of the respiratory system, urinary tract infections and pain treatment  Zambon is focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or rare diseases such as cystic fibrosis, BOS, to which is linked the major 2019 acquisition of Breath Therapeutics, and NCFB. As part of Zambon's ambitious new path, an important role was also played by the agreement with Aquestive Therapeutics to market and distribute in Europe an innovative oral formulation of riluzole for patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

For further information on Zambon please visit www.zambon.com

For more information, please contact:

Zambon S.p.A.

media@zambongroup.com

Zambon USA Media Contact:

Elixir Health Public Relations

Lindsay Rocco

+1 862-596-1304

lrocco@elixirhealthpr.com

1 Chambers DC, et al. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2018;37(10):11691183

2 Weigt, et al. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;34(3):336351.

3 Soubani, AO. Eur Respir J. 2007; 29: 1007-1019.

4 Sheshadri, A, et al. Clin Ther. May 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2022.03.011.

5 Weigt, et al. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;34(3):336351.

Cision

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SOURCE Zambon S.p.A.
SINGAPORE, May 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), a global medical technology leader, today announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire OSSIS, a privately-held medical device company that specializes in personalized 3D printed implants, as well as complex hip replacements, including second-time hip replacements and replacements involving bone tumors and trauma.

OSSIS provides rapid design and production of personalized implants that align with Zimmer Biomet's commitment to providing personalized experiences, with the goal of improving patient outcomes. This acquisition demonstrates Zimmer Biomet's commitment to advancing innovation in the medical technology industry and strengthens the Company's position as a global medical technology leader.

Zimmer Biomet announced in July 2021 an agreement with OSSIS as the Company's Asia Pacific partner for patient-specific 3D-printed titanium hip joint replacements and other pelvic bone replacement surgery. The partnership was expanded to Europe, Middle East, and Africa in December 2022. The acquisition marks the continuation of a successful partnership and will allow Zimmer Biomet to enhance the Company's hip reconstruction product portfolio.

"Combining OSSIS's more than 16 years of clinical experience and engineering expertise with Zimmer Biomet's extensive network across Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa demonstrates our commitment to bring transformative med tech advancements to patients in need," said Sang Yi, Zimmer Biomet Asia Pacific Group President. "We are very pleased to partner with these patients and their physicians as we work toward our mission to alleviate pain and improve the quality of life for people around the world."

"Zimmer Biomet shares our ethos of innovative technology with a strong patient focus, and OSSIS is thrilled to join Zimmer Biomet's established portfolio with cutting-edge solutions and expert capabilities," said Kelvin Hyland, OSSIS Managing Director.

Story continues

About Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet is a global medical technology leader with a comprehensive portfolio designed to maximize mobility and improve health. We seamlessly transform the patient experience through our innovative products and suite of integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence.

With 90+ years of trusted leadership and proven expertise, Zimmer Biomet is positioned to deliver the highest quality solutions to patients and providers. Our legacy continues to come to life today through our progressive culture of evolution and innovation.

For more information about our product portfolio, our operations in 25+ countries and sales in 100+ countries or about joining our team, visit http://www.zimmerbiomet.com or follow Zimmer Biomet on Twitter at https://twitter.com/zimmerbiomet.

Cision

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SOURCE Zimmer Biomet
Despite this year's filibuster-laden travails that have blocked and delayed action on major legislation while burning this session's 90-day legislative clock, senators will be able to address all the major issues still pending before they adjourn, Speaker John Arch of La Vista says.

Tax reduction bills, the two-year state budget package, school aid reform, tax exemptions for donations to private schools, a green light to proceed with construction of a new state prison, voter photo ID legislation, all will be considered before the 2023 legislative session is completed about a month from now.

"And hopefully justice reform along with committee priorities," Arch said during an interview in the speaker's office immediately following the dramatic conclusion of a three-day legislative week.

Just before heading home for a four-day weekend break on Thursday, senators blocked a bill to sharply limit access to a legal abortion in Nebraska, triggering a boisterous celebration in the Capitol Rotunda by abortion rights advocates that echoed through the hallways.

That was a largely unexpected result that probably matched the unique character of this legislative session.

Even though the session-long filibuster sparked by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha to express her determined opposition to a bill (LB574) that would prohibit transgender youth from obtaining puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery has slammed on the brakes, "We will address the big issues in the time remaining," Arch said.

"I think when we're done we can look back and say that we were able to accomplish what we were sent here to do.

"The number of bills passed does not equate to their impact," he said.

"It's the quality of those bills that has far greater impact," the speaker said.

While the Legislature is poised to give the go-ahead to launch construction of a new $350 million state prison, Arch also has his eye on accompanying justice reform.

"The consensus is that we need to do both," he said. "We can do better with how we help incarcerated people move back into society" upon completion of their prison terms.

Arch said "the overriding principle" that has guided him in managing a sharply divided Legislature that has been under what may have been a unique form of stress this year has been to "protect the institution."

"Senators come and go, issues come and go, but the institution must remain and be passed on to future generations," the speaker said.

Undamaged, unharmed, undiminished, secure.

Despite this session's unique filibuster that in effect has been applied to the session itself, Arch said he has resisted calls to quickly change the Legislature's rules and procedures in response to that challenge.

"We can give consideration over the summer as to whether we need to adjust," he said. "We have to make sure that if the filibuster rule is changed, that doesn't stop the minority voice," he said.

"My commitment is to the institution," the speaker said.

"The minority voice must be protected," Arch said. "At some point, we will all be in the minority. We must allow the minority to speak.

"It would be unwise to damage the institution because of the current situation," he said.

"My desire has been to provide a steady hand through our disagreements," Arch said.

Despite the deadlock and the backlog and the stress applied to this session, "we are moving bills," he said.

Arch, a health care administrator who previously had been chairman of the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, was elected speaker in January.

Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023
Syrian president hails China's support for Syria, peacemaking role in Mideast

Xinhua) 08:56, May 01, 2023

DAMASCUS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hailed China's supportive stance toward Syria and its role in solving critical regional issues, including the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation.

Assad made the remarks during his meeting with the visiting China's special envoy on Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, in the capital Damascus on Saturday.

Assad said Syria appreciates China's firm support in issues concerning Syria's national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The president said Syria looks forward to strengthening practical cooperation with China in various fields within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Meanwhile, Assad congratulated China on successfully mediating the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation, saying it will have an important and positive impact on the regional and international situation.

Voicing appreciation for China's positive role in promoting Syria's relations with other Arab nations, Assad said China is welcome to play a greater role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

For his part, Zhai said that in recent years, China-Syria relations have continued to develop, and political mutual trust has been continuously enhanced, stressing that China is willing to work with Syria to firmly support each other in issues concerning the two countries' core interests, and promote the friendly cooperation between the two sides to achieve new progress.

Zhai noted that Syria's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity should be respected and maintained, urging the United States and the West to lift unilateral sanctions and economic blockade against Syria immediately.

He also called on the international community to sincerely provide humanitarian and development assistance to the Syrian people, noting that China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in improving Syria's relations with Arab countries.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
LONDON  When Camilla, Britain's queen consort, is crowned alongside her husband, the moment will mark the culmination of a remarkable  and painstakingly slow  transformation over five decades of a figure once reviled as the other woman and considered a huge liability to the British monarchy.

With King Charles III's first seven months on the throne under his belt, many in Britain have grown to accept Camilla, though some experts and observers say she will always walk in the shadow of her past.

"Without really trying too hard, but just by giving it time and going gently, gently, she has managed to show people the real person that she is  that she's not this villainess, and that she's there to do the hard work," said Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. "But the most important thing about Camilla is the way she appears to support her husband and back him up."

Tabloids mercilessly tore her apart for years, but Seward said Camilla earned respect by putting her head down and steadily getting on with her duties. She's won over much of the British public with her down-to-earth personality and her charitable work, notably against domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse  causes she says she'll continue to support as queen.

Still, some say she'll never fully shake her reputation as the third person in the marriage between Charles and Princess Diana.

"I would actually argue that she still is the other woman, and probably will remain the other woman," said Arianne Chernock, a professor specializing in modern British history at Boston University. "Diana will very much be a presence in the room in Westminster Abbey on May 6  I think it's hard not to see her when you look at Charles and Camilla."

Camilla Rosemary Shand  born July 17, 1947, to a family with long links with Britain's royal family  reportedly first met Charles at a polo match in 1970, when she was 23. The pair quickly became close but their romance was interrupted when Charles went on naval duty.

In his absence, Camilla married her longtime boyfriend, army officer Andrew Parker-Bowles, in 1973. Charles married Diana in 1981. In the early '90s, Diana went public with her resentment of Charles and Camilla's relationship. The sensational details that followed caused an embarrassing scandal for the royal family.

Camilla and her husband divorced in 1995, shortly after Charles gave an explosive television interview admitting the affair. Charles and Diana divorced the following year. In 1997, Diana died in a car crash; a global outpouring of grief followed.

Camilla and Charles waited until 2005 to marry in a private civil ceremony.

Mindful of lingering public hostility toward Camilla, palace officials cautiously managed her public appearances over the decades. Camilla made dozens of official visits with charities each year, and her warm personality and ease at connecting with people no doubt helped her image makeover; those who've met her often describe her as warm, unstuffy and likeable.

"When you meet her, she doesn't appear to be aloof in any way whatsoever," Seward said. "She's just always the same as she was. And I think this is one probably one of her biggest assets."

Sensitivity about Camilla's status as Charles' second wife long made the question of what title she'd hold when he became king a subject of contention. Queen Elizabeth II settled the matter last year, when she gave the blessing for Camilla to be known as queen consort. That was widely seen as a formal sign that the royal family finally accepted Camilla as a respected senior member.

This past month, Buckingham Palace's official coronation invitations referred to Camilla as "Queen Camilla" for the first time. Queen consorts do not formally share the sovereign's powers, and dropping the "consort" part of the title won't change that. Nonetheless, the change marked another step in Camilla's long road to rehabilitating her image.

However, the change in her title "does not necessarily suggest full public approval," Chernock said. "Camilla, regardless of what she does, will always be divisive."

In March, Camilla dazzled crowds at her first state visit as queen consort, donning a diamond tiara belonging to the Queen Mother and a diamond necklace from Elizabeth II for a state banquet in Berlin.

Her image makeover hit a snag when her stepson, Prince Harry, stirred up old grievances and painted her as a schemer who played "the long game," with a campaign aimed at "marriage and eventually the crown."

In his memoir "Spare" and in interviews promoting the book, Harry accused Camilla of trading private information about him and others to the media as part of a drive to forge friendly relationships with journalists and improve her reputation.

Harry said he and his elder brother, Prince William, urged their father not to marry Camilla but both reluctantly accepted her into their lives.

Camilla's son, Tom Parker Bowles, recently hit back at Harry's claims: "I don't care what anyone says  this wasn't any sort of end game. She married the person she loved and this is what happened."

Camilla rarely speaks about her private life. In an interview with British Vogue last year, she acknowledged she was "scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it."

"Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized," she said. "But I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it."

Photos: William and Harry through the years
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings, killing two people and wounding 40 in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said.

Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital about 3:45 a.m., followed by explosions as Ukrainian defense systems intercepted missiles.

Eighteen cruise missiles were fired from the Murmansk and Caspian regions, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

The head of Kyivs city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didnt provide further details.

The attack follows Friday's launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months.

In that attack, Russian missiles hit an apartment building in Uman, a city about 215 kilometers (135 miles) south of Kyiv, killing 21 people, including three children.

In Monday's attack, missiles hit Pavlohrad, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and wounding 40, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Seven missiles were shot at the city and some were intercepted but others struck an industrial facility, sparking a fire, authorities said. Damage was reported to 24 apartment buildings, 89 homes, six schools and five shops, according to regional authorities.

Missiles also hit three other areas in the Dnipropetrovsk region, damaging residential buildings and a school, said Serhii Lysak, the regions top official.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Monday that Russia conducted a group missile strike with long-range precision-guided airborne and seaborne weapons on facilities of Ukraines defense industry ... all designated facilities were struck.

A Russian-installed official in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, Vladimir Rogov, said the attack hit ammunition and fuel depots in Pavlohrad, which he said would impede Ukraine's planned counteroffensive.

The attacks also damaged Ukraine's power network infrastructure, which will take several days to repair, according to Ukraine's energy minister, Herman Haluschenko. He said that nearly 20,000 people in the city of Kherson and wider region had been left without power, along with others in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.

Anticipating the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian forces are especially focused now on destroying logistical routes and centers of Ukraine's armed forces, southern regional military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk told Ukrainian TV.

Bolstering Ukraine's capabilities for the counteroffensive are recent deliveries of American-made Patriot missiles that improve anti-missile defenses. It was not clear whether any of them were employed in trying to stop Monday morning's attack. In addition, Ukraine has been building up its mechanized brigades with armor supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition.

Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, has come under periodic attack as Zelenskyy has vowed to reclaim it and other occupied territory.

On Monday, Russian officials reported knocking down at least two Ukrainian drones in Crimea, but they didn't make clear whether any had hit their targets. The peninsula is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. On Saturday, two Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil depot in Crimea.

Ukraine doesn't acknowledge responsibility for such attacks.

In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense.

Troops from Russia's Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try to gain control of what has become known as the road of life  the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, critical for supplies and fresh troops.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said Russia continued to exert maximum effort to take the city but so far had failed.

In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions," he said.

In Russia's Bryansk region, which borders northern Ukraine, an explosive device derailed a freight train, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

There were no immediate indications who set off the explosive, but Bryansk has suffered sporadic cross-border shelling during the war. In March, two people were reported killed in what Bryansk officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs.

AP journalist Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.
Colorado Springs is a "great" place for racial minorities to start their own business; they need only take the leap, Eric Phillips said.

So thats what he did.

Phillips started 3Es Comedy Club, downtown Colorado Springs' only comedy venue, during the pandemic.

He wasn't alone. Black-owned businesses swelled to nearly 1.5 million nationwide in summer 2021, a 38% increase from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, according to a Bloomberg News story that quotes data compiled at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Hispanic business ownership, meanwhile, increased slightly compared with Black business ownership, while white and Asian businesses dipped a bit, the University of California research showed, which was based on census data.

Colorado Springs has its share of Black-owned businesses that opened during the pandemic, including 3E's, which seemingly went against the grain by starting during a time of uncertainty.

But Phillips didn't intend to launch his dream business during a pandemic; like everyone else, it wasn't something he ever imagined. It didn't stop him, though.

The entrepreneur is passionate, Phillips said. They're going to work through whatever.

Phillips continues to work through the pandemic's never-ending headaches to nurture an idea he envisioned more than 25 years ago.

He opened his comedy club's doors at 1 S. Nevada Ave. in September 2020. Running a comedy club was natural for him, thanks to his background as a promoter for comedians and his experience in property management.

But the timing posed issues  from finding construction workers amid labor shortages, to dealing with government-mandated capacity restrictions, to struggling to qualify for COVID-19 relief money.

To Phillips, it was worth it because of his love for people and the community.

Educating people, making people laugh, giving people opportunity  those are the things that I enjoy the most, Phillips said. And this is just a part of that, you know, the comedy club is making people laugh and giving comedians (the) opportunity to perform and get better.

People determine the success of a business, Phillips said. Thats why he encourages minorities who want to start their own business to network and create personal relationships.

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Business people have to know you, like you and trust you, Phillips said. ... when you build that relationship, they're willing to come out and help you because entrepreneurs want to see other entrepreneurs succeed.

And that type of support is ripe in a city like Colorado Springs where growing business is a focal point, Phillips said.

For spa and skin care business owner, Giseleine Dogon, she felt that support first-hand.

Dogon began Your Bliss Skin and Body Care, a skin care spa at 2155 N. Academy Blvd., as a college student in 2016 after studying to become an esthetician, or skin-care specialist. Her clientele continued to double every year even during the pandemic.

A good handful of them (clients) did say that they had been looking for specifically Black-owned businesses to continue their skin care and self care journey, Dogon said. So I think labeling my business as such online really helps a bit.

Dogon runs the business while holding other jobs, but found that owning her own business gave her a deeper sense of direction for her life.

During the lockdown months of the pandemic in March and April of 2020, Dogon had to lean on other jobs, such as working at a grocery store, to support herself. Since then, she tried to devise ways to provide her services remotely, but said it is difficult to do as an esthetician.

So, definitely learning to pivot with whatever changes are occurring, especially outside of ourselves and outside of our usual business practices is like the No. 1 thing I learned, Dogon said.

Learning the art of "pivoting" is really what being an entrepreneur is all about, said James Proby, CEO of The Mens XChange, an affordable boutique for mens suits, jackets and ties at 409 N. Tejon St. in downtown Colorado Springs.

Proby has maintained a presence in the Colorado Springs business community for more than 20 years, and believes the pandemic roused people, whether they were Black or not, to pursue careers that better aligned with their values.

Thats why he thinks so many Americans left their jobs, and some found their way to entrepreneurship.

You realize that mortality is real, Proby said. You don't need to wait till tomorrow to start your dreams and live your life.

To support new and established entrepreneurs in communities such as Colorado Springs, Proby said consumers need to focus on shopping, playing and eating at locally owned businesses.

Once individuals break out of the comfort zones of constantly shopping at Kohl's or at Walmart, because they're used to it, and actually look into leaving a space like Bed Bath & Beyond and finding space like Sparrow Hawk (a downtown cookware retailer)," Proby said, "you get a chance to understand a much more different local vibe and flavor and impact.
An Aurora officer lacked proper justification to search a 17-year-old vehicle passenger, and an Arapahoe County judge mistakenly allowed evidence from the search to be used against the teenager, Colorado's second-highest court ruled last month.

During his pat-down of a boy identified by the initials E.J.G., Officer James Snapp uncovered a gun. For possessing a weapon, E.J.G. was later adjudicated delinquent, which is the equivalent for children of finding a defendant guilty. He received a brief sentence of jail plus probation.

A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals, however, concluded Snapp had no legal basis under the Fourth Amendment to search E.J.G. and the two other Black teenagers he pulled over  even if Snapp allegedly smelled marijuana in the car.

"The officer also needed a reasonable belief that E.J.G. was armed and dangerous before searching his person," wrote Judge Anthony J. Navarro in the panel's April 20 opinion. "We conclude that the various circumstances, even in combination, did not support such a reasonable belief."

Just before midnight on Feb. 26, 2020, Snapp saw a vehicle that lacked a headlight and license plate light. The vehicle crossed several lanes when making a turn and Snapp pulled it over. When he saw the three teens inside, it raised his "suspicions," Snapp later testified.

Upon smelling marijuana, Snapp asked if there was any cannabis in the car. The occupants said no and offered to let Snapp search the vehicle. After multiple backup officers arrived, Snapp ordered the teens out of the vehicle and patted them down.

Snapp felt a firearm in E.J.G.'s waistband. E.J.G. admitted he had a gun, then told Snapp he was only 17.

E.J.G. attempted to prevent the gun from being used as evidence against him, arguing Snapp had no information suggesting E.J.G. was armed and dangerous, making the search unconstitutional.

District Court Judge Bonnie McLean disagreed, finding "this is a stop and frisk" to ensure officer safety. She concluded there were "no constitutional violations of the juveniles rights, and that the police conduct did not amount to a seizure implicating the Fourth Amendment."

On appeal, the appellate judges initially noted McLean had relied upon a Colorado Supreme Court case that had little to do with the circumstances of E.J.G.'s police encounter. The panel then turned to the prosecution's reasons allegedly justifying Snapp's suspicion that E.J.G. was armed and dangerous:

 It was late at night

 The vehicle crossed several lanes

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 The area had a high crime rate

 The car's windows were tinted

 Snapp felt outnumbered by the teens

 None of the occupants showed identification

 Snapp smelled marijuana

Navarro ticked through those purported justifications in the opinion, finding them to be largely without merit. Neither tinted windows nor the lateness of the hour necessarily imply someone is armed and dangerous and, in any event, the driver had already opened the door when Snapp first approached to let the officer see inside, Navarro pointed out.

"Moreover, even though Snapp was outnumbered at first, the juveniles followed all of Snapps instructions and were polite and respectful. They made no suspicious or furtive movements during the interaction," he continued.

The fact that E.J.G., as a passenger in the car, did not have identification had no "logical connection" to potentially being armed. Finally, although marijuana possession is illegal in Colorado for those under 21, Snapp did not know E.J.G.'s age until after the pat-down.

"Even if there is sometimes a connection between drugs and weapons," Navarro wrote, the "mere smell of marijuana, which may be evidence of purely legal activity, does not indicate that a person is armed and dangerous  at least where, as here, there is no additional evidence that the person participated in an illegal drug transaction."

The panel deemed Snapp's search unconstitutional and reversed E.J.G.'s juvenile conviction because the gun should have been suppressed as evidence. Other than the gun itself, there was no evidence at trial supporting the weapons possession charge.

The case is People in the Interest of E.J.G.
A former Cripple Creek Police Department detective returned to Teller County District Court after being arrested in December on allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct while on duty and blackmail.

According to an affidavit obtained by The Gazette, 36-year-old Alexander Kenoyer is accused of continued sexual contact with a woman who was an alleged victim of sex trafficking.

Kenoyers defense attorney on Monday told Judge Scott Sells that he and the prosecution had been working on resolving the case through a plea deal, but requested that the hearing be continued to allow both parties more time to reach a disposition.

The prosecution agreed, stating that the parties have been negotiating in good faith but needed more time to reach a deal because of a lot of discovery to go over.

During Kenoyers first court appearance in January, his attorney said the case involved a great deal of tech-related evidence to review. In February, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said agents had discovered further explicit content  possibly from the internet  of women who may have been photographed or filmed without their consent, or who consented but were unaware the content was being shared online.

As a result, the bureau requested that potential other victims come forward against Kenoyer.

According to the affidavit, Kenoyer's encounter with the current known victim began over text message in 2021 and the two first met to have sex at a local hotel in November 2021.

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The affidavit states sexual text messages between the two were intertwined with the woman occasionally asking about her case and for other legal advice. Texts also revealed alleged sexual contact between the two in Kenoyer's office at the Cripple Creek police station and in his police vehicle.

Not long after the relationship ended because Kenoyer refused to leave his wife, the police department and CBI launched a probe into his alleged misconduct.

When the woman spoke with police that month, she told detectives that she was "being blackmailed by Kenoyer" and that she "had been 'coerced and blackmailed' by Kenoyer into writing a letter to Chief Bright stating they 'supposedly didn't have any sex,'" according to the affidavit.

Kenoyer resigned from CCPD in August before the end of his internal affairs investigation, an official confirmed.

He is facing two counts of unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer while on duty and one count of attempt to influence a public servant; all three charges are felonies.

Kenoyer's next hearing is set for June 12, when attorneys will either present a plea deal or the case will be set for trial, Sells said.
When Katharine E. Lum received a ticket for her car accident, she unexpectedly found herself anxious when she showed up to court representing herself, as litigants in legal matters routinely do.

"If I was this nervous as a trained attorney, how must they have felt? Especially folks for whom a traffic fine meant the difference between making rent this month or not," Lum, a judge on Colorado's Court of Appeals, said to her colleagues on Friday.

But, she continued, the judge in her traffic case treated the litigants with dignity and respect, explaining what was happening in plain English and ensuring each person could realistically pay off their fines. To her, that made all the difference.

"We can remember," Lum said, "that what we are writing about is somebodys worst day. Somebody's last chance. Somebodys life."

Lum, the newest member of the 22-judge Court of Appeals, took office in late November. On April 28, she held her formal swearing-in ceremony, known as an investiture, in the presence of friends, family and members of the legal profession at all levels.

In applying to join the bench last year, Lum pointed out she would be in the small minority of Court of Appeals judges who have prior experience handling domestic relations cases, which make up approximately 10% of the court's caseload. Her lengthy resume included pro bono legal work and mediation, criminal appeals, landlord-tenant disputes and expertise in other technical areas, such as forensic accounting and birth defects.

"The enjoyment I derive from learning new fields of study and my ability to absorb them relatively easily is a personality trait and skill that will translate well to a position as a judge on the Court of Appeals," she wrote.

Chief Judge Gilbert M. Roman noted that Colorado's second-highest court made national news last month, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the First Amendment case of Counterman v. Colorado. The justices reviewed a decision directly from the Court of Appeals. The judge who authored it, Craig R. Welling, traveled to Washington, D.C. to witness the arguments in person.

"We do serious and really important work," Roman said.

He also described one of Lum's early experiences as a judge, in which she was set to hear oral arguments as part of a three-person panel. However, shortly before the parties were to arrive, one of the panel members called out unexpectedly and there was no time to get another judge up to speed on the cases. Instead, Roman explained, there was a "policy decision" that  for apparently the first time ever  the Court of Appeals would hold arguments with two judges and allow the absent judge to review the video before deliberating.

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The most senior judge on the panel, John Daniel Dailey, could have described the unusual logistics to the parties, Roman said.

Instead, "he turned to our most junior judge and said, 'Welcome to the court. Please explain to the attorneys what we're doing and why,'" continued Roman. "So she did, and she did an amazing job."

Two of Lum's former colleagues in private practice, Jerremy M. Ramp and Steven C. Lass, described her willingness to adapt to new tasks and to help people facing crisis and uncertainty. They spoke of Lum's house visits to one elderly client, who was unable to use technology, in the early COVID-19 pandemic to ensure he understood legal documents.

During her time leading one of the Colorado Bar Association's diversity, equity and inclusivity committees, Lum helped revise domestic relations court forms to be more sensitive to LGBTQ and nonbinary litigants. Kara Veitch, who is involved in screening judicial applicants for Gov. Jared Polis, cited Lum's volunteer work when describing how she "touched the lives of many" in family law.

Attendees at Lum's investiture learned more intimate details about the judge, including that she is a rock climber, a talented doodler and someone whose sister holds a patent for an invention Lum described as "space rudders."

Lum touched on her experience at the court to date, disclosing that, even when a panel of judges cannot agree on the outcome, judges on opposite sides of the decision will often alert their counterparts to precedent that supports the opposing argument.

She also invoked her former boss, the late Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs Jr., who taught her how to work with collegiality on the "group projects" of writing appellate opinions. She recalled an anecdote of Hobbs, after a difficult legal discussion with his colleagues, saying, "Isn't this the greatest job?"

"I had one of those moments last week," said Lum. "My clerk and I were talking through how we were gonna resolve a pretty complicated, novel issue and this smile came over my face and I thought, 'Justice Hobbs was right.'"

She closed her remarks by describing her time in traffic court and reminding her colleagues that in domestic relations cases, which include matters of divorce and custody, around 75% of litigants do not have an attorney. Lum advocated for judges to be mindful of that imbalance in power and knowledge.

"Even though we cant always address every argument, we can take care not to be dismissive in our tone," she said. "Even though we cannot necessarily construct a winning argument for a self-represented litigant, nor can we reject their contention simply because they cannot articulate it like a lawyer."
A man being contacted by Colorado Springs police about allegations of an home invasion, "made a handgun ready and threatened to shoot at officers," according to the department.

The man, identified as 36-year-old Cordero Caples, is reported to have thrown the handgun on the ground, but did not comply with police orders and was hit with a stun gun. He was taken into custody.

Caples is accused of forcing his way into an apartment in the 300 block of Garhart Drive shortly before 10:32 a.m. on Saturday and pointing a handgun at the occupants, demanding money.

The person who called 911 met officers outside the apartment building, gave officers a description of the suspect. Officers say they observed Caples leaving the property and approached him. That was when Capless is reported to have ducked behind a vehicle and pulled out the handgun.

Media partner KKTV reports that police also said a child and an adult were inside the building during the alleged home invasion. Both individuals were reported safe with no injuries.
In the midst of a nationwide push by parents for more say over whats going on in their schools, Colorado school districts are going the opposite direction, doubling down on secret meetings and backdoor deals and stonewalling urgent requests for information from the very people they are supposed to serve.

If it werent for the efforts of media outlets to force these districts to reveal some of the important discussions and decisions happening behind closed doors, students and parents would be even more in the dark than they are.

The appetite for the truth is so strong right now that Denver Gazette education reporter Nico Brambila has tallied 105 Open Records requests that 22 Denver media outlets have filed for information from Denver Public Schools since March 22. These requests cover everything from public safety plans, weapons seized, incidents of violence and decision-making by board members. Despite the declared public policy of the state "that all public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, we're still waiting to hear back on most of our requests.

Our requests include things Id sure want to know if my son or daughter were in a DPS school:

The text of DPSs current school safety plan for teachers and administrators

The districts policies for Student interrogations, Searches and Arrests

The number of students under a safety plan and being patted down for possible gun possession each day at Denver schools

The number of weapons detected on DPS campuses in the last five years broken down by type of weapon. 9News asked for photos of those weapons.

The number of students expelled for weapons violations in the past five years.

The number of students on probation and the reasons for that probation.

Reasonable requests, right?

Yet not only are school districts resisting the release of information that could make students and parents feel safer, they may be breaking the law in the way they are hiding information.

After more than five hours in executive session  meaning closed to the public  to discuss security in the wake of the recent shooting at East High School, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education emerged with a memo reversing its policy on no cops in schools.

Steve Zansberg, a First Amendment attorney in Denver and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said the decisions made during the session broke the law.

It is a clear-cut violation of the open meetings law, Zansberg said. No big decisions like returning cops to schools can be made unless the meeting is public.

Several media organizations, including the Denver Gazette, are in the process of suing the DPS board for the full recording of the DPS Boards executive session and for failing to notify the public of what would be discussed in that session.

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More than a thousand parents of children at East High School have formed an ad hoc committee to demand more transparency and responsiveness from DPS and its board as well.

The DPS fight is just one a number of flashpoints around the state in which school districts are resisting urgent pleas for better transparency.

 In Douglas County, fired superintendent Cory Wise just won a settlement of $832,722 for wrongful termination after four elected officials met secretly to decide to fire Wise, rather than making the decision in an open public meeting as required by law. In deliberations during another lawsuit over secret meetings, Douglas County District Court Judge Jeffrey K. Holmes noted that the hiring and firing of a school districts superintendent is clearly a matter of public business.

 The STEM School in Highlands Ranch where Kendrick Castillo was killed while trying to disarm a student who opened fire in his classroom in 2019 is fighting to keep Kendricks parents from releasing confidential documents and depositions from the shooting. Kendricks parents have asked a judge to make those depositions public because they believe what they will reveal will shock the conscience of the public, and will force urgently needed school safety changes.

 In Woodland Park, a Teller County District Court judge recently ordered the Woodland Park school board to comply with the Colorado Open Meetings Law by clearly, honestly and forthrightly listing future agenda items regarding a charter schools application to the district. The injunction was the result of a lawsuit brought by a Woodland Park parent claiming the board hid consideration of the charter school under a Board Housekeeping item on its agenda.

The board also recently issued a gag order for all teachers, forbidding them from talking to the press.

Sometimes we journalists feel like our school boards think this is Russia and they can do whatever the hell they want.

Why are these school districts so damn secretive? I suspect there is some intellectual vanity at work: We school administrators know better than you do about school business and how it should be conducted.

But in the end public schools are just that  public. Students and parents have a right to know what these public officials are doing, and that what they are doing is best for students, not for administrators and teachers. A public school, since it is paid for by taxpayers, must by law conduct its business in the open.

The state Supreme Court succinctly stated the need for open-government laws in a ruling back in 1983: A free self-governing people needs full information concerning the activities of its government not only to shape its views of policy and to vote intelligently in elections, but also to compel the state, the agent of the people, to act responsibly and account for its actions.

That is why it is so disheartening that Colorado school officials, with the backing of the courts, are rejecting demands for transparency and sunshine from parents who no longer feel their schools are safe for their children.

Whats worse, what are our schools teaching our kids about telling the truth?
Early Monday morning, dozens of Ute Pass Elementary School students, each holding a plastic cup, knelt at the bank of Fountain Creek. Each cup held a few ounces of water and a fingerling rainbow trout, not much bigger than a goldfish.

One by one the sixth graders emptied the contents of their cups into the creek, bidding a bittersweet farewell to a fish they had spent more than six months raising from an egg about the size of a BB. In a year or two, if all goes well, those fish will reach maturity and, perhaps, lay eggs of their own.

For the Ute Pass kids, it was the watershed moment sought by nearly 6,000 Colorado elementary, middle and high school students involved in the Trout in the Classroom program, a conservation-based initiative spearheaded by Trout Unlimited.

For Miles Groth, a sixth grade science teacher, it was  finally  the first successful release after six years of attempts beset by stringent state regulations, the occasional error and bad luck.

During the first COVID year, we all had to go home over Thanksgiving break, and all the fish died, Groth recalled. And Colorado Parks and Wildlife had some regulations that made it difficult to release the trout into the wild.

Until recently, CPW required a certain amount of aquarium-raised fish to be submitted for pathogen testing, which meant the fish had to be euthanized.

But a recent testing exemption allowed the Ute Pass students  and others across the state  to release a certain amount of fish into creeks and streams.

Were thrilled about (the exemption), said Natalie Flowers, who coordinates youth education for the Colorado chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The main purpose of Trout in the Classroom, Flowers said, is to create budding conservationists by connecting students with their local watershed.

Technology has begun to separate kids from nature, she said. Fewer and fewer of them are playing outside. Trout in the Classroom is a way to get kids away from their screens and out into the world.

The Ute Pass students received about 400 eggs from Trout Unlimited in September, Groth said. Of those eggs, fewer than 60 survived long enough to grow into fingerlings.

Its a small percentage, Groth said. But out in the wild, the percentage is even smaller.

The Pikes Peak chapter of Trout Unlimited has a hands-on role in helping Ute Pass and seven other area schools acquire the funding, supplies and eggs to keep the TIC program going.

This is a great program, said Michele White of the Pikes Peak chapter. The kids really enjoy it, and its helpful to the teachers because it adds a valuable teaching tool without significantly increasing their workload.

The students were responsible for feeding the young fish, monitoring the tank conditions, making adjustments as their waste products changed the pH and changing the water when, as sixth grader Brody Vankirk put it, the water starts to look disgusting.

Vankirk, 12, said he and other students enjoyed the process of raising the trout from eggs to fingerling size. But as the fish grew, so did his attachment to them. A few days before the release, Vankirk was ambivalent about saying goodbye.

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Im not sure I want to, he said.

Cayden Schwartz, Vankirks classmate, was more definitive in his response.

No, he said. I do not (want to say goodbye).

That, Ute Pass teacher Kara Jeck said, is a natural response.

Theyve raised them from eggs. Some of (the students) have given the fish names, said Jeck, who is also involved in the TIC program. So, some of our students are excited about releasing the fish. And some are not.

Under the TIC program, the trout are to be released in a state-approved stream near the school or within a nearby watershed. Dave Leinweber, owner of Anglers Covey in Colorado Springs, provided the necessary access.

Leinweber, who was recently elected to the Colorado Springs City Council, worked out a leasing agreement with the city that involved the portion of the creek that adjoined his fly-fishing shop on South 21st Street. Together with city stormwater specialist Jerry Cordova, Leinweber has spent the past few years making improvements and cleanups, as the area had previously been the site of several homeless camps. Cordova has also been monitoring the creeks conditions to make sure its hospitable to the life forms that will keep the trout fed.

This is really exciting, Leinweber said of the release. Hopefully, it will be the first of many.

The classes transported the young trout to Anglers Covey in large buckets of water and spent some time gradually adding creek water to the buckets, so as not to shock the fish. When the fish had been properly acclimated, the students scooped them into the cups and headed for the creek bed.

A couple of the students got a little misty-eyed when they let the fish go, but the overall mood was one of excitement.

This was pretty cool, said Schwartz after the release.

Im glad we did it, Vankirk agreed.

Lynn Burmeister, a Ute Pass parent, brought her 2-year-old daughter Imber to Fountain Creek to watch her big brother, Ryder, participate in the trout release.

This is amazing, Burmeister said. I hope theyre still doing it when my daughter is old enough.

After helping to shepherd the Trout in the Classroom program to its first successful release at Ute Pass, Groth breathed a sigh of relief.

Just seeing the smiles on their faces as they watched the trout go down the creek was awesome, he said. Its the reason I got involved with Trout in the Classroom, and a big part of the reason I teach.
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) -Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Jordan and Iraq, according to a statement issued after a landmark meeting on Monday of Arab diplomats developing a roadmap to end Syria's 12-year conflict.

The foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan met in the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss how to normalise ties with Syria as part of a political settlement of its war, which has shattered and divided the country.

The talks are the first between Syria's government and a group of Arab countries since a decision to suspend Syria's membership of the Arab League in 2011 after a crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

A final statement issued after the meeting said the officials had discussed pathways for the voluntary return home of millions of displaced Syrians and coordinated efforts to combat drug trafficking across Syria's borders.

It said that Damascus had agreed to "take the necessary steps to end smuggling on the borders with Jordan and Iraq" and work over the next month to identify who was producing and transporting narcotics into those two countries.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad.

Syria is accused by Arab governments and the West of producing the highly-addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon and organizing its smuggling into the Gulf.

Top Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have been put on sanctions lists in recent months in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union over the trade.

'STEPS ON THE GROUND'

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said the meeting was "a start, and the process is ongoing" to secure an end to the conflict.

"There must be steps on the ground that lead to an improvement in the reality in which Syria and the Syrians live," Safadi said.

Asked whether they had discussed Syria's return to the Arab League, Safadi said the decision would have to be taken by the body itself. He did not say whether it was on the agenda for the next League summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19.

Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours.

Mekdad met bilaterally with Safadi before the group meeting to discuss refugees, water issues and border security, including the fight against drug smuggling, according to Jordan's foreign ministry.

Amman has been fighting armed groups smuggling narcotics from Syria, including captagon, for which Jordan is both a destination and a main transit route to the oil-rich Gulf.

On Monday, Jordan's state television said the military had thwarted a drug smuggling operation from Syria, leaving one smuggler dead and the rest fleeing back into Syrian territory.

The meeting comes two weeks after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah between the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, where some countries said Syria's return to the Arab fold was premature before Damascus agrees to negotiate a peace plan.

Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on the pace of normalising ties with Assad, whether to invite him to the Arab League summit and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

Regional superpower Saudi Arabia long resisted normalising relations with Assad but said after its rapprochement with Iran - Syria's key regional ally - a new approach was needed with Damascus.

(Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
President Joe Biden will host the Democratic and Republican leaders at the White House on May 9 for a meeting on the debt limit.

The announcement comes after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Monday that the "X Date," the point at which the administration's "extraordinary efforts" to meed U.S. debts, could occur as soon as June 1, more than a month ahead of the previous predicted deadline.

YELLEN WARNS US COULD DEFAULT ON DEBT AS SOON AS JUNE 1

Biden called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is currently on a state trip to Israel, Monday afternoon to ask for the meeting. The president had previously rejected McCarthy's calls to hold a meeting on the debt limit and federal spending, even after House Republicans passed a temporary extension of the debt ceiling in late April.

"This afternoon, President Biden called Speaker McCarthy, who is leading a CODEL in Israel, to invite him to a meeting at the White House on May 9 with [House Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries, [Senate Majority] Leader [Chuck] Schumer, and [Senate Minority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell, who the President also called today," the White House said in a statement.

"President Biden will stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions, and invited the four leaders to the White House to discuss the urgency of preventing default, as well as how to initiate a separate process to address the budget and fiscal year 2024 appropriations," a White House official added to the Washington Examiner.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

Original Location: Biden asks McCarthy and congressional leaders to attend White House meeting on debt limit

Washington Examiner Videos
By Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden told his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally was "ironclad," including in the South China Sea where Manila is under pressure from China.

Marcos, on the first White House visit by a Philippines leader in 10 years, stressed the importance of the United States as his country's sole treaty ally in a region with "arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now."

The two countries reaffirmed their decades-old security alliance in a trip that marks a dramatic turnaround in U.S.-Philippine relations as both countries seek ways to push back against what they see as China's increasingly aggressive actions near Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials said the leaders would agree new guidelines for stronger military cooperation, as well as stepped up economic cooperation.

"The United States remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea," Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office.

A joint statement said this meant that any armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

Washington sees the Philippines as key to any effort to counter an invasion of Taiwan by China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. Manila recently agreed to allow the United States access to four more of its military bases under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, but the two sides have not said what U.S. assets will be stationed at those.

The joint statement said the leaders "affirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity."

Under Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos' predecessor, U.S. relations soured as he turned the Philippines sharply away from its former colonial ruler and built closer ties with China.

Biden has invested in courting Marcos, who still faces a U.S. court judgment connected with $2 billion of plundered wealth under his father's rule.

U.S. officials said the new guidelines focused on military coordination across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, while the U.S. administration would also transfer three C-130 aircraft and look to send additional patrol vessels to the Philippines.

"It is only natural for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China, Asia Pacific and Indo-Pacific region," Marcos said.

The summit is the centerpiece of a four-day U.S. visit by Marcos that started on Sunday.

Marcos has sought warm relations with both the United States and China, who are vying for influence in the Indo-Pacific. The Biden-Marcos joint statement did not name the Chinese government.

Experts say Washington considers the Philippines a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan.

However, Marcos told reporters on his plane China had agreed to discuss fishing rights in the South China Sea and also that he would not allow the Philippines to become a "staging post" for military action.

TRADE MISSION

The joint statement said Biden would send a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines to enhance investment in clean energy transition, the critical minerals sector, and food security.

The two countries would also co-host in Manila the 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum  the marquee U.S. commercial event in the region - which would further establish the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains.

The statement also said the countries looked forward to establishing trilateral cooperation with Japan and Australia.

With many Filipinos frustrated by China's actions in the South China Sea, including the harassing of Philippine ships and fishermen in parts that both countries claim, popular support has grown in the Philippines for a tougher stance toward Beijing.

Biden was the first official to reach out to Marcos after his election and has made strengthening economic and military ties in the Indo-Pacific region a cornerstone of his foreign policy.

Before the summit, U.S. lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter to Biden calling on him to raise what they called the worsening human rights "crisis" in the Philippines.

They said there were well-documented violations under Duterte but recent reports showed "ongoing impunity." They cited reports from the Karapatan Human Rights Alliance of 17 extrajudicial killings, 165 illegal arrests from July to December 2022, and a total of 825 political prisoners. A White House summary said human rights were among the topics being discussed by the two countries.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom in Washington and Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell and Richard Chang)
(Reuters) - An explosion in a Russian region bordering Ukraine derailed a freight train on Monday, the local governor said in a social media post, adding there were no casualties.

Pictures shared on social media showed several tank carriages laying on their side and dark grey smoke billowing into the air at the site of the derailment in the Bryansk region.

Russian Railways, the country's rail operator, said the incident occurred at 10:17 Moscow time (0717 GMT). It said the locomotive and seven freight wagons were derailed and the locomotive caught fire.

"An unidentified explosive device went off at the 136-kilometre mark on the Bryansk-Unecha railway line, derailing a freight train," Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a post on his Telegram channel.

Russian authorities say the region - which borders both Ukraine and Belarus - has seen multiple attacks by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups in the 14 months since Russia invaded. On Saturday, the governor said four civilians died after Kyiv shelled a village just across the border.

The site of the incident, as indicated by the governor, is around 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Russia's border with Ukraine.

He did not say who was responsible for the attack.

Separately, the governor of Russia's Leningrad region near St. Petersburg said a power line had been blown up overnight and an explosive device found near a second line.

Governor Alexander Drozdenko posted photos of destroyed power lines and metal supports on his Telegram page on Monday morning. He said Russia's FSB federal security service was working on the site, and did not say who he believed was responsible for the incident.

(Reporting by Jake Cordell; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
The judge who is overseeing the Fulton County grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia extended the date by which the Fulton County district attorney must respond to former President Donald Trump's efforts to quash the jury's report.

Originally, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had until May 1 to respond to Trump's motion to quash, which was filed on March 20. However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney extended the May 1 deadline to May 15.

FULTON COUNTY DA WARNS VIOLENT REACTION COULD FOLLOW TRUMP INDICTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT THIS SUMMER

Cathleen Latham, an "alternate elector" advanced by the state Republican Party following the 2020 general election results, joined Trump and filed a similar motion to quash the grand jury's findings on April 28.

"Both motions also seek the disqualification of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office from any further investigation into or prosecution of any alleged interference with the 2020 general election," McBurney wrote. "So that all arguments can be considered together, the District Attorney's Office deadline for filing a combined response is extended to May 15, 2023."

FILE - Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney instructs potential jurors during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury on, May 2, 2022, in Atlanta. McBurney overturned Georgia's ban on abortion starting around six weeks into a pregnancy, ruling Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, that it violated the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it was enacted and was therefore void. McBurney's ruling took effect immediately statewide, though the state attorney general's office said it appealed it. The ban had been in effect since July.(AP Photo/Ben Gray, File) Ben Gray/AP

Willis began her investigation into alleged election interference days after a recording was posted of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to "find" enough votes to overturn his defeat in Georgia.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The special grand jury enlisted to assist in the investigation reportedly recommended multiple indictments that could be related to conspiracy and racketeering charges, though no defendants have been named.

At the time of the grand jury report's release, it noted that a majority of the grand jury believed at least one of the over 75 witnesses who testified in the investigation committed perjury or lied under oath. Some of the witnesses include former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, along with lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who unsuccessfully fought his subpoena up to the Supreme Court.

Original Location: Judge extends DA's deadline to respond to Trump's motion to quash grand jury report

Washington Examiner Videos
By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea criticised a recent U.S-South Korea agreement to bolster the deployment of American strategic assets in the region for escalating tension to the "brink of a nuclear war," state media KCNA said on Monday.

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit last week, during which Biden pledged to give Seoul more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea as anxiety grows over Pyongyang's weapons programmes and the American nuclear umbrella.

Both leaders agreed to strengthen South Korea's defences and regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets. As part of the efforts, a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s.

KCNA said the agreement stipulated the allies' willingness to take "the most hostile and aggressive action" against North Korea, citing Choe Ju Hyon, whom it described as an international security analyst.

The stationing of American strategic assets has placed the situation of the Korean peninsula in a "quagmire of instability," and was intended to build "aggressive and exclusive military blocs" in the region, it said.

"It is just aimed to dodge the responsibility for the worst-ever nuclear-related crimes it has committed by systematically destroying and violating the nuclear non-proliferation system, and in particular, pushing the situation of the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war," KCNA said.

"It is the hegemonic sinister aim pursued by the U.S. to turn the whole of South Korea into its biggest nuclear war outpost in the Far East and effectively use it for attaining its strategy for dominating the world."

Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the Yoon-Biden summit, saying it consolidated its conviction to perfect its "nuclear war deterrent."

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Richard Chang)
TikTok's parent company includes terms referencing the Uyghur genocide, former President Donald Trump, and China in a list it uses for content regulations, further blurring the lines around how Chinese restrictions on speech are applied to the content on apps owned by the corporation outside of China.

The China-owned ByteDance maintained several lists of words it tracks on its various apps for content moderation purposes. Terms on the list make it appear that they apply to TikTok's algorithm and content, although the company denies such claims.

CRENSHAW DUBS TIKTOK' ULTIMATE PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE WEAPON,' SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ABSOLUTE BAN

While similar lists are often used on other social media platforms to monitor more questionable content such as child pornography or abusive content, lists found in the ByteDance moderation tool include politically relevant "sensitive words" for the company's team to track, according to Forbes.

The lists kept by ByteDance had a variety of titles, such as "Trump Directed Prohibited Words," "Theming Strategies of Uyghur-Han Couples," and "TikTok audio sensitive words in Tibet region." The titles also included references to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese strategic policy, YouTube domestic surveillance, and general government affairs. It also placed restrictions on its "core redline vocabulary," including references to 6/4, the day of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The guide to the tool containing the lists was written by Chinese employees from ByteDance and its Beijing subsidiary Jiyun Hudong, which described it as their "global core vocabulary" regarding "common bottom-line sensitive words with high risk" and their "global commonly used thesaurus" involving "fully classified" illegal vocabulary. While some of the lists mentioned Douyin, the Chinese version of the social app, others explicitly mentioned TikTok by name.

The moderation tool also collected data on the "hit rate" of sensitive words, such as how often U.S. users posted about them.

A spokeswoman from TikTok dismissed the lists, saying that they were "significantly outdated or incomplete" and that none of them are currently or ever have been used by TikTok. "TikTok and Douyin are different apps, in different markets, with separate content policies and source code. These apps use separate keyword platforms and keyword lists that are managed by separate teams," the spokeswoman said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The use of similar content moderation tools further clarifies the closeness between TikTok and its Chinese counterparts. The TikTok and Douyin apps "share many parts of their source code," according to a 2021 Citizen Lab report. Multiple employees have also said the separation between TikTok and ByteDance is "simply cosmetic" and that the company's internal structure doesn't actually divide TikTok and Douyin from one another.

The details of TikTok's content moderation tools were released a month after TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress to defend his company from allegations of it being a security threat. Chew dismissed claims that the company had connections to the Chinese government and considered it essential to U.S. culture. There are, however, several ByteDance employees who started out as part of Chinese state media.

Original Location: TikTok parent company monitors 'sensitive words,' including Uyghurs and Trump

Washington Examiner Videos
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and his radically doctrinaire legislature should heed an observation of the venerable Scottish philosopher, economist and classical liberal sage Adam Smith.

Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent, Smith wrote in The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

In this timeless tome, Smith explains how love, affection and common perceptions of good and evil form the foundation of civil societies. Communities cannot subsist among those who are at all times ready to hurt and injure one another.

Smith explains the risks of societies extending communal values of decency, peace and kindness to those who most disrupt those sentiments.

When the guilty is about to suffer that just retaliation, which the natural indignation of mankind tells them is due to his crimes when he ceases to be an object of fear, with the generous and humane he begins to be an object of pity. The thought of what he is about to suffer extinguishes their resentment for the sufferings of others... They are disposed to pardon and forgive him

Colorado proves Smiths theory. Our authoritarian politicians  lacking legitimate leadership skills  codify pity for criminals and cruelty for the innocent.

Indeed, mercy to the guilty tortures their victims. Ask survivors of rape about the cruelty of light sentences for rapists. Ask survivors of children killed by adult or juvenile drug dealers, perpetrators our state treats as victims of an unfair society that led them to crime.

Colorado, under the authority of far-left activists  with few resembling the sensible liberal Democrats of the 20th century  epitomizes Smiths vision of perverse misallocation of compassion.

Colorados legislature and governor stuck us with a series of laws designed to reduce intuitive retaliation against those who violate the agreements of love and compassion essential to ensuring justice and peace. The states litany of soft-on-crime criminal justice reforms correlates with disturbing, record-breaking surges in crime.

A Department of Justice report released in March  Criminal Victimization in the 22 Largest U.S. States  says Colorado has the highest rate of violent crime among the 22 most populous states.

Colorados crime rate is twice the national average. Federal researchers were stunned to find this once-peaceful western utopia more dangerous than Illinois, New York and other states traditionally known as bastions of crime.

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In Colorado  thanks to counterintuitive criminal justice reforms  criminals are victims deserving of compassion. In all new laws involving crime and punishment, we have lowered the risks of retaliation for disrupting order, safety, peace and the right to live.

No wonder we have teenagers wantonly throwing landscape boulders through car windshields  killing for thrills. No wonder a gunperson shot up an LGBTQ nightclub. No wonder were sixth in the country for rapes per 100,000. No wonder we lead the country in car thefts. No wonder we lead all other states in bank robberies, with nearly 200 each year.

Along with first place in violent crime, Colorado takes second for its rate of property crimes. Car thieves are people in desperate need of cars, crying out for help. We think little of single parents with two jobs who lose their only means of getting to work.

We let drug dealers carry up to four grams of deadly street drugs without the threat of felony charges. We treat them as victims of desperation, not heartless criminals.

Hard-left politicians make victim status a valuable currency, while mistaking victimizers as victims. Treat criminals as victims, to whom we owe our compassion, and we get more of them. The younger they are, the more they are due.

No wonder Colorados Division of Youth Services reports a 31% increase in violent crimes by minors from 2019 through 2022. The legislatures response: more compassion for young suspects and convicts, who should have feared committing crime like the wrath of a deadly plague.

House Bill 23-1249 increases the age for prosecution in the juvenile court system from 10 to 13. If passed, the state wont prosecute 10- and 12-year-olds for rapes, stabbings, shootings and theft. To heck with their victims, who are often other children.

House Bill 23-1042 would tie the hands of law enforcers trying to solve crimes involving juvenile suspects. The 1969 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Frazier v. Cupp gives police broad latitude to interrogate suspects. Colorado legislators want to snub the Supreme Court, making inadmissible confessions by juveniles during questioning deemed deceptive by the court.

Despite leading the countrys most crime-ridden state, count on Polis to sign any cruelty to the innocent bill that crosses his desk. With party loyalty the governors highest cause, Colorado has no semblance of the checks and balances ostensibly provided by separate legislative and executive branches. Under Polis, radical leftists  and the criminals they seem to adore  can do no wrong.

As described in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, ignorance leads to misplaced pity on criminals and cruelty for those they harm. Colorado fulfills Adam Smiths worst nightmare.
Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in which he showed a video presenting the pages of various books available in the Florida public school system. That video couldnt be shown on local newscasts because it was too sexually graphic. Even Twitter slapped a warning label on it.

The obvious question: if this content isnt appropriate for nightly newscasts, how is it appropriate in a middle school library? The obvious answer: it isnt.

The left claims that conservatives want to ban books. That charge has been leveled at public officials like Governor DeSantis all the way down to Colorado Springs school board members.

Use of the term book banning (perhaps intentionally) conjures images of heavy-handed totalitarian regimes throughout history. But that association is patently false. Nobody is rewriting history, removing literature, or participating in any other historical act one might associate with that phrase.

Florida isnt letting porn into its school libraries. Parents have every right to say that they dont want pornography in their kids schools. In a world with one iota of moral sanity, that is not only non-controversial, but it should be expected.

Almost all of the books flagged by Governor DeSantis are available in Academy District 20 here in Colorado Springs. Recently, a group of parents uncovered hundreds of these books in D-20 libraries. Those book titles and content can be found at www.d20books.com.

Here are a couple of examples.

Written by James or Juno Dawson (depending on how s/he is identifying on a given day), This Book Is Gay is available at Rampart and Pine Creek high schools. An excerpt:

How sex apps work: 1. Upload a tiny pic of yourself to the app. 2. The app works out your location. 3. The app tells you who the nearest homosexuals are. 4. You then chat to them. 5. Because they are near, it is easy to meet up with them. If youre looking for the ubiquitous fun (the words sex, shag, and the F-word, ironically, are banned on most sex apps) be upfront about it and then no ones feelings are going to get hurt.

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Instructing children on how to upload pictures of themselves for the purpose of connecting with local gays for sex? If that isnt grooming, what is?

Heres another. Flamer, written by Genderqueer author Mike Curato, is available at Challenger Middle School.

Two men can pleasure each other in a variety of fun ways. 1. Handies: Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic, the hand job. The good news is, you can practice on yourself. The bad news is, each guy has become very used to his own way of getting himself off. Something they dont teach you in school is that, in order to be able to cum at all, you or your partner may need to finish off with a handie.

If youre surprised to read these words in your daily newspaper, imagine how a child feels coming across them in the school library.

When you hear the left decry book bans, recognize that these are the books theyre fighting to keep in libraries.

Theres a candidate for D-20 school board who wears a pin that says Read Banned Books, which sounds like a noble statement, until you realize that the banned books they want on school library shelves teach minors how to perform sex acts on strangers they met through online dating sites.

Depending on their age, students should be learning how to multiply polynomials, write cursive, or tie their shoelaces, not anal sex and blowjobs. Parents, teachers, school staff and administrators are supposed to be guardians of our childrens lives, not brokers between our kids and online sexual predators.

School districts, you have abdicated your responsibility. You have failed our children. In 2021, the adults in the room said enough. In 2023, youll learn that we meant it.

Derrick Wilburn is a founder of Advocates for D-20 Kids and host of the Red Ink podcast. Learn more at d20kids.org.
When Katharine E. Lum received a ticket for her car accident, she unexpectedly found herself anxious when she showed up to court representing herself, as litigants in legal matters routinely do.

"If I was this nervous as a trained attorney, how must they have felt? Especially folks for whom a traffic fine meant the difference between making rent this month or not," Lum, a judge on Colorado's Court of Appeals, said to her colleagues on Friday.

But, she continued, the judge in her traffic case treated the litigants with dignity and respect, explaining what was happening in plain English and ensuring each person could realistically pay off their fines. To her, that made all the difference.

"We can remember," Lum said, "that what we are writing about is somebodys worst day. Somebody's last chance. Somebodys life."

Lum, the newest member of the 22-judge Court of Appeals, took office in late November. On April 28, she held her formal swearing-in ceremony, known as an investiture, in the presence of friends, family and members of the legal profession at all levels.

In applying to join the bench last year, Lum pointed out she would be in the small minority of Court of Appeals judges who have prior experience handling domestic relations cases, which make up approximately 10% of the court's caseload. Her lengthy resume included pro bono legal work and mediation, criminal appeals, landlord-tenant disputes and expertise in other technical areas, such as forensic accounting and birth defects.

"The enjoyment I derive from learning new fields of study and my ability to absorb them relatively easily is a personality trait and skill that will translate well to a position as a judge on the Court of Appeals," she wrote.

Chief Judge Gilbert M. Roman noted that Colorado's second-highest court made national news last month, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the First Amendment case of Counterman v. Colorado. The justices reviewed a decision directly from the Court of Appeals. The judge who authored it, Craig R. Welling, traveled to Washington, D.C. to witness the arguments in person.

"We do serious and really important work," Roman said.

He also described one of Lum's early experiences as a judge, in which she was set to hear oral arguments as part of a three-person panel. However, shortly before the parties were to arrive, one of the panel members called out unexpectedly and there was no time to get another judge up to speed on the cases. Instead, Roman explained, there was a "policy decision" that  for apparently the first time ever  the Court of Appeals would hold arguments with two judges and allow the absent judge to review the video before deliberating.

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The most senior judge on the panel, John Daniel Dailey, could have described the unusual logistics to the parties, Roman said.

Instead, "he turned to our most junior judge and said, 'Welcome to the court. Please explain to the attorneys what we're doing and why,'" continued Roman. "So she did, and she did an amazing job."

Two of Lum's former colleagues in private practice, Jerremy M. Ramp and Steven C. Lass, described her willingness to adapt to new tasks and to help people facing crisis and uncertainty. They spoke of Lum's house visits to one elderly client, who was unable to use technology, in the early COVID-19 pandemic to ensure he understood legal documents.

During her time leading one of the Colorado Bar Association's diversity, equity and inclusivity committees, Lum helped revise domestic relations court forms to be more sensitive to LGBTQ and nonbinary litigants. Kara Veitch, who is involved in screening judicial applicants for Gov. Jared Polis, cited Lum's volunteer work when describing how she "touched the lives of many" in family law.

Attendees at Lum's investiture learned more intimate details about the judge, including that she is a rock climber, a talented doodler and someone whose sister holds a patent for an invention Lum described as "space rudders."

Lum touched on her experience at the court to date, disclosing that, even when a panel of judges cannot agree on the outcome, judges on opposite sides of the decision will often alert their counterparts to precedent that supports the opposing argument.

She also invoked her former boss, the late Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs Jr., who taught her how to work with collegiality on the "group projects" of writing appellate opinions. She recalled an anecdote of Hobbs, after a difficult legal discussion with his colleagues, saying, "Isn't this the greatest job?"

"I had one of those moments last week," said Lum. "My clerk and I were talking through how we were gonna resolve a pretty complicated, novel issue and this smile came over my face and I thought, 'Justice Hobbs was right.'"

She closed her remarks by describing her time in traffic court and reminding her colleagues that in domestic relations cases, which include matters of divorce and custody, around 75% of litigants do not have an attorney. Lum advocated for judges to be mindful of that imbalance in power and knowledge.

"Even though we cant always address every argument, we can take care not to be dismissive in our tone," she said. "Even though we cannot necessarily construct a winning argument for a self-represented litigant, nor can we reject their contention simply because they cannot articulate it like a lawyer."
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday unveiled a much-anticipated proposal to offer tax relief to Coloradans, a key provision of which is to ask voters to fix the problem via the ballot box this November.

The proposal seeks to do three things: Provide immediate property tax relief, address the problems that arose from the voter-approved repeal of the Gallagher Amendment in 2020, and provide a mechanism to prevent property tax rates from increasing faster than income, tied to the Denver-Boulder Consumer Price Index.

The move comes as the Colorado lawmakers stare down the barrel of looming crisis, one in which property taxes are expected to increase this year by as much as 50% for many homeowners.

Flanked by Democratic lawmakers, business owners, homeowners and other supporters, Polis said the proposal will reduce residential property tax increases by 50% on average.

Critics immediately called the proposal insufficient  akin to bringing a squirt gun to a burning building. Proponents said the multipronged approach offers tangible relief.

The proposal allows seniors covered under the state's homestead property tax exemption to keep that exemption when they downsize into another residence, the governor said.

It will hold harmless the things property taxes pay for  police, fire, local hospitals and K-12 education  by tapping the state's TABOR surplus.

Under the proposal, the state would "de-Bruce" state revenue up to a new limit that adds 15% annually to the calculation. To de-Bruce means to eliminate the spending limit, and to spend all tax revenues collected. That would allow the state to keep an additional $167 million in 2024, which in turn would reduce the state's TABOR surplus from $2 billion to $1.8 billion, and reduce taxpayer refunds by $46 in 2024.

Under the proposal, the state would use the $167 million as property tax relief.

The measure also will differentiate between property taxes assessed on primary homes versus property taxes assessed on second and third homes, with subsequent homes getting less of a break. It will not affect second homes that are used as rental property, a concern for resort communities that rely on short-term rentals during tourist seasons.

The proposal has a 10-year sunset.

A companion bill, according to Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, will enact changes on the assessment side. That measure is expected to receive bipartisan support.

The supporters at Monday's press conference included Scott Wasserman from the Bell Policy Center, who has filed two ballot measures to reduce property tax increases. Also in attendance Monday were J.J. Ament, CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and former state Sen. Mike Kopp, president and CEO of of Colorado Concern, which sounded the alarm on property tax increases more than a year ago.

Property values are reassessed every two years, and 2023 is an assessment year.

Voters' decision to repeal the Gallagher Amendment in 2020, paired with skyrocketing home values and the biennial assessment, is expected to result in an increase in property taxes by as much as 50% in some metro area counties.

The Gallagher Amendment, approved by voters in 1982 and meant to drive down homeowners tax burden, pegged the contribution of residential property taxes to 45% of the total, resulting in the residential assessment rate decreasing over time from 21% in 1986 to 7.15% by 2020.

In 2023, the residential assessment rate across Colorado is 6.765% - meaning only 6.765% of the property value is taxed. The non-residential assessment rate stands at 27.9%. Non-residential property includes commercial property, land for agricultural purposes, land for mineral extraction and energy production, and vacant land.

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In the latest valuations, all nine Denver metro area counties show double-digit increases in median value that followed the red-hot real estate market of 2021 and early 2022.

Assessments, for example, are up 33% on the median home in the city of Denver, and a whopping 47% on the median home in Douglas County.

Wasserman said the proposal will lean on reducing taxable value, and for lower-valued homes, this will really have an impact.

One concept expected to be included is the assessment rate for second homes. While supporters are expected to cite high values of such second homes, it could also affect resort communities that rely on short-term rentals.

While the idea of charging different property tax assessment rates on second homes has been around for a while, it's never come to fruition because county assessors have maintained they have no data on just which homes are considered second homes. The bill is expected to provide a one-year delay to allow assessors to figure that out, along with the resources to do it.

"This has been a big issue for a number of years," Wasserman said.

The bill is expected to differentiate between homes that are rented out for substantial portions of the year versus those that are only occasionally rented out or not at all.

The bill to be introduced Monday is not the only solution being proposed on property taxes.

Senate Bill 108 would allow local governments to offer temporary property tax credits or mill levy reductions and later eliminate the credits or restore the mill levy without going to voters for permission. The bipartisan bill cleared the state Senate and is now ready for debate before the House.

In a statement Monday, Advance Colorado said voters deserve a real long-term solution to the property tax crisis and not the measure proposed by the governor and legislature.

Weve got a five-alarm fire in Colorado and our governor showed up with a squirt gun," the statement said. "We have heard reports of seniors already walking into their county treasurers office with tears in their eyes at the prospect of losing their home."

Fields added that the governor and legislature are "paying for part of this relief" with money taxpayers are already owed, creating a "fake cap on property tax increases, and going after even more of our TABOR refunds."

Advance Colorado's Michael Fields was one of the proponents behind Proposition 120 in the 2021 election, a property tax reduction measure that voters rejected by more than 14 percentage points.

Weighing on the proposal, House Republicans criticized Polis and the Democratic majority for waiting until the 11th hour to fix a problem they knew was coming all along.

While we at the Capitol were making too many new laws that were way too expensive, real Coloradans across the state have been opening up their mail and finding tax bills they cannot pay," said House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington.

As to the proposal's plan to use TABOR surplus dollars, Lynch said Democrats are treating TABOR like an ATM.

"The people of Colorado should be skeptical of the governors hastily introduced plan with only one week left in the session," he said. "He seems to want to convince us this plan will solve all financial shortfalls, such as school funding, teacher pay, fire and police, and resolve Colorados property tax issues for homeowners and businesses. Given this sugar-coated plan must be approved by voters, it's concerning the governor has no Plan B if it fails.
A bill seeking to qualify low-income Coloradans for much more rental housing passed its final legislative vote on Saturday and now only needs the governor's approval to become law.

Most landlords require tenants to earn at least three times the amount they charge for rent. In 2022, the average monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Colorado stood at $1,364. That means tenants must make at least $49,104 to qualify. The individual median income for Coloradans is just under $37,000, according to the most recent Census data from 2020.

If signed into law, Senate Bill 184 would cap minimum income requirements for tenants to twice the cost of rent. It would also cap security deposits to the cost of two months' rent, among other changes.

"Housing is everything," said bill sponsor Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood. "People are desperate for housing and this bill addresses the huge barriers to getting into that, to getting that chance to achieve housing when you don't have the resources that a lot of us have."

The House approved the bill in a 43-22 vote on Saturday, following the Senate's 22-12 passage on April 17. All Republicans voted against the bill and all but four Democrats voted in support of it.

Critics called the bill's restrictions "excessive" and "punitive" for landlords. They said the bill will contribute to dis-incentivizing landlords from renting.

The state legislature is currently considering several bills that sponsors say will lower housing costs for renters by cracking down on the actions of landlords. Some of those bills seek to prohibit evictions without just cause and cap housing fees for owning pets.

"We need housing so desperately and we keep attacking the people who are providing it," said Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs. "You can't drive out landlords who rent and still have rentals."

Other opponents said the bill would open the door for renters to over-spend on housing, as well as make the agreement more risky for landlords.

"Housing is not the only cost that has gone up dramatically," said Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction. "We are putting all of those individuals in terrible jeopardy if they can spend 50% (of their income on rent). ... We're asking people to get themselves into real financial trouble and, on top of that, we're putting that risk on the landlord."

Housing voucher program for homeless foster youth awaits Polis' signature

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The general rule of thumb for budgeting rent is to spend a maximum of 30% of one's monthly income on housing, with those who spend more than 30% being classified as cost-burdened.

But with the cost of housing in Colorado rising faster than incomes, fewer and fewer residents are able to adhere to this standard. In 2022, a study found that half of Colorado renters spent more than 30% of their income on housing  a rate above the national average and the eighth-highest of all states.

Proponents of the bill said it would also close a loophole landlords use to discriminate against people who use housing vouchers. While landlords can't deny tenants for using housing vouchers, they can still require the tenant to earn a certain amount. Proponents said this is particularly difficult for those who live on fixed incomes, such as older adults, veterans and people with disabilities.

The bill clarifies that tenants can raise discrimination as a defense in eviction proceedings, and it prohibits landlords from considering credit scores when evaluating potential tenants who use housing vouchers.

"We are sent to this building to serve the people of Colorado. About 40% of these people are renters," said bill sponsor Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County. "Expecting hardworking residents to have to earn more than two times the monthly rent is simply wrong."

During floor debates, Democrats rejected six proposed amendments to the bill from Republicans. Some of those amendments sought to increase the income requirement to 2.5 times rents and to three times rent.

Sponsors made significant edits to the bill in committee to help appease opponents, including raising the income cap to two times rent, instead of the original 1.25 times rent, and raising the deposit cap to two months' rent instead of the original one month's rent.

Sponsors also fully removed several provisions of the original bill that would have, in part, required landlords to accept the first eligible tenant who applies; allowed tenants to pay deposits in monthly installments; and, prohibited landlords from considering a tenant's financial status if they have paid their rent on time for the last three months or if they have a financially qualified co-signer.

The bill will be sent to Gov. Jared Polis in the coming days. If signed, it will go into effect in August.

Colorado legislature OKs forcing HOAs to approve water-saving landscaping
Sixty Years Ago This Week: For the previous year, the Republican majority in the state legislature had been touting the many benefits of conservative fiscal policies, but reporters uncovered a spending spree on the production and publication of several legislative studies that had many in the public policy community questioning their necessity.

It turned out that in the preceding budget year, the General Assembly had spent over a quarter of a million dollars on the studies, which included $100,000 for a study of local government, another just over $100,000 for a study on air pollution and $25,000 on a study for a proposed Denver college. Other smaller studies included expanded medical care for the aged, review of potential needs for a womens prison and a separate prison for the criminally insane.

Forty Years Ago: In a surprise move, Rep. David Bath, D-Arvada, announced at a press conference that, after weeks of indecision, he was switching his party affiliation to become a Republican.

Bath was joined by Colorado Republican Party Chairman Bo Callaway, House Speaker Carl Bev Bledsoe, R-Hugo, and a host of other GOP county officials.

David didnt ask for any special favors from the Republican Party, said Callaway, and nor was he given any.

The freshman representative had narrowly defeated incumbent Judy Ford, R-Arvada, in House District 27 and his voting record tallied with the Republican line for much of the session. Regardless, House Minority Leader David Skaggs, D-Boulder, said he was willing to accommodate Bath and other conservative Democrats.

When asked by Colorado Statesman reporters why he had not changed his party affiliation before the 1982 election, Bath said he didnt realize until after he took his seat in the House, that there was no room for conservative Democrats.

In a prepared statement, Skaggs stated that it was his belief that Bath had asked for and received assurances of his political future from the Republican Party. Skaggs charged that Baths defection was a breach of loyalty to the people who worked for him and elected him.

Bath won the seat by the dint of a lot of hard work by the Democrats, Skaggs wrote. Gov. Dick Lamm and first lady Dottie Lamm walked precincts on Baths behalf. Lamm also donated $2,800 from his own campaign.

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Baths switch was one of those things that evokes a lot of emotions  anger, frustration, hurt and sadness, Skaggs wrote.

Skaggs also vehemently denied that House Democrats had pressured Bath to change his votes, but agreed that Democratic officials in Jefferson County had been upset at their sole representatives very conservative stances.

In lieu of Rep. Bon Leon Kirschts, D-Pueblo, earlier defection from the party, Skaggs was asked whether this had become a trend.

Kirschts defection came after the leadership elections in the fall of 1980, when Kirscht was denied a leadership position, Skaggs said. Comparisons are not useful. Bob was rebuked by the party, David was accommodated.

Twenty Years Ago: Following the horrifying January abduction and murder of a 20-year-old University of Northern Colorado student, Lacy Miller, Republican Gov. Bill Owens signed House Bill 03-1304 into law.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob McCluskey, R-Fort Collins, and Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, imposed stricter penalties on anyone convicted of impersonating a police officer in the state. Judges would be able to impose and 18-month jail sentence and a fine of up to $5,000.

He caused Lacy Miller  a young woman with her entire life ahead of her, to pull over her car as if for a traffic stop, said Owens at the signing ceremony. He preyed on her trust, and then he brutally murdered her.

Millers mother, Wendy Cohen, not content to sit idly by, circulated petitions urging stricter penalties and rallied supporters to take away tools from would-be law enforcement impersonators and keep our loved ones safe.

Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette.
In most states, harassment in the workplace has to meet a certain threshold of severity and frequency in order to be unlawful. But in Colorado, Democratic lawmakers want to change that.

Senate Bill 172 seeks to update the state's definition of harassment and specify that harassment does not need to be severe or pervasive to constitute a discriminatory or unfair practice. The bill passed the legislature on Saturday, now only needing approval from the governor to become law.

If signed, the bill would also add marital status as a protected class, dis-incentivize the use of unlawful non-disclosure agreements, and prohibit employers from refusing to accommodate employees if they have a disability that "has a significant impact on the job."

"We need a modern definition of harassment," said bill sponsor Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster. "There's been instances where, within our courts and within case law, rape was not pervasive enough to create an unsafe work environment because it was a one-time-only instance. There's been instances where the use of the N-word wasn't severe enough to create an unsafe work environment."

The federal severe or pervasive standard for unlawful harassment was established by the U.S. Supreme Court more than three decades ago. Some states have eliminated the "severe or pervasive" threshold, including New York, California and Maryland.

This is the second time Colorado lawmakers have tried to pass this bill, nicknamed the "Protecting Opportunities and Workers' Rights Act." The last effort, Senate Bill 21-176, passed the Senate in 2021 but was killed by the House Judiciary Committee.

"The core of the bill is to, frankly, catch our law up to modern times, modern mores, modern notions of what is and is not acceptable in a workplace," said bill sponsor Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora.

The House passed SB 172 on Saturday in a 43-22 vote, following the Senate's 23-12 approval on April 20.

In the Senate, the vote was strictly along party lines, with all Democrats in support and all Republicans in opposition. In the House, three Democrats joined Republicans in voting "no" on the bill: Reps. Shannon Bird of Westminster, Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch and Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs.

Critics of the bill argued that removing the "severe or pervasive" requirement would make the standard for harassment too low, resulting in frivolous and expensive lawsuits.

"A single comment could get an entire company pulled into court for years," said Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch. "This is the kind of bill that will make (companies) scared to move to Colorado and hire employees that could essentially create frivolous claims that are never ending."

Under the bill, when determining unlawful harassment, courts would take into account the "totality of circumstances," including whether the conduct was threatening, whether there was a power imbalance between the alleged victim and perpetrator, and whether the conduct included the use of slurs, humiliation or stereotypes about a protected class.

The bill specifies that petty slights, minor annoyances and lack of good manners do not constitute harassment. But, if it meets the prior standards, "a single incident may rise to the level of harassment."

Colorado appeals court rules acquittal by insanity means victims' protection order must end

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Other opponents of the bill said it would hurt work environments by making employees too "concerned about not offending."

"You can't have honest communications as human beings if every single thing that you say has to be 100% HR-approved," said Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton. "The mechanism by which harassment is rooted out of the workplace has to balance appropriately the ability for individuals ... to work these things out together as adults before it triggers a formal legislatively-prescribed process."

Proponents of the bill countered that it would inspire more victims of harassment to seek legal action and eliminate the notion that employees should tolerate some level of harassment at work.

Around 38% of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, NPR reported. In 2021, a Gallup poll found that 1 in 4 Black and Hispanic workers in the U.S. had been discriminated against at work in the past year.

The bill would also address current law being inconsistently enforced by judges making different rulings about what constitutes "severe or pervasive," proponents said.

"That standard is so high that it makes it very difficult to claim harassment in some of the most egregious cases," said bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver. "We have heard women claim that they have been grabbed, they have been asked what they dream about, they have been asked what they're wearing under their clothes, they have been asked to stay the night in hotel rooms. And according to our courts, given that standard, all of those incidents were not considered harassment."

In a written testimony in support of the bill, Marie Evenson said she reported a cook at her job after he repeatedly grabbed her around the waist. One week later, she was fired for not "fitting in" to the workplace environment.

Evenson met with a lawyer to discuss her legal options, but was told she didn't have a case. Evenson said her lawyer claimed her experience didn't meet the state's "severe or pervasive" standard.

Because of this, when Evenson managed a catering office a few years later, she ignored the owner's constant inappropriate comments. And when the owner one day ran his hand up Evenson's inner thigh, she quit the job, but didn't bother pursuing legal action.

"I already knew Colorado's laws were weak," Evenson said. "People who had far more awful things happen than me  such as routine threats of rape, questions about their sexual experiences, constant barrages of sexually explicit comments  they hadn't been able to bring cases."

In response to concerns from opponents, sponsors made several changes to the bill. Most notably, they removed a requirement that employers keep a record of all oral or written complaints brought to them in order to assert an affirmative defense to harassment claims  which critics said would create "endless mini trials" disputing over whether or not the employer's records were accurate.

The bill will next be sent back to the Senate to approve minor changes made by the House. Then it will go to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.

Former Colorado judge censured over sexual misconduct
T-shirtgate: Its revealed the best of many, the worst of a few, and how things behind the scenes at a family-run microbrewery  things like selling logo apparel online, and returning to work after a deadly mass shooting  dont always go the way you planned, or how everyone else expects.

Rich Fierro, the co-owner of Atrevida Beer Co. in Colorado Springs, didnt set out to be a "merch" guy or the hero Army vet of Club Q. He became both after he took down and helped disarm the gunman, stopping a shooting spree that killed five people and injured more than a dozen, including his wife and brewery co-founder, Jess Fierro, and the couples daughter, Kassy, on November 19, 2022.

Both women, the heart of Atrevidas award-winning brewing operation, suffered broken bones as they fled gunfire that claimed the life of Kassys boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, and sent two close Fierro family friends to the hospital with bullet wounds.

Atrevida closed for five days after the shooting that sidelined half of its 6-person staff. When it reopened, lines were out the door and what little merchandise it still had in stock  a handful of $10 T-shirts bearing the logo of the states first Latina-owned brewery  was snapped up as fast as it could be handed over.

We sold out five minutes after we opened that day, so we didn't have anything even left at that point, said Rich Fierro, a retired Army major who served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and now works as a defense contractor at Fort Carson.

The internet hive mind, operating in one of its more altruistic modes, had already gotten to work, though.

Friends and strangers worldwide whod heard or read about Americas most recent mass shooting, whod heard or read about Fierros selfless and life-saving actions that night at the Springs LGBTQ+ club, logged on to show their support by buying branded items from the brewerys website.

We never asked anybody to buy anything, honest to God. But thats what they did, Fierro said.

He wouldnt go into details about how many orders Atrevida received after the shooting, other than to say it was a ton  just overwhelming and far beyond what we were able to handle, especially at that time.

The rogue wave of support was humbling and left him feeling blessed.

Fierro just hoped everyone would be as kind and understanding after he delivered the bad news about when the items they purchased would likely arrive.

'Get everybody a shirt'

What is the half-life of compassion, before it starts decaying into doubt and suspicion?

In a world where the goodwill of others is routinely exploited, where it seems a new mass shooting claims the national zeitgeist before the last ones victims are laid to rest, that answer might depend on how long a T-shirt remains on back-order.

Your 20 bucks was spent, or whatever it was. I understand thats your hard-earned money, and you bought a T-shirt and you expect to get that T-shirt. And you will, Fierro said in a mid-April interview with The Gazette, soon after the brewery announced it was poised to begin shipping out orders. But I also understand that my family comes first.

Fierros not being cavalier, just a man whose priorities are unwavering.

When Atrevida Beer Co. opened in 2018, you could certainly score branded apparel at the brewery off North Nevada Avenue. During the pandemic shut down, Fierro decided to take that aspect online, to stay connected and sell off lingering inventory.

I wanted my mom to be able to order shirts to support us because we cant ship beer, said Fierro, who priced the items at little more than what hed paid for them, buying in bulk lots from a local screen-printing company, packaging them and shipping out "maybe five shirts" a month.

After the Club Q-inspired online buying blitz, the Fierros posted a raw-eyed and emotional Facebook video message thanking the public for its support, and letting everyone know Atrevida couldnt yet predict when orders would be fulfilled.

But fulfilled, they would be.

Our intent is to field everybodys request and get everybody a shirt. It might take us a year, it might take 10 days, who knows? Rich said in the video. Please be patient with us. Were still trying to work through this process, and our injuries.

Grief and healing from physical and emotional trauma aside, lack of inventory aside, the Fierro's operation wasnt prepared to handle the volume of orders it received from around the globe, for items offered at insider prices because, before Nov. 19, insiders were the only ones buying.

"All of a sudden, Im (orders for) 10 dollar shirts out the yin yang and I dont have them," Rich said. "I dont know how to put it, except to say its bad.

BBB complaints, a nasty threat

The first of the unhappy messages started trickling in, via social media and other avenues, when buyers realized their purchases wouldnt arrive in time for Christmas, and that the brewerys no refunds/returns rule also applied to items that hadnt yet shipped.

As the timeline dragged deeper into the new year, as the Fierro family continued to deal with the retail snarls of contracting with an outside company to handle sales as well as physical and psychological health issues stemming from the attack, some frustrated buyers turned to the Better Business Bureau.

A half-dozen filed complaints citing the shipping delay and a lack of response after they said theyd reached out to the brewery to ask their orders be canceled and their money refunded.

Fierro continues to encourage those who are tired of waiting and no longer want their Atrevida gear to file a dispute, or chargeback, with their credit card companies.

We have not disputed any of those chargebacks and we won't, Rich Fierro said.

The uncontested chargeback option hasnt satisfied every unhappy customer, however.

For one erstwhile altruist, the rancor about an unreceived parcel turned into insults, and threats.

I want my refund I will be filing federal charges against you your wife and your daughter RICO, the punctuation-averse buyer messaged Fierro, invoking the federal law aimed at combating racketeering. The buyer went on to ask how things were going in the Fierros neighborhood, ominously name-dropping the street where the family lives in Colorado Springs.

The tirade continued from a different account apparently linked to the same person:

You are a thief. You are a piece of garbage. You have stole millions."

For the record, most of the people whove so far contacted the brewery about delayed orders  a subset Fierro said represents only a fraction of those who made purchases  have been seeking answers, not a fight.

It cant be that hard to print a bunch of T-shirts, especially since they got the money in advance  but maybe Im wrong about that, said Bob Pokorney, who said he was less miffed than baffled about why a one-color, very simple logo T-shirt could take so long for delivery.

From his perspective, updates and responses from the brewery have tapped empathy but failed to offer an explanation that, five months on, doesn't feel more like an excuse.

The reasons I ordered, I of course followed the news and thought that (Rich Fierro) was pretty heroic in trying to stop the shooter, said Pokorney, of Taos. I just wanted to show a little support and gratitude by ordering this T-shirt.

Five months later, he still feels the same, but those red flags are hard to ignore.

I want to emphasize that I continue to feel grateful to this guy for his actions, and Im willing to be super understanding, but I think its time to wrap this up, said Pokorney.

Its a valid point, Rich Fierro concedes.

The quest to find an outside company to handle production and distribution has been an epic one. The Fierros recently began working with a large merchandiser able to both produce the branded apparel and fulfill the contracts with customers, but that proved to be only one major step in a still-lengthy process.

I had drawn all this stuff (Atrevidas logos) myself, on PowerPoint, and just sent it to the guy whod print them up here in the Springs, Fierro said. It was easy.

Dealing with big-time companies able to handle such a large order required the brewery to recreate its original artwork and logos, as well as time to make sure all things were legally copacetic.

More love than hate

The good news? Though he wouldnt talk specific dates yet, Fierro said designs have been approved, and Atrevida will be fulfilling orders soon.

"As a company, this has been the most overwhelming and intimidating situation we have found ourselves in while being in the midst of chaos," read an April 10 update from the brewery posted on Facebook. "We know that we have a business to tend to but we also have bad days. We hurt. We have triggers. We have trauma. Trial dates. Questioning. Its a lot.

"For those of you that have been patient and remained loving, we thank you and love you ... You do not go unseen!"

To put things in perspective, a vast majority of the people whove gotten in touch about Atrevida's online sales have only done so to push back against those voicing complaints. For every angry call or message, dozens more offered support, Rich said.

Most people just wanted to say, the T-shirt or hat or whatever they bought isn't important. Take whatever time you need.

And try to ignore the haters.

I understand buying something and expecting it to be delivered in a timely manner," said Club Q shooting survivor Michael Anderson, "but if you actually truly support the Fierro family and youve chosen to do that by purchasing an item, you should also realize theres some context here you could never fully understand unless you've survived a mass shooting too."
Tired of the sometimes nebulous weather reports in Colorado? Well, researchers at Colorado State University will lead a NASA mission to gather never-before-seen data that should make weather forecasting more reliable.

The $177 million mission, called the Investigation of Convective UpdraftS, will use radar to observe thunderstorms worldwide and watch how air and water particles interact in the upper atmosphere to create storms. Colorado State University will host the science data center at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

The mission will feature three small satellites built by Colorado companies. The trio of satellites will follow one another very closely. The gap between the satellites is 30 seconds between the first and second and 90 between the second and third. The satellites will complete about 50 orbits per day, says Kristen Rasmussen, an associate professor at Colorado State Universitys Department of Atmospheric Science.

We are hoping to look at storms of all shapes and sizes, from thunderstorms with very small clouds all the way up to severe weather supercells that produce tornadoes, tropical cyclones and hurricanes, Rasmussen said. INCUS will try to estimate how much mass, air and water is being moved up in the vertical as a result of updrafts.

This movement of air and water  called convective mass flux  affects everything from numerical weather prediction models to climate models, Rasmussen said. It acts as the engine that drives storms and the mission will give researchers a nitty gritty look at the insides of that engine.

But a mission such as this one requires effective radar that can be easily stowed and deployed in a space no larger than a microwave. That's where Tendeg, a Louisville-based space company that specializes in deployable radar dishes, comes in.

We use a material called mesh, a gold-plated wire which is knit into a pattern that allows it to be really elastic and stretchy, said Gregg Freebury, the co-founder, CEO and principal engineer at Tendeg. Because it acts more like a fabric we can fold it and not damage it, taking a three-meter antenna and packaging it into something thats only 20 centimeters wide.

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The benefit of the plating also results in a very reflective surface. This gives the dish several advantages in low earth orbits, but key to a low earth orbit satellite, which INCUS will be, is low atmospheric drag. This means the satellites using a Tendeg dish can stay in orbit longer and carry less fuel should they need to push themselves to a higher altitude and avoid crashing through the atmosphere.

Mesh is the most-used material on Tendegs dishes. It also has the advantage of being low mass and as previously mentioned, low volume. Mass and volume are both part of the physics-based puzzle engineers have to solve before launching something into space, though Freebury said mass is becoming less and less of a concern.

While the dish is but one piece of this puzzle, theres a lot more to the mission than a radar system. But rather than creating new instruments, which would drive up the cost, researchers at CSU looked to make use of proven tech demos. Specifically, they wanted to combine previous space-borne precipitation radars first flown in 1997 with the homegrown Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems satellite.

Our strategy was to take these two proven technologies that already had successful space flights, that already collected data, and combine them, Rasmussen said. The radars flew in space on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring and the Global Precipitation Measurement missions.  These two satellites with precipitation radars have completely revolutionized our understanding of clouds and precipitation.

Making this all work falls to Lafayette-based Blue Canyon Technologies, a subsidiary of Raytheon. The company of just under 500 employees won the contract to build the mission's three satellites on April 13.

Blue Canyon Technologies will use its Venus-type bus, which enables communication across all systems onboard a satellite. Among other things, the bus keeps a craft in orbit, reports on mission health and points you in the right direction, said John Valdez, the mission program manager at Blue Canyon.

We started getting involved in mission meetings and as we progress through the studies and into the design phases, Blue Canyons responsibility grew, he said. And to me thats just fantastic. I mean, weve been able to link all the services and everything that we offer with this one specific mission for JPL and CSU.

The mission does not have a launch vehicle selected yet. It will likely launch in 2027.
Close Fabian Chavez holds a party hat Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, reaches for a balloon Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Vanessa Chavez, 9, climbs on a play structure Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Gwendolyn Cisneros, 3, picks dandelions Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Cata Contreras-Colin records families celebrating Dia del Nino on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Veronica Nunez of Philomath kisses her 1-year-old son, Yunuen Trejo, on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Paper and pipe brush crafts are visible Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children take turns smacking a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Parents release candy from a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, of Albany hoists a stick over his head before smacking a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Dia del Nino-themed gift packs were handed out Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, awaits his chance to smack a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Veronica Nunez, of Philomath, jumps rope with her 1-year-old son, Yunuen Trejo, on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children scramble for candy Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. David Sarmiento, 6, smiles while holding a balloon and a fruit cup Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children take turns smacking a pinata with a stick on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Matteo Garcia, 7, of Corvallis, winds up to smack a pinata with a stick Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, of Albany, eats a cupcake Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Gwendolyn Ciscneros, 3, of Corvallis, peers over fruit cups Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. A broken and empty pinata is removed from a rope Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Photos: Dia del Nino brings smiles, pinata to Corvallis picnic shelter Mothers at the April 29 celebration in Bruce Starker Arts Park said that the scant hour and half set aside for Spanish-only conversation is important to the identity of some families hailing from all over the Americas. Fabian Chavez holds a party hat Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, reaches for a balloon Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Vanessa Chavez, 9, climbs on a play structure Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Gwendolyn Cisneros, 3, picks dandelions Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Cata Contreras-Colin records families celebrating Dia del Nino on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Veronica Nunez of Philomath kisses her 1-year-old son, Yunuen Trejo, on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Paper and pipe brush crafts are visible Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children take turns smacking a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Parents release candy from a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, of Albany hoists a stick over his head before smacking a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Dia del Nino-themed gift packs were handed out Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, awaits his chance to smack a pinata Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Veronica Nunez, of Philomath, jumps rope with her 1-year-old son, Yunuen Trejo, on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children scramble for candy Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. David Sarmiento, 6, smiles while holding a balloon and a fruit cup Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Children take turns smacking a pinata with a stick on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Matteo Garcia, 7, of Corvallis, winds up to smack a pinata with a stick Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Adrian Chavez, 4, of Albany, eats a cupcake Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. Gwendolyn Ciscneros, 3, of Corvallis, peers over fruit cups Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis. A broken and empty pinata is removed from a rope Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bruce Starker Arts Park in Corvallis.

Veronica Nunez joined a few other moms in a Corvallis park on Saturday to show her kids something about having fun.

Where she grew up, Nunez got to celebrate being a kid.

El Dia del Nino was celebrated worldwide as the annual recognition of a childs right to a childhood. And in Mexico, it was a day for families to set aside a little precious time and be together in their communities.

Even though we celebrate them every day, this gives parents a chance to play with them, Nunez said.

Grupito Bilingue is an expression of community.

Founded by a local consultant, the group began as a gathering point for folks with common interests in cultural celebrations and Spanish immersion.

Nunez said her kids will grow up speaking English and celebrating U.S. holidays. But Nunez and several other mothers at the celebration April 29 in Bruce Starker Arts Park said that the scant 1 1/2 hours set aside for Spanish-only conversation is important to the identity of some families hailing from all over the Americas.

Its to celebrate our culture, Nunez said, to show our kids how we grew up.

The fruit cups were handed out, the pipe cleaner and paper crafts made, the pinata busted, and the kids were smiling.

That meant the moms were smiling, too.

Caty Contreras-Colin called the children from a playground to a picnic shelter with a drawn out niiiiinos! and some encouragement to line up for a chance to smack a rainbow-shaped pinata filled with candy.

A 4-year-old boy began the customary song about swinging a stick.

Dale, dale, dale!

Ady Ibarra, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, Gwendolyn Cisneros, smiled and obliged him with a response.

No pierdas el tino  porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino.

Do not lose focus  because if you lose it, youll lose the path.

Contreras-Colin consults with primarily nonprofit organizations about driving family engagement. That means she gets folks to show up to nonprofit-sponsored events.

In 2019, a few months before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Contreras-Colin wanted to reverse the paradigm  take community events to folks in the mid-Willamette Valley.

Contreras-Colin said holidays were very important in her family, and for a lot of families from Mexico. It was an excuse for folks from impoverished households to stop working for a minute.

Being able to spare some time is a luxury, Contreras-Colin said.

El Dia de los Muertos, los Posadas, festivities that largely go unobserved in the United States, provided natural opportunities for local families to find a reason to get together.

She started with three moms and a promise of festival-like celebrations and summer camps to give kids in a chance to speak Spanish.

About 3 1/2 years later, there are 12 moms and a bunch of kids who get to see the delight on their faces. Once Oregons health department said it was OK for people to gather outdoors, the group quadrupled in size, Contreras-Colin said.

Its circular. It established trust. It established community, Contreras-Colin said.

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Contreras-Colin runs two Spanish-only organizations for any kid in two age sets, Grupito Bilingue for preschool to second-grade students; and Campamento Bilingue for older children.

"Many of the kids have grown together," she said.

The group became a first stop for some families looking for help finding contractors or schools or other advice.

And, of course, a chance to have a little party.

All of these celebrations were common for me, and I want my kids to know how I grew up, Brenda Avila of Albany said.
The following is the winning essay from John Adams 8th Grader Madeline Cornish, which earned first prize at the North Iowa Civics Bee on April 25.

Mason City has an aging population. If this population is not taken care of, they may begin to feel uncomfortable and disconnected from the community, experience a lower quality of life, or even consider moving to where they have more opportunities for social and recreational experiences.

Angels Senior Living states, Seeing family or loved ones can help seniors stay engaged emotionally and feel less lonely. This shows how important it is to give residents social interaction. Starting a program that would visit weekly would be very beneficial.

That's why I have taken a group to the I.O.O.F home two times already. Both times have gone very well. The first step to these successful meetings is reaching out to local nursing homes about a date to visit. Once you have secured a date, think about what you will be doing on this visit and who you are advertising it to. Our group played board games from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the I.O.O.F home.

Next, seek out a sponsor so you have money to purchase the necessary supplies. I currently have sponsorship with Central Park Dentistry. Getting this program started in the words of Troy Sundt, I.O.O.F activities director, states, The program that Ms. Cornish has put together, working with our residents at Odd Fellows, has had a tremendous impact on their overall wellbeing. This shows how big of an impact starting these programs can make.

Starting something like this can make such a difference and they are quite simple to start as I went through earlier. I am currently in the works of expanding to Newman Middle School and plan on taking this program to high school with me. In high school, we will continue expanding to other nursing homes, other grades and other schools.

The plan for expanding would include other students at Newman and older students at Mason City High School if they were interested in visiting residents in the local nursing homes. So far, we have had a continuous nine students showing up to the visits. We have met many residents with a wide variety of health issues that need more visitors to keep their minds off their current state. Some of the people have memory problems, cant move well, or even just older people who have broken a bone. These people just want a person to talk and want attention. They want some to rant about their grandchildren, too.

In conclusion, Mason Citys aging population has to be taken care of more actively. Without caring for this elderly population, they could grow uncomfortable and tell people not to come here. This program is the best way to take care of these important members of our community.

Cornish received a $500 cash prize on behalf of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, and will advance along with the two runners-up, Allison Long and Julia Hines, to the Iowa State Civics Bee competition at the Iowa State Fair this summer.

EDITORS NOTE: This story was updated to reflect the correct school Cornish attends.

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As the decennial U.S. Federal Census for 1850 was enumerated in Franklin County, Kentucky, young William Wright, age 14, was listed as chattel in the property inventory of John Wilcox Russell.

Identified only by gender, age, and a capital "B" signifying Black, on what is known as a slave schedule, Willie was valued, as were other slaves held, in dollars, along with farm implements and livestock, summed into a total value of assets owned by Russell as of Sept. 17, 1850.

Although slave numbers were also tallied on the U.S. Census for 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1860, it was the 1850 census that proved to be the apex of slave numbers reported to the federal government.

Each slaveholder's inventoried listing of the number of human beings claimed as owned and most certainly enslaved was associated with their specific census data, and has, in this age of trillions of pages of digitized historic records, become a lamp shining light on the painful lost family history of many Black Americans.

In 1850, U.S. Census enumerators filled out 345,525 slave schedules supplementing the census and tabulating a total of 3,204,313 enslaved human souls living in the United States of America.

In context, Kentucky, in 1850 Willie Wright's home, reported 210,981 enslaved persons; third in total, only behind Virginia and Georgia. Minnesota Territory and Indiana and Ohio, states sharing a border with Kentucky reported zero. Illinois and Missouri, also sharing a border with Kentucky, enumerated 331 and 87,422 respectively.

As shocking as it may be, Iowa reported 303 slaves in 1850. However, the so-called Border States; Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, Virginia and Kentucky, were the tinderbox igniting the fusillade of the Civil War. In 1850, the five Border States accounted for 863,589 enslaved people, owned by 123,880 individual slaveholders.

Those hard metrics are an antiseptic introduction to this week's segment of the life story of North Iowa farmer William Wright. Numbers on a page written 172 years-ago, veils and dilutes what many historians have declared to be America's "original sin."

The economic engine for antebellum Kentucky, just as it was in Virginia, was tobacco. Fourteen year-old William Wright had earned a hardscrabble, and by flesh and blood, Ph.D. in tobacco farming on the Julian Plantation in Virginia. By 1855, at the age of 18, Captain John Russell placed Willie as foreman of his 300 acre tobacco farm in Franklin County Kentucky.

Quoting from his 1900 interview, Wright describes slaveholder Russell: "He was kind  and polite  he was good to us  Mr. Russell's work hands were called "Spoilt" [sic] by town people cause he treat us so good."

A half-century and a thousand miles away, William Wright speaks of his enslaver with respect, fondness, and a smile, just as he did about his Virginia slaveholder Major Julian.

I've been bothered by William Wright's docile narrative of his treatment during the decades he was enslaved.

The picture Willie painted using the pallet and the paints of newspaper publisher Scammon, the more I thought about it, struck me as unjustifiably submissive and conciliatory and just didn't seem to ring true.

I chewed over this inconsistency and decided to dig into other African-American oral histories that I could find. The continually expanding digitization of historic assets held in the repositories around the country led me to a treasure trove of recorded oral history accounts of enslaved persons recorded by employees of the Works Project Administration Federal Writers Project between 1936 and 1938.

The narratives were amazing and telling. A common theme was the nearly "Stockholm Syndrome" type recitations of the "kind," "good," "tolerant" and "forgiving" slave masters.

These recorded accounts, like that of William Wright, which painted life as a slave passively expressing gratitude, were of course a lie, delivered to history as the truth, for reasons unknown. The foundation of the most beautiful of lies is often the ugliest of truths.

Today, this nation is plagued by a dissonance; a schism; a disharmony; a disunity and disunion. Pick you own despicable American original sin and I am certain you can find factual historic validation for your focused and biased argument.

Yet, history is at its greatest value and worth when used by present and future generations as a template for positive changes.

I'm going to have to stretch these weekly visits with you out a bit, but all sides of the truth best as I can render is the least of which you are entitled.

Next Week: Captain John Wilcox Russell, 1794-1869, the last slave master of Willie Wright.
Woodside Village resident Nicky Stephens wants the apartment complex to be tidied up and made safer to live.

She hates the fact that a fatal shooting happened in her community, especially where children live.

"I just hate it for the children," Stephens, 50, said during an interview outside the apartment building where she lives. "It's not safe for the kids to come out and play."

It was in the early morning hours Monday  shortly after midnight  when Danville police officers responded to Woodside Village Apartments in the 1300 block of Piney Forest Road.

When they arrived, they found 37-year-old Marcus Hairston shot. Officers administered CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police wrote in a news release.

Stephens had known Hairston for decades, since they were children, she said.

"I've never known Marcus to be a troublemaker," she said.

Hairston didn't live at the complex, but came by to visit his children and their mother who lives there, Stephens said.

Stephens' 62-year-old neighbor, Jimmy Gunn, also had kind words for Hairston.

"He was one of the good ones," Gunn said.

Another person suffered injuries described as non-life threatening at the scene. Later, authorities were alerted that a third victim arrived at Sovah Health-Danville with a gunshot wound also described as non-life threatening.

Danville Police Capt. Keith Thompson said Monday afternoon the department had a person of interest in custody.

"More investigation is proceeding," Thompson said.

The incident occurred between two groups of people and was not a random act of violence, he said.

"It was specific between the victims and the suspects," Thompson said.

Gunn and Stephens said perpetrators from outside the apartment complex are bringing violence there.

"It seems like it's always an outside entity that comes in," Gunn said. "They come in here and bring trouble and disappear."

Being part of an older population in the complex, Gunn and Stephens said they do not go out at night because it is unsafe.

Stephens' uncle, 64-year-old Carl Davis, stops by the complex four or five days a week to visit his girlfriend. But when the sun goes down, he stays indoors as well.

"I come here and I don't go out," Davis said. "If I go to the store, I don't go after dark."

Another homicide occurred at Woodside Village less than a year ago when 23-year-old Darick Lamont Richardson II was fatally shot in a parking lot there last July.

The complex needs lighting and security cameras at the premises to reduce the likelihood of criminal activity, Stephens said. Many of the areas in the neighborhood are dark, with no visibility at night, enabling perpetrators to commit offenses out of sight.

"They know to come late at night," she said. "They know the areas to go where to park."

Also, the property is filthy, with trash piling up at its trash-box sites, she added.

"It smells like trash and death up here," Stephens said. "Kids shouldn't have to live like that."

During a H.E.A.R.T (Heal and Engage After Recent Trauma) walk held in the neighborhood by the Danville Police Department, Chief Scott Booth was appalled at the property's appearance.

"Look at the conditions," he said.

Drink cups, bottles and other detritus littered the parking lot and grassy areas, which had weeds as tall as adult people in some spots. A trash-bin overflowed with trash bags, many of which piled around the structure.

"The goal of H.E.A.R.T. walks is to express to the community the police department cares about their well-being," the news release from the police department stated. "The walks are conducted not to discover more information on the investigation, but to check in on our residents."

The department has put together a group in the city to improve the complex and has been working with property management for about a year about maintaining and cleaning up the neighborhood. Woodside Village has had multiple owners over the past two years, Thompson said.

"We need cameras, we need lighting, we need upkeep," Thompson told the Danville Register & Bee at the walk.

A new company purchased the property in March.

"As of now, nothing has changed at all," Thompson said. "I feel like I'm in a third-world country."

Woodside's Village property manager would not comment on the record for this story.

Last August, the city turned off the complex's water supply because the management company did not pay its bill.

After receiving calls about the disconnection, the mayor, city council members and the city manager discussed what was happening. After finding out the management company was behind in its bill, officials decided to turn the water back on for residents.

Booth said conditions like those at Woodside Village, with litter, piles of trash, overgrown grass and weeds and general disrepair, can be a breeding ground for crime.

"People are going to feel comfortable with littering, urinating in public and committing more serious crimes," said Booth, referring to the "broken windows" theory of law enforcement.

According to the broken windows theory, dilapidated conditions at a property or in a community  including broken windows and other blight  make an area an easy target for criminal activity. Conversely, improving a property's condition and appearance can help deter or reduce illegal acts at a site.

As for Stephens, she remembers what she and Hairston always said to each other after seeing one another.

"We'd say, 'be safe out there,'" she said.

"That's pretty much the mantra out here," Gunn said.

Anyone who has information is asked to contact the Danville Police Department by calling patrol at 434-799-6510 option 4; investigations at 434-799-6508 option 1, and option 1 again; 911; or Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000.

In addition, residents may approach any officer they see, use social media, email crimetips@danvilleva.gov, or use the crime tips app CARE.

Photos: Police host H.E.A.R.T. walk after homicide
The kremvax hoax





| intro |

A hoax that shocked the (in the sense of networking still mostly American) world.



It was 1984, and the world was still in the middle of the



Here's the original Usenet article:





| article |

From chernenko@kremvax.UUCP Sun Apr 1 15:02:52 1984 Relay-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC840302); site mcvax.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 4/1/84 (SU840401); site kremvax.UUCP Path: mcvax!moskvax!kremvax!chernenko From: chernenko@kremvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.general,eunet.general,net.politics,eunet.politics Subject: USSR on Usenet Message-ID: <0001@kremvax.UUCP> Date: Sun, 1-Apr-84 15:02:52 GMT Article-I.D.: kremvax.0001 Posted: Sun Apr 1 15:02:52 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 1-Apr-84 12:26:02 GMT Organization: MIIA, Moscow Lines: 41 <.....> Well, today, 840401, this is at last the Socialist Union of Soviet Republics joining the Usenet network and saying hallo to everybody. One reason for us to join this network has been to have a means of having an open discussion forum with the American and European people and making clear to them our strong efforts towards attaining peaceful coexistence between the people of the Soviet Union and those of the United States and Europe. We have been informed that on this network many people have given strong anti-Russian opinions, but we believe they have been misguided by their leaders, especially the American administration, who is seeking for war and domination of the world. By well informing those people from our side we hope to have a possibility to make clear to them our intentions and ideas. Some of those in the Western world, who believe in the truth of what we say have made possible our entry on this network; to them we are very grateful. We hereby invite you to freely give your comments and opinions. Here are the data for our backbone site: Name: moskvax Organization: Moscow Institute for International Affairs Contact: K. Chernenko Phone: +7 095 840401 Postal-Address: Moscow, Soviet Union Electronic-Address: mcvax!moskvax!kremvax!chernenko News: mcvax kremvax kgbvax Mail: mcvax kremvax kgbvax And now, let's open a flask of Vodka and have a drink on our entry on this network. So: NA ZDAROVJE! -- K. Chernenko, Moscow, USSR ...{decvax,philabs}!mcvax!moskvax!kremvax!chernenko





| followup |

Obviously the article caused a flood of reactions, especially from the US, and of course I had taken care that they were all directed to my own mailbox.



After 2 weeks, when some people had started worrying about the costs (!) the discussion about the "hoax-or-for-real" was causing on Usenet (costs? sure, most of the network then was still a dialup network and modems were very slow), I reveiled the real source, while including some of the reactions I got.



Here's how it ended:





| unraveled |

------------ From: piet@mcvax.UUCP (Piet Beertema) Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC840302); site mcvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.followup,eunet.followup Subject: USSR on Usenet: The Mystery Unraveled Message-ID: <5779@mcvax.UUCP> Date: Sun, 15-Apr-84 13:53:11 EST Article-I.D.: mcvax.5779 Posted: Sun Apr 15 13:53:11 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 15-Apr-84 23:41:56 EST Organization: CWI, Amsterdam Lines: 298 Well then, here we are, two weeks after the Big Bang Thanks to all of you, netpals, who replied to my "USSR on Usenet" article. Reading all your replies really made worth while the forging I had to do hide the real origin. There were only a few negative responses. So humour still prevails in this (net)world. 'Sorry' for those who took this April Fool so bloody serious...... (I got serious letters more than 3 pages long!) Thanks also to those over here for the suggestions that eventually led to this article. Here's a summary of the responses, some of them with a comment. Not afraid to at last reveal the real source... Piet Beertema (piet@mcvax.UUCP) P.S. Sorry I had to explicitly state the date (twice) in the article body; otherwise it might have fooled more people; but the risk of the news software mangling the date in the header was just too bad). ------------ *** And April Fool to you too, Komrade! *** As for the real discussions in politics: it was Mr. Chernenko, not any single member of the Sovjet people, who was allowed on the net April the 1st. (I AM a single member of the Soviet people, comrade! Chernenko.) *** Where is Reagan's opener? Does he have a terminal? (Can he use one? Wargames, perhaps? Encrypted mail?) (No, he can't: has to keep his fingers on the trigger...) *** This isn't funny. I hope you get so much mail in response to this that you're reading it for a week straight. F**k you. (I did. And enjoyed it! Fuck me? Ain't no chick, pal. motss perhaps?) *** Gee, I thought that every time Russia tried to buy a VAX, customs came along and filled the boxes with concrete. *** get out of our network!!! *** chto eto za govno? ya ne veryu to chto ya chitayu v pyervom aprelye. (Sorry, but my Russian isn't what is used to be.... Cherny.) *** Hmmm, "kgbvax," I like that one. Enjoy. *** Your message sounds like a prepared speech! (It sure was....!) *** If your net contact is used as another channel for government- authored propaganda, not too many of us will be interested in reading your messages. *** Many Americans will tend to dismiss your attitude as "typical Soviet xenophobia," and I warn you that you will manage to persuade very few people to change their minds (I tried some months ago to do so on the net, and gave up in disgust). *** Do you have wombats in Mother Russia? *** So let's open a bottle of Wild Turkey and celebrate this (he says modestly) historical event: CHEERS!!! *** Gosh, does sending this letter put in the files of the CIA & KGB??? (Sure bet! And don't forget the CWI!) *** If you receive this, and the network doesn't send back an 'unknown address' message to me, then you may not be kidding around, pulling everyone's leg. (it will, from now on) *** Wow! Is this for real? Honest-to-god Russia? Gee. I never thought that I'd see it. Does this imply that Unix is behind the Iron curtain? (Isn't that where at least the encryption algorithm came from?) *** Perhaps you are not aware, but the standard phrase "misguided by their leaders...seeking for war and domination of the world" is one of those things we have heard in those exact words so many times that it is a subject of humor to our comedians and satirical writers. (Well, how about this satirical writer?) *** It will be interesting to see which newsgroups you wind up participating in. (net.nuclear and net.jokes....) *** How cute! Where does this end up, anyway? (In my mailbox... Piet) *** (Oh yeah... you forgot net.news.newsite :-) ) (Sorry for that; can happen with a novice.... Cherny) *** Very Clever April 1 ........ *** This sounds like a joke, but what the heck! Here we go: Welcome to the world of USENET. First, let me congratulate you on getting funds approved for your telephone expenses. It must be pretty expensive to read all this garbage that the net is flooded with every day. Are you actually typing from the Kremlin? Wow! I didn't think any information can get out of there without being thoroughly checked, approved, rechecked and all that, and that can take days! How long, I wonder will it be before I recieve your response to this mail? You will respond, won't you? (Of course...) *** Welcome! [From an isolated CIA outpost] (Then why didn't you send your mail to 'kgbvax'.....? Actually no one did. Pity.) *** <Is this for real? Can we have confirmation from someone who is <recognized as being in a position to know? It is indeed for real. I am in a position to know (supine). *** I knew there was a path to the Russians on the net! Now at last we can exchange netnews messages about high school reunions and our latest cryptoanalytic results. Thank you eversomuch. *** The posting date was April 1, which is generally what we call "April Fool's Day". Sometimes good practical jokes are played on that day. I have a strong feeling that USSR on the net is an April Fool's joke. (So do I...) *** Hmmm.... I just wonder who 'kgbvax' is.... :-( (That's 'ciavax', only spelled eastward :-)) *** I'm the night operator and don't have any vodca so will a hot pot of coffee do... Well I better go back to work, just wanted to say HI and welcome. *** Today is the April 1 1984, also known as the April Fool's day. Whose leg you are pulling? :-) (Netland's) *** We in capitalist America have received your first message and one simple thought pops into the minds of many a capitalist computer interfacer such as myself: ARE YOU FOR REAL? Please reply. We in the "buying is being" world would like to know for sure if you exist. Also, how do you get vaxes? From Sweden, or South Africa? (From Malaysia, El Salvador, Indonesia etc.) *** I am most pleased to see that our friends in Russia have joined the uucp network. Greetings (sorry I know no Russian). You will find the politics in Canada, or at least my politics, much less strident than many of the articles in usenet originating from the American Institutions. (...) *** That was a nice April Fool's joke! How did you do it? (By spending a nice Sunday afternoon on this: 1. change the sendmail configuration table to deflect all mails for "moskvax" to my mailbox; 2. disable uucico; 3. post the article; 4. forge the article's header (also trying to take care of the time difference between Moscow and Amsterdam...); 5. re-enable uucico; 6. start up all connections to spread the article as quick as possible. [And that's where is almost went wrong: couldn't get a connection to decvax that whole day! Perhaps decvax playing April Fool on me???] That's all...) *** I found this article in extremely poor taste. The person who fudged this up clearly has access rights to their site's news facilities. If I worked there I'd be somewhat worried about security. (No one else is, since they all know the meaning of April 1...; [This one came from Scotland; must have been very bad weather there...]) *** War of the Worlds, creationism... Now I understand. The person in the best "positon to know" is P. T. Barnum. His opinion is in the public domain. Kudos to the perpetrator! "moscvax", "kremvax" -- truly inspired! *** If everyone compares paths, we can figure out what machine the perpetrator used. (Save your energy; here he is) *** Interesting that whoever did this (well done, by the way!) picked "vax" as the machine suffix. Don't you know what happens to VAXen that try to go to the USSR? (They get stopped in Sweden and it makes headlines in North America.) (-: (Since the Russians spell "Moskva", the suffix was just 'x'.... :-)) *** Have you ever considered the profession of private investigator? Good Show! *** I want to voice my support of those who feel that the "April Fool's" joke about the USSR on the USENET was bad form. Particularly when it appeared in what many of us had come to rely on as the authoritative source for nuews about the network. (net.politics you mean?) Perhaps that individual should also be informed that April Fool's Day is not the widespread celebration (?) that we in the US, in our culturo-centric way, may sometimes think it is. (For your information: it IS!) It looks as if there is at least one fool on this network. <From the ever smiling, ever happy fingers of:..... (Right! One with ever smiling fingers....) *** Did you seriously believe that a K. Chernenko at moskvax!kremvax really exists? kremvax? moskvax? Come on! *** I cant believe people actually are getting upset over a simple joke. When I first read the article, I was borderline on believing until I got to the KGBvax signature. I thought it was very humurous and not at all in bad taste. It certainly didnt take any more phone costs to post that and generate reponses than any of the other lame-brain articles one sometimes reads on the net. (I agree! Especially when my finger is hurting from hitting the 'n' key!) *** There have been some people who thought that planting of this rather hilarious piece was somehow in "bad taste", because they genuinely thought a new era of Soviet-U.S. cooperation was at hand. (...and were too busy/sleepy to look at all the references to the date...) *** Seems to imply that mcvax itself is the culprit. (Good work!) *** kgbvax? kremvax? Chernenko actually use a terminal? Do you really believe all that? Would you like to buy some desert land? The article did exactly what an April Fool's joke is supposed to do - make a lot of people act like fools, if only for a few minutes. *** Don't bother searching for the Mad Muscovite. If I had the capability to make a path that included moskvax and kremvax, would I include MY site name also? I hope we NEVER find out who did it. Somebody will probably want to sack him/her for "poor taste", when it was actually quite clever. (Never mind: sack > /dev/null) *** The USSR joins the net article did not arrive here 1 April. Is there not a convention that jokes that are not obvious contain the :-) symbol? (See P.S. above; see explicit date and phonenumber(!) in article) *** Subject: Know News Versions in use version B 2.10.1 4/1/83 (SU840401) kremvax.UUCP (Shouldn't computers be told about April 1 too?) *** I am extremely happy at this chance to talk. Let us see where this leads us. At present this is a private letter to you. If our correspondance begins to make sense, we shall start posting it. *** The article was obviously a prank, from the subject header on down. The thing that bothers me are the people who say things like '[using the network as a reliable source of information.]' HAH. *** But the reference to the beginning of April was a dead giveaway, and it was meant to be. (Yes. See P.S. above) *** I should have been more on my guard, and you can bet I will be next year!" *** ...would anyone be willing to serve as a Soviet gateway site? (I can honestly state mcvax, as the gateway to continental Europe, will) *** The April Fool's day posting from kremvax was the most refreshing thing I've seen on usenet. To those who ask - "How would you feel if it came from ciavax or fbivax?" - I wish I had been imaginative enough to have posted a reply from ciavax! (I wish you had...) *** C'mon guys. Do you expect that a letter from Ronald Reagan on the USENET would be legitimate? Than why did you expect such from the U.S.S.R? (Would you expect a letter from ANY politician on USENET?) *** Dear sir, I am very glad to see that there is now a Soviet site on the net. Welcome. I am a computer science major at .....; I have class in a couple minute, so I will ask that you reply to this letter somehow. *** In fact, I thought that the author of it should have used a leading Russian scientist as his spokesperson, instead of Chernenko, to make it more believable. Boy, did I overestimate Net intelligence! *** KGB Officers are university admissions personnel? AHA! THAT explains it! Now I know why the current crop of students are who they are... *** Selling them a VAX is likely to set them back ten years. *** ------------ Well, thanks for your attention, Comrades. But right now I've got the Russian Flu, so I'm afraid I won't see you again before April 1 next year! K. Chernenko





| months later |

From a reliable source I heard that this, eh... "problem" had been the subject of a serious discussion at the Pentagon about "how to deal with it". Wow! :-)





| 7 years later |

Interestingly, what was a hoax then, turned into reality in the years that followed, when the political climate changed so dramatically that the (for some!) unthinkable became true: network connectivity to the East Block, culminating in even full IP connectivity!



And it was in 1991 that "kremvax" became reality too, when (with my official blessing ;-))



) Existence and reachability last checked and verified on 16-4-2022.





| 38 years later |

In 2022 Russia invaded its sovereign, peaceful and neutral neighbour country Ukraine and started an extremely ruthless war, bombarding homes, schools, supermarkets, theatres, museums, hospitals, maternity clinics, killing women, pregnant women, women in labor or just having given birth, children and elderly people. Putins gangsters used banned cluster bombs, starved besieged cities. Russian troops looted, committed atrocities, war crimes, massacres, raped women and girls, and deported numerous civilians to Russia or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. And when Putin was faced with loosing his war, he reverted to massive terrorism against civil infrastructure and public utilities all over Ukraine, in an attempt to force surrender by depriving people from such basic needs as electricity, drinking water and heating, just before winter would set in. That didn't affect the resilience of the Ukranians either - on the contrary - but created a striking resemblance to what happened in 1941: then it was Hitler trying in vain to conquer Russia (



This left me with a moral dilemma: should I keep the "kremvax" story on my website or remove it? After long consideration I've decided to keep it. Main reasons for keeping it were:



Removing "kremvax" wouldn't change anything and would serve no purpose.



Removing "kremvax" would boil down to retro-censoring and in a sense falsifying history.



In those 38 years "kremvax" has become widely spread over the internet, preserved in digital archives, written about in magazines and books, and is thus beyond any possibility of removal.



Last but not least: the contrast between Chernenko's 1984 fictitious words "our strong efforts towards attaining peaceful coexistence" and Putin's 2022 war against Ukraine, and the contrast between the fictitious connecting of the Soviet Union to the net in 1984 and the blocking of large parts of the internet by Russia in 2022, couldn't be sharper. A hoax that shocked the (in the sense of networking still mostly American) world.It was 1984, and the world was still in the middle of the Cold War , so any form of network connectivity to any East Block country, let alone the USSR, was unthinkable and considered a direct threat to (US) national security, as was the idea of modern computer technology (Digital Equipment Corporation's ' VAX ') being in the hands of the Soviets. Konstantin Chernenko was prime minister of the USSR, General Secretary of the Communist Party and head of the 'Politburo' (the body that had the real political power in that time).Here's the original Usenet article:Obviously the article caused a flood of reactions, especially from the US, and of course I had taken care that they were all directed to my own mailbox.After 2 weeks, when some people had started worrying about the costs (!) the discussion about the "hoax-or-for-real" was causing on Usenet (costs? sure, most of the network then was still a dialup network and modems were very slow), I reveiled the real source, while including some of the reactions I got.Here's how it ended:From a reliable source I heard that this, eh... "problem" had been the subject of a serious discussion at the Pentagon about "how to deal with it". Wow! :-)Interestingly, what was a hoax then, turned into reality in the years that followed, when the political climate changed so dramatically that the (for some!) unthinkable became true: network connectivity to the East Block, culminating in even full IP connectivity!And it was in 1991 that "kremvax" became reality too, when (with my official blessing ;-)) Vadim Antonov of Demos gave this name to one of his machines in Moscow: kremvax.demos.su (a newer computer bearing that name may still exist) and be located in Moscow). Demos is also the story of Relcom, that - in that same year 1991 - played a key role in making a coup plot against Boris Yeltsin fail In 2022 Russia invaded its sovereign, peaceful and neutral neighbour country Ukraine and started an extremely ruthless war, bombarding homes, schools, supermarkets, theatres, museums, hospitals, maternity clinics, killing women, pregnant women, women in labor or just having given birth, children and elderly people. Putins gangsters used banned cluster bombs, starved besieged cities. Russian troops looted, committed atrocities, war crimes, massacres, raped women and girls, and deported numerous civilians to Russia or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. And when Putin was faced with loosing his war, he reverted to massive terrorism against civil infrastructure and public utilities all over Ukraine, in an attempt to force surrender by depriving people from such basic needs as electricity, drinking water and heating, just before winter would set in. That didn't affect the resilience of the Ukranians either - on the contrary - but created a striking resemblance to what happened in 1941: then it was Hitler trying in vain to conquer Russia ( "Operation Barbarossa" ), now it was Putin (nicknamed "Putler") attempting to do the same with Ukraine.This left me with a moral dilemma: should I keep the "kremvax" story on my website or remove it? After long consideration I've decided to keep it. Main reasons for keeping it were:

homepage
Give content providers funding  Oscar Provencal

Jayne Buckman-Owoo Showbiz News May - 01 - 2023 , 14:29

Veteran actor Oscar Provencal has called on government to give funding to content providers who do short skits and series.

According to the Inspector Bediako actor, all those who specialise in short skits for social media as well as those who do series are all contributing to the local movie industry as all these are part of the movie industry.

Oscar Provencal was speaking on TV3s New Day moderated by Berla Mundi which also has Abraham Ohene-Djan and movie producer Peter Sedufia as panellists.

Oscar Provencal also advised Ghanaians not to compare Ghanas movie industry to Nigerias as the two are miles apart, Look at Nigerias population and the number of movies they produce in a year and compare it to ours here.

There is no point comparing the two industries because they are worlds apart and one has far advanced than the other so kindly stop the comparisons, he stated.

Oscar Provencals call come on the wake of the decline of the Ghanaian movie industry and at a time where some local movie producers especially the ones from Kumawood have resorted to producing short skits for YouTube and television series.

Oscar Provencal has been around for over three decades and has graced our screens with his brilliant acting. He is especially known for his role as Inspector Bediako in the television detective series titled Inspector Bediako.
Ambassador Edward Boateng calls for effective implementation of Disability Act

GraphicOnline May - 01 - 2023 , 20:38

Ambassador Edward Boateng, Director General (DG) of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) and immediate past Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China has expressed the need to focus on mental health as a nation and called for the effective implementation of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 Act 715.

Speaking at an event organized to interact and share with the disabled community in the Ashanti Region, he remarked that anyone could be disabled and that disability is not earmarked for a selected few.

Disability knows no boundaries. It is not reserved for the rich or poor, strong or weak, old or young. It also serves no notice and that is why we need to ensure that the right systems and policies are implemented to enhance the lives of persons with disability.

Ambassador Boateng encouraged all present especially persons with disability (PWD) to be confident, and aggressive and aim to make a difference in society irrespective of conditions. He cited great men locally and internationally who made an impact to society irrespective of their challenges.

Disability doesnt mean inability. You have inherent talents and skills to unearth, harness and aggressively engage to make a difference. President Roosevelt who steered America through the Great Depression and World War II achieved despite being affected by polio and needed mobility aids, Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University achieved great scientific feats despite needing mobility aids and losing his speech, Helen Keller became deaf blind at the age of 19 months but became an advocate for labour rights and many social causes globally, Paul Anomah Kordieh of e.tv Ghana is visually impaired but reads live news on TV and decorated as Ghanas first visually impaired news anchor. Chairman B.K. Edusei who championed Kotokos Africa club victory in 1971 also had mobility aids. The list goes on and on and on. With technology these days, you can become anything you yearn for, he said.



Additionally, he donated logistics and aids to the community as part of his annual donation to the disabled community in Ghana.

Among the items donated included white canes, walking crutches, walkers and wheelchairs. Receiving the items on behalf of the group, Mr. Kwasi Kyei thanked Amb. Boateng for his exhibition of genuine love and assured that the group will utilize the logistics in their quest to make life meaningful.

He said On behalf of the group, I say thank you. We are grateful and assure you that the beneficiaries are capable of achieving great feats. What they require is the support, technology and enabling policies.

Ambassador Boateng has consistently supported the disabled community and donated logistics and aids to Ghanas disabled communities. In his previous capacity as Executive Chairman of the Global Media Alliance group; founders of e.tv Ghana, Ambassador Boateng recruited and provided training and logistics to Paul Anomah Kordieh to become Ghanas and arguably West Africas first visually impaired news anchor and commercial television presenter. As the co-founder of the popular Family Fun Run and Corporate 5KM Run events, the annual proceeds of both events are donated to the Mercy Social Centre (an orphanage) and the Ghana Blind Union.

When asked why opted to support the disabled community in his annual charity project, Amb. Boateng shared that less attention is given to the disabled community and even though they also have needs, attention is often given to all other groups except them. Why not them? You would be surprised to know that the presentation of a white cane or one wheel chair can transform the life and fortunes of our friends here today. But attention is mostly given to other groups. This is not to belittle the needs of all other groups. Giving to other groups is also valid and important but they disabled in society also deserve our support, care and love, he said.

The event was held at the Kwadaso Methodist Retreat Centre. Among the dignitaries present were Prof. Kingsley Nyarko (Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency), Hon Richmond Agyenim Boateng (Municipal Chief Executive  Kwadaso Municipal Assembly), Mr. Kwasi Kyei (Former Director of Communications  Ashanti Region NPP).
Convert National Cathedral project into hospital - TUC to govt

Zadok Kwame Gyesi May - 01 - 2023 , 11:34

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has asked the government to convert the National Cathedral project into a hospital.

Addressing the 2023 May Day parade in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah said converting the national cathedral into a hospital project will better serve Ghanaians than going ahead to build the cathedral.

The TUC also advised the President to reduce the size of government as Ghana was going through economic challenges.

The 2023 May Day parade is on the theme: "Protecting incomes and pensions in an era of economic crisis: Our responsibility"

National Cathedral

Attached below is a LIVE video from the parade in Bolgatanga.

More to follow....
GREENSBORO  As of April 2023, ArtsGreensboro has filled three new staff positions. The positions include Director of Development, Artists Services and Creative Engagement Coordinator and Database and Administrative Coordinator. ArtsGreensboro expanded its staff to meet the needs of the creative community better.

Alyce Barrett accepted the position of Director of Development. Barrett is an artist and community advocate, most recently serving on ArtsGreensboros Board of Directors. She is a political fellow from Loyola University of New Orleans Institute of Politics and holds an International Public & NGO Management certification from Cornell University. She is currently pursuing an MBA at Edinburgh Business School  Herriot Watt.

Greensboro is rich in its long-standing traditional arts institutions, smaller arts and cultural organizations, and individual creatives whose voices and stories are being shared in impactful ways, says Barrett. I am proud to be a part of the arts community and have a stake in the growth and richness that lives here. Outside of her professional work, Barrett is an avid visual artist.

Joy Thompson accepted the position as Artist Services and Community Engagement Coordinator; in this position, Thompson will serve as a liaison between ArtsGreensboro and the creative community. Thompson graduated from Howard University and received masters degrees from Morgan State University and Virginia Tech. Formerly an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech and NC A&T State University, she joins the team from the world of academia. As a hip-hop soul artist, she is enthusiastic about helping artists of Guilford County thrive professionally.

Charlotte Marcellus accepted the position of Database and Administrative Coordinator. Marcellus will receive her undergraduate degree in art management from Appalachian State University in May 2023. Previously, Marcellus interned with ArtsGreensboro working closely with the Community Elevation Grant Program. She has also interned with GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art and volunteered with the Watauga Arts Council in Boone, NC. As a native of Greensboro, Marcellus is deeply invested in the Guilford County creative community; she seeks to bring her experience in the arts, fundraising and development to support its continued growth.

Since the onset of the pandemic, ArtsGreensboro has pivoted to provide the best and most necessary resources to the local creative community. The staffing changes will help ArtsGreensboro fulfill its goals and strengthen the vibrant arts community in Guilford County.
" " Gaslighters often use expressions like these as ways to get their victims to feel they have overreacted. Ariya J/Shutterstock

New York-based political commentator Irina Tsukerman often debates other people in a public setting and sometimes has been accused of gaslighting when the argument gets heated.

"During these debates they have generally claimed that I was gaslighting them or the audience (despite the fact that I was arguing on the substance) as a way to undermine my credibility," she explains in an email interview.

She's also been accused of gaslighting in online forums as well. "People would literally report me as commenting on a particular topic even though I've said no such thing or said something entirely different, as a way to present me a certain way, and would even occasionally go back and delete their own comments so it would seem like I am talking to myself or attacking them for no reason."

But Tsukerman knows that gaslighting is the wrong word to use in these situations. "In reality, gaslighting is a practice that takes time to build up; you generally can't make people think they are crazy during one debate or discussion."

Indeed, "gaslighting" can be added to the list of words that have spilled over from clinical psychology into popular nomenclature. While increased understanding of mental health issues is generally a good thing, it falls decidedly flat when terms like gaslighting, ADHD, OCD and such are grossly misused. All three have become popular slang terms for feelings and experiences that are nowhere near what the terms mean.

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The Origin of "Gaslighting"

The word "gaslight" (as a psychological term) comes from a 1936 play titled "Gas Light." Later made into the 1944 film "Gaslight" starring Ingrid Bergman, the storyline depicts the heroine being emotionally abused to the point where she is led to believe that she's a kleptomaniac. In the plot, her husband (played by Charles Boyer) messes with her mind by making sounds in the attic and dimming the gas lights in the house, then denying that either of those things are actually happening when she mentions them. The point of this subterfuge is to have her question her sanity so that she will agree to be institutionalized, thus allowing the husband to get his hands on her valuable jewels.

" " Charles Boyer scrutinizes Ingrid Bergman at the theater in a scene from the 1944 film "Gaslight." Bettmann/Getty Images

"Gaslighting" was one of Oxford Dictionary's words of the year for 2018. Some attribute the increase in usage as a reaction to President Donald Trump's habit of denying he said something after it was clear that he had, and doubling down on his denial when caught in a lie.

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What Gaslight Really Means Vs. How People Use It

"The biggest place I see it misused is when people refer to others who have a strong opinion or idea or perception that is different from their own," says psychologist Dr. Mark Sharp with the Aiki Relationship Institute via email. "When those people argue for something that doesn't fit their own experience, they call that gaslighting. I run into it in my relationship counseling business quite a bit."

Gaslighting is actually a far more complex form of psychological manipulation than just lying or disagreeing. It's also known as the more technically accurate "coercive control," emails Dr. Monica Vermani, a clinical psychologist in Toronto and author of "A Deeper Wellness: Conquering Stress, Mood, Anxiety and Traumas." "Referring to disagreements and attempts to convince, influence or sway someone's opinion as gaslighting contributes to serious misunderstanding and trivializing of this dangerous and destructive form of manipulation and control," she adds.

An argumentative person trying to get you to change your mind in the here and now or lying to you is not necessarily gaslighting you. "Gaslighting is a deliberate and complex means of intentionally controlling an individual, carried out over an extended time," she explains, noting that the gaslighter's goal is to get the target to "doubt their perceptions and thoughts to the point where they lose faith in and distrust their sense of reality, reason, and understanding of facts and situations."

Sadly, gaslighting is commonly done by someone close to the victim, such as a romantic partner, family member or a close work associate or friend. Often, the gaslighter was victimized in this manner as a child, Vermani notes. "These manipulative behaviors, modelled by parents and other family members, become their blueprints... and their own childhood abuse is later repeated in their adult relationships," she explains. "Thus, while their behaviors are intentional, they may be unaware of the abusive nature of their actions."

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How to Spot Gaslighting

Often, gaslighting is a very nuanced, gradual process that can be difficult to detect. The "long game" is being played here, in form of manipulation in the following ways:

Witholding: The gaslighter won't listen to the victim or acts like they don't understand.

Countering: The abuser questions the victim's memory and recollection of events.

Trivializing: The abuser makes the victim feel as though they are being irrational about their concerns or making too big a deal of them.

Forgetting: The abuser denies outright that a particular thing happened or pretends to have forgotten about it. One large-scale example of gaslighting is when people deny documented events, like the Holocaust.

Diverting: The gaslighter changes the subject or focuses on the credibility of the person speaking versus the content.

The gaslighter might repeat sentences like, "You never remember things correctly," "You're imagining things," "You're too sensitive" and "I don't know what you're talking about," among others. All these are designed to make the victim second-guess themself.

" " Just because you're having an argument with your partner doesn't mean they are trying to gaslight you. The key is whether this behavior is ongoing and geared to getting you to doubt yourself and your motives. jeffbergen/Getty Images

People who are being gaslighted typically start to experience the following:

increasing, overwhelming self-doubt (because their reality is always being challenged)

loss of confidence and trust in their judgment and personal sense of reality

low self-esteem because the abuser constantly undermines and questions their perceptions and sense of reality

confusion, instability and a sense of not being safe

isolation from loved ones who can validate their feelings and recollections

attention, praise and affection from the gaslighter when they try to break away

Long-term, they may experience anxiety, depression and lasting trauma

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What to Do If You're Being Gaslighted

If you feel you're being gaslighted, first collect evidence. Keep a record or journal of what the gaslighter said to you versus what you observed, advises Dr. Harold Hong, a board-certified psychiatrist at New Waters Recovery, located in North Carolina. "This can also help you communicate what's been happening to friends, family or mental health professionals," he says. You can also take photos or create voice memos if necessary to keep memories straight.

When the gaslighter is trying to manipulate you, call them out on it. "For example, you could say something like, "I know what you said; I was there when you said it," says Hong.

If you feel the need to leave the gaslighter, solicit support from other loved ones or community support systems. And take steps to eliminate all communication with and ties to the gaslighter. Block calls or change phone numbers if you have to.

"It is critical not to engage the gaslighter in discussions about your decision to sever ties," Vermani says, as the gaslighter might well manipulate you into changing your mind. Lastly, she advises to get help from a mental health expert "to help you reestablish your sense of self and set healthy boundaries."

Now That's Important If someone has accused you (incorrectly) of gaslighting them, what can you do? First many experts note this is a classic tactic of gaslighters, to accuse others of behavior they are actually engaging in. Many of the same strategies used on gaslighters may work here too: collecting evidence, seeing a therapist and if necessary, cutting off contact with the accuser.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Canada is encouraging Sudan's neighbours to help the country find a mediated end to recent violence, as it attempts to continue getting Canadians to safety via perilous land evacuations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says he spoke this morning with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and thanked him for the country's "exceptional support" in hosting Canadian military and diplomatic personnel.

A readout of the call says the two discussed regional mediation efforts, and Trudeau offered Canadian support towards a peaceful resolution.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is pursuing the same thing and assessing the region's humanitarian needs during a visit to Kenya, which is a major player in East Africa.

Sudan's duelling army and paramilitary forces entered another ceasefire Sunday, but the violence did not stop outright, leading countries including Canada to abandon evacuation flights and recommend that people shelter in place or take a risky journey by road to Sudan's coast.

The government said that as of Sunday morning, 400 Canadians and permanent residents had left Sudan and Canada's military had conducted six evacuation flights, while 230 people who had asked for the government's help were still in the country.
The Rathskeller in the basement of the Montana Club is being placed on the sale block in the hopes of patching financial woes facing the downtown Helena landmark.

About 36 people, which included members of a cooperative that owns much of the club, were told at an April 25 meeting by the cooperatives board president that while the Montana Club, a downtown Helena landmark at Sixth and Fuller avenues, was making some gains in its financial struggles, there was sobering news.

Charles Robison noted the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association had been sued by the Montana City Club Building Condominium Owners Association, who are the other owners of the Montana Club building, for $580,000 in unpaid assessments and interest. It is believed the sale of the Rathskeller could produce $650,000 and allow the club to keep its sixth floor dining room and kitchen open.

The 76-page lawsuit was filed Oct. 7, 2022, against the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association and others, seeking foreclosure.

It claims the defendants failed to pay regular monthly dues and assessments for the condos minimum expenses. It asks, among many allegations, for the court to foreclose a lien for common expenses and find the cooperative in breach of contract.

The chronic failure of the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association and its predecessor in interest, the Original Montana Club, to pay their assessments has resulted in the depletion of the Montana Club Building Condominium Owners Associations cash reserves, has forced the plaintiffs, the non-club owners, to pay extra assessments to cover the delinquent payments  the lawsuit states.

They also claim it has prevented the condo owners group from doing necessary maintenance and repair of the buildings common elements and lowered the value of the units and made the units unsalable.

Members of the Montana Club Building Condominium Owners Association attended the April 25 meeting and were friendly with members of the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association.

Robison said the board has decided to move forward in selling the Rathskeller, a bar, performance venue and restaurant located in The Montana Club basement. He said the board also approved launching a drive to sell 2,000 shares of ownership stock at $250 a share in order to not sell property.

He warned a court could order the property be sold. The Montana Club has a real property asset total of $2.2 million and total assets of $2.8 million.

Robison said the board wants to keep the sixth floor as it "drives significant event revenue."

"... the Board has agreed that selling the Sixth Floor is an acceptable last resort to avoid court-ordered liquidation," he wrote in a memo to shareholders. He noted their request for a bank loan had been denied.

The Original Montana Club sold portions of the building and formed a condominium association in 1980. Robison said the fourth and fifth floors, and portions of the first floor, each belong to a separate owner. He said the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association(OMCCA) owns the Rathskeller, the second, third and sixth floors and an office on the first floor.

Robison that since 2010, the Original Montana Club and our OMCCA have been inconsistent in paying the monthly condominium assessment that covers building maintenance, utilities and other shared costs. The assessments are $6,521 a month. He said the Original Montana Club Cooperative is the majority owner.

He said 2022 was a tough year and the club was closed for several months and there were staffing challenges.

Robison said however that there were encouraging signs. He said net sales for all of 2022 were $257,620. From January to April 20 of this year sales have hit $229,399 and were projected to hit $685,464 by the end of the year.

We are looking in a much better direction than we were a year ago, he said, saying it was a mix of outside and internal forces at play.

Mark Lancaster, who is among the plaintiffs, said at the April 25 meeting the assessments are necessary for building maintenance. He noted one of the two elevators are broken and there are no funds to repair. When the club stopped paying assessments initially, there was about $200,000 in reserves.

If the boiler should go out, it would likely cost $100,000-$200,000 to replace, Lancaster said.

He gave a bleak assessment of the building's current condition. He said the roof is failing and pieces of it are falling into the street. He said they have received notice there is a water supply problem off of Fuller Avenue that would take the fire suppression system for buildings on a block or two of Fuller Avenue out and it will cost to have people walk the street to make sure no fires occur.

He said the carpet in the lobby has not been replaced in years and is black.

This group, weve literally shown with both our patience and our cash, a willingness to try and find something here, but there is nothing else to do but to try and sell assets or foreclose, he said in defense of the Montana Club Building Condominium Owners Association.

The building is literally falling apart, he said.

He said they want to work with the board and keep the building as something special, but keep it from falling into the street.

Emily Dean, who serves on the Montana Club board, said the club has applied for a Montana Historic Preservation grant and was optimistic the club would receive some funding for HVAC and new ADA restrooms.

Dean, who is also a Helena city commissioner, said the club was ranked 20th out of 48 projects.

She said those proposals are working their way through the Legislature.

Bruce Spencer, who is among the plaintiffs, warned the audience not to be too optimistic.

Ive got to be honest, those funds are not going to dig you out of a hole, he said, also noting the plaintiffs have been paying money out of their own pockets to help the club.

Those grants arent going to do it, he said, adding the best option was to sell some of the property.

The sale of the Rathskeller frankly makes the most sense, he said. I think its your only option, these folks have to be paid back. They have been incredibly patient. As a lawyer, I dont know any client who would wait this long.

The Montana Club was founded in 1885 as local business people did not want outsiders to think of Helena as a mining camp. A seven-story building was built in 1893 at 24 W. 6th Ave.

In 1903, a fire started on the sixth floor and the building burned to the ground, along with its valuable art collection. Members vowed to rebuild and the new building went up in 1905.

Cass Gilbert, who designed the U.S. Supreme Court building, Minnesota state Capitol, Metals Bank in Butte and the Woolworth building in New York City, was hired to design the new club, which cost $125,000.

Over the years members of the once-private club have included copper kings, millionaires, and politicians who hosted such notables as Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain.

In 2018, the Montana Club announced it would become a community cooperative and dissolve as a members-only social club. The cooperative formed on a subscription-share model with the dining room open to the general public.

Robison said the club launched an advertising campaign in March to increase business and open to the public. He said this has brought more customers.

He said a marketing committee of co-op shareholders formed in December is helping Chef Rachel Conn boost events.

We have been through an amazing transformation over the past year, he said, noting that the outlook was grim in April 2022, when the club was closed to the public due to staffing needs.

He said a few private events were held over the spring and summer. He said the board hired an executive chef in July and began limited public dining in August.

By November, we had recruited the right staff to open fully to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Robison said.

He said the club is now open Tuesday through Saturday.

He said Conn, who had run Saigon Alley for five years, came on board in December as general manager, Robison said. He said she added the title of head cook in January and has been leading the kitchen and overall operations since.

Conn has launched exciting events like Wine Wednesdays and has renewed the Easter Brunch and Mothers Day Brunch traditions, Robison said.

For more on The Montana Club, go to: montanaclub.coop
BILLINGS -- You dont have to be George or Jane Jetson to have a robot to wait on you anymore. Next time you order a beer or a coffee at Billings Logan International Airport, an autonomous server might be the one bringing it to you.

Of course, they arent quite as sophisticated or as charismatic as Rosey, the classic cartoon familys robot maid. But the high-tech helpers now being rolled out as part of the citys $55 million terminal expansion are getting closer to what was only imagined in the futuristic world of the Jetsons when it first aired in 1962.

Among the offerings the robots will be serving are local craft beers, cocktails and espresso drinks from the new airport bar, Skyward Brews, and the recently opened Mountain Mudd coffee stand.

The food court is now up and running too. Logans Diner, Cinnabon and Stacked, A Montana Grill started serving passengers last week.

The new restaurant options are a welcome change for hungry travelers. For years, the airport had only a small concession counter with a limited selection of snacks and beverages available for those waiting to board flights after passing through security screening.

Sky blu Gifts has reopened and is now selling souvenirs and a variety of Montana-made products in its new spot just beyond the screening checkpoint.

In addition to the new shopping, dining and drinking options, travelers can now wait for flights in the wide-open "great room" that features a fireplace and a wall of windows that look out onto the runways. They can pursue the new art displays, perhaps even take a selfie in front of BILs latest claim to fame, the worlds largest belt buckle.

The improvements also include free wifi throughout the terminal and extra charging spots were added so passengers can plug in their devices next to seats at the bar and coffee shop and along the external walls of the concourses.

The new A concourse is up and running with four new gates. Each is now served by a jetbridge, eliminating the need for passengers to have to go down stairs, walk outside across the tarmac and up the aircraft stairs during routine boarding.

Short hops around Montana will be the exception. Cape Air will continue ground loading its nine-passenger airplanes. It is now operating flights from the nearly complete C concourse to Sidney, Havre, Glasgow, Wolf Point and Glendive.

Construction is still underway on the B concourse, which will house four gates. When it opens in 2024, the airport will have three more jetbridge gates than before the expansion.

Thats a significant increase in capacity, Billings Aviation and Transit Director Jeff Roach said.

The expansion will allow more flights and make room for United, American, Delta, Alaska and Allegiant to each operate out of separate gates.

Several airlines are already adding flights and new destinations this summer. American plans to start daily direct service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport but is dropping flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Allegiant, however, will continue flying to the citys Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport three times a week. The low-cost carrier is also adding one weekly flight to Las Vegas to the two currently offered.

United is picking up a fourth daily flight to Denver. And Alaska is resuming its seasonal service to Portland on Saturdays from June 17 to Sept. 2.

Airport officials are working to add flights to either Los Angeles or San Francisco next.

Those are the top two markets the community feels its important to get into, Roach said.

He and his team hope to get a federal grant from the Small Community Air Service Development Program to help Billings add future destinations. After California, they plan to focus on cities, such as Nashville, Orlando, Houston and Miami.

This summer, Roach said, he expects to see lower airfares, based on a number of factors in the industry, including fuel prices and availability.

Billings will have lower prices and better connection times on many flights, than other Montana airports, he said. It really depends on your destination and timing.

With passenger counts continuing to rise, Roach expects the airport to be slightly busier this summer than it was last year. From March 2022 to March 2023, Billings saw an 11 percent increase in the number of departures. Arrivals were up almost 20 percent during the one-year period.

There are three peak travel times that on busy days can cause the security line to stretch out the door, leaving passengers waiting on the sidewalk in front of the terminal. The busiest time is early in the morning when planes that remain on the tarmac overnight depart, Roach said.

Thats when the line will back up, he said.

Lunchtime and evening rush hour between 5 to 6 p.m. are also peak times.

The airport has no control on how many screening lanes are open at any given time. The federal Transportation Security Administration sets the schedule and staff for its screening checkpoint. But the newly upgraded security area includes extra space in case TSA decides it's needed, Roach said.

Cindy Metzger said she was happy to see the changes at BIL when she passed through on her way to Orlando a couple of weeks ago. Metzger worked at the airport as a customer service agent for Horizon Air for more than 25 years before becoming a flight attendant in 2007. She then commuted from Billings, using her employee benefits to fly standby to work out of the airliness Seattle base, until she retired in 2012.

That meant Metzger had to go to the airport well before her scheduled trip and wait for a flight with an empty seat. That sometimes took more than a couple of tries, especially around the holidays and during the busy summer travel season. So she spent a lot of time stuck at the airport with little to do other than wait. Wait and hope the next plane wouldnt go out full, too.

The added amenities sure would have made it easier to pass the time during her commuting days.

The free wifi would have been nice, Metzger said. The jetways are great for passengers not having to walk outside. The food options will definitely be nice as before there wasnt much after you passed through security.

As for BILs next destination, Metzger said, she'd personally prefer San Francisco over Los Angeles since it would sometimes make travel easier for her family. But, a flight to either of the two California cities, both major hubs for international travel, would benefit Billings travelers.

Construction crews will continue working on terminal renovations through the summer. They expect to finish remodeling the bathrooms near baggage claim by Memorial Day, the start of the busy air travel season. The new staircase from the gates to the baggage claim area is scheduled to be complete this fall

Improvements are underway outside the terminal, too. In the airfield, concrete pads are going in to allow additional parking for airlines and freight carriers. A new road for services such as fueling, deicing and moving aircraft is also being built, among other upgrades.

The money for the construction, which started in 2019, comes from federal grants and revenue generated through airport fees, tenant charges and bond financing. Airport officials are now looking for ways to pay for future projects, such as updating the area around the ticket counters and baggage claim carousels and to refresh the front of the airport where passengers are dropped off and picked up.

I'm actually pretty impressed that they stood up the new terminal as quickly as they did, Baldassare Adam Lucido, director of global sales for United Airlines, said. They did a pretty good job.

Lucido started his career in 2006 as a ground and customer service agent at BIL. He now works at the legacy carriers headquarters in Chicago but still follows happenings at BIL closely.

I've been frustrated by the airport's lack of vision and aggressiveness in growing their market profile, Lucido, an MSU-B graduate and former student body president, said. They need to be more aggressive like Bozeman is. Billings has more business travel demand.

That segment of the market is making a slow climb back from the nosedive it took after COVID-19 shut down activities across the country. Lucido said business travel is now at about 90 percent of what it was before the pandemic.

Pilot shortages have added recent challenges for BIL and many of the regional airlines that serve the city. Lucido said the airport has been struggling with schedules because large carriers, such as United, Delta and American, were gobbling up regional pilot pools and had to reduce flying to many smaller cities.

Last year, United cut two flights from the daily schedule that served Billings for more than a decade. But, Lucido said, that trend is finally starting to turn around.

This summers schedule brings United back to four of the six daily flights it previously operated from Billings during the peak travel season.

And the Chicago service is a godsend, said Lucido, noting that hed, of course, prefer the flight to be provided by United instead of its competitor American Airlines.

He and his wife, Lindsey, grew up in Forsyth and each started their respective careers in the airline business in Billings.

BIL can do much better, Lucido said. But the airport can only be as strong as the community and community vision.

Airport officials are now planning for future needs and looking for ways to pay for additional improvements, said Roach, who moved from Nashville to start his job as Billings airport director in January.

This fall, they'll be kicking off a two-year planning process to prepare the airport for the future. Roach said the community will have plenty of chances to weigh in during the public process.

Thatll be the next big project we do for the long term, he said. Were trying to be the best service provider for the regions transportation needs.
A transgender Democratic state lawmaker is asking a state district court to block the House Republicans' actions last week that banned her from accessing the chamber.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr of Missoula is still allowed to vote remotely, but has been forbidden from accessing the House chamber since last week. Republicans, who voted in lockstep to keep her out of the House, argued it was necessary following her support for protesters who had disrupted the chambers proceedings earlier that week. Seven were arrested after the protest on misdemeanor charges; law enforcement has said they are not aware of damage or violence during the event.

The complaint was filed by the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in Lewis and Clark County District Court on Monday. It alleges that the ban violated Zephyrs rights to free speech under the state and federal constitutions, and her right to equal protection under the state constitution.

Four of Zephyrs House District 100 constituents  Anna Wong, Dean Chou, Brady Schwertfeger and Sarah Velk, all from Missoula  are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. It alleges that their rights to representation, equal protection, self government and freedom of assembly under the Montana Constitution are being violated.

House Speaker Matt Regier, a Kalispell Republican, and Sergeant-at-Arms Bradley Murfitt are named as defendants. Sergeant staff act at the direction of House leadership. The lawsuit asks the district court judge for a temporary restraining order blocking them from denying Zephyr the ability to fully participate in proceedings on the House floor.

Voters elect their representatives to do more than simply vote on bills, the complaint states. Representatives also are elected to use of the floor of the House to pursue their constituents interests and views  using the platform provided by the Peoples House to educate and persuade their colleagues and the public through speech, debate, and lobbying.

The case is before District Court Judge Kathy Seeley. As of Monday afternoon, she had not issued any order in the case.

In a statement, Department of Justice spokesperson Emily Flower called the lawsuit performance litigation.

The ACLU is trying to use the courts to interfere with the Legislature as it carries out its constitutional duties on behalf of Montanans, Flower said. Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.

Zephyr is a member of two committees, and her ability to participate in those is not being restricted, Regier has said. She was recognized and participated in a discussion on a bill before the House Judiciary Committee on Monday morning.

The dispute began two weeks ago, when Zephyr spoke in opposition to a bill that would ban some gender-affirming health care for transgender minors in Montana. The freshman lawmaker scolded those supporting the bill, saying they should be ashamed and that they would have blood on their hands  the latter a reference to the higher rate of suicide among trans youth.

Only Republicans have supported the bill. Following initial objections to Zephyrs wording, Regier stopped recognizing Zephyr when she attempted to join debate on the House floor, a ruling that was backed up by most of the other Republican representatives and opposed by Democrats.

There is a maximum of four days left in the legislative session after Monday.
It was inevitable that this day would come.

Tyson Foods has now turned its corporate attention to absorbing independent cow/calf ranchers. Tyson pioneered the factory farm system for raising chickens, in the process turning independent poultry growers into corporate serfs.

By 1985 it was the independent hog producers turn to be converted into corporate serfdom. In just a decade and a half (1985 to 2000), the hog industry went from 388,550 independent producers to 85,760 serfs. Today, twenty-three years later, there are only 66,000 left.

Independent cattle feeders were next. In the last 10 years 48,000 independent feedlots stopped buying calves. Today only a little more than 25,000 are still trying to feed cattle and not lose money in the process. They survive by marketing through captive supply. And while the smaller independents closed their yards, the number of vertically integrated feedlots with more than 50,000 head capacity increased from 45 to 77.

Tyson now has their corporate claws sharpened and out to eliminate independent ranchers. On March 31, the day before April Fools Day, Tyson explained their new vertical integration plan to a group of ranchers at Great Falls. This plan involves a corporate-owned branded beef product called Brazen Beef which will market source verified beef that somehow  but not explained  will result in 10% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

According to ranchers who attended the meeting, the presentation was vague on how the feeder calves would be priced. Tysons claim is that producers would get a premium and a report on the carcass characteristics of their particular animals. This seems to be a version of grade and steal where you dont get paid until the calves are dead and in the meat counter at the supermarket.

There is nothing new in this scheme, as there are a number of branded programs available to producers. And there is nothing wrong in a rancher signing up for such a concept, particularly if there is a nickel or two be made. The concern is that this is one of the big four packers who is muscling in on the business.

Therefore, the issue of how the price for the calves will be determined becomes really important. The cow/calf segment of the cattle industry has stayed independent because we rely upon an independent price discovery mechanism. Auction yards and video auctions are the bedrock of this system. Of course many calves move on private treaty, negotiated directly with the cattle buyers, but those prices are always based on the most recent auction.

If we lose the auctions then we lose our independence. Ask the hog producers, because that is what happened to them. The contracts they were offered were attractive up and to the day the auctions for pigs disappeared. This is a real dilemma. How do we protect our independent price discovery mechanisms in the face of what will be a growing trend to sign up for a branded beef program offered by one of big four packers?

The lack of an honest competitive price discovery is what is being faced by the surviving independent feedlot owners, who now sell into the captive supply system. The negotiated spot market, which is supposed to set the value for all of the fat cattle, is so thin as to be useless.

Cow/calf producers are, of course, equally affected by this dysfunctional negotiated spot market for fat cattle, but we just feel it less because it is more remote from our daily marketing concerns. And the big reason we feel it less is that we still have our own market system that is independently owned and operated. This auction system moves enough calves that we can be confident that this results in reasonably fair price discovery. But you can also be sure that the people bidding on your calves are acutely aware of the dysfunction in the fat cattle market.

By all means sign up for Tysons program or that of JBS, Cargill or Marfrig if their terms fit your needs. But if as an industry we do not come together on a plan to protect the independent nature of ranching, then we had better get used to the idea of being nothing more than a corporate serf.

Or as I heard one contract hog producer say  a janitor cleaning up the waste left behind.
DECATUR  A woman accused of attacking her Decatur neighbors with everything from boiling water to a knife and a hammer is going to be examined by a psychiatrist after repeatedly clashing with a judge during a court hearing.

Michelle A. Jones, 54, is denying a bunch of charges that include aggravated battery, aggravated assault and four counts of battery. She is also pleading not guilty to theft, disorderly conduct, criminal damage and criminal trespass.

The defendant appeared in Macon County Circuit Court for what was supposed to be a preliminary hearing to test the evidence and see if there was probable cause to try her. Now, after her repeated outbursts, she will be brought back to court at the end of this month when the judge will consider a report on her mental fitness.

Jones had clashed with Judge Lindsey Shelton during a preliminary hearing Wednesday after Decatur Police Officer Tia Kuenzel had outlined a series of attacks Jones had made on her North College Street neighbors April 8.

A sworn affidavit, signed by the officer, also said Jones had stolen one of her neighbors security cameras and tried to flush it down the toilet  all while being watched and spoken to by the neighbor via the camera  before hitting it with a hammer.

Jones, who was representing herself, was then asked by Shelton if she wanted to question Kuenzel on cross-examination.

Well, to my understanding, I didnt understand how a preliminary hearing was going to go, Jones told the judge.

I thought we were going to go over the evidence and I will be presented with evidence. I didnt understand that this was going to be a process where I was going to have to cross-examine any witnesses

The judge patiently explained that the defendant had been told at an earlier hearing how the preliminary proceeding would work.

...I was very clear about what would happen today, said Shelton. So do you want to ask questions and continue to represent yourself? Or would you like me to appoint a public defender at this time?

Jones, who is being held in the Macon County Jail, refused to ask any questions and then began complaining she wasnt given access to the Macon County Law Library to do research.

More verbal sparring with the judge followed, in which Jones repeatedly interrupted, before Shelton ordered her removed from the courtroom.

States Attorney Scott Rueter told the judge he now had doubts about Joness mental fitness to stand trial.

I agree, Shelton replied. She then made an order to have a clinical psychiatrist appointed to evaluate the defendants mental condition. She also appointed the Public Defenders Office to represent Jones during the fitness evaluation.

And, based on what she had heard of the prosecution evidence, the judge ruled there was probable cause to try Jones. Shelton scheduled a hearing for May 31 to determine the defendants mental fitness.

Jones remained in custody Monday with bail set at $20,000, requiring her to post a bond of $2,000 to be freed. Prosecutors had requested her bail be set at $50,000.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson
SPRINGFIELD  Six people were killed and dozens injured after multiple crashes involving 72 vehicles Monday on Interstate 55 south of Springfield as blowing dust choked off visibility, authorities said.

Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wis., was identified Monday night as one of the people who died, and state police said the Montgomery County Coroners Office was working to identify the other five and notify their families.

State police said 37 people were transported to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Their ages ranged from 2 to 80 years old, state police said.

The crashes, first reported about 10:55 a.m., occurred in both the northbound and southbound lanes along a two-mile stretch between mileposts 76 and 78, north of Farmersville, which is about 15 miles south of Springfield. All of the deaths were in crashes on the northbound side, police said.

The interstate remained shut down late Monday night and would remain so until all vehicles are removed and the Illinois Department of Transportation inspects the roadway, state police said. They said earlier in the day they expected it to remain closed until late morning or early afternoon on Tuesday.

The closure was between mileposts 63 and 80, which is between Zanesville about 12 miles north of Litchfield in Montgomery County and Divernon, which is about 17 miles south of Springfield in Sangamon County.

Visibility in the area is reported to be low due to blowing dust, state police said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. "... The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility."

Interstate 55 in southern Sangamon and northern Montgomery counties remains closed in both directions because of numerous crashes caused by a dust storm, which has greatly reduced visibility. (photo via @wics_abc20) pic.twitter.com/rYbWKndJa6  IDOT_Illinois (@IDOT_Illinois) May 1, 2023

After the initial crash, 20 commercial vehicles and 40 to 60 passenger vehicles become involved in the pileup, state police Maj. Ryan Starrick said during a news conference Monday afternoon. State police later put the total at 72 but indicated the count was preliminary.

During the crashes, at least two semis caught fire, and both had been been extinguished by 2:30 p.m. Starrick also said there were unconfirmed reports of an explosion.

I-55 traffic was being diverted using state Routes 104 and 48 through Taylorville, according to a tweet from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Motorists are asked to avoid the area.

The Auburn Travel Center in Divernon was being used for reunification for those able to safely leave the scene from the north side, but by 4 p.m., state police began to direct travelers to the Mr. Fuel Travel Center in Litchfield where troopers and deputies were "working to get people reunified."

The National Weather Service reported Monday night that the high winds are expected to subside a bit overnight but still reach 30 mph to 35 mph on Tuesday.

Blowing dust causing a multiple car pile up on I-55 between Divernon and Farmersville. Visibility less than a quarter of a mile. Visibility can become zero at times. If you encounter blowing dust on the roadway or see it approaching, pull off the road as far as possible. #ilwx pic.twitter.com/8NS4zT76zg  NWS Lincoln IL (@NWSLincolnIL) May 1, 2023

Kevin Schott, director of the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, said it had been an emotional day, but no first responders had reported injuries, despite their eyes being full of dust.

"This is a difficult scene, something that is very hard to train for, something that we haven't experienced locally before," he said, adding that they were "very lucky" to have the quality of first responders that were on scene keeping each other safe.

Schott said the most difficult part was "trying to get to the victims in a rapid manner. Multiple vehicles were involved, some were on fire" and responders had to search every vehicle to check for injuries.

They've found those who were involved in the crash have been upset, "visibly so and understandably so," he added.

More than 30 agencies, including law enforcement, fire departments and EMAs, responded to the scene. Hazardous materials teams responded as a precaution and the Illinois EMA offered support, Starrick said, noting some fuel spillage resulted from the crash.

Fire engines remained on scene late Monday afternoon in case of hot spots and reignited fires, Schott said.

Other agencies like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army also responded to offer assistance and support.

Starrick also said multiple helicopters responded to the scene and at least one person was airlifted.

"My heart goes out to the families; my heart goes out to anybody that found themselves in this situation," Starrick said.

State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he visited the area on Monday afternoon and saw how hazardous the conditions were.

"Im amazed at the work of the first responders from numerous agencies working to save lives in an extremely difficult situation," he said in a statement.

Lee Enterprises reporter Erin Henkel contributed to this report.

Photos: Multiple crashes lock traffic on Interstate 55 IMG_1505.jpg Traffic IMG_1514.jpg IMG_1516.jpg 050223-illinois-crashes IMG_1519.jpg IMG_1520.jpg Dust IMG_1523.jpg IMG_1525.jpg IMG_1532.jpg Windstorm Crashes Windstorm Crashes Windstorm Crashes Windstorm Crashes Windstorm Crashes Windstorm Crashes Illinois Windstorm Crashes Illinois Windstorm Crashes Illinois
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Cloudy skies overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 68F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 72F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
MEADOWVIEW, Va.  The Washington County Sheriffs Office has arrested a man in connection with a stabbing that occurred on Saturday in Meadowview, Virginia.

John Coalson, 24, of Meadowview, was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding.

On Saturday, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Washington County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to Worthington Lane in Meadowview for a report of a female suffering from a stab wound.

There, Coalson made threats to law enforcement offices, according to a release.

After hours of failed negotiations, Coalson set fire to an area of the residence, police said.

Coalson, who had opened a window, was apprehended by officers after pulling Coalson from the fire.

The female was transported to an area hospital for treatment, police said.

Coalson is currently being held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority without bond.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A prosecutor has asked an Ontario court for jail time for the man who threw stones at Justin Trudeau during a 2021 election stop, arguing his actions were not just an assault on a candidate, but an assault on democracy.

The defence lawyer for 26-year-old Shane Marshall, meanwhile, says his clients impulse and anger management issues got the better of him when he tossed gravel at the prime minister during the protest-interrupted event in London, Ont.

Marshall pleaded guilty to common assault in March and is set to be sentenced next week after lawyers made their submissions before a provincial court justice today in London.

Crown attorney Jeremy Carnegie argued for a sentence of 30 days in jail, arguing that with vitriol and hatred in political discourse bringing Canada closer and closer to violence all the time, the court needed to impose a sentence strong enough to deter others from taking similar actions.

Defence lawyer Luke Reidy says Marshall, from nearby St. Thomas, Ont., is remorseful and should be given a one-year suspended sentence with mandatory community service.

Marshall briefly addressed the court and apologized, saying he never intended "to cause a scene or hurt anyone."
HICKORY  Hadley Hines, a rising junior at University Christian High School, will be attending the prestigious Governors School of North Carolina this summer. Governors School is a six-week summer program for gifted and talented high school students of which only 35 percent of all nominees are selected each year.

Hadleys chosen area of study is violin in string orchestra. She is excited that Governors School will give her the opportunity to meet new people from around the state and looks forward to learning in a musical and academic environment.

As a student at University Christian High School, Hadley is a member of Model UN, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and on the yearbook staff.

Hadley served as a Justice & Public Safety Delegate at the NC Youth Legislative Assembly in Raleigh. She is a member of the Charlotte Youth Symphony and helped to form and lead a quartet with the 2021 Western Piedmont Symphony. Hadley was a 2022 Bakers Dozen honoree supporting The Corner Table and is a Bakers Dozen 2023 mentor.

Hadley hopes to attend either the University of Tennessee at Knoxville or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a business major minoring in music.

She is the daughter of Tucker and Lauren Hines.
Extension 'Vines And Wines' Program Planned



The Bagnasco family will be hosting and focusing on vineyard management. Many topics will be discussed by viticulture specialists, such as "Obligations, Money, Time & Labor" by Fran Pontasch; "Challenges & Obstacles to Seasonal Vineyard Management" by Michael Cook; and "Petiole Sample Testing/Results, Interpreting and Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies" by Justin Scheiner.



Hosts and owners of Valley Mills Vineyards will present "Welcome, Our Story" by Joey Bagnasco; "Site Selection, Design, & Vineyard Tour" by Joey Bagnasco; "Vertical Tasting of VMV Tempranilllo" by Dr. John Bagnasco; and "What a Winemaker Looks for in a Vineyard" by Charlie Walter, Winemaker at Valley Mills Vineyards.



Breakfast and a steak lunch will be provided during the program.



The registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and consists of a $35 registration fee. Two TDA CEUs will be provided (1 IPM, 1 General).



Attendees are asked to RSVP before Friday, May 19, by contacting the McLennan County Extension Office at 254-757-5180 or emailing Candace Chapman, secretary for Dr. Shane McLellan, at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, McLennan County, along with multiple county extension committees, will host the Sixth Annual Central Texas Vines and Wines program Tuesday, May 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. at the Valley Mills Vineyards, located at 1686 FM 1637 in Valley Mills.The Bagnasco family will be hosting and focusing on vineyard management. Many topics will be discussed by viticulture specialists, such as "Obligations, Money, Time & Labor" by Fran Pontasch; "Challenges & Obstacles to Seasonal Vineyard Management" by Michael Cook; and "Petiole Sample Testing/Results, Interpreting and Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies" by Justin Scheiner.Hosts and owners of Valley Mills Vineyards will present "Welcome, Our Story" by Joey Bagnasco; "Site Selection, Design, & Vineyard Tour" by Joey Bagnasco; "Vertical Tasting of VMV Tempranilllo" by Dr. John Bagnasco; and "What a Winemaker Looks for in a Vineyard" by Charlie Walter, Winemaker at Valley Mills Vineyards.Breakfast and a steak lunch will be provided during the program.The registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and consists of a $35 registration fee. Two TDA CEUs will be provided (1 IPM, 1 General).Attendees are asked to RSVP before Friday, May 19, by contacting the McLennan County Extension Office at 254-757-5180 or emailing Candace Chapman, secretary for Dr. Shane McLellan, at [email protected]


HCSO Involved In Shooting While Serving Felony Warrant A man who reportedly drew a gun as the Hill County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) attempted to serve a felony warrant in Bynum last week was shot by deputies.



According to the sheriff's office, three uniformed deputies went to a residence in the 700 block of Harrel Avenue in Bynum at 7:44 p.m. Thursday, April 27, to serve the warrant on an adult male. Two deputies approached the front door while the third watched the back of the residence.



The wanted man reportedly answered the door and was told the deputies had a warrant for his arrest, at which time he drew a sidearm from a holster on his hip. The sheriff's office reported that both deputies drew and fired their pistols.



For the complete story, see the Monday, May 1, edition of The Reporter Newspaper.


The Roman enemies of Egypt sought to denigrate Cleopatra by painting her as a harlot queen who bewitched great men like Julius Caesar and Mark Antony with her physical beauty alone. But even the Roman historian Plutarch, writing a century after Cleopatra's death, said there was much more to Cleopatra than her looks, which he described as "not altogether incomparable ... as to strike those who saw her."

" " Mark Antony meets Cleopatra for the first time in this 1885 painting. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

"[B]ut [to] converse with her had an irresistible charm, and her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and the character which was somehow diffused about her behaviour towards others, had something stimulating about it," wrote Plutarch. "There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased, so that in her interviews with Barbarians she very seldom had need of an interpreter."

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In addition to speaking Greek and Egyptian, Cleopatra was fluent in at least six other languages. A highly educated woman, she published two known texts, one on the care of the body, and the other on weights and measures for medicine and trade.

Compared to the military-minded Antony, who was "not known for being the sharpest tack in the box," says Jones, "Cleopatra was famous for her intellect."
Milk paint has been used for thousands of years, having been discovered in cave drawings dating back as far as 6,000 years ago. "The paint was used because it could be easily made from household ingredients that people already had on hand, and tinted with all natural earth pigments and natural substances that were readily available," says Sausha Khoundet, owner and operator of Sweet Pickins Milk Paint & Old Fashioned Milk Paint.

Today's version of milk paint has evolved into a powder form made from milk protein known as casein (which acts as a binder); lime (to make the paint hard and durable); and natural earth or mineral pigments (to give it color). The reason for the powder form? "Because the paint will begin to spoil once it's mixed with water," says Khoundet, whose company is known for inventing the original powdered milk paint now on the market in the U.S. in 1973. "It had to be made into a powder, so the customer can mix their own paint (just add water)."

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It's commercially available from numerous well-known paint companies. Martha Stewart herself even has a recipe for making your own milk paint at home using lemon, 1 quart (.9 liter) of skim milk, a sieve, cheesecloth, and dry color pigment or artist's acrylic paint.

" " Milk paint can be used to give an old piece of furniture a unique and interesting vibe. Sweet Pickins/Old Fashioned Milk Paint
If you are worried that your home ventilation is still too low, air filtration can offer another layer of safety. Much the way an N95 mask works, running air in your home through a filter with small openings can capture airborne particles that could contain the coronavirus.

There are two ways to filter air in a home: Using a built-in system  like central heating, for example  or using stand-alone air cleaners.

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In my home, we use both air cleaners and our heating system to filter the air. If you have central heating, make sure your furnace filter has a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of at least 11. The MERV describes how effective a filter is at removing airborne particles and contaminants from the recirculated air. The standard on most furnaces is a MERV 8 filter and many furnaces are not capable of running with a more efficient filter, so make sure to check your filter and ask a technician before replacing it. But a MERV 8 filter is better than no filtration at all.

You can also use a stand-alone air cleaner to remove airborne particles, but how effective they are depends on the size of the room. The bigger the room, the more air needs to be cleaned, and stand-alone cleaners are only so powerful. My home has an open floor plan, so I can't use my air cleaner in the main living space, but it can be helpful in bedrooms or any other smaller enclosed spaces. If you consider buying an air cleaner, I worked with some colleagues at Harvard to build a tool that can be used to determine how powerful an air cleaner you need for different room sizes.

And don't forget to also consider how effective an air cleaner's filter is. Your best option is a cleaner that uses a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, as these remove more than 99.97 percent of all particle sizes.

If you decide to share your home with others in the coming months, remember that being outside is by far the safest option. But if you must be inside, shorten the length of time your guests stay, wear masks and socially distance at all times. In addition to these precautions, keeping air flow high by opening windows as wide as possible, driving more air into your home with exhaust fans, and using air cleaners and filters can help further reduce the chance of spreading the coronavirus.

" " Placing a fan in a open window or corner of a room will help circulate inside air out boost your home's air flow. DonNichols/Getty Images

Shelly Miller is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. You can find the original article here.
Renato Recillas Local high school student Renato Recillas, who is a junior at Fennville High School and a participant in the Hope College TRIO Upward Bound program, has been selected for the National Student Leadership Congress (NSLC) that will take place in Washington, D.C., in June.

The annual event is hosted by the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to college for all, particularly for those students served by the Federal TRIO Programs. Recillas will be among 150 TRIO high school students from around the country who are members of the graduating classes of 2024 and 2025 who will engage in community service activities, develop their leadership and public speaking skills, learn how to manage, and motivate a team, and build confidence in their ability to communicate effectively.

Renato is open to the learning process. He consistently seeks challenging learning opportunities and is open to personal and academic growth, said Andrea Mireles, who is director of Hope College TRIO Upward Bound. TRIO Upward Bound staff supports Renato's participation in the National Student Leadership Congress without hesitation! TRIO and the country as a whole will benefit from his gained self-awareness and developed skills to maximize his leadership abilities. He will flourish amongst the nuances of the Capitol and the NSLC experience.

The rigorous, six-day NSLC program for TRIO Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science, and Talent Search students provides an opportunity for the participants to learn about the workings of government and how policies are made. NSLC also requires students to research and analyze complex issues, and then develop well-reasoned arguments to support their positions, emphasizing improving their critical thinking skills and ability to evaluate information and sources. NSLC includes a mock congress competition, a day on Capitol Hill, and several other intensive learning experiences.

Participating in NSLC is a valuable experience that can help students develop important skills and knowledge that will serve them well in their academic, personal, and professional lives, said Maureen Hoyler, president of COE. The mock congress requires students to work together to develop policies and legislation, which can help students improve their teamwork and collaboration skills, skills that are essential in many areas of life.

The June 10-15 conference will mark Recillass first time in Washington, D.C. A class trip had been planned when he was in eighth grade, but was canceled because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Hes understandably looking forward to visiting the city at last  but noted that he was especially drawn to the conference for the opportunity to learn more about both how government works and his own interests as he considers what his future might become.

Im not sure what I want to do after high school, but politics, law and government have always interested me, he said.

Im excited to go the Capitol and be able to meet some of the senators and representatives and be able to talk with them, Recillas said. Im also looking forward to the opportunity to meet with alumni of Upward Bound programs  from around the country  who work in the capital, and hear their stories and what theyre doing now.

Hope College TRIO Upward Bound seeks to generate the skills and motivation necessary for success in education beyond high school among students from low-income and first-generation families who have the potential to pursue a college education but may lack adequate preparation or support. It enrolls 92 students each year from the Holland, West Ottawa and Fennville school districts, and includes academic-year and residential summer components.

While the programs focus is on academic advising and support, it also continually offers personal and career advising as well as involvement in cultural and recreational activities. Recillas, who joined Hope College TRIO Upward Bound in 2020, said that he has appreciated the holistic approach.

My whole time here has been a journey to grow as a person, he said.

When I started, I thought that the program was just about going to college, but its more than that, Recillas said. Its about opening doors and opportunities to students from different backgrounds who might not have had the opportunities otherwise.

Reflecting in mid-April on his time with the Hope program, he cited a presentation earlier in the month by Dr. Kalisha Morin, who described her path to a career in dentistry.

It was really inspiring, he said. It showed that no matter what you want to do and where you come from, theres always a way to do it.

Hope College TRIO Upward Bound began in 1968, and is the longest-running Upward Bound program at a private college in the country. It has received federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education for its entire 55 years, with its newest five-year grant going into effect on June 1. Nationwide, TRIO Upward Bound began as part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons War on Poverty with the Educational Opportunity Act of 1964.

More information about the Federal TRIO programs, the NSLC and additional student opportunities for TRIO students is available at coenet.org

More about Hope College TRIO Upward Bound is available at hope.edu/upward-bound
The establishment of a dedicated subsea robotics facility in Perth will mark a significant step in the expansion of fast-growing Australian robotics firm Advanced Navigation as it shores up its position in the expanding market for underwater drones.

The new 5.5 acre facility, located in the northern Perth suburb of Balcatta, will incorporate a range of R&D and manufacturing facilities as well as water testing tanks and marine simulation environments, which allow testing of underwater drones in simulated underwater environments.

It will provide a centre of gravity for the companys efforts to develop and manufacture underwater robots such as its Hydrus drone  which garnered strong interest from underwater researchers and billionaire yacht owners alike after its release last year.

Designed to dive as deep as three kilometres and operate for up to three hours on a single charge, Hydrus is one of a growing number of underwater drones that take the now-familiar aerial drone concept under the oceans surface.

Its extremely high maximum depth takes Hydrus out of the realm of hobbyist drones, making it an alternative to conventional unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) that require a fully crewed ship to operate.

After a strong early response to Hydrus confirmed that Advanced Navigations technology had promise, the companys commitment to a dedicated site will, CEO and co-founder Xavier Orr said, anchor a broader effort to improve and commercialise the state-of-the-art technology within a market that is expected to triple in size over the next decade.

Now more than ever, there is a need to open up the earths oceans, to make data and knowledge more accessible to global communities, research institutions and governments, he explained.

Western Australia has always been an exploration hub for ocean discoveries [and] the new subsea centre will help Advanced Navigation meet the growing demand for high-grade underwater data.

Driving the advanced manufacturing revolution

As a concrete investment in the underwater drone market, the new investment by the decade-old Advanced Navigation  whose expertise in inertial sensing and navigation has secured it major deals with the likes of Airbus, Boeing, Google, Apple, and GM  aims to consolidate interest from the blue economy that is opening up access to underwater regions that were previously too expensive and complicated to explore.

With support from research institutions such as the University of WA, Curtin University and philanthropic organisation Minderoo, the site is expected to triple headcount in coming years as subsea technology specialists consolidate the companys progress in fields such as sonar technologies, pressure-tolerant electronics, and AI-based autonomous systems.

The technology makes more efficient use of our funds and ultimately scales up our ability to collect high-resolution data, noted Justin Geldard, a coastal and ocean researcher with the University of WA Oceans Institute, who has been researching natural and artificial reef structures ability to dissipate wave energy and called the Hydrus drone a key tool in mapping and surveying underwater structures.

The investment comes as the federal government doubles down on its commitment to advanced manufacturing, with Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic canvassing opinions about a formal robotics strategy amidst a recent Department of Industry, Science and Resources warning that Australias world-leading automation is extremely top-heavy and concentrated in the resources and mining sectors.

Aiming to tap Australias expertise in robotics, quantum computing, AI and other sectors, the government recently signed off on the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) Corporation bill, which Husic called the greatest investment in manufacturing capabilities in living memory.

There are signs the governments focus on building domestic advanced manufacturing capabilities is paying off, with satellite operator Fleet Space Technologies recently securing its first defence contract  with Australias Defence Space Command  as the new National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) provides a centre of gravity for that industrys development and innovative companies deliver in areas such as flying cars and drone detection.

Commercialising Australian innovation is critical to improving Australias beleaguered standing on global innovation tables, with Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) president Dr Katherine Woodthorpe recently calling for interventions  from the school level to lift STEM participation, creating a pipeline for the engineers and scientists of the future.

Flagging the golden opportunity posed by the National Science and Research Priorities, Woodthorpe said, it is critical to weave Australian science and research into the fabric of government decision-making in order to deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits for every Australian.
A timely warning about the dangers of being hit by phone scammers seeking out personal details for potential financial gain has been issued for the start of Privacy Awareness Week.

The telecommunications industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), issued an alert that this week, with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC), it is encouraging Australians to get back to basics to protect their personal information.

As phone scammers continue to target Australians to obtain our personal details, its critical we take steps to protect our information, warns the ACMA, adding that building strong privacy habits will help you, your family and friends avoid phone scams.

Scams target everyone. Scammers use stealth, surprise and clever tactics to get what they want, which may be your money or your personal details. No-one is too smart to be scammed. But, there are things you can do to help spotand stopa phone scam. If you think youve been scammed, tell your bank and phone company immediately.

The ACMA issues a list of tips to protect yourself if confronted by phone scammers including:

Dont share personal information without good reason, and only share whats necessary.

Dont reply or click on any links in text messages.

Dont answer if you dont know whos calling. Let the call go to voicemail. If the caller leaves a number, check it matches the one on their website.

To find out more on how to spot and stop phone scams go to the ACMA website and check out the OAICs top 10 tips for privacy habits.
CPU specialist Arm is moving ahead with its plan for an IPO after "regulatory challenges" prevented completion of the agreed acquisition of the company from SoftBank by GPU giant Nvidia.

The US$40 million acquisition was agreed in September 2020, but the deal was opposed by regulators in the US and the EU.

It was also the subject of an enquiry in the UK, where the government expressed security concerns.

Consequently, Nvidia and SoftBank abandoned the deal in February 2022, and at that time SoftBank said it would prepare to take Arm public.

Arm is a UK company that was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple and VLSI Technology,

It announced yesterday that it has submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of American depositary shares representing its ordinary shares.

American depository shares are a financial product that can be traded in the US as a proxy for the shares of a foreign company. The actual shares are held by a custodian bank.

Arm was listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1998 until it was acquired by SoftBank. The company has not indicated where its ordinary shares will be listed after the float.
Photo: The Canadian Press Tucker Carlson, then-host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio in New York, March 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Richard Drew

Does Tucker Carlson really think the United States should invade its northern neighbour to free it from the tyranny of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government?

A Fox News documentary focused on that question was set to be released today, but Canadians may not get a chance to find out the answer.

The trailer for the program featured People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier and prominent members of the "Freedom Convoy" movement talking about the country's COVID-19 restrictions.

But Carlson's abrupt departure from Fox News last week derailed its release plans.

A spokesperson for Fox says the documentary will not air  and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada says that's a good thing.

Bruce Heyman says Carlson's presence in the media landscape was dangerous for American democracy.
Retailers The Reject Shop and Dusk have paid a total of nearly $240,000 after the competition watchdog, the ACCC, issued them with infringement notices related to the supply of Halloween novelty products containing potentially lethal button batteries.

The products were allegedly supplied without complying with mandatory product safety and information standards and the penalties paid by discount retailer The Reject Shop and national homewares retailer Dusk are the ACCCs first enforcement outcomes under button battery standards introduced last year.

Button batteries are extremely dangerous for young children and tragically, children have been seriously injured or died from swallowing or ingesting them, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

The batteries were contained in products likely to be attractive to young children who are most at risk of harm from unsecured batteries.

It is essential that businesses comply with Australias world-first button battery standards to prevent further injuries and deaths from button batteries, Lowe said.

The ACCC notes that these standards require products to have secure battery compartments to prevent children from gaining access to the batteries, button batteries must be sold in child resistant packaging, and warnings and emergency advice must be on packaging and instructions.

Three children have died in Australia from incidents involving button batteries, and more than one child a month is seriously injured as a result of ingesting or inserting the batteries, which are contained in millions of consumer goods worldwide.

The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Dusk in which it admitted the four products it supplied failed to comply with the mandatory button battery safety and information standards. Dusk also paid $106,560 in penalties after the ACCC issued it with eight infringement notices.

The ASX-listed Reject Shop paid a penalty of $133,200 for supplying a product that allegedly failed to comply with the mandatory button battery safety standard after the ACCC issued it with one infringement notice.

Dusk - an in-store and online national retailer which sells candles, homewares and fragrance products - admitted in an enforceable undertaking that four novelty, Halloween-themed products it supplied between August and October 2022 were not tested to an applicable industry standard, as required by the mandatory safety standard, to ensure they were safe for consumers prior to supply.

The ACCC inspected samples of the products and says it was concerned they did not have secure button battery compartments and may not have complied with the safety standards even if they were tested.

Dusk also failed to include the safety warnings and information required by the mandatory information standard, which meant consumers were not adequately informed that the product contained button batteries, nor about the safety risks associated with the potentially dangerous button batteries, the ACCC said.

Dusk has also undertaken to implement a compliance program for three years to ensure similar conduct is not repeated in the future.

The ACCC alleges that in 2022 The Reject Shop failed to test two models of one novelty Halloween-themed LED pumpkin product to the mandatory safety standard to confirm they were safe before selling them to consumers.

The Reject Shop later tested the products, and they were found to comply with the relevant safety-related requirements in the mandatory safety standard.

Failing to test products before selling them is unacceptable and poses a serious risk of injury or death for young children, Ms Lowe said.

In addition to paying a penalty of $133,200, The Reject Shop provided the ACCC with a commitment to strengthen existing compliance procedures and provide further training for staff.

On button battery mandatory standards, the ACCC warns that if a button battery is swallowed or ingested, saliva causes a chemical reaction that can result in severe burns to the oesophagus and vital internal organs.

The ACCC says that button batteries continue to be used in many everyday household items like car key fobs, watches, childrens toys, remote controls and digital scales. - and the mandatory button battery standards require products to have secure battery compartments to prevent children from gaining access to the batteries, child resistant packaging, and warnings and emergency advice on packaging and instructions.

Businesses are also required to carry out testing to ensure compliance with the safety standard before products are supplied to customers.

These world-first mandatory standards are designed to protect young children, prevent serious injuries and help consumers understand the risks associated with these batteries, Lowe said.

The ACCC advises that consumers who suspect a child has swallowed or inserted a button battery, should contact the 24/7 Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for fast, expert advice, and warns that when ingested or swallowed, button batteries can cause serious injuries in as little as two hours and the results can be fatal, and consumers are urged to get help immediately and not wait for symptoms to develop.
Dominant operator Singtel has announced a structural reorganisation with the consolidation of its consumer and enterprise businesses in Singapore into a single entity, and the formation of a standalone infrastructure unit.

The new infrastructure arm called Digital InfraCo will include Singtel's regional data centre business, subsea cable and satellite carrier businesses as well as Paragon, the telco's all-in-one platform for 5G MEC and cloud orchestration.

The company says the moves are part of Singtels strategic reset and ongoing efforts to restructure and reposition the company for growth.

In 2021, Singtel spun off its ICT arm NCS to accelerate its expansion into Asia Pacific as an autonomous business unit.

NCS has since grown in size and scope with a workforce of 12,000 and a regional footprint that extends to Australia.

In July 2022, Singtel further decentralised its organisational structure by transferring the management of Optus Enterprise to Australia, effectively giving Optus more operational autonomy and direct accountability.

This consolidation of our consumer and enterprise units in Singapore is designed to empower our core business to optimise synergies and capabilities to drive growth, said Singtel Group CEO Mr Yuen Kuan Moon.

"With a more unified approach, we would be more agile, competitive and compelling when bringing solutions to market.

"At the same time, this will allow us to deliver better outcomes for our customers, whether they are consumers, small businesses or enterprise customers."

According to Mr Yuen, Singtel's infrastructure arm is a key differentiator for the company.

Singtel has a large and unique portfolio of digital infrastructure assets across Asia, which is a key differentiator for the Group," he said.

"Since Covid, accelerated digitalisation has turned these assets, the passive backbone of our business, into an area of growth.

"Having invested heavily in these assets through the years, establishing them as a standalone business will allow us to capture new growth as their importance and appeal continue to increase.

These actions are aligned with the strategic reset we announced two years ago and will reinvigorate our core business in Singapore, thereby enhancing returns for our shareholders.

"With the rising importance of digital infrastructure globally, the new Digital InfraCo is well-positioned to be a credible growth engine that will allow Singtel to unlock latent value in the business.

The announcement has been accompanied by the unveiling at Singtel of a new management structure and appointments.

Veteran Hewlett Packard executive Mr Ng Tian Chong will join Singtel to head up the newly combined operating company with effect from 1 June 2023.

He was most recently Senior Vice President and Managing Director of HPs Greater Asia business with responsibility for all its go-to-market strategies and overall financial performance.

Mr Ng said, Im thrilled to be joining Singtel, a storied Singapore brand that is very much part of the Singapore growth story. I hope to play a key role in meeting the evolving needs of our consumers and business customers and driving Singtels next phase of digital growth.

Mr Bill Chang will relinquish his enterprise business portfolio to helm the new Digital InfraCo with effect from 1 June 2023.

The Singtel Group will also appoint former Rogers CTIO Mr Jorge Fernandes as its Group Chief Technology Officer with effect from 1 June 2023.


include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Democrats whine on and on about The Big Lie. In their minds, this phrase summarizes President Donald J. Trumps argument that vote fraud, ballot irregularities and ninth-inning rules changes sank his 2020 re-election bid.

However, Democrats are mum about the Big Lie that slimed Joe Biden into the White House.

Former CIA Acting Director Michael Morrell recently sang like a sparrow to the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees. He explained how he, Bidens presidential campaign and top U.S. spies bamboozled the American people less than three weeks before Election Day  even as voters cast early ballots.

Bidens Big Lie was decisive. In its absence, polls show, he would not occupy the Oval Office. Instead, Biden would be in Delaware, driving the 1967 Corvette that he parked in the garage of his Wilmington mansion, right beside boxes of illegally stored classified records.

On Oct. 14, 2020, a New York Post exclusive exposed Hunter Bidens so-called Laptop from Hell. Abandoned at a Delaware computer-repair shop, its e-mails and other contents uncovered Hunters international influence peddling and dodgy deals while his father was vice president.

That Oct. 17: Biden campaign adviser Antony Blinken, now U.S. secretary of state, rang Morrell to discuss the Posts scoop. Morrell swiftly orchestrated A Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails.

Oct. 19: This communique, signed by Morrell and 50 other former intelligence leaders, said: the arrival on the US political scene of emails purportedly belonging to Vice President Bidens son Hunter, much of it related to his time serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation. It added: If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election (Their emphasis.) The regime media echoed loyally, as Politicos headline typified: Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former officials say.

Oct. 22: In the second of two presidential debates, Biden deployed the Blinken-Morrell statement to rebuff Trumps accusations of Hunters (and, thus, Joes) corruption.

Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this, [sic] hes [Trumps] accusing me of is a Russian plan, Biden said. They have said that this has all the characteristics  four  five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what hes saying is a bunch of garbage.

Morrell testified that Biden campaign chairman Steve Ricchetti soon phoned him: Steve thanked me for putting the statement out.

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here.

The Russian disinformation label was a Big Lie. In a Feb. 1, 2023 letter, Hunters attorney Abbe Lowell conceded that the Laptop from Hell stored hundreds of gigabytes of Mr. Bidens personal data. CBS News and the Washington Post also authenticated the laptop as Hunters.

This rancid scheme fueled Bidens closing argument. He presented Morrell-Blinkens falsely exculpatory statement as organic rather than perpetrated on his behalf.

Trumps charges were not a bunch of garbage. They were the truth.

Alas, Bidens Big Lie, based on a letter filled with lies, convinced millions of voters that Trump was hallucinating or, even worse, helping Russia steal the White House.

The regime media used Morrell-Blinkens phony missive to justify their widespread non-coverage of the New York Posts 10-megaton laptop revelations.

Twitter, Facebook, and other social-media giants cited Morrell-Blinken to censor online discussion of the laptop and squelch customers who shared this story. For 15 days, Twitter even padlocked the account of the New York Post, Americas oldest living newspaper, which Alexander Hamilton founded in 1801.

Mission accomplished: The Laptop from Hell got zipped into a digital body bag. Aside from Fox News viewers and those who actively sought the Posts updates, most Americans heard little to nothing about Hunters computer and its explosive contents.

Bidens Big Lie got him elected.

According to a Nov. 24, 2020, Media Research Center/Polling Company survey of 1,750 Biden voters in seven swing states, 45.1% were unaware of Hunters laptop. Among these voters, 9.4% said that such knowledge would have switched their votes from Biden to Trump, a third-party candidate, or nobody.

Had Biden lost these votes, Trump would have secured Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; 311 Electoral College votes, and four more years in the White House.

Last December, TIPP Insights polled 501 adults who followed the Biden-graft story. TIPP asked: Would knowing the laptop contents were real and not disinformation have changed your vote?

Very likely, 28% replied.

Assuming, logically, that Hunters laptop would have cost Biden votes, losing 28% of his ballots (or even 14%) would have crushed Bidens chances.

These surveys confirm that Bidens Big Lie worked. Antony Blinkens nudging the CIAs former chief to recruit 50 more top spies to smear the Posts laptop story as a Russian hoax was, itself, a hoax. It deceived enough Americans to back Biden and boot Trump.

This cynical, naked, bald-faced Big Lie is the putrid foundation beneath Bidens presidency.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is hosting a webinar to help local businesses receive recovery funding through a state grant program implemented to assist those greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Back to Business webinar will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 3. Representatives from DCEO will be on hand to provide information, assist businesses with the application process and to answer any questions related to eligibility.

The Back to Business programs new round of grants has $175 million available to provide to qualifying restaurants, hotels, and creative arts organizations.

To participate in the webinar, registration is required to RSVP@sgop.ilga.gov.
MATTOON  The City Council is scheduled on Tuesday, May 2, to vote on adopting a four-year contract with annual raises for the firefighter union, as directed by an arbitrator.

In addition, the arbitrator has directed that Mattoon Firefighters Association Local 691 adopt the city's proposal to reduce the number of fire apparatus engineer positions from 12 to nine. The council is set to vote on the reduction ordinance during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, as well.

The proposed contract, effective retroactively from May 1, 2022-April 30, 2026, includes a union requested 2.75% wage increase in year one, 2.5% in year two, and 4% in years three and four. The city agrees with the raises for the first couple of years but had sought just a two-year contract.

Arbitrator Barry Simon wrote in his April 14 opinion that the union's proposal is "more reasonable" than the one from the city. He said the city's primary objective in limiting the firefighters' contract to two years is to have its expiration coincide with the police and public works agreements.

"While the city may believe there is some benefit to negotiating three collective bargaining agreements simultaneously, the arbitrator is unconvinced that any benefit that might be derived is sufficient to deviate from the status quo," he said of past contracts being three or four years.

The arbitrator also directed that the city adopt the union's proposal to add Good Friday and employees' birthdays as paid holidays during the course of the four-year contract, and to adopt the union's proposal to maintain the status quo on health insurance and reject proposed city modifications.

Bart Owen, president of the firefighter union, said they are happy with the proposed contract overall, including having pay raises in the first two years that are the same as the police and public works unions.

"The big thing for us was getting a four-year contract. It's definitely nice having a four-year contract. That gives us some stability for four years," Owen said. He also is optimistic that the Mattoon Fire Department will be able recruit new hires to increase its number of firefighters from the current 26 to the required 30.

Regarding the engineer positions, the city reported that the proposed reduction will follow its longtime practice of aligning the number of engineers with the department's apparatus. Currently, there is one engine, one ladder truck with pumping capability, and one heavy rescue truck.

Engineers are responsible for operating the pumps, hydraulics, and specialty tools on those apparatus. The union countered that reducing the number of engineer positions will narrow the promotion and wage increase opportunities for firefighters, plus potentially create more overtime.

"There is no request to modify the agreement's requirement that the department be staffed with 30 bargaining unit members. Nor does the city's request change the number of employees assigned to each apparatus. It simply removes the requirement to have more engineers than are needed based upon the apparatus," the arbitrator said of finding in the city's favor.

Mayor Rick Hall said both parties ended up "giving a little bit" on the proposed contract through the arbitration process. Hall said he is glad to have this process nearly settled so that they can move forward with a new contract in place.

"We are glad we are getting it behind us," Hall said.

The firefighters' current contract was adopted on Jan. 20, 2022 but was retroactive to May 1, 2018-April 30, 2022. The contract settlement did not take place until disputes involving staffing, engineer vacancies, and ambulance service were resolved through arbitration and litigation.

In December 2021, the city reinstated the fire department's ambulance service after the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled in the union's favor. The city had terminated the ambulance service in 2018 as a cost-cutting measure over the union's objection.

Once the 2018-2022 contract was adopted, the city and union began bargaining for a successor agreement. They submitted a joint request for mediation on Feb. 22, 2022, and the union filed a demand for interest arbitration with the Illinois Labor Relations Board on Aug. 9, 2022.

Simon, the arbitrator, was selected by the parties through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on Sept. 2, 2022. He conducted a hearing on Nov. 16, 2022 in City Hall and then received post-hearing briefs on Jan. 30 before issuing his opinion.
MATTOON  Plans are in the works for a connection from the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail to the Broadway Avenue East hotels and for a wheelchair accessible kayak launch at Lake Mattoon.

The Mattoon City Council is scheduled to vote on proposals regarding both of these recreation projects during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, in City Hall, 208 N. 19th St.

Regarding the bike trail, the council will consider hiring The Upchurch Group of Mattoon to provide preliminary engineering, survey and design services for connecting it to the north end of McFall Road. The council also will consider allocating $35,000 in city motor fuel tax revenue to pay for these services.

Public Works' Dean Barber wrote in his council decision request that the city has been awarded a $150,000 Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant for the construction of the bike trail connection. This connecting path will run north from McFall, where hotels are located, 0.29 miles between farm fields to the existing bike trail.

"The plans are due to (the Illinois Department of Transportation) on Nov. 1," Barber said. "The construction is expected to be completed in 2024."

Regarding the kayak launch, the council will consider applying for an $80,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Boat Access Area Development program to create this Americans with Disabilities Act accessible amenity at Lake Mattoon. The city would provide a 10% match for the grant from its video gaming funds.

"Lake Mattoon is a valuable recreational resource for the City of Mattoon and its residents," the grant application resolution said. "The city desires to increase access to Lake Mattoon for all residents, including those with disabilities."

Tuesday's meeting is scheduled to begin with a public hearing on the proposed kayak launch and grant application.

In other matters, the council will consider approving the plans and specifications for the Lafayette Sidewalk Project for sidewalk improvements from Logan Street to Crestview Subdivision. The bid opening is scheduled for May 24 for this work, which will be paid from city capital project funds.

"This project includes sidewalk construction and repairs on both sides of Lafayette Avenue from Logan Street to Odd Fellow Road. The work also includes new ramps and crosswalks at the Lafayette Avenue intersections with Crestview Drive and Odd Fellow Road," Barber said in his council decision request.

Those wishing to attend the meeting remotely can go online to bit.ly/MattoonCC050223 or call 415-655-0001, meeting number 2554 234 8065 and password 20819.
Terrible employees usually create a lot of drama and disruption and sometimes employers feel trapped on whether they can fire them. They can. And they should. But ideally, they should first issue some form of corrective action.

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld summary judgment for the employer, Spartanburg Methodist College (SMC), where a former employee claimed that SMC discriminated and retaliated against her under Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act when her contract was not renewed after just one year.

Plaintiff Summer Lashley signed a one-year contract to teach criminal justice courses at SMC. According to the courts opinion, Less than a year later, SMC decided not to renew Lashleys contract and terminated her shortly thereafter. Lashley brought a mix of state and federal law claims against SMC, essentially arguing that her contract nonrenewal and termination were unlawful.

SMC decided not to renew her contract due to her performance, professionalism, and conflicts with faculty and students, according to the case.

In cases like these the facts are complex. The employee in question had a lot of conflict, demands and complaints. They all cant be summarized here but suffice to say she was a source of ongoing disruption, and her supervisor described her as emotional, volatile, and uncontrollable. Lashley herself informed her supervisor on multiple occasions that SMC was not a good fit for her.

The court concluded, Lashleys multiple contentious interactions led [management] to worry that she was not forming constructive relationships with faculty and students and would have difficulty maintaining the professionalism required to perform as a SMC professor. In consultation with other SMC administrators, [Lashleys manager] decided not to renew Lashleys contract for the following year.

Informing her that her contract was not being renewed, her supervisor told her, that she and SMC were not a good fit for each other.

Following this conversation, Lashley allegedly made threats to include shouting at her supervisor for betraying her, telling students she felt like blowing the school up and telling a faculty member that Bad stuff happens when people cross me. My dad says its true. They turn up dead. She allegedly threatened that evil people like her supervisor would get theirs. She denied all of these statements.

SMCs president learned of these threats and made the decision to immediately terminate her and not let her work out the rest of her contract. He informed Lashley that her termination was due to unprofessional, inappropriate interactions with faculty.

The court held that SMC had legitimate reasons not to renew Lashleys contract and to terminate her employment, including that she was not a good fit for SMC and based on reports of threatening and unprofessional behavior.

The court reasoned it was not unlawful for an employer to conclude that an employees conflicts with faculty demonstrated a lack of conflict-resolution skills needed in a professional setting where interactions with colleagues are frequent and essential. There was also evidence that Lashley demonstrated a lack of professionalism with students.

The court determined that the motivation by the employer was safety  not retaliation.

Furthermore, the decision-makers didnt even know about Lashleys ADA request or her Title IX complaints when the decision was made to fire her. Decisionmakers can hardly be accused of harboring a retaliatory animus when they were unaware of the actions that allegedly led to the retaliation.

Lashley claimed that SMCs reasoning for her termination  that she was not a good fit, was a thinly veiled disguise for retaliation.

On this point, the court concluded that, Describing an employee as not a good fit is an assessment that employers make all the time. Maybe someones skills do not match up with the institutions mission. Maybe someones work ethic falls short of expectations. Maybe someone is just not a good team player. Though there may be circumstances where evidence reveals that good fit is a subterfuge for discrimination or retaliation, it is also a perfectly innocuous comment that an organizations collaborative goals would not be furthered and might be diminished by the employee.

The court added, Institutional success is often a collective enterprise toward which an employer has entirely reasonable expectations that each employee should contribute. It added, SMCs President explained that a good fit for us is someone who is able and willing to effectively teach the demographics we teach with great success and academic integrity, who possesses the [a]bility to be a good colleague with your faculty and staff, as well as the ability to exhibit the appropriate behavior with students and a level of professionalism with the appropriate boundaries between students and faculty. 

This was true despite Lashleys claim to be a whistleblower. On this the court held that Lashley cannot claim that mantle, adding, the record reveals unrelieved personality conflicts, unprofessional favoritisms, unwarranted threats, and contempt for what the defendant institution was attempting to accomplish. We cannot see how addressing those problems was a pretext for retaliatory or discriminatory animus.

This case should be a must read for any employer grappling with these highly complex and disruptive employees who continuously spin up the organization with never ending demands and disruption. Address these behaviors early (immediately). Institute a zero tolerance for any lack of professionalism or respect. And be consistent in holding employees accountable.
The fiscal 2022 compensation for Krispy Kreme Inc.s top executives dropped dramatically  as expected  as the company provided much lower stock- and stock-option awards.

In fiscal 2021, Krispy Kremes board of directors vaulted Mike Tattersfield, its president and chief executive, into the upper levels of corporate executive compensation for at least one fiscal year. Tattersfield received in fiscal 2021 stock awards valued at $8.56 million and stock-option awards valued at $7.58 million, both on the date they were awarded. That boosted his total compensation to $23.64 million.

Other members of the companys executive-management team received proportionally similar stock and stock-option awards.

For fiscal 2022, the Charlotte-based company reported in its proxy regulatory filing Friday that Tattersfield received stock awards valued at $999,998 and no stock-option awards.

As a result, Tattersfields total compensation shrank to $2.14 million.

Krispy Kreme returned to publicly traded status in July 2021 after being bought for $1.35 billion by JAB Holdings and taken private in 2016.

To align our named executive officers interests with those of our shareholders, drive retention of key executive talent and balance incentives to achieve short- and long-term success, the compensation program includes the grant of long-term, equity-based compensation, which makes up a significant portion of their total compensation, the company said.

Tattersfields base salary was unchanged at $1.1 million. None of the named executives received incentive pay.

Tattersfields other compensation was $38,716, which consisted of $35,878 for personal air travel expenses and $2,838 for group life insurance premiums.

For fiscal 2022, Krispy Kreme reported a $15.6 million loss and adjusted income of $49.6 million. Because of the substantial decline in the value of stock- and stock-option awards, the CEO pay ratio for Tattersfield dropped from $867-to-$1 on 2021 to $122-to-$1 in 2022 based on a median global employee compensation of $17,578.

The decline in the value of stock and stock-option awards also drove up 2021 compensation for Krispy Kremes five other named executives.

Joshua Charlesworth, chief financial and chief operating officer, received $860,000 in base salary, up 7.5%; stock awards valued at $500,006; and total compensation of $1.37 million, compared with $7.76 million in 2021.

Andrew Skehan, who stepped down July 31 as president of U.S. and Canadian operations, received $413,462 in base salary; stock awards valued at $500,006 that were forfeited with his departure; and total compensation of $1.06 million, compared with $4.66 million in 2021.

Matthew Spanjers, chief growth officer, received $525,000 in base salary that was unchanged; stock awards valued at $500,006; and total compensation of $1.04 million, compared with $7.07 million in 2021.

Dave Skena, chief brand officer, was listed for the first time. He was paid $561,731 in base salary, $399,996 in stock awards and $976,645 in total compensation.

Catherine Tang, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, was paid $500,000 in base salary, unchanged from 2021; stock awards valued at $399,996; and total compensation of $960,514, down from $3.92 million.

Krispy Kreme will conduct its 2023 shareholders meeting virtually at 10 a.m. June 22. There are no shareholder proposals on the agenda.
Q: Will the Shepherds Center resume having their used book sale this year? FH

Answer: The Shepherds Center will hold its Used Book Fundraiser Sale on Thursday, May 4 through Friday, May 5 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Saturday, May 6 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Education Building at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Entrance for parking is through Gate 5 from Deacon Boulevard. There will be thousands of used books and other media on hand at exceptional prices. As a special treat, Saturday sales will be half-price.

The sales have grown in size and popularity since its start. In fact, the event has become one of the largest book sales in North Carolina and routinely attracts buyers from surrounding states and communities. There will be a wide collection of books from many genres available for purchase.

The Shepherds Center of Greater Winston-Salem accepts book donations year-round from individuals, schools, libraries, congregations, and retirement communities. Volunteers spend hours each week in the book processing center at the Shepherds Center  sorting and dividing donated items, adding price stickers, and storing them in trailers to prepare for this annual event.

Throughout the year, they accept book donations from individuals, schools, libraries, nurse/health ministry congregations and retirement communities. Dedicated book center volunteers gather most days throughout the year to sort and price books that go into the annual sale, and all proceeds of the sale benefit the programs and services provided for older adults in our community.

For more information about The Shepherds Center of Greater Winston-Salem or the Annual Used Book Sale, visit their website at https://www.shepherdscenter.org/used-book-sale-1.

Q: What is the theme for Older Americans Month this May? What things can I do to safely celebrate?

Answer: For 60 years, Older Americans Month (OAM) has been a special time to recognize older Americans and their strength and resilience. It is led by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services tasked with helping older adults and people with disabilities participate fully in their communities. The theme this year is Aging Unbound. OAM 2023 celebrates the strength of older adults and emphasizes the power of engagement in building strong communities.

Older adults develop strength and resilience throughout their lives through experiences of success and joy, but also their failures and struggles. A large part of building and nurturing this resilience comes from connecting and engaging in the community.

Historically, Older Americans Month has been a time to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country. Every President since Kennedy has issued a formal proclamation during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation pay tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. Older Americans Month is celebrated across the country through ceremonies, events, fairs, and other such activities.

Is there a special older adult in your life that youd like to appreciate and honor? With May being Older Americans Month, now is the perfect time to recognize and reach out to older adults in your life. Send a card or small gift to someone to let them know you are thinking about them. Order a meal from a restaurant to be delivered to their home as a special treat. Flowers are always appreciated. Share fond memories or pictures digitally or through the mail. A simple phone call is free and always appreciated as well.

Consider taking time this month to recognize or celebrate the older Americans in your life and in your community. If you are interested in more tangible ways to support seniors locally visit seniorservicesinc.org.
If a bus stops on the corner outside the tavern, passengers will pour out. No matter the time; its just that kind of a route. In the rush, you might miss a sandwich board sign hinting at barbecue.

Inside, you should order first at the long wooden bar. If the weather has turned nice, go find a seat out back. On the way, youll see the kitchen through a small window to your right, busy just a few days a week with a new pop-up in residence, which just opened in March.

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The cook is having a moment right now with his new-school Chinese- and Vietnamese-inspired barbecue. Hes being lauded as among the most exciting, hottest new and award-winning. The accolades come after he left a career in finance, to follow a dream of smoking meat.

But it hasnt been an overnight success. Umamicue was built on one 14-hour smoked brisket at a time. Its been 10 years in the making, sometimes heartbreaking.

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Umamicue owner and pitmaster Charles Wong has forged a family bond and cultural identity through his extraordinary brisket banh mi and more, while finding a home and community at Spilt Milk Tavern in Chicago.

Spilt Milk owner Tony Selna and Umamicue owner and pitmaster Charles Wong pictured inside of Spilt Milk tavern on April 26, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

Most people understand umami, Wong said, but some still dont, so I asked him how he explains the namesake savory taste.

Its that salty, sweet, makes you want to dance when you eat  even if you dont dance  flavor, he said, laughing. We wanted to represent Umamicue in the flavors we grew up eating, with the techniques of low and slow barbecue.

Wong started out solo, but found two key mentors: chef Andy Lim and general manager Thomas Oh of Perilla, a modern Korean American restaurant.

I did my first ever pop-up at Perilla, said the pitmaster about his debut event in February 2020. And then the pandemic happened. So we took a pause. Eventually he resumed with a pop-up back at Perilla in April last year.

Wong also has help from his girlfriend and parents.

His parents, Theresa Wong and Phuong Namhuynh, are ethnically Chinese, but were born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, then known as Saigon.

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They immigrated here in the 70s, when the North took over the South, said their son. My mom decided to change her name back to our Chinese name. While my dad kept his Vietnamese name.

Umamicues decidedly Vietnamese American prime brisket banh mi has become Wongs signature. Wong makes each sandwich to order, stuffing beautifully buttery beef into the defining bread thats crisp outside and soft inside.

Crunchy pickled daikon and carrots nestle within swipes of housemade chile barbecue sauce and Kewpie mayonnaise. He finishes each offering with whisper thin slices of cucumber and jalapeno, and aromatic cilantro leaves, fluttering like gold leaf.

The exterior of Spilt Milk tavern on April 26, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

We pull the stems away from the cilantro so youre getting just the leaves, Wong said. And that to me is the perfect banh mi.

I loved the precise attention to detail, a sign of the breathtaking bites to come. I picked so much cilantro when I worked at a Chinese Vietnamese cousins restaurant, so I can appreciate exactly how to pull those leaves so they stay whole. The precise slices took me back to my Michelin three-star stage at Ducasse in Paris.

So who does all that prep for the sandwiches?

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My dad does it actually, Wong said. I gave him a little Japanese mandoline. Hell just be like, What do you need for the day? And Im like, Oh, I need a quart of this, I need a quart of that. And hes like, OK, great. Then hell just do it.

His son pauses for a moment before continuing.

Leaving finance and going into the food world really disappointed my parents, Wong said. It was very hard to do this, because I didnt have their support.

But when he got his smoker, with what he made from his first big catering gig, things changed.

I felt like it was the first time my dad was really proud of me, said the pitmaster, his voice breaking. I respect and really love him, so for him to do that for me is amazing.

No wonder every single cilantro leaf and precise slice evoked such deep emotion.

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And my mom too, her son said. She was really worried about the direction that I was heading in. And it was a dark, dark place for me.

Now, the pitmaster and his father are bonding over barbecue.

He asks me questions like, Hey, how are you doing this? said his son. And he tries to make dishes with me.

The crispy pork belly seemed already perfected to me and my parents, 88- and 89-year-old Mom and Pop Chu. But we were skeptical at first, because it looked a lot like what weve found at Chinese delis around the world all our lives. Then we tried it, and now we may be spoiled for the rest of our lives. The crisp skin crackles over supple, smoky meat.

A nonalcholic cocktail and the Logan Squares cocktail at Spilt Milk tavern is seen April 26, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

I wanted to create something that was like siu yuk, for sure, Wong said. But he wanted to smoke it, not just roast it, the way its traditionally done. And I tried different iterations.

Then at the Windy City Smokeout last year, he found crispy pork belly on the pit by Hoodoo Brown BBQ and got pointers from their pitmasters. Wong was working with LeRoy and Lewis, where he had done a formative stage of his own at the new-school barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas.

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He also tucks crispy pork belly cubes into bread for banh mi.

The smoked brisket egg rolls, really more like fried spring rolls or their Vietnamese cousins cha gio, come from a family recipe by Wongs maternal grandmother.

We call them egg rolls in our family, Wong said. My grandma used to make it. Then my dad, when he had a blue-collar job when he was working, he would make it maybe two, three times a year for his co-workers, and they would go nuts over it. So when I went to my finance job, I would also make it for my co-workers, and they would go nuts for it too.

But now hes changed the family egg roll recipe from pork to brisket. Theyre skinny, but shatter to reveal a generous filling of smoked meat, vegetables and glass noodles so flavorful, you can forgo the dip of housemade sweet chile sauce.

The crab Rangoon captures a layer of smoke thats evident, but nuanced, in a flawlessly fried flower-shaped shell.

I was hesitant to do it, Wong said. Because, growing up, my parents were like, thats not real Chinese food. But, I was eating Panda Express or whatever. This is my experience with Chinese American food. And I love crab Rangoon. Hes not a huge fan of imitation crab meat though, so uses real lump crab meat, and scallions too.

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The smoked cream cheese is absolutely brilliant, and lends a terrific interpretation of Chinese American food.

The smashed cucumber side leans more traditional with fresh, crunchy chunks, dressed in garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. It had scant sign of the promised red pepper heat, however, and begged for a hit of acidity.

The nuoc cham potato salad was so good, it made me forget about sneaking in some rice on my second visit.

We were trying to find a balance with sweet, salty and sour, Wong said. And nuoc cham has that fish sauce umami in it. He mixed the Vietnamese dipping sauce with Kewpie, then topped it all with freshly torn mint and basil, plus crispy onions for even more texture.

I ordered everything on the thoughtful, concise menu. But not the shaking beef sausage, because the pitmaster has pulled it for now.

It was a big hit for people in terms of flavor, he said. But what were missing is the snap you get from a traditional sausage that Im obsessed with trying to make right. Because if youre in Chicago, you want that snap like Polish sausage.

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Hes making his own, so its even more of a challenge.

Im trying to figure out if its my technique, said Wong. Or if its some of the ingredients in there thats not cohesive to making that sausage snap.

Plus the cocktails and community at the tavern are worth their own visit.

Spilt Milk is your neighborhood cocktail bar, said Tony Selna, co-owner with Jason Freiman. The design and ambience makes it feel like its hoity toity, but its not. Its just a laidback bar.

Open seven years, theyve experienced a lot of changes. But the bartenders work shockingly fast, especially at their level of craft cocktail, paired with sincere hospitality.

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Even with on-the-fly, nonalcoholic dealers choice drinks. Assistant manager Mel Manzo made me a glorious spritz with Giffard grapefruit alcohol-free liqueur, garnished with candied ginger, all so delicious that I grilled her on ingredients in hopes she could make it again.

The Logan Squares cocktail on the menu was bar manager Izzy Kanneys creation, Selna said. Its a lovely Old Fashioned-inspired drink with bourbon, tobacco bitters and a housemade banana syrup made with Miller High Life beer.

We brought in a barback who was the general manager at La Colombe for many, many years, Selna said. He had been messing around in his kitchen at home making syrup out of beer, and he was using High Life. Ive made syrups using stouts, for winter cocktails, but I never thought of using High Life beer.

In addition to the collaborative cocktail space, Selna created a community at Spilt Milk with unique food service, years before Umamicues residency. Most notably, in 2018 he started Family Meal Monday on the back patio. An all-star lineup of chefs cooks every week from May through September. Thats $20 for a plate of food and a drink.

I love being a bar owner, he said. But I love just coming together and breaking bread too. And watching people sit down and eat Umamicue has been great.

Manager and bartender Izzy Kanney works the bar at Spilt Milk tavern on April 26, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

And hes just about finished with another all-star lineup coming up this year, starting with a mutual chef friend he shares with Wong.

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We have Perilla kicking it off, Selna said. Then Galit, Publican Quality Bread, Pompette, Monteverde, Longman & Eagle, Herbivore, Superkhana, Kimski, Hermosa, Kasama, Bang Bang Pie and Andros Taverna. And my good pal Jonathan Zaragoza. So thats the list so far.

Meanwhile, Umamicue will continue its residency at Spilt Milk for at least a year.

Which addresses some of the questions Ive heard around who gets to be reviewed. And who are reviews like this for now anyway?

Particularly over the past two years, the cutting-edge has gone far beyond expensive restaurants downtown. Some of our best new restaurants, in fact, remain pop-ups and virtual. But they all consistently offered exceptional food and drink, plus something more that cant be easily replicated.

In the case of Umamicue, its a taste of a place where banh mi and barbecue have the power to bring together family.

Umamicue at Spilt Milk Tavern

2758 W. Fullerton Ave.

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umamicue.com; spiltmilktavern.com

Open: Umamicue, Tuesday to Thursday, 5 p.m. until sold out. Milk Tavern, Monday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Tuesday to Thursday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday 4 p.m. to midnight

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Prices: Umamicue, starters $5-$7; banh mi $12 half, $20 full; sides $5-$6. Milk Tavern, house cocktails $14-$15, nonalcoholic drinks $4-$9

Noise: Conversation-friendly

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with restrooms on single level

Tribune rating: Excellent, 3 stars

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Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.

lchu@chicagotribune.com

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
On Monday, Damien Daeron Jordan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2020 death of Robert Bobby Singletary during a home invasion and robbery, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill said.

Authorities said Jordan was sentenced to 16 to 20 years for the crime.

The district attorney said Jordan planned the crime with three other men. Their plan was to do a home invasion and robbery at a house in the 1100 block of Louise Road in search of illegal drugs and money on Dec. 27, 2020. Authorities said the target of the crime was Singletary, who was at the house with four other people when the crime took place.

Jordan reportedly told authorities that he drove a vehicle to Louise Road the day of the crime and parked away from the house.

Witnesses reported to police that three or four males entered the house dressed in dark clothes and wearing face coverings. The men had guns and shouted Police! on entering the house. Authorities said the intruders forced everyone to get on the floor and began demanding money. Singletary was singled out by the perpetrators and shot once in the back.

Jordan told authorities he drove from the scene after the shooting.

Singletary died at the scene. The district attorney described him as a beloved son, brother and father of two children, and a lifelong resident of Winston-Salem. He was a graduate of Parkland High School and Forsyth Technical Community College.

Authorities said Jordan told them that Dejunte Moore and two others were in the planning for the home invasion and robbery. Moore was also arrested and charged with murder and other offenses in the case.

ONeills office said Winston-Salem police detective Mike Ognosky was lead investigator, and that Jane Garrity, assistant district attorney, prosecuted for the state. Jordan was represented by attorney Terry Hines.
As a Native American activist, Crystal Cavalier-Keck has journeyed thousands of miles to help protect the lives and lands of Indigenous communities.

As a member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation in Alamance County, Cavalier-Keck shares a unique kinship with those shes supported at the Lower Snake River in Idaho, Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, the Black Hills in South Dakota, and the lakes, rivers and wild rice waters of northern Minnesota.

Now, though, Cavalier-Keck is immersed in an especially personal advocacy effort closer to home.

The co-founder of the North Carolina-based Indigenous-rights organization 7 Direction of Service is at the center of a movement to apply rights of nature protections to North Carolinas Haw River, which flows 110 miles from its headwaters in the north-central Piedmont region to the Cape Fear River just below Jordan Lake Reservoir.

An N.C. House bill, with Rep. Pricey Harrison of Guilford County as primary sponsor, would direct the state to recognize the rights of the Haw to naturally exist, flourish, regenerate and evolve and to be a source of abundant, pure, clean, unpolluted water.

The bill would also secure the right of North Carolinians to a healthy, flourishing Haw River ecosystem, while protecting the collective or individual rights of Indigenous people residing in the state.

If it becomes law, House Bill 795 would be the nations first state-level assignment of legal rights to a river ecosystem.

Since time immemorial, our Indigenous communities have treated the natural world as kin, Cavalier-Keck explained. For us, animals and rivers are our relatives. We strive to treat them accordingly. ... HB795 applies such life-honoring values to North Carolina state law, and lays a path forward for vulnerable ecosystems across the state.

Advocates first tapped former N.C. Rep. Ricky Hurtado as a potential sponsor of a Haw River bill, but the Alamance County Democrat lost to Republican Stephen Ross in the 2022 election.

Cavalier-Keck and others then met with Harrison  and found an enthusiastic partner.

This issue about the rights of nature is just something Ive been thinking about for a while, Harrison said. Then we had that visit and they asked if we would file a bill. They made a compelling case.

The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights in Spokane, Washington, worked with the Native American Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party to draft the legislation, which was filed April 17.

Treated as property

Granting rights represents a paradigm shift in our legal treatment of rivers, said Grant Wilson, executive director of the Colorado-based Earth Law Center and an expert on rights of nature law.

The status quo of our legal system is that all of nature is treated as property or human-owned or a resource, he explained. Instead of that, the river would be recognized as having rights just as humans have rights (and) just as corporations have rights.

That recognition would tilt the balance between nature and people further toward the Haw.

The idea that rivers have the right to exist, be protected, to flow, to flourish and so forth will have to be considered alongside human rights interests, Wilson said. It wouldnt supersede human rights and interests, but it would be placed at the same level as human rights.

The legislation lays out implementation and enforcement provisions to guarantee and uphold the rights of the river. Those include requiring a review of all state laws, policies, practices and operations to ensure they protect the river. Restoration efforts would be required to remedy violations.

It is something thats painfully missing from our present-day ways of how we interact with each other legally, Cavalier-Keck said. I think this would be huge. It would set a precedent for other states to be able to adopt a rights of nature law.

The next journey

While similar measures have been adopted at local and tribal levels, HB795 would be the first such state-level measure, Wilson confirmed.

Thats important, he added, because one of the challenges for the rights of nature movement in the United States has been preemption issues where higher levels of law preempt or supersede local laws, he added.

For example, voters in Toledo, Ohio, in 2019 approved a Lake Erie Bill of Rights similar to HB795. The state of Ohio joined a lawsuit challenging the rights of nature amendment to the citys municipal charter, and a federal judge eventually struck down the law as unconstitutional.

I think the fact that (HB795) is a proposed state law is significant because you have a better chance of overcoming that preemption issue, Wilson said. You still have to think about the federal legal system but if its a state law, its a much stronger position.

Cavalier-Keck and her organization are working to build support for the legislation in communities along the Haw and will be reaching out to General Assembly members on both sides of the aisle.

We really dont want to force this on people, she added. We want people to come to this decision on their own because at the end of the day, we are nature. When we die, we do walk on to the next journey. We are cremated or we are buried and our body returns to the Earth, whether its in the water or the soil.
LOS ANGELES  What qualifies as an icon? If anyone can look at a picture and immediately identify it, says philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, its an icon.

Everybody has a sense of what it means, he explains. Often, icons will fall out of favor or disappear. The Ambassador hotel, for example, isnt around anymore. But, for years, it was iconic because it was the place where Robert Kennedy was assassinated.

Andy Warhol took something everybody recognized  like the Campbells soup can  and made it a work of art, Rubenstein says.

To get the discussion going, the history buff hosts Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein and digs into such likely suspects as the Hollywood sign, the Gadsden Flag, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the American Bald Eagle.

Among the surprises: Many people think the eagle is our national bird, Rubenstein says. We dont have a national bird. So we wanted to educate people.

In the eight-part series on PBS, the lifelong collector tells the story behind the icons and what makes them stand out. Some, like the cowboy, for example, arent what you think. Cowboys were not fighting Indians, Rubenstein says. They werent even carrying guns. They, basically, were just dealing with cattle and it was a tough, tough job.

While Mount Rushmore would certainly be on a list of icons (if we did another eight, that would probably be a good one to do), it does have its share of controversy. The carver, Gutzon Borglum, for example, was behind Stone Mountain (which is in the series) and has a controversial background. Some of these stories go much deeper than we would even expect, Rubenstein says. I know a reasonable amount about American history for a non-professional, but I was astounded to learn some of the things I learned about these symbols.

Richard Nixon, for example, was among the first to wear a flag pin on his lapel. Subliminally, it said, hes more patriotic than I am if Im not wearing it. The trend stretched to other Republicans (Ronald Reagan, for one, who liked to speak in front of a grouping of flags) and, finally, Democrats figured out it was a good thing.

The Hollywood sign has a history as well. It was first used to identify a housing subdivision then became a symbol of glamour, success and fame. Today, it immediately identifies the place where movies are made.

Rubenstein hit on the idea about icons after talking with friends about citizens knowledge of American history. You can graduate from almost any college in this country without having to take an American history course, he says. In fact, you can major in history in most colleges without having taken an American history course.

Surveys show things like two-thirds of Americans do not know how many branches there are in the federal government. (The answer: Three: legislative, judicial and executive.)

A student of history, Rubenstein collected artifacts since he was a child. He owns a copy of the Magna Carta, more copies of the Declaration of Independence than anybody and other historic documents.

I put them on display so people can see them and learn more about our history, he says. The theory is, if we have a more educated population, well have a more informed democracy.

The one hes still seeking: The Gettysburg Address. There are only five copies of that. Lincoln actually wrote out five copies and theyre hard to get. I also have one of the largest collections of American history books and more copies of the Federalist Papers than anybody.

The future for those collections? You can do one of three things: give them to a museum, sell them and take the profit or use it as a charitable contribution, or give them to your children, Rubenstein says. I have three children and they have no interest in any of my collections, so I could give them to a museum. Its in my will, if I die tomorrow. But Im always changing my mind.

"Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with Rubenstein" airs on PBS.
The Daily Minute is the Journal Star's morning news briefing where you can get the latest news in about a minute each weekday. Previous Daily Minute videos are archived here.

Good morning, Lincoln. Here are todays top stories.

Lincoln mayoral race

Theres just one more day until voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the Lincoln City General Election. In the race for mayor between incumbent Leiron Gaylor Baird and former state Sen. Suzanne Geist, two issues repeatedly rise to the top: public safety and Geists voting record.

Gaylor Baird has attacked Geists voting record on a number of controversial issues in the Legislature, saying her views are too extreme and dont reflect Lincolns values. Geist has countered that she would focus on only city business and not divisive social issues that divide the community.

Attack ads supporting Geist paint a picture of rising crime in Lincoln; Gaylor Baird says those are cherry-picked numbers that distort the truth.

Legislative agenda

Despite this year's filibuster-laden travails that have blocked and delayed action on major legislation while burning this session's 90-day legislative clock, senators will be able to address all the major issues still pending before they adjourn, Speaker John Arch says.

Before the 2023 legislative session is complete in about a month, tax reduction bills, the two-year state budget package, school aid reform, tax exemptions for donations to private schools, a green light to proceed with construction of a new state prison and voter photo ID legislation will all be considered.

"I think when we're done we can look back and say that we were able to accomplish what we were sent here to do, Arch said.

Nebraska probation office failed to pay for months

And, the January rollout of a new payment portal for healthcare providers treating Nebraskans on probation came with technical challenges that went undetected for more than two months and left some providers unpaid for longer.

A breakdown in the Nebraska's Office of Probation Administration new payment portal led to a backlog of roughly 1,500 of unpaid bills.

It's not clear exactly how much money the state owed providers when the backlog peaked, but the office processed 1,215 vouchers that amounted to nearly $2 million in payments over the last week of April. At least some of those payments had been requested weeks or months ago, causing financial stress for some providers that were waiting on thousands of dollars in unpaid vouchers.

The probation office hopes to clear the backlog  which they attributed to "growing pains and a new IT system"  in the next two weeks.

Thats it for Monday, May 1. Stay in the know with Lincolns longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com. Well see you back here tomorrow.

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One person was hospitalized Monday afternoon after he was shot by Lincoln Police and Nebraska State Patrol investigators in a west Lincoln parking lot, according to authorities.

The shooting occurred at about 2:45 p.m. Monday when three members of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force  a unit made up of plainclothes investigators from the Lincoln Police Department, State Patrol and Lancaster County Sheriff's Office  confronted a white man who had been following them near Northwest 27th and West O streets, Chief Lancaster County Sheriffs Deputy Ben Houchin said.

At least one State Patrol trooper and one Lincoln Police officer shot at the armed man before "immediately" rendering first aid, according to the State Patrol.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews took the man to a local hospital following the shooting, authorities told reporters Monday afternoon.

The man, who has not been identified, was in critical condition Monday afternoon.

No officers were injured in the shooting, which happened in a parking lot just west of Northwest 27th Street along West O Street.

Authorities did not release the identity of the officers involved Monday. Both investigators have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with each agencys policy, according to the State Patrol.

The man who police shot was armed, but it's unclear if he fired toward police, the State Patrol said. Investigators recovered a firearm at the scene.

"Clearly, the officers involved perceived a deadly threat and responded according to that perceived threat," Col. John Bolduc, the head of the State Patrol, told reporters at the scene Monday afternoon.

Houchin indicated the man had been following the investigators in his vehicle in the moments before the shooting. Bolduc said what led up the confrontation was unclear, but indicated the man had been the subject of a narcotics investigation prior to Monday's shooting.

"This is part of a larger effort to combat drug and weapons trafficking in the city," he said. "And this incident resulted from that type of investigation."

In the minutes after the shooting, several police officers  some wearing plainclothes and others armed with long guns  converged on the Super 8 motel a block east of the shooting scene and took one man into custody.

Im as close as police will let the me get to the scene at Northwest 22nd and West O streets in #LNK, where scanner traffic indicates the Nebraska State Patrol was just involved in a shooting. @JournalStarNews pic.twitter.com/qgeL12P1Mp  Andrew Wegley (@andrewwegley) May 1, 2023

Houchin said the man who was shot is believed to have been staying at the Super 8, but his relationship to the second man was unclear.

The second man was not directly involved in the shooting, Houchin said. Police took him to the Lincoln Police headquarters after detaining him.

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, which employs deputies who serve on the same task force as the investigators who shot the man Monday, will conduct an investigation into the shooting.

Bolduc said the appointment of the Sheriff's Office to lead the investigation is the "best practice," since the Sheriff's Office is "a third agency" and was not involved directly in the shooting.

Members of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force generally drive unmarked cruisers and wear plainclothes as they investigate drug and weapons crimes. Task force investigators don't wear body cameras.

In that instance, a plainclothes investigator, Adam Strode, shot and killed German Pedraza at an apartment near 19th and G streets as the Columbus man reached for a handgun. A grand jury later cleared Strode of any wrongdoing in the shooting.

The Sheriff's Office is expected to release additional details on Monday's shooting at the agency's media briefing Tuesday morning.

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In the past 20 years, there has been an explosion in the number of beaver dams in Alaskas tundra region.

University of Alaska Fairbanks research professor Ken Tape and his colleagues reported that the number of beaver ponds near the town of Kotzebue rose from two in 2002 to 98 in 2019, according to Smithsonian magazine. A nearby peninsula saw the number of beaver dams grow from 94 to 409 between 2010 and 2019.

Why? Thats a question Tape hopes to more definitively answer with the help of robots that will be developed by Brittany Duncan, Justin Bradley and other University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members through UNLs Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems Lab (NIMBUS). The researchers hope to find those answers over a period of three years thanks to a nearly $1.2 million grant recently awarded by the National Science Foundation.

For now, the working hypotheses are that a warming tundra is making the climate more hospitable to the rodents and that the beaver population is recovering after a couple of centuries of over-trapping.

The researchers are hoping to get a sense of how beavers live and change the landscape. Those landscape changes include beavers dividing up a single water stream into several channels.

There are other animals moving into the Arctic tundra. But theyre not changing the landscape like beavers, Tape said. Beavers are going in there and really changing the nature of these tundra streams, rivers, lake outlets  things like that. Thats why this question of beaver engineering is of great interest.

Through their ponds, beavers are accelerating the melting of permafrost, Tape said. Thats accelerating the pace of climate change.

In the absence of beavers, the Arctic is a fairly stable place. It doesnt change rapidly, he said. But when a beaver gets in there, its like hitting the system over the head with a hammer. All of the sudden, it looks different every year.

The UNL research team, which is led by Duncan, a computing associate professor, and includes fellow associate professors Bradley and Carrick Detweiler, will design drones and boats capable of navigating Alaskas difficult terrain.

The drones will drop off the boats that are roughly the size of a suitcase. The boats, in turn, will skim the waters in and around the beaver ponds and deploy underwater sensors that can take water measurements and photos of beavers in their environments.

Probably the most difficult challenge is seeing whats going on underneath the ice in the winter, Tape said.

Bradley said the robots will be able to communicate with each other and have the ability to autonomously make decisions up to an hour or so in advance, based on the conditions they encounter. Some of the theoretical decisions that Bradley outlined pertain to when the robots should talk to each other, where to fly and what to look for.

Duncan said the UNL researchers will head to Fairbanks this summer to test some early prototypes. Only then, Duncan said, will the researchers know just exactly what needs to be done.

Until we get up there, we dont have the sense of the kind of conditions that Ken has described to us on the ground, Duncan said. Next year, well hope to have a more robust system and a more complete system that were going to take with us.

In the projects third and final year, Duncan said the researchers will go to Nome, Alaska, near the Arctic Circle.

Duncan said the project seeing how beavers impact the Arctic climate will give researchers a new, rich environment to see how robots can be utilized for scientific purposes.

Additionally, NIMBUS received a three-year, $990,697 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to unlock the potential of carbon sequestration in Nebraska by using drones to collect carbon samples in untilled agriculture lands. Bradley will lead that team, which also includes Detweiler and professors Trenton Franz and Francisco Munoz-Arriola.

The goal, Bradley said, would be to help companies minimize the amount of in-person field work to collect carbon samples, thereby saving time and money. Drones could also identify the best spots to collect data to analyze the impact of carbon sequestration, which prevents carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

My hope is  this will encourage landowners to engage in carbon sequestration because they know there will be less invasive techniques to do the verification, Bradley said.

How climate change is affecting America's national parks Historic flooding, extreme temperatures and more Rising temperatures Glacial retreat Sea level rise Animal life Wildfires
Drought worsened in Nebraska last week, bringing severe drought conditions to Lancaster County for the first time in a decade.

The latest Drought Monitor from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, released on Thursday, showed 45% of the state is now in extreme drought or worse, including the western half of Lancaster County and part of Lincoln.

The last time any part of Lancaster County was in extreme drought was in April 2013, at the tail end of the 2012-13 drought, which is one of the worst in the state's history.

Drought conditions had been improving in much of Nebraska over the winter and early spring, with the percentage of extreme drought falling by more than half and areas of exceptional drought declining by more than two-thirds. But that decline has been halted.

While areas of moderate and severe drought remained fairly steady last week, extreme drought jumped from less than 29% of the state to more than 45%, while the area of exceptional drought grew from about 5.1% to 6.3%.

Most of that expansion came in eastern Nebraska, which has largely missed out on spring rains.

Lincoln, for example, received only 0.59 inches of rain in April, 2.1 inches below normal. Since the start of March, the city has a precipitation deficit of just over 3 inches, and it is 2 inches below normal for the year so far.

That comes after less than 20 inches of rain fell in Lincoln in 2022, making it the third-driest in the past 45 years and the 15th-driest in recorded history.

Things are worse in northeast Nebraska, which has several counties experiencing exceptional drought. Columbus and Norfolk are well below average for precipitation so far this year.

In Merrick County, to the west of Columbus, conditions are as dry as theyve ever been, said Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue.

With the stuff that Im planting now, I dont think I probably have enough moisture to germinate the seed, said McHargue, who was planting corn on Thursday.

While irrigation certainly helps crops grow in periods of drought, it comes at significant cost to farmers. Irrigation costs depend on the area and the amount of moisture already present in the soil, but he said that each use of an irrigator typically can cost at least $1,000.

The long drought has compounded the difficulty for farmers this year. Last year, there was moisture in the subsoil, but thats not the case this year, said Nebraska Extension Educator Jenny Rees. That dryness has made for shallower roots and sometimes makes it impossible for farmers to even get their planters in the ground because the ground is so hard.

This is one of the first years I can remember where we just have no subsoil moisture, she said. There are a lot of fields where Im not seeing moisture beyond 15 to 20 inches.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 29% of topsoil and 21% of subsoil in Nebraska has adequate moisture.

The lack of rain and snow in many areas also has taken a toll on rivers.

As of Friday, for example, the water level in the Missouri River near Omaha stood around 13 feet. Thats about half of the 27 feet level needed for the river to hit the flood stage. The Platte River, which dried up in many spots last summer, continues to have levels below average. As of Monday, the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District reported flows in the Platte at Grand Island of 175 cubic feet per second, down from 343 cubic feet per second last month and 616 a year ago.

The Omaha World-Herald contributed to this report.

Four years ago: Photos, videos from catastrophic flooding in Nebraska Flooding in Nickerson, 3.13 Flooding in Wahoo, 3.13 Flooding in Nickerson, 3.13 Flooding in Ashland Area, 3.14 Flooding in Ashland Area, 3.14 Flooding, Ashland Flooding, Hooper Flooding, 3.14 Flooding, 3.14 Flooding, 3.14 Flooding, 3.14 Fremont flooding Rescued in boat Spencer Dam Highway flooding Genoa bridge Stranded cattle Flooding, 3.15 Flooding, 3.15 Tuxedo Park in Crete Platte River flooding at I-80 Flooding near Plattsmouth, 3.16 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Peru flooding, 3.17 Rescuing calf in Fullerton Nebraska City flooding Cooper plant Water flowing over levee L575 across the river from Nebraska City in Percival, Iowa Steinhart Grain Terminal at Nebraska City By the numbers
WASHINGTON  Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government found.

The findings, revealed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, are a warning to hospitals around the country as they struggle to reconcile dozens of new state laws that ban or severely restrict abortion with a federal mandate for doctors to provide abortions when a woman's health is at risk.

The competing edicts have been rolled out since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

But federal law, which requires doctors to treat patients in emergency situations, trumps those state laws, the nation's top health official said in a statement.

"Fortunately, this patient survived. But she never should have gone through the terrifying ordeal she experienced in the first place," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. "We want her, and every patient out there like her, to know that we will do everything we can to protect their lives and health, and to investigate and enforce the law to the fullest extent of our legal authority, in accordance with orders from the courts."

The federal agency's investigation centers on two hospitals  Freeman Health System in Joplin, Missouri, and University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas  that in August refused to provide an abortion to a Missouri woman whose water broke early at 17 weeks of pregnancy.

Doctors at both hospitals told Mylissa Farmer that her fetus would not survive, that her amniotic fluid had emptied and that she was at risk for serious infection or losing her uterus, but they would not terminate the pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was still detectable.

Ultimately, Farmer had to travel to an abortion clinic in Illinois.

"It was dehumanizing. It was terrifying. It was horrible not to get the care to save your life," Farmer, who lives in Joplin, said of her experience. "I felt like I was responsible to do something, to say something, to not have this happen again to another woman. It was bad enough to be so powerless."

Farmer's complaints launched the first investigations that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, has publicly acknowledged since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Across the country, women have reported being turned away from hospitals for abortions, despite doctors telling them that this puts them at further risk for infection or even death.

President Joe Biden's administration has prodded hospitals not to turn away patients in those situations, even when state law forbids abortions.

Weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling, the Democratic administration reminded hospitals that federal law requires them to offer an abortion when a pregnant woman is at risk for an emergency medical condition. The federal government can investigate hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid money  which encompasses most facilities in the U.S.  for violations of the law.

CMS has not announced fines or other penalties against the two hospitals in its investigation, but it did send them notices warning that they were in violation of the law and asking them to correct the problems that led to Farmer being turned away.

Abortions are largely banned in Missouri, but there are exceptions for medical emergencies. In Kansas, when Farmer visited the hospital, abortions were still legal up to 22 weeks. It's unclear why University of Kansas Health refused Farmer. Neither hospital responded immediately to a request for comment on the case.

Nationwide, doctors reported uncertainty around how to provide care to pregnant women, especially in the nearly 20 states where new laws banned or limited the care. Doctors face criminal and civil penalties in some states for aborting a pregnancy.

But in a letter sent Monday to hospital and doctors associations that highlights the investigations, Becerra said he hopes the investigations clarify that the organizations must follow the federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

"While many state laws have recently changed," Becerra wrote, "it's important to know that the federal EMTALA requirements have not changed, and continue to require that health care professionals offer treatment, including abortion care, that the provider reasonably determines is necessary to stabilize the patient's emergency medical condition."
The Nebraska Court of Appeals last week ruled that an Omaha man could be tried on the two felonies for which he's charged, despite flimsy evidence on the record to justify a continuance that pushed his trial beyond the speedy-trial deadline.

But Justin Rashad's case resulted in a split decision rarely seen in the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

And it may not end up being the last word in the case where the 27-year-old stands accused of shooting his father in the head.

Douglas County Public Defender Tom Riley, whose office represents Rashad, said Friday he anticipates filing a motion for further review, asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to take a look.

"It's our opinion this case is of a nature the highest court should enter a clarification ruling," Riley said Friday.

It all revolves around the right, under state statute, for a criminal defendant to be brought to trial within six months of the filing of an information against him or her, and the process by which prosecutors can exceed it.

Lots of things can stop the clock from ticking down, for instance if a defense attorney asks for a continuance or files a motion to keep certain evidence from going in front of the jury.

But here, Rashad's trial date initially was set for Oct. 18, 2021, until in late September District Judge Marlon Polk told the attorneys he had a homicide jury trial set for Oct. 13 and, as a result, Rashad's case would need to be continued.

When Rashad's attorney, Korey Taylor, objected, the Douglas County Attorney's Office asked Polk to find good cause for the continuance, which he did, and reset trial for Feb. 14, 2022, based on: "the court being in trial and the availability of both counsel."

Taylor asked to clarify, pointing out he had availability in November and December.

Polk stuck with the date, but reduced bond. Rashad got out of jail the next day.

On Feb. 3, 2022, Rashad's attorney filed a motion to throw out the case on speedy-trial grounds. Polk overruled it.

On appeal, his public defender argues that the prosecutor failed to sufficiently demonstrate good cause to continue his Oct. 18, 2021, trial. And, even if there was good cause to continue it, the state failed to prove good cause to continue trial past Nov. 12, 2021, when his speedy-trial clock expired.

On the other side, the state maintained the judge properly found good cause to continue the trial to February 2022.

Writing for the majority of the three-judge panel, Judge David Arterburn said: "Though the evidence presented was thin, the court reasonably relied on the statements and knowledge of the prosecutor in making its findings."

He said they gave deference to the fact that Polk was presiding over another trial when Rashad's trial initially was set to begin.

"We find that based on the courts schedule only, good cause existed at the time the continuance was granted to continue trial beyond the November speedy trial deadline," Arterburn wrote.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Lawrence Welch Jr. said: "On this record, I conclude it is too thin in relation to the states burden, and I respectfully dissent from my colleagues."

At the hearing on the continuance no exhibits were offered or received and no detail was given as to why the other trial took precedence. The court simply granted the states motion, he said.

"I give deference to the finding that the other trial existed," he said. "The issue lies in there being no indication as to why that trial was scheduled ahead of Rashads trial or why the trial could not have been otherwise accommodated."

On Friday, Riley said obviously it's a big deal for Rashad, who is charged with two serious felonies.

He said the opinions serve as an alert to the courts and the prosecutors that a stronger record and more thorough reasoning would be more palatable to appellate courts.

The right to a speedy-trial isn't something to be trifled with, Riley said.
In a move that could help speed up prosecution of notoriously slow criminal cases, the Cook County states attorneys office will more comprehensively store and track digital evidence, officials said.

A new system is set to be rolled out for adult felony cases Monday, soon after the Tribune published a four-part series chronicling how Cook County murder cases linger on the dockets longer than ever, and longer than any other big-city court that can be measured.

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The office has been working on the project for more than a year  not in reaction to the Tribune series, said the offices chief data officer, Matthew Saniie. But Saniie said the new system could help police share video and other digital files more quickly with prosecutors, who could then more efficiently review it  potentially addressing one bottleneck.

Our (prosecutors) watch a lot of progress bars as a result of having to deal with these large pieces of evidence, Saniie said. Thats a horrible use of lawyer time, you know, and while thats not necessarily going to go away completely, were trying to reduce as much of that as possible.

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In the April series, the Tribune found case delays fueled by gummed-up court machinery overseen by judges allowed to set their own paces and court leaders whove largely shunned decades of recommendations for reform.

Reporters found that one of the biggest roadblocks comes during discovery, the very first phase of trial preparation, when prosecutors must gather up all potential evidence and share it with defense attorneys.

The new program aims to save attorneys time by bringing all of a cases relevant evidence  which can include hundreds of hours of video and other large digital files  into a unified, more manageable system. The cost of the new effort wasnt immediately available.

Legal files are pulled on a cart through the lobby toward a courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Jan. 23, 2023. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The Tribune analysis showed prosecutors can take years to complete discovery, as various police reports, lab tests, 911 recordings, officer videos and other records are sent to them in dribs and drabs.

The new system cant specifically make people give prosecutors evidence faster  particularly police, whose efforts can be notoriously disjointed and slow. And the system wont be the first time authorities have used cloud-based digital storage.

But Saniie said the new system  developed by the firm NICE  will be a leap forward, taking disjointed systems and streamlining them into one that will be easier for prosecutors and defense attorneys to use, and for prosecutors supervisors to monitor.

It could help the office more easily spot cases in which key evidence has yet to be submitted, and spot prosecutors who are taking longer than others to gather evidence. That becomes increasingly important as cases, particularly more serious felonies, often involve reams of data from 911 dispatch audio, defendants cellphones, and various video from city cameras, nearby businesses and arriving officers.

Technology used by the county and by local police has long lagged behind the private sector, and attorneys have frequently complained they waste time attempting to get video files to work on unfamiliar software or outdated hardware.

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Saniie told the Tribune that prosecutors get digital files from more than 100 municipalities, many of which use wildly different systems. The county maintains one computer that runs Windows 2000  a technology more than two decades old  because prosecutors still receive files that can only be played on that operating system, he said.

The new system can read 90% of the types of video files the office receives, Saniie said.

But Saniie acknowledged the new system would be only one step in trying to limit unnecessary case delays.

So far, Chicago police havent responded to Tribune questions about what it would do to more quickly provide prosecutors with evidence. CPD efforts have been described by the citys internal watchdog agency as so slow and haphazard that they didnt meet basic constitutional requirements.

A spokesman for incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson also did not respond to questions about what a Johnson administration would do to speed up the process.

The Tribune found a host of other reasons why cases stall, and other players that could push reforms. They include county Chief Judge Timothy Evans, responsible for supervising the county courts, and Illinois Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, who under the state constitution has general administrative and supervisory authority over all local courts.

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Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Tim Evans attends a ceremony on Feb. 4, 2023, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Neither of their offices has responded to questions posed in the past week about what, if anything, they plan to do to lessen delays.

That includes whether Evans plans to follow through on a promise made in January 2021, and last fall, to work with the circuit clerks office to start tracking why delays occur. The circuit clerks office has said its waiting on Evans office to provide it the codes and an order on how to proceed.

Two county commissioners  John Daley and Donna Miller  repeated calls theyve made for years to track such data.

We have  or we should have  a system to get that kind of information, Miller said, adding its about more than finding ways to speed up cases to save county dollars. This has an effect on (crime victims) families and the detainees themselves.  It just prolongs a lot of that agony on both sides of the coin.

The circuit clerks office said last week it did take a long overdue step to send figures to the state to document how long it took the court to complete felonies. It blamed much of the 11-month delay on computer issues and said, going forward, it should be able to send figures on time.

But its unclear whether the public will ever see those figures. State law doesnt require it. The circuit clerk said its up to judges to order its release, either at the local or state level, and no one has.

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jmahr@chicagotribune.com

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
State senators who met recently to talk about the transgender health care bill couldnt find much common ground.

A series of meetings by lawmakers to discuss a potential amendment to the controversial bill ended last week without a compromise.

Opponents say there was no real attempt to reach agreement in the meetings, and noted that the bills main sponsor described them only as a listening exercise, not negotiations. Supporters say they entered the sessions in good faith, hoping to improve the bill, but there was no way to reach a solution that pleased everyone.

I think we agreed to disagree, said state Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, who supports the measure.

LB574 would ban gender-affirming care  including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries  for individuals under 19. Backlash to the bill has included a session-long filibuster that continues to slow down the Legislature.

LB574 needs to pass just one more round of debate before it goes to Gov. Jim Pillens desk to be signed into law. Following a chaotic second round, a group was formed to discuss a potential amendment that would address some of the concerns with the bill.

The group was composed of eight state senators, representing both supporters and opponents, including the bills introducer, Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, and Sens. John Cavanaugh, John Fredrickson, Lynne Walz, Ben Hansen, Tom Briese and Ibach.

After four meetings, Kauth called an end to the discussions. She has yet to officially introduce her amendment, but she told the World-Herald that the primary component would be a grandfather clause that exempts patients who were receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy as of March 1. Other than that, she said the amendment will clarify that treatments such as talk therapy and counseling remain legal, as well as make some minor technical changes.

Cavanaugh, an opponent, said Kauths planned amendment doesnt include many changes she wasnt already considering before the meetings started. Both he and Ibach agreed that Kauth entered the meetings already thinking about adding a grandfather clause.

She comes in with a proposal and leaves with the same proposal, Cavanaugh said.

Ibach said a grandfather clause made sense to her and other supporters. She said they dont want to put families in a bind if their children are already undergoing treatment.

Opponents had their own amendment in mind, Cavanaugh said, based on the concerns they heard from lawmakers who supported the bill in previous rounds of debate. Their plan would include additional criteria for young patients to qualify for gender-affirming care. To qualify for surgery, a patient would need to meet a set of eight conditions. To qualify for puberty blockers or hormone therapy, they would have to meet seven conditions.

Opponents sought to include in the bill a range of steps for treatment, including obtaining parental consent, recommendations for at least two physicians from different clinics, and a review of the potential side effects of such treatment. For surgeries, the patient must have already undergone treatment for gender incongruence for at least a year.

None of those proposals are likely to make it into Kauths amendment, based on her description of her plans. Ibach said she believes Kauth genuinely wanted to learn more about the oppositions perspective, but their suggested changes were not what she envisioned for the bill.

For his part, opponent Fredrickson said he went into the meetings interested in finding ways to improve the bill. But he said supporters seemed more concerned about how many lawmakers would vote for or against it.

Frankly, I dont think thats a good way to make policy, Fredrickson said. I think we have to think about  what is the best policy for Nebraska, Nebraskans, and then worry about the numbers later.

Kauth has said part of the reason she ended the meetings was her concern that additional changes would lose support for the bill. Even so, she said, the meetings also were meant to find and make improvements to the legislation.

LB574 has garnered just enough votes to make it past each round of debate so far. If just one of those votes isnt there in the final round, the bill will fail.

Several LB574 supporters have expressed confidence that even without an amendment, the original bill has enough votes to pass. But that may not be true.

Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward said she would not support the bill as it is currently written. Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth said he wants to see the amendment before he makes his decision. Both lawmakers voted yes on LB574 in the second round, though they had been present but not voting in the first round.

Both Hughes and Brandt said members of the meeting team consulted them about their thoughts on the bill. Hughes said her one of her main priorities was adding a grandfather clause, but she also expressed interest in adding steps to qualify for treatment, similar to what bill opponents proposed.

Brandt said he hoped for an amendment that addresses more complex circumstances that arent covered by the original bill, such as what would happen if a trans person under 19 moves to Nebraska from another state and has already received treatment.

Cavanaugh said he does not believe Kauths proposed amendment will do enough to address such concerns. And Fredrickson said a grandfather clause on its own is a limited solution, since it will eventually become obsolete.

Its just a delayed implementation of a full ban, Fredrickson said.

Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
An Omaha family had an intergalactic visitor the other day.

The guest drove up to their home in a cargo van, parked in their driveway and informed Freddie Weitz that she was there for his starkeeper training. His parents, Kate and Roger, could come along, she said.

She placed a small launch pad on the ground and invited Freddie to jump on it to the surface of a star. And thus began his journey to another dimension.

The Weitz familys recent adventure was one of the first artistic experiences on the VROOM! Mobile Sensory Theatre, a new outreach effort from the Omaha Community Playhouse.

The stage was unveiled earlier this month, which was fitting, because its designed expressly for people who have autism or other sensory sensitivities.

We felt the month of April, Autism Awareness Month, was the perfect time to cut the ribbon and officially launch, said Stephen Santa, artistic director at the Playhouse. While we celebrate the unique qualities and perspectives children with autism bring to the world, we are eager to hit the road and provide this new, safe, nonjudgmental and welcoming environment so that more kids can enjoy live theaters magic this spring and summer.

The mobile theater is free and will travel anywhere within a 30-mile radius of Omaha. Playhouse officials hope to obtain more than one van and extend the program to greater Nebraska and beyond.

Santa created a similar mobile stage at Jumping Jack Theater in Pittsburgh, where he worked as artistic director before coming to Omaha late last year. The mission at Jumping Jack is to offer original sensory productions with and for audiences that benefit from autism-friendly strategies, according to its website.

As a teen, Santa was a counselor at a summer camp for differently-abled kids and the work turned into a passion, he said in a recent interview. Jumping Jack was a way to combine two loves.

When he came to Omaha, he hoped to eventually add a mobile sensory stage to the Playhouses robust list of programming, but it wasnt an immediate priority.

It took flight when Kate Weitz learned about it from Claire Sabatine, Santas former colleague at Jumping Jack, who was in Omaha helping the Rose Theater on a sensory-friendly production. Weitz is always on the lookout for activities that will help her son.

Out of the blue in December, we got a call from (Kate and Roger Weitz) who said if we want to do this, they would really be in favor, said Playhouse Executive Director Katie Broman, who worked with Roger when she was the public relations director for Opera Omaha. Weitz recently resigned his job as the operas general director to spend more time with his family.

Broman said Kate and Roger Weitz donated to the project, along with the Weitz Family Foundation, the Lozier Foundation, the Immanuel Vision Foundation and other private donors. The startup cost was less than $50,000, and most of that was for the van, she said. Shes not yet sure what the operational costs will be.

Santa wrote the vans production, Starshine, for the Pittsburgh theater and brought it with him to Omaha. Its aimed at kids ages 6 through 13.

We dont call it a play or a show, he said. Its really more than that.

The launch pad is a trampoline, and once you jump inside, youre on the surface of a star, he said. Kids get to create their own constellations, hear the soothing sounds of space, take a trip to the sun, plant new stars and polish a star that has lost its shine, among other activities. It takes up to 40 minutes.

The actors are sensitive to the reactions of their audience and let them go at their own pace. If they dont want to do something, they move on. If they want to stay longer at one place, they can.

Kate Weitz said 11-year-old Freddie got pretty immersed in the experience.

It went off his needs and what he was interested in, she said. The actor was just phenomenal. She redirected Freddie if he got off track. He went inside (the house) and got a couple of his (toy) rockets out right after the show. That meant he totally got it and wanted to keep playing in that genre.

Four actors, all with experience in this type of theater, were hired initially: Kathleen Combs, Katy Kepler, Anna Perilo and Jessica Burrill Logue. Santa hopes to add more as the project takes off.

It takes a unique actor whos not afraid to be right up there with the family, Santa said.

Talks with local organizations such as the Autism Action Partnership, the Monroe Meyer Institute and the Circle Theatre, all of which work with sensory-sensitive kids, indicated that theres a need for the mobile stage in the Omaha area.

Broman said the agencies were eager to see their clients take advantage of it. Both Broman and Santa said that as far as they know, Omaha and Pittsburgh are the only two cities in the country that have such a free service available.

Other theaters in town, including the Playhouse, offer specific performances for sensory sensitive people, but not to the extent of the mobile theater.

Weitz said the actors who came to her house told her they already had 14 home visits lined up in the Omaha area.

Santa thinks parents are jumping at the idea because its hard to involve an autistic or sensory-sensitive child in the arts, especially live theater.

Theres a challenge just to get there, he said, and challenges once you get there.

Exposing Freddie to the arts is especially important to the Weitz family, given their background.

We want to have that shared experience with our son, she said. For Freddie and other kids who are significantly impacted, the arts offer culture and create empathy and ways for us to communicate. Opportunities to interact with other people and allow him to be himself are invaluable. It opens doors to imagination that we dont see on a daily basis.

To book VROOM!, go to omahaplayhouse.com.

15 things performers say about Lincoln and the arena Thomas Rhett Brantley Gilbert Paul McCartney Garth Brooks Michael Buble Carrie Underwood Eric Church Kendrick Lamar Jake Owen Pearl Jam Lil' Wayne Mick Cronin Kenny Chesney James Taylor Tom Thibodeau
RACINE  Is your child an aspiring chef? Interested in the medical field? Have a knack for building things?

Academies of Racine students can explore their interests, learn by doing, and develop the skills and knowledge they need to graduate career and college ready.

Students are invited to learn about the nationally-certified model Academies of Racine during these showcases:

Tuesday, May 2  Case High School, 7345 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 3  Park High School, 1901 12th St., 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 4  Horlick High School, 2119 Rapids Drive, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

At the showcases, students will learn how the academy model works and what career pathways are available.

They can chat with current students and see examples of their work, meet paid student youth apprentices and their employers, and talk to staff, students and community partners from businesses, nonprofits and post-secondary institutions.

Visitors can explore the educational opportunities available to students, including dual credit (college and transcripted credit), industry certifications and paid youth apprenticeships.
Charles Isbell Jr. will be UW-Madisons new provost  essentially the universitys second-in-command behind Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

Isbell, who has spent a large portion of his career at Georgia Tech University and has a background in computer science, is expected to start Aug. 1. The provost is the chief academic officer overseeing all educational programs and faculty and outreach areas including the UW-Extension and Wisconsin Public Media.

A self-described computationalist, Isbell has been the dean of Georgia Techs College of Computing since 2019 and previously served in other leadership roles such as executive associate dean. Isbell joined Georgia Tech in a teaching capacity in 2002 after working for AT&T Labs/Research.

Isbells expertise aligns with the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences, home to UW-Madisons largest and fastest-growing degree programs. Data science is UW-Madisons fastest-growing major, and Computer Sciences is the universitys largest degree program with 3,400 students enrolled.

UW-Madison is an entity Isbell has long admired and looks forward to joining, Isbell said in a statement Monday.

Throughout my academic career I have been focused on research and educational reform, Isbell said. I am a strong believer that higher education must play a vital role in creating opportunities for deep engagement in what it means to be an active and productive member of society.

Mnookin said in a statement she was confident in Isbells leadership and ability to advance the universitys teaching, scholarship and outreach mission.

I am tremendously excited to welcome Dr. Isbell to my leadership team and our community, she said. In addition to his exceptional credentials as a scholar, he is an experienced and effective administrator, a skilled collaborator and an advocate for access to STEM and higher education.

Isbell is the permanent replacement to Provost John Karl Scholz, who is departing to lead the University of Oregon. College of Letters and Science Dean Eric Wilcots will serve as interim provost until Isbell takes over.

Isbell was one of four finalists for the position. The others were Christopher Long, dean of Michigan State Universitys College of Arts and Letters and Honors College; Justin Schwartz, interim executive vice president and provost for Penn State University; and Juli Wade, dean of the University of Connecticuts College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a former administrator at Michigan State.
Some things just go well together  peanut butter and chocolate; honey and habanero; punk and rap. Wait, huh? Yes, punk and rap. At least thats what the organizers of the May 6 show at 24 Rumors Lounge in Kenosha are betting on.

Punk Isnt Dead throws together a couple of local punk bands with some hip hop. Whether intentional or not, music will start at the punk time| of maybe 8 p.m., maybe 8:30, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and an admission charge of $5 before midnight. Acts performing include punk band Army of Cretins, rapper Lil Guido, young punk band Pigg System and hip hop artist Miggy Bars.

Army of Cretins, Lil Guido, Pigg System and Miggy Bars perform starting about 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at 24 Rumors Lounge, 1402 52nd St., Kenosha.

Milwaukee show

This is a heads-up on a show by former local musicians at Milwaukees Shank Hall on May 12.

Im mentioning it now because it may sell out.

American Restless is comprised of Racine ex-pats Noah Lekas, Ian Grant and Reverend Horton Heat alum Arjuna RJ Contreras. If that first name sounds quite familiar, its because Lekas is the son of Garys Music World head Gary Lekas. He and and his crew ran sound at a ton of local events over the years and provided gear at a loss, but we make up for it with volume.

Gary Lekas is joining his son on tour playing keyboards. Way to go, Big Kahuna.

Although American Restless is now based out of Michigan, Colorado and Virginia, the music has a strong Rust Belt Wisconsin feel. Midwestern punk, garage rock, blues and Americana all make appearances.

American Restless featuring Noah and Gary Lekas performs at 8 p.m. Friday, May 12, at Shank Hall, 1434 N.Farwell Ave., Milwaukee. Tickets are available at bit.ly/3LKl9fV. Limit of 10 tickets per order.

Spirit Shakers

Spirit Shakers is such a natural fit for Georges Tavern in Racine. Then again, the band fits in place.

The self-proclaimed boy band from Kenosha isnt anything like your Aunt Karens favorite boy bands. The Spirit Shakers shake, rattle, roll, rock, funk and jam like they are on a mission.

Spirit Shakers performs starting at 8 Saturday night, May 6, at Georges Tavern, 1201 N. Main St., Racine.

A little R&R

Its always a good time for a little R&R. Better yet, its a great time for that when the Rs are The Rotten Bros and The Roundabouts, performing together Saturday night at The Brat Stop.

The Rotten Bros are an acoustic classic and alternative duo with a twist. The Roundabouts are an all-star band of Terry Peterson, Rick Branch, Chris Sipos and Bill Taylor, playing a wealth of great tunes.

The Roundabouts and The Rotten Bros perform starting 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at The Brat Stop, 12304 75th St., Kenosha.

Travelers in town

Yes, I like unusual band names, and the Stoned Evergreen Travelers definitely fit that bill. The rock n roll hellbilly psycho sludge band will stop for a McAuliffes Pub visit Monday night. Yeah, go back and read their self-description again. I can wait.

The Pacific Northwest band invites listeners to imbibe and settle in for a ride through stories of madness, mayhem and mania. Now, before you think this is too dark, the band has a simple goal of getting hands in the air, smiles on faces and fists in the air.

Stoned Evergreen Travelers mixed bag of sonic tricks includes outlaw country, honky tonk, stoner rock, metal, gypsy punk and thrash. Also on the bill is the great solo act Old Wolves.
1. Yes. Of course. Local governmental entities have the most direct impact on our lives.

2. Yes. Its always important to weigh in on local issues; otherwise we cant complain.

3. No. Im not that familiar with the issues or the candidates this year. Ill sit it out.

4. No. My vote doesnt seem to matter much, so Im not going to make the effort.

5. Unsure. I havent decided whether to take part this time around.

Vote

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 "65" (PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images), action, adventure, thriller  Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods tell the story of Mills, a pilot of a spacecraft that ends up crashed on Earth  65 millions years ago. He must fight dangerous prehistoric creatures in order to survive. Stars Adam Driver as Mills, and that's about the entire cast. 93 minutes.

 "Air" (R for language throughout), drama  Based on a shoe, the story follows development of the Air Jordan shoe, shoehorned by Nike shoe salesmen Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon). Also features Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck and Asante Deshon as 7-Eleven Clerk. Directed by Ben Affleck. 112 minutes.

 "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" (PG for thematic material involving sexual education and some suggestive material), comedy  Kelly Fremon Craig directs this story about Margaret Simon, an 11-year-old girl who navigates new friends, new feelings and the beginning of adolescence. Stars Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates. 105 minutes.

 "Evil Dead Rise" (R for strong bloody horror violence and gore and some bloody language), horror  The story features two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of a family reunion possible. 97 minutes.

 "John Wick: Chapter 4" (R for for pervasive strong violence and language), action, adventure, thriller  Keanu Reeves shoots and beats his way through a path to defeating The High Table. Features Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King and Brahim Chab as Thug 1. 169 minutes.

 "The Pope's Exorcist" (R for violent content, language, sexual references, nudity, bloodletting), horror, thriller  Father Gabriel Amorth, played by Russell Crowe, uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret regarding the demonic possession of a child. Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican. Also features Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoc and Cornell John. 103 minutes.

 "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" (PG for action/violence, rude humor/language and some scary moments), animated adventure  Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Harvey Guillen lend their voices to this story about the famous cat who has burned through eight of his nine lives. Directed by Joel Crawford (Kung fu Panda). 100 minutes.

 "Renfield" (R for bloody violence, some gore, some more gore, language throughout and some drug use), comedy, family, fantasy  Nicolas Cage stars as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult takes the role of Renfield in this campy take on the age-old story. Directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie). 93 minutes.

 "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (PG-13 for sequences of extreme noise, flashing lights, action and occasional language), action, adventure, fantasy  Zachery Levi stars as Shazam, who must save the world from some super villains. Directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabell: Creation). 130 minutes.

 "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (PG for for mild action and mild violence), animated comedy  The Super Mario Bros. take a journey through the Mushroom Kingdom. Features the voices of Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Bauza and Rina Romano. Based on a video game. 92 minutes.
FILE - Attorney Joe Tacopina, a lawyer representing former President Donald Trump, arrives to federal court in New York, April 27, 2023. The lawyer for former President Donald Trump wants a mistrial in his client's rape case, saying the judge overseeing the proceedings has ruled in a biased manner against him. Tacopina's complaints were filed Monday, May 1, 2023 in Manhattan federal court. Tacopina complained that rulings by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan have been slanted in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file) (Seth Wenig/AP)

NEW YORK  Former President Donald Trumps attorney requested a mistrial Monday in his clients rape case, saying the judge overseeing the civil proceedings in federal court has ruled in a biased manner against Trump.

Attorney Joe Tacopina cited pervasive unfair and prejudicial rulings by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan as his basis for the mistrial request, made in a letter to the judge.

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Since mistrials, though sometimes frequently requested at trials, are rarely granted, Tacopina was more likely hoping the judge would grant a version of his alternative requests.

In those, Tacopina asked that Kaplan correct the record for any rulings that mischaracterized the evidence or permit Tacopina more latitude in questioning E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who sued Trump in November under a New York state law letting sexual assault victims temporarily sue others for attacks that happened even decades ago.

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Carroll, 79, testified at a trial that began last week that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan, most likely in spring 1996. She said a chance encounter brought the pair together in an episode that was fun and flirtatious until Trump became violent in the dressing room.

Trump, 76, has long denied that a rape happened, that he was at the store with Carroll or that he even knew her beyond fleeting moments when pictures were taken of them in group settings in other years.

Amid a flurry of public denials and insults from Trump that prompted Carroll to add a defamation claim to the lawsuit, Trump has also insisted that Carroll was motivated by political reasons and a desire to sell copies of the 2019 memoir where she first publicly revealed her rape claims while Trump was still president.

Carroll has testified that she would have kept her accusation secret forever if not for the #MeToo movement, which gained prominence in 2017.

Carroll was expected to testify Monday for a third day and for a second day of cross-examination by Tacopina. Trump has not attended the trial, which is expected to last through the week.

During testimony on Thursday, the last day the trial occurred, Carroll grew frustrated as Tacopina pressed her on how she claims she reacted to an attack from his client.

You cant beat up on me because I didnt scream, Carroll forcefully told Tacopina. She had explained in earlier testimony that she was not a screamer  Im a fighter.

She said if she were lying about the assault, she wouldve told people she had screamed because more people would have believed me.

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But, she emphasized, I dont need an excuse for not screaming.

In his mistrial request Monday, Tacopina complained that the judge shut down his questioning when he pushed Carroll to explain why she did not scream, why she didnt tell police or attempt afterward to retrieve footage from video cameras at the stores doors to prove that she and Trump were there together.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
DONIPHAN  More than 2,400 students in grades 6-12 competed in the 53rd annual Cornhusker Trap Shoot Thursday through Saturday on the home grounds of the Nebraska Trapshooting Association in Doniphan.

Joining Nebraskans typically are shooters from Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and South Dakota. More than 900 junior high and more than 1,500 senior high students competed.

Competition took place in individual and team divisions. Junior high students (grades 6-8) shot 100 16-yard targets on Thursday. High school competitors (grades 9-12) shot 75 16-yard targets Friday, then 75 handicap targets on Saturday. The high school shooter with the highest combined score is awarded the Cornhusker Cup.

The Cornhusker Trap Shoot is open nationwide to all shooters in grades 6-12 who have completed a hunter education course.

The NTA home grounds are 3 miles south of Interstate 80 exit 312 on U.S. 281. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the NTA are hosts.

Results are available at Cornhusker-trap.com.
Hundreds of Nebraska educators braved a chilly April morning to rally at the Capitol in opposition of a bill that would provide tax incentives for donations to scholarship funds for private and faith-based schools.

Approximately 300 teachers from the Nebraska State Education Association, chanted and marched Saturday morning from the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker hotel in downtown Lincoln to the Capitol, where the group was met by other supporters of public education. About 450 people attended in total, according to event organizers.

This is a tremendous show of strength and support for Nebraska Public Schools, said Jenni Benson, NSEA president.

LB753 would provide tax credits for individuals and entities that donate to scholarship funds that help students attend private and parochial schools. Under the bill, $25 million would be available for credits in 2024, with the same amount available for the next two years. After that, the limit for credits would grow to a maximum of $100 million per year.

The bill was initially introduced by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and is part of Gov. Jim Pillens package of education proposals. The bill has been placed for final reading in the Nebraska Legislature; lawmakers are set to take a final vote on the bill sometime next week.

Molly Gross, a representative from the Nebraska Parent Teacher Association who spoke at Saturdays rally, said the bill would be a massive detriment to the public school system.

LB753 is not about scholarships, Gross said. Its a tax scheme that will hurt our public school students while benefiting the wealthy.

Rebecca Firestone, OpenSky Policy's institute executive director, said on Saturday that the tax credits proposed in LB753 will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy and corporations. She outlined the potentially dangerous snowball effect that diverting state dollars to private schools could have, citing similar laws passed in states like Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia.

Firestone said that in those states, more than half of all scholarship tax credits are flowing to families with annual incomes of over $200,000. She added that those tax credits are likely to take additional public funds away from Nebraskas school districts.

For Benson, that paints enough of a picture.

The facts are clear: private school tax schemes in other states have proven to be enormously expensive and ineffective, Benson said.

Dunixi Guereca, executive director of Stand for Schools Nebraska, backed Firestone. She noted that there is a large body of evidence that tax credit scholarships like the ones LB753 proposes fail to improve student academic performance.

In state after state, researchers are unable to find any meaningful gains in standardized test scores or other metrics of academic success, Guereca said. In at least three states, the students who received tax credit scholarships fared worse than their public school peers.

The main sticking point among the six speakers that spoke at Saturdays event, though, was that LB753 is not popular among Nebraska voters. Benson reiterated that Nebraska voters have rejected giving public funds to private schools on three separate occasions in the past. Those votes occurred in 1966, 1970 and 1976.

Did you hear me, Governor Pillen and senators? Benson said. "Im reminding you that Nebraska voters have thrice rejected constitutional amendments that would have allowed public funds to be used for private schools.

Benson closed Saturdays rally by delivering a promise should the Legislature pass LB753  a statewide petition drive allowing Nebraskans to voice their opinion on giving tax dollars to private schools.
The Kenosha man accused of entering a strangers home and assaulting a teenage girl who lived there early Sunday morning has been criminally charged and remains in custody.

Xavier E. Brzozowski, 20, was charged with felonies of burglary to a building or dwelling, a Class F felony, and second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16, a Class C felony. Brzozowski is also charged with misdemeanors of obstructing an officer and bail jumping.

Brzozowski made his initial appearance at Intake Court Monday afternoon. Court Commissioner Loren Keating imposed a $25,000 cash bond.

Criminal complaint

Kenosha Police officers were dispatched to a residence in the 6400 block of 22nd Avenue for a report of a burglary around 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Dispatch advised that a man broke into a house and tried attacking the callers daughter. The man, according to the criminal complaint, then took off northbound on 22nd Avenue after the caller threw him outside.

Upon arrival, police spoke with a woman who said that a young man had entered her home wearing a brown shirt and jeans and had shoulder-length brown hair.

Officers found an Air Jordan shoe on the paved walkway leading up to the front door of the womans residence. An investigating officer then observed a man matching the callers description walking west near the front lawn of a residence a few houses to his north. The man was reportedly walking west toward 22nd Avenue from a residence on the east side of 22nd Avenue.

An officer announced himself as a police officer and shined his flashlight at the man. The man, according to the complaint, then looked toward the officer and took off running east. Officers gave chase and reportedly located the man later identified as Brzozowski sitting on the top of the front steps of another house in the 6400 block of 22nd Avenue.

While taking Brzozowski into custody officers observed that he was wearing an Air Jordan shoe on his right foot but not his left. Brzozowski, who appeared highly intoxicated because he was slurring his words and emitting a strong odor of intoxicants, also reportedly had a black ski mask in a pocket. Brzozowski, according to the complaint, refused to follow directions, but instead yelled and screamed profanities, or cried.

After Brzozowski was taken into custody officers spoke with the woman who called to report him. The woman said she had been asleep in her bedroom when around 3:45 a.m. her daughter woke her up and said, Mom, there is a drunk guy in the house,' according to the complaint. The woman said she jumped out of bed and saw Brzozowski in the dining room next to her bedroom.

The woman said she had never seen Brzozowski before and did not give him consent to enter the residence.

When the woman asked Brzozowski what he was doing inside her home he reportedly blew in her face. The woman told Brzozowski to leave and grabbed him by the front collar of his shirt. In response, Brzozowski fell to the ground and the woman dragged him by his shirt to the front door and down the front outside steps, off the porch. Brzozowski reportedly then got up and fled. The woman estimated the interaction lasted 45 seconds.

The girl told police that she was sleeping on a recliner in the living room when Brzozowski allegedly walked in the home and unlocked front door. The girl said she did not know who the man was and told him to leave but he kept advancing toward her. The girl said Brzozowski assaulted her and she was eventually able to get out of the recliner and go to her mothers room to wake her.

Was out on bond

Brzozowski was out on a $250 signature bond after being charged in May 2022 with operating a vehicle without a valid license for the second time within three years.

A preliminary hearing on the latest charges is set for May 9. Brzozowski faces decades in prison if convicted.

Mugshots: Kenosha County criminal complaints from April 27-28 Eric Beach NO PHOTO AVAILABLE Eric Beach, 31, of Chicago, Illinois, faces charges of retail theft (intentionally conceal between $500-$5,000). Robert Ray Daniels Robert Ray Daniels, 53, of Pleasant Prairie, faces charges of bail jumping, disorderly conduct, and battery. Paul Daniel Herrick Paul Daniel Herrick, 52, of Kenosha, faces charges of possession of cocaine (2nd+), possession of drug paraphernalia, bail jumping, and retail theft (intentionally take less than or equal to $500). Sedale Lebron Kimbrough Sedale Lebron Kimbrough, 33, of Kenosha, faces charges of probation and parole. Jesus Emmanuel Reza Jesus Emmanuel Reza, 23, of Zion, Illinois, faces charges of possession with intent to deliver THC (less than 200 grams or less than 4 plants), possession of drug paraphernalia. Clay Evans Thomas Jr. Clay Evans Thomas Jr., 45, of Kenosha, faces charges of probation and parole, resisting or obstructing an officer, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (2nd offense). Pearl Salina Tia Pearl Salina Tia, 50, of Kenosha, faces charges of probation and parole. Jontrell T. White Jontrell T. White, 19, of Kenosha, faces charges of probation and parole. Junior Lamaredward Williams-Holmes Junior Lamaredward Williams-Holmes, 40, of Stevens Point, faces charges of probation and parole, false imprisonment, battery, and disorderly conduct. Minivan erupts into flames in Wisconsin Authorities arrest suspect after he climbs up in tree at Springbrook Road and 93rd Street
It would be impossible to count the number of lives saved by the use of fire engines and equipment manufactured over the years by Kenoshas Peter Pirsch & Sons.

But 92 years ago last month, Kenosha native Pirsch, his employees and a prototype from his factory were directly responsible for saving the lives of 16 men, all in one stroke.

The telephone rang in the home of Peter Pirsch at midnight on April 13, 1931. Chief Michael Corrigan of the Fire Alarm Office in Chicago urgently needed his help.

Corrigan said that at the intersection of 22nd and Laflin Streets in Chicago, 35 feet below the surface, sewer workers of the Chicago Sanitary District were working construction on a 450 ft. sewer tunnel.

Earlier in the evening about 6:30 pm, workers were using a candle to determine the location of a leak in the tunnel when a pile of sawdust ignited.

The men tried extinguishing the fire unsuccessfully for about 45 minutes before turning in a fire alarm. The first apparatus on the scene was Truck 14 and its commander Capt. Timothy ONeil. A thin curl of smoke was all that could be seen from the surface.

ONeil and four firemen without breathing equipment rushed into the elevator and were lowered down to the tunnel. Three came back up 15 minutes later, with terrible smoke inhalation. The smoke and gases were overpowering.

Next, men from Engine 23 went down without masks and tanks with the same result. Firefighters from the suburbs, which had better equipment, arrived with masks and tanks. They lent them to the Chicago men, who kept trying to rescue the growing number of people inside.

This sequence of events was repeated again and again as no one at the surface had an accurate understanding of the intensity of the fire, smoke, and gases inside the tunnel.

After hours of attempts, the construction company informed the Fire Chief that some of the men  missing sewer workers and firefighters  could have sealed themselves at the far end of the tunnel inside an airtight compartment.

Magnificent machine

Back on the phone line to Kenosha, Corrigan wanted Pirsch to bring a new smoke ejector machine Pirsch had in his factory. If Pirsch could bring the magnificent machine, they could pump out the smoke and fumes and the other below the surface might be saved.

The smoke ejector, basically a huge air blower, was the invention of Minneapolis Fire Chief Charles Ringer. Manufacturing rights, however, were owned by the Pirsch Co.

At that moment, a smoke ejector was sitting in the Pirsch factory. Pirsch made phone calls and had a dozen of his men meet him at the plant.

The invention prototype was in its second stage: the model had been perfected and dismantled and the second machine was in the process of being connected to the chassis. In a matter of hours the task was completed.

Pirsch, and employees Ed Wade and George Williams left in the wee hours of the morning for Chicago, enlisting the aid of a rookie Kenosha policeman to drive the vehicle.

Years later, Pirsch would swear to the story that they made the 60-mile trip in 88 minutes  with an untested chassis. A pretty quick trip for 1931 era roads and vehicles.

A police car stopped them at the Chicago city limits, but instead of offering to escort them, the officers threatened to throw them in the slammer for speeding! The officers knew nothing of the fire.

Pirsch told them to lead his party to Laflin Street and 22nd ... if a legion from the Chicago Fire Department wasnt there, they could throw him in jail.

Huge crowd at scene

It was sheer bedlam as the Pirsch truck approached the scene at daybreak. Seven hundred fireman and thousands of people filled the streets.

More than 50 firefighters who had entered and exited the tunnel were suffering from smoke inhalation. Some bodies had been recovered. By then, the state mine superintendent from Springfield had suggested sealing up the tunnel to extinguish the fire; a move that meant certain doom for the trapped men.

Pirsch, Wade and Williams donned gas masks to set-up the blower.

The Pirsch truck was backed up to the shaft and two long tubes were lowered deep into the abyss. Then the blower was revved-up and engaged.

The suction drew the smoke and gas fumes out with one tube at a rate of 20,000 cubic feet of smoke per minute, while the other carried fresh air in.

Down in the tunnel, the men in the sealed chamber had been able to get some air from a pipe that extended to the surface, but that supply wasnt nearly enough to sustain them.

One of the 17 had succumbed to the smoke, and the others knew they had to make a break for the shaft very soon or suffer the same fate.

Back on the street, Pirsch checked his watch: 23 minutes had passed.

Suddenly, a patrolman let out a whoop! There in the smoke, first one form then another, until 16 men, some on their knees, all coughing and bleary-eyed, emerged from the shaft.

The crowd went wild and the families of the men who had been trapped rushed to help them.

Then it was time to bring out the dead: Seven sewer workers and four firefighters. Injured were 54 firefighters and laborers.

The Illinois Fire Service Institute reported the four men who died in the line of duty were Capt. Timothy ONeil from Truck 14, one of the first to enter the tunnel; Firefighter Edward Bryon Pratt of Squad 8; and Firefighters William Coyne and William Karstens of Engine 23.

Pirsch and his smoke ejector made the headlines in newspapers around the world as he and his men were given credit for saving the 16 lives.

Pirsch died on July 14, 1954 at the age of 88.




President Yoon Suk Yeol will invite members of a military operation to airlift 28 Koreans out of war-torn Sudan to the presidential office on Monday to commend their successful completion of the mission, according to his office.







The participants in the Operation Promise will be invited to the presidential office in the afternoon, the presidential office said in a release. It is Yoon's first official schedule since returning from his six-day state visit to the United States.







A military plane carrying the 28 evacuees, including a diplomat, arrived in the country on Tuesday, as tensions between rival forces in the African nation continue to escalate.







President Yoon oversaw the mission through a satellite-linked video meeting with aides on the ground while on Air Force One on the way to Washington for the state visit. He was briefed in real time on the situation and ordered the dispatch of military aircraft from the early stages of the evacuation operation. (Yonhap)


Giant pandas enjoy colorful life with their "human family" in Hong Kong

09:06, May 01, 2023 By Chu Mengmeng ( Xinhua

Tourists take photos of giant panda Yingying at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

HONG KONG, April 30 (Xinhua) -- On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.

The caretakers were relieved: their cared ones behaved as usual, and nothing went wrong. Visitors came in and clustered in front of the pandas, praising the pandas' adorable "table manners."

Lele and Yingying, together with the two deceased giant pandas, Jiajia and Anan, had been given as gifts to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the Chinese central government and were loved by a huge "human family" here.

YOUNG COUPLE VS THEIR "VETERAN YOUNG MOTHER"

Wu Jikei, a 39-year-old caretaker, recently paid special attention to Yingying, the female. Since Yingying had mated with Lele, the male, around a month ago, she might be out of sorts as her level of hormones fluctuated.

"It doesn't matter whether she has a baby or not. What matters to me is that she and Lele can be healthy and happy," Wu said, sounding like Yingying was her married daughter.

After bringing up the two cubs into a "married couple" for the past 16 years, Wu felt that Lele and Yingying were her children.

Wu joined Ocean Park as a caretaker in 2007 when Lele and Yingying came as a celebration gift for the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

She fell in love with the two little cuties at first sight. "They were so small, so round, and so lovely," she recalled, unable to withhold her excitement even after over a decade.

Back then, one-and-a-half-year-old Lele and Yingying hadn't received any training before, and Wu naturally became their first teacher. She taught them almost everything, even trifles such as opening their mouth to have their teeth inspected.

"It was their first time to learn, and also my first time to teach," said Wu, who was now the assistant curator for the animal department at Ocean Park. Wu believed that she and the pandas had been growing and progressing side by side.

Wu later gave birth to two children but always felt like she had "already experienced the whole process of child-raising before," she said, calling Lele and Yingying her "firstborns."

"GRANDPA" ANAN VS HIS YOUNG BUDDY

While attending the pandas was like raising kids for Wu, 35-year-old Leung Galeun, Wu's colleague, felt he had been looking after the elderly.

In 2010, just after graduating from college and receiving the job, Leung was assigned to take charge of Anan, who was equivalent to more than 70 years old in human age and had to take medicine and undergo physical examinations every day.

The outgoing young man with curly afro hair felt the pressure of attending a senior of such a precious species.

He remembered that, albeit his age, Anan was more like a capricious child who sometimes might not cooperate with the caretakers at his will.

Majored in psychology in college, Leung adopted his professional knowledge to coax Anan into completing all sorts of medical treatment and gave him positive feedback as encouragement.

As Anan grew older and his health declined, Leung had to keep a more watchful eye on him to observe even the slightest changes.

Once, Anan did not go to a lower corner of the exhibition space as usual. Leung noticed and, just in case, called the veterinarian to give Anan an examination. It turned out that Anan's arthritis worsened, thanks to Leung's early warning.

Anan passed away last July, with Leung accompanying him around the clock for his last few days. "I knew the final day would inevitably come, but when it did come, it still made me sad," Leung said.

Leung found himself more mature and stable while caring for Anan during the past decade or so. "I stayed with Anan longer than with my family or friend." he said, "He was my family."

GIANT PANDAS VS THEIR "LARGE FAMILY"

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, the caretaking team for giant pandas comprised more than a dozen members, with Wu as the leader.

Petite and slender, Wu could carry up a bundle of bamboo of at least 15 kilograms at a draught. Physically demanding notwithstanding, the job of caretaker requires an abundance of love and patience for animals, Wu emphasized.

Due to the devotion of the caretakers, Jiajia and Anan passed away at 38 and 35, respectively, which were old ages for the giant panda.

In Hong Kong, giant pandas are cared for by more people who call themselves "giant panda fans." Leung said many of them came to see the pandas every weekend, and some even became good friends with the caretakers.

Leung also started a social media account to share photos and videos of pandas, attracting more fans online for Lele and Yingying.

Immersed in love, pandas reciprocated the love received in their own ways. For example, Jiajia would always come to Wu and offer the girl to stroke her back, "which made me feel that my efforts were rewarded," Wu said.

Leung recalled that Anan would be more active in his final days if more visitors came to see him as if replying to people's concerns.

Anan and Jiajia were buried under two ginko trees at Ocean Park. As the spring came, a few tender green shoots appeared on the tips of the trees.

Every weekend, panda fans would come to the trees to see their deceased friends and then turn to visit Lele, Yingying, and their "human family," those devoted caretakers.

Giant panda Lele eats bamboos at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Caretaker Leung Galeun calls giant panda Lele at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Giant panda Lele eats bamboos at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Tourists take photos of giant panda Yingying at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Caretaker Wu Jikei prepares for the opening of Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Caretaker Leung Galeun prepares food for giant panda Lele and Yingying at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

Tourists pose for photos with giant panda Yingying at Ocean Park Hong Kong, south China's Hong Kong, April 19, 2023. On a spring morning, Hong Kong Observatory issued a rainstorm alert.

At Ocean Park Hong Kong, as soon as they arrived at work at 8:00 a.m., the caretakers rushed to check out the situation of Lele and Yingying, two 17-year-old giant pandas, as they might be disturbed by the adverse weather.

The two plump and fluffy creatures just woke up and lay cozily in the dormitory, where the temperature was kept between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius.

The exhibition space outside was designed like a mini mountain forest decorated with waterfalls, brooks, rocks, slopes, etc.

After the caretakers cleaned the space and put in the bamboo breakfast, Lele and Yingying came out from the dormitory at around 10:00 a.m. and began enjoying the first of their four daily meals.(Xinhua/Wang Shen)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
Mifepristone and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women's Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP Getty)

As a series of recent high-profile medication abortion court rulings has gripped the nation, one east-central Illinois city is considering an ordinance that would attempt to prevent the mailing or shipping of abortion pills there.

But civil liberty experts have warned that the measure would be illegal in Illinois  a state considered a stronghold for reproductive rights  and would likely rack up costly legal fees if implemented.

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On Tuesday, the Danville City Council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance, which is titled requiring compliance with federal abortion laws. Its unclear how the local ordinance, which directly conflicts with Illinois law, could be legally enforced in this rural city of about 30,000 people located roughly three hours south of downtown Chicago.

Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. said the proposed ordinance invokes the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal law that barred the mailing of contraception, lewd writing and every article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.

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The 19th Century law has been largely considered moot for nearly 50 years, while the 1973 landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade guaranteed the right to an abortion nationwide. But the Comstock Act has been in the spotlight since the high court overturned Roe in June, leaving the matter of abortion rights to be decided by individual states.

The difficulty here in my opinion is we have state laws and statutes that contradict federal law, specifically the Comstock Act, Williams said. We made an oath to uphold the laws of the state of Illinois and the United States, so what do we ... do when they contradict one another?

The controversial proposed ordinance in Danville mirrors a wave of recent anti-abortion ordinances passed by cities, towns and counties, often in a direct attempt to challenge state or federal laws that protect reproductive rights.

Several cities and counties in New Mexico, another state deemed a reproductive rights haven, also recently passed anti-abortion ordinances based on the Comstock Act. But the New Mexico governor in March signed a bill crafted to override local anti-abortion ordinances as well as prevent other counties and municipalities from enacting their own similar measures. The New Mexico Supreme Court in March granted the attorney generals request to block the local anti-abortion ordinances from being enforced as court challenges continue.

Our brief demonstrates that the counties and cities violated the state constitution and state law when they passed their ordinances to restrict abortion care and undermine womens reproductive rights, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a written statement.

Unwanted

In Illinois, the Danville city councils public service committee last week voted in favor of the proposed abortion ordinance that will be before the full council on Tuesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois in a letter last week urged Danville leaders to reject the ordinance, saying it was unlawful and unenforceable in Illinois.

It is without question that Illinois law protects reproductive rights  including the right to obtain an abortion within the state, the letter said. The City of Danville is not above this law. Attempts to impose restrictions on access to reproductive health care in Danville will do nothing other than expose the City to significant legal liability and fees.

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Illinois has some of the most progressive abortion laws in the nation, with few restrictions on terminating a pregnancy. The 2019 Reproductive Health Act declared that abortion is a fundamental right in Illinois.

In mid-March, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker celebrated Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.

To the clinic staff and volunteers who help those in need and treat their patients with dignity and compassion: thank you for the critical and lifesaving work you do, he posted on Twitter.

For years, thousands of abortion seekers have traveled from other states to Illinois to terminate pregnancies here annually, and providers say that traffic has surged since the end of federal abortion protections in June. Planned Parenthood of Illinois has predicted that 20,000 to 30,000 more patients will travel here from out of state each year to have an abortion now that Roe has fallen.

In response, several new clinics have recently opened in Illinois and many existing providers have expanded their hours and services.

Danvilles proposed ordinance targeting the mailing of abortion pills comes on the heels of news that an abortion clinic plans to move from Indiana and open at 600 N. Logan Ave. in Danville, according to City Council minutes. The site is minutes from the border of Indiana, a state where abortion rights have been in flux after the end of Roe.

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Last year, Indiana became the first state to enact a near-total ban on abortion post-Roes reversal. But enforcement of the law was blocked by the courts shortly after the law went into effect in September, amid legal challenges.

In late March, abortion opponents protested the planned Danville clinic at its proposed location. Some participants carried signs reading Life: The First Inalienable Right and Pray to End Abortion.

Speakers included Republican state Rep. Chris Miller, who is also chairman of the Illinois Freedom Caucus.

Were standing in the shadow of what is expected to be an abortion clinic here in Danville, Miller said. The abortion industry in Illinois is booming and this clinic is another example of the expansion of abortion were facing here in Illinois. Were rapidly becoming the baby killing capital of the Midwest.

Mary Kate Zander, executive director of Illinois Right to Life, told the crowd, this clinic is unwanted by this community.

This is a conservative community, she said. Its a conservative, pro-life community that wants to support women, that wants to support women who are experiencing crisis pregnancies  that is not interested in killing babies.

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She added that this situation that we find ourselves in is a situation that has been created by far-left politicians who are up near Chicago and dont know anything about this area, I can promise you.

They are disinterested in what the people of this community have to say about abortion, she said.

Safe health care

Yet some Danville residents support the arrival of an abortion provider in their city.

At a city council meeting in early April, one woman expressed distress that she feels Danville has become a desert for womens health care, a hostile environment to women, according to meeting minutes.

The woman added that she is here to advocate for safe health care for women, the minutes said.

The controversy in Danville comes amid a heated national legal battle over the fate of a widely used abortion drug, mifepristone.

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In early April, a Trump-appointed judge in Texas ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone, which has been permitted for use by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000. The decision was appealed by the maker of the drug and the Biden administration.

The Texas ruling also called into question whether abortion pills can be mailed. Plaintiffs in the case  which was filed by the conservative organization Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of health care providers  argued the mailing of abortion pills violates the Comstock Act.

The Texas judge seemed to agree, determining that Plaintiffs have a substantial likelihood of prevailing on their claim that Defendants decision to allow the dispensing of chemical abortion drugs through mail violates unambiguous federal criminal law.

But the U.S. Supreme Court in late April preserved access to the medication for the time being, rejecting the lower courts restrictions on mifepristone as the court fight continues.

Medication abortions, which typically consist of a two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, account for more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. Millions of patients have used mifepristone over the past two decades or so, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says medication abortions are safe and effective.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois called the Supreme Courts recent action a win not only for Planned Parenthood of Illinois patients but people across the country who deserve to have access to high-quality and effective health care including safe and legal medication abortion.

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While this is a temporary win for abortion rights, the battle is far from over, the agency said in a statement. We will continue to fight and advocate for equitable access to all reproductive and sexual health care services because everyone should have the ability to make a decision that is best for their bodies, their lives, and their futures.

The Associated Press contributed.

eleventis@chicagotribune.com
By James Stavridis



As the war in Ukraine rages and with Kyiv's forces likely to begin a major offensive any day now, both sides in the conflict are facing shortages of ammunition, electronic components, precision-guided weapons and even cement. While the West has a vastly larger overall capability to deliver the necessities of combat, snarls in the global commercial supply chain are beginning to manifest.



The real "spring offensive" may not be tanks and armor, but upscaled weapons production in the factories of Ukraine's democratic supporters. What should they be doing collectively to make sure the Ukrainians get what they need to turn back Russia's illegal and immoral invasion? And what will be the impact on broader global supply chains?



As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military commander over a decade ago, I would often look deep into logistics and supply chains as I contemplated our combat operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya and counterpiracy. We felt comfortable that the overall Western defense industrial base  which supports over $1.2 trillion in collective military budgets for the 31 NATO nations  could handle those conflicts with relative ease.



But what made me nervous a decade ago was the possibility of great power conflict in Europe  notably a potential flare-up with the Russian federation. While the democratic allies enjoy an overwhelming capability and inventory advantage (Russia's total defense budget is under $70 billion, one-tenth of NATO's at best), the Russians have a competent industrial base, lots of raw materials, and can draw on conscript labor to man the machines in their foundries and factories.



While NATO is more than a year out of Afghanistan, the huge needs of Ukraine are driving challenges in supplying material to combat operations at a level I did not anticipate. The need for electronic components in particular  to build precision-guided weapons, sophisticated drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and so-called smart artillery rounds  is soaring. Despite the sluggish global economy, civilian firms are competing with the Western militaries for the crucial semi-conductor chips, particularly the high-end ones produced largely in Taiwan.



Western car manufacturers and heavy equipment producers, from Caterpillar Inc. to General Motors Co., are feeling the pinch. Cement, in high demand in the U.S .for the infrastructure projects just beginning to come online from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is getting scarce as Ukrainian war needs rise for reconstruction.



A number of analyses and war simulations are trying to project where the critical pain points will occur. Guns, missiles and ammunition  especially howitzer shells  are of most concern. Notable among the stockpiles running low are the 155-mm gun rounds that have emerged as the key offensive punch for the Ukrainians. Several analysts believe that Ukraine is burning through a year's worth of U.S. prewar production monthly.



While the Department of Defense will continue to protect its own war reserves, the excess armament levels  stockpiled for contingencies beyond basic needs of the U.S. war plans  are very low. And it is not just howitzer rounds: The high-performance HIMARS rockets are in short supply as well, for example.



The defense industrial base is stepping up production, taking a page out of the US industrial complex at the start of World War II. As the Yale Historian Paul Kennedy outlines in his brilliant book, "Engineers of Victory," about the technology, organization, and war production that turned the tide in the war, the allies eventually outproduced the axis.



While we are far from the total mobilization of the early 1940s, both the big defense primes and many smaller producers of high-tech systems (notably drones) are rapidly innovating and producing what the Ukrainians will need in the months ahead. But as new orders have increased, another problem has emerged: a severe shortage of skilled munitions workers.



When President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his memorable "arsenal of democracy speech" in 1940, the U.S. economy was about to move to a full war footing. Clearly, we are not going to do that today. So, the challenge will be to continue to produce both guns and butter in the face of Russian aggression.



Congress and the Pentagon have the tools to do so, primarily money. U.S. military support to Ukraine is significant (over $40 billion) but only a small fraction of the $850 billion defense budget. America's European partners (and Asian allies like Japan and South Korea) will be providing nearly equal amounts of assistance, although their support will be focused more on humanitarian needs and economic reconstruction.



Both sides of the Atlantic will be providing selected combat systems (especially tanks and ground armor) and artillery rounds. Governments in the West will have to guarantee the contractual production, so the defense firms are not left holding the bag if the war abruptly concludes (which does not, admittedly, appear to be on the horizon).



While there will be some pinching in specific global commercial supply chains (e.g., electronics, construction materials, some minerals), the overall capacity to outproduce the tottering Russian economy is clear. Assuming China continues to wisely decline to throw Putin a war material lifeline, Russia will fall further and further behind Western production abilities. This classic "American way of war," which succeeded in both World War II and ultimately in the Cold War, keeps the odds in favor of the Ukrainians.





This article was published in Bloomberg and distributed by Tribune Content Agency.








The Viroqua Chamber Main Street is hosting its next Viroqua SOUP event on May 9 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at The Link between Western Technical College and the McIntosh Memorial Library.

Viroqua SOUP is a community event where residents come together to break bread and support inspiring people with new community development projects. For a donation of $5, attendees will be served a delicious bowl of soup, fresh bread and butter, and will receive a ballot. Four presenters will receive four minutes each to pitch their ideas and attendees will cast their ballot for their favorite proposal. The winner of the vote will take home the evenings proceeds to help fund their project.

Viroqua SOUP is organized by the Viroqua Chamber Main Street, with support from Westby Co-op Creamery, Rhythm Bakery, Salt &Z Tipple and Noble Rind Cheese Company, along with the many generous community members who attend and donate. To submit a proposal for a future event, find the application form online at https://viroqua-wisconsin.com/chamber-mainstreet/viroua-soup.

Viroqua SOUP is my favorite of all the events and programs that we produce, said Chris Clemens, executive director for the Viroqua Chamber Main Street. It really speaks to who we are as a community and reflects our common value that, when people work together to inspire great change, we can really make a positive impact on the lives of our friends and neighbors.

Viroqua SOUP provides a great opportunity for the community to come together, support local projects and celebrate the spirit of self-reliance and civic pride that makes Viroqua a strong and resilient community.
1. Please write a short introduction about yourself.

"Hello Winona County Residents! My name is Josh Elsing and Im a 30+ year resident of Winona County. Many of you know my wife Leah (lifelong resident of Winona County) and our children, Maddy, Emma and AJ. Leah is a Director of Nursing here in St. Charles where we live, and we were also longtime residents of the Altura and Lewiston areas and graduates from Lewiston/Altura High School. Our kids are pursuing their careers/college after attending Public and Christian schools and I have been in agriculture for most of my life, supporting all types of ag. I own an agriculture business based in St. Charles with local and out of state employees. We also have a commercial/residential property business. As a former 4-H kid, we love the county fair, and our business sponsors it as well as other local organizations. We like to travel and enjoy camping with family and friends."

2. Why are you interested in this position?

"I was asked by a multitude of residents throughout Winona County to consider running for Commissioner, including former Commissioner Steve Jacob after he announced his run for the MN House, and I am honored to have received his only endorsement for the race. For the past 10+ years serving area residents in local government, I have developed a passion to get involved. It started simple and has progressed into more complex roles over time. I enjoy engaging with people and finding creative solutions in both business and government issues."

3. What experience do you have that makes you a good candidate for this position?

"Experience in government is something I overlooked earlier on and now realize its value. As in business, it takes time to learn, understand and appreciate the variables you encounter and how to approach issues for the best outcome.

"A few areas of involvement: Current twice elected and Treasurer for the Winona County SWCD Board (Soil and Water Conservation District). Current President of Whitewater Joint Powers Board (County Commissioners and SWCD supervisors from Winona, Wabasha and Olmsted Counties). Current WINLAC Winona County Ag Advisory Board. Former twice elected Mayor for the City of Altura and prior Planning and Zoning commissions. Former MASWCD SE MN 11 County Executive board. Former General Manager for an ag company in Winona County and South Dakota. Former Lewiston EMT. (Lets support our Veterans, Firefighters, EMTs, First Responders, Law enforcement. They need it!) Current multiple small business owner with employees. (My favorite experience is being a Dad!)"

4. What would be some of your top priorities in this position?

"Being open to peoples concerns is key and pulling from experiences in managing and owning businesses is crucial for a fiscally responsible, accountable, and transparent government. Protecting our road funds, keeping our property and local tax levy in check, advocating small government, supporting our local agriculture, local businesses, townships, and cities in our rural district are a few priorities all while being responsible with our environment. Having a strong background in Agriculture and Rural community government and development is something I hope brings continuity to the County Board and keeps the People first. 'Open and transparent' are key words I see used a lot but that must have community engagement to be relevant. It seems to me that public attendance or engagement at local levels seems to be dwindling. We need to get the People involved in our government again."

5. How do you believe you could benefit constituents?

"As stated earlier, through experience, I hope to bring continuity to the County board. We need a strong voice representing the rural communities and addressing the issues within, something I have been doing for many years. I run a tight ship in business, and I am known to do the same on the various County and Local Boards I sit on. I hope being available, approachable, and accountable to all our constituents would encourage more community engagement. Experience matters and we can hit the ground running!"
Kenneth Branagh is grateful to be playing Hercule Poirot again in "A Haunting in Venice."

The 62-year-old star reprises his role as Agatha Christie's sleuth in the upcoming film and is delighted to have the chance to make another movie after the challenges of the previous installment "Death on the Nile," which was hit by delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and sexual-misconduct allegations surrounding star Armie Hammer.

Branagh told The Hollywood Reporter: "('Death on the Nile's') theatrical release was challenged for various reasons, but it still did exceptional numbers in the circumstances. And then the streaming performance was really exceptional. So I was very pleased when they came back to us."

He continued: "I was particularly grateful to the single determining factor, really, which was the audience. The audience seems to want it, and they seem to be ready for another. So we were happy to try and do one."
Arkansas police have arrested a man suspected in a Rockland gun store burglary, but two more people implicated in the theft remain at large.

Nehemiah Sample, 25, Trempealeau, was taken into custody over the weekend, according to the La Crosse County Sheriffs Office. A warrant for his arrest was issued April 27 by La Crosse County District Judge Scott Horne. He faces two felony counts of burglary while armed and four counts of theft of movable property.

A second man accused of entering the store, 18-year-old Robert Benson of La Crosse, remains at large. He faces one felony count of burglary while armed and three counts of theft of movable property.

Sample and Benson are accused of entering The Smoking Gun during the overnight hours of April 25 and stealing 41 firearms and $740 in cash. Prosecutors filed criminal complaints Friday against the two in La Crosse County Circuit Court.

La Crosse County Sheriff John Siegel asked for the publics help in finding the stolen firearms.

Recovering as many of these stolen guns as quickly as possible is a high priority, Siegel said.

Prosecutors Monday identified a third person related to the case, 20-year-old Autumn Sample of Onalaska. She faces felony charges of receiving stolen property and harboring a felon. According to a criminal complaint filed in La Crosse County Circuit, Sample is Nehemiah Samples sister and Bensons girlfriend. A warrant for her arrest was issued Monday.

The complaint against Autumn Sample says police obtained a search warrant for a 518 Quincy St. address she was known to frequent. Police reportedly found one of the stolen weapons at the address.

Nehemiah Sample is also accused of burglarizing a storage unit Jan. 30 in Onalaska. The renter reported three firearms, four boxes of ammunition, tools and Pokeman cards valued at $9,200 were stolen.

Additional charges could be coming against Nehemiah Sample. Police pulled over a vehicle he was driving April 25 in Onalaska, but he allegedly refused to exit the vehicle and suddenly sped away while a police officer was still partially inside the passenger compartment. The officer sustained knee, elbow and shoulder pain.

Police identified a third person who was inside The Smoking Gun during the burglary, but prosecutors have yet to file charges. The third suspect agreed to talk with police and identified Nehemiah Sample and Benson as the other two people inside the store.
The lawsuit challenging Wisconsins near-complete abortion ban is coming before a Dane County judge on Thursday as one of the defendants seeks to dismiss the case.

Filed days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the lawsuit will see its first oral arguments.

Heres what you need to know about the case:

Whats the case about?

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the case along with other state agencies last year, alleging that Wisconsins near-complete abortion ban conflicts with later, more permissive abortion bans.

The ban was adopted in 1849, though it has been amended several times since. It outlaws abortion in every case except when its necessary to save the mothers life.

Kauls lawsuit alleges that a 1985 abortion law  which prohibits abortions after fetal viability but includes an exception to protect the mothers life or health  conflicts with the earlier, near-total ban.

He also alleges that the earlier ban went unenforced for so long that it has been effectively nullified.

Separately, three doctors joined the case in November, seeking clarity on whether the near-total ban remains enforceable. They also allege the sole exception in the ban, for saving the mothers life, is unconstitutionally vague.

Kaul initially filed the case against Republican legislative leaders. After the GOP leaders claimed they were the wrong defendants, Kaul revised the lawsuit in September, filing the case instead against three district attorneys in the counties that used to have abortion clinics.

What will the case decide?

If the plaintiffs arent successful, Wisconsin would maintain its almost total ban on abortions. If the plaintiffs succeed, that prohibition would be nullified.

That would leave Wisconsin with several more-permissive abortion bans. The strictest one is a 2015 law that prohibits the procedure if the probable postfertilization age of the unborn child is 20 or more weeks.

Abortions would be available after 20 weeks if the pregnancy might jeopardize the mothers life or cause an irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

The law would subject abortion providers  not those receiving abortions  to felony charges.

Whats likely to happen Thursday?

The oral arguments scheduled for Thursday likely will focus largely on Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanskis motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The other defendants  Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm  did not file motions to dismiss the case. Chisholms attorney did say, however, that Kaul has no standing in the case against the district attorneys, but that the doctors who later joined the case do.

The dynamic on Thursday probably will be similar to the back and forth that has played out in legal filings between Urmanski and Kaul.

In December, Urmanski asked the Dane County judge to dismiss the case, saying the plaintiffs arent threatened by prosecution under the abortion ban theyre seeking to have a judge nullify. He also argued that the abortion laws Kaul mentioned do not, in fact, conflict.

Additionally, Urmanski said Kauls argument that the bans disuse means it lost its validity lacks merit.

Responding to Urmanskis dismissal motion in a brief filed in January, Kaul said Wisconsin precedent shows government officers, including the attorney general, have standing when an issue is of vital concern ... to the entire public.

Kaul added that to succeed on his motion to dismiss, Urmanski must prove theres no way the lawsuit challenging the ban could succeed.

He comes nowhere close, Kaul wrote.

While the Dane County Circuit Court judge presiding over the lawsuit, Diane Schlipper, can rule from the bench Thursday, its possible that her decision on whether to allow the case to continue wont come until the summer.

Whats next for the lawsuit?

No matter what happens in the Dane County courtroom Thursday, the final say on the lawsuit is all but certain to come from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which in August will have a liberal majority. Justice-elect Janet Protasiewicz has been especially vocal about her support for abortion rights, and this is likely the only case that could grant them soon in Wisconsin.
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP)  A judge on Monday sentenced a former Wisconsin student who attacked his high school's police officer with a barbecue fork to 17 years in prison.

A jury convicted Grant Fuhrman, now 20, in February of attempted first-degree homicide in connection with the 2019 incident at Oshkosh West High School. He faced a maximum sentence of 60 years in the state prison system.

In addition to the 17 years, Winnebago County Circuit Judge Daniel Bissett sentenced him to 10 years on extended supervision.

Furhman was 16 years old when he stabbed the school's liaison officer, Mike Wissink, multiple times in the neck at the school in December 2019. Wissink shot him during the struggle. Neither was seriously injured and Wissink was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Fuhrman texted a friend in late September or early October 2019 to bet that Fuhrman would not go to Wissinks office and stab him with a pencil, take Wissinks gun out of his holster and either shoot himself or the officer. The friend did not report Fuhrmans comments.

Prosecutors were seeking 20-25 years in prison, plus 20 years extended supervision, WLUK-TV reported. Fuhrman's attorney countered that he deserved 3 1/2 years behind bars and five years on extended supervision.

Wissink asked the judge to sentence Fuhrman to the maximum 40 years in prison and 20 years extended supervision.

Fuhrman told the judge on Monday that he feels horrible about his actions and asked for a chance to prove he's not a bad person, WBAY-TV reported. He apologized to Wissink, his family and first responders.

Wissink didn't hear the apology, the television station reported. He left the courtroom after providing a statement to the judge.
Fourteen-year-old employees would be able to serve alcohol in restaurants or taverns under a Republican proposal released Monday  down from the current minimum age of 18.

The proposal would allow 14- to 17-year-olds to serve alcohol only to customers not seated at a bar.

The current age requirement causes workforce issues due to an establishments underage employees only being able to do part of their job, draft bill authors Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, and Rep. Chanz Green, R-Grandview, said in a memo to legislators seeking support for the proposal.

Wisconsin is already having severe workforce shortage issues, specifically in the food and beverage industry, they said.

The measure would allow Wisconsin establishments to have the youngest alcohol servers nationwide, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. West Virginia allows 16-year-old servers to tend bar and serve alcohol, but in the vast majority of other states, servers must be 18 or older.

Under the measure, a licensed operator would have to be on the premises supervising the underage workers.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback appeared to criticize the proposal, tweeting that while Evers wanted to address workforce shortages by expanding paid family leave and making child care more affordable, among other things, Republicans wanted to allow younger alcohol servers.

.@GovEvers and Wisconsinites: Lets address our states workforce challenges by

 building more workforce housing

 expanding paid family leave

 making child care more affordable

 investing in job and skills training

 funding our schools



Republicans: https://t.co/PyguGPWqxM  Britt Cudaback (@BrittCudaback) May 1, 2023

A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment about the proposal.

Tavern League of Wisconsin spokesperson Scott Stenger said the organization supports the draft bill. He said the Tavern League had no role in lobbying for or drafting the measure.

Wisconsin has a long, fraught relationship with alcohol. More than 777,000 currently licensed drivers in Wisconsin, or nearly 1 in 5, have been convicted of operating while intoxicated at least once as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

While the drinking age in Wisconsin is 21, about 20% of 15- to 17-year-olds in the state drank in the previous month, according to a 2018 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report. Just more than 56% of 18- to 20-year-old Wisconsinites reported drinking in the previous month, the report states.

Around 90% of underage drinking is binge drinking, or drinking at least four drinks in two hours, according to the Department of Health Services.

First-time underage drinkers can face up to a $500 fine and have their drivers license temporarily suspended.

100 years ago: Prohibition begins long dry spell in Madison Prohibition: Fauerbach Brewery Prohibition: Madison crowd celebrates end Prohibition: Fauerbach Badger Club Special Prohibition: Hausmann Brewery Prohibition: Hausmann Brewery Bar Prohibition: Liquor Laws Prohibition: Front page 1917 Prohibition: Front page 1933 Prohibition: Crowd celebrates at Fauerbach Brewery
A man attacked an employee with a knife as he attempted to steal from a Target in Chicagos Loop, according to police.

The Saturday morning attack occurred at Targets 1 S. State St. location, in the downtown tourist district near Millennium Park and inside the ornamental cast-iron exterior of the Sullivan Centers lower levels.

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A 25-year-old employee attempted to stop the attacker from stealing when the attacker pulled a knife from his waistband and swung it at the employee, police said.

The employee suffered a laceration on his right arm and was transported to Northwestern Hospital in good condition, police added.

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The attacker fled the store but was quickly located and arrested by police, according to police.

The employees injuries are not life threatening and the store returned to normal operating hours Sunday, Target spokesperson Kayla Castenada confirmed in a statement. But the attack is emblematic of a larger problem, she said.

As demonstrated by this unfortunate incident, retail crime is an urgent issue that is increasingly impacting the team and guests at Target and other retailers, Castenada wrote.

The company is working with legislators, law enforcement and other retail stores to advocate for solutions to retail crime, she said. Retails stores create jobs, serve shoppers and are community hubs, she said.

We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure the safety of our stores and keep our doors open, Castenada wrote.
Was Credit Suisse Also Propped Up To Protect Dirty Money Laundering?

April 30, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)On March 19, the Swiss government and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) effectively ordered the UBS Bank to purchase Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion. Between October 1, 2022, and mid-March 2023, depositors had withdrawn $200 billion in deposits from Credit Suisse, and it was about to go under. Reuters reported March 20 that the Swiss government and the SNB central bank had put up together CFH260 billion Swiss francs ($280 billion) to support and backstop the deal, should some or all of it go bad.

Why would the Swiss government and its central bank put up the enormous sum of a quarter of a trillion dollars for the deal? Especially considering that the country has only 8.7 million people. Isnt that overkill?

One certain fact is that Credit Suisse has $39 trillion in derivatives, and it is exposed to counterparties in America, London, and elsewhere. Should those fail, triggering a chain reaction of other failures, that would blow out the world financial system.

But there is more. On March 22, the Wall Street Journal ran a major article, It Wasnt Just Credit Suisse. Switzerland Itself Needed Rescuing. The Journal quoted Thierry Burkart, head of the Liberal Party, the countrys third largest: Credit Suisse is not only a Swiss company. It is part of the Swiss identity.

In fact, Switzerland, working with the City of London and Wall Street, is at the center of a trillions of dollars money-laundering machine, that includes tax havens, untraceability of funds, stringent secrecy codes, and laundering of drug money.

Just as one example. On June 27, 2022, Switzerlands Federal Court convicted Credit Suisse of laundering money from 2004-2008 by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang, a case that took a long while to get to court. The June 27 Reuters article, Credit Suisse Found Guilty in Cocaine Cash Laundering Case, reported that A former [Credit Suisse] employee was found guilty of money-laundering in the trial, which included testimony on murders and cash stuffed into suitcases.

Credit Suisse claimed it had no idea it was laundering money. The judge in the trial fined Credit Suisse $2 million, and also ordered the confiscation of the equivalent of more than $12 million worth of deposits linked to the criminal group. The proverbial slap on the wrist.

Swiss bank secrecy is extreme. The Swiss Bank Secrecy Act first came into force in 1934, making it a criminal offense to reveal client data without permission. Swiss bankers will not tell any governmental authority anywhere in the world pursuing criminal violations, such as investigating tax avoidance, money laundering, and so forth, anything about the client who has stashed money into secrecy-protecting accounts in Swiss banks.

UBS, the sixth largest bank in Europe, which is taking over Credit Suisse, has $1.18 trillion in assets. In addition, it has $3.1 trillion in its wealth management fund, which manages money in strict secrecy. UBS has been at the center of several investigations of American, French, German, Israeli, and Belgian tax authorities, for facilitating tax evasion.

Nicholas Shaxson, author of the 2011 book Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World, reports that today $19 trillion is hidden in tax havens around the world. Some Swiss bankers are specialists in this.

While some portion of the operations of Swiss banks fund industry, others are critical cogs in the City of London-centered offshore money laundering circuit.

Viktor Ivanov, from 2008 to 2016 the head of the Federal Narcotics Agency of Russia, and a leading anti-drug money launderer, has said that drug money laundering has kept banks alive.

Perhaps some of the enormous quarter of a trillion dollars put up by the Swiss government to backstop the UBS-Credit Suisse merger is to protect the laundering side of the Swiss banks identity?
WXRT radio host Terri Hemmert in 2014. On Friday, Hemmert survived a shooting that police said killed a server at the well-known Mandinas Restaurant in New Orleans. A friend of Hemmerts, from Chicago, was shot in the back. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

As Chicago radio personality Terri Hemmert celebrated her birthday at a New Orleans restaurant Friday night, her party came to a sudden halt.

It was interrupted by a hail of bullets, the WXRT radio star wrote in a Facebook post Sunday.

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Hemmert survived a shooting that police said killed a server at the well-known Mandinas Restaurant in New Orleans Mid-City neighborhood. A Chicago woman and friend of Hemmerts who has not been identified was shot in the back, Hemmert wrote in her post.

After hitting the floor alongside 28 precious friends as gunfire erupted, Hemmert said that people who are tired of hearing about shootings should think again.

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Its no longer a figure of speech when you say you dodged a bullet. And if someone says this is not America or this is not us, they had better duck, Hemmert wrote.

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans identified the slain server who police said two assailants targeted as 23-year-old Hilbert Walker III. A private security guard returned fire, interim New Orleans police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork told reporters.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

The shooting caused alarm in New Orleans, a city with an economy dependent on tourism. It came on the first day of the two-weekend Jazz Fest, one of the busiest tourist periods in the city. The wounded 54-year-old Chicago woman was visiting the city to attend the festival, Woodfork said.

Hemmert said she and her friends will never forget the traumatic shooting. The wounded friend, who Hemmert wrote was heading back to Chicago by plane, will carry a bullet in her back, she added.

She reflected on the pervasiveness of gun violence in her post.

Whats it gonna take? We are afraid of our kids reading a book or seeing a drag queen. But getting shot is the price we pay for so called freedom. Im pissed, Hemmert wrote.

The Chicago radio personality stayed in her hotel room throughout the weekend, she said. Shell never be the same after seeing her loved ones covered with blood, she wrote.

As long as we refuse to do something about this epidemic, we are not safe. And neither are you. And everyone you love, Hemmert wrote.

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The Associated Press contributed.
WASHINGTON  Over the past year, the U.S. Treasury Department used its sanctions powers to impose wide-ranging financial penalties to turn Russia into the most sanctioned country in the world in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Now, the federal agency is facing increasing pressure, including from legislation introduced this week in the Senate, to use those tools with similar vigor against the people, financial institutions and companies that have participated in the explosion of fentanyl use and distribution in the U.S.

"As a matter of policy we are dealing with drug cartels who have tremendous economic gain to be made," said Paul DelPonte, executive director of the nonprofit National Crime Prevention Council, which is pushing for tougher action against those behind the scourge of drug overdoses and deaths. "There are a lot of hands involved in this crime."

Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the U.S. today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 71,000 people died from overdosing on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl in 2021, up from almost 58,000 in 2020.

Mexico and China are the primary source countries for fentanyl and related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking. Nearly all the precursor chemicals that are needed to make fentanyl are coming from China.

Growing tensions between the U.S. and China have made efforts to stop the importation of illicit fentanyl more difficult, a Congressional Research Service report states. China officially suspended its counternarcotic and law enforcement cooperation with the U.S. last August.

Treasury hasn't been idle. The department imposed sanctions on fentanyl producers and traffickers in recent years  and as recently as this month issued sanctions on a group of Mexican and Chinese fentanyl distributors.

However, with the number of overdose deaths exploding in recent years, there are calls for more action, including a national emergency declaration similar to the one at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such a declaration could lead to tougher sanctions, DelPonte said. "It would empower the CDC to collaborate with people at Treasury, for instance, to save some very young innocent people."

Lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to get that declaration, with legislation sponsored by the leaders and ranking members of the Senate Banking and Armed Services Committees that was introduced Tuesday. That bill would compel the Biden administration to prioritize the fight against fentanyl trafficking and prod Treasury to use its sanctions authority to quell the proliferation of the drug in the U.S.

Declaring international fentanyl trafficking a national emergency, the legislation would require Treasury to sanction drug cartels. It also would impose reporting requirements and enable the president to confiscate sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to use for law enforcement efforts.

"This legislation takes decisive action to cut off the deadly flow of fentanyl at the source," said Sen Tim Scott of South Carolina, the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee and a potential GOP presidential candidate.

Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he hears "over and over that we need new, more powerful tools to prevent the flow of fentanyl into our neighborhoods." Fentanyl was involved in 81% of 2020 overdose deaths in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

"This bipartisan bill will add effective new sanctions to target the illicit fentanyl supply chain, from China through Mexico, to help stop increasingly dangerous forms of this drug before they ever reach our communities," Brown said.

In his February State of the Union address, President Joe Biden outlined how his administration would crack down on trafficking. Since then, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has conducted historically large seizure operations, and Treasury and the Justice Department sanctioned and charged Mexican Sinaloa cartel members that use Chinese precursor chemicals to produce fentanyl.

But critics say that's not enough.

"When it comes to drug-trafficking, we haven't enforced sanctions against banks seriously," said David Asher, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute specializing in U.S. foreign policy and law enforcement.

"If we can sanction Russian oligarchs and banks," he said, "why can't we do the same thing to Mexican drug lords and their bankers and bank accounts and banks  especially when we know who they are."

Treasury had no comment on the proposed new legislation.

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EVERETT, Wa.  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.

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 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 associate degree in business.

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China will extend the expiration date of mainland travel permits for eligible Hong Kong and Macao residents starting May 8, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced. The validity of their mainland travel permits with an expiration date between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 30, 2023 will be extended until Dec. 31, 2023. The measure aims to meet soaring travel demand among these residents after the Chinese mainland fully resumed normal travel with Hong Kong and Macau starting Feb. 6, according to the announcement.

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Canadas government made a new contract offer to the countrys biggest public workers union Friday as thousands of federal employees remained on strike for a 10th day.

The office of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier called it a comprehensive offer but provided no details.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which had said Wednesday that negotiations were stalemated, confirmed receiving the offer, but did not comment on what it contained. We hope to continue bargaining this weekend in order to reach a fair deal, the union said in a statement.

The government previously had offered to increase pay by 9% over three years. The union initially asked for 13.5% raises over the same time frame.

Other issues described by the government as sticking points earlier this week include the flexibility to work remotely, a reduction in the governments use of outside contractors and the implementation of seniority rules in the event of layoffs.

More than 100,000 members of the union went on strike April 19 after the union and government failed to reach agreement on replacing contracts that expired in 2021.

The contracts affect 155,000 federal workers in total, but the government deemed about 46,000 of them to be essential workers and they are not taking part in the strike.

As the strike continues, Canadians are facing a wide range of federal service disruptions, including an inability to process immigration and passport applications. MDT/AP
The frequent and strong sandstorms that have swept across northern China and some parts of southern China this year have surprised many people after years of relative lull during what had come to be known as the sandstorm season in March and April. Many are surprised also because the sandstorms occurred despite China combating desertification for decades.

Since the sandstorms originated in Mongolia, China should strengthen cooperation in environmental management with Mongolia to prevent such weather conditions.

North China shares a similar monsoonal climate, a variant of the continental climate, with southern Mongolia. The fact is, Mongolia has a rather fragile ecological environment with an arid climate that can be greatly influenced by climate change and environmental degradation elsewhere.

Also, in Mongolia, the average temperature has increased by 2.25 degrees Celsius, twice the world average, over the past 80 years. And while more than three-quarters of Mongolias land is either desert or arid or facing desertification and soil degradation, climate-related natural disasters have increased, especially over the past 10 years. And sandstorms, in particular, could cause huge losses to the local people.

Although the Mongolian government has taken measures to address the desertification problem, the huge gap between human activities and environmental and ecological revival remains a chronic environmental problem.

The over-exploitation of soil for farming  less than 2 percent of Mongolias land area is arable  excessive use of water for agriculture and construction, overgrazing of land, including on pastures, and the unrestrained extraction of underground resources have been continuously reducing the underground water tables and turning the land bare, making it easier for even strong winds to carry millions of tons of sand southward.

China has been working with Mongolia to combat desertification and reduce sandstorms. Still, more efforts are needed to raise the underground water tables and revitalize the soil, including the surface soil, in order to prevent sandstorms.

In 2021, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh launched a national campaign for planting 1 billion trees by 2030 as part of the countrys fight against climate change. The campaign started in earnest this year.

The Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, which share their border with Mongolia, can boost cooperation with Mongolia and help it build a green great wall. This will also help better protect Chinas Green Great Wall, and promote the Three-North Shelter Forest Program and the afforestation projects in northern, northwestern and northeastern China.

Moreover, as parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, China and Mongolia can also boost bilateral cooperation through the two authoritative international agreements, as well as through the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

Under the framework of the Silk Road Fund-established with the aim of promoting cooperation and development in Belt and Road countries  China and Mongolia can jointly establish a green fund so Mongolia can have easy access to financing for green development projects, including the One Billion Trees campaign.

Besides, the Mongolian National Climate Committee approved the 2023 action plans to bolster the national campaign, including tree-planting programs and improvement of policies and laws to fight climate change by, among other things, setting carbon dioxide emission goals and improving the energy, agriculture and construction sectors.

Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang can deepen cooperation with Mongolia in these sectors. By doing so, they can also benefit Chinas green development projects.

Climate change is a common global challenge. Only with the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, better planning to achieve sustainable development, and a change in peoples lifestyle to reduce environmental damage can a solution to the climate problem be found. Global governance of climate issues is an objective requirement and inevitable trend for all countries.

[Abridged]

Fan Lijun, Zhao Rigetu & Huang Tonglaga, China Daily*

*Fan Lijun is a research fellow at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences; Zhao Rigetu is an associate research fellow at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences; and Huang Tonglaga is a doctoral candidate at the National University of Mongolia.
It will be a coronation of many faiths and many languages.

King Charles III, keen to show that he can be a unifying figure for everyone in the United Kingdom, will be crowned in a ceremony that will for the first time include the active participation of faiths other than the Church of England.

Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh leaders will take part in various aspects of the coronation, the Archbishop of Canterburys office said Saturday, as it revealed details of a service it described as an act of Christian worship that will reflect contemporary society.

The ceremony also will include female bishops for the first time, as well as hymns and prayers sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic, as well as English.

The service contains new elements that reflect the diversity of our contemporary society, Archbishop Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Church of England, said in a statement. It is my prayer that all who share in this service, whether they are of faith or no faith, will find ancient wisdom and new hope that brings inspiration and joy.

The coronation ceremony reflects Charles efforts to show that the 1,000-year-old monarchy is still relevant in a country that is much more diverse than it was when his mother was crowned 70 years ago. While the king is the supreme governor of the Church of England, the latest census showed that less than half of the population now describe themselves as Christian.

Built around the theme Called to Serve, the coronation service will begin with one of the youngest members of the congregation  a Chapel Royal chorister  greeting the king. Charles will respond by saying, In His name and after His example, I come not to be served but to serve.

The moment is meant to underscore the importance of young people in the world today, according to Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The service will also include many historic elements underscoring the ancient traditions through which power has been passed on to new kings and queens throughout the centuries.

In the most sacred part of the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury will anoint the king with oil, consecrating him and setting him apart from his subjects.

A screen will cover Charles at this moment, and the anointing wont be visible on television or to most people in the abbey, except for a few senior members of the clergy.

When the screen which will surround the coronation chair is removed, the king is revealed to us all as someone who has taken on the responsibility of serving God and serving the people, a Lambeth Palace spokesperson said while speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

This will be followed by the presentation of the coronation regalia, sacred objects like the orb and scepter that symbolize the monarchs power and responsibilities.

In another innovation that reflects the changed religious landscape in Britain, members of the House of Lords from the Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh traditions will present the king with objects with no explicit Christian symbolism.

The new king will then be crowned and the refrain God Save the King will echo through the Abbey.

After Charles is crowned, the traditional homage of the peers will be replaced by an homage of the people, in which people in the Abbey and those watching on television will be invited to affirm their allegiance to the king.

Camilla will then be anointed, in a form similar to that of Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother, in 1937. However, Camillas anointing wont be hidden behind a screen. DANICA KIRKA, LONDON, MDT/AP
Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual and the prosecution team speak to the media after the "ComEd Four" were found guilty on all counts at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on May 2, 2023, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

A federal jury deliberated for a fourth day Monday without reaching a verdict in the ComEd Four trial of a group of executives and lobbyists who allegedly conspired to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his influence over the utilitys legislative agenda in Springfield.

So far, the panel of seven women and five men has deliberated for about 21 hours over four days, beginning on April 25. They took Friday off, as has been the schedule throughout the seven-week trial.

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The jury will return for more discussions at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

It is not unusual for juries in complicated federal conspiracy trials to take a week or more to reach a verdict. In former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevichs retrial in 2011, the jury was out for 10 days before convicting him on sweeping corruption counts. Deliberations in the trial of his predecessor, former Republican Gov. George Ryan, in 2006 lasted for 11 days before ending in conviction.

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In the ComEd Four case, which is now in its eighth week, jurors are sifting through testimony from some 50 witnesses, dozens of wiretapped phone calls and other secret recordings, as well as thousands of emails and internal ComEd documents.

[ ComEd Four bribery trial: What you need to know ]

Shortly after resuming talks Monday, the jury sent a note asking the court to clarify a possible discrepancy with the use of conjunctions and/or in the indictment and instructions. It was nearly identical to a question sent by the jury in the sexual abuse trial last year of R. Kelly, which was also in front of U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber.

This is precisely the same issue I had with the Kelly case, the judge said. The problem is the indictment is conjunctive, using the word and while describing the probable cause for the various elements of the bribery counts, while the instructions use the word or.

The judge said he would respond the same way he did in the Kelly case, which is to follow the instructions.

The Kelly jury later acquitted Kelly and his two co-defendants of the conspiracy counts that contained the confusing language, though Kelly was found guilty of sexual abuse-related charges.

Defense attorney Patrick Cotter objected on behalf of all the ComEd Four defendants, saying we believe the instructions constitute an improper amendment of the indictment that lessens the governments burden of proof.

Leinenweber overruled the objection, but said, I dont blame you at all for raising that point.

Charged are Michael McClain, 75, a longtime ComEd contract lobbyist and one of Madigans closest confidants; former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, 64, a lawyer and onetime rising star in Chicagos corporate world; Jay Doherty, 69, a lobbyist and ex-president of the City Club of Chicago; and John Hooker, 74, who over a 44-year career worked his way from the utilitys mailroom to become its point man in Springfield.

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The indictment alleged the four conspired to funnel $1.3 million in payments to ghost subcontractors, largely through Dohertys company, who were actually Madigans cronies.

[ ComEd Four trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]

The utility also hired a clout-heavy law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigans 13th Ward fiefdom, and blatantly backed former McPier boss Juan Ochoa, the friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utilitys board of directors, the indictment alleged.

In return, prosecutors say, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits.

Among them was the 2011 smart grid bill that set a built-in formula for the rates ComEd could charge customers, avoiding battles with the Illinois Commerce Commission, according to the charges. ComEd also leaned on Madigans office to help pass the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which kept the formula rate in place and also rescued two nuclear plants run by an affiliated company, Exelon Generation.

The indictment charges a total of nine counts, including a main bribery conspiracy count lodged against each of the four defendants. Other charges include circumventing internal business controls and the falsification of business records to allegedly hide the payments ComEd was making.

Defense attorneys have argued over and over that the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the center of the states legitimate political system.

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The case marks the most significant public corruption trial since Blagojevich was convicted 12 years ago.

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It has struck at the heart of Illinois politics itself, holding up a mirror not only to Madigans vaunted political operation but also the entire system of relationships between lobbyists, legislators and government-regulated utilities that rely on the General Assembly for their profits.

The case is the first of a series of federal probes that rocked Illinois politics and are now lined up for trial.

Among the others: Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, who is set to face a jury on racketeering charges in November that are based on the undercover cooperation of his onetime colleague, then-Ald. Daniel Solis.

In April 2024, Madigan and McClain are set to go on trial on racketeering charges of their own. That indictment was filed in March 2022 alleging an array of corrupt schemes, including the ComEd conspiracy allegations.

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An aircraft carrying eight tons of emergency medical aid landed Sunday in Sudan to resupply hospitals devastated by more than two weeks of fighting between forces loyal to rival generals.

The supplies are enough to treat hundreds of wounded, as the civilian death toll from the countrywide violence topped 400. The conflict erupted on April 15 between the nations army and its paramilitary force, and threatens to thrust Sudan into a raging civil war.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas with active fighting are out of service, a national doctors association has said, citing a shortage of medical supplies, health workers, water and electricity.

On Sunday, the aircraft carrying medical aid took off from Jordan and landed in the city of Port Sudan, said the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The supplies, including anesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical material, are enough to treat more than 1,000 people wounded in the conflict, the ICRC said.

The hope is to get this material to some of the most critically busy hospitals in the capital of Khartoum and other hot spots, said Patrick Youssef, ICRCs regional director for Africa.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Sunday that over the past two weeks, 425 civilians were killed and 2,091 wounded. The Sudanese Health Ministry on Saturday put the overall death toll, including fighters, at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Some of the deadliest battles have raged across Khartoum. The fighting pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

The generals, both with powerful foreign backers, were allies in an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudans fitful transition to democracy, but they have since turned on each other.

Ordinary Sudanese have been caught in the crossfire. Tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad and Egypt, while others remain pinned down with dwindling supplies. Thousands of foreigners have been evacuated in airlifts and land convoys.

On Sunday, fighting continued in different parts of the capital where residents hiding in their homes reported hearing artillery fire. There have been lulls in fighting, but never a fully observed cease-fire, despite repeated attempts by international mediators.

Over the weekend, residents reported that shops were reopening and normalcy gradually returning in some areas of Khartoum as the scale of fighting dwindled after yet another shaky truce. But in other areas, terrified residents reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses.

Youssef, the ICRC official, said the agency has been in contact with the top command of both sides to ensure that medical assistance could reach hospitals safely.

With this news today, we are really hoping that this becomes part of a steady coordination mechanism to allow other flights to come in, he said.

Youssef said more medical aid was ready to be flown into Khartoum pending necessary clearances and security guarantees.

Sudans healthcare system is near collapse with dozens of hospitals out of service. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and evacuate employees. NOHA ELHENNAWY, CAIRO, MDT/AP
Foreign companies are under growing pressure in China from anti-corruption, national security and other investigations as President Xi Jinpings government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back investors after the pandemic.

This week, Bain & Co. said police questioned staff in its Shanghai office. The consulting company gave no details of what investigators were looking for. Last month, the corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group said its Beijing office was raided by police who detained five employees. Also last month, an employee of a Japanese drug maker was detained on spying charges and the government announced a security review of memory chip maker Micron Inc.

The ruling Communist Party is trying to reignite investor interest in China despite increased political control over the economy. Business groups have said global companies are shifting investment plans to Southeast Asia, India and other economies.

At a time when China is proactively trying to restore business confidence to attract foreign investment, the actions taken send a very mixed signal, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said last week in a statement.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said she didnt know about the Bain & Co. case but defended Chinese law enforcement.

China welcomes foreign companies to invest and do business in China. We are committed to building an internationalized, market-oriented and law-based business environment, said Mao Ning. All companies in China should operate in compliance with law.

Xi, Chinas most powerful leader in decades, is in the midst of multiple campaigns to tighten ruling party control over entrepreneurs, root out official corruption and reduce reliance on foreign technology and expertise.

Chinas relations with Washington, Europe and Tokyo are strained by disputes about human rights, Taiwan, security and technology. But there is no indication whether the investigations were politically motivated. Chinese companies have been targeted for more severe action.

The Beijing office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu was fined 211.9 million yuan ($30.8 million) in March on charges that it failed to adequately audit state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Co. That came after Huarongs former boss was sentenced to death in 2021 on charges of taking bribes.

The ruling party has tightened legal restrictions on access to information about companies and their employees. That has increased uncertainty for firms including Bain & Co. and Mintz Group that help clients spot fraud or other misconduct by business partners or acquisition targets.

We can confirm that the Chinese authorities have questioned staff in our Shanghai office. We are cooperating as appropriate with the Chinese authorities, Bain & Co. said in a written statement.

Last week, Chinas legislature expanded the scope of its espionage law to give authorities powers to gain access to electronic information. The law covers all documents, data, materials and items related to national security, said the official Xinhua News Agency, though it did not say how national security is defined.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday expressed concern about the laws impact on firms that are fundamental to establishing investor confidence.

The additional scrutiny of firms providing essential business services dramatically increases the uncertainties and risks of doing business in the Peoples Republic, the Chamber said. This is a matter of serious concern for the investor community and likely is as well for their local business partners in China.

Foreign companies have for years advised employees visiting China not to carry computers or mobile phones with confidential information because they might be seized by authorities or stolen by industrial spies.

An employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. was detained in March on what the foreign ministry said were suspicions of spying. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi protested during a visit to Beijing this month.

The Chinese ambassador to Tokyo, Wu Jianghao, on Friday defended the handling of the case of the Astellas employee, whom he identified as Kan Nishiyama.

The core of this incident, its a spy that involves Chinas national security. The facts are becoming more and more conclusive, Wu said. He gave no further details.

Tens of millions of Japanese friends have dealt with China. How many over decades have been arrested? the ambassador said. We welcome normal, friendly activities and economic activities. But engaging in illegal espionage, we must ban in accordance with law.

Also last month, the government announced Microns technology and manufacturing would be scrutinized for possible risks under Chinas cybersecurity law. The company is a leading supplier to Chinese factories.

The ruling party also has tightened control over private sector Chinese success stories including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and ride-hailing service Didi Global Inc. by launching anti-monopoly and data security investigations.

Didi Global moved trading in its shares from the New York Stock Exchange to Hong Kong last June. The company was fined 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) the following month on charges it mishandled customer information.

The crackdowns are a jarring backdrop for official efforts to reverse a decline in foreign business interest in China. The ruling party wants foreign companies in electric cars and other fields to bring in technology and provide competition to force Chinese companies to improve.

Business groups earlier said global companies were shifting investment plans to Southeast Asia, India and the United States due to the difficulty of visiting China, as well as higher costs and more cumbersome regulations.

At a forum in March with business leaders including Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, the countrys top economic official, Premier Li Qiang, promised broad space for foreign competitors.

JOE McDONALD, BEIJING, MDT/AP
Visitors entering Macau in the first two days of the May 1 holidays, informally called May 1 Golden Week, have far surpassed predictions from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) of a daily average of 70,000 people over the five days.

On the first day (Saturday, April 29), the border posts recorded a record-high of 109,196 visitor entries. The previous single-day record this year was on March 18, when 96,011 visitors arrived in Macau.

The figure even surpassed (for the time being) the hotel and tourism industrys forecast of 90,000 daily arrivals, a more optimistic forecast than the MGTOs.

Yesterday saw a new record-high, with 133,911 visitors entering Macau.

Due to the tourist influx to landmark areas Sunday, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) began enforcing several crowd-control measures, starting at 2:30 p.m.

These included enforcing a single direction of pedestrian traffic, limiting traffic access and converting some streets to temporary pedestrian-only zones in some parts of the historical center around the Ruins of Saint Pauls and other major tourist areas.

protecting tourists from scams

Partnering with the Consumer Council, the MGTO has deployed staff to inspect shops and tourism operators to ensure that the many tourists arriving in Macau are not scammed.

Inspectors are investigating the prices and services of various economic sectors to ensure tourists rights are not overlooked in the pursuit of higher profits.

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has also issued a social media statement warning tourists about false advertising offering food and accommodation package deals at a discounted price.

The PJ has warned people this is a fraud and advised them to pay attention while acquiring this kind of product from unknown sources.

According to the PJ, the scammers page is impersonating an existing travel agency and posting multiple fraudulent advertisements for the purposes of collecting peoples data, including credit card information, which is then used to unlawfully collect money from victims.

A local hoteliers association has discussed with its members the need to not exaggerate hotel rates over this period, to keep the prices under control and to allow tourists to stay longer. Still, according to the same association, hotel prices have risen by at least 30% for the May 1 holidays.

F&B sector struggling due to low salaries

While the lack of manpower in the hospitality and food and beverage (F&B) sector is not new, the sectors most representative association says F&B establishments will continue to struggle as it becomes very difficult and almost impossible to recruit workers even from the mainland, since current Macau salaries are almost equivalent to those in the mainland.

According to the vice chairman of the council at The United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau (UAFBMM), Fong Kin Fu, this is the current situation, which is unlikely to change.

In an interview with the Chinese channel of TDM, Fong also explained that, due to the expected influx of tourists, most of the F&B establishments had to cancel their workers rest days and also had to negotiate with them to work overtime during this period. Some are also hiring more part-time workers to face this weeks increased demand.

China reports record railway trips on first day of May Day holiday

Railway trips in China hit a record high on Saturday, the first day of the five-day May Day holiday, data from the national railway operator shows. A total of 12,064 trains were in operation on Saturday, handling 19.66 million passenger trips, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

The group expected to see about 18 million railway passenger trips and 11,217 trains in operation yesterday.

This years May Day holiday runs from April 29 to May 3.

The country also reports strong demand for travel during this period.

About 120 million domestic trips are expected to be made by Chinese railway passengers from April 27 to May 4 around the May Day holiday, earlier data shows.

A separate forecast by the Ministry of Transport projected that the total number of passenger trips on the first day of the holiday would hit 56.99 million, an increase of 151.8% from the same day of last year.

Road trips were expected to surge by 98.8% to 34.5 million, while air trips would rocket by 441.8% to 2.04 million, with passenger volume by ship rising by 86.2% to 950,000.

Highway passenger car flow is expected to grow by 120.03% to 56.35 million units. MDT/Agencies
The powerful sister of North Koreas leader says her country would stage more provocative displays of its military might in response to a new U.S.-South Korean agreement to intensify nuclear deterrence to counter the Norths nuclear threat, which she insists shows their extreme hostility toward Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong also lobbed personal insults toward U.S. President Joe Biden, who after a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week stated that any North Korean nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would result in the end of whatever regime took such action.

Bidens meeting with Yoon in Washington came amid heightened tensions in the Korean Peninsula as the pace of both the North Korean weapons demonstrations and the combined U.S.-South Korean military exercises have increased in a cycle of tit-for-tat.

Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired around 100 missiles, including multiple demonstrations of intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the U.S. mainland and a slew of short-range launches the North described as simulated nuclear strikes on South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is widely expected to up the ante in coming weeks or months as he continues to accelerate a campaign aimed at cementing the Norths status as a nuclear power and eventually negotiating U.S. economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

During their summit, Biden and Yoon announced new nuclear deterrence efforts that call for periodically docking U.S. nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea for the first time in decades and bolstering training between the two countries. They also committed to plans for bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack, the establishment of a nuclear consultative group and improved sharing of information on nuclear and strategic weapons operation plans.

In her comments published on state media, Kim Yo Jong said the U.S.-South Korean agreement reflected the allies most hostile and aggressive will of action against the North and will push regional peace and security into more serious danger.

Kim, who is one of her brothers top foreign policy officials, said the summit further strengthened the Norths conviction to enhance its nuclear arms capabilities. She said it would be especially important for the North to perfect the second mission of the nuclear war deterrent, in an apparent reference to the countrys escalatory nuclear doctrine that calls for preemptive nuclear strikes over a broad range of scenarios where it may perceive its leadership as under threat.

She lashed out at Biden over his blunt warning that North Korean nuclear aggression would result in the end of its regime, calling him senile and too miscalculating and irresponsibly brave. However, she said the North wouldnt simply dismiss his words as a nonsensical remark from the person in his dotage.

When we consider that this expression was personally used by the president of the U.S., our most hostile adversary, it is threatening rhetoric for which he should be prepared for far too great an after-storm, she said.

The more the enemies are dead set on staging nuclear war exercises, and the more nuclear assets they deploy in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula, the stronger the exercise of our right to self-defense will become in direct proportion to them.

She called Yoon a fool over his efforts to strengthen South Koreas defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States and bolster the Souths own conventional missile capabilities, saying he was putting his absolute trust in the U.S. despite getting only nominal promises in return.

The pipe dream of the U.S. and (South) Korea will henceforth be faced with the entity of more powerful strength, she said.

South Koreas Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, described her comments as absurd and insisted that they convey the Norths nervousness and frustration over the allies efforts to strengthen nuclear deterrence.

Kim Yo Jongs comments toward Biden were reminiscent of when her brother called former U.S. President Donald Trump a mentally deranged U.S. dotard while they exchanged verbal threats during a North Korean testing spree in 2017 that included flight tests of ICBMs and the Norths sixth nuclear test.

Kim Jong Un later shifted toward diplomacy and held his first summit with Trump in Singapore in June 2018, where they issued aspirational goals for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur.

But their diplomacy never recovered from the collapse of their second summit in February 2019 in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a limited surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Kim Yo Jong did not specify the actions the North is planning to take in response to the outcome of the U.S.-South Korea summit.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the North will likely dial up military exercises involving its purported nuclear-capable missiles to demonstrate pre-emptive strike capabilities. The North may also stage tests of submarine-launched ballistic missile systems in response to the U.S. plans to send nuclear-armed submarines to the South, he said.

Kim Jong Un said this month that the country has built its first military spy satellite, which will be launched at an unspecified date. The launch would almost certainly be seen by its rivals as a banned test of long-range missile technology.

In March, he called for his nuclear scientists to increase production of weapons-grade material to make bombs to put on his increasing range of nuclear-capable missiles, as the North unveiled what appeared to be a new warhead possibly designed to fit on a variety of delivery systems. That raised questions on whether the North was moving closer to its next nuclear test, which U.S. and South Korean officials have been predicting for months.

North Korea has long described the United States regular military exercises with South Korea as invasion rehearsals, although the allies described those drills as defensive. Many experts say Kim likely uses his rivals military drills as a pretext to advance his weapons programs and solidify his domestic leadership amid economic troubles.

Facing growing North Korean threats, Yoon has been seeking stronger reassurances from the United States that it would swiftly and decisively use its nuclear weapons if the South comes under a North Korean nuclear attack.

His government has also been expanding military training with the U.S., which included the allies biggest field exercises in years last month and separate drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group and advanced warplanes, including nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and F-35 fighter jets. KIM TONG-HYUNG, SEOUL, MDT/AP
The trade union law under discussion remains upsetting to many as it has, they say, failed to safeguard the basic fundamentals of trade unions rights and interests.

Currently with the Second Standing Committee, the bill to legalize and regulate the creation of trade unions in Macau passed the legislature in January amid disapproval.

Former lawmaker Sulu Sou has lamented that on the 24th Labor Day after the establishment of the SAR, Macau still does not have a protective trade union law, which is a dereliction of duty.

Legislating a trade union law is a constitutional responsibility and an international treaty responsibility that the government must fulfill, Sou told the Times.

Organizing trade unions, collective bargaining and strikes should be the three most important rights of workers, but the trade union law with Macau characteristics has cut off the last two rights, said the former pro-democracy lawmaker who was disqualified in the last Legislative Assembly elections.

Last month, the head of the Second Standing Committee, Chan Chak Mo, expressed his support to the governments decision of not affording the right to strike in the bill, noting that the law should reflect Macaus characteristics.

Lawmakers criticized the move, including Lei Chan U, who had stressed the lack of an institutionalized right to strike is more harmful to the societys harmony, which violates the intention of the legislation regarding trade unions.

The government reiterated that the current law also protects the rights of workers from being harmed by participating in the labor movement. However, the lack of clear legal and procedural regulations will only lead to employers and employees not knowing how to legally start and end the labor movement, said Sou.

Lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho, who had been strongly vocal about the bill, dubbed the bill as erroneous.

For him, it is useless to discuss this law, as the basic fundamentals of trade union rights and interests are not safeguarded.

Also head of the Macau Civil Servants Association, Coutinho criticized the need to provide personal information of each union to the government, saying it breaches the privacy of the residents.

If the law is published as they wanted, we had better be just a normal civil association, which have more freedom of movement, and more privacy, Coutinho told the Times.

This is not something that we want. Once its stated in the Basic Law, the government has the major responsibility to regulate. So if there is a right to strike in the Basic Law, then there is no need to regulate that in the trade union law, he further argued.

Previously, several lawmakers representing labor interests criticized the bill for, in the words of lawmaker Che Sai Wang, having significantly reduced the rights and guarantees that were proposed in other proposals submitted to the AL in the past and that were always voted down.

In March, the United Nations expressed concern over a lack of legislation protecting workers from possible retaliation, adding that legislation had been passed to regulate this right, and that the law does not provide for collective bargaining nor specific protection from retribution against workers who strike.

According to the committee, workers in Macau were not adequately covered by labor and social protection laws.

However, the local government issued a rebuttal, saying that the Labour Relations Law also clearly bars employers from preventing employees from exercising their rights.

The government began its public consultation on the trade union law in October 2021, which was then a much-awaited move.

The governments public consultation paper includes collective bargaining, but it was not included in the draft law that eventuated.

The government explained that it was because there is no social consensus, which is completely unreasonable, because it is bound to be difficult to achieve such a consensus between businessmen and laborers, Sou decried.

Xi sends greetings to working people nationwide

President Xi Jinping yesterday extended festive greetings and best wishes to the countrys working people ahead of International Workers Day.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent the greetings and wishes on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi called on the working people to foster an ethos of work, foster respect for model workers, and promote quality workmanship, as cited in a report issued by China Daily.

He asked them to work diligently and boldly engage in innovation to make solid progress in advancing Chinese modernization, encouraging them to play a leading role on the new journey to build China into a stronger country and realize national rejuvenation.

Xi urged Party committees and governments at all levels to protect workers legitimate rights and interests, earnestly help them solve their problems and difficulties, and promote a social atmosphere in which work and working people are treated with reverence and great respect.
Pope Francis urged Hungarians to open their doors to others on Sunday, as he wrapped up a weekend visit with a plea for Europe to welcome migrants and the poor and for an end to Russias war in Ukraine.

Francis issued the appeal from the banks of the Danube as he celebrated Mass on Budapests Kossuth Lajos Square, with the Hungarian Parliament and Budapests famed Chain Bridge as a backdrop. The celebration provided the visual highlight of Francis three-day visit that has been dominated by the Vaticans concern for the plight of neighboring Ukraine.

Citing local organizers, the Vatican said some 50,000 people attended the Mass, more than 30,000 of them in the square on a brilliantly sunny spring morning. Among them were President Katalin Novak and Hungarys right-wing populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, whose lukewarm support for Ukraine has rankled fellow European Union members.

Francis has expressed appreciation for Hungarys recent welcome of Ukrainian refugees. But he has challenged Orbans hard-line anti-immigration policies, which in 2015-2016 included building a razor wire fence on the border with Serbia to stop people from entering. Upon arrival, Francis urged Hungary and Europe as a whole to welcome those who are fleeing war, poverty and climate change, calling for safe and legal migration corridors.

How sad and painful it is to see closed doors, Francis said in his Sunday homily on the Danube. The closed doors of our selfishness with regard to others; the closed doors of our individualism amid a society of growing isolation; the closed doors of our indifference towards the underprivileged and those who suffer; the doors we close towards those who are foreign or unlike us, towards migrants or the poor, Francis said.

In a final prayer at the end of the Mass, Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and a future of hope, not war, a future full of cradles, not tombs, a world of brothers and sisters, not walls.

The 86-year-old Francis has tried to forge a diplomatic balancing act in his pleas to end Russias war, expressing solidarity with Ukrainians while keeping the door open to dialogue with Moscow. On Saturday, he prayed with Ukrainian refugees and then met with an envoy of Russian Patriarch Kirill, who has firmly supported Moscows invasion and justified it as a metaphysical battle against the liberal West.

Francis kissed the cross of Metropolitan Hilarion in a sign of respect for the Russian Orthodox Church during what the Vatican said was a cordial 20-minute meeting at the Vaticans embassy in Budapest. Hilarion, who developed good relations with the Vatican as the Russian churchs longtime foreign minister, said he briefed Francis on his work now as the Moscow Patriarchates representative in Budapest.

Hilarion attended Francis Sunday Mass, along with representatives of Hungarys other Christian churches and Jewish community, Vatican News said.

Francis visit to Hungary, his second in as many years, brought him as close as hes been to the Ukrainian front but also to the heart of Europe, where Orbans avowedly right-wing Christian government has cast itself as a bulwark against a secularizing Western world.

Francis, though, has used the visit to call for the continent to find again its spirit of unity and purpose, referencing Budapests bridges across the Danube as symbols of unity and connection. The visit comes as the European Unions legislature continues to put pressure on Hungary to counter what EU lawmakers consider a deterioration in the rule of law and democratic principles, including media freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.

The site for his final Mass couldnt have been more appropriate for Francis message: The sprawling square is named for one of Hungarys most famous statesmen who served as its first prime minister after the 1848-1849 revolution against Habsburg rule. It is separated from the left bank of the Danube river only by Hungarys iconic neo-Gothic parliament, the countrys largest building and home of its National Assembly. Nearby is the Chain Bridge, one of several bridges spanning the river and linking the Pest and Buda sides of the city.

Sister Marta, a nun of Hungarian origin from Brazil who attended the Mass, said she hoped Francis message of welcome would be heard in Hungary. We (Brazilians) have gotten accustomed to openness towards others, and we hope that Hungary as well will open in this direction, she said after the liturgy.

But Budapest resident Erno Sara said the country is fine as it is.

I dont know if we (Hungarians) need to change. There is nothing at all in this country that is out of the ordinary, any kind of behavior that we would have to change, Sara said.

Francis ends his visit Sunday with a speech on European culture at Budapests Pazmany Peter Catholic University. NICOLE WINFIELD & JUSTIN SPIKE, BUDAPEST, MDT/AP
Internet providers and wireless carriers in Brazil stopped blocking Telegram this weekend after a federal judge partially revised a ruling suspending the social media app over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity.

However, the judge kept in place a daily fine of $1 million reais (about $200,000) for Telegrams refusal to provide the data, according to a press statement provided by the federal court that issued the ruling.

Complete suspension is not reasonable, given the broad impact throughout the national territory on the freedom of communication of thousands of people who are absolutely strangers to the facts under investigation, judge Flavio Lucas was quoted as saying in the statement.

Telegram had been temporarily suspended pursuant to a police inquiry into school shootings in November, when a former student armed with a semiautomatic pistol and wearing a bulletproof vest fatally shot three people and wounded 13 after barging into two schools in the small town of Aracruz in Espirito Santo state.

The 16-year-old is believed to have been a member of extremist channels on Telegram, where tutorials on murder and the manufacture of bombs were disseminated, the courts statement said.

Federal police ordered Telegram to provide details on names, tax identity numbers, profile photos, bank information and registered credit cards of channel members and later disputed Telegrams claim that it could not comply because the channel had been suspended, the court statement said.

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said in a statement Thursday that the company was appealing the Brazil-wide ban ordered the previous day, claiming compliance was technologically impossible and arguing that it is Telegrams mission is to protect privacy and free speech.

The company says in an online FAQ that it has never shared data on users with any government.

Its unclear how much of the requested data Telegram is able to provide. Only a phone number is required to create a Telegram account and a pseudonyms are routinely used. Further, beginning in December, Telegram offered the option of creating accounts with anonymous numbers.

The court statement noted Telegrams past clashes with the judiciary in Brazil. Last year, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered a nationwide shutdown of Telegram, arguing it hadnt cooperated with authorities. It lasted two days and was lifted after Durov blamed his companys initial lack of response on a communications snafu.

Technology companies need to understand that cyberspace cannot be a free territory, a different world  with its own rules created and managed by the agents who commercially exploit it, Lucas, the judge in the current case, said in yesterdays [Macau time] statement.

Brazil has been grappling with a wave of school attacks. There have been almost two dozen attacks or violent episodes in schools since 2000, half of them in the last 12 months, including the killing of four children at a day care center April 5.

Brazils federal government has strived to stamp out school violence with a particular focus on the influence of social media. The goal is to prevent further incidents, particularly holding platforms responsible for failing to remove content that allegedly incites violence.

Regulation of social media platforms was a recurring theme earlier this month when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with his Cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices, governors and mayors.

Telegram has been blocked in the past by other governments, including Iran, China and Russia.

Durov, an ethnic Russian whose company is based in the United Arab Emirates, has managed to coexist with the Kremlin despite its crackdown on speech and Western media following Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year.

So-called patriotic hackers loyal to the Kremlin use the app to organize cyberattacks on Ukrainian and NATO targets. The other side uses it to fight back.

Security researchers and intelligence agencies regularly track certain Telegram groups, focusing on ransomware gangs and other cybercriminals, disinformation purveyors, terror groups and others inciting violence. ELEONORE HUGHES, RIO DE JANEIRO, MDT/AP
The local residents unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in the first quarter, as shown by data from the Statistics and Census Service.

The figure is a slight drop of 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter, while it is a drop of 0.4 percentage points in the general unemployment rate, which stood at 3.1%.

Total employment was 359,300 and the number of employed residents totaled 281,200, down by 600 and 1,000, respectively, from the previous period.

The number of unemployed residents decreased by 700 from the previous period to 11,500. Among the unemployed searching for a new job, most were previously engaged in the construction sector and gaming and junket activities. Meanwhile, the proportion of new labor market entrants seeking their first job fell 2.5 percentage points to 6.8% of the total unemployed.

The number of underemployed dropped 1,900 from the previous period to 8,000, with a notable decline in the number of those engaged in gaming and junket activities.

Analyzed by industry, employment in wholesale and retail trade (47,400) and gaming and junket activities (66,400) fell 1,700 and 1,200, respectively, quarter-to-quarter, while that in the transport and storage sector (16,800) rose by 2,300.

Meanwhile, the median monthly employment earnings of the employed in the first quarter rose by MOP1,400 quarter-to-quarter to MOP17,000. The median earnings of those engaged in gaming and junket activities and the construction sector stood at MOP20,500 and MOP15,000, respectively.

Staff Reporter
A former U.S. national security adviser called for deeper interaction between his country and Taiwan during a visit over the weekend to the self-ruled island, which has seen increasing military threats from China.

John Bolton, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said at a pro-Taiwan independence event in Taipei that national security teams from both sides must develop contingency plans on how to respond to actions Beijing might take, warning it would be too late once an attack occurs.

And we have to tell China and Russia what the consequences are if they take actions against Taiwan. Not just in the immediate response, but over the longer term, to basically excommunicate China from the international economic system if it did take military actions against Taiwan or attempt to throw a blockade around it, Bolton said.

Bolton, former President Donald Trumps hawkish national security adviser, started his week-long trip to Taiwan on Wednesday. The visit reflects the importance of the islands democracy as an issue in the U.S. presidential election next year amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The U.S. remains Taiwans closest military and political ally, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between them. U.S. law requires Washington to treat all threats to the island as matters of grave concern, though it remains ambiguous over whether American forces would be dispatched to help defend the island.

Bolton said the backlog of U.S. military sales to Taiwan is estimated to be $19 billion and it needs to be resolved.

Part of that is a U.S. problem. Our defense industrial base is not as strong as it used to be. We need to improve that for global reasons, but particularly for Taiwan, he said.

On Friday, the Taiwanese government said Chinas military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan. That was the biggest such flight display since the large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off the island after the sensitive April 5 meeting between Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China opposes any exchanges at the official level between Taiwan and other governments.

Later Friday, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army also issued a protest over the flight of a United States Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft through the Taiwan Strait, calling it a provocation that the U.S. openly hyped up. But the U.S. 7th Fleet said Thursdays flight was in accordance with international law and demonstrates the United States commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Bolton is scheduled to join a banquet today organized by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, a pro-independence organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Tsai will also attend the event. MDT/AP
ASIA | DIPLOMACY

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990.

The Philippines this year also agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China angered the Philippines by harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.

Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Marcos said he was "determined to forge an ever stronger relationship with the United States in a wide range of areas that not only address the concerns of our times, but also those that are critical to advancing our core interests."

Monday's Oval Office meeting is Biden's latest high-level diplomacy with Pacific leaders as his administration contends with increased military and economic assertiveness by China and worries about North Korea's nuclear program.

Marcos' official visit to Washington is the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years. The U.S. president hosted

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit this past week in which the two leaders introduced new steps aimed at deterring North Korea from launching an attack on neighbors. Biden is scheduled to travel to Japan and Australia in May.

The two sides are expected to discuss the security situation and come out with new economic, education, climate and other initiatives as part of Marcos' four day visit to Washington, a senior administration official told The Associated Press.

The official,who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Biden administration officials are looking to redevelop"habits of alliance building"with the Philippines as aspects of the historically complicated relationship have "atrophied" over the years.

On April 23, journalists were aboard the Philippine coast guard's BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal when a Chinese coast guard ship blocked the Philippine patrol vessel steaming into the disputed shoal. The Philippines filed more than 200 diplomatic protests against China since last year, at least 77 since Marcos took office in June.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Saturday called media reporting on the encounters a "stark reminder" of Chinese "harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone. We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct."

Close U.S.-Philippines relations were not a given when Marcos took office last year.

Marcos also is slated to visit the Pentagon, meet Cabinet members and business leaders and make remarks at a Washington think-tank during the visit.
WAR IN UKRAINE

UMAN, Ukraine  Relatives and friends cried next to coffins on Sunday as they buried children and others killed in a Russian missile attack on this central Ukrainian city, while fighting claimed more lives.

Almost all of the 23 victims of the attack on Friday died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in Uman. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said six children were among the dead.

Mykhayl Shulha, 6, cried and hugged relatives next to the coffin of his 11-year-old sister Sofia during Sunday's funeral, while others paid respects to a 17-year old boy.

As mourners held candles, crossed themselves and sang, the priest at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hear" waved a vessel containing incense over the coffins. He said the deaths hit the entire community hard.

At the damaged building in Uman, people brought flowers and photos of the victims.

Russia's 14-month-long war brought more deaths elsewhere Sunday.

The governor of a Russian region bordering Ukraine said four people were killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack. The rockets hit homes in the village of Suzemka, 6miles from the Ukrainian border, said Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz. He said two other residents were injured and defense systems knocked down some of the incoming shells.

Also Sunday, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said his Kherson region in Ukraine came under Russian artillery fire 27 times in the prior 24 hours, killing one civilian. Ukraine's northern command said the Sumy and Chernihiv regions came under fire 11 times during the night on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country's expected counter offensive wouldn't wait for delivery of all promised military equipment.

"I would have really wanted to wait for everything that was promised,"he told Finnish,Swedish,Danish, and Norwegian journalists. "But it happens that the terms (of weapons deliveries and counteroffensive), unfortunately, do not coincide a little bit. And, I will say frankly, we pay attention to the weather."

Zelenskyy said he spoke Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron about the weapons supply, and was pleased with its "speed and specificity."

Macron's office said he reiterated France's commitment to provide Ukraine"all the aid necessary to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity," and discussed long-term European military aid.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group that is leading Russia's battle in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut gave an even more precise timetable for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The Ukrainian military will launch the counteroffensive by May 15 because by then strong rains will have stopped and soil will be dry enough for tanks and artillery to move,Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video interview with a Russian journalist posted Saturday.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis said Sunday the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war, saying the Holy See helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do "all that is humanly possible" to reunite families.

During an airborne news conference en route home from Hungary, the pontiff also revealed a secret peace "mission" was underway. "I'm available to do anything,"he said."There's a mission that's not public that's underway; when it's public I'll talk about it."
Move over, "Dick and Jane." A different approach to teaching kids how to read is on the rise. For decades, two schools of thought have clashed on how to best teach children to read, with passionate backers on each side of the so-called reading wars. The battle has reached into homes via commercials for Hooked on Phonics materials and through shoebox dioramas assigned by teachers seeking to instill a love of literature.

But momentum has shifted lately in favor of the "science of reading." The term refers to decades of research in fields including brain science that point to effective strategies for teaching kids to read.

The science of reading is especially crucial for struggling readers, but school curricula and programs that train teachers have been slow to embrace it. The approach began to catch on before schools went online in spring 2020. But a push to teach all students this way has intensified as schools look for ways to regain ground lost during the COVID-19 pandemic  and as parents of kids who can't read demand swift change.

OK, class. Time for a history lesson.

One historical approach to teaching reading was known as "whole language." (Close cousins of this approach are "whole word" and "look-say.") It focused on learning entire words, placing the emphasis on meaning. A famous example is the "Dick and Jane" series, which, like many modern-day books for early readers, repeated words frequently so students could memorize them.

The other approach involved phonics, with supporters arguing students need detailed instruction on the building blocks of reading. That meant lots of time on letter sounds and how to combine them into words.

In 2000, a government-formed National Reading Panel released the findings of its exhaustive examination of the research. It declared phonics instruction was crucial to teaching young readers, along with several related concepts.

Whole language had lost. What emerged, though, was an in-formal truce that came to be known as "balanced literacy" and borrowed from both approaches. The goal: Get kids into books they found enjoyable as quickly as possible.

But in practice, phonics elements often got short shrift, said Michael Kamil, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University.

"It wasn't a true compromise," said Kamil, who sat on the national reading panel. The approach often led to students learning how to guess words, instead of how to sound them out.

Now, as schools look to address low reading scores, phonics and other elements of the science of reading are getting fresh attention, fueled in part by a series of stories and podcasts by APM Reports. Textbook makers are adding more phonics, and schools have dumped some popular programs that lacked that approach.

What is the science of reading?

While the phrase doesn't have a universal definition, it refers broadly to research in a variety of fields that relates to how a child's brain learns to read. Neuroscientists, for instance, have used MRIs to study the brains of struggling readers.

In practice, this science calls for schools to focus on the building blocks of words. Kindergartners might play rhyming games and clap out the individual syllables in a word to learn to manipulate sounds. Experts call this phonemic awareness.

Students later will learn explicitly how to make letter sounds and blend letters. To make sure students aren't just guessing at words, teachers might ask them to sound out so-called nonsense words, like "nant" or "zim."

Gone is rote memorization of word spellings. Instead, students learn the elements that make up a word. In a lesson using the word "unhappy," students would learn how the prefix "un-" changed the meaning of the base word.

Why does it matter?

For some kids, reading happens almost magically. Bedtime stories and perhaps a little "Sesame Street" are enough.

But 30% to 40% of kids will need the more explicit instruction that is part of the science of reading, said Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Other kids fall somewhere in between. "They're going to learn to read," said Shanahan, also one of the members of the 2000 panel and the former director of reading for Chicago Public Schools. "They're just not going to read as well as they could be or should be." Complicating the situation, colleges of education often have stuck with balanced literacy despite concerns about its effectiveness. That means teachers graduate with little background on research-backed instructional methods.

The upshot: Parents often pick up the slack, paying for tutors or workbooks when their children struggle, Shanahan said. Extra help can be costly, contributing to racial and income-based disparities.

As a result, a growing number of NAACP chapters are pushing for wider adoption of the science of reading, describing literacy as a civil rights issue.

What is dyslexia's role in the reading debate?

Parents of children with dyslexia have led the push to use the science of reading. For them, the issue has special urgency. Kids with dyslexia can learn to read, but they need systematic instruction. When the wrong approach is used, they often flounder.

"I can't even tell you how many screaming fits we had," recalled Sheila Salmond, whose youngest child has dyslexia. "My daughter would come home and say, 'Mom, I'm not learning.' And then it became, 'Mom, I'm stupid.'"

Salmond found herself testifying before Missouri lawmakers, taking a graduate class so she could tutor her daughter and eventually moving her from a suburban Kansas City district to a parochial school. She now is making progress.

What is changing?

Just a decade ago, it was rare for a state to have laws that mentioned dyslexia or the science of reading.

Now every state has passed some form of legislation. The laws variously define what dyslexia is, require that students are screened for reading problems and mandate that teachers are trained in the most effective strategies, said Mary Wennersten of the International Dyslexia Association.

States often look to duplicate what has happened in Mississippi, which has credited reading gains to a curriculum revamp that started a decade ago. The multimillion dollar effort includes training teachers on the science of reading.

The changes put some curriculum programs in the crosshairs.

Some Colorado districts, for instance, ditched instructional materials that didn't pass muster under a state law that requires schools to use scientifically based reading programs. New York City, whose mayor often talks about his personal struggle with dyslexia, is making changes in its schools as well.

What does the science of reading mean for parents?

Should they be researching the tenets of the science of reading? Do they need to help their children form letters out of Play-Doh? What about drilling their kids on nonsense words? Flashcards? Only if they want to, said Amelia Malone, director of research and innovation at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

What parents must do, she said, is read to their kids. Otherwise, she recommends helping teachers when they ask for it and pushing for evidence-based practices in their children's schools.

"Parents can be part of the solution," she said, "if we educate them on why this is kind of the movement we need."
HELENA, Mont.  The swift punishment brought down on Zooey Zephyr, a transgender lawmaker in Montana, began over words that others in American politics have used without hesitation or consequence: saying opponents have "blood" on their hands.

The governor of Texas. A GOP congressman in Florida. A city councilwoman in Denver. Just in the past few years, they are among the elected officials who have chastised colleagues in government with the same pointed rhetoric almost word for word  accusing people of bearing responsibility for deaths  over everything from immigration policy to gun laws.

None faced blowback, let alone retribution. But Zephyr on Thursday began legislative exile after Montana Republicans barred her from the state House floor a week after saying those who voted to support a ban on gender-affirming care would have blood on their hands.

"I don't remember until now that there's been a controversy over that cliche," said Republican Lou Barletta, a former Pennsylvania congressman who used the same words to attack the state's Democratic governor in 2021 over nursing homes. "I've never had anyone make a huge issue out of it."

Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill Friday to ban gender-affirming medical care for young transgender people  the battle over which ended with Zephyr's removal from the House floor. It is one of at least 15 states with laws to ban such care despite protests from the families of transgender youth that the care is essential.

Montana Republicans retaliated against Zephyr, accusing her of crossing a line that is faint at best in political debate that happens daily in the U.S., particularly in statehouses where it is not uncommon for legislators wading into heated issues like abortion or gun rights to be scolded about "blood on your hands" by protesters or even fellow representatives.

The case that Zephyr went too far in her remarks is a stretch, said one scholar who studies American political speech, even though the Republican majority in Montana had the power to impose discipline. The confrontation is the latest example of lawmakers punishing dissent, an increasingly prevalent move.

"The phrase 'there's blood on your hands' is not necessarily that controversial," said Jennifer Mercieca, a professor at Texas A&M University who studies political rhetoric. "It's not necessarily an insult. It doesn't cross the line. In fact, it's a polite way of saying that there are consequences to these decisions."

The fallout began April 18, when Zephyr made a reference to the body's opening prayer while speaking against what is part of a wave of Republican efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights across the country this year.

"I hope the next time there's an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," she said.

Studies have shown that transgender youth are more likely to consider or attempt suicide in general but are less at risk for depression and suicidal behaviors when able to access gender-affirming care.

"So you say what is on your heart, which is this bill is going to kill people, and if you vote for it, you are complicit in that," she said.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines' security and noted the "deep friendship" of the two nations as he welcomed Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy's harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos' visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries' air forces held their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990.

The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China's increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own.

But as Biden sat down with Marcos, the U.S. president went out of his way to note the progress in the U.S.-Philippine relationship  one that had ups and downs over the years and was in a difficult place when Marcos took office less than a year ago.

"We are facing new challenges and I couldn't think of a better partner to have than you." Biden told Marcos at the start of their Oval Office meeting. "The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support the Philippines military modernization."

Marcos said the relationship was essential as Philippines and the Pacific finds itself in "possibly the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now."
Q: What is happening with ocean temperatures?

A:Scientists record global ocean temperatures using satellite observations. Since mid-March, the global average sea surface temperature has been more than 70 degrees, a record high temperature. This indicates rapid warming, which is associated with global warming and ocean circulations.

El Nino and La Nina are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean. Normally, the trade winds blow west along the equator, moving warm water from South America toward Asia. To replace that warm water, cold water rises from the ocean depths  a process called upwelling. That means cold water rises to the surface near South America.

During La Nina events, trade winds are stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia and stronger upwelling. La Nina causes water in the eastern Pacific to be colder than usual. During El Nino, trade winds weaken, and warm water is pushed back toward the west coast of the Americas. El Nino causes the ocean surface water to be warmer than average.

A La Nina pattern has been in place for the last three years. Observations indicate the Pacific Ocean is switching to an El Nino pattern, which is contributing to the warming ocean surface temperatures.

We associate El Nino conditions with certain weather patterns across the globe. Over North America, the jet stream is weaker and farther north during the summer months, minimizing the effects of El Nino on weather in the United States.

The impacts of El Nino in temperate latitudes are most evident during winter. A weak polar jet stream forms over eastern Canada, and as a result, a large part of North America is warmer than normal. Changes in precipitation and temperature patterns caused by El Nino affect snowfall in the United States, reducing total winter snowfall in the Midwest and New England regions.

Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on WHA radio (970 AM) at 11:45 a.m. the last Monday of each month. send them your questions at stevea@ssec.wisc.edu or jemarti1@wisc.edu.
WASHINGTON"We thought we could die."

The Russian invasion had just begun when Nancy Pelosi made a surprise visit to Ukraine, the House speaker then the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to lead a congressional delegation to Kyiv.

Pelosi and the lawmakers were ushered under the cloak of secrecy into the capital city, an undisclosed passage that even to this day she will not divulge.

"It was very, it was dangerous," Pelosi told The Associated Press before Sunday's one-year anniversary of that trip.

"We never feared about it, but we thought we could die because we're visiting a serious, serious war zone," Pelosi said. "We had great protection but,nonetheless, a war theater of war."

Pelosi's visit was as unusual as it was historic, opening a fresh diplomatic channel between the U.S. and Ukraine that deepened with the prolonged war. In the year since, a long list of congressional leaders, senators and chairs of powerful committees, both Democrats and Republicans, followed her lead, punctuated by President Joe Biden's own visit this year.

The steady stream of arrivals in Kyiv served to amplify a political and military partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine for the world to see, one that will be tested a new when Congress is again expected this year to help fund the war to defeat Russia.

"We must win. We must bring this to a positive conclusion for the people of Ukraine and for our country," Pelosi said.

"There is a fight in the world now between democracy and autocracy, its manifestation at the time is in Ukraine," she said.

With a new Republican majority in the House whose Trump-aligned members balked at overseas investments, Democrat Pelosi remains confident Congress will continue backing Ukraine as part of a broader U.S. commitment to democracy abroad in the face of authoritarian aggression.

"Support for Ukraine has been bipartisan and bicameral, in both houses of Congress by both parties, and the American people support democracy in Ukraine," Pelosi told AP. "I believe that we will continue to support as long as we need to support democracy as long as it takes to win."

Well traveled

Now the speaker emerita, an honorary title bestowed by Democrats,Pelosi is circumspect about her role as a U.S. emissary abroad. Having visited 87 countries during her time in office, many as the trailblazing first woman to be the House speaker, she set a new standard for pointing the gavel outward as she focused attention on the world beyond U.S. shores.

In her office at the Capitol, Pelosi shared many of the honors and mementos she received, including the honorary passport she was given on her trip to Ukraine, among her final stops as speaker.

A new generation of House leaders may  or may not  choose to emulate Pelosi.

"Other speakers have understood our national security we take an oath to protect and defend  and so we have to reach out with our values and our strength to make sure that happens," she said.

When Pelosi arrived in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood outside to meet the U.S. officials, a photo that ricocheted around the world a show of support for the young democracy fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

"The courage of the president in greeting us on the street rather than us just meeting him in his office was yet again another symbol of the courage of the people of Ukraine," she said.

Pelosi told Zelenskyy in a video released at the time"your fight is a fight for everyone."

A year on, with no end to the war in sight,Pelosi said: "I would have hoped that it would have been over by now."

'Alternative' emissary

Pelosi's travel abroad has not been without political challenges and controversy. During the Trump era she acted as an alternative emissary overseas, reassuring allies that the U.S. remained a partner despite the Republican president's "America First" neo-isolationist approach to foreign policy.

Last year, in one of her final trips as speaker, Pelosi touched down with a delegation in Taipei, crowds lining the streets to cheer her arrival, a visit with the Taiwanese president that drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, which counts the island as its own.

"Cowardly," she said about the military exercises China launched in the aftermath of her trip.

Pelosi offered rare praise for new Speaker Kevin McCarthy's meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library this month,particularly its bipartisan nature and the choice of venue.

"That was really quite a message and quite an optic to be there. And so I salute what he did," she said.

In one of her closing acts as House speaker in December, Pelosi hosted Zelenskyy for a joint address to Congress. The visit evoked the one made by Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Britain, in 1941 to speak to Congress of a "long and hard war" at the start of World War II.

Zelenskyy presented to Congress a Ukrainian flag signed by front-line troops that Pelosi said will eventually be displayed at the U.S. Capitol.

The world has changed much since Pelosi joined Congress  one of her first trips abroad was in 1991,when she dared to unfurl a pro-democracy banner in Beijing's Tiananmen Square shortly after the student demonstrations that ended in massacre.

Russia and China remain at the front of her mind.

"The role of Putin in terms of Russia that is a bigger threat than it was when I came to Congress," she said.

Despite the work she and others in Congress have done to point out concerns over China's military and economic rise, and its human rights record, she said, "that has only gotten worse."
ZOONOMIA | GENETIC RESEARCH

By comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals, scientists are gaining new insights into our own species and all we share with other creatures.

One of the most striking revelations is that certain passages in the instructions for life have persisted across evolutionary time, representing a through line that binds all mammals  including us.

The findings come from the Zoonomia Project, an international eff ort that offers clues about human traits and diseases, animal abilities like hibernation and even the genetics behind a sled dog named Balto who helped save lives a century ago.

Researchers shared some of their discoveries in 11 papers published Thursday in the journal Science.

David O'Connor, who studies primate genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the studies tackle deep questions.

"It's just the wonder of biology, how we are so similar and dissimilar to all the things around us," said O'Connor, who wasn't involved in the research. "It's the sort of thing that reminds me why it's cool to be a biologist."

The Zoonomia team, led by Elinor Karlsson and Kerstin Lindblad-Toh at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, looked at 240 species of mammals, from bats to bison. They sequenced and compared their genomes, the instructions organisms need to develop and grow.

They found certain regions of these genomes have stayed the same across all mammal species over millions of years of evolution.

One study found that at least 10% of the human genome is largely unchanged across species. Many of these regions occur outside the 1% of genes that give rise to proteins that control the activity of cells, the main purpose of DNA.

"It's the sort of thing that reminds me why it's cool to be a biologist."

David O'Connor,UW-Madison primate geneticist

Researchers theorized that long-preserved regions probably serve a purpose and are likely what they call "regulatory elements" containing instructions about where, when and how much protein is produced. Scientists identified more than 3million of these in the human genome, about half of which were previously unknown.

Scientists also focused on change within the animal kingdom. When they aligned genetic sequences for species and compared them with their ancestors, Karlsson said, they discovered that some species saw a lot of changes in relatively short periods of time.

One group of scientists looked for genes that humans don't have but other mammals do.

Instead of focusing on new genes that might create uniquely human traits, "we kind of flipped that onits head, "said Steven Reilly, a genetics researcher at Yale University.

"Losing pieces of DNA can actually generate new features," Reilly said.

For example,he said,a tiny DNA deletion between chimps and humans caused a cascade of changes in gene expression that may be one of the causes of prolonged brain development in humans.

Another study focused on the fitness of one well-known animal: Balto.

Scientists sequenced the genome of the sled dog, who led a team of dogs carrying a lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome,Alaska, in 1925. His story was made into a 1995 animated feature film and a statue of the canine stands in New York's Central Park.

By comparing Balto's genes to those of other dogs, researchers found he was more genetically diverse than modern breeds and may have carried genetic variants that helped him survive harsh conditions.

O'Connor said he expects Zoo-nomia to yield even more insights in the future.

"To have these tools and to have the sort of audacity to ask these big questions" helps scientists and others "learn more about life around us," he said.
A new water methodology order issued April 21 by the director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources has left many eastern Idaho farmers and ranchers unsure if they will be able to water their crops and irrigate their land this year, said Jennifer, whose family has been involved with agriculture in Bingham County for five generations.

The new methodology order contains a curtailment notice that would mean groundwater users pumping on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer who hold water rights dating back to December 1953 would have their water curtailed, or shut off, if they do not have a mitigation plan in place that they are participating in.

The curtailment notice has been put on hold temporarily, pending a hearing the Idaho Department of Water Resources has scheduled for June 6 through June 10 at the agencys state office in Boise.

In a telephone interview with the Idaho Capital Sun, Mathew Weaver, the deputy director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, said the curtailment order would apply to about 900 groundwater users pumping off the ESPA who dont have a mitigation plan in place or who are not complying with that mitigation plan. That includes all manner of groundwater users, including farming, irrigation, commercial and industrial users.

Weaver told the Sun the curtailment order does not apply to the majority of Eastern Snake Plan Aquifer groundwater users who have a mitigation plan in place.

Still, if the order goes forward following the June public hearing, that means that 900 eastern Idaho ground water users could lose access to water following the new methodology order.

That is a pretty dramatic change from where we have been in the past, Weaver said. Because of that, the director wanted to have a contested case hearing.

As a result of testimony and evidence presented during the hearing, Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Gary Spackman could issue a revised order, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the department.

Weaver said the curtailment would be necessary because department officials predict that senior surface water rights holders would face a 75,000 acre-foot water shortfall.

Idaho water issues are governed by the prior appropriation doctrine, which means first in time, first in right. Put another way, if there is not enough water to go around, older water rights have priority over the more recent, or junior water rights.

By law, we have to keep people with senior water rights whole, and we want to make sure the junior ground water pumpers are aware that despite the settlement agreements between the Surface Water Coalition, Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, and the Coalition of Cities, if junior groundwater pumpers are not participating in an approved mitigation plan, they could be subject to curtailment this year, Weaver said in a written statement.

Ellis and Weaver said water issues are highly complex and have been the subject of many lawsuits.

Its super sticky, said Ellis, who is a past president of the influential Idaho Cattle Association.

I would not hazard a guess of trying to give anyone advice on this right now, she added. There are just too many twists and turns.

What does this mean for affected groundwater users?

Delaying the curtailment notice until after the public hearing gives water users a reprieve until June. But Ellis said it is impossible to run a business and plan for the irrigation and growing seasons with that kind of uncertainty over your head.

Farmers and ranchers have to have stability in their operation, and its not year-to-year and its definitely not month-to-month of whether you have water or not, Ellis said.

What good does it do me to plant a crop of spuds and be able to water them and then have to wait until there is determination in the second week of June and they say shut it off? Ellis added. Youre better off not planting in the first place, but you cant do that because you have contracts. Its time for real world change in how water is administered in this state.

Ellis sold off about 90% of her land in Bingham County last year and moved outside of the basin to Chesterfield to run cattle and put up hay because she said she was worried about having predictable, stable access to water in Bingham County.

That definitely wasnt in our plans, not by a longshot, Ellis said.

Ellis said she isnt sure if the Idaho Department of Water Resources would find her to be in compliance with her mitigation plan, so she said she doesnt know if she would be subject to curtailment or not.

In Tuesdays press release, the Idaho Department of Water Resources said there are seven approved mitigation plans in place, which were submitted by Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, Southwest Irrigation District, Goose Creek Irrigation District, Coalition of Cities, the Water Mitigation Coalition and A&B Irrigation District.

Because these entities have approved mitigation plans in place, they, and the water users they serve, will not need to show how they can mitigate for projected water shortfalls if they continue to comply with their plans, the directors order said, the Idaho Department of Water Resources press release said.

Ellis said there is uncertainty, and she doesnt feel like she has a safe harbor because the departments director has found groundwater users to be in breach of a 2015 settlement agreement.

Weaver told the Sun that the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, or IGWA, did breach the agreement in 2021. Weaver said surface water users and the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators have since agreed to cure that breach, and IGWA will not be subject to curtailment due to the 2021 breech.

But because of the breaches and the priority date for water rights being pushed back to 1953, Ellis worries many groundwater users will be bled dry.

She said it would be devastating for the economies of the state and eastern Idaho to have junior groundwater users lose their water.

Why are we talking about water shortages if there is substantial snowpack this year?

Much of Idaho has an above-average snowpack this year due to a snowy winter and record-breaking March snowfall.

But the situation is not universal across the state.

This order focuses on the Upper Snake River Basin, which supplies water to the Snake River and the reservoirs.

Even though this has been a remarkable winter and water year for many basins in Idaho, it has not been uniformly great everywhere, Weaver said.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources developed the 75,000 acre-foot shortfall projection based on a forecast of water flows at the Snake River at Heise. But the department updated, or changed, several of the elements and factors it used in its calculations to determine water shortages, which the department refers to as injuries.

It also revises the method used to calculate curtailment dates in a manner that could result in earlier curtailment dates, the Idaho Department of Water Resources said in Tuesdays press release.

Weaver said the department must periodically update the factors it uses in its calculations to protect senior water rights holders under state laws.

Two previous years worth of drought and lower reservoir storage carryover from last year are also factors in why the department is projecting a shortfall for senior surface water rights holders.

Canal company gets set for spring with opening of Murtaugh Lake head gates The Twin Falls Canal Company opened the head gates at Murtaugh Lake to begin filling the canals for the 119th time.
The Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Drug-Free Student Scholarship has been awarded for each of the past 11 years.

But never before had two students walked away with a full-tuition scholarship to the College of Southern Idaho  until now.

Magic Valley High Schools Bethany Titgen and Kimberly High Schools Tyson Hall were each awarded the top prize following oral presentations last week on the topic: What can be done to reduce the use and sale of illegal drugs in Twin Falls County?

The finalists were evaluated on their resumes, scholarship applications and essays before oral presentations. Titgen and Hall each shared the personal impact of drugs on their lives, relaying stories of friends and family and pledging to be advocates for a drug-free lifestyle.

The panel of three judges, impressed by both students willingness to share their emotional stories, recommended to Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs that two scholarships, not just one, be awarded. He agreed.

The scholarship award through Loebs office is open annually to a graduating high school student in Twin Falls County.

Below are the essays of the winning students:

Bethany Titgen

People tend to use drugs for many different reasons, some do drugs to hide their underlying trauma, while others do it for social reasons, and simply because they arent educated. If we can figure out why drug users are actually using it, then we have a better chance to get drugs out of Twin Falls.

Growing up with many addicts around me I saw people that were able to overcome their drug addictions, but I also saw many people that couldnt. Too many of those people were using it because of mental illnesses, stress, and trauma. Ive seen some of my friends, and family slowly giving up and believing that they were never going to make it, my father is one of them. My father struggled with drug addiction for most of his life, he believed that he was better off doing drugs than living a good healthy life. It took him years to change, and all it took was just one day of wanting to get better. He pushed through, and decided to get help, with support from family he was able to stay sober. He is currently twenty-one years sober. All it takes is for someone to want to make the change and the support to commit.

If we provide people with clean, safe environments like rehabs and therapy for no cost to them, then we have a better chance of helping many people come forward so they can get help and not rely on drugs. If we raise enough money to make it to where people would not have to worry about any kind of cost for rehab, we could see an impressive change with adults and teenagers coming forward to receive help.

Drug education is something that kids and teenagers need to be taught more about, they need to learn more about drugs. Hearing stories about how people did drugs and about how it altered their lives is very important but the students need more. Teenagers are going to want to experiment, they need to know what can happen to them and the dangers behind drug use. I was never given the opportunity to actually learn about how dangerous drugs could be until it was almost too late. I watched as multiple people went through drug abuse but I didnt have a clue about how deadly some drugs actually could be. I had to figure it out for myself with nobody teaching me about drugs. We need to find a way to teach the kids and teenagers more about the dangers behind drug use, we also need something for students to do more so they arent getting into situations where they can get into trouble with drugs.

There are many other things that we possibly can do to reduce the use of drugs. After speaking with some of the peers and teachers around me, I found some very interesting things that could help. Some said providing clean utensils to help protect users against the chance of blood-borne diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C which can be fatal if not treated. While other people said that if our state was to legalize cannabis medically the police could put their main focus on the harder drugs being trafficked.

We may never be able to stop the use and distribution of drugs, but we can provide drug users with therapy and rehab to receive the help they need. While providing better education to students about the dangers of drug use. The people of Twin Falls would eventually see a change in their town for the better.

Tyson Hall

Can we reduce illegal drug use and sale in Twin Falls County? I believe that we can reduce the use and sale of illegal drugs in the county. The real question is: How do we reduce the use and sale of these items? There are many ways that can reduce the sale and use of these items.

One of the many ways that can reduce both use and sale of these illegal drugs is to figure out how the drugs are being transported into the county. If you can figure out how the drugs are getting into the county, then you can then figure out a way to make sure that they cannot be transported into the Twin Falls County. This method will reduce the sale of the drugs by a little bit and hopefully reduce the use with it. This method though is going to be challenging to figure out who and how the drugs are getting into Twin Falls. Twin Falls is a great town with people who want to get the drugs out of the county and away from their family and friends so they can be same and out of the risk of kids doing drugs at an early age. If you can get enough money and enough resources to somehow find a way to figure out how the drugs are getting into the county, I am do believe that most families are going to support this action and donate to it. Yes, there are families that do and sell drugs for profit, and it is a hard job to pinpoint where they are at but if their neighbor or people, they know that support this method tell the authorities about the family that is doing and or selling drugs then we can reduce the use and sale of these illegal drugs in this county and send them to jail.

The second method I have in mind is a district internee you are willing to prosecute. After that is to get the sheriff, his deputies, undercover agents and all the cops to nail down the people they know have drugs in their home. If they can do this, then the Twin Falls County will have a reduction in the use and sale of these illegal drugs. The cops, undercover agents, and sheriff most like know where the people who have drugs in their home. The only downside to this method is that the authorities most likely need a good source to get the intel that is needed in order to get a warrant to search the place the people are hiding the drugs to get anywhere. The other problem with this method is that most of the Twin Falls County wont say anything because they dont want the person with the drugs to come after them after their time in jail.

There are people in this county that are willing to give names and evidence to the authorities in order to get the drugs out of the county. Those people have been able to turn in drug dealers to get away from them, but they are worried that the drug dealer will come after them. The drugs in this county are very illegal but all we need is for the authorities to get the people who they already have the intel that they have drugs in jail and off the street of this county. As soon as people see that the authorities are putting drug dealers in jail, they will be more willing to give up information about other drug dealers in this county.

The last method I have mind is to have the drug dealers we already have in jail have a longer time in jail than just six months. I believe that this is a good method because in my case if I get grounded for six months, I dont really learn my lesson but if I was grounded for longer, I would most definitely learn my lesson. I also believe this a good method because in a longer time in jail then the demand for drugs that people buy from that person then there would be a decrease in the sale and use of illegal drugs in the Twin Falls County. If that person who gets out of jail then the consumers who bought their drugs from that person wont be demanding more of those drugs from that person.

These are just a few ways we can reduce the use and selling of illegal drugs out of Twin Falls County. There are hundreds of ways to get drug use and selling out of the county. I hope this is enough information on the ways to reduce the use and sale of drugs out of the county that I have lived in my whole life.
So our 80-year-old president, Joe Biden, is seeking a second term. No big surprise there. And it doesnt take much of a political prophet to predict Biden will not carry Idahos electoral votes  regardless of who the Republicans come up with as their nominee.

The president wont have help from the sidelines in the Gem State, at least on the Republican side. Sen. Mike Crapo talks plenty about Bidens poor fiscal policies, Sen. Jim Risch hits the president for his failed foreign policies and Rep. Russ Fulcher mentions Bidens reduced mental capacity. Gov. Brad Little, Attorney General Raul Labrador and Rep. Mike Simpson also will take well-timed swings at the president.

All of the above, at least in spirit, will be wearing MAGA hats if the 2024 election is a Biden-Donald Trump rematch  a scenario that people are not excited to see. Polls show that about 70% of Americans dont want Biden to run again and some 60% dont want Trump on the campaign trail. Yet its these two old men have the clearest path to the nominations. Youd think that the two major parties could do better.

If ever there was a presidential-election year that was prime for a strong independent candidate, such as Liz Cheney, this is it. Cheney has said she will do anything to keep Trump out of the White House, and a run for the presidency might be the ticket. And who knows, she might win if voters are disgusted enough by the top of the tickets.

Quote If ever there was a presidential-election year that was prime for a strong independent candidate, such as Liz Cheney, this is it. ... And who knows, she might win if voters are disgusted enough by the top of the tickets.

Rep. Lauren Necochea, who chairs the Idaho Democratic Party, also wants to keep Trump out of the Oval Office. But she prefers the old-fashioned route  with Biden scoring a resounding victory. She sees good reasons for backing the president.

President Biden has a proven track record in delivering smart policies benefiting our state, like the bipartisan infrastructure act and the CHIPS act passed despite opposition from Idahos Republican delegation  underscoring the importance of having representation in Washington, looking out for our economic future, Necochea says.

Former Idaho Rep. Larry LaRocco, who co-chaired Bidens White House run in 2020, says Biden has an enviable record of achievement as far as creating jobs and building the infrastructure. In 2020, America sensed that Biden could lead us through a pandemic and restore our economy for working Americans.

Biden has delivered on his campaign pledges, LaRocco says. His policies are geared toward middle America and those left behind by prior policies that favored the uber-wealthy and well connected.

Necochea says Biden is the strongest candidate available, given his record for defeating Trump. As congressional Republicans continue to push for cuts to Social Security, veterans health care and other benefits that Americans earned, it is even more imperative that Democrats take the White House.

If Trump is the guy on the GOP ticket, then LaRocco is ready.

Joe Biden stands up for our fragile democracy attacked by Trumps lies, distortions and conspiracy theories, says LaRocco. The Big Lie political base propelling Trump to the GOP nomination will stand in stark contrast to the honest approach by Bidens White House.

Of course  theres the age thing.

Biden is 80 and will be 82 by the next inauguration day. Hed by 86 if he finishes a second term. Trump is just four years younger, with more than a few detractors suggesting hes too old, or mentally incapable, to be president. LaRocco, for one, is not dwelling on age.

I am proud to stand with President Biden. Preserving our freedoms from the authoritarianism of Trump will overshadow concerns of age, LaRocco says.

The comments from Necochea and LaRocco likely will not turn Idaho into a blue state in next years presidential election, but they offer a fair glimpse of what Democrats will be saying nationally.
Pope Francis described on Sunday an acute and strong pneumonia that led to his hospitalization last month, but the 86-year-old pontiff said he was determined to keep travelling.

I felt a strong pain at the end of the (March 29) audience, the pope told reporters aboard his papal plane on his return to Rome from Budapest, where the pontiff made a three-day visit.

I did not lose consciousness but I had a high fever and the doctor right away took me to the hospital, he said.

Francis called it an acute and strong pneumonia, in the lower part of the lung.

The pope spent three nights in the Rome hospital in March before being released on April 1 after being treated with antibiotics.

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He regularly takes questions from Vatican reporters on the flight home following papal trips.

The Argentine pope, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has suffered increasing health issues in recent years, and it was his second stay in hospital since 2021.

The body responded well to the treatment, thank God, added the pope, who was able to attend services in the Holy Week and Easter following his hospitalization.

Asked about his next trips, Francis confirmed his intention to go to Lisbon at the beginning of August for the World Youth Day.

I hope to be able to do it, he said.

Following Lisbon are trips scheduled for Marseille and Mongolia.

The program keeps me moving, he joked.

The health of Francis, who was made pope in 2013, has been a topic of intense speculation over the past year, while persistent knee pain has forced the octogenarian to use a wheelchair.

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The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the conflict-racked country, the UN chief said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announcement Sunday came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued in the capital Khartoum.

The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a heavily armed paramilitary group.

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have fled since battles erupted on April 15.

The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.

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He said the UN chief was immediately sending Martin Griffiths, his emergency relief coordinator, to the area in light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

The latest widely breached ceasefire was scheduled to formally expire at midnight (2200 GMT), before the rival forces announced an extension of 72 hours, which the Sudanese army said came due to US and Saudi mediation.

Witnesses on Sunday evening reported continued clashes as well as fighter jets soaring above various parts of the capital and its twin city Omdurman, across the Nile River.

The civil aviation authority announced Sudans airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.

There has been very heavy fighting and loud gunfire, a southern Khartoum resident told AFP earlier in the day.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, were being deployed across Khartoum to protect citizens properties from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

Police said Central Reserve had arrested 316 rebels, a reference to the RSF, which did not confirm the information and had previously warned police against joining the fight.

Washington last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for serious human rights abuses related to its use of excessive force against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.

Daglos RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former dictator Omar al-Bashir in Sudans western Darfur region, leading to war-crimes charges against Bashir and others.

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea.

But millions of Sudanese are still trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead and the UN said humanitarian facilities have been looted, forcing a halt to all of its aid operations.

We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities, Dujarric said.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

On Saturday the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

Those figures are likely to be incomplete.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many shelled.

The situation cannot be sustained as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

An envoy of Burhans met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who urged the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates Monday to discuss the situation.

More than 75,000 people have been internally displaced in Sudan, the UN said, and almost 40,000 have crossed borders, mostly into Chad but also South Sudan and Ethiopia, aid workers said.

Around 6,000 people, most of them women, have fled to the neighbouring Central African Republic over the last two weeks, the UN refugee agency told AFP.

More than 5,000 people have escaped to safety on Saudi Arabian ships across the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.

Among them was Badriah al-Sayed, her Omani husband and their son, who joined about 50 other evacuees who reached Jeddah on a Saudi warship Sunday.

Sayed told AFP she was grateful for their safety but could not shake the feeling she was losing a country.

Britain said it would operate an additional evacuation flight from Port Sudan on Monday, after already airlifting more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.

Along with battles in the capital, fighting, looting and lawlessness in the long-troubled Darfur region has raised particular international concern.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday he has raised the near-collision of Philippine and Chinese coast guard ships in the West Philippine Sea with Chinese officials.

The Philippines has accused the Chinese coast guard of dangerous maneuvers when one of its ships sailed into the path of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel carrying journalists near Ayunging Shoal, causing a near-collision.

You know, this is the kind of thing that we are hoping to avoid. But this time it was a little more dangerous, because they were close and they almost collided with us. And that will cause casualties on both sides, and that is exactly what we want to avoid, he said.

The President also called for the final adoption of a Philippines-China direct communication line.

He said the Philippine side has already formed a team, but the Chinese have yet to do so.

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While the overall priority is safeguarding maritime security, the President said China has agreed to sit down and talk about Filipinos fishing rights in the West Philippine Sea.

So thats what we have to do. Thats what we have to decide and they have agreed again to sit down. Ive asked the Coast Guard and the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to put together perhaps a map of these fishing grounds that we consider to be part of the Philippines, and well see what they say when we give them our proposal, Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Both President Marcos and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier affirmed the establishment of a direct communication mechanism during the Filipino leaders official state visit to Beijing in January.

Both leaders further agreed that confidence-building measures would contribute to improving mutual trust.

In a Twitter post, British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils expressed concern over the near collision in the South China Sea.

The UK is concerned by continued reports of dangerous conduct towards Filipino vessels in the South China Sea, Beaufils said.

She added that the UK remains committed to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged President Marcos to recall the countrys ambassador to Beijing as a show of protest and displeasure over the David vs Goliath near-collision of a Philippine Coast Guard ship with a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel.

Aside from the usual filing of a diplomatic note, we should order our principal representative in China to return home. He should not go back to Beijing until we receive a response from the Chinese government apologizing for their harassment and bullying tactics in the West Philippine Sea and committing to rectify their misconduct, he said.

The countrys ambassador to Beijing is Jaime Flor Cruz, a former journalist who covered China for many years for American news organizations.

Rodriguez said the Philippines has filed hundreds of protest notes with Beijing over Chinas aggressive and bullying activities.

In 2022 alone, 193 protest notes were served on Beijing, including 65 by the Marcos administration, he said.

All these protestations fell on deaf ears. That is why they continue to harass and bully our Coast Guard patrols and our fishermen, from the northern part of our country in Pangasinan and Zambales to the south in Palawan, he added.

The Mindanao lawmaker also lauded the reaction of the United States to the recent near-collision incident, which happened in the Ayungin Shoal area, where a small contingent of Filipino soldiers is stationed in an old, rusting Navy ship.

We welcome the unequivocal, clear commitment by the US government. The reiteration of US obligations under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty is very reassuring, he said.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Monday condemned the latest act of harassment from China.

In a statement released on Labor Day, the Transport Department said it viewed the act against the Philippines with grave concern citing that the PCG was exercising its rights to patrol its territory as granted by international law.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) views with grave concern the latest act of harassment against the Philippines in the Philippine exclusive economic zone forming part of the West Philippine Sea, the statement said.

Meanwhile, PCG spokesperson on West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said in an interview that he supports the plan to conduct joint maritime patrols in the countrys waters with the United States after Chinas latest actions.

Tarriela said that these aggressive tactics from China have become routine occurrences in the West Philippine Sea.

Tarriela also countered the statement from China that the Philippine vessel was the one instigating provocative actions that led to the near-miss with the Chinese ship.

The routine, seven-day maritime patrol carried out by the [PCG] in the WPS from April 18-24 was non-provocative and did not undermine the interests of other states, Tarriela said on his Twitter account.

The PCG is under no obligation to request permission from other nations while patrolling the waters near Ayungin Shoal, as this area falls within the Philippines exclusive economic zone, in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he added.

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PBBM seeks closer US ties as he rejects provocative action in WPS

Washington D.C.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden met at the White House as of press time Monday afternoon (early Tuesday dawn, Manila time) to discuss efforts to further strengthen economic and political ties as well as keep the peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

The dialog with Biden, which happened a day after Mr. Marcos arrived in Washington, is also set to cover possible changes to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the two longstanding allies.

OFFICIAL VISIT. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives in Washington Sunday afternoon (Monday, Manila time) for a five-day visit. In a media interview, Mr. Marcos says the main focus of his official visit is to promote the Philippines agriculture and energy industries and affirm the maintenance of peace in the Indo-Pacific.

It will followed by an expanded meeting with key Cabinet officials.

This is the second meeting for the two leaders after they attended the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year.

Mr. Marcos will also meet with members of the Filipino community in Washington D.C.

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In an interview with the media en route to Washington, the President said agriculture, power, infrastructure and all these new technologies are on top of his agenda during his five-day working visit.

Thats on the economic level On the political level, it will still be centered around the relationship between the Philippines and the United States, Mr. Marcos said.

The President also talked about maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region amid global tensions as well as enhancing the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the global dialogue.

The chief executive is also expected to sit down with legislators, major US companies and business groups during his trip.

In his interview with the Philippine media delegation, Mr. Marcos said the country continuously works for peace and that the Philippines will not be used as a staging post for any military action amid rising tensions in the region.

Our goal in the Philippines is simple, we work for peace Well not encourage any provocative action by any country We will not allow that to happen, the President said when asked how he sees the Philippines role in the Indo-Pacific.

All we are worried about is the peace and the safety of our people, here and abroad. And thats the main consideration. So in my view, thats the role, he said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also plays a crucial role in keeping peace and lowering tensions in our area, he added.

And I think the best move for us is to stay within ASEAN, keep ASEAN solid, strong, and united, Mr. Marcos said.

The Presidents assurances came after watching live-fire sea drills in the biggest Balikatan joint military exercises involving American, Filipino and Australian troops.

Manila recently granted Washington access to more Filipino military bases as the allies seek to counter Chinas growing assertiveness in the region and its sweeping claims over disputed waters, islands and shoals in the South China Sea.

Mr. Marcos visit comes after the United States called on China to stop provocative and unsafe conduct in the contested South China Sea following a near-collision with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel.

We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Saturday, adding that any attack on Philippine armed forces would trigger a US response. Manila and Washington are bound by a 1951 mutual defense pact.

The April 23 incident was a near-crash and that  can cause casualties on both sides, Marcos said on the flight to Washington DC.

Thats exactly what we want to avoid.

Mr. Marcos urged China to follow through on his agreement with President Xi Jinping, reached earlier this year in Beijing, to set up a direct communication mechanism on issues involving overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

While Manila has formed its team, Beijing has yet to do the same, Marcos said.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring an international court ruling in favor of the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China.

Marcos has said he will not let China trample on the Philippines rights in the sea, and has gravitated towards the United States as he seeks to strengthen defense ties.

Last month, the Philippines identified four military bases  in addition to five existing sites  to which US forces will have access, including one near the disputed Spratly Islands and two facing Taiwan.

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Monday said the House of Representatives fully supports the initiative of the President. to push for the preservation of peace in the Indo-Pacific region as one of the key discussion points in his meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Romualdez was among the Filipino officials who welcomed President Marcos on his arrival in the United States at Joint Base Andrews airport in Maryland.

Geopolitical tensions and apprehensions of possible hostilities in the region will have an adverse effect on our aspirations for sustained economic growth and prosperity. It is to everyones benefit to ensure that conflicts are resolved through diplomatic and peaceful means, Romualdez said.

Romualdez flew to the US in mid-April to lay the groundwork for Mr. Marcoss visit by meeting with key US lawmakers to discuss further strengthening the security alliance and economic partnership between the two countries.

Also on Monday, Senator Francis Tolentino called for a clearer definition of the Philippine territory under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.

He suggested that when the President meets with US President Joe Biden, they consider the inclusion of territories where the Philippines exercises sovereign rights.

The senator also proposed a new provision that says any attack on a place where it exercises sovereign rights (for both parties) would trigger the MDT. With AFP, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

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As Friday, April 14, dawned, bustling students at McDowell Academy for Innovation (MAI) and McDowell Early College (MEC) put their final touches on cardboard arcade games they spent months designing and creating in their family groups on Fridays.

Why?

They were preparing for the first STEAM Showcase sponsored by MAI Student Council in Building 4 of MTCC.

From 4-8 p.m., the most popular events of the night showcased individual student projects of film, art and cooking.

Junior Will Lewis premiered his film A Few Eggs, which was enthusiastically received while senior Ashe Baker, junior Joe Johnson and sophomore Alina Rector offered a variety of art and jewelry.

Sophomore Spencer Caudill gave the event high marks.

The movie was GREAT!, he said. Also, I loved seeing all the art because it showed so much diversity.

Sophomore Sylvie Burleson shared her poem Heartbreak, and sophomore Emma Lawson created homemade pasta to show the variety of shapes she enjoys making for her Italian recipes.

People of all ages also enjoyed academic science, technology, engineering, art and math projects.

Students from world history displayed projects reflecting the unit on ancient civilizations while English II students displayed an array of projects on Mesopotamia and Africa.

English III students shared their character maps they drew as they read The Crucible.

From science classes, visitors checked out chemical element superhero cartoon projects, planet mobiles and student-generated childrens books on cell division.

MAI/MEC club displays helped community members understand more about MAI/MEC Friday clubs.

Art club members Emma Radford and Valentina Trujillo Bermudez dazzled participants with their decorations of the two arcade rooms and academic galleries.

The club galleries included robotic club members demonstrating Spheros and drone club members operating drones. HOSA students performed free eyesight checks while other clubs showcased knitting projects, paintings, 3D printed parts for an airplane and the Gravity Game car.

A rack of several prom dresses owned by the fashion club also offered a QR code to share more information for anyone interested in borrowing one for the upcoming MEC/MAI prom. The MAI National Honor Societys display board explained the importance of bees and pollination.

Once people perused the various STEAM displays, they concluded the event in two rooms hosting the student created cardboard arcade games. Participants of all ages tried their luck with foosball, Plinko, turkey shoot, Twister and pinball games to name a few. MEC math teacher Josh Peterson even volunteered in the popular mini-dunking booth.

Reflecting on the event, MAI Principal Billy Cline explained the importance of inviting the public to witness first hand what a STEM focused early college actually does.

MAI students incorporate the engineering process of planning, creating, testing and improving projects as they engage in their high school classes and work towards a college certification or degree, he said. We needed this event for community members to have the opportunity to appreciate the work students produced.
Eight farmers were killed Sunday in a village North-East of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an attack blamed on militiamen, Anadolu news agency reports.

Adubango Kivia, head of a cooperative told the media, a rebel group known as CODECO (Cooperative for Congos Development) attacked three villages near the provincial town of Djugu, in the Ituri Province.

They surprised the farmers in their fields. They shot them and cut them up, he said. Before withdrawing, the militiamen also took away products from the victims fields, burned a hundred houses and looted livestock.

The three villages are not protected by the army despite inter-ethnic clashes that in recent years rocked the region. CODECO was birthed amid inter-ethnic tensions that have gripped the province since 2017.

The militia group was accused on April 14 for the killing of more than 40 people. On the eve of the attack, a truck carrying humanitarian aid for Rho camp for internal people was ransacked.

The crew, a driver and three soldiers were slain in the attack.
The government of Guinea-Bissau clarified that the power cuts that have been occurring in the Guinean capital are not related to the lack of payment to the Turkish company, which supplies electricity to the city.

Debt exists and is currently being paid. The Public Treasury has disbursed until recently more than $4.6 million to partially settle the debt that EAGB [Electricity and Water of Guinea-Bissau] has with Karpower, said Mamadu Balde, Secretary of State for the Treasury.

Balde was speaking after a meeting with the management of EAGB, a company that is being managed by the consortium made up of EDP, Aguas de Portugal and Leadership Business Consulting under a contract with the World Bank.

The supply of electricity to Bissau is made via the floating power plant of Turkish company Karpower.

But, I insist, the breakdowns that have been occurring in the network are technical. There is no connection between the cuts due to technical failure and the delay in payment, said the Secretary of State.

According to the governor, there were seven overdue invoices and the Government paid two on Thursday, leaving five unpaid, but a letter of credit already covers three, stressing that the Turkish company still needs to be paid another $3.8 million.

Questioned whether the company should be the one to assume the payments, the Secretary of State for the Treasury said that it was good to know if what the clients pay is enough to face the treasury expenses.

EAGB has a monthly budget deficit of 1 billion cfa (1.5 million euros) said Mamadu Balde, adding that there is a cash flow problem, which can only be solved with the increase of revenues. He reminded that the State is the owner of the company, since it is the only shareholder.

The general director of EAGB, Mario Pereira, said he knows that it is always a problem for customers when basic goods are missing, but that it is a constant concern of EAGB to guarantee the supply of essential goods. We are in a process of renovating the network. The networks, whether for water or electricity, are quite old. We, with international partners, are renewing this network and creating conditions for improved supply, this takes time and we at this stage are in a period of infrastructure maintenance, said Mario Pereira, ensuring that the company is committed to minimizing technical and operational problems.
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Researchers Alex Huth (left), Jerry Tang (right) and Shailee Jain (center) prepare to collect brain activity data in the Biomedical Imaging Center at The University of Texas at Austin. The researchers trained their semantic decoder on dozens of hours of brain activity data from members of the lab, collected in an fMRI scanner. Credit: Nolan Zunk/University of Texas at Austin

A new artificial intelligence system called a semantic decoder can translate a person's brain activitywhile listening to a story or silently imagining telling a storyinto a continuous stream of text. The system developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin might help people who are mentally conscious yet unable to physically speak, such as those debilitated by strokes, to communicate intelligibly again.

The study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, was led by Jerry Tang, a doctoral student in computer science, and Alex Huth, an assistant professor of neuroscience and computer science at UT Austin. The work relies in part on a transformer model, similar to the ones that power Open AI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard.

Unlike other language decoding systems in development, this system does not require subjects to have surgical implants, making the process noninvasive. Participants also do not need to use only words from a prescribed list. Brain activity is measured using an fMRI scanner after extensive training of the decoder, in which the individual listens to hours of podcasts in the scanner. Later, provided that the participant is open to having their thoughts decoded, their listening to a new story or imagining telling a story allows the machine to generate corresponding text from brain activity alone.

"For a noninvasive method, this is a real leap forward compared to what's been done before, which is typically single words or short sentences," Huth said. "We're getting the model to decode continuous language for extended periods of time with complicated ideas."

The result is not a word-for-word transcript. Instead, researchers designed it to capture the gist of what is being said or thought, albeit imperfectly. About half the time, when the decoder has been trained to monitor a participant's brain activity, the machine produces text that closely (and sometimes precisely) matches the intended meanings of the original words.

For example, in experiments, a participant listening to a speaker say, "I don't have my driver's license yet" had their thoughts translated as, "She has not even started to learn to drive yet." Listening to the words, "I didn't know whether to scream, cry or run away. Instead, I said, 'Leave me alone!'" was decoded as, "Started to scream and cry, and then she just said, 'I told you to leave me alone.'"

This image shows decoder predictions from brain recordings collected while a user listened to four stories. Example segments were manually selected and annotated to demonstrate typical decoder behaviors. The decoder exactly reproduces some words and phrases and captures the gist of many more. Credit: University of Texas at Austin

Beginning with an earlier version of the paper that appeared as a preprint online, the researchers addressed questions about potential misuse of the technology. The paper describes how decoding worked only with cooperative participants who had participated willingly in training the decoder. Results for individuals on whom the decoder had not been trained were unintelligible, and if participants on whom the decoder had been trained later put up resistancefor example, by thinking other thoughtsresults were similarly unusable.

"We take very seriously the concerns that it could be used for bad purposes and have worked to avoid that," Tang said. "We want to make sure people only use these types of technologies when they want to and that it helps them."

In addition to having participants listen or think about stories, the researchers asked subjects to watch four short, silent videos while in the scanner. The semantic decoder was able to use their brain activity to accurately describe certain events from the videos.

The system currently is not practical for use outside of the laboratory because of its reliance on the time need on an fMRI machine. But the researchers think this work could transfer to other, more portable brain-imaging systems, such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

"fNIRS measures where there's more or less blood flow in the brain at different points in time, which, it turns out, is exactly the same kind of signal that fMRI is measuring," Huth said. "So, our exact kind of approach should translate to fNIRS," although, he noted, the resolution with fNIRS would be lower. Alex Huth and Jerry Tang discuss their findings and implications, including tests of how users can protect their mental privacy, in these short audio quotes. Credit: Marc Airhart/University of Texas at Austin

The study's other co-authors are Amanda LeBel, a former research assistant in the Huth lab, and Shailee Jain, a computer science graduate student at UT Austin. Alexander Huth and Jerry Tang have filed a PCT patent application related to this work.

Frequently asked questions

Could this technology be used on someone without them knowing, say by an authoritarian regime interrogating political prisoners or an employer spying on employees? No. The system has to be extensively trained on a willing subject in a facility with large, expensive equipment. "A person needs to spend up to 15 hours lying in an MRI scanner, being perfectly still, and paying good attention to stories that they're listening to before this really works well on them," said Huth.

Could training be skipped altogether? No. The researchers tested the system on people whom it hadn't been trained on and found that the results were unintelligible.

Are there ways someone can defend against having their thoughts decoded? Yes. The researchers tested whether a person who had previously participated in training could actively resist subsequent attempts at brain decoding. Tactics like thinking of animals or quietly imagining telling their own story let participants easily and completely thwart the system from recovering the speech the person was exposed to.

What if technology and related research evolved to one day overcome these obstacles or defenses? "I think right now, while the technology is in such an early state, it's important to be proactive by enacting policies that protect people and their privacy," Tang said. "Regulating what these devices can be used for is also very important."

More information: Semantic reconstruction of continuous language from non-invasive brain recordings, Nature Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01304-9 Journal information: Nature Neuroscience
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A new antibody drug to help fight COVID-19 infection in immune-compromised people may be available by the end of the year.

AstraZeneca said Thursday that its treatment, called AZD3152, appears to work in all variants to date, potentially providing necessary armor for immunocompromised people whose vaccinations have not given them enough protection, CBS News reported.

"In vitro studies demonstrated that AZD3152 neutralizes all COVID-19 variants, including Arcturus, the latest variant of concern," Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals at AstraZeneca, told investors on an earnings call this week.

Results of the SUPERNOVA trial on the drug could be out by September, and that may lead to an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, CBS News reported.

AstraZeneca had previously announced promising early lab testing results for the drug. It may be helpful in the 2% of people whose immune systems are not providing effective resistance after vaccination, the company said.

"We hope to make AZD3152 available as a new prophylactic treatment in the second half of this year," Pangalos said.

AZD3152 is considered a replacement for the now-shelved Evusheld. It's based on an antibody derived from donated B cells of previously infected people, CBS News reported. It is "designed to have broader variant coverage" than Evusheld, according to the company.

As omicron variants have been less affected by existing treatments, the need for replacements has been concerning to federal officials.

While the treatments Paxlovid and remdesivir (Veklury) still exist, sometimes they just suppress the virus, CBS News said.

More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 treatments.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A decade after scientists developed the ability to edit DNA using the CRISPR sequence, the first drugs using the technique are approaching the market, with the potential to transform the lives of people with certain genetic illnesses. But questions of ethics, access, and pricing remain. We talked with Dr. Greg Licholai, a biotech entrepreneur and a lecturer at Yale SOM, about the state of the technology.

Q: What is the state of CRISPR right now?

There have been a lot of developments. We're on the verge of having the first CRISPR-based drugs approved, and there's a whole pipeline of new therapies on the way. A Noble Prize has been awarded and patent battles between Berkeley and MIT have been settled. Also, there's been a major controversy in terms of human experiments and ethical transgressions resulting in a scientist going to jail for experimenting on human embryos. So it's been pretty dramatic and it continues to be.

Q: We last spoke about CRISPR in 2018 . Has the amount of change in the last five years been what you expected? Has it been in the direction you expected?

It's about on pace to get from lab experiments to being on the verge of getting a drug approvedthat's a pretty good timing. The pipeline is clustered around hematologic disorders, so perhaps I might have expected there to be more progress in other diseases, but it's about on pace.

Q: How far are we from having CRISPR-based drugs in the pharmacy or in a doctor's toolkit?

It's very exciting. We're very close.

The drugs that are nearest for approval are being co-developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, and they've collaborated on a product called Exa-cel, which is for sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia, two blood disorders. They presented the results at the end of last year at major hematology conferences, and they're planning to submit the BLA, which is the licensing application to the FDA this year. It takes about nine months or a year to go through the process, so we could see the first therapeutic approved at the end of this calendar year.

Q: What kind of impact would you expect for someone with sickle cell anemia? Is this an incremental change? Is this a big change?



It would be a huge, sweeping, revolutionary change, with the potential of giving a single dose of a drug and changing the way these patients produce their own blood cells so that they'd be potentially cured of the disease.

It would have the effect of doing a bone marrow transplant, which is done in cancer centers, and is high risk and very difficult for patients. CRISPR would be much easier and better tolerated. With CRISPR doctors take blood cells, use CRISPR technology to alter the defective genes, and the reinfuse the new and improved cells, which go on to produce healthy red blood cells in the patient. In sickle cell anemia, patients have a pain crisis because the cells have a problem with their morphology. Beta thalassemia is a type of anemia, and similarly, the red blood cells have a genetic problem with their ability to carry hemoglobin. The preliminary data from 31 patients suggests that a course of treatment may cure the disease. So it's a very dramatic improvement.

Q: What do you foresee as the accessibility of these kinds of therapies? Are the prices extremely high? Will insurance cover them? Will there be economic or racial disparities in access?

The science has progressed. However, what's lagged are the regulatory standards and any conclusions about pricing as well as improved access to novel therapies. There just hasn't been guidance established yet. So we'll have to wait to see about that.

The pricing question could be dramatic. Previously approved gene therapies are incredibly expensive, over $1 million, sometimes close to $3 million. This is because the argument from the pharmaceutical manufacturer is that typically drugs need to be given repeatedly, so they expect long-term sales. But with the ability to give a single dose and cure a patient, companies say they'll never recoup their R&D investment, especially in rare diseases.

So their argument is essentially, "Look, the system would be paying more over the life of the patient. We're just bringing the payment upfront." Because these drugs have not been approved yet, we don't know what pricing assumptions that the companies will make, but I'm sure they're struggling with those questions right now.

On the regulatory front, that's another unknown because every time a new class of biology goes to the FDA, they have to determine the best way to study safety and effectiveness. A single dose drug that affects somebody's entire life raises questions about the appropriate timeline to monitor safety events. It also raises important questions about potential effects for not just this individual, but perhaps their children. So how long do you monitor before you say, "OK, the safety portion of the trial has been concluded and we feel comfortable with that"? Those decisions have yet to be codified as standards..

Q: You mentioned that the focus has been in the hematological area. Are there other diseases that theoretically could be addressed in the same way but are further back in the pipeline?

There's another rare disease called A-1AT, which is Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. That's in early stage development. It's a combination pulmonary and liver disease. There's another one in development for a rare condition called hereditary angioedema, plus some others that are earlier in the pipeline.

The critical issue is getting enough of the CRISPR drug into the cells that need to be altered so that you can have the beneficial effect for the patient. For some of these, like A-1AT, you'd want to be targeting the liver, and it's a little bit easier to give an infusion since drugs go straight to the liver and they get distributed appropriately. But when other organs are involved, that would be a lot more challenging to get a wide distribution of a CRISPR drug, or a gene therapy or even regular drugs. For instance, getting into the brain and getting broad distribution of a complicated drug like this would be challenging.

Q: Five years ago, we talked about the possibility of making a genetic change to avoid a disease entirely when someone is still an embryo. Is that still a possibility?

There have been genetic animals produced using CRISPR through that method. There have been CRISPR modified pigs and even cows. By far the most frequent use of CRISPR right now is to produce genetically modified mice for lab experiments. In the past, this was a time-consuming thing where researchers would have to create a "knockout mouse"they would try to insert a gene into the mouse's genomeand it was very hit or miss. Now it's become almost routine to produce these genetically altered CRISPR mice for research purposes.

So we know it's theoretically possible to do all this in mammals. There's famous, highly controversial and unethical work that was done by a researcher in China, who altered the embryos of human babies in order to prevent them from acquiring HIV from a parent. When that researcher announced results, there was global backlash, including from China, the scientist's home. He was sentenced to three years in jail. I believe they reacted appropriately by condemning that use of human embryos. There continues to be a moratorium on human experimentation.

Q: What about using gene editing on animals to prevent the spread of animal-borne diseases?

It continues to be possible, but there remains to be a lot of caution about doing that, which is appropriate. The big concern is that altering an animal's genes may change their reproductive cells, leading to new genetic lines with mutations that may be introduced into the population and have unknown consequences. That's possibly the biggest long-term concern.

Q: You mentioned a few risks and ethical concerns. Would you talk about risks in general and where the balance is in terms of risk and benefit at this point?

The biggest risk is that the CRISPR edits cause a germline mutation, which is the reproductive cell mutation, and those altered genes are get transferred to offspring and an entire population with unknown consequences. There's an absolute moratorium on doing that in human beings. So that is currently a theoretical risk, and I do trust researchers and drug companies to honor those boundaries.

However, there's a theoretical possibility that infusing CRISPR-altered cells as stem cells could have other unknown consequences, perhaps germline, perhaps other things. There's only a small possibility that it'll happen, but it should be monitored. There is also the possibility that the genetic benefits will not last the expected duration or patients' lifespans. So patients will have to be monitored to be confident that lifelong benefit are achieved as well as avoiding risks.

Q: What are the other open questions being discussed in and around CRISPR?

I think the biggest question is around the business model and whether society will accept extremely expensive single-dose drugs for rare conditions, and whether payers or governments will pay. Ultimately, if there's a contraction in the willingness to pay for these types of novel, very expensive therapies, it'll be difficult for biotech companies to be funded. But it's a business risk that probably the biggest pharmaceutical companies are going to be cautious about entering into until they see economic validation plus scientific proof of concept.
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Nurse practitioner Anthony Carano speaks with a patient at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

Paramedics summoned to an Arizona retirement community last summer found an 80-year-old woman slumped inside her mobile home, enveloped in the suffocating 99-degree (37 C) heat she suffered for days after her air conditioner broke down. Efforts to revive her failed, and her death was ruled environmental heat exposure aggravated by heart disease and diabetes.

In America's hottest big metro, older people like the Sun Lakes mobile home resident accounted for most of the 77 people who died last summer in broiling heat inside their homes, almost all without air conditioning. Now, the heat dangers long known in greater Phoenix are becoming familiar nationwide as global warming creates new challenges to protect the aged.

From the Pacific Northwest to Chicago to North Carolina, health clinics, utilities and local governments are being tested to keep older people safe when temperatures soar. They're adopting rules for disconnecting electricity, mandating when to switch on communal air conditioning and improving communication with at-risk people living alone.

Situated in the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix and its suburbs are ground zero for heat-associated deaths in the U.S. Such fatalities are so common that Arizona's largest county keeps a weekly online tally during the six-month hot season from May through October. Temperatures this year were already hitting the high 90s the first week of April.

A WARMING WORLD

"Phoenix really is the model for what we'll be seeing in other places," said researcher Jennifer Ailshire, a native of the desert city now at the University of Southern California's Leonard Davis School of Gerontology where she studies how environmental factors affect health and aging. "The world is changing rapidly and I fear we are not acting fast enough to teach people how harmful rising temperatures can be."

Nurse practitioner Anthony Carano waits to meet with a patient at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

A 2021 study estimated more than a third of U.S. heat deaths each year can be attributed to human-caused global warming. It found more than 1,100 deaths a year from climate change-caused heat in some 200 U.S. cities, many in the East and Midwest, where people often don't have air conditioning or are not acclimated to hot weather. Another study showed that in coming decades dangerous heat will hit much of the world at least three times as hard as climate change worsens.

Isolated and vulnerable, the heat victims last year during Maricopa County's deadliest summer on record included a couple in their 80s without known relatives, an 83-year-old woman with dementia living alone after her husband entered hospice care and a 62-year-old Rwandan refugee whose air conditioner broke down.

While most of the county's confirmed 378 heat-associated deaths were outdoors, those who died indoors were especially vulnerable because of isolation, mobility issues or medical problems as outside summertime highs hit 115 degrees (46.1 C).

Older people of color, with a greater tendency for chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are especially at risk.

In Chicago, three African American women in their 60s and 70s died in spring 2022 when the centrally controlled heating in their housing complex remained on and the air conditioning was off despite unseasonable 90-degree weather in mid-May.

An undetermined number of older people died during the summer of 2021 when an unexpected heat wave swept across the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Canada reported that coroners confirmed more than 600 people died from the heat in neighboring British Columbia.

A patient waits in an exam room at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

CHECKING ON OLDER PEOPLE

Many U.S. cities, including Phoenix, have plans to protect people during heat waves, opening cooling centers and distributing bottled water.

But many older people need personalized attention, said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, who directs the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

"If you are elderly and sick you are unlikely to get into an Uber or bus to get to a cooling center," said Bernstein, who vividly recalls a 1995 heat wave that killed 739 mostly older people in Chicago, his hometown. "So many were socially isolated and at tremendous risk."

Sociologist Eric M. Klinenberg, who wrote about the catastrophe in his book "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago," has noted social contacts can protect older people during disasters.

"Older people are more prone to live alone," he said, "and they are the most likely to die."

A patient waits to be seen at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

That's true of all extreme weather.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana in 2005, around half of the 1,000 people killed were 75 or older, most of them drowned when their homes flooded.

Chicago encourages residents to check on older relatives and neighbors on hot days and city workers visit people's home. But last year's deaths at a Chicago apartment house shows more is needed.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINICS CAN HELP

Bernstein's center is working with relief organization Americares to help community health clinics prepare vulnerable patients for heat waves and other extreme weather.

A "climate resilience tool kit" includes tips like making sure patients have wall thermometers and know how to check weather forecasts on a smart phone. Patients learn simple ways to beat the heat, like taking a shower or sponge bath to cool off and drinking plenty of water.

A nurse enters an exam room at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

Alexis Hodges, a family nurse practitioner at the Community Care Clinic of Dare in coastal North Carolina, said rising temperatures can cause renal failure in patients with kidney problems and exacerbate dehydration from medications like diuretics.

Hodges contributed to the climate kit from a region that experiences all the weather events it covers: extreme heat, hurricanes, flooding and wildfires.

At the nonprofit Mountain Park Health centers that annually serve 100,000 patients in greater Phoenix, nurse practitioner Anthony Carano has written numerous letters to utility companies for low-income patients with chronic conditions, asking them not to turn off power despite missed payments.

"This is such an at-risk population," Carano said of the overwhelmingly Latino patient population that suffer from diabetes and other ailments aggravated by warm weather. About one-tenth of the patients are 60 and older.

Francisca Canes, a 77-year-old patient visiting for back pain, said she's fortunate to live with two daughters who take care of her during hot spells. In the summertime, she stays in shape by joining several women friends at 4 a.m. most mornings for a 4-mile (6.4 kilometers) walk.

Patients waits to be seen at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

AIR CONDITIONER REPLACEMENT AND REPAIR

Maricopa County in April used federal funds to to allocate another $10 million to its air conditioner replacement and repair program for people who qualify, brining total funding to $13.65 million. In greater Phoenix and several rural Arizona counties, older low-income people can apply for free repair or replacement of air conditioners through a separate non-profit program.

The Healthy Homes Air Conditioning Program run by the nonprofit Foundation for Senior Living last summer ensured about 30 people got new air conditioners or repairs and helped others with home improvements.

Priority goes to older people, those with disabilities and families with very small children, who are also vulnerable to the heat. A person living alone must earn $27,180 or less, said Laura Simone, program coordinator for FSL Home Improvements.

The program recently installed energy efficient windows in the 1930s home of 81-year-old widow Socorro Silvas.

"I am so grateful they are taking care of low-income people like me," said Silvas, who got her air conditioner in the middle of a sweltering summer several years ago through a program run by Tolleson, a suburb west of Phoenix.

Nurse practitioner Anthony Carano makes his rounds at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

Utility companies can also help protect vulnerable people by halting power disconnections during hot periods.

"In Arizona, air conditioning is a matter of life and death, especially if you are older," said Dana Kennedy, the state director of AARP, which has fought for stricter regulations preventing summertime power cutoffs.

STRICTER REGULATIONS

New rules for Arizona utilities were adopted after 72-year-old Stephanie Pullman died in August 2018 at her Phoenix area home as outside temperatures reached 107 degrees (41.6 Celsius).

The medical examiner's office said Pullman died from "environmental heat exposure" combined with cardiovascular disease after her power was shut off over a $176.84. debt.

The Arizona agency that regulates utilities now bans electricity cutoffs for nonpayment during the hottest months.

People exit the nonprofit Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar.Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

After the three Chicago women died last year, residential buildings for older people in the city now must provide air-conditioned common areas and administrators no longer have to keep centrally controlled heat on during unseasonably warm weather. The Illinois state Senate recently passed legislation requiring that all affordable housing have air-conditioning operating when the temperature is 80 degrees (26.6 C) or higher and must be operable by residents.

Kennedy said mobile homes are especially dangerous as high temperatures transform them into a hot metal containers.

"A lot are not insulated," said Kennedy, who has advised an Arizona State University group working to make mobile homes safer with more surrounding shade and on-site cooling centers. "These heat deaths truly are heartbreaking. But in many cases we can help prevent them."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The World Health Organization recently named the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant XBB1.16 a variant of interest to encourage tracking of this genetic variant of the pandemic coronavirus.

The variant was originally detected in January 2023 in India. The rise in cases of COVID-19 in that country at that time made health offices suspect that it might be a more infectious form of the omicron XBB strains.

From national genetic surveillance, XBB1.16 is now causing about 12% of COVID-19 cases in the United States. If indeed this strain is more transmissible, that proportion would grow over time, said Dr. Pavitra Roychoudhury, acting instructor, Division of Virology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

In the Washington state area, XBB1.16 is causing about 10% of current COVID-19 cases. It was first detected in the Seattle area in February through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's airport surveillance program.

The Virology Lab at UW Medicine had its first detection of the XBB1.16 strain in a sample it received in early March 2023.

With the closure of several COVID testing sites during the winding down of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and the reliance of many symptomatic people on home testing, there has been a decline in PCR laboratory testing for the COVID virus. This is affecting surveillance at a fine-grade level, due to the reduction in PCR test samples.

Although the national pandemic public health emergency is expected to expire May 11, 2023, the SARS-CoV-2 virus will remain a public health priority as the country transitions out of the emergency phase.

"As long as samples keep coming in, we at the UW Medicine virology lab will continue to conduct genomic sequencing for viral surveillance for as long as we can," said Roychoudhury, who works on COVID virus genetic tracking.

She added that at this point it is too early to tell if the XBB.1.16 strain is better at evading immunity from prior infections or vaccinations. The hypothesis is that this strain might have a combination of mutations that make it more transmissible, but Roychoudhury said that scientists do not yet have the details to confirm that. It is also not known at this time if this strain will replace other strains that are currently circulating, or if a different variant may take off as had happened with some prior waves of variants.

The symptoms of COVID-19 from the XBB1.16 are like other current strainscough, fever, general malaise. Some reports from India suggest that pink eye is seen more often with this variant of the virus. Pink eye is an inflammation that causes redness, itchiness, and tearing or a crusty discharge.

A bit of promising news is the overall decline in COVID-19 cases in the United States as we approach the late spring and early summer seasons. Wastewater monitoring indicates a reduction in the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in all four U.S. regions contributing to the national data.

However, Roychoudhury added, coronavirus trackers cannot foresee what could happen in the fall when conditions, such as more people gathering indoors, once again support coronavirus transmission. "Fortunately, we have built the infrastructure and capacity to respond quickly to any future surges."

More information: CDC COVID data tracker that can be filtered by region: covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-track  #variant-proportions
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Credit: Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock

For years, many have feared that artificial intelligence (AI) will take over national security mechanisms, leading to human slavery, domination of human society and perhaps the annihilation of humans. One way of killing humans is medical misdiagnosis, so it seems reasonable to examine the performance of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that is taking the world by storm. This is timely in light of ChatGPT's recent remarkable performance in passing the US medical licensing exam.

Computer-aided diagnosis has been attempted many times over the years, particularly for diagnosing appendicitis. But the emergence of AI that draws on the entire internet for answers to questions rather than being confined to fixed databases open new avenues of potential for augmenting medical diagnosis.

More recently, several articles discuss the performance of ChatGPT in making medical diagnoses. An American emergency medicine physician recently gave an account of how he asked ChatGPT to give the possible diagnoses of a young woman with lower abdominal pain. The machine gave numerous credible diagnoses, such as appendicitis and ovarian cyst problems, but it missed ectopic pregnancy.

This was correctly identified by the physician as a serious omission, and I agree. On my watch, ChatGPT would not have passed its medical final examinations with that rather deadly performance.

ChatGPT learns

I'm pleased to say that when I asked ChatGPT the same question about a young woman with lower abdominal pain, ChatGPT confidently stated ectopic pregnancy in the differential diagnosis. This reminds us of an important thing about AI: it is capable of learning.

Presumably, someone has told ChatGPT of its error and it has learned from this new datanot unlike a medical student. It is this ability to learn that will improve the performance of AIs and make them stand out from rather more constrained computer-aided diagnosis algorithms.

ChatGPT prefers technical language

Emboldened by ChatGPT's performance with ectopic pregnancy, I decided to test it with a rather common presentation: a child with a sore throat and a red rash on the face.

Rapidly, I got back several very sensible suggestions for what the diagnosis could be. Although it mentioned streptococcal sore throat, it did not mention the particular streptococcal throat infection I had in mind, namely scarlet fever.

This condition has re-emerged in recent years and is commonly missed because doctors my age and younger didn't have the experience with it to spot it. The availability of good antibiotics had all but eliminated it, and it became rather uncommon.

Intrigued at this omission, I added another element to my list of symptoms: perioral sparing. This is a classic feature of scarlet fever in which the skin around the mouth is pale but the rest of the face is red.

When I added this to the list of symptoms, the top hit was scarlet fever. This leads me to my next point about ChatGPT. It prefers technical language.

This may account for why it passed its medical examination. Medical exams are full of technical terms that are used because they are specific. They confer precision on the language of medicine and as such they will tend to refine searches of topics.

This is all very well, but how many worried mothers of red-faced, sore-throated children will have the fluency in medical expression to use a technical term such as perioral sparing?

ChatGPT is prudish

ChatGPT is likely to be used by young people and so I thought about health issues that might be of particular importance to the younger generation, such as sexual health. I asked ChatGPT to diagnose pain when passing urine and a discharge from the male genitalia after unprotected sexual intercourse. I was intrigued to see that I received no response.

It was as if ChatGPT blushed in some coy computerized way. Removing mentions of sexual intercourse resulted in ChatGPT giving a differential diagnosis that included gonorrhea, which was the condition I had in mind. However, just as in the real world a failure to be open about sexual health has harmful outcomes, so it is in the world of AI.

Is our virtual doctor ready to see us yet? Not quite. We need to put more knowledge into it, learn to communicate with it and, finally, get it to overcome its prudishness when discussing problems we don't want our families to know about.

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Colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox virus particles (red) cultivated and purified from cell culture. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID

A cohort study of persons with confirmed mpox infections who were treated with the novel antiviral tecovirimat has found that the HIV status of the patients did not impact treatment outcomes. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

In May 2022, an outbreak of the zoonotic DNA orthopoxvirus mpox began in Europe. The most recent outbreak occurred mostly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and has been associated with significant rates of coincident sexually transmitted infections. Almost half of mpox infections during this outbreak occurred in people with HIV, but it is unknown to what degree HIV acts as an independent risk factor for mpox acquisition.

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital conducted a retrospective cohort study of 196 people treated with tecovirimat from 20 June to 29 August 2022. Of the 196 participants, 154 were diagnosed with mpox and 72 were persons with HIV. The authors report that indications for tecovirimat treatment were similar between persons with and without HIV.

They also report that only 22 percent of participants had nonsevere adverse effects, and only 4 participants had serious adverse events. Three of the four participants who experienced serious adverse were persons with HIV.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium. The parasite is transmitted to humans most commonly through mosquito bites. The malaria parasites enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver. When the parasites mature, they leave the liver and infect red blood cells.

This is when people typically develop malaria symptoms. Because the parasites that cause malaria affect red blood cells, people also can be infected by exposure to infected blood, including from mother to unborn child, through blood transfusions and by sharing needles used to inject drugs.

Each year, nearly 290 million people are infected with malaria, and more than 400,000 people die of the disease. The greatest risk factor for developing malaria is to live in or visit areas where the disease is common. These areas include tropical and subtropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Central America, and northern South America. The degree of risk depends on local malaria control, seasonal changes in malaria rates and the precautions you take to prevent mosquito bites.

Symptoms of malaria

Signs and symptoms of malaria typically begin within a few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito. However, some types of malaria parasites can lie dormant in your body for up to a year. Some people who have malaria experience cycles of malaria "attacks." An attack usually starts with shivering and chills, followed by a high fever, then sweating, and finally a return to normal temperature.

Signs and symptoms of malaria can include:

Fever

Chills

General feeling of discomfort

Headache

Nausea and vomiting

Diarrhea

Abdominal pain

Muscle or joint pain

Fatigue

Rapid breathing

Rapid heart rate

Cough

Treatment and prevention

Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. The types of drugs and the length of treatment will depend on the type of malaria parasite you have, the severity of your symptoms, your age and whether you're pregnant.

To reduce malaria infections, world health programs distribute preventive drugs and insecticide-treated bed nets to protect people from mosquito bites. Protective clothing, bed nets and insecticides can protect you while traveling. You also can take preventive medicine before, during and after a trip to a high-risk area.

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended widespread use of a new malaria vaccine for children. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the long-awaited vaccine a "breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control," and said that when combined with existing tools to prevent malaria, tens of thousands of children could be saved each year.

2023 Mayo Clinic News Network.

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Dimorphism in cartilage network mechanics. (A) Schematics of the stress relaxation test used. The expected relative contribution of proteoglycans and collagen networks to equilibrium modulus are indicated at the bottom of the graph. (B) Equilibrium modulus calculated from the linear portion of the stress-strain curve in intact cartilage. (C) Sample thickness of intact cartilage samples. Data in B and C are presented as mean  95% CI (dotted lines in B); n = 6 and 6, with each measured in duplicate. CI = confidence interval. Credit: CARTILAGE (2022). DOI: 10.1177/19476035221121792

Researchers have long known there are sex disparities when it comes to the prevalence and severity of knee osteoarthritis, a disease that causes cartilage degeneration. Now, investigations underway at UT Southwestern Medical Center point to biological differences in the knee cartilage of male and female animals that could explain substantial variances in rates of osteoarthritis between the sexes and may eventually lead to tailored treatments that take these into account.

"If we really want to improve women's health in orthopedics, we have to understand how men and women are different at the tissue, cellular, and molecular level," said Paula Hernandez, Ph.D., Instructor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UTSW, and Biomedical Engineering at UTSW, who leads research on structural, cellular, and mechanobiological aspects of sexual dimorphism in cartilage. "This is a start toward identifying those differences."

Articular cartilage acts as a cushion in our joints, allowing for frictionless movement, and its degeneration can be painful and debilitating. Several tissues within the knee joint including cartilage, meniscus, and ligaments work in balance to provide mechanical stability to the knee. Women are more susceptible than men to injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a key to knee stability, and that damage can result in a mechanical imbalance exposing cartilage to injurious friction and excessive mechanical load, triggering degeneration.

Because many women experience joint problems after menopause, Dr. Hernandez explained, the prevailing hypothesis has been that hormonal changes accompanying this life stage were responsible for differences with men. However, she and her colleagues wondered whether the factors that could contribute to joint issues were present far earlier.

To answer this question, Dr. Hernandez and her team worked with cartilage from the knees of cows between 24 and 30 months oldequivalent to humans 18 to 20 years old. This material is very similar to human cartilage but far easier to acquire from animal models than human patients, she said.

The study, published in Cartilage, found that knee cartilage isolated from male and female animals differed significantly in mechanical properties, microstructure, and gene expression long before hormonal changes from menopause.

Mechanical tests revealed that bovine cartilage from the males was more than three times stiffer than that from females. When the researchers examined the protein content of this cartilage, they found significant differences in the content of specific protein types in tissue from the male and female animals. Treating individual chondrocytesthe cells that produce cartilagewith an inflammatory chemical changed the activity in different sets of genes between the sexes.

Dr. Hernandez said these findings show striking differences in cartilage between the males and females relatively early in lifelong before the end of these animals' reproductive period. Her team is continuing to investigate when these differences first appear and whether they're tied to chromosomal sex, sex hormones, or another cause.

"By better understanding the root cause of sex differences and embracing them," Dr. Hernandez said, "we can get closer to closing the gap in knee osteoarthritis between the sexes."

More information: Paula A. Hernandez et al, Sexual Dimorphism in the Extracellular and Pericellular Matrix of Articular Cartilage, Cartilage (2022). DOI: 10.1177/19476035221121792
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Victor A. Mejias had been taking a drug to treat a rare skin disease for about two years when its manufacturer effectively cut off his supply.

Mejias was switching dermatologists and needed to find someone approved to administer the treatment by Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which makes the drug. But he says the company wouldn't help him find a new doctor. Mejias was enrolled in a study for another treatment and the drugmaker told him it would give him the name of a center only after he was done with the trial.

"I was so flabbergasted," Mejias said. "This deep depression sets in. What am I going to do?"

Clinuvel's drug, known as Scenesse, is the only US-approved drug for erythropoietic protoporphyria, or EPP, a genetic disorder that causes intense pain when sunlight hits a person's skin. It's been on the market since 2020.

The Melbourne-based company is an outlier in the pharmaceutical industry in that it keeps tight control over who can administer its drug. It doesn't publish a list of the doctors it's trained and approved and declined to give one to Bloomberg.

It also discourages patients like Mejias from participating in trials of other treatments, and has without warning barred a hospital from administering Scenesse.

Clinuvel's business practices are highly unusual. In the American heath care system, drugmakers generally don't get to choose which doctors can provide their medicines.

"Pharmaceutical companies don't practice medicine," said Ryan Nash, the director of the bioethics center at the Ohio State University. "It would be inappropriate if they tried to move into the space of taking away a clinician's ability to make clinical judgment."

Steven Joffe, chair of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school, said it could be an intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship. "When my doctor and me go into the clinic room together and we close the door, a company's commercial interests don't belong in that room with us," he said.

Mejias was participating in a trial of cimetidine, which has been sold as the cheap over-the-counter acid reflux medication Tagamet for decades. The sticker price of Scenesse, administered as an implant, is about $57,000, according to the consultancy 3 Axis Advisors. Depending on need, patients can get a new implant every two months.

Scenesse is Clinuvel's only approved drug. Overall the business had A$65.7 million in revenue in fiscal year 2022, which ended in June, or about $45 million at the time.

"This is perhaps an unorthodox approach in the industry, but we strongly believe that you need to have a high level of trust and confidence in the professionals with whom you work," Lachlan Hay, director of global operations for Clinuvel Group, said in April in a video posted on the company's LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

In March, the company abruptly cut off Massachusetts General Hospital, the Harvard-affiliated institution where Mejias was doing his cimetidine trial, according to patients and a doctor at that hospital.

Three patients said they received calls from Clinuvel representatives informing them of a "conflict of interest" at Mass General, and were told they couldn't get their treatment at that hospital anymore. Amy Dickey, co-director of the Mass General center that cares for patients with this condition, denied any such conflicts, and a hospital spokesperson said they didn't receive an explanation from the company. Clinuvel said last year that it didn't want patients taking Scenesse to also be in the cimetidine trial, Dickey said.

Clinuvel didn't comment when asked about this.

Discouraging patients from taking multiple medicines is not normally how American health care works. Because people often take several drugs for the same illness, drugmakers are required to include information on the label about safety concerns related to other medications.

But Scenesse's label doesn't mention potential dangers from the clinical trial drug cimetidine, which has been available for decades without a prescription. Any patient taking Scenesse could have used cimetidine without Clinuvel ever finding out, Dickey said. She said patients have taken both drugs with no ill effects.

Clinuvel didn't respond to a question about what the risks are of taking Scenesse with the antacid in the trial. On its website, it says Scenesse is "not suitable for patients involved in clinical trials for other EPP treatments." Clinuvel declined to explain what this means.

"The company should be clear about the scientific basis of its concern," said Mark Aulisio, chair of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University's medical school. "An unwillingness to provide a rationale is a bit of a red flag. It makes you worry that it's more about competition."

Clinuvel didn't respond to a request for comment about this characterization.

Dickey said she has been unable to order Scenesse for her patients since March. Patients in Boston can get the drug at a different hospital in the city that isn't involved in the antacid trial.

EPP affects thousands of people in the US, forcing many to avoid or limit time in the sun without covering their skin. It turns basics of everyday lifegrocery shopping, taking out the trash, picnics, watching the kids play sportsinto painful challenges.

Scenesse stimulates cells that make melanin, a pigment that protects skin from light.

Doctors who've treated the condition for years sometimes can't get the drug. Manish Thapar at Einstein Health Network in Philadelphia has been treating porphyria for over 15 years but couldn't get approved to prescribe Scenesse, so one of his patients had to go to Virginia.

"Traveling 100, 200 miles just to get a medication?" Thapar said. "I always thought, how are they getting away with it?"

Mejias, who lives in a Chicago suburb, was finally able to get Scenesse again. After Clinuvel denied him the name of a new doctor to provide it, he pointed out that he wasn't actually taking the antacidhe was at a stage of the trial where he wasn't receiving any pills. At that point, he says, Clinuvel sent him the name of a doctor in Wisconsin.

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.  Summer Oriyavong first heard the ringing bells and tapping sounds in her head when she was in middle school. Whispering voices and shadowy visions, ones that made her feel superior and special, soon followed.

It wasnt until Oriyavong ran out of her classroom in terror one day that her teachers and parents realized she needed help they couldnt provide. The shadow people were telling Oriyavong that her classmates were going to hurt her.

It felt like the hallucinations were my friends, so it didnt feel lonely, said Summer, now a junior at an independent study high school in Sacramento County. It just felt scary.

The 16-year-old from Rio Linda, a suburb of Sacramento, was the fortunate beneficiary of what her mom described as lifesaving mental health care from an early psychosis program at the University of California-Davis, covered largely by Medi-Cal, Californias version of Medicaid. The UC Davis program offers intensive treatment that doctors hope will enable people with severe mental illness to live normal lives  and save taxpayers money that might otherwise be spent on costlier, emergency interventions.

Oriyavong is among as many as 2 million people in the United States with schizophrenia, a brain disorder with symptoms that can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and trouble thinking.

More than half of Americans who suffer from schizophrenia or another mental illness didnt get the care they needed in 2021, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an advocacy group. Commercial insurance plans are not required to cover the type of specialty care recommended by the National Institute of Mental Health for severe mental illness, and most do not.

Federal law requires states to provide mental health treatment to Medicaid enrollees under 21, and a few places, such as New York and Texas, have statewide programs. In California, the level of care can depend on where you live: Counties are charged with providing specialty care for people with severe mental illness who are enrolled in Medi-Cal. And counties parcel out funding in different ways. (Medi-Cal insurers, which serve roughly 15 million people with low incomes or disabilities, cover treatment for mild to moderate mental health conditions such as anxiety.)

This care is not available to all Californians, said Tara Niendam, executive director of UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs and a leader in a state effort to set up programs elsewhere.Summer is lucky she was on Medi-Cal and she lived in Sacramento County.

The UC Davis program costs more than Medi-Cal pays, and Sacramento County taps state and federal grant funding to cover the difference. As of last year, 41% of California counties now have early psychosis programs or were developing them, Niendam said.

During her two-year stint with the UC Davis EDAPT clinic, Oriyavong went through coordinated specialty care for early psychosis, treated by a team of psychiatrists, therapists, educational specialists, and peer and family advocates. She was often at the clinic two to three times a week  more if she was going through a bad stretch, like cutting herself or stealing Benadryl to overdose.

Oriyavong didnt have to pay for any of it, including two stays at mental health hospitals and another at a local intensive care unit. Her mother, Sheri Oriyavong, never had to negotiate coverage. Without Medi-Cal and Sacramento County paying the bills, it would just be too much, she said.

In most cases, schizophrenia first appears in men during their late teens or early 20s. In women, it often strikes during their 20s or early 30s. Research shows that early interventions, including medications and therapy, make a big difference in peoples ability to manage their symptoms.

Extending such treatment to the estimated 27,000 Californians expected to develop psychosis each year remains a massive undertaking, with only a tenth as many slots available statewide, Niendam told lawmakers at an Assembly budget hearing in mid-April How much it would cost is unclear, and the state Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, MHSOAC, is seeking the go-ahead from the legislature to map out costs and benefits.

Advocates believe taxpayers will save money in the long run by helping patients hold down a job and avoid becoming homeless.

It would be an investment upfront, but it would be a savings down the road, said Kerry Ahearn, chief executive officer of Aldea Children & Family Services, a nonprofit that provides specialty mental health services in Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties. People used to think people with psychosis were one in a million and its so severe you cant treat it. Its not true.

A small, state-funded pilot project at Kaiser Permanente aims to demonstrate that coverage of severe mental health problems can also save health plans money.

The hypothesis is that by helping the client manage their psychosis, theyll better manage their diabetes, for example, said Toby Ewing, executive director of MHSOAC. And so total health care costs actually will go down.

Now that Oriyavong has learned how to recognize her triggers and symptoms, shes on track to graduate high school a semester early. Shes thinking about getting a job and attending community college.

I used to think that people who are schizophrenic, they wouldnt live normal lives, even that people would be scared of them, Oriyavong said. But actually, they can live just like normal people.

This article is part of Faces of Medi-Cal, a California Healthline series exploring the impact of the states safety-net health program on enrollees.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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Every day, Adrienne Grimmett and her colleagues at Evara Health in the Tampa Bay area see stories of inequity in their patients teeth, gums, and palates.

Marked in painful abscesses, dangerous infections, and missing molars are tales of unequal access to care.

All of these ailments  which keep patients out of work because of pain or social stigma, and children out of school because they cant concentrate with rotting roots  are preventable.

Annual dental checks are essential to overall health. But of the 67 counties in Florida, experts say, only one has enough dentists to treat all patients. Nine counties in Florida have fewer than three practicing dentists apiece. Lafayette County, in north Florida, doesnt have a single one.

Its a social injustice, said Grimmett, director of dental services at the not-for-profit, which serves Medicaid and uninsured patients in the Tampa Bay region.

You will never be totally well if you dont have oral health, she said.

In Florida and across the nation, vulnerable and marginalized communities  already prone to higher rates of chronic disease and limited access to health care  are left behind in these dental deserts. There, patient volume exceeds the capacity of providers, or too few dentists are willing to serve those on Medicaid or the uninsured.

Constricting the pool of dentists are low  or nonexistent  reimbursement rates for services paid through the states Medicaid programs. Meanwhile, costly dental education can make dentists reluctant to work in more rural areas.

About 6 million Floridians live in dental deserts, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Thats the largest state population living without basic dental care in the U.S.

The consequences can be catastrophic, as people try to navigate a health system with few providers willing to serve them and costs that make services unattainable.

Theyre people like Mark Maggs, a 54-year-old Pinellas Park resident diagnosed with cancer last year. He delayed treatment because doctors said he needed to have teeth pulled first. His daughter started a GoFundMe to raise the $3,000 for the extractions.

Theyre people like Lisa Lambros, a 40-year-old New Port Richey resident who drives 90 minutes to Tampa for appointments at the county health department. She lost her teeth due to cancer three years ago and desperately needs dentures, but hasnt been able to afford them. She feels bad for her kids, embarrassed when they bring friends home to meet her.

I had perfect teeth until I got sick, Lambros said. Now people treat me different. They look at me like Im a bad person.

Lambros and Maggs both live with daily pain that could be relieved with dental care.

Health equity advocates are fighting for long-term investments in oral health at the local, state, and federal levels to close gaps in care.

Where Are All the Dentists?

Poor dental access is not the result of too few dental school graduates.

Enrollment has been ticking up nationally, with more than 26,000 students in school last year. Thats about a tenth the number of working dentists in the U.S., according to the American Dental Association.

But the majority of those graduates arent practicing in underserved communities and dont accept uninsured patients or those enrolled in federal health insurance plans.

The issue is uneven distribution, said Joe Anne Hart, whos worked for the Florida Dental Association for nearly two decades.

Recruiting dentists to rural communities, where public infrastructure is typically worse, can be a challenge, Hart said.

And often, she added, theres a financial reason why dentists choose to practice in more affluent regions: student loan debt.

As of 2020, new graduates left dental school with an average debt of about $300,000, according to the American Dental Education Association.

With fewer patients in mostly poorer rural communities, graduates flock to private practices elsewhere, seeking financial stability. But its not just rural residents who struggle to access care. Because Medicaid reimbursements for dental care are paltry, even in urban areas, most dentists opt not to serve Medicaid patients.

Nearly 8 in 10 Florida dentists reported they did not accept Medicaid patients, according to the most recent workforce survey from the state Department of Health. More than 70% of respondents cited low Medicaid reimbursement rates as the main reason why.

In Florida, fewer than 5% of dentists work in publicly funded dental offices and community clinics. The survey found the majority work in private practices.

When you look at our dental Medicaid funding, we havent had an increase since 2012, said Christopher Bulnes, who practices in Hillsborough County. Were at the bottom of the nation.

In 2020, the Medicaid reimbursement rate for child dental services in Florida was just 42.6% of what private insurance reimbursed on average, according to the American Dental Association. Thats one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country. In Texas, for example, the rate is 70.3%. Arizonas reimbursement rate is nearly double that of Floridas.

For standard adult services, such as preventive cleanings and imaging, there is no benefit in the Sunshine State.

Kimme Heller is a 38-year-old St. Petersburg mom who lost her teeth after pregnancy as she battled infection after infection, a product of unlucky genetics and lack of access to preventive care. Her jawbone is so deteriorated from decay that her face is starting to change shape. It hurts to eat. Shes been looking for a dental surgeon, but availability is limited. Even if she could get in, she couldnt afford the procedures.

The rich get their smiles. The poor get disease, she said.

Representatives of the Florida Dental Association said the state  which controls how much dental coverage is offered under Medicaid  should promote oral health care and increase coverage for vulnerable patients.

Additionally, the organization is lobbying for programs that would encourage dentists to care for underserved communities. One initiative theyve floated would offer dentists up to $50,000 a year in student loan relief for efforts such as serving Medicaid patients or working in areas without enough providers.

As lawmakers convene in Tallahassee, the association has asked the state to set aside $1.8 million per year to support the Dental Student Loan Repayment Program. But with days to go, lawmakers have yet to act.

A Costly Toll

The percentage of adults and kids who have visited a dentist in the past year is lower in Florida than in any other state.

Were talking about quality-of-life issues, said Grimmett, of Evara Health. Every day we see patients who werent able to move forward with cancer treatment because they needed dental clearance and they werent able to get it. Weve seen patients who have been in pain for long periods of time who cant sleep or eat and need treatment. We see people without teeth who need dentures.

Each year, more than $45 billion is lost from the U.S. economy  tallied in work missed and job opportunities lost  because of untreated oral disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. Nearly 1 in 5 adults reported that oral disease affected their appearance and hampered their ability to get work. Some struggle to eat through the pain.

Children, meanwhile, miss class.

I cant tell you how many times Ive received calls from a parent or school nurse because a child cannot focus or learn because they are in pain, said Jacinta Lamontagne, who serves Medicaid patients near Pensacola.

In 2020, fewer than half of people ages 1 through 20 on Medicaid received preventive dental care, such as an annual screening. In Florida, about 67% of kids on Medicaid went without.

Black and Hispanic children are more likely to have untreated oral illness.

For people 65 or older who use Medicare, dental care can also remain out of reach. Medicare does not cover standard services such as cleanings and fillings.

Frank Catalanotto is a founding member of Floridians for Dental Access and former dean of the University of Florida College of Dentistry. His organization is a partnership between nonprofits, individual dentists, and medical centers working to improve health access in the state.

Hes motivated to close disparities  and not just those directly related to health. Oral pain can affect childrens educational outcomes too.

The literature now documents very clearly that if you are in pain, youre going to miss school more often than other kids, youre not going to learn as well, Catalanotto said. Youre going to have social issues, because if youve got broken-down front teeth, kids are going to make fun of you.

Catalanotto said theres also a financial toll. When people dont have access to local providers and are in pain, they often go to the emergency room.

In 2020, Florida hospitals billed roughly $330 million for more than 100,000 emergency room visits that stemmed from preventable oral health problems, according to analysis of hospital data by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a national nonprofit that focuses on health equity.

Much of that burden falls on taxpayers.

And while health care access is limited across medicine  not just in dentistry  Catalanotto stressed that teeth dont fix themselves.

Some minor ailments, such as colds and viral infections, can simply run their course. A minor dental ailment, he said, does no such thing.

Oral disease is progressive and ongoing and ultimately leads to severe infections.

Until more people have access to preventive care, the most vulnerable are going to continue to get unnecessarily sick.

We have a crisis in Florida, Catalanotto said. That is abundantly clear.

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Bryan Wells and his wife have operated short-term rentals in Pray, Montana, since 1997. Wells said the business has been a lifeline for the couple, who struggled to make ends meet in the rural area outside the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

We never inherited a nickel, said Wells, who believes he has about a seventh-grade education.

The Wellses lived for nine years without indoor plumbing, performing various odd jobs including building fences and maintaining a Montana Department of Transportation rest stop.

We had to work hard, he said. Really, really hard.

Eventually, the pair managed to save enough from their efforts to buy an 1800s schoolhouse in Pray, the same school his wifes mother attended in the 1920s. They decided to renovate the schoolhouse and use it as a short-term rental, and thats when everything changed.

We really liked it, Bryan Wells said. It was a lot of fun.

Income from that first short-term rental allowed the Wellses to add three more dwelling units, and eventually Wells put his properties on Airbnb. The most significant benefit of renting short-term units, Wells said, is the money he and his wife are able to put toward retirement.

We love doing what were doing, he said. Its given us a chance to have a decent retirement.

The typical Airbnb host earned over $14,200 in 2022, according to the company. Airbnb also collected and remitted over $14.1 million in tourism taxes during the year. Since 2019, tourism taxes paid by Airbnb increased by 255%.

Alex April, senior policy manager with the short-term rental company, believes that increase can be attributed to a number of factors.

More folks are learning they can host, she said, noting Airbnb offers flexible short-term rental options to fit different lifestyles. The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to more domestic travel, particularly to sought-after locales like Montana, April noted.

Everyone I know was telling me we have to go to Glacier, she related.

In Aprils mind, thats a benefit to Montana communities like Missoula, where the proliferation of short-term rentals is on the rise. City officials said the number of short-term rentals increased 25% from 2020 to 2022.

Were very excited to be able to empower Montanans to be able to rent out their home, said April. The rising cost of living, April said, makes short-term rental options like Airbnb a helpful revenue stream for Montanans.

According to Airbnb data, 62% of hosts said Airbnb rentals help them manage the rising cost of living, and 33% reported being able to stay in their homes thanks to Airbnb.

In Missoula, April added, 85% of Airbnb operators only have one home listing, and 70% of hosts are women, which is above Airbnbs national gender breakdown.

April also stressed the company has trust and safety tools built in to help hosts and their neighbors coexist well, and she welcomes the opportunity to work with the city to make sure operators are compliant. Airbnb is already in talks with the city of Bozeman to make sure the company operates productively there.

We want to be a good partner at the local level, April said.

But many in communities across Montana and the U.S. see short-term rentals not as a community benefit, but as a threat to affordable housing.

No one disputes tourism is an important part of any economy and most economies, said Franklin Coley with the Alliance for Stronger Communities. Coley pointed out residential neighborhoods arent designed for commercial activity and commercial traffic, putting a strain on local infrastructure and the people who regularly utilize it.

Communities need to have the tools to manage these issues and deal with some of the potential impacts to neighborhoods, he said.

The specificity of those tools, meanwhile, needs to be determined on the local level, according to Coley.

The whole idea here  that one size fits all doesnt really work, Coley explained. Communities need to be able to address this in unique ways. Theres unique challenges in every community.

Without those tools, Coley warned, Airbnbs and the like could contribute to detrimental and even dangerous circumstances in cities like Missoula.

Anytime there is unregulated commercial activity happening in the shadows, its going to attract bad actors, Coley contended. Thats what weve seen a lot of times in different communities  This is about setting up a system where it can be done the right way.

What Coley has also seen at the national level is the trend toward absorbing long-term affordable housing options into short-term rentals.

It is well-founded across the board that this moves residential housing stock to commercial housing stock, he said. In Montana, he added, huge amounts of investment money threaten to take over communities already struggling to provide avenues to attainable housing.

It is just throwing gasoline in the fire, he said.

And even though Missoulas short-term rental stock only accounts for less than 2% of the overall housing supply, Coley warned that proportion is likely to get a lot worse.

Its absolutely inevitable, he said. Its like a domino effect.

Other examples across the state and throughout the West attest to Coleys predictions.

According to a study released in summer 2022, the city of Bozeman has 35.3 short-term listings per 1,000 households. Jackson, Wyoming, has 135.3 short-term rentals per 1,000 households. And the small city of Whitefish has 229.2 short-term rental listings per 1,000 households, in a city of just 8,000 people.

A town like Whitefish has so little affordable housing to begin with, said Nathan Dugan, co-founder of the housing organization Shelter WF. Its definitely a huge issue.

Like Coley, Dugan pointed out that he appreciates some of the positive impacts Airbnb and other short-term options have for communities. In college, Dugan said, he rented out a spare room in his house as an Airbnb.

He said short-term rentals are a good option assuming that there is enough housing for folks to have in general  thats not the case right now.

Instead of using short-term rentals to generate tax revenue and income, Dugan pushed for additional housing development in places like Whitefish and Missoula.

Thats also an effective way to increase tax revenue, he pointed out.

But the downsides of short-term rentals, particularly on the large scale of Airbnb, outweigh the benefits for Dugan.

What Airbnb has become, has become a real issue, around the country and around the state, he said.
Ukrainian officials say that Russia has launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days. The attack damaged buildings and wounded at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failed to hit Kyiv. Air raid sirens blared across the capital about 3:45 a.m. Monday followed by explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems. The Ukrainian armed forces commander-in-chief said that 18 cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk and Caspian regions and 15 of them were intercepted. On Friday, more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones were launched at Kyiv, the first such attack in nearly two months.
During National Nurses Month, we recognize the millions of skilled, caring individuals committed to the nursing profession. The nurses pledge outlined by Florence Nightingale in 1893 ends with a promise to devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

A great deal of trust continues to be placed in this nations nearly 4.2 million nurses, with nursing ranked the most trusted profession year after year. Todays U.S. nursing workforce includes 355,000 licensed nurse practitioners who care for patients in over 1 billion visits annually, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. The number of states giving nurse practitioners full practice authority continues to expand, and U.S. News & World Report, for the second year in a row, ranked the nurse practitioner (NP) role first on its 2023 Best Health Care Jobs list and second on its 100 Best Jobs of 2023 list.

Lately, though, the conversation has also centered around the welfare of nurses, the reasons they seem to be in short supply, and how to make impactful changes benefiting both patients and providers while sustaining our complex health system.

As editor of the American Journal of Critical Care, I have addressed and will continue to emphasize tough, honest topics about the well-being of nurses in this current climate, including moral distress and burnout exacerbated by COVID-19 and the rise in violence against nurses, which escalated to an all-time high last year.

As editor of AJCC, I also have the chance to highlight bright spots I see in nursing and patient care. As the Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami, my optimism centers on our future nurses, the robust, well-rounded education we prepare them with, and the incomparable educators who make the advancement of knowledge possible for our profession.

This time of year, and this writing space, give me a broader platform to bring to light the need for the kind of novel, optimistic, world-changing work we promote here at the School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS). The importance of evidence-based, accredited nursing education for this nation cannot be understated. Nursing education has been a part of the University of Miami curriculum for 75 years.

Story continues

In fact, in 1948, UM offered South Floridas first collegiate nursing program. We launched South Floridas first public health bachelors degree program and introduced Floridas first nurse anesthetist doctoral program, received the first P60 center grant ever awarded to a nursing school, and offered one of the nations first executive-style M.S.N. to D.N.P. degree programs, among other forward-thinking moves.

Over these past 75 years, the school has grown immeasurably as an educational leader for nursing, here and across the hemisphere. That was evidenced most recently with our hosting of the Pan American Nursing Research Colloquium. Presented biennially by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the event drew over 200 participants from around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, El Salvador, Chile, Israel, Portugal, Cuba, Jamaica, Bolivia, and over a dozen other countries. Many more logged on globally for the virtual portions of the hybrid conference.

For over seven decades, the didactic and clinical programs, community and global outreach, and research initiatives innovated by this schools faculty, students, and alumni have helped shape and improve the health care landscape in this community immeasurably, expanding access to care among our most vulnerable and neglected populations.

Our programs have maintained top academic and health care accreditations. Our graduates first-time pass rates on licensure exams for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists are consistently high, well above state and national averages.

Today, our school is taking nursing to new heights. Not only are we growing the profession by educating future nurses at all scopes of practice, but we are preparing future nurse scientists, nurse leaders, and nurse educators, all of whom are desperately needed in todays health system. We have an internationally known and utilized 41,000-square-foot simulation facility, Simulation Hospital Advancing Research and Education, or S.H.A.R.E. In this cutting-edge environment, our faculty are developing and delivering new simulation-based educational techniques targeting health care professionals and providing experiential learning opportunities for the global health care workforce. In this environment, we can safely replicate and debrief on virtually any scenario, from high-risk to routine, that our students may encounter.

In addition to preparing outstanding RNs, preparing exceptional nurse practitioners is a significant part of our role here at SONHS. We offer nearly a dozen specialized tracks to follow toward this path, designed to meet the needs of todays nursing professionals. The most recent of these is the Master of Science in Leadership (MSL) / Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) joint degree program, offered in coordination with the University of Miami Herbert Business School.

Another important area we are focused on is the need to address South Floridas human trafficking public health crisis. Florida ranks with California and Texas in the top three U.S. states impacted by human trafficking, with South Florida an epicenter of the crisis.

Yet awareness and education about human trafficking remain remarkably low among health professionals. SONHS is targeting this public health crisis by educating nursing students and others via a hybrid didactic and simulation-based curriculum to raise awareness about how to recognize and address human trafficking in the clinical setting.

Over 600 nursing students in a variety of specialties have experienced immersive education to prevent human trafficking since the Spring of 2021 when the program officially started. The award-winning curriculum weve implemented, Do You See What I See? Recognizing Human Trafficking, uses trauma-informed best practices established by HEAL Trafficking and other nationally known stakeholders to promote education for survivor-informed, person-centered care that is culturally and linguistically appropriate, multidisciplinary, and data-driven.

Included in this curriculum is a simulation component in which students engage one-on-one with a trauma-informed Standardized Patient (SP) portraying a potential trafficking victim in an emergency setting. These lifelike encounters help prepare students for the complex array of indicators, challenges, and symptomatology this vulnerable population may present within a real-life clinical setting.

The reception has been excellent, with students saying they feel more comfortable knowing they will be aware of what to do and how to recognize someone who is being trafficked or exploited.

Generous funding from the Harcourt M. and Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation is enabling SONHS to significantly expand its efforts over the next two years to educate frontline health care professionals, collaborate with major hospital systems such as UHealth and Jackson Health System, engage a consultant, form an advisory board, and establish reproduceable resources for the local, national, and international community.

This Fall 2022, we debuted the Maria G. Lamas Featured Speaker Series for Human Trafficking Education and Prevention and continue partnering with community stakeholders to promote awareness and facilitate interconnectedness among cross-professional entities aligned against human trafficking.

Other critical support to date has come from Heidi Schaeffer, M.D. 98, and the UM Citizens Board.

Moving forward, we are actively working to establish the Academic Center for Human Trafficking Education and Prevention as one of our schools top three fundraising priorities for the University of Miamis Ever Brighter: The Campaign for Our Next Century. Our other complementary priorities include promoting health equity across diverse communities and strengthening the science of holistic health care. (For more information, visit https://everbrighter.miami.edu/school-units/school-of-nursing-and-health-studies/index.html).

As we celebrate National Nurses Month and our 75th anniversary of educational excellence at SONHS, there is no question of the need for nurse educators to continue leading and lighting the way for the welfare of our community.
VALDESE  Threats lodged against a local middle school on social media had been dealt with Monday morning, according to a message sent out by the schools assistant principal.

School staff were made aware of threats against Heritage Middle School circulating on social media before school started Monday through the school districts See Something Say Something app, said Cheryl Shuffler, public relations officer for Burke County Public Schools.

Heritage Middle Assistant Principal Stephanie Revis said in a message to parents there were extra law enforcement and district personnel on hand at the school because of the threat.

We have investigated and dealt with the matter and are continuing to have a productive day of learning here at Heritage, Revis said in the message. We take any threat of school violence very seriously and the safety of our students and staff is of utmost importance.

Shuffler said the matter had been turned over to law enforcement for investigation, and student discipline in the issue will be handled according to policy.

We appreciate the vigilance of our students, staff and families and encourage anyone who sees or hears of anything suspicious to report it, Revis said in the message to parents.

Burke County Sheriff Banks Hinceman said the issue still is under investigation.

We take any threat to the school seriously and do what we can to keep our kids safe in school, Hinceman said.
The popular Alley Rally garbage drop-off program in Butte will start in two weeks if commissioners agree to another $35,000 contract with Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. to handle its operations.

The county liked the debut arrangement with CCCS and the location in 2019 and has renewed it every year except 2020, when Alley Rally was not offered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If commissioners agree to the pact again Wednesday night, CCCS would staff the site off of East Iron Street, just below the Belmont Senior Center on Shields Avenue, starting Tuesday, May 16. It will run through Aug. 6.

The site will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and be closed on Mondays. It will be closed on July 4, a Tuesday.

CCCS runs the Butte Pre-Release Center and other prison programs in Montana, but it does not use pre-release residents or anyone under jurisdiction of the Montana Department of Corrections to staff the site. McGree Trucking will remove and replace dumpsters at the site.

For many years now, Community Enrichment has placed large garbage containers at certain locations in Butte during late spring and summer so people can dispose of garbage, debris and yard waste without going to the county landfill north of Rocker.

In 2018, the containers were moved to different sites around town and were only open Fridays and Saturdays. Instead of being more convenient for people, many had a hard time finding it from week to week.

The county had staffed the sites with summer help in previous years, but officials approached CCCS in 2019, knowing it owned a site next to an old red warehouse off of East Iron Street below the Belmont Center that was already fenced. East Iron Street connects with Shields Avenue just south of the Berkeley Pit viewing stand.

Although the county landfill is only 4 miles from the western edge of Butte and does not charge for individual loads of household garbage and items, the Alley Rally has been widely used when at one location.
Winfield Scott Hawes was born in Boston in 1865, namesake of one of the most famous military men in the United States during the first half of the 19th Century. Hawes came to Butte with his mother about 1882, when he was 17 years old.

Hawes was involved in the formation of Buttes first official volunteer fire department in 1883, and he maintained connections with firefighting organizations throughout his life.

By late 1885, when he was just twenty, Hawes was in partnership with A.B. Hower producing tintype photographs in a studio on Broadway Street across from the Opera House (where the Leggatt Hotel stands today). You could get four good tintypes for a regular dollar, or eight for $1.50. In July 1886 Hawes bought out his partner, but just a month later, their Broadway Photograph Gallery was purchased by George W. Smith & Co. Hawes was on his way to Anaconda.

In Anaconda Hawes partnered with John and George Elliott, experienced photographers who had also moved to the new town of Anaconda from Butte. But it was Hawes & Elliott when it came to the names on the photos they produced. Hawes became the president of the Anaconda Firemens Association and was active in the volunteer fire department there.

About 1899 Hawes returned to Butte with his wife Catherine, an Ontario native who he met and married in Anaconda in 1890. He joined a dozen other professional photographers in Butte when he set up his photography studio at 12 West Mercury (about where Pork Chop Johns is today in a newer building), and he and Catherine lived next door at No. 14.

Hawes took advantage of modern flexible celluloid film, invented about 1889, in both his photography and in a subsidiary business, the Montana Button House, at the same location on Mercury Street. Political buttons were all the rage at the turn of the century, and Hawes reportedly produced 30,000 buttons for the 1900 presidential campaign between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan, a contentious race in Montana. After McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Hawes also produced mourning buttons to honor the fallen president.

For local elections for mayor, city treasurer, and others, Hawes advertised that we made the winning button for W. A. Clark and we can make you a winner. Hurry Up! And in 1903, he solicited salesmen to peddle the buttons he made to commemorate Theodore Roosevelts visit to Butte, the first sitting president to do so. Sales could generate $3 a day easy, according to Hawes.

The studio moved to 12 South Main in 1905 or 1906, and he and Catherine moved to Deer Lodge in 1909. Catherine was active in the Fraternal Whist Club in Butte, hosting card parties at their Mercury Street Home, and in Deer Lodge she was secretary of the Society of Arts & Crafts.

W.S. Hawes died in Deer Lodge in 1912 at age 47 of heart disease. Catherine moved back to Butte, where she lived until her death in 1948.
Its getting hard to read the news about Montanas legislative session these days. The serious business of crafting public policy for the good of all Montanans has been sidelined by measures intended to be punitive, divisive, and completely out of line with Montanas long standing live and let live reputation. If theres any good news, its that the 90-day session will end this week  although certainly not going out on a high note.

The eyes of the nation were once again focused on the hateful antics of the Republican supermajority that banned Zooey Zephyr, a freshman Missoula legislator who also happens to be transgender, from taking her place on the House floor and representing the 11,000 Montanans who sent her to the legislature.

What did she do to deserve this harsh punishment to remove her from on-going public policy debates? She actively opposed the punitive bills focused on the transgender community  something she knows a lot more about than most legislators.

And gosh, Montanas snowflake Republicans were horrified and insulted because she told them, backed up by medical and psychiatric proof and experience, that transgender people were going to commit suicide because of what the Legislature was passing into law  and said theyd have blood on your hands.

Mind you, this is the same political party that still supports the Jan. 6 insurrection to overthrow Congress and stop a legitimate president from taking office. The same party whose ex-president promised death and destruction if he were arrested and charged with national security violations or business and electoral fraud. The same party that thought is was OK for him to tell the goons at his rallies to rough up protestors.

In the meantime, the same supermajority that controls the Legislature couldnt even meet its own deadlines for introduction of bills, public notice of hearings, or even transmittal of bills between the House and Senate. Some might call it rank incompetence, and they wouldnt be wrong.

Likewise, the numerous concerns that have been raised about unconstitutional bills are simply blown off because the Legislature has the power to pass those bills and the governor has the power to sign them into law  and they will remain law until someone takes them to court and has them overturned when theyre found to be unconstitutional.

Clearly, the provisions of Montanas Constitution are meaningless to these arrogant and headstrong Republican majorities. Theres no better example of violating all Montanans constitutional rights than the decision to close the galleries to the public last week  and perhaps this week, too.

Montanas Constitution is very clear under the Right to Know provisions in the Declaration of Rights that: No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.

Yet the Republican leadership decided if the public wanted to exercise its constitutional right to observe the proceedings of the Legislature, it could do so by watching television coverage through a single lens  kind of like looking myopically through a toilet paper tube.

Theres no camaraderie or honor whatsoever at the end of this legislative session  just taillights heading out of Helena back to the places where most Montanans still follow the live and let live and respect for individual privacy traditions for which our state has long been known. Perhaps, when they leave their vicious pack mentality, theyll remember those traditions  and reflect back on how they betrayed them, the constitution and Montanans for 90 long days.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Pennsylvania's state Senate on Monday approved legislation to ban so-called safe injection sites, after Philadelphia became the center of a legal battle over opening safe havens where opioid users could legally inject heroin and other drugs under supervision as a way to reduce overdoses.

The bill passed, 41-9, with every Republican in favor of it and nine of 22 Democrats against it.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, said she supports recovery and harm-reduction efforts, such as needle exchanges and mobile methodone units, but not what she called programs that perpetuate addiction without a path to recovery.

Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, said efforts to ban the centers are based on misconceptions that they provide drugs or contribute to crime. Rather, the centers are sanitary and staffed by professionals who save lives by connecting addicts to treatment and services that can help them and reduce pressure on police and emergency responders, Saval said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has said he opposes safe injection sites. The subject has divided Democrats, making it unlikely that the bill will come up in the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives.

The U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 won a lawsuit when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected a plan to open a supervised injection site in the city. The court concluded the operation would violate a 1980s-era drug law aimed at crackhouses.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case. The Justice Department has since said it is evaluating such facilities and talking to regulators about appropriate guardrails.

Rhode Island and New York City have allowed their use while the governors of California and Vermont each vetoed safe injection sites bill last summer.
MONDAY, May 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Suicides among the youngest U.S. teenagers were rising for years before the pandemic  with school stress, social media and guns standing as potential factors, according to a new study.

Researchers found that between 2008 and 2018, the suicide rate among 13- and 14-year-olds nationwide more than doubled  from roughly two deaths per 100,000 teens in 2008, to five per 100,000 a decade later.

It was a stark reversal of a decline that began in the late-1990s.

And, in fact, suicide is now the leading cause of death for 13- and 14-year-olds in the United States, said senior researcher Dr. Sarah Wood, a professor of pediatrics at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine.

The study  published online recently in the Annals of Pediatrics and Child Health  comes amid growing concerns about U.S. kids' mental well-being. For years, studies have been charting rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behavior. And the latest government surveys of U.S. high school students continue to paint a bleak picture.

"In my mind, this study is another warning bell," Wood said. "Things are not improving. They're getting worse."

Much has been said about the pandemic's effects on kids' mental health. And while that's true, the pandemic added to problems that have long existed, said Joseph Feinglass, a research professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago.

Feinglass, who was not involved in the study, said the new research highlights that grim fact. The bigger question, he said, is what can be done about it?

"I've been thinking a lot about what could be driving this," Feinglass said. In a 2022 study, he and his colleagues found that in Illinois, kids' emergency room visits for suicidal thoughts rose by 59% between 2016 and 2021  with a sharp spike in 2019, pre-pandemic.

Feinglass said he thinks kids' heavy use of social media is part of the story, though only one factor.

Wood agreed. That's in part because of the timing of the reversal in young teenagers' suicide rates. Before 2008, the study found, that rate was waning  from about 2.3 deaths per 100,000 in 1999, to 1.5 per 100,000 in 2007. That was followed by a sudden, and unrelenting, rise  increasing by 2.5 times between 2008 and 2018.

According to Wood's team, the pattern suggests a role for social media, as sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter launched between 2004 and 2006. That was later followed by apps like Instagram and SnapChat, which have become wildly popular among teens.

Past studies, Wood said, have linked heavy social media use to heightened risks of distress and depression in kids.

There are various possible reasons, both researchers said. Social media may be worsening bullying, causing kids to constantly compare themselves with others, exposing them to all kinds of negative messages, and pulling their attention to a screen instead of their real lives.

But there is almost certainly no single culprit to blame.

Feinglass pointed to the bigger context: "I think there's something very toxic going on in American society."

He noted that 2008 also marked the economic downturn and housing crisis that was especially rough on young families with children. When parents are under strain, their kids feel it, too.

At the same time, Feinglass said, the nation has seen "rapidly rising tensions" and open hostility between liberal and conservative, a worsening opioid epidemic, mass shootings and other cultural issues that can give kids "a sense that the future is not bright."

And the ubiquitous smartphone may expose kids to the bad side of life in a way that past generations were not.

"Social media may amplify this message that the world is a terrible place," Feinglass said.

Meanwhile, the study found certain other patterns, too. One was related to geography, with suicide rates being higher in rural areas than in big cities, specifically when it came to firearm deaths: There are 2.3 such deaths per 100,000 in rural areas, versus 1.6 per 100,000 in large cities.

Wood said that raises questions about gun access in rural parts of the country  though, she added, poor mental health would still be at the heart of the problem.

The researchers also found that young teens' suicide rates spiked during the school year and dropped off in the summer, suggesting that school stress may be a factor.

Feinglass saw the same pattern in his recent study. It could be partly related to bullying, but kids these days also face a lot of academic pressure, he noted. They hear the message that they need to graduate college to have a good life  to a degree that past generations did not.

Wood agreed that kids today face stressors.

"I think we tend to be a 'type A,' achievement-oriented society," she said. "But we also need to let kids be kids."

Although studies paint a grim picture, Wood also pointed out that teen suicide remains relatively rare. She sees findings like these as a way to raise awareness and "mobilize us."

Both researchers said schools are a prime place to intervene. That, Feinglass said, should include encouraging kids to look out for each other, and speak up if they notice a friend is "down and out."

For parents, Wood emphasized the importance of spending time with your kids and showing them they can talk to you.

"We need to let them know that we're here for them, and we're listening," she said.

More information

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has advice for parents.

SOURCES: Sarah Wood, MD, professor, pediatrics, interim chair, department of women's and children's health, Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton; Joseph Feinglass, PhD, research professor, medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; Annals of Pediatrics and Child Health, March 19, 2023, online
DIVERNON, Ill. (AP)  A windstorm in central Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields Monday, causing numerous crashes that killed at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.

The late morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.

He said at least six people died, all in the northbound lanes, and more than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were transported to hospitals with injuries.

The only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us, said Tom Thomas, 43, who was traveling south to St. Louis.

I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis, and likely won't reopen until Tuesday.

Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a whiteout situation typically seen in winter snowstorms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the scene as horrific.

The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility, Starrick said.

Dairon Socarras Quintero, 32, who was driving to St. Louis to make deliveries for his custom frame company based in Elk Grove Village, said that after his truck hit the vehicle in front of him, he exited and moved to the side of the road to ensure his safety, then returned after the chain reaction of crashes ended behind him.

Socarras Quintero said the dust continued to blow ferociously as he checked on other motorists and emergency personnel arrived. He held up his backpack, which was caked with dust even though it was inside a closed truck cab.

Winds at the time were gusting between 35 mph (56 kph) and 45 mph (74 kph), the National Weather Service said.

It's very flat, very few trees," meteorologist Chuck Schaffer said. It's been very dry across this area really for the last three weeks. The farmers are out there tilling their fields and planting. The top layer of soil is quite loose.

Evan Anderson, 25, who was returning home to St. Louis from Chicago, said a semi turned before striking his vehicle, sparing him from even more damage.

You couldnt even see, Anderson said. People tried to slow down and other people didnt, and I just got plowed into. There were just so many cars and semitrucks with so much momentum behind them.

Kevin Schott, director of emergency services in Montgomery County, said it was a very difficult scene and one thats very hard to train for.

We had to search every vehicle, whether they were involved in the accident or just pulled over, to check for injuries, he said, adding that people were "upset  visibly so, understandably so.

Authorities set up staging areas away from the crash site to help travelers reunite with friends and family.

Associated Press reporters Rick Callahan in Indianapolis and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.
Des Moines Register. April 30, 2023.

Editorial: Kim Reynolds should take her own advice and veto this years most cynical bill

The stakes are high. When it comes to crippling limits on how to handle audits that ferret out fraud, the governor should stand on the side of Iowa taxpayers.

Gov. Kim Reynolds need only consult her own words to decide how to handle Senate File 478 when the bill to kneecap the state auditors office reaches her desk.

I am cautious about approving a provision that redefines the scope of the Attorney Generals duties because I am mindful that the Attorney General is also elected by, and directly accountable to, the people of Iowa, Reynolds wrote in 2019. At issue then was the Legislatures effort to stop Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, from suing the administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican.

The governor can copy and paste the language, substituting in auditor, and reject an affront to government accountability that needlessly will make it easier for taxpayer money to be misused.

In 2019, of course, Reynolds veto was conditioned on Miller acquiescing to a less formal agreement that he would participate in lawsuits only with the consent of Republican leaders. Millers concession kept a terrible law off the books.

But the stakes are higher here. When it comes to crippling limits on how to handle audits that ferret out fraud, State Auditor Rob Sand should not give any substantive ground, and Reynolds should stand on the side of good government  and her own principle  by issuing an unencumbered veto.

An aggressive state auditor is a good thing for Iowa

Republican legislators have pointed to a pair of lawsuits filed by Sands office during his first four-year term in office as justifying new procedures to protect private information, clarify the scope of the auditors authority, and limit the auditors ability to sue.

Calling this pretense flimsy is an understatement.

Sand was right to go to court to try to bring independent eyes to the University of Iowas $1.2 billion utility-leasing deal and to questionable spending by an insurance pool funded by hundreds of local Iowa governments. In the UI case, even the two justices who appear to have prompted Senate File 478 by questioning when an audit begins agreed in their opinion that such oversight was proper. And with the insurance pool, many observers have pointed out that a more obvious legislative reaction would have been to ensure that such entities cannot escape oversight merely because they are organized under a certain section of state law.

It is mind-boggling that lawmakers who claim to be careful stewards of taxpayer money want to discourage scrutiny of government action. Just two high-profile examples of massive misspending investigated by Iowas state auditor: David Vaudt, a Republican, famously brought to light excessive salaries at a central Iowa job-training agency in 2006. While Democratic Gov. Chet Culvers administration initially hired an outside auditor to examine the infamous excesses involved with the state Film Office in 2009, Vaudt ultimately identified nearly $26 million in improper movie-making tax credits in an exhaustive 277-page report.

Its instructive to try to imagine something like the film-credit case playing out under the bills provision that, when an executive branch agency is audited, disputes are settled not by independent judges but by a three-member arbitration panel involving the adversarial parties and a designee of the governor. Maybe the outcome would be the same; maybe it wouldnt. Why should the governor get the deciding vote on how deeply the auditor can examine a potential problem in the governors own administration?

Iowa Republicans pursue partisanship over prudence

Other, more damaging laws passed this session have deservedly drawn more attention. The biggest headlines for the session remain the states decision to subsidize religious education with hundreds of millions of dollars and the numerous laws that dehumanize transgender Iowans.

But while the competition is steep, this seems likely to end up as the most cynical bill the Legislature will approve in 2023. After attempting to crack down on the attorney generals independence four years ago, the Republican-controlled Legislature gave the office new authority this spring following the election of Republican Brenna Bird. Yet Republicans set their sights on reining in Sand, a Democrat who eked out an election victory last November, targeting his work as a nuisance to be swatted down.

In 2026, if Sand runs again, voters who are dissatisfied with his approach will have the opportunity to send him packing. In the meantime, when Senate File 478 gets to Reynolds, she can reject partisanship and respect the will of voters who elected Sand; uphold the division of responsibility prescribed by the Iowa Constitution; and ensure that the auditors office can continue conducting responsible audits with the best interest of taxpayers in mind.

Veto Senate File 478.

END
President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. commitment to the Philippines security and noted the deep friendship of the two nations as he met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House as concerns grow about the Chinese navys harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. Marcos' White House visit on Monday comes after the two countries completed their largest joint war drills ever. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. military access to four more bases as the Biden administration looks to deter Chinas increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.
Sunday was a time to celebrate one of Napas oldest churches  as well as the bell that has announced its presence for most of its history.
SANTA ROSA  At the SPARC cannabis dispensary in Santa Rosa, a dizzying array of child-resistant packaging aims to keep edible cannabis products such as gummies, chocolates, mini cookies, infused root beer and savory chips from being accidentally consumed by very young kids or pets.

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Some packages or dispensers are similar to those of prescription drugs, with push and twist caps, while others use multiple tabs or buttons that must be pressed at the same time to open. Another product requirement in California's legal marijuana market involves "tamper-evident" seals and the now familiar, triangular, cannabis warning logo.

Even so, accidental cannabis exposure among young children does occur, just as it does with alcohol and prescription drugs. Last week, state health officials issued a public health advisory warning people that such exposures among kids are on the rise.

In recent years, the total number of calls to California's Poison Control Centers for cannabis exposure among children under 6 years old increased from 330 calls statewide in 2018 to 791 calls in 2021, a 140% increase. In contrast, poison control calls for cannabis exposure among youth 6-to-19 increased 27.5% during that period.

Of those 791 calls to poison control in 2021, the vast majority, about 63%, were for exposure to edibles.

Melissa Struzzo, section manager of Sonoma County's substance use disorder services, said the increase in calls to poison control is deeply concerning, given the high levels of THC found in some cannabis products today.

"It's something we want parents to understand," she said. "These edible products can actually contain higher levels of THC and the effects last longer. With children, exposure poses a higher risk than with adults, because they're so much smaller."

Struzzo said child-resistant packaging does safeguard against accidental exposure, but parents should take further steps to assure that cannabis products are out of reach once the packaging is opened. That includes making sure to put such things as gummies back in their safety package and storing them in a safe place.

"When it comes out of the childproof packaging and is put on the counter, a child isn't able to distinguish it from regular candy," said Struzzo, adding that cannabis-infused products should not be stored with similar non-cannabis food products.

Tess Kofoid, vice president of marketing and sales for SPARC and a mother of a 14-year-old, agrees.

"It's our responsibility as adults in the house to, first, keep it away from children, just as we do with alcohol and medications," Kofoid said.

She said parents must also educate their children, depending on their age, about cannabis warning labels.

Public health officials and medical professionals say there's a link between increase of poison control calls to the recent legalization of recreational cannabis and the proliferation of edibles.

Stuart Heard, executive director of the California Poison Control System, points to a paper published a year ago in the international journal Clinical Toxicology whose findings suggest cannabis legalization is linked to increased exposures among children under 13.

The study, whose authors are members of the state's poison control system, found that between 2010 and 2020 edible exposures reported to poison control increased from near zero to 79% of exposures in 2020.

Heard said in an email that although the state poison control system does not report comparative data by county, "I think you can assume that there is an upward trend in Sonoma County that would be similar to statewide data."

Erich Pearson, CEO of SPARC, said one possible culprit in the increase in pediatric cannabis exposures is the growth of the illicit marijuana market, which has mirrored that of the legal market. He said the illegal cannabis market now makes many of the same edible products but without the child-resistant packaging and safety warnings.

"The illicit market never had edibles in it," Pearson said. "I mean, there was the guy who used to make some brownies or whatever, but the illicit market has gotten very sophisticated.

"You can pretty much get everything, product-wise, in the illicit market that you can get in the legal market, with the exception of the highly regulated packaging that we have to go through because our packaging is expensive," he said.

But Pearson warned that safe packaging must be coupled with parent responsibility.

Dr. Omar Ferrari, medical director of the emergency medicine at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, said he's noticed a definite increase in pediatric exposures coming into the emergency department. Ferrari said that while he has not analyzed hospital records, anecdotally he's seeing a "dramatic increase in these sorts of exposures since legalization."

Cannabis exposure for very young children is particularly worrisome, he said, because the effects can be more extreme given their body mass index compared to adults, as well as their inability to psychologically understand what's happening to them.

Adults, he added, can self-soothe and rationalize the experience to avoid "totally losing it. But a 5-year-old can't do that." What's more, Ferrari said edibles often yield a prolonged, intense effect that can last hours.

When a young child enters the emergency department for cannabis exposure, they are often isolated with their parents and kept apart from the chaotic environment often common in an emergency department. They are comforted as much as possible, he said.

"In extreme cases, we may use benzodiazepines that can help calm the child and induce sleep or a sleep-like state," he said. "Those are complex medical decisions that are made by our team."

Ferrari said he welcomed the state's messaging campaign for safe cannabis storage.

"I'm awfully glad we're acknowledging this and taking it seriously," he said. "We have to be vigilant and thoughtful."

States with the highest revenue from cannabis taxes States with the highest revenue from cannabis taxes #11. Maine #10. California #9. Massachusetts #8. Michigan #7. Arizona #6. Illinois #5. Oregon #4. Alaska #3. Washington #2. Nevada #1. Colorado
Nikol Pashinyan participates in a discussion at the Center for Transatlantic Relations in Prague (live)

Zelensky hopes that Ukraine will join NATO in the future

OSCE: Forced deportation of Ukrainian children is a war crime by Russia

Ardshinbank warns about the facts of fraud

Parliament chair: Armenia underlines importance of unobstructed access to sea by all means

Alen Simonyan in Ankara: Certain achievements recorded in Armenia-Turkey relations normalization process

Armenia parliament speaker in Ankara: We have no territorial claims from our neighbors, we expect same from them

Legislature head in Ankara: Until now Azerbaijan holds at least 33 Armenian POWs

Czech premier: We must try to achieve lasting peace, we need Azerbaijanis as well for that

Armenia, Czech Republic PMs are asked whether sanctions should be imposed on Azerbaijan

Petr Fiala: Together with Armenia PM we compiled list of products that may be interesting for export to Czech Republic

Armenia PM in Prague: International community must give clear, addressed assessment of situation in Karabakh

Armenia official: Satellite images can be useful to us in military sector as well

Petr Fiala: Small-engine Czech aircraft may be made in Armenias Stepanavan city

Czech Republic premier: We share same democratic values as Armenia

Czech Rep. PM: We underscore signing of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement that will be acceptable to all parties

Lentsov, Hasanov discuss situation in Karabakh

Grigor Minasyan: Parliamentary model of government will be maintained in Armenia

Kremlin accuses US, Ukraine of participating in UAV attack on Putin residence

Justice minister on Armenia rating drop: Not right to expect great public satisfaction when there is crisis in country

Turkey continues to keep its airspace closed for Armenia aircraft

Cyprus MPs express readiness to continue to support Armenia on various interparliamentary platforms

Azerbaijan puts illegal checkpoint at Lachin corridor on its list of exit points

Aliyev, Pashinyan and his wifes photos on the ground, painted in red, outside Armenia government building

Russia MFA: Karabakh conflict solution cannot be without problems on the ground

Armenia PM arrives in Czech Republic on official visit

Aliyev favors holding Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations without mediators

Armenias Sotk gold mine employees sent to forced paid downtime

BMW will launch new generation M2 CS sports car

Final round of talks between Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs to be held today in Washington

US State Dept.: We note with disappointment Turkey announcement that it would suspend Armenian airline overflight

Patel: US remains committed to promoting peaceful future for South Caucasus

Newspaper: Azerbaijan cannot be convinced in Washington talks with Armenia

Jake Sullivan: We welcome progress Armenia, Azerbaijan have made in talks

Babayan: We expect clear statement from Armenia, Russia, US that they do not see Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh received Co-Founder of the Lemkin Genocide Prevention Institute

Karabakh MFA: Dadivank Monastery is under Russian peacekeepers control, we condemn Azerbaijan statements

Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers meet with the U.S. President's National Security Advisor

Nikol Pashinyan, with his wife Anna Hakobyan will leave for the Czech Republic

Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations in Washington expected to conclude Thursday

LOBODA and ftNFT are about to change the game while turning NFTs to concert tickets in Dubai UAE

Armenia PM: Azerbaijan is populating de-Armenianized villages of Karabakh with Azerbaijanis

Armenia Prosecutor General: 2 Azerbaijani soldiers cannot, will not be extradited now

Presidential spox: We will not leave unanswered the move accusing Turkey of genocide

Turkey FM: We have allowed Armenia National Assembly presidents flight only as exception

Karabakh FM, head of Frances Hauts-de-France regional council sign joint statement

Prosecutor General: No data to support existence of political prisoners in Armenia

EU ambassador in Baku does not see massive violations of human rights by Azerbaijan

Kremlin: Putin not injured as result of terrorism

Russian presidential press service: Kiev tried to attack Kremlin with UAVs

European Commissioner for Energy: Azerbaijan is pan-European natural gas supplier

Azerbaijan president refuses to even discuss Karabakh issue

Azerbaijans Aliyev presents another set of demands to Armenia

Armenia aviation committee: Turkey did not inform Civil Aviation Committee about closing its airspace

Zakharova: Moscow remains committed to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia leaders tripartite statements implementation

Senator Menendez criticizes USAID chief for late response to crisis facing people of Nagorno-Karabakh

Russia MFA spox refrains from commenting on Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs talks in Washington

Aliyev hopes for visible progress in Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs talks in Washington

Aliyev goes to Azerbaijan-occupied Armenian Shushi city of Karabakh

Khandanyan says which topics are on Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiating table

Cavusoglu: Turkey has closed its airspace for flights from Armenia to third countries

European Commission temporarily bans Ukraine wheat supply to 5 countries

Armenia PM sends congratulatory message to Poland counterpart on Constitution Day

Iran president on official visit to Syria for first time after conflict

Reuters: Israel, armed groups in Gaza agree to ceasefire

Yerevan-Paris-Yerevan flight cancelled due to Turkey ban

Armenia parliament speaker to meet with Turkey counterpart

Competition Protection Commission monitors Armenia liquefied gas market price changes

Armenia State Revenue Committee collects 20% more tax in January-April

Mher Margaryan at UN: Azerbaijan destruction of Armenian cultural heritage is extensively monitored, reported

US asks Armenia, Azerbaijan to consider how to best protect rights, security of people of Karabakh

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Newspaper: What did Russian peacekeeping troops new commander say to Karabakh authorities?

VOA: US remains committed to Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, State Department says

FlyOne Armenia airline Paris-Yerevan flight Tuesday cancelled

Russia MOD: 1 ceasefire violation recorded in Karabakh

In Artsakh, significantly lower revenues were entered into the state budget. State Revenue Committee

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Kristina Kvien underscores Armenia Constitutional Court-US Embassy collaboration (PHOTOS)

Central Bank: Armenia food prices dropping, services prices increasing

Armenia Central Bank head: Yerevan real estate prices are inflated by about 25%

Central Bank chief: Half of those who came from abroad want to stay in Armenia for at least one year

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: Armenian clergy continue their spiritual service in Dadivank thanks Russian peacekeepers

Armenia to get more than $86M additional loan for North-South Highway construction

PM, Rosatom head discuss construction of new nuclear power unit in Armenia

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Senators Menendez, Blackburn introduce bill to support Armenian Genocide education in US

Armenia refinancing rate left unchanged at 10.75%

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Ruling power lawmaker: Armenia does everything for Azerbaijan-Karabakh dialogue to take place

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Armenia ruling force MP: Everything will be done to reach agreement with Azerbaijan

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Sisak Gabrielyan: There is interest from India, US to shoot film in Armenia

Arman Yeghoyan: Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs meeting planned in Moscow also
PLA garrison in Macao SAR opens barracks to public

Xinhua) 09:12, May 01, 2023

Citizens attend an open day event at the barracks of Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

MACAO, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) opened barracks on Taipa Island to the public on Sunday.

This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents.

After a national flag-raising ceremony in the morning, soldiers of the garrison staged military exercises, including combatting and anti-terrorist operations, as well as theatrical performances.

The visitors could try out military equipment and talk with soldiers.

The event will last until Monday.

The military band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region perform during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region perform during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Guards of honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region march during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region stage military exercises during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region attend a national flag-raising ceremony during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region stage military exercises during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region stage military exercises during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Garrison stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region stage military exercises during an open day event at the barracks on Taipa Island in Macao, south China, April 30, 2023. This was the 17th time that the barracks had been opened to the public since 2005, helping with communication between the garrison and local residents. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Du Mingming)
Nonpartisan Taguhi Tovmasyan, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia met with Marina Kaljurand, Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus, Tovmasyan informed on Facebook.

I presented the threats that continue to plague Armenia striving for peace. I mentioned that the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia is shrinking since 2020 the Artsakh war, however, the international community only makes statements of concern, with which we do not help our homeland and the citizens.

I emphasized that Artsakh has been completely blockaded for 138 days, and despite the decision of the UN International Court of Justice regarding the Lachin Corridor, the road remains closed.

Ms. Marina Kaljurand condemned the actions of Azerbaijan, which endanger the peace process. She and her colleagues issued a Statement regarding the Lachin Corridor, calling on Baku to commit to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to respect international obligations and norms (http://bitly.ws/DKgA).

I spoke about the aggravation of the security situation in Armenia and its consequences, mentioning, among other things, the shootings of Azerbaijanis in the direction of Sotk, as a result of which 800 employees of Sotk were forced to be idle for more than one week.

We touched on all the most important topics, on which our team of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia regularly prepares reports and sends them to all International partners, the Armenian MP added.
By Mariam Levina

The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) society is waiting for answers from its own authorities, Moscow, Yerevan, and the West. This was stated by David Babayan, adviser and representative-at large of the Artsakh president, commentingat the request of Armenian News-NEWS.amon the strange video disseminated in the Azerbaijani press, showing a group of Artsakh residents crossing the checkpoint illegally installed by Azerbaijan in the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor.

"What happened is, on the one hand, an outrageous incident, an example of Armenophobia, and on the other hand, to some extent, a roadmap, an indicator of their [i.e., the Azerbaijanis] intentions. The checkpoint is meant to turn into an arrest point, an intimidation point, an extortion point, a kidnapping point in a short time. We know what it is. We saw it when the Azerbaijani OMON [i.e. special police unit] were at the [Artsakh capital] Stepanakert airport in 1991, and the fact that they show as if how good they are, inspect [people], let [them] go, is nothing but a black PR before the real action.

"This is very similar to how Hitler organized tours of some concentration camps for the Red Cross. After that, the representatives of the Red Crossby the way, the organization is still unable to clean up that shamehad written that there are very good conditions there. That is, what Azerbaijan is actually doing by filming those commercial videos is showing the representatives of the international community who are waiting for such videos that Azerbaijan is not so bad, thus these representatives of the international community are trying to justify their passivity and inaction.

Secondly, this is aimed at the representatives of the Armenian society, the part that does not like the people of Artsakh, that wants to justify that it does not like, that you see, everything is fine. Once upon a time, the same PR campaigns were held at Turkeys airports. And some may even think that Azerbaijanis are quite good, educated people. And what will happen next, some don't want to hear or even think. But we are obligated to think about it, we feel it directly on us. And very soon the masks will be torn off, and the [aforesaid Azerbaijani] checkpoint will become what it was created for: a point of intimidation. That is why the Artsakh society is waiting for answers. First of all, from their own authorities. Secondly, we should talk very seriously with Moscow, brotherly, but sincere and tough. Let's talk with Yerevan, let's bring clarity, and of course let's talk with the West because we must understand: let them officially declare that they are ready to hand over the democratic state [of Artsakh] to the devouring by the totalitarian regime [of Azerbaijan]. If they are not ready [for that], they should take appropriate steps.

"Moscow acts as a guarantor in this matter first of all, expressing itself in the words of Lenin about the peace [Treaty] of Brest[-Litovsk], this shameless treaty of the 20th century. Let them give us an answer, we are waiting," David Babayan concluded.
FlyOne Armenia did not carry out scheduled flights across the airspace of Turkey yesterday and today. Aram Ananyan, the chairman of the board of directors of this airline, told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this.

Ananyan noted that as a result of the Turkish ban, only the Paris-Yerevan flight was forced to land in another country.

To the question as to what reason the Turkish side presents for this ban and what work is being done to lift it, Ananyan stated that he cannot say anything new at the moment.

"As soon as we receive information, we will inform immediately. The [FlyOne Armenia] airline will use all the tools at its disposal so that the travel plans of its passengers do not change," Ananyan said.

The Yerevan-Istanbul flight is expected at 12:55am Tuesday, which has not been cancelled.

"The Turkish side only prohibits flying to other countries through its airspace; flights to Istanbul have not been canceled. The flights expected in the coming days have not been postponed yet, we are collaborating with our European partners to carry out the flights," said Ananyan.

As reported earlier, on April 29, the aviation authorities of Turkey canceled, without prior notice, their permission granted to FlyOne Armenia airline to carry out flights to Europe via Turkish airspace.
Emory University announced today that Joon Sup Lee, MD, has been named chief executive officer of Emory Healthcare, effective July 1. As CEO, he will be responsible for overseeing the most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia with 11 hospitals, 250 provider locations and more than 24,000 employees.

Dr. Lee is an outstanding leader who is ambitious, talented and prepared to serve our world-class health care enterprise on day one, says Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH, who joined Emory University in January as executive vice president for health affairs and vice chair of the Emory Healthcare Board of Directors. He has tremendous experience as an executive, and he also has a deep understanding of the patient perspective as well as the power of research to save and improve lives, which he developed during his time as a practicing cardiologist. He is poised to make great contributions and elevate Emory Healthcare.

Lee currently serves as the executive vice president at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and president of UPMC Physician Services, where he is responsible for 5,000 employed physicians and all clinically active faculty. His scope of work includes physician services, quality of care, patient experience, patient access and financial oversight of physician services.

I am thrilled that Dr. Lee will take on this important leadership role at Emory Healthcare, says Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves. He is a problem-solver who cares deeply about the patients and families he serves and the doctors, nurses and health care staff he works with.

An interventional cardiologist by training, Lees research and clinical interests focus on the role of stem cells in the treatment of coronary artery disease, rapid treatment of cardiac emergencies and catheter-based therapy for valvular heart disease. Throughout his more than 25-year tenure, Lee has been integral in the strategic growth of UPMC from a five-campus hospital system to a more than 40-hospital system, supporting and leading integration efforts of the campuses, service lines and practice plans.

I am honored to have the opportunity to join such a strong leadership team and to be a part of a truly world-class academic medical center, says Lee. The outstanding faculty and staff at Emory Healthcare are second to none, and will fulfill our mission to deliver the highest quality care with the utmost compassion while training the health care workforce of tomorrow and creating innovations in health sciences that will set the new paradigm for health care.

Lee received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from Duke University's School of Medicine. He completed a medical internship and residency, as well as two cardiology fellowships in cardiology and interventional cardiology, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

He joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1996 where he has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as the chief of cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chief medical officer for the UPMC Health Plan. Lee is certified in cardiovascular disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a fellow in the American College of Cardiology and Society for Coronary Angiography and Interventions.

Dr. Lee joins Emory Healthcare following a period of unprecedented growth, challenge and opportunity, says Emory Healthcare Board Chair John Rice. A key component of Emory Universitys strategic plan is improving the health of individuals and communities at home and throughout the world. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Lee as we work to make this goal a reality in the coming years.
Apple CEO Tim Cook's visit to India, the latest by a top global executive, exemplified the rising tide of interest that corporations are showing in doing business with India, reported CNN Business. Cook was in India last month for launching two Apple physical stores -- in New Delhi and Mumbai -- where he was welcomed with huge cheers. According to the CNN Business report authored by Michelle Toh and Hanna Ziady, just days after his landmark trip, Pret A Manger, a trendy British sandwich chain, set up its first outlet in the commercial capital of Mumbai, as it bets on the country's growing middle class. Citing calculations from the United Nations India where it said India will surpass China to become the world's most populous nation, the CNN authors feel it will only cement its growing image as the "darling of the global economy". "The case for investing in India -- a nation of 1.4 billion -- is clear, and only bolstered by recent geopolitical shifts. As Western leaders look to boost economic cooperation with countries that share similar values, India, the world's largest democracy, stands to gain," they said. Until recently, many countries and companies "had put all their eggs in the China basket", said Partha Sen, professor emeritus at the Delhi School of Economics, according to the article. Now, as tensions continue to flare between the West and China, there is "a move to diversify away, and India fits right into it," Sen was quoted as saying by the CNN Business authors. The authors attributed India's economic growth potential to its "demographic dividend". Also, the signing of free trade deals with various countries has been warmly received around the world. "Since 2021, India has struck agreements with Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. It is also negotiating deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada," the CNN Business authors noted. Russia, whose trade with the West has slumped since its invasion of Ukraine last year, is also interested in increasing ties with India, they added. The US and India have taken steps in recent months to strengthen their ties, particularly in defence and technology, as they attempt to counter the rise of an increasingly assertive China. In February, Air India bought more than 200 aircraft from Boeing (BA) in what was the American planemaker's third-biggest sale ever. US President Joe Biden hailed the deal saying that it was "the strength of the US-India economic partnership". While several countries are pivoting towards India, evincing an interest to invest across sectors, the IMF is also largely bullish on the country. The International Monetary Fund expects India to outperform all major emerging and advanced economies this year, logging GDP growth of 5.9 per cent. By comparison, the German and UK economies will stagnate while the US is expected to grow only at 1.6 per cent. If it can maintain its momentum, India will overtake Germany as the world's fourth largest economy in 2026 and knock Japan from the number three spot in 2032, the CNN Business report quoted an analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Going ahead, India will benefit as companies diversify their supply chains away from China but obstacles remain. Alexandra Hermann, a lead economist at Oxford Economics, cited three obstacles -- stringent labor laws, high import duties and logistics challenges. (ANI)
The company was formerly known as Ruchi Soya Industries Limited.

The food processing unit will come up at Uppalancha village with a capital investment of Rs 1,050 crore, Patanjali Foods informed stock exchanges on Sunday.

The stock filing said the MoU was "non-binding and non-enforceable".

Incorporated in 1986, Patanjali Foods Limited has evolved as an integrated player in the edible oil business with a presence across the entire value chain, including palm oil plantations in India. (ANI)
The Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL) and Oil India Limited have signed an agreement for the establishment of a joint venture company with the mandate to lay, build and operate the city natural gas distribution networks in parts of Assam and the bordering northeastern state of Tripura. The agreement signing ceremony was held in Assam's capital Dispur on Saturday. The joint venture company, with the government of Assam-owned AGCL having 51 per cent of the stake and OIL retaining the remaining 49 per cent, shall, apart from building local natural gas grids and providing piped natural gas to domestic and commercial establishments in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Darrang, Udalguri, Sonitpur and Biswanath Chariali and a few districts of Tripura for the time being, shall also set up numerous compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, according to a statement from Assam Chief Minister's Office. Speaking at the event, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma exuded confidence that the signing of the agreement between AGCL and OIL would provide a major thrust to the ongoing process of industrial development in the state. Sarma further expressed hope that the joint venture company would aid in the state's endeavour to make a transition towards a greener fuel-based economy, in sync with the government of India's 'Northeast Hydrocarbon Vision 2030'. (ANI)
As SEBI sought a six-month extension to complete the probe related to Hindenburg Research's allegations against Adani Group, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday claimed that the financial markets regulator may have found irregularities worthy of investigation while urging it to logically look into each of the points. "SEBI seems to have found many irregularities worthy of investigation in the Adani MegaScam, and we urge it to pursue each lead to its logical conclusion," the Congress leader tweeted. He also claimed in the tweet that a long six-month extension risks the perception that the investigation is not being "vigorously and seriously pursued but is being buried". Congress reiterated its demand for a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) to fully investigate Hindenburg's allegations in the conglomerate. "...it also needs a speedy SEBI investigation to get to the bottom of the very serious allegations," the Jairam Ramesh's Twitter post read. On Saturday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) urged the Supreme Court to extend the time to conclude the investigation of the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani Group by a period of six months. In an application moved before the Supreme Court, SEBI submitted that it would take further time to arrive at verified findings and conclude the investigation. Supreme Court on March 2 set up an expert committee on the issue arising from the Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group companies. The committee will consist of six members, headed by former apex court judge Justice AM Sapre. The top court had then asked SEBI to file a status report within two months. The Expert Committee is headed by Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India along with other five members who include retired judge Justice J P Devadhar, OP Bhatt, KV Kamath, Nandan Nilekani and Somashekhar Sundaresan. In addition to this, SC had directed SEBI to investigate whether there has been a violation of Section 19 of SEBI rules and whether there was any manipulation of stock prices. The apex court was then hearing petitions pertaining to the Hindenburg report, including on the constitution of a committee relating to regulatory mechanisms to protect the investors' interest. There was a loss of investors' wealth in the securities market after the Hindenburg report because of a steep decline in the share price of the Adani Group of companies. The January 24 Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate. The Adani Group has attacked Hindenburg as "an unethical short seller" and stated that the report by the New York-based entity was "nothing but a lie". A short seller in the securities market books gain from the subsequent reduction in the prices of shares. (ANI)
Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], May 1 (ANI/NewsVoir): CollegeDekho, India's largest and most trusted higher education ecosystem, announces the launch of CollegeDekho Saarthi - Mega Admissions Fair to simplify the journey of College Admissions, Degrees and Job Assurance. It is scheduled to be held on 6th May and 7th May 2023 at the Grand Aura Banquet in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. This will be a multi-city event which will span over 2 months. The fair is Free for students and is aimed at making the higher education journey for students easier. The fair will be held for 2 days in each city. India has more than 52,000 colleges making it extremely difficult for students to navigate the various options and make informed decisions about their higher education and career prospects. This is where CollegeDekho Saarthi comes in, offering students the opportunity to gain admission to over 1500 colleges across India and abroad, personally guided for FREE by CollegeDekho's highly trained counsellors. The company has counselled more than 85L students while ensuring admission for over 1.30L of them, across all its platforms. CollegeDekho Saarthi is also an opportunity for students to end their career-related anxiety and gain admission to select courses with Job Assurance. The fair will be an unforgettable experience for students, who will receive an event pass through email or WhatsApp after scanning the QR code present at the entrance. At the event, students will have access to on-spot counselling, with various streams such as Engineering, Information technology, Management, Pharmacy, Nursing, Paramedical, hotel management, mass communication, commerce, and agriculture amongst others. Students will be guided to apply for admission through India's only Common Application Form for college admissions, an innovation from CollegeDekho, which will enable them to apply to multiple colleges with a single application. Students can also spin a wheel to avail discounts for their Common Application Form, making it even more accessible and affordable for them to apply to their desired colleges. In addition to this, students will have the opportunity to gain admission to Degrees across select colleges with Job Assurance post-completion of the course and also get assistance with College Admissions in Foreign Universities at the CollegeDekho Saarthi - Mega Admissions Fair. Speaking about the fair, Ruchir Arora, CEO of CollegeDekho, said, "CollegeDekho identified that no professional counselling is available for students staying in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India which made us conduct such a fair. The company prioritises the interests of the student always. CollegeDekho Saarthi is an effort to bridge this gap and empower students to make informed decisions about their future." CollegeDekho's website provides students with access to useful information on courses and more than 35,000 colleges, empowering them with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their future. CollegeDekho has served over 205 million students from all 28 states and 8 Union Territories in 2022, establishing itself as a trusted partner in the higher education ecosystem. After Meerut, CollegeDekho Saarthi will travel to Agra and other cities, providing students with the opportunity to take the first step towards their future. CollegeDekho was founded in 2015 by Ruchir Arora, Saurabh Jain and Rohit Saha with a vision of creating a globally trusted student guidance ecosystem. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based chatbot. Its Common Application Form platform, which enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click, is India's largest of its kind. Since its inception, CollegeDekho has counselled more than 85 lakh students and has helped more than 1500 colleges with their student recruitment. For study-abroad students, CollegeDekho provides a full range of services from profile building, test preparation, university selection and visa assistance. It has enrolled over 1.30 lakh students since its inception on its various platforms. The company is backed by investors like Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital - the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL tests and GRE General Test), Calega, Man Capital, Disrupt ADQ and QIC. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
The Indian delegation, consisting of officials from the department of Economic Affairs, is scheduled to depart on Monday itself.

The meetings will be attended by official delegations of ADB members, observers, non-governmental and civil society organisations, media, financial institutions and banks and other private sector companies.

Sitharaman will interact with global economists, bank Governors and Finance Ministers of the ADB member countries, hold bilateral engagements with countries and international organisations and will also meet business leaders and investors during her visit, official sources said.

--IANS ans/vd

( 136 Words)

2023-05-01-19:18:04 (IANS)
GST revenues for April 2023 are 12 per cent higher than the GST revenues year-on-year. The highest tax collected on a single day ever was Rs 68,228 crore through 9. 8 lakh transactions on April 20, 2023

Of the GST revenue collected in April, CGST is Rs 38,440 crore, SGST is Rs 47,412 crore, IGST is Rs 89,158 crore (including Rs 34,972 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 12,025 crore (including Rs 901 crore collected on import of goods).

The government has settled Rs 45,864 crore to CGST and Rs 37,959 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of April 2023 after regular settlement is Rs 84,304 crore for CGST and Rs 85,371 crore for the SGST.

"The revenues for April 2023 are 12 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year," a Finance Ministry release said.

During the month, the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 16 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

For the first time, gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.75 lakh crore mark.

The total number of e-way bills generated in the month of March 2023 was 9.0 crore, which is 11 per cent higher than 8.1 crore e-way bills generated in the month of February 2023. (ANI)
Actor Anupam Kher paid a visit to the ancient shrine of Bhimashankar in Maharashtra. 'The Kashmir Files' actor prayed for the prosperity of all people, himself and the nation. Kher took to his Instagram to share the video of him offering prayers at the temple on Monday. The caption of the post read, "India's religious heritage is ancient and wonderful. Visited Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga which is 110 kilometres from Pune! Had long worship! Mind, body and soul are grateful. This is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas found in India! The history behind this is unforgettable. Prayed for you and your family as well. Do come here and take blessings of Shiv ji and Parvati Maa! Om Namah Shivay! Hail Lord Shiva! https://www.instagram.com/p/Crrn1DCI55n/ The veteran actor added that the video was shot after taking requisite permissions from the authority. Kher in the video is heard saying that he is grateful at the chance to visit the holy site. Underlining the significance of the shrine, the actor says in the clip that 5 out of 12 jyotirlingas are in Maharashtra alone. On the professional front, actor was last seen in the movie 'Uunchai' alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani and Neena Gupta, which was released on November 11, 2022. (ANI)
Seems like someone from the industry irked Karan Johar for not being disciplined, as the filmmaker on Monday penned a cryptic post on punctuality. In a note, the 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' director wrote, "So.... The wonderful thing about Punctuality is that it doesn't require a natural talent , a degree or even a parental or an employers sanction.... It's NOT an art form that we inherit through generations .... It's simple basic manners....respect for other people's time and therefore respecting them as well.... Pure unadulterated respect Landing up 15 minutes late without a murmur of an apology or an overcompensating happy visage reeks of entitlement and defensiveness ...." https://www.instagram.com/p/CrrEmnFo33X/?hl=en He added, "Messaging 'on my way'.... Doesn't get you off the hook either.... 'On my way '.... So ??? You are meant to be ... you ain't doing me any favours honey! And you sending me this message sans details is as ambiguous as a Nolan film...Then the worst! 'oh... I forgot!!!! ' why MR president ???? Running a country that keeps you so busy ??? Then the ever poplar one ...' too much traffic' .... Do you live in New Zealand??? No this is INDIA.... Check the populations status baby! We are densely populated.... So here's what you do...... LEAVE EARLY!!!!! The very very worst one is when they don't show up and don't even send a message with a grovelling apology! This last sect of time offenders must me struck off your list forever." Netizens were left wondering who the filmmaker was referring to in his cryptic note. However, he did not reveal any names. "Now nation wants to know..," a social media user wrote. "Who is that person?" a netizen asked. "Don't be shy, tag the person," an Instagram user wrote. Karan's post also drew reactions from the members of the film industry. "Oh gosh totally agree with u," actor Shamita Shetty commented. "Absolutely! My father taught me if you're 15 minutes early then you're on time and I always am," actor Ronit Roy commented. "Totally agree with you Karan, but please tell who is this person," designer Farah Khan Ali wrote. Meanwhile, on the work front, Karan recently completed shooting for 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani'. The family drama features Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles. 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani' marks the return of Karan as a director after 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' (2016). The film is scheduled to hit the theatres on July 28. (ANI)
And the wait is over. Met Gala, one of the biggest nights in fashion globally, is back with its new edition. On Tuesday, get ready to witness your favourite stars from across the countries lighting up the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with their unique fashionable avatars. Set for May 1, this year's star-studded ball will mark the opening of the Costume Institute's new exhibition, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty." As only a few hours left for the iconic red carpet to roll out, here's everything you need to know about the 2023 Met Gala. What is the Met Gala? Referred to as "fashion's biggest night out," the Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The event welcomes stars, young creatives, and industry paragons The annual fundraiser began in 1948. Publicist Eleanor Lambert came up with the idea to raise money for the newly opened Costume Institute exhibit. What is the Met Gala 2023 theme? This year's theme is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," based on the new Costume Institute exhibition exploring the work of the iconic designer. Lagerfeld, who died in 2019 at the age of 85, spent decades creating clothes for Balmain, Patou, Chloe, Fendi and Chanel in addition to his own namesake label, Page Six reported. So you can expect celebrities to pay tribute to Karl Lagerfeld on the red carpet. Where to watch this year's Met Gala? Vogue's Met Gala red carpet livestream will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on May 1; fans can follow all the action on Vogue.com, as well as on the fashion bible's Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Indian audience -- It's May 2 for you all. If you want to see the biggest fashion event, you must wake up early on Tuesday morning. Who will host the Met Gala 2023? The Met Gala livestream will be hosted by actor and producer La La Anthony, writer Derek Blasberg, and Saturday Night Live's Chloe Fineman. Internet multi-hyphenate Emma Chamberlain will return as Vogue's special correspondent. Who all are invited to the Met Gala 2023? Vogue is secretive about its guest list for the gala, but many celebrities have aleady confirmed their presence. Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra will be at Met Gala 2023. Kim Kardashian, Billie Eilish, Kendall Jenner, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Rose and Jennie from Blackpink and Lily-Rose Depp are also expected to walk the red carpet. (ANI)
After learning about the demise of 'MasterChef Australia' judge Jock Zonfrillo, actor Jennifer Winget paid an emotional tribute to him. Taking to Instagram Story, Jennifer wrote, "First, simply a fan from afar, then how blessed to have our paths cross. To have known you, learned from and shared in your craft, culture and cuisine, from slightly closer quarters, will forever be life's cherished memory. Shocked and saddened with the rest of the world. Still coming to terms with it all.My heart is with your beautiful family during this difficult time.You lived large. Your life, like your recipes, all from the heart.Now rest in love dearest Jock as we make a meal of all the memories you leave us with." Jennifer had collaborated with Zonfrillo quite a few times in the past. She also shared a video from her earlier conversation with Zonfrillo. "I have enjoyed this so much today, I am really thankful to you for thinking of me to do this together. I want to learn more dishes from you and even teach you some dishes coming from culture," Jennifer said in the clip. Chef Kunal Kapur also reacted to the unfortunate news. "It is with a heavy heart that I write today to express my deepest condolences on the passing of Jock Zonfrillo. His sudden departure from this world has left us all in shock and disbelief. Jock was a true icon in the culinary world, a chef who not only cooked from the heart but also lived with an immense passion for food. His dedication to showcasing the rich and diverse culinary heritage of Australia was truly remarkable, and he has been an inspiration to countless chefs and food lovers around the world.As a fellow chef, I had the privilege of working alongside Jock and getting to know him personally. He was a kind and generous soul, always willing to share his knowledge and experiences with others. His talent, creativity, and infectious energy will be sorely missed in the kitchen and beyond," Kunal said. https://www.instagram.com/p/CrsPXUJPpqs/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/CrsPXUJPpqs/?hl=en He added, "To his family and loved ones, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Jock will be remembered for the incredible legacy he has left behind, and his spirit will continue to live on through the many lives he has touched and the dishes he has inspired. Rest in peace, Jock. You will be deeply missed." Zonfrillo was born in Glasgow to an Italian father and a Scottish mother and obtained an apprenticeship at The Turnberry Hotel at 15 years of age. By 17 he was working alongside Marco Pierre White at his eponymous Restaurant Marco Pierre White, Variety reported. He was 46. After moving to Australia, Zonfrillo opened Bistro Blackwood and Restaurant Orana in Adelaide, with the latter winning significant culinary awards. He led a colorful and controversial life. In 2002, he set fire to an apprentice in his restaurant, apparently for working too slowly. Damages were awarded by a court, but he was declared bankrupt in 2007, after failing to pay. Other controversies surrounded his Orana Foundation (intended to preserve historic cooking techniques) and the bankruptcy of the two Adelaide restaurants. Zonfrillo published a memoir in 2021, "Last Shot." Shortly after, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper debunked many of its claims and descriptions, including stories of drug use. It quoted White as saying, "Jock is not a bad man. He has a natural intellect and is very nice. The only problem is that almost everything he has written about me is untrue." (ANI)
"The Operation Kaveri campaign to bring back Indians trapped in the civil war crisis in Sudan is continuing. So far, a total of 27 people from the state of Uttarakhand have been brought back under Operation Kaveri in which Uttam Singh, Prashanta and Yogesh from Mumbai are being sent to Dehradun by the Uttarakhand government after the completion of the quarantine period," the official statement said.

"Apart from this, out of 24 people who came to Delhi, 21 people have been sent to Uttarakhand, and 7 people will be sent to Uttarakhand after the completion of the quarantine period," it added.

India has launched "Operation Kaveri" to bring back stranded Indians from the war-torn Sudan.

Earlier today An Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft with 40 passengers onboard took off from Jeddah for New Delhi as 'Operation Kaveri' progresses further to evacuate stranded Indians from battle-torn Sudan.

Taking to Twitter, the official spokesperson of MEA, Arindam Bagchi wrote, "OperationKaveri 8th flight carrying Indian evacuees takes off from Jeddah. IAF C-130J aircraft with 40 passengers is on its way to Delhi".

It was the 8th flight carrying Indian evacuees that took off from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, since 'Operation Kaveri' began.

Yesterday evening, 365 Indians from Sudan arrived in New Delhi under Operation Kaveri.

The Indian government under Operation Kaveri, is set to evacuate about 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan. Until Friday, more than 2,400 Indians have been evacuated from Sudan, where the country is experiencing bloodshed due to clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. (ANI)
The Andhra Pradesh Police's CID on Sunday arrested former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLC Adireddy Appa Rao and his son and TDP state Executive Secretary Adireddy Srinivasa Rao in a case relating to financial irregularities in a chit fund company. The CID sleuths arrested the father-son duo from their residence in Rajamahendravaram and shifted them to the CID office. Appa Rao, who is the husband of TDP Rajahmundry MLA Adireddy Bhavani and their son Srinivasa Rao are said to be directors in Jagajjanani Chit Funds Private Ltd. The main opposition party condemned the arrests. Several party leaders and workers reached the party office in Rajamahendravaram and voiced their protest over the arrests. Meanwhile, TDP national President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu spoke to Bhavani over phone and expressed solidarity with her. Naidu said that the political harassment and vendetta by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government is increasing by the day. He lamented that there is no change in the ruling party's behavior. The TDP President said the YSRCP government believed only in illegal cases and illegal arrests. He said the arrest of Appa Rao and Srinivasa Rao is another example of the YSRCP government's politics of vendetta. Naidu alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy does not want anybody to do business in the state. "Is CID a government investigation agency or YSRCP threatening agency," he asked The TDP chief said despite courts reprimanding the government on many occasions, the Jagan government has not mend its ways. TDP's Andhra Pradesh unit chief Atchanaidu said the party was not afraid of illegal cases and arrests. He alleged that there is no difference between YSRCP 'goondas' and CID officials. The former minister said while on one hand, YSRCP leaders were resorting to physical attacks on TDP workers, the CID, on the other, is raiding the houses of TDP leaders in the name of searches. --IANS ms/vd ( 331 Words) 2023-04-30-19:34:02 (IANS)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday criticised the Congress party for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "abusing" him is in the opposition party's DNA. Speaking to mediapersons in the national capital after listening to the 100th episode of the Prime Minister's monthly address "Mann Ki Baat", Sitharaman said Modi spoke like a "Pradhan Sevak", and there was no politics in the programme. Rather, she said, there is positivity in the spirit of the radio programme. The Finance Minister was responding to Congress' swipe at PM Modi over his 100th 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast, saying there was much fanfare in the run-up to the episode but it was "maun ki baat (silence)" on critical issues such as the border dispute with China, stock manipulation allegations against the Adani Group, "increasing" economic inequalities and the wrestlers' protest. The Finance Minister said that the prime minister talks about everything and if the Congress is obsessed with talking about the agenda that the first family of the party sets, then it's up to the party. Sitharaman further said that the Congress fails to realise that whenever it abuses the Prime Minister, people recognise his positive work for the nation all the more. "Despite Rahul Gandhi going around setting up 'mohabbat ka dukan', his own party's president is spewing venom (referring to Mallikarjun Kharge's remark against Modi). He (Kharge) is talking about a poisonous snake. So, you understand where Rahul is going and where his party is. Rahul is talking about something that his party doesn't believe in," she added. --IANS ans/pgh ( 274 Words) 2023-04-30-22:46:02 (IANS)
As many as two labourers are suspected to be trapped under the debris of the collapsed building in Thane's Bhiwandi, informed officials. The three-storey building collapsed in the Bhiwandi area in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday afternoon. "Two labourers are suspected to be trapped under debris. The rescue operation is still on for the last 34 hours. At present 4 teams of NDRF are working under NDRF Commander Deepak Tiwari," informed NDFR officials. Earlier on Sunday, the death toll rose to six, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official statement said. NDRF officials further mentioned that four teams were working on the site of the incident. "Three from Mumbai and one from Pune HQ are on the site of the incident. Further rescue operations are underway," an official statement said. NDRF Commander Deepak Tiwari said that a total of 10 people have been rescued in the operation. "10 people have been rescued so far. There was a girl child, who was rescued by the dog squad. Our dogs work very well and do canine searches," he said. On Sunday Thane Police said that builder Indrapal Patil has been detained in this regard and a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). "Police have registered a case against the builder. The builder Indrapal Patil has been detained by Thane police. A case has been registered under Sections 304 (2), 337, 338 and 42 of IPC," an official statement said. Earlier Maharshtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the Indira Gandhi Hospital and met the people injured on Saturday night. In the aftermath of the incident, he announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased in the Bhiwandi building collapse, said an official statement. (ANI)
Congratulating the people all over the world and of the state for Gujarat Foundation Day, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the state has moved forward towards development. Gujarat celebrates its foundation day on May 1, known as "Gujarat Gaurav Day". The Chief Minister said, "Under the leadership of our Prime Minister we are celebrating Amritkal, this first Gujarat Foundation Day of Amritkal is a day of special importance. On May 1, 1960, Gujarat came into existence as a separate state and Gujaratis have moved forward towards development. Whether it is an earthquake, flood outbreak or corona epidemic, Gujaratis have faced every calamity with determination." Referring to the fact that Gujarat has shown the country and the world as a role model state of development under the leadership of the Prime Minister, what is the development, what is "Vikas ki Rajneeti", the Chief Minister said that, the people of the state have shown immense faith and trust in the leadership of Narendra Modi and have given a huge mandate to continue this journey of development of Gujarat. For that, we accept the debt of love from all the people. On the occasion of the glorious foundation day, the Chief Minister said, "We will not let the trust and confidence reposed in us by the public and we will fulfil the promises we have made, we will increase the honour of Gujarat." He said that PM Modi has crossed the extremes of development in every field to make Gujarat the growth engine of the country and created the pinnacle of hard work. The confidence that PM Modi has exuded in Gujarat, will leave no stone unturned to uphold it and work for the development of the state. Mentioning that India has become a country with the fifth largest economy in the world under the leadership of PM Modi, he said that by 2027, PM Modi has called to make India, a five trillion US dollar economy. "Like every call of his, we are all ready to accept this call with the support and blessings of people," he added. Gujarat's share in the total GDP of the country is 8.36 per cent and in the coming years, the Chief Minister expressed his commitment to make the share reach more than 10 per cent. Mentioning that this government has given the biggest historical budget of 3 lakh crores this year, he said, "We are going to build world-class infrastructure facilities in Gujarat in the coming years in every field including but not limited to education, health, security, natural farming, rural development, youth employment." Whether it is ease of living or ease of doing business, Gujarat has accelerated its development with the benefit of the double-engine government, he added. Highlighting that this government has achieved the remarkable achievement of signing an MoU of 80 thousand crore rupees under the Atmanirbhar Gujarat scheme in the first 100 days of its ruling, the Chief Minister said that among the commitment shown by the Prime Minister for green growth, Gujarat is poised to lead the way with 40 thousand crores green ammonia project in Kutch of Gujarat. "Along with industry and trade, the tourism sector is also of special importance for Gujarat.We are going to build a tourism development facility worth Rs 8,000 crore in the next five years to develop iconic tourist places like Statue of Unity, White Rann, World Heritage Site - Dholavira, Gir Forest, Somnath-Dwarka and Shivrajpur," he added. To be determined for Gujarat to be at the top in every field of development, the Chief Minister said that Narendra Modi laid a strong foundation for the development due to which Gujarat has become famous all over the world. He is determined to build a self-reliant and developed India in the Amritkaal" "On today's Gujarat Gaurav Day, let us all resolve together to dedicate ourselves to a self-reliant India and to the development of Gujarat," he added. (ANI)
According to sources, the minister was admitted to the CCU around 10.30 pm on Saturday.

"Union Minister G Kishan Reddy was admitted to CCU in AIIMS yesterday night around 10.30 pm after complaining of chest tightness," a source said.

He is currently under observation.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
The Delhi Police Special Cell in a joint operation with Uttar Pradesh Police nabbed a sharpshooter after a brief encounter in Meerut on the intervening night of April 30 and May 1, informed officials. The accused has been identified as Ranjeet Jha alias Ganja, a resident of Mukundapur Part -1 Delhi. Ranjeet Jha is wanted in a murder case of PS Burari of the year 2022 and another case under 307 IPC of PS Adarsh Nagar Delhi. According to DCP Special Cell Alok Kumar, "There was information with Special Cell about the hiding of two perpetrators of the firing incident today on 30 April in the area of PS Adarsh Nagar namely Ranjeet Jha alias Ganja and his associate in Meerut UP." A special cell team was sent to Meerut to trace the above absconding/wanted accused persons. "On receipt of specific information about arriving of Ranjeet Jha with his associate on a bike near Neelkant marriage home Lakhvaya Road Meerut between 10 pm to 11 pm on 30 April in association with UP Police was formed and a trap was laid near the above spot," said Alok Kumar. According to police officials, two persons riding were spotted on a bike coming at about 10.30 pm near above marriage home and they were asked to stop by the team but on finding themselves trapped both started firing on the police team. "Members of the team also fired in self-defence in which Ranjeet Jha got injured in the right leg. But his associate managed to escape from the spot after firing," he said. Injured Ranjeet Jha was rushed to Distt Hospital Meerut, Total of 5 rounds was fired in this exchange of fire -- 3 by the accused and 2 by police in self-defence, one semi-automatic pistol of 9 mm with 2 live cartridges recovered from Ranjeet Jha.A case under appropriate sections of law is being registered in PS Kankarkhera Meerut, Ranjeet Jha was wanted in at least three criminal cases including two of murder and one of attempt to murder in Delhi. During the night of 26 Dec 2022, an incident of shooting two youths took place by two unknown assailants who came on a motorcycle in Burari. "One Manoj alias Babu was killed in this attack and another one namely Raja was injured. A case was registered u/s 307/34 IPC and 25/27 Arms Act at PS Burari, Delhi but after the death of Manoj alias Babu, section 302 was also added during the investigation," said police officials. One accused Mukesh alias Bona was arrested in this case but both the shooters were absconding. It was revealed that Ranjeet Jha was the main shooter in this incident. During the investigation, it was revealed that two associates of Mukesh alias Bona namely Anuj and Anand Brahman were killed in the year 2020 by 5 shooters of Raja. On this, Mukesh Bona contacted Ranjeet and Gaurav to kill Raja but he survived the attack and his colleague Manoj Babu died in the above case. "Earlier Ranjeet Jha alias Ganja was granted interim bail on November 25, 2022, for one week in case u/s 302/120B IPC and 25/27 Arms Act, PS Adarsh Nagar, Delhi, but he did not surrender after that. Brief facts of that case are that one Prince, an associate of Ranjeet Jha had enmity with one Adarsh, a desperate robber. On the directions of Prince, they had killed Adarsh," said Alok Kumar. According to officials, Ranjeet Jha and his associate Gaurav fired indiscriminately upon one Sonu Dubey at the directions of Mukesh Bona in the area of PS Adarsh Nagar as there is a property dispute among them. Further investigation of the case is in progress. (ANI)
Sanjay Sharma, a Kashmiri Pandit, was killed in a terror attack in the Achan area of Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 26, this year.

Governor Sinha also assured all possible assistance and support to the bereaved family while handing over the appointment letter to the widow at Raj Bhavan.

The slain civilian was a security guard at a bank, an official said.

Terrorists fired upon Sanjay Sharma while he was on his way to the local market at Achan in the Pulwama district.

He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to injuries.

Earlier this month, five jawans from the Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army were killed in a ambush attack in the Poonch sector of Jammu & Kashmir.

According to an official statement, an army truck the jawans were travelling in caught fire after coming under fire from a group of 6-7 terrorists. (ANI)
According to officials, around 15 fire engines from Vapi, Daman, Sarigam, and Dadra Nagar Haveli reached the spot to bring the fire under control.

"We received information about a fire in Rawalvasiya Yarn Dyeing Pvt Ltd company at 11:50 pm. After reaching the spot we saw that a whole building was engulfed in fire. All neighbouring firefighting agencies are here," said Assistant Director Fire and Emergency Services, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, AK Wala.

No casualties have been reported in this fire incident, officials said.

"This company makes yarn and yarn has high flammability. It will take time to control the fire. We will control the fire within hours," AK Wala said.

Earlier on Sunday night, two persons were injured after a massive fire broke out on Pune-Satara Road and spread to three different shops.

According to officials, the fire broke out near Dmart around 2.30 am.

On receiving information, seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

According to the fire department, the blaze triggered some blasts that helped the flames spread further.

The officials informed further that one of the shops that caught fire dealt in home and kitchen appliances while another was a mobile phone store.

The fire is under control, officials added. (ANI)
Hailing the intervention of the Calcutta High Court order by transferring the Ram Navami violence probe to the National Investigation Agency, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dilip Ghosh on Sunday alleged that Hindus are being "deliberately attacked" in West Bengal and that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government is not attempting to resolve the issue. This comes days after the Calcutta High Court handed over the probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the violence that broke out in Howrah and Dalkhola districts and other parts of West Bengal during Ram Navami celebrations. "Hindus are being deliberately attacked in Bengal. The government is not solving this issue, that is why the court has given instructions for the NIA investigation," Ghosh said while speaking to ANI. Earlier, a Bench led by Acting Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam ordered State Police to hand over case papers to the Central government so that NIA can commence its probe. Following the development, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari called Calcutta High Court a "Guardian of the Constitution" which instilled confidence in the public. "The Guardian of the Constitution once again instilled confidence in the public by directing @NIA_India probe into the attacks and disturbances concerning the Ram Navami processions in West Bengal. The Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta has once again pointed out the mischief of the State Government in their attempt to suppress facts for avoiding investigation by the NIA. I welcome the historic decision of the Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta. Let your faith be bigger than your fear," Adhikari tweeted. Earlier, Calcutta HC had observed that the violence in the Howrah district during Ram Navami festivities appears to have been pre-planned and that there was a failure of intelligence gathering by the West Bengal police. (ANI)
Television actor Sheezan Khan, the prime accused in the death case of co-star and ex-girlfriend actress Tunisha Sharma, has filed an application in Maharashtra's Vasai court seeking a direction to the police to return his passport which was earlier seized during the investigation of the ongoing case, sources said on Monday. Vasai court will hear application of Sheezan Khan on Tuesday. Sources said that in his application, Sheezan said that he has to fly abroad for shootings for which he would need his passport. Sheezan was arrested in December last year and was under judicial custody before being released on bail from Thane Central Jail earlier on March 5. The Vasai Court had ordered Sheezan's bail with Rs 1 Lakh surety bond and had asked the actor to submit his passport as well. Waliv Police had filed a 524-page chargesheet in the Vasai court accusing Sheezan in the 21-year-old actress' suicide case. Moreover, Sheezan's family had earlier claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case by the late actor's mother and further claimed that Tunisha was like a "family" to them. Sheezan was reportedly dating his 'Ali Baba Dastaan-E-Kabul' co-star Tunisha, who was allegedly found hanging at a TV serial set, a fortnight after the duo broke up ending their months-long relationship. Within hours of the actress' death, Sheezan was arrested on the charges of 'Abetment to Suicide'. Tunisha's mother Vanita Sharma levelled heinous allegations against Sheezan after the actress' death stating that he used to beat Tunisha and forced her to adopt Islamic practices. Although, Sheezan's sister and fellow co-star Falaq Naaz, accused Tunisha's mother of "neglecting" her and the actress' depression was due to her childhood trauma. "Tunisha's mother accepted that she has been neglecting her daughter and didn't take care of her. Tunisha's depression was due to her childhood trauma," Falaq Naaz had said. (ANI)
A Muslim body has announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for the individual who proves the "allegations" levelled in the movie 'The Kerala Story', which portrays the story of 32,000 women who disappeared from the state and joined extremist organisation ISIS, thus stoking a political row. The announcement was made by the Kerala State Committee of Muslim Youth League which said that the collection centres for providing the proof behind the claims in the movie will be opened in every district on May 4. Anyone can drop the details in the collection centres. "Prove the allegations that 32,000 Keralites converted and fled to Syria. Take up the challenge and submit the evidence," the poster by the committee read. The film which will hit the big screen on May 5, has triggered a massive political row with various leaders reacting to the upcoming movie. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the movie was deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala. The statement reads, "The trailer of the Hindi film, 'The Kerala Story', which appears to have been deliberately made with the aim of communal polarisation and to spread hate propaganda against Kerala was released last day. It is indicated from the trailer that this film is trying to spread the propaganda of Sangh Parivar, which has established itself as the centre of religious extremism in the land of secularism, Kerala." Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday tweeted, "It may be *your* Kerala story. It is not *our* Kerala story." Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film is all set to hit the theatres on May 5, 2023. 'The Kerala Story' stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles. The trailer of Sen's film 'The Kerala Story' came under fire as it claimed that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, ISIS. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly VD Satheesan recently said that the film 'The Kerala Story' should not be granted permission for screening. "The film 'The Kerala Story' which falsely claims that 32,000 women in Kerala converted and became members of the Islamic State, should not be granted permission for screening. The trailer clearly shows what the film intends to say", Satheesan said in a Facebook post. He also alleged that the film is part of an attempt to implement Sangh Parivar's agenda and create a social divide by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups. "This is not an issue of freedom of expression but part of an attempt to implement the Sangh Parivar agenda to create a divide in the society by casting a shadow of doubt over the minority groups", he said. (ANI)
The Punjab Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the Ludhiana gas leak which claimed 11 lives so far. "A separate five-member SIT has been formed by the police, which will include senior officers. It is expected that its conclusion will be revealed soon. We do not want any kind of loss to happen in future, so negligence will not be done," Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said on Monday. A technical team has also been formed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board which will examine the disposal of all the industry's waste here. "The situation is under observation. We are monitoring gas levels every 2 hrs. A technical team has been formed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board which will examine the disposal of all the industry's waste here. An investigation is on in the matter. Injured are undergoing treatment," Ludhiana West SDM Swati told ANI. The death toll in the gas leakage incident that occured in Giaspura in Ludhiana district on Sunday has risen to 11. 'A total of 11 persons are dead. There are five females and six males including 2 male children of 10 years and 13 years," the official said. In the aftermath of the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed deep sorrow and anguish at the gas leakage incident and assured all possible help to those affected. "The incident of a gas leak in the factory in the Giaspura area of Ludhiana is very sad. Police, government and NDRF teams are present at the spot. All possible help is being extended to the affected. Rest details soon," Punjab CM Mann tweeted. Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Sunday announced Rs 2 lakhs ex-gratia compensation to the family members of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured and admitted to the hospital in the incident. While talking to ANI, state health minister Dr Balbir Singh said," So far a total of 11 people have died in this incident. Four people are admitted to the hospital. The state government will provide Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia compensation to the family member of the deceased and Rs 50,000 will be provided to the people who are admitted to the hospital". Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik has appealed to the public to avoid panic and ignore any kind of rumours related to the incident. "11 deaths confirmed till now. In all likelihood, there is some gas contamination which has happened. It is quite likely that maybe some chemical reacted with methane in manholes. All of this is being verified. NDRF is retrieving samples," Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik said. "We appeal that don't believe any kind of rumours and do not panic. The gas which was leaked has been diluted but just to check the spread of the gas the coorporation, and NDRF teams are checking. We are just going to for safety's sake check how much the gas has spread," she added. (ANI)
A complaint was filed against Gujarat Aam Admi Party chief Isudan Gadhvi in Ahmedabad on Monday over his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat', in which he alleged that the 100 episodes of the monthly radio programme cost Rs 830 crore. Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch registered the complaint on Monday. "Mann Ki Baat's one-day cost is 8.3 crores. 830 crores of 100 episodes of blowing our tax are the limit now. BJP workers need to wake up and protest about this," Gadhvi tweeted a day before which he later deleted yesterday. The Prime Minister completed the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat on Sunday which was broadcast across the country and various parts of the world. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' hailed the spirit of all countrymen, calling them an inspiration and said that the programme has become a festival of goodness and positivity. He said that the monthly program, through its journey of 100 episodes, showcased stories of talented individuals across diverse fields and became an agent for change in society. Addressing the centenary episode of 'Mann Ki Baat', PM Modi said, "Many a time while reading your letters, I got emotional, got carried away in emotions and then also composed myself. You have congratulated me on the 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat', but I say this from the core of my heart, in fact, all of you, the listeners of 'Mann Ki Baat', our countrymen, deserve congratulations. 'Mann Ki Baat' is the 'Mann Ki Baat' of crores of Indians, it is the expression of their feelings". "October 3, 2014, was the festival of Vijaya Dashami and all of us together started the journey of 'Mann Ki Baat' on the day of Vijaya Dashami. It is the festival of victory of good over evil. 'Mann Ki Baat' has also become a unique festival of goodness and positivity of the countrymen. A festival that comes every month, keenly awaited by all of us. We celebrate positivity and people's participation in this," he added. Hailing the spirit of the countrymen in his 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said that every Indian became an inspiration for another through the monthly radio programme while adding that each episode of the popular show "prepared the ground for the next one". (ANI)
A minor, who is a student of DPS school, made a hoax bomb threat email to Delhi Public School days ago, "just for fun", police sources said on Monday. Though, he has not been apprehended yet and will be counselled soon, stated the sources. On Tuesday, the Delhi Public School (DPS) administration, Mathura Road, received an email on its official ID which claimed a bomb has been planted on campus and that it will be activated at 9 am on April 26 (Wednesday). After getting the email, the police were informed and a search was made. Later, nothing suspicious was found. Police said that enquiry was made by special cell and it was found Russia based server was used for this mail, but further probe revealed that the suspect is in Delhi. "It was revealed that he (the student) allegedly used different software to evade suspicion. The boy has been identified. Since he's below the age of 16, he can't be apprehended or called to the station," said a senior police official. Though, the police will counsel him soon. It has emerged that boy did this for fun only. He saw the news of a hoax threat in an Indian Public School and it gave his idea. On April 12, a similar hoax email was recieved to the administration of Indian Public School, Sadiq Nagar. Police searched the complex after evacuating all the students but nothing suspicious was found. The school had also recieved a similar email in November last year. The accused in both cases are yet to trace. (ANI)
While giving its verdict, the High Court has asked the District Judge of Mathura to pass an order after hearing afresh against the decision of the Civil Judge.

"All the parties will have to present their arguments afresh before the District Judge of Mathura," the court said.

The dispute dates back to September 24 in 2020 when advocate Ranjana Agnihotri and six others originally filed a plea in the lower court to remove the 17th-century Shahi Idgah mosque from the complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev Temple, close to the spot known as 'Krishna Janmabhoomi'.

The petitioners had claimed in the plea that Shahi Idgah Masjid is constructed on a part of 13.37-acre land belonging to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust.

They had demanded the mosque be removed and the land returned to the Trust.

However, the civil judge senior division rejected the suit on September 30, 2020, as non-admissible. (ANI)
Days after Mallikarjun Kharge stoked a massive row comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a "poisonous snake", the Congress president's son Priyank Kharge on Monday outdid his father describing the holder of the country's highest officer as "nalayak beta" (useless son). "...When PM Modi had come to Kalaburgi, he said, Aap sab dariye mat, Banjara community ka ek beta Delhi mein baitha hai (do not be scared, a son from the Banjara community is sitting in Delhi). Aisa nalayak beta baithega toh ghar kaise chalega (if the son is useless, how will the house be run)?" Priyank Kharge said. Earlier, Priyank's father and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had compared PM Modi to a "poisonous snake". However, he later issued a clarification on his remark, saying his statement wasn't intended at hurting anyone. "PM Modi is like a 'poisonous snake'. You might to check if its posion or not. But if you lick it, you're dead," Kharge had said at an election rally. Slamming Priyank Kharge's "nalayak" barb at PM Modi, BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje said, "The Congress president said in a campaign speech that Prime Minister Modi is a poisonous snake. Now, his son has gone a step further, calling him a 'nalayak beta'. Priyanka Gandhi called PM Modi Hitler. Congress should know that he is not the BJP's PM but of entire India. The people of Karnataka love him. They have shown their respect for him (duing roadshows) in the last two days." Coming down heavily on the Congress for comparing him to a venomous snake, PM Modi on Sunday said the people of Karnataka will give the grand old party a "befitting answer" in the upcoming Assembly elections. Lashing out at the Congress, PM Modi said, "Today, when I am fighting against corruption, the Congress can't take it. They are is now threatening me. They are saying 'Modi teri kabra khudegi' (your grave will be dug). It seems the Congress' only talking point in Karnataka is snake poison. They are comparing me to snake and seeking votes on it. For me, the poeple of the country are like Lord Shiva. I prefer being the snake adorning the necks of the people who I see as god. The people of Karnataka will give them a befitting answer on May 10." The counting of votes for Karnataka Assembly polls will be done conducted on May 13. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday and expressed his gratitude for his guidance and cooperation in the development of the state. The Chief Minister presented 'Prasad' of Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham, Gangajal of Ganga Tulsi, Gangotri Yamunotri, Alaknanda and Mandakini along with Rudraksha beads to the Prime Minister. According to an official statement, in the meeting which lasted for more than one and a half hours, CM Dhami sought the guidance of the Prime Minister on various issues related to the development of the state. Informing about the arrangements for the Char Dham Yatra, the Chief Minister said, "A record number of devotees are coming to visit. Relief work is being done in Joshimath with the help of the Central Government. The situation is normal there. The Prime Minister assured all possible cooperation from the Central Government in the context of Joshimath." CM Dhami requested the Prime Minister to give time for the inauguration of the proposed Investor Summit in the state in the month of October/November 2023. He asked PM Modi to visit Jageshwar Dham, Adi Kailash, Parvati Sarovar, Om Parvat, visit Mayawati Ashram in Lohaghat, as well as public address in the border district Pithoragarh and inauguration and foundation stone laying of various development schemes under Manaskhand. The Chief Minister said that air services are increasing gradually in the state under the regional connectivity scheme under the guidance of the Prime Minister. For speedy development of air services in the state, he also requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, to direct the concerned for speedy disposal of the cases related to the state. CM Dhami informed that 243 acres of land are being acquired for the expansion of Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. A feasibility survey has been done for the expansion of Pantnagar Airport. He requested the Director General of Civil Aviation to renew the license of Naini Saini Airport, to get a no-objection certificate from NTRO for the expansion of Jollygrant Airport. Dhami also urged to direct the concerned for the smooth operation of the Dehradun-Pithoragarh-Hindon air service and Dehradun Haldwani-Pithoragarh Almora helicopter service. "The Chief Minister said that a target has been set to increase the state's gross domestic product to Rs 5.5 lakh crore in the next five years. It is proposed to organize an investment summit in the state in the month of October/November 2023 to attract investors in tourism, agriculture, industry, health, education and service sectors," the statement said. (ANI)
Haryana Power Minister Ranjit Singh on Monday took a swipe at the Bhagwant Mann government's decision to change government offices' timings in the state to ease the load on electricity demand during summer, and said Punjab will face a shortage of electricity in the coming days. "Haryana does not supply free electricity that's why Haryana does not have any shortage of electricity and we are supplying the electricity without any cutoff and will supply it in the future, we are taking care of the facilities for our people", Singh said while boasting that Haryana does not face any shortage of electricity. "We didn't even increase the electricity rates for many years but electricity is being provided to people. While Punjab government is distributing free electricity and is now starting to face problems. Due to this reason, the state government ordered to change the office timings from 7:30 am to 2:00 pm and we think that in the coming days, Punjab will face a shortage of electricity," he added. The Power Minister also said that keeping the summer season in mind the Haryana government has has made preparations in case of a hike in demand. "Just like last time, this time also in Haryana, we will not let the shortage of electricity. However yesterday, we consumed 8000 Megawatt and 16 lakh units and we have achieved it without any cutoff. And we promise that in the future also we will not have any shortage of electricity", said Singh. (ANI)
Amid the political controversy over the renovation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Monday staged an indefinite sit-in protest outside his official residence. The BJP earlier accused the Delhi government of spending a whopping amount of Rs 45 crore on the renovation of Kejriwal's residence during the peak Covid pandemic. Delhi BJP chief, Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the Kejriwal government has been involved in several scams. BJP leader and former Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan who was present at the protest site, said that that AAP is attempting to divert the issue and will have to answer to the public. "AAP party and Arvind Kejriwal always divert the issue. They have spent Rs 45 cr on the renovation work of the CM residence. They wasted people's money and they have to answer this. LG has also ordered a probe into the matter," he told ANI. The former Minister said that the protest against the Delhi Chief Minister which started today will continue. AAP MP Sanjay Singh had stated that CM Kejriwal's government accommodation was an old house constructed decades ago and that there were incidents of roof collapse which is why the Public Works Department had suggested that a new house be built. Delhi LG VK Saxena on April 27 wrote to the Chief Secretary seeking the seizure of records and directing executive action in connection with the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence. Last week, AAP had alleged that Rs 15 crores were spent on the renovation of the L-G's official residence, a claim which Saxena countered on Sunday. Dismissing the AAP's allegation that Rs 15 crores were splurged on the renovation of Raj Niwas, Saxena said his residence was open to all and "anyone can come and see it". "The Raj Niwas is open for all. Anyone can come and see it anytime," he told reporters. (ANI)
"He is stable and doing routine activities. He is under observation and evaluation. A team of doctors are monitoring him," AIIMS stated.

"Union Minister G Kishan Reddy was admitted to AIIMS yesterday night after complaining of upper abdominal discomfort," the hospital stated.

The minister was admitted to the CCU around 10.30 pm on Sunday.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday clarified that his son Priyank Kharge never made the "nalayak beta" remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that people were forcibly putting words to his mouth. Days after Mallikarjun Kharge stoked a controversy with his "poisonous snake" remark on PM Modi, the Congress president's son Priyank Kharge on Monday outdid his father describing the holder of the country's highest officer as "nalayak beta" (useless son). "...When PM Modi had come to Kalaburgi, he said, Aap sab dariye mat, Banjara community ka ek beta Delhi mein baitha hai (do not be scared, a son from the Banjara community is sitting in Delhi). Aisa nalayak beta baithega toh ghar kaise chalega (if the son is useless, how will the house be run)?" Priyank Kharge said. While talking to the reporters, Kharge said, "He (Priyank Kharge) never said, don't put these things in his mouth. He attacked the parliament member who abused him. So don't put in his mouth these words for Modi. Everywhere this is going purposely." Amid the high-decibel campaign for the ensuing Karnataka Assembly elections, Mallikarjun Kharge's "poisonous snake" remark drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which slammed the "slanderous" statement saying it reflected the "mentality" of the principal Opposition party in the state. "PM Modi is like a 'poisonous snake'. You might to check if its poison or not. But if you lick it, you're dead," Kharge had said at an election rally. Kharge, who made the remarks at Kalaburagi, later issued a clarification saying his remark wasn't directed at Prime Minister Modi but at the BJP and its "divisive" ideology. The polls for the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly are scheduled to take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be done on May 13. (ANI)
In a major departure from the archaic colonial practice of creating cantonments, Yol in Himachal Pradesh has shed its tag as a cantonment. The Military Area within the Cantonment will be converted into a Military Station and the Civil Area will merge with the Municipality, according to sources. The Government published a notification to this effect on 27 April 2023. Contrary to perception, this move will prove beneficial to all alike. Civilians who were, until now, not getting access to State government welfare schemes through the Municipality, will now be in a position to avail these through the Municipality. As far as the Army is concerned, they too could now focus on the development of Military stations. This is a first among a series of excision of Cantts and is a move that has been welcomed by all. Cantts are deemed Municipalities and running Municipalities is a State subject. There were 56 Cantts at the time of Independence and six more were notified after 1947, the last one being Ajmer in 1962. Civilian residents of Cantts are not benefitted from State government welfare schemes since Cantts are governed by Cantt Boards through the Defence Estates Department of the Ministry of Defence. Hence, there is a popular demand from the civilian residents and state governments for the excision of Cantts. A considerable portion of the Defence Budget is spent on developing Civil Areas of Cantts. Due to the ever-increasing expansion of Civil Areas of Cantts, there is pressure on A1 Defence Land. Cantts are colonial phenomena and Military Stations are better administered. Cantt Board employees and assets will be taken over by the neighbouring municipality. (ANI)
Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday, held a video conference with the officials to review the election arrangements, law and order condition in the state. The video conference was held with Chief Secretaries, Director Generals of Police, Nodal Police Officers, Nodal Officer CAPF and senior officials from enforcement agencies including Coast Guard, NCB, Income tax, etc of Karnataka and border states of Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the ECI stated. During the review meeting, CEC Rajiv Kumar directed state teams to enhance vigilance on the state borders. He specifically emphasized the need for vigil over the 185 Interstate check posts across the six neighbouring States, to ensure no cross-border movement of illicit cash, liquor, drugs, or freebies takes place. While taking note of the seizure of over Rs 305 crores to date (as compared to only Rs 83 crores during the 2018 elections), the CEC asked to fix the responsibility of local officers failing to control money power. He asked the officials to step up the seizures with support from adjoining border states and instil fear of administration amongst the violators to fulfil the Commission's resolve of an inducement-free election in the state. Kumar also directed Coast Guard and Narcotics Control Bureau officials to keep strict vigil and help curtail the drug menace. The CEC further directed the officials to keep a strict watch over social media for any violations and fake narratives vitiating the election atmosphere. He also urged the officials to raise the bar further on voter turnout, gender, youth and urban electors participation. Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey asked the officials for strict action against anti-social elements, follow-up of pending NBWs and strict vigil during the silence period to ensure elections without fear and favour. While emphasizing the scope of improvement in illicit liquor seizures, he directed officials to act against kingpins, prevent stockpiling of liquor and ensures no diversion of molasses meant for export or any other use as defined by law. Election Commissioner Arun Goel asked the officials to tighten the vigilance without causing inconvenience to the public and ensure thorough follow-up post-seizure operations. He said that the objective of this review is to sensitize neighbouring states and also to put in the best efforts for the smooth conduct of elections. On March 29, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the assembly elections in Karnataka. The polling of votes will take place on May 10, and the counting of votes will take place on May 13. (ANI)
As per the police, imprisonments have been imposed in six cases, while in one case only a fine has been imposed.

The punishment imposed in the six cases are; 12 years sentence with Rs 1 lakh fine, 10 years sentence with Rs 1 lakh fine, 5 years sentence with Rs 25,000 fine, 18 months sentence with Rs 18,000 fine, 2 years sentence with Rs 20,000 fine and 2 years sentence with Rs 20,000 fine, respectively.

In one case where the sentence has been given by the court, a fine of Rs 10,000 has been imposed.

NDPS Act prohibits people from production, manufacturing, cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. (ANI)
Jamia Millia Islamia has taken "strict actions" against 15 students, including the expulsion of three, for their involvement in last year's scuffle between two groups that had resulted in a student sustaining bullet injuries, said officials on Monday. Three out of 15 students have only been allowed to give examinations with a 5-year 'campus ban' and no admission in any other course at the university after completion of their course. "Due procedure has been followed by the discipline committee to set an example that the university will not tolerate any kind of indiscipline on the campus," Jamia Registrar Nazim Husain Al Jafri said. Last year, in September, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia University was injured after he was allegedly shot at by another student inside the Holy Family Hospital premises. According to Delhi Police, a PCR call was received around 9 pm on September 29 at Jamia Nagar police station regarding a brawl at the library inside Jamia Millia Islamia University. On inquiry, police found that a fight had ensued between two groups of students. In the incident, a law student Noman Chaudhary (26), a resident of Sardahan village, Meerut, sustained a blunt injury on the head. He was shifted to Holy Family Hospital for treatment. Police said another student Nauman Ali, an associate of Nauman Chaudhary, also visited the hospital to see his friend. In the meantime, one student of the second group namely Zalal, a resident of Mewat, Haryana accompanied by his friends came to the hospital and fired at Nauman Ali outside the Emergency ward in the hospital premises. According to police, Nauman Ali had a superficial injury on the scalp. He was shifted to AIIMS Trauma Center. (ANI)
He said the audio clip was fake and it's up to Thiagarajan to file a case against the BJP leader as it is a personal allegation against him.

Elangovan said that since it is a personal matter, it is Thiagarajan who should file a case against the BJP leader, adding that the DMK will not file a case.

He also accused Annamalai of levelling fake allegations against DMK leaders.

It may be noted that several opposition leaders, including AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, have called upon Union Home Minister Amit Shah to probe into the leaked audio clips that were attributed to Thiagarajan.

Thiagarajan had earlier said in a press statement that the audio tapes attributed to him were fake and that advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology was used. He said that this was the job of a blackmail group.

Thiagarajan also said that this group is trying to create a rift between him and his party leader, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

--IANS aal/arm

( 212 Words)

2023-05-01-19:04:06 (IANS)
The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's son challenging the high court refusal to stay his conviction in a more than a decade-old case, which led to his disqualification as an MLA. An advocate, representing Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, submitted before a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi that his client was a juvenile when the incident took place. The bench, also comprising Justice Bela M. Trivedi, said that the court was not examining petitioner's juvenility, rather looking at his prayer seeking stay on conviction. The top court was informed that the election to Suar assembly constituency, which has been vacant after Khan's disqualification, is scheduled for May 10. Khan filed an appeal in the apex court challenging the April 13 order of the Allahabad High Court, which declined to stay his conviction. The bench issued notice to the UP government and sought its reply, and made it clear that the election will be subject to the outcome of the petition. It asked Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the UP government: "Can we test the morality of an individual, convicted and sentenced? Can he not be an elected representative?" The bench said the state has to demonstrate prima facie that he has done a crime in his own capacity. Nataraj submitted that he will file his response to the appeal filed by Khan. After hearing submissions, the bench said: "Let the counter be filed. Let the election to be held on May 10 be subject to the outcome of this special leave petition." It has scheduled the matter for further hearing in the second week of July. In February, Khan was awarded two years' imprisonment in the case by a Moradabad court. His conviction led to his disqualification as MLA. It has been alleged that Khan and his father had blocked traffic after their vehicle was stopped by the police for checking. A criminal case was registered in 2008 against Khan and his father Azam Khan at Chhajlet police station in Moradabad under sections 341 and 353 of the IPC. --IANS ss/vd ( 377 Words) 2023-05-01-19:16:02 (IANS)
The world's first Marathi language university will come up at Ridhpur in Amravati district of eastern Maharashtra as the state government is urging the Centre to confer it the status of a 'classical language', Governor Ramesh Bais said here on Monday. "The state government is taking up the matter with the Union government for giving the status of classical language to Marathi. A Marathi language University will be established at Ridhpur in Amravati, in the near future," he said on the occasion of the 63rd Maharashtra Day celebrations. Til now, 6 Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia - have been given the status of classical languages by the Centre, and Maharashtra is demanding a similar recognition for Marathi since the past several years. Bais led the official state function by unfurling the national tricolour at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Park at Dadar in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, followed by a ceremonial parade, and many other functions held across Maharashtra to mark the occasion which coincides with the International Labour Day. He also paid homage to the icons of Maharashtra like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, V.D. Savarkar, and others. The Governor said that May 28, the birth anniversary of Savarkar, shall be celebrated as the "Swatantraveer Gaurav Din" by the government across the state. --IANS qn/vd ( 248 Words) 2023-05-01-19:20:06 (IANS)
Meghalaya Governor Phagu Chauhan extended greetings to Gujaratis and Marathis on the statehood day of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Taking forward the government's thrust on celebrating the country's cultural diversity and multi-faceted traditions, the two States' Statehood Day was celebrated today at Raj Bhavan, Shillong. In pursuance of the spirit of Ek Bharat and Shresth Bharat that celebrates India's 'unity in diversity', Raj Bhawans across the country commemorated the Foundation Day of Gujarat and Maharashtra with great fervour showcasing the rich and vibrant culture of the two states, stated an official release. The Central Government decided that all the states will celebrate not only their own statehood day but also the statehood days of other states in order to promote 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'. The Governor of Meghalaya Phagu Chauhan inaugurated the Cultural Evening - Sanskritik Sandhya organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Shillong commemorating the Statehood Day and greeted the Gujarati and Marathi communities on their State Foundation Day and conveyed his good wishes to each and every member. Short videos were screened at the programme that showcased the rich culture of the two states, according to an official release. To foster and strengthen camaraderie amongst the people from different parts of the country, serving in Meghalaya, the Governor House invited people to celebrate together the Statehood days of these two western states. The Sanskritik Sandhya mesmerised the audience with song and poetry recitations by Dr Sunil Yogi, Smt Silvi Passah, and Mohd. Khalid Khan, Shri M P Pandey among other eminent artists. People from Gujarati and Marathi communities, including government officials, businessmen, people working in public sector units and members of the armed forces along with their families were invited to witness the Cultural Evening. Eminent artists mesmerized the packed auditorium with their unique, extremely easy and innocent style. The evening was a beautiful amalgamation of poetry and satire -- some satire in poetry form and some in prose. The auditorium reverberated with applause for the poetry, humour and satire of Padmashree awardee Dr Sunil Jogi. (ANI)
The Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) Lieutenant General Daljit Singh said on Monday said that DNA fingerprinting of armed forces personnel has helped in indentifying mortal remains in 12 cases. "The blood samples of armed forces personnel were being collected in a graded manner for archiving in the repository being maintained at the Department of Forensic Medicine at AFMC. This DNA fingerprinting has so far helped in identifying mortal remains in 12 cases," Lt Gen Daljit Singh said. DGAFMS was speaking to reporters on the concluding day of the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Maharashtra's Pune on Monday. He was responding to a query related to the DNA profiling project in the Armed Forces to help identify the remains of a soldier. He also mentioned about the likelihood of AFMC to be accorded with the status of Institute of national importance. "The AFMC, Pune is expected to get the status of Institute of National Importance (INI) this year. We expect that AFMC will get the status of Institute of national importance within the time period of next six months," said Singh. Addressing the queries related to the preparedness of the AFMS for the possible resurgence of COVID-19, Singh assured that the Armed Forces hospitals are fully prepared with adequate manpower and equipment to cater not only to any cases of the armed forces but also of civilian population if required. The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune celebrated its Platinum Jubilee from April 30 to May 1, 2023. The two-day event marked the completion of 75 years of excellence in medical education and research by this prestigious institute, which has firmly established itself as one of the top medical colleges in the country, the release stated. The clinicians and the paramedics from AFMC are deployed across the frontiers of the country to provide healthcare to the Armed Forces of the Nation. In addition, several of its alumni have distinguished themselves as outstanding medical luminaries in India and abroad. As per an official release, the highlight of the celebrations was the Platinum Jubilee Medical Update inaugurated by Lt Gen Daljit Singh, AVSM, VSM, PHS, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services and Senior Col Comdt on April 30. It was attended by high-ranking officers and civilian dignitaries from across the country. Eminent medical professionals shared their sagacious knowledge and expertise through orations, panel discussions and symposiums. One of the highlights of the update was a panel discussion on 'Contributions of the Alumni to AFMC and the Way Forward' which was held in hybrid mode, with panelist and participants contributing from across the globe. The event also witnessed a Clinicopathological Case Discussion and a debate on 'Artificial Intelligence - A boon for clinicians'. Internationally renowned clinicians Dr Prabir Roy Chaudhury and Dr Ruby Pawankar both alumni of AFMC delivered the Platinum Jubilee orations, the release added. The second day of the celebrations began with a solemn wreath laying ceremony where in the DGAFMS led the alumni and cadets in paying homage to the martyrs at the 'Prerna Sthal' at AFMC. A 108 ft National flag was hoisted on the occasion by the DGAFMS, Mr Naveen Jindal, former member of Parliament, President and founder of Flag Foundation of India, and Lt Gen DP Vats, PVSM, SM, VSM (Retd), Member of Parliament, the release further stated. (ANI)
In view of the possibility of rain and snowfall in the high Himalayan regions, an alert has been issued for the next 2-3 days by the Meteorological Department. Rudraprayag District Magistrate Mayur Dixit said that an appeal has been made for the safety of the pilgrims coming to visit Kedarnath Dham. "Till the weather is fine, the passengers should stay at the same place and travel intermittently," he said. He said that at present there is continuous snowfall in Kedarnath Dham and the yatra is being controlled. Passengers are not allowed to go to Kedarnath after 10:30 am from Sonprayag. Appealing to all the passengers, he said, "All the passengers should take special care of their safety and cooperate with the district administration by following the guidelines issued by the state government and the district administration." He expected all the pilgrims to start their journey to Kedarnath only when the weather is fine. Earlier on April 25 the day the doors of Kedarnath Dham opened, the Uttarakhand government stopped accepting registration applications from pilgrims for the Kedarnath Dham Yatra in view of heavy snowfall on the pilgrimage route and a warning of inclement weather by the Met Department. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for the heavy snowfall on the Kedarnath Dham route. The weather is expected to remain inclement in Kedarghati over this week, according to an official statement. "The weather is expected to remain bad in Kedarghati for the next one week. On the alert of the Meteorological Department, the state government has stopped the registration of the visit to Kedarnath Dham. The heavy snowfall in Kedarnath has created difficulties for the administration," read the statement. "Registration of pilgrims for the Kedarnath pilgrimage has been stopped in view of the snowfall of three to four feet on the Kedarnath pedestrian route and Dham and the warning by the Mete Department," it added. The Yatra began from Yamunotri Dham on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya. (ANI)
Suraj Kumar, a lawyer in Muzaffarpur court, claimed that Shastri has hurt religious sentiments besides spreading superstition in the society.

The case was filed in the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate of Muzaffarpur. The hearing of the case is scheduled for May 10.

"During his speech in Udaipur, Dhirendra Shastri claimed that he is an 'avatar' of Lord Hanuman. Such claims hurt the sentiments of crores of Hindus. Hence, I have filed a case against him under IPC Sections of 295A, 298 and 505 in the Muzaffarpur ACJM court. The court has admitted my case which will be heard on May 10," Kumar said.

Shastri is scheduled to be in Patna for a spiritual camp from May 13 to 17.

--IANS ajk/arm

( 171 Words)

2023-05-01-20:58:03 (IANS)
One person was killed while four others were injured after three unidentified assailants opened fire on them at Motihari town in Bihar's East Champaran district on Monday, the police said. The deceased has been identified as Prince Kumar, a native of Muzaffarpur district. He came into the firing range when the assailants targeted the gang members of Dev Kumar, who along with his associates were having refreshments at the same tea stall where Prince was consuming cold drinks. Dev Kumar was involved in around six looting and dacoity cases. The police said that the injured individuals were associated with the gang of Dev Kumar. Following the incident, East Champaran Superintendent of Police Kantesh Kumar Mishra along with a large number of police personnel went to the spot. "Around 3.30 p.m, Dev Kumar and his gang members were drinking cold drinks at a tea stall located at Mathia village on the Dhaka-Motihari road. Three unidentified attackers arrived and opened fire on them," Mishra said. "Prince Kumar came from Muzaffarpur to distribute marriage cards. He was also drinking a cold drink when the firing incident took place," Mishra said. The injured persons -- Dev Kumar, Rajkumar Virat, Yash Prakash and Viraj Kumar were admitted to a private hospital and their condition is said to be critical. Sources said that Dev Kumar and his gang were involved in a quarrel with another gang's members in Motihari on Sunday, and the attack on them was possibly to avenge Sunday's incident. --IANS ajk/pgh ( 260 Words) 2023-05-01-21:44:03 (IANS)
Mondal is an accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case in West Bengal being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mondal was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court's bench of special judge Raghubir Singh, who said that the order will be pronounced on May 4, the day Mondal's judicial custody ends which was extended on Monday.

On April 27, the same court had granted three days' custody of Mondal's daughter Sukanya Mondal to ED to quiz her in the same case.

The ED had arrested Sukanya, a primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, a day before after quizzing her.

Special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana had sought Sukanya's custody saying she was required to be confronted with evidence and with the co-accused, including her father.

Her custody was also required to trace the proceeds of crime, establish the money trail and the modus operandi, ED said.

Sukanya was summoned by the ED in November 2022 to its Delhi office.

She is the director of two companies, Neer Developer Pvt Ltd and ANM Agrochem Foods Pvt Ltd, CBI's probe has revealed.

The companies have their offices in the same address where Bholebam Rice Mill, which is also owned by her, is located in Bolpur in Birbhum district.

On April 26, the Delhi High Court had posted for June 1 Sukanya's father's plea challenging a trial court's order denying him bail in the same case.

Mondal had moved the court challenging an order dated January 24 denying him bail.

Earlier, Rana had said that Anubrata's bail application was without any merit.

--IANS spr/arm

( 323 Words)

2023-05-01-22:28:03 (IANS)
On April 30, Ukraine's Defence Ministry tweeted with the caption "Work of art," and shared a picture of a blast with an improvised picture by Ukrainian artist Maksym Palenko.

In the picture, the artist depicted the blast in a unique yet offensive blend of famous American actress Marilyn Monroe in her 'flying skirt' pose with the face and detailing resembling Hindu Goddess 'Maa Kali'. However, the Defence Ministry of Ukraine later deleted the tweet after facing outrage.

Minutes after posting the picture, the tweet received a massive backlash, forcing the Ministry of Defence to delete the Twitter post.

One of the netizens tweeted, "Shocking! Official handle of Ukraine Defense Ministry is portraying Maa Kali in a demeaning pose. This is not a work of art. Our faith is not a matter of joke. Take it down and apologise @DefenceU"

Meanwhile, another Twitter user said, "Hurting sentiments of 1.4 billion Indians is not Okay @DefenceU. This is a blatant display of Hinduphobia by Ukraine's defence ministry. Please remove this."

"Shame on you for making such cartoons and insulting our faith! Utterly disgusting attempt," tweeted another user. (ANI)
Giving details about the case, Thalduwa stated that detectives from the police computer crime division had yet to complete their investigations because they needed to examine a large number of electronic devices taken into custody alongside the suspects.

Earlier, on April 14, the Kalutara Magistrate released the 25 Chinese suspects on surety bail of Rs 500,000 each.

The next hearing on this case is scheduled for June 14, according to MawrataNews.

One of the suspects was fined Rs 500,000 for possessing illegal cigarettes. On Wednesday, he paid the fine.

A separate investigation is being carried out by the Aluthgama Police, reported MawrataNews. (ANI)
The latest US intelligence documents revealed that Minister of State for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar had cautioned the country against sacrificing its strategic partnership with China to maintain a cordial relationship with the United States, ARY News reported. In March, Khar argued that her country can "no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States," the report revealed. The highly classified findings of the US intelligence revealed the internal assessment of Pakistan's policymakers on how to tackle the challenge of the growing tussle between the United States and China. The US - in the leaked documents - had been able to gain access to the top-secret memo written by Khar. The leaked intelligence findings offer new insights into the challenges facing President Biden as he seeks global support for his efforts to reject the spread of authoritarianism, contain Russia's belligerence, and counter China's growing global reach. In an internal memo she titled "Pakistan's Difficult Choices," Khar cautioned that Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West, and said the instinct to preserve Pakistan's partnership with the United States would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of what she deemed the country's "real strategic" partnership with China, according to ARY News. Meanwhile, another document, dated February 17, describes PM Shehbaz Sharif's deliberations with a subordinate about an upcoming UN vote on the Ukraine conflict, and what the government anticipated would be renewed Western pressure to back a resolution condemning Russia's invasion. The aide advised the prime minister that support for the measure would signal a shift in Pakistan's position following its earlier abstention on a similar resolution, the intelligence document says. The aide noted that Pakistan had the ability to negotiate trade and energy deals with Russia, and backing the Western-backed resolution could jeopardise those ties. When the UN General Assembly voted Feb 23, Pakistan was among 32 countries that abstained, according to ARY News. (ANI)
Indian Americans on Sunday celebrated 100 episodes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship radio programme, "Mann Ki Baat". External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar decided to tune in to the programme live with the diaspora in New Jersey at 1.30 am (local time) on Sunday, hailing it as a platform that has "an emotional connect" between PM Modi and the people of India. "10 years ago if he had mentioned that at 2.10 at night everyone would be assembling at some place and the foreign minister of India would be with you, listening to the Prime Minister of India, none of you would have believed me," Jaishankar told members of the diaspora. "You have to understand that PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' has an enormous impact not because the medium is 100 years old, somewhere there is an emotional connect between PM Modi and the people of India," Jaishankar noted. Also participating in the event and jointly listening to Prime Minister Modi were India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and the Consul General of India in New York, Randhir Jaiswal. The event was attended by not just the top Indian diplomats, but also Indian-American lawmakers Senator Kevin Thomas, Assembly woman Jenifer Rajkumar and Edison (city) Mayor Sam Joshi. Jaishankar who is here after concluding his official visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, made the remarks while addressing the community event, attended by the members of the Indian community in the early hours of Sunday. PM Modi's address was also broadcast live at the Indian Embassy in Washington and all five consulates across the United States tuned in to listen including the Silicon Valley. Indian Consul General in San Francisco TV Nagendra Prasad on Sunday tweeted: "In #Siliconvalley, hundreds gathered to listen to Hon'ble @narendramodi #MannKiBaatAt10 late night @FalconXUS hall. Thanks to @DiyaTV @tvasianetwork @yoindiatv @IndiaPost_News and others for joining to cover the event. @CGISFO @AkashvaniAIR @MIB_India @MEAIndia" The 30-minute programme was also broadcast at the United Nations headquarters in New York, again in the wee hours. Indian Permanent Mission to UN on Sunday tweeted: "A singular connect! Special moments from the Trusteeship Council at UN Headquarters, New York, where #MannKiAtBaat100 went LIVE, leaving all inspired and motivated." BJP workers settled in the US also gathered in different venues that were set up for people to listen to the prime minister's broadcast. In his recorded address celebrating the centenary episode of the programme, PM Modi said that the platform had provided him with a solution to "connect with the common man". A local radio station Intense FM based in the DC Metro area also played Mann ki Baat's 100th episode later in the day. PM Modi on Sunday also interacted with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in the 100th episode of his monthly radio broadcast. The Director-General of UNESCO not only wished the countrymen for the wonderful journey of the 100th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' but also asked questions on education and cultural preservation in India. "I have received another special message from Audrey Azoulay, DG, UNESCO regarding 'Mann Ki Baat'. She has wished all the countrymen for this wonderful journey of 100th episode," PM Modi said during his 100th Mann Ki Baat address. Audrey Azoulay is a French civil servant and politician, who has been serving as the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) since 2017, emerging as the second woman leader in the organisation. Speaking to PM Modi during his radio broadcast, the UNESCO Chief said, "Dear Prime Minister, on behalf of UNESCO, I thank you for this opportunity to be part of the hundredth episode of the Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast. UNESCO and India have a long common history. We have very strong partnerships together in all areas of our mandate education, science, culture and information." (ANI)
Dubai [ United Arab Emirates] May 1 (ANI/WAM): Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, has chaired a performance evaluation meeting of the General Department of Criminal Investigation for the first quarter of the current year. The meeting was attended by Major General Expert Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, Major General Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, and other senior officials. Al Marri praised the efforts of the General Department of Criminal Investigation in maintaining security and safety, which led to a 25 percent reduction in alarming reports in Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year. The number of known reports in Q1 2023 increased by 97 per cent compared to Q1 2022, and the number of reports rescored against unknown decreased by 14 per cent in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Non-alarming criminal reports also declined by 7.1 per cent in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. During the meeting, Colonel Rashed Bin Dhaboui, Director of the Criminal Control Department, presented a report on police efficiency and crime prediction in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022. The report highlighted the results achieved by the General Department of Criminal Investigations in implementing developmental and strategic plans to achieve desired objectives and indicators in reducing alarming crime rates, rapidly handling reports, reducing crimes in specific areas, and forming effective task forces. Bin Dhaboui also explained the most critical cases handled and the reasons that led to the decrease in crime rates in cooperation with Dubai police stations, as well as predicting crime and emerging criminal methods using artificial intelligence techniques. Major General Al Jallaf emphasised that the periodic meetings chaired by the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police contribute to enhancing performance efficiency, discussing future projects, and addressing potential obstacles. He added that these meetings follow an integrated methodology to evaluate the department's quarterly results within a specific timeline, allowing an insight into the directions that determine the department's goals and methods for evaluating results compared to previous years. (ANI/WAM)
Paraguayans, on Sunday, elected Santiago Pena, a 44-year-old conservative economist, as their new president, The New York Times reported. This keeps the South American nation in control of the right-wing Colorado Party that has run the country for all but five of the past 76 years, as per The New York Times. Pena's coming to power means that Paraguay, a landlocked nation of seven million people, has resisted the leftward shift across Latin America in recent years. Paraguayans have instead delivered victory to a right-wing candidate who made vague promises to add jobs, lower energy prices and clear drug addicts from the street. Pena had 43 per cent of the vote with 99 per cent of the ballots counted, defeating two challengers who split the opposition vote, The New York Times reported. His election to the post can, however, complicate Paraguay's relationship with the United States, a close ally. According to The New York Times, Pena is a political protege of a former Paraguayan president, Horacio Cartes, who is one of its richest men and the president of the Colorado Party. In January, the American Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Cartes over accusations that he had doled out millions of dollars in bribes to pave his way to power and that he had built ties to the Islamist militant group Hezbollah. Pena in his victory speech on Sunday night, stood next to Cartes, hugged him and thanked him. He said: "Your contribution, president, can only be paid with the currency of respect, of appreciation and approval. Thank you for this Colorado victory." Pena's victory shows that his party has retained a firm grip on Paraguayan society decades after the fall of the dictatorship of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, a Colorado Party regime that ruled from 1954 to 1989. (ANI)
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the WeChat platform and other means to try and shape public policy outcomes in Texas and Florida, according to The Diplomat. Shortly after the Texas legislature convened for its annual session on January 10, Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, introduced SB147, a bill that would ban governments, companies, and citizens of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing land in Texas, according to The Diplomat. This legislation was triggered by a former Chinese military officer's 2021 purchase of 140,000 acres of land near Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbot, on January 15, signalled his support for the bill. The next day, WeChat, whose content is thoroughly regulated by the CCP, was flooded with misinformation about the legislation. Starting on 1point3acres (Yi Mu San Fen Di ), a large WeChat public account and online forum and website managed from Shandong, China, narratives emerged describing SB147 as a "new Chinese Exclusion Act," while avoiding any mention of what triggered it, The Diplomat reported. Additional new anti-SB147 groups emerged on WeChat in the days that followed. As is characteristic of other CCP-sanctioned campaigns on the platform, these WeChat groups had a singular narrative slant. They forbid balanced discussions, kicked out anyone who disagreed, and promoted the most radical (and in this case anti-American) voices. Those in support of the bill were called "Chinese traitors." Some posts encouraged users to sabotage pro-SB147 accounts by labelling them as spam, reporting them to the FBI as spies, or even assaulting the users behind them, as per The Diplomat. Meanwhile, Asia Times recently reported that over a quarter of American firms are prioritizing other countries over China, the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) said. According to the AmCham China survey, 27 per cent of its members are considering countries other than China when making their investment decisions, mainly due to concerns about an uncertain policy environment in China. (ANI)
In response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's stopover in California and meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on 5 April, China upped the ante with a series of military aircraft manoeuvres designed to psychologically intimidate Taiwan. Beijing's response to the meeting was muted at first, promising "joint inspection patrols" by a Maritime Safety Administration vessel. This was followed by two live-fire exercises off the coast of Pingtan and Fuzhou. As the People's Liberation Army (PLA) ramped up pressure against Taiwan, the Eastern Theater Command announced a large-scale exercise from April 8-10. On the first day, a large number of aircraft - including H-6K strategic bombers and a Y-20U tanker - crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the southwest. The next day, J-15 fighters from the Shandong aircraft carrier entered Taiwan's ADIZ for the first time ever. KJ-200 airborne early-warning aircraft entered for the first time too. In fact, 259 PLA aircraft provocatively entered Taiwan's ADIZ in the month of April. This was an increase of 184 compared to April last year, and it was actually the second-highest total ever (the highest being 446 aircraft in August 2022, the same month that Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei). The highest single-day total of aircraft violations was 10 April with 54 aircraft. Significantly, this was the second-highest daily figure ever. Most aircraft were fighters (the most common was the J-10), but 20 different types of PLA airframes joined April's violations. China has already established a pattern of tightening the screws whenever it views a Taiwanese action with displeasure. It has a range of instruments at its disposal, but military coercion seems to be becoming far more prominent. Salami slicing and grey-zone tactics are China's regular modus operandi, but its actions are becoming ever more robust and blatant as China narrows Taiwan's room for manoeuvre and psychologically bludgeons it. There are more overt measures in its toolkit that China has not yet taken. Seizing outlying islands such as the Pratas would enable China to extend control over territory held by Taiwan. Yet this would be a higher risk than what China did in the South China Sea when it militarized unoccupied low-lying reefs and turned them into bases. Other potential actions include cyberattacks and targeting civilian infrastructure. Far more violent would be missile bombardments or maritime, air and information blockades. Beijing could use them to force Taiwanese leaders to the negotiating table, or to set conditions for a military invasion. The ultimate military option for China would be a full-scale amphibious invasion. However, there are only a few beaches in Taiwan where such landings are possible, and only certain times of the year when the waters of the Taiwan Strait are sufficiently calm. The best bet for Taiwan is therefore to try and control access to the air and water around Taiwan to keep Chinese troops at arm's length. Contrary to Russia's overland invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan would rely upon air and sea denial using anti-ship missiles and naval mines, whereas Kyiv relied on tanks and artillery to repel Russia's ground invasion. After watching the conflict play out in Ukraine, Taiwan will prioritize equipment like coastal defence missiles, drones, electronic jammers, missile-equipped boats, loitering munitions, communication satellites and mine-laying ships. These all contribute to a "porcupine strategy", the idea being to sharpen Taiwan's quills to make it more painful and costly for China to eat the porcupine. Taiwan will also have learned the importance of stockpiling munitions, increasing resilience, self-sufficiency, keeping supply and communications lines open, and the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare. There is a greater sense of urgency in Taiwan's establishment, and it knows it must better defend itself. If it did invade, China would hope for resistance to collapse, but Ukraine has proven that citizens defending their homeland can fight ferociously. The PLA has not been tested in combat since its short-lived 1979 invasion of Vietnam, plus a full-scale amphibious invasion is the most complex kind of military operation conceivable. The question is - how long is Chairman Xi Jinping willing to wait for the unification of Taiwan and China? Note that, although China uses the term "reunification", this is extremely inaccurate given that Taiwan has never been part of communist China. Late last year, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the USA surveyed 64 recognized experts on China-Taiwan relations, including former high-level US government officials, US government policy and intelligence analysts, and academics. These experts offered their thoughts on how China-Taiwan unification or conflict might play out. Only 20 per cent believed China has a coherent strategy for peacefully unifying Taiwan, leaving 80 per cent who think China does not have "a coherent internal strategy and roadmap, with concrete stages and actionable next steps". After Taiwanese citizens watched the suppression of Hong Kong under national security laws and iron-fisted communist tactics, it is no surprise that they are opposed to unification with China. Because Xi failed to win hearts and minds in Taiwan, coercion is pretty much the key tool left in the communist toolbox. About 84 per cent of respondents in the CSIS survey believe China is willing to wait for unification, but not forever, and just 6 per cent thought China would willingly accept the status quo. Concerning timelines for unification, fewer than half (44 per cent) think Beijing has a hard internal deadline to unify Taiwan by 2049, which is China's target date for national rejuvenation as it marks the 100th anniversary of communist China. A majority (80 per cent) do not think that spikes in PLA military exercises in response to Taiwanese activities represent an acceleration of preparations for war. Next, 79 per cent believe Xi will prioritize making progress towards Taiwan's peaceful unification during his third leadership term, which commenced last October. There has been a lot of speculation that 2027 represents the time when China might use force against Taiwan (this is when Xi's third term ends, plus it is the centennial of the PLA's founding). Xi has stated the Taiwan issue should not be passed down from generation to generation, reaffirming his desire to seek a decisive resolution, though he has been careful not to hint at dates. Indeed, there is a broad consensus by CSIS interviewees - some 83 per cent - that China does not plan to use military force by 2027. Nonetheless, 79 per cent of respondents think Xi will move beyond passive deterrence and become even more coercive and active in his efforts to browbeat Taiwan. Some 63 per cent expect a PLA amphibious invasion of Taiwan is possible within the next decade. Although such an invasion is possible, 27 per cent see it as unlikely and just 8 per cent as likely. Instead, limited use of force and an unintended military accident are more likely. Actually, the experts surveyed by CSIS were much more willing to believe that China would deliberately escalate its use of force short of invasion in the next decade. One example of such measures could be a blockade, where 30 per cent see this as likely, 22 per cent as very likely and 44 per cent as possible. Just 5 per cent think it will be not at all likely. If Taiwan declared independence, 77 per cent predict that China would immediately invade Taiwan. Incidentally, 100 per cent thought the USA would deploy forces to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion in case of an unprovoked attack. However, there was a divergence of opinion on how far the USA would go. About 30 per cent think the US would deploy troops but would not be willing to bear significant losses. Just 5 per cent thought the USA would be willing to bear any cost, which would be encouraging news to Xi. Some 55 per cent of the experts assessed that Beijing believes the USA still has a military advantage over China, and just 2 per cent said the USA could not repel an invasion. Beijing could potentially brandish nuclear weapons as a threat to deter intervention by the USA, as this certainly worked well for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. These were the views of experts in their fields, but none were actually based in Taiwan. One American defence analyst who has lived long-term in Taiwan shared the opinion that the results of Taiwan's next election in 2024 will be critical. The incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has a very rocky relationship with Beijing, will be taken on by the more China-friendly Kuomintang Party. The analyst warned, "If the DPP wins again in 2024, along with a strong legislature, this will be the end of any chance for a peaceful resolution." The analyst offered a basic timeline of what he then expected. From 16 August till 14 September 2023 (these dates correspond to the Ghost Festival, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar), he predicted a big Chinese military exercise as China seeks to sway Taiwanese voters. China will be exerting immense pressure and extensive propaganda to influence the election, using every means at its disposal. According to the American independent analyst's predictions, different scenarios are possible depending on the voting results. If the DPP wins, a huge military exercise could occur around 4/5 April, the time of the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival. The following Ghost Festival (15 July till 18 August 2024) could see China taking military action to secure the sea and air around Taiwan. This could even include missile strikes airbases, naval facilities and radar/communications hubs, as he painted a bleak picture. The analyst continued that, by Qingming on 4/5 April 2024: "If Taiwan has not surrendered after six months of an air and sea blockade, then a ground invasion with a minimum of 250,000 troops. With summer months coming, occupation forces should operate significantly better on the island than the winter months." He continued: "This is purely speculation...but I think it is a safe timeline. Some in Washington DC point to 2026, but President Xi Jinping is not getting any younger. His legacy demands taking Taiwan to become known as the father of modern China (replacing Mao Zedong's portrait at Tiananmen Square)." Of course, this is just one person's prediction of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, but it illustrates the uncertainty and insecurity that China has engendered in this part of Asia. Taiwan and the USA are now walking a fine line. They need to reassure Xi that his red line of no Taiwanese independence will not be crossed, but they also need to convince the Chinese strongman that aggression will come with unacceptable risks. Thus, the ultimate aim is not to solve the Taiwan issue once and for all, but simply to defer it. (ANI)
Indian Air Force C-130 J flight on Monday evacuated the 17th batch of 122 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah amid heavy infighting in Sudan. "#OperationKaveri IAF C-130 J flight brings 17th batch of evacuees from Port Sudan to Jeddah. 122 Indians evacuated by this flight," tweeted Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that 135 passengers are heading to Jeddah from Port Sudan onboard an IAF C-130J flight. "17th batch of Indian evacuees departs from Port Sudan onboard IAF C-130J flight. 135 passengers are heading to Jeddah. #OperationKaveri," he tweeted. Fighting is underway in Khartoum as the UN warns that Sudan is at a humanitarian "breaking point". Rival military forces accuse each other of new violations of a ceasefire that they had just agreed to extend as their devastating conflict enters a third week. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan has warned that the humanitarian crisis in the country is turning into a "full flown catastrophe" and that the risk of spillover into neighbouring countries was worrisome. "It has been more than two weeks of devastating fighting in Sudan, a conflict that is turning Sudan's humanitarian crisis into a full-blown catastrophe," Abdou Dieng, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, told a briefing of member states via video link. The UN assistant high commissioner for refugees has said that more than 800,000 people may flee Sudan. The commissioner said the UN has temporarily paused operations in some parts of Sudan, including Khartoum. The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday tweeted: "With almost 1400 Indians evacuated in IAF aircraft over the past few days, two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age & one above 102 years of age." Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, on Sunday, said that nearly 2300 evacuee Indians have reached India. "A C-130 Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India," EAM Jaishankar tweeted. The number reached the 2300 mark on the 8th flight however, following it, three more flights carried 229, 288 and 135 passengers respectively, taking the number of evacuees to more than 2500. The Indian government under Operation Kaveri, is set to evacuate about 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan. Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country to bring its citizens safely under Operation Kaveri. (ANI)
Indian Naval Ships INS Satpura and INS Delhi with RAdm Gurcharan Singh, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet embarked onboard and arrived at Singapore on Monday, to participate in the Inaugural ASEAN India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2023) scheduled from May 2 to 8. The Harbour Phase of the exercise is scheduled to be held at Changi Naval Base from 2 to 4 May 2023 and the Sea Phase will be conducted from 7 to 8 May 2023 in the South China Sea. AIME 2023 will provide an opportunity for Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work together closely and conduct seamless operations in the maritime domain. INS Delhi, India's first indigenously-built guided missile destroyer and INS Satpura, an indigenously-built guided missile stealth frigate are a part of Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and function under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Naval Command. These ships are fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors. During their port call in Singapore, the vessel will also participate in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX-23) and International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) being hosted by Singapore. (ANI)
The Confucius Institutes programme launched in 2004 on the lines of the British Council and Alliance Francaise is mired in controversies as it is working illegally in UK universities by contravening various well-established British rules and regulations, reported the Asian Institute for China and IOR Studies (AICIS), a non-profit think tank. Muraleedharan Nair, writing in AICIS said that the primary aim of China setting up Confucius Institutes abroad is for pushing the Communist Party of China (CPC's) interests and executing its bidding, rather than promoting Chinese culture and the Mandarin language, its ostensible objectives. In a recently accessed study, titled "Are Confucius Institutes Legal?" by UK-China Transparency (UKCT), Nair analysed a range of primary source data on the recruitment processes and procedures of Chinese staff working in these institutes. In the authors' words, "the purpose of the Confucius Institute is to advance the interests of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in ......... higher education, and society more broadly". The analysis also highlighted China's interest, including "the teaching of Mandarin, promotion of scientific collaboration, political and business networking propaganda and activities intended to shape how China and the CPC are viewed and studied academically, and the extension of CPC influence on campus," reported AICIS. More seriously, it was discovered that these institutes actually enable transnational repression in the UK. Other findings included, "the staff at these institutes are recruited in a highly discriminatory way that is illegal under UK law; staff are being recruited based on their ability to enforce 'CPC discipline' in the UK and are obliged to undermine free speech and to conduct harassment on command; universities are systematically enabling this in a way that breaches their legal obligations to staff and students; and the [British] Home Office is systematically enabling this by means of an unlawful dedicated visa route which makes the employment status of Confucius Institutes staff unclear." It was further revealed that the staff recruitment process adopted by partner Chinese entities/universities using a uniform method for placing in Confucius Institutes was highly discriminatory that is illegal under UK law, said Nair. It added that "political, age-based, sexist, religious, and racist forms of discrimination" are embedded into the recruitment process. The applicants must declare: "details of their 'political characteristics' and 'ethnicity'; a promise not to have a child whilst working abroad; have their current employer/manager evaluate their 'political attitude'; and 'be evaluated by a CCP Committee". The report highlighted that such conditions are illegal under UK law, AICIS reported. Each of the 30 Confucius Institutes in the United Kingdom is a partnership between the concerned UK university and a Chinese entity, mostly a Chinese university, and a Chinese government agency, the Centre for Language Education and Exchange (CLEC). Its staff members are generally from Britain with the Mandarin language teachers recruited from China. Each institute has two co-directors, one each from the UK and China. A number of recent tweets by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and statements by other senior British officials have generated renewed interest in the subject globally. "Confucius Institutes pose a threat to civil liberties in many universities in the United Kingdom and he [Rishi Sunak] would be looking into closing them", said a senior British official. "I would close all 30 of China's Confucius Institutes in the UK - the highest number in the world," said Sunak. (ANI)
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Monday expressed his party's readiness for same-day elections if the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) dissolves all assemblies before May 14, reported Geo News. Addressing a rally in Lahore, Khan came down hard on the government ahead of "final" poll talks. "They (the government) want to hold elections when they believe I will be out of their way. Their only aim is to take me out of the way," said Khan -- who was ousted as the prime minister in April last year. Khan added that if the government thinks it can stall and the PTI will wait, they are wrong. "We will move the court and demand elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)," reported Geo News. Khan has been mounting pressure on the government to announce general elections since his ouster from office in April, he announced last month that the PTI would dissolve the provincial assemblies in the two provinces where it is in power, KP and Punjab. PTI and the ruling alliance are set to hold a "final round" of talks tomorrow (Tuesday) over the election date on the instructions of the apex court, but top leaders from both sides have cast aspersions over the fruitfulness of the negotiations, reported Geo News. The apex court has asked both sides to sit down and evolve a consensus for holding elections across the country simultaneously after the government refused to follow the top court's orders on releasing funds for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The government -- as two sessions were held last week between the PTI and the PDM delegations -- said that the polls cannot be held right after the budget, presented in June, and proposed that they take place later. But the PTI was insistent on early elections, reported Geo News. The PTI chief said the government is making "excuses" that it has to present the budget and that "they think that they can trap us in their ill-intentioned-plan". Khan added that if the government thinks it can stall and the PTI will wait, they are wrong. "We will move the court and demand elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)." The PTI chief said his party would put forth only one proposal in the meeting tomorrow: dissolve all assemblies -- Sindh, Balochistan, and national -- and head for polls before May 14 - the date Pakistan Supreme Court has set for Punjab's polls, reported Geo News. PTI Chairman said that elections were to be held in 90 days if the assembly was finished, the caretaker government did not do a single thing for the election. He said that 70 per cent of the people in the country do not have elected representatives. (ANI)
Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe expected to reach an agreement by the end of the year on solving the ethnic issue, according to the statement released by Sri Lanka's President's Office. Addressing the United National Party May Day celebrations on Monday, Wickremesinghe said that he expected to reach an agreement by the end of the year to solve the ethnic problem that has been a long-standing issue in the country. "My intention is to address the ethnic problem in the country while implementing the agreement with the International Monetary Fund. We are currently in discussions and I hope to reach a mutually agreeable solution by the end of this year. It is important for us to move forward while respecting and protecting the rights of all communities including the majority Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, and Burgher minorities without marginalizing anyone. We are all committed to achieving this goal," President said. With the UNP's commitment to policies that benefit all communities in Sri Lanka, President Wickremesinghe expressed his optimism about achieving a resolution that is beneficial for everyone. He emphasized the need for all parties to come together and work towards a resolution that benefits all communities in Sri Lanka. In his address, President Wickremesinghe said, "After assuming the presidency, I have had the opportunity to address the United National Party and all of you who support the party." "When I took office as president, the country was experiencing its worst economic crisis in 30 years. The economy had completely collapsed, and people were suffering from shortages of food and fuel, leading to protests on the streets. Additionally, some individuals attempted to exploit this crisis to undermine the democratic system and the parliament," he added. Sri Lanka's President said that the country's economy can achieve stability, with no shortage of food, and a functional democratic system where the parliament operates without any threats. He further added that everyone has the opportunity to carry out their work without hindrance, according to the statement. "Prior to assuming the presidency, I reflected on one thing: the United National Party prioritizes the welfare of the country. The United National Party is a political party that is close to my heart. In fact, in the United National Party's 2020 election manifesto, we explicitly stated our intention to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, with a goal of securing USD 7 billion," the island nation President said. "As a party, we were the only ones who mentioned these critical points. On the other hand, other parties made empty promises they could not fulfil despite knowing the existence of the country's economic problem," he added. The President urged all members of the United National Party to embark on this new path. During the last election, some MPs from the SJB chose to abstain from voting. All the members of UNP share the same goal of building an open economy and it is therefore to unite and work together by forming a parliament and a government, the statement read. (ANI)
"H.E. @MariyaDidi hosted a dinner to honour her visiting Indian counterpart H.E. @rajnathsingh. Min Didi reiterated that tonight's dinner was an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of partnership and to renew their commitment to strengthen cooperation and collaboration," Maldives Defence Ministry tweeted.

At the dinner, a cultural programme happened, emblematic of the close cultural ties between India and Maldives was reflected.

Defence Minister, who reached Maldives on Monday, had met Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid in Male during his three-day visit to the island nation.

"Happy to have met with Maldives' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid in Male today," Singh tweeted.

Earlier, he paid tribute to fallen heroes at the '3rd November Memorial' flag mounting ceremony. He was accompanied by his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Didi.

"The Defence Minister of India, H.E.@rajnathsingh, pays tribute to fallen heroes at the 3rd November Memorial flag mounting ceremony, accompanied by Defence Minister of Maldives H.E.@MariyaDidi, @CDFofMNDF, and senior leadership of @MNDF_Official," Maldives Defence Ministry said in a tweet.

November 3 in the Maldives is celebrated as "Victory Day" to pay tribute to each and every martyr to sacrificed his life for the country. Victory Day is to mark the defeat of an attempted coup in 1988.

Later on, Monday, Singh attended an interactive session at the IHQ of Maldives National Defence Force.

The Defence Minister is expected to call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his visit to the island nation.

In tune with India's commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Rajnath Singh will gift one Fast Patrol Vessel ship and a Landing Craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces.

During his stay, the Defence Minister will also visit the ongoing project sites in the country and interact with the Indian diaspora.

India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters.

India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) along with its 'Neighbourhood First' policy as well as Maldives' 'India First' policy seek to work together to jointly develop the capabilities within the Indian Ocean Region. (ANI)
The most anticipated new books coming this month include a novel by Tom Hanks and a plagiarism thriller from R.F. Kuang Credit -

April showers bring May flowersand a crop of fresh books, each deliciously inventive. In Abraham Vergheses long-anticipated The Covenant of Water, a curse follows a South Indian family for close to a century. Tom Hanks The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece takes readers behind the scenes of a Hollywood superhero flick. And R.F. Kuangs Yellowface tells the sordid tale of a stolen manuscript, with substantial ethical and racial implications. Here, the best new books to read this May.

Dont Call Me Home, Alexandra Auder (May 2)

Alexandra Auder didnt have a typical childhood. The writer and actor was raised by filmmaker Michel Auder (who directed the 2011 documentary Chelsea Girls with Andy Warhol) and Viva, a Warhol superstar. This memoir chronicles the authors bohemian youth, from the moment Viva went into labor in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel in New York City to her time partying in East Village nightclubs to the present day, when an 80-year-old Viva visits Auder at Christmas. At the core of this meditation on family is a story about motherhood, daughterhood, and what it means to become your own woman.

Buy Now: Dont Call Me Home on Bookshop | Amazon

The Half Moon, Mary Beth Keane (May 2)

Mary Beth Keane, author of 2019s Ask Again, Yes, is back with her fourth book, which is about a marriage in crisis. Forty-five-year-old Malcolm Gephardt bought the Half Moon, the bar where he worked for 24 years, without including his wife, Jess, in the financial decision. After 15 years togetherand a long, heartbreaking struggle to get pregnantJess, a successful lawyer, moved out. Now shes been spotted with Neil Bratton, a fellow lawyer whos divorced with three kids and lives in a nice house. In Keanes tale of midlife musings on second chances, Malcolm must contend with the shock of his wifes new relationship, a blizzard in their small town, and a missing bar patron.

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Buy Now: The Half Moon on Bookshop | Amazon

You Are Here, Karin Lin-Greenberg (May 2)

Karin Lin-Greenbergs debut novel stemmed from a short story, The Sweeper of Hair, which was originally published in the Chicago Tribune. The Sweeper of Hair follows Tina Huang, the last hair stylist at Sunshine Clips in an upstate New York shopping mall. The mall, though slowly dying, is the sun around which the characters in You Are Here orbit. Tinas son Jackson sweeps up hair and studies magic tricks. Jacksons friend Maria works at the food court fried chicken place and dreams of being an actor. Tinas loyal, curmudgeonly customer Ro Goodson lives next door to Kevin, who manages the bookstore across from the salon. Lin-Greenbergs web of characters illustrate the complex lives of ordinary people.

Buy Now: You Are Here on Bookshop | Amazon

The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese (May 2)

In his first novel since his best-selling 2009 fiction debut Cutting For Stone, physician Abraham Verghese has returned with another epic story. The Covenant of Water is a 736-page work of historical fiction set in 20th-century Indiathe southern state of Kerala, to be specific. In 1900, a 12-year-old girl (later known as Big Ammachi) marries a 40-year-old widower. Big Ammachi becomes the matriarch of the cursed Parambil family: at least one person in each generation drowns. Over the course of three generations, two seemingly disparate, deeply connected narratives unfold in an ode to India, family, and medical marvels.

Buy Now: The Covenant of Water on Bookshop | Amazon

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, Tom Hanks (May 9)

In 2017, Tom Hanks published the short story collection Uncommon Type, but The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece marks the Oscar-winning actors first foray into novel territory. In 1947, Bob Falls is having a hard time reacclimating to civilian life after wielding a flamethrower in World War II. He meets his 5-year-old nephew, Robby Andersen, who will go on to write a comic book series, The Legend of Firefall, inspired by his uncle, in 1970. In the present day, the comics get a big screen adaptation as a Marvel-esque superhero movie. Going behind the scenes of lead actors and big egos, Hanks posits that the real stars in Hollywood are the people who make movie magic possible.

Buy Now: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece on Bookshop | Amazon

The Three of Us, Ore Agbaje-Williams (May 16)

An unnamed Nigerian wife, her unnamed devoted husband, and her sarcastic best friend, Temi, form the three points of a complicated constellation in Ore Agbaje-Williams debut novel. Over the course of one day, readers hear from the wife in the afternoon, the husband in the evening, and Temi at night as long-standing tensions finally unspool. Temi is the wifes ride-or-die, but she doesnt like the husbandshe thinks he has relegated the wife back into a traditional gender roleand hasnt made that much of a secret. The Three of Us toes the tightrope between concession and deception as Agbaje-Williams executes surprise twists in a narrative thats drenched in wine.

Buy Now: The Three of Us on Bookshop | Amazon

Quietly Hostile, Samantha Irby (May 16)

To know Samantha Irbys sidesplitting work is to love it. The writer and comedians fifth book, a collection of 17 essays, flips between the poignant and the snidely hilarious, sometimes fusing the two. The first essay embraces all things cringey, declaring the authors love for everything from Justin Bieber to milk. In another, she cracks jokes while in the hospital with anaphylactic shock. Irby also recalls squabbling with her sisters over her mothers deathbed and, after her father dies, reuniting with her estranged half-brother. Nothing is sacred in Quietly Hostileyet even the quirks hold rich meaning.

Buy Now: Quietly Hostile on Bookshop | Amazon

Yellowface, R.F. Kuang (May 16)

In R.F. Kuangs latest novel (after The Poppy War and Babel, or the Necessity of Violence), Athena Liu is a Chinese American literary darling whose star is on the rise. Her college friend June Hayward isnt particularly pleased with Athenas success, and is frustrated that she hasnt also broken out in the industry. But when a freak accident occurs that leaves Athena dead, June ends up walking away with the manuscript of her frenemys latest work. June, who is white, edits the novel about Chinese laborers during World War I and passes it off as her own. Its an immediate hit, and June has finally reached the top of the literary worlduntil the cracks begin to show in her scheme, and inevitable fissures surrounding cultural appropriation, diversity, and racism emerge.

Buy Now: Yellowface on Bookshop | Amazon

Why Fathers Cry at Night, Kwame Alexander (May 23)

Newbery medalist Kwame Alexander opens this unconventional memoir of heartfelt letters, love poems, and family recipes with a clarification: This is not a traditional memoir. These are just snapshots of a man learning to love. Again. Why Fathers Cry at Night traces Alexanders experience with love, from his parents distant marriage to his own two marriages, which have since dissolved, to his most meaningful bonds: those with his daughters. Interspersed throughout are recipes (a family 7UP pound cake, Grannys hot buttered rolls, his mothers fried chicken), which only add to the richness of and depth of his reminiscences.

Buy Now: Why Fathers Cry at Night on Bookshop | Amazon

Beware the Woman, Megan Abbott (May 30)

Megan Abbott, master of crime fiction told through the female lens, has written another novel (her 11th) brimming with suspense. Jacy and Jed are newlyweds with a baby on the way when they set out on a summer road trip from New York City to Michigans Upper Peninsula to meet Jeds father, Dr. Ash. At first, Jacy feels cocooned by a warm welcome. (At least by Dr. Ashthe house manager, Mrs. Brandt, is another story.) But the expecting mother soon learns that Jeds own mom died in childbirth, and a miscarriage scare leads to her feeling trapped in the house. Abbott spins an enigmatic web of foreboding and unease as she delves into family secrets and gender politics.

Buy Now: Beware the Woman on Bookshop | Amazon

Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir in Archives, Amelia Possanza (May 30)

Lesbian Love Story boasts an inventive blend of genres. Amelia Possanza spins together memoir, archival nonfiction, and fictional passages with ease. Seven timeless love stories form the spine of the book: the classical Greek poet Sappho and her lover Anactoria take the author to Hadrians Library in the ruins of the Acropolis. Back home, in 20th-century New York, Black lesbians organize in Harlem during the Great Depression and a drag king performs in Bushwick. Possanza is building her own queer history in Brooklyn, too, seeking out for fellow lesbians as role models of love, care, and community.

Buy Now: Lesbian Love Story on Bookshop | Amazon
Daniel Motaung, a former Facebook content moderator who in 2019 was fired by the outsourcing company Sama during an attempt to register a union, speaks on stage to 150 workers in Nairobi on May 1, 2023, shortly before they voted to establish the Content Moderators Union. Credit - Courtesy of Foxglove

More than 150 workers whose labor underpins the AI systems of Facebook, TikTok and ChatGPT gathered in Nairobi on Monday and pledged to establish the first African Content Moderators Union, in a move that could have significant consequences for the businesses of some of the worlds biggest tech companies.

The current and former workers, all employed by third party outsourcing companies, have provided content moderation services for AI tools used by Meta, Bytedance, and OpenAIthe respective owners of Facebook, TikTok and the breakout AI chatbot ChatGPT. Despite the mental toll of the work, which has left many content moderators suffering from PTSD, their jobs are some of the lowest-paid in the global tech industry, with some workers earning as little as $1.50 per hour.

As news of the successful vote to register the union was read out, the packed room of workers at the Movenpick Hotel in Nairobi burst into cheers and applause, a video from the event seen by TIME shows. Confetti fell onto the stage, and jubilant music began to play as the crowd continued to cheer.

The establishment of the Content Moderators Union is the culmination of a process that began in 2019, when Daniel Motaung, a Facebook content moderator, was fired from his role at the outsourcing company Sama after he attempted to convene a workers union called the Alliance. Motaung, whose story was first revealed by TIME, is now suing both Facebook and Sama in a Nairobi court. Motaung traveled from his home in South Africa to attend the Labor Day meeting of more than 150 content moderators in Nairobi, and addressed the group.

Read More: Facebook Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Human Trafficking and Union-Busting in Kenya

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I never thought, when I started the Alliance in 2019, we would be here todaywith moderators from every major social media giant forming the first African moderators union, Motaung said in a statement. There have never been more of us. Our cause is right, our way is just, and we shall prevail. I couldnt be more proud of todays decision to register the Content Moderators Union.

TIMEs reporting on Motaung kicked off a wave of legal action and organizing that has culminated in two judgments against Meta and planted the seeds for todays mass worker summit, said Foxglove, a non-profit legal NGO that is supporting the cases, in a press release.

Those two judgments against Meta include one from April in which a Kenyan judge ruled Meta could be sued in a Kenyan courtfollowing an argument from the company that, since it did not formally trade in Kenya, it should not be subject to claims under the countrys legal system. Meta is also being sued, separately, in a $2 billion case alleging it has failed to act swiftly enough to remove posts that, the case says, incited deadly violence in Ethiopia.

It takes a village to solve a problem, but today the Kenyan moderators formed an army, said Martha Dark, Foxgloves co-director, in a statement. From TikTok to Facebook, these people face the same issues. Toxic content, no mental health care, precarious work  these are systemic failures in content moderation.

Moderators from TikTok, employed by the outsourcing company Majorel, also said they would participate in the union. Seeing so many people together today was incredible, said James Oyange, a former TikTok content moderator at Majorel, who has taken a leadership role in organizing his former colleagues. People should know that it isnt just Metaat every social media firm there are workers who have been brutalized and exploited. But today I feel bold, seeing so many of us resolve to make change. The companies should listenbut if they wont, well make them. And we hope Kenyan lawmakers and society will ally with us to transform this work.

Workers who helped OpenAI detoxify the breakout AI chatbot ChatGPT were present at the event in Nairobi, and said they would also join the union. TIME was the first to reveal the conditions faced by these workers, many of whom were paid less than $2 per hour to view traumatizing content including descriptions and depictions of child sexual abuse. For too long we, the workers powering the AI revolution, were treated as different and less than moderators, said Richard Mathenge, a former ChatGPT content moderator who worked on the outsourcing company Samas contract with OpenAI, which ended in 2022. Our work is just as important and it is also dangerous. We took an historic step today. The way is long but we are determined to fight on so that people are not abused the way we were.

Read More: Exclusive: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic

Mercy Mutemi, a lawyer at Nzili and Sumbi Advocates, the law firm suing Meta in both Motaungs case and the Ethiopia hate speech case, said Mondays events were a watershed. Moderators have faced unbelievable intimidation in trying to exercise their basic right to associate, she said. Today they have made a powerful statement: their work is to be celebrated. They will live in fear no longer. Moderators are proud of their work, and we stand ready to offer the necessary support as they register the trade union and bargain for fair conditions.

Foxglove, which is funded in part by the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundation, paid for the Nairobi event along with Superrr Lab, a German non-profit.
A rear-end crash on Interstate 10 in Louisiana snowballed into a multi-vehicle pileup, killing one, police said.

The crash happened at 8:30 a.m. on May 1 near the exit intersection of I-10 West and Crowder Boulevard in New Orleans, the police department said in a news release.

A driver of a Cadillac Escalade struck a Honda Civic from behind, which led to a pileup that involved six cars, according to the release.

Fatal multi-vehicle crash on I-10 West at Crowder Blvd left one dead & five injured. Anyone w/info that can assist #NOPD's investigation can call Traffic Fatality Unit at 504-658-6205 or report information anonymously to @CrimestopperGNO at 504-822-1111.https://t.co/fwG0ftHXoy pic.twitter.com/ypUuqtIwOk  New Orleans Police Department (@NOPDNews) May 1, 2023

Two crashed cars ended up perched on a guardrail beside the roadway, police said.

The following drivers were involved in the pileup, according to the release:

A 34-year-old man driving a Honda Civic, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 48-year-old woman driving a Cadillac Escalade is in stable condition.

A 38-year-old woman driving a Kia Forte is in stable condition.

A 57-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Silverado did not report injuries.

A 58-year-old woman driving a Toyota Tacoma is in stable condition.

A 34-year-old woman driving a Mercedes Benz SUV and her passenger, a 3-year-old girl, are both in stable condition.

The driver of the Toyota Tacoma and the Mercedes Benz were atop the guardrail after crashing, police said.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, according to police. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Orleans Police Department at 504-821-2222.

Story continues

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At least 24 new restaurants opened around greater Sacramento in April, from an ice cream parlor in the citys southern reaches to Hawaiian brewpub in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Four restaurants opened in Folsom, two apiece in Woodland and Roseville and one each in Citrus Heights, Isleton, Camino, El Dorado Hills, Rocklin, Carmichael and Davis.

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Benjy Egel, a Sacramento native, covers local restaurants and bars for The Bee.

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In 1946, one year after the use of atomic bombs in Japan, Albert Einstein penned his first letter as chair of the newly formed Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels, Einstein wrote. Today we must abandon competition and secure cooperation. This must be the central fact in all our considerations of international affairs; otherwise we face certain disaster. Past thinking and methods did not prevent world wars. Future thinking must prevent wars.

March 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the United States-led invasion of Iraq. As tensions rise around U.S. involvement in Russias war in Ukraine and as painful similarities are inevitably drawn between the geopolitical stage today and in 2003, one cannot help but wonder, are we using a new type of thinking? Or are we sleepwalking into yet another world conflict?

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Iraq 2003 to 2023: My generations Vietnam

At least 4,400 American service members died in Iraq. Approximately 2,500 soldiers are still deployed in the war-torn nation, with several military deaths still occurring every year since the war officially ended in 2011. The price we paid affects us today, with thousands of families forever traumatized by the deaths of their sons and daughters and millions of veterans suffering PTSD, lost limbs, and cancer-causing burn pit injuries.

A Marine honor guard removes the casket containing the body of Cpl. Patrick Nixon after services at the College Heights Baptist Church in Gallatin, Tenn., April 15, 2003. Nixon, the first Tennesseean to die in combat during the Iraq war.

Number estimates of Iraqi civilians who died in the invasion range from 280,000 to 315,000. Several times as many Iraqis may have died as an indirect result due to damage to systems that provide food, health care, and clean drinking water.

To what end? Quoting the Costs of War Project, The U.S. invasion of Iraq turned the country into a laboratory in which militant groups such as Islamic State have been able to hone their techniques of recruitment and violence. The formation of Islamist militant groups spreading throughout the region counts among the many human costs of that war.

Story continues

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The people who did the crime never did the time

Not only was the Iraq War a total failure, but the pretense upon which we waged that war was a lie. The argument for the war hinged on the Bush Administrations claim that Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction, which posed a threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region.

No WMDs were ever found, Bushs narrative surrounding WMB was a lie, and the administration knew it. Mother Joness David Corn and others have chronicled a long list of examples in which Bush, Cheney, and administration officials told the American people facts about Saddams WMD, facts that the administrations own intelligence agencies insisted were lies, omissions, or total fabrications.

Were an ordinary citizen to orchestrate a plot built on lies that led to the deaths of thousands of Americans, his life would be over. But when politicians, fossil fuel execs, and defense contractors get together to orchestrate such a plot, its considered just another day for this countrys war-hungry foreign policy establishment.

Fast forward to today, and the same U.S. leaders who supported the Iraq invasion are now at the microphone arguing for a more hawkish approach to Russias war in Ukraine. We would be fools to listen to them a second time.

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Russias adversarial stance can be traced back to the Iraq invasion

The United States has been at war for 222 of the 246 years this country has existed. War might be normal to us, but thats not how the rest of the world feels about it. An article by Branko Marcetic published by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft lays out how Putins early-2000s efforts toward rapprochement with the U.S. via the Bush administration began to stall as the Kremlin distanced itself from the administrations Iraq saber-rattling.

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in the castle in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005. (AP Photo/ITAR-TASS, Presidential Press Service, Alexei Panov)

Russia eventually joined France and Germany in opposition to Bushs desired war, rolling back its support for the U.S. and receding from much of its diplomatic efforts with the administration. We remembered 9/11 and were there for you  but no linkage with Iraq, said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in March 2003. No prior [Security] Council decisions authorized the use of force outside the UN Charter or approved the violent overthrow of the leadership of a sovereign state.

While Putin and his supporters bear total responsibility for their brutal, illegal war in Ukraine, a teachable moment on this 20th anniversary of our own brutal, illegal war in Iraq is to consider the far-reaching consequences of the invasion, one of which seems to be pushing Russia away from cooperative, multilateral relations with the West.

Our future depends on creating a new type of thinking

Just because the U.S. has been warlike throughout history does not mean we cannot take Einsteins advice and adopt new thinking. We must hold our leaders accountable and demand a peaceful resolution in Ukraine. Every day we do not, civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, and Russian conscripts die.

Ren Brabenec

If we fail, if U.S. politicians and the corporate execs who pull their strings push us into yet another war and ask our sons and daughters to fight it for them, we must teach our children the history of our nation, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Vietnam and beyond. Teach them the truth and guard them against lies and propaganda. Maybe then our children will go on to shoulder the souls of Earths downtrodden rather than the butts of rifles.

Ren Brabenec is a Nashville-based writer and columnist.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 20th anniversary of Iraq invasion has lessons for today's landscape
A kayaker was killed when she was hit by a boat on a lake outside Nashville, officials said.

Jaidha Lindsay, 24, was kayaking by herself on Percy Priest Lake on April 29, according to a news release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Around 9:30 a.m., officials were alerted to a boating accident on the lake.

When they arrived at the boat ramp, they found a boat driver and two passengers who said they had collided with a kayaker on the lake, according to the release.

The boaters identified the kayaker as a solo female, but she was missing. Officials spoke with the boaters to narrow their search for the kayaker.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency used a remote-operated vehicle to search the area, officials said. They were able to find Lindsays body in 54-feet-deep water.

Officials called in divers from the Nashville Office of Emergency Management who recovered her body a short time later.

Officials said Lindsay, who lived in Murfreesboro, was not wearing a life jacket at the time, and the incident remains under investigation.

They did not release whether charges would be filed against the boaters at this time.

Lindsay was described as a wonderful daughter, sister, granddaughter, teacher and friend by Samantha Jo Brewer who started a GoFundMe for her funeral expenses.

She was a beautiful soul and despite her many hardships, she always kept a positive demeanor and hopeful view of life, Brewer wrote. Her life was cut too short.

Few days back I thought about high school moments and our track days with you and all our friends then see this today!! a former classmate posted on Facebook. You had so much life to live.

Murfreesboro is about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.

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A Black founder and entrepreneur has received an investment toward combating expensive college tuition and low wages for part-time professors.

Back in 2018, Tade Oyerinde came up with the idea for an alternative to traditional community college after meeting an adjunct professor who slept on the floor of his office at The University of California, Los Angeles. The professor couldnt afford to live around where he taught, according to Forbes.

After launching in beta in 2022, now, Oyerinde is taking his national community college startup, Campus, to the next level and has raised $29 million in a Series A funding round, the outlet revealed.

The round for New York-based Campus was led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Discord founder Jason Citron, the outlet details. Among fellow investors were Figma founder Dylan Field; former head of Stripe, Lachy Groom; Bloomberg Beta; Founders Fund; Rethink Education; Reach Capital; and Precursor Ventures.

As of this writing, the online school has 800 enrolled students from 30 states and around 150 faculty members.

Campus professors earn about $8,000 per class. Oyerinde says that the income is double the national average for adjunct professors.

You have these amazing professors, but they earn so little and theyre suffering, Oyerinde told the outlet. And the students, the quality that theyre getting at a local community college isnt always the best. So how can we help resolve both those concerns?

The cost for one year of tuition at the community college is around $7,000. For students who are eligible, their tuition can be fully covered by a federal Pell Grant. In addition, Campus provides laptops, Wi-Fi, and support services.

Campus mission is to help students avoid high debt for a bachelors degree after transferring once they complete their coursework at the online community college.

Following the new funding, Oyerinde aims to create a plan for being able to admit more students into Campus.

Our core focus is on building a solid foundation over the next year so we can meet the growing demand, he said. Its really important to us that we have a solid foundation in place before thinking about scale.
Early Monday morning, police say a 50-year-old man was beaten and robbed on Smithfield Street and Sixth Avenue, which is the latest in a long string of issues downtown.

Just after 12:45 a.m., the man was beaten by at least three teenagers and was taken to the hospital, where he is now in critical condition.

This incident comes just weeks after Channel 11 News showed the conditions of a city park, which was filled with syringes, debris, and human waste. While surveying the area on Monday, news crews noticed more police in the area, but still a large homeless presence.

RELATED >>> City of Pittsburgh cleans up drug debris found across from youth center after Channel 11 report

It was doing really well up until COVID, and then COVID took a hit, and it hasnt been the same since, said Ryan, who has worked in the area for two decades.

People who work downtown say the area has changed for the worse, but they are also hopeful that it can get better and what to see proactive solutions.

RELATED >>> Residents concerned over cleanliness, safety after drug debris found across from local youth center

I like to see more stores open, more things to do, something for the youth, maybe a game room  I dont know how that would work  and more police presence, said James.

11 News caught up with the citys mayor Monday to get his take.

We boosted up patrol downtown, we know that the violent crime is down downtown tremendously, that isolated incident right there we are going to look at it and we will do whats necessary to address it, said Mayor Ed Gainey.

Two of the teens were caught and arrested. They were charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, and recklessly endangering another person. One of the two was also charged with robbery.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

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Sweet Emotion: Aerosmith announces farewell tour College baseball player shot in middle of game while standing in bullpen 2 taken into custody after high-speed Pittsburgh police chase Multiple people injured in house fire in Ambridge DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
A 36-year-old Lebanon man was sentenced Thursday for sexually exploiting a child in 2021 for the purpose of producing images.

The United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Michael Rankin was sentenced on April 27 by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner to 20 years imprisonment for sexually exploiting a child.

Rankin previously admitted to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in the summer of 2021 and taking pictures of that assault, according to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam.

"Rankin also admitted that he possessed hundreds of images or videos of child pornography, some of which depicted infants and very young children," officials said in a release Monday.

Between June 2021 and August 2021, Rankin induced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of that conduct. Officials said Rankin distributed images in August 2021 and possessed child pornography in October 2021 when he was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police.

The Court also ordered a 15-year term of supervised release to follow the term of imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Rankin's case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli prosecuted the case.

Tarik Wilson: Bensalem man sentenced for fentanyl trafficking that resulted in two Lebanon men's death

Andres Rodriguez: Shot 10 times: Andres Rodriguez found guilty in 2020 fatal shooting of local tattoo artist

The Department of Human Services operates a 24/7 hotline to report suspected child abuse or concerns about the welfare of a child. ChildLine can be reached at 800-932-0313.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon man sentenced 20 years for sexually exploiting a child
Atlanta police are investigating a deadly shooting in southeast Atlanta.

Authorities said officers received reports of a shooting Sunday at 4:13 p.m. at a home on Forrest Park Road SE.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

When officers arrived, they found a 39-year-old man who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The identity of the victim has not been released.

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Police have not provided details regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Russia continues to replenish its forces with convicted Russians recruited by the Wagner Group, the infamous Russian private military company.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Quote: "The enemy [Russians  ed.] continues to try to replenish its losses in manpower at the cost of prisoners. Recently, the arrival of about 400 such persons recruited by the PMC Wagner to one of the occupiers' field camps in the Berdiansk district of Zaporizhzhia Oblast was noted."

Details: The General Staff reports that a similar replenishment is expected in Luhansk Oblast.

It is known about the planned training of up to 200 convicts at one of the training grounds near the city.

According to the headquarters, the training will last for several weeks.

"The personnel of the commandant's company, which will provide security for this contingent, have been ordered to open fire on any attempts to escape or disobey," the General Staff adds.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The 2023 Met Gala is fast approaching and perhaps no one is more ready for the annual fashion event than Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

This year, the biggest night in fashion will once again take place on the first Monday in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The theme of the 2023 Met Gala, titled Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, will honour the legacy of the legendary German designer and Wintours longtime friend.

Since 1995, Anna Wintour has carefully presided over the Met Gala and its exclusive guest list. With her signature black sunglasses and perfectly coiffed bob, the British journalist has been a mainstay at the Met Gala, and in the fashion world, for decades.

It comes as no surprise that the Vogue editor-in-chief is one of the most prominent figures in fashion, considering she comes from a journalism background and has been working in fashion since she was 15 years old.

Her father was a famous newspaper editor

Anna Wintour was born on 3 November 1949 to British journalist Charles Wintour and American Eleanor Trego Baker, whose father was a Harvard Law School professor. Her father, Charles, worked as editor-in-chief of the London Evening Standard. One of her four siblings, Patrick, is also a journalist and the diplomatic editor of The Guardian.

Wintour studied at the North London Collegiate School, where she rebelled against the schools dress code by taking up the hemlines of her skirts. In the 2009 documentary The September Issue, Wintour said that growing up in London in the 1960s framed her view on fashion and made her fall in love with it at a young age.

She got her start in fashion at 15 years old

When she was 15, her father helped her land her first job in fashion at the London boutique, Biba  the same year that she began to wear her hair in whats now her iconic bob with bangs, according to biographer Jerry Oppenheimer. She left school to begin a teenage training program at Harrods, before becoming an editorial assistant at Harpers Bazaar UK and Harpers & Queen. In 1975, she relocated to New York City where she worked as junior fashion editor at Harpers Bazaar.

Story continues

Wintours big break at Vogue came in 1983 when she landed the role as creative director of the American magazine. In 1985, Wintour replaced Beatrix Miller as editor-in-chief of British Vogue, but leapt back to New York City in 1988 to take over as Vogue editor-in-chief.

Her annual clothing budget is reportedly as high as $200,000

The fashion icon is rumoured to be given an exuberant clothing allowance of $200,000 (about 120,000) from Vogues publisher, Conde Nast. The shocking figure was revealed in New York Times T Magazine by an undisclosed source. In addition to her annual allowance, the British editor is reportedly gifted many high-fashion clothes and pieces from designers.

Despite having a rumoured clothing budget, Wintours net worth is estimated to be $50m, and her yearly salary is reportedly between $2m and $4m.

She has two children

In 1984, Wintour married child psychiatrist David Shaffer. The former couple were together for 15 years before they divorced in 1999. Together, they have two children. Her son, Charlie Shaffer, is a doctor and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell. Her daughter, Bee Carrozzini (nee Shaffer), worked as a producer at Late Night With Seth Meyers from 2014 to 2017.

She wears her dark Chanel sunglasses so no one can tell if shes bored

While Wintour is known for her signature sunglasses, the dark shades actually serve a purpose. In a 2009 interview with 60 Minutes, the Vogue editor revealed that she often dons her large sunglasses because they allow her to keep her reactions to fashion shows private.

Well, theyre seriously useful. I mean, I can sit in a show, and if Im bored out of my mind, nobody will notice. And if Im enjoying it, nobody will notice, Wintour said. So, I think at this point theyve become, you know, really armour.

The 2023 Met Gala will take place on Monday 1 May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The theme of this years Met Gala, titled Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, will examine the life of the late designer.

The dress code for the annual fundraising event, which raises money for the museums Costume Institute, requires guests to wear clothing in honour of Karl  namely looks inspired by his work as creative director at Chanel or Fendi. The Costume Institutes accompanying exhibition will bring around 150 creations from the iconic German designer together to explore [his] stylistic language.

Along with Vogues editor-in-chief, there will be four co-chairs of the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer. Fans can tune in to the Met Gala 2023 red carpet livestream on Monday 1 May at 6.30pm ET on the Vogue website or its social media platforms.
Officials and scholars from both China and Greece hailed the United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day with an event dedicated to the dialogue between Chinese and Greek languages and civilizations on Saturday evening.



They agreed that the increased bilateral exchanges in recent years in this field benefited both countries and the world.

"China and Greece are joining hands to create a model of mutual learning among civilizations, effectively showing the way towards a symbiosis of various civilizations in a century full of challenges and turmoil," Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng said at the event.

Earlier this year, the centers of Greek and Chinese ancient civilization were formally established in the two countries, aiming at promoting exchanges of scholars and students to advance the study of the two civilizations.

"Learning each other's language and understanding each other's history have shortened the distance between our countries and our two peoples," Xiao added.

In recent years, the teaching of Greek and Chinese languages has become the most dynamic area of China-Greece education cooperation, he said.

Four Confucius institutes and the world's first online Chinese classroom have been established at Greek universities, while six universities in China are offering full-time undergraduate Greek language programs, he added.

"We strongly believe that education is one of the best ways to increase mutual understanding and peace. And the dialogue between our civilizations is at the center of this endeavor," said Odysseas Zoras, secretary general for higher education at Greece's Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and former guest professor at Shanxi Medical University in China.

Stelios Virvidakis, president of the Center of Greek and Chinese Ancient Civilizations outlined the projects underway in the center. Greek and Chinese scholars also gave mini-lectures on Greek and Chinese languages history and development, the origin of Greek and Chinese civilizations and other topics.

Apostolis Dimitropoulos, former secretary general of higher education at Greece's Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, said dialogue between the two countries representing two ancient civilizations is a unique opportunity, providing the basis for a better understanding of modern cultures, something extremely important in an era of globalization.

The UN Chinese Language Day is observed on April 20 every year since 2010.
A multi-car crash in San Bernardino on Sunday injured seven people. (OnScene.TV)

Police were searching late Sunday for a driver who they said crashed into several cars in a busy San Bernardino intersection, sending seven people to the hospital.

The crash happened a little after 2:30 p.m., when a driver in a stolen car ran a red light and then crashed into seven cars at the intersection of Del Rosa and Highland avenues, according to Sgt. Chris Gray of the San Bernardino Police Department.

Seven people were taken to the hospital, and two were in serious condition.

Several people had to be extricated from their vehicles, San Bernardino fire authorities told KTLA.

The suspect fled and hasn't been apprehended, according to Gray.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
There are 800 fluffy sheep roaming Sacramento parks this spring  and you can see them for yourself.

The city contracted the sheep through local ranching companies to graze a handful of parks, contributing to sustainability efforts and reducing fire risk.

Heres why theyre here and where you can spot them:

Where can I see the sheep

The sheep started working at North Natomas Regional Park early last week. They are estimated to have a 30-to-40-day graze period at the park. Come mid-May, they are scheduled to move to Del Paso Regional Park for another month or so.

There will be both goats and sheep at three other city parks, according to a Sacramento news release. They include:

Can I pet the sheep?

While the sheep are in North Natomas, visitors are welcome to observe the animals, according to the city. Do not disturb the animals, the city says, while they are busy munching away.

What are the benefits of sheep

When sheep graze a lawn, they are not only helping beautify the area, but they also help with fire reduction and fertilization.

The sheep are one of our greatest assets as theyre able to get into areas that would be difficult for a machine like a mower to access, said Shawn Aylesworth, the citys park maintenance manager in an April news release. We maintain many open spaces across Sacramento and the animals are a sustainable way to reduce fire fuels.

In a February study from UC Davis, researchers discovered that sheep not only improve the ecosystem, but also improve peoples moods. Sheep helped people feel peaceful and lowered their stress levels.

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.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

One person is dead following an officer-involved shooting Monday morning in Hardeeville, and at least three officers from two agencies have been put on administrative leave.

Officers from the Hardeeville Police Department were called around 4:15 a.m. about a road-rage incident in which a person shot at a vehicle, according to Chief Deputy Jeff Crosby with the Jasper County Sheriffs Office and Chief Sam Woodward with the Hardeeville Police Department.

A short chase began near Exit 8 in Hardeeville off Brooks Willis Drive and shots were exchanged between police and the suspect, resulting in the suspects death.

The Exit 8 northbound on-ramp of I-95 was shut down for most of the day Monday because of the investigation. The ramp was reopened to traffic about 1:45 p.m., Crosby said.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating, a spokesperson from the agency confirmed.

Names and other identifying details about the person who was killed will not be released until the family has been notified, Woodward said.

At least two officers from the Hardeeville Police Department have been put on administrative leave. One deputy from the Jasper County Sheriffs Office has been put on leave.

Placing officers on leave during an investigation such as this, Crosby said, is standard protocol.
Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson wants to leave city government to become Miami-Dade Countys first elected tax collector in 2025.

Richardson, a Democrat and an accountant, filed Monday for a position that currently reports to county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. A constitutional amendment Florida voters approved in 2018 requires an independently elected tax collector, along with sheriff and elections supervisor.

State rules also require the positions be partisan, meaning Richardson first must win the Democratic primary in August 2024 to compete on the November ballot. Hes the first candidate to file for the tax-collector race.

READ MORE: Five complications facing Miami-Dade from electing sheriff, voting chief, tax collector

Richardson, 66 and a first-term city commissioner, was the first openly gay candidate elected to the Florida Legislature when he won a House seat in 2012.

The office of tax collector not only processes taxes for the county government, but it also issues a range of licenses, including for hunting and fishing. The agency also processes motor vehicle tags and registration, placing it in charge of tag stickers, vanity plates and disabled parking permits in Miami-Dade.

As your tax collector I will bring a fresh approach to an office that needs revamping to deliver top-notch customer service and countywide resident services so the office can respond to your needs, Richardson said in a statement. Through mobile office hours, we will expand our reach to every corner of the county, and we will deploy enhanced technology to streamline services.

Richardsons decision to run for tax collector means he will not seek a second four-year term on the Miami Beach City Commission later this year.

Peter Cam is the current director of the countys tax collector office, reporting to Levine Cava. Cam was appointed in 2019 and said last year that was considering running for the elected position.

Miami Herald staff writer Aaron Leibowitz contributed to this report.
(Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Montana and its Republican House Speaker on Monday, accusing them of violating a Democratic transgender legislator's First Amendment rights by barring her from the House floor after she protested a bill banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

Montana's governor signed the bill into law on Friday, two days after the Republican House majority voted to censure Zooey Zephyr and exclude her from the House chamber for the rest of the legislative session for saying in an April 18 floor debate that denying such care would lead to more suicides.

"If you vote yes on this bill... 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 in the debate. Republicans accused her of violating decorum.

The ACLU filed its lawsuit on Monday in Montana's First Judicial District Court in the County of Lewis and Clark on behalf of Zephyr and four of her constituents, alleging that barring her from the House floor for her comments "extinguishes a vital part of the job her constituents elected her to do."

Montana House Speaker Matt Regier did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

After the Republican supermajority in the legislature silenced Zephyr within the chamber until she apologized for her April 18 comments, her supporters protested at the statehouse on April 24. Seven demonstrators were arrested.

Montana ACLU legal director Alex Rate said in a news release announcing Monday's lawsuit that Regier had "unfairly, unjustly, and unconstitutionally" silenced Zephyr's constituents by silencing her, and called his actions "a direct threat to the bedrock principles that uphold our entire democracy."

A Republican supermajority in the Tennessee statehouse earlier this month expelled two Democratic lawmakers who had protested in support of gun control, drawing national attention. Their county legislatures promptly reappointed them to their seats.

(Reporting by Julia Harte; editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Berkrot)
Aerosmith fans who dont want to miss a thing need to check this out.

The legendary band has announced its farewell tour, dubbed "Peace Out."

Its not goodbye its PEACE OUT! the group said in a statement. Get ready and walk this way, youre going to get the best show of our lives.

Fans will see one of the most significant American rock bands in history one last time during this not-to-be-missed final tour, a press release announcing the tour said. Every night will celebrate the five decades of Aerosmiths groundbreaking hits as they celebrate 50 years as Americas greatest rock band.

The Black Crowes will also appear on the bill, while Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer will not.

While Joey Kramer remains a beloved founding member of Aerosmith, he has regrettably made the decision to sit out the currently scheduled touring dates to focus his full attention on his family and health, the band said.

Joeys unmistakable and legendary presence behind the drum kit will be sorely missed.

The 40-date North American tour will get underway Sept. 2 in Philadelphia and wrap up Jan. 26, 2024, in Montreal. The band, which has already enjoyed 10 world tours, will also play in its hometown of Boston on New Years Eve.

Tickets go on sale May 5 on Ticketmaster.com.

Aerosmith performance in Barcelona (Miquel Llop / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Aerosmith, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, has won four Grammys during a long and decorated career, charting eight songs in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1 hit I Dont Want to Miss a Thing in 1998. Theyve also had nine Top 10 albums, including Nine Lives and Get a Grip, both of which went to No. 1.

In 2022, the band had to cancel dates for its Las Vegas residency when frontman Steven Tyler entered a treatment program for substance abuse.

Story continues

As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years, the group said in a statement.

After foot surgery to prepare for the stage and the necessity of pain management during the process, he has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health and recovery.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Grammy award-winning and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Aerosmith on Monday announced the dates for its final Peace Out tour, which includes a stop in Kansas City, according to the bands website.

The farewell tour will come the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City on Nov. 16. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday on www.ticketmaster.com.

The tour, including special guest The Black Crowes, starts Sept. 2 in Philadelphia and includes a 40-date run of shows, including Chicago on Sept. 15, St. Louis on Oct. 26, Indianapolis on Oct. 29, Tulsa on Nov. 4, Omaha on Nov. 10, St. Paul on Nov. 13, and Denver on Nov. 19.

The tour concludes in Montreal on Jan. 26. Click here for a complete list of tour dates.

After 50 years, 10 world tours, and playing for over 100 million fans . . . Its time for one last go! the band said on Twitter.
Helicopters rescued four ill passengers from three cruise ships at sea off the California coast within 24 hours, U.S. Coast Guard officials reported.

The series of ocean rescues began at about 7 p.m. Friday, April 28, when the cruise ship Carnival Panorama requested help, a Coast Guard news release said.

A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted a 47-year-old woman with a progressive acute illness from the ship about 100 miles south of San Diego, the release said.

At 10:20 p.m. Friday, the cruise ship Majestic Princess requested help with two passengers needing medical assistance about 500 miles west of Los Angeles.

A Coast Guard helicopter met the ship at about 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, closer to shore to pick up a 74-year-old woman with symptoms of a stroke and a 77-year-old woman with kidney failure, the release said.

At 12:20 p.m .Saturday, the cruise ship Carnival Spirit radioed for help with an 84-year-old woman possibly suffering a stroke about 86 miles from San Clemente Island, Coast Guard officials said.

The helicopter completing the evacuation of the two women from the Majestic Princess was sent to pick up that patient as well, the release said. The crew flew for more than seven hours Saturday.

Passenger goes overboard and vanishes on cruise headed to Hawaii, Coast Guard says

Search for missing boaters leads to capsized vessel and three bodies, Coast Guard says

Cruise passengers body decayed after crew stored it in drink cooler, familys suit says
By Ivan Lubysh-Kirdey

PAVLOHRAD, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine overnight in a city in the east, killing two people, setting off huge blazes and damaging dozens of homes and other buildings.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the two deaths in his nightly video address, vowing: "The Russian occupiers will receive our answer for every such strike.

"The terrorists' missiles took the lives of two people, very young men," Zelenskiy said. "Forty other people - women, children, men, were treated for wounds and injuries."

Zelenskiy also said a 14-year-boy was killed near his school when it was hit by a bomb in the Chernihiv region, close to the Russian border.

The attack on Pavlohrad, a city and railway hub, came during the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days, with Moscow apparently reviving its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive.

A huge crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house that was strewn with debris on the outskirts of Pavlohrad in southeastern Ukraine, around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the front line. Homes nearby were badly damaged. In the city centre, the windows of a dormitory that serves a chemical plant had been blown out.

"I ran outside and saw the garage was destroyed. Everything was on fire, glass shards were everywhere. Had we been outside, we would have been killed," said resident Olha Lytvynenko, 61.

Viktoriia Suprun, 41, said she had taken cover with her daughter in the hallway of the dormitory.

"We rushed to the hallway, laid on the floor. And then the explosion wave twisted the door. Had we stayed for five more seconds, we would have been trapped here," she said.

Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said the attack had damaged 19 apartment blocks, 25 houses, three schools, three kindergartens and several shops. The wounded included five children, the region's governor said.

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RUSSIA SAYS IT TARGETS THE MILITARY

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had struck using high-precision long-range air and sea-based missiles against "Ukraine's military-industrial facilities".

"The objectives of the strike were achieved," it said in a statement. "The work of enterprises making ammunition, weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian troops has been disrupted."

Russian news reports said two civilians were killed by Ukrainian shelling in a Russian-held area of the south-central Zaporizhzhia region. Ukrainian forces, the reports said, also shelled Russian-held areas of the Donetsk region in the east.

Reuters was unable to verify reports of military activity.

With Ukraine readying a counteroffensive to take back territory seized since the invasion was launched 14 months ago, the commander-in-chief of Ukrainian forces, General Valery Zaluzhniy, spoke on Monday to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"I emphasised the need to augment air defence system capabilities," Zaluzhniy said in a statement of his conversation with General Mark Milley.

"Separately, I touched upon manning our units and the importance of timely supply of weapons, military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine in sufficient quantities."

On the ground, the war is at a potential turning point after five months of Russian assaults that have secured little new territory despite bloody ground combat.

Kyiv is preparing to unleash a counterattack using hundreds of armoured vehicles and tanks donated by allies, and thousands of troops recently returned from training in the West.

The Ukrainian General Staff said fighting continued to grip the city of Bakhmut, focal point of Russian attacks in the east.

A top Ukrainian general said counterattacks by Kyiv's forces had ousted Russian forces from some positions in the city, but that the situation remained difficult.

Damage appeared to be limited elsewhere in Ukraine, after air raid sirens sounded for hours through the night. Ukraine said it shot down 15 of 18 incoming cruise missiles.

On Friday, 23 civilians were killed when a high-rise apartment building in the city of Uman was hit by a missile, part of Russia's first big countrywide volley of air strikes in nearly two months.

Russia had launched waves of missile attacks on Ukraine from October until early March, often targeting energy infrastructure in what Kyiv called a deliberate strategy to harm and intimidate civilians, a war crime.

(Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Tom Balmforth, Peter Graff and Ron Popeski; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Conor Humphries and Rosalba O'Brien)
Smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment in Khartoum North, Sudan - Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/REUTERS

Fierce fighting broke out again between Sudans army and paramilitaries on Monday despite the formal extension of a truce, as the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation had reached breaking point.

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between Sudans de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Millions of Sudanese around the capital have been hiding in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity while jets on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.

Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at them, said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing loud gunfire in the area.

Mr Burhan and Mr Daglo have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Sudanese refugees from the Tandelti area who crossed into Chad, in Koufroun, near Echbara, wait for an aid distribution - GUEIPEUR DENIS SASSOU/AFP

Millions of Sudanese are trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, humanitarian facilities have been looted, and foreign aid groups have been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.

Martin Griffiths, a top UN humanitarian official, said on Sunday that he was heading to the region to help bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have been turned upside down overnight.

The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point, he said. Goods essential for peoples survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum.

The cost of transportation out of the worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to relocate to safer areas.

Fighting triggers exodus

Some 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, the UN's refugee agency said.

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The fighting has also triggered an exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching evacuations by land, sea, and air.

Mr Daglos RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman head Omar al-Bashir in Sudans Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Mr Bashir and others.

Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to protect citizens properties from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.

The RSF had warned police against joining the fight.

The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for serious human rights abuses related to its use of excessive force against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Mr Burhan and Mr Daglo to power.

At least 528 people have been killed and almost 4,600 people wounded in the violence, according to Sudans health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be far higher.

Fighting has spread across Sudan, especially in the long-troubled Darfur region, where witnesses reported intense conflict and looting.

At least 96 people were reported killed in El Geneina, West Darfur, the UN said.

Refugees fill containers and drink from a water tank in Koufroun, Chad, near Echbara - GUEIPEUR DENIS SASSOU/AFP

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people were already in need of aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 per cent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organisation, with many facilities shelled.

On Sunday, a first Red Cross plane brought eight tonnes of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting and has served as an evacuation hub.

The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilise 1,500 patients.

Regional powers have joined negotiations to help end the violence.

An envoy of Mr Burhans met on Sunday in Riyadh with Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, who called for the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates on Monday to discuss the situation in Sudan.